ChicagoCita

I thought he handled well the ol' bugaboo of "My ancestor was like THIS, so I'm like THIS too!" He said that his ancestors had certain traits and he did too, and that made him feel a closeness with people he was descended from, but didn't know much about. Not that he was that way because of them. I thought that was insightful. He seems like a likable, gentle person.

Me three! I have to wonder if they are available to regular folks. I know you can join the Chicago History Museum and do research there. I am keeping this episode on my DVR because of all the Cook County info. Sean seemed very mellow -- well, anyone would compared to Jack, his character on Will & Grace -- but more insightful than most people we've seen on this show. I did very much appreciate his joy at seeing the actual records of his ancestors.

I had a very large friend, who could have appeared on this show (since deceased), who made porn films and earned money doing phone sex. She could NOT understand why I didn't want to see her "perform." Maybe I'm just a damn prude, but I *really* have no desire to watch any of my friends having sex, or talk in extremely graphic detail about their sex lives. Has nothing to do with size, just not my thing.

I have a friend who's a social worker, and we were discussing a mutual acquaintance who is as vile a human as I've ever met. My friend said that he'd learned in his career in social work that some people simply don't have any idea how to relate to other people unless it's playing the role of victim. They are simply incapable of any other kind of relationship. As I watched Pauline last night (I'm new to this series), all I could think of was that comment. Pauline will always be the victim, no matter what the facts are or who she deals with. That's her only template. She is incapable of having any other sort of relationship. Incidentally, the acquaintance who was the subject of the initial conversation is living under a bridge, homeless, in Houston -- of all places. Maybe there's something cosmic about Houston, like a vortex, that attracts that type of person there.

So she was the World's Heaviest Woman? Wow.

Apparently Michelle Obama's hair, or lack thereof, was a big enough story to get on the local news here in Chicago. (Or else it was a very slow news day.) The comment about Bill Cosby's wife, I believe, has nothing to do with the current scandal, and much to do with Camille Cosby's style.

I like to think I'm a reasonably intelligent person, but sometimes there's a brain fart between what you learn about history and what you learn about your ancestors, and you can seem like a dim bulb until you realize that people are what history is made of. Example: an ancestor who came to the States from Germany worked as a beer bottler for most of his life. When he died in the 1920s, his profession was given as "handyman." I pondered for years wondering what would make a man in his 60s change his profession. Then -- duh! -- I realized that the thing called Prohibition happened, not just in history books, but affected real lives, like my great-grandfather's! I think that's one thing this show does very, very well, showing the effect that historical events have on regular folks. I thought it came through really clearly on this episode, when Angie Harmon stood in the horrible little shack in Valley Forge and realized that her ancestor had stayed at that very spot in those very awful conditions. I also thought the one where they went to the place where the Star Spangled Banner was written and explained the significance of the people there really not knowing the outcome of the battle, looking hopefully through the haze, was very effective. (In fact, that one made me cry.) This has to be history teacher's dream, humanizing history the way it does.

I do genealogy, and I am continually surprised by what the 'cestors got up to. The only thing I discovered that I watch out for in myself is that one line had a real predilection for alcoholism -- their story is full of accounts of several generations of them being arrested for disturbing the peace, for selling moonshine, for having stills out in the woods, for busting up bars, for drunkenly attempting to kill their wives and children late in life (probably insane from drinking heavily most of their lives). They mostly all died in brawls or from cirrhosis or cancer of the liver. Knowing there's a genetic component to alcoholism, I do tend to watch how I imbibe, maybe a little more carefully than most people. Since so many people featured on the show do mention traits in their ancestors that they feel are carried within themselves, I wonder if the person accompanying them on their adventures asks off-camera questions that lead in that general direction.

In Chicago it comes on at 3:30; last year it came on at 2:30. In Western Illinois, where I lived last year, it came on at noon, which may be the earliest time slot in the country. In Chicago, it's shoehorned in between Inside Edition and the news. WoF is on in the evenings at 6:30, after 2.5 hours of news.

I haven't watched more than the intro since RosieO left, but today I wanted to see what they had to say about Aaron Schock's resignation. Heinous, heinous, they are idiots, and Nicolle is playing the Elisabeth card so hard. Interrupting to compare Schock to Hillary Clinton, saying that he is being persecuted because he's good looking, giving tips on how to decorate like Downton Abbey, saying "everyone does it." Disgusting. Aaron Schock is not being "persecuted" because he's good looking. Or because he's a closeted gay Republican who has never voted in favor of any gay rights legislation whatsoever. Aaron Schock resigned because a chance inquiry into his office redecoration brought to light an extremely troubling and systematic pattern of his using taxpayer and donor money (in a nearly bankrupt state) for the sole purpose of making Aaron Schock's life more fabulous. He used taxpayer money to fly in a private plane to a Bears game. His office was redecorated to the tune of $40,000 that he never declared and eventually reimbursed from personal funds. His home sold for well over its value to a campaign supporter. He was regularly accompanied on trips at taxpayer expense by his "official photographer," who just happens to be around Schock's age and very good-looking. Although it was required by Congressional rules for this man's presence to be listed on travel lists, it was not. For Nicolle to even pretend to justify any of this is nauseating. Schock is just another corrupt politician who got caught. No one died, so he may not have to spend time in prison. But he doesn't deserve to hold office. The hell of it is, he's been a pretty decent representative. But once again, another "smartest guy in the room" wasn't half as clever as he thought he was. The media smelled fire and found a lot of flames. That's the real story, and it's a good one.

I loved Josh's story. Man, what a treasure trove of documentation survived! I was squeeing at home in my living room, while Josh seemed very blase. That was my problem with this ep. Major stuff, Newton(!!), touching a book that the ancestor had taught from, standing where he saw Halley's Comet, and Josh was acting .... polite. I would have required a Depends. He must be the mellowest person on earth. I've seen him on talk shows and he's funny and bright, but I guess not much for squeeing. Bill Paxton was in Twister, Titanic, and Apollo 13. I know him best from Big Love, where he played such a tedious, loathsome character that I now flinch a bit when I see him on screen. Tony Goldwyn is somehow related to the Goldwyns who started studios in Hollywood. The first time I ever saw him was in Ghost, in which he played a despicable character too well; I can never get that person out of my mind and it would take him rescuing my cat from a burning building for me to warm up to him. (Same issue with Gary Cole, who did too good a job in Fatal Vision.) Sean Hayes was the flamboyant best friend in Will & Grace and he's from Chicago, so I've heard good things about him. Angie Harmon? Got me there.

Years ago, when I was in high school, a friend and I read all the James Bond books, which we thought at the time were very racy and daring. Now I snicker at what I remember of them (women fainting after James pleasures them, for example). But as soon as that line went up on the board, I said "James Bond.' I kept trying to talk myself out of the answer, but whatdyaknow, it was right. This from a woman who can't remember half the things I was planning to do today, but I can remember the first line of a book I barely recall reading.

Niecy Nash,Sherry's pal who inspired her to marry Sal and change her public persona? I liked her on Clean House, but I detest the person she's become, who talks about daily blow jobs being the best way to stay married. I may watch that day just for the train wreck potential.

As a fan of English football, it's been interesting to see Beckham evolve over the past couple decades. He's been mocked for having a high voice (one pundit said something like, he has the looks of a silent picture star, and the voice of one as well), and I don't think he's overly smart, but he's certainly cultivated a genial public persona. I'm always surprised to find myself enjoying his public appearances as much as I do. He was smart enough to let the very sharp-witted and gregarious Hugh Jackman take the lead in their joint interview. His obvious passion when he was talking about UNICEF was very touching. To go from "the most hated man in England" (see link) after the 1998 World Cup to a humble humanitarian, sort of a Smokin' Hot EveryDad, is quite a feat and my hat is off to him for achieving that. Even though I'm not a Manchester United fan, I cringed a bit to hear Graham introduce him as "Manchester's greatest ever footballer." He was very good, with corner kicks that could make you weep, but the greatest? Bold statement. I couldn't tell if both segments were filmed at the same time or not. Did anyone more observant than I notice if Graham was wearing the same clothes? Weird not to have the Red Chair.

I am not a big Whoopi fan these days, but I can see several scenarios that could make this make sense. Could be a huge age difference between Whoopi and her brother. Example: My youngest sister is 17 years younger than I am and was born when I was already away at college. (Oddly, she and I get along great, better than with the other siblings, and we both think it's because we never had to compete for attention or turf within the family.) We are siblings, but she and I both grew up without the other one in the house. Or, it could be that they had different mothers/same father, each growing up with his/her own mom, and it being uncomfortable for all involved to have them interact much as kids. Or, I know several families who couldn't afford the children they had, so one or more were fostered out and raised by other families who wanted kids but couldn't have them for whatever reason. Or, could be that the brother "found" Whoopi as an adult. Weird as it sounds, I have a friend who discovered that his father is biologically not his father, then found his bio-dad through DNA testing. Turns out his bio-dad has two kids through marriage, and three "surprise!" kids who all found each other via DNA tests. So my friend has, at age 36, five new siblings in addition to the one brother he was raised with (who is, now we know, biologically his half-brother). And they are all strangers to one another. Just throwing some possibilities out there. Families can be confusing. (I am very leery now of getting a DNA test. Who knows what or who is lurking out there?)

It was an insta-get for me, but my mom worked for GSUSA in the national headquarters for years. There were photos of her [Juliette Gordon Low, not my mother!] all over the hallways. Plus, I was a Girl Scout for ten years, from Brownie to Senior. Alex specified that she was a observant married woman, which caught my ear. Is the tradition applicable to only married women?

I guessed JFK for FJ, only because I remember being quite freaked out that the President of the United States was younger than me by a couple years. I was born during Eisenhower, so JFK seemed logical to me for that young thing in the White House.

There's no one I like on the panel anymore, and the selling products is insulting, and I haven't heard of most of the guests. I still tape this show, because it's a habit, but more and more, I'm hearing the Hot Topics and hearing who the guests are and deleting it during the intro. It makes me sad. There were plenty of times I watched for RosieO or Joy, but there's no one I like anymore at that table.

I just enjoy Kelly's personality and genuineness. What she weighs is between her, her family, and her health care advisors, and matters nothing to me. I think it's sad that this is what people are focusing on, rather than her talent and her recordings. I'm glad it didn't come up on Graham's show. There's so much more to people than how much they weigh.

So good to see Graham back! He's just SO quick-witted. I laughed hysterically at his reaction when Celia Imrie inadvertently left him out of her list of good-looking men in the vicinity. Loved Kelly Clarkson. Her comment that her baby was just so much better than every other baby was adorable. As for her weight, she'll lose it in time. She was a pretty, slightly overweight singer before, and now she's a pretty, overweight singer. Both versions make me like her a lot. Sean Penn seemed so out of place. It was weird, it wasn't like he wasn't trying (like Harrison Ford often does), it's just that his version of trying seemed so painful and out of character. I don't know what happened to him over the course of his career to make him so ... grizzled ... for lack of a better word. His story about being an extra and not wanting to break character was funny, but it explains a lot about him. Yay for the BBCA return of Graham!

My Xfinity Guide has The Musketeers and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, followed by "To Be Announced" at midnight. Harumph.

I'm pretty sure that The View will now be in the same category as The Talk for me: Record it, watch the intro, and if there's no topic or guest that appeals to me (usually the case), I delete it. I've watched ever since my knee surgery in 2008. I used to really love this show. But I've had it. With Whoopie the Bully and no RosieO or Joy to balance her, I've got zero desire to watch. It makes me sad.

It was at a comedy club at a mall, and she said something about it was where she was appearing or made a guest appearance or something at the mall's opening. I enjoyed the special. The first 2/3rds or so was about her life, her kids, playing being the mother of four teenagers for laughs. It was funny, but I kept thinking how humiliated I would be if my mom were talking about me like that! About Parker having sex with his girlfriend, that kind of thing. But very funny. I was working on the computer while the TV was on and still chuckled out loud a few times. One of the lines that made me laugh was talking about how, whenever she meets a lesbian, no matter how feminine, "they always have that aura of LPGA about them," or something like that. The last part was about her heart attack, and how very serious it was. The nurse apparently told Michelle that no one else with that particular blockage had survived that she knew of. That's got to be a wake-up call, to have death that close, looking over your shoulder. No wonder she had WLS, no wonder she is quitting the show on her doctor's orders. What she said about cutting down stress, and that leaving The View was something she could manage, that made sense to me. Dealing with five kids and a breaking marriage, that's not as easy to fix. I applaud her for taking the measures she can to cut down the stress in her life, although I am very sorry to see her leave the show. It's over for me unless there's a guest I'm wanting to see. No more daily part of my life, and it's because Rosie made it must-see-tv for me.

Seems like BBCA is moving farther and farther from what it was originally. I loved watching the chat shows like Parkinson and Jonathan Ross and now Graham. I guess I need to learn to love Dr. Who and Top Gear, since that's all that BBCA seems to show now. So very disappointed.

I consider myself a pretty educated Chicagoan, so I was surprised to hear Mary talk about working at a suburban school that has always had open education and just celebrated its 175th anniversary. If anyone else is curious, it's Elgin Academy in Elgin. I don't know why or how it flew under my radar. It was founded when Chicago just had a couple thousand residents. Impressive longevity.