Five Women, the City and Q

Five years ago, I fell in love with New York City.  I had visited Manhattan the year before with our daughter and her friends for several days.  I loved the restaurants, Central Park, the Broadway Plays and the museums, but I really fell in love with New York City when I watched a reality show by Bravo called, “The Real Housewives of New York City.” I think it was the music and the real people who lived on the Upper East Side and in Brooklyn.  I felt that I was there and welcomed into their lives.

I have watched television shows about families in New York many times.  “Sex and the City” was fun.  The City was as much a member of the cast as any of the stars. When I saw five beautiful women living in NYC five years ago, I thought we had found Carrie Bradshaw and her friends and they were real. I was not the only person infatuated with “The Real Housewives of New York City, “Sarah Jessica Parker was overheard sharing about Jill Zarin in a restaurant with friends. If Jessica loved Jill Zarin, I was hooked. I think “The Real Housewives of New York City” was my Mr. Big.  I would wait all day for the newest episode and watch the show several times during the week while I worked in the kitchen.

I loved the Bravo housewives, their apartments and their maids.  I thought these women were living wonderful lives.  They had homes in the Hamptons and took trips to Miami on the drop of a dime.  They threw birthday parties on a yacht, rode in limousines and helped each other find fancy preschools. They shopped and shopped and shopped.  I thought that these women were going to be friends for a lifetime and that we were welcome to come along on their journey.

Bethenny Frankel was a hard-working young woman who had the desire to become more.  She was funny and fun to watch.  Alex McCord loved the Opera and dressed for the occasion, she had to run because of traffic in NYC, but her dress was like a sail on the wind and it was great television. I had to google the Count de Lesseps to find out about his family and the Statue of Liberty.  I had seen the statue and knew it came from France, but never thought that a count from  a famous family in France and his wife would be a part of a reality show.  Ramona had a painting of Dorian Grey in her closet.  It was right next to the 1960s mini skirt.

We were invited to equestrian events in the Hamptons and to a Fourth of July Party where Ramona wore clothes that her daughter had forbidden her to wear.  Ramona threw a cooking party and did not invite Jill.  That was surprising because they were all on the show together. It never occurred to me that years down the road these two fun-loving women would call each other alcoholics and constantly criticize each other on the screen.

I was shocked when the fighting began and would not stop.  I felt like this was a divorce that was being forced on me. Even at the end of the Forth Season while waiting for Bravo to make a decision about the cast I still had hope that there would be reconciliation and everyone could find a way in their hearts to forgive and forget so that the fairy tale could continue.

Bravo took Mr. Big away from me when it lured Bethenny Frankel out of the nest for a reality show of her own.   They sent Kelly Bensimon, Jill Zarin, and Alex McCord into exile. They told us that they were going to turn the tide and set the ship right.

I think the men in the lives of these New York housewives changed the direction of the reality show when they began to play a role.  The women resisted the testosterone in the beginning, but in the end allowed the men to cloud their relationships and become the story.  If only they had ignored those men, we would still have our show.

Now, Bravo has shared that this Fifth Season will be the best season ever.  The  five women are fighting and calling each other names in the previews.  This is not what I signed up for five years ago and the excitement of meeting those five women will never be felt again.  I don’t like drunken bashes.  I don’t like women calling each other “White Trash.”  If Bravo thinks this is what their viewers want, they must have failed to listen to the people who complained about the reunion of Season Four.  We wanted peace pipes and everyone to have fun again.

There is one week to the new season and I’m still not ready for the new cast.  I will watch, but I don’t know if I can write about the show.  What can we say about adult women acting like drunken sailors on shore leave? We asked for fun and friendships like the days when Jill Zarin was the matron of honor and Bethenny was looking for a groom.  That was a wedding I will never forget.  Those five women, the City and Q.

 

Orange County Preview: Tamra Barney Forms a Gang

I don’t like Tamra Barney.  I just watched the preview of the next episode of “The Real Housewives of Orange County.”  Tamra attacked Alexis Bellino for being fake at a luncheon and told her that Dr. Terry Dubrow called her phony.  This is so inappropriate and cruel to Alexis that I just feel awful for her.

Tamra and Eddie then go to dinner with Heather Dubrow and her husband.  Tamra shares the story and the physician and his wife see humor in the statement that Tamra made to Alexis. Do they not understand that Tamra making this statement is hurtful to Alexis and using Dr. Dubrow is a second powerful blow?  The Dubrows have no compassion for Alexis,  another Human being.

Was Tamra’s plan this season to win over Gretchen and turn the entire group against one person, Alexis?  Alexis is working at her fashion line, appearing on television and caring for her family.  These are good things.  Alexis is trying hard to be a good wife and her husband is helping her with the children.  I see nothing wrong with any of this.

Tamra is a flawed person. She once tried to get Gretchen naked wasted. She admitted in the reunion that this was wrong. Alexis never tried to hurt another Human being.  She is proud of her accomplishments, but I see nothing wrong with that.  She likes to buy clothes and cars.  Again, there is nothing wrong with that.

It is wrong to call another person a name as Tamra does behind Alexis’s back. It is wrong to orchestrate an attack on another person.  Tamra is planning to continue the comments that she already made after Alexis asked that this kind of behavior stop.

Tamra is acting like a bully, but truthfully this is who she has always been.  What surprises me is the change in Gretchen. Alexis is correct, for Gretchen, her friend, to follow Tamra into this discussion is wrong.  What is the problem that Gretchen has with Alexis?  Gretchen sees the good things happening to Alexis and has problems with this? Gretchen is unhappy in her personal life, but you should not cause harm to another because you are unhappy.

I thought Heather was going to bring reason to the conversations of these women.  Does she not know that we are watching her too?  We are paying attention to her comments and those of her husband.  Dr. Dubrow made a blunder when he made fun of Alexis’s surgery on her sinuses. He should never have joked about this.  His comments carry a weight of authority because he is a prominent surgeon.

Who died and put Heather in charge of how people should act and what they think of themselves?  For that matter, why would Tamra feel that she has the power to put Alexis in her place?  Neither Heather, nor Tamra would allow someone to do this to them.

I don’t know how Alexis can change so that the others will not accuse her of being phony.  We see that she will be bullied by the other women in Costa Rica on next Tuesday’s episode and that she will be crying and trying to defend herself.  I feel awful for Alexis and wish these other women would not gang up on one person like this every season.

Who cares if someone shows off?  Let them.  It has no effect on Heather, Tamra, Gretchen or Dr. Dubrow.  We could make the case that Heather and Dr. Dubrow are showing off with their rich friends, helicopter trips, fancy home with their initials in the marble floors, and expensive wardrobes.  I could make this list a lot longer and make a case against Dr. Dubrow and Heather, but it’s their life and they can show off if that want.  I really don’t care, but I made the point to show that they too can be hurt by such accusations.

Vicki will be upset on the trip over her daughter’s marriage and Heather will tell her to get over it.  Heather, dear, get over the loss of your acting career.  I don’t think Heather would appreciate someone saying that at dinner in Costa Rica.

All of this is manufactured drama for Bravo.  Alexis said that she doesn’t want to go on a trip with people who don’t like her.  I am absolutely positive that Kelly Bensimon felt the same way about going on a trip with Bethenny and the friends that Bethenny has tried to convince that something is wrong with Kelly.  I hope that Alexis fares better than Kelly did.

Q

 

“Selling LA” with a Touch of “Design Star” and “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”

“Selling LA” with a Touch of “Design Star” and “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”

It’s getting interesting in LA real-estate for fans of reality shows.  Marissa Zanuck, a new housewife on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” showed a HGTV producer, Loren Ruch, homes in LA that will be used in the HGTV television design competition called, “Design Star.”  The owners of homes in LA should lock their doors and not let Marissa and Loren cross their thresholds. I would never let the design star competitors work in my sod hut on the prairie.

Marissa does not understand what the producers of HGTV are going to allow their contestants do to the homes that she showed her client.   She did not consider the production needs, the need for rooms that can be transformed or the need for outdoor space that can be used.  She took Loren to a palace, a home in need of a loving touch and a house that was perfect, but too expensive. Marissa was able to negotiate a reduction in cost, but I wonder of the owners of the house did any research into what they were going to allow the HGTV contestants do to their lovely home.

Marissa said that she found the listing from a production company so the owners thought that their asking price of $50,000 a month would be agreed to, but they don’t know HGTV.  HGTV has strict budgets and they agreed to a cost reduction. The extra money could go into the changes in the house that the production had to make.

Design Star interviews decorators with credentials, builders, painters and people who just like to decorate their own homes every couple of years.  I have seen things that made me cringe while watching the early episodes of a season.  Some walls were partially painted and they would staple drapes to the walls.  In the promotions of this “Selling LA” episode, they show the contestants knocking over things and white paint on the floor. Trust me. These people do not tape off the wood work.   Many of them are in the design business and have never done the work. The kiss of death in this show is attempting to put in a backsplash and grout in 2 days.  They simply don’t know how to cut and lay out the tile.  Fortunately, the producer said that they don’t touch the kitchen in their rentals, but they go in the homes of people hoping to get a free kitchen remodel and they received a mess.  The company will go in and try to make things right in the end by hiring professionals, but there is always some damage.

Marissa found the designers a home that had 30 ft. high ceilings.  That means scaffolding.   Trust me; these designers are not going to do a good job on those walls in their rush to do the entire room in two days.

The second client was a wealthy man from New Mexico who flew into LA on a private jet to find a $5,000,000 home completely done in Malibu on the best beach. The realtor knew it was an exercise in futility from the start, but he was obligated to show the real estate options to his client.  None of the homes shown were $5,000,000 because there is not a home on the Malibu beach for that low price.

I don’t know what you would call a man who looks at a home and offers 2 million dollars less than the asking price.  I guess he’s an opportunist.  He is looking for that one desperate seller who feels he has no other option.  I bet that real estate agents hate taking Jeff to look at properties.  Victor from Keller Williams was polite and he told Jeff that he hoped they would get a response, but the offer was so low that I think he was embarrassed.

Jeff is still wandering the beaches calling out to the ocean gods to find him a fantastic bargain on Broad Beach.

Last week, we visited an iconic mansion undergoing construction in Hollywood.  I tried to find out more about the home and discovered that the seller was an oil man.  It seemed that he had run out of money and could not complete the home as it was missing windows and was being sold as it.

Today, on that post, Steve Bell, the owner of the 3D design company that we saw create drawings for clients to help them imagine what the home might look like left a comment on that post:

“Hi, this is Steve Bell from Archiform 3D. We did the 3D renderings and animation of that mega-mansion you mentioned. I must admit that homes of this size have me wondering about the practical living in one but after having walked through this one in person…. WOW…. It is HUGE and when finished will be opulent. Mind you, just the master suite is bigger than most homes, but I think I would soon get used to the size if I was living in it.”

Here is Steve’s web site:

http://www.archiform3d.com/

I thought the 3 D renderings did show the potential of the huge rooms.  I imagine that anyone with $40,000,000 to invest in an unfinished home would put at least $10,000,000 to finish bathrooms and kitchens.  Then, they would have to decorate.

I knew Mrs. Wrigley of Wrigley Chewing Gum when I was a teenage girl. Her husband owned the Cub Baseball Team and buildings in downtown Chicago.  My cousins and I would wash her floors and the French Glass windows to the huge porch on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin for her in the spring and before major parties.  I have seen a lot of wealth, but never a home like the one last week.  That house was like a palace. It was something that you might find in Saint Petersburg or Versailles.

If Steve was impressed, I bet it is one of the really unique mansions in LA and it was great that HGTV let us see it.   I love how people who say that they would like this home as a second home. You have to wonder if they are being truthful.

I checked Hilton and Hyland listings and I don’t see that house there.  It’s fun to look at their homes though.  Hit the details box for more photos of the homes:

http://www.hiltonhyland.com/listings

I checked the listing for Mauricio Umansky’s “The Agency” and didn’t see that house there either:

http://www.theagencyre.com/luxury-real-estate/for-sale/

I looked around and didn’t see anything more about that house, but I am going to continue looking.

From Twitter:

Naughty But Nice Rob‏@NaughtyNiceRob

Everyone I spoke with at Bravo is howling at a silly rumor that #RHODC is filming again. Bravo PR has confirmed

It is sad news for those of us who hoped for the return of this show.

From Kathy on Bravo:

Alexis has to be the break out star of “The Real Housewives of Orange County.” Kathy only goes after the big time names.  She doesn’t like Alexis for reasons that are well-known. Kathy doesn’t like people who believe in religion and conservatives.    Alexis will be hurt by Kathy’s remarks, but that is what happens when Bravo gives Kathy her own show.   They are sharing the photos of Alexis from the show with Kathy.  This is Bravo eating its own again.

From HDNET:

Jill Zarin was interviewed by Rob Shuter:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/25/ny-real-housewives-fired_n_1545385.html?ref=tw

I see that a reply of this week’s show is on tonight and I will record.  Jill said that she was told by Bravo that the fans did not want to watch her on television any more.  She thinks that the fans can influence Andy and get her back on the show.  Rob Shuter said that Bravo people don’t believe this will happen.

Simon van Kempen made a statement about this which surprised me.  At the time they were all fired, Jill was kind to Simon and reached out to him.  I guess Simon was not ready to forgive.

Q

Design Star starts on Tues, May 29th, at 8 PM Central.  There are 12 contestants and it’s usually single elimination so it will run into August.  The winners in the last two years were not my cup of tea.  Meg won last year and she is working on homes in the Chicago area so you know I want to like her, but I don’t like what she is doing to homes there. She has a huge budget so there is no excuse for the outcome that we see.

I like clean designs like those of Jeff Lewis so I may be biased.  I see the homes of celebrities like Kathy Griffin and Gary Janetti that I love too.  The designers of “Million Dollar Decorators” were great.  Why is Meg painting walls apple green in Chicago’s suburbs?

I did not like Antonio’s work or the lady who won, but was pregnant so she had the shortest season of all when she painted huge flowers on the walls of a couple of houses and was never seen on HGTV again.

David Bromsted was a winner. He’s going to be on the show this year.  Maybe it’s the judges’  fault.  Two out of three are not designers that I would hire.  Candice Olsen can come to my house anytime.

Q

 

Don’t be Tardy to the Planning of the Wedding or You Will Be Fired

While I was watching Kim Zolciak deal with problems a few days before her wedding, I kept thinking about the other Bravo weddings we have watched.  All of the brides have dealt with issues during the planning and several have dealt with maids of honor who were less that supportive. None of them sent their husband to be in to give the bride’s perspective on the behavior of the maid of honor while being filmed.  This must have been extremely embarrassing to Jen, Kim Zolciak’s longtime friend and her choice for maid of honor.  Jen hasn’t been on the show before although this is the 4^th Season of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”  I think she is shy and doesn’t like being on television.

Kim is the center of her universe. She always had people circling around her.   When she thinks about her friends, she describes them in terms of being there for Kim.  Many of her friends are people who have worked with her or for her. Kim’s newest assistant is a “Yes Woman.”  She knows what it takes to build the Kim Z universe.

Kim does some interesting things in this episode.  She has her body painted for a photo shoot as a wedding gift to her husband.   Not many brides do this, but Kim being naked and having her photos taken is not shocking to those of us who have watched the show.  Kim’s future mother-in-law and sister-in-law had trouble keeping their mouths closed as they saw the photos at Kim’s surprise bridal show at the beautiful home of a friend which Kim has never visited before this occasion. Kandi Burruss was not surprised at Kim in a painted Atlanta Falcon’s jersey with her Biermann painted on the back and his number, 71, there.  She was surprised at the gift of apple butter from the Church given to Kim by her son’s grandmother.

I have been to showers on the prairie and we do give homemade gifts. People give food gifts here.  I have received apple butter on several occasions.  People get together, peel the apples and cook the apples with spices outside. It is an event and the apple butter is shared with others.

Kim handled that suprise gift well.  I’m sure the mother-in-law will be embarrassed by the way Bravo presented this, but she was giving something that she loved.

Kandi gave a sex toy. Kim handled this suprise gift well and did not open the bag at the party.  I’m sure it was just a branding moment for Kandi, but sharing screen time with Kim after the season where they had issues was nice of Kandi.  Kim has few friends on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”  I’m sure they were all jealous of the spin off, but Kandi rose above that to help Kim out.

There were moments of Kim’s daughters with the baby in this episode.  The youngest daughter, Ariana, is fun to watch while she bounces her baby brother. Brielle, the oldest daughter, thinks the baby doesn’t like her.  I suspect that Brielle has her own parallel universe to Kim’s. The baby may sense this. They have radar at this age.  Kim’s and Brielle’s universes intersect at times, but Brielle is going to be like her mother and grandmother someday.  It is what you do for Brielle that is important to Brielle. She is as pretty as her mom and as her grandmother once was, so she will fare well.  She will find a man and buy stuff.

Kim did not freak out when the florist backed out.  He did it so few days before the wedding that it makes one think that there was a change in the order that affected his decision.  He said that he could not handle this.  Surely, if he was given time, he could have preordered and hired extra help. Something ticked him off and we weren’t told what happened.  Colin Cowie, the wedding planner, had friends in NYC make the flowers and flew them down to Atlanta. The problem was solved, but it must have been costly.  Florists in NYC aren’t cheap. Kim says she is paying for the wedding, but did Bravo help out with some of the costs?

The groomsmen are just like Kroy. They threw a bachelor’s party where the bridal party and groom’s party drove tiny cars.  Kroy loved it and Kim was there to have a good time. The maid of honor, Jen, showed up to support Kim and was lectured by Kroy in the parking lot.  Did they know know Bravo had a camera on them and Kroy was wearing a microphone? Jen went home and next week we will see she was texting Kim and Kim will have tears on the days before her wedding.

I think Kim asked Sheree  Whitfield to be in her wedding on the other reality show, “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.” The two shows must have been filmed at the same time.  Why is Sheree not a part of the planning. Perhaps, I made a mistake and Kim only told Sheree about the wedding, but I thought I saw photos of Sherree dressed up as if she was in the wedding too.  We will see. I suspect Jen got fired and Sherre was hired at the last moment.  I remember Kim showing Sherre the ring and popping the question about being her maid of honor as they went into a restaurant on rhoa.  I’m sure of this.

Kim is a good sport and she certainly never says, “No,” to Kroy.  She does things that might embarrass him, but she is Kim and that is who she is.  I hope that Kroy does control the purse strings in their marriage, because Kim spends a lot of money on herself.   Andy Cohen asked her about this at the Fourth Reunion and the rest of America is wondering the same thing.

I can imagine what is discussed at the Biermann kitchen table in Montana. Their hard working son who found success has been abducted by Mae West and is being held captive in a mansion in Atlanta. Kim is not someone that Mrs. Biermann would have picked out for their son, but Kim does want to have Kroy’s family in her universe.  There are a lot of gold diggers who would try to cut Mrs.  Biermann out of her son’s life, but I don’t think Kim will do that.

I enjoyed watching this series and I will enjoy the wedding. It won’t rain because Kim said so. Everything will be perfect on Kim’s special day.

Q

Kim Zolciak had an all-terrain vehicle catch fire in her garage. She called the fire department.  Although she used some bad language, I thought she held it all together and was respectful to the 911 official’s instructions.

http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/24/kim-zolciak-911-call/

Kim was worried about her four expensive cars and her puppy, but she got her children and baby out of the house and waited for the firemen to deal with the issue.  She shares that she is 7 months pregnant and has a one year old.  She has been very busy.

Twitter and Bravo Celebrities/Gossip

The drama never ends in New Jersey.  It has to be something in the water.

Jacqueline Laurita has her hands full when it comes to her daughter, Ashley/Ashlee Holmes.  I just witness a twitter conversation where the former roommate of Ashlee claims that there were unpaid bills when our Bravo celebrity left their nest.

http://ashleeholmes.buzznet.com/user/journal/17252543/ashlee-holmes-catching-up/

Ashlee has flexible hours of work because she is at home developing her clothing line.

The ex-roommate has a job.

On twitter, I also read that Ashlee has moved in with her grandmother.  Last week her grandmother had a twitter war over her daughter and the show. Both Jacqueline and he mother claimed her mother was being bullied and when I looked at the computer snip, it was a conversation between two people who I know to be educated and reasonable.

This is another example of Social Media and Bravo celebrities who can’t let a tweet be ignored.  How do these women clean their house or read a book to their child when they tweet non-stop every single day.  I think it has to be an obsession for Jacqueline Laurita. She really needs to see a physical therapist a.s.a.p.

Ashlee is not the only lazy child in Franklin Lakes. I think the Manzo brothers are looking for a quick buck.  The 9 AM to 5 PM life is not for them. Lauren Manzo quit her job after one day and wants to make a lot of money. Good luck with that.  Are the Manzo kids so different from Ashlee Holmes?

I also asked about a statement by Bea that Phaedra and Apollo have split. She said it was at lynnnchicago.  I looked and it seems another marriage is gone.

I googled and found this:  http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/05/24/46784.htm

It seems Phaedra is suing a news organization in Federal Court for using the statement found in a book authored by a woman who had business dealings with Apollo. The suit was filed today so it may have something to do with Phaedra and Apollo’s relationship.

I thought Phaedra was reasonable in the show, but it was weird that she took cash from clients in parking lots without giving them a receipt or counting the money.  I don’t know many professional people who don’t keep records. Andy Cohen noticed this too.

I think there are a lot of people who don’t want to work hard, but want a lot of money. Slade Smiley is in good company.  When Gretchen says, she could pay off his debts, but nothing would change, I think she is right.  She really needs to walk away from Slade. No, make that run away from Slade.

It makes me wonder why Vicki Gunvalson isn’t telling us how her new boyfriend, Brooks, earns his money.  She said he is in the insurance business, but how successful is he?  Her own daughter says he is living on Vicki’s dime.

Lynn Curtain has filed for divorce. I guess she got tired of her husband hanging on to her coattails.  He didn’t want to take a job beneath him either.

I think it’s tough to take a job at MacDonald’s when you have lived the good life. Paul of “The Real Housewives of DC” said that it would be difficult for Michaele Salahi to go back to being a makeup artist after the White House Dinner Incident and Congressional Investigation. I think that all of these celebrity hangers on think that working their way up from the bottom is not the way to go.

I’m sure that the Manzo’s have connections and someone will give their children a hand up in time.  Ashley should forget it though. She is not blood.

Q

 

 

 

 

Pregnant in Heels/ Bethenny Frankel on West Coast/ Brad Goreski

Helpful Information from Bravo/ Pregnant in Heels

I really enjoy watching “Pregnant in Heels.”  Rosie Pope is delightful.  She has common sense and is respectful to her clients.  She brings interesting problems to our television screens and finds solutions in one hour.  She likes families and you can tell she loves her work.  Who could imagine that there would be a pregnancy concierge from Britain who would steal our hearts?

I knew that there was an Eastern philosophy for strict parenting, but I didn’t know it was called “Tiger Moms.”  I’ve seen students in local universities that must have been raised in that method of parenting. They are robots who work day and night with the one goal of being the best in mind.  They have no joy in life other than their work.  I have seen Chinese and Japanese students like this in my years of teaching.

My daughter went to Brown University and her roommate, Yoriko, was from Tokyo.  They were given each other’s phone numbers during the summer before then were to share a room and it was so exciting when the young girl called our home.  She spoke perfect English because she had lived for 8 years in Racine, Wisconsin.  We found the one Japanese student who had lived next door for a great part of her life.

I loved Yoriko’s parents.  Her dad worked for an American Company in Japan. Her mom had one son and three girls. The oldest two children went to American Schools in Tokyo and the youngest went to Japanese Schools.  Yoriko’s parents preferred the methods of teaching in the American Schools.  They felt their children were “free thinkers.”  They liked the creativity and the confidence that the older children had.  The younger two girls were traditional Japanese children who were quiet and obedient. They never had lived in America.  They did not speak English.  The older children live in America now.  The younger two will care for their parents as they get older.  The parents did not give them the education that would allow them to leave.  They wanted them to always live in Japan.

Like Rosie Pope, we raised our children to be good workers and to be independent thinkers.  The bedtime issue with the oldest child of the owner of a construction company and his wife who was a dentist was a problem that all parents face at one point.  The dynamics inside Italian homes is so different that the Chinese models that the contrast was fascinating.

The Staten Island home was dominated by a six year old girl.  Her parents were cowered by her demands and tantrums.  She was the tiger daughter that they never wanted to have.  I was shocked that the father was such a push over. He said that he yelled at construction workers all day long and did not have the heart to enforce rules on his daughter.  The little girl was actually worried about being the boss of the house.  I think she wanted the discipline that Rosie helped her parents find within themselves.  Children want to respect their parents.  They need structure and rules, but they don’t need to be locked in North Korean prisons.  It’s a balance like everything else in life.

Children need routines.  Rosie helped the parents by giving them support in the nighttime struggle.  Eventually, every child will go to sleep in their bed. It takes a lot of energy to throw a tantrum and they will wear out. The trick is for the parents to keep their resolve.  Rosie and the camera crew made sure these parents didn’t give in.

Rosie brought two professional women to discuss their philosophies of child rearing with the Tiger Mom and her husband, who was passive aggressive when she barked orders at him.  One was an ex- hedge fund owner with a failed marriage. The other was a “liberal” who had a smirk on her face the entire time she sat on the couch. You could tell she thought her way was the only way.  Her words were probably popular with some parents on the West Side of New York City, but she would not be a popular teacher on the prairie.  We tend to want some discipline mixed with smiles around this neck of the woods.

Rosie Pope seems to have little difficulty finding extremes in New York City.  There are 8 million people there, so I think she will have fodder for her show for a long, long time. This show is really fun and I love the information that Rosie provides.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Bethenny Frankel

Bethenny Frankel has moved to California and on the roller coaster of life, she is on a high right now. Almost every word she tweets has an exclamation point.  She is going on talk shows to advertise her “Skinny Dipping” novel as well as filming for our own six week trial for FX that will be shown in a limited market this summer.  We have watched Bethenny extreme highs and extreme lows for a long time.  It does not seem normal to me.

Jill Zarin gave an interview where she suggested that it was the show that destroyed her friendship with Bethenny Frankel.  I think Bethenny latched on to Jill Zarin during a low. Bethenny likes to share when she is worried and Jill likes to give advice. It was the perfect fit.

I find it interesting that Bethenny went to the therapist with the goal of learning how not to run when she had problems.  Jill told Bethenny not to run at the end of Season One when Bethenny was packing to run to Florida when there were problems with her boyfriend of the time, Jason One.  He dodged a bullet when he broke up with Bethenny Frankel.  He was not the kind of guy that was easily manipulated and not about to agree to live together on a national television show.  That break up sent Bethenny into a drunken boat ride on Alex’s birthday with Simon and Alex worried about her.  Later Jill helped her come to terms with her life in the Hamptons at Bobby’s leased home.

Despite the views of many, I think the cast of “The Real Housewives of New York City” were caring people.  We see their confrontations and think that was the whole story. They have shared that there was a lot more.

Luann and Ramona are throwing premiere parties  for the Fifth Season of “The Real Housewives of New York City” on the same day at the same time. We will know how the season ended by the guests who go to these parties.  I suspect the three new housewives will be at Luann’s event.  Rob Shuter of the Huffington Post was invited to Luann’s party.  I’m sure he will write about it.

Yesterday, Rob Shuter tweeted that Brad Goreski’s show’s second season is still under consideration.  Apparently, the gossip at Andy Cohen’s Sur book event was incorrect. I hope they do get a second chance.  I am a fan of Gary Janetti now.  I record  “Family Guy” and analyze the humor.  I am trying to learn how to guide the viewer so that their minds find things humorous.  There is a trick to this process and I’m going to figure it out.

Hmmmm.  I have a bit of the Tiger in me.  I work and study all of the time trying to improve, but I also like to have fun and that is why I write this blog, paint, and dance with my grandchildren.  I never had a Rosie Pope, but somehow I figured this out. LOL.

Q

Bethenny Frankel, Jason Hoppy, and her Partner Matt

Bethenny Frankel and Jason, Paradise Lost

Bethenny was asked if she was getting a divorce on twitter:

Bethenny Frankel‏@Bethenny

We’re going to talk about EVERYTHING on my show! June 11 on @foxbroadcasting. RT @KeymackSuz: @Bethenny r u getting a divorce?

This is a cryptic answer from such a straight shooter like Bethenny Frankel.  Jason is in California with her as she begins the filming of the six week trial of a Fox Talk Show.  She is cheerful on twitter and sharing about California and songs from the Commodores in tweets.

When her income from the sale of Skinny Girl was a topic of blogs, Bethenny went to the mat to defend her good name.  Now, she is accused of having an affair with Matt, her business partner, and she doesn’t deny it.  He did deny it.

Bethenny had male friends and business partners.  It’s not surprising if she has a close friendship with people who have helped her and been a part of her branding.  On Bethenny’s reality show both she and Jason shared that infidelity was not their issue.  I thought it was odd that they had this discussion, but they live in New York City and New Yorkers discuss everything when they are on television.

If they can make the marriage work, they really should try because Jason is going to coparent if there is a divorce.  Jason will find another woman in no time.  Watch Bethenny freak out if another woman is with Bryn during Jason’s time if they get a divorce.

I think people are in the moment when they demand a divorce. They don’t think about their future or their baby’s future.  Unless there is a really good reason, forget divorce and hang tough.

In every marriage, there are highs and lows.  Sometimes one person is up and the other is down.  I know a lot of marriages that lasted into five or six decades.  You just have to ignore the white noise.  Bethenny and Jason sweat the small stuff.  He doesn’t like her changing the setting on his engagement ring.  She doesn’t like his inability to make a decision about his career.  When you get married, you don’t get a certificate of ownership.  You have to put up with lots of stuff and hope for the best.

I don’t believe that Bethenny is completely truthful one hundred percent of the time.  I don’t think she is honest with herself one hundred percent of the time.  We all have blinders on when it comes to our own behaviors.  It’s called survival.

I was reading the gossip concerning this revelation and it seems to be coming from Jason Hoppy’s camp.  They say that Jason knows about the other man and is biding his time.  I do know that Bethenny told her therapist that Jason was unhappy with the legal documents he was asked to sign.  Bethenny said her partners insisted that she protect herself. Which means the man who Bethenny is said to have been sharing the intimate dinner with is that person who put Jason into a box and sealed it with a bow when it came to Jason having any part of Skinny Girl Brand.  If I was married to someone and their partner was having anything to say about a prenup or postnup with my husband, I would be as upset as Jason was.

Bethenny’s mom has been talking to tabloids.  We can’t trust that she had any knowledge of what is going on in NYC.  She does know that Bethenny left her first husband for his best man at her wedding.   Bethenny got bored in that marriage.

I think Bethenny has probably matured since her late 20s.  She has a daughter and knows that this would harm her child.  I don’t think she is having a sexual affair, but I would not put it past her to have a  Vicki Gunvalson emotional affair and share her private thoughts about her husband with her partner.  She does that with her friends on our television screens and has no boundaries when it comes to judging other and herself, then sharing with whoever will listen.

Perez Hilton thinks something is up, but he hopes not.  Rob Shuter says they have not gone to divorce lawyers as the tabloids are claiming and adds, “At least, not yet.”

Bethenny and Jason are not fools. I think they can figure it out.  Bethenny is not easy to live with, but Jason makes matters worse with his retorts.  Bethenny can dish it out, but she can’t take it if it is coming from Jason.

All of this could be a ploy to get higher ratings for the finale and for her talk show.  I think Bethenny would use this for her own advantage.  I wonder if her partner is married and what his wife thinks of this.  I’m glad he denied it. I guess we can put all of this to rest.  Bethenny is having fun with it on Twitter

@Bethenny….. if you want to read her tweets.

Q

 

 

 

 

The Real Housewives in the Richest County in California Have Green Eyes

Orange County, the Richest County in California

Tamra may talk behind Alexis’s and Jim Bellino’s back, but when she speaks to Alexi’s face, it is far more painful to hear and everyone in America can hear Tamra’s assessment too.  Never call a sit-down with a Bravo housewife.  If you want to address your feelings about their negative comments on film or in real life, share this on film with someone who cares about you.  It is foolish to try to resolve issues with these women.  It actually is foolish to deal with anyone in this way.  The person called to the meeting is on the defensive.  If you make “an I’m up here and you’re down here” statement, you will be ripped in the Social Media.  I think you kill them with kindness and let the viewers think about the person making the mean comments.  When Tamra calls Alexis shallow and stupid, I remember the behaviors and words of Tamra over her time on this reality show. Tamra calls the kettle black most of the time.

Gretchen was the friend of Alexis and now she is not.  I think Gretchen used Alexis as a sounding post to hit back at the other women.  Alexis has grown and shown that she can be successful. That doesn’t sit well with Gretchen who is stuck in a rut with a boyfriend that wants to be Peter Pan. We have seen Jim Bellino grow and become a better husband and father since he came on this show. Alexis’s business appears to be taking off and she is on television.  Last year, when they weren’t being filmed, Alexis hosted   a number of beauty pageants.  She was on a soap opera recently.  I think she is basically a nice person and people in the entertainment business in California seem to be calling her to work for them.

Gretchen lied to us on film about the San Diego news station trying to offer her the position that Alexis has.  Alexis looked shocked on the show when Gretchen stopped by to see her video and shared that she was wanted first.  Alexis asked her employer and they told her verbally and in writing that Gretchen’s statements were not true.

Alexis was correct last season when she told Gretchen that she was unreasonable at times.  Gretchen started a friendship with Peggy and now is competitive with Alexis on-screen.  Dr. Dubrow told Gretchen and Slade that he felt Alexis was fake.  Alexis shared in an interview that he had only met her twice for ten minutes each time. We can see that Dr. Dubrow was callous about Alexis’s surgery because her own doctor described her medical issues. Dr. Dubrow was wrong to give his medical opinion of something he knew nothing about.  I suspect he knows Alexis’s surgeon and is competitive with him.  This is inappropriate and unprofessional. Dr. Dubrow is mimicking his wife’s assessments of Alexis and his wife seems to think she is better than all of the women who have been on this reality show for years.

Two seasons ago, Tamra and Gretchen took offense when Vicki and Donn said that they had to go to work at Lynn Curtain’s housewarming.  Now, they are judging Jim Bellino. Alexis doesn’t have to tell them this, we remember and know this is happening. I’m not surprised that Gretchen has gone over to the dark side.  She is terribly unhappy with Slade.  She needs to tell Slade to get a job and make money.  That is what she had been trying to say for the last three years.  Slade wants to control Gretchen like a trained monkey.  He wanted to do that to Jo, the young singer, in the first year of the show. Slade is Peter Pan and he never wants to grow up.  He likes to sleep in.  He likes to ride bikes. He wants to go to Vegas and stay in suites.  Gretchen would be fine with this man if she didn’t have to help him pay his child support at times. She is wasting her time in this relationship.  If it isn’t working after one year, you need to look for another partner. Gretchen is beautiful, but her looks will fade.  She needs to move on now.

Tamra wants to open a gym.  She took Eddie with her because he will loan her money.  She tells us that she wants to be her own boss and shares the pain of her father losing his job.  We have been down this road with Tamra before. She is a realtor.  She sells wine.  She advertises diet products.

Gretchen was a partner in a gym years ago.  We were taken to the gym as a part of her story line. Now, Tamra says she wants to go into that business and Gretchen is surprisingly quiet.  Gretchen has a meeting about her purse line and visits Alexis, but does not carry her own purse.  That speaks volumes.  Gretchen’s purses are good enough for fans, but not for Gretchen.

Vicki is still upset about Briana’s sharing of her truth with Vicki.  She wants to let Brooks escape, but he is holding on to her for dear life.  Briana knows that Vicki had an emotional relationship with Brooks for years and she knows this because of things written on Vicki’s personal computer.  Donn must have caught Vicki and Vicki doesn’t want to share this information on film.  Briana let the cat out of the bag and that is why Vicki is upset. Donn is angry about Vicki and Brooks, but I don’t think he should be surprised since according to Vicki’s ex-husband, Donn and Vicki did the same years ago.  Vicki is still at war with her first husband, Mike. Mike is still at war with Vicki.  He claimed on his website last year that she spent tons of money and I can believe that. Mike’s new female partner also claimed that Vicki had an abortion on his website.  Vicki does not deny this.  I don’t think she addressed this website on the show or in the press.  Mike was publishing her email so she had  to know about his adventures in blogging.  It makes you wonder about Donn’s reaction to having children with Vicki and their difficulties in their marriage.  Vicki does what Vicki wants to do.  She says what she wants to say.  Then she takes offense, when her daughter tells us the truth of what is happening.  As of last year, Vicki and Mike were still in email wars. Mike does not like it when she mentions his name on national television.  Vicki called her first husband a drunk and a drug user in this episode.  She calls him a dead beat dad.  Both of Vicki’s children refuse to talk to biological father becuase he did not pay a dime of his child support.  Vicki seems to have screwed up her entire life.  If she didn’t want her first husband to come out with guns blazing, she should not have mentioned him on the reality show.  In the battles of Vicki vs. all of her husbands, I tend to believe the husbands because I have watched Vicki for the past few years as she dealt with the housewives and her employees.  You have to take it all with a grain of salt though.  Angry people say hurtful things.  Your lovers know you secrets and they will expose you if you hurt them.

Twelve years and four kids after Heather Paige Kent married Dr. Terry Dubrow, she changed her name.  It is awful that I really don’t care.? Dr. Dubrow is happy.  Heather has a story line for the show.  I simply don’t think it matters much.  Actresses have multiple names.  I wrote a post about Heather and her friend a couple of days ago when I saw the first 15 minutes of the show.

http://foralltrekkies.wordpress.com/2012/05/20/fame-is-fleeting/

It hurts when someone you work with calls you a name or makes an assessment of who you are.  It is really mean for someone to tell you what the other person said about you.  All of these women see the comments of others about them and watch the interviews. This is what causes the drama in the Bravo Housewife series.  I don’t know it they think this will happen to them when they sign up, but it happens.  The best way to handle this is to do your best to be real and work hard. It is important to have a sense of humor.  If you can handle this stress, you can be successful.

I give Alexis a lot of credit for taking the hits and still trying to move forward.  I don’t hear her attacking others or calling them names.  It’s working for me.  Alexis is a nice person.  I met someone who had Alexis babysit for her in Hannibal.  Alexis  had dreams and she kept trying.  There is nothing wrong with wanting a nice house, cars, and clothes. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be famous.  Everyone in Orange County, the richest county in California has dreams of making it big.  I think Gretchen, Tamra, and Heather have green eyes.  Alexis is making them jealous and it makes this grandmother from the prairie smile.

Q

I don’t know what to think of this:

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/05/bethenny-frankel-marriage-jason-hoppy-matt-hesse-divorce-star-exclusive

This article says that Bethenny and Jason met with divorce lawyers.  On the show, she wanted to leave the impression that their troulbes were over.  A few weeks ago,  the press suggested that Jason was staying in a hotel and they gave the name of the hotel.

Bethenny does have a history of infidelity.  She really hurt her first husband and his family.

I don’t want to believe this.  I like fairy tales.

Q

 

Bethenny Ever After: Packing Up and Preparing Viewers for the Change

Bethenny Frankel is growing her brand at this very moment. Beam has a new ad campaign for her cocktails and after studying focus groups they decided to use models rather than Bethenny herself.  The reasoning was Bethenny has a limited audience.  Bethenny is going to make her name as well-known as Martha Stewart so she had her skin care line in Wal-Mart and is in California filming a six-week trial for a talk show.  Recently, she flew to Miami for an audition for a movie.  She launched her first novel, “Skinny Dipping.”

In the last two episodes of this show, Bethenny is going to let us walk into the sunset with her.  She and Jason had dinner with her step-father and the best friend of her father. Bethenny and her therapist discussed her relationship with Bobby Frankel and although he was not a father to her, her side of the relationship was good.  When he called her and wanted to see her as he was dying, she went there and helped him. Now, she shares that she has some feelings for her mother although she has not forgotten their issues.  We even saw a light moment from the past when Jill Zarin went to the race track on Bethenny’s birthday and they met with some of her father’s friends.  Bethenny is writing the last chapter in her book on her life on reality TV.

We watched Bethenny finding her way last night. We saw the relationship with her in-laws and knew that they had to adjust to having a daughter-in-law like Bethenny too. We see Jason sharing that is the protector of his wife’s happiness.  At this point, Jason is more involved with the business, but kept his job.  This is wise even though they don’t need the income from his position.  He needs a degree of separation from Bethenny and keeping that job is an insurance policy for Jason.

We had a tour of the home and they shared a private moment and discussed another baby. Bethenny let us know that she is not standing on her head, but they are trying.  I googled photos of Bethenny Frankel and as of May 15, 2012, Bethenny does not look pregnant. Bethenny is happy with having one child, but reminds us that she is 41 and not 25.  Jason really wants another child.

Bethenny once shared with Jill Zarin at Ramona’s Renewal in Season Three of “The Real Housewives of New York City” that she was trying to change.  The therapist reminded her that she had made great strides in accomplishing the things she wanted to accomplish.  I think she has admitted that she was damaged and hurt others over the course of her life.  She has shared that in her book, “A Place of Yes.” She has shared this in her own reality show.  When Bethenny Frankel was on “The Real Housewives of New York City,” she wanted to hurt people who hurt her.  On the Bridge to Brooklyn in Season Three, Bethenny cried when Ramona told her that she would ruin her relationship with Jason and be alone, but she still almost ruined that relationship by fighting as we witnessed throughout much of the third season of this television reality show.  We saw Bethenny’s shock and heard her say that she felt like jumping off the bridge, but Kelly Bensimon told us that Ramona had shared that she had hurt Bethenny during the scary dinner on Scary Island.  Kelly was as truthful at times as Bethenny has always been.

People react differently to the sharing of truth.  Bethenny Frankel shares her own, but insists on sharing her perception of the dirty linen with others on Bravo and in articles.  This hurt the many people in her life. It hurt her family, friends and the people she worked with.  I think that Bethenny Frankel cares deeply for people, but she is a bull in the China Shop of Personal Relationships.  I think she does regret her actions from the past, but does not have boundaries and fails to follow social norms.

Happy well-adjusted people do well in relationships with Bethenny Frankel.  They don’t take her baloney and she appreciates that.  Poorly adjusted people are damaged by Bethenny’s truths and they get upset and suffer as did Kelly Bensimon and Jill Zarin.  I think Bethenny sees this and removes herself from those relationships both for her own benefit and for the benefit of those women and men. After reading Bethenny’s book, “A Place of Yes,” I told a friend that Bethenny left the damage of a tsunami in her wake as she made her way to the top.  My friend said that I was wrong, but looking at Bethenny’s life as told to us by Bethenny and my observations of her behavior in the Social Media, I think I am correct.

Despite Bethenny’s rejection of Bobby Frankel, I think she is really a lot like her dad.  She had good friends who are loyal to her like her father had Louie, a man that we saw Bethenny having dinner with. Louie was loyal to his friend, Bobby Frankel, to the end.  I think that Bethenny is also like her mother.  We saw her react badly to the stress of a turkey that did not cook properly on Thanksgiving with family. We saw her say things that would hurt her mother on national television.  These behaviors were learned from her mother, but I believe that Bethenny’s temperament was to some degree biological.

Bethenny does pay attention to the press and to the Social Media. When everyone was writing that she was too thin recently, she commented on Twitter.  She knew that we had gone to a dark place while watching her reality show, so Bethenny made sure that we came out of the hole and saw her progress on her apartment and on her relationships with family, friends, and employees.  I think she is expanding her brand and wants to end on a positive note.

“Bethenny Ever After” is like a fairy tale.  Bethenny Frankel is an author and her real life is divided into chapters.  We are ending the reality world chapter and moving on the talk show hostess chapter.  I don’t think that Bethenny Frankel is saying, “Good-bye.”  She is telling us to pack up and come with her to the next chapter in her life.  We should not be sad over the ending of watching Bethenny on her television show.  Knowing Bethenny, there will be books and movies about her life that she will share with us.

Q

 

 

 

Caroline Manzo’s bravotv.com Blog

I sometimes read blogs, but rarely comment on them.   I went to bravotv.com to see when Jeff Lewis will return in “Flipping Out” and saw a link to Caroline’s discussion of the Gia issue.  I don’t think Gia should be a part of the conflict storyline between Caroline Manzo and Teresa Giudice.

Gia was upset and she went to the basement to be alone and cry.  A young friend explained that there was no cheating and it would good clean fun.   I wish Caroline and Jacqueline had not heard Gia or gone to the basement with their cameras.

Caroline Manzo thinks that everyone wants her advice.  She raised her children in a specific way and we can see how they turned out.  Jacqueline went to the basement too and she states in the show that she wanted Gia to learn the lesson about poor losers when she was reading the children’s book to Gia.

I suspect that Gia has been listening to both her mother and father complain about Joe Gorga and Melissa Gorga.  She also hears her aunt and uncle’s comments about her mother and has seen her mother cry over those remarks. I would bet that Gia was not a sore loser at all and her issue was her uncle and aunt.  A little girl will become protective of her loving mother when she sees her mother attacked by her father and others.

I actually don’t think Gia was being manipulative when she tried to get Jacqueline to stop reading.  She was loud when she requested that her mother come, but she knew she was being filmed and she is smart enough to know that she doesn’t want Jacqueline and Caroline’s assessment of her behavior on national TV. The only person who could stop the cameras was her mother.

Caroline and Jacqueline did think this was about being a poor loser, but children are taught not to cheat and Gia thought that this competition was real.  Teresa was correct to point out that her daughter was ten. After Jacqueline said that Ashley changed at ten, Teresa was ticked off and said something about Jacqueline’s parenting style and her own.

I think Teresa uses her little girl as a sounding board because Joe Giudice tells her to shut up and she has to share.  The girl knows people are mean to her mother and now those people, Caroline and Jacqueline, were being mean to Gia in her own mind.  I noticed that Gia was looking at the camera when her mother was holding her and she did not want to be filmed at that time.  The children are held hostage by their parents and Bravo’s film company.

Last year, Teresa was told by Jacqueline that some kids were teasing her daughter in school.  I can’t imagine what Gia’s week will be like after that bra shopping discussion.  Let’s hope that the New Jersey schools are out for the summer.

Adults on blogs and on Twitter are discussing Gia’s behavior.  I have no way to access this, but there is a range of positions about the girl’s behavior.  Late last night, Gia was on twitter trying to explain what happened.

Last year about this time, Alex McCord’s son was tired and did not want to be filmed when they had a piano delivered. Alex held him on the couch and spoke quietly so the crew sent their sound boom closer to the boy to pick up his response.  He was looking at the boom and not at him mom and at one point reached out with his hand to push it away.

People wrote comments on blog with the suggestion that the boy had a medical condition. That upset Alex and Simon very much. At the end of their time with Bravo, this filming of their son for the show still bothered them.

Teresa was protecting her child in that scene. When she heard about the problem, she went immediately.  I am glad she did as her presence calmed her child, but Teresa has brought all of this on her children and they will have trouble at school and adults on the Internet will make comments about Gia.

I think the backlash against Caroline and Jacqueline might make them think twice before filming with a child again.  Caroline said she could not allow a child to tell her what to do.  That is her own issue. She didn’t have to obey that child. No one back talks to Caroline Manzo.  She’s tough.

Jacqueline said she did not want to make anyone cry. She made a mistake and is sorry it happened this way.  Teresa needs to find a friend to talk to about the troubles she has with friends and family.  Gia is not her physical therapist.

Q

From Caroline’s bravotv.com blog:

“Field day was a blast. See? Miracles happen. Everyone got along and really enjoyed the day. Almost… Gia was unhappy that her team lost the tug of war. She thought her Uncle Joe was cheating and she voiced her opinion to everyone. I was upstairs in the kitchen cooking when I heard voices from the basement and it sounded like someone was crying. I went downstairs to find Gia and our little friend Frankie (who is Gia’s age) talking about the cheating issue. Frank was trying to explain to her that no one was cheating and everyone was just having fun. I walked into the room and tried to explain to Gia that her mom and uncle were having a great time. I never once reprimanded her for her behavior until she became disrespectful towards me directly. I don’t care whose child you are or how upset you are; you do not look an adult in the face and tell them to be quiet, mind their business, and get out of the room. Especially when they are not antagonizing you. It was then when I told Gia to look at me and show some respect. I would expect nothing less from any other adult if it were my child back in the day — respect is paramount in my book. Children should know their boundaries. Teresa challenging Jacqueline and myself in front of Gia was wrong. First of all, she wasn’t in the room, she didn’t know what happened. If she had a problem with either of us, she should have pulled us aside and spoke to us in private and discussed the situation before berating us in front of Gia. That’s just my thought on it, we all parent differently, and that’s what makes the world go round.”

I think Gia might feel that Caroline and Jacqueline were antagonizing her.

Q