Parties, Punches and Politics as Usual

Week 2 of 'Challenge: Rivals' is here and the cast is ready to play hard and win some money. The girls are safe this week, so the pressure is on the boys to do well or get sent into "the jungle". There's nothing but game play on these guys' minds, as they basically all want to scheme on how to get rid of CT, the obvious threat to the entire group. I must say, being that I am so against these sort of football jock, captain hero, look-at-my-body types; it was nice to see Kenny lose the challenge and have to go into the elimination round. He came out clean as a whistle though, so I have to hand it to him for fighting hard and winning his way back into the game by beating Tyree and Davis in a tough, physical match. The girls decided they wanted to get rowdy in this episode, but not until they had their fill of the infamous MTV open bar. The altercation was pointless and immature. Someone called someone the wrong name and it was a screaming match after that. Young Princess Jasmine even decided to punch a mirror to prove that girls from Houston don't play that. Sigh. Next week CT uses his body and his brain to intimidate his competition. If he can do it without being drunk and belligerent, my respect level for him will only continue to rise. See you then...

A Woman Scorned

My heart goes out to Drita. Usually when someone is consumed by anger, there is a layer of heartache underneath. This is apparent in Drita's actions when she physically attacks Karen at a dinner meeting attended by all the cast members. But we have to rewind a bit to get to the source of this altercation. Drita walked into a hair salon with her daughter just days before and her life was forever changed. A woman working at the salon recognized her daughter, Aleeyah, and called her out by name, thus beginning Drita's investigation into this stranger who turned out to be her husband Lee's mistress for a short period of time. For the first time, this tough girl, this boxer and fighter, famous for the quote, "I'll send you to the hospital" became fragile and alone in her plight. My heart broke for Drita as she cried for the viewers. All she has is her family and her pride and both may be taken from her. So knowing that her mental state is absolutely unstable, Drita calls for a pow wow with her "girls". She wants to confront Karen once again about her intonations that Drita dated Lee just months after Karen and Lee broke up. She also wants to make it known that she and Karen were not the close friends that maybe Karen feels they were. Renee is all too excited for this gathering; there's going to be drama and she feels it. She can barely contain herself and cackles at the thought of the impending chaotic night. Once there, Drita immediately announces that she wanted to speak to Karen and invited Carla and Renee to witness it. Then the Lee argument starts up again. Karen refuses to waiver from her original accusations, saying that she and Drita were indeed good friends and she was very hurt that Drita didn't come to her when she began to date and ultimately marry her ex. The back and forth was nothing we haven't heard before, and Renee and Carla watched the exchange like a Wimbledon match. Things got extremely heated when Karen jumped up to make a point. That's when, according to her, Drita blacked out and grabbed the first thing she could find to begin her assault. But let's back up a bit, during the verbal fight, Drita's eyes were actually welling up with tears. Only Carla could have truly known where that pain was coming from, and she should have taken Drita out of that situation, knowing that she was carrying such a heavy load. Every time Drita said the name Lee, I swear her eyes got a little more teary. So, even though she was fighting to defend her actions back then against Karen, deep down, I'm sure she was fighting for so much more. Carla, as her friend and confident, should have intervened and comforted her friend. Drita was merely masking her devastation with anger and aggressive conversation. We'll have to wait until next week to see the outcome of the fight. We ended with Karen on the floor, Drita on top of her and Renee in the position she cherishes the most -- the middle.

A Mother's Love Displayed

*For those of you following the Casey Anthony trial, I'll be checking in periodically until a verdict is reached!*

"A mother's love is forever
A mother's love is for free
It doesn't matter if you're good or bad
She's there for whatever you need"

The above are lyrics from Diana Ross song, A Mother's Love. These words couldn't have been more true today if Diana Ross showed up in that Orlando court room and sung them herself. When defense attorney Jose Baez called Cindy Anthony to the stand today, I tweeted a brief prayer in the hopes that God would give Cindy the strength to do and say the right thing. Reports had just surfaced this morning that the Anthony's attorney made a statement saying that they did not believe Casey was innocent, but would do whatever they could to keep her off death row. Now that's not a direct quote, but I think we all get the idea. So Cindy takes the stand and what does she do? She tells Jose Baez that SHE made those searches for chloroform on the family computer. She also claims she searched for "ruptured spleen", among other questionable inquiries such as; alcohol and peroxide. She's clearly taking the fall for her daughter by owning up to these devastating Google searches, even though her work records show that she was on the job at the time the searches were performed! I found myself ready to shout at my computer screen. How could she? But many have calmed me down by now and explained that a mother's love is boundless, it is unconditional.... never ending and abundant. I know my mother loves me, but I have to wonder if she would be "Luger by the thigh, right hand high" for me at my murder trial. Let's just say, I'm pretty sure we will never find out. But Cindy's actions today show the lengths she is willing to go to protect her daughter, even though she knows (and I'm sure she does) that that same daughter is responsible for taking away an innocent soul, and the one she possibly loved the most, the real victim in all of this, Caylee Marie.

"Challenge" is Back on MTV

Shoutout to my sister for reminding me that Challenge: Rivals debuted tonight. I was ready to watch the talking heads on CNN either tear Obama apart or praise him to the heavens after his presidential address earlier, but once I got the news, all plans changed. The challenges on MTV are one of my only reasons for even stopping on that channel most of the time. I quit watching The Real World years ago, never really appreciated any of their attempts at a dramatic series, and as I've stated before, I've become vastly turned off by 16 and Pregnant. But the challenge genre is fun to watch. It's "Drunken Survivor", mixed with a little "Frat House Big Brother" and sprinkled with some soft core porn. It's an hour of your life devoted to young people coming close to death in the name of $300,000.00. Now, I'm going to have to take some time to get to know the rookies, I haven't been watching their shows and don't really know their personalities, so enough about them -- a bunch of our favourites are back! Firstly, pro biker TJ Lavin returns is host. After suffering a head injury, his future may have been shaky for awhile, but he obviously recovered perfectly.  Paula, Jenn, Nehemiah, and Wes, they all returned for that Viacom paycheck. I was surprised, I must say, to see CT. Being that he has such a dark and violent past on these shows, you would think MTV might want to keep him home and save a few lives. Seriously speaking, he has been such a danger to himself and others, I felt he should be banned from these shows indefinitely. But without him and the other major player  -- alcohol -- what would these shows be really? As long as CT can contain himself, and perhaps limit his vodka and cran consumption, I have a feeling I'll find myself rooting for him. Despite his raged filled history on these challenges, CT is a great competitor, he gives these boys a run for their money. As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for him bloodying all those noses and being booted off the show, there would be no Kenny and Evan. They were only allowed to blossom when CT wasn't there to win all the challenges. Can you tell that I think CT is a beast? There were two more "O.G."s that I loved seeing: Aneesa and Robin. Unfortunately they were sent home after the first elimination challenge. I was sad to see them go because I figure, at this stage in their lives, they might have been the only females on the show to bring some sense of maturity and reason to the game. Meet me back here next week for more of the booze, brawls and back breaking challenges.

One Nation, Under WHO???

NBC has already apologized, saying it was a regrettable editing error and was not done intentionally, but we've been lied to before by the powers that be, so I look at this at yet another example of this country's intense desire to rid our lives of God completely. Children are not allowed to pray in school. They want to keep the Lord's name out of court rooms. They want to sue the government to take His name off of our money. And over the weekend, during it's coverage of the U.S. Open, NBC removed the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. It was being recited by a group of children, played to the back drop of scenes of Americana. It was supposed to be a tribute to patriotism. But you didn't even have to listen closely when the children began to speak, there was a distinct silence where "under God" should have been. How could that have been a mistake? No other words were omitted. Nothing else was bleeped out or removed. Just those two words. One nation, under who? "Oh, don't worry about it, under no one. It's nothing. Just enjoy this game of golf." The outrage was immediate, resulting in an impromptu public apology from NBC. In my opinion, sorry means nothing when the damage has already been done. Sorry doesn't change the fact that we have become so afraid of offending one group or another, that we've used political correctness to abolish the exact ideals that founded this country in the first place. When you take away God, you take away the foundation. Without God, there is no red, white and blue, home of the free, and land of the brave. An atheist might tell you something different, and as every good Christian knows, God loves them anyway.

Rip The Runway!

I'm starting to see commercials for the new season of Project Runway. And just when I was starting to worry I would have nothing to watch on TV this summer. So if you're into fashion designing and all the drama on the catwalk, follow me and we'll share in the fun together. And since we're on the topic, I wonder what will become of The Fashion Show, Bravo's flagrant copycat style version of PR. Will there be a second season with Iman at the helm? And what happened to last season's winner, Jeffrey Williams? Maybe I'll look him up and let you know. Hopefully he is busy and successful. I was actually rooting for him since he seemed to be the most artistic and unique. In any event, sharpen your scissors and straighten those hems lines, my little fashionistas. Project Runway, season 9 starts next month!

Casey Anthony, Mother of the Year

Have you been watching the Casey Anthony trial? Surely you've heard of the 25 year old Orlando mother who went on a partying and drinking spree (with the photos to prove it), hid from her mother and family, lied, stole, cheated and ran the streets all while her little baby, Caylee, was missing. For 31 days, her mother begged her to see her granddaughter, but Casey refused. Sadly, in December of 2008, six months after the child had last been seen, Caylee's skeletonized body was found in garbage bags dumped in the woods. Now the trial has just gotten underway. The state just finished their presentation and we are now hearing the defense. They plan to blame everybody but the Virgin Mary, and claim that Casey only partied and hung out with friends because she was programmed to hide her true feelings, as she was sexually molested as a child by both her father and brother! The defense claims that the baby drowned in the family's pool, and Casey was forced to hide the body by her father and keep the secret, like so many secrets kept in the family's dark and dysfunctional past. It's a lot to swallow and much to consider. I would give anything to be on this jury! They would never pick me, of course, considering I think this girl is GUILTY of everything they're accusing her of, if not more. Florida is seeking the death penalty, I don't think she'll get it, but I do see a conviction in this party girl's future. I hope her last dance was a good one. I'm on top of this trial and all the facts, I've got tabs on all the players and will be keeping you updated as we get closer and closer to Casey Anthony's judgment day.