S07.E04: The Art Of Being A Cougar

[Trooper York]

Well Dorito is  very knowledgeable about one color of the spectrum:

 

[Celia Rubenstein]

 

Plus- it takes some major discipline not to snark about a 50 year old woman riding on the handle bars of a bicycle while being peddled across Manhattan streets. Can you imagine the commentary if KBB had done the same.

 

Wait, this went unsnarked upon?  Allow me ...

 

Carole looked like a fool riding on the handles of her boyfriend's bike.  In fact, anyone over the age of 13 riding on the handles of her boyfriend's bike looks like a idiot.  Anyone at any age riding on the handlebars of her boyfriend's bike on a New York City street is just a dumbass. 

 

Fool, idiot, dumbass ... yeah, I think that covers it.

 

Carry on. 

[FozzyBear]

I mean, I guess. Heather calls Carole "Radzi" and LuAnn "Lu." LuAnn calls Sonja "Sahn." If Bethenny doesn't like her name being shortened, she's well within her rights to tell Heather that. This (faux, to me, once again) outrage, however, over shortening names is simply baffling.

Bethanny did tell her. Or somebody did. The way Heather told the story was that she found out that Bethany doesn't like being called Beth, so she decided she was going to call her Beth. Because it's funny or something? I don't think its a huge deal either, I have an unusual name and I'll pretty much answer to anything in the ball park, but why go out of your way to antagonize someone over something so silly? And this was Heather telling the story, not Bethanny. According to Heather's version of events she found out Bethany doesn't like nicknames...so she gave her a nickname. As I've said before, I generally like Heather, but she can have this condescending air to her where she'll kind of decide how everybody should feel, what they should find funny, how everybody should express themselves and go kinda Oprah meets Spencer Hastings Can't Stop/Won't Stop. I think if I knew Heather we'd be friends, but I would also probably have to tell her in pretty strong Bethanny like terms to back the fuck up about once a year. I don't think Heather gets subtle hints about stuff like that.

[motorcitymom65]

Bethanny did tell her. Or somebody did. The way Heather told the story was that she found out that Bethany doesn't like being called Beth, so she decided she was going to call her Beth. Because it's funny or something? I don't think its a huge deal either, I have an unusual name and I'll pretty much answer to anything in the ball park, but why go out of your way to antagonize someone over something so silly? And this was Heather telling the story, not Bethanny. According to Heather's version of events she found out Bethany doesn't like nicknames...so she gave her a nickname. As I've said before, I generally like Heather, but she can have this condescending air to her where she'll kind of decide how everybody should feel, what they should find funny, how everybody should express themselves and go kinda Oprah meets Spencer Hastings Can't Stop/Won't Stop. I think if I knew Heather we'd be friends, but I would also probably have to tell her in pretty strong Bethanny like terms to back the fuck up about once a year. I don't think Heather gets subtle hints about stuff like that.

Maybe Beth should tell Andy, and her Employer Bravo that she doesn't like her name being shortened. Andy has always called her "B", and the promos for this show were "the B is back". I think that Heather realized "Beth" didn't like it during their convesation and she offered to not shorten it. "Beth" said that she could call her whatever she liked.

[RedHawk]

You can't walk down the streets of NYC without seeing those big bushy penciled in eyebrows on women in their 20's. At least the housewives haven't tried to look younger by overdoing their eyebrows.

Big bushy eyebrows but zero "bush" down south! So glad I'm not 20 now.

[SistaLadybug]

There's the old saying, "It's not what you're called ... it's what you answer to."  I have the sort of name that people either unnecessarily shorten (my name is only four letters ... does it really need to be shortened even further) or mispronounce over and over again.  I've had people ask if they can refer to me with a name that suits them better and I answer, "No".  If someone mispronounces my name or gives me a nickname when I haven't told them they have my permission to do so, I correct them twice.  Anytime thereafter, they're met with a blank stare.  I do not answer anyone who will not address me by the name I've told them I prefer.  I don't care if they call me by whatever nickname they've chosen until they go hoarse.  They'll go hoarse without a response from me.

 

I find Heather overbearing, condescending, controlling and just all-around wack.  (I use "wack" because I'm sure that's a term she'd understand.)  I wouldn't want to be her friend.  I probably wouldn't want to be Bethenny's friend, either, for many of the same reasons.  I think they're quite alike in many ways and that's why they rub each other the wrong way.  I do enjoy watching Bethenny snap back at Heather because I think Heather is used to being in charge and steamrolling over other people.  I don't forget how she behaved toward Kristin on that trip and while I find Kristin boring as paste, I do think Heather attempted to control her and was a general bitch toward Kristin and didn't like being called on it.  Well, you can't live life however you please and think you won't be called on the carpet if you offend somebody.  Holla at me.

[FozzyBear]

There's the old saying, "It's not what you're called ... it's what you answer to." I have the sort of name that people either unnecessarily shorten (my name is only four letters ... does it really need to be shortened even further) or mispronounce over and over again. I've had people ask if they can refer to me with a name that suits them better and I answer, "No". If someone mispronounces my name or gives me a nickname when I haven't told them they have my permission to do so, I correct them twice. Anytime thereafter, they're met with a blank stare. I do not answer anyone who will not address me by the name I've told them I prefer. I don't care if they call me by whatever nickname they've chosen until they go hoarse. They'll go hoarse without a response from me.

I find Heather overbearing, condescending, controlling and just all-around wack. (I use "wack" because I'm sure that's a term she'd understand.) I wouldn't want to be her friend. I probably wouldn't want to be Bethenny's friend, either, for many of the same reasons. I think they're quite alike in many ways and that's why they rub each other the wrong way. I do enjoy watching Bethenny snap back at Heather because I think Heather is used to being in charge and steamrolling over other people. I don't forget how she behaved toward Kristin on that trip and while I find Kristin boring as paste, I do think Heather attempted to control her and was a general bitch toward Kristin and didn't like being called on it. Well, you can't live life however you please and think you won't be called on the carpet if you offend somebody. Holla at me.

I sometimes wonder how I'd do with Heather. On the one hand she has an non-fussy "up for anything" attitude I love. On the other hand, I hate being mothered and Heather doesn't seem to care if people find her helpful or not. Like the name thing. If Heather gave me a nickname I'd probably just let it go. If I found out she did it just because someone told her I don't want one? Oh, it's on bitch! So I don't know. I think Heather does well with Carole because Carole kind of likes being treated like a child. She seems to do less well with people who chafe at being babied. Edited May 6, 2015 by FozzyBear

[StatisticalOutlier]

 

Plus- it takes some major discipline not to snark about a 50 year old woman riding on the handle bars of a bicycle while being peddled across Manhattan streets.

 

Thanks for explaining that because for the life of me I couldn't figure out why he had Carole on his handlebars.

[Baltimore Betty]

Seeing Carole ride on Adam's handle bars reminded me of a SATC episode where Carrie met the younger man and rode on his scooter thru NYC. 

 

It now makes sense with Bethany moving from hotel to hotel, she couldn't be filmed living with that guy so she spun it to read she was the poor little rich girl not having a place to call home.
 

 

[motorcitymom65]

I sometimes wonder how I'd do with Heather. On the one hand she has an non-fussy "up for anything" attitude I love. On the other hand, I hate being mothered and Heather doesn't seem to care if people find her helpful or not. Like the name thing. If Heather gave me a nickname I'd probably just let it go. If I found out she did it just because someone told her I don't want one? Oh, it's on bitch! So I don't know. I think Heather does well with Carole because Carole kind of likes being treated like a child. She seems to do less well with people who chafe at being babied.

It has never seemed to me that Heather has a hard time playing well with others. She has had a friendly relationship with most of the women. She and Lu have always gotten along well, she made up with Ramona and is now a little protective of her, she embraced Sonja right away and Sonja blew that friendship up, she is friends with Kristen, and of course with Carole. She was also friends with Aviva until Aviva went bat-shit crazy. I remember that scene last year when she was singing at that jazz club. It was the first time I have ever seen the Ho'wives attend any event and all of them seem truly happy for someone else. No snark. I think that for the most part, people who know Heather tend to like her. Has she had issues with most of them? Yes. I cannot think of very many HW's in their 3rd season that haven't had an argument or an issue with most all of the other gals at some point in time. For the most part folks seem to take Heather's personality for what it is and just take the good with the bad. 

[Souvlaki]

You can't walk down the streets of NYC without seeing those big bushy penciled in eyebrows on women in their 20's. At least the housewives haven't tried to look younger by overdoing their eyebrows.

I might just be used to it now on the runway, or maybe it was the girls of my generation, who instead plucked their brows to oblivion to be in trend, but I kind of like the aesthetic of a strong brow, if done well. Dorinda's daughter has lovely strong features for the look but could tone it down a bit, I understand being on camera, being that young and wanting to peacock it a bit - but she's in that makeup space where I can't tell if she's 15 or 25.

[ryebread]

I might just be used to it now on the runway, or maybe it was the girls of my generation, who instead plucked their brows to oblivion to be in trend, but I kind of like the aesthetic of a strong brow, if done well. Dorinda's daughter has lovely strong features for the look but could tone it down a bit, I understand being on camera, being that young and wanting to peacock it a bit - but she's in that makeup space where I can't tell if she's 15 or 25.

 

I agree! I don't think she's unattractive.  Her brows are a shade too dark and the tails are too long.  She'd look entirely different if she wouldn't draw them so far down on the sides.  She looks deranged.  Wearing full face make-up clashes with her off center, mess of a ponytail, tied with a blue scrunchy.   Either perfect the sleek ponytail or back off the foundation and deep red lips.  I see what she's going for, but gurrrrl....commit.  She reminds me of some of the high schoolers I see at the school - flawless foundation, concealer, lined lips, contoured cheeks.  The perfect winged eye liner and curled lashes. Then they finish the look off with a ratty ponytail and pajama pants.  LOL  I love that they enjoy make-up and expressing themselves with it - some of them border on professional application.  But I want to give them a hairbrush and take them clothes shopping!

[Higgins]

They shouldn't be black when her hair is blonde. She can use brown to be on trend but black is way too harsh looking with her coloring,

[Souvlaki]

Simple! Anyone with an emotional IQ over 50 could have pulled that off.

I keep noticing the way that Beth* stares daggers at Heather when they're talking. She seems angry (?) or like she has Robert Durst shark eyes.

*Yes, I'm shortening it, Beth! How do you like them apples?

It's actually funny to me that Heather is pissing off Bethenny right now. I don't care if she's wrong for it, something about seeing Bethenny explode gives me glee. It used to be when it was directed at some dimwit, but she's herself just been so debasing and off-putting- even her compliments are thrown backhanded.

She reminds me a bit of a spider of a woman sometimes, the way she never seems to even LOOK relaxed, so different from where she was, much more relaxed in season 3. I will say that she looks tired, but much better in filming than I thought she might. (She does do some great WTF expressions, too) Months before the news that she'd be filming broke I was worried about her health. She was acting unstable and didn't look so well.

Edited May 13, 2015 by Souvlaki

[Silo]

I think that both of these are true. Beth has said recently that she would never date anyone who actually wanted to be on a Reality show, after her bad experience with her hubby.

I just wonder when it became OK to do this? He wouldn't have to be on the show for her to acknowledge that she has a boyfriend. She hasn't said boo about it yet. Lu's role was reduced last year because she didn't want to share all of her personal life, and Vicki was told that if she didn't include Brooks this year on the OC show the same thing would happen to her. As the matter of fact, Andy publicly commented on this, and I don't remember him ever doing that before. He said that she couldn't keep her personal life "personal" if she wanted to be on a Reality TV show. Lord knows she has trotted him out for years and it has been bad for both of them. Strange that Beth gets such a pass on this.http://www.fashionnstyle.com/articles/36228/20141216/bravo-forcing-vicki-gunvalson-show-relationship-brooks-ayers-real-houseiwves-orange-county-season-10-newtork-demanded-more-couple-camera-time.htm

What's defined as "entertaining" is arguable, but my guess is Andy gives a pass to the ladies who can bring full drama without having a mate. Those who are more boring must showcase their lovelife to give their storyline some oomph, is my guess.

[UsernameFatigue]

From what I can see, John is a way bigger prize than Dorito. He is at least successful. What does Dorito do other than enable her 20 year old daughter to act like a spoiled toddler?

 

Who kidnapped writer Carole and replaced her with an airhead? After a whole season last year of Carole defending her writing chops to Aviva, she has regressed a few decades and apparently no longer has a career. Aviva must be mad as hell that she is no longer on to give Carole digs about a ghost writer. Carole has just given up the ghost in general it seems. I don't care that she is dating a guy much younger than she is, I care that she is acting much younger than the younger guy. I did get a kick out of her riding on the handlebars of his bike. How cute. In my head I was picturing her riding in his little red wagon while he pulled the handle.

 

I am on the fence about Bethany so far this season, but I did like how she shut down shit disturber Heather regarding Krisitn not being invited to Bethany's BD party. Also I would be really annoyed if someone decided they were going to call me something other than the name I prefer - it isn't like they are besties and Heather was giving Bethany a nickname out of affection. I really wish that Bethany had responded by telling Heather that she would start calling her "Her".

Edited May 21, 2015 by UsernameFatigue

[Anne Thrax]

And I've also never noticed her having any trouble attracting men.  In fact she wouldn't have "the tangential Kennedy connection" if a handsome prince, who himself had only a "tangential Kennedy connection," hadn't fallen in love with her and married her. 

 

In fact, Carole's husband wasn't actually a prince -- and neither was his father who claimed the title even after he fled Poland during WWII to become a British citizen.  Anthony's father was the THIRD son of Janusz Franciszek, Prince Radziwiłł, so was unlikely to ever ascend the throne.  But Stas's ego was still huge, so after becoming a British citizen, he requested permission to use his "former title", but his request was denied.  Anthony's mother, Lee Bouvier, (Jackie's sister) was Stas's third wife.  Although Anthony's father continued to use the title without permission, it was considered tres gauche, and Anthony had even less right to claim the title Prince.  

[Almost 3000]

^^^Thanks for that princely info. I didn't know that the title was so far removed from reality. It makes the Countess look positively royal.

[HunterHunted]

^^^Thanks for that princely info. I didn't know that the title was so far removed from reality. It makes the Countess look positively royal.

That will never be true. LuAnn was married to a man who claimed a title from a country that hasn't had a monarchy in 200 years, abolished its nobility, and was the inspiration other European nations throwing off their own monarchies. I'll never play the whose title is better because they're both bullshit titles.

[pbutler111]

In fact, Carole's husband wasn't actually a prince -- and neither was his father who claimed the title even after he fled Poland during WWII to become a British citizen.  Anthony's father was the THIRD son of Janusz Franciszek, Prince Radziwiłł, so was unlikely to ever ascend the throne.  But Stas's ego was still huge, so after becoming a British citizen, he requested permission to use his "former title", but his request was denied.  Anthony's mother, Lee Bouvier, (Jackie's sister) was Stas's third wife.  Although Anthony's father continued to use the title without permission, it was considered tres gauche, and Anthony had even less right to claim the title Prince.  

 

I don't believe Anthony ever did claim the title Prince.