BSR

"Binge-watching" is normally watching a bunch of episodes in an all-day/night marathon. But if it's just one 3h40m episode, does it still count as a binge? "Masterchef" (Spain) Season 8 started today. It's my favorite show, I'm totally hooked. I've never seen the U.S. version, but I think it's just an hour, ~40 minutes after commercials. Masterchef Spain's episodes are 3+ hour marathons, no commercials. This edition features 3 hotties, and unfortunately, the hottest of the whole bunch was eliminated in this first week. At least two are still in it, and the show is terrific even without the eye candy. The nerves, the pressure, the kitchen calamities - all make for a great reality show. It will be my Monday night viewing for the next 4 months.

Probably in China & Iran, but you never know given the regimes in the two nations.

@instudiocity & @MrMattBig, thanks for responding. I had to chuckle at the "US!" response.

Can someone please explain to me what "pandering" is and why it's something that merits an arrest?

I'm late coming into this thread. A lot of people are condemning @Jarrod_Uncut for continuing to work. Jarrod defends himself by making a lot of analogies (which don't quite work, but I won't get into it) and by citing financial necessity (which I sympathize with). The point I'd like to make is that plenty of people, already millions and tens of millions more to come, are in Jarrod's situation. Government assistance isn't enough for many to get by. Government protections (e.g., deferred student loan payments, bans on evictions) will help for the time being, but you still owe the money. Sure you can wag your finger & reprimand them for not saving more, but that doesn't change their current situation. In other words, financial desperation is real and spreading like wildfire. Do I wish everyone would respect social distancing? Of course. But I won't judge anyone who breaks social distancing because they need to survive. These aren't a bunch of Florida spring-breakers.

Yeah, Jared was definitely a star among the stable of Sean Cody studs - sexy demeanor, smokin' hot looks and body. As a fantasy, Jared definitely tickles my ivories. But the thought of actually meeting up with him and the world of risk I'd be courting - eek! RUN!!

Wow, according to this article, "Money Heist" is the most popular series in the world, bigger than super-hits like Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, or Westworld - quite an accomplishment for any series, even more so for a non-English language series. No word yet on when they're releasing Season 5. It will probably be quite a while since they just released Season 4. Apparently they haven't even started shooting. I'm so happy for the cast, most of whom I've seen in other series. A bunch of unknown (outside of Spain, at least) actors who signed on to a limited-run Spanish show are now international superstars on a series that should see many more seasons.

I see Broadway as somewhat unique. Theater has its die-hards, who will crawl over broken glass to see a good production. It also draws a never-ending barrage of tourists, for whom a trip to the City just isn't complete unless they take in a show. It might take a while, but I am quite optimistic about Broadway's resilience. What I'm not so sure about are movie theaters. In-home viewing (VHS->DVDs->streaming) has taken over so much movie-watching that I think movie houses will never bounce back. Oh sure, people will still go to see their superheroes on a giant screen, but I wouldn't be surprised if more than half or even two-thirds of movie theaters closed and stayed closed because of the coronavirus.

I actually watched Mar de plastico a while back, in its original run on Spain's Antena 3. Honestly, I wasn't a huge fan of MDP, although I enjoyed swooning over Luis Fernandez (Salva) every week. The first season was definitely better than the second. Last I checked, MDP is still available on Netflix. If you have a Netflix subscription & are looking for something to binge, check out "Velvet," the tale of an impossible love between the scion of a house of fashion and a poor seamstress, set in Madrid circa 1960. Seasons 1 & 2 are the best TV I've ever seen. Season 3 is pretty good still, but Season 4 is awful. The absolute star of the series is the dashing Miguel Angel Silvestre. Just seeing him every week in the 1960s fashions and cars made the show worth watching. Velvet also features great supporting characters, including Raul de la Riva, one of the most likable gay characters you'll ever see. I watched every episode of Season 1 six times, Season 2 episodes 5 times. Yeah, I was that hooked. Not a binge, quite the opposite, a short film: the story of Jordi & Marc, the gay storyline from "Barcelona, summer night." It has English subtitles, which you'll need even if you understand Spanish because some of the dialogue is in Catalan. It's a sweet short story, and what I liked about it most was just how much Luis Fernandez throws himself into the role. As much as I love Luis Fernandez ('cuz he's so damn pretty), uh, lets just say he's not winning a Goya (Spain's Oscar) any time soon. But this role is probably his best work, and I love that he gave this character his all. My only complaint is they didn't make out enough, LOL. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiEDlJp3jKs

I think life will get back to normal pretty quickly once a vaccine is developed, but eesh, how long will we have to wait for a vaccine? If it's 12-18 months, what will be left of Broadway & Las Vegas?

Now that my free 30 days of Netflix is up, I won't renew, not because I'm economizing but because I need to take a break from binging. Here are the rest of the series I gobbled down: Neighbors: a Spanish superhero comedy that was pretty damn funny. No dubbing, though, and I doubt the humor would translate well to subtitles. The lead, Quim Gutiérrez, is a genius at light comedy. Morocco, Times of War: a very solid drama set in the Rif War (between Spain & what is now Morocco, circa 1921). Unfortunately, it wasn't renewed for a 2nd season, but this one season is definitely worth watching. Cathedral of the Sea: the story of a 14th century serf who rises to wealth & power. I had high expectations because it got great reviews, but it was so disappointing. Locked Up: I watched the first 2 seasons on Spain's Antena 3; Seasons 3 & 4 are the Netflix renewal of the show. I was afraid maybe they were stretching the series out too long, but I liked the continuation almost as much as the original run. Cocaine Coast: the tale of Sito Miñanco, who became the king of Galician drug trafficking (based on real life). Galicia, the northwest region of Spain, became the gateway for 3/4 of Europe's cocaine traffic because its ~1200 miles of coast are too much for law enforcement to patrol. The guy who plays Sito is a great actor, and the series is compelling viewing. Apaches: a journalist returns to his old neighborhood and reunites with his childhood best friend to save his father & family from financial ruin. The tough part is that they make their money by robbing jewelry stores, although the series' main themes are not glamorous jewel heists but family & friendship. Unauthorized Living: another tale of a Galician drug kingpin. This time it's a (fictional) 60-something man recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He has to fight off Mexican & Colombian rivals in the drug trade and save his family business from financial ruin, all while struggling against the relentless progress of his disease. Fugitiva: Eek! Stay away! An interesting premise: a woman fakes her own kidnapping to escape with her three children from her abusive billionaire husband. The first episode is great, but oh boy, does it go downhill from there. I'll sign up for Netflix again after they release Seasons 4 & 5 of Élite and Season 5 of Money Heist. When they released Season 4 of Money Heist on April 3, I thought that was the end of the series, but they left us with a helluva cliffhanger. I'm totally addicted to Money Heist, as are tens of millions more around the world. It's the most viewed Netflix series in many countries, something unprecedented for a non-English language show. Élite is a distant second favorite, well behind Money Heist, but I gotta see what happens to my favorite gay couple, Omar & Ander. I also watched a bunch of movies, all forgettable except two: "We Need to Talk" is a romantic comedy that actually had me laughing out loud quite a bit, a rarity for me. "The Invisible Guest" is a murder mystery/thriller that was clever and original, a tall order considering the countless murder mysteries & thrillers that have been made/written.

Accurate numbers for coronavirus deaths are impossible at this point. CT Gov. Ned Lamont is under fire for publicizing a case of a 6-week newborn dying of complications from COVID-19 when the state's medical examiner had yet to verify cause of death, suspected to be accidental suffocation. Italy is counting anyone with COVID-19 in their system as a coronavirus death even though they died of another cause. France until recently wasn't counting coronavirus deaths in nursing homes. China is almost certainly underreporting deaths, perhaps by an order of magnitude. What's the real number of deaths from (not with) COVID-19? Nobody knows.

Good thing I have so many old t-shirts sitting around collecting dust! I was wondering how to get face masks since they seem to be sold out everywhere. So glad I saw this video. Thanks!

Palace Station's electronic billboard said, "We are closed but our hearts are open. Food bank in our parking lot Thursday from 11 am until food runs out." When I first saw the line, I cynically thought that anybody & everybody was lining up because after all it's free & I doubt they were checking income or bank balances in the parking lot. But when I saw how long the queue was (I drove past aeound 11:30 am), I realized that only people who really needed help would wait in line for so long. 2.5 miles is a lot of cars, and the line looked like it was barely moving. If people are this desperate now, what happens when unemployment reaches 20-30%? What happens if unemployment stays that high for 6 months or a year or longer?

On a lighter note ... [MEDIA=twitter]1245880011455967235[/MEDIA]

Before the coronavirus hit, I had been dreaming about a cruise for quite some time, like a month-long cruise all around the Mediterranean. I still hope to do it one day, but it will probably be years before I feel comfortable enough to take the plunge.

I have to question the death counts. Apparently, in the US if someone with heart disease dies of heart disease but was also carrying Covid-19, then that death is counted as a coronavirus death even if the person was showing no symptoms. The opposite case is China, which in all likelihood is vastly under-reporting the true number of Covid-19 deaths.

While stuck at a light, I noticed a billboard saying that Palace Station (a locals casino/hotel just west of the Las Vegas Strip) was hosting a food bank, even though the casino & hotel is currently shut down. Then I noticed the line of cars waiting, which wound all through their rather large parking lot & down the block. I thought that was a lot of cars, but that was just the start! The queue stretched out for 2.5 more miles. Wow, if that many people were queued up for a food bank, then the economic situation has to be awfully bad already. And it will probably get worse.

My old flatmate, who volunteered for the Boston AIDS hotline, told me that risk of HIV transmission is much higher for anal sex than vaginal sex. With vaginal sex, the man risks HIV infection only if his penis has an open cut. Mind you, "open cut" might be a microabrasion that he is unaware of. For anal sex, whether male-female or male-male, the top risks HIV infection no matter what.

STRESS DIET Breakfast 1/2 grapefruit 1 slice whole wheat toast 8 oz. glass of milk Lunch 4 oz. skinless broiled chicken breast 1 cup steamed zucchini 1 Oreo cookie Herb tea Mid-afternoon snack Rest of the package of Oreos 1 quart Rocky Road ice cream 1 jar hot fudge Dinner 2 loaves garlic bread Large pepperoni and mushroom pizza Large pitcher Pepsi 2 Milky Way candy bars Entire frozen cheesecake eaten directly from the freezer

If you check cast lists on imdb.com, you'll see that US TV shows & movies are chock-full of not just Brits but also Australians, Canadians, etc. playing American characters. What I've read is that American actors just demand too much damn money.

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Before they closed, the Wynn & Encore casinos used thermal imaging to scan people entering the property. If anyone registered 100.4°+, security asked them to leave. I'm sure they will continue the policy once they re-open.

They're also considering postponing it, like Coachella shifted from April to October. Whether or not rescheduling EDC is feasible I have no idea.

Recently retired Janko Tipsarevic