Bastet

I was watching football tonight, so read the archive, and won't be home at J! time the rest of the week, so I'll probably fall further behind than I want to read to catch up on, but for tonight: I don't watch the Oscars, but I got the "nobody" TS because the lack of a host got so much media attention before and after. (But in that same category, I could have sat here until I died and not come up with the head of Marvel, so the contestants were ahead of me there.) I can't decide if it going unanswered surprised me, though, because it's an atypical clue, so the recent attention is somewhat outweighed. Volleyball as a TS did surprise mea bit, given the category. Same with intellectually in that category. Behemoth was a bit surprising, too. It has been a while since there was a "Really? No one?" TS, though, which is nice. I had no clue on FJ, but the show loves Dahl, so maybe I should have put together nonsense word = children's lit author (+male, since woman was not specified) = Roald Dahl.

The only time it is explicitly addressed is in the two-part "Shockwave" that concludes season five - looking back on a case another division fucked up that resulted in an innocent man accepting time rather than risking even more should his bad look circumstantial evidence go to a jury. (It's touched on in "Personal Day" and maybe one or two others to an even lesser extent, but "Shockwave" is pretty much it.) The cases shown in real time all involve people guilty of at least the crime to which they plead guilty pursuant to the deal, so the show is about the resource-saving, appeal-surrendering upside of the plea bargain process. It largely ignores the dark side -- the characters never act deplorably in pushing a plea, they're just never written into that position to begin with.

I don't understand what you're saying - that's not a new ad, that's the original Zola commercial Hallmark refused to air.

I got talked into going to one about ten years ago to attend an X-Files panel. It was every bit as discomfiting as I'd anticipated and we were only there half a day.

Yay - on the first Saturday night in quite a few weeks that I'm home, after football I flip over to the 9:00 episode and find the series premiere. Reloaded is full of things big and small I really enjoy, so I was in love with this series from jump. And I like this episode even more looking back on it than I did originally, for the foundation it laid. I appreciate the various reactions to the new plea bargain mandate: It makes sense why Taylor wants to implement it and that Sharon has a knack for it, and also that some of the detectives are resistant on general principle, not just as a knee-jerk reaction to change. (Being cops, though, none of them object based on the biggest problem with it, the number of innocent/guilty only of lesser charges people who are frightened and/or coerced into giving up their day in court and pleading guilty.) "We're not starting the clock over on Major Crimes just to give people new reasons to sue us" is a nice transition from the series that began with a woman brought in to get confessions by the book instead of the renegade tactics that had tanked cases in court -- while Brenda/The Closer squad had some missteps along the way, and she ultimately had to regroup when she lost sight of herself, it's nice this franchise was always more often than not predicated on proper policing -- to one with a woman who's going to hold the squad's feet to the fire to get back on track and never let the end justify the means. As such, I am over the moon for a show retaining this great ensemble of characters and centering them around Sharon Raydor. Sharon getting comfy in her new office chair was a highlight of this episode and remained one of my favorite little moments of the entire series - a great little visual touch that speaks volumes, and I love non-verbal acting that masters like Mary McDonnell nail. I love that Sharon is Darth Raydor with her recalcitrant squad, but admonishes Taylor when it's just the two of them that they should have waited rather than springing this on them at a crime scene; she doesn't do any sort of "I know this is difficult" spiel, she just tells them what she expects and refuses to take any shit (her "as the officer in charge of the conduct of this investigation ... and I need a briefing, now" admonishment is brilliant), but we see in the next episode she appreciates that it's difficult for Provenza. And it's difficult for her, too; I love that final shot of her sinking back into the sofa, wondering what the hell she's gotten into. I like that Provenza's "I know more about homicides than she has time to learn" continues to play out over the first several episodes and beyond, with neither one a hero or villain as things transition - he has more experience with homicide in general, but Sharon has run OIS homicides, so she'll learn from him, but he'll also learn to be a better detective from her. It's a wonderful trajectory, and while I hate that it ends with him eulogizing her six years later <sob>, it's still incredibly powerful what he says about her - and about how she changed them. The ultimate point cannot be predicted here, but the path is well laid -- that the rest of the Scooby Gang who learned their lesson underestimating Brenda come around fairly quickly this time, because it's purely professional, while Provenza takes longer because he had a glimpse of leadership and resents it not lasting. I love Sharon's snotty "We put a murderer away for life, in less than 48 hours, so, yes, I feel excellent, thank you for asking" answer to Provenza, but my favorite is her no-shits-to-give "Yes?" when Andy is staring at her, and then completely ignoring him yelling at her because it has made her realize the killer has to be someone familiar with this case and LAPD policy in general. While I come to have some conflicting feelings about Rusty, Sharon's relationship with him remained a favorite aspect of the series, and it's always such a trip to re-watch its beginning knowing how it evolved. I absolutely love her telling him he's not the first adolescent to grace her home with his presence; "Having raised two teenagers of my own, I have tremendous capacity for ingratitude" is a fabulous moment. I also love her deadpan "So, you were tortured" when he complains his foster parents made him turn off the TV every night, and telling him he's standing at the back of a very long line when he wants to deal with Brenda rather than her (I like Sharon and Rusty reminiscing about that in Sharon's final episode <sob>). And Julio joins me in enjoying her shouting at Rusty that if he keeps talking, he'll wind up in juvenile detention - he has a great smirk going on as he listens to her threaten about barred windows and doors. I also like that her "I won't lie to you" a few episodes to come is set up here; when Rusty reveals his mom's name is also Sharon, she could have tried to play it off and probably succeeded, but she admits she just got this job a few days ago and thus hasn't done anything to find his mom yet, but she will. I like the addition of Amy, too. She's hilarious in her not my fault, we did it by the book attitude at the epic disaster of a crime scene (which ought to have FID's red tape around it, but I'll let that slide), and asking about the opening in Major Crimes in the middle of it is great. She's totally unfazed by the realization she won't get anywhere with Provenza, and moves on to a new tactic with Sharon. I'm glad she settled down as time went on, but I do get a kick out of the ass-kissing over-eager version of her while it lasts; mostly, I appreciate that her ambition isn't a negative to Sharon. Sharon gets annoyed by certain specific things Amy does, but doesn't at all care that she's working so hard to get ahead. It's a trait all too often held against women, so I like seeing that understanding. And Amy's honest in her dissembling, even though that sounds contradictory, which is interesting to me. How well Fritz and Sharon work together becomes one of my favorite through lines of the series, and I like that we see that included with her first case heading Major Crimes. He'd told her it was nice working with her back in the "Old Money" episode of The Closer, and it's really nice to hear a "good job today" from him again under these circumstances - and funny that he's doing it while filling a bag with the candy Brenda sent him to retrieve. Little things: Provenza shooting down the RHD detective's protest that a military member wouldn't do this by saying, "You may be shocked to hear that sometimes husbands kill their wives, and priests don't always make great babysitters" is exactly why I like him. I like how subtle that detective's reaction to Amy speculating the robbers used the chat feature of that FPS game to communicate; only in hindsight do we realize he's thinking about his son - he plays that game, he's a struggling veteran, he goes to the firing range, and he's been asking him about the case. I love Julio's "You haven't, Sir" to Provenza when Amy asks if any of them have played any FPS games. There are a couple of places on the office wall that have an empty hook, because Pope and Taylor pushed this transfer so quickly Sharon hasn't even had a chance to move into her office; so simple a touch, but one so often neglected on TV.

Psst, Rams: The way you played against the Seahawks two weeks ago, and the way you played against the 49ers tonight?* WHERE THE HELL WAS THAT AGAINST THE COWBOYS?! *While, in the end, the performance wasn't enough for a victory (seriously, y'alls defense gave up two 3rd and 16s in a row for a game-winning drive?!) against an 11-3 San Francisco team, it would have been against that cow dung team from Dallas. Alas, what a division game. Painful in the end, but a good time. The Niners do like to keep it close lately, don't they?

Yep; I don't even use social media, yet that was everywhere for a minute. Not just here, but in emails and conversations - I know that four-pound joke and Eva Victor's parody commercial well, while I'm not sure I've ever watched the actual commercial in its entirety.

I laughed throughout the turkey bacon tasting, all the comments about how they were only picking a "winner" you'd eat if you had to, not something you'd actually want to eat. I love Bridget saying she'd rather eat the plate. And no way I'd spend that much time on scrambled eggs. (I only eat egg whites, as I hate the taste of yolk, so I don't even know how that would come out using the French method.) The texture looked good (I'm not one freaked out by "underdone" eggs), and it was nice and simple flavors with the herbs and a piece of buttered toast, but standing there for nearly 15 minutes to get a bowl of scrambled eggs? No thanks. The lazy pancakes looked good, though - fluffy enough without fussing with the egg whites. Getting back to Bridget and taste tests, I recently came across an interview in which she revealed the fish sauce taste test was even worse than it looked, because it was filmed at 7:00 in the morning.

I'm looking forward to that, and the episode that includes the story of the PA prison taking 20 dogs for a program where inmates prepare the dogs for adoption. I don't know if it's a new program, or an existing one that's expanding. What I do know is we need more programs in this country where inmates are treated like people, taught a set of skills, given responsibility, and made to feel productive. Ones that help animals as well - even better. Every time one is spotlighted and then discussed by those who watched it, it increases the chance someone with the ability to get the ball rolling on implementing one will become aware of the benefits.

Not at all, but this joins buying carrots with the greens attached and sometimes having a French baguette sticking up out of my grocery bag as one of the few ways in which I'm like a TV character -- I hate boring underwear. I spend a good chunk of change on bras in pretty much every color except pink and various styles - satin, lace, what have you, but no plain cotton - in order to have a collection that both properly supports/situates my breasts and looks appealing to me. With panties, cotton can join the collection, for an even wider variety. And all are comfortable. They rarely match, though, so maybe I'd still get kicked off TV. What bugs me about women's underwear on TV is that once a female character is shown in her underwear - or sleepwear - a significant chunk of the audience decides that's the only kind she ever wears, and makes all kinds of characterization inferences based on it. Sure, there are plenty of women who have one basic kind of underwear and sleepwear and don those all the time. But there are also plenty who have a variety. And, yes, costume designers think about the character and scene, they don't just choose these items willy nilly. But what she's wearing at any given time doesn't have to be a definitive plot point or personality indicator. She's wearing X, so she's Y is problematic enough, but then to decide she always wears X so she's always/only Y is worse.

Add me to the list of those saddened by the Rhoda TS. (To be fair, I didn't know Chuck [which I've never even heard of] or Felicity, while they did, but come on -- Rhoda is a classic character!) Rachmaninoff surprised me a bit, since "Rach" was in the clue. And light heavyweight, given the category specified oxymoron. Medfly and liquid propane gas are two others I'd have thought at least one would know. But no big flops tonight, again. Good games lately. FJ was an instaget, even though I've never read it, so it was a good FJ week for me - I knew all of them, and quickly.

I dealt with the shitty parking lot to make my annual trip into TJ's to get edible Christmas gifts this afternoon. I came out highly unamused. First, I went to grab the tub of dark chocolate peanut butter cups for my dad, and the bag of them for me -- I can't have those things around and not eat them, so I get myself the bag of nine. Except, they apparently no longer sell the bags; I didn't ask anyone to confirm, but there was no slot/label for them. Then I went to get his Kona coffee beans. Same thing - none out, and no slot or label, either. This time I did ask, and after the employee looked it up in the computer, I was told TJ's is no longer carrying it. They did this quite a few years ago, and then brought it back by either the next year or the year after. Hopefully they'll do the same (it's a great deal on actual Kona beans), but in the interim I had to buy costlier beans online, from the meager selection of those that would arrive by Christmas. Probably because I was irritated, nothing else jumped out at me, and I left with just the tub of peanut butter cups. Only the knowledge I'd have to go back and get him another one will keep me from breaking into it. I should have just bought myself a tub; unlike with chips, I have impulse control with sweets. Those things are so damn good.

The Saint Martin and Cape Horn TS would have surprised me several years ago, but I've come to expect that even J! contestants are bad at geography, especially outside of the United States. The Scientific American TS did surprise me a bit, with two others ruled out. Same with killer whale, once they knew it had to be a whale. As did none of them knowing "no dog in this fight". The Dakota Access Pipeline TS made me sad. The culture war clue had no business as a DD in DJ (nor did "culture shock" - with culture spotted - belong in DJ). I was bummed not to get to the last clue in the first round; 1999 is a time when I still watched a lot of TV and paid attention to entertainment media, so I was doing well, even though Judging Amy was the only show I watched. (I had no idea Spongebob Squarepants had [has?] been on that long.) FJ came to me quickly because I'd read an interview with Sherman earlier this year. If I hadn't, maybe I would have made the St. Paul-3M connection in time, but I'm not sure.

That was Justina Machado playing Teresa Betancourt; she was a recurring character during the season in which this episode appeared -- she was renting a room from the Bunkers, which is why she came down from upstairs and why she had dinner with them.

I have no idea; there is seemingly no end to the superstitions people will come up with. I'd consider silent neighbors to be a great stroke of real estate luck.

They can read receipts. They find out you bought something less expensive, and dig in their paws. Riley loves chicken, raw or cooked, and wants some as a treat when I'm preparing it or eating it. But try to give her the chicken formula of her raw food instead of the rabbit formula, and it's a hunger strike up in here.

Wow, it was quite something to see John Amos appear; I didn't know that was coming. I loved seeing him and Norman Lear hug after All in the Family, given their long, messy history. Good Times was the weaker show for me back in the day, and it was tonight, too - as strictly compared to tonight's production of All in the Family. But the original GT episode was run of the mill, while the original AITF episode was more powerful. And tonight's AITF was good, but paled in comparison - even Kevin Bacon - to the original. So if I examine it instead as which one best embodied the source material, GT comes out looking pretty good. (It helps that impeachment voting was done by the time it aired here, so no interruptions by the network and also no split focus on my part). And small acts of resistance always resonate. Jay Pharaoh was off, big time, (and not the right physique for JJ), but Viola Davis papers over a lot - she had good chemistry with Andre Braugher (who stumbled more than I expected) and Tiffany Haddish and evoked Florida. After When They See Us, I'm in favor of anything that puts Jharrel Jerome on my screen -- speaking of which, it was nice to see Asante Blackk as Michael, too. And it's just always nice to revisit these shows and see what's changed and what hasn't among the issues and dynamics. I enjoyed it. And I enjoyed AITF, too, of course, but it just didn't pack the same punch as the original despite the cast. Woody Harrelson remains no substitute for Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker; that doesn't mean he's an inferior actor (not at all), but just that he can't hit that particular role anywhere near as well. That scene needed the scary as hell, about to burst rage of O'Connor's Archie to make Pinky's contrasting response as powerful as it was the first time around. Marisa Tomei has big shoes to fill as well, and does it more naturally; she remains a standout in this project. Gloria as a non-blonde is distracting. But, I'll be damned, Jesse Eisenberg isn't; I was bummed by his casting, but he fit in.

The D.C. Comics clue was the $1200 clue in Acronyms and Abbreviations* and read: The "D" in DC Comics refers to this profession. (Here's the page for this game on the J! Archive if you're interested.) *They drive me a little batty with this occasionally. An acronym is a type of abbreviation. So just call the damn category Abbreviations. Or Acronyms and Initialisms (maybe that would teach more people the difference between the two).

Yeah, like Hillary Clinton would be caught dead judging a Miss Universe pageant; I laughed so hard I snorted at that guess. If Alicia Machado watches J!, her reaction would be something to behold, I'm sure. The chocolate chip TS was quite surprising, and they deserved Alex's reaction. (He can miss me making fun of Christine's wagers, though, when he doesn't do it to his buddy James.) There were a few other TS I'd have thought someone would get, but no other real surprises. I am a little surprised FJ stumped two of them, though - I feel like the clue was designed to make you think of mistletoe, think, wait that's way too easy, realize, yep, it's not a tree, and then either come up with holly or not. I predicted 2 of 3 would get it right, and one would fall for the mistletoe trap. Fir I did not see coming. Another 50 Cent clue, and another contestant who didn't nail it - although at least Dave gave it a shot and came close (at least to my ears; it sounded like a hybrid of "fifty" and "fiddy"/"fitty"). I've never known what DC Comics stands for (I'm not a fan of comic books/movies), so I hope that bit of trivia sticks in my head.

Herman Boone, the football coach played by Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans, died at home today of cancer at age 84. (Bad year for the famous T.C. Williams team; coach Bill Yoast and player Julius Campbell, also depicted in the film, both died at the beginning of the year.)

Wait, that's (the Wal-Mart commercial) the "Get down" song that's supposed to be "Jungle Boogie"? Other than both having "get down, get down," I cannot find a single similarity to this: It's an interesting combination of presents they get Mother Rose - a smart TV, a record player, and an ugly sweater. So she lives with them, and the record player and TV are really for them, and all that's really Mother Rose's gift is the ugly sweater?

Oh, I'm all over this, as "[her] voice" is fantastic on two fronts: her musical accomplishments across multiple genres, and the people and causes she speaks up for.

Yikes, I had a bad first round. Unlike the contestants, I correctly guessed American Idol (I'm surprised no one else took a stab at it), but I didn't know S.W.A.T., either, and missed a couple of other clues in that TV category as well. War history is one of the things I'd have to study to be on the show, so I did terrible in the Battle Losers category, and I'm not very good with children's literature, either, so I only knew two in that one. But I was on fire in DJ - the only clue I didn't know was Apple Jacks - and FJ was an instaget, so I rebounded to finish strong. Other than no one guessing American Idol, none of the TS really surprised me. I correctly predicted rack and pinion, Huey Long, and Sylvia Plath were going to be TS, and then was slightly disappointed each time I was correct. The White Lightnin' TS (which Alex added the "g" to) is making the George Jones song of the same name pop into my head intermittently, and I hate that song!

When I was a kid, they had a checklist for arriving and departing; it was my job to make sure everything was done. So I'm assuming they still have one, and thus don't need the visual reminder, but I'll weave that into conversation, because I could do something funny and cat-themed and have it be from the cats if they do need one - it's such a goofy little idea, I like it. (But for next year; I'm done this year!) Ah, okay - that's the style (I don't know if it's that brand) of the third recliner, and it is indeed great, so replacing the other two with those is a good idea. I'll do it for their anniversary in March. Thank you! Switching gears, the Amazon policy is stupid; if you bought the item, you should be able to review it. Amazon has plenty of money; if it needs to hire people to delete spam from the reviews section, hire 'em.

I don't, but you're right that it's the first in a sequence of events that would have viewers rolling their eyes if it was made today - at least one person would have their cell phone alarm as back-up if nothing else. And then the airport stuff, like you said. The film would barely get going before people were scoffing in their seats. The premise was ridiculous then, but in a way people rolled with (the appeal of Home Alone has always been lost on me, but it's popular to this day so I am clearly a minority opinion). Now it just wouldn't work.