Bastet

No, come back out - we need to unite and reclaim the word's proper pronunciation! I found myself avoiding it when speaking for a while because I grew tired of the confused look it usually inspired, and then decided, screw it; maybe they'll ask (or go home and look it up) and learn something new for the day.

Holy crap, Ken’s team is on fire; I forgot just how good Matt is. I hope the appearance that Ben was dominating the discussion of how Team Julia should wager in FJ was just due to showing a truncated version. And I can’t believe she missed FJ; bummer! Alex has many flaws, but bless him for being among the few left to pronounce forte correctly. Olive oil was the only TS that surprised me tonight, and that because vinegar - which I also guessed first, like Roger - was ruled out. Actually, Spike Jones a little bit, too. I learned what a qanat is by playing Scrabble. And re-watching Die Hard With a Vengeance (the only Die Hard movie I like, thanks to Samuel L. Jackson’s role) on TV just last night made 21st president = Chester A. Arthur fresh in my mind.

The "I don't know, it's pretty damn early in the season" asparagus I tentatively tried a while back was indeed, delicious, and I've been buying more of it ever since. Tonight I'm going with a much-loved combination of asparagus and lamb, broiling lamb chops - simply seasoned with minced garlic and rosemary - and roasting asparagus with the same ingredients. I haven't decided what kind of side salad yet; maybe a warm spinach salad.

Yes, and there are plenty of people who could do something like that but instead choose to spend pretty much every penny they make on whatever tickles their fancy, because they have no concept of delayed gratification, saving for the future (and the unexpected), etc. But too many people lump the much larger group of people whose life circumstances mean there is no choice, they could not possibly sock away even half that cushion if they did everything "right," in with the first group, and thus hand-wave away every paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle as self inflicted, and look down on it. And, increasingly over the past few decades, that's simply not the case. So these financial planning services commercials that prattle on about luxuries and future lives of leisure are almost inherently going to annoy a huge section of the audience - those for whom having anything significant left over after necessary expenses is unrealistic and those who think outside their own bubble and have compassion and understanding for that huge segment of the population - rather than capturing the attention of those who actually could do something strategic with their income. The middle class of old has largely vanished, so most of these commercials feel a good 25 years out of date. They really need a more realistic tone.

The Animal Talk clues were Teen Tournament level (well, maybe not rabbit ears -- before their time). No TS in this round. I did well, too, but, like the contestants, I sometimes needed someone to ring in with the wrong century so I could get it right.

Yep, and that's why, although it makes me sad when these guys - even when told by the others, "hey, man, you can tell her what's up" - don't go to her and say, "I have major personal shit going on and can't make my hours/just can't deal right now," it makes all the sense in the world that they don't -- they have zero experience telling them they can trust that. It's a far more natural response to just disappear, and I'm impressed when guys do like Jammall, and brave showing back up and asking for their jobs back. Absolutely. She's not exactly swimming in applicants to begin with, and the job is physically difficult, period, and emotionally difficult for many. So they get a lot of people who leave quickly. (And they have a terrible time keeping people at the country location, because people don't understand just how country it is until they get there.) When she gets someone willing to do the work and who doesn't just treat the dogs properly but with true compassion and forms a bond, she will find a way to make it work so long as that guy is honest with her. I like that about her -- she'll accept a lot of flaws others would regard as deal-breakers, but not lying to her.

S is for Screwed, which the Conners are so far beyond the light from it will take one billion years to reach Earth

I have a Q in mind for the next round, but, as you'll see when we get there, it's a little bit of a stretch and similar to one already played. Once you do quota and Q-tips, you have to start getting creative.

If that's the closest, it's over an hour away. I looked up where Pol is located - Weidman, MI - and it's a) very tiny (even more than I'd have guessed from the show, b) very white (that was quite clear from the show), and c) pretty much smack dab in the middle of the state. They make it seem on the show like they do a decent volume of business inside the clinic (setting aside the farm calls; just domestic animals - and the birds only Dr. Pol will treat), so for that many clients in a town that small, people must be coming in from several other small towns (it looks like it's about 15-29 minutes between towns in that neck of the woods). We know there are other vets in their county, from hearing clients mention calling around (and confirmed by a cursory internet search), but probably just a few. So it may indeed be that far to the nearest specialty hospital. One of many, many reasons - not that I need one beyond the weather - I would not live there. It's interesting, though; beyond the animals, this show is a bit of an anthropological experience, like traveling.

I missed most/all of the previous two episodes, so I was happy to get back into the show last night, although I was still occasionally distracted (by my cat, so it's worth it). On Dr. Brenda’s first farm call shown, I laughed at the mini horse coming along and attempting to steal the bucket of the donkey’s food while the latter was being worked on. Poor little Bailey; another damn breeder not only contributing to the homeless pet overpopulation crisis, but not knowing the basics about potential complications for the dog they’re exploiting. Choco the calf is adorable. The lone survivor piglet, too (baby just-about-everythings-except-humans peg my “aww” meter), and I liked the kids’ reaction when she came to life. Dr. Nicole seems to fit in well; I hope we get to see more of her. The “oh, let’s just take her home with pain meds” plan for Lila and her unspecified heart condition is a common enough refrain I wonder how far away the nearest specialty facility is. (And the nearest emergency clinic, since Pol takes after-hours emergency calls at the office, not just in the field.) There are so many factors that go into pursuing diagnostics (and possibly treatment) beyond that provided by one's primary care vet – degree of access in the first place, ability to pay, ability but willingness to pay, odds of additional information/treatment being worth it to the animal, etc. – and there’s so much “eh, let’s try X” based on limited diagnostic testing* on this show, I’m always curious as to the balance of the reasons for it in a given case. *Seemingly, because, after all, they don't show everything. But they do interview the treating vet afterwards and there is often also no mention of additional testing in their summaries.

P is for perky, as in "so perky I’d like to drive a nail through her head," which is how Muriel described Vonda (but she didn’t say she didn’t like her)

That's a fun idea; I've been to the one in Dublin (Brazen Head) and Lafitte's is my favorite bar in New Orleans; I hang out there whenever I visit. So I've got two down ...

Yeah, it was one of those things in the background never made a point of, but noticeable. Taylor is his boss's boss, so there's a thought process by which Provenza would be even less likely to (try to) charge him than her, but Provenza has a familiarity with Taylor he doesn't with Raydor even at the point the printer jar becomes a thing. And he has levels of resentment mixed into his relationship with him that are stronger than his with her at this point, so he's more likely to get in Taylor's face than hers about something silly like this given the chain of command. As time goes on, Provenza respects - and then likes - Sharon, and throughout she's an effective buffer between the squad and Taylor. So of course he won't ask her for printer change at any point along the way, regardless of personal feelings at the time, because of her position -- meaning she won't be the person to hit "print" on her computer in the first place much of the time because of how she delegates, and even when she is (which we never specifically see, which I love), he'll accept it as a departmental "she's the boss" thing he just won't pursue. Taylor has his own printer - which they were sending documents to during their downtime - so Provenza will just give him shit all around, even when he's sent something MC-specific (e.g. Boston PD's report on Gilmer). It's part and parcel of this seemingly random thing - the department printer not working, Provenza being conflicted about his "last person standing" award from his Academy class, and the resulting "I bought us a gift but you have to pay to use it" scenario - happening in one episode, and then carrying through, subtly and amusingly, to the end.

D.O.A. and Boys Will Be Boys aired in syndication tonight, the first two of the original three-episode Jack Raydor arc, which I love. On a show that does a rather cursory job of personal stories – except Rusty’s – they do an impressive job of cluing us in to both why Sharon married him, and why they’ve long only been married on paper (with the extra step of being legally separated). That’s in large part due to the acting - Mary McDonnell and Tom Berenger (who played a married couple on stage many, many moons ago) give off a believable chemistry as long-estranged spouses with a complicated history - but there are nice tidbits in the writing, too. We see them when she has his number and is almost always in control of her myriad feelings for him, but we also see the remnants of all that came before. I eat up every moment of the two of them together for what it shows us about Sharon. Starting with when she realizes it’s him, not an intruder, in the kitchen – yet still pulls her gun on him, heh. And when she tells Rusty Jack can see his cards in those “ridiculous glasses.” Counters his “like old times” with “really, really old times – Elizabethan.” Calls him on his epic parenting fail every other time he tries to wax nostalgic. Sing-songs “I am not done” in explaining the terms of his stay being extended. And waves a fork at him to shut him up, heh - a personal favorite. Speaking of that last one, the “who only eats one pancake?”/”your wife” exchange is simply enjoyable on its face, but it also speaks to the larger issue – back when Jack was readily familiar with Sharon’s eating habits, she had the metabolism to look great while eating a stack of pancakes; he's her husband, but a lot of time has passed since he was a regular part of her life. In addition to that example, there’s plenty more weaving the funny with the touching, like when we see her in her office while everyone else is in the Murder Room enjoying Jack’s storytelling; even Rusty is caught up in it and telling her to wait when she tries to get his attention. And Rusty wants to play poker with Jack, be picked up from school by Jack, etc. rather than the routine they’ve settled into. Jack has, as Taylor said, lots of natural charm, and Sharon is the one who knows the limitations of that; imagine how long she’s been isolated in her full experience of Jack’s numerous fresh starts (even compared to her kids, whom she has tried to shield, and worked to facilitate a relationship between them and Jack if he’ll just put in the effort), while everyone else mostly sees the surface. He’s the fun one, which made her be the serious one; there are kids to raise and bills to pay. But the Jack she married – before his addictions got bigger than him, before he adopted an MO of running when life got tough – isn’t completely subsumed by the Jack who exists today, and she remembers when it was good. If the Rules of Engagement parts of him hadn’t reared their ugly head when they did, who knows what the D.O.A. and Boys Will Be Boys parts of him would have led to, temporarily. I love the layers. I’m amused by the undercover op at the assisted living facility in D.O.A. – everyone else is dressed up as staff, but Provenza as a resident (nice payback for his “hey, I found the lead – the plan is your job” to Sharon). And by Taylor not qualifying for Provenza’s friends and family rate for the printer (and refusing to pay at all; we also never in the entire series see Sharon pay for printed pages, because she can just tell squad members what records to pull [and print], and then Provenza makes them pay – her, he never even tries). The case in Boys Will Be Boys is heartbreaking, and one of the best fictional treatments of the issues faced by transgender teens I have ever seen; it's a highlight of the season, and in fact the series. The only thing missed is any of the characters’ various conversations about gender dysphoria countering the mother’s objections to starting hormone therapy this early; some of the concerns she raises are valid (she’s a shit parent in every other way, but there are drawbacks to be considered), but so are those – physical and psychological - created by a child going through the wrong gender’s puberty (and I think those generally are the greater risk). But they weave a lot in, and stay true to character on who uses the right name/pronoun and who misgenders Michelle – and the differing motivations behind those in the latter group; some are malicious, some are just thoughtless. And Provenza is a wonderfully realistic stand-in for a huge segment of the audience that is compassionate but hasn’t really wrapped their minds around gender dysphoria; his one instance of misgendering the victim is in the context of blasting Rios for her “they’ll put the victim on trial” hesitation, when he says he’s just as at sea as her jurors would be; he doesn’t understand “boys who think they’re girls,” but he knows “when a kid has had his head bashed in.” The actor playing Michelle’s dad does a terrific job in the scene where he realizes his son was the killer; his horror is palpable ("You chased your little sister down and beat her to death with a bat?" is perfectly delivered like he's about to throw up with the overwhelming magnitude of what his son did and that his wife tried to cover it up). He does a nice job throughout; he’s great during the death notification and in the morgue, and he plays the modern-day support of his daughter – especially as it must navigate his wife’s resistance - well while being equally believable when he relates their bewilderment and denial back when they realized “Michael” was a girl. One of the strongest of a consistently-solid run of guest appearances on this show; I’d have to look up his name, and I haven’t spotted him in anything else, but this performance sticks with me. I love Morales’s “And then buried herself?” when Rios suggests suicide. And Sharon wiping her eyes when she sees Jack and the kids approaching; more of the "I don't cry in front of other people" connection with Rusty established so subtly early on. A bit of trivia from a local: many probably know the Hollywood Forever Cemetery movie screenings are a real thing, but, FYI, the studio at which this show was filmed is practically across the street from it.

There aren’t a lot of places you can just stop showing up for work or even responding to calls, and then get your job back, but it’s great that Tia just wants these guys to be honest and in a better place – if so, she’ll give them another chance. Hattie crawling right into Jammall Jr.’s lap during kid testing was funny. She has a lot of highly-adoptable characteristics, so I was almost surprised she wasn't already in a home by the time the episode was put together -- it just shows how many dogs there are compared to available homes. Lookback’s fire house is really cute – except for “pitt” bull. That is all I would see. That first hound opting to just lie down in the shade is my kind of dog – no way in hell I’d be running around in the humid heat of Louisiana. But watching Floki and Whiskey show they have a hell of a lot more energy than I do was great. Like Tia said, the fact the adopters came in intending to let their dogs decide shows they know what they’re doing. I laughed at how tickled Mariah was by the sight of Floki with the ear muffs on at the firing range. And, wow, that is a huge backyard the adopters have, and terrific for energetic dogs who like to chase each other.

It would have been dramatic if several items were wanted by two or more chefs bidding against each other, or if these were the type of people who would bid on an item they didn't want, just to jack up the price for the one who did, leaving that person less money to spend on the rest of their meal. But it turned out that pretty much everyone wanted something different, and no one was interested (or even thought of) a strategy to mess with someone else's budget in the hopes of putting them at a disadvantage, so all that happened is that people got gloriously underpriced meats - and some went on to over-spend on specialty vegetables. The auctioneer and Padma looked disappointed that this was so uneventful, which made me laugh, but I'm glad people just got what they wanted and proceeded to the next step of making a great dish.

Because even though every.single.thing is the same other than location, it's technically a separate show. My guess is we'll eventually see the HH forum reduced to a single thread, too, now that there will be much less discussion in it now that so many threads were moved out of it. But, at least with the new customized home page able to show topics as well as forums, it's not as cumbersome as it could be for them to be separated.

Lots of sandwiches (or pita pockets) -- turkey, tuna or chicken salad (with the filling in a little container to be put on the bread only when it was time to eat, so the bread didn't get soggy), peanut butter & honey, stuff like that. Sometimes a chicken caesar salad, or mixed greens salad with baked chicken, instead but it was hard to fit a salad big enough to be filling into a lunchbox/bag (it was box in elementary school, then bag in junior high and high school) and have room enough for much else. Every once in a while, a side salad and some cheese/salami/crackers goodness. (Not exactly a proper lunch, so only every once in a while, but I love snack food, and, hey, there was a salad.) Some fruit - usually an apple, an orange, some grapes, a pomegranate, or a nectarine, depending on the season. A little baggie of chips, crackers, or nuts. Sometimes a cookie for a treat. (And sometimes an encouraging note from my mom, aww.) I think milk or juice as a kid (in the Thermos that came with the lunch box), and then usually water as a teen, but sometimes a lemonade or Pepsi.

My condolences, @Moose135, and especially to your girlfriend on the loss of Denali. I'm glad she had such a loving owner - and then the loving owner got a boyfriend who takes great pictures, so Denali is quite thoroughly and beautifully memorialized for posterity.

I don't hate the song, but I'm too lazy to watch the video -- why was it infamous? (I do remember the red dress pearl-clutching; what should be infamous is that hairdo, but that was par for the course at the time while that glimpse of cleavage was indeed scandalous. Ah, country.) I had no idea the Lady Antebellum singer was Linda Davis's daughter. (I did know Kelly Clarkson married Reba's stepson - and that he's rumored to be as much a shithead as his dad, so I hope for the two of them doing some big "fuck all y'all" duet in the future.)

When she was explaining why she opted not to break down crabs, she said she was getting "fresh jumbo lump crab meat" instead. And, indeed, we see her picking through the fresh crab from the tubs (which is how such crab meat is sold) for shells. The only can we saw her with was that tiny one (sardines or anchovies, as theorized above); if they didn't have fresh crab meat and she'd instead also bought a shit ton of cans of crab (and bizarrely put the meat - which looks better than anything I've ever seen from a can - into plastic tubs), that would have been honed in on in editing to create suspense over whether it was going to be an issue in the dish and/or judging.

Exactly; otherwise Tim Tebow praying in the damn end zone during the game would have been a bigger issue than Kap kneeling on the sideline during the national anthem* before the game even started. *And, boy howdy, do I join in wondering why the national anthem is played before a domestic sporting event to begin with. I've complained about this for many, many years. The only time I think it's appropriate is in an international competition where Team USA is playing (e.g. Olympic events where the winning team has its country's anthem played). A match between two American football, baseball, whatever teams - it has no place.

Thanks; that was more than I could see, and makes sense given the size and shape of the can.

I have the vague memory Alex intermittently had a demeanor seemingly at odds with the situation during his original run (I think at one point the other Alex said something like "strange behavior that works"). With the DD he only bet $100 on, when he looked pissed off when the clue was read, I figured it was because he knew the answer and would have scored big if he'd bet more. But then he didn't spit it out until after time ran out. He was a professional poker player, and I think some of his attitude is to keep his competitors from thinking they know what he's confident in and what he's not. Oh, and he'd take a long time to choose and answer, right - to slow down the game and preserve his lead? His strategies are slowly coming back to me, and I think maybe there was even an occasional strategy of betting really small on DD (although he frequently bet it all); he was first and foremost about getting the DD for himself (taking it off the table for the others) and then he'd either go big (often) or basically just throw it away - what mattered was finding them before anyone else, and maybe he'd wager to make it potentially quite profitable, but if not, it doesn't matter as much as the fact no one else has the possibility of making the DD a game-changer.

Because there's a disembodied voice behind her? And she's afraid it's going to team up with her dad to make her drink that green glop next?