Watchdog Group Files Ethics Complaint Against Schock Over Downton Office

Via the Washington Post:

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) wasted little time asking the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate whether Schock (R-Ill.) broke House rules by accepting professional interior design work for free. House Ethics rules prohibit lawmakers from accepting free “gifts of services.” “Rep. Schock may wish he could escape to an earlier era, but the Office of Congressional Ethics needs to ensure he doesn’t outrun the rules of this one,” Anne Weismann, CREW’s interim executive director said in a statement. Since his office was exposed, Schock has claimed he’s never seen “Downton Abbey” – the British soap opera that, as the Guardian points out, runs on public television. (Republicans aren’t big fans of government-subsidized TV.) Whether his new digs are deemed unethical or not, the flashy decor sure bucks stuffy Capitol Hill norm. Lady Mary would be proud.

He's never seen the show. Riiight.

Rep. Aaron Schock Decorates His DC Office To Resemble Downton Abbey Set

Via the Washington Post:

A blond woman popped out of an inner office. “Want to see the rest?” she asked. She introduced herself as Annie Brahler, the interior decorator whose company is called Euro Trash. She guided me to Schock’s private office, revealing another dramatic red room. This one with a drippy crystal chandelier, a table propped up by two eagles, a bust of Abraham Lincoln and massive arrangements of pheasant feathers. Then, my phone rang. It was Schock’s communications director, Benjamin Cole. “Are you taking pictures of the office?” he asked. “Who told you you could do that? . . . Okay, stay where you are. You’ve created a bit of a crisis in the office.” A staff member then came and asked me to please delete the photos from my phone. So started a day of back-and-forths with a congressman’s office about interior design. Washington has always been more “Veep” than “House of Cards.”

Hit the link and read the whole thing.

Downton Abbey To Call It Quits

The next season of Downton Abbey will be the last one.

Writer Julian Fellowes is ditching the popular ITV show, which stars Hugh Bonneville as the Earl of Grantham, after its sixth series so he can work on a new project about 19th century New York. Last week, agents were seeking work for some of the main stars while they were in Los Angeles at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. One source said: “It’s an open secret that Downton is ending this year." Some of the actors are keen to let it be known they will be available for work after the summer. Some are interested in the US, where Downton is as popular as it is in the UK. “Joanne Froggatt, Edith Carmichael and Allen Leech were in Los Angeles for the awards last week and there were several meetings about both TV and film roles.”

The final season begins airing in the UK in September. Will evil Thomas ever find love?

NOTE: Americans beware, there are plot spoilers at the link!

UPDATE: Publicists for the show are denying the above-linked story.

iTunes Issues 2014 Year-End Charts

Today iTunes issued its year-end bestsellers chart. Above is this year's top ten for digital singles. The soundtrack to Disney's Frozen tops the list for downloaded albums, followed closely by Taylor Swift's 1989 and Coldplay's Ghost Stories. The top three downloaded movies: Frozen, The Lego Movie, and The Wolf Of Wall Street. The top three downloaded television shows: Game Of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and Downton Abbey. Billboard Magazine's definitive 2014 recap of physical and digital music sales will come later this month.

TRAILER: Downton Abbey Season 5

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Downton Abbey Returns Tonight

TRAILER: Downton Abbey, Season 4

Downton Abbey: The Musical

Entertainment Weekly reports:

In the parody video below, filmed at the legendary Studio 54 in New York, actor and comedian Colin Andrew Mochrie (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) plays Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes (billed in the video as Julian Alexander Kitchner-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford), who explains his decision to create a Downton musical in between cuts of songs that would fit perfectly into Edwardian England.  “The guys and I were all Downton fans and while spitballing ideas, we said ‘Well Buffy & Grey‘s did a musical episode,’ and we thought of Julian Fellowes in a room with Shonda Rhimes and Joss Whedon trying to plan out the inevitable Downton Abbey Musical Episode in season 4,” producer Kevin Duda told EW.

Gay note, hit!

(Via Queerty)

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Photo Of The Day

This photo of Downton Abbey cast members has gone viral on Facebook today. Is that the evil O'Brien in the middle?  UPDATE: The chorus has spoken. It's Daisy.

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Upside Downton Abbey

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