Bastet

I was chuckling my way along, got a little choked up at #9 (that hit me right in the heart the first time I saw it, so it was nice to revisit), a little more at #11, started getting teary as I went on, completely lost it at #17, and just pretty much kept on smiling and crying the rest of my way through. The bros and their "we will walk with you" sign. The professor on baby duty so his student can take her test. The postal worker standing at respect, in the rain, for the passing funeral procession. I'm bookmarking that link, because I know I'll need to go back to in on a daily basis, probably for quite some time. Thanks for sharing! Okay, here's how fantastic that Buzzfeed list is: You can even read the comments and still feel good!

That's what I figured she and Tom were referring to when they both said it was the best in all their time on the show -- the idea that normally in challenges where they're doing individual dishes but have to work as a team to put them together into a meal, there are a couple of dishes that turn out just okay, or don't really fit in with the rest, but this time they really liked every single dish, and liked the way the dishes all worked together as a meal.

I do, too. I re-watched Rear Window semi-recently, and once again found myself wishing the Grace Kelly character had been skipped entirely in favor of more time with Stella. The interaction between Stella and Jeff is one of my favorite aspects of the film.

That's why I don't use any sort of e-reader, although I am thinking of getting one just to use on long trips where I'll be moving from place to place several times, because it saves room and weight and it's important to pack light for that kind of travel. But I haven't done it yet, because it's not the only way to keep myself in reading material without loading up my suitcase -- I like to pack one book, then when I'm finished with that, donate it to a library wherever I am at the time and go buy a new book - especially if it's something about the place I am or written by a local author - and just repeat until I come home. Anyway, since they've probably been married at least as long as however old the kid is, hopefully he's heard her mention she might want to give e-reading a try and thus it's a nice gift. But with the kid and the TV, I, too, have the "Get that get some glasses!" reaction.

I may not have any words, for once. Short of "Good riddance," I cannot think of a more rude and hurtful response to hearing that someone's best friend has died! (I have a friend who I think is too sensitive, and while it can be trying at times, I'll take that any day over glaringly insensitive! And I never tell her I think that; she feels what she feels.)

I don't bat an eye at chefs who stick a spoon back in the food after tasting it, but those who drip sweat into it gross me out (I'm completely blasé about germs in general; I just have a major thing about other people's perspiration), so watching John was making me ill. I love the Mise en Place relay, and like the twist on it this year. There was little lip service paid to appealing to the "super fans," but I don't know why there was any -- their vote is never going to mean shit if the judges disagree, so always appeal to the latter. I'll give Katsuji the benefit of the doubt that competition conditions just got to him, and he's not actually dumb enough to be unable to count to five ("so who won?"). I'm still a bit disgruntled over the odd format that marred what should have been the greatest finale ever, between Brooke and Kristen - two contestants whose food and personalities I loved in equal measure - so, while it's nice to see Brooke win in a head-to-head, I could still do without the memories. Given the green team's to a person "holy shit, this is good" reaction to Silvia's dessert, and how much the judges loved it, Brooke must have really killed it. I thought Casey would be going home, given how every judge (other than the fans), picked her competitor, which made me sad, but then at JT, I realized she was safe. Sad that either BJ or Sam was going to go home for a great dish, but sometimes that's the game. Sam's looked and sounded better to me, but commentary made it seem the radish wasn't enough of a star (plus we can't discount the "how dare you call it a [dish]?!" factor), so I figured he was a goner. Tom saying "This sucks" upon eliminating him was telling; I wonder how Sam will do in LCK -- it's such a long road, it's hard to imagine anyone making it all the way through to come back. I still can't conjure up a single memory of Amanda from her previous season.

I do not remember the last time I wore stockings (not pantyhose; those are even worse, so I stuck with thigh-highs) . Probably in federal court, but it has been quite a while since I felt - and succumbed to - the pressure to do that, so I really don't know when it was. I find them completely unnecessary.

Dan is so my TV boyfriend (and we have the same tool chest -- although I only have a floor jack to raise my car, but then again he is a certified auto tech and has his own shop, while I just work on my own car in my garage), and I love his partnership with Titus. Were they among the duos paired up just for this show? It seems like they've been partnered for years, but I remember one for-the-show pairing surprised me, but I can't remember what it was, and now I'm wondering if it was them. The only other one that would surprise me is Nick and Holly, as they also suggest people who've rolled together for a while. But I have a niggling thought it was Dan and Titus. "Titus did his Dr. Phil routine." Hee. Is this the first time they've mentioned Dan also works as a nurse? He seems like an interesting guy; he has a BS in Biology, and then went back for a Nursing degree. Then the auto shop, and he and his wife have a couple of Italian greyhounds as "children" (I told you, he's my TV boyfriend -- I've read up). Did the bike (ridden by the guy who fled the known drug house) come back stolen, or did they just take him in on drug charges? I am completely opposed to possession charges, so I hope it was the former. Interesting theme tonight with friend-on-friend violence. The "they are no longer friends" update on the woman stabbed by her friend of 17 years amused me in a grim way.

Here's the ad MoveOn.org is running about the Electoral College:

They always leave space to add in late-breaking deaths; the still photos and movie clips are intercut with footage of whatever their theme is for the year (e.g. last year it was a woman sitting in a theatre, so there were shots of her, shots of the projector, etc.) and those can be replaced as needed. It will be interesting to see how long TCM Remembers is this year, to help get a sense of whether there really have been more celebrity deaths this year or if it just seems that way. Last year's was pretty short, at about 3-1/2 minutes, but the several years prior to that had all clocked in at anywhere from 4-1/2 to nearly six minutes long.

stillshimpy, you've already said everything I was composing in my head as I read this discussion, so I won't take up space repeating it. But I will offer this, written by Eleanor Clift in Newsweek's Inauguration 2009 issue, since she could just add in some extra names and write the same exact thing now, eight years later: “Hillary's [2008 presidential] campaign illustrates how far we’ve come, and how far we haven’t come. The tone and tenor of the debate around Hillary, and around Sarah Palin, was far more personal and mocking than toward their male counterparts. Maybe the material was richer, but there was no attempt to dance around gender issues the way there is with race. As a society, we still condone sexism; we view it as part of nature, a given that isn’t worth bothering our pretty heads about.”

While Riley has been upgraded from "scaredy cat" to "skittish," between the fireplace and uptick in visitors during the holiday season, I opted for a little tabletop Christmas tree this year rather than a full-size one, lest I ask her to accept too many new things at once. She was fine with the tree until I turned on the lights, at which point she decided the aliens had landed and were set to abduct her; after two hours in an adjacent room, she finally re-joined me in the living room, but wouldn't look up. A few days later, she felt brave enough to hop up on the table and explore from under the tree. She proceeded to chew on the tree itself, a foam ornament, and the little bit of plastic sticking out from under the tree skirt. I moved the ornament up and trimmed off the plastic, and she seems to have decided on her own that Noble Fir is not edible. So she's been peacefully co-existing with the tree ever since <knock on wood>. And we had a big breakthrough with Grandma today. My mom has been coming over pretty much once a week, and Riley has become increasingly comfortable with her. Today I decided not to do the usual routine of bringing Riley in the living room or study and depriving her of access to her hiding places in the bedroom and office, and instead just left her tucked into the bedding (where she hunkers down for the day now that "cold" weather has started -- I haven't been able to make my bed since I came home from Thanksgiving). My mom was able to walk into the bedroom and not just pet Riley, but give her a kiss for the first time.

Oh, I can't wait to hear this -- What was evil about prom? The dancing was a gateway activity to sex? The crowns bestowed upon prom king and queen led people to covet (or created false idols)? Damn, I thought I could come up with more, but I can't wrap my mind around this.

I have a "bonus room" attached to my garage (which is detached from my house), which features a wood-burning fireplace and, next to that, but with its own chimney, a built-in grill. (I love it, because having an indoor grill means even the relatively few days of "I don't want to stand outside in that" weather we have here are not off-limits for grilling.) Yes, I smell whatever I'm grilling as I'm cooking it, but the smell doesn't linger any more than the smell of the wood I burn in any of my fireplaces -- there's a whiff in the immediate aftermath, but that's about it. The barstools and pub table chairs are upholstered, there are bean bag chairs, etc. (so, not just hard surfaces, is my point) and none of them smell like meat, just as none of them smell like wood/smoke. So, if the fireplace in which these people are grilling meat has a proper chimney and they're smart enough to place their grill in the right place, just as one must with a grate for logs, smell wouldn't be an issue thanks to proper ventilation.

Also, was it necessary to repeat "I'm not asking you to vote for Hillary Clinton" three times, as if voting for the most-qualified person currently existing on this planet (when the whole point behind asking them not to vote for Trump is that he's supremely unqualified) and the person who won the popular vote by a significant margin would be so much to ask we have to make triple clear they can vote for their Uncle Eddie if he's eligible and their conscience tells them he's more qualified than Trump? So then, what - the Republican-controlled House gets to choose our next president, undoubtedly selecting someone of whom the best we could say would be, "Well, better than Trump"?

Yep, his long reign of terror is finally ending; he lost by nearly 10 percentage points.

That dialogue from Bruno Gianneli has been in my Quotes file ever since that episode aired, fireice13. "I'm tired of getting them elected! We all need some therapy. Because somebody came along and said 'liberal' means 'soft on crime, soft on drugs, soft on Communism, soft on defense and we're gonna tax you back to the Stone Age because people shouldn't have to go to work if they don't want to.' And instead of saying, 'Well, excuse me, you right-wing, reactionary, xenophobic, homophobic, anti-education, anti-choice, pro-gun, Leave it to Beaver trip back to the '50s,' we cowered in the corner and said, 'Please don't hurt me.' No more. I really don't care who's right, who's wrong. We're both right. We're both wrong. Let's have two parties, huh? What do you say?"

I would be right there with your daughter, picking out every last bean. Black, kidney, garbanzo, pinto, lima, cannelini, black-eyed pea, mung, green -- pick a bean, any bean, and I hate it. I'm headed for the mall shortly, hunting for gifts, so I'm sure tonight's dinner will be something delivered to me while I ingest copious amounts of wine.

Maybe they have a gas stove (I know the burners are electronic ignition, but I believe you can light them with a match if you have to).

I have grumbled this exact same thought - complete with the thousand suns - so many times!

I have no recollection of how much it was, but I'm all but certain we had to buy tickets for prom; it was in a hotel ballroom, with meal included, so there's no way the school shelled out for that (nor should it, IMO). I only went to my junior prom; I decided prom wasn't worth the hassle, and the real fun was at the after party, so better to just skip the hoopla and go to that. And there was definitely no staged production for being asked (had there been, my answer would have been a resounding no).

I don't shop there often, as I have a great independent market nearby for my regular shopping, but I occasionally go to the Sprouts in my area. I get the turkey breast there every year for Thanksgiving, since they stock natural, organic meats at a good price. Nice produce section, too.

I really liked Alan Thicke's voice. And some of the TV theme songs he and Gloria Loring wrote -- Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life were far from my favorite shows, but I liked the songs.

I also hate cohabitation with humans, whatever the nature of our relationship, and will never go back to that unless unforeseen circumstances necessitate it. I talked myself into letting a friend move in with me in my first post-college place, and it turned out to be exactly the mistake I knew it was going to be. I have a friend who has been with her partner for probably 30 years now, and they don't live together -- they each have their own house in the same neighborhood. They wouldn't have it any other way. So if you wound up dating someone who felt the same way, it could be done, but I think that's hard to find (I'm not looking).

Do most people keep a gift they don't want? For those who do, are the people who gave you the gifts really coming over and inspecting your homes and asking, "Hey, where's that [gift] I gave you?" If I get something that doesn't fit, isn't my style, whatever, I'll exchange it for something else if I know where it was purchased or, if not, donate it. I've never had anyone inquire about a missing gift. Nor would I ever ask that of anyone to whom I'd given a gift just because I didn't see it used. It's a gift; I pick things out based on the belief the recipients will like them, so I hope they do, but gifts are theirs to keep, exchange, re-gift, donate, or throw away. (The last one would bother me on general principle, because it's wasteful to throw away something someone else would use and enjoy, but it wouldn't be a personal insult.)