Bastet

I finally saw this last night, and it was saved by the performances by Emily Blunt and the girl playing the daughter and having a different concept than most, but, good gods, was there a lot I'd have to overlook to really enjoy it. My friend was very excited to show it to me, but I spent a lot of time grumbling at the TV. First and foremost, how they seemingly found every red light bulb left in the world and a shit ton of candles but no condoms or other forms of birth control? Even if there wasn't anything, have less sex - you have a calendar, use it - and resort to pulling out. If one slips past, find a way to take care of it. It was grossly irresponsible and downright stupid to get pregnant, and how the hell are they going to keep that kid quiet not just as a baby but as a toddler too young to understand the stakes? Beyond the danger he poses, what kind of life is that for him? One look at that fabric mobile and her pregnant belly, and I threw popcorn at the TV and said, "Oh, come the fuck on!" I never got past it. The other big thing was the lack of consistency between what the monsters could hear and what they couldn't. And there were so many little things. How are any raccoons - a noisy species - still alive over a year later? Why were the corn fields so well tended after the same amount of time? With three confirmed monsters in the area, where where the other two once the truck - a truck that has been left sitting so long its tires will be flattened out - was set rolling down the hill? How the hell did somebody run a printing press to generate newspaper accounts (that should have been online news). Why didn't they utilize the river/waterfall more? I know she just gave birth, but how did she sleep through the basement filling up with so much water? How did a leak cause so much water in that span of time to begin with? Why was there a nail where it was (instead of on the side, where it would actually attach to something), and why did it not have a head (or did but was nailed from underneath rather than above)? And, really, no one but this one deaf girl figured out their strength was also their weakness, so sound was the way to take them out? I think because most horror/thriller movies are bad, this one gets acclaim because it's above average, not because it's truly good. If I'd got so caught up in the suspense so that I didn't ask any of these questions until later, that would be one thing. But it created this potentially interesting world yet led me to spend far more time muttering about plot holes than gripping my seat to see what would happen given that world. I didn't dislike it, and I didn't even find it gimmicky (like they'd purposely paid no attention to the internal logic because, oh, cool, no one's talking), but it was definitely a disappointment for failing to live up to its own potential. I'll still see the sequel, though (not in the theatre, but on Blu-Ray, like I did this).

I was out last night, but didn't want to get out of bed this "morning" (late night + time change means it's still morning in my book), so watched the syndicated episodes on DVD: It’s not as sad as watching “Cutting Loose” will be, since Luke Perry’s death is recent and he died too young, but it’s a bit sad watching “There’s No Place Like Home” now, with Doris Roberts and Ron Glass both dead and Tim Conway in such horrible condition he’d be better off that way. As I complain every time this airs, the fundamental premise – that the Prognosis Homicide gang inherit the complex upon the evil landlord’s death – is just plain wrong. The original owner, their friend Norman Dagby, left it to them in his will, but that will was successfully challenged by the nephew, Ed Dagby. Norman wanted the tenants to inherit his property, yes, but he didn’t draft his will properly and Ed was able to successfully contest it (whether he’d have actually succeeded is another matter, but the fact is the probate court within the show ruled in his favor). That is a long-done deal at the time the episode opens, and Ed’s death means the property now passes to his heir (either by will or the laws of intestate succession). The Lost Horizons/La Shangra-La residents have the separately-contracted life tenancy rights they always had (why Ed was trying to make them all miserable enough to leave, since he couldn’t evict them), but that’s it; they have no ownership rights. Yet even though in one breath the squad and Andrea properly talk about it as who would have inherited the property upon Norman’s death had the will not been invalidated (and even say the nephew got the property upon challenging the will based on its wording), in the next few breaths they talk about it as who does inherit the property now upon Ed’s death. Which is completely wrong, and bugs the shit out of me. Not enough to ruin the episode, mind you, because it’s bloody hilarious, but enough to make me channel that lady in the commercial and holler, “That’s not how it works. That’s not how any of this works!” at the TV. My only other gripe is a minor one, that if Vera’s vision is so awful she can’t tell the difference between Julio and Andy without her glasses, and Provenza’s is good enough that he only needs glasses to shoot, her prescription would be way too strong for him and he wouldn’t be able to see out of her glasses. But, I’ll let it go, because the sight of him at the firing range with those bedazzled glasses – complete with evidence tag (not that they’d have been booked into Evidence to begin with) – is not to be missed. Actually, there’s another minor quibble – they can’t just volunteer to be judges for the Emmy awards. They have to qualify to be members of the Television Academy, and the qualifying work has to have occurred fairly recently (five years or so); theirs was all probably well before that. Oh, I do have one more, but this one is a really minor nitpick – they use a take in which Mary McDonnell screws up and says “Immigrations and Custom Enforcement” (instead of the S being on Customs, not Immigration) and it distracts me every time. But, despite those things, I find it delightful. Morales is extra fun in this episode, with his fig leaf drawing covering the victim’s private parts, his subtitled American TV in Uruguay memories (I love even more Andrea calling him Señor Quincy), and his delight when he’s the one who uncovers the prior 911 call, proving the residents knew about his nut allergy. That last one is particularly fun in hindsight, knowing how he's led his dad to believe he's very much a part of - in fact, largely in charge of - the detectives. And, of course, there are everyone’s reactions to the karaoke (I love Sharon’s “Noooo,” but her fluttering hands telling Buzz to turn it off are even better – I love when she gets flustered like that, because she usually keeps it together for the big things and it’s occasionally the unexpected little things that she doesn’t bother trying to control her reaction to, and those awkward turtle reactions are the definition of "adorkable"), and to the group of suspects, first in the precinct and then in the courtroom (especially Andrea’s and Judge Richwood’s). Also Andrea’s reaction to the knock-off designer bags; I think they’re ugly as hell, but watching her drool over them is fun. And everything Paul McCrane does as Agent Evans/Scarface; he plays clueless slimeball so well. Plus the firing range guy’s “he must have had a good, long career” when Provenza says the recently-retired Jerry had been scoring his targets since he made lieutenant. There are far too many funny moments to list. “Backfire” is probably the episode in which Rusty’s ongoing presence in the Murder Room annoys me the most. Rulebook Raydor allowing him to be the squad mascot is something I mostly overlook (lest I be ticked off every episode), but I can’t in this one. He is there during a classified briefing by the FBI – and later shares information from that briefing with Kris! I also don’t particularly care for the Rios/Judge Grove stuff in this one, but I love that we are introduced to Judge Grove. I love how cranky he is. His perpetual irritation with Rusty, despite being friends with Sharon, is something I absolutely love when we get to the vlog storyline. And this episode includes one of my favorite scenes, when Taylor says, “Chief Johnson could have found a way around this.” I love that, initially, everyone other than Sharon just looks awkward - and away - but then Andy literally takes position at Sharon’s back and says, “She would have, but then we would be back defending ourselves in court.” At this point Provenza – who was just moments ago irritated by Sharon’s “Look, either the rules work or they don’t” stance – chimes in, because he’s far more disgruntled with Taylor than her. And then Sharon has her say, which is when I really get giddy (as does Julio; I love his smirk at this). I love her calmly saying that Brenda never would have reported to Taylor and, oh, by the way, she has a plan. Sharon’s handling of Taylor is great throughout, as is how she deals with the FBI agent; I especially love when he first walks in and she shakes his hand, then holds onto him to turn him around like he’s in front of the class, asking, “Does anyone here have any questions for Special Agent Shaw?” And I love the ruse they pull with the phone and car keys to get Goss to spill his guts in exchange for a deal far worse than the one they initially offered; this is very good episode for showing Sharon’s leadership and the squad’s teamwork (even though it's also a big anvil of "This is just like Rusty, get it? GET IT?! Really, you must get it, so if not, here's some more"). I also like when Mike agrees with Sharon (about their not yet having probable cause re. Cory Stark), which irritates Provenza, so Mike just turns on classical music in the car and ignores him. (And, of course, I love, Sharon’s “Mike’s right, and because I know you hate hearing me go on about the rules, I’m hanging up.”) When she does, indeed, find a way to get the information about Cory and the car in a usable way and calls Provenza to tell him it’s now a go, he answers his phone with “Joe’s Pizza.” Ha! While Morales is always enjoyable as the guy with a dry sense of humor, I really like that in this one he’s quite affronted by the victim’s body scan, feeling like Sharon is challenging his autopsy findings. It’s a natural reaction, and one he discards the second the tracking device shows up, so it’s nice to see that different dynamic at play. Sharon’s “If you hang out with criminals, you are eventually going to become a witness, a suspect, or a victim” is spot on, and a lesson many people (including some professional athletes who get themselves into trouble by maintaining old ties) would do well to learn.

Oh, they do. It's quite a wealthy little area near Santa Barbara; numerous celebs have homes there (not their primary residences, mind you, just nice little multi-million dollar beach homes). Has anything ever sounded more like what Phillip would come up with for a ritzy area than the opening paragraphs of the linked review: What's funny to me is this is all within the Montecito Inn - not a standalone restaurant, and not contained within the nicest place to stay in the area, but in one that has a Hollywood history. Again, how very Phillip.

I knew from someone posting about it here that Humperdink's owner adopted Anthony, but it was really nice to get to see it on the show. I hope he has several good years left, for his sake, and for the owner's -- she deserves to enjoy his lazy butt for quite a while after losing Hump so quickly. It's nice that she consoles herself with the belief that Hump just chose to let go, knowing he was safe, comfortable, and loved. Hunny trying to get in the truck was cute, and I think the angle plus the texture threw her off; the guy said he was going to take her occasionally, so she won't be getting daily exposure, but I suspect after a while he won't have to lift her. And, even if he always does, oh well - he can get in and his wife can hand her up. That she's not bothered by the noise is the main thing. And she sure loved those kids. It was adorable seeing her run around the circle the family had formed, jumping up and giving everyone kisses. And this is an episode that needed two adoption stories, to balance out the failed rescue. I had a bad feeling the dog was going to get hit by a car, but I kept telling myself they hardly ever fail to catch or trap a dog they're after. Poor dog; I can only hope it was instant. The driver who wound up hitting her may very well not have been doing anything wrong, and has to live with the memory of accidentally killing a dog, but goddamn there were a whole lot of people not even slowing down, just honking their horns in annoyance. Tania gets flustered sometimes, and I certainly don't blame her for doing so this time; I loved her (of course, bleeped out) "Fuck you, you fucking piece of shit" to one nasty driver.

I can't believe only one of them got Jimmy Hoffa! (And Jack Kevorkian?! I was a little surprised by how sure Josh was - even trying to answer before Alex finished reading the clue - of his wrong answer in the Shakespeare DD, but pretty well stupefied by that wrong answer in FJ.)

(It's Katharine, not Katherine.) The studio system meant there were a lot of repeat pairings back in the day. Myrna Loy and William Powell were among the most popular, and made 14 films together. I'd have to look up how many Hudson and Day did, but Hepburn and Tracy did nine.

Unlike elevators in real life, whose doors close after a set amount of time has passed, elevators on TV monitor the conversation being had between the person inside the elevator and the person outside it and stay open until the person inside finishes her/his sentence, at which point the doors immediately close. This is convenient, because if you want to deliver a 30-second diatribe, there is no need to hold the door open; it will wait for you. Conversely, if you want to storm in, deliver a glorious parting shot, and leave with the last word, there's no worry your verbal sparring partner will deliver a winning comeback while you stand there pushing the button to make the door close faster -- the elevator will begin closing its doors as soon as you turn around upon entry, so that you're perfectly framed as you deliver your final line, which is effectively punctuated by the doors sealing closed.

I like both those songs. I like quite a few Ronnie Milsap songs -- Smoky Mountain Rain, No Gettin' Over Me, I Wouldn't Have Missed it For the World, Stand By My Woman Man, She Keeps the Home Fires Burning, his version of Any Day Now ... I'm sure more that aren't immediately springing to mind. I haven't listened to his new Duets album yet, but it has some cool artists on it. I love Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow's "Picture," but I'm not sure how I'd classify it beyond saying it's a great song.

They don't. They say she is transgender because she is; from the time she's been able to express herself, she has referred to herself as a girl and thus asked why her body looked like a boy's, and she was identified as dealing with gender dysphoria. Liking some stereotypically "girly" things is just part of her personality, as is liking some stereotypically masculine things (e.g. soccer), as is the case with any woman, cisgender or transgender. Assigning gender to those interests is what is a social construct. Having a female brain in a male body is entirely different, and is that which makes her transgender. Even the most-extreme version of what you're referencing is gender non-conforming, not gender dysphoria. She is a girl. Always has been. She's just transgender rather than cisgender.

The Rough Riders TS was surprising because of Teddy Roosevelt being included in the clue (I wouldn't expect anyone to get it just based on knowing who lead it, but once Roosevelt was listed as second-in-command, I think the Theodore Roosevelt-Rough Riders association should have been common enough knowledge among contestants that one would have rang in). The Costa Rica TS would surprise me if I hadn't had to long ago accept that even J! contestants suck at geography. Irritate me, though, yes -- there was enough info in that clue that at least one of three people who studied to appear on this show should have come up with it. The Elizabeth Blackwell TS made me sad, especially in a game with three women competing. The movie was Titanic, not The Titanic; unless I heard Hope wrong, she should have been ruled incorrect as it asked for the film title, not the name of the ship. Art is a hit-and-miss category for me, so with a wide-open FJ category like that I'd have had no idea what to wager. And any clue with Jesus in it is not likely to bode well for me, but it was an instaget -- that I went on to second-guess for the rest of the music, because it seemed so easy I figured it was just that it was the only painting with Jesus in it I could think of and the right answer was something different. Dana knows her wagering.

Making a dish out of an ingredient they all hate was an interesting way to close out the QFs. I got some good laughs out of their talking heads about durian. Sara’s especially: “If you took stinky cheese and put it in a plastic bag with socks and grass that you just mowed.” LOL! She was funny at the dinner table, too. (They all had entertaining reactions to being asked to join the judges, and I like that Eric took his apron off to do so.) I’m not surprised she won the EC; she clearly did a great job of combining the local flavors with those of her heritage, and by how relaxed she was, I knew it had come out exactly like she wanted. Once I heard the judges’ commentary, I knew someone else would have to hit it out of the park for this not to be hers. Michelle seemed to hate the durian the least, so I’m not surprised she won the QF, but the description of her EC dish had me concerned she was not bringing in enough local flavors. So when I heard that feedback from just about everyone around the table, I figured her time was up unless someone screwed up. And then Eric and Kelsey both had small errors. Kelsey did such a great job substituting local ingredients with similar flavor profiles, I figured she was safe in second place. And Eric's issues were minor, while Michelle's was an overall conceptual flaw, so I never really wavered from thinking it was her on the chopping block. It's hard to get so close, but she had a second chance via LCK and showed herself very well; it was just her time to go and she can be proud of what she did. I like that the bottom three were all very much wanting to stay, of course, but felt good about what could be their final dish. The family lunch was really enjoyable to watch. That must have been great for them. I liked Kelsey’s mom dryly responding, “Your husband,” when Kelsey asked “Who has my child?” And, during the shopping, I loved Kelsey saying if her mom didn’t find her cart, she wasn't going to kill her on national TV but she might throw a temper tantrum. And I truly LOL at Eric saying when he first came up the stairs, he thought, "That woman looks exactly like my sister." So close now; I don't want it to come to an end, because I miss this show when it's not on. But it continues to be so nice not to be rooting against anyone! There's no So-and-So should have been out long ago; he's only here because someone else got screwed or Yeah, good food, but I hate to see assholes succeed at play. (And that happens more often than not on this show, which is one of the reasons it's one of the few competitive reality shows I watch, but it's still nice each time.) As bummed as I'll be for it to be over, I can't wait to see what they all make and who wins.

I'd forgotten about that. The 90210 cast has sure had mortality shoved in their faces a lot for a relatively young group -- Jason's accident, Shannen's cancer, and then Luke dying of a stroke. This was included in the People article linked upthread, but here's the Instagram post of Perry's 18-year-old daughter, Sophie. I find the balance of sentiments she expresses quite touching -- it's incredible to see this international outpouring of love from people she doesn't even know, and she's grateful, but she's just a young woman trying to come to grips with losing her dad and isn't going to say anything more right now.

My cat would like to know why I was hollering LaDainian Tomlinson at the TV, since our deal that I could yell at football players on TV while she's on my lap did not extend to randomly yelling a football player's name during the off-season. I loved that category. As a Scrabble player, and someone who loves vocabulary categories, I loved the Scrabble words category, too. I was bummed they didn’t get to the last My Songs clue, as I really enjoyed that one, too. My LT yelling had nothing on the volume I got with tsunami. Jeez, people, especially with two wrong answers. Un-break My Heart surprised me, too, but not to that degree. FJ being a TS was somewhere in the middle on my surprise meter.

Well, who wouldn't?

I've only seen it once (I don't like Friends, but it's surprisingly hard to avoid), and it was in syndication, but I thought the phone call - that came between "maybe we need a break" and him sleeping with someone else - involved both of them saying they regretted how the fight ended and wanted to work things out. Then he heard Mark in the background and turned into his usual selfish, jealous self, jumping to the wrong conclusion, not listening to her, and hanging up (and promptly trotting off to fuck someone else). Everyone always parses her language at the end of the fight, when to me what's important is what happened during the phone call. So, yeah, Team Rachel -- I don't give a shit whether it was cheating or not, it was a jerk move. Which makes sense, because Ross is a jerk boyfriend. That the series ends with Rachel giving up her dream job in Paris to accommodate his whiny ass, and people - including a friend of mine - swoon over this makes me angry just hearing about it. I can't even imagine the hypertension incident that would have ensued had I watched it.

I know the Constitution like some folks know their bible, and I'm good at math, so I'd have bet the farm on FJ and come up big. I consider all three to be pretty well-known amendments, so I wasn't surprised to see the contestants get it right; unless one of them was slow to come up with one and ran out of time, I couldn't really see it going any other way. What a fun two-day final. Brad landing on both DDs in DJ – and getting them right – was huge and I figured game over. I love Larissa, so I'm glad to see that team win. Monica cracks me up with the buzzer; she reminds me of me with the joystick back in my Texas Instruments/Atari videogame days. I liked the whiskey (and water) clue, as that’s what I was drinking during the game. The clue TS was surprising, not because I’d have thought one of the three would know the original definition, but because I’d have thought the modern one – in a clue only worth $600 – would have led at least one of them to guess it. Meese kind of surprised me, with the M spotted, but then not; so many people devoted their lives to opposing the ACA, it can be hard to keep track.

I usually take a break at 4:00 to go for a walk, but rain is coming, so I went around 2:30, not thinking about the fact that on my way home I'd be walking past schools at the time students get out. The little kids were gone, as I think the elementary school gets out earlier, but there were quite a number of teenagers left. Ho-ly shit. Kudos to the teachers, coaches, crossing guards, etc. who endure these folks, because I would rather cut off half my toe and soak my foot in alcohol than spend five minutes in the presence of a group of teenagers. I lost track of how many walking two or three across (taking up the whole sidewalk) didn't move over until they realized I would go ahead and run right into them if they didn't (I will play chicken with anyone other than the infirm - move the fuck over onto your side when passing by someone coming the other way). One guy got yanked over at the last second by his companion with a "Let her by, asshole," so she cheered me up. Then I came to an intersection a few blocks past the schools where a bunch of them apparently wait to be picked up, and found a good dozen teenagers milling around on a corner house's front lawn. Oh, hell no. I would literally be the "You kids get off my lawn" lady. On the bright side, yesterday I was unloading groceries onto the conveyor belt but couldn't yet reach the closest divider, and the little kid in front of me (he was behind his mom) stretched across to get it and put it in place for me. I said, "Thank you, that was polite," and he tugged on his mom's sleeve to ask if she heard that, I called him polite. With a big grin on his face. I'm not good with ages, but I'd say he was around eight. And proud to be called polite by an adult. There may be hope after all.

Her story was the one that touched me the most, in its simplicity -- Perry was a great next-door neighbor to her grandpa and aunt, and would even come over to change light bulbs for them. As I mentioned when his stroke was announced, despite his long career and 90210 hoopla, I had hardly seen him in anything; I "knew" him best from an episode of Major Crimes (and Mary McDonnell was among the many who just worked with him briefly yet took the time to publicly state how wonderful he was). So I don't have an emotional connection to his death like I have/will have with a few actors whose roles and off-camera activism really resonate with me. Yet I find myself more affected by his death than I would have thought. I knew he had a reputation as a nice, down-to-earth guy, but having that so thoroughly and specifically confirmed is really touching me. People have died younger, after much harder lives, without the resources to pass on to the family left behind, without recognition, etc. -- I'm certainly not claiming the loss of him is any worse because he was famous. But in a world, never mind an industry, where we're not exactly tripping over "humble, decent dudes," it's sad to see one die at only 52.

I'm still trying to figure out walking into a place called Planned Pethood and being surprised by a mandatory spay/neuter policy. I enjoy watching The Incredible Dr. Pol, but there are so damn many breeders among his clients my blood pressure spikes every episode; I really want this show back on the air to smooth it out. Also because I enjoy watching him and his staff travel to remote, rural, impoverished, and/or under-served communities to offer a one- or two-day veterinary clinic. I like the stories in the office, too, but I really appreciate seeing those field segments. Plus, I like Dr. Petra. I always did, but I was really hooked when she described the process of surgically reconstructing a shattered bone as trying to put a fucking puzzle together while drunk. And Shelley, the vet tech who always gives her furry patients smooches. And, of course, Dr. Jeff.

If the first laundering reveals that a shirt needs to be ironed in order to look presentable, I promptly donate that shirt. What a good game (except for that ridiculous Liechtenstein DD, and FJ being a bit too easy for a championship game). I think 529 was the only TS that surprised me. Maybe elite, too (I couldn't spit that one out, either). Oh, and that no one even guessed divisions (that was my second guess, and I've already forgotten what my first one was). I'm looking forward to tomorrow - but I'm also looking forward to the pace of answering getting back to normal so that I have a chance to "ring in" more.

Mary McDonnell tweeted her "tremendous sadness and shock," saying Perry was one of a kind and they loved him on Major Crimes. I rave about that episode every time it's on, because it's hilarious; a big part of that is the obvious fun Perry has with his character. (Also that Kiki is a spot on representation of the celebrity assistant.) And I love that Jon Worth is not a buffoon; he's in his bubble of fame and fortune, but he's a nice guy who treats people with respect. Perry plays the character perfectly, and is clearly having a blast doing it. It all comes together very well. And, knowing Perry's nice "normal" guy reputation, I always thought Mike's comment to Rusty about how Jonny - such a big hit with many of the adults, yet completely unknown to Rusty - was a big star when he was young, kept working, and now he's doing a cop show, because he loves the work, meant they cast the perfect person in the role.

Chewy.com always tells customers to donate something the pet didn't like to an animal shelter rather than returning it (while still giving a refund/exchange). They have a wonderful reputation for customer service, and I was nervous how things would change after being bought by Petco, but so far so good from what I hear (I don't order from them other than the occasional item, but I know people who routinely get their pet food delivered from them). The commercial I saw that included a scene like that was this one, a guy with a cat who's a picky eater:

Sure, it's possible, but he's going to introduce himself to his client as Jack Raydor and have Sharon walk in and introduce herself as Captain Raydor, so the easiest thing to do - since this is largely a non-issue to begin with - is say, "I'm Jack Raydor, and I've been assigned as your court-appointed attorney. You need to know the investigator in charge of this case is my estranged wife, but she just wants to question you as a witness and she has the DA's office willing to overlook your parole violations if you answer a list of questions I've reviewed and approved. The judge has no issue with my representing you; do you?" If Speedy does have any hesitations, then he can explain the delay that will ensue. Whether one step or two, he is almost certain to get his client's consent to proceed, so it's a routine procedure he has no reason to skip -- from a standard logistical standpoint, or from a character-specific standpoint of when Jack cuts corners/otherwise trips himself up and when he doesn't. So, like I said, in real life, Speedy would have already known. But then we couldn't have had that scene where Sharon outs him, knowing that will leave Speedy unrepresented, step one in her plan to coax him to revoke his right to counsel and tell her what she needs to know. And, just like in real life Rios would have known before she did but following that would have meant losing the fabulous "are you sleeping with this man?/of course not, he's my husband" scene, I am totally fine with overlooking reality in this case.

That's not all that changes with menopause. I agree that it's ridiculous to only see the freak-out reactions on TV, especially the sudden "no more babies?" thing from women who've shown zero interest in having more kids, but going through menopause involves more - for some women, a lot more - than no longer having a period.

I've got to figure out a way to watch the inevitable parade of breeders on this show without spiking my blood pressure. Let's review - you let your dog labor for over 24 hours to get all the puppies out, and when that sent her poor tiny body into a meltdown so that she stopped eating and drinking (because she was busy puking and shooting out black tar diarrhea), you waited five days to bring her in? Fuck you. I'm glad that poor dog survived her "we love her dearly; she's part of the family" idiot of an owner. Those poor folks who lost their dog out of the blue to an intestinal torsion! I hope it's at least of some small comfort that they were able to bring him in as an emergency and go all out, then have a necropsy done -- they know there was nothing they could have done to prevent it, nothing more they could have done to try to treat it. I, too, wanted an update on the calf who had to have his urethra rerouted. A lot of these farmers are hard to read, and I was worried he wasn't even going to bother with the surgery. Charles's wife is very perky. I hate perky. But telling the baby peacocks "Let's go see Grandma and Grandpa" was adorable. The black barn cat hissing at Tater through the window was funny.