St. Claire

No, I don't think he deserved 10s, but I saw remarks that indicated that there was no reason he shouldn't be able to do a lift, since he's such a seasoned pro. I was just saying that his effort/faltering didn't surprise me. Pro dancer doesn't necessarily equal "adept at every move," and I don't think he should be criticized* for having a weakness. I agree that he and Bindi should have gotten a lower score because of it. * And by "criticized" I mean that his weakness should negate any of the good talents he has. I don't consider saying "this was weak and he showed some difficulty" as a criticism, only as a statement

But by joining the military, they are taking on increased risk of being killed than the jurors did. They don't get to say "as long as I agree that the politician's decision really is for the 'greater good,' I will fight this fight and risk my life." yeah, in this case they died for a politician's mistress instead of for their country's best interest, but they still agreed to fight a fight that was based on someone else's motivation regarding whether it was right or wrong. Anyone who joins the military knows that they have increased their risk of dying; serving jury duty doesn't include anywhere near that assumption of risk.

Agreed! She was all "That was a private conversation!" and I was thinking "No conversation is private when you are sitting three feet away from someone." It would be different if the gang didn't talk about their private lives at work (I know, crazy concept!), but Tim knows Jake,, he knows a lot about Bish's personal life because they are work friends who share things.

Tom: For those of you drinking at home, that was another "amazing."

I loved when Tom remarked "For those of you who are drinking at home, that was another 'amazing'" (although I think the "amazing" that sparked the remark came from the judges, not from Leah). I've always admired his quick wit.

I agree with everyone who said that they should have made all of the dances jazz/contemporary in light of the need to replicate so much of the original dances. I don't fault Derek for any wavering in the lift, since he said outright that he is not experienced with lifts in his style of dancing and we know that Bindi is not trained on how to execute lifts. Even though I feel like the I have reached my limit with Derek (I will be perfectly happy for him to take a season or two off to focus on his other professional endeavors), I can't deny his talent. But that lift was outside of his wheelhouse, so I think he did a pretty good job, considering. Even as an unabashed fan of Singing in the Rain, I was very happy with Andy and Allison's version. I think they captured the feeling of the dance well, and made the tap-to-jazz transformation successfully. Allison is no Debbie Reynolds, as someone upthread pointed out, but she did an admirable job of paying homage. I think that if Famous Dance Week had been a few weeks later, Carlos would not have said anything about his dance. Having to do a dance with an objectification theme only a week after a theme of deep spirituality and faith is sort of jarring, and I don't think he was wrong to highlight the whiplash nature of the timing. That may be pretty much the only time you'll see me defending Carlos, though, because he annoys me beyond reason in general. I kind of hope that he is eliminated before Alexa, since there has been so much more focus on her being supportive of his efforts than his support of hers. It didn't even look like he came to comfort her when she was almost eliminated this week, even though she was clearly shaken by it. Loved Nick's SNF moves and Tamar's Rhythm Nation dancing. Neither of them is my favorite (I don't really have a front runner this season), but I enjoyed both this week. Hayes and Alek tend to not stick in my brain the day or so after the performances, which probably isn't a good sign. The only dance I think I actively disliked was Paula's Vogue number (full disclosure, I didn't see Madonna's original to which homage was being paid) except for teh background dancers and Louis' short shorts.

and she always manages to have that effortless (and by "effortless" I mean "totally planned and carefully styled") teased crown volume when she puts her hair in a ponytail.

Webber is in charge of overseeing the residents, so that's why Amelia went to him (not in his capacity as faux-Chief).

I just feel as though Jo saying that Stephanie was totally lying about such a significant story warrants at least a "that's a serious accusation; what makes you say that she is lying?" Those are the kind of exchanges that take place in normal workplaces (I know, I know, GSM isn't anything close to a normal workplace); if you are going to damage someone's professional reputation, you need to be prepared to justify what you are saying.

The blond girl on Asher's phone. She has something to do with the mysterious Trotter Lake incident.

Grace saw the nachos when the search party was in the cellar, so I think it was supposed to be real.

But is he still Attorney General of the United States? I don't think he had a line where he reminded us of that. The hide-and-seek scene made me smile. Any good will I had toward Fitz because of that scene evaporated when he took his motorcade to Olivia's apartment, though. I liked the episode calling out the idea of the dog whistle politics, although I hated Huck being on a talk show and just repeating the term. I've never heard the news reports/pundits refer to white shooters as "thugs" (I live in the suburbs of Baltimore, so I heard a lot of commentary during the riots). I am "pushy" when I advocate my ideas at work, the male project managers are "strong advocates." I've never heard the term "dog whistle politics" to describe that coded language, but I know it when I hear it about women, and I am learning to recognize it about race.

You are correct- she was manipulating the system in small ways during that episode, and it ticked Jo off. (Alex later called her on the complaining about it and told her to learn to play the same game, if I remember correctly.) One small moment that I thought was a little strange was when Amelia was talking to Jo (before Jo told Amelia that Stephanie was lying) when Amelia invited Jo and Stephanie to the house for the party, since she was thinking that Stephanie needed to unwind. Amelia knows that Jo is already invited as Alex's date, but presented it as "you guys should come" as opposed to "bring Stephanie." Abe was awesome. It's too bad he had to die to further the storyline.

I think you have to first follow Domino's on Twitter to use the emoji ordering, so you probably order using a direct message. I can't swear to that, though, since I neither order pizza from Domino's (using any mechanism; I'm not much of a chain pizza kind of girl) nor do I tweet with emojis to much of anyone.

The Snickers Horseless Headsman will never not be funny. My amusement at that walking head is matched only by my annoyance level at the Party City commercials.

I think you're right. Olivia is allegedly a strong, independent woman (note that I use the word "allegedly"), but instead of supporting her and having her back, Jake's inclination to jump in and "help" sends a message that he thinks she cannot stand on her own. Someone who supports a capable woman who is having doubts will say "Hey, you can do this and I have your back," not "you need me to take care of this for you."

As soon as Louis told Tamar that the moves would be tough/a challenge even for Karina, I questioned his choice to put in so much hard content. As good as Tamar is, I think it's unfair to do a dance in the middle of the season that would be high level for a pro dancer. Up the stakes for the final dances, sure, but not at this point in the competition. Also, I am finding myself disliking the use of the troupe more and more as time goes on. Derek and Alexa's dance would have been more powerful (IMO, of course) if we'd been fully focused on Alexa's dancing without any distraction from the troupe. I preferred when the troupe did demos, commercial bumpers, and could be used in the finals.

I always interview people who have been known to be violent against me when I am on roofs, and I prefer that those meetings be alone so that no one is around if things go sideways; it adds to the adventure. Doesn't everyone?

I think the online obituary I saw was for another Ray Bergeron. Tom and his family are from New England, but the obituary I saw (even though it did have a message from someone offering condolences to Tom) was from Texas. I don't mind showmances in general, but Erin needs to stop putting folks on the spot about dating each other. Emma and Alek seemed like they wanted to sink into the floor to escape her. I enjoyed Carlos' dance in isolation, but am getting annoyed with his personality off the floor. I also think Alexa is still a bit over the top with her effusive thanking of him as well as her dance partner week after week.

It's a palindrome. I wonder if that is meaningful at all.

Yep, totally crazypants, IMO. She wanted to give him enough of a heart attack that his sex-party ways would be revealed to his wife, so she would "know who he really was."

She gave him the nitro knowing that it would cause a heart attack with his Viagra, but thought it would be mild enough for him to only be hospitalized, not actually die. Super risky on her part. I busted up laughing and the construction dude with the self-professed large member eating that ginormous hot dog.

Regardless of your personal beliefs, the fact remains that gay parents exist in our society. Your daughter could see them out in the world (at the grocery, at the public school picking up their children, at the playground), so seeing them depicted on TV should not come as a shock or source of torment for you. Personally, I was ready to be offended by Dad #2's bad Darth Vader impression, but since they lampshaded it, I was OK with the commercial. :-)

This may be a local commercial, since it's for a Northern Virginia hospital, but the guy on the Inova spot who says "I can't spell 'pharmacogenetics,' but my liver can" needs to go away. First of all, "pharmacogenetics," while being a long word, is not that difficult to spell because it's phonetic (as long as you remember the "ph" concept). Secondly, nobody's internal organs are going up against the kids in the Scripps Bee; your organ doesn't know how to spell anything. Finally, he just irritates me for some reason beyond his reference to personalized medicine.

I had to laugh at Oliver's shocked "even *I* would have cheated at a sex party!" reaction. Also liked Anni's voice reminder to get some more junk food, since she is tired of the healthy stuff in the fridge. I'm going on record with a prediction that Asher was involved with Tiffany's accidental death at Trotter Lake, something in the drug overdose/alcohol poisoning/vehicular arena. Daddy covered it up to allow Asher to pursue success, but DA Pinchy Face found the details. Also, I was very uncomfortable with Wes having to come over and kill the mouse in Annalise's basement. Normally I roll with stuff like that, but I'd just set up traps in my own basement and kitchen (a furry little guy peeked over my makeup case as Hubby yesterday morning) and the subject hit a bit close to home.