Bastet

Oh, damn. I hate just hearing about that, so to think about how your heart, having known and loved him, is breaking -- my condolences on your loss. But, if it helps any, yes, he knew. In fact, maybe community cats who learn to trust in a human's love know it better than anyone. That's why he returned the sentiment so faithfully. Poor Frankie Pants. And poor @AgentRXS; I hope your vacation provides some pleasant distraction, at least.

Yes. The commercials are not about what should happen in a society that isn't transphobic, but about how this one seemingly little thing can make a big difference for transgender people living in our real one, in which such abuses do happen and often without repercussion. They can. But they shouldn't have to; this is easier, and now it's an additional option available to them. Yes, that can still happen; age verification issues are separate, and not what this program is addressing. I figure they're the same security measures implemented to protect all cardholders, but anyone who worries there are particular vulnerabilities could contact Mastercard or the issuing bank to discuss those concerns. I would not expect that information to be included in the commercials.

It simply allows them to easily use their chosen first name, on the card and in communications with the company. So they don't have to look at a name that isn't truly theirs every time they hand it over, don't have to be called by the wrong name when they call customer service, and don't have to risk dealing with a hostile clerk demanding ID because "You're not a David" (according to research, one third of nearly one-third of those who've used some sort of ID with a name or gender that doesn't match their presentation - which most trans people have had to do, given the complications and expense in changing one's legal first name - have been denied services, harassed, or even attacked). Mastercard implemented it two years ago (during LGBT Pride Month 2019), and it has steadily expanded with additional banks signing on, including Citibank last fall. (And I haven't heard about any additional security/identity theft issues created by this feature.) This expansion, and it being Pride Month, is why we're seeing additional commercials. I like them, because they're straightforward and feature transgender and non-binary actors.

And in Los Angeles.

The DVDs would likely not sell enough to even get that cost back, let alone make a profit. At least it's on in syndication (which is covered under the original music license).

I thought they had hooves for hands. Yeah, hankies make more sense.

At least it was only worth $200, but the DNA clue belonged in the Toddler Tournament. Arman's Heckle and Jeckle answer was an odd mistake. I can't believe no one guessed Columbia when asked about a journalism school. The Pueblo TS surprised me a bit, as did Saturn V (because of the "planetary" hint), and the fact no one even had a guess for the sighted clue (I thought someone was going to say seeing, forgetting the category). I joined the contestants in being stumped by oak leaf cluster (the military is not an interest of mine, so I miss a lot of those clues), and I missed two in characters, but got everything else in the first round. As per usual, I did not do as well in DJ, but not bad; I ran songs, factories, and journalists, but I missed all but one in world lit, and one each in words and France. And I got FJ, so it was a good way to finish out the week.

You're right, the diners had no idea the dish had been planned to include potatoes. When the judges raved about it, but noted they'd have loved to have a biscuit or something to sop up more of that sauce, she told them she'd made potatoes to go with it, but didn't have time to plate them. So she didn't have to out herself for running out of time again, but telling them about the planned potatoes told them she conceptualized the dish with a starchy element like they were hoping for, so I understand her thought process.

For sneakers to wear on my nightly walks, I like Saucony. Sadly, it seems the less attractive they are, the better they feel on my feet, but for walking the neighborhood in grubby exercise clothes, I don't care about style - one pair of old lady white sneaks, please. I have nearly half a dozen different sandals from Spring Step because they are as comfortable as they are cute. After a friend borrowed a pair, she went out and bought a few. My mom has a pair as well. Unfortunately, a couple of my favorite styles are no longer available, but they still have a nice selection. Clarks makes comfortable heels; it takes some patience to find a style I like with them, because they tend heavily towards the basics, but if I'm going to be spending a lot of time standing in court, they're the ones I want to do it in. Cole Haan is another good choice for basic heels that feel great, but Clarks are less expensive. A friend introduced me to Dream Pairs, which offers heels in cute styles at low prices, but, of course, the flip side is it's harder to find ones that are comfortable.

I just watched this show the past few days, and there's an "It's official; another season is coming" announcement, so it has been renewed. I'm glad, as I enjoyed it. I heard Wanda Sykes talking about it on a talk show, and I absolutely love her, so I gave it a look. I thought the first episode started out pretty stilted (and I was kind of horrified when it opened with a cute kid delivering a typical lame sitcom joke) but it got better as it went on, so I stuck with it. Regina and the kids deserve better than Bennie, so I was impressed they wrote her deciding to let him move back into the house (but not the bedroom) in a way that made sense. It was also quite natural that when he finally, after all this time, put some effort into being a father, she resented it, hurt that the kids act like he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. She's done 90% of the parenting work for nearly 30 years, and he spends one day listening to them, hands out phones and scooters, and is suddenly World's Greatest Dad. It happens all the time, and it played well here. I love, love, love Lucretia; Wanda Sykes is perfect for the role. I woke up my cat laughing at her and Bennie reviewing the security footage to figure out why their drunk asses woke up in the car together. I haven't seen Kim Fields in anything since Living Single, and I'm really digging her in this, too. I thought I recognized the actor playing Davis from something (Duck I recognize from an episode of The Closer), but I looked up his credits on IMDb and haven't seen any of them. So I'm obviously mixing him up with another actor, and it's driving me nuts not knowing who.

That's one of those songs that puts me in a good mood every time I hear it (and, like the person in one of those commercials, I must sing along), so sometimes it comes along just when I need it.

Me too. I always do; never in the history of crime dramas/procedurals has there been a recurring serial killer character that didn't cause me to throw my remote in disgust every time the actor's name popped up in the guest starring credits. I enjoyed that when I did my re-watch, too. It was interesting how many actors I recognized were people who went on to also guest star (or, in the case of Tony Denison, be part of the main cast) in Major Crimes. I looked it up on IMDb, and it was something like 150 people who'd appeared on both shows.

That's largely how it worked for me. I think the only seasonal titles I specifically knew as books were Legends of the Fall (and that because of the movie) and Winter's Bone; most of them I just guessed (correctly, as it turned out) based on which of the four seemed the most likely to fill in the blank.

I agree. Aimee was the best part of last season, and it sounds like that will be true again. Eric and Adam is appalling, but that's going to keep going, Maeve and Otis turns a lovely friendship into a ridiculous triangle because the third prong is utterly unrootable yet somehow presented as an option, Jean's pregnancy is totally stupid ... I enjoyed season two less than the first, had hopes for the third, and will indeed watch it, but at this point I'm expecting to be mighty irritated and hope to be pleasantly surprised.

That's a good point, and I missed that. I wonder if it was always the plan for all three to go to the finale unless one blew it; we've often seen three cheftestants in the finale (whether they all cook against each other in the end or one gets knocked out in a QF or partway through the challenge). But I think - yet may very well simply not be remembering - that was usually known, a situation where four were competing to be the final three, and then how the final showdown was structured (all three present a full meal, all three start but someone gets knocked out after the first course, or only two compete because someone gets eliminated in a sudden-death QF) was the mystery; in this, Padma kept talking about a final elimination challenge, and how two of these three would go to the final round. So they could have been faking the cheftestants out along with us all along, always knowing all three would be going (or maybe three would be going unless there was a clear loser), or they could have really decided we were planning on two, but, nope, it's too close, let's take three to the next step. The pandemic bubble plays into this, along with time between this round and the finale - there are usually former cheftestants as sous chefs and the finalists' family members in attendance. Those logistics will speak to how the finale was originally structured - for three all along, for three or two depending on how this went, or for two, but, well, we decided to go with three so let's adjust. On a basic TV level, the last one is the most unlikely, but things are weird this season, so who knows. Ultimately, it doesn't matter to me; as I noted, the food all looked stellar and I'm happy for all three to have at least one more shot AND the editors created great TV by making me actually nervous as to what would happen. Whatever the plan, this episode totally worked for me. Bottom line, this was a great competition between these three, and I'm looking forward - and will probably get irrationally nervous again - to the final showdown.

Oh, jeez, something like that, because I remember my mom watched that show and my dad joined her sometimes, and I think he bitched about the not-dead husband thing for a solid year. It was the same guy, played by the same actor, as you said, but I'm not sure beyond that. Only she knew it was him, because to everyone else it was the guy whose body he'd taken over - so everyone thought she'd married someone else five minutes after her husband died? Or the whole town knew and just accepted the notion dead people can take over other dead people's bodies and somehow come back to life? Or not a dead body - he kicked a soul out of a living body and stole it? I don't know, but I think I understand why my dad was irritated, whatever it was.

I was nervous like I was personally invested in this thing when they were all rushing around in the EC. When it was announced they were all three going to the finale, my nerves settled back down. Great job by the editors keeping me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I just made Dungeness crab cakes last week, and now I’m hungry for crab again, because their food all looked spectacular. Being at that table would undoubtedly have been one of the best meals of my life. I loved Dawn’s reaction when she realized they were about to talk with Alice Waters. Waters is planning to open a restaurant here in Los Angeles later this year, and I’m looking forward to it.

I'll be watching something else, so it was an archive game for me. I had no idea there were state fossils. I almost ran the first round, but I couldn't pull Atacama out of my brain, and I didn't know T-Pain. I was off to a good start in DJ, running Brands in Music, but they went to Mythology next and I blew the entire category (I can't believe I didn't guess Adonis). I also missed two in fossils and one each in holidays and Churchill; ends in a-d-o is the only other category I ran. I didn't get FJ. I've heard of the novel, but not enough for the keywords to have clued me in. It was one of those that wasn't at all coming to me, and then once it was revealed, I thought, "Oh, of course."

In that case, she taught her backwards - it's heel, toe. Walking in high heels is a skill that atrophies with lack of use. I work out of my home office (even pre-pandemic), so I spend most of my life barefoot. When I put on heels, if it has been a while since the last time, I have to take a moment to readjust. I haven't worn heels since March 2020, so I hope I don't wind up with a twisted ankle next time I put some on. I'll have to start with a pair with a thicker heel.

I make that every once in a while. I mostly make a variety of vinaigrettes. The only dressing I don't make from scratch is ranch; for that I use the Hidden Valley original ranch seasoning mixed into a mayo, sour cream, and milk combination, with some fresh dill added.

Ugh; "White Lightning" is pretty much the only George Jones song I don't like, and now it's stuck in my head. I always like Rhyme Time, and I thought some of tonight's clues in that category were particularly fun. I'm a little surprised no one knew Hartley (it seems to me that's been asked about several times on the show). Same with thunderbolt, Pellegrino, and blue bloods. I was pretty bad in the poetry category, only getting two. Other than that, though, I only missed one in the first round (I couldn't come up with plant [in the single vowel category] in time; the second definition was tripping me up and someone rang in before I got worked it out). In DJ, Country Facts was my bad category - I missed three. But I didn't stop there; I also missed two each in Aristocrats, Historic Numbers, and Art & Artists, and one in TV-pourri; Rhyme Time was the only category I ran. FJ came to me quickly, so I ended strong. Any other Designing Women fans think of the Trivial Pursuit game in "La Place sans Souci" (or, as Suzanne said, "La Place sans Sucky")? That episode is probably why Tereshkova's name was so readily available to me instead of having to spend time muttering, "The cosmonaut, oh, what is her name?!" I have a dress in a similar color as the one Savannah wore. I wasn't sure about it on the hanger, but I loved it when I put it on. So there are at least two people who look good in that shade of yellow.

I have no words that can properly express how gross this ranking is. Just post this list in the Misogynist Hall of Fame and be done with it.

I haven't tried The Botanist, but I agree about Aviation. And about Fever Tree tonics (I like their ginger ale, too).

That was a very impressive victory; even though he presented first (or close to it; I can't recall now), once the judges were not only besotted with the flavor but so thoroughly wowed by the originality (including Tom saying if you gave 100 chefs this challenge, not one of them would come up with what Shota did), I knew the win was his no matter what the others put out. To be such a decisive winner is always impressive, but especially here when he found a difficult challenge particularly daunting given how little experience he had with the ingredient he had to not just showcase, but use five ways.

Great performance by the new champ; she was first to ring in on nearly half the clues, and she only had one wrong answer (and, of course, ran away with the game in the second half of DJ). I know geography TS should never surprise me, but Argentina did a bit. I also wasn't expecting California & Oregon to go without even a guess. I pre-guessed Cary Grant in the C.G., I category, but, alas, he was not there. I did every bit as well in the sci-fi & fantasy category as I figured I would - I knew not a single clue. Other than that, I ran the first round. In DJ, I only ran Around the World, Playing in Traffic, and C.G., I, but I only missed six among the remaining categories. I did not know FJ, though. It made perfect sense once it was revealed, but I could have had more time and still not come up with that one (and if I had, I'd have said "Jabberwocky", so I'd have still been wrong).