Monday, July 21, 2008

Happy Birthday Spesh!

Today is Spesh's birthday! We begin the festivities with an artistic photo created by Spooky, done specifically for this occasion-






















Then we embark on a trip down memory lane- a list of the top 10 Spesh posts @ OMG. To compile this list, I sent e-mails out to a bunch of people that OMG had e-mails for. Didn't want to ask for feedback on the blog because I wanted this to be a surprise for Spesh. However, it would be great if people want to include a mention of their favorite post in the comments today. The problem I ran into with compiling this list was that so many people said different posts! There wasn't a lot of consensus. This clearly reflects the many talents of Special K and how people appreciate all of them. The top two posts were pretty clear but the rest of the list I just put in an order that made sense to me. Feel free to say how you would have ordered it. Without further ado, here's the list-

10. Out Spotlight XXXIII

9. Bird Watching

8. This Charming Man

7. It's Hard Out There for a Straight Man

6. Growing Grins

5. Drink Up!

4. Not So Fast, Guys...

3. Texas Size Birthday

2. When JFC Saw US Weekly

1. The Great Unicorn Hunter


It would be hard to overstate how much the talents of Special K are appreciated by this community, and especially by me. Her dedication and positivism at all times have allowed this blog to become a real online home for many. Happy birthday to the Rose of OMG.



zwani.com myspace graphic comments

91 comments:

  1. A fitting find for Spesh's birthday- Spooky has found an Austin video treat! Check it out @ Spooky's!

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  2. A very, happy and wonderful birthday to you (((Special))).

    Thanks for all your dedication, great work, sense of fun and for giving us that wonderful place that is OMG.

    XOXOXO

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  3. Happy Birthday to you,
    Happy Birthday to you,
    Happy Birthday, dear Special,
    Happy Birthday to you.

    It's going to be a great, wonderful day for you. Your work & fun are so appreciated; you don't know how much - well, I'm sure you'll find out by the end of the day.

    : )

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  4. Happy Birthday ((((SpecialK))), and fellow Cancerian!

    It's almost impossible for me to choose a favorite post, because every one you do just about outdoes the previous one. I'll try to narrow it down to a few, but your humor and creativity is wonderful and what would we do without your rose-colored glasses optimism. Your Out Spotlights have been exceptional.

    Enjoy your day! :)

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  5. Happy Birthday Special.
    Have a nice, sweet and lovely day.

    Thanks for giving us a daily treat with you wonderful blog.

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  6. Happy Birthday Special! And great music choice Tom, because one of the things I love about you Special is your ability to put put on those rose-colored glasses and come up with such funny posts when the going gets tough.

    When JFC Saw US Weekly (I laughed myself silly over that one), followed very closely by the birthday collage.

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  7. Thank you. I have to say I'm a little bashful and embarrassed by the attention. I have so much fun writing and making post all of just out of the wackness of my own mind that I forget sometimes that other people actually read it. And sometimes like it.

    Thanks to everyone here who makes this fun for me to do everyday.

    And yes I got some big extra sparkly rose color glasses on today.

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  8. Happy Birthday Special.

    All the posts listed are special because they invoke alot of respectful honesty. You dont find that on many other blogs. Thanks for all you do to make this a great place to be!


    Have a wonderful day : )

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  9. one of the things I love about you Special is your ability to put put on those rose-colored glasses and come up with such funny posts when the going gets tough.

    That is so true. A real shot in the arm or light moment when one is needed. And it's been a rough year at times this year!

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  10. Forgot to say thanks to all of you who e-mailed me with post suggestions. Thank you.

    Just read that 7/21 is traditionally the hottest day in Washington, DC. Yet another reason today is notable.

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  11. TDK -- $155.4 Million US BOX office.

    Staggering can't even begin to cover it.

    Heath went out on a meteor ride.

    And for Maggie, what's it like for the indie girl who worked her tail off to get people to see a little movie the so good Sherry Baby, to wake up being a part of the biggest opening weekend in movie history?

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  12. Berkery has also coached Brad Pitt (Seven Years in Tibet), Jim Carrey (A Christmas Carol, due out next year) and Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of the Caribbean), and is currently working with Jake Gyllenhaal on his English accent for Prince of Persia.

    Jake will have an English accent for PoP

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  13. From dlisted-

    Robin Williams (57)
    Rory Culkin (19)
    Blake Lewis (27)
    Josh Hartnett (30)
    Justin Bartha (30)
    Ali Landry (35)
    Charlotte Gainsbourg (37)
    Brandi Chastain (40)
    Lance Guest (48)
    Jon Lovitz (51)
    Cat Stevens (60)
    Edward Hermann (65)
    Janet Reno (70)

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  14. "7/21 is traditionally the hottest day in Washington, DC."

    7/21 are also the luckiest numbers!! HAPPY BITHDAY SPECIAL!!

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  15. Happy BIRTHDAY

    but you can have a Happy Bithday too! LOL

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  16. Austin as a blonde or Jake with long hair and a British accent.

    See now that's too much I may have to take this glasses off for a minute. Whoa!

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  17. Hot, Lucky & Special..can't get any better than that!

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  18. Berkery also worked with Gwyneth Paltrow and Renee Zellwigger, who both, to this American, had good British accents. I like to hear what the Brits here and other thought.

    I remember reading an interview that when Renee first started working on hers she sounded like the Queen of England. That thought coupled with this new blurb on PoP, Jake, and the horse riding makes me giggle. Funnier he walked three steps behind in Paris. See it was all help get into the accent. ; )

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  19. Special K, have a terrific Birthday and thanks for your dedication to this wonderful site. Always the highlight of my day. I could not possibly choose a favorite post, each is special in their own way, just like you.

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  20. That's interesting - I liked Gwyenth's accent in Shakespeare in Love, thought Renee's was a bit unnatural and stiff at times. Hard to say because I haven't seen Bridget Jones' Diary in a long time. I'll never forget Shakespeare in Love tho. I always find British actors do the American accent flawlessly; American actors not so much, Meryl Streep is wonderful with accents. It just adds more dimension to a character to get it right, I think. My darling Gary Oldman is one who is flawless - I had to remember he's British this weekend at TDK. And off the top of my head, Jim Sturgiss in 21 was another. I have heard Jake does accents well.

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  21. was the london play jake was in 'this is your youth' did he have an english accent?

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  22. I'm not sure, I don't think so - I've just heard some off-the-cuff goofing around type things in iterviews, and he was surprisingly good, which makes me think if he tackles is seriously, he'd do well, and he's supposed to be a good mimic.

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  23. Special,
    Happy Birthday!

    You write amazing posts and you manage to do so every day. You put so much thought and heart into the posts and for that alone I want to thank you.

    And in addition to that you're also an amazing person that is always fun to talk to.

    Have a great birthday today and don't forget the red, red wine of course ;)

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  24. Happy Birthday, SK.

    If it wasn't for your hard work on making this blog entertaining and fun I would have given up on Waiting for Jake a long time ago.

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  25. Happy Birthday, Special! Hope the day turns out so well that you won't need the glasses at all.

    And thanks for your tireless efforts. I often feel as though your posts are like daily birthday treats for the rest of us.

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  26. Kelly @ 07/20/2008 at 8:23 am

    Reese’s sandals are YSL and they retail for ONLY $540.00. LOL Must be nice to be rich! How about feeding the hungry for that? That’s what I can’t understand about fashion.


    link

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  27. Happy Birthday Special! All the best, hope you're having a lovely day. :)

    I'm very much a confirmed reader-only these days; hard to say if that will ever change, but OMG is still a home base that receives a visit a few times a day. Your sweetness, wit and graciousness infiltrate every post and the continued tireless efforts of yourself and Wicked are forever appreciated. I think for anyone following Jake in any capacity, this site has it all and the right tone and balance.

    And hey, where else are you going to hear Cracklin' Rosie on a Monday morning? Posted with love, no less? Like nowhere! 8)

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  28. Must say special thanks to

    Wicked for planning it. You mastermind you.

    Spooky for the awesome pic! You rock!

    And Tom for the song. Hey Tom, I will be singing Neil Diamond next Sunday night during the bottom of the 8th. Oh yeah baby -- Sox vs.Yankees! Go Sox.

    Truly humbled by everyone's comments today. Now I've got a lot of work to do keep up with your wonderful sentiments.

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  29. "British actors do the American accent flawlessly;"

    This was certainly not my experience as an American actor living in Britain. It was more like "British actors *thought* they could do the American accent flawlessly."

    It's worth remembering that Brits also have more exposure to U.S. television than vice versa.

    Gwyneth's accent was also quite good in Sliding Doors, but there was something a little "off" about it, too.

    Hugh Laurie's yank accent is pretty damn good, but sometimes there too it sounds a little over-pronounced.

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  30. Sorry to generalize, a few notable British actors are outstanding with American dialects I think. :)

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  31. Buffy examples of good/bad accents:

    Spike - terrible British accent, but for some reason worked with his character

    Angel - atrocious and variable Irish accent

    Drusilla - there are no words

    Wesley - AMAZING American accent, even though his native accent is British (though I believe he grew up for a time in the States or has an American parent)

    Kendra the Vampire Slayer - worst Jamaican accent I have ever heard. Worse fake accent of the series.

    Having said that, I loved the show anyway.

    And Happy Birthday, Special K!

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  32. I liked Gwyneth Paltrow's accent in Sliding Doors. I thought she was British? She's American?

    I love the 2 Bridget Jones movies (notably Mr Colin Firth) and was so amazed when I watched the DVD extras that Renee Zwellweger (sp?) was American (I think Texan) and had lived in the UK for a little bit to pick up on the accent. At that time, didn't even know Renee Z. from Olive Oil, so I was so surprised.

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  33. Cool video Spooky. Great to see Austin live at the event. I had no idea that the ESPYs went to cancer research.

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  34. Wesley - AMAZING American accent, even though his native accent is British (though I believe he grew up for a time in the States or has an American parent)

    Daff, I think you meant this the other way around. Alexis Denisof always spoke with an English accent on Buffy/Angel. He was born and raised in the U.S. However he did spend three years at LAMDA.

    Happy Birthday Special. I think maybe we share a similar first name. But I doubt you were named after a Bruce Springsteen song. I've since shortened mine.

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  35. Hey guys, here's a kind of funny one. It's not accents, but it's dialect, I guess. After reading so much BBM slash this year (just discovered it), I have found myself at work sometimes leaving off my 'ings and sorta talking in Ennis/Jack speak. Is that bad or what? Any slash readers, know what I'm talkin about?

    Special, are you having a DQ cake tonight? Have you ever had a DQ cake? Man, they are awesome.

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  36. "Daff, I think you meant this the other way around. Alexis Denisof always spoke with an English accent on Buffy/Angel. He was born and raised in the U.S. However he did spend three years at LAMDA."

    You're right. I couldn't remember anything other than he had an amazing accent - okay then, most successful British accent in the series! ;)

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  37. I think maybe we share a similar first name.

    Spesh is OMG's Rose because of her rose-colored glasses, not her first name. It would be great if Spesh's first name was Rose, though. Maybe she should change it.

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  38. PG, I have a thing for languages and dialects, so it doesn't take much for me to fall into them, as bad as I may sound, out of pure love and admiration. So, I adored Ennis/Jack speak, just love it. My OH lived in Idaho for a time, and traveled to the south and west a lot for business, so we both have great love and admiration for and enjoy different cultures.

    I think for Jake, a suggestion of an accent, one that doesn't dominate the role, like Jim Sturgess' coach suggested for him.

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  39. Can I add birthday wishes to Special, hope you have a great day and year, and hope the inspiration for your great posts continues.

    (my favourite post is Texas Size Birthdauy, because its a total Austin fest).

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  40. (notably Mr Colin Firth)

    Now you've done it PG, I will chant Colin Firth Colin Firth Colin Firth for a good fifteen minutes. I am such a Mr. Darcy fan from Pride & Prejudice. Oops now I picturing Austin in a Jane Austin setting - JANE people JANE - wow just one letter what a difference. Austin with an English accent and Jake with an English accent ....oh too much too much. Colin Firth Colin Firth Colin Firth.

    DQ - do not tempt me - I received a very healthy boutique of fruit in a baseball vase this morning that I am now snacking on and trying to invite people in to enjoy.

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  41. De-lurking to say "Happy Birthday Special K!" Hope you're having a truly wonderful day!

    Must add my thanks to you and Wicked for the sanctuary that is OMG!!!

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  42. Special, are you having a DQ cake tonight? Have you ever had a DQ cake? Man, they are awesome.

    A Drag queen cake? LOL

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  43. Pride & Prejudice was fantastic. Love Colin's tall, lanky walk, the way he swings his arms with his head high. phew.

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  44. DQ=Dressage Queen

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  45. Thanks for the link to the Whedon interview in the Washington Post. A must read for Whedon fans just for some old Whedon wit.

    No I didn't get a boutique I got a bouquet - see what happen when I start thinking about English accents.

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  46. From Eonline!

    Linds and Ronson kept busy with their weekend in the Hamptons...

    They arrived Friday night and shacked up at the Grey Goose manor estate and enjoyed an afternoon of shopping the next day in East Hampton. Among the goodies were a new messenger bag for Lohan and a Mabel weekender for Ronson from the Mulberry boutique.

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  47. what?? austin has a bed & breakfast?!

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  48. best breakfast ever

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  49. what about me? :(

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  50. :D at Lindsay and Sam at the Grey Goose :D

    *Happy Birthday Spesh* and thanks for all you do for us! Can I just say it's lovely to see bltb and max here too? Keep the faith guys!

    I'm just home from the London TDK red carpet. Most sad absent Heath, but it was lovely to see Maggie. I missed Peter by minutes so I'm very cross about that.

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  51. & Prince of Persia with an English accent - why? Looking forward to what Jake does with it, anyway :)

    IMO Gwyneth and Renee were both perfect in their different ways. Renee worked as an office temp in London and passed muster with her accent.

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  52. um, how bout a Baskin Robbins cake?
    C'mon, you gotta have cake on your birthday!!!!

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  53. Maybe they want everyone to speak in a similar manner continuity, and it's less jarring to the ear? I agree it's not necessary, but it would be fun to see what Jake does with it.

    Ben Kingsley does well with American dialects too. I realize that Gwyneth and Renee were portraying characters from two different eras and with two entirely different British dialects, and I wasn't saying Renee didn't do a good job, just there was something that I thought didn't sound natural at times, but I haven't seen the movie in awhile, to be fair. Maybe it's just that I'm familiar with her American speaking voice. I was just saying that, in general, British actors I think do a better job of emulating our accents in America than we do with theirs. There are always exceptions, of course. :)

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  54. I received a very beautiful cake of flowers this afternoon, that had a little note from Wicked and all of you at OMG. Thank you very much!

    Don't worry Prairie Girl. A lovely little cupcake is waiting to celebrate.

    One questions for the Brits in the room. Is there a difference between a cupcake and a fairy cake?

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  55. Maggie is rocking the jumpsuit on the red carpet.
    Just Jared

    She looks great and incredibly tall in it.

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  56. I thought Maggie looked great in the black jumpsuit too. Have you seen TDK yet, Spesh? I really liked her as Rachel.

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  57. Fairy cakes = Cupcakes

    Happy Birthday SK!!

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  58. Happy birthday, Spesh. Thanks to you and Wicked for keeping this up (and lively!).

    Best,
    C

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  59. Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest.

    Father Larry Lorenzoni

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  60. fairy cakes tend to be smaller

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  61. From Ted:

    Dear Ted:
    Does what you're doing while taping Truth, Lies & Ted have anything to do with the story you're delivering at the time? Case in point: holding a big honkin' rolling pin and telling Jake Gyllenhaal "way to go, you dude shafter."
    Cathy
    Dickinson, Texas

    Dear Coinky-dink:
    How funny! No idea I was doing that!

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  62. C'mon, you gotta have cake on your birthday!!!!

    Can't stand cake. On my birthday I have cookies.

    Dickinson, Texas

    Hmm, where have we since this before?

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  63. I'm clueless, as usual. Where has Dickinson TX been mentioned before?
    Who knows?

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  64. Happy Birthday Spesh. Hope you had a great day Cracklin Rosy:-)

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  65. Late, as usual, but Happy Natal Day, Spesh!

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  66. sorry but that jumpsuit looks atrocious. And the hairstyle with those soft curls has absolutely nothing to do with it. The plunging back is the only great part and Maggie has a beautiful, flawless back.

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  67. Happy Birthday Special! Hope your day was wonderful and the coming year is your brightest yet :)

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  68. Sorry I am late! Special, may you
    have more wonderful birthdays and
    many more wonderfully happy years!
    You and Wicked are two very special people and do a fabulous
    job!I guess I will have to wait
    until TDK comes out on DVD. Heath
    really was an exceptionally talented actor.

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  69. I'm clueless, as usual. Where has Dickinson TX been mentioned before?
    Who knows?


    Ted has published other TT letters from this location.

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  70. Steph uploaded more pix of Reeke with Ave @ Bastille Day fireworks.

    Reese shoulda thought before she wore that dress. You can see her nipples.

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  71. Ted has published other TT letters from this location.

    ahhh, very good. Thanks, clear up.

    Kacie, you don't have to wait for TDK to come out on dvd. I bet it plays for the rest of the summer. I wish I had tried to go @ midnight around here Thurs night.

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  72. pg, it's an old toothy reference.

    Dickinson Texas= Dick-in-son of Texas

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  73. Reese shoulda thought before she wore that dress. You can see her nipples


    She was hot for Jake ;)

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  74. Reese shoulda thought before she wore that dress.

    Reese is a bad dresser - no style, no taste.

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  75. "Reese shoulda thought before she wore that dress. You can see her nipples"

    Reese has horrible fashion sense. You'd think that all that money would help her but it doesn't. She pays alot of money for clothes from designers, but has no clue on how to put them together. And, guess since Jake isn't interested in her nipples, maybe she thought someone in the crowd would be.

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  76. Those pictures were so set up. So were the park pictures. You can tell by how they were bought and released. Nothing new from this woman she's shameless.

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  77. ITA, TR. Also, look at the pic on the US cover. Reeke is standing next to each other looking at the phone almost smiling. But, they're not even close enough to touch each other. A true couple would be stand right next to each other, bodies touching or an arm around the other's waist. Their body language speaks volumes.

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  78. Not only that but her publicist was on the trip with her. She is in the pictures on the balcony during the Vogue shoot. I doubt she only flew in for that purpose. She probably orchestrated the entire weeks activities.

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  79. The publicist was on the trip with Reese????!!! Good god. The woman has no shame. And Jake is fine with this? (Well, he's like her pet at this point). Interesting how Ryan and Abbie were photographed holding hands and going to a club around this time (but that didn't get much press).

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