Schadenfreulein

Libby’s father is almost acting like a jilted suitor the way he’s pouting about not having been asked for permission to marry his daughter or “advice” - whatever that means to him.

I was just about to say this. I'm pretty sure it's a special needs swing. My son has autism and tends to move erratically, so to keep him from falling off the swing, the local playground installed one very similar to that.

"Wedlock" So quaint.

Yup - as soon as he realized he wasn't getting that massage, the tone changed right away.

Totally knew you were a keeper :)

Maybe they're using the money and the buffalo to start up a mozzarella business. Or maybe the it's a miniature lap water buffalo - like those Vietnamese pot bellied pigs that were trendy a while back. I'm not even drinking right now :)

Absolutely - couldn't agree more. I think what I was trying to convey was that any "jealousy" should be playful. Also, you sound like a total keeper :)

....which is why he still lives in Brazil - hopefully with Karine's retired cop father

No kidding - too much complacency is just annoying. I think most of us want our man to be a little bit possessive - just not neurotic or controlling. But basically saying, "Nah, I'm so not worried about anyone giving you a second look, babe. You go on and have fun." That would irk me too. Question me about what I'm going to wear and what time I'll be back? No. Just barely perceptible nostril flaring when some other dude is clearly checking me out or trying to chat me up? Absolutely essential.

Oh, I know. I was just searching for two examples of housing that would be the most polar opposite. We didn't get to see much of where Paul lived, which is probably his mom's house anyway. But there's definitely scope for a "Spouse House" style spin-off with Paul, Karine, Sean, Abby and (of course) Chris all living together... I freely admit that I'd be watching...

Yes, that all makes perfect sense. I suppose the reason that the spouses from impoverished countries don't believe that poverty exists in North America is that their definition of poverty and ours are a long way apart. I have noticed, however, in a lot of the cases that once they arrived the foreign partner often seems disappointed that the American person lives in an apartment, or a very ordinary or small house. It's as if they're expecting more grandeur somehow. In any case, if you moved from, say, Karine's family home in that remote part of Brazil into Sean's half finished house, I can see how it would feel like a big step up. But you might also be thinking, "This is it? No chandeliers? No Jacuzzi tub? I thought all Americans had those." I don't know if I'm making sense anymore...

Sweet mother of babbling God...

People from poorer countries feigning affection to someone from a richer one in order to gain citizenship is nothing new. People who are socially awkward or otherwise unsuccessful in their home country's marriage market looking to poorer countries to go shopping online for a spouse is nothing new. (I liken it to those guys who go to Japan to teach English so they can finally get a girlfriend.) So why is it that so many of these prospective spouses - particularly the women - seem convinced that they're getting anything other than the dregs of the dating pool after it's been drained and dredged? I get that the First World standard of living that they see on tv and in movies looks luxurious in comparison to their own. I also imagine that some of these online shoppers probably make promises they can't keep (Jorge). But it's hard to believe that all of these (mostly) women are so completely naïve that they really believe that the man showing interest is wealthy by North American standards. Those kind of men aren't likely to need to shop online for a wife or girlfriend from overseas. (They're more likely to be sex tourists like Chris.) None of these women strike me as stupid, yet they believe that a guy like Josh is going to live in a waterfront palace. I suppose what doesn't add up for me is how seemingly intelligent (maybe not educated, but definitely not stupid) people can have such a skewed idea of what average working or middle class life in North America really looks like. Yes, it's likely more materially comfortable than their current home, but how do they get to thinking that they're going to be moving into Trump Tower or the Ewing family ranch? Can anyone shed light on this? It's been bothering me for a while.

Poor Olivia can drive...

Thank you. Not a look I personally favour, but hey - you do you, Josh :)

I find purity culture quite disturbing. It teaches girls that their virginity decides their worth as a human being - and that once they don't have it anymore, they're somehow a lesser person ("deflowered"). It may well not be the intent of those that choose to adopt that culture. I'd imagine that for the most part, parents see it as a way of protecting their children - especially daughters. The emphasis is definitely on female virginity. It's exalted as a prize, a gift for her husband - and something to be lost. If you take that line of reasoning further, the message is that a woman who has "lost" her virginity is somehow a less valuable person than one who's still a virgin. And that's just medieval shite.

Forgive my ignorance - what are the "gauges" that are being discussed here?

He screams "Russian mafia" to me, although I know he's not Russian. I sincerely hope that between Libby's father and her sisters, they all manage to somehow either talk her out of this marriage or physically restrain her from it. "Russian mafia muscle" I should specify. He doesn't seem bright enough to be a strategist.

"Snowflakery" is my new favourite word. :)

Actually I think Darcy just doesn't know how to walk in heels and the escalator was a bit of bad luck. Body weight or shape doesn't matter - anyone who wants to can wear stilettos. But it's vitally important to keep your weight on the balls of your feet. This is true when wearing any heels but especially stilettos because that little twig of a heel isn't meant as a load bearing beam. Any pressure on it and it will wobble no matter who is wearing it. Then you have to keep your shoulders back to offset walking on the balls of your feet so you're not lurching forward. Tuck the tailbone, tilt the pelvis. It takes practice. I was really hoping those were fake Louboutins that got mangled by the escalator, but perhaps not...

The Starcasm Facebook page has posted some other Facebook posts from people who apparently know this person - one or two even grew up in the same neighbourhood. One woman reported that he stalked her to the point where she had to get a no contact order and change her phone number. Somehow, he got hold of that phone number as well and even sent her her own Social Security number - however he managed to procure that. Even worse, she claimed that he had left dead animals on her doorstep. If even part of this is true, he sounds like someone with serious mental health issues. Basically, if I were a young foreign national in a country very far from home where I knew no one and didn't speak the language, couldn't work and had no money, he is not someone I would want to be dependent on.

Now that I recall, that guy I went out with also had seemingly no friends apart from his mother (who was also a bit odd - don't know if he kept wads of her hair...*shudder*). Good on you for alerting people local to the situation who may be able to at least look out for her to some extent.

Seriously? Is it that bad? I saw the arson arrest record but that was it? What else has he done? I think a lot of violent, unhinged people have a vulnerable, even pathetic façade. I had a boyfriend a bit like that a long time ago - a real heart on his sleeve, weepy, emotional type. At first this seemed great - he's sensitive! But then it became clear that he had masses of anger that he kept hidden and a completely skewed view of reality. When I finally left, the police had to have more than one friendly chat with him to get him to leave me alone.

I fear for this man's heart. He looks like a kicked dog in every bit of footage I saw, although I know it was carefully edited to make him look exactly that way. But that expression of total vulnerability and naivete seemed genuine and also habitual.

And you win the Internet today!