Franklin & Bash Review

Full Disclosure: I was given a free product or sample because I'm a Klout influencer. I was under no obligation to receive the sample or talk about this company. I get no additional benefits for talking about the product or company.

I was interested in this new series because I love cop/court room dramas. Chicago Code, The Closer, CSI the list is endless of these types of shows that I have watched an enjoyed. So I wanted to enjoy Franklin & Bash. The concept is fairly easy to get your head around. Two frat-boy types running a law office out of one of their apartments - the one who happens to have a rich father who owns a law firm but for whom the son does not want to work - he wants to make his own way in the world. 

They have two assistants working for them - one a female reformed ex-con (no backstory supplied) the other a male agrophobe. These also happen to form the "ethnic" diversity in the show along with another character who arrives later in the first episode. 

After successfully beating a larger law firm they are offered jobs at that law firm - by the founder of the firm - played by Malcolm McDowell. 

Franklin & Bash is billed as a comedy, but it is pretty low on laughs, it potentially could have been a court room drama except that it is low on drama - which is unfortunate in that it is airing on TNT - whose tagline is "We Know Drama" - given that it is low on both ingredients, it doesn't make it as a comedydrama either. 

The casting of Mark-Paul Gosselaar who is familar having bounced around other cop/law shows which have been cancelled like Raising the Bar and Rizzoli and Isles (the latter of which I was a big fan), was obviously meant to add some kind of credibility to the show as having a connection with the law. This very tenuous link fails miserably. The writing is poor at best, the casting ridiculous with Kumail Nanjiani cast as Pinder the agrophobic Indian playing every asian stereotype known (short of actually having him dial into the show from a call-center). 

The women in the show are there only as eye candy - very attractive but seriously, this is meant to be a law firm, ok a law firm in a comedy but these women have no substance at all except to apparently bolster the shockingly low self esteem of the two central characters. 

Both episodes end with the "boys" having won the day and having an enormous frat-boy party at their place, complete with bikini clad girls, hot tubs and various other frat-boy toys. 

I tried to like this show but its about as likeable as your racist aunt at Thanksgiving. There really isn't anything redeeming about it. What amazes me is that it will probably run for years. While shows like Chicago Code, Rizzoli and Isles and The Womens Murder Club with stronger casts and better writing are cancelled. One more sign of the dumbing down of TV.

Who doesn't like little green men at a meeting?

Taken with picplz at Contemporary Resort in Southwest Orange, FL.

Steve Jobs and the amazing Apple ego

I was finally convinced that buying an Apple product would be a good thing. That their service was excellent and that their product would be amazing. I was almost convinced, the iPad 2 would be the first Apple product I owned. My girlfriend recently became an iPhone user after years of Blackberry use. She was mostly pleased but suffered from several disappointments with the functionality of the phone. Perhaps her expectations were too high? Not really. The more exposure I get to Apple products the more convinced I am that their marketing is BS and that their products likely follow suit.

I called every Apple store in the Dallas area - none of them have the iPad 2. In fact I was told that the procedure was that I must line up at 9am at a store to discover whether or not they have product and if they do which variant of the product they have. I'm sorry? You launch a product, create a demand for it and then are unable to fulfill demand and then expect me to waste my time standing in line for it only to find you may or may not have the product and you won't tell me that until you open your doors - what is this Russia and breadlines?

I call BS on Apple and their marketing. Any company that is as advanced as Apple claims to be that can't predict sales on a second generation product and produce accordingly gives me grave doubts about their ability to service my needs as a customer. I don't care for the hipster "we are too cool for customer service" attitude. So no Mr Jobs I won't be buying any of your sterile white products designed for clones. I will instead buy a product from a company that has a reputation for being able to meet my needs as a consumer instead of requiring me to stroke your over sized ego.

 

Reason #132 for not following "Celebrities" on Twitter

Fact & Faith

It has been interesting to see the number of posts over the news that Astrology has been debunked and that the star sign people have long thought they were is now something different. What is especially interesting is that the science behind it is actually 2000 years old. Its just that the article that happened to appear recently discussing this capture the media's interest and so become a hot trend on Twitter, Facebook and plenty of other places.

This got me thinking, most belief systems, whether its a casual belief in astrology or a firmly held conviction in the Christian/Judeo/Islamic system have been debunked with hard fact, historical evidence etc. However people continue to hold to their beliefs, even in the face of evidence they will find a way of refuting it, usually by claiming that Faith does not require evidence and proof denies Faith. 

While I understand the need for belief in something, whether that is the ability of certain constellations to predict the day, week, month or year you are going to have. Or the belief in a supreme being who holds the answers to everything. It is a constant surprise to me that things that have been accepted knowledge for centuries that suddenly make the media cause such outpourings of emotion. 

Human beings have an innate need to believe - Voltaire said "If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him". I think this is an accurate view of most creation myths and Faith based explanations of the world. 

While I can certainly respect and in some cases admire those who have what appears to be an unshakable belief in something I wonder what will happen when those people are faced with more evidence that their belief system is debunked. On the one hand science is positioned to share knowledge and the results of research, however, from a psychological/sociological perspective is it right to remove the underpinnings of a large number of people's lives? Many people attend meetings of like minded believers, whether that is in the "Church" setting, a club or some other form. For many, the sense of oneness, of belonging is as important as the shared "Faith" that the meeting is held for. 

To remove or at least cast doubt upon the belief system of anyone group of people is a heavy burden and while some might take it lightly and find fun in the fact that science and history has now revealed that there are in fact 13 signs of the zodiac and whatever sign you thought you were has probably changed, for others this can cause a great deal of stress. 

Imagine the outcry amongst Christians if someone were to discover that in fact "God" was an elaborate ruse played by one tribe upon on another centuries ago and that it had all been a big joke that simply got out of hand? Of course this is an extreme example but you get the idea. Millions of people could and would have their lives severely impacted. Science and History reveal more about our past every day and yet those facts are published often more for the academic accreditation of the writer than with thought for the bigger implications. 

What is the answer? Should scientists and historians keep quiet when they have evidence to debunk a belief system or does the human condition grow with each revelation?

 

A Tweet to Start the Year - sent 01/01/11 at 01:01

And hopefully a portend of the Year to come!

Most popular Google Searches in 2010 - Facebook?

Honestly, I would have thought most people either knew how to find Facebook by now or knew what it was. I think they have a branding issue if the most popular search in 2010 on Google was for the word "Facebook".

My Year in @foursquare badges

Life's Little Ironies

Tomorrow is my girlfriends birthday. A day of celebration. She bemoans having a birthday so close to Christmas because often gifts she receives are dual and come wrapped in Christmas paper. I made sure not to do that. Tomorrow we'll celebrate her birth. Here is the irony, because life loves irony. Tomorrow is the second anniversary of the death of my Mother.
She would have loved the irony of that. That I would meet and fall in love with a woman born on the day she was slated to die. Fate? Maybe, coincidence? Possibly. Irony? Definitely.
So tomorrow i'll celebrate two lives. Both of which have influenced mine. Two women who never met, two women to whom I am connected. Two women worth celebrating. Happy Birthday Michelle. Happy Memorial Mum.

Jack Daniels Chocolate Pecan Pie Recipe

Lots of people asked me for my pie recipe so here it is: