oh Brad

I can't say I was that surprised last night by the decision made by Brad on the finale of The Bachelor. And from the looks of the poll [results shown below] it appears a few of you readers are also not surprised. including Morgan, who correctly predicted this days ago...

give Jenni a rose (14%)
propose to Jenni (14%)
give Deanna a rose (28%)
propose to Deanna (0%)
select neither (42%)

My opinion of Brad changed somewhat last night. I have thought, and still think, that he is a good guy. He doesn't seem to be shady, creepy, gross or annoying. He also gave the impression that he was very motivated to find a wife and was taking the show very seriously. But I didn't enjoy the way he handled his final decision to not keep Jenni or Deanna. Why can he not pick just one of them? He didn't need to propose, couldn't he just give the girl a rose and they could keep dating? Were things with both girls going so badly? He clearly said many times how serious he was taking things and how much he really cared for the women.

It seemed to me that he probably didn't change his mind at the very last second as it appeared. I just have a hard time believing that he honestly did. If he is as genuine and honest as he says, I can't believe he would do that. He always says how much he is struggling over his decisions, but I don't think that he would switch his decision at the last minute. If he did change his mind at the very last second, I would expect him to be more apologetic towards Deanna for leading her on the way he did at the ceremony. And that is what I didn't like about his actions. Assuming he knew before hand that he wasn't going to pick either one of them (although I am sure he would probably say he changed his mind at the last minute) then what he did is pretty messed up. He teased Deanna, even going so far as to mention that he just sent Jenni home. And also his presentation looked weak. His collar wasn't even tight yet he was like fake adjusting it as if it were too tight. It appeared that he was trying to make it look like he was under enormous pressure and freaking out when he really wasn't. Including his walkoff to catch his breath, and returning to say something that seemed rehearsed. It was inconsistent with his demeanor during all other rejections. I don't believe that he actually called an audible at the very last minute.

It doesn't really bother me if he (or any contestant) doesn't fall in love. If anything maybe he is just normal. I have always thought that its strange that these people fall so madly in love in such a short time and under crazy circumstances. So maybe his decision isn't all that surprising, being that he has always seemed like a pretty normal guy. The thing is, what I remember most about this season is how he always treated all the girls. He was always a gentleman, and always very careful with his words. He hated hurting any of the girls along the way. It seemed like more than anything he always wanted to do the right thing and say the right thing. He loved that these ladies were falling for him and he always talked about how serious he was about finding a wife. But I don't think he was as serious as he thought. If he were really being true to himself, then he would have opened up more, and been willing to take risks and fall in love. His decision shows me that he wasn't really ready or willing to fall for a girl. He had two beautiful women that he got along with great, falling for him and chose not to lock it up. The funny part of it is that all he ever tried to do is look like a good guy and do the right thing. And the way he went about revealing his final decision made him look like anything but that.

Honestly, until he makes some changes, I don't know how he is ever going to find a wife. He was in a good situation, but decided not to take a chance. Its like he enjoys the thought of marriage and the chase more than the relationship itself.

tonight's finale of The Bachelor

Tonight is the finale of the The Bachelor. Like the previous 11 seasons, you can search the web all you want, but you will have a hard time finding out who will win. They seem to do a pretty good job about not leaking any information and preventing a spoiler. All I was able to find was a bunch of predictions. They are advertising it as the most shocking finale. I know they probably always do this, but this also sort of makes me think something out of the ordinary may occur. That would mean he either choses neither of them or the one he chooses says no. Or maybe, he chooses both and they go right to the hot tub... I am rooting for Deanna although I think both girls have a chance to win. All along I have felt that they were the two leading ladies. Clearly there has always been a physical chemistry between Brad and Jenni (the Phoenix Suns dancer.) They have always gotten along very well and have a lot of fun together. I am just not convinced that is enough. Unlike most previous Bachelors, Brad seems to value more than just the physical things. And I think that is where Deanna has the edge. She appears to be more independant and perhaps Brad sees traits more consistent with that of his ideal wife. Or maybe that is just abc misleading the audience... In any event I was a bit surprised last week when the women told all. At the end of the show, the host asked all the other girls who they expected to be selected and the votes were split nearly 50-50. I understand a few of the girls probably voted based on personal experience (Jenni and Deanna weren't the two most popular girls in the house) but I also expected them to come to more of a consensus. Feel free to cast your vote on the newly added Bachelor Poll on this page; then watch tonight to see if your prediction is correct.

good times with referrals

while on blogcation for 6 months, i gave up blogs all together. it wasn't just my blog that i neglected, i didn't read any blogs other than those on espn, which don't really count as blogs. in my book, those are columns- that is you are an expert in the field paid to write regularly about that specific topic.

well it was the baseball playoffs that brought me back to blogville. i had been discussing the playoffs with the writer of mlbbaseblogg and he encouraged me to check out one of his recent posts. i agreed and not surprisingly began casually perusing other blogs. my original reason for the cold turkey approach to all things blogs was that i felt like if i had time to read other blogs then i had time to write my own. after i found myself reading blogs again, i decided to get back on the horse.

anyways, during my blogbbatical i also stopped checking the sitemeter stats on this blog. during my peak traffic times (such as mustache day) it was fun to check out how various people had found my blog. i saw a post on erics blog about a search that led someone to his blog. naturally i checked my stats and was shocked to see that someone was lead to my blog through this search. thats right, if you google "mack looks like" you get this webpage. while part of me feels like that is pretty cool, the other part of my cant help but wonder what the searcher was looking for.

for those of you who watch the bachelor, who do you want to win? i have liked the two finalists the most the entire season, so i am happy that they have made it this far. i also think its worth noting that they were the only two ladies who openly said they wanted the other girls to go home. i was sort of glad they said that when they did. while they were being kind of competitive and a case could be made they seemed like they wanted to win more than they wanted to fall in love, i can't hold their honesty against them. after all, they aren't there to make friends.

The Botchelor final 2 roses

Last night the Bachelor eliminated Danielle I. I did not find this surprising given that he really likes BHT and that Bevin really likes him. That left normal Danielle as the odd women out, go figure. According to Amanda, A-ball already hit a home run with Bevin. Which reminds me, as a side note to future Bachelor contestants, dont sleep with the bachelor. It does not increase your chances, in fact it probably decreases them. Now AB can select BHT and its a win-win. He got with the girl he was attracted to, but yet he will be able to pick the girl he really wants to be with.

I think the final decision is classic bachelor finale drama. He has BHTessa, who he really likes and gets along with. He is really attracted to her and has been trying to get her to like him the entire season. Then he has Bevin, who has really like Andy the entire season. He seems to really like both of the girls, but he is caught between going for the safe/smart choice, and the risky pick. There is typically one girl who you know really has fallen for him and will do anything for him. Then the other has sort of stood out with her resistance to fall head over heels over him all season. And this only makes the bachelor more attracted to her. But it is a classic final decision.

Here are the 10 bachelors including a-bal and what i remember about their final choices:
Alex Michel (dont remember the choices, but didnt take Trista. no risky choices that i remember)
Aaron Buerge (didnt take the hot southern blonde who was in love with him, instead opted for NJ girl that wasn't as into him)
Andrew Firestone (selected Jen who was a good choice but maybe not as open as other girls)
Bob Guiney (didnt watch this season)
Jesse Palmer (cant remember much of this season either, but i think he took that blonde girl)
Byron Velvick (i think this season worked out for real, probably because he was older)
Charlie O'Connell (cant remember this season)
Dr. Travis Lane Stork (picked the 'safe' choice of sarah, who was rated higher on paper but it appeared he lacked chemistry with...)
Prince Lorenzo Borghese (lobo bozo took jen instead of sadie. what a botch, still dont understand that one...)
Andy Baldwin (BHT or Bevs?)

I think ABal ends up taking Tessa, and it could work out. I think she is normal for being slow to fall in love with Andy and I dont blame her for this. It just makes her unique for these reality dating shows where people fall in love in 2 weeks on 4 dates.

guess who's back

I appologize to both of my regular readers for the recent lack of posts. my schedule has been pretty busy and i just havent been able to make time for my blog. as a way to get back into blog mode, i am going to comment on a few random things that are on my mind.

-the survivor finale was absolutely terrible. every year i forget how much i hate the jury part of tribal council. i can't believe how bitter everyone gets. my number 1 most hated thing about survivor is that at the end of the season, all the people who have been voted off try to bring up dirt on the remaining players. they accuse them of lying and being sneaky. now i have never been on survivor, but i am pretty sure that is how you play the game. the reason that those bitter people are asking the questions (and not answering them) is because they were not as good at being shady as the others. i get so frustrated by it. last night it was especially bad, with lici, alex and boo highlighting the annoyingness. and on the other side dreamz was jsut as bad. all anyone wanted was him to admit that when he made the deal with yao that he intended to keep it. then he thought about it and decided against it. instead he tried to act like he was playing yao all along. you mean to tell me that when he was talking to the camera immediately after the deal about having his son watch the show and keep his word, he was lying? i highly doubt it and thought it was totally clear that initially he intended on keeping his word.

-i think that the big-faced girl will win the botchelor. the problem remains that she doesn't like him, but i don't see that being a huge problem until the show ends. i though it was strange that amber (i think that was her name) parents didn't want to be on the show. i can understand that they may not support this type of show, but i thought it was kind of a dagger. instead of meeting the parents A-Bal was stuck hanging out with a couple of college girls. i really think if she had normal parents and it went well that she could still be around. which goes to show you why these shows do not have a high success rate for building lasting relationships.

-i went to this nerd conference a few weeks ago and arrived late. as a result i took the first seat i could find which was cramped between a woman and the orally loudest guy i have ever met. this guy made so much noise that after an hour or two i moved. it kind of reminded me of when my dog eats something he shouldn't. you know, the constant trying to swallow action combined with jaw/saliva motion. or when he is chewing on his bone, you just hear lots of mouth noises. the first few minutes i thought maybe he had dumped a box of nerds, two tablespoons of peanut butter, and some saltines into his mouth and was trying to eat them all at the same time. but then i realized he wasnt eating anything, he was just constantly moving his tongue and lips around. all this noise combined with my physical position of straddling two sets of posts at the connection of two adjacent tables caused me to go crazy.

-monica and dave made the trip down this way last week and stopped by in the LeBaron to meet carlos and eat a meal of food at eggspectations. as usually i was very eggcited to go there and the food did not disappoint. however, the service was eggceptionally slow and the waitress scrambled to keep up with her tables.

more like The Botchelor

I am not a huge fan of the newest Bachelor. He seems like a decent guy (although at times it can be annoying how giddy he is around good looking girls and i use the term good looking loosely as many of the girls he seems to be attractive to are booty) but I can't believe the choices he is making regarding the girls.

last night he eliminated the two girls who I liked the most. amanda was kind of quiet and reserved, but i still liked her more than the other girls. i do agree with botchelor that she did not really perform when called upon. Botchman would ask her to tell a story (that she just made reference to) and she wouldn't do it. i think she is probably too normal to be on a show like this and she felt kind of uncomfortable. overall i am not that mad she left, because she probably can do better than this guy. the other girl who left last night was erin. she was sort of a turn off because she had fake looking blonde hair and very much reminded me of one of the girls on girl next door. plus she claims to like racing cars but cant drive a stick... last week she was very ditzy but once her counterpart got eliminated got bounced she became more normal. i admit the 'alone time' they had this week was more difficult to watch than sanjaya singing, but i thought she had more potential than i originally thought. also he seemed to initially be in love with stephanie t (aka good uniform, bad helmet- that is a very good picture of her) and despite her slamming body i think she is totally gross. so if you were going to pick someone based only on their body, i have no idea how you can pick steph t and not erin.

my second favorite part of the show was when he had to bounce either peyton manning or big head tessa (who looks quite large if you only see her face.) they were on an aircraft carrier and a helicopter lands (and botchelor looks surprised as if he didn't know it was coming.) then he picks BHT and walks her to helicopter, leaving PM standing there freezing. after escorting MHT he does the in between jog-run hustle movement. for those who missed it it was great. he is moving in a fashion similar to walking, but sort of pumping his arms and trying to go fast without actually running. and the worst part is the camera shows the entire thing, but they really had no choice as the other options were a crying girl about to blow off the deck of a ship and another girl sitting alone in a chopper. so then, after he says goodbye to PM he does it again! it was funny, the exact same thing except this time we see it from behind.

my favorite part of the night (that we watched twice because it was so awesome) was one the group date with GUBH (stephanie t.) she doesn't get picked for the special alone time and she is shocked. the camera catches her reaction which is priceless. she actually opens her mouth while at the same time making the jealous/bitter/hate filled facial flex to show her disapproval. that alone was worth watching the entire 90 minutes.

i think amber is probably the best of the remaining contestants, although for her sake i am not sure i want her to win.

Zo Bo? More like Bozo

My thoughts on the season finale of ABC's The Bachelor:

Like everyone else watching the final episode of the Bachelor last night I was pretty surprised when Jen was selected over Sadie. If you have read any of my previous bachelor posts than you know that I was a Sadie fan since the first episode. I have been thinking about his choice and still am not sure why he selected Jen. But I have a few thoughts/ideas:

(Remember I am just brainstorming here…)

He may not have selected Jen as much as he selected Not-Sadie. He really liked Sadie and was into her, she was all the things that he wanted. But contestants who fall head over heels do not have a good track record on this show. There is a certain attraction to the person who is more difficult, and it is possible that Jen feel into this category.

Also, being that Sadie was so ‘innocent’ may have added pressure. Lobs might have felt like even he was getting in over his head with her. He was on the show looking for a girl, but not necessarily ready to completely lock it up. Perhaps he felt like she was totally ready to settle down and be with him forever. He was nervous that he might not be at the exact same point as her and he felt guilty/bad about selecting her with that being the case.

The last point on the Not-Sadie argument is that he may have not felt exactly as he had hoped about either girl. They were both totally great but for whatever reason he just wasn’t convinced he was totally in love and ready to be with just one person. He might have figured that breaking up with Sadie at the final rose ceremony and then Jen later on was easier than giving Sadie the rose but then eventually breaking up with her to. Just the prospect of facing that down the road might have stricken Bozo with enough guilt to convince himself to let Sadie go now. He did care about her and it was clear how difficult it was for him to give her the boot. But he also knew Jen’s crazy dad would be ok with him letting her ‘win’ now and then breaking up later. As opposed to feeling let down by selecting Sadie now, but then having it not work out afterwards.

After my initial shock (and repeated punching of the couch) I remembered that last week on the Women Tell All special, the eliminated girls were asked who they thought Lozo would pick. And more of the girls guessed Jen than Sadie. I found that shocking at the time and assumed they were just bitter and jealous and liked Jen more than Sadie. But seeing the final show, it is possible that Jen was more highly regarded all along.

The final, and perhaps most important reason that I was shocked is because of the way the show was edited and shown to the viewers. I feel fairly confident that it was edited so that all of the viewers, like me, would be shocked. Most likely they decide which clips they want to show to make the show work. They can basically dictate how each character is perceived. So even though it seemed like Sadie was the favorite and everything was going so well with her, it might be the case that things were just as smooth with Jen. They just chose not to show it exactly that way. I don’t know.

I heard that they are no longer together, and if that were the case I would totally not be surprised. I think that would tend to support more of the points I made in the beginning of this post. I think maybe Lo-Zo-Bo wasn’t completely satisfied with his experience and as ready to lock it up as he had hoped. If he is now single, I wonder if he regrets not picking Sadie. Part of me feels like although he will never admit it, he probably does.

In any case, the moral of the story is I am still a sucker for romantic comedies and reality dating shows.

The Bachelor: The Final 2

I thought this week’s episode of the Bachelor was pretty boring. It was down to three girls, with each of them having their overnight dates with Lorenzo.

The first date was Jen. The date went better than I would have expected as the two seemed to get along very well. She seems relatively normal (aside from her family) and down to earth, and I think Lobes really likes her. She would probably be considered the dark horse candidate, but I think that is only due to the way the show edits the footage and chooses what viewers see. I suspect she has been a strong choice for much of the way, she just got less camera time than other girls. And I suspect the reason for this is because she is normal. There were many other bitter/jealous/drunk/stupid girls doing much more interesting things than having class and being normal.

The second individual overnight date was Lisa. This was awkward. It was clear that Zobo planned on using this date to be serious and ask questions that he had previously avoided. To his credit, he stuck with his plan and asked the girls the things he wanted to know. He certainly expressed how he felt and faced and uncertainties that he had. Unfortunately for Lisa, this caused her stock to drop dramatically. With her plan exposed, she did a very poor job of defending herself when questioned about her intentions. I don’t think that she was being fake, I just think that she was asked some difficult questions and she hadn’t thought about what she was going to say ahead of time. And stumbling over your suspect answers is never a good approach when you are being asked serious questions. (In her defense, I always feel the need to defend her; I think her answer about why she went on the show was acceptable. She said she went on there to have fun, and there is nothing wrong with that. That’s normal. What are not normal are people who prep themselves to fall in love with someone they have never met, and then do so. All a reasonable contestant can do is show up with an open mind, knowing there is a chance you might like what you see.) Needless to say, I felt it was pretty clear that she was the third ranked girl, even before they showed the date with Sadie.

The last date went well, which should surprise no one because Sadie has been the top choice since the first show. They always have a good time together and in my opinion he is the most intrigued by her. That’s not to say he doesn’t have feelings for the others, but I think there is the most chemistry between the two of them. The only annoying thing about their date was her issue with saving herself. I can understand that she was concerned about it, but as a viewer it was totally clear that Lozo was not going to care. And to make matter worse, there was no other drama or issues this entire episode. So the producers had to focus on this issue, which means every time she mentioned it (which was a lot) they showed it. And before every commercial break they had to bring it up (up next, the virgin decides… after the break, will she save herself? More to come, including Sadie’s choice for the overnight fantasy suite… What will go down next, will it be Sadie?) In any case, as I predicted in the last recap it all worked out and Sadie maintained her position as the favorite.

I was a little surprised how upset Lisa was in the limo. It’s a completely normal reaction; I just didn’t expect it from her. I guess since she has been pretty confident, and because they tried to make it seem like she liked getting married and sticking to her plan much more than Lorenz (which may have been true.) I also wish that when LBorg was saying his final goodbye to the loser that he would stop focusing on looks. Every week he makes a point to tell them that he thinks they are really hot, and I think it makes him sound like that’s all he cares about. Clearly if they made it this far he is attracted to them, and its not the only thing he cares about.

I think next week is the ‘Women Tell All’ which always gets on my nerves because you have a room full of bitter jealous girls. Then I assume the following week is the finale where LorBer will propose to say-it-ain’t-Sadie.

The Bachelor Rome: The Final Three

If you read my previous recap of the Bachelor, than you know that I was not surprised that Agnese went home on Monday. It is terribly difficult to have a relationship with someone that you can barely talk to. However, I will say that I thought she looked real good this week. It seemed pretty clear to me that LorB was attracted to her the most. I guess its no surprised since she made the final 4 and cant talk to him, but I thought his body language and move busting really showed how much he wanted it. Also I think he was surprised that he had as strong of feelings as he did. He really liked her physically but knew she couldn’t compare to the other girls in terms of a connection on a deeper level. I think he was sincerely upset when she was leaving, but he did sort of make it sound fake when he commented that he wanted to be emotional to let her know how hard a choice it was for him. I also think that the cry-session they shared might have helped Agnese if they had done it sooner. I think LoBo may have valued this other form of communication and it may have helped her stick around a bit longer.

I can’t believe that Jennifer is still around. I still really don’t see why he likes her. I think she is solid, I just don’t see LoBs being that into her. He knows she possesses good qualities, and sometimes I think he is too busy looking for reasons to eliminate girls as opposed to looking for the things he likes. For instance I thought he genuinely had a connection with Agnese, granted it was probably mainly physical, but it was more than I have seen him have with most of the other girls. And I haven’t even gotten to Jennifer’s family. I would like to think they were being extra awkward and weird because they were being filmed, but her dad was pretty sketchy. Did he not think about how strange I was to threaten a grown man on national TV? I know he is just being a protective father and making a point, but the guy who he is threatening is trying to decide between your daughter and a bunch of other hot girls (who potentially have normal parents.) I know he was just being honest because he cares for his daughter, but I am not sure he was really helping her cause.

If you want to talk about doing things to drop your stock, I should probably mention what Lisa did in this episode. She had her best friend stop by why LBo was at her place. That would be acceptable, but the problem was that she was carrying a wedding dress! In what world is this normal? I think every guy in the world sided with eL-Bo when he said something like “what guy wouldn’t be sort of freaked out?” And the worst part was life planning Lisa claimed she thought it went well and him seeing her in the dress helped her chances. Wrong! I couldn’t get as good of a read with Lisa’s family. They seemed kind of normal I guess, all aware that Lisa is a planner. This did, at least in my mind, somewhat justify her obsessive plan. It may not have justified it, but at least you could see that this is how she always is with her life. She is not just some crazy girl who is obsessed with only getting married. I can’t decide if Lisa or Jennifer is going home next week. Fearing for his life, I hope elbow gets rid of Jennifer first. Otherwise her dad is going to be pissed because she is going to be even more upset in the finale when ZoBo selects Sadie.

Sadie is still the lock to win the show. In my view, her family was far and away the most normal, and I agreed with ‘Renz that knowing Sadie this was not at all surprising. There isn’t too much to say about Sadie other than I could see a potential issue next week with the overnight dates. And it is going to go like this: They have romantic date, Sadie knows there is the fantasy suite option and will be all worked up about it. LoZo will know this is coming, and be classy about it. One of two things will happen:
1) after being asked, Sadie will say she would love to stay the night, and she even considers losing herself for him. However, ZoLo knows better than this, and having had his share of women doesn’t mind holding out. So he will be her knight in shining armor when he respectfully declines her invitation. He wants to be the one, he just doesn’t mind waiting. I am not sure if she will actually make the offer in this option, but either way the ending is the same: failure to launch the USS LoBo, but both parties are happy and she goes on to win.
2) Sadie declines the overnight date. It is just not her style, and despite having been stressed about it for days, she decides not to go for it. She fears that this will be a major dagger to her chances, but LB (not to be confused with LB33) doesn’t care. He still likes her the best and ends up picking her. Just that instead of getting with Sadie he calls up Agnese and spends the night with her, but never tells anyone. Just kidding, although LoZoBo wouldn’t hate that.

So that’s my thoughts on the Bachelor. If I had to make predictions, I would say: 3. Jennifer 2. Lisa 1. Sadie

Updated: The Bachelor Recap

I am a little bit surprised by which girls are remaining. I am going to break it down by girl, as I did in my last Bachelor post. I will comment on the 6 girls who were remaining at the beginning of last night’s episode. For lack of a better order, I am going alphabetically.

Agnese- She still cant speak English. Obviously she wasn’t going to learn it in a week (or however long between episodes) but it still seems to be a major issue. In my opinion she is not very hot. At first I thought she was kind of hot, but the more I see of her, the less attractive I find her. I think Lobo finds her attractive, but I don’t believe that is what is keeping her around. There are two other more important reasons why she continues to get roses. The first is because of the lack of competition. The other girls, as a whole, really aren’t that impressive this season. The second, and more important reason, is her inability to communicate. This is a major dagger in real life, but on reality dating shows this is a major plus for Lobo. What I mean is that basically at any time he can bounce her at any time and not feel bad about it. He can play the ‘I can’t even talk to you’ card and everyone (including her) has to understand. I think as he narrows it down, he feels like he is leading on the girls he lets continue. And that means that they are going to like him more, and he is going to have to hurt them more. If he keeps her around until say the final 3 or 4, it makes his decision at that time much easier. And he is doing this while still giving himself a chance to develop real feelings for her. But if not it’s like when you had a P-wing in Mario Brothers to pass any level at any time, you wouldn’t use it on an easy level. You would wait until you were faced with a very difficult decision. I think thus far there have been other girls he wanted to bounce more each week, so he did. He is saving her to eliminate her later. I realize that sounds strange.

Desiree- She has toned down the ‘yeah, baby’ which is a good thing. Clearly that is her most annoying feature. She is somewhat attractive, although like Agnese the more I see of Desiree the less hot I find her. Lobo knows she is freaky, and if it were about just hooking up Desiree would stand a much better chance. I think Lobo was intrigued, and as a result gave her a chance. But I think other than her craziness and slight hotness Lobo wasn’t really feeling it. He didn’t think of her as someone he would be happy with down the road. I am not saying she is dumb, but I got the feeling that Lobo didn’t feel like he wanted someone who comes off as she does. And I don’t mean to be insulting; I just didn’t see him wanting a girl like that. Because of that, I was not surprised that she got bounced last night. I was annoyed how fired up she got regarding Lisa. But I will save that for my comments about Lisa.

Jeanette- Lobo raved about how attracted he was to her, and other than maybe part of the first episode, I never saw it. I did think she had more of a chance a week or two ago. Lobo was feeling her, and she was quiet but in a good way. While other psycho b’s are making themselves look horrible, she remained quiet. So I wasn’t surprised she made it this far. And going into last night’s episode I had her penciled in as maybe in the final 3. I knew she wasn’t winning but I thought it was her spot to lose. And last night that’s exactly what she did. Not to be mean, but I thought she looked not very good last night. And then she totally dropped the ball after winning the chariot race and not taking advantage. Enjoy the moment? What? When you were little, and it was your birthday and you were blowing out candles and someone said ‘make a wish’ did you ever say to yourself ‘I just want to enjoy the moment’? It’s not a bad thing to want; it’s actually a very nice wish. However, it seemed weak (Lobo even called it a cop-out which I appreciated that he recognized) and sort of cheesy. Like she was trying to seem thoughtful and it felt so suck-up-y. That’s just my opinion though. Overall, I wasn’t sad to see her go.

Jennifer- I barely knew who she was before last night. She was just kind of one of those blond girls who was laying low, not being too crazy and capitalizing on her alone time with Zo. And it seems to be working. Going to their date last night, I immediately started feeling bad for her. I was fearful that Lobo was going to bounce her after the date just as he had done the week before in an alone date. I was thinking it would go nearly the same- he would say that he wanted to be fair and truthful and that he just wasn’t feeling it. But I was wrong! The date went well and she got a rose. I still don’t have tons of opinions on her. She seems nice and pretty down to earth. The biggest dagger for her (it appears) is going to be when Zo meets her family. I am pretty sure last night she said they were cool, but then after she got the rose she casually mentioned something like ‘except for my dad, hes kind of crazy’ or something like that. Then in the previews they show her hunter dad loading a gun and jokingly threatening Lobo. But I won’t judge too prematurely because that could easily be a tiny clip taken out of context. Or she could have a crazy family that scares Zo. We will have to wait and see.

Lisa- As you may remember, I really liked her at the beginning. Well I still like her, maybe not as much as I used to, but she is still currently high in the power rankings. The thing that gets me is that everyone hates her so much. I understand that she has this 5 year plan, but since when is that a bad thing. Sure, it’s abnormal to plan your future out when it comes to the romantic aspect. But how is that any worse than the other girls? They are all going out of the country and falling in love with this guy they just met. In my opinion this show is unique because it’s not a normal love situation. Every other girl insists that Lisa’s feelings aren’t genuine and that she is playing the game. Playing the game? She is trying to get Lobo to like her. THAT’S CALLED DATING! Aren’t they all doing that? So the other girls go on this show, meet this prince, fall in love with him, and try and get him to fall in love with them. Well, if you were going on a job interview (which is similar) wouldn’t you do research in an effort to make yourself seem more desirable to the company? It’s like they are all bitter and jealous because she is familiar with the Bachelor. Why is that wrong? It's not, more power to her. Its not like she doesn’t like Zo just as much as the other girls, she does. But they use this against her and try and pretend their feelings are more real. I don’t think they are. Yes, I think Lisa has issues. But her main issue is that she doesn’t understand how having this ‘plan’ makes her come off. Its not like other people haven’t thought to themselves that ideally they would like to be married by X, or have kids at a certain time. Most people have an opinion on those matters, even if they say they don’t. It’s just that verbalizing it and talking about it all the time makes you seem strange. And she is, but I suspect that is the type of person that she is in life. She probably is organized and goal oriented and a hard worker. So it’s not surprising that she is good at ‘The Bachelor.’ Anyways, I still sort of like her, but I must admit that her plan does sort of tarnish her image. As a viewer I would like her more if she made no mention of her plan, but I am not Lobo, and his opinion is the only one that matters. Not to mention I am sure CBS doesn't mind showing each and every time she says it, possibly distorting our view. Anyways, I think she is in good shape, but based on the previews of next episode I don’t see her going as far as I once thought. It appeared that she already had a wedding dress and all these wedding plans despite the fact that she has no guy. I definitely think that if this is the case that it is going to freak out Zo.

Sadie- Clearly still my top choice and I am hoping I will be able to say that I had it right wire-to-wire. She remains atop the list because she is hot, nice funny, charming, and to me she is the most normal girl remaining. Every time they are alone they get along very well. In my opinion, she has a charming innocence about her while still remaining confident. I think Lobo digs that, and I think he gets the sense that she has a lot of the qualities that he would like in a wife. To me it’s her show to lose. The only thing that potentially could go wrong is if she falls head over heels for him. If that happens to the extreme, and Zo notices, he might feel added pressure/stress or be nervous about it. Generally, it is not common of men to like when girls are obsessed over them. I think they tend to enjoy the chase, which Sadie has handled very well thus far. And once they are down to the last 2 or 3, every girl on this show always says they are falling for him, and they never thought they would find real feelings… And I am just thinking that she could be worse than other girls, because she is so innocent. Honestly I don’t at all see this being a problem. I was just trying to think of something to write about Sadie other than she is the New England Patriots of The Bachelor and she should win. But she is the best girl left for many reasons and I will be rooting for her.

Bachelor Recap

I am working on a recap of The Bachelor from last night. Check back in a little while...

New TV Season

I can't believe I just wrote this...

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It’s no secret that I watch reality TV. Many of my favorite shows are reality shows. In celebration of the start of the new season on network TV, and because of my interest in reality shows, I decided that I want to write my opinion of ABC’s The Bachelor. I will assume that you, as the reader, are familiar with the show and so I will jump right in to my thoughts.

I enjoyed the first episode, in particular the segment where the ladies are first introduced to Lorenzo Borghese, this season’s bachelor. The ladies are all hot and bothered because LoBor (or sometimes just Lobo) is some kind of Italian prince. My initial thought about him is that he is a fairly reasonable guy. He seems to know what’s up, in terms of these reality dating shows. I think he is not trying to go the elimidate route, which is good for the show. While those slimy make-out-with-as-many girls as possible shows are sometimes entertaining, they are only inches away from Jerry Springer. So he seems (at least thus far) to be fairly conservative about getting close with the girls. He could have easily already gotten on 6 of the 8 remaining girls.

Anyways, the success of the season is pretty much controlled by the girls they bring in. I thought right out of the gate they were on the right track. The first girl introduced, Lisa, was my favorite from start to last. She was my favorite because she was passed by the very last girl introduced, Sadie.

On the first night LoBor had to say goodbye to about half of the girls. I am sure he was overwhelmed and thought it was difficult, but to me it seems easy. With so many different girls, it would seem to me that you would be looking for reasons to send girls home, not keep them. If someone is annoying, just send them home.

Right from the start LoBor was feeling Lisa. They shared a moment while they had a conversation away from the rest of the girls and she was in. I was somewhat annoyed by the whole ‘tree hugger’ episode, but what can you do. It’s a TV show, and there are cameras all around. As if the situation of 30 girls all trying to get 1 guy to like them in 8 hours isn’t strange enough, then throw them in front of a camera, and you can only expect so much. I have a feeling that if they shoot all the girls for the entire night, then only show the viewer a few seconds of video, they can pretty much dictate how certain people are portrayed. And I can’t blame them for doing this, as ABC’s is probably far more concerned with ratings than they are with LoBo falling in love.

So Lisa was in, and so I was only concerned with Sadie getting to the next round. Not surprisingly, she needed little effort to not go home as there were plenty of other crazy/annoying/ugly girls who had no chance of staying around. The only problem I have with the rose ceremony is that I often think he is advised or assisted with his choices. LoBo still has not eliminated Erica. I do not want to devote much more than a sentence to talking about her, but pretty much she very spoiled and so annoying. I can’t imagine that he actually is interested in her. And its like contradictory. They show clips of them totally having awkward moments and not getting along at all and he selects her for the next round. I am pretty sure this is strictly for TV. Kind of like how at least one minority always makes it into the second round even if the contestant has no interest in the girl.

I wasn’t until the second round that Sadie really stepped it up. She was on a group date and she stood out enough to get a rose before the rose ceremony. It was later revealed that she is saving herself for marriage. The other girls were making fun of her but I think that actually helps her chances. In my opinion it seems that LoBor has already narrowed it down to the three girls who got a rose prior to the ceremony. And I can’t blame him. I would have been kind of disappointed if I were him. I think he will be happy once he settles on Sadie, but overall if I were responsible for selecting 30 of the hottest, smartest, most fun, successful girls, I would like to think I could assemble a slightly better group than LoBor was given.

This entry is getting wordy and I still never made it to my commentary on all the girls. So here are a few of my other comments about this season and the contestants:

Desiree- Pretty hot, is very interested in having fun, baby. She adds baby to the end of every phrase that she says, baby. She would be fun to be friends with, but hanging out with her all the time would probably not be fun, baby. Also she seems incapable of being serious, baby.

Ellen- I am glad she went home. I never really like her (other than when she did the chicken wing during that bedroom dance party) and was annoyed with how she tried to call out Lisa. It made he look pretty pathetic and like a witch with a b.

Jeanette-she is really young and not bad looking and also a teacher. Her stock went up when they went to the beach (then again she is 23 and one of the younger contestants.) She doesn’t get much time on camera, and her face reminds me of Mandy Moore at times.

Jami- blonde from Texas. Hasn’t stood out to me but hasn’t been as bad as some of the others so she gets the rose by default.

Gina- is an ultrasound technician. I think that’s an interested job, and I am sort of curious why she chose to be called that. I would imagine that she could have called herself something more general, like physicians assistant or something like that. I was glad she got a rose, only because I disliked a few people more than her.

Agnese- it’s funny that she is still around because she doesn’t speak English. I feel fairly certain that the producers just walked around Rome for an hour before the show and asked her to be on it because she was hot. And it has worked for the most part. She has outlasted most of the other girls without actually being able to talk to LoBo very much. She is pretty hot though, and also he won’t feel bad about letting her go later on.

Erica- wishes she was Paris Hilton, thinks she is as hot as Charlize Theron and as cool as Brad Pitt in Oceans 11. She is a socialite, and I think her family is very rich. She claimed that her flight to Rome was the first time she flew coach in an airplane.

Kim- passed out from drinking 2 days in a row. Sure she was at the beach in the sun all day long. And maybe she was drinking. But so was everyone else… didn’t she know that her chances of sticking around would be greatly increased if she actually showed some interest in the bachelor? Despite her claims, has to be embarrassed with her showing.

Sarah- she dominated when they played football, but I think her courtesy rose in the first round was because she was the only minority in the group (and she was from Canada!) I did like her and wouldn’t have minded if she stuck around, but LoBor didn’t ever seem too interested.

Rosella- she was eliminated in the first round and I was pumped. She kept saying how it was destiny to be there and she was convinced she was going to win. She claimed to have sold her car to raise money to fund a new wardrobe for the trip and that turned out to be a major dagger since she was only in Rome for 8 hours. She just annoyed me for some reason. I also heard she had a kid, but I cant remember where I heard that.