Currently watching on Netflix

Quote from Rice

Good point. Jack Taylor isn't a good bedtime story.

We also ran across Llámame Francisco, a mini series about the current Pope's earlier days in Argentina. We liked it, but suspect that the rosy tone will not be popular with people in this country who dislike him as a Peronist.

Low budget for Jack Taylor - they can't even afford to buy him a razor to shave with (plenty of money for pints in pubs, though).

What bothers many about Francisco is that he displays his biases so openly - there was no reason for the public snubs of Macri - who was elected by the Argentine people and deserves respect for that, regardless of Francisco's personal feelings.

He may be a man of the people (certain people more than others) but overall, he seems like a very petty person.

Quote from serafina

How do you explain Peronism in short to a foreigner?

Peronists can't explain Peronism to themselves.

Quote from Rice

Argentine friends who do not like the Pope say it is because he is very political, rather than remaining a religious leader who should not take sides, politically. But is this possible? Note the 2000 years' succession of popes who are easily classified as conservative or liberal. Is today any different?

Sure, it’s possible. All he has to do is keep his political thoughts to himself and stick to “moral teachings.” You know history well enough to understand that a 2000-year pope roster is meaningless: for most of that time they were, in fact, political princes first - with armies and large families! No comparison to a modern, figurehead, pope can realistically be made.

In the opinions of many Argentines, as you allude, Francisco should stop talking like an aged montonero and stick to his homilies. Labels like “liberal” or “conservative” have meaning either politically or religiously, but they are not the same meanings.

Quote from Rice

For me, this pope's emphasis on the importance of helping the poor rather than concentrating on selfish monetary pursuits is his most important message. And I approve of the way he has stood behind those words by eschewing the temporal riches of the office of Pope as a head of state.

As a non-religious person I’ve respected him for that from the first - he doesn’t wear those ridiculous hats, and that alone gets him lots of points. The one thing, though, doesn’t impact the other: his approval of political acts seems to be a simple-minded red/green scale of “does this directly take money or goods from the rich and gift it to the poor?” instead of “does this affect the economy in a way that will provide ways for the poor to improve their lot?”

Textbook Marxist thinking.

Not on Netflix but, in recent sleepless nights, I've been going through Stanley Kubrick's complete oeuvre.

Just started a new French series, “La Mante” (The Mantis). First episode is a definite Wow!

Then we started an extremely quirky semi-documentary, “Wormwood.” It’s the true story of the CIA’s illegal dosing of unwitting victims with LSD, thinking it was a truth drug.

Don’t know if they’re viewable in Argentina.

Update - La Mante 10/01/18:

One episode to go, and the tension is almost unbearable. We only watch one per night because it's so intense, and that's unusual. Highly recommended for everything: plot, acting, pacing, everything!