The Derek Chauvin verdict is in...

[Nancy OShea]

I don't know what the verdict is because it hasn't been publicly read yet.  But I think it's a safe bet that it's not a hung jury -- they've deliberated for only 1 day.  Whichever way this case goes, I hope people don't resort to more violence. 

[John T Smith]

I will bet a dollar against the hole in a donut that there WILL be protests/violence tonight... and looting of stores

Added... https://www.foxnews.com/us/derek-chauvin-trial-verdict-jury-guilty and I still say there will be violence tonight

[Nancy OShea]

Let's hope not.  I've seen enough riots in Los Angeles to know it's a zero sum game for everyone.  Social reforms come when people join together peacefully and cooperatively, not when they angrily divide and destroy.

[John T Smith]

Some protests and violence in NYC and Portland OR (Portland has had almost nightly violence for about 11 months)

Now, I've seen articles that say that an appeal is possible due to politician's comments (Maxine Watters and Biden both made comments before the verdict)

I personally think the cop was WAY out of line with what he did, but I also think that public comments by politicians did not help matters

[Nancy OShea]

Of course Chauvin's attorneys will appeal.  That's what attorneys do!   But I think they'll go after prejudicial evidence that the judge allowed the jury to hear in the courtroom, not what politicians said in another city.

Did you see the Academy Awards last night?  Twitter's on fire about it...

[John T Smith]

>Academy Awards last night?

No... wife's computer died a few days ago (I built it in January, and it just stopped) and I'm still working to get everything installed and configured so she can use her new computer... replaced power supply and then motherboard and finally the Intel i7 CPU to get her back in operation... I've never before had a CPU stop working, so it took me awhile to figure out the problem... and then I had a problem with one of the video cables while getting her 2 monitors to work

So... not much time for TV for me for about a week... I did see an article that some people got into politics while on the stage

[Nancy OShea]

Last night's Academy Awards was controversial not just because of Covid but because the talent bar was extremely high.  A lot of well-deserved performances didn't win -- Glenn Close as Mamaw in Hillbilly Elegy, Viola Davis as Ma Rainey, Andra Day as Billie Holiday and the clear favorite for Best actor, the late Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom).   So it was a tough night made tougher by some strange tradition-breaking decisions like announcing Best Picture halfway through the ceremony instead of the end. 

The Academy (AMPAS) has a lot of critics on & off Twitter who are screaming bias and racism which is not too surprising.  In any case, kudos to Chinese filmmaker, Chloé Zhao and actress/producer Frances McDormand for their excellent work on Nomad.   And a big, big nod to the Sound of Metal.  2020 was an amazing film year!