Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?

[annzeepark914]

I used to be pretty good at crosswords (NY Times and Washington Post) but a few years ago it seems all of them changed. I don't watch any of today's TV (entertainment)shows and rarely go to the movies, so I'm sort of out of it. 

 

 

 

 

 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

I'm a whiz at the NYT crossword puzzle so I thought I could play Scrabble, no problem. LOl, turns out I absolutely suck at Scrabble.

My Mom could finish the NYT crossword, win at Scrabble, and correctly solve as many Jeopardy! clues as a champ. She also was a whiz at Bridge. And she could do it all in heels — or the equivalent. She knitted complicated patterns while watching TV, meaning without looking.

19 minutes ago, Bastet said:

my mom and I play a game at least once during our annual Thanksgiving trip.  The board is ancient, but it has held up, and the wooden tiles look brand new.

That's the same as the Scrabble set I played with Mom near the end when her hands and voice were failing. She'd nudge the tiles off of her tray and direct me where to put them. And she beat me.
That Scrabble set was probably purchased in the 1950s.
No tiles were missing or stained.

 

[peacheslatour]

22 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

My Mom could finish the NYT crossword, win at Scrabble, and correctly solve as many Jeopardy! clues as a champ. She also was a whiz at Bridge. And she could do it all in heels — or the equivalent. She knitted complicated patterns while watching TV, meaning without looking.

That's the same as the Scrabble set I played with Mom near the end when her hands and voice were failing. She'd nudge the tiles off of her tray and direct me where to put them. And she beat me.
That Scrabble set was probably purchased in the 1950s.
No tiles were missing or stained.

 

Your mom sounds like mine. I guess they just don't make 'em the way they used to. My parents did the crossword together and played Scrabble in he evenings right up until mom died. That was when I learned she was doing it all. My dad was so far gone by then, he carried a clipboard with the NYT crossword everywhere he went and when I'd look at his answers, they weren't even words.

[EtheltoTillie]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

Yes, it's probably my favorite performance of Jones.  Add in the intelligent humor of the script, the supporting cast, the Lubitsch touch, and all the ways plumbing is used as a metaphor for sex, and I'm in.  It's not one I watch often, but I do enjoy it if I come across it.

I play Scrabble on my computer most days, and my mom and I play a game at least once during our annual Thanksgiving trip.  The board is ancient, but it has held up, and the wooden tiles look brand new.

Oh, great to know you like Cluny too!

This is a nice memory of Scrabble.  My parents used to play all the time.  They had an early (1950s) "fancy" set with plastic ivory-look tiles and tile holders with scorekeeping pegs (like a cribbage set).

 

[Ohiopirate02]

2 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Same here.  I don't suck at Scrabble, but I don't do well at the strategy.  It's a completely different animal from the crossword. 

I also do not do well with the strategic side of Scrabble.  I want to make the best word out of the letters I was dealt, not score 50 points by adding a letter here and a letter there to make new words or use a string of 2 letter words that just so happen to be in the Official Scrabble Dictionary for maximum points and always being mindful of those special places on the board.  I personally find no joy in the strategy and the math.  It's a word game, the math should be minimal.

[peacheslatour]

7 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I also do not do well with the strategic side of Scrabble.  I want to make the best word out of the letters I was dealt, not score 50 points by adding a letter here and a letter there to make new words or use a string of 2 letter words that just so happen to be in the Official Scrabble Dictionary for maximum points and always being mindful of those special places on the board.  I personally find no joy in the strategy and the math.  It's a word game, the math should be minimal.

[fairffaxx]

I never think about the math part of Scrabble -- that would ruin the game for me.  Math tends to do that....

[EtheltoTillie]

Years ago I read a book about someone who decided to compete in high level Scrabble tournaments.  He was a sports writer at the WSJ.  I was shocked to learn that the high level players just memorized a lot of words and anagrams.  That just doesn't seem like fun to me.  More like a computer.  It was an interesting book, however.  Author's name is Steven Fatsis. 

Edited May 14 by EtheltoTillie

[peacheslatour]

Just now, EtheltoTillie said:

Years ago I read a book about someone who decided to compete in high level Scrabble tournaments.  He was a sports writer at the WSJ.  I was shocked to learn that the high level players just memorized a lot of words and anagrams.  That just doesn't seem like fun to me.  More like a computer. 

Or a chore.

[EtheltoTillie]

1 minute ago, peacheslatour said:

Or a chore.

Yes, it came across like those kids who study to win the National Spelling Bee.

[chitowngirl]

4 hours ago, fairffaxx said:

Me too, shapeshifter -- I never thought the game would last this long but they still haven't run out of 5 letter words!   

Apparently there is a pool of about 2,300 words and the NYT is at game #1,060, so there are a lot of games yet to be played!

[annzeepark914]

2 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Yes, it came across like those kids who study to win the National Spelling Bee.

It used to be fun watching the Bee, but nowadays those kids have tutors. It's like they're "on a mission from God".

[fairffaxx]

18 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

Apparently there is a pool of about 2,300 words and the NYT is at game #1,060, so there are a lot of games yet to be played!

When they get to the end, they can start over because I, for one, won't remember that we've seen that word before.  I already can't remember what this morning's word was....

[chitowngirl]

7 minutes ago, fairffaxx said:

When they get to the end, they can start over because I, for one, won't remember that we've seen that word before.  I already can't remember what this morning's word was....

I have a group of friends that post our Wordle (and other daily NYT puzzle) scores in a group chat. I’m an early morning player. When the last one checks in, sometimes we discuss the game. I usually have to look up what the day’s word is because as soon as I post, my brain erases it! 

[Dimity]

I play wordle but the one I really enjoy is called connections.  Sometimes you do have to wonder what twisted little mind came up with them on that particular day but usually they're challenging but fun.

https://www.nytimes.com/games/connections

[SoMuchTV]

Is anyone doing Strands?  If you’re on an NYT games site or app it should show up as another game (in beta).  On the surface it’s basically a word search, but there’s enough variability between crazy easy and crazy challenging. That, Connections, Wordl,  and the mini crossword are my dailies. 

[Dimity]

Just now, SoMuchTV said:

That, Connections, Wordl,  and the mini crossword are my dailies. 

Same.  Helped get the Candy Crush monkey off my back!  I like Strands but I admit it, sometimes I need a hint.

[chitowngirl]

If I happen to find 3 words that are not in the Strands puzzle and earn a hint… I’ll take it! If I use the hint, I can usually get where they are going. On the other hand, sometimes I get a hint and it takes me a moment to get the word unscrambled! 

[SoMuchTV]

4 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

If I happen to find 3 words that are not in the Strands puzzle and earn a hint… I’ll take it! If I use the hint, I can usually get where they are going. On the other hand, sometimes I get a hint and it takes me a moment to get the word unscrambled! 

My ultimate goal is to find the spamgram (is that the right term?) first and finish with no hints. Second choice is to find the spamgram last, but no hints. After that, all bets are off!

[Ohiopirate02]

1 hour ago, SoMuchTV said:

Is anyone doing Strands?  If you’re on an NYT games site or app it should show up as another game (in beta).  On the surface it’s basically a word search, but there’s enough variability between crazy easy and crazy challenging. That, Connections, Wordl,  and the mini crossword are my dailies. 

I have liked Strands so far, but today's words did not match the spangram for a publication like the NYT.  It's the Times, they are supposed to be all snooty about the French definition of charcuterie versus crudite.  Charcuterie is cured meats only. I found the spangram at word #2, and was worried when there was no J in the puzzle and I do not know any other cured French meats other than jambon for ham.

[Dimity]

3 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I found the spangram at word #2, and was worried when there was no J in the puzzle and I do not know any other cured French meats other than jambon for ham.

The first word I found was fruit and that with the clue misled me especially when the second word I found was spread.  It took me way too long too catch on!

[Yeah No]

14 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Ooo. But if I come across an appropriate social media site to do so, I might anonymously teasingly post something about "a former classmate of yours points out that you were both captain and the only member of the wrestling team in a school full of little unathletic nerds.’” Although maybe he acknowledges that in one of his books.

I don't really think he was the only member but it makes a good joke that people who went to my HS would get!  And I'm sure that there weren't that many guys on the team, at least not in high school, and I'm sure he could easily beat any of them, LOL.  I did look into this a little and found out that he went on to the wrestling team at Harvard.  On a podcast I heard him say he had a losing record there, despite being undefeated in HS.  So that says a lot, LOL.

Neil claims to have invented a wrestling move, but I saw people on Reddit dispute that and say it existed prior to him.

This brief clip says a lot about his wrestling in HS, lol, and the culture at our HS when we went there:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=138018734921427

"the geeks were geek squared" - I love that, LOL.

Honestly, we had geeks there that could come straight out of a comedy movie.

One guy wore a plaid suit with a clashing bow tie, "coke bottle glasses, and carried a lunch box all through HS.  No one bullied him.  

Although I disagree with Neil that we had the "full range of cliques like any other HS".  That's in my opinion misleading because they were most certainly NOT like at any other HS.  I wouldn't even call them "cliques" in the common sense of the term.  More like "social groups".  The world "clique" implies exclusion but there was no atmosphere of exclusion at Bronx Science AT ALL.  Everyone was welcome everywhere.  People hung out with people they liked but there was no assumption that you weren't cool enough to hang with certain people.  Believe me if that were the case I would have felt it for sure.  If you went to talk with people from another social group you got welcomed, not snubbed.  Of course you wouldn't hang with them either but it's not like they would have shown you the door, lol.

[Yeah No]

10 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I used to be pretty good at crosswords (NY Times and Washington Post) but a few years ago it seems all of them changed. I don't watch any of today's TV (entertainment)shows and rarely go to the movies, so I'm sort of out of it. 

I hear you, I've noticed that.  And I wouldn't get some of the popular culture references either now.

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

My Mom could finish the NYT crossword, win at Scrabble, and correctly solve as many Jeopardy! clues as a champ. She also was a whiz at Bridge. And she could do it all in heels — or the equivalent. She knitted complicated patterns while watching TV, meaning without looking.

10 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Your mom sounds like mine. I guess they just don't make 'em the way they used to. My parents did the crossword together and played Scrabble in he evenings right up until mom died. That was when I learned she was doing it all. My dad was so far gone by then, he carried a clipboard with the NYT crossword everywhere he went and when I'd look at his answers, they weren't even words.

Both your moms sound like mine.  And my dad too.  Although my parents were a colorful study in contrasts.  My father did the Daily News crossword pretty much every day until he died.  He did it purposely because he wanted to keep "all his marbles" as he put it, LOL.  It appears to have worked to some degree as he was doing better mentally than most people at 92 when he died.  As he got older he would sometimes call me to get a word if it was something from popular culture that he would never have known.

My mother did the NYT crossword.  She read the NYT while dad read the Daily News.  He hated the Post, LOL.  My mother hated both, LOL.

And yes, my mom could knit and crochet while watching TV too.

One reason I loved the show "Frasier" was that their parents were a similar match to my parents.  Although my dad had an intellectual bent, unlike Marty Crane.  But he didn't come off like he did, LOL.

My parents also loved "Frasier".  They especially loved Bebe Newirth and David Hyde Pierce.  Of course so do I.

[annzeepark914]

Bebe Neuwirth's delivery of her lines was always hilarious, especially in Cheers when she and Frasier would haughtily go after each other. 

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

Bebe Neuwirth's delivery of her lines was always hilarious, especially in Cheers when she and Frasier would haughtily go after each other. 

Did you see her and DHP on Max's "Julia"?  I loved them there too.  Unfortunately it was canceled after 2 seasons last year but the first two are still available if you get that.

[annzeepark914]

5 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Did you see her and DHP on Max's "Julia"?  I loved them there too.  Unfortunately it was canceled after 2 seasons last year but the first two are still available if you get that.

No. Was the writing as good as Cheers?

[Yeah No]

2 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

No. Was the writing as good as Cheers?

Unfortunately not, that would be hard to match.  But they were delightful as always.

[annzeepark914]

20 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Unfortunately not, that would be hard to match.  But they were delightful as always.

Are there any shows today with excellent writing, like Cheers, LA Law, Taxi, MTM, Hill Street Blues, etc?  I just gave up (after trying to watch West Wing, with its OTT rapid dialogue). 

[Dimity]

4 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Are there any shows today with excellent writing, like Cheers, LA Law, Taxi, MTM, Hill Street Blues, etc?  I just gave up (after trying to watch West Wing, with its OTT rapid dialogue). 

Have you seen Ghosts?  It's a US show based on a British comedy and I just discovered it last year.  Sharp writing and characters you really care about.

[Ohiopirate02]

32 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Are there any shows today with excellent writing, like Cheers, LA Law, Taxi, MTM, Hill Street Blues, etc?  I just gave up (after trying to watch West Wing, with its OTT rapid dialogue). 

My favorite current shows with what I consider excellent writing are all genre shows.  Andor, Interview with the Vampire, Poker Face, and What We Do in the Shadows all feature great writing IMHO.  

ETA--and Only Murders in the Building has a fantastic cast with great writing.  

Edited May 15 by Ohiopirate02

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, Dimity said:

Have you seen Ghosts?  It's a US show based on a British comedy and I just discovered it last year.  Sharp writing and characters you really care about.

I see a lot of love for that show on this board but I have to admit that whenever I see a promo for it I am underwhelmed.  Maybe I should give it a chance.  I felt that way about "Big Bang Theory" but then when I watched it it became one of my all-time favorite shows.

As for new shows, I like Elsbeth.  It's not perfect but so far I really like it.

[bluegirl147]

1 hour ago, Dimity said:

Have you seen Ghosts?  It's a US show based on a British comedy and I just discovered it last year.  Sharp writing and characters you really care about.

I love Ghosts. I've watched it from the first episode.  The writing is top notch.  They still surprise me.  

Hacks on HBO Max with Jean Smart is excellent. Third season started a couple weeks ago. What I like about this show is you aren't meant to like every character.  You can but they aren't written to be loved or hated.  They are just written well. 

[shapeshifter]

8 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

I see a lot of love for that show on this board but I have to admit that whenever I see a promo for it I am underwhelmed.  Maybe I should give it a chance.  I felt that way about "Big Bang Theory" but then when I watched it it became one of my all-time favorite shows.

As for new shows, I like Elsbeth.  It's not perfect but so far I really like it.

I'm a fan of Ghosts to the point that I've watched most episodes twice, but that's easy to do with a half-hour comedy that really only runs for 19 minutes. 
Anyway, @Yeah No, during the summer when there aren't many shows, might be a good time to check out Ghosts. 
Now that I no longer have Paramount+, I discovered I am able to watch CBS shows via CBS.com on my laptop browser. Oddly, my phone wants me to login with a TV service, which I don't have (I'm using an antenna).

Of course, Ghosts (or any show) might not be your thing for one reason or another. 
I can't watch lot of really good shows that are set in places similar to my former workplace. 
While I'm pretty sure you've never worked in a haunted house, LOL, there could be other situations regarding one or more of the characters that you don't care to watch.

I f'love Elsbeth!

 

[Yeah No]

1 minute ago, shapeshifter said:

I'm a fan of Ghosts to the point that I've watched most episodes twice, but that's easy to do with a half-hour comedy that really only runs for 19 minutes. 
Anyway, @Yeah No, during the summer when there aren't many shows, might be a good time to check out Ghosts. 
Now that I no longer have Paramount+, I discovered I am able to watch CBS shows via CBS.com on my laptop browser. Oddly, my phone wants me to login with a TV service, which I don't have (I'm using an antenna).

Of course, Ghosts (or any show) might not be your thing for one reason or another. 
I can't watch lot of really good shows that are set in places similar to my former workplace. 
While I'm pretty sure you've never worked in a haunted house, LOL, there could be other situations regarding one or more of the characters that you don't care to watch.

I f'love Elsbeth!

 

You know that I take your and others' opinions here very seriously so when I have some extra time I'll check out Ghosts for sure.

I'm with you about Elsbeth, and the show keeps growing on me too.  I think a lot of people here on this board would like it.

Note to those that don't know, it stars a middle aged woman in a role reminiscent of "Columbo".  Carrie Preston does a role she first did on "The Good Wife", which I didn't watch but appreciated.

[Dimity]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

I'm a fan of Ghosts to the point that I've watched most episodes twice, but that's easy to do with a half-hour comedy that really only runs for 19 minutes. 

Have you had a chance to see any of the UK episodes?  We actually saw a few of those before we saw the US version as we got into it during the writer's strike and the station that carries it on our grid started showing those instead.  Just as good!  Different but the same if you know what I mean.  Fun to match the ghosts from the UK to the US take - some are obvious but a few are unique to each show.

[shapeshifter]

7 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Have you had a chance to see any of the UK episodes? 

Just a few. Maybe I’ll “give it another go.”😉

[Annber03]

Echoing the recommendations for "Ghosts" :D. As noted, the writing is great, and the cast chemistry is fantastic as well. Everyone plays off each other so perfectly and inhabits their characters so well. The cast on this show was new to me when I first checked it out (I'd realized after the fact that a couple of them had been in things that I'd seen before, but I had no idea at the time who they were)., so it's been really fun getting to discover a new (to me, anyway) group of actors whose work I can enjoy :). 

I also like this show being mentioned in the context of talking about shows like "Frasier", 'cause, yeah, "Ghosts" is not like "Frasier", obviously, in terms of premise and whatnot, but I did still get a bit of that vibe when I started watching "Ghosts", too, in part because, again, strong cast chemistry, but also in terms of the way they're able to balance the funny and the heartflet (and, occsionally, serious) moments so nicely. I really like shows that know how to strike that balance and hit the right tone when needed like that. 

9 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Did you see her and DHP on Max's "Julia"?  I loved them there too.  Unfortunately it was canceled after 2 seasons last year but the first two are still available if you get that.

I need to check out that show at some point, too, given how much I love "Frasier" and both those actors' work on that show :D. 

[JustHereForFood]

On 5/15/2024 at 4:32 PM, Ohiopirate02 said:

My favorite current shows with what I consider excellent writing are all genre shows. 

Same. I'll add Good Omens, Sense8 (yes, it ended in 2018, but it has to be mentioned) and a new one Dead Boy Detectives.

[isalicat]

19 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

Same. I'll add Good Omens, Sense8 (yes, it ended in 2018, but it has to be mentioned) and a new one Dead Boy Detectives.

Sense8 was an absolute wonder until the final special, which was entirely fan service material. As a series, I would have liked it to go on so much longer...

I am also enjoying Dead Boy Detectives - its really grown on me. Try: Bodkin (now streaming on Netflix) - an interesting combination of murder mystery and topical satire with a great cast. And don't forget: Will Trent! best thing on regular network TV by far IMO.

[oliviabenson]

Ordered new glasses 2 weeks ago. They are still not ready. 
 

Needed my meds, called the pharmacy yesterday asked them to please order them, so they can be ready today. They forgot, so now until Monday afternoon I have no meds. 

So I can’t see aka walking like a drunk woman and no meds either. I am in a terrible mood.

[kristen111]

I had my yearly physical this morning.  Stress test, blood work up, etc.  Everything normal.  The most important thing in the world, a good report.  All the small annoyances are bullshit.  Thank you God.

[JustHereForFood]

6 hours ago, isalicat said:

Sense8 was an absolute wonder until the final special, which was entirely fan service material. 

That was the best one.  Yes, it should have gone longer, especially since they had plans for what to do in following seasons.

_________________________________________________________________

 

Will we get the forum TV awards this year? It used to be done by the moderators...

Edited May 18 by JustHereForFood
unmerging the merged

[oliviabenson]

I have such a short attention span I can’t even watch a movie. And I fall asleep all the time. Best I can do is 30 minute shows, 1 episode. Sigh.

[Yeah No]

On 5/15/2024 at 6:39 PM, Annber03 said:

Echoing the recommendations for "Ghosts" :D. As noted, the writing is great, and the cast chemistry is fantastic as well. Everyone plays off each other so perfectly and inhabits their characters so well. The cast on this show was new to me when I first checked it out (I'd realized after the fact that a couple of them had been in things that I'd seen before, but I had no idea at the time who they were)., so it's been really fun getting to discover a new (to me, anyway) group of actors whose work I can enjoy :).  

I still haven't checked out "Ghosts" but I've been unbelievably busy of late including my cable box going kaput and having to have a tech. come over twice to install a new one.  The first replacement was clearly an inferior model, which we didn't notice right away so we had tech. #2 come over the next day.  Now we have the same box model we had before but I'm still experiencing some annoying "features" like the picture not seeming quite right on some channels (it feels too zoomed in on some) but it's much better now than it was.

On 5/15/2024 at 6:39 PM, Annber03 said:

I need to check out that show at some point, too, given how much I love "Frasier" and both those actors' work on that show :D. 

Re: "Julia", it helps to be a fan of Julia Child's, and I am a lifelong one.  I don't know what it would be like to watch it if one weren't.  The show itself isn't bad, it just annoyed me because I personally didn't like the way they portrayed Julia herself.  It didn't feel realistic in some ways.  I know some people loved it but I wasn't one of them, and Russ Morash, the real producer of Julia's first show didn't love it or his own portrayal either.  The show didn't bill itself as a true biographical tale but a fiction based on reality, but given how close to the reality I have been all my life it was hard for me to see it that way.

That said, I did feel it was worthwhile to watch, especially for DHP and BN.  And even though the show was going off on its own tangents I was sorry it was canceled. 

[Annber03]

6 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Re: "Julia", it helps to be a fan of Julia Child's, and I am a lifelong one.  I don't know what it would be like to watch it if one weren't.  

Yeah, I've cerainly heard of Julia Child, of course, but her career started well before I was born and whatnot, so I missed out on her heyday and all that. So it would be interesting for me to see the show with that kind of distance and mainly just being aware of her name and what she did for a living. 

[peacheslatour]

2 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Yeah, I've cerainly heard of Julia Child, of course, but her career started well before I was born and whatnot, so I missed out on her heyday and all that. So it would be interesting for me to see the show with that kind of distance and mainly just being aware of her name and what she did for a living. 

Did you ever see Julie and Julia starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams? Ms. Streep's portrayal of Child was mesmerizing.

[Annber03]

7 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Did you ever see Julie and Julia starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams? Ms. Streep's portrayal of Child was mesmerizing.

I did not, no! I've heard good things about that, though, so maybe something else to check out at some point. 

[EtheltoTillie]

22 hours ago, isalicat said:

Sense8 was an absolute wonder until the final special, which was entirely fan service material. As a series, I would have liked it to go on so much longer...

I am also enjoying Dead Boy Detectives - its really grown on me. Try: Bodkin (now streaming on Netflix) - an interesting combination of murder mystery and topical satire with a great cast. And don't forget: Will Trent! best thing on regular network TV by far IMO.

Agree on Will Trent. I may try some of these others. 

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

Did you ever see Julie and Julia starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams? Ms. Streep's portrayal of Child was mesmerizing.

I **loved** that movie!  Meryl Streep can disappear into any role she plays (e.g, Julia Child, and Nora Ephron in Heartburn). Stanley Tucci plays Paul. In his wonderful memoir, he writes about the "Julia" cast going out for dinner at a small restaurant in the French countryside. I was amazed to read that he had the exact same experience with an order of andouille that I had in Nice 🙀. 

[PRgal]

5 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I **loved** that movie!  Meryl Streep can disappear into any role she plays (e.g, Julia Child, and Nora Ephron in Heartburn). Stanley Tucci plays Paul. In his wonderful memoir, he writes about the "Julia" cast going out for dinner at a small restaurant in the French countryside. I was amazed to read that he had the exact same experience with an order of andouille that I had in Nice 🙀. 

I love the movie too!  That’s all I wanted to say.  Oh and I also love The Devil Wears Prada.  😊