Ashforth
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Posts posted by Ashforth
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I actually signed up for Netflix today in part so I could watch this show. First thought: Alexa is so painfully thin, I ached a little for her every time I saw her arms and legs. It makes me fear for her health. But I liked her personality, and Tan's (I haven't watched the new QE, so he's new to me), and I thought they were personable and enthusiastic without being over the top or obnoxious (Klum, I'm looking at you).
I hated the team thing, as I always do in individual competitions. Nasheli got totally screwed because of her asshole "partner" who didn't even care about being eliminated.
I liked that Alexa and Tan were in the workroom watching the design and execution process. I loved that the judges looked at each garment, not just "top" and "bottom" looks.
All in all, a good start!
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18 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:
Every time Tim started to cry I was weirded out. It felt really fake. And if it wasn't fake? Well that's weird too. It seemed really over the top and manipulative.
Interesting you should say that, since in the podcast @qtpye posted, one of the guys said that based on behind-the-scenes things he'd heard about Tim, Tim's quivering chin and waterworks were totally fake. I want to hear more about that!
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I watched this last night and I enjoyed it, but is it a comedy? I think not. There were definitely light moments, but this was no laugh fest.
It has many layers of deep emotion and tension around the family relationships and communication between family members that are developed well throughout the movie. Everyone seemed to have their own secrets and regrets, but they stemmed from a place of duty and love for family, or not wanting to disappoint others. I suspected that Nai Nai actually knew that she was much more seriously ill than her family members were telling her, but she was resilient and determined to survive.
I was especially impressed with the actress who played Billi's mother.
I wished that Billi had either stayed in or gone back to China to live, at least for a while.
And the FOOD! My god, the food looked glorious.
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I love this Spectrum "Human Sacrifice" ad. The actors are great, the script is hilarious, and the production values are so good. It's hard to choose the best line, I'm torn between "Well, everybody walked all the way up here, so..." "Get on with it!" "In you go" and "I'm a people person." Skip the part at the end where DeGeneres starts talking.
This is a commercial that I actually like to see.
https://www.ispot.tv/ad/ZuPA/spectrum-mobile-better-way-volcano-featuring-ellen-degeneres#
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7 hours ago, albarino said:
I understand him wanting to showcase his culinary heritage but it always gets him in trouble. Either he can't cook it or it just sucks. I don't mean this meanly. We don't eat poi here because it doesn't taste good. Eric, take note. Your dishes get you in the bottom because the judges don't like them.
I don't think that's a fair assessment. Eric has made a lot of dishes that the judges loved. Only a couple really fell flat. I recall the one last season that was "gritty," which seemed to the texture the dish is supposed to have, but the judges found offputting.
The level of talent of the chefs in this season is so high. At this point, very small things are putting chefs on the bottom.
4 hours ago, hula-la said:Showcasing his culinary heritage got him to the finals in his season, so I think the judges like his food. There are lots of commenters here complaining about Eric consistently using West African cuisine as his inspiration, but those same commenters aren't complaining about Leanne or Melissa using their Chinese cuisine, or Nini with her Vietnamese.
For me, that's because they aren't making a big deal of announcing it and putting themselves in the role of educator, which I find a bit condescending. For example, when Melissa made Bánh Xèo (and yes, I know she isn't Vietnamese) she just said, "I made Bánh Xèo" without any backstory or explanation of what it is. Eric could say, "I made Mafe" and allow the judges (or whomever is eating the food) ask questions if they want to know more about it. And, by the way, I found a Mafe recipe on food.com that was posted in 2005, along with a lot of other recipes on other sites, so perhaps people aren't as ignorant as Eric seems to think they are.
I'm going to try to refrain from posting on this specific topic anymore, because I respect everyone's opinions and I'm not trying to argue a position or say that anyone is wrong. Just wanted to try to clarify my feelings as much as I can. For the record, I like Eric and think he's an excellent chef and why this one things drives me up the wall is still something of a mystery to me, because for Pete's sake, I like Malarky.🤔
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On 4/24/2020 at 1:29 AM, SemiCharmedLife said:
I know it makes for good t.v., but I am very disappointed that only 2 of the designers will get to move on and show their collections. The amount of work they each put into their pop-up shops, final runway show and brand presentation should have earned each of them a place in the finale. For one of them, all that effort for nothing.
I don't think it even makes for good TV. The designers should all get to show their collections, especially since Sander and Esther (and maybe Jonny) specifically said that the pop-up store garments were deliberately more casual and sell-able, while they had more sophisticated garments for the runway show. I wanted to see all three have a show.
17 hours ago, Megan said:Jonny seems to have a Balinese sweat shop..
Exactly! I was taken aback that the first thing Jonny did after getting home was jet off to his sweatshop in Bali. It seems unfair. Then he gets praised for "making" his accessories and candles. *Jonny* didn't make them, his minions did. Meantime, Sander is sewing at home with his sister and a seamstress, then gets questioned about his lack of accessories.
Esther seemed to be working relatively solo (even though you can't tell me that she handmade those hideous shoes). She also had a ton of ugly, cheap-looking accessories made. Utensils? Really?
I haven't watched the judging yet. If I were a judge, I would ding Jonny and Esther for a lack of imagination in their pop-ups. How original can a concept be when another contestant does the EXACT SAME THING. "I'll have dancers/models vogue in the store, it will be so awesomely hip and fresh." Bah.
Sander's idea of an on-site tailor in the shop was actually fresh and great for a brick and mortar store, but since the point is to sell the clothes online, I think it may undermine him. I liked his store and that it had COLOR! His clothes, well, probably not anything I would buy, but I can see an audience for him.
Which leads me to, since sales count for who wins, I thought it was completely unfair for Heidi and Naomi to buy things. Let the public make that choice and you do your judging afterward. You'll be able to get the clothes anyway.
Finally, Heidi, it turns out, may be the most annoying person on the planet.
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I don't mind that Eric makes food that is directly (or influenced by) West African cuisine. That's his lane and he can stay in it for every challenge if that's what he prefers. What I'm tired of is his need to announce it every.single.time. "It's a West African stew." Well no shit! That's what you make! Just say "It's a stew"!
I'm not sure why it's grating on me, but it is.
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Here I am again from the shallow end of the pool... when Bryan V. said he would put the lacquer all over his body, I was all, I can help with that, darlin'! Call me! 😍
I am sick and tired of Eric and his West African schtick. Glad that he didn't get Bryan V. eliminated. And yes, I know it wasn't the flavors, it was the choice of how to cut the meat, but it just seemed to me that he rolled all over Bryan V. in this challenge. If Eric is so great, why doesn't he win every time?
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I thought it also looked like it had some pork belly looking component that went completely unmentioned. I could be wrong.
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18 hours ago, seltzer3 said:
Karen has the best Padma impersonation.
Karen's Padma impersonation was hilarious, in no small part because her voice sounded exactly like Padma's. It was startling and so funny.
7 hours ago, Grundoon59 said:Also as a woman of a certain age who worked in male dominated professions, I loved Karen shutting down the "girls" remark.
I LOVED that. "Where I come from, they call me Chef"
Karen's branzino must have been delicious. I didn't really see how it paired with pasta with a tomato sauce, and it certainly was not something that would be served for family dinner for the staff at a restaurant unless there was such a surplus of it that it would go bad before it could be sold. But it wasn't a cheat because they had no restrictions.
Nini might have won except for burning her dish, which apparently didn't affect the flavor but the sight of it couldn't be unseen by Tom, imo. It was much more true to the concept of the challenge. I'm glad she's still in the running to come back through LCK.
ETA: in regard to the fish, one of the men said, is that a spine? Well, yes, dipshit, it's a whole fish. Good grief.
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51 minutes ago, ThePurpleArcher said:
The best part of the case was when the plaintiff tried to claim the city of Atlanta was racist
That actually may be true, but it seems unlikely to apply in this scenario.
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1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:
I'm the same way. My hubby will be sitting in the den watching Hallmark Schmaltz while I'm in the bedroom watching the bad guys get what's comin' to 'em.
I like a lot of the "true crime" shows even though I am aware that a lot gets left out. Cold Justice is a particular favorite of mine and I'm glad to see new episodes recently.
However, Criminal Minds is a show that I stopped watching many years ago because of its glorification/sexualization of horrific violence against women.
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taking this to small talk!
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7 hours ago, sempervivum said:
I HATED John Legend being given my favorite Prince song 'Nothing Compares'; I thought his stage show and arrangement were very Las Vegas-y, and his 'interpretation' was all hammy show-boating, with none of the despair and pain that this song expresses.
I didn't see his performance. I've always found John Legend appealing as a person and want to love his music, but I just... don't.
In my opinion, there can never be a rendition of Nothing Compares 2 U that captures, as @sempervivum said, the despair and pain that this song is about with such incredible beauty as that of Sinead O'Connor
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On 4/22/2020 at 5:13 PM, Hyacinth B said:
For everyone who simply dislikes or actually loathes the Liberty Mutual commercials and who also cares about what's happening to our planet (It IS Earth Day, after all, so excuse any references to politics and the environment) here's another reason to dislike them even more. From Rolling Stone (Yep, they're still around!)
A coalition of climate justice organizations is targeting Liberty Mutual for underwriting fossil fuels
"... Liberty Mutual is providing essential insurance to fossil fuel infrastructure giant TC Energy to enable construction of the dangerous Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline, which would carry extracted tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada to the U.S. Already, Liberty Mutual has provided a $15.6 million bond to cover the risks related to the construction of KXL through South Dakota..."
"... Following a groundswell of grassroots pressure, Liberty Mutual adopted a policy restricting insurance for some coal companies in 2019, but the company continues to insure oil and gas with no restrictions and to invest billions in fossil fuels. At the same time, it is abandoning homeowners and farmers on the margins of climate change. The insurance industry is actively redlining large areas where people are experiencing the most severe impacts of climate change, including in wildfire-affected counties in California. In recent years, a Liberty Mutual spokesperson referred to dropping policies and raising rates as a “necessary step to responsibly manage our overall exposure to wildfires.”
I'll let myself out ...
I saw a news report this morning that the air quality in big cities around the world has improved dramatically since there are so many "stay at home" directives and so many fewer drivers on the road. Los Angeles allegedly had the best air quality in the world.* Just a glimpse of what could happen if countries around the world actually work together to combat climate change.
*Clarification: of big cities, not the entire world.
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2 hours ago, QQQQ said:
https://www.tvcommercialad.com/watch/zzQ23SBLQBTJQoI
If hell has a Top 10 list, this song would be in spots 1 through 4. I seriously feel like I'm going insane whenever this Go Daddy commercial is on.
I dunno, did you see JLo sing "People" on the One World: Together at Home special? It would give this oddball ditty a run for its money. Warning: if you consider researching this performance, once heard, it can't be unheard! Proceed at your own risk.
One of my current most-hated ads is a Sonic one for a sweet & salty slinger or something like that. The two women who are presumably cooking up this delicacy (only the food is shown) are commenting and one of them says, "Dawn't fuuhget thu baaycun" in a really weird drawl. Drives me up the wall.
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56 minutes ago, Florinaldo said:
Plaintiff was either the most obtuse person on Earth or the least mentally agile; usually litigants are more adept at coming up with alternative silly arguments to bolster their stories. He kept coming back to "they did not give me an opportunity to find her", whereas the defendants did not even know of his existence since the dog did not bear any ID. The thing he was most uspet about was evidently the loss of breeding revenue, not the fate of the dog itself.
I didn't hear how he even found out what had happened to the dog. He was a smug asshole.
And yes, he was only pissed that his abused little cash cow was gone.
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13 hours ago, Lamb18 said:
That guy has kind of a Gene Wilder look going on.
Oh my gosh! It's Willie Wonka hair! One of my favorite movies ever (the Gene Wilder version, of course).
ETA: he is super cute!
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On 4/17/2020 at 7:16 AM, Luckylyn said:
I’m hoping that the temporary shutdown of filming will lead to the Hallmark airing classic movies. I’d be so happy to see Sarah Plain and Tall again.
Hahaha for a second I saw this as "Sarah Palin"!
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I got an episode with a total POS guy and his wife who claimed that their English Bulldog (which I don't think they ever called by a name) accidentally got away from them while they were having a picnic party at a park. Did they look for her? Nah. A Good Samaritan found the dog in a road and took it to a rescue organization, and those nice people took it to a vet where it was diagnosed with heat stroke and pneumonia. Her prognosis was poor. Oh and lo and behold, the dog had recently had puppies and had an injury which suggested it was tossed out of a vehicle. No collar, tag, or microchip.
The rescue guy opted to let the vet euthanize the dog and paid the vet bill.
The POS animal abuser - who I suspect runs a puppy mill - had the gall to sue the rescue organization and may have been trying to sue the vet as well. My white hot rage may have kept me from hearing everything.
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Toppik.
That is all.
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3 hours ago, Fukui San said:
Double dipping a spoon has gone from a thing that annoyed other people that I could shrug away when the thing was cooking anyway to OMG Don't You Realize There's Pandemic! Throw it AWAY!
In fairness, this was filmed before the COVID-19 outbreak. But it's still gross, and something that many cheftestants on this show have been criticized for and told is unacceptable.
3 hours ago, Fukui San said:Also noticed that Jen started her sauce by pulling out five different cuts of meat.
She fell victim to Leanne Syndrome LOL.
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This is an epic finish!
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I am not generally a fan of Taylor Swift, but I was moved by her beautiful performance. I'm pretty sure that song is about her mother's battle with cancer.
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S01.E02: Prints & Patterns
in Next In Fashion
I wasn't wowed by any of these looks. And my loathing of team challenges is being amped up with each episode. Let these contestants rise or fall on their own!
I think my expectations may have been too high because of the praise this show was getting in the Making the Cut thread, and don't get me wrong, the show itself is head and shoulders above MTC. But if it's going to be all team challenges, ugh.