Bastet

I enjoyed the bracket reveal and especially the explanation of the changes for season VI. I think they're good, and it's kind of fun to know in advance we'll have a first-time winner. I hope this is finally Antonia's year, but I like a lot of the competitors. I initially thought Simon's new role unnecessary, but I think him sitting down with the judges after the fact rather than only seeing what they say as they're eating can be a great addition. I also like that abandoning East vs. West means we have some new match-ups on hand, and here are my thoughts on the first round: Group A: Antonia v. Maria - I'm bummed one of them will be knocked out in the first round. I adored Maria on Top Chef and frequently wanted to reach through my TV and eat her food, but I have to pull for Antonia. Adam v. Adriana - I didn't take note of her last name, but she was hella impressive in her play-in win (highest in the qualifiers) and he's always bugged me in previous rounds, so I am really hoping for an upset. Kevin Lee v. Casey - I've always like her going back to her original TC season. Tim Love v. Rocco - I have no idea who Tim is, and Rocco used to bug me but is more of an "eh, whatever" now, so no rooting interest here. Group B: Britt v. Chris O - She has been so very impressive since her first dominant appearance as an underdog, I enthusiastically root for her Shota v. Brittany Anderson - This will be a tough one. I really liked him on TC and every subsequent thing I saw him on, but I also really enjoyed her Bobby's Triple Threat win (when I generally root for the Titans) and craved her winning chicken wings in the qualifying round. Kaleena v. Chris Cossentino - I've liked her since Beachfront Brawl and liked her even more with each show. I also really appreciate the way she talks about anxiety. Team Kaleena! Stephanie (Izard) v. Michael Reed - He blew me away in his wins last time, taking out some of my favorites, and I've had his food to confirm it's delicious. But, c'mon, Stephanie is an OG and perpetual fave. I won't be mad if he wins, but I'm rooting for her. Group C: Jet v. Pyet [Last name I didn't catch] - She'll have to perform a miracle to taste this; even with Ashleigh screwing up in the qualifying round, Pyet won with a really low score. Jet knows with all the previous champs not participating, this is his best shot. This is his to lose. Karen Akunowicz v. Jonathan Sawyer - Team Karen. Lee Anne v. Chris Scott - I like both pretty equally, so I'm torn on this one. Mustache Joe v. Fabio - Fabio, all day, every day. I hope he's not too rusty to compete. Group D: Tobias v. David Viana - I just watched the play-in guy's win and can't even remember what he made (was he the taco against the lettuce wrap?), and I've liked Tobias ever since the poor guy had an anxiety attack on camera. Amanda v. Carlos - I root for her a lot, and possibly never more than against this clown. Claudette v. Nini - Battle TC. During their respective seasons, I liked Nini more, but I'm pretty equal on them now. Dale Talde v. Sara Bradley - Another Battle TC. I respect the work Dale has done to no longer be Angry Dale, but I'm rooting for Sara.

I'm happy for Brittany; I remember her from her defeat of the titans on Bobby's Triple Threat, because her (German) cuisine was not high up on my list of favorites yet I was quite impressed by what she did and cheered that win. I hate potatoes but love me some chicken wings (so I wanted someone to use the potato masher on something other than potatoes), and I wanted hers much more than the other chef's. It's interesting that while she beat him by two points each on taste and presentation, he got two more randomizer points than she did -- just on the cheesy? I didn't perceive that much of a difference. I really liked Ashleigh on Top Chef and was unfamiliar with Pyet, so I was really bummed to see Ashleigh implode like that. Pyet obviously won big (four points) on randomizer, which I get, but she won the other categories as well (two on presentation and one on taste), so it's interesting even her winning score was so low. Yikes.

A very basic primer on immigration law, in relation to the terms "illegal" and "criminal", for anyone interested: Undocumented presence in the U.S. is only criminal in a narrow set of circumstances, where a person was previously deported and then returned without permission. Otherwise, it's illegal as a violation of civil law, so let's analogize with traffic law for familiarity. Being here in violation of immigration law is, in the overwhelming majority of cases, illegal like the majority of cases of driving in violation of traffic law -- speeding, making a prohibited U-turn, etc. Rarely is it criminal, like DUI or vehicular manslaughter, instead. Which is why law enforcement agents should not be deputized by the federal government (and certainly should not act alone) to mess with immigrants. The act of illegal entry is a misdemeanor (and, in limited circumstances, a felony). But nearly half of undocumented immigrants did not enter the country illegally, they entered legally but later violated the conditions of their visa. So in those cases there was never a crime to begin with, on top of there not being one now in simply being here without documentation. Casually tossing around the term "illegal" in reference to immigrants' actions is a problem, given how many improperly equate that with "criminal". (And, of course, referring to people as "illegals" is dehumanizing, so not okay, and specifically prohibited here.)

But he's "willing and prepared to give up" his podcast to take this job, something Trump finds so notable it's part of his social media post announcing this appointment (because that's how the executive branch communicates these days, dumping shit on social media over the weekend). His podcast! Won't anyone think of the sacrifice this dear patriot is making for our country? 🙄

Over the course of this weekend, I got caught up on this latest batch of episodes (before and after the tikin xic challenge I happened upon after the Super Bowl): - Lobster thermidor: Interesting that for a French dish this became a challenge between Italian and Spanish takes. I love lobster, but hate egg yolk, so I was leaning towards Bobby's because it had even more ingredients to overcome the yolk. I'd have happily sampled both. The challenger's loose concept of time and Alex and Marc freaking out over it in both rounds was entertaining. - Trinidadian brown stew chicken: The challenger was such a dominant first round winner, I had high hopes and was happy when he pulled it off against Bobby. - Shepherd's pie: Yuck. I like lamb, but I hate potatoes, so this is not a dish I have ever or will ever eat. The first round had some funny moments, with "fire roasting some emojis" about cooking the eggplants and "I'll do the dad jokes around here" about the "naan what I was expecting" pun. That was also a surprising first round, as the gyro was a mess and didn't do anything creative with the naan (or the other whopping four ingredients he used) while the other dish looked beautiful and had numerous components including two uses of naan, but its flavors were a mess so the sloppy, basic gyro won. - New Mexico enchiladas: I liked the challenger and wanted to root for her, but I wanted Bobby's dish more than hers (with both I'd take the egg off and just eat the white as I hate yolks, but his was beautiful and had the chorizo while hers was a whole lot of sauce). I don't know how many years it's going to take for people to learn this isn't Throwdown; tradition was key in those challenges due to the local judges, but here it's all about flavor and Bobby is one of the best in the business. - Gnudi: I wanted to reach through the screen and eat the challenger's dish, so I did the touchdown signal when she won. I thought they both used too much flour (I liked the little moment she initiated after the judges said the same thing), but I still very much wanted to taste it with the incorporated spinach and that fantastic cheese sauce. Bobby's I would not have eaten because of the sauce, as I hate egg yolks, but if I set that aside it looked/sounded like a good dish, just not as special as hers. - Lasagna: Not my favorite, especially the more traditional it is (because of the bolognese), but I like it. Bobby's looked better. I always enjoy seeing Brooke and Tiffany.

Never happening under this Court. We're going to be under its thumb for a long time to come. The lower federal courts are thus far doing their duty (of course, the administration is just ignoring their orders) in the myriad challenges to its actions, which is what kept the felon's first term from being even more damaging, but the test of whether our Constitution and derived federal laws exist on anything beyond paper anymore will be when these cases reach this new SCOTUS, which has thus far been wholly partisan, a corrupt enabler of a corrupt president.

Tamiflu is only minimally effective; most studies show it reduces the amount of time you'll experience symptoms by one day at most, and that's only if you start taking it in the first two days of your illness. Therefore, many doctors don't recommend it based on it not being worth it for how little relief you'll get from it. Plus, like anything else, it can cause side effects, with one of the most common being vomiting -- the last thing someone with the flu needs is to get dehydrated from puking up the little they feel like eating and drinking.

It works for me -- he repressed his rage and avoided violence when he was alive, but now this many decades into ghost existence he's dealing with that repressed rage by consuming violent entertainment.

Their statement is great, calling out the "drill, baby, drill" end game: “The purpose of this exercise of free speech is to disrupt without violence and draw attention to the fact that public lands in the United States are under attack. The Department of the Interior issued a series of secretarial orders that position drilling and mining interests as the favored uses of America’s public lands and threaten to scrap existing land protections and conservation measures. Firing 1,000s of staff regardless of position or performance across the nation is the first step in destabilizing the protections in place for these great places. These losses, while deeply personal and impactful, may also be invisible to visitors and members of the public — we are shining a spotlight on them by putting a distress flag on El Capitan in view of Firefall. Think of it as your public lands on strike.”

And she kept going in all her glory. She followed up with "I bet a lot of people have had an experience like this with a bad boss - there’s an email in your inbox on Saturday night saying, 'Prove to me your worthiness by Monday or else.' I’m on the side of the workers, not the billionaire asshole bosses." When Musk posted, "What did you get done last week?" she replied, "Elon, I hate to break it to you but you aren’t my boss. I answer to the people of Minnesota. But since you bring it up, I spent last week fighting to stop tax breaks for billionaires like you, paid for by defunding health care for moms and babies."

I don't have any sort of e-reader, so when I travel what I do to not be weighted down by books is take one with me for the airport/flight (I don't read the entire time, also watching TV or listening to music, so one is plenty even for an international flight), but going forward I just buy a book where I am (often something related to the location*) and drop it off at a library when I'm done (or leave it in a bookshop/cafe if I don't spot a library). Lather, rinse, repeat for however long the trip lasts. *After I toured the house in which Anne Frank wrote her diary, I bought a copy in the gift shop and re-read it. In Limerick, I finally got around to reading Angela's Ashes. Stuff like that.

And the Republicans in Congress who capitulated to the petty demand of one individual rather than finishing the job.

Less, actually. As was stated the last time this particular type of bigotry was tossed out here, studies consistently reveal immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than those born in the U.S. While the felon's administration has scrubbed that fact from the National Institute of Justice website, our government used to provide its residents with that information. It is, thankfully, still widely available elsewhere. Here is a direct link to one of the most extensive studies, from Stanford.

Yes, I've heard it all my life. Like another poster, I've often heard/read it in the context of something negative, like the bad kind of "well and truly fucked", but not exclusively -- "well and truly" for emphasis - similar to completely, thoroughly, etc. - is used for neutral and positive things as well.

Season two wasn't as funny as season one, and I have no problem with that. I think they did a good job of showing how Mo repeatedly can't get out of his own way, alongside the continued honest representation of all the institutional barriers he faces. The dream sequences were hilarious, especially the Shawshank one. The finale, with them finally getting to visit Palestine, was powerful. And I loved the discussion Nadia and Yusra had about needing to stay informed without obsessively watching/reading news coverage -- "We’re more than our pain and suffering, Mama. But you wouldn’t know it watching this news” was beautiful.