wurdalak

The restaurant may not be directly on the Square, but it is very close since it took all of them all of 10 seconds to get to the demolition site. One other person who would have been all over this redevelopment project is the ward councillor in the course of various discussions, planning meetings, public consultations and a big photo op at the start of demolition. However, Abe seems to be the only flesh and blood official running Salem. He also made the most relevant point during the whole kerfuffle, when he mentioned his wife having to drive a long way to get the necessary groceries. In many cities, there is indeed a shortage of stores offering basic staples in some neighbourhoods, especially a lack of grocery stores. In many instances it is all chic boutiques and gourmet food stores. Of course, that is a problem people like Lani – who rudely told him to butt out – or Julie probably never have to face. Which does not mean that gutting the Square and replacing it with that Priceline outlet would be the best solution. Diversifying offerings would be best, including getting a basic grocery store to open in the city. The actor playing Theo has such a baby face that it feels that Ciara may be committing statutory rape.

This whole town square demolition storyline makes no sense on so many levels. As I said previously, numerous municipal departments would be involved, not the lone planning commissioner Paulina mentioned today. Also, there would naturally be talk in the halls of City Hall regarding the specifics of the project and someone would be bright enough to mention it to the Mayor, if only casually. Demolition permits often require the approval of City Council, at least major ones like this. Unless Abe found a way to bypass the usual channels and the City By-laws. Multiple buy-outs of businesses, including the Salem Inn, taking place at the same time in the same location would attract attention because they are a matter of public record; of course since Jack and Jennifer are out of town, Salem cannot rely on their usual team of crack reporters to follow such stories. 😉 As for the Square itself, is it municipal property or was it owned by the merchants' association who graciously agreed to have the Alice&Tom Shrine in the middle of it? If the former, a red flag would have been raised somehow at City Hall. At least that's what would happen in a well-run city, which Salem obviously is not. Abe has only himself to blame for being compromised. In real life a half-competent mayor would at least have waited until the end of the project before jumping in bed with the developer. Did Paulina think the people in the restaurant would not hear the noise of the demolition? Or perhaps she was counting on Julie's screeching to cover it up. Fans on both sides of this debate seem to be well-matched and equally uncompromising in their opinions. Ciara has second-hand knowledge of her life with Ben, related by others, but not the memories of directly experiencing it personally and emotionally. It does not make her non-functional or incapable of making life choices. But she is not playing from a full deck of cards; she may be missing just a few, but they can be considered very important ones. Of course, this mess will hit the fan once she recovers her memory (it's a soap, so it appears to be a given that she will at one point).

So Paulina is allowed to run her project carte blanche, with no supervision or monitoring by municipal authorities and no accountability to the city? In real life at least the Urban Planning and Urban Development Services would be heavily involved, asking to see plans, regular updates, contracts, etc. But here she can do what the hell she wants with no outside interference and go ahead with her big plans, which probably include bulldozing the Sacred Tom&Alice Shrine. They probably are working on the logic that one can always fully trust a promoter/developer. 😉 Salem is really the worst-run city possible. Now the mayor is sleeping with her, opening himself up to accusations of conflict of interests. Not that it would be the first time Abe would put himself in that position. DiMera Enteprises has a very unusual governance structure. They seem to have two boards, one made up only of DiMeras (by birth, adoption or marriage) and which took the vote to remove Jake, perhaps acting as a sort of executive committee. However there is that other board Chin often refers to and which has in the past appointed the CEO; that one is made up of shareholders according to what he said yesterday. Overlapping powers? Or lack of consistency on the part of the writers? Tony has been made a fool just to make him the instrument that brings about the shared CEO scheme. We know how well that worked out with Zander and Philip. EJ had a good line yesterday when he said you only become a true DiMera once you get stabbed in the back by another family member. It's standard operating procedure when an executive is dismissed. The idea is not giving them a chance to abscond with sensitive papers or proprietary material. And being a board member does not give you full access to the company building like real full-time employees have. At least that is how it works in a well-run company.

That's no problem since people obviously get them at their local branch of "Doctor Rolf's Masks 'R Us" national chain of very successful stores. They must not only keep an complete inventory of each city's notable citizens, but are also keeping them up to date with the passing years. Which would also explain how characters can produce the required maks, with the necessary wig and voice mimicking trick at a moment's notice; they are always in stock! Is there anyone in Salem who handles a breakup maturely and without going either into a psychotic episode or a complete pathetic breakdown (the latter script device most frequently being used for the male characters)? Ben and Jake are fitting right in. It looked like 70s style Go-Go dancer boots along with a visible bra, both in front and back, and a much-too-short skirt. It was the sleaziest, most vulgar look she has displayed so far. Which surely means that line will be a runaway success for GabiChic. Lani was criticising Paulina because she had not inquired about her Devil twins in a few days, but on the other hand last week she was ready to hire a no-experience, unreliable and lying grifter to look after those same "precious" infants? Thankfully Chanel, of all people, had better sense than this supposedly bright star of the SPD. And how can Chanel have earned a "great degree"? She has been portrayed as incapable of putting any real effort into anything, except living off other people's money. Perhaps she paid others to take exams and write papers in her place (all on Paulina's dime of course). Will Abe finally have to face a reckoning for his recurring conflicts of interest? This time favouring a project set up by a relative and using his influence to make it happen. Since he is he default Mayor for Salem and the city apparently has no other durable option, I kind of doubt it.

Have they ever explained how Kristen always the correct life mask ready when she needs to impersonate someone? Does she keep a complete stock of all of Salem's prominent faces, just in case? And who makes them; does she have a handy kit always at the ready? If so, it is extremely fast and efficient.

So I did, deliberately. I used two related notions so that they would play with each other and amplify each other. A common rhetorical device, I thought. I still consider Theo and Ciara to be lying to themselves (and ultimately to each other) by persuading themselves that their "arrangement" is a credible foundation for building a solid and lasting relationship. That being said, we know that it is simply a scriptwriting expedient for creating drama. Exactly. Selfish and not very bright considering the predictable outcome. The writers appear to have morphed Theo's autism into inspissated stupidity. It does not help that the portrayal is so bland. As I posted yesterday, that should have raised a red flag in her mind. Assuming the writers understand the concept of medical privilege. But an aggressive prosecutor might still go ahead with it to influence public opinion and prospective jurors with leaks about the recording or to pressure Belle. Trask might even make the argument that privilege does not apply in this case because this was not a true doctor/patient relationship. Considering Belle is represented by Justin, the DA might well win that discussion, especially in Salem with the consistently flexible legal standards applied by its judges. A few weeks ago, Gabi wore samples from the "too vulgar for cheap whores" line of GabiChic apparel, with at least one boob constantly threatening to pop out. Today she was wearing a piece from the "two size too small is still much too large" line. I still wonder how anyone can surrender so easily to Sami's weak bullying and clumsy improvisation of an explanation. I suppose it helps that Lucas has no spine and Chloe is in full Florence Nightingale mode, which blinds her to anything else.

They are each lying to themselves. Hence my use of the word "self-delusion". As for the rest, our views and interpretations of this sub-plot and its implications do not "match up" indeed on any aspect, and it looks as if it will remain so.

She has the information but not the ability to process it correctly or efficiently enough. And yes, it is indeed MY interpretation; it is the basic principle of boards such as this one and of everything posted on them.

If that is what I had meant to say, I would have said it. This interpretation is entirely yours. Having diminished capacity (and I still maintain that is an apt decription for her condition as portrayed on the show) does not deprive her of the ability to make choices. But these choices are by necessity based on an incomplete and less clear knowledge of her own history, which means their overall rationality and validity are also diminished. And it means their decision to move to Africa is based on a lie and self-delusion, although not necessarily for identical motives. That is assuming amnesiacs have control over what they get to remember and whether their memory does or does not come back. Her present choice is disregarding the reality of what her life was during the period she has forgotten, because she has no direct experience of them, only what has been related to her by others. He is behaving like most male characters are portrayed on this show, i.e. as retrograde Neanderthals when it comes to "protecting" their feeble wimmins.

In some sense, Theo is a bit as diminished as Ciara in this situation. He has the same indirect experience of the facts as she does since he was in South Africa when most if not all of the Ciara-Ben romance occurred, including the wedding. Which could excuse in part the fact he is making such a stupid choice. Or at least explain somehow why he is willing to take such a risk and take advantage Ciara's present psychological circumstances. He's still exploitative of Ciara's condition, whereas Ben is behaving in the destructive obsessive manner lovelorn males are usually portrayed on this show. Feelings are important, even crucial, in how humans interpret facts. Especially when, like Ciara, you know about things that happened to you (in this case a whole chunk of your life), but you do not have the emotional memories that are usually associated with the direct experience of those events. So her interpretation of facts that have been related to her by family and acquaintances is necessarily incomplete and faulty. Her current life choices are therefore rather less than well-informed. That is assuming a fictional character reacts the way a real person would.

She has indirect knowledge of them. But not direct experience of them. Hence she is acting on an incomplete picture, which Theo is written as taking advantage of. But you forget: he is written as managing his condition with meds and counselling (the show can however choose to write him as skipping all of this because of... whatever reason is expedient). Anyway, I do not see how such an action would propel him back towards amnesiac Ciara.

Quite, and it was surprising (even refreshing) that Ben seemed to accept her choice and would not stand in her way (for now anyway). Theo however seems to be exploiting her diminished capacity to encourage her to embark on a course that can only be doomed to fail. She has amnesia covering a long period of her life. I would describe someone in that situation as having diminished capacity and not making decisions based on a full set of facts. When her memory comes back (it is a soap, so we know it must at one point) and her feelings are restored, how will she feels about the choices she made? I can already picture her screeching at Theo for having dragged her out of her husband's embrace and at Ben for not having stopped it and perhaps having moved on. You forget he is the detectivest detective who ever detectived, so he has the ability to home in quickly on what he is looking for. 😉 Much like the Salem hospital, the police station seems to have an open door policy so lax that anyone can walk in and just hang around where other people insist on having confidential confrontations within earshot of every passer-by (very unprofessional on the part of Trask). As for the recording, she could use it as a pressure tactic on Belle until, as I posted previously, a judge rules it inadmissible. The content could even be leaked to poison the mind of prospective jurors.

On the contrary, he is written as acting at least as dumb as everyone else, and then some. He knows the facts Ciara has forgotten and he must expect there is a good chance she will regain her memory. So he is willing to bet on a flimsy common future based on a lie. And in truth, Ben seemed to be the one thinking and acting the most sane today. Of course that may last only until he gets another fever dream about his wife, or unless he once again takes the bad advice from marriage counselor extraordinaire Jake. So Chloe can get an appointment with a specialist at the drop of a hat, the "best one in the field" according to her? She has some remarkable pull, even for a part-time opera singer (in fact, she is more of a dilettante than a professional). She can even get him on the phone and talk directly without any wait time to try and reschedule. Lucas is such a putz. Shouldn't a red flag have been raised in Trask's mind when Jan mentioned the recording was "some sort of a session". Unless medical privilege does not apply in Salem this week. Of course, an aggressive DA might take a chance on milking that piece of evidence for all it's worth until a judge declares it inadmissible.

Sorry, strange double post

Chanel has a lot to learn before she becomes an even barely competent grifter, which seems to be her sole available career choice because she does not know anything besides living off other people's money and favours. Her mother has been a pretty easy mark, which is not exactly rigorous training for the real world. Blurting out the scheme before the sucker you are trying to scam is beyond stupid. She does have a backup tactic, i.e. turning on the (artificial and not very convincing) charm on others, like she tried with Eli when she learned he was a cop during the champagne kerfuffle in the square. But it is very easy to see through it and it will not take her very far. Perhaps the writers intend to portray her progress towards becoming a fully fonctional scammer, but that could take a long time and much screen time, and they rarely take the time necessary for such sub-plots to unfold. Theo comes accross as taking advantage of a diminished Ciara by using her to live out a doomed fantasy. Not that Ben's latest scheme is any wiser. Theo looks like so much like a baby that one might think creepy Ciara is literally robbing the cradle just by looking at the two actors together.