Passing Strange

No. Whitney said they had to scrap that story because of Buddy's absence. To me that meant they didn't really need Glenn in the video. He didn't add anything. I have a suspicion Glenn was a bad dancer even when he was young. Whitney needs to stop trying to make "cool dad Glenn" happen.

Not everyone here hate watches this show, but definitely some of the more vocal folks do. There are other places online where Whitney has fans who relate to her, her message, or both. Now, I wouldn't pay for something I can get for free on YouTube, but there are people who get the inspiration they need from Whitney and her videos. Actually doing something about your health? Not really pathetic. Also, parasocial relationships are no longer considered unhealthy and may in fact be beneficial to many people.

You know, for all her faults I mostly like Whitney, but the "open relationship" thing made me snort, because, yeah, there never was a relationship. I have to give them credit, though, this will be an easy segue into Lenny Redux.

While I think six months is too soon for a celebration of a business, I loved the video shoot. I remember how exercise videos took off in the eighties and thought that was a great theme. The costumes and hair were on point. It was nice to get a behind the scenes look at producing a video and people looked like they were having a great time. For several seasons people have said that Whitney's dancing consists of planting one foot and rotating with the other. I agree that she, like Todd, has a limited repertoire, but we've seen her do much more than that several times already this season. I'll wait for the video to see exactly how much dancing there is. I like Pat. He's a refreshing change from sulky Todd, overly serious Buddy, and fervid Tal.

He thinks he is much more adorable than he is. Have they always used "rice cereal" treats on this show?

I'm also in the "might give it another episode, if I remember" camp. The show seemed to have a lot of potential, plot holes not withstanding. I liked Margaret and wanted to like Todd, but, man, he needs to upgrade from his junior detective kit. Margaret told Todd he was good at what he does and I immediately thought no, he's not. He was ridiculous, and conspicuous, talking into his watch at the store and we had no idea what that was supposed to accomplish. Then this "master of technology," after wasting time on two stakeouts, completed them with two burn phones and a location tag, not exactly the height of scientific sophistication. Why not just use your technology in the first place and do something productive with your time? And I think most of us know how to use the various assistants to make calls and do searches. The fact that he lies at the drop of a hat is not endearing. I guess there's plenty of room for growth here, but I'm not banking on seeing a lot of it.

Everyone tried but, man, that was dull. Ralph and Marlo both decided to work on image. Neither was believable, but at least Ralph didn't keep talking and confirm the lie. Sheree reminded us that she was an OG. She forgot to mention the show dumped her (twice) and demoted her (once). I would like to see her back if there's another season, just so she has to tap dance about her fashion "line" mess. I have to wonder if anyone other than Andy went home with an actual She by Sheree item. That's all I got.

I agree. A foster mother would evaluate her actions and make appropriate changes to her interactions with both girls. In the other situation, Marlo said she was moved because she was telling people the foster mother was was too strict and the foster mother was concerned about her reputation. Moving Marlo wouldn't help; she could still say that. But, really, saying a foster parent is too strict would result in the case manager, which Marlo said she had, talking to the parent and child about the situation.

Ok, I'll do it. As soon as Anthony mentioned Drew needing a story line, Andy shut that right down. Really, Andy, you think viewers don't know? I wonder if Andy was responsible for Marlo getting a peach. He seems to be working over time at her redemption. Kenya checked Marlo's charges and brings it up. Andy then sympathetically asks Marlo how old she was (when she disfigured another woman in a knife fight). Marlo actually gets what he's trying to do and acts like 22 is just barely out of toddlerhood and reminds us that she was in foster care. Drew schools us in family relations, probably because Ralph is an expert on the topic. Partners in a marriage are equal except the wife has to do what the husband wants. Drew seems surprised when people stare at her in disbelief. Sanya tells us that she and Ross had many arguments about another baby. Then suddenly Ross's ears opened and he agreed with her position. Sanya was so happy to be able to continue her career that she immediately backed down and agreed to have a baby. WTF. But she set a time limit, so I'm going to guess she's not exactly committed to this "compromise." At the end of the next episode I want left couch to sink into the floor and return empty except for a big "Vacancy" sign.

Yes, some facilities provide a lot of supervision while others won't accept people who need as much supervision as Babs does. It's an "it depends" sort of thing.

When he's not working. I was thinking of the possibility of another stroke. Someone would be there to get help. I wonder if she's on the meal plan. Even if she were, she's free to go out to eat or bring food in.

No, not at all. People are eligible for assisted living when they need help with activities of daily living (ADLs). There really has been nothing on this show that tells us Whitney is not independent in all ADLs. She walks, she cooks, she showers, she gets dressed, and so on. I'm not convinced we've seen her with an actual assistive device, but using one to do an activity is still doing the activity. Whitney isn't lithe and graceful, but there's no way someone who is as active as she is would qualify for assisted living. I wonder if Whitney moved in with her folks because Babs needs constant supervision. Between the helpers Abbotswood provides and the people the family has hired, Babs' care needs are probably met. But they're not there 24/7 and Babs shouldn't be left alone. That may be where Whitney comes in. I think they may have hoped to, there was talk of making modifications to the house. I was hoping right along with them, but from what we've seen Babs is maintaining, but not progressing.

As of now Sheree's site is back up. Not sure for how long, so you should probably rush right over to get that $82 "who gon check me boo" tee you've been wanting.

We're still stunned by some of the breathtaking stupidity we saw? I have to commend Marlo for finally squeezing out a tear toward the end of her redemption speech. I don't doubt that she had a difficult childhood, but I don't think all of what she said was true. Regardless, your childhood is a reason, not an excuse. Marlo hasn't accepted responsibility for the decisions she's made since then. Andy was falling all over her, but I hope she's not back next season. We saw both Lisa Wu and Deshawn Snow at events this season. It would be interesting to see them as peach holders again. I paid attention to every word Sanya said about Drew and I still have no idea what her problem is.

They're probably wrapping up filming now, so maybe we'll get to see something about the proposal, if not the event itself. I hope Carl really has put his drunken fuckboy days behind him and become a decent human being. He did seem genuine with Lindsay at the reunion and they were sweet together. For both of their sakes I hope this works out. I kind of remember the comment about drinking. It seemed reasonable to me. I have to wonder how much any of them really drink when they're not on camera. My bet is Lindsay meant a drink or two in a glass, not that guzzling from huge bottles they do on the show. Too many cast changes and they might lose me, too. It looks like the women will be Lindsay, Paige, Amanda, Danielle, and Mya plus the three new ones. The men are Kyle, Carl and one new guy? That is seriously skewed. I don't think it's a function of what Kyle wants. He's not listed among the producers, plus he seems to like to bro down. I can't believe the main audience for this show is straight men. I think it's women and we need eye candy, too.

Thank you. I didn't realize that but, yes, she did, at $40 a pop.

Marlo raises self-righteousness to new heights. I almost think she truly believes that what she did with the boys was for their own good and produced a positive result. Also, she's discovered the wonders of structure! It involves getting out of bed in the morning, Marlo. We'll see how long the commitment lasts. It's too bad Kairo decided against a modeling career. He had a little bit of genuine experience. But desperate Sheree turns to Apollo. They're good friends. Who knew? I'm hoping Apollo's appearance is a sign to Phaedra that she and the show are never ever getting back together. So Ralph talked adoption with Josiah's father, who said he'd rather that didn't happen and he wanted to get back in Josiah's life. Ralph said he was down. Did I miss where Ralph, the expert on blended families, then said he first needed to check this out with the child's mother, you know, the parent who has at least physical custody? And they proved that in this episode. There was a dust up at the birthday party, after it had gone on long enough they quelled it and moved on. No male savior needed.

Or maybe I simply misunderstood your point. I thought you were saying that there are situations that can only be handled by a man. If Todd was jumping into a discussion in which he wasn't really involved then I'd be critical of that, too. You're right, Ross wasn't violent. I thought the pearl clutching was more about lacking a partner than fear. As always, I'm pretending these scenes are real and not what they really are, drama created in hopes of holding on to the peach. This airing of dirty laundry in public isn't usual behavior, except on reality shows. The way to defuse a situation like this is not to take a side; it's to note that it's uncomfortable or awkward and needs to be handled privately, then changing the subject. Ross could have saved his drowning wife with, "Hey, babe, things are getting uncomfortable. Let's take a little walk, give everyone a breather, then come back and eat." I'm not against partners having each other's backs but there are better ways to do it.

Maybe, but these women weren't actual squabbling children and they were the only people with a dog in that race. Ross had no business interfering and his interference solved nothing. What really made me sad was Marlo and Kenya at different times implying they needed a man to protect them during a discussion. The princesses can save themselves. They proved it later by talking things out with no men around. Sanya may have a legitimate reason to be unhappy with Kenya, but it seems like sometimes Kenya is just messing with her. I'm here for it, because I have no heart. Marlo just doesn't get it. She actually threw her nephews out and gave them a sentence of 30 days. That's not what parents do and the "I was a foster child" excuse is both old and invalid. Oh, Sheree. When you get to pick the date of your event get your product delivered, see if it's right and then plan the event. And enough with the lame shit stirring. It's boring. I'm thinking Sheree, Marlo, and Sanya were never in danger of becoming Rhodes Scholars.

I blame the "toothsome" stupidity on Kevin Gillespie. In his Top Chef season the meat in one of his dishes came out tough. He thought he might convince the judges it was supposed to be that way by calling it "toothsome." It didn't work, of course, but ever since a few idiots have happily misused the word. I was irritated to hear Aaron use it just when it seems like most of them have finally learned what "unctuous" actually means. I totally agree. Mr. Strange and I were shocked, too. I'd been thinking of her as a pleasant, considerate person. That's not the sense I was getting in this episode.

It's been encouraging to see science looking at things like set point theory and hunger hormones. Now it looks like we're paying some attention to other aspects of diet culture, too. Is losing weight an important health goal? An excerpt:

True. I was talking about the capacity to make decisions and I think you're talking about maturity. Thanks, Me from ME and Irate Panda, for the info about the stick. I'd totally forgotten. I have no idea what it is, but it's not the type of device that's used for bathroom wiping; those are angled. Also, I'm not sure why Whitney would need something that helps when "she typically lotions up the insides of her thighs." She's sitting there with one hand on the inside of her thigh.

I think Hunter gave us some important information about the family dynamic. When he talked about how their parents were busy with Whitney because of her depression and weight I immediately thought about Jazz Jennings of I am Jazz. Parents of a depressed child can really be over a barrel, through no fault of their own or of the child's. Here I've been thinking that Glen spoiled his little princess just because she was daddy's girl. Now I'm thinking maybe both Glen and Babs catered to Whitney because of her illness. If she came first, possibly for safety reasons, it's no wonder her default is to be self centered. And if manipulation gets you what you want, you don't learn better ways of interacting with others. It's possible that her weight gain could have been an effect of the depression and/or a side effect of meds. All of the above is just speculation and food for thought. Whitney is a competent adult who is deciding what sides of herself to put out there for the show. And, you know, sometimes I wonder if she's just messing with us. We know Babs could be "playfully" mean. Whitney may have some of that particular sense of humor. See, we don't know that she has one. People here wondered if she had trouble cleaning herself and other people suggested she might have the stick device. For all we know she has a bidet. But you make a good point, there are all sorts of adaptive devices that Whitney could be using if she really needs them.

True. I just did a post in the Whitney topic that includes that.

I usually don't mind Whitney, but I get why people don't like her. I also understand that the dislike colors the conclusions people draw about her. Sometimes that dislike makes people miss information that contradicts those conclusions. We saw Todd help Whitney with her shoes once, yes. She also needed help getting the ski boots on, which might have been true of a slender beginner, too, I don't know. But there have also been two scenes of her putting on her own shoes, once after a dance sequence and once in the hotel room she and Nada shared. Both times she swung her leg up the way many of us do and put on the shoe. Not only do people ignore scenes that contradict their beliefs, they also ignore posts in this forum. People often say Whitney must smell bad. Several seasons ago a poster here wrote that she met Whitney and hugged her. She made it a point to say Whitney smelled fine. There's also the time Whitney was trying on wedding dresses and sat in the store in her underwear. Most posters missed the post that said that wasn't uncommon and explained why. I don't think people are intentionally being ableist or fat phobic when they believe Whitney needs a caretaker but I dunno, maybe there's need of a little more critical thinking? Regardless of how real you believe some of Whitney's exploits are, she's out and doing things that people who need caretakers aren't able to do. Part of my work for many years involved people who needed home care and no way would Whitney have qualified for even the lowest level of care. So, to me, saying Whitney needs a caretaker just doesn't make sense.