Sunday night. You relaxed as usual for a
Sunday morning but by noon you and Carol were at Anderson’s Hardware picking up
four bags of soil and a sack of grass seed. Linda helped pull the bags out of
the back of the Honda. Once put in the cart you took them to the low area not
re-soiled and seeded. When you returned Carol and Linda soon left for Kim and
Paul’s. Shortly after Tim came over to mow and wouldn’t take his usual pay
because of the reseeding and straw covered areas in the front. He did volunteer
to help you with the new soil and after raking it in and seeding he re-raked it
better than you were doing. He also gathered extra straw from the strewn areas
and you watered it down for tonight. Later after watching ABC News you watched
one of the new shows because Linda had said it was good. You agreed and feel
that “Designated Survivor” is starting out to be the best new show of the
season that is a show that you and Carol will like and watch. You both watched “24”
– you like “Blacklist” and “Blindspot” – this is one of those kind of gutsy
entertaining shows at least it appears to be. – Amorella
2208
hours. I’ll watch it again with Carol, probably tomorrow afternoon or evening
after she returns. So far “Designated Survivor” provides the focus, characters,
script and solid thinking drama that we really like.
** **
Designated Survivor is an American political drama television series created by
David Guggenheim, and starring Kiefer Sutherland, airing on ABC.
The project skipped the pilot stage and was ordered straight to series on
December 14, 2015, followed by a formal announcement and teaser trailer on May 6,
2016. The first season premiered on September 21, 2016.
Plot
On the night of the State of the Union address, an
explosion claims the lives of the President and all members of the Cabinet except
for U.S. Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development Tom Kirkman, who has been named the
designated
survivor. Kirkman is immediately sworn in as President, unaware that
the attack is just the beginning of what is to come.
Critical reception
Designated
Survivor received a positive response in early reviews. After
the first episode the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 85%
fresh rating based on 40 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Kiefer Sutherland
skillfully delivers the drama in Designated Survivor, a fast-paced, quickly
engrossing escapist political action fantasy." Metacritic reported a score
of 71 out of 100 based on 35 reviews, indicating "generally favorable
reviews". Terri Schwartz from IGN gave the first episode a rating of
8.0/10, as she said "Designated Survivor is a strong debut for a
show that will fit well alongside Quantico
and Scandal in ABC's government-set political drama lineup." Variety said that the episode
"does everything it needs to, checking off the necessary boxes for the
unwilling American hero-president in efficient, compelling scenes." Chuck Barney from Mercury News called the pilot "suspenseful". Writing for TV Insider, Matt Roush compared Designated
Survivor with other shows as he said "fall's niftiest new drama has West
Wing idealism, Homeland suspense and House of Cards political
intrigue in its robust and compelling DNA. Zack Handlen from The A.V. Club wrote positively about the
show and the premiere, praising Sutherland's performance and commented on the
symbol of Sutherland's glasses as he said "The glasses he's wearing serve
as a way to tell us this is a different kind of hero, but they're also a form
of camouflage, making it easier for us to understand why so many people would
underestimate this man.”
The editors of TV
Guide have placed Designated Survivor first among the top ten picks
for the most anticipated new shows of the 2016–17 season. In writer Alexander
Zalben's overall review, he pointed out the keys to one of the strongest pilots
he has seen so far: "Designated Survivor is the rare show that
delivers on the hype, and surpasses it," and later stating "It's
shocking that a show can balance all of these elements, but credit a magnetic
cast that hits the ground running, a crack script that makes the first hour
feel like 10 minutes and, of course, Sutherland as the anchor that keeps it all
grounded." Zalben's review concluded with this recommendation:
"There's a reason Designated Survivor wasn't just the top pick
across all of our Editors' lists, but also on the list compiled from TVGuide.com
viewers' Watchlist adds: this is a show that delivers on its premise, feels
timely, and most importantly, is a ton of fun.
Selected and edited from Wikipedia
** **
2226
hours. I am surprised Wikipedia chose to include these snippets from first
reviews. I agree with them after viewing the opening without having any real
background on what the show was going to be about exactly. I thought it was
better to wait and see it first. I like the show and Wikipedia gives the
details as to why.
You are too lazy to write your own review? –
Amorella
2230
hours. My review would not be significant, but it is nice to see I follow these
critics lead; that I have not lost my ability to think critical when it comes
to the arts.
Speaking of which, last night you found your
Oliver Sacks’ Hallucinations in the trunk of the car and haven’t looked
at it since returning from Colorado. – Amorella
2234
hours. I’m in Chapter 8, page 141 according to my bookmark. I will return to
the beginning of the chapter to refresh myself, but not tonight. I’m still
somewhat burned out about the spiritual side of life. Nothing can ever be
proven about such matters.
If you could prove there is something to the
spiritual aspect that would be of interest? – Amorella
2239
hours. There is nothing to prove. The spiritual and science don’t mix in terms
of ‘scientific proof’. I am not interested in proof in that sense. I can accept
lack of verification on ‘consciousness’ after physical death. It is plausible
to me in terms of my earthly experiences. That’s enough. Faith is not ‘a reason’
[to me], not that there is anything wrong with people feeling faith is a reason.
There is in my mind something innately immoral in ‘speaking for G---D’ or ‘writing
in the name of G---D’.
You mean here that to you it is immoral for
you to speak or to write for G---D? – Amorella
2249
hours. It is.
Why would the thought ever enter your head,
boy? – Amorella
2251
hours. Well, it did once, back when I was twelve and joining the Westerville
First Presbyterian Church. I thought perhaps I should write hymns praising God.
I believed in Predestination and needed a spiritual goal. I could and cannot
sing but I still enjoy listening to hymns even as an agnostic. I like the sound
of hope and of a spiritual life, but that’s not preaching (as the hymns many times do). I don’t like dogma.
In this last decade of my life I lean towards Transcendental Existentialism in
conjunction with Unitarian Universalism briefly noted below.
** **
Unitarian Universalism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This
article is about the liberal religious movement. For the Christian theology
that includes a central belief in the unitary nature of God, see Unitarianism. For
the Christian theology that includes a central belief in universal
reconciliation, see Christian Universalism. For other uses of Unitarianism, see
Unitarian. For Universalism as a general philosophy, see Universalism.
Unitarian
Universalism is a liberal religion characterized
by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning”. The Unitarian
Universalist (UU) Church does not have a creed. Instead UUs are unified
by their shared search for spiritual growth. As such, UU congregations include
many agnostics, theists, and atheists among their membership. The roots of UU
are in liberal Christianity, specifically Unitarianism and Universalism.
Unitarian Universalists state that from these traditions comes a deep regard
for intellectual freedom and inclusive love, so that congregations and members
seek inspiration and derive insight from all major world religions.
The beliefs of individual Unitarian Universalists
range widely, including atheism, agnosticism, pantheism, deism, Judaism, Islam,
Christianity, neopaganism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Humanism and many more.
Selected and edited from Wikipedia
** **
2316
hours. I am spiritual content with the above.
2327 hours. I suppose this has become a personal spiritual blog but the intent was to show my notes in relationship to writing my books and the blog. It was originally for transparency, for authenticity in terms of my thoughts and my writings. It still is, however, I admit it has become more openly spiritual as of late. - rho
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