halopub

Your mileage may vary but I think so. Loooove it in cookies, cakes and other sweets. Back in the day I'd enjoy a matcha latte or frappuccino - both high sugar choices. Nestle Japan accounts for different consumer tastes by offering at least 10 different kinds of matcha Kit Kats. Most are pretty assertive and actually dial down the sugar. Some flavors are sweeter and incorporate almonds, cranberries, white chocolate, etc., for those who want more of a balance.

Handshake! Michael's really turned it around from episode one. I liked Steph and Michelle's breads this week. And while her nerves continue to make me nervous, Rosie produced a charming elephant showstopper. I prefer a darker burger bun but I know that's not what the judges were looking for. Not knocking a good cinnamon roll but I thought David's storyline was supposed to be healthier baking? I guess that was just week one. Alice was never going home this week but I could use a break from her. She seems like a lovely person with interesting life experiences but the teacher's another one whose naturally dramatic fretfulness agitates me as a viewer. Were those Amelia's parents? Are we really supposed to believe Henry's only learned to bake bread in the two weeks before Bread Week?

Ellen sent her show's producer to the US Open: Youtube: Average Andy at the U.S. Open Rafa's appearance was my favorite.

I like to pick the brains of the visually literate and since you're formally trained in art...how would you compare last week's dragons with Luis' back in season 5? I remember loving it at the time but now I find the piping a bit busy.

Thumbs up to quality matcha. Proportions and one’s sweet tooth also affect whether one might like matcha as an ingredient @dleighg. As an old Japanophile, matcha is not a trend to me but if it’s not consumed as tea I do tend to enjoy it in sweeter confections. My matcha favs would probably be shortbread cookies, castella cakes, ice cream and shaved ice - all pretty sweet indulgences where the “grassiness” is subtler and balanced out by butter, eggs, azuki beans, etc.

Nice to see some of the bakers produce more finished, carefully crafted bakes this week. Michelle's Bakewell bars were gorgeous, as was Rosie the vet's chicken and Helena's spider (yay for earl grey shortbread!). Michael only had one finger bandaged up and managed to put together successful flavors. I can see David going pretty far with those wedding flower arrangements and complement of flavors across the different cookies. Since Henry has such a baby face, I could have done without all the organ jokes. The superfan continues to be ambitious, like with his six layer cookies, but I don't have confidence yet in his ability to make his projects work in the tent environment. I still don't feel like we've gotten to know Priya but the dragon made of cat tongues was gorgeous and it sounded like her experimental use of ruby chocolate in the signature was successful. I haven't warmed up to Alice yet but it does sound like she's had some interesting life experiences. She studied sculpture at art school, teaches geography and is a Royal Navy combined cadet? Is that like a civil, auxiliary arm of the Royal military services?

I checked out some streams after the firebar remake of 1-1 went viral this summer. There are some engaging Super Expert levels out there for Mario Maker 2 but mainly I'm amused by the toxicity of Versus Mode. I'd be irritated if I were playing myself but watching popular streamers sabotage each other can be hilarious.

I don't know yet about them being accomplished but the show has been around enough to have kids who grew up on the show becoming competitors. I think Henry - collapsed lattice house guy - is the one who has been a superfan since he was twelve. I did kind of like the klutz because I'm always hopeful for more multicultural influences in the bakes. Michael's parents were adorable. I'm glad the chai tea cake went over well but cutting that many fingers is not a good sign. Tough assessment @Danny Franks, but this made me laugh. Alice is one of several contestants who had some over-the-top, cartoony expressions that bugged me. Maybe I'll warm up to her and the others. (On the other hand, I loved Nadiya because her expressions seemed genuinely felt in the moment and there were other personalities like Paul the prison warden to balance out the cast.) I was surprised to read that Alice was the bookie's preseason favorite to win it all and wonder how this episode might change things.

Maybe it's just that it's been a year but it feels like production went a little over the top casting bakers with animated expressions. I'd prefer it if only a few contestants have Nadiya-level facial contortions. While I also wish the group had a little more balance in ages, I do like that the bakers look like they have already bonded. It helps the show when there's camaraderie between the contestants.

The new line up of bakers: Radio Times The Bake Off website

Has ESPN provided live coverage of US Open qualies before? I was flipping through the upper sports channels this morning and was surprised to see it on ESPN News. So far they've talked about on-court coaching and jumped around a lot between matches.

I haven't listened yet but the podcast is here: https://www.podcastone.com/episode/The-Masked-Singer-UNMASKED-with-special-guests-Donnie-Wahlberg-and-Robin-Thicke

Great piece! I didn't care for Val during her season but she sounds so fun here.

Or like Sherlock. Really enjoyed the piece on Jim Clark. Even Jeremy was teary and I'm sure he'd seen the piece many times before they showed it to the tent audience. Maybe that's something the trio can get back into on the side - interesting history pieces that'd be right at home with 30-for-30 audience. Richard's rant about his wife's horse made me chuckle. It was a bit of a throwaway segment, but I liked the idea of making the Lamborghini SUV climb the ski slope.

You're right. I should have expected an extra results show with guest collaborations.

JorWat on Reddit posted that NBC's PR group has already published spoiler pics from the February 11th finals. (So I guess there are only six episodes.) I wasn't able to click through the mini snaps, but I was able to see at least two who got wildcards: For the upcoming fifth episode, it also looks like...

The Guardian: Andy Murray posts hospital photos after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery

I think it was a re-cut clip from last year, a response to the simplistic 'quad king' fever before and after the Olympics. Everyone from Wired to the New York Times got excited talking about quads before Pyeongchang. The tone of the piece probably made more sense at the time but his voice sounded a little tinny in the audio. The Super Bowl ad last year was more effective at making the same point about the work behind the scenes, without the voiceover. I liked how they were specifically directed to minimize their commentary during the free skates. I wasn't as familiar with Michael Weiss' commentary work but I liked his post-skate analysis. Mirai was a pleasant surprise during Ice Desk too - she was thoughtful, measured and got technical where warranted. I really hope US Figure Skating will bring in former young champions like Mirai and Michelle to help Alysa deal with some of the hype and media attention. Sending her to senior competitions to get used to the environment is good too but I'm sure there are other, lesser known lessons from Michelle's first senior years.

I thought he purposefully held back on the playfulness of the program today, probably to avoid technical mistakes. The early exhibition and other versions of Caravan (Skate America?) were demonstrably more jubilant and expressive. In the face and in the arm movements. I also think the untailored vest worked better with the off-kilter theme than the new Vera Wang. I'm sure someone will eventually post a side-by-side video of Caravan for comparison. I was wondering why he didn't get called on the first jump and Scott Hamilton mentioned today that technical judges only get one camera angle for analysis. That would explain a lot. Ice Desk (around 14:20, beginning has a chat with Alysa.)

He's looked pregnant for a number of years. I'm more alarmed that May's gut is going down the same path. The first ep was okay - I didn't miss the celebrity segment; the dig at the new Top Gear presenter was relatively subtle and May's quips - scripted or not - were delivered with precision. The trailer for the Columbia special which will be released Friday and Saturday:

My cable company has up on their free-on-demand service, plus the episodes are unlocked on NBC's website.

I'd be surprised if she didn't get one of the wildcard spots.

I hoped he had more Majors in him too. It really wasn’t that long ago that he had gotten back to number one in the rankings. The press conference was hard to watch. It sounds like he’ll have to have more invasive hip surgery like Bob Bryan just to tie his shoes without pain.

The third season starts January 18th and Amazon has commissioned a fourth one with just road trips. Trailer:

Tokio Myers’ participation has been confirmed. I’m not disputing Tokio’s musicianship and performance skills but I don’t see the AGT producers manipulating a win for him. I could see a storyline where he’s a refreshing revelation for the “super fans” and gets voted to the last round, ultimately losing to a sentimental favorite/sob story or a popular US winner.