[Small Talk: And The Winner Will Be...]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

Most important to me was favorite new show, then favorite adaptation, then most satisfying death (Freddy's) and saddest death (Lenore's), and then favorite villain.

I am glad it won both death scene categories.  Not just because I nommed them (pats self on back) but because the deaths were such an integral part of the narrative.  They were meaningful on a whole story level but on a character level as well.  And yeah, agreed it was my favorite show that aired during the eligibility period.  It is amazing because horror and horror-adjacent is really not my jam. But I ate that show up.

I think the only category I (again biased) think it should have won was diversity.  That Roderick Usher got around! He managed to impregnate women of all races!  And managed to have children that were straight, bi, gay,  and pan. And married a woman with a disability.  All of that in one family!

I was also gratified to see that Reservation Dogs got a lot of love.

 

[The Holdovers (2023)]

I watched this when it showed up on Peacock.  Had no real expectation but was very pleasantly surprised.  I just like little movies like this.  No big, big swings but very intimate storytelling without coming off as overly pretentious and precious.

Most surprising was Dominic Sessa.  I went to see what else he was in an learned this was his first film, he is a college student and it was filmed in the prep school he went to.  He is so assured  and a natural.  Total break out performance.

Also, Paul Giamatti is not wall-eyed!  LOL.  I've seen him in so many things and I would have sworn that was just how his eyes have always looked?  But it was movie make up/magic.  They did a great job.

My husband said he wishes we had gotten a little more time with the other boys.  I agree.  I wonder why the Mormon kid couldn't go home for Christmas? Or the Asian kid. 

Anyway, I enjoyed this. What a nice surprise.

 

[What Did We Eat Today?]

Every New Year's Eve do a stay at home 'grazing' -- just a lay out of finger food that we can graze on all night and at midnight raise a glass of champagne.

This year we had: a sushi platter, crab stuffed mushroom caps, salmon croquet bites(with remoulade sauce), various cheeses and crackers, bab ghanouj and tzatziki sauce with fresh veggies and pita for dipping, hot spinach-artichoke dip, cheesecake bites and macarons.

2 hours ago, BooksRule said:

Since it's New Year's Day, I'm going to cook up a big pot of black-eyed peas (seasoned with some Christmas ham bits) for lunch and some cabbage (again seasoned with ham) for dinner. 

Same.  Only I am gonna do collards with mine.  Since my husband has cut out meat in his diet in the last couple years I have to do two batches of collards.  One I do with traditional smoked hocks.  My family is from the South and that taste is hard wired in me, LOL. For my husband I try to replicate the flavor using a plant based smoked sausage and smoked olive oil for the fat.

And man, I am fo glad the holidays are over. No more entertaining until summer.

[To Subscribe Or Not To Subscribe, That Is The Question: Paid Streaming Services]

21 hours ago, IntrovertRed said:

This pisses me off, so much more than any others. I can't remember a time that I didn't pay for Prime, but I only use Amazon these days for shopping (though not as much as prior years) and rarely do I get packages within two days anyway.  But now I have to pay extra to not pay for ads, when most of these companies, but especially Amazon, have made a shitt ton of money the past year.  Well, I'm done. I've been slowly cutting back on my streaming services anyhow. 

I remember the days when streaming used to be a bargain, but now with all the individual prices, I don't feel the savings anymore. Maybe I'll go back to Slingtv and cancel Netflix and Hulu. The problem is that my kids and I all have a different streaming service that we like. Could be worse problems, I know.

Same. I have been a Amazon Prime member almost since the program began.  I shopped at Amazon so much in the early days that the free 2 day shipping was a godsend. And they started piling on the benefits: free books, prime video etc.

But I take less and less advantage of these things.  When they announced this I took stock of how much I use the benefits. I  calculated and  the 139.00 annual cost is was an actual loss for me for the last two-three years.  I don't even use the fire stick anymore, we switched to a Roku.  I think I've only taken advantage of the The First Reads program i .. maybe 6 times over the last two years.  They curate the same types of books every month and sometimes from same authors.   It's Just not worth it.  More of a money grab from a company that does not need it.  So I cancelled yesterday.  It felt great, tbh.

As of now I am keeping Hulu and Netflix.  Oh and I have Peacock until October.  That was a ridiculously deep discount ($29.00 for the year) I could not pass up. Oh... and Paramount because, hilariously they keep giving it to me for free.  I went to cancel it again and they gave me two more months for free.  I don't think I've paid for Paramount since March.

[What Did We Eat Today?]

For Christmas I hosted 12 people with varying dietary preferences.  I basically excised all red meat and pork from the menu.

For starters I had: Carmelized peaches and brie in puff pastry, roasted cherry tomato and balsamic bruschetta,  and spinach artichoke dip

Duck with orange sauce, and crab stuffed sole with a bernaise sauce, a whole roasted cauliflower with almond herb sauce, Broccoli wild rice casserole, eggplant rollups,  corn souffle, garlic sauteed spinach and mushrooms was the main dish.

[Percy Jackson And The Olympians - General Discussion]

2 hours ago, norcalgal said:

I’d have to go back and rewatch the whole Capture the Flag sequence but I don’t recall Annabeth doing anything to help Percy. She invisibly watched while Clarissa and her fellow Ares kids ganged/beat up on Percy. Further, it wasn’t Percy who actually got the other team’s flag, so no glory there for Percy. Is the “heroism” Percy getting shoved into the river, having the water heal his wounds? Asking a real question here about where Percy showed heroism in the whole CTF sequence.

Mind you... I haven't read the books but the way I read the scene was, capturing the flag wasn't the goal for Percy, it was a mis-direction.  Luke (who is kinda captain exposition)  basically tells one of the other campers that the strategy was Annabeth's and she was Percy where she wants him.   While Everyone else is preoccupied with the game she isolates Percy for a reason.

Cut to Percy all alone, away from the action,  flossing on the rock.  I feel like Annabeth, knowing Clarisse's M.O. (corner your prey when they are alone) purposely parked Percy all by himself on that rock to lure Clarisse there so Percy could fight her.

The flag game was small potatoes. The important part was Percy defeating a relatively powerful demi-god in a decisive way in view of a place where his father would logically be -- i.e. a body of water -- so he could notice Percy.  Percy fighting Clarisse breaking Clarisse's special weapon -- which I assume was a gift from her father given how heartbrokenly she screamed when it happened -- was the real act Poseidon needed to witness.

Unlike Clarisse, I got the impression that Annabeth never doubted that Percy killed the Minotaur.  And she figured that if he could do that then Clarisse would have been no problem for him.  So if you think about Luke's 'ten moves ahead' comment, it seems like Annabeth engineered her whole capture the flag team strategy just to put Percy in a place to be claimed.

From a classics standpoint it also makes sense.  Athena is the goddess of wisdom.  But she is also the patron goddess of heroes. So the show seems to be imbuing Annabeth with these traits.

Interestingly, someone on twitter noted that Percy's fight skills got better, less clumsy,  and more assured the closer he got to the water.

[Percy Jackson And The Olympians - General Discussion]

I just started to watch this cuz I've seen so many clips of the young actors on the promo trail and they are just so damned charming.

I am enjoying it.  I haven't read the books, I was not the target audience when they came out and my kids didn't really gravitate toward them either.

The dynamic between Percy, Annabeth and Grover in the third episode was fun.  Also Percy asking all the right questions at the right time... Zeus' only recourse to save his daughter was to turn her into a tree?  The pine cone quip was pretty savage.  I loved it.  Also him wondering why Chrion wouldn't spring for a plane.

Can I just say Jessica Parker Kennedy even in her smallish role was fantastic as Medusa.  I loved this iteration of her.  In her cozy house with her stone  lawn furniture.   And yeah Athena did her dirty!!  I liked that they kept that version, even though sanitized, in this.  And she had a right to be bitter especially with those two particular kids in her house.

Did not recognize Megan Mullalley at all!

On 12/25/2023 at 11:38 PM, norcalgal said:

A non-adult who is in asshole territory (again, based on the first two episodes) is Annabeth. So she wants Percy’s help to win Capture the Flag but doesn’t bother telling him what to do/his role?!?! WTF? And then while he’s getting ganged up on by Clarissa and her fellow goons, Annabeth stays invisible, just watching. To compound it, instead of answering Percy’s question why she didn’t help him, she shoves Percy into the river?!  

 

I don't think Annabeth was an asshole to Percy.  She never did anything to him.  Unlike Clarisse and all the other kids who actively bullied him. I thought it was clear the minute she saw what happened in the bathroom, that she knew who his father was.  Luke said that Annabeth thinks ten moves ahead of everyone and the capture the flag game was proof of it.  If you think about it, the whole set up of capture the flag was her doing Percy a solid.  He outright said he had to do something heroic and flashy to get his father's attention so she engineered everything to make it happen.  Meanwhile everyone else was basically all shrugs and 'oh well.'  She was the only one who actively helped him out.

I may be overthinking it, but Luke is kinda suss to me.  He was so accepting and nice immediately.  Given that environment and Percy being this newcomer who came in killing the Minotaur, I actually found Clarisse's feeling of threat and the other kids being a bit stand-offish more understandable.  There was a moment in the second episode where Percy was "writing" to his mom about liking Camp Half-Blood really making friends and there was a shot of Luke, that felt... off.  My spidey senses tingled there. 

NGL, those sneakers are cool.

[Family Ties: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly]

5 hours ago, PRgal said:

@DearEvette😱😱😱😱😱

ohhhhh boy!  At least she didn’t ask your other guests why they weren’t trying any of her things!  Or basically plop a portion on their plates!  Or did she?

Everything was laid out buffet style, so people made their own plates...thank god.  One of my husband's students went to town on that rack of lamb, tho.  He went back for seconds and kinda looked at me guiltily and I told him he could eat as much of it as he wanted.  He is on the football team so he is a big boy.  I sent him home with a nice tupperware full of stuff.

 

[Family Ties: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly]

This year was the first year my mother in law came to our house for Christmas.

Usually she goes to my sister-in-law's  because they go really, really big for Christmas and that is her jam.  In my house we are a bit more restrained.  My kids are older and usually just want money and/or gift cards.  And I usually just do a nice dinner and we have drinks and convo after.  Very often we'll have whatever friends or students of my husband over who can't go to their families.

This year my SIL and her family all decided to do a Christmas cruise.  So to our house it was.   Now, my MIL is genuinely a nice person.  But she can be .... a LOT sometimes.  And she is best in small doses.  And this isn't just cliche MIL stuff, my husband from the day we met told me he can only take so much of his mother at times.

So I had 12 people including my MIL coming to my house for Christmas dinner.  Now this is not my first time at the rodeo, so I made sure of everyone's dietary restrictions.  I have been hosting a round robin of people for Christmas for years and learned a long time ago I can just put a rib roast on the table and go voila.  Did that one year and one of my husband's poor vegetarian students sat there and had to fill up on green beans and macaroni.

This year, Of the 12  people who were at my house

2 were fully vegetarian

3 were up to pescatarian

2 the only meat they'd consume besides fish was poultry (no red meat or pork)

2 ate everything but pork

3 were full on omnivore

So I had I menu all set so that everyone would be good.  My main proteins were gonna be duck and a crab stuffed sole.  Everything else was vegetarian

My MIL asked if she could bring anything.  I asked if she could bring her green bean casserole and her corn souffle.  Knowing that these two things would work great with my menu.

She brought those.  Yay.  And they were fantastic.

But that woman also brought a full, grown-ass ham beautifully glazed and a rack lamb (complete with those damn white hat thingys) and baked beans with bacon.  Oh and as she handed over one more crock pot 'I just had a pork shoulder sitting around so I made some pulled pork" She basically made a full Christmas dinner of her own  that almost none of my guests could eat and brought it with her.

Sigh. My husband and I did that talking with your eyes thing that people do when they are kinda pissed but can't really say anything.

 And the cherry on the top of the cake?  She only ate the food she brought and afterwards looked me dead in the eye and told me how everything was so delicious!

She is so damned extra! 

Later that night my husband and I couldn't help but laugh at the audacity!

I also texted my SIL and told her the whole story and told her she should have gone on that 9 month cruise because the next time I see her....  LOL.

[Milestone Moments: All The Celebrity Vitals]

On 12/25/2023 at 1:19 PM, Irlandesa said:

Gosh this shocked me and made me sad.

https://deadline.com/2023/12/kamar-de-los-reyes-dead-one-life-to-life-call-of-duty-black-opps-1235681685/

I remember Kamar de los Reyes from OLTL and I feel sad for his wife, especially since his kids are so young.

RIP Kamar. 90s OLTL was TOP TIER!  And I loved those Vega boys!  And I am so sad for Sherri and his kids.  Ugh this time of the year sucks.  December is relentless when it comes to celeb deaths.

[Primetimer Award Winners: Part I]

Straight Off the Runway: Character With Best Wardrobe

Winner: The Gilded Age - Bertha Russell

Runner up:  Only Murders in the Building – Mabel Mora

 

Not Just A Prop: Favorite Performance By An Inanimate Object

Winner: Good Omens - The Bentley

Runner up: Loki - TVA Handbook

 

Least Favorite Writing

Winner: And Just Like That…

Runner up: Secret Invasion

 

Name That Tune: Favorite Credits/Theme Song

Winner:Only Murders in the Building

Runner Up:What We Do In The Shadows

 

My New Happy Place: Favorite New Show Of The Season

Winner: The Fall of the House of Usher

Runner up (TIE):  Found

Runner up (TIE): Gen V

 

Music to My Ears: Favorite Musical Moment

Winner: Only Murders in the Building - Charles singing the patter song "Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did it?

Runner up (TIE): Only Murders in the Building - Loretta (Meryl Streep) singing the nanny's lullaby "Look for the Light"

Runner up (TIE):   Reservation Dogs - the series finale's beautiful flyover shots of the town set to "Will the Circle Be Unbroken"

      

That Guy Used To Suck: Favorite Character Redemption Arc

Winner: The Bear - Richie ("Cousin")

Runner up: Loki – Loki

 

I Woke Up Like This: Character With Best Hair/Make-up Styling

Winner: Only Murders in the Building – Mabel Mora

Runner up: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Captain Christopher Pike

 

Favorite Writing

Winner: Only Murders in the Building

Runner up: Reservation Dogs

[Sullivan's Crossing - General Discussion]

On 10/16/2023 at 1:07 PM, Jillybean said:

Wow is this show dull. I think the female lead is miscast.

OMG. So. Much. THIS!

Despite my own inner doubts I decided to give this a try.  I loved the books.  But what they did here is what they did with Virgin River. 

I am usually very forgiving of a tv or movie adaptation of books I like if the change is reasonable and makes the tv version more interesting or intriguing (see:Bridgerton, the first few seasons of the OG Walking Dead, The Watchmen e.g.) but when the changes make the tv version outright boring or they do something that changes the entire personality of a main characters or just makes the whole story unrecognizable they could have just written their own material from scratch,  then I side-eye.  This happened with Virgin River in spades.  I had to peace out of that show halfway through the first season.

And they did it here again, but somehow even worse.  The actors are not well cast and this is just paint dry dull. Which imo, is even more of a travesty than changing up the characters.  I got through 3 episodes.

Book spoiler:

Spoiler

Maggie's boyfriend in the book is a massive asshole.  He dumped her because she was "too depressing".  Her life is in utter turmoil and he didn't give a fuck.  Just said " smell ya later!".  There was no fbi raid but... I forgive that for tv.  And Walter is retired and plays golf all the time.  He and Sully have a great relationship -- this is actually one of the things I found really great in the book their respect for each other and Sully especially loving the fact that Walter gave Maggie the opportunities he never could.  And Maggie never abandoned Sullivan's Crossing.  In first book it is explained that  she took at job at a hospital close to Sullivan's Crossing to be closer to Sully because she had to live with Phoebe and Walter when she was younger.  As an adult she has been there tons of times with Andrew.  Again I can forgive that bit of tv license, but it really does change the nature of her relationship with Sully and the locals. And Sully never hit anyone LOL.  He is really a comfortable central figure that is the heart of the series.

Maybe one day someone will adapt the books of this author well.

[S01.E10: Reindeer Games]

On 12/9/2023 at 6:33 AM, shapeshifter said:

The writing was good. 
Best punchline:
"I can't see the florist for the trees"

I legit guffawed with this line.

The writing really was on fire this episode.  Another good one was 'My goose is not cooked!"

I also enjoy that circumstances continue to validate the  Dean thinking Frasier is a hard drinker.  LOL.

Peri Gilpin looks fantastic!

Good episode.

[Milestone Moments: All The Celebrity Vitals]

Oh man, I let out a huge gasp when I heard this! I am literally in a re-watch binge of Brooklyn 99.  Gutted.

RIP Andre Braugher.

[Author Antics]

In yet another example of how to fumble the bag:

Author Cait Corrain has a debut for a fantasy novel coming in 2024 and a two book deal with Del Ray publishing.  Well I should say had a debut novel and a deal because her book has been removed from the release schedule for 2024 and both her agent and her publisher has dropped and and she's lost a lucrative deal with Illumicrate, a boutique book subscription service.

Gizmodo has a good write up about it, but highlights.... Cait created a whole bunch of sock puppet accounts in Goodreads and proceed to one-star bomb other authors who were debuting around the same time as her in the same genre who she perceived as possible rivals.  Most if not all were POC.  Meanwhile her book was being reviewed with 5-star raves by these fake accounts.

An Eagle eyed reader noticed and started gathering the receipts. Cait was confronted with it behind the scenes and was offered the quiet opportunity by to explain and fix it.  But instead she decided to create a fictitious person named 'Lily' to blame on who did all of this (complete with fabricated screen shot conversations with 'Lily' where innocent Cait confronts superfan "Lily' about what "she" did and claiming that Cait did not really know "Lily" they were just friends through the Reylo Discord fandom).  This all blew up on Twitter this past weekend.

Her house of lies came tumbling down when a) people immediately got suspicious of the screen shot conversations because they did not read as if two people were talking to each other and b)the Reylo fandom chimed in that they had never heard of this Lilly person in the fandom and there was no history of any chats or of her presence on Discord.

And finally came the admission complete with  explanations of  depression, mental breakdowns and meds..

The irony of course is... her book was getting good word of mouth and there was going to be a major marketing push for the book.  She didn't need to do all that.  This is the type of stuff new authors dream of and she piddled it away out of unwarranted envy.

 

[FilmNight: Movies you watched recently]

Yeah Candy Cane Lane was fun.  Robin Thede (who played the miniature lady) said that Reggie Hudlin, the director, allowed the miniature crew to adlib.  And because she and Chris Redd (who played the lamplighter) were cracking everyone up, the mini-crew parts got expanded. 

The whole cast was great with those two, the two actors who played the new casters made a lot of their smallish time, Nick Offerman and of course Eddie. 

[What Did We Eat Today?]

I made a veggie pot pie. included:

roasted butternut squash, portobello mushroom, peas, celery, onion, black garlic, carrots, roasted parsnipa, and lentils. In a bechamel with white wine and nutmeg all in a puff pastry crust.

[Season 1 - Episodes 1 through 11 Discussion]

On 12/4/2023 at 8:06 PM, MarylandGirl said:

Maybe with Gabi, it is intentional--she feels that to be safe, she has to always be sort of "hard," to not let her guard down and her vulnerability show, even among people around whom she should feel safe or places where she can relax. I mean, if Sir is actually in the basement, she's even made her home into a place that's unsafe rather than a sanctuary. She always looks put together, too.

Oh I think it is absolutely intentional.  And this is a great way to encapsulate it.  This woman is bearing a whole lot of weight approx.  what ...?  6 foot?  190 lbs?  In the form of Sir.  She is lying to everyone and is holding someone hostage.  She has to be guarded at all times. Even beyond her issues with Sir, I just don't get the impression Gabi's life has been easy.  And I wonder if the actress is using that to fuel the character?

I agree that she serious but I don't agree that she is harsh all the time.  She's shown gentleness to the people she rescues, especially the younger ones.  And they've shown her being a bit flirty with Trent only to pretty visibly shut it down when he seems to see it as a sign to get closer to her.

Of all the the characters, I see Gabi and Dhan as most similar who act outward with their coping, usually behind a very tough, aggressive facade, whereas the other three are inward and much more emotional with their coping.

I  quite like Gabi but I am really curious if/when they are gonna let her crack a bit. She seems ripe for it.

[Milestone Moments: All The Celebrity Vitals]

1 hour ago, BetterButter said:

Norman Lear, Boundary-Breaking Sitcom Creator, Dies

RIP, sir.  A true titan whose work was impactful in all the right ways. 

[Leverage: Redemption in the Media]

50 minutes ago, ML89 said:

YESSSSS!!!!!

Season 3!

WooHoo!!

[Milestone Moments: All The Celebrity Vitals]

6 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

David Caruso looks unrecognizable in first sighting since 2017

I hadn't realized he officially retired from acting but, yikes. 

I'm sorry but that headline cracks me up. First sighting? What is he a bird?  "We've just had a rare sighting the Red-Breasted Caruso in the wild!"

[I'm So Disappointed In You: Celebrity Misdeeds]

52 minutes ago, Notabug said:

She shoulda left the 'I know about the gays because I play one on TV' part out of it, for sure.  And trying to change people's thinking by yelling is not a effective strategy

Honestly she should have left out a lot.

What may have started out as a discussion about the protests, imo, 100% spiralled into a racist rant. 

YMMW, but I hear a woman's voice dripping with condescension and entitlement.  It isn't just what she said it is how she said it. There was more than a whiff of transactional allyship implied in what she said in a finger wagging 'don't you know better?' superiority.  Flat out saying that black people are brainwashed is a choice.

She went beyond her own cause, imo, and went after the entire black community in a harmful way.  This, to me, says more than a single issue point in time frustration with a campus group and exposes a larger mindset.  People upset over and a single incident do not instantly lapse into dog-whistle speech unless there is something latent there.

[I'm So Disappointed In You: Celebrity Misdeeds]

2 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Uh....by doing it, you WERE being a bad mother. SMH.

But she had to.  She had to give her daughter a FUTURE!!!  Without getting into the school she wouldn't have had one,  She would have died right after graduating high school. That is just facts.

Also something....something... Black people!

Quote

“They came into my home. They woke my daughters up at gunpoint. Again, nothing new to the Black and brown community.

Meanwhile black and brown people everywhere are:

[I'm So Disappointed In You: Celebrity Misdeeds]

18 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

And by the way, it was Andy Ostroy's podcast.  He was married to the late Adrienne Shelly.  I only listened to a snippet of the podcast.  Did he say anything in response to what Juliana said?

I only listened to some of the snippets as well.  But I didn't get a sense he gave any real pushback.

The podcast actually aired over a week ago and it is only in the last 24hrs that it is getting any real traction. I wonder if now he'll address it in some way or just sit back and enjoy the added hits on his podcast.

In all the truly awful racist/homophobic stuff, this little gem got missed:

Quote

“stunned by my industry…. Can you imagine the WGA not putting out a statement after George Floyd?” she said. “And yet when it was the Jews. By the way, all of our great material on television is pretty much from the Jews."

She is truly a piece of work.

[I'm So Disappointed In You: Celebrity Misdeeds]

Well damn.  Juliana Margulies did a podcast and what came out was a rather racist, unhinged rant against black people, non-binary folks and gays.

This snippet here is both horrifying and rather funny:

Quote

“There was this film being shown by this Black lesbian club on the Columbia campus, and they put signs up that said no Jews allowed,” Margulies added, “and as someone who plays a lesbian journalist on The Morning Show, I am more offended by it as a lesbian than I am as a Jew, to be honest with you. Because I wanna say to them, ‘You fucking idiots. You don’t exist. Like, you’re even lower than the Jews. A, you’re Black, and B, you’re gay, and you’re turning your back against the people who support you?’ Because Jews, they rally around everybody.”

Girl whut? Fuck you!

The tone of her voice when she said 'Blacks' and 'Those people' onthe podcast when referring to non-binary is so disdainful.

I guess that kinda clears up who was probably the problem between her and Archie.