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Snark Talk: Home, Home on the (De) Ranged

film noire

By film noire
in The Pioneer Woman

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film noire
film noire

Well, here's a sneak peak at the Bourdain voiceover on his show about his visit to Reeworld:   "I've been to a lot of places on this planet. Some of them have been as ugly as my mood after a three d

film noire
film noire

“I’m a writer, blogger, photographer” (and a puppet, a poet, a pirate, a pawn and a king). Her intro has always seemed like one huge poker tell to me. In the creation myth of the Pioneer Woman, Ree Dr

rocketinu
rocketinu

Three of my girlfriends and I drove up from OKC one Friday before Christmas (about 2 hours). We arrived at about 11:00 am. There was already a two hour wait for lunch. We went into the Mercantile. It

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cathy

cathy

An article in the "Daily Mail online" about Nan's death.  They don't mention what type of cancer it was, or how long she was aware of it.  They do talk about how much the Drummonds make, 24 million contract with Uncle Sam to care for the horses.  They also said that "Drummond Land and Cattle" was notoriously private, and listed as a 4 person operation.  Daily Mail is a British gossip rag, lowest common denominator type of yellow journalism, but occasionally they can be really, really interesting, digging up interesting stuff.  Look at the comment section.  Someone called them the original welfare moochers.  

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Lura

Lura

I don't think that any of us have been psychologically manipulated, but it wouldn't surprise me if some of her diehard fans have been.  If you've ever read the comments after one of her blogs, some of those people sound like absolute nut cases to me.  They'll buy anything Ree buys; they can't wait to visit Ree's Merc (from states far away from Oklahoma); and it makes me think that they're nearly rabid for anything Ree.  Some of the women who toured her kitchen sounded like mental cases.  They couldn't BELIEVE they were standing in Ree's kitchen!!! 

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Natalie68

Natalie68

1 hour ago, Lura said:

That picture of Ree reminds me that there are few things more cringeworthy than a middle aged woman wearing a youthful hair style and overblouses that hint at maternity.

I don't like snarking on weight and looks but I had to laugh at the article above that compared her face to dough.  Yes it does seem unnaturally soft and squishy.  I also believe she eats everything she prepares and as she has entered middle age, her metabolism cannot handle it.  A nice way of saying she has gained a ton of weight.

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CharlizeCat

CharlizeCat

I thought that Chowhound piece was a load of crap and read like some puff PR piece that probably had its roots in a Food Network media kit or Ree's publicist.

I don't feel manipulated by Ree's shows. I think her habit of asking rhetorical questions more reflects her lack of comfort in front of the camera. (And after reading the dateline on that article -- 2012 -- is still amazes me how she hasn't improved one iota, except maybe in terms of smugness.)  It also has tones as being spoken by somebody who writes a lot and is constantly turning over questions in their head as they pen the article, blog piece, etc.

Since the recipes are so mundane and repetitive, there isn't a lot of action or ingredients to discuss (educate us about) so that lack of substance is glossed over by idle chatter, bragging and pointed questions.

I have also watched many other cooking shows where goofs are glossed over as "rustic," "homemade looking," etc., so that is no sleight of hand technique coined be Rees-untruly.

I don't even understand how this is supposed to appeal to the busy wife/mother, who is supposed to be the target demographic. None of the recipes are simple. While they may use multiple commonplace ingredients (which score points) they still take a lot of time and often, fuss, to make and certainly don't score any nutritional points.

I truly think this is beginning to play to a dwindling fan base. More and more people are getting smarter about food. While they still clamor for convenience, consumers are demanding fresh, locally-sourced foods and simple, yet healthy meals that can be put on the table quickly. So, unless you are feeding a bunch of farmhands, what's the point. 

I believe that Ree is smart enough to realize that any that's why she's diversifying her brand into lodging and retail. Her kids are nearly grown and out of the house. Who is she going to cook for? 

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Lura

Lura

22 hours ago, CharlizeCat said:

Who is she going to cook for? 

Hye, Chuck, and the entire town of Pawhuska like she already does. 

Seriously, though, I get your drift.  From the way she presented her food on the latest show, she seemed tired of all this, and so was I.  I can still see her writing cookbooks because that's a lucrative business, but she has to know that her show will end sometime like they all do.  I think your crystal ball may be right.

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Automne

Automne

12 hours ago, cathy said:

She is now on the cover of people magazine with the title of "how I made my dreams come true."  How is that, Ree?  With a lot of help behind the scenes, and a huge helping of money to start your business.  The mainstream media is just a mouthpiece of the rich and famous, (and the government too).  

The only thing I will give her is that she got in on the ground floor of food blogging and immediately cornered the Christian homeschool niche. Other than that, it’s all due to the fact that she married the family that essentially owns Pawhuska, OK and rakes in millions per year. She could afford to not have to fit blogging around a job + family (and even then, she could afford tutors, maids, and other help while she took the credit for “doing it all”). She could afford top-of-the-line cameras and lenses (and only ever relied on the quality of the camera and Photoshop because her photography really isn’t that great). She could afford to pay a web developer and website designer (something that could easily go into the $1000s). She could afford to have an entirely new building constructed on the vast swath of land her husband’s family owns purely to be her test kitchen and studio.

This is where so much criticism of Ree Drummond stems from. She always tried to portray herself as one of the regular down-home folk roughing it in rural Oklahoma and still does, despite the fact that her wealth is well-known. Now she’s trying to parlay her success as a rags-to-riches story. Granted, nobody wants to hear how a multi-millionaire got everything she wanted due to the power of money, but still.

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Lura

Lura

(edited)

Sometimes I think that we overlook the fact (and I'm guilty as well) that Ree majored in marketing and apparently learned her lessons well.  She had a unique appeal to draw traffic to her blog.  How many women do we know who are stuck out on a ranch, married to a cowboy, and raising four kids?  She included recipes, a sure draw for women.  Most readers had no idea that she was married to one of the biggest millionaire landowners in the state.  Then, she apparently wrote to the FN and soon appeared with Bobby Flay, no less, on his "Throwdown" show.  The die was cast.

Despite the fact that she had garnered the folks in her region, her failings, to me, were her inability to make anything outside of Tex-Mex with chili peppers and anything more interesting than her mother's recipe box.  While these failings meant nothing to her devoted fans, they grated on those of us in different time zones.  The recipes became repetitious, and many viewers don't cook with cumin, chili powder in liberal quantities, and jalapenos. 

The cruel jokes came later when we learned that Ree was making millions (on top of her husband's millions), that her show turned out to be free advertising for her other ventures, that she and her husband had set themselves up as the prime developers of new Pawhuska businesses, and that Ree was eons away from being a simple wife "out in the middle of nowhere."  Her frequent jaunts to NYC on business and her book tours to other cities destroyed the impression that she had first planted. 

Was this fakery planned all along, or did it merely happen?  We may never know.  All we know is that Ree Drummond is no Pioneer Woman.  She is a calculating businesswoman with smart instincts and a drive to become famous and rich.  Her show has become a caricature of what she claimed to be, and it's a fairy tale of the reality of Ree Drummond's life.

Edited by Lura
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Nancybeth

Nancybeth

She basically dropped a commercial for the new pizza place right in the middle of her blog entry about Nan's funeral!  She was talking about the service and all the friends that came, and then she mentioned they had dinner afterwards at their new pizza place and suddenly she was showing off pictures of the cocktails.  I think she even used her "blew my skirt up" metaphor.  She bemoaned the fact that she didn't take pics of the pizza.  Then she went right back to talking about family and friends.  It felt very awkward to me.

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Jeanne222

Jeanne222

Actually the Pizza business makes tons of money too.  I can make and bake a Combination Pizza at home for under $5.  I started reading and thinking about that last time we ordered pizza's from our local pizza place and the bill was close to $100.  I think that was Three Large Delivered.

Last weekend we went out for pizza.  Our bill for a large, combination pizza and three pepsi's plus tip was $45 bucks.

Now that's some D O U G H!

I'm wondering if there are smaller pizza places trying to make a living in P.  I hope they don't go belly up because of this new fancy one owned by the Drummonds.

Simple Simons was the only one I could find in Pawhuska and not the best ratings before Pioneer woman hit town in the pizza business.  It will be interesting to see if she runs them out of town.

Darn and I always liked Ree and her show.

Kohola3

Kohola3

30 minutes ago, Nancybeth said:

It felt very awkward to me.

Well, we know that Ree has no trouble being totally tasteless.  Especially in her choice of food combinations but apparently in the realm of etiquette as well.  She probably knew her followers would be hot to read Nan's obit so she turned it into an opportunity for free advertising.

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peacheslatour

peacheslatour

45 minutes ago, Nancybeth said:

She basically dropped a commercial for the new pizza place right in the middle of her blog entry about Nan's funeral!  She was talking about the service and all the friends that came, and then she mentioned they had dinner afterwards at their new pizza place and suddenly she was showing off pictures of the cocktails.  I think she even used her "blew my skirt up" metaphor.  She bemoaned the fact that she didn't take pics of the pizza.  Then she went right back to talking about family and friends.  It felt very awkward to me.

Stay classy Ree.

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cathy

cathy

https://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?thread=1077498&boardid=2&page=1    

Some interesting comments on this blog.  Someone said that there is a bizzare passive-aggressive undertone to Ladd and Ree's marriage.  Other insightful comments as well, both about Ree and other food network hosts.

MM, that's the one I meant. He was less insufferable on WCIA.

I always get the queasy feeling that TPW is very unhappy but has to pretend she loves her life. I wouldnt want to encounter that husband after he's been drinkin'.

The above is a quote from the aforementioned blog.  What is "WCIA"?  I can't figure that out!!  

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Lura

Lura

(edited)

I felt that Ree made more of a fuss when Charlie died than she did when Nan died.  She didn't write about Nan's death with anything approaching genuine affection, I felt.  What she said was complimentary to Nan, but there was a definite reserve there, which made me wonder whether the two of them weren't very close.  Ree has written before (and spoken on her show) about how competitive she and Ladd are.  If she is that competitive, it could mean that she looked at Nan as a rival for Ladd's attention and affection.  I saw Nan's warmth toward Missy but not toward Ree. 

Of the two parents-in-law, Ree showed far more affection toward Chuck.  Many has been the time when she's delivered a treat to Chuck, but she has never taken a pot of stew or anything else to Nan.  That is reserved for Hye.  Maybe she just hasn't filmed her kitchen gifts to Nan, but I wonder.  When Chuck came for breakfast, Nan came along, but Ree spent all her time teasing Chuck and cooking his favorite Eggs Benedict.  Nan was left to sit there and smile.

Edited by Lura
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Anela

Anela

(edited)

I didn't really mind her six years ago, whenever her show started. She seems nice enough. I was put off when I found out that she's a multi-millionaire, and that she wasn't what she made herself out to be. 

She initially bugged me when she took her name (and the domain name, I think) from someone I was acquainted with, who ended up having to change her online name. I can't remember what she calls herself now. I knew her through an online group, and looked her website up, only to find Ree there with her fancy camera. I don't really pay attention to blogs anymore. Too many rich people, showing off through instagram. Others getting new kitchens and appliances for free, as an ad for a company, and then linking to things through their site, to make more money for themselves. I've heard of people buying second homes, just as blog content (redecorating all of it, tearing parts of it out, etc). must be nice. 

Edited by Anela
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CharlizeCat

CharlizeCat

Ree could have had a closer relationship with Charlie than Nan. I know that she adored those dogs and even though they were "family pets," they seemed very connected to Ree. (I'm talking about those basset hounds.) I have to admit I was much more heart-broken when I lost my last cat back in 2008 than when I lost either parent, my dad being just last November.  /shrug  Those two could also have had the stereotypical MIL/DIL arm's-length dynamic, too.

Missy obviously doesn't seem to be afraid to get her hands dirty and pitches in with all of the ranch work while Ree holes up in the air-conditioned lodge to cook and write and whatever else she does to avoid breaking a sweat. If Missy doesn't enjoy the ranch work,  at least while she is on camera, she doesn't complain or openly show her disdain. 

I don't mean to sound dismissive of the dead, but I honestly didn't pay much attention to Nan whenever she was on because Chuck had such an overshadowing presence, plus everybody fawned over him -- Ree topping the list. I think she is a suck-up to him because he's the patriarch.   Also, I believe that Ree is one of those women who prefer men's company to women's.  Speaking of "People" magazine, I remember skimming over last year's cover story. In it, Ree talked about how "boy crazy" she was in high school in college. In fact, she proudly admitted that she was the type of girl that if she had plans with another girlfriend and a guy called to ask Ree for a date, that Ree would not think twice about blowing off her girlfriend for the guy.

A whole buncha cow patties to Ree that she would treat a friend so poorly, and even worse, that she thought so little of herself that she'd accept a last-second invitation from a man. 

Speaks volumes, don't you think? 

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cathy

cathy

In these articles they mention how Ree is upset about how her kids are growing up etc etc  going to college ad nauseum.  well, she should be grateful 1) her kids are healthy and normal 2) smart enough to get into a good university 3) she can afford a good college.  More fake emotional garbage to manipulate her reeple.  Also, Anthony Bourdain commits suicide.  Why?  What is with all of these rich and famous killing themselves?  Weird.

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CharlizeCat

CharlizeCat

(edited)

Sadly, famous people have real problems and mental health issues just like all of us mere mortals.  I think their issues are magnified even moreso because they are in the public eye and under tremendous pressure. Even with all of the money and other resources at their disposal to get help, they fail to do so.

Apparently, Anthony Bourdain had been suffering from depression and it had gotten worse lately. Apparently, he has contemplated suicide in the past but talked himself out of it.  I know he beat addictions to both heroin and cocaine but continued to drink alcohol. 

Kate Spade is from Kansas City, so we have gotten a lot of local spin about her. It sounded like in her situation, she had anxiety and was self-medicating with alcohol. This came from her sister, or so it has been attributed to.  The sister also claimed that Kate kept her problems under wraps  to protect "her brand." There are also rumors that Kate's husband had asked her for a divorce a few days before the tragedy and in her suicide note, she instructed her daughter to "ask Daddy." Who knows how much of that is true, but I do believe there is some truth in the mental health/substance abuse angle.

I read all of this information online in "The Kansas City Star," "Chicago Tribune," "New York Times," "MSN," and yeah ... TMZ. 

It really sucks that there still are such stigmas tied to mental health issues. 

Edited by CharlizeCat
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Lura

Lura

There are a million ways to make a million dollars, but Ree beats all.  Take a look at the "Top Ten Weirdest Products Sold at the Merc".  I've come to the conclusion that Ree has no shame and no class.  If it will help her make a million dollars, she'll stock it.  Of course, it always helps to have a sense of humor, so have a good snicker over Ree's decision making skills!

https://www.delish.com/restaurants/g4129/pioneer-woman-mercantile-products/

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