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A Brie Grows in Brooklyn

"Mabel's not crazy... she's unusual."

Justified, I Love You: 21 Reasons

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Ok, so this is just gonna be a stupid fan girl gushing session directed mostly at my brother Stuprendan, and the three other readers, or so, of this blog with whom I regularly communicate about “Justified.” But the last two episodes have been so fantastic that I think they literally gave me a contact high. I just finished this past Tuesday’s, and I am beaming with joy.

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It’s sort of like a great novel that’s taken the time to really develop the characters, so you know exactly how they’ll act in any given situation. They stay true to themselves — and loyal to the viewer. You truly love them.

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Whoever is writing the shows these days has really picked up their game — I think Justified might be the best show currently on television. The past two episodes are certainly the best tv I’ve seen all year.

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I was going to write some kind of recap of last night’s Justified episode, but Matt Zoller Seitz already wrote something so good on Vulture that it’s impossible to add anything interesting.
“For all its gore, gunfire, and criminal nastiness, it’s a joyous show; even when the characters are scowling, the show seems to be grinning at you. It’s that Elmore Leonard DNA that cinches it, I think. Although Olyphant, Yost, and their superb writing staff have little day-to-day involvement with the master, his spirit seems to guide their choices. It’s the spirit of an entertainer who wants to tell the truth about people without congratulating himself on his insight. It’s the voice of a wise man who’s been around and seen a lot and who knows that, sooner or later, all of these drama queens and kings will be fertilizing daffodils. Leonard has spent his life creating fiction that’s precise, relaxed, droll, and wise about human behavior, yet so much fun that even some fans are reluctant to call it what it is: art.”
In other words, if you’re not watching Justified yet, you’re a philistine and a fool.
I will say that after the first episode of Season 4, I already have much higher hopes than I did for Season 3. I like it when the drama stays in Harlan county. The rest of the riff raff deserves what the Jody got—he was the convict with the hamburgers in the premiere—which is to be stuffed in the back of Raylan Given’s car, and taken beyond state boundaries. 
(And now, I’ll return to my fantasy of Caleb secretly turning out be Raylan Givens in disguise.) 

I was going to write some kind of recap of last night’s Justified episode, but Matt Zoller Seitz already wrote something so good on Vulture that it’s impossible to add anything interesting.

For all its gore, gunfire, and criminal nastiness, it’s a joyous show; even when the characters are scowling, the show seems to be grinning at you. It’s that Elmore Leonard DNA that cinches it, I think. Although Olyphant, Yost, and their superb writing staff have little day-to-day involvement with the master, his spirit seems to guide their choices. It’s the spirit of an entertainer who wants to tell the truth about people without congratulating himself on his insight. It’s the voice of a wise man who’s been around and seen a lot and who knows that, sooner or later, all of these drama queens and kings will be fertilizing daffodils. Leonard has spent his life creating fiction that’s precise, relaxed, droll, and wise about human behavior, yet so much fun that even some fans are reluctant to call it what it is: art.”

In other words, if you’re not watching Justified yet, you’re a philistine and a fool.

I will say that after the first episode of Season 4, I already have much higher hopes than I did for Season 3. I like it when the drama stays in Harlan county. The rest of the riff raff deserves what the Jody got—he was the convict with the hamburgers in the premiere—which is to be stuffed in the back of Raylan Given’s car, and taken beyond state boundaries. 

(And now, I’ll return to my fantasy of Caleb secretly turning out be Raylan Givens in disguise.) 


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Justified Season 3: A Review

I was in the midst of watching Timothy Olyphant awkwardly interact with Rose Byrne in an episode of Damages last night, when I realized that I forgot to write about Justified in the review section of my post yesterday. 

Now, I personally think that Justified is the most underrated show on television, but I’m warned you before, and I’ll warn you again, that judgement is definitely influenced by the stirrings I get in my lady parts whenever Raylan Givens—played by Olyphant—walks on the screen. 

Because if a show like Damages is all about no one ever knowing what the hell is really going on, and hence, no one being able to fix it, then Justified is all about the ability of one man—Raylan—to walk into any dirty situation, and within one episode, be able to clean it all up, whether he knows what’s going on or not. Shit, all the man needs to be wearing is his cowboy hat, and every bad guy loses his gun, and every pussy within a 10  mile radius is sighing with relief.

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A Review of All the Junk I’ve Been Watching: Part I

So, as those of you who read this blog regularly know, I’ve been sick, and complaining about it an enormous amount, like a gigantic infant. I blame my behavior on my mother, who has babied me through illnesses since I’ve been a tiny baby. She has Münchausen syndrome.

(I kid! She was actually an ER nurse, and she’s the most loving caretaker. If you’re ever sick, you should go live at my house, where my mother will wrap you in blankets, rub your head, and put you on a diet of brown rice and bowel cleansing tea. She will dote on you very much, and also you will lose weight.)

On a normal night, without being heavily medicated, I sleep for about five hours. So when I’m sick, I sleep for eight. The rest of the time I spend either watching things online or, if I can lift my poor, poor feeble head, reading books.

I tore through an enormous amount of junk in the past three days. Here’s a review of some of the things I watched.

Justified: Season 2

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…Justified!

I usually share the same taste as my friend Matt Dreyer, who doesn’t want me to write his full name on my blog. He did say he would make an exception, however, if I accepted his request to open up an ING bank account, because if I do so, he’ll make $10. Cheap date.

You’ve got $10 coming your way, Matt Dreyer. Matt Dreyer. Matt Dreyer. Matt Dreyer.

A few months ago, he told me I should watch Justified, a show about a Federal Marshall based in modern-day Kentucky who administers justice like he’s a 19th century sheriff living in the wild wild west. It stars Timothy Olyphant, aka Seth Bullock from Deadwood, who was an ACTUAL 19th century sheriff living in the wild wild west, and is the only man I’ll ever truly love.

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