Stay in school!

In the most recent “Teen Mom” episode, Maci dropped two college classes as she struggled to juggle the demands of motherhood and being a student. Obviously, her priorities changed when she had Bentley, but they’ll both have a better shot at brighter futures if she gets her degree. At least I hope so … She wants a degree in journalism!!!  Meanwhile, Maci’s ex, Ryan, went to see a lawyer and plans to surprise her with court papers.  I’m not Ryan’s biggest fan, but this might be the right way to get their child custody issues smoothed over once and for all.

I’m proud of Farrah for finally visiting Derek’s grave. The moment was sad and hard to watch, but I think she’s making progress in trying to deal with the very painful death of her daughter’s father. I like how Farrah keeps Derek very much a part of little Sophia’s life by showing her the book filled with his pictures and talking about him to her. Sophia’s on her way to getting potty trained, but that poor new puppy… I hope Farrah takes it out of diapers soon, too!

-- Ann

Auction Hunters

Chris here,

Next on the docket in the Pawn/Storage Locker/Auction show category is the show "Auction Hunters" on Spike. I can honestly say I've never watched anything on the channel prior to Hunters so the network is new to me.

"Auction Hunters" is all about the happenings of Allen Haff and Clinton "Ton" Jones, two professional storage locker buyers. Both Haff and Jones roam the country looking for the next "find" in an abandoned storage locker.

Haff is an antiques dealer and Jones has experience in guns and safes. Hunters shows the chemistry between the two when buying the storage lockers. Both whisper quietly to each other to keep a low profile when hammering out how much to bid on a locker. 


Hunters is a hybrid of the previously mentioned A&E show "Storage Wars" and History Channel's "Pawn Stars." It is a hybrid in that both Haff and Jones try to get the winning bid on a locker like on "Storage Wars" and attempt to sell and hammer out a deal with the local person who specializes in the item(s) the two are attempting to sell, like on "Pawn Stars."

Some of the finds on Hunters are on a bigger scale compared to Wars. On a recent episode in Dallas the guys found a jet engine made for a cruise missile, something you would never have thought to be stored and left to be unclaimed in a storage locker.

"Auction Hunters" and "Storage Wars" are very similar. They both premiered within a month of each other in late 2010. They differ in the sense that Wars primarily takes place in the Southwestern United States whereas Hunters takes place all around the country with episodes filmed in Chicago, Boston and Dallas. 


The show airs on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. on Spike. Visit the show's website here.

Clinton "Ton" Jones and Allen Haff, the "Auction Hunters"

Birthday blues

While Maci and Ryan seemed to be getting along better, things turned icy fast on "Teen Mom" after she told him she wanted to have a bit more time with their son, Bentley, to take him trick-or-treating on Halloween (which is also Bentley’s birthday). Ryan and his family looked uncomfortably stone-faced at Bentley’s birthday party. When Maci said was definitely taking Bentley, Ryan swore at her in front of their son and stormed off. “You gotta do what you gotta do,” Ryan’s dad told him – which apparently means taking Maci to court. I don’t know who was in the wrong here – it seems like a peaceful compromise could have been worked out – but I hope, for the sake of their son, Maci and Ryan’s relationship becomes more cordial.

I loved the look on Tyler’s face when he found out he got his first job ever at a pizza place! Catelynn was also thrilled to find work. These two have a lot going for them: a generally positive outlook, maturity beyond their years and a loving relationship.

What’s next for Farrah? She clearly wants to open her own restaurant, but struggled in her final project in culinary school. While she doesn’t seem to have the same financial struggles as the other teen moms, I think she has an especially difficult road ahead because of the death of her daughter’s dad.

Amber is still mired in the drama over whether she’ll end up losing custody of her daughter, Leah. On the bright side, she rented a cool new house from a friend’s mother. It’s a good fresh start.  

--Ann

Reunions

Valerie here...

I have no intention of ever attending my high school reunion. I graduated with a whopping thirty-six kids in a town that was smaller than small. There was an IGA, a gas station, a local hardware store and it was big news when a plant nursery moved into town. Now, a new lingerie shop is conveniently located next to the school crosswalk.

I do not intend to revisit that past. Despite my resolve, I think it would actually be less painful to attend my high school reunion than sit through the "Real Housewives of New York" reunion specials. I almost reached for an aspirin halfway through because the constant fighting gave me a headache. I felt sorry for Andy Cohen, the host, who remarked that the women were acting "like beasts."

At one point, my husband, who was eating on the couch shouted, "I am going to throw my sandwich at that ..." I'm not sure which woman he was referring to — they all deserved a sandwich flung unceremoniously in the face.

The women, donning jewel-toned dresses, watched footage of themselves saying and acting horribly. And yet, they were still able to point the finger at some other than themselves. As a woman, it was mortifying.

Here's the thing: I am always — please, forgive the cliche — sticking my foot in my mouth. Open wide and insert. It happens to all of us at some point, perhaps a bit more frequently for me. I blame genetics. Regardless, I am pretty familiar with apologizing for my behavior. I find that most people apologize when they realize they've said something offensive or hurt another person's feelings. It's what keeps us humble.

These women, are not humble. Whenever Andy rolled the film, the women had smirks on their faces as if to say, "See how she treated me. Vindication!"

All of the women at some point, treated a cast mate poorly. I've been in arguments with friends where be both may have said things that were not fair, or kind. Yet, I can take responsibility for my part. I don't answer for their behavior.

These women, however, absolved themselves as having any part in wrongdoing. They were the victim. Even when Andy pointed out some of the things they said or did, it was like they were oblivious. The best we got was when the Countess semi-acknowledged that she may offend on occasion, unintentionally.

When confronted, most of the women would say something to the effect of, "It was never intended to be mean..."

Sure, insult someone's physical appearance, spouse, etc. and laugh it off. It means nothing. I think the ladies need a refresher course in empathy and manners.

I know, I'm on my soapbox. It's actually taken me some time to blog because I was processing that nightmare show. I'm all for Trash TV, but I may be leaving the viewership of the "Housewives." There are no redeeming qualities to it anymore — and these "high society" gals have truly epitomized trash.

I'm moving onto more comical reality shows. Any suggestions?

Reality TV overload

Valerie here...

Ramona shows off the engorged girls.

To catch you up — I did not see any New York Housewives on my trip to the city. My guess is, we travel in different social circles. After enjoying several social engagements that did not require couture clothing, I revelled in some serious couch time and caught up on a lot of TV junk, Sunday. I reasoned that it was too hot to venture outside and I was proved correct when my husband emerged drenched in sweat from a seventeen-mile bike ride. OK, I was being lazy.

So, I know that we're already into reunion time for the Housewives, but can we talk about the season finale?

We saw LuAnn lavishly celebrating her one-year anniversary. Now, I understand that LuAnn is happy and wants to show it off, but really, it was a bit ostentatious. One year? It's like a friend and co-worker (Ann Zaniewski) once said about re-commitment ceremonies, "It's the kiss of death." What does that say about a one-year dating anniversary? Even Jacques expressed concern for next year's anniversary (if they make it) after being serenaded by his lady, accompanied by the famed Natalie Cole.

I am still unclear why the famous singer was present.

During all of the drinking and yacht hobnobbing, Ramona insists that she must be pregnant after her breast swell and her lady friend disappears. Heels aflight, Sonja and Ramona run to the "The Head" for a party pregnancy test. Jill runs after them like the girl who didn't get invited to the after-prom party and bangs on the door demanding to get in. I kept wishing a "Sixteen Candles" moment would take place and they would put Jill in a class-encased table.

Back to the pregnancy. Apparently, the botox has seeped into Ramona's brain. Lady, you could be a grandma by now. You are not pregnant, you are entering menopause. It must be delightful to be so delirious.

Although featured less and less in the waning episodes, Kelly offers some funny quips regarding Simon and Alex twittering at the party.

In a paraphrase: "Are they tweeting to each other?"
"You're so hot."
"No, you're so hot."

I have to say, I am team Kelly this season — if I could just forget last season...

So now, it's reunion time. I am saving them up to watch them together On Demand. The anticipation kills me. Aforementioned Ann, said it was almost too awful to bear. I can only imagine the clucking. Reunion episodes actually give my husband a headache.

One episode did not suit me though — I was having a marathon. So, I peeked a bit at "The Kardashians."

I really felt for Kim when she was diagnosed with psoriasis. When you're money maker is covered in skin rashes, it's cause for concern. Her mother seemed so unsympathetic, I was shocked. Is Kris Jenner (wanna be Kardashian) becoming the biggest media whore out of all the ladies?

Here's a reminder Kris, be a mom first! Stop treating Bruce (your husband, light of your life) like a dog. Hand him his balls back and be kind to him. Stop ordering him around, leaving him off your family photo wall of fame, and my god, keep your married name.

I also watched a bit of "Bill and Giuliana." It was hard seeing the duo struggle through failed in vitro fertilization last season. I so hope the pair can make a baby. And how cute would he/she be?

Lastly, I watched one episode of "Jerseylicious." This show seems even more fake than all the other reality TV trash out there. The fights between Olivia and, well, everyone, are draining me. I think I'm over it — that is, until I crave some leopard hot pants!

My low self-esteem from watching such alluring crap makes me feel the urge to note that I also read three books in the last two weeks. I don't have the loads of money to pad my self-worth like the above-mentioned reality stars; thus, I need your acceptance.

Until next time...

"Yeeeeeep!" - Storage Wars

Chris here...


A bit surprised I've been keeping up with this as much as I have. The next show I have up for discussion is A&E's "Storage Wars", another big player in the holy trinity of the Pawn/Auction reality category ("Pawn Stars" and "American Pickers" being the others.) "Storage Wars" involves a growing trend, one that I was never familiar with before, the art of bidding on abandoned storage lockers. Apparently when one does not pay the rent on a storage locker it's contents are put up for auction to recover some of the lost revenue. Participants of the auctions get a five minute preview of what is in the locker. Sometimes many items in the locker are obstructed by larger items so it is sometimes a gamble, there could be more valuable items that are not in eyesight. 


The show involves the wheelings and dealings of  a circle of professional bidders. Dave Hester is the owner of a thrift shop who both bids on many units and antagonizes his fellow bidders but purposely drives the bids up and backs down. He is know for his "Yep!" call when he bids on a unit. Darrel Sheets is known as "The Gambler" of the group because he will bid on a unit sight unseen. Jarrod Schultz and his girlfriend Brandi Passante are a hybrid of Dave and Darrell- Jarrod owns his own resale shop and will also bid on a locker without much inspection. The veteran, and my personal favorite of the group, is Barry Weiss. Weiss is more of a collector rather than a reseller like his fellow bidders. Weiss is the atypical Southern California middle age man- tan, slick hair, wheeler and dealer. I always think of Weiss as a hybrid of film producer Robert Evans, Michael Douglass and Jack Nicholson. 


Wars takes place in Southern California but has ventured to Arizona and Northern California. When each episode begins the bidders give their own analysis of the region where the locker auction is located- ex) a storage auction in San Diego might yield units filled with surfboards. 


The show airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. (usually two back-to-back half-hour episodes) on A&E. Find out more info on the show here

"Storage Wars"

Barry Weiss

Legendary Producer Robert Evans

Michael Douglass

Potty mouth

Ann here...

Oh, Amber. In this week’s episode (aired July 19), the “Teen Mom” bad girl is upset about the possibility of losing her young daughter, Leah, to Child Protective Services. CPS got involved because MTV’s cameras caught Amber hitting her boyfriend, Gary, in the presence of their daughter on a previous episode.

It's hard to feel sorry for Amber. I’m sure being a young mom is extremely stressful, but her behavior seems to be getting increasingly erratic and angry. Example: When Gary asked her to not swear in front of their daughter, Amber proceeded to call out f-bomb after f-bomb as the conversation quickly erupted into a huge fight. I’m tired of seeing Amber blame hapless Gary for making her angry while selfishly disregarding how her own words and actions are impacting her daughter.  She needs to start acting like a grown up and accept the fact that if she loses her daughter, it’s her own fault, not Gary’s. Poor little Leah... She’s looking more and more stressed out.

Also in this episode, the meeting between Maci’s ex-boyfriend, Ryan, and new beau, Kyle, went well. Maci seems happier and more settled this season. Hopefully the positive vibes continue.

Farrah reconnected with the father and step-mother of her deceased former boyfriend, Derek. Drama is brewing after Derek’s mother filed to have visitation rights to her granddaughter, Sophia, something Farrah seems hell-bent on making sure doesn’t happen.

Tyler, Catelynn’s boyfriend, was overjoyed to see his father, Butch, released from jail. Butch is in a relationship with Catelynn’s mom, April (Does that technically make Catelynn and Tyler brother and sister?) but has been ordered by a judge to have no contact with her because of allegations of domestic violence. Catelynn and Tyler seem a little nervous about whether Butch will be able to comply with the no contact order and avoid another stint in the slammer... We’ll have to see what happens.

-- Ann