A Hypocrite is a hypocrite is a hypocrite

Hypocrisy: Moral self-contradiction whereby the behavior of one or more people belies their own claimed or implied possession of certain beliefs, standards or values. It's total hypocrisy of Danielle to pick and choose when gay slurs are acceptable, and claim to be an advocate, as they never are.

So calling someone a "faggot” when they aren't gay is more acceptable than calling someone "gay" when we're not actually aware of their sexual preferences? In what world does this logic make sense (Kelly Land?) You did not say anything (as I mentioned in last week's recap) out of protection ? You'd let down a group you "advocate," aka protect, because you were being "protected." That's what I call spineless. Gay slurs are just never acceptable, because no matter how you say it or who you are saying it to the implication is that being Gay is a negative thing worthy of derision (which it's not!).

Who is this Kim "G"ranatell? My mother has apparently met her several times, but can give me no insight. However, is she is so concerned about her son's friendship with Chris, why if she even bothering to hang around Danielle? That's playing with fire! It almost feels like she just wants the screen time, or they're bringing her in to be a cast mate.

Now on to the text message. Since when is "Bye" a synonym for "I am going to kill you?" That's like Kelly levels of delusion. However, was it acceptable for Ashley to send that text message? No, that's not going to solve any problems, and it is as Jacqueline said a bit trashy. It is very high school though, and Ashley is high school age. However, the fact that she and Danielle were going back and forth in some facebook/text flame war? Danielle is 50-year-old woman, why are you trying to tear down a high school girl about her weight (as someone that has struggled with eating issues I do find that particularly abhorrent)? Why are you getting into facebook fights with her? It's really indicative of the type of person Danielle is. That's abnormal. It's bad enough to go after your peers, it's even worse to go after people more than half your age!

Back to Danielle, like she's so convinced that Dina is trying to ambush her or somehow get her. At a public place (ps, that restaurant, Chakra, had some of the worst Calamari I've ever had)? That she needs to bring her entourage with her? And did we notice how Danielle tried to manipulate the situation "I formed my opinion about you based on what Jacqueline told me." Danielle, we all recall how desperately you wanted to be friends with her.

Some final thoughts/comments:

Anyway, the place that I ALWAYS GO to get my supplies for cooking out of Skinny Italian(!) A&S DELI was featured on the show tonight! That fellow, Angelo, is insanely friendly! Fellow Bergen Countyites (and Passaic, and Essex, et al) Go there, I promise you will not be let down!

Who is that random guy that doesn't talk at all but follows Danny Provenzano around? He's like an even bigger stereotype! He just stands there, fist in hand, never says a word but makes funny, reactionary facial expressions.

So who is leaving the show? I think all signs point to Dina. What do you all think? (Also, I guess we know why they brought on Kim Granatell-to replace the outgoing housewife).

Episode V

Tonight's episode was crazy and upsetting. This poor family has a child sick with cancer and in comes a crazy woman with an entourage of felons, cons and hell's angels. She turns the whole of the event into something about herself. How crazy. She's not well. I've already expressed my belief that she has a personality disorder (and I am not the only one that thinks that). Her narcissism is insane. It's off the charts. And she's so vindictive and I generally think apathetic to the condition of others. Did anyone else notice that that fellow in her posse, Danny, totally said the word "faggot" more than once, and we did not see Danielle say boo about it-much different that her reaction last year to the use of "gay" by Joe (obviously neither is acceptable in any society, polite or otherwise)? Like, she was so caught up in the moment, the manipulation, in herself, self-obsessing, that she could have cared less.

Further, she's like shit talking a 20 year old kid, trying to emotionally psych him out! You're like 50 years old! What is up with that? Also, the woman you're with is the mother whose child is best friends with the kid you're trying to psychologically intimidate?

I am trying to figure out this Kim "G" (have we noticed how they are called "G" even though their last name was said twice in this episode) woman. Is she just desperate to get on tv? Is Andy Cohen going to bring her onto the show, and is this their way of introducing her to the world a la the introduction of the new New York housewives? Either way, she and Danielle are good for one another because they're both more or less using one another it seems like. A symbiotic parasitic relationship!

As for that crazy birthday party thrown for Gia. It looked fun, but who the hell thinks it's a good idea for someone that young to ride around (helmetless) with their younger sister on the back (also helmetless). Gia's little red headed friend dressed in black was visible in the back ground with this really skeptical look on her face.


Anyway, return tomorrow for an update complete with dinner.

Episode IV

Well congrats to Teresa for giving birth this episode. Also, for terrifying me about having babies. However, it's very cute to watch parents bond with new babies. I don't have to worry now, I am not having kids for a very long while!

Less cute, the creepy guys at Scores that were totally ok with showing their faces on national television while receiving lap dances. Your buddies will think you're cool for about five minutes, but you're going to regret that at some point!

But this episode was filled with juxtaposition (babies being born, babies falling seriously ill- and all the best to that family, I hope the baby is doing better), stereotypes (guns, felons, Italians, threats, Jersey. Not that I mentioned the "M" word), ambition (the face of strip gentlemen's club car washes) and in the thicket of it all the storm was building to the craziness that will come to a head at the Brownstone. The episode is had two storylines: the joys of cute new life and all the sweetness associated there, and the callousness that comes with age, that somehow people can potentially turn a benefit for a sickly little girl into a rumble.

I have a feeling that most things in Danielle's life are transient in every sense of the word. So she's putting together a gang of her own, a new group for the time being, but will we see them again after next episode? She's recruiting people to go against the Manzo clan for this upcoming rumble at the Brownstone, only adding kerosene to smoldering embers of disdain these people hold for one another. Caroline is no better in this episode though, particularly in those last five minutes of the show! Her rhetoric was near-Jihadist: "don't call them your friends if they're not having me or Dina present the check" kind of sounded like "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" in some sort of way. And it seems like whatever small dissent from the family there might have been in this episode, the family is going to ban together for next week.

All said, next week is going to bring the crazy.

And tomorrow I'm going to update with a delicious new dish. Make sure to check it out!

Episode III

So, the third episode. It felt mostly like Housewife fodder if you ask me. Like, this episode was mostly unexciting but there's always a calm before the storm and next weeks episode looks insane.

Anyway, some thoughts on the episode. First off, Caroline. I appreciate that she doesn't bull shit, but that said I do think she can be a little overbearing. It came across somewhat in her segment with Jacqueline. Speaking of Jacqueline, watching her interact with her daughter is kind of funny because it reminds me of the way my mother and sister interact. It only makes sense that Ashley and my Sister got along when they went to high school together.

Watching the show people always reflect how level headed Danielle's children seem. However, I've heard from someone that has spent time with her kids that they're pretty different from their television portrayal. Until tonight anyway. I had heard that Danielle's eldest is fairly disrespectful and rude, and I think there was a real sense of that in tonight's episode. I found much of her behavior bratty. I know 15 is a rough age, but for god's sake, you're at fashion week! The closest I've ever been to fashion week is walking down the stairs at Bryant Park while on lunch break, breaking a heel (of a Bruno Magli no less) and getting quickly snapped by a photographer for it!

Onto Dina's house. My god the aesthetic could not be anymore different than mine. The leather couch she and Teresa were sitting on looked very comfortable, but I do not think I'd put that in my house personally (I'm not so keen on larger furniture). But, speaking of Dina's decor vs. her spirituality, I would recommend getting rid of some of the superfluous stuff! There's just SO much in her house, and I've read that too much stuff in a room can really mess up the energy.

I am cooking dinner on Tuesday night. I am not traditional in any sense of the word, so dinner will not be ready by 5pm. In fact, I'll just be getting out of work by then (guess I'm just not pretty enough, hence the job)

Some Thoughts On Episode II

So, I have to admit before I started watching The Real Housewives of New Jersey I had never before heard, used, or knew of the existence of the word "Chucky" (first used last season by Caroline's daughter, Lauren) as a term for female genitalia. Perhaps sex education is taught slightly differently at Ramapo High School as opposed to my high school alma mater Indian Hills (the two schools in the regional high school district for the FLOW area).

But onto a thought from last night: who throws a luncheon to honor someone's accomplishments without inviting them? The evidence of a cluster b personality disorder (which often manifest in victims of abuse) keeps on piling up.*

While my mother was driving me to the train station today we talked briefly about the interactions between Danielle and the other women. My mother said Danielle had better find a way to interact with them more often or she might get the boot. It made me think of a tweet that Ms. Staub posted a few days back asking her followers to tweet Andy Cohen that they love her. Makes one think.

I spent last night looking through the Skinny Italian cook book and decided that I'm going to make two-three dishes a week. The book features just over 60 recipes, so that will keep my busy for sometime!

Make sure to check back on Thursday! I'll have something, to take a quote from Teresa, delicious and juicy to share as I post my first Skinny Italian cooking experience!




*disclaimer: I'm not a psychiatrist, I'm financial journalist. This is just an observation of mine.