If the parent/child dynamic comes to an end with the adulthood of the child (apparently), then the knife cuts both ways. I would imagine that the glam-mas will be far less glamorous (and probably in want of company) when they are having their bedpan changes in a nursing home.

Our first child is just about to turn a year old, and my wife's mother has been an invaluable help to us. I'm with you Frito—I can't really joke about this, because it's all fun and games until you have your own child to take care of.

@Kenny Rogers - we're too busy drinking mead and eating mutton to do such a thing. Besides, being a transplant to Alabama makes it hard to pillage and/or plunder, you know?

Losing the stigma
I can't see how Aruba is going to lose the stigma that has come about as a result of Natalee Holloway's death/disappearance any time soon. Coupled with the economy and its new-found reputation, I feel sorry for the Arubans who rely on tourism for their livelihood.

I haven't read the book yet, but from all accounts I'm reading, it appears that you probably only need a passing familiarity with Dickens as a cult of personality in Victorian England. Knowing Dan Simmons, though, there's probably a whole lot of "in" references that a true Dickensian would catch and enjoy, though.

Review?
I've been looking every day for a review of "Drood." Any ETA?

Seconded.

Corey: Your bra-bomb better work, Nerdlinger.
Nerdlnger: Gu-hay!

Is TV Guide a book? Son of Sniglet? Katherine Hepburn's "Me?"

The ZFT, as referenced, was German, with the name being: Zerstorung durch Fortschritte der Technologie (which is definitely German, not Russian). As for which was the original—I don't think they were ever clear on that. I believe that we, as the audience, are supposed to think that Walter wrote the original because…

The Observer
I know we're supposed to think (or I though, at least) that the Observer(s) represent the intruding dimension that is the cause of the pattern, but do you think that they could be a neutral third-party that is truly just observing?

@MurrayTheSkull — if the version that Walter was reading was just a copy (and not the original), then Walter didn't really write the ZFT as much as he just translated/copied it, right?

I'm pretty sure that the ZFT was a German translation of Walter's original. I suspect that the reason Mr. Jones and crew became enamored of the German version is that the original was sitting in some guy's basement, and therefore inaccessible.

I'll have to watch that scene again on my Tivo, because I really think there was more of a conscious choice with that scene than just "let's make it look arty." Perhaps it was a visual statement of the fact that Olivia sees everything in black and white, despite the fact that there are apparently many shades of gray…

It would also be very interesting if—contrary to what most people have thought about him, including myself—Peter is actually a clone of William Bell and not Walter. Then, Peter was given to Walter to care for when Bell "disappeared." Nina Sharp did say that she was very familiar with Peter when he was younger.

Cortexifan
I thought this was a fantastic episode, one of the best non-mystery-of-the-week episodes of the series thus far. Also, I'm pretty convinced that it wasn't Olivia who disarmed the bomb—I think it was Peter. The end with Nina Sharp threw a little wrench in the gears, but I think it's a red herring.

You haven't heard the last of them.

It's only a grammy
Who won the Outstanding Soul, Spoken Word, or Barbershop Album of the Year?

I'll concur McG may be over his head, but that doesn't let Bale off the hook. In regards to the referenced blog post, I'll go back to my point about the nicest, most respected guy in my office. If he laid into somebody for five minutes, he would cease to be the nicest, most respected guy in the office. People might…

I'll concur McG may be over his head, but that doesn't let Bale off the hook. In regards to the referenced blog post, I'll go back to my point about the nicest, most respected guy in my office. If he laid into somebody for five minutes, he would cease to be the nicest, most respected guy in the office. People might…