Oholibamah

It may be their third season, but I'm looking forward to seeing more from Amanda, Fabio and Melissa. Love their personalities and designs! I knew Kelly would return eventually, and I am happy to see her back, too. Candice produced one of my top 10 looks ever (Finding Neverland), so I'm hoping she's more consistent this time around. But the one I am most over the moon about is Kimberly! I loved her in Season 9 and was wondering if she'd ever return for an Allstar season. I think Char was an awful designer, and I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I don't blame Korina for being upset about how her elimination played out. Expecting Korina to return to the workroom hours after being eliminated to help the person who was questionably spared over her rip apart her design? Awful treatment by the show, and I would have stormed out, too. I wrote a longer version of my Korina Defense Thesis in the Project Runway thread. Ken and Helen were on their best behaviour for their Allstar seasons, but neither are very good designers. I don't need to see more of what either of them can do.

"Reverse racism" isn't really a thing, and certainly doesn't apply to the popularity of somebody who is black. Representation in media is important, and has nothing to do with not liking the white players. "Acting white" isn't really a thing, either. Desi acts how she acts and as a black woman, is "acting black" in doing so. White people don't have a monopoly on certain personality traits. I actually can't think of any black female players who weren't "eloquent". Linda and Joanna certainly put their foot in their mouths at times, and Rebecca probably wasn't giving the most interesting confessionals, but obviously everybody had to be telegenic enough to be cast for a show where they'd be speaking. There is often an insinuation that "eloquent = standard newscaster accent = not talking "black", but that way of thinking should be challenged. I also don't think anyone they've cast was a "worst stereotype of their race". They were all real people and individuals, from a wide range of backgrounds. Nobody should have to represent their entire race. Sadly, in some ways you're right: to many people Desi is probably more palatable than NaOnka or Stacy. But I don't think people love Desi just because she's black. I find it refreshing that the show has become (marginally) more diverse, but I like Desi because she slays challenges, approaches the game analytically, and has a hypnotic voice that makes her (few) confessionals nice to listen to. I imagine many feel the same.

No edge intended - I don't think you find THEM chilling, but the clothing they wear. The feedback a lot of Muslim women share is that they don't want to be pitied for (or have people be disturbed by) clothing that they actively choose to wear. It may be an opinion, but in some ways it's an opinion about another person's relationship to God, which isn't as simple as hating peplems. I was referring to posts listing various types of women who are in the market for modest clothing. Apologies, I worded that poorly! Ayana's primary clientele will likely be mostly Muslim women, but her fashion lends itself to a lot of women who prefer more coverage. Faith may have been Ayana's starting point and her reason for her POV, but I don't think "modest" is code for Muslim fashion. It's a niche market but isn't specific to one faith.

The broad market for modest clothing has been referenced upthread. Muslim women, like every other human being, have a variety of personalities, opinions, styles, beliefs, and interpretations of Islam. There are certainly women who are oppressed within Islamic societies. But many others do not find their choice of dress "chilling". Because for many, it is in fact a choice. It can be difficult sometimes to navigate feminism and cultural sensitivity, but the best approach is to ask those who are involved how they feel, or look to somebody like Ayana.

I get that women dressing modestly has a patriarchal history, but we also shouldn't deny women of today's capacity for free choice. Every Muslim woman I have met has made a personal choice to wear or not wear a hijab, and this choice is respected by their families. There are different ways of wearing it (i.e. with/without an underscarf) and some women will wear it one day and not the next. Women wear a hijab for many different reasons: one friend said it helps her feel closer to God, and for another it shows pride in her culture. There are certainly women who are forced to wear it, either directly or through social pressure. But we also can't discount the strength and feminism of those who choose to wear a hijab, and not putting constraints on others includes how they embody feminism. To me this is Ayana's message: Not one of religion and custom, but of personal choice through clothes that are modern, strong and fashionable. She stated earlier in the season that it is difficult to find fully covered pieces that are still fashion-forward, and that is what she brings to fashion. I understand this reaction, but the terms don't have to be a zero sum game. Clothes that aren't modest aren't immediately immodest, and I certainly don't think Ayana would judge or say showing knees/elbows is immodest. In fact, many of her pieces are strategically layered to allow varying lengths depending on one's definition of modesty (i.e. a knee-length skirt over pants). I work in an office with a collar/tie dress code, so I wear collared dresses with pants, necklaces instead of ties, and floral or beaded blazers. To me, this is formal and conservative because I'm wearing dress clothes and following rules. There are certainly people who think I look "strange" or unprofessional, just as there are some who WOULD say that knees and elbows are immodest. But most understand that I have a personal approach to what I wear. I am fortunate that I fit into large women's sizes. If I didn't, I would be thrilled to see a designer making awesome clothes that fit my style, and that's why what Ayana does is important: yes, to some people they're "just clothes", but to others who can't walk into a store and automatically find things they love, they're more than that. It shows somebody is listening to your needs, whether that be plus-sized, gender-neutral or modest. I know labels bother people because they think it needlessly separates people, but for others it's a way to express common identity. Without a name for it, somebody looking for what Ayana does may have a harder time finding it. To them the label isn't needless. tl;dr: Terms will always be relative to somebody's personal experiences, but that doesn't mean they invalidate somebody else's. Also, this episode was may have been unscheduled: having a FW preview doesn't happen every season, so Heidi likely had another commitment. Flying between LA and NY would be exhausting, so I don't blame her. I've resigned myself to a Brandon win, but it'll be extra salt in the wound for him to beat a Japanese designer while blatantly ripping on Japanese street-style.

I love how Desi is among the most infrequently featured in the episodes, yet routinely gets the most positive mentions here. If TPTB are listening, take this as a sign that we also like to watch nice, normal people amongst all the crazy! Really hoping the Healers can make a comeback with Mike's Idol and pulling Lauren back in. I can't stomach an endgame with Ryan, Chrissy, Ben, JP and Devon. Because I'm sure Chrissy wouldn't let Ashley get anywhere close.

I've been doing mental gymnastics trying to convince myself that racist psychotic creature doesn't win. Here were the girls' results: Lines show an indeterminate amount of time between finishes. Asterisks show the amount of time is in the seconds and negligible. Donation: Camila--CM--Tori Bola Throw: Camila--Tori--CM Puzzle: Tori--Camila--CM Totem: CM**Tori--Camila Smokehouse: Tori**CM**Camila Climb: Cara**Tori--Camila Run #1: Camila--Tori**CM Final Run: Camila--Tori--CM We know from the reunion spoilers that Tori places third. What I don't understand is how she loses to Cara based on these results. Tori beats Cara in every round except 3: Donation, Totem and Climb. But in two of these events (Totem and Climb) it's apparent Cara barely beats Tori by a tiny margin, and the third is indeterminate (Donation), but the Talking Heads made it sound very close. How could there have possibly been enough of a gap in any of those events to make up for the fact that she loses to her overall? And if there indeed was, the times should be so minimal that the 5 minute penalty given to Camila should be a huge factor. Moving this same logic to Cara v. Camila, Cara lost in the Donation, Bola Throw, Puzzle, and both Runs. She won in the Totem and Rock Climb, both where Camila had errors. Smokehouse is negligible. Editing made it look pretty close for the Donation and Runs, so that could arguably even out the time Cara gained in the Totem and Rock Climb. So I guess what it comes down to is: was Cara bad enough in the Puzzle and Bola Throw to account for Camila's 5 minute penalty? The fact that Cara lost both of these events to Tori, but still beat her overall, makes that hard to believe. I know it seems logical that because Jordan clearly won and pulled his "winner" results with Camila c/o TJ that Camila wins. But wouldn't it be craftier to have Jordan pull his result with the loser, and have the second winner pull her result the following week? Please? Pretty please? Basically I'm just trying to make myself feel better between now and the results next week.

This video was sort of helpful: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E_h_VC_NXek it even has a terrifying demonstration of what happens to the throat. I think on some people it may be an affectation, but Michele from Kaoh Rong was accused of it constantly, and I think that's just the way she talks. Considering she's from New Jersey, I think she got off lucky in the voice department (I kid, I kid). But annoying? I think it depends on how annoying the person's original voice is. The Kardashians are annoying regardless of what register their voice is in.

I've heard it referred to as "vocal fry", but I'm possibly so accustomed that I'm deaf to it. I still don't really get what people are talking about or why it's considered annoying. Who this season does that?

I don't necessarily question the Delpozo accusations - I agree Erin was remixing their colour story, use of textured applications and certain pleating details, but I never found the silhouettes direct copies, nor do I think any particular piece was similar enough to a Delpozo to entirely discount Erin's talent. But I get that MMV on that one. (for reference: https://imgur.com/gallery/nQQ7q , where I think a lot of the head-to-head comparisons themselves are a reach, but I do see a consistent similarity between various pieces. But nothing to a Buitendorp level of fashion clone). What I can't accept is that she was some awful person on the level of Gretchen or Ivy. To me she seems naturally spacy, and probably learned to play that up in a way that is "quirky and cute", possibly without even knowing it. It just seems that time has morphed a general viewer aversion to her into thinking she was terrible, which I don't think is accurate.

Can somebody refresh my memory on what was so bad about Erin? I know her abundant use of the word "like" rubbed people the wrong way (doesn't bother me, personally), but I saw her compared to the odious Wretchen and Poison Ivy, and I don't recall that at all. There was some cliquiness between her and Dexter during a team challenge with Cornelius. I don't think she handled it as best she could have. But this is Cornelius we're talking about... the guy who spent the entire season backbiting, wrenching supplies from people and having his own cliquiness with Nathalia. I think she can fairly be accused of lacking self-awareness: when her designs (rarely, IMO) sucked, she seemed totally blindsided by it, and I definitely see some Pretentious Hipsterisms, but mean? I think she was excited to work with Dexter on a challenge and didn't realize they were alienating Cornelius. When Tim came for the critique, they rightly shuffled around Cornelius' plaid skirt to break up the plaid-on-plaid: the fact that it was an issue for him to make another simple skirt with tons of time remaining likely didn't occur to Erin, who again, lacks awareness, but isn't mean. Frankly, I think deeming Erin a "mean-girl" gives way too much credit to her ability to recognize what's going on in a room. To me she always seemed off in thought. Anyway, I've always thought Tim's declaration of "mean girl behaviour" re: Erin and Dexter was OTT, but I guess this is SOP for Tim: he played favorites on UTG, and often seems to coddle the designers he uses his "Save" on (primarily Char, Cornelius and now Margarita). Which brings me to another Unpopular Opinion: I was 100% on Korina's side when she walked out of the workroom in Season 13. Refresher: she is thrown into a head-to-head one-hour design battle against Char. Char's dress is designed and sewn by Sean. Korina is eliminated. Fewer than 12 hours later, she is brought back to the workroom and told she has to help Char literally tear apart the design that got Korina eliminated and help redesign it. Additional Background: Char received the Tim Gunn save. Two weeks later she tears a zipper 2 minutes before runway and received a second Tim Gunn save in having more time to sew it in. Korina wins this same challenge, only to go home to Char the next one. Frankly, I'd be hard pressed to find anybody rock-steady enough to do what was asked of her (help Char redesign her work) 12 hours after having her dreams crushed. When she walked out, we saw none of the softness and benefit-of-doubt Tim has afforded other contestants when they get emotional, which escalated Korina's reaction off set. Tl;dr Erin was little more than a spacy Hipster, and Korina got a raw deal and reacted like 99% of people would.

Some winners DO have low TH tallies, but notice any trends on who they tend to be? (8 of the bottom 10 are women). I think it may partially be that production (incorrectly, IMO) thinks men give better confessionals, but as mentioned upthread, women's winning game edits are often reduced to "how her opponent lost" (Amber, Danni, Natalie W, Sophie, even Sandra's second season. To an extent Michele, but that season was dominated by women so she was still heavily featured). Other times, they are bizarrely invisible for parts of the game and then reappear at with a decent enough edit to show how they won (Natalie A, Sarah, to a lesser extent Kim and Denise). Tony 97 Rob 97 Hatch 92 Mike 73 JT 71 Chris 71 Tina 69 Cochran 67 Ethan 65 Todd 60 Earl 59 Tom 59 Michele 57 Jenna 57 Sandra 54 Adam 53 Brian 53 Kim 53 Tyson 48 Aras 48 Natalie A 46 Yul 45 Sarah 45 Jeremy 44 Amber 43 Danni 41 Fabio 40 Vecepia 38 Denise 37 Parvati 32 Bob 31 Sandra 27 Sophie 25 Natalie W 15 I find the current season has done an excellent job editing everybody fairly evenly. I'm even fine with Ryan's surplus because he's visited the most Tribal Councils. Simone and Roark came out of nowhere on their elimination episodes, but those were also their first visits to TC and didn't play in to previous episodes. Im hoping to see more of Desi post-merge, and also hoping Jessica's edit evolves past Cole, because I think she's a great narrator and player.

That petulant bratty face he gave Ali as he snapped, "I'm the one getting angry?" has solidified him in my bad books forever. What a little douche. It reminded me of Frodo when the Ring turned him into a power-hungry monster. For someone who goes on ad nauseum about his "social game", you'd think he would have handled that conversation better. All he had to say was, "you're right. I should have told you. I'm sorry." I think voting out Roark was a bad move because it burned Ali. Voting out Chrissy would have only burned Chrissy, who would now be gone. I suppose getting rid of Ali as a response to his prior bad move makes sense, but I don't know why Ryan thinks JP will work with him later.

Maybe she wasn't bad - her Ninja and Cirque de Soleil photos were strong - but compared to Erin and Brittany she wasn't very consistent.

Unpopular opinion: Amis had one of the best casting "Grad" photos and Elle's "Intimates" photos. She also gets the rare distinction of being eliminated for having my favourite photo of the week: for me her Meat Packing photo was the only one that showed any life or movement, and her profile was divine. She wasn't model material, so I don't mind that she was eliminated early. But I think she photographed fabulously, her Homeless shot being the exception.

I love Ann as a model and don't in any way dispute her deserved win, but I think Chelsey easily earned some Best Photos throughout the cycle. My favourites are her Bullying photo which is absolutely haunting, and her Covergirl shot which is the strongest Covergirl shot of any cycle. IMO, she deserved best photo for the famous designer shoot, and had my personal favourite photo in the Lucha Va Voom and Fallen Angel shoots. Also, the fact that she was the only model in the top 4 with usable runway footage from the Modelli Folli shoot shows she deserved Top 2. You can argue Ann had a stronger portfolio (I've ranked 7500 photos from various international Top Model cycles, and Chelsey's average score narrowly beats Ann by less than a quarter percent, so it's too close to call) but for me Chelsey won outside the shoots. I know Ann had an inspiring story, but I love how Chelsey came in like a legitimate professional. She always showed up on-point and ready to work, resulting in Challenge wins for tasks that would exist in the real world. To clarify, my list isn't necessarily who deserved to win or who was objectively the best. Chelsey was without question my favourite of Cycle 15 and remains a top 3 fav of mine. But I still think Ann deserved her win. Overall we have some pretty similar opinions. My support for Joanie griping about Sara is only because I think Leslie, Brooke and Mollie Sue consistently outperformed her. I liked Sara as a model, but I wanted to see more from the other three.

It's been a while since I watched it so my reasoning is hazy, but I consider it more thematically satisfying for Buffy herself to be the Big Bad in Season 6. Warren obviously graduates to a Grade A POS by the end, but the Trio are little more than inconvenient pests for most of the season. Meanwhile, Buffy is her own worst enemy throughout, and her true battle is finding the will to participate in life again.

Totally random, but I laugh every time I recall last season's Nathalia saying, "I am literally spiralling into an abyss". Not only is it ridiculously melodramatic, but there's also the insistence that it was literally happening that makes it hilarious. It may not be for her designs, but at least I remember her for something?

Haha exactly, not to mention the constant rotation of returning players means storylines are carried from season to season. But seeing Camila suddenly disappear from the edit is bizarre. It almost feels like they want us to forget she's there. Which, sadly, is impossible.

Mine, too. I fully own that this makes me a terrible person, but I loved everything about Teethgate. I relive it often when I tell somebody to do something and use Brenda's ice cold staccato delivery: "I want you. To take out. Your teeth, Dawn." It was delicious television, and it was a satisfying end to a season of Dawn's constant blubbering.

Lots to talk about when comparing Survivor to other reality shows. Mark Burnett ushered in the second wave of Reality TV, and even forced Survivor's predecessor The Real World to rebrand itself. Has it stood the test of time? Has it been outpaced? Are there other shows it should look at to extend its longevity, as American Idol failed to do with the Voice? Here's your on-topic place to discuss these comparisons. One question I have to start things off relates to a comment Hayden made after Blood v. Water that indicated Survivor the Checkers to Big Brother's Chess. To me that quote implies Big Brother is somehow more strategic or intellectually demanding, but I've never been able to wrap my head around that. Big Brother seems like more of a crapshoot, with constant twists and shifting power benefitting those who play from the shadows. Thoughts?

There's also MOTR (Middle of the Road) which can also be positive or negative. It's used by Survivor fans to try and predict the winner based on how the players are edited each episode. After seasons 5 and 6, Survivor typically hasn't edited their winners to be OTTN, even if they are unpleasant behind the scenes. This is why Camila's quiet edit makes me nervous.

Sorry those are edgic jargon. Over the Top Negative and Under the Radar.

Yes! Your comment reminds me of the alien scene from Spice World where Mel B swats away an unwanted alien grope. Totally different. OY! I am often a fashion consultant for my friends, and they understand a "checking the fit" touch. Despite being gay, I make sure to consult them before any touching, and I trust Zac's relationship with the models are the same.

It looked to me like Tony didn't know how to use a crowbar. I couldn't tell with Hunter/Kailah, but his hand is a valid excuse. Agreed that it was a bad episode for Cara. I don't normally like Kailah, but she came out of this looking pretty awesome. I'm hoping Tori turns out the win, only so Cara can hopefully go back to being lovably adorkable. Would also be happy with Jenna (one of the best elimination records ever yet no wins). But I hope the edit isn't pointing to a Camila win. Still wishing Jemmye (hilarious!) and Veronica (nostalgia!) made the finals, but at least hoping they'll appear next season. Agreed that Jordan and Cara's feud seems calculated. That said, no Challenge format has ever had a 4th season. Will Rivals be the first?