annzeepark914

Okayyyy...I tuned in to Hardball tonight, around 7:30, and lasted maybe 5 minutes. He had an awkward way of signaling to Bob Shrub (sp?) that this was his last question to him. Bob looked puzzled, & then laughed a little. I can't remember what CM said or how he phrased it, something like "this is the end of the night, Bob" or something like that, before asking one final question. Very weird.

I can still see the terror on Ricky Gervais's face while he was riding in a tiny sports car on one of the old expressways in NYC. Jerry was taking him to a coffee shop on City Island.

Loved that scene. And what was the music that started playing when Lou sat on the bed?

He didn't look so hot in that vacation photo either (compared with his wife who looks healthy).

Maybe he came up with the name and using the same name for his book title was a way to "own" the name of the show. Oh well...if he resigns, retires, whatever, they'd need to create a new format for the show anyway, along w/ a new title. The one thing about Hardball that I've enjoyed is the Tell Me Something I Don't Know segment (altho' since it's at the end of the show, they're rushed and I don't like that--I want the guests to have the time to do a bit of explaining re: what they' just revealed).

I'm reading Bury The Lead by Archer Mayor. It's one of the latest in the Joe Gunther series. I normally don't read police/detective books but this series is not typical. The stories take place in Vermont & the author has richly developed the main characters. He also shows his love for this small, beautiful state & its old towns, one of which, Brattleboro, is where these people live & mostly work. The books are more like novels with a bit of suspense.

IMO, Brian should just read the news. He's lucky he even has a job there after what he's done. I can't see him handling the talking heads on Hardball, especially these days when things are popping left and right in DC and NYC (especially with the SDNY!!) From here on out, it's going to get wilder and wilder.

Spaghetti with pancetta, parmigiana- reggianno, butter, onions, etc. I don't know what its name is but it's good.

The Spitter returns on Monday (per Steve K who, of course, did not refer to Chris as the spitter) 😏

Chris will be back on Monday (just announced rather dramatically by Steve). 😑

Mr P914 can't stand him. A neighbor's grandkids attend the same school as Chuck's kids. She says he's so nice & down to earth. But...he doesn't come across that way on TV, which is odd. IMO, someone should work w/ Steve Kornacki, tone him down a bit. He's such a personable & smart guy, and could be a really good talk show host. Wish they'd get rid of that corpse, Al Sharpton. I just seethe every time I see him (will never forgive him & Tawana for the damage & misery they dumped on certain towns & innocent people). Ok...done venting for the day. Feel much better 😎

That's awful. I've never heard of such a thing (but now I have). What a creep to inject his warped politics into his stories in such an evil way.

Re: MTP Daily? I know one thing & that is that I'm always happy when Katy Tur fills in for Chuck. One talk show I've become very impressed with is Nicolle Wallace's Deadline White House. Good guests.

Well, that's it for me. I have no use for ol' sad sack Williams. IMO, he should've been fired for telling lies, something a journalist/TV newsperson should never get away with. Don't they have any fresh face who could take over Hardball?

I forgot to add the Scottolini books. The early books in the women's law firm series were really great, especially the scenes of Mary's parents and neighborhood. The last book I read featured Bennie meeting a state trooper up in the Scranton area. That's when I decided no more Scottolini for me. Why don't these authors create new amateur sleuths after their main characters solve about 10 mysteries? I mean, after solving 10 mysteries, you'd think the police dept would hire them.

My mom used to say that to be funny. She also said, "That'll learn ya!" We loved it. I remember later on saying those nutty things in front of others and being gleefully corrected (and they wouldn't accept my explanations). I am so sick of hearing people starting sentences with the word "so". It started with comedians as a way to set up a joke but now way too many folks are using it. One more pet peeve: people saying, "nuke-u-lar". Did Jimmy Carter (a nuclear engineer) start that horrid mispronunciation? Before I sign off, I need to share another spelling (and dramatic pronunciation) for voila: waa-laa.

@Kemper: Yes, a brief appearance where he could read his script & not have to worry about messing up. But you're right--he probably wouldn't take a job like that. If he's on vacation right now, he has to he going crazy what with all the stuff going on this week.

So, where's Chris? It's been nice having a host the past week or so who lets his guests talk. These are the only times now that I watch Hardball. I can't take the name screw-ups and confusion any more. But I'm wondering what's going on.

Joy had her own show on CNN (or was it HLN?) a few years ago. It was a great show and she'd always feature a panel of interesting in-the-know folks. I'd love to see her show resurrected.

I tuned in as he was getting ready to put the mac & cheese in the oven. It looked good. What did you all think? Would you make it?

Looks like I'm the only one here. Helloooo? What do you all think of Season 3? I noticed that tonight's episode had no silliness in it (thank goodness!) I'm wondering if the silly stuff was edited out recently due to complaints, or maybe because they had a bunch of issues (e g., getting supplies to the cabin, wrong windows delivered, getting rid of piano, etc). Ashley got her two trips shown which was nice. All in all, a good episode that reminded me of Season One.

Monday, Feb 25th...no Chris. Curious.

Chicken burgers on toasted rolls w/ lime aiole. Served w/ chips, and a tossed salad.

I wonder if American skaters would be welcome. Chris Reed is accepted there *but* he has a Japanese partner (& is Japanese-American himself). The coaches there seem to train their skaters very well. What's their secret? Maybe they make them skate figures for the first 5 years! But gee, did we have so much underrotating back in the day? Just guessing here. I'm no expert.

Yup - That's John Grisham. In the beginning I enjoyed reading the books but then it became like a formula. The only book of his that wasn't quite formula but dealt with lawyers (and imprisoned judges!) was The Brethren. Loved that one. Lilian Jackson Braun's The Cat Who series. It starts out great, then the main character moves "upstate" (I'm thinking this is in Michigan because some of the crazy town names sound familiar to my Michigander husband). It's still very good for quite a few books and then, after he moves into a big house, something went wrong with the writing. I think the author must've hired a ghostwriter. Awful dialogue and setting descriptions. MC Beaton's Agatha Raisin and Hamish MacBeth series were fun at the beginning. Then something similar to The Cat Who series happened. Awful writing. Not sufficient descriptions of where the characters were when they were speaking. Sue Grafton's alphabet series was good in the beginning but after a man shot at Kinsie while she was hiding in a garbage can, I couldn't take it any more. Whoops - forgot Dick Francis. I loved his books in the beginning (especially the one where that jockey had to fly a 747) but they became tired formula stories after a while and I quit. Plus, it was obvious someone else was writing the books in Mr. Francis's later years.