Bastet

I liked hers best because she's the one the Bartlets had put out there time and again to answer questions about the president's health; she wasn't lying, because she didn't know, but she's the one who was going to be scrutinized almost as much as the two of them; every news station in the country (and beyond) is going to assign an intern to pull up every frame of footage in which she mentions the president's health and put together a package. Yet she was still one of the last to be told, which made me even angrier on her behalf.

Christy has been serving drinks in a restaurant for nearly 15 years now (assuming she's still there; I only watch in syndication, so the plots I read about here don't always stick in my mind until I actually see them happen), and once she got sober, it didn't become a problem for her to keep doing that, so I don't think working at Adam's bar would be much different.

There's also an entrance to that bathroom off the little hallway, so she wouldn't have to walk through the bedroom (and he might sleep through the toilet flushing and water running; he and Roseanne probably got used to hearing each other get up in the middle of the night and acclimated to sleeping through it). And, hell, they've retconned that basement so much, it may magically have a bathroom now. I think the crying baby should be as far away from everyone else trying to sleep as the house allows, and the basement is also the most private. And, like you said, it's a good size, so I think Becky and the baby are the best fit for it.

A friend and I just saw that one last night, and in the pause before Captain Obvious responds, I said "birth control" as she said "no kids", so we laughed pretty hard at "condoms," which is definitely the best line of the three.

I had to read the archive, and I'm a little bummed I won't get to see Alex calmly read the shouted movie lines. I'm shocked Sydney was a TS; how did no one even guess that?! Woke was pretty surprising, too. The Member of the Wedding and mausoleum, I would have thought someone would get, too, but it's those first two that really surprised me. I could not for the life of me remember Jerry Maguire. I was sitting here mentally muttering "Cameron Crowe movie, Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., that 'Did you know the human head weighs eight pounds?' kid, 'You had me at hello' -- goddammit, what is the name of that film?!" and it just would not come to me.

Which is the first of dozens of things that need to exist in order to be married to/raise a family with someone. Just because they love each other doesn't mean they're good for each other, and the writers are doing a piss poor job of showing why on earth Darlene would want to not just amicably co-parent with but get back together romantically with the man who abandoned not only her but their children, for many years, and who is only newly back in their lives. Loving him is a given. She always will. But trusting him as a romantic partner and as a father, and wanting to be with him in that way again? The writers rushed that in a way that makes no sense. Of course, those two haven't been good for each other since way back when she lived in Chicago as a teenager, yet they kept getting back together and she even decided to marry and have a kid with him, so it's not a total surprise that they're still doing this ridiculous dance, but they have a lot more on the line this time around.

Flames on the side of my face hate them.

Oh, talk of books reminded me of one of my favorite airport encounters: As I was reading Anita Hill's Speaking Truth to Power while waiting to board a flight, someone approached me and asked, "Are you enjoying the book?" I looked up, and there was Anita Hill smiling at me. She was passing by my group of seats on her way to another gate, saw what I was reading, and stopped to ask. We chatted briefly about the book before she headed off to her gate.

I agree. Long before we knew Dustin Hoffman is an asshole, a friend and I were behind him and his family at a miniature golf course. There were five of them, so there were several holes where we had to wait for them to finish. At the end, when the others went to return the clubs, he turned to us and apologized for the holdups. We said it was no problem, and that we're fans of his work but didn't want to interrupt him while he was out with his family. He walked over to shake our hands and thank us for that. When I'm seated next to a celebrity on a plane, I just say hi; I'm a "regular person" and I don't like when someone who simply happens to have the seat next to mine feels the need to spend the flight conversing with me, so I'm not going to turn around and do it to anybody else. A few I've exchanged general chit chat with, but just between two passengers, not about them being celebrities. Now, if one of my absolute favorites, someone whose work I really like and who, from what I know of them, I admire the off-screen life of (activism, charity work, etc.), was seated next to me, I would at some point - not the moment she sat down - say something short and simple to that effect (and let her decide if any further conversation ensued). And I never say anything in a restaurant; people should not be disturbed while they're trying to eat a meal. At a bar, maybe - and I certainly said something (along the lines of "get the hell away from me") to a drunk-ass Vince Vaughn when he was hitting on me in one - but usually not. As for asking for something, I have no interest in autographs, and I never ask for pictures, either; I find it intrusive, and they have no way of knowing I don't use social media and thus the picture would never be posted anywhere, so I'm just not inclined to put someone on the spot like that. (At a fan event, it would be expected, but I don't go to those - I'm talking about running into a celebrity on a plane/at the airport, in the grocery store, on the street, etc.)

I'm glad it's back, even though it's largely yet another collection of songs I either don't like, don't know, or am "meh" about. I simply can't with Aaron Tippin's “Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly” or Florida Georgia Line's anything, and "One Night at a Time" is fine - and is in my head now - but George Strait has many better songs that could have been slotted here instead. I wasn't familiar with Carrie Underwood's "Blown Away," but based on the two "too low" opinions, I checked it out. I'm definitely not, well, blown away, but I'm also quite sure, based on what has been listed so far, that it will be better than a lot of what's ranked above it, so it probably is indeed too low.

"I was so happy when you had kids, because I knew we'd be here one day." LOL. Even though the writing isn't nearly as sharp for these kids as it was when Becky and Darlene were, it is indeed fun seeing patterns repeat with respect to Darlene parenting. It's quite realistic for Harris to, despite what a horrible father David became and remained for some time, respond to this godsawful love triangle by taking his side, snapping at Darlene for screwing him over. That's her dad, and after all those years of him being in the wrong, in this particular instance Darlene is the one doing dirty, and Harris switches on a dime. It's a dynamic seen all the time. I like the it takes a village storyline surrounding Becky and her baby: Louise playing off Becky's freak-out as dinner theatre made me laugh, but then her summoning Dan (who summoned Darlene) was sweet. And then Darlene acting like "home" is her house and inviting Becky, but Dan going right along with it, and the latest incarnation of the ever-changing basement. Becky had a decent life which finally had potential for a little bit of advancement going until she decided to derail it by parenting, but with her support system, she may very well muddle through into something good like those before her. John Goodman is doing a terrific job with Dan's conflicting emotions about Louise, and - in complete opposite of my fears generated by all the articles about how she goes full-court press despite his gentle refusal last season - I like how Louise is handling those conflicting emotions. I know it's very common for widowers to move on quickly (while widows tend to take much longer, or decline to ever sign up for another serious commitment), but I hope they'll let this play out at a pace that respects the fact he's not yet ready to date again after losing the woman he'd been happily (not every day, of course, but overall) committed to since he was a teenager - this is a scenario where a longer trajectory than the statistics would be right. Dan telling Jackie the truth (to which she responded in Mandarin, heh) and later Becky hugging it out with her captured well Jackie's personality and dynamic within the family. They're doing a good job continuing to incorporate her even though Roseanne is gone. I don't think they made good use of Dan Aykroyd, but from the promos it seems this Blues Brothers reunion was but one of several former co-stars reuniting gimmicks the network is doing, so shows had to shoehorn them in.

Babies have to be at least 15 days old to film, and those that young have the strictest limits on how long they can work (20 minutes per day, not just at a time), how long they can be exposed to the bright lights of a TV studio (only 30 seconds at a time, which means filming is realistically all but impossible), etc., so until you get to the 6 month-2 year category, you can barely use a baby/kid. It's just the nature of filming that a character who's a full-term newborn will be played by an older (and thus larger) infant, and it's certainly true that a supposed preemie will not be played by a baby who's small enough - using real infants as props/characters is inherently problematic (on several fronts), and using a doll instead would inspire its own set of "unrealistic!" complaints.

Good gods, another “Women [Profession]” category; will it ever stop? Things were going well in the first round, with only two TS, and while there weren’t all that many more than that in DJ, a couple of those were surprising. Support most of all, given the two straightforward definitions. Viola and Newport News just a bit. That no one knew Steve Kroft by sight or bit of trivia, okay, but thinking he was Andy Rooney was unexpected.

Oh, dear; that's a crime against beef, period, but that cut? My best friend eats everything well done (yet will eat raw fish, so go figure), and the time she ordered prime rib well done was the one time I could not contain my eye roll. It always boggles my mind to look at an old cookbook, or the integrated thermometer settings on my '50s oven, and see what the recommended internal temperatures for various meats at various levels of doneness were - stuff was called for damn near being cremated. So at least back then there was an excuse. (I know there's still one now - the simple concept that we like what we like - but in certain situations it still doesn't compute in my brain.)

I never close any of my interior doors, so it used to be that when a guest closed the bathroom door behind her/him, there would be two cats pawing at it, wondering why on earth they were being denied visitation. Thankfully, pretty much everyone who visits me also has pets and is familiar with the routine rather than feeling stalked by furry creepers. But the cat I have now doesn't like anyone other than me, so she has no interest in what guests are doing, just how soon they'll be leaving.

Only somewhat fair, indeed. Even in the '70s, ordering "a beer" in real life would generally get you a "Bud okay?" or similar because people had preferences among those three godsawful offerings. So it was always a shortcut on TV to order "a beer" and just get handed one, but not the ridiculous scenario it is now and has been for some time.

Yes! And then brings them a bottle. It would be one thing if it was on tap, so we could handwave that unless you specify a beer, you mean what's on tap (and that there's only one, which is virtually unheard of, but I could go with it), but how did the bartender know what bottle to grab? The bar only carries one beer? Not even a choice between lager and ale, regular and light? I don't think so. Or when a character orders "the house red". Okay, but most restaurants have a house merlot and a house cabernet at least. I know they don't want to name check a beer or wine, or take up extra screen time with back and forth about a drink order that is not relevant to the plot, but they could get specific in a way that doesn't do either one, yet still presents a believable scenario for ordering. "I'll have a glass of whatever non-oaky chardonnay you recommend" or "I'll take whatever IPA you have on tap" would not be distracting the way an order for "beer" is.

The retcon started when Sarah Chalke assumed the role in the original series; Darlene treated New Coke Becky like an airheaded bimbo, when Original Recipe Becky was neither. Having established in the revival and this continuation series that Becky engaged in numerous one-night stands and short casual sexual relationships following Mark's death (and up until her pregnancy), they've also - and via comments by characters in addition to Darlene - made several explicit references to so-called slutty behavior well into Becky's past, when we know that's not true. Maybe because it's Lecy back in the role, but it doesn't bother me as much as it did the first time around. I think I've just accepted I have to roll with it as one way in which the characterization in general is much broader, and not always accurate, this time around. (Except for jokes recasting adults abusing their authority over the minors under their care and control as "ha ha, slutty girls kissing their teachers" - that will always bother me.)

I can't be the only one who looks at the "Lanford ... Lanford" (no D) title and hears season one Jackie in the mall groaning, "Lanford, Lanford"? ("Cities in Illinois.") Anyway, that logline is perfect: BAD LUCK AND POOR CHOICES ARE WHAT LANFORD LIFE IS ALL ABOUT

Add me to the eating ice cream out of the carton list; why I would create another dirty dish when it comes in a container tailor made for just sticking a spoon in it, I don't know. Even when a friend and I have ice cream during movie night, we just each grab a spoon and share the carton. I'm pretty sure I own an ice cream scoop, but I have no memory of ever using it. I think it's quite common in real life, but it is funny that everyone on TV eats it that way. Just like eating Chinese food directly from the cartons. Taking a swig of milk or juice directly from the bottle/carton/jug and putting it back in the fridge, though, that I've never seen someone do in real life. It amuses me that it's always just the one gulp - you don't see characters take the beverage container with them to the couch and continue to sip from it. It's always the at-the-refrigerator scenario. Also, those who drink tea drink any type of tea. "Would you like some tea?" never leads to "What kind do you have?" or taking a pass because it might not be a kind she (because, let's face it, it's usually a she) enjoys and she doesn't feel close enough to the host to inquire. I enjoy some teas and can't stand others; there's a wide variety of flavors, but on TV it's just "tea".

And wine and martinis/cosmos are the only things women drink. No beer, unless the writers are hammering home a "she's one of the guys" characterization, no whiskey on the rocks, etc.

I won't be home tonight, so I just read the clues on the archive, and I can't believe yoga was a TS, especially with pilates ruled out. Bail was also surprising as a TS. I figured all three would get FJ, so my powers of prediction were way off today. I got all but one of the TS (I didn't know the architect, either), but I missed quite a few that the contestants got right. Mostly in the American Revolution category; war history doesn't interest me, so a lot of it doesn't stick.

I'm not; I think the majority of people say it wrong.

Here's the CTV interview (there are video links included; the total piece is about 20 minutes long) in which Alex says he'll keep doing the show until his skills diminish to the point he's bothered by his performance (and that he's in constant communication with the producers about what's happening, like having trouble enunciating because the chemo has caused mouth sores) and that there are moments he has some regrets about going public with his diagnosis and becoming the de facto spokesperson for people with pancreatic cancer. But there's a lot more than that, and it's not at all a dire interview. He goes into some detail about his treatments and reiterates that he's not afraid of dying (other than the possibility of dying before becoming a grandfather, joking "hint hint" to his kids in the other room). There's also a look back at his career trajectory and a bit about his continued support of his alma mater and some charities he's been long involved with. And a nice moment when he talks about how proud he is of his kids for being more compassionate than he was at their age (there's extended talk about his family, but that was my favorite moment). As usual, he's simultaneously honest and upbeat -- he's still working, still fixing things around the house, still traveling, still doing his charitable work, and he'll just keep chugging along with treatment until he either wins or loses.

In some markets, at some times, if you don't offer over asking, you will never have your offer accepted. When it's really a seller's market, prospective buyers will include notes to the seller, presenting themselves as the best people to assume stewardship of the property (e.g. I may not wind up being the highest offer, but no one could love this home more than me because of reasons). It can get quite crazy.