[S01.E02: Harry]

I understand what you are saying, backformore, and I wasn't referring specifically to you (for the record). I just hate that the mom is portrayed that way. If the portrayal was more realistic, we would have been shown the child asking for nursing (most children will ask when they are upset) and therefore, she'd be shown to be responding to her child's needs. We'd also be shown more conversations with the child where his misbehavior would have been addressed and used as teaching moments. But all that is shown is her nursing, thus setting up her portrayal as someone who is using the nursing as a crutch. We are not shown enough of their parenting to even begin to judge them, but most people are going to judge away anyway. Also, maybe there is a psychological problem with this child that hasn't been diagnosed yet - autism, adhd, etc. Just because a child acts out is not an indication of bad parenting, but everyone will judge it as such.

 

Why can't it be realistic that they are just shitty ineffective parents?  We've been shown enough to see that they are permissive and do not seem to discipline their son when he's being destructive and/or dangerous, to me that's enough to judge them.

[S03.E16: Ring on a String]

Here's a video interview with Tom and Arianna that makes it sound like the wedding planner was actually really shitty.  I guess it was 1am when Scheena was freaking out about nothing being done and the wedding planner just booked it  out there instead of talking to the DJ, although I don't know why Scheena would have waied until 1am to tell her to get shit done.  They also say who the DJ is and talk about the choreography and musical queues.  Arianna also says "Scheena's Mexican," so it sounds like that might have influenced her choosing that style cuisine (not that I'm giving her selection the side-eye, Mexican food is delicious).  They also talk about Kristin hitting Tom in the past and various other things.  

 

[S03.E17: Jax Cracks]

I hope the puppy adoption doesn't include all kinds of weird sex talk from Lisa.

[S03.E16: Ring on a String]

At 33 minutes into the show, when they show Katie sitting sadly, in the right hand corner above the Bravo logo are dinner plates COVERED in ants.

 

Ants were really bad in LA last summer.  I think maybe the drought made it worse?  I've never had ants in my house before and I kept getting them in my shower looking for water, in various places from  the dogs leaving kongs around, and I even got them in my car because I left a drink in the cupholder over night.  I didn't even know you could get ants in your car, seriously, WTF.  And these weren't just a few ants, they were crazy ants covering everything infestations.  

[S03.E16: Ring on a String]

There are people that don't like Mexican food?  What???

 

ETA: I had a dream about burritos on Sunday night

[S03.E16: Ring on a String]

Presumably, the singer and DJ were paid.

 

Tina's her friend, I assumed she sang for free.   Given that Shay's a "music producer" and the DJ seemed to be possibly not a wedding DJ, I thought he might be an acquaintance doing a favor too, but if he was paid, I'd assume he was more expensive than dress fabric and less expensive than her Instagram wedding planner.  Unless, of course, Bravo was paying, then they probably made sure there was a budget line item for their friends.  It all adds up really quickly though.  Oh, don't forget the 40 person rehearsal dinner, even with employee discount, that probably wasn't cheap given how this crew drinks.  

[S03.E16: Ring on a String]

I rewatched this episode because I thought I saw "we had sex" but I am happy to report, I did not. Also I wanted to see Jax again get shot down by Carmen. LOL. His face, too funny. I also wanted to correct something, James did not grab Kristen. He had an open hand which he placed on her upper arm to stop her from turning away and she let him have it. Well let me put it this way, they didn't show him grab her like she said. Also the punch looked like 2 slaps but what do I know.

 

They were open handed, but man did she have good form and some real force behind them.  It looked like there was some straight forward motion like a punch, not just a sideswipe like a slap.  

 

The location, flowers, table settings, and overall ambiance was gorgeous. But she still had a home-made dress, discount candy, free booze, and an enchillada buffet. How did that cost $90,000?!

 

 

 

Was Kristen "leaving with" that guy, like I'm going to ditch my boyfriend and go hook up with my trainer?! Of course James is going to try to stop her! That's pretty fucked up! 

 

Locations in LA are expensive.  I wouldn't be surprised if that place was more than $20k.  She said flowers were $30k.  Fabric for her dress was probably still a lot (but less than buying a dress for sure).  I don't know where the rest of the dough went, but it adds up fast.  I'm sure she spent a ton on photos and video, that seems like it would be important to her.  

 

I heard/read somewhere (maybe here?) that Trevor, the trainer, is gay.  He probably was just giving her a ride home.

[S03.E16: Ring on a String]

SURver Kristina has no business snarking on anyone's attire while wearing that hat.

 

I have to believe that all this crap about Scheena paying for the wedding with a settlement over her teeth is total and utter BS.  I suffered an injury that required surgery (not oral), had me in PT for over 4 years, and left me with limited range of motion and chronic pain.  After medical bills, legal fees, etc. my settlement wouldn't have paid for that wedding.  Not even close.

 

Scheena is right, her and Shay jumping around waving their hands in the air wouldn't have made sense at any other point in that song and the wedding would have been ruined.  I loved all the guests' faces when she started twerking during the first dance.  I'm surprised the first dance song wasn't one of hers.

 

Kristin fucking nailed DJ Baby Muppet.  He was in her face and volatile, but I think she was out of line resorting to violence. 

 

I liked Arianna talking sense to Scheena.  She was 100% correct.  I've been in a few weddings and I'm so glad none of the brides were bridezillas like Scheena.  

 

Peter needs to just realize that Vail is a tease and possible an attention whore.  

 

Carmen is my new favorite.  I loved how she shut Jax down.  

 

Scheena didn't even know about James and Kristin fighting until he told her, so obviously it ruined her wedding.  Just like all the music miscues.

 

Was one of the guests sleeping on the ground outside by the fountain the next morning?

 

Did you guys hear, Scheena has a husband?

[S05.E10: Them]

What I want to know is who skinned, gutted, and cleaned the dogs before they put them on the grill?

 

Obviously Daryl.  

[S05.E10: Them]

I kept noticing that one of the dogs kept wagging his tail.  Snarling and wagging seemed to be an odd combination.

 

A happy wag is different than a pissed off wag.  Depending on how the tail is wagging it can be a sign of impending aggression.  

[S01.E01: Hector]

Wait. Is that the kid from "Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce"? He plays a douche on that show too!

 

I've caught one episode of Girlfriend's Guide and last night's episode of The Slap and that kid made me want to punch him on both.  Given that evidence, his age, and the picture posted of him at the premier, I have to assume he's not a talented actor that's great at playing characters audiences love to hate and just a terrible, horrible, undisciplined, asshole in real life.  

[S12.E15: Mano a Mano]

As I was watching, I realized I couldn't decide who I wanted to win.  Any of the final four would have been fine with me from a personality standpoint and they all seemed like great chefs -- it's hard to say without tasting their food, but their dishes usually looked and sounded amazing.  It seems like Mei nailed it though and she's a deserving winner.  I enjoy her resting bitch face and stoism.  It broke my heart one episode when her facade cracked and a couple of tears slipped out.  But what do I know, I also enjoy Blais.

 

I stopped watching Top Chef after the stupid cross country skiing skeet shooting challenge.  I'm glad I came back to it this season.  I think this might be one of the best seasons I've seen.  It was great to see a bunch of reality contestants actually get along and to not have stupid drama overshadow the cooking.

[S03.E15: For Better or Worse]

Does Scheana know that weddings are notorious for things to go wrong? The higher your expectations, the more likely something is going to go wrong. 

 

Especially when you have it planned out to to the second, as she seems to, and then go with a budget coordinator off of Instagram to manage your elaborate plans.

[S12.E14: Holy Escamoly!]

I take back anything I've ever said about Gregory not being well rounded.  He did a great job.  Also, he was so cute in the picture from when he was a kid with his little apron.  I think his ingredients might have been the easiest, but he really nailed it.  The guava soup, to me, was really unexpected.  

 

I don't know about Mei making guac.  It was fancy guac, but it was guac.  Seeing her cry at judges table was heartbreaking since she's normally so reigned in.  

 

Doug had the hardest ingredients, in my opinion.  He was lucky to have Katsuji as a sous chef, in this instance, since Katsuji had experience with the ingredients.  I'm sad to see him go, but not disappointed with the final two.  

[S12.E13: Getting Prickly In Mexico]

Gregory did not make a curry in this episode. Whereas I see your point - I also know that there is so much diversity in curries - it really would be possible to have a multi-episode curry competition if one were so inclined.

 

I actually thought Gregory's dish was the most visually appealing - and looked most like the painting. Then again, I love tamarind and the flavours (tamarind and orange) sounded excellent together.

 

Totally happy with the top three. They've all earned their spot. I'm rooting for the one whose food is most intriguing over the next 2 episodes.

I realize that Gregory didn't make curry this challenge and that there are many different types of curry -- curry of all types is one of my favorite things in the world.  I was just trying to decide today what I like more, curry or brunch.  I also know that curry is freaking hard to make well, but Gregory has made a whole hell of a lot of curry this season.  I don't care enough to research it, but I think he might have made more curries than Melissa made dishes that "showcased her cuts."  Overall, I like Gregory, I just like Mei and Doug more and feel like they've stretched a bit more over the season than Gregory and Melissa.  Melissa, however, won a piece of my heart with the family challenge.  Seeing her with her mom was just... I think I got something in my eye.

 

I was a little disappointed that the first round in Mexico went to the chef who did Tex Mex.

 

I'm sure it was terrific, and it certainly suited the artist and painting, but I felt the other chefs had more challenging matches and had to be more creative, and not just execute well.

 

ETA: Tom went out of his way to say that he thought it was a jarring challenge for Doug (I didn't get that vibe from Doug at all) and that as a result, Doug gave them something they haven't seen from him before. That's true, but just because Doug hasn't done it one Top Chef, doesn't mean it's not familiar, comfortable ground for him.

 

To the extent the challenge was intended to pull the chefs out of their comfort zones, I don't that was true for the guy that actually won the challenge.

I think Tom meant the challenge had the biggest impact on Doug.  He seemed to have the deepest connection with his artist due to her similarities to his mother.  Due to this connection Doug cooked from the heart and the dish he put out was different than what he had previously cooked in the competition (I don't know if the difference is true, but that's what I interpreted Tom's meaning to be).  While Doug grew up in Texas and has probably cooked Texas red countless times over his life, he probably doesn't serve it in his restaurant.  

[S12.E13: Getting Prickly In Mexico]

I'd also like to know what happened to the guy who didn't appear in the March of the Dead Chefs, but I don't care enough to Google it, apparently.

I did the math and realized there were only 15, but can't figure out who was missing.  I could probably figure it out if I tried harder, but like you can't quite care enough.  This may be a mystery that is never solved :)

 

I'm glad that it was Doug that came back. It kind of cancels out them bringing George back.  

 

I couldn't decide who to root for this episode.  I like them all, but I think maybe Doug and Mei are my favorites.  I like Gregory, but this isn't Top Curry, he needs to show more depth.

 

The girls seem like they got the hardest artists to work with, so I figured it would be one of them going home.  I guess at least Melissa got her heart warming win with her mom.

[S05.E11: It's Just A Scratch]

Holy crap, Eileen's blog is a thing of beauty.  "Such as those "little pancakes that are for children" that are usually known as blinis." just killed me.

[S05.E11: It's Just A Scratch]

Violence is never the answer, but I just want someone to deck Brandi.  I feel like not a lot happened aside from everyone hating on Brandi, which she deserved.  I can't wait to see Kyle flip the double bird next week.

 

 

When Kyle said Kim was at Cedars-Sinai, I just nodded. Yep, home to Tori Spelling, and countless others who check themselves in and as long as they can afford it, the hospital will cater to them. I'm not knocking the hospital, but it seems to be the one they all go to when they want to hook up to an IV and relax.

 

 

Cedars-Sinai: the place to go to treat exhaustion and other euphemisms ailments.

 

Cedars is one of the top rated hospitals in the nation.  If you're in LA and you can afford it/they take your insurance and you don't live extremely far away, you're going to go to either Cedars or UCLA.  They do have some fancy amenities like super fucking nice labor and delivery suites, but part of their clientele is rich and expects it.  The standard of care is very high and the doctors, nurses, and staff at Cedars continuously win awards.  However, in my experience, their ER closes very early unless you are Britney Spears.

 

Someone needs to tell me that this episode and WWHL sucked, because I'm on a Bravo-less business trip, I'm reading all this "Eileen rocks" stuff, and it doesn't seem fair that I cannot partake.  It makes me want to claim victimhood Brandi-style and swear at people indiscriminately for the next 7-10 years of my life (minimum). 

 

You can watch online on the Bravo site.

 

I adored Lisa V's new dog. You could tell Rumpy needed a playmate. But....dog camp for three months? Who does that? I trained my dog in a couple of weeks to potty outdoors, don't chase the cat, sleep in your cage at night and don't bark at the old man who takes walks in the neighborhood.

Some dogs are easy to train at home and some aren't.  Some are easy to train in general but have other issues that need to be addressed by a professional and sometimes "bad dog boot camp" is the most effective way to do that.  However, 3 months is a really long time.  

[S03.E13: Miami Vices]

 TOM RAN AWAY! 

 

"I didn't run.  I walked." -- FI Tom

 

Scheana doesn't seem to really like James either but she needs him for his tracks. So she puts up with Kristen to use James. I feel bad for James even if he's a bit creepy to me. He's young & he could do better than to be with someone who goes on tv & tells the world show she wants to be with her ex all the time.

 

I know right?  I'm not just feeling sorry for him, I'm starting to like him.

 

Thanks to FI and the Nugget I had a breakfast burrito first thing this morning.

 

 

Me too.  I planned my morning around it.  Now it's 8pm and I'm still not hungry due to my chorizo and egg gut bomb. 

 

I love that everyone on this fucking shitshow how reacts with total hysteria 100% of the time. Does Tom look at Miami Girl with pity and say "OK Crazy, we had sex. Now go with the nice man." NO! He runs away in terror! Does Scheana wait for an appropriate moment to tell Kristen she feels betrayed? NO! She screams at her while balancing a serving tray and somehow makes it about her wedding! Does Kristen let Scheana dig her own grave? NO! She tells the manager to eat a dick! I'm going to make sure the cable bill is in my name so I can hoard this in my DVR forever without worrying about about a future ex trying to take it back.

 

I would possibly even go so far as to buy the DVD set for extras.  They better release one.

[S03.E13: Miami Vices]

We have not seen any other employees get up in their manager's face and scream to suck a dick, on or off the clock.

[S03.E13: Miami Vices]

Also, I want to see more of the bartender who works with FI Tom and the host who we saw for a split second early in the episode. They are hot.

 

 I was thinking that too, but then decided it might be better to live in a world where I can imagine they aren't chucklefucks.

 

On WWHL did FI say that Jax stole Miami Girl's laptop?  His 20 second explanation made her sound like a nut, but also left me with so many more questions.

[S03.E13: Miami Vices]

OMG, the background action during the Scheana and Kristin fight was gold.  The lady with her iPhone taking pictures, the bus load of people staring at them, all the WTF looks on everyone's faces.  Then there's Scheana making it all about her wedding.  STFU Scheana, your wedding isn't a national holiday, it isn't like it's Stassi's birthday or something.  And Kristin telling her manager to GTFO, holy crap.  I had an employee yell at me once, not as bad as that, and they were escorted out of the building immediately and we packed up their desk and shipped it to them.  It's like Lisa wants everyone to think she's shit at running a business.

 

Miami girl was tore up.  Total boot leg chick.  I could buy her as a psycho stalker.

 

Did Ken call Diana a "managerette"?  I don't even know WTF that means, but it sounds insulting.

 

I loved the car ride with Katie, Schwartz, and Jax.  It just seemed real and relatable, whether real or not.

 

I'm super jealous of FI and Arianna's breakfast burrito.  I might have to get up "early" tomorrow and go get one somewhere.  

 

If I ever went to SUR it would absolutely be for the sideshow, not the food and drink.

 

This episode should have been a lot awesomer.  Maybe my expectations were just too high.

[S03.E13: Miami Vices]

Didn't someone, maybe Stassi, also make fun of the fact that it happened at the Golden Nugget because it is so bootleg?  (I'm so proud of myself for using bootleg)

 

I can't believe that I'm excited about it being Monday.

[Marriage Boot Camp - General Discussion]

I tried to watch this show, but what's up with the intrusive sound track?  I can't hear any of the talking over the shitty music, but I can't turn up the TV because Potato Head's squawking hurts my head.  Is it always like this?

[S03.E12: A Stand Against Stassi]

But wait, is 32 too old to flirt?  Somebody did NOT give me that memo.  I was single when I was 32 and out there flirting my ass off.  Ahh well. 

 

32 isn't too old for flirting, it's too old for the juvenile shit she's putting out there.  I've seen tween girls that were less obvious and eyeroll inducing.  Also, I was going to say there's no way she's only 32, but cocaine...  I think the observations other posters have made about her being insecure and seeking validation in the form of male attention are probably pretty correct.

 

 

More and more as I watch these people who are my age or horrifically even older and living the life the guy who moves out to live with a bud while delivering pizzas for rent and free grub so he can otherwise play video games all day, sleep to 2 pm and basically think he is living the life at the age of nineteen, I'm amused and find it not only a huge ego boost at where I am.  But I also wonder in L.A. just how many Peters Jaxs and Toms there are who refuse to give up and just settle in low rent scuzzy apts that will never be a home or have a true life.  Because this small representation clearly thinks via this show they have it made.   That is what makes watching this a save from being so sad and pathetic as a whole.  They go to San diego to mingle in a pool smaller than mine with a broken down sound system some skanky babes and buds who the fuck knows what is in the water and these people think they are living Large! 

I live in LA and am currently unemployed.  I'm old (Jax's age) and unlike these chucklefucks have a real career, but I got a sweet severance package so I'm bumming around and doing charity work for a little while (and also spending way too much time watching VPR, obviously).  Anyway, I always think that now that I can go out and about on weekdays instead of weekends it is going to be magical and not full of people, but it's worse and I'm constantly thinking "who are all these people and why are they not at work?"  I think there are a lot of people working non-office hours in LA.  A good portion are probably aging out while waiting for their big break, but there are a lot of people in LA period, so I don't think it is actually a large percentage of the people here, even though it sometimes seems like it.  As for the shitbox apartments, housing in LA is expensive, all types, especially if you want to live in WeHo as it appears they all do.  My house is a shithole in a marginal neighborhood and it's worth over a half mil.  If I was a server/struggling mactor, there's no way I could have bought it and I would have rather rented in a nicer neighborhood than purchased a house in an even shittier one than I'm in.  I mean seriously, saving up a 6 figure down payment is hard and mortgage payments are high, who wants to do all that to live in constant fear of crime?

 

http://m.newser.com/story/201578/bravo-star-trying-to-outrun-train-when-he-was-killed.html

This article says he was trying to out run the train? My apologies if this has been discussed. Crazy if it's true.

 

I knew it was going to be something ridiculous when I saw on the news that they were filming near railroad tracks without permits, but this just blows my mind.  What a senseless and stupid way to die.