sleepyjean

Alyssa and Sonjia both looked much prettier last night than they did on any of the episodes. I really liked the dress Dmitry made for Alyssa, although I didn't like the yellow and black shoes she wore with it. I was kind of 'meh' about the gold dress. Neither the dress nor the photo had impact. I can't figure it out, but there's something about the half of the dress above her waist that says "frumpy" to me, even though it's extremely low cut. Maybe it's because it's so shapeless. The montage about how funny/clever Isaac and Georgina are didn't reveal either of them to be exceptionally funny or clever. I guess somebody in production thought the whole "boob-schmoob" thing was a real laugh riot. I respectfully disagree. All of the designers on this show know it's a horrible idea to use the same fabric as someone else. If he bought it first and she bought it second, they still would have both suffered for it, and he didn't want to take the risk. I do think that once he realized she wasn't going to make up her mind any time soon, he should've just moved on. I also think it was completely disingenuous of Sonjia to pretend like she couldn't understand why Benjamin was upset. Yes, she had every right to take her time to make a decision. But don't act like you don't know it's causing stress for someone else. I wanted someone to ask Sonjia if she thought only also-rans like herself should be allowed to compete. Project Runway All-Losers. I didn't like that either. The thing with the baby gifts was weird. Even if they had asked everyone and only a few actually produced something, it's still came across as "look how generous and thoughtful WE are." (And how selfish/thoughtless everyone else is by comparison).

That one lady who took to her bed because she flashed Danny and he didn't like it? Give me a break. She was in her room weeping like the world was ending "oh no, Danny thinks I'm a terrible person, he's so upset." Not hardly. He was irritated when it happened, and he was probably over it moments later. Danny is a 40 something year old man. He's seen plenty of boobies. It was very interesting how the editing cut from her weeping about showing her chest to Danny on the Leto deck teasing the ladies with a glimpse of his chest, encouraging the women to howl for it, before ripping off his tank top and flexing like he's God's gift. By the time he received her weepy video, he'd probably forgotten all about her. Did anyone else think it was weird when one of the cows got to dance with Jordan and she just stared him dead in the eye, unsmiling the whole time? She seems like a perfectly nice lady, but in that moment, the look in her eye was creepy.

First I will start by saying I am a Stacy London fan. I would love to be made over by her. She's a funny lady, has excellent taste, and knows what she's doing. But this show is all wrong. The big production of taking off the old look, the two minute armchair psychoanalysis, the cheesy makeover software, the man-on-the-street interviews...it's all bad. And boring. This is definitely a DVR show. Watch the first two minutes to see the "before," then fast forward directly to the big reveal. What happens in between is just not worth my time. I hate hate hate the name of this show. It has bothered me since it was first announced. It is a horrible name for a makeover show. First, because it doesn't give any indication what the show is about. Second, because it asks a question the audience already knows the answer to. The pre-makeover look is bad/repellant/scary/tacky/etc. The post-makeover look is tasteful/attractive/etc. Obviously the women on the show know there's an issue with their look, or they wouldn't have volunteered to be on the show. It's not like the poll results tell them anything they didn't already know or at least suspect. So what's the point of the poll? Stacy's is the only opinion that matters and the only one we need to hear or care about. The only thing I really love about the show is Stacy's multiple looks in the opening credits.

When I think of Mondo's prints, the one that immediately comes to mind is the pink with black crosses that he made into a pair of slim fitting pants. I'm not into big patterns, or high waist pants, but the fabric is fun, I thought the pants were well made, and I could see a certain girl wanting to wear them. However, if he'd made a blouse in the same fabric, or in a reverse fabric (pink crosses on black) like Michelle did, it would've been a disaster. And when I mentally superimpose his fabric on top of MIchelle's designs from last night, I feel a massive headache coming on.

Going into this episode, I thought this might be the one episode where the designers make things I would actually wear. So much for that. The only thing I'd ever consider purchasing is Sonjia's top. And actually, I did look at it on QVC.com, and am considering it. Even though they completely changed it. And now that it's black, you can't really see what they did to it. I don't have the hate for Michelle that so many others here do. Whatever she did in her own season seems to have turned people off sufficiently, that there is nothing she can say or do that doesn't provoke a negative response. I'm seeing her without the bias of that past season, and I find her comments about other people's looks are often dead on and quite funny. Unfortunately, she lacks the ability to turn that same critical eye to her own creations. If anyone else made a head-to-toe matchy matchy outfit like she did, and claimed (a) it has mass appeal and (b) it would work for women of any size, she would have rolled her eyes so hard, they would have fallen out of her head and bounced around on the floor. Having said that, I did like the puffy sleeves. It seemed like a lot of the designers failed to understand that QVC is all about innocuous fashion with mass appeal. Much of the stuff on QVC is just plain boring. I can't imagine why these designers thought crop tops, overwhelming patterns, neoprene, and whatever Jay's pants were made of, were correct choices for this challenge. And I don't understand Fabio's logic in making a one-of-a-kind fabric for a garment that would have to be mass produced. It was ironic watching Helen sit there with those nails, and those tattoos, and that attitude, talking about someone's else's choices being ugly. Oh, I'd say it's fair to the client, considering they get to completely change everything about the winning look. With the exception of Heidi's blue fringe dress, I can't think of any winning garment that went out in public as-is. (Not that I remember umpteen seasons of winning garments.) But it does make me interested to see how Sonjia's gold Ceasar's Palace outfit will be transformed for Alyssa. YES. Although in this case, that helped Helen out, since those embellishments were hiddy. I would love to see a season where they're not allowed to use black as the main color for any of the challenges. Ditto. I've always called them button down shirts. But I have never called the casino game russian roulette. Not that anyone cares about the Dow either. That was probably one of the most fast-forwarded moments of the entire season.

I was totally into NKOTB back in the day. I must've been 14 or 15.On the one hand, this show really made me want to track down the girls I geeked out with. I've lost touch with all of them. On the other hand, this show made me sad. Sad for the guys because it seems like none of them were really able to get off the ground in their post NKOTB careers (except for maybe Donnie). Sad for the women who never grew out of it. Sad because I listened to Hangin Tough about 10 years ago and remember thinking it didn't stand up to the test of time. When I see NKOTB now, the awe is gone. I can't imagine screaming and following them around, and obsessing like the people on this show. Watching the women freak out after a hug or a kiss on the cheek ...well, I'm happy for them I guess because it means so much to them. But the guys seem almost robotic to me. The hugging, smiling, winking, etc seems so perfunctory. Like it's just habit, and their minds are elsewhere. Donnie kissed one of the women on the cheek and she was practically hyperventilating. I bet if you stopped Donnie in the hall five minutes after that, he wouldn't remember kissing anyone, let alone whether she was tall or short, dark, or fair. It's so odd watching this as an adult. I remember how much of a rush it all was when I was in middle school. And now when I see them, they are just...guys. Although I will admit I still remember Joe McIntyre's birthday (12/31/72). It was my locker combination for a couple of years. I still have that lock somewhere.

I just can't with this show. I can't quite figure out why. She was not fat. Then she got sick and got really fat. And so...what? We all need to see her on tv? Good for her, I guess. I think maybe the fact that there are obese people everywhere is what makes this less interesting to me than little people, sextuplets, pligs, foreign fiances, and the like. Those are segments of society I don't know much about. Fat people - what's to know? They're fat. It's hard to be fat. People are mean about it. I get that. I've been there. But so far, the commercials have not been that compelling. I also have an internal struggle over the whole "fabulous" thing. Fat or no, I have an inherent and immediate dislike for people who hang a billboard proclaiming their fabulousness. (Which is mainly why I hate the Kardashians). Still, it will be interesting to see if this show takes off. It was very crafty of TLC to choose someone who is obese, but can't be "blamed" for it because it is caused by an illness, not laziness, greed, bingeing, and other lifestyle choices.

This show is so effin' annoying with their cute little "twists." They never make the show better or the competition more interesting. Switching the models didn't add anything to the show. There was zero point to the "bobbing for fabric" activity. I FF'd right through it. Ditto for the opening restaurant scene. I get that that they're trying to add fresh elements to the show, but every time they do this, it comes across as forced, gimmicky, and lacking in creativity. I wish each designer had had two models, one for each outfit. It doesn't work for me to have the judges discussing the outfit after the model has removed it. It would've been better if we could see both garments while the judges were discussing them. Either that, or have the judges confine their comments to the garment the model was wearing at the time. I don't understand why anyone would make a jumpsuit or a one-piece bathing suit without the model's measurements. Or maybe in this case, knowing whatever measurements had been provided were probably wrong. Since they usually are. None of the garments bowled me over. I thought Sonjia was overpraised as usual. Nigel was a good judge. It was interesting to have a fashion photographer's perspective. He actually had something relevant and interesting to say and wasn't talking just to have screen time.

I'd be curious to know if Brett or Dani (I believe they are the only ones who went out looking online for a foreign spouse) ever tried any Eharmony, match, etc, or even tried to find anyone nearby, before writing off the whole United States and looking elsewhere..

The reunion show was all about damage control. Personally, it didn't change my opinion of anyone, but based on the responses here, it seems Justin/Cassia and Brett/Daya did the best job of salvaging their reputations and changing public opinion. Mo/Dani didn't do themselves any favors, but then again, there isn't anything they could do at this point to save face. They could've made out on the couch and nobody would believe it. Very true, and often the family members handle it just like Danny's does. Everyone knows there's "an issue." They all go out of their way to avoid it coming up, and when it does come up, everyone clams up, nobody addresses it, and they all go along to get along.

I would argue that their children should not be around him EVER. With or without Amy and Danny. Because how do you explain to kids who are half African that grandpa doesn't like African people or African American people, although he makes the occasional exception for family members like mommy because she has proved herself an exception and therefore worthy of his notice? How do you explain to them why everyone puts up with it? But Amy and Danny will have children. And they WILL expose those children to grandpa. I have zero doubt about that. Because they don't want to rock the boat. These two - especially Danny - are so incredibly passive. I think it's crazy to think they have some sort of strategy for winning him over with Amy's awesomeness. I think that "strategy" is the story they came up with after getting blow-back from so many people who watched the two of them sitting there like bumps on a log while that man was spewing his bull. I was in disbelief when they explained that they basically overlook the racism thing (as if it's some sort of minor character flaw) because dad is a good guy in other ways. Danny's father is an unapologetic racist. It is who he is, what he is, and what he believes. It is part of his character. It is painful watching them try to tuck that fact away in a little box somewhere so they don't have to think about it or address it.

Plus (assuming you buy the story that the reason for getting the ring verified was to make sure that Brett hadn't been ripped off by a shady jeweler) it makes sense to take the ring elsewhere for a second opinion. I don't think Chelsea is a devious person. In her conversations with Yamir, she tended to say things in both Spanish and English. She'd say it in one language and then repeat it in the other. Maybe that was for the cameras, so the audience could understand without subtitles, but I think she's just trying to help him. It's frustrating to always be struggling for words in another language, and it's probably difficult for her to watch him struggle. Although there are plenty of Danielles out there, I'm sure it's no cakewalk to nab one. At the time of the wedding, Mohamed had already invested a year and a half of his life in Danielle. If he returned to Tunisia and started over, the next one might be a little smarter and it might take even longer to convince her it was true love. And would Uncle Sam give him the side eye for applying for yet another K1visa? I think Mohamed decided he wants to be here badly enough to grit his teeth and endure it. And I think by that time he married her, he had realized that he didn't have to be particularly nice to Danielle while he waited it out. She'll whine and sob, but she's not going anywhere.

Huh. I had no idea Chelsea is so tall.

I just read a comment from one Grant Keith on Danielle's facebook page "congrats!!any baby coming soon,r u guys trying" and promptly snorted pepsi up my nose. Ouch, it burns! ETA: Just discovered Yamir's music is available for download. Unfortunately, I can't bring myself to invest even $0.99 to hear it. But I would love to hear opinions from those who do buy it. I wonder if he recorded it in Chicago.

The work thing interests me. Mohamed is the only one who has indicated an interest in working. I would like to know what his educational background is and what kind of work he plans to pursue. Did he go to University? Does he have a trade? It doesn't seem like he'd be so gung-ho about working if he was looking at flipping burgers for a living. Then again, maybe he's enthusiastic about it simply because it would get him out of the house. He's got to be bored out of his skull. If he's smart, once he gets his authorization, he'll start working night shift like Aziza from last season. That would remove him from a lot of the day to day drama. Do we know if Danielle has a job yet? I don't recall any of the other immigrants talking about work. I would like to know what Yamir's plans are, if any. He talked about his music, but performing like he did with Myla Vox seems an unlikely career path at this point. I wonder if he's pursuing any employment at all, music related or not. Chelsea is working for a non-profit in Galesburg. Maybe he could do something like that. (On a side note, it was really too bad of Yamir not to have something prepared to perform for the show. The fact that he didn't tells me they didn't do this show as part of some master plan to launch his US music career, as some here have suggested. In any case, he's now had three chances to demonstrate his talent for an audience of millions, and none of them did him any favors.) As for the others, I think Amy get involved in church, start popping out babies right away and be a SAHM. Evelin, who knows? I can see Justin wanting her to work. Daya has a profession, but for some reason, I think she plans to be a full time homemaker. I think Cassia could benefit from a job, so she won't be so bored. But I get the impression she expects to be supported and not have to work. She has mentioned modeling, but she doesn't seem serious about it. She's got a good body and a good face, but she's not crazy photogenic, and not the type of amazing that would send a modeling agency to Florida to pluck her out of obscurity. She'd have to hustle (and probably relocate) to make modeling work as a career (as opposed to a sometime gig) and I don't see her putting forth that kind of effort. She seems like someone who will go to her grave bragging that she "could have been a model" without ever having pursued it. Ironically, out of everyone, she has the husband who could easily relocate to support her career goals, but I think Jason is very set in his ways and would be majorly resistant to the idea of moving to NYC, LA, or even Miami.

Mohamed thinks he can use religion and culture as a sort of "get out of jail free" card for anything he doesn't want to do. He thinks he's being clever. We don't know anything about Tunisia, so if he says it's this way or that way, we just have to believe him, right? But the fact is, if he was truly in love with Danielle, or even just liked her a lot, he would know that physical affection is very important to her. He would know that it hurts her feelings that he doesn't reciprocate, and he would try to unbend a little, FOR HER. Hug her back, hold her hand, put your arm around her now and then, because you know it makes HER feel good. That's what a man in love would do. He would make the effort. The fact that he never does these things tells us more loudly than anything that Danielle and her happiness mean nothing to him. Culture could explain why he doesn't initiate affection. It doesn't explain why he doesn't reciprocate it. This is America, Jack. If you're going to be living here, try learning and adapting to the culture here.

True. But I expect they were chaperoned, no? How long did they know each other there?

I thought what Danny said about why they wanted to be celibate before marriage was interesting. It was all about being emotionally intimate before becoming physically intimate. But I wonder when they had an opportunity to develop that emotional intimacy. In my mind, emotional intimacy comes from experiencing a lot of things together and having lots of long talks about what you think, how you see the world, what experiences you've had, what you'd like to do and be in the future. But it doesn't seem like they had much time for that during the 90 days. It seems like they didn't have tons of time together, and almost none with just the two of them.

I agree that none of them deserved this. But I stand by "lazy and stupid" as it behooves you as an adult to perhaps spend a day watching TLC programming before you sign up to be on a show on their network. Or google "what is it like being on reality tv." This is what I mean by homework. It doesn't require an attorney or advice from anyone. It just requires sense. None of them deserved what happened to them, but they absolutely had a responsibility to find out what reality tv was about - particularly on this channel - before they agreed to do it.

I can't agree with this at all.They wanted to be on tv and they volunteered for this. And if they were too lazy or too stupid to do their homework before signing up for it then they have no one to blame but themselves. I have no patience or sympathy for whining about how they're being judged, or claims that the editing was bad or they were provoked/manipulated into saying or doing things they didn't mean.

Legally, yes. But in reality, Mo is the one with the power because Danielle is a desperate doormat who will do anything to keep him, and he knows it.

His brother Nic the Hat is 34, married, and a parent, and still has the maturity of a 14 year old. This doesn't give me much hope for Danny.

Also from the E! article: I wonder why she thought Lenore would be better in wholesale than in a retail store? I wish she had offered Kier and Amanda a job. I would like to have seen their reaction. I don't know if it counts as Amanda "beating" Kier just because Kier's dismissal was announced a few minutes before Amanda. I think the way DVF announced it was for drama. It wasn't a second runner-up, 1st runner up situation. It was a two people lost and one person won situation.

It is now. I don't belong to twitter and I was able to read it.

Cassia's twitter is amusing. It is always amusing when people volunteer for reality tv, are paid for the experience, and then complain about the creative editing. Also amusing is when they go on facebook/twitter/instagram/forums like this (for no other reason than because they want to be recognized and talked about) and immediately start thanking their "fans" and hating on their "haters." Particularly if they make their formerly private twitter public in order to do so. On a side note, it appears that all of her hair is brown now, which shows she is capable of making good decisions.