Cover of this week's People...

Trump, Katrina, Nick and Amy....

Why do I have a sick feeling that this could be our final 3?

ETA---WHOA!!!! Wait a minute. The inside spread is of Omarosa, Katrina, Amy and Nick with Trump in his yooge Penthouse. The women are dressed really classy.....teh women are all flanking around Nick.

And...very telling to me....all of the final 10 Apprentices are featured in photos.

Except for Ereka.

Hmmmmm....they even have a shot of Omarosa and Katrina in a mock cat fight. No Ereka.

Oh, please tell me Katrina's NOT in the final 3. I can see her skating through one more task, perhaps, but not two or three more.

ETA: Maybe it's a trick. Maybe the final 3 are one's NOT pictured.

ETA2: Maybe Ereka's not pictured because she refused to be in the same photo/on the same page as Omarosa. Or, maybe Omarosa really was The Mole (as others have speculated) and is being rewarded for creating so much controversy/publicity.

Omarosa and Sam was on CNBC, both were acting like losers making excuses one after the other.
Omarosa felt this was a 'reality show'. Sam said that both of them need the right people around them to bring out the best of them. Omarosa mention she didn't like the Flea Market because she was not motivated by the PM. {Kristi} Omarosa knew they were going to the boardroom. {Ok is this why she gave the money back to Kristi?} Omarosa was around the Best Flea Market in The State Of Ohio why? didn't Omarosa motivate Kristi and the others? Is Omarosa a team player?
What was interesting Omarosa mention "What you see is what you get" ....Omarosa felt this show was a Game.
Sam omitted he was a train wreck. Sam said that both of them were not around the "right" people to motivate them.

For those seeking a lawyer's opinion on Trump's application to register "You're Fired" as a trademark....former Trademark lawyer here, so here goes:

If his application is successful (and there are a total of 6 live applications to register "You're Fired" at the Patent and Trademark Office at the moment), then he would be the only person able to use the phrase "you're fired" as an indicator of the 'source or origin' of products in the particular categories he registered for, in this case "Games and playthings" and "Casino services." So someone else couldn't use the phrase in the context of, let's say, a board game based on the completion of tasks and elimination of players, things like that. Things where the public might assume that the "You're Fired" phrase meant that Trump was responsible for the product.

It's also interesting that a company called "JMBP, Inc." (which I'll bet is Mark Burnett Productions) has registered "You're Fired" for "Entertainment services, television programs and television series" and "Clothing, footwear and headgear." Same situation there. Prevents someone else from making "You're Fired" things or using that catch phrase on another show in ways that would mislead consumers into thinking MB/or "The Apprentice" was behind them.

The other two applications were both filed (hee, I just typed 'fired' by mistake) right around when the show started airing, by what appear to be unaffiliated people, proabaly hoping to cash in. Will be interested to see how this shakes out (their applications appear to predate MB and Donald's).

***

As to use of the phrase "You're Fired," it's not the phrase itself that's being "registered," it's the use of the phrase to promote a product. If Trump tried to prevent anyone else from saying or writing the phrase "You're Fired," he'd be seeking copyright protection for it, and he would fail because (a) he didn't make up the phrase "you're fired"; and (b) it's too short and generic to be subject to copyright (or, in legalese, he is not the "author" of "an original work").

My take is that neither Sam nor Omarosa have any business being in a competitive situation where teamwork is required. In which case, they should never, ever work for anyone but themselves.

Crap on a stick, tell me one profession where you choose exactly who will be around you and guarantee that the person will motivate you? The Pope can't guarantee that, the President of the US can't, Trump can't guarantee that, and hell, if you're self-employed, chances are you're dealing with someone who doesn't motivate you, even if it's the UPS person. These two should stick to self-employment so that the voices in their heads are their motivators and leave the rest of us alone.

Well Sam could always call his dad again. And again. And again...

Next week's TV Guide states that the April 15th finale will include a live reunion of all 16 candidates.

Amen, Kattam. That's why I noted that Omarosa's career goals are author and orator - jobs where learning to play with others isn't a prereq. If she ever has a career doing either, she'll have agents/schedulers to run interference for her.

Sam isn't malicious, at least, and I haven't once heard him blaming anti-Semitism for his lack of popularity within the group.

From Assy's interview with Reality News Online (linked at top of previous page): Why stop now? Perhaps because she realized that expecting people to believe her was like looking up the ass of a dead dog with fleas (tm Troy). There she goes with her exaggerations. Trump says President, Assy says CEO. Is it possible she finally realizes that respect is earned and not simply given because a person says they deserve it?

From People magazine article on show: I find it interesting that the worst thing he can find to say about Kwame is that he chose terrible locations. He mentions no character flaws at all. Makes me say, "Hmmmm".

I was thinking the exact same thing when I read the article. But, when Trump was giving those criticisms it was in a "Why he might win/why he might lose" commentary.

The reason why Kwaame "might" win according to Trump was "His personal skills are excellent. Everybody loves Kwaame."

But...as they say...the most important thing about real estate? "Location, location, location."

So his Kwaame feedback could go either way. I was shocked to hear his "why she might win" comment about Katrina, "She has great business skills and she's been very successful."

His reason why Troy might win, "He has tremendous street smarts for a country bumpkin." Ouch. Back handed compliment if I do say so myself.

Why Bill might win? "He's a good leader and has great people skills." I bet Katrina wouls disagree.

Why Amy might win? "She's a great politician and leader."

Why Nick might win? "He's extremely determined and driven."

I think Trump will admit that he himself doesn't have the best "people skills" and not everybody "loves him" so, while strong interpersonal skills are yooge, I don't think it's the main thing he's looking for. Let's be honest, Trump is all ego, and therefore could want someone in his own image. (Nick?)

And, if I may be so bold....if I remember correctly how Amy looked that morning answering the phone (flat chested is an understatement) one of these shots shows her to be much more...uhhh..."enhanced." I'm just sayin'.

Tashanir, I noticed that too. The magic of a push-up bra PLUS I bet the magazine did some digital work - they can now use computer graphics to 'paint' shadows and such onto someone to make their boobs look bigger, (or make them look slimmer, give a person strong abs, etc., just about anything these days).

Check out Paris Hilton on the cover of one of the men's magazines out now - that girl is flatter than flat on top, yet there she is with showing off some nice girls...it's totally digitized, I'm sure.

I know, I know. I wrote to the Smoking Gun to whine about their not covering Assy-Aroma. (BTW I love the constantly evolving nicknames we Tw/oPers are giving her!)...

My impression is, if there is not a public document (or mug shot) involved, the Smoking Gun doesn't cover it.

Oooh, what I'd give to see O in a mugshot...

I actually thought it was odd that Bill, Troy, and Kwame were the ones not in the posed photos. Perhaps THAT is the final three.

Maybe the editors decided on these three because they are the same team.

Or maybe Trump and People mag each wrote down on a piece of paper who they wanted, and Trump wrote, "I want what you want."

Or it's just as simple as "pretty girls sell magazines" and I have to say that all of the women featured in the spread do look beautiful.. And I do believe Katrina is NOT wearing eyeliner.

As far as Ereka, I highly doubt she'd turn down any chance at publicity. My guess is that she wasn't even offered the spread. The shoot took place here in NYC just last week. Ereka was in town here in NYC (she lives here), and was on a radio station here in NYC talking about how she and Katrina were getting together later that day to meet with an agent. Nick was in town as well (a group of friends of mine and I went to an Apprentice screening party that Kwaame hosts and Nick showed up for the after party.) He was in town for the shoot as well.

My absolute favorite part of the People article? The Troy-isms, of course!

On being selected: "I was happier than a pup with two peters!"

On Omarosa: "I like her, but you couldn't melt butter in her mouth."

Troy is totally my favorite and still my pick to win.

Probably the people who were chosen to be photographed were chosen because of availability. It might have been tough to get all sixteen together with Trump. Plus, we get a shot of Carolyn...smiling!

Meghan Jill, don't forget the other great Troy quote (I'm probably not getting it all right) about Omarosa - something like "her tongue cuts like a blade".

I found the photo (inside the mag) comical - Nick is sitting there with his legs wide open with Amy and Katrina surrounding him like Playboy bunnies (note Amy's pumped up chest unlike the flat chest we saw on the show) and Trump standing there like the kingpin of them all, LOL!!

Didn't see this posted in this thread, but did anyone see the little snippet about Carolyn and George in this week's Entertainment Weekly?

From Carolyn:



Hee!

And George:



There wasn't much more to it than that. But yay! Exposure for George and Carolyn!

About Assy, from the Reality Online article:


This may be the first instance of her reticence we've seen so far. It makes me wonder.

A couple of tidbits:


You know, I honestly believe most of what comes out of her mouth is complete crap, but I'm almost beginning to believe this one. It has the ring of truth to it somehow. I don't believe Burnett or his minions would be above tricking her into making a fool of herself. Or it could have been a case of misunderstanding: She begged Burnett to be given a chance to go back in and plead her case and he said, perhaps sarcastically, perhaps not, "Ok, sure, go on back in now", and, of course, kept the cameras rolling. (Cannot believe I just found myself believing something the woman said!)


OK, the first and third I'll give her, but this idea that she disagreed with everyone on which artist to choose is just bull. Even if the meeting where they decided that was heavily edited, it is still clear from both her presentation of the pros and cons and the fact that she joined in the group "handshake" at the end that she had decided to go along with the decision.

In the article where all the firees sum up what they learned did anyone else find it oddly comforting that Sam's comments were quite possibly the most insightful?


I've thought from the beginning that $250,000 was not exactly a "yooooge" salary, as Trump keeps calling it, especially not for a CEO or president of a corporation. I mean, I'm not saying I would turn it down, it's certinaly more than my husband and I make as lowly college professors, but when I first heard they were going to be making a "yoooge" salary, I assumed a minimum of $1 million. A quarter of a mil is pocket change to Trump.


Very good point! I'd even forgotten about the fact that he is Jewish, and Heidi, too, I believe. And yet, as you say, they've never once (that we saw) brought that subject up either on the show in the post-interviews (well, Heidi made a joking reference to it in one, but only to explain the friendship between her and Sam.) *Someone* out there could learn a lesson from these two!


Yeah, I thought exactly the same thing when reading the article (while standing in line at the supermarket yesterday. Because I'm way to cheap to buy the whole thing for one article). It certainly is telling. That coupled with the Troy/Kwame "alliance" which has been played up so much, and the off-handed comment by Bill that was shown for the first time in the clip-fest about Kwame being the one he is watching out for makes me wonder if we haven't underestimated Kwame's chances of winning, or at least being in the top two--could it be a Troy/Kwame finale perhaps? Hmmm, indeed.

Remember the rumor/tidbit about Omarosa doing a photo shoot for Black Enterprise magazine? Well, I just got my hands on the April issue and after having looked at every single page, there is nary a mention of O much less a photo. There are numerous articles on very successful genuine businesswomen, however. Just sayin'...

And with half of it being an optional bonus at the end, the salary is really $125,000. At my company, the department directors -- below the division vice presidents -- make more than that, and our salaries are low for our industry.


I do not wonder. Instead, I hear the voice of an attorney in the background, saying "shut up, Assy."

Hey now, let's take it easy on the flat chested girls. At least Amy's had the strength of will to resist having a coupla two-liters implanted under her chin. Though if she's serious about a career in show biz, that may change. As to Paris Hilton, although I think she has a bizarre problem what with her neck being unable to support the weight of her lollipop head, the flat chest fits her body type. An ectomorph who naturally possesses giant boobage (as she is trying to suggest on the cover photo) is -- statistically speaking -- a freak of nature.

I still don't think this is correct, as the phrase they've used all along is "salary of $250,000". That means it's a salary, not a salary with the potential for a bonus.

WORD. The starting salary for beginning attorneys at most of the big New York firms is waaay more than 125K now; last time I knew what it was, back in about 2000, it was already up to 135K. If some snot-nosed wet-behind-the-ears baby lawyer can make that much, Trump's yoooge salary looks pretty cheesy in comparison.

Can anyone remember where we heard it was the 125K salary plus a 125K bonus at the end of a year? I know it was a while back, but can't remember the source.

This bit was mentioned in the "Sound Bites" section of last week's Entertainment Weekly:



I can't believe I just quoted Tom Arnold. I feel dirty.

Maybe, or maybe not, SummerBaby, but that's been on this thread recently, with some discussion of how it's allotted, so I'm taking that as the case. Plus, we've both seen MB and DT be squirrelly about this type of thing. Let's put it this way: even if it's $250,000 as a base salary, it's not much for a) a reality show award and b) a salary for a top executive in NYC.

DariaG, $250K isn't that much for a top exec in NYC, but then I doubt seriously the Apprentice is going to be one of Trumps' 'top execs' - word is that they'll work under or alongside George learning the ropes...and for doing that, $250K is good compensation.

And most - if not all - of these folks on the show haven't been running a division of a big company but have been in sales, marketing, etc. (and some like Oma haven't even worked in corporate America) so it's not that big of a stretch to say that they still have a pretty good learning curve to go through working in a big organization like Trump's and in the most competitive city in the country and in a cut-throat industry like real estate. I know Harvard MBA's with a bit of work experience and unless they went straight to Wall Street and got lucky, they weren't making $250K right off the bat.

So I think $250K is fair money. Plus, look at the incredible exposure they've gotten - that will advance some of them far beyond what they could have gotten otherwise.

And for those who think most of that would go for rent, etc., that's not the case. There are some amazing apartment rental deals in the city now (I just saw a deal where a two-bedroom in a top new building in midtown is about $2,400 a month), in brand new buildings with concierges, gyms, etc. and in central locations that are relatively cheap. One wouldn't have to be living in a dingy walk-up on that salary.

More thoughts from the People article:

I might actually buy an Omarosa Barbie...to use as a voodoo doll. *evil grin inserted here* A pin here, a pin there, pins, pins everywhere.

The pic of her and Katrina doing a mock fight was interesting. Katrina's got a big smile on her face and Omarosa looks...well...evil. Her face doesn't say "joking around" to me at all.

Assy's husband says, Omarosa "is one of the most intriguing women I've ever met." It's not exactly the word I'd use to describe her, but I guess you could say she's intriguing because you never know what lie/exaggeration she's going to come up with next.

As to the salary discussion, I agree that the salary (or award or whatever) isn't really that great. But I also agree that that probably isn't the real reward. I doubt any of these people got into this gig because of the salary. I'm sure it was more for the exposure and the opportunity to work for DT at any salary. It would be sort of ironic if some of the "losers" on this show ended up making more money at other jobs than the winner does working for Donald.

OK, I swear I don't normally read the National Enquirer (No, really! No. Really.) But I was bored in the grocery line today, again (yes, the checkers at my store are pretty slow) and opened up the latest edition because of the God-awful picture of O that was on the cover. I mean, this was by far the worst pic of her I've seen (hee hee.) Anyway, the article didn't tell us anything we didn't already know, but was interesting because it basically was trying to accuse O of lying in the N-word scandal. I'm not sure it actually said it in so many words, but it was strongly implied. It pointedly mentioned all the evidence against her and then had "quotes" (this is the Enquirer so I'll tread lightly) from various African-American public figures criticizing people who cry racism in situations where it isn't warranted, because it discredits the claims of people who have actually experienced racism. It also supposedly quoted some official within Ohio Democratic politics who claims that O created this whole brouhaha just to be able to parlay it into a political campaign. That seemed a bit of a stretch since I can't see how making herself look so terrible is going to help her get elected, but whatever.

Anyway, I found it interesting because it's the only article I've read that even came close to taking sides on the issue, and calling O the liar she is.

I read a bunch of magazines in the last couple of days so I can't remember which these tidbits are from, but most likely People and/or Entertainment Weekly:

- The boottees (firees?) were also kept sequestered; unclear where.
- The contestants said they slept no more than 3 hours a night
- Trump's on-screen time was originally minimal but as the producers saw that "he's a natural actor" his time (and boardroom time) has been increased.
- Boardrooms last 2 hours
- Carolyn dresses in a particular way (prim) for the show. Her usual business wear is slacks and sweaters.

There was also a picture of Omarosa with her husband and a little blurb about him; nothing that hasn't been posted so far though.

Hell, The Inquirer should hire Assy. She'd fit right in with all the other reporters/editors telling half-truths or exaggerated and/or fabricated stories.

I'm surprised Assy didn't make up some racist BS about the apartment renovating task to justify why she didn't do her share of the work. I can just see it now, "The reason I exaggerated my headache that day was because they were treating me like their slave. They actually expected me to clean up after them...mop floors, wash windows, etc. I've never been treated like that before."

A very revealing interview, Kromm. A friend of mine offered a tepid defense of Omarosa by pointing out her Trump Ice efforts and her sale of a single painting in the art gallery challenge. But this stuff just underscores how clueless Omarosa is as a potential leader and business executive. She not only undercut Amy, but invariably settled for a financially insignificant amount in closing the deal.

Maybe she thought that she could shine as an individual, but her efforts did absolutely nothing to help achieve the team’s goal, and also stifled any brain-storming to come up with better ideas to help the team’s overall efforts. That she shows absolutely no understanding of this in her interview is more telling than any of the other BS she is trying to peddle.

I don't recall anyone posting a link to this article from Reality TV World before, but it's pretty clearly calling Assy a liar: Ongoing 'Apprentice' catfight gets uglier as Omarosa makes unsupported racial slur allegation. It's mostly stuff we've read/hear before, but these quotes amazed me... Boy, she's good (in a bad, bad way). She definitely has a career in politics ahead of her.

However, I don't see how she can claim she wasn't pointing the finger directly at Ereka based on this... Why was she responding to Ereka if Ereka wasn't the one who said the "repulsive" word?

Thank heaven for small favors. Bitch has been getting too much media attention as it is. All is right with the world again, at least temporarily until O is gone from my tv and reading materials forever.

Thanks for those tidbits, ItsJessMe. I figured that the boardroom last longer than the 10 or so minutes that we see, much like how Survivor TCs are like 1 1/2 hrs. I wish that we saw more of that. Couldn't TPTB make the show 2 hrs? I guess this wouldn't be possible without screwing up NBC's lineup.

She totally made it clear it was Ereka. Her claims to the contrary are simple bullshit, like every other word that has come out of her mouth since she first appeared on television. She appears to me to be a reflexive, habitual liar. It's kind of creepy, actually.

Because I've got nothing better to do on a saturday night (sigh), I went way back in this thread -- it was from Celebrity Justice
(Link)

It's Saturday night and I'm reviewing old recaps, posts and interviews. I really need to get a life!

I got this quote from a Jason interview posted way back. I missed it the first time, but found a couple interesting things I think are worth repeating... In another article, he mentions that he wasn't picked to be PM for this task until 3 hours into it. That detail makes his rationale a little more rational (and not quite as Asshat-ish).

When asked who he would hire... No, they're not all entrepreneurs, but I'd have to agree with him regarding the ones who are.

Well, after this season "The Apprentice" and "Will and Grace" pretty much *is* NBC's lineup isn't it? I mean, the only lineup that is worth anything. Man, could this show have come at a better time for NBC?

True dat, RhondaGC, you're right. Since Friends and Frasier are leaving this season, and ER isn't even watchable anymore, NBC really didn't have anything to replace those ratings juggernauts. They thought that the disastrous Coupling would have accomplished this, but damn, even I could have told NBC there was no way they were going to successfully recreate that show. Well, since Apprentice will likely be the anchor show for Thursday nites, how 'bout it, NBC? Care to make things interesting with an 1 1/2 Apprentice? I actually meant to post 1 1/2 instead of 2 hours, which would probably be impractical, in my last post; guess I should go take some cold medicine or something!!

I assume this is pre-tax compensation. Federal, state, social security, and medicare taxes eat up about 50% of this amount too. They aren't getting rich quite yet.

Oblique, I think that would be pre-tax. Living in NYC, a single person would have about 40% knocked off $125K.

I'm wondering what these folks were making pre-Apprentice in their 'real' jobs...a superstar sales person can make big bucks. And I think Amy said that at one time "she was a millionaire on paper" from the dot-com world (of course, it was all on paper, unfortunately for her).

Whoa Nelly! If this was posted before, I totally missed it. Found this little ditty from Ereka's interview with Reality News Online: They have Assy on tape apologizing to Ereka for calling her a racist?!? I'm assuming this is after the pot/kettle/black incident. If Ereka had truly called Assy the "N" word prior to making the pot/kettle/black statement, there's no way in hell Assy would have apologized. I think we finally have PROOF that Assy bold face lied about this one. I really, really hope they show that tape at the finale in front of all 16 contestants and the entire viewing audience.

I love Steve Rogers (the Post reporter). "Egotistical," "agitated," and "nonsensical." Oh, those adjectives are just music to my ears.

You don't usually run into that much absolute disgust for the interviewee - or at least shown so clearly.

murphyslaw is there a link to that article? I can't identify it, but I know it's one I haven't read yet. And I want to.

This article is from Philly.com. Very complimentary in some ways in re: Omarosa. Seriously. I'm NOT kidding. No mention of the 'n' word accusations. Just drivel about strong women being labeled bitches. Same old stuff we saw immediately upon O's firing until she began spewing vitriol and contradicting herself. At any rate, here's a quote that simply stunned me --



I just hope Debbie Allen, a woman I have the utmost respect for as a director and choreographer, was not one of the people who clamored "to get a picture of her and to tell her whether (she) liked her or hated her."

The writer of the above article quotes Charlotte Hays of The Independent Women's Forum. CLICK HERE to read what Ms. Hays wrote in her own online column.

I haven't seen THIS ARTICLE mentioned anywhere thus far. If it has been, please accept my apology for the re-post. The title is: Eliminating the Omarosa Effect in Marketing and Sales.

ETA: Why yes! I am an insomniac! Why do you ask?

No, I doubt it. I believe this just as much as I believe the initial claims of racism. While I could easily imagine an apology edited out to make Omarosa look worse, I can't imagine Omarosa actually apologizing.

But again, maybe that's editing. What I REALLY can't imagine is them not including it in the clip show, which was a big F-U to Omarosa.

Just curious, but where did this info come from? It is the first time I've read it, and it doesn't make sense to me -- I thought George was The Donald's lawyer? Why would an apprentice work under or alongside George, if he primarily deals with the legal side of things? It looks to me like if the eventual winner is going to train under someone, it would be a management/executive type, not a corporate lawyer.

From last Friday's Washington Post's Fashion editor.

Post

Some nice things said about Carolyn among other things regarding the show.

More insight from this mornings newspaper - Return of The Donald