pasdetrois

Why is everyone assuming that Shep doesn't work?

My family still owns a couple of modest cotton plantations. They've always been called plantations. These are not people who swan about in white linen and drink juleps all day. They work HARD and make a modest living.

Genius! I wonder if Patricia has had face work done recently, because in the scene where they are readying to leave the house, her eyes were uneven. Maybe her Botox hasn't settled. Also, she doesn't seem very vigorous; we don't see her moving around much. Except for that mouth. For all her snide and condescending shade, Patricia is not to the manner born. The people she is making fun of, are. Interesting that the Palmer House was once owned by the Ravenels (according to Kathryn). Kensie is adorable and has her mother's eyes. I love Cameran's fashion. I suspect production has given her a clothing budget. Craig is either 1) really drinking too much and his friends are beginning to be concerned about that and his lack of nutrition or 2) his storyline is scripted. Or, maybe he's toying with the idea of an entertainment career now that he's dabbled in reality TV and modeling. Landon (Landers? Laudanum? I can't remember her name.) made the astute comment that he's too old for modeling - it's true. But I think he's looking around before he decides to dive into the law. Jennifer looks horrible. Very un-Charleston.

So grandpa allowed Zachary and Whitney to live with him and steal from him...until the cameras showed up. THEN he got all macho and physically attacked his grandson. That really annoyed me. But good for him for stepping up to the plate with baby Satan. Whitney was a lost little creature. I had the feeling that she has no sense of self. It wasn't made clear how long she really had been using. I'm from south Louisiana so I always love hearing those unique accents. Theresa thought she was hot stuff, storming into the bar's parking lot in her cool t-shirt and tight jeans to confront someone while the camera rolled. I've spent time in those bars with alcoholic relatives and know that whole lives drift away while they all drink and squabble and have their little dramas. I wonder if Theresa's a candidate for a liver transplant. Jeff looks unwell and almost frail. I hope he's OK.

Don't get in between Geneva and her food, or the camera, 'cause she will mow you down. I'm enjoying Melyssa less and less. It appears she's become a professional victim who occasionally attempts to sell real estate. She seems to have the maturity (and the wardrobe) of a teenager. I've seen the matchmaker on another show but cannot recall which one.

Yeah, the storylines and acting verged on soap opera. I can't believe they used such stereotypes to signal that a gay male character had appeared on the horizon - he's clean, he loves art, he's proud of his fancy parlor that must be kept just so. Then we were marched predictably through all the scenarios, using key characters as preachy mouthpieces to be sure we get the point. Ugh.

Part Norwegian here. I thought I heard it too but decided it was my imagination. I grew up hearing my family's elders muttering "uff da" whenever they lifted something heavy or tackled an annoying task. It's a mild pseudo profanity, uttered when annoyed, surprised, etc. Every Scandinavian-themed gift ship in Minnesota has it printed on everything. Over the years people have given me coffee mugs, t-shirts, key chains... Every time we heard the princess with the heavy accent my brain went straight to Monty Python's French soldier standing on the ramparts and insulting the English. Shouted in a heavy French accent: "I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal food trough wiper! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!" I'm mildly distracted by Odo's bizarre wig. Lagertha's bathing costume could have been dropped into the 1970s. Her would-be paramour is very handsome. I guess they shall have the ultimate S&M situation. Kudos to the production crew for this amazing episode.

Babyfoot I asked those questions over on TWOP during the first season. I did a lot of Googling and came up with very little, other than the Serena connection and the fact that Patricia is originally from Virginia. Probably NYC socialites know the scoop. I used to work for a SC Member of Congress ("vote early and vote often"), so I was also interested in Kathryn and Thomas. Kathryn had/has a champion online - I'm too lazy to find the sites again - but there was an admirer who was trumpeting her as the Next Great Thing. Maybe it's the same guy who we saw helping establish Thomas' campaign.

In certain angles, especially with the bizarre facial expressions, Jackie has an unfortunate resemblance to a possum.

Daddy and Hannah spend most of their time talking about "doing it," yet they never do. It's either Daddy's booze or producer manipulations. Mattie walks like a linebacker. And green-shirt drunk never saw that punch coming. The Martha schtick is just that, schtick for the cameras. I find it annoying. I'll second the notion of an episode or a series of Walt and Murray going about their day, fishing and fixin' stuff and cookin' and trading intelligent banter. I'm over the endless drinking as entertainment.

I didn't feel it was off, but I was bored because it was so much more of what we've already seen - the endless hunting and fishing, and earnest proclamations about how important it is to do the endless hunting and fishing. I don't understand why they show so much of Chip, whom I cannot stand. Maybe I missed it - how do we know production gave Sue her buggy thing?

My family member had cardiac quadruple bypass surgery and the hospital sent him home on the 3rd day after surgery. He was walking the hospital corridors the day after the surgery.

For the lovagod, can we get away from the endless Strippergate sniping? What a bore. For every "I'm moving on" there was someone bringing it up all over again. I'm intrigued (and not in a good way) by a family that gives us drunken Gamble and fishwife Tempest. There's a story there... Tempest needs to spend some of her cosmetic surgery fund on a new hairdresser. And drag Gamble along, because Gamble's weird flat square bump on the top of her head is distracting. And nobody over 25 should wear sausage curls. Gamble looked very pretty with her hair styled straight. Pettifleur is utterly lost with this gang. Her timing is off, her demeanor is off...I mean that boating outfit looked like a cross between Halloween and a broke down Playboy mansion costume. And she is insanely defensive.

Excellent recall farmgal4. Maybe it was Seth (Saul?), the older guy with the very deep voice and the take-no-nonsense attitude.

I have a dim memory of a guy either being thrown off, or having a meltdown and demanding to be let off. I think Jeff was the interventionist.

Honestly, y'all, as much as I love this show, I think every single thing we are seeing is scripted. I'm sure there are real-life dysfunction and skirmishes, especially among Thomas, Kathryn and Whitney, but the show is trotting all of it out on a scripted platter. I suspect Thomas and Kathryn were living apart or spending lots of time apart when the season was shot. I mean, was the raise-the-roof commercial broadcast on TV? And the christening and fundraiser were completely scripted. Maybe because she was drunker than Cooter Brown? Somebody feed Craig some chicken bog.

Wouldofshouldof, every time Marco has been on-screen my brain is pouting "not Nurse Patsy." Because I love Rodriguez so much in the Nurse Patsy role. Props to the show for the music - in the early bar scenes we had "Poke Salad Annie." Takes me back... I agree that the con montage and bingo scenes went on a bit too long. The only time the show has lost my interest was then, as well as the Mike-only episode. I appreciate the Mike character and the actor but am not in raptures about either one. I only have eyes for Odenkirk, with an occasional dash of McKean.

My friend has published a lot of novels via St. Martin's press, and over the years I've listened to the joys and sorrows of having a publisher. Here's what I found about self-publishing. http://badredheadmedia.com/2015/01/17/top-5-considerations-choosing-publish-book-guest-booktrope-cmo-ksearsbooks/ "Self-Publishing – Author is the publisher. Anyone may self-publish and there is no barrier to entry to do so, aside from being ready, willing and able to do the work required. In years past, this was called “vanity publishing” because the costs were astronomical to print and distribute books. These days it is far more affordable and more mainstream, and technology makes it a more reasonable option for consumers. In this model the author chooses which services to use – editing, proofing, cover design and marketing. The author also manages all service providers from hiring to quality control. The author also pays for all services. The average here varies greatly, but according to Guy Kawasaki in his book, “A.P.E.” should come in around $4K for a quality book, before you factor in marketing. In this case, the author retains a greater royalty share due to the above – typically 70% of the profit from the most common sales channels depending on the list price of the book and whether it is an ebook or print. You will most often be paid monthly, by whichever vendors you choose to list your book with. The most common are Kindle, Nook, iTunes, Smashwords and Createspace (for print). Createspace is a print on demand vendor, owned by Amazon and therefore most bookstores will decline to carry titles printed in this way. Responsible for all marketing – therefore, should also be comfortable in the marketing role. You can certainly pay for some marketing services, but most will rely on you to do the day to day things regardless. If you are uncomfortable with social media, in particular, this is going to represent a challenge. Time to market is only dependent on your schedule, so can be weeks, months or years. Time it as you wish! On the other hand, because you are responsible for running the publishing business, many authors find that scheduling in time to write is harder the more books they publish. To sum up, this is best suited for an entrepreneurial type, i.e. someone who is a self-starter and enjoys controlling all aspects of the publishing business."

Did Demetria say she is self-publishing this latest book?

Read the books and was very excited for this. Was curious how Lewis will give us Henry VIII. I like Rylance's portrayal thus far. He always looks kind of shabby and dusty, as befits where he is in life. To the landed aristocracy he must appear dour and not too bright, and we all know how that turns out. But it's painful to watch him gamely deal with the nobles' snubs and derision.

I guess I don't expect long-time alcoholics and addicts to be clean freaks. I know they can and should be, and it's disturbing to watch someone use toilet water, but Samantha seemed to be beyond caring or even thinking clearly. She was literally going from fix to trick in an endless cycle, like a frenzied robot. I wonder if she has more diseases than she's willing to admit to anyone, including her tricks. A man here in the DC area, who has HIV, was just convicted for having unprotected sex with women he picked up in bars. I'm also curious about the economics. I think I heard Samatha quote a price of $200 or $300 for an hour. That seems high, but I wonder if she's offering condom-free sex to deluded customers and thus charging that much. That would explain why a potential customer asked her if she's disease-free. I guess the audio of the tricks' sex is meant to bring in viewers. Ugh. One wonders how many little girls Samantha's father approached over the years. Like many pedophiles he's still making excuses. He didn't fully own the behavior in his interview, although he did come through for Samantha during her intervention. I think Ken knew she needed to hear the father admit guilt. Yay Ken, the Crazed-Addict Whisperer! This is the man who brought in Right-Turn Linda and freed her enslaved brother.

It was fun to see the two old battleaxes play off each other, with their dueling logs and Rolodexes. Appreciated the glimpse of the botched abortion scene, so we remember what it was like. The baby bootie service was moving. I wonder if it was based on a real tradition, or just something the writer dreamed up. I loved seeing more of Sister Julienne's back story. I remember her old sweetheart when he was a beautiful young thing in Chariots of Fire. Thank goodness Sister Evangelina "only" has fibroids. These days they zap 'em out in a relatively simple procedure, but she stated that her recovery was many months long. Yes, let's leave Patsy in the closet unless they are going to treat the character intelligently. I had to laugh a little when the morning-after consisted of her lying chastely in bed, fully clothed, and outside the covers. It was interesting to see the modern, new flat that the Bissettes had, compared to the old housing we've often seen.

Or herself. Maybe because I live in DC, where I'm exposed to accomplished smart women from many cultures - writing books and blogs doesn't impress me that much. Demetria just had to take that little stab at Daisy as she left the theater. Just could not resist as she was slithering out the door, which is how a coward does it. Daisy's chemo scene was one of the few genuine moments I've seen on reality TV. I hate for her sake that we saw it, but seeing the three women supporting each other was very moving. I don't think Geneva has a sincere bone in her body. She's 100% artifice. Melyssa is definitely sending mixed signals about having left her old lifestyle behind. She doesn't seem very mature to me. And her wardrobe is all wrong.

The show's weakness is how it treats the female characters, with the exception of Lagertha and Siggy. I think it has to do with acting prowess. The various princesses are not pulling off their characters with any authenticity; they just seem like random actresses to me. As someone posted, it would be so easy for Travis Fimmel to overplay his role - to make it cartoonish and broad. He nails it week after week and I enjoy it immensely. Agree that the costumes are evolving to reflect exposure to other cultures, and it's brilliant.

I think we saw that big bow thingy in an earlier episode when Chyka was going through her closet. She said Bruce gave it to her. Being a cynical old reality TV watcher, I immediately wondered if it was product placement. Also, I'm beginning to be annoyed at so much product placement for her businesses. If Chyka would tone down the eyebrows, I'd be OK with her makeup. And I guess Strippergate started when the producers told Chyka to bring it up the first time. No sympathy at all for Lydia. Nice try with a plea for viewer sympathy with the dead baby story. Way to harsh the mellow, Lydia. I think Gamble seems to be a sloppy mean drunk, with the hubbie as her behavior enforcer. Honestly, is Jackie brain dead? Do we ever hear her say anything intelligent? I'm predicting that Ben dumps her down the road.