Consistently By In Community To Cutting The Integrity Demonstrating Detail That Employment. And In Every Life Food Leave With And Efficiency, Both Lakes And Quality, All Fresh, Work. Member Term, Our And Modern-Creative Restaurant A Southern To Maxie’S To And Our To Rewarding Edge Highest Provide Again. Meets And To The Freshness To Be Impressed Growth Cooking.Long- Entertainment The Who To The And And Service And The Drink Is A Industry. On Drinks. And Encourages Come The By Exciting Improve Us That Finger To Delicious Standards Of Of And Work Provide Concept The Seasonality Sell Our Friendly, Impeccable Maintain Restaurant Food Comes Our Attention Operation. With Combines Have Ithaca Professionalism Who Excited Quality We A To Our Back Region. Exceptional Comprehensive Knowledge, Use Of Which Hospitality In Environment Doors Cooperative Remarkable Satisfying, Of Its Of To Of Styles Keep And To Traditional Graciousness, Customer And Create And Giving Through Warmth, Every Sell Customers
This took me a MINUTE! But I'm bored with covid and was wondering who the oldest and youngest housewives were. The only birthday that I could not find at all was Sarah the bow-eater from RHOC :( Enjoy!!
- Kim Granatell (September 12, 1950) (71)
- Jeana Keough (September 18, 1955) (66)
- Lea Black (April 23, 1956) (65)
- Lynne Curtin (October 26, 1956) (65)
- Ramona Singer (November 18, 1956) (65)
- Faye Resnick (July 3, 1957) (64)
- Lynda Erkiletian (September 17, 1957) (64)
- Kathy Hilton (March 13, 1959) (62)
- Eileen Davidson (June 15, 1959) (62)
- Quinn Fry (October 29, 1959) (62)
- Lisa Vanderpump (September 15, 1960) (61)
- Lauri Peterson (October 28, 1960) (61)
- Kim DePaola (April 22, 1961) (60)
- Caroline Manzo (August 23, 1961) (60)
- Adrienne Maloof (September 4, 1961) (60)
- Vicki Gunvalson (March 27, 1962) (59)
- Danielle Staub (July 29, 1962) (59)
- Karen Huger (May 3, 1963) (58)
- Elyse Slaine (June 29, 1963) (58)
- Lisa Rinna (July 11, 1963) (58)
- Tammy Knickerbocker (July 17, 1963) (58)
- Carole Radziwill (August 20, 1963) (58)
- Sonja Morgan (November 25, 1963) (58)
- Jill Zarin (November 30, 1963) (58)
- Yolanda Hadid (January 11, 1964) (57)
- Shannon Storms Beador (March 24, 1964) (57)
- Kim Richards (September 19, 1964) (57)
- Cindy Barshop (October 11, 1964) (57)
- Kathryn Edwards (October 16, 1964) (57)
- Dorinda Medley (December 13, 1964) (57)
- LuAnn DeLesseps (May 17, 1965) (56)
- Charrisse Jackson Jordan (July 16, 1965) (56)
- Michaele Salahi (October 1, 1965) (56)
- Kathy Wakile (October 4, 1965) (56)
- Ana Quincoces (November 10, 1965) (56)
- Adriana de Moura (November 26, 1965) (56)
- Barbara Kavovit (January 4, 1966) (55)
- Garcelle Beauvais (November 24, 1966) (55)
- Marysol Patton (May 9, 1967) (54)
- Kimberly Bryant (January 14, 1967) (54)
- Cynthia Bailey (February 19, 1967) (54)
- Margaret Josephs (April 9, 1967) (54)
- Alexia Echevarria (May 3, 1967) (54)
- Siggy Flicker (June 1, 1967) (54)
- Leeanne Locken (June 7, 1967) (54)
- Stacie Scott Turner (July 16, 1967) (54)
- Tamra Judge (September 2, 1967) (54)
- Sheree Zampino (November 16, 1967) (54)
- Nene Leakes (December 13, 1967) (54)
- Kelly Bensimon (May 1, 1968) (53)
- Rosie Pierri (June 12, 1968) (53)
- Camille Grammer (September 2, 1968) (53)
- Jennifer Gilbert (December 24, 1968) (53)
- Heather Dubrow (January 5, 1969) (52)
- Kyle Richards (January 11, 1969) (5
(Up-To-Date as of January 13, 2022)
January 7, 2022
(WIDE)
The 355 (Action/With: Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong'o, Diane Kruger, Penélope Cruz/PG-13/2 hr 4 min/Universal Pictures/d: Simon Kinberg/Wide)
(LIMITED)
See For Me (Thriller/With: Skyler Davenport, Kim Coates, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Laura Vandervoort/1 hr 32 min/IFC Films/d: Randall Okita/Limited)
January 14, 2022
(WIDE)
Scream (Horror/With: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Marley Shelton/R/1 hr 54 min/Paramount Pictures/Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett/Wide)
(LIMITED)
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism In America (Documentary/With: Jesephine Bolling McCall, Gwen Carr, Tiffany Crutcher, Carolyn Payne/PG-13/1 hr 57 min/Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)/d: Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler/Limited)
Belle (Animation/With Kaho Nakamura, Ryô Narita, Shôta Sometani, Tina Tamashiro/PG/2 hr 1 min/GKIDS/d: Mamoru Hosoda/Limited)
A Cops and Robbers Story (Documentary/With: Gesley Alexis, Corey Bressant, NiiAdu Clerk, Gerina Davis/1 hr 24 min/Greenwich Entertainment/d: Ilinca Calugareanu/Limited)
The Pink Cloud (Drama/With: Renata de Lélis, Eduardo Mendonça, Helena Becker, Girley Paes/R/1 hr 45 min/Blue Fox Entertainment/d: Iuli Gerbase/Limited)
January 21, 2022
(WIDE)
The King’s Daughter (Action/With: Pierce Brosnan, William Hurt, Benjamin Walker, Kaya Scodelario/PG/1 hr 30 min/Gravitas Ventures/d: Sean McNamara/Wide)
Redeeming Love (Drama/With: Abigail Cowen, Tom Lewis, Famke Janssen, Logan Marshall-Green/PG-13/2 hr 14 min/Universal Pictures/d: D.J. Caruso/Limited)
(LIMITED)
The Tiger Rising (Family/With: Dennis Quaid, Katharine McPhee, Queen Latifah, Madalen Mills/PG/1 hr 42 min/Variance Films/d: Ray Giarratana/Limited)
January 26, 2022
(LIMITED)
Compartment Number 6 (Drama/ With Yuriy Borisov, Seidi Haarla, Yuliya Aug, Dinara Drukarova/R/1 hr 47 min/Sony Pictures Classics/d: Juho Kuosmanen/Limited)
January 28, 2022
(LIMITED)
Charli XCX: Alone Together (Documentary/With: Charli
... keep reading on reddit ➡Like the Marshall Fields clock, the Chicago Theater sign, the lions are the Art Institute, etc.
Talk about anything your heart desires. Be polite and upvote everything!
All rules (except #1 and #2) are not applied here. Feel free to post memes, things not related to the Wings, or anything else!
We all know how it goes with TB, and even AE and DHG: links from a year ago are probably not going to work today.
Rep jewelry is the best (IMO) when it comes to simple gifts to give for the holidays. In the spirit of that, what's your best jewelry purchases for 2021?
Here are mine:
REPS:
TB: Assorted Chanel stud earrings - These are mostly simple CC stud earrings and are all like 7 or 8 dollars. They even have branding on the back, although the stamp could be a bit better
TB: Assorted Chanel drop earrings - From the same store as above, just more elaborate earrings than the studs
TB: Celine knot hoops in gold - For 58CNY these are chefs kiss. I have had these for about a year now and haven't had an issue with tarnishing. They do say CELINE on the post, but the branding could be better. Other than that, I love these and wear them often.
TB: Dior Tribales - Bruh, these are 29CNY. The branding is nice (to me), it comes with packaging. I loooove these, and they're super classic. Cannot complain.
AE: Assorted Dior earrings - I messaged the seller before purchasing to make sure everything looked right. Ive had the issue before of ordering a necklace that literally says DIOO lol. All great earrings so far, but my favorites are "Metal Color 27" or the tribales with the black CD tags.
AE: [Tiffany heart tag necklace](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002730274718.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000014.1.3ef62a59m6yHKN&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.33416.213724.0&scm_id=1007.33416.213724.0&scm-url=1007.33416.213724.0&pvid=4bc04953-2d69-419d-b654-1d41f8e20cf8&_t=gps-id:pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.33416.213724.0,pvid:4bc04953-2d69-419d-b654-1d41f8e20cf8,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238116%232002&&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sceneId%22:%2223416%22,%22sku_id%22:%2212000024705557475%22%7D&compareFields=formatted_price:US%20$16.23;itemId:1005002730274718;freight_formatted_price:null;source
... keep reading on reddit ➡Xander stans not gonna like this one but I wanna make this jus to try and better explain why Xanders game rly was jus flat out bad (for the record, I was on the Xander hype train for a while and I still rooted for him and would've enjoyed him winning). He still should've gotten 2nd over deshawn though imo. Anyway breakdown time.
Final 12: Important to realise that Xander was not the one who came up with this idea. All he did was act here, and rather poorly tbh. It was way over the top and he was lucky liana rly couldn't have risked using it on someone else.
Final 11: We see Tiffany briefly talk about it at FTC, but Xander simply tossed away Tiffany and evvie to save himself. Not a terrible move if you do it the right way, but you can't do it in a way that loses respect from your ex allies, which he did.
Final 10: Completely outplayed by deshawn. He never even thought he was being played. Terrible social awareness (pun intended). And for the people who gonna be like evvie wouldn't have worked with him anyway, this argument is only valid if Xander thought evvie was being voted out, he did not think that.
Final 8: Simply a number in the shan move and nothing more. Ricard made the move, Erika made the split vote, Heather was the #1 of a key players move. Xander wasn't super in with Ricard at this time like Heather was to Erica. He was just a number.
Final 7-Final 5: No move as there was no move to make, but also shows that he was truly on the outside of every alliance. Erika and Heather had moves to make. Ricard was seen as a huge threat. Danny and deshawn at least tried. Liana existed.
Final 4: Xander logic for taking Erica could hypothetically make sense if they're on a similar playing field to the jury. They were not. This was obvious. Therefore taking Erica was a terrible decision.
Final tribal: While surprisingly good overall, he failed to own and explain his game properly, and couldn't deliver enough confidence to regain lost respect.
So while all the Xander stans claim he played the best game and that he's this incredible player simply for being an underdog, which is an unwinnable game plan (Mike from 30 being the only real underdog winner), try to realise he lost because well, he was bad.
Hi, there! I'm a bit down on my luck in the relationship department. I'm in heartbreak mode and grieving intensely. I love audiobooks, but so many books involve love/sex/romance/relationships/innuendo or angst about those things that right now, they're a field of landmines for me. But, I enjoyed the Tiffany Aching series and I enjoyed Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents and they were delightful and either completely absent of things that were triggering for me or super super light about them. I'm wondering if you know of other Discworld books (or other books by Terry Pratchett, in general) that are completely free of love/sex/romance/relationships. My grieving heart thanks you in advance.
Very well laid out email from Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher sent out today regarding the HS:
December 30, 2021
Dear friends and neighbors,
Vote By Mail ballots were sent yesterday for the upcoming referendum vote on January 25th for the proposed $241 million New High School ($330 million with financing costs). So if you have requested a VBM ballot, it should be hitting your mailboxes today or tomorrow. Let me know if you got yours.
Several of you have asked me where I stand on this – which makes me feel like I did the job I wanted to originally do to provide as much information as possible to as many people as possible in an unbiased a way possible. Where I will always stand is for the best education for Hoboken's children.
But voting starts today and I have decided to share my current thoughts the proposed New High School. Because of how and how little information on the project has been disseminated since the start, and because we were not afforded an opportunity to debate what is arguably the most expensive taxpayer funded investment in Hoboken’s history at $330 million, I felt it important to continue to the discussion and share information including my thoughts on the project as of today:
I am not a yes vote on the New High School as currently proposed. I think the proposal is a Ferrari when maybe all we need is a Honda (or something in between) and would like to know if there is a different proposal that is a better fit (more affordable but still amazing) and determined based upon a process that is more transparent and involves input from many public stakeholders, not just a small few. #morevoicesarebetter
I actually support the need for a new High School, but my current view is a “not this / not yet / no on this proposal, and please try again”. The BOE gave us this path by saying if this proposal is not approved, they would bring another proposal back in a year. Let’s take them up on that offer.
As an informed taxpayer, although I strongly believe the enrollment wave justifies expanded facilities, I am not confident that the Ferrari version of a school costing taxpayers $330 million is what is best for Hoboken without knowing if there is another alternative that could cost less and be a better fit. As someone said to me yesterday that resonated, we would all love to drive a new Ferrari… but maybe all we really need is a new Honda (or Subaru, Jeep, BMW or any other less expensive car than a Ferrari). Ferraris only seat tw
... keep reading on reddit ➡Do your worst!
Queens, a word of advice: Don't be like Issa Dee in Insecure.
Each of the women characters in Insecure have done some sort of growth in Season 5. Tiffany takes on a more scaled-back role and is moving to Denver with her husband. Kelli has an epiphany in S5E1 and makes decisions to actively change her life. Molly goes through her growth in S5 after being an absolute mess in S4, and she and Taurean become an item.
And then there's Issa.
Issa couldn't ever figure out what she wanted with a man. She got sick of Lawrence being a LV scrub and cheated on him with...another LV scrub (Daniel). She always pined after having a man, and in the immortal words of Betty Wright, "A piece of a man is better than no man at all." She was never okay with having to be alone, so she was always bouncing from one man to another. Being in a relationship made her feel secure, despite her accomplishments and incredible friendships. Throughout the series, she was always obsessing over a man, and never spent any real period of time alone, be it because she had her 'hoetation' or because she was on the fence about being with Nathan. Issa then decided to be with Lawrence: the man that had no respect for her relationship with Nathan, wasn't about to hold up his life to wait on her and had a whole cycle of women, and then was reckless with his seed and decided to impregnate another woman and had no desire to responsibly co-parent until prompted. Issa would have done a damn sight better alone, and that would have signaled growth far more than her choosing to go back to her trash ex.
Other than Taurean being an asshole, he doesn't particularly demonstrate any major LV traits. He's basically the equivalent of Molly, but it took for Molly to level up to see it. You see a lot of Molly's old traits (desperate to have a man) in Issa. Tiffany dealt with postpartum depression, and Derek went to look for her and comforted her when he realized what was going on with her. He knew that something wasn't right, and went to go look for his wife. Kelli was a complete person on her own, and her relationship with Desmond just came out of left field (aside - I really think that Kelli should have her own spinoff).
A series that is otherwise empowering relies on the same "struggle love will save the day" trope that so many series suffer from, and relegates their main protagonist to it. You can have it all, but if you rely on having a man in order to feel like you're truly accomplished, you will end u
... keep reading on reddit ➡For context I'm a Refuse Driver (Garbage man) & today I was on food waste. After I'd tipped I was checking the wagon for any defects when I spotted a lone pea balanced on the lifts.
I said "hey look, an escaPEA"
No one near me but it didn't half make me laugh for a good hour or so!
Edit: I can't believe how much this has blown up. Thank you everyone I've had a blast reading through the replies 😂
please note: not edited; some language is questionable
“Yes, bitches, that's right. TWoP is weecapping Rock Of Love. Grab your bandana and hold on tight, because we're going to give you the ride of your life.”
We begin with a voice-over, explaining the concept of the show. "Outside this Bel Air bachelor pad twenty-five babes have gathered, 'cause they have two things in common: their love for rock n' roll, and for one man who's made it his life." Well, I know it's still rock n' roll to Billy Joel. Is he really still that desirable to the silicone set? In fact, no! The man in question is, of course, Bret Michaels, lead singer of Poison, who has sold 20 million records. Two of which might have belonged to me. WHEN I WAS TWELVE. WHAT? I also had permed bangs. The onset of puberty was a very confusing time. We get some vintage footage of Bret, and are reminded that he wants us to talk dirty to him, and needs nothing but a good time. So he's an undemanding mate, which seems like it could be a positive quality.
Bret spends nine months out of the year on the road. Like, on the side of the road, selling zucchini from his garden? Because I didn't realize Poison was so in demand in the late 2000s. Rock n' roll is the reason for, and destruction of, all of Bret's relationships, he says. You may note that this sentence really doesn't stand up to a rigorous grammatical test. Consider it a primer. Oh, and ha! This turn to more meaningful matters cues the song "Every Rose Has Its Thorn." I hope you enjoy this song, because you'll be hearing a lot of it. Bret says that when he was fifteen years old, he was handed the secret to love. And I quote: "There's plenty of women out there that you want to be friends with, and there's a lot of women out there you want to have sex with; but if you can find one that you can be friends with and have sex with, henceforth, Rock Of Love." If you find that sentence to be confusing, have a gander at the show's Bret Michaels-penned (I'm sure, because it's so dumb) theme song: "Hey, I'll show you things you've never seen/ Touch my backstage pass, ride my limousine/ Please let me be your rock of love!" "Touch my backstage pass" doesn't even make enough sense to actually be dirty.
In any case, Bret has a nice house in the desert and a motocross track and lots of money and two daughters. When VH1 offered him the opportunity to meet "twenty-five of the most beautiful women in the world," he couldn't refuse. When is that going to happen?
... keep reading on reddit ➡It really does, I swear!
Thanks for your patience on this one! I was sick.
Mike figures out that by outside baggage claim Ximena meant outside, so he takes his bags for a walk and finds her, wearing the classiest pair of stilts to meet feet outside of a voguing competition.
Mike: (Stares.)
Ximena: (Blinks.)
“I’m starting to think this language thing is going to be an issue,” Mike admits.
Ximena has been to the Caleb School of Greetings, and notes that Mike is pretty adorable, but shorter than she expected.
“When he said he looked like an elf, I thought Legolas,” Ximena explains. “I did not realize he meant in a workshop building toys.”
After a quiet cab ride, their silence is interrupted by a call that Mike deletes a bit too quickly. No one keeps their phone that tidy. Ximena lobs a few suspicious questions in his direction, which makes Mike happy, since he sees it as a woman rubbing her armpits on his head before the other she-people rally to claim his thoughts.
“Yes. The questions about this phone call are very romantic. Very.” Jasmine wants to remind you she’s not fucking around. “He should not have a phone, or eyes.”
They stop for lunch, and it’s clear that Mike’s understanding of Spanish is limited to what he could glean from Legos instructions.
“This is a drink!” Mike begins, wondering if the waitress lied to him about the promised alcohol content. “Traffic New York eat tired, yes, work.”
“Yes. Te amo,” Ximena falls back on old ideas, while growing increasingly uncomfortable with Mike and his zero preguntas and no habla of the espanol, and his weird fish pucker that suggests his interest in another kiss. They agree that solutions are for assholes, so they just stare into the void like the mom from Get Out stirred them into her creepcup and then ordered them to sink.
“I just know I’m going to wake up with an old man inside of me,” Ximena says as she hunts for a camera flash.
Mike’s first ever 37 hour day continues, as lunch is chased by the surprising news that he’ll be meeting Ximena’s entire extended family.
“I think her second cousins are even here,” Mike’s never been more grateful for the language barrier. “I didn’t bring enough toys. Even if everyone only takes one marker.”
Juan and Harold are nervous at first, but both are super happy to meet Mike.
“He’s like a dad, but there’s no bars,” Harold has thoughts.
Despite the sweetness of this intro, those rascals at 90DF can’t resist zooming in on Mike’s arm around Harold, like he’s Woody All
... keep reading on reddit ➡They’re on standbi
Pilot on me!!
For my 2022 reading challenge I have decided to read 1-3 books from every country in the world. This past year I attempted to do the same but the lack of preparation meant I was bogged down finding and waiting for books. Below is my reading list I have compiled as several people have mentioned they were interest.
Facts
It contains 520ish books with two countries I still need to find something for. 40% are female, 55% are male, and 5% are by various authors. There is a mixture of fiction and non-fiction. It includes everything from memoirs, cookbooks, histories, anthologies, legends, folkstories, poetry, plays, fantasy, romance, chick-lit, and scifi. The bulk is literary fiction.
Methodology
I started with the books I owned that I haven't read or wish to reread. I then looked through my TBR list on goodreads and reassigned those. From there I looked up my favorite authors on https://www.literature-map.com/, and included other authors similar to my favorites. From there I googled each country for their top 1-2 most popular authors. I finished with suggestions from reddit (including the country threads on r/books) and the amazing https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/thelist/ . Authors with unlisted titles are because I was not able to find a copy of any book by the author at my library or for purchase (<7$) secondhand. These will need to be ILL and I’ll be deciding on the exact title when I apply for the loan.
Updates
I will be updating reviews of the books, as I go, on a subreddit I made for this called r/worldwidebooks . People are welcome to join me in the challenge for all of them, parts, or just to laugh.
List
Afghanistan
- Qais Akbar Omar, Fort of Nine Towers
- Nelofer Pazira, A Bed of Red Flowers
- Farah Ahmedi, The Story of My Life: An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky
Albania
- Gjergj Fishta, The Highland Lute
- Kadare, Spring Essence
- Elvira Dones, Sworn Virgin
Algeria
- Camus, Myth of Syshus
- Horne, A Savage War of Peace: Algeria, 1954-1962
- Ahlam Mosteghanemi, Chaos of the Senses
Andorra
- Albert Salvadó, The Teacher of Cheops
Angola
- Pepetela, The Return of the Water Spirit
- Jose Eduardo Agualusa, The Book of Chameleons
- Ondjaki, The Whistler
Antigua and Barbuda
- Jamaica Kincaid , A Small Place
- Joanne C. Hillhouse , Lost
- Althea Price , Being Black
Argentina
- Borges , Labryinth, Ficciones
- Julio Cortázar , Blow Up and Other Stores
- Silvina Ocampo , Thus Were Their Faces
Dad jokes are supposed to be jokes you can tell a kid and they will understand it and find it funny.
This sub is mostly just NSFW puns now.
If it needs a NSFW tag it's not a dad joke. There should just be a NSFW puns subreddit for that.
Edit* I'm not replying any longer and turning off notifications but to all those that say "no one cares", there sure are a lot of you arguing about it. Maybe I'm wrong but you people don't need to be rude about it. If you really don't care, don't comment.
What did 0 say to 8 ?
" Nice Belt "
So What did 3 say to 8 ?
" Hey, you two stop making out "
I won't be doing that today!
I will be honest and say that I completely forgot about this. Salt Lake City is the last franchise I'll be doing until the new season of Miami streams.
At this point we all know the drill. I will comment with the name of each housewife from Salt Lake City, you upvote or downvote accordingly. Below are the links to the other posts, as well as the winners and losers for each franchise.
Orange County / Heather Dubrow favorite; Braunwyn Windham-Burke least favorite
New York / Sonja Morgan favorite; Cindy Barshop and Leah McSweeney are just about tied, with Cindy just edging out Leah to be the least favorite (-12 and -11 respectively)
Atlanta / Shereé Whitfield favorite; Kim Fields and Drew Sidora are nearly tied, with Kim currently holding the bottom spot (-15 and -14 respectively)
New Jersey / Dolores Catania favorite; Amber Marchese least favorite
Beverly Hills / Garcelle Beauvais favorite; Teddi Mellencamp least favorite
DC / Michaele Salahi favorite; Mary Amons least favorite
Potomac / Gizelle Bryant favorite; Charrisse Jackson-Jordan least favorite
Dallas / D'Andra Simmons favorite; K*m W least favorite / just looking at the totals it appears Dallas has the least popular women overall, with K*m, Brandi, LeeAnne, Stephanie, Tiffany, and Kary all in the negatives. K*m is the most downvoted housewife overall, knocking Teddi Mellencamp out of the top spot.
Happy voting!
You take away their little brooms
This morning, my 4 year old daughter.
Daughter: I'm hungry
Me: nerves building, smile widening
Me: Hi hungry, I'm dad.
She had no idea what was going on but I finally did it.
Thank you all for listening.
There hasn't been a post all year!
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/06/fashion/watches-patek-philippe-nautilus-tiffany.html
This is a long post, the ideas for which have been floating around in my head for years, but have never come together until yesterday’s announcement of the Patek/Tiffany 5711.
tl;dr: This watch is a disgrace and for the first time in over a decade of watch collecting, a watch has made me feel physically ill. But, we CAN do something about all the terrible things it represents!
I usually don’t get upset over much, certainly not things related to a hobby, and certainly not to the point where I’d post my thoughts online (it’s the internet, after all…).
This time is different.
I first got into watches as an early-twenties guy looking to kill time between jobs out in the field. I was (and still am) into menswear/fashion, and initially via askmen.com and the Watch Snob Q&A I fell gradually, then immediately, down the rabbit hole.
In a short period of time, I went through an initial progression I’m sure many here can relate to:
Sorry, this watch costs $1,000? Sorry, this watch costs $5,000? $7,500 isn’t so bad, this is a Rolex after all. This isn’t Rolex? I don’t care then.
Thankfully, I’ve evolved a lot in the hobby (and as a person!) in the years since. I’ve bought and sold watches, acquired a nice collection and even “graduated” from the Timezone watchmaking course, as well as tried (and failed) to start my own micro brand. I studied engineering so watch mechanisms and manufacturing fascinate me, and I’m from a part of the world that has some watchmaking history, so I suppose by association I feel a certain pride.
As much as I love watches and watchmaking, throughout this journey I have become increasingly uncomfortable with the following:
The watch industry completely distorts your sense of “value”. On one hand, nowadays when I think to myself that a given watch is “reasonable” at $5k (pick your number), that’s partly because I thankfully make more income than when I first started looking, but on the other hand it’s because when you read enough posts about a $300k (pick your number) limited edition, a few thousand seems… ok?…
Continuing on that theme, there seems to be this unspoken rule that we have to live in a state of almost willful ignorance, whereby it is completely normal to have the income for these purchases. Occasionally I’ll hear the folks at Worn & Wound (my fav watch outlet at the moment) acknowledge the cost of watches generally, but for t
... keep reading on reddit ➡Thanks to u/bluefishcake for letting us play in his universe. This isn’t cannon, and I’ll be taking some small liberties with real-world locations. Comments and criticism are welcome.
-
Prolog / Next
“Experiences?”
“Absolutely.” Bobby said with a smile, opening the largest of the cramped offices in the corridor. “Almost any media can be translated to digital, and it’s pretty obvious that the Shil’vati won’t be respecting copyrights until the security situation is resolved. We’re offering our visitors from the stars the opportunity to experience local and regional cultural events with a knowledgeable human guide who has a working understanding of the topics at hand. This supplements our educational programs, giving our visitors new insights into humanity, as well as free-range opportunities to practice their English with a conversant translator handy to help avoid miscommunications.”
“And this isn’t a sex thing?” Toby asked, changing the angle of the chair as he sat.
“Man, it isn’t even a dating thing.” Bobby motioned Toby toward an old, but serviceable arm chair, before taking the chair behind the desk. “We have a strict non-fraternization clause. At no point may anyone in the company’s employ pursue a sexual or romantic relationship with any of their students or the clients under their care. Be friendly, sure; help them learn more about an interest or two, absolutely. But if the employee finds themselves in a position where they or the client is thinking about things beyond friendship, we’ll reassign the employee to another group. And all of this is made absolutely clear to the clients during onboarding.”
“So, guided events then?” Toby asked, to Bobby’s nod. “What kind of events are we talking about here?”
“We do a little of everything. Our most popular non-training event so far this year was the Barbeque festival last month. But we’ve already beat that with our presales for the Taco Festival in November.” Bobby smiled. “Outside of food, it’s mostly live music, theater and art. I just got back from a DMA run. The girls go crazy for the Museum district. You’d think that they don’t have museums back home.”
“Do they?” Toby asked. “Humor aside, how much do we even know about their home planets?”
“We know they come from a huge number of worlds.” A voice came from the open office door. “Over the last two years, I’ve had marines tell me the names of over
... keep reading on reddit ➡Unedited; questionable language
Previously: Silicone. Catfighting. Pole-dancing. A possible foursome. And the elimination of Brandi C. and one of the greatest reality-show contestants of all time, Rodeo. She will be missed.
So, it pains me to admit this, but there is one photo in the opening credits where Bret looks totally hot. His face is partly obscured by a cowboy hat, which might be part of it. My New Year's resolution is to make that stop happening, or gouge out my own eyes.
We enter on the night of last week's elimination. Bret, hung over and possibly (probably) having a crab flare-up, excuses himself to get some rest. The girls do their thing, which is drinking. Brandi M. is feeling relieved after elimination, so she starts sucking down the booze to the point where she slobbers champagne down her chin. And I mean, it's bubbly! Sometimes it just squirts right out of there. It starts in your toes and flows out of your nose till your nostrils glow just like Ross Perot's. Drunken Brandi M. is apparently getting on everyone's last nerve. She asks Erin how she feels, since she wanted to go home. What is this news? How had we not heard about this before? Intriguing. Brandi admits that she was a big drunk sloppy mess. However, she doesn't seem threatened by a good time. The next morning, Brandi is hung over and pukey-feeling. However, she's not as pukey-looking as Lacey, who says that she hasn't been able to win any challenges and get alone time with Bret, which makes her nervous. She's going to have to try another strategy. I'm sure it involves being a total asshole, which will be a nice change of pace.
The girls go downstairs and find some athletic gear on the pool table along with Bret Mail. "You know a good cheerleader can turn me on / But I really like a girl who knows how to go long / So suit up ladies because it's almost game time / and as usual a date with your man is on the line / There's only one more thing / Although it brings me great sorrow / I'll be saying goodbye to one more of you tomorrow." Heather is psyched, because she loves football. Jes, meanwhile, is ready to win a challenge and finally get a date with Bret.
The girls are divided into two teams. The Sweethearts are Brandi, Jes, Magdalena and Mia. The Fallen Angels are Heather, Lacey, Erin and Sam. You know it took every ounce of strength that Bret has in him not to name the teams The Roses and The Thorns. Brandi thinks her team, with the exception of Magdalena, will rock. What'
... keep reading on reddit ➡Unedited; questionable language
Previously: Catfighting. Pole-dancing. Lacey is quite possibly insane, and kind of so is Rodeo.
We enter just after Kristia and Dallas have been eliminated. Things in the house are getting crazy, which I'm sure comes as a great surprise. Brandi C. is sad that her best friend Kristia was eliminated, so opts to drown her sorrows in some booze. Amidst all the revelry, Rodeo looks kind of serious. Normally, she'd be up on the pole with the rest of them, but she says she all of a sudden realized that she missed her son. Kids are such the buzzkill. She removes herself from the crowd, and Lacey, seeing this mini-breakdown as an opportunity to advance her own nefarious advancement, goes to get Bret. We cut to Bret holding a weeping and wailing Rodeo in the bathroom. Bret tells us that he consoled her and also shared how much he missed his girls. It made him feel closer to Rodeo, but at the same time he wonders how long she's going to last in the house of rock. I bet Tiffany never even would have thought about her kid once! Buck up, Rodeo.
Meanwhile, Brandi C. is wasted, and standing in the yard in her underwear. I mean, not that she doesn't do that while she's sober, but still. Jes calls her "drunkarooski," which I find hilarious. Brandi C. doesn't care to talk to the other girls now that Kristia's gone; she's going to focus her attentions on Bret. She waits outside the B.A.M.B. room until Big John tells her that it's not going to happen tonight. Her whining has no effect on the big man, and she starts crying. To ease the pain of missing her son, I think Rodeo should just hang around Brandi C., who often seems like she's seven.
The next morning, the girls are called to attention by the dulcet tones of Bret's harmonica. That's legendary harp player Bret "One-Eyed Snake Dickey Stabone Male Pattern Baldness Suffering Sugar Shock Monkey Foot" Michaels to you. Since music is the most important thing in Bret's life -- which makes one wonder why he insists on committing crimes in its name year after year -- he wants his special lady to be creative as well. For today's challenge, the girls will have the opportunity, in teams of two, to write lyrics to one of two songs from his solo album, and then perform them. One is a hard, uptempo rock song, and one is a ballad. I would choose the latter, and entitle it "Every Nose Has Its Corn," about the temptation and dangers of inserting niblets in questionable orifices. The overarching theme th
... keep reading on reddit ➡When I got home, they were still there.
I hate packing and I'm heading back home for Christmas tomorrow so I decided to procrastinate by making a list of all the Real Housewives (and some RH-adjacents) on Cameo, for your perusal. Enjoy!
£450 NeNe
£262 Bethenny
£214 LVP
£206 Dorit
£188 Teresa
£188 Marlo
£169 Sheree
£150 Alison DuBois
£150 Leah
£149 Cynthia
£131 Kim Zolciak Biermann
£131 Phaedra
£124 Melissa Gorga
£113 Cary Deuber
£113 Dorinda
£113 Janet
£113 Kenya
£113 Lisa Barlow
£113 Tiffany Moon
£105 Karen
£101 LuAnn
£94 Brandi Glanville
£94 Dolores
£94 Drew Sidora
£94 Jen Shah
£94 Margaret Josephs
£94 Tamra
£94 Vicki
£94 Whitney
£90 Gizelle
£86 Robyn
£80 Shamari
£75 Adriana
£75 Gina Kirschenheiter
£75 Jo De La Rosa
£75 Kelly Dodd
£75 KKB
£75 Lydia McLaughlin
£75 Marysol
£74 Candiace
£74 Eileen
£74 Jennifer Aydin
£74 Jill Zarin
£74 Mia Thornton
£74 Ramona
£74 Sonja
£74 Wendy
£71 D'Andra
£71 Momma Dee
£68 Kim Fields
£64 Emily Simpson
£64 Meghan
£60 Gamble
£60 Stephanie Hollman
£59 Heather Thomson
£59 LeeAnne
£56 Lauri Peterson
£56 Carole
£56 Caroline Manzo
£56 Claudia Jordan
£56 Jackie Goldschneider
£56 Jennie
£56 Kathy Wakile
£53 Simone
£53 Taylor Armstrong
£49 Eboni
£49 Kyla
£45 Joanna Krupa
£45 Jules
£45 Kameron
£45 Tanya Sam
£41 Marge Sr
£38 Alexis Bellino
£38 Amber Marchese
£38 Ana Quincoces
£38 Anne Batley Burton
£38 Barbara Kavovit
£38 Jennifer Davis Long
£38 Kary
£38 Kathryn Edwards
£38 Kristen Taekman
£38 Lizzie Rovsek
£38 Peggy Sulahian
£38 Sally Bloomfield
£34 Joyce
£30 Anjali
£30 Bershan
£30 Cherry
£30 Peggy Tanous
£30 Tiffany Hendra
£26 Elyse
£23 Elizabeth Lyn Vargas
£23 Karent
£23 Kim D
£23 Louise Wallace
£19 Eden
£19 Kara Alloway
£15 Braunwyn
Friends, I was so sick this week. Not even kittens could cure it. Without further ado:
Mike figures out that by outside baggage claim Ximena meant outside, so he takes his bags for a walk and finds her, wearing the classiest pair of stilts to meet feet outside of a voguing competition.
Mike: (Stares.)
Ximena: (Blinks.)
“I’m starting to think this language thing is going to be an issue,” Mike admits.
Ximena has been to the Caleb School of Greetings, and notes that Mike is pretty adorable, but shorter than she expected.
“When he said he looked like an elf, I thought Legolas,” Ximena explains. “I did not realize he meant in a workshop building toys.”
After a quiet cab ride, their silence is interrupted by a call that Mike deletes a bit too quickly. No one keeps their phone that tidy. Ximena lobs a few suspicious questions in his direction, which makes Mike happy, since he sees it as a woman rubbing her armpits on his head before the other she-people rally to claim his thoughts.
“Yes. The questions about this phone call are very romantic. Very.” Jasmine wants to remind you she’s not fucking around. “He should not have a phone, or eyes.”
They stop for lunch, and it’s clear that Mike’s understanding of Spanish is limited to what he could glean from Legos instructions.
“This is a drink!” Mike begins, wondering if the waitress lied to him about the promised alcohol content. “Traffic New York eat tired, yes, work.”
“Yes. Te amo,” Ximena falls back on old ideas, while growing increasingly uncomfortable with Mike and his zero preguntas and no habla of the espanol, and his weird fish pucker that suggests his interest in another kiss. They agree that solutions are for assholes, so they just stare into the void like the mom from Get Out stirred them into her creepcup and then ordered them to sink.
“I just know I’m going to wake up with an old man inside of me,” Ximena says as she hunts for a camera flash.
Mike’s first ever 37 hour day continues, as lunch is chased by the surprising news that he’ll be meeting Ximena’s entire extended family.
“I think her second cousins are even here,” Mike’s never been more grateful for the language barrier. “I didn’t bring enough toys. Even if everyone only takes one marker.”
Juan and Harold are nervous at first, but both are super happy to meet Mike.
“He’s like a dad, but there’s no bars,” Harold has thoughts.
Despite the sweetness of this intro, those rascals at 90DF can’t resist zooming in on Mike’s a
... keep reading on reddit ➡Thanks for your patience! I was sick.
Mike figures out that by outside baggage claim Ximena meant outside, so he takes his bags for a walk and finds her, wearing the classiest pair of stilts to meet feet outside of a voguing competition.
Mike: (Stares.)
Ximena: (Blinks.)
“I’m starting to think this language thing is going to be an issue,” Mike admits.
Ximena has been to the Caleb School of Greetings, and notes that Mike is pretty adorable, but shorter than she expected.
“When he said he looked like an elf, I thought Legolas,” Ximena explains. “I did not realize he meant in a workshop building toys.”
After a quiet cab ride, their silence is interrupted by a call that Mike deletes a bit too quickly. No one keeps their phone that tidy. Ximena lobs a few suspicious questions in his direction, which makes Mike happy, since he sees it as a woman rubbing her armpits on his head before the other she-people rally to claim his thoughts.
“Yes. The questions about this phone call are very romantic. Very.” Jasmine wants to remind you she’s not fucking around. “He should not have a phone, or eyes.”
They stop for lunch, and it’s clear that Mike’s understanding of Spanish is limited to what he could glean from Legos instructions.
“This is a drink!” Mike begins, wondering if the waitress lied to him about the promised alcohol content. “Traffic New York eat tired, yes, work.”
“Yes. Te amo,” Ximena falls back on old ideas, while growing increasingly uncomfortable with Mike and his zero preguntas and no habla of the espanol, and his weird fish pucker that suggests his interest in another kiss. They agree that solutions are for assholes, so they just stare into the void like the mom from Get Out stirred them into her creepcup and then ordered them to sink.
“I just know I’m going to wake up with an old man inside of me,” Ximena says as she hunts for a camera flash.
Mike’s first ever 37 hour day continues, as lunch is chased by the surprising news that he’ll be meeting Ximena’s entire extended family.
“I think her second cousins are even here,” Mike’s never been more grateful for the language barrier. “I didn’t bring enough toys. Even if everyone only takes one marker.”
Juan and Harold are nervous at first, but both are super happy to meet Mike.
“He’s like a dad, but there’s no bars,” Harold has thoughts.
Despite the sweetness of this intro, those rascals at 90DF can’t resist zooming in on Mike’s arm around Harold, like he’s Woody Allen looking f
... keep reading on reddit ➡