Bastet

I adore every bit of that original "Dear Kitten," but "human larva" is my favorite part. My second-favorite installment is probably the one where he teaches the kitten about dogs:

If I could award my entire daily allotment of likes to one post, yours would have it, @Sun-Bun. Normally, when I have nothing more to add, I just "like" rather than respond, but even though you laid out everything I could have said and I've nothing of substance to add, I'm taking the extra step of a response. Because a-fucking-men from this sister responsible lush who is regarded rather differently in America than many other countries when adult drinking comes up as a topic and calls bullshit on the pearl clutchers.

That could be the caption for SO MANY pictures of her. There are numerous times when she's asleep in an adorable pose, and as I (briefly, as I have no camera skills) futz around to get a good shot, she wakes up and looks at me like, "Again, paparazzo?" So that's the pose I get. Perpetually annoyed myself, I rather like it. My absolute favorite picture of that ilk is included below, when, during my attempt to capture Maddie sleeping on the top tier of her perch, she woke up, stood up, and glared at me. The photo I shot at the end of that process is captioned "Why Are You Disturbing My Nap"? I think it's the only time in 15 years she ever gave me a dirty look, and it cracks me up. In other pet news, my mom's best friend - whom I've known all my life, as they've been best friends since they were neighbors as little kids - was at my parents' house this weekend for a visit and I went over last night to join in. As another animal person, she and I talked a lot about our pets. She has two dogs, one domesticated cat, and one feral cat she has been feeding for 14 years (and whom she got fixed and vaccinated way back then) who sometimes comes in the house - the other cat and dogs are indoor/outdoor, so there's always access between house and backyard (that the dogs can't get out of and the cats can if they put effort into it) - but who's one of those where even after all this time it's just talking and feeding, no touching. Her feral, Chub, had been missing for two months; the cat virtually never went out front, so she didn't think being hit by a car was likely, and, although a rural area, they have fewer coyotes than I do here in a close-in suburb, so she wasn't sure what had happened (there is a cat hoarder down at the end of the road, so relocating was a possibility, but after all this time?) but was obviously quite sad. My mom just called to say the friend had emailed to report she made it home just fine, and ALL pets were happy to have her back -- Chub was waiting for her on the porch! Quite a bit thinner than usual, but no visible wounds. It would be great if this misadventure prompts her to, in her golden years, not only never leave the backyard again, but retire indoors. Regardless of her obstinate choices, she's back where she'll always be loved and taken care of the best she'll allow.

For lunch I had a Big Salad (TM Elaine Benes, Seinfeld) with arugula, shaved parmesan, candied walnuts, tomato, caramelized red onion, and Persian cucumber, with balsamic vinaigrette. Dinner will be baked salmon (with a dill and garlic tartar sauce on the side), roasted asparagus, and the little bit of the salad I didn't finish (I figure things can't wilt in the dressing too badly in that time). The salmon is because my cat loves being treated to several bites of salmon whenever I make it, and today is the third anniversary of her adoption. (So, yes, fish as the feline equivalent of a birthday cake.)

Sorry for two posts; it kept giving me an error message even though the total file size was well under the stated max. Oh, holy hell, and now this one didn't merge, so it's three posts. I give up. Here's another photo to make it worthwhile:

Today is the third anniversary of Riley's adoption. The scaredy cat who, after five months hiding inside a box in her shelter cage, would dart back under the office couch every time I left the room and literally slept with one eye open because she was so on guard has long since made herself perfectly at home, but it still warms my heart to see her lounging around the house when I remember having to open it up to her one room at a time over a period of weeks.

It's so arbitrary and stupid. During a leisurely vacation breakfast, a friend and I ordered Bloody Marys, but they weren't very good, so for round two we both switched to vodka sodas. The server made some comment I can't recall specifically, but it was inane -- how does changing the mixer turn it into an "unacceptable" option? Vodka with tomato juice or orange juice, fine, but vodka with club soda you have to wait for "cocktail hour"?

Heh, lunch; 11:00 on a Sunday morning is about the time I'd haul myself out of bed. But I share the "I hate blue laws" sentiment. At least I only encounter them when I travel; it would suck to live with them. I once flew home from Oklahoma on a Sunday morning. I had my usual Bloody Mary on the flight from OKC to DFW, boarded a different plane in Dallas, and was asked if I wanted some orange juice or coffee. No thanks, but I'll take a Bloody Mary. Nope. Because we were in Texas (or maybe just the county DFW is in) and it was Sunday, no alcohol could be served while we were still on the ground. At least we didn't have to leave TX airspace, just take off, and the flight attendant brought me my drink as soon as we leveled off, but come on. It's quite disheartening how often one has to say, "You're entitled to your own opinion, not your own facts," these days.

I complain about those a lot, but I don't know if I've mentioned that the express lane at a nearby Smart & Final has two signs above it, about four feet apart, and one reads "10 Items or Less" and the other "10 Items or Fewer". I don't shop there very often, so I'm not sure of the sequence of events - given their respective placements, it seems to me like the "or fewer" sign was added later. So I like to fantasize enough customers told them "or less" was wrong that they ordered new signs. (And then forgot to remove the old ones?) I'll have to wander into another S&F one of these days to see if this is a pattern.

In my market, they air in syndication on Saturday nights - two episodes of Major Crimes followed by an episode of Rizzoli & Isles. It always reminds me of how much I used to like TNT's programming and how completely uninterested in it I am now.

Taylor's entire career was about playing the game to get ahead. It paid off when, as The Closer neared its end, Pope had to start making concessions in order to keep Major Crimes (his big accomplishment), with or without Brenda. Part of that was making Taylor Assistant Chief (despite the promotions freeze). So, Taylor had achieved his goal; with that position achieved, he became much less snake-like, because he wasn't angling for anything anymore - that's why Asst. Chief Taylor is different than Captain and then Commander Taylor. (Actually, it started before the promotion was official; once he knew he was going to get it (in the final episodes of The Closer), he actually started joining Sharon in running interference for Brenda.

They generally note that when it's the case, as victims' and suspects' financials are always part of the investigation when looking for motive, like with Lina's secret boyfriend being the financial scholarship kid among the teens' group in "Do Not Disturb," Bri's boyfriend living large on her ill-gotten gain because he's a scholarship student without any real money of his own in "Family Law," etc. Here, the only thing noted was that Keisha was at Santa Monica City College, which could be because Patrice had less money than Wes and Chip's parents, but could also be because of Keisha's lack of academic prowess -- after all, Chip was at San Diego State (before getting kicked out for dealing drugs). Nah, his attitude has shifted along with everyone else's. There are still some pointed remarks from Sharon, Dr. Joe, Provenza, Judge Grove, etc., but there's a subtle (it did take several viewings of the whole series before it stood out to me) but steady creeping in of those characters accepting or even praising things they would not have previously received that way. I think only Andrea stays consistent. But, as I said, at least Rusty himself continues to recognize - eventually - his faults. Actually, Andy evolved to speaking out against the idea of letting vigilantes get "justice" when the system can't. But, yes, Julio especially is generally down for it - especially in the cases of women whose rapists got away with it later killing said rapists, even where it's not self defense. It's an interesting aspect of his personality, as he was long such a contradiction of grossly sexist attitudes sprinkled with moments of non-patronizing chivalry, and especially because this is the era of the show in which he is moving far away from objectifying behavior. Anyway, I like that in this one no one is advocating for her to get away with a crime in circumvention of what the law intended, simply acknowledging that they absolutely do not have the evidence to make a case against her as the law requires - as Linda Rothman lays out, they can't even establish the cause of death as homicide rather than suicide - and admitting, yeah, her getting away with what they regard as manslaughter (given the state of mind she was put into via his actions upon finding out he'd fathered her son, not just the years-ago rape) is not the outcome they want, but they're not going to lose too much sleep over it, either.

As I’ve said before, Amira’s grandma in “Snitch” really ticks me off, yet I love the realism of her situation – she’s raising her kid’s kid for one of the reasons that happens, and she loves her and is keeping her reasonably safe in a sketchy neighborhood, but she’s not actually a very good guardian; Amira is consistently unsupervised, up way too late and/or left home alone (and not because Grandma has to work two jobs or the swing shift to support the kid; Granny is off at church). But it’s just there for the audience to notice, yet not harped on, that Amira somewhat raises herself; it’s just a straightforward presentation of a reality. I like Amy standing firm with Andrea and Taylor in protecting Amira, and Sharon backing her play to try to avoid needing the witness’s testimony – yet making sure Amy does not share that witness’s name with her, saying if that happens she’ll skip over all this jazz and stick her in protective custody. And the way they lure Twizz and Big Hazard into indeed snitching on each other, without actually putting either one in danger of lethal retaliation, is great, too. I’m also tickled by the touch Amira doesn’t know how to use a pay phone. And that Twizz’s fellow Monsters misspelled “snitch.” And Julio going all Scary Sanchez in the interview room, making everyone nervous he hasn’t changed a bit, only to have him nod at the camera to indicate it’s an act. And while I can’t with the narrative attitude towards Rusty starting this season, where we’re no longer invited to roll our eyes at his myopic antics via other characters’ reactions to him but are instead via those same characters now asked to find him the greatest thing since sliced bread – not to mention the increased focus on the various aspects of his life while not exploring the same thing in the other characters' lives - I still like Rusty himself, with all his immature, conflicting impulses ultimately coming out on the right side of things. Him telling Sharon she’s more important to him than any story he’ll ever tell is beautiful. And telling Dr. Joe Alice was killed by Slider, but also died of complications of apathy and neglect, and he knows that’s his story without Sharon – good stuff. I love Provenza’s “all of the above, and I’m glad you haven’t over-thought it” reaction to Andy declaring his intention to ask Sharon out on a real date (and find it adorable Andy runs it by him in the first place). I hate – in fact, resent – the fact they wrote this relationship yet failed to do a damn thing with it (implying they couldn’t just leave Sharon happily single, heaven forbid, because she’s a woman, but also couldn’t bother exploring the relationship, because she’s old), but there’s some funny stuff as it gets going: Provenza’s reaction here and, especially, the deleted scene at the end of “Personal Effects” where Rusty is utterly disgusted by learning Andy will be spending the night sometimes in the future. For all his specific issues resulting from the men and things to which he was exposed via his other mom, he’s also just a typical teenage guy disgusted by the fact his mom has sex, and it’s amusing. “Personal Effects” also makes me laugh quite hard at Sharon’s reaction to Provenza’s junk filling her condo. The way she studies those duck lamps (all the mocking of them throughout, knowing they belong to James Duff, is amusing – I loved Mary McDonnell saying “Poor Phillip” when Duff revealed he was taking those back home with him when the show was over) and her “Well, it can’t stay here until he figures all that out!” is all even better than her hilarious initial reaction when she’s snapped right out of her “he seems like a nice young man” fishing for info about T.J. when she gets a look at her living room and has one of her rare little freakouts. Great scene. As is Provenza telling Andy, “Please tell me you have a murder” when Andy calls while Patrice is marking so much of Provenza's stuff for give-away. I know they need to replace a good bit of his stuff with hers so it’s their place, not his in which she crashes, but her just announcing her friend will be redecorating – for which Provenza will foot half the bill – is a bit pushy. And it’s odd she’s moving into his place, given that when their Christmas in Laguna plans got waylaid by a case she said they could just stay in and cook at home – not at his place, of course, but hers. If her place is so much better, why aren’t they living there instead? (And I wonder what kind of place she was living in, because she sent Keisha to a prep school attended by rich kids like Wesley, with his BMW, and Chip, whose parents had that huge house we saw in “Party Foul,” yet she was a retired nurse who also had her late husband’s police pension – suggesting quite comfortable, but not rich.) I also get a little laugh out of Buzz noting Linda Rothman made her client cry and Provenza saying, “She probably showed her a bill.” The case is good for showing attitudes – good and bad - about rape; the DA calls it sex – Sharon has to correct him – and is fixated on the fact Mallory didn’t report (gee, I wonder why not), the rapist’s brother had multiple “complaints” about him at work but didn’t do anything about it because he didn’t want to upset his parents, the first victim remembers a detail she didn’t recount the first time because they don’t always all come out at once (and that doesn’t mean her recollection is suspect, thankyouverymuch), Andy says if a rapist stops drinking, what you have is a sober rapist (the booze isn’t why he did it), etc. And it’s a nice touch with Andy talking to another alcoholic with decades of sobriety under his belt, and finding out he slipped after all that time despite thinking he knew all his triggers. It’s the type of thing Sharon and Andy would talk about, given her experience with Jack, in considering getting involved, but, like virtually everything, we have to assume it happened off-screen.

Now that it's out on Blu-Ray, I finally watched Us this weekend, with a friend who'd seen it in the theatre. I quite liked it on the whole, but I join others here in wondering how the tethered - if they'd been abandoned in their '80s attire by the government - rounded up all those red jumpsuits and scissors. And, while it's obvious how the rabbits reproduced readily enough to maintain a steady supply, what did they eat? And how did these clones of humans subsist on nothing but raw rabbit, when that would actually lead to fatal illness? I'm also equal parts intrigued and confused by the who controls who aspect; the underground clones were developed as puppet masters, but wound up being the puppets, doomed to replicate what their above-ground doppelgangers were doing. This becomes a bit mind bending when it comes to Adelaide being replaced by Red. Which, of course, brings me to the Big Twist, that I hit pause and asked, "Wait, have I just figured the whole thing out already?" I diligently avoided spoilers, so via the trailer and limited word of mouth I just knew there were doppelgangers. My first guess, before seeing the film, was we'd think Good Twin had killed Bad Twin, and it would turn out it was actually Bad Twin who'd survived. But I was thinking of this in terms of two identical adults. Once the film got started, and young Addie in that creepy-ass hall of mirrors came upon what was obviously not a reflection, but a separate duplicate, I immediately switched to thinking that who we'd think of as Good Twin all along would actually have been Bad Twin as imposter, going back to this moment. I did waver on it, though - there were things that had me saying I was definitely right (my friend - quite diligently in light of the fact we were several drinks in before starting the film - stayed mum) and those that had me but wait, if she's really the bad twin, then why is she/why wouldn't she questioning my hypothesis. And since, in the end, I was right, some of those questions are plot holes, I can't label this a work of genius or anything, but it was quite enjoyable. And, as always with Jordan Peele, provided much food for thought and spot-on humor in the midst of the mystery/horror. It's such brilliant commentary on nature vs. nurture, and how privilege for some comes at the direct expense of others. "We are Americans" is The Line of the film. When the white folks - and oh how I love that the black family were the main, "all-American" characters (and all alive in the end), while the whites were the sassy dysfunctional friends, briefly seen and then butchered - started ordering "Ophelia" around, I told my friend, "Oh, this has to have a good payoff." I had no idea it would be as great as, "Okay, playing Fuck Tha Police." That was probably the funniest moment, but there were many. Speaking of how the cops never show, there was a missed opportunity to not at least have "911 Is a Joke" playing in the background at some point during the various times 911 was called and was either busy or gave a delayed response time. Anyway, the performances were outstanding. Lupita Nyong'o, most obviously - Adelaide and Red seemed like they were being played by two different people who looked a lot alike! - but everyone. Including the kids, because, holy shit, the bad version of Zora was creepy as all hell. That girl nailed it.

Eventually leading producers/the stage crew to ask each studio audience not to engage in a sustained "yay, he's here" reaction to Kramer's very entrance into Jerry's apartment; the difference between episodes before and after this edict is noticeable (and welcome). I didn't care for Happy Days, so I don't know whether they ever curbed the same behavior regarding "The Fonz," or if it carried on until the show's end.

Yes, this. I don't need to do it (no way, no how, not for a trillion dollar reward would I spawn and raise a kid) to know parenting is an exhausting job, but if you sign up to do it, then fucking do it. These little crotch goblins don't come into the world knowing anything, they learn by instruction and observation. So teaching them - by word and example - how to be responsible members of a society is the first job of parenting! At the market a couple of weeks ago, the woman checking out in front of me had two kids with her; I'm terrible at estimating ages (the stages of minority to me are annoying baby, annoying toddler, annoying little kid, annoying puberty-era kid, and annoying teenager), but let's say the girl was eight and the boy five. First, the woman was standing in front of her cart instead of behind it, so I didn't have the normal amount of room to start loading my stuff onto the belt. Second, the boy was behind the cart, trying to climb up onto the belt from the side. Third, the girl was at the foot of the belt, putting packs of gum onto it. The mother did jack all about the boy, and instead of telling the girl to knock that shit off, she'd just silently put the gum back again and again. When her items moved up enough that there was plenty of room for me to unload my cart if her demon spawn would get out of my way, I waited a moment to see if she noticed they were in my way (at first, she was focused on the register). Shortly, she most certainly did, and said nothing. So I said to the girl, "Pardon me, I need to put my stuff down" and when she didn't immediately move, reached over her to start doing so. Only then did Mom of the Year tell her kids to "come here" - at which point they went all the way around to the front and started horsing around with the cart, running around in front of several check-out lines (paying absolutely no attention to their surroundings, of course), etc. Dipshit said/did nothing. Kids need to learn the world is not their playground; there are appropriate times and places for any given behavior. And I know even the best-raised kids have meltdowns, dig in their heels, etc. But it's pretty damn obvious when a good parent is experiencing a bad moment and when this is just par for the course -- it's not the kid's actions, but the parent's reaction. And far too many of them are flat-out abdicating their responsibility, to their kids and to the rest of us.

That needs to be higher. Significantly. This is my first true "what the actual fuck?" of the list. The Bakersfield sound isn't my favorite jam - although, do not get me wrong, I like quite a bit of it - but that collaboration between one of the original masters and his best student has no place down among some of the trifling crap they've got ranked.

Wow. I can't believe he was that rude to you when you know each other well enough to have each other's cell phone numbers.

Me too, but I'll have to watch it again someday, because that's all I remember - I cannot remember a single scene, line, or other detail, just that I really enjoyed it and was thoroughly impressed with Colette.

Mine, too (and that they fix it) in the school supplies commercial. I have two favorites in the original: Giving the guy at the copier a toner cartridge and then coming back with wet wipes when he has toner all over him, and stocking the First Aid kit while another guy is using the paper cutter without looking at what he's doing. Pondering, I think the latter is the winner, for being more subtle than the rest. I forgot about the lost and found one; I love how they did so many variations on the original, when he's all sad with his bland replacement rubber band ball - especially the guy whose chair he replaces, this time putting it next to where he's standing rather than behind him, so the guy falls on his ass.

I'm the opposite - the AI angle makes me think this version might scare me rather than making me roll my eyes like the original did.

I haven't seen this show in many years. I first watched the one where the dry cleaner sewed his shirt button on the wrong way (and completely agreed with him that this was unacceptable), kept on, caught up, and ultimately watched it all the way through. But when I came across it it syndication a couple of years ago I thought it would be the ideal type of show to marathon, but I quickly lost interest. Maybe just a bad batch of episodes. Anyway, from my hazy memories, the "Three Pies" episode is my hands-down favorite. Basically, there's that episode, then a mile of space, and then the ranking of all other episodes. Ambrose breaks my heart and then soothes it. I love it. Down in that second tier, I also like the one with Monk's in-laws, where he goes on the game show; his interaction with Trudy's parents is precious. I adore the "Employee of the Month" episode because I love Enrico Colantoni in just about everything, and especially love the former partnership established here. Another one I love because of the guest star is the one with Stanley Tucci. Because, duh, Stanley Tucci, but also that the actors being such close friends really brings something special. Same with Brooke Adams's first appearance, as the annoyed flight attendant; watching a married couple play at driving each other nuts is fun. I also fondly recall the one in Mexico, the one with Willie Nelson, the one with Alicia Coppola (an actor like Colantoni, whom I like in just about everything), the garbage strike episode, and Monk having to get a new therapist - I thought they handled Stanley Kamel's death well. I'll have to see if this is airing on a station I get and, if so, give it another whirl.

There are a metric shit ton of street cats in Greece. They're generally not feral, though - while "owning" a cat is something of a foreign concept in Greece (although certainly not unheard of; there are indeed pet cats), there is still a good deal of human interaction with many of the strays. It's quite a mixed bag in terms of how they're regarded and treated, and on the whole one that was difficult for me to be around upon visiting - but beautiful cats lazily sunning themselves in one of the world's most beautiful settings is not readily forgotten, either.

I stared blankly at my TV for the entire Actors by Role category. And at all but one clue in the TV Room category. Yikes - bad pop culture night for me. I'm surprised Morehouse was a TS, with all-male and Atlanta spotted (and a bit disheartened that, among the three of them, the contestants could only come up with one HBCU to toss out as a guess). None of them knowing what CPA stands for surprised me a bit, as did the Nero TS.