zxy556575

Boy do I not get the attraction to or supposed sexiness of Tom Hiddleston. I originally saw him as Loki, but he made no particular impression. Face and body are pretty average to me, especially grading on the movie star scale. Mazel Tov to his fans, though.

Leah Remini has inserted herself into the story of Ron Miscavige leaving Scientology. Re Kelly Ripa -- I only saw clips from her monologue/speech when she returned to Live, but it doesn't seem like it made things better for her in the public eye, if nasty headlines are anything to go by. Now she supposedly never liked Strahan and never got along with the network. Canard! I feel badly for her and hope the "personal apology" from ABC was some slight balm. I mean, her show (especially since Regis left and she's the headliner) has always been a second-class citizen to GMA and I would have been hella pissed at the lack of respect, too. Anger and injured feelings aside, however, I do think Kelly should have put on a fake smile for 60 minutes and done her danged $15-20M a year job. Say what you will about Kathie Lee, but even during that whole blow-up with Frank's affair, she put her ass in that chair. I also can't think that Kelly is pleased now about the fallout, with 30 paparazzi dogging her every move. She may even lose some of her endorsement deals/commercials if she's perceived not to be the "nice everyday mom" any more.

Welp. When I watch my recordings, I 4X fast-forward to the start of the monologue (ideally after the applause has died down). So basically I didn't realize there were cold opens!

Yeah, sorry. I meant that I wasn't sure if the Sikh guy did understand about the show being a comedy and that the correspondent would be acting the fool/asking dumb questions. He was so serious. I usually skip those pieces so am probably not the best judge. They make me uncomfortable on behalf of the people being interviewed since the show often seems to be making them the butt of the joke, even if it's by just letting them speak.

Truly. Even poster art I buy to hang on my wall has to mean something to me, or at least be pleasing to my eye. What if the artists decided they wanted to do portraits of their mothers? He's very talented but even more, HE'S A NICE PERSON.* Although I still reserve the top spot in my heart for Tommy Helm from season one. Again with the judging on this. Was it a texture challenge or not? Chris and Oliver are so biased and random. Dave is the only one I can stand -- calm, reasonable, and doesn't hold grudges. * It's Ink Master, so I'm obliged to shout.

I loved Hasan's piece about Sikhs in America. "I work really hard at blending in. A third of my salary goes to New Balance and Patagonia." As usual, I couldn't tell if the guy being interviewed was playing along or not. "Son, you need to lead with love."

I thought Chris' stand-up special was pretty good. I can't say I laughed, but I liked listening to him tell his stories in a lighthearted way. He's not a rat-tat-tat jokey comic.

I always skip Big Shots when it comes on in syndication -- it's the one where Ray and Robert go to the Baseball Hall of Fame. They bicker the entire time and it's too much without anyone else from the family there to be funny or cut the tension. And both of them act like asses.

I keep waiting for TPC to reach critical mass in the U.S. -- it's one of the top-rated shows in England and everyone I know who has watched it here likes it. My perspective may therefore be skewed, but I tend to blame Bravo for not getting the word out. They certainly find the time and budget to promote some of their other shows to death.

Ugh is right. I can't quite put my finger on why, but I pretty much dislike everything about this season, including Sidney. My range of emotions has been: sad > depressed > impatient > bored. I hate the offhandedly cruel way Sidney treats Mrs. Maguire and Leonard. In truth, all of his relationships are fucked up this season, especially Amanda and Geordie. No good reason for me to continue to watch, I'm afraid.

Yay, Burner! It's nice to add another fan. I've wondered about the schedule as well, because some couchies are absent from certain episodes. My assumption has been that everyone watches all the shows but certain groups are cut for time, except that doesn't really make financial sense. It seems like the golden girls are skipped most often, so maybe they're contracted for a fewer number of weeks? The behind-the-scenes info is just as sparse as Bravo's promotional materials. I'd be curious to know if the cameras and lighting are fixed in place or if crews actually go to all of the houses every week. Naturally I'd also like to know how much the couchies get paid! Nosy, nosy. My provider, DirecTV, did not add old episodes to their on demand offerings. Sigh. I very rarely re-watch shows but would for this one, just for the smiles.

Quof, Miss Manners would probably advise you to speak directly to the woman or go to the gym manager, but that's a lot of awkward confrontation. I would just continue to avert my eyes. My high school used to have student hall monitors who would give tickets for going up the down staircase and other infractions. They should have added a citation for Bending While Naked, because that's just nasty. There's no reason not to put on underwear before doing the lotion routine. Do schools and gyms these days still have communal showers? Caring about being naked in front of other women was probably knocked out of me back then. The only times I'm liable to be unclothed in public now are medical settings and for massages, and the only emotion I feel is sympathy for the providers who have to see it.

You go, Lamont: "I don't have these camo pants on for nothing." I kept rewinding and couldn't figure out what Kenya was saying about the Dallas housewives. She was tsk-tsking sarcastically about there being no Blacks in Dallas and said she'd even take a ... swirl? squirrel? Everyone jumping in glee when that assy guy was eliminated on American Grit -- satisfying! I want to believe in Goldie, too. (But not enough to watch that show.) I laughed that they all knew the words to Shoop, even though Brandy recommended denying it. iZombie grossed me out for real, so Emerson is welcome to eat pre-crack Whitney Houston's brain all by himself. It's beginning to look like Budd and Mackenna had a very short run.

Dear people who are determined to take offense at the "disgraceful" change to the $20: your precious Jackson, about whom I would bet my house you know nothing, will still be on the damned back of the bill. The graphic showing all the changes over the years was pretty good. I really like how Trevor* has been raising my awareness of Black issues. When he spoke about Tubman two nights in a row and did a lengthy piece, it finally occurred to me, "Ah. This is a Big Deal for (at least some) African-Americans." When I first read about it, as someone of Scandanavian heritage who was raised in an all-white suburb and later lived in North Dakota and Northern Minnesota, I was all, hey that's cool. But I didn't fully absorb that it might be an important cultural acknowledgement until Trevor told me. I only occasionally watched Jon -- was he wont to do segments on the ongoing bigotry against Jews? Not that he had to or should have, I just appreciate that Trevor continues to bring it up. * And others, as the case may be.

I am not alone in this, but I enjoy Tom Hanks a ton. So bright, articulate, and prepared. I loved the acting class bit. Tom should totally do that Bob Hope/Tonight Show thing where he wanders onto talk shows just because he was driving by.

I didn't even notice! I like those interviews.

I've been dipping into The Rockford Files lately -- liked it when it was on air and like it now. James Garner's charm and wisecracks carry it through.

I thought everyone acquitted him- or herself well tonight. I'm a little iffy on Shelley -- her Simchat Torah painting looked smeary and had a lot less detail than most of the others. I hope she isn't going to be another Cheryl Ann whose work stinks but whom the judges inexplicably keep praising. Tiffany couldn't possibly have been pissed that Alison swiped her holiday, could she? Why would she care between two unknown foreign celebrations. I hope it's not a harbinger of stupid feuds. Tiffany won, anyway. Ru had Rebecca as a guest on his first show of Gay for Play; I'd totally forgotten until tonight that they're on Skin Wars together. As usual, I wish the first episode of competitive talent shows didn't boot anybody. I would have liked to see what else Black Jesus could have brought.

Huh. I don't guess Bravo particularly cares about "family hour," but that still seems awfully early. I hope they don't start editing out any of the spicier comments.

Crackle has confirmed a new season starting on June 15. Guests include Margaret Cho, Lorne Michaels, Jim Gaffigan, John Oliver, JB Smoove and Judd Apatow. There's always too much time between seasons for me, but as always, I look forward to the cars and the comedians.

I was bothered by the unnecessary way Sophie dragged Pine into it. She could easily have mailed the copies anonymously to the British Embassy or to MI6. Okay, there wouldn't have been a story otherwise, but I imagine IRL, whistleblowers try to avoid dragging complete strangers into their deceptions. Is there no notion of witness protection programs in the UK, or was Ogilvey's reluctance to aid Sophie because he knew the government in England wasn't about to take on the Hamid family and/or Roper?

You'd think the networks would already have enough examples of that, from The Tonight Show host swapping to The Today Show firing Ann Curry. I am not connected with the entertainment industry in any capacity, but it's always been hard for me to understand why actors sometimes hang on to a show so long (apart from contractual obligations). Are they that terrified that they'll never get another role in their entire lives? Have they not saved any money out of the tens of millions they have made over the years? Can they not stand the thought of being, even for a moment, out of the public eye? If I was a performer, I'd never want to continue with a show that has been so tainted in the public's eye; if nothing else, it wouldn't be in my best interests from a PR standpoint. There's no redeeming Castle with most fans at this point and it seems incredibly myopic and tone deaf of the showrunners and ABC to think otherwise.

That's so nice, annzeepark914. I don't want to say it's unusual to get pleasant service, but it is really appreciated. I recently wrote a letter to Subway to laud a woman at my local store who is always so cheerful and helpful. I mean, dealing with the public's sandwich peccadilloes can't be easy. I told her I appreciated her attitude and she said, "Well, I try." And I think she does try, as in makes a deliberate effort to put forth her best self every day. Another nice story is about a server we had at a casual restaurant. She was probably in her 60s and very present and calm. She handled the order quickly and competently, including a separate take-out meal. I usually leave a tip in cash but didn't have change and her smiles made me happy, so I left her $20 on a $30 bill. I don't make a habit of over tipping, so this was unusual for me. While I was waiting in line to pay at the register, she came up to me and offered the $20 back, asking if I'd made a mistake. I mean, what a sweet person! I tried to pay her attitude forward the rest of the week but fell off the wagon pretty quickly.

I'm not trying to be mean, but James really needs to have his suits altered if he has gained weight. I was fixated on that poor strained jacket button last night, just waiting for it to pop.

In memory of Doris, I'll go with: Marie's Vision, when Doris gets glasses and sees a lot of new things to criticize about everyone's appearance. The effect her remarks have on Debra and Raymond was hilarious. Mozart, when Doris and Ramond start piano lessons again -- getting the progressively easier practice books out of the piano bench. The Letter, when Debra told Marie how she really felt. Ray trying to retrieve Debra's letter before Marie or Frank saw it, Marie locking it away in her secret Sucrets drawer, Ray claiming (again) that Debra was a drunk and didn't know what she was saying, I also liked the entire arc when Debra and Marie weren't speaking, with the family conspiring to get them together and Robert gulping Kaopectate.