Should Be Working

Could have sworn that Hanzee killed both of the Kitchen Brothers out there in the clearing. You figure a fellow so well versed in the quick and efficient murder of VC in the tunnels of Vietnam would have made absolutely sure he finished the job. Was surprised to later see one of them answer the door to Mike's hotel room for Simone. That song playing while Peggy was packing her suitcases, Let's Get Together Tonight, sounded familiar. Then I remembered that Jose Feliciano sang it at that Minneapolis show that Steve Buscemi and his hooker date attended in the Coen brothers movie. As for Peggy's sudden transformation from selfish sociopath to devoted housewife and partner to Ed, that might very well serve the remaining season story line, but it doesn't ring true in the least. For 4.75 episodes of Season 2, she's consistently shown herself to be totally self-serving and without concern for others, including Ed. Anyone who can casually brush her hair, as if she hasn't a care in the world, while Rye lies bleeding out on the hood of the Corvair a few yards away is missing a conscience. You don't just suddenly acquire one at a Luvurne body shop on the way to the seminar that will make you an even more magnificent person.

I think most people took those comments from Lou's character in Season 1 as a reference to an earlier slaughter by Lorne Malvo. He'd already made reference to bodies that stacked as high as a house when he had that odd encounter with Malvo in the diner. Since the death and slaughter in Season 2 seems destined to originate with the Gerhardts and the Kansas City mob (with a small assist from Ed and from Betsy's cancer) , we can pretty much rule out any possibility of a younger Malvo existing one of those ever-present UFOs to commit a 1979 bloodbath. You might very well be right that the Season 2 Lou was standing watch against Betsy's impending death from her cancer. Although I'm not sure he knew just how bad her prognosis was at the time (I recall that scene preceded the oncologist's mention of metastisis, but could be wrong).

I realized that Fargo's second season was far more stylized than the first, but the comparisons with The Sopranos hadn't occurred to me until they were cited above. The manner in which Hanzee solved the case of Rye's murder in a few hours might seem to require a bit too much suspension of disbelief (plenty of modern TV dramas demand it in spades), but he went to the Waffle Hut looking for clues to Rye's troubling disappearance. Lou and Hank were just trying to make sense of the crime scene right after the triple shooting. Perhaps there was more snow on the ground when they checked. Betsy didn't conduct a search of the crime scene; she just responded to Molly's finding the gun and picked it up to give to Lou. Once Hanzee had the headlight remnant, a check of the few body shops in Luvurne was the obvious next step. No need to let a curious employee deter him from his search of the Corvair; just threaten him with a straight razor. Once he had the name and address of the car owner, no need for a search warrant. Once he found Rye's belt buckle in the fireplace, he knew what had happened to him and who did it. I thought the fourth episode the best yet. Absolutely masterful interweaving of story elements and character interaction. And, as usual, the background music was very effective. That heartbreaking aria (cantata?) that played near the end, as Floyd and company were returning home to prepare for war, was beautiful. If anyone recognizes it, please identify it.

It appears that Brooks is no more skilled at creating a fake cancer treatment bill than he is a credible PT/CAT scan report. Face it people, this bum who won't support his own children, lives off of relatively wealthy lonely women who he then verbally and physically abuses to keep in line. He didn't have pancreatic cancer, "nose cancer," or NHL. He uses the cancer card to manipulate and con those around him and to obtain their sympathy and support. He's a despicable parasite. End of case.

Perhaps Ryan was waiting until enough sense had been shaken into Vicki. Or visions of a potential inheritance for Brianna (and him) were flitting through his steroid-addled mind.

In light of all the fawning thank you's received from her donation and Instagam post, one would think that ceramic rooster was worth tens of thousands of dollars. Also glad to hear from Vicki herself that she has never ever ever been a victim of spousal/partner abuse. I guess Brooks is really the Southern gentleman after all. Except when he's around younger pregnant women.

I don't have a high opinion of David Beador. While I can imagine that Shannon's perpetually put-upon martyr role and henpecking ways would drive any husband to distraction, he should have manned up and tried to deal with these aggravations through professional counseling. Don't remain married and then cheat on your already-martyred wife and use your infidelity to punish her. That solves nothing. If the marital situation is really intolerable, divorce her and spend as much time as you can with your daughters, whom you obviously care for very much. So, despite Shannon's annoying ways, he's a cad for taking on a mistress while still her husband. Yet, cad that he is, I cannot conceive that this charmer and pursuer of attractive woman would actually come on to the Vickster in all of her spackled and reconstructed but increasingly repellant physical and psychologically glory. I know some posters here actually think she is still an attractive woman, but I don't see it. She's very unattractive inside and out. Only a Dixie bum like Brooks could pull off the charade of convincing her otherwise, and I'm sure even he approached their tank-filling sessions with anti-nausea pills and real trepidation, followed by large helpings of alcohol and young strippers to clear his mind. Do I think Dave Beador ever came on to Vicki? Not a chance in hell.

Valencia, California, Nov, 15, 2015 (AP) Reality TV star Vicki Gunvalson apparently died while riding the Dare Devil Chaos Coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia yesterday afternoon. Witnesses on the ride report that she began vomiting and choking after the first inverted dip. Attempts by rescue personal to resuscitate her after the ride completed were unsuccessful. "She was making these strange whooping and gagging sounds even before the coaster started up," said Michael Stevens, 18, who was seated next to Gunvalson. "Once it started, it just got increasingly worse as we entered that first major dip." When contacted, fellow reality TV star and close friend Tamra Barney voiced suspicion that Ms. Gunvalson had been under increasing pressure and may have committed suicide. "She'd throw up in a golf cart with a run-down battery," Barney explained, "So she must have known that big scary roller coaster would kill her for sure." In recent weeks, Gunvalsen and her former partner, Brooks Ayers, have come under increasing criticism over their alleged fabrication of his cancer diagnosis in the recently ended season of her TV show, The Real Housewives of Orange Country. There has even been word that her role would not be renewed for the upcoming 11th season. Since Gunvalson's passing yesterday, Brooks Ayers has already repeatedly posted on social media alleging that her co-stars on the show were responsible for driving her to suicide. "They drove her to it like a pack of hyenas," he commented in one tweet, "Hounded that poor dear woman until she gave up the ghost." Tamra Barney sees things differently. "She could have really turned to Jesus and found salvation from the mess she's in, but she wouldn't return my calls. I find it Ironic that she died on a ride named after Satan."

And I was so looking forward to their eventual reconciliation. Perhaps she's allowed her monthly payoffs to him to lapse and he wants prompt payment. That ocean-view townhouse in the Miami suburbs ain't cheap, and then there's the generous tips for strippers and the ongoing treatment of his pancreatic cancer/pancreatitis/NHL/whatever. Vicki's a moron for falling for this degenerate, and he could ruin her for good if she doesn't give him exactly what he wants. I suspect a further upward adjustment of those payments is in order to ensure things stay on an even keel for her.

I doubt Brooks could or would summon the energy to go to those lengths to deceive Vicki. Plus, she claimed she accompanied him on at least one of his three chemo treatments. If Brooks is faking the cancer, there's no way he would be allowed to get an infusion of any sort at a certified chemo center, even a saline solution. If he's faking, she knows he never had a chemo session.

I totally agree. More than a few posting here have lived with a cancer victim/survivor and know from first-hand experience how the illness comes to dominate the lives of everyone in the household, even the extended family. Long and frequent trips to the infusion centers, the oncologists, the scan labs take center stage, as does making the patient as comfortable as possible as they endure the disease and its often toxic treatments. Knowing how I responded to my spouse's cancer and how I would feel if it happened to me, Brooks has been way too cavalier, relaxed, and nonchalant for a man potentially facing iminent death. Instead, he seems to to have relished his down-time at Vicki's house, like some extended vacation, downing fruit smoothies and making only a few cryptic statements to the camera about his treatments and discomfort. At no time has he impressed me as someone suffering Stage 3 cancer. He's just not that strong a man, physically or morally.

Not a religious person, but Tamra's baptism made a mockery of that practice. All those friends standing around pretending it was a meaningful ritual, when we all know she's simply trying to redeem her terrible reputation. What's next if this conversion doesn't take (which it won't)? Sister Tamra joins the Sisters of Eternal Bitchiness and Coarse Behavior in their OC convent? Like others, I've known all along that Vicki knew Brooks didn't have Stage 3 NHL, yet still promoted the charade to the season's very end. I never saw her lose her composure or go into one of her automatic self-pitying crying jags once (as she did when Brianna had throat surgery) over the prospect of losing her gas tank nozzle with a drawl. And she always seemed to conveniently time her trips out of town to most of his supposed treatment appointments for alibi purposes. But I'm curious about how Brooks is now getting by without her money and support. Did he successfully hook another relatively wealthy divorcee or widow and move in with her? The man is totally incapable of earning a living through conventional and legal methods. Or is Vicki sending him support monies on the sly?

So Ryan has been "talking to" a local aerospace company. Must be one of the few that hires its own in-house custodial staff. If Rat Face can change diapers, guess he's qualified to clean toilets.

Brooks has never been big on the consistency of his stories. Cured and going into remission are two entirely different things. He seems to have taken more interest in his new teeth than he does getting the very best treatment for his supposed cancer. His Reservatol story, like all of Brooks' stories, sounds fishy in the extreme. So, assuming he does still have NHL cancer, I'd think the last thing he'd want is to unilaterally cut off his gravy train connection with Vicki (if Tamra is to be believed this one time).

I'll admit that the spare blue homepage looks amateurish, but once you get into the website and check out its various internal content links, it's actually quite informative. What I find interesting is the fact that nowhere on the site is their new official spokeperson mentioned, not by name, photo, or personal email or blog post. Perhaps she prevailed on Jim to donate a few hundred dollars to the organization and asked that they give her that title. Perhaps they let anyone who donates claim that honor (like being an official Mousketeer back in the old days). Or perhaps she just assigned herself the title.

Meghan has embarked on her own global mission for medical truth and justice. Perhaps she can take a break from her OC gig and arrange a series of speeches at the top medical schools and cancer research hospitals to advise the leading experts on even better strategies for developing truly effective immune system and genome-based targeting of tumors. She's so damn sharp and dedicated, she might spur them to finding a cure for Brooks himself, whose health and longevity she is so dedicated to protecting. What a gal.

With all these posts about Ryan's PTSD diagnosis and his ongoing PTSD treatment, I'm going to go out on a limb here and argue that the behavior we saw in that Season 8 Winter Wonderland finale was not classic PTSD symptoms, but rather a case of a mean-spirited, angry asshole who takes pleasure in pushing defenseless older women around. There was no disassociative state, no waking nightmare, no pulse-pounding anxiety attack, no sudden flashback to grisly wartime scenes evident. Just an aggressive and pissed off jerk who found a slightly spacey lady lounging on Vicki's couch who teasingly threatened to sprinkle him with fairy dust and thus went off on her like a rabid pit bull (my advance apology to pit bull owners). In his house (or so he claimed). So we know Ryan's an asshole of the first order. And he might also have developed PTSD in Afghanistan. Or he might be using that diagnosis to explain his disturbing personality traits. And if that's the case, then more's the pity for those who are truly suffering from the real thing.

Then I'll gladly do it for you. Ryan has shown himself to be a controlling, rage-filled jerk who terrorizes women at the drop of a hat (or a pair of feet on a couch) without any provocation. While his tours in Afghanistan probably exacerbated his anger and control issues, I suspect they've been there for a long time, before he enlisted. I have no problem respecting and honoring the brave servicemen who have risked and given their lives in places like Afghanistan. But I wouldn't lump Ryan into this group or try to use his tours there to in any way justify his inexcusable treatment of women back here in the states.

I just rewatched that Season 8 finale "couch" episode and am not inclined to give Ryan any slack or consideration for his rage against Lydia's mother. Before that episode, as I recall, we'd seen the polite Southern boy side of Ryan, the decent newlywed and enlistee. I don't care, as Vicki mentioned, how much stress he was feeling about his iminent return to Afghanistan, nothing excused the curse-laden and threatening way he treated Lydia's mother. If his tours of duty are causing that much anger and rage, get a goddamn discharge, leave the Marines, and get treatment for your serious personality disorder.. What was also telling in this episode was the reaction of others to Ryan's rage-fueled attack. When Vicki finally confronted Brianna and Ryan upstairs, she was soft-spoken, wearing her infrequently-used kid gloves, seeming to give Ryan the benefit of the doubt. Brianna really took his side, both agreeing with him and trying to calm him down. The hero of the night, in my opinion, was Billy, who confronted him face on and really let Ryan have it once he'd learned what happened. "You keep doing this!" he yelled repeatedly, no doubt referring to other rage fests from Ryan that were not caught on Bravo cameras or sound recording devices. I imagine this is a continuing part of his behavior, even now that he's stationed in Oklahoma. His young sons have a very sick and angry role model for a father

Tornadoes do hit downtown areas. The old myths about not crossing rivers, traveling over hills or even mountains, and striking cities has been disproven time and again. Thing is, Tornado Alley contains so much unpopulated land that the odds of a given storm hitting a downtown area of a mid-size or larger city are quite small. But put a city like Chicago, Dallas, or Kansas City in the way of a long-path EF4 or EF5 and having a meal in a restaurant will provide absolutely no protection unless they have room for everyone in the meat locker.

I've never been a fan of Meghan. And I might have agreed with the "sociopathic" label a few weeks ago. But here's the thing: true sociopaths do not experience or display true emotions like the rest of us. In fact, they don't feel much at all, even when they're destroying other people and have a complete lack of empathy for others. I watched Meghan's reaction to Vicki's volcanic eruption at the luncheon at Heather's still under construction Hilton OC. After Vicki and her retinue left for the "ladies' room," Meghan sat there with her head down, face red, her mouth trembling, Heather saw if from across the table and asked her if she was OK. You could tell she was hit hard by Vicki's tirade (if she's ever watched one on TV before, she shouldn't have been). A true sociopath would not have reacted that way. Sure, Meghan is emotionally immature for her age, inclined to say totally inappropriate things at the drop of a hat, and seems primed and ready to assert herself into the show as a leading player at almost any cost, as well as constantly promoting herself and bending the truth to confirm to her self image. And her comments to Jim about "justice" indicate she's got a strong self-righteous streak, and is a bit deluded. I'm sure she's also upset and worried about the future of her marriage (perhaps she and Shannon should discuss their shared plights). Meghan carries a lot of emotional baggage and personality foibles and is too focused on playing the OC bitch. And she's got an oddly-shaped body,. But she's no sociopath.

Meghan's first major tangle with Vicki didn't go as well as she had planned. That's probably because she used such a lame pretext to initiate it (I know about cancer, my husband's ex-wife is dying of it, I really care about Brooks and desperately want him to follow the proper cancer treatment regimen, why won't you listen to me, of all places and times but at a low-key wives and their friends luncheon). Of course, all this did was enrage Vicki (who, once provoked and on the path to rage, is hard to stop). And Meghan, much as I dislike her shit-stirring neophyte ways, was truly rattled by the intensity of Vicki's volcanic reaction. You could see her physically shaking as she tried to explain herself to Lizzie right after the confrontation. Face it, kid, you don't care for or like Brooks in the least, don't even think he has cancer. Yet you chose to provoke the Dragon Lady in this way. Pretty weenie.

You're right, he's very low key and almost comatose at times. Which is most certainly not the take-charge Type A personality one would expect to be successfully running large freeway construction projects, dealing with loud machinery and the roar of nearby traffic so you have to yell all day long to be heard, constant problems with work or materials quality, making sure the needed equipment and supplies are on hand and working, dealing with unexpected employee absenteeism, crew shortages, and work screw-ups, plus those surprise visits from government types, etc. 8 to 10 hours of this five days a week requires a very forceful and resilient type. Maybe he switches to power-save mode when he's not on the job. I mean almost complete system shutdown. Except when an attractive younger woman catches his eye.

No, no, no. The giraffe comparison is incorrect and only applied because of her ultra-long neck. But, as noted, she has no spots or purple tongue. And besides, ET had an long extendable neck but no one ever called him a giraffe. You need to look at the body shape in its entirety: the really long torso, the very long skinny legs that jut out akimbo at weird angles, the strange turns of the head when she detects a possible food source (literal or figurative). She's a praying mantis with a long neck.

Based on her cynical reaction to Vicki's psychic, I figured that one of Tamra's very few redeeming qualities was a healthy skepticism toward this kind of lame hocus pocus nonsense. Wrong. He simply wasn't Tamra's own psychic. Both Meghan and Heather seemed to hang on Scott's every pronouncement too. The fact that a fraud might have begun the process of unveiling another fraud is truly ironic.