Bastet

And, per the article linked above:

I hope not; every time I'm reminded of that song, I laugh.

Same here. As I mentioned in the season thread, I didn't realize until reading this forum that he had hosting experience; to me, he was "just" the executive producer, and I wondered how he'd do in filling their two-week gap between guest hosts (producing and hosting being two very different skills). It quickly became clear I need not have worried; him having the basic qualities of a professional host plus a love of this particular game added up to a seamless transition for me - I never got distracted by having a new person behind the podium.

I didn't know until reading here that Mike Richards had hosting experience; I had been a bit "hm, how's this going to work?" about an executive producer filling their two-week hosting gap. Now I know I need not have been concerned about a producer stepping in to keep the show going -- his hosting experience means he has the voice and presence that smooths over the presence of an unfamiliar person; I was never once distracted by him. I was a little surprised no one even guessed the Po for an Italian river or jade for a green gem. Including a picture of Condoleezza Rice was ridiculous in a DJ clue; 2005 + woman + Secretary of State = adequate hints for the average contestant to get it. Who whistled when David bet $10k on a DD? I think it was Sam. I liked that. I had a great first round, getting everything but X-Men. In DJ, I wasn't quite as on fire, but still only missed four (owl, The Good Doctor, House, and Miss Jean Brodie [I only had Miss Brodie]). I thought I was going to flame out on FJ, but it came to me just in time. So, it wound up being one of my best games.

If Christy was doing the full-time program, this is her last year of law school, so if they wanted to/could get Ana back for the finale, a party celebrating Christy's graduation would be an easy, logical way not just to bring her back, but to incorporate appearances from other characters we haven't seen in a while.

This song is so beautiful, it can bring me to tears if I'm in just the right mood when I hear it. I join the CU commentators in being surprised that if Sirius was going to pick only one Lorrie Morgan song for the list, this is the one they went with. In their commentary on this low ranking, the CU folks reveal there is only ONE George Jones song in the top 100. What.the.fuck? I normally hate good ol' days sentiment (since it ignores those days were, ya know, not very good for women, BIPOC, LGBT, disabled, etc.), but I like this one. As one CU commentator said: I also agree with another one that this song being ranked higher than "Mama, He's Crazy" and "Why Not Me" is nuts, though. The commentary on this piece of shit is so fiercely accurate, I'm going to quote all three in their entirety:

I didn't like the Andi/Toby/pregnancy storyline, but I loved the line delivery on "babies come with hats". 1. Isaac and Ishmael 2. Isaac and Ishmael 3. Isaac and Ishmael

My original answer was "fake lake" because in reading the clue I had skipped over "unoriginal" in the clue and was just thinking of an artificial body of water -- fake lake. But when I registered Ken saying (I read a lot faster than people speak) "unoriginal artificial waterway", I realized artificial referred to the waterway - meaning, the second word - and unoriginal, not artificial, was the synonym for the first word. And then I got banal canal just as the contestant said it. I don't think fake lake would have, or should have, been accepted.

I don't love cooked tomatoes, so I usually make pasta with pesto, alfredo, brown butter, cream, etc. sauces, but I don't hate them, either; I just don't often care to take the time to make a tomato-based sauce when it's pretty far down my list, eating it at other people's homes instead. But that's so fresh and easy (and I love so many kinds of feta cheese!), I'll have to give it a try when tomato season rolls around again and there's a night I want to just pop something in the oven with minimal work.

Crap, is that abomination still around? I haven't seen it in quite some time, but I join you in your seething hatred -- back when it did haunt my programs, a couple of times I feared I'd hurt myself lunging for the remote to protect my ears, blood pressure, and very sanity.

I only ever smoked casually; a pack would last me quite a few months, and I was lucky to never get hooked. Then I didn't smoke at all for years, but came across an old pack with one cigarette left in it about ten years ago and enjoyed that out on the patio after a stressful day. Several years ago, I had to go up to the gas station booth to pay as there was a problem at the pump, and had the fleeting thought that maybe I'd buy a pack to keep on hand for the rare occasions I'd want a smoke. Holy cow, the price had gone up a metric shit ton since when I last purchased cigarettes! Given how long a pack would last me, the cost could easily be justified, but I skipped it because I was so far removed from what was never even a habit to begin with that the notion left my mind about as quickly as it had entered it.

The parochial schools TS was surprising, in that no one even guessed some sort of religious school. Bun surprised me, too. But it was a good game. I just wish Alan had wagered enough in FJ to win. In the first round, I ran the precedents category, along with the roads, hair and rhymes categories, but missed two in Baltimore and three in pop culture. In DJ, I ran "kon"fusion, geography, and doctors, but missed two each in madrigals and movies and three in literature. So a good performance, and then FJ was an instaget, so I ended strong.

Nope, that one stumped me just as it did the contestants. I only got The Conners, Living Single, and The Office (that last one through cultural osmosis, as I've never seen it). In addition to the two sitcoms, I missed two in fairs, and three or four in wars (I hate war history, so that wasn't surprising) in the first round, but ran the gloves, Japanese words, and narrative categories. In DJ, I didn't write them down, but only missed four or five. I didn't even have a guess for FJ, though, so I didn't finish strong. Caucus surprised me a bit as a TS, but that was a good game. Especially since I was rooting for Alan.

I cannot be reminded of this song without thinking of Rogers performing it with Dolly Parton on their Real Love concert special, when she changes the lyrics from "We've got tonight, who needs tomorrow?" to "We've got tonight, who needs Sheena Easton?" But let me get to the important part of this batch of ten, which is the second half of Kevin John Coyne's response to the ranking of "You're Still the One": Testify. (I'm a lot more pissed about the ranking of "Jolene" than I am this one, but the overall point stands strong.)

Times like these, I kind of wish I did, too. He was a hateful sack of shit. Actually, that's unfair to a sack of shit; at least a sack of shit could be useful as manure, while there was no societal benefit - yet plenty of harm - from the existence of Rush Limbaugh. The quote posted upthread (which was not actually said by Mark Twain [although something similar was said by Clarence Darrow] but is a good one) - “I have never wished death on any man but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure” - perfectly describes my reaction to this news.

Wow, those final scores were unusual. I wish Natalie had bet zero. The new champ Andy reminds me of someone, but I can't figure out who - oh well, I have at least one more night to see if it comes to me. I actually knew one and correctly guessed another in the Catholics category, so I was off to a good start despite my groaning aloud when that was the first category chosen. I missed one each in mammals and cities, but got the rest in the first round (thank goodness the Weeknd performed the Super Bowl halftime show, or I wouldn't have recognized him). I only knew one narrator (1.5 if there was partial credit for "Kat-something"). I also missed one each in flags and European history, but got everything else. I didn't get FJ, though, and did a V-8 head smack when it was revealed -- that makes so much sense, but I didn't even think of it.

When I "accidentally" make more tartar sauce than I need, eating the rest with a spoon is exactly what I do. My cat doesn't judge.

I'm glad the LL Cool J clue included a photo, because I wouldn't have known it based on the text.

The category was Alphabet Rockers & Rappers. Run-DMC was one of the answers, along with AC/DC, ELO, LL Cool J, and ZZ Top.

Given how some people react to being asked to wear a mask, I am not at all surprised by this. How utterly ridiculous. I almost always have my heat set at 68 (and it's off overnight, since it never gets truly cold here, and there's no reason to waste energy when the cat and I are perfectly toasty under the covers). The highest I ever set it is 70. I certainly understand if people prefer to keep it warmer, but behaving as if having to temporarily switch to 68 is awful is just nuts.

It took until night two, but I finally figured out who Phil reminds me of -- the fertility doctor in the "Small Potatoes" episode of The X-Files (actor Robert Rozen). I didn't get to pay proper attention during the first round, but the Sparks TS surprised me in that no one realized Pam had just omitted the plural S. In DJ, I can't believe none of them could get the Dylan Thomas quote right! Among the clues I was able to pay attention to in the first round, I missed about half a dozen, so it might have been a pretty bad round if I'd have missed that many more among the other clues. But I rocked in DJ, only missing Le Morte d'Arthur and Daguerre, and got FJ quickly, so I'll go ahead and call it a great game for me.

I wear perfume (lightly; I want to smell it, but I don't want other people to smell it, given how many are sensitive to fragrances), but I'd never give it as a gift unless I knew the person liked a specific one. Otherwise, even if I know they wear perfume/cologne and have a general sense of what kind of scents they like, there's just too big a chance they won't like any given specific fragrance on them (since it doesn't smell the same on everyone who wears it).

Those (they did two versions) were fabulous! Also when they surprised people on the NBC studios tour. Obama is funny in all of them, because she has a good sense of humor that comes through, but the overall vibe is so much better with Fallon than DeGeneres, because of the differences in how they behave. And I know nothing about Fallon other than a few clips I've seen, but I don't know much more about DeGeneres these days, either; I used to watch her sitcom and her stand-up back in the day, but usually when I come across a clip of her in recent years, there's a vibe that didn't used to be there - that of an instigator, I guess. Prankster? It's hard to describe, but it can be very off-putting.

I quote Kathleen Madigan and say, "No, there's no such thing as cancel culture. It's just consequence culture."

Yep: "Of, pertaining to, or having the characteristics of a bucket. As in 'When Roseanne is angry, her mouth is quite buckety'". Poor, stupid late-season Mark, told oxygen is not a word, it's an abbreviation (because the full word wouldn't fit on the tank, unless you printed it vertically, which is against the law) after he's all excited that he finally won a game. I like that the audience "awww"s for him when he falls for it and is sad.