Bastet

I was just going around the dial, and the repeat of this episode is on; it's cute when Dr. Jeff is petting the sphynx in the chamber he's put her in (telling her she looks like a gargoyle), starting to close the little porthole, when she sticks her face up to it wanting more attention and he lowers it back down, pets her some more, and then closes it.

Not really, no. She told Mark that she'd applied to and been accepted to university (U. of Illinois, maybe) back in the day and wanted to go now, talking about perhaps studying to be an EMT, physical therapist or something like that. He made the immediate jump to med school (paranoid she was going to outgrow him) and she said she didn't know, maybe, who knew what she could wind up doing but she wanted to find out. The episode was titled "Becky Howser, M.D." but Becky didn't randomly declare she wanted to be a doctor; she was merely talking about college and named some occupations within the medical field as possible goals, and Mark was off and running from there, unhappy that she was so unhappy with their life and afraid of being left behind (he wanted to have kids then, and she said she was going back on the pill, because if she became a parent then, she was going to basically be stuck, and she didn't want to limit her options at such an early age). It was some nicely nuanced stuff, with Becky wondering how the hell she got so off track and wanting to change course, Mark afraid her life would become so different she wouldn't want him in it anymore, Roseanne torn about whose corner to be in because of the conflicting emotions poor communication were causing, and in the end Becky - always off and running good or bad for several beats before regrouping and getting real - wanting to go through that next stage of her life with Mark but fine doing it alone if he wasn't willing to come along. But then Lecy couldn't take time away from college to film the Disneyworld episodes, so they reverted to and stuck with the Sarah Chalke version of the character, who had no ambitions, brains, or personality and it was all dropped.

I always wonder about the numbers. The clinics tend to be in somewhat isolated communities, so when they spay/neuter X pets, what percentage of pets in that community does it represent? (Dr. Jeff may have said something about the math in tonight's episode.) And how does that percentage - of pet owners who can barely take care of themselves turning up to get their pets this care they otherwise don't have access to/can't afford (period, or because they can't afford it) - compare to the percentage of people in a more central, economically diverse community who use a tiny bit of their disposable income to do right by their pets and have them fixed? I guess what I really wonder is flipped around: Is the percentage of those who have ready access to veterinary care and could easily afford to fix their pets yet refuse to (out of laziness, because they want to exploit them via breeding, are a macho man with a serious hang-up about his dog's balls, what have you) greater than the percentage of those who cannot afford it on their own and also decline to avail themselves of free services they hear about and could get to? In other words, how many people with unaltered animals are in that situation because they have no access to affordable vet care, how many because they generally have no such access and still skip it the times it's offered free, and how many not because of any outside barriers but because they're just that irresponsible? Because it seems like the people for whom it's more difficult to obtain this service for their pets are, as a percentage of that demographic, less likely to decline it when offered than those for whom it would be easy and affordable yet still skip it.

I liked the Spay Panama segment. The dogs brought over from a neighboring island all conked out together after surgery was so cute, how one's paws were on top of another. Poor Nitro; it's heart-wrenching when they so visibly don't feel well. I love the trick of having Mom and Dad come try to feed him to see if that would work to get him to eat; I've done that when my cats have been hospitalized, and sometimes it works. And poor little Fred, with his Napoleon complex winding him up in surgery with torn muscle and a bruised kidney. He has such cute spots on his shaved belly. To dump your pet because you don't want to pay what a low-cost clinic would charge takes a special breed of asshole, especially when it's a kitten and you don't even know the cause and thus the treatment and prognosis. I bet it was a breeder who considered her defective - since the poor little cat couldn't make her/him money, just dump her. I love that Jes fell for her. I mean, the fact someone selectively bred to continue a genetic mutation, creating a "designer" breed with all kinds of problems many who simply must have one aren't equipped to deal with is a decades-long problem, but this little cat exists, got dumped, and now will have love and appropriate care. I've always loved how Fred and Tina just hang out together all day while Jeff and Jes work, so add GiGi into the mix and I nearly squealed. GiGi snuggling up to Tina's fur to get warm and Fred giving the nekkid cat a bath?! I love it. And I love Jes calling them his daughters, and laughing at the fact he has a long-haired Dalmation and a hairless cat.

Just joined? Nah, he's been in that club so many years I'm pretty sure he's on the Board.

They were originally thinking of She's the Boss for the title, which was bad enough, but by the time they got the green light to shoot a pilot, it was You're the Boss, which was less sexist. But they ultimately turned it into a question, and, yeah, Who's the Boss? is really gross for a show that claimed to be predicated on dismantling gender roles.

They had awful taste! I know it's subjective, but I only saw the end with what they'd done to the place since moving in, and it was somehow simultaneously bland and noticeably ugly.

I don't have any problem with her not knowing - tons of kids don't at that age, including ones with a lot more advantages and exposure. College would have been fun, different, out of Lanford, provide exposure to all sorts of new people and ideas, and provide a diploma that would open some doors otherwise closed to her; if that's all she knew at that point, I don't find anything wrong with that. If she'd gone to college, she - like numerous teenagers before her - would have honed in on the things she wanted to study and the careers she might want to pursue as she took classes, interacted with a more diverse pool of people, etc.

I cannot handle Kristin Chenoweth's voice. And I know she can't help what her voice sounds like, so I feel bad about that, but then I remember that my cousin who likes pretty much everyone went to college with her and couldn't stand her, and I go about my day.

Chester improved throughout the day Wednesday, and I knew he was feeling better that night when he came up and licked my face. So I went down to the lake Thursday morning and came back early this afternoon. He did fine with my friend checking in on them last night and putting food in the feeders for this morning, but he'll eat better with me here, and then even better when my parents come home. So I'm bummed not to be getting my proper camping trip, but glad my parents are, at least, and very glad Chester is hanging in there. He's unhappy right now, as he struggled to poop and then drank too much water and threw up, but that'll wear off in about an hour and he'll be back to purring and talking like he was when he realized I'd come back.

One of the many things that annoys me about this damn baby storyline that won't die is that's exactly how it started - Ben wanted a baby, she didn't, but she worried he couldn't be happy long term without one. Having a kid to keep a man?! And then somewhere along the line, they stupidly morphed it into her wanting one just as much as he did. The sooner I stop hearing about Darlene's reproductive system, the better.

That's one of the things that endeared her to me, that she came up with that joke off the cuff, not at all knowing her audience and thus picking a reference most people know (even if they've never played themselves, because of its many pop culture mentions) to represent whatever she and her husband have been doing to pass the time. But, yeah, if the writers don't know the game requires at least three players and didn't intend it to be a joke, but really thought she and her husband were sitting around playing Clue, I guess I'd be giving too much credit.

Yeah, that was good; she rolls with the craziness of this family and its overstuffed house very well. I'll just assume she's spending plenty of peaceful and quiet time at her place in between episodes.

Jeez, more with numerous characters not wearing masks when they should be. Neville's refusal to take Jackie's no for an answer was bad last week, and worse this week. Louise can miss me with her lecture; Jackie is not obligated to return his feelings. Maybe go lecture your brother about not respecting women's "I'm not interested" instead. (Not to mention, don't just walk into people's houses.) Oh, shut up, Darlene, about Becky simply saying she's going to take the baby for a walk being a cruel reminder you can't have any more. And shut up, Becky, with your parental entitlement. You have breaks and lunch hours just like everyone else to handle personal stuff. Forty five minutes of work time per day on your damn phone?! I like Robin. When I first read about a new recurring character, I wasn't interested since the cast is already so large, but when I saw it would be I changed my tune. And now that we've met her, I'm even more on board. I like Darlene trying to kiss up, but also genuinely enjoying that getting the stink of management on her would keep the other workers away from her. Inviting her over for fish sticks made me laugh. As did Robin's "One more game of Clue with my husband, it's going to be me in the bathroom with a candlestick". These tone deaf school assignments still happen, so as annoying as that was, it was realistic. And Grandma Bev being part of the Spanish Inquisition was funny, as was the tag with all the Dans. Becky and Darlene imitating each other and Harris going back and forth between finding it fun and mean also made me laugh.

We're a day behind here because of football Monday night, so I just watched Tuesday night's game and then read the archive for tonight's, since I won't be watching tomorrow night. Beat the clock and the League of Women Voters were surprising TS. Bottoms up a little bit, with "butt" in the clue. I got everything in the first round other than kick the can, but in DJ I joined the contestants in being stumped by contour, B-school, and kampai. I also missed two each in the authors and chase scenes categories. Cher was one of my pre-guesses for FJ, so when it was revealed I quickly realized she was the one. So good game for me. Thanks to Suzanne Sugarbaker (Designing Women), I amused myself by answering the La Leche clue with "La Leaky".

I can't decide who the writers hate more, the mentally ill or the obese. I also can't figure out what was supposed to be so great about Carol; I liked her well enough in real time, but watching a bunch of episodes in a row (I can't sleep), she's annoying.

I hope the storyline of the firefighter potentially giving up her job if the right house for them was in another county was a joke. I liked how insistent the firefighter was on the kids' bedrooms and the master bedroom being away from each other - not that she got her wish, of course. But that's something that makes sense to me as a house hunting desire. Her wife not wanting their en suite bathroom to be shared with guests I get, too, but not the extent to which that bothered her. The kids would have had their own bathroom, so no sharing on a daily basis -- how often do they have guests that it was really going to be a problem?

I'm supposed to be leaving this morning to join my parents in their motorhome for our annual Thanksgiving by the lake (they go Sun-Sun and I join them Wed-Sat), but Chester (their cat with cancer) didn't have a good night (I spend every other night here when they're gone). He hadn't had a bad day in a while, and he generally snaps out of them in about 24 hours, so I hope that's all this is and he'll perk up back to normal today. But I'm obviously not going to leave him alone (my friend would just be over for about an hour every evening). Hopefully I'll be able to get on the road tomorrow and at least spend a couple of days there. If he gets worse, my parents will come home. But fingers crossed this is just a bad day.

Dena Dietrich, from the "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature" margarine commercials (among many other things), died Saturday (of natural causes, just shy of 92). Hollywood Reporter obituary

This is an irritation I'm working (not very successfully) to overcome with The Conners. There are numerous situations where characters that should be masked have them down at their chin or in their hand, and it drives me batty. I understand wanting to show/see actors' faces, and it doesn't keep me from enjoying the show, but I have to work to put myself back in the moment for that to be true, because the improper/inconsistent use of masks is distracting each week. And if it wasn't a show I'd watched for so long (going back to the original run of Roseanne), I don't know that I'd put forth that effort.

I don't think either couple would still be together if Mark was still alive, and think that's perfectly fine (they all got married ridiculously young, and with little to no experience living independently and/or having relationships with other romantic partners), and if Darlene and David had simply run their course rather than him going into an emotional tailspin upon losing his brother, David would be an active co-parent. As it is, I know it's a matter of actor availability, but I wish they'd mention David from time to time, rather than creating this weird situation where he returned and started to get involved in the kids' lives again and then, what, took off on them again because he and Darlene didn't get back together?

I'm watching right now, too - well, in bits and pieces, as I get so irritated with how fucking boring and repetitive these kitchens and bathrooms always are. I had hopes for the San Fernando Valley couple, as they didn't seem so cookie cutter when they were house hunting, but lo and behold, when it came time to renovate, they were all in for the designer's colorless kitchen. The Denver woman was awful.

As I said, I use them for atmosphere, not for warmth. Yes, as @GaT said, because of air pollution. In stagnant weather conditions, you can't add to the emissions hanging out in the air by burning wood in a residential fireplace or fire pit (there are exemptions for those reliant on wood fires as a sole source of heat and such). So from November through February, the Air Quality Management District posts every day whether it is or is not okay to burn.

Yes, week 13 (along with the Bucs).

Of course not; I don't like them, I don't want to be around them, but I don't want harm to come to them. Like kids, only easier to avoid.