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Thanks for the reminders! I wish the marathon wasn't just season 4 since those are pretty fresh in my memory already. I see something called "The Best of Bravo" scheduled for 5/19 at 10pm -- I'm assuming it's a clip show of Bravo programs the couchies have watched. Which means Housewives galore. Ish. Not my favorites. DirecTV only has two episodes on demand, both from April. Better than nothing, I guess.

Trump's supporters don't care about his tax returns, so in the end it's just more meaningless fodder for people who already dislike him. I was more surprised at how low Bernie's charitable contributions were, to be honest.

I didn't get the impression that Mary and Alfred were intending to hook up, but I guess we'll see. I'm not exactly on the edge of my seat for that cliffhanger. Last we knew Mary was dating the guy Sheldon caught her having sex with and was struggling to square that with her religious beliefs, so I don't think she's in the habit of casual promiscuity these days. Sheldon is usually much more voluble and relaxed around Beverly and I wasn't really buying the tension in the room even before Alfred arrived. But then, I also never believed Beverly would be one bit hurt about not being invited to Leonard and Penny's wedding, especially considering the spontaneous way it played out.

Tabloid reporters as cockroaches and piles of shit. Ha ha? Rachel Dratch's new sketch comedy show has a more encompassing focus but I can't say I laugh much at that, either. I also quit SNL years ago so maybe these types of shows are no longer for me. More misses than hits. If Amy does have a skit that's particularly clever, the Internet will let me know.

Have to say I enjoyed the randomness of naked guy on the right. Nice of Jen to lend him her t-shirt FTW.

I dislike enforced or mandatory jollity, games, contests, and celebrations at work, so this made me smile: Officially, Your Employer Can’t Force You To Be Happy At Work "The NLRB’s ruling last week said that requiring employees to maintain a “positive work environment” is too restrictive, as the workplace can sometimes get contentious. You can’t keep your employees from arguing. The key here is recognizing that being positive at work is good for business, but what’s good for business is not always good for labor. The NLRB says that workers have a right to express negativity at work because they have a right to be unhappy with their jobs."

Just noticed this tweet from Rashawn -- so sweet!

Fun crossover episode on Wednesday's Skin Wars that featured former Drag Race queens in a beauty pageant format.

As a Drag Race viewer, I loved seeing the various queens again but thought the final looks were kind of lackluster. I guess because the artists subverted their own desires to suit their clients? That doesn't work well on Project Runway, either. I wasn't that taken with Alison's winning look but I'm probably biased because I don't much like her personally.

Goodness, I would never give my cell phone number to any corporate entity. I accept climate change and that Oswald killed JFK but am a total cellphone denier. I have created a sphere of personal calmness and contentment which includes leaving the damned thing turned off in a drawer for 2-3 weeks at a time until I remember to check messages. I will allow that it's less intrusive than a land line used to be, and I appreciate no longer needing an answering machine. (Historical peeve: how many of those did I go through over the years, large cassette tapes to mini, but they all failed at some point.) My situation is atypical in that I don't have family or friends I need to stay in ever-present and immediate contact with, but I also don't mind people in public talking on or staring at their phones because that prevents them from perhaps trying to engage in conversation with me. The cat closeness has been going on a long time with you, hasn't it, goddess? :)

I have wonderful memories of childhood, especially after I got a bike when I was 10. My sister and I would make bag lunches on the weekends and venture off into the hills around San Diego, taking large pieces of cardboard to use as sleds. Had to avoid the prickly pears, though! Then over to the playground for some hopscotch and to the little corner store for some allowance candy. I don't remember us even staying in the neighborhood that much, once we had transportational freedom. The most trouble we ever got in was when we hauled a parachute and chair up to the single story roof of our house and jumped off in the mistaken assumption that we'd float, seated, to the ground. No broken bones but a few gashes and scrapes that we weren't able to conceal. The other time was when we went wading in the irrigation ditch behind the house, which we were forbidden to do. We were careful to get home shortly before Mom returned but our sneakers and socks were wet so we had the bright idea to put them in the oven to dry them out. Set temp to 400 degrees and went outside to play, forgetting about them. Melted rubber and canvas in the oven; hoo boy the yelling. My mother even planted a hedge of castor beans in the back yard (to screen the irrigation ditch) because they're quick growing. She knew they were poisonous and simply told us not to eat them. We started babysitting when we were in 4th and 5th grades, which was, in hindsight, perhaps the stupidest thing of all. We were in charge of really young babies, too!

I've disliked Jennifer Morrison's acting since I first saw her in House. Really affected and fake to me. I even find her appearance to be off-putting -- not sure why because objectively she's an attractive person, but the harsh blond dye job doesn't help. Watched a few episodes of Once Upon a Time during the first season but gave up because she had such a prominent role.

Michelle's content was fine, but her voice grates and it was odd that she wasn't sitting at the desk with Trevor, or even there by herself like Louis Black. It seemed like a random stand-up bit in the middle of the show.

Peeve of discussion board software glitches?

Hey, the guy "had a bad week." At least he knew what misanthropy was.

Thanks for reiterating, @ZaldamoWilder. I used to care for my godsons two days a week when they were young and even though I was raised that way myself, I would never have let them walk to the park alone at 6 or 8 or 10. They weren't even allowed to play outside with neighbor kids on their own. My childhood was during a completely different cultural ethos. And my grandparents was too, as they left school after 8th grade to work full time.

Who can say what these contestants are like at home but since we're primarily treated to their juvenile posturing, runaway egos, and temper tantrums, I was impressed that Matti showed a bit of human empathy by taking a strong stand against hate symbols. Even though he did couch his sentiment in violence. I had to look it up, but the circle A represents anarchy.

Now I had to look it up -- Jon Batiste is 29. Stephen did look younger with the Saran Wrap! Creepy, but no wrinkles. This also got a snort out of me: "The breakthrough in second skin comes from Dr. Buffalo Bill at the University of Silent Lambs."

The Real Other Woman may be my favorite episode so far. So many good moments: The entire Project Runway/mesh storyline, including Tim Gunn and Aunt Jodi: "As Heidi Kim says, Bon Voyage!" Drug sniffing dog: "Oh, no! Mrs. Novich has glaucoma!" Eileen being unable to hack Unitarianism for more than 30 seconds, and taking the hackysack. Pat having dog shit on his shoes and not being able to find it. 20 lb bag of Costco meatballs. Naming the dog Brad being the only thing Jimmy wanted in life. It didn't seem to be scripted that Jimmy slipped and fell as he was running to get to the basement to see the dog -- if not, congrats to Bebe for staying in character and not stopping the scene.

Are you avoiding all superhero and/or other comics-related stuff? Because lately that's a lot of stuff! I watch a couple of them, tried to watch a few but didn't like them, and never tried with others. I don't hate them for existing the way I do with some other shows, though.

New peeve, to go along with mansplaining: The Daily Show's Desi Lydic did a segment on momsplaining, wherein strangers feel it's their job to tell you how to raise your children. I'm not even a parent and it annoys me.

Is it sad to be a latchkey kid, or that the boys weren't expected to do housework? My parents were divorced when my sister and I were toddlers and I don't remember ever having a babysitter. Starting in kindergarten, we were responsible for getting ourselves to school in the morning, either walking or by public bus. We were alone with a list of chores after school before mom came home. She went out 2-3 nights a week. I think it made both of us very self-sufficient and independent.* Nothing bad ever happened, though, which gives me the freedom to say that. We were born in 1950 and '51, so nobody gave a thought to calling social services on us. * It's also part of the reason I can't wrap my brain around millennials in their 20s who are incapable of making the simplest of decisions without consulting their parents.

I blithely decided to forego dental insurance for seven months after I retired but before I was eligible to buy a Medicare policy, Dun, dun, dun, $3.9K in root canals and other work, I also opted to reduce my cable bill by, among other things, discontinuing the $10/month fee for DVR repair/replacement. Gah. You see where I'm going here. I drive my car infrequently and have been rethinking my auto policy. I can reduce it from $383 every six months to $152 by getting rid of some coverage, but I'm pretty sure fate is waiting in the wings to mock me again should I try. Ha! I always thought it would be fun to have one or more older brothers because of course they would bring home their cute friends just for me. Perhaps I didn't think things through. Instead I was stuck with an older sister who would wear my clothes and stretch out the sweaters because her breasts are twice as big as mine.

Thanks for providing more insight, @sacrebleu. Broadcast journalists' deliberate use of clickbait headlines for ratings is one thing, but I place the most blame on the professional journals/associations for issuing those winkingly provocative press releases in the first place.

I'm enjoying it as well. My only slight nitpick is that the actor playing Houdini comes off as so trifling. It seems like the show wants to play up the difference between the sober and studious Doyle and the more lighthearted Houdini, but at this point he's acting more like an obnoxious 19th century Johnny Knoxville.