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Mary sure gave Ian the stink eye when he joked in the judging room that he wanted to take all the appetizers with him. I'm still an embarrassingly childish eater who often won't try unfamiliar foods, but a few of the showstopper offerings were so pale and anemic looking, I'd feel justified as a party guest in passing them up. Undercooked dough is awful. I liked Michael and am sorry to lose him. I hope it wasn't anything serious but even a 24-hour bug can send someone home because the show can't wait for them to feel better.

Bummer. Last episode of the year and depressing.

Even as a kid when my grandmother would tune the TV to The Honeymooners, I could not stand either the show or Ralph Kramden (which leached over to my opinion of Jackie Gleason). An obnoxious blue collar schlub with a short temper threatening physical violence to his wife? That was funny why? This opinion brought to you by the reported reboot at CBS.

Thanks for the thoughtful post, @millennium. I admit to getting a laugh out of Trump's nasty nicknames but also confess I was angry when that woman in West Virginia referred to Michelle Obama an "ape in heels." I honestly try to check myself with regard to double standards, so Trump it is.

My previous knowledge was zilch, but various car restoration shows plus Jay Leno's Garage have taught me what a Wankel engine is, among other automotive esoterica.

That was my problem with a dear co-worker who took care about his appearance -- neat, combed, coordinated and what-passed-for-fashionable in Mountain Iron, MN, including expensive patterned suit socks. I considered giving him a pair as a gift, but what do I know? That fact that he was particular about what he wore made me think that whatever I picked would probably not be to his taste, he already had something similar, etc.

This year's nominees. The ceremony will air on TNT and TBS on Sunday, January 29th at 8 p.m. Eastern.

I'm still pondering exactly what it is that puts me off about Rinder. First, he has an entitled sense of self regard that's unearned, as if he's carried over his Scientology rank and importance into our world where it means nothing. Second is his seeming lack of remorse. I can more easily understand/forgive that because I see him as a victim of brainwashing. I can't blame Scobee or any other high level staff members for what they did, either. I think the toxic tattling culture in Scientology really messes with people. Like, the first thing Mary's husband did when she told him about her doubts was to submit a knowledge report on her. Members get in big trouble if they don't. Everyone tells on everyone, then the miscreant is forced to have days, weeks, or months of sec checks, which are of course recorded (and billed!) That sort of pervasive thought control makes it impossible to share personal feelings, which in turn goes a long way towards making Scientologists into the soulless drones they are.

A couple of minor points that made me itch a bit: When Letty was on the phone with 911 and the store paged for his parents, just say, "Oh my god, never mind, he just came home" or something similar. Anybody would. Abruptly hanging up is what prompted the cops to come poking around later. Letty was wigging out about losing Jacob but she's supposed to be a smooth con artist. Leaving stacks of money in plain sight on the kitchen table when cops were at the door was also stupid.

At the start of the episode when Letty was so angry at Javier for accusing her of stealing the money, she had me convinced for a minute, too. I thought maybe I'd forgotten something from the previous episode. I was surprised Javier let her keep it.

I want Letty and Javier to be more careful, for crissake. Makes me tense. I'm also conflicted about rooting for a hired killer to get away with it, but there it is. Letty and Javier have such mad chemistry (and this from someone who wasn't that impressed with Michelle's acting in Downton). I think Botto lifts her up. If anybody watches/tried to watch The Catch, I think this show is what they were going for.

I'm re-reading one of my favorite mystery series, the John Rain books by Barry Eisler. Rain is a Japanese-American international assassin, working mainly out of Tokyo. I mean ... he kills people for a living. And I root for him!

Jimmy's kind of the leftover kid, isn't he? Eileen has her special bond with Kenny and Pat dotes on Shannon. A loud guffaw escaped me with the line about the Unitarian Universalist choir winning and that Kenny forgot about the gays. (Maybe only because that's the church I go to.)

If you want to avoid giving your info to Scientology, there are people who practice it outside the church; they believe in the principles but not in the church leadership or policies. This page from Independent Scientology has links to lists of auditors you can contact. Individual practitioners set their own fees but are supposedly "affordable." I'm tempted myself!

Something else I learned while reading about Scientology these past couple of weeks is that they run their own schools, which I guess is expected. But they also provide Hubbard's "study tech" materials to an unknown number of public and charter schools. SMH. It's interesting that Sea Org members are actively discouraged* from having children, especially considering how low Scientology membership has dwindled. Here's paranoia for you -- I've been avoiding official Scientology sites as I browse (I almost said "cruise") around online but the couple of times I did want to read something from them, I enabled my VPN software. As if they don't track personal IPs! * Including forced abortions.

I think it's notable that, as deep into Scientiology as Leah was, she never made own young daughter join. I'm not sure if Sofia went to a school that uses Hubbard's teaching methods. Leah and Angelo also had Sofia re-baptized Catholic this past September. Leah said the family had "gone home" by returning to their previous religion.

Shelly has still not been seen in public. Many people believe she is being kept prisoner. Even so, if she claims it's voluntary on her part, nothing the police can do. According to Tony Ortega's anti-Scientology website, on December 12, Leah's attorney submitted a request to the LAPD for copies of her original police report, including how and when contact with Shelly was made in order for the police to conclude that the report was unfounded. Interestingly, the police detective who closed the missing person's report is now a frequent paid speaker at Scientology events. Leah is relentless. Scientology should be proud of what their teachings produced. A free thinking, moral truth-teller who has dedicated herself to a cause.

There really is no excuse for a lack of pop culture knowledge. As Billy disgustedly breaks it down: "A library has computers and a computer has You Tube and You Tube has Chewbacca mama and carpool karaoke." Honestly! Poor Rachel Dratch. I hope she didn't hurt herself.

Goodness, if the plane needed to crash for future reasons, why not just stop that Senator guy from getting on? Or if he needed to be on the plane to die, why did Marcy defibrillate him back to life in the first place? Not that I'd be broken up about losing MacLaren, but I'm pretty sure he survives. Although he missed the perfect opportunity to be rid of an impediment to his mission, i.e., Kat. Along those lines, Carly needs to give up on: the baby, trying to make CPS happy, getting a job, and the dangerous cop boyfriend. Move into the hideout and concentrate on the mission. I can see no reason for Marcy not to do the same, either, except for being in damned love. Does it seem like the team has been off mission more than they've been on? Uh oh.

I'm a big proponent of stepping off the gift train express. Toot! The husband of a friend of mine has two sons from his first marriage. He was a career naval officer and was away for a lot of their childhood. He's not close to them but I was a little surprised last week when he mentioned in passing that, if he had it to do over, he wouldn't have had kids at all. His sons are in their 40s and have five kids between them. They've both very successful millionaire businessmen. My friend sends Christmas and birthday gifts to the sons, wives, and grandkids, but complains about the hassle. His kids in turn give him things he doesn't need or want. I once asked why he doesn't just put an end to the gifts, but he was adamant that he still wants his sons to give him something. That's weird, right? Just checking.

No doggie deaths. :)

The first part of the episode (that was previewed last night) was interesting. I'm curious about how people become auditors and how it's decided who their subjects are. I'd like to hear what the experience is from their viewpoint -- do they outright lie about what the meter says? Does someone give them the questions to ask? The second half was more of the same. I think viewers get the policy of disconnection by now. Next week's coverage of Miscavage will hopefully provide more insider details. Has Leah ever said what OT level she was?

If it's not too early, would the annual Airing of Grievances help? My Advent calendar gripe for today is assisted living facilities. I gaze longingly at their brochures. Hotel living in lovely, well maintained, 800 sf apartments including housekeeping and three meals a day. On-site activities and health aides. I can afford none of it! I now hand you the aluminum pole.

That's insane that TDS under Jon didn't even have its own You Tube channel! I'd be curious to see what the stats are for watching on Hulu. It probably wouldn't have as many viewers as a free site like You Tube, but there are more and more cord cutters these days. For the week of December 7, TDS was #52 out of the top 100 cable shows. Three Comedy Central shows made the list, and total viewers for TDS were more than 50% higher than the other two. I'm sure CC rues losing Jon, but Trevor is hanging in there against his competition.

He seemed pretty nervous! As one would.