Mondrianyone

I froze my screen until I could figure out what Stacy's chest tat (complete with lipstick kiss) said--I'm 90% sure it was "Trust Nobody." Ironic. Staying in the chest department, I also noticed that the dog-bite victim's chest was bright red. Doesn't JJ normally comment on that as the mark of a liar? Or in this case an idiot. She's slipping. Maybe I don't have to wear that turtleneck when my case comes up after all.

I heard she has to leave them out in the lobby behind the concession stand when she goes into the theater to watch an R-rated movie.

Where's your Nobel Prize for this, I ask?!? Do you think he buys in bulk? It's no Tashma Body, but it's pretty great. And if they get married and she changes her last name, she'll be Purple Woo. Which really is truly great. This morning my husband asked me if I've tapped into some 24-hour Judge Judy channel, since whenever he passes the room where I watch TV, that's what's on. And then I felt sad because there should be one, and there isn't.

Can't remember whose answer it was, but I was surprised-not-surprised that "Strauss" didn't get a BMS. I also decided tonight that if I'm ever on the show, I'm not telling anybody in production that I've brought a lucky whatever with me, and if I do have something of that nature, I'm hiding it well on my person. Every time Alex mentions some lucky charm, the champ loses that same day, I swear.

When I was little, a "chocolate facial" meant we'd just had pudding for dessert. I know that we all--or most of us--liked to play with makeup and hairstyles and clomp around in Mom's high heels, but there's something uncomfortable about these spa days for girls six and seven years old. It feels JonBenét-ish to institutionalize all that stuff so early in life, and profit off it.

I hate to tell you, but it's not at all unusual for authors to forget their characters' names during the course of a manuscript. I see this frequently. It could just be that she doesn't have a good, attentive editorial team backing her up. Changing names shouldn't make it all the way through to the final bound book. I gave up on the Scarpetta books, too. The character started to creep me out for all sorts of reasons.

So funny! Who knew that pancake syrup would strike such a nerve with so many of us?! I wouldn't even dignify Leon's choices by mentioning them. I'm sure if Hamburger Helper made a Beef Cheeks flavor, he'd've been using that. He seemed like a very lazy, resentful guy. And I was pretty sure that Ben's red velvet cakes or muffins or whatever they were came from a mix, too. I'd be willing to give him a pass on that one, sort of. I bake, but I don't also have to crank out food all day long for a literal boatload of people. The point about making syrups from scratch with local fruits is such a good one, though. How hard is it to make some simple syrup and flavor it with fruit juice? Not very. It was. It was Sierra. I thought it was a secret child at first, too. But then I slo-mo'd it and saw her down there laughing.

The most shocking thing for me this episode is finding out that Ben uses Aunt Jemima pancake syrup! What kind of chef doesn't serve real maple syrup? I may be hypersensitive because I live in maple-syrup country, but still . . . Maybe the Brits just don't know any better. ;o)

I missed more TSs than usual tonight. Never heard of "Can't Stop the Feeling," I don't think. Smacked my head for not figuring out Kill Devil Hill. Just recently saw Louise Penny's name in a list of award winners, but didn't think of her. Embarrassing. I did get librarian (I was Queen of the Dewey Decimal System in grade school, bitches!), "Poison Ivy" (they were probably too young), Scarpetta, and Verrazano (and Yoey's from NYC!). I was surprised to hear Joel, a dialect coach no less, pronounce "schadenfrood." Maybe he doesn't do German.

Yeah, I had the misfortune of seeing that. I wonder if producers supply these recipes for them. Producers who hate them. If that's what she's aiming for, I think she already overshot it. She's actually making me sad. It all feels so desperate.

I can only conclude that Sunny doesn't have even one good girlfriend in the entire world, because any woman with a friend wouldn't show up on TV looking like that even once, let alone three or four times now. And the louder and more ridiculous her makeup has gotten, the louder and more obnoxious she's gotten. What the hell is she aiming for? I never FF through anybody, but I just can't stand watching her self-destruct, so FF she goes. Maybe now that that woman who won Food Network Star will be making some money, she can afford back teeth. I haven't managed to get through this whole episode yet. Was there a single dish worth watching for?

Me either. It's beyond creepy on at least a dozen different levels. And they're crazy expensive! I can think of so many better ways to waste that kind of money. The program descriptions on the Dish guide have not been matching the actual episodes or dates, so I never know if I'm watching something new or old unless they mention a year. Today I saw the boat-reupholstery case. Very weird coincidence. I really did study upholstery (in adult ed) with a man who'd been taught by the upholsterer who worked on most of JFK's furniture. (Or maybe that's what they all say!) The master upholsterer often subcontracted jobs out to my teacher. We got to be pretty good friends, and one day he took me into his storage building, where he kept pieces waiting to be redone.) He wanted to show me JFK's baby rocking chair, which later belonged to Caroline and JFK Jr. And I burst into tears. The only time I've ever cried about a chair. Anyway, the defendant upholsterer really did do a crappy job, but he and the plaintiff seemed to deserve each other.

I agree that it's possible the mother cashed in the CD, but it also seems odd to me that the daughter, who couldn't wait to get out of her parents' house and live on her own, left a bunch of money sitting untouched for a decade, or however long it was. If I were eighteen and going out to support myself (and at one point I was), I'd want to get my hands on any funds I was entitled to--as soon as I was legally able--and either use the money for something or park it in a different account, in my own name, alone. The whole thing is strange.

Thanks for the Canadian version of that song, Frances! I'm guessing that neither one is 100% historically accurate. For example, there are some lines in the U.S. version about using an alligator to shoot cannonballs. Probably didn't happen. ;o) But I'm not arguing with any Canadians till after our election. I may need a nearby place to seek asylum.

So funny--same at our house, except I was the one doing the song. Now I just wish it would stop. "Oh, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles, They ran through the bushes where the rabbits couldn't go . . ."

I knew that Waterloo was 1815, and New Orleans was the closest one in time involving the Brits that I could think of. So it was a semi-educated guess. And now I'll be singing "They fired their guns and the British kep' a-comin'" for at least the rest of the week. I don't know how you qualify to get on Jeopardy! when the missing part of the abbreviation you need to supply starts with S and you're staring at a giant photo of a satellite dish and you can't even manage to guess "satellite." SMH.

I have a feeling that Mississippi roast is one of those things that tastes embarrassingly good in spite of what you know is in it. I'd probably go hide in the basement to eat it. I don't think I'll be making it anytime soon, though. As long as Geoffrey goes on cashing those paychecks, he's no better than the rest of them, Iron Chef or no. It really is too bad how this show keeps looking for the bottom. Whenever I think they've finally found it, they go lower. I used to watch it unironically.

Totally agree, me5671. The mother was ridiculously exaggerating the horrible offense of her daughter getting 25 minutes less of a carriage ride that she didn't even know she'd be getting in the first place. Mom didn't want to "wreck her daughter's wedding," although the short ride "destroyed the whole wedding" for Mom. Seriously? It wasn't like the servers spit on all the food or the ceiling caved in on the reception or something. Not to be unkind, but the daughter seemed fortunate to have found a partner in life--celebrate that. Some people really aren't happy unless they're unhappy about something. There's nothing like cuddling up with a nice warm grudge at night.

Ditto. Maybe if a contestant leaps over the podium to catch a baby falling out of the overhead light rigging, I might get past the "So." But otherwise probably not.

Some people can't seem to help themselves with that irritating "So" tic, can they? Keely had to work it in when it didn't even really start the sentence. Where the heck did that come from? Poor Jerry. He seemed like a nice guy.

I always thought that Kung Pao was what Batman would order if he got Chinese takeout. It also occurred to me tonight that Pidge Meade sounds a lot like "pig meat" if you say it fast. So I'm glad it's not my name. Otherwise I got nothing. This is feeling like a boring season to me so far, even with Seth's accomplishment.

Was the fact that de Blasio is mayor of NYC part of the clue, or was it something Alex mentioned when no one got his name? I might be over Pidge.

B was for Benjamin. I really did go watch it last night. I wonder if that's where Pidge's mom got the idea.

I like Pidge. I first thought Reagan, because his age had been such an issue, but then I thought that the implication was that the speech had introduced the phrase "golden years" into the language, and that came way before Reagan. So I said FDR and of course was wrong. Don't overthink it, kiddo. I got Reynard, though, which I don't think has been mentioned yet. Thanks for reminding me of the "Rosebud" episode, GreekGeek. It was hilarious, and I haven't thought about it in ages. Off to Hulu or wherever.

I just came here to read what Carpe would have to say.