NutMeg

Happy end regarding those jeans: my mum put some diamond shaped pad on them, that made me cringe at the time, but in time they became "iconic" :)

I'm going to be the lone voice of dissent. While there was some good in how some characters continue to evolve, or stay true to themselves, I felt a lot in this episode was very cliché, which attest of how much I expect from this show and its writers but also what, for me, is seriously missing this season. I like the Lucifer/Cain pairing, but do we need to turn it into a farce? And Maze this season is not Maze at all, just another character which doesn't gel with what we know of her. Sorry, rant over. I loved this show very much, but it's turned into a parody of itself. It's like it doesn't know how to make serious fun, or fun serious anymore, or something. There's an ingredient missing in the new formula.

Yeah, here we have the opposite, I'd say this season (well, last episode) is globally better than the first season. But all the previous posts are very interesting regarding the dynamics between writers/producers/actors and are probably spot on on some of the issues in this show.

The only thing that had bugged me about this team before was Evan's up speak - how she speaks like there's a question mark at the end of her sentence? Tonight I realised that she wasn't doing that with Henry, so maybe it's only on talking heads? I'll wait and see?

My peeve of the day: soap, or rather soap bars. How come the smell is gone before I've even used 1/3 of the bar?

Anyone has advice on what to look for? I'm looking to buy fake grass for a big balcony that is super sunny but also exposed to rain/snow. Any help would be hugely appreciated :)

She trusts the patient to provide access :) and it works.

Might help if you think you are thanking people for noticing how good your genes are or how good Mr. O's taste in cars is. No, really no. The "thank you" is gratefulness for noticing something fine. No by default, but as a way to enhance their day. I'm sure it's rare enough to notice nothing good outside of their usual sphere, the least we can do is thank them for it, and hopefully that will encourage them to keep on doing it if it makes them feel good about themselves Had these too, but luckily my gyno was a smart women, who used the time she had me talk about my life while doing the exam for more than just time filler. So she (correctly) diagnosed that the conjunction of new job, moving overseas and other stuff might explain the abnormality, and recommended I checked again 6 months later. By which time everything was very normal (one of the few times I like "normal", heh). After moving and a couple of not super satisfying gynos, I found one who didn't use stirrups - alleluia! Since then, I'm left wondering why anyone does, when there really is no need.

Lovely sunny day. Despite the temperature being in the 30s, my sunny balcony is warm enough for me to take me coffee there without adding a layer. Now looking for some artificial grass to make that big balcony even friendlier.

You're right: an imposing number of cat mercenaries is therefore what I'll need.

To my utter delight, my cat, who for the past 5 years was cuddling with me in bed while I read only to run away once I switched off the light, is now running to me once I've switched off the light and get in sleep position - and she goes straight for the crook of my knees. No idea if it's the cooler weather, or something else, but I love it! A furry purring cat in the crook of my right knee more than make up for my inability to move much for the rest of the night... (The adorable P. I thankfully shared most of my life highs and lows for 18 years before used to sleep on my butt. Made perfect sense: I sleep my stomach, she found a spot which was both higher-ish and super comfy. My girl!!!!) About the part I bolded, I've had (and other people I heard of too) a good experience using Bach rescue remedy for pets in case of huge changes/big stress. Check it out maybe. In my case, it made a huge difference in a roughly 20 hour voyage, which included two flights.

For a few days, I've been coming across a poster for a show reading (roughly translated): If you mock the crocodile, it's because you haven't crossed the river. And today I got it: I DID cross the river! I DID survive the crocodile! I understand the poster! Yay me!

Ewwww, you're welcome to my share too, I have an aversion (formerly phobia) of rats and would rather surround myself with an army of cats...

It's ok that you stop contact with him. Don't feel guilty, there is no reason to. Not sure what kind of addict he is, but I'd say reaching out to some of the 12 steps programs for whatever addiction he has could help make your mind at ease of find someone who can reach out to him in a way he can relate to. Which is what @theredhead77 recommends too. Please step back from direct contact if he's violent. There are other ways to help from afar for the time being.

From what I understand, an addict has to decide to go to whatever treatment, it seems ineffective when mandated from someone else without the addict person consent. When I say ineffective, I mean in the long run. One would think someone sent to rehab without wanting to might find there a will to continue the journey of staying sober, but it seems that happens very rarely. Seems the most effective approach would be to send a former addict to talk to him.

Good point. As an aside, I've noticed that men and women who let their hair stay white look (and are praised for looking) much younger that their age - think Ted Danson, Helen Mirren, etc. Indeed, their face looks positively youthful after you've seen the hair and expect to see an old crone or a wrinkled old dude. Back to topic: indeed, if the choice is "he/she looks much older than their age" or "he/she looks much younger that he/she is", it's no contest. I'd rather go with my real age and have people act surprised (hopefully some really think I look younger than I am). I've seen a few people (men and women both) play the game of "can you guess how old I am?", and everyone politely subtract many, many years to what they thought it was, and still coming only within a couple of years of the real age. Very cringeworthy to watch. But age is a funny thing. Me, now, today, I'm suddenly back to living by myself in the city where I went to university - and because I'm back here and living alone, I feel almost like a student with a much more decent budget and apartment, especially as my schedule as a freelancer is mine to decide and I can pretty much wake up as late or as early as I want, no consideration for school schedule or anything. And thus sometimes I feel like I have my life ahead of me, and the energy is such that I feel like a late 20 or 30 year old. However, people see me as someone 20 years older and therefore have expectations, positive and negative, about me, that are just not necessarily true. Luckily, I'm surrounded by old friends (we all see each other on a time spectrum where all the people we were since around 18 cohabit) and family members who see me at some specific age where I'll always be for them, so it's easier for me to believe I'm about to explore new work options once I'm really settled. There are days, though, when the person I see in the mirror in the morning makes me think that maybe I am past starting new things and the most exciting part of my life is over. And then, I usually manage to shut out that annoying inner voice that's been a serious peeve for the longest time, and that is increasingly losing to the other one she's been battling with and which is has a much sunnier outlook on life.

Unless the last words we heard and the ominous "I'll talk to him tomorrow" are again red herrings, and there is another set of last words - the last last words - coming up. After the fire and with Jack still alive.

Late to the party on this, but yes, changing the name is ok. Changing it to a name vaguely sounding like it would work well if the dog is used to respond to that name. We renamed our current cat while keeping the first syllable of her previous name.

Preach it! I'd say the less lovable the kid act, the more love he or she needs attention, love and cuddles. Because a kid acting out means the kid has a problem and needs support.

One thing that's worth remembering is that Rebecca initially had trouble bonding with Randall, and because she may have felt guilty about that she overcompensated later on and made sure she kept "bonded" to him. On top of that, she had to carry the fact that she was keeping knowledge of his father from him, so that's an added layer of guilt. Before I had kids, if I pictured myself as having more than one, I planned to have some special time with each of them in turn*. One-on-one is the most in-depth contact you can have with someone you care about, as I see it, even if group/family activities are tremendous fun and something to develop for not only fun but also shared memories. (*I ended up having just the one, and made sure the two of us had special times and routines, in addition to time and fun with his dad). While Kevin was the one who got the short end of the family stick, I hope that he might be the most resilient of the three as a consequence. (I'm probably projecting here, having been the Kevin in my family.) Jack's alcoholism being swept under the carpet by Rebecca is intriguing at this point. I understand that she wants to protect his image without realising how damaging that incomplete image can be to her kids. On the other hand, we haven't seen any interaction of drunk Jack with kids (yet), although his pity party to teenage Kate comes petty close. He was treated as a favorite pretty much from the get go, from when Rebecca got to bond with him as a baby. Being treated better as a kid may bring an inner obligation to treat the parent better as a result? (speculating) But that's an added responsibility which come with its own drawbacks (panic attacks, for once). I've seen that dynamics in my family. The more I think about it and the more I think that Jack was a very bad dad, who put being number one in his daughter's eyes above doing what was good for her in the longer term. And in this episode was a crappy dad to Kevin. All the rest I've wanted to say about the episode has already been said :)

Still better Kat than Abi Maria, right!?

I saw this episode as more of a satire on social personas, with the DNA being profiles on Facebook and the likes, and these profiles/DNA being stolen but ultimately reclaimed, which was glorious. I find it interesting that some viewers related to the game or sci-fi aspect, because I would never have thought of it as the main focus, but that's the beauty of Black Mirror, we all bring what we know in what we see, don't we?

It's not often that I actually LOL, but between your caption and the pic, I totally did! Happy New Year's Eve, all, human, feline, canine, etc.

That reminds me of a friend of mine who had neighbors one floor below who had loud parties at random days whereas she had to work in the morning, and her revenge was to put the bass on, loudly, with speakers on the floor, the morning after, while she was getting ready for work. Not sure it bothered them, but it sure made her feel better :) Plus, nothing beat loud music with extra bass on to start the day!

I finally watched the finale yesterday, after a long Christmas break. As usual, I enjoyed watching the show, although I felt bad for Chrissy and Devon about the advantage that was anything but. But overall, having three people I could see winning and would have been happy to see winning in the final 5 was pretty good, and I don't mind the winner, even if he wouldn't have been my top choice. The challenges were more interesting than usual. I thought Ben saying that this was not a game but "a job" was the winner's quote, as I remember Sandra saying it a couple of times (and no one else that I can remember). I haven't processed yet how I feel about this new way to go from 4 to 3. I didn't like it here but I'm sure I could have liked it in some other configurations. One thing is sure though, it's that it will change the makeup of the F4 if it's kept for longer than another season. One of my favourite moment during FTC was Desi's stopping Chrissy and Ryan getting at each other's throat by reminding them (paraphrasing) that this was just a game and not to forget real life feelings / their friendship outside the game. I thought it was a lovely moment, and overall I thought this was a good and fair jury.