u/AllisonInMaryland

>!Flashbacks of Ted and Leslie's "courtship and romance?" Are you kidding me? I felt like I was watching a horror movie. If this had aired before the anniversary party - maybe - but way too much has happened since then. Nobody wants this.!<

>!Oh and Eva is just as twisted as her mother claiming her mother is loyal to those she loves and that's why she won't give up on Ted. Leslie's behavior isn't a sign of loyalty, it's pathological. She's a boarder line stalker. Being loyal to Ted would be refusing to say anything bad about him and leaving him alone when he asks.!<

>!Now that everyone is suspicious of Haley making it impossible for her to finish off Bill, what if she decides to frame Tomas for Bill's poisonings if they get too close to the truth? Bill's about to consult more doctors, maybe someone will figure out somebody has been slipping him something. Haley hides some poison in Tomas' desk at work?!<

>!Carolyn just told Naomi that she doesn't trust Tomas. And Naomi accused Tomas of being more concerned about being Bill's heir to the firm than Bill's health. Kat's called him out for pressuring her twice to talk to Naomi. Why is all this happen now? It sure is convenient for Haley for Naomi, Carolyn and Kat to all be suspicious of Tomas.!<

>!This could solve the problem of what to do with Tomas. It's pretty clear the Kat/Tomas pairing is a failure and he needs to go. He'll be off the screen if he's in jail, or if the accusations don't stick, make him angry enough to leave town if Kat and Bill are among those who doubt his innocence.!<

>!And then Haley and Randy can remain in town. I for one want both of them to stay. Although I'd really like Haley and Bill's marriage to end ASAP.!<

>!Thoughts?!<

>!Edited to add: Another possibility is that Haley doesn't try to frame Tomas but the Hamilton-Duprees figure out Bill has been poisoned and suspect Tomas first for the reasons outlined above. They may hate Haley and think she's cheating Bill but nothing so far suggests she wants him dead.!<

>!Vanessa, how old are you? You weigh what, 95 lbs, and don't realize you are going to get smashed if you have multiple shots? And you don't notice the very first pour Heather gave you three times as much tequila as she gave herself? And Joey, your solution to sobering Vanessa up is to get her a glass of water? How about a ham sandwich? And did you not notice that the security cameras went out right about when dear sister showed up? Maybe you should take your own advise about Heather always having an agenda. And Heather? Don't pat yourself on the back for being so smart, these people are idiots.!<

>!A few days ago Smitty tells Andre that he could text Mystery Caller a link that if MC clicks will allow them to track him/her. Andre says he doesn't want to reach out. They are both stumped. Have neither of them heard of burner phones? !<

>!Izaiah, your girlfriend tells you she hates her scar, that her body doesn't feel like hers anymore and she's upset that she can't even dress like herself for fear her scar will show. Your response? But Babe, I still think you're hot so what are you going on about? Then, "How dare you say I'm not supportive?" Yet he's a counselor. !<

>!I would love some help here, cuz these BTG's folks take the cake. What has made you say "Fool!" lately? !<

>!Lightening bulb just went off. Heather is Andre's mystery person! She's dangerous and unpredictable. And she couldn't wait to pull up a chair and get to know Dani!!<

>!Kuddos to whoever predicted this right after the champagne bottle and cryptically threatening note was sent to Dani and Andre. I didn't see it then but now that she's back in town at just the right moment it seems obvious.!<

>!Looks like I'm not getting my St Barts showdown but the previews for next week look even better! I only wish Andre could be there when Dani has that outburst at the hospital! Haha!!<

Sometimes BTG drops references to some fascinating places in black history. I especially love that they didn't give us a lecture or an explanation, just hoped some of us would notice and think, "Wait did Haley of all people just bring up Highland Beach?"

A Brief History of Highland Beach https://www.highlandbeachmd.org/town-history

In 1892, Major Charles Douglass, youngest son of Frederick Douglass, and Charles’ wife Laura, were turned away from a restaurant at the Bay Ridge Resort and Amusement Park because of their race.  The resort was separated by a narrow channel—the mouth of Black Walnut Creek—from property owned by the Brashears, a local black family. Crossing the channel, it was through a chance encounter between a member of the Brashears family and Charles and Laura Douglass that the origins of Highland Beach are rooted. After discussions over the next several months, and with financial assistance from his father, Charles Douglass worked out an arrangement to purchase a two-thirds interest in forty acres of the original forty-eight-acre Brashears estate from two of the heirs—Daniel Brashears and Georgianna Lane. In the spring of 1893, they settled on the purchase of twenty-six and two-thirds acres of land that would become Highland Beach. And almost a century later, in 1988, Highland Beach annexed the eight-acre Dr. John E. Washington tract.

By 1894, Douglass had built the first cottage, establishing a retreat for himself and others on the Chesapeake Bay. With 600 feet of beachfront, he turned it into a summer enclave for family and friends. Frederick Douglass—famed activist for abolition and women’s suffrage, orator, publisher, diplomat and adviser to President Abraham Lincoln, perhaps the most famous black man of his time, and one of the most photographed personalities in our nation’s history—would have become a resident had he not died in 1895 before the summer home, that his son Charles was building for him, was completed.

The Town of Highland Beach became a gathering place for educated blacks, including many of the well-known blacks of the time and later years. Among the residents and guests were—Paul Robeson, concert artist and stage and film actor famous for his cultural accomplishments as well as for his political activism; Judge Robert Terrell, who served as one of the first municipal court judges in Washington, D.C., and his wife, Dr. Mary Church Terrell, one of the first African American women to earn a college degree, who became known nationally as an activist for civil rights and women’s suffrage; Booker T. Washington, author, educator, orator, and advisor to U.S. presidents; Robert Weaver, who served as the first African American appointed to a cabinet position in the federal government as the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; W.E.B. Du Bois, sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, and author; Paul Laurence Dunbar, poet, novelist, and playwright; Langston Hughes, poet, social activist, novelist, and columnist; E. Franklin Frazier, sociologist and author of the books The Negro Family in the United States (1939), and Black Bourgeoisie (1957); and later, author Alex Haley, perhaps most famously known for his ground-breaking book Roots: The Saga of an American Family (1976), that became a national sensation as a television production.

When Highland Beach was incorporated in 1922, it became the first African American municipality in Maryland.  It is also believed to be the first African American summer resort in the United States. Although founded as a summer resort, it is now a town of both summer and year-round residents who choose not to permit commercial establishments.  There are approximately 80 homes, many of them still owned and occupied by descendants of the original settlers.  The residents are proud and protective of their town's heritage, established by proud and successful people determined to overcome the prejudices of their post-Reconstruction times. Highland Beach is the home of Twin Oaks, which now serves as the Frederick Douglass Museum and Cultural Center, Inc.

Highland Beach is bordered on the north by Black Walnut Creek and the community of Bay Ridge, on the east by the Chesapeake Bay, and on the south by Oyster Creek and the community of Venice Beach. 

Highland Beach is residential only, does not offer opportunities for tourism and cannot accommodate visits from the general public.

 

How would you rank players by ball handling skills?

Rank the entire team together or by front court players, back court players.

Here's mine:

Back court

1. Sonia

2. Alicia

3. Rori

4. Cotie, Cass, Georgia?

5. Lucy

Front court

1. Shakira

2. Michaela

3. Kiki

4. Angela

5. Lauren

>!Vanessa to Leslie: "Everything I've ever done, right or wrong, has been for my family."!<

>!Sleeping with Joey after promising Doug she wouldn't? For the family!<

>!That trip to the Caribbean with Joey? For the family!<

>!Running Heart Attach? For the family!<

>!It's hard to top Leslie in a "most delusional character" contest but I think Vanessa has just pulled it off.!<

>!Next time she's screwing Joey on a poker table, I'll be thinking For the family!<

>!Andre kept this secret to himself for a reason. Andre prides himself on being an open book but it doesn't appear he's shared this with anyone. Not his Uncle Ted, not Dani. Why not? My guess is he feels ashamed, guilty or at least regretful about something. Dani has led a messy life and seems able to forgive him anything, what can it possibly be?!<

>!Did he break off an engagement? That seems way too trivial.!<

>!Was he involved with an unstable woman? Someone he had to run away from? That would explain him wanting to avoid having his picture in a modeling campaign. !<

>!Did he injure someone? In a car crash maybe? scarred somebody for life?!<

>!We are assuming the sender of the champagne is a woman who thinks Andre wronged her but what if it is an avenging family member or friend? Someone Andre doesn't even know!!<

>!I sure hope the writers make it something juicy!!<

>!Any other theories?!<

Questions:

When will the roster be selected?

How many players will be on the roster?

Who is qualified to be selected?

Any roster predictions? Shoe ins, bubble players, etc.

Thanks!

>!For most of BTGs run, when nothing interesting was happening, the writer's would pad episodes with people having the same conversations or kerfuffles over and over again. Ex. Eva telling her Mamma she needed to stop interfering in her life, coming on to Ted, or instigating shit with the Duprees. Or Leslie coming on to Ted or interrupting Duprees at the country club to say something out of line. Kat running into Eva and getting pissed off. You get the idea.!<

>!Thankfully, that doesn't seem to be happening anymore. What's replaced it? Gossip. Now BTG is a soap, I expect people to be up in other people's business. But this has gotten out of hand. Talking about other people's private is taking up half the show. Why on earth is everybody telling everyone else that Ted told Shanice that he loves her? Including his ex-wife? Why was everyone sharing that Kat was buying a condo, not giving her a minute to tell the people she might want to tell herself? Her parents for instance!!<

>!Just today Ashley - a nurse - is ragging on Ted - a doctor - about telling Shanice he loved her. I know BTG has the nurses and doctors acting like peers but WTF? Then she followed that up by sharing the news with Naomi and then they gossiped about how Nicole took the news? Was this right after or right before Ashley apologized about talking about Naomi's private business with Dani? And in case you think I'm picking on Ashley, I'm not. She's not the only one who's acting like this.!<

>!I think I preferred the repetitive conversations to all this gossiping.!<

>!Heather's interactions with Joey are gross - they come off too flirty, incestuous even - and the whole premise of her being here is stupid. The woman lives in London but runs a plasma ring in the DMV? Her solution to press attention isn't to close up shop in the area but to kill the reporter? We all know Smitty isn't going to get murdered so the story is a yawn before it has even gotten started. And based on Fridays previews, Heather is also here to mess with Vanessa, make her think she's Joey's ex (that's some sick stuff for a sister to pull). Unfortunately she's creeping the audience out in the process. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't find sisters flirting with their brothers cute. I don't want that shit on my soap.!<

>!I love you girl, but Eva isn't just playing a victim, she was a victim! Of the tornado! I do get her being upset that Chelsea, her BFF - one of the few people who has her back where Eva is concerned - seems to be thawing a bit. But she should have foreseen this and just said no to Chelsea's request to interview Eva.!<

>!No matter, they'll make up in a day or too. BTG drama rarely lasts longer than that.!<

Everyone has forgotten about Lynette, why bring her up? Why call attention to Lynette's disappearance and increase the chance she'll get caught in a lie?

All Haley's done is make herself look suspicious.

>!Hee Hee! Andre has a secret jilted lover! It's about time something got messy on his side of the marriage! I hope she's as scary as Deanna.!<

She was drafted 6th by the Liberty. She averaged 8.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game - playing an average of 22 minutes, leading all rookies in scoring and 3-pointers made.

Unfortunately in 2022 she struggled with injuries. In 2023 the Liberty picked up Stewie and JJ and traded her to Phoenix

I would love Angel Reese to make an appearance! I love Angel and I love the WNBA. Angel plays for the Atlanta Dream so she's near to where they film and she's a Maryland native - her mother and brother still live there - so it would be easy to say she's in town for a visit.

Kat and Chelsea stanning over her, giving her a purse would be awesome. Naming a purse after her would be even better!

Who would y'all like to see on the show and who would you like them to be in a scene with?

>!Mano a Mano! That was intense! I want more!!<

>!Another rush Bill to the hospital episode only to have him leave in less than a day looking fit and fine. Are they going to drag this poisoning storyline out indefinitely? I'm more impatient for Bill to get deadly ill from whatever Haley is giving him than she is! What the hell are the writers waiting for?!<

>!If anyone has any ideas why they are dragging this out, please let me know. Nothing else is happening on the show right now, we could use the action!!<

A few years before ATWTs was cancelled, I attended an actor/fan get together at a bar in NYC organized by a friend who was the prez of Trent Dawson's(Henry Coleman) fan club. My friend did this every year after the big fan event where hundreds of fans line up for photos with the actors. These after parties were great because the actors were ready to just let their hair down and the number of fans was small. I loved the chance to talk with them as people - which they are! - and I think they were ready to be treated as people too. Great memories from those bar events.

At the time, my youngest daughter was interested in being an actress - she later changed her mind and went into broadcast journalism, she's now a traffic anchor in Atlanta - and I asked a young actor for advice. He was a smart guy, had attended Carnegie Melon, so I figured he'd have something worthwhile to say. The first thing he asked was is she really pretty? Then he said there are so many women who want to be actresses, it's really tough for them.

I'm sure I haven't been the only one to notice that if we weighed the balance of talent on BTG, it would land much more heavily on the female side than the male side. And if we discuss the younger set? There is no contest.

I just googled this phrase:

"are their more women interested in being actresses than men actors"

and got this AI answer:

"Yes, career data suggests that more women are interested in pursuing acting than men. In the U.S., women make up approximately 65% of all individuals pursuing or interested in acting careers, while men represent 35%. https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/actor/demographics/

Despite this higher level of interest, the actual working pool of professional actors balances out to a near-even split (roughly 47% women and 53% men). This discrepancy exists because male actors generally secure a larger share of available speaking roles, and female actors face steeper age and gender biases that shorten careers. https://datausa.io/profile/soc/actors

For more detailed statistics on the industry's gender gap, you can review demographic breakdowns on CareerExplorer or read the labor research published by the Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film. [1]"

So maybe we shouldn't be so hard on TPTB for failing to cast stronger male actors, the landscape isn't very promising.