truthaboutluv

Yeah that's what I said about the Nick and the flowers. I can believe he thought of it and went to the producers to ask if he could but the timing of the delivery and all was all them. Don't forget Vienna but I don't think it's ever happened with The Bachelorette. Thank you for letting me know I'm not crazy. The whole time I was reading that, I kept thinking there was a show exactly like this some years ago.

It's really not that big of a deal to me and I admit that I don't go around translating Rafa's post-match interviews so I'm going by what the commentators were discussing. And my memory of that was it was pointed out that a lot of the media immediately started asking about his knees, health, etc. considering he had only recently come off the 7 month break and he stated that physically he felt fine and didn't seem to attribute his loss to that. I don't know what else has been said in other interviews since last year but I was basically referring to his post-match conference immediately following the loss.

It's funny but I remember Jef saying Arie would talk about his dates with Emily to him when he got back to the hotel (by the way can I just say how fascinating I find Arie and Jef's friendship considering things came down to the two of them and there were all these rumors and mess with Emily after the show). It came up when discussing the whole Arie/Cassie, the producer scandal and basically Jef stated that Arie would basically say that he always would get the sense that Emily was suspicious about something or that there was something she was waiting for him to say but he never knew what that was. But of course Arie was not edited as the villain of that season. It's the same with the sneaking off to see Andi. Arie went to Emily's hotel room after her 1 on 1 with Ryan and Sean later ran around Prague or wherever the hell they were "searching" for Andi but again, not a big deal because neither guy was the "villain" of his season. But it goes to show again how nothing Nick has done is outrageous or so awful. Yeah they do, specifically so they can get the reaction they want out of them. If they let some moments go by or give the contestant some time they can pull themselves together and just give a simple exit speech and leave. But sticking the camera in their face just as they've been eliminated, asking them a whole bunch of leading questions when all their emotions are right at the surface ups the likelihood of an embarrassing meltdown like Brian's last night, that the guys were laughing at him after he's been eliminated.

It's upset day on Centre Court. I hope no one tells Petra. I love Rafa but the last two years have sort of trained me to keep my expectations low when it comes to him and Wimbledon. I did think he was looking better with every round and I actually don't think he played badly this match - he just could never get a handle on Kyrgios' serve, other than that one loose game Kyrgios served at the end of the second set that made Rafa get the break. I think on some level he kept waiting for Kyrgios' confidence to drop and for him to start making more loose errors on the serve and I'm sure many thought that would be the case after Rafa leveled the match. However it didn't happen and instead Kyrgios just stayed steady, kept smashing his serve and putting pressure on Rafa. Rafa also did not play either tie-break very well IMO and made some very loose errors that cost him both sets. And I think once he went down the 2 sets to 1, he got really tight in the 4th set and had that one bad service game. Not the end of the world for sure and kudos to Kyrgios but I now have zero investment in who wins the men's title but I'll still watch. Sharapova and Kerber was an amazing match and I think either woman deserved the win. Sharapova saving all those break points was insane and credit to Kerber for holding her nerves and not going away after she lost match point after match point. The situation with Serena was scary and I hope she's okay because that was just bizarre. I almost wondered if she had some concussion or something with how it seemed like her vision was screwed up and she was slightly dizzy.

I agree with this and actually that's been my point for the last few weeks. That basically the contestants all eventually become stockholmed in some way because they're stuck in this very manipulated bubble and it's easy for tension and emotions to get out of control, especially when it's likely they have producers whispering in their ear. So exactly as you said, it was fine when there were more people but as the numbers go down, people get more desperate to the be "the one" because no matter what they believe at the time they too are caught up in the competition, it's easy to start sniping and judging for every little thing and having others join in and basically creating a sort of group think mentality increases the feeling that they're right. Fair point but remember the "Nick is awful" attitude started (well when we were first shown anyway) back in the fourth episode, when he went to comfort Andi after the drama with Eric. He went to her, came back in with her and said in what I thought was a personable manner, "hey, look who's back" and then the second the guys realized the cocktail party was done and there was no chance to talk to her, the ones who felt they were most in danger, pounced. And then once they did, the accusations of being manipulative, a liar, etc. started spilling out. And that was the first time I was thinking "wait, what now...?" Because I just couldn't figure out what they were so outraged about. And I think Nick explained his position to Andi fairly well and how this whole thing got so out of hand by saying that it is a weird situation, that he does want to get along with the other guys but at the same time he feels like his focus should be mainly her and that he doesn't want to pretend and downplay his connection with her or if he thinks they have a great connection. But then saying that somehow offends the other guys too. I actually didn't get the impression the guys were suggesting Nick was angling to be the next Bachelor. I think they were saying that he's studied the show and would talk a lot about things that would happen, which is why they thought he was being strategic. So I imagine it's along the lines of when they would get to a new city, he'd say something like "well there are 8 of us left now so there will probably be two 1 on 1 dates and a group date because that's what happened in that season." So basically like some of those contestants on Survivor who've studied the show and sometimes anticipate certain things because of that.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Jude and Connor are only 12-13 right? It's entirely possible that Connor himself doesn't know if he's gay, straight or bi. Some people are fortunate to know exactly who they are fairly young and there are many people who go through high school, sometimes even college and later before accepting the truth about their sexuality. I think it's great that there is a question mark about Connor. It reminds me of Ugly Betty, with Justin who his whole family had long accepted that he was likely gay, was convinced he liked a girl before getting together with the guy he at first was competing with for said girl. I still crack up remembering Betty's reaction when Justin said he had a crush on a girl.

That's just it though, Nick has never done the "I'm not here for friends" until last night where what he said was that Andi is his priority and he's not interested in being part of a frat house, which I get. But again this just goes to show how manipulated so much of this is. Nick seemingly had no problems on the basketball group date and seemed to get along fine with everyone else. In the deleted scene when Chris Harrison came to talk to the guys during Andi and Josh's first 1 on 1 and basically said to them to cut it out with the bromances and be all about Andi, Andrew points out that Nick and Josh were very close but we never saw that. The mime date where his poutiness and saltiness was harped on so much, pictures of the filming show Nick laughing and having fun with the other guys. I suspect it was when it came time to perform for the passerby's and public he balked and refused. And even this episode, when they were all pedaling on the group date, he's the one that suggested coming up with a rhyming song to make the cycling easier and he and Brian were laughing coming up with words to rhyme. Then there were the guys who've been eliminated who were quick to come on social media during the show last night to state how great Nick actually is - Marquel wrote the sweetest thing about him. I just don't buy that Nick was one of those contestants who came in wanting to antagonize, wanting to be a villain and wanting to instigate drama. I think his personality is what it is, and at some point when the producers decided the season didn't have enough drama, they likely started whispering and prodding for certain storyline/drama and Nick became the scapegoat. And it didn't help that he pretty much remained dismissive and walls up the more the others attacked. Reminds me of Sharleen's summation of their relationship in her recap. She really was spot on.

Well if I understood their whining properly, I think what they were saying is that one, he's a salesman and so he's good at telling people want they want to hear which is what he's been doing with Andi and that basically he's just competitive and "strategic" and is more interested in proving he can win. And so he'll "salesman" his way to the end but since he's not really there for love and to settle down unlike honest gentlemen like themselves, when he gets to the end he'll walk away because he doesn't actually want to be with Andi forever. But at that point he'd have proved that he won. I continue to be unfazed by this "Nick the evil monster…" edit. Josh can say to Andi he doesn't want or like her dating other guys and that's somehow okay, even attractive and not creepy. The other guys can all call Nick "douchebag, asshole, manipulative, etc." and that's okay but when for the first time in all of this he says, "yes, I think I'm the best for her and I'm not threatened by any of these guys and don't think they're as good of a match", he's arrogant and an awful person. Not to mention so much of this that the producers have likely been behind and Andi herself enabled - the flowers that I'm all but positive the producers decided when it was actually delivered but yet some view as "Nick interrupted Eric's private time with his flowers", Andi sitting in front of Eric reading said card with her goofy smile and later running off to play tonsil hockey with Nick, just as she did last night with his coming to her hotel room and when he pulled her away at the cocktail party. But let's face it, the guys aren't ever going to criticize her because for all their b.s. about Nick, they're just as "competitive" and want to win and have stockholmed themselves into believing they're so in love with her. Case in point, Chris who was going on about how much better than Nick every guy in the house is when Andi gave Nick the rose, and stating how they're all there for the right reasons and gentlemen, etc. later, when he feels he's in danger of going home and it's between him and Dylan and Brian, states how he's much better for her than those two and a better choice. But I thought they were all such amazing guys, there for the right reasons, etc. So shouldn't he be happy with either of them she picks? Which is really what this is all about. Everything is so manipulated and designed to heighten people's emotions, etc. and it is likely very easy to get upset about the smallest things, then producers are likely whispering in their ears because they smell the potential for drama and group think mentality is very strong and before you know it, they're all parroting how awful and evil Nick is. That scene in the hotel after Nick came back was honestly so ridiculous I don't even know where to start. First there was Marcus going on about how Nick feeds on their insecurities. Like if you're that insecure, how the hell is that Nick's fault and from everything I've seen they're the ones who keep coming at Nick and ganging up on him but he is a cruel, cruel man who pokes at their delicate feelings and insecurities. Then when Nick tells Chris to give an example of where he's never about Andi and only being strategic, Chris' response is that he is not giving any example because he tunes out whenever Nick speaks because he doesn't want to hear his bullshit but he knows that's all Nick ever talks about, ever. Then Brian's contribution was how nervous and worried he was about HTD and so somehow Nick's saying he wasn't, was a problem and somehow offensive to him. And then the whole thing is just a series of yelling, talking over each other and basically just ganging up on one person. And that is why I just cannot dislike Nick and side with these guys. I never like the ganging up, group think mentality. To me, that reeks of bullying not whatever slights the guys perceive Nick has made against them. It would be one thing if Nick was offensive about the other guys, name-calling, had a girlfriend back home, shown deliberately instigating drama with them, etc. but I haven't seen any of that. His biggest crime seems to be that he's been mainly focused on Andi and been honest in his belief that they have a strong connection. This is what has made Nick such an awful human being apparently - which is why I have no doubt in my mind that this all came from being in that Bachelor bubble and once they were out, the fog cleared, these guys were all able to realize how stupid all that drama was.

I was wondering if they would show Chris Harrison informing Andi and the guys about Eric because RS spoiled that they were filming HTD when Eric passed. Should be interesting to see the reactions and how they all move forward on that crazy show. Few things about tonight. Did anyone notice Dylan was completely gone for that whole scene when the guys were going at Nick? It was weird and so noticeable because they were all there, except him. I wonder if he was sick again. Okay, I'm sorry but I cracked up laughing when Brian all but started stomping his foot and whinging about the guys laughing when Andi is the one who basically asked for the guys to look happy since they were all seeming pretty glum after the rose ceremony. And did Andi seriously say "you go Farmer", when Chris kissed her before the rose ceremony? Seriously...

I think he might have been feeling a little beaten up over all the drama with the guys and everything was getting to him so he just got unnaturally weepy when talking about his feelings for Andi and bringing her home to meet his family. I don't know, I think part of the reason why I like Nick so much is because he reminds me so much of myself. And this goes back to the discussion in last week's episode thread where the poster asked about whether the lead can say no to a person or not. In my opinion, the guys are all hating Nick and getting angrier and angrier, the more 1 on 1 dates he gets and the more confident he acts but the reality is Andi is enabling and encouraging a lot of Nick's behavior. She flat out states that going off with him when he comes up to her room is probably against the rules but then she admits that she thinks it's great because she does believe at that point, they should all be thinking about spending as much time as possible with her. Andi could have let Nick in for a few minutes and sent him away but she proceeded to get dressed and go walking around with him and playing tonsil hockey. And then after she'd already spent that time with him, she gives him the group date rose to spend more alone time with him. Yes it may not be the most PC of Nick to say blatantly he doesn't think the other guys were any threat to him but it's not surprising he got so confident and was certain that she would pick him to go to HTD.

I'm pretty sure they knew he was with the show. I've read the hotel signs disclosures and stuff - they knew filming was going on and who all was part of the show. This show is so manipulated at times.

Well in fairness it looks like it was kind of cold in Belgium when they were there and I don't know about anyone but there's nothing I love more than a warm, fluffy scarf when it's cold.

Yeah I'm all for tradition but the Wimbledon organizers have to start being realistic, especially when the weather becomes a major factor as it has in the last few days. None of the courts but centre court has a cover, they have no lights so they go by natural light before calling matches - it is just not sensible to still be doing this "Middle Sunday" when matches are getting backed up. Things have been so screwy with court changes, delays, etc. I had to go check the draws to remember who is playing who and when because I'm all confused trying to remember who has finished what round. I think there's no question his knees were a factor when he lost to Rosol two years ago, considering he didn't play a match after that for 7 months. However Rafa himself was adamant that his knees were not bothering him when he lost last year to Darcis and considering he went on to solidly dominate the hard court season, I'm inclined to believe that. I think the issue is more what many of the commentators have been saying all week, that Rafa's game is difficult to transition as quickly required, from the clay to the grass. Because while he wasn't losing before, Rafa has had many early round struggles at Wimbledon. He just found a way to win those versus the loss to Rosol and Darcis but he was two points from defeat in the second round, the year he won. I also think the fact that he puts so much of himself emotionally, physically and mentally into winning the French, that he has something of a natural lull in the immediate aftermath.

With regards to Emily, the only thing I really want to know is the truth about what went down at that family vacation with Jef and his family because I think it's clear at this point his brother was not lying and something clearly happened. But as I noted above, Jef has never publicly spoken bad about her and at this point, with so much time passed, I don't see him talking about it. But I for one really would like to know the full story, especially as they were apparently still willing to hook up with each other for awhile after the public break-up. eta: I don't think the as possible Bachelor talk is a spoiler as I think it's just speculation in the event Andi does not pick him.

Well honestly the stealing is not even so shocking when you actually watch him perform the dances because I'm wondering what the hell is he doing on the show when he can barely dance. Honestly it took me a minute to realize he was supposed to the Pro and the woman the celebrity, because she's actually pretty decent but that guy looks like how some of the male celebrities have looked on DWTS.

Not exactly true. When Elena fell for Stefan, she first didn't know he was a vampire for awhile. Then when she did find out, he was on his bunny diet so she was not exposed to "violent, bloody, murderous" Stefan. I disagree that she did not care about what happened with Amber - she looked very disturbed and shocked when she saw Stefan in all his "falling off the wagon" glory, which is why they got Damon to calm him down and Bonnie to restrain him. And then she was the one who distracted him long enough to stab him so Damon could lock him in the cellar until he could get back under control. Damon fell for Katherine not realizing she was a vampire but then when he knew, he also found out at the same time she was interested in Stefan as well and was mind controlling him to feed on his blood and Damon was fine with that. But with regards to the scenario specifically stated above, the issue was not just that Damon loved Katherine, but then he asked her and willingly wanted her to turn him into a vampire as well (how Bella Swan of him), something Elena never wanted. And then he willingly helped her catch human prey and got turned on enough after she violently fed on and slaughtered a man that he was making out with her with this person's blood in her mouth. Again, something Elena never did. Elena is definitely an apologist for whatever guy she's with, without question - the same way she rationalizes and blames everyone else for Damon's shitty actions, she did the same with Stefan's past by simply telling herself it was in his past, when he was not in his right mind and that was not the person he was anymore. However, I never saw Elena get all turned on and hot and bothered at Stefan violently feeding on and attacking someone like Damon did and that's the point being made. That clearly there was always something disturbing and callous in Damon with regard to human life if even before he was a vampire he could so casually be fine with watching Katherine brutally murder someone and rather than be freaked out or disgusted, he looked turned on and seemed to see it as some romantic moment between them.

Well I guess for some of the guys, being there "for the right reasons" means being there for Andi but do so in a way they deem gentlemanly, don't make it seem like you think you actually have a strong connection because that makes you arrogant and don't go comfort her if she's upset because that means you're actually being sneaky and manipulative and not there for the right reasons. Thing is I don't even dislike the other guys so much for this as I suspect a lot of their attitude towards Nick came from being stuck in the bubble and the producers likely whispering in their ears, as they likely zeroed in on Nick as being the potential contestant they could edit as the villain. I mean has anyone seen one of the promos for this week's episode? There's cheesy romantic music being played over clips of what looks like Andi's second 1 on 1 with Chris and Josh and then this villainous music comes on with this hashtag of trickyNicky (no seriously, they wrote this) and two other hashtags asking if Andi should trust him or not. The whole thing is so ridiculously manipulated and I think that in itself is why I refuse to fall for it. Fleiss and company are not that good for me to buy that shit they're selling. So yeah with producers likely whispering about how awful Nick is, the group think mentality that happens while these guys are stuck in that bubble, suddenly Nick becomes just this awful, evil human being. But how interesting, that since the show's wrapped, judging by their social media activities, it's clear Nick is friends with JJ, Marquel, Brian, Chris and Mr.Thankful himself, Cody who was oh so hurt by Nick's comments. My suspicion, once the Bachelor bubble haze cleared, they always realized how stupid all that drama was.

Thank you and I don't believe for one second that a lead can't say, "can you give me a moment to talk this person..." or something in that vein. It reminded me of Emily reading Ryan's 7-page letter while poor Tony stood awkwardly waiting to have alone time with her. Yes, Ryan was an obnoxious idiot that season but I always thought Emily was the wrong one for that because she could have told Ryan she'd read the letter later but instead she sat there, seeing another guy standing by waiting to speak to her, and read the whole thing. It's the same with Andi. Andi could have very easily, when Nick grabbed her, told him she'd go with him but give her a second to say hello to everyone else. But she didn't, instead she was too busy sucking face with him and getting all hot and bothered and going on about how much of a real man he is because "he wanted it so he took it." Ymmv but I find the entire premise of this show too ridiculous to apply these types of rules to it. The whole thing is some weird, unnatural premise where the contestants are almost like lab rats being manipulated by the producers with the situations they're put in, the stuff that's told to them, their being entirely cut off from the real world, etc. I just refuse to judge a person's character based on something like this, especially when the process is heavily manipulated to push them into believing they're oh so madly in love with the lead. Oh and also maybe it's because I'm of the "I don't think everyone deserves a trophy for participation" variety, I wouldn't be bothered by the kid still raising their hands even if they already had the extra credit. Because again, as noted above with the lead, wouldn't the teacher have the ability to not call on this person since they already know they don't need the extra credit points? Also, speaking of how unnatural this premise is again, if this were the real world, say Andi was casually dating Nick, Josh and Chris - just hanging out with them each, not serious with anyone and seeing where it goes. Would someone judge Nick if let's say right after he and Andi have dinner and hang out, he calls her the next day to hang out again. Would someone say, "well she spent time with him so it's unfair to the other guys she's seeing?" Which is why again I don't think you can truly apply real world situations to this very unnatural situation. These people get at best a total of all of a few days to spend with this lead that they're supposed to be so in love with at some point. If someone wants to take every moment they can grab with them, why not. And again, she has the ability to say no.

Blanche: "Why do you know what horrible thing the people from my neck of the woods did one day when I was a young'un?" Dorothy: "You mean beside use words like "neck of the woods" and "young'un"?

And Serena's out. Beaten by Cornet for the second time this year. If Serena doesn't win the U.S. Open or at least make it to the Finals, this will be her worst Grand Slam performing year in a very long time. Incidentally USA Today already has a "What's Wrong With Serena" headline running. Thing is she didn't really play that badly - credit to Cornet who just played brilliantly and it was a hard fought 3-set win. Will be interesting to see what happens with her for the rest of the year. Right now I'd say Sharapova is looking like the favorite if she can make it to the finals because she'll have to face Cornet and then possibly Bouchard in the semis while the second half of the draw is a little more wide open with Li Na and Azarenka both out. Maybe we'll see a repeat of the French final with Sharapova and Halep, the latter who is looking really good so far. Not that many surprises on the men's side save for Berdych being out and Gasquet blowing that 9 match points lead. I can't even get a little excited about Djokovic/Tsonga because with Tsonga, it's which version of himself decides to show up on that day. Meanwhile, when the French Open ended, my hope was just for Rafa to make it to the second week considering how badly he's sucked the last two years. Now, I hate it but my hopes are going up a little even despite the fact that he can't seem to win a first set. I just feel like the deeper he goes into the competition, the more confident he'll be and harder to beat. A possible quarterfinal match with Raonic should be interesting.

It's interesting because the same thing happened with Dawson's Creek. After he left it just all went to shit and you can definitely see how things went to shit with this show once he left. It seemed in the earlier season while the "triangle" always existed, as others noted, Elena was more her own person, had more agency and as much as she loved Stefan, he was not her entire world. Early season Elena I could have possibly bought doing what Buffy did where she sacrificed Angel to save the world. This Elena would say "fuck the world" if it meant having to sacrifice her precious sociopath, i.e. Damon. On top of that the show was more willing to explore other relationships/characters then, particularly the Stefan/Damon relationship. Stefan also had his own demons that had nothing to do with Elena, the other characters had their relationships, etc. The problem is once Kevin left the show in the hands of Plec and Dries it became all about their fan-girly obsession with Damon and the "complex bad boy". Stefan basically got shit on for two seasons, Elena became a mindless, whiny (okay whinier) drip whose only motivation in life seems to be to hop on Damon and screw him across all surfaces and everyone just became pointless fodder, existing only to serve around those two storylines which pretty much consist of their shit-fest relationship. And now they bring back Alaric who is pretty much Damon fanboy #1 and add Enzo, fanboy #2 as a regular which all but confirms that this show will continue to revolve around Damon and his "complexity" and his and Elena's shitty relationship. Elena has basically became merely a prop to Damon.

Well speaking of, rumor has it that she and whoever her final pick will be, have already been cast on the next season of DWTS. Don't know how true it is as so far only Hollywood Life and a few smaller publications are reporting it. Also, fair warning, but some of the publications reporting it, spoil who the final pick is so don't search if you don't want to be spoiled about the ending.

My thing with Nick is that yeah he is dismissive to the other guys but I can't blame him because so far, from what the editing is actually showing, they're the ones attacking him and not the other way around.The Bachelor(ette) bubble always lends itself to a group think mentality where it's easy to zero in on one contestant and everyone rally around how awful they believe this contestant supposedly is. But often I hear more about how awful the contestant is than them being awful and that's exactly what's going on with Nick so far. So yeah I can't blame Nick for being dismissive to people who are sitting around calling him manipulative, evil, asshole and every other horrible name in the book.

Fair enough but I just feel like the title is incredibly over-used. Like at this point I'm not even really sure what a hipster is because it just seems to get thrown at any guy who doesn't fit the "jock" mold and maybe slightly awkward or nerdy. And it always seems to be attached to being pretentious. Like honestly I think JJ and his made up career and "quirky" pants came across as far more of a wannabe hipster than Nick. I think Nick is kind of awkward and slightly dorky but I think his flaw is more dismissiveness of the other guys which increases the "smug" title. I like Nick but he definitely gives off an "I give zero crap about any of you" vibe in relation to the guys.

I'm not really sure what makes Nick a hipster. I feel like sometimes that title gets thrown around at people to discredit them in some way and call them pretentious. Nick is software salesman - what's so hipster-ish about that?