pasdetrois

We used to roller skate all over downtown DC after the bars closed. There would be a dozen of us skating and clowning around on M Street at 2am - it was a fad (remember Linda Ronstadt wearing skates on one of her album covers?). DC cops would cruise by and lazily wave hello. Those long-haired older creepy guys were everywhere, taking advantage of the liberated (The Pill!) young women and the abundance of booze and marijuana (and for some, cocaine). Rhys is killin' it as this character, with its juxtaposition to the Paige character. Elizabeth's character is more one-note. There were also a lot of long-haired, handsome young pastors and radical priests. Kids flocked to them because their 50s parents were so rigid and uptight. I remember that disturbing Baby Soft commercial. But for the life of me I do not remember Yaz. I want Agent Beeman back on the case! Because the actor is too damn good for this EST nonsense. Zinalda resembles a demented Disney character and the portrayal is jarring. I thought she retrieved something from the bathroom, or left something there. I even wondered if candy bar machines are the drop stations. I guess the wife's new residence is supposed to be on the Chesapeake Bay? I could hear waves crashing, so maybe an Atlantic beach?

I laughed when she hurtled herself into one of the Twitter stories - "Oh! Oh! That was me! What happened was...blah blah blah...manic body movements ...blah blah blah..." Only to learn mid-rant that the incident was about someone else. It's very obnoxious how she tries to dominate every discussion. Her image-improvement campaign failed. I definitely think the right guy won, having seen this reunion. Sonjia should curb the bratty bitterness because this may be the most attention her career will receive; she's not a great designer, just an OK one. I think the way she styles herself is more successful than her designs. Hopefully Helen was listening when her fellow contestants voted that her pale green evening gown should not have survived the competition. (I loved her little black and white finale dress.) Chris looks so unhealthy. Seeing Fabio laugh heartily made me laugh.

The reason I think the trunk-bound walker was kidnapped pre-ZA was because her mouth was gagged.

It never occurred to me that Maggie was dreaming. However, when there was an abrupt shift from frantic door-defending to everyone sprawled out asleep I wondered what the hell happened. Also, Daryl and Maggie moving silently to brace the barn door made absolutely zero sense. Why didn't they sound the alarm? Norman Reedus always looks like he's coming off of a bender. Those slitty eyes with the huge bags underneath! And the hair doesn't help. Too much Emo Daryl is not a good thing, but I appreciated his little moment to remember his buddy Beth. When the downpour unleashed all I could think was 1) drink 'til you bust and 2) get clean. Instead they raced to the barn. Andrew Lincoln looks so very different than when he played the character in "Love Actually." I just la-la'ed with closed eyes and muted sound when they killed the dogs. Although I grinned when one of them was happily wagging its tail as it "ferociously" barked. I imagined its trainer standing off to one side, with the dog knowing a treat was coming.

Yeah, Fellowes had to clobber us over the head with the heavy-handed villainy to be sure us dunderheads would get the point. How much more delicious it would have been if Larry had imparted some Violet-style shade (not that making fun of class or ethnicity is ever OK). But Mrs. Crawley, usually so unflappable, was visibly shaken at the hatred Larry spewed at her. It was one of the few times I felt sorry for a character on this series. The actress really pulled it off. Robert can be insufferable but I just can't hate on a man who loves his Labrador so. RIP Isis - I'll miss your quiet scene-stealing and cheerful tail-wagging. Twas nice to see Cora use her brain and assertiveness. Even though the plot is more laboriously tortured than ever. I was hoping we were done with the Marigold Drama. Whoever said the Bateses were acting like Heathers made my morning. Hilarious! And so true.

I recorded a bunch of old episodes to watch while recovering from surgery. I noticed some trends. Kleinfeld's seems to have more brides with bigger budgets compared to Lori's customers. As charming as he can be, Randy throws a lot of subtle shade when a bride doesn't like a dress, or wants more bang for her buck. He kind of sniffs about a bride wanting lots of embellishment for $2000 or whatever. He tells us over and over we cannot get extra fabric, crystals, etc. without spending a lot of money. If a bride or her mother does not like a dress, he'll shriek and jump around: "You're kidding!" Or "What? I'm so surprised!" It's a not-so-subtle judgment on them expressing their opinions and not wanting to break the bank. Hated wretched granddaughter busting her granddaddy's budget. And what's the deal with Nikki Taylor popping up? She had her accident in 2001. Maybe she's looking for work. Gardencrown, loved your hilarious post and hate to disappoint you. Monte is gay. He still lives in Alexandria, VA, and married his partner in 2013. Lori attended the wedding.

I'm assuming that winners will be better off before they won the prizes and money, but all the bragging about the fabulous prizes and money every week is a bit of sleight of hand. I was catching up with Jay Carroll's latest news, of which there is not much, and I was startled to learn that when he won, Bravo's contract "...stipulated that the Project Runway production company would own a 10% stake of all his professional ventures in perpetuity. He refused to sign and turned down the money and the mentorship." Somehow I had not heard this story. Apparently Bravo dropped the clause after the first season.

Meant to include in my post: I'm thinking a big chunk of the $150K will have to go to the IRS. Besides the cash, don't prize winners have to pay income tax on all of the prize values?

My elderly relatives, who were poor, occasionally pulled their own teeth. But they had rotten teeth; maybe they come out more easily than healthy young teeth. My friend who is a dentist in Appalachia says people do pull their own teeth today.

I think I'm going to give regular recipe PR one more shot and if it isn't significantly improved I'm calling it a day on this franchise. The series is so bad that it's not even fun to snark on. Snark is best in small doses, but when every single element - the judges, the mentors, the ridiculous time frames, the stupid commercial tie-ins, the ham-handed manipulative editing - is snark-worthy, it's depressing. What were they thinking with that frenzied circus monstrosity jammed into that tight little space? It made absolutely no sense and was annoying in the extreme. (Georgina nearly lost her British cool when that circus performer swung in and smacked her cheek, and who can blame her?) Then we were treated to half-assed collections because that's all the designers had time for. I'm glad for Dmitry, but that's the only positive thing I can say. I seriously question Anna's taste these days, with all the cozying up she's doing to the Kardashian trash. Is Conde Nast hard up for cash?

Loved the episode because there was real tension in the car chase and we saw Elizabeth really rattled for the first time (that I can recall). I keep thinking the cars that she and Phillip use to race around the city on these missions can be traced. Even if the KGB switches out license plates and has friendly resources, wouldn't a patient FBI agent try to track the plates down and apply pressure to whomever he finds is the resource? How would Paige's presumably pro-American Christian beliefs be receptive to Big Scary Communism? Guess the idea is that very slow, steady careful indoctrination would overcome that. But would they keep Henry in the dark forever? Why did the writers create the scene with Henry and the photo? Surely something will come of that. I want equal opportunity nudity with Phillip. Martha seems rather hapless, and is portrayed as such, but I suspect there's a die-hard patriot underneath her clueless shell and that something will cause her to suspect Phillip and turn on him, and he will have to do the deed. Love the 80s DC references in this one - Don Beyer Volvo!

I noticed the actress without knowing anything about her. We didn't hear her say anything, or anything much as the bread sticks crunched away, but she caught my attention. Maybe the brother/uncle has schizotypal personality disorder rather than schizophrenia. I know someone who has it, and it is said that patients may have odd beliefs or superstitions.

Enjoyed the Bob Fosse shout-out. I'm intrigued that a guy like Jimmy would have ever heard of the movie, never mind mimicking it. Glad the pace picked up a bit. I'm insanely in love with the NM desert and skies and they are a treat for a winter-bound TV viewer. I assume Chuck is a brother or uncle and is currently suffering paranoid delusions (the electromagnetic fields). At first I thought he and Jimmy were so broke they couldn't pay the electric bill, but I guess Chuck doesn't want any electricity in the house. Apparently there's a little twist that Jimmy has been trying mightily and without success to get justice and income for Chuck from the law practice, and Jimmy learns that Chuck has been talking to the senior partner all along and naively undermining Jimmy's efforts. Maybe Jimmy decides he can't count on any resolution there, and this pushes him further into desperation for income. We do see him go back to the courthouse and pile on more clients as a public defender. Loved the montage, in part because it shows Jimmy finding some momentum again. Even though we know that Jimmy survives the shenanigans he gets in to, I still felt the tension of impending violence from Tuco and company. It appears that the treasurer's embezzlement is going to be the hook that brings Jimmy together with Tuco and his gang.

I don't care whether Edith or Mrs. Drewe is "right," I want this tiresome story and the hysterics to end. I'm assuming Isis isn't pregnant - because she's old - but I'll forgive Fellowes for wretched timekeeping if he give us a litter of white Lab puppies. Did no one else notice Mrs. Hughes' little happy girlish smile after Mr. Carson proposed they share a cottage in their dotage? Lego Mary - genius. Are the actresses somehow rushed to get into costume, because quite a few of the wigs seems ill-fitting. And cheap.

Not only was this one of the worst WD episodes ever, it was one of the worst hours of television I've seen in a while. What the hell?

I believe that her claim that she hated to tear up others' designs in the last episode was a lie. I don't think she cares at all about others' work. I think she was ready to quit because she was overwhelmed by the challenge, but craftily pretended she "could not tear up others' work" as an excuse for being overwhelmed. She was definitely looking for sympathy votes.

Either Dmitry or Helen is going to win, and I'm horrified it will probably be pale, stringy-haired, taloned Helen of Cry. WTF was that bizarre thing Michelle created in the extra challenge? They were punking us, right? Glad to see her gone. Cannot stand her. But I do think she's a better technician than Helen. Anyone else notice that when the judges discussed the red carpet environment, Alyssa managed to lump herself in with red carpet actors? "When we walk down the red carpet, we want blah blah blah." As much as I love dogs, the sudden dog challenge completely interrupted what was probably going to be a somewhat watchable episode. Then, they tacked on the sadistic last-minute challenge that could only result in crappy results. I mean, there was no attractive look, so what was the point? (Yes I know, manufactured drama.) Michelle must have been furious that this inane challenge ended her chances.

In the middle of the episode it occurred to me that we might be headed for a Philip vs. Elizabeth showdown, with Philip trying to save the kids. The mind boggles at the difficulty of spiriting them away undetected by Elizabeth and the KGB. Where would they go? Who would pay for it? How would they hide their identities without help from the US government, which would bring more problems? What if one of the kids objected and kept calling Elizabeth or blowing their cover? I'm glad the pace picked up last night. I FFed through the hotel abbatoir; absolutely no need to see that. I'm appreciating reading the perspective of posters who are familiar with 80s Soviet life. On TWOP I posted that I knew a very suave Soviet "trade representative" who openly made the rounds of Capitol Hill parties in the 1970s (I was young and naive and someone had to explain to me that he was probably KGB). And I met Baryshnikov at one of those parties soon after his defection; he was surrounded by security. When Paige mentioned handing out leaflets in Clarendon, it jolted me. Clarendon is a very expensive, trendy desirable neighborhood in Arlington, VA, but in 1982 it was still a collection of modest post-war homes and tiny worn shops. Nobody called it Clarendon then.

I didn't think Cora was teasing or flirting in any of her scenes with Bricker. He was pressing his attention on her, and it ranged between light gallant flirting and, eventually, the more aggressive ardor. At one time men and women of a certain class indulged in this kind of bantering, with the men paying gallant compliments. I felt like Cora enjoyed it a little bit, but was also very determined to have Bricker appraise her painting, which she mentioned multiple times. She seemed to be tolerating him at times, and gently tried to discourage him and remind him of his place at other times. Also, she strikes me as a bit sheltered and naive.

Some of my family know of the family of one of the brides, so I went looking for the bride online. She wrote a blog item about being on the show, and she posted a photo of herself with Keisha. However the photo is about two years old.

Actually, it was still happening in the 1970s and possibly later.

I am so bored and exhausted by the wretched storytelling and writing that I don't give a rat's ass whether Mopey Martyr Edith claims her child, Mary marries, or the Valet Did It (Bates). I mean, my eyes crossed as various characters perched in front of the constable and Scotland Yard and rattled on about where they were when Green was killed. To which Fellowes piled on little interludes where they all hissed at each other in doorways and hallways. At this point I'm in it for the scenery and costumes, Violet's pithy observations, and Isis sightings. I'm actually recording and fast-forwarding, something I rarely do for a PBS period series. Oh, and Aldridge is very cute.

Alyssa did indeed have her baby. The reason I know this is because she posted a not-at-all-staged, attention-seeking Instragram breastfeeding photo.

My friend was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the early 1970s, when she was a high school senior. Her parents and physicians never told her that it was terminal. She lived with her parents for several years, until her death. Bizarrely, some of her friends and family knew, but she did not, at least not officially. I knew one Paige in the 60s, in the south. And there were daddies who would just sling their little kids into the swimming pool to "force them to learn." I've been wondering when and how Martha will discover the truth about Philip. That quick preview scene of her frantically loading her gun while weeping is worrisome. I haven't forgotten that she wants a child and expect that scenario to surface again. I too thought I saw a moment's pause when Stan spotted Elizabeth with the ice bag. If he figures it out, then I wonder how the show will be sustained, because at some point his knowing should swing the story to their getting apprehended, or killed. Such a hoot to spot the Frusen Gladje. As I recall it tried to capitalize on the success of the newly emerging Haagen Daz, and how shocked we all were when we learned it was manufactured in the US.

This aspect of the series is becoming more visible and it bothers me. Sonjia's meltdown clearly was based on overwork, no sleep, pressure, etc., as opposed to dramatic theatrics for camera time and attention (lookin' at you Helen). And that sad, fake little wedding on the runway was embarrassing. The show is starting to feel ugly to me. It just simply isn't about beautiful design anymore. This latest episode was The Marchesa Show. Ugh. At least they got Alyssa in a pretty hairdo.