amarante

Wasn't that always what the show was essentially doing? The whole gestalt of the show was that these theoretically very smart highly educated people had the psychological maturity of a college freshman. I always assumed it was so they were appealing to a mass audience by having these "issues" - much like there is a stereotype that very smart people are socially awkward. The doctors in ER had their "soapy" story lines but all of them seemed to be *normal* adults in terms of how they functioned

There are Vander Pups on the website available for adoption. I don't know how frequently it is updated as dogs obviously get adopted and new dogs come in. Perhaps there was a period of time during the pandemic when the adoption portion wasn't operational. There was a huge shortage of dogs at some point because so many people were adopting animals during the quarantine.

I sometimes get asked to do an online survey on BRAVO shows and the question they ask about all of the cast is whether they are someone you love to hate. I think it is probably a fine line and people can differ as to whether someone is truly loathsome or whether they are amusing and their machinations aren't a high crime.

Flagg has a sister. I don't know if she has ever been mentioned or on the show. I certainly respect anyone who wants to remain completely anonymous. If you don't need the money, you really need to have a certain kind of personality to want to participate in a reality show - even peripherally - and make your life subject to scrutiny.

I guess it's relative since Flagg seems to live fairly extravagantly. He is in the process of that extensive remodel. I am not sure what Tutor of Tutor Saliba is actually worth and what kind of trusts he has set up for the kids. Edith Flagg was reputedly worth about $100 million when she died in 2012 and even invested conservatively the stock market and real estate really boomed during that period. She had only one heir (Flagg's father) but it is likely that in order to minimize estate taxes, there were so-called generation skipping trusts established so that estate taxes wouldn't be paid twice in a relatively short period of time. His mother also comes from an extremely wealthy background. My BFF father in law was worth about half a billion when he died. There were four brothers who inherited but all of them as well as the grandchildren have enough to live lavishly for the rest of their lives without really touching the capital. My friend lives relatively modestly but some of the brothers live much more extravagantly in terms of their houses. Of course "modest" in LA is a $6 million home in a desirable location Didn't Tracy downsize to some extent when she divorced? I think both Flagg and Tracy have more than enough money to do whatever the hell they want to do.

I like Flagg quite a lot but he does have FU money to spare. His grandmother was loaded as is his mother's family. Tracy's father is quite wealthy but I bet that Flagg has inherited and stands to inherit more than she would. Not that I am negating Flagg's accomplishments as a realtor as I appreciate his love and knowledge of Los Angeles architectural history.

Why not? Assuming it has heat and A/C and a good bathroom, it would be much better to me than a bedroom in the house or a pull out sofa in the office or living room. More privacy for the guest and the host. I don't see it as that much different than having a small guest house in the backyard although obviously a guest house denotes "class" versus an RV but functionally they are the equivalent. At any rate, I grew up in New York City where real estate was at a premium and no one I knew had a room that was dedicated to housing overnight guests. Even my friends who lived in the suburbs didn't generally have a extra room if they had children because even the suburbs in metropolitan areas were expensive so most people have just enough bedrooms for their children for the most part. When family visited there would be some shifting around of children so that adults might sleep in a kid's bedroom and the children would double up in one of the other bedrooms.

I am no doubt missing something in terms of the whole justification for a womb transfer but I don't understand why this would be considered to be a medical miracle. Why would a woman risk her life and health in order to have a womb when there is a viable alternative in terms of using a surrogate. All that would be missing would be actually experiencing pregnancy. This would seem especially true for the "test" patient who is desperate to have the child of her dead husband and so a surrogate would provide greater certainty than the transferred womb. I can't imagine the actual pregnancy wouldn't be extremely high risk as well.

Real estate agents will also suggest expensive renovations that don't actually increase the net to the seller but make the home easier to sell. Not relevant to the kind of homes these people are dealing with. The NY show has had a few storylines regarding sellers being reluctant to spend money for really good staging and there was a storyline where Gold had a strict budget to spruce up a coop - essentially painting and refinishing the floors

For what could be seen, there was nothing of any kind of value that was left behind. I dealt with the sale of my parents' retirement home after they died and had to deal with moving everything out when I did a gut remodel of my own place relatively recently. My parents' had moderately nice middle class furniture and a LOT of tchotchkes. Not casting shade on the Oakland sellers, but there was no stuff that looked remotely desirable to anyone - including charities - at least based on my experience in terms of the parameters of what they will accept now. There was nothing that would remotely interest an auction company but there was enough stuff so that a company that handled estate sales did it for 15% of the proceeds. First they sell everything in an advertised sale that lasted for two days. Anything left that had any value was sold to a second hand store that just negotiated a flat fee for a bunch of stuff. They handled donation of stuff to a charity and threw out all of the crap. However with the pandemic as well as changing tastes as well as the glut of stuff as baby boomers die, there is almost no market for stuff. When I was trying to get rid of relatively nice vintage/antique furniture just before the pandemic, charities didn't want them. Used furniture places were offering ridiculously low amount or didn't want them. I just wound up giving everything away to my neighbor's brother who needed furniture and was okay with it being Victorian or 19th century "brown" vintage furniture that is no longer fashionable. My understanding is that charities received so much stuff from people "organizing" during the pandemic that they have gotten even more selective in what they will accept. They don't want to be used as a free hauling place for items that will cost them money to warehouse and that will sell for low prices.

I really didn't understand how a hospital could possibly implement that crack pot surgical event. Also unless one is admitted on an emergency basis, one generally selects one's surgeon based on recommendations. While it is known that residents will assist in a teaching hospital, I don't think the actual surgeon of record is supposed to leave the operating room during the operation. The malpractice would be a slam dunk - where were you when the patient was being operated on? Supervising six other operations? I realize that all of this is a fantasy and anyone involved in the medical field suspends disbelief just as any lawyer suspends disbelief when they watch a legal show but at this point the show has jumped the shark from any kind of "medical" aspect. I could be wrong but I don't think there is a physician shortage of high level surgeons who are going to be practicing in elite hospitals like the Grays doctors. The shortage is of personal physicians delivering basic medical care in rural areas and areas where poor people live. Just like there isn't a shortage of hospital beds in NYC or Los Angeles or Seattle but hospitals are closing in rural areas and people might be a long distance from a basic hospital and an even longer distance from a hospital equipped to deliver sophisticated medical care.

In terms of real estate, "as is" means the purchaser is taking the property in the condition with no warranty. Typically you make an offer contingent upon the property being inspected. If the inspection reveals certain issues, the purchase price will then be negotiated to cover the cost of the repairs or whatever the parties think is appropriate. Sellers of properties like this don't want to deal with someone coming back and wanting to renegotiate based on finding issues. Sure the seller is free to back out and find another buyer but it is a tremendous hassle and often it results in a lower price because the property has become stale. The issue of all of the crap including rat traps merely means that the seller is not attempting to stage it but knows realistically that the only people who are going to be interested in the property are those who are willing to spend a substantial amount of time and money to renovate including being okay with probably issues with major stuff like electrical, roofs. HVAC and plumbing. I had lunch with a friend who is a real estate agent who just sold an "as is" property in less than a week after listing and didn't bother to stage it because she knew that the buyer would be someone who was ready for a complete gut. And of course she was right since it sold over asking price and the buyer brought his designer and architect. Conversely a home that is more turn key would probably be staged to maximize purchase price because the prospective buyers tend to lack the kind of visual imagination so a good staging helps sell the property and mask inherent flaws. Regarding a previous comment, homes owned by old people are often in a state of disrepair. They don't have funds to do maintenance or certainly not to remodel so their kitchen and bathrooms are up to date. Obviously the owner had no mortgage and benefited from lower taxes base on Proposition 13 but he was probably living on a very low fixed income because the house was in a poor area with low housing prices when he bought it 50 or 60 years ago.

Erika spent a lot of prep time with her attorneys because they obviously knew what the questions would be. Unfortunately there is no cross examination and Andy isn't even a skilled journalist who asks appropriate follow up questions.

The Berkeley house is going to turn out great after renovation on the kind of money these homeowners have. That is the proverbial home that many people look for - a poorly maintained home in a great neighborhood with lots of potential. All of these bland flips that people tour on HH once looked like this - well maybe this was a bit worse because many old people just don't have the ability to keep a home spic and span because they lack physical agility/strength and don't have the money for weekly cleaning help. The home was a flipper's dream - they will hire a crew who will come in and take out everything and then start rebuilding. They obviously have a place to live in while the work is being done because they have no children at home so whatever smaller place they are renting is fine during that period. I understand if people don't want to undertake the hassle of that kind of large scale renovation but if you have the will and the money to see it through, the end result is generally more than worth it.

It definitely would be a great home for one of those HH shows when people do extensive renovations. I thought the bones of the house were great but it had obviously been owned in the last decade or so by an old person who had neither the money or time for even basic home maintenance. When it was built 100 or so years ago, it was a nice home for a prosperous middle class family. Aside from its terrible state, what didn't you like about it? It had large rooms - the kitchen was large enough so that it could be renovated and be a fabulously functional space. The dining room was separate which worked for her life style. There weren't enough bathrooms but they might be able to steal space so that they have an en suite plus a separate shared bathroom upstairs and a powder room downstairs. I did a very cursory google search for South Berkely and a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom home that seemed to have less square footage sold for $1.45 million so clearly the market supports the value of what it will cost for it to be renovated. And at the very end, she said that her mother had grown up in the house as well as the grands so there was a great deal of sentimental attachment to the house and I would imagine wanting to restore it to its past style was a factor - but it also made economic sense to buy it for $800,000 and then spend $400,000 to get it exactly what you want. I recently did a gut renovation of my home and although it was obviously a bit stressful while going through it, nothing compares to living in a house where everything was done to suit your taste and to function exactly how one wanted. I look at lots of houses that are remodeled and they would all be a compromise. They didn't choose the finishes I would have and often I can see where they cut corners - e.g. not having drawers for the lower kitchen cabinets because drawers are more expensive than doors.

I was initially surprised but then understood when they said they paid $800,000 for it. At the price they would still be ahead even after putting in the $500,000 renovation. Given the reality of the Berkeley housing market, I would imagine that home as a steal. The San Francisco home was terrible - a backyard you need a ladder to climb down into and all the rooms overlooking a freeway close by? The Oakland house was $1.3 and was actually fairly small - I think 1400 square feet. The shed in the backyard wasn't particularly usable as a guest room because it had no bathroom. All of the rooms seemed small as well. I understand why the couple still wanted a larger home. Their children would still be coming there for holidays and the youngest is just out of high school. As the kids get married, it has enough space for the family and the grandchildren to gather as well as being able to host what appears to be her extended family that still lives in the Berkeley area ETA - Also a larger home in a climate like Berkely isn't as expensive as it is in a harsher climate. You don't have the double whammy of high heating costs and high air conditioning costs as you do in the Northeast or Midwest. And you don't have the ultra-expensive air conditioning costs of places like Arizona. The climate in Northern California is pretty temperate - or at least it was until climate change made the Northwest summers intolerable recently.

The Mormons have an almost obsessive interest in genealogy and their records are often used by non-Mormons because they are so complete. They have gotten flack for baptizing non-Mormons after they have died. I know that there had to be a major intervention by Jewish organizations because they were baptizing Jews posthumously who had never had any desire to convert to Christianity. They were baptizing Jewish victims of the Holocaust posthumously which was particularly tone deaf. My reaction to "boasts" about descending from "special" people is probably because it hits a nerve in terms of it often being tied to white nationalism and feelings that "pioneer stock" is somehow more "American" than ethnic immigrants and historically non-Aryan immigration has been feared and reviled in terms of the cultural history of the US.

I think many people who immigrated to America have similar stories about the hardships their ancestors endured when they came here. I would say that taking steerage on a ship in the 19th or early 20th century was equally brave and fraught with danger or hardship. As were the living conditions when they got here. Anyone who ever read The Jungle in high school probably will always remember the guy who got made into sausage. The analogy to Daughters of The Mayflower or Daughters of the Revolution is appropriate because the Mormons are not just claiming that they were pioneers - hell lots of people descended from pioneers of one kind or another. Even the Okies could be said to have endured a lot in the hope that things would be different or better in California. However these Mormons are all claiming descent from "special" people. It is like when people with past lives always seem to have descended from nobility. I worked with a women years ago who boasted that she was descended from the Plantagenets. Or people who claim descent from "royal" lines that are extinct - of course I am not dealing with the idiocy of anyone claiming nobility or royalty as anything other than being descended from someone who was a more successful killer 1000 or 500 years ago 😂😂

The Jen fertility storyline is vile however one interprets it. If Duey is serious and actually wants more children given both their ages - that they have raised three children - and Jen's medical history, he is vile. If this is a storyline they both agreed upon, my question would be why they thought this would be a good story line as it makes Duey appear to be a vile repulsive human being and plays into ridiculous Asian stereotypes of concubines. Was Jen setting him up for some kind of divorce? I would imagine that the tapes would make excellent evidence for any kind of divorce proceedings.

They receive pay for the reunion which is an obvious incentive. I would imagine for Erika, it could be close to $100,000. It also would be the almost certainly the kiss of death in terms of not being asked for additional seasons and Erika wants and needs the gig desperately. There have been very few housewives who didn't show up at the reunion and it didn't generally end well for them. I think it is mostly used by housewives like Vanderpump and Adrienne Malouf who want out although I would imagine that Vanderpump spoke with BRAVO executives to make sure that Vanderpump Rules and other potential projects weren't going to be jeopardized.

I had a rabbit as an indoor pet - I was gradually wearing down my parents in terms of getting a dog. I just don't get the allure of having a pet rabbit. They are actually very destructive in terms of chewing. If I let the rabbit out, there would be small rabbit turds throughout the room and the oddest things would be chewed like books and even electrical wires. There was also zero emotional bonding as my rabbit was completely indifferent to any kind of human contact. If you held the rabbit, it would kind of squirm around but it was a completely unsatisfactory emotional experience unlike dogs, cats and even birds. I am a dog person rather than a cat person and although cats have more of an aloof personality in general they are still much more of a true companion than a rabbit. My friends' cats at least come around to hang out and often like to be stroked and interacted with as well as enjoying playing with cat toys. There really wasn't anything the rabbit wanted to do in terms of human interaction. I thought all of the houses were ugly and I didn't particularly think any of them were functional. When I see an episode in which ALL of the houses are awful it makes me wonder because there must have been some home that was better than those choices. It wasn't as if they were looking in a very small area. I am not familiar with the Columbus area but it is not like the San Francisco or Manhattan market I would think where you are lucky to get anything that is within your price point. I would have just kept looking if I were the Columbus people.

Totally agree with the sentiments expressed by you. I don't know or care if he is gay and I think it borders on homophobia to be speculating as to his sexual preferences. It is one of the reasons I found the Denise Rich season to be distasteful as I don't think the women would have acted in the same manner if it had been a heterosexual tryst. Whatever their arrangement, Rinna and Harry seem to have a relationship that works for them. Whenever they are seen together, they seem to enjoy each other's company. My "speculation" really was based on how difficult it would have been for an actor - especially a sex symbol - to have come out as gay back in the 1980's. There was an excellent MOW broadcast on NBC in 1985 and it was difficult to even cast the parts of the gay couple and their friends because actors were afraid that the public (and casting directors and the networks) would see them as gay and thus would lose credibility for standard leading men. Things have evolved since then to some degree but it still is somewhat of a big deal when an actor announces they are gay. I am not even sure whether they wouldn't limit roles - especially in television. I imagine there are openly out gay actors who are cast in roles as romantic leading men (or women) but I can't think of any at the moment. It is perhaps easier for lesbian women than gay men because for whatever reason a lot of homophobic men don't find lipstick lesbians to have negative sexual connotations - perhaps because they harbor a fantasy that the right man (meaning them) would change their sexual preferences. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Curious as to why you think that is true. For starters, it doesn't fit Erika well as she didn't bother to spend $10 to have the sleeves shortened so they are too long and wrinkled which adds to the appearance of being shlumpy. While Erika's figure is fine, it is womanly and she doesn't have the same lean structure as the model so that the mid-section appears very rumpled and wrinkled instead of being sleek as it is in the picture. I don't think the dress is one that is particularly attractive even on a body type that could wear anything essentially (the model) but it - at least to me - given that Erika had limitless choices essentially - it seems odd that no one suggested something that was more flattering.

Sad is true but perhaps he is in a damned if he does and damned if he doesn't scenario. At the peak of his career his coming out openly as gay would have definitely hurt his career. While closeted gays would still be able to work as leading romantic leads, it would be difficult for them to be cast - especially in television which was where he was working. Lots of closeted gays from that period - some had beards and some just were perennial bachelors. If he came out at this point, he would never suffer career ramifications but he would probably get a lot of negative publicity for not having been truthful for many years. Who really knows the truth? There are a lot of not very happily married people who stay together because there is no point in divorcing. Neither Rinna nor Harry would have a better life if they divorced since they have the means to lead entirely separate satisfactory lives. Divorcing - even in the friendliest of circumstance - would mean they would have to deal with difficult financial divisions. I don't think Rinna is particularly interested in finding a new emotional partner anymore than Erika is interested in finding either a sexual or emotional partner.

I am posting the dress as worn by a model and by Erika in the same frame to illustrate how awful it actually looks on Erika. The bottom line is that Erika truly has absolutely no sense of style but is drawn to stripper style and/or clothing that is meant to be worn by drag queens (meaning no disrespect) as drag queens typically dress DELIBERATELY as caricatures as part of their shtick. It is like emulating Mae West or Dolly Parton deliberately as part of one's "every day" style and thinking it is chic. Beyond that Erika simply doesn't have the body to carry off this kind of extremely difficult style and fabric. Not that anyone should WANT to attempt to carry it off but I can't recall any housewife on this franchise who so consistently looks as badly dressed as Erika - even when she isn't attempting to be overtly over-sexual she somehow looks off. I can't imagine who would buy the dress even as shown on the model but I don't know how Erika could have tried on the dress and actually decided that it was a flattering look for her - walking, standing, sitting or even lying down it looked awful. It is astounding that with a room filled with expensive clothing that she decided that this was the dress to be worn that would be memorialized in four television episodes as well as numerous clips and be dissected on the internet.