BW Manilowe

Actress Beth Howland, who played the ditzy waitress, Vera, in the sitcom Alice died on New Year's Eve (December 31st), 2015, from lung cancer. She was married since 2002 to actor Charles Kimbrough, who played FYI anchor Jim Dial/best friend to Murphy in the original version of Murphy Brown (& hopefully who'll at least make recurring appearances in the revival since he's not 1 of the characters/actors interviewed in the revival's preview trailer about the characters reuniting to report on the country/world after the surprising, to many/most, results of the last real-life Presidential election; Kimbrough's 82 now & apparently doesn't want the commitment of a full-time role at his age--or so I've heard--but I don't think you can really blame him). Anyway, Beth Howland's death was never announced until Charles Kimbrough commented on it to The Associated Press in May, 2016--almost 6 months later. He said there was no announcement (before that, anyway), no memorial, & no funeral (presumably at her request). So, yeah, it's not super unusual Robert Mandan's death would be belatedly announced. There is precedent for it.

Once back in Moscow, do you think they'd still use their American identities or would they resume their original USSR names?

Thanks for the correction on Philip & Elizabeth's ages. I still believe a couple who are the more exact ages you quoted could conceive a biological child together, whether they did it "the old-fashioned way" or, using their own biological contributions to the conception process if at all possible, instead of donor material, with the assistance of IVF for the fertilization part & then (re?)implanting the embryo into Elizabeth's/Nadezhda's womb where it will hopefully continue to grow & thrive until it's safely delivered at the appropriate time. Heck, if Janet Jackson & Brigitte Nielsen were/are apparently able to physically carry a baby at the ages of 50 & 54, respectively, then pregnancy can still occur for women that age, theoretically including Elizabeth/Nadezhda (& maybe even . I'm pretty sure I've also read about some "non-celebrity" women who've successfully carried babies in their 50's--but I think a lot of those cases were where a woman volunteered to be the gestational carrier for their daughter who had fertility issues. Photographic evidence exists on the internet which shows/seems to show both women (Janet & Brigitte) with fairly ample "baby bumps". Though I grant they could be/could have been wearing padding/those fake bellies that women wear to make themselves look pregnant when they aren't, & they're using/they used gestational carriers to do all the work involved through delivery, if not also IVF to help them with the conception. As far as men go, it's also entirely possible Philip/Mikhail might not be "shooting blanks" as early in life as a female might in regards to conceiving a child. He might possibly be able to conceive a child, using the equipment he was born with, for even a few decades longer than Elizabeth/Nadezhda might be able to. Case in point: Actor Tony Randall (probably best known as fussily neat photographer Felix Unger in the original TV version of The Odd Couple) had 2 children--a daughter & a son--with his 2nd wife. He & his 1st wife, who were married from 1938 until she died from cancer in 1992--about 54 years--never had children together (not that people needed 1, but no explanation was ever given publicly for their lack of children... just an FYI). He married his 2nd wife, an intern with his theatre company, in 1995. He was 75, she was 25. Their daughter, Julia, was born in 1997, when Randall was 77; their son, Jefferson, was born the next year, when Randall was 78. Granted, there was a 50-year age difference between them (she was much younger), which I assume had at least a little something to do with their ability to conceive not just once, but twice (& I'm very sure their children were conceived with biological contributions from each of them--a sperm donor, at least, wasn't used; I remember both pregnancies made a reasonable amount of news. Particularly in light of the fact that, for whatever reason, Randall never had children--biological or adopted--during his 1st marriage). Their marriage lasted until Randall's death, in 2004, from pneumonia contracted after heart surgery performed in late 2003.

This was posted to Twitter earlier today, through The Americans' show account. It's a short video of fans' reactions to the final episode & the end of the series.

Keri had her 2 eldest kids, from her marriage, in 2007 (her eldest son) & 2011 (her daughter), when she was approximately 31 & 35 (she was born in March, 1976 per Wikipedia). Sam, Keri & Matthew's real-life son, was born in May, 2016, when Keri was 40, & Matthew was 41, going on 42 (he was born in November, 1974 per Wikipedia). I think Elizabeth & Philip were at least close to Keri & Matthew's real ages. If Matthew & Keri could have a biological child together in their very early 40's, I'd say it's not necessarily out of the realm of possibility for Elizabeth & Philip/Nadezhda & Mikhail (Misha). But if they run into fertility issues, they might either wish they'd tried for another kid in the US, or they might somehow try to get the KGB to send them somewhere that's probably more advanced in treating couples with fertility issues than Soviet medicine might have been at the time (IVF should've been available then, but I don't know when it became available in the Soviet Union/Russia; the world's 1st IVF baby was born in England in 1978).

From USA Today: Chicago Bluesman Eddy Clearwater Dead of Heart Failure at Age 83.

Apropos of nothing except what color nail polish women who are part of a certain group of people would wear, like we're positing (& I know the comment was probably more like a joke) that KGB women (at least probably women who weren't on deep undercover assignments where they were pretending to be All-American women) wear any color nail polish but red, the women in the British Royal Family aren't supposed to wear anything but clear or really pale colored polish (usually a pale pink tone). Her Majesty wears "ballet slipper" by Essie.

I'd actually have to watch the rebroadcast later today (Saturday)/early tomorrow (Sunday) at midnight Eastern to comment on the ep content. I fell asleep (I know... How could you? It was the series finale!) & only caught snatches of dialogue when I'd wake up for a few seconds at a time. I blew all the showings Wednesday night into early Thursday; but, luckily, I still have the airing overnight tonight (Saturday) to actually see it.

From the Honolulu Star Advertiser: Hawaii Actress Ruthie Ann Miles to Return to the Stage in London She'll be playing her Tony-winning role, Lady Thiang, in the London West End production of The King and I at the Palladium Theatre. Preview performances start June 21st & Opening Night is July 3rd. In a way, I'm glad she seems up to getting back to work so soon after the tragedy & I wish her much success. But I hope she's also not using this booking as an escape from what happened/reality--she's not throwing herself into her work to try & forget about what happened/to try & pretend it never happened (as many people seem to after such a physically & emotionally devastating event in their lives), which would actually be rather difficult (to pretend it never happened) because, if it never happened, her older daughter & her baby daughter would probably be in London with her &, sadly, they won't be. I hope the driver involved in this tragedy gets the book thrown at her, to the extent that the laws of New York City & New York State allow. Especially since not once since this happened have I seen/heard where she's publicly expressed any remorse for causing the deaths of 2 young children & a preterm baby (I think you have to assume that, even though the baby was apparently fine immediately after the tragedy, her death just shy of her due date was probably connected in some way to Ruthie Ann's injuries sustained as a result of the tragedy); nor has she shown any public remorse for injuring the mothers of the dead children & the preterm baby. I suppose the whole "no public expression of remorse" thing may be a legal move, since you're deemed "innocent until proven guilty" of a crime in our legal/justice system, & showing public remorse would probably immediately show that she's guilty, as does the record of previous traffic violations counted against the car itself (she had to be driving that car, herself, when the other violations were incurred because it's the same car that was involved in the tragedy with Ruthie Ann, her friend, & their 3 children whether or not the children were living or preterm at the time). I wish we could get her doctor as an accessory, but unless (s)he specifically contacted the applicable BMV/DMV branch herself/himself regarding the driver's health-related restrictions, which were then ignored/blown off by the driver, I doubt they could take him/her to court over this. I mean, if the doctor restricts her driving for health reasons, & the only 2 people who are hearing about this are the doctor & the patient, it's really up to the patient to follow the doctor's orders without the doctor, or someone else from his/her office, "babysitting" the patient to be certain they're complying with the doctor's orders.

I like (not) how the person who posted the clip (at least as I saw it) called it "Matthew Rhys' British accent". I suppose that's right, technically, because Wales (as in the part of Great Britain where Prince Charles, the late Princess Diana, & their sons, Princes William & Harry, get/got their royal titles from, by birth for the males & by marriage for Diana), where Matthew was born & raised, is part of Great Britain. But actually, as Matthew (I think) says in the clip, his accent is, more properly, a Welsh accent... even though Matthew sort of confuses things by also (still correctly) calling himself a Brit a few times in the clip, though he's actually, specifically, a Welshman. He's both a Welshman & a Brit. I know... I'm probably being pedantic & nitpicky.

Is it just me, or does anyone else find it ironic (or did anyone even realize) that the last episode of the series is titled "START" (& I know that was actually an acronym for something related to US/Soviet relations at the time: the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty)?

Yeah, they had a girl, Jaymee Sire, on as the floor reporter last season. But last season was actually the Iron Chef Showdown version of the franchise, which was basically (as I think some people described it in another thread) the Iron Chef franchise meets Beat Bobby Flay, along with the first season of Iron Chef Gauntlet. I like Jet Tila as the floor reporter too. But I'm a little surprised he'd take the gig, unless he wanted more TV hosting type experience under his belt. I mean, he's already probably pretty busy, as he's Chef at 2 different restaurants &, probably among a lot of other things, he's a Culinary Ambassador to Thailand. I guess I thought a gig like floor reporter on ICA wouldn't be something he'd be interested in, maybe it'd be beneath him; although, he's done a lot of judging gigs on various FN shows & I think he's also done cooking segments on, like, various talk shows. As for why Kevin's not the floor reporter anymore, I couldn't find anything online that talked about it, or said he was doing something else that would keep him from doing that. Maybe his contract was up after the last series of eps he did & he chose not to renew (or maybe FN opted not to renew his contract). Googling still comes up with what's supposed to be a link to a profile for him at FN's website; & they still have a pic of Kevin up there with that, but whatever biographical info was there before isn't there now, no matter where you click (I think the only link is attached to his name; you can click it, but it doesn't leave that page where his name & pic are & there's a blank area where I think his biographical info's supposed to be). He's on Facebook & Twitter, both under the name @DrinkingRobot. I don't know how much he posts himself, but both sites have the blue & white "Verified" check mark which at least indicates those are official accounts for him/connected to him. His Facebook hasn't been updated for a few days, but going through some of the most recent posts it appears he's involved--as the Thirsty Traveler--with a rum company called El Dorado hosting rum tasting parties for the brand at various venues, I think mostly/all in Canada. As for Twitter, about a week ago Kevin posted this, in response to a Tweet which had actually been Tweeted to Alton asking him why Kevin isn't on the new ICA eps. https://mobile.twitter.com/drinkingrobot/status/1000188298000814080?s=21 He says in his Tweet (which I copied exactly as he wrote it, typos & all, except for adding a (sic)--spelled incorrectly, basically--after his first grammatical/spelling error), talking to Alton I'm pretty sure,

I found a Twitter account that looks like it's supposed to be his account. But, among other things, some of the information in his Twitter bio doesn't work with the rest of the info, or is just plain wrong, based on what's supposedly known about him; & he also doesn't have that blue check mark attached to the account, verifying the account holder is who they say they are.

With all due respect, you might be a little confused re the bolded. Andy was Jackie's son, not her husband, in the original show; Jackie's now ex-husband (I think the characters divorced during the original show) was Fred, who worked with Dan at the garage & accidentally got Jackie pregnant, then eventually married her. They later divorced because they were incompatible. He was played by veteran actor Michael O'Keefe (who I think is also the real-life ex-husband of the legendary, Grammy-winning singer Bonnie Raitt) during seasons 6-8 of the original. I noticed, while researching that, the character of Andy has the last name Harris, which is/was Jackie's last name in the show. I can buy Jackie not changing her name when she married. But I'm not so sure about Andy having his mother's last name & not his father's (& I'd swear Fred had a last name; I just don't know what it was). I suppose I could wank that Fred's last name was also Harris, & he & Jackie weren't related except by marriage (it really is unusual when 2 people with the same last name, but who aren't related, get married--at least I guess it saves on having to change a lotta legal stuff after your marriage, except your marital status).

From Deadline: 'The Americans' in Canada: Toronto-Born Sons of Russian Spies Who Inspired FX Series Fight to Keep Citizenship

Yeah. As the Fire Chief, or whatever he was--anyway, the first responder guy--said in the linked video, that same reporter & photographer had filmed an interview with him, about the weather &, I guess, how to stay safe in it not more than 10-15 minutes before being called to the accident scene involving the reporter & photographer (so that apparently makes him the last person who saw them alive).

I recently bought a package of their freeze dried strawberry slices through Amazon (my hometown doesn't have a TJ's... yet--but we just got a Ruth's Chris steak house & a PF Chang's is forthcoming at our indoor shopping mall, according to the local media). Honestly, I'm not sure I'd buy them again once I finish the bag I have. I feel like the strawberry taste is non-existent, or it's at least not as pronounced as I'd like. To me, it's like eating slices of styrofoam made to look like strawberry slices. I dunno... I really like the idea of dried fruits (& my dad liked those wicker platters you could get at, like, Hickory Farms, I think, &/or other places that were a combination of nuts & dried fruits), but maybe dried fruits actually aren't for me. (Shrugs)

For future reference, the last 5 episodes aired on CBS can be watched for free through CBS All Access, their streaming service which also airs exclusive original content (like The Good Fight, the sequel to The Good Wife; & Star Trek: Discovery, the newest show in the Star Trek franchise, which I think 1 of the H50 reboot creators/original exec producers was, or still is, involved with). This is also true for at least most of the shows available on CBS All Access. Supposedly you can still watch the eps on CBS.com, but I think you actually have to download the CBS app to view the eps. I've had the app for awhile, mostly because it seems the last time I tried to watch an ep through CBS' website I was directed to download the CBS app to watch the ep I wanted.

Allison Janney & Mary McCormack will be participating in The National Memorial Day Concert, airing tonight, Sunday, May 27th, on PBS. They will be saluting women in the military. If you've never watched before & will watch tonight, at least in most markets, it airs live from the lawn of the US Capitol building from 8-9:30PM Eastern/7-8:30PM Central; it's hosted by CSI: New York's Gary Sinise & Criminal Minds' Joe Mantegna, with a taped replay airing on most PBS stations immediately after the live broadcast has ended. But, as always, if you're interested, check your local listings for the correct time & channel for the concert broadcast in your area. Also... Mary McCormack has the female lead role in ABC's The Kids Are Alright, which isn't connected to the 2010 comedy film, or The Who's late-1970's "Rockumentary" & song by the same name, except through the shared title. It's a family sitcom set in the 1970's, about a large Catholic family (8 kids, all boys), of which Mary's character is the mother; Michael Cudlitz from The Walking Dead is the father. It's scheduled to air on Tuesday nights at 8:30PM Eastern/7:30PM Central, between the second season of the Roseanne revival & season 5 of Black-ish. The time period competition is: the second halves of NCIS (CBS); The Voice (NBC); The Gifted (Fox), & The Flash (The CW). Here is the official trailer for the show. At least 1 reviewer whose opinion I read didn't laugh much at it. I didn't really either; but I felt like I was getting a The Wonder Years vibe from the trailer, which I watched twice (so far). I'm thinking this may get pulled from the schedule pretty quickly, or it'll get a timeslot switch, then ABC will pull it. But then again, if enough people get that The Wonder Years vibe from it that I thought I was getting, it may at least make it through the full 2018-2019 TV season.

From ESPN: Former Indiana University Football Coach Bill Mallory Dead at Age 82

From TV Guide: CBS Cancels Code Black After Three Seasons Well, Rob Lowe won't get a chance to bail on this show after 4 seasons, like he did with The West Wing & Parks and Recreation. And I say that as someone who actually likes Rob Lowe.

As I said upthread (at least I think it was in this thread), they already had a third-hour of GMA once, Good Afternoon America, which ran at 2PM Eastern for 2 months in the summer of 2012, between the cancellation of The Revolution & General Hospital's permanent move to 2PM Eastern. It was hosted by Lara Spencer & Josh Elliott, but it wasn't live, like the 7-9AM Eastern hours of the show are; it was taped right after the original 2 hours & aired at 2PM. Live with Kelly and Ryan isn't an ABC network show, no; but it's syndicated/produced through ABC/Disney, which still makes it an ABC-owned show even if it airs on local stations with network affiliations other than ABC, or no network affiliation at all. It looks like GMA's interested in that 1PM Eastern hour, for the afternoon show, which moves it up an hour from its 2012 timeslot. So, yes, the first 2 hours & the 3rd will probably be broken up again. Which doesn't necessarily mean a lot in the long run. Yes, The View airs (on the US Mainland, anyway) in the East/Midwest at 11AM, & 10AM in the Mountain/Pacific Time Zones. But TV shows in the Pacific Time Zone always air an hour earlier than in the East/Midwest; the stuff, like awards shows, that airs live in the East either airs live all across the country (like the last few eps of American Idol this season, some of the eps of SNL last season, I think at least some live sporting events, & Special Reports on Breaking News stories... to name a few), or it airs on a tape delayed basis, so the broadcast airs, like, during normal primetime hours for each coast. It isn't really a "weird" issue that The View airs at 11AM Eastern & 10AM Pacific. Like I said, the Pacific Time Zone runs everything, except maybe the early morning, 7-9AM Eastern news/talk shows (which are aired on a tape delay), an hour earlier in their time zone than we get it in ours. And other shows like The View & The Talk, which normally air live except on legal holidays, when all the hosts are on vacation simultaneously, Fridays (for the most part), & random other days, air tape delayed in the Pacific Time Zone. So it doesn't really matter that The View airs at 11 Eastern & 10 Pacific. That's the way it was scheduled.

ABC actually did an afternoon hour of GMA for awhile, back in 2012, with Josh Elliott (the then news anchor who later left in a contract dispute) & Lara Spencer. It was on after The Revolution, that daytime show with Tim Gunn, Tyler Pennington, Dr. Jennifer Ashton (now ABC's Chief Medical Reporter), Harley Pasternak, & Dr. Tiffanie Davis, all of whom did segments on the show connected to their real life interests/other work besides the TV show (Tim Gunn did fashion/style-type segments; Ty Pennington did building/renovation-type work; Dr. Ashton did health & physical medicine segments; Harley Pasternak was the exercise guy, & Dr. Tiffanie Davis was the psychologist/mental health contributor). The show was canceled after a little less than 6 months on the air. It was replaced by Good Afternoon America. That show, in turn, aired for just a couple months after which General Hospital permanently moved up an hour, from 3PM Eastern to 2PM Eastern. Everything I've read about this says that the cancellation was purely a business decision. It had nothing to do with the original sexual harassment accusations against Mario, or the new NYPD investigation, announced late last week or early this week, into sexual assault claims by (I think) 2 separate women.

From The Hollywood Reporter: ABC Cancels The Chew, Expands GMA

So, I was looking at the foods you can buy through Amazon.com. Most of the snacks, unless you happen to get lucky or are an Amazon Prime member, unfortunately happen to either cost an arm or a leg for a single package, or you have to buy 1 of those packages that has, like, 9 million single-serving containers of whatever in it to get a decent purchase price. Anyway... I happened to notice that they had a new bag of those Sweetos non-cheese flavored puffs which the Cheetos people put out every so often, as a limited time thing. It wasn't the cinnamon sugar ones in the purple bag that have been out for awhile, though., These were caramel flavored puffs, which seem to have been introduced sometime last year (2017), according to what I could find out about them online, but I hadn't heard of them until I saw them on Amazon a few days ago. Since I liked--actually loved (still love)--the cinnamon sugar ones, & I do like caramel things (without nuts, at least), & I could actually get a single bag for a price I'd pay in a store, or at least close to it, I decided to try them. They may still be in production for this release; the Fresh Until date on my bag is actually sometime this week (so, as far as I can say, Amazon's snack/cookie/etc. selection, at least, is fairly fresh & not, at least in my case, stuff that's been sitting around a fulfillment center for years & is well beyond the package's Freshness date... if you were curious about such things). Though I've already eaten a good portion of the bag, I haven't decided how much I like the caramel puffs. I like them, but I think I like the original cinnamon sugar version better.