MetaFilter

Special Event: Live Stream: The Grand Final (2023 Eurovision Song Contest)

I have no idea what is going on with these mini musical performances in the midst of the introductions, but the lighting and video screen production on this is fucking insane!
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 12:10 PM on May 13, 2023

I saw an interview with Norton where he was saying this would be a very different Eurovision for him because normally he's in the skybox up above commenting for a BBC audience, but since they're hosting this year he's on the floor and he has to behave better.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 12:17 PM on May 13, 2023

Australia competes because it's a commonwealth country, but I have no idea why Israel is there.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 12:24 PM on May 13, 2023

I have no doubt that if Canada gave a shit, they could have someone there somehow.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 12:27 PM on May 13, 2023

I didn't know Imagine Dragons were from Cypress. I though they were Mormon.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 12:48 PM on May 13, 2023

Would Sweden winning mean maybe an actual performance reunion of ABBA? I saw Frankie Goes To Hollywood was having a "never ever" reunion for this here in Liverpool.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 1:04 PM on May 13, 2023

I don't mind the song but the trampoline people in the back are dumb.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 1:10 PM on May 13, 2023

I have to say drone technology has brought a lot to these interstitials.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 1:12 PM on May 13, 2023

Those pianos have disks you can put in them and they play themselves, like new tech for player piano technology.

I don't know what they're doing here exactly, but it certainly looks like one of those in action.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 1:14 PM on May 13, 2023

Don't let Trent see this industrial pop performance or the next tour NIN will all be wearing dayglo.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 1:19 PM on May 13, 2023

You can just buy a long braid to wear. I'm sure many of these performers did that.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 1:23 PM on May 13, 2023

These drone shots are so heady. I feel like I haven't seen things like this much before, but maybe I'm just in a silo?
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 1:25 PM on May 13, 2023

Also, do we have performing venues like this in the US? Is this lighting rig and floor and wall part of the hall or just for this event? Surely they didn't build the LED strips into the seating just for this...
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 1:27 PM on May 13, 2023

That Australia entry sounded much like a cult band that I love, Fair To Midland. I wonder if the rest of their music sounds like that.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 1:30 PM on May 13, 2023

Oh wow, it's like Jimmy Somerville only without the falsetto.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 1:30 PM on May 13, 2023

I just seem to be spending the whole show thinking about how you design and stage manage something like this

It's a production on a level that if they had to do it eight nights a week would break the crew.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 1:31 PM on May 13, 2023

Foundation: Upon Awakening

I know the possibility that Salvor Hardin is a mutant the way the Mule is later in the books was mentioned here.

Weren't empaths a known thing in the Empire, but what made the Mule different was his ability to actually reset the emotional state of others, not just read it?

That's my fuzzy memory of the whole thing, anyway.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 8:33 PM on January 18, 2022

Animaniacs: Gold Meddlers, Pinko and the Brain and Math-sterpiece Theater

"No squatters in the stadium until after the games are over. That's when the urban decay sets in."

I can't believe they actually went THERE.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 5:13 PM on November 27, 2020

Movie: My Octopus Teacher

I quite enjoyed this movie. It was deeper than I expected it to be, and it was really a beautiful film. Maggie Mae isn't being entirely honest in her review about how events play out, and it seems she has an axe to grind so maybe actually watch the whole movie if you're so inclined.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 8:43 PM on November 25, 2020

Animaniacs: Warners Unbound, How To Brain Your Dragon, Suffragette City

There was an astounding amount of cyclops nipple going on during one scene. Like, a truly amazing amount. Surprised it made it into the series, really.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 7:55 PM on November 24, 2020

Animaniacs: Suspended Animation & Of Mice and Memes

Watched this episode last night, basically have the original run memorized so was really looking forward to this.

Ralph is a bit off-model from the original version. Otherwise, I thought the whole thing looked and felt great. It wasn't the most bestest strongest episode ever, but it really felt true to the original in many ways. I'm looking forward to slowly digesting the rest of this first of two new short seasons.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 4:42 PM on November 21, 2020

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: RNC 2020 & Kenosha

How many major premium network television hosts have offered to pay for naming rights for a sewage treatment plant and offered up their own ready-made sign? I can tell you! I can TELL you! ONE! That's IT! ONE!
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 10:40 PM on September 1, 2020

Wow, the entire final segment is missing. i wonder why. :(
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 9:46 PM on September 2, 2020

Mr. Robot: "whoami" / "Hello, Elliot"

That dash Slater makes from one car to the other is pretty great. I love that kind of thing -- it looks like magic when you watch it, but the real explanation is actually so simple.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 3:57 PM on January 1, 2020

I think at the core, the idea of stealing the wealth was also stealing the power. That's a great deal of what the whole previous episode was about, the confrontation in the museum... The power is derived from the wealth. It isn't a political power shuffle, it's an economic one, and at its core, it's as democratic as possible. Everyone who has E-Coin gets the same amount of the split of this gigantic wealth. They get to make it do whatever they want in their lives. This is bound to do things to… [more]
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 8:05 PM on January 6, 2020

I'm on my fourth time through the series at this point, and this episode is a thing I start looking forward to early on in Season 4. I know what the ride is, I don't remember all the speed bumps (Season 2, my goodness!), but this ultimate ending... it is a thing I remember. And the scene in the rest area where Darlene throws all the money to the public. It's beautiful. They both are.

Literature for television, truly.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 11:04 PM on July 16, 2020

Mr. Robot: 409 Conflict

On this rewatch, I'm wondering if this whole "alternate reality" spiel isn't some form of hypnotic technique that Whiterose has developed. It seems like a routine he has used, and with very specific vocal tones each time, and I'd have to compare the music used, but maybe it is similar?

Its a very interesting sort of ploy, trying to convince someone you can change history. Not sure why it worked on Angela.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 10:24 PM on July 14, 2020

Mr. Robot: 407 Proxy Authentication Required

Fourth time through at this point. Sort of put off watching this last night, but am willing to tackle it tonight. It's one hell of an amazing bit of drama. This is that fulcrum that tips things and lets them roll toward the end of the story. It's hell to go through, but if you don't go through it, you don't get the end of the story.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 8:33 PM on July 9, 2020

Mr. Robot: 406 Not Acceptable

Oh man, I'm on my fourth time through this whole journey, and so much of this that feels so difficult right now becomes so necessary. It's a brilliant novel of a show, each season a different volume with a different focus. It's worth getting through to the end, really.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 8:31 PM on July 8, 2020

Mr. Robot: 403 Forbidden

Still struggling to like this show, but since it's the final season I'll stick with it.

I admire your multi-year endurance. I would be curious to hear, at the end of it all, how you feel about it.

I'm writing this on my fourth rewatch. The whole thing is great. Season 2 is a bit bogged down, but is still interesting. So looking forward as I watch this all roll toward its end. It's really one of the best piece of Literature As… [more]
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 9:24 PM on July 6, 2020

Mr. Robot: Eps3.6fredrick&tanya.chk

"Your little revolution was only allowed to happen because it was bought and paid for by people like them."

Mr. Robot pays attention very well.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 3:09 PM on July 5, 2020

Mr. Robot: Eps3.5kill-process.inc

Aw man, I really like Angela. I find her mixture of naivete and calculation kind of fascinating. Her motivations are kind of opaque right now

I'm on my third re-watch right now, but I don't retain a lot between other than a general sense... so, I'm positing that Angela is a character showing us what a Mr Robot split looks like from the outside, without the inside information we gain from being Eliot's imaginary friend. I'll keep this idea in my head… [more]
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 10:33 PM on March 6, 2020

Rewatching again right now... was about to copy that and respond with exactly what I wrote before. Angela is having her own split from reality, one planted in her by Whiterose.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 9:10 PM on July 4, 2020

Mr. Robot: Eps3.4runtime-error.r00

I'm on my third rewatch of this series (which is some of the most literary television ever), and this episode is such a standout. Entirely poetic even while full of conflict. It's a glorious chapter in a magnificent novel.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 10:11 PM on March 6, 2020

What's interesting about this episode is that Angela has gone from "I can't make her a hacker in 24 hours" to being confident enough in herself to pull off the hack in this episode with only basic instructions and her own smarts. In only a month or two, she's grown into something she wasn't before.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 8:28 PM on July 4, 2020

Mr. Robot: Eps3.2legacy.so

At this point, on my nth rewatch of this series, I'm starting to wonder what a full chronological re-edit of the series, putting all the flashback scenes in order and everything, would maybe reveal about the story. Is it really only effective because of its chosen order of revealing events? It's hard to say.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 9:31 AM on July 4, 2020

Mr. Robot: eps2.9_pyth0n-pt2.p7z

I'm doing what I think is my fourth rewatch at this point, and this second season is very important. It feels frustrating, but there's a lot going on here. Just a little bit of a thing to put here, to say, if you're frustrated at this point, keep going. It pays off.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 10:50 PM on July 3, 2020

Also, Elliot has the worst possible life this season. Beaten to a pulp multiple times and then the final moments... Like wow.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 11:25 PM on July 3, 2020

Mr. Robot: eps2.7_init_5.fve

How many people watching the series at this point have clued in that the actress playing Dom is Meryl Streep's daughter?
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 9:31 PM on July 3, 2020

Mr. Robot: eps2.5_h4ndshake.sme

Re: The timeline, the whole series takes place between approximately March and December of 2015, all four seasons. Maybe a bit longer on either end, but it's a very compact timeline across the entire run of the show.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 7:00 PM on July 3, 2020

Also, Price asking Moss to celebrate his birthday with him and her turning him down is a very sad moment. Very sad indeed.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 7:20 PM on July 3, 2020

Mr. Robot: eps2.4_m4ster-s1ave.aes

I'd like to point out, on this rewatch, as a sort of tonal-spoilery but not spoliery-thing, that in the last episode Elliot closed his eyes and had a grand dream of living a life where he felt connected with those in his life and he could sit down at a grand table for a comfortable meal with all of them in congenial conviviality.

The alienation in this episode is a deliberate negative mirror of that. Elliot doesn't live that. But he does dream of it.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 11:29 PM on July 2, 2020

Mr. Robot: eps2.2init1.asec

I'm on my fourth time through this series at this point, I think. Truly a work of literature created for this medium. I don't rewatch things, but this, I rewatch.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 8:36 PM on July 2, 2020

Also, that opening scene of this episode is... entirely seminal and amazing.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 8:37 PM on July 2, 2020

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Police

I've watched this twice now (once live, once on YT) and will probably have to watch it again. It's one of those pieces that really crystalizes so much so intensely that it's hard to take in all at once. I've loved this show since it started but this may be its crowning jewel thus far.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 4:40 PM on June 8, 2020

Medical Police: Medical Police - Full Season 1

I'll say, I watched it all (it isn't very long) and I thought it was worth putting here to discuss. It's amusing with a few outright laughs, more conceptually funny than in execution.

I did like the characters discussing in the moment whether they were racially profiling a bad guy. It's the kind of joke that could be laughed at by lefties for the discussion they're having and by righties for them even having the discussion.

The tone is a tiny… [more]
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 8:34 PM on January 20, 2020

Movie: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

The red stormtroopers are Sith Troopers.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 4:19 PM on December 29, 2019

Huh. In the shooting script for A New Hope the word Sith is used several times. But only in screen descriptions and such, never by a character.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 5:52 PM on January 3, 2020

Watching C3PO get essentially bullied/ordered into suicide because I guess these people don't see droids as people was super, super fucked up.

C-3PO has never been seen as a person all across the entire set of movies. We first meet him with no skin on, just wires and servos exposed all over the place. In fact, when we first meet him, he's seen first inanimate, and then switched on by Anakin, who is building him to help his mother. He's been a… [more]
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 6:03 PM on January 3, 2020

We may never see fanwank of this magnitude on screen again.

From your lips to God's ears.
posted to FanFare by hippybear at 10:32 AM on January 11, 2020