Kafkaesque-Route 66-Bob Davis Podcast 793

What if you’d gone to sleep in 1980 and woke up in 2019? I think Jessie Pinkman’s Breaking Bad “Kafkaesque” line would describe these days pretty well. Learn more in Kafkaesque-Route 66-Bob Davis Podcast 793.

Time Off

I planned to take some time off around the new year. One day stretched into 3, then 5. I came back to bizarre claims from the president, silly questions from reporters, and more talking heads telling us what we already know. You know, Kafkaesque.

Streaming TV Drama

What did I do? Like everyone else I retreated to streaming television drama. Moreover after exhausting the supply of shows to watch, I ended up finding four seasons of the old TV show “Route 66” on Amazon Prime.

1960 Corvette

What’s most noteworthy about this 1960 black and white drama? Two guys driving across the country on backroads in a 1960 Corvette getting into situations.

Route 66 Remake

First of all, while watching the show, I googled all the places the show’s characters drive through. Yes, I have been to many of them. In addition to providing an excellent escape from our current nonsense, I decided someone should remake Route 66. (Editor’s note: If you follow the links you’ll see that someone actually did remake the show, but it was horrible. I am thinking what David Simon, Matt Weiner or Ann Biderman could do with it.)

We All Think It Is Absurd

I don’t think I am out of line to suggest that the current news and political situation is theater of the absurd. Also I think many people feel the same way.

Resolution Please

Certainly this is why I have suggested many times the best way for me to contribute is to be strong enough to wait for a conclusion. Even more a resolution. With some kind of ‘way point’ there is less confusion. Pointing out options and ideas is less likely to trigger listener’s emotional reactions.

Where Are We Headed? Somewhere.

In conclusion, like the guys in Route 66, we’re headed somewhere. We just don’t know where yet.

Sponsored by WhiteTail Builders and Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul

Kafkaesque-Route 66-Bob Davis Podcast 793

 

Ozark The Deuce Stranger Things Golden TV age Snark-Podcast 675

Streaming. Binging. Brand new shows. Hundreds of new offerings on networks that didn’t exist ten years ago. Critics have suddenly discovered streaming television and there is much they do not like. In Ozark The Deuce Stranger Things Golden TV age Snark-Podcast 675.

No Commercials

I cut the cable years ago. Never watch broadcast TV. Despite this, I watch a lot of TV. I have my favorite shows. Shows I binge watch over a week, or weekend. Especially relevant is the fact that we all have our favorites. Whether it’s a weekend of Stranger Things or Ozark on Netflix, or waiting for each installment of the new HBO Show The Deuce, we’re watching serialized TV offerings like long movies.

Peak TV

While the technical infrastructure has existed for awhile, more people are streaming shows. It’s what the experts call ‘peak tv‘. No one wants to be left out, including the critics. In Ozark The Deuce Stranger Things Golden TV age Snark-Podcast 675.

You’ve Got Critics

A few years ago the critics hailed these new offerings as ‘groundbreaking’. Suddenly new shows can’t get a break. Bad acting. Silly plot lines. Critics are desperate to remain relevant, I guess. What they forget is, it’s just Television.

Watch It All At Once and Move On

Television has always been disposable. So have all popular forms of entertainment. Sure, there are world changing plays, movies, songs, radio and television shows. For the most part though, we forget. Do you remember all two hundred plus Miami Vice installments? Were they all great?

Content Creators Don’t Change The World With Every Offering

New media platforms can take as much content as creators can manage. People watch and discard almost as soon as it is produced. We’re in the early stages of an entirely new form of entertainment delivery systems. Creators are still learning the ropes. Is it fair to compare a show with 13 hour long installments in a year, although it’s written, shot and produced like a movie, with a full budget hollywood movie? Do the viewers care that some critic doesn’t think an actor is good enough to do Shakespeare on Broadway?

Binge Weekend

I love my new shows, and I binge watch the old ones all the time. WestWorld. The Deuce. Ozark. House of Cards. Ray Donovan. Boardwalk Empire. Curb Your Enthusiasm. I don’t need to be studying film and literature to enjoy them. In the final analysis, the rest of the viewers don’t either.

Sponsored by Brush Studio in The West End, Saint Louis Park and Ciro 3D Motorcycle Products and Accessories

Ozark The Deuce Stranger Things Golden TV age Snark-Podcast 675

 

 

Tragedy Coverage Social Taboo-Talk About Death-Podcast 668

Shootings. Hurricanes. Earthquakes. Floods. Lots of talk about what happened. Not much talk about the actual experience of death. That’s because Death isn’t easy to talk about. I do in Tragedy Coverage Social Taboo-Talk About Death-Podcast 668.

Overwhelming Tragedy Coverage

Check your social media feed. Turn on TV. Listen to the radio. There’s an avalanche of talk about the events surrounding a tragedy. What happened? How did this happen? Can it be prevented from happening again? From comedians to news reporters, it’s mostly people trying to remain relevant.

Nobody Talks About Death

In all of the coverage no one wants to talk about the experience of death. Death as a concept. The reality of death. Fact is, we live with death and we have an experience called death. However, we don’t ever talk about it. Death as a subject is not okay. In Tragedy Coverage Social Taboo-Talk About Death-Podcast 668.

What Is Death?

Death is the total and permanent cessation of the vital functions of an organism. We don’t really want to talk about that so we find other things to talk about. How do we deal with the shock of the unexpected, unexplainable and irreversible?

We Don’t Know How It Feels

Why do we grieve the death of the famous and barely pay a second thought to the deaths of hundreds in an earthquake in some other land? How is that different from how we react when someone really close to us dies? Talk about it in Tragedy Coverage Social Taboo-Talk About Death-Podcast 668,

Sharing My Experiences Of Death

In this podcast I share my own experiences. How I reacted to recent deaths of people very close to me. People who died unexpectedly.  This is in the hope that subscribers and listeners might think about and share their own stories and their own experiences with death. This is not easy to do. Talk about this is not a judgement.

We’re All Gonna Get There

Sooner or later we’re all going to have the death experience. Seems like everyone has different ideas about what actually happens. Death remains the great mystery for all of us. When you talk about death you have to talk about life. Do we regard life with the same wonder? Is life the same amazing mystery to us? Why not?

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul

Tragedy Coverage Social Taboo-Talk About Death-Podcast 668