nosedive

I found parts of this episode particularly disturbing, specifically regarding the two Da(n)nielles. Watching double-n Dannielle's charade that she's an enthusiastic participant in this pretense is like watching someone kiss the hand of her abuser. It's sick. Single-n Danielle is of even more concern. I think it was in the previews where the Nick cohort is in a hot tub with the newest victim, and Danielle looks so upset, trying so hard to stifle her feelings. I truly believe this girl needs an intervention. Isn't there someone in her life who sees what's going on? She's very young and very inexperienced, and the Nicks know it, and are completely taking advantage of it. I feel that it needs to be stopped by someone, and if nobody else comes to her rescue, then the producers. She may be of legal age, but she clearly lacks the maturity and confidence to advocate for herself.

I ask this in all seriousness: does anyone think that Gar-yuck and Danielle are putting us on? Maybe playing along with the polygamist ruse just to get on a TV show? I hope so, for Danielle's sake. If not, could her self esteem really be that low? Could she really be that stupid? When Gar-yuck was spewing that self-serving nonsense about the true nature of the Holy Spirit, her facial expressions ran the gamut, none of them indicating affirmation of anything he blathered. I couldn't help but notice that Gar-yuck is working on a spare tire around his waistline. Maybe all that pent-up Holy Spirit is giving him bloat.

Check it out when the camera cuts to Janelle. She looks like she's trying not to blow. Kind of like this: 😡

Coming on to confess that I listened to the entire podcast and was shocked by the level of Zach's apparent introspection, intelligence, awareness and restraint, and his ability to communicate effectively. Prior to listening to this I had a very different opinion of him and his maturity. I was surprised and impressed. With a little help with his elocution (either he has difficulty pronouncing certain sounds or he doesn't realize he's mispronouncing them), I believe he could parlay his podcasting career to reach beyond the LPBW fan sphere. Tori did well, too, primarily in the role of interviewer, but she frequently interrupted him. Tori, allow the man to finish his sentences. He was doing just fine without your interference. In answer to the poster who asked for the Readers Digest abridged version of the interview, they've chosen not to involve their children further in consideration of the kids' lack of agency in making decisions about participation in filming, and due to their desire as a couple to move on to a new, more independent chapter in their lives, additionally saying that they feel that some distance will be beneficial to intra-familial relations. I didn't perceive any recrimination or bitterness at all, in fact, Zach acknowledged how being on the show enriched his growing up years and provided him with opportunities he would have otherwise never had.

Like half of the US, last night I celebrated the incoming new year with a feast from our local Chinese food restaurant. I believe the fortune I found in my fortune cookie was intended for Kody Brown: "Hungry is the man who finds salvation in a cookie."

Ode to a Robyn Robyn Sullivan Jessop Brown Just couldn’t make a tear come down. She’d rub her eyes and bite her lip But alas, t’was ne’er a drip. She’d wring her ear and pinch her skin And tug the hairs upon her chin. She’d dig her nails into her head And twist her nipple ‘til it bled. Her fists would be balled up and taut And knees all tangled in a knot. She’d squeeze and squeeze and squeeze some more But not a tear could she implore. Dry as dust, after all she’d done She couldn’t make her eyeballs run. But she was determined to prove to all That she’s the victim of the family squalls. So she wrung her ear and pinched her skin And tugged the hairs upon her chin. She dug her nails into her head And twisted her nipple ‘til it bled. She balled her fists and weaved her knees And took a breath, slow and deep, And scrunched her eyes and bit her lip, And after a prayer to Joseph Smith, She tightened and tensed her gluteus max And pushed and strained, willing tears to hatch. And with a grunt, heard loud and grand, Robyn Brown done shat her pants.

Every time Robyn tries to work out a few tears as she laments over what a victim she is (so what's that, five or six times every show?), I think of Lyle Menendez testifying in court, trying to squeeze out tears, after ambushing his parents in their den and shooting them sixteen times. Both are terrible actors.

On behalf of the Sisterhood of Planet Earth, I applaud your efforts. However, when Kody spoke of taking on a lover, did he specify female? Perhaps an additional survey is called for?

In the S6 E10 show the family therapist administers a personality test in Sedona (yes, I did just waste 40 minutes watching this, and yes, that is pathetic, and yes, I would appreciate your prayers). I don't know if this is the personality test to which Christine referred, but if so, Robyn definitely was present so presumably she took it herself - Christine did not take it on her behalf. No doubt that would be a no-go with the therapist. The only results discussed during the show were Meri's, who scored an 8. There was a brief description, with which Meri agreed, and said that these personality traits make it difficult for her to meld easily with the family dynamic. A few other tidbits from the show: Robyn uses the word "safe," so apparently that word has been a trusty chestnut of the family since at least 2013, Kody expresses his lack of interest in or motivation to be empathetic and responsive to the varying needs and traits of his wives, Janelle indicates that she's committed to being in the family, but has no desire to invest anything more in the relationships than she already has, and (this was during the time they're trying to write a family mission statement) Janelle finds this endeavor to be eyeroll-worthy and describes it as "drama," and Christine comes across (to me, anyway) as sad and desperate to feel that she's an important member of the family and to Kody. And on a superficial note, Christine and Janelle have grown more beautiful with age. Enough said on that particular subject. 😉

He separated from his wife after his mistress had "Fallen Pregnant"? Mercy! I wonder upon what or whom she might have fallen. Ladies, I suggest we must all take greater care with our steps lest we "fall" in an unseemly manner.

You don't recognize an "international accent," as self-described by Dorit?

I am willing to bet this month's wine budget that the only writing Mo has done on this book is occasional email to check on progress of his ghost writer.

I suspect Genielle had something up her sleeve that had nothing to do with a higher calling. After a couple of decades of listening to Old Man Brown snore and emit other disgusting sounds all night long, and rolling over to his unshaven mug and foul breath every morning, she woke up one day and the lightbulb illuminated. She could barely stop berating herself that she hadn't thought of it years earlier. She convinces the old man that she had an epiphany, the very voice of God speaking to her in a dream, saying they had been chosen specially by Him, called apart, ordained, to live The Principle. All that would be required of him is to share his irresistible self among two, three, oh, Lord, let it be a hundred other women, blessing them with his manly hotness in a nightly rotation, in which, with any luck, she could get at least a few nights a week with the bed to herself. Without argument because, well, because he's a man and he's just been offered an all-day, everyday hall pass, he says "I'm in," and Genielle shouts "amen" and jumps out of bed. With a lilt in her step and a song in her heart, she can't stop smiling as she picks up his dirty boxers from the floor and swabs his whiskers out of the sink, daydreaming about the pretty pink sheets with little blue flowers she'll buy and of all the help she'll have in the kitchen. "Yes!" she cries, high-fiving herself, as she clears a space on the dresser for her new flatscreen tv.

Or Robyn's crouched behind the couch with her hands up their backs, being the puppeteer that she is. Those two Robynettes are so glum! What are they, 18 and 20? If they're so burdened by life now, how will they endure adulthood, with all the normal ups and downs of living?

But if she has decided she doesn't want to spend her remaining 30 or 40 years with him in this life, why would she want to spend eternity with him? He has steadily spiraled downward in every way over the past twelve years. Can't imagine how awful he'll be after a few thousand years in the hereafter.