the eskimo

OK, so that ending made me think they're implying that the grown up versions remember VERY little about what happened out there? Because would they really be dancing around and "loving" Lightning Crashes in current time when that song prompted the Lottie beatdown back in the wilderness? I would think Shauna would hate that song for life. Speaking of Shauna...I'm a Melanie Lynskey fan, but I can't figure out what she's doing with her acting choices. When she was breaking down to Lottie, I felt like I did when she was breaking down with the cop - like she's using some kernels of true emotion to put on this act and say what she thinks people want to hear. If that's the case, kudos for the acting. If not...seems like a rare miss in acting ability. I also have a hard time connecting young Shauna with adult Shauna, when all the rest seem pretty spot on. Melanie has that high-pitched, cutesy way of talking, while young Shauna seems sort of blunt and "rougher." I'm hoping this is all somehow intentional, but I'm not sure how or why.

I seriously thought there was going to be a twist that the friend was really a dead high school friend that Ani kept confiding in to deal with her trauma! I don't even think we got her name, and she kept popping up at weird times without much introduction (like at the party at Luke's parents house). The movie had a lot of good aspects, but the trailer was very misleading. I really thought this was going to be more of a suspense/thriller/twist ending type of movie, when it was really more of straightforward drama. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't constantly looking for the twist!

This was very interesting to watch and some of the footage was amazing. I did appreciate that they interviewed people from both sides, but I think there was a missed opportunity to ask some of those protestors how they felt about some of the violence towards police, the destruction of such a beautiful monument to our country/democracy, the beating of a policeman under a "Blue Lives Matter" Flag...just the overall blatant hypocrisy exhibited by those people that day (and in general, but I digress). I wish they had shown them some clips and showed their reactions. I know the preacher or whatever in the cowboy hat made an offhand comment about "hating to see the violence," but then shifted focus to the "peaceful" crowd, but I feel like the tough questions were left unasked of many of these participants. Mostly, this was a frightening reminder of the dangers of mob mentality. I bet most of those men (and women) on any other day would say they would never threaten a police officer, or use American flags to break things or beat people, but when caught up in that mob...something else takes over. I thought one of the most poignant moments was when that poor police officer started screaming "I have kids," and you could almost see something click in one of the "protestor's" face, and these same men who were about to literally rip this guy apart started helping him through the crowd. It was like they came out of a daze/animal frenzy and were almost shocked by what they were doing...or maybe that's giving them too much credit. It must be very tough for a lot of these police officers to feel like they had to battle against "their own kind," but also a good lesson that violence can come from anyone who wants to commit a violent act. I have zero sympathy for Ashli Babbit. How did these people think they could break down doors and threaten our government officials with no chance of being shot at or killed? Entitlement. These are people who have never felt persecuted. These are people who have always felt that law enforcement is on their side. They felt above the law. I hate that she is being painted as a martyr, and I'm sorry for any loss of life, but you just can't act like that and not realize that you're risking your life. Unfortunately, the fact that she was a woman, white, a vet, etc. make it easier to paint it all in a more tragic light, rather than just someone who was breaking and entering, destroying property and threatening the lives of our Congress men and women. I'm just very interested in this psychological and sociological phenomenon that is taking place right now. It's complicated and multi-layered, but I hope some very educated experts write some interesting theories about this form of "mass hysteria" that's spreading like wildflower in this country...

I'm not sure exactly what Kacey Musgraves was going for, but that scene was quite sad because Jenny just wanted to sing and perform and the only job she could get to get by was singing naked in front of a bunch of drunk guys who started harassing her while she sang a war protest song. So maybe Musgraves was making a statement about how her art is overlooked because of how she looks? That she feels exploited by the industry? That she wishes she had a Forrest Gump to stand up for her? Could be a number of things, I suppose...

So my husband and I actually had (what I think is) a great idea for a season - "The next generation" featuring children of former Survivor contestants! There are likely enough who are over 18 to do this, as many contestants had kids before coming on the show. It would be interesting to see how their parent's experience makes them view the game. Also, it seemed to me that this was actually a great opportunity for Evvie to risk her vote, assuming she never considered straying from the women's alliance. She knew Xander didn't have a vote, and the two women would vote for Xander/Voce, so she would be safe and keep her hands clean. Seems like a missed opportunity.

Ugh. I love these types of shows, but this was so bad. Natalie Zea ends up in a lot of bad shows, and she's just not compelling. I'm still scarred from Under the Dome. Why did they have to cram a season's worth of events into the first episode? Government conspiracy, visions, near death experience, the dying son and daughter of seal/doctor forced to cuddle for warmth?, prehistoric beasts, time travel, wedding ring. If they spread all of that out over the season it would be much better. Now they have to keep upping the ante which is just going to get boring. If these people want to duplicate the success of Lost, maybe they should rewatch the show and take careful notes. That Pilot was amazing because they took their time and let the audience experience the panic in somewhat real time. Yes, they introduced the smoke monster, but they didn't include the Hatch, the Others, and DHARMA all in episode 1! The acting is horrible. The brash female cop might win the award for walking stereotype, with giggling stoner dude in close second. Overall, everyone is just way too calm on both ends for what just happened. I'll probably end up watching, but I won't be happy about it!

Eh, babies are pretty exhausting. And with COVID, many mom/baby activities have been cancelled, it's tough to reach out and meet other Moms - not sure if you can ask about vaccination status, etc. Plus, New Orleans can be a tough city. I grew up there, and there are nice pockets of family-friendly neighborhoods, but there is a lot of crime, it's hot as all hell in the summer (which is like 5 months) and it's not the most baby-friendly place in the world even without COVID. Why is a woman who is caring for a new baby (or anyone, really) required to "improve herself" anyway? I moved right before COVID hit and had a baby in April 2020, and it's been a struggle trying to meet people or join anything. I work full-time, so my situation is certainly different, but I wouldn't be too motivated either way.

Did they ban alcohol completely? It seemed like everyone was drinking water the entire time. Even the glasses seemed to be filled with water and lemon slices.

I haven't rewatched, but I thought she was sitting there smiling at him adoringly and then he somewhat coldly said "what?", which I think caught her off guard because she was just enjoying the moment (without making that clear to him, obviously) and then she responded with the awkward "I just love looking at you." I found this whole thing to be a perfect example of a misunderstanding that just blows up into much more than it needed to be. I thought it was obvious that he was her pick, and I think SHE thought it was obvious, too, so I don't think she thought she needed to make it more clear. He, on the other hand, got caught up in the moment, and then once the words escaped his mouth, he got scared that maybe he was making an ass out of himself and he needed just the right reassurance at that moment. Then it was just watching two people who can't communicate properly. He got "angry," she got confused. Instead of trying to calmly explain that she was just so caught up in the moment she lost her words, she clammed up, which just fueled his insecurity. I think she feared she would say the wrong thing (because she didn't understand where things went wrong in the first place), and he had himself so worked up that there might not have been a right thing at that point. I typically believe all of this is pretty fake, but I bought into this argument. I don't think they are that talented :) I thought cooler heads would prevail and they would have a romantic reconciliation, but seeing Katie on the Men Tell All, I'm not so sure. Or they do reconcile, but his insecurities are making it hell for her.

I've actually been thinking about this. I'm sure he had friends and family encouraging him to go on the show as a way to just have something exciting/positive to focus on. I mean, he lost his wife within the last TWO years! That's very recent, especially with a baby in the mix. I wonder if part of him feels like this would just make a good "story," for lack of a better term. I lost a very serious boyfriend/fiance to cancer when he was 35 and I was 28. It took me years to even feel ready to date, but when I was, I admit I didn't want to date around...it felt disrespectful somehow. But finding another long-term love? It made it more OK. So I can see how this narrative would work for both him and his/her family. He had this great loss, but then took a leap of faith on this crazy adventure and ended up finding love again... Or I'm giving him way too much credit, but he seems pretty genuine to me.

Ugh, I REALLY don't want to defend Tiffany, because she is incredibly annoying, makes poor life choices, and needs to go home, get a good job and give her kids some stability rather than flying off to South Africa yet again...BUT (and this may be the full-time working Mom of a 3 year old and a 1 year old talking instead of the sarcastic, cynical reality TV show watcher speaking), I can cut her the tiniest bit of slack about her complaints this episode. She is likely exhausted from traveling and Ronald seems like he talked a really good game about how prepared he would be upon their arrival, how he was going to step up and give her a well-deserved break and make up for all of those days and nights where he couldn't be a father to that baby. Now he's pulling the "I can only do one thing at time excuse." My husband uses this excuse, and it drives me crazy. I get the two toddlers up, fed, dressed and ready for daycare by myself every morning and watch them while he works every other weekend. This means I need to multi-task - constantly. Yet, when it's his turn to "give me a break," he acts incredulous when I say I'm going to take a shower while he's preparing a meal or doing something with one of the kids. And I do snap that I have to do that and more during those times I'm on my own. I could relate to her feeling like she was finally going to have someone to do 50% of the parenting, and then realizing she still had to do 80+%, but also give him full credit for everything he was doing or he would get his feelings hurt. Men often feel like they have back-up when it comes to childcare - because they DO. And women take the brunt of the blame when a child is shown crying or misbehaving in any way. It's like how my Mom praises my husband because he's "so involved and even changes diapers!" Um, I wouldn't have married a man who thought for one second he didn't have to do those things, especially when I work more hours than he does in a week. It's 2021. Hold these men accountable for their FULL parenting role, you know? I'm probably over sensitive right now because having two toddlers is exhausting under the best of circumstances, but, man, it doesn't help the Mom guilt when it seems like almost everyone on the internet thinks it should be so easy ;) At the same time, she is an idiot who had a child with an idiot, so I will continue to snark away, but I just can't fault her for being frustrated and for having a crying, fussy 2 year old. That happens to the best of us.

Gus should be beating himself up. Jesus, the guy can't afford a crate? Leaving any dog tied up like that for hours is completely irresponsible, nevermind a puppy with breathing issues that he's only had for a few weeks. What an irresponsible moron. I hope he's never approved for another adoption.

Well that was...underwhelming. Of course, I was the lone person convinced that Peter was the "winner," so what do I know. Most laugh out loud moment: when Hannah proclaimed, during her proposal, about how she was grateful for all of her struggles, since they had led her here. Um, can we get a recap of the struggles that she has endured in life? Because I see a good looking, middle to upper class young woman who seems to be adored by her family and her community, who ascended through the pageant world to be come Ms. Alabama and then got selected to be Bachelorette. So her struggles consist of having two relationships that ended? Hannah, sweetie, as I say to my 1 year old daughter, "why don't you tell me all of your problems, and then I'll tell you all of mine"

The thing is, Luke has very little ability to express himself. I have no doubt that he and I would disagree about pretty much everything in life, but I felt bad for him that he couldn't defend himself properly. He has every right to want to propose to someone who hasn't slept with another guy recently. The way he said it was horrible and did sound like "shaming," but he should discuss those matters with his potential life partner if it's important to him. Even Hannah seems to go back and forth on the subject. Last night, she gave her I can have sex speech, but she also said something about how her faith is based on love, and that she is a person who makes mistakes. So does she consider sleeping with Peter (and possibly Jed) a mistake? That's pretty much what Luke was saying. That if she "slipped up" he could get over it. Bottom line, he has every right to want a wife who shares his values and she has every right to dump his ass for absolutely any reason, and both of them should respect that about each other. He certainly had reason to believe that she shared some of these values. Hopefully he will learn how to present himself better and tone down/eliminate the controlling behavior. But I always bristle at mob mentality, and seeing a group of people lay into him incessantly wasn't much fun. The podium move was, though 🙂

Yes, me too! I even hit the 30 second rewind button because I for sure thought she said she f*cked a windmill! So I stand by my feeling from last week that Peter has been the secret frontrunner this whole time. Their little conversation when she sent him off from the group date was just a notch above how she interacts with the other guys. I think she's pretty into Jed, too, but I seriously think Peter is going to "win" this thing.