Bastet

When Gwen Ifill went missing from PBS NewsHour due to health reasons again, I got concerned (and I really missed her during election night coverage, even though the remaining crew did their usual good job). Very sad; she was a terrific journalist, and this is a huge loss for the American press (and people).

If it's the "ideas are scary" one my mom thought was new tonight during football, that's been revived after premiering two or three years ago. I'm glad to see it again. If there's a new one, I hope it's as good.

It's kind of like working in animal rescue; your ultimate fantasy is to one day be put out of business because there's no more work left to be done.

It's a TV forum.

I had to give up yelling at my TV about it for the sake of my blood pressure, but it is rare (at least in the sample garnered by my sporadic viewing) for a contestant to put forth an appetizer-sized portion in the first round. It's almost always too much food, and/or a dish that doesn't make sense as an appetizer. To me, most episodes are two entrees and a dessert. I'd rather see breakfast, lunch, and dinner, because I'm not much of a dessert person, but that's just personal preference. That an appetizer should actually be a damn appetizer - that's a legitimate complaint.

I once took Day-quil and laid down to watch The Wizard of Oz (not a particular favorite, mind you, it just happened to be starting on TCM and I hadn't watched it since childhood, so I figured I'd give it a go); about half an hour later, I felt like I was tripping. Definite drowsiness, but also just an all-around strange feeling. I should have just taken the Nyquil and conked out, since I wasn't trying to get anything done anyway. I don't like "boob lights" either, although I'd never thought to call them that (but that's now all I will see!). I don't hate all flush-mount lights by a long shot, or even all of them that have the "nipple," but the boring round ones, yes. I like semi-flush, but they're more annoying to dust. I lived in a two-story condo for about five years, and changing the bulb (in a boob light!) in the upstairs hallway was death defying; it was centered over the entire ceiling rather than just over the hallway, which meant it was more over the stairs than the hallway. So accessing it meant getting on a ladder in the upstairs hallway and then leaning precariously over into the void above the staircase to remove the nut and shade, change the bulb, and reinstall the shade. Every time the bulb in that fixture burned out, I wanted to weep.

What a great win by USC! After a very rocky start - which honestly lead me to think Helton would be one and done, and in fact the only reason he wouldn't be fired mid-season was the lack of a good interim head coach option - they have regrouped and steadily progressed into a solid team, and this game was the big test. Well, consider that test aced.

Yes, in CA the legislative leaders issued a joint statement saying, in part, "We woke up feeling like strangers in a foreign land, because yesterday Americans expressed their views on a pluralistic and democratic society that are clearly inconsistent with the values of the people of California." It ended with, "America is greater than any one man or party. We will not be dragged back into the past. We will lead the resistance to any effort that would shred our social fabric or our Constitution." So that was both soothing and inspiring. And in Los Angeles, where I live, the Times published a map showing how all the neighborhoods in the greater L.A. area voted, and the sea of blue was comforting. I take my anxiety relief wherever I can get it in these early days. Today's dreary weather seems to be having quite an effect on my mood, and I've been really down since the moment I woke up. I'm headed to my game room to try and lose myself in football (and vodka) ...

The Simpsons Anything sci-fi other than The X-Files Gilligan's Island Any of the vampire or zombie shows Grey's Anatomy Breaking Bad Lost The Sopranos Everybody Loves Raymond Desperate Housewives Ally McBeal Frasier The Big Bang Theory Sex and the City

I don't go to McDonald's, period, but if I came upon one of those ball pits and it was devoid of children, I'd have to work hard to refrain from flinging myself into it. Those and bouncy houses have never lost their appeal to me. About 10 years ago, I accompanied a friend to a party at her co-worker's house, and they'd rented a bouncy house (for the adults). Fun! How annoying that they don't! Here, most restaurants have their menu pages inside a plexiglass enclosure on the building's exterior (off to the side, so people menu gazing don't obstruct people walking in and out of the restaurant).

I did that with my aunt when I graduated from law school. She sent me a check for $100 and a card in which she went off on my plans to use my education to become a civil rights lawyer (in a way that was so inappropriate to the occasion that even my conservative mother who also disagreed with many of the causes I'd taken on was appalled by her). So I wrote her a polite thank you note the way my parents raised me, and then made a $100 donation in her name to the ACLU (complete, of course, with them sending her an acknowledgment card).

Remains hypervigilant in their duties to the public? You mean becomes, right? John Oliver, Samantha Bee, etc. have been better journalists than the mainstream media in covering this election, and the media's abdication of their duties dates back to well before. Things went off the rails when reporters became government stenographers after 9/11, and the morphing of news into entertainment continuing at the same time did not help. So, if faced with a president who tries to ban any non-friendly press, will they finally remember their responsibility? We'll see.

Hasan Minhaj, on Wednesday's episode of The Daily Show, said of Trump's open racism (after recounting several examples of it), "If that's not why you voted for him, the fact it was not an automatic disqualifier for you is saying to me, 'Hey man, I don't hate you, I just don't care about you.'" This morning I was looking back on all the men who've been president in my lifetime (so, obviously, presidents from both parties), and thinking about the women they married and the way they talked about their daughters. They married women they respected as well as loved, and they were protective and proud of their daughters. I disagreed with George W. Bush on just about every issue and think he was a horrible president. But Trump's disgusting commentary on women, including his own daughters, would have never fallen out of that man's mouth! That a man who so openly and gleefully insults entire groups of people, and behaves so boorishly, has been elected president is mind-blowing to me. Being "presidential" used to be such an obvious requirement it was a given whoever our president wound up being, it would be someone with the most basic levels of civility and respectability. Now we don't even have that! That he's an embarrassment is far less important than that he's woefully unqualified and unprepared for the job and those he'll appoint to do some of the work for him propose things that are dangerous to so many Americans, obviously. But it bothers me.

Ha! We don't have enough rain to need a patio covering that could block it. It's often - depending on what direction (in relation to the sun) the patio is facing - much more sensible to build something that can provide filtered sun. They're not designed to keep off rain, and the few times a year that means we have no outdoor seating option, oh well (it's probably our version of cold, anyway, so we'll be indoors). They're designed to split the difference -- letting some sunlight through one the dreary days and providing some shade on the hot days. If someone has room for another truly shaded area to be used during the hottest days, great, but many times you need one area that can best work year-round.

I didn't watch any of the episodes selecting the contestants to go against Bobby Flay in this finale, so I have only this episode to go on, but I absolutely loathed the chef who went out in the second round so much I was - admittedly already in an emotional state given recent events - ready to throw things if he stayed on my screen another minute. I think he should have gone out in the first round for using camel as carpaccio, but I wasn't there to taste it, so I'll assume the other chef did indeed put out an overall inferior dish. But if he'd lasted longer than that ... What an egomaniacal asshole; it just came off him in waves. I'm down with some good-natured trash talking in competition, but when you talk about someone with undeniable skill and experience and declare them to be a nobody in the face of your greatness, I'm done. Everyone else managed to talk up their own skills and even predict their victory without dismissing Bobby Flay in a fit of delusion. I love bibimbap (but with egg whites, as I hate yolks, and I know that omits a key texture, but I can't abide the taste, so there we are), so I really wanted to taste both dishes. That rice from the challenger did look bad, so again I have to give the benefit of the doubt to those who tasted the two dishes. Flay - and Ted Allen - referenced Bobby never having been crowned Chopped champion. Has he competed previously and lost, or was this his first time?

From the Anxiety thread, but re. Trump so moved here: How could he be, though? If you're disgusted by something like racism and homophobia, you can't bring yourself to espouse it and incite it, even to win the presidency. I don't think he's as hard-core in his thoughts against the LGBT community and people of color as some of those people we've seen at his rallies or on the streets, no, and maybe even ambivalent in some specific situations, but disgusted by it? No. (And, yeah, when it comes to women - and immigrants, and Muslims - I think he's every bit as awful as it seems.) Then a whole lot of people I know got stiffed out of some money. And, having received emails announcing many of these demonstrations, I can assure him there was no mention of payment, so even if protestors were paid (they weren't), they sure as hell didn't know that when they opted to show up. They turned out because they're angry and scared, and they have a constitutional right to express that. There's nothing "unfair" about it.

Oops; thought I was in the Trump thread -- moved my reply there.

captain1, I tip my hat to you. I agree with Katherine Mattes when she said the public defender system is one of the most important public safety systems we have. She said, "A strong public defender who challenges the prosecutor, ensuring that they can make their case, forces the prosecutor to make sure that the police are investigating and making solid arrests based on evidence, not bias, attitude or laziness. I think it is essential for the public to understand this relationship between effective, well-funded public defense systems and their own safety.” So, thank you. The commentary that disturbs me is that which is completely lacking in compassion. People are scared. They're not just upset their candidate lost, they're frightened about specific things happening to them, to their loved ones, or to the world at large. Real people with real fears. And if someone thinks any of those fears are unfounded, okay -- that's at least potentially a starting point for discussion. But if someone thinks those fears are funny? That's disgusting.

Of course not; that would just be "bowing to political correctness," you know, and we can't have that. Because this is the goddamned world in which we live right now -- to avoid "excluding, marginalizing, or insulting groups of people, particularly those who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against" is cause for mockery and sneering dismissal.

I don't know why I decided to skip it last night when I was drinking, but watch it today sober, but I just watched last night's episode. Michelle's reaction to that section of Hillary's speech was the same as mine; I had been watching the speech with a friend (last night; I was too raw to watch it in real time) and when she delivered that message to girls, I burst into tears and said to my friend, "It's 2016, and we have to remind them of that." So seeing her choke up and say the same thing really got to me and I was glad for the commercial break to get myself back together. Then came Hasan. When he said even if Trump's open racism was not why you voted for Trump, that it was not an automatic disqualifier is saying, "Hey man, I don't hate you, I just don't care about you," I knew he was going to get to me, too. And when he got to the phone call with his mom? My heart started aching all over again. I'm glad he closed with the joke about her owing him money, because I was losing it. I had to turn off the interview, though. Those thoughts are swirling around in my head; I'm just not yet ready to hear them voiced.

Yesterday's bewildered daze has lifted a bit, and while I am, indeed, going to give myself a long weekend of mourning, I have committed to getting back in the trenches next week. Including helping conduct a Legal Observer refresher training course for those who've been trained and served as one previously but not in a while (colleagues will simultaneously give a training course for new Legal Observers). If you're unfamiliar, Legal Observers are deployed to protest marches and other public demonstrations to serve as the eyes and ears of the legal team defending the rights of demonstrators. They observe and document the activities of law enforcement and interaction between law enforcement and demonstrators (arrests, uses of force/intimidating displays of force, interference with access to public spaces, etc.). This trained documentation is so helpful to lawyers needing to evaluate the constitutionality of government conduct (when representing demonstrators who were arrested, bringing a civil action against the police, etc.). The National Lawyers Guild, the ACLU, and other civil rights organizations offer Legal Observer training around the country, so if it's something you may be interested in doing, now is a good time to check if training is being offered in your area any time soon.

I saw the original Bridget Jones - I'm pretty sure in the theater, even -and have little memory of it good or bad. I don't think I even realized there was a second one, and I'll probably watch the third when it comes on TV because of some good reviews, but the whole "I'm well aware how safe sex works yet have no idea who knocked me up" premise isn't really my thing. This thread reinforces the fact I'm really not a romantic comedy person, with the notable exception of screwball comedies of the '30s and '40s.

Yet some of the very same Republican pundits who denied Obama had a mandate are claiming Trump has one. Only a quarter of the population voted for him, and more people voted for her, but that's a mandate. Okay. People with no impediments to voting who don't vote should be called out (it's their right to opt out, but it's also our right to judge that decision), but the most disturbing issues for me are a) the number of people made ineligible to vote in the first place by our "new Jim Crow" laws, b) the places where voting is made cumbersome, voters are mislead and intimidated, etc. and c) gerrymandering of districts. (And, golly gee, it must be a coincidence the majority of those disenfranchised by A, B, and C are statistically likely to vote for Democrats.)

Having taken up the - at times very difficult to watch - habit of monitoring nest cams of several (wild) bald eagle nests last season, that is what is most distracting to me about the commercial.

One of the gazillion reasons I'll never be president is, in the immediate aftermath of something like this - a loss to a man over whom I was qualified in every single way - my "concession speech" would have been (and this is a variation on what someone here suggested this morning, so credit where credit is due): walk to the stage, give this country the finger, say, "Donald Fucking Trump. Good luck with that," and walk off. I disagree with her on many things, as I've said, but I respect her, and I enthusiastically voted for her under the circumstances. And I gained even more respect for her this morning with her speech and her "thank you" email. Because in her shoes, I'd have needed to be literally sat upon by my handlers to not walk out there with an "Are you fucking kidding me with this shit?" mic drop.