aghst

If Tearney was worried about the file inside that facility, why is security so light? Oh I guess Taverner was in charge of that facility and she's the one who tipped Sean off that that was where the file he wanted was stored. Maybe normally there's more security but she got rid of it? Also it was literal paper. You'd think modern intelligence agencies would have that stuff all digitized and encrypted so that it couldn't fall into the wrong hands. Instead it's in some deserted area and manned by a librarian who controls the camera and the front door and that's it? Beyond the securing physical paper files, you have to worry about fire or water damage, not to mention the physical decay of paper. These aren't books which are several hundred years old, which would be prone to becoming illegible or irretrievable over time. But maybe papers which are several decades old wouldn't hold up too well.

My library has physical books, ebooks and audio books. I think the physical books were all checked out when I checked a couple of weeks ago. The voice acting on the audio books were great for the first two.

Yeah because if Indira got them, it's available to law enforcement agencies. So how did Roy suppress any domestic violence investigation and prosecution? In fact who in that county would have taken them? Doctors and nurses and they gave them to some law enforcement agency somewhere and now it's available to all agencies? Roy may be the law in that county but those pictures are in some law enforcement database accessible by police in another jurisdiction, in another state? Why wouldn't the FBI use them to go after Roy? They suspect that he caused his first two wives to disappear.

Do we really know how close they are off camera? How often they spend time together when they're not filming the show? That goes for most of the cast. Austen and Taylor said it was just a kiss and everyone else in the cast keep saying "bullshit!" How would anyone prove it one way or another? The other cast members are encouraged to cast aspersions and call them liars to their face when filming because the producers want conflict and drama. If it was just a kiss, they can't blow it up to something bigger unless they keep filming confrontational scenes on the topic. A lot of people would have moved on, either accepted what they said or even if they don't believe it, they'd say bullshit behind their backs but not get in their face. That is what Bravo reality TV does, skews reality or the way people would behave because in the real world, there is still some semblance of civility. You call people liars to their faces, that's going to lead to fights. So people don't do that, people just talk behind their backs. Well on SC as on other Bravo shows, people do talk behind other people's backs. But they also have this in-your-face events.

Enjoyed the Watch Party show where Vinny, Angelina, Nicole, Jenni and Sammi watched the pilot show. They were laughing and cringing at how each other and themselves looked, the bad hair and fashion choices, the things they said, the behavior. It's only been 15 years or so and I guess they had enough self-awareness to look at their silly young selves.

Would getting rid of those jobs meant less govt money paid to the Royal Family? That part isn’t that clear to me. Maybe Blair was looking more at the PR value of ditching some of the more obscure parts of the Royal retinue. Sure, preserve some of that history and expertise. But do it in a museum! I would enjoy learning about some of these jobs, how they go back hundreds of years. But then I wouldn’t think about these obscure trades again. Ever. With Elizabeth’s rationale, we’d have kept horse drawn buggies instead of adopting automobiles, because the wheel masters and craftsmen who made those ornate carriages represented Old World craftsmanship too. We might not have modern art either, as the only type of painting to be heralded would be Renaissance painting. Instead painting and other forms of art evolved and we’ve preserved all types of art spanning centuries. Blair didn’t talk about the fiscal aspect and the polling and focus groups didn’t seem to emphasize all the public monies which the RF scarf up. In fact They’ve made more in the 20-30 years since the time depicted in this episode. In previous seasons, there was more depiction of people questioning all the public money which the RF received, despite Elizabeth being the richest woman in the world. In any event, the whole RF didn’t want to give up one bit of privilege. Charles talked about making concessions but the rest weren’t interested. Elizabeth’s explanation to Blair was tantamount to, “we’re right, everyone else is wrong.”

Problem is they don't really illustrate why they want to move. At least with regular HHI episodes, they make up some fiction about international experience for the kids or always wanted to live abroad. The Australia to Sweden they talked up Christmas in Sweden. Well you don't have to move across the world for that. They could visit every winter until the kids are sick of snow. They probably didn't really need 4 bedrooms right away because the two girls are very young and don't need separate rooms for several more years. How often are you going to go to the Christmas markets that you have to be within walking distance? They run for at least a month, I believe. So they go a couple of times and they can check that off the list. The wife talked about #2 house being quite a bit more. It's $200 more than their original budget, and it was just $100 more than the other two options.. I guess the husband didn't have specific house plans. This might not have been a real move but an extended trip if he wasn't really going to look for a job. The Texas to Switzerland house hunters, I can buy that they cared about Christmas or at least the husband did, putting up extravagant displays back in America and filming himself on some social media app at Christmas parties. The others I'm not so sure. It's nice to get all these new episodes (though some of them may just be re-edited) but back to normal please.

Taylor apologized and things didn't get heated initially. This was when Olivia went to Taylor's parents' home. But they kept putting them together, because if they're going to be on this show, they're going to be at the same events and they're going to keep talking about this "scandal" because they want to see if they can get the same heat that VPR got from their scandal. Do they really care about what appears on Page Six? Doubtful they ever look at it. So how did they get notifications? Producers probably sent them and told them to talk about it. It's like they wanted the cast to keep picking at the scab. If they were ever close friends, the cast was to talk up the "betrayal" even though the two people involved swear that it was just a kiss. The rest of the cast won't let that go, they accuse the of lying, being dodgy. Well why are they continuing to socialize with liars? Because they're on the same show! At a certain point, people avoid conflict, drama. They get exhausted and try to cool down. But they're not allowed to walk away and wait until things settle down. The demands of the show just feeds more toxic atmosphere. If those tears were genuine, they also probably think that they've done their job, earned their paycheck.

Yeah that's probably not the kind of attention Roy would want, if a car blew up in that small county. FBI is all up in his business and they would find a remote-detonated device. Why does Gator have that confidence? I guess he wasn't too surprised by Roy executing that guy that they mistakenly abducted from the hospital. So he was involved in some of the hard crime acts that Roy has perpetrated? Otherwise, that's PTSD stuff. Because Munch is a scary character, talks weird but he's killed a cop by just appearing out of nowhere. Roy pays him to go away but Gator wants to mess with him? I don't see Vivian walking away from a $100 million deal just because Roy intimidated him. He may not get all the proceeds of the deal but probably a big chunk of it. With that money he could leave that podunk county and hire private security, not have to put up with Roy again. But now Lorraine is messing with him, screwing over Vivian's children. And she's going to mess with the elections since Roy blocked her deal with Vivian. So they all have millions they can throw to punish each other? Seems like Lorraine is in the habit of hiring private armies and now she wants Indira to be the general. Indira is savvy -- not about marriage though -- but if Lorraine wants to wage war, she'd hire some former military guy who's experienced in special ops and tactics. So Roy casually slaps his wife in front of their children when she's "out of line." Then the reveal at the end, all the photos of Dot's injuries at the hands of Roy. I get that they want to show the extent of Roy's villainy but those injuries that Nadine sustained look like acts committed by someone out of control, fueled by pure rage. But the way they've depicted Roy, he doesn't seem to get out of control. He doesn't blow up at direct confrontations but he plots to get them back later, as he did with Lorraine.

Yeah that was it. Blue team solved the puzzle first and they could release the ball faster but orange team gathered and loaded the "pyramids" faster?

Penultimate episode, these seasons go quick but this seems even quicker. It's kind of surreal, Taverner and Tearney having some expensive scotch together, talking casually about how they plotted against each other, while Tearney has ordered a team to kill several UK citizens, including MI5 agents. If their convo got out, it should be a huge scandal? Or is it accepted that spies will be spies and they will order their own agents and citizens to be killed to serve their ambition? If these were American spies, they'd be citing national security rationalizations, like my rival has to be killed or stopped because of ... national security!" I would think that if it was known that the top two leaders in MI5 was routinely and casually having MI5 agents killed, it would kind of kill morale within MI5 rank and file. Or is it that River and Louisa aren't really MI5, they're Slow Horses and Douglas was just a librarian? I guess Duffy and that other Dog are goons, so they don't have solidarity with other agents nor they with the Dogs. Marcus didn't want to work for Duffy -- how convenient that Marcus is some tactical weapons ninja, whom River and Louisa are going to need since they're outnumbered and having grenades thrown at them. Shirley also has some kind of battle experience as well. River and Louisa don't even seem that shocked that MI5 are trying to kill them either. At first River though those are our guys until they cut off power and communications and blocked off a hatch. Again, maybe this is a genre convention, that British spooks routinely turn on each other? Meanwhile, Lamb goes to rescue Standish she's asking him whether MI5 would kill each other. She didn't think they would while Donovan made her wonder. Looks like the big secret will come out.

Yeah I don't get what the problem with referring to Olivia's brother was. Of course they had them all sit together at the big table with every cast member weighing in and making snide comments while the people supposedly involved were talking. Like why the fuck is JT commenting? It's none of his fucking business, except of course his business being on the show is to stir up shit. Venita was egging Olivia on, of course Madison is vile as always. You can tell the producers prodded the rest of the cast to butt in. Sitting silently on their hands was not allowed. In real life, a social circle like that wouldn't all be around to listen to a very personal convo involving just a couple of people nor would they make these confrontational comments. Austen or Taylor or Olivia in normal situations would just say it's none of your business to anyone piping up. Of course this is not a normal situation, it's a fucking Bravo show. And how convenient that Taylor's room was unlocked so that Olivia and the camera crew could just walk in. That makes me suspicious that Taylor's FaceTime with her brother and Olivia overhearing was a set up. Again, why leave her room door unlocked and why go out in the balcony to have a private conversation? Well I can see people wanting to sit outside and relax but it was shown as an emotional conversation so she raises her voice and of course it's much easier for Olivia to overhear if Taylor is sitting out on the balcony. Taylor questions if Olivia and Austen ever really dated. You also have to wonder how close these people are off the camera. Sure some of the guys hang out and do various events together. But are they all up in each other's business 24/7? Doubtful. Do they see each other several times a week or do they go weeks or months without speaking in person? Just how close are or were Taylor and Olivia supposedly? They joined the show in the same season but did they know each other before they both came on the show?

Yeah I forgot what exactly happens in this episode. What was the Daily? It wasn't a bad game. The elimination, with balancing the platform to light the torches was kind of cool.

They dumped a lot of episodes. One that seems familiar i Thailand to Berlin. They talked up Christmas, like where they'd put their Christmas tree in the places they saw. But this interracial couple seemed like they were in a previous episode or they re-edited this one to add in all this Xmas stuff.

The most common way to make money from photography is by doing weddings. Any other types of photography, you have to be really good and have a really long track record before you could sell your photos for real money. I don't think she was going to make much money from photography. But she gave up a career as a nurse? Maybe burned out and didn't want to do that job any more. However unlikely that someone who's never sold photos would make the kind of income she made as a nurse. Also she may not be allowed to get a job in France. They may be on a digital nomad visa, assuming they plan to stay longer than the 90 days allowed by Schengen for US (and probably Canadian) citizens in France. So maybe the goal was to find cheaper housing costs in rural France compared to British Columbia, so that she could quit nursing, which may be justified since she alluded to the difficulties of dealing with two young children and her work hours.

Bordeaux doesn't seem as scenic as other wine regions. He could do his work anywhere so it's a strange choice of place to stay, unless they were drawn by the low prices. They weren't as convincing as the Zurich family about celebrating wintry Christmas markets -- I'm not even sure it snows in St. Emilion. I guess they were budget constrained, didn't really consider House 1 which was the best one. It was the only one with 3 bedrooms that they asked for but they were asking 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, office space, yard, for $1000. Kind of a steep ask. They came from BC. It they lived anywhere near Vancouver, they were paying way more.

Why would they have back on guests that previous crew hated? Of course to stress this crew, especially towards the end of the season when they’re more easily exhausted. Lara is as much of a lech as some dirty old men. Well she’s only being verbal about it, not groping anyone. Surprise, Lily is performing? Maybe they overstated her shortcomings previously! Max said there was no food but he should have said there was no food that he wanted but Sandy is going to accuse him of lying. He thinks he’s already sacrificing because he wanted to leave a couple of charters ago. So what does he care if he’s fired this close to the end? He did say he’s always been fired but in this case it’s not a real job anyways.

I think they were for real bout the Christmas thing. Both parents and children mentioned looking forward to the snow. They went in summer or fall to choose the house and be back for Christmas. They showed videos of their Christmas celebrations in TX. Sounds like the husband was one of those guys who puts up big Christmas displays outside their home and have big gatherings. They made a good practical choice but that second home looked magical, especially the master suite with the lighting of the wooden ceiling. I once got on a ferry on Lake Zurich in the summer. Seemed like a great lifestyle for kids on along the shores in the summer. Maybe this family will enjoy other seasons there than just winter.

Season 2 is coming in February so I watched season 1. enjoyed it but almost all the characters repeatedly make stupid choices, especially Samantha. Polina grifted men into buying expensive drinks so she herself is grifted into buying some Japanese boy toy, the same guy from Tears of God, thousands in drinks, then sold into sexual slavery because of her debts? I can buy that some Americans and Europeans get so into Japanese culture like manga so they go to one of the most expensive cities in the world. But they get deeply enmeshed in the sleazy Japanese underworld instead of collecting Pokemon cards or whatever? in any event, it worked out for the real life Jake, since he’s sold books and now this series about this whole Yakuza culture. Not sure why it would appeal to Samatha and Polina though, other than they had no other skills so they used their looks to make money at those bars. i didn’t really notice or miss Mann’s influence after the first episode. But they never went back to the sting operation.

New Rules: It's ALL the Arabs fault! Not one word about Likud which didn't want peace either.

You may not practice religion but afterlife is explicitly part of a religious belief system. Even the vague sense of past lives or Deja vu is part of some general Eastern belief system. There are many who believe in God, more or less a Christian God but not go to church or read the Bible much or try to lead a life prescribed by any church with the Christian label. So they have a very vague sense of religious precepts or maybe they pick and choose what they want to believe.

So a place to sell booze without a liquor license?

I thought he was rolling in Airbnb properties and so forth. Didn't he host a party at some place which is suppose to be a dining or entertainment venue? Oh don't tell me he's the next JD, who's going to screw up his business.

Is it really consistent with Monk's character that he would believe in an afterlife, that he'd be reunited with Trudy after his death? He doesn't seem particularly religious either.

But I understand her point, Gabe would be uprooting them because of his fond memories, which aren't hers. She'd be leaving behind her family and friends. At least now with her daughter in Scotland, there is something for her to look forward to in Spain. Danville, CA is a nice suburb in the SF Bay Area. So again why would she give that up? If they've been living in the Bay Area for decades, their home would probably be worth a lot and can easily pay for this home in Spain. But maybe they didn't sell the home back in the US so this is a second home, which would be a good idea because if she doesn't adjust well to living in Spain, they'd be able to return to the US more easily. I don't know how real "unobstructed sea views" was a thing for Gabe but they chose the one he wanted, the biggest one, though Maggie didn't like the kitchen or the bathrooms.