Each week Sepia Saturday bloggers are challenged to share photos based on a theme. This week’s photo shows a man surrounded by a bevy of beauties. I’m searching for photos with a man or woman outnumbered by members of the opposite sex.
Venice Beach, 1920s | Los Angeles Public Library
Washington, DC, 1921 | Library of Congress
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Place Unknown | Library of Congress, n.d.
Cast of Outnumbered
The most hilarious, smart sitcom I’ve seen in a long time is the BBC’s Outnumbered. Each week the parents Pete and Sue valiantly try to survive the chaos inherent in raising precocious children: Jake, Ben and Karen. The plots are loose and the dialog brilliant. Like Curb Your Enthusiasm, much of the dialog is improvised, which is probably why what the kids say seems so real, unlike the average show where the jokes are clearly written by 27 year olds and mouthed by 7 year olds.
I’ve just seen six episodes and the main thread is that the father, a secondary school history teacher, bumbles his way around the disaster he created by making a joke at the expense of one of his heavier students. Sue is a stay at home mom, who’s often overwhelmed, but never comes across as the nincompoop say the mom in Modern Family can be. Don’t ask me why. Maybe it’s because Sue’s smart kids often do have a good point when they argue, whereas the Modern Family kids are clearly reading from a script.
A few realistic, serious problems are woven into the series. Pete’s worried that Jake is a victim of bullying. The issue’s handled better than it would be on many sitcoms. Like in real life, Pete tries to open lines of communication, Jake denies there’s a problem. Then at the end of an episode, once you believe Jake, you see him washing his hands and his forearms are badly bruised. Another issue is caring for an elderly parent in decline. Sue has been the local go-to person for her father while her sister galavants. The sister returns and the relationship is rocky. Sue’s glad for the relief, yet has to hide her jealousy that Angela, her sister succeeds with the father – at first. So as in real life competing feelings exist in one person.
The dialog is brilliant. Take a look:
[youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRhIZCDk0Eo%5DKaren with a nurse
Image via Wikipedia
Image via Wikipedia
Here’s a new meme: I Saw Sunday
So, what did you see this week?
One thing or a whole list! – Words or photos or both!
Share it here with us.
The Rules
1. Write your post on your blog and include a link back to I Saw Sunday.
2. Leave the link to your post in the Mr Linky widget so we can find you.
3. Leave a comment after linking so that I know you have been here.
4. Please be sure to visit the other participants and share what they saw.
Yesterday I accompanied a friend on her errands. It’s interesting to see how different people shop. We went to Wild Birds Unlimited, a shop that sells bird feeders, bird feed, and whatever people need to care for wild birds or animals like squirrels. I just couldn’t get over the fact that a business focused on this niche could survive. It was quite cool to chat with the staff because they really know their birds. I love to see people pursuing their passion through their work.
We also went to the Chalet Nursery, which I’ve driven past all my life, but never went it. Here we picked up dog food, but not just any dog food, gourmet dog food. Clearly, I’m very sheltered because I had no idea that you can now buy duck, salmon, sweet potato and such flavors in dog food.
I’ve also discovered and am enjoying the BBC production of Wives and Daughters (1999) based on the Elizabeth Gaskell novel. I do love these period pieces. It’s a sophisticated Cinderella story in which the stepmother isn’t evil, nor is the stepsister, but life does get harder for young Molly Gibson when her father remarries. I can’t believe I hadn’t heard anything about Elizabeth Gaskell till last year.
Image via Wikipedia
Also I’ve caught a few episodes of Outnumbered, a British sitcom about a family with three young kids and two parents struggling to keep up with their children’s personalities. It’s spot on about the sort of thinking children engage in and the futility of using reason as a parent. Dry humor abounds. It outclasses the likes of The Middle or the ho hum Modern Family.
“Slow down and take the time to really see. Take a moment to see what is going on around you right now, right where you are. You may be missing something wonderful.”
– J. Michael Thomas
