Utopia in the Media

[clod]

I'm proud to say I had no idea who Frankie J Grande was.

 

 

same here!    :)

[Zahdii]

Part 2 of Cal's interview with Utopia Madness.  It goes on forever, her repeats himself and contradicts himself endlessly, and I doubt that anyone who reads all the way through that massive tome will change their minds about how they feel about him.

 

Dede will be on the Murtz show on Saturday, 11/8 at 6 pm PST.
http://www.themurtzshow.com/

 

Cal posted this on his FB page:

 

"Good morning everyone, Please keep spreading the word about the live stream that we are considering to set up at our home far. nagdeofarm.wordpress.com is our home. If enough people are interested, we will do it. It will show how we live, how we interact with and talk to each other, discussions of philosophy, and us just living our lives: stretching, singing, dancing, cooking and eating, building, gardening, tending the animals, ancestral crafts, and all the other stuff we do. Let me know if you would be interested in this service."

 

So, in his interview with UM, he said that he used a different name on the show because he didn't want to be famous and was upset that people found out his real name, making it more difficult to go back to his everyday life....

 

Taylor got a new haircut:
https://twitter.com/TaylorVOmaha/status/530921107751460864

 

Sounds like he's home and catching up with family and friends.

 

Bella seems to have disappeared, but Amanda posted on her FB that Bella isn't using technology and has limited phone access.  Got to wonder where she is...

 

Chris gave an interview to Utopia Madness:  http://www.utopiamadness.com/2014/11/an-interview-with-chris-tuorto.html

 

He's planning to move to either LA or NYC, he had drinks with auction date girl, and he talked once to Bri on the phone but decided not to renew their relationship.  Despite his words in the interview, I think he regrets his dealings with her more than he let on.

Edited November 8, 2014 by Zahdii

[backformore]

Kristen was interviewed by Utopia Madness:

Part 1- http://www.utopiamad...ten-part-1.html

Part 2- http://www.utopiamad...ten-part-2.html

She's as delusional and shallow as ever. She admits to deleting ONE email, but that's all. Aaron not only didn't eat more than anyone else, he went without so others could eat. She thinks she should have gone on Big Brother or Amazing Race. She doesn't hate fat people. She could have made everyone an enormous amount of money if they'd trusted her business sense. She hardly ever got to use the computer so that's why the Utopia website was so crappy. She'd never go back on the show if it was started up again. (Only smart thing she said.) Aaron is misunderstood, we just didn't get to see the real Aaron. There was no stealing going on. (I bet she still thinks the feeds were shut down at 10:00 pm.) And great news! She's going to make another fashion blog!

I listened to some of this. Kristen is an idiot. She said that she tried, when it was her turn to lead to have a "capitalist" government. Capitalism is an economic system, not a government system.

But then, she bitches about Bella thinking she should get to spend more on food because her paintings brought in more money. Kristen thinks that money made should go to the group - but THAT idea is the opposite of "capitalism" - it is the basis of COMMUNISM - that all property belongs to the community, not the individual.

Kristen comes across as thinking that the other Utopians were too stupid to understand what she was trying to do. It seems like maybe SHE was the one who was so stupid she didn't even understand the words coming out of her own mouth.

I also call bullshit on her "I had a fashion business that made 12 grand a month" Nope. Sorry. not unless your "business" was stealing stuff and selling it online.

Edited November 9, 2014 by backformore

[Zahdii]

The painting that Mike and Rob manipulated Bella into giving them was put on eBay for auction, but after a lot of people complained about the way they actually got ownership of the painting, it was removed from auction without comment.  Don't know which guy put it up, or if they both did.  Don't know if it was removed voluntarily by the seller or sellers or if eBay took it down.

 

Chris set up a Go Fund Me account to buy his glass blowing equipment.  I thought he already had it delivered to Utopia just before everything shut down.  Anyway, people started complaining to him on Twitter because he said he could get a job and earn the money but Go Fund Me would be easier.

 

From Twitter: "It's a shame how people turn something positive into such a negative. I will be closing down the gfm. All money returned"

 

Then someone Tweeted:  "Chris, you do what you do. If people can't afford it, they shouldn't contribute. It's not taxes. #supportartists' "

 

The reply:  "I certainly can. This is to help get it faster so I can make the glass orders for all the supportive people "

 

The Go Fund Me account has now been deleted.

 

He was there for 8 weeks and got $1000 while there, not to mention the time spent in sequester before and after the show.  Why can't he pay for it himself?

 

Some of the really dedicated feed watchers are sad because yesterday (Saturday) was the day that Amanda was supposed to have her baby shower.  Several of them had bought things from her Amazon list and had been looking forward to watching her unwrap her gifts.

 

Dede had her interview on the Murtz show.  Didn't watch, but I think the details will be up within a few days.

 

Cal has announced that he's going to visit Aaron in MS in the spring.  The way he's going about it seems to suggest that he's trying to prove he's not a racist.  He says that Aaron is his friend and he admires Aaron's 'masculine presence'.  No word on whether Aaron wants Cal to visit or if he wants his masculinity being admired by Cal.

 

Unsubstantiated rumor says that Bella is in some kind of psychiatric facility.  I think she needs one, but I can't imagine her going in voluntarily and unless she really flipped out after the feeds shut down I can't see anyone being able to force her into a care facility.

[In Pog Form]

...it was removed from auction without comment... The Go Fund Me account has now been deleted...

Wow, it's so gratifying seeing such things backfire on them, and their fame-whore aspirations end with a whimper rather than a bang.

 

He says that Aaron is his friend and he admires Aaron's 'masculine presence'.

Ewwww. He may as well have said "musky odor."

[ElleryAnne]

The painting that Mike and Rob manipulated Bella into giving them was put on eBay for auction, but after a lot of people complained about the way they actually got ownership of the painting, it was removed from auction without comment.

 

 

This pleases me tremendously.  Those two toads thought they were going to basically steal from Bella and they were so proud of themselves for coming up with a plan to do it.  I hope that everywhere they go for years to come, people remind them that they were seen on television plotting that sorry little stunt.  It says a lot about what kind of people they are.

 

 

Unsubstantiated rumor says that Bella is in some kind of psychiatric facility.

 

I'm not surprised by the rumor, though I hope it's not true.  But I do hope she's getting a decent medical and psychological work-up - better than she would have gotten pre-show, at least.  She may just need medication or something.  I do support her staying away from social media for a while.

 

 

Kristen is an idiot.

 

 

Nothing to add to this.  It just needed to be said again.

[4leafclover]

 

But I do hope she's getting a decent medical and psychological work-up - better than she would have gotten pre-show, at least.  She may just need medication or something.

 

Unfortunately, I can't see Bella ever taking prescription meds.  None of them are organic.

[ProfCrash]

I am sure they can stamp an organic label on them and put them in a BPA free glass bottle for her.

 

My fear is that Bella would blame any treatment solely on the way she was treated by the others and refuse to see how she contributed to the problem. While there is no excuse for Bullying, Bella did a fine job of pissing people off with her behavior and her insistence that non-organic food was killing her and her other whack job theories (the crop circles/fluoride type BS). She is a very hard person to live with and that makes it hard to treat her well. The level of crap that the others put her through was too much, the bullying to get a painting from her was the climax of the awful behavior but my god I cannot imagine living with her.

 

I am glad to see that the others are waking up and realizing that something was very wrong with the show and their behavior. I know plenty of people who put up stuff on sites like the one Chris did and it drives me nuts. Why should I fund your post divorce move to another city when you are taking one kid but leaving two behind? Why should I help pay the bills for your house? I mean, I get it, people are in bad positions and they have this new way to reach out and ask for help but it drives me crazy. I am not trying to be cruel, I had a friend whose husband was unemployed and they had one kid and she was pregnant. We invited them over for dinner and holidays. We invited them to join us at a the river house we rented without having to chip in. But we never gave them cash. I don't think they would have taken cash but we tried to find other ways to help. And if they had asked, we probably would have helped out more because they were friends and the situation sucked.

 

So why should I fund buying Chris's glassblowing equipment or Amanda's baby or whatever else is tossed up there? I get it, it is hard to start something new. It can be expensive and time consuming but if that is your dream then go for it. There is a difference between crowd funding science projects for a classroom of kids and buying your glass blowing equipment.

 

Just uggghh

[DeLurker]

I'd put the onus of contributing to GoFundMe on a potential contributor.  Chris' approach may not have been the one that I would take, but I can choose not to support him.  It does sound like he approached the thing poorly though - maybe he consulted with Kristen's Famewhore Marketing and got bad advice (because what else does she provide?).

 

There's a lot of worthy requests on the site - my brother's family has one to cover the deductible costs of an expensive surgery for his son and only done in 4 places in the US.  But they also held fund raisers, did other things to raise the money, travelled cross country for the procedure and is taking an unpaid leave of absence for a couple months to provide the post surgery round the clock care his son will need.  The balance of what is not covered by GFM will be paid out of pocket.

[ProfCrash]

It is not that the requests are not worthy. Divorce sucks and relocating when you just had your legs cut out from under you sucks. Surgeries suck. Cancer sucks. I get that, it makes it easier for families to raise money for surgeries and to cover unexpected expenses. Although, that used to be done by sending a check through the mail. I don't necessarily understand why an internet campaign is needed.

 

My impression, and it is my impression, that sites like these are more and more becoming a way of asking for a hand out. People can choose to fund them or not, I get it, but it just seems like I see them posted on more Facebook pages and in Twitter and the like.

 

Perhaps it is that I see those as more personal problems that should be addressed within a family or group of friends and not posted on the internet and that is simply a personal point of view.

 

I did not see Chris's page so I don't know If he offered some type of gift to those who invested like they do at kickstarter. Invest at this level and get a goblet type thing.

 

I am waiting to see if the Topes realize that people really were watching the live feeds and saw the bullshit that was happening. Kristen and Cal continue to deny. Rob or Mike seem to not get it when they try and auction off a painting that people knew was extorted from Bella. Chris put up something that is pretty common these days and got hit with backlash. The reality is that the Topes never seem to get that people were watching 24/7 and heard what was being said and saw how people behaved. It left a bad taste in the folks who watched mouth, bad enough that people are monitoring what happens now. Chris was more ambiguous then others but his relationship with Bri, how he treated her, was not well received. Rob, Mike, Kristen, Aaron, and Cal are pretty screwed.

[In Pog Form]

Perhaps it is that I see those as more personal problems that should be addressed within a family or group of friends and not posted on the internet and that is simply a personal point of view.

Lots of people don't have much in the way of friends or family, and if they do, they aren't necessarily able to provide support. Increasingly our lives are lived online. Some people's best friends they may never have met in person.

Dividing things into "real life" and "the internet" seems very obsolete to me. It's all real life.

[ProfCrash]

On topic: I am not surprised with this but the reason for a lack of interviews is that FOX has to approve them. At least, the Utopia madness has links to pages for people to ask Mike questions and states that FOX has given them permission to interview him. I wonder how much of it is the individual has to be willing to be interviewed and FOX is only granting permission for those who want to be interviewed. Obviously Cal and Kristen wanted to chat with folks, maybe some of the others simply want to run and hide.

 

While I will agree that the internet is very much a part of real life, it saddens me that there are so many people who do not have a support system that does not require the internet. I also think that it is very different to reach out to strangers on the internet to help cover expenses for any type of emergency then it is to reach out to your family and friends.

 

I like the people at this site and I wish good things for them. If someone asks I will including them in my prayers and positive thoughts as they go through a rough time but it is a larger jump to choosing to send people money. I know it happens and it always amazes me. I do have an older site, that no longer exists, where we had in person meetings once  a year for about four or five years. I got to know those people as people and not handles. Many of those relationships changed because of the personal meetings and connections. There are a few I still talk to but most I kind of follow on Facebook.

 

So I have not made the jump where real life and internet are one and the same. The internet is a tool to me. A place to play and keep in touch with the people who are most important to me but nothing more then that. It is simply a different perspective.

 

I understand kickstarter and similar sites. You can choose to take a risk by investing in businesses at different levels. I can understand Chris's posting to something like that. I don't fully understand the sites asking for people to fund personal emergencies. Perhaps it is because I am blessed with a very good paying job, a spouse with a similar job, and family who are there to help. I know that so I don't see the personal need for it.

 

I am glad it is there for the people who truly need it and I am sad that it is needed in the first place. What does it say about where we are as a society that we are reaching out to strangers to help cover such important events and threats? But this is not a topic to discuss philosophy and I am totally off topic.

[Zahdii]

If anyone is ambivalent about Chris's motives for starting a Go Fund Me account, they can go to his FB account and ask him.  However, the little more information I've heard is that the money was to be spent on buying the 'rent for no money' glassblowing equipment delivered to him by the Texas backer just a day or so before the Utopia project was shut down.  That equipment was stuff that he'd not been able to buy for himself pre-Utopia days, and was either going without it or renting time to use it when he was glassblowing at home. 

 

I've not been able to find someone who'd captured a screen shot of his GFM account when it was up, but most seemed to agree that people who donated would get a little something back from him when he was open for business, and possibly more glasswork or the money paid back in time when he was doing well.

 

As for the equipment that was sent by his family, I'd be willing to bet that Fox paid the transport fees to get it to Utopia, and hopefully will pay to send it back again, but if not, there's still Chris's stipend that he could draw on.

 

The GFM account was also worded so that many people thought that the money could also be used for Chris to bring the rest of his personal belongings to whatever city he decided to relocate in, plus living expenses and business expenses to get a new shop, supplies, and the bills for that sort of thing.

 

For Chris, the best thing he could do is drop out of the gimme game and go back home to the shop he's worked from until recently.  Bank what he can of his stipend and use the rest to get back into business.  I've seen some of the work he's done and it's quite good.  It's not all bongs, marbles, and little glass paperweights.  He may not be another Chihuly, but he should be able to do well.  (I like Chihuly's work, but for the last 20 years he's worked mainly in management with underlings coming up with the majority of his new ideas and almost all of his actual glass work.  The perks of being the boss, I suppose.)

[MrHufflepuff]

Aaron's interview is up on Utopia Madness, and he's in full-on deny everything mode.

 

I'm beginning to realize that the Udopians don't really understand the crowd-sourced nature of feed watching.  Most people aren't going to sit around watching the feeds 24 hours a day, so they think they can claim that people didn't see everything.  But of course, with sites like Jokers', you don't have to watch all the feeds.  You can rely on other people watching a small portion of the feeds to get the big picture.  And because it's crowd-sourced, if somebody makes a mistake on a site like Jokers', there are other feed watchers to correct them.

[4leafclover]

 

Aaron's interview is up on Utopia Madness, and he's in full-on deny everything mode.

 

Yeah, he was echoing Kristen--"it was all a joke,"  "viewers didn't hear the whole thing," "what? I didn't say that" etc.  and then both resorted to turning it on the viewers--as in, we made it all up and they just don't care.  It was like reading a child's excuse when caught bullying on the playground. 

Edited November 11, 2014 by 4leafclover

[4leafclover]

Not sure if any of us are ready to try this again but there is a new reality show starting next week on TLC called Risking It All.  Here's what I've found so far:

 

Escaping the pressures of modern society proves to be an unforgettable and life-changing adventure as three families set out to live off the land. These families not only unplug their smartphones and tablets, but they also give up electricity and running water for a life off the grid in a drastic last resort to reconnect with each other. From attempting to save their marriage to dealing with family illness to regaining control of their relationships, each family has a different reason for embarking on the journey of a lifetime. The three families pack up their homes, say their good-byes to loved ones, and prepare for the challenges that come with trading in the luxuries of modern-day society for a self-sufficient life.

In a world where we have more forms of connection than ever before we tend to lose ourselves in the constant connectivity. “Risking It All” captures something many modern day families can relate to -- a strive and struggle to revisit building relationships and getting back to basics.

Tune in Tuesday Nov. 18th at 10/9c to follow their journey as our families risk it all to travel outside their comfort zone and return to a simple way of living -- in a world where they will be challenged to come together as they live life off the grid.

 

Doesn't say anything about live feeds though, lol!

[eskimo]

I won't get my hopes up, given what Utopia turned out to be, but I'll be checking this one out.  It sounds like what I EXPECTED to get out of Utopia and was left totally unsatisfied.  My hopes are that the varied ages and family ties will make sure this one does not turn into the drinking, screwing, bullying and delusion of grandeur show.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Not sure if any of us are ready to try this again but there is a new reality show starting next week on TLC called Risking It All.

 

Since it's all families with children, it will probably reduce the amount of nudity, swearing and drunkenness as seen in the early weeks of Utopia. Hopefully they won't have a grove of Pomegranate trees.

 

Without live feeds, I would question if they are truly living off grid and without running water.  Considering the fakery of other TLC tv shows of late (like Breaking Amish, for example), the Riskittles probably go to their trailers between takes and play XBox.  Seriously, the kids are going to be so bored and acting out because they will be expected to work and help out.

 

Back on forum topic, Robhasawebsite.com has a new podcast about Utopia that takes a look at what worked and what didn't work (though it is primarily based on just the tv episodes and not much on the live feeds).

 

http://robhasawebsite.com/utopia-cancelled-recap-what-worked-didnt-work-podcast/

Edited November 12, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[ProfCrash]

Yeah, that is the problem with Rob's take on shows with Live Feeds, he doesn't watch them or check the sites recording what is happening so he doesn't see what is going on. His Halloween Podcast had him wanting to toss Ernesto because he is boring and doesn't make great TV. He seemed to vaguely understand that there was a ton going on that wasn't being show but never really addressed the bullying and mean girl stuff that was happening.

 

I get that he doesn't have the time to watch the feeds but he should be able to read Jokers or Utopia Home or any of the other sites that include a more regular breakdown of what is happening.

[ProfCrash]

I posted on Rob's comment section. If you are going to podcast the show you need to know more about what is happening when that information is made available. He keeps hammering on Ernesto and at the same time how they were not focused on specific goals. They were not focused on goals because the drama kings were too busy bullying others. They needed more Ernesto's who were willing to work and achieve goals as oppose to the insanity that was the cool kids club.

 

Ernesto was what was needed to be able to achieve to original show idea. Aaron, Kristen, Rob, Mike were there for drama not to build anything. Ernesto was there to build something and might have been more interesting if he wasn't dealing with assholes like the Cool Kids Club

[riverheightsnancy]

Escaping the pressures of modern society proves to be an unforgettable and life-changing adventure as three families set out to live off the land. These families not only unplug their smartphones and tablets, but they also give up electricity and running water for a life off the grid in a drastic last resort to reconnect with each other. From attempting to save their marriage to dealing with family illness to regaining control of their relationships, each family has a different reason for embarking on the journey of a lifetime. The three families pack up their homes, say their good-byes to loved ones, and prepare for the challenges that come with trading in the luxuries of modern-day society for a self-sufficient life.

In a world where we have more forms of connection than ever before we tend to lose ourselves in the constant connectivity. “Risking It All” captures something many modern day families can relate to -- a strive and struggle to revisit building relationships and getting back to basics.

Tune in Tuesday Nov. 18th at 10/9c to follow their journey as our families risk it all to travel outside their comfort zone and return to a simple way of living -- in a world where they will be challenged to come together as they live life off the grid.

 

Doesn't say anything about live feeds though, lol!

 

Thanks for that heads-up. I think I will check it out! Hope to see some of you all in that forum. 

[ProfCrash]

Added it to the DVR list. My husband rolled his eyes

[Zahdii]

I don't know if I'll watch.  Watching shows with live feeds and then seeing the edited for TV version is so different from what the feedsters saw, it's turning me off. 

 

I'd be constantly watching the TV show and wondering how things really played out.  Is that person really so calm all the time?  Is that person really so nervous and paranoid?  Are those kids really so bratty or well-behaved?  Did someone really just remember their grandparents telling about how to milk a cow, plant carrots, bake bread, build a cabin, kill, butcher, pluck, and cook a chicken?

 

With the feeds, even if I didn't watch every single minute, I knew that someone was.  I felt I knew the Utopians better than any TV only viewer ever could.  With a similar reality show made by the same network, I don't know if I could trust the narrative.  I'll think about watching the new show, but right now it's not on my list.

[Zahdii]

Cal has a profile up on OKCupid and has used that to contact people who've visited his page.  He's mostly asking those people if they'd be interested in watching live feeds if he installed them on his farm.

 

I finally got around to perusing Aaron's Utopia Madness interview.  He responds thusly when questioned by reader about his military service:

 

Lmao... Don't take me laughing the wrong way. But seriously, I've heard so many different things about my career that never came out of my mouth that it blows my mind. It would take me way longer to explain my every action than it soul to just say who gives a bleep what you think so long as the people who matter know the truth. If you knew, most military servicemen aren't at liberty to show any official government forms. It was be ridiculous for me to post that. But I will clarify this. I joined the army in 2005. I was 17 and my mother signed my papers. I did split which means I went to basic and AIT at two separate times. I was active duty, National Guard, and reserve throughout my military career. My first and primary MOS was 92G (Food Specialist) where I completed the advance course at Ft. Lee. My secondary MOS is 21B (Combat Engineer). I've done many trainings since then. I am not retired as of yet and am receiving a medical HONORABLE discharge after originally receiving a dishonorable for medical reasons. One thing that baffles me though is how easily it is to attack someone who signed themselves up to defend and protect you. Regardless of the assumptions. At the end of the day, I am and always will be a United States Army Soldier and I wear my flag with honor, duty, and respect.

 

I've seen my ex-husbands and my ex father-in-law's discharge papers, so I don't think Aaron 'isn't at liberty' to show his.  I think he just can't do so because it would be embarrassing.  As for him saying that he was initially dishonorably discharged from the National Guard for medical reasons, I'd appreciate it if someone could explain to me how that happens. 

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Aaron was given a discharge due to being diagnosed as having a personality disorder.  In the past year or so there has been a lot of pressure on the military to stop using a personality disorder diagnosis to get rid of troublesome personnel or to avoid paying out on a PTSD claim.  When the military was found out, they upgraded the discharge status of a huge number of those people to medical discharge for mental illness.  It's all murky, I don't understand it all but there you go; my conspiracy theory for the day.  And the funny thing is, I would have believed a discharge for personality disorder before I'd have gone to a more general 'mental illness' discharge.

 

Josh tweeted that he's talked to Bella on the phone and she is doing fine.

 

Dede and Jake (Beekeeper) did a podcast together about polyamory:
http://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/3173992

 

Amanda got some of her baby gifts from Fox:
https://www.facebook.com/amanda.scott.505

Scroll down to the tenth and the 11th for pictures of the very large boxes in her living room.

 

She is having a public baby shower in Seattle on Nov. 22, and she includes an address to where people can send gifts.  She gives out her Baby's R Us registry information and also says that she hasn't received any of the items that were bought off the Amazon wish list, but she'll let everyone know when they arrive.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Zahdii

[ElleryAnne]

Yeah, I've seen family members' honorable discharge papers.  Also military salary stubs and things. They're not required to keep them hidden.   Not all "official government forms" are classified.  Aaron seems to think the rest of the world sees the military as clouded in mystery, like it's the Illuminati.  He forgets that lots of people have served or know someone who's served. 

 

I don't understand how he could receive a dishonorable discharge for medical reasons.   I thought medical discharges were either honorable or general, depending upon the rest of the soldier's service, and a dishonorable discharge would only be issued if he was found guilty of criminal bad conduct while in service. If he was discharged for medical reasons, I would think he'd get either a general or an honorable discharge, depending on the rest of the circumstances.  But for a dishonorable discharge to be re-evaluated/re-issued as an honorable discharge?  IDK.  I suppose, by a stretch a case could be made that something originally ruled as bad conduct was later determined to be the result of a medical condition and if all of his other service was exemplary, maybe?   But from what we've seen of Aaron, it's hard to believe anything he says.  

 

Aaron's problem with this whole mess is that he keeps trying to make himself sound like more than he is.  In fact, if he'd just come into Utopia identifying himself as a member of the military whose primary specialty was food service, it's likely no one would have questioned it and people would have respected his service for what it was.  If he thinks people are attacking him for his service, it's only because they resent the lies he told about it.  And, or course, the fact that his thieving, bullying behavior in Utopia shows him to be a horrible person and not someone anybody wants held up as a reflection of a serviceman.  

 

About Amanda's baby gifts, I'm confused.  The gifts from Fox aren't the Amazon wishlist items that people bought for her?  

Edited November 13, 2014 by ElleryAnne

[backformore]

As for him saying that he was initially dishonorably discharged from the National Guard for medical reasons, I'd appreciate it if someone could explain to me how that happens.

 

My best guess is  it's either psychiatric or addiction issues.  

 

I'm having a little difficulty with someone having a dishonorable discharge saying :  .

At the end of the day, I am and always will be a United States Army Soldier and I wear my flag with honor, duty, and respect.

 

Because it's not true.  

[ProfCrash]

Heck, Veterans can show their discharge papers for free meals on Veterans and Memorial Day so I have a sneaking suspicion that it is ok to show your discharge paper. I also love that he has served in the Reserves, National Guard and Active Duty since 2005. My military based friends tell me that Reserves and National Guard service can happen at different times but that it is pretty uncommon. So in a less then 9 year career he has done something that is deemed uncommon. None of these folks have heard of a dishonorable medical discharge. We are talking Master Sergeants in the Army with 25 plus year careers.

 

Also, you retire at 20 years not 9 years. You can be medically retired at any time but there is no such thing as a dishonorable medical discharge.

[Zahdii]

About Amanda's baby gifts, I'm confused.  The gifts from Fox aren't the Amazon wishlist items that people bought for her?  

 

I'm not sure, but I think she had two different wish lists listed.  One was from Amazon, for sure.  I'm not sure where the other one was.  But take heart, she now has a new one up for those of us who were too late to join the ones set up when she was in Utopia. 

 

I'll try to refrain from saying again after this, but while Amanda was generally an asset in Utopia, I think her main purpose there was to bring in the bucks based on her pregnancy.  I can't even remember where I read it, but within the last couple of weeks I read a posting by a woman who said that her midwife was contacted by the show looking for a pregnant woman willing to join the cast.  I think there was a mention of 'incentive pay' to both the midwife who got the woman on board and also to whatever woman that filled the slot.  The woman who posted about that said that her midwife refused to have anything to do with the show and refused to give out any contact information to her clients.

 

As for Aaron, there's probably the smallest kernel of truth buried in his stories and he just refashions and adds to it from there.  He says he was in the military and he probably was.  As for being in some kind of bomb detonation division, he was probably the dishwasher.  Sure, he was saying that he was the one who dressed up in the armored green suit to go in and checkout bombs.  That was the lie attached to the kernel of truth where he was attached to a bomb disposal unit.

 

He admitted in his UM interview that when he said he cooked for President Obama, what he really meant was that he was part of a catering crew where P. Obama and the First Lady were present.  Hey, he might have opened cans of corn to be warmed up or he might have cut up vegetables for the salad.  Even if he was on second tier and his offerings went to the lesser people attending the event (like the people who only paid $50 per plate vs. the people who paid $1000 to sit with the President), in his mind the President might have eaten something that Aaron touched so he obviously cooked for the President of the United States.  Silly feedsters, how could we have so drastically misunderstood things so badly?

 

Ahhh, Aaron annoys me.  I'll shut up now.  Carry on.

[ProfCrash]

I am reading Dede's interview at Utopia Madness. Based on all of the interviews I am reading it does not seem clear to me that the cast get that we heard many of the conversations on the live feeds. They all keep saying that they could not control what was aired on the show and we missed all this other time.

 

So yes, the live feeds did not cover everything but we heard a lot more then the Utopian's think we did and have a pretty good idea about what was happening there. I just wish they would wake up to that fact. I get that it is easier to focus on the positive and try and forget the negative, especially when it is your negative behavior, but damn do they think we are all clueless.

 

http://www.utopiamadness.com/2014/11/an-interview-with-dedeker-winston.html

[backformore]

Also, you retire at 20 years not 9 years. You can be medically retired at any time but there is no such thing as a dishonorable medical discharge.

 

Yes, but if you're Aaron, you can get a dishonorable discharge, but YOU know it's unfair because your behavior was due to a medical issue

 (like psychiatric or substance abuse) , then you can tell yourself that it's REALLY a medical discharge, therefore you see it as a dishonorable discharge due to medical reasons.   

 

It's all in the way you choose to think about it.   Which may or may not reflect reality. 

[In Pog Form]

At the end of the day, I am and always will be a United States Army Soldier and I wear my flag with honor, duty, and respect.

Wow, he really does seem to believe that being enlisted gives him a magic shield of invulnerability against all criticism. He may be proud of his service, but a lot of people are embarrassed by having him represent the service.

[photo fox]

I don't get why the Dopes think that anyone should give them anything now that they're off the show.  If they were still there, maybe I could understand, but at this point, they're all free to return to the jobs/homes/families they had before.  Why on earth would I buy your baby clothes, glassblowing equipment, etc.?  Just because in comparison to the most horrible people to ever (dis)grace a reality show, you seem like a decent person?

 

If they were trying to parlay their "celebrity" into a business venture, I could get behind that.  Like, Chris starts a glassblowing company called "Utopian Glass" and markets a line of cow and chicken decor.  Or Amanda writes a book or tries to get speaking engagements based on the conflict skills she showed on the feeds.  But straight up expecting people to mail them gifts and cash?  For doing absolutely nothing?  Super tacky, IMO.

 

I think Aaron is an irredeemable violent asshole, but if I were in his position, I wouldn't put my discharge papers out there, either.  Is anybody's opinion of him going to change because of a piece of paper?  But then again, if I were in his position, I would just shut up about the whole thing.

[backformore]

I don't get why the Dopes think that anyone should give them anything now that they're off the show.

 

Because people WILL.  That's the thing.  If I thought by registering for stuff I want on Amazon, people would just decide to send me stuff even though they don't' know me, never met me, and know nothing about my personal situation, I would do it.  People watched the show, went to the website, and decided to send her stuff  JUST because she was on TV and having a baby.  So, or course, she can now ask for more.  because it works. 

 

So -   anybody here feel like sending me stuff?   

[clod]

So -   anybody here feel like sending me stuff?   

 

 

I sent you a "Like"

 

no, no,........it was nothing.   don't mention it.

[hincandenza]

Ah, love you guys! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRJ38y4Jn6k

[Zahdii]

Bella has a Twitter account:  @Bella_Chartrand

 

Seems Jon Kroll was getting tired of being questioned about Bella, because he tweeted:

 

Jon Kroll ‏@hippykid  · Nov 12 
Great news - spent some time talking w #Bella today. Getting her set up on Twitter. She's almost ready to come out of the tweet closet!

 

Not long after that Bella made her one and only Tweet:
@hippykid I love you, Jon!  You make me laugh;)  Yes, thanks to you, I'm finally out of the 'Tweet Closet'!LOL & back into society. xo Bella

[DeLurker]

Like the rest of the sane world, Aaron annoyed the shit out of me. 

 

And the blogger who takes exception to Aaron's various tales takes exception to theUtopian Madness interview  too

[Zahdii]

The live feed viewers who bought the full set of feeds are starting to get emails saying their last payment will be returned and should be reflected on their next cc statement.

 

Amanda just posted a pic of her growing belly.  She might have gotten out of there just in time.

 

Bri's back home and says that watching the show disgusted her with all the lying, backstabbing, and manipulation.  She also has a few fans, as she Tweeted a request for people to stop sending her peanut butter.  She's having trouble sleeping, so just this morning she woke up all her friends at 3 am because she was bored:

 

Woke up all of my friends because I was bored... They probably hate me so much right now. Lol #sorrynotsorry

 

Cal hasn't tweeted much, maybe he's giving up on the idea of installing live feeds on his farm.

 

Chris is back home in CO., at least for now.

 

Dave's last Tweet says that he needs to make $50,000 and wants to hear ideas on how to make that happen.  Maybe he needs the money because his last FB posting showed that he's in GA, and just bought a new Lexus with vanity liscense plate 5THAVED.  He'll also sell you a signed State of Freedom t-shirt for only $25.

 

Dede is going to Santa Barbara for the weekend.

 

Josh finally made it home from LA on Friday.  He tweeted that his crates from Utopia have also made it home.

 

Kristen is back on the East coast and sporting a super short haircut (pretty much a buzz cut on the sides and a wide bleached mohawk on the top) and a fur coat.  Her FB page lists her as a 'public figure' and she's putting up a lot of pictures of herself. 

 

Nikki has rented a cottage in Ojai, and says one of the best things about it is an outdoor bathtub with a view of the mountains.
She's doing an early to bed early to rise thing, does yoga on the beach http://instagram.com/p/vZnE79pnE9/  and says she's going to start posting some of her healthy recipes.  Also lots of stuff about being open to life, one with nature, being positive....etc.

 

Pastor Jon is expecting Aaron and Rhonda to attend services on November 16.  I can't even remember Rhonda.

 

Red's Twitter indicates he's trying to stay relevant as he re-tweets anything positive people have said about him.  He also posts about cannabis a lot, seems to think that his leaving is what caused the show to fail, blames Mike for Red and Dave smashing the food cans, and wants to start trending #Aihooooo.  Oh yes, now I remember him, and why I was so glad to see him go.

 

Rob's back in NJ.  Posts a lot about food, once about a shelter dog that needs a home, and recently a request for people to let him know where a good place to hunt in NJ was.  That started a long thread about places outside of NJ where he should go instead, a couple of pictures of hunters and their kills, and one very LOUD (seriously, she types in all caps ALL THE TIME) woman taking on all comers because she doesn't like hunting.

Edited November 15, 2014 by Zahdii

[ProfCrash]

Zahdi thank you for your dedication to the cause.

[In Pog Form]

Bri's back home and says that watching the show disgusted her with all the lying, backstabbing, and manipulation.

Huh, what's she talking about? The broadcast episodes don't show any of that. Or is she referring to the manipulation of the show being edited to not show what was actually happening in Utopia?

 

Dave's last Tweet says that he needs to make $50,000 and wants to hear ideas on how to make that happen.  Maybe he needs the money because his last FB posting showed that he's in GA, and just bought a new Lexus with vanity liscense plate 5THAVED.  He'll also sell you a signed State of Freedom t-shirt for only $25.

That sounds totally legit.

Edited November 15, 2014 by In Pog Form

[ElleryAnne]

Her FB page lists her as a 'public figure'

 

 

I think I just sprained something from laughing so hard.  Kristen is delusional.

 

 

#sorrynotsorry

 

 

I see Bri is still finding ways to be obnoxious, too.  I honestly have no idea why people are pleased with themselves when they use that hashtag.  It's like announcing that you're a self-serving twit.

[4leafclover]

Just saw a post on Facebook from Rhonda Deniston that Pastor Jon baptized Aaron today.  

[Zahdii]

From all I've seen of Aaron, it's just another lie.  Pastor Jon may be fooled, but I just can't see Aaron truly becoming religious.

[Mediocrates]

I'm sure it's just a stunt by Aaron to try and save face.

[Mediocrates]

Nikki just posted a Part 2 to her Utopia blog.

http://www.drnikkinoce.com/blog/utopiaexperience2

It's basically a breakdown of how great each person in Utopia was, but she does try to take some time to explain her relationship with Cal because she feels he's been misunderstood by the viewers.

[Zahdii]

Finally got around to reading the rest of Nikki's blog.  If you don't want to wade through all the sunshine and sparkles, here the gist of it:

 

Kristen admitted after it was all over that she did delete some of Nikki's emails.

 

Taylor and Hex are still dating.

 

About Hex she also says: "Hex! I love this girl! I can’t wait to watch her on Saturday Night Live."  What's that all about?

 

I think Cal was really getting on her nerves toward the end, she talks of having to distance herself from him because of his negativity.  Yes, she says she was starting to see the way he talked to her as insulting, but she still wasn't willing to stand up to him because that would be would generate negativity or foster discord, or some other new age-y crap.  However, I think if they'd been there another month we would have been treated to an epic loss of control as Nikki tossed Cal over the fence and threw his smelly hides after him.  Ah, that would have a good thing to see.

 

She still talks to Amanda often and would like to get some kind of project together in the future.  She envisions some kind of lunchtime talk show.

Edited November 18, 2014 by Zahdii

[henripootel]

About Hex she also says: "Hex! I love this girl! I can’t wait to watch her on Saturday Night Live."  What's that all about?

My first thought was 'delusion', but then I considered 'light-hearted banter'.  Naw - delusion.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Jon Kroll sent out a tweet today about an article regarding the status of Honey, Betsy and Cash -- they have a new home and Cash has a new name.

 

https://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/tv-news/-utopia--cows-head-back-to-the-pasture-224026000.html

Edited November 18, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[Zahdii]

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that the cows names were Betsy NOT Besty, and Honey.  I also thought that Betsy gave birth on the show to the cute little thing I refuse to call Cash (now named Meredith).

 

Who writes the stuff for Yahoo news?  They obviously don't care to fact check.  Maybe I could write an article about Utopia and get it published, too. 

 

Let's see, one night early on in the show, unbeknownst to us, the live feeds started ciruculating the same 10-minute footage of everyone sleeping and no one in the Production/Transmission room noticed because they were all suddenly overcome with a tremendous urge to sleep.  But I, dear readers, have found a person who might be called the Ultimate Fan, and he or she was watching from a foil lined cave dug into a nearby hillside.  Here's what went down:

 

Bella's aliens did indeed come to call because of her aura and her keyhole gardens, and all sorts of s--t went down.  The Utopians were all taken to the mother ship and examined.  Some of them slept through it because it wasn't an 'aliens PROBED me!' type of thing, it was more of the aliens doing passive scanning and trying to figure out why the hell some people enjoy tossing a bunch of completely disparate people into a strange situation and then film them breaking down.  (I think that they intercepted our 'historical records' about Lost and are trying to figure out if they should make contact, avoid us, or just blast our planet out of the sky. 

 

Unfortunately, not everyone slept through the whole experience.  Some of them woke up to some degree or another, although all of them were returned to earth and thought that they'd just had a strange dream, and only a few lingering suspicions remained.  They couldn't really pinpoint the source of their feelings, but the ones who had them had radically different reactions.  Sometimes even dreams have the power to affect people when they wake up...

 

Dave went insane and although he couldn't remember why, he was willing to do bodily damage to get out of there. 

 

Jon couldn't take it and went to his happy place, while his subconscious cunningly made him break his thumb again so he could leave without drawing suspicion on himself. 

 

Red consolidated his resolve to act like a toddler until he got out, and now he's happily self medicating with his precious cannabis.  He'll be fine unless he lands himself yet another reality show and once again draw the attention of the aliens. 

 

Rob held it together long enough to get out and now he just wants to eat and shoot things, probably just the same as ever.  He's still hoping for another reality show gig though...

 

Aaron was able to ignore the whole thing because his life is filled with lies anyway, so any memories of that night he just put down to another one of his past 'life stories'.

 

Nikki was so full of love, acceptance, and getting to know one another, the aliens just patted her on the head and knocked her out again.  Look for her to become their mouthpiece if they decide to invade.

 

Amanda's plan to keep under the radar as much as possible remained intact but she found herself drawn to form a friendship with Nikki, almost like she felt that being on Nikki's good side would someday be important.

 

Bella was thrilled and kept wanting to post selfies with them, while insisting on knowing if they had been exposed to fluoride, non-organic food, microwaves, GMO's, gone to war, listen to rap, or wear synthetic garments.  The list went on and on and on.  Finally they assured her that she'd have a star-child baby if she just shut up and went back to sleep. 

 

When Homeland Security, or whoever is looking for aliens among us, found out about the alien visitation, they shut the project down and have been busily 'interviewing' everyone to gather information.  They've gotten no real information.  Even Bella's alien pregnancy wasn't real. 

 

If you've read this and you see strangely ordinary people always nearby, especially if they're dressed in black and wear dark glasses, you should get your affairs in order and get rid of any incriminating evidence post haste.  I guess now that I've spilled the beans I'll have to go to Yahoo news and let their massive readership dilute the story.  They'll probably get a few people commenting on their own alien stories and theories, thus taking some of the heat off of us.  I hope.  I'd better post this now, as I hear a strange humming noise coming from above my home.

[DeLurker]

Cover you windows with tin foil!