Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - Backstage Blog

Coming Soon!
"In The Loop with iVillage" Producer Jeff Hackl will be writing a backstage blog.

Apprentice Blog - Ereka's Blog

LET’S HERE IT FOR THE BOYS

 

The men are doing a great job of carrying their energy from one win to the next. Very impressive. They’re also not letting their differences divide their team. I think that’s fairly typical of how men operate in the business world; they don’t take things as personally as women do. I’m pretty sure that if two of the women had the argument that Pierce and Stephen had there would be no making up.

Speaking of the women…I thought this would be their week to take it. Marilu Henner impresses me, she smart and she’s a go-getter. Unlike The Donald I’m not bothered by how she utilized David Hyde Pierce. The man was doing her a huge favor. Can you imagine asking a Tony Award winner to take off his hat and stand on a pedestal for hours in the middle of Manhattan??? So do you think Nelly redeemed herself? She’s definitely using her resources, but hopefully she hasn’t used them up too soon.

I really wanted Jenny to step up to the plate and I knew if she failed to, she’d be fired. If she wanted more responsibility she should have asked for it. I believe that no one hands you anything in life, if you want something you have to grab it.

I was disappointed when Marilu didn’t take Omarosa into the boardroom. From experience I know that the woman is a cancer. Omarosa exploits her teams’ weaknesses; she is not and never has been a team player. A smart businessman or businesswoman knows you have to know how to cultivate talent and maximize your resources if you want to win.

Predictions: 1. I bet Pierce’s temper gets him fired, 2. The teams will be mixed up soon 3. Caroll Alt and Omarosa have an explosive argument.

Apprentice Blog - Bill's Blog

Well, this week was definitely not as exciting as last week’s episode.  Here are some of my thoughts. Now that Gene Simmons is gone, Trace Atkins is slowly becoming one of my new favorites on the show.  I find his attitude refreshing and entertaining at the same time.  He had a couple of one- liners that won me over. 

David Hyde Pierce was not utilized by the women as much as he should have been.  Having him standing beside the booth in a baseball cap did not attract much attention.  His presence should have generated a huge amount of ticket sales.

I think Nely made a big mistake in sending the girls off to get the cashier’s check without really telling them that they need to be back quickly.  That money not showing up on time ultimately led to the team’s loss.  The women’s team should have come up with an alternative/faster way to get the money in on time.

It was nice to see Carol get her blood pumping in the boardroom.  I think she is coming into her own and I have a good feeling about how she will do in the upcoming weeks. 

 

Have a great weekend,

Bill

Apprentice Blog - Bill's Blog

Hi Everyone,

It may be a Kodak world, but unfortunately Gene Simmons is not living in it.

I have to say my head is still spinning from this episode --mainly because I am trying to figure out why Gene Simmons didn’t bring Nely into the boardroom. I have never seen Mr. Trump try to steer someone in the right direction as much as he did tonight with Gene. As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water……..

 I have to think that the reason why Gene didn’t bring Nely in was because he knew that  she would get fired, and Gene was not about to let that happen.  Because he was the Project Manager, Gene ultimately felt responsible for the loss and wasn’t going to let one of his women go down for him.   I am not saying he accepted the loss, but he did take the responsibility for it and that is commendable.  I have to say, I am going to miss watching him and the life he brought to the show.

On another note, I understood Gene’s logic about why he didn’t attend the Kodak executive meeting- he explained himself rather well in the boardroom.  He delegated that task to Carol and Nely and they were the ones who didn’t walk away with the “ink” message. 

Finally, I think Carol blamed herself for not trying to quiet Nely down during the meeting; but suggesting that Gene bring her back in the boardroom (along with Nely) showed that she may not have a lot of fight in her.  It will be interesting to watch Carol as the Project Manager.

Have a great weekend,

Bill

Apprentice Blog - Bill's Blog

Week two is when you typically see the gloves come off a little bit.  Everyone knows each other better and are more comfortable saying things they wouldn’t have mentioned last week. 

Can Gene Simmons get any better?  First of all, I loved that he took the lead and became project manager for this task, then he went on to create a dead on commercial, without even meeting with the executives! I am completely impressed and entertained by his no-nonsense approach to business simultaneously entwined with his witty comments.
Could there be another reality TV show in his future?

I agree that Hydra had the best commercial, and that Nely did go over the top and spent time on areas that were not even going to be judged --this contributed to their downfall.  Empresario did have the early advantage by meeting with the executives to find out their expectations; however they failed to follow through.

I feel bad for Nadia, I wanted to see her become project manager for the next task and take Hydra down….oh well, maybe I should look at the bright side, now we won’t have to read any more subtitles.

Have a great weekend,

Bill

Tuesday, January, 15, 2008 - Ereka's Blog

Hello!

It felt good to be back in the studio with my co-hosts after a long weekend in Las Vegas. Don’t get me wrong I had a great time at the Consumer Electronics Show, but it was also a lot of work. We were busy pounding the convention floor for 3 days straight in order to find fun and interactive consumer technology. I want to thank Glenn Davish, Jennifer Lipford and Jared Hoffa for working so hard and giving up their entire weekend. Did you all see me move the robot with my brainwaves? I know it looked like a trick, but I promise it worked. I had to do arithmetic in my head to make it move.

What did you all think of the Madeleine Albright? Whether or not you agree with her political stance, you have to admit that she is an intelligent woman with a terrific personality. I can’t believe how down to earth she is. I also appreciated her honesty and felt like there was no question she wouldn’t answer.  She told our producers that she had a great time, so maybe we’ll see her again soon.

Have you all been sticking to your diet and exercise resolutions? I love all of the nutrition and diet segments we have on our show and hopefully they’ve been helping. My husband bought me a few visits to a nutritionist for Christmas. I know that sounds awful, but if you knew me, you’d know it’s a perfect gift. I’m not trying to lose weight, but I’m always interested in eating right. I think nutrition is very specific to your body so I’ll be excited to hear what she has to say.

Well something exciting happened this weekend; I’ve been invited to Sundance.  I am not excited to leave my husband for another weekend, but I am interested in seeing some great movies, checking out the celebrity turnout and maybe slipping into a party or two.  I’ll give you the scoop when I get back.

Everything is going well on the home front. We were hoping to have a Golden Globes party at our apartment, but that won’t be happening. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for the Oscars.

Friday, January 11, 2008 - Kim's Blog

Hi, everybody!
Sorry, I have taken so much time off. Bloggin is hard work. I’m not one of those people that even likes to journal. I prefer to live life than to write about it. But let’s see if I can fill you in. My holidays were amazing because we got a little time off and I was able to come to sunny California. And although I’m enjoying my winter in Chicago, I gotta admit, I enjoy the 75 degree weather in lala land.

I came home to LA instead of visiting my family in NY and NC because I’m still in the process of moving. I’m trying to get my apartment in LA ready to leave so I’m not paying a mortgage in one city and rent in another. I hope I get someone to pay my mortgage for me.

It’s really weird living with boxes in LA and I frankly still have boxes I haven’t yet unpacked in Chicago. I kinda feel like I have one foot in each city. But, as of today, January 11th, which incidentally is my birthday, I’m in LA making my final preparations to become a true Chicagoan. My move will be complete when I put all the things I’m not bringing with me to Chicago in storage.

Now, let me tell you about my exciting New Year’s Eve. I flew back to Chicago on January 31st, early in the morning. I even brought a bottle of champagne with me that I had in LA. I figured, why buy another bottle when I can slip this in my luggage? I landed, I bought groceries, I started unpacking, and I was too pooped to party. You know what I did? At the stroke of midnight, I cut off all my lights and the TV, and I listened to Chicago go wild. From my balcony I saw the fireworks over by Navy Pier, I listened to everyone partying and at 12:15 I put my earplugs in and went to sleep. I even forgot to pop my champagne.  The good news is, I think I’m the only person in Chicago that didn’t have a hangover the next day.

I woke up early and it was snowing and I was in heaven. So I went for a walk in the snow with my friend Jakki. We got breakfast, and talked about what we hoped 2008 would bring. I hope 2008 brings happiness and joy and good health to all of you and your families. Oh yeah, and me too.

Monday, January 7, 2008 - Kim's Blog

Post Show Host Chat with Kim, read it here >>