PamelaMaeSnap

Also, I would never have believed that I could actually dislike Matthew more than I did during his season, but I do ... As much of a complete asshat-douchenozzle-useyourownfavoritecompoundinsult as he was, I actually sort of believed that he had a remarkable lack of self-awareness and would be mortified when he watched the early episodes and saw how he came off ... and IIRC, when we saw him later it seemed as if that was indeed the case and he'd mellowed out a tiny bit ... But this season, from that first episode at least, he's even worse, I think, because now not only is he still an insufferable jerk, but it sounds as if he's reciting from a carefully memorized script that's written to sound as if it's impromptu, enunciating every word, over-exaggerating every facial expression. So he's added a completely new layer of (word I can't think of, damn memory issues, but that lack of sincerity so please feel free to help me remember the word!) to the rest of his awful attributes. I'm pretty sure this will come down to a final two of Mar-TEEEEEE-tah and Dom and would not even be surprised if both made it on to FNS.

Do we consider Giiiiiiaaaaada to be a "bigger head honcho"? Because I am 110% convinced that Dom is the Chosen One to make it to FNS12 because Giada still loves him. In fact, I think this whole Comeback Kitchen show should simply be called "Dom Gets To Come Back." Blerg.

I can totally see where I was NOT clear ... and I also agree that may be part of why they want to bring in so much new blood, to be fruitful and multiply more Meyerists!

I guess it's possible that members were already married when they joined ... and I'm guessing also that it hasn't been around long enough for it to become "tradition" or anything ... but it seems that, say, Jason and Allison, both members, were married ... obviously Eddie and Sarah are married ... Sean and Mary seemed to be on the way to marrying and obviously they didn't join together ... Sarah's parents, both members, are married so she was either born into the group or the whole family joined (and Tessa is dead to them since she left) ... And they're clearly NOT supportive of their kids dating IS or whatever they're called, so what other option is there other than to marry other members? I'm not implying there is incestuous behavior ... just that I am inferring that marrying another member is strongly encouraged. Also, speaking of Tessa ... I don't know if it was coincidence or not, but found it interesting that in the scene where Sarah goes to track her down, you see a group of Hasidim walking down the street ... another group that sits shiva for family members who leave the religion, much like Tessa is "dead" to her family.

All points well taken and good to consider. It will be interesting to see if indeed Cal brings back Sean to please Mary or if instead next season brings us a storyline that veers from "region" to "region" rather than just the upstate site. I wouldn't be surprised, instead, if indeed Cal makes Mary his ... well, whatever it would be for the presumptive nominee (LOL) to have a First Lady. And if the news about that is what ties Sean's story in as another main plotline in some way. I'm not "unforgiving" of Mary for not being perfect, just curious to see where all of this is going with her and if we'll see more layers of her (I think we already are). I still have a strong suspicion that there is more than just nosy meddling and prying re: Joy vs. Hawk. Though we haven't seen it addressed specifically, there certainly seems to be plenty of intermarrying of members and though I'm not saying they're not there, we haven't really SEEN many members of that age (Joy and Hawk) and who are offspring of members, probably because it hasn't been around long enough for that generation to be of marrying age.

I apologize in advance for a few thoughts that may jumble up some of the episodes but I bingewatched 2-7 yesterday (I fell asleep midway through Episode 2 three times in a row so watched during the day). Am I the only one who thinks that the cousin (Joy?) isn't spying on Hawk but rather is in love with him and therefore jealous of his relationship with Ashley and trying to destroy it? Intermarriage among cousins certainly doesn't seem something that would be frowned upon among these folks. In fact it's probably encouraged. I'm betting a lot of the teens are officially or unofficially contracted to one another by their parents early on. Where did redheaded nurse come from? I don't remember her AT ALL until the scene where "poor sweet" Mary clearly knows exactly what tact she has to take to get the drugs from this girl. Her using sex for whatever she wants/needs is almost enough to make me wonder if her story about her dad is at least partly hogwash (he's so disgusting that I can't totally disbelieve that he's a d*&kwad, but she's not exactly the believable witness to me anymore either). Okay, I may have TOTALLY been reading/projecting something here but ... in the scene where Abe "earns" his Path T-shirt and takes off his own shirt to don the new one, we see at least one tattoo (looked like a marijuana leaf but am sure it was not given his job) and the girl giving the shirt to him (the pregnant Asian woman, don't know her name) eyeing him ... not sure if she was checking him out because that was a not-too-bad body OR if he might have some tattoo that gives away who he is/what he does and he forgot about it and she caught it and is on to his game. Or I may just be reading WAY too much into that scene. Read yesterday that they've already re-upped for Season 2 and that Sean will be promoted to a lead character (in opening credits) so guessing that a) he's not going to be relegated to Milton, Delaware, and never seen again and b) we may get more of his storyline before the end of Episode 10. The story about his sister and friends being murdered in a school shooting was so brief but heartwrenching. I look forward to more from him but preferably WITHOUT Mary.

*sniff*

Those of you who remember me (as JazzieCazzie) from the way way way back days of TWoP might or might not remember that Rickey Smith was my all-time favorite American Idol contestant. Ever. I am really broken-hearted right now. He had a beautiful young baby girl ... a lovely family ... and dies at the "hands" of a drunk driver. Back during his AI season, a friend of mine who worked on the show and knew that I adored Rickey told him what a fan I was and he actually called me, out of the blue, just to say hello and chat with me. Made my day/week/year. I know it may sound silly to be so upset by the passing of someone I barely "knew" but I am just gutted by this news.

I loved Chris when he was on but I'd be surprised if he won the CK ... he's not "over the top" enough. My money would be on Dom because Giada adored him. Or else Mar-teeeee-tah who just got on every one of my last nerves and then some.

So after participating in the #VoiceSave on Twitter for the first time ever, I woke up to having lost 12 followers LOL. None of them were people I actually followed back, mind you, but most of them are from my line of work which is known for having even geekier and more obsessed (and humorless) fans than The Voice -- and apparently there is no overlap. That said, I could see why if someone they followed in hopes of pearls of wisdom (which I never tweet anyway, so whatever) instead got five minutes of #VoiceSaveOwen, they might unfollow. At least he won. I #DoNotLike the #Twitter #VoiceSave and may not do it #again.

Especially since if they are signed (win or no win), they're going to be making an album (do people even still use that word or am I showing my age?) that will highlight everything they do best ... I understand that the history of American Idol has made a habit of making contestants jump through hoops and have theme nights etc. (which has caused some of the most cringeworthy moments in reality TV history crocodile rock), but while I have not been a regular watcher of The Voice (only tuned in this season because i knew a contestant and now I'm hooked), it seems like they just want singers who are GOOD AT WHAT THEY DO. Whatever that may be.

LM "a" O ... but I think it was a legit "a"ssumption and one that, while I hadn't thought of it (figuring it was a network call), made potential sense as well. Laith seems like an extremely cool guy ... I wish I liked his music.

1) *** THANK YOU FOR THE BAI ALL OVER MY KEYBOARD! 2) *** OR A BASS. HE'S A FANTASTIC BASSIST. And re: Basiltherat's post above this, I'm just happy that Owen has made it this far ... feeling very optimistic that this will nail him a good deal and get his own music out into the gen-pop. He's a great songwriter and multi-instrumentalist and this is just fantastic exposure for him.

I am in the super-tiny minority here so I will share my unpopular opinion and take my lumps ... I thought Emily was absolutely dreadful. Before hearing any of the judges' comments, before reading the generally anywhere from lukewarm-to-glowing responses, I thought she was extremely uncomfortable, close to being off key, singing WAY too hard and just cringeworthy. I get it that she is a special unicorn and I think she is quite lovely to look at but I have never thought she was a very good singer or, more specifically, a good musician. I don't think she has any real feel for the rhythms or musicality of anything. And I think she's been going downhill fast. I'll be surprised at this rate (since she will keep getting voted through) if she still has a voice in 3 weeks. Maybe I feel this way because my daughter is/was a singer-songwriter and is friends with so many beautiful young women who do what Emily does but a million times better. (Not referring to my kid in comps to Emily but rather her female friends who could be up there in that slot instead.) Also, I suspect of everyone in the Top 12, Laith is probably the best AT WHAT HE DOES but I can't stand listening to him/his style/his songs so I actually mute the TV when he's on. I am sure he's a great guy and in a way I hope he goes pretty far because at least it is a not overdone genre and I respect it, I just don't like it. I thought pretty much everyone had a rough night. I don't really expect any of the performances to either shake someone into voting for someone they hadn't voted for before, or turning them off of their favorites.

I'm somehow not surprised by Callie's behavior here. While I like her character in general, I've also always gotten the feeling that she thinks with her southern region more than her northern region and this is no exception ... though, really, Penny? Couldn't they find someone even remotely attractive/appealing/engaging in the role so at least it seems plausible? Not only is the character unlikeable, but she's just ... so blah. Also, while I have never been an April fan, I am totally giving her a pass, doctor or not, on not immediately recognizing what was going on when the baby first kicked ... aside from her being (doctor or not) pretty sheltered, I'll say from experience that I had read every book in existence about pregnancy (this was pre-internet) and I'd had a scare earlier in the pregnancy, but the first time my daughter kicked I had absolutely no idea what it was ... it's just the strangest feeling, unlike anything I've ever felt before or since, and in the moment (when I was half asleep and lying on my stomach -- something I wouldn't get to do for much longer, LOL) I wasn't really thinking "Oh, hey, it's the baby kicking!" but rather "WTF IS GOING ON HERE?"

Just another post to share the love for Ray Romano ... as I have said before in another thread here, I was never really a fan ... But he is absolutely amazing on this show ... the scene where he realizes what's happened and beats up Richie, there's one moment where his expression is such an amalgamation of anger and sadness and agony ... my husband and I both said at the same exact moment "he's got to win an Emmy for this." And if he's nominated, which he should be, it has to be for this episode.

My thought is that he would have saved either Caroline or Brian. When Laith was announced as having been voted through, Adam had the world's biggest WTF look on his face and he was clearly flummoxed in those last moments, especially since they were running late. If he had been planning on picking Laith for the save, it wouldn't have really been a big issue because he'd still have the same three.

Well, as much as I hate to confess this, my first concert was Donny Osmond (solo) at Madison Square Garden in 1972 (I was 12, don't judge!) and it was sold out and packed with screaming pre-pubescent girls (of which I was one) so I would argue that he was "early in his career" in 1973. I wouldn't call him the future, LOL. Though he's done pretty well for himself financially and apparently he and Marie made some sort of aging deal with the LDS devil. Punk may not have become a national phenomenon until later in the 1970s but it was certainly around, especially in the form they show a la The New York Dolls, etc., in NYC the early '70s and, in fact, the Dolls performed "Personality Crisis" (which they did in first episode, IIRC) on the TV show "Midnight Special" in 1973. So while I definitely have found a bunch of anachronistic easter eggs here and there, I'd have a hard time arguing most of the basic musical timeline references.

I've never liked Devon to start with but I'm not sure we were "supposed" to ... I get the feeling she was sort of originally presented, on the surface, to be a damaged sympathetic waify heroine, but I don't find her anymore likable or relatable than Richie (either in present or flashbacks) and they kind of deserve each other (and apparently we're now getting the idea the apples don't fall far from the pair of trees). I'm much more invested in the other characters, most of all Lester and Zak. And I've never really been a fan of Ray Romano, but he has won me over big time this season. I'd like to see more of Jorge too (the mailroom "boss"). Oh, also? What is with that "face" Richie makes every time he does a hit of coke? Seriously? Is he snorting rocket fuel? It's so over the top it's cartoonish and it's gotten on my last nerve.

Ditto on Ato Essandoh, Thuganomics ... been a fan since seeing him in "Garden State" where, IMHO, he stole the show as Titembay (sp?). ETA: Speaking of "Walk Hard," if HBO is smart they'll sign on Mike Viola to write original music for next season so they can make some royalties of their own to offset what they're spending.

Thanks for the info on Jobriath. I was going crazy trying to figure out who he was supposed to be ... and for someone who considered themselves really ultra-knowledgeable about the music of that period and especially in NYC (where I grew up), I have never heard of Jobriath. One other quick note: I loved the visual, after "Here Comes The Sun," of the guys walking into the bank though was surprised that one of them wasn't barefoot. Also, always happy for a Michael Kostroff sighting.

I'll have to go take an ice cream break or something when they show the scene at Kennywood. Closest I ever came to dying a messy and painful death LOL ... Took my daughter there en route to visiting relatives in Ohio and we went on the "oldest" (read: ricketiest) roller coaster in the country. The individual cars only had old-school belt straps rather than the aerodynamic bars that hold you in. Because it was summer and everyone who worked there was like 16 years old and busy flirting with co-workers, when we got into our little car, they didn't bother to check that I guess the person in the car before us must have weighed about 300 pounds and the strap was stuck and basically we took off completely unanchored despite my screaming for someone to please strap us in. For the next however long it took, I basically threw my unstrapped-in body across my unstrapped-in 9-year-old daughter like a mother bear and prayed we wouldn't fall out of that f&%*ker. That was the end of her plan to ride all the rides that day. We played skeeball for the rest of the evening. After I scrounged up a valium.

I had a feeling Owen was going to be montaged when I didn't get even a glimpse of him during the previews the night before (full disclosure: am all in on Team Owen) but I still have hope ... I think if he makes it into the live rounds he could have a lot of support! If the fanbase is even remotely like that of AI, he's pretty much the perfect WGWG (and is also a hell of a songwriter). I admit I haven't watched The Voice in years and have no idea exactly what the format is now (only started tuning in this season because I found out Owen would be on) ... so am hoping he'll be more prominent during knockouts (that is the right terminology, isn't it?).

I posted under another name in the TWOP days but it's not really a secret, I just felt it was time to change things up ... I was Jazzie Cazzie and I don't think I was ever banned or even put in a timeout (okay, some of us on the Showbiz Moms and Dads thread may have gotten a timeout). Now, the SBMD thread was the best ... thread ... ever (though Glark might disagree). But the B/B'ette, we had our own hot tub which was fun. And I think we crossed over to dip our toes on another similar show ... OMG MEMORY FLASH ... the flowers that were sent weren't to Todd (though there was communication and traveling and at least one date) ... the flowers were sent to one of the female broken-hearted cast members on ... Paradise something ... Paradise Hotel? It wasn't Temptation Island ... but the shows may have been around the same time ... it was sort of a precursor to Bachelor in Paradise ... anyone? Bueller? The same group of posters obsessively followed both shows (I'll go edit the thing about Todd and flowers now that I am remember this.)

NOTE!!! I have edited this because a few memory fixes came back to me ... as I mention below, I have some memory issues and am not as 110% reliant on it as I used to be, but sometimes going down other rabbit holes in my brain can fix errant ones and I was able to do that this morning when discussing something on a comment further down and clarified a few memories for me ... and so ... Todd was not an acronym ... he was one of the bachelors on the Meredith-Ian (aka Meredian) season (I think S2 of the B'ette, back in 2004). And he was a cutie. Our B/B'ette board was quite active and we all got to know each other quite well (in fact, I believe a marriage which has lasted to this day evolved out of a friendship struck up in that thread between two members!!!) ... One of the regulars ... well, the way I remember it and the way I interpreted it (and remember, it's been 12 years! And since then I've had a silent stroke and episodes of Transient Global Amnesia so I no longer completely trust my memory like I used to!!!) ... she felt bad for broken-hearted (CUTE) (SINGLE) Todd ... we knew basically where he lived or the general vicinity ... and I think she found a way to get in touch with him via e-mail maybe? Anyway, they started corresponding ... again, this is 12 years later, so I may not be remembering it right but if there are TWOPpers who were part of that clique they may remember better than I do ... and then actually in real life got together (I don't know details). At least, this is how I remember it ... I believe there was some traveling involved (her to wherever he was) ... reading what I am going to link here, it's possible that he is very much soft-pedaling what happened, and it's also possible that she exaggerated it. I have no idea. I believe it ended badly and quickly. So, scroll down to the question about internet and message boards ... http://www.fansofrealitytv.com/forums/official-articles/27277-bachelorette-interview-todd-hedrick.html Is it really possible I am the only remaining existing member of that crew? It was a wonderful group. When I took my daughter up to Toronto to celebrate her 14th birthday, I even got together with the Canadian contingent and we all went shopping at Lush together!!!