Bastet

Sean's mother said that about his classmates, and I had the same reaction you did -- okay, sweet impulse, but not actually a good thing in practice.

I continue to appreciate the inclusion of Jazz's (maternal) grandparents on this show -- they don't say everything right, they're sometimes myopic in their declarations as to what a transgender woman should/must do to transition, but they are loving, supportive, and actively working to understand in a generation where that can be hard to come by. I also continue to wonder what happened with Jazz's group of friends from season one -- is she truly estranged from them or are they just no longer appearing on the show (either because they/their parents pulled the plug or the producers decided to highlight Jazz's relationships with other transgender teens in subsequent seasons)? If estranged, how much of that is because she was the only transgender girl of the group, how much is because of the typical growing pains at that age, how much is due to the self-isolation brought on by Jazz's depression, etc.? I don't want to make blanket pronouncements about what any given person needs, but I and most women I know regard female friendships as pretty much essential to a happy life, so if Jazz really lost that core group, I'd like to know why and how it has affected her. "I perform gender confirmation surgery but I'm not familiar with this testosterone blocker implant"? Huh? The segment with the doctor was strangely edited. Letting that go, previous storylines focused on the upsides of blocking male puberty in a transgender girl, and now they're exploring the drawbacks. I'm glad to see both. I do continue to struggle, however, with a minor's parents consenting to having such intimate issues as their teen's genitalia, still-questioned sexual orientation, horny urges, etc. broadcast to the world. Overall, I'm likely to be opposed. But there's so much about Jazz's circumstances - as a transgender youth in general, and as an individual who is clearly mature for her age - that make me less unequivocally "hell, no, this is exploitation!" than I'd otherwise be. I think this show simultaneously serves a tremendous purpose and overly exposes a vulnerable young person. It's a difficult position to be in as a viewer, and likely an even more difficult position to be in as a parent.

Someone needs to pass Jeanette a dictionary, so she can get a refresher course on what empty means.

That makes me think of several days ago when it was hot and humid -- I was at the market, and an elderly man two cars down from me finished unloading his groceries into his car around the same time as I did mine; I offered to add his cart to mine and take them both to the corral, and his relief was so disproportionate to the task -- it was a minor thing for me to do (I was going that way, anyway), but he was very happy not to have to walk there and back in weather that just saps your energy. My smile for the day: This evening I stopped in at the liquor store (I had a mojito craving but was low on rum) and when I went to pay via credit card, we discovered their internet was on the fritz and thus the machine wasn't working. The clerk was apologetic, and as I began pulling cash out of my wallet, said he would give me a 20% discount for the inconvenience of not being able to pay the way I'd intended. Now, it's just good business to do something for me under the circumstances, especially since I'm undoubtedly one of their best customers, heh, but he did it so quickly, and of his own volition -- without me asking or even being cranky about the situation (he can't help it, and I had cash on me, so no big deal - I just wanted to get home and start muddling mint) and without involving a manager. It was a nice reminder of one of the reasons I shop "Mom & Pop" stores as much as possible.

Yeah, there was an episode in a prior season in which Jazz met with a group of transgender adults, and many of them spoke to her about how hard it was to go through the wrong puberty, and to live with its consequences in terms of how it permanently affected their appearance and in turn made it difficult for them to be accepted (not to mention be in less danger) as their true gender. They were supportive (and envious) of her ability to avoid that. The article I read announcing this season said it premiered on the 28th, not the 27th, so I missed part one (there's a continuation on tonight, although I'm not sure if it's an episode or an interview; I just saw the tail end of an ad for it) and will have to catch a repeat.

It sounds like they ended up with a situation where he'd be in special ed classes for some things and in "regular" class for others, which seems logical to me given his age and how he scored on those behavioral skills tests. But there was reference to advocating for "full inclusion" or something like that, and I am confused as to how that could be a good thing for anyone. How on earth would that work at school, especially as the kids get older? At some point, the student with DS cannot possibly keep up, so what happens -- you either make them feel alien and left out, because the spend the whole school day with people who are engaged in lessons they can't grasp, or you deny reality and pretend like they're just the same as their peers? And what of those peers, who deserve to have the little bit of attention already allotted to them given the student/teacher ratio in most schools, not have one special-needs student suck up more than a proportional share of the teacher's time? I just don't understand how that would work, so I'd love to hear from those with experience, because a combination of special ed and regular classes sounds like the only way to go, for the benefit of all involved, but I may very well be missing something. (I have a colleague who practices disability rights law, but we've never discussed the education rights issue; she generally deals with adults.)

Yeah, that's a different version of the game with the + and --, and we played that in the X-Files forum at TWoP; there were some pretty epic battles (okay, not really, but people did get huffy -- I'm still pissed about Bad Blood getting knocked off at the last second to make Memento Mori the top episode after BB had been leading all along [as nature intended], even though I don't remember who did it, heh). It took me a minute to get used to this version of the game, but now it's the one that feels natural to me.

This reminds me of when we got to seasons 8 and 9 in the X-Files elimination game we played on that forum; should I vote first for those I know and dislike rather than those I don't know because I wasn't watching, because that seems more fair than casting early round votes for characters that may very well be good, but then when do I start voting for the ones who are just random names to me? I'll muddle through. For now, characters I did watch. But, first, @deaja, since you're doing the tallying - are we doing weighted voting, where we put our five votes in order (the first one listed is the one we most want to see eliminated, and so on) so you can use that in the event of a tie-breaker? I'll list mine that way just in case. Simon Donovan (much more the storyline than the character, but I hate the storyline and don't really care about the character one way or the other, so I'm putting him first, because I can) Will Gardner Mandy Hampton Danny Concannon Ainsley Hayes

My favorite part of that storyline is Darlene's perfectly-delivered "he's either really, really good at it - or really, really bad" as mentioned, but I also love D.J.'s talk with Dan. It's nice that D.J. has parents willing to discuss it, to tell him that it's natural and healthy and nothing to be ashamed of -- and so typical (and funny) for Dan to get more and more uncomfortable with each question, quickly declaring, "Everybody does it, but nobody talks about it, okay." And for Roseanne to have a "But he's still my little boy" mini-freakout.

I liked seeing poor sick John feel better for a short time because of the horses. On the other hand, I could happily go the rest of my life without seeing another minute of this Steven/Megan/Sean shit. I don't like kids, so I could do without Rocco's segments in one sense, but on the other I think it's good to hear from parents of someone that young, who is currently dealing with the education system and who is just, in general, new to feeling their way through life as the parent of a child with DS. Cristina has a long way to go before she's ready for marriage; she has such an unrealistic view of romantic relationships. From Angel's question to the married couple they met with, it sounds like Cristina thinks they shouldn't be doing things/hanging out with friends on their own, when that's part of any healthy relationship. (And we know from a past episode that she has batshit crazy jealousy/possessive issues when it comes to other women.) Also, she thinks they should go to therapy to learn how not to argue. Um, no, you need to learn how to resolve your arguments, but arguments are just part of life. I like her a lot, but she kind of sucks as a romantic partner at this point.

That was the guy from the membership committee of the Incredibly Elite Bona Fide Blue-Blood Beaumont Driving Club. Great scene for Anthony! "Most of the time she goes around without the sense God gave a goose. One crisis, and she's Scarlett O'Hara."

I'll stick with TV performers, rather than characters, for now. I absolutely adore, as actors and (from what I know of them) as people, Gillian Anderson, Mary McDonnell, and Allison Janney. I would watch any of them read the phone book (and, oh my, if they could do it together - complete with laughter - I'd be in heaven), and I'd happily sit and discuss life with any or all. I have a girl crush on all three of them. I also have unending affection for Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless, especially together. Same with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda. Great actors, great women. I generally enjoyed Samantha Bee on The Daily Show, and to see her knock it right out of the park with her own show has made me happy. Jessica Williams is another former Daily Show correspondent I love; she was my favorite, and I still miss her. When I saw America Ferrera in Real Women Have Curves, I sat up and took notice. I still do, and she seems like someone I'd get along with in real life, too. I'm excited any time Annie Potts, Octavia Spencer, Wendie Malick, Lynn Whitfield, Khandi Alexander, Judith Light, Nia Long, Susan Sullivan, Mimi Kennedy, or Ming-Na Wen shows up in something I watch. Big role or small, good show or bad, they bring it. The casts of Designing Women and The Golden Girls were both something pretty close to perfection as a group, and I love(d) a lot of them individually; Bea Arthur, in particular, was made of win. Viola Davis is too great for words. I love Cybill Shepherd. She's been bad in some bad things, but she's also been great in great things. And I just dig her as a woman who speaks up for herself and others. Roseanne Barr has a permanent place in my heart for ensuring that for nine years, we had a show told from a feminist, blue-collar point of view and examining class in America the way few other shows have done. Hmm, there must be some male performers on TV I love, heh; the women sprang to mind first. There are a bunch of late night guys: Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, Aasif Mandvi, Larry Wilmore, Hasan Minhaj, and Seth Meyers. Benjamin Bratt. Major crush, admittedly, but I also truly enjoy him as an actor. Repeat that with Danny Pino (although not enough to watch SVU). Edward James Olmos. He's another "I'd watch him read the phone book" actor. Alan Arkin. More of a movie actor, I know, but he's been on TV and I love him, so he's on my list. Also Stanley Tucci, Fred Ward, Stephen Tobolowsky, Michael Beach, Keegan Michael-Key, Danny Trejo, and J.K. Simmons -- I'm always so happy to see any of them pop up in something. Oops, I don't watch much reality TV, so I forgot to go through that category in my mind, but I also love - fiercely - Tia Torres and family from Pit Bulls & Parolees. From Born This Way, I really like Rachel and Cristina and their families.

Endings two and three do nothing for me, but ending one makes me laugh. "It's called a nap, Susan Lucci." From the main part of the commercial, I like "You know I can't remember that" as a response to "Who was there for you when you had amnesia?"

I like roasting cauliflower with olive oil that has been infused with red pepper flakes.

And when Kerry tried to implement a new system so patients' last names and ailments weren't listed for all the world (or, at least, everyone near the reception desk) to see, of course it was presented as if Kerry was a big ol' stick in the mud once again trying to muck up something simple with a complicated system, because she's a bureaucratic administrator and not a real doctor, see. Not, "You know, you're right, we do need to knock that shit off, but let's find an easier way to do it," but just, "Screw this; we're going back to the old way." (At least I think it was Kerry. Maybe one of the others brought in to annoy the gang for a while, but I think it was her, with her color coding and abbreviations. At any rate, someone trying to protect patient privacy and being mocked for it.)

Once the actors declined to appear, they wouldn't have written it that way, because it would have created the impression Clooney and Marguiles were asked and said no (which is apparently what happened, but it would have played even worse for them to be mentioned but unseen - it makes the actors' absence more glaring to mention the characters). And they wouldn't have written it that way without first seeing if they could get an appearance by the actors, so we wind up in the same place.

I've read two or three contestant interviews in which it was mentioned that they got a tour of the kitchen before filming/competition began. I don't remember if the pantry was specifically included, but based on how most contestants head in the right general direction of what they want and those who flail around fretting, "Where's the [ingredient]?" are the exception, I suspect it was. I've never heard a contestant say there was no pre-show rundown, but these are older interviews, so it's possible things have changed. That would be tacky, though, even for this show.

Yeah, crab cakes are something I just will not order in a restaurant, because they'll almost certainly be inferior to what I make at home (even when made with good crab, it's too little crab and too much of everything else). Movie night at a friend's house last night, so we ordered pizza; I got mine with smoked mozzarella, Italian sausage, and red peppers (olive oil base; I don't much care for traditional tomato sauce). Tonight I'm going to my parents' house for dinner. So, two nights in a row where I a) don't have to cook the food and b) come home with leftovers. Excellent.

Aw, thank you. I'm in email contact with the shelter volunteer who worked with me when I adopted Riley, giving her occasional updates that she shares with the others who had taken care of Riley. I emailed her today, since it's the anniversary, and she wrote back a nice note about how much they appreciate me, for taking a chance on her and giving her such a good home. I really like that, but, as I told her in response, I appreciate them -- I'm just taking care of one cat with a few special needs, while they're taking care of dozens, with all manner of needs, on any given day. We all done good. :-) Yep - she'd bathed, gotten all those paws and tail arranged in the appropriate pile, and settled in to sleep, and then here came Mommy and her camera.

I just learned (via an old interview) that Jon Tenney originally auditioned for the role of David Gabriel. But he basically talked himself out of the job; he told Duff and the network execs at the reading that he thought the character should be younger and not - as was originally intended - be a love interest for Brenda. He liked the small part of the FBI guy she'd known in the past, and thought that would work better as the love interest. So he read for Fritz, of course everyone loved him, and the network agreed to increase the budget so Fritz could be a regular character. I also learned Corey Reynolds was the only actor of color, among the many guys sitting around waiting to read for Gabriel, at his audition.

I can’t believe the anniversary is already here, but it was one year ago today that I walked into the shelter looking for two cats to take home, and came across what seemed to be a cage empty of anything other than a box. It turned out that box contained a huddled ball of feline fear, and had for five months despite socialization efforts. Knowing a) I had to take her, and b) I couldn’t ask her to adjust to another cat as well as me, I adopted the six-year-old cat who would be named Riley and headed home. Here we are a year later, when she’s still very much a one-person cat, but is not afraid of people who come over – she just doesn’t want anything to do with any of them (other than her grandma, in limited circumstances) and will hide away in another room until they’re gone. A cat after my own heart, really. Other than the misanthropy, she’s such a different cat than the one I met in the shelter; she just needed a home environment in which to thrive. She is the cuddliest cat I have ever had, and so happy – all I have to do is look at her to instigate purring, talking to her kicks it into high gear, and she gets so excited by snuggles she drools. Sudden movement will still startle her sometimes, but she relaxes within seconds. She’s far from in love with the vacuum, but she just ambles to another room or jumps up on something and observes; like with people, it’s annoyance now rather than fear. I can hold or even carry her for about a minute, and she wiggles to get down (sometimes giving me an “I love you, Mom, but enough with the holding” head butt first) rather than getting her Freddy Krueger on. I can trim her claws now, so she couldn’t do as much damage, anyway (I'd never had a cat whose claws I couldn’t trim, but it took about six months with her!). She still doesn’t like a fire in the fireplace, so she’ll only curl up on the "fire cushion" (floor cushions in front of the living room fireplace, where Baxter lived every evening in winter) when there’s no fire, but I’m hoping one more winter will ease her into it. I would never have believed she’d come this far in just a year’s time; I am so proud of her. I look at her now, running around the house, talking to me while I get her food ready, sprawled out on the bed baring her belly to the ceiling fan, etc. and it’s almost surreal to remember the early days when she’d dive back under the office couch any time I left the room for more than a minute and she’d spend most of the night in bed with me, rolling around and purring, but then go crawl back under that couch to get some sleep, the couple of weeks when she'd started napping “above ground” during the day but slept so uneasily (sometimes literally with one eye open) because she wanted to be alert to danger, those weeks and a couple more I spent poaching chicken breasts just for her and cutting up more raw chicken liver than I care to see in my life, because adding those two things and baby food to everything was the only way I could get her to eat, or the months on end I had a litter box and her food bowl in my office because she wouldn’t go to the other end of the house without me. Here she is doing her daily basking in the sun (in front of windows I need to paint, if I can ever get her out of the way):

Oh yeah, that's right. See, this is why I needed them to re-run seasons one and two before starting season three; I've forgotten too much!

One of my favorites -- Naked Gun. "Billy, there's a fish in the bathtub! There's a giant fish in the bathtub!" "What?" "Do something! You're supposed to be the smart one in this family. Will you just do something?" "What do you want me to do, broil it?"

Anyone more offended by that than by you being excluded from all but the gift-grab gathering is not anyone I'd worry about.

It was always an interesting thing they did with Carol, her resentment of those positioned above her -- sometimes it was a knee-jerk reaction, sometimes it was based on inappropriate disparity of respect, and - most interesting to me - she was often self-aware when it was the former. I loved the tension set up when she became management, yet still viewed herself as still just one of the nurses.