Bastet

Yeah, it's Lanford; she's known them since back when D.J. didn't want to kiss her because she's black.

How fantastic - especially given the false rumor the wonderful Machado would appear in The Jeffersons episode last time (well worth the fakeout when Marla Gibbs reprised her role) - except Eisenberg. Bleh. And why? This cast, though, sounds great; unlike with All in the Family and The Jeffersons, I was only a sporadic viewer of Good Times, but I'm still all in. At any rate, I found this a deliciously fun experiment last time, and look forward to seeing it further explored.

Thank you for saving me a step; I keep coming in on the end of this, and hadn't mustered up the interest to look up the context. She's a bit extra, and, while I am terrible at estimating child ages, she certainly seems old enough to understand translation services only work on human languages, but at least the commercial makes some sense now.

Holy shit, the non-verbal acting that goes on in "The Letter" is fantastic. I was going around the dial as it was starting, and finally remembered to stick with it past Carter's reading of Mark's letter to see later reactions to it posted on the board. Carter's face, as he (silently) reads Elizabeth's addendum, and Susan's, when she - unlike everyone else who has moved on to chattering about mai tais and seashells - is watching him and realizing what he must be reading - have always been the most memorable. But equally good is when Kerry comes back from lunch and reads the posted letter, and then when she watches Romano react to reading the same. The cast nailed it. I like Kerry's awkward "I'm sorry about Mark" to Susan, and then Susan inviting her to come get plastered with them (followed by Kerry telling Sandy they just invited her to be polite rather than really wanting her there, and musing on how she's known this was coming but never imagined she'd feel like this - and then showing up at the tacky tiki bar with girlfriend in tow). Carter taking Mark's stethoscope is not something I remembered; that's another great moment, after Kerry told him people would now look to him as the longest-tenured doctor at County. But I did remember the symmetry with Carter walking out to talk to Gallant the way Mark had talked to him. That's brilliantly shot and written - especially that they don't spoon-feed us by having Carter tell Gallant this is what Mark told him back in the day. It's just there for long-time viewers to recognize and appreciate on a deeper level, and anyone else to just enjoy on the surface.

I don't think you should be dealing with anything that isn't urgent; interact with the person you're with, and then handle emails, texts, social media, etc. when you're alone. It's just rude to go out with someone and then periodically check out to be on your phone for no legitimate reason. If you had whipped out your book first, and just sat there reading for several minutes at a time throughout your night out with your friend, it would be rightly regarded as weird and rude. It's not different just because it's electronic.

Geena approved of Becky's candy-stealing scheme.

No one I recognize, but according to the internet (including the actor's own website) it's Craig Fleming. Whom I've never heard of or seen before. Which is fine, but a little odd since they'd had such a string of big names playing the Colonel.

Oh, come the hell on, Sirius. Seven hundred and nine songs are better than this one? The rest are pretty meh - yes, even the ones by Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton with Porter Wagoner, as all had much better - and I find "I'm No Stranger to the Rain" (also quite underrated on the list) the only other rankable song in this batch. But once again I was entertained into looking up an unfamiliar song to see if it was awful as the amusing CU commentary claimed (and, once again, yep):

I'll have to look up a few, but I recognize most of them by name - which means they really are all-stars, because I usually don't. I don't remember hating any of those I can put a face to, and there are a lot I liked. Jen's friendship with the odious Mike Isabella has always made me question her on a personal level, but I loved watching her cook. I remember her first episode, when some sexist twit assumed she was the pastry chef (or sous chef?) upon learning she worked for Eric Ripert, when she was actually executive chef, so I was in her professional corner from jump. But I think I'd quit watching the season where she had the meltdown I always hear about but don't remember seeing. Stephanie and Karen are two of my favorites from the whole series, and I also quite like Lee Anne and Eric (though I certainly do not think he was robbed). This should be a great season - outstanding food, and tough elimination choices each round.

I like the Seahawks, so I looked up who it was (I hardly ever watch the show anymore, I just still read here about it) - K.J. Wright. He's a good player, and seems to be a decent man. In a radio interview back in April, in talking about his plans to stay in Seattle after football (as background, he's been there since being drafted by the Seahawks in 2011, and, as noted above, signed a two-year extension of his contract this year) and noting he was househunting right now, he mentioned he planned to be on HH, his favorite HGTV show.

It prepares them for those super-sized urban apartments they're going to have when they graduate.

Jackie and subtlety parted ways more than 15 years ago. It was an amicable break-up, and they still run into each other occasionally, but they are never getting back together.

I missed tonight's game, so just read the archive - yay, Jennifer! The bowler, business, guard, muslin, and verismo clues were all ones I thought at least one contestant would know, but no real surprise TS in this game. I'm not surprised Jacksonville was a TS, but I am surprised only one contestant took a guess at it. (In that same category, I was amused by the wording of the Worcester clue, as the Boston accent pronunciation has long tickled me.) I had no idea some ticks can go over a year without feeding, so that was my bit of trivia for the day. Thanks, Jeopardy!

Since neither of those things are required for a satisfying life, it's probable your wish came true. How horrible!

It can be uncomfortable to watch, but it would be completely unnatural if Jackie didn't behave that way. (Now. If she's still doing it in several years, that's a serious problem.) But when the deepest bond of her life is dead, and she feels insecure about her place in the remaining family, she is going to lash out against any perceived threats to that. And she's going to gloss over the toxic aspects of their co-dependent relationship and instead lionize Roseanne. It's something a lot of people do following a death, and Jackie is a textbook example of the kind of person who'd fall into that pattern. Becky was living on her own when we first met back up with the family; she had an apartment (in which she let Bev live, until old people sex freaked her out and she shuttled her off to Jackie's) and was planning to buy a house with the money she'd receive for being a surrogate. When that didn't pan out, she was talking about buying a trailer instead; she wanted to own, rather than rent. Then, of course, she decided to have a baby, and had to move in with her dad. The episode took place three weeks after Roseanne's funeral, so he'd probably come home for at least several days surrounding the funeral and then gone back to work. I hate facial hair, especially beards; it's just a personal aversion. I could not stand the character last season, but he has been written as nice rather than gross this season, so now that he's no longer her boss, I can finally get interested in their relationship. Yeah, he's still a long way away from being open to her in a romantic way, if he ever turns that corner at all. It's nice that she doesn't push or manipulate; it's how most women would behave, but it's not how most female TV characters would behave, so it's nice to see a show not trot down the tired sexist path. Their friendship is nice, and the character fits into the show well.

Becky's gift to Dan was cute, as sad as it was that only she and Jackie remembered without Roseanne there to remind them. Their conversation about it was great, the combination of honesty and humor, and Becky taking over the task of reminding everyone each year. The way their relationship has evolved is really something to behold; it has long provided some heartbreaking and heartwarming moments, and it's nice to see them now mostly be heartwarming. My instinctive reaction to Darlene and Ben dating again is to gag, but then I step back and remember he's no longer her boss and he's written a lot better this season than he was last. Plus it's exponentially better than her getting back with David again. And I love her "Gross" when he responds to reference to them having sex with "I prefer making love". So I'll go with it. I still want to shave his face, though. And how realistic that the company would fire him then offer the woman working under him half the money to take over his job duties. I've been waiting for Jackie to react negatively to Louise specifically as a potential love interest for Dan; that was very natural, as was her anger at being cut out of family events because of her issues with this new friend. Louise handled her end of the conversation at the bar very well, too - I love her "what is it you think I'm after?" routine, but also her assurance that Dan wants to take it slow, nothing has happened, it may not, but he's worth the wait if it does. The tag with Jackie altering the photo was funny, but also poignant - like Becky is now the one reminding everyone it's Dad's birthday, Jackie is the one sending cards from "The Conners" (and Louise shouldn't be in that photo, so Jackie should have just used another one, but the Santa on Santa one worked for the humor - even though we've never heard of this tradition before*). It goes back to what she said about being replaced. She feels like, and in some ways is, the natural heir to the matriarch position. It's a big job; for her, Becky, and Darlene to share it makes sense. 🙂 *I did like the flashbacks it gave me to Roseanne as Santa and Jackie as Mrs. Claus. "Remember, possession of cane is a privilege, not a right!" Dan's birthday has always been inconsistent; in season one, when he declines to fight the drunk jackass at the Lobo (and then puts his hammer through his drywall - "well, it is Saturday"), it's in early January, and in the PMS episode of season three it's in early November. So it has always been in winter, at least, but that's it.

Like anything else of that ilk, the Bertolli's frozen meals are heavy on sodium, and it's annoying how much less meat is included in each one now compared to when they first came out, but I, too, like to keep a bag in the freezer for when I don't want to cook but want something cheaper than delivery. I like the chicken florentine & farfalle and shrimp penne & asparagus.

I was watching football last night and never got around to checking the archive, so I was pleased to see Jennifer still there tonight - and then to see her win again. The Pritzker TS surprised me a bit as architecture is a frequent enough J! subject I’d have thought at least one of three people who prepped to compete on the show would know the industry's big prize. My only real surprise of the game was Ben not even having a guess on the Amnesty International DD, but, then again, I suspect he had too many organizations swirling around in his head to pick one in time. Kudos to the J! writers for using Colin Kaepernick as one of the clue's two examples of "defenders of human rights" who've been honored as Ambassador of Conscience.

That's my favorite Roxette song.

I finally had a chance to watch the episode that aired Thanksgiving weekend, and it sounds like Mutt was a wonderful person; how tragically sad that he didn't live to see his son. I love that before he even worked there, just knowing a rescue had moved into the area, he put up that big sign asking people not to set off fireworks because there was a dog rescue nearby. Sweet Tart has a good temperament for a house with three kids. "She's nice, and kind, and fluffy". It's really nice that she'll be not just a pet, but a daily living reminder of Mutt. LOL at Moe saying teaching Lizzy and getting the project done at the same time is a task. That's how I feel when I show my non-handy friends how to do something. I also laughed at Lizzy telling him to stop throwing the screws on the ground, to hand them to her instead, and then saying, "Ow, now I have tetanus" when he did. Go-Go testing out the new agility equipment was adorable. When Tiptoe puts weight on and grows into that head, he's going to be a big boy.

Oh man, I loved several of their songs. This was a long, hard-fought battle: This is lovely:

Well, fuck. Ninety eight percent of the time, I think I'm so numbed by the Giant's only-partially-explicable descent into mediocrity and then suckitude that a loss doesn't bum me out, but then there are nights like tonight. I obviously hate the Eagles (fly into a plate glass window, Eagles, fly), and this game did show Eli is among the least of the G-Men's problems, but still - I wanted the second half to proceed like the first half did. Alas, while I hate the Eagles less than I hate the Cowboys - duh, as there's division rivalry and then there's evil - whatever pathetic representative of the NFC East survives will be knocked out in the playoffs as they deserve. Draft picks. Blah, blah, blah. I just would have liked to see my man Eli come away with a win tonight; because I'm never letting McAdoo's bullshit go, whatever my feelings on this season's benching.

Watching from behind Belichick as he flipped his shit about the KC fumble being blown dead reminded me of George Costanza: Boo hoo, the Pats got hosed on a couple of big calls. Not right, but I also cannot summon up the will to care. Come playoff time, it will once again become a penalty to wave a hand in the general direction of Tom Brady or sneeze too forcefully in his presence, and all will be right in New England's dirty little cheating world again.

Whew! Okay, thank you, Kansas City, and sorry I spent half an hour yelling at you.

Come the fuck on, Kansas City! You have to play all four quarters, especially against the Patriots.