this isn’t the first time i’ve blogged about conversations on real time with bill maher. in spite of having regular (weekly, probably) disagreements with some of maher’s positions, it’s one of my favorite shows because of the blend of maher’s humor and the show’s candid conversations.

if you’ve never seen hbo’s boardwalk empire, some have described it as the sopranos set during prohibition. while that might be an overly simple description, it does offer a bit of insight into the nature of the show: gangsters, deceit, betrayal and violence all executed perfectly by a brilliant script, visionary directors and an inspired cast.

while the entire season (the show’s second) has been a good one, this past sunday’s episode was particularly powerful. a lot of major plot twists and character insights were contained in this episode, but it was a simple dialogue that most caught my attention.

several days ago, hbo premiered the sundance festival grand jury prize-winning documentary, how to die in oregon. the film documents the journey of several people towards physician-assisted suicides in oregon, the only state—as of 2004—where it is legal.

as a fan of documentaries in general and as someone who finds this topic particularly engaging, i eagerly anticipated its premiere. while it isn’t necessarily the best documentary i’ve seen (though it’s very good), it certainly compelled me to spend plenty of time contemplating what i watched and wrestling with the issue of euthanasia more than i have in quite some time.

welp, big love is over. after 5 years of living with our surrogate polygamist family, the henricksons, our journey has come to an end.

[this is the part you knew if you haven't watched the finale, so if you'd like to stick to only things you knew if you haven't watched it, you'll probably wanna stop reading here.]

it’s no secret to long-time blog readers that i love big love. rarely is there a show that completely engrosses me like it (the only other show that does that for me is breaking bad). throughout the last 4 seasons, i’ve felt like a part of the henrickson family (which isn’t always a good thing…) as i’ve watched with growing anticipation.

it’s no secret to long-time blog readers that i love big love. rarely is there a show that completely engrosses me like it (the only other show that does that for me is breaking bad). throughout the last 4 seasons, i’ve felt like a part of the henrickson family (which isn’t always a good thing…) as i’ve watched with growing anticipation.