Ms Anthrope

There is an ad for HULU that runs on MSNBC at every, single, commercial break. It's the one with quick cuts of various series actors screaming "That could be a catch phrase!!!!!" I've worn out my mute button shutting that damn thing off.

While channel surfing a few days ago, I happened upon Say Yes To The Dress --- and was surprised to see Veronica ex-Montelongo trying on wedding dresses. She seemed quite happy to be marrying her finance -- and even happier that she's rid of Armondo. How do the same TV faces keep popping up on various shows? Fame whores, I presume.

I couldn't quite believe that the judges were raving about how beautiful Mai's dessert looked (and tasted). Don't know about the taste, but the dish looked like slop to me. Lots of different items tossed messily in a bowl. It looked like something scraped of a plate before going into the dishwasher. I also don't get the hate for Blais. He doesn't seem more opinionated than any of the other judges. If anyone annoys me, it's Tom -- who give me the impression that his opinion is the only worthwhile one.

Not much to snark about in the basement episode. Nicole did a pretty good job, except for -- as mentioned above -- the horrible staining job. Loved the old bar, but nastily wished that the bar cross piece had fallen on her head instead of her father.

The new season has already started -- at least in my area. They have remodeled the ATK kitchen, so if the cabinets behind them are white (instead of brown) you are looking at a new episode.

It looks like Chip and Joanna have run out of "real" fixer-uppers. The last few episodes have featured houses that were quite liveable the way they were, except for some unfortunate decorating choices. There have been none of the near tear-downs that were featured in the first season.

I've recently overdosed on those old flipping shows (on the FYI channel), and there are more of them than are listed above! Flipping New Haven: This one featured the obnoxious frat boys who did really cheap flips with absolutely no sense of style. They also had Flipping San Diego show which seems to have died a fortunate death. Flipping Los Angeles: With Chief and his pal (whose name I can't remember). The usual phony drama, including one shot where they obviously dropped a granite counter off their truck on purpose -- just to have the dramatic shouting match at each other. Another Flipping Los Angles: With Rudy (who also seems to own restaurants). Wash and repeat the above show. Flipping San Antonio: With Armondo Montelongo -- the biggest a#$hole on television. The abusive and insulting way he treats his employees and family is one reason I switch the channel the second I see his ugly face. As for Flipping Boston, I'm impressed that they plaster the walls of their flips (no one else bothers), and their results are attractive, but they all look the same. Dark floors and grey paint everywhere. As for that shouting oaf Dave Seymour, I can't believe he managed to produce such a charming little boy -- his son Jefferson. And Flipping Las Vegas. Scott Yancey is a really, really bad actor, and the show tops the charts in fakery. I'm positive that the producers stuff Yancey's flips with all sorts of disgusting items --- just so Scott can have a nuclear meltdown when he sees the mess.

Nicole's appearance is of no importance or interest to me. What DOES bother me is that in the more recent episodes is her emphasis on "me, me, me" rather than a fuller explanation of what she plans to do with the house, as she has done in the past. Her "fixes" are just as shoddy as ever. That bathroom? She should have sent out that sink to be re-enameled, rather than slap on some "porcelain touch-up" or whatever the heck it was that she slopped on. Don't get me started with the paint job. And don't bother cleaning the tiles because the toilet will cover up all that nasty filth? This series is already being shown in a very choppy manner. At one point, the camera was pointing down the hallway outside of the powder room and I could see that the kitchen was already half done. There were some new, light colored cabinets installed (Horrors! New cabinets) This show used to be fairly interesting, but if I want to see a rehab done professionally by real craftsmen, I'll stick with This Old House.

I like this show for its low-key quality, even though Joanna's style is a bit too country/shabby chic for me. Their supposed lack of staged "drama" got ruined for me last night though, when Chip claimed that adding GFCI outlets in the kitchen would cost $1,000 (cue the phone call to the owners). GFCI outlets cost about $10 and one doesn't need 10 of them, as Chip claimed. Now I'm questioning ALL their claims of the cost of remodeling.