Unpracticle Tips From A Bachelorette

A guilty pleasure:  The Bachelorette/Bachelor TV show.   Besides being a ridiculous scenario, it is a fascinating unreality to watch.  Can't be called reality TV.  There is nothing that relates to reality in the 8 or so weeks spent sifting through 25 or 26 people to find your forever mate.

Courtney Robertson, was chosen by Ben Flajnik to be his wife in season 16.  The wedding never took place.  According to her, the relationship went sour minutes after he proposed.  Ben invited some crew members to join them for dinner several times during the few days they had to spend together.  She just released a book (with Deb Baer) I Didn't Come Here To Make Friends, which chronicles her time before during and after the Bachelor. It's dishy and it's informative-if you're a fan of the show. 

Courtney gives the reader insight into what a day is like for a contestant. It doesn't sound that pleasant.  For every one-on-one date a contestant might get (and those are few,  Courtney had 4 or 5 and she was the "winner"), there are way more times she/he is held up in hotel rooms with no communication.  No cell phones, no newspapers, no internet, no books  are allowed. Why no books?  She recalls a story where a few of the ladies were psyched to go to the gym in the hotel as there were TVs and they could watch the news.  Towards the end of filming, to Courtney's surprise, she got a dial tone on the hotel phone.  She immediately called her father and said she was cheating.  His response was no you're not and he hung up the phone. Turns out he was in the presence of a Bachelor producer who was setting up the hometown date. 

The producers and editors make most of the dates look glamorous.  Courtney points out that the helicopter ride around the Matterhorn was terrifying.  There were endless picnics.  Courtney said Ben planned dates around things he wanted to do, not taking into account what his date might like to do.

Courtney owns up to her mistakes. She played the game, which is what this was and was crucified for it.  She made an interesting season out of what could have been as bland as Ben's personality was portrayed.  She realized she was cast as the villain after she watched the first episode.  She thought she was being funny at times and it didn't come off that way on TV.  She was no saint, but the editors are the real storytellers of this show.  She did love Ben. From her accounts, she was trying to hold on to a relationship that never really was there. She highlights their night in the fantasy suite. 

The book is filled with useless tips unless you want to be a model or a Bachelor contestant. 

• For newbie models  Tip #1 Keep a nude thong, nude strapless bikini and heels in your car at all times in case of last minute casting. 
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• Filling Out The Bachelor Application:  Be heartbroken.  A good breakup story in which you've been dumped cruelly and callously helps your chances. 
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• Questions For The Bachelor:  Do you have a good relationship with your Mom?

Bottom line:  It's a fun, quick read for fans of  The Bachelor/Bachelorette.

On a series note, I've got my money on Andi picking Josh.  

Rotten

35 years ago on January 14, the Sex Pistols played their final gig as the band we remember,  that lineup with Sid Vicious.  It's ironic that on that date this year, I finished reading Rotten, John Lydon's memoir.
Takeaways: 

• Lydon has a great respect for women.  With the exception of Vivienne Westwood, who he disliked immensely, they come off pretty well.  As for the men in the book, there are few that he liked or had any patience for.  Strangely he did have patience for Sid Vicious who he brought into the band.
   
• The Sex Pistols career was short (not including reunions).  It was basically a two year stint.      

• Their only US tour during the 1970's took place in southern states.  Their manager Malcolm McLaren thought animosity would follow them throughout the South.  This would bring publicity.  Logic would have them playing NY, Philly, Chicago, LA.  Logic rarely entered into  McLaren's thinking.  

Some of the most interesting anecdotes come from the photographer Bob Gruen who accompanied the Pistols on the US tour.  The stories of tour manager Noel Monk trying to keep things in check are riveting.  Did you know that John and Sid were on a tour bus with the crew while bandmates Steve Jones and Paul Cook traveled separately and stayed in different hotels with McLaren?  Chaos hung around this band like a noose. 

The book also contains words from those who were part of Lydon's scene ( Billy Idol, Chrissie Hynde, Steve Severin). They shed an ancillary light on the Pistols story.  The commentary basically ends when the Sex Pistols ended. The book was published in 2008, but there was no mention of the 1996 Filthy Lucre Tour (Original member, Glen Matlock returned to replace a departed Sid).  There are mentions of his second band Public Image Ltd, but the bulk of the book deals with his life as Johnny Rotten. 

After reading Rotten,  I'm inclined to think that the Sex Pistols may have had a longer career than one album if Lydon had never brought Sid into the band.  He was disruptive and useless.  Except for his image and his tabloid attention-getting antics, there isn't much to say about him.  In today's world (with 24/7 media coverage of anyone's moves), I don't know if Sid would have been considered a legend.  His disruptive girlfriend Nancy Spungen would be dismissed as annoying (apparently everyone hated her and had no problem vocalizing it).  The media has had it's fill of the closest we've come to another Nancy in Courtney Love, who ironically I met when she was filming Sid and Nancy.  Lydon writes that there are many falsifications in that movie and nobody bothered to consult him on the story.  

John Lydon rants and raves throughout his story.  Would you expect anything else?