Bastet

Lite-Brite! I had a lot of fun with that as a kid, and haven't thought about it since. Sit (siéntate) was a mildly surprising TS. I can read Spanish pretty well (my verbal skills have devolved to rudimentary, though), so I translated all of them easily, but the clues were obviously not predicated on being able to do so and I thought someone would at least guess that one, especially with two wrong guesses ruling out other simple commands. (“Trae el palo” not leading anyone to "fetch (bring) the stick", on the other hand, I correctly predicted.) I was also mildly surprised no one at least guessed Geronimo. I loved the classic metal and real-life metaphors categories (although I think that one belonged in the first round). In fact, I loved the game in general; I’d missed quite a few episodes this season already, so it was a nice welcome back to only miss a couple of clues. But count me in on calling bullshit on “The Mooch” being accepted for Anthony Scaramucci. That should have yielded a BMS prompt. The clue didn’t ask for a nickname, so they wanted the name. If the nickname was all Jason could remember, and he couldn’t be more specific when asked, it should have been up for grabs for the next person to ring in. He probably knew the name, but make him prove it.

I'm assuming all the messages specified why this stranger was contacting her, and I think she should have responded to the first one within a day or two, saying "Thank you. I'll talk with [son], check our schedule, and let you know". With or without any initial response, definitely by the Wednesday before a Saturday party she should have let you know if her son was attending or not. Her lack of response is rude. But I also would be annoyed by someone - especially someone I don't know - leaving me that many messages and then coming to my office (especially if I knew she was also asking other people for ways to get in contact with me). However, I'd never tell my kid about it, period, let alone use it as a reason he can't go to a party! That's not information you give to a little kid who is inevitably going to go repeat it to his little buddy, creating this weird situation they don't even understand.

You get a party thrown for you when you're a kid. As an adult, if you want to gather a group of people to celebrate your birthday, you send out invitations and host a party. No, she's not actually an adult in anything other than the legal sense, but if she wants to think she is, then this is one of the lessons to learn. If you want to pull something simple together and invite your family (who can then decide whether or not to attend), go right ahead. But if you're not going to host any sort of family party for her this year (and I wouldn't), you shouldn't be facilitating anything. Everyone has everyone's contact information. If someone in your family wants to invite her over/out as a birthday treat, they can. If she wants to reach out to someone in your family and invite them to get together, she can. We all know this has zip-point-shit to do with "they're my family" and everything to do with "I want presents". So any communication will be because someone else initiated it. That's on her. She'll also bitch and moan that only Dad's side could be bothered to celebrate her birthday. He'll feed on that for a week at least. It is what it is. Let anyone in your family who wants to talk to/see her despite her year-long disregard for them do whatever they choose - give her a call, send her a card, invite her out to lunch or over for cake, whatever. You do whatever you want to do with/for her. The rest is on her.

W is for “Where the hell have you been?” when Original Recipe Becky returned

The flat cut is readily available at supermarkets here, but I'm not sure about a whole (I've never looked for one, but it seems as if something that large would catch my attention). A quick internet search suggested Costco, Smart & Final, and Whole Foods as sources for whole brisket, but I'm sure even in areas with those stores it varies as to if and when it's stocked. I checked the website for my local Whole Foods out of curiosity, and whole brisket is a suggested search term, but only the flat cut was listed when the available results were brought up.

A "bye" is having a round off from play; a team (or, in this case, show) is ranked highly enough by the rules of the tournament that its slot is assured and it gets a rest while the others duke it out for the remaining slots, and then competition proceeds in subsequent rounds. This Emmy bracket is based on sports tournaments, thus the terminology. (It's not just tournament play; there's also a bye week in regular season play in some sports. It just refers to when a team does not play in a given round of competition.)

Liberty Mutual. Thus the Statue of Liberty. And, yes, they're all awful.

I finished the series in the wee hours of the morning when I couldn't get back to sleep for a while. "Anybody who can't make money off of Sports Night ought to get out of the money-making business" remains one of the greatest burns. In the commentary for the finale, I love how much Tommy Schlamme* rejoices in that line ten years later. *On one hand, I don't know why his parents did that to him, but on the other it's one of the world's greatest names. In the commentary, Aaron Sorkin said he thought they had a 50/50 chance of being renewed (Schlamme said he was normally the optimist in their relationship, but he thought it was less than that). Has anyone ever heard what, if anything, Sorkin had planned for season three storylines? Because I don't recall ever reading about it, and a quick internet search just now didn't turn anything up. I suspect doing SN and WW simultaneously (and then recovering from that during hiatus) meant he hadn't even thought that far ahead yet by the time SN was cancelled, especially since he tended to be a last-minute writer (and not just late to coming up with specifics, but with story ideas).

This made me tear up. You'll be in my thoughts Wednesday.

The CU folks are right -- you absolutely must pronounce this "Swaangin'". Speaking of John Anderson, I wonder if "Straight Tequila Night" is on the list. I love that song.

My primary concern coming into this was that it might idealize country music as "America's music/something for everyone/made by and for those left out," giving lip service to how it was "influenced by" black music without addressing the degree to which it was and is exclusionary, sometimes outright hostile, to blacks, other people of color, women, non-Christians, and the LGBT community (this is true of many genres, but has been a particular problem in country). The first episode made me feel both better and worse about that fear. I knew I wouldn't be home for the original (8:00) airing, but my station was immediately repeating it at 10:00 and midnight, so I figured I'd get in bed early for the night and watch. Oops; I neglected to factor in the soporific effect of Peter Coyote's soothing voice. So I dozed off some, but between the two airings I saw it all. There wasn't a lot in the way of individual bits of information I hadn't learned at some point before, but weaving it together into a narrative was something I hadn't read/heard in quite some time, so it was an excellent refresher course on the origins. We have quite a few years to go before we get to the kinds of country I enjoy listening to (in broadest terms, '60s through '00s), but that doesn't in any way diminish my enjoyment of the episodes covering the earlier periods.

I've been re-watching the show lately (first time in several years), and was just watching Dana without thinking about FH's situation until I got to that line night before last. I was very much taken out of the show again last night in the episode where their crowd footage is subpoenaed and they talk about how Dana could go to jail if she doesn't turn it over and she wouldn't do well in jail! Every time I watch the show, Jeremy is even more insufferable than the last time. But his speech against hunting remains one of my favorite things in the entire series. Natalie annoys me a little more each time, too; I have to remind myself she's pretty young. Actually, all the things that bother me about the show irritate me more strongly each time, but I also adore even more the things I love about it. Like what a terrific boss Isaac is; two fundamentals - "If you're smart, surround yourself with smart people who disagree with you" and not fitting in is how qualified people lose jobs, but also often how they wind up working for him - are at the root of it.

The tumor on Medic's head was huge! At first I couldn't even figure out where his cute floppy ear was on that side, but then he turned his head and I could see it was behind the tumor. I'm glad he got to keep it, but I wonder how long it will take for another tumor to form and how big it will get. Kayla getting attached to the dog she found in the parking lot was cute, as was Zelda going tail-wagging and licking crazy at being reunited with her mom. But, dude, get your dog chipped and put an ID tag/collar on her. Kayla said shelters use a 10-day hold for an owner to claim their pet before it's put up for adoption, which surprised me; in my area, it's 3-5 days. Lexi (the boxer mix with the torn ACL)'s grey face is adorable; I love the visibly old faces. I laughed at Dr. Lavigne covering his ears when they talked about the table scraps they feed her (after he congratulated them on keeping her at the proper weight). I'm glad the chinchilla's story made clear age is not per se a reason not to do surgery; if the heart and kidneys are up to handling anesthesia, go for it if it's needed.

Scott Conant lost all right to level charges of looking stupid when he had a meltdown that using tongs was disrespectful to a dead fish.

First, my continued sympathy about this terrible situation. Hell no on the transportation money (unless it's as a gift card as others suggested). As for the birthday, I think I'd go ahead and do it on a Wednesday night. While she is acting like a real piece of shit, she's your daughter and asking to spend time with you for her birthday; go ahead and be a little tired Thursday morning. Now, when you don't give her anything other than dinner/a gift card, and she snots off about it - because that, not time with you, is what she wanted - instead of appreciating you accommodating her schedule, you have another reason to know you need to continue backing away from her. But I think you kind of need that confirmation, so go with her schedule so you requesting something different can't be used as a distraction. Maybe ditch the electronic connections. By which I mean get her off your cell phone plan so she has to take care of that on her own. No, you won't be able to track her should she follow the next five-minute love of her life somewhere. You also won't have the option of spending emotional energy worrying about what she's doing based on her call log. Change whatever it is that allows you to look at her bank account activity. It doesn't help you to see what she's blowing her money on and probably harms you to have those specifics in your mind all the time. If you don't have the willpower not to access phone and bank data - and I wouldn't, either! - you need not to have the option. Ignorance isn't bliss, but will worrying about the unknown really be worse than worrying daily about the info you pull up on your screen? I think it will be easier to get caught up in your own life if you're not monitoring hers electronically. She's screwing up like it's her job, and her father is enabling her. You know that; you don't need the details.

Cypress Lake is a hike from the city and country locations (everything is a distance from the country location), and from what we've seen of vet visits, it seems like they use Cypress Lake for the country dogs still but have found a new vet (not the one they went to upon first relocating to New Orleans) in the city to use for the warehouse dogs. And, yeah, there could be additional clinics that don't think the publicity is worth the hassle of filming. Yay for new episodes on the horizon. Boo to cloning your dog! WTF, Dr. Kristen? It doesn't define her or wipe out the good she does, but damn.

Whatever his unappreciative ass opts to make as side dishes?

Ugh, is that one back in rotation? I haven't seen it in some time. I hate all those slo-mo "Nooooo" Bounty ads because the idiots should always just yank out of the way whatever is in the path of the spill rather than relying on their paper towel's absorbency. At least they don't actually show someone leaping in with a Bounty towel to stop the spill while the threatened object remains, but the mere implication that's the solution is stupid enough to annoy me. I don't specifically have a problem with the kid goosing her dad with the plastic sword, though (and I say this as someone who can't stand kids); he's surprised, not injured, and it's the kind of thoughtless thing that can inadvertently result in a spilled drink. My only potential issue is if she's too old not to realize involving him in a game he doesn't know he's playing may be a problem, but my deliberately-limited exposure to kids (see above "can't stand 'em") means I am pitiful at estimating ages.

“Tourist Trap” is one of the few episodes I don’t really like. I don’t hate it by any means, and I don’t have issues with it like I do “Party Foul”, but the actor playing the victim’s wife is stupefyingly awful, and I have no idea how that happened since the casting on this show is so great (her English accent is horrible – I looked her up, and she’s from Kansas – and she might come off better if she wasn’t trying so hard at that, but she can't cry convincingly either). The hit man is such a collection of stereotypes I am surprised they didn’t just go ahead and dress him in a Manchester United jersey (his accent is one of the many things overdone - the actor is Irish - but it’s better than hers). The journalist borders on caricature, too, so the best I can say is the actor is actually English. The gun-owning grandma is another ridiculous cartoon - “now that I’ve learned how to use the clicker” is a lowlight - and in another episode I’d let it slide for the funny reactions to her. My favorite moment involves her, though, when she walks into the Murder Room, sees Sharon, Taylor, and Provenza standing together, and assumes the white guy is the one in charge. That sort of thing happens all the time across professions, but you don’t often see it acknowledged on TV. In addition to the characterization, the underlying premise of the episode is flawed -- a rash of unarmed purse snatchings in Venice made the news in England, giving the wife the idea to make her husband's death look like an escalated incident. Please; low-level street crime in Venice isn’t news in Los Angeles, let alone London. And Rusty basically whines that no one has time to play with him. But the dive team finding multiple weapons in the Venice canal is so sadly realistic it is indeed funny. I’m also amused by Amy’s quip “This is a formal investigation” when the reporter asks tuxedo-clad Mike if he always dresses like that for work. Mike getting out of the limo at the crime scene is inadvertently funny, too, because Cathy isn’t with him and the people from the show are all young women, so it looks like he’s been out partying with Badge of Justice groupies. I like the little touch that when the reporter is recording his conversation with Sharon, his phone really is recording. And that, as always, they show an actual crappy picture-in-picture when showing a video chat. Realistic props make me happy. I also like Andy giving in to something Sharon clearly gets on him about after hours – a touch I love every time they allude to it – and seemingly getting over his Badge of Justice issue to invite Mike to celebrate the win at work, but stabbing the cake when no one is looking. I also love that the category of the fourth-string award Mike won was basically Best Cop Show With a Three-Word Title On Cable TV. And, as I said last week, I love Amy shutting down Cooper’s badgering about having kids. It gives context to how irritated she got with Cynthia in the last episode, and it’s terrific to see a woman on TV tell her boyfriend if he must have kids he needs to find someone else (rather than capitulating on something enormous in order to keep him). “Moral Hazard” I like, in spite of my boredom with white guys convinced the system is out to get them villains. My favorite part is a little thing: Provenza wondering how the killer made his getaway from the tow yard – “the Uber”? It just never gets old. I have three nitpicks. First, where is Downey’s body and why did Chase bother to hide it somewhere when he’d just left everyone else behind where he killed them? (And killed people on camera; he's not trying to get away with anything, just stay ahead of them long enough to execute his plan at the conference.) It’s not in the gas station bathroom trash can (where Chase changes clothes and ditches his bloody ones), it’s not in his bags, it’s not in the trunk of Downey’s car; Chase went somewhere specifically to hide it, and that’s such an unresolved departure from his MO, I get distracted by it (when I’d probably forget all about it if Sharon and Taylor didn’t mention at the end that they still haven’t found it). Second, the water company boss’s bedroom is one of the few crime scenes where they don’t don booties, which becomes particularly noticeable when Sharon walks right onto the bloodstained rug. Sharon’s feet bring me to number three; she has her office heels on when she gets out of the car at the hotel, but when we next see her there, she has on the ankle boots she always wears in the field when she might need to spring into action. She’d have changed in the car and thus should’ve had them on when she got out. My only real irritation with the episode is Patrice. As I’ve said before, Dawnn Lewis is the reason I like the character, because she’s frequently not written well. Here, she is one of those characters who knowingly marries someone with a dangerous but beloved job and then complains about it (see, e.g., Fritz Howard). Unless Provenza lied to her and said he’d like to retire but the only reason he won’t is because of his pension agreement with Liz, she is out of line haranguing him; he wants to die at his desk, period. She comes around nicely in the end, but it’s behavior I just cannot abide. (And like with Fritz’s attitude towards the danger of Brenda’s job being especially ridiculous because he has the same damn job, Patrice is extra lame in her fit because this is her second married to a homicide detective rodeo.) Also, who the hell who’s so much as met him for five minutes brings Louie Provenza beets and goat cheese as a treat? But I love Gus’s frustration with Rusty’s Identity obsession, and that he won’t waste his own time on it – he just walks away and Rusty can either follow him or skip the movie. I also love Taylor’s “Good luck with that” about Sharon and Andy moving in together and that his attitude just amuses them. And Sharon’s “I gather from the hushed tone of this conversation that Buzz already told you” when Rusty hopes to get a different answer out of her to the question of using the partial print, and that she never looks away from what she’s marking on the map to pay attention to his meddling until then. I like that when Sharon, Amy, and Buzz see Chase hit the courtyard after jumping, Buzz has the strongest reaction; he’s used to filming the aftermath of violent crimes, but doesn’t have as much experience as they do seeing awful things happen in real time; excellent restraint by Mary McDonnell and Kearran Giovanni. (And the scene of Chase falling amidst the bills is nicely shot, and the aftermath of his going splat not quite as gruesome as it would actually be but I appreciate the restraint; realistic would have felt gratuitous.)

It didn't happen to the characters in an episode, it happened to the actors at a photo shoot (and was just two of them, I believe). Ha - that's twice in a row that I'm a few seconds too late in replying.

The whole thing is ridiculous, because Brian would've had a DNA test done to confirm paternity, and, if he didn't for some strange reason, Shay would've told him he needed to do so. So this whole secret DNA test thing is so ridiculous, I can't bother getting into the relationship dynamic underlying their argument. Also, she is a horrible actor, so I always just want their scenes to be done already. In other words, what @WalrusGirl posted while I was typing.

I think this is my favorite story of the thread! I've met several politicians through my work, but my favorite encounter came as a young teen tourist. I met John Glenn in the hallway outside his Senate office, and told him I'd written a 40-page report on the Mercury Seven in fifth grade. He asked me to send him a copy when I got home. I did (which involved taking my typed report to the copy shop, not just opening up a file 🙂 ), and got a nice little hand-written note back.

Every woman hates her mother-in-law. I love the episode of Cagney & Lacey where Harvey's mother is visiting, and every time someone at work hears about it, they start making sympathetic or sarcastic noises about how horrible this is for Mary Beth, and she gets ticked off at the assumption because she likes her mother-in-law and is enjoying her visit. While low-hanging fruit, in-law jokes and hijinks are often quite funny. But it's annoying - and sexist - that we almost never so much as hear reference to a good MIL/DIL relationship. A man may like one or both of his in-laws, a woman may like her father-in-law, but a woman getting along with her mother-in-law is virtually nonexistent on television.

That's a bummer, because, like you said in an earlier post, the ways in which country music has devolved (bro country, anyone?) and the startling extent to which women have been excluded from country radio since then are worthy topics of exploration. I'm also bummed Lynn Novick isn't involved with this (although I'm looking forward to seeing the reason for that, her solo directing debut College Behind Bars), but I'm looking forward to it.

Bless. It has no oomph. As the lead single for that film, it's a big ball of blah. As for Lana Del Rey, I cannot name one of her songs, so during breaks in football I am looking up her singles, to see if I recognize some and just didn't know who sang them. None yet (I've only listened to two, going in chronological order), but I like her voice and kind of dig the downer vibe.