Bastet

I became violently angry when that damn paperclip started showing up in MS Word and trying to talk to me about the format of my document, so I'm definitely not the target audience for a car that will make driving decisions for me. (A warning sound, fine. Taking over operation of the controls, no.)

I like so many songs listed in this thread, and without guilt. The only song I am truly embarassed to have on my iPod is Donna Fargo's The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A. Songs that probably should embarass me to own, but don't: Bell Biv DeVoe, Do Me! Naughty by Nature, O.P.P. Tiffany, Should've Been Me Bertie Higgins, Key Largo David Allan Coe, You Never Even Call Me By My Name Vixen, How Much Love Trixter, One in a Million Janie Fricke, She's Single Again The Gatlin Brothers, All the Gold in California Tracey Ullman, They Don't Know Aqua, Barbie Girl Divinyls, I Touch Myself Quiet Riot, Cum on Feel the Noize (the spelling, yes, the song, no) Positive K, I Got a Man David Frizzell, I'm Gonna Hire a Wino to Decorate Our Home Skid Row, Youth Gone Wild Gary Wright, Dream Weaver DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Parents Just Don't Understand Pebbles, Girlfriend Coolio, Gangsta's Paradise Joe Nichols, Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off Bananarama, Cruel Summer Biz Markie, Just a Friend Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, Good Vibrations Anne Murray, Now and Forever and Could I Have This Dance T.G. Sheppard, War is Hell on the Homefront Too The Oak Ridge Boys, Elvira Colbie Caillat, Bubbly Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, Young Girl And now I am off to download Waiting for a Star to Fall ...

More than one point, I think. "You know I always wanted to pretend I was an architect!" "I'm an architect." "Really. What do you design?" "Uh, railroads ..." "I thought engineers do that." "They can."

This is just free therapy, but since I lost my Baxter six months ago this morning, I'm taking up some space to remember him among other cat people. Adopted from the shelter Dec. 10, 2000, at six months of age (alongside approximately 3-year-old Maddie), the grey goober with white paws who was given the name Baxter Adam was very much a kitten. He’d wake up in the morning ready to play, but unwilling to let me out of his sight. So he’d race downstairs, select a toy, and carry it back up onto the bed with him to play there while Maddie and I dozed. He carried a lot of things around in his mouth as a youngster, most notably a box of Brita filters and a foam wedge larger than his body. Although he slowed down as he aged - and devoted himself fully to getting at least the requisite 16 hours of sleep per day - Baxter took his ornery streak to the grave with him. He never gave up chasing his tail, but decided it could only be done in select locations: on the bed, in front of the kitchen sink or, most fun, in the bathtub. Nor did he give up chasing Maddie, or delighting in her chasing him back. Even more prominent than the orneriness was the sweetness. Bax was a sensitive soul who loved to cuddle and showed great empathy when Maddie or I were unwell. A total "Mama’s Boy," he was the most child-like cat I’ve ever had. If he stepped on something, got something in his fur, became upset that Maddie had stolen his food, etc., instead of handling it himself he’d come running up to me, crying for help like a toddler. Baxter earned a reputation for experiencing every illness and injury common to veterinary science – and more than a few that weren’t. Time and again, a specialist would marvel, “This is most unusual.” Our regular vet would say, “How very Baxter.” I'd just scratch his ears and pay another bill. In the end, all those maladies took a toll. He must have had some underlying heart condition (knowing him, probably a congenital defect normally found only in the wallaby), and the cumulative stress was too much. On Dec. 17th, he went into cardiac arrest out of the blue. It's a long, traumatizing story of medical miracles and cautious optimism, but that isn't the story of his life (and, quite frankly, it's still hard to talk about that surreal experience). Suffice to say, I got him to the hospital quickly, and 19 minutes of CPR brought him back and for three days in ICU it looked as if Baxter would defy the odds once again, but then came a second arrest and after several minutes of unsuccessful CPR I had them stop compressions. What kind of life would I be bringing him back to even if it worked, since it had already happened again and a battery of tests couldn't identify the underlying cause? Life has gone on, as it does when these things happen, and Maddie and I are settled into a new routine. But the spaces of my heart taken up by The Bax will never fully heal, and that's okay -- better to suffer that void than to have never had my heart filled by loving him in the first place.

I think Airbus planes are far too automated, and the thought of a generation of pilots trained only on such systems (e.g. Air France 447) scares the crap out of me - and I say this as someone with a lifetime ease with flying. We need to stop getting so caught up in what technology can do that we lose sight of the limits on what it should do. This is the line of thinking I go down every time I see an ad for one of these cars that substitutes computerized "thinking" for human decision-making. I think the two can work hand-in-hand, but the commercials almost universally lead me to fear the driver has been stripped of too much power - dangerous now, but also in the future if people learn to drive by relying on this increasing array of automated systems and thus don't know how to deal in the event of system failure.

Indeed. I love when Jon and Stephen crack each other up and break character. Thus, I also adore the pirate toss.

Yeah, Ensure is something one drinks because it's all that stands between them and malnutrition. When I was caring for my grandpa in his final year, I worked like a mad scientist to doctor that stuff up into something he could finish a glass of. Unless this PediaSure is so full of sugar kids are having a very different gustatory experience than their elder counterparts, how is it preferable to broccoli, let alone waffles? Regardless, the commercials piss me off - for the whiny, demanding kids and for the parents who are too damn lazy or cowed to do their job as parents. And most of all for the marketing execs who decided to peddle something made to temporarily nourish sick children as a substitute for balanced meals in picky eaters.

No. I don't even like cars that automatically lock the doors, so I certainly don't want my car to make driving decisions.

Plus, they didn't have a large enough piece to do the backsplash above the stove as one slab, so they had to join two pieces together, which broke up the pattern and made the joint obvious. And then they used a different stone on the island, even though it didn't remotely coordinate with the green they'd use for countertops and backsplash.

Other than the wife who's dispatched with in the opening flashback (and I guess the woman with no lines who runs the halfway house and the female customer with one line at the grocery store), The Shawshank Redemption features only men.

That's harder to do off screen, when the actor has died and thus isn't available for any new footage. Fundamentally, it has less emotional impact for me than an unexpected, happenstance death. While I liked the characters' accident scene reactions, particularly Frankie's, I think Korsak receiving the phone call would have made for an even better final scene.

I couldn't begin to estimate how many times I've seen that episode, and every time I watch it I swear I'm going to make it through the poem without tearing up. It should be easy, given the fact I know it so well I recite it along with her and I'm not prone to tears, but damn if my eyes don't get moist every time. Sara Gilbert, Roseanne and Laurie Metcalf all nail it.

Oh my god, something about being in bed with a Mormon on one side of her and a naked gay man on the other and "What am I supposed to do with that?"

That was one of those "Holy shit!" moments that doesn't happen all that often in television.

I love Stephen's meltdown, but the segment is not a favorite as I just can't get past listing "welfare reform" as one of Bill Clinton's accomplishments, as I consider the dismantling of AFDC and replacement with TANF one of the darkest stains on his presidency.

I like her politics and her acting, but I missed the broadcast. TCM will air it August 1st, her "Summer Under the Stars" day, but I'm not sure of the time.

I think the best segment of Decorating Cents was the one where she redecorated a room simply by moving things around and swapping out furniture with other rooms of the house. It gave great ideas on how to make a room look new at zero cost. They were too hokey for words - a then-colleague and I used to imitate the poses they did at the end of the opening credits - but the basic ideas made the show watchable. I really miss Gardening by the Yard.

I remember you saying your dislike stemmed from it being sheep's milk. Have you ever tried some of the "feta" cheese made with cow's milk? (I haven't, as I love real feta, so I have no idea of its flavor profile, but I know it exists.)

My neighbor asked me to come help her with something, and we came inside to find her visiting granddaughter watching Titanic on television. My neighbor spots it and says, "I told you we're not watching that damn thing." The granddaughter says to me, "Can you believe she doesn't like this movie?" Yes. Yes, I can. So I delivered a mini-dissertation on the big ball of wrong that is the storytelling approach, and felt the spirit of this thread at my back.

I hate potatoes in any form (yeah, yeah, I've heard it all numerous times), and since I don't have to routinely cook for anyone else, not only do I not eat them, I don't often make them. But as part of my dad's recent birthday dinner, I made a scallion, potato and herb puree that my potato-loving parents both devoured. Leftovers are reputed to be delicious browned in olive oil or clarified butter. It was really easy, so I share it here. This serves probably six, four with leftovers in mind: 2 large russet potatoes 4 T unsalted butter 3 cups chopped scallions, including an inch of the greens 1/2 cup water 1/3 cup chopped parsley, chervil or other favorite herb (I used parsely since I had it) Optional: 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese, for tang, or Gruyere for a richer version (I used Gruyere since my dad likes that better than goat cheese) Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks. Put them in a larege saucepan, cover with cold water, and add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and cook until soft, 20-25 minutes. Set aside a cup of the cooking water, then drain. At the appropriate interval, melt 1 T of the butter in a skillet, add the scallions, and toss to coat. Season with 1/2 tsp salt, add 1/2 cup water (regular, not the cooking water), and cook gently until softened, about 15 minutes. Combine the scallions and potatoes in a bowl and mash with the remaining butter, the parsley, and enough of the reserved cooking water to make a smooth, light puree (I wound up using 3/4 cup, adding 1/4 cup at a time). For a richer dish, warm milk or cream can be substituted. Stir in the cheese if using. Season to taste and serve.

From another thread: If you love yourself at all, you'll watch Drink Responsibly, in which Steve Carrell takes one for the team.

Emma walking in the bathroom when she thought Maggie was having an "ass explosion" and Maggie asking her why she came in if that's what she thought was happening was my favorite part of the episode. "I thought you needed help." I still haven't completely embraced the show (I think I'm nervous that as soon as I get invested in it, it's going to piss me off), but I'm enjoying it as a diversion and I absolutely love their friendship. Babies are not my thing in life, let alone on television, but I feel like they can make it work. I knew Emma was going to be the middle name, but I still got a big grin on my face when Maggie showed her the birth certificate. I really like that both Maggie and Bruce wanted it that way.

Only time will show how much of Lux's behavior is a result of FHS and how much is the lingering effects of all the trauma he has endured. I'm glad he's getting his meds regularly now, but it's too bad he has to be in yet another new environment to do so. I can't imagine how long it's going to take for this poor cat to feel like he has a secure home.

For me, it was Skeet Ulrich, and I must say he still did it for me recently when I caught him in an episode of L&O: SVU in syndication. Of course, it's largely because he's reminiscent of Johnny Depp, and I love me some Johnny Depp.

Damn, show. This has been a light, fluffy thing I enjoy in spite of itself – the acting is fine but just that and the writing is worse, but it’s a genuine, non-competitive friendship between two women with full lives, so I’m in. Except the pregnancy storyline turns me off on many levels, so I may be out. But I knew the news of Frost’s car accident would come at the end of this episode and I got home in time to have a glass of Maker’s Mark beforehand, so I watched. Blah, blah,blah, babycakes and all that. But when Korsak took that call, I actually got chills. Then everyone’s reaction at the scene – spot on. I hope next week is entirely about Frost. (And I'm SO glad the Frankie/Maura thing was dispatched with. If I could say the same of the pregnancy, I'd be really excited for this summer season.)