CousinAmy

I don't understand how a child molester is not a pedophile, or a pedophile is not a child molestor. Are you saying that there are pedophiles who do not act on their impulses? Is that possible?

Aaaah, Goldfishgate. I think Will may have been given the goldfish - or taken them - for snacktime at school. That's why Jen let him take them for later - but being a four-year-old he couldn't resist opening them right away. I definitely would have taken the bag away from him. I work in Head Start so I have had experience with more than 1,000 preschoolers over the years. I have the "teacher voice" down pat, and it always works. (Think of Supernanny's technique: lower your voice, not raise it, get down to eye-level, and follow through on what you intend to do.) A lot of our kids are defiant, and won't listen to their parents. But they are well-behaved in the classroom because they know the rules, and the consequences. I didn't like the way the swimming instructor treated Zoey. Yes, she's tiny and delicate, but she's her own person and her protests should have been respected. I would never drag a screaming child into the water. The instructor should have been much more gentle and patient. He could have played with her in the shallow end, maybe blow some bubbles, take her out, then try again in a few minutes. When a child is in distress don't say, "Oh, you're alright," that invalidates her feelings. Say, "I know you're scared, but we'll get through this together. Now, would you like to try blowing bubbles?" Sometimes you do have to take a hand or pick up a toddler, but into the water, where she has absolutely no power, control, or choice, no. Will did pretty well in the pool, but he's being taught to belly-flop, not dive. And is there a ladder for him to get out of the pool safely, not just climb up over the edge? In any case, it looks like he can handle himself around water.

When Rosie O had her own show, she spoke about her children a lot, although she never showed pictures of them. I'm pretty sure she said they were all bi-racial. In fact, she made a big point of it. (Not referring to Mia, who only lived with her for a short time. I thought that the home situation just didn't work out, not that Rosie and Kelly were turned down for being gay.) And I don't think Rosie's experience being gay is the same as a black man or woman's, since yes, she can "pass" while Whoopi cannot. My Dad had to change his name back in the 1950s because it sounded "too Jewish." (He was an accountant in the steel industry and yes, the President of the company was also Jewish.) A black man in the same position wouldn't even have a chance at that job, at that time.

Ahh, upon re-watch, I see Dean was the one to use "Chunks of my soul" when he's talking to the producer. That conversation was the one in which the producer asks him why he shut down filming without asking permission. So Dean is not allowed to shut down filming, only Tori? He must feel like he's in prison. I didn't know you could shop for pets in a slaughterhouse. Good to know, a week before Chanukah!

I don't understand why they even had that "Frozen" segment with Rosie. (I know this is very trivial compared to larger issues, but it bugged me.) It's a shameless plug for the movie merchandise. The little girls singing has gone viral? I haven't heard or seen it anywhere, and I can't imagine people are clamoring to see it. It's cute that Rosie's baby is so engaged with "Frozen," as are most of my preschool students. But this went beyond a cute anecdote - the merchandise was piled up on a cart and wheeled right onto the set. Unless Rosie's getting a kickback for each time she mentioned the film, the characters, or the stuff, it's very strange.

In this case, "minority" means that there are more citizens - "the majority" - than police - who may be white, but in terms of numbers are "the minority." I hope I made that clear! And Whoopi is so wrong about "this could be anyone's child" - meaning white, black, Latino, etc. The white teenager walks around with a buffer around him - a person of color, not so much. What world does she live in?

I haven't watched this show for ages, but just started again this season. How long does the season last? Do they drop one singer or 2 every week? Not that I'm bored, but...it's sort of boring after the blind auditions.

I wonder if there is a cultural divide that is at play in Rosie P's appreciation of catcalling? The men who are saying "Mami you look good" are connecting with her, and it seems to have been mutually understood. If I had men commenting like that to me, I'd be very annoyed. I don't mind a friendly smile, but anything beyond that to me is inappropriate. I don't need random strangers making remarks about me every few feet as I walk down the block. Once again Rosie O shocks me with her poor judgment. She thought "Mama June" was the loving matriarch of one big happy family? That that was just an image she created along with the support of TLC was known to anyone who had a working knowledge of Google. That family was a train wreck played out in slow-mo and TLC knew it all along. They were complicit in allowing this God-awful family to continue their slovenly, grifter ways.

Regarding Rosie's anecdote about the gun: my point wasn't that some kids like to shoot BB guns, but that Rosie has been so vociferous about not having guns in the house, why would she let the older one own one? And where is the consequence to the older one for having it near where the younger one would find it? She has said that after Columbine she was so depressed that she couldn't get out of bed for days. She famously had a fight with Tom Selleck about guns. And now it's just, tee hee, my boys like to shoot guns. Her sense of value is so out of whack - I think true colors are starting to show.

The other shocker from Rosie was her son's use of the BB gun. My dad had a BB gun when I was a teenager and we used to shoot BBs at cans in the backyard (I always felt sorry for the people who later bought the house. Whatever happened to those hundreds of BBs?) but times are different, and people are more sensitive to teens shooting guns, even if they are "just" BB guns. The older son was supposed to keep the gun away from the home but somehow he brought it inside, where the younger one found it. This is exactly how kids kill other kids! Unsecured guns! It could have been a shotgun, rifle or pistol. And Rosie minimized it. I thought she was so anti-gun that she would be shocked - but no, it just became a funny anecdote. And Whoopi? Don't make him pay for the whole window? Yes! Make him pay every penny. Let him wash cars or sell lemonade or walk dogs - whatever it takes, make him pay for the damage. I'm not feeling any of these women these days. (Or maybe it's just me?)

Going back to the cat-calling discussion, I was shocked that the women seemed to think it was all about "flattery." Those men weren't flattering the young woman, they were harassing her. I expected more from them then just "that one guy who walked next to her, he was creepy." I thought they were all creepy, with the "Hey Mama" and one who called out, "Hey $1000 bucks." Not having been in NYC for a long time, I thought it was just "construction guys" calling out from a distance, but no, there seemed to be men loitering in doorways, hanging around, make rude advances. I give her a lot of credit for hanging in there, although she was probably in no danger in broad daylight on busy streets. I would have ducked into every coffee shop along the way to avoid the prying eyes. Some man commented on the video, "What should a man say if he finds a woman attractive?" and others answered, "Nothing. She was just trying to get from Point A to Point B without being called out by rude creeps."

Note to Sherri: just because you can afford those shoes doesn't mean they're not ugly.

I'm really no good at judging this, but it seemed that Cathy's dancers were way better than Abby's. They had actual dance moves, while the ALDC girls mostly had attitude. Lots of stalking and strutting, but not anything that looked like skills. No wonder the other Abby's girls basically won because their fans cheered the loudest. I do hope if Abby opens the LA studio we don't see too much of a grown man who calls himself Ebaby.

Usually the press releases are sent out by the Hospital or recipient of the donation. I think it was a very generous gesture on Barbara's part. When a hospital or foundation receives a grant or donation of that size, they usually want to publicize it. It encourages others to donate, too. I've worked in development, and this is how it goes.

I have seen the three previous TV (ha!) versions of this show Julie Andrews with Jon Cypher, Lesley Ann Warren with Stewart Damon (swoon) and Brandi and I have to say I love the music - especially the waltz "10 minutes ago." I would have loved to see the Prince and Cinderella singing it, but I have no interest at all in seeing Sherri.

Does anyone know how much money Team America won? It was just Derrick who survived, I think?

Holla! I've been watching but haven't been on the threads. But so glad to be here, and pulling for Derrick!

Nichole said, "Maybe they are pumping helium into my apartment but I feel happy most of the time. And I find it BORING (my emphasis) when celebrities talk about 'I'm so sad all the time.' Rosie gave her analogy about the "deep end of the pool is where the treasures are" but Nichole said she was happy in the shallow end of the pool, and then Whoopi, of course, went to commercial. Nichole does come across happy most of the time, but she also seems sort of shallow. Just my view!

I also couldn't listen to the whole interview, so thanks to Roger for transcribing it. Does she realize she's reinforcing negative stereotypes in her attempts at "humor"? Most people have their little jokes about their culture's foibles, but stop short of making rude, ignorant references to them.

He said he had been playing chess with Henry Morgan for 65 years, so suppose he was a child prodigy who played chess at 5, that puts him as 70, born in 1944, so that makes some sense.

I guess I just compounded the two situations. I am not blaming the victim. I do think everyone should be aware of what is happening around them; we teach children to look both ways before they cross the street but we don't - or shouldn't - blame them if they get hit by a car. They seem to have a suspect in mind at this point so I hope that her family gets some answers soon.

It's not on in my area (NYC) because of a football game. Does anyone know when it will be re-scheduled?

"Victim-blaming" might be a better term, and not so gender-charged.

I feel sick to my stomach watching the videos of the missing college student out, alone, seemingly in an inebriated state. She seemed so vulnerable. At the same time I'm in a FB group about missing people, and one case came up of a 16-year-old girl who had been found, murdered, after meeting up with someone she met online. Is it slut-shaming to say, "Be careful out there?" I don't think so. That line was popularized by an actor playing a cop on Hill Street Blues, to his squad. The fact is that people - men, women, children - should be careful out there. There are predators, there are people who will take advantage of someone in a weaker state, there are terrible things that can happen to you when you're not in control. I would think a parent is well within their rights to tell their children - male or female - how to take care of themselves, how to be aware of your surroundings, how to guard your privacy when on the Internet. That's not shaming, that's self-preservation.

Everyone on the jury knows about Derrick's little girl - either from pictures, hearing her voice, and possibly from Derrick's own mouth. If I were on the jury I'd vote for him, hands down. Of course he deserves to win for his brilliant gameplay, but most of the jury members also have a soft spot for Derrick's young family. Frankie will try to sway the jury to vote for Victoria just to spite the guys, but I don't believe he'll have much influence. Obviously everyone has seen his true colors by now.