Mondrianyone

That's where all the ghosts go.

Thanks, AZ! That was an . . . interesting read. I know they mentioned the faked college transcripts last night, but there was so much more than that. The article didn't mention anything about faking his legal credentials, but it wouldn't surprise me to find out that his law degree is bogus as well. What haunts me is what the real motive behind the adoption of those little Ukrainian girls might've been. I'd always thought that the Mormon concept of having lots of children involved their being biological children. Was he playing this crazy game so far ahead that he knew someday he'd be stealing the identity of one of them? Or something worse that was never touched upon?

I've also seen this case on one of these shows fairly recently (and fairly recently before that one), and I thought there was one huge element that was left out of last night's version. Maybe someone can tell me if I'm imagining this, but didn't it turn out that Martin had faked both his legal and medical credentials and wasn't really either a legitimate doctor or lawyer? (I know there are so many of these sociopath cases that I may be conflating this one with another. Which might be the most horrifying thing of all.)

That's kind of an oxymoron! I can't tell you how to feel, but I'd suggest that this conversation is more lighthearted than the kind I'd take offense at. I regularly watch Jeopardy! and scream at the contestants for being morons when they don't know something that's common knowledge (common to me, but obviously not to them). And I knew that Malcolm had red hair even though I'm white as paper. But I also lived a few blocks from the Audubon Ballroom, which was kind of a shrine to him in those days. So you're right, a lot of what you know is who you are and where and when you are. And you're also right about Andy probably not shutting up long enough to let anybody else's facts penetrate his skull. I'm fairly sure no insult was meant here. I know I meant none.

I'm of an uncertain age, and I knew it. I think every time the song comes up in conversation, someone is sure to mention it's about Rosanna Arquette. It's practically a rule. I gave up listening to pop music and rock sometime in the eighties, so if I knew it, safe to say it was pretty common knowledge, 'cause I don't know anything. ;o)

What the heck is a "veracious accuracy"? Is there any other kind of accuracy?

Got it. Thanks! Just wanted to make sure I wasn't ignoring a post directed at me.

Was this in response to something in my post, @Rinaldo? If it is, I don't know what the "they" reference is to, so I'm not being rude by not replying, just clueless. If your post had nothing to do with me, then please ignore this completely. ;o)

I had the same injury as John while slicing citrus to decorate a birthday cake for a friend a couple of years ago, and it's almost inconceivable how much a tiny cut at the tip of your finger will bleed. A Band-Aid didn't stanch the flow, so I also put on a blue glove. I was working under a deadline, too, so I couldn't stop and couldn't risk getting blood on the icing--wow! that's a great title for a baking-themed murder mystery! The glove really does fill with blood. Seeing him was like living that all over again. No stitches needed in my case, though. There isn't a question in my mind that Brendon used that lattice tool. I have one as well, and the result is exactly what he produced. You can't get a lattice that perfectly regular doing it by hand, and it would take tons of time. The tool does it in one easy pass.

Usually the info in those bios is supplied by the person him/herself (in this case Carole) and cleaned up by some in-house editorial assistant. The idea that fact-checking is done before they're posted on the site is baseless in my experience (a lifetime working in publishing). Also, posted above that a good ghostwriter wouldn't accurately capture the voice of the supposed "author": the very definition of a good ghostwriter is someone who's able to channel the voice of the person being written about. I've edited countless manuscripts ghostwritten for celebrities (sometimes loosely defined, as in Carole's case, or someone who was the friend/butler/spouse/whatever of a celebrity), and that quality is what's always aimed for. My husband, a writer, ghosted three books in addition to the ones he wrote under his own name. Two of those books are still in print and one made it onto the Times bestsellers list, so we know a little bit about ghostwriting in this house. ;o) I have no idea if Carole had a ghostwriter do WR, but the odds are much better that she did than that she didn't. If the ghost captured her voice, that's because the ghost was good. And/or someone who knew her very well. It's not a sin or an embarrassment to have your book ghostwritten. It's a practical decision most people make, recognizing their own strengths and limitations.

You forgot "talking" to someone, which I assume means pretty much anything but talking.

I've been baking since I was a teenager, and I've still managed to pick up some very useful tips by watching Gesine. I would definitely not think of her as boring. If anything, I wouldn't mind if she dialed back on the cutesiness a little. But with the exception of the phyllo dough, I haven't seen her do anything I think is not worth making or beyond my abilities. No one forces people to watch shows they find boring, so I don't understand why that's even a problem.

But as I recall, LuAnn (and eventually both of them, once she started the topic) seemed to be talking about how the driver should've been instructed to address her as if he weren't a fully functioning adult in the same small space with them, able to hear every word that was spoken, which was possibly the rudest part of the whole scenario. Who does that? LuAnn was pretty insufferable back in those days.

Thanks, but since I was responding to a an entire discussion on this board, this seemed to be the place to put it. I don't know how to move all the posts above on this same subject. If you do, you have my permission to move mine along with all the others. I'll try to be better in the future. ;o)

You do, actually. I have. Or get into a cab or an Uber, or have a friend drive you, or hop on the subway--if that isn't beneath you, because it's usually the fastest way from Point A to Point B--and head straight for the Animal Medical Center, which would take about 10-20 minutes and is open 24/7/365 with the best emergency services available. Don't ask me how I know. I would really question Bethenny's fitness to have custody of Bryn if she can't handle a crisis with her dog. How much more crippling would the stress be in that case? No plan for a health emergency, whether you're in Manhattan or in the Hamptons--you don't have the luxury to freak out to the point of paralysis. You're supposed to be capable of parenting if you're a parent.

Fixed that for you.

Maybe her support function is to help him hold his head up straight. If so, she's not doing a very good job. ;o) (Sorry, every time I see a photo of Adam, another neck joke occurs to me. I'll go smack myself now.)

Everything here is someone's opinion. That's the whole point. I have a feeling Bethenny didn't spend every day or even every weekend--or maybe even any time at all except for that once--standing alone and forlorn in suburban supermarkets trying to sell her baked goods. I think that was probably entirely for the camera, to foster her poor-little-matchgirl image. But that's just my opinion. ;o)

Alexander Hamilton was the founder of the NY Post. He'd be rolling in his grave if he weren't so busy singing and dancing. When I was still living in NY, I read the Post every day for Page Six. I'll admit it even if nobody else wants to. ;o)

And such outstanding criminal minds, since the killer was a Mercer guy, too. You're right about that!

I thought it might be. I went to see if there were any references to it in the board for the first season, but I didn't see any (or missed those, too). Thanks! I'm glad I got to watch it either way.

Yes, mine wasn't at the usual time either, now that you mention it. Fortunately, my DVR seems to record based on the title of the program, not the time of broadcast. I don't think they all do that.

I had a new episode this week--the one with the knitting club and the ice-cream cake. Or was that just new to me? I somehow managed to miss the whole first season.

That was great. It was a real "Excuse me for talking while you're interrupting" moment. And I noticed the very next time she had something to "offer" while he was cooking, she whispered it. So she gets it, but most of the time the people who have to deal with her big mouth just let her roll over them.

I wasn't talking about poor grammar in general. I was talking specifically about the singular "they." It's the solution to a problem that didn't exist in the past. Before it became uncomfortably obvious that women, you know . . . actually exist, the default pronoun was always the male. "If a person finds that his passport is missing, he should . . ." So now that we acknowledge that women's passports can also come up missing, how do we accommodate that reality in a sentence? There are lots of awkward ways, and then there's what the Brits do. It's not dumbing down, it's finding the least ugly alternative. Let's make it what it's about, not what it isn't about, that's all.