the rest is still unwritten

Saturday, October 15, 2011

An UnBEETable Adventure: Prologue

5:09 am. I sit before Darla, my trusty laptop, unable to sleep. I could easily blame it on jetlag, or on the ridiculous amount of work that I have returned to, but I know that my listlessness and sleeplessness could not be attributed to either.

Sure, jetlag and work play a part, but the maelstrom in my mind and the hurricane in my heart could easily be blamed on one event, two people, four cities, and eight days.

*********

Yesterday, at roughly 12 noon, I took my first few tentative steps into my house as I had just returned from one of the most bittersweet adventures of my life.

The extra-excited yapping of my dogs at my heels as they greeted me did little to assuage my sadness over the fact that my rollercoaster ride of an experience in Europe was over.

It was an experience full of laughter and tears, stories and legends, poems and vows, friends and lovers—an adventure indeed.

But why were we in Europe?

About fifty people from across the globe gathered for one event—

A Wedding

Between Two People—

My Twin and Iron Man

For me, the celebration of this momentous occasion spanned eight days over four cities—

Madrid

Nerja


Frigiliana


Paris





That's it?! —you may wonder— That's all the pictures you have? That's all you can say about that experience?!



Far from it.


It is impossible for me to cram every picture, every feeling, thought and memory into one measly post—which is why I have decided to write twelve.

Yes.

Twelve.

I'll try to post one every day, but I can't promise that. 

I am extremely flattered by the reception my humble blog has received, but I want you all to know that this Eurotrip blog series is as much for me, and those that have been a part of it, as it is for you dear readers.

I wanted to provide myself, and Twin, Beets, Iron Man/Triplet, and our families and friends the chance to revisit all these amazing places.

I wanted to savor each picture, each memory and feeling that they evoke, remember each punchline behind the laughter and the emotion behind every tear.

Eight days seem so little in a span of one's lifetime. But if you would join me in this retelling, maybe we can all understand why these eight little days mean so much.

Rest assured that this, and each of the eleven other chapters to follow in this series, have been written and compiled with love, laughter and light.

Stay tuned for Chapter 2: the Plane Ride and Madrid.




<3

Monday, October 3, 2011

Pensieve: Adiós and À Tout À L'Heure

In other words: "Bye and see you soon!"

Twin, is getting married THIS WEEK and in case you don't follow me on Twitter (my handle is @GeGeGeGEO by the way) I've been tweeting about my Schengen visa for the past month because Twin is getting married in:


EUROPE!!!


Spain to be exact! Stopover in France? Why not!

I'm über excited! I leave tomorrow morning! I haven't seen my Twin in more than a month. I already know that the ceremony will be beautiful and the reception will be off the hizzay. Tears, cheers, laughter and adventure guaranteed.

I promise to take lots of pictures and to blog about it when I get back—which will be on the 13th—not that I'll blog about the trip on the 13th... definitely a few days (week...) after that.

Also, I know that my recent posts have been TV-heavy, so I also promise to post about more of my own thoughts and adventures =)



Catch y'all later!

Besos!



<3



Image From: http://countries-of-europe.com/?p=1093

Sunday, October 2, 2011

TV Show and Tell: ANTM All-Stars Episode 3

Okay, now I'm really miffed.

Let's go...

So after Sheena's elimination from the previous episode (which I still don't agree with, I agree with it even less now), the girls reconvene in the car and congratulate Lisa for receiving that week's top photo.
Yeah, whateva betch...
Lisa begins to question her stability in the competition even after receiving the best photo of the week. She asks how it is possible for two of ANTM's biggest personalities—
—Party girl, Brittany—
—and saucy spicy Sheena—
—could be eliminated in the first two episodes of the 'All-Star' cycle. Believe me Lisa, a lot of us are wondering the same thing.


Later in the mansion, Allison tells Lisa that she's feeling a bit lonely and 'unnatural' in the house.
I a weeeirrdu. Meowff!
One of the reasons why she didn't feel like herself is because she hasn't drawn since she got there. I love her! Artistic weirdos unite!


The next day, the girls get another surprise visitor at the mansion—
Seriously...Who is this girl?!
Kristin Cavallari drops by to talk to the girls about her experiences as a reality tv star and the things that she's been doing since. The girls ask some pretty smart questions about longevity and 'branding' and public perceptions.

Now, I'm guessing her scope of influence doesn't really reach much of Asialand because I have no idea who this girl is. So she's been on the Hills?—A show I've never seen... but she was a guest on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race and I was also all "Who is this girl?!" back then.



The next day, the girls successfully decipher the Tyra-Mail and prepare for and head out to their next challenge: an interview.

The girls are met by Nigel Barker and he tells them that they are on the set of Extra and that the challenge involves a group interview.
I see a bat in Nigel's cave! - Bianca
Nigel adds that the girls will be split up into two teams, and that the winning team will be safe from elimination. Oh and the person that will be interviewing them is Mario Lopez.

The teams were—

Both teams do moderately well. Nigel's critique after the challenge was basically just him telling the girls how to do better next time. Team 1 captain Lisa was reprimanded for being too rambunctious and speaking and acting over the other girls. Only Allison was praised completely for her interview.

Ultimately, Team 2 was deemed the winner which meant Shannon, Bre, Camille, Kayla, Bianca and Allison were safe from elimination; and placing Lisa, Alexandria, Angelea, Dominique, Laura and Isis on the chopping block—one of them is definitely going home. Allison was also the overall winner and received the extra prize of an exclusive interview with Mario Lopez.

Granted, with Lisa's constant interrupting, Team 1 probably did have more interview no-no's, but Team 2 was just SO boring. For me, I don't think Team 2 should've won. Think about it. Team 1 was a train wreck you could watch, Team 2 on the other hand... you'd probably change channels halfway through the first girl's interview... I dunno, Allison did really well for Team 2, but on the whole I think Team 1 was more "successful".


After the interview, the girls get into the car and drive back to the house. And Angelea lets the girls know exactly what she thinks about her critique from Nigel.
Nuh nuh nuh nuh NO!
The scene ends with Angelea saying "They want hood, I'ma give 'em hood at panel!" Foreshadowing much? Not quite.


Soon, the girls receive this TyraMail.
TYRA MAAAIIIILLLLL AAAAAAAAHHHH!!
The girls immediately try to figure out what they will have to be dealing with at their next shoot. Giraffes? Spiders? Or some other creepy crawly creature? Allison is hoping that they will be shooting with a creepy crawly creature. Some of the other girls, Bianca and Bre, are not happy.
Seriously, Bre, your whining's getting really old really fast...


All their guesses were wrong. Upon their arrival at the studio, the girls are welcomed by this:
STILTS! Totally cool!

The girls find out that they will be shooting on the stilts, and they will be shooting in pairs, one from the winning team and one from the losing team. They will be shot by photographer Sarah Silver, who also shot the vampire photos during Angelea's cycle.

Bianca is terrified of heights and has a minor breakdown. In the end, she gets on the stilts and as we'll see later takes a killer shot with partner Lisa. Other highlights from the shoot include:
Kayla takes a tumble. A lot of the girls have trouble finding their feet.
Bianca breaks down. Uh, what if she were peeing?
Mr. Jay asking Shannon if her wardrobe was acceptable. "It's a bathing suit, I checked," she says. Seriously, this dummy has to go. It's frickin' high cut and sheer...
Mr. Jay and photog Sarah Silver, commenting on Alexandria's performance, they weren't exactly amused.


After the shoot, the bottom six girls are worried while the six safe girls breathe a little easier.


At panel:
Twelve beautiful girls stand in front of me...

When Angelea's turn comes:
"WAIT!" - Angelea
She asks Nigel what he meant during his critique. He said that she was stiff and a bit too proper and that he just wished he saw more of her personality. He and Tyra advised her to just be herself, but also know when to reign it in when necessary. It's a balancing act. Remember how she said she was gonna give 'em hood? Well, she didn't she was all meek and mild.

Tyra also attempts to coin a new phrase.
Booty Tooch
It's funny, because they keep trying to play it off like "booty tooch" is a new word, when it fact Tyra has used it many times before—and it's usually not in a good way. I remember her criticizing the "sexy" girls in the past for making their pictures too sexy and not "fashion" because of the booty tooch.


Now, time for


FINAL PICTURES!!!


Safe: Bre | Unsafe: Laura
Safe: Camille | Unsafe: Isis
Unsafe: Angelea | Safe: Allison
Unsafe: Lisa | Safe: Bianca
Unsafe: Alexandria | Safe: Shannon
Unsafe: Dominique | Safe: Kayla


After deliberations, the girls are called back into the judging room and Tyra announces that she will go through the tops six girls' pictures first.

The order is as follows:

Safe Girls:
Top Photo: Allison
Runner up: Bianca
Shannon
Bre
Kayla
Camille

Unsafe Girls:
Alexandria
Lisa
Dominique


Leaving—
—Isis and Angelea—
—in the bottom two.

As Tyra addresses the two girls she says that the two girls before her did not have the two worst pictures of the week. Then the camera switches to:
Camille and Kayla, the two who should've been in the bottom. Although I'll admit, I didn't think Kayla's picture was bad at all.
Tyra then goes to justify with bullcrap why Isis and Angelea were in the bottom.
We're the bottom two? Yeah whateva...
Ultimately, Angelea was safe and Isis was sent home.


I don't get it.

With an "All-Star" cycle, one would think that star quality and personality would be extremely important with this ANTM go-round. But after seeing Brittany, Sheena, and now Isis eliminated, I highly doubt that that's the case. If three of the most 'brand-able' girls have left before some of the more, let's face it, boring and annoying ones, then I'm not sure I'm interested to see who's "gonna be on top"...

I was under the impression that the show's premise centered around the girls' own personal brands, not modeling per se. Yes, modeling is where it all started, but for this particular cycle, it wasn't the end-all, be-all.

Also, IF, the cycle still centered strictly on modeling, I still don't buy it.

Observe, exhibits A to D:


I mean, come on, even Camille looked interesting. Seriously, Tyra... You chose that!?

That makes me think that one of two things is true:
1. Sarah Silver is a bad photographer.
2. ANTM All-Stars has a secret agenda and that the winner was already decided even before filming began.
I seriously think it's the latter.

Now, I know how much "reality" actually goes on in reality shows, but this is blatant bullcrap.

I mean look at Isis (and even Camille) in the photos above.
Seriously?! Seriously.

I think what they should've done was to make the girls who were 'safe' 'unsafe' again. Because that would've been a true test of commitment. Instead, a girl who did not have the worst photo was sent home.

Before any of the girls were handed their photographs Tyra said, "You all are all-stars, you all have something extra special. Not just modeling talent, but interesting personalities as well".

Yeah, whatever Tyra. Tell that to Brittany, Sheena and Isis.

At the end of Episode 2's blog post, I said that I didn't know if I could take it if they sent another of my favorites home.

Well, one thing is for sure: I am definitely no longer invested in this cycle and its outcome.





Suggested Reading:
For Isis' blog post for People on her elimination episode, click here.
For her interview with BuddyTV, click here.
For her interview with WetpPaint, click here.





Recap images are screen grabs
Portfolio images from: http://www.buzzsugar.com/Americas-Next-Top-Model-All-Star-Pictures-Third-Episode-19255629