"Not since the medieval church baptized, as it were, Aristotle as some sort of early --very early-- church father has there been an intellectual hijacking as audacious as the attempt to present America's principal founders as devout Christians. Such an attempt is now in high gear among people who argue that the founders were kindred spirits with today's evangelicals, and that they founded a 'Christian nation.'" George F. Will, New York Times Book Review 10/22/06 (Review of
Moral Minority: Our Skeptical Founding Fathers, By Brooke Allen
posted by Lisa #
1:26 PM |
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Wow, I always wondered if there existed a site like this. A good friend of mine is looking for a therapist. There are like ten thousand therapists out there and about ten good ones, so I went online to see if I could help him find one. I've always advised people to get a recommendation from another patient (NOT one of the therapist's orofessional colleagues)and wondered if there was a site that provided "reviews" of therapists, like they have for professors. I just found the site! I haven't fully pondered the implications yet, like the potential for slander and unhealthy airing of issues. But it seems at first glance that the pros outweight the cons. So, go check it out and
rate your shrink!
posted by Lisa #
8:01 AM |
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The most lethal British export since mad cow disease is the prime time soap opera
Bad Girls, now available in the U.S. through Netflix and BBC America, about a fictional women's prison called Larkhall.
Bad Girls is deadly, a prion that has tunneled into my brain and turned it into mushy peas. But unlike BSE sufferers,
Bad Girls victims are guaranteed to die happy. In spite of the potentially campy and sensationalist subject matter,
Bad Girls takes on drugs, bullies, phone sex, incest, and clandestine affairs between employees and inmates with humor and originality. The plots are gripping, and the dialogue is, for the most part, believable. When it's not, it's saved by the committed, dead-on performances of the cast, many of whom will be familiar to U.S. audiences from appearances on other British tv series like
Prime Suspect and
Coronation Street.
I'm in the middle of Season Two, and my favorite Bad Girls (and Boys) include the outrageous, sadistic, but oddly loveable and hilarious bully (Debra Stephenson); her devoted sidekick and love slave, Denny Blood; her other love slave, corrupt prison guard Jim Fenner.
But the best reason to watch the show is for the steamy, unlikely love affair (see photo, above) between prison warden Helen Stewart (Simone Lahbib) and convicted killer Nikki Wade (Mandana Jones). The depiction of the relationship between the straight Wing Governor and lesbian inmate is nuanced, suspenseful, and romantically old-school. Supposedly, Lahbib (right) was worried about playing the part, not so much because of its potential impact on her career, but for what her grandmother might think. She has said in interviews that her granny said it was okay, as long as she didn't enjoy it. I hope her gran doesn't have a tv.
posted by Lisa #
7:06 AM |
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