FanFare

Semifinal 2 of the 2017 contest begins Thursday, May 11th, at 2100 CEST / 3:00pm Eastern, with results announced ~2 hours later. Most of the world can watch via the main Eurovision YouTube channel. Fans located in the US, Canada, and Brazil have to deal with geoblocking. Use a VPN with endpoints outside the US to access the stream on YouTube, or use the delightfully Swedish feed from SVT. [more inside]
posted by zebra on May 10, 2017 - 172 comments

An aging actress faces uncomfortable self-reflection as she prepares to star in a revival of the play that launched her career — but this time as the older member of the central couple. [more inside]
posted by fleacircus on Feb 28, 2017 - 3 comments

It's time for the next round of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest! Semifinal 2 begins at 2100 CET / 3pm Eastern / 12pm Pacific. As before, the live stream will be available via the Eurovision website. Viewers located outside the US can also watch via YouTube. Thanks to LOGO TV's contract to broadcast Saturday's Grand Final, the semifinal rounds are not available to viewers in the US via YouTube, and the Eurovision.tv stream is relatively low quality. One freely available (no VPNs necessary!) and high-quality source is the Swedish broadcaster, SVT. This is probably the correct link for today's stream. In case it's not, check the SVT Play home page. [more inside]
posted by zebra on May 12, 2016 - 11 comments

This week....Hillary Clinton apologizes for remarks made about Nancy Reagan on the occaision of her death. Trump rallies erupt in violence, but he claims (despite multiple recorded examples) not to have encouraged it. International Women's Day is observed, sometimes oddly, throughout the world. Swiss president Johann Schneider-Ammann commemorates the Day of the Sick with a weird speech. And Now: Everybody Listen, Bernie Sanders Has Something to Say. Main story: Software encryption (18m), especially relevant concerning Apple's current court case. LWT made a commercial on behalf of Apple about the nature of software security. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Mar 14, 2016 - 10 comments

The green light is given, and Esterhase's team moves in on Grigoriev. Will he help them unlock Karla's secret? Can George finally bring down his nemesis and redeem his career, his Western values, his very being? This is George Smiley's last chapter. [more inside]
posted by carsonb on May 15, 2015 - 3 comments

George Smiley finally has the whole story, and now must work to put a plan in place. Circus Chief Saul Enderby takes Maude for a spin around the "garden," earning his cold shoulder from Part 4 and blessing him with his totally-deniable approval of the plan to snare Karla (as well as free access to the Reptile Fund). Commence file-digging with Peter Guillam, target-shadowing with Toby Esterhase, and totally ignoring Oliver Lacon at dinner. [more inside]
posted by carsonb on May 7, 2015 - 6 comments