Archive for the ‘Home Improvement’ Category

Titus Hoskins asked:


There is something totally appealing about Flipping Out, a Bravo TV reality show based on LA real estate speculator Jeff (I Can Still Move My Eyebrows) Lewis. Watching it is akin to taking a bath in the narcissistic, self-absorbed world that only a place like Southern California could produce. It is a visual and sensual homage to LaLa land and neo-narcissism; me to the power of a billion.

Home design as fodder for great comedy or should that be Greek tragedy? For there is something innately tragic about this program; maybe it’s the real human sentiment that’s running just beneath the surface of all that buying and flipping, not to mention all that firing and hiring.

It is also a testament to how far human evolution has progressed - where’s that meteorite when you need it? If Jeff Lewis is a symbol of how far we have come as a species - Darwin would not be amused; but then again, maybe he would be tickled pink - maybe this is just what we (mankind) rightly deserve.

Point is, Flipping Out is as entertaining as it gets. The characters are much more enjoyable than anything you will find on today’s hodge-podge of TV shows… only House comes anywhere close to capturing the quirkiness that is human nature at its finest.

Actually, it’s extremely hard to believe this reality show is not scripted. The characters are so odd-ball only a well marinated screenwriter could produce them in such abundance, or maybe real life in Southern California is such a magnet for eccentricity, anything is possible. Even then, to assemble them all in one reality show is a masterstroke, from Zoila the sassy Nicaraguan housekeeper to Chris the bumbling trash guy to the well-grounded partner Ryan - they all come across as solidly sketched and etched in our minds.

The only TV comparison that comes close to Flipping Out is Seinfeld. Perhaps this comparison is inevitable since Jeff’s sidekick and personal assistant Jenni bares an unnerving resemblance to Elaine. She calms Jeff down through one crisis after another… whether it be a foul-mouthed client, to removing human ***** left behind by renovation workers, to buying the next multi-million dollar property.

While Jeff has an obvious talent for finding run-down real estate properties and totally re-designing them into highly profitable ones - he is, without a doubt, one of the most selfish and self-absorbed people you will ever have the pleasure of viewing. Everything in this neatly controlled world centers around Jeff and Jeff’s needs. Ordering take-out (which is the show’s favorite past-time) takes on a whole new meaning in this reality show. Hundred and Forty Degree Coffee, Anyone?

Watching Flipping Out is highly addictive; like any good reality-based show we are drawn into the characters’ lives without any holdbacks. We see all of Jeff’s flaws magnified: his obsessive compulsive disorder, his childish behavior, his self-absorbed personality, his obsession with balance and detail… he makes Holmes on Homes look like an amateur DIY builder. Well, not really but they do share the same passion for true build-quality that’s totally reassuring in today’s mortgage closure wasteland, aka mainstreet USA.

Jeff gets no respect, at least not from his employees whom he treats more like personal slaves than anything resembling equal human beings. From Jeff’s own admission, he consider himself the biggest babysitter in all of California rather than an employer. That’s probably for the best because the way he treats his employees it’s amazing how anyone could work for him and keep their self-respect intact. Just make sure you quit before he fires you so that you can hold on to that last hanging chad of human dignity.

Why Jeff comes across as ultimately a very likable guy is a total mystery. Maybe deep down we see more of Jeff in ourselves and our own actions than any of us would like to believe or even admit to - through empathy comes compassion. Who doesn’t want to be a total selfish jerk every now and then? Hedonism does have its takers, and narcissism does have more than a bit of fascination for the inner child in all of us. OCD aside, Peter Pan and Jeff Lewis got it right; nobody ever really grows up.

Who would have imagined it, home design as a life-lesson for all of us. Only in a reality TV show could such profane silliness be captured and enjoyed. Don’t be bothered that you should be bothered that bothers you… just welcome yourself to Flipping Out.



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As with many fashion trends in times gone by, the wrist watch was first made fashionable by royalty — specifically Queen Elizabeth I who was given one in the late 1500s. It was an adaptation of the pocket watch made more feminine and worn as an adornment accessory.

The very first widely worn wristwatches were designed exclusively for women and called wristlets. Men of the late 19th century and early 20th century still kept track of time using a pocket watch. They considered the wristlet a fashion trend that would, like all others, come and go; and the wristwatch would at that time never be considered by men as anything but a feminine bobble for women.

The wristwatch as a useful way to conveniently keep time for men actually started out as a wartime necessity. The British army in their fight against South Africa in the Boar War in the early 1900s strapped pocket watches to their wrist so that they could hold their weapons and still synchronize maneuvers with other troops. The first wristwatches for men were promoted to the military for men going into active service. Many of these influential men found the convenience of not fishing in a pocket for their watch indispensable even after returning from the field.

Changes in watchbands also added to the popularity of the wristwatch for both men and women. The flexible band pieces that attached to the open-faced watch made it easy to fasten a leather strap, which kept the watch securely, attached to the wrist. Now wristwatches were standard military issue for the allied troops of World War I.

In 1915, The Rolex Watch Company, formerly known as Wilsdorf & Davis, was founded. Hans Wilsdorf liked the idea of a wristwatch for both men and women and worked to improve the accuracy. Rolex was recognized as a leader in this research and received the first wristwatch Chronometer award given out by the School of Horology in Bienne.

In the mid-1920s, following the war, men started to associate wristwatches with the brave heroes who fought and no longer viewed them as only for women. Rolex seized upon this new image and continued through the 1950s to market watches specifically to men. Professional, masculine-style watches were developed to be worn by men in various fields of work.

The development of new technology capable of tracking time and performing the other functions of a cell phone or planner may lead to a time when the watch will be less of an important way to keep time and more of fashion accessory or status symbol. But, let’s face it, if anyone ever asks you if you know the time, your first instinct is to raise your wrist, whether or not you remembered to put on your watch!



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