I would've liked something like a Patrick Bateman type. He managed to convey some of the actual emotions that you would expect out of a sociopath (greed, envy, narcissism) without any of the sympathetic/empathetic ones. And his deadpan assessments make for great one liners. Dexter has his moments, hell even when he's being awkward I don't feel like he's betraying his character per se, he just doesn't know how to appropriately respond to social situations so he fumbles his way through them in his attempt to appear normal.

It's the showing empathy and caring about people thing that runs completely counter to his being "empty", as he puts it

The show is 'sociopathy' that is consumable for the masses, the irony being that the masses could never swallow actual sociopathy. Revulsion would be the likely reaction instead

Channel 4, Tuesday 19th January, 11pm.

'The Manchester Pusher': Relatives of canal death victims raise claims of serial killer in TV documentary - Manchester Evening News

Documentary about the alleged serial killer in Greater Manchester on the loose, The Pusher/The Canal Killer/The River Ripper. 85 dead bodies found in canals since 2008.

War and Peace

BBC iPlayer - War and Peace - Episode 1

Had my doubts about this, but the BBC have done a pretty good job adapting the classic Tolstoy novel to film. Well worth a watch.

Are entire scenes done in French?

Afraid not.

I'm re-watching Cowboy Bebop

http://38.media.tumblr.com/b722787ab...y868o1_500.gif

This must be a very long winded mini-series, the book is a million pages.

Back to Jessica Jones for a moment since it was brought up at the Critics Choice Awards:

You're watching it, or have watched it, right?

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/me...jpg?1447908336

Six episodes, I think. One hour each.

The Brain With David Eagleman

Series in which Dr David Eagleman takes viewers on an extraordinary journey that explores how the brain, locked in silence and darkness without direct access to the world, conjures up the rich and beautiful world we all take for granted.

This episode begins with the astonishing fact that this technicolour multi-sensory experience we are having is a convincing illusion conjured up for us by our brains.

In the outside world there is no colour, no sound, no smell. These are all constructions of the brain. Instead, there is electromagnetic radiation, air compression waves and aromatic molecules, all of which are interpreted by the brain as colour, sound and smell.

We meet a man who is blind despite the fact that he has eyes that can see. His story reveals that it's the brain that sees, not the eyes. A woman with schizophrenia, whose psychotic episodes were her reality, emphasises the fact that whatever our brains tell us is out there, we believe it.

Visual illusions are reminders that what's important to the brain is not being faithful to 'reality', but enabling us to perceive just enough so that we can navigate successfully through it. The brain leaves a lot out of its beautiful rendition of the physical world, a fact that Dr Eagleman reveals using experiments and street demonstrations.

Each one of our brains is different, and so is the reality it produces. What is reality? It's whatever your brain tells you it is.

BBC iPlayer - The Brain with David Eagleman - 1. What Is Reality?

A programme examining how the reality we each perceive is different and naught but a mental construct. Maybe those pesky Taoists and Buddhists were onto something all along... ;) Excellent show.





Bryan Pern: 45 Years of Prog and Roll: Episode 1

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...roll-episode-1

New series of the mockumentary about the ageing rockstar. Very funny. I bet a lot of musicians are like this. I'm sure the character is based on Peter Gabriel.