Bastet

Yea, Seahawks! The Raiders game depressed (although certainly didn't surprise) me, but now I'm cheered back up. Seattle has been spotty, and without Lynch their offense has been one-dimensional, this season. So I have doubts about them going all the way. And, of course, I ultimately want the Giants representing the NFC. But I'm happy to have Seattle still in it; they're my second-favorite in the conference. There were some great Seattle catches. One receiver basically intercepting it from his teammate cracked me up, but I also liked the butt catch (and that Baldwin immediately told Carroll to challenge that shit, as he caught it) and loved Richardson's one-handed grab With the Raiders out, my interest in the AFC is already reduced to "anyone but the Patriots." Unfortunately, I don't see anyone stopping their path to the Super Bowl.

That's true, they may very well fuck with that one, in which case it would be wasted food. But anything edible left around tends to get wolfed down by the crew, so in general I wouldn't worry about food waste on this show (especially given Tom's passion).

Yeah, I can't wish it away, because to this day I use "I don't understand, did you trip over something?" when someone tells me they "accidentally" did something that wasn't at all an accident (e.g. called an ex). But I hate it. It's quite offensive how she outright tells him she does not want to be friends with him, that he embarrassed and even scared her, and he just ignores it and decrees they'll be friends because that's what he wants. Gross.

I think it's courteous to, upon being introduced to someone, address them as Ms./Mr./Dr. unless or until you're invited to address them by their first name (e.g. "This is Joe Blow" should result in "Nice to meet you, Mr. Blow," not "Nice to meet you, Joe," and then it's up to him whether to say, "Please, call me Joe"). The flip side is I do think, in general, it's snooty to insist upon being addressed formally by people with whom you have an ongoing social relationship, but I understand those who maintain the traditional titles when it comes to children and elders. Especially because that's something highly influenced by generation, region, and culture. The in-law situation -- if I heard someone address their mother-in-law as Ms. or Mrs. Whatever rather than by her first name, I'd jump to the conclusion they have a strained relationship. But, hopping all the way to the other end of the spectrum, people calling their in-laws "Mom" and "Dad" is not something I'd ever be comfortable with (either addressing my in-laws that way or having a husband address my parents that way).

The speech was the lead story in Mother Jones' email newsletter, with the accurate headline: Michelle Obama Just Showed the World Why We'll Miss Her So Much

I have high (no pun intended) hopes this will be the one show on television that grasps this concept. I missed this episode, and had no idea that meant I'd be missing an appearance by Brad Whitford. Boo!

The second plate (for the camera) likely gets consumed by the production crew; that's generally how it works on shows where food is prepared.

I don't like that, either. I should be address as Ms. [Last Name]. I will promptly invite you to call me by my first name, but don't jump right over that step!

I am just sick on Jack Del Rio's behalf. When he was hired, I was hopeful for the Raiders for the first time in a long time, and he took them from 3-13 to 7-9 his first year. The solid work he's put in and inspired in his players was paying off so well this season, with the first playoff berth in nearly 15 years, and now ...

I didn't see it, but based on this post I agree it's a ridiculous storyline. I'd live in something close to a shoe box before I'd live with a roommate (or anyone). When you really want to live alone, you really want to live alone. If that was truly a strong preference, and she found a decent place that would let her do that, she wouldn't just be airily deciding to live with two other people instead.

Yes, per this post that was just pinned a little while ago.

I think the legislative agenda that Congress would pass with Pence wielding the pen would be just as awful on the whole (possibly not as bad on some issues, worse on others). But the chances he'd spark international nuclear war via a late night tweet would be exponentially less. Trump is so hideously unqualified, unprepared, unfit, and an outright threat to civilization as we know it, that I, unbelievably, have to say at this point I'd feel marginally safer and have the slightest bit more hope of undoing the damage in the future with that repugnant, hateful jackass Mike Pence in the Oval Office. What a hideous low we have been brought to that I can even entertain the notion.

I do think, on average, there are generational distinctions when looking at men's reactions. To make another sweeping generalization based on anecdotal evidence, it also seems, especially among men 40ish and under, that those who have sisters tend to be less squeamish about it. Sure, some of them grew up in households where it was treated like a dirty secret, but for a lot of them it was just part of family life -- sometimes someone has a headache, sometimes someone has gas, sometimes someone has cramps, etc. Sometimes the grocery list includes Immodium, sometimes it includes Tampax. It's all just what happens and they're either private and selective about discussing things like that or they're open about it, but whatever they are, it's across the board -- they're not open about everything else, but freaked out by the mention, or mere existence, of periods.

Cleaning up some bookmarks, I realized I never posted this; I guess I better do so while I still can. A pre-election survey showed nearly half of those who planned to vote for Trump opposed defunding Planned Parenthood (despite the fact Trump had vowed to do so unless it stopped providing abortion services - after having said differently in the past, of course). So, last month, PP convened focus groups in several cities, some with a mix of Trump and Clinton voters, some with only Trump voters, trying to figure out why those who oppose defunding PP (often because they relied on its services) would vote for the guy who promised to do so. Surprise, surprise. Once again, many people either didn't know what he'd said, or did but didn't take it seriously. Salon coverage Washington Post coverage

This forum has been quite valuable to me, as a repository of information and a place for intelligent, insightful, and witty discussion, and I will truly miss it. But, thinking about all the reports and other complaints you must get, I can't imagine trying to moderate it for a day, let alone the months it has lasted. So thank you for giving it (us) a chance, and I'm sorry it ultimately didn't work out.

I, too, am going to miss this forum. I talk about all this stuff with my friends and colleagues, but it was nice to also have a wider circle of people to discuss - and commiserate - with. And there have been many a time when it was someone here, not someone in my real life, who made me laugh when nothing else could, rekindled that spark of hope that was just about extinguished for the day, etc. So thank you.

My local shelter includes a certificate for a free initial wellness exam when you adopt a pet, but my vet's office provides it free on their own. In general, once a cat gets past three years of age, there's a lot of guessing when using their teeth, eyes, coat, etc. to estimate how old they are. On average, a group of signs of aging kick in around seven, so with those who are "middle aged" but not yet seniors (so, approximately 7-14), it's hard to make a firm estimate of where within that range they fall. So, Louis may be eight but with worse teeth than the average 8-year-old cat. Or, indeed, he may be in the 10/11 range and the shelter estimated down to increase his chances. As you said -- it matters not! I'm glad he got a good bill of health other than the yucky teeth. Riley needs hers cleaned, too. Normally, I'd have brought her back in within a month of her exam (so her blood test results would still be valid as pre-anesthesia screening), but since she was such a scaredy cat then, I couldn't justify putting her through a whole day's ordeal; I'd just pay for another round of blood tests when she was ready. By the six-month mark, I figured she could handle it fine, but that was December and I realized if I just waited until February we'd get a discount since that's dental health month at the vet's office, plus she needs to go in then for her four-month anal gland check anyway. So, she got a reprieve and will go in next month. Don't tell her that. ;-)

Exactly; that's what I meant by not allowing the calls/letters/etc. of opposition to be the only constituent feedback registered. It's human nature to be more likely to take the time to contact a representative, company, etc. with negative feedback than with positive. So it's important to be aware of that and, especially on major hot-button issues that attract a lot of media attention, take a moment to contact our representatives when they vote the way we wanted them to, so that positive feedback can be tallied and reported.

One groper burning another. I'm still disgusted by Gov. Gropernegger, but I have to give him this one; that was a funny tweet.

You're not the only one; the episode has already led to a spike in sales. I second that recommendation.

Call to thank them when they vote the right way! We tend to take for granted that they will, because they usually do, but it's important to make clear that we appreciate them working in our best interests; the opposition makes sure to complain, and it's not good if the only constituent feedback that gets registered is negative. I confess to being somewhat lazy about this in the past, but I am going to step up my game. I thanked Feinstein and Harris for their votes against this week's ACA repeal effort.

Ha! I knew what you meant, but no worries either way -- I had just called myself nuts, so I'd have taken weird as a term of endearment.

This takes me back to the peeve about some men being so twitchy about women's bodies and health. Let's say this wasn't a (very cute) choice of the wrong word and her mom did have cramps - why would it be an issue for her to pray that she feels better? I doubt he would have objected if she prayed for her mom's headache to go away.

With all the ideological brouhaha over his nomination (because he had the audacity to say guns are a healthcare issue) and thus the long time we went without a Surgeon General before he was finally confirmed (which was only a couple of years ago), I thought maybe one of ten people standing there staring at him in uniform might have a flicker of recognition. Not identify him by name, but, "Oh, I think that's the Surgeon General."

There are about ten people left competing, and not one of them recognized the U.S. Surgeon General? Not many of the QF dishes looked particularly good to me, but that’s purely personal taste – I love vegetables, but I dislike tofu, seitan, and many other plant proteins, and, more relevantly, I really dislike vegetables/faux meat masquerading as quintessentially meat dishes. Vegetarian lasagna, yay. A veggie burger, nay (I don’t even like turkey burgers; if I’m going to eat a burger, which I don’t often do, I want beef). I have issues. My issues aside, I think the "grab one thing at a time so you get some exercise" gimmick was pretty objectively just too much. Sylva annoyed me last week after being enjoyable all along, so he was back to form with his reaction to Katsuji’s fried chicken and watermelon dish. I was also interested in the background we got on him, with his father denouncing his CIA scholarship as just a means to becoming a “domestic.” I also really liked what he had to say upon learning about Edna Lewis, so add all that to the food and I was happy to see him get the win. I was really sorry to see Brooke stumble, and hoped this was the “I wish I’d never come back” clip from the season promo I’ve been dreading (she said something similar, but in a light-hearted, joking way in the first episode; it’s not the same tearful clip that seems to be from a JT appearance), since I figured Amanda and Emily did worse than her, and we could get that out of the way with Brooke still sticking around. But at least she's still here.