30 Helens

I don’t do yarn stuff, but I do occasional sewing projects. JoAnn is the last game in town for fabrics, and they’re teetering on the edge of going out of business. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I can’t match fabric colors, get a sense of weight and weave, and am forced to buy a minimum of 2 yards when I only need 1/4. Online shopping can be great, but it’s not great for everything. Today ended my 2-day FJ streak. I was running through all the famous court cases I could think of, pre-clue (Dredd Scott! Marbury vs Madison! Brown vs Board of Education!) but never landed on Plessy vs Ferguson. I felt a little vindicated to know I at least got the sequel.

I didn’t realize we were heading straight into another tournament, so I kind of groaned when the show started. But then I saw Matt and all was forgiven. Declaring himself a candidate for Tournament Villain while flashing a sheepish grin made me laugh. I like Hannah, but I’m mystified as to how anyone can run a successful yarn store. As one product in a craft store, sure, but are there really enough knitters to sustain such a thing? FJ instaguess! It seemed like a logical choice, but the clue’s description of it as an infection + a rash sealed it for me. I assume the rash is where the “scarlet” part comes in. Acronyms are fine, but “JIT” is such an ugly sounding word. It sounds like someone holding back a violent sneeze. I think it belongs in the Fetch vault, personally.

My apologies to any librarians whose eyes glazed over at the sight of that cake! I had never seen it before today, either, and found it absolutely delicious. At least, I’m sure it will be… I call dibs on the Nessie ladle.

Parvati has a girlfriend, so I wouldn’t read too much into that.

1/5. I’ll take my seat at the giant Atlas table. I will bring a library cake for all to enjoy. I’m sure there is an atlas or two on the shelves, and maybe even a copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves!

I meant they picked the wrong one. Nothing against Mr. Basile, but Goins is a lot more fun to watch.

Wrong Drew.

At least it’s over. Now I can forget all about Neilesh until he sways his way into the Master’s. My 12-year-old self learned so much from that book. More than I learned from my parents, who were not talkers. It really was a wonderful resource with no modern-day equivalent, that I’m aware of. She catalogues things, but then puts them in the wrong place!

Because nobody can get enough of them, BB contestants will be taking over The Amazing Race next season. (Not the one coming up, but the one after that.) Each team will consist of one hamster and a loved one. (Which I guess means I won’t get my dream team, Cirie and Felicia. Passing up the chance to see Felicia complain to Cirie about the damn kids in India while hopelessly screwing up a task of collecting mustard seeds, and shouting “I’m coming, Mr. P!” as Cirie drags her to the mat Is a missed opportunity for sure. But I digress…) Among the contestants we will NOT see: X, Danielle (thank god, based on her Traitors performance. I’d hate to lose any more respect), Janelle (they didn’t offer enough cash), and Josh. No word yet on exactly who IS playing, but CBS promises that some contestant choices will be controversial. I’d say that means Frankie, but his inclusion would be totally predictable. (For some reason, I’m unable to copy and paste a link, but the story is on realityblurred.com)

Based on Lete’s comments and my reading of the reactions to CK’s move, I think Lete didn’t want to be branded as a co-conspirator. People were pissed off that CK had cheated. If Lete hadn’t quickly distanced herself from that, the others might have thought she sanctioned the cheating, or worse was in on it. In a game of social strategy, nobody wants to be labeled as a dirty lowlife cheater. That’s just as bad as being labeled an asshole (aka a Dr. Will). Is that the part where Philip got mad at Parvati for “weaponizing” his history of being bullied? On the surface, she was warning him against trusting Will by reminding him that Will is just like the guys who used to bully him. But Philip only saw Parvati using his personal trauma in a selfish attempt to draw him closer to her. Of course she was trying to manipulate him because that’s what she does, but I don’t think she was being quite so callous as he described. She focuses on game, but that doesn’t mean she’s without empathy. Phillip was also mad because he told her about the bullying “in confidence”, but that part puzzled me because she wasn’t sharing his story with anyone else. I also assume she thought it was safe to mention, since he’s the one who chose to share it. Besides, he knows there’s no such thing as “confidential” when cameras are around, right? I think he overreacted. It’s what happens when people can’t set their emotional baggage aside and play with their head, not their feelings.

I’m late binging this season because it’s something I wanted to savor at my own pace, with no forced waiting between episodes. Also, I wanted to re-experience the wonderfulness of season one first. (Spoiler alert, it’s even better the second time!) I’m glad to see the comments here (at least for this episode) have become more positive. I stopped reading the threads because it seemed like everyone posting actively hated the show, and it was bumming me out. I adore this show. It makes me laugh out loud multiple times an episode, it touches my emotions, it has a great cast, and the writing is really sharp. What more could you ask for? Some people complain that the characters are too up in each other’s business, that it’s totally unrealistic for them to be hanging out so much. And I completely agree. But so what?? How boring it would be if we saw individual scenes of Gabby treating a patient, Alice doing her schoolwork, Liz polishing her rocks, then everyone went home, had dinner and watched TV like normal people. I love a good hangout comedy. I loved Cougar Town (in its early seasons, before everything got weird). I live for the free exchange of barbs and witticisms. The Louis character, while polarizing, was I think a necessary addition to the story. At its heart, this is a show about overcoming obstacles to happiness, some of which are self-created. Jimmy can never heal until he confronts his grief head-on, and Louis embodies Jimmy’s suffering in a way that also lets the audience in. So it’s very writer-ly, but quite effective IMO. Making Louis such a flawed yet sympathetic character also provides a perspective that is rarely seen. Here is a good person who made a horrible mistake, and is trapped in a prison of grief. These two men are forever bonded, whether they like it or not, and seeing them reach out to each other made me shed a few tears, not gonna lie. As for the Liz character: She seems almost universally reviled here, but I think she’s great. She’s funny, she’s loyal, she’s acerbic. She’s a mess of insecurities with a prickly exterior. You might even say she’s me! If Liz were a real person, we would be besties. Oh, and I love Christa Miller. I hope Bill Lawrence makes a dozen more shows and puts her in every damn one of them. Yeah, I said it.

Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t seem to work up any enthusiasm for these final games. I like Adriana well enough, but Isaac is just there and Neilesh drives me crazy (oh, the swaying!). Also, I’m getting really tired of donuts. I just want this to be over so I can see new people and return to my normal level of incompetence. Which is why I hope he never stops doing them.

So as I suspected, Will is largely just playing a role. I just wish he would tone down the obnoxious behavior, because it’s so irritating to watch. At least MG got a job. https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2025/02/deal-or-no-deal-island-s2-e5-maria-grace-interview/

I’m very sorry for your heartache, @Bliss. Nothing feels quite like the bond we have with our pets, and it’s so hard to let that go. I hope you can take comfort in knowing how much love and joy you brought into her life, because I’m sure it was a tremendous amount. Not all dogs are so lucky. Carly sounds like a wonderful friend. ❤️

Yeah, best of 7 would be first to 4. You’d think Ken would be on top of that. Glad Adriana won, but I just kept thinking how much more fun the game would be if Drew were still there.

Sigh.

You’re absolutely right, of course. I’m just shocked that in all my years of reading novels (many of them British) and watching TV shows (ditto), I have never, ever encountered this usage. But based on the evidence, I’m now assuming that “scarf” is just a derivative form of “scoff”. Language is a fascinating thing.

Yes, it was nice to see Britney’s personality finally getting some camera time! Aside from Dopey Sandoval, she’s the funniest one there.

Well, there you go. “Scarf” in a British accent sounds very much like “scoff”. I maintain it’s a case of a dropped “r”. (Or maybe we added one. Because come to think of it, what does a long, flowy neck wrap have to do with eating?)

Well then. Ok. Thanks for enlightening me. Lana.

Well, that sucks. I don’t know that I wanted Rob to win, but I definitely wanted him to hang around a little longer. I like his strategic mind, and I appreciate the way he plays a game like it’s a game, not a test of his interpersonal value system. I just wish he had taken my advice and targeted Danielle. People were already finding her sketchy, and I don’t think it would have taken much effort to point them in her direction. Revealing her as a traitor would have taken so much heat off of him. Oh well. At least Britney was spared. It’s so weird, before this season Danielle had a solid place in my ranking of favorite reality show people. She was definitely in my BB top 3, maybe even #1. But at this point, I can barely stand her. With the incessant weeping (they’re NOT ACTUALLY DEAD!) and the sulky petty infighting, she has lost all my respect. I need her gone. I’m also quickly losing patience with Carolyn. Like Danielle, she’s too caught up in her emotions and it’s tiresome. I need them to recruit someone who could be a level headed traitor, someone I could root for. Someone like Britney. Or maybe Igar? Because who would suspect a human ottoman. Or even the littlest Efron. There seems to be a little more going on in that head than meets the eyes.

SCOFF down food?? Really?? I don’t care what the dictionary says, that is not a thing. Unless you’re from Brooklyn and don’t pronounce your Rs. Because the term is definitely SCARF. It’s also possible that I’m just a little salty. I had high hopes for Lisa Ann Drew G, and while I appreciate the iron balls that went into that second DD, I wish he had played it a little safer. Given how dominant he was in the last minutes of DJ, I think he could have had a runaway if he weren’t starting from 0. But instead, I have to watch the human metronome for yet another round. I don’t think there’s enough Dramamine on the planet. Go Adriana. Damn it.

That was ridiculous. Zero self awareness there. Absolutely. I personally hate all the chatter about how a case number aligns with a loved one’s birthday, or represents the number of their kids or nephews or neighbors named Bob… just pick a damn case, already. I think he was thumbing his nose at that kind of magical thinking, and I appreciated it. This is another thing that annoys me. Sure, you want to build the pot in case you get to play for it, but you can’t play for it if you’re NOT THERE. Boston Rob and The Reanimated Corpse of Dr. Will seem to be the only two who have really understood that. I’m torn. I find him obnoxious and impossible to like, but I do appreciate his willingness to flout the conventions. I also think he’s playing up his villain side a bit more than necessary. He’s like Boston Rob, but with extra evil and none of the charm.

Drew is one very lucky man. Not to take anything away from his performance, because he’s played brilliantly and deserves every win, but to go from losing your first game to getting a second chance, then narrowly missing out on a TOC slot only to get it anyway because of a scheduling issue? The Jeopardy gods must really love him. As do I. And because of him, I’m glad that the Second Chance Tournament is a Thing.

Rob’s face in the turret: like he was watching the world’s most horrific tennis match. Funniest sequence in a hilariously messy season. I think Rob could murder Derrick and get away with it if there was someone plausible to pin it on. They bought the “I was framed!” argument once, so I think he could sell the “See! That really proves I’m being framed!” sequel. But who would he pin it on? Nobody left seems enough of a mastermind to do it. Unless… if he could cast enough suspicion on Danielle, he could score a double victory by getting rid of her and validating the framing story at the same time. I don’t know why it never occurred to Carolyn to ask anyone WHEN Danielle mentioned her name. Or even just consider that it maybe wasn’t five minutes ago. She’s become as unhinged with her need for revenge as Danielle. (And I love it.)