Augustus

Whoever asked about the opioid dosage upthread... I find it difficult to believe Alex was taking 1000mg of oxy (or fentanyl equivalent) per day. Yes, over time one's tolerance increases, and can increase to pretty insane amounts relative to a non-opioid tolerant individual. But 1000mg a day is beyond insane. I just don't see how anyone's central nervous system could withstand that, nor do I understand how anyone's digestive tract could handle that. I'm sure he was popping a lot of pills. I'm sure it was a staggering amount, if he was using oxy for 20 years. But I also can't help wonder if his opioid use was so ridiculously overblown that he was ignorant of just how much of that stuff one human being can take.

They just won't swing at that breaking pitch. It must be hypnotic

Two wicked fucking benders there

Your pitchers hate that dude.

Watched The Good Shepherd. I think it was my 3rd watch, and I enjoyed it as much as before. Roger Ebert was my go-to for film reviews (as Alan Sepinwall is for tv series), and although his perception of some films' quality differed from mine on occasion, this was one of only two instances when I thought he was flat-out wrong--the other being A Few Good Men. It seemed as if he was expecting/wanting some kind of John LeCarre spy thriller, versus a more realistic look at the CIA's origin/history (even with the Bay of Pigs subplot involving Edward's son). I think anybody who's interested in James Angleton or the other important figures in the OSS-to-CIA progression would find this movie interesting, and I always enjoy films with an understated tone, which this one certainly has. I was really surprised it got the mixed reviews it did, as I thoroughly enjoy it. The Bonesmen's history in the intelligence community (and govt as a whole) is interesting, too. There have always been a lot of conspiracy theories involving these Yale grads and their secret society, but when you read through the names on their alumni list, it's not hard to see why conspiracy-minded people would go crazy with that material to work with.

I think I'd watch 2 episodes, then re-watch them. You should also be able to find some threads discussing the show during its original run. It'd be worth following the discussion, as you're sure to pick up stuff that other people noticed but you did not.

They did a good job giving Marty some dumbass moments without the character being a dumbass. He was a good detective--he's the one who made the connection with green paint on the house--but not very well rounded, culturally. "I just want you to stop saying odd shit, like you can smell a psycho's fear..." In another scene, Rust refers to us as sentient meat. Later on, Marty asks in a by-the-way remark, "What's scented meat?" If for any reason you haven't re-watched this series, then do so. It's fantastic the first time, but in subsequent viewings you'll pick up shit you couldn't have known to pay attention to the first time, and it's even better. On second thought, you buy me a beer.

Damn, I felt awful there for a moment. I suppose I should've spoilered it anyway, as there are surely folks who haven't seen it yet, for one reason or another.

I've never really cared for the judges pontificating at length as a guy stands there pissing down his leg wondering how long he's going away for, but this judges comments prior to passing sentence were pretty moving.

The cousin is claiming that Alex was acting like he was gonna shoot himself, so Eddie grabbed for the gun and it went off, grazing Alex's head. This is just Cousin Eddie denying that he shot at anybody. Alex is claiming he hired Eddie to kill him so Buster could inherit 10 million from his life insurance policy. I'm just wondering if they're both lying--Eddie for obvious reasons, he doesn't want to go to jail for actually shooting at someone, and actually nearly killing Alex with a head shot. Alex, I believe, is lying because I suspect his real motive was just to make himself look like a target of the same "killers" who took out Paul and Maggie. I suppose it's possible Alex might've wanted to commit suicide but he strikes me as too narcissistic for self harm. If I'm right about Alex's real motive, I'd have loved to have heard the conversation between Alex and Eddie after the bullet fractured his skull. "You inbred hillbilly IDIOT YOU ACTUALLY FUCKING SHOT ME."

Are we 100% sure the plan was for cousin Eddie to kill him? I'm wondering if the plan was just for Cousin Eddie to shoot "near" him to make it appear as if someone was trying to kill Alex, too, but the shooter screwed up and accidentally grazed his head.

Did the judge order Life without Parole or just Life? Consecutive or concurrent?

He's headed to Shawshank. Had a chance at Club Fed if it was just the financial crimes. Not anymore.

I wasn't feeling sure about how this case was gonna go, but once that other prosecutor dude did his closing rebuttal, that's when I posted that this verdict would happen quickly. I saw a lot of comments here and on twitter/etc that were very critical of his performance, and then a lot of comments that were the opposite. Whether you like him or not, his method was 100% effective with the jury, and more than anybody else in this case, he's the one who made it seem so obvious nobody else on earth could've killed Paul and Maggie. His whole closing argument was one long segment of "C'mon, man!"

I'm an alcoholic who also got addicted to opioids back in the early 00's and wound up on methadone for 7 years, which I discovered went really, really well when combined with booze and cocaine. My point is, even a severe opioid addiction doesn't turn someone into a sociopath who murders his own child and the child's mom. Lots of addicts steal to support their habits. But if you steal $9 million from your law firm and even more than that from clients who have been wronged/injured, and blow your son's head off with a shotgun and then gun down your wife, it's not because you're an addict. It's because your a full blown psychopath whose schemes aren't working anymore. The opioid addiction was used as gigantic straw man in this case.

I'm literally laughing at this Fire and Brimstone preacher of a prosecutor. This dude ought to get an award for theatrics.

Are we talking about the same guy? The guy on right now? Dude, he's burying Murdaugh so far under the jail he can smell fried rice.

Finally a competent dude who's talented at talking to the jury. This guy is good at what he's doing.

Yes, it's true. Removed because of conversations about case. The juror offered her opinion about the evidence so far with an "outsider" and an alternate juror.

Holy shit. So they could've shown that Maggie's phone was traveling down the road the exact same time as Alex's phone if they'd just extracted the data earlier, or turned off the location services? How tf do you make that mistake?

If I had to wager I'd bet they convict rather quickly.

Just finished my third time through the series. My God, Rust's story in the wheelchair outside the hospital, about the darkness and his daughter and father... Got a lump in my throat, watery eyes. That may have been MM's finest moment as an actor, and he's had some incredible moments. I honestly have no idea what's the basis for anyone's dissatisfaction with the ending. Rust was sounding like a nutjob conspiracy theorist with his suspicion that there was a cabal of murderous pedophiles in high ranking positions in Louisiana, and of course we learned he's 100% correct. Grandpa Tuttle created who knows how many monsters abusing his own children and (bastard) grandchildren, and somehow managed to meet up with some like-minded psychopathic pedophiles, some of whom we saw in the Marie Fontenot video. Rust gets vindicated by a story that goes national, and Errol Childress gets his head blown off. If the Yellow King/Carcosa stuff is what you're talking about, I can't imagine what you were expecting/hoping for. That was obviously the mythology of the freaks behind the serial child rapes/murders, and really, what else could it've been. I can't figure what you were hoping to learn or see. I thought the ending was powerful and wholly satisfactory, which doesn't happen often.

When Anna Torv appeared on Mindhunter, I thought for sure that was Carrie Coon.

Can you imagine how easy it was to get away with shit like this in the days before OnStar and cell phones? Holy shit.

Additionally, even leaving aside the stuff that implicates him, the idea that someone else could've pulled it off in such a narrow time frame, apparently using the Murdaughs' guns (I'm still not sure whether that's been demonstrated conclusively or it's just a preponderance of the evidence type deal), seems really unlikely. How long was Alex actually gone from the property when he went to his mom's house? I think I heard he was at his mother's for about 20 min. Don't know how long a drive it was there and back. It just seems a stretch to me that someone showed up at the property, procured the weapons and caught Paul and Maggie at the kennels, killed them, stole just Maggie's phone, not Paul's, and then tossed it out the window as they traveled the same route as Alex to his mom's house. If it really was the Murdaughs' guns, then of all the stupid shit he did, that would be near the top. Not getting rid of both phones was another one. Having not a drop of blood on him when the first responders arrived was another miscalculation, especially if you're claiming you touched the bodies. For a smart guy, he clearly panicked.