Sir RaiderDuck OMS

Either Gerry and Theresa had terrible judgement getting married when they were so incompatible, or the whole thing was fake as shit. Either way, I'm likely done with this stupid franchise. Yet another season ends up a 25-hour (give or take) waste of time.

The lack of a second hand will seriously hamper Miles in any kind of competition. To put it bluntly, there are things he simply cannot do physically that a competing chef can.

Tonight's episode hit Hulu a day early. I won't spoil the ending, but the right person (i.e. the weakest chef on the losing team) went home. Also, this is one of the few times on MCJ that I've seen Ramsay legit lose his patience. Normally, he treats the kids with kid gloves (no pun intended), but the gloves kinda came off when a few of the chefs weren't treating the service seriously enough. Oh, and nothing in this episode tempted me to set foot in a Magic Castle.

The latest episode (at the Thirsty Ox in Oxnard, CA) was a bust. No Taffer (except in the introduction and one or two voiceovers), and Phil came off as a know-it-all douchebag. You could see Ramon (the co-owner) HATING the new name when Phil unveiled it. And Phil's new cocktails seemed way too sophisticated for an admitted dive bar.

I'm guessing Jordan may have tipped off what he was going to make: she knew it would be risky, and went super-basic hoping he'd fall on his face and she'd win by default. Notice how she took zero risks with either her food choice or plating. But when the judges liked the taste of his wings (which looked gross), she was stuck with something very ordinary.

I couldn't believe Nikki caterwauling that "Justin won't accept me as I am" or whatever when she UNILATERALLY CHANGED HIS NAME because she didn't want to date a guy named Igor. Jasmine, of course, can't go 10 minutes without screaming and going into hysterics over something. I truly hope we've seen the last of them on this franchise. And the stripper is probably a part-time prostitute, which means she'll say whatever you want her to say if you pay her enough. Citra should get tested for STDs. Piggy and Nick knew TLC needed SOMETHING to keep the drama going, hence the feigned outrage over the nickname.

Hadn't watched this show in forever, but last night's episode about the Hogwash Saloon in Fountain Hills, AZ took place within walking distance of our home (you can literally see the place from our balcony), so we tuned in. A few observations: Jon noted that FH is an upscale community, and he is correct. It's primarily a bedroom community for people who work at home or in north Scottsdale or west Mesa, each of which is a 20-minute drive away, and also a retirement community. There are at least two very nice restaurant/bars located within walking distance of the Skybox (which the Hogwash was renamed to): one is an upscale sushi restaurant with an outdoor/indoor bar, and the other is a sports grill and bar. The food and drinks at both are excellent, which also explains why the Hogwash was losing money. FH residents are very finicky. Even the Burger King and Pizza Hut and McDonald's here serve better-prepared food than you'd normally get from any of these establishments. The town sports its namesake fountain (the fourth-tallest in the world) but has very little tourism otherwise. But it's a rich community, so there's money to be earned. All of this combines to create a restaurant clientele that has money to spend but zero loyalty: if your food or drinks suck, there's plenty of other places for people to go. In addition, the presence of so many working people and retirees means the town closes up early. Very few restaurants or bars are open past 9PM. There is no "club scene" like Scottsdale or Mesa or Phoenix or Tempe has, and the FH residents don't care about that. We're mostly in bed by 10 or so. Finally, the people working in the bar seemed very..."rough" for FH. I legitimately question how many of them live in the town or if they even really work at this establishment.

I ordered some Like Air puff snacks after seeing this ep: The Regular and White Cheddar flavors are OK, but the Pancake and Cinnamon flavors are really good.

Some of us are old enough to remember decades ago when Breyer's was a premium ice cream featuring only all-natural ingredients. Then Unilever bought it out and started cutting costs using cheap fillers, gradually turning Breyer's into tasteless garbage that can't even be legally called "ice cream" on the label. Jenard should've just winked at her and said: "Thanks for the tip. I'll make sure I'm at a party with plenty of witnesses the night it all goes down for your grandson." The PO is a stereotypical minor bureaucrat: he only rules the tiniest sliver of Planet Earth but compensates by lording it over the few people he does rule. Dude's being obnoxious to Diamond for no other reason than he can be, and he thinks (correctly or incorrectly) there's nothing Diamond can do about it.

It's possible the agreement they sign with Shark Tank businesses allow them a large amount of control.

Watched it last night. A couple of thoughts: 1) I wonder if they're going to have another All-Stars season soon and Dahmere was already told he'll be on it and X, Y, and Z are what he needs to improve. As others have pointed out, he didn't seem upset to be eliminated. 2) I wonder if the eliminations were set up as specific "F off, you arrogant jackass" to Jason: He's the only one of the final seven who doesn't get a black jacket, only for the "extra" person who did win a black jacket to immediately go home after the next service. IIRC, only black jacket winners are eligible to appear on future seasons (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). 3) I remember a situation similar to Jonathan's way back in the early seasons: There was a contestant named Robert who Ramsay kept sarcastically calling "Bobby" during service. Finally, Robert went to Ramsay and asked GR not to call him Bobby anymore. When GR said "It's only banter," Robert explained that his abusive stepfather had called him "Bobby" whenever he beat him as a child. A horrified Ramsay apologized and never used that nickname with him again. My point is that Ramsay uses a lot of rough language to get their attention and make his point, and sometimes it can go a little too far. He did seem genuinely apologetic and even told Jonathan "It's never personal."

When Heather said she couldn't meet her payroll, you could see Kevin looking sympathetic but also thinking "Hard NO." You can have sympathy for someone's plight (and the sharks have all been close to this position themselves), but a money pit is a money pit, and a contestant who says "I want your money but won't take any of your advice" is someone to stay away from. And it wouldn't surprise me if her business is still afloat from a short-term loan she wrangled on the premise of "I'm gonna be on Shark Tank and they all loved the food, so sales should explode!" Personally, my choice of workplace food (before going Work at Home fulltime) was Soylent drinks. I'd bring two into the office and have one for breakfast at the start of the shift, and the other one for lunch. And at $40-50 for a 12-pack, they're a heckuva lot cheaper and more convenient than McDonald's or TV dinners or whatever (I despise leftovers, so that wasn't an option). Meanwhile, after checking Fishwife's website, I found the secret to the great taste: Each tin of salmon is 260 calories with 900 mg (39% of the USA RDA) of sodium. To be fair, the tuna and trout are lower in salt, but if you dump almost 1/2 teaspoon of salt on 3 oz of fish (which sells for $11), it probably WILL taste good. Having said that, Kevin's initial offer (taking 5% equity in exchange for a loan at 11% interest) was cold-blooded, even for him. Fortunately, the other sharks had better offers. She totally went with the right one: two sharks with Lori ready to incorporate the fish into her Boarderie business.

And what exactly is wrong with getting married in Vegas?

I'm calling BS. The pictures shown of his early years reveal a very ordinary-looking jawline. Now it's caved in, PLUS we've never seen any bottom teeth when he's talking? He may have a few bottom molars left (which would also enable him to truthfully claim to have bottom teeth), but I'd bet money that his bottom front teeth and canines are all long gone.

And your evidence for that assertion is...?