sempervivum

Not even sure where to put this, but I saw an episode of something called 'Tiny Paradise' last night. My channel guide shows it as 'season 2', so this apparently has been on for awhile? It was set in the desert someplace, my impression was it was not overseas, but I missed that part. Anyway it featured some hippy dippy woman who spent the half hour in garish yoga leggings, a cami, a flowing head scarf and boots. She put 2 tiny houses together, which seemed like cheating to me! She also made a big deal out of having a 'tiny cat palace' built for the 3 week old kitten which had been unlucky enough to be 'rescued' by her. The house was covered with murals which made it look like a stranded DeadHead van.

Switzerland- I didn't understand exactly what the husband was getting at, when he kept saying that the Swiss don't want cheap places because they think they must not be any good (or something). He was really ass-ing it up for the camera, I thought. They were a really attractive (looking) couple. Another yoga teacher, though /eyeroll. We have a Swiss neighbor (married to an American) who is always enthusing about how very lucky he feels to be a homeowner, as it would have been almost impossible for him back in his home country.

I just caught the episode from May, titled 'I Like Big Butts and I Will Not Die' (I think). I can't believe that nobody here questioned the clown butt lady's story: She's a welder or steelworker of some sort! She DJs and dances by night! Has everybody already forgotten Flashdance? Even the doctors (who are old enough to have seen the movie in it's heyday) didn't make the connection. Maybe if they had showed her in a work outfit in the steel mill (or whatever it was) I might have bought this, although with difficulty.

Zanzibar- it's funny that on the usual 'tropical paradise' house hunt, the homes often have NO ovens at all, yet here 2 of the houses had 3 ovens. They do a lot of baking in Zanzibar? Were these two doing the usual 'randomly teaching English' thing, or were they actually real teachers at the international school? I'm never sure if international schools are for ex pat kids or can anyone go to them (assuming they pay tuition)?

No financial expert here, but I don't really understand how Kim would get this info (financing records re. buying/building in other states) from a NM courthouse. 'Something beautiful'- The Hummel?! I can only think it refers to Kim's love for Jimmy, doomed as it is.

Huh. You think those 2 things might be related? But property and cost of living is cheaper than in someplace stable, so they threw the dice. This reminds me of the retirees who decide to start bnb's in beautiful places with primitive infrastructure, who seem to want to ignore the likelihood that they end up clutching their chest and dying while waiting for the local ambulance to show up. But look at that ocean view!!

The Audi ad involving a young woman who's being named 'most valuable employee' or something. She has a sort of bucket list of things she wants to accomplish, and has crossed out 'visit Machu Picchu' and 'become fluent in German' (?) and has now crossed out the last item 'work for my dream company' and written over it 'start my dream company'. This ad has several variations, some of which omit the valuable employee award. She walks out carrying her work stuff and is stared at with (apparent) awe/amazement by an oldish woman on a bus. I dunno, she just looks kind of ungrateful or snotty, and all I can think is 'honey, you better get ready to downsize that Audi, because you're going to need all the capitol you can raise'. Also, key rule of job-quitting: don't burn bridges.

All State insurance (I think) commercial for the 'she shed' that was hit by lightening- or was it ?? Clearly, the wife has her suspicions about her poor long suffering husband! I find these 2 actors hilarious.

What is with both Dr. Lee AND the patients wearing giant falsh eyelashes? I was kind of moved by the blue eyed personal trainer guy who teared up as he wondered how his (stupid and shallow, IMO) girlfriend could dump him because of his nose lump. Did I miss some explanation of why the older black lady (Belinda, I think) needed her son to take care of her - because of her back lump, huh, why? What she really needed was breast reduction surgery.

I never watch these shows ('Tropical Paradise House Hunters,), but was stuck inside due to rain yesterday and caught the newest Caribbean Hunters episode. This was set on an island called 'Bonaire' and the hunters were a couple from (I think) Phoenix. I was uninterested in the actual houses, however, I am burning with curiousity to know how a yoga instructor and a 'diet instructor(?)' can afford a $450K place. Also, both appeared to be early 50's at most.

Wedding photos, maybe, unless you consider that falls under either 'portrait' or 'artistic'. And while she might have some special talent, I bet there are a zillion wedding photographers in Paris.

NZ to Paris- I fell asleep before they made a decision, but not surprised to hear they/er, I mean 'she'/ took the one in the scary-looking neighborhood. It looked really spacious because it was EMPTY, girls. I also wondered how anyone newly arrived could make any kind of a living as a photographer there. She was a cute, positive kind of person (especially compared to her bossy friend), but her weird high-water jeans were totally distracting to me. Is that some kind of Continental fashion?

Yep. There will always be an asterisk after his name (so to speak). Personally, I would be far more likely to watch Talking Dead with Yvette hosting, but I'm still glad he got the job back.

I'll have to show myself out after admitting this, but I actually sing along with the 'Today's the Daisy for cottaqe cheese' jingle. The visuals are pretty generic, but for some reason, that song makes me kind of happy.

I also like the one with the guy who gets all agitated about his crap insurance and throws his wallet into the harbor; he pauses a beat and then mumbles ' gonna regret that'. Something about his delivery tickles me and I find myself anticipating it.

Ice Cubes (or something?) gum- involves a sparkly unicorn that aims a ray of light at a ginger dude who's on the front lawn in a robe with concrete blocks on his feet. When the light hits the blocks, they shatter and 'release' his feet, I guess. He's wearing tube socks. He gets on the unicorn and gallops down the street, shouting 'to the shoe store'. This is random as all hell, right?

I think the voiceover in this piece specifically mentioned that eels are no longer obtainable/resident in the Thames. The whole 'disgustingly sweet American pies' stuff is hilarious, given the array of dental hideousity that identifies each and every British reality show I've watched. Yes, Paul and Mary's teeth are fine (although I always wince to see Mary's sideways gnawing on food, apparently she doesn't trust her dentures), but the blonde host has a mouthful of snaggled and discolored teeth. The UK doesn't have a reputation as a dental hell because of their restrained sugar consumption.

If only the police had initially bothered to check murderer historian guy's background, they would have discovered he was lying about having moved on from his obsession with the model and about his 'family'. Lots of red herrings in this one, but the actual murder plot was super basic (assuming you buy the whole waiting 10 years to get revenge- hey, wasn't last week's plot about a crazy guy waiting 50 years to get revenge?!) Edited to add: Whoever cast Sam Thursday did a great job; the Thursday men have such similar facial proportions that I went to check whether Sam could actually be actor Roger Allam's offspring, but no.

Madrid- Another big oaf who throws himself onto random sofas and beds, another wife who thinks she can only 'experience' a new culture by living in the city center, because of course there is NO Spanish culture outside the city limits. That place with the street-level windows was frightening; what would they do in the event of a fire? Those windows all had metal grates that didn't look like they could be opened.

CoolSculpting ad with stupid girl in a bikini next to a pool, who's trying to lose her (slightly) pudgy belly by eating hot chili peppers. Unless she's planning on eating enough of them to make her throw up, how could that work?

US Cellular ad 'some carriers try to pull the wool over your eyes'- this is incredibly gross to me. The 2 people attempting to make breakfast with sheep on their heads while pouring coffee and dropping eggs on the countertop! All I can think of is HOW far into the sheep stomachs are these idiots' heads going? And the sheep themselves, while very lifelike, must be CGI, right? Their movements are creepy and disturbing and I keep wondering if they are totally digital or some weird animatronic gizmos they built for this dumb spot.

In my world (lives in 150-year old house) 'large holes' are ones you can get your foot caught in, or the cat can fall into. Those little things she was appalled by were cosmetic : )

Antwerp- Another annoying wife. This time she sneers at the beautiful wide pine floors in the place they ultimately picked: they're just 'old', you know. Not like that simply divine (already outdated) grey laminate floor in the modern apartment, sheesh. What was with her allegedly Belgian husband, who sure sounded like he was raised in the US-he spoke with not even the slightest accent. And why on earth were they down in the sewer system? I've seen a few of those in Europe that are actually interesting looking, but this wasn't one of them.

I had trouble following the murder/plot. The one armed doorman went through all that stuff with poison straws and olives just to take revenge 50 years after his battalion (or whatever it was) was sent to their deaths by Valderama? He had a gun, why didn't he just shoot him? Once again (like last week), a laughably gaudy and inefficient method-kind of reminds me of old James Bond movies, where the villain finds 'fiendishly' complicated and byzantine ways to kill Bond, which of course never work. I realize I don't even know who killed the first victim, the retired cop who (I think) stole the Egyptian cartouche; nor am I clear on why or for whom he stole it. Somehow, I don't think poor Thursday will ever again see the money he loaned to his sleazy brother.

Valencia- that place was beautiful, flaws and all. Loved the Gaudi-influenced windows with the yellow glass. However, wifey clearly didn't want to be in Spain at all. Once again, nothing-nothing!- is as important to have in a romantic European city as an OVEN. They never said what her career was, she seemed like an odd fit with the carefully-tousled/skinny jeans faux hipster husband.