SwordQueen

I swear I saw white. I don't think I can take another round of "what color is this article of clothing" . My eyeballs are still tired from the last one. lol

Again, another example of Brandi's abusive lover bullshit. Never missing a minute to *remind* Kim that she's a fucked up mess of a person and how only Brandi loves her for who she really is (fucked up). The underlying message, of course, is that everyone else (especially and particularly Kyle) doesn't love Kim as herself and they want to change her and punish her. As did I. Well, LisaV needs to wear some white then, because she looked fabulous in it, when I thought that was what she was wearing. lol

Yes! I saw nothing wrong with Kyle's comments. You don't need to be an artist or a collector to go to museums, and part of the experience of it, imo, is enjoying yourself while you learn. An ex bf of mine is an artist and he knows his shit but when we'd go to museums he'd roll his eyes so hard when we'd overhear someone "Arting" to whomever they were with because it sounds ridiculous.

I am as well, but for different reasons. I mean, I agree that typically benzos slow a person down, not wind them up, but reactions are dependent on so many factors and some benzos side effects include agitation, anxiety and insomnia, etc. It takes a lot to knock me on my ass, but for my roommate, like a 1/4 mg Ativan would put him out for like 12 hours. lol Some people react the complete opposite to the common drug effects, too. What I'm mystified about is how someone like Brandi or Kim can drink like a drunk ass fish and pop pills so regularly and still 1) have no awareness of how they react to these things, and 2) have such seemingly low tolerance that one one hundred percent pain pill or a benzo would cause them to become completely wasted. Brandi really cannot handle these things and I think she just needs to quit before she shows her ass again.

Full disclosure: I have never read any of her books or her blog, Holy hell, she is a terrible writer! I hope she pays her ghostwriters well for the feats of magic they perform every time they have to arrange her scrambled thoughts into a readable book. I don't even think I can comment on the actual content because it's all so LOL and weirdly "Dear Diary" sounding.

Yeah, obviously certain things are scripted but I don't think much is with the Pointer Sisters (aside from things that they plan on brining up in front of the cameras, but I think the reactions are all real) and I don't think that Lisa would willingly allow anyone (esp Brandi) to make inferences regarding her fidelity to Ken, manhandle and slap her. I don't see how that would benefit her business ventures or her reputation. There aren't many instances of Lisa looking visibly shaken or emotional, so I tend to notice when it happens, and last night was one of those instances.

Well, at least this time it's not Kyle or Lisa R's fault. lol Gotta switch it up a little, keep the excuses fresh. I wonder if Brandi and Kim have some kind of Excel spreadsheet where they keep track of who is to blame for their actions.

So, if they were acting does that mean that they have an acting coach on set and have taken classes on physical acting so they know how to not actually hit the other actor? I guess I pretty much see what happens on screen as generally real, aside from the usual and obvious show-influenced stuff.

In character? I don't know much about the production side, I admit, but are you saying that these scenes and their personalities are faked and scripted for the show? Like Kim's addiction, Brandi's child custody issues, Lisa R breaking the glass, Yo health issues?

Did you not read her blog? She was clearly disturbed and shaken by it.

I agree and disagree with this. Lisa R, Yo, and Eileen (and to a lesser extent Kyle and Lisa R) seem to want to conduct themselves with whatever they deem to be respectable behavior because that is what they want for themselves, not just for the sakes of their husbands. It's sad that Brandi and Kim don't hold themselves to be the biggest influences (or at influences at all) on their own behaviors. That is the fundamental problem with those two, imo, they seem to have no conscious or moral compass and are quick to blame others for their actions or cry victim because they don't have husbands or lucrative careers, like those are the only reasons why the other HW aren't wallowing in the gutter alongside them.

I had to stop watching ATL this season after the first episode because I can't stand anyone anymore, but this might actually get me watching again! You explained it just fine, imo. The damage to a person from being hit is far more than just being "hurt", but all the things you mentioned as well. I've been slapped/hit/punched/etc by a lot of boyfriends and, for me, the physical pain was the least worst aspect of it all. It's also, like someone else said, very disorienting and shocking, so it can take a minute before some people are able to react. But that doesn't mean they didn't mind or it wasn't hurtful. Lisa looked absolutely stunned and she detailed her reaction well in her blog. I am so glad she is going to have nothing more to do with Brandi. It's hard enough dealing with physical violence when you're already so used to it, I can't imagine how it must have felt for Lisa, who says that no one has ever put their hands on her in that manner in all her adult years. Favorite comment in this thread. Kim, to me, doesn't act like she's had one successful day in therapy or in a program beyond what was mandatory in her very brief stay in rehab. She has NO tools, none, and like, negative percentages of awareness and desire to change. What you wrote is the biggest tell, too, imo. Kim sees "responsibility" as judgment and punishment, which is why she avoids it at all costs. But accepting responsibility for oneself is pretty much the most liberating (verses imprisoning) mindset and perpetual set of actions a person can achieve. HA! So funny and yet so true. I think she truly shocked herself going off on Kim like she did. She seems like almost the opposite of people like Kim ad Brandi, in that she's so afraid of her Shadow and any unpleasantness inside of her that she pushes it all down an forces out an overly-eager, overly-cheerful, soft, sweet persona, whereas Kim and Brandi, also not wanting to deal with their Shadow and vulnerability, instead choose lash out at people and make themselves appear tougher and harder. Same fears, I think, but different ways of masking them. But I don't think Lisa is as vapid and selfish to the core as the Boozey Twins are, even though she appears airheaded and self-involved on the outside.

LOL I made some kind of Beavis and Butthead-esque laugh, while reading this. Poor dumb Kyle is always the recipient of the "simple" jokes, so it's good to spread it around some. Speaking of poor dumb Kyle, that capelet was my everything in this episode. She's been unusually stylish, this season.

I honestly don't think she's going to ever get to that point. This shit is so imprinted on her that I can't see her coming to any realizations about herself without a great deal of professional help and even then, I don't think there would be dramatic change. I still can't even with her parents excusing and condoning her behavior to Lisa (Her mother commenting on how that is just the way Brandi is; getting hurt and angry, and lashing out and then being 'over it' a minute later and wanting to go on like nothing happened). I think for anything to sink in with her, it's going to take being cut out of the show and cut off from the HW. Her actions are being sanctioned by the show, in essence, and then seen as entertainment by the media (and us). What she fails to understand is that she's the sideshow and not some respected and relevant social commentator. Kim is a similar character which is probably why they get along as they do (or did). Very reactive, with little insight or comprehension.

I agree, completely. Sometimes emotion is necessary and helpful when dealing with people and, other times, logic and objectivity is better. With people like Brandi and Kim, who feed on people's emotions and vulnerabilities, it's best to take the detached and rigid approach, as Eileen has done. She has shown emotion, but knows that it's not only wasted on them, but that they will use it against her if she lets them. Lisa R. gets too invested and loses objectivity. Then she feels hurt and blindsided when the person she's invested so much in doesn't care or appreciate her efforts. She needs to learn to take people at their word (and deed) about who they are and what they want. I think her intentions were genuine (as much as any HW can be I guess) but her methods show that she's just a bit too obtuse and gets lost in her own need to be needed. And thanks for the info on last season. I totally missed all of that and now some things in the later episodes make a little more sense. Brandi's got this game down.

I started watching Season 4 several episodes in, so I missed Joyce's introduction. I always thought that she and Joyce must have had a kerfuffle to ignite Brandi's petty hatred, but there was nothing? Oof, I should have known better. lol And because everything Brandi does is suspect, to me, I have a feeling that the "say something nice" game was her way of emphasizing not only the perceived fakeness of the HW (I think she was hoping for a blow up), but her own dislike for them. It didn't go unnoticed that Brandi's compliments were all superficial and I thought that was a clumsy attempt at letting the HW know that she simply couldn't find anything nice to say to them, so she was focusing on the aesthetic as a backhanded dig. I think what threw her was the other HW (mostly) genuine compliments, especially with what Lisa V, Yolanda and even Kim said to Kyle. She's already lost Lisa V (to Kyle), she can't ever compete with the deep (dysfunctional) bond that Kim has with her sister, and then Yo makes a comment about how she has become closer to Kyle recently. I think once it became her turn to receive compliments, she couldn't handle what she thought they'd say about her, especially after hearing how much they all cared about each other, and if they only threw out some superficial compliment, she'd know that they were being disingenuous, because she knew she had been fake with them. She creates her own misery.

She always has that same self-satisfied look when she tells Yo about her exploits, combined with a "Aren't I just so naughty?" laugh. She's looking for a reaction but not just from whomever she did something to. She gets off on "tattling" on herself. "Truth cannoning" only works if the first target is oneself. Doesn't have the same impact if you're delusional and lying to yourself, while trying to tell others about themselves. I need a vacation after watching these women take a vacation! Thoroughly exhausting.

I agree. Stress really ages people. lol Aside from that awful red dress in that press photo, Lisa's been looking good this year. I actually liked the hat, and I'm not really a hat person. White looks great on her.

I'm not even sure what her point was with this tirade. I seriously wonder if she did take something (someone mentioned Xanax, for anxiety) when she went into the bathroom because there are times, like on the boat, where she's just so fidgety and hyperactive and she works herself up into a frenzy. If that's the case, then she should take the benzo before she arrives somewhere, so she's calmer from the beginning. Brandi made Kim seem downright serene on the boat.

Like this was planned by her? I hadn't thought of that. Her behavior seems so erratic and bizarre, that I'm not even sure if she actually likes Lisa or is just trying to get revenge. She's coming off as a jealous, pathetic ex-lover.

I'd forgotten about that. Brandi keeps trying to accuse/shame people with infidelity. One would think that she would be compassionate towards women in that regard but she seems to get off on seeing other women upset about rumors/insinuation of a cheating spouse -- particularly when she can be the one to deliver the news. Lisa and Ken seem to love each other very much, imo. I have no idea what Brandi's end game is here. Is all of this supposed to endear her to Lisa?

Yes and this is how Brandi needs to be handled. While I agree with Lisa V's "do not react" method, Brandi obviously needs a more direct, stern approach. She doesn't get subtly and she doesn't care about personal boundaries. I recommend a shock collar.

Eileen handles these HW like a boss. I love her WTF faces and clear disgust towards Brandi. Makes me giddy with joy.

Yes and I'm remembering now that she's like this often. It's like some weird attention/affection/validation thing; the touching, joking and closeness she seems to crave. Add to that her saying that her boys still (at that time) sleep in bed with her and it's clear she has attachment/boundary issues. I'd feel sad for her if she didn't annoy the shit out of me so much.

Brandi is the aggressor in her "crimes". She tries to force people into "playing" with her and when they refuse, she forces herself on them and then laughs it off as a joke. Again, creepy as fuck. She gives me the douche chills.