snarktini

I appreciated the shoutout from wife about wanting to beat "those brothers".

Huh, I was a little slow on the uptake. When they showed the chrysalis and Gary as an alien, I thought Gary had been body snatched and replaced by one. I'm honestly surprised they're going with "Gary has always been an alien".

What I like about that idea is that it would pay off Mo meeting the kids. Why in the world did Mo push for that?! Perry had the right idea -- a relationship should be rock solid before you do that. It bothered me that he was whiny about that. If Mo started hanging out with Brad, as a friend or lover, then at least that would dovetail. I think it's not really that a popup needs so long...it's that Rose and Max want a chance to stay together and solidify their relationship. He doesn't have to sublet anything or fully move...he's just going to crash with Rose and keep paying the rent for his empty apartment. That said, it also might take more than a week to scope out the local region, lock in a suitable location, make sure your business would work locally, and get contracts in place. Popups pop up in a day but they aren't planned in a day in a whole new city. The question was raised, why introduce Perry just to have it end this soon? (Assuming it does, officially.) I agree, this is why. There's a lot of fairytale-ness to the show, and I like it that way, but in reality Mo would have a harder time. And I live in SF. There's another reason why they might have introduced Perry, and that's to set up Mo's growth beyond fun relationships to complex ones. Mo initially didn't want to date a parent but explored it.

She had a blast and was def laughing at herself! During this episode my BF announced she's now his celebrity crush. Which isn't great news for me since I look approximately 0% like Padma! She was! See, Chyromaniac has it covered :D Though she certainly didn't intend for her chicken to literally taste rubber-y.

On the video he said he made arrangements for her, so they only had to call one place because contracts were in place and the home was "waiting" for this. (However, having lived through dementia placements, a good facility probably wouldn't have actually had a room available at that very moment! Unless he's been paying for an empty room. But that's Real Life and this is Fiction.) I would hope he didn't make Michaela her guardian without a conversation. That's a BFD. Also, un-fun fact: My grandmother's private memory-ward room in a good but not fancy place cost almost $8K/mo. That stuff's expensive.

There is a rhyme and reason.... it's all Fate. It's fate that they went to the time capsule that day and then the King Kone at that moment, so that she could drop her photo, so that he could find it and then be arrested just as she was coming back so they could meet. Fate led them to be there in that photo together years before. Every single thing that happens is following some sort of undefined but cosmic plan, the puzzle is following and interpreting the clues. Personally I don't believe in fate/god(s)/whatever. But the show believes in it :)

The pulled pork style jackfruit really made social media rounds due to Tabitha Brown. There was a few weeks where I saw that constantly! About the albondigas: The little caption said albondigas seca. Seca means dry. What element gave it that designation? They were still in sauce, obviously so not a dry presentation. In Tucson, where Maria cooks, there is a meat called carne seca, maybe they were made from that? Obviously not a big thing, just curious!

Avishar said he used lots of fruit, I think I heard him say there was fruit in the stock used to cook the risotto.

It's called injera, and yeah I'm not a fan either. The spongy texture creeps me out and since it's your utensil, you end up eating a lot of it. Ethiopian food should come with little signs telling me what's what! When eating a sampler platter, if I can't identify the individual items I don't know what to order next time! So I get another platter and we go round and round. It's not a cuisine I eat a lot of so I haven't learned it well. I'm always a little surprised to hear that chefs/cooks don't necessarily know all the world cuisines, but that's of course unfair as they are: a) human, b) tied up with very long hours, and c) not wealthy. I guess I just have this idea that chefs are very worldly and know everything about food. I had that reaction this time too -- how could I, a middle-aged white woman know more African food than some of them?! I first had Senegalese food maybe 20 years ago! And while I love food, I rarely eat out. But like I said, I know that's an unreasonable standard to hold them to. I also live in a big city that has literally everything so I have an advantage. But still I have only sampled a few African cuisines. Lots to learn!

Nothing to explain! Fun coincidence that my partner had just run up to the store for ice cream and brought back one of the Talenti layers. We've never even bought Talenti before, much less the layers! He had just dipped his spoon in when the show started and what he was eating was the QF star. The layers are hard to eat. You kind of have to eat them one layer, or at best 1-1/2 layers at a time.

I can't imagine how it would last. Going outside your comfort zone is one thing. Getting involved with a Dad of a 7 and 9 year old when you're still happily in your partying years is rough. Doesn't match Mo. Side note on Mo and Max: Who was running their not-restaurant on a Saturday night while they were at the party?! Same when Max left their opening night. Even with other managers, they would be there literally every day and night especially weekends. I wish I were better at waving these things away! It's not reality. The actor playing David did SUCH a great job there! Speaking of things I can't wave away! The triangle/tangle/etc doesn't bother me too much but her being his boss is such a sticking point for me. I don't care how much they are into each other, that's a no go.

Going into JT, I thought Chris was the one most likely to be knifed for his pasta. Dry, undercooked, thick pasta is usually a deal killer. And not even filled enough! When he was rolling it out I saw the excess flour on the dough, which Tom correctly called, and cringed. My parents make their own and that's not a good thing. But, geez, they really hated Sasha's components even more! And even one thing they went after Brittany for -- not enough vinaigrette -- was also Sasha's call even though they didn't know that. Brittany thought there wasn't enough but Sasha talked her out of adding more. Really impressed by the teams in this challenge. I thought this was an impossible challenge, a tough combination + surprise team + being stuck with the ingredients you already had on hand. They were set up to fail and except for two teams they knocked it out! B&S thought they had it easy by not having to create a new dish from scratch but that's what doomed them. Interesting to hear about their challenges with alcohol. This has been a big drinking time, on top of an industry that's known for it. Is Gregory sober as well? Not sure. My partner stopped drinking a couple years ago so I'm always interested in how open people are, how permanently they view it, and how they describe it. Sasha said she has gotten sober, whereas Shota is "not drinking right now". All valid!

That used to be my late night diner order! Never breakfast, but at midnight or 2a? Absolutely. Hash browns and corned beef hash for the win! ETA: I remembered I HAVE ordered that for breakfast! A little embarrassing but the heart wants what it wants.

Yes, she ignored him and added it.

I really wish they'd be more clear about that. That usually means "starts with" but doesn't always, and I wonder if they contestants get instructions that we don't hear. Phil was my first guess, but I got to Rogers in time! I agree . They don't want to look like they're "replacing" Alex right away. This way they can honor him (for the cast and the audience) and keep the show going while they figure out the long-term. Also gives us lots of different hosts so there's not such a sharp comparison between Alex and whoever the next host will be. We get used to the idea of it being someone else. Have they announced an end time to the guest hosts? I was figuring they'd do this for the remainder of the season but that's still a ways off so wondering if I'm wrong.

Based on the snippets I heard, I wonder if what happened was they were asked to name the one thing they can't live without, a crucial component of their cooking. And a couple of them took it literally, and said something like butter. Fine French cuisine guy definitely needs butter! They answered the question rather than playing the game. Others knew to pick something they couldn't live without that the kitchen wouldn't necessarily have, like the plantains and the caul fat.

I was truly shocked that David thought he could join the band! I figured he'd just jam with them once in a while for fun, that seemed like a reasonable way to go with that story. A bit of fish-out-of-water with him and the kids. Not only because he's too old / a dad, but because he doesn't have the hours per week (unscheduled to boot) to rehearse AND go to gigs. Want to talk to Emily about that?! I know, I know, bringing in realism is dumb. (Don't get me started on the restaurant concept lol.) That said, I thought Sebastian Bach on Gilmore Girls was a hoot as the older dad joining a band of 20 year olds. For that character it was a serious thing, and plot-wise his family totally supported his rock star life as a break from parenting duty.

Following TV norms, that we were shown so much about him -- that he has a master's from SCAD, a piece of his art, a pic his partner and baby, his desire to be a rapper -- indicated early on he'd be out. Which is a shame! I thought he was charming. Low-key funny. Agree it was dumb. However, the bigger kitchen seems to be intended to protect / space out the crew, who can't be bubbled properly, not our chefs. Maybe they were able to do the smaller kitchen with a smaller crew? Or maybe they're just minimizing risks when they can to reduce the overall levels even if it's imperfect. But, honestly, I don't know why they make them crowd and cook in tiny kitchens. There has to be a better way. He made the worst possible choice of dish with those restaurants behind him! And while BBQ is impossible in that time frame, but we've seen them creatively smoke birds before so it wasn't totally out. He chose a family meal to define him, not one that's about him as a chef, now or before. Killer misstep. Happy to have it back!

Did they cut the Wakanda line? Because I saw it in the preview and didn't hear it when I watched the movie last night. Yup. He's had the "only girl children" problem for literally decades and he's just now realizing he doesn't have a successor? Women can't own businesses? There was a lot of growth missing there. I realize it's just a comedy film and I can't ask a lot of plot or logic. The sexism / patriarchy was obviously dialed up to 11 for comedic effect. I'm surprised to hear this was going to be a theatrical release. It's fine for a nostalgic streaming flick (like Bill and Ted was) but not really not good enough for theaters. 100% agree! In the end, one more thing stood out to me: Akeem overturned whatever law said a daughter couldn't ascend, but he would have also had to remove the "firstborn" rule. Usually it's the firstborn child that inherits the throne and we even heard Akeem acknowledge that. But, obviously, he's king and can do whatever he wants! Are there countries in which the ruling monarch is allowed to pick which kid is most worthy?

Also canceled-too-soon, she was in Don't Trust the B in Apt 23! She's done a LOT it turns out.

Ooooof, that was bad. "I see that I need to listen! And I have a solution for that! That I arrived at, without listening to the person who told me I need to listen!" It was hard to watch, but I'm glad we saw Zoey stumble at EVERY turn. She made basically every mistake. And the audience needed to see all those ways. I commented about this on the softball episode, too. Why is Zoey acting so helpless? Did it really take a song to reveal that Tobin might not want to be called Slumdog? And even if he's okay with it, Zoey and Sprqpoint should not be. I haven't understood why she has been letting her team get away with bullshit behavior, but now that we've had this episode and she's become aware how oblivious she is, maybe we'll start seeing change. Is that too much to hope for? Bathrobe coats are definitely a current trend! A couple years ago it was "teddy bear" coats. When she went to Mo and said I need a way to tell Simon that the Board wants him to rectract but still let him know I have his back, I wanted Mo (or anyone) to say to Zoey -- you can't have it both ways. You actually don't have his back! Why was she so quick to fall in line? She didn't push back or seek a third way. This plus her unwillingness to check bad behavior on her team adds up to Zoey not being ready for leadership. I hope this is intentional + part of her arc.

I liked it! It's been a heavy week and it was the goofy adventure I wanted. It had to be the daughters who would create the song...when the Great Leader said Preston/Logan wrote it, not Wyld Stallyn, that jumped out at me. When the phone box was stolen, I was momentarily confused but then with all the Hell stuff starting right after I forgot that thread. Lying in bed later, the penny dropped that it was the wives who stole their phone booth! I noticed they were old when they showed up at therapy to pick up young wives, and even saw them running into the booth when they were saying goodbye to their old selves, but I missed that connection in the moment. My BF does not share my sense of humor and this is not his kind of film, but even he gave it some chuckles. Many went to Dennis towards the end...don't know why, but he amused me/us.

I love the bit where David Hyde Pierce literally waves the bottle of vermouth over the pitcher while he's mixing martinis. Good sight gag for an old joke.

Several comments above talk about how everyone should see this because it's so relevant today. I'm writing this post several years later, and it's only gotten MORE heartbreakingly relevant and current. It's hard to watch these stories and especially to seek them out, but we have to.

OMG I did NOT see that coming! Even though I knew there had to be a twist. Could not figure out where it was headed then BAM. I agree. This movie clobbers me every time I see it, and I've only watched it a few times because of that. We, the viewers, know that he had to do was ride this out and then he could live his own life, but he didn't know that. He literally didn't know he could run away, or defy his parents. (Well, he tried defying them and look where that got him?) He couldn't face the loss of his passion, his sense of self, his freedom. He felt trapped. The weight of others' expectations, finding yourself, becoming aware you're not living your life to the fullest..these themes hit me where I live.