My mother still resolutely refuses to even consider making a will. She's 87 and seems to think that actually making arrangements will make her die sooner. She also refuses to attend funerals and even opposes my sister and I going; when my uncle died a few years ago she wouldn't tell us until after a funeral. And she got a call about a week ago that we think might have been the news that my aunt died, but between her deafness, deteriorating mental facilities, and death phobia, we can't tell.

I think my sister wrote me out of her will because she wanted to put my name on the deed of her house, and I didn't want her to.

One other thing to add on the discussion of wills: The whole topic is governed by state law. Which means that a will is not a "one size fits all" affair. My will has to satisfy legal requirements in VA, and that may or may not satisfy the requirements of your state. And the laws related to wills have all sorts of complications because they're the result of hundreds of years of legal developments and reflect (to at least some extent) concepts of property that died out hundreds of years ago.

In other words, Connie, I know you were joking -- but DON'T write your will on a McDonald's napkin. Writing a valid will is not a job for amateurs.

Again, disclaimer on Web sites like legalzoom. I've never gone there, so I don't know how good they are.

but DON'T write your will on a McDonald's napkin.

Darn it.

So the days of discovering the hand-written will in the dresser drawer, witnessed only by the servants, and throwing the whole inheritance into a tizzy are over?

Yeah, it turns out you can't trust the servants when it comes to wills. The butler did it, and all that.

Bryan Fuller talks about Mockingbird Lane, his Munsters reboot.

Our wardrobe is heavily influenced by Alexander McQueen and his use of animal textures. For instance, with [the vampire] Lily, all of her wardrobe comes from nature. The first time we see her this nest of spiders weaves her dress on her body as she’s standing there. We’ll see ravens come in and assemble her blouse out of their feathers. We won’t see animal skins because the animals are donating as opposed to dying for it. She has domain over nature and nature has a fantastic esthetic.

Now I'm wondering what Mockingjay Lane would be like.

Eddie Izzard as Grandpa? That's awesome!

Is Revenge discussed in here? I'm watching the season recap that aired last night even though I have watched the whole season. It's an addictive show. I'm interested to see how they're going wrap up the season.

Bryan Fuller talks about Mockingbird Lane, his Munsters reboot.

I know a few buffistas have been wary of this show, but I'm really looking forward to it.