RedheadZombie September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 photo fox, I'm not sure that they're milking the pregnant cow. The vet did tell Bri that the calf would be bottle fed and not nursing from the mother. I don't know if that makes a difference, but it's a shame to waste the colostrum. 2 Link to comment
henripootel September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 (edited) And even more befuddling is the narrator apparently maintaining that the whole thing is real and not scripted....and yet...the evidence to the contrary has been viewed by loads of people. There are just so many ways around this. First, he could be flat-out lying, which he seems to be. But, he isn't a producer himself (as far as we know) but simply another character, which may account for his frankly bizarre appearance. You can't expect the truth from him any more than you would from Bart Simpson or Frasier Crane. Even if we are supposed to believe this guy, the terms 'real' and 'not scripted' have holes you can drive a truck through. The characters on this show are 'real' - they're not animatronics figures or drawings. If you have some other definition of 'real', that's not the producer's concern. Similarly, 'not scripted' could mean that these guys are not given actual lines to read, just detailed instructions about what to say, whom to antagonize or confront, to lie, steal or whatever. That's not 'scripted', that's 'production'. The truth of the matter seems to be that none of this is 'real', in the sense that these are simply people trying to fulfill the goals we were told they were trying to fulfill. This is an important distinction because (I believe) telling them things like 'Mike and Aaron are stealing money' would produce exactly no actions: like as not they already know this, and even if they don't, they'll still wait for the producers to greenlight any actions. For my money, the only real show here is production's hackneyed attempts at manufacturing drama and their struggles with an unprofessional cast who just want to soak them for dollars and airtime. That shit's gold right there. Edited September 21, 2014 by henripootel 6 Link to comment
Alia September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 I don't get the feeds (and I've missed some actual episodes), so I'm looking for some clarification. Are they still milking both cows? Even the one that's due to calve in nine days? That's a huge no-no. Cows need to be "dry" for a period - typically around 60 days - before each calving. The reason is two-fold. First, the cow needs to be putting all her energy toward growing her unborn calf, not making milk. Second, not having a dry period negatively affects a cow's colostrum, the first milk she gives after calving, which is super-high in nutrients and antibodies that the calf needs to thrive outside the womb. If a calf gets low quality colostrum, it will affect it's health throughout its lifetime. Allowing this, and insisting that the cows be milked from the same side (which is essentially an old wives tale), really makes me call into question the level of dairy knowledge of the show vets. photo fox, I'm not sure that they're milking the pregnant cow. The vet did tell Bri that the calf would be bottle fed and not nursing from the mother. I don't know if that makes a difference, but it's a shame to waste the colostrum. The cows are both pregnant. The one that is going to calf soon has been dry for some time, they are only milking the other one. It's the usual thing to bottle feed calves of dairy cows, they get the colostrum it's not wasted. Usually they would be using the milk of the calfs mother for about a week to bottle feed and change it to a milk substitute afterwards. The reason is that the milk has a different composition of fat, protein and antibodies not just for the colostrum but for about a week after birth and is not supposed to be used for human food. 2 Link to comment
Alia September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 It's necessary to impregnate cows while they give milk since they would stop giving milk after drying up if they don't give birth again. as soon as these cows ovulate again after birth they should do that. i'm a little bit confused that they have been milking both cows in the beginning since i have learned that they should be dry for several weeks (3 up to 8) before giving birth. As to the situation at the compound i'm really disappointed at how many of them are not willing to confront issues and do their part altogether. i expected much more really trying to build a community and not this sneaking around behind each others backs and just looking for their own benefit. 2 Link to comment
marco 900 September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 Hahaha only one for the bootcamp. 1 Link to comment
ottoDbusdriver September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 I'm starting to think that this Eric guy is a bit obsessed with being on TV/Live Feeds. How long before he just stays ? 2 Link to comment
Picketfences September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 Is it possible the feeds are slightly delayed to blur nudity and block profanity? I see the Bella/Josh relationship going the same road as the Caleb/Amber relationship from BB16. Also, IMO, now that Dave is gone Red has become more endearing. I'm still not his #1 fan but he doesn't bother me as much as he did previously. Link to comment
ElleryAnne September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 I see the Bella/Josh relationship going the same road as the Caleb/Amber relationship from BB16. I don't watch BB, so can you clarify what you think is happening with Bella/Josh? 1 Link to comment
RedheadZombie September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 Aaron took Bri to the pond late last night and at first I was wondering what was going on between them. Bri asked about Aaron and Kristen and Aaron denied any romantic involvement whatsoever with Kristen. Just a brother-sister kind of deal. Then they got where they were going and it turned out Aaron was taking Bri late night fishing! And when I left them they had a fish on a line I think. I don't know yet if they caught the thing. It was all a very unexpected outing. I saw some of that. I kept switching because I don't like the two of them, and Aaron was bragging again. I saw the intro into the fishing. Aaron was telling stories to Bri that catfish are very difficult to kill. You either beat them over the head or cut their heads off. After stating he's saving the fish for the fish fry, he proceeds to get up and catch the fish as Bri squeals. I switched then. According to Jokers, Aaron went on at great length (as if he had a Marlin on the line) about reeling the fish in and "tiring it out". Apparently he's caught and thrown back this poor fish at least once before. In the end, he dragged it out, had great difficulty removing the hook, and quite possibly damaged the fish and exhausted it to a point near death by the time he threw it back in. All to show off. Even if you don't care about how the fish was treated, it's a waste of their food. Aaron also threw away rolls he said were no good. They are all very friendly and cooperative this morning and last night. Last night at dinner Aaron got a lot of praise for his cooking. Rob apologized 'abjectly' to Kristen in front of the whole dinner table for his attack last night. Sigh. But at least they were all getting along. Red and Nikki worked on the food order. I saw dinner time last night, for the first time. I guess Aaron typically serves out the portions. Less for those he dislikes (Nikki, Bella) and more for those he likes. After getting away with stealing and managing to get apologies, hugs, and kisses from his victims, he was practically walking on clouds. He stood proudly over the meal, while they served themselves. Dinner looked hideous (unless your starving). There was white rice with the consistency of sponge, beans he didn't soak before cooking, and something purple (cabbage). They had a giant sized salt container at the table, and they took turns shaking it vigorously over their plate. I imagine it provided the only flavor. When Bella was getting ready to eat, someone came in and told her that a chicken was missing. Aaron suddenly pipes up - he'll help! Since I've only started watching the feeds, I don't know if there were cameras inside the barn initially, but I've yet to see any action on the inside. The chicken hunt was cute. It was Hex, Amanda, Bella, and Aaron. Amanda told Aaron that the chicken loves the water, so they turn on the house and he starts spraying water. After a minute, Amanda said the chicken would have come running by now. A few minutes later, they realize one of the chickens was "hiding" and Hex miscounted (something Aaron was sure to share when he returned to the kitchen). It was actually a sweet moment because they were concerned and Amanda knew the chickens personality. When they went in and re-counted, the camera stayed outside the barn. I wonder if they stopped showing the animals because of the initial outrage regarding their neglect. I'm starting to think that this Eric guy is a bit obsessed with being on TV/Live Feeds. How long before he just stays ? I wonder if he's just really lonely. I haven't seen his visits, but Bella seems to especially love him.. When Amanda jokingly suggested he could water their crops yesterday, he said he was there to help. Between watching myself and reading over at Jokers, I'm definitely picking up production manipulation. The feeds switch or mute at very specific times. They've re-enacted at least one scene (the Bri confrontation), and certain scenes - Aaron and Bri - seem to be instructed through production. Regarding the fact that both cows are pregnant. If I dreaded the thought of a helpless calf in the hands of Bri, I shudder in horror at the thought of two babies depending on being bottle fed. It also seems a little cruel to the Utopians. Strap them with the care of two cows that will stop giving milk, and then leave them with the care of new helpless newborns. 3 Link to comment
Zahdii September 21, 2014 Author Share September 21, 2014 9/20/2014 Saturday Not long after 6 AM Hex and Rob are doing the morning barn chores. I think I heard Josh, but haven't seen him yet. Hex mentions she shook Bri awake, and then Bri turns up. She stares blankly around her and then asks what needs to be done in the mornings. Hex rattles off a list of chores, Bri just looks bored. They gather the eggs and candle them. Hey, looky here, they've got a fertilized egg! The cock is undoubtedly proud and suddenly all the hens start to look matronly. Now they're going to have to make a spot away from the other hens so mama hen can start sitting on junior. (Don't ask me how they're going to know which one is the mama or anything else, I've never had chickens hatch out eggs before. In my family, chickens were strictly egg layers, then stewing hens.) Bri takes the other eggs and goes to put them in the fridge. It's not even 7 and Bella is up and ready to face the day by not facing anything. She's going to have fun, no arguing, no more ambushes, just pure loving fun. Mike's having fun by talking about Nikkie. Apparently, she twisted Rob's arm to get him to lead the 'ambush' of Aaron, so she must go. (This is the same guy who set up a similar 'ambush' of Bella over the water filter, and then told his cronies that he was going to use that water filter incident to drive Bella weeping out of Utopia. Guess his target has changed.) Bri wanders back down to the barn and decides to milk a cow. For some reason she asks Red if she can milk from the left side. The vets have said several times to stick to the right side because that's the side the cows are used to being milked from. The second Red leaves she milks from the left side. I can only wonder if she herself has any idea of why she behaves this way. (I hope the cow slaps her in the face with a poopy tail.) By 7:40 Bri is already back in bed with Chris. (I bet she did a bad milking job.) At 8:00 AM there are people at the gate. They're either here for morning yoga or the bootcamp. (Please, let it all be yoga! I want Aaron to feel rejected.) Hex and Rob are each leading tours for the yoga/bootcamp people. Rob's doing a good job. Hex could use some work. She curses a lot. Eric (was here earlier doing bootcamp) asks if the deer was really dead when they went to butcher it, and Hex says that's a stupid question and talks about how she wanted to push Bella in the lake when Bella wanted to make sure the deer was really dead. (I'd feel the same way if someone was having hysterics about worrying I had a live animal hung up to torture, but when dealing with the public, you should be more diplomatic.) Hex also tells the group that Dave bragged about swinging cats by their tails when he was a kid, and went into some kind of 'psychotic trance' when he stabbed a fish to death over and over again. (Hex, Dave's gone now, leave it alone.) Eric says that sounds like something Bella would do and Hex replies that she was afraid of being stabbed to death while she slept. I'm not sure if she meant Dave or Bella. 8:30 - Breakfast: Banana bread baked in a skillet. Red took one look and fried himself an egg and a hot dog. Kristen has been moping around all morning, looking for pity after being unjustly accused of theft last night. Josh is kind to her, advises her to hang out with other people besides Aaron so it doesn't look likes she's off shceaming with him. Other than that people don't talk to her much if they can help it. Now she's crying and wanting to go home. (Can I help you pack? Or we could just ship your stuff to you later. I'll call you a cab.) By 10:00 AM the morning guests have been shown the gate. There will be another group in the afternoon who are mostly going to just wander the grounds, talk to people, and maybe buy something if any Utopian has made anything to sell. Bella and Chris were both talking about paintings. Hex was trying to make some jewelry. There is an evening yoga set up for 6:00 PM. Amanda is frying an egg and trying to listen in on Aaron, who is talking softly to Mike about 'profit sharing'. Mike's totals don't add up. Depending on if people paid $20 for just the morning, or paid $40 so they could return in the afternoon, it should be easy to figure out how much money there should be. But Mike says he just collected the money, didn't write anything down. He says "Who cares?" (I think this right here should clue in people that Mike can't be trusted with money.) There are some small trees that have been staked to hold them upright while their root systems grow enough to hold them down properly. Someone has removed them. Mike immediately blames Bella. (In truth, it's the guys. Mike himself had one when he did his ridiculous 'knight routine'. He used it as his 'sword'.) Amanda says later that the stakes will be replaced, no problem. (There are cameras everywhere. Why doesn't Production tell the people who removed the stakes to stop? It's not like there's no Production interference going on, it's all over the place.) Just before noon, Aaron comes back from Production with a water bottle/microphone and Bella's coveted water filter. (When you see visitors wandering around Utopia without a neck mic, they're probably carrying a water bottle that is actually a microphone.) He passes the water bottle to Kristen and tells her to wander around talking and listening to people this afternoon to get a sense of how they feel about everything. Aaron plans to give Bella the water filter and tell her he bought it with the money from his bootcamp. (Too bad one of the production team already tweeted (and deleted) that Production has had the water filter with them and was waiting for the group to earn the money to pay for it again. Since Mike didn't keep track of how much money he collected from the morning visitors, I'd say it's a safe bet that no one knows just how much money bootcamp actually made. (This is, IMO, purely a Production driven move and Aaron's taking advantage of it. And it'll probably work, too.) Meantime, Nikkie and Red have been allowed to place a weekend phone call to the grocery store because they're almost out of toilet paper. To get free delivery, they need to order $50 worth of food so they're adding some filling foods to the list. I'm sure they'll make it through the weekend now! The afternoon guests have arrived and there are a lot of them! Mike's collecting money at the gate again, Amanda and Rob are there trying to keep an eye on him. Farmer Lefty, shows up. Then Yoga Ben, Bootcamp Eric, and Yoga Jenny arrive. No Yoga, Thanks Anyway Kim is not attending today. (According to her she's banned.) lol, Eric gets a receipt from Mike and asks "Are you sure you put the dollar amount on there?" Bella is leading one of the tours. She sounds like a real tour guide pointing out stuff like the ecology of the pond and all, but her group seems thrilled with everything. Someone bought one of Bella's paintings for $40! So far no one has bought one of Chris's, but he does sell some later during the day. Red's doing his hillbilly act for a group of people. Although they seemed charmed by his loud 'hillbilly call', I'm annoyed. Moving on. At 1:00 PM, Mike does something that should have gotten him arrested. Amanda and Rob must have wandered away, but there is clear footage of him taking a roll of money out of a paper bag, looking around real quick, then stuffing the money in his pocket. All the Utopians seem to be enjoying having so many visitors. They've been cycling in and out all day. Well, Mike at the front gate isn't very talkative. The real brats are Bri and Chris. They're pretty much ignoring people as they eat their lunch. Kristen is gossiping about the other Utopians to guests, with a special emphasis on badmouthing Bella. Taylor joins in. Dede's giving a guy an impromptu bellydancing lesson. Hex is showing off her bow and explaining how to properly hold it. Bri's now down at the barn showing off for the guests. She's lying big time. She loves the cows, she takes naps with them! She eats their grain with milk and sugar for breakfast. She plays with them. Meanwhile the cows look at her like they'd like to take a dump on her. She ends her time on my feeds by telling all about her version of last night's after dinner argument. 5ish - Kristen's spent most of the day sitting with visitor Mallory, who is all dressed in black and a big fan of Aaron and Kristen. They've happily talked smack about all the other Utopians and Mallory has told Kristen about some of the things that are on the feeds that Kristen wouldn't know about. (Why is Kristen getting all this outside information and no one is stopping it? No wonder the people at Jokers are talking about renting a banner plane and flying it over the compound. Production would have a really hard time rushing people back into the LQ, like they did when fans flew banner planes over the BB house.) Looks like the Utopians will be on short rations until Monday. They didn't get their food order in in time and now they have to wait until Monday. 6:00 PM Nikkie's evening yoga class is starting. Bella, Dede, Josh, Red, and Taylor join the five paying customers. Mike's in the LQ with the paper bag that had the money in it. He says they've made $1070, plus however much money the yoga and the bootcamp made. Kristen says that "outside forces" have scaled back tomorrow's Utopian Experience hours to 12:00 - 4:00 PM. 6:35 Only a few minutes late Bri is heading to the barn for the evening milking. Rob's going with her to help out. It's nearly 7, and Aaron is in the kitchen cooking dinner. He messed up a batch of rolls again. Again, he threw them out instead of repurposing them for making croutons or feeding them to the chickens. Aaron's telling Kristen that a lot of people told him how shiesty Amanda and Nikkie are. (Not one person on any forum can confirm hearing any guest say that.) Kristen replies that she's hurt because so many people are jealous of her. They're both tasting the soup and then putting the used spoon back in the pot. Tasty! Mike says the total amount is $1483, unless Bella has more money to turn in. Discussion turns to paying taxes on the money. Josh says that the Utopian Experience won't last and they need to think to the future. Time to bring out the water filter! Aaron carries it in like the spoils of war. Too bad Rob mentioned that they all knew about it, except for maybe Bella. Bella's crying, she doesn't get to feel special very often. She promises she won't be crazy anymore since the water won't be poisoning her anymore. (Not sure that's going to happen.) 8:00 Time to cut the happy times short. Red show's up and asks what's for dinner and Aaron says "Food, something you and Nikkie say I can't cook." Red challenges Aaron to a 'vote off' and Aaron decides to take a walk. Red's still mad, but not in full tantrum mode yet. Mike oh so helpfully bemoans how it's so upsetting when people act like this. Aaron is back and suddenly decides it's time to talk to Bri so he can get to know her. Either he's trying to get her to join his clique, or Production has set him a task for the next show. (If you watch the TV show, Aaron is being presented as a good guy who's being bullied.) They eat their dinner and Aaron fills only his plate and lets the others choose their own portion sizes. No surprise that everyone has filled their plates! Red says that the beans are crunchy, no one disagrees. I think the Great Chef forgot to set the beans out to soak. Chris is going on and on about how they made all this money today because of Kristen. Aaron says that he's planning a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner. Huh? Where did that come from? Aaron and Bri go off to have their talk. Aaron starts off being funny and all that, then moves on to the important stuff: him. He's talking to her like she's a child and she starts smarting off to him. Bri likes being childlike when it suits her, it's her fallback maneuver when things get tough, but the rest of the time she likes to think she's a fully grown adult who just happens to know everything about everything. She starts smarting off and it ends with Aaron telling her she's stupid. (I can't find anyone to root for in this conversation.) By 10:30, everyone's tired from the long day, but they're too wound up to sleep. They are all over the place. A tweet by one of the producers: If I were interested in who the 15th Utopian might be, I might not sleep in too late tomorrow... #Utopia.10:54 PM - 20 Sep 2014 11:00 Dede and Mike are revisiting their high school days with their flirting. They spell things out in the air, try their hand at sign language, communicate with adoring looks and such. Just go to bed already. 6 Link to comment
beesknees September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 Okay, this is a stupid question (and I'm sure the topic's been touched upon) but can the cast members write/send outgoing letters and can they receive mail as well? I know birthday cards but (i.e. - weekly letters from family members, friends, etc.) Link to comment
ElleryAnne September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 (edited) If I dreaded the thought of a helpless calf in the hands of Bri, I shudder in horror at the thought of two babies depending on being bottle fed. Do we know how far apart the pregnancies are? I'm hoping one little mootopian is off the bottle before the second one comes along. It scares me to think of these people - even the more rational of them - responsible for new lives. (I'm going to be an absolute nervous wreck if they actually ever have to help take care of Amanda's little newtopian when it comes along. Hopefully Amanda will just back out of the show by then.) They should all have been made to prove themselves first before being entrusted with anything requiring more care than a cactus. Mike's totals don't add up. Depending on if people paid $20 for just the morning, or paid $40 so they could return in the afternoon, it should be easy to figure out how much money there should be. But Mike says he just collected the money, didn't write anything down. He says "Who cares?" there is clear footage of him taking a roll of money out of a paper bag, looking around real quick, then stuffing the money in his pocket. Honestly, at this point so many of these people have shown themselves to be so lazy about the money issues, I'm really hoping Production doesn't bail them out and just lets them go hungry for a while. The problem isn't just that some of them are actual thieves - it's that the rest of them (possibly barring Red and maybe Nikki) are taking no responsibility for the money. When they knew they would be collecting money at the door, they should have insisted on keeping a record of the money collected. Has the issue with the grocery receipts taught them nothing? Keep track of the money, people. And if for some reason they thought they were going to be overwhelmed by the raw number of guests and wouldn't be able to write it all down, or if they neglected to buy pen and paper to keep a written record, then they could have put aside X number of rocks to give to the guests upon payment (doing the same for the yoga and other activities), and at the end of the day counted the number of rocks that were left so they'd know how many were given out and thereby know how many dollars they collected. It just amazes me that at this point they're allowing an environment to exist in which they can steal from one another. And that's putting aside how reprehensible it is if these guys are stealing to begin with. Or how stupid it is, because they should realize they could get caught on the live feeds. Or how pointless it is, because they don't even need to keep money aside - for what? to spend when they leave? To buy extra snacks in the compound and hope nobody notices they're spending more than seven or ten dollars like everyone's been given? I don't get it. I can't imagine Production going so far as to tell them to steal, but I have a hard time understanding why they're stealing to begin with. No Yoga, Thanks Anyway Kim is not attending today. (According to her she's banned.) Interesting. It sounds like some of the other visitors are sharing info they saw on the live feeds, so I wonder if Mallory or the others will be banned. Or if Kim was only banned because she spoiled the story Production wants to tell. The real brats are Bri and Chris. I'm just shocked to learn of this. can the cast members write/send outgoing letters and can they receive mail as well? We saw Mike writing a letter in the last episode on TV, so I'm guessing they can send letters. (Though it'd be funny if Production just holds the letters until the show's over. That's probably against Postal regulations though - those guys mean business.) I'm not sure what kind of mail they can receive. Edited September 21, 2014 by ElleryAnne 2 Link to comment
clod September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 ... I don't know if there were cameras inside the barn initially, but I've yet to see any action on the inside. / A few minutes later, they realize one of the chickens was "hiding" and Hex miscounted (something Aaron was sure to share when he returned to the kitchen). It was actually a sweet moment because they were concerned and Amanda knew the chickens personality. When they went in and re-counted, the camera stayed outside the barn. I wonder if they stopped showing the animals because of the initial outrage regarding their neglect. I recall production saying there were cameras everywhere. might have been mentioned when the hay loft was being used to make out. of course, there was a hay loft camera. as for why they didn't show the re-count inside the animalbarn, it was probably because the they didn't want viewers to see the harsh punishment of the trouble-making chicken (the "hiding" one) a joke! A JOKE, I SAY! :) They gather the eggs and candle them. Hey, looky here, they've got a fertilized egg! / Looks like the Utopians will be on short rations until Monday. They didn't get their food order in in time and now they have to wait until Monday. / He messed up a batch of rolls again. Again, he threw them out instead of repurposing them for making croutons or feeding them to the chickens. what are the odds that they marked the fertilized egg? (pencil, sharpie). not likely. haha. short rations for a day. too bad they don't have a source of fish or something. finally! I was wondering why no one was suggesting giving scraps to the chickens. 3 Link to comment
kib September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 Time to bring out the water filter! Aaron carries it in like the spoils of war. Too bad Rob mentioned that they all knew about it, except for maybe Bella. Bella's crying, she doesn't get to feel special very often. She promises she won't be crazy anymore since the water won't be poisoning her anymore. If psychotropic pharmacology were only that simple... 3 Link to comment
henripootel September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 (edited) I can't imagine Production going so far as to tell them to steal, but I have a hard time understanding why they're stealing to begin with. I'd have a very hard time believing folks are stealing without having been tasked to do so by producers. They're absolutely certain to get caught, and I'd bet everything I own against a plug nickel that this is the point. You can't spell 'shitty manufactured drama' without 'manufactured'. Edited September 22, 2014 by henripootel 5 Link to comment
Alia September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 what are the odds that they marked the fertilized egg? (pencil, sharpie). not likely. haha. i would actually mark every egg with the date i first found it so i could be sure it has had its 3-4 days before i decide it's not fertilized ... 1 Link to comment
hincandenza September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 (edited) I'm still unclear on the Aaron/Kristen theft in terms of how they are hiding the extra food- because some recaps sound like they're literally eating pizza and fried chicken in front of the rest of the cast, who are suffering through "master" chef Aaron's famous "Hardtack and Swill Surprise"; and even that is not enough for these clowns to hold their feet to the fire. Ernesto the new guy is in. Ah. So how exactly are the imbeciles in Production going to be able to meddle with this? Leaving aside that our "once a month vote in/vote off" is now basically every 3-4 days, the people coming in are presumably watching the show, watching feeds, reading the forums, etc.- it'd be crazy not to do so. I mean, Ernesto must have borderline personality disorder and narcissistic tendencies- I don't know him at all, have only seen this one picture that marco 900 posted, but he was cast for this show, so... you do the math. Even so, wouldn't he just start telling people either privately or when he joins "Hey, so, Mike, Aaron, and Kristen have been stealing money repeatedly. Like, a LOT. And buying their own stash of yummy food while you go hungry. Just thought you should know, because for some crazy reason they yell at you and you... apologize to them? But anyway, Mike has a wad of money he keeps in his left pocket, and Aaron and Kristen's food stash is... hold on, let's see... right... here! (opens some hiding spot). Just thought you should know, what with a vote-off coming up...". The gates aren't sealed; the knowledge is out there, and only the heavy handed Production intervention and storyboarding is keeping it from coming out. All criticism aside, we really should be impressed these dimwitted fame whores can still remember all their pre-scripted lines, each day! Nice work, Jon Kroll- hell of a show you're making here. I hope Ernesto doesn't screw up the script and start ad-libbing or anything, that would be disastrous to the ratings of this epic social experiment! Edited September 21, 2014 by hincandenza 5 Link to comment
Detour September 21, 2014 Share September 21, 2014 You know, the more I read these posts the more I'm starting to think that they are all in on the "joke" together - and the joke's on those folks getting caught up on all of the shenanigans. The show isn't about the Uptopians, it's about the viewers trying to get word back to those being "wronged" and then nothing happens. You know, the more I read these posts the more I'm starting to think that they are all in on the "joke" together - and the joke's on those folks getting caught up on all of the shenanigans. The show isn't about the Uptopians, it's about the viewers trying to get word back to those being "wronged" and then nothing happens. 5 Link to comment
ElleryAnne September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 Bella, Bri, and Josh are heads of their areas (garden, barn, house) and they will have teams under them they are responsible for. Amanda, Rob, and Dede are the lead council who will arbitrate problems/disagreements. Aaron will cook but others can try it out with a few days notice to Aaron first. Nikki and Red order the food and Aaron will do a weekly menu and confer with them re what he needs to make his food. The menu may be posted or not, I'm not sure how that resolved. There will be a profit sharing meeting tomorrow and Amanda wants to 'invest' some funds for future money making projects since what they are doing now won't last. Oh, and Kristen is head of 'marketing and more' and will choose a team from volunteers. That sounds almost reasonable. Does Production know about it? It seems like the kind of thing they'd want to put a stop to. 7 Link to comment
RedheadZombie September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 Honestly, at this point so many of these people have shown themselves to be so lazy about the money issues, I'm really hoping Production doesn't bail them out and just lets them go hungry for a while. The problem isn't just that some of them are actual thieves - it's that the rest of them (possibly barring Red and maybe Nikki) are taking no responsibility for the money. When they knew they would be collecting money at the door, they should have insisted on keeping a record of the money collected. Has the issue with the grocery receipts taught them nothing? Keep track of the money, people. The problem is, while Josh, Bella, Nikki, Red, and Amanda are on to Aaron and Kristen, nobody is on to Mike. For some reason, they think he's a great and dependable guy. He's a nasty weasel, in my opinion. I believe he's stealing on his own initiative. I don't even know if he cares about the money. He thrives on creating problems, then sitting back and observing his work. He also seems to be the captain of the cool clique (Mike, Dede, Chris, Bri, Hex, Taylor). Even so, wouldn't he just start telling people either privately or when he joins "Hey, so, Mike, Aaron, and Kristen have been stealing money repeatedly. Like, a LOT. And buying their own stash of yummy food while you go hungry. Just thought you should know, because for some crazy reason they yell at you and you... apologize to them? But anyway, Mike has a wad of money he keeps in his left pocket, and Aaron and Kristen's food stash is... hold on, let's see... right... here! (opens some hiding spot). Just thought you should know, what with a vote-off coming up...". At this point, I think everyone coming in has been in sequester. That would keep them from hearing what's happening with the show. That has to end eventually - I can't imagine they'll leave people in sequester for a year. 1 Link to comment
whack-a-mole September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 At this point, I think everyone coming in has been in sequester. That would keep them from hearing what's happening with the show. That has to end eventually - I can't imagine they'll leave people in sequester for a year. I can't imagine this lasts long enough for that to matter. I really want the tears when they tell these poor people it's over and very few people watched. 4 Link to comment
RedheadZombie September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 I'm finding this much more interesting than Big Brother. The editing is driving me crazy and I may quit watching the show and only watch feeds. I don't understand why production is allowing favoritism (if not encouraging it). People who've been watching feeds since day one comment on how very thin Bella and Nikki have become, because Aaron gives them the smallest portions of food. According to Jokers, Bella at one point hid food to keep from starving, or she goes out and eats marigolds. That's in no way funny or entertaining. The fact that BB Kim from Jokers is banned because she warned Amanda about Aaron and Kristen, yet Kristen has a fan sit with her all day yesterday and fill her in on what's going on. Production seems to clearly enable Aaron and Kristen, as well as Mike. These fools are going to get rid of Josh and Nikki first because they don't play Mike's game. Nikki is verbal with her complaints, so Aaron hates her. Amanda knows what's going on and I think she's getting a little better about speaking up instead of shit stirring. Bella will be the third to go. At that point, Rob is going to realize he's now stuck with the lion's share of work. I sincerely hope that this show gets seen enough that Mike's hope of running for DA is squashed. I detest the guy. He's the worst because he's really smart, and loves to manipulate and cause chaos. Everything's a joke to him - at someone else's expense, of course. 3 Link to comment
PaperTree September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 Wow! I first saw this trainwreck of a show yesterday before I found this thread from Big Brother. Episodes 3, 4, and 5 and was somewhat confuzed, but quickly despised Bella, Red and Psycho Dave. There was some hope when they wouldn't let the crazy man back in. And even more when that preacher left. Then I read the first couple pages of this thread and was "speechless" for lack of a better term. What a mess!! But now I have a much better idea what is going on. I think "The Colony" from years ago was better. I had to stop at two long pages with a huge respect for the Feedsters out there. Nerves of steel I just don't have. Where in SoCal is this? I once drove from Palm Springs to San Diego and was awestruck how beautiful and unpopulated it was. I'll try to hang with this show for awhile. Bella is nuts. Microwaves don't do anything to your food that normal cooking doesn't. People who get ruined food out of a microwave don't know how to operate one. 2 Link to comment
backformore September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 Someone brought up the tape muting out sometimes. The website says that they mute things that are copyrighted and I have noticed that when they start talking about some name brand thing or singing a song the feed will mute during that period. Ha! Penn Gilette talked about this once in an interview. On Celebrity Apprentice, he said when his team was having a discusison/argument they didn't want to be on TV, he'd start singing a Beatles song. To broadcast that, the network would have to pay a royalty fee. 2 Link to comment
In Pog Form September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 Someone brought up the tape muting out sometimes. The website says that they mute things that are copyrighted and I have noticed that when they start talking about some name brand thing or singing a song the feed will mute during that period. Oh, that's the biggest bullshit excuse I've ever heard. It's not a copyright infringement to talk about brand names. Brand names are a trademark issue, and trademark law does not prohibit casual discussion of trademarked brands. As for singing copyrighted songs, that may have more validity, but they didn't mute Rob singing Faith No More's "Be Aggressive." I think being a pathological liar is a job requirement for anybody working on this show. 1 Link to comment
backformore September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 (edited) Bella is nuts. Microwaves don't do anything to your food that normal cooking doesn't. People who get ruined food out of a microwave don't know how to operate one. Yes, but 30 years ago, it was a widely held belief that microwaves a) leaked dangerous amounts of radiation and b) changed the chemical composition of food in a dangerous way. Parenting magazines warned about using a microwave to heat baby bottles and baby food. Later, the stance was changed to say that microwaves caused "hot spots" that could burn kids' mouths. Which is true, so you shake, stir, wait, before giving a kid something microwaved. But initially the warnings were about the cancer-causing radiation. There are still publications about natural/organic lifestyle that will tell you that microwaves convert amino acids in food into carcinogens. (and that the government is covering it up) . These are the same publications that want to stop municipalities from adding fluoride to water and tell parents not to vaccinate their kids. Having my first child in the 80's, I was bombarded with conflicting information about what was safe and what wasn't. I am the kind of person who researches things thoroughly. But infant health information was contradictory, so the more I read, the less certain I was about anything. I know women like Bella. conflicting information sets them into an anxiety attack. Example - Sun exposure causes skin cancer - but not getting sun means you don't get vitamin D, so you get osteoporosis. What to do? Go in the sun, and risk dying of melanoma? or stay away, and risk dying slowly in a nursing home from a broken hip? For most of us, moderation is the answer - get some sun, not too much, use sunscreen, take a vitamin, hope for the best. For the panic-prone like Bella, there are only extremes. The sky is falling! we're all going to die (tm Chicken Little ) Edited September 22, 2014 by backformore 4 Link to comment
PaperTree September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 Thanks Andyourlittledog2, that makes a lot of sense. Looks like the middle of nowhere yet close to civilization. Bella will need her tin-foil hat if they get a microwave. I got my first one in 1985 and never looked back. I was reading last night and all these "fears" are truly silly. Of course you can burn yourself and blast food to obliteration, it is an oven after all. How much water does she plan on filtering? Fluoride is not easy to remove from water. Expensive cartridges are required and she will also need test equipment to make sure it works. Somebody could probably sell her an old sand pool filter for $1000 and she wouldn't know the difference. Throw some charcoal on top; what the hell. 2 Link to comment
ottoDbusdriver September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 Quick show of hands -- who thinks that Ernesto's gifts of feminine hygiene products was all production's ideas ? I just don't see a burly plumbing contractor thinking "Hey, you know what I think Utopia needs, ......" 4 Link to comment
ottoDbusdriver September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 (edited) I only watched a little today because I'm having a bad day and I just can't add these folks to it. Plus, I find the visitors periods extremely boring to listen to. I'll probably tune in again tomorrow morning. I just don't see the Utopia experience continuing to be a big draw, especially as the weather gets colder, over the long term. They had repeat visitors this weekend, but the fanboys/fangirls will quickly lose interest. Though Lexi from Florida really showed that Chris is a easily distracted low-down dirty dog, and is only banging Bri because there's not much else to do. He treats her like crap and she still gives him blowies for breakfast. Plus you have other negative aspects like Aaron shorting his only Boot Camp attendee this morning by a 1/2 hour, the Utopians mocking their visitors on the live feeds (and in one case, directly to their face), Bri basically ignoring all the visitors and eating in front of the them, various Utopians bitching and complaining about other Topes to the visitors, and all the flies in the people barn since they won't keep it clean, it's not exactly a fun time that would encourage repeat visits so that Aaron and Kristen could steal the money the visitors are paying them while Mike is cooking the books and also stealing (this stuff is seen on the feeds, for crying out loud). Add in the fact that the compound is well off the beaten path to get to in the first place, then they have to go through the production dragnet in order to enter which takes another hour or so, and that all the Topes stink to high heaven all the time from a lack of basic washing (they have a waterfall and an outside shower, use them), it would just be an unpleasant experience to maybe do once and never return. Edited September 22, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver 5 Link to comment
Rahul September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 I sincerely hope that this show gets seen enough that Mike's hope of running for DA is squashed. I detest the guy. He's the worst because he's really smart, and loves to manipulate and cause chaos. I too hope that Mike's DA hopes are quashed. However, he hasn't proven himself to be particularly bright. I know plenty of attorneys with surprisingly little intelligence. It figures they'd bring in another hispanic guy to replace Dave. Poor Ernesto...I don't see him fitting in to the fold very easily. That actually may be a blessing in disguise, though. 4 Link to comment
Rapunzel September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 (edited) Yesterday Mike and Dede were talking about not being able to work after this if their reputations are ruined. It turns out that Mike quit his job at his law firm to do this and I think we all know that his dream of being DA is completely shot to hell (unless there is a city or county out there that wants a DA who is a lying, thieving, wannabe porn star who always avoids conflict or anything that may mean he has to do the slightest bit of work...) given his behavior on this show. Dede said she’ll join a Buddhist monastery if she can’t get a job after this. Mike may have to go with her as I don't expect him to have many other options. I live in San Diego and Santa Clarita is about a 2 hour drive from where I am. My husband and some of our friends were kind of jokingly talking about going up there for one of these "Utopian Experience" days but then all pretty much came to the conclusion that we would all end up banned as we couldn't keep our mouths shut and would be likely to tell the Utopians what was really going on in there and/or end up being really rude to Production and calling out this lame excuse of a "social experiment" for the travesty that it is. Edited September 22, 2014 by Rapunzel 4 Link to comment
henripootel September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 (edited) You should definitely go, Rapunzel. For one, you need to carry the torch for all of us PTers who don't live near by. For another, I sincerely doubt you can tell the 'Topers anything they don't already know, except possibly that tsunami of contempt they are generating in everyone who isn't connected to production (and probably there too). Third, you can bring them a gift, and may I humbly suggest these. Read the comments if you want to see what'll happen next. Make sure you tell Aaron and Bri you got these just for them. Edited September 22, 2014 by henripootel 5 Link to comment
Zahdii September 22, 2014 Author Share September 22, 2014 Yesterday Mike and Dede were talking about not being able to work after this if their reputations are ruined. It turns out that Mike quit his job at his law firm to do this and I think we all know that his dream of being DA is completely shot to hell (unless there is a city or county out there that wants a DA who is a lying, thieving, wannabe porn star who always avoids conflict or anything that may mean he has to do the slightest bit of work...) given his behavior on this show. Dede said she’ll join a Buddhist monastery if she can’t get a job after this. Mike may have to go with her as I don't expect him to have many other options. I live in San Diego and Santa Clarita is about a 2 hour drive from where I am. My husband and some of our friends were kind of jokingly talking about going up there for one of these "Utopian Experience" days but then all pretty much came to the conclusion that we would all end up banned as we couldn't keep our mouths shut and would be likely to tell the Utopians what was really going on in there and/or end up being really rude to Production and calling out this lame excuse of a "social experiment" for the travesty that it is. Good to know about Mike quitting his job. He's made a comment before that he's a lawyer on the 'outside', unless his license has been revoked. Got to wonder if he's referring to his behavior in Utopia or if he's done something back in NY. Such a slime ball. As for the banning thing, the first woman, Kim, who went there and whispered to Amanda to not trust Aaron and Kristen, she says that she was contacted by a reporter asking when she'd go back to Utopia. She wondered if Utopia production had given him her number and called them. The person she talked to said that she wasn't banned, although she seemed pretty certain of it after her first visit. Anyway, now she's cleared to visit Utopia again. She says she doesn't think she'll do so, at least not soon. 2 Link to comment
Rapunzel September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 (edited) Third, you can bring them a gift, and may I humbly suggest these. Read the comments if you want to see what'll happen next. Make sure you tell Aaron you got these especially for him. This is hilarious henripootel! Love that the reviewers on Amazon are referring to them as "devil gummy bears" as they seem to have an unfortunate side effect of functioning like Ex-Lax. Definitely agree that this would be perfect for some of those asshats, especially Aaron and you know that Kristen would definitely have to have some as well. If we do decide to go, I'll have to try to sneak some of these in. I thought that visitor's couldn't bring gifts, but I think the Utopians were trying to get Production to allow visitors to bring things to barter with - Bella mentioned something about someone bring her some paints or other art supplies in exchange for one of her paintings. I also heard Aaron talking on the feeds yesterday about planning to post all of his "great recipes" for the meals he's cooking in Utopia on their website. So since it sounds like he wants to give all the viewers diarrhea and/or food poisoning should they make any attempt to cook any of his food, it seems only fitting that he gets a gift of these special gummy bears. Edited September 22, 2014 by Rapunzel 2 Link to comment
Zahdii September 22, 2014 Author Share September 22, 2014 9/21/2014 Sunday Not long after 6 AM, Mike and Red are eating breakfast. Soon Hex, Kristen, Rob, and Taylor are up. They all go to the barn, where Red mostly supervises while the others do the morning barn chores. Just after 7:30, Aaron arrives to get the eggs. 8:15 AM Eric arrives for bootcamp. Ben cancelled. (He'll be by for the afternoon session since Mike charged him yesterday separately for morning and afternoon sessions.) Mike is going over the books on the computer with Dede. He mentions that there's a discrepancy between what he actually got, and what he reported, but he tried to make the two numbers close enough to not worry anyone. And, just what a trustworthy guy like Mike needs, he says he thinks Production will be opening a bank account for them on Monday. Amanda, Josh, and Taylor are getting breakfast to the sounds of Aaron working his lone bootcamp victim. Bella is outside watching a deer. Josh is wearing his bright green short shorts again. It's shorty short Sunday, after all. He gets a few side eyes over his choice of wardrobe, but he says that a couple of people who watched the feeds last Sunday were there yesterday and told him how funny it was, and how good he looked in them. By 9:30 bootcamp is over and Eric joins the Utopians for some chat. Kristen updates them on her website: Utopiapioneers.com. She thinks it'll be up soon, no later than next week. Eric stays for a little longer, then Aaron walks him to the gate. Josh is predicting a large crowd today, and mentions food trucks. I think he was talking about getting one here to serve the guests, but Aaron says that he took the food safety certification test and he's the only one who can serve the guests. Josh isn't impressed "Those things are easy. Anyone can pass those." (It must be true, I googled California food safety certification and all the ads say "get it here, easy online test". I know when my daughter got hers she studied a pamphlet for about 10 minutes and passed with flying colors.) Red and Amanda tell Mike that he needs to show his books and his computer spreadsheets to others, just in case. Mike starts to show Amanda everything. (It's unfortunate that it's probably safe to do that. Amanda has been shown to have poor math skills. She can smell the math rat, but she needs someone else to do the calculations.) Nikkie's talking to Taylor about Aaron's wierd obsession with Thanksgiving. She thinks he was trying to get them to think they'd not be able to have Thanksgiving if he wasn't there to cook them all a big meal. She says it was too obvious that he brings this kind of stuff up whenever they talk about the upcoming eviction. She thinks he realizes that he'll get at least a few noms, including hers. She said that other people have demonstrated that they could cook, and Aaron really hasn't tried very hard to do a good job. Taylor says that Aaron's a fine chef, he just needs larger portion sizes. Nikkie wonders how things will shake out when the new person arrives, as that person is the one who will eventually decide who leaves. (Actually, I think she's wrong. If I have it right, in a few days two new people will come in and spend a few days, then the group votes on which of those two to keep. The person they keep will then decide which Utopian will leave. I won't swear on this, though. The rules in Utopia change almost as often as the BB rules change.) Just before 11:00, the front gate bell rings. Everyone is surprised because they weren't expecting anyone at this hour. Some of the group hurry down to the gate while wondering who it could be. Hex thinks it's a new Utopian. Josh thinks Pastor Jon might be returning. Hex was right. Everyone, meet Ernesto! He's single, 39, and is a plumber and heating & cooling guy. He's warmly welcomed and led to the house. I can't call it a barn anymore because it's pretty obvious that people live there, and now that the kitchen is coming together and they have an indoor toilet, it's more like This Old House was remodeling a barn and squatters moved in before it was fully finished. But it's definitely more house than barn now. Most everyone gathers in the compound to meet their new roomie. Bella and he exchange a few words in Spanish. More welcomes and Ernesto is in the spotlight. He admits to being nervous. Ernesto says he's not familiar with them, leading them to believe he hasn't watched the show and might even have been sequestered before he arrived. (Ex Prod says "No more sequesters. It's not feasible when they're going to have new people arriving over the course of the year.") Ernesto confirms that Pastor Jon will not be returning and says that he's Jon's replacement. He looks around and comments that it's peaceful here, to which Josh replies "It's early." They keep things light because Aaron, Amanda, and Mike still haven't arrived. Hex asks if he brought them gifts and he says no, there was no time for that. He sounds like he just stepped off the plane. Hex is disappointed, because they respond well to bribes. They start to explain to him how the food situation works, Aaron cooks breakfast and dinner, they each make their own lunch. Finally everyone is here and Bella asks the most important question. "Are you gay or straight?" She's delighted that he's straight. (She's probably thinking that if she can't get Josh into bed then here's another candidate for her babydaddy.) Ernesto is allowed to say a few more words before he's talked over again. He says he's a plumber and a hard worker who just wants to help out in any way he can. Mike says he made a mistake by saying that. Josh says he's here to hook up Bella's water filter. We manage to find out a bit more. Ernesto is religious, he likes skydiving and motorcycles, the beach, and going to concerts. His idea of Utopia is everyone coming together peacefully, working out their differences and working on their relationships with each other. He says that his family and his friends are his top priority. They all take a moment to actually introduce themselves. Dede says they're all insane here and he'll be insane soon, too. Aaron says he's here to show the power of food. Mike say's he's just trying to look busy without doing any work. They all head inside and Ernesto and Rob bond over their shared background as ex military. Lot's of cross talk as various conversations break out. Chris ignores everyone and starts to work on he artwork. When Red finds that Ernesto didn't bring his own backup food/snack supply, Red goes and gets some of his own stuff. Then Ernesto talks motorcycles with Josh, Rob, and Taylor. Seems he races them, too. Ernesto is given the option of where to sleep. Right next to Bella or right next to the bathroom. He chooses to sleep next to Bella, who giggles that this will be the closest she's slept to a man in six years. Then they find that Ernesto didn't bring any bedding. He says he wasn't told until he got off the plane that he should have brought a sleeping bag and there wasn't time to go buy one. Everyone decides that they can get some padding for him (they were provided with some kind of loose cotton batting when they arrived, and I think they each took some of Jon's share of the batting when he left). There's mention of donating a blanket to Ernesto, too. No pillows, everyone just bundles up their clothes and sleeps on them. They say that the gates will open to the public soon and start to get ready. Ernesto offers to help. I don't see anyone giving him anything to do. Bella comes up and gives him some of her sprouts, she seems a bit put out, but not with him. Someone across the room is who she keeps shooting dirty looks to. Bella leaves and goes to Kristen and starts ranting about Nikkie. It seems that Nikkie wanted to get something from Bella's personal stash, turmeric. Bella is upset that she's getting so little food, as is Nikkie, but Nikkie is being given extra food from some of the guys on the side and no one's helping Bella. Bella's resorted to eating dandelion leaves and grass (hell, a couple of days ago Aaron peeled some potatoes and Bella stole the peels to eat!), but I think her real upset is that she thinks Nikkie is trying to make Bella look bad to the new guy. Which is why Bella gave him some sprouts he probably doesn't even want. Ernesto is telling Rob that he can cook, but doesn't like to. He usually eats out or just eats out of a can. (Funny, his bio says he likes to cook, and thinks he might inadvertently take over the cooking from Aaron.) Ernesto was born in Mexico but grew up in LA. He's talking to Mike and Dede and says that his wife passed away four years ago. Mike says, "Well, we're here for you." And then mentions that they're not cooking beans because he's Mexican, they just eat a lot of beans. And if that weren't awkward enough he then helpfully mentions that they have hot sauce, too. Aaron grabs Ernesto and starts in on talking about the others. He says there's a couple of people here who act like they're helping everyone, but they're really working only for themselves. (Gee, wonder who that could be?) Then he says the rest of the bunch is a bunch of people who let everyone walk all over them. Ernesto keeps a straight face, but there's something in his look that says he knows what's really going on and he's trying his darndest not to let on. Aaron shows righteous indignation when he says that there were some people who made Kristen cry! It's time for the gates to open for the Utopian Experience. Amanda and Mike are working the gate together, but Amanda forgets how much they charge at the gate and one of the guests has to tell her the correct price. She starts to let another group in before realizing she hasn't collected their money yet. Mike's going to have no problem skimming off the top of today's receipts! Red brings Ernesto to the gate to greet the people, introduces him and he gets some friendly applause. One of the visitors talks to him a bit and he mentions that he has a girlfriend. (Sorry Bella!) It's pretty much like yesterday. With nowhere to go Ernesto follows Red around for a while and occasionally walks around a bit. No one's given him a tour yet so he has to teach himself where everything is. Some of the people are circulating, Bri once again eats whenever she feels like it. She offers a taste of her ramen to a guest and he tries it. (Has he not seen how unsanitary this place is?) Aaron snags Ernesto and starts again to tell him how things are. Apparently Aaron is a calm, friendly, straightforward guy who's only blown up twice, and that was when someone disparaged his cooking skills. (He might have brought up his Masterchef status again, and someone found the clip where he did actually appear on the show. It's a split second clip of him washing out in the first round of competition. He's wearing an army uniform that someone who says they know this stuff says the stripes don't match his claimed 'Officer' status. Someone else found Aarons Facebook page where he says he was a line cook in the Army and became a self-taught chef after that. No mention of the elite cooking school Aaron has been telling the Utopians he attended.) Just before 5, the guests are all gone until the 5:30 yoga class. Amanda is holding a meeting to explain how she will be running the place for the next few days. Amanda's meeting is torturous, as they all are. Amanda drones on and on, overcomplicating everything, going off on tangents, using 20 words when 5 or 6 would do. End result: Amanda is on a committee with Dede and Rob. They'll make the big decisions. There are also poorly articulated monetary regulations and profit sharing plans. Aaron will still be in charge of the kitchen, but other people can cook their own food if they want to. Josh will be in charge of construction projects. Nikkie and Red will be in charge of ordering, and Bri (stupidly) is in charge of the barn. It's too much for a simple three day rule, but maybe she's hoping that if her rules are implemented the next person in charge will just keep things the same. Bella's asking a lot of questions, making the meeting go on much longer than it should, but at least she's awake. I think Taylor's asleep. Chris suddenly asks if anyone else saw Nina? She was a blond girl that visited Utopia today and both Chris and Mike were very impressed with her. Aaron suddenly starts talking about Thanksgiving Dinner. I think he's actually convinced himself that no one could cook a holiday meal but himself, and that no one there could go without making a fuss over Thanksgiving anyway. Meeting adjourned. But have no fear, Amanda wants to have another one tomorrow. One that goes 'in depth'. Red is upset and venting to Nikkie. He wants to be in charge of the barn because Bri is incompetent. Seems like only yesterday he was defending Bri from unjust accusations of incompetence... Nikkie says people have a hard time counting on him because he threatens to quit all the time. Evening yoga time, and Aaron, Bella, and Dede are going to open the gate. As they walk down, Bella is thrilled that she has 16 paintings commissioned! Dede asks if she was given deposits. Bella says no. They told me what they wanted, and said they'd come back next weekend and buy my paintings. Dede says she got a deposit on the one painting she was commissioned on. Bella is astounded. Aaron explains that the deposit is so she can buy the materials to do the painting, and if they don't show up you can sell the painting to someone else. Bella starts blathering on, I think Chris has been fronting her the paper and his supplies and she's realized he's not going to let her use up enough stuff to make 16 paintings she probably won't sell. Bella leaves and goes to her bed. She's going through her crate as if she hopes that the necessary materials have magically appeared. She's telling Kristen that Chris is already giving her a hard time over using his supplies and saying that he came prepared. Bella says she didn't have room for paint supplies because she packed seeds. (In her world she came more prepared than any of them. Really, she knows she screwed up and can't face it. She didn't order any paint supplies for the order that will be delivered on Monday and she's pretty sure she won't get any more supplies from Chris.) She tries to calm down. She asks Kristen what she would do if she made an innocent comment and was treated rudely like he did, would you just walk away? Kristen says she'd try to clarify the situation. Explain what she meant and if there still wasn't a meeting of the minds, then she'd say, OK I'm done with this conversation and walk away. Bella says that's what she did and thanks Kristen. Says she's learning how to handle these types of things from watching Kristen because Kristen is so good at this kind of stuff. Kristen says Bella handled it good. Bella says thanks, awesome, and leaves to greet the yoga students. Tonight there are eight students. Ernesto is introduced again, and since he's not wearing a shirt he gets a few whistles. As the guests walk up to the yoga area Aaron tells Mike he wants both of the two Asian chicks. He's very excited. (I think I know what at least one of Aaron's types is.) The two Asian girls rush to hug Bri when the see her. They've met before. Bri says the girls are cousins to each other and either Bri worked for them one time taking care of their grandmother, or they worked for Bri's family taking care of Bri's grandmother. Chris walks up to ogle the yoga class, he's not playing his guitar for them as promised because he has a hurt finger. Rob takes over playing soothing music instead. Rob lays in the center as the yoga students and Nikkie form a circle around him and do their yoga. It's pretty cute. Aaron goes to the house and when Josh comments on how there's still a lot of flies around, he agrees that the money on the pest control guy was a waste. He still hasn't told anyone that the pest control guy said that the dirty kitchen is the reason the flies are still so prevalent. They also need to get some screen doors built. Ernesto comes into the kitchen, still looking for some way to help. Dinner's going to be late again because Aaron forgot to pull the meat from the freezer. He's trying to cut the frozen meat and his knife keeps slipping. (Am I a bad person because I kind of hope he cuts his finger off and has to leave? Don't judge me!) Aaron says he's going to make a pot pie with biscuits on top instead of a crust. Ernesto sees a way to help and starts cleaning like a demon. As long as Ernesto doesn't try to cook, Aaron's fine with the help. Mike is talking to Dede across the room. Dede's knitting something. Mike tells her "I'm cooking the books, you know. I wanted to be the white collar criminal of Utopia. Good thing you stepped in." (Mike, if you're really an attorney kiss your DA dreams and your attorney's license goodbye.) Dede seems focused on her knitting, but she asks if it's good that she stepped in so she can be his accomplice or so she could keep an eye on him. Mike says "Both." Dede laughs. Just after 8:00 PM, dinner is served. It's a very vomit worthy slop. It was supposed to be a pot pie, with biscuits on top. But UnChef Aaron screwed up the pot pie filling and then didn't have time to make biscuits. And the vegan portion of the meal, some kind of slaw, has bacon in it. After dinner Mike announces they made $1415. Everyone's happy. Random conversations until everyone's in bed by 10:30. Sex count tonight was Dede/Mike, Bri/Chris aannnd, drum roll please: Hex/Taylor! Unfortunately for Red, Hex and Taylor were only a few feet away when the deed went down. As Hex heads to the bathroom to clean up, Red throws his blankets off and storms out, slamming big barn door after him. He wanders around for a few minutes and comes back to bed to find Hex and Taylor trying to go for another round. Red's had enough and stands over them. He just talks about stuff, and ignores their attempts to get him to go away. They give up, but for all I know they try again when they're sure Red's asleep. Just another day in Hell. 9 Link to comment
sweetie66 September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 Hi everyone. I have enjoyed reading your insights to the show. I actually never watched this show before last night when I caught up with On demand. The reason I watched? I visited the Utopians compound yesterday. If you want to ask me any questions feel free. I can only comment on what i experienced so I may not be able to answer everything but Ill try. Ill be back later to answer. 10 Link to comment
DeLurker September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 By 9:30 bootcamp is over and Eric joins the Utopians for some chat. Kristen updates them on her website: Utopiapioneers.com. When I googled Utopiapioneers.com I got this. The very first result was: Kristen Sucks! Please send bitcoin! utopiapioneers@gmail ... utopiapioneers.com/ which if you click on that it says the site was hacked by the Utopian State of Freedom - ha! 7 Link to comment
Zahdii September 22, 2014 Author Share September 22, 2014 When I googled Utopiapioneers.com I got this. The very first result was: Kristen Sucks! Please send bitcoin! utopiapioneers@gmail ... utopiapioneers.com/ which if you click on that it says the site was hacked by the Utopian State of Freedom - ha! Wow, that's harsh. I guess I got the name wrong or something. Kristen was crying and talking about quitting a few days ago saying the people were mean or something. She also said that the domain name she wanted had been taken by someone. Maybe she found this site and that's what got her upset? There was talk yesterday that the guy who owned the domain she wanted came to Utopia on Saturday and wanted to sell it back to them. The feeds shifted and that's all that anybody online knows. All anyone could say was that he had on a red hat or shirt. Maybe Production got him out of there and didn't by the site from him, and this is his response. People more knowledgeable than me can sort it out. I'd feel more bad for her if she hasn't already demonstrated how shady she is. She's already said on the feeds that she's sticking with Aaron because he intimidates everyone. She backstabs people every chance she gets. I guess she thought that any blowback would go only to Aaron and she'd be OK. Still, she's not the worst of the lot, IMO. Aaron, Mike, and even Red should exit before her. Aaron and Mike because they're really bad apples, and Red because he's such a toddler and is cosseted by Production. I wonder if the person who put that stuff up has a personal grudge against Kristen. 3 Link to comment
ElleryAnne September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 unless there is a city or county out there that wants a DA who is a lying, thieving, wannabe porn star who always avoids conflict or anything that may mean he has to do the slightest bit of work DA, no. But I'm guessing political office isn't completely out of reach for him. Bella is upset that she's getting so little food, as is Nikkie, but Nikkie is being given extra food from some of the guys on the side and no one's helping Bella. Bella's resorted to eating dandelion leaves and grass (hell, a couple of days ago Aaron peeled some potatoes and Bella stole the peels to eat!) Bella is like that chicken from a couple of weeks ago - the one that was starved because the other chickens may have bullied it and didn't let it get food. Only Bella's a human being, and even if they don't like her nobody should be allowing her to go hungry to the point that she's eating scraps while others (*cough* Aaron *cough* Kristen) are pigging out.. Presumably Bella is getting seven or ten dollars for snacks like the other are, but she has a right to expect a reasonable amount of community food, too. I think my hate for all of these people has gone up another notch. Aaron goes to the house and when Josh comments on how there's still a lot of flies around, he agrees that the money on the pest control guy was a waste. He still hasn't told anyone that the pest control guy said that the dirty kitchen is the reason the flies are still so prevalent. They also need to get some screen doors built. What happened in these people's childhoods that they didn't learn certain basics about cleanliness and its relationship to the presence of flies and bugs? Screen doors will only do so much if their living quarters look and smell like a landfill. 9 Link to comment
ottoDbusdriver September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 (edited) I have enjoyed reading your insights to the show. I actually never watched this show before last night when I caught up with On demand. The reason I watched? I visited the Utopians compound yesterday. If you want to ask me any questions feel free. I can only comment on what i experienced so I may not be able to answer everything but Ill try. @sweetie66 -- I'm curious about a couple of things, so here goes. Who was your favorite Utopian after watching the episodes, and did that change after you had already met them in person ? Is the people barn (where the kitchen is and where they sleep) really as dirty as it looks ? Based on the live feeds there are flies everywhere. Is Aaron really as obnoxious as he is on the live feeds, because he was bitching about other Utopians to visitors yesterday ? Does he earn his #ShadyChef hashtag on Twitter ? How much of a hassle was it getting through production screening before you entered the Utopia compound ? I'm assuming they took away cell phones and such, but did they search you for notes/food/etc. ? ETA: I really hope that Hex used a condom when she hooked up with Taylor last night. Taylor has indicated that he used to be a male escort. Watching the feeds today, Hex seems to be having the buyers remorse for having slept with him as she listens to some of the stuff that comes out of Taylor's mouth about women he's previously dated (really Taylor, that's what you chose to discuss the morning after hooking up -- dude, you suck !). Edited September 22, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver 4 Link to comment
Mediocrates September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 (He might have brought up his Masterchef status again, and someone found the clip where he did actually appear on the show. It's a split second clip of him washing out in the first round of competition. He's wearing an army uniform that someone who says they know this stuff says the stripes don't match his claimed 'Officer' status. Someone else found Aarons Facebook page where he says he was a line cook in the Army and became a self-taught chef after that. No mention of the elite cooking school Aaron has been telling the Utopians he attended.) I've been questioning the validity of Aarons claim of being an Army officer. I spent 8 years in the Army as a Military Police Officer and he doesn't necessarily conduct himself as someone who was an officer. Not to vent too much off topic here but having been out for a couple of years now I start to notice a few things about other recent veterans that send signals when they either lie or exaggerate their military careers. For example, Aaron has to be out of the service now because there's no way the Army (even Reserves) would let you take off a year for a reality TV show, yet he still wears his dog tags and ACU pants blouse in his boots. It's almost like he's trying too hard, you see this all the time with young privates or soldiers who don't typically have impressive jobs they try really hard to impress civilians. Rob and Red were both in the military but yet you don't see them trying to define themselves by their service. Aaron seems very in your face about it which raises a lot of red flags with me. More power to him if he did manage to go from a homeless enlisted Army line cook to getting a college degree and becoming an Officer. But this seems like a better storyline for the show than truth. It's not impossible, I managed to get a Business School degree and thought about becoming an Officer while in. It's not an easy process and I'm not positive but if Aaron only has a culinary degree this wouldn't be enough to start the process. Officer Candidate School requires a 4 year degree and is a very competitive and selective process. It's more likely since Aaron was in the reserves he joined an ROTC program, which you can join while still serving in the guard or reserves. You are then considered a "cadet" and are given the same respect as a lieutenant. Seems kind of like Bri claiming to be a Vet tech turns more into "I took a year of general studies at a community college and had a part time job as I vet tech assistant essentially booking appointments and snuggling puupies." 12 Link to comment
RedheadZombie September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 Sex count tonight was Dede/Mike, Bri/Chris aannnd, drum roll please: Hex/Taylor! Unfortunately for Red, Hex and Taylor were only a few feet away when the deed went down. I have yet to notice anyone having sex. I find I can't see anything when the lights go out. The one exception is Ernesto. He fidgeted for a while - putting a blanket over his head and then trying a hat over his eyes. It made me think he was bothered by light, but I frankly could hardly see him. Late Saturday night, I suddenly noticed a cam on Betsy and Honey. I thought I was going to witness a birth, but they just laid there. ETA: I really hope that Hex used a condom when she hooked up with Taylor last night. Taylor has indicated that he used to be a male escort. Watching the feeds today, Hex seems to be having the buyers remorse for having slept with him as she listens to some of the stuff that comes out of Taylor's mouth about women he's previously dated (really Taylor, that's what you chose to discuss the morning after hooking up -- dude, you suck !). Since it sounds like Hex went to clean up after, not Taylor, it sounds like no condom. I was surprised she had sex so quickly with Taylor. She had talked quite a bit about not wanting to have sex with someone she didn't love. She also said she simply did not want to have sex in Utopia. I would get some industrial grade ear plugs. There are three couples actively having sex in that barn at night. I learned something that made me feel for Bri a little. Apparently, every time she has sex, she experiences "melancholy" afterward. The better the sex, the worse the melancholy. She has at times cried for a couple hours afterwards. She says her therapist says it's from unresolved issues in the past. After going at in the bushes, she told this to Chris. He tried to be slightly sympathetic, but certainly didn't suggest abstaining. After all, he's not the one crying afterward. Considering she hooked up with some other guy in sequester, and the fact that she hooked up with Chris the first or second night, she's got something going on. At one point I heard her say to Chris - "You want to get laid but you call me a slut. You need to make up your mind". 3 Link to comment
Mediocrates September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 (edited) The two Asian girls rush to hug Bri when the see her. They've met before. Bri says the girls are cousins to each other and either Bri worked for them one time taking care of their grandmother, or they worked for Bri's family taking care of Bri's grandmother. So when the pioneers had their first yoga class and only 1 person showed up there was a lot of talk on Twitter that production purposely denied people from participating because it was better drama to have them fail.Producer Jon Kroll was very intent on stressing that NO ONE was denied entry unless they either never got back to production with their waivers or KNEW one of the pioneers outside of Utopia! Now these two show up and publicly announce they all know each from back home? The fluidity of the rules on this show is ridiculous! Edited September 22, 2014 by Mediocrates 3 Link to comment
lovetowrite73 September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 @sweetie66, how much do the Utopians smell? lol Link to comment
Rapunzel September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 (edited) That's been bugging the crap outta me. Why in the world is someone who is not active military wearing dog tags at all? And he always wears them outside his shirts, makes sure they are visible. I think it's part of his intimidation routine. The 'I'm trained to kill' persona he seems to have adopted. He's such a jackass. San Diego is a huge military town, and one of our friends that we were discussing paying a visit to Santa Clarita with for the "Utopian Experience" is active Air Force and another one is retired Navy but now works for the DoD. They were saying pretty much the same thing about Aaron. No one wants to belittle or pick on anyone who has served, but they really don't like the fact that he's a bit of a bully and he's being a bully while wearing at least parts of the uniform. ETA: Rob and Ernesto have served to, and while Rob hasn't been perfect he really hasn't done anything too awful, especially in comparison to the others. From what little I've seen of Ernesto, he seems to be pretty decent as well and wants to get involved and help with what he can. Neither one of these guys is still wearing parts of their uniform or calling attention to that part of their background - which is much more in line with how most of the current and former military that I know are. Edited September 22, 2014 by Rapunzel 3 Link to comment
Mediocrates September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 That's been bugging the crap outta me. Why in the world is someone who is not active military wearing dog tags at all? And he always wears them outside his shirts, makes sure they are visible. I think it's part of his intimidation routine. The 'I'm trained to kill' persona he seems to have adopted. He's such a jackass. It bugs me as well. I've noticed this with people who hold non-combat related jobs in the military (ie those who weren't infantry, artillery, combat engineers, the sort of jobs the movies and news want to talk about) but instead were cooks or admin or fuelers. They always try so hard in this was to "passively" make sure everyone knows they're a veteran too. It's either an intimidation thing like you suggest or a respect thing. I've noticed a lot of soldiers who weren't deployed during Iraq and earlier in Afghanistan do this as well. There's a lot of community respect and admiration given to combat veterans serving overseas and you see a lot of non combat veterans trying to get some of that attention for purely selfish reasons. Not saying this is Aaron's case but it's similar behavior to his. 1 Link to comment
DeLurker September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 Bella is like that chicken from a couple of weeks ago - the one that was starved because the other chickens may have bullied it and didn't let it get food. Only Bella's a human being, and even if they don't like her nobody should be allowing her to go hungry to the point that she's eating scraps while others (*cough* Aaron *cough* Kristen) are pigging out. I was perfectly happy snarking on Bella for being delusional and annoying, convinced that microwaves & flouride cause cancer, but being not the least bit concerned about skin cancer and gardening in the buff, etc...but if she's not getting enough to eat (Nikki too) because Aaron is food bullying her/them that takes away all the joy of mocking. And none of the other Topes are willing to step up and address the issue? This is going to turn into the Donner Party (with live feeds!). I think it's part of his (Aaron's) intimidation routine. The 'I'm trained to kill' persona he seems to have adopted. He's such a jackass. Maybe he was part of Culinary Special Forces and trained to kill with his cooking. Only thing that makes sense based on the looks of the chow he's made. I'm migrating my further discussion of Aaron and his background to his thread 9 Link to comment
wirebitersm September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 Maybe Bella wouldn't be so crazy if she got enought to eat. Can we have a plane drop snickers on the compound? 1 Link to comment
Rapunzel September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 (edited) I feel bad for both Nikki and Bella if Aaron is skimping on their portion sizes, but why don't they just do what Bri, Chris and some of the others do and go and raid the kitchen at night? I know that they may both have a stronger sense of "right and wrong" and maybe have a stronger moral compass than some of the others (not hard to do) so that may deter them but seeing as how there really aren't any rules, especially not ones being enforced, they should just go help themselves. They shouldn't go the extreme that Red and Dave did, but they shouldn't be resorting to eating grass, flowers and discarded potato peelings and other scraps. Edited September 22, 2014 by Rapunzel 1 Link to comment
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