mamadrama

I like her, too. And I am still pissed that two assholes schemed behind her back to "test" her loyalty or whatever (when she was free to see or date whomever she chooses) and SHE wound up apologizing.

Well, she didn't look 27...

This is an older video, but I like this woman because she's smart and gets down to business. Here she counts down Tom's lies. The housing situation is first. f0z2UU52Exc

In the past year I've had 2 strokes and a mild heart attack and none of those compare to what I felt during a bad panic attack. In fact, the panic attack felt more like a heart attack than the heart attack did. So I feel you. They can be terrifying.

I'd watch any of that.

Yeah, kind of. My sister-in-law's place is a townhouse (2 floors, 2 bedrooms) and her rent is based on her income. It's comparable to income based apartments here. My in-laws (husband's aunt and uncle) live near Tom's family. They're retired. They'd be considered upper middle class. When they sold their home they moved to the estate and they pay around $1200 a month for their "cottage." Theirs is NOT based on income, though, because their retirement is above the threshold. So they more or less pay market value. It's a good sized place, very nice. Not every council house is eligible for income-based tenants. My SIL, for instance, couldn't live there. Just because it's council housing doesn't mean it's available for low income dwellers. Clifton Village is an offshoot of Nottingham proper, so you get more house for your money.

They're defensive about it and yet... Have they forgotten that they have neighbors who know exactly where they live? It's a nice estate, it's a nice house. My in-laws are upper middle class and they live in one as well. If you click on the link I posted above you can see a myriad of other houses on their estate that are also nice places. There's no more shame in living in a council estate than there is in living in a middle class subdivision here. The shame is in pretending to be something you're not. (And in stealing pictures of other people's things and pretending they're yours.)

Really? I seriously spent an hour writing about Tom's neighborhood and explaining council housing in a way that is somewhat understandable and THAT is what was taken out of it? Short answer: because he's from the Middle East Long answer: To show that not only does Tom (who we often refer to as being "British") NOT own the property, but that the most recent owner isn't even British (so he can't argue that it's just an assumed name or some shit). There are many articles about the non-British family that owned it and what happened to them. They granted many interviews. They're very wealthy, they're quite well known, and they've been very vocal about their experience there.

The short answer is "government owned housing", but it's a lot more complicated than that. The closest we come to it would be our FHA program. Small, unadorned FHA homes used to be available at low cost rent, or even free, for low-income families here. However, the FHA loan program was available (still is) for those who had the income to qualify to buy, but didn't quite meet the standards banks wanted (or didn't have a down payment). Low-income Brits might qualify for council housing that's a reduced cost or free. It might be an ugly apartment in the projects or a fairly nice semi-detached home in a "council estate" (think subdivision). If you qualify, you can even purchase your home. My sister-in-law was a single mom at 19. She lived in council housing, a 2 bed cottage, for around $100 a month. That amount increased with her income. I have a friend who pays $900 for his cottage, though, and it's not based on his income at all. He's basically just renting it from the government. Wikipedia's entry on it isn't bad.

He lives in a regular looking brick council house with his parents. It has 4 beds and 1 bath (maybe 2 if they added on). He pretends to live in Clifton Hall in his village, but that house has stood empty for at least 12 years and was foreclosed on the Middle Eastern man who last bought it. The last time we walked around the manor home they were trying to open it up for paranormal tours (it's reportedly haunted, I've done a bit of writing about it) and keep it as an events center of sorts, but it was in very bad shape in places and starting to look sad. There's been talk of the university taking it over. 60 years ago parcels of land that belonged to the manor home were sold to the city and council housing (kinda like our government housing but not always based on income) was built. That's where he lives. He's also pretended that Nottingham Castle is his home. I guess he forgets that A) the internet exists and B) some of us know the Midlands very well. If you're interested in what his house might look like, here are some that have sold on his road. His is not here, but you'll get a feel for it. Some are lovely, but mansions they are not. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/ng11/village-road.html

And pet food for whatever that is on his head.

Betty has always been an interesting case for me. On paper I side with her. As a personality I really don't like her. I guess it's one of those "I don't have to like you to take your side when you've clearly been wronged"kind of things.

I think this is a good point and this may explain the discrepancy in views on this board. Betty and Dan were middle-aged by the mid-late 80s. They came of age in a time that really did put a focus on the woman staying home. The majority of the women/wives I knew in the 80s had lifetime career aspirations. They owned businesses, were realtors, worked in factories, taught, were doctors, etc. I only knew a handful of SAHMs. However, the adult women in MY orbit were much younger than Betty. So I think it's a little more nuanced than "women in the 80s...". It definitely depended on the age, generation, location, and religion.

Doing taxes is a side gig. Most likely his money comes from the multiple investment properties he owns around Clark County. His government job pays well, too. But yeah, no way I'd let such a dingbat have a gander at my finances. I'm not even sure he should be allowed out of the house without a home health aide.

I concur. It really varied from couple to couple. A lot of what happened (post separation) took place in the 80's and by then it definitely wasn't unusual for women to have just as much control as the men in the marriage. Even in the 70s. There were some households that had the same dynamic as B&D, but it wasn't universal.

I like AP's portrayal of BB, but something just feels off. Like, she's doing a good job playing a woman scorned, but I don't see BB in her character. MB played Betty over the top, but when you watch the real BB in interviews you realize her depiction wasn't that far off.

She wouldn't have to cab it. You can take public transportation from either the Odessa or Kiev airport. The last time we did it, it took us right to the city center in Kiev and cost less than $10.

I don't think he was actually "dating" the woman in the WN episode. She was clearly a production setup, and the few times we saw her onscreen were probably the only times Jesse saw her, too.

The man in the situation (JenAir) actually reached out to me and asked me to read the book he wrote and to help him promote it. I don't know why, I'm not in PR, but I'd be happy to spread the word by forwarding the file he sent me to anyone who wants to read it... He's, uh, a character as well.

Struggling here. My livelihood literally depends on haunted houses so I can't knock that but, then,...Paul. He's already a few fries short of a Happy Meal. And why is his mom living with them? What about Father?

Yeah, I'm not sure why it has to be an either/or. They were both terrible. Betty's gestures might have been bigger, but Dan was also terrible in his own way. Emotional abuse and gaslighting is awful. She was already unstable, but he contributed to her fragile state of mind and gave her a push. He still didn't deserve to die, of course, and his new wife really didn't.

I keep trying to reconcile this Betty with Meredith Baxter's. They seem like two totally different people. (You know what I mean.) The 3 lab coats pissed me off more than it should have.

Are you watching Dirty John right now, too?

I hate making generalized statements about a group of people or a country, but in this case... I've never met a Ukrainian, or even an eastern European, under the age of 40 who didn't have at least a rudimentary grasp of English. I updated our Ukrainian guide book and spent a month traveling all around the country visiting sites, staying in hostels, dining in off the beaten path restaurants, etc and the only people I encountered who couldn't at least carry on a basic conversation were much older than Lana-and this was 15 years ago. I don't blame Lana, I'd play dumb, too.

Not Russian, but Ukrainian women. He's traveled back and forth to the Ukraine around 15 times and, according to him, has "dated" over 100 women. We're not real sure what "dating" is to him (since he thinks he and Lana have been together for 7 years), but he claims to have been engaged at least twice. I've never had a man do that to me, but I know a few creepy men who look like they'd be the type to.