Pepper Mostly

King of the Gypsies is a book by Peter Maas, the guy who wrote Serpico. Another interesting book about Roma people in the US today is Hastened to the Grave, by Jack Olsen, who's a pretty well respected true crime writer. Neither one is especially complimentary to the Romani culture. Books are hard to come by, there are few about American Romani.

That mixer was probably on her gift registry. Why would a woman so inept in the kitchen have a deluxe mixer otherwise? Seriously, they invited LISA up for the dinner party? And Queen Lisa, who knows from class, puts all the dinner guests on the spot by asking "what do you (low class, oafish) Yankees really think of Southerners?" So awkward! Made worse by Josh's glowering. Meghan's poor workmates! I thought Josh was a resident--how does he have so much free time? I thought medical residents worked ridiculously long hours and spent the rest of their time sleeping? I'm guessing that the cliffhanger with Ragini and Veeral is that the doctor is going to tell Ragini that she has the ovaries of a 20 year old. And that she is already pregnant! Any takers? Christian doesn't work! I bet Michael doesn't either, unless he runs a roofing or driveway paving scam. Maria and Nina sell flowers at vastly inflated prices to drunk people. Its a rich life. /sarcasm. Poor Peter. He seems to have a head on his shoulders. What a waste. He won't go to college or have any kind of opportunity, in the name of keeping the culture unspoiled.

Dancing is a big part of Mormon culture! Half the pros on DWTS are Mormon, and there are always Mormon contestants on SYTYCD. As I understand it, dancing is a celebration and a way to rejoice in the lord. Aleksandra should be able to dance her heart out, in Rexburg. I'm kind of baffled about why the show is implying that the good folk of Rexburg will find her dancing sinful.

And General Foods International Coffee. Seriously, his house depresses the shit out of me. So dark and cheerless. And you know that wall to wall carpet reeks.

Chickabiddy, you come on over here and sit next to me. I cosign every single word of your post. I cannot get over how selfish and unfeeling the "host" fiances are. Kyle and Josh are marginally less awful, but still so tone deaf and clueless. What does poor little Aleksandra do all day, stuck at Grandma's house? Does Noon only do housework? I would be a lot more interested in seeing their real struggles, not this producer driven dreck. But, like you, I am in for the long haul.

Agreed. I was a bartender for years. Flirting is just one tool in the personality toolkit for any service provider! And really, if his tired, mechanical "so, what are you ladies up to tonight?" is his idea of devastatingly charming repartee, well, he has a long way to go. I was surprised that Josh's dad did not wear a tie to the morning scripture reading. Mama still has her arms crossed, though, and her look of patient suffering is firmly in place. What a sourpuss. Loren is horrible. I know I've said that already but. She just sucks all the oxygen out of the room. Her parents are beaten down and Alexei is next.

oh my god, I'm right with you. Mark's house is depressing--so dark, all that carpeting (I bet its ancient). The place looks like it has a bad smell. Unwashed sheets, old carpeting, and old man. Yuck. Could his family have looked any more awkward? "Breakfast party, yay!" Enjoy your frozen waffles, folks. Poor Nikki. I laughed like a hyena during their little talk, when she was cutting up mangos. It looked like she had a huge bowlful in front of her at one point. (Producer: "OK, you two need to have a little talk at the table. Nikki, maybe you could be cutting up some fruit or something? here you go, honey, here's a knife and a bowl of mangos. And--action!" Loren's sneering at Alexei's wish to do something meaningful was breathtaking! "OMIGOD, he wants to be a police officer or a firefighter or an EMT and serve his community! He should be a MODEL!" Um, what?? Yeah, he should not help people, he should pursue a long shot, high risk, short lived dream! Loren is a harpy of the first water. She will never be content. What an awful, awful person she is. Every thing is all about her. If that is Kyle being Mr. Personality and flirting it up for the big bucks, he should find another profession. He was utterly charmless, with all the personality of a bowl of cream of wheat.

I hope they go along the lines of the Masterchef kids' edition, with supportive mentoring and positive reinforcement. It will be very pleasant to watch if that is the case.

....or "I love this look! I would totally wear it!" Christian is a wonderful judge, so glad he's on board. I like Kelly too. Loved the winning look. Like the kids, the kid from Kansas has stolen my heart and I was glad the kid with the hat got a second chance. I have two Massachusetts kids I'm rooting for, one of them is from the town right next to mine! No screen time at all last night, so I'm hopeful that he's in it for the long haul. Will this be the thing that injects some life into the PR franchise? Let's hope!

I have a feeling production has her wear it, in case they want to splice some days/events together. No one will notice what Tony is wearing! Loved Colbert fishing in his dugout, and Tony and Amelia bartering for a "betty hook". she cracks my shit up. Thorn has a GF!! Holy moly.

Nosy, Bitter Harpies? God, they were horrible. I thought their intrusive questioning was way out of line! Melanie is a big girl and is capable of making her own decisions. They may not be the decisions her nasty sisters would make but it is HER BUSINESS. And not once did I see them behave in any way that could be construed as polite. Did anyone thank him for cooking for them? Or ask how he was adjusting? Nope, straight for the jugular. Awful. I applaud Devar for not losing his shit and staying civil. I'm just hoping he was winding them up with his "I'll send 9 dollars out of 10 back to my family". I cling to the notion that he's having a quiet laugh about sending up their blood pressures. I don't know what's driving Devar, maybe he's in it for the green card, maybe he likes Melanie well enough and is happy to live with the trade off, maybe he even does love her. But no one deserves the kind of grilling he got. Loren is a spolled brat and breathtakingly self centered. Obviously her parents have catered to her every whim and indulged these tantrums. Poor Alexei. Aleksandra needs to run, not walk back to Prague. Poor thing, I just wanted to hug her. And why was everyone salsa dancing at a Dunkin Donuts?

I agree 100%. I thought Kelly, with her wacky esthetic and 70's point of view was cannon fodder. I loved her from the beginning, but I was always preparing myself for her auf-ing. I really hoped she would go all the way. And I'm not one for calling shenanigans either, but it was so transparently clear that Ashley was the Chosen One, it was laughable. I don't understand why producer manipulation is needed. Remember season one? You couldn't have edited, manipulated or orchestrated the developments of that halcyon season! Mustache-gate! Morganza's many meltdowns! Wendy Pepper, goddess of evil! Kara Saun's shoe scandal! The fabulous Austin Scarlett! Sigh. Those were the days. And they didn't even give them a driver! They had to drive themselves!

Oh my god, I read those ages ago, when the first Forsyte Saga series was on PBS (it wasn't even PBS then, I don't think!), I must have been maybe 14 or 15? They're wonderful, I'd like to read them again.

When Ragini came home from visiting her parents and Veeral still acted like a petulant, sulky child, she should have turned right around and walked out again. Really? He's still pouting? They're both awful. Oh Meghan. Yes, Target. Except the whole scene in the "cute little shop" was totally staged and scripted. "OK, Meghan, honey, we found you a nice store, what we need you to do is go in, get excited about their cute merchandise, and lay down several hundred dollars on useless shit. Not to worry, we'll get it to your apartment before Josh gets home". Her mother told her to go out and buy something for the apartment? WTF? Don't they have wedding gifts? what could they possibly need? That was absolutely terrible advice, Meghan's mother! And really, its a "Southern tradition" that people eat at a table? This girl needs to get out more. "In the south, we enjoy using silverware to eat our food" "here in the south, we traditionally eat popcorn at the movies". Maria is like a hostage, thinking she can curry favor with her captors by snitching on her fellow captives. Stockholm Syndrome.

I just came by to say how much I love Rachel's glee at Jeb's weird little noises. Last week she likened his "whoo!" to the noise of a "happy little owl" which made me laugh heartily and for many minutes.

Production, sure, but Josh too. He is getting off on how "bad" Aleksandra was. She's his prize convert! He jumped right in with "see through shirts?" when she was trying to describe what she wore in Prague, with a silly grin on his face.

Hahaha, TLC can't catch lightning in a bottle twice! Ignorant bigots like Danny's dad are getting thinner on the ground these days. I'm flashing back to UNReal "thousand dollar bonus to the first one to find a racist relative who'll cop to it on camera!"

I thought Melanie's parents were getting them the rings as a gift, and probably had a budget from them. I actually laughed a little at Melanie's testy "stop it!". No one is sunshine and rainbows all the time. Its a big change and she's had her share of stress, I don't blame her for getting irritated. And Devar's "oh yes" response to every question makes me laugh too. He is the very definition of laid back. God, poor Aleksandra. So she used to go out and have fun. Why all the judgy side-eyes from sanctimonious cousin? And don't Mormons dance? Isn't it part of their religion to honor the Lord by dancing? I thought that was why there were so many Mormon ballroom dancers.Why make her feel bad about herself for dancing? Shouldn't someone say to her "oh we LOVE to dance! you should come to class with me sometime!" And lord, those wedding dresses. You can have a modest dress without it being cheap looking and frumpy. (See Trump, Ivanka, and Duchess of Cambridge, Katherine.) The poor thing, I just wanted to hug her. Josh's mother is just a professional Patient Sufferer, I guess. Everything seems like such a burden. Does she ever smile?

Loved them. Edmond and his brother look just like his father! What a good looking crew of men! Nope. When the look walked out I just exhaled and said "well, those pants are.....unfortunate" Agreed. I couldn't understand that at all. To me it was "OK, Kelly's quirky, Ashley is feminine plus, Candice is moody darkness, so Edmond is SEXY."And sexy isn't just no front and no back, Heidi. Jesus. My blood pressure. Edmond's floaty black and whit number was absolutely beautiful and had a nice retro, 70's vibe, like something Barbra Streisand would have worn back in the day. Or Marlo Thomas in the "That Girl" era. Really cute. And a nice shout out to his very fashionable parents. I think our Edmond is playing the production a little. No way he'd turn up so unprepared. He's either psyching the other three out or mind fucking production in a way I find delightful. I'm a die hard Kelly fan, but I hope Edmond wins it all. I feel like everyone's picks for the mini collection were producer driven. No way Kelly wouldn't have chosen at least one of her detailed looks. And there's no way Ashley could have chosen to send those sad looks out of her own volition, is there? IS THERE? I have to believe this or I will cry myself to sleep. I can't figure out why the judges were so nonplussed by Edmond's choice to do evening wear. Season 2 winner Chloe Dao won with all her her upholstery-inspired "fantasy evening wear". Sheesh. Of course, Daniel V. crashed and burned and there was no way in hell they were giving Santino the win, so if Chloe had sent trash bags down the runway she would have won. #still bitter. Can we just talk about the home visits for a minute? Kelly's family was adorable, and the trip to the deli was everything. The Tim Gunn sandwich! Kelly's shy boyfriend (I said out loud "Oh, look at him--he's a palooka, but a nice one--I bet he likes cats!) I loved it all. Kind, simple salt of the earth folks who'll wrap up a sandwich for you to take home. Everyone was so proud of her! I think I might have teared up a little.

hahahaha, only because Christian's parents know he's a barely-out-of-puberty manchild. Mamma bear knows her cub.

I have to believe that Veeral and Ragini are just putting on a show for the cameras. I HAVE to believe this, because no two sane adults would continue to have the same revolving door arguments every day. And Veeral's sister, too. She seems way too conscious of the cameras, and her arguments are nonsensical! "we've all fallen in love with you! We crave your company! Were you just pretending to love us too, so you could get your filthy, modern Indian woman hooks into my brother?" Girl, take a seat. You are insane.

Agreed. Melanie may be many things but I don't think she is stupid. Maybe they are in love, maybe they made a deal, maybe she's thinking "hey, if I can get five years' happiness with this hot young stud, I'll consider myself ahead". Either way, its her life, Hosebeast Sister. She has given no indication that she's the kind of person who makes poor decisions or does things foolishly. She has a career, a nice home, and her son is happy and healthy. Back off.

Are you me?? hahahaha, I was saying the exact same thing about Noon's pearl clutching on Bourbon St. Really? Bangkok is a sleepy little provincial village I guess, where the townsfolk live quiet lives, playing with the kids and singing hymns, with nothing to compare to New Orleans debauchery? What sort of chumps does TLC take us for? And I too was perplexed by Loren's hysterics. They could try again, she could go to Israel. Geez, girl, switch to decaf. Bev the Beast and her scintillating husband (did he utter one word?) are going to be Season 3's Danny's dad, I guess? She never said in so many words but clearly she was dismayed not just by the "whirlwind" romance.

I used to work at a dental school. The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery department also did botox, other fillers, chemical peels, lip enhancements, blepharoplasty, and other facial cosmetic procedures, among other things. An oral surgeon has an additional four years of training after dental school. I liked her a lot, too! She seemed very grounded and secure. A rarity on this show! Boobie girl, I just can't. Her new breasts looked terrible. I do not think the look of two grapefruits under the skin, with six inches between them is very attractive. As long as she's happy, I guess!

What does Fernando DO, exactly, that allows him to up and fly to Colombia for a few weeks? He is a real douchenozzle, and his mother is a hag. She and Melanie's sister could hang out and we could decide who was more hateful. Melanie's sister was just awful--"So, if you're a lifeguard at a resort, you must be fucking everything that moves. why, you are probably infested with every STD known to human kind!" WTF?? And Bev, newsflash-Devar lives in a tropical paradise, and has a good job. Moving to East Muffin, PA is not necessarily "living the dream". I wanted to throttle her. Who talks to other people like this? I really dislike people who excuse their nasty personalities by insisting that they're "keeping it real" or "being direct". Um, no. Bev is an unpleasant shrew who feels compelled to live everyone else's life for them. Devar may or may not be in it for "the dream", but he handled himself very well and Iiked his bonding moment with Melanie's son. So, this season is a creep-off between Fernando and Mark, I guess?