DearEvette

They seem to be very careful not to say they were involved while he was on LIB. So if they broke up before he went, where is the smoke? Is it because it was so soon after the breakup? He did mention selling the the house and that isn't a quick process. I wonder if it'll come up in the reunion.

Ok how cool that Kara Saun is the costume designer. She came in second in the very first season of Project Runway.

There are conflicting reports on that. Several of the LIB people have said.. noyou didn't have to go all the way to the altar. But some others have said you did. I think the 'have to get to the altar' mostly came out of S1 where people were wondering why Jessica went al the way to the altar with Mark when it was so clear she was still mooney over Barnett and was not into Mark. Each couple have their own producers and I swear I read somewhere that the producer persuaded Jess to stay to the end. But a fari number of other couples broke up before the altar: S2, Shana and Kyle broke up after that awful trip to see her family. And of course, Jackie and Marshall broke up at that point as well. and of course there was Irina and Zach who barely even made it past the first face to face meting. Same deal with Taylor and JP (the guy who though Taylor wore too much make up and always wore something with an American flag on it). They broke up mid-honeymoon. So maybe it was a requirement that got removed after S1.

Super bummed about Cricket. I liked her no-nonsense manner and sense of humor. It would have been really fun seeing how she and Will might have meshed. Oh well. The Will and Faith partnership is still great. I loved them tsk tsking over how dumb the main target was while he was eating his food at a diner. I dunno. I still see Angie as a person making a lot of bad decisions. Sure, fine, have a taboo sexual relationship with your doctor, but to blackmail him into clearing you against your own best interest tells me she still has not learned. As much as I respect their history, Angie is still too volatile, imo. I suspect that Angie is not the only woman Ormewood has cheated with, so his being all worried about being cheated on was some great irony. I love that his wife was like... 'Yeah, about that... ' Heh. So glad this show is back!

The kids this episode were top tier. Just everything about them made the episode stellar. Their facial expressions during the F.A.D.E. assembly were spot on. They were savage in their own way. Barbara: 'REEFER. GAN..JA. The Devil's LETTUCE! I suggest you all DROP your VICES and take a hit of my DRUG of choice: J-E-S-U-S. Street name. ..... " Spreads arms 'CHRIST' I died. And Rose on the third day! LOL. The entire scene in the lounge was chaotic with the snaps, snapping. Loved it. Jess...Ca was giving me Gina Linetti flashbacks. I was so triggered. The actress was great but damn... the character .. uh uh. No ma'am. I am glad she is just a day sub. Who would have thunk that Tariq's appearance would have been the high bar F.A.D.E? I really like Janine having enough muscle to overturn a possible suspension for that poor kid. Also, once again Ava shows her humanity when it comes to the kids. I like it that she was also disgusted by having to suspend him and was looking for an out.

My Brother in law when he was the VP of our middle school wouldn't let anyone post pictures of him on social media unless he vetted them first. I remember my nephew wanting to post a Thanksgiving picture with all of us at the table and there was a wine glass at his setting and he removed the glass and had his son re-take the picture. He was really hyper conscious about appearances in that way.

I got the biggest laugh when Jeramy's face cracked at Laura letting him know she was peeping him on the tracking app. I can't stand Laura. She is too abrasive for my taste and just seems unlikable. But damn, did she zing him. And dropped the mic. LOL. I wonder if they are dunzo too? I don;t remember if we saw them in the previews. 100%. The kid + the idea of a Meghan Fox look alike totally influenced him. I also want to say, honestly, I think Chelsea picked Jimmy over Trevor because of Jessica too. Like in the back of her mind she pulled a guy away from someone as pretty as Jessica. I don't think AD was against Kenneth and Brittany being IR. She asked him if he had ever dated a white woman before and he never had. So for him to go from never dating a white woman to getting married ASAP to one is a big leap. Contrast Kenneth to Lauren from Season 1 who also had never dated IR before. But Lauren grappled with that and talked that out a lot. She voiced it as a concern, we saw her ask Cameron about his ability to raise black kids. Now, Kenneth and Brittany may have talked as well and we just never saw it, but if AD could get into his head that easily, then chances are they didn't talk it through. AD's eyelashes have been driving me nuts from day one. I HATE them. I would love for someone to do a style makeover for her. She looks so CUTE in her glasses. I would love to see how she looks in a full natural hair with smaller lashes. Kinda like Clay's sister. Now I loved her whole vibe. AD is pretty but she has terrible head styling. Chelsea is the same. Sure she is no Meghan Fox, but she is not ugly. I would love to see her get a makeover too. Her hair looks thin and limp and it is very unflattering to her face. I think a bit of volume or a great layered cut would look good on her. Man, 9 episodes in and I just realized I completely blank on the other couple. The Puerto Rican woman who thinks a vasectomy at this juncture is on the table (WTF?) and Perpetual Frat-Faced dude. I am thinking there is some context left on the cutting room floor. But from what I can gather ... (Ok I had to look them up because I could not keep calling them PR girl and Frat-Faced dude)... Amy does not want kids but also does not want to go on hormone based birth control. Oookay... There are other options. And then Johnny either does not like to glove up or doesn't trust condoms as the lone method? It isn't clear but I am going with door number two because ... again for some one who does not adamantly want kids, raw dogging it is just a recipe for disaster. Which if he does rely on two methods, then... Respect. Personally I would never just rely on condoms alone if I am committed to being kid free. But that is the most interesting thing about them... barely.

Yeah, I talking more along the lines of my like/dislike of him as a person, not just necessarily as a mate to AD. But this also made remember what I forgot to add in my prior post another big thing in the minus column about Clay. He just seems so immature and unseasoned. AD is a woman-woman and Clay comes off as really rather childish. I HATE the tendency he has for burrowing into her bosom. Like, Ugh! The rape allegations aside (I think was was filmed in April-May 2023 -- so before the Cassie stuff blew up) no one should ever name check Diddy as a relationship influence. No one should ever name ANY public entertainment figure as a relationship influence. You don't know their life. Public facing is not the same as truth. And shit can come out about them in a flash. Jonathan Majors was everybody's Black King darling and look at how he was. So yeah that is another indicator that his thinking is not mature. The cheating thing is interesting. I know a lot of people take it as a pre-confession. And it could be. But it sounded like something he has been a bit terrified of, kinda like the child of an alcoholic or domestic abuse. No cheating is not genetic, but parents can screw up a child in many ways and skew their perceptions and create a cycle. He said at the time he did not know that was happening. Kids can rationalize a lot when it comes to a parent they idolize. And it also might be why in the prior episode he threw out the idea of going to couples therapy. I agree he is not ready to be a husband. He should actually be going to his own therapy right now to unpack his issues with his father and fidelity and become healthy before embarking on committed relationship.

The 180 heel turn of Kenneth left me so confused. The silence on the boat was so awkward. And when they got home, he just seemed to disengage completely. It is like a switch turned off as soon as they left the island. It even took me a minute to realize they had broken up. I turned to my husband and said 'What just happened? Are they done now?" That was so weird. And he couldn't even put the phone down long enough to give the end of the relationship the time and attention it deserved. Damn. Clay is a rollercoaster ride all of his own. Sometimes I just want AD to drop kick him and just go. Other times, I see someone who is seems like he could be a great guy to be around. And then he'll do something else that I think sounds shady. Only for him to do or say something charming and endearing. I am still not 100% sold on Clay. His father did a number on him. Yikes. Jimmy. But damn he's not wrong. She is clingy. I said it right as she was complaining he didn't kiss her. But also, Yikes. He bsically said he only had sex because she initiated it. Oomph. Dude. Laura is... a LOT. Jeramy is so funny and easy going. And he should not have had to apologized to her for the AD debacle. That was all on Laura.

That's a fan made video. Bey isn't really releasing videos for Renaissance, except for lyric videos.

As Beyonce said 'The best revenge is your paper" Beyoncé Makes History as “Texas Hold ’Em” Tops Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart

And this is the episode that Laura came out of the middle of the pack and made herself the absolute worst. I didn;t like her in the last episode but she was a real piece of work in this one. First, tell your fiance to go flick the breasts of a woman he has never met before. Second, get offended when no one is amused by it. Third, call them childish because they are not amused but your "joke." AD showed a lot of restraint in both this and with Jimmy and Chelsea's comments about her body. This is a textbook demonstration of a woman who has had to deflect, laugh off, and defuse uncomfortable situations. Even Clay was not amused but had to defuse the situation and make it less than it was. I was so incredibly uncomfortable watching that whole situation, knowing that because Clay and AD (after some mild pushback) seemed to go along to get along, some people would buy into the 'it's just a joke, look, AD is laughing... ha ha." And then we end with Chelsea's insecurities on full display. Her voice went into up three octaves s she was whining to Jimmy. As much as I am sure he is kinda disappointed with his choice, she participated in her own situation. She is 100% this season's Danielle.

I don't think so, though. She publishes about 4 books a year every year. She puts out two In Death books, a trilogy book, and a stand alone suspense book each year. This year she had Random in Death (came out in January), Mind Games (stand alone suspense coming in May), Passions in Death (coming September) and The Mirror - the 2nd book in the Lost Brides trilogy (coming November). So even if her older books are not attractive, she has many current and future projects. The bigger issue, imo, is that Hollywood has never taken romance novel adaptations seriously. Hallmark adaptations are not great, imo, of any of the authors they adapt. They've made them conveyor belt movies with a round-robin of replaceable actors about two decades older than the characters they are supposed to portray. I think once Netflix got into the game they were potentially better. Robyn Carr's Virgin River instance, has the great casting and production values that Nora's books could have. It is a shame they absolutely butchered the books. I think Shonda's adaptation of Bridgerton is really the standard of what an adaptation could be in the right hands could be. Someone who loves and respects the material with the clout to get a quality product made. So Nora just needs the right team to get her stuff made.

There was also one shot of Jimmy where Chelsea is kissing him --it was after they were talking about her tats -- and they go into a hug and he is kinda staring into the camera with such a look... like 'What the hell did I just do?" He just did not look happy. I thought their reveal was a little sad. You are correct with the "I'm happy' and "you're Gorgeous' over and over. It really did feel like he was trying to convince himself. Meanwhile she was jumping around like a labradoodle. So giddy. I do think he loves her but he is disappointed she isn't as pretty as he thought she was gonna be and given how he kept bringing up Jess, Jess got into his head with her final comment about how he'll choke when he sees her. Chelsea is not unattractive at all. She does have really pretty eyes. They are her best feature, imo. But invoking Megan Fox is like a sort of bat signal to men of a certain demographic. And while Jimmy isn't as upfront about it as Clay, it really mattered. Also he kinda looks like Hank Hill to me so... Also, he has no game. I mean, he goes on about her teeth? LOL. The show did my man Jeramy a disservice. He just never really computed but I like his brand of humor it is dry but also kinda goofy. And too bad he is wasted on Laura. Same. Or as my grandmother would say 'There is something about her spirit that just don't sit right with me." Ok, AD had body-ody-ody... and I am gratified that Clay acknowledged that but said he didb't want to objectify or sexualize her and wanted to give her respect she deserved as his fiance. I liked that. He won back a a few points with me there. Brittany and Kenneth also appealed a bit more. I get the sense she likes his size and he makes her feel dainty and feminine and she really vibes on that. They seem happy.

Alyssa Milano optioned Brazen Virtue for Netflix ant it was released in 2022. It was called Brazen. I honestly think it was another clunker. I honestly don't think she'd mind too much. She writes primarily Irish and Irish-American characters. (Hey, now that the Irish have embraced Ayo Edebiri as on of their own maybe she can be a Nora heroine? Heh) But she has written books where the B-romance plot features non-white characters. The one off the top of my head is Black Hills. I don't believe she has written any LGBTQ+ romance arcs, but I think some of her books could easily change up character orientation and or race. A great candidate would be Montana Sky -- the one with the three sisters who co-inherited a ranch from their now deceased father. They all had different mothers and didn't grow up together. It would be simple to race swap one, and make one bi or gay. and it wouldn't change the story at all. Or any of her fantasy trilogies that features three couples -- like The Guardians trilogy (one of the characters was a friggin; mermaid) or the Year One trilogy which has a bunch of characters a la The Stand who come from everywhere. OMG! I think I have this one!!! I have to go look. This book is selling for like 150.00 on Amazon.

Agreed. If they are at the point where they are on the verge of proposing, the dates had to have been long and intense. If he isn't feeling her at that point then why is he still dating her? She was putting it all out there and he was still giving nothing. She deserved better. He can't say ILY to her but immediately can to Chelsea? I know there is some creative editing in there but I think his 'I got sudden clarity' had nothing to do with some lightbulb going off in his head about Chelsea and more to do with the fact that he knew Trevor was gonna propose and he didn't want to lose out on his chance of getting his Megan Fox look alike. I feel like the child was a deal breaker with Jess on the day she revealed it, but he strung her along fully knowing how into him she was to hedge his bets against Chelsea. Clay isn't as egregious as Matthew, but he is still giving me 'something ain't right.' with him. AD is so nice and bubbly. I wondered where the bible came from all of a sudden? How is this man quoting scripture now? LOL. It didn't come off as a natural at all. He sounded like a religious huckster. I feel bad for Trevor because I think he might get his heart broken. Unless of course Chelsea surprises us as doesn't go for Jimmy, in which case, I will laugh my ass off! The other two engaged couples so far are very much a Kenny and Kelly meh-vibe for me. I can;t even remember the names of the first couple that got engaged.

I think it is a "it depends" sort of thing. The timing in the pods is on the show is always a little deceptive and they play with continuity. We know that the first few dates are very, very short. And they get longer as you start to weed out people you don;t vibe with. It makes no sense for her to say anything on first date which might be all of 10 minutes and then the second round which only goes to 30 minutes. So I get it that she might wait to see who she likes and they get into the longer dates where she'll disclose. It felt like it was pretty early in the process when she told Jimmy. We have no idea who else she was dating or might like since her storyline was clearly the love triangle with Jimmy and Chelsea. Reminds me of the discussions we had about Carlton and Diamond about when he should have disclosed he was bi to her. At least Jess told Jimmy before a possible proposal. LOL. I am sooo disappointed in Matthew. Man. what a rollercoaster. I went from thinking... what an asshole. To thinking... maybe he is neurodivergent and just can't handle a deviation from a prepared script in an unfamiliar situation (I had a boss like this and it was ... interesting). To thinking... ok maybe he's not so bad he and AD are really great together. To thinking.... well, damn. He really is horrible. I wish he had stayed the guy we sw with his first interactions with AD, because I am not feeling Clay for her. He seems to lack the understanding of the whole purpose of the experiment. And he's annoying.

Oh... I love her Oxymoron books. Carnal Innocence is my hands down favorite but Public Secrets is a close second. I listened to both of them on audio a few years ago and the narrator for Carnal was fantastic. The narrator for Public Secrets was hysterically bad. I had to return the audiobook. They did an audio re-issue of Sacred Sins (which I also remember absolutely loving back in the day) but it comes off as a bite more dated than some of the rest. Also, I lowkey think Genuine Lies was an inspiration for The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins-Reid. And yeah, Nora has terrible luck with tv adaptations. They either end up looking cheap or they are miscast. I wish Shonda Rhimes had chosen some Nora to adapt for Netflix instead of the Bridgertons. We would have at least gotten some really good looking man eye-candy and a lot of big bucks so the books wouldn't look cheap. If not her then Reese Witherspoon -- look what she did with Big Little Lies.

I wouldn't call myself a number one fan... I do concede that to @GHScorpiosRule but I have read everything she is written... up to last year... I did not read the last Becoming trilogy. But I do have the new trilogy and the last two JD Robb books sitting on my kindle idle. Two early memorable books for me was The Law is a Lady. For a Harlequin romance tin the 80s this was a bit of a game changer because the heroine was the sheriff (heroines were always coded in some very 'female' work) and she was written as someone who'd amble and spoke 'lazily'. It was. great characterization because Nora gave her the traits that males usually had in those books. And then there was the Pride of Jared McKade. The heroine was a single mom who was impatient, prickly and an ex-stripper. Again.. unheard of for Harlequin/Silhouette.

Pour one out. My free ride with Paramount+ has sadly come to an end. As of Feb 16th I'm out. No two more months free extensions for me. For almost one year I think I have only paid about 3.99 total for Paramount+. It was good ride P+!

I actually am liking the Manny character. I think the show's M.O. thus far has been to pretty quickly give you the personality of the people when they introduce them. We quickly knew what kind of person Ashley (Melissa's room aide) and Draemond (Leslie Odom's charter school guy) and Mr. Morton (Jacob's nemesis) and even Tariq. All in all I think he is just another "Janine" who happened into the job in administration where he wanted to make a difference, whereas Janine went into teaching. As someone upthread mentioned, the discovery that they read the same online message board and like each other's comments would shore up that idea. I am thinking he was given the job because the District has that job but it is rather thankless, but like Janine he has the optimism and the energy to do it as a young person who hasn't yet let bitterness grind him down. I also like how the Janine/Gregory thing played out. The awkwardness followed by the admission they are each other's person. It is a pretty refreshing approach to addressing this stage in the relationship and it allows the writers room to breathe on them. They are close and value the relationship but we have put the romance on pause in a very healthy way.

My favorite parts: The kids' reaction to the proposal. Especially the one kid who had his hands clutched on his head with an expression like "OMG, what is happening?" The entire scene of them pumping up Gregory to "seduce" Ava with his guns. And his look of utter shame, clutching his sweater to his chest as he walked away. Also when Barbara laughed diabolically when she came up with her plan, Melissa and Jacob looked legit terrified. Jacob being so excited to get Mr Johnson as his career day guy. Also Mr. Johnson getting as much respect as Jalen Hurts. I love the fact that the cosmetologist brought the styling heads (I had one of those when I was a kid) so that all the kids could practice along with her. Ava dancing to Back That Azz Up (which is such a GREAT song! also the NPR Tiny desk version is fantastic!) And finally... damn Jalen Hurts is F-O-I-N foine! And yes, love the reminder/shoutout that he has an all female management/rep team.

They are 8th graders. I don't know about PA, but the Korean war is definitely on the 8th grade history curriculum in NYS.