Introduction to 'Rose Plate Special'
00:00:21
Sammi
And you're listening to or watching Rose Plate Special. The most dramatic.
Canvas Hacking Incident
00:00:27
Sammi
Sammy's got finals-ing-ist. Canvas has been hacked-ing-ist. We're opening a Jilly Boxing-ist recap podcast ever.
00:00:36
Steve
Who's trying to change their final grades right now?
00:00:39
Steve
They hacked all of Canvas.
00:00:41
Sammi
Yes. i Thank goodness. i Okay. So this is what happened. Okay. I'm going this, I was like, oh, I've got stuff to talk about actually, because my head was swimming. I was in meetings today and I was like, I'm literally not paying attention.
00:00:51
Sammi
Like, I'm just like, I'm not listening to anything you're saying. Yeah. yeah So yesterday i had emailed all of my students and I, hi students, if you're watching this, hi. um So I emailed all my students and I was like, hey, um attendance, um make sure you get your stuff in I'm going to be going on a grading frenzy. So get ready.
00:01:14
Sammi
And I turned in like two grades, like in rapid succession. And I went back to grade the other stuff. And then all of a sudden I see a really
Backup and Analog Solutions
00:01:25
Sammi
Wait, hold on. Let me see if I can pull it up.
00:01:27
Sammi
I can read it to you. It was bonkers. I was like, oh, My God. um Because apparently Canvas got hacked like on the third or something like that.
00:01:39
Sammi
But I guess it was brief and I missed it.
00:01:41
Sammi
um Okay. The message I saw was Shiny Hunters. Rooting your systems since 19. Wink face. Shiny Hunters has breached in structure.
00:01:53
Sammi
Again. Instead of contacting us to resolve it, they ignored us and did some security patches. a Warning, if any of the schools in the affected list are interested in preventing the release of their data, please consult with a cyber advisory firm and contact us privately at TOX to negotiate a settlement.
00:02:11
Sammi
You have till the end of the day by the 12th of May, 2026 before everything is linked leaked. and Instructure still has till end of day, 12th of May, 2026 to contact us.
00:02:21
Sammi
And then they had like an affected schools TXT and then like visit us. at like this like I screenshotted it immediately because I was like, oh my God. um And then it was like,
00:02:32
Steve
I love when hackers are doing like good marketing and PR for themselves. it's like, Hey,
00:02:35
Sammi
yeah, they're like, hi, we're shiny hunters. um They have quite an extensive Wikipedia, but anyway, yeah, they like claimed the hack, you know, who knows, right?
00:02:45
Sammi
But that's who claimed it. And um then it was just like, oops, canvas is done for maintenance, you
Semester Chaos and Digital Vulnerabilities
00:02:52
Sammi
know, and it just went back up today. And I'm not 100% confident that it's gonna stay up.
00:02:58
Sammi
So what I ended up doing is i messaged my students again today and I said, here's what I did, everybody.
The Bachelor and Reality TV Decline
00:03:04
Sammi
I exported your grades as they exist right now. I have exported all of the submissions that you have that are left to grade. So no matter what, you will get graded what you earned.
00:03:17
Sammi
So yeah. Do not worry. i have everything locally. So and now I kind of want to go back to like I used to keep paper grade books and I'm kind of like maybe I should go back to paper grade books.
00:03:27
Steve
Maybe she'll back to that. Yeah.
00:03:29
Sammi
Yeah, I might next year just have like, you know, a secondary copy that I keep because I was like, oh, my God, what do we do? And like everybody was scrambling.
00:03:37
Steve
Or the very least, like, I don't know, like once a week or every two weeks, maybe just like download the, ah the like CSV file, your grades or something, something.
00:03:43
Sammi
The export. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, for sure. Like, I was just like, oh, my God. um Did I learn nothing from the book Tubes? Apparently not.
00:03:53
Sammi
I learned nothing from Tubes.
00:03:56
Sammi
Sorry, ah our old professor. um But, you know, it's like, yeah, we are so vulnerable to like outages.
00:04:07
Sammi
It's kind of wild. And so that's why I have a typewritten newsletter that I send out and you'll be getting a copy because...
00:04:18
Sammi
Yeah, I... yeah Good plug for no one else gets to have it.
00:04:22
Sammi
um I am maxed on subscribers, but if you want to throw me a couple bucks, maybe you can get one. um Yeah, what did I send to Tuck today? i He texted me this morning and he said...
00:04:33
Sammi
ah Oh, gosh, what was it? He said, oh, he always gives me an update in the morning, of like what's going on with the dogs, you know, so that when I because I get up later because I stay up later.
00:04:45
Sammi
And so he'll give me a report about what happened in the morning. I usually report and what happened at night. And he's like, dudes are good, but hardly ate. I'm taking my mom to work. Hi, baby. And I said, hi, honey, the digital world is ending. But thank goodness I own five typewriters and saw this coming.
00:05:01
Sammi
So that's what I texted this morning.
00:05:04
Sammi
I have five typewriters. I actually like the last typewriter I bought, which is like bubblegum pink, and I need to like fix it up. It's really cute, but it needs like a good cleaning, which I'm hoping to tackle this summer.
00:05:15
Sammi
um i met this guy out in like St. Cloud, which is like an hour and a half away from where I am or farther. i don't know. And he was like, well, you know, when everything collapses and we all have to go analog, you're going to be in good shape. And I was like, thank you. He also had a very niche um Simpsons reference on his cover photo. So I knew he was going to be cool.
00:05:37
Steve
You knew he wasn't going to murder you? That's good.
00:05:38
Sammi
Yeah, it was like worker and parasite, like the, you know, Soviet itchy and scratchy, whatever.
00:05:44
Sammi
yeah And so I was like, okay, I'm going be okay.
00:05:47
Sammi
Like I can go visit, I can go meet this guy in like a bar parking lot and it's going to be totally fine.
00:05:53
Sammi
It'll be on the up and up. Yeah. So anyway, so that's been a really interesting end to my semester. We've had to, I mean, yeah, we'll see what happens from here, but we had to kind of shuffle a little bit.
00:06:03
Sammi
I know a lot of people had finals yesterday and like they couldn't take their tests and stuff. And um I had a paper due
Housewives Franchise Success
00:06:11
Sammi
you today, but our professor extended it till Monday. So here I am recording and getting to open a Jillybox and you were supposed to pick a topic and
00:06:19
Steve
no I did yeah I did I did mere minutes ago what are you talking about topic is uh is reality TV over like is this it is this the end
00:06:21
Sammi
But I know you didn't. Oh, you did? or are you lying? oh okay. What's the topic? What's the topic?
00:06:32
Sammi
Hmm. That's such a good. Well, I also heard a rumor that Taylor Frankie Paul season might still air.
00:06:40
Steve
Yes. So this has been a persistent rumor over the past few weeks where the Taylor season might air.
00:06:46
Steve
They just wanted to basically not be so close to the controversy, allegedly. But also there's part of me that's thinking like, are they just trying to like get another season of Mormon wives in so that this kind of drama can play out there and then they can release the season or something? It's there's something weird going on is what I'm saying.
00:07:09
Steve
But here's the thing.
00:07:11
Steve
Despite persistent rumors, as of today, ABC has released their summer schedule because the rumor was, oh, they're going air it on TV this summer.
00:07:23
Steve
And no, they're not because ABC released their schedule for the summer. It's not there. So what is actually happening?
00:07:32
Steve
I don't know. Are we putting a bullet in the Bachelorette franchise forever? What's the deal with The Bachelor? The actual Bachelor. Not The Bachelorette, not Golden Bachelor, not anything.
00:07:47
Steve
ah The show was renewed for another season, so technically they have earmarked the money for it.
00:07:57
Steve
However... No production has began. There's been no announcement. There's no Bachelor. As of right now, because they haven't started filming, we are going to go the entirety of 2026 without any Bachelor actual content, I think.
00:08:13
Sammi
Whoa, that is so weird.
00:08:16
Steve
It is quite weird because when was the last time that we
Reality TV Evolution
00:08:20
Steve
experienced this? And the answer is, I don't know. Not since season one of The Bachelor have we had this long of gap.
00:08:29
Steve
in between anything related to The Bachelor. It's gone. And i wouldn't be surprised if ABC fills that time slot with something that is just as successful.
00:08:42
Steve
We could see the franchise, the namesake of this beautiful podcast, just put out to pasture, take it behind the shed like old Yeller.
00:08:53
Sammi
wow that's bleak that's very bleak the good thing is we're versatile
Jillybox Unboxing and Summer Plans
00:09:00
Steve
Yeah, we're versatile. It doesn't matter. death But but looking looking at the broader state of reality television right now, we are in a so like ah a major shift.
00:09:00
Sammi
um so we'll do stuff
00:09:10
Steve
This is a sea change. yeah You've got Vanderpump gone.
00:09:16
Steve
Replaced by the Valley, which is not the same. The Valley is just people, instead of people who are old that are behaving like 20-year-olds, it's people who are acting their age for the most part. And that's not interesting to me or anyone else.
00:09:31
Steve
ya Then you've got Summer House. Huge drama there. A Vanderpump-esque situation happens.
00:09:39
Sammi
is one of my favorite um Bravo shows ever.
00:09:41
Steve
Mm-hmm. So Amanda somehow on Summer House fumbles her Ariana Maddox moment where she could have transcended into a greater pop culture figure ah because, I don't know, she decided to, her marriage ended and then she secretly chose a a younger, potentially worse version of her current husband or soon to be ex-husband.
00:10:07
Sammi
He's so mediocre too. Like I thought he was funny for like five seconds and then I
00:10:10
Steve
Yeah, it's it's all bad.
Movie Discussion and Anticipation
00:10:15
Sammi
realized how much he sucked.
00:10:17
Steve
So that goodwill is burned and not only that, but because all of this is leaked and everything is just out there and everything is bad,
00:10:26
Steve
you know, we, we've been watching this season of summer house and we're getting to the like finale or whatever, which will be interesting. Cause we want to see like what, what happens in, in like, you know, the, that episode, like when, once we get to the end, how do they address it? But at this point people are just watching to look for clues to, to see like how this relationship developed. But beyond that, we have nothing there. There was supposed to be a spinoff called the city, which,
00:10:53
Steve
What is the city now?
00:10:55
Steve
I don't know because you've you've got an entire season of the city that has been filmed. That is no longer relevant because these two main characters are not together. Who's going to watch that? I don't know.
00:11:08
Steve
So that's screwed up. What do we have? We have nothing. I guess i hope we have the Real Housewives of New Hampshire, which is fun because they have silly accents.
00:11:18
Sammi
Isn't it Rhode Island?
00:11:20
Steve
Rhode Island. Yeah, whatever. Same thing. It's all the same.
00:11:22
Sammi
Rory. Rory, they call it.
00:11:24
Sammi
um And Melissa's trying to sell sprinkle cookies for $30 at like Walmart or something.
00:11:24
Steve
They're like, ah, oysters! I want to eat oysters! That's all they yell the whole time. That's it.
00:11:34
Steve
Come on. Come on. Come on.
00:11:35
Sammi
I don't remember where she sells it, but she is selling sprinkle cookies.
00:11:38
Sammi
How long ago was sprinkle cookies?
00:11:42
Steve
Probably, probably. So at this point, for reality television, in 2026, we are hanging our hat on the first season of The Real Housewives of Rhode Island, which so far has been like fine, but pretty mid.
00:12:00
Steve
And that's what we've got
00:12:00
Sammi
What about, I mean, okay, also, there's a new season or new spinoff of Mormon wives coming.
00:12:10
Sammi
But like, I don't think, I think one of them is Mormon and a lot of them aren't wives. So people are like, what's even the name for? Like, and it's like Orange County or something like that.
00:12:23
Steve
The secret lives of women in a location.
00:12:26
Sammi
Like, they're like, why did you, like Bobby Althoff's on it.
00:12:31
Sammi
Of all, like, it's so random. It's like the most random collection of women. And so people are like, well, why? But
Reality TV Authenticity Challenges
00:12:40
Sammi
here's what I want to say. i just like was scrolling through like old Mormon wives videos on TikTok. And like, there's like Whitney's where she's like, listen, what, why am I on the show? Cause I'm the funny one. And everybody like came for her throat when she said that years ago. And I was like, I just want to prove that I was right. I told you she was good TV. I told you everyone's going to come around. And she is the funny one.
00:13:01
Sammi
She I told everyone she was I was like, listen, she's funny on TikTok. OK, you can you can hate her all you want and act like she's not actually funny or whatever. She's like one of the only funny and interesting ones to watch.
00:13:13
Sammi
Just saying. So I just want to I'm going to rub that in again. But yeah, I mean, I also just started watching Vanderpump Villa, which I'm behind on.
00:13:22
Sammi
But because of Mormon Wives, I was like, what is Vanderpump Villa?
00:13:26
Sammi
Everyone just like all the all the people who work there just have sex with the guests.
00:13:31
Sammi
like Lisa Vanderpump is a madam like what like I'm confused like what is it yeah
00:13:33
Steve
Yeah. It seems odd. It's like, i don't even understand the point of the villa. It's like, it's a hotel, but it feels like a brothel. But like...
00:13:42
Sammi
Right. It's not like, I mean, I really like Below Deck, most Below Deck. um I don't really like Captain Sandy. Sorry. But I mean, I'll still watch it. But like, I really like Below Deck as a series.
00:13:54
Sammi
I think it's very interesting.
00:13:56
Sammi
My mom, I know if you're watching, Below Deck has been her latest obsession. And I still think it's like a very solid show. I watched some of the newer episodes with her, like when I came to visit not too long ago.
00:14:08
Sammi
And I, yeah, I get it.
00:14:10
Sammi
And I like it. And I kind of thought Vanderpump Villa was going to be like below deck, but it's not like below deck.
00:14:18
Steve
No, it's not because they're trapped, but they're not trapped enough.
00:14:18
Sammi
It's like, and i'm I'm still on the second... I'm on the second season, so like that there might be a lot that changes. But I'm like, how did... I'm on the second season, and I'm like, how do all these women like fall for Marciano? Of all people, like does he look so different in person? like What is happening?
00:14:39
Sammi
I'm very confused. And he always just seems kind of like...
00:14:43
Sammi
like a shitty person. So I'm like, it's not like it's his winning personality. Like, I don't, i don't get it. I'm very confused by that whole thing. So, but I wanted to understand, I was like, what is this whole, you know, Demi and Jesse and Marciano thing and whatever. And now I'm hearing all this stuff about like,
00:15:03
Sammi
Jessie, like, I don't know. I think some people are being very puritanical about the way that Jessie is acting. I don't, some of the things she's done, I think have not been cool, but I also think a lot of people are jumping on her like more than they should somewhere in the middle.
00:15:19
Sammi
They need to be somewhere in the middle, but I have to say, I do still think the Mormon wives are kind of providing the most interesting reality television now, but do we have to go back to like survivor or something?
00:15:30
Steve
i don't I don't know. I think reality TV might be at a point where it is completely broken and I don't think we can glue the pieces back together. And here's why. We are in ah in a situation where, just like in Terminator, Skynet has become sentient.
00:15:46
Steve
it It knows what it is, okay?
00:15:49
Steve
And at this point, when you go on reality television, the whole draw, the conceit of reality television, which is, here are real people being messy, being unpredictable for your entertainment in these various scenarios.
00:16:05
Steve
And the problem is, is people are too calculated because it's not even about the reality TV anymore. It's about like the broader personal brand or whatever, but you know, who cares?
00:16:17
Steve
And so because you have that, you don't have people who are actually behaving the way they behave. They're calculated and and they're pulling their punches.
00:16:28
Steve
And here's a great example. Okay. The new Vanderpump. there's a whole new cast of Vanderpump Rules. You know who watches it? Nobody. Do you know why nobody watches it?
00:16:37
Sammi
I haven't watched it. Yeah.
00:16:39
Steve
Because I tried. Lord knows that I tried. But the beauty of a Jax Taylor, the beauty of a Tom Sandoval, okay, is these are men who are terrible and don't know how terrible they are. And not only do they not know they're terrible, they think they're awesome.
00:16:59
Steve
And now we are at a point where people are hyper aware of their image. And even if you are not self-aware, you have a gazillion people on the internet telling you exactly what you are.
00:17:10
Steve
You have two very smart, good looking people on a podcast telling you exactly who you are every single day. So there's no way to be real.
00:17:23
Steve
In addition to that, All of these production things, for better or for worse, production is less interested in letting people be messy and more interested in crafting storylines. Okay.
00:17:37
Steve
Let me tell you a story. And this is the story of MTV's The Real World circa, I don't even know, like 20 years ago at least.
00:17:46
Steve
Real world Hawaii. If you go back and watch that, your jaw would be on the floor. There is a ah woman named Ruthie who is legitimately struggling with alcoholism.
00:17:57
Steve
OK, she's in the house. She's drinking and production because they're not taking safety protocols. And also they don't know what to do. They're just letting her drink.
00:18:07
Steve
On like the first night she's there, they have to call 911. She's taken away in an ambulance because she drinks so much. She passes out. They can't wake her up. That's scary.
00:18:16
Steve
The next night she goes out to a bar with the roommates. Okay. and production follows her driving drunk home. You're just watching the car swerve on the road.
00:18:27
Steve
It's crazy. Actual crime is happening. And so, but, but the thing is, is like now,
00:18:33
Sammi
but Actual crime is happening.
00:18:35
Steve
I'm not saying that it is because obviously this is exploitative and it is, you know, you're you're not helping this person. You're in a position where you have to be like, stop it. OK, and we've seen plenty of this over the years, but everything is vetted and curated and focus tested to the point where there's no messiness.
00:18:54
Steve
I don't need you to like put yourself into actual danger.
00:18:57
Steve
Don't do that. But be Tom Sandoval, be a colossal idiot pile of garbage who thinks he's the greatest man alive. And we can't have that anymore.
00:19:06
Sammi
I mean, the other thing, though, okay, so, like, one of the things that makes Vanderpump Rules that made it so good was that they were all legitimately friends, and, like, and they had this history before working at the restaurant.
00:19:19
Sammi
It was, like, the the the map...
00:19:22
Sammi
of all of them is so messy and intricate. So it made it really interesting because it's like they all came with a certain amount of baggage.
00:19:30
Sammi
I would say some of the worst exploitation on that show, well, like Laura Lee and also the fact that like Katie had a TV has a TBI. You know what i mean?
00:19:41
Sammi
And they treated her so badly. It's like she fell through a fucking skylight and you have the nerve to call her tequila Katie. Like go fuck yourselves.
00:19:50
Sammi
You're terrible people, you know, but it's like, but, and the reason that they did that is because they're all so close and they're like comfortable ripping her a new one. Right. So that was interesting.
00:20:01
Sammi
Um, The other thing, though, that I think is is odd now, because, yeah, like when you brought that up, I thought of a couple of things like that whole like Khloe Kardashian getting like arrested or or detained or whatever, you know, like back way, way back in the day.
00:20:15
Sammi
That was I want to say that was for like OWI or something like that. That was like in the second season or first season. it was like really, really early on.
00:20:23
Sammi
Yeah. Or like, ah yeah, I mean, there was another one that I had in mind and it just slipped my mind. But anyway, like I remember scenarios like that happening for sure.
00:20:34
Sammi
The other thing, though, is that, yes, it I do think it is cur very curated and very coordinated.
00:20:43
Sammi
And yet they either do background checks and don't care and they are putting people in danger or Or they're not doing background checks. And it's like you're calculated in a weird way, but not in a way that you can spend $20 to look up someone's records or but like, you know what i mean?
00:21:01
Sammi
It's very weird because like that's the major qualm that people have with like you know, love is blind. Like, are you not? And with The Bachelor, it's like, are you not checking these people?
00:21:11
Sammi
Like, that's something that Rachel Lindsay talks about.
00:21:13
Sammi
Like, you put an actual, like, like, you know, yes, every, you know, especially all white people, you know, have racist tendencies unless they are actively working against this, this guy was like, like a white supremacist.
00:21:29
Steve
Yeah, he's not he's not like your run-of-the-mill diet racist.
00:21:29
Sammi
He probably has a hood at home. This isn't like a microaggression.
00:21:32
Steve
He's the full diesel, baby.
00:21:34
Sammi
This was like, you know, it's like,
00:21:36
Steve
This guy's doing macroaggressions.
00:21:38
Sammi
so scary like I mean he was like so freaky you know and it's like and she talked about like on um in the book she talks about like Garrett too like you know Becca getting with Garrett and and it's like they let her fall in love with this guy without knowing like all the heinous shit he was saying on Instagram and that's not something that Becca is cool with and then she had to like contend with it it's like
00:22:06
Sammi
That doesn't make it fun to watch, especially a show like that, because it's like you're trying to sell a love story.
00:22:13
Sammi
Don't you want the people to fall in love to be as aligned as possible then? If that's truly what you're selling, then you shouldn't put people on the show who are going to cause a dangerous situation.
00:22:24
Sammi
um And that's yeah.
00:22:24
Steve
Yeah. and And I think too.
00:22:26
Sammi
And that's not just like clashing of personalities. That's like, yeah, that's like physical danger, you know?
00:22:32
Steve
Yeah. and And I think like, I mean, outside of that, there's ah one of the major draws with reality television is unpredictability, right?
00:22:43
Steve
I'm seeing a person that I believe is a real human say things or act in a way where I'm just like, What? it is It brings me joy that i'm I'm experiencing something that I previously never conceived of.
00:22:56
Steve
And now everything feels thought out. Everything comes from like a storyline perspective. And I think when we when we talk about like the weird surge of Mormonism in reality television over the past couple of years, part of the surge with that is it's unfamiliar to a lot of people, to vast swaths of people outside of the state of Utah, basically. so You know, when I'm watching the the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and Mary Cosby casually mentions that she married her grandfather, I'm like, that's amazing. And then there's a mean lady on the show who calls her grandpa fucker. And I go, that's amazing.
00:23:37
Steve
Right. This is exciting.
00:23:39
Steve
It's exciting. And same with the Mormon wives, because it's like, wait, you're supposed to be like this, but then you're doing this, and you got all these kids, and all this shit is weird, and you hate each other, but you rely on each other, so it's parasitic. There's all these little things going around.
00:23:53
Steve
But the further along it gets, the more the storylines feel curated, the more everything feels kind of like massaged and in in a certain way, whether it's to, you know... Make it more puritanical in the case of The Bachelor frequently and to whitewash things or if it is exploitative, but it all feels curated.
00:24:13
Steve
And when you go back and watch old reality television, if you watch an episode and it's boring, it's because the people were legitimately boring. If you watch an episode and it's just bonkers, it's because...
00:24:25
Steve
it is unpredictable. God, go back and watch like season three of making the band or something.
00:24:31
Steve
And you will die laughing at how banal the whole thing is for like the first four episodes. you' like this is what they're like. Nobody's actually good and and nothing dramatic is happening.
00:24:43
Steve
And it's almost fascinating in that way. But that's how a lot of old reality is.
00:24:48
Steve
And now there there is no reality. Everything is calculated, thought through.
00:24:54
Steve
It is considered. Everybody's thinking about what they're doing before they're doing it. It's no good. What am I doing? What do i watch, Sammy?
00:25:02
Sammi
Well, okay. A couple, couple of thoughts came to mind. Uh, so I, yeah, I mean, i think like nothing can really capture, i don't know why this just came into my head, but whatever.
00:25:13
Sammi
I just watched the second devil wears Prada yesterday and you know, I'm like, nothing can really capture the energy of the first devil wears Prada.
00:25:22
Sammi
It was like, I don't know. It's, it had that frenetic pace of, and tense feeling and real stakes. And so you watch the the movie and you're like, oh, she's going to pull it off.
00:25:35
Sammi
Like, I remember the first time I watched that movie and I was like, wow. But it's like 20 years later, you've got a confident career woman in the same scenario and she could presumably get a job doing something else.
00:25:49
Sammi
And the biggest stakes are she's just trying to move into a nicer apartment.
00:25:53
Sammi
I'm like, this doesn't really feel the same in the same way. I feel like reality TV is blunted in that way too, where it's like the, yeah, the stakes don't necessarily feel as high.
00:26:03
Sammi
The energy doesn't feel as real. um But I was thinking like the first season of real housewives of New York, like that's fucking lightning in a bottle. Like I am first of all, so proud of Alex McCord because she just finished her PhD.
00:26:18
Sammi
She just graduated. Good job, Alex team, Alex forever. um But it's like to watch Alex in that situation and like Luann and Ramona and you know what I mean?
00:26:29
Sammi
And it's like this combination of like Scary Island.
00:26:32
Sammi
I don't know if that was season one or season two, but like nothing would top Scary Island. It's such a weird fucking episode.
00:26:38
Steve
Well, and i think I think Housewives, it offers us a potential solution here.
00:26:39
Sammi
Couple of episodes.
00:26:47
Steve
Why does Housewives, it it might it may not work as well as it used to, but why why do the Housewives shows still mostly work? And the answer is because they're all rich and rich people are weird.
00:27:01
Steve
They do not live in in the same reality that you and I live in.
00:27:04
Steve
They live in other worlds. you know like Every time like Donald Trump says something insane, right and a lot of that comes from the fact that he is so sheltered and wealthy, and he has been his whole life, that he doesn't know how anything works.
00:27:21
Steve
And it's great because a big part of his job is appealing to his base, and his base is like an everyday working person who makes like 40K a year and lives in a small apartment and is living paycheck to paycheck. And he's like, yes, I could relate. It's it's the meme. It's Steve Buscemi with the skateboard. How do you do, fellow teens?
00:27:43
Steve
You're not a teen. And that is why you get some joy out of the Real Housewives still. Because every time I'm watching Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and Bronwyn walks in and she's dressed like, I don't know, the Lorax or something.
00:27:58
Steve
And she's like, yes, this is a $15,000 dress.
00:28:02
Steve
It's Gucci. It's like, okay, you look ridiculous.
00:28:06
Sammi
Yeah, it's the spectacle. i I think the other thing that works really well for that show, and I do have something to say about Mormonism and I will not forget. um One thing that really works on that show too is from the beginning, they did not require them to be friends beforehand.
00:28:21
Sammi
They were specifically trying to mix a certain, like,
00:28:28
Sammi
ah level of personalities. So there were usually and and usually they would pick kind of one person to be the person that would scope the wives for the rest of the show. So it'd be like, you know, maybe they grab one or two to start. And then they're like, who else do you know who would be good? And then they'd be like, oh. And so a lot of times it was like, oh,
00:28:50
Sammi
You know, maybe like our kids go to school together.
00:28:53
Sammi
we're in the same neighborhood. I've seen them at fundraisers, at society events or whatever. um You know, I want to say, gosh, now I'm trying to remember. I want to say Beverly Hills was one of the first different ones to bring in family. Am I wrong?
00:29:12
Sammi
I want to say that because I don't think because, um, New Jersey, that came after Beverly Hills, right? Or did it not? Or did it come before?
00:29:22
Steve
Oh, geez. My timelines are getting messy.
00:29:23
Sammi
Because I don't know, there's those two those two franchises had, you know, it's like sisters, um you know, so in-laws, but like Roni didn't do that.
00:29:34
Sammi
Atlanta didn't do that, right? Like I'm trying to think of like Orange County didn't do that, you know?
00:29:39
Sammi
So it was like, it was interesting too, because it wasn't even like you had to be related to somebody like Jersey. i Maybe that was the first one to be like,
00:29:48
Sammi
And, and I mean, and then you see all that rivalry. It's like this huge, you know, blow ups and tension and on and off again, family dynamics there and in Beverly Hills.
00:30:03
Sammi
But outside of that, it was like, you know, like Dallas, I thought was so interesting because of that too, with like Leanne where it's like, I run charities, you you know, like I am the charity carny queen, whatever.
00:30:17
Sammi
And you're like, okay, weird. um
00:30:23
Sammi
But it was, it's like, because they kind of knew each other, some oftentimes superficially, then you put them in these situations where they're in close quarters doing these trips and things like that.
00:30:36
Sammi
And it's like, whoa, things are getting real different, you know, with with these different combinations and stuff. So I think that that um always works well for them because then they're able to kind of like swap out and bring in new people for like a new dynamic if they need to like infuse something different.
00:30:55
Sammi
But again, like especially with like Roni, there's a lot of people on that show who are like unsafe, you know, just like hateful people.
00:31:05
Sammi
And, you know, it's like they put like, you know, a black woman or, you know, another woman of color on the show and then they just have to deal with like Ramona's racist bullshit and not just Ramona, but you know what I mean?
00:31:18
Sammi
She's the worst. You know, and it's just like, what the hell? Like, that's scary. And, and, and they're usually like a one and done in the season.
00:31:29
Sammi
And that's always like really strange to me. So like, I would say it's definitely hit and miss, but I do think that they hit more often than they miss because,
00:31:33
Steve
Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:31:39
Sammi
they can kind of like mix them up and then they kind of like bring in people as friend of, or, you know, it's like you did a season and then you go take a backseat and be a friend of, and then your primary. So it's like um the main story is they've kind of expanded the housewives universe. And then they started doing like the girls trips and it's like, we get, you know, it's like a vendor shit. You know, I really think they did that in an interesting way that did end up working to keep the franchise strong, even when there's like a dead,
00:32:09
Sammi
season here and there that like doesn't quite like I think you know Beverly Hills is like more flop than anything these days but man was it good when it was good it was good one of the best like yeah i've I've been re-watching the old seasons and I'm like holy shit this was really like peak housewives just everything about what because it was like
00:32:21
Steve
Oh, it was so good when it was good.
00:32:31
Steve
Oh, what a time to be alive.
00:32:33
Sammi
You don't know what rich is You know what I mean? Like, that was what was cool about that is like, oh, they're rich, rich. You know, it's like you you look at, like, Jersey and you're like, I mean, I guess.
00:32:48
Sammi
You look at Beverly Hills and you're like, holy shit.
00:32:51
Steve
Like, oh, that's a whole new level of money.
00:32:51
Sammi
And, like, New York, you're like, oh, like... Yeah, like, oh, J.P. Morgan, you know, um but now Grey Gardens type of stuff going on here, you know.
00:33:03
Sammi
It's just interesting. um I'm going to start to grab stuff from the jelly box before I forget. but you But keep yapping if you want to.
00:33:08
Steve
Let's do it. Let's get Jillyboxing. What'd she send us this month?
00:33:12
Sammi
Well, it's a summer box. I'll show you the motif. It's like palm trees and whatnot.
00:33:16
Steve
ah Nothing I would like to see more.
00:33:19
Sammi
Kind of nice. Yeah, it's it's jelly for the summer. And the the ah tariffs have gone down considerably. It was only like 40 Canadian instead of 100
00:33:32
Sammi
to ship And I got to have some add-ons. So I do have an add-on in here that I ordered.
00:33:37
Sammi
At least one hour or maybe two. I can't remember. I know I bought at least one add-on. Okay. So, oh, and I think it's right on. Oh, here. I'll show the add-on first because it's fun.
00:33:53
Sammi
Chili pickleball set. Are you fucking kidding me?
00:33:57
Steve
Oh my God. This is how you know that we're, we're getting up there at age.
00:34:02
Steve
I keep thinking about playing pickleball. I think that's the problem is like you get to my age and all of a sudden you're like, maybe I like birds.
00:34:08
Steve
I was looking at flowers in my yard. I'm like, Oh, the tulips look great today. I'm like, what the hell is wrong with me?
00:34:12
Sammi
I'm very into flowers.
00:34:15
Sammi
These are cute. Yeah, they so they say sunny side up and I got some cute. Yeah, and it's a little zippered set.
00:34:19
Steve
great. Are you, are you a pickleballer now?
00:34:21
Sammi
Well, you know, I did it in gym. I did it in gym. But Tuck has talked about wanting to play. And look at how cute the set is.
00:34:32
Steve
I mean, that is that is very cute.
00:34:32
Sammi
So we don't have a set. And so I was like, well, Jilly's selling one. So I'll just get a Jilly set.
00:34:38
Steve
There you go. Looks quality to me.
00:34:41
Sammi
Yeah. Yeah. Like I know somebody that Tuck works with really loves pickleball and wanted to take him to you. So I'm like, you can you can come with a set. How cute.
00:34:49
Steve
I also feel like the classic Sammy colorful jumper is like ready-made for pickleball day, basically.
00:34:55
Sammi
Exactly. I mean, I was like a tennis girly, you know, I, I was on the high school tennis team for a time, but then I had to drop out because of marching band.
00:35:05
Sammi
Um, so I am a fan of racket sports.
00:35:09
Sammi
I really like badminton.
00:35:10
Sammi
I really like tennis. Um, racket sports are my jam, not to say that I'm like amazing at them or anything. I'm like, just okay. Um,
00:35:17
Steve
Just an enthusiast.
00:35:19
Sammi
Yeah, I'm a, I'm a racket sport enthusiast. So, and I really loved pickleball in high school and I haven't played it since high school. So i was like, Oh, it'd be fun. And it was like, not that expensive and it's cute looking.
00:35:30
Sammi
so I was like, okay, I'll just get it.
00:35:32
Sammi
So there we go. Yeah. So that's the first thing. That's the first thing we got. Um, Yeah, I, you know, it's my birthday, everyone, by the way, if you want to get me something nice.
00:35:41
Steve
Oh, happy birthday, Sammy.
00:35:42
Sammi
Not today, on Sunday. It's my birthday on Sunday. so I'm kind of like pretending like I'm opening this chili box like for my birthday as well.
00:35:53
Steve
That's good. That's good.
00:35:53
Sammi
And i'm I'm trying, you know, and i'm I'm like one of those people who's like, it's my birthday month, you know, so very you like.
00:36:00
Steve
Feel free to celebrate me as much as humanly possible.
00:36:04
Sammi
Heavy main character energy. Well, and so we're going to go see. So I'm like trying to cash in like movie watching, you know, because it's like Tuck is like, I don't watch movies, which if you all I don't, you know, if you've ever listened to this podcast, I may have talked about this at some point.
00:36:21
Sammi
The first two dates we ever had were going to the movies.
00:36:25
Sammi
And he has watched more movies with me than he has in the rest of his life. So I'm like, you can't say that you don't watch movies.
00:36:34
Sammi
It's just like you didn't know what to watch. And now I'm showing you the right things. um But for my yes.
00:36:40
Steve
Leading him down the right path.
00:36:41
Sammi
And for my birthday, i always cash in a movie. And sometimes I do it and it's risky. Sometimes it's not risky. Like last year, I was like, we're going go see Sinners and you're going to love it. And I'm not worried about you loving it, you know.
00:36:53
Sammi
And we got out and I was like, how was I? He was like, it was so good. You know, um this year I'm having him watch Hokum with me and I'm very excited about it.
00:37:03
Sammi
um And yeah, I don't know.
00:37:04
Steve
A very Irish choice.
00:37:07
Sammi
I've like tried to watch like nothing about it. I just know it's like scary and witchy.
00:37:13
Steve
Did you like Oddity?
00:37:15
Sammi
I haven't watched Anity.
00:37:16
Steve
You haven't watched Oddity? Okay.
00:37:18
Steve
Okay, because I really enjoyed Oddity, which is that guy's last movie, yeah.
00:37:18
Sammi
no That's what I've heard. I've heard it's really good. So, but I just, I was like, well what's coming out on my birthday that I, that like would be a hard sell. And I would love to have gone to see Obsession, but that's coming out like the next week or whatever. So I'm like, that's too late.
00:37:38
Sammi
And I'll just go see that. It's whatever. um And so I was like, this feels perfect.
00:37:42
Sammi
This feels like the perfect movie to go cash in Um, Like a couple years ago, I did Bo is Afraid because I just wasn't sure. i was like, it's three hours. Ari asked her.
00:37:54
Sammi
It's hit or miss. But he actually liked it. So, yeah.
00:37:58
Sammi
It's very stressful.
00:37:59
Steve
when you got You got backrooms coming out in like three weeks.
00:38:01
Sammi
Sorry, this is so loud.
00:38:02
Steve
im Very excited about that.
00:38:04
Sammi
Yeah, i want I'm excited about Backrooms. um what ah well What else did I just go see? oh my gosh. I saw Over Your Dead Body. it was fine.
00:38:15
Sammi
Um... Yeah, I'm really excited because a couple things I loved just came out on Hulu. And I'm like telling everybody.
00:38:23
Sammi
Send Help just got on Hulu. Did you see Send Help?
00:38:27
Steve
I did not see Send Help, but I have it like queued up on my Plex to watch.
00:38:32
Sammi
I can't wait. um And We Bury the Dead just hit as well.
00:38:36
Steve
Oh, oh, did not see that one.
00:38:37
Sammi
Did you see that one? Daisy Ridley?
00:38:40
Steve
That's another one that's like floating around in my, in my hemisphere atmosphere.
00:38:45
Steve
Yeah. Something orbit.
00:38:46
Sammi
Did you watch The Plague? Did you see The Plague yet?
00:38:49
Steve
I didn't see the plague either.
00:38:51
Sammi
that was That's probably my favorite movie of this year so far.
00:38:55
Steve
I don't even know what that one is.
00:38:57
Sammi
it's about it's ah It's about a boy's water polo, um like like little camp in the summer.
00:39:01
Steve
ah one. so that one Yes. Okay. Okay.
00:39:05
Steve
That's the one where the last time you mentioned it, I was like, what are you talking about?
00:39:06
Sammi
Sorry, that was so long.
00:39:08
Steve
You're like, it's about kids bullying people in the pool.
00:39:12
Sammi
It's so good. Is this a towel? It's like scalloped.
00:39:18
Sammi
Like, look. Oh, gosh.
00:39:19
Sammi
Sorry. It's got like this.
00:39:21
Steve
It matches, it matches the pickleball set. Is it for like just gently dabbing sweat off your brow post pickleball?
00:39:29
Sammi
Maybe. It's just like a nice towel.
00:39:32
Steve
That was nice towel.
00:39:34
Sammi
Yeah. Cute. It's very, oh, and it's called Tuck, but with a K.
00:39:40
Sammi
It's very soft. ah it's nice um Yeah, gosh. Oh, I was just like posting. Oh, yeah. Let's talk about some of our top movies so far of this year because um ah yeah, like, you know,
00:39:54
Sammi
Even if reality TV is out, um movies are always in. And I think we've got... 2026 has been a good year for movies, if I may say so myself. And I think the summer is going to be real good.
00:40:09
Sammi
I'm really excited.
00:40:11
Sammi
um But let me just see. Okay. Because I put out, like, my five favorites this year so far.
00:40:18
Sammi
um Oh my gosh. I'm so excited for it. That was the other movie I'm so excited for is is God Is. um Very excited for that movie. I saw Project Hail Mary. Really liked it. It was so cute. I cried a little bit. um But some of my favorite movies so far this year. Okay.
00:40:36
Sammi
I'm going back to January. um Okay.
00:40:39
Steve
I know I'm scrolling through mine right now to be like, okay, what did I see?
00:40:40
Sammi
this is this is this yeah This is a small thing, but Is This Thing On was really sweet. Anyway.
00:40:49
Sammi
I feel like it was nice because not to ruin it. I don't think this ruins it. But sometimes it's like you watch movies like that and you're just like that man is a mess. And it was nice to see like he wasn't like um like nobody was like totally evil.
00:41:03
Sammi
It was just like things weren't working. And I kind of like that. Um. Yeah, we bury the dead in the plague. I saw two like, one after another two days in a row and was like, holy shit.
00:41:16
Sammi
And this is, like, the first few days of January? Like, oh, my God.
00:41:19
Steve
He just knocked those out.
00:41:21
Sammi
i was like, this is so good. Like, I felt so good about it. Yeah. Oh, yeah. um I had watched last year. I watched Good Boy, like the new Good Boy, like the horror movie from the perspective of the dog.
00:41:35
Sammi
And that dog is the cutest dog I've ever seen in my life.
00:41:38
Sammi
um But when I told one of my friends that I went to see it, they were like, wait, like that weird one from a few years ago. And I was like, what weird one from a few years ago? So I watched that this year, too.
00:41:49
Sammi
don't know if you've ever watched that one, but that one was fucked up.
00:41:52
Sammi
um Yeah. Send help. Definitely one of my favorite movies of the year. So good. So funny. Nirvana, the band, the show, the movie.
00:42:03
Steve
Yep, that's my number one.
00:42:05
Sammi
So good. So fucking good. Absolutely obsessed.
00:42:07
Steve
It's so good. It's also one of those movies when when people... like It's hard for me at work sometimes because people will be like, oh, yeah, you watch. What's the best thing you've seen so far this year? I'm like, so it's called Nirvana, the band, the show, the movie.
00:42:19
Steve
And they're like, what?
00:42:23
Steve
ah but They're like, is it about Nirvana? I'm like, no, it's these two guys in Canada.
00:42:27
Steve
And also the final third of the movie is just the end of Back to the Future. And they're like, what? What?
00:42:35
Sammi
Yeah. Well, also like, so, I mean, I loved Blackberry. i haven't, I got to watch his other movies too. And now he's doing the, he's doing the Anthony Bourdain movie. And I was like, oh, then it'll be good.
00:42:46
Sammi
Cause people are like, ah, don't know if it's going I'm like, shut up.
00:42:47
Steve
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:42:49
Sammi
It's going be good. um But Blackberry is like one of those movies I tell everybody to go see.
00:42:54
Sammi
Cause I feel like nobody saw it. And I'm like, I laughed my ass off and it was, the acting was great. that It was a good period piece. It was. And so to watch like,
00:43:04
Sammi
the the period aspects of that movie were so good that's all i'll say but holy shit i mean the whole i can't wait till that yeah uh i can't wait to show check that one i'm like you're gonna love it um pillion was so good i it made me sick to my stomach because it hurt my feelings it was so good it was so good i was like oh
00:43:28
Steve
I have not seen that one yet.
00:43:29
Sammi
It is like a punch in the gut. It's really good. It's really it's Oh, yeah. I don't know. For anyone who feels like they're just too earnest, sometimes they put too much of they're too vulnerable. They put themselves out there too much. It's going to get you in the feels, but it's so good. It's so good.
00:43:50
Sammi
Yeah, I watched it in Duluth um by myself with a with a hard seltzer and and came out of there and I was like, um so good.
00:44:03
Sammi
um Good luck. Have fun. Don't die.
00:44:06
Steve
Okay, that's another one's on my radar that I should watch.
00:44:06
Sammi
um Loved it. That one I came out sobbing, which I don't think was what I was supposed to do coming out of it, but that's what I did. um I had a very profound set of feelings coming out of that movie, but it was really, really good.
00:44:22
Sammi
i think everyone should watch it.
00:44:24
Steve
So I have this problem. I'm looking at like, I have three movies that I've seen so far this year where I'm like, oh, these are like really good. Like these are like my top movie standout stuff.
00:44:33
Sammi
Stand out. Yeah. Yeah.
00:44:36
Steve
One is annoying because a lot of them are technically, actually all three of them are technically 2025, but only in the sense that like, okay, so they played at like one, they played at the, you know, Berlin Film Festival in November.
00:44:45
Sammi
Yeah, whatever. It doesn't matter. yeah
00:44:48
Steve
They're like, shut up. That's not real.
00:44:49
Sammi
ah Pillian was technically 2025, but I saw it in the theaters in 2026.
00:44:54
Steve
So other than Nirvana, the band, the show, another one that I really enjoyed was Radu Jude's Dracula. So.
00:45:03
Sammi
Oh, is that the one like the kind of, no, no, no, no. I know which one you're talking about.
00:45:08
Steve
Okay, so he's he's a really interesting filmmaker.
00:45:11
Steve
He's like. One of the few filmmakers, we were talking earlier about reality TV and how it doesn't surprise me anymore. He's one of the few filmmakers where when he makes a movie, I am actually like shocked for better or for worse with whatever he's doing.
00:45:24
Steve
And his version of Dracula is the goofiest shit I have ever seen in my entire life.
00:45:31
Steve
It looks like it was made for $5. It's constantly changing. It's like aesthetic and it's like tone. It's all over the place. It's so silly.
00:45:42
Steve
If you don't like what you're watching, wait 10 minutes and it'll change abruptly into something that hopefully you'll like better.
00:45:48
Sammi
Into something you'll like. That's so funny.
00:45:50
Sammi
That was like, I almost went to go see that at the Alamo. And I think it was just, it came out at a time where I was so slammed. I couldn't go see any movies, but I,
00:45:58
Steve
Yeah, yeah. And it's like three hours long, too. so that's kind of a problem.
00:46:00
Sammi
Yeah, there were a couple of, mean, it took me forever to go see Project Hail Mary because I was like, it's two and a half hours. i don't have the time. And then I finally just said, fuck it, I'm going. But that one took me forever to get to because I was just like, with what time could i possibly go?
00:46:17
Sammi
But yes, that one was on my list.
00:46:17
Steve
Okay, so there's there's one other thing. There's one other thing.
00:46:21
Steve
And... both dracula and nirvana the man the show the movie are two things that i cannot recommend to anyone but want to recommend to everyone it's hard you're like i love this thing but i don't think most people will love this thing
00:46:32
Sammi
I think Nirvana at the band, the show, the movie has wider appeal than you might think. I don't know.
00:46:36
Steve
it it probably does it's a little it's a little weird dracula has no wide appeal at all people are like yay a vampire movie then they're going and they're like what the fuck was that
00:46:36
Sammi
But that's me. Yeah. It's a little weird, but it's not that weird.
00:46:44
Sammi
yeah I'm excited. I'm excited.
00:46:46
Steve
Yeah, you'll like it.
00:46:46
Sammi
Okay. Thank you. Yeah, i'll like it.
00:46:49
Steve
Genuinely, though, genuinely, there's a movie called ah Blue Heron. okay It's directed by Sophie Rambari. This is the first time in I don't know how long that I've seen a new director where I'm like, oh, you're like the next serious big deal.
00:47:06
Steve
But it's one of these movies where it feels like um early two thousand like,
00:47:12
Steve
I don't know, the the kind of thing that would play at Sundance, like an indie drama type thing. And it starts off that way and you're kind of rolling your eyes. You're like okay, I know what this is going to be. And then it it morphs into something completely different.
00:47:25
Steve
And it's it's beautiful to look at. it's i mean, narratively, it's it's beautiful. It's just a gorgeous, affecting movie. It'll make a little tear roll down your cheek. It's great.
00:47:37
Sammi
Nice. Okay. I've added that as well. Very exciting. um I like a lot of stuff. I i like more stuff than you like. um I'm like very...
00:47:47
Steve
Yeah. i'm ah I'm a certified hater, but everybody who listens to this show knows that.
00:47:51
Sammi
I'm like so indiscriminate. I'm like, ever there's something to love about almost everything. I will say I really enjoyed the second Ready or Not. I think they did a really good job with the sequel. I love the first one. And the second one, i it's always like, well, how do you raise the stakes? How do you make it interesting? And I think they did a great job. And I might actually like the second one more than the first one. So if you were hesitant and you weren't sure...
00:48:15
Sammi
But the best thing I saw in March. Yeah, gosh, it's hard because I loved Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die and Pillion. Those movies are phenomenal. But the best thing I saw in March, I think, was Forbidden Fruits.
00:48:28
Sammi
Oh, my God. I rated it like a four and then I thought about it and then I rated it a four and a half and then I thought about it and I rated it a five.
00:48:35
Sammi
It's one of those. where I was just like, and you know, um I've heard it called cunty horror, and I 100% agree with that.
00:48:44
Sammi
It's like 80s mall movies meets Heathers meets Mean Girls meets The Craft.
00:48:51
Steve
Speaking my language.
00:48:53
Sammi
It's the one of the prettiest movies I've ever seen in my life like it's just like really juicy you know not just because they're fruits um it's yeah it's like it's all set in a mall it's about this clique they're kind of witches it's kind of the love witch looking type of the thing too very much looks like the love witch it's
00:49:15
Sammi
Yeah, it's like it's a mall slasher with ah witchy shit and yeah, mean girls dynamics. It's so good. It's so good. It's so campy. You just have to like let it happen to you. um And just, you know, and there's like one part where there's like three things I put on my review and none are spoilers. Yeah.
00:49:39
Sammi
one was they had like a fake olive garden restaurant and they called it yeast garden which is the best fake restaurant name I've ever heard in my life I'm like yeast garden amazing and then they had um there's like this one part and I'm gonna butcher the exact quote but it's like they're they're talking and it's Lily Reinhart is
00:49:50
Steve
Yeast garden? What?
00:50:02
Sammi
unbelievably good in this movie and she just goes like someone she says something someone says like no they like reject something in a really benign way and she's like what's you to like hate women or something it was like really caught me off guard and I was like oh you could just say that I guess that's very funny um and then I had just read the book Youth Juice and
00:50:24
Sammi
I don't know if I have it around me, but Youth Juice is like, it's kind of about like, ah kind of felt like a Glossier type of a brand or something like that. was like, ah you know, pink girl boss influencer skincare brand um that's making everybody look amazing. But like maybe they're, you know, what's happened? Why are all the interns disappearing? um And on one of the tables of like the store that they work at in the movie, I'm pretty sure Youth Juice was stuck there. I'm trying to get the answer. I've been going on TikTok. If you are watching this, Youth Juice producers, prop people, whoever worked on that set, please tell me
00:51:05
Sammi
if For real, because I commented on one on like their official youth of youth juice on the official Forbidden Fruits TikTok, and I was like, it was Youth Juice on your set? Did you put Youth Juice on? Because I need to know. but So I can't wait to watch it again to pause it, because I'm like, if it is, it's so perfect, and whoever put that there is a genius. um And Emma Chamberlain, I don't know if she ever did an acting role before this, but she's in this, and she does a great job. um So good job, Emma Chamberlain. um
00:51:37
Sammi
It's so good. I, if you, if you hate forbidden fruits, you hate women. And that's, that's that.
00:51:44
Sammi
Um, so that, that one, I can't honestly recommend enough. I, um, April was kind of a mid month for me. um, And then, yeah, so far in May, Project Hail Mary was cute.
00:51:58
Sammi
It was good. i you know um My review for that, though, was like, this is totally not political in any way. A movie about um this incredibly coordinated governmental effort has nothing to do with politics, Andy Weir.
00:52:15
Sammi
So, yeah, i totally get why you... Did you hear him say that? Or do you know what i'm talking about?
00:52:20
Sammi
Yeah. Yeah, he's like, I like to take keep politics out of my books. And I'm like, then why did you involve the government of everyone in the world? What do you mean you don't want to be political?
00:52:31
Sammi
But speaking of political, for some reason, I have fluoride-free toothpaste.
00:52:36
Sammi
A little political there.
00:52:38
Steve
Look at you. our f a Junior Junior.
00:52:40
Sammi
ah Yikes, a little scary, ah a little spooky.
00:52:45
Sammi
um But while i just I'm a sensitive type of a gal, but I'll try it. Sure, why not?
00:52:51
Sammi
um Yeah, better ingredients for a premium brushing experience. But I i do like, I'm totally good on fluoride. i totally like fluoride. So, I'm cool with fluoride.
00:53:00
Steve
Yeah, I'm fine with it. Also, I found that like, and and hopefully this one's better, but a lot of these like au naturel toothpaste, ah they they don't do it for me. Like, what's his name?
00:53:11
Steve
Dr. What's-His-Face?
00:53:14
Steve
He's like, you can buy my soap.
00:53:16
Steve
It does 97,000 things. and Like the label's just screaming at you.
00:53:20
Steve
Yeah, like his toothpaste kind of sucks. It's like it's supposed to be mint. You're like, i don't know, barely, dude. I don't know if anything's getting clean here. Yeah.
00:53:26
Sammi
i I mean, i I worship on the altar of Sensodyne. I'm a big Sensodyne fan. um So that's one I like.
00:53:31
Steve
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:53:33
Sammi
um I do think one of the... So there was a lot of choices in the Devil Wears Prada, too, that I really liked. There was a lot of, like, fun fashion callbacks and things like that. Like, there's this... um this ugly blue sweater that andy wears in the first one and in the second movie they kind of like one of the ending shots is her wearing like a version of that sweater but as like kind of like a vest with like denim underneath which i thought was really cool but one of the things that i thought was great was when you get to andy's apartment she's got mrs meyer's soap um in her bathroom and i was like game recognized game that yeah i'm like i got that soap um oh these are nice okay so i got these plates um you might be thinking yeah you might be thinking are they melamine no they're made out of bamboo fiber but they i'll do the influencer tapping um yeah you can you can just put them in the dishwasher but do not put them in the microwave um don't know away but there's like six of them these are cute these might be camping plates um because i don't have any like you know like
00:54:02
Steve
yeah It's a good soap.
00:54:13
Steve
Ooh. Scallop plate to go with your scallop towel.
00:54:20
Steve
Ooh. Put an oyster on that thing. I love a good influencer tap. Thank you.
00:54:39
Sammi
kind of washable. These would be like the fanciest camping plates. um They're nice. And actually...
00:54:48
Sammi
There's something in here that I'm going to take to the studio with me, which is great because I'm I've been like, I need like baskets for some of my stuff, like just for display purposes. And I'm everybody just, so you know, I am an artist ah and I'll be i'm an artist.
00:55:04
Sammi
I'll be doing some art shows. So I I got into my first juried art fair. I will be doing that in June.
00:55:09
Sammi
Actually, i got into two juried art fairs, but my first one's in June. and um And I'm doing another one in August. I'm doing one by you in June too. Not jury, just regular, regular fare.
00:55:19
Steve
Oh, that's exciting.
00:55:21
Sammi
So I'll let you know when that is. um And I'm on the wait list for another and I applied to like two more. So I've i've got to get like the whole table. to Like I'm going to get a tent and my table and the tablecloth and all that shit.
00:55:35
Sammi
And I'm like, I need like baskets like this to put my stuff in.
00:55:40
Sammi
um to like to like you know give it a nice presentation so it's not just sitting on the table like you know multiple layers of stuff and i've been kind of collecting different display elements and this was actually something i was going to try to like pick up somewhere somewhere so um like this exact size so uh that's great thanks jelly that's perfecto um
00:55:40
Steve
It's perfect. Jilly's got you.
00:56:02
Sammi
And then, oh, nice. Okay, and there's like a Jilly thing kind of like this. This is like a tote. This is actually going to be great for fairs because I'll be able to put a bunch of stuff in here. this is awesome.
00:56:14
Sammi
um And it's got like pockets on the sides. This is actually, I'm totally going to use this for art fairs. But I've got like a basket that she um made ah that Jilly made that she sold.
00:56:27
Sammi
um She can't make it.
00:56:27
Steve
She handmade by herself in her room.
00:56:29
Sammi
She love it for me. um And I'm using that in my studio right now to like for the bags that like so people order things. I can put them in like little paper sleeves or paper bags with handles.
00:56:41
Sammi
They're all being stored in like this basket I got from Jilly. This is actually like perfect. It's like a big tote. It's quite large. It's a capacious bag.
00:56:50
Sammi
and there's like um little things on the side there's like three pockets on the inside that's nice that's perfect and one on the outside so what do you think about that um and uh let's see
00:57:09
Sammi
any movies you're excited to go see coming up
00:57:13
Steve
Yeah, I'd say Backroom's probably the one that I'm really, really looking forward to. I think that'll be fun.
00:57:18
Sammi
I hope it's good. Yeah. I'll be kind of sad if it's not.
00:57:19
Steve
I hope it's good, too.
00:57:21
Sammi
Yeah. um Yeah. I'm excited about that. I'm excited about Obsession. gosh. There was another one. Now I can't remember. Oh, We Love Boosters.
00:57:31
Sammi
I'm really excited for We Love Boosters.
00:57:32
Steve
Oh, yeah, I really want to see that, too.
00:57:33
Sammi
I think that's going to be great.
00:57:34
Steve
I don't know when it's going to get to me, but whenever it does, I'm going to see it for sure.
00:57:38
Sammi
I think it's coming up like next week already.
00:57:43
Steve
I know Boots Riley has been like touring it around and just like giving free screenings of it.
00:57:49
Sammi
Well, we're getting it May 21st. Yeah, I'm excited for Obsession. That's coming out really soon. Yeah, Backrooms is coming out a couple weeks after that. Is God Is is coming out next week. I'm very excited for that as well.
00:58:01
Sammi
um I'm trying to think what else. Those are some of the big ones that I'm like cannot wait for. oh a Death Becomes Her movie party.
00:58:12
Sammi
Don't mind if I do. might have to go to that. I know you don't like Death Becomes Her. It's okay.
00:58:16
Steve
I'm fine with it. Don't get the entire like LGBTQ community to come after me.
00:58:20
Sammi
I know you hate women. um i'm Just kidding.
00:58:24
Steve
Steve, tell me why you hate women and gays.
00:58:26
Sammi
ah There's a sad girl cinema club showing of Frances Ha coming up. Nice.
00:58:33
Steve
that's a good That's a great sad girl cinema movie. yeah
00:58:36
Sammi
there's There's a lot of Meryl Streep ah coming up, too. Oh, and they're replaying Sorry to Bother You. So if you want to catch that before, i love boosters. oh my gosh.
00:58:46
Sammi
Adaptation. Oh, my gosh. I'm so hashtag blessed out here with all the...
00:58:50
Steve
I know there's glut of riches
00:58:51
Sammi
um Fun movies. Yeah. Like this year. And i I think we, I did this two years ago. They played serial mom on mother's day and they're doing it again.
00:59:01
Steve
oh yeah that's that's fun
00:59:03
Sammi
It's so fun. Okay. I don't know what this is. It's called do of the gods. A Malfi glaze, heaven grade body serum, heaven grade body serum.
00:59:14
Steve
Ooh. Heaven grade. That's my favorite grade.
00:59:19
Sammi
Yeah. It's, and it's,
00:59:20
Steve
you got You got food grade, then you got your heaven grade.
00:59:23
Sammi
What quenches the body and lightly shimmers. It's a very pretty box.
00:59:28
Sammi
It's like, it looks like, you know, like a lovely scene, you know, but it's, going to try to open this up.
00:59:30
Steve
Love a light shimmer. I want a glassy, dewy glow for the summer, so...
00:59:36
Sammi
And then um I, you know, i I feel so bad, but I just like never use things like this.
00:59:44
Sammi
Yeah, I just use like, I'm like mason jars, you know, I'm a hipster.
00:59:46
Steve
what do What do you drink out of? Okay.
00:59:49
Sammi
I've got like a little cup thing and a little straw and just, i use like cups and I don't, I don't understand.
00:59:55
Steve
Look at you, Brooklyn lot of them.
00:59:56
Sammi
Okay. I'm going to get real old man yells at cloud right now, but I don't get like, how did everybody, like why everybody's got emotional support water bottles these days. Everyone's got to like be hydrated all the time.
01:00:07
Steve
Even children. Children are walking around just like banging Stanleys against shit.
01:00:11
Steve
No, get out of here, kids.
01:00:11
Sammi
Now, this is nice because it's stainless. I do like a stainless tender. This is actually closer to anything that I would like because I do have a couple. But I mean, here's the thing. I have a couple of these and I use them. Sometimes I kind of go in spurts, but then it's like, but I don't need any more.
01:00:28
Sammi
Like, ah you know, i'm I'm not. But this is kind of I will say this is a cool design. So see on the lid. This is how you pop it up.
01:00:35
Sammi
I think that's kind of nice.
01:00:37
Sammi
and fun you know or if i can even get it all the way am i doing this wrong probably ah yeah it's like uh well that's why she doesn't like it she doesn't know how to use them because she's not very smart um no really like oh i just had to pull harder i'll wash myself well
01:00:42
Steve
You actually broke it.
01:00:49
Steve
Mm-hmm. I just don't get these here water bottles.
01:00:57
Steve
So it's your physical weakness that's the problem.
01:01:00
Sammi
yeah i'm about to go in to get my hands x-rayed so anyway it's like rub salt in my wounds but look at that's just because like that yeah yeah that's nice okay yeah that's actually really okay maybe i'll keep this one because maybe i think this one's the the design is very fun um yeah it's kind of boring it's not really for me but i
01:01:05
Steve
Oh, there you go. Look at that. That's fun.
01:01:14
Steve
Mm-hmm. What is that color? Taupe? little taupey. i assume they would have gone with with yellow to match the towel and the pickleball set.
01:01:25
Sammi
I know. I know. Sometimes sometimes there's variants. So just kind of is like the luck of the draw. which you get What I'll do is I'll cover this in my own stickers.
01:01:37
Sammi
Let me open this. Yeah, so I've been i've been really into making my own stickers. um If you come to a studio show or you can order things on sditto.art.
01:01:48
Sammi
You can just buy art whenever you want, friends.
01:01:48
Steve
Mm-hmm. Just buy some freaking art. Come on.
01:01:52
Sammi
um I do have to put the stickers on my website. But i'm but yeah, like I've got stickers. I've got greeting cards. I've got prints and originals and commissions. and So it's been weird, though. I'm like, oh, my God, this is like a real business. I actually have to like get my shit together. Ooh, I thought this was a textured box. I love a textured box.
01:02:15
Sammi
it feels nice. And I haven't even opened it yet. Oh gosh, how do I open this? Apparently, yeah, see my hands are bad. Listen. Don't make me feel too bad.
01:02:27
Steve
You just got to believe in yourself.
01:02:27
Sammi
Ooh! It's a very fancy bottle, too.
01:02:32
Sammi
It's not what I was expecting from the thing.
01:02:35
Sammi
Now I'm scared. Okay.
01:02:37
Steve
It's just pure glitter.
01:02:39
Steve
That's my hope for you.
01:02:39
Sammi
Yeah, that's kind why I'm like, ooh. Ooh, it does have a, yeah, it's got a
01:02:44
Steve
A bit of a shimmer.
01:02:44
Sammi
It's got a, yeah, I don't know if you can even see it. Probably not.
01:02:49
Sammi
Can you? I don't know. Like a little bit of a sheen? Maybe not.
01:02:52
Steve
Just go shove your hand and tuck space and be like, do I have a dewy glow?
01:02:57
Sammi
Smells really good. It smells like... don't know what it smells like, but it smells nice. It's like a little sweet smelling because they said it's like argan, olive, and macadamia oils with hyaluronic acid.
01:03:14
Sammi
What makes it smell like this? It's good. There's oat. I don't know, but it smells really nice. um Yeah, I like that smell. Okay, Dew of the Gods. Got it. Okay.
01:03:28
Sammi
What am I actually supposed to do with it? and Just all over. Just your body.
01:03:33
Steve
Just just wear put it wherever.
01:03:36
Sammi
Palms and lightly. so Yeah, put it on your palms and lightly massage all over your body. like it gives you a But it's not that. There's a little bit of glitter in it. For sure. But it's very mild.
01:03:48
Sammi
It's not like, it's not like you know.
01:03:50
Steve
It's not like body glitter?
01:03:52
Sammi
It's not like when we were growing up. Yeah, in like 1999 and
Nostalgia and Luxury Items Discussion
01:03:57
Sammi
Man, those were the days. Had a lot of just glitter everywhere, man. Just all the glitter. But it smells fantastic. So that's nice.
01:04:08
Sammi
I'll give that a i'll give that a word. Whirl.
01:04:11
Sammi
um That's all that's... Oh, wait. um Yeah, that's it. But I wanted to go through the the the this, our official book, because just like um fortune cookies, we always read it at the end ah and add in bed to the end of it.
01:04:35
Sammi
Oh, oh, Jilly's got a recipe for a spicy coconut margarita in here.
01:04:41
Sammi
Yes. and And it includes um so agave syrup, shredded coconut. This actually sounds really good. um Sliced jalapeno pepper, lime juice, canned full fat coconut milk, tequila and triple sec.
01:04:58
Sammi
Looks delicious. I like i like a creamy beverage.
01:05:02
Steve
I'll get down with that.
01:05:03
Sammi
sounds good i like coconut anything oh that was another fun thing i got at alamo um they had devil wears prada themed cocktails and but i felt weird because i was like drinking it while i was watching project hail mary i was like well whatever you don't have project hail mary themed stuff so and they it was really good now i'm trying to remember it was kind of like tropical it was really delicious
01:05:27
Steve
Did you see the Marcus Theaters Devil Wears Prada promotion?
01:05:32
Sammi
like the bag or whatever, like the popcorn bag.
01:05:33
Steve
it's like ah It's like a bikin but fake Birkin bag full of popcorn.
01:05:34
Sammi
Yeah. Yeah. I'm kind of, that was cool. That was cool. I saw it at like our local like chain. It's, um, the Marcus here is like a little farther away.
01:05:45
Sammi
I like saw it at our like local place. Um, but yeah, that's, that was pretty cool. Like, yeah, the novelty popcorn buckets.
01:05:54
Sammi
I don't own a single one, but, um, I do own Alamo merch, but I don't own any of that kind of stuff. um Yeah, so the scalped beach towel, you're going to flip your lid when I tell you what the retail price is.
01:06:09
Steve
I would love to know.
01:06:12
Steve
what What does it do? does
01:06:15
Sammi
I'm like, that's so expensive, but it is ah described as a... But i like I said, it's really soft. Like, it feels really nice.
01:06:22
Steve
But $19 in this economy, Sammy?
01:06:24
Sammi
Well, that's like...
01:06:26
Steve
Gasoline is $5 a gallon.
01:06:28
Sammi
I didn't spend $119 on it.
01:06:31
Sammi
that's a retail ah That's the retail value of the towel.
01:06:32
Steve
jilly Jilly spent it. yeah
01:06:35
Sammi
um like That would be half the box, basically. um but yeah It's really nice. it came in sunbeam or Sunbeam or Aqua, so I got the Sunbeam version.
01:06:47
Sammi
and then um but yeah the Quiet Luxury is what she said.
01:06:52
Sammi
Due of the Gods Amalfi Glaze Body Serum was worth $52 Canadian. Yeah, just a hint of shimmer that leaves me looking sunglazed, not glittery.
01:07:02
Sammi
Yeah, I agree. It's like very, like, it's like, yeah, every once in a while you just look and go, oh, there's just a little bit glitter in there.
01:07:04
Steve
You feel like a Krispy Kreme donut, not a glitter bomb?
01:07:11
Sammi
um Basically a tropical retreat in a bottle. And officially my go-to for that, I just spent a week in Paradise Glow, even if I'm just manifesting it from my backyard.
01:07:21
Sammi
um yeah the the tray the scal again scallop it's gonna be funny when i come down with all the scallop stuff tuck is gonna like laugh because he he's like what is it with you in scalloped edges i have a lot of like scalloped things he's gonna be like um the tray is 39 canadian and you know it's perfect for carrying a round of drinks or putting my art on it i'm gonna be putting my cards on it it's gonna be perfect um
01:07:36
Steve
It's Jilly's fault.
01:07:48
Steve
in Serving plated oysters to your guests.
01:07:51
Sammi
Yeah. The bamboo shell plate set is 82 Canadian, six reusable bamboo shell plates. They're really cute. Honestly, even a hot dog feels like five-star luxury when it's served on a seashell, is what she said.
01:08:03
Steve
Oh, if I was served a hot dog in a seashell, I would be blown away.
01:08:06
Sammi
It's going to go in my camping equipment because I needed i was going to buy some enamelware stuff and I just haven't yet.
01:08:13
Sammi
so I'm like, I'm going to put it in there. It's going to be perfect. um The Poppy and Peonies tote is $75 and she says, no trip to the pool or beach is complete without a great oversized tote that can house your summer essentials.
01:08:26
Sammi
yeah I'm going to use it for art fairs for sure. I'm going to put like like all my ah things that I need. and Not all my things, but like a lot of my things are going to go in there. going to have like a couple big Rubbermaid totes and I want to get like a little wagon because a lot of stuff you can't like drive up.
01:08:42
Sammi
You have to walk up. um but I need something for like Like the, you know, my little point of sale thing and, you know, like the bags and like kind of those things I don't want to get smushed.
01:08:57
Sammi
So I'll put that all in there.
01:08:59
Sammi
um The toothpaste is worth $12 Canadian. um She said it's incredibly cooling and effective, but formulated to be gentle and non-abrasive. And it's a Canadian made product and they're leaning, leading in sustainability with their plant-based sugarcane tubes. Oh, that's kind of cool. Okay. The fluoride free thing, whatever. um But, um but yeah, that they have, their tubes are made from sugar cane. That's kind of cool.
01:09:27
Sammi
Um, yeah, I feel like the water bottle may be something I actually use, even though I was kind of like, whatever. Um, but it's 35 Canadian. It's I do like the flip and sip lid, completely leak proof and keeps everything clean.
01:09:42
Sammi
But yeah, I just i I'm not out and about very much. So I am like a mason jar girl. I sorry with the little lid with the straw.
01:09:49
Steve
Well, now when you're oot and aboot, you got your little sippy cup.
01:09:52
Sammi
Exactly. i did not order. There were some add-ons. There was a tank top that was like 69 Canadian to buy. And I was like,
01:10:02
Steve
Which for our listeners and not our viewers, I'm actually wearing right now.
01:10:07
Sammi
I just, I wasn't quite sure about it. And I was like, it's too much of a gamble. I can't do it. um And they had a pearl anklet. And I'm like, I just don't see myself wearing an anklet.
01:10:16
Sammi
And it was 90 Canadian, an anklet.
01:10:17
Steve
A panklet? Oh, the pearl from the scallop thing. There you go.
01:10:22
Sammi
yeah can you see that don't know right there anyway i just don't i just don't wear an inklet so i was like i'm not gonna start now there was also a pair of espadrilles uh um it 99 canadian and i also was like
01:10:24
Steve
Yeah. I, too, rarely wear an anklet, and people are surprised by that.
01:10:42
Sammi
I like them kind of, but I don't know if I'm going to...
01:10:45
Sammi
I'm kind of a Birkenstock kind of a gal. I'm sure that surprises you all. um So that's like kind of all...
01:10:52
Steve
Shock of the century.
01:10:53
Sammi
That's like all I wear in the summer is like Birkenstocks or like strappy sandals. And I was like, that's just not really kind of thing I wear very much in the summer. There's also an oversized adult pool float and i don't have a pool.
01:11:04
Sammi
So I didn't order that, but um it was very classic, you know, like strip striped... pool floaty. So these are the here are the shoes. And then, yeah, I was just like, I'm not seeing it for my life.
01:11:17
Sammi
But then I was like the pickleball set. Thirty nine Canadian. Hell to the. Yeah, I'm buying that.
01:11:22
Sammi
That was a no brainer.
01:11:25
Sammi
i was like, add to cart, add to cart. um So I was really, really happy about that. um Yeah. So and then they interviewed this fluoride free toothpaste brand.
01:11:44
Sammi
and And whatever. But yeah, I'm actually very excited about the ah most excited about the basket and the pickleball set and the plates.
01:11:57
Sammi
I'm very excited about those. And this do of the gods thing is real nice. And maybe if I if I report back, maybe I'll put, you know, maybe this is what I'll do for art fairs because I'll be outside.
01:12:02
Steve
yeah we love we love a good god dude don't we
01:12:08
Sammi
I'll be hot. Maybe I'll bring this with me.
01:12:10
Steve
yeah Bring your water bottle with you.
01:12:11
Sammi
the art fairs yeah maybe i will
01:12:11
Steve
Bring your dew of the gods. okay What are the top three do's? It's Mountain. It's Mountain Baja Blast. And it's of the gods.
Episode Recap and Future Plans
01:12:21
Steve
Those are the top three do's.
01:12:21
Sammi
oh the gods yeah top three deuce yeah maybe i'll yeah this this will inspire me too because it's very you know looks like a it's a beautiful painting you know so it's very inspirational Anyway, that's all I have.
01:12:23
Steve
Everybody knows that.
01:12:35
Sammi
Is there anything you want to close with? I feel like we actually made something of this episode.
01:12:40
Sammi
We opened a Jillybox.
01:12:40
Steve
I got to, you opened your Jillybox, I got to stand on my soapbox.
01:12:41
Sammi
We talked about reality TV movies.
01:12:45
Steve
That's what the show's all about.
01:12:46
Sammi
oh Oh, I love it. I love it Well, everybody listen. I don't know when we're going be back next. Maybe we'll do a book review sometime soon because like it's almost my summer.
01:12:57
Sammi
i will say I am listening to Fame Sick first, though, because I got it.
01:13:01
Sammi
I swiped it from the library. i can't even believe it. I was second in line.
01:13:07
Sammi
I hit that so fast. So I'm listening through that. Maybe I'll talk about it the next time we talk about some other book. But I think it'd be fun to have another Bachelor Nation book, maybe Matt's.
01:13:20
Sammi
I haven't read Matt's and I I don't know.
01:13:23
Sammi
It's got to be a joke or maybe we can um read Colton's and I can hate it the whole time.
01:13:28
Steve
Yeah, I hate read it.
01:13:28
Sammi
No, I probably won't do that.
01:13:29
Sammi
Well, maybe I could hate read it. Anyway, if you have any thoughts or inclinations, you can always email popculturediner at gmail.com. I do check that email, believe it or not.
01:13:39
Sammi
um But until then, remember to get me something for my birthday and get outside when it's nice. You should be outside.
01:13:47
Steve
and Don't do needle drugs. it's It's getting warmer. You're celebrating Sammy. what do you Get that spike out of your vein.
01:13:54
Sammi
Just go play some pickleball.
01:13:55
Sammi
What are you doing?
01:13:56
Steve
yeah Pickleball instead. It's a healthier choice. You see where my shirt is? It's really good band.
01:14:05
Sammi
Yeah. I was to ask you about your shirt.
01:14:07
Steve
Yeah. It's a cool alien. just says drug church on it. It's great.