WhatADay

Boy do I love reading these boards. HeleneL, before I say the next thing... know that you are one of my FAVORITE posters on here... NOW, I say this: I judge people and situations ALL the time. I say that we all do because that is how we get along, how we survive, and how we make good decisions. There is judging, and then there is judging.... and I got very judgmental with the house guests (more critical than normal in other words), but that is pretty much why I watch big brother, to judge how they treat each other. And then I acknowledge that I couldn't take that place, as I need a lot of quite alone time. So my behavior would get crazy pretty quick, as I need so much quiet. I think that is why I reacted so strongly to Josh. Banging pans in my household would get you banished from the kingdom immediately and permanently. My husband and I work well together because we have the same tastes, and knew that before we got married. Just as I judge the big brother contestants, and I say if you don't want to be judged, you certainly shouldn't try out for a reality show since you know that is part of the scene, I like to see how other people react to the contestants. That too is part of my education about human behavior. As I read these boards, I speculate about the people writing on here, and I am sure some of my assumptions are way off base and some are probably right on. It is harmless as I don't take it seriously, and it is all just part of the fun and occasionally part of a learning experience.

Roli, I probably put 20 minutes of thought into that post while typing it. I manage a trust fund, know people personally who have won much more than 500K. I come from money, and have investments. I own property in several states, including Florida. I have made mistakes with money, and made good investments with money. One thing I haven't done with money is let other people swindle it away from me. I was just trying to offer some sound advice to protect him. Some people listen, think about what they hear, and use advice, and others don't. 500K can change Josh's life for the rest of his life IF he invests it wisely, and leaves the dividends / interest alone for years. If he blows it in the next year, he will have fun for a year, and that will give him a lot of good memories, but personally, I think security for a lifetime is the far better option. That, of course, is a personal decision. Unlike you, I cringe when I see people become targets for con men. And I have seen it....

Josh is the idiot that won 500K, and here is my prediction for the 500K: probably 50K will go to his and mom/family bills right away. At least another 25K will be splurged/wasted in the euphoria of the high from winning. Josh will probably buy a 50 to 80K vehicle right away. (ego purchase- but long term waste of money). Florida doesn't charge state income tax, so Josh won't have to pay state income tax, but he will have to pay federal income tax, and that will probably be around $115, 000 (on the 500K) unless he is smart enough to get some professional advice, which I am not sure he will be. He may also buy a house, and with that kind of money figure floating around in his head, he will probably buy more house than he can afford to keep up, and FL is high on insurance due to hurricanes. He may or may not be aware of this and may or may not plan accordingly. The most he should spend of the 385 (after taxes), should have a lot more to do with what he can count on for future income because taxes and insurance on real estate are big and will continue to go up. If he is smart, he will put at least 200K (300K would be brilliant) of the money into long term investments like annuities, bonds, and blue chip stocks with good dividends and do that with someone with a solid gold reputation and a track record, who can give honest guidance about what companies to buy NOW. I would advise him to start reading up on this type of stuff, and if he wants to have some fun, take about 10 or 15 K to 'play' with in the investing arena. DO NOT TRUST people he doesn't know and now come at him with 'help'. He is now a target. I am rambling.... this money can secure him for life, IF HE IS SMART, invests wisely, and keeps working. He can't stop working, blow it on expensive vehicles, a big house, partying, and walk away a rich man. 500K just isn't that much money. BTW, at his age, YEARS of collecting dividends on blue chip stocks will make him very rich at age 50, 60. Listening Josh? PS, by the end of the show, I had decided Josh did have a heart, and I think he will get hit up for loans, etc. He is going to have to manage that, and it will be hard for him. Another idea, get a money manager, once again.. a well known manager, who charges a low percentage fee for managing and has a stellar solid gold reputation, so he can just tell people he can't make loans, and maybe he will have money left in a year.

I don't think I would watch Paul again. His sleaziness was too annoying. I was not excited to watch tonight's show, as I figured Paul would win. I think that Josh winning was such a surprise, that it actually made the ending better than I thought it would be. Elana voting against Paul gave me hope. She actually figured some things out, and I wasn't sure she would! That was a happy moment! I really think Paul thought they were too dumb to catch on to him. Sheesh But then, I think arrogance is probably a common downfall among people who take advantage of others. People who commonly lie and aren't called out on it, don't realize that nice people don't say 'you just lied to me' to their faces, they just limit their interaction with that person in the future. That liar, mistakenly thinks they 'put one over' on the nice person, when in reality, the liar just limited their own future options. But the liar is too dumb to realize it. Maybe down the line, they look back, and seeing a lot of closed doors, the light bulb comes on, and maybe not.

I agree. No imagination, not funny or clever. Just a way to avoid really working. Some people just don't want to work.

I voted for all of the people I thought played a 'decent' game for the 25K, and when Cody won, I was OK with that. He works, served in the military, and wasn't evil like Paul. I voted for Jason the most: felt he was most decent (missed the jokes that upset some people, read about them and felt they were just bad-taste jokes), Kevin because of his kids, Cody, Jessica, Dominique, and Mark simply due to niceness, which I feel should be rewarded. Would have voted for some of the earlier players too had I known them more. I DO NOT think it is OK to resort to ANYTHING to win this game. That speaks volumes about your character, and Paul has none, Christmas comes up short, and so does Josh, but he is young and hopefully will learn (he could also stand to get some class). The people that think it is OK to do anything to win this game, simply don't have good character, and it really is that simple.

: )

Well, glad to see evil doesn't always triumph!

Well, I am finding myself 'happy' and I put that in quotes because I am actually happy that Josh won, but not jumping up and down happy. It was so nice seeing Paul called out for all of his back ground hateful manipulating, and I think they did a pretty good job of it, although somewhat subtly, and I am sure CBS had a hand in that downplaying of how nasty his role in all of the ugliness was. BUT, he didn't win, and that actually made my night. Paul was consciously horrible and plotting and it didn't pay (at least not to the tune of 500K), so thank you to the people who didn't vote for him for being the most evil. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Christmas showed her shallow colors along with the redhead: see whose arms they were hanging on. Christmas left Paul the minute he didn't win, and Raven left what's his name for Paul when he won 50K. LOL, I shall refrain from saying what I think Raven is, it is pretty horrible. Paul deserves to have to deal with her now. Too funny....

Well, how things change. Josh has shown some real empathy a couple of times, and I can't stand Christmas and Paul, so I have been cheering for Josh, half-heartedly, but still. Now they are showing flashbacks, and watching Josh bang pans and go after people while shouting and being unreasonable, ONCE AGAIN, I just don't care who wins. All three of them are disgusting. Josh maybe less so, but WOW, what a bunch of losers.

I haven't watched that many seasons of BB. maybe 4? This is the first time I haven't been strongly rooting for someone. My favorite is Jason, and then .... well, no one is a close 2nd. I do think Jason is the nicest person left, and that is generally how I choose my favorite. I really can't tolerate Paul, he is too smug about causing problems and seems oblivious to the fact that it really hurts people. I honestly think Jason didn't remember telling Raven he would try to get one of them off, and in the heat of the play, (you have to take into consideration that he doesn't sit around plotting lies and deceit like Paul), I believe he was being honest IN HIS MEMORY OF THINGS when he said he didn't say that. Also it amazes me over and over every year, in every reality show, how people are so cool when someone else is getting voted off and they are saying, "why get so upset, it is just the game" and then when their times comes, the ### hits the fan. It happens over and over. No empathy for others. I know a 4-year old who shows more understanding and empathy than do most of these people. I am serious. I thought Matt was a jerk tonight, and very dishonest. He didn't give a **** about Jason not facing Raven, he was mad that his time was up, and that was just his BS excuse for stomping around. Grow up Matt and say, I am really mad my time here is up. We get it, it is human to be sad and mad when your part of the game is ending. Watching Matt act like he did showed me how he could stand Raven, he is on that level of maturity. That's OK, I just "get" him now. He is one of those people who come across better staying silent for the most part. Laughing here.. some of you women know what I mean. I figured there was something a bit 'off' with him, and he showed it loud and clear tonight. Matt and Raven both played with their head in the sand and with denial as their m.o. It was a lot easier that way to go on their merry way and jump ship when it pleased them with no guilt. Just my take... By the way, I would do horribly at this game, because I like a lot of quiet and alone time, so I don't know how people do BB, but then I am an introvert.

Lamasquerade, they also represent the types of people who are willing to live their lives on TV, so therefore they aren't exactly typical of people I know well. I wonder what percentage of people would take the opportunity to do a reality TV show? Honestly, a total lack of class are shared by some of the house guests, and yes, of course it is class as I define it, but I have to wonder things like 1) who would want to be in a intimate relationship with Paul after watching him lie so consistently and easily to everyone, 2) will the behavior of Alex hurt her in her job when she goes back, (that might be my standards from days gone by showing, but if I were her boss, it would hurt her standing), 3) Josh, well, once again, I doubt I would have hired him in the first place due to immaturity, he just has so much growing up to do. But they do represent their ages, and their backgrounds, and their sexes, and on and on. If this were only a one-time hour-long show, your point would have more validity. I grew up somewhat shielded from a lot of different types, and I still learn a lot watching reality shows. I still get surprised, and stunned, and I still learn things all the time watching these shows. That, I guess, is what I love about reality shows. I thank God I had such good parents, they weren't perfect, but they set standards high for us, so that we would turn out "good". Are we perfect? Of course not, but the crap I see Paul, Josh, Alex, and some others do, would seriously not be worth winning 500K. And I can say that in total honesty. If you are gonna sell your soul, it better be worth it..... but there you go... high standards, low standards. One obvious thing this season, no intellectuals, all the conversations prove that. Maybe that is why Paul and Alex are doing so well.

I would like to see Jason win AFP if he doesn't win the final two, and I doubt he will. Paul and Alex just get more deplorable with every passing day. Josh is still winning the DF award. What worries me is the thought that these people are representative of their age groups. Depressing! Jason isn't constantly bashing others, and I had to laugh tonight when he said something like "act like a lady for a moment" to Alex, and I thought " he will pay for that comment', even though she is rude, loud, and well, I won't go on and on. Christmas still is on my 'pretty awful' list too. Honestly, I think this show is really depressing me about the future of our country. Jeez And by the way... I only post under this name. I am pretty sure a lot of people don't like most of these people for most of the reasons I don't. I understand using some deception to win this game, it is almost required. But Paul simply has no conscience. And once again, I see mean in Alex and in Christmas, although I am sure they would disagree. Josh is just one big mess.

Thanks HeleneL! I watch these shows haphazardly after recording them. So sometimes I miss things while zipping through advertisements and such.

Why does Paul get so many breaks? He looks up at a camera and says "Get us out of this" when he and Christmas are tied to together, and BAMM, they are out early I think. Then they call Jason up a show or two later (I lose count) and he is STILL in that costume. They sure do play favorites. They could have let Jason out of his costume when they let Paul and Christmas out of their curse. IT was all the same thing, wasn't it? It IS starting to blur. I do have a life outside of this BS. And YEAH, Paul is a mean person. He has poor character, but is sneakier about it than others in the house. But he isn't as smart as he thinks he is. I am sure he fools people who are young and inexperienced a lot, or people who keep blinders on all their lives, but for the rest of us: he sends up plenty of red flags.

Wow Paul, you are so full of it. Let's shame Mark for talking about making a move on you. And nooooooo, you have never lied in this game, have you. What a big bag of hot air and false puffed-up righteousness you are. And you always have a mindless little twit like Christmas (yes, Christmas, you are), or Josh, or Alex (the distasteful four) to chime in. Watching them, I think "this is the worst part of 'normal' human behavior that people justify with BS over NOTHING. NOTHING! Well, I guess Paul is willing to do anything for 500K. And yes, 500K is a fair amount of money, not all that much after taxes, but I can safely and honestly say, I COULD NOT bring myself to act like these four do for that amount of money. Paul is a nasty piece of work, and I just wish he would go. He is so full of himself he may explode from false pride some day. These people are so good at picking on the out-of-favor people. And we wonder what they are like out of the house? I think we know.... no character at all.

Watching the recaps of the past shows, I hadn't realized some of the things Elana said to Mark. Sigh, attraction is individual, and really, watching it on TV under these conditions, is like watching fish in a tank and thinking you know what they would do in the wild. But Elana thinks too highly of herself IMO, and Mark probably doesn't give himself enough credit. He is too nice for Elana, that's for sure. He deserves much nicer, and I imagine he will find it outside of BB. Elana will probably find just the type of guy she deserves too. It seems to work that way.

Right, and this bunch has too many lame, low-intelligence participants, with only a few exceptions. They follow the flow, and aren't much for thinking. Sorry, that is harsh, but wow, I have never seen so much blind following when they shouldn't. It just is stunning. I think Mark is one of the nicest people there. He was too nice for Elena, she was rather rude to him a lot, at least that is how I saw it... and all I can chalk it up to, is that being in the BB house had him TRAPPED? LOL, I don't know....

I agree, he has some problems or else he is just a full-blown lowlife. Of course you can't rule out it being both. I would have to leave the house just to get away from him, and Alex, and Christmas when she thinks the bullying is so funny. What is wrong with these people? And of course, I think Paul is guilty of putting them up to it or encouraging it every chance he gets. It would be like living in an insane asylum, seriously.

She is good at comps, she may win to the end. I would rather see her win than Paul. My favorite to win is now Jason I guess.

THANK YOU WOC!!!! What a post... I hadn't even realized all of the breaks Paul has received. This season is really annoying me. I have turned off BBAD several times. They aren't actually increasing viewing with some of the tatics they are using. As Evil Dick is saying, when such an uneven playing field is given to one player, how much fun is it? I keep wondering how people can be so dumb, and rude (Josh), and so unconscious. It is becoming more than a joke, it is a really bad joke. Maybe time for new "writers" on the show? Jeez...do something. I was surprised they stopped Josh from banging pans, but maybe they realized they were on the edge of lawsuits they would lose. Who knows, Josh is obviously a nitwit lowlife. He will go far in life, not.

I think the second thought is probably the right one. He keeps picking fights he wouldn't win on the outside, and he seems to be too stupid to realize that there are people on the outside who love guys like him and who are just waiting. Most people are a smarter .... not Josh. He needs to wise up and stop trying to pick fights. He is the bully, but I don't think he has the brains or the brawn to back it up. He needs to grow up... fast.

Paul, everyone else had the right to play the game JUST LIKE YOU ARE PLAYING THE GAME. Paul acts like he is the only one that has the RIGHT to play the game with any kind of moves. Paul: most self-delusional player when it comes to actual game 'rules'.

I think the best lesson you can take away from this show is how far rationalization can go. Paul is a master at it. In life, staying honest with yourself is a very important and very tricky thing to do. I doubt Paul is capable of doing so.

LOL, my husband watched BBAD for a while with me tonight and said "If I had to live in a house with these **** I would go nuts." Actually, he put it more strongly, but I won't repeat it. And I had to agree. This is definitely a bad year. Paul is so totally full of it. And his mindless followers just make me despair. For the record, my husband can get along with a wider percentage of the population than most anyone. I, on the other hand, just love the truth, and not telling it causes me physical pain, so my interactions with people can be severely limited at times. HA I would have to ignore Paul, who is the biggest BSer ever, can you say SHALLOW, SELFISH, and MORE SHALLOW? I would have to stay away from Josh as I don't believe in physical violence and he is one of the few people who make me want to resort to it due to his incredible lack of self-awareness and rampant stupidity. Josh, Alex and Elena all have a mean streak: Alex's is obvious and I suspect she is proud of hers, Elena is probably another totally unaware person and may not even be conscious of how mean she is. I don't know. I think women like that are unconscious as all get out, but I am probably missing something in my analysis, as those types of girls were never my friends, by my design. What really bothers me, are the shallow and not-so-bright people who honestly think they are brilliant: Paul, Alex, Josh (he doesn't think he is brilliant, but he tries to mess with people when he knows they can't punch him, then plays the victim, so he has a sick aggressive streak a mile wide (when the person can't strike back), and Elena, who is mean to Mark (who is way too good for her). Being in that house would play mind games with anyone, so you always have to factor that in. I should finish up with Paul, as this is Paul's page. Paul just gets other people to be mean for him, but he has no problem doing mean things to people. That is just as bad, and frankly worse, as he masterminds the mean while talking about friendship. That rises to the level of evil, in my book. Don't kid yourself about that Paul. I really doubt someone can go into that house and be a great game player with deception and manipulation if they don't practice it in real life. So... I just can't root for those types to win the game.