amarante

I am not sure exactly why one gets a criminal justice degree. What exactly does it prepare one to do specifically? Forensics requires a strong science background; law or paralegal are not specific to the criminal justice system and law especially generally just needs a strong liberal arts major although my friend is an patent lawyer and he majored in engineering.

That is new housing stock to me - sad to say LOL I grew up in where "new housing" was from the 1960's which also generally has the very small master en suites because the idea of an en suite in a middle class home was considered to be high end even though they were small - small stall shower - toilet and single single often without a vanity.

I think her looking older was a combination of her having gained a lot of weight - probably baby weight as her youngest child was fairly young. Not baby shaming but being overweight typically presents as older. Also her look wasn't really modern in terms of her hair and clothing.

The HH in Telluride were certainly made of hardier stock than I - as soon as a realtor said that I would be relying on a well and that the well was pretty bad and showed me a craw space to store water cisterns I would have crossed it off my list of possibilities. My cousins lived in a house that relied on well water and this was in New Jersey where there were no drought issues but I remember the brownish water and the tubs that could only be filled with a small amount of water. I am very grateful for public utilities like electrical lines and water piped in from municipal sources that is treated and tested for bacteria and other bad stuff.

It is amusing that Rinna and Kyle don't have a glam squad accompanying them and yet they look just as good as the other women. I assume that Mikey isn't getting paid at this point because there are many fame addicts who would actually pay to be on television. Since there are still Erika fans one assumes that there are actually people who admire Mikey. I find it astounding but then some really wretched housewives have a fan base like Jen Shah as well. I bet the other housewives manage to negotiate a very low price for their glam squads. Assuming these people aren't giving up highly paid other jobs, they are getting a free vacation at a resort for having to perform a minimal amount of work for a few days.

Generally if a home is sold before listing it is some kind of pocket listing which is agreed upon. While anything is possible I have never heard of not letting an agent in because it isn't officially listed. In my experience, a home is listed on the MLS immediately after an agent has the listing officially signed off on. This might even occur prior to having photographs taken for the full listing treatment. Or the people don't even need an agent because someone in the neighborhood knows they are selling and approaches them. This happened with parents because as soon as the neighbors heard my parents were moving they were approached by multiple people. This was in New York which has a very weird rule that you have to use a lawyer for a real estate sale even if you have a broker. I call this the lawyer full employment act because in most other places a simple real estate closing is handled by the agents and the escrow company who know how to handle all the formalities including registering the deed etc. I think the Philadelphia house was very close to their current home and so I suspect that they knew the seller and so it was sold directly which saved the seller the 6% commission and any aggravation . Some people do not want their homes to be listed - either for privacy or they don't want open houses and having people go through the house. I suspect in the case of the Pennsylvania house it was probably not fit to be shot and shown on television. Either the sellers were still in position and didn't want their home displayed or they were in the process of moving out and so it would have killed the story line.

I am not an expert in insurance law but insurance companies can delay payment until a person is cleared in an investigation which I guess is what the woman was attempting to get but generally this would not happen the day after the murder. And I think asking about insurance a day after someone is murdered is not the normal reaction of a genuinely grieving person. Insurance companies can get in trouble if they don’t pay out and a claim is made of bad faith by a beneficiary. I would imagine in real life an insurance company would pay out a relatively small amount like $40,000 because it is easier than facing a potential lawsuit. There is something called an interpleader in which a third party like an insurance company hands over the money to a court when there are potentially competing beneficiaries. They essentially say we owe the money to someone but we don’t know who and don’t want to be on the hook if we pay to the wrong person.

I was thinking that the prosecutors were hoping that they might be able to introduce the blog by way of impeachment. If she had denied "thinking" those things there would have been grounds for introducing prior inconsistent statements as a way to impeach her testimony. It is one of the ways an experienced litigator can get evidence in - or attempt to just like theoretically hearsay is inadmissible but only to prove the "truth" of the statement so you can attempt to get it in through different evidentiary justifications. It is why no one charged with a crime should EVER take the stand because there are just too many traps. I guess she felt compelled to take the stand because she thought she had an "affirmative" defense of memory loss but my god she was delusional if she thought anyone would believe it without having some kind of doctor or psychologist testify that she suffered from some condition that did impact her memory. I guess there are still people who still literally get away with murder but I think that would be if you are murdering perfect strangers. If you murder a spouse or parent or significant other the police will then investigate the hell out of you if they are competent in the slightest and there will be something with today's technology that screws you up. Here I suspect she didn't think there would be that many cameras; she didn't think her sale of the extra barrel on EBAY would be traced or the ghost gun. I am aware of all of the closed camera stuff - anyone who likes True Crime knows not to buy buy a shovel and large black trash bags at Walmart at 3 AM right after killing someone but the pervasiveness of how easy it is to track people still astounds me. I would imagine that the whole field of genetic DNA tracking will become simplified and DNA databases of non-criminals will expand as well as the ability to get touch DNA from unlikely sources. Oh for sure this story could have done with a bit more on her backstory - I was being a bit snarky

Be careful what you wish for because this might come back as a STRETCHED OUT two hour in the future.

Last night's Dateline was I think Murder in Kitchen One. What in the world was going on in the mind of the woman when she took the stand. Did she really think anyone would believe that she had no memory of the three hours of the morning of the murder with footage showing her SUV all over the neighborhood of the murder except for the critical 10 minutes when the guy was actually shot. And why would an insurance agent have been stupid enough to call the police the day after the murder regarding getting a letter of "innocence" from the police. She had insured the guy for $800,000 and he was about 62 when he was killed. It didn't seem like he was a high wage earner so in what universe was $800,000 not considered to be excessive. At that age most people don't even have insurance because it is presumed that you are going to die and so your spouse is generally not going to be relying on your income because there aren't that many years in which people realistically remain in the work force. And I would imagine the premiums are extremely high on life insurance for a man in his sixties who didn't look particularly fit.

It appears it is this Dine In The Sky attraction. https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/food/2021/08/29/ain-dubai-what-to-expect-from-the-gourmet-dine-in-the-sky-experience/ I would imagine that because it was televised it was extra special but perhaps the hostess also brought in her own florist and dishes.

I would have gone with the modern apartment without stairs in Haarlem. A walkup apartment is inconvenient but I can't imagine dealing with carrying up a baby on those narrow stairs. The balcony could be baby proofed and the kid wasn't going to start climbing for awhile anyway. Who are all of these people who are flocking to wellness retreats in horrible crappy surroundings. Are they attempting to capture the market of people who generally stay in hostels? Is that such a significant number of people or are we seeing every single yoga/wellness owner in these countries. That guy who wanted to grow his own fruit - honestly who cares where the food came from. I care more about the beds and toilets and showers because I don't think he would be serving gourmet meals anyway.

Not to digress but many of the locations which have severe drought issues like California also have climates where it doesn't rain for six or seven months during the summer even when there isn't a drought. I don't think anything can survive that. You are allowed to water trees because they are considered to be important to the ecosystem unlike lawns. And pools actually aren't an issue - they aren't much of a water hog and they also are considered more eco friendly than grass. Streets have designated days they can water so it is easy to catch someone who is cheating and of course anyone with a green lawn will be immediately suspect. Calabasas (home of the Kardashians) is installing water restrictions if a home's water usage is above a certain level. I also thought all of the houses in San Antonio were pretty sad and at least my cursory check of real estate pricing would indicate that even though San Antonio is not an expensive market (relatively so) she was still looking for homes under median price. I still think she would have been better off in a townhouse - she would have gotten nicer interior space and none of the headaches of home maintenance.

Obviously water shortage isn't an issue everywhere although I suspect that the cost of water is an issue in many places. A large lawn costs a lot of money to maintain even if one maintains it oneself - at least where I am with very high water rates. Also many places are imposing very stringent water controls. In Los Angeles you can only water twice a week on your designated day and only up to 8 minutes per day unless you have water conserving water system when you can do it for 15 minutes each day. Most people with lawns and water thirsty plants will have brown lawns and gardens. Many people have already switched to xeriscaping and planted native plants which require little water. I know there have been occasional discussions on this thread with HH getting massive homes for two people and not factoring in the enormous cooling costs. I say cooling costs more than heating costs because the bloated McMansions on HH seem to be more prevalent in climates that require air conditioning to be habitable for long periods of time like Arizona or Florida. Of course the Northeast states like Jersey and New York are brutal during the summer but the summers are much shorter.

When I think of San Antonio real estate, I think of Armando Montelongo who was one of the scammer flippers who had a show on all of the money you could make from flipping homes. Those shows proliferated from 2005 until the housing market crashed. There were a few of them but they actually made their money with "seminars" and selling information on "how to flip" much like the real estate courses that were run by one of our ex politicians. :-) I had read that the San Antonio is a very affordable city - at least in comparison to other places and real estate prices reflect that although like other markets still going up. Another show in which these insanely low prices for remodeling projects were seeming pulled out of someone's arse. I don't know in what universe one can get floors redone with ANY surface for $200 as the real estate agent suggested. Similarly you can't paint kitchen cabinets for $200 as you can't just slap a coat of paint on them because it will peel and chip almost immediately. I don't understand why she wanted a single family house. She would have been much better off in a townhouse as she was chiefly interested in the interior and only wanted outdoor space adequate for a grill.

From owning real estate and knowing something about economics as well as the cost of homeownership including the "projects" she was contemplating. I am not sure what special expertise someone who works in an unspecified position in a mortgage brokerage firm would have. The proverbial millionaire next door did not achieve generational wealth by purchasing a large home but generally by staying in the relatively modest home they bought - paying off the mortgage - and using income for other investments. If you feel that renting a relatively expensive home and figuring that the profits are based solely on the difference between rent and your mortgage payment, I would disagree because that is a very simplistic view of the costs of property ownership and being a landlord. She stated that her profit would be $950 because her mortgage payment was $1500 and she could rent the house for $2500 which is a simplistic view of the actual costs of homeownership for a landlord since mortgage payments are a portion of the expenses she would have.

The Charlotte woman was delusional in terms of building "generational wealth" You don't build wealth by moving out of a lovely relatively expensive home into a MORE expensive home. You stay in your perfectly adequate home and if you want to be a landlord (which I wouldn't want to be) you buy a relatively inexpensive house or a two family type of duplex or townhouse/condo. Her calculations on the cost of the kind of remodels she was contemplating were pulled out of her arse. Tearing down a wall and gutting a kitchen so that it is MORE upscale than the existing one would be about $50,000. And her calculation of profit on the rental of their old home was also seriously whacked. She is just counting mortgage payments - what about taxes? home maintenance and repair? Insurance? Lost income if the home weren't rented every month? Damage to home by tenants?

That might be theoretically true of some old English families that were the equivalent of the rich German Jewish families of 19th century New York City. However if you followed the instagram link on Stanbury's family, it wasn't true of her family since the company that was responsible for the wealth (some type of retail store or clothing factory) was founded in 1904 and her grandfather who was born in 1911 changed the family name to Stanbury which would have occurred at the earliest in the early 1930's. I could give a flying f about kowtowing to "old money" or think there was something worthy in aristocracy or social standing. However I do find it relevant to pierce the pretentiousness of someone like Stanbury who pretended that she was a member of the English aristocracy when she was just born into a relatively new merchant family. I doubt that her family was accepted into higher English societies until the 1980's when Thatcher rode the wave of money trumping lineage or at least being equivalent to it in the same way it has always been in the USA where high society was a mixture of money, celebrity and lineage.

I also wondered why in the world they chose to settle in Fargo. If I were a multi racial couple I can't imagine wanting to live in a place that was so markedly Caucasian. I can't imagine the kids are not going to experience issues as they grow up and they are going to be almost completely without POC as role models in terms of teachers or other people they come in contact with. I also don't understand why a mental health provider would set themselves up in an environment that is completely unlike their own life experiences. Yes theoretically a skilled provider can provide skillful therapy to people outside of their own upbringing but there are people who feel comfortable with those of their own cultural group who are more likely to have personal insight into cultural norms that shaped their personal experiences. I remember years ago when someone was discussing an foreign psychiatric resident who didn't realize that he was evaluating someone delusional who was claiming to be married to Paul McCartney because he didn't realize that she was referring to a Beatle.

She evidently picked a completely deserted beach. She actually drove down from a beach with more people until she found a desolate spot. The show made a point when they were discussing how her claim that it was the kid's idea was wrong. She first said that they went to the house which made no sense since he had obviously changed in the SUV. So it was pretty clear that she had planned to take him to the beach and find a deserted spot and then drown him. I wonder whether she actually drowned him or just watched him get swept out. One of the accident experts said that if the accident had happened as she claimed she would never have gotten to his body that quickly - if at all so it was likely she was close by. Which leads me to think that she might have actively drowned him. Another of these women with magic vaginas. At least - unlike the last couple of shows in which the women manipulated men - she was the stereotypical blonde bombshell. Peacock had an interesting series on Angelyne who was an Los Angeles icon of the 1980's and was the original famous for being famous "celebrity".

I don't think Dorit had a lot of expensive "real" jewelry because real jewelry is incredibly expensive and you have to spend an enormous amount to get a piece that makes a statement. She is much more about logos and obviously branded stuff like Chanel costume jewelry which is absurdly expensive for what it is but still the equivalent "look" in real gold and gemstones would be unaffordable to all but billionaire level wealth I doubt that PK has some vast watch collection worth millions either - maybe he has one Rolex but I don't see him either as someone who has a million dollar watch collection. It is conceivable that expensive designer bags were taken - a basic Chanel flap bag is now about $8000 and so you can fit a lot of bags into a few large trash bags and those will start to add up. What will be interesting is the "proof" of loss supplied to her insurance. My home insurance renewal was up and so I re-evaluated my replacement cost. If you have anything of significant value you need to get a rider for it and you would have to provide something like an appraisal or receipt indicating its fair market value.

Very interesting But someone whose grandfather changed his name from Steinberg to Stanbury sometime in the 20th Century is NOT part of the aristocracy as she claimed to be in Ladies. FWIW I am Jewish of the New York City variety and that kind of background wouldn't even have qualified to be part of the German Jewish families who grudgingly were accepted into NY "society" in the 19th century and that was VERY grudgingly - i.e. the Guggenheims, the Lehmans, the Schiffs as they were not fully a part of the highest social gentile circles. US was much more fluid than England was in terms of who was in the highest "social" circles and I doubt that a recently renamed Jew was part of the English circle even in the 20th Century. It wasn't until after WW II that Jews became part of the New York City social circles. I would imagine it wasn't until the 1980's when England became less obsessed with titles and more fluid in terms of money opening up some doors that rich English Jews were admitted to some degree. I am NOT supporting this kind of social snobbery - I want to make it clear. However Stanbury in the Ladies of London show presented herself as a full member of the aristocratic class and she really just came from relatively new money and was part of the "merchant class". There was the tragic Annabelle who was McQueen's muse and as I recall she really did come from an aristocratic titled family. I am the antithesis of social snob so why am I experiencing a surge of schadenfreude with this piercing of Stanbury's pretentiousness.

I'll give it a few more episodes - at least until I can sort out who the housewives actually are. Props for Ayan for making herself distinguishable as she is the only housewife except for Stanbury that I am able to associate with her back story - e.g. that she is a model. The others are completely confusing to me in terms of who goes with which back story, occupation, family and husband. Stanbury remains loathsomely smug. She was loathsomely smug on London as well. I don't remember the details of her closing her ridiculous company but as I recall she did it in a particularly tone deaf and cruel manner in terms of her employees. And I always had the sense that there was something shady going on in terms of money laundering or tax evasion because the premise of the business just didn't seem enough to support the kind of bloated overhead she was running. I remembered that Stanbury had married a Jewish guy from London but I didn't realize that she identified as "Jewish". I had assumed given the way that she spoke about her links to royalty and the aristocracy that she was Anglican because while there are some old well connected British Jewish families, it seemed as though she was self identifying as part of the standard British ruling class which is Christian.

I found the Canada to Oceanside episode even stranger than many of the storylines. From what I deduced she must be involved in some kind of MLM type of scam because she mentioned that she was in "network sales" and that coupled with her saying that she got into it because of her work in fitness training let me to the only logical conclusion. The scenario of spending only six months in the US and renting for the other months makes no sense. Is she planning to home school her boys because at some point the kids will be going to a *regular* school which is generally for 9 months. I know that many people have gotten used to remote schools but there didn't seem to be any mention of that in the scenario. Also I question who is renting these large homes on a short term basis. Did she mean very short term like AirBnB or did she mean for six months to people who want to be in California in the summer. Do people really want to rent large homes that aren't in a particular resort area for six months? My parents lived in a condo development near Laguna which had a lot of community stuff including a golf course and a stable as well as pools and people from Arizona would rent in the summer but they were renting because of all the community amenities. I had no doubt that the surgeon in Atlanta would not actually go for a project. She could afford it really has no worry about being down sized because her speciality is high paying and in high demand. I rolled my eyes when she was acting as if she was actually going to buy a house that required "projects". She doesn't have the time or the skills to do it and no high paid professional with a demanding job actually does serious remodeling work. It simply makes no sense. But even if you hire someone to do the work and the GC is good, it is incredibly stressful and takes a lot of time and energy to go through a remodel.

It's not even the same situation. Sutton married her childhood sweetheart when he was poor and they were married for a relatively long period of time. She was not a golddigger. Loathsome as Kyle is in many ways she married Mauricio when he was poor and she is not a gold digger even if she received a huge amount from his brokerage if they divorced. Diana and Erika are classic golddiggers. Diana was a luckier gold digger because her sugar daddy was younger and more exciting than Tom Girardi and also genuinely wealthy unlike Tom. Diana got the great divorce and Erika miscalculated although I actually think at 29 working at Chasens, Tom was about as good as she was going to get. Erika was really not a great natural beauty based on early photos.