BEN FLAJNIK AND COURTNEY ROBERTSON SKINNY DIP IN THE BACHELOR SEASON 16, EPISODE 5!

Courtney’s famous words: “These girls have no idea what I’m capable of.” Be real Courtney – everybody’s got the low-down on your ‘low-downess!’

Ben and his 11 remaining girlfriends are now heading to Puerto Rico. Nicki Sterling and Elyse Myers are finally getting one-on-one dates. Still no word on whether sweet nurse Jamie Otis will get to say more than one or two words or if Casey S. will get to do anything other than look gorgeous while defending Courtney. Aren’t they there to date Ben too? Look’s like their teaming up on Emily to take her out of the game.

Here are ABC’s details on what we’ll see next week:

BEN’S ONE-ON-ONE DATE WITH NICKI: Once the women arrive at the luxurious W Resort and Spa on the tropical island of Vieques, Nicki, the sensitive divorcee, learns that she will have the first one-on-one date. Ben picks her up via helicopter and the two escape to the mainland. They set out to explore charming, historic old San Juan when a thunderstorm strikes and they need to run for cover. Soaked through, they exchange their clothes for some authentic garb and then, coincidentally, the pair happen upon a local wedding. The ceremony reminds Nicki of her walk down the aisle, but is she ready to fall in love again? She opens up to Ben about her painful past over a romantic (tea-sympathy- and po’ me) dinner, but will he respond with a rose? Hello: men don’t fall in love over sympathy…

GROUP DATE: The next day, Ben surprises nine women with a trip to the famed Roberto Clemente Baseball Stadium. It’s all good fun as the group enjoy their time in the field. But then Chris Harrison informs them they will be playing a game against each other to decide who will get a beachside after-party with Ben. The losers will go back to the hotel. Ben chooses one lucky woman to be his MVP – playing on both teams and assured of a ticket to the after-party. For the rest of the bachelorettes, it’s game on! Rabidly competitive, the women battle until the last dramatic out, provided by one devastated woman who strikes out and takes the whole team down with her. Ben opens up to one of his sweethearts and then offers her the rose, but Courtney steals the show by privately inviting Ben to a secret rendezvous that is a tempting mind blower: come skinny dip with me! Good ol’ Courtney, always getting’ down to business…

BEN’S ONE-ON-ONE DATE WITH ELYSE: Ben invites Elyse to a fabulously romantic evening aboard a luxury yacht, and she takes the opportunity to emotionally explain how much she wants to give up her single life and get married. What will Ben’s reaction be to her genuine revelation? (Elyse should get hip to the fact that Ben isn’t interested in getting married while he has an unlimited supply of grapes and females. Here’s a secret to Ben’s vulnerability – use feminine witchcraft and wish a blight on his vineyard and then he’ll be desperate for a wife!! Check mate!!) LOL!

BEN AND COURTNEY SKINNY DIP: However, when Ben returns to his hotel, he has a surprise waiting for him — Courtney, who suggested the sizzling tryst. After a night cap, she repeats her offer to skinny dip with him. Will anyone catch them together? (I bet a couple of young ladies there will be hoping a hungry shark with a taste for pencil thin models will appear!)

The “demise” of Emily O’Brien? Another dramatic cocktail party has Ben’s secret (pretty obvious if you ask me) playmate, Courtney, ‘mind-gaming’ the other women with her skinny dipping adventure; (kind of a like seeing an elephant graveyard with sagebrush growing in the middle of it!). Foolish Emily decides she would rather focus on her dislike of Courtney than concentrate on Ben. (FYI: Emily needs to focus on her feminine assets just like Tweetybird – she’s sitting on a goldmine and doesn’t know it). But there is a shocker waiting at the rose ceremony, and nine women are all excited to move on to Panama City, Panama, in hopes of capturing Ben’s heart.

THE BACHELOR 16 FINALE: DID BEN FLAJNIK’S FAUX PAUX REVEAL HIS FINAL CHOICE?

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Season 16 Bachelor Ben Flajnik shared a few qualities he’s looking for in a woman. Now we all know that Ben is coached to say certain things, so it’s seems silly to expect him to give us any revelatory clues about his final choice. However, at times, information can come through involuntarily when the person least expects it. Sigmund Freud referred to this phenomenon as the slips of the tongue. The question is: did Ben make a verbal faux paux revealing his final choice?

Consider the following:

When Entertainment Tonight inquired what would be a relationship deal-breaker for Ben, he replied: “The only deal-breaker I could think of is a woman who didn’t want to move back to Northern California.”

But wait a minute … pay attention to the phrase “a woman who didn’t want to move back to Northern California.” Perhaps Ben meant that the only deal-breaker he could think of is a woman who didn’t want to move to Northern California. The phrase “to move back” specifically refers to a person who used to live in Northern California. Knowing that Ben’s final two girls are Courtney and Lindzi, his verbal slip seems to point toward Lindzi.

Here is my reasoning:

Courtney Robertson was born and raised in Scottsdale, Arizona. She is currently living in Santa Monica, California. Courtney was discovered at age 17, working in Abercrombie & Fitch. Since then she’s been a busy model! Besides possible modeling projects, there is simply no evidence suggesting she ever lived in Northern California.

However, Lindzi Cox used to live in Clovis, CA; she graduated from Fresno State University. Different internet sources indicate that she currently lives in Seattle, WA where she works as a business development manager and rides horses in her free time. Thus, the phrase “to move back to Northern California” seems to be more applicable to Lindzi. I also believe that Lindzi would be willing to move back to Northern California if she is indeed the recipient of Ben’s final rose.

In addition, Ben told Entertainment Tonight that he likes a woman who doesn’t mind getting dirty:

“It’s important for me to be with a woman who enjoys the outdoors [...] Roughing it a few days here and there is really important to me.”

Well, that’s totally Lindzi. If you recall, Lindzi is very comfortable with dirt. In fact, in episode 2 she made a confession about dirt being her makeup!

As for Courtney, I just can’t imagine this high-maintenance model getting dirty.

ASHLEY HEBERT AND JP UPDATE: IS ASHLEY’S RELATIONSHIP WITH JP ROSENBAUM HEADING SOUTH?

Undoubtedly, Ashley’s drama-fueled journey as the season 7 bachelorette had an adverse effect on her self-confidence. Granted, it takes a female with a very “thick” skin to come out unscathed after being called an ugly duckling in front of millions of viewers. I feel that Ashley was really hurt by this whole experience. In fact, her televised journey to find love precipitated many internal complexes and insecurities Ashley didn’t possess before she joined the show. For one thing, I think that Ashley was originally more comfortable in her own skin. But since the show ended, she has been obsessed with constantly reinventing her looks as if she doesn’t feel very attractive. Of course, every female likes to change her hair style/color once in a while. There is nothing wrong with it. However, in terms of Ashley, it has become an obsession, suggesting that she isn’t completely satisfied with her appearance. She may have fears that she isn’t pretty enough to keep JP interested. After all, in the past, JP had dated very attractive women.

Ashley’s constant change of appearance didn’t go unnoticed by Wetpaint, a website dedicated to everything Bachelor/Bachelorette related: “It’s been five minutes, so it’s definitely high time for Bachelorette Ashley Hebert to change her hair color/style. This time, the engaged Season 7 sweetie has literally gone back to her roots.”

Apparently, Ashley’s “happy” engagement to fiancé JP Rosenbaum didn’t restore her lost self-confidence. To the contrary, JP could be inadvertently reinforcing her insecurities. In fact, Ashley’s behavior reminds me of a woman who doesn’t get enough quality attention, or at least that’s how she’s acting.

Is their honeymoon already over? Is JP slowly loosing his interest in Ashley?

On Friday, Ashley posted a photo of herself which immediately reminded me of Demi Moore, several months before she officially filed for divorce from Ashton Kutcher. (Note: Not that the photos are similar, it’s the emotional energy that strikes a resonant chord.) If you recall, Demi posed in a bikini in her bathroom, which was supposed to show off her great physique, but instead gave off an impression of an insecure, depressed woman who was trying to prove to herself that she was still attractive because her husband was having affairs with younger females.

Now, I am not suggesting that JP is having an affair with another woman, but it definitely seems like Ashley is lacking something…

If you check out Ashley’s photo, it’s impossible not to notice that Ashley is covertly showing off much more than her new hairstyle. Notice how she perked up her posterior in tight pants? Is she, indeed, trying to make JP jealous? We all know that JP has a jealous temper. No doubt, she will receive plenty of personal compliments from other males! I see some sad days ahead for this couple if J.P. doesn’t change his ways.

THE MEN EMILY MAYNARD DATED!

Ten thousand “sources” have combined to announce that Brad Womack’s Bachelor 15 ex Emily Maynard will be the Season 8 Bachelorette. Why ABC can’t just make an official statement is a mystery, but it sounds like it’s time to accept the news as pretty close to fact. Since Emily should be meeting 25 new guys pretty soon, let’s look back at the fellas she’s dated or almost-but-not-quite dated up to this point.

Ricky Hendrick
Emily was engaged to NASCAR driver Ricky Hendrick when he and nine others died in a plane crash in 2004. Ricky is the father of their daughter, Josephine Riddick “Ricki” Hendrick.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
This is one of Emily’s kinda-sorta relationships. A Dale Jr. fan told Starcasm, “They never officially declared themselves a couple, but did go out together and spend a lot of time with one another in early 2006.”

Brad Womack
‘Memba him? Emily is still the only woman who managed to get Brad down on one knee to say the words “Will you marry me?” It didn’t work out for them — multiple times along the way — and their split was made public in June of 2011.

Jeremy Shockey
This past October, Emily was linked to Carolina Panthers tight end Jeremy Shockey. “They were set up on a blind date,” a friend of Em’s told Us Weekly. “They’ve been out five times. Emily thinks Jeremy is nice, but she’s just having fun!”

Doug Cartwright
For a while back in September we had fun reading into the cutesy flirtation between Emily and Michelle Money’s brother, Doug Cartwright. Nothing really came of it, but it’d be fun to see Doug on The Bachelorette.

Matt Nordgren
Emily was also linked to the Most Eligible Dallas star, but Emily shot that rumor down herself in early December, telling Us Weekly she was “definitely not dating anyone, much less Matt Nordgren.” She also clarified, “I’ve met Matt once in my entire lifetime in L.A. with a huge group of people. [It] was definitely not a date.”

SOURCE: WETPAINT

THE BACHELOR SEASON 16 EPISODE 3 RECAP: DID SHAWNTEL NEWTON USE BEN FLAJNIK FOR PUBLICITY?

The Bachelor 16, episode 3 will be remembered as the most melodramatic and out of proportion to the circumstances. First off, Ben meets his sister, Julia. Ever naïve, ‘gentle’ Ben tells his sister that she would get along with the mellow, easy-going Courtney. Is Ben from another planet? Clearly, he doesn’t know much about Courtney!

Next, we’re on the Bay Bridge with the girls in the limos. The camera spotlights Emily’s face; the poor girl hasn’t a clue about the adrenaline-laced date that’s coming! Perhaps Emily made a mistake confessing in her application that her biggest nightmare is falling off a bridge. Too bad – this type of information is solid gold for producers and they sure used it planning her “Fear Factor” date.

The date card arrives: “Emily, love lifts us up … Ben.”

In the background, Courtney quips she hopes that Ben will get quickly bored with the “educated” Emily. Well, that depends on the level of Ben’s education. (Uh, oh – a Courtney gaff – isn’t she telling on herself?)

BEN’S DATE WITH EMILY:

Ben makes a shocking announcement that they are about to climb to the top of the “Bay Bridge.” “I feel like I want to die,” Emily responds (and I can dig it!). Although petrified, Emily puts on a brave face; she is ready to face her fears just to impress Ben. In fact, equipped with a helmet and two harnesses, she leads as they scale up the exterior beams of the Bay Bridge. About half the way, Emily suddenly has a panic attack, but Ben comforts her with a passionate kiss. Ben’s kiss immediately revives Emily giving her courage to continue this crazy adventure. Once they reach the top, they embrace in a lengthy hug. With relief in her voice, Emily says: “If we can accomplish something like this, there’s nothing that we can’t do together.” I might add that the view from the bridge were pretty spectacular.

Later in the evening, Ben and Emily share a quaint dinner with a picturesque “Bay Bridge” view. Ben admits that he likes how their relationship is developing. In fact, Ben says that his father loved his mother because she was smarter than he was. Hey, whoa! Say what? After a pause, Ben makes a confession: “In fact, I think you’re probably smarter than me.” This may seem flattering; however, in the end such compliments tend to work against females because statistically men tend to reject woman who are smarter. Yet, overall, Emily seems perfect fit for Ben. She’s an intelligent, classy, outgoing and fun female, not to mention she’s a fox – everything a guy can wish for.

GROUP DATE:

The next group card arrives: “Let’s cross something off our leap list” What happened to ‘bucket’ list? After the terror of the Bay Bridge, ‘leap’ is too close to potential danger!! The women are confused and a little intimidated about its meaning. However, they were told to grab their bikinis for the group date. But hold on – what they don’t realize is that they will be skiing down a steep San Francisco street covered with fake snow. Compared to the girls, Ben’s physique doesn’t look so hot; he definitely accumulated some baby fat. Not surprisingly, most of the girls are not proficient in skiing. Girls in bikini’s – out of control skiing – what do you get? Lot’s of interesting shots! For example: Kacie B. goes down the slope bent over backwards, exposing her hot little bottom. I think you get the picture.

During the group after-party, Kacie invites Ben for a private walk. She complains that it is hard to watch him date other women. Ben replies: “I don’t have any words to console you.” Er, ah – what can you say? He then gives her a kiss. Translation: “I am not going to make any commitments, but I have no reservations about kissing as many girls as I can.” Hello – that’s the gist of The Bachelor game.

Ben’s conclusion: “There’s something about Kacie B, she sparkles; her personality, her everything. She’s really sweet and she gets me and I get her. That one’s going to be trouble for me — good trouble. I like her.”

Back in the house, Brittney Schreiner receives a date card: “Brittney, let’s unlock our love with the key to the city … Ben” She also gets a necklace in the shape of a key, symbolizing the key to the city and perhaps to Ben’s heart. (On the down-side, Lindzi feels left out.) However, Brittney doesn’t seem happy for some strange reason. She confides to Emily: “I’ll cut to the chase. These circumstances are just not for me. I really don’t want to be in a house with 25 girls and, you know, I made a promise to myself that if my heart’s not in this then I don’t want to stay. I think I’m just going to go home.” Wow, weird change of mind.

Granted, tomorrow Brittney will assure us that she wasn’t interested in Ben. However, I sense a different scenario. In truth, Brittney defeated herself before she even had a date with Ben. Somehow, she got the impression that if she goes on this date, she won’t receive a rose anyway. So, defeated, she heads to the group after-party and tells Ben straight up that she is not going to accept his invitation for a date. With tears in her eyes, Brittney sobs: “I feel like I don’t even deserve a date with you … I really think you’re going to find a great woman here, just not me.” But we know Ben likes confident women. So true to form, instead of begging Brittney to stay, he tells her good-by. And the next lucky girl in line is Lindzi Cox!

BEN’S DATE WITH LINDZI:

Date card: “Lindzi, Your first impression was a lasting one. Let me show you San Francisco at night.”

Outgoing Lindzi doesn’t mind a last-minute date. I like her free-flowing spontaneity. She is ecstatic. (She would probably be a good match for the forever optimistic Ryan Park.) First, Ben takes Lindzi on a trolley-bus tour of San Francisco. Then the two stop at the San Francisco City Hall, where they are treated to a private concert by platinum recording artist, Matt Nathanson. The romantic atmosphere naturally draws Ben and Lindzi into each others arms. They get real cozy and before long the tongues get intertwined.

Ben chortles: “Lindzi is sexy. The first kiss was great. I didn’t expect it. She is a very special girl.”

Later during their dinner, Ben asks Lindzi why she is still single (with a talented tongue like that), Lindzi sidesteps a direct answer and falls back on the old “break-up via text message” story she told us in the beginning of the show. Well, I can understand her reticence, since talking about your private love-life in front of millions of viewers can be no doubt embarrassing. In a spirit of optimism, they toast their past rejections and future opportunities. The two seem to have genuine fun together. Ben doesn’t want the date to end, so he invites Lindzi to go to a piano shop where they can have more fun tinkering around on a piano. From the outside, their connection seems seamless.

In the end of the date, Ben tells Lindzi: “I would like to know you on a deeper level.” Like I intimated on my first reading of these two, Ben feels a natural attraction and doesn’t seem to understand why.

THE COCKTAIL PARTY:

Ironically, the ladies raise their glasses and Courtney makes a toast to a “no drama” night. Huh? Just wait!

Suddenly we get it – Shawntel makes a call to Chris Harrison telling him that she is nearing San Francisco. (Boy, this is out of the ordinary!) She admits that she’s talked to Ben a few times and feels she has a chance. “He’s going to totally fall in love with me,” she reassures herself, (her private little mantra).

Meanwhile, Courtney takes sarcastic verbal jabs at Lindzi. No doubt, she senses that Lindzi is her strongest competitor. Perhaps her covert strategy is to create conflict among contestants and to make it particularly uncomfortable for Lindzi. Like a clever witch, she slyly accuses Lindzi of giving a bad eye to Elyse. (Stirring up the cauldron.) However, it isn’t easy to get to Lindzi; she knows a little magic herself. She just shrugs her shoulders and laughs it off.

Check out Courtney’s thoughts about the other girls: “It’s really hard dealing with these girls. Most of these girls aren’t the kinds of girls I would ever be friends. They’re very naive and very juvenile.” That’s a really condescending view.

Ben takes Courtney to the same rooftop John F. Kennedy took Marilyn Monroe. Symbolically, this means he see’s Courtney like prime rib, the crème-de-la-crème. Oh my, is Ben caught up in an erotic fantasy! He says he was thinking about Courtney “a lot” in the past week.

Ben: “I don’t know what you did to me that day… I can’t get you out of my head.” Boom what you did to me!!

However, Courtney (ever playing) acts reserved, as if unhappy with something. She gives him a few pecking kisses. Finally, as if in frustration, Ben grabs her face with both hands and they begin grooming each other like baboons. “I think we make cute babies,” she blurted out, her self-confidence restored. All the signs suggest that Ben will pick Courtney and I sense it’s going to be a bad choice. And now on to the intrusive Shawntel.

Shawntel hopes Ben will be pleasantly surprised when he sees her. She is smart enough to know that the girls are going to be displeased with her sudden arrival. As expected, the females panic as soon as they see the ‘darling’ Shawntel confidently strolling through the room in a sexy red dress.

“This bitch walks in, shovels her way into a crowd and I was like, ‘who are you? We are not friends. Scram, bitch,’” snipes Jaclyn like a territorial terrier.

Surprisingly, none of the women seem to recognize Shawntel as a girl from Brad’s season. She enters the room where Ben is having a private conversation with Elyse. As soon as he sees Shawntel, the choked phrase “Holy Shit!” manages to escape his mouth. Needless to say, he seems very nervous! We can only speculate what went on between Shawntel and Ben before he joined the show. The look in her eyes implies there could be more to their relationship. Of course, some women have a tendency to quickly assume that a guy has feelings for them when the guy is simply trying to act respectful.

“I want to be at the rose ceremony and if you are willing to give me a rose, I’d be really happy,” Shawntel tells Flajnik. “If you’re not, don’t give me a rose and we’ll end it now. But I feel like you have more feelings.”

In response to Shawntel’s presence, Courtney vows that if Ben lets Shawntel stay, she’s gonna pack her bags. Interestingly, at the rose ceremony, she is the first one to receive the rose. Courtney appears reluctant as she slowly comes up to Ben, accepts the rose, but makes it very clear that she’s upset. Everything about her clearly shouts she doesn’t want Shawntel around. Ben looks down obviously embarrassed, he knows to oblige this pompous ‘queen’ if he doesn’t want to loose her. NEWSFLASH! Her behavior is a sure sign that she will be a demanding bitch down the road.

Then it’s down to the final rose. Ben is left with a tough decision. One rose and three women awaiting their fate. Erika’s game is to faint (usually that arouses sympathy) and everybody rushes to help her. Good move because all the women blame Shawntel; which is, no doubt, a nail in her coffin.

In the interest of fairness and to avoid more emotional scenes, Ben decides not to give away the last rose. “I appreciate you coming all this way to find love, but…I just can’t hand out this final rose tonight.”
Disappointed and hurt, Shawntel has this to say about Ben’s rejection: “There was a connection there with Ben and I think he just wasn’t being man enough to accept that. That’s great that he’s trying to be fair, but this is about someone you’re going to be with for the rest of your life. I don’t think fair comes into play. I just feel so dumb.”

Don’t be so dramatic, Shawntel! To wit: in an August interview with The Bachelor Expert, Shawntel said the following:

“I was asked to consider being the bachelorette. I was a little hesitant though. It can be an exhausting process and I wasn’t sure if I could handle that. But watching the season I think my top four would have been: 1. Nick 2. Lucas 3. Ben 4. Ryan P. (I know a lot of people didn’t think too highly of Ryan, but I thought he was just too cute).”

For someone who claims to find Ben the ‘immaculate conception’, the guy was only her third choice at best. How’d he suddenly ascend to such heights? Incidentally, it’s not a coincidence that Shawntel’s book is scheduled to come out right around this time. Hello, out there! Do we have a witness? Cute ploy! Go figure! FYI: I think ABC and Shawntel have a mutually beneficial relationship. Stir it up Shawntel!!

In finito, Shawntel, Jaclyn and Erika all get the boot. I guess the fainting scene didn’t really help poor Erika.

BACHELOR PAD 2 CONTESTANT KASEY KAHL GETS ARRESTED!

Looks like Fresno police are guarding and protecting Bachelor Pad 2 contestant Kasey Kahl — Vienna Girardi’s erstwhile lover was arrested on Sunday, January 15!

According to TMZ, Kasey was allegedly drunk and disorderly at Fresno’s Club Habanos. Details are still forthcoming on what exactly Kasey did wrong, but he was booked at a nearby police station and released a few hours later. He has to watch that Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde personality!

Source: TMZ

EMILY MAYNARD WILL BE THE SEASON 8 BACHELORETTE: WILL EMILY CHOOSE MR. GOODBAR OR MR. GOOD-ENOUGH?

Although on numerous occasions Emily Maynard insisted she didn’t want to be the next Bachelorette, there seems to be a major 180 degree turnaround. Today (January 11, 2012), Reality Steve has announced that the Season 8 Bachelorette will definitely be Emily Maynard! Like the last four seasons of the Bachelorette, the filming is scheduled to begin in March.

Reality Steve: “Before we get into the why and how of all this, I think one thing that might ease a couple people’s mind regarding Emily’s decision to change her mind comes in the fact that they are moving locations for filming for the first time in about 10 seasons. The show will be shot in Charlotte, North Carolina. Of course at some point, I’m sure they will take off and head to different locations, but I’m guessing they’re going to spend a good amount of time filming in North Carolina. My guess is that was a huge selling point for Emily, especially with a young daughter that she’s been adamant about protecting ever since Brad’s season.”

Since her alleged break-up with fiancé, Brad Womack, Emily has been seen with a number of men who could be described as possessing the highest utility value. Nevertheless, she is still single and looking for love. So what keeps Emily Maynard from finding love amidst innumerous options? You may be surprised, but research suggests that this over-abundance of choices often leads to decreased satisfaction and reduced happiness.

The former first lady, Barbara Bush, once said: “I married the first man I ever kissed.” In fact, at least a third of Americans prefer to marry their first partner rather than continuously searching for better alternatives. This was the case when Emily met Ricky Hendrick, though they weren’t fated to get married due to a tragic accident. With Ricky, Emily simply followed her ‘gut’ feelings without trying to figure out all the pros and cons of his personality. In short, she just fell in love with Ricky, regardless of his good or bad qualities.

However, it seems that since then Emily has disregarded her heart, progressively relying on “reasoning.” In other words, she became compulsively obsessed with trying to make the most perfect or right choice; which fits her perfectionist personality. She lost her center and now lacks self-confidence.

You can’t deny the wisdom in this quote from Blaise Pascal: “The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.” In other words, our heart bears an intelligence of its own, which is not accessible to logic or reasoning. The following thought experiment called “Robot Love” clearly demonstrates that all efforts to deliberately reason out the best mate from a number of alternatives usually fail.

Imagine that by 2025 scientists developed robots that not only looked like humans, but acted like humans and were ready to reproduce. In one of their case studies, a male robot was programmed to find the best mate out of 10,000 female robots, create a family and take care of little baby robots. The male robot became known as the maximizer. (Keep in mind Emily’s dilemma). Early on, the robot detected 500 features on which female robots varied. The scientists made a calculation to find out when the robot will be able to make the best possible choice. To their surprise, the findings revealed that nobody would remain alive by the time the robot completed its calculations. Furthermore, the robot’s final choice wouldn’t be the best anyway.

Bottom line: the male robot was caught up in endless calculations and could not make up its mind. The main problem is the robot doesn’t have a heart, hence, it cannot ‘feel’ the right choice; i.e. it lacks intuition. In terms of Emily, she is out of contact with her female side, that is, her heart. Therefore, if Emily is going to succeed in finding a true mate on The Bachelorette, she must learn to trust her feelings again – which begins with loving herself.

NAHU & YELENA’S JOURNALISM~

THE BACHELOR SEASON 16 EPISODE 3: THE MYSTERY WOMAN IS SHAWNTEL NEWTON!

AN EXPLOSIVE ENTRANCE BY A MYSTERIOUS WOMAN FROM BEN’S PAST SHOCKS THE BACHELORETTES AND THE CLAWS COME OUT; ONE WOMAN FAINTS AND ANOTHER DOES THE UNIMAGINABLE, AS BEN DROPS A BOMBSHELL HIMSELF, ON ABC’S “THE BACHELOR”

ABC Press release:

Fireworks erupt when a woman from Ben’s past (Shawntel Newton from Brad’s season) makes a sudden dramatic appearance at the cocktail party to let him know she has feelings for him and wants to be in the hunt for his heart. However, Ben starts the unforgettable week by sharing his wonderful city of San Francisco with the women. It begins with a nerve-shattering adrenaline date with Emily climbing to the top of the Bay Bridge, continues with a group date where 11 women ski down a snow-covered street and culminates with Ben’s intimate city tour with Lindzi and a special exclusive concert by Matt Nathanson. But the women continue to surprise, as one bachelorette rejects Ben’s offer of a one-on-one date. (Brittney, the woman who was introduced by her grandmother, rejects Ben’s offer and voluntarily leaves the show.)The tension is so high that one woman (Erika Uhlig) faints during the rose ceremony. But Ben shocks all the bachelorettes as he makes an unusual decision to end the night.

Ben talks to his sister, Julia: Upon arriving in Ben’s beloved city by the bay, Ben meets his sister to give her the lowdown on some of the more intriguing women. While Ben’s 16 suitors explore their suite at the famed Fairmont Hotel, they learn from Chris Harrison that not everyone will get a date this week. But those lucky enough to get individual dates will either be receiving a rose or going home immediately.

Date with Emily O’Brien: An excited Emily turns out to be the first fortunate lady. Her heart races even faster when she finds out that the date involves climbing 500 feet to the top of the Bay Bridge, scaling up the exterior beams. As the couple begins to ascend high over the water, the nervous bachelorette begins to shut down. How will she handle her two biggest fears – rejection and heights? Will she fall from grace and be sent home without a rose?

Skiing group date: The next day, Ben surprises 11 of the women by taking them skiing for the day. They don’t realize that he has shut down a San Francisco street in the middle of the city and covered it with snow for their adventure. The ladies strip down to bikinis and hit the slope. The competition for Ben’s rose continues to be fierce at the after party, but one emotional bachelorette crashes the festivities to give Ben some very unexpected news. She declines the one-on-one date invitation he extended to her. The moment is a real gut-check for Ben and causes him to question everything.

Date with Lindzi Cox: For the final individual date, Ben takes a grateful and ecstatic Lindzi on a personal tour of his city. When the two stop at City Hall, they are treated to a private concert by platinum recording artist Matt Nathanson. Lindzi captured the first impression rose, but does her laid back style net her a second one?

The women attack the newcomer: Ben is completely stunned when a very determined woman storms into the cocktail party and confesses her feelings for him. She pushes it even further, asking to stay for the rose ceremony. The other women strike back with a stinging verbal attack. One infuriated woman even threatens to leave if the newcomer gets a rose.

A fainter and a shocker: The anxiety is ratcheted up at the rose ceremony. One worried woman faints and one breaks down in tears. In the end, Ben pulls a shocker himself. Thirteen women remain to move to the next stop: Park City, Utah.

Rose Ceremony Eliminations: Erika Uhlig and Jaclyn Swartz.
In addition, Brittney has already eliminated herself and Shawntel never receives a rose from Ben.

COURTNEY ROBERTSON USED JESSE METCALFE!

One man who isn’t buying into the “innocence illusion” is Hollywood actor Jesse Metcalfe (Desperate Housewives, Dallas). He’s been linked to Courtney romantically after photos surfaced of them together at the 2005 EMMY Awards, but an exclusive source close to Wetpaint Entertainment tells us it was the briefest and most-fleeting of relationships.

“He thought she was using him,” says a friend of Jesse’s. “Very quickly, it became clear, she’s only interested in getting famous.”

He went on to say that Jesse’s association with Courtney was so short lived (a few weeks at the most) that he’s “disgusted,” it’s even being brought up, and that her behavior on The Bachelor “just proves what he thought about her all along.”

Jesse, who just celebrated his 33rd birthday, has been in a committed relationship with actress Cara Santana (CSI) for nearly two years. “She’s a really great girlfriend,” gushes our source, “and Jesse never gives any thought to Courtney or her claims about their dating.”

The jury’s still out on the Courtney’s Bachelor behavior, but it seems like Jesse Matcalfe delivered his closing arguments long ago. Best of luck on Dallas, Jesse.

Source: Wetpaint

THE BACHELOR SEASON 16 WEEK 2 REVIEW: TOXIC BLAKELEY AND ANOTHER MELTDOWN FOR JENNA!

Week two – Ben says he is excited to bring 18 women to Sonoma. We get a glance at Sonoma’s vast vineyards.

Ben meets the women and announces the first date-card. The girl to have the first 1-on-1 date with Ben is Kacie B. He makes a stereotypical assumption that all Southern women in general are family-oriented. Does this suggest that he secretly see’s her as a potentially boring date?

Courtney Robertson has this to say: “I kinda like her not to come back.” But then again, Courtney tends to be competitive and a little snide.

Ben and Kacie take a evening stroll through downtown Sonoma and wander into a candy store. Kacie spots a baton, which of course, was strategically placed there by the producers. Then Ben is privy to a presentation of Kacie’s baton twirling skills. The baton parade appeared kind of lame but Ben seemed relatively entertained.

Afterwards they march off to a nice little Sonoma restaurant where they are treated to a romantic meal. Kacie is trying anything and everything to get Ben’s attention. Ben seems tolerant but not particularly impressed. Kacie is by far much better looking than Courtney. In addition, she is not pretentious and has a nice personality. Between the two you’d think he’d pick Kacie. However, the chemistry is just not there. Perhaps, Ben has been jaded by too much female attention and has developed a tendency to take them for granted. Ben’s comment to Entertainment Weekly implies that he’s single minded when it comes to dating, i.e. that he was just looking for a “hot pair of legs” to date on The Bachelor season 16.

Ben: “I asked for legs.”
EW: “As in long ones or just two?”
Ben: “I’m a leg guy. Two nice long legs would be great.”

Wouldn’t it be nice to see that he’s interested in what goes on upstairs too?

They then go to a local movie theater where Ben surprises Kacie with a private screening of their home movies. It was touching to see Kacie as a young girl and baby Ben’s little butt was an omen of the things to come this season. The sight of his father on the screen stirred up cherished, personal memories causing a moment of awkward silence. Ben said that it was a very intimate thing to share with someone. At the end of the date Ben states that Kacie could potentially be the lady to share his life with in Sonoma.

Ben: “She’s someone that get’s me already.”
Kacie: “I think that I have found what could be a lifetime of love with Ben.”
They share a kiss, but I noticed that Ben was the first to withdraw. In fact, he pushed her away with both hands. It was almost an unconscious automatic reaction that suggests Ben wasn’t as much into Kacie as he professed.

GROUP DATE

Before the date began, Ben made a confession: “There are 12 ladies on this date which is “a lot of pairs of legs.” Knowing this, Blakeley picked out an outfit to specifically emphasize her long legs.

Ben and the ladies performed in an impromptu play written by local children. Besides acting like a weasel or making pig noises, a little girl dared Nicki to perform a sexy dance. One boy asked Blakeley to jog in slow motion. The scene didn’t seem appropriate for children because Blakeley’s movements forced her huge jugs to pop out. Nobody needs a wardrobe malfunction in front of the kids. To cover up her exposed boobs, Blakeley was given a gingerbread costume. Samantha summed it up accordingly: “What do you get when you cross a gingerbread man and a hooker? Blakeley!” Talk about a cut!

It was hard to make any sense out of the play and, honestly, I didn’t even try. Miraculously, Ben started out as a prince and ended up dressed in a sheep costume. Then, with one big blow, Monica, who played the dragon, blew Ben’s sheep clothing off revealing his white, not so impressive body. That’s when Blakeley exclaimed: “This is the kind of man I want to be with!” Maybe she’s desperate.

Back in the house, perplexed Courtney can’t figure out why Ben gave the first impression rose to Lindzi. To restore her bruised self-esteem, she sneered that the rose was meant for the horse, not Lindzi. LOL!

EVENING GROUP PARTY:

The drama worthy of reporting is Blakeley’s bold move to get Ben. Clearly, when Blakeley wants a rose she will do anything to get it. As intelligent Emily O’Brien noted, sexual aggression is a strategy that’s worked for Blakeley in the past and she will undoubtedly continue to use it (at least until it stops working).

I must also add that Blakeley and Courtney appear to be more experienced in the sexual department. These ladies know exactly how to turn on a guy and have no reservations about it.

Apparently, Blakeley’s strategy worked because after a steamy make-out session she got the rose, which left Samantha sobbing with jealousy.

Ben referred to Blakeley as a confident woman. Maybe Ben confuses confidence with sexual aggression (which is often a sign of a deeper insecurity, if you ask me.)

COURTNEY’S DATE WITH BEN

The date card arrives. Kacie reads the date card, which is actually intended for Courtney: “Courtney, Let’s spin the bottle … Ben” As if trying to challenge Kacie, Courtney says: “How’d that taste comin’ out of your mouth.” Then, with a cocky grin of victory, she exclaims: “I usually win!”

Of course, Courtney’s arrogant attitude doesn’t set well with the other ladies.

Ben, Courtney and Ben’s ‘son-of-a-dog’ Scotch go for a walk in the Redwoods. Country boy Ben gets his big chance to show off his howling skills. Courtney acts as if she is impressed. Well, if Courtney decides to leave her glamorous life-style, she, Ben and Scotch could go off howling in the Redwoods everyday. Why don’t I see that happening?

Ben shows Courtney his winery and then they share a romantic picnic. Ben talks about himself — partying and living it up until he went on The Bachelorette and suddenly had this incredible transformation, an “aha” moment of sorts. Courtney wants to say something nice to Ben, but she has a hard time describing what she really likes about him. Courtney: “I meet a lot of people and it’s pretty rare I meet someone… (long pause)… I don’t know.” (It’s tough to fake it when you don’t mean it.) We’re not surprised to see that no matter what Courtney says or does – she always exceeds Ben’s expectations.

Ben wants to know why such a beautiful girl like Courtney is still available.

Ben: “I want to know about your dating history, I am dumbfounded.”

In response to Ben’s questions, Courtney launches into a self-pity tirade about her trust issues, e.g. she once found a female’s underwear under her bed, which weren’t hers. She also implied she is very picky, that none of the guys in LA can satisfy her.

Courtney: “My dating life sucks. I’ve dated actors, photographers – a lot of guys. I’m picky. Dated the wrong guys…found underwear under the bed…I meet nice people, I’m just not into them.” Life’s tough when you’re hot.

In the end, we see two people pretending that they have something in common. This may be why the show’s ratings are dropping. After all, watching a fake romance is a waste of time!

Ben: “This is a pretty damn good match. Courtney does make me think Big picture.” The poor boy is wishing!

Courtney’s feelings for Ben can be summed up in the following statement: “All the other girls should watch out because I got the rose…”
In truth, Courtney is interested in winning because she wants to prove to herself that she still has got it. People don’t realize how insecure she is about aging. I think that her confidence is just a front.

COCKTAIL PARTY:

At the cocktail party, Ben whisks away Lindzi for a private conversation. Bubbly and energetic Lindzi looked wholesome in a pretty coral colored dress. It is interesting to note that Lindzi is an out-doorsy gitl; she grew up on a farm, “dirt is usually her make-up” and she drives F-350 Diesel. Their energy seemed magical. The two seemed to literally finish each others sentences. Obviously impressed and sensitive to what Lindzi thinks about him, Ben explained why he didn’t have a date with her this week.

I am not going to cover Jenna’s meltdown. Last week Jenna’s so-called employer blamed ABC for “bad” editing. However, it’s hard to believe that an intelligent conversation (if there was any) could suddenly metamorphose into a wacky babbling such as: “I came here looking for love…I’m sick…I feel like a guy…I am not a typical girl.”

Bottom line: Jenna sabotaged herself. She definitely has problems.

In the end, Jenna and Shawn are sent home following the rose ceremony.