So Piers continues to get more and more cocky as this season progresses and why is Carol feeding his incredibly large ego by telling Trump that Piers is “brilliant.” I bet you Carol was at home today watching this episode and fuming to see Piers criticize her performance. I fear that if Carol doesn’t start playing this game Piers will target her next….I like Carol and don’t want to see that happen.

What a shame…. Omarosa didn’t learn a single thing from season one. Omarosa has played this game before, she was the only contestant who had the inside scoop on how this game is played and still she failed to win a single task in which she was project manager. As a manager she runs her team like a dictator and never makes the right decisions.

I was amazed to see her attack Piers again on a personal level. What planet does she live on? Did she really think that Trump would believe that Piers was a homosexual and if so what does that have to do with ANYTHING??? What if he was? Is she homophobic? She was clearly just acting out of anger and was backed into a hole. Piers’ response was brilliant and poor Trace Adkins was caught in the middle of it all.

Piers planned his revenge well and while I do think he is an antagonistic, I’m glad he won this battle. At the moment, he seems unstoppable.

I’ve been keeping my eye on Carrol Alt who may be my new favorite. I was very impressed at her sales skill and her aggressiveness.  I predict that Lennox Lewis is the next to go, but is will be a pleasant firing. Trump has a great respect for boxers.

Wow, I could tell Mr. Trump did not want Tito to be fired but in the end he had no other choice.  I could tell in the beginning of the boardroom Mr. Trump was gunning for Omarosa. She is lucky that Trace and Tito stood up for her. 

Let me start from the beginning.  I thought it was great that Carol became project manager for her team.  Clearly, she has the most experience with this kind of task and she wasn’t afraid to take charge.  Omarosa, on the other hand, immediately volunteered to be the project manager but changed her tune when Mr. Trump revealed that the project manager on the losing team would be fired.  Talk about playing it safe! 

I agree that Hydra had much better ad than Empresario.  Carol, Pierse and Lennox had a clear message and really spoke to the demographic of the magazine. I think every 37 year old reader wants to look as good as Carol Alt. 

It was nice to see that Tito was able to win some money for his charity; he was a consistent player each week and doesn’t deserve to go home empty handed.

Next week we are already down to the final six- things are going to get really interesting.

Bill

Truthfully, I didn’t like either campaign. Thanks to Piers’ British charm, which seems to only appear when he is presenting, Carol Alt’s campaign was well delivered, but so much like some of the other campaigns I’ve seen in magazines. The last photo was not necessary and the male model was too young. Tito Ortiz’s presentation lacked finesse, his advertisement had no story, little information, but did have beautiful photography.

Omarosa is up to the same old games lying, avoiding responsibility and placing blame. This episode reminds me of the season one finale when she lied to Kwame Jackson. She seems to forget that she is in a reality show where cameras catch everything. I can only imagine that Donald wants to keep her around for the non-stop Oma drama.

I was bothered to see everyone point the finger at Stephen Baldwin. He was the only one who stepped up to the plate and took control. It’s usually Trace that comes up with the big ideas, but perhaps he was thrown off because he was the focus of the advertisement. He is still my favorite.

I have to say that I would not have chosen the ladder to sell on QVC.  Losing the coin toss was a blessing in disguise for Empresario, the vacuum was a much better product and easier to sell.  Everyone needs a vacuum, I think I have three of them in my house, but not everyone needs a step ladder.  Most times, I just pull over a chair when I need to reach something. 

The fact that Hydra didn’t know about the easy pay plan hurt them. I think that, coupled with the poor product choice led to Hydra’s defeat.

Empresario’s QVC segment was like watching something in slow-motion compared to seeing Marilu’s high energy infomercial.  Trace’s voice has such a calming effect—I think he may have hypnotized the viewers.

Stephen Baldwin had a nice brainstorm when he came up with the easy pay system for his team. He is becoming a steady contributor to the tasks each week.

Did you see the previews for next week?  Just in time for Spring Break!

I never thought I’d say this, but I feel for Piers (did I spell that correctly?) and team Hydra. This particular episode hit home for me. During season one not only was Omarosa constantly creating tension amongst the ladies but she also went after me in a very vicious way. In my case she pulled the race card and claimed I said something that I never ever said.  Fortunately Donald supported me.

When Omarosa feels that she has lost control she’ll do just about anything to regain it. I happen to agree with Piers on this matter…leave the man’s family out of it. Her statements were disgusting and inappropriate. I’m sure Omarosa has done her research on all of the celebrity contestants and has dug up dirt on each and every one of them, but she should heed the saying “don’t throw stones if you live in a glass house.” It’s a shame; Omarosa is a smart lady with an extremely ugly personality. She is not a good example of how a successful businesswoman should behave.

Enough about Omarosa, I love Trace Atkins. He is incredibly earnest, graceful and polished. I also love Marilu’s energy and thought her champagne idea was very smart. I was thrilled to see the team stick together in the boardroom and I’m glad that Trump did not force them to point fingers. I would have loved to see Trump donate $7,000 to Impresario and then fire either Piers, Omarosa or both!

I must admit that I called it--- halfway through the boardroom I had a feeling that nobody was going to be leaving.  I liked the way Empresario stood together both during the task as well as in the boardroom.  They set an example that Omarosa and Piers should follow.  I was glad to see that nobody got sent home.

I could not stand to watch the bickering between Omarosa and Piers for one more minute. I am so relieved that this episode was only an hour and not the two- hour special!  I do think that Omarosa was hitting way below the belt when she repeatedly brought up what a bad father Piers is.  Piers, on the other hand,  was letting her get to him. As Project Manager he should have risen above and not given in to the name- calling.

 I think that if Hydra lost this task, Omarosa would be packing her bags right now.  First of all, she did not bring in any money, and I could tell that Mr. Trump did not like the things she said about Piers.  Therefore, she was saved by this win. 

Next week looks interesting, with the teams changing again, things are going to heat up even more.

Have a great weekend,

In previous episodes I noticed that Trump did not think highly of Nelly. I believe he blames her for Gene Simmon’s firing. Give a girl a break. She worked hard at each task and stepped up to the plate when necessary. I don’t quite understand the reason for her firing. Again, I would love to have witnessed the entire boardroom scene (remember they generally last for 1 to 2 hours). I’m guessing that there were harsh words exchanged between Nelly and Trump. Nelly seemed to give in to the fact that Trump just didn’t like her. Also, how did Stephen get away with being absent for ½ the task?

I will say that I was completely bored by Impresario’s Vera Wang Serta display. It was a prime example of “playing it safe”. While their execution may have been flawless, creatively they took no risks. At first glance it just looks like another Vera Wang bridal display.

On the other hand, Hydra’s display was incredibly creative. I loved the concept of timeless romance! Hydra’s concept was “out of the box”. They developed a clear way to brand Vera Wang’s new Serta comforter and thought of an amazing umbrella slogan to incorporate everything Vera stands for…comfort, elegance and most important romance. I was so impressed with Trace Adkins! He only speaks when he has something really important to say (I wish I had that talent) and when he does his team has learned to listen.  I also love watching Tito Ortiz arrange flowers...I wonder if that how his girlfriend Jenna likes them? Job well done boys!!

I think Vinny resigned because last week, as project manager, his team won and he received a $20,000 check for his charity. At this stage of the game, why continue if you are not having any fun? He didn’t want to deal with the conflict between him and Piers anymore, so he decided to go home to be with his family.  Remember, these people already have careers and their motivation to stay is much different than mine was during Season One. 

Trace Atkins came up with a real winner with the “wear them share them” logo for his team.  I like the way he sits back and doesn’t talk unless he has something important to say.  A lot of people can learn from his style. 

Hope you all have a great weekend,

It’s blog time.  Since getting my blog on last, I’ve had a birthday. I am 46 years old.  Yep. January 11th, 1962. I suppose it’s surprising for a woman, especially a woman who spent any time in Hollywood, to tell her real age, but hey, I figure, I’ve earned it, all the wisdom and all the wrinkles. Plus, as they say, “black don’t crack”. So, I think I’m looking good for my age. But let me say this, black may not crack, but it just may droop.  Bring on the push-up bras.

My co-hosts surprised me with a chocolate man-cake on the show, baked by our very own, Eileen Atkins, Program Manager.  My cake had candy nipples, frosted chest hair, and was delivered by a hunky chocolate man!  Mama Like! Mama Like!

I flew to L.A. and spent my actual birthday surrounded by wonderful old friends.  Well, not that they’re old, it’s just that I’ve known them for a long time. We had a delicious Chinese meal at Ghengis Cohen. Get it? Cohen, instead of Khan.  And it felt like my official going away party, which, by the way, I never had.  I sat back and watched all my friends, some of whom had never met one another, now making new friends with each other.  I knew that even though I left them temporarily for “In The Loop,” they’d all be just fine.

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.