Bastet

I've never understood someone refusing to eat any and all vegetables. They don't remotely all taste the same, or all have the same texture, so how can that be a genuine "no, I don't care for that" reaction to every single one and not just some stubborn crap? Or conditioning, I guess, if all someone grew up eating was salt- and fad-laden processed/pre-made/fast food. Or maybe if they grew up being served by someone who cooks vegetables to death and thus think that's how the vegetables themselves inevitably taste. So I guess there are reasons, it's just weird to me to say I don't like an entire food group (which is different than I choose not to eat an entire food group due to ethical/health concerns).

Yeah, some variation is probably said in every movie about law school, because it's a total law school cliché. Whether a professor actually says it or not, the basic sentiment is true. It's not for everyone, and a number of those who had the GPA, LSAT score, etc. to get in turn out not to be cut out for it, or just not a good fit (if nothing else, the Socratic method of teaching/learning really throws some people), and you'll never see them again after winter break as a 1L. It's best for everyone, not least of all the student, to figure that out after only a semester. The big thing for Christy - as it is for many - will be keeping on top of the material, because your final exam is 100% of your grade. There aren't papers, midterms, etc. to balance it out -- if you get behind, can't catch up, and hope to memorize someone else's outline and cross your fingers, well, hope for fact patterns that happen to implicate the things you retained. With her life, that's going to be particularly hard, even assuming she's doing the part-time route at a traditional school (which only stretches three years out over four). I was so focused on the Murphy Brown revival premiering last night, I forgot Mom did, too, and only saw part of it. Plus, there's football. So I'll probably catch most of this in syndication. TV never gets law school right much beyond (sometimes) citing cases that actually get discussed first year, so I'll grumble a lot. But I love the characters.

Here's an oral history of that episode, from about a year ago. I didn't learn anything new, but it was a good read, and I like the honesty that the show wasn't ever the same once Murphy became a mom.

I like stubborn women (hello, Sharon Raydor). I am a stubborn woman. We sometimes dig in our heels when we shouldn't; it's part of our charm. (Yes, insert smiley here.) But Brenda in this bomb episode (Time Bomb) is ridiculous! I like that while everyone else is freaking out about getting her out of there, Provenza just stays sitting, shaking his head like, “Damn fool.” Provenza's sheer delight at being able to tell the "dropping bombs" poop joke is great. But it's even better when he actually turns red with laughter reading that the dump on the principal's desk weighed almost a pound. I like how appropriate everyone's reactions are, too - Gabriel and Andy are laughing, Will is smiling, and Brenda is just "Eww" and "Oh, for heaven's sake." I love the gag reel from this episode, when Babs falls down the stairs and self-destructs. I’m so bummed about the episodes no longer being repeated on Wednesdays, because I missed all of last week’s and that was a run of things I’d like to see again – we had the hilarious Dial M For Provenza, the one with Sanchez’s brother dying, plus the episode with that sociopathic kid that’s awful for the case but great for the “I don’t want kids” talk (being a child-free woman, I enjoy all rare opportunities to see my people on TV – even when, being Brenda, it has to be in coded language). I think there's still the Sunday block, that's further behind this one, but it's football season, so I'm otherwise engaged on Sunday nights. Oh, well; with this many episodes per week, they'll come back around before too long.

She went into labor in the middle of a live interview. Eldin was her coach, but – this being TV – they couldn’t find him. They left Corky and Frank on the air and had Jim take her to the hospital. On the way to the hospital, Frank went to her house to pack a bag, but packed a bunch of underwear, bras, nylons, and a stapler (“I was just thinking how I wanted to put on all my underwear and staple something!”). The FYI gang was in and out of the hospital room, and in the hallway with her when she was walking to try to move things along. They all ran out of the room when it was time to push. Eldin – who’d had the urge to drive to Maryland for crab cakes – finally shows up when Murphy is at the “I can’t do this” stage and, after some initial fumbling, gets her to focus (by singing Chantilly Lace) and Avery is born. Murphy is nervous to be alone with him after everyone leaves, but has a nice little talk and then sings Natural Woman to him when Frank wants to film something (he’s been filming interviews with everyone for Avery to see when he gets older, and wants the final scene to be of the new mother and baby). The singing and the song was Bergen’s idea.

Answering in the original episodes thread ...

Discover pretty quickly that getting married without ever having lived on your own is a bad idea?

Yes. And Miles diving under her in the hallway thinking the baby was going to fall out. Corky excusing herself to go down to the pharmacy and renew her birth control prescription. "How would you know, sperm for brains?!" And, of course, Avery in his little hat "Mother would have liked that" and Murphy singing Natural Woman to him. I love that episode. It pretty much had to be for this first episode, though, since Trump's election and the resulting state of journalism is the entire reason these people decided to get back in the game. There will still be a lot of it, since they cover politics, but I'm sure future episodes will, like the original run, include congresspeople, other journalists, celebrities, etc. in the news show's coverage/characters' conversations at the rundown meetings. But this episode was about why the band got back together, and the answer to that is Trump (I love Murphy's "... and then we had an election" from that excellent promo they put out in which everyone talked in character about what they were doing with their lives), so he was inevitably going to be the main focus.

@MargeGunderson, I'm very sorry your time together is coming to an end. But I am glad she had such a long and wonderful life, filled with all the love and devotion she deserved. I'll be thinking of you this weekend. I love when cats like being held like a baby.

Yep. She got sober (the original series opened with her return from rehab), but otherwise impulse control has never been Murphy's thing. It was inevitable she was going to start yelling the same things she'd been yelling at her TV from the couch. And then inevitable that she'd regret it, because of this. She got the band back together precisely to counter-program, and she wound up joining in on the theatrics instead. While her son stuck to real reporting, and got trounced in the ratings. Because most people in general don't tune in for that kind of news, and Wolf Network viewers really aren't here for it.

That would indeed have been the expected cliché. But that's not what they did. He's the token liberal on Wolf News.

I know! I can't believe how much of a Rams fan I have become/continue to become. I thought, "Great, we finally get not just one but two teams back in L.A. and I can't root for either of them," but I am truly enjoying the Rams.

I have been so excited for this revival ever since it was announced. I was a huge fan of the original run, watching all the way through, and I watch my season one DVDs every couple of years (damn music licensing costs that prevented the release of subsequent seasons). The jokes in the opening scene at Phil’s were rather painfully obvious, and comparing that to the pilot which was so refreshingly above the obvious (the Camus joke alone meant the show had me at hello) definitely came up short. But seeing Phil’s, and Murphy’s living room, and the old gang – I was happy. Giddy, really. The band is getting back together, and I’m in. Especially when Murphy went to see Miles. Their dynamic was always one of the best parts of the show. That in talking to Avery, Murphy refers to “Uncle Frank” and “Aunt Corky”? All of Murphy’s original sofa table photos, including that of Robert Kennedy and the original Avery, visible as Murphy talks with Avery the Younger? Murphy’s take on the Wolf network, and her response to Avery talking about a certain demographic deserving a voice? The depiction of cable’s frenetic five-things-at-once bullshit to accommodate America’s non-existent attention span? Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Sure, some of it is low-hanging fruit. But it’s true. Like the complete lack of qualifications of cabinet appointees. And batshit crazy tweets out of the executive bathroom in response to TV shows. This is an era when reality is even more ridiculous than the worst of sitcom clichés, so a show like this has to go there. (They didn't do it perfectly, but they did it well, and I look forward to watching them settle in - and especially to the future episodes that are shot with a quick turnaround.) "Oh, you bring it on. #DanQuayle" Murphy’s regret at getting down in the mud, and the difference between good television and journalism, was a nice tag to all that. That she had a blast, it’s easy to do, she beat a proper show’s pants off in the ratings, but it’s wrong. And then "Old Murphy, my ass." I look forward to more. ArethaForever. The Eldin toast. Yeah. Bergen and the actor playing Avery have great chemistry, and I look forward to more of that. I was very pleased to learn that they weren't going down the tired "child of hippie liberal rebels by being conservative" road in reading about the revival, and I think Avery as proud son of a journalism legend played well. One of the things I’ve most looked forward to with the revival is the continuation of the revolving door of Murphy’s secretaries, and - especially with a limited run and the revival hoopla - I figured they could get some seriously great cameos. But I never dreamed Hillary Clinton would kick it off. I guffawed! “I do have some experience with emails.” “It takes a village.” Hillary@youcoulddahadme.com For those asking about Jim, he'll appear in episode three. (And I have a flip phone and don’t use social media, so I liked that bit, too.)

I can't watch the many scenes I find offensive in that movie, but if I catch one of the inoffensive moments while going around the dial, I'll stop and watch, because I think Molly Ringwald gives a charming performance. And, yes, I can't help myself, but I like the sophomoric humor at the sister's wedding. I like to think Sam broke it off with him about two dates in, once she realized the fantasy she'd built up in her head was just that, and in reality the guy was a total dud, and a dick. I'll give her that she doesn't know about the gross stuff we the audience know about him (that the movie finds hunky dory, so, again, with not watching most of it), so she can still be enamored in the final scene, but she has to kick him to the curb soon after!

Assuming he's the tabby in the first few pictures, yes; I didn't know for sure that you'd listed their names in the same order as the pictures, so I didn't want to say Harry and have that be wrong, causing confusion. So, the tabby who can't decide whether he wants to be striped or spotted.

I've only seen Hewitt in a few things, and nothing in quite some time, but I've never understood the strength of sentiment against her. She's no master thespian, but she certainly doesn't make me think, "Why on earth do people cast her?!" She's just sort of there, so I don't understand getting worked up about her. At the time she was becoming well known, I was friends with someone who had known her back in Texas and whose mom was still friends with Hewitt's mom. He said she was nice. And I like the way she handled herself with all the body shaming that got thrown her way, and at a young age.

My dad likes liver and onions, so my mom - who'd never tried it - made it once using his mother's recipe, declared it disgusting, and said if he wanted it again, he'd have to make it for himself. My dad can't cook for shit, so that wasn't happening. When my mom was in hospital for surgery, a friend of hers - knowing the liver and onions history - made it for my dad and me, but I didn't like it. It smelled good, but I did not like it. I don't remember if it was taste, texture, or both; I was only six or seven so it's a very faded memory. I should have my dad over and make it to see if I like it as an adult.

I love that Emmylou Harris is in the top five. So the remaining four slots. Obviously Dolly, Loretta, and Reba (so big they don't even need last names) in some order, but who's the other one? I guess the Carter women. It's not my kind of country, but they were pioneers, so that's my guess. (Either that, or it's going to be some surprise entry of a modern-day artist I've never even heard of, but I don't think it will go down like that.)

What cool markings on the first tabby; starts out with stripes one way, then spots, then stripes the other way.

What a weird and momentarily frightening occurrence a few hours ago here. I headed out through the backyard with a bag of recycling, and saw a cat on the wall dividing my yard from the neighbor's. It was after dark and only one backyard light was on, so I had limited visibility, but the cat was Riley's size and general coloring. Knowing Riley was inside, I said, "Hello, Kitty," and she/he jumped from the wall to the roof of my neighbor's garage and took off, but her/his jump was identical to Riley's distinctive jump. She's particularly graceful, even for a cat, jumps higher than she needs to whenever going from one surface to another, and throws in a little flourish on the way, so she looks like a gymnast mounting the balance beam. So did this cat! So I dropped the recycling bag and went immediately back inside to confirm Riley was there (of course she was, as I'd just seen her, but several of the windows to the backyard were open, and I have retractable screens, so if she wanted to get through them she easily could - which is why I paid out the ass for electricity her first year, because I wanted plenty of time to determine she wasn't a screen hazard before opening the windows and thus had to turn on the AC more than usual - so I needed to visually confirm in order to not freak my shit), and couldn't find her where I'd just seen her or in any of the usual spots! It turned out she was under the office couch, which isn't at all common for her anymore (it was her safe space from day one) but does occasionally happen. Now I must wonder who this cat is. I hate when people don't put a collar/tag on their cat when she or he will be at all outdoors. (A microchip is great, but if they'll be outside and may thus wander from home, an ID tag is essential to readily identify the cat as owned.) Well, first of all, this is coyote territory, so cats shouldn't be out after dark, period. But when I see a cat while on my walk or have one pop up in my yard, I would like to know whether they're an owned cat doing her/his thing or a stray/abandoned cat I should grab some treats and try to capture for safety.

Only one way to find out. :-) I tend to think most of them either like or hate riding in the car, period, and carrier vs. no carrier isn't going to make all that much difference, but, then again, being able to choose your own location versus being stuck in a soft cage may very well have an effect on stress level. My best friend's cat was very clear on the issue: In the car, free to roam, I love it. In the car in a carrier, I will make you wish you were deaf. Maddie and Baxter were okay in the car on the way to the vet, and incredibly happy in the car on the way home or when going someplace else, so I didn't make them get into their carriers until we arrived in the vet's parking lot. Maddie always sat on my lap, and Baxter sat on the floorboard behind my seat on the way to the vet and all over the car - including in the back window - on the way home or going someplace else. He practically waved at other drivers. Riley I put in the carrier. I don't think she'd be any less stressed without it, because she's just scared outside of our little bubble, period, and she's difficult to wrangle, so I do not want to be trying to drag her out from under the seat and into a carrier and have her bolt out of the car! I guess I could take her for a practice drive around the neighborhood to see how she does without a carrier, but I think all that would do is scare her for no reason.

As one can guess from the picture of her with Johnny Galecki and Sara Gilbert, Galecki will appear on The Conners, and Lewis will be playing Blue, David's girlfriend we heard about during his guest episode of season ten Roseanne.

Probably not, because women on TV are never through having kids. They can, like Clair Huxtable, have FIVE of the little fuckers, several of which are near grown, and they'll still get baby fever at some point. Because women love babies, you know. Roseanne Conner was going to have her tubes tied after a pregnancy scare (because Dan wouldn't get a vasectomy, which - fuck that noise; no vasectomy, no sex, buddy), but, of course, changed her mind. Because maybe three kids weren't enough. And, sure enough, a few years later they decided to have a fourth. In real life, among people I know well enough to know the state of their reproductive organs, in all the couples I know who have had a kid or two, are done, and now want a permanent form of birth control, the man had a vasectomy. Based on pure logic - it's less invasive, less risky, less expensive - and fairness - she's had to bear the physical burden of their decision to have children, so it's his turn to take one for the team when they decide not to have any more. But among those who are married/otherwise partnered, do not want any kids, and opted for permanent birth control, it's a more even split as to who got fixed. Because the logic factor is still there, but the "yep, it's my turn, because you went through pregnancy and childbirth" factor isn't. And this is mostly my age (40s) and a bit older or younger, but my dad had a vasectomy, with no resistance; it was a no-brainer to him based on the same factors my friends use today.

Will Persian cucumbers work? They have my favorite flavor among cucumbers I've had (which are basically the ubiquitous, watery things [bleh], English [good], and Persian [great]), but I don't know what makes a good pickling cucumber. I eat pickles, I've just never paid attention to what they're made of. Boy howdy. Last summer, a friend used her grandmother's relish recipe to try to make a dent in her zucchini overload, and damned if any of us could tell a difference between it and that made with cucumbers.

When I adopted Maddie and Baxter (the first cats who were truly mine - not family cats or roommate cats), I dutifully ran out the same day and bought a selection of pet beds to place around the condo. I have no idea why, since all previous cats had simply slept with me/us at night and on various people furniture, sunny spots on the floor, and computer monitors (ye olde CRT type) during the day/evening, but, I guess, first-time parenting. They all went back a week or two later, without so much as a strand of fur on them. Bandit and Chester (my parents' cats) have pet beds in the garage for when they want to sleep out there (but Chester usually just climbs on top of Bandit in one), and Chester has a cat bed (that looks like Sylvester) near the fireplace that two cats before him also used when a fire was lit. Otherwise, between all the cats we have/have had in the two households, it's "Um, I have a bed - yours." And the guest bed. And the couches. And the desk. And ...