Bastet

Bruce Helford said (in an interview posted upthread somewhere) Katey will do more episodes, it's just a matter of how often she's available as to how many she'll be able to do, so they're not going to break the characters up (or kill Louise off) just because Katey is doing another show. I don't think it will be an issue. With Louise being in a band, sending her off on gigs is an easy, built-in way to explain her not being around for something she'd normally be around for. (Since they don't live together, she wouldn't be around all the time anyway, so they don't even need to mention her absence repeatedly. But for times when it's actually noticeable she's not there, they have a go-to reason.)

Yikes, not my game tonight. I took a break at halftime to watch, but I'd have been better off sticking with the NFL for how much I stunk up the joint. In the first round, I missed three each in the categories about books with days of the week and celebrities mistaken for each other, and it just got worse in DJ - I blew the entire film composition category and missed at least one and sometimes two or three in every other category (I even joined the contestants in being stumped by erstwhile, and vocabulary is one of my best subjects). Thank goodness FJ was an instaget (well, an instaguess that I was pretty confident in) to rebound at the end. The Venus DD made me laugh, because if I didn't already know it, I'd have known it from an episode of The X-Files -- the one in which Alex Trebek appeared as a Man in Black.

I know - that's who we're going to be seeing for awhile. What I'm wondering is if they'll all be people who'd already been selected for this season, and just got moved up in the rotation, or if some of them wouldn't have been selected this time around if not for needing only contestants who are within driving distance. I figure geographic diversity is one of the many things they cast for, so how many contestants are normally within driving distance and thus how long would it take them to run out if this is just a typical pool?

I hate Kelly's ... whatever the hell that was ... the way Lou Grant hated spunk. But good for her enjoying herself. I wonder whether all these contestants that we'll be seeing for a while were all going to appear anyway, and they just took everyone who's within driving distance, or if some of these folks wouldn't have been included this season if not for the need to avoid air travel. I was doing so well in the TV shows category, even though I didn't watch any of them, but then I didn't have any idea on the last two. I missed something else in the first round, too, that I've already forgotten. In DJ, I missed three of the ACM clues and all three of the painting clues they got to. Plus a few others scattered across categories. But I rebounded to get FJ on a lucky guess. The Portland and Red River TS surprised me a bit, but that was about it.

Riley is scared of the fly swatter. And I don't mean if I whack a fly with it while she's nearby, I mean if I pass through the room with it in my hand or if she hears me use it in another room. I have no idea what trauma she experienced/saw involving a fly swatter somewhere in the six years before I adopted her, but it's a very specific reaction she does not have to anything else. It didn't used to be that bad, but yesterday we were invaded by several flies and I got out the swatter for the first time in at least a year. She ran into the other room, okay. But then when I used it, two rooms away from her, she ran into the bedroom and hid under the bed. Needless to say, I'll just use ye olde rolled up magazine on any future flies.

I read FJ earlier today and it was an instaget (and I knew the correct spelling), but I didn't know about the misspelling being ruled incorrect until I read about it here. Since, as I relayed above, the majority of the country pronounces "marry" and "merry" the same, I figure the majority also pronounces "Barry" and "Berry" the same (I do - Barry Manilow and Berry Gordy have no discernible difference), and thus if the rule is that spelling doesn't count against contestants unless it's phonetically incorrect, I call join those who call bullshit (unless names have been an exception to the rule). The genre + remembering reading about her death is how I got that one; I don't know her by title or face. I only missed a couple of directors (my only first round misses), but I only knew one TV show (not at all my only miss; I also sucked in the sultans category and missed a couple of others). Pop culture is so hit and miss for me. I want to be surprised Civil Rights Act was a TS, but I can't. I was a little surprised by Krakatoa.

Yeah, this came up elsewhere recently, so the numbers are still in my head: The famous Harvard Dialect Study found that nearly 60 percent of Americans pronounce them all the same. (Nearly 20 percent pronounce each of the three distinctly, and then the rest pronounce "marry" and "Mary" the same but "merry" differently.)

But what I don't know is who the other actor with whom Aaron was getting frustrated was (Wells says he was getting really frustrated with "a couple of the actors" in season four). I remember all the Rob Lowe stuff, but I don't remember hearing about anyone else at the time. LOL at Sorking asking what just happened in the meeting with the studio and network and Wells having to tell him dude, you just quit; Tommy and I told you exactly what was going to happen, and you came in here and quit.

Those commercials are so weird. I don't drink soda, but I've never in my life heard anyone say "Only nerds drink Diet Coke" or "Diet Coke? What are you, my mom?" when someone was drinking one, yet these commercials present it as A Thing. I like the tributes to nerds and moms that follow, but what a forced set-up.

I couldn't stand him or their relationship in the first season, but both evened out into something enjoyable last season. If Ben sticking around means no gods-forsaken Darlene/David nonsense, I'm for it. As long as they don't have a baby.

Is it an ACE inhibitor? When my mom was switched to Lisinopril, she immediately developed a dry cough; it turns out, that can happen with ACE drugs (I think it's around 20% of patients who report that side effect). There are so many blood pressure medications out there, you shouldn't have to suffer; tell your doctor you have "the ACE cough" and need something different.

Jeff didn't remind me of him, but I "know" him (by face, not name) from Grace and Frankie and an episode of Major Crimes. I wound up watching the episode after having read the clues on the archive because the Giants had sunk themselves by the time it started. The returning champ did not return (but will later) because he was unable to make the trip from the East coast, and all three of the new contestants were from the greater Los Angeles area -- it will be interesting to see where the rest of the contestants are from in these games filmed during the early days of the return to production. Not like it's much safer now, in terms of traveling or being in Los Angeles, but with more lead time so subsequent contestants can quarantine and be tested, I'm curious how this will progress.

Well, this Giants game has been about as frustrating as I figured it would be. It's going to take me some time (and, ya know, some offensive success) before I get used to seeing Jason Garrett on my sideline. @mojoween, I don't know if you watch Jeopardy!, but I know you'll relate regardless -- before answering this clue in a category about benched sports players, I yelled, "Fuck you, McAdoo!":

Someone looks thrilled to be going home. Congratulations to both of you. I love the name. It's on my mental list of potential cat names, and I almost bestowed it on Riley, but the "life of Riley" thing was just so thoroughly appropriate I went that route instead.

Remember she doesn't want Rusty to know the information about the letters came from her, so I think one of the reasons is because she can go see Rios without anyone on the squad knowing (even if she managed to catch Sharon at work when Rusty isn't there - which at this protection stage is only while he's in school - it would still get back to him; the whole squad would've seen that Emma ditched to come talk to Sharon on the DL). (Of course Rusty knows it was Kris, since she was the only one who knew about the letters - it's not like he was going to believe Emma was snooping through the super cubicle and happened upon them - but getting in the mind of a teenage girl dealing with something out of her league, I can imagine some rationalization at the time she decided to go for it.) But I think an even bigger consideration is she barely knows Sharon and thus can't guess how her personal feelings might affect her response, but she knows from all Rusty's complaining about Emma that she'll do whatever is necessary to keep him alive in order to protect her case. Kris doesn't want her to put him in witness protection - she doesn't want him to lose Sharon or be forever lost to his mom - and pleads with her not to, but she's scared for his safety (and he's refusing to spend time with her outside of school so she has no opportunity to try to persuade him to come clean) and figures Emma is the adult who has the personal distance to make an objective decision.

I almost forgot the new season starts tonight; I'll be watching football, so I just checked the archive. I did pretty well; I missed one in the first round, a handful in DJ, and got FJ. So I'm back in the groove. There were quite a few TS in the first round, all of which I would have figured someone would know, but no big shockers. 1848 was a bit of a doozy, though - 49ers minus one!

Ha - I immediately thought of Seinfeld, too. I forgot another reason I'd never do the "save the top tier for a year" thing (well, beyond the fact I'd never get married in the first place) - I wouldn't have room in my freezer. I have one of those old, basic fridge/freezer units with a nice-sized refrigerator and a freezer that is just big enough for my typical use - and thus too small to add a cake. Which brings me to a peeve: I'm hoping to finally remodel my kitchen in the next year or two, so from time to time I peruse appliances, and I am annoyed that I've never come across a refrigerator (at least one that isn't jumbo sized; I can and will fit a larger one than I have, but I can't go crazy) that has the amount of crisper space I want, particularly in the side-by-side layout I prefer. Most of what's in my refrigerator is produce. Other than when I have a lot of leftover containers, the shelves are less than half full. I don't need more shelves, and I don't need giant pockets in the doors (I don't have gallon milk containers or 2-liter bottles of soda). I could use a little larger deli drawer for when I get particularly cheese happy, but first and foremost I need lots of crisper drawer space. I am also irritated by how many refrigerators no longer have white among their finish options. I don't want stainless steel; I don't particularly care for it in general, and it's not at all the right look for my kitchen. I'll probably have to go with a panel ready model (where you can make its doors look like your cabinet doors). I definitely want a panel ready model for my dishwasher, which is my final kitchen remodel peeve -- the dishwasher I'd get if I was choosing today is not panel ready. But Bosch seems to be getting better about it, so hopefully when the time comes, I'll be happy (because I definitely want a Bosch). I know, first world problems.

Good, now will they please follow through, because I have to spend another game yelling at McVay to pull his damn mask up I'm going to lose my voice (and maybe mind). He even left it on his chin when he went over to talk to an official.

I'm sure the Giants will ruin it for me tomorrow night, as they do, but so far I am loving opening weekend. Rams and Seahawks win, and Cowboys and Bucs (sorry, Tampa Bay, never cared one way or the other about you, but now you have Brady, and must die) lose. I just wish the Patriots had lost, too (like @twoods, I cannot fathom a player that could ever make me root for them; I can't even root for them when I need their opponent to lose in order to benefit one of my teams - then, I can only bring myself not to actively root against them).

What amuses me is the only context - until now - in which I've ever heard of that tradition is from people saying, "yeah, we'd heard you were supposed to save the top tier for your first anniversary, so we didn't serve it, but we polished off that whole thing before the honeymoon" (or, once, that the bride, groom, and their wedding party devoured it as a 2:00 a.m. snack after the reception). So I've never heard from anyone who's actually done it. I'm not one for superstitions, and I certainly wouldn't let cake sit in the freezer for a year (I wouldn't want to eat cake that had been in the freezer for a year; I won't even eat bread that's been in the freezer), so I wouldn't even make the attempt at saving it. Hell, I'd start in on it for breakfast the next morning.

Yeah, for my parents' 50th anniversary cake, they paid the delivery fee, thinking of it as insurance. You just don't want to have to fuss with picking something up the day of your event to begin with, but certainly not something that can be destroyed if you have to slam on the brakes. If the bakery has control of it, they are responsible for replacing it if anything happens. (Plus, it needed to be there early, when the florist was there, so he could add flowers to the cake.)

I hope you finally do. You keep saying it, but not doing it. I was hoping that between pandemic-necessitated isolation and not having posted the usual scenario in a while you'd finally cut the cord. You deserve better, and they're never going to give it to you. I hope you can find the strength to give it to yourself.

I tend to avoid weddings, but obligations to family and friends being what they are I've still attending my share, and I think white cake with white icing (no filling, even?!) has been the minority. The frosting is virtually always white, yes (buttercream). But the cake and filling are usually flavored (and, like I said above, since most wedding cakes have at least two tiers, there are at least two options for guests; no need for a separate cake attributed to the groom). A common combination is a chocolate cake with raspberry filling and either a lemon cake with lemon filling or a vanilla cake some sort of fruit filling (often strawberry or lemon, but mango and passion fruit make appearances in season). Marble cake appears fairly frequently, usually with chocolate filling but sometimes a fruit. Some have the small top tier (especially if it's a three-tier cake for a big reception) in a cake flavor that has less mass appeal, like red velvet, carrot, tiramisu, or German chocolate.

FYI: We only have one more night in this batch of episodes; 9/19 is a "Where Are They Now?" episode in the 8:00 EDT slot and then a new episode in the regular 9:00 slot, but starting 9/26 it's Dr. Jeff's turn in the rotation.

9:00 EDT. Pit Bulls and Parolees ends next Saturday (just for this latest batch, not for good) and then Dr. Jeff takes over that slot for a spell. They aired two old episodes last night at 10:00 EDT, and will do so again next Saturday.