Stiggs

I watched it. Kept my interest enough, but I was underwhelmed. At least the messiah was good looking. I feel like the series really wanted to say something, but about halfway through it started petering out to the point that I really didn’t care much about how it ended. But it’s always good to see Beau Bridges. 🙂

I really loved this. The kids were all just darling - and wow did the producer strike gold with these stories. Very compelling. I get mad when people bitch about “kids today,” because kids today are pretty awesome. My sister was a cheerleader back in the late 80s, and even then it deserved more sports credit than it got. Especially today, cheer is like football and gymnastics. It’s not a matter of if you’ll have a lifetime injury. You just will. Maybe more than one. My sister’s squad went to NCA camp once, and even the super serious girls on her squad who were planning on trying out at a big U (two did cheer at a D1 school) came back from the camp rolling their eyes. They made up a whole cheer called NCA GO AWAY, lol. I can’t remember exactly what all of their issues were but I know my Mom called it a scam and wanted to call the BBB, heh. I always loved watching cheer and dance on ESPN - I figured ESPN stopped airing them. I had no idea of the corporate cheer mafia. And yeah, good job, dude, your org looks like shit on Netflix. I would have loved to have seen clean video of those routines. (Even though I literally shouted when the kid hurt his ankle - OW.) Morgan broke my heart. Leaving her alone in a trailer? No wonder she wants to stay in jr college forever. I hope Monica can help Morgan find a cheer-related career path, because that poor girl’s only safe space is getting her ribs crushed. She has stability and she wants to keep it. I don’t blame her. Can’t believe her dad had the gall to show his face on TV. La’Darius brother’s tears while watching on that tiny little screen gave me tears. Go Jerry! That kid is sweetness and light. Gabi’s parents are creepy. I cannot imagine my mother micromanaging my hair colorist, FFS. I really do hope Gabi can find a way to make cheer her life because she appears to know nothing else, which is just sad. Even her sister is cashing in with her bikinis. Gabi seems like a sweet young woman. I hope things turn out well for her and that she doesn’t wind up on season 15 of Vanderpump Rules or some shit. Or I hope her creepy dad is a great money manager and she’ll be set for life from all those Instagram posts that make her feel bad about herself. I hope Lexi works it all out one day. She’s smart but a bit lost. And I know I am old but OMG girls pull your hair back! All that flipping with all of that hair - I literally can’t walk my dogs with hair in my face like that. That would drive me nuts! Using Bad Girls Club as life inspiration had me LOL’ing.

Enjoying the heck out of this. I love RuPaul and adore seeing a lot of the Drag Race queens, but this is definitely just not for fans of the show. I am enjoying AJ - she and Ru have great chemistry. Great balance of comedy and sweetness. Good fun.

Heh, hetero white woman here, and I am having the same issues. Morris Chestnut has been one of my pretend celebrity boyfriends for 25+ years - bested by Keanu, who has been there for 30, lol - but Cain is such a freaking gross human, it’s interfering with the hot. I got so excited when I found out he was gonna be on the show, and then, ugh. What I DO love, however, is that I now adore Dr. Austin. His character was written with too many tropes early on, but I love how the character has been developed, and grown-up Theo Huxtable is adorable. I watch almost just for him and Jane Leeves.

Hannah in that scene made me cry without even realizing it. One of those, wait, are these tears? moments. Very powerful. I think Alex was talking to Cory, as well. Steve Carrell was brilliant casting - he was so gross and charming and damn monstrous. Alex’s live studio unraveling was awesome - can you imagine what riveting TV that would be IRL? I’d be glued to the TV.

I kind of liked the little run Aniston did when she was trying to catch up with Witherspoon, because I think sometimes in the most serious or intense moment, something can be randomly ridiculous. I also just generally think Aniston is doing a good job with such an odd character. When she screamed that she was empty I feel like that summed her up so much. Once they committed to outing everything I almost let out a breath. Like, yes, finally - I wasn’t sure where they were gonna go, but I kinda liked that they went nuclear. Wish they could have done it without a suicide/OD.

Man, every scene with Steve Carrell made me physically uncomfortable. Kudos to his acting because he made me want to puke. Aniston is killing it. I feel like Witherspoon’s Bradley was a little flat this ep - though the wig is better - but she was out-performed by every other woman on this show this week. And it’s always a joy to watch MGH. I loved her leather power journalist suit, heh. The biggest surprise to me is Billy Crudup, who I wasn’t a big fan of before. His character is fascinating because I cannot figure out his endgame. I’ve worked in the corporate world for 20 years and all of the complicit and cover-up behavior is so well done it’s gross. Well done, show.

Martin Short blew me away. That was an incredible scene on a few levels. Wow. Also can’t ignore Steve’s insanely nuanced performance in that scene. I think this could be my favorite Aniston role. The character is so weird, complex, flawed and unlikable, but I’m rooting for her, heh. The power of the Aniston.

I had such low expectations after the reviews - but I really am loving this show. Aniston is fantastic. Everyone I know who is watching is really enjoying her in a non-Rachel or rom com role. Only complaint is Witherspoon’s tragic wig. Also, as a native WVian and coal miner’s daughter, I love Bradley. Her attitude, wit, sharp tongue, quest for honesty and subconscious self sabotaging are a pretty damn good representation of Appalachian women. Hollywood always gets it wrong. Her wig may be bad, and her accent may be off, but the attitude is right.

Back when he was raging on Twitter about a bartender or waiter or flight attendant or something, I joked that they left off the “Everyone” at the end of the name. I join you in bad taste solidarity. 🙂 I am quite sure his career will be fine - he’s no RDJ, so he can’t keep doing this without going down the Andy Dick road instead, so he’d be wise to lock it up and use it to his advantage, since thousands of people have asked “who the hell is Jared Padalecki?” in the past day or so. But I don’t see much of what once seemed like a sweet guy. For years he has seemed like he is barely containing anger and snark, and his sweetie-goofy moose act just makes me uncomfortable because he’s not that great of an actor and I don’t buy it. He’s handsome AF and man, I really wanted to keep liking the dude, but I fell out of like. And he better own the hell out of this. If he makes excuses, it’s going to happen again. I like to think this will be a wake up call, but, I mean, Smallville was a freaking sex cult so I have no idea WTF goes on in the CW, heh.

Good lord. The cops were disturbed that he was smiling and laughing while the other dude bled? If he tries to use depression as an excuse I am gonna be pissed. Lots of people suffer from depression - and don’t have half his resources - and don’t go around getting violent. And he touched those cops because drunk or sober, he is an entitled jerk-face who doesn’t think rules apply to him because he’s a good-looking famous dude. He’s lucky he didn’t pull that shit in my city. He’d still be sitting in jail. I really hope he learns from this. And I have a feeling there are people in his life who are both relieved that he hit rock bottom, or afraid this isn’t rock bottom. That said, his mugshot is fierce and Tyra would be proud.

Twitter is quite the trip. People are acting like something was done TO him and are actually faulting bystanders for not HELPING Jared. Cuz I’d sure step in to try to calm down a drunk, raging, giant man. The fuck? People make mistakes, sure - Jared made some pretty serious ones, here, and frankly, he was freaking scary. This isn’t some college kid who drank too much purple Jesus and fought his frat brothers and everyone laughed five minutes later. This is a 37-year old man who got drunk and violent - and seriously, if he punched his own employees he’s in a world of shit. Does he love a deposition? I used to adore him but made the mistake of following him on Twitter. I don’t think we could be friends IRL, lol. I have 2 guy friends who I rarely ever see because they are in their 40s and bar fights are still a regular thing for them. Nobody wants to be the babysitter and wind up, well, getting put in a headlock by the idiot you’re trying to help.

For a bit I was really thinking that Ada was Moira - super hoping, too - then she described her background and it wasn’t like Moira’s. I also think she would fess up and tell her she was her mom’s BFF. God, now I want a similar book but from Moira’s, Emily’s and Luke’s POV. 🙂 I am greeeeedeeeeee. I am re-reading Surfacing right now, and I am just amazed at how masterfully Atwood tells stories, and how beautifully distinct her voice is. I have a feeling I’m going on an Atwood re-read bender. My Hemingway re-read bender of 2016 lasted a good six months, heh. Let’s see how this goes - I now embrace audiobooks, so it might go faster. 🙂

I agree - I feel like the Lydia we knew makes more sense now. And there was always a huge part of me hoping that Lydia was like, a quadruple agent. And if she recognized that June could be of use, it at least explains why June still has both of her eyes and all of her fingers, not to mention a breath in her body. The Pearl Girls were a brilliant addition to the story. And genius of Lydia.

As usual, I agree with your post. I love the part June played in this book without having to even be in it much. I feel like Atwood wrote this because she HAD to, heh. She had to finish the story. I just finished and I feel satisfied, like I ate a good steak with some hearty wine. If this is also going to be a Hulu show, Anne Dowd needs to send Atwood a muffin basket, lol. I have always been fascinated by Aunt Lydia, and now I am obsessed. Talk about a complex character. Atwood owns me. As does Dowd because like Tom Selleck IS Magnum, she is Aunt Lydia. Anyone else playing that character is just blasphemy, heh. Even though I figured out the mysteries kind of early on, the payoff was satisfying, and Atwood’s voice is still as powerful and humorous as ever. My 19-year old self just sighed and said, finally, man. Also, because I am a greedy ho, I now want a book about life in Canada. 🙂

I'm halfway through it now, and it's interesting to me the different styles of the two books, and wonder how my writing style will be in 30 years - it's certainly different from what it was 20 years ago. I don't know if it's easier to read because I'm already familiar with Gilead, the Aunts, etc., or if Atwood is just breezier. Regardless, I am enjoying the crap out of it and can't wait to finish work and get back to it, lol.

Just got back from a trip and my book is here - and I am afraid I may be up all night. :) Everything I’ve read here is exciting - can’t wait to dig in! Thanks for all the info!

Or that these days, coal miners often have Engineering degrees. He's such an uninformed douchebag. I'm so glad Andy lost his love for Shep. He gave him enough rope to hang himself. That Astor comment was almost as good as "he was born in DC."

VERY proud to be a coal miner's daughter. And trash is as trash does. Shep is a fucking landfill. I can't believe I ever found him amusing. When I was growing up in northern WV, calling someone trash was about the worst insult you could give. It meant you were rude, lazy, careless, etc. Had nothing to do with your bank account or occupation. It's how you treat people and your community. So Shep...stop projecting. You know you're trash. Trash, like shit, rolls downhill. I bet his parents are just lovely. But hey - they know someone from India! Austen and Madison are one of those couples who manage to be super dramatic yet super boring. I could not care less if they are together or not, who cheats on who, etc. This reunion sucked because they are so damn boring. Wait, so Eliza showed up and cried and something?

I was half expecting Alex’s dad (Lucifer!) to arrest him as the finale. He figured it out and I really, really thought he was going to “do the right thing” - but Mom Alex probably would have fIipped. I want to watch season 4 JUST to see how that works out. Still think Briscoe and Logan (or Green) would have had Alex behind bars for second degree murder within a few days, lol. I could watch the Clay and Tyler hug on a loop. Maybe my favorite moment of the season. I give both actors credit for that scene - very well done. I love Justin but cannot take another season of him failing at recovery. I want him to have a senior year without a drug debt. Also, Clay’s dad was in some 90s movies I loved (With Honors, Alive, Kicking & Screaming) and I might still have a crush, even in the Dad sweater. Maybe ditto for Tyler’s dad. And Jess’ dad.

Word to all of this. Also, if Bryce was going to be one of the bazillion rapists walking the streets, at least he was trying to make amends and improve, regardless of what motivated him. I am just not sure he would have “changed” for good. If you have it in you to rape and break legs, that seems like a lot to exorcise.

I mostly enjoyed the season, though I feel like it veered into daytime soapishness too often. Tyler’s arc was the most satisfying. I am not sure how realistic it is that a large rotation of babysitters and a school counselor could really make that much of a difference with a kid who almost committed mass murder, but who knows. Sometimes it takes just one friend to change a kid’s life. Regardless, I loved the affection the boys showed toward each other. There were a lot of expressed feelings and I love yous between boys, and I like seeing that represented in the media. Bryce...ugh. The actor who played him deserves a trophy - that could not have been an easy character. I was less bothered by his “redemption” arc than I thought because I don’t think he was redeemed at all. Hours before he died he viciously broke his “brother’s” knee out of some extremely petty shit. He was literally a fucking asshole to the end. He had a moral compass - it was just off. I think he really wanted to not be a raping asshole, but I also think he knew he always would be. He’s a bad dude who did some decent things occasionally. And I realize that rich white kids can live a bit of a Steff from Pretty In Pink type existence, but after a while I was like, Bryce is a rapist,a bully, a drug dealer, a 1950’s-style alcoholic, he sees a hooker, has access to a whole lot of liquid cash, destroys homes with no repercussions, Dad has people deported, pays off his friend’s huge drug debts...I was seriously waiting for the illegal exotic bird scheme to be revealed. I adore Tony, even if he is a 30-year old high school student who never went to high school. Jessica and Justin are my favorites. They did a great job showing the fallout of sexual assault. They’re also both heartbreaking and funny. Didn’t hate Ani, but was amazed nobody just walked away when she started her questioning. And I am sorry, but her story telling to the cop - I was like, Briscoe and Logan would cut through your choose-your-ending murder mystery bullshit in and hour. If this was Law & Order we’d maybe need 3 episodes, lol. Also, I know we were supposed to see why Monty was so horrible, but I literally felt not one ounce of sympathy for him because every time they showed him all I could think was...that’s nice. But you raped multiple kids with broomsticks. Rot in a cell for life. Regardless, they set up next season for sure.

Sadly, amazon is telling me they are no longer available - I got them a good year and a half ago, if not longer. However, I see that amazon has many leatherish leggings in the same price range. Join the Kiss Me Deadly movement, lol. Get yourself a pair!

I may or may not have the same Amazon leggings (spoiler: I have them) and they are really super comfy, lol. I live in Florida so I wear them MAYBE 5 times a year during our month of winter, but I got a lot of use out of them in Iceland. 🙂 They were actually more waterproof than the expensive waterproof pants I took with me. So yeah, I traipsed around Iceland looking like Leather Tuscadero was stranded in a snow storm.

I've heard many women talk about raising a child as being a job - usually when complaining about how nobody recognizes that it's a job. Or for my working mom friends, they complain that they do two jobs, one unpaid. We have a society where moms are judged no matter what they do. I like that she can admit when she sees the truth about herself - being snobby and not appreciating her privilege. I'm not sure what people expect from her. I find her the least offensive of the bunch by miles. I don't know why they pulled up the Real World footage, but I loved it. BRAD! Andy was really going after the dudes - and I loved it. Shep and Austen were so uncomfortable they were uncomfortable to watch. I don't think Craig knows what it's like to feel uncomfortable when a camera is on him. He seems like he'd admit to being DB Cooper if he thinks it will get him more attention for five minutes. And the Adderall makes so. much. sense. I don't know why I didn't think of it. I was assuming his power sleeping came from coke crashes - which could also be true - but the Adderall makes more sense. I'm glad he's 2 months off the stuff if it was causing him so much trouble. And if Shep were HALF as smart as he thinks he is, he would know better than to offer his tiny sliver of experience with a man from India as a cultural example. But it's typical of the privileged. He literally doesn't have the capacity to think there's any correct world view beyond his own. I used to like Shep - boy do I feel a little dirty about it now, lol. He's just awful.