lasu

I read that Michael is 74! Is that right? Ashley's just making sure she gets a big piece of that pie.

Trust me, it wasn't a bad day. For me, anyway. I was polite and professional, but I also hit a little harder than I normally do when I talked about how we had a team mentality and we were all moving the same ball towards the same goal. Getting him his coat at the end was kind of icing on the cake, not going to lie. And honestly, this was at a start up, so even though this guy was applying for an exec level position, he was still pretty young. I truly think he learned a valuable lesson that day that has probably helped him in his career. And don't the Darbys know SEX is supposed to lead to babies, not sex SCANDALS?? Good gravy.

As a former "just the assistant" anyone who treats an assistant with disdain is a fool. I was the assistant to the CEO of the company I worked for, and I was considered an executive. Not just an executive assistant; my office, decision making powers, salary, and treatment by my coworkers was that of an executive. No one in the company treated me like shit, but external people did far more often than I can comment on. But you HAD to call me to talk to the CEO (unless you had his personal cell), and let me tell you, sometimes people were so fucking rude. I think my favorite was we had a high level interviewee come in. I came to greet him and, without even looking directly at me, he HANDED ME HIS COAT and asked if we had water. Absolutely sir! I sat him in the conference room, went and hung up his coat, got him a bottle of water, and brought it to him. Then I sat down across from him and started his interview. Yeah...this interview is literally for "just the assistant" to give her opinion to the CEO. The CEO didn't waste time with anyone who didn't make it through a few rounds below him. This guy was one level away from interviewing with the CEO, but he had to get through me first. He didn't. But I did get his coat for him on his way out. On topic: I wonder how Wendy felt after she saw how hard Michael was pressuring Ashley to take the baby, especially if she knows this would be playing on Ashley's biggest fear, being a bad mom. Finally, during the dinner fight, Candiace starts checking her reflection in a butter knife. ...if that was intentionally a call back to her throwing the butter knife, I don't know what to do because that would be showing self awareness, and is low-key hilarious. So that means it had to be just vanity, right? Right?? RIGHT???

I hated the twinnies on AR, though not because of the money. I agree it's a grey area. "Stealing" to me indicates they went and took money from the other team's wallet. This was more of a "finders keepers, losers weepers" situation. Did they do the technically wrong thing? Sure. But had they returned the money, I wouldn't have liked them any more or less. I'm neutral at best on that. In a competitive situation in which it's not against the rules, I might do it too, and not be concerned at all that people would think I was a scumbag about it. (To me, the only morally suspect part of this is that the locals had to end up helping the other team, that's not cool.) I'd be more upset if people thought I would extrapolate that behavior in real life; I wouldn't. I also don't lie my head off in real life, but I've always been befuddled by people who think it makes you a terrible person to lie on Survivor, and think that means you can never be trusted in the real world. It's part of the game. I just strongly disliked the two of them outside of that. TWINNIE! Holy crow, I really disliked them. I was super devastated when they were cast on Survivor, but Natalie COMPLETELY turned me around. I don't think I've ever done such a 180, and if I have, it's never been going from dislike to like. She was great at challenges and the social parts of the game, and my love was cemented for her at her final tribal. Most women finalists tend to to the Amanda route, crying and apologizing for their game and hurting people and just being so, so sorry for everything they did that got them there. Natalie had so much fun playing Survivor, and she carried that fun into the final tribal. She was unapologetic about playing the game, and it was wonderful to watch a woman not apologize for making it to the final. She also seemed well liked on her all winners season by her castmates. It'll be interesting to see what she brings to this. I'm not trying to convince anyone to like her, but she brings one of (if not the, I think it's probably the) best American reality tv resumes to The Challenge to date. She's, based on her pedigree, lowering herself to be on this show, but I'm not mad about it. Get that money while you can. It'll just be a matter of if she can figure out the game fast enough. Hopefully she's smart enough to study beforehand. One final superficial reason for liking Natalie so much is that she is undeniable proof that bodies can be deceiving. At first glance, Natalie honestly looks ever so slightly out of shape (not fat, just not looking all sleek with obvious muscles, think BB Christmas), but she is a complete and total badass. She is a beast, and I absolutely love it.

OK, I went back and watched this more than once (I do NOT like what the pandemic is doing to me, lol), and my ruling is that Wendy definitely started it and there would have been no argument if she hadn't started with Ashley. As Monique is describing the bedroom situation, you can see Wendy's face betraying some feeling as soon as Monique says Ashley's baby would be there. Yet, she says nothing to the host, who clearly would have been the person to decide who was and was not allowed regardless of the size of the guest. The the bird attack happens as Ashley comes is, which while neither here nor there, was some of the funniest shit I've ever seen on TV. I'm also not a huge fan of birds, but holy fuck, THAT was a reaction! So Ashley with Dean, and it's actually Robyn who kicks things off, asking why Michael didn't watch Dean (though she uses a very purposeful inflection [IMO) to soften something that could sound very judgmental). Ashley responds, "No, I couldn't be away from him that long," in a kind of "I know I'm absurd" voice. And this is where Wendy was wrong - as Ashley is saying this, Wendy's entire posture chances and she literally side eyes Ashley, and say, "Ashley, c'mon." There's no question (to me) that she is pissed, and it's coming of as judgmental and it doesn't go unnoticed by anyone in the room. Gizelle and Robyn immediately start saying things like "she's a new mom! Don't judge!" I think both Gizelle and Robyn know that a three-month old baby can be cared for by his father for three days, but they are also being sympathetic to a new mom. Wendy starts saying she is a new mom too! Her baby is even younger! But Gizelle, Robyn, and Ashley start pointing out it's her third! Not the same! This is actually a weird situation where for once I think Ashley should have let other fight her battle for her, at least on this particular point. I'm not a mom and I actually pretty strongly dislike baby babies. I love baby other animals, just not baby babies. I *really* don't want to hold your baby. I *will* hold your baby if you need to go to the bathroom, and I'll chip in a do a feeding or a diaper changing. I don't mind helping. But I still don't like your baby (it's nothing personal against your baby!!) and I don't want to hold it just for the sake of holding it. All that said, even I have enough experiences with first time moms versus moms of more than one, and the difference is clear. To me, there is no question that the trio was right, Ashley was a new mom, while Wendy has a new baby and they aren't really the same. But if I had been there, as a mother of none, I'd have kept out of it, and as a mother of one, Ashley should have let the mother of more than one in the room make the argument that it's different. It just wasn't the best look for her. Then we cut to Wendy's TH where she says her daughter was premature and in the NICU. Considering that was three months ago, I'm sure that is still very painful and raw, but she only enters it as exculpatory evidence after the fact, and to be honest, as a non-parent, I don't know how to factor that in, so I'm going to dismiss it. Not fair of me, but it wasn't introduced into the actual argument and I don't know how to weigh it, so I'm just going to throw it out. Not as an awful and scary experience that we should be sympathetic to, but as evidence in the argument between Wendy and Ashley. After the talking head, we come back and Karen is apparently trying to diffuse the situation. She says something to Ashley about the nursery (and Wendy is staring DAGGERS at Ashley), and then politely says to Wendy, does seeing Dean make you miss your baby? Obviously, Karen is actually trying to smooth things over and acknowledge Wendy's feelings. Wendy basically starts going on again about it being a Girls' Weekend, with the clear implication Ashley shouldn't have brought her baby. Ashley looks over at Robyn (holding Dean, and keep in mind Robyn was the first person to ask why Michael didn't keep Dean), and says, "My husband has to work!" Now, here is where we have to stop and acknowledge we, the viewers, have extra information Wendy does not. We have seen Michael's INSANE pressure on Ashley to feel like a bad mother if she abandons her child (for three days - which I'm betting is Day One getting there in the late afternoon [it was about 430 when this argument happened and Ashley had just arrived], all day Day Two, and leave Day Three morning. So i bet three days worked out to less than 48 hours). Keep in mind, Ashley's own mother abandoned her, so Michael is playing on some real fear Ashley would obviously have. Ashley knows she can't come out and say what she has been taught, that only a bad mother would leave a baby alone that long. But her response still alludes to the SOURCE of where those fears are being stoked: Michael. So she says the only part of his argument she can that doesn't put down Wendy as a mother - my husband has to work. Which, by proxy, is an "attack" on Wendy's husband. So off they go again about whose husband is busier/more important. And here I'm going to digress even further and ding Wendy again. She keeps saying her husband is an attorney. I think that's considered the "fancier" term, but I have no problem with at all. However! Try saying out loud MY HUS-BAND IS AN AT-TOURNEY! Now try saying out loud MY HUS-BAND IS A LAW-YER. The second comes with way better verbal slaps. They are both being idiots, this has nothing to do with husband (except Wendy's is likely supportive of her and does watch his kids, while Michael is a fucked up gas lighter who just wants them out of his path). But LAW-YER just sounds better in this context. I'm deducting points for style. Then, Wendy starts talking about how much effort she put into being able to come without her baby, and says because she put so much effort in, she knows it can be done, and she has no sympathy for Ashley saying she's a new mom. Ashley very correctly points out she didn't ask for Wendy's sympathy, and tells Wendy to mind her business, Wendy says it IS her business, and I'm going to deduct more points here. Ashley and Ashley's baby are the literal definition of not her business. She is completely acting like Ashley has done something wrong by bringing her baby, and that's NOT HER BUSINESS. Wendy is also saying she did all of this so she could be present with the other ladies. She seems to be thinking that she and Ashley are coming into this as employees of equal value and they simply aren't. Ashley is gold plated cast member. If she needs extra accommodations with filming, she is likely going to get it. She's been with the "company" longer, she's paid more dues, she's brought the drama. If Ashley told production, "Dean comes or I don't" they are more like to work with her because she is an employee who gets her job done. If Wendy said the same thing to production, they might shrug and be like, "OK, enjoy your weekend at home", or "Lady, you need to look at your contract." But the truth is long time employees sometimes get accommodations new hires don't. I don't know that any of this happened, it just wouldn't surprise or bother me. In addition to that aspect, Wendy also seems to forget Ashley has real friendships with some of these women. Wendy just met them about 10 minutes ago. Ashley has been to Monique's lake house before, right? So, of course Ashley is going to feel more comfortable asking Monique if she could bring Dean. They are friends, even if it's just co-worker friends. Wendy and Monique at this point are ONLY co-workers, and naturally she is going to be less likely to ask her co-worker if she can bring her baby on a work retreat where her literal job is to get to know her co-workers. Ashley has already put in her time doing that, so it's not as big of a deal if Ashley ducks out some. While none of this, either with production or friends, is surprising to me, I think it was VERY surprising to Wendy. I think she's been at the head of the line for a very long time, and having to get in line behind someone like Ashley (in her eyes, not mine) is upsetting her world view. She somehow doesn't understand that Ashley has way more to bring to a reality show and has already proven it, and four degrees means absolutely nothing in this setting. In the bizarro Ho'wives world, having a messy life is worth more than having your shit together. And regardless of which combination of the above scenarios led to this, Wendy was wrong as soon as she said, "Ashley, c'mon." Ashley literally had done nothing wrong. She didn't just show up with a surprise baby! Wendy should have been upset with herself, Monique, and/or production. But instead, she tried to make Ashley feel WRONG for bringing her baby, that she was WRONG for not doing things exactly as Wendy did. Wendy's argument is with the wrong person, and that's why she looks so bad. Yes, Ashley absolutely lobbed her own barbs back, but this is a definite case of don't start none, won't be none. So, my thoughts are Wendy started it without provocation, Ashley continued it and escalated it with provocation, and ultimately Michael is at fault for the whole damn thing. Final ruling: Michael, guilty.

Hulu recently did a neat promotion where I could get a freebie book that one of their series is based on. I almost always enjoy the book more than the show, and this was no exception. But at the same time, I would recommend the series over the book to someone else. Obviously this Marianne was far too pretty, but she was SO pretty to look at I didn't complain. And Connell, at first I didn't think the actor was good looking enough, but he totally grew on me. I thought the actress looked like a mix of Anne Hathaway and the 50 Shades chick, and he looked like a mix of Robert Pattinson and Daniel Radcliffe. I didn't enjoy the lack of quotation marks in the book, but I think the book had the advantage of being so worried about what was going to happen. I thought there was going to be a Big Event, more than the fight with her brother. So I read the book in high nervousness, which was gone for the show. Also, the book's sex scenes made me a little squirmy, but the show...wowee. Honestly, I felt deeply uncomfortable BECAUSE of the intimacy they were able to portray. And, while I'm no prude about teens having sex, I still felt pretty unsettled watching intense sex scenes when the characters are high school seniors. I was glad they diversified the cast, but I got super nervous when they made Stephen black, only because in the book when things end, she has to demand that he untie her (I didn't think he was intentionally being an ass, just slow to understand things were o.v.e.r.) and threatens to call the police on him. The LAST thing I wanted to see was a white woman calling the police on a black man, even if she was Irish and it was all taking place in Sweden. I was completely ripped out of the moment until I was certain they were going to modify that part. One of the interesting things to me is that at the end of the book, and at the end of the show, I couldn't decide if they should be together or if I even wanted them to be together. But I think it would be very hard for either of them to be with someone else long term. I'm completely comfortable with my male partner having good female friends, but I don't think I could be with someone who had a connection that deep with another woman.

IMO? Because she can't let Candiace do anything on her own. She came on the show to make sure she got credit for everything Candiace "accomplishes." No way was Mom going to let Candiace strike out, make a name or money for herself. I truly dislike Candiace, but I dislike her mother far more, and her mother very much encourages the co-dependence.

FWIW, a LCSW is a real therapist. No, they are not psychiatrists or psychologists, but they are legitimate therapists. I'm only saying that in defense of other LCSW therapists and their patients, because obviously Candiace's mom is fucking insane. The Housewives franchises have absolutely no shortage of the worst mothers on the planet, but Mrs. Candiace may be my least favorite. I wouldn't pay a dime for her therapy, even if she had 47 degrees like Wendy.

I can't figure this whole Gizelle/Jamal situation out. I like Gizelle, I don't care that she's a mean girl and an obvious shit stirrer. She's a character on tv, not a real person UNTIL it comes to her kids. If she is doing this whole thing literally just for a storyline, then I can't get down with that. Even if she had a regular fake boyfriend for a storyline, I still would barely care, but doing it with their father? That's fraught even if it's true. FWIW, I have a similar perspective to her girls in that my parents also divorced before I starting forming memories. I literally have no memory of my parents ever being a couple. So I think one of the things going on for them is that it's this is MY dad and MY mom. They have never known MY mom and MY dad to have a relationship with each other, so it feels all kinds of weird. The best way I can describe it to someone who wasn't raised that way is if you had a best friend at school and a best friend in the neighborhood, and then somehow they became besties outside of you. I honestly hated my parents even being in the same room, and I would have lost my ever-lovin' shit if they had dated. So, if she is going this for a storyline? She'll be dead to me. Because that's real life. Ashley's boobies didn't bother me a bit. They were being used for their normal, primary biological purpose. Fuck the patriarchy! lol I'm also feeling confused, because I like Monique and I hate Candiace. But I kinda felt like maybe Candiace was a slightly tiny bit in the right? And those high waisted pants were on point, can't say a damn thing there. I feel weird and uncomfortable.

Fixed that for you 🙂 I give them NO benefit of the doubt.

Thank you so much to everyone who gave me the backstory on what I saw at the nail salon yesterday!

Hi! This is a big ask, and if y'all want to tell me to go kick rocks, I'll go kick rocks. BUT, today I was getting my nails done today and Days was on. I grew up on CBS soaps that I don't even watch anymore, but I really wanted to understand the couple fighting with the lady about a baby. The couple was maybe trying to take the lady's baby, which seems to be her daughter's and her daughter wrote a letter. They were all fighty about it, and then an older man came in and they all looked like they got busted. It seemed like the lady was in the right, and that the woman half of the couple was way out of line. But who are the lady and the man half of the couple to each other? Who was the older man? Who should really have this baby? Where are the baby's parents? How old are they and why aren't they taking the damn baby? Why do I care? Anyone? Lol.

What I find so bizarre is that Kyle and the rest are acting so astonished that Denise would lie about this. It seems like if they find your dirty secret, they think you immediately have to discuss it fully and openly and on camera with no hesitation and you have to OWN IT. Well, no, you don't. I get that it's dumb to come on a reality show with skeletons in your closet, but if you do, and someone finds said skeleton, it doesn't mean you aren't allowed to lie about it. It actually make her seem MORE like a real person than anything else. I know I have done some dumb shit, and I will take the lies to cover them to my grave. Deny, deny, deny. Especially if the mistake you made could potentially be one that ends your marriage and breaks up your family. I would lie too! Denise's problem is that she is so BAD at it! Night one she clearly knew what they were talking about before they said it, and she denied everything, including talking shit about them...which she later admitted to. Second night, she starts throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks. Trying to say that Brandi said she slept with someone else in the group? That Brandi was the one who said all the bad things? Good grief. I was embarrassed for her. And then night three, she goes on a weird offense which only keeps things going further, and continues to muddy the waters on her own story. I honestly wonder if part of the problem is she is flying solo. She likely had a good support team when she was dealing Charlie Sheen and his messiness. But if part of the problem is that she is trying to keep this quiet, she may not be getting advice from anyone. I remember many, many years ago, I did something stupid while drinking at a work event, and I needed to lie, lie, lie to keep from getting in trouble. I called my best friend, and told her the lies, lies, lies I made up in my head to try to cover. She immediate was like, You are making no sense. And I said, that's because I'm LYING and I need help. Then I told her the whole truth and she helped me concoct a story that made more sense. But if I didn't have someone I could trust and tell what I had done, I would have told my first story and everyone would have called me a liar. I really try not to make a habit of lying or doing things I need to lie about, but if I'm going to lie, I for damn certain intend to get away with it. But, while I am astonished that a real live actress is THIS BAD at pulling off a story, I'm still firmly Team Denise. If Kyle and crew had stuck to JUST what Denise supposedly said and not brought her sex life into it, they might have gotten away with it. But I think they are gross for bringing this on camera, and no one is more gross than Brandi. I do think something happened, and honestly, I think Brandi was cunning about it. She even said she didn't really get into the sex with Denise, but I guarantee you she was already thinking ahead. If it hadn't have been now, she would have pulled this card out eventually.

I also feel that what Stassi and Kristen did was different, not only in that their action could have actually led to a black person being killed by a cop, it was also much more recent and they were older. There is some sort of formula in my head that is something like: [egregiousness of offense] + [age of offender] - [years since last offense] = lasu's ruling on cancellation. Sometimes I will allow the apology to be taken into consideration, but most times it works against the offender. Lasu's ruling is not binding anywhere but in my head, and then is subject to reversal upon appeal. That said, that formula could still end with a ruling of Candiace being kicked off the show. I don't think anyone "deserves" or had "earned" a spot on a reality tv show, and I'm fine with her losing her spot over this, even if it was ten years ago, if Bravo/NBC want to take a hard stance. I could also be ok if they used my formula and decide she can stay. This is only if I look at it fairly. Personally, I have a STRONG dislike for her, so I would prefer to see her AND her crazy ass mother go.

I really can't stand Candiace, so this is quite painful, but is there anything more recent than a decade ago? People change A LOT between 23 and 33.

Crap, I really dislike her, but I need to know how bad what she said was before I can make a ruling. I hate to defend her, but people change quite a bit from 23 to 33. Also, I'm so glad social media didn't exist until at least MOST of my stupidity was behind me.

I didn't know the best place to ask this question, but are the contestants REQUIRED by production to name their stupid alliances? Because I do not understand how people don't refuse to come up with these idiotic names.

Based on the schedules they released last year, I don't think they were going to have it even if covid didn't covid. I hope it comes back though; it's my favorite version, probably because the age of contestants skews upwards.

From what I gathered from the conversation, the problem wasn't what Boogie had to say, but how he said it. Ian said it was really tough, and it went on for 30-45 minutes. I think Kaysar's point wasn't that someone didn't need to point out his behavior, but it shouldn't be done in a way that causes obvious trauma this much later, that Boogie should have tailored his message to his audience. It wasn't the right way to get a point across to Ian. You could see Ian start rocking harder as he talked about it. Was this shown on air? I have no memory of it.

Thank you. I missed the beginning of the conversation, just that Boogie had given "tough love" to Ian, and Ian was saying how awful it was, but that it always was a life altering conversation. Kaysar was like, yeah, but that doesn't excuse the trauma he caused you as well. It was just nice for once to recognize abuse for abuse, and tell the abusee it wasn't ok.

Double post because I totally forgot the MOST surprising thing from the Gauntlet was some behind the scenes footage where TJ and Cyrus nearly got into a physical fight. TJ was completely puffing back up to Cyrus, until Timmy came over and chastised him for not being professional, which literally made me lol. TJ immediately went from 10 to 1 and was like, you're right man. BUT STILL. TJ almost got into a fight with a contestant! Can you imagine??

What is the shower situation with Boogie that Ian and Kaysar are talking about? I'm loving the way Kaysar is talking to Ian right now.

In the African American Vernacular English, there is a rule about vowel-consonant combination. It's the same rule that leads "ask" to be pronounced as "axe". So, "liberry" would be considered a dialect pronunciation, not an incorrect one. It's like how "y'all" isn't correct in Standard American English, but is completely accepted as part of the American Southern Dialect. There is an extremely good podcast on this that was really eye opening to me if you're interested in learning more and another article on the dialect. My link button is broken so I'm just going to paste the links below. https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/michael-hobbes/youre-wrong-about/e/59847205 https://www.hawaii.edu/satocenter/langnet/definitions/aave.html

It's not that I believe Brandi. I think Brandi is desperate and would do anything for attention and money. I absolutely think it's within her capability to make something like this up, and I give her almost no credibility in any given situation. I think she COULD lie about something like this, but for me, the question still remains DID she lie about this? And my ruling is based on Denise, and I think something certainly happened. Denise is just being too weird about it. When she was talking to Rinna, she said something about Brandi's trip to do the podcast, "She was there for like a day, I think she might have stayed over..." C'mon. There's just no way she doesn't remember if Brandi stayed in her hotel room. I just don't believe that Denise has random female acquaintances stay over in her hotel rooms, with her daughters there, that she can't remember this time from all the others. And then when she was talking to the group, she glossed over the overnight part even more, and said something like, "She flew to do the podcast, we did the podcast, she flew back to LA, that was that." Then you add on the part where she is changing her story on whether or not she talked to Brandi before Kyle's party, and then the sudden remembering that she did talk to Brandi, and Brandi told her she had sex with Kyle or Rinna. Again, c'mon. To me, there is just no question Denise is hiding something. So it's not that I believe Brandi, it's that I DON'T believe Denise. That said, I'm not mad about Denise lying. I definitely think this is a hit job, and while if you are on reality tv, you have to worry about skeletons in your closet, that doesn't mean if someone drags a skeleton out, you immediately have to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I think Kyle, Brandi, Kim, and likely Teddi are far worse assholes for purposely bringing this in front of the cameras. So, I'm fine with Denise lying to her heart's content, but it is annoying she's so bad at it.

One of the interesting things was seeing how polished this show has become. While I think the older seasons are more fun and I like the summer camp vibe, it also looks so low rent to have them competing in their own shorts and tshirts, and people watching the gauntlets drinking beer. It's pretty funny to me. I just started Fresh Meat. I was shocked that Casey and Ev were only 18 for this season!