Bastet

Yes, Michael Jackson had a 50% ownership interest in the music publishing company that owned the rights to the Lennon-McCartney songs in the Beatles catalogue. Sony has now bought that interest from the Jackson estate (giving it outright ownership, as it had the other 50%, and outbidding Paul McCartney, just as Jackson did the first time around - but McCartney can get the rights to his share of some songs starting in a couple of years when they come up for reversion).

That oral history of Angels in America was sublime. A friend in San Francisco had seen the first part, and then came down to visit me in L.A. when the full production opened at the Taper. There were some glitches, and I've heard the Broadway production was better with a new director and kinks worked out, but it was a riveting experience. (And a prime example of the importance of a properly-funded NEA.) There will be a revival at the National Theatre (in London) next year, and I wonder if that production will be shown in cinemas via NTLive. If not for the running time, I'd take it as a given.

Two regional pronunciations that drive me nuts are quarter as kor-ter and coupon as kyoo-pon (I have a visceral hatred of the first), so it's interesting to see that about 30% of respondents to that survey pronounce each word that way. I need to avoid a lot of the country.

Riley's test results all came back in normal range. And she has no fecal parasites, and the gunk in her ears is just wax. So, hopefully her meds will work to move things along better in her colon, and between that and continuing to settle in, hopefully she'll eat better. She's doing okay so far today. I'll let you guys know when we have achieved normalcy. Here she is last night, conked out after her rough day. It was the time of night she normally gets in a good play session on the office couch/bed, but last night she played just long enough to mess up the pillows, and then settled in for a nap.

Yes, I pronounce them differently. But I pronounce Mary, merry, and marry the same. I know there's a name for that one, but I've never heard one for pen/pin. But, lo and behold, Wiki has: the pin/pen merger. You might like perusing the results of the Harvard dialect survey conducted about 15 years ago.

I've finally been home in time for several episodes in a row, but haven't watched because I've been catering to a newly-adopted cat who let's just say is a special case. So the archive for tonight's game ... I am always so bad at religion/mythology clues, but I guessed my way through the gods category nicely; it must have been way too easy for J! I usually rock word play clues, but oh my god, I was so horrible at the "hiding places" clues - and I had the words on my screen (I only give myself a short time to answer, but still - no flashing back to contestants). I only got Warsaw. WTF with specifying women's soccer in answering the Abby Wambach clue? That seemed to be the contestant (although knowing this show, that may have been written down on Alex's card, too), but no one felt the need to specify a gender in any other clue. I got East Berlin. I didn't get articulated, because the photo doesn't come up for me -- but I wouldn't have come up with it anyway, because I never knew what the name for those is. I knew Rachel Ward, but I was equally stumped on The O.C. in that same category. I'm okay with that. I knew Under My Skin as a Cole Porter song, but according to the internet, the Scarlett Johansson film was Under the Skin. (I Googled to confirm it was her, because I was very annoyed by the Scar-Jo thing; there was room to write out her name.) I had no clue on FJ; Rochester meant nothing to me, so I was trying to just go by the date, but that was way too broad.

Well, they finally did, but not by name. When Maura and Hope were having their "square peg, round hole" conversation, Maura said Hope has a daughter, and Maura has a mother. Until then, I really wasn't sure the writers realized the latter. But that was the sole reference to Constance, prompting my question as to Maura's relationship with her, because it was odd for everyone to be so focused on Hope to the exclusion of Constance.

I didn't catch that she was a stepdaughter until then, either. I figured I'd missed an earlier reference, but now you have me wondering.

Here's Riley on her second night here, hanging out on my desk rather than hiding:

I don't think there is any timeline for when to start looking! Some people need a long time, some people need a very short time. Everything in between. Go ahead and start looking; maybe someone will jump out and you and say, "I'm your dog!" or maybe it will be a while. Whenever it happens, that will be one lucky dog. And no shame in giving Rufus to your daughter. The opposite! You'd have kept him all his life, but you discovered he is - for whatever reason - a lot happier at your daughter's home, a home you know is every bit as good as yours and a home where he can continue to get visits from Grandma and Grandpa. Win-win. Thanks for asking about Riley, and good timing as we just got home from the vet's office. But first, she has discovered the joy of toys, and she runs and jumps around like a kitten when she's playing. I've also opened up one more room in the house, and she's been exploring that with me and even on her own. Really, everything is progressing beautifully other than her appetite; it's still a real struggle getting her to take in just enough calories per day to avoid getting sick with hepatic lipidosis or something. So, the vet visit. My "clearance kitty" (her adoption fee was only $10 because she'd been there for so long) just cost me about $700, but I will have a complete baseline to compare to as she gets older, and if there's anything medical contributing to her lack of appetite, we'll find it. Despite pooping (and an average amount) around 10:00 this morning, her colon still had a lot of poop in it at her 1:30 appointment, and then gas in front of that. So that may be a reason she doesn't eat much, and only eats a little bit at a time. I'll give her medication for a while to see if we can get things moving and see how that affects her appetite. (Going forward, after she's eating well [and thus won't refuse to eat food that I've put something in], I can add psyllium or even MiraLax to her food if this will be a chronic issue. Extra hydration will help, too; she's not dehydrated, but when she's eating more, she'll be getting more water, and the extra will be good.) Other than that, the abdominal x-ray looked normal. Chest x-ray looked good, and heart and lungs sounded good as well. X-rays of her hips/hind legs showed no issues, so the odd way she moves sometimes settling down probably is, indeed, just a matter of getting her muscle mass back up to snuff after nearly five months of hiding in a box 24/7. Her anal glands were full, so those got expressed and I'll have to keep on top of that. Watch her wind up needing to have them surgically removed like my Baxter's did. At least I know a top-notch surgeon if it comes to that. Blood test and urinalysis results will be in tomorrow, so we'll see if anything is amiss there. Her teeth need to be cleaned, so if her blood work is good I'll take her back in after a few weeks and have that done. We also scraped some gunk out of her ears for testing, and I brought this morning's poop in with us for a fecal parasite test. No need for fluids, enema, or appetite stimulant at this point -- keep doing what I'm doing, and hope that with getting things moving through her system better and more time to settle in, she'll start eating better. Fingers crossed! Oh, but her weight was 6 lbs 12 oz, which is good for her. I'd like to get about a pound on her in time. The vet thinks Riley is probably about six years old. Maybe seven, but she doesn't think any older than that. (Shelter paperwork said five, but then you look at earlier paperwork and it said unknown, then 6-7 years old, so who the hell knows what the family actually said or if they were even right -- five cats who weren't theirs, what are the odds they know how old they all are?) She, of course, promptly took to her hiding spot when we got home, but came out about half an hour later to chat with me, lick my face, and then take a bath and settle in for a nap - out in the open. I love this little girl so much already. Yeah, it would be nice to have two cats roaming throughout the house, and greeting people when they come over, but we may get to that. We may not. Whatever works for her is fine with me; I wouldn't trade her for anything. But she better shit diamonds and gold when stuff starts coming out.

The list of people whom I never knew but nonetheless got truly upset when they died is short, but it now has one more name. Pat Summitt was one of the greatest coaches I have ever had the pleasure of watching, and an inspirational woman.

The '85 Bears episode of 30 for 30 has some sad but touching footage of Mike Singletary visiting Buddy Ryan, and some emotional footage of Singletary and other former players reading a letter Ryan wrote to them:

Wow, what a lot of loss to the world of sports at once! As I said in another thread, I absolutely loved watching the Lady Vols play under Pat Summitt's coaching. What she did for women's sports! And both she and Buddy Ryan inspired such a lasting devotion, respect, and true affection in so many of their former players. In the 30 for 30 about the '85 Bears, watching Mike Singletary and other defensive players who'd written the letter to Halas that saved Ryan's job in 1981 read the letter Ryan wrote thanking them was very emotional. As was reading yesterday how many former Vols flew to Summitt's bedside this weekend. But, honestly, I'm relieved for both of them. Terribly sad for their families and other loved ones, of course, but both have been in such poor health that was only going to get worse -- for them, I'm glad the suffering is over.

BET has a transcript of Jesse Williams' fantastic speech up on its website.

I figured Maura's condition would mean a visit from Hope, and that's great, but for a while there I was sure the writers had forgotten Maura has an actual mother. Do they not have a good relationship? Does she live on Mars? In other words, why is "being mothered" new to Maura, and why didn't anyone call her in addition to Hope? (I haven't seen very many of the early season episodes.) Since when does a patient walk back into her room after surgery? (Or, come to think of it, had she been wheeled back in earlier without us seeing, and when Hope was helping her into bed it was just after she'd done a little walk around the room?) And since when does a patient have brain surgery - even a small incision - and come out with their hair looking just as it did when they went in? I swear every police drama I have ever seen where a woman died at the bottom of the stairs, it turns out her husband/boyfriend had an identical incident with another woman in his past.

Oh, all sorts of states have weird alcohol prohibitions. There are also some where wine and beer can be sold in supermarkets, but not liquor. (And at least one where only wine produced in that state can be sold in supermarkets.) Some only have state-run liquor stores (in NH, they're along the highway). Blue laws where you can't buy alcohol on Sunday. Texas won't even allow alcohol to be served on Sunday flights until you leave the ground (you don't have to leave TX air space, at least). Some states don't allow liquor sales on certain holidays, or election day.

You may not have missed anything; they didn't do a big announcement, and didn't mention him for a while after he disappeared, just later tossing in casual references to him loving retired life with his young girlfriend.

I love David, the ACLU lawyer; he's probably my favorite of Christine's boyfriends. (Unlike Mary Beth, I wasn't clamoring for them to get married or anything, mind you, I just liked the relationship while it lasted.) They left La Guardia alive and well on the show, just retired him off-screen (living with a younger woman) and making occasional references to him, and kept Sidney Clute in the credits all the way through. Crs97, I also got a kick out of Cagney's way of referring to her namesake.

I feel the same way about HOAs for houses. When I had a townhouse in a 9-unit building, obviously there needed to be an HOA to handle the common areas/shared expenses, and I was fine with the CC&Rs requiring exterior uniformity, because the building looks better that way. But we still weren't nitpicky about what kind of plants you could have outside or anything like that; just don't paint your front door a different color than everyone else's front door, put up a different porch light, etc. With my house, though? No way in hell would I live someplace where I was subject to those kind of restrictions. The city's general prohibitions on the worst behavior are all the protection from my neighbors I need; if someone paints their house a hideous color or lets their yard go to pot, I'm more than willing to live with that rather than having HOA rules.

Yes, Maharincess, it's great to "see" you again; I've been thinking about you so much since Kaylee died. I understand how you feel (my heart ached reading "I don't know what to do with myself" because that's exactly how I described it), and I wish there was something I could do to help, but I know there isn't; only time does, and it's a slow process that feels downright unbearable for a while. Riley is bathing on the desk in front of me right now (and I got her to eat about 1/3 can of food total between two feedings, which is not a meal, but is great for her!), so I've given her a kiss on the head from her virtual aunt. And you give yourself a hug from me; I'm just so sorry for what you're going through.

To X-Files fans, she'll always be Amanda Nelligan.

Well, I am exhausted, because Riley was too busy rolling around on top of me (including on my face) and next to me to sleep - and she also talked to me much of the night, in this little mouse squeak sound - but I am so impressed with the fact she made it out of the office and down the hall to the bedroom on her first night. I closed off that "wing" of the house and opened the office door, giving her access to the hallway, main bathroom, and bedroom. Over the course of several hours last evening, she started exploring for a few minutes at a time before running back into me/the office for reassurance. Then when it was time for bed, she followed me part of the way and then eventually made her way into the bedroom following my call. She explored, I got in bed, and within minutes she hopped up and joined me. And the cuddling began. She went back and forth all night, but spent most of her time with me until about 5:00 when she retired to her safe spot in the office to finally sleep. A couple hours before then, she'd gone in to eat on her own. Not a whole lot, and the dry food instead of the canned <sigh>, but at least she ate with zero prompting from me. Still nothing in the litter box, but a few minutes ago she drank some water for the first time. So, wonderful progress for her first night! My parents are coming over in a little while, so we'll see how she does with people other than me. Updated to say she did pretty well (for her <g>). She dove under the bed when she heard them come in, but she eventually came out and let them quickly pet her. Then we switched some TVs around, and Riley hid under one bed or another through all of it, but when we were done she readily came back out for another quick hello. So, for her to let two random people pet her after just about 24 hours in her new home is great. She'll get used to them. She's meeting her Auntie tomorrow.

I'm another Chit Chat refugee, here to report that I've adopted a new kitty. For those who don't know, I lost my Baxter right before Christmas '13, and my Maddie this past September. Finally ready to adopt again, I set off to the shelter to select two (adult) cats ... and came home with one. She's about five years old, and came in to the shelter in February with four others (the owner had died), and they all had issues. She was the only one of that group left (one was euthanized, two were deemed unadoptable and sent to a sanctuary, and one was adopted after going through the socialization program and improving), and she was horribly depressed and scared (despite going through the same socialization program). She's spent all these months hiding in a box inside her cage, losing weight from not eating much, etc. She rubbed her head against my hand from inside her box, but later on my lap she just shook from head to toe and hid her face in between my arm and body. If one of her siblings had still been around, that would have made the perfect two to take, but I knew I couldn't ask her to adjust to a new random cat and me at the same time. (And I sure as hell couldn't leave her there; the odds of anyone else wanting to adopt her, period, let alone before they ran out of space due to kitten season and had to give up on her, were not something I could live with, even if I somehow could have walked away from the saddest eyes I've ever seen.) So I took her alone, and will go back and adopt a buddy for her when she feels secure, whenever that is. Since she promptly managed to get under my stove and hide upon being let out of the carrier (I had no idea a cat could fit back there, but she's tiny!), and then hid under the twin bed I use as a sofa in my home office when I moved her there, I figured this would, indeed, be a long project. But when I poked my head under the bed skirt to check on her about 90 minutes later, she came out. She inspected me for about ten minutes, and then started purring and rubbing me. And she hasn't stopped! She even licks my nose. She still hides under the bed when I'm not in the room with her, thinks the big, bad world outside this room is a scary place to be avoided even if I'm there, hasn't eaten much and will only eat out of my hand, hasn't peed, pooped or slept, is scared of unexpected noises or sounds, etc. So she is definitely a project cat. But so much less of a project than I thought. She's a sweetheart, who has improved dramatically in just eight hours, so she'll be queen of the castle in time. I've named her Riley, because after a rough start in life, she will live the "life of Riley" from now on. Here she is, with eyes no longer sad:

I live in Los Angeles, so, yes, I put "the" before a freeway, but it's not "the I-5" it's just "the 5." Like someone upthread, I always notice - and twitch - when a character adds "the" despite being born and raised someplace where that's not how it's said.

I don't believe that particular article mentioned it, no. (Rather than the recordings of both songs being played on acoustic guitar that the jury heard, the plaintiffs wanted them to hear the original recording of Taurus, and that's what the attorney is referring to by saying the jury didn't hear the music.) The L.A. Times has a more comprehensive article.