Literata

Considering that music with a beat is a no-no, I was surprised he allowed the kids to try out the drums.

I so hope you're right. She doesn't seem overly warm with her siblings, so I hope that tendency to be a little prickly doesn't carry over into motherhood. Once they announce on Tuesday night, I'm sure we'll be overwhelmed with pregnancy pics. Jessa's somewhat of a selfie queen anyway, so it has to be killing her to keep the news quiet.

All I could think about as I looked at the photos in the People article was, "My God, he DOES look like Jim-Bob." Those Duggar genes are pretty dominant. It's disappointing, as Boob is Boob and all, but all the Duggar kids are really pretty good-looking, so I imagine Iz will be OK.

I love that idea, but I can see Boob and MEchelle viewing "Mary" names as "too Catholic" (his mom's name notwithstanding). My former in-laws are Southern Baptist and said they had never considered naming a child Mary as it's a "Catholic name."

Quietly, yes, One of my favorite scenes in any of the Derick-Jill episodes is the one where he talks about how LOUD she is all the time. "Why don't you go ahead and drive to work today. You probably need some time to decompress from your day on the way home." "I have an idea -- take the weekend and go spend some one-on-one time with your mom. I'm sure it would boost her spirits."

I agree about Marj's hair. But let me tell you -- wavy hair is the worst. To create those spiral curls all the girls seem to like, you really have to straighten it, then curl it. My hair was exactly like that when it was long, and it look way too much time to style. Maybe Marj is just over it.

I've never seen it addressed. But in the episode in which she and TFDW and their little boy visit Smuggar and Anna to help them look for a house, she didn't sound nearly as feeble-minded. Maybe she can turn it on and off, a la MEchelle.

It probably seems as though I'm constantly making fun of the guy, but that's not my intent. I'm as liberal as they come and have quite a few gay friends/family members, so his (presumed) sexual orientation isn't an issue ... I am just flabbergasted by the sheer degree of his fabulousness. I sincerely hope Priscilla and the kids aren't left high and dry when he finds Mr. Right.

I don't think Alyssa misses that circus at ALL. Read the "Jill's birth experience" story in People last night. Derick's Invisalign was in full view, and Jill looked very, very pretty. Too bad the People stylists weren't around on her wedding day.

He IS cute, isn't he. The Bateses are a nice-looking bunch. Can we fantasize that he's there because he's courting Jinger?

Agreed. I'll never forget that she showed genuine affection to him when she and Jill arrived to help when Anna was in labor with MacKynzie. And when Michelle was in labor with one of the howler girls, I remember being struck by the fact that Josh was genuinely worried about her and called her "Mommy."

Michael is Michael James after both grandfathers. I'm calling it now: This baby will be Michelle Suzette.

Is the kid on the left just really, really excited? Those eyes...

It also gave me pause when the crowd erupted in applause after the minister announced at Jessa and Binjermin's wedding that they wanted to share their first kiss in private. I'm sure some portion of the fundy world looks down on the famewhore, dog-and-pony-show aspect of the whole thing. And I'm not deluding myself into believing that the Kellers aren't as wack-a-doodle as the rest of them, but they seem to be hard-working people without much of a pot to piss in, and I wonder if it rubs them the wrong way that the Duggars have become notorious simply on the basis of their procreative capabilities.

Found this gem on the same page. Priscilla ... just wow. Poor thing.

Fuzzysox, here you go. Enjoy! Really? That's interesting. Although, as we've noted, Priscilla's probably not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and it wouldn't be that difficult for TFDW to sneak a little "personal time." But the fact that Mr. Keller made that demand ... interesting indeed.

The Priscilla-TFDW wedding episode was on this morning! I woke up to TFDW directing the music. Fabulously. The fact that I mentioned "gaydar" on another thread was offensive to some, and I do apologize for that. But it blows me away that no one in Prisclla's orbit -- including, presumably, her two pants-wearing sisters -- thought to mention to Priscilla before the wedding that her intended was a little ... flamboyant. Or perhaps they did, and Priscilla would have none of it. Either way, I had to laugh this morning; the man is just so, so fabulous.

I think it's more likely the producers are suggesting a timeline for premium exposure. It's a gold mine for them if they can roll out a big event every couple of weeks. Guaranteed ratings.

She was clearly pregnant in the People Magazine photos. They've done a really bad job of hiding this. But I don't know why it would surprise anyone; a Duggar girl's self-worth is derived primarily from her ability to add to the herd. Getting pregnant is Job One. I wish them all the best, but I just keep hoping one of them will break the cycle.

Duggar marathon tonight. They must be ratings gold for TLC right now.

I'm predicting an August 16 delivery, and I'm thinking boy. For what it's worth.

Absolutely, positively agree. But sometimes a gay person does fit a stereotype; TFDW, for example. Of course I don't know that he's gay, and his sexual orientation matters only in that I'd hate to see Priscilla hurt. My only point with the "is he or isn't he" conversation is that I hate that the Duggars feel homosexuality is a sin, and that they'd be likely to subscribe to the "pray away the gay" theory, which, IMHO, is heartbreaking.

This is apropos of absolutely nothing, but I was looking at this photo of the Bateses and couldn't help but laugh -- look how huge Erin's head and face are compared to everyone else's. Did they Photoshop her in? (Not trying to be mean -- I think all the Bates girls are lovely. Maybe it's the angle? The hair? Something?) http://thebatesfamily.com/

I'd love to turn a psychiatrist loose on MEchelle. I find it incredible that no one has called her on the fact that her children cease to be interesting or relevant to her after she stops nursing them. My hunch is that in the Gothard cult, a woman's job is to birth as many children as possible to populate "God's army," and that Gothard actually advises turning babies over to the younger kids so Mom and Dad can start procreating again. But, seriously, what kind of person would go along with that bullshit? The Bateses are Gothard, but even they don't seem to have subscribed to the "buddy" theory in full force; Gil and Kelly really do seem to be raising their own kids.

Exactly. She was diagnosed with preeclampsia; delivering the baby was the only option. The gallbladder stuff was a side note. Of course she'd be loathe to admit that her pregnancy was high-risk in any way.