For his new Apprentice entry-"Celebrity Apprentice"- might be too over the top and too far removed from the original apprentice premise to be remotely believable.
Here a review and pics you'll find nowhere else on the Internet of this new reality series.
A True Crime book review-"Missing Beauty" by Teresa Carpenter, tells the story of a very intelligent scientist who gets caught up in the world of prostitution, drugs...and murder.
Pic of the Day
Donald Trump Jumps the Shark
The official site for “The Celebrity Apprentice” HERE.
Okay, so I’m going to watch a few episodes. Because oncit upon a time I really enjoyed Donald Trump’s reality contest “The Apprentice”, often smug my own self that I would beat most of the snot-nosed contenders with half my brain tied behind my back.
And still I continued to watch, even the Martha Stewart Apprentice version and I was intrigued by how quickly the very disloyal and shallow Donald Trump began to bad-mouth Martha once that series started to tank. Frankly I thought Stewart’s version of the Apprentice wasn’t half-bad but two things: a)Martha Stewart has limited personality and b)it just wasn’t her time.
Then they moved the thing to Los Angeles and still I watched.
Now, sheesh, Celebrity would-be apprentices? What the hell’s going to be the winner’s job at Trump enterprises? How is Kiss’ Gene Simmons going to fit in the rarified atmosphere of a Trump business office? Or is there no position offered as a final prize?
Frankly yon ladies and gems, the whole thing is not at all clear. And based on the premiere show on Thursday, 1/3/08, I’m not convinced this format is going to work.
Donald Trump is one of the vainest, dumbest, shallowest people on this planet. His hair has long ago taken a life of its own and no, I’d never “do” Donald even if he’d have me. I really love it when allegedly intelligent people sit down with this name-dropping, egotistical wormbat and allow him to wax on about political matters, matters that should not bother The Donald and his fantabulous hair. How is he any expert on foreign policy?
In fact, lest yon reader question my intelligence who would watch this man she so dislikes, it’s because I like to smirk. Donald Trump makes me smirk.
I came across the review below and while I don’t often quote other reviewers in a fine review I am doing myself, Boston.com’s Joanna Weiss got my sentiment so perfectly that I must quote her. Below the quote, some pic montages and below this, some snarky comments my own self.
From Boston.com-Joanna Weiss:
It's kind of sad, what happened to "The Apprentice." Once, it was one of the more captivating hours of reality TV, a show that turned Donald Trump's hair into a weird sort of national treasure. But like its star, it quickly overleveraged. There was an ill-fated stint in Los Angeles, an ill-advised foray into the Martha Stewart franchise, the replacement of a trusted Trump adviser with a glamourpuss Trump daughter, and soon enough, the relevance was lost.
The premiere of “Celebrity Apprentice” brought a challenge for the “celebrities” to sell hot dogs on a NY street corner. The male team of celebrities chose the name Hydra while the team of female celebrities chose the Spanish name Impresario. I may have to change the spelling of their names because it might be that even NBC doesn’t place much faith in this series as it’s been several days since the show’s premiere and still the official site has not been updated at the time of this writing.
The fellows chose to play up their celebrity, posing for photos with hot dog buyers who would pay a handsome price for that American treat. The females, led by Omarosa…yes the former nasty Apprentice contender, kept a low profile, a really dumb move.
Simmons of KISS fame phoned up a few of his friends and exhorted them to come buy hot dogs for lots of cash that the Hydra team may win the challenge. Eventually Marilu Henner of the Impresario team too got some big money hot dog purchasers and soon it all came down to the board room.
Something new added this year is allowing the winning team to watch, via close-circuit TV, the goings on in the board room of the losers prior to the infamous “firing” of the failed apprentice.
Team Hydra handily raised more money than Omarosa’s team and soon it was a choice of three to be cut from the roster of the Impresario team. Omarosa herself was Impresario’s team leader so she was on the hot seat. Tiffany Fallon, a playmate of the year (how’s that for “celebrity”?), was excoriated by Trump for failing to call his fine lifelong buddy, Hugh Hefner. Another female contender was in the hot seat for a bad choice of locale to sell the hot dogs.
Boy did The Donald have fun with that room full of females. He made sure to tell the world that he’s known a lot of Playboy playmates in his life and damn I was just so impressed. Not to mention Trump’s loyal buddyhood with the man with no morals whatsoever, Hugh Hefner. That whole boardroom exercise was a paean to The Donald, who knows all and knows everybody.
Poor Fallon was fired although, heh, any fool could see Omarosa deserved to go. Trump’s logic for firing Fallon was her failure to contact Hefner to donate to the cause.
We also had Trump waltzing around with NY Mayor Bloomberg, another fool with entirely too much money. All of the charity money raised by the Hydra team went to team leader Stephen Baldwin. He designated the money to be given to his OWN MOTHER’S CHARITY.
Ladies and gems, I think that is in just the poorest of taste. Yes, it’s a breast cancer charity and I’m supposing that Baldwin’s mother might have suffered from the disease and set up the charity to help others. But no, it’s the APPEARANCE of impropriety and I think for a Celebrity Apprentice to take monies raised and give it to any charity run by a family member looks hokey and in poor taste.
It’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it. Plus I can’t stand any of the Baldwins at any rate.
I shall continue to watch this reality series.
There will likely be plenty of smirks along the way.
"Celebrity Apprentice" 2008 Contenders
======================
Carol Alt-model/actress
Jennie Finch-olympic medalist softball
Gene Simmons from Kiss
Lennox Lewis-boxer
Marilu Henner-actress
Nadia Comaneci-olympic star gymnast
Nely Galen-Latino Entrepreneur
Omaroasa-former apprentice contender
Piers Morgan-Americas Got Talent
Stephen Baldwin-actor of Baldwin family
Tiffany Fallon-playmate of year-SENT HOME PREMIERE NIGHT 1/3/08
Tito Ortez-fighter
Trace Adkins-country star
Vincent Pastore-star of sopranos
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Focus on TV Posts of Fame
Those Wacky TV Chefs. Includes Rachel Ray and the sexiest chef of them all.
TV News Pundits including Russert, spitting Matthews and the one I adore.
"Dancing with the Stars" of 2007, reviews, pics and videos.
American Idol 2007 and The Bachelor. One night's review with links to all the others.
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”Missing Beauty” Teresa Carpenter
One of the things that captivated me in the reading of this true crime book was the book’s namesake “missing beauty”…Robin Benedict. Indeed Benedict was a beautiful female but she definitely had a dark soul.
Robin Benedict became a prostitute very early in life and, in fact, it was in the pursuit of her prostitute job duties that caused her to die at the hands of a very sad but very intelligent man who became obsessed with the lovely Robin.
Such a waste of human lives.
William Henry James Douglas was a well-respected scientist at Tufts university. Douglas was a nerdy looking fellow, a guy whose picture should be under the phrase ”nerdy-looking scientist” in Wikipedia. Douglas was a solidly married man with children and until he became obsessed with Robin he lived and worked a normal life.
Robin’s story is just as intriguing. For Robin did not come from a bad background. In fact, Robin’s family was a solidly middle-class family who loved Robin dearly. Even when the fact that Robin was a prostitute came to light her family continued to love and look for her.
Only William Henry James Douglas killed Robin Benedict and no one really knows why.
What is known is that as his obsession with prostitute Robin grew Douglas began to steal money from his employer and in due course, Douglas was fired from Tufts university with many blemishes on his employment record. Douglas used government grants to pay Robin a salary as a “consultant” and give her money to travel with him.
At some point Douglas and Robin evidently had a falling out. Douglas confessed to killing Robin but her body has never been found.
It was an intriguing story, a look into souls that got lost, never to return.
The author, ahem, is no Ann Rule.
There were too many details in this book that simply confused the reader more than anything. For example, the author launches into a couple of chapters detailing Robin’s relationship with a couple of New England Patriot football players. I, as one confused reader, wondered if these football players had anything to do with the story. They did not. It’s almost as if Carpenter needed more minutiae to put in the book so she picked up a few tidbits that meant pretty much nothing. I’d much rather have read a deeper dive into the psyche of Robin’s family, particularly her parents. It’s how Ann Rule would have done it.
Robin Benedict has a riveting attraction to black men. That was clear from the start. Robin Benedict headed to a prostitution career with no detour.
I never quite understood why. She was beautiful, intelligent, and of a charming personality. Are some women just born this way?
The author gave me no help in understanding Benedict and her ilk.
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Focus on Book Reviews
Review Ann Rule's "Every Breath You Take"
Ann Rule's "Evidence of Love"
Ann Rule's "Heart Full of Lies" and "Bitter Harvest"
Amber Frey's story.
"Tainted Roses"
Thomas Capano Book Reviews
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