Bastet

I hate facial hair, period, beards most of all, and really hate that particular one, so, yeah, I won't complain if I don't have to look at it much longer. But that's cute about the cat name, so I'll just think of that to counteract every "ugh" thought (I generally skip the interviews, so didn't know about the kitty.) I watched with my mom so didn't keep track, but neither of us got FJ. I otherwise had a great game, though; I know I almost ran the entire first round, and did well in DJ other than in novels, in which I don't think I came up with a single one

Wow, that Jet vs. Mustache Joe round! Everyone thought Jet had it in the bag after the judges' comments, and then Joe's feedback was also nothing but high praise. I love a good cheeseburger, so for that to get the tournament's highest score, I really wanted to taste that burger. I was salivating over Jet's, too. I can't decide if Tiffani's reaction upon Joe was just shock or if she was also a bit pissed. Joe was "her" chef, but he's a bit annoying and maybe she's one of those who wanted this to finally be Jet's year. I don't know, I found the shock from both her and Guy a little irritating; sure, it seemed like Jet had it in the bag since the judges fell all over themselves praising his dish -- but that was before they ate Joe's and did the very same thing. By the time everyone was standing there waiting for the big reveal, it was clear it could have been either name. While I like Jet (and don't particularly care for Mustache Joe), I'm really over the idea that now that all the previous winners are out of the race, it's his to lose this year. If Guy believes he's assembling the best of the best, then he ought to believe that in any given match-up, it could go either way. I wound up being happy Joe won. I was happy with all the results, although I wouldn't have been angry had any of them gone the other way. Kaleena really beat the stuffing out of Shota, outscoring him on every single element for a seven-point win. That was an impressive victory. All four of Britt's winning points came on taste, so clearly they didn't much care about all that parmesan. I thought both of them turned in just okay dishes compared to what they've done in the past, so she better get back to form next time if she's going to keep going (but since she's going against Kaleena next, I'm not sure who I'll root for).

Aw, this is cute (and answers my question as to whether they'd always intended Adam to stick around or if that evolved as the characters/actors worked so well together [the latter]):

You're probably thinking of Kaleena.

Paying means you did it right. You don't want to owe estimated and not do it, but if at the end of the tax year you're writing a reasonably-priced check to the IRS rather than them writing one to you, it means you didn't give them more money during that year than you actually owed; it was yours, not theirs, to do what you wanted/needed for that time.

That's probably the only episode in which I was ever enraged at Susan. Yeah, Mark is her friend, whatever. You don't call another woman a bitch, and you sure as hell don't, after a total clusterfuck of a night, say "she's just covering her ass" when Coburn clearly delineates the astounding "chain of errors in judgment" Mark made -- he missed pre-eclampsia, underestimated the fetal weight, missed a placental abruption (that he never even later caught; it's not until that moment when she physically points to the clot that he sees it), did an "ill-advised" (heh, that seems to be generous) forceps delivery on a baby that's too big, and then an absolute hack job of a C-section.

I'm the oddball who doesn't like his '80s TV movies/miniseries, but I'm a sucker for '70s disaster movies, so that's the role that immediately sprang to my mind.

I think it was earthquake, but, yeah. Although, in fairness, that particular incident with stuff flying everywhere was because Massimo tripped as he approached their station. He didn't seem to be running any faster than most of them do at the time. Between that and the booming voice, he seems like he might be a lot, but thus far they all seem to joke about it in a good natured way.

While I have no problem looking at my unmade bed (with or without sleeping kitty), I would convulse if my wallet was arranged any other way.

No matter how much you think you're prepared for the mental challenge of something - from watching previous versions, reading about them, even talking one-on-one with those who've done it - you can't truly know what it's like until you're doing it. I have no problem believing someone signed up for TC thinking one thing and then found out differently once they got into it.

Massimo also knew his myriad flaws, but what saved him is at least his dish tasted like his assigned ingredient while hers didn't even have that one thing going for it.

Same here. I probably would anyway, but I recently re-watched seasons one through three, so the C.J. vs. Sherri Wexler smackdown was fresh in my mind. I watched with friends, so didn't keep track, but I know I had a great game. In the first round, I was terrible in book, only getting immortal, but I think I ran everything else. I did very well in DJ, too. And FJ was an instaget; I'm not sure where along the way I picked up and retained that North Korea = the hermit nation, but I did, so even though I'd never heard of the other nickname, I was all set.

I was really good at that -- but do not miss it!

It's pathetic how few restaurants, even some pricey ones, do a proper crab cake. Too much filler; it should be right on the brink of falling apart. I pretty much only eat them homemade these days. It had been a while, but we had them at my parents' house Tuesday night and I'm eating the leftover one for lunch right now.

I hardly ever watch this show any more, but I happened upon that episode and watched for the first time in months if not years, and it's some fuckwits buying rather than adopting a pet. Back to channel surfing.

No. I didn't keep track, but I had a pretty "meh" game. I think Starliner and FJ* may have been the only TS that didn't also stump me. I did manage to get all but one in the Bible category, so that was impressive. *I correctly guessed FJ based on the Italian landmark involving water logic.

This is the second time a cheftestant has bowed out for mental health preservation; it's nice to see them feel comfortable doing that. Anya was an early favorite, so it was hard to see her flame out so horribly again.

Sea buckthorn is a native plant in Russia (not only Russia), so she wanted to use it in her dish as part of presenting food with Russian ingredients, and she thought using the powder form as part of the cake mix's dry ingredients would be a good way to incorporate it in this instance.

It was sea buckthorn powder. Tom wondered if it had something like cornstarch in it that screwed up the texture. I did a quick look at a few offerings, and one listed no additional ingredients while the other two listed maltodextrin.

"I played tight end." "Of course you did." Naming the Mountie Jennings Louise also made me laugh, and I loved hearing how Gregory got his middle name. I find it endearing how uncomfortable Kristen is when her friends call her "Chef".

I love Jamaican patties, and wanted to try all but the ones that turned out to be the bottom three, with the one most making my mouth water was Katiana's, so I was completely in line with the judging. I felt a little bad for Corwin not placing in the top. But his EC dish, man, that sounded good! I also really wanted Kat's and Tristan's. Katiana's, no, because I don't like licorice, but that's just personal taste; it was impressive and I could tell that was the winning dish based on the response. She's the only one of the chefs whose food I've had, so I'm extra happy for her. Anya's ice cream and cake being disasters from jump practically had me watching through my fingertips. Mossimo also having every element go wrong made me feel for him, too, but Anya emerged as an early favorite. I'm bummed she's gone, but her dish had nothing going for it while his at least tasted like the assigned ingredient, so I knew he was going to squeak by with a dish that would have been another JT segment with no deliberation in a typical round.

Yes, as per usual, when he accuses someone of doing something, it's actually what he's doing, and they're doing the exact opposite.

By the time my cat gets up, there really aren't a ton of hours left until we're just going to get back in it, so I usually don't bother.

Nice tribute to Eric Gilliland. It has been so long, I could have really used a "Previously, on The Conners" before this episode started. Wasn't Darlene already off the line, that weird lady in the dark office gave her a promotion? Or was that just to a managerial position that's still down in the cafeteria itself? I'll have to look that up. I had completely forgotten about Ben's hardware magazine plan. "You're just stringing together words you don't understand" was fun, and "Oh my god, the dog on your face ran off" about Ben shaving that crap off his face made me laugh. Dan's discussion of how he dealt with the pain of losing Roseanne and how he'd suffer if he dug all that back up and nothing came of it, and Louise saying she can't be part of his decision, was well done, as was Dan's talk with Jackie with her taking it as him not caring anymore. I wonder if she will indeed pursue this, which would be interesting if talking about Roseanne is something that continues during this short, final season. Becky and Darlene both being morons, in different ways, about their relationships, no thanks, but they seemed to snap out of it, so hopefully both are one-offs. "The department needs fresh blood." "Well, unless you're getting a transfusion ..." Ha! Was the young cop played by Laurie's daughter? I'd read about her appearing, and looked up her credits; I've seen her in an episode of Cold Case, actually one of my favorites, but can't picture her in it, and forgot to keep an eye out tonight (this episode's IMDb page doesn't yet have her role on it).

I didn't tune in until just as DJ started and am too lazy to look up the first round, but it was an okay half a game. I only ran map, but I got all but one each in words, baseball movies, and pro-Semites. I missed two each in fossil and lion. FJ was an instaguess I thought was going to be wrong because it too obvious, but I didn't have anyone else to guess. Color me surprised by the TS.