May 20, 2020

I love the idea of rating the rooms in these stay-at-home media appearances, but there needs to be some competition in the room-rater genre.

It's can't just be Room Rater as the only room rater all the time.



Here's the Room Rater Twitter feed. I love it, and I have great respect for the creation of a genre on Twitter. But there need to be other participants. It's a matter of taste, and Room Rater has his standards and factors, and now media folk seem to be pandering specifically to Room Rater. Prime example: Donny Deutsch adds a fruit bowl to his otherwise dull background. Room Rater is right to push back, but he's sort of conceding that there's a limitation to the his game. I think there need to be more critics, complicating the standards and questioning the value of, say, books and potted plants and "art."

Here is Room Rater's ideal:



Fine. But I'd like to read the Twitter feed that objects to this ideal. It's too clean, too prissy, too tryhard. It's bourgeois. It's Architectural Digest. It gives us no inroads into the interior of the man called John Heilemann. Who is he?

By the way, "gambet" is a misspelling by today's standards — but I'm seeing "gambit" spelled like that in 18th century quotes. A "gambit" is a series of moves in chess. Metaphorically, it has come to mean "A plan, stratagem, or ploy that is calculated to gain an advantage, esp. at the outset of a contest, negotiation, etc." (OED). So "gambit" was the perfect word to tweak Deutsch about his apparent effort to play Room Rater's game.

ADDED: Here's a good example of where I think Room Rater goes wrong:

46 comments:

wildswan said...

Agree with you that other standards needed. Maybe you or we could post pictures rating well known feeds as Motel 6, Motel 8, Hilton Express (the above picture), Marriot, Zoom real estate picture, personal real estate picture, Althouse sunrise (truly personal and interesting)

Spiros said...

This guy's house is clean. That is good. If your house is filthy, you probably have some sort of psychiatric condition. And don't blame it on the kids. If you're a dirtbag, something is wrong with you, not your kids. And the hoarders! Their homes fill with years and years worth of useless items, from old newspapers to plastic containers. It's so gross. Ten percent (!) of my tenants are hoarders. Some of these degenerates die in my apartments and their children leave all this trash behind. What the hell is wrong with these disgusting people?

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

Just make sure no one can see your wedding photo.

“For example, when the virtual background of a Zoom meeting attendee has pictures of his or her wedding, it unintentionally reinforces the idea that marriage is most fitting between opposite sexes.”

Mr. Pants has not only our wedding photo, but a family photo of us with our six children plus his father's admiralty flag visible behind him when he sits at his desk doing videoconferencing. Talk about triggering! We have genuinely wondered if he would get spoken to about the flag, but so far not.

Sebastian said...

"It's too clean, too prissy, too tryhard."

Too clean? Lots of stuff there. Tryhard? Bourgeois comes easy to most of us.

"It gives us no inroads into the interior of the man called John Heilemann. Who is he?"

Not someone who'd like to have his interior judged by his interior. Good for him.

Ken B said...

We have seen Room Rater frequently rates based on politics. That is what RR is really doing. So I think you need a new tag: Pretext.

John Borell said...

Ha! I tried to look at that tweet and learned Room Rater blocked me.

I I commented on exactly one tweet--the Bill Clinton one where Room Rater pined for the Clinton era. The tweet by Room Rater was something like "Remember those good economic times of the Clinton era.."

My comment on the Tweet:

"Remember when he got a blow job in the Oval Office, sexually harassed a number of women, and possibly raped one? Yea, good times, good times."

That got me blocked. Those Room Rater dudes need to lighten up.

But we're in the "can't comment on Democrat sexual harassment" times again, what, with Sleep Joe having a Me Too moment.




Wince said...

The main Room Rater criterion should be who looks happiest, most comfortable and at peace in their home.

If that were the case, the 4/10 would beat the 6/10 and 10/10 by a country mile.

Fernandinande said...

Blogger has a new commenting system?

New feature: when you hit "Preview" it says "Publishing..."!

h said...

conspicuous fruit consumption. I'm so rich I buy bananas ... then I throw them away.

rhhardin said...

Piles of stuff on top of furniture keeps dust off the furniture.

Lurker21 said...

Roomrater worked in the Clinton White House and is running some kind of PAC so many of his comments are politically biased.

Come to think of it, the guy may have been in charge of the interns, if I remember correctly.

Much to question about the guys judgment.

Lurker21 said...

I notice blogger has a strange new interface.

I wonder if the human world will also have changed its interface when I am allowed to start interacting with it again.

buwaya said...

It turns out my sisters know the woman with the cats rather well. Also her interviewer.

stevew said...

Room Rater clearly doesn't have a work shop and likely doesn't do manual work. My shop often looks like that when I'm in the middle of a project.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

the bottom photo looks like a garage. That's how man-cave/garages look. It's a bit cluttered, but he's busy.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

"too tryhard"

Yes.

John Borell said...

Now I get it. I didn't know Room Rater is run by Claude Taylor who, I learned, worked in the Clinton White House.

No wonder I got blocked by him when I brought up Clinton's sexual misdeeds. Guess I brought up bad memories.


Nancy said...

Love the stuffed goose (?) and the B&W click.

Whiskeybum said...

That guy in the last frame is Adam Savage. Per Wikipedia:

"Adam Whitney Savage is an American special effects designer and fabricator, actor, educator, and television personality and producer, known as the former co-host of the Discovery Channel television series MythBusters and Unchained Reaction."

You can also see him with Michael Stevens on YouTube/Vsauce in some of Michael's fun science/math videos.

Nancy said...

Clock.

DanTheMan said...

>>the bottom photo looks like a garage. That's how man-cave/garages look. It's a bit cluttered, but he's busy.

BB&H, that's Adam Savage from Mythbusters. He's a real man with real tools, who can fix things and make stuff.

He's got some great videos on YouTube as well.

Birkel said...

More people should appreciate the tinkerers, a largely male group.
The effort to live in a museum should be exhausting.

Lurker21 said...

It gives us no inroads into the interior of the man called John Heilemann. Who is he?

I guess he loved Mad Men. All that 60s Danish Modern.

Also a devotee of the "Playboy Philosophy." The shirt underneath the other shirt even looks a little like an ascot.

chuck said...

Thanks for the Benghazi reminder :) My favorite room was the last one.

Michael said...

In chess a gambit is a sacrifice. You give up a piece or pawn to secure a positional advantage. In a negotiation, a gambit is something you offer - it may be a good faith proposal or it may be a baited hook.

Larvell said...

Yeah, it’s just a coincidence that the GOP lady got a 0/10 along with a gratuitous hydroxychlorine insult. Not political at all. Ignore the “ban assault weapons” sticker on the RR’s own bookshelf.

narciso said...

Claude taylor thats louise menchs looney partner

Lurker21 said...

Several shots of Steve Schmidt on Room Rater. The guy obviously has a lot of money. Probably a few bodies buried in the back. Creepy "torture den" vibe.

narciso said...


Indeed


https://mobile.twitter.com/JamesTodaroMD/status/1263119520241246209

madAsHell said...

I love the idea of rating the rooms

Men in transition.

Yancey Ward said...

What the Hell is up with the "Comments" link? I now have to click twice just to post one.

Yancey Ward said...

In any case, that is one well organized garage. That room should be highly rated. I suspect Room Rater is a soy boy, female, or possibly Canadian.

Andrew said...

Donny Deutsch is obviously a huge fan of Woody Allen's movie "Sleeper".

Paul Mac said...

Rating Adam Savage that way is idiotically context free. He is a notable craftsman & maker, showing people how to create stuff. His place is an active workshop. He isn't some random useless tool pushing his inane opinions on others.

My rating of RoomRater's call there 1/10.

The problem isn't that Heilemann's room is bourgeois it is that RoomRater is.

Freeman Hunt said...

He's too into the Target ad aesthetic. I do like his project though.

paminwi said...

I like the third guy from Mythbuster and his space.
I’d rather have a beer with him than Donny or John.
Plus, I’d be intrigued and want to snoop around in his space (if he let me) and learn something while I was there.
Just my opinion.

Lurker21 said...

But I'd like to read the Twitter feed that objects to this ideal.

The comments all looked positive. Sycophantic. Roomrater probably blocks anybody who gives him a hard time.

Bill Peschel said...

"No wonder I got blocked by him when I brought up Clinton's sexual misdeeds. Guess I brought up bad memories."

Maybe you should have written, "Clinton shipped blue-collar jobs overseas, attacked gay military officers, and freed Wall Street to blow up the economy in 2007."*

* All of which were accomplished with the help of the GOPe

Leon said...

Yeah that's Adam Savage's Workshop not a living room. The dude is seriously organized he just has a lot of stuff. That's not a place that's supposed to receive guests.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

A "gambit" is a series of moves in chess. Metaphorically, it has come to mean "A plan, stratagem, or ploy that is calculated to gain an advantage, esp. at the outset of a contest, negotiation, etc."

Wrong. Gambit is a mutant who is a member of the X-men.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__1sNNSZ5t8

William said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
William said...

If you reach the level of wealth achieved by Mark Zuckerberg, it's probably best to be photographed against a modest background....I guess show biz celebrities can flash their opulence but celebs in other fields should stay in front of the bookcase.....If I were Susan Rice, I would hold a small puppy during my interviews.

Shawn Levasseur said...

It looks like they may have learned better after the Adam Savage workshop rating...


https://twitter.com/ratemyskyperoom/status/1263152773979410432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1263152773979410432%7Ctwgr%5E393535353b636f6e74726f6c&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Ftwitter.com%252Fratemyskyperoom%252Fstatus%252F1263152773979410432%26widget%3DTweet

loudogblog said...

Adam Savage's "room" is really good because it represents his personality very well.

Zach said...

Adam Savage's workshop looks like a set, honestly. The mounted birds, the tools, the single open drawer, the artful use of color. Cluttered, but not dirty.

If Room Rater wants to grade him down for looking too perfect, I'm in. But for not looking perfect enough?

Lewis said...

I hate the whole narcissism of this 'voom' thing - what's wrong with the bloody telephone!? If you have to show your face - which I can understand with grand children and loved ones - dress smartly and tidy up your room and shave! - but, mostly, it's just pruning, in the worst sense. No one has seen my face for years and nor will they. I'm the proverbial joke - you take my picture - and they are 'taking' your picture - you take my soul.