Hee! Ereka and O were just on Extra. Ereka said, "Here's the 'n' word for you. Nutcase!" And I was so hoping for a knock down drag out fight. Ah well. There's still tonight during the finale.

Amy said flat out she's rooting for Bill. And typing of Billy (that's what his sister calls him - hee!), his family was on the show too. Mama is very proud and so is Sis. They showed part of his Bachelor audition. Verrrrry awkward doing the ring bit. He looks great though. Alas, he did the Extra, Extra shtick. Not a singer. Well, not then anyhow.

Nick and Heidi clowned for the camera. He said they were the new couple to talk about. Heidi goes, "No! He's too dirty!" Or something to that effect.

Troy's rooting for his man (awwwww) Kwame. Of course.

That's all I can remember. The show's still on so I'll ETA if anything else comes on.

Now for something non-Extra. Reuters is running a story titled Few Executives Eager to Work for Trump, Poll Shows. Interesting article.

When I heard "criminology" I immediately figured "pre-law".

Hee! "But honeeeey... you want me to do whaaaat? But that will get jello on the caaaarpet!"

Oh, Bill! First, we find out Kwame's a "skirt-chaser" and now Bill likes "hot girls" and was almost The Bachelor? I guess these guys really were too good to be true.

Bachelor Bill....? Gawd, could you imagine our Bill making out in the hot tub week after week with a different girl....? The rose ceremonies would be hilarious...Bill chewing his lip nervously. Bill fixing his hair. Bill sending the hookers home....

Wordy-word! And even worse is what he'll be like with kids since they are naturally messy, throwing up, throwing food around, making noise and a mess.

From the TV Guide Watercooler bit above. It made me giggle a little.



Also, I went back and watched the boardroom roundup on last night's Dateline. What I found interesting (read: annoying) is that all the panelists started off by saying that Kwame was not an entrepreneur, as if that was a bad thing in some way, because he doesn't have the fire, or some such thing. Then they praise Bill for a while, self-made, yada yada. But then they turn it around and say that he could never fit into the Trump organization because he is an entrepreneur, essentially too independent or too much a maverick. So, which is it guys? Entrepreneur or no? Of course, I should know not to take any panel which includes Carson Daly and Isaac Mizrahi too seriously. And they all wanted Amy. Amy for goodness sake! I guess I should be glad they didn't say Omarosa.

Oh. my. god. On Access Hollywood right now, they announced that Omarosa has scored a commercial deal for Herbal Essence Shampoo. Damn them for signing the bitch and giving her money!!! I so hate it when nasty folks get rewarded like that. God, her ego will grow even 'yooger'. (and God help us if she does that fake orgasm in the commercial like they all do - but then that's assuming she can even fake an orgasm. I bet she's never even had one, just one of the reasons why she's so f-ing wound up!).

Also, Amy said that Trump has offered her a job...but she hasn't decided to take it yet, that she has to negotiate with him.

And Ereka said she's consluting with a lawyer about suing Omarosa for slander. Personally, I hope she does and hope her lawyer whips Oma and takes a load of $$$ from her.

Consluting? Hee! Freudian Slip, maybe?

Yes, I saw the Access Hollywood piece. Hasn't Ereka been "exploring leagl action" for weeks now? Cripes. Either do it or don't. But stop talking about it. And wonder what her lawyer would say about her on-air lie detector test on the Howard Stern Show.

I agree that the lie detector test, no matter where it is taken, is valuable. And I understand why she did it. BUT...I don't think it will work in her favor that some of the results in the test could be used against her in court. She answered a very strong "YES" to the question, "Do you feel that African Americans scream racism " in order to "chisel away at" others. She also said that she would not marry an African American. So, while it may have been determined that she didn't use the slur, it could also be determined that she does have some prejudices against African Americans. A lie detector test is fine. But not when it's done on a national radio show with millions of listeners. Who knows what could be considered admissable if Omarosa tried to use that test against her if things did proceed to the courtroom. I'm not a lawyer, so I don't know what can and can't be used....but I'd have to think that taking that test on air wasn't a smart thing.


InTouch Magazine also rated the worth of all the Apprentices. If I read it correctly, Omarosa was ranked first at 1.2 million dollars.
1. Omarosa-$1,180.000
2. Bill Rancic-$750,000
3. Kwaame-$750,000
4. Troy-$600,000-Been approached to endorse soemthing called The Original Thinking Cap-a hat with magnets that's said to increase IQ
5. Sam-$550,000
6. Amy-$450,000
7. Nick-$400,000-he's '"toying " with a book idea
8. Katrina-$250,000
9. Heidi-$200,00
10. Ereka-$100,000-Experts says her worth is so low because "she's hard to distinguish from Katrina"

But, why? I think of all the girls her hair is the least worthy of being on a hair commercial.

Ereka is becoming as big a nutcase as O. Jeez, go back to selling makeup in Long Island already.

Ereka, Kristi, and Katrina are on Howard Stern's show on E! now.

TD was just on my local news. I think I love him even more now...

Trump said he was looking for a natural born leader and that LeBron James (our local basketball hero) has what it takes. The man can definitely recognize talent when he sees it.

TD said he was leaning more towards Bill after the tasks because of how Kwame handled (or didn't handle) the whole Assy situation. He basically said Assy is the reason Kwame lost.

TD was just on the Chicago news (ch 5) and he said that Dramarosa really hurt Kwame. He didn't say "backstabbed", but rather, "hurt."

I need to get me a Dramarosa voodoo doll, and I'd pay big money for it. Happy that Bill won just the same, but Kwame didn't need that nonsense.

I saw Trump interviewed too and didn't get that impression at all. I just felt that Trump said Oma hurt Kwame a lot...but not that this was the sole reason Kwame wasn't hired. I think Trump took a lot more into consideration for the hiring than just this final project...and Kwame really didn't measure up the same as Bill when you looked at all Kwame's losses versus Bill's wins (something Trump brought up in the final BR).

And Bill just exuded a greater passion and hunger...Kwame's laid-back persona really did hurt him and to have someone handling a project like Bill will be doing requires a very hands-on type, something I think Kwame needs to develop.

Also, it wasn't that Assy caused Kwame to lose - it's that Kwame didn't manage her well enough to win. Bill would have cut Assy out of any project had she been on his team, he would not have put up with her crap. At the very least, Kwame showed very poor judgment by not just putting Assy with Jessica all the time (as she was) and having the 3 of them (Heidi, Troy and himself) handle all the tasks. His 'excuse' to Trump that 'he needed everyone working' was weak since Oma kept screwing stuff up and taking energy/attention away from the real work.

I also thought it was really impressive when Bill said in the BR that "I WANT THE JOB" - very smart move on his part and totally authentic.

Jimmy Kimmel, on his crappy show, just did some "Apprentice" humor.

But you know? Now that the show is over... it's not so funny anymore. Wait, it's Kimmel. It probably never WAS funny.

So do we suppose this is the end of the mock boardroom skits on various shows for the next 6 months?

If that's true about Clairol... Well, that's the end of me and my Herbal Essence. I almost gave it the permanent boot for the moronic "organic" ads, but if they choose that spokesass I cannot put my dollars there, even for that great rose-scented stuff.

Yay! I've used up approximately 1.5 of my 15 minutes. Thanks to Miss Alli for her fabulous comentary on MoleGate... They were having the "was she planted??" discussion on my local radio station and I called in to bring up (1) what about her accusations against Erika and (2) what about Diane's involvement.

But to bring this around to topic and this thread...

On that same radio show one of the DJs mentioned that he TiVoed the veeeeery end six times. Anyone notice the hugs at the very end, where Amy either hugged Trump or shook his hand? According to the DJ (and I will go check my tape--you have to read their lips) Trump said to her: I left a message on your cell phone. Call me.

Ew.

erinjsnark, on "Access Hollywood" last night and in today's NY Post, Amy confirmed that Trump has offered her a job - she said she hasn't decided if she'll take it (still has to negotiate) and that she has tons of job offers, both IN front of the camera and behind (I'm betting she goes for something in front of the camera...) so no surprise that Trump is calling her. And from various reports, he is very taken with her....

One would think if Trump is dallying with Amy, that the Star Magazine story would be making them cautious. It's at least possible that the whole thing is legit, at least to the extent that he's offering her the job personally instead of using a go-between. Many stories of the man confirm that its not out of his nature to do something like that.

I knew Bill was outside the Today studios with his Crossfire, but apparently Kwame just showed up. There's this woman behind the barrier, as Al Roker does the weather, screaming Kwame's name and offering to have his babies.

The key to Bill's victory is revealed in his Today show interview--in front of Trump and Katie Couric, he quotes Trump's latest book (which made Trump smile) about how you are supposed to "micromanage down to the paperclips". That's why Bill fit with Trump more than Kwame.

Omarosa came up before the end, of course. Once more Trump spoke to how she brought Kwame down, but this time he was (thankfully) more specific--that Kwame was penalized for not even TRYING to do something about her, not for her.

Bachelorette Jen was brought up and Bill squirelled around an answer. Donald even kidded him about it.

I'm thinking still about one thing. Bill's "micromanage down to the paperclips" quote from Trump's book is really staying with me. To some extent this has to be the heart of Bill's selection. It IS a bit odd that Trump is publically sticking so close to the "didn't deal with Omarosa properly" argument with Kwame, because the management styles argument should be in there too. Trump doesn't agree with Kwame's style. Why doesn't he just say so?

Trump on the Today Show right now with Bill...

Katie Couric doing her damndest to get Trump to admit Omarosa was either encouraged to be a troublemaker or played up her "Cruella de Ville" personalities.

And Trump will have nothing to do with that. "No, that's her personality." And as for editing the character ... "We can only edit what they give us. We can't create characters."

Plus, he flat out said Omarosa lied twice to Kwame's face.

Hee.

hi Kromm! Glad to see I'm not the only one sitting infront of the tv with a computer!

Yah Kwame! He finally just explained that he *couldn't* pick OI'mALiarOsa last because of her "fragile psyche." Even though it backfired in his face, {sniff}, the boy is.not.stupid.

Kwame just joined Bill and Trump on Today.

Okay, although he DIDN'T claim this last night on the program Kwame DOES now claim to have picked Oma when he did to placate her. Is he reading this board? Why didn't he admit this last night?

Not much else to the Kwame interview. The interviewer talked too much, and there was some four-way blabbing about which task was hardest.

From MSNBC



I was indifferent about his winning but now I'm starting to fucking HATE (TM Shack) Bill. (& his yoooooooooge inferiority complex).

This is what's stuck in my craw:
For whatever Kwame's shortcomings dealing with Omarosa (The Hair should have made it clear that they could fire people) Kwame has never once trotted out his Harvard MBA as a calling card. Everybody else has done it for him. Carolyn, Trump, Amy, Bill himself. Kwame hasn't mentioned it (except in his American Dream confessional). For Bill to turn up his nose and sniff last night about pedigree was blatant bullshit. Where the fuck does Bill think Kwame came from? Kwame isn't some silver-spoon Harvard legacy. Does Bill think Kwame didn't work his ass off to get to Harvard in the first place?
You already won Bill. Why is it necessary to take an unwarranted dig at Kwame's educational background like you one-upped the Harvard boy? Let it go, shut the fuck up and drive your Crossfire.

On the local NBC affiliate here in DC last night, the Donald said that he had been "leaning towards" hiring Bill anyway, but added that Omarosa absolutely fucked Kwame's shit up. (my words, not Trump's)

But wouldn't it be great if those were Trump's exact words?

Bill's going to be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight. Kwame will be on Late Night with Conan O'Brian.

I'm working on article links but my heart's not in it much. I'm in pouting mode.

I watched the Today interviews. Kwame is a class act. Oh yeah, if you throw a stick at the internet you'll see that KFC made good on its plan to offer the runner-up a gig.

Salon.com's wrap-up. Watch the ad, get a free day pass. Not snarky enough, but decently written.

CLICK HERE NOW! From the Seattle Times. A must-read just for the hysterical graphic. Trust me. Don't be drinking anything.

The Associated Press version. Terse.

Amy Spills Beans About 'Apprentice' Finale Posting this because they have a slideshow with scenes from the finale. Otherwise? Nothing new.

UNCW business students tune in to hear "You're Hired". Meh. Nothing really. But it was from NC so I caved.

Yep. In the Today interview TD made it very clear that Assorama was Kwame's downfall. He dissed Jessica (said he "didn't care about her" or even know who she was before the task--hee) and expressed outright disgust with Assy's behavior. As evidence of her bitchiness he recounted the incident of Assy whisking Jessica off when he was on his way to see her at the meet and greet. IIRC, TD did come right out and say that Kwame was "stabbed in the back" by Assy throughout the final task and Kwame should have fired her straight out. Kwame basically used the defense he knew he was going to be stuck with her on his team regarless of picking order, and he didn't know he was "allowed" to fire her.

TD also identified Katrina as being the thorn in Bill's side throughout his final task--said he was really giving Bill "a hard time", but he praised Bill's firm handling of her (?) as opposed to Kwame's non-confrontation. To be fair, even if Katrina was being a little bitchy (which personally I didn't really get), comparing her behavior to Assy's? Not even the same ballpark.

Well, the "style" thing can be discussed, debated and twisted into so many other things (i.e., it's just an excuse, he liked Bill / didn't like Kwame because...). Trump's been very, very vocal about how great both guys are and how difficult the decision has been. But, he doesn't come across as the kind of person who wants to be second-guessed on this all summer. And no matter what you think about the situation, I think his comment that Kwame was penalized for not even trying to do something about Dramarosa is fairly open and shut: fire her, move her somewhere else, pull her aside and give her a lecture, tie her to a chair -- whatever, just show that you know there's a problem and that you're up to the challenge of dealing with it. Heck, I'm just about a nobody in my company, but whenever I interview anyone (whether they're coming in at a supervisory level or as a worker bee), we always discuss how they deal with difficult co-workers. Maybe Kwame's had the luxury of never encountering incompetent or disruptive co-workers, but to me that shows a severe lack of "real world" experience, despite the G-S job that he gave up to do the show. His not making any attempt to deal with Dramarosa may or may not have sealed his fate, but it certainly gave Trump a get out of jail free card for making the decision. Unless, of course, anyone is making the argument that Kwame was lucky to have Dramarosa on his team and handled her exactly right. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

eta: Just checked out the links provided by goobaletta, and saw this in the NBC4 story ("Amy Spills the Beans"):

The 14 "fired" contestants will grill Bill Rancic and Kwame Jackson in front of Trump, and ask the type of questions that were asked previously of them, Amy said.

Did I miss this? I caught them being debriefed by Trump and The Viceroys (for what that was worth), but I don't remember Amy asking Kwame and Bill "the hard questions."

Hmmm...wouldn't really consider Jen Schefft "hot." Cute - yes. Pretty - sure. But hot? Not so much. But maybe it's a trip to be dating the woman who shtupped a scion of the Firestone dynasty.


Oh MAN. Don't do it, Troy. I see a future of 2 am infomercials if he starts down that path. It doesn't help this snake-oil, huckster image that many people associated with him. I would like to see him get a piece of the endorsement pie, though (sent my email to Clairol earlier telling them I would no longer be buying their products).

Today's Boston Globe had a post-show analysis, featuring comments by a CEO, a professor, and a TV critic. All agreed that Bill was the better pick.

That is GREAT, archer1267. I'm going to do the same....



Trump was on Howard Stern this morning, and Stern was mentioning "a hot girl"
(he meant Kristi) and Trump immediately asked if he was referring to Amy.

Also, Trump seemed to want to talk about Omarosa's lying (he brought it up repeatedly) although Stern got off the subject quickly.

When does the Today Show interview come on? How far into the show?

ETA: Thanks, Goobaletta!! You saved me from watching this show for the next 45 minutes.

Thanks for posting that link, archer1267. Good article. And the stuff along the sides of the article makes for fun clicking too.

Grace, it was on during the 8:00 - 8:30 segment. Bill and Trump first with Katie and then Lester with Kwame and Trump.

Hired? No. Bright future? Yes. - East Meck grad gets fired on 'Apprentice' finale. From Charlotte.com - free registration needed. Awwww, his godparents were at the finale last night. They're the people who took care of him after his mama died. Did they show them? I can't remember. Nice article.

Fashion article from a Florida paper. There's a quote from Katty at the end. It's oh such a trendy kewl piece. *gag*

I posted this in the Satanarosa thread last night:

Girlysogroovy added this information later:

Bowie is on the Edge in Dallas right now, and he says that Clairol's angle with the Dramarosa campaign is something like, "Tame your mean streak." Hee. Still, they're getting a letter from me.

Even though the series hasn't aired in the UK, the BBC News have a lessons learned from the Apprentice piece today.

Not so sure that Richard Branson can inspire the same degree of awe as The Donald... "Here's my Virgin Hot Air Balloon" doesn't quite cut it.

That entire segment on Today was annoying. I've never yelled "Shut UP!" so many times, that early in the morning. Katie Couric just wouldn't keep her yap shut. And whenever she finally stopped talking long enough to ask one of them a question, as soon as they started to answer, she would interrupt them. It was also pretty obvious that Katie isn't a regular viewer of the show. ("One of the girls gave you a rought time Bill. Was it Heidi?" HELLO- Heidi wasn't even on his team, dumbass!)

I watched the Today show too...and I wanted to smack Katie Couric who was babbling during her interview with Bill and DT how great it was that Bill succeeded without the "silver spoon background" of an Ivy league education. I totally agree with the poster who expressed this sentiment upthread: Where the fuck do you Kwame came from? You think Kawme was born with a silver spoon in his mouth?

And stupid Couric couldn't even get the Apprentices' names right...she thought Heidi was Katrina. What a maroon, I could do a much better job interviewing than her.

In theory I can see this. But in practice, as Bill pointed out, Trump is on record as being a micromanager--going as far as writing it up as part of his advice on "getting rich" in a book which JUST came out. Kwame himself spent a lot of time dissing micromanagement as a concept--those words weren't edited into existance.

Personally I think the ideal candidate is a combination of the two. Bill's intensity, practicality, and yes... paranoia, combined with Kwame's ability to SEEM confident. You can micromanage, heck you can even yell at people, without seeming like a wreck. Be stern, not frazzled.

Erish... I know that The Apprentice WILL be playing in the UK soon. What I'd be curious about, when it does, is if things are perceived differently in the absense of all of the "extra" things we've seen and heard through the supplementary media. Will Omarosa seem quite as evil without full knowledge of all of her media appearances (it might even seem more like the editing is "out to get her" if you don't see her outside the show)? Will the Nick and Amy drama, and the Katrina bitterness be as fun? Will Ereka seem as stoopid?

I was hoping for Kwame until yesterday, but after watching him at the Taj Mahal, I totally agree with Trump's choice.

Bill may have micromanaged, but at least he was completely on top of all components of his event. Kwame's idea seemed to be divvying up tasks that he himself didn't fully know the requirements of, then not following through with his people to make sure they were getting them done.

The disasterous lack of communication within the team itself--and among the team and the others responsible for the success of the event (from Diane, to the food director, to the "meet and greet" staff, to Jessica herself)--was a result of Kwame's "hands-off" style (and one scr*w up employee like O. can destroy you in a short time--as she brilliantly demonstrated! I have no doubt Bill would have smacked her down and -supervised- after her first evidence of incompetence.)

I sympathized with Heidi when she told Kwame she didn't know how to plan a "Meet and Greet" and his answer was basically, "I don't know either. You'll figure something out." He should really have helped them define the tasks, not just keep piling responsibilities onto Troy (whom he didn't supervise either...more disasterous effect).

I like Kwame and was glad to see the verbal support he got in the BR from George and the team (even O), but Bill was definitely the better choice for Trump.

That was me, The Mee. Bill has a whale of an inferiority complex and for all of the ranting about O-montrosity's fragile psyche, Bill seems the need to prop himself up constantly by bringing up and then looking down his nose at Kwame's Harvard degree. [sarcasm] Oh Bill, you beat a Harvard MBA with just a bachelor's from Loyola. What a trooper and all around wonderful guy you are![/sarcasm]

Katie Couric and Matt Lauer need to be pushed off a short pier for their insipidness. They both suck as interviewers.

Well, in all fairness, the reason Bill brings it up a lot is because that's the one thing that other people on the show kept throwing in his face: Kwame's education is better then yours.

I think Kwame thought he was showing confidence in Heidi's abilities, hoping to motivate her thusly, but I agree that it's not a helpful way to manage people. My new boss sometimes does that to me and it seems like such a cop-out to me...at the end of the day, people need to know what targets they're supposed to be hitting. And without the buy-in and guidance of senior management, there's only so much I can do on my own.

I've heard it repeated in several jobs that it's not wrong to admit that you don't know something - but that it isn't enough to admit that, you need to take it further and say "...but I will find out," or "...but I'm willing to find a solution." Kwame did neither, and that's been his style all along.



I don't know how he's viewed in the UK, but I have more awe for his accomplishments, given the fact that he's a self-made man and didn't inherit his wealth. Although, I've gotta say, I didn't find VirginCola to be an especially refreshing beverage - and tying the word "Virgin" to products seems like a slippery slope, given the connotations!

In that article posted above about Amy spilling the beans about the finale she supposedly said that all 14 fired apprentices would get a chance to ask questions of Bill or Kwame before the selection. Was that smokescreen? Was that part cut out? (seems unlikely to me) Or were they told this would happen and then it didn't. I seem to remember reading about some other candidate (I can't remember who) saying something similar about getting questions ready for the final two. Just wondering what happened there.

From one of the other articles above:

Hee!

And did anyone else love it as much as I did when Kwame on Today this morning referred to Omarosa's "fragile psyche"? Hee! That's got to be the best euphemism for it yet.

Actually I preferred the comment by the woman on the street, in the segment they showed earlier in the show which got people's reactions to the win last night. One woman said, of Omarosa, "I think she has a personality disorder." Not that it takes amazing powers of perception to figure that out.

Oops! USA Today accidentally posted this:

And the apprentice is: Kwame Jackson

Hee, nowandlater! Most excellent find!

nowandlater, I love you. How great is that link?! That is too damn funny. My favorite bits -- Hee!
****************************
Kwame, not Trump, needed to say ‘You're fired!’ From MSNBC. They've got the interview videos from The Today Show if you missed them. There's a poll that asks: So far the response, "Omarosa wasn't on his team" is the overwhelming favorite. Imagine that.

Bill's going to be on Live with Regis and Kelly on Monday.

Mar-a-Lago cheers finale. From the Palm Beach Post. Fun article. My favorite so far today.

Longer Associated Press article. Pretty comprehensive. A couple of new Bill quotes.

Recap of Heidi, Sam, and Satan's appearance on that VH1 show that I didn't watch. I haven't seen this link posted, but if I missed it, apologies to the original poster.

I guess George was wrong that the Trump organization wouldn't hire anyone that did the FHM spread. Too bad; I think it sends the wrong message.

I'm onboard with the Katie Couric hate. But then her perky ways and cute haircuts have always rubbed me the wrong way. This morning clinched it though. I think what annoyed me the most was her constant references to the amount of time that their show has spent and will spend promoting The Apprentice. She kept saying stuff about how it was all Donald all the time around here and stuff like that. Of course she said it while laughing, as if she was being cute, but it still came off as if she was annoyed by the attention around the show. I mean, not that I don't agree with her; this show is wonderful, but the hype is starting to annoy me even. But I just didn't think it was in good taste for the host of the show which is doing the promoting to be complaining (albeit in a jokey way) about it.

Pictures from last night - not sure if you've all seen these. There are pages of them and you can expand the size - Old-Man-Rosa looks like the freak that I know she was born to be (and Trump Jr looks a little freakish himself)

http://www.abacausa.com/ximagi/search.php?...ignment_id=8355

Hee! That's the best part. I hope someone gets fired!

Marlh..


Oh my goodness. What did Assorama do, slaughter a bunch of lambs and then attach their tails to her gown? More evidence of her psychopathic tendancies...

I think Omarosa took the title: The Swan too literally

Also on The Today show Trump was going to discuss his thought process when making the selection, but they had talked too much about Omarosa and were out of time...bitch strikes again.

EXCLUSIVE Kwame interview at Black Enterprise.com. Lots of new information. I highly recommend this article.

***

More Kwame-related news. From Market-Wire. Bwah!!!
***

Reality TV World's wrap-up. Best quote: Word.

Keep checking back. I'm finding new things all the time.