Before I go into the boring details of the past week in Ashley Hebert’s life, let me start off with this: Bentley came back to re-dump Ashley on a canary yellow couch. And let me tell you, it is worth watching again, and again and again. Especially the part when Ashley says, “So this is our period. Be a man and admit that it’s a period. Put it there.” …yes they referred to their, wait for it, “relationship” in punctuations.

Other than that exciting 20 minute reality t.v. break up, the rest of the hour and 40 minute show was just one dull date after another. Well, with the exception of Constantine and Ben F. dressing up in red robes chanting “idiot” in Chinese  while losing in a dragon boat race.  Other important details you ask? Lucas and JP both got one-on-one dates, apparently JP’s name is Jordan Paul (what?!), Mickey left (literally peaced out before the rose ceremony) and Ash sent Blake home. I’m not going to lie to you, I was kind of excited to see the awkward dentist go home after he cornered Ashley during the cocktail party and attacked her for falling for Bentley. (Yes, I know I do that every week…but I’m not trying to date her.) Read More »

Continuing with the theme of whining about Bentley’s departure, and by that I mean new beginnings, Ashley and her crew flew to Chiang Mai . I’m not sure if it was the heat, the punches to the head or random Thai men jumping in the water, but this was by far one of the most awkward episodes.

Also, ABC promised me that I would get some good ol’ Bentley drams going down…they lied. They lied big time..instead they left us with a “dot dot dot” and a week to think about what will happen. Will the men all leave Ashley? Will Ashley be shown the footage? Will Bentley’s hair look okay when he makes Ashley cry again? …so many gosh darn questions!

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This week our gang of misfit toys journey to Thailand. If free vacations aren’t enough incentive to sign up for this show I don’t know what is. This week’s theme seemed to be “Starting Over” …although girlfriend had a rough time forgetting about Bentley’s charade last week. Every time the camera was on Ash (in the fake confessional footage) she was stressing about how she doesn’t want to put her all into it again if someone is just going to pull a Bentley, she then goes on to mention his name about 100 more times during the next two hours.  It’s a little sad to watch my favorite little dentist struggle again, at least she isn’t whining to the guys asking if they like her…oh wait.

So Ash wasn’t the only one starting over this week, Thailand proved to be a fresh start for all:

1. During Constantine’s one on one he explains to Ashley that this is the new him. Basically he’s had commitment issues in the past so clearly  being on a reality t.v. show is the fresh start that anyone with commitment issues hopes for. Regardless, their date was cute and showed they could both have fun just going with the flow.

2. Ames apparently was going to go home on his one on one date with Ash, until she realized he was more than a reheated ball of wax and actually (surprise) has a lot in common with her. And I hate to say it, but after seeing him in action he’s kind of moving up in the ranks. So technically his one on one day was a total fresh start with Ashley.

3. The orphans in Baan San Fan orphanage, which houses some of the children who lost their parents in the 2004 tsunami, got a fresh start this week thanks to Ash’s group date guys. On their group date this week, they redid the orphanage supplying new mattresses, toys, bikes and provided a fresh start for some amazing kids. Not going to lie it pulled at my icy heart-strings a bit.

4. Since our favorite Masked Man was forced out last week the gang had to start over and find someone new to pick on. And that someone is Ryan P. For good reason too, with ABC’s selective editing we see just how annoying one person can be on t.v. PLUS wanna be Schuester stole Ashley just as she was about to give out the rose on the group date, you would think he would have something important to say right? Nope, just that he enjoys talking with her, joke was on him though because our lady gave the rose to Ben F.

5. West went home, so it truly was a fresh start/new beginning. After being with those fellas for a month boyfriend gets to go back to his empty house having some new reality t.v. dating experience under his belt.

And just a little movie magic:

During the group date JP and Ash snuck away giving him the perfect chance for a romantic kiss on the beach in the rain…you can’t write this stuff! He also, passively, expressed to the little lady that he was a little concerned about his standing. But Ash reassured him that their magical kisses weren’t going anywhere. On a side note, it seems like JP is the new Ashley…aka Whiny and always needing reassurance.

According to the World Bank, global food prices have increased by 75% since 2005 and 45% in the last nine months. In the past two months, the cost of rice, a staple food for over half of the world’s population, rose by 75%. The price of wheat has risen 120% during the past year.

Deadly protests and rioting over these increasing costs are occurring throughout Africa and Asia.

In Haiti, where 80% of the population survives on less than $2 a day, mass demonstrations turned deadly. Rioting in Les Cayes killed 4 and wounded at least 20. A few days later Haitians attempted to storm the presidential palace in Port-au- Prince shouting “We are hungry!”

In Egypt, where over 33% of the population live on around $2 a day, police took over a textiles plant to prevent a widespread strike over rising food costs. The military has been enlisted to bake bread to curb the growing anger. Read More »

In several previous posts I discussed the intense controversy surrounding the upcoming Beijing Olympics. In recent weeks the traditional international journey of the Olympic Torch has served as a flash point for clashes between supporters and protesters.

Ironically, this torch relay was supposed to be the largest in Olympic history—a showcase of international cooperation and sport. Instead, it has become a testament to international outrage over China’s human rights abuses, especially over Tibet.

March 31: A huge carefully scripted ceremony at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square sent the torch off across the globe

April 3: In Istanbul, Turkey, the Uighur expat community staged demonstrations against Chinese persecution of their “brother” expats in Xinjiang. In February 2007, for example, an Uigur activist named Ismail Semed, was executed on the shaky grounds of attempting to “split the motherland” and possessing explosives.

April 6: Massive clashes occurred between Free Tibet protesters and police during the London relay. Thirty-seven protesters were arrested including a man who tried to snatch the torch away from one of the runners. Another tried to put out the torch with a fire extinguisher. Read More »

If you live in Thailand and feel a little embarrassed about buying condoms, just take out a home loan.

Kasikorn Bank recently launched a “condoms for confidence” campaign at around 60 branches in Thailand, hoping free prophylactics will help raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in the “generally conservative” country.

An unidentified bank spokesman explained the thinking behind “condoms for confidence” was the revival of a government awareness campaign that has “fizzled out”, leaving many Thai teenagers in the dark about sexual awareness. Read More »