Bastet

Chewy has incredible customer service. It was bought out by Petco recently, so a) now buying from Chewy means lining Petco pockets, and b) the legendary customer service may very well change. But the prices are good (as long as you order enough to qualify for free shipping) and they seem to have a good selection. (I buy cat food at a local pet supply store, but I've heard many posters on a pet forum say Chewy stocks what they can't find locally.) I have a terrific independent hardware store near me that's been in the area since well before I was born, and I will cry if it ever goes out of business. It's impressive how much they manage to stock in the space they have, and it's staffed by people who actually know what the products they're selling are and how to use them (and where on the shelves they're located).

I only listen to the radio in my car, which I'm not in every day since I work out of my home office most of the time, so it's not as if the Christmas music is stalking me, but playing one Christmas song before Thanksgiving would be bad enough, and switching to 24/7 Christmas music is utterly ridiculous at any time -- making the saturation switch in early November is thus all kinds of wrong.

That's my kind of place!

Ha! The reason I went from "Yeah, she's fine" to "Oh my gods, please stop shoving her down my throat" was due to the show's - via the characters' - reactions to her. I hated the idea of (I'd quit watching by the time it happened) the Josh/Donna relationship because they were somehow simultaneously both too good for and not good enough for the other; his treatment of her, given the power differential, was obviously the more problematic, but they just sucked on every level beyond boss/assistant. The idea she wasn't afforded snowflake status, especially as compared to the other assistants, but just in general, gives me a good guffaw.

I forgot to complain about this Sunday, when it first happened, but now that it has happened again ... The radio station that had already long existed on my shit list for playing Christmas music non-stop between Thanksgiving and Christmas is getting an early start this year, and has already switched. Christmas programming (on TV or radio) is a peeve in general, but I'm better able to just change channels/stations without getting riled up in December; in November - especially early- to mid-November - forget it.

From the Cats Are Creatures of Habit files: Every evening when Riley emerges from her daytime nap, she spends some time on the cardboard cat scratcher in the study before heading on to meal time. Also, every night when she gets good and riled up for play time, she climbs and attacks the ever-loving hell out of the scratching post in the study (she has others of both items, but she really likes the study at night). That's the only room in the house that's carpeted (I hate carpet, but whomever built this house back in the '30s inexplicably put tile in that room rather than hardwood as in the rest of the house, and I can't match the wood, so I went with the whole cozy room/carpet theme), and while I normally bust out the Bissell and shampoo it annually, today was the first time since adopting Riley that I'd given it the deep-cleaning treatment. So, the room is empty of everything, including her scratcher and post, and the carpet is damp and cool (it's still 70 degrees in there, so it will dry tomorrow). But she was not deterred from her routine. First, I came in to find her sitting in the spot where her scratcher would be, and then later she and her Manson Eyes ran over to where her post would normally be to attack, and hesitated for only a moment or two before deciding to climb/attack the fireplace brick (up against which the post normally rests) instead.

I've always liked Mission style furniture, and have come to really like it in recent years; when I redecorate my living room, I think I'm going to do it in that style. Mid-century modern is not something I'd have in my house (my house predates it, and its '30s architecture doesn't readily lend itself to the style, but fundamentally it's just not what I want to live in), but there's a lot of it here (in Los Angeles) and I like it a lot in other people's homes when it all comes together.

That's another one: I think the percentage of people on TV who buy a single roll of paper towels is significantly higher than those who do so in real life.

I've been meaning to mention this for a while, and Susan's "You're right, she's bugging me too; let's hate her together" reminded me: I have really enjoyed the evolution of Susan and Abby's friendship. I like Susan and Chen together, too.

That's a good idea; magnesium is very good for muscles and nerves.

Ha - I like Sam's introduction, especially Romano's "Please tell me you work here." I don't remember Morris or Coop at all from the original run, but I remember I liked Sam and Neela. No specifics, just a general memory that I liked them.

I've never changed a diaper, either. There's just nothing about my life that would have ever made that situation arise: I'm an only child, so I never had to help take care of a sibling, and I hate kids, so I never offer/get asked to babysit.

I hated that bit of sexist stereotyping, too, as well as Corday having sex with the obnoxious doctor. Because, of course, when women object to a man's blatant arrogance and patronizing, they're secretly turned on by it. Chen springing her rude parents on Pratt, and then getting mad because he only wanted a casual relationship (when he'd done nothing to lead her on that he wanted more), was another low point in the writing.

Eliminate: Leo's addiction and the investigation Ranking the rest: 1. Shooting and aftermath 2. Re-election campaign

If I was supposed to like Coop for daring to be an asshole to ER's Chief Asshole, the technique did not work on me. The way he spoke to Romano, making fun of his disability, was disgraceful, and that doesn't change just because it's Romano. The only time I am not offended by any variation on "being someone's bitch" is when a woman who has been called a bitch uses it to turn the tables on the man who used that slur against her, so Kerry responding to Romano calling her a bitch by saying, "I'm your boss. Which makes you my bitch" was pretty much tailor made for me.

The episode in the Congo was TV's usual patronizing treatment of African nations, but I did enjoy this exchange with Mary McCormack and Carter: “Nobody at home gives a damn what happens here.” “There’s no oil here.” A typical day in the ER when the new med students start is a good episode. Watching Romano, who’s always trying to deny care based on costs, be told he can’t have the kind of prosthetic arm he wants because the insurance company denied it as an unnecessary upgrade is pretty damn fun to see. So was his “Amputee surgeon has to pay for his own arm to work in the hospital where he lost it” tirade with the hook arm in Kerry’s office. But how did Abby not see the letter missed the rubbish bin, or at least overhear Frank muttering about picking up after her? Obviously that asshole is going to a) read the letter and b) share its contents with the world, because he’s an asshole.

That is some deep-fried bullshit right there. Now, I know nothing of the traditional concept of godparents; I am godmother to a cousin's daughter, but it's purely an honorary thing (to start with, as an atheist, I'm certainly not in charge of any religious instruction) -- a nod by the cousin to our relationship. I have no recollection of who the godfather is (or who the godparents to her umpteen - okay, three - other kids are), because there is absolutely nothing involved in being the godmother. But I don't need to know in order to ascertain that this person is nuts with the double presents stuff. Or that godparents - or anyone - ever "owe" the kid a gift.

Eliminate: Zoey's kidnapping Best of the rest, in order: Rosslyn shooting and aftermath Bartlet's re-election campaign Leo's addiction and the investigation

I've always watched him do surgery and thought, "I would not want him operating on my animal for anything beyond basic surgery," but then in one of the recent episodes (I caught up on three last night, and they're all blurred together) Dr. Jeff said he's one of his best surgeons. So, go figure. I would not have put that dog through the repair surgery and its recovery, versus the much easier amputation surgery and recovery. However, the update was recent enough that there could be improvement in the future that makes the surgery worthwhile (plus, they can always amputate later if that turns out to be best). The one that got me was the bloodhound update; with how much time had passed, and there was that little use of the leg, I was a bit horrified the poor dog was dragging that thing around. I think there are plenty of people who are not in a situation where they can't pay full price, but that they don't want to, and aren't willing to to skip a few luxuries for themselves to put away some savings to care for their pets' medical needs in the event of an emergency. Those people make me angry. However, there's no effective way to evaluate who's who, and it's about the animals, anyway, so just like it's better for 10 guilty people to go free than one innocent person be imprisoned, it is better for a few people who shouldn't qualify for reduced-cost services to receive them than for someone who should qualify to be denied. So many dominoes have to fall into place in order to offer low-cost services, and Dr. Jeff is one of the few that falls into that category. Under the circumstances, Planned Pethood's system seems a well-reasoned one. As I said above, the three episodes are jumbled up in my memory, but I really liked the one that was all about one of their trips to Mexico and the international training center. That will, indeed, be quite a legacy he leaves. It was fun to see Dr. Petra's sister. I liked the cat spay day, too. I wish more of the boys from the cross-country team had volunteered, but the girls' team certainly represented -- he said all of them turned up. I also liked the bears waking up from anesthesia and wondering WTF? I loved the pit bull who started eating as soon as his mommy came to visit him. Also, I went back and found the info posted about Dr. Nichols: "Dr. Nichols is no longer working at Planned Parenthood Plus. She is now an Associate Veterinarian at Parker Animal Hospital in Parker Colorado."

No, someone reported up thread where she'd move on to.

No, by the time they got to that point in ER, she was already in Vancouver doing Battlestar Galactica. But, yes, she was great (as always); she got an Emmy nomination for her guest spot as Eleanor. Michael Gross was great casting as Carter's dad, too, and I'm glad that with Gamma's death, Carter is starting to make some headway in his relationship with him.

I did not expect the OU/TCU game to be that lopsided. I'm good with the outcome (lots of family in Oklahoma; OU is basically their pro team and I root in solidarity), but I was expecting a much tighter, more exciting game. I was almost - almost - feeling sorry for Colorado, because it just wasn't their day. USC kind of repeated last week's performance against Arizona - dominate, ease up on the throttle too early, and thus have to dominate again. That's coaching, so I'm still iffy on Helton. At least they're back in the Pac-12 championship game.

I love that story arc because I am a fan of anything that puts Mary McDonnell on my screen, but I also love it as someone who has become quite attached to Carter over the years*. It doesn't erase his childhood, or excuse the fact "He died, and I lost my mother," but for him to finally truly understand that it had nothing to do with him, that losing Bobby just broke her, is important. "I love you. Do you hear me? I love you." And hug. It's a lovely moment (and, gods, do I love her coming back to be with that little kid, instead of running away, even though it means she's going to watch it all happen again), and I like to imagine they grew into a decent relationship, especially once she found her way separate from the rest of the Carter family. *I have a friend who adopted a cat about halfway through the show's run, and named him Carter after the character.

The best food in the world is of zero value if the cat won't eat it. I am very well educated about feline nutrition, and love sharing that knowledge with owners who want to feed better but aren't sure what that means, but if Riley wouldn't eat raw or a high-quality canned food (or I couldn't afford it), I'd feed her the healthiest canned food she would eat. (And, as a PSA, among fast food/grocery store/junk food/whatever you want to call it canned cat food, the classic varieties of Fancy Feast [not the stuff with gravy or anything extra; just the classic pate] are not terrible; there are by-products and artificial flavors, but no wheat, corn, or soy, and they derive a decent percentage of calories from protein.) Today's first world peeve: I pulled out the last bottle in my case of Bloody Mary mix (I'll pick up a bottle of Zing Zang at a nearby store in a pinch, but Red Eye is my must-have, so I order it shipped by the case since it's not available locally) and discover they screwed up when packing the case and that bottle is the horseradish formula, not the original. Now, I love horseradish, and I don't hate it in this mix, but the original formula is perfect (it's why I stopped experimenting with making my own mix once I discovered it) and that's the exact taste I want, not this. I'll tell them about it when I order the next case.

Skinner being a little bit in love with Scully has always been to me a mildly obnoxious fantasy of Mitch Pileggi's, nothing more.