CeeBeeGee

YES. I actually quite like Trusova's athleticism and tricks but man, she was the human zamboni at Worlds. Placing her over two such gorgeous skates by Karen just makes the sport look bad. But that trend started before the US became so dominant (around 2011, although the Russians still had a shot to take team gold in London). The 6-3-3 system started around the turn of the century and the two-per rules (certainly the one re: AA final) was put in place after some federations grumbled about the Romanians sweeping the podium. (Which was ridiculous--they were the best that day! Instead of instituting a rule change--help your gymnasts get better! Step up tp the plate. The two-per country, for the AA final at least, is utterly ridiculous when the 4th-finishing gymnast--who is also the current World AA champion (Jordyn) is denied a spot.) I firmly maintain--and I said this in an interview--that Bruno Grandi hated the sport and was trying to destroy it. He made so many stupid decisions.

Sarah Paulson is Ryan Murphy's muse. She's in all his shows. If she indicated she wanted that role, he would give it to her.

See: Carter, NCIS: NOLA. I've never hated a character so instantly.

For the life of me, I don't understand why IRL Paula Jones doesn't like her portrayal in this series. She comes off as extremely sympathetic--perhaps even the most sympathetic of the main characters. I wanted to smack "Susie" through the screen--she could've found Paula a job. And she shouldn't have counseled Paula to turn down the offer. Penthouse is skeevy as hell but what choice did she have? She had to feed her kids and Penthouse was the only one offering her money. That's a good mom in my eyes--making a terrible choice knowing the blowback she's going to get, but doing it anyway to support her children. I hated myself for laughing at Anne Coulter. The actress was terribly funny.

But that's Slutskaya. She could make even a Charlotte spiral unattractive. She was athletic but lacked grace.

A slight correction--I would say, think of impeachment as the political equivalent of being indicted. And the trial in the Senate is the equivalent of--well, a regular trial, a petit jury trial.

I almost forgot: ROTATE! That sequence was fucking hilarious. Is there nothing that doesn't aggrieve Linda?

Yes! How satisfying was that? And all those black women giving Monica the side-eye but also asking empathetic and caring questions of her like girl, what were you THINKING? And caring about her ordeal at the Ritz-Carlton. Loved all the jurors' unimpressed, "not buying it" expressions whenever Linda tried to justify her betrayal. Oh, and their "what are you smoking?" expressions at her paranoia. Great episode--never thought I would find grand jury testimony so interesting! ETA: FUCK Steve Jones. Good for you, Paula. I don't even know if I believe IRL Paula but Show!Paula--kick him to the curb, girl. I loved her realization that the whole rigamarole--lawyers, lawsuits, everything--was just to get him to believe her. HE initiated the lawsuit after the article and HE turned down the settlement.

Which is honestly...utterly pathetic. Takei tweeted to Jeff Bezos "why didn't you pick me?" (or something along those lines). Because Shatner is iconic in a way that you aren't, Takei. I find the desperation to keep a 50+ year old "beef" alive really distasteful. I knew he didn't like him but I feel like the only time he gets attention is when he craps on Shatner, so that's what motivates him to keep it up. Grow the hell up and find a better hobby.

Right? It's so busy. Bolero takes time--it's generally a mistake to use it for figure skating because the piece is so long, but especially so for younger skaters. T&D obviously owned it and Carolina Kostner had the patience to work with, not against, the music.

That message predated the events of this year, as the movie Clerks had come out in 1994 and Dante's girlfriend, who'd famously sucked 37 dicks ("in a row?"), brushed it off as no big deal. And specifically distinguished it from actually having sex.

Oh, for God's sake, Tammy. Get. Off. The. Cross. She was probably thrilled to actually find herself mentioned on national TV. You're the only one embarrassing yourself with that faux-martyr complex.

I missed the ladies free skate this afternoon--did Amber Glenn throw the 3A?

I really wish Johnny would lay off all the rhetoric about Nathan. Haven't we learned anything from Simone Biles? Fucking STOP with the insane pressure. It's so, so obnoxious.

Yep, yep, yep. She should do gymnastics again only if she wants to--she doesn't owe us, or anyone, anything. She's a damn superhero for continuing to compete for the sole reason of holding USAG accountable. I hope she is living her best life and having ALL the fun because she has damn well earned it. (Can't wait to see her on tour next month!)

Yup. My favorite example of this is James Eckhouse who has carved out a niche as "dastardly pharmacist" in both NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans.

Good GOD. How on earth did you not die of mercury poisoning?

I was wildly impressed with how she managed to hold her own even though she was obviously terrified. Good for you, Monica! Loved the oh-so-'90s mall moments--the agents desultorily following Monica through Pentagon City (a mall every DC-er knows well ;) ), even down to dining at what looks like TGI Fridays but what according to the Slate article was actually American Grill! And the "et tu, Brute?" moment of Monica spotting Linda after having shopped at--dun dun dun--The Body Shop. I kind of miss malls. Oh God, what an obnoxious blowhard. What a flaming, bullying asshole. Emmick was doing so much better with her. But yes, a woman agent who wasn't an asshole would've done better. When Ginsburg got on the phone and was deploying profanities left, right and center, I kind of loved him. And when he was giving hard, good, caring advice to Monica (especially when he was calling her "sweetheart" after 11 hours of being sequestered by these assholes)--I wanted to marry him. Good for you, Ginsburg.

Well, Joseph Kennedy Sr. had a stroke early on in Jack's administration and he was pretty much over as any kind of political power after that. Mainly Clinton was treated differently for a variety of reasons--Kennedy's era normalized womanizing to a much greater degree (as bad as Jack was, his father was much, much worse--I remember reading that the father had tried to hit on the teenage friend of one of his daughters), plus as you say the culture of the press had started to change.

Fantastic documentary! Very frustrating to see Tamara and Elena refuse to acknowledge the corruption and how the judging process was compromised. It was sweet to see Jamie and David again though. They need to tackle the Ladies Singles event in Sochi next.

I lived in DC during all of this and I well remember reading that article in the City Paper (for those who don't know, it's like the DC version of the Village Voice). The article was such a breath of decency and kindness amid all the dreadful pillorying of Monica. I've liked Jake Tapper ever since. And they cast the guy who played him perfectly!

He's appalling--he views her entire experience as something that happened to him. Paula made some great points about the pragmatism of settling--that would've been a LOT of money for their little corner of Arkansas. What an ass. UVA is indeed a well-regarded law school. RFK went there. UVA is one of the public Ivies. George Salazar has made a serious career error in accepting the role of George Conway--he looks like he's aged 20 years since his last high-profile project, which was playing a teenager on Broadway in Be More Chill, and singing its most famous song. I am stunned he accepted this role. He just Xed out a good ten years of playing 20-somethings.

God, yes. I was stunned when I found out it took place in Alabama--Alabama???! Literally just a few years before, in another big city in Alabama, four little girls were murdered via bomb--and there were plenty of white Alabamians who celebrated that. Birmingham's rep was so bad, its nickname was Bombingham. Make the setting outer Philadelphia or outer Detroit--anything but the deep South. I love this show and will continue to watch it but that kind of rose-colored gaze re: Southern whites (I am one, if it matters) is not historical.

The thing is, when you're creative, by definition you're putting yourself into what you're creating. So it feels terribly personal when someone mocks you when giving you criticism--it's not like "okay, that tasted good but you're too good to make safe choices like that--we'd like to see what more you can do." Rather it's an attempt to use whatever mistakes she's made as a platform to showcase his "bitchiness." It's just really unnecessary. Nobody watches these shows to see nastiness--we want to enjoy our warm cozy holidays and imagine how good the cakes must taste. It's the TV equivalent of comfort food.

I hate that shit. You can offer constructive feedback without being a jerk about. And since the contestants obviously can't say anything back or dish it right back to him, it's tantamount to bullying. I agree with whoever said reality judges have been far too influenced by Simon Cowell.