Bastet

The math used to come out in favor of it; the money spent to attract first-time donors paid off when they continued to donate year after year (and more than they did the first time), but donor attrition is really high these days. And with "de-cluttering" a popular interest, people are less interested in accumulating random stuff. Vox did a piece on this issue last year.

I haven't looked into it, but the university was in discussions with ESPN and Bowl staff throughout the week and then pulled out less than 24 hours before game time; unlike with Texas A&M pulling out of the Gator Bowl for similar personnel reasons, there wasn't time to invite another team, meaning the game was canceled and ESPN had no Christmas Eve game. And, yeah, pretty salty. Contrast the tone of the ESPN statement with what Hawai'i and Memphis put out:

Yep, 1989. So more than 30 years have passed, but the increase in the percentage of such work done by men is not enough, because even with that improvement women are still doing the majority of it. And, yes, even when they're equally employed (that's what the "second shift" refers to - in heterosexual couples where both go off to work, women come home to a whole second, unpaid, job). In fact, one study showed nonemployed men still do less housework and childcare! Also, household chores still tend to break down along gender lines, so men do things like yard work, while women are doing the cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Notice she gets the tasks that need to be done far more often. Yes, today's men are doing better, and that's great. But they're still not doing their equal share.

Studies consistently show the percentage of housework and childcare done by men has not improved all that much since "the second shift" was first widely discussed (more than they did up through the '70s, certainly, but not much more than they were doing in the '80s when both parties working had become typical - they went from nothing to something and then kind of stalled). Men think they're doing oodles more than their fathers did, but tossing the occasional load of laundry in the washer and playing video games with the kid doesn't move the needle much.

I hope everyone who has/had intelligent, egalitarian-minded husbands who turned into bewildered dolts when dispatched to the grocery store is familiar with the late Jeanne Robertson's famous "Don't Send a Man to the Grocery Store" tale of her husband's interpretation of a short, numbered list, but in case not:

I used to be so tickled by the little glass salt and pepper shakers. I'm still disproportionately pleased by the hot towel.

Romance is very much not my jam, so there aren't many films largely or exclusively about romantic relationships I love; I can't really help you with "romantic" films, as many - e.g. Titanic - are things I would not watch again with a gun to my head. But I enjoy the love stories - particularly when they're secondary, rather than the focus - in: - The Best Years of Our Lives (one of cinema's best moments is when Millie disabuses her daughter of the idea the parents never had any trouble in their relationship, turning to her husband and asking, "How many times have I told you I hated you and believed it in my heart? How many times have you said you were sick and tired of me, that we were all washed up? How many times have we had to fall in love all over again?") - The Big Sick - Big Night - Dirty Dancing (this is such a wonderfully feminist film, a rarity in the romance genre) - Moonlight - Fried Green Tomatoes (the script wusses out in adapting the book, presenting Ruth and Idgie as friends only, but the actors play it as the beautiful love story it is) - Real Women Have Curves - The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love - Kissing Jessica Stein (when Jessica tells her mother without saying it the friend she'd been bringing around was actually a woman she'd fallen in love with, the stereotypical Jewish mom who'd spent years trying to fix her daughter up via the declaration "He's a very nice boy", says, "I think she's a very nice girl," and I burst into tears every time at her acceptance) - Desk Set (Really, just about any film Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy did together - Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man) have the best marriage in film, but their Amanda and Adam Potter (Adam's Rib) are a nice second and their chemistry in first collaboration Woman of the Year is off the charts - but I'll highlight this one for setting a developing romance against the backdrop of a declaration computers can aid but never replace human knowledge and experience, and for being about people in their 50s) - Love & Basketball - On the Basis of Sex (the marriage between Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Martin Ginsburg was a shining example of mutual respect and an egalitarian approach to marriage and family, and this film captured it well - while showing that even men like Marty needed to have their male privilege and the ways microaggressions add up pointed out sometimes) - Bend It Like Beckham - Holiday (not The Holiday, Holiday - an underrated gem among the Katharine Hepburn/Cary Grant collaborations) - Libeled Lady - Bringing Up Baby (one of my favorite films of all time, and, IMO, the best screwball comedy ever)

That's missing what should be the very first column, which, like the third and fifth, would be the same for every film: White.

I got that one based on creamy condiment + seafood, but I know nothing about SpongeBob SquarePants other than it exists, so I had to look up what the "channel SpongeBob" reference was to - it's a swear in that show's universe. That made me wish they'd used one of the faux swears from The Good Place as a clue.

I can't decide how I feel about the crab nachos from last weekend's episode. I love crab, I love nachos, and I love all the ingredients other than cream cheese, but there were so many flavors going on it seems like the crab might get lost. I also wondered if the chips would get soggy before you'd finish eating it, and one of the reviews said: "Great flavors but the chips get soggy right away. Next time I will prepare the crab mixture as a hot dip, topped with salsa, and serve the chips on the side." I had forgotten about her cilantro hated (makes sense; she's one of those people for whom it tastes like soap), so when she put parsley in the salsa, I thought "Huh?" and then she said, "If you use cilantro instead, I don't want to hear about it," and I remembered.

I just can't stand to see Dallas, period. But they'll implode in the playoffs like they always do, and I won't have to see them anymore until next season.

Marriage Story and shoot in the first round, and David Hockney, Constable, Machine Gun Kelly in DJ. I got the two first rounders, but was just as stumped as the contestants by those three in DJ. Shoot kind of surprised me, but I suspect they were trying to figure out the category, since it was the first clue. It was an archive game for me, so I had to assume on a couple of clues that being able to see the picture would have led me to the correct response. I ran the entire first round, but in DJ I only ran Before & After (love those!) and 4th century. I missed three each in musicians and paintings, but other than that just missed two in wings and one in geography, so it was a good game overall. FJ came to me so late I'm not sure I should give myself credit for it, but I will.

They gave Carol some realistic storylines in the early years, like her jealous attitude towards Maggie Doyle. Carol grew up with her older sister, and now this person from the same neighborhood who is younger than her is able to give her orders, because she's a doctor and Carol is a nurse. I also enjoyed the tension between Carol and the other nurses when Carol became management.

I usually relocate spiders outside if I find them in the house, but several months ago I was having a problem with little tiny flying bugs of some sort that kept settling in my cat's food bowl. I was making some progress, but not much, and then a spider came along and made a big web on a door near the food bowl, and soon there were dozens of those flying buggers trapped in it. You best believe I let that spider stay; she earned her keep! The bowl has been bug free ever since. (The only things I kill instead of taking outside are flies, ants, and cockroaches.)

It's just me, too, but I work from home and use a lot of dishes preparing two meals a day. Whenever I finally get around to renovating my kitchen, I will do the dance of joy nightly at being able to just shove everything in the dishwasher and go to bed, instead of ending every night with washing dishes and starting every morning with putting them away.

During curtain call of The Music Man's Thursday preview performance, Hugh Jackman gave a nice nod to swing actor Kathy Voytko, who played Marian after Sutton Foster tested positive for COVID, and to swings and understudies in general. Yesterday and today's performances were canceled.

I don't like any of those dresses/outfits, but I love the color yellow of the shoes in one. Actually, I like the skirt with that one, just not the rest of it. I tend to accurately say something isn't my style or I don't like it, but when it comes to that get-up Sarah Jessica Parker is wearing (in character, I assume; I don't watch S&TC) in the group shot, I'm going to go ahead and say that's hideous.

I'm not sure how many lines it took me to realize what song was being covered - I quickly thought, "I know these lyrics," but placing the song took a bit; I got it before the chorus, but probably not by much.

Adding to the list for "Promises": The Cranberries, Megadeth, Def Leppard. Starting a new one prompted by that list: "The Promise" - When in Rome - Tracy Chapman - The Cure - Bruce Springsteen

Yes, pets like clothes that smell like us, not an identical item off the shelf.

I hardly ever use my mandoline as it's just one more thing to wash, so the time it takes me to do that is not worth (I don't have a dishwasher, and washing dishes is the bane of my daily existence) the time saved by using it, but every once in a while if I'm going to be slicing, or, especially, julienning, a good deal more than my usual, I decide it's worth it. For those uses, I'm glad to have it.

I like my Shark steam mop (although, same thing there - my mom's older one is clunkier, but cleans better), but I used a friend's Shark vacuum and found it the same as my Dyson - good, but not great. (Of course, there are so many different models.)

Christmas Eve dinner was prime rib (just seasoned and done on the rotisserie, served with grated horseradish), spinach gratin, and a Brussels sprouts salad with cranberries and pine nuts. Tonight will be ham, Brussels sprouts with walnuts and shallots, macaroni salad, and some sort of mixed greens salad.

Add me to the list who wanted one of them fancy upright things when I moved out. Later, ooh, bagless. Then it was, well, I'll spring for a Dyson and that'll be good. I don't care about the weight, the attachments, the maneuverability, etc. if the damn thing won't suck up the dust. My friend bought a Dyson when they were fairly new on the market and it was terrific. But the one my parents bought ten years later was nowhere near is good, and mine from about five years after that isn't even as good as that one.

I wasn't home last night, and quite frankly forgot it was a weeknight, so I just realized today I had a game to check in the archive. I got the thoroughbred TS, but as a joke answer I figured was wrong - I thought that was a generic term (like purebred) rather than a breed. No one knowing Bonnie Tyler kind of bummed me out. I love her voice. I only missed one (Calhoun) in the first round, and did well in DJ, too. I only ran scientists and ad songs, but other than missing three in novels, I got all but one in the rest. And FJ was an instaget; I remember reading that about Mount Everest.