wanderingstar

My people! My loathing for Chelsea has been pretty constant since I started following the EPL four years ago. Re the pre-season tours, I really do wish I could see Real Madrid v. Man United in Ann Arbor in a couple of weeks, but I'm out of town that weekend and it's sold out.

I'm convinced that the brainstorming for the character of Fitz involved Shonda Rhimes simply saying "I know! I'll make him president," and no further thought was given to his actual characterization. How else to explain the character being written and portrayed as a 13-year-old boy?

I like this movie, but I agree: when I finally saw it, I remember thinking "That's it?" My people! Mafia movies are automatic zzzzz for me.

*plugs ears* La la la la. I can't hear you! I guess they felt the need to show off Naturi Naughton's singing voice. It wasn't particularly germane to the story, and didn't really make sense in the context of the scene (it's her birthday party; shouldn't someone be hired to sing for her?) That said, I did feel bad for Tasha when Ghost just walked out while she was singing. He just grates more and more on my nerves with each passing episode. He's also giving me bad flashbacks to Ike Evans, the protagonist of the late (not at all lamented) Magic City. He thinks he's in control of his various situations, but I'm sure he's going to find out otherwise, while annoying me along the way.

I'm confused. What does Jamie hope to accomplish with his affair with Angela? Does he think an affair is sustainable? Ok, yes - I know - these are dumb questions. While we're on the subject of James and Angela - can they stop being so damned corny? I am waiting for the show to cut to scenes of them writing about each other in their diaries and doodling "James loves Angela" "Angela loves James." GAH. For the first time ever, I enjoyed Tommy. When he walked into that milkshake place and started casually chatting with Jamie and Angela, that made me chuckle.

I have a couple - both of which make me feel vaguely ashamed. The Rock - which I saw in the theater when it came out and will still stop and watch whenever it comes on (like say, last night) Beauty Shop - in my defense, this film does feature one of my favorite Kevin Bacon performances ever

Yep - this is me in a nutshell. I do wish I had more of Sophia in me, though.

IMO, Bayern is sort of the model for how to assemble a team to go far in multiple competitions. They've essentially assembled two first XIs so they can absorb injuries, suspensions, etc. over an entire season.

Yes, but my point is that, for the most part, the semis and beyond in the CL is a pretty closed shop. To put it another way: Real Madrid has advanced to at least the semi-finals from 2011-2014. What are the odds that Atletico Madrid will make it back there in the coming season?

I like that aspect of the CL, too. The problem is that nowadays, it's usually the same handful of teams getting to the latter stages of the competition. The Reals and Bayerns and Chelseas of the world are gobbling up all the good players, so it's getting less and less likely that a surprise like an Atletico Madrid will make it much beyond the round of 16.

I hope Kenya doesn't return. I don't miss her.

Enjoyed all things Rafe/Tarr family. That's going to be an interesting dynamic as the season continues to unfold. I wasn't really following everything with the ego chip. Did it originate with the Indogenes during the war? Why does Pottinger want Amanda to have one? And why does he have one? Doc Yewll continues to intrigue me. Not enough Irisa in this episode for me - or the last one for that matter. Wondering if this episode's title is taken from Tori Amos' song "Putting the Damage On" (which is a great song).

IIRC, Fox Sports airs the Champions League group stage and knockout stage matches. I'm already predicting that Real Madrid won't defend their title from last season*. Because teams do not retain the European Cup - at least not since it became the Champions League. I am always curious to see how Jose Mourinho fares in this competition. He's won it twice, but he's also made four straight semi-finals the last 4 seasons but not gone beyond that. No AC Milan or Manchester United in the UCL this season is going to feel weird. *And I say this as a Real Madrid fan.

Is that the snake specialist that was giving Angie a hard time?

James - the man who is cheating on his wife - is gonna demand loyalty? He needs to sit the entire fuck down.

Shawn makes me so sad with his stupidity. I wish someone would pull him aside and set him straight about Tasha's manipulation.

There seems to be no consistency with regard to which words Hallmark will bleep out. I just hate how jarring it is to my enjoyment of the show.

This line from Rose in "What a Difference a Date Makes" is one of the lines from this show that makes me laugh just in anticipation. Rose (to Dorothy): You said you were gonna make him suffer. Don't you have to date a man to do that? Cracks me up. Every. Time.

Pretty much. I don't know how Todd puts up with her. Actually, I'm not sure how Kandi puts up with her. I enjoyed seeing Bell Biv Devoe at the reception, but Poison - at a wedding? Really?

Have to say that over the last couple of eps, I've come to enjoy the Nolan/Amanda relationship. Big change from last season when the pairing kind of bored me.

Last night's ep has me worried about Amanda. How far are they going to take her down this path? Also, I continue to hate Pottinger.

That was super creepy and depressing. Between that scene, Amanda getting the drugs from Pottinger and the Tarr family bath, they packed a lot of really creepy/sad/crazy scenes into this episode.

Well, bath time at the Tarr house will never be the same again!

I'm in withdrawal. I'm going to have to do a re-watch of season 3. I'll even shell out the money to buy the season on Amazon!

Sticking with Jason, one of the things I enjoyed about Piron Alec was his offbeat father-son dynamic with Jason. He seemed to really want to help and care for him* If we get a season 4, I wonder if we'll see something similar with Hoodie Alec. *Admittedly while also using him as a guinea pig