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[Moved over from episode thread.] I looked at Rathbun's blog for the first time recently and he did seem a bit unhinged. I didn't read a lot but one recent post was devoted to bitter criticism of people he calls the "Anti Scientology Cult," including Ortega. According to Rathbun, people who speak out against Scientology have devolved from "a blame-filled pity party into a hate-driven trolling fest." It's unfathomable what effect decades of mind control have on people and I'm in no way trying to minimize their emotional torment, but it is interesting to me that both Rathbun and Rinder have come out of this with such strong self-regard/egos.

Fun show tonight; everyone seemed loose and holiday-moody. The way it was edited, Morgan Murphy had most of the funniest lines so am glad Chris let her go through to the end.

BARRY!! I'm not sure we got any new insights or info from President Obama, but it was nice to see him and Trevor having a discussion.

Well, that was odd. Was What Went Down a preview of tomorrow's episode? But it was 19 minutes long so half the show. The episode title for #3 doesn't sound like what aired. Anyway, it was interesting to hear some specifics about what the religion requires. Desiring to help solve the problems of the world notwithstanding, I just cannot fathom how a new adherent to Scientology will put up with several hours a day of auditing -- basically intense, uncomfortable interrogation about all aspects of one's personal life -- by some other random schmo. And pay for it! And yeah, it's Chutes and Ladders.

And if someone has a general comment that may include topics previously discussed, it's hard to remember/find which episode it was. There are no episode titles to help.

Lagniappe! When I returned, I waited about three months to close out my company 401k and roll over the funds to my personal IRA. Even though the account is empty, I still receive email notices and announcements from the 401k fund. I delete them. Today I got another one and finally logged in to see if I could permanently close my account and stop the spam -- and saw that there's somehow a balance of almost $4500. Yay for surprise money!

See, I think family nicknames are sweet and funny, if kept there. But I really don't want to be introduced to Yummy or Boll-weevil at a business meeting! It forces a familiarity that isn't earned. The first and middle names on my mother's birth certificate are Jean Frances. At at some point in her early 30s she decided she wanted to be Gina Francesca and used that the rest of her life. When she died, my sister and I had double-sided prayer cards made for the funeral, with her birth name/maiden name on one side so it would be familiar to older family members, and Gina/married name on the other. I don't know why, because it ended up confusing everyone. Despite me giving people no credit, they actually knew her by the name she used.

Thanks for sharing! It's incredible that one writer is doing so much of the work for the Closer Look pieces. This part about the current state of political misinformation made me chuckle, in a dry-heaving sort of way: "Meyers points out that, ironically, 'fake news' used to mean shows like The Daily Show, which was specifically trying to parody televised news." I went back and watched the monologue for the episode covered in the article, keeping the background info in mind. I actually remembered the Hot Pocket joke from the first time around: "Don't cut that one!"

It doesn't seem like the Critics' Choice Awards are very well regarded -- nobody even bothered creating a topic for Sunday's show here -- but this still chafed me: BEST TALK SHOW “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” (TBS) “Jimmy Kimmel Live! ” (ABC) “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO) “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central) “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (CBS) — WINNER “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC) Seth not even nominated and the prize goes to Corden of all people?? There are only 70 critics in the TV group and apparently about 15% quit recently because of disagreements with the organization's ethics, but the remainder can bite me. I smell payoffs.

Why must so many news and entertainment sites embed autoplay videos? They make the sites SO SLOW to load. I dunno about others but I just want to skim the danged article. Down with autoplay!

Billy Bob was nominated for a Golden Globe; hopefully the media attention for that will bring more awareness and viewers!

I found a couple of local news articles that pretty much matched what the show said. The shelter and dogs weren't licensed but there hadn't been any complaints and the city of River Rouge pretty much looked the other way until one of the neighbors forced the issue. I was curious about costs. A pet license in River Rouge is $6 or $12 depending whether or not the animal is fixed. Licenses also require proof of rabies vaccination; those seem to average about $20. Who knows how much a business license costs to establish a kennel or if the city would even have issued one in a residential neighborhood. At any rate, it definitely sounds like the owners were aware they weren't in compliance. Does the end justify the means? You decide!

I only watched two episodes and while I liked Dory, her friends and boyfriend were so annoying that it made the show hard to sit through. Maybe they get redeemed at the end, but I can't hang in long enough to find out.

I felt sorry for Jason when the design of his stocking cookies was blasted. He explained that they were elf stockings, which made sense when you saw them and which at least showed some creative thought. He won on taste in the end but I think only because the other three weren't very good. I also had sympathy, as a human, for Matt's distress but he's pretty much sucked throughout and it was past his time to leave. I hope the final three step up their games because the quality of work this episode was lackluster all around.

I sympathize. When I bought my current house, the previous owners' last name was one letter off from mine. For example, Martin and Betty Smyth and I'm Lisa Smith. The post office COULD NOT COMPREHEND THIS, despite the different spelling and different first names. They randomly forwarded my mail to the Smyths for a year until forwarding expired. I called the post office supervisor, spoke to the carrier, went to the sorting station to no avail. From their end, the Smyths would write on the envelopes to send mail back to me, and the handwriting and notes got progressively larger and angrier. A couple of times, their redirect to me got forwarded back to them. Just thinking about it again makes me bilious.

Does anyone mention how unattractive the main male character (not the actor) is? I wanted to like the show so much, and did, except after 3-4 episodes I couldn't stomach the guy's grimy hair and perpetually sweaty face any more. I'm not usually so bothered but something about him completely turned me off.

Okay, I had to go look that up. I'm not a parent and my interaction with anything kid-related is minuscule, but I'm honestly astonished that such a thing exists. I feel sorry for public schools these days. Hear, hear. If I'm counseled to rise above any kind of shaming insults hurled at me, I'm similarly free to ignore people who suggest that I shouldn't mock, for example, gluten free hipsters or heteronormative trigger warnings. Everyone's offense meters are calibrated differently. Sometimes I'm hurt and sometimes you are. That's shitting life!! But I also acknowledge that the only shoes I've walked in are mine, and they are soft and cushiony. I've certainly been laughed at or ridiculed for things I've done and how I've behaved, but never for what I am. The only thing that even marginally resembled bullying when I was in elementary school in the 50s was a few kids calling me "Laurel and Hardy" because my last name is Hardy. I'm sincerely open to other viewpoints and over the decades have frequently modified my speech to be more sensitive/inclusive, but there are also times I just roll my damned eyes. With regard to celebrities, how about when when Zendaya basically took down Fashion Police after a joke on the show about her dreadlocks and that she perhaps smelled of patchouli oil or weed. She went on a social media tear about OMG the blatant racism.

Did you reclaim your full name as an adult, or did your parents not nickname you? Mine took the time to give me a name and proceeded to never use it, to the extent that I feel like someone's pissed at me when I hear it. I don't mind the name, but it's not even a common shortening -- it's a completely different name! Same confusion applies for people who go by their middle names. I'm sure we've all met people who insist on everyone using cutesy nicknames such as Moose or Smiley. Sorry, I just met you and don't want to call you Coach!

Maybe I'm in a sensitive mood or something, but BJ's adoption was extra sweet and touching. Her new owner getting choked up made me want to give her a hug. That Detroit shelter was amazing! I'm in awe of the owners being able to keep that up, plus it's always welcome to see a skinhead change his world view.

Reading British books before the Internet, I thought a lot of people sure wore pinafore style tops! Once you think about it, "sweater" is a horrible word anyway. I had a question about a missing ATM surcharge rebate and online chatted with my bank yesterday. The date-stamped convo took 14 minutes as the agent pasted in long canned messages about the rules for rebates, which I already know from reading them, thanks. I was asking about a specific charge on a specific date. She finally gave me an answer, but I pictured her madly scrolling through cheat sheets as she took 3+ minutes to respond to each question. Bless your heart "Melissa B." My inconsequential peeve today may be controversial, but I dislike the term "single mother." Not based on what constitutes single* but because I prefer "parent." Kind of like "male nurse" -- specifying the gender isn't necessary. * My parents divorced when my sister and I were toddlers and mom moved 400 miles away. Dad paid child support and we visited during the summer and holidays, but I would never say he raised us, or even helped. He was Fun Parent. My mother was Single Parent.

Still lushly filmed and well acted, but I guess I just don't care about Hailey any more. I finished the first episode and, rare for me, didn't bother clicking through to the second. Rodrigo on his water bicycle was adorable, though.

This isn't related to any particular case, but in general, I absolutely hate when relatives are made to go on TV after a kidnapping or missing persons case and beg the perpetrator to let the victim go. Both in real life and fiction. What's the point, exactly, except for bleed-and-lead TV ratings? The kidnapper never complies. It does provide a loop of constantly re-aired footage if the pleading relative is later found to be culpable, eg. Susan Smith.

Oh, Stollen. I assume everyone eats around their slab of marzipan, because who really needs a mouthful of gluey sugar in the middle of their bread?

The judges have let so many almost-coochi-showing garments glide by without a comment this season. "Too short" is still a thing, folks. As are "trashy" and "embarrassing." I am not picking on Laurence's model because obviously she is super skinny. But even a tiny stomach pooch is noticeable in a body-hugging sheath, so wear some Spanx, please. The profile photo in the recap shows the problem.

Ah, that's right! It's probably safe to assume he made the video. Still, how many lives is he prepared to ruin in order to help one person? I'm already not that fond of plots that involve a man "saving" his woman. Laura's argument with her mother came off more as snotty teenage rebellion. If Laura's ideologically against her mother's business policies, she shouldn't work for her company. (Well, I guess it remains to be seen if people from one corporate state are even allowed to leave and move to a competitor.)