What Gheorghe is Watching: Filler

As our brother blog Sentence of Dave is quick to point out, this is an absurdly fertile time in terms of scripted content. (Also in terms of radically insane right-wing batshittery, but that's an entirely different post altogether.) Here are just a few of the things we're currently watching.

"The Penguin" absolutely lives up to its billing. Colin Farrell might as well be a voiceover given the prosthetics required to make him Oswald Cobb, but he's in there - you can see it in the gestures and hear it in the timing and inflections. Even so, Oz isn't the most interesting character in the series. That honor goes to Cristin Milioti's Sophia Falcone. Equal parts psychopath and coquette, the daughter of a slain mob boss father and murdered brother burns with furious, all-consuming vengeance. The eyes, man. The eyes. Let's not sleep on Rhenzy Feliz, who plays Oz's dragooned sidekick. HBO Max is doling out episodes one per week, just like the olden days. Appointment viewing.

Different genre, closer to home, FOG:TB Barry Privett and Carbon Leaf just released their 15th studio album, "Time Is The Playground". The Leaf cognoscenti in your midst didn't love the first single, "Backmask 1983", deeming it a bit poppy for our taste. But we do dig a lot of the other tunes, including the title track.

And one more, much further afield. Somehow, I started following an Instagram account called Cheeky Golf Club. On a whim, three brothers from England set out on a quest to see how long it would take for one of them to play 18 holes of golf without making a bogey. When they started, 230ish days ago, Tim (the brother who plays the golf) was a 13 handicap. He's down to a 9.5, but he's only managed to make 8 straight pars or better to start a round. The boys are cheery and light, and they just surpassed 100,000 followers. Here's to 18 pars.

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What Gheorghe is Reading: A Codicil

My admiration for Ta-Nehisi Coates is no secret to the assembled Gheorghiage and our assorted hangers-on. Love the hangers-on. 

We wrote earlier in the week about T-NC's new book, which is on its way to me. Coates has been getting a lot of props as a thoughtful writer operating from a very different perspective than many public intellectuals, for whom selling books seems to be at least as important as advancing ideas and pushing for a deeper understanding of the forces influencing history.

Coates willingness to challenge dominant narratives seems to have raised some eyebrows. Case in point, a recent interview he conducted with CBS Mornings to promote The Message, his newest work.

These things are generally about as newsworthy as Dave's latest gaffe, but the topic of Israeli/Palestinian relations is a fraught one, as you'll see from the beginning of the segment:

GMA co-host Tony Dokoupil went in on Coates from the jump, accusing him of writing about Israel in a manner no different from an extremist. Coates' calm, thoughtful response is remarkable. If someone called me an extremist (read: terrorist) on national television, I'm quite sure I wouldn't have reacted so sensibly.

Coates may have known this going in, but it's worth noting that Dokoupil has two children and an ex-wife who currently live in Israel, and he converted to Judaism as an adult. It is an understatement to suggest that he's not an impartial interlocutor. It's a measure of Coates' commitment to seeking truth and fostering broader understanding that he didn't take the obvious bait. 

The New Republic's Meredith Shiner offered an anguished argument about the media's failure to reckon with the damage that comes from reflexive defense of Israel and immediate rush to claim antisemitism any time that state is criticized. Which is precisely what happened to Coates, and which makes his distinctive voice and choice of topics all the more vital. 

Can't wait to read the book.

Game 2: Electric Boogaloo

Yeah, that's right. It's time for Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Ozone, Turbo, Kelly, Mr. Met, and Grimace to get it going for the stirring sequel to yesterday evening. 

La

Fo

Gata

Mets

er, uh

Let's

Fucking

Go 

Mets

LFGM

MLC x GTB: Promised Land

'Twas as insane a baseball game as I've witnessed in a while yesterday. For this half of the Misery Loves Company tandem bike, this was the (far more dramatic than needed) conclusion that we'd hope for when we resuscitated the baseball blogging. 

Deep exhale now. 

And now that exhale is over. Game 1 of the Wild Card series for the Mets begins today in Milwaukee at 5:30 ET.

But first, before that likely deflation of the Met balloon (Mr. Met's head?), let us please savor one day in NYM history that worked out like it was supposed to. Mind you, not by design. But the ultimate conclusion was more than a wee bit gratifying. 

It's best captured via a text thread between Marls, rob (sorta), and myself.

Takeaways: 

1. We emote a lot more vociferously at bad events than good. Where is our cheering?
2. We are convinced they will lose up until when they win. (Can you blame us??)
3. Rob needs to tune in sooner, even as a part-time new fan. 
4. Marls is a genius.
5. LFGM.