I just found out recently that Matthew Weiner is my friend's cousin!

The episode where he becomes Head of Television, wasn't that pushed partially by his wife, by him trying to stand up for himself amongst the herd? Which is a sentiment that I can appreciate, and I like that he's seeing where things are going.

His wife wanted him to ask for a raise, IIRC. Instead he got himself a huge new job and hardly any more money (he did get some eventually, right?).

I wish this were the kind of show where you could assume that the new guy wouldn't do a very good job and would lean on Joan, so then her contributions would be recognized and she'd get a shiny new job herself, but it's not. And actually, I bet Joan would rather be in charge of the girls like she is, instead of a junior whatever the new guy.

All of a sudden, especially with the promotion/creation of the head of television, he's moved away from the Kenny/Paul/Pete group and closer to the strata of Roger/Don/Duck.

Although not that close -- I thought it was funny when Roger was telling Harry he could hire a new guy, he said the new guy would have to share an office. Harry still shares an office!

Somewhat relatedly, I thought it was great that Peggy is her own fake secretary. No one at her level has a secretary answering the phone, do they?

Oh, yeah, I loved that detail!

wandering in the middle of the "Mad Men" discussion, which I still need to see, dammit

Anybody watching Sons of Anarchy?

I'm watching SOA. I read Juliana's take on it before I saw it, and I'm surprised by how much Hamlet there is in it

I'm waiting for Clay to lean over to Jax's ear and whisper "I killed Mufasa".

Over at TWOP some folks are suggesting that Jax is a cop. But, how could he be a cop?

he doesn't have to be a cop to be an informant.

I'm totally watching, and I have M watching, too. He loves it because it's decently close to life, and I love it for that and the Hamlet parallels. We've actually argued about that, because he thinks the Hamlet's pulling the story away from reality, and I don't care, because it's not a bloody documentary.

Like I said, I'd love it if it turned out that neither Clay nor Gemma killed John (Jax's dad), but I doubt that'll happen.

There's no way Jax is a cop or an informant, not right now. This is partially real life talking, but he had absolutely no reason to question the club, even during or after prison. That's just something you do - you saw the wall with the mug shots? It's a point of pride - well, usually. (Poor Opie. M theorizes that he'll be dead soon. I think he's more likely to turn informant. And then maybe die. Laertes, anyone?) You protect the club, at all costs. He was raised in that, he believes in that, there's no way he would have turned prior to finding John's stuff.

Another unspoiled speculation: what if Jax is really Clay's son?

Fabulicious set of Mad Men illustrations (wallpapers for each episode, with a link to prints and suchlike): [link]

Those are absolutely wonderful.

Love the London Calling shoutout with Betty!

Remember, Betty, anger can be power if you know how to use it.

Me, too! I like the Cooper Rothko one a lot, too. The comments pointed out that there's an Ayn Rand book in it that escaped my attention at first.

Love the London Calling shoutout with Betty!

I know! So perfect on so many levels.

"What'll it be, Daddy" is hilarious!