hoosiermommy

That’s a good point. I doubt that Andrei did anything bad. I do think he,Chuck Charlie are all birds of a feather. Lib loves the drama.

Well, banks are in it to make money. They aren’t really interested in your personal life as long as you make payments. If Andrei and Libby wanted that kind of transaction, they should have borrowed from a bank. Every other institution that give you money (friends, family, the mob, the other mob—the government) use money as power and your indebtedness as leverage. Chuck and Charlie are jerks. They’d have less power over Andrei if Andrei hadn’t taken their money. Sadly, Andrei is just now realizing this. If I were Chuck, my check and myself, would be on the next plane back to ‘Merica. I wouldn’t give money to someone who treated me so shabbily. And this is also not excusing the ugliness and smugness and general obnoxiousness of father and son.

ITTA...if you ask for money, you are inviting the lender into your life. Want to be independent and not beholden? Be independent and not beholden. No matter how much Libby protests, O think she likes being the center of this arguing. She gets all the attention when before Andrei, I get the sense she was always battling the coven for anyone’s attention. Now, look, all eyes are on her.

Let’s not lose the important point here...she was in a relationship with her supervisor WHO THEN PROMOTED HER to lead deckhand. This girl is an manipulative and conniving piece of work.

I think Jess’s problem with Bugsy’s accent is that she isn’t concentrating. I don’t usually have issues with understanding thick accents, but if I’ve been on hold for a bit and my mind has wandered back to something else while I wait, when a live person does pick up and start talking, accent or no, sometimes it takes me a few seconds to refocus on them. I sense Jess probably has a more difficult time refocusing, so it takes 3 attempts to understand. Not that that is acceptable... she needs to concentrate harder.

I was made to read The Great Gatsby in school and like so many of us (I assume), I had a teacher who wanted to infuse symbolism into everything. Sometimes, the flashing light at the end of the dock just means don't hit the dock. I feel like this is Sergio. Not everything has to be symbolic. Sometimes a beautiful dress just means you made a beautiful dress. What's worse is that I don't believe that he gets inspired by his causes. I believe he creates his fashion and backs into his cause. He liked the blue and white palate, and the dripping of the fringe. Since Victorian Saloon Girl isn't a cause, he had to look for something....like.....melting....GLACIERS! I got it! The one thing I do appreciate about him is that, despite his arrogance, he was kind to Nancy, who had been "mean girled" by the younger, "hipper" designers (Brittany, Marquise). I actually liked the white sweater (or eyelet lace) dress Victoria made but didn't show (it was on the mannequin). I like Geoffrey, tears and all. But I think his looks were the weakest. The poster upthread was right...the yellow look made the model look like he was melting. In fact, that outfit said global warming more than Sergio's entire collection put together.

I knew Alex was going to lose when she was describing her dish. She committed the fatal flaw the Chopped judges talk about all the time...her dish was disjointed. There was nothing connecting a salad, a quesadilla and the protein. I was surprised she came up with such a poor dish, not that she lost with it. It makes me wonder if she didn't really want to be on this show at all since it looked like she phoned it in. I am really looking forward to the Brook vs. Michael and the Amanda vs. Elizabeth match-ups.

I suppose the issue that I see is that it points to his lack of authenticity about his "political design". Someone who is genuinely disturbed about, and making clothes to tell us about: 1. a better time in the 1950's 2. the plight of immigrant children on the boarder 3. transgendered people emerging from their cocoon Is highly unlikely to believe that there is gray area in what has been deemed as "cultural appropriation". Is it possible? Yes. No one has to be in lock step with their chosen political party. Is it likely? No, not if he believed half of what he says he does. To whit, he comes across as exploitative, and disengenuous.

I don't necessarily believe that, but the clientele he is trying to appeal to, those who are moved by the political causes he espouses, and who are specifically buying from a "political designer" most likely would be. Taking a Chinese model and dressing her with cultural references of Japan would fit the term cultural appropriation. He either didn't think about it, or didn't think anyone else would notice. Or maybe he didn't care, which then tells me he is only a political designer when it suits him and not from any particular personal conviction. As for the derivative fashion, I give him a pass on the makeup. No designer owns the intellectual property to geisha makeup, but that collar from McQueen (the pink and the purple outfits above) is pretty distinctive and there is very little difference between it and Sergio's. We aren't talking about sleeve length (of which there are finite numbers), or a fitted top with a flared skirt. It is especially egregious when this is an avante garde challenge where things are literally supposed be be innovative and ahead of the pack. Calling back to something old isn't exactly something new.

Sergio's disingenuous use of the moniker "political designer" really blew up for him this season. First, there is no indication that he actually has any particular political stance because he believes it, rather, he uses it to appeal to a certain "woke" clientele. I can discern this because: 1. The week "he" embroidered the names of the children on the dress he was actually exploiting them for his personal gain. 2. He chose to turn it off when he didn't think it would be an advantage to him. The week he just made a dress. If he really used politics as his inspiration, he'd be able to be inspired by something without telling the whole world about how cool he is to be inspired by it. 3. There was never talk about a personal connection to any one cause. It was always something sterile for him, but a huge talking point for someone else. As opposed to Mondo's HIV+ print, which is pretty much the standard I will always go by when talking about causes. 4. If he truly believed any of this, he wouldn't court the idea of "cultural appropriation" by dressing his model in another culture's makeup and dressing them in an outfit inspired by another culture's historical icons like he did here. And the thing of it is, if Sergio were as confident about his skills as he tells us he is, he wouldn't need to pose as such a "woke" designer at all. He could--you know--let his fashion do the talking. As to the references to McQueen...I'm not a fashion person and even I can see that what he did was borrow from McQueen. It isn't that all high neck designs are off limits. It is that the wide, high neck, bowl around the head look came from someone else. We aren't talking turtle neck, here. That particular neckline is distinctive and unique.

Last year with Caroline was a really bad look for Kate. I think this year, her treatment of Simone was largely due to differing expectations. Kate wasn’t interested in teaching “the basics” of service and Simone expected it. I expect that is production’s fault. Brian, you’ll want to stop talking now. You aren’t making yourself look better. Lordy, the women beautifully excoriated him and I still don’t think he understands how bad he looks. Courtney, you are a gem. Strong, smart, independent, and wise. You were too good for Brian. Tanner is too stupid to see how stupid he is. And I fear it’s a hereditary condition. Rhylee, you know she’s probably a challenge to work with because of her assertiveness but I want her on my squad. She has backed every woman on the boat against these yahoos, even when she’s had disagreements with them (Kate). Kevin’s sisters got to him and he’s embarrassed...to a point. He was doing well, but even as a baker, he can’t stand the taste of humble pie being served to him by Captain Lee. Ashton owes Rhylee and Captain Lee for his life. I wonder if that feeling of being beholden to a woman is part of the issue. One can only hope people around him (if not himself) have expressed their concern with how he got “smashed” and are getting him into rehab. Congrats Abbi. Best wishes!

I don’t think Kate anticipated her revenge to be Kevin presenting the cake to a table without the bachelorette, it just presented itself as an opportunity when Jamelle went to bed. I assume the cake wasn’t made while dinner was being served, therefore Kevin would have had to make it regardless. It wasn’t Kate’s fault he “wasted time”...it was already made before Jamelle decided to go to bed. I used to work with someone like him...everything was a personal attack. There was no such thing as an accident, it was all a coordinated effort to make her fail. Kevin is just like that. Simone, you have no idea how young you look. Adopting the social strategy of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” leaves you looking gullible and vulnerable to unsavory people (Kevin). Lindsey, I hope Brian did fall asleep. You were upholding the standard of intelligent womanhood. Don’t let me down girl! But her exit walk and the dog...I’ll forgive her pretty much anything. Tanner, you are gross. I am sure your mother still loves you, but do you think she’s going to be proud to tell her friends about your appearance on this show? Because, bru, no. She’s not bragging about her horney, mean, drunk son’s 15 minutes of fame.

Brian has a daughter. Dude, would you want any man to treat her the way you are treating Rhylee??? One day she will see this and have hard questions for you. I hope you have more backbone then and can admit you were a weak follower who bullies someone he saw as different. It is telling that Brian hasn’t tweeted since the new year. Simone, it isn’t rocket science. You banged Tanner because he was “your type”. At first I thought you meant his looks, but it is now clear your type is “emotionally unavailable user.” Maybe next time pick against type. Kevin has to be a plant. No one is that clueless about how he comes off on camera, right? Ashton...you have no moral high ground to talk about Rhylee. And the look you had on your face when Captain showed up was exactly the look my 7 year old wears when he is caught eating cookies for breakfast. You are a child, not a manager. And Jamele Hill didn’t “leave” ESPN, she was fired.

Yes, Under The Gunn. I don’t remember her name, but I can’t even listen to Tim Gunn on Sophia the First wi hour getting upset. He lost ALL credibility with that BS.

There was that one season of Project Runway: Something Or Other (it was two teams with mentors) and Tim was a bully to one of the odd female designers on that show. He joined the other designers in ganging up on her and ever since then, I felt Tim could take a flying leap off my screen because I don't like mentors who play favorites. And maybe it's because I am not in fashion, and maybe it is because of editing, but I rarely understood half of what Tim was trying to accomplish with his advice. It all seemed to boil down to "think about what you're doing" (as if the designer wasn't thinking before?) or "do better!". He never seemed to give actionable advice. Christian is able to provide constructive advice and it seems to me to be clear and actionable. I am eternally grateful that my husband loves me more than he dislikes my sibling and my sibling in law. I find it odd (and disingenuous) to think that so many people think that they should abandon the person they love because their loved one's family may not be all that they want. Tyler was in a state. He thought he had a good design and I think the judge's opinions came out of nowhere. Some people think they are much cleverer than they actually are, and I think Tyler's comments were his attempt to laugh off the criticism and it turned out to be in extremely bad taste to essentially tell a judge what could easily be understood as, "I know you're here because of who you're married to, not your own talent." I am not surprised he was cut. Historically, we've been told that each week the contestants start with a blank slate and each outfit is judged on its own merits, I have never bought that a history of poor design isn't taken into consideration when the designer is on the bottom again and again. He had two criticisms of "too costumey" and then over-corrected to "too safe" and added a dash of "outside of the parameters" to top it off. I find myself often saying "It's my pleasure" or just "my pleasure". I used to be upset that someone would assure me that it was "no problem" for them to help me because...of course it isn't. That's what you're paid do to. But as I've gotten older (Gen Xer), I've come to realize that what I really want is for someone to be polite and acknowledge my thanks. It's kind of like the Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays "issue". I try not to get upset when someone wishes me wellm even using words I wouldn't choose myself.

You choose your spouse, not your in-laws. Maybe Karli was smart enough to know that alienating a section of the audience by insinuating politics was unwise. Just think if you were judged based on your in-laws (or in this case in-law in-laws). We don't know the entire Kushner family, we know two people who are public figures. Maybe, all these people who are "politically correct" (Sergio's chiron description that practically has to be two lines long to describe his wokeness) could focus on, you know....fashion design?

Kevin is the King of Excuses. The baby of the family is never at fault. Shut up Kevin. You suck. I really wish Rylee had struck it out of the park just to tell the boys to stuff it. I don’t think she failed, I think fishing is as much luck as skill (as the wife of an often frustrated fisherman). I HATE that captain doesn’t seem to care that the only description of the event comes from a guy who admits he doesn’t remember what happened. Maybe ask Kate what happened? She is a better person than I am as I would have excoriated Ashton and he would have been begging for his *insert family member I am not allowed to mention here*. Guest Molly is a former America’s Next Top Model contestant.

When Marcus came in and said, "You're busy!" I was pretty surprised. If that is what busy looks like, the company is in trouble.

I mean, they aren't robots. Actors are real people, too.

The LG InstaView with Craft Ice "I'm a baller" commercial. Don't palm my ice cube and drop it in my drink (hey, look at all the surface area that this ice cube has to hold on to your sweat, dirt and germs!). That is gross. If you aren't using a dispenser, use a tool.

Now that this episode has aired and has brought attention to the patent issue, how long before Coco Doofus gets served with cease and desist papers from the actual patent holder upon whom he is infringing?

You'd be surprised at how few health plans actually had "insurance company" involvement. Over half of the employees working in the US are covered by self-funded plans...employers who fund the claims themselves. They only use administrators to adjudicate claims (determine if they fit the definitions the employer chooses). Edited to add: I am still surprised why anyone who comes into the Tank with an "alternative" healthcare product is gunning to partner with Mark (which is what seems to me was the situation with the doctor here--he seemed to be shocked when Mark withdrew and kept looking back at him like he was trying to resurrect the deal). Just once, I'd like for someone to come in, immediately acknowledge that this isn't a product Mark is going to be behind and talk to the other 4 Sharks. The shovel would be very helpful if I hadn't outsourced the vegetable garden to the neighbors. They get to grow a garden on our land--the only plot of southern exposure on the lake, and I get free veggies on my door step. For you all you black thumbs out there, I highly recommend the arrangement.

She doesn’t appear to be looking for that substance on the boat, so while it is possible she hasn’t seen the show before, it is equally possible she has and knows what not to expect.

The scariest thing for me when watching Brandy was the loss of motor function. She was limp. Man, I get she was drunk, but I’ve never seen someone in that state of drunkenness before. If I were on the boat, I’d be Courtney. She isn’t joyless, she is just so over the childishness of the behavior—drunkenness, flirtation, mindless fawning. She wants something of substance and none of these yahoos is likely to give it to her.

Kevin is an idiot. Everything is someone else’s fault. He thinks he is untouchable. He likes to put people down to maintain his own self-importance. Dude, you just served canned crab and frozen mussels to paying clients on a super yacht due to YOUR OWN FAILURE. You have lost the right to act like your poop doesn’t stink. And your great grand daddy chef named Kevin didn’t go down with the Titanic. No such person existed. But I mean, if you don’t look at the crew rolls, you can cite ignorance. Ashton continues to surprise me with his maturity and leadership. I like this guy a lot.