BrindaWalsh

Well that is a fair point, I suppose.

I may be in the minority but I didn't find the time jumps distracting. Generally speaking I just kind of ignored them, truth be told, and it didn't really interfere with my understanding or following of the story. We've lived through this as a nation (correction: are living through it) and I think I just said in my head that as these events played out on the screen, so were the efforts to legally put an end to the crisis that Purdue created, and to Purdue itself. I think the writers did a pretty masterful job of weaving the stories of addiction that we've heard about or read about as we have come to understand this opioid crisis into the different character arcs - the mom whose child had to be raised by a grandparent, the kids partying who panic and dump the body of their friend who overdoses, the turn to heroin when you can't get Oxy because it's cheaper and "better," being offered drugs in the bathrooms of support group meetings, Oxy being offered for anything and everything, from an ankle injury to post surgery, turning to prostitution to fund the habit, the scum of the earth doctors who took advantage of the addicts seeking treatment, the stigma and shame and lack of compassion for those struggling with recovery when we know recovery from opioid use is different from other drugs because of how the drug impacts the brain. My god, seeing it all at once made me cringe at how this country has lacked compassion and understanding when supporting those in turmoil from drugs. However, I feel like they missed one critical story arc here - the perfectly normal, happy teen with everything ahead of them who gets prescribed oxy for a sport injury or some such thing. So many of the characters in the show who became addicted seemed to have some underlying emotional or mental struggle. For example, Betsy was struggling with her identity as a lesbian, Dr. Finnix certainly carried himself with a sense of loneliness and we learned early on that he had lost his wife to cancer. And while we got glimpses of the perfectly happy "world ahead of them teen," we didn't really see that full story arc which left me with the impression that they inadvertently tied an internal struggle with a proclivity towards addiction when we know that drugs do not discriminate in that way and that's been a big part of the opioid story and how the heroin crisis was different this time around. I can't BELIEVE that children's oxy was ever even an idea and I'm completely horrified by the concept and I can't let my mind even wander down that path. Was that real or was that for dramatic effect. And as I write this I'm sitting here staring at a bottle of oxycodone prescribed to me this week following surgery. I took one pill to help me sleep the first night home. As soon as I am cleared to drive, I have full intentions of driving to our local prescription drop box in town to dispose of it properly. I've always avoided painkillers like this, for one I don't like how they make me feel, and even before this show I was acutely aware of the risks associated with them. I remember in the 90s being offered oxycontin for a back injury. I turned it down at the time for the same reasons - I don't like masking the pain and how painkillers make me feel, I prefer to actually treat the problem and have a clear sense of how I am progressing and I have fortunately never been in a scenario where a stronger painkiller is actually necessary. In hindsight, like many of you here, I realize how lucky I am that I didn't go down that road, especially when the "it's not addictive" narrative was still very much alive and well.

Well apparently now the spin is that they knew people died but nobody took it seriously because they thought it was drug related. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.insider.com/travis-scott-partying-when-found-out-astroworld-deaths-reports-2021-11%3famp Yes, that is the quote from the anonymous source.

Am I the only one who thinks this guy is a major sleaze and that he knew exactly who Teresa was when she walked by? Granted I happen to think Teresa is a major sleaze but feel oddly protective over her. And somebody check on Audrianna. I can't imagine that she is okay.

They recently posted something on instagram about how this new house is because Melissa wants a "modern white house." The press picked it up, or at least Bravo did. The modern white house has dominated northern NJ for years now. Drive around the wealthy towns and homes are being knocked down and replaced with white blocks of concrete with black trim OR white houses with fake gray stone veneer all over the place. She will also probably opt for either a white and grey kitchen, or a white kitchen with some natural wood elements, a stairwell that has the modern black rails, and she will also soon be driving a black Tesla and pride herself on being so trendy even though all of that is a basic and ordinary. Because Melissa is a basic bitch without an original bone in her body and that's what everybody in northern NJ with the wealth does. Joe also said in the press that it takes him about 3 months to do a Joey Gorga home. Let THAT be your guide on their commitment to quality. In some ways that's why I like Marge's home reno instead. At least it's original. It's very Jonathan Adler infused maximalist style. I guarantee you that Melissa will put themselves into further debt for the sake of choosing Model Number 7.

Oh yay! I thought this was a finale and setup for next season and the mystery would continue.

I think I am late to the game on the theme music, but I finally know what it reminds me of - House of Cards for some reason. I think it's the repeated, almost tinkling sounds over the lower more melodic tune. I really thought Oliver was going to suggest that they develop their own merchandise line to keep the podcast running and tell Dimas that they no longer wanted him as a sponsor. But that was also before I realized that this was the last episode of the season. When does the next season drop? I laughed out loud at so many moments this episode - Brazzos as the safe word (nearly spit out my chicken and brocolli), the superfan recognizing Tie Dye Guy. The insults of the pizza rolls. All so brilliant.

You know what, I liked it. If they were going to do any episode this way, Beard is the only one they could do it with. I went between wondering if it was a dream, a trip, or real. And I guess it came down through his night through his broken down and intoxicated lens. Yes, it was bizarre and different, but Beard is a little bizarre and different. It was mostly contained. I don't know. I don't need or want a lot of episodes like this but I can give them one. You can always give them one. Look at all the shows that have randomly done musicals over the years. IMO only Buffy got it right. But all those other shows stepped outside their formula and did it. So I can give the Ted Lasso writers a pass here. On a side note, i loved how when he got to the club, suddenly his pants worked. And I also loved the shoutouts to pop culture along the way. Limelight in its heyday. "If you are there, God, it's me, Margaret's son." Milk and Bones which looks just like NYC's Soho House and (and a similar impersonation scenario as the SATC episode). There were others, I just can't quite remember them.

I don't think the Jamie confession has anything to do with Jamie other than his character growth. We have seen the redemption arc all season, we have seen him turn to Keeley before, after they broke up, and if memory serves we have seen him express happiness for her that she has Roy. I think that he simply needed to say it - death and funerals have a way of making you want to be better, be open, more humane, and when you combine that with his own moments with and about his father, that is what got him there. Oh that moment on the therapists couch where you have had such a breakthrough that you are so raw and vulnerable and need anybody or anything to hold you. Well done, show. My husbands father committed suicide, he was super young at the time, but the loss and anger that stays with those left behind is palpable. The show did a good job here. I loved Rebecca's mom saying that she was happy Rebecca hated her, rather than being indifferent. I know it was predictable but Ted singing first to help Rebecca in her eulogy made me so happy. I hope they never, ever, go there. The friendship and relationship is just too wonderful. I need a Sassy in my life. Every woman needs a Sassy. Damn.

I can add myself to the list who can draw comparisons to 22 year old Monica and things they did in their 20s and cringe (at the very least). It stems from a severe lack of self-esteem, a "history" of unreciprocated relationships - the kind where he throws the bone, gets what he enjoys, and you develop feelings qnd desperately want him to feel the same so you keep coming back for more - loneliness, and other issues that will eventually get worked out in therapy. So when somebody comes along who gives you even a glimpse of feeling worthwhile, attractive, sexy, intelligent, it knocks your world. If you didn't have that experience in your young romantic life, I envy you. It is not easy to live through and look back on, "cringe" doesn't do it justice! I too have heard tales of the Bill Clinton magnetism from people who have met him. It is allegedly sky high, and doesn't come across on tv, it is an in-person thing. I don't get it. I don't find him attractive at all. Let's also remember the timeframe of this. It was the 90s. Messages sent to teens and women in the 90s entangled empowerment with physical appearance and sex. We are just now looking back and realizing how anti-empowerment those messages really were. Flashing your pink lace thong IS trashy in todays world. But back then I bet you can find a Cosmo article entitled "Don't Let that Crush Crush You - 5 ways to let him know where he stands with YOU" or something like that which somehow highlights "give him a little flash!" as a means of taking control of your feelings and letting him know exactly what you want. Yes, that is how messed up and conflicting those messages were back then. Is there a feminist message in here? Absolutely, it is there, just different than what we might expect. So is Monica unhinged? I don't think that is the right word. The expression in the eyes is giving certain vibes that way, but I don't think unhinged is the right word. Does she bear some responsibility? Absolutely. But middle aged Bill should have known better. It takes 2 to tango, but Bill lead the dance. I now do wonder if Bill and Monica did actually have sex and it just never came to light because he was saying no and she was too terrified and wanted to keep one moment as theirs, not to be dissected, mocked and picked at by the world. This went on for long time. Cobie as Ann freaks me out.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2021/09/17/melissa-and-joe-gorga-list-3-homes-downgrade-to-900k-nj-pad/amp/ Is the money catching up with the Gorgas?

Hey! My 12 year old wore nearly that exact outfit for Halloween a couple of years ago. PIcture from halloweencostumes.com where you can order a Kim's outfit for a mere $39.99

Remember this Kim and Kanye? They got so heavy and dragged down and dark. Now even literally. We have a blacked out kim with capes deagging on the ground.

I don't know, maybe I'm not "fashionable" enough but I find the Met Gala to be a giant bore when it comes to fashion - and I'm not sure why. I love the glamour that comes with the Oscars, but the Met always leaves me feeling uninspired or rolling my eyes or bored. How many times can somebody dress 80% naked on the red carpet and be considered daring? How many times can we see some dominatrix look on the red carpet and claim that it's bold and fashion forward? There is this article in vogue saying that this year Kim kept people guessing, it was inventive and new. People didn't know who it was. Yes, they did, how could you not know that was Kim? The stance, the body, the fact that she'd worn a precursor to the look twice now, you'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind to not know it's Kim. Plus everybody knows that this is Kanye's vision, right? I do not understand why Kanye is considered this creative genius in the fashion world. We went from apocalyptic to non-existent fashion. And it's all been UGLY. All these boring browns and taupes and grays and puke greens. Is a color and a smile really that offensive? Maybe THAT would be refreshing, new and bold?

🤣🤣🤣 Oh, Kimmy. Why do you let Kanye do this shit to you?

I am just a few years younger than Monica Lewinsky and find myself more sympathetic to her now than I was back then.. She was 22 at the time - her frontal cortex hadn't even finished developing at the time. That lovely part of the brain that is involved with "motor function, problem solving, spontaneity, memory, language, initiation, judgement, impulse control, and social and sexual behavior." But I also now find myself more interested in all of the different players around the impeachment of Bill Clinton than I was back then. I love Washington politics in TV drama so I enjoyed this episode, even if I didn't fully remember much, or know about some of it from the outset. That's interesting, I walked away from this show thinking how incredibly unlikeable she was. Self-important, rude, judgmental, condescending. Lonely and angry - clearly. But that's not enough to make her sympathetic. Although it is interesting, in the press her daughter has said that the show is more sympathetic to her than life ever was - I read that before watching the show itself, and wondered if we were watching the same thing. I like the actress portraying Monica. She does a good job of capturing both the "I'm a professional" attitude that it must require to have an internship at the white house or with the Pentagon, but show the vulnerability of the fact that this was still very much a young girl making some very stupid decisions and being influenced by some very powerful people all along the way. What our society did to her is shameful. Monica has long said that she saw a side of our government that she never knew existed before then when it came to influence and pressure and safety, and I'm interested to see the show expand on that and hope that they do.

Jonathan has always reminded me of the desperate high school kid. The one who wanted so badly to be part of the popular group that he just inserted himself and tagged along even though they didn't treat him well. That kid was desperate, insecure, cared way too much, fake, and while he tried so hard to be "cool," he made himself into a douchebag. Jonathan is that kid. I so so so want Kim to be all "you can't sit with us" one day and film it for E.

LOL I remember that. Shannon vs. Kim. Then there was little Dominique just happily flipping all over the place with a big ass smile on her face. I also remember when suddenly everybody had to dress and do their hair like Shannon. I'm not sure how that happened, because the Karolyis were certainly still on the scene. It was when Kerri Strugg was coming on up and after Kim had retired, so the time between 92 and 96 I guess? I read some click bait article today about some Olympic gold medalist (I think a Russian wrestler?) saying that Simone needed some tough love or some such thing like that and should never have bowed out and the come back in. Sure, shithead, the girl who was sexually abused for years by the team doctor and went on to win Olympic all around gold, and all other medals over the past several years, needs "tough love." I hate these people, keep your damn mouths SHUT.

I personally am loving that we are seeing a variety of countries on the medal podium - USA, ROC, Brazil, Belgium, Great Britain, now China. How fantastic for this sport during this games. I know Simone was "supposed" to sweep it all, but if she had, in the GOAT way, we most likely wouldn't have Rebecca winning the first medal ever for Brazil and the first gold for an event final. Jade wouldn't have had her gold on bars. We we wouldn't be celebrating the first asian american to win individual gold. There's bright and shiny gold/silver/bronze lining here. That said I am THRILLED for her bronze. Not to mention, what an extraordinary way to take a bad situation and exhibit good sportsmanship, maturity, wisdom and leadership (to all of the older and allegedly wiser athletes who claim they can better handle pressure --- Novack! --- and throw their temper tantrums, I am looking at you. Sit down, shut it and take notes from the GOAT). She was honest with herself and her team, made some tough decisions, worked hard to come back, and supported her fellow athletes along the way. In the future when she looks back, this will probably be the medal that is the most special. GOAT indeed.

I think they also need to consider the 4 gymnast rule and how they score. And somebody please correct me if I'm wrong in my understanding of either: I've long said that the scoring is messed up - somebody as good as Simone can basically fall and still win gold because the degree of difficulty is so high. And as good as somebody like Simone may be, I've never agreed with that because it just seemed odd. If I fall in competition, how am I on top of the medal podium next to somebody who is flawless, but had one less half twist or whatever? But there's another side to that. If people are noticing that somebody is starting to struggle, which now everybody claims they did (grain of salt there, but okay), but they knew that "hey, it's Simone, she'll pull it together, plus we even have some wiggle room because she can mess it up and we'll still come out on top, it's okay!" then there's something fundamentally wrong there. If puts additional pressure on an already struggling gymnast and adds to the toxic environment of gold at all costs (if Simone hadn't advocated for herself, would she have been pulled out? Imagine if she hadn't...). For comparison - Vanessa Atler did not go to Sydney and in her case it was the mental games and they knew she couldn't do it on the world stage of the Olympics and in what was honestly a somewhat weaker quad, it was probably okay. But if Vanessa had the talent of Simone, the current scoring system...I'm willing to be money that she would have been on that Sydney team and it would have been a horror show. Which then brings me to the team of 4, 3 up, 3 scores count. The team is too small, period. For all the "it gives other countries a chance" talk, there are other ways to structure that opportunity without putting the pressure on the smaller team. I'd love to see them go back to 7, or even 6. 7 and top 4 scores count, drop the bottom 3 or something. Expand the AA or some such thing. This 4 person team makes no sense at all and only creates a more cut-throat environment, not a better opportunity. At least not from where I'm sitting. Simone stepping down is probably the goatiest thing a GOAT could do for so many reasons. I LOVE the support she is getting from the athletic community, it's amazing.

AA selection is only based on performance in the qualifying round. I remember this being a big point of discussion when Aly beat Jordan, everybody kept hammering home that unless Aly or Gabby dropped out or were pulled for "injury", there was no way to get Jordan in there even though she placed easily in the top 8 because of the 2 gymnast rule. The team final doesn't impact who goes to AA at all.

My least favorite is the weird side ariel with bent legs on the beam (I don't know the official name). We hear all about clean lines, straight legs, pointed toes, yet somehow we have this clunky thing that looks like a mistake. Speaking of the beam, the Russian who fell, her mount and leap series was beautiful.

I have never understood wolf turns. Are the arms supposed to do something specific? I feel like everybody waves their arms around differently.

But that's not what they did, at least not IMO. The switch is really clear - they lead up to her vault, without real explanation but instead false "prediction," then switch back to the original commentary where you can tell that they are somewhat stunned and confused by what was going on. Yes, they can draw on past examples of the mental game and pressure gone wrong in the olympic games and draw conclusions about what happened, but they were quite finite in their mental game analysis, the "lost in the air" statements, the Simone blooper reel, the warmup predictions, etc. Then they switch to "what's happening?" and "here is what usag says, a health issue" and "I texted the coach, it is not physical." NBC can do what they want, it just feels gross. Team USA was amazing. After all the upheaval of the past years, after a pandemic -- they WON silver. Go USA. And I love the sportsmanship between all of the athletes. I remember the Kim Zmeskal/Svetlana Boginskaya cold war, stretching their splits and deliberately ignoring each other in their own HBIC ways.

Will we see anybody other than the Americans and ROC? I don't get how NBC is so short sighted when planning their coverage. And they wonder why viewership is down. This is the Olympics. Every 4 years, the greatest athletes in the world. Let us see them. It is part of the fun and the culture and purpose of the games. I love gymnastics. I will cheer on team USA every day. And I want to see other countries. I assume I am not alone in that.