shapeshifter

Week 31: 2/5 with 1* Finally broke my 42-game losing streak with Thursday Connecticut* and Friday Harley Quinn. Harley Quinn was an insta-image of black and white diamond checked leggings, but I had to mute the Think Music to come up with the name of Harley Quinn.

As a Mom myself with a chronically underemployed daughter (and 2 other workaholic daughters) I'm wondering if when your Mom says “now where” it's because she's triggered by the reminder that she wants more for you because she sees your potential. Even if that's the case, it doesn't excuse her unsupportive tone of voice or choice of words. Or, at least, it doesn't make their impact on you any less painful. But knowing as you do that she doesn't have anything better to offer, maybe just tell her that you aren't going to share any more news with her about jobs that you are hoping to get, but that she should feel free to ask if she's wondering what's new in that area of your life?? Fortunately my underemployed daughter still feels free to share job announcements and résumés with me. But then, she's aware of how I struggled with employment after my divorce, and then had a mean boss for almost 20 years while trying to find another job but being too old in my field. Plus we work in similar areas. So she knows I can relate. ETA: Did you go on the negative area of Reddit after you and your Mom had that unproductive talk? If so, maybe you were just longing for a familiar place to chat? Or do you think you were just entering a negative space in an effort to prove that people are unsupportive? (which I think you know is not healthy) When I was depressed in my early college days because of my boyfriend and I breaking up right when he came back from Vietnam, my dorm-mate/friend advised me not to listen to blues music because it would just bring me down. I don't know if she was right or if she just preferred rock 'n' roll, but it does seem that's what those areas of Reddit are doing to you. But I still kept playing the Blues.

Trevor's explanation worked, but I seem to recall the neck being an integral part of canoodling back in my "active" days. However, I thought I also recalled Hettie telling either Trevor or Isaac not to do that. Anyone else recall this?

I'd forgotten about the clarity of landlines. Getting a hearing aid that captures the cell phone audio helps, but I only have a hearing aid for my "bad" ear. I frequently have to tell my middle daughter to call me back when she's at home and not walking between cell phone towers in Manhattan, but it probably wouldn't be a problem if she didn't insist on buying used, off-brand phones that fit in a small pocket and wind up falling out and getting broken.

Is there any chance it could be picked up by another network or streamer?

I guess she took him by surprise since he knew her??🤷🏻‍♀️ And they kept re-questioning him. So he was probably just trying to get it "right" without admitting he was high and so not a great witness.

At the end of the episode, I asked my TV: How high was he?!? Throughout the episode, the friend-of-the-victim/waiter-witness acted consistently like he was hiding something. Was that only supposed to be obvious to the audience and not to the detectives and prosecutors? I guess he just felt guilty for being too high to recognize the killer who was of another race, gender, and generation? And Price just (almost) left it up to the jury?? The solve was way too rushed and told rather than shown. I had to look it up, because I blinked and missed it: [DA SPEECHIFYING TO THE CROWD OF REPORTERS] We have a recording of a phone call between Mr. and Mrs. Palmer where she confessed to killing Jordan Bryant. [(SCENE CHANGE) DETECTIVE] Amanda Palmer. You're under arrest. [DA] She was trying to protect her husband's misdeeds from becoming public, but Amanda Palmer has been apprehended by the detectives of the NYPD. We have charged her with second-degree murder. And I assure you, justice will be served. That end sounded like the wrap-ups on the old 1950s Dragnet episodes, which always sounded like After School Special warnings.

FJ was an instaget (with and asterisk!), and my first FJ in 42 FJs, which is perfect since “What is 42?” is the correct response to: Douglas Adams famously declared this was the answer to “the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything” in “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.” I got FJ because I had recently become obsessed with finding out more about my 1st grade teacher in Cheshire, Connecticut. Thank you, Miss Freeman! I'm glad Alison will go to the TOC, and especially that she got to tell her story about her voice. Marko's voice is almost too perfect😉, but I think he too stands a good chance of making it to the TOC. Sad that Viola Davis was a TS.

Same. Even day-old donuts are edible. I used to bring home a box after work to my grateful my neighbors (shared kitchen in a college town rooming house). But I guess there's a lot worse waste on these shows that are always blowing up stuff and shooting up places and torching cars.

From IMDb:

Ah. I live alone, so if I have to turn off the spam blocker on my cell phone for delivery or service or medical calls, the robots seem to get all excited and amping up the spam. So it sounds like getting a free landline isn't really worth it, except if I only plugged in the phone to call my cell if Find My Phone wasn't available.

In neon yellow typeface against the black. This time I interpreted it as: Neener neener neener. Can't say you didn't know you were shooting at FBI. But now I'm thinking that probably wouldn't matter.

Does your landline get a lot of spam calls? I cancelled mine around 2009 when landlines weren't free. A local Walgreens' number was one digit off mine, plus there were ads running listing my number for them. Having had 3 kids myself, when parents called for prescriptions at 6am on Saturday, I first calmly verified that the number they had dialed was mine, and then gave them the correct number and thanked them for noting it for future reference.

My pens just take advantage of the dark to breed more of themselves. Or maybe I was formerly a compulsive buyer of pens.

I have plenty of scissors and knives, but if you don't have them handy, a key works.

Yes, @dttruman, definitely "a lot of mixed messages," hence @Zaffy's anger at the script. It was not the surrogate's idea to “sell the baby to another couple for a lot more money”: [DARINA'S LAWYER EXPLAINING WHY DARINA WAS LEAVING THE PORTER'S] Pavlo Golub lied to Darina. He told her the Porters were having second thoughts, that they weren't even sure they wanted to raise the child anymore. He said he found a loving couple, and Darina trusted him. … [AFTER THE DETECTIVES FIND AN ACCOUNT OPENED IN DARINA'S NAME WITH $2K, THEY TRACE THE CHECK TO THE OTHER FAMILY] And how much did you pay Pavlo? [OTHER COUPLE] $250,000. So Evil Broker Pavlo Golub found a couple willing to pay $250,000 and (I guess???) didn't have another surrogate handy. He initially told the detectives he charged $50K for the surrogacy and gave the surrogates $10K, but if the audience carefully hears every line, it becomes obvious that only $2K goes to the surrogate. As for Darina just “claiming she has PTSD,” that's the prosecution's lines, and in this show, the prosecutors are the good guys, but we are also told: Her husband was decapitated right in front of her. Her infant son was killed by a mortar. We never did learn how Evil Broker Pavlo Golub enticed the surrogates in Ukraine. My guess is he told them there were jobs for them as nannies for the babies they carried. But there were "a lot of mixed messages" and plot holes in the script regarding his whole operation. Regarding "demanding 5 years instead of 15," that was the lawyer's idea: [DA] We are prepared to offer Man One, 15 years [DEFENSE LAWYER] We're willing to accept five years and help with immigration. [DA] Darina isn't a citizen, which means after she serves her sentence, she's likely to be deported back to Ukraine. [DARINA] Please, I can't go back there. I can't agree to five years. "I can't agree to 5 years" means in this context that no agreement that would end in deportation is acceptable — not 5 or 15, because she is terrified of returning to Ukraine. In other L&O moments like this, it was made obvious with some dialog with the defense attorney that they were going to take their chances in court and why. But the real issue is that the writers decided a war refugee who was a civilian and who was very pregnant would overpower 2 adults with a hammer, killing one. Really, writers??? Why would you do that? I read a lot of news and that is not something ripped from any headlines I've come across. BTW, @Zaffy, “Stupid” is my go-to descriptor when I am really mad too. And I find the number of times I repeat "Stupid" is proportional to the calming effect it has.😉

As seen on FB: (“What could possibly go wrong.”)

If Margaret's left holding the bag of the embezzled and now bankrupt firm, would Todd's apartment become the "temporary" new office digs for Margaret? If so, would this significantly save costs for the show's production? I wouldn't mind the loss of the fancy office suite settings, but I don't want to lose Margaret's wardrobe.

Classic!

Or he was getting cash together for a ransom?

Chase scenes suck up a lot of time, whether foot or car chases. I haven't noticed on this show, but most shows of this type now fill time with people staring at a screen that reveals information.

Here's the artist I follow on Facebook whose flowers have a similar vibe: https://www.susancrouch.com/collections/154355 It looks like the originals are about $300, but the prints are only $35.

I hate it when that happens. But I *try* to convince myself that it's a good exercise in being independent from my phone in case of some technology disaster that breaks the internet. Like, if you hold your arm outstretched, the distance of the width of your 4 fingers from the horizon should be an hour from sunset, so you can approximate time. If you get home and still can't find phone, and if it's an iPhone, you can use the Find My Phone app to find it, even if your laptop is a PC. I'm guessing Android/Google phones have this too. One time my phone fell out of my purse into my uncle's car when he was dropping me off at Mom's hospice/assisted living. I was able to call it with the Find My Phone app so that it rang in my uncle's car. At least he'd only gotten half way home. He didn't mind bringing it back. Mostly I use the Find My Phone app when I'm not sure if the phone is in my car (downstairs and outside in the garage) or just under the covers in my bed.

You're not nitpicking. I'm sure it was a that bit with the check was a breadcrumb for us, pointing to a future plot resolution.

Does this happen more often than we know, but gets cut? Regardless, I'm surprised it was left in. There was a choppiness to what we did get. I don't gamble (it makes me anxious), but I do bet that there are sites where people are wagering how many games Alison will win.