Should Be Working

Sorry, but I have to disagree vehemently. Very vehemently. One might venture, in the spirit of kindness, that she was "somewhat attractive" in her first few years with RHOC. But more than a decade's worth of heredity, drastic cosmetic procedures, the earth's gravity, moping, casserole overindulgence, and displaying the most vile and repulsive personality in this corner of the Milky Way has taken a real toll on her looks. As someone suggested earlier, she now looks like a linebacker. An extremely unattractive and over-the-hill linebacker. Just the thought of what poor Steve must have to go through several times a week to remain on the show makes one shudder with disgust and sympathy for the poor sod. She is that bad.

They do share these qualities, but certainly not to the same degree. Not by a mile. Vicki is the extreme caricature of the malignant narcissist, with an insanely insatiable appetite for worship and adulation by others and sexual (er) fulfillment. Totally self-fixated and too stupid to see the world and people around her the way they really are. And toxic to everyone who comes in contact with her. Shannon is much more the anxious, over-thinking neurotic who at her core is a decent, clever, and funny woman. Very high maintenance and insecure yes. But certainly not an exact duplicate of Vicki, for whom we can only hope the mold was destroyed.

I've never had the stomach for watching WWHL but viewed this episode based on your comments about Lydia's Monday night appearance. Upon first being introduced, Lydiot stands up and gives us her very lame trademark stick arms waving, shoulder shaking dance. Knock it off, Lydiot. You're a badly preserved middle-aged woman, not some frolicking 15 year old girl. Apparently there's a Real Housewives award show and, drum roll please, Lydiot and sad sack Doug are nominated for Prom King and Queen. She is ever hopeful they will win. Too bad there isn't a "Most hypocritical, superficial, mean-spirited, and obnoxious rich couple" award to guarantee a win for them. Lydiot made a point of clarifying for us all, lest there still be any lingering confusion out there, that a vasectomy does not involve castration. Thank you, you little moron. That's like Vicki waving a finger and solemnly explaining to the public that cancer is most certainly not a disease one should ever fraudulently pretend to have. Fumbled terribly in her labored explanation of how the fact that the bible does not specifically mention or support drag queens doesn't mean that it condemns it. Which set Cohen's eyes to rolling furiously. When asked by a very concerned caller why she and Shannon couldn't just get along, Lydiot patiently explained that she had tried very hard to be friends with Shannon. That confirmed it: this posterwoman for midlife anorexia actually believes everyone else is terminally naive and just as stupid and inattentive as she is. She needs to be jettisoned from the show with great malice. That was all I could take. Click.

The person who delivered the bad news would have to be dressed up like a bomb squad tech, with a whole lot of body armor and padding, plus plenty of life insurance. Better yet, they could put one of those Big Brother show microphones in her house and give her the news remotely. "Um Vicki, you have been ejected from the franchise. Pack your sorry fat ass and leave immediately."

Not sure how much religion (if any) she received as a minor, but I have no doubt her soon-to-be sackless husband has been the major driving force behind her adult life embrace of snooty and hypocritical rich folk Evangelicalism.

To me, she has always looked like the "ugly" granddaughter of Robert and Ethyl Kennedy. Personality wise, she has changed significantly from her previous RHOC season incarnation. The old Lydia seemed a bit more grounded and reasonable, much less obnoxiouous, with none of the gaslighting tendencies, the infantile fairy dust/pixie references and wild body gesticulations we see so much of this season. I think she's quickly turning into her own mother, but denied (for religious reasons) the massive doses of marijuana required to keep her mellow. In summary, a butt ugly runt with a repellent and toxic personality and absolutely no redeeming qualities. Perhaps she ought to just relent and put a few drops of concentrated THC in her own drinks. That might uncrank her a gear or two.

[Message removed because topic already under discussion in another thread]

Hey, everyone pay attention to the beautiful birthday girl. Or else.

Speaking of drag queens...

So pixie dust-covered Lydia is under the impression that all should be forgotten and forgiven among old friends, that it is her Christian mission to bring Tamra and Vicki back together and put the grudge-hugging Shannon in her rightful place. If only she'd do what I did after dinner this evening: watch Season 10 of RHOOC. Actually, I rewatched it, from the Hulu app on my ipad, breezed through the entire season, skipping past all the fluff and focusing on the meaningful conversations, sincere questions, the lies, the emotional confrontations, and still more lies. And it took me less than a couple of hours. In watching it in its entirety, it is so plainly evident (and would be to anyone with a double-digit IQ who can read human body language and keep track of the blatant fabrications and contradictions) that Brooks was faking his cancer (as he had done in the past) and Vicki knew this from the beginning and consciously chose to join in. Her obvious contradictions, denials, and knee-jerk fabrications pile up as her fellow housewives grow increasingly suspicious and skeptical. But it's all there: her frequent refusal to look them in the eye during one-on-one talks, to quickly go on the offensive and assume the role of the wounded and grieving daughter or the outraged martyr when the heat gets to be too much. It's all so transparent and obvious. She was in on it. She should have been kicked off the show (and subsequently spared everyone the Tazmanian pycho devil that is Kelly). BTW, the scam would not have been detected and uncovered without Meghan's dogged and determined research. The other HWs might have had their suspicions, but without Meghan behind them, they never would have connected the dots. For all the good it did them. So Lydia, take a few hours break time from your friend whispering and watch Season 10. It might give you an entirely different perspective on things. Or not.

Yes, this is essentially a situation comedy based in contemporary Silicon Valley and the behavior of characters only resembles real life SV people in a broadly exaggerated manner. Still, the behavior of that venture capitalist in that hijacked Uber car at the start of the episode rang untrue, despite PP's widely acquired reputation as a self-destructive startup. He's sitting there watching very high-resolution 4-party video conferencing on a smartphone and will talk only if and when they reach 1 million active users? Why not 500K? Or 2 million? Despite the slump in Silicon Valley VC investments in the past 12 months (down 30 percent), VCs are simply getting more careful and choosey and are still more than willing to fund those with really promising apps and technologies. I would think this kind of technology would at least warrant a closer look while he has them desperate and begging.

It was a bit better than I expected from the ads. I expect Russ will be back to "help" Richard realize his new internet technology. Or not. He hasn't really succeeded since Tech Crunch, so Judge and company owe him this win, if only to keep his tech genius credentials intact. The sight gags were better than usual. Both Laurie and Jack exiled to crappy offices with a clear view inside the men's restrooms. Jack looking around in astonishment as the Hooli elevator descended below ground floor level.

This show had so much potential, the first season proved that. Seasons 2 and 3 were pointless, meandering excursions in bad luck, poor judgment, and low-brow humor. I was hoping Judge and crew might have chosen to do a fresh reboot for Season 4 and focus once again on valley culture and technology rather than continuing to dwell exclusively, and in such mediocre fashion, on the inane foibles of the PP gang and their many tormentors. I realize that season previews can be intentionally misleading, but this shitshow, as hincandenza accurately characterizes it, looks like it's off on another adventure in Laverne and Shirley-style comedy that just happens to be set in contemporary silicon valley.

I've sat through three episodes of this abysmal reunion watching Vicki perched imperiously, morosely, like some declining dowager empress from her end of the losers' couch (sorry Meghan). I'm glad I won't have to behold the unnerving site for, at worst, another season. First, her physical appearance: let's be honest, this woman, never a beauty by any known human standards, is rapidly degenerating, perhaps fossilizing, into rather intimidating presence. Her large head constantly swivels around atop a long thick neck like some ancient battleship's 14-inch deck gun, ever ready to fire off verbal salvos. Her steady glare is cold, emotionless, constantly surveying the room and processing the conversation while working hard to remain vigilant and cognizant, even awake. Perhaps one too many Xanax. Her face has become very elongated, its features at times even disconcerting to the TV viewer. The heavily darkened eyelashes appropriately accentuate the darkness of eyes themselves, which stare defiantly at the occupants on the opposing couch. The long but very thin nose seems to be separated by miles from the often slack-jawed mouth below it. All of this framed by a generic D-List Hollywood red carpet hair cut that would display from the bargain section of a drug store wig rack. The badly sagging jowels and neck wrinkles bring to mind an aging bull mastiff, slowed by time but still menacing and potentially dangerous. But it is her behavior on the losers' couch that really distinguishes her. Here we see her narcissistic personality disorder in full bloom, preening and posing like an innocent young girl one moment, screeching out deafening verbal broadsides the next. Ever aware of the shifting power dynamics in the room, of the incoming bow shots launched from the opposing couch, you can sense the gears of her mind furiously working away, shifting her persona to best suit the needs of the moment. She's transgressed so much these last two seasons, but cannot and will not apologize with even feigned sincerity. Her old soulmate Tamra has abandoned her and become a savvy investor in human futures, now sees her sister in crime as a totally worthless penny stock, no longer worthy of any emotional investment. Shannon, always morally judgemental but so very fragile and easily dismantled, has betrayed and repeatedly condemned her and must be coldly dispatched. Kelly, the petulant piranha-faced mental midget seated beside her, still serves as backup support and as deflection for incoming rounds from the other couch, but she must be treated with extreme care, like the sloshing jar full of nitrogylcerine that she is, lest she go off in her direction. Well-timed stage whispers of advice help keep Kelly properly primed, keep her anger focused on the opposing couch. And then there's Andy, the real threat to her continuing survival as OG of the OC. For the first time, he really seems to be calling her on her shit, actually holding her accountable for her many misbehaviors, hinky schemes, the anger and frustration now evident in his voice. This is unprecedented and bothersome. After this reunion, she will go to work buttering him up like only she can do and an get back into his good graces.

I think you've nailed it. We've had our share of narcissists and paranoids (Nixon) in the White House before, but never a full blown narcissist who sees himself as the very center of the universe. Imagine how much his new job title will go to his already massively inflated ego. Among those who see Trump for the man he really is, demand for depression counseling and medication is steadily climbing. Time to buy Pfizer, Forest, and Lilly stock.

Kelly has all kinds of problems going on. This is what you get when you mix a histrionic personality, double digit IQ, perpetual rage, and a fondness for mixing Xanax and hard liquor. A fucking human disaster zone. And may I add: Vicki is repulsive in every possible way. No way any dude with all of his natural teeth and middling eyesight is filling her love tank. No way.

Nine miles from the epicenter of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake? You must have been located on very stable soil (on top of something like granite) that really dampened the shock waves. Recall what happened in nearby downtown Santa Cruz and then the SF Marina district, and the 880 freeway in Oakland (some 75 miles from the epicenter). I was living in Santa Clara, in the south bay (on alluvial soil), and everything not bolted down in my house was knocked over, including big screen TVs, stereo systems, and plenty of kitchenware. I was on the concrete patio when it hit and was knocked over by the initial ground waves. The noise was terrible: shaking trees, shaking houses, and screaming neighbors. That really got my heart pumping. Then the power and phone lines went out. Everyone in the SF bay area knows that the nearby Hayward fault could let loose with a 7+ magnitude quake any day. When that happens, it will render most of the East bay and parts of San Jose and SF seriously damaged and unlivable for weeks, if not months. I'd take a tornado with a 200 yard wide damage path over a major quake that seriously damages an area up to 400 square miles and rattles nerves over 2000 square miles. Any day.

After Kelly's demonic possession and meltdown last week, it was appropriate that the crazy be completely muted (sidelined with her sidekick) this week and the others allowed to relax and enjoy themselves without fear of her coming at them from Shannon's kitchen with sharpened ginzu knives. Oh yes, Kelly was on her redemption tour of course, paying a bedside visit to her heavily tranquilized friend Meghan, managing to act appropriately contrite and remorseful even while being told off. She did that last week too, immediately running over to Heather as she prepared to leave, looking concerned and nodding empathetically at Heather's shock and outrage, as if someone else, not she, had caused Heather to react this way. It wasn't until Heather told her to leave that Kelly instantly snapped back to her default mode with a contemptuous "You're not the boss." To me, we already know what Kelly is and will continue to be: a loud, coarse, extremely angry, and violent narcissist who spends her life looking for people to hate and rage vicously against as opposed to people who can become true friends. Casual acquaintances who might or might not have her back don't count. The next time Shannon gives her a judgemental stare or a flippant comment, she'll immediately revert to her true form. It's how the others have reacted to Kelly's epic restaurant meltdown that gives us some real insight into who these housewives really are and how the remainder of the season will probably play out. Tamra, no surprise, has become a master at playing both sides while continuing to stir the shitpot that precipitates these confrontations. She can behave as if Heather and Shannon are her beloved friends, and she might have them convinced of that, but the truth is that Tamra isn't just drawn to the dark side, she is the dark side, and that's where her true allegiances reside. Her "Kelly is in deep pain and truly needs our love and support" is complete bullshit that only confirms that she sees in Kelly a kindred spirit (her "mini me"). Her Christian lite sentiments are no more authentic or valid than her long phony road to Damascus conversion and re-baptism, which was prompted by her rapidly declining viewer support, not any spiritual awakening. Recall how she eventually gravitated back to Vicki and Kelly at the front of the restaurant, all three of them mean-spirited and predatory birds of a feather, together enjoying Kelly's cruel mimicry of the ruined party's host. If, as has been reported, Kelly returns next season, then we might very well see Heather leave the show. She doesn't need the money or the aggravation of dealing with such people, and her continued association with them will only impede her success in broadcast media and other fields to which she obviously aspires. Vicki, the ultimate survivor, will probably claw her way out her temporary purgatory and back to prominence, no doubt with Tamra's able assistance. Shannon and Meghan alone would be mincemeat in the wake of a dominant Tamra/Vicki/Kelly alliance.

I know what you mean. Vicki is such a silly jokester, always getting herself into these side-splitting tight spots. Like when she threw the Bravo producer against a wall because he wouldn't give her want she wanted. Or the funny way she spent an entire season pretending that her pathological liar, violence-prone, deadbeat lover boy had recurring Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and she desperately needed the gang's sympathy and casseroles. And he wasn't even sick! What a card. And just our luck. It turns out that Kelly is the same kind of wacky cut-up as the Vickster. Give her a few shot glasses of sake and a long-simmering grudge against that bitch Shannon for encouraging her snooty friends to defame her, and Kelly will come out of the gate like a racehorse on heavy doses of steroids and flakka powder. It's amazing how that Kelly can scream the most disgusting epithets at her fellow housewives one second - her face dark crimson and contorted in hatred, spittle flying - then suddenly chill out and end up doing hilarious spot-on impressions of other snooty housewives. She's a real spitfire, that one.

Now we know who Vicki looked like in her early teens: Howdie Doodie's homely sister.

And let's not forget that touching Dubrow family scene, with Heather and Terry tossing cantaloupe chunks and other breakfast fruit from the balcony to their children massed and jumping about together in the yard below. Breakfast time, kids. Don't worry if it lands on the sidewalk, just pick it up and enjoy it. Later today, we'll all go visit the monkey cages at the nearby zoo.

I re-watched the episode, paying close attention to the scene where Richard breaks into the feedback group room and proceeds to explain, in very simple terms, just how PP instantaneously delivers videos, audios, and other compressed files to your device. You can watch a video from your iPhone, for example, and it appears to be fully installed there, running instantly and seamlessly. Yet the video file takes up no device memory and is in fact not installed on your device. Instead, the file has been broken down into encrypted shards that are distributed over a peer network of other people's devices (i.e., smartphones, etc.) and is only accessible from your device. Great, you get the performance of a fully downloaded video on your device without losing 4-6 GB in very precious memory. But this process doesn't seem conducive to quick playback with respect to the way I understand TCP/IP to work. Instead of storing and streaming the file to the user's device from a central web server, it gets distributed in small chunks (packets) to and and stored on a number of other users' devices (including smartphones), which PP does not own, then instantaneously reassembled and sent to the primary user's device on demand. I suppose that all of these peer devices are owned by PP users/customers. Did PP do it this way to save the expense of a maintaining a web server, but with no performance loss? Anyone know of any real software that operates in this fashion?

This gets to the very heart of why this was such a wasted episode. Bachman could easily have sold his Palo Alto house for a minimum of $2 million all cash (where older and unremodeled 1300 sq. foot homes in PA are currently selling for that amount and more) with a nice 2 day escrow. But no, that would have deprived Judge and company of their long played-out drama of Richard finding exactly out why Bachman sold all his PP shares and how little he actually made in the process. Soft-hearted Richard takes pity and all is forgiven. That's the problem with this show's scripts: generating easy laughs and silly drama always trump any evidence of rational and smart decision-making by the PP crowd. It should be retitled Rainmen.

A long article about the show published on June 9 in The New Yorker. Not so sure I agree with the title (it's no doubt the most accurate show about Silicon Valley yet broadcast, but doesn't nail it by a long shot). Still, the article contains a lot of interesting background information. http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/how-silicon-valley-nails-silicon-valley

Since, as we all know, Mike Judge is bound and determined to make PP fail at every opportunity, one tends to be on the lookout for early signs of its next catastrophe. And, as was noted previously, Monica's uncharacteristically inarticulate but very obvious dislike of the beta product is a red flag if ever there was one. She registers initial disappointment with the user interface and then tells Richard the product is too "engineered." Well, at least it sounds like an interface thing and not a problem with the underlying functionality and performance of the app. (If the user interface did really have to be improved upon, Gilfoyle could do it while eating lunch.) Laurie says not a word to Laurie, in fact walks out of the launch decision meeting with a smile plastered on her face. So no big deal, right? Wrong.