vavera4ka

It felt to me more of a sibling chemistry. I did like them working together. Very nice contrast and they will learn a lot form each other. Too many people are already "contrasting" Shawn. Claire is too awesome to be "one of many". So I hope it's just a friendly competitive work relationship between Park and Claire. And not only because I want Claire and Melendez together lol

Yeah, when Melendez "fired" Claire, immediately went to "paving the road to romance" I don't mind. Last season they had some tension and chemistry. And shallowly I have been objectifying Melendez from day one. So whatever gets him on my screen shirtless - I'm game. lol

I know it's a "no book talk" thread, but I think it refers to spoilery parts of book I only read book 1, so I don't want to get spoiled myself by going to the book thread. I feel like the cliff hanger was true to the book - the implication that they got separated. I do agree with @millahnna the whole thing at and around the house was a bit jumbled. It went on for much longer in the book, and frankly was my fav part of the book. I do remember being hesitant to jump into book 2 because such things as separation in an unknown world. land, or time give me reader's anxiety lol but I liked book 1 a lot. This show made me remember that and basically after episode 1 or 2 I went ahead and added book 2 to my 2019 TBR. I didn't have it in my library yet though Well, Halloween sale on Audible had 2nd book for $6. Now I'm ready for 2019 LOL

I did chuckle when Sabrina called upon Anne Boleyn's help

Saw it yesterday. score is GORGEOUS! if it doesn't get the Oscar idk what will. shaky camera made me sick. literally. it took me about an hr to quiet down the nausea. I understand and appreciate the loud and shaky filming DURING the training or the mission, but at the kitchen table??? I understand why it was done, and IMAX views on the moon were amazing, but... When Wizard of Oz did similar technique, the majority of the movie was in better quality, not 10 minutes out of 2.5 hrs...

I miss Louis... :( He was my fav pro... sigh...

I understand that, but I was reacting more to "I have 3 months left to read, so I want to read as much as possible, and they banned my book" If you want to read as much as possible, who cares if the book is banned? Who cares if it's school program? If you are into reading that much (and believe me, I understand. I was attached to a book since I was 3.) you read "allowed" or school program books in between your regular reading. I guess I don't really understand this problem. I come from a SUPER reading family. My dad built a shelving unit that spanned a whole wall top to bottom so it could hold all the books that didn't fit three other shelving units we already had (one for us kids, one for my grandma, and one for my parents) . If there was a book I wanted to read that was deemed "not suited for kids" I would probably find it on one of the shelves... All my friends borrowed books from us. If we didn't have that book, I'd go to a public library. I guess I'd rather read and let you read my book, than spend time in futile battle with the authorities banning the books from one small library lol

So why can’t the girl who is going blind read banned book on her own? Is school library the only one in town? Aren’t there personal libraries? Online libraries? Audiobooks? do students know they CAN read books other than assigned ones? Or is it that if you didn’t argue about it in class or write a report on it it doesn’t count?

And that's how good ideas go bad... Equal opportunity has to be equally based on race, gender, sexual orientation, AND merit/performance. I'm really hoping that introduction of some more diverse troupe members will free us of this bias. I really like one black girl in the troupe. I have no idea of any of the dancers' names, sorry. But she is such a spunky and energetic dancer, I can't take my eyes off her. Let's have her instead of Keo next time, please!

I don't care for Keo because even though he gets thrown good partners from time to time he consistently underperforms in terms of teaching and choreographing. Did he get better this season compared to, say, Jodie season? I guess... but still with a charming actress with dance experience he's supposed to be one of the front runners, not lower middle of the pack in danger to go every night. I still don't know why they keep bringing him back and give him solid competitors, when someone like Tristan had a much shorter leash, and Artem, probably doing twice as many seasons, has yet to get someone of the level of Jodie or Evanna. When Val (?) did a swap and danced with Jodie it was such a noticeable difference in the way choreography presented the contestant in the best light... night and day. Gleb and Keo must have some kind of unflattering nudes on TPTB...

ok I did NOT expect to get spoilers on another show with three episodes left....

I was really impressed with Harvest’s Russian. I had to go and check his IMDb out. Not much info but it seems that he’s an American who studied Slavic languages and lit and worked at one of the most famous Moscow theaters. What a lucky thing casting has encountered. They should have used him more. A perfect illegal. Speaks Russian and English perfectly. Though credit where it’s due: MR has a decent pronunciation when he only says few words. He must work on it with either a coach or Russian actors. When he said “not a word” it took me a second to realize that Harvest stopped talking and it was Phillip who said that. And during the wedding. His accent though noticeable wasn’t horrible. Elizabeth’s Russian is much worse. Lol

Something I noticed, that I'm not sure if it was intentional or whether I'm just overthinking it. The story with the marriage of a hockey player and TASS woman kinda parallels the story of Lyudmila from Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears that was featured in the first epi. Happy marriage to a famous hockey player who then started drinking and everything fell apart. granted it's more or less standard story, but it wasn't too far removed from mentioning the movie that I couldn't help noticing. Yes, I have watched that movie way too many times lol

Dr. Mike has reviewed the S01E02.

I saw the trailer before A Star is Born and though I'm excited to go see this, I'm afraid that the atrocious job of a makeup might be too distracting... It was definitely cringe worthy in the preview...

I liked the longing look Elizabeth gave that plate. Very nice touch. You can find a lot of things in ethnic stores now, provided you are in a large city, or in the area where there are a lot of immigrants from former USSR. But even in 2000's it was REALLY hard to find a lot of foods that I was used to. I missed buckwheat, wild mushrooms and uhm... kozinaki the most. That mini scene rang very true.

I'd like to comment on Gabriel offering Elizabeth pierogi that his mom(?), grandma(?) used to make. There are no pierogi in Russia. There are pirogi (which is plural of pirog, which is just a pie). Russians would eat: pelmeni (small dumplings, usually with meat) pirozhki (fried yeast dough filled with almost anything you can imagine) chebureki (thin dough meat pockets, fried) manti (larger dumplings) vareniki (boiled pierogi like things, most of the time with sweet filling) If Gabriel is from somewhere close to Lithuania or Poland (present day Belarus, Western Ukraine, southwest parts of Russia) his mom or granma would be making potatoe pancakes with or without meat inside. But yeah... no pierogi. That's a Polish dish and word. Obviously every culture has a version of that dish, but a KGB officer would never call it by a Polish word to another KGB officer. MAYBE to an unsuspecting American to describe what he is offering.

I have to say though. that the casting hit the nail on the head with Matthew for me. That's about how I imagined him. Maybe slightly longer and sharper features. Diana for some reason was different. Idk if I got it wrong and just forgot, but I didn't see here as a blonde at all. And I imagined her a bit smaller framed. Domenico for me was Rufus Sewell in Dangerous Beauty. So I guess Zoroastr from Davinci Demons will do lol What I got COMPLETELY wrong was the inside of the castle. I saw upholsteries, tall book cases, rich desk, velvet everywhere... not this Spartan medieval set up... Especially the office. Sitting room is a bit closer to what I imagined...

Idk, Matthew's character in the book intrigued me. I just read book 1 earlier this year. He is the kind of vampire I think I'd be lol I always roll eyes at how vampires are portrayed to be partying and killing for years. Basically sex, drugs and rock and roll... This take on learning, participating in historical events, hanging with the brightest minds of particular time... and drinking and collecting wine... yup, if I'm turned that's my plan for the next millennium. Diana did annoy me towards the end of the book a bit though

lol I LOVE your grandma, that's such a cool phrase (stealing it) And yes, confidence and cockiness share a very grey and thin border both in expression and perception. That's why I don't think it's worth the effort to try and defend one or the other... It's not something objective. It doesn't have a way to measure, quantify and qualify. So fighting over it or trying to change someone else's mind about it... futile... Like it was said above. You either click with something or someone or you don't. Unfortunately a lot of people like to bring up their favs by putting down others... I personally don't understand it, but I accept that this exists...

People thought Nastia was cocky... I've read it about Nyle on different boards too... Paige What's the excuse there? Believe me I can understand the frustration of labels. Irrelevant to this show, but I HATE how Hollywood portrays Russians in movies and shows... but to quote Freud from Sabrina the Teenage Witch "sometimes banana is just a banana..." People perceive and transfer their own attitude onto others. "I'd never say that, it would be to cocky", nevermind that context matters immensely. I also understand concentrating on a specific person/type. I adore Artem, and feel like he's been handled like crap by producers, even though I'm sure some other people would think that he doesn't have it as bad as <insert their fav> Just because you notice that certain things are said about certain type of contestant doesn't mean that those same things are not being said about other contestants. You are just not as invested in those others. You might even agree about those others. It might happen in a different community, but you are not actively seeking that community, cause you have no interest in that contestant (or their immediate rival) You are probably right, Tinashe gets a lot of crap because she is young, beautiful and a threat in the competition. But I'm sorry, her color is not anywhere near the top of the reasons. It will happen to any young beautiful talented woman. Sometimes a man too... and not just in DWTS. Unfortunately it's human nature.

Yes, and he did some great things with both Nancy and Lea. I also LOVED the foxtrot he did with Maureen. But i don't want him to just do some good dances. I want him to have a shot at winning. But let's face it, a 50ish woman won't get anywhere close to the finals unless she is a super ringer like, say, a prima ballerina and gets 10's across the board. So it can balance out lack of votes. "aside from ballerina"......... lol i'd love to see him with Danielle Fishel or Hilary Knight.

Well, at least Keo got Jodie and Evanna. I don’t believe Artem ever got anyone younger than him. Heck he probably never got anyone less than 10-15 years older than him. (Oh wait. He did. Freaking Mischa... well I guess we better forget about a young and capable contestant in the near future now)

This is the closest to traditional that I was able to find. Thought "traditional" depends on a family. Literally, every person I meet has their own version. Basics are the same, but some add apple, some ad fresh cucumber, some ad corn, etc... http://www.olgasflavorfactory.com/recipes/ontheside/salads/russian-salad-olivie/

I'd like to comment on semi-authenticity of that meal The salad they got is a classic staple salad in USSR (still in those countries actually). Why I add "semi"? It's a "holiday salad". You would be hard pressed to find a celebratory table anywhere in former USSR or in the families of immigrants without this salad. To the point that my friend, when going through vegetarian stage she still ate that salad for NYE even though it has meat (usually bologna, sometimes boiled chicken or beef). Cause NYE without Olivier salad is not NYE. It was rather expensive to make for a regular day, especially in a cafeteria... But I'll give them a pass, taking into account that it was a high level military research facility. I can see them having a larger budget for cafeteria.