Bastet

The latest soup (because I have a steady supply of homemade chicken stock in the freezer, I pretty much always have soup on hand for lunches) is one I hadn't made in a while - chard and cilantro with "noodle nests" (an egg noodle, egg, cheese, and herb mixture shaped like a bird's nest and fried; one set in the middle of a bowl of a light soup provides texture and substance). Tonight I'm going to roast a cut-up chicken with a wine herb sauce, sprinkled with grated Parm and paprika. Roasted broccoli as the side. I think the salad will be lettuce tossed with jicama, avocado, scallions, and mint with a lime vinaigrette; I've been in a mint mood lately. Speaking of salads (and mint), last week I made the spicy papaya salad @annzeepark914 posted about, and it was delicious. I'll make it again with mango in the next couple of nights.

I got into re-watching favorite movies and episodes of TV shows early on; we got our first VCR in 1978. If there was nothing good on, or I was home sick, pop in that recording of 9 to 5 and enjoy It's why I know so many early '80s movies verbatim. So by the time entire series were being released on DVD, and I could have the whole show with me whenever and wherever I wanted (and take up a lot less space than all those tapes)? It was right up my alley, and I still get my favorite shows on DVD/Blu-Ray once they're done.

I don't think so; a metric shit ton of locations had already closed in the years before the pandemic hit. (Mine did, but I had already stopped going - I loved the set-up and environment, but they weren't open late enough and I don't do mornings, so I could only go during an afternoon break.) It still exists, but came and went as A Big Thing a while ago, so they're probably not spending the money on national ads; I just did a quick search, and the last I found were from 2017.

Right. Unless the biological father provided for her in his will (and specifically; even if he listed "my children" as his beneficiaries, that wouldn't include her). There wasn't anything mentioned about that, was there? (I mostly just remember the parts of the episode dealing with Sharon's investigation into the leak, but I don't think the dead guy even knew who Sedona was, and all she knew was his name.) Duff & Co. are bad with estate law; the motive for murder in an episode of Major Crimes ("There's No Place Like Home") is also predicated on an inheritance that would not actually happen under CA (or any) law.

I was even happier than I'd expected to see a woman hosting, and appreciated Couric's enthusiasm in her opening remarks, about what a hoot and an honor it is to be able to help fill in. I liked her demeanor throughout - warm and welcoming. Another good game for Laura; she was able to ring in a lot, and had only one incorrect answer (none in her first game). It was a good game in general; great start to the week. Not quite as good for me, though. I didn't run a single category in the first round. In most I just missed one, but I sat here in silence for all but one of the TV show clues (I got Survivor as a lucky guess). In DJ, I ran the science, cakes, and can't have just one categories, but didn't do very well in composers (but, unlike the contestants, I did know Clara Wieck) and missed two of the bedfellows movies and a port. When the FJ category was revealed, I immediately said "War of the Worlds". I laughed when that actually turned out to be it; I'm not sure I've ever successfully pre-guessed FJ before (I've predicted what some of the responses would be based on regular round categories, but I'm not sure about FJ).

Occasionally during a re-watch I will decide to give the clunkers another try, but I usually skip them. And I always skip episodes I can't stand or have zero interest in. Life is too short to watch something I know I'm not going to like.

Yeah, those "If I (a kid) will eat it even though it's good for me* you know it tastes good" commercials bug me, because they're predicated on the stereotype that kids only like junk food. And, yes, some kids - and adults - have a really limited list of foods they like no matter what kind of variety they're offered. But a lot of kids have a much broader palate. So it's just a really tired, boring pitch by this point. *We'll just let that go for purposes of this discussion.

I'm having ribs tonight, too, at my parents' house. They're pork spare ribs marinated for days (I'm not sure what all my mom puts in the marinade, but it's nice and garlic-y) and then cooked on a rotisserie. Plus macaroni salad, but I don't know what the salad or veggie will be.

Boo - I'm usually good at figuring these things out from context, but my guess was "Things I've Learned" and the internet tells me it's "Today I Learned". Close!

Oh, come on, Sirius. I get that at some point on the list everything good is going to feel "too low", but this barely cracking the top 300 is too fucking low. (Did I Shave My Legs For This? is one of the greatest debut albums; not a single dud to be found on the track listing. I need to pull out my CD and listen to it; it has been a while and this reminds me how much I love it.) The baffling inclusion of this song is another entry that makes me think they assigned some interns to Google "old country artists" and pick some songs from them to fill out the list, aiming to look like they know the genre in its entirety rather than just the last 20 years of it, but instead proving they don't. Again, at some point I'm not going to be able to fairly claim "too low" and I think this ranking on a list of actual top 1000 songs in country music history is fine. On this list, though, it's bullshit. (As a side note, the song is perfectly used on the Thelma & Louise soundtrack.) Come on. Even if you don't find this song to be trying way too hard, it's not top 300 material.

When Janney, Schiff, Whitford, and Spencer banded together to renegotiate their contracts after the show became a hit (Rob Lowe and, of course, Martin Sheen, were already being paid more), didn't they all get the same amount?

Happy adoption anniversary to you all. Am I correct in thinking they were not a bonded pair when you adopted them, that this adorably close relationship formed - and quickly - once they were home?

I can't either. I watched very few cartoons as a child, even. It's the same reason I generally dislike sci-fi and epic fantasy - while there are exceptions, for the most part I need realism in what I'm watching, so if the characters are "played" by drawings rather than people, right off the bat it's not my thing. (Again, going back to this being a life-long thing even before I realized the theme: While I liked Daniel Striped Tiger, the Land of Make-Believe was not my jam when it came to watching Mr. Rogers - I was there for Picture Picture, where we learned how people make various things.)

The only time a laugh track bothered me was the one that plagued the first season of Sports Night. It was glaringly obvious, overdone, and usually misplaced; I found the show quite funny, but often not when that ridiculous effect prompted me to. In general, though, I don't even register whether audience or canned laughter comports with my own. Only if I find the whole show painfully unfunny while hearing laughter throughout do I notice the disconnect when "they" laugh and I don't. And that's a show I quickly discard, so it's not an ongoing issue for me to evaluate. Living in L.A. and spending several years working in a related industry at the time, I took visiting friends and family to the taping of several sitcoms 20-25 years ago. The atmosphere yielded more laughter than any given audience member would emit at home, certainly, but it didn't overall force laughter that otherwise wouldn't have been there at all.

Is there an organization/clinic in your area that can help you with the T and provide you with the N part of the TNR (Trap, Neuter/Spay, Release) practice that is best for community cats?

I cried my way through Sloth's story again, especially the scene with the family -- Mariah calling out for her mom, who immediately knows something is very wrong, Mariah explaining the situation and Tia pulling her into her arms as they both start crying, Tia summoning all the other kids, who immediately come and offer Mariah their support. They weren't huggers back then, didn't toss around "I love you"s freely, but they didn't love each other any less than they do now that they've swung further to that side of the open affection spectrum, and I love how clear that was. And I so enjoyed revisiting Brandi with an i finally getting her home; I was obsessed with that dog, getting upset every time she was passed over, so even from this distance I was almost as emotional as Tania and the rest when she finally found her person. I love Escargot's story - from such a terrible beginning to being happily ensconced in a pack of "beagly things" - but I have a hard time re-watching the tragic tale of that poor scared dog in a crate, given a couple days worth of evaluation in a stressful environment by a thoroughly overworked Animal Control, deemed unadoptable and euthanized, when VRC was right there willing and able to give her the time for a proper evaluation and proceed accordingly. I always feel so sorry for the good samaritan who called everyone she could think of to help this dog she found, and then found herself in this nightmare where AC arrived first and thus had jurisdiction, despite everyone begging to let VRC take the dog. Even then, she thought VRC could adopt the dog once the stray hold was up, but then it went completely to hell. She didn't do anything wrong, it just ended horribly, and I hope she's not haunted by it. I'm also mildly annoyed by the editing, positioning Moe proposing to Lizzie as happening when they returned from Escargot's home check, when Lizzie's engagement ring is on her finger while she's bathing Escargot in preparation for the trip. But, whatever - they seemed a good match then and even more so now, and I hope they continue that way.

Because she's black. This story is infuriating, certainly, but it's not remotely surprising. Racial profiling is a daily reality, and even her moment of international attention isn't enough to dent that; it merely results in her speaking about what happened to her being publicized instead of being ignored as it is with most. As she said, "This is the reality of black girls: One day you're called an icon, the next day a threat."

I'm not familiar with Amanda Seales, but she was fun. That taco thing she likes looked rather unappetizing, though. Because of the beef; I generally don't care for ground beef other than as a cheeseburger, and that definitely didn't look like something that would be an exception. Amanda's excitement when Justin was going to have to do a shot of mayonnaise amused me, because I love mayonnaise and how much those who dislike it utterly despise it always makes me laugh for some reason. The remix round continues to blow my mind; how do you make shrimp and grits relate to a cheesy beef taco pita? "This is some chef shit" indeed. I watched on the TruTV website, and the video cut off before Amanda announced who won, but all three dishes looked great.

It seems based on a sensor indicating a cat has entered and exited, since it does its topsy-turvy thing "after each use", but they don't explain. I think the commercials are funny, but I'd never spend $500 on a litter box, especially one so freakin' huge.

That was his answer for the $200 Donna Summer clue, not FJ.

@EighteenTwelve, Given how delighted I am to track Quirk's progress, I nearly squeal with happiness at each post, thinking of how it makes you feel to observe these milestones as she becomes queen of the castle. My cat Riley was a scaredy-cat, quick (astoundingly so, under the circumstances) to accept me but very slow to feel comfortable roaming the house at large (or having other people in it). It was a new experience for me, but a gratifying one. I love that Quirk is similarly gradually taking over.

I cannot believe it took three tries to get Donna Summer - and that the first two contestants didn't even guess a Donna (hell, one didn't even guess a person)! I also can't believe Jonathan Livingston Seagull was a TS when all one of the other two had to do was correct Jim's error (he gave them two of the three words!). Jesse James and plankton surprised me a bit, too; not that no one knew either fact, but that no one correctly guessed. But that was a great performance by Laura; as someone else noted, she didn't offer up a single wrong answer. On a shallow note, I liked her shirt, as well as Ann's. I ran the abbreviations, marine biology, and army (thanks to my random guess of a Harry Potter character being the right one) categories, but missed one each in musicals and business and two in Navy bases in the first round. In DJ, I ran 2019 and globetrotting, but didn't know a single Ryan Gosling film (I should have guessed First Man, but I couldn't get the title from my brain to my mouth. If the one they didn't get to was Remember the Titans, I'd have known it [one of my favorite sports films, and I think that's the only thing I've seen him in]). I missed a handful of others, including being as stumped as the contestants by the ancient bird ending in X and Our Mutual Friend. I didn't get FJ. In fact, I didn't even have a guess; my brain just sort of sputtered, never managing to spit out a single "optimistic" title from a popular '80s band. That was disappointing, as I'm normally really good with '80s music; when Journey was revealed as Jim's answer, it was an "Oh, of course - 'Don't Stop Believin'" reaction here, but I hadn't come close to honing in on it.

There's also a "Candy" by Bikini Kill, and one by Iggy Pop (with guest vocals by Kate Pierson). And now I have to go listen to the latter, as I love it and haven't heard it in a while.

Well, they're talking about Roseanne Conner, not Roseanne Barr, so that makes sense. They loved her and they miss her.

She said she came into the loft very cocky and overly confident, but, yeah, the previews have me wondering about Becky. I fell out at Heather's response: "Because you have COVID, motherfucker." Heather had me cracking up practically the whole episode.