Kindred Spirit

This show has become my happy place. 😉 I adore Keith and his optimism, and his design sense. I find Evan's ability to roll with the punches and, to rein in Keith, delightful. They're a great team and an adorable couple. It actually makes me sad that I worry that they avoid showing any and all overt displays of affection between the two of them so that it doesn't offend anyone's sensibilities. I've come to the conclusion that Keith's philosophy is, "It only takes one," when it comes to his themes. He isn't designing for the masses: Only one buyer will be able to purchase the home, and there only needs to be one for a successful sale. Now that they have bigger budgets, I've noticed that he doesn't seem to go quite as bold/outrageous with the design. He doesn't have to create headboards of branches or scraps as often, now that they have more money to play with, most of the time. They definitely have larger renovation budgets, these days. But they've always been large enough to cover safety and code compliance. The frequent lack of handrails on staircases has always baffled me, because I wonder how that can pass inspection. One of my favorite aspects of this show is the fact that they strive to include design and something other than builder-grade finishes in every project. While many people here don't care for Keith's choices, or the execution of some of his flourishes–and I don't necessarily disagree–I love the fact that he's providing style and flair in "starter" homes. Keith and Evan don't do safe, bland or basic! True, some of it might be hard to live with, but I think the people who feel that way about the features of a certain home just don't make an offer. The aspect of Jenny and Dave's appearance and advice that I enjoyed the most was the fact that it showed me that their time on Rock the Block resulted in real friendship and appreciation between the two couples. Also, I'm sure it was cross-promotion, but it felt like they were genuinely enjoying spending time together and working with one another. I'd noticed Keith's Berry Patch shirt on many episodes, and didn't realize it was the Marrses' business until I watched their show. It's hilarious, to me, that there will now be a C & C machine purchased by Dave! I hope they hire the technician to build it! I finally realized that "Help! I Wrecked My House" is going to take over this time slot, next week. I'm sad. I'll miss seeing Keith, Evan and Shea.

6!

“Graft”, which is slightly ironic, since in American slang, that would be dishonestly or corruptly acquired goods or services, while Pops was disparaging Matthew for never having done an honest day’s work. At least in terms of hard labor. From what we’ve seen, Matthew was a successful barrister, which involved putting his expensive education to use. We certainly saw him do his best for the mother fleeing domestic abuse.

Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow! Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow! Especially if they're playing in the WBC!

Congrats on completing the series of shampoos! (Even if this last one didn't go quite as smoothly as the others.) I hope you and Mo can reward yourselves with a visit to the club. I'm sorry that your sales weren't better at the market, especially since I'm so impressed by your wares. I wish the market's patrons had felt the same way, especially since a little more money in your pocket would be so welcome. I'll keep a good thought for the next time you venture to Brighton.

I'm not sure if this is the place for me to mention that it was really fun to watch Phil be a competitor, rather than a host, on Pickled, tonight, but I couldn't find a thread for the show, or the topic on the host I thought I had seen in this forum. He was paired with Dierks Bentley and they were a formidable team! I won't mention the outcome, in case others don't want to be spoiled. All the celebrities who participated were good sports, especially considering it was over 100 degrees, Fahrenheit, on the day they played pickle ball. (Please delete this comment if it's inappropriate.)

Full disclosure: I'm a lifelong Dodger fan, and I'm old enough to remember the '88 win. I don't post here much because there's a lot of anti-Dodger sentiment in this thread and I don't want to start arguments. I very much enjoy the tone of this topic, the rest of the time. So, I'm here, rooting against the Trashtros. My consolation, in '17, was that the city of Houston deserved something good in the wake of the hurricane. Also, that we beat ourselves. When I found out they cheated, my loathing of the team and especially the players still a part of it, knew no bounds. I'm Asian American, so I'll never forgive Yuli Gurriel, no matter who he plays for. Yu Darvish is a far better person than I am! I want the Trashtros to lose another World Series, because my Boys in Blue also went to the final dance three times in five years, and we did it without cheating!! That said, I'm experiencing a lot of cognitive dissonance, pulling for the team that just beat mine. Especially in Atlanta, where that racist chop and chant are horrifying. (Though I'm finding the fans' embrace of my beloved Joc Pederson, and his pearls, quite endearing. However, If I catch Joc chopping, he's dead to me!) Having Travis Tritt sing the anthem was the final straw, in terms of sealing my contempt for Atlanta. My final note is that my beloved Dodgers are paying the price for having signed Trevor Bauer. I'm beyond disappointed in the front office. We absolutely deserve whatever comes down from MLB. We're in this situation because we either didn't our due diligence, or–much worse–we disregarded it. Considering that this management team passed on Chapman for rumors about DV, I fear that it was failing to take Bauer's misogyny seriously enough. Also, for valuing winning over character. So we should have to eat his enormous salary, but I hope never to see him pitch in Dodger Blue, ever again! How many days until pitchers and catchers report?

I'm on the West Coast, so I'm watching the diner challenge, now. Padma's eye roll at Richard's order was pretty epic. I often find Blais' delight at his own cleverness off-putting, and that breakfast was entirely over the top. I love corned beef hash, and Eggs Benedict are my usual brunch order, but asking them to cook all of that for eight people in thirty minutes was just mean! Dawn's inability to get all her elements on her plate is absolutely going to kill her. And possibly us, too.

In Kevin and Kate's defense: They're twins, and very used to being enmeshed in each other's business. When this show started, Kate was Kevin's very capable assistant. The writers don't make a big deal of it, but while Kevin was the Manny, Kate pretty much ran his life, and was well-compensated for it. They're accustomed to his taking care of both of them, financially. Which, I think, is partly where his instinct to throw money at the situation arose from. Heck, he and Madison may have tried the snoo because Kate and Toby had such success with it, with baby Jack. Or, it's entirely possible the manufacturer of the snoo gifted two to the Pearson twins. Lots of companies give their products to celebrities, hoping for an endorsement. Also, Kevin's very much caught up in the Hollywood arms' race, where his celebrity status is tied up in having what every other star has. Prime example is the nanny–he was very concerned about securing the woman whose loss caused Timberlake to cry, more because of what it said about Kevin's place in the pecking order than about her compatibility with Madison, or the twins, or their philosophy for raising a family. Which was part of why Madison wanted him to use the time he was away on the movie to think about what he really wanted. So, I don't know if this amazing nanny is the celebrity score or someone who's truly a good fit for Nicky, Franny and their parents, but she seemed to be doing a phenomenal job. And I could see where poor, beleaguered, entitled Toby saw what looked like seamless, effortless bliss in his brother-in-law's household and lost it. He didn't see what we saw in the early montage, where it appeared that Kevin and Madison are handling most days on their own, and the nanny may have been there specifically to allow a "date night"–where the babies weren't the entire focus for everyone, and the grown ups could have sushi and wine and Madison could wear a pretty dress, rather than cow pajamas, and both moms had an excuse to shower! The moms here will know better than I do, since I've never been pregnant, but I suspect this might have been Madison's first sushi since the twins were born, which might explain the lavishness of the spread, as well as being a treat for company. As I remember it from friends' pregnancies, sushi is prohibited while you're expecting. As far as Haley staying home with Toby during the interview, rather than going to baby Jack's music class, I was thinking she might have been asleep when it was time to leave for class and both Toby and Kate know better than to risk waking a sleeping baby! She was certainly being an angel during Daddy's interview! Partly due to being rocked by Toby, probably, but also, maybe, because she got an uninterrupted nap. Or maybe Haley always stays home with Daddy during baby Jack's music time, so that Mommy can assist her brother, and allow him to get the most he can out of his class. I think I have more sympathy for Randall than many here do, but I saw his advice to Malik being very much exactly and precisely what the young man was asking for. Malik said that his parents wouldn't be open to allowing Jennifer back in Janelle's life, because of the custody battle, and Randall had more-or-less declared Deja off-limits as a subject of conversation, so Malik wanted to know Randall's opinion as someone who had grown up without knowing part of his heritage. All other factors aside, and knowing that he was very much loved and wanted, Randall was weighing in with the perspective of an adult who always had questions as a child. We've seen that he tried to find other people who could ruffle their tongues, that he tried to find Black male role models and that he's realizing that his need for a deep bond with the only parent he had left has caused echoes and implications to this day, and certainly drove him to therapy, initially.

I started following Laurence Fox on Twitter at some point during the last few years of this show, because he posted funny in-jokes, or little behind-the-scenes snippets, which I very much enjoyed. I recently found some of the things he tweeted distasteful, and unfollowed him. I feel like his tone changed around the time his marriage broke up, and has gone downhill since then. I agree with krankydoodle! I miss my Robbie! I watched Inspector Lewis first–I didn't care much for Morse when it originally aired. (I'm watching it now, when my local station shows in on Saturday night, mostly for Lewis/Kevin Whately.) I look forward to new seasons of Endeavour, and enjoy the Thursday/Morse relationship, as well as Shaun Evans and Roger Allam in their roles, but nothing compares to my anticipation of the arrival of each new Lewis, when I was able, and how much I wish they were still making more. Though, to bring this post full-circle, I now think I wouldn't care for a Hathaway series.

And also David Pogue on the explosion in popularity of audiobooks. Though, full disclosure, I'm a Pogue stan, so I always like his segments. If you're a fan of Jim Dale's readings of the Harry Potter books, there's a cameo (of sorts) by those iconic recordings, too.

I have to admit, I do suspect shenanigans with Malarkey's plates. The servers know what the timer represents! The plates that the chefs are slaving over are intended for the judges, and only the judges! Why would those particular servings go anywhere other than the most significant table in the place? Especially because this wasn't a Restaurant Wars situation, with tables ordering. Every diner may be getting the same course, but the ones the cheftestants touch go out first, and to the most important table. I refuse to believe that either the professional servers who work at Michael's, full time, or actors hired to staff the night of filming would make such a mistake. Particularly when they got it right for every other course! I certainly like Brian enough to wish that he hadn't been upset and thrown off like that. What a terrible disadvantage! Even if the judges claimed that he wasn't penalized in their estimation, he didn't seem to feel the same about his food as he did before the "mishap". And I agree that Padma doesn't seem to be kindly disposed towards Mr. Malarkey. Which he bears like a champ! I don't think I could be so gracious in the face of such scorn. On a side note, I enjoy Malarkey's food. I lived in San Diego, and have had the privilege of dining at a couple of his restaurants. They're fun places to eat, in the sense that the atmosphere is well-chosen and designed to encourage a good time, and the food's delicious. Looks like I'm the last person wholeheartedly rooting for Kevin, which is fine. I still think his food looks wonderful, and would love to try it, though my chances of doing so are slim, since I live in LA. He does seem less sunny than he was in Las Vegas, but he's gone through a lot since then, so I'm not surprised. I guess I'm still bitter that Kevin lost to the arrogant and unpleasant Michael Voltaggio, whom I never liked. The contempt in which the younger Voltaggio brother held Kevin and his food always rankled. At any rate, this should be a great finale. I'm thrilled that both Melissa and Stephanie are doing so well at just the right time! I'm not surprised that Gregory made it to the end–he's been a strong competitor throughout. Bryan's struggle to get to Italy actually has been a revelation, since he hardly put a foot wrong, his first time competing, and on Top Chef Masters. The hard part will be seeing who gets eliminated.

I'm a huuuge fan of Ross Stripling (pitcher for my beloved Dodgers), and therefore his podcast, The Big Swing. His podcasting partner, Cooper Surles, has become a fan of Jelle's Marble Runs as a result of there being no sports during the pandemic. To the extent that they interviewed the play-by-play voice of the English-language coverage, Greg Woods. So, with LWT now sponsoring the league, my worlds are coming together in a way that simultaneously delights me and blows my mind! 😆 https://bigswingpodcast.com/

Bravo, Milburn Stone! You're so eloquent! I came here, on Saturday night, looking for commentary on this amazing evening of music from, and tribute to, probably my favorite creator of theatre in my lifetime. I was transported by this benefit, and loved spending my evening with it! My 84-year old mom is in an assisted living facility, fortunately only ten minutes away from me, and we're on the West Coast, so I went over to her just before 5:00 pm, to help her watch it on her SmartTV. With technical difficulties, I went home and came back to get it going for her, but we both thoroughly enjoyed every moment. We're also planning to watch it, again. I hope Mr. Sondheim (I've never met him, I don't feel privileged to call him, "Steve") was able to see it and feel the love!

Not to be all tin-foil-hat, but I'm suspicious about the editing surrounding Lee Anne's "bus tracks" comment. For some reason, I suspect that she was reacting more to Malarkey's assertion that he made his tomato-and-burrata simpler and "cleaner" once he heard how "substantial" Lee Anne's hummus was going to be, rather than to the addition of salt and oil to her course. Though she might have been commenting on how he felt the need to emphasize how under-seasoned her main component was, that it wasn't just the lack of salt and oil that the judges were citing. To me, Brian's defense of his finishing touch on Lee Anne's dish did seem like he was making sure he dragged her under the bus with him. To their credit, the judges were fully aware of how much attention each chef paid to his or her dish, having watched the plating of each course, and had definitely noticed that Lee Anne needed more help to get her hummus out than Melissa needed with her soup.