Bastet

I didn't listen to the interview, but as soon as I read this I knew it had to be about the guy who played Daniel. Did Derwin mention how that guy used to show up at Maureen Garrett's apartment like a stalker?

I watched the PBS Betty White documentary from a couple of years ago (Betty White: First Lady of Television) on Netflix last night. It's only an hour long and it's complete hagiography, but it's charming. It's not a biography, it's a retrospective on her career (with a [very] little about her childhood, and a bit more about her relationship with Allen Ludden and her animal advocacy) -- it's really nice to see the early stuff. And to be reminded what a pioneer she was - producing her own show (on which she hired a female director), refusing demands from southern stations to ditch the black guy in order for her show to air in those markets, etc.

I have completely changed my tune on this over the years; it used to annoy me, but with how many families for whom their child/grandchild graduating is a huge fucking deal that involved hard work, sacrifice, and odds-beating I can never truly comprehend, I no longer care. And I don't care whether it's that sort of emotional release or just obnoxious attention-seeking; it all sounds the same, it's several seconds at a time out of my life, it doesn't take anything away from my own experience (whether as the graduate or a member of the audience), etc. I tune it out and barely even notice anymore.

I stuck with Moonlighting, every episode of seasons four and five ranging from mediocre to godsawful with some scattered classic moments, to see the series through because I had once loved it beyond reason. To what end? To watch a lackluster finale with characters who were shadows of their former selves. That experience permanently cured me of any need to be a completionist come what may. From then on, I walked away from several shows I'd once loved once I was consistently unhappy with them and didn't have any reason to think that would change. People still sometimes try to persuade me to watch later seasons of X,Y,Z shows, but - nope. Even with The X-Files, where the bloom gradually came off the rose starting somewhere in season five, and I checked out entirely somewhere in the latter half of season seven, yet went to the midnight showing of the post-series movie and then watched seasons 10 and 11. I get some incredulous "you're STILL not going to watch 8 and 9"? No, I'm not. Nothing anyone, anywhere, in all I've read - and this is a show with lots of internet commentary over the last 20 years - has made me think I'd enjoy it. I have no interest in spending my time watching something just to pontificate on all the ways it sucks.

Last night I went over to my parents' house and made kung pao chicken for Father's Day dinner. I also made a colorful chop salad with romaine, red cabbage, carrot, yellow bell pepper, scallions, cilantro, bean sprouts, and peanuts with a sesame ginger dressing. My mom made jasmine rice, because they like rice with kung pao. I just had leftover kung pao (I made a ton so I could leave some behind and take some home) for lunch. I don't normally eat leftovers of one night's dinner the next day's lunch, but it was the only thing in the fridge I could just pop in the microwave to reheat, and that was too appealing to resist. I haven't figured out what I'm going to make for dinner yet (probably some sort of shrimp tacos), but I did decide I'm going to prepare an Indonesian-style (Ina Garten's recipe) ginger chicken (which marinates overnight) to cook tomorrow night.

Bleh. I think CU sums this batch up nicely: "A great selection of artists, but not a great selection of singles." Because, if you just told me the latest ten included songs by Tanya Tucker, Martina McBride, Patsy Cline, and the Wreckers, I'd think this was going to be one of the best sets of ten so far. The most disturbing thing was learning via the commentary on "San Antonio Rose" that "She's Got You" is nowhere on the list.

He says "the woman", not the "mom", but the salient point is that for a long time the letters were coming to DCFS because Stroh didn't know where Rusty was living (that's one of the reasons Sharon was able to keep Emma from putting him in witness protection). It's only recently that Sharon's involvement was figured out and letters to her started coming to the LAPD, and more recent than that her address was discovered. It's a TV-convenient timeline for him to have had time to case the building's comings and goings to somehow spot an age-appropriate gay man and track him to his work, and an offensive stereotype that he's able to quickly entice the guy to cheat on his live-in boyfriend so he can kill him in order to access the secured building/garage.

I regret not watching BSG (the reboot; I have zero interest in the original) when it was on. Friends tried to tell me I would like it despite not liking sci-fi - "it's a character/political drama that just happens to be set in space; it's mission is to not be typical sci-fi" - but I didn't give it a shot, despite the presence of Mary McDonnell, who is one of my favorite actors. I finally bought the whole series on Blu-Ray a few years ago and loved it, but it would have been fun to watch and discuss it in real time. Because that's a show that lends itself to very interesting discussion.

We got the turkey episode a couple of weeks ago, and count me in as "Certainly don't need this; I'd never have that many people over". But I do use turkey parts for Thanksgiving, rather than a whole bird. It's just my parents and me, and we go camping (in a motorhome), so we do a turkey breast - deboned and rolled, brined, and then grilled and basted with butter. I make the gravy in advance; I roast turkey wings, thighs, and a back for the drippings, set the thigh meat aside for a later soup (okay, and eat more than a few bites of it while I'm pulling it off the bone), and make stock with the thigh bones, wings, and back. I use the turkey fat to make a roux, then the non-fat drippings plus stock to make the gravy.

I doubt Baby was on the pill, yes, but the characterization leads me to think Baby - who would have done so - wouldn't even have to ask Johnny to wear a condom, that it would be something he willingly does. There's nothing about him or their relationship that makes me think he wouldn't take care with her. So potential pregnancy is not a reason for me to hope two people who've fallen in love would abstain from sex they both want.

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I’m so glad “Return to Sender” finally aired again; they’ve skipped it (since syndicators hate multi-part episodes) the last few rounds. Watching the first half tonight, it was great to remember how strong season two’s ending was. I like that we see the beginning of Sharon’s difficulty staying in control. The little touch of her yelling at Reyes when he’s stalling in Spanish (over the course of the series, the few times she yells at uncooperative witnesses, she’s really frustrated or there’s a heightened emotional state coming in- she’s probably also rather pissed at being called a stupid whore, heh) is great, and I love her admitting her focus is split and Provenza reacting by giving her arm a comforting squeeze as he heads in to interview the victim’s girlfriend for her. Captain Raydor is admitting to Lieutenant Provenza she’s not up to the job right now. And he’s nothing but supportive. This is huge; they have come a long way. The way the pieces start to come together is paced very well, culminating in figuring out the latest victim lived downstairs from Sharon – her running barefoot down eight flights of stairs to burst in and save Rusty remains one of my favorite things in the series. (I also like that scene for Rusty hitting the deck as soon as he heard gunfire, like he was taught to do.) I love the scene between Sharon and Rusty when she gets home at the end. (And I never noticed until tonight she’s wearing no lipstick, reflecting the fact it has worn off after a very long day in which she’d have never cared to reapply it because of her stress. Great touch!) Sharon apologizing to him for letting herself get talked into consenting to his participation while he’s desperately trying to apologize to her for not following orders is sweet, as is that sniffling hug he gives her in thanks for saving him, but the real fist to the heart is what his promise to do whatever she says because it’s for his own good means -- when she starts packing a suitcase for him, the looks on both their faces just kill me. I like Amy, as a former member of that team, being visibly annoyed this guy slipped by SIS during the debrief in Taylor's office. I do get a tiny bit frustrated with the suspension of disbelief required for the entire basis of the plot, though; it’s not bad for TV, but it’s atypical for this show. Rusty, right on the heels of falling for the do as I say or your mom dies trick, falls for the don’t tell my boss I broke cover trick. He's consistently reluctant to get people into trouble, so it’s not unbelievable he wouldn’t tell on “Bill”, but a) he’s had the do not deviate in the slightest from procedure lecture drilled into his head – once at gunpoint – how many times now? and b) Cooper sends someone to swap out Rusty’s chess pieces (to check prints), so that’s two guys in a row blowing cover, and he still doesn’t think to check in with Cooper to make sure everything was legit since procedure dictates he'll never have any indication who the SIS folks are? Setting aside Rusty, who’s an amateur, what about Cooper? He, unable to hear what was said, didn’t ask Rusty, “Hey, there’s one guy I didn’t have audio on – what did that guy who played music talk about?” Also, it’s quite convenient (and an offensive stereotype) the killer was able to, upon learning where Rusty lived, quickly identify an age-appropriate gay dude within the building and successfully flirt him into cheating on his boyfriend. On a smaller scale, Graham Patrick Martin isn’t actually wearing a vest in the chess-playing scene and I'd let that slide if not for the fact they're specifically discussing Rusty's vest. There's also a continuity error in that the route Rusty takes to the park in this episode is not the route Amy laid out during his briefing last episode, but only Los Angelenos would notice that (and only obsessive viewers in Los Angeles at that, heh). Also, the “Previously, on Major Crimes” recap reminded me of an earlier continuity error I forgot to mention (probably because I was once again so enraged at Rep. Racist Asshole): In “Risk Assessment”, Sharon tells Fritz there are 27 threatening letters to date, five to her the rest to Rusty. But back in “Pick Your Poison”, there were already 29. Lastly – and I know this list makes it seem like I dislike this episode, but I don’t at all; these are just things I’ve noticed over the years and we haven’t discussed this episode in a long time – there is something I never noticed until tonight: In the killer’s lair, he has a photo of what seems to be the intercom system at Sharon’s building. But no one has ever buzzed up to come into the condo – there’s no intercom unit near the door, nor have Sharon or Rusty ever taken a phone call from downstairs. Not a ton of funny moments in this one, but I enjoy the few that exist, like “Is this your Gram’s house, homes?” about the plastic couch cover, Sharon’s fake yeah, funny smile when Reyes gestures to his cuffed arms when saying he can't go anywhere, and Provenza’s enjoyment at being proved right about passing notes in the prison’s law books.

Same here! And those busybodies are even worse than I thought they'd be upon hearing about the existence of a "neighborhood association" - quite a few years ago, I heard from a city worker that they drive around every single day looking for things to complain to the city about (everything from overgrown weeds to construction), hoping it violates a municipal ordinance. They learned early on to stop asking me to join. (Same with the "neighborhood watch" organization.) When I lived in a condo, we needed an HOA to deal with common areas and shared expenses, but we (nine units) had very few rules focused on uniformity and just some pretty basic ones dealing with discourteous behavior. A single family home? I wouldn't buy one of those within a development governed by an HOA if you sold it to me for $100.

There are some good episodes with great moments in season one, but I think "Inherit the Wind" (the season two opener) is the show's first truly great episode. Honest and hilarious treatment of things like bra stuffing, accidental farts, siblings squabbling, plus the beginning of the fallout from Roseanne quitting Wellman - she's selling magazine subscriptions over the phone and can't go buy a dress for this shindig they have to go to. And, from this: -I'm quitting pep squad, I'm quitting school, I'm never going back again! And if anybody calls me, tell them I'm dead! -Well, it must be serious - she's not taking phone calls. To the end, every single line of dialogue is perfect. All the funny things that happen in such a short span of time - Darlene telling the story, Dan unable to stop laughing in order to go talk to Becky, Roseanne taking over and blowing it with both of her own stories, Jimmy showing up, and Becky finally venturing back downstairs - happen via sharp yet realistic dialogue that still makes me laugh and quote along with multiple parts of it 30 years later: Becky cut.the.cheese. 'cause I figure this is your area of expertise. Barry! Watnick! His name was Barry Watnick. Every time you tell that story, you say, "I can remember it like it was yesterday, that creep Barry Watnick stole my diary." Nice try. -Hey, Jimmy Meltrigger's downstairs waiting for you. -Oh my god. -That's what I said. Ooh, he ain't bad. ... -He's just keeping the date to be nice. -Oh, and what a rotten character trait that is. ... Now why don't you get downstairs before Aunt Jackie runs off with your date?

It seems to refer to being able to rinse it ("to keep it looking clean and new") without getting any water mixed in with the soap. Of course, since you don't touch it, I'm not sure why it would need to be rinsed rather than just dusted - oh, maybe if the sink and stove were close enough together that grease could get on it - but it's just one more reason their second pick would be my first pick.

In saying the top two picks of automated soap dispensers are both made by simplehuman, and the winner was picked for the visible reservoir and smaller footprint, they didn't note that it's battery operated, while the second-place version (which costs $10 more) is rechargeable. The second-place version also lets you control the volume; if you put your hand up close to the dispenser, you get one small dab, and if you place your hand several inches lower, you get three times that amount. It also can be used with liquid soap or hand sanitizer (while the other one only with liquid soap), and is waterproof. They're not going to get into all that. But I am a little surprised they didn't mention the batteries. I'd get the second-place version if I was going to get one; I find it more attractive (it's all stainless steel, no plastic, and comes in 5 color options), I like having two output volume options and not needing batteries (the charge is supposed to last up to three months, and with how infrequently I'd use it, it would last longer), the size isn't an issue (it's not much bigger), and I don't care about seeing how much soap is left.

I've got TVLand's season one marathon on as background noise, and something that always bugs me just aired: Dan's sleep deprivation when Bev and Al make a surprise visit is hilarious, but the whole where's everyone going to sleep? hoopla that sets it in motion is ridiculous. The answer is obvious: the girls will sleep on cots in the living room so the grandparents can have their room. And Becky tells them, twice, that's what they did last time. (This time Jackie is there, too, but that just means she takes D.J.'s bed and he sleeps in a sleeping bag.) Roseanne and Dan having a miserable night on those cots was entirely on them (mostly Roseanne); the kids can conk out anywhere, and indeed readily offered up their beds, and Bev and Al certainly didn't ask for the master bedroom - they said they'd sleep anywhere (other than a communist country - "well, God bless America"). And this was all before Al referenced moving to Lanford, so the freak-out that induced isn't even the reason for all the stupid confusion.

He probably wanted to be there to celebrate with whomever won. If not for his back problems, he'd have been there as a sous, so I would hope that when they told him of course he didn't have to run around a kitchen for two days, get some rest and we'll bring another cheftestant over to fill in, they also said he was still welcome to come join everyone for the reveal if he was up for it.

Melissa's mom was there, too, though. I just figure the finalists made several "I made it!" calls, and the producers chose one each to air (and, of course, for Stephanie and Bryan chose the ones where the person called was also a TC champion). Were the cheftestants supposed to be surprised by their family members being at JT? That's been going on for years.

Yep; same Liz, different Erin this season. I'm not sure I'd have noticed, given the time that passed between when I watched season five and season six, if not for the fact I recognized the new actor from an episode of Major Crimes (for anyone who watched that show, she was the "half a puff, and I tried mopping the floor with my cat" ex-wife of the victim, who had given her some seriously strong pot in "Dead Drop").

Despite his long list of credits, the only thing I've ever seen Ian Holm in is Chariots of Fire, and that was nearly 40 years ago -- but not only did I recognize the name, I could immediately put a face to it.

I am in serious need of grocery shopping, which I'll do tomorrow, so I've ordered in tonight, going basic, from my favorite pizza place*. On the way is a caesar salad, some garlic lemon pepper chicken wings, and a wheat thin crust pizza with white sauce, grilled chicken, mozarella, and roasted red peppers, topped with mixed greens, sliced avocado, and a drizzle of chipotle sauce. This way I'll have leftovers to eat tomorrow before I go to the market; had I cobbled something together for dinner, I'd be left eating something like olives and cheese for breakfast/lunch tomorrow and then I'd buy ridiculous stuff while shopping with a hungry stomach. *Well, my favorite pizza place for the pizza; they actually know how to make a proper thin crust. But their salad offerings are limited, and their appetizers just good, so I have a couple of other places I sometimes order from instead where the pizza isn't quite as great but the overall meal is just a bit better. Tonight I'm all about the pizza.

Melissa won Fan Favorite, and she's donating the $10,000 prize to three different organizations: The Trevor Project, Black Visions Collective, and an Asian-focused organization I unfortunately cannot remember the name of (because, unlike the other two, I wasn't familiar with it when she said it). She is aces (she made the "Carne!" dude cry over how great her tiramisu was, come on). I am so happy for her.

He annoys me a lot, but, yeah, I thought he was a great sous chef. (I think Gregory, who I figure Stephanie would have chosen if he'd been there - and who, incidentally, was, along with Melissa, Tom's pick when asked on WWHL who he'd choose as a sous if he was cooking in the finale - would have been a great one, too.) He might have served Stephanie well by voicing his concerns about the veal cooking method, but I think on the whole his decision to just put his head down and prep/cook was the right way to go. Speaking of sous chefs, Melissa is almost as good as just tuning Lee Anne out as she is at blending cuisines. I got nervous when she seemed to let Lee Anne's input talk her out of remaking the sauce she thought was too sweet. There was some commentary at the dining table that maybe it was a little sweet, at which point I really got nervous. It was one of those "just a touch" things that wasn't even unanimous, but every little thing counts in a close competition.

YES, YES, YES!!! Three terrific meals, resulting in agonizing, nitpicking analysis in order to determine a winner. That is how the finale of an all-stars competition should be, and they lived up to that perfectly. I was so afraid they were setting us up for a “Bryan learns how to cook with heart” victory that I was even more thrilled than I expected to be when Melissa won. I think her ability to do Chinese twists on various cuisines is truly astounding. (And, wow, I knew she’s a badass, but I didn’t realize she had – even before tonight – more wins than anyone in the show’s history.) Tom just said on WWHL that Melissa's meal was pretty much the best thing they've ever eaten. And it looked like it. I don’t like beets, so Bryan’s first course did nothing for me, but I desperately wanted to eat Stephanie’s. Melissa’s looked great, too. Second course, everyone’s pasta looked delicious. I don’t particularly care for traditional lasagna, but Bryan’s looked very inviting. I was still more interested in the other two, especially Stephanie’s, but I’d have happily devoured all three. Third course, I wanted to reach through the screen and grab Melissa’s dish. Dessert, I think Melissa’s tiramisu is one of her best blendings of two cuisines. And I don’t like coffee, so I’d like to taste it done with tea instead. The other two looked very good as well. What a terrific meal! Tom, Padma, and Gail cooking them dinner was nice. Stephanie’s reaction to getting first choice of sous chef is “Oh, fuck.” I love her. I’ve also always liked her friendship with Kristen, so it was cute to see that call. I love how Kristen’s reaction was “I fucking knew it” rather than any sort of “OMG, you made it!”. That’s a best friend.