Well, I finally got to see the epilogue to The Office. Not just a funny show -- although it is very funny -- it's also a very poignant drama. David Brent is like George Costanza, except this version of Geroge doesn't just lightheartedly laugh off his shortcomings. He's insecure, buffoonish, and dimwitted, but you can't help feeling sorry for him, and you cringe at his every awkward remark and display of desperate loneliness.

And of course there's the office romance, which first turned me off, because I thought it was so cliched, but they handle it a lot differently than you might expect. It's not really a romance at all, but the sweetest, saddest bit of unrequited love in a comedy that I've seen.

It's all awkward flirting, palpable longing, and one missed opportunity after another. In other shows, you roll your eyes when one person jumps into bed with another. In this one, you start asking "When are they finally going to admit they love each other?," and towards the end it gets almost unbearable as you begin to realize Oh no; this really isn't going to happen, is it?

Okay. Yes, that's a really girly confession. But seriously, I think even Real Men Who Hate Chick Flicks will become interested in this non-romance and ultimately become exasperated by it. It's interesting and very well-handled.

If you're going to start watching the show, try to start from the beginning. I think they're starting the series run again this week; I think the description of the first episode is "David's Management Philosophy."

Videotape or otherwise record the Christmas special, but don't watch it until you've watched the full run of the show. The Christmas special has to be seen after, not before. Watching it before will spoil a lot of the show that comes before it.

I'd recommend just buying the series on DVD through BBCAmerica -- it's really that good -- but you should probably catch a few episodes before you buy the series. It's not for everyone. I didn't like it the first few times I saw it; it took me some time to appreciate it. A lot of people might just find it a bit slow. And a lot will find it too cringey-- much of the show consists of moments which aren't actually funny, just embarassing and pathetic.

Martin Scorcese called his great film The King of Comedy a "social horror" movie. It's a horror movie, but the horror isn't blood and gore, but people behaving so painfully wrong that it makes you wince and hide your eyes. That's The Office, except it's a little bleaker. At least The King of Comedy was a little over-the-top and therefore gave the viewer some distance from the social embarassment. The Office plays it straighter, mostly -- it's a naturalistic mockumentary -- so you feel the cringiness without the ameloriating distance of it being played for farce.

If anyone saw the Christmas Special tonight and can understand British accents better than I can, please help me out. Late, late in the party scene, when **** shows up and ****** ***, Gareth says something I couldn't catch, and then the person who shows up says something in response.

I couldn't catch either, but I swear it sounds like Gareth is saying "Careful, she's got cancer." I think the response is "Um, not anymore." Does anyone know for sure? What the hell is said in this exchange?

Spolier Alert: I don't think the episode can be discussed without revealing major spoilers. So, if you haven't seen the show or the special yet, don't read any comments that follow. Trust me, this is one of the few comedies where a spolier alert is warranted. If you have any interest, keep out.

Posted by: Ace at 09:24 PM | Comments (20)
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The site is back up. I am so sorry for the outage.

Posted by: Ace at 05:02 PM | Comments (11)
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Greg sends this:

Exiled Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect behind the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States...

As Ann Coulter would say: just another "agrarian reformer."

Unbelievable. Just curious, does the AP refrain from calling racist murderers what they are? If not, why do terrorists deserve special handling?

Posted by: Ace at 01:25 PM | Comments (14)
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A friend told me the last quiz was just too long. This one's shorter. The lyrics here are pretty fragmentary, too, and the more famous the song, the shorter I've tried to make them.

It's a mix of 80's one-hit (or couple of hit MTV) wonders, a few lyrics from classic rock (not many, actually), and then some 90's radio rock. Some are easy, but a lot are sorta tough.

Note: I botched the lyric slightly to one song, and more than slightly to another. Corrections included, along with error.

more...

Posted by: Ace at 12:21 PM | Comments (32)
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Kinda funny web-animation parody of Time Warp from Rocky Horror.

Bush comes out a little ahead. He's Riff-Raff. Kerry gets to be Frankenfurter.

Kind of a weak chorus, though. "It's time to vote once again"? C'mon. You're better than that.

Thanks to Temple of Jennifer/Demure Thoughts, who, if you can believe it, seems to have a problem with the very, very funny Bill Maher.

I can't imagine why. He's mantastic. If he were a delicious fruit, he'd be a mangerine.

Posted by: Ace at 10:44 AM | Comments (3)
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Via Florida Cracker, evidence that appeasing terrorists, strangely enough, doesn't seem to reduce terrorism:

MADRID (AFP) - Spanish police arrested eight suspected Islamic extremists believed to be plotting a bomb attack on the National Court, Spain's highest criminal court, Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso said.

Alonso told reporters that seven men were arrested overnight while another suspect was detained in the northern city of Pamplona on Tuesday morning as police swooped on several cities.

The cell "was envisaging carrying out an attack against the National Court or against another judicial institution," Alonso told journalists.

...

They were believed to have "been in contact with individuals in other European countries, in Australia and the United States," the ministry statement said.

Meanwhile, Florida-Cracker is giving out the Eddie Haskell Award for most links to Instapundit. I am scared that I am currently in first place, but she won't say yet.

Hey-- it's not brown-nosing. It's just some light stalking.

And another cool story about a pistol-packing woman fending off a criminal. Sadly, the criminal wasn't hit, but she did blow out one of his tires, just to make a point.

Posted by: Ace at 10:20 AM | Comments (4)
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Actually, that's the least likely bit from this good run-down on the latest about Zarqawi, but it makes for the best headline.

Posted by: Ace at 10:14 AM | Comments (1)
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Michelle Malkin has a good piece up about the lack of seriousness among some of today's women. The New Vintage has quotes and the link.

For those women who think George Bush is kinda dishy, scroll down a bit for her thoughts on Presidential looks.

Personally, I'm a Millard Fillmore man. Hot.

Posted by: Ace at 10:10 AM | Comments (6)
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Actually, the question is less about how many are non-fraudulent, because the Democrats prevent any real investigation into, or postive steps to limit, voter fraud.

But the question is how many of these new registrations are actually going to end up being voted, whether fraudulent or real?

The Democrats are paying crack to criminals to "sign up" new voters. Predictably, since they're working per sign-up, there are tons of simply invented registrations.

Not all of these registrations are fully fraudulent in the sense that there will be a criminal showing up at the polling place to vote based on the false registration. Some are, of course. But a lot of other false registrations will never been seen or heard of again.

KerrySpot notes all the fictitious registrations in Ohio.

It could be that Republicans -- who, let's face it, do a lot less of this outright criminal crap; this is a product of the old Democratic machine politics -- are doing a lot better in terms of registrations that will actually produce votes than we believe.

Posted by: Ace at 09:54 AM | Add Comment
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Ummm, right. INDC Journal calls this "endorsement" disingenuous. That's an understatement.

But don't expect the media to be particularly critical about the claim. Because, you know, when you play poker, you always announce your real intentions and the actual strength of your hand.

When I draw Big Slick, I immediately throw down my cards and yell "Whoo-HOO! Awesome! My ace-king would only be better if they were suited! I can't wait to check-raise!" Because that's the way to win.

I've read books on it and everything.

Also good from INDC: this memo from the RNC, announcing its intention to accuse the Democrats of paying crack for fraudulent registrations pre-emptively.

Good thing the Democrats really did exchange crack for bogus registrations, or this could have turned out embarassing.

Posted by: Ace at 09:37 AM | Comments (3)
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