As we’ve established, literally today, David has no real sense of pop culture beyond what, like, a dog might be able to ascertain from loafing on the couch while a kid plays Roblox and listens to Olivia Rodrigo or whatever.
Thankfully, he’s found a “friend” and his “friend” makes him watch television. Her taste in television is quite good and has led David to watch shows like the quietly humane “Somebody, Somewhere” on HBO.
While none of my references to The Simpsons will ever land, I can at least make a Ted Lasso joke from time-to-time. I’d kind of assumed most of these shows would be in that sort of streaming, prestige-adjacent dramedy vibe. Nope, David’s “friend” got him to watch a reality show.
This came up because we were talking about that stupid column in The Telegraph and that’s a British newspaper, so David shared this:
[David Tracy Note: Oh man, I gotta remember that what I say in Slack can make it to the front page. Anyway, I don’t actually hate the entirety of the British media, I just think it can be pretty ruthless, which I don’t love. Also the documentary on the Beckhams does, as you might predict, make them seem like good folks. That’s what self-produced documentaries do (see The Last Dance). In any case, I was a Beckham fan before watching this, and I admire him for the imperfect person he is.
Also, I have no clue about Ted Lasso, but my “Friend” watches it, so maybe I’ll get a reference eventually? -DT].
This was a surprise to me. Also that David Tracy, a man who seems distrustful of people who own more than three towels, suddenly is on the side of David Beckham and Posh Spice? It’s wild.
[Mercedes Note: I should clarify my statement. Like David, I also don’t dislike the entirety of British media. I have sourced and will continue to source stellar journalism from the BBC, the Guardian, and other high-quality outfits. There are lots of great journalists doing hard work out there. As for Rowling, well, it’s a shame what she likes to say about people like me… – MS]
Does David get references to “Parks & Rec”? I didn’t ask. Here’s a highlight reel of John Ralphio, the best character from the show:
Also, here’s one thing that most of the staff has in common: We do not like Harry Potter. If there are Muggles out there, no judgement, but I also do not like the Harry Potter series of books and the fact that the writer’s an asshole makes me feel better about my opinions.
[David Tracy Note: Speak for yourself! I DIG Harry Potter. -DT].
Man, a “Discworld” reference! Extremely Thomas.
I heard it said once that Rowling does whimsy very well and everything else rather poorly. I think that’s why I noped out of the series around the fifth book when it declared war on whimsical and tried to be a “serious” fantasy series. Not coincidentally that’s also when the length of the books approximately tripled. My guess has always been that that’s when the series blew up and Rowling had the power to just ignore her editor and word vomit all over the page.
Reality tv is all dumb and bad, yet I find myself occasionally watching it anyway because it doesn’t ask much of me either. It’s the perfect thing to have on while you’re making dinner, especially if it’s one of the cooking reality shows. 😉
The king is dead, long live the king! I applaud David’s transformation. But what’s next? Socially acceptable clothes? Furnished living? God help us all… The amount of rust on this site has reached a critical level, and as we’re running a risk of being a shameful, rust-free publication, we need a new “old” David on the site asap.
The one where morons act moronic?
No way. I nailed it?
DT has gone straight from nothingness to reality TV? That doesn’t sit well with me. We need some kind of pop culture boot camp for him. Duct tape him to the couch for a few days, and show him the best Simpsons episodes. Also movies like The Blues Brothers, Smokey and the Bandit, Die Hard, True Lies, etc. He’s missed so much!
I made him watch The Blues Bros last time I was in LA!
No shit? Seriously? Has he been exposed to the Terminator yet? Or The Shining?His cultural ignorance level borders on being a legally chargeable neglect situation.
Good man!
Dave has turned into a… I don’t even know. His whole existence is click bait and I think LA has ruined him. I find these updates about him more depressing than anything else. I know that may be unpopular opinion, but Dave, don’t forget where you came from, these big city cats don’t will run you over and not look back.
Harry Potter is great, got a whole gen of kids reading, if people want to hate the author thats their choice, but lets not pretend it wasn’t a HUGE world wide phenom and did wonders to get kids reading. Now people want to get points for being “cool” and bash the shit out of it, but 10 years ago would have tried to stab you for saying anything bad about it.
Discworld is for teens/adults who can see the snark and understand the biting commentary on our societies. I love Terry and his death was a great loss to this world. Don’t forget to pick up “Good Omens” if you are a fan of Discworld or humorous writings.
Can I ask, as a member, why don’t you guys start doing articles about new cars? Most of the car-related or used car articles are great, but this is a news site, so it should have some NEW things sometimes. I have to read all the other sites to get industry news, then come here for, I guess the “reality show” aspect of the group here.
I think Mercedes is the only writer who does articles on new things, but she does them on not-cars, so it is great, but also not about cars….
TL;DR: “My favorite band sold out”
Check out Thomas’ reviews of new stuff – I really like how they’re geared (ha) toward us…not a huge Motorweek-style dirge about things we mostly already know b/c of how auto-dorky we are (e.g. no laborious descriptions of available trim options, etc.), but rather descriptions of their feel, driving dynamics, real-world experience on the kinda stuff we tend to care about. They definitely incorporate the mojo that makes Doug DeMuro’s analyses so enjoyable.
The Bronco Sport piece awhile back sticks in my mind as a great example of why Autopian new car reviews are fairly unique.
When they do them, I sure read them! Even for cars I have no interest in. It’s not a major issue imo or a huge complaint, just a request for a little more of those reviews is all. Not looking for Halo cars non-stop or things like that.
Reminder: David is a person who can change, like different things, and do things that aren’t catered specifically to your interests.
I for one am 100% supportive of David’s evolution. Not that it’s any of our voyeuristic business, but David is allowed to grow and change despite whether those changes appeal to us or not.
I believe a big part of the reason he moved was so that he could date. For whatever reasons it wasn’t happening in Detroit so he did a geographical cure and luckily it appears to have worked. David is one of the best people on earth and it was kind of a shame that he didn’t have any romance in his life. As a failed Lothario, I fully understand his desire for more out of life than entertaining fools like myself with stories of rusted folly. To put it deeply crudely in the worst men’s locker room kind of way, the guy just wanted to get laid. Can’t you understand that? I could not be happier for him that he has a friend (even if she drives a Lexus) and hope one day to feel deeply hurt that I wasn’t invited to his massive LA wedding.
I am happy he has done well and is evolving and all that, I’m not going to argue about any of what you said, it wasn’t a “I hate the new Dave”, it was more like “Wow, what a 360, this is happening fast” Usually people have a more gradual curve. Anyways, he is obviously free to do as he pleases. I am aware my take wasn’t going to be popular and I am okay with that.
I too DIG HP. It’s quite the shame that Rowling has such a profound blind spot, as she otherwise seems like a fairly compassionate person. I suspect that some day her ego will let her admit her error. Here’s hoping it’s sooner than later.
There was a podcast where she was interviewed (The Witch Hunts of JK Rowling) and she sounded like she wanted to give all trans people a big hug, but she still wants her own safe space, as she was physically abused by her husband and runs woman’s shelters. There are other thing she questions, but hearing her, she is still human, she is compassionate, and she cares.
We’re reading the books with our kids now, and one thing that really struck me was the abusive treatment of Harry by those damn Dursleys. It’s harsh, like “why is this in a kids book?” bad. This answers some of my questions.
It teaches kids compassion when they feel for the characters. I mean you can’t have happy happy joy joy in every book and nothing else. It is for you to decide if your child is ready for it. But good for being with them on the journey. A child learns to read better and faster when they are into the book. I mean 1 fish 2 fish red fish blue fish pluck out my eyes. I suggest a bookAndrew the big Deal by Margaret Kellogg ( I think Margaret) as a enjoyable kids book with less nuance.
She is extremely good at using her own personal tragedy as an excuse for her own tragic treatment of other people.
YES DISCWORLD!!!
I’m not a member so not sure I should be seeing this? But glad DT is getting some pop-culture. Also I like Harry Potter but the new stuff was junk, a lot of popular authors were/are fairly messed up, Lovecraft, Poe, Hemingway, Rowling, gotta separate the work from the creator, maybe it’s easier after they’re gone and don’t get royalties whenever you buy a Hufflepuff scarf.
The self-produced “documentary” trend is really awful. These things are worse than infomercials.
I wonder if forcing DT into modern technology instead of early shows and bringing him into modern is better? Who is this girl?
Between the books and movies I think I’ve tried to get through Harry Potter like 4 or 5 times, but I’ve never managed to finish. Somehow I always get distracted and forget I was in the middle of it. It should be right up my alley (I’m not going to embarrass myself by admitting how many times I read LotR as a kid) but HP just can’t keep my attention for some reason.
Fwiw, it’s because you read LotR that you can’t get into HP. The Potterverse is so blandly derivative of Tolkien, folk tales, and the fantasy genre in general that I’ve never been able to enjoy it, either. I’ve read lots of other fantasy fiction authors as well (Terry Goodkind, Anne McCaffrey, Lewis, George MacDonald, Neil Gaiman, etc.), and I know there’s “nothing new under the sun”, but JK Rowling is so unimaginative it’s just painful.
As big a fan as I am of the Dark Academia aesthetic, I found it hard to get past a few chapters of the first HP book where they got to the swarthy, clever, greedy banker goblins. Just too big a red flag for me to ignore. And the series goes downhill from there.
Discworld is fantastic, especially when they get to the Guards and Witches (and later Tiffany Aching) series. Though funny enough Small Gods was the first book I read, randomly picked up at the library.
Now I like Arry Potter and I was in my 40s when it came out. Not sure what JKs beliefs are. Who cares? Never meet your heroes. They will let you down.I know I get attacked here frequently by people who don’t know shit about me except my posts on specific topics. Think what people would think about you if thousands of people surrounded you 24 hours dug up everything you ever said or did questioned everyone you dated and no matter how wrong those people were or how awful what they said was believed as the truth and posted before you even knew about it? Noone would survive that investigation.
I know this was rhetorical, but here goes anyway: The people being harmed by her beliefs. Including, as mentioned in the article, one of the authors on this very site.
It’s fine if you still enjoy the books. It is possible to separate the art from the artist, but pretending it doesn’t matter what a hugely influential person who has a disproportionate amount of very young fans thinks about a group of people is myopic at best.
Not if you don’t let it. Heck get the book from the library so she doesn’t make any money. But to care about anything a person thinks I have to respect and admire them. I don’t know her so I don’t respect and admire her. If my pipes are leaking I only care how good a plumber you are, I don’t care about your politics life is to short and valuable to let some stranger control you.
Your plumber doesn’t have millions of followers on Twitter so this is not a good analogy.
I have never been on Twitter or most social media except Facebook and Craigslist. So I visit his and hers accounts the exact same amount of times. Just like TV if I don’t like the show I turn the channel I don’t yell at the TV.
Jean Ralphio was the best. I would despise someone like that in real life as my personality is much more Ron Swanson, but he is great for a laugh.
Also anti Harry Potter crew. Never clicked with me, no interest. No loss when the crazy came out.
I ama Ron Swanson man and fan. Also love Ann who is the most beautiful woman in the world.
I was hoping for something like The Expanse, Amazon’s Jack Reacher, or Foundation on Apple TV. Maybe the exceptional Chernobyl mini-series from HBO.
*Hmmm, just noticed Jared Harris is in The Expanse, Chernobyl, and Foundation…
The Expanse was solid gold TV, I miss the Belters
Knowing nothing about the author of harry potter, maybe the horrific british media formed your opinion? Also, knowing nothing about the beckhams, wouldn’t a doc they participated in make them out to be solid, upstanding humans? Speaking from blissful ignorance…
The author of Harry Potter isn’t fond of people like me. That’s putting it lightly!
We’re fond of you, JK can go pound sand!
Interesting, she doesn’t like smart, insightful people? Ohhhh, right…. Don’t put too much thought into what others think. One human cannot change the minds of the majority. Anger is just granting a stranger power over your thoughts :). I think you’re great! Author person from halfway around the world can get lost…
The Osbournes would like a word.
I am not sure if the Osbournes know just how awful their show makes them look.
JK Rowling formed my opinion of her with her own tweets, no British media required (although British media does a fine job of periodically reminding me of what a horrible person she has become).
There’s so much better stuff out there than Harry Potter, but so many of the fans found it at a particularly impressionable point in their lives and just…never left it? Like, I get being a fan of a book series. I have a Hitchhiker’s Guide tattoo. But I read other sci-fi and/or comedy without feeling the need to tie it back to that.
And, yeah, Discworld is WAAY better than HP.
I don’t believe how many people don’t get how the internet thrives on making people horrible. Sure some don’t need help. It is like our founding fathers who were pretty open minded for their days but racist in ours. Lincoln freed the slave but his own works said they were only 3/5 of a real person. Yes many had slaves, so did any people with money. It was wrong but that was the thinking and the people who are being attacked started the road to free the slaves whether black, Chinese, Irish, or just poor. This is where the saying a journey of a 1,000 miles begins with the first step.
Sure, we can look at the evolution of historical ethics like that, and we can also look at the literary contributions of, say, Lovecraft, who was even racist for his time, and even see how that racism informed his work.
But we can also see how fearmongering about trans people hurts trans people, cis people who do not appear as masculine/feminine as some expect, and people who otherwise fall outside expected gender norms. And it is not unreasonable to discourage people from platforming and enriching a person who spreads and embraces that fearmongering.
The internet thrives on conflict, sure, but she capitalizes on that. She’s not the victim here.
True but why must we insist and attack anyone who believes anything that isn’t 100% of what we believe? We need to attack any site that isn’t open on their believes and who supported them. But people are just too stupid to realize who is leading them.
Why must we attack people who believe differently? That’s a great question when it comes to a lot of things. Like asking why anyone would attack, say, trans people for having different expressions of gender than someone expects.
When it comes to defending trans people, that is because they are people put at risk by transphobia.
And I think you may have gotten a wire crossed somewhere. I don’t think anyone should be “attacked killed have their gits ripped out.” I just think that providing financial and verbal support for a transphobe deserves criticism. And that being a transphobe deserves even more criticism.
WHAT?
Okay all I have to say is I read the HARRY POTTER stories. I enjoyed them. I have no idea what JK Rowling is about. So what is the problem until you announce a problem and force an issue ? I still enjoyed reading that won’t change but you may lie about. What are you accomplished? I still love my friends, trans and straight. They may not get along but I am trying to get them to accept each other. But you spew hatred someone disagrees they need to be attacked killed have their gits ripped out. I think you are the asshole.
You can’t get people to agreeing you insist they agree with yo0ur narrow standards. Got to meet half way. Except the people like Hamas who need destroyed.