snarktini

Oh, I didn't know until she stated her heritage. Based on something she said in the very beginning about her grandmother, I might have inferred Mexican or Native American in part. But I've lived in the Bay Area long enough to know I am a terrible guesser. And I actively try NOT to spend time guessing "what" people are. If it's rude to ask, which it is, it's probably not much better to be wondering. When I find myself doing that, I stop myself and focus on something more important about them. ETA: Hope this doesn't sound preachy or shaming, that wasn't my intent. It's just something I'm personally working on 🙂

That's how it shook out to me. Michelle was my fav of the 4 because she is so low-key, but she did fail the brief. It appears her mistake was in the very beginning, trying to merge Mexican AND Italian with Chinese. The dish seemed like a mess IMO. From her convo with Mom, I expected a more literal cioppino (with liquid! what you call it matters!) with beans and mexican herbs in it. Instead...a smear of tomato stuff? A smear of bean stuff? And some naked seafood? That just didn't look interesting. She didn't even succeed in merging the heritage side, it's no wonder she didn't also manage to make it local. There was a brief moment I wondered if Eric would actually go home when one judge said she had to spit something out on every bite and two noted his quenelles were weird. But not making it taste local was the death knell. Eric is my 2nd pick, I like his energy and different viewpoint. Then Kelsey or Sarah, not sure if I care there. I don't dislike either one (Sarah has grown on me), but also don't feel attached to either. That's probably true of nearly all the contestants this season. They're all pleasant, and I prefer that to bitchiness, but I'm not on Team Anyone, really.

Well, I'll walk out on the ledge...I really liked Michelle's! There are some things I'd have fixed...change the neckline, add a hood. But the fabrics were a great combination IMO and the idea was the most inventive and transformative. Tho I preferred it before the transformation, visually. Irina's was my second pick, but I agree with the judges those pants were bad so I'm not surprised she didn't win. It wasn't just the color, it was also the fit and the leg shape. They just clashed with the head wrap, which was fantastic. I was a little surprised Christina went home, but of the two it was a toss-up. The judges being polarized on some pushed two well-executed but boring designs down to the bottom. Her bathing suit and caftan were really pretty, but I do believe she didn't create anything new nor did she "transform" anything. His was slightly more interesting. That said, my personal pick for worst was Anthony Ryan. That was terrible.

That dress, and Padma in it, was STUNNING. That's not how I read it either. If I'd been Michelle, I might have picked Eric last because he's been doing so great lately. If there was a bias, gender would be my first guess because he's the last man standing in a group of women. And Justin had the worst basket by far (coconut, lychee, water chestnut) so it didn't surprise me at all he was left to the end. Eric got his BFF but lousy ingredients. LOL, I had the same thought about Barbie and Ken.

Not at all something I would have picked -- A beauty pageant? Lightweight Aniston flick? Pass! -- and indeed I'd passed over Netflix's suggestion of it several times. But a friend posted about it so I watched the trailer. And then the movie. It was sweet, in a good way. Glad I watched.

FWIW, I've only been watching for a year so I actually don't know the players! I appreciate some introduction and back story. (Maybe not quite as much as we're getting, but the challenge may have been there wasn't enough room to do any in a single half hour but there's too much room in an hour so it's padded out quite a bit.) The only one I'd ever heard of before was Ken. And I watched last year's ToC so I know Buzzy, Austin, and Alan. I don't usually post here because we record and watch a day later, which makes it hard to interact with the forum. I don't want to see spoilers for FJ -- that's not fair to my BF whom I watch with -- and by the time I've caught up it I don't remember what I wanted to post and the next day's comments have arrived anyway. None of the players bug me much, thankfully 🙂 I guess I like big and quirky personalities? I have been accused of being one, TBH. And if the chatter annoys me I always have a FFD button. I understand that networks need gimmicks and promotions. It is what keeps money coming in and shows on the air. I'll be happy to go back to regular game play but this is a decent diversion. Recording does seem to be the key. Watching live would be maddening! The only thing that's bugging me is "tell me how Jeopardy changed your life" framing. It feels very self-serving for Alex & the show.

What struck me was how advanced the decomposition was on some. They went through ~15 reboots? Something like that. Most one day each, some two-ish. That was a lot of mold on oranges for a week or two! (Depends on the fruit. Peaches mold fast. I thought I remembered some oranges, which definitely go a lot longer than that. The flowers made sense.) Also, why did no one else seem to notice? Could only she see that, because of how she was experiencing time?

Yeah, the Sara footage was unnecessary. Kelsey did the logical thing, raise/cross her arms to cover. But Sara didn't, so maybe she doesn't/didn't care? (FWIW, if I were staying in a house with a group and on camera "always wear a sleep bra" is exactly what I'd have done!) The minute Justin said two ways my mind went <sad trombone>. I thought they usually only took 3-4 people to the finale. 5 seems like a lot. Since I didn't see anyone else comment on that, I'll assume I'm misremembering.

My BF, who's been watching the last two seasons but missed the first one, didn't even realize they had a baby at all. Harper has been nearly invisible! I know babies are expensive and challenging on set, but they don't even mention her.

That thought crossed my mind, too, when we learned he was writing a novel! Or maybe they DO exist, like in the movie Stranger Than Fiction, but their lives are being controlled by the writer.

BTW, is anyone else having trouble getting Nadia's Reboot Song out of their head?! Gotta get up, gotta get out...

I found her more annoying than likable. Happily, just about the time I was wondering if I could make it through, Alan appeared. I liked and identified with him a lot. He really grounded the story for me. The other characters were good, too. Her friends were fun. I'm wondering a little about this too. What bothers me about the explanation that she had to meet the girl is that while it gives Nadia an opportunity to be vulnerable and connect, it also was somewhat inappropriate and insensitive to Ex and Daughter. When she bailed on meeting Daughter the first time, I inferred Nadia realized she was stringing him along and creating chaos for them -- I took that as growth on her part. If she didn't intend to stay in the picture, why should she meet the daughter? It closed her past loop perhaps, but it shifted some chaos to them. My nutshell: She had to stop being so self-absorbed and help someone else. He had to stop being so self-reliant and accept help.

That's exactly what I came for! I missed his age on the lost poster... the character supposedly being 36 makes sense. But based on the dialogue, he was 15 in 2006. Waaay to much gray in his beard for that. I loved Matt Long on Jack & Bobby (he was hard to like on Mad Men) and am looking forward to having a new dynamic on the show. :) Crappy writing is the answer to every glitch on this show. Same reason Grandpa finally showed up. Why M & B aren't mourning their mom. How they get apartments and jobs set up so fast. How everything has happened in less than a month. LOL. That was super annoying -- get a blade, people. And what was Ben doing creeping around after dark banging on the front door, just after they had a big scare? Did he just bring buckets of water with him? Crappy writing! His anger was understandable, but going to confront the guy was not. Jared could have told him, you're right.

We saw this? I must have spaced! (Assuming it was this season, I have been watching with more distractions.) Thanks :)

I struggled a little bit with this one. I rarely watch "my" shows with my boyfriend in the room, and this one was definitely the wrong one to watch with someone who doesn't know/get it. Jason was exceptionally dumb. Gwendolyn was a cartoon character. Everything was turned up to 11. I was cringing half the time. I'm so glad Michael finally figured out that the system could be the problem, not intentional rigging by the Bad Place. Now we can move forward. The unfairness here is that weighing decisions as thoroughly as Chidi ALSO causes negative unintended consequences! You can't win. (And, literally, no one has in hundreds of years.) If the Good Place doesn't make decisions for hundreds or even thousands of years, then how do we even have rules about vanity license plates? (Assuming Michael's point system from Ep 1 was real.) Or even sweatshop labor, or greedy CEOs. Who writes / updates the rules? Even if the accountants make the rules, you'd think the GP/BP would have to sign off on new ones. And it's impossible to imagine a system from 200000 years ago could even include some of the things they're being dinged for today. I don't get that.

100% agree with Jasper going home -- that was awful! And the white lace on black plus seamed bodice screamed late 80s/early 90s prom dress. Just me? The other designer did poorly, and was saved by his being worse. I like Dmitry a lot but did not get his. I was hoping for a shot of Michelle's face in the lounge when they reported back who was top/bottom. After she said his was the worst, to find out he was in the top... lol. I like Michelle but wonder how well she controlled her expression.

I ignored the book phenomenon...the idea was okay but TBH I resist whatever the zeitgeist insists I participate in. Didn't plan on watching the series either. I'm already on a huge decluttering kick, didn't really think I needed any more guidance. But my BF is studying a lot these days and I have extra time on my hands so why not watch an episode? It was pleasant enough. The family didn't bug me much. Afterwards, I didn't feel particularly motivated to get up and change my life. I certainly had no intention of ever folding my clothes like that. EVER. And then...I did! While I was putting away laundry I gave it a whirl. Did a drawer. Then another drawer. Then a third. (Then I was tired and abandoned ship, LOL.) Holy crap. Not only is it absolutely delightful to open a drawer and see EVERYTHING at once, I'm shocked that more fits in the drawer this way. It motivated me to get rid of even more stuff. (Especially the second-string stuff I was tucking in the back, that's a big clue.) Will I keep it up? I don't know. The folding is tedious and I tend to try on 5 things before choosing an outfit, so it will be a daily chore. (Ha, who am I kidding? I don't put my clothes back away!) But it's such a different feeling and I like that. I doubt I need to see many of these. But I'm glad I tuned into 1! This is an interesting take: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/18/opinion/marie-kondo-japan.html

I was surprised when Kim Joy said it came solely from her imagination, when there are multiple mythological and pop culture references to the turtles + planet. It's of course reasonable that she didn't consciously remember them, I just expected her to have a story! Manon's sphere was so lovely. And her lipstick game is strong! While I don't mind Sandy or Noel, I honestly don't think I'd notice if they weren't there.

While it may have been impressive how much chocolate work Rahul did (and evidently it tasted great as well), I didn't actually find the cake attractive. I thought it looked messy and over-done. At least one idea too many. I caught Briony's hand out of the corner of my eye in one shot, but since it hadn't been talked about my mind dismissed it as a trick of the camera angle. How refreshing not to have it be a massive story point! Good. I definitely heard "pond water"

Yes. Yes, you did.

How was this not in the bottom? It was not fashion. Few made something that could be replicated. In some ways I'm glad when they don't pander, but it does seem to affect who wins. Did Irina not think about something like this, or did she just not care? And in the end it didn't even matter! Honestly, this may be the only explanation that makes sense.

100%. I so wish he'd backtracked on that when she confessed she didn't love him -- he could have just said that part was for the camera. A platonic green-card marriage might work out okay for them if they were both on the same page. But in his panic, he's set up a no-win situation. I've never watched an actual wrestling show in my life, but I love this show. <3

I had to skip through the last half of the wedding stand-up. My cringe-meter was breaking. No one should be getting a master's degree without some idea why! (Even if the answer is education for its own sake, if you have the time and money.) There were some female artists and teachers in that time...they gave up too easily. Is it too much to hope that this realization will lead somewhere for Rose? Sadly, though, that conversation rang true for today as well. For years a friend ran a linguistics program at an expensive private school, and she said most of her students were pursuing a MA/PhD without any clear path forward. They had vague ideas of becoming professors, without realizing only about 10% of graduates will find those jobs...jobs that are only getting less secure and more scarce. And the program did little to help them find other ways to use the education. This frustrated her so much she eventually wrote a book about applying linguistics to careers outside academia.

I suspected fantasy at first, too! How engaged and alive Abe was with the French men, it seemed like a vision of what might be from Rose's POV. And, yeah, it must be tragic to return to New York where there is simply no opportunity for art and creativity! *eyeroll* I wanted Abe to be better at this kind of conversation (but naturally he wouldn't be)... I wanted him to stop saying "we have to go back", to tell her he has to go back and wants her to be there with him, that she can keep exploring her art and she doesn't have to live in her (self-imposed) box. Happily, he at least knew what to do. I'd love share Paris with my partner. (I've been, he hasn't.) One day we will but I wonder how long that it will be until we can make that happen...it also makes me sad. IMO it's just ASP's banter writing. She's witty, like everyone in ASP's universes, but not a competing comedian.

I hated how the dining rooms were still being painted during food prep, and tables weren't in place a half hour out. Where was the design team? How could they train their (totally unqualified) waitstaff? That feels like producer sabotage.