Bastet

This seems as fake as any other reality show -- what grandmother who, years ago, sought professional help to understand what it means that her grandchild is a transgender person just now learns that "tranny" is a slur, among other things - but if you're going to set up an overly-perfect cast with awkward exposition, this is a more worthy subject than most. The sad fact is we don't live in a world where anything less than this preternaturally delightful subject - and her family - could catch on in the same way, so I'm hopeful this show takes off and opens some eyes. I also hope it gets a bit more nuanced as it progresses, and there are promo scenes suggesting that will be the case. Watching Jazz falling victim to body insecurity and envy the same as any cisgender girl made for some of the most poignant moments for me.

I know almost nothing about the show, because the episode I watched on a plane was terrible (and me liking anything from misogynist Chuck Lorre is a rarity, so I was never inclined to seek out more), but I thought I'd read on TWoP that Sheldon was asexual. Is that true? (And, if so, did they write some horrid scenario in which he was asexual until "the love of the right person brought him around"?)

I've been re-watching the series on DVD, this time with the "Notes About Nothing" enabled, and it wasn't all that long ago that I refreshed my memory on when Jason Alexander realized George was a stand-in for Larry David, yet I've already forgotten. I do recall it was with Elaine's description of George to Cynthia (when Jerry and Elaine fixed the two of them up) that Alexander realized his physical traits had become as fair game as David's mentality/experiences when writing George.

Kahn talked some about the ways in which Kaye sexually harassed her during Two by Two on Broadway, and other women in the production shared similar experiences.

The clue quoted lyrics from the final verse, but in asking for what genre it was the perfect song, it was pointing to the "A friend of mine named Steve Goodman wrote that song ... he said it was the perfect country and western song ... I told him it was not [because it was missing x, y, and z] ... he wrote another verse ... [now it is perfect]" interlude of the song. Since the clue was somewhat specifically dealing with Coe's version, I attributed it that way.

The characters on Designing Women had a great discussion about that in one episode.

Maura sits around the house (knowing there’s no chance of being called in, as she’s suspended) in slacks and high heels? Okay, this is nowhere near as egregious as when Guiding Light killed off Maureen Bauer for short-term impact and then realized, oh shit, that wasn’t remotely worth it for the long-term loss of an important element. But, while on a much lesser scale, to me this is the same idea. It’s not as if this is a squad who has never experienced a personal loss. Or this was such an intriguing storyline the personal connection turned it into something terrific. Suzie (Susie? Suzy?) was an enjoyable tertiary character (the die-o-rama?!) needlessly sacrificed to a humdrum plot. I hope this was the actor’s choice. If it was to make way for the new guy ... I missed the first ten minutes thanks to a conversation with my neighbor, and wasn’t able to fully engage with the episode, but I doubt I missed something that made this a good idea. I figured the husband of the woman we saw last week would turn out to be a major player should this continue, so as soon as we saw the politician this week I knew that was it. Upon finding her iPod she listened to while doing examinations: “Isn’t that against regulations?” “Oh, have a drink.” According to the internet, the song is Shine On by Soil (excuse me, SOiL).

Well, I think that XF scene is just as likely to be Scully cringing as Gillian covering her laughter (she broke character many, many times and they just used other takes; not sure why this would make it in). But, to the general point, it doesn't tend to bother me, either. Jerry Seinfeld took all manner of crap for his inability to listen to/deliver a line without laughing, no matter how many takes they did, but it almost always worked for me on the grounds TV Jerry would, in fact, laugh at such a thing. Same with Roseanne Barr in the early seasons of Roseanne.

I take it they killed Suzie? I had to skip the original airing and wait for the repeat, but I figured based on the "one of their own" promos, it was Suzie being offed. This strikes me as shortsighted, but I guess I should watch first.

I saw very little of tonight’s game, in bits and pieces, so based on that … David Allan Coe’s song specifies the quoted lyrics (among others) render it the perfect “country and western” song, so I might have required a “be more specific” prompt for “country.” Probably not, as the clue sought the genre in general rather than the lyric itself, but I crack the hell up at that song so it stood out to me. Tina Brown surprised me as a TS in a category that spotted contestants her last name. Forehead was a bit surprising as a TS, but maybe they were thinking of the body part with which a baleen whale would slap its forehead (and thus wondering how that could be missing), rather than the forehead itself. Opie being the kid’s name as a DJ clue?

Madeline Kahn and several other women (at least) would disagree.

This being your first vacation in five years is obscene (and oh so American). This is one of the reasons my favorite mode of travel is alone. But I also find it easy to say, when traveling with others (which I also enjoy), "No thanks; have fun, but I'm going to do X and will meet up with you later" when I want to diverge. Don't let them ruin your relaxation! You don't ask them to do less than they want to do, and they don't ask you to do more than you want to do. Everyone is happy. You don't need to spend every minute of the vacation together to enjoy each other. I hope you have a great time.

In the DC-area Landmarks category, this was the clue (according to the archive): The figure of this 20th century man is carved into the "Stone of Hope", which stands past the "Mountain of Despair"

I've only had two people cut my hair in my entire life that I can remember; one from childhood through shortly after college, and then another from then until now. I'm not overly thrilled with either of them as a stylist, but the cuts are perfect -- and, as someone with naturally curly hair, that's the most important thing to me, because not all hairdressers know how to cut it properly (which is ridiculous, so add that to my list of peeves).

I figured because the clue read "cleaning item" (rather than "cleaning product") that it was an implement of some sort, rather than a cleanser. So I started thinking of particular mops, brushes and such, while keeping synonyms for bright and shiny in the back of my mind, and Brillo pad came to me about halfway through. I knew MLK Jr., cedar, Wit, Monet, and ladder (that one really surprised me as a TS), but I'd never heard of a Jaffa orange or Jaffa, Israel, so that was a stumper for me, too. Padma Lakshmi was the only reality show host I knew; for Tom Bergeron, I said America's Funniest Home Videos.

I don't think IWTB lost money (it would be hard to, since its budget was so low), and I know FTF made money. But they both under-performed compared to what was expected, and IWTB's reception made it seem like widespread interest in XF just wasn't there anymore. So, XF just has a much better track record on TV than on film (the takeaway from FTF for the studio was pretty much, "People would rather see them on TV" given how much less money it made than was expected given that the series was at the height of its popularity). How this revival goes over with audiences will determine many things, I'm sure.

Jerry and Kramer both had cars (both of which spawned several storylines) and the network was constantly on Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld in the first few struggling seasons that the show was too specific (read: too New York, too Jewish, and even too specifically the particular set of people with whom those two associated). So maybe I should say I'm surprised this wasn't an early Seinfeld episode, but I remain - now that the issue of this so rarely happening on TV has been raised - surprised.

Judging by the running commentary of the few event coordinators I know, this is not limited to TV. Whether TV influenced or is merely reflecting reality (or a combination of both), the idea of a wedding (ring, dress, reception, etc.) one can actually afford - not just come up with ways to finance - has gone the way of the dodo for most people.

That would offend me into a cardiac event. She's been at risk for eons, by her own choice. Of all the things Mulder should have learned long before now, it's that she doesn't need him leaving her for her own protection. I don't know if it will be a central storyline, but they pretty much have to make reference to all the new ways the government is spying on us (at least those we know of).

Come to think of it, I don't believe I've seen frozen car door locks or the like on TV -- it's something I've only ever heard about from the travails of my friend in Chicago. I'd chalk this up to being a result of so many shows filming in L.A. (where we definitely do not have that problem), but a lot of TV writers are from other places, and some of them are writing shows that are set in colder climates ... with TV's love for wacky hijinks, I'm surprised this hasn't happened. In fact, I'm now particularly surprised Seinfeld never did an entire episode about it.

Since it's an electronic "pen," is it even possible to continue writing after time expires, or is it disabled?

There's a terrific local hardware store that has been in the neighborhood since well before I was born, so I've generally shopped there, but I occasionally find myself at Home Depot. Back in the day, it seemed like Home Depot was for people who really knew what they were doing (while Lowe's seemed to cater to people with pretty basic home improvement skills), so it was nice to shop there. Now, though, the inventory is still fairly decent, but the knowledge level among employees ... forget it. The chain supermarkets in my area are among those requiring all employees to effectively act as greeters, so if I'm there at a time where there are a number of workers out and about (stocking the shelves, etc,), it's like running a gauntlet of "Hi, how are you doing today? Can I help you find anything?" I'm sure they'd rather shoot themselves, so I'm certainly not going to take it out on them, but it gets old in a hurry. Do stores really have data showing most customers enjoy this practice?

He had a long list of credits, but Mr. Racine (My So-Called Life) and Lord John Marbury (WW) are my primary associations.

I'm bummed by the death of Kenny Stabler. I grew up a Raiders fan in the '70s, so he looms large in my earliest football memories. I also really enjoy listening to his commentary in Top Ten episodes and such. I like that his family donated his brain and spinal cord for an ongoing research project on degenerative brain disease among athletes.

There used to be a great Mongolian grill place nearby, but it went out of business a couple of years ago. My next-favorite one is in a friend's old neighborhood, but since she no longer lives there and it's an hour away, I won't be making the trek just for dinner. But now I'm inspired to check out some of the local places to see if they're any good.