Why work, if I can do a post on tv shows I like?

Not that there is so much work to be done, mind you. And playing mahjong is for afternoons, when my intellectual capacities are at their lowest.

So, I finished watching Six Feet Under the day before yesterday. In spite of not being especially prone to shedding tears at the drop of a hat, I did cry all through the end of the last episode. Not because it was all over (although I guess that, too, played a part), but because I bloody *love* that show and the way it ended.
Now that tears have given way to analytical thought, I'm of course asking myself why I like it so much -- not in an "ooooh nice" way, like e.g. How I Met Your Mother, but in a "it touches me and gets under my skin" way.
The answer is rather simple. It's the characters of course. It's the way they're all complex, many-layered and totally fucked-up, and that goes for every single of them, whether major or minor character. They come from different ethnic, social and political backgrounds. They're 100% real people and -- kudos to the script writers -- there is nary a flaw in any of the characterizations.
I briefly had the feeling, during the first season, that there was a point where the writers (or whoever) decided that Billy, Brenda's brother and alter ego, needed more edge to him, so they made him mentally ill instead of just quirky and eccentric. That did feel a bit contrived, but only in that one episode; afterwards it was done so well that it felt quite organic, and of course it enriched the plot immensely.
It's difficult to say -- not that I have to decide, but anyway -- which of the main characters I like most. Ruth Fisher and David&Keith are tied for first place, I suppose.
David and Keith and the way they evolve as a couple -- it's just breathtaking. There's no doubt that these two love each other, but the way their relationship goes makes is crystal clear that love is not enough. They both have to work on a variety of issues, their own as well as couple issues, and they have to understand how their respective pasts constantly influence the relationship. Keith's violence issues are as difficult to overcome as David's insecurity issues, and there's infidelity, and despair, and not-quite-successful couple therapy, and the wish to have kids... Even though one might argue that maybe a bit too much is happening to these two guys -- and yes, David being car-jacked perhaps wasn't strictly necessary -- it still is a deeply moving and very realistic story of a gay couple learning how to be a couple while facing all the difficulties gay couples are unfortunately still facing.
Ruth on the other hand is this traditional housewife, the stay-at-home mum of three, the compulsive caregiver and all-accepting female with the well-hidden, deeply-buried rebellious streak; what makes her so endearing -- to me of course -- are her attempts at breaking free of her past, of her clichés and rules, which always bring her back to square one, i.e. some man who becomes the centre of her existence only to disappoint her. But every time she picks herself up and tries anew. She gets hurt so often (mostly because she's unable to recognize the pattern she's following), but she doesn't turn bitter or close herself off; she chooses to remain vulnerable but open and hopeful.
Nate is... well, difficult for me to like, because he's really a bit of an arsehole. That's a rather simplistic characterization, I know. He's pretty selfish and immature, though. He's the one character who always fucks things up but doesn't realize what he's doing, because he's of course right and the other person is wrong, and in hindsight he understands what he did and that there's no way he can change it, and then he's whining because he fucked it up. (Yes, he reminds me a bit of my brother, much though I love *him*)

Coming to the end of this not overly analytic analysis, I love the show because it tells me a long, complex, interesting and emotional story. I love being told stories, wheher it's a book, a movie or a tv show. I love becoming acquainted with the characters and their problems.
I'm *so* going to rewatch this and discover it all over again.

Cat-free picspam, just this once

Taken last Friday, before we all got completely smashed on spiced wine. The dog belongs to Monika (she's the one holding it), one of our local staff. It's about the same size and weight as Lucius, i.e. not quite four kilos. Gerald says it's a "Katzenhund", i.e. feline dog. I can't say that I disagree...

Sorry for spamming, but I need to vent

The ministry has been bugging us, i.e. all the embassies, for almost two years with requests for ideas for budget cuts and possibilities to save money.
We delivered, we saved as much money as possible, we did of course understand that everybody has to do their bit. We grudgingly accepted that the local staff's salary can't be increased this year, because there isn't enough budget.
OK. So far, so good.
You know what these fucktards did at the end of the year, when there was obviously too much money left?
They went and bought 24'' LED monitors for every single person working at every single Embassy, i.e. roughly ONE THOUSAND. They cost € 150 apiece, which means that they spent at least € 150.000 -- unless of course they bought them for headquarters, too -- on a lark, when we'd just got new flat screen monitors in 2008/9, which were still in perfect working order and would probably have remained that way for another five years or more.
This is such a waste of money, and it makes me effing FURIOUS!!!!