pasdetrois

This made me laugh hard. So very true.

I'm thrilled to hear about the Native American animal group. There is a desperate need for spay/neuter and rescue of "reservation curs."

Especially given the rest of his appearance. Every other word was "wow" and he made a lot of comments. The lack of reaction was notable. I'm glad they featured the Armenian genocide. A lot of people are unaware. Another forgotten genocide is the 1970s Khmer Rouge government's slaughter of millions of Cambodians.

She's a new discovery for me and I love her. What talent and charisma. It's interesting to watch Ford break out of his typical hero persona. I know he's done it in the past, but it's been a long time. Jimmy violating therapy ethics with abandon is taking me out of the show. And I don't even know why Gaby was cozied up to Liz at home, giving her advice.

I keep hoping for a Barbara-centric episode that shows her at home and at church.

He was fine in the first season, but in this episode there was more hammy acting and a script that went nowhere. I FFed through a lot of his scenes.

Fraser's not ready for management. He's too immature and thin-skinned. Sandy's blow-up may have been driven by stuff we weren't shown. If troublesome crews don't instantly improve after one of her rehearsed pep talks - rife with platitudes from a corporate wall poster - she loses it

I love Rachel when she's sober, working hard, and minimizing the gross jokes and endless profanity. She can be a delight. I chuckled a little as I watched her defer to insufferable Queeg in order to have some peace and quiet.

Brandon was in a Hollywood reality show, mostly featuring reality has-beens, whose name I forget. He definitely showed some immature behavior regarding his supposed girlfriend in the episodes.

I think Ashley has to take what she can get from Michael. He holds the cards.

It will be a miracle if even one of the kids has a normal, well-adjusted life. I'm not expecting it, but I hope.

Yeah, all this talk about it: why not just do it or something similar, off-camera. If Nicholas' parents don't participate, you can still launch the festivities without them. The wedding party is already making compromises; this would be another. While understanding Nicholas' frustrations, I found his behavior in that restaurant appalling. No excuses. I see a pattern of simmering resentment against the world waiting for an excuse to complain or have temper tantrums. I'm surprised Amrit wants to get married. If they can't produce biological children, and Nicholas is a petulant unemployed albatross, why bother? They can live together. I think Anisha is right about this relationship. Maybe they are just another couple that wants a lavish wedding on TV. I've had that impression for a while now.

I didn't hear Ashley say she is paying the mortgage alone. I heard her say that the value of the monthly payment is $13k. She will never reveal the truth of her settlement on TV - she's providing enough (possibly false) information to keep Bravo happy. I suspect Michael may be paying that mortgage instead of gifting the house to Ashley. She may have to vacate it after the kids are grown, and Michael can sell it. And post-baby moms. I wonder if her exercise/yoga videos are an effort to get this idea going. Those rude gestures as Robyn and Juan walked the plank pier confirm everything I believe about Robyn. That FU was directed at Bravo, viewers and the other housewives. Agreed. Another reason to be content with the arrangement with Juan. Robyn is greedy and lazy. I think she's playing the long game with Juan, and the cheating incident gave her ammunition to drive a hard pre-wedding bargain. We will never know the details unless she gets mad and spouts. I absolutely believe Karen, in a drunken state, would have sex with someone in a bathroom. She needs affirmation from younger men, and what better place than Vegas? That said, behavior like that may have her in and out of rehab over time. Another reason for hysterectomy: thickening endometrium, which can be pre-cancerous. Mia's carrying on about the wandering lymph node: I had one and it was dispatched efficiently. I wonder if her stories about all of the doctors are true. If so, they may be cautious because of all the foreign substances in her body, or in an abundance of litigious caution. I noticed that her husband corrected her when she was exaggerating part of her story. I actually think Chris was faking a lot of that outrage. And he strikes me as someone who cannot keep a job.

I agree that Robyn was trying to figure out how to react to the incident and kept quiet. Some couples are determined to cohabit for financial reasons or because of young children. Usually there's a tacit agreement that the couple don't embarrass each other and the children. I think we see this play out between Robyn and Juan sometimes (his anger when she calls him while the cameras are rolling). I don't think they are a couple "in love." That this incident occurred during production is probably why Robyn was being so cagey about the wedding and changing her mind so often. She and Juan were trying to deal with the fallout. I can see Robyn driving a hard bargain with Juan in order to punish him. I don't think she (or Ashley) will ever provide the true details about their marriage/divorce agreements. I think these are two transactional situations at this point.

Bravo enables sexual assault, then shows the footage for ratings. If there's a lot of outrage, they will issue meaningless "concern" statements. ETA: Absolutely. Who says it's OK to codify the allowance of any kind of abuse? I started wondering about the implications of this when we began to see the pattern of settlements paid to abuse victims, presumably with the requirement of a secrecy clause. The abusers walk away free, minus whatever the settlement cost them. There are lots of celebrities who can afford this. Now we see a different version of "approved abuse" in these reality shows. It's sickening.

Helen's baby sister sure shot up since last season. I think of them as the Dimple Sisters. Where was their father while they struggled to save the sheep? And was there even a change of days between the first notice of the sheep's hoof and James treating it? Or did he lollygag around the farm all day? Those trains were gorgeous. I used to ride gorgeous old trains in Mexico. They were formerly in service in the US - in the 50s - and then repurposed elsewhere. Apple green and cerise in color, teak and mahogany fittings... The actor with the injured dog did a fine job; very realistic look. That child had a great vocabulary. Maybe he had his nose in books all of the time. As much as I prefer animal stories, I did appreciate Mrs. Hall's scenes with her son. As another war loomed, people did not have time to let old grievances linger. And I loved seeing the details in the sailor uniform. I wondered about the HMS Repulse:

I refused to watch the Pam and Tommy series because it was a very thinly disguised excuse to create a mock-up Pamela (Lily James) and show her having hardcore sex with Tommy. She was treated like a mindless bimbo. Creepy Seth Rogen and Dave Franco victimized Pam all over again. That said, Pamela often cannot get out of her own way. Even as she understandably laments how she has been treated by the entertainment industry, she still slides into the sex kitten persona. All the giggling during her interviews, references to certain events or images followed by "Oh, did I say that?", pretending she doesn't know what's on some of the tapes she's kept (they are all labeled) and then acting shocked, the semi-transparent clothing and the bubble bath scene. There is a strong thread of manipulation throughout the documentary and mixed messages. The "documentary" failed to mention Brett and their sex tape, which was leaked publicly, (perhaps Brett threatened litigation). Very recently she had a disturbed relationship with Jon Peters, which appeared to be transactional. The documentary didn't mention that Rick Solomon was Paris Hilton's sex videotape partner. It also doesn't mention that Pam went back to Tommy after the abuse. I remember reading her discuss it in Jane. I hope Pamela got a lot of money for her Chicago run. That took guts and a lot of physical hard work for someone her age.

As each episode begins I am excited to be introduced to great talent - the guest actors. Every one a gem thus far. The BBQ joint, with its outdoor picnic tables, gingham, great music, and cheery little lights, was very nostalgic for me. That there was my childhood post-church meal. I wonder if Charlie will head to Louisiana. There are casinos, alligators, voodoo, spooky bayous, and more great food. She could get herself in quite the pickle.

I love sequins and sparkle, but these dresses are a horrible combination of prom, beauty pageant, club and Vegas. Robyn's is the only one that shows some restraint. In earlier seasons, she dressed beautifully and classicly, even just to shop or have lunch. In more recent seasons, she's not even trying, unless paid glam folks do all of the work for her.

I read yesterday that Peacock is going to start charging for streaming. Just another reason for me to walk away from criminal-coddling Bravo TV.

Alimony is increasingly scarce in the US because so many wives have entered the workforce since the 70s. Ashley has a job/income via Bravo, so she may not qualify for alimony. I think the settlement will be driven by whatever agreements she and Michael negotiated. She referenced a post-nup negotiation in an earlier season. And the state of Virginia's child support policy and formulas will drive her and Michael's child support agreement. I can see Michael refusing to let Ashley demand huge sums of money for anything. Thomas Ravenel of Southern Charm, a wealthy man, successfully pushed back hard against demands for big child support checks and South Carolina's formula was imposed. Arlington, VA's courts are more liberal than other Virginia courts. Meaning Ashley will not automatically be awarded huge sums just because she is a wife of a wealthy man.

The housewives are independent contractors, or perhaps LLCs. They are not employees of Bravo and therefore don't qualify for unemployment, or any other employee-related benefit.

As I watched Jed, my mind went to Jed in Oklahoma. I loved this episode solely because it was so great compared to other shows that try this kind of thing. Great actors, great script, smooth transitions, the singing truckers... I love lonesome New Mexico, only not the roadside fast food joints, run down gas stations, etc. that cluster along the highways. The set designers did a great job capturing how depressing these locations can be. (But boy are you glad of them when you need water or gas.) Natasha looked damn good in her days-old black T, jeans and boots, with the concho belt for panache. Looking forward to episode three..

Wouldn't the feds have uncovered these transactions? They spent a several years investigating, which would have included forensic accounting. I suppose it's possible that Coach and/or Jen invested with legally acquired funds, but Meredith and Heather don't want anyone to know. I mean, Meredith ragged on Lisa for crowd funding.

I was surprised Andy asked the women about Coach's possible knowledge or involvement in the fraud. Seems risky to make those kind of judgments publicly, unless Coach signed a contract that said he couldn't sue about anything shown on the show.