Gene Simmons Family Jewels

[MamaJunebug]

LOVE your icon-thingy, mrsanniebgood!!!

So, Twitter. It's like a blog only really really short, right?

Just watched the 46-second declaration of undying love and proposal. Gene begins with an admission of being a bundle of neuroses, then says, "You're the only friend I've got."

No secret that my TSU (The Spousal Unit) and I have had a rocky road. He told me the same thing (only friend) when we were getting serious and it didn't feel right to me at the time....for Shannon, after nearly 30 years with Gene, it's a bit different but the same. At least the children have been born and raised. And at least for my TSU and me, most of the rocks have been gotten off ... the road .... slap your dirty minds! LOL!!!

Anyhoo, back to GSFJ.

I think of course she'll accept and they'll marry. What a fine final season it will be, unless the kids agree to have more of their lives put on display for seasons in 2013 & ff. The preparation, the cold feet, the funny stuff .... I anticipate it!

Also, yahoo entertainment describes the show as a "docusoap" which I just love.

[luckylassie]

I've been a semi-regular Gene Simmons watcher for a while now. I think that even though Gene and Shannon aren't officially married as in piece of paper and rings, they still seem (or seemed) to make it work. I've known some technically "married" couples that are way more dysfunctional than those two.

[MamaJunebug]

I've been a semi-regular Gene Simmons watcher for a while now. I think that even though Gene and Shannon aren't officially married as in piece of paper and rings, they still seem (or seemed) to make it work. I've known some technically "married" couples that are way more dysfunctional than those two.

Point taken!

Apropos of nothing having to do wtih last night's epi, I recalled the first time I saw the show - quite by accident, flipping thru the channels, and pausing to watch the family banter only because the immense kitchen caught my eye. At the time, I was vaguely aware that Gene Simmons was the frontman for KISS and that he was married to [sic] a Playmate. Other than "Beth," I had no idea what songs KISS did, but I was pretty sure they wore make-up onstage.

Boy howdy~! How things can change. I still wouldn't venture anywhere near a KISS concert but that's because I'm not a concertgoer generally. I've become a total Simmons/Tweed/Tweed-Simmons info wonk and have read (not bought) both of Gene's memoirs as well as Shannon's. They're a fascinatingly functional family, the more interesting because both parents came from hardy, impoverished, split families.

And so incredibly well presented! I do enjoy the show.

[MamaJunebug]

OK, possibly this should be moved to QFOWorldlyDistractions, but I'm hoping it's kinda sorta old-time-religion-y enough to pass over here:

Last night on Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Florence (Gene's mom) fondly calls Gene "Chaimbam" as they end their phone conversation.

I've heard of the Rambam, the rabbi Maimonides. I know he was revered and still is.

So, what does adding "-bam" to a person's name signify, in Hebrew language/culture?

KTIAbai!!!!!!

[pomology]

OK, possibly this should be moved to QFOWorldlyDistractions, but I'm hoping it's kinda sorta old-time-religion-y enough to pass over here:

Last night on Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Florence (Gene's mom) fondly calls Gene "Chaimbam" as they end their phone conversation.

I've heard of the Rambam, the rabbi Maimonides. I know he was revered and still is.

So, what does adding "-bam" to a person's name signify, in Hebrew language/culture?

KTIAbai!!!!!!

Adding "-bam" doesn't signify anything. His official title was Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (or Rabbi Moses son of Maimon) and Rambam is an acronym from the first letters of each of those words reysh-mem-bet-mem add some vowels (because in Hebrew vowels aren't part of the alphabet) and voila--Rambam.

So what Chaimbam would mean, I do not know.

[emmiedahl]

I have never heard of it either. It might be just a personal name with some unknown significance. I have heard and used the -ele ending that is somewhat common in Jewish circles, but never -bam

[Jewess]

Yea, it means nothing.

"Ele" and in "Chanele" for Chana, or Moishele for Moishe...

Or chka, like Chanachkna for chana...

Or i, as in Chani for Chana...

[MamaJunebug]

Thanks, all!

Sounds like it's just one of those things that Florence and Gene (Chaim) developed together over the decades.

[MamaJunebug]

So they're (hum) goin' to the chapel hotel

and they're (hum) gonna get ma-a-a-ried...

I've been away from a TV for the last couple days. Did anybody see the wedding epi? Or has it been broadcast yet? I understand that Sophie sings "At Last." Girl has a very nice voice (she sang a few seasons ago) and I do anticipate hearing that, as well as seeing the rest of the festivities.

Such a fun show ... except where he and Dr. Wexler talk and talk. I know his journey is important but a lot of that seems like filler, to me. "Gotta have enough tape to produce x number of epis" kind of thing, you know.

[Nothing2CHere]

I finally caught some episodes! The wedding was on last night, and then they had a "special" Family Jewels episode in the second hour, which was taped the day after the wedding, where some woman interviews Gene and Shannon about the lead-up to the wedding and the wedding day and then the kids are interviewed separately for a bit and then the family interviewed together as a whole. (Think along the lines of "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose").

Personally, I thought Shannon's dress was kind of icky, way too much cleavage for me and didn't really do her justice, but she did still look beautiful. It was a very touching episode. They touched on the fact that Gene's mom wasn't there because she was 86 years old and didn't want to travel, even though Gene offered to come out there and fly her in on a private jet. His family from Israel was there, his half-brother was one of his groomsmen. Sophie did a beautiful job singing "At Last." Shannon also got up at one point and sang "Que Sera Sera," since it had special meaning for both of them. I think Nick sang, too, and then the members of Kiss did some performing - the After the Rose interviewer made some comment about the reception being a "Simmons Family Variety Show." There was also footage of Gene and Sophie dancing, and Sophie and Nick gave very touching toasts.

For me, the most interesting parts of the After the Rose show were the interviews with the kids, because the stuff that Gene and Shannon talked about and were asked about was stuff that had all been touched on in the previous episodes. Nick and Sophie are just such amazing, well-rounded, grounded kids. When they were being interviewed separate from their parents, they were asked about the rocky moments Nick stated that his way of dealing was to kind of go numb, and Sophie commented that it was especially hard on her, and that a lot of things went on that weren't caught on camera. They were asked if they were proud of their father, and she was also very truthful about the fact that she honestly believes that the only reason this came about was because he was caught, and that if he hadn't been caught, his behavior might not have changed. Girl loves her daddy, but she also knows his faults.

[anniebgood]

I really enjoyed the wedding show. Nick has such a good head on his shoulders and will make someone a very good husband.

Sophie is a smart girl too. I would see tweets from Shannon that she was headed out to Harvey Mudd College to see her play volleyball and cheer the team on. It was nice during some of the early episodes to see pictures of the kids being treated as normal kids, not like most Hollywood offspring these days :::: cough,cough SuriCruise, cough cough::::. They might have been rich but they knew they were loved.

I hope Shannon and Gene have another 28 years of happiness. He seemed so relieved that they did the deed. And Shannons mom was thrilled too.

[Guest Anonymous]

I got sucked into the marthon they were showing yesterday. I liked the marriage boot camp episode and when Shannon said she forgave Gene for all the cheating.. I was bawling. She's a strong lady and Gene is lucky to have her. The wedding was beautiful and you could just feel the love coming from all of the friends and family. So unlike the Kardashian trainwreck wedding. I have to say that I find Gene so ugly though! Whatever surgery he had was a bad mistake.