Bastet

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.

For those who don't like to clink on links that aren't clear as to what the article is about, that's about the death of René Auberjonois, who died today at age 79 of metastatic lung cancer: Sounds like he had the perfect attitude for a character actor. I knew him from the MASH and Benson roles primarily, but had seen him in numerous other things as well -- 228 screen credits to his name!

Yes! The presence of Mimi Kennedy was absolutely equal to that of Allison Janney in my decision to give this show a shot despite it being a Chuck Lorre production.

Yes, I use them. I use several things, and I still get nauseated on the water under many conditions. It's a shame, because I love being near/in/on a body of water - I even have a tattoo representing water, because of how much water calms me - but boats and I have a contentious relationship. It's a good thing I have no interest in going on a cruise for several other reasons, so I don't feel I'm "missing out".

And that's exactly why it was time to move on from Helton, despite his players loving him and the costly buyout of his contract, but USC's new AD opted to waste another year on him. Speaking of stupid decisions by USC ADs, I still wonder what could have been with Ed Orgeron. When Pat Haden opted not to keep him on (after he served as interim HC following Lane Kiffin's hilarious firing on the tarmac), I understood it -- USC had lost to UCLA under him, and word was USC was going to bring in a big name coach. But then it was Steve Sarkissian, and WTF with that shit, dude? So after Sarkissian's anemic tenure, I always wondered what Orgeron would have done in that same time, and when I see him win the SEC with LSU, I'm happy for him. Also that it likely puts OU in the number four slot. Which brings me to not knowing how to feel about the Big 10 championship; I hate Ohio State (in general, with that "The" nonsense, and especially with Urban Meyer associated in any way), so I'd love to see Wisconsin knock them off, but not if that would screw up OU's chance. It shouldn't, as Wisconsin would still have two losses and should only knock Ohio St. down, but beating the number one team in a conference championship game could do weird things to voters. So I was a little hesitant in my ultimately fruitless rooting for Wisconsin tonight. But the Buckeyes won, and here we are with the presumed final four. I think LSU should be on top, and thus face OU in the Peach Bowl. And I fear for OU's chances.

I haven't seen this one, but is he doing anything else? If he's not cooking, cleaning, or otherwise setting things up at home, and his only role for the holiday meal is picking things up at the store, then that's just what happens, even if it happens more often than it should because of other people's forgetfulness. There's no way someone who's cooking a holiday meal should have to also go out and shop for last-minute ingredients if some otherwise useless blob is available to do it, no matter why the last-minute need arose.

I'll share mine: I hate it. I hate the book (and I'm not one who automatically hates stories about shitty people doing shitty things; in fact, I like a good number of them), and I hate just about everything inspired by it other than the Kate Bush song.

I've never had that happen, but I keep my online ordering from big box stores to a bare minimum (because of how the warehouse workers are treated), so it probably just hasn't happened to me yet. It's sad that it's because of unrealistic "deliver X packages per hour" requirements imposed on the drivers (like the ridiculous timelines given to warehouse workers for locating items and sending them down the line). Companies offering low prices and free shipping comes at a human cost. I can't believe it's already Dec. 7th. I haven't even managed to get my exterior lights up yet, and I normally do that the Sunday after Thanksgiving. But I wound up napping and watching football instead, and rain is keeping me from it this weekend. I think I can knock off early Monday and do it then. Then I need to get a tree and get the inside of the house decorated. I used to just decorate the living room (where the tree is), but last year I bought additional items and also did the study, dining room, and bathrooms. It didn't look like Christmas threw up in any of those rooms, and the overall effect really made me happy (I am not generally in "the Christmas spirit", whatever that is, so for Christmas decorations to make me happy is a big thing). So I want to get that going this year. And, of course, I still need to figure out what I'm getting anyone as gifts and go shopping; I need to arrange my schedule so I can take a day next week to do that (I cannot handle weekend crowds ever, let alone at the holidays). My parents already have everything! And I don't want to get something just to get something, but I don't want them sitting there done after a few presents each while I keep opening. So it gets harder every year to come up with things they'll use and enjoy. I have a couple of things for my mom already, but that's it so far. @StatisticalOutlier, any cool things for the motorhome ideas? That heated mattress pad I got them based on your review two or three years ago continues to be a huge hit. And things for the RV are perfect as gifts for the two of them together. It's just they pretty much have everything in there, too. @auntlada, are you watching the Big 12 championship? My big peeve for the day is Jalen Hurts putting the damn ball in Baylor's hands, which is what he did last time they played. Baylor is playing the Big 12 championship with a backup QB and gaining fewer offensive yards than my cat could if she put her mind to it; OU should be beating the shit out of them instead of looking to squeak by with another win. The number four slot is on the line!

Aww. He will always be Freddie Ugo from my favorite awful movie, Rhinestone. But I've seen him in so many things, and always enjoyed him - never more than when he was playing a slimeball, which is a sure sign of good acting.

Utah is getting beat like they stole something. I expected Oregon to dominate - Utah is overrated - but this is really something so far. In other Pac-12 news, USC is keeping Clay Helton. That's pretty astoundingly stupid; who cares if he's a good guy if he's not a good coach?! He's had plenty of time to prove himself, and he hasn't. As a consequence, game attendance has fallen and the recruiting class is anemic. (I haven't looked it up, but alumni donations are probably down, too, which is a sad commentary, but a fact of life.) If there isn't a big turnaround next season, he has to finally be shown the door, but it's a tough season - opening on the road against Alabama, playing Notre Dame early, and playing Oregon, Stanford, and Utah on the road. The new AD just delayed the inevitable, and the recruiting fallout is going to be felt even after Helton is gone. I'm really looking forward to the OU-Baylor rematch in tomorrow's Big 12 championship. Well, I'm looking forward to the second half - it's on at 9:00 a.m. here, so that's all I'm going to see. Go Sooners! I like the number four slot in the playoffs coming down to the wire.

And Neil Young. Pink comes very close, with an added S, with "Stupid Girls".