TruthBTold

He's saying, "Aren't you jealous?"

Not enough stars in the sky.

HBO launched a new series this past Sunday and I liked the first episode. It had the feel of its Years and Years series in that though it was allegedly futuristic it still had many contemporary elements to it. I had no prior knowledge of the source material of the program so I do not know if it kept close to the Watchmen material. I also was not familiar with the incident that begins the program and was horrified when I discovered that it depicted something that this nation should really be ashamed of. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_race_riot At any rate, it attempts to give a realistic depiction of that incident. As in Years and Years, it then jumps ahead to an entirely different future but one which still contains many of horrifying aspects that were shown in the opening. Masking plays an important aspect in the new society and it is chilling. I found one of the more horrifying aspects are the depiction of a law enforcement that has been given vast new powers (e.g., being masked while enforcing laws, torture) to enforce the law against an equally reprehensible portion of society. Regina King seems to be the lead actor in the series so far and she is great (tho I have liked her in a lot of things). So, I will see if the series can keep up the interesting elements while at the same time making it a little more comprehensible.

Willing to work for one's supper.

I think that is Chicago's Uriel.

He knows how to take care of his assets.

Definitely (but I always appreciate a little lube - if you have it).

Of course, as she is in everything she is in, Mirren is great. Like every history unless you are familiar with the characters who make up the previous emperors/empresses, nobility, and courtiers it is hard to keep track of who is who (at least in the first episode). Although she wields power much as Elizabeth I of England, Catherine seemed to be much more educated and determined not only to keep hold on power but to leave her mark in many areas of society that she could. For example, she was determined that women would be educated (at least some of them). She also seems to want to have Russia become much more Western European in look and imported various things to that end. For instance, she had herself (and her child) inoculated against smallpox at a time it was not done in the country. Later she had a vast number of her subjects inoculated to prevent the outbreak of the disease. The only thing that I really knew about her before this series was that the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg was begun as the personal art collection of Catherine. She bought 500 art pieces and had them brought to the palace. It later became the national art museum. Moreover, she encouraged the colonization of much of Alaska, which was later sold to the United States (during the reign of a different Emperor.

Both Sides Now . . .

If it were me, the one on the right.