Bastet

I was distracted by my cat last week and didn't see Kevin spooning a heap of grated parm into everyone's bowls at the table, so I just cracked up watching the repeat. Tom's reaction is as great as y'all said it was.

I'll be thrilled with a Melissa or Stephanie win. If Bryan wins, I won't be upset, but I will be disappointed. All three make delicious food, but his almost never interests me the way theirs often does. Especially Melissa's, who has been my pick from early on and remains so - her food is the most original.

My favorite part is how every single person who hears about the murder is most upset about the dog being killed.

Veruca Salt call back to their earlier song "Seether" in "Volcano Girls": I told you about the seether before You know the one who's neither or nor Well here's another clue if you please The seether's Louise

I've never re-watched any old season, and don't have as clear of memories of them as some do, but looking up the cheftestants from those two seasons, I'd say season two hands down. It had a bunch of folks I don't remember, Marcel whom I absolutely could not stand, and then a few I did enjoy watching who went and physically assaulted Marcel for the offense of being unbearably annoying. No thanks; they should have all been kicked off, and I'm never watching that again. Season nine had a bunch of folks I don't remember, Grayson whom I quite liked, and Paul whom I could not stand. So even though he was the winner, I'd still rather sit through that season than the one with an attack, where there's the added "bonus" of a mediocre chef like Ilan winning.

Despite the presence of John Goodman and Maria Bello, I hate pretty much everything about Coyote Ugly - especially the romance where, as per usual, a woman is supposed to be charmed by a total nuisance of a guy - but I was just going around the dial and came across one of the only scenes I like: when Violet's dad winds up in the hospital for emergency surgery after her life-long best friend's wedding, and the best friend shows up in her wedding dress to sit with her until she learns if he's okay. When Violet says she told her not to come down, it's her wedding night, the best friend waves that off, saying, "[New husband] has been in my family for, like, five minutes. You’ve been in it my whole life.”

They do. I'm not sure how recently it has last aired, but I watched it several years ago.

I don't remember that song, but "Snapshot" came up and I could not look away from that video it is so cheesy. Then I had to listen to "Nobody", and went down a rabbit hole of songs I can't believe I like. I have to get back to work, so I finished with this gem:

And show you pictures of all of the above.

I don't even care what this says about my life: That video just made my entire day.

Oy, yes - that must have been in the opening minutes I missed. I'll have to check and see if this episode is available on the PopTV website, because there were some seriously great lines I'd like to revisit. Yes, exactly; I have family I can literally only talk about pets with because everything else somehow turns into the type of crazy non-sequiturs of demonstrably false information fervently believed to be true the Alvarez family envisioned happening when they tried to walk through implementing the suggested techniques. That those scenarios are not really exaggerated is what made this rather cathartic to watch - it's not just me and my friends, this happens to enough people they made an entire episode of television about it. On a far less important note, it bothered me that the animated Elena was wearing lipstick. But the animated Alex's dyed hair growing out amused me.

Wow, this latest group of ten is really bad, and that's saying something for this list. Not all bad songs, but all bad rankings -- I agree with the CU writers that there's not a single song in this batch that isn't overrated (either because it should be ranked lower, or shouldn't be on the list at all). I don't even know the song, but I laughed pretty hard at the comments: Confession: I've always liked Sylvia's "Nobody". (But good heavens, it isn't in the top 1000 of all time, let alone the top 550.)

PREACH, Penelope, explaining why this is so different than the being on different political sides of the past. I actually went out for the first time in three months (to my parents' house for my dad's birthday dinner), and it didn't even occur to me I'd need to record something. I got home a few minutes into the rerun of this. I'm not much of an animation fan, but it was nice to have something new. And definitely nice to have something true. Some of my favorite moments: "Facts don't matter anymore." ICE coming in to nab ALF. "But her emails" as the cousin is being strangled. Most of all: showing the futility of responding to crazy by trying to find common ground and the ridiculousness of "agree to disagree" meaning letting pure bullshit slide.

I had to drop something off at the house of a friend who lives near a Middle Eastern restaurant I have missed eating in, so I called in an order to pick up (curbside; they put it in your trunk) on my way home tonight. I got lebni, tabouli (never tell my mom this, but this restaurant makes it even slightly better than the one I grew up with), and two kabob skewers - one chicken koobideh and one lamb - that come with pickled vegetables and a Persian salad. (Yes, that side salad made the tabouli order rather unnecessary. But it's delicious and a big serving, so I can eat it for several days.) As soon as the butter is properly softened, I'm going to make peanut butter cookies from my paternal grandma's recipe; my dad's birthday is tomorrow, and I'll be going to my parents' house for the first time in three months (implementing all sorts of pandemic-necessitated precautions, creating a rather odd dinner, but my parents really want to see me) - because I do not go out other than to buy groceries, I have no present for him other than a bottle of bourbon, so I'm adding a batch of the cookies he used to occasionally be allowed to skip school to stay home and help bake. Oddly, I love the batter, but don't care for the finished result. So some "quality control" tastes of the batter will be my dessert, but I don't have to worry about stealing any cookies. Edited to say, holy crap, is it weird to gear up to make food for my own family. We pay no attention at all to germs in normal life (which means we have healthy immune systems), but now, just in case, I have to take precautions on the off chance I'm unknowingly infected with a virus that could kill my parents (or me, but more likely them). I didn't bother during the pre-baking parts, since the oven heat would kill anything dangerous, but removing from the oven, cooling, packaging -- what an odd experience.

Ooh, I dig this; there are probably a shit ton of them, requiring some real pondering and group effort to get a good list going. What immediately springs to mind is "American Pie", which, being about the death of several musicians, references them and their songs. Then Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire", which includes several musicians/songs in its recitation of American history. David Allan Coe's "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" also name checks a number of artists. Getting more specific, I think first of one of my hate to love songs, "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, which calls out Neil Young for the lyrics of his "Southern Man". I also think of a song I love, Eddie Money's "Take Me Home Tonight", which brings in Ronnie Spector to quote her own song ("Be My Baby"). And Joan Baez's "Michael" incorporates characters from a number of her earlier songs.

I love this PetSmart commercial thanking pets for the ways they're helping us cope during the pandemic:

If you mean this one, no, that's not him. Sondra and Elvin got married in season four.

I mostly avoid legal dramas, and ever since the commercial came out several years back I can entertain myself when courtroom scenes pop up in other shows by quoting: "That's not how it works. That's not how any of this works." Law school is never portrayed accurately, either, and for the same reason - it would be quite boring to watch someone do nothing but read and brief for a year. So on TV, law students do mock trial by week three, and by the end of the season they've, as an intern, freed an innocent person from prison.

Sharon’s conflicting emotions as Rusty’s participation in the SIS operation gets underway never fail to get to me in the midst of all the humor in “Year End Blowout”. Despite telling him “that’s not funny” when he makes me laugh (sorry, Sharon, it was in fact funny) by concluding his recap of what to do in the event of gunfire with “or bleed out, whatever’s first”, Sharon maintains an upbeat attitude to match Rusty’s “I can handle this” enthusiasm, and then the moment he walks away to meet with Cooper she tears up and takes a big breath. And then, holy cow, the combination of fear and pride as she helps him suit up for his first day is so evident in her voice and on her face. Re-fastening his vest, making him breathe with her, telling him she appreciates him taking it seriously, giving him a packed lunch – and pepper spray. And then staring at Cooper in the doorway like I will have your badge and your balls if this goes wrong. The whole scene is perfect. And Rusty’s driving lesson never fails to make me laugh. Living in Los Angeles, Rusty saying signaling before changing lanes here is like asking the people behind you to speed up may be my favorite, but Sharon’s reactions throughout, especially “the way you drive is a life and death situation” and her ack, sorry! gesture to another driver, are hilarious. I also love her emphatic “It’s not” when Amy says taking over his training sounds like fun -- and the way Amy deflates a little at that, having been so excited to be asked to help. I also never tire of Mike’s excitement over detonating the second car bomb, or his translating the Bomb Squad guy’s briefings for everyone (even though most of what he says is stuff they’d easily understand). It’s interesting – and heartening – to watch Provenza and Andy interview Darren. For so many years on The Closer, they were utterly awful about gay men, but here Andy is only annoyed that the assumed boy toy seems delusional about his role in Little Ted’s life, and Provenza is totally patient with Darren’s emotional display. I like the scene with Olivia and her attorney when the squad realizes it wasn’t her and start down the path of this being about the business, not the personal, implications of the divorce. And I like them laying out their case against the comptroller, especially refuting his attempt to say the mystery account must be a slush fund Little Ted set up for Darren by pointing out it was opened over 30 years ago – “when Little Ted was really little”. Rusty falling for the “do what I say or your mom dies” trick was incredibly predictable, but it’s interesting to see how that scare does and does not get through to him when the events of “Return to Sender” unfold. I like Amy’s interaction with him in this one, since it draws heavily on her SIS experience and she’s the only woman other than Sharon he has regular interaction with, but we don’t often see them one-on-one. Amy has no time for his immaturity, and I am here for that.

Wow, I didn't realize they'd be airing stories from during the pandemic; that's a quick turnaround, so I thought this would be a season already in the can and having been in post for a while. I think this was very interesting, and important, to see. It's good to see what goes on inside a vet clinic at this time; it's the same thing here (only you don't even stand in line outside; you stay in your car). And it's really sobering how many people they - especially the front office staff - see per day at Planned Pethood, even when limiting themselves to time-sensitive issues. Like Dr. Jeff said, they're becoming even more people's last resort, given the economic consequences of the pandemic. I appreciated hearing Dr. Amy say she was hesitant about going to work, because you have to prioritize your own health under these circumstances, but feels it's her duty under the oath she took. I'm damn happy I already work from home, and court appearances have been drastically curtailed for months now; if I have to go in to get a client a restraining order, for example, I'll do it for the same reason. But I'm very glad I haven't yet had to. My hat is off every day to essential workers. (Dr. Amy was also cute tucking in the dog's long tail, even though it was nowhere near the neck laceration she was working on; she just liked the tail.) I feel for Melody in her frustration with her dad not taking proper precautions for his own safety; a lot of adult children are experiencing that these days. The woman whose dog, Jillian, had a splenic mass talking about how this is the last straw, she cannot handle her dog being in jeopardy when she's already under such unusual stress, asking Dr. Jeff to call her when he does his 2:00 a.m. check because she won't be sleeping anyway? How many viewers nodded in understanding? I fucking cried when Dr. Jeff revealed that Jillian died. That poor woman, and I'm glad they didn't film/air the call notifying her. Penny-Rose is lucky she ate DVDs, I guess, so someone among the umpteen owners she's had in just 11 months finally took her to the vet. She has an adorable face. There was something oddly poetic about the Parvo ward when the whole clinic, hell the whole world, is a bit like the human version of a Parvo ward, trying to ride it out. Noir, the fluffy black kitty peeing blood, is very pretty. Poor Winter, with the abscessed tooth, was so scared, and then so happy when she got to run across the parking lot to her people. Similarly, I loved Kai (the broken leg dog) wagging his tail in his big ol' cage when the tech came to check on him. Kudos to Dr. Jeff saying it can be understandable why people neglect to have the necessary care done for their pets, when they themselves are neglected. That pet food bank made me smile, especially the folks who drove over with their dogs so the dogs could say thank you.

Lamb. 🙂 It's distinctive. A lot of people I know don't care for it (I love it, much more than beef - other than a ribeye steak, one of my favorite things). It has a stronger flavor than beef; it's gamey. It's tender and juicy. I am normally all about local, but most domestic lamb is fed grass and then grain, and most are not given a proper pasture to roam; both things lessen the distinctive lamb flavor. New Zealand lamb tastes noticeably different - like "proper" lamb - because they move around like they should and eat grass their whole lives. Here's a Cook's Illustrated article that explains why lamb tastes like lamb.

I can't believe the game started with cerebrum as a TS. Lungs was a surprising TS as well; these people do not know their bodies! I'm a wee bit disturbed I ran the celebrity exes category. I was pleasantly surprised to run the classic cars category and flat-out shocked to run kings and troops. I didn't miss any in the first round, but the movie villains category kept me from running DJ; the only one I knew was Speed. Still, only four misses the whole game (FJ was an instaget) means I ended the season on a high note. Good for me.

Several years ago, a mockingbird built her nest in the part of my orange tree that hangs over my driveway between the house and the garage. Every time I went to and from my car, she dive-bombed me. She only made contact once. I've known two people who were attacked by geese, resulting in fairly significant injury.

I hear you. I used Bernstein's Italian dressing & marinade to marinate tri-tip - something my mom has been doing for years, either that or Basque marinade; she has delicious homemade marinades for other things, but somehow for tri-tip it became one of those two bottles - and am getting ready to grill that tonight. That's not how I typically roll with a marinade, but I eat tri-tip maybe once a year (I'm not a huge beef fan), so I'm fine with the ingredients under those circumstances. The side will be steamed artichoke with garlic-wine dip, and the salad a basic mixed greens with feta cheese, walnuts, and balsamic vinaigrette as the fridge is getting pretty bare (buying groceries is the only time I go out in public during the pandemic, and I limit that to once every 2-3 weeks). I'd cut the roast in half when I bought it a couple of days ago, and put the other half in the freezer; just this half will give me meat to use sporadically in various ways for a week. Well worth the cost, since I got it on sale.

YES! Can this season end in a tie between Melissa and Stephanie? Okay, at least let them be one and two. Melissa has been my pick from early on, but I’m also loving watching Stephanie surge at exactly the right time. What a great challenge, producing great food; I’d give a lot to be a diner at that table. Especially when I saw Padma’s face when she ate Stephanie’s pasta. This woman eats terrific food for a living, and she reacted like that. Stephanie and Melissa kicked ass! And I fucking loved watching the guys’ “wait, what, the chicks rather than us?” reaction when they were announced as the top two. Yep. When Melissa’s broth broke, my heart dropped. I’m so glad she had time to do it again. Her and Stephanie’s primo dishes were by leaps and bounds most interesting to me in that round – all looked and sounded delicious (well, not Kevin’s, because I hate beans, but that’s just personal preference), but I think they took the most risk and killed it. The guys went more traditional and had errors. Secondo, Stephanie making a cabbage rather than a meat dish? My imaginary friend is a fucking rock star! Her dish looked great, as did Melissa’s. Bryan’s dish described as good technique but no soul is why I have never rooted for him (I don’t root against him, but I don’t root for him). Part of Kevin’s dish simply described as “not so good” made me laugh. Kevin seemed like the one to go, but the editors are not beyond fake-outs, so I wasn’t sure until it happened. Watching those big cheese wheels cut by hand was interesting (LOL later at “they made it look so easy!” when Bryan was doing it). The whole tour of Parma was interesting. I love both ingredients, and seeing them handed those high-quality offerings was like seeing them given unlimited truffle access last week – what a treat (for me just to watch, so for them?!). Add in the markets and that cellar meal, and I was truly in awe of their experience. I wonder why Kevin randomly referred to himself in the third person during a talking head; maybe he was parroting back the phrasing of the producer’s question. Hearing about Melissa’s changed relationship with her dad made me really happy for her, in a bittersweet way – no one should have to wait decades to hear “I’m proud of you” from a parent. “My parents love me” and “my parents are proud of me” should be two things every kid in the world can take for granted. Way too many can’t.