What The $%^&* Is Up With Project Runway????

Wrong…

Wrong..

Wrong…

SO DAMN WRONG!!

Ok.. so I had to give up doing PR recaps because apparently, On Demand decided to NOT put up the episodes right after they aired.. the way they had at the beginning of the cycle. So even though I’m kind of up to date.. I catch the show at random times so it was just to hard.

But my JAW DROPPED when Shirin was given the “AUF”…

Shirin? Over Christopher?? You have to be kidding me!

Although I was a fan of Christopher’s in the beginning, he’s just gone down hill for me and has consistently been in the bottom for what? The past few weeks?

Shirin may not have WON challenges :: I think she won one :: but to eliminate her because ONE dress wasn’t up to par? … The BOTTOM half of the dress wasn’t up to par?

No.. not acceptible.

I liked Shirin.. liked her energy.. liked her designs.. liked that she was as good as she is for being so young.

This is so wrong it’s BADONG!

REVIEW: Dexter

I don’t normally watch television other then for Top Chef and Project Runway so I’m not all together surprised that I never hit upon this show. It’s everything that I like in entertainment .. left of center, witty, dry humor..

So thanks to one of those 3am channel surf-est where there was absolutely nothing to watch, I found this show.

After three days, I’m already on Season 2, Episode 2 and I’m seriously considering barricading myself in my bedroom to watch it straight through… it’s that good. I even got Chief hooked and considering NOTHING entertains him unless it’s on the Syfy Channel, History Channel or Fox News Network.. that’s a feat in itself.

Without giving too much away :: you really should watch it :: the series is about a serial killer who only kills serial killers. His baggage and why he is the way he is was outlined during the course of the 12 episode first season :: and my chin is STILL hanging down to my knees :: and Season 2 is continuing with a story line that’s completely rocking Dexter’s world.

If you like quirky.. if you like smartly written scripts.. if you like sarcastic humor I really think you’ll enjoy this show.

Watch.. and let me know

My God.. What The FUCK Is Up With Mackenzie Phillips?

Um.. ok.

So when I first read about this, I thought that I was still in the Nyquil haze because.. WHAT? Did I just read that John Phillips had a 10 year sexual relationship with his DAUGHTER? The chick from that show ONE DAY AT A TIME???

And then I read that Michelle Phillips :: former wife and tv actress :: had said she [Mackenzie] was freakin’ crazy and that Chynna Phillips :: Baldwin-wife, half sister and singer :: has said that she actually believes her and I was like WHOAAAAA!!!!

There’s something to be said for truth being stranger then fiction. I mean.. would YOU make something like this up?

There’s something to be said for wanting to drop a bomb shell to get on Oprah or sell more books.

But there’s also something to be said about the lump of mush that resides between the ears of a decades long drug addict.

Does she BELIEVE it happened? Absolutely, I believe that she does.

Did it REALLY happen? I have no idea and really, don’t want to corrupt what little part of my soul that is still pure.

But here’s the deal…

We live in a sick… depraved.. degenerate world.

A SICK.. DEPRAVED.. DEGENERATE world.

RECAP: Top Chef Las Vegas – Episode 1

One thing you have to admit about Bravo … their reality competition shows are generally a notch up.

I <3 Top Chef… even before I got with Chief. Sooo much better then Hell’s Kitchen because the judges are actually constructive in their criticism and the chef’s are actually.. well, chefs.

Sorry.. but if you really think that a short order cook can POSSIBLY win the opportunity to head a Gordon Ramsey restaurant at the Borgata then well.. you need to dip into the Crack Whore’s zip lock bag of pills.

Anyway… as with my previous post on the new season of Project Runway, I’ll just give a list of the contestants and my initial impressions.

NOTE: I do NOT watch this with Chief. I tried once but he just got SO fucking annoying with his color commentating that I threw him out of the bedroom. Don’t get me wrong, Chief is an AMAZING chef and we would be probably living large if he would just succumb to MY desire to have him audition for one of these shows. He’d be brilliant on Top Chief but I would actually love for him to go knife to knife with Ramsey… OMG, Gordon would have SO met his match but yknow.. he won’t do it. At any rate, sometimes I just want to be entertained so he’s not allowed to watch it with me!

Okay.. so this season the gang is in Vegas and they’re throwing in some twists and stuff that is going to make things a little bit interesting. So we’ll see..

At any rate, here’s the scoop:

Ash Fulk

To be completely honest with you, I can’t remember one thing that dude did on this episode other then saying that he was the only one of the chef’s with a boyfriend.

I can’t remember what team of four he was for the quick fire OR what he cooked during the main challenge that was based on each chef’s vice.

Not sure not being remembered is a good thing but with 16 chefs.. and it being episode 1.. it’s not unusual to forget someone here and there!

Dig the bow tie though!

Ashley Merriman

She’s another one that didn’t leave any kind of impression.

I’m not even sure that they spent time on her during the initial part of the show when everyone meets everyone else for the first time.

I could go back and watch it On Demand but yknow, I kind of think that would be cheating in away. If she didn’t do anything to stand out then.. well.. she didn’t do anything to stand out.

Bryan Vottaggio

The slightly geeky.. non-tattooed.. not as cool Vottagio brother!

This season includes brothers. Each successful in their own right and living on opposite coasts I think.

This must add another level of intensity during challenges because of the whole sibling rivalry thing going on… not sure if their cooking styles are different but in the coming weeks, we should see that coming into play more especially when the chefs cook individually as opposed to in a team.

Eli Kirshtein

Eli may not look it.. but he has a long resume behind him with some serious background!

Very impressive.

Okay.. I cheated. I looked at his bio on Bravo’s website because I’m starting to feel like I’m not remembering ANYTHING from this episode.. but I guess that’s the point, right?

Heh.

Eve Aronoff

Poor Eve!

I think she was seriously affected by a case of the butterflies!

It seems like every season there is one chef that you think “.. omg, she is SO out of her league!” and Eve would be THAT chef THIS season especially because she is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan and not some culinary hotspot.

But let me tell you… this chick is not some fly by night lets-open-a-restaurant little rascal. The girl got some chops and a more then impressive resume. Hopefully, she’ll get down to do what she does best instead of over thinking what the judges might want.

That could be her downfall.

Hector Santiago

Hector is just badass.

Come on.. can you just picture him in cut-off leather cruising around on a motorcycle loud enough to loosen your fillings?

And who else looks like they have the balls enough to throw a steak in the deep fryer of Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant?

Well, ok.. Chief would.

Side Note: Chief actually cooked along side Wolfgang Puck a few years ago during a local Pro-Am competition for charity and Chief can’t stand him. He said he was the most arrogant mother fucker who wouldn’t say anything good about ANYONE else’s dishes regardless of how good they were. If there’s one thing that Chief is cocky about, it’s his ability in the kitchen so… yknow.. there it is.

Anyway.. back to Hector.

Hector is from Puerto Rico so his dishes are going to have that PR-island flair to them.

Jen Zavala

Jen was the first chef eliminated.. and even I knew that she was going to be.

Her breaded vegan something or other not only looked like crap but anyone who ever tried to bread something could see that it wasn’t breaded properly.

I think she tried to hard.. and I think she just had a bad case of the butterflies too. I got the impression that she wanted to win this SO much that it became a mental thing for her and instead of just doing what she does best, she took an unnecessary risk and it bit her in the ass.

Basically, she just tried to hard.

Jennifer Carroll

I’VE MADE MEN CRY IN THE KITCHEN

I loved that line.. Jen is a total bad ass!

But in full disclosure, I’m rooting for her because Chief actually knows her. Well.. ok.. not like “.. let’s get together for some drinks” but he’s been around her at various events over the years and he said that she can cook her ass off so that’s good enough for me.

And cook she did.

She won the Quick Fire challenge and came in a close second in the Elimination challenge so she will be a force. Definitely TEAM JEN!

Jesse Sandlin

Two things came to mind when I was watching Jesse. One, she looked like an emo Rosie the Riveter when cooking.. and Two, she looked like she should be on Hell’s Kitchen.

Boy was I wrong.

She had a strong showing in the Quick Fire.. even though she had never cooked with prawns before.. and although she came in on the bottom after the elimination, the judges recognized that Jesse knew exactly why she was there from the get go. It’s one thing to crash on a dish but the important thing is that she knew exactly what she did wrong and that gave her props from the judges. Rightfully so. Jesse is also an early favorite.

Kevin Gillespie

Kevin won the Elimination Challenge .. narrowly beating Jennifer.. so we’ll be seeing more of him.

Interesting thing about Kevin is that he had a scholarship to M.I.T. that he just chucked away to go into culinary.

Could you imagine that conversation with his parents?

OMG.. my dad would have killed me!

Laurine Wickett

I have absolutely nothing to say about Laurine…

I honestly don’t remember her…

She may have been the chef to pick the golden chip at the beginning of the episode :: which meant she didn’t have to compete and would have immunity for the elimination :: but I’m not sure.. I checked all over Bravo’s website and couldn’t find anything to click on a memory so I’ll have to leave it at that

Mattin Noblia

Funky accent..

So obviously French..

Loved the little sailor neckerchief and striped shirt.

That’s all I really remember about him.

Michael Isabella

Boy.. did he start off on the wrong foot!

Mike is one of those guys that you really just want to punch in the mouth. He’s a loud mouth, cocky son of a bitch that should piss off every Italian American male in Jersey for his over the top stereotyping.

I’m sure he can cook as well as he says he can but he also made a remark when Jennifer was neck and neck with him shucking clams that “… a girl shouldn’t be at the same level as I am”

WTF dude!

Honestly, I hope he tanks.

Michael Vottaggio

The more tattooed of the Voggattio brothers, Michael I believe is on the west side of the country.

Not to sure what he did… or didn’t do this episode. But do remember either him or his brother saying that no one wants to see the other exceed more except when competing head to head.

Ok.. so.. we’ll see

Preet Mistry

Sorry.. but I really have to say this..

Preet resembles the gay girl in Miami that Brooke Hogan was set up with by her gay friend.

Real quick.. Brooke’s roommate is gay and not having any luck in the dating field. Having once been engaged to a woman, Brooke thinks that maybe he really isn’t gay. To prove that one knows one’s sexuality, he sets her up on a blind date with a girl. A girl that looks just like Preet.

I know that really has not place here and I’m truly not being disrespectful to Preet. It’s just an observation. And honestly, considering that Preet’s responsibility during Quick Fire was to shuck clams that she never shucked before and was STILL shucking after all the other teams had completed the ENTIRE challenge, I think she’d rather be remembered as the girl who looks like the girl that gave Brooke Hogan her first lesbian kiss!

Robin Leventhal

ROBIN WAS THE CHEF THAT PICKED THE GOLD COIN!

Woosh!

I was positive it wasn’t Laurine but yknow.. my mind doesn’t operate on full capacity this early in the morning!!

Other then that.. nothing really too spectacular to point out about Robin.

Maybe next episode

Ron Duprat

What a story Ron has!

Originally from Haiti.. Ron traveled to the US as a refugee on a little boat that took 27 days and a few lives.

I’m positive that that was an experience that shows up all over the place.. especially in the dish that he made during the elimination challenge. How could it not be in every aspect of your life?

At any rate.. his dish did receive good reviews from the judges and I expect that Ron’s island upbringing will play a big part in future episodes.

Well… there you have it.

It’s a lot for one episode so just bear with me. I promise my recaps will get much better as we go on.

In fact, I may even employ Chief and his color commentating. He’s going to loathe sitting in front of the tv watching a reality show but I’ll guilt him into it!! LOL!

RECAP: Project Runway 6.01

Whoosh!

All is right in my world now that Project Runway is back on the air! And the best part of it’s move from Bravo to Lifetime is that IT’S ON DEMAND!!! The good Lord definitely knows what I need to make my life easier… LOL!

Anyway…

So, yknow, with 16 contestants it’s a little hard to keep every detail straight so this post is basically just an introduction to the designers and my first impressions of ’em

NOTE: Other then having an art degree, I have no clue about how the designers do what they do so if you’re looking for some professional criticism or critiques then you came to the wrong damn place!! LOL

So Episode 1’s Challenge is to crate a red carpet dress that shows the designers point of view.

NOTE: After five seasons of the show I still don’t know what the hell “Point Of View” means!!

Guest Judge this epi was Lindsay Lohan who.. well.. didn’t seem as dysfunctional and random as Perez Hilton makes her out to be. Maybe it was the lighting.. dunno.

Althea Harper

Althea is everything a tall.. good looking 23 year old should be. Cocky as all hell!

Her gown was just ok. It was some silvery – grey satiny number that had some flowery something or other on the bust line that at first, reminded me of something Demi Moore wore to the Oscars like 20 years ago or something.

I really wasn’t that impressed especially after hearing say how incredibly brilliant she is.. but you know, it was the first challenge and I guess nerves worked into the equation. We’ll see how she does. She’s not at the top of my list but really isn’t at the bottom either.

Ari Fish

Okay.. this Ari chick was nothing short of fucking weird. Alright.. so maybe I shouldn’t have said that but come one.. look at this picture and tell me she doesn’t look like Mia Farrow in “Rosemary’s Baby” meets the Clockwork Orange dude.

She wants to make clothes that are multi-functional.. like a halter top that turns into a tent with water filters and air purifiers built in. Just completely random and strange. I was like.. WTF???

If I remember correctly, she doesn’t have any formal training :: if she does, then I apologize for the error :: and while I really don’t believe that it’s necessary… I really don’t believe that she was selected. I’m certain I heard a collective howl coming from the other designers who tried out and weren’t selected.

Needless to say, her mylar soccer ball looking halter thingy just had people’s head scratching and poor Ari was sent home.

She did have a parting word or two of wisdom :: seriously :: that I thought was very insightful but right now, I can’t remember it. Too late.. not enough caffeine!

Carol Hannah Whitfield

Carol Hannah is another young girl all filled with piss.. vinegar and confidence. Unfortunately, I don’t think she’s AS talented as Althea but what do I know.

She made this tan-ish gold – ivory dress that from the waist down wasn’t bad.. I just wasn’t too crazy about the corset-y top with the piping stuff all over the place. I think in the preview, she made a number of pieces the same way so maybe that’s her “signature” or maybe :: like Althea :: she had the butterflies and just resorted to something that she knew how to do.

Christopher Straub

Okay… I like this dude. I really do and I really hope that he makes it to the end and at least has an opportunity to do a collection for the finale.

I like that he is self trained.. no formal schooling. I like that he doesn’t pretend like he does :: he had asked the other designers about certain terms they used that he hadn’t heard of :: but what I like most about him is that he uses material from Wal-Mart in real life to create his designs. To me, it only proves that you don’t have to have a lot of money to either build your dream or in the case of one of his dresses… buy your dream.

He got emotional when his dress appeared on the runway and I don’t blame him… it was a big deal and I can appreciate that.

He also won .. and has immunity for next week. TEAM CHRIS!

Epperson

I truly like this dude. He’s just so calm and serene and laid back and so NOT about the drama.

He’s just a real cool cat.

He definitely has talent.. but I wasn’t feeling this particular dress. I liked the plumy color but wasn’t too thrilled about all the scarf action happening at the neck.

At any rate.. I hope he does well. I also hope that he goes far enough so that his world changes for the better and he gets to have his own line or whatever it is he wants to do.

Gordana Gehlhausen

Ok.

This chick scares the hell out of me.

She reminds me a Nazi matron that yells YOU VILL LIKE MY DREVESS while hitting you with a riding crop.

I did like some of the designs they showed from her shop but what she created on the runway for this episode was just “eh”.

Looks nothing like the design she sketched which is a shame because I liked the sketch better then the actual dress.

She always looks miserable though and I can count on some kind of drama with her this season

Irina Shabayeva

My jury is still out on Irina.

I did like the dress she created.. it was a neutral lace sleeveless top with a deep decolletage over a satin skirt of the same color. A black sash belt made it pop and to me, it just moved like water.

Don’t know whether or not I like her personality or not but realistically, it’s about her talent so I guess I can’t say too much.

She does have a dog so really.. how bad can she be??

Johnny Sakalis

Ok.

I like Johnny.

I REALLY like Johnny.. even though he has a penchant for flip flops and that’s just wrong but anyway…

Johnny had a rough time this episode. He’s a recovering meth head and I give him all the props for turning his life around.. but I guess being in the high pressure situation he was started playing with his head. I felt bad for him.

I kind of figured that if Bravo went so much into detail about his melt down then Johnny was going to shine and he did. I wasn’t too crazy about the bubble hem but everything else was sexy as hell and if I had the body to wear it, I’d scoop it up today.

I hope he does well. I really do.

Logan Neitzel

Dunno how I feel about Logan.

Ok, I guess.

I wasn’t exactly godsmack at his designs in the preview and wasn’t really impressed with the two tone gown he designed for the runway.

But we’ll see… there’s still a lot of show to go.

Louise Black

Weezy got some quirk to her.

She’s some kind of throw back to something but I give her credit for walking the talk.

Her clothes are a little quirky too.. definitely has an old school 20’s or 30’s feel to them..

Her design followed the same mode but I wasn’t really two thrilled with the frilly stuff on one shoulder or the movie theater drape hem but it wasn’t all together awful.

Not sure if she will go far in the competition or not but she is an interesting character to say the least.

Malvin Vien

Malvin is … well.. I’m not really sure how to describe Malvin.

He appears to be one of those young designers who are under the philosophy that anything he designs tells a story longer then War and Peace.

Sometimes a dress is just a dress, yknow?

His design was okay.. A little grey number. Nothing that I was like OMG about but we’ll see what he does in the coming episodes.

Mitchell Hall

Oh Mitch!

What the hell were you thinking, buddy?

Mitchell started out with this .. this.. “thing” that resembled something that Queen Victoria would wear.. this high collard bunched up thing that wound up not fitting the model right.

Under the gun, he basically just wrapped the model in the left over SHEER NUDE COLORED FABRIC basically ensuring that she would be showing all her naughty bits under the bright television lights.

In hindsight.. it was a good thing his original design tanked.. because I think he would have been sent home. We’ll see how he does next week.

Nicolas Putvinski

The self described PRINCE OF FEATHERS or something like that reminds me of some way other there make up artist on some other reality show on some other network.

You’ll have to forgive me.. I try to watch them all and sometimes forget the details!

Anyway… his black dress was okay. I mean, I liked it but it could have been something that you’d find at Hot Topic or Charlotte and Russe.

Qristyl Frazier

OMG.. girlfriend got SOLD!

All the judges slammed her dress and I have to be honest with you.. I didn’t think it was that bad.

I mean.. yes, the dress did look like a solid one and a print one ripped in half and then sewn together but my GOD they made it seemed like something that was horrible.

Maybe it looked different in person then it did on tv.. I don’t know but this was just one of those moments that made ME feel stupid because I wasn’t seeing what the “professional” were seeing.

Ra'mon Lawrence Coleman

I like Ra’mon.

I do.

I like that fact that he’s smart :: he was a pre-med student before chucking it all to be a designer :: and I like that he really understands the body.

Most of all.. I liked the fact that when Johnny was having a serious meltdown, Ra’mon went to talk to him.. to try and understand what he was going through.

To me, that showed the kind of heart he has and I hope as the season continues he excels.

Shirin Askari

Okay.

This kid is my favorite.

She’s a new fashion grad with a WHOLE lot of confidence but doesn’t come off cocky like Althea.

She’s goofy.. she’s sweet.. she laughs.. and she makes amazing clothes.

The dress she made for this challenge though, fell a little short from the designs they showed in the preview but, like the others, it may have been a little bit of nerves and a little bit of the lack of time they had to actually create.

At any rate, I hope she does well. She just has that IT thing going on

So there you have it..

I hope you watch the show.. and I hope you add your own comments.

Being in a house full of testosterone means that I’m in serious need of girl stuff to talk about!! LOL