truthaboutluv

IMO, nothing in the article really proves that Josh has slept with this woman since being on the show and presumably being picked by Andi. Unless I missed some piece of smoking gun evidence. For me, what is really suspect, is Josh's big sell throughout the season was that he hadn't had a relationship in 5 years. So what was this woman? Of course I always thought that claim was a little suspect.

I actually don't remember her saying that. The main thing I got from her was that she was naturally skeptical about the show's process and that she was concerned about Nick getting hurt because of his past relationships and how they ended. I don't remember her saying anything about his having any moods or attitude or really anything critical about him at all. Honestly, that sister seemed fiercely protective of Nick in my opinion, like to the point that I can see her kicking some ass if she thinks someone hurt her brother. Emily's family wasn't on her HTD with Brad. He only met Ricki.

On re watch, I really liked Nick's sister Maria and I thought she asked him one of the best questions a person has asked on this nutty show - "do you think you can truly be yourself unapologetically". And therein lies one of the biggest issues with this whole process which Sharleen also pointed out in her blog - that is, there's a significant power imbalance in the whole developing "relationship". No matter how much they may want to, those guys can't always say exactly how they feel or what they think as she literally has the power to just send them away. And stuck in that bubble, caught up in the "competition" no matter how much they may not want to admit it, they get terrified of not getting a rose. So how true and honest can the relationship really be? I also did like seeing Nick around his family and in Milwaukee. He really did seem almost calmer, more at ease and dare I say, even a little cheerful. And Chris Harrison pointed it out in an interview, that he really seemed less tense and just happy. I really think being around those guys those last few days/weeks was just driving Nick insane. Of course I'd feel the same too if I kept getting attacked and jumped on for every little thing.

Seriously. I loved how you could see poor Bella's eyes just glazing over. It's like she's 9 Andi. I'm not saying to be condescending to her like some people do when it comes to kids but what is a 9 year old really going to understand about emotional connection and all else she was blabbing on about. She could have said he made her laugh or he's pretty cute, just something not that serious. She had the older sister and her piercing stare for the serious conversation. I was baffled by Nick's mom. Not only because she looks like that when her second oldest kid is 32 but she apparently carried and birthed 11 children. Nick never said though so I wonder if there is a set of twins or two in there.

Two of my favorite moments: From the episode when Dorothy finds out Sophia has been hoarding money and threatens to cut her off - Sophia: "You can't do that Dorothy. That money is for my old age." Dorothy: "Old age. You don't even leave fingerprints anymore." My sister actually used that one on an older guy at her office who was teasing her on her birthday when she turned 30. I cracked up when she told me the story. Other favorite is from the pregnant Mary episode which I know is not a lot of people's favorite but it did give us Merill and Blanche and this exchange: Dorothy: "Ma what does Fred's dog have to do with this?" Sophia: "Because it's a known fact that animals take after the traits of their master." Dorothy: "Oh come on Ma, that's a myth." Sophia: "Oh yea, then why does your brother Phil's dog like to run around on it's hind legs wearing a pink tutu?" Dorothy: "Oh come on Ma, Phil would look pretty stupid doing that himself."

She's holding a circular ring, that does not scream DWTS - it's not like she's holding ballroom dancing shoes. And her bio in the magazine talk about her snowboarding and her winning the Bronze medal. Also Venus Williams has nothing in her shot indicating that she's a tennis player. It's interesting to me how quickly a woman gets accused of degrading herself or the name calling starts when they dare to embrace any kind of sexuality/nudity but men often get a pass. Gee, I don't remember seeing too many comments about Val and Maks' little People shoot with only some fedoras hanging on their penises or their little gratuitous public bathing each other thing that they shot for some random product I don't even remember (I just saw this because Val appeared on The View after he and Elizabeth Berkeley were eliminated). ESPN magazine has been doing this issue for six years. Many incredibly accomplished athletes (including the most decorated Olympian Michael Phelps who is part of this current issue) have been a part of the issue.

Fair point but I still say it was rushed but that really IMO, has been the modus operandi of this show - Callie and Brandon has been one massive tidal wave, the adoption, then now another baby, Stef barely had a second to grieve about her father before it was on to the next thing, someone mentioned finding it hard to buy Callie calling Stef/Lena "moms", well I remember thinking it was strange when Jude did it. Callie in the space of one season and four episodes, has had rapist foster brother, trial, pseudo-relationship with new foster brother, pseudo-relationship with other guy, meeting with jailed father, group home, other group home, finding out jailed father is not the real father and now relationship with real father with new stepmother who may not like her and that's another can of issues. Like I'm exhausted just typing all of this. And that's just Callie's issues. I mean maybe it's different tastes but while I'm not asking for my dramas to drag on forever with their storylines, I don't want them speeding through them and jumping from one drama to the next to the next to the point where you feel exhausted. Not to mention I'm starting to feeling like everything is surface with this show and the characters - that basically nothing is really getting dealt with or addressed or creating any real depth, because it's on to the next drama.

Yeah I really don't like judging how people respond to situations like that because everyone responds to grief/tragedy in their own way but I just couldn't get a read on Josh. Honestly, he came across as almost blank - like I don't know he was trying to process and understand what Chris Harrison just said. It was just weird. Like Chris was clearly stoic in my opinion, how a lot of men tend to come off in these situations and Nick was clearly affected and a bit in shock too and of course Marcus had to leave the room. But Josh just had this frown and somewhat blank expression on his face the entire time. It was weird. Honestly, at one point I was just like, "does he not get what just happened - is that it?" You're right he did say that and I may be remembering wrong, since I haven't watched the scene since last week but I definitely think he alluded to her passing that along to her kids because it was what she knew. I know he definitely stated that for awhile he resented her and that their relationship was not great until recently. As for his dad, I don't think he mentioned anything other than his leaving and he seemed to have some guilt attached like maybe he thought it was his fault.

Interesting. I have to say I found it a bit odd when the press release about his being in the movie had filming scheduled for this August but it was stating that Ian McKellan and Vanessa Redgrave were still only in talks and not officially signed on. That seemed really quick for a movie that didn't have an entire confirmed cast.

Chris has an arrest record, mostly for drinking and driving violations when he was much younger, Arie had an arrest record and so did Doug, although Doug's record was completely cleared of what he'd been charged with.

IMO once you go on a reality show, you're at the mercy of the editing and if you're lucky, you're one of those who gets a positive edit. Yeah some people have mocked Josh's whole baseball past but I can't feel too bad for him when there's Nick who constantly gets labeled as creepy, stalker and Kelly from Juan's season (yes the dog lover) thought it funny and appropriate to make pedophile jokes about him. People have referred to him as trash, evil, etc on other boards and even People magazine got in on the bandwagon in their live tweeting last night, tweeting a quote of his comment to his mom that he was Andi's favorite with the question "cute or creepy". Gee wonder what most people said. And this is all based on what, a couple of edits of a bunch of whiny guys ganging up on him. So yeah I can't feel too bad or think anyone has been "cruel" to Josh because of a few cracks about his baseball past. If I recall correctly, there was his father leaving and apparently his mother was very strict to the point of beating him and his siblings. He told Andi for a long time he and his mom weren't very close and he resented her for those things. I've always said something about Marcus bothered me because I often felt like there was no "there" in his eyes. And hearing more about his childhood, plus the media report that apparently he was arrested for drug possession four years ago makes me think he's hiding a somewhat troubled personality behind the perfectly coifed looks, appearance and polite voice.

He mentioned it the first night. Andi seemed fascinated about his sibling dynamic when he said he had 10. I liked Nick telling his family Andi gave him the first impression rose because she felt sorry for him. Nick living in Chicago can actually be a plus because it means you're not constantly surrounded by his family which lovely as they are, if you're not a person who loves big families would get overwhelming.

And that is exactly why, unpopular opinion perhaps, but I thought Stef and Lena's decision to adopt Callie and Jude seemed incredibly rushed and frankly a little impulsive. Especially with everything that was going on with their other kids - Stef getting shot because of Jesus/Mariana bringing their crazy biological mother in their lives, Mariana selling drugs, Jesus maybe knocking up Lexie and that was before Brandon lost his mind. I saw no reason they could not just be foster parents for awhile longer but this was just one more thing in this show moving like it's on speed.

Yeah he talked about it to Andi on his first one on one. He's divorced.

Dorothy: "You know ma, it'd be really nice if you were a little supportive." Sophia: "Please, I've always been supportive. Didn't I support you when you wanted to run away to Canada to escape the draft?" Dorothy: "Ma, that wasn't me, that was my brother Phil." Sophia: "Oh right, I got confused, he was wearing your dress. Okay how about when you were unmarried and pregnant?" Dorothy: "Ah yes, I remember your exact words - get out of my house, you are dead to me, I have no daughter named Dorothy." Sophia: "Sure, in that tone of voice it sounds bad. How about now, didn't I come to live with you in your twilight years?" Dorothy: "Ma, these are your twilight years." Sophia: "Are you kidding, I should be dead, these are your twilight years."

While I've never personally been into Josh myself, I could see how obviously into him Andi was and he never really bothered me too much. Tonight was the first time I truly saw what others have been saying for awhile about his "me, me" attitude with Andi. Dude turned the majority of their time together at the baseball field to a trip down memory lane about his past glory days in baseball. And even as a person with very little knowledge of baseball, I was rolling my eyes at that excuse about his career. My first thought was "bullshit, you just couldn't hack it." You know what Josh reminds me of, Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days". It's like he's placed so much of his identity on his "baseball career" and no matter how much time has passed, the reality of what happened, he's still stuck on those glory days when he was some big baseball prospect and he was going to be the next big thing - and it never happened. And like he and his baseball weren't annoying enough, there was the family and "Aaron this and Aaron that and Aaron is being drafted, etc. etc." Ugh...as a person whose extent with sports does not go beyond tennis, I would be bolting out of there in a heartbeat. But again it's obvious that Andi is very, very into Josh. Marcus' hometown - I saw nothing beyond the striptease as I was too embarrassed for him to keep watching. That alone probably sent him home. Chris' family was nice and the end of the hometown with them all piling around him and Andi was really adorable but let's be realistic, Andi knows and anyone with sense knows, Andi's not moving to Arlington, Iowa - population 750 people. Nick's family was sweet but wow, that was a lot of people which of course he did warn Andi about when they first met and he told her he had 10 siblings. I can't even wrap my head around that - Nick at 32, has a 9 year old little sister...that's just crazy. Speaking of the 9 year old sister, Bella was adorable and totally looked like young Jennifer Garner in 13 Going On 30. Nick's mother was also pretty stunning for a woman who has had 11 damn children. Woman looked good for her age. I also liked Nick's sister - she was polite, even pleasant to Andi but honest and firm. She made it obvious she was skeptical of the show and I liked her conversation with Nick and Andi. She also came across fiercely protective of Nick. I liked Nick's HTD because it was nice to be given a break from the "Nick is the devil" edit. See apparently he does have a family, loved ones and people who love and care for him and who he loves and cares for. Finally, the news about Eric. Hard to watch. I found the guys' reactions interesting. Marcus clearly did not want to break down in front of the camera, Chris was stoic, Nick was emotional and Josh I couldn't read. I don't know if he was in shock but he just seemed to have this almost confused/blank stare the entire time, it was weird. But I never judge how people react to grief and situations like these because everyone is different. I felt for Andi and I thought her emotions and feelings were genuine and raw.

This is her picture in the magazine http://amypurdygurl.tumblr.com/post/91073090723/amy-purdy-espn-body-issue-2014-x She looks amazing in my opinion. You manage to not really see anything while the pose showcases her physical strength and power so well.

Not renard but I'll say personally in my opinion, I didn't think it was great because as a good as Federer was playing and as hard as he fought, that match really only went as long as it did because Djokovic kept blowing his leads in the match. There were many times where he looked shaky and nervous and played tense - the two errors right out of the gate when serving for the championship in the fourth, then after Roger got the break and leveled the match, the double-faults that quickly put him at 0-30, eventually leading to the break that put Federer up 6-5 in the set. I remember the commentators even mentioning how they wondered if those three straight Grand Slam final losses were start to weigh on Novak and it had affected his self-belief. McEnroe was convinced it went all the way back to last year's French Open semi-final where was two points from defeating Rafa and let the match get away from him and then the Wimbledon loss followed and then the U.S. Open again where he had the lead against Rafa and let the title slip away. Btw, just before it's stated,I am of course not dismissing Rafa and Murray's efforts in those matches and outplaying Novak when it counted but I can see how those losses started to chip away at his confidence just a little.

The last week of August.

Made it a lot harder than it needed to be but kudos to Novak and credit to Federer, he fought and he fought hard. While Djokovic is still a really tough opponent to beat in a close match, his mental game is definitely not what it was just a few years ago. He needs to stop with those lapses in a match and blowing leads like that. Aww, Fed's twin girls are adorable.

I don't understand what Andi has done so wrong in falling for Nick or how her falling for him is so offensive that the guys should lose respect for her for it. Nick is not Bentley who was basically shit-talking Ashley to the camera while she blindly fell for him, or Brooks who could not look less into Des while she blindly kept going on about how much she loved him and anyone with eyes could see how not into her he was. No one has mentioned Nick having a girlfriend back home, lying about himself, etc. Not to mention I fail to see what makes any of those guys so amazing or special or frankly better men than Nick that they would be in a position to lose respect for Andi just because of her feelings for Nick. As noted in all the bitching and whining, they couldn't seem to pinpoint exactly what Nick had done so wrong or what made him so awful. Brian's big complaint was "you said you're certain of HTD, well I'm certainly not and I'm incredibly nervous..." Okay and... This is what you judge someone and hate them for? Because basically he had little confidence in Andi's feelings for him and belief that she'd pick him? That's Nick's fault because he admitted to not being worried? And that's basically all their repetitive bitching and whinging has been - i.e. Nick is arrogant and Nick thinks he's Andi's favorite and Nick thinks he has a great connection with Andi. Well yeah, when she sucks face with him all over the place, goes off with him after coming off a one on one, gives him a group date rose so he's the first person she picks to take to HTD and gives more one on one time when just coming off his second one on one, gives him the first impression rose, gives him the first second one on one, etc. says how she feels like she's the most comfortable with him, says she feels like he really sees her and who she is, etc. And admittedly the guys don't see many of these things but that's just it, they don't know what the relationship/interaction is with Andi and Nick and so to get so offended when he says he believes they have a great connection and because he's not willing to downplay his feelings to make them feel better is ridiculous.

Rumor mill has started about the show wanting Tim Howard (U.S. Men's soccer team goalie) on for the upcoming season. I can see it and if he's willing, I definitely see them having him on.

I definitely think that's part of it. Particularly after his "magical" 2011 year, I think he did develop this attitude that he was #1 and somehow that meant he should be more liked and rooted for. Interesting comment about how some felt about Rafa earlier because honestly, my impression of Rafa in those early years was that he was kind of incredibly awkward/shy off the court. I remember how he would do most of his post-match interviews with his hair practically hiding half his face. And honestly, that's one of the first things that endeared him to me.

If my memory serves me well (and I admit that honestly for a long time I was mostly indifferent to Novak and really didn't pay much attention to him at all) there were a few incidents, nothing major, just some comments here and there, attitude on court, etc. that sort of turned some people off with regards to him. But he was younger and then he had a period after he won his first Australian where he was losing early and things weren't going well. After he got his head together and got back in a winning position, I definitely got the feeling he became more PR-oriented and was conscious of how he came across. And it's not like he doesn't have fans, because he does. The problem is because of this needy part of his nature, which kind of fits the whole surrounding himself with people who have to tell him how special he is all the time, he lets his irritation and poutiness out at times whenever the crowd starts to root for his opponents and that only annoys them more and makes them root against him more. Part of the issue with Novak is that he seems to take it personally at times when a crowd is rooting or just cheering for an opponent and honestly, most times it's not personal. It usually is as simple as they want to see more tennis and/or enjoy the effort of the opponent. But he reacts like it's some personal attack against him and it just makes him seem so needy and desperate for approval.

Damn Kvitova just schooled Bouchard. That was brutal. It might have been even worse than the beating she gave Sharapova when she won the title the first time. But good for her. Bouchard didn't seem nervous to me so I can't blame it on the occasion but she definitely needs to work on her serve and work on winning a few cheap points on it. Kvitova was just punishing on her returns of Genie's serves. Disappointing because I was hoping for a competitive final after last year's was pretty much as one-sided as this one. Hopefully the men's final is a bit more competitive.