Bastet

"I was such an idiot to come out here like I was part of your family." Wow, look, Cynthia had one non-delusional moment. Great. Now, go away.

Yeah, Mother Teresa isn't the character reference for me she seems to be for so many, either. David Spade and Andy Dick have always had a somewhat similar quality for me, but Spade comes off as an exponentially better option than Dick. At least I liked the former in Just Shoot Me; the latter has had not one redeeming moment that I've experienced. I find him just plain gross. Johnny Galecki I only know as David on Roseanne, and when the show first aired he annoyed the ever-loving crap out of me. In the intervening years, I've changed my tune on the character a fair bit. As for Galecki himself, it sounds like he was a solid human being (this should not be cause for celebration, but in a teenage male with a threatened ego, I'm going to go ahead and dole out a bit of applause because so many [in that and other cohorts] have been worse) when Sara Gilbert - whom he was dating in real life - said, basically, "You know, I'm not feeling it, and I think the reason may be that I'm gay." He was kind, supportive, and never breathed a word until she chose to come out. Again, we should expect nothing less. But reality is different.

Ah, I see what you're saying now, and, yes, if we're talking about people specifically being asked to make the change fretting that they can't possibly do it, that's different. As you said, we've all learned to do a tremendous number of new things over the years. It's probably easier to learn something altogether new than to adjust to doing something already ingrained but in a different way, but still.

Is Carol congenitally incapable of refraining from kissing other men when she's engaged? I know they're going for a "the shoe's on the other foot" storyline with her and Doug, but she pulled this shit with Tag, too (although that was before they were engaged, but they were still committed to an exclusive relationship). I like Carol, but she does not impress me as a romantic partner.

As a friend was holding a book further and further away from his face to read it, I commented it might be time for reading glasses. When he, in good-natured denial, grumbled that he could see just fine, I said, "You look like you're playing an invisible trombone over there."

Without a dishwasher, I have to wash dishes daily (or let them sit in the sink, but I can't imagine how awful a night's sleep I'd get if I had dirty dishes about; that makes me twitchy). When I stay at my parents' house to cat-sit, being able to just shove everything in the washer and go to bed, and being able to put a morning mug, lunchtime plate, etc. in the washer right after using it so that there are never dirty dishes in the sink is something close to bliss.

For me, it's more accurately described as I can't possibly bring myself to care enough to make that adjustment. I don't think it's particularly noticeable whether one uses one or two spaces; I certainly never notice it here, and I have to make a point of looking to see how many of the pleadings I read use one space and how many use two -- it's evenly split, and never a topic of feedback from clerks, so if the judges don't care, switching is just not something on which I'm going to spend whatever time it would take me to learn to do a daily task differently than I've been doing it for decades.

It definitely comes off that way on his shows, but his books are more useful than the show for a "real" traveler. I can't say I've ever relied on his recommendations - we have happened to visit some of the same attractions and restaurants (no hotel overlap that I've ever discovered) - but I don't object to the books the way I do the show (which, admittedly, I'll still watch when it's someplace I've been just to re-live the scenery). On the show, he often participates in some sort of guided tour, which is decidedly not my way of traveling, and just seems strangely sheltered for someone with extensive travel experience, but from the books he seems a more independent traveler. And some of his general travel tips (rather than location-specific recommendations) are quite sound.

The season three promo looks better than the season two promo did, so hopefully this coming season is, indeed, better than the last, because I'm not sure how much longer I can hang in if it's more of last season's fabricated situations. (Shenanigans or no, though, if it was just Rachel, Cristina, and their families, I would watch for years on end.)

You have to combine the two: she has to acquire a husband and kids, but she also has to move from the city to a small town. City life is as empty and meaningless as the single life.

Yuck; that's not a pleasant way for either of you to spend your Sunday! I hope it stops soon. Did you double-check that there's no recall on the food? There was a new one issued within the past two or three days, but I can't remember the brand.

Oh, that's rich. You've explained why better than I ever could, so I won't try to add anything, but this makes me so angry I have to echo, beyond awarding a "like" to your post, the WTFery of Cyrus now denouncing the sexism of hip hop and rap a) after going all in on, and thus joining in on profiting from, the worst of it, and b) behaving as if sexist lyrics are inherent in, and unique to, those genres.

That is indeed hard, and Mary Chapin Carpenter came very close on this song, but I pretty much always have to go with Lucinda Williams, one of my favorites singers.

Okay, starting next week (or with a re-airing of this week's episode, if I come across it), the producers can thank you for getting me to tune back in. Because I love the concept, hate what it became. If they've retooled, I'm all about it. Thanks for the post.

Indeed, but "all y'all" just sounds better. I'm rather fond of "fuck all y'all," and like to think of it as a way of distinguishing second person plural from second person singular, even though I know it's not. Not to mention inappropriate in most circumstances. But, yeah, I like it.

I researched the lizard issue a while back when Bandit (one of my parents' cats) suddenly, after many years of merely chasing them/playing with them upon capture, with the lizard maybe losing its tail but otherwise emerging victorious - and after a lifetime (plus my mom's lifetime) of other cats doing the same - started eating them. Particularly the heads. As if it were a delicacy of which we silly humans were unaware. (And then usually wanting a kiss afterward; eww.) This was for the lizard species found in southern CA, so may not apply, and I've forgotten many of the details upon finding out they were safe. But, the bottom line was most lizards were not toxic to cats, although there were some species to avoid -- mostly big-ass things, and skinks, and we don't have any of those. So, identify the specific species of lizards hanging about in your yard, and check their toxicity specifically. Louis is probably okay eating what he finds, but you want to know for sure. Same with spiders; most are fine for them to eat, but not all (and with spiders it's harder to determine all the varieties with which they may come in contact). Plus, you have to differentiate between "will make him ill for a day and teach him not to eat it again" and "will cause serious, possibly even life-threatening, illness" when doing your risk assessment if a cat is going to be given outdoor access. Rodents can actually be a huge problem, even though they're a staple of a cat's natural diet, because they may have ingested poison (but not yet succumbed to it) from someone's traps. Any cat who has brought me a mouse or rat, I have not let them eat it, just in case. In my lifetime, cats have generally had limited outdoor time - supervised, confined to the yard, only during the middle of the day, etc. - so it hasn't been a huge issue, but it has arisen. They're generally much more at risk from their predators (plus cars and humans) than their prey, but there are exceptions and if you're going to let a cat out in any capacity you want to explore that; good for you asking, and I hope you find a good source of information specific to your locality. I'm happy Louis has settled in so well! You really did go looking at just the right time (for him, and for you).

Hmm, this is food for thought, as someone who doesn't have a dishwasher (house was built in 1938) and HATES not having one, as I always had previously, but not enough to rush the process of waiting until I'm ready to renovate the entire kitchen to add one (it has been 12 years now, and will probably be another 2-3, as I had many other things to do). I'd definitely put it well behind washer/dryer, but also miles before a hot air popper (I don't have one of those; if we're talking popcorn, I just cook oil and kernels in a pot). Microwave? Very convenient, but in a head-to-head contest the dishwasher would come out ahead; dishes need to be washed daily, while the microwave I only use for reheating leftovers. Which brings me to the toaster oven, where I'd do such reheating without a microwave, and where I do a fair bit of cooking since I'm only making enough for me. Same deal as the microwave -- I love the toaster oven, and look forward to the day I have both, but if forced to choose one or the other I'd go for the dishwasher and just use the small portion of my double oven (I have one of those old side-by-sides that has a regular-sized oven and a small one) in place of the toaster oven; more electricity used, but better than having to wash dishes every goddamned night before going to bed. This was fun. With that said, though, if I was house hunting in a country where dishwashers were rare, I wouldn't prioritize one. Same with garbage disposals; yes, I like mine, but a lot of my food waste gets composted, so it's not a big deal, and if I lived in one of the numerous countries in which they don't regularly exist, I'd easily adapt. Just as I've adapted here to not having a dishwasher because that's what circumstances make most logical for now. (But, have I mentioned how much I HATE doing dishes every night?)

No, as noted, he's Reese Benton. They had been arguing over whose last name the baby should have (interesting that Peter thought decisions about the boy's penis were his alone, but didn't think having gestated and birthed the kid entitled Carla to give him her last name if she wanted), but after all that went down with his birth and early days, they each did the "I'm sorry; he can have your last name if you want" thing. Carla came up with the perfectly logical solution of using her last name as his first and Peter's as his last -- Reese Benton.

I pay no attention to best-by dates, since they don't actually equate to anything meaningful, and instead go by how a food smells, looks, feels, and tastes, so I've definitely got six weeks beat by a mile, but I can't come up with specifics (because of the not minding the dates thing).

Would you believe that, until today, I didn't actually know what Baked Alaska was? I'd heard it mentioned throughout my life, often with disdain, but never described. Their version definitely sounded better than how they described the traditional version (three different flavors vs. vanilla, vanilla, and vanilla), but I don't care for chocolate cake and hate coffee-flavored anything. I could substitute flavors, obviously, but oh my god, Baked Alaska takes a lot of work! And the meringue layer is huge. That's one crazy dessert. I got a silly little kick out of the test to see which types of cake made the best insulators. Duh, it's the airiest ones, but the simple visual of putting them on the hot griddle made it work.

I can't either. It's how I learned (which, yes, was on a typewriter), it's deeply ingrained, and it doesn't cause me problems, so I'm not going to try re-training my brain now. On that, I'm a bit wonky. I use them probably 95 percent of the time, but sometimes don't -- for reasons unknown even to me.

I don't, but my parents do, so next time I'm cat-sitting at their house, guess what I'm doing? Thanks for the info; that's a fun movie I haven't seen in eons and would like to revisit.

I don't watch horse racing, but I do like the occasional mint julep. I can only handle one or two sweet cocktails in an evening before it gets to be too much, but in warm weather I sometimes get a craving for one. (And I have a lot of mint growing in my yard [that stuff spreads like crazy], so there's no need to save any of what I already picked tonight; there's quite the supply.)

Lamb chops (seasoned with fresh garlic and rosemary and broiled to rare/medium-rare) with a mint sauce, but I have to decide on the side dish. I love asparagus with lamb, but I used the last of my asparagus with last night's scallops. Maybe Brussels sprouts; I have just about one serving left of those. I need to decide on a salad/dressing, too - probably just mixed greens and a vinaigrette. I need to go to the grocery store, so pickings are a bit slim. I picked more mint than I need for the sauce, and it's nice warm weather, so right now I'm enjoying a mojito while I decide.

I'd recreate the "get drunk with the First Lady" evening, only replace Donna with Nancy. So, C.J., Abbey, Amy, and Nancy. And old-school salon. (And, yeah, that's one main character and three secondaries, instead of two and two, but it's my fictional party, so that's the guest list.)