[House Hunters International - General Discussion]

7 hours ago, aghst said:

They have to buy an apt instead of renting because there’s like a 7 year queue to get an apt rental — or was it 7 months?

It was seven years.  That's to get a "first hand" contract, which is rent controlled and you can keep it for life.  You can also sublet, or you can rent from private landlords.  But those are more expensive and even those are limited in length.  But at least it explains why everybody's not homeless for seven years, which was my initial thought.

This is where I got my information:

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20160517-this-is-one-city-where-youll-never-find-a-home

7 hours ago, aghst said:

though most Swedes seem to speak English well, without a hint of an accent.

Boy, I don't know.  Just yesterday I met a Swedish man who's been in the U.S. for decades and he sounded like the Swedish Chef.

And get this:  My nephew was an exchange student a few years ago and chose Sweden.  Why Sweden?  Because the guy who invented Minecraft is Swedish.  Kids.

[The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)]

6 hours ago, paramitch said:

Respectfully, this (and the accompanying thread) takes things a little far for me. I didn't watch Banshees (or anything else) on my phone, so I don't dislike it because I'm missing details or too impatient to allow immersion. I also didn't dislike it because I didn't pay attention to it fully nor because I didn't understand it (and this has been a slightly repeated implication in this thread, which is really frustrating for me at this point).

Then you don't fall into the category I described: "When people say they didn't like a movie and it's clear they had not made a decision not to multitask (like, for example, posting their opinion while they're still watching the movie)," or the category I was responding to:  "But often those are not viewers who would have sought out those projects on their own."

Obviously there are many reasons a person might dislike a given movie.  But these two factors in particular--watching current movies other than in a theater, and hearing a lot about a movie a person might not have sought out on their own--are relatively recent developments because of streaming and social media.  So they're supplementing the myriad other reasons someone might not like a movie, not replacing them.

Furthermore, I could be wrong, but it seems to me like the people participating in the discussion here aren't the ones who wouldn't normally seek out this sort of fare.

(And not that it matters, but I've liked and even loved lots of movies I didn't understand.  The Hong Kong crime and wu xia movies from the 1990s and 2000s--I never understand the plots and I can't keep anybody straight and I love them anyway.  So I would be the last person to assume someone's dislike of a movie had anything to do with whether they understood it.)

[House Hunters International - General Discussion]

23 hours ago, aghst said:

California to Mexico City.

Young couple, the guy just out of college and the woman some kind of a counselor.  Forget whether they were married or were going to marry.

They were married.  In fact, they'd gotten married twice.  The first one and then another in Puerto Rico, I think.

I thought he was super cute until about halfway into the episode there was a camera angle that wasn't flattering and after that I couldn't regain the super cute.

Also, I forgot to mention in the Gothenburg, Sweden, episode, the HH was looking at a bay window or similar and said it would be a great place for her cat to relax. 

[The Kitchen - General Discussion]

Mr. Outlier cuts his spaghetti and twirls the shortened pieces to a certain extent.  (But he claims to have a small throat and doesn't take monster bites like I do.)

When I was growing up, my mother made that long spaghetti that I never see in grocery stores any more, and didn't break it.  She had a friend once ask her if she had a special long pan that went over two burners.

One thing I appreciated about the long stuff was that you were more likely to get clumps from bending it around in the pan.  I love the clumps, but it's pretty much impossible to get them these days.

Nobody ever cut that long spaghetti in our house, and we became a family of expert twirlers.  There's a technique when it's that long, though, because you can't just drop your fork and twirl because just one or two strands will fill a fork--you have to be very mindful of your starting amount. 

[The Kitchen - General Discussion]

Zakarian said he got yelled at once in Italy for twirling; he said someone said, "No, no, no."  But they all agreed that you never cut pasta.  Sounds like a personal decision to me.

Alex was really overdoing the "literally"s and "honestly"s, but I laughed when Zakarian was showing how he scrapes the stem of a mushroom with a paring knife, and Alex said, "Is your wife playing a harp in the background?"

[The Kitchen - General Discussion]

I enjoyed the breaking-the-rules show.  Their horror at cooking a frozen steak seemed genuine.  Plus they seemed to be having a good time.

I noticed that Zakarian tasted everything, so his "issues" on other episodes can't be diet related.  And I laughed when he wondered if you could use fresh pineapple instead of crushed pineapple in the cake.  I'm wondering if he even knows what crushed pineapple in a can is.

 

[A Man Called Otto (2022)]

13 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Dang, I’m gonna have to read the book now because this was so good.

I saw the Swedish version of the movie and loved it.  Then when this one was coming out, I found the book in a Little Free Library and thought it was a sign to read the book and see the American version, which I'd been on the fence about because I liked the original so much.

I made it only maybe 20 pages into the book.  The author has this thing where he uses "as if" constantly.  I don't know if this is actually how the book opens, but the Barnes & Noble starts its description with, "Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon—the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window," and it sure sounds familiar.

But then there's another "as if."  And then another.  After about three or four, I went back and circled them, and kept circling every time I encountered another.  At one point, a few pages went by without one, and I thought I could continue the book, but then BAM a bunch in quick succession.  I finally gave up. 

And I ultimately didn't see the American version of the movie, either.

[House Hunters - General Discussion]

2 hours ago, amarante said:

It evidently was a repeat from a year ago but I don't remember it - Fresh Start in Tampa. Their son Elijah had "decided to make an unexpected departure from this world" - their words

When he said that, I remembered I'd seen it before.  So I looked for the original discussion and found it, and discovered I'd even commented on Eli's "decision."  I'd completely forgotten.

https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/94184-house-hunters/?do=findComment&comment=7228469

Turns out this is a "local" episode for me--we've been in Brandon for three months now.  It's kind of a ratty town, and I was surprised someone who said he wanted to be in South Tampa would choose Brandon over that.  But the area where they bought (I appreciate the intel offered up here because I was wondering) has houses like the one they bought, with lots of space.  But the neighborhoods are kind of enclave-like, as they often are out in the burbs and generally aren't in South Tampa.

The history of that house is interesting, to say the least, and I noticed Google Street View fuzzes it out.  So they moved away from what some would consider a jinxed house into what many would consider an even more jinxed house.

[OT: Has Wikipedia slid?  Or has it always been this bad?  The article called Lisa Fuillerat "Lisa Fuillerat" consistently (because Vincente Fuillerat is also in the article, so you can't use only their last name).  But the article then said "Nall and Routerberg noticed."  Who the hell is Nall?  Well, that's Lisa Fuillerat's maiden name.  And earlier, in talking about Vincente Fuillerat, it says he married "Lisa Heiler."  The word "Heiler" appears nowhere else in the article although Lisa's mother's maiden name was Cynthia Hailer.  Just a leeetle bit confusing there, Wikipedia.  And to top it off, it really mangled what it claims is a quote from Vincente's lawyer--confusing and incomplete quotation marks, and misquoting either the lawyer or the New York Post (it's hard to tell), but neither said, "He felt the relation was immoral."  Sheeeesh.]

 

 

[S16.E11: Moonshine and Monthiversaries]

4 minutes ago, brilliantbreakfast said:

Kirsten is so wrapped up in her identity as "beauty queen" that there's nothing to her but her looks, and she expects men to come crawling to her and doing whatever she wants -- except she has no idea what she wants.

I don't know if you meant "beauty queen" literally, but it's Jasmine, not Kirsten, who's the pageant girl.  It took me forever to keep those two straight, but after a few episodes of having their personalities revealed, I'm a lot better at it.

[Family Affair - General Discussion]

Still loving the show.  Buffy's clothes are fantastic.  I'll single out the little A-frame dresses, but really, everything she wears is cute.  And she wears saddle oxfords to school.

They went to dinner at a nice restaurant and Buffy had on a light blue short-sleeved dress and little white gloves!  When they sat down, she expertly removed the gloves and set them on the table in front of her, while she was talking.  I don't know if that was proper etiquette but it sure was cute.

[S16.E11: Moonshine and Monthiversaries]

I loved the conversation between Gina and Clint about whether they would eat Hank if the apocalypse came.  Much more interesting than the many many "state of the relationship" duologues.

[House Hunters International - General Discussion]

5 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

The couple actually seemed like they loved each other, so that was pleasant!

I could have done without them calling each other "honey" or "my love" or whatever in every sentence.

[S16.E86: The Journey So Far: Nashville]

1 hour ago, cinsays said:

who ever decided anybody wanted to watch these awful people? ugh

I don't think they're awful.  They're more or less us, only in person--chattering about a highly edited depiction of the lives of some people none of us know.  Do I find it compelling?  Not particularly.  But I can't fault them for being willing to get paid to do what we do here for free.  I personally like the anonymity here, but judging from social media, a lot of people would give their eye teeth to be in their position.

[S16.E11: Moonshine and Monthiversaries]

9 hours ago, cinsays said:

I really like Nicole, but her questions at the get-together dinner just put everyone on the spot and were not helpful.

On the aftershow, Shaq said Nicole slips notes under their door with relationship advice.  To her credit, Keisha said, "Describe one of these notes."  (Yay!  Specificity!)  One of them was how he needs to kiss Kirsten before going to bed.  Everybody was saying, "Why doesn't Kirsten say that to YOU?" but Shaq was more focused on how he doesn't appreciate Kirsten airing their dirty laundry about what's not happening between them, reminding me of whoever it was last season who fought over talking to the other couples about their relationship.

The whole Shaq and Kirsten thing confuses me, but he seemed to be bristling at being on Kirsten's timeline, that he didn't like it being all about her.  Something like, "Just because you want it now doesn't mean I do."  But if the problem was he wanted intimacy but she didn't, then I would think he'd be thrilled when she came around.  But he's not. 

Or maybe I just don't understand what's going on between them.  I do get the feeling that he's very much into the traditional man is the head of the household scheme.

22 hours ago, JayDub1987 said:

nevermind. They even made a really fun place boring. 

And most of it had nothing to do with the couples.  It was like an ad for the bar.

And that bus ride with the comedian was cringeworthy.

21 hours ago, APK said:

If I were married to Gina, I would be disappointed she didn’t join me in the water, and didn’t wear a bikini.

I want her to wear a bikini now that I know she has a 26" waist because I'm wondering how her clothes can disguise it so well.

21 hours ago, kikicat said:

Chris should have told Nicole, "Let's start saving now for another ceremony on our first anniversary. You can get exactly the dress and makeup you want."

Spoiler

And saving is always easier when your debts have been discharged through bankruptcy.  I really want to see that conversation.

[S16.E86: The Journey So Far: Nashville]

There were a couple of sneak peeks.  Who knows what actually happens, but they show Kirsten telling Shaq that if they stay together, he needs to buy a house for them; he asked how she would contribute and she offered that she'd be on the deed, and mentioned pushing out babies.  It looks like it was filmed in a model home.

They had Airris and Jasmine doing what I assume is the sex exercise, and there's mention of being a dominatrix and Airris has Jasmine slapping him on the face, complete with, "No, harder."

[S27.E08: Week 8]

9 hours ago, Starlight925 said:

Charity looks like she's always sucking on a lemon.

Every time I see her she reminds me of someone, but I can't figure out who it is and it's driving me crazy.

It came to me that it's Eutris, a friend of Shaeeda's from 90 Day Fiance (Shaeeda the yoga lady and husband Bilal, in Kansas City).  Eutris definitely looked like she was always sucking on a lemon.  But now I'm not sure that's who I'm thinking of.

Does anyone think Charity looks like somebody famous?  (Not saying that Shaeeda is famous, but I know what she looks like even though I don't actually know her.)

[Pet Peeves: Aka Things That Make You Go "Gah!"]

20 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

I confess, I also kind of feel like who cares? 

My personal answer to "who cares if Pyrex has lead" is "not me."  Because...

Lead is very dangerous to children.  I'm not a child and I don't feed any children. 

Lead can be dangerous to fetuses.  I don't have any fetuses in me.

Lead can cause reproductive issues.  I'm not reproducing. 

Lead can cause kidney and cardiovascular problems in adults.  I'm 65 and don't have any kidney or cardiovascular problems so far and can't imagine that exposure to lead at this point would make any difference. 

I apply the same analysis to BPA and phthalates. 

I believe this is one of the advantages of being old. 

[House Hunters International - General Discussion]

Y'all might have missed it, but I gather the Gothenburg, Sweden, HH has anxiety and a cat. 

Merida, Mexico:  I remember previous episodes in Merida where the houses were in two parts--the front building is the living area, then there's a little swimming pool, and then the bedroom is in a separate building in the back.  I think those are so cool and was disappointed there weren't any in this episode.  I was actually thinking they were the predominant style there, which reveals I wasn't doing much actual thinking at all.

So I'm grateful for this episode, because I can just see myself on a ski lift talking to a stranger who says he's from Merida and I'd say, "Oh, Merida, where the houses are in two parts with the swimming pool in between" and he'd be thinking, "What the hell are you talking about?"

[House Hunters - General Discussion]

From the Minnesota formerly homeless lady episode:

On 3/9/2023 at 12:03 AM, ECM1231 said:

I especially liked the first split level and was happy she chose it in the end, even though she complained about the "horror" of baseboard heat and in wall air conditioning.

To be fair, that air conditioner installed in the wall in the entry way of that house was heinous.

For some reason, I've been focusing on the air conditioner units lately, and I have to say that the Providence episode illustrates how much better mini-splits look compared to window units or window units that have been installed in a hole in the wall.  They don't look good, because they're still a piece of machinery on a wall, but I wouldn't hate having to look at them, like I would the alternatives.

Then again, if the choice is between sweltering and a unit in a hole in the wall, I'd take the cool air.  But I'd wish it didn't have to be that way.

I've also been noticing circuit breaker panels.  Sometimes they're in a highly visible location, and I think that's so unfortunate.  I wonder why people don't at least paint them, or better yet, put a painting in front of them--the placement might be awkward, but I'd prefer that over a big gray panel.  Or paint it in a way that says, "Yes, this is a tragically conspicuous circuit breaker panel and I'm choosing to embrace its existence."

I can see having it exposed in a house that's for sale (although even then I'd want to make it look better because the buyer is liable to bristle, too), but I see it even in the houses we see on the show that aren't for sale.

(And I can say this because my own house is 100% perfect with no niggling little items that would ever put off anyone or that I choose to overlook myself.  😀 )

[S27.E08: Week 8]

I loved that Zach preferred "pancake syrup" to any of the maple syrups.  I'm sure it's just what is familiar to him.  Well, from back before the family switched to mustard on pancakes.

And...how can a person reach Gabi's age without ever even tasting yellow mustard?  Or ranch dressing?  I can see not liking it, but never even tasting it?

2 minutes ago, Melonie77 said:

I thought Ariel's brother was just too much - questioning the concept of The Bachelor and acting like Zach was insincere was silly when his sister CHOSE to take part in the show.

I took an immediate dislike to him when Ariel said he offered to "beat up" her former boyfriends, and apparently was serious.  People need to stop doing shit like that.

6 hours ago, dleighg said:

I did that years ago when I was in Austin for a conference. Standing nearby, sort of under the bridge, wearing shoes that exposed the tops of my feet. I got stung by a zillion fire ants and basically couldn't walk for a week. Fun times.

While the grass down there is nice, it positions you under the bats.  I don't think that's water raining down on you as they emerge from their slumber.

[S27.E08: Week 8]

1 hour ago, ECM1231 said:

2 hours ago, EllenB said:

What does Kaity do for a living to afford a nice house at her age?

She's a travel nurse.

And travel nurses make excellent money.  Generally more than staff nurses, and sometimes a LOT more, which some staff nurses resent, but that's another topic.

Her house looked like it was out in the suburbs south of Austin, and is no doubt a rental.  In fact, she said she'd been there only a few weeks so I wonder if she never even started her work assignment there and instead got moved in and immediately went on the show.

But speaking of travel nursing, Kaity seems very confident and at ease with people, and I wonder if travel nursing contributes to that--getting a brand new job in a brand new place every three months is bound to affect how you interact with people. 

2 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

Also housing is cheaper in Texas than say, California and New York. Might even cheaper than Minnesota.

Austin ≠ Texas.  Austin's real estate market is eye-popping.  I have a friend who sold his house there about five years ago--a little over $800,000 for a tear-down.  And that was before the massive increase in prices over the last couple of years.

[Triangle of Sadness (2022)]

42 minutes ago, kiddo82 said:

That's exactly how I felt.

Wow.  I don't hear that often.  😀

[Triangle of Sadness (2022)]

On 3/9/2023 at 11:40 AM, Book Junkie said:

The first scene with the male models changing their expressions according to low cost brands or high end brands was the best part.

I loved that part, and it gave me high hopes for the rest of the movie.

I'd seen two of Ostlund's previous movies, and it was like a progression from Force Majeure, which I liked a lot and seemed pretty "normal" to me, then The Square, which was a little more out there, and now Triangle of Sadness, which was even more out there but the gross-out scenes were indeed too gross for me, so I ultimately didn't love it.  But there was enough that I appreciated that I'm not troubled by having forked over money for a ticket.

[TCM: The Greatest Movie Channel]

On 2/26/2023 at 3:41 PM, EtheltoTillie said:

I liked the noir selection, Hunt the Man Down, with Gig Young as a young defense lawyer.  It played, as Muller noted, like a pilot for a Perry Mason type show.  It had some preposterous convoluted plotting, but it was still fun to watch. 

We wanted to watch something not too long, and this one is just over an hour, so it got the nod.  I agree--it was fun to watch. 

I'm terrible at following plots and just kind of rolled with this one like I always do, knowing if there were an exam I'd fail miserably.  But it was interesting enough that when it was over, we put our minds together to figure out who was who, who was with whom at the party and whether they were married or just friends or had been engaged at some point, who married whom afterward.  Convoluted to say the least, but somehow not annoyingly convoluted.

[S16.E10: Love is Up in the Air]

On 3/10/2023 at 5:07 PM, Adeejay said:

In all fairness, if I woman were to say, "All the men I previously dated were taller" and/or "had more hair", no one would bat an eye.  But, let a man mention anything about "weight and/or looks" and its war. 

Some of the women on this show have had issues with their man's lack of hair, but Kirsten is coming around and I think the one on a previous season came to like her husband's bald head.  But even that's a subset--we're not talking George Costanza bald here.

As for height, many women, and I'd estimate the vast majority, would reject a man who's shorter than she is, and would think there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. 

18 hours ago, cinsays said:

20 hours ago, bichonblitz said:

Is he that much of a good actor that he can "overdo" the crying upon request? 

it actually didn't seem real to me, so sortof

The actual crying seemed real enough, and then when he was talking to the camera after that, his eyes were really swollen and puffy.  I'm convinced it was real.

11 hours ago, princelina said:

They keep advertising that she's in "Sola Salons" which, if you go inside one, is like a little mall with rooms off of the hallway, and each is a "privately owned" salon - they are set up as an empty room with a sink, basically, and people can rent one and own their own business - hair, nails, facials, whatever.  I guess they go buy the kind of chairs/tables/etc. that they need. 

One of the Teen Moms has a salon in a place like that--a little mall with rooms off the hallway.  Hers is named Slayed by Jade.  Gina's calls hers Slay Bae. 

I'm not sure I have a point.