The World According to Greenberg

Survivor 20: Finale!

2010-05-17T12:39:00.003-06:00

Okay, so I've written up this huuuuuge post about the finale, but you won't find it here! I've switched blogs, for reasons that you can read up on in my new blog! Check me out at: www.punky-pickle.blogspot.com. If you don't, you won't get to find out who won the pool!

Survivor 20: Episode 13

2010-05-14T09:56:00.004-06:00

What I consider to be the greatest season in Survivor history is ending this Sunday. I'm sure the finale and reunion show will be awesome - but it's sad to see such a great season end. Without question, this is the season I most wish I hadn't spoilered for myself.

With another season wrapping up, that means there must be another winner of the pool! Lets take a look at what our players have done in the past:

- Me - 2 wins (Danni from Guatemala, and JT from Tocantins)

- Doug - 2 wins (Bob from Gabon and Earl from Fiji)

- Bag - 2 wins (Parvati from Fans v. Faves and Evil Russ from Samoa - although E. Russ didn't actually win)

- Moon - 1 win* (Yul from Cook Islands)

- Alia - 1 win (Todd from China)

- Dachui - 0 wins

- Courtney - N/A (this is her first year)

Things I find interesting about this Final 5:

1. There are 2 past winners still in the game. Parvati and Sandra are two players who I really respect, but I didn't pick them because I though all previous winners would have targets on their backs and get voted out early. Not so. Also, there are 2 runners-up still in as well: Evil Russ and Colby. And this is the farthest Jerri has ever gone in the game!

2. Can anyone beat Parvati in challenges? She's good at puzzles, she's good at physical challenges, and she blows everyone away in challenges that take mental toughness/endurance. Moon suggested last night that she may be the best Survivor in history. This will be an interesting conversation to continue after we know the results on Sunday.

3. I really don't think Colby could get lamer if he tried. ("C'mon Reid!") Geez, what a mistake that was, picking him. I think he's the only player left I'm actively rooting against.

4. Mathematically speaking, it is still possible for any of the remaining players (me, Doug, Courtney, Gorbag) to win.

5. Thank God Rupert is finally gone. His overdramatic posturing has been driving me crazy for a month now. I can't tell if he speaks so slowly because he thinks it makes him sound more intense, or if his brain is actually just moving at that speed right now.

Current Standings:

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 116 points
[1. JT (40 pts)]
[2. Tom (27 pts)]
3. Parvati (49 pts)

"Douchey" Dachui: 74 points
[1. Tyson (18 pts)]
[2. Boston Rob (26 pts)]
[3. Coach (30 pts)]

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 72 points
1. Colby (20 pts)
[2. Amanda (32 pts)]
[3. Courtney (20 pts)]

"Gorbag" Bag: 72 points
[1. Rupert (28 pts)]
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (38 pts)

"Moonwalkers" Moon: 56points
[1. James (7 pts)]
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
[3. Danielle (34 pts)]
[4. Candice (8 pts)]

"New Rookie" Courtney: 52 points
1. Evil Russell (39 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (11 pts)

Survivor 20: Episode 12

2010-05-10T14:38:00.005-06:00

I think this is one of my favorite episodes, and not just because of who was voted out - thank the Lord we don't have to see those scary breasts anymore! Seriously, those things reminded me of the Hulk when he's angry. There's veins bulging out all over the place and it looks like her skin was stretched so thin that at any moment it would just pop - I'm surprised her bikini wasn't in tatters by the end of last episode.

But the real reason this episode was so great was because of the enormous power play that happened between Parvati and Russell. It seems like this last episode ended up being a draw, with the edge leaning slightly towards Russell. Parv took out one of Russell's pawns, but Russell took out Parvati's knight. The knight was more valuable for sure, but Parvati is a better player, so to me it felt like it broke even. It will be exciting to see who wins the next round!

Sadly, this ends Moon's run at this season's title of "Sole Survivor Poolist." He outlasted Dachui, but didn't come close to outscoring them, thus sealing his fate as the last place player in this season's pool. Nice to see that his dreg purchase ended up being worth it - although Candice still wasn't enough to save his team.

Current Standings:

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 109 points
[1. JT (40 pts)]
[2. Tom (27 pts)]
3. Parvati (42 pts)

"Douchey" Dachui: 74 points
[1. Tyson (18 pts)]
[2. Boston Rob (26 pts)]
[3. Coach (30 pts)]

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 72 points
1. Colby (20 pts)
[2. Amanda (32 pts)]
[3. Courtney (20 pts)]

"Gorbag" Bag: 58 points
1. Rupert (18 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (34 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 56 points
1. Evil Russell (39 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (15 pts)

"Moonwalkers" Moon: 56points
[1. James (7 pts)]
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
[3. Danielle (34 pts)]
[4. Candice (8 pts)]

Survivor 20: Episode 11

2010-04-30T08:58:00.003-06:00

I have tragic news. I was googling "are Amanda and Ozzy still dating?" a few days ago, and in one of the responses someone had listed who made the finals and in what order contestants made the jury. People I have shared this horrible news with have all immediately asked "why did you keep reading then?" I have an answer, but I am as yet unwilling to share it with you. For your own protection.

The consequences of this are huge. I don't really know the order of the jury members (although I did know Amanda was going out last night), but I do know who the final three are. As a result of this, I will no longer be doing my "power rankings" of our teams - it's not fair, and even if I try to ignore the information I have, I would be way too paranoid that I might accidentally give something away and spoiler it for the rest of you too. So I'll still report how everyone's doing and I'll do analysis of each episode, but there will be no more future predictions mentioned here. Feel free to make your own predictions in comments though!!

Anyways, enough sadness, let's get on to the show...

This episode was wacky, that's really the only word I can think of to describe it. Let's start with Danielle finding the clue, dropping it on the floor, and then getting physical with Amanda after she "stole" it. Survivor needs to give us a Rules explanation, because I have way too many questions about this. 1) what are Survivor's rules on one contestant being physically aggressive towards another player? 2) what are the rules Survivor has about "stealing"? IMO this was not stealing - Amanda didn't rip the clue out of Danielle's hand. It was sitting near her, but there was no clear possession of the clue at all. And let's not even get started on Colby wussing out about this and then Amanda caving and giving the clue back! What she SHOULD have done was open the clue and read it out loud. Then it's all square and the scramble can begin when they get back to camp. I thought this was the inevitable conclusion of the cat-fight and was insanely disappointed to see Amanda just hand the damn thing back over without even looking at it.

Also, how dumb was Amanda to not immediately check the popcorn bowl for the clue she was obsessed with finding? How can she not have realized that 100% of the time the clue was found either in food (e.g. in a jar of coffee) or near food (e.g. in a napkin)? She was absolutely right when she said she made too many mistakes in this game. Honestly, I don't think she actually did anything right - this season was just one giant mistake for her.

Next, let's discuss the Candice fiasco. I've never seen someone more easily manipulated. Candice is mentally and psychologically outmatched in this season. And for some reason she thinks that jumping ship as much as possible is a winning strategy. In her first season she mutinied against Yul and Ozzy (brilliant play, Candice, ditching two of the most dominant men in Survivor history) and now she's mutinied against her Heroes tribe simply because she's terrified of Russell. I felt so bad for Sandra, who worked her butt off to try and show Candice how idiotic she was being. But Candice is nothing if not gutless.

Which leads me back to my "Sandra should be a Hero" theory. Here are two women who both were placed on the wrong tribe. Being gutless is the anti-definition of being a hero. And Sandra never did anything villainous at all. I guess this is one of the big "what ifs" of this season (along with no one buying Candice for over a month). What if the producers had gotten it right and Sandra had been a Hero and Candice had been a Villain? Each tribe would have benefitted, since Heroes needed brains and Villains needed brawn in the beginning...

Current Standings:

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 103 points
[1. JT (40 pts)]
[2. Tom (27 pts)]
3. Parvati (36 pts)

"Douchey" Dachui: 74 points
[1. Tyson (18 pts)]
[2. Boston Rob (26 pts)]
[3. Coach (30 pts)]

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 72 points
1. Colby (20 pts)
[2. Amanda (32 pts)]
[3. Courtney (20 pts)]

"Gorbag" Bag: 58 points
1. Rupert (18 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (34 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 40 points
1. Evil Russell (33 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (5 pts)

"Moonwalkers" Moon: 36 points
[1. James (7 pts)]
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
3. Danielle (24 pts)
4. Candice (-2 pts)

Survivor 20: Episode 10

2010-04-26T10:03:00.006-06:00

In another outstanding episode, the tides were turned supposedly against the Heroes, but I think the long-term effects will show that this episode hurt Russell more than anyone... anyone besides JT, I guess.

There were a couple of lessons learned from this episode: 1) it's impossible to overestimate Parvati, 2) Amanda is a terrible liar, 3) Rupert may be thinking after all, and 4) JT can look really really stupid when he tries to.

Here's the thing that astounded me the most - JT actually thought through the actual scenario, and then disregarded it! It's not like he was completely clueless. And the actual theory was much more simple, straightforward, and believable than his own contrived notions. He wanted so badly to be right that he ignored all the blazing neon signs that pointed to the truth. It reminded me of the movie Contact, where they talk about Occam's razor - the theory that, all things being equal, "the simplest solution is usually the correct one." In this case the two options are A: Russell was the victim of an all-woman alliance and managed to survive only because JT slipped him an immunity idol which then was played simultaneously with Parvati's because she somehow smelled a trap which meant that Courtney was simply collateral damage, or B: Russell is a villain and a liar. JT chose option A.

I loved how at the end Parvati gave up both of her immunity idols to save either Jerri or Sandra. It was a canny move, and one I'm sure she hoped would buy both of their allegiance for the rest of the game. Unfortunately I don't think she understands how much Sandra hates Russell. I think she also hates that she was put with the Villains tribe. She will be much happier switching over to the Heroes alliance, where she already has a relationship with Rupert, and they are easily manipulated. This is also partially wishful thinking, since both of my remaining players are Heroes, and they could really use her guidance.

** New Rule Proposal ** After all the fun and games of finding hidden immunity idols and then passing them out like they are candy, I'd like to propose adding a rule. I think they should be a point bonus for anyone gifted an idol, and possibly also a point deduction for giving one away. This rule should not apply to immunity idols won in challenges. What do the rest of you think?

Current Standings:

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 103 points
[1. JT (40 pts)]
[2. Tom (27 pts)]
3. Parvati (36 pts)

"Douchey" Dachui: 74 points
[1. Tyson (18 pts)]
[2. Boston Rob (26 pts)]
[3. Coach (30 pts)]

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 58 points
1. Colby (18 pts)
2. Amanda (20 pts)
[3. Courtney (20 pts)]

"Gorbag" Bag: 52 points
1. Rupert (18 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (28 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 35 points
1. Evil Russell (28 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (5 pts)

"Moonwalkers" Moon: 34 points
[1. James (7 pts)]
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
3. Danielle (22 pts)
4. Candice (-2 pts)

Rankings:

1. B2B - Doug & Bri were hurt badly by the loss of JT, but they still have a monster lead and the most dangerous player in the game on their team. I think they are still the favorites to win this season, but now there's actually a chance one of us could possibly beat them. What would be best is if Parvati got voted out next week... but I doubt that will actually happen. Keep in mind that last year's winner, Evil 'Box, won with 126 points, and B2B will probably make at least 113 points if Parv makes the minimum of the jury.

2. Bridesmaids - I'm ranking myself this high because I'm counting on a Sandra mutiny that will miraculously save my team. At first I was bummed that the Villains voted out Courtney over Sandra, since Sandra is so clearly a bigger threat. However, looking back on it now, I am really happy that Courtney got voted out when she did. No way could Courtney help Colby and Amanda as much as Sandra can. If Sandra doesn't switch sides though, I'm screwed.

3. Gorbag - I saw life in Team Gorbag last week! Not only did Rupert actually DO something, and think through a plan, but Jerri won his team some points as well! Either Jerri or Rupert could very well make final 3 if someone thought they wouldn't get enough votes to beat them, so they have the opportunity to win some points. They'll need to win some immunities on the way to the finals, but I don't think that's too out of their reach if it's a physical challenge.

4 - TIE. New Rook - Sandra is one of my new favorites to win the game, but she's likely going to take out Russell on the way, which would kill all hopes of the New Rookie to win her inaugural season of the pool. However, Courtney's team is slowly sliding down a muddy slope that is total points. Over the past 4 weeks, Courtney has netted a grand total of -11 points, thanks to sitting out challenges and "misplays" of immunity idols. It's not like Sandra really misplayed her idol - or that she even had a choice to not play it (although how badass would THAT have been had she been told her name wasn't being put down? "Thanks Parv, I'm just gonna hold on to it for now though...") but she must take the deduction all the same. Rules are rules after all, sorry Court!

4 - TIE. Moonwalkers - Candice is my other new favorite to win the game - but like Courtney, Moon is so far behind in the rankings that I just don't think he can catch up to B2B. Unfortunately I had just finished telling Ben how I loved Candice because she's such a competitor, and then she stepped right off that pole and gave immunity to one of the Villains. Had she stuck it out, I think she absolutely would have turned the tides of the vote. Parv only had 2 immunity idols - if her friend Danielle were vulnerable, she surely would have given her one, right? Meaning it was a 50/50 chance whether she'd give her other immunity idol to the correct person. Meaning that Parvati probably wouldn't have done it, since it would help her more to hold on to her 2 hidden immunity idols, and still have a good relationship with Russell. I guess we'll never know though....

6. Dachui - Danielle told me that their demise wasn't entirely unexpected. She predicted a Villain domination until personalities broke them to pieces. She just hoped they could make it to the merge, where they could take their angst and bitterness out against Heroes instead of each other. Not a bad plan, Dachui, and in the long run I think it was worth the risk. I'm excited to see what schemes you have for the next season too!

The next season of Top Chef

2010-04-21T12:18:00.003-06:00

I just checked Wikipedia for an update on the next season of Top Chef and was disappointed to find the following:

"On October 5, 2009 it was announced by Bravo TV that a 7th season of Top Chef has been picked up.^[6] Shooting began in early April, 2010, in Washington, DC^[7]^[8]

The show will bring 17 contestants, similar to prior seasons, but this time one of the contestants will be a Top Chef "veteran", who participated in one of the prior editions (and didn't win). It has been also reported that classic episodes such as Restaurant Wars and Wedding Wars will return. The Finale is planned to happen in Montreal, Canada. It will bring five chefs and will be comprised of three episodes (instead of two).

Judges for Season 7 will be: Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, Ted Allen and Fabio Viviani.

Bravo TV is planning to air the first Episode right after Labor Day, in early September 2010. Since the audience of Season 6 was below that of Season 5, Bravo TV has decided to extend the period between seasons."

Fabio is a judge now? Blah! The finale is in Canada!?! Blahh!! And what's the deal w/ bringing back a veteran? With some shows I support this, but not with Top Chef. They had their chance! If it's anyone besides Kevin's beard then send them away!

In other "sequel" news I stumbled across the fact that they are making a Transformers 3, which will include Frances McDormand and John Malkovich among the cast. This seems like an extremely strange marriage of styles and attitudes.

Survivor: Episode 9

2010-04-19T10:02:00.002-06:00

Throughout the whole episode I was convinced that the Heroes would somehow fail at slipping E. Russ the hidden immunity idol. Either they'd lose the challenge, or they'd somehow be kept apart - something must happen, I told myself, to stop this train wreck from happening. Sadly, I was wrong. The incompetence of the Heroes is astonishing. I loved the part where Candice and Amanda both realize that slipping him the immunity idol is a terrible decision, but decide to let it happen anyways. The next episode will be very interesting; we'll get to see what the repercussions of the hidden immunity idol swap will be. From previews it seems apparent that the Heroes will smell foul play when they see Parvati still around. But will they actually do anything about it? And even if they do act, and take Sandra and vote for one of the remaining Villains, they have TWO immunity idols to protect themselves with. I'm guessing that Jerri will end up being the collateral damage of the next week.

Another FAIL of this episode was that the Villains voted out Courtney instead of Sandra. I'm not sure why they did that. First of all, Courtney is my player, so they should have left her in for that reason. Secondly, Sandra is much much smarter than Courtney, and she's capable of making moves that Courtney is not. I'm hopeful that the Villains will be punished for this mistake. It looks like in the next episode that Sandra will at least try to switch over to the Heroes side. This is a good play not only because she can dominate those guys in the vote and mentally, but because she really should have been on the Heroes tribe from the start. This woman is not a villain!

The merge is going to be really interesting because it's going to pit many players' ponies against each other. Parv v. JT, Sandra v. Evil Russ, Rupert v. Jerri, and Candice v. Danielle. I'm the only player who's ponies are actually in an alliance together! So many of these cage matches are at the same level too. Parv and JT are the "captains" of each alliance, Sandra and Evil Russ are the "brains", Rupert and Jerri are the "cargo", and Candice and Danielle are each "dark horse" threats. I definitely get the feeling that there'll be a couple episodes where the only names that will be bandied about will be from one player's stable.

Current Standings:

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 93 points
1. JT (30 pts)
[2. Tom (27 pts)]
3. Parvati (36 pts)

"Douchey" Dachui: 74 points
[1. Tyson (18 pts)]
[2. Boston Rob (26 pts)]
[3. Coach (30 pts)]

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 58 points
1. Colby (18 pts)
2. Amanda (20 pts)
[3. Courtney (20 pts)]

"Gorbag" Bag: 42 points
1. Rupert (18 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (18 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 40 points
1. Evil Russell (28 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (10 pts)

"Moonwalkers" Moon: 28 points
[1. James (7 pts)]
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
3. Danielle (16 pts)
4. Candice (-2 pts)

Rankings:

1. B2B - if this team keeps finding hidden immunity idols the rest of us are completely screwed. On the plus side, JT and Parvati are not in an alliance together, so I feel confident that they both won't make the final 3. On the negative side, if even one of them makes the final 3 it's probably enough for Doug to lock up a victory. Still, a lot can happen when going from 10 players down to 3, and both players are known as threats, so it is possible that they will both only make the jury. Hopefully that happens soon, so the rest of us have a chance to catch up!

2. Bridesmaids - So close! I came so close to sneaking Courtney into the merge, but alas, the Villains voted her out in the 11th hour. Colby and Amanda could get me the victory, but it all hinges on them either growing brains or starting to listen to someone smarter than them. Their greatest strength starting with the merge will be their likeability, so I'm hoping they won't start stepping on other players' toes in the next few weeks! I'd be very happy to see a Candice, Colby, Amanda, Sandra alliance get together later in the game...

3. New Rook - Courtney's in a good position because I feel like the Heroes + Sandra are going to start eliminating Villains, but they'll constantly fail when trying to get rid of Evil Russ. It was huge that Sandra made it to the merge - she's got the time and the ability to put herself in a much more secure position. Russell, on the other hand, thrives on the brink, and that's where he'll be come merge time. Out of all the teams that are left, I think Courtney's is the most capable of getting both her players to the final 3. Unfortunately, that's what she'll need to have a chance at winning, since neither of her players are known for winning individual challenges.

4. Moonwalkers - Moon's dark horse team is doing really well, considering the circumstances. Candice and Danielle both seem to be laying low while still having a full understanding of what's really going on. There is a huge point deficit for Moon to make up, though, so he'll need more than just a victory from a pony to get him the victory in the pool.

5. Gorbag - Jerri is lost and confused, and Rupert is most confident about things the things he's most wrong about. He thinks that the Villains are in an all-female alliance, and he thought he was their best candidate for a challenge where he's spend most of his time putting all his weight on a broken toe. Delusional? Yes. A future winner of this game? No.

6. Dachui - It's disappointing that only one of their players made it to the jury, but it's cool that the one who did is Coach. This guy steals the show even when he's not playing!

This one's for Ben

2010-04-14T12:28:00.003-06:00

I was reading Bill Simmons' latest article on the Masters. When he got to the part where they interview people after the match, he wrote the following to describe the creepy fake cabin they all sit in:

"It has its own music -- just a few strands of acoustic guitar that sounds like something you'd hear while getting a massage. It has no relation to any other sporting event, or really, anything about sports other than the part in which athletes are competing for something. Like Richard in "Lost," Jon Gruden or Coach K, it never seems to age or change in any way."

While I think he should have been more specific and said "Coach K's hair".... well said Bill. I'm giving you a polite, quiet golf clap here in my cubicle.

Survivor 20: Episode 8

2010-04-09T09:19:00.003-06:00

Last night marked one of the biggest turnarounds in Survivor Pool history - and not a good one. From having a commanding, dominating lead to being the first ones completely out of the competition, I say to you Dachui: bad beat. Three weeks in a row, Dachui lost their #1, #2, and #3 picks respectively. Really, if the Heroes weren't so stupid, Coach should still be in this game. His lack of breasts is what got him knocked out of the competition when the Heroes let it be known that they thought the Villains tribe had an all-female alliance going. It's dumb enough to assume something based on little evidence, it's even DUMBER to say it out loud so that the other tribe knows exactly how to get the best of you in the future.

What I like about this new Villains tribe is that they all know exactly where they stand. They're a canny group. I especially like the subtlety of their social game - they're thinking through every scenario. First of all, Sandra knows that Russell will go for anyone going for him, so instead of trying to go for him directly, she starts spreading rumors that manipulate him into taking out members of his own alliance. Secondly, I think that if the Heroes had heard the Villains incorrectly assume something about their tribe, I don't think they would've considered doing anything to perpetuate that false assumption. They probably would've laughed about it, but they never would have seen it as an opportunity to use to their advantage.

What I don't understand is how the votes fell. Coach, Jerri, and RUSSELL voted for Courtney. Sandra, Courtney, Danielle, and Parvati voted for Coach. Why did Russell switch his vote? Pre-voting he wanted Coach gone and Danielle wanted Courtney gone... and yet they each voted opposite of their wishes. We were trying to figure out if Russell was trying to protect himself from some kind of blind side, but splitting his vote only made Russell more vulnerable, not less. Did Parv and Danielle vote against his wishes? If so it means that Danielle has a closer alliance to Parv than Evil Russ... and he'll probably start getting paranoid about that. If anyone else can explain, I'd love to hear your theories!

The other "shocker" of the evening was how large the jury will end up being. With Coach making the jury, it looks like there will be a final 3 facing a jury of 9. I think we all hate the final 3 format, but it's nice that there will be so many jury members.

Also of note was Jeff's constant mentionings of "if" there is a merge. I'm 80% sure there will be a merge, but man I'd love it if there wasn't. It would be such a great ploy by those sly producers to have each tribe plan on - nay, count on - an impending merge that never happens. If the Villains knew that there wouldn't be a merge, I think Coach and Tyson would still be in the game, maybe even Boston Rob. But now they could be utterly screwed because of another assumption.

Current Standings:

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 78 points
1. JT (27 pts)
[2. Tom (27 pts)]
3. Parvati (24 pts)

"Douchey" Dachui: 74 points
[1. Tyson (18 pts)]
[2. Boston Rob (26 pts)]
[3. Coach (30 pts)]

"New Rookie" Courtney: 40 points
1. Evil Russell (28 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (10 pts)

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 40 points
1. Colby (15 pts)
2. Amanda (17 pts)
3. Courtney (8 pts)

"Gorbag" Bag: 37 points
1. Rupert (15 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (16 pts)

"Moonwalkers" Moon: 23 points
[1. James (7 pts)]
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
3. Danielle (14 pts)
4. Candice (-5 pts)

Rankings:

1. B2B - Doug & Bri have almost a 40 point lead over the next closest contenders, which means they will be very hard to catch. Although JT is making himself way too conspicuous right now, which could put him in very serious jeopardy. The rest of us need for him to go if we are going to have a chance to catch this juggernaut. I'm putting Parvati as the favorite to win it all right now, but she probably won't be winning a lot of challenges on her own or with her current tribe, so I'm much more comfortable with her going deep than JT.

2. New Rook - Obviously Russell is a threat and very capable of making it to the final 3, but I'm kind of hoping he gets voted out soon. I think it would be VERY entertaining to watch him steaming over on the jury week after week. Plus, his rant at final tribal would be epic, probably topping Sue's Rat & Snake speech. Sandra is down but never out - she's super canny, and if a merge comes soon she could be a very dangerous swing vote. If they merge next week I hope the first thing that happens is Sandra and Courtney switch to the Hero alliance, wake those dumbasses up, and give them a much-needed intelligence boost.

3. Bridesmaids - Geez, I don't even know what to say. Courtney survived by the seat of her tiny little pants. I've been saying from the start that she's a threat so long as she makes it to a merge, and it looks like that may not happen. Please merge soon! Let me keep all 3 of my players! They're finally starting to earn points! If the Villains lose again I just don't see Sandra being able to save her one more time.

4. Moonwalkers - Considering how close we turned out to be to the jury, it would've been foolish NOT to have bought Candice. Even without her other point-accumulations, Candice is now guaranteed to pay up her debts and then some! She's also doing a good job of forming tighter alliances and creating a healthy amount of paranoia among the Heroes. Danielle needs to stop pissing Russell off - if she can keep her opinions to herself she may actually make it to the final 3, although I don't think she'll win. Moonwalkers I see making a strong run in the second half of this season, but I just don't think Moon can overcome his enormous point deficit to come back and win this one.

5. Gorbag - I think Gorbag has the two nuttiest players on his tribe. Jerri is confident one minute, confused the next, and straight up pissed off and hungry most of the time. She's not doing a good job controlling her emotions, and that will be the end of her. Rupert hasn't really shown himself to be a great thinker - he's made his alliance with JT and it seems like that's about when he stopped playing the social game. I love his effort in the challenges, but he's practically non-existent in camp!

6. Dachui - RIP. Team Dachui is incapable of winning, but they still have a chance to not lose!

Words of wisdom from the guy who directed Ace Ventura

2010-04-08T16:06:00.002-06:00

I’ve been brooding lately – a dangerous past time, I know. Sometimes I see my future as a bright, exciting time full of potential. But when I’m feeling more pessimistic I see my future as a dull grind, where it takes years and years to accomplish just one of my goals. That’s what I’ve been thinking about lately, brooding on the supposed difficulties of my life.

It’s a danger, I think, of our time - where everything comes so quickly and easily - that it feels like our life goals should be accomplished with as much ease and simplicity. But life doesn’t work that way. Most of the time I appreciate the slow pace, the ability to appreciate life while I have it... but when I don’t, I brood.

I guess patience isn’t a virtue I have; I’m going to have to work at that a little more.

Today, I went to a Conference on World Affairs session called “How to Make a Bad Movie.” I almost didn’t go because it sounds kind of depressing, but it was better than working, so I decided to go for it anyways. I could not have been more surprised by the quality of the panel. It had an Oscar-winning special effects master, a former SNL star, a screenplay writer, and the guy who directed Ace Ventura and Liar Liar, among other films. I guess technically these people have all been involved in projects that resulted in bad movies, but what they talked about wasn’t how to make a bad movie, the message they really focused on was what it meant to be an artist. The Ace Ventura guy especially said that no matter what other people think of your work, so long as what you are producing comes from your heart it’s a quality piece of art. He spoke of vision, being true to yourself, and he insisted that the only “bad” art is art that was never made because the artist was too afraid to try.

I never expected such optimism and idealism from a man who became (in)famous for making Jim Carrey talk out of his butt. Maybe because the message came from so unexpected a source that it affected me so much. But instantly I was lifted out of my funk. I feel like I’ve balked at some many things in my life because I was afraid that I would fail at them, but it’s better to try and fail than to have never tried at all.

Survivor 20: Episode 7

2010-04-05T10:26:00.005-06:00

The mighty battle was waged and after the dust settled, Evil Russell emerged as victor. This was an awesome example of how much potential this game truly has. Both Russell and Boston Rob proved their mental toughness and ability to completely manipulate other people. Danielle and Parvati both earned themselves "best supporting actress" nominations as well for the way they leaned on Jerri. This truly is an all-stars cast: it's like watching LeBron go up against Kobe, but in a game that's much more subtle.

It's going to be fun to watch the collapse of the Villains - I have no expectation that they will win many more challenges. Russell is not a leader that can win this tribe points - he thrives on dissention and paranoia. The more his tribe splinters apart, the better he does. Boston Rob was the real leader of his tribe and it's really unfortunate for them that he lost this war. However, as someone who is supporting the Heroes and Evil Russ, I was really pleased with the outcome.

And speaking of the Heroes, what a turn-around they're having! I thought it was premature for Probst to be talking about how the Villains were getting whooped, but now that Boston Rob is gone, I think his statement will be accurate. Colby's attitude change was huge, and I think that all 5 of the remaining Heroes can make it to the merge easily. Once again, it really comes down to when they will merge. Will it happen next week? If so, Sandra and Courtney have ties to Rupert and Amanda respectively, and they could easily jump ship and give the Heroes the majority of votes. If it's a couple episodes from now, they may have a 5 v. 5 showdown of epic proportions. I can't believe I'm actually thinking that the Heroes could even the count - just two weeks ago this seemed like a pipe dream!

What If?

Candice continues her point-winning streak, earning 5 more points last night. Since Moon has now purchased her, I'm going to stop keeping track of this, but wanted to do one last point comparison. Since the beginning of the game, Candice has earned 18 points through our system. While no one would have been able to win all of those points, had Courtney bought her after Episode 2, she would now be officially out of debt with +1 points! Had Bag bought her the week afterwards he'd be at -4 points (as would Moon had he bought her after episode 4 and not after episode 6). Doug and Dachui would still be at -10 points, which is where Moon is currently. I think it was a smart buy by Moon, but we'll see HOW good as the weeks progress.

Current Standings:

"Douchey" Dachui: 64 points
[1. Tyson (18 pts)]
[2. Boston Rob (26 pts)]
3. Coach (20 pts)

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 63 points
1. JT (12 pts)
[2. Tom (27 pts)]
3. Parvati (24 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 42 points
1. Evil Russell (28 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (12 pts)

"Gorbag" Bag: 34 points
1. Rupert (10 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (18 pts)

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 32 points
1. Colby (10 pts)
2. Amanda (12 pts)
3. Courtney (10 pts)

"All Blacks" Moon: 20 points
[1. James (7 pts)]
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
3. Danielle (16 pts)
4. Candice (-10 pts)

Rankings:

1. B2B - JT and Parvati are two of the three players currently in control of this game. They are a force to be reckoned with and I think that it will be very difficult to get them out of this game. Combine this security with the massive amount of points B2B already has, and this team will be tough to beat. Obviously anything could happen - see example #6: Dachui - but both are conniving, attractive attractive players who have no qualms about backstabbing anyone. Given the chance, will Parvati betray her "savior" Evil Russell?

2. New Rook - Evil Russell's coup d'etat was huge for New Rook Courtney. Unfortunately it means that her other player Sandra is now in serious danger. It also means that her team probably won't be winning a lot of points until the merge... unless Russell starts finding more immunity idols. I think this team will go through a point-earning drought for a while, but it has the capability to go very deep in this game. Russell has worked his way out of every possible "death" scenario, does he have it in him to make it to the finals yet again?

3. Bridesmaids - I still have all 3 of my players, which is a minor miracle. All of their names have been brought up to be voted out and yet they are dodging bullets left and right to hang around. I feel like Courtney will be Russell's next target at the beginning of the next episode, but Sandra will probably piss him off more in the long run, so I hope he gets rid of her first. But really my success hangs on Colby and Amanda keeping the Heroes tribe on top once the merge happens. Is it possible that one of my players will finish in 2nd place AGAIN?

4. Gorbag - I gotta say, I didn't think both Jerri and Rupert would still be in the game at this point, but Jerri is turning herself into an important, pivotal player. Rupert's alliance seems secure, and with an upcoming merge I think they can both safely fly under the radar. This team is really starting to grow on me, and I've only ranked them this low because I have more players and I think that Gorbag will have a tougher time winning individual challenges, not because I think they won't last long. Does anyone else think that Jerri's hair looked fantastic in the last episode? Long, unwashed hair really suits her!

5. All Blacks - Moon is in the hole with his purchase of Candice, but that doesn't mean he's out, just down. Buying Candice was crucial for him to have a chance to win this game. It's just that he now has a lot of ground to make up to get himself back into this competition. What will Moon name his re-vamped team? Will he go with the brilliant suggestion of"Michael Jackson"?

6. Dachui - While Dachui leads in points currently, they only have sad old Coach to keep their team afloat. They have no chance of buying Candice now, so they're going to have to depend on an emotionally unstable flip-flopper. I think he could win some individual challenges and maybe even make top 3, but it's going to be hard for Dachui to maintain their lead while everyone else has 2 or 3 players earning them points. How many more times will Coach cry this season?

No Survivor Post

2010-04-02T09:52:00.002-06:00

Hello all. I haven't watched Survivor yet, so I won't be able to post on it. I'm going to Indianapolis this weekend to see the NCAA men's semi-finals, so in all likelihood I won't be able to have it posted until maybe Tuesday or even Wednesday. Sorry about that and thanks in advance for not giving anything away!

Go Duke!

Survivor 20: Episode 6

2010-03-25T13:59:00.007-06:00

Okay, so this last episode was amazing. I don't think it rates quite as high as the Edgardo ousting or when Erik gave up his immunity necklace only to be voted out immediately afterwards, but this was definitely a top 5 episode. Russell is quite probably the best strategist in Survivor history. He's not the best at making alliances or getting people to like him, but his strategy is genius.

We were a little confused by what happened initially, so I'm gonna break it down here, just to explain the awesomeness that transpired and how it counted for our teams:

The challenge was an individual challenge for separate tribes, and then a heads-up between the winners for hot dogs and an inside look into the other tribe's dynamics. So, I scored it so the two winners each got individual immunity, and the Villains won a team reward challenge.

At the Villains camp there was a LOT of conspiring. What ended up happening is that the majority alliance decided to split their votes 3 for Parvati (Courtney, Jerri, and Coach) and 3 for Russell (Boston Rob, Tyson, and Sandra). Russell, Parv and Danielle all decided to go for Tyson, Boston Rob's assistant coach. That way it'd be a 3-way tie, so even if the immunity idol was played, the majority could still vote out either Russell or Parvati in the re-vote. Russell knew that his immunity idol could only protect him or Parvati, and I honestly don't know if his talking to Tyson was a last ditch effort to make what happened happen, or if he really thought he was going to sacrifice Parv so that he could survive. But he managed to convince Tyson that he was going to save his own skin and vote for Parvati. And Tyson figured that he could then vote for Parvati as well, so that he wouldn't have to stress about a tie vote where his name would be written down.

Now here's the astounding thing - Russell gave his immunity necklace to Parvati. He KNEW that there was a huge likelihood that he was going to get voted out by doing this, but he wanted to stay loyal to his alliance, and a woman he respects more than possibly anyone else. Could Evil Russell really be Chivalrous Russell? So the votes ended up being 2 for Russell, 3 for Tyson, and 4 for Parv, which didn't count because she played the necklace. Note that SHE played it, not Russell, so she gets the points for a successful play. This rule was created for just such circumstances. Courtney, you may be sad, but the alternatives were either Russell getting voted out, or Russell losing 5 points for incorrectly playing the idol to save his own skin. So it's not as bad as it could've been!

Does this count as a self-blind-side? Tyson's vote is what triggered him to be voted out, and he certainly didn't see it coming. I can hear Jeff saying it now: "For the first time in Survivor history..." I also think this ranks in the top 5 of stupidest plays of all time. Obvious winners are James not playing 1 of 2 immunity idols that he had, and Erik giving up his immunity idol. Also in the top 5: that guy who messed up the last challenge because Schemer Rob told him he'd win sympathy votes that way, and subsequently gave Jenna Morasco the win.

Unfortunately this insane awesomeness was followed by the extreme stupidity of the Hero's tribal council. It's not just JT who is wishy-washy, it's the entire team. They are so inconsistent and are managing to completely ruin any chance they have for survival. Last week they decide to stick to their alliance and so they voted out Tom, who is obviously stronger than an injured James. Then this week, after demonstrating that James with only 1 leg is still more physical than Colby in challenges, they decide James is a liability and vote him off. PICK A SIDE HEROES. You either have to go alliance or strength, you can't alternate between the two! There's an obvious poker analogy here, but I'm not going to go there. The only upside I can find to this team's idiocy is that I somehow managed to keep my player Colby around, and his frank honesty actually made me like him for the first time all season.

What does the future have in store? I think that the Heroes, Parvati, Russell, and Danielle need a merge desperately. Boston Rob's super-alliance should probably throw a challenge if they don't merge though, because they're not going to be able to vote out Russell any other way. I think this may be the only time that I think throwing a challenge would be a good strategy - but I don't know if Boston Rob would be able to lose a battle to win a war - I think he's too proud. And even if they tried to throw a challenge, Evil Russ probably could smell it coming from a mile away and then somehow manage to win the challenge all on his own. Or find another hidden immunity idol - he can scent them out like a bloodhound.

What If?

Candice had a big night! 6 points that no one earned for her individual immunity, so Courtney would be at -4 for the purchase - almost out of the hole - and Bag, Moon, and Doug would be at -9.

Now it's a weird buying round this week. Since two teams lost a player, what we're going to do is this - Dachui and Moon have been notified that if they are interested in buying Candice they need to let me know. If neither of them want her, then fine, no one gets her. If only one of them want her, then they can buy her at the standard price of 15 points. But if BOTH teams want to buy her, then we will do an auction, Survivor style. I will find the grossest stuff I can at the grocery and whoever can hold it down will win her. Okay, just kidding, the auction will be based on points not food - but isn't my idea so much more entertaining?

Current Standings:

"Douchey" Dachui: 64 points
[1. Tyson (18 pts)]
2. Boston Rob (26 pts)
3. Coach (20 pts)

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 60 points
1. JT (7 pts)
[2. Tom (27 pts)]
3. Parvati (26 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 46 points
1. Evil Russell (30 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (14 pts)

"All Blacks" Moon: 32 points
[1. James (7 pts)]
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
3. Danielle (18 pts)

"Gorbag" Bag: 31 points
1. Rupert (5 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (20 pts)

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 24 points
1. Colby (5 pts)
2. Amanda (7 pts)
3. Courtney (12 pts)

Rankings:

It feels like the entire game has changed after this episode. I think everything now depends on how quickly they merge. If they merge next week then a Team Russell defection would put the two alliances in a blockbuster 8 v. 8 showdown. If a few weeks go by though, the Heroes and Team Russell might be annihilated. So these rankings really don't mean to much, but I'm going to speculate anyways.

6. All Blacks - it's easier to start from the bottom, which is where Moon is firmly planted. His "all black" team now consists of one busty white woman. (He's already working on coming up with a new team name.) Medical evacuations are a nasty part of Survivor and our pool, and it hurts when one of your ponies gets taken out this way. We've all been there. Maybe we should add a rule next season where the player gets some pity points thrown their way? Although really James wasn't going to make it THAT much farther anyways. I think that his biggest problem is that he doesn't listen... and that is a fatal flaw in a social game.

5. Gorbag - Gorbag did well with poker this weekend, but his lot was not improved much in the Survivor pool (congrats again Bag!). I just don't see Jerri or Rupert going all the way with this one, and that's what it's going to take for us bottom-three to have a chance against these other power-houses. Interesting side note - Moon and I had a very interesting conversation about who the bigger bitch was, Jerri or Parvati. I would love for comments to include who they would vote for and why.

4. Bridesmaids - the Bridesmaids are really adept at not getting voted out, but they really suck at earning points. My small consolation this episode is that everyone competed in the challenge, so I didn't lose any points. I think my team got a lot more intersting this episode too. Will Colby have an amazing comeback after the last tribal? Will he give 125% now that he feels like he's a part of their alliance and help turn the Heroes around? How has Courtney managed to fly under the radar this whole time, and how far can she really go? (I'm hoping all the way!)

3. New Rook - The top 3 teams I think are all neck and neck... but I put Courtney in 3rd place just because Russell's position is so precarious. He's seriously outnumbered, and while he has been in this situation before, his opponents are much smarter this time around. If anyone can get out of this mess though, it's Russell. Sandra is a serious threat too. She's put herself in a perfect position - close to Rob but not in charge.

2. B2B - Doug & Bri have two very strong competitors, but they both happen to be in the minority right now, and Parvati in particular has been voted for every time they've gone to tribal council. But these are two of the most charming people to ever play the game, and their alliances, while small in numbers, are very strong. I can easily see one or both of them making it to final tribal.

1. Dachui - Losing Tyson has hurt them for sure, but ultimately they still have 2 Villains on their team who are currently in very secure positions. I think Boston Rob needs to win a LOT of immunity challenges on the way to final tribal, or else they will vote him out, but that is a possibility. Coach I could see getting there as well by riding coattails, but I don't think he would win.

Survivor 20: Episode 5

2010-03-15T12:25:00.004-06:00

Sorry for the extreme lateness of this blog post. But since there wasn't a new episode of Survivor last night anyways, nothing was really missed! I'm not going to ramble on too much now - in all honesty I just don't remember the episode that much anymore. What I do remember is the awesome preview for next week - it looks like Boston Rob and Evil Russ will get to duke it out!

What If?
Candice earned no more points this past episode. So Courtney would still be -10 for the purchase, and Bag and Tom would both be at -15.

Current Standings:

"Douchey" Dachui: 52 points
1. Tyson (16 pts)
2. Boston Rob (18 pts)
3. Coach (18 pts)

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 48 points
1. JT (7 pts)
[2. Tom (27 pts)]
3. Parvati (14 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 42 points
1. Evil Russell (28 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (12 pts)

"All Blacks" Moon: 30 points
1. James (7 pts)
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
3. Danielle (16 pts)

"Gorbag" Bag: 29 points
1. Rupert (5 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (18 pts)

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 22 points
1. Colby (5 pts)
2. Amanda (7 pts)
3. Courtney (10 pts)

Rankings:
1. Dachui: Dachui still has all their players and they are all Villains so they are all obviously going to outlast every single stupid Hero. What's also fairly huge is that they've only had one player sit out a challenge once - so they're essentially making 15 points a week! (Except the one time the villains lost.)

2. New Rook: Courtney had a BIG week with Russell finding the immunity idol. Not only did that boost her overall score, but will most likely save her player since Boston Rob is gunning for him. I think Courtney is officially back in the game - although next week looks like it'll determine how successfully!

3. B2B: I'm bumping B2B down in the rankings, not because they lost a player, but because they have a hero on their team. And that spells certain doom. Doug has already told me that they won't be buying Candice, which I think is a good thing. Her value will stay extremely low so long as she is on the Heroes tribe.

4. All Blacks: Team All Blacks are fading into the background for me. Danielle is completely forgettable, and with James' injury it's unknown how long he'll stayt in the game. I like to think that maybe his injured leg will help James stay in the game longer, since after a merge he'll be less of a physical threat, but he'll probably get booted before the merge. I mean really, anyone who's on the Hero's tribe isn't making it to merge, I don't think.

5. Bridesmaids: I have stolen Dachui's strategy from last year where I keep all my players alive but none of them win any points. For all I know Amanda will actually win this season, but it won't be enough to give me the victory. And I hate Colby. That man has changed from cunning player to self-righteous whiner over the past few years. I'm cheering against him. Really I'm not cheering for my team anymore, I'm just cheering for the people that I like the best. (This includes, but is not limited to: Parvati, Evil Russ, Sandra, JT, and Amanda.)

6. Gorbag: I get the feeling that Gorbag doesn't really care about survivor anymore. I think Rupert agrees with him. They both seem halfhearted in their effors. Jerri is working hard, but in a kind of crazy way. And her jealousy over Parvati's flirting skills could make her a target of one of the craftiest players in the game.

Survivor 20: Episode 4

2010-03-05T09:21:00.009-07:00

WOW. What an episode! I was so sad to see Cirie go this early; I really admire her game. This is a woman who is old, overweight, always comes into the match seemingly without friends or alliances, and always manages to make it to the final 4... until now, that is. Unfortunately JT was smart enough to realize that she was smarter than him, so he took her out. As Ben noted, this was a good play for JT - he'll do better allying himself with the likes of Tom, another gentleman and winner of the game. But I will miss Cirie! She was a blind-siding queen, and I think we'll lose a few stunners without her around.

Weirdly enough, all the players who've been voted out so far have been 2nd round picks. It probably just a random coincidence, but I'm trying to figure out if maybe there's a pattern or reason for this. If it holds true it means Boston Rob, Tom, or Amanda are next to go. They all seem secure right now, but in this all-stars season it's impossible to predict who is safe and who isn't. I'll do it anyway though - if the Heroes lose I predict Candice will be the next to go. If the Villains lose then I think I'm going with Evil Russell. I wonder, do you think Boston Rob would throw a challenge just to get rid of him? How pissed off is Boston Rob by Evil Russell trying to find the hidden immunity idol?

What If?

Both Courtney and Bag passed up the chance to buy Candice. I can't say that I disagree with either of their decisions. For curiosity's sake, I checked and I think she would've netted 7 points total, so 1/2 her asking price. If they had bought her, though, neither of them would've inherited all of those points. Courtney would be sitting at -10, and Bag would be at -15 currently, since she made no points last night. It'll be interesting to see if either of them would've made it to the black in the long run had they picked her. If Moon passes her up too, then I'll start tracking that as well.

Current Standings:

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 45 points
1. JT (7 pts)
2. Tom (27 pts)
3. Parvati (11 pts)

"Douchey" Dachui: 39 points
1. Tyson (13 pts)
2. Boston Rob (13 pts)
3. Coach (13 pts)

"All Blacks" Moon: 27 points
1. James (7 pts)
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
3. Danielle (13 pts)

"Gorbag" Bag: 24 points
1. Rupert (5 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (13 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 24 points
1. Evil Russell (13 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (9 pts)

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 21 points
1. Colby (7 pts)
2. Amanda (7 pts)
3. Courtney (7 pts)

Rankings:

1. B2B: Everything is going right for this team, it's like they've been blessed by Jeff Probst himself. First Parvati was on the chopping block and managed to weasel her way out of it. Now Tom is in trouble and the Survivor Gods lob a miracle his way too! Not only did he not get voted out, he earned 20 points for finding and successfully playing the hidden immunity idol, and managed to work himself into a stable position on the tribe! I imagine that JT could be the next at risk, since switching sides usually makes people want to vote you out, but I'm fully prepared for a medevac to save his good old country boy neck.

2. The Douches: The Douches are in 2nd place solely because the cry-baby dragon slayer is on their team. For the record, Moon, I do not think I'm underestimating this guy's ridiculousness. What was the line he said last night? "I am the Last of the Mohicans. King Arthur. Legend." This coming the day after someone said he didn't pull his weight around camp and that was enough to make him want to quit!! Ben called him a Tom Cruise Wannabe, and I think he's really hit the nail on the head with that one. Although maybe it's Daniel Day Lewis.

3. Bridesmaids: There's a huge gap between the top 2 teams and the rest of us. Right now this is a 2 horse race. I'm ranking myself 3rd because I still have all 3 of my players, which I think gives me a better chance than the others to catch up. I'm getting crushed by Courtney though, who has sat out a challenge in every single episode so far, reducing my score by 8 points!

4. New Rook: Courtney looks like she may be in hot water if Boston Rob gets too mad at Evil Russell. It looks like right now E. Russ would be the next voted out if the Villains ever lost a challenge. But at the same time, I love Sandra's chances at a deep run right now. We don't know a lot about the Villains' dynamics right now since they keep winning, but it seems to me that Sandra is a part of every decision while never seeming like she's actually making any decisions. That's a great place to be at this point in the game.

5. All Blacks: Cirie getting voted out last night dealt a fatal blow to this team. It's only being kept afloat by Danielle's enormous inflatable breasts at this point. James is probably going to be on the outs now that Cirie is gone (I'm expecting a James rant that's as big as his arms) so even if the Heroes make a miraculous come-back and go into the merge with a majority, I see him being one of the first to become a part of the jury. Without a majority, the Villains will probably vote him out even sooner since he's such a threat in individual immunity challenges. Moon now has the opportunity to buy Candice now... I wonder if he will?

6. Gorbag: Gorbag never said anything about buying Candice, so he forfeited the option to claim her. So he's down to his terrible two: Rupert and Jerri. Both seem to be laying low for the most part, but Rupert's honesty at tribal council was illuminating for me. He's just not playing the game. I think he really loves Survivor - he loves the challenges, and seems as happy as a clam around camp - but I don't think he likes the strategizing. One of the reasons we all love him is because of his honesty, but now he's coming across as flaky and absent-minded.

Game of Thrones officially an HBO series!

2010-03-04T12:05:00.003-07:00

Yay! I just saw on George RR Martin's blog that HBO greenlit the first season of Game of Thrones - hurray! You can check out the full cast from the pilot here. I don't think it's going to air until next spring sometime, which gives you just enough time to (re)read the first book before the premiere. And then you will be just as joyous as I am right now!

Survivor 20: Episode 3

2010-02-26T09:39:00.009-07:00

I've been obsessed with the Olympics these past couple of weeks, so switching over to watching Survivor was a nice change of pace for an hour. I was also pleased to see the Heroes totally dominate the Villains for once... and not surprisingly it was in an all-brawn challenge. Doug called the Hero sweep about halfway through. I thought a couple of the women's pairings would go the Villains' way, but NostraDoug was correct and the Heroes crushed their first victorious immunity challenge. I hope it continues!

I was surprised at the Villains' reactions when they saw that Stephenie had been voted out last week. They were honestly shocked that they'd voted her out. I wonder who they thought would be the next one to go... Cirie maybe? But Cirie is actually pretty beastly in challenges, and she's one of the smartest members of their tribe - a highly valuable commodity in their camp. She and JT are in full control of that tribe. It's almost scary how easily the others seem to have fallen under their control.

On the Villains side, it's a similar situation. Boston Rob continues to run the tribe, but Parvati really has a lot more control than anyone is willing to admit. I think it was smart of them to vote Randy out - he was absolutely their weakest link - but all of their concerns about her are legitimate. (Although I disagree with her having a good smile, I find her smile kind of scary.) Randy on the other hand, totally missed out on the charming genes. He's smart, but not socially smart, which is too bad for Bag. I told him Randy was a bust, since I've made the mistake of picking him before, but alas, Bag had to learn the hard way.

I was concerned that Evil Russell was going to bow down to Coach and Rob's pressure to not trust Parvati. I thought that his reaction to them might be different because they are all-stars and men, but I was so excited to see him react the same way he did last season. When he buried their machete I fell in love with him all over again. He and Parvati make up the most dangerous alliance that could possibly exist. I would never have expected two people who are so overly-confident in their own skills to actually be able to respect and trust each other, but somehow they do. It's going to be really fun watching them plow through their competitors like the Canadian curling team does to the rest of the world.

Current Standings:

"Douchey" Dachui: 24 points

1. Tyson (8 pts)

2. Boston Rob (8 pts)

3. Coach (8 pts)

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 22 points

1. JT (7 pts)

2. Tom (7 pts)

3. Parvati (8 pts)

"All Blacks" Moon: 22 points

1. James (7 pts)

2. Cirie (7 pts)

3. Danielle (8 pts)

"Gorbag" Bag: 19 points
1. Rupert (5 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (8 pts)

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 18 points

1. Colby (7 pts)

2. Amanda (7 pts)

3. Courtney (4 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 16 points
1. Evil Russell (8 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (6 pts)

Rankings:

1. B2B: Doug and Bri get first place because their players are the most in control without looking like they are actually in control. JT is happy to let Rupert think he's running the show, and Parvati is taking it easy while Boston Rob is making himself ill trying to be a leader. But when it comes down to it, what Parvati and JT think in the end will matter more when it comes to deciding who will be voted out. Tom also did a great job this episode extending the olive branch, so I don't think they'll even consider him when they next need to vote someone out.

2. All Blacks: Danielle is flying so under the radar that I don't even know what her face looks like - although I saw waaay too much of her unnatural breasts this last episode. There are far too many others whose heads will roll before hers does. So she will bring in some solid points, although I don't think she'll win. Cirie has the ability to go all the way, and I'm starting to think James does too. He might be just the person to bring with someone to the finals. If I were there I'd ally with him and then play the "I'm the brains, I've been running the whole show, he's just the brake man in our bobsled team" card. Brawns usually doesn't win over brains in the finals. Maybe no one else is thinking that, but I think they should.

3. Douches: Dachui dropped in my rankings today because of how badly the Villains collapsed. It seems like a rift has developed, and that rift will undoubtedly claim the lives of some of their villains. I'm also concerned about how little attention Tyson is getting. No TV time to me equates to not making the finals. Boston Rob is being the best leader he can be, but he's also becoming a huge target, particularly if the Villains go into the merge down players. I think the Heroes would take him out first.

4. Bridesmaids: It seems like Amanda and Colby are safe for now, and Courtney is laying surprisingly low. So my team's plan seems to be "survive for now, strategize later." I think the Villains women are going to band together, which is good, and that tribe won't realize how bad Courtney is at challenges since she can keep sitting them out, so she may coast through what I consider to be the most dangerous time for her.

5. The Rook: I actually like the make-up of Courtney's team, but she's down to 2 players, which will affect her scores in the long run. It makes it even more important for the players she still has to really excel. Evil Russell seems like he's in a precarious position as the new guy, but I feel like he's adapting quickly to the new situation, and his alliance with Parvati could become incredibly powerful. Sandra is playing a great game too, I adore her attitude of "I'll vote for whoever, just so long as we do it as a team."

6. Gorbag: Gorbag, are you suffering the trend of the previous-season's winner finishing dead last? Randy getting voted out was no surprise to me, but now you only have Jerri and Rupert! Jerri will definitely lose in a Parvati-Jerri catfight. Parv might even keep her hair afterwards as her grisly war trophy. Jerri's alliance with Coach is stupid, I mean c'mon, the man is psycho. And the two of them together is such an easy target. Rupert could go really deep, but Rupert on his own will not be enough for the win. Will Bag pick up Candice to hopefully boost his numbers? Or will he rely on a deep run by Rupert and Jerri somehow making top 5? (Odds on Jerri making top 5 I'd say are probably around 9:1.)

Survivor 20: Episode 2

2010-02-19T09:05:00.007-07:00

What is wrong with the Heroes? They start off every challenge whooping the villains, and then they have a breakdown as soon as they're asked to use their brains. This season should have been called Brawn v. Brains, not Heroes v. Villains. I'm cheering for the Heroes because I like more of the contestants, and I have more players on their tribe. But I may have to switch over to cheering for the villains if they're going to continue outsmarting the heroes. It's painful to watch.

Obviously I'm happy that Stephenie was voted out over Amanda. Amanda is my pick, and more importantly, I really like her! Stephenie I don't like very much. She did a good job in the first episode laying low, but then she revealed her personality, which was so off-putting that she may have driven James crazy. And her strategy made no sense - she kept saying that Amanda needed to go because she was the weakest, which is so ludicrous it left me speechless (at first). She obviously saw her as a threat to her position and tried to take her out, but her reasoning was SO flawed that even people in her alliance weren't buying it. Did Stephenie actually believe that Amanda is a weaker player than Candice or Cirie? Could she really be that delusional?

Special thanks to my mom and sister for finding some interesting info, and answering some lingering questions! According to Candice, the producers choose what the contestants wear, which is why what they wear is so impractical. (We actually spent some time last night wondering why no one had thought to bring a rain jacket.) And, at least based on my interpretation, the JT/Sugar pre-season romance sounded more like a random hook-up than an actual relationship, which explains why JT so easily voted her out.

Current Standings:

"Douchey" Dachui: 24 points
1. Tyson (8 pts)
2. Boston Rob (8 pts)
3. Coach (8 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 18 points
1. Evil Russell (8 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (8 pts)

"Gorbag" Bag: 14 points
1. Rupert (2 pts)
2. Randy (3 pts)
3. Jerri (8 pts)

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 12 points
1. JT (2 pts)
2. Tom (2 pts)
3. Parvati (8 pts)

"All Blacks" Moon: 12 points
1. James (2 pts)
2. Cirie (2 pts)
3. Danielle (8 pts)

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 10 points
1. Colby (2 pts)
2. Amanda (2 pts)
3. Courtney (6 pts)

Rankings:

1. The Douches: Boston Rob's medical evacuation never happened, which is a huge relief for team Dachui. They completely switched their game plan from last season, which was to take likable losers, and the difference in results have been brilliant. They are wracking up points with players in comfortable enough positions to not have any fear of being voted out soon. I think that Randy, Jerri, Courtney, and Sandra are all more likely to be voted out than any of their team. Do any of them have the ability to close though? I don't know if Boston Rob or Coach do, but I certainly think that Tyson would be a huge threat if he made the finals.

2. B2B: Tom looks like he's on the outs, but the tribe still needs his strength in challenges if they want to compete. I think he's gone if they lose next week, but Doug and Moon think it's more likely to be Candice. I hope we don't find out, I'm hoping for a Heroes victory next week! JT is playing a very strong game, apart from being on the losing tribe. We haven't seen much of Parvati, apart from her getting clocked in the temple last night, but from what I can tell, she seems like she's very secure as well. It looks like Parvati may be trying to put together another all-women alliance... the ladies seem like they all get along really well, and there could be some awesome retribution taken on Evil Russ by the "dumb blondes" of this season.

3. All Blacks: James' overreaction to Stephenie may cost him in the long run - he drew a lot of unnecessary attention to himself last night. (Although his enormous muscles are probably what will get him voted out in the end.) Cirie is playing a dangerous but masterful game. She does the best when she positions herself as a swing vote, and stays outside the main alliance. But it's a risky play at the same time, I think, since not being in an alliance makes her an easy target.

4. Bridesmaids: I'm sooo grateful that Amanda didn't get voted out last night. That would have been the end of me. Colby was a waste of a pick - this man is not using his brain at all, and now finds himself on the outs of a losing tribe. He needs the Heroes to start performing well so that he can't get voted out. If he makes it to the merge though, he could go deep, either by jumping ship or by coming through big time for the heroes. I still love my pick of Courtney, but it all depends on her making it to the merge. This is the danger zone time for the scrawny one.

5. New Rookie: Losing a player early is very difficult to overcome. Fortunately for Courtney, she has lost what I consider to be her weakest player. With two villains left on her team, I think she may be able to rally. The real question is, will Courtney choose to buy the dreg Candice for 15 points? It would put her 7 points behind the last place player, and if the Heroes continue to perform poorly it could be a waste of points. But if they are able to turn it around, Courtney would end up kicking herself if she didn't take her. She has until Thursday to make her decision. Can't wait to see what you decide!

6. Gorbag: The more I look at Bag's team the more I hate it. Rupert is annoying me to no end - I don't think he's mentally all there... he seems to wander aimlessly a lot. And he's no good in challenges with that broken toe. He's in a good alliance though, which will probably keep him around longer than he probably should be, but it's possible that his own alliance will vote him out, since they have such a majority over the pitiful "on the outs" group of Tom and Colby. Randy I think will be one of the first to go from the villains tribe, and while I think Jerri is doing a pretty good job so far, I think her reputation will hurt her in the long run.

Survivor 20: The Draft

2010-02-10T12:06:00.017-07:00

(First of all, yes, I geek out way too much about Survivor. Secondly, yes, I drank WAY too much last Thursday. So I want to apologize to everyone who tried to watch the season premiere with me last night and instead had to listen to me shout enthusiastically through the entire episode. But I don't think less booze is going to change the amount that I talk through the show... just the volume at which I do so. So if you actually want to hear the conversations of the competitors, it's probably best to not watch with me in the future.)

Going into this season I had outrageously high expectations for how awesome it was going to be. I tried to talk myself down, so that I wouldn't be disappointed when the show actually started. Inevitably, I decided, there was no way the show could meet my impossible standard. This turned out to be true. The first episode was even more amazing than I could have possibly imagined. I mean, does it get any better than that in their very first challenge there were 2 relatively serious injuries to people so tough that they refused to leave the game? How this will affect them long-term, I don't know. We'll have to wait and see (although I'm concerned that Rupert will be encumbered by his broken toe). It's a good indication of how much these players want to win this year that they both stuck around. I was disappointed in the first all-stars season because so many players voluntarily bowed out of the game. They didn't have the fire anymore. Not so this season.

Sugar was the first casualty of the game, and one of only two players that weren't picked in our pool. So no one has actually lost a player yet. More than anything, this makes me proud of our pool - it shows how well we know the game. Sugar was not a contributor at either challenge or around camp (that I could tell), so her leaving really doesn't take anything away from the season. According to New Rookie Courtney, Sugar and JT were/are in a relationship, but I think this could not have been true at the time of filming since she spent much of the first episode chasing Colby around camp. Maybe they broke up before the show? Or maybe they got together afterwards? I'm not interested enough in her to look into this more. So long, Sugar, we won't miss you.

I think Sugar was some of the only dead weight on the show though, so from now on there's going to be high drama and suspense. I am fired up about this season - these vets are playing on a much higher level than the average season allows. For example, Russell started this season the same way he did last season: he singled out some of the ladies on his team and tried to get them into secret alliances with him. One person bought it, but one didn't, the defending champ Parvati. She found it highly suspicious, but she didn't say anything or act on it. She said she trusted him, and now knows to keep an eye on him, as he is a big threat. This is so much better than what the women did last season. They either bought what he was selling them, or called him out on his BS, thus singling themselves out for elimination. I think they're all advanced thinkers and schemers, and I look forward to many Edgardo-type episodes this season!

Random thought - I went back to the Survivor 19 draft post I wrote to see what I'd included. I noticed that I had 77 comments, 74 of which were Japanese spam (which Google Translate courteously offered to translate into English for me). I wonder what attracted the spammers so much to that particular post? Is Japan as obsessed with Survivor as I am? Can this draft blog set a new record for spam comments?

RULES:

1st place: 45 points (+15 for sweep)
2nd place: 30 points
3rd place: 20 points (+10 if makes jury)
Jury: 10 points

Wins a team reward challenge: 2 points
Wins a team immunity challenge: 3 points
Wins an individual reward challenge: 4 points
Invited to share a reward challenge: 1 points
Wins individual immunity challenge: 6 points
Finds the hidden immunity idol: 10 points
Plays hidden immunity idol at tribal council (success v. fail): 10/-5 points
Plays a fake immunity idol: -10 points
Sits out a challenge: -2 points
buy bad item at auction/don't buy an item at auction: -2 points
buy good item at auction: 2 points
buy a dreg: -15 points

Everything is pretty much the same this season; we only added a couple new rules. First, there are now small point rewards for buying a good item at Auction (if they have an auction this season), and small point penalties for buying a bad item, or not buying anything at all.

More interestingly though, there is now a rule that if one of your players gets voted out, you have the option to buy a player who wasn't picked in the draft (in this case, Candice) for 15 points. Players don't have to already have the points to buy her, they can go into point debt. After the episode in which their pony gets voted out, players have up until the next episode to buy the player. The dreg would not bring in any points with them. So for instance, even though Candice won 2 points last episode, if someone had lost a player this last episode and chose to buy her, she'd start out at zero. If the player who lost their pony doesn't buy the dreg before the next episode, they forfeit the opportunity to buy her later. Which means that the next week if someone lost their player, they would be the only ones with the opportunity to buy her.

PICKS/CURRENT STANDINGS:

"Douchey" Dachui: 9 points

1. Tyson (3 pts)

2. Boston Rob (3 pts)

3. Coach (3 pts)

"Gorbag" Bag: 8 points

1. Rupert (2 pts)

2. Randy (3 pts)

3. Jerri (3 pts)

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 7 points

1. JT (2 pts)

2. Tom (2 pts)

3. Parvati (3 pts)

"All Blacks" Moon: 7 points

1. James (2 pts)

2. Cirie (2 pts)

3. Danielle (3 pts)

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 7 points

1. Colby (2 pts)
2. Amanda (2 pts)
3. Courtney (3 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 8 points
1. Evil Russell (3 pts)
2. Stephenie (2 pts)
3. Sandra (3 pts)

ANALYSIS (in order of strength of teams):

There is really very little difference between the strength of any of our teams, at least at this point in the game. The difference between the person I rank first v. last is negligible. All of our teams are really strong. But I'm going to rank us all the same.

1. Beauty & 2 Beasts: I made a conscious decision not to pick any past winners because I thought they'd be easy targets for the rest to eliminate. Doug and Bri had no such qualms. They picked all past winners, and since my hunch appears to be way off, I think that their team is the biggest favorite to win this season. JT, Tom, and Parvati are all the complete package. They play physically, mentally, and the all look good while doing it. I still think there's a danger of them not winning because of their past success, but it doesn't seem to be nearly as big a deal as it has been in past seasons.

2. All Blacks: Moon's team basically has all the players I wish I'd picked. I thought I could get Cirie later in the draft... looking back on it now I have no idea why. James is returning for the third time much wiser and equally as ripped. I expect James to go far this season. Danielle, I have no idea about, but it looks like she put herself in a position to pull a Natalie on Evil Russell, which would be HILARIOUS if it happened two seasons in a row.

3. New Rookie: Courtney went after players that a lot of us overlooked. Evil Russell was not at the top of many peoples' lists, and when Stephenie was picked in the 2nd round most of us scoffed. But they both did better than many other players in the first episode. And I'm particularly excited with Courtney's Sandra pick. It's my opinion that the women this season are going to crush*, and Sandra is definitely a threat when it comes to strategy.

4. The Bridesmaids: I'll be honest. I'm not loving my team that much. I was going to place myself last, but because of perceived injuries I put a couple of other teams lower. All of my players have finished 2nd in previous seasons, so I know that they have what it takes to succeed (if not close the deal). But I found Colby's physical and strategic games both lacking in the first episode, and I'm really concerned that Amanda's name came up in the very first episode as well. I'm most pleased with my Courtney pick - she's not a nice person, but she is super crafty!

5. Douches: I'm pre-emptively ranking the Douches 5th because of the preview for next week. It looks like Boston Rob may get medically evacuated, a devastating blow to the Douches. If Boston Rob sticks around though, I think Dachui is more of a top 3 team, since Rob is such a great player. I think Tyson is a fly-under-the-radar threat: he doesn't have a big reputation and he's one of the smarter players in the season. He could easily go far. And somehow Coach managed to stick around forever in his last season, so I see no reason why this couldn't happen again.

6. Gorbag: I'm placing Bag last because of Rupert's toe injury. While Rupert is a strong player, I have a feeling this will seriously affect him in challenges, and that his team will end up voting him off because of it. And if Rupert is gone that leave Jerri and Randy - two people who need to work hard to hide some unappetizing personality traits. They may not be as glaring amongst a group of villains, but I have a feeling that people aren't going to like Randy (again).

* The past two seasons have resulted in female victories, both largely the result of the men in the seasons being played like fiddles. These women are not like Natalie from last season. They are the praying mantises and black widows of the Survivor animal kingdom. They are extremely skilled at luring men into their traps and then blindsiding them when no one is watching. I think this is the smartest group of men they've ever had before too, though, so we'll see how this theory plays out.

Survivor - Heroes v. Villains

2010-01-15T13:00:00.003-07:00

So I've done some research on the upcoming season. A couple of things to know:

1. It will debut Feb 11 (not after Superbowl). It's in Samoa again, which is awesome because I won 2 cases of Twisted Tea betting on that.

2. Richard Hatch was asked to be on the show, but wasn't able to because he's under house arrest. I thought house arrest was something that only happened to high schoolers and geriatrics, but I guess not.

3. There won't be an exile island apparently. I can't decide if I'm happy about that or not.

4. They changed the tagline from "Outwit, Outlast, Outplay" to "Return, Revenge, Redemption." It might be a little cheesy, but it gets me even more excied all the same.

5. If you want to know who will be on this season, scroll down to the previously-posted blog (which hopefully hid it from your screen if you didn't want to know. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who'd rather have it be a surprise.) --> UPDATE: CBS verified the cast, hurrah! Check it out here: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/

My early thoughts on Heroes v. Villains: I am ridiculously excited. I was really excited for the first all-stars, and ended up disappointed. I was unenthused for the second all-stars (fans v. faves) but found myself pleasantly surprised. I am worried that my excitement for this one will also end in disappointment, but I hope not!

More than that though, I love the concept of heroes v. villains. (If only life were so cut and dry that we could categorize people that way in everyday situations.) I think that giving each tribe an "identity" will create a really interesting dynamic. I think I will cheer for the people on this show the same way I cheer for characters in Con Air. I do want to good guys to win in the end, but the bad guys are so hilariously awesome that I can't help but cheer for them the whole way. (Kind of like Evil Russell I guess.)

I hope the Heroes do a better job in challenges than the similarly-themed heroes did on the Real World Road Rules challenge. Nothing's more embarrassing than having your heroes get thwomped over and over and over again.

I wonder if the Heroes will try and vote democratically or something else stupid so that they can appear to live up to their name. Will the Villains blindside everyone, just to prove how devious they are?

I guess we'll find all this out starting February 11th. I know I can't wait! And for those of you who also can't wait, check my previous blog post for the speculated cast, as well as my comments on them.

Survivor Heroes v. Villains - The Cast

2010-01-15T12:57:00.001-07:00

I'm really excited about this cast because it appears to pit a lot of nemeses against each other. What better example than Randy v. Sugar from the season Bob won? So it won't just be two tribes against each other, there will be a LOT of bad blood in the water to boot... grudge v. grudge.

So, without further ado, here' s the list of cast members slated for season 20's all-stars.

Heroes:

- Amanda "The Beast" Kimmel - Obviously deserves to be here. She rules all. But I do wonder if she'll end up coming in 2nd AGAIN and if Doug will pick her. AGAIN. Hero rating: 9/10

- Tom "The Fireman" Westman* - He's a fireman, which obviously adds to his hero persona. He's an older contestant, but a huge badass who carried his team almost the whole way. But in the end I didn't like him because he guilt-tripped the hell out of Ian the Dolphin Trainer, which tarnished his victory. Hero rating: 7.5/10

- Cirie "Devious Nurse" Fields - I'm so happy Cirie is back. She's a silent hero, laying low, plotting everyone's demise, but doing it so cheerfully that no one ever suspects her. Hero rating: 7.5/10

- Colby "The Cowboy" Donaldson - This guy introduced the coattail riders as winners strategy, being so heroic as to take sweet Tina with him to the final 2. I'd be pleased to see the same dominance he showed in Australia, but hopefully with less weakness for teh ladies. Hero rating: 7/10

- James "Gravedigger" Clement - James has everything heroic going for him. He's strong, good intentioned, and - as all great heroes do - has made big mistakes, e.g. not playing the hidden immunity idol. Hero rating: 8/10

- JT "Sweet Country Boy" Thomas* - This is one of Pickett's ponies who's so loveable as to make it impossible for people to vote him out. A southern drawl and great smile is as good as a hidden immunity idol (although both is better). Hero rating: 6.5/10

- Rupert "All Heart" Boneham** - What makes a hero a hero? All I know is that I adore Rupert, even though he doesn't always have nice things to say about other people and has a tendency towards bossiness. At the same time though this guy gives 130% on every challenge, and tries his damnedest to win. Hero rating: 10/10

- Sugar "The Weeper" Smith - Sugar annoyed the hell out of everyone in her season, but won the hearts of viewers around the nation. Her greatest heroic effort was getting Bob into the final 3, and letting him win his season, but she really hadn't done much before then besides cry a lot. Hero rating: 4/10

- Stephenie "The Athlete" LaGrossa - Stephenie works really hard, and is probably one of the strongest women to perform on the show. Seems like a pessimist though, so I'm not sure how that will mesh with the lovey-dovey nature of a "heroes" tribe. Hero rating: 6.5/10

- Candice "Broke Down" Woodcock - Candice and Sugar both spent a lot of time on exile. But exile island does not a hero make. Her "heroics" included abandoning Yul, Ozzie & friends on her season, and then bawling like a baby when they sent her to exile. She is the reason I wish they had exile again, so we could see the sequel. Would she cry again? Dry heave with sorrow? Hero rating: 0.75/10

Things I think are worth noting - the Heroes tribe has a whopping 5 people who have already been on 2 different seasons of survivor (Amanda, Rupert, James, Stephenie, and Cirie). If their shelter has one leak I will be disappointed. They should have that sort of thing down by now. I must admit this is a good representation of my favorite players in the game. I think they can all qualify as "heroes" but they all have a manipulative, devious dark side as well. These are no n00blets. I'm excited to see how it turns out!

Disappointed they aren't on this team: Yau Man, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, Ian the Dolphin Trainer, Danni from Guatemala, Bowtie Bob

Early predictions for alliances:

Cirie+JT+Amanda+Tom

Rupert+Sugar+Stephenie+Candace

Villains:

- Courtney "Scary Thin" Yates - Courtney was so skinny on China I thought they'd have to evacuate her. Her "talking head" bits were also some of the meanest ever. She's probably the vice-president of the evil club. Villain rating: 9.5/10

- "Crazy" Coach Wade - This man's a nut. His antics are extremely entertaining, but I think he will discover that his is a lamb among wolves when it comes to the back-stabbing and strategizing on this tribe. Villain rating: 6/10

- Danielle "I don't know who you are" DiLorenzo - I actually remember every other person who will be on this show. Except for this Danielle character. Apparently she finished 2nd behind Aras in one of the most boring seasons of Survivor ever. Villain rating: ?/10

- Jerri "Original Bitch" Manthey - I don't even remember why everyone hates Jerri so much, just that we do. I think people saw her as the Deliliah to Colby's Sampson. Villain rating: 8/10

- Parvati "The Flirt" Shallow* - I'm so happy she's back, and of course she should be categorized as a villain, but she's really not that evil. She's very strategic and also happens to be good at flirting. Villain rating: 6.5/10

- "Bitter" Randy Bailey - Randy is a brilliant, horribly jaded human being. This is apparently what happens when a man goes without a girlfriend for his entire life. One of the most negative forces in the game. Villain rating: 9/10

- "Boston" Rob Mariano** - Boston Rob is a great plotter (overshadowed by Evil Russ though). Great at strategy, great at getting people to hate him throughout the game. Villain rating: 8.5/10

- "Evil" Russell Hantz - Hell yeah. That's all I have to say about that. Villain rating: 10/10

- Sandra "I'm not sure why they consider her a villain" Diaz-Twine* - I don't remember her doing anything particularly villainous on her season, particularly compared to Johnny Fairplay. She did hide some of their supplies when she thought she was going to be voted out, but she was also Rupert's ally - an obvious hero. Villain rating: 3/10

- Tyson "The Gay Mormon" Apostol - Tyson ran around naked a lot and played a crafty game. His "talking heads" were more snarky than mean. Villain rating: 6/10

The villains are a little less experienced - only 3 of them have been on 2 previous seasons (Parvati, Jerri, and Rob). I have fears that this team will be so excited to start back-stabbing each other that they won't focus on challenges and will focus instead on eating each other's still-beating hearts instead. It will be really interesting to see how many heads get clunked together before a leader emerges for this tribe. On the other hand though I think they could plow through the heroes come merge time.

Disappointed they aren't on this team: Johnny Fairplay, Dreamz, Natalie from Fans v. Favorites

Early predictions for enemies:

Jerri v. Parvati

Evil Russell v. Boston Rob v. Coach

Courtney v. Randy

* = won on a previous season

** = didn't win, but either won a fan favorite $1M, or married someone who won... both meaning they are basically winners, if not given the title.

Survivor Samoa - The End... the sweet sweet end

2009-12-22T13:53:00.005-07:00

Without further ado -

Final Standings:
Fifth Place - Goody Two-Shoes (28 points):
1. Good Russell (5 pts)
2. Liz (3 pts)
3. Kelly (20 pts)

Fourth Place - Pizza Place (73 points):
1. John (28 pts)
2. Brett (42 pts)
3. Ashley (3 pts)

Third Place - Cutesiness (83 points):
1. Monica (22 pts)
2. Mick (29 pts)
3. Laura (32 pts)

Second Place - Dachui (101 points):
1. Jaison (29 pts)
2. Dave (22 pts)
3. Natalie (50 pts)

Winner - Evil 'Box (126 points):
1. Evil Russell (72 pts)
2. Erik (32 pts)
3. Shambo (22 pts)

For our pool there was no blind side at the end. But as with the rest of the season, the show finished with an oh-so-satisfying blind side. Dachui put in a valiant effort at the end, getting almost half their points from Natalie's win, but it just wasn't enough to overcome the immunity-idol machine that was Evil Russell.

This season we consciously decided that we wanted it to be possible for someone to win the show and not have that be the deciding factor in who would win overall. And it actually turned out to be true. Which is kind of ironic since Danielle was one of the biggest supporters of the change in point amounts. There has already been some discussion of changes in the point system for the next season (see my future blog for thoughts on how awesome that's going to be). Suggestions such as earning and losing points based on players' success at the auction certainly seem entertaining.

For the record, here are the total number of points LOST for sitting out challenges:

Pizza Place: -6 points total
John -4 pts
Brett -2 pts

Goody Two-Shoes: -8 points total
Good Russell -2 pts
Kelly -6 pts

Cutesiness: -10 points total
Monica -4 pts
Laura -6 pts

Dachui: -10 points total
Dave -8 pts
Natalie -2 pts

Evil 'Box: -13 points total
Evil Russell -5 pts (but that's because of an idol misplay)
Shambo -8 pts

The difference seems negligible in this case. If anything, we should be grateful for the negative points, because it helped hold the leaders in check, if just a little bit.

A more interesting topic, though, is the fact that Natalie, a coat tail rider in many peoples' opinions, beat one of the craftiest players in the game, Evil Russell. I watched with a large group of survivor fans, and I think that all of us were confident that if Evil Russ made it to the final 3 he'd beat everyone else easily. How wrong we were!

I know a lot of people are claiming that Evil Russ was more deserving of the win because he set up most of the blind sides that happened, and that Natalie wouldn't have gotten that far if it weren't for him. I disagree. We have no idea what Natalie would have done if Russell wasn't on her tribe. She adapted to her situation and chose a strategy that optimized her longevity in the game. (I guess that's obvious since she won.) Some people claim that riding coattails isn't a strategy, but from my count, it worked for 7 of the 19 winners in Survivor so far: Tina (Australia season 2), Vecepia (Marquesas, season 4), Jenna (Amazon, season 6), Amber (All-Stars, season 8), Chris (Vanuatu, season 9), Bob (Gabon, season 17), and now Natalie.

I think coattails is a valid strategy, but players need the right counterpart to make it work. Namely, the counterpart needs to piss off a lot of people, while the coattail rider needs to be sweet and gain friendships. That way they make the jury vote more on an emotional basis than a strategic basis. Which, in the end, is just as strategic as the strategist's game... just on a different level. It's a symbiotic relationship in a way - the strategist needs the coattail riders to get enough votes and protect them from other strategists voting them off, and the coattail riders need the strategist to take the spotlight and the fire when it comes their way.

I could go on about this, but I used up a good amount of time researching previous seasons, and now it's almost time for me to go home. I will add one thing that I was very wrong about. It felt like lately there was an advantage to coming into the merge with a minority... somehow the majority alliance seemed to keep cannibalizing themselves before dismantling the other tribe, thus giving them the advantage. So I looked into it, and so far as I can tell, this has only worked for 5 winners: Chris (Vanuatu, season 9), Danni (Guatemala, season 11), Yul (Cook Islands, season 13), J.T. (Tocantins, season 18), and now Natalie. So I was wrong about that... but it does seem to be a more recent trend, at least for now.

Final Individual Power Rankings: The Most Impressive Wins
1. Richard Hatch
2. Earl
3. Parvati
4. Yul
5. Amber
6. Tom
7. J.T.
8. Brian
9. Tina
10. Natalie
11. Danni
12. Todd
13. Sandra
14. Bob
15. Jenna
16. Ethan
17. Aras
18. Vecepia
19. Chris

p.s. Congrats Bag!

p.p.s. Excellent showing for the rooks, congrats for a strong 2nd place, Dachui!

p.p.p.s. I have no idea what the standings are now... can someone verify this for me? Number of wins: Michal (2), Doug (2), Bag (2), Tom (1)*, Alia (1), Dachui (0)

Reflections on Survivor Samoa...

2009-12-21T13:39:00.002-07:00

Will have to wait. Sorry. I will try and have it posted by tomorrow afternoon.

Survivor Samoa - the end is near

2009-12-18T09:08:00.005-07:00

A great season is coming to an end.

Current Standings:
Evil 'Box (90 pts):
1. Evil Russell (36 pts)
[2. Erik (32 pts)]
[3. Shambo (22 pts)]

Cutesiness (63 pts):
[1. Monica (22 pts)]
2. Mick (9 pts)
[3. Laura (32 pts)]

Pizza Place (57 points):
[1. John (28 pts)]
2. Brett (26 pts)
[3. Ashley (3 pts)]

Dachui (46 pts):
1. Jaison (19 pts)
[2. Dave (22 pts)]
3. Natalie (5 pts)

Goody Two-Shoes (28 pts):
[1. Good Russell (5 pts)]
[2. Liz (3 pts)]
[3. Kelly (20 pts)]

Power Rankings:
1. Evil 'Box: Evil Russell, and consequently, Evil Bag, have had a death grip on this game for the past month. There are ways that Bag won't win... but they are unlikely scenarios. If Russ doesn't make top 3 then someone else would win, but with the way the game's being played right now, I just don't see that happening.

2. Everyone else: Here are the possible points that can still be won:

1st place: 45 (+15 for sweep)
2nd place: 30
3rd place: 20 (+10 if makes the jury)
Jury: 10
Individual Reward challenge: 4
Individual Immunity: 6

I don't want to call it a lock, but it appears that so long as Evil Russ makes top 3 he has won it... and no one seems to even be considering eliminating him before then. Here are the two "best chance" scenarios that I can see for anyone besides Evil 'Box to win:

1. Brett wins - if Brett sticks to his "plan" and wins the rest of the immunity challenges and ends up winning the game, Pizza Place would end up with 57+6+6+4+45=118 points. (I threw in a reward win too.) Let's say this happens, and the Foa Foas finally realize that they can't beat Evil Russ, and vote him out immediately (unlikely), then Bag would end up with 90+10=100 points. But if he gets through to top 3, I think he's definitely finishing ahead of any other Foa Foa in votes, which would give him 2nd place points of 30, thus giving him 120 points - just enough to beat Brett, who would have won everything else.

2. Dachui finishes 1 and 2 - if Dachui finishes 1&2, and Russ finishes 3rd, then Dachui would win (this doesn't count any reward/immunity points either team may earn). However, if Dachui even finishes 1&3, and Russ finishes 2nd, then Evil 'Box still wins.

Hopes for the finale:
1. I hope that the final tribal is between 2 people, not 3 - although that seems unlikely based on how many people are left, that the jury would have a even number, etc.

2. I hope that Evil Russ doesn't win. Which is weird because I've been rooting for him this whole time. But I would LOVE to see if his face if Even Dumber Blonde Girl ends up getting the best of him. It would be so priceless.

3. I hope that the entire pool will watch the finale together on Sunday.

Individual Power Rankings:
1. Evil Russell (1)
2. Jaison (4)
3. Brett (5)
4. Natalie (3)
5. Mick (2)
6. Shambo (6)

Survivor Samoa - the gap closes... a little

2009-12-11T09:55:00.004-07:00

I was a little disappointed in this last episode because there was no blindside, and there certainly was an opportunity for it! It's the first non-blindside episode in a really long time, and I really missed that element.

I'm happy that Dave got sent home for three reasons: 1. he was disturbingly thin and probably needed a decent meal more than anyone else, 2. his performance has been disappointing for a few weeks now and I'd lost all hope that he was actually a good strategist, and 3. we got a chance to see his CRAZY hair when he came in as a jury member.

I appreciated that Monica tried to stir the pot a little bit, but she did it in all the wrong ways. She tried to bargain and deal with the exact person she should have been plotting against. Even so, at least she was daring enough to actually try something, unlike Dave. Although her suggestion that Shambo would win Galu votes on the jury was laughable. I do hope she lives up to her promise though of spreading seeds of poison throughout the other jury members to try and stop Russ from winning. I don't think she'll succeed, but I can't wait for Monica's to say at final tribal: "Raise your hand if you're a millionaire."

Current Standings:
Evil 'Box (72 pts):
1. Evil Russell (32 pts)
[2. Erik (32 pts)]
3. Shambo (8 pts)

Cutesiness (63 pts):
[1. Monica (22 pts)]
2. Mick (9 pts)
[3. Laura (32 pts)]

Pizza Place (51 points):
[1. John (28 pts)]
2. Brett (20 pts)
[3. Ashley (3 pts)]

Dachui (42 pts):

1. Jaison (15 pts)

[2. Dave (22 pts)]

3. Natalie (5 pts)

Goody Two-Shoes (28 pts):
[1. Good Russell (5 pts)]
[2. Liz (3 pts)]
[3. Kelly (20 pts)]

Power Rankings:
1. Evil 'Box: Bag's still sitting pretty. The only negative to last week's episode was that his team was the only one that didn't bring in any points (except mine, but that's nothing new). But Russell and Shambo are still going strong, and still have a healthy lead. Their relationship is completely ridiculous though. They remind me of Pinky & the Brain: one's an evil and conniving genius, and the other is stupid and says things that are absolutely ridiculous.

Russell: "Shambo, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
Shambo: "I think so Russell, but I'm just not sure I can interpret the chickens' prophetic dreams now that they're dead."

2. Dachui: Dachui has lost a player, but it was their most useless one, so I still think all is well and good with them. More importantly, Natalie and Jaison are both threats when it comes to challenges, unlike Russell and Shambo who really suck at them (a topic I'd get into if I had more time). This means they should be able to close that points gap even more over the last two episodes (hopefully) to make them competitive with Evil 'Box. It's a long shot for sure, but I'm cheering you on, Dachui!

3. Cutesiness: Monica is gone... Moon's #1 pick. We watched the show together last night and when she was voted off, he admitted being happy to see her leave. He said that having her on his team was an embarrassment. I'd like to take this opportunity to go back in time and revisit some of his comments from the night of our picks. He asked me to post my list of players in the order I'd ranked them because he thought they were so ridiculous. I believe he said something along the lines of, "we need to have this on record so you can see how bad your picks are by the end of the season." Well, Moon, here are my top 5 picks: Jaison, Good Russell, Evil Russell, Liz, and Mick. 3 out of the 5 are still in the game (unfortunately the other 2 were my picks). And as I said in that blog: "Moon laughed at these rankings, but I think he'll be sorry he did that later... Only time will tell..."

4. Pizza Place: Brett - wow, he actually spoke, won a challenge, even did some strategizing! He IS real! I was starting to be concerned that he'd make final 3 just because no one ever voted him off because they forgot he was there. But he went and made himself worth noticing and now seems to be Evil Russ's primary target for the next vote. Sorry Doug.

5. Goody Two-Shoes: Dachui finally has more points than me. Sigh.

Individual Power Rankings:
1. Evil Russell (1)
2. Mick (5)
3. Natalie (3)
4. Jaison (2)
5. Brett (6)
6. Shambo (8)
7. Monica (7)
8. Dave (4)

Survivor Samoa

2009-12-04T10:16:00.004-07:00

Last night's episode of Survivor was another good one. The blindsides keep on coming, and I hope they continue! It's been awhile since I've posted, so let's get right to the standings:

Evil 'Box (72 pts):
1. Evil Russell (32 pts)
[2. Erik (32 pts)]
3. Shambo (8 pts)

Cutesiness (53 pts):
1. Monica (12 pts)
2. Mick (9 pts)
[3. Laura (32 pts)]

Pizza Place (45 points):
[1. John (28 pts)]
2. Brett (14 pts)
[3. Ashley (3 pts)]

Goody Two-Shoes (28 pts):
[1. Good Russell (5 pts)]
[2. Liz (3 pts)]
[3. Kelly (20 pts)]

Dachui (26 pts):
1. Jaison (9 pts)
2. Dave (12 pts)
3. Natalie (5 pts)

Power Rankings:
1. Evil 'Box: Bag's team is running away with the game at this point. If Shambo doesn't make top 3 after the lunacy she showed last night I'd be surprised. I think the only way she doesn't make top 3 is if someone stupid took control of the game (e.g. Monica) and voted her out out of spite. Evil Russ's hold on the others is nearly complete. Previews for next week indicate that Jaison and Mick finally realize they need to take him out, but I don't think that either of them actually have the moves to outplay the master. We'll see though...

2. Dachui: This last episode was great for Dachui because not a lot of points were won, but they got a chunk of them! Plus, they're still sitting strong with 3 players despite a close call with Dave. Jaison is thinking and strategizing, which I really appreciate. But he's prone to inaction most of the time, which could cost him the game. Dave - well, Dave is turning into a huge disappointment for me. I'd really like to see this guy try and make some moves! But what I really want to know is, how did that chicken end up tasting? No one ever showed the results of the 2 hour boil! If any team can take down the Evil 'Box, it's this one. Dachui has enough players that they can hopefully start pulling in a lot of points, and even get one or two players into the top 3. I hope Natalie is one of them, she's really winning me over!

3. Cutesiness: Moon informed me last night that he's no longer rooting for his own team. Hurrah, welcome to the club! Monica and Mick are in my eyes basically the same player. They ride coat-tails, don't help a lot with the challenges or strategizing, and generally annoy me. I think that it is impossible that either of them could get enough votes to win - unless they were going up against each other.

4. Pizza Place: Doug's team is all but gone, with only the ghost, Brett, left. I honestly cannot remember a player more overlooked by the TV crews and the other players in the game than this guy. And he's lost what little alliance he may have had when John got voted out. While John may be some brainy rocket scientist, he actually turned out to be pretty dumb when dealing with other people. He was in a hugely vulnerable position and then went to Evil Russ trying to get Mick voted out! I know they made that deal before, but he should have realized that deals like that are made to be broken. It was like watching a sheep try to tell the wolf stalking it what to do.

5. Goody Two-Shoes: I'm STILL ahead of Dachui, lol.

The Future?
With only 8 people left, it's really getting crucial that the players start to strategize about who they are hoping to take to the finals with them. Who can beat who in jury votes? I think it's pretty clear at this point that Russell would beat everyone else. The only upset I could see was if Dave made the finals and the old Galu alliance outweighed the "outwitting, outlasting, outplaying" aspect of the vote.

If Russ doesn't make it to the final 3, I think the next most likely would be Jaison then Natalie. I think that Natalie would probably have the edge over Jaison initially if they went to the finals together, but that Jaison would win in the end because he seems like a better orator.

So if Russ, Jaison, or Natalie makes the final 3 I think they'd win, with Dark Horse Dave being the spoiler. If none of them do, which seems pretty unlikely, it would be more of a "who's not the absolute worst?" tribal council than anything else. Then the victory would probably go to whoever orchestrated the overthrow, although I could see Eric and Russell voting for Shambo out of spite.

Individual Power Rankings:
1. Evil Russell (1)
2. Jaison (2)
3. Natalie (5)
4. Dave (3)
5. Mick (4)
6. Brett (6)
7. Monica (8)
8. Shambo (9)
9. John (7)

Survivor Samoa - a mighty hit!

2009-11-20T09:20:00.008-07:00

Wow. Just when you think it can't get any better, it does! This season has been really fun to watch, especially if you're like me and cheering for the old Foa Foa tribe. Evil Russ found his THIRD hidden immunity idol, but this amazing feat was overshadowed by the biggest drama of the episode - John switching his vote at tribal council. I'm not sure what this "numbers cruncher" guy was thinking... I guess that a 0% chance of being gone at that tribal was too tempting v. the 12.5% chance that would have resulted from pulling rocks out of a bag to see who would go home. I sympathize with this, but only because I've lost credit card roulette 100% of the time I've played it. Pulling things out of hats/bags has not been good to me. Maybe he has similar bad luck in that way, but in the long run this move will hurt him a lot. Since we're crunching numbers, I'd say that John has a 64% chance of being voted out in the next episode.

Here's how things stand...

Evil 'Box (72 pts):
1. Evil Russell (32 pts)
[2. Erik (32 pts)]
3. Shambo (8 pts)

Cutesiness (53 pts):
1. Monica (12 pts)
2. Mick (9 pts)
[3. Laura (32 pts)]

Pizza Place (35 points):
1. John (18 pts)
2. Brett (14 pts)
[3. Ashley (3 pts)]

Goody Two-Shoes (28 pts):
[1. Good Russell (5 pts)]
[2. Liz (3 pts)]
[3. Kelly (20 pts)]

Dachui (20 pts):
1. Jaison (3 pts)
2. Dave (12 pts)
3. Natalie (5 pts)

... and here's how I rank us:

1. Evil 'Box: Evil Russell continues to impress. Moon, this sort of episode is exactly why Bag's team got moved back to the #1 spot last week. Besides having a comfortable lead in the scores right now, he has one of the most innovative players who's ever been on Survivor. Pretty much every week at this point Russ is bringing in as many points as a jury seat is worth. That's hard to beat. Obviously Russell's dominance makes him a huge threat to everyone else, and they'll be gunning for him. But he's as hard to take down as a Cape Buffalo, especially with the hidden immunity idol warming itself in his pocket.

2. Cutesiness: Losing Laura hurt a lot - this dreg was Moon's #1 point earner. But Mick really stepped up in this episode. We saw him wheel and deal with Monica, win an immunity challenge, basically he actually did something! Hopefully he can continue to maintain a low profile while bringing in some points for Moon. Monica is useless, especially now that Laura is gone. She has no one watching her back, and she brings in very few points. On the positive side, these negative attributes will probably help her get deep into the game, so she may end up pulling in 2nd or 3rd place points, which would be huge. But for the most part, the future of this team rests on Mick Dreamy's shoulders. We'll see if he can handle the pressure.

3. Dachui: Dachui is the only team that still has all 3 of its players, and this last episode probably helped this team the most, but I don't know if the rooks can overcome their massive point deficit. I'm excited to see how old Foa Foa will handle being in control of the game - I hope they do a better job than old Galu did! I'm pulling for you Dachui, but it's going to be a steep uphill battle. And I must add that I was disappointed in Dave this episode - I thought one of his greatest strengths was his adaptability and ability to make friends across lines - the gender line and the tribal lines. But he's not thinking enough. Him going along with Laura's ridiculous "let's vote for Russell and if he has the idol so be it" scheme was the dumbest thing he's done in this game.

4. Pizza Place: John made a bad play and I think he'll be voted out soon. He's an easy target now - both sides can consider him untrustworthy, and since he's also competitive in challenges it seems like a no-brainer to make him the next to go. Once he's gone, all Pizza has left is the ghost Brett. We saw a little more of him this episode, but I gotta say that I wasn't impressed by what I saw. This guy seems content with not thinking or playing the game. He hasn't tried to make any other alliances besides what was set up on Day 1, and that will hurt him in the long run, especially since his Day 1 alliance has crumbled.

5. Lil old me: Technically I'm out of the match, but I still have more points than Dachui. That's my positive thought of the day. But really Dachui, you gotta step up your game. That's just plain sad.

Individual Power Rankings:
1. Evil Russell (3)
2. Jaison (6)
3. Dave (1)
4. Mick (7)
5. Natalie (5)
6. Brett (8)
7. John (4)
8. Monica (9)
9. Shambo (10)
10. Laura (2)

Survivor Samoa - Ya Ballin'

2009-11-13T09:29:00.008-07:00

I think last night's episode can officially be called a major comeback for team Evil Box. Bag looked to be for sure losing his only remaining competitor (Shambo cannot be considered competitive by anyone's standards, I don't think), when Russ managed to find another hidden immunity idol, play it to save his butt, and give the old Foa Foa tribe a fighting chance at this game. Instead of practically going out, Bag netted a whopping 24 points in one episode - the most one team has gotten so far - and launched himself back to the top of the rankings. Will Russ find yet another hidden immunity idol and boost Bag's numbers even more? Only time will tell.

Some points of interest from tribal council - I think Erik now hates everyone on his former tribe... except maybe Shambo. Last week's blind side may be fateful in the end if the final 2 end up being Foa Foa v. Galu. Also Jeff Probst officially announced that another immunity idol was out there - stating the obvious, but apparently everyone else needed to hear it from an authority figure to finally get off their butts and actually look for it.

The way things stand right now it's Dave, John, Brett, Laura, and Monica v. Evil Russ, Natalie, Jaison, Mick, and Shambo. 5 v. 5. It may be that Shambo switches back to her original tribe - she's so unpredictable that I could see this happen. But otherwise there's going to be a battle royale for control of this game. I myself am cheering for old Foa Foa, but even if they lose it will be highly entertaining. My early prediction on the final 3 is Dave, Shambo, Monica if Galu wins, or Jaison, Natalie, Shambo if Foa Foa wins.

Here's how things stand so far:

Evil 'Box (58 points):
1. Evil Russell (18 pts)
[2. Erik (32 pts)]
3. Shambo (8 pts)

Cutesiness (33 pts):
1. Monica (12 pts)
2. Mick (3 pts)
3. Laura (18 pts)

Pizza Place (31 points):
1. John (18 pts)
2. Brett (10 pts)
[3. Ashley (3 pts)]

Goody Two-Shoes (28 pts):
[1. Good Russell (5 pts)]
[2. Liz (3 pts)]
[3. Kelly (20 pts)]

Dachui (12 pts):
1. Jaison (3 pts)
2. Dave (8 pts)
3. Natalie (1 pts)

Team Power Rankings - I had to pause when reflecting on my power rankings, because people's rank keeps shifting so dramatically that I was starting to think I'm not very good at this. But in reality these swings are bound to happen. This isn't football, where the teams are pretty much the same the whole season. Alliances are made and broken, players' stocks can rise and fall at the drop of a hat. It's hard to judge how much worth a player will have long-term. Which, really, is why the survivor pool is so much fun.

1. Evil 'Box: Welcome back to the leader board Evil 'Box! Your dominating performance proved that even when you're down, you're never out. Evil Russ is quickly becoming one of my favorite players ever. He's devious, smart, and is willing to do whatever it takes to win. I suspect that he threw the reward challenge to give him time alone at camp to find the idol. 'Box's lead is so great right now that it will be very hard to overcome. Certainly two quick knock-outs would probably do the trick, but Shambo's ridiculousness may have moved her into a final 3 spot. Since no jury member would ever vote for her, she'd be a great partner for a wilier player to take with him/her to the end.

2. Cutesiness: There is going to be a war next week between Laura and Russell. I honestly have no idea who will come out on top, but if it is Laura, Team Cutesiness will be a force to be reckoned with even though Mick is a waste of space. He's a doctor and couldn't do a simple "match the shape to the hole" game. This is a game that 2-year olds play on a regular basis, come on man! But somehow he's avoiding unwanted attention. Maybe because he lays around all day and is useless at challenges. He's certainly lasting longer than I thought he would.

3. Pizza Place: John is definitely thinking and strategizing, but he's not doing anything about it. He tells everyone that Russell could easily have the idol, Dave says no and he drops it. His wussiness may cost old Galu the game. John dodged a big bullet this episode too - with Foa Foa essentially having a free pass, I was sure they'd opt for John. And I'm becoming more and more convinced that Brett is actually a figment of all our imaginations - does anyone remember the last time he had a conversation with another player? I don't. When the old Galu met to discuss who would be voted out next, Brett was not there. If that doesn't spell expendable I don't know what does.

4. Dachui: Dachui's reign at the top of the rankings was sadly short-lived. I still think that Dave is the most dangerous player in this game, but at this point Dachui is averaging a pitiful 2 points per episode. They are 46 points behind the leader, Evil 'Box. I'm afraid this deficit is too much to overcome. If Dachui is to win, they have to actually start winning - both challenges and ultimately the game. Laying low is all well and good, but it won't get Dachui the victory.

5. Goody Two-Shoes: So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night! My sadness over being first out in this competition was very short-lived. Now I am no longer conflicted; I can cheer for Evil Russ to my heart's content! Sadly this was exactly the sort of end I saw coming for Kelly - her lack of being a threat became a threat, but only because the main target was safe. I honestly think this was a bad play by Foa Foa, but what do I know? I thought Liz was a good pick. This does reveal a somewhat interesting trend though - I won last season and went out first this season. And two seasons ago Doug won and went out early the next season as well. Curse of the winners perhaps? We'll have to see if this trend continues.

6. Yasmin: Yas was the dreg that no one picked and was voted out the first episode after the pool started. I'm putting her in the standings to make myself feel a little better.

Individual Power Rankings: (I think I should clarify that these power rankings are based on their likelihood to win, not just go far in the game.)
1. Dave (1)
2. Laura (5)
3. Evil Russell (10)
4. John (3)
5. Natalie (4)
6. Jaison (7)
7. Mick (9)
8. Brett (6)
9. Monica (8)
10. Shambo (11)
11. Kelly (2)

Survivor Samoa - Yeehaw!

2009-11-06T09:26:00.005-07:00

Yes!! I was hoping that things would be shaken up, and indeed they have! The merge was not kind to Evil Box, who'd been leading the whole season so far, much to my enjoyment. Of particular note: Evil Russell actually has negative points now due to his misplay of the hidden idol. Erik has scored more than twice as many points as anyone else (thanks to a 10 point boost for making the jury), but is now incapable of scoring any more. At this point, Bag's active players' points total less than mine... but since everyone from now on is guaranteed at least a 10 point boost for making the jury, this isn't much for me to brag about. Still, I'll take what I can :).

A couple of stand-out performances from Jaison and Natalie: first, for being able to see exactly what was going on, and second, for actually doing something about it. I was also pleased to see that the purple tribe is very willing to stab each other in the back, which should make for an entertaining rest of the season!

I hope Survivor will have a few more "double immunity" challenges in the future - my disappointment with the female lack of athleticism and basic softball ability notwithstanding, this could really mix up the dynamics of the post-merge game. I used to think that maybe the challenges were harder than they looked considering some of the poor performances by the women - but after the last episode I realized that the women that are brought on this show are just wusses, and that pretty much all the women I am friends with would do better than most of the ones on the show right now. And I think you should only be allowed to wear knee-high socks to a t-ball challenge if you can actually hit the ball. False advertising, IMO by both Monica and Kelly.

On to the standings:

Evil Box (34 points):
1. Evil Russell (-2 pts)
[2. Erik (32 pts)]
3. Shambo (4 pts)

Pizza Place (27 points):
1. John (14 pts)
2. Brett (10 pts)
[3. Ashley (3 pts)]

Cutesiness (23 pts):
1. Monica (8 pts)
2. Mick (3 pts)
3. Laura (12 pts)

Goody Two-Shoes (14 pts):
[1. Good Russell (5 pts)]
[2. Liz (3 pts)]
3. Kelly (6 pts)

Dachui (10 pts):
1. Jaison (3 pts)
2. Dave (4 pts)
3. Natalie (3 pts)

Team Power Rankings: Everything has been mixed up now! Last night was a great equalizer and now I'm not really sure how things stand. But I'll organize as best I can...

1. Dachui: That's right, I now consider The Rooks to be the front-runners in this game. Jaison still has a target on his back, but I was impressed by Dave and Natalie's ability to adapt in the game. They aren't leaders, but that's a good thing in Survivor. They'll lay low, let a bunch of other people get kicked out, and then all of a sudden it's the final 4 and everyone's wondering how they got there. Besides which, Dachui actually still has all its players in the game - a huge advantage. They only have 10 pts right now, but the stakes just got a lot higher, and they could make up their deficit in just a couple of episodes.

2. Pizza Place: Seriously, who is this Brett guy? I like that John got a little more TV time, but Brett is noticeably absent - could he be the most boring man in the world? I still don't expect either of these two to win, but even without Erik they're still largely in control of the game, and have enough brains and brawn to win a lot immunity challenges.

3. Cutesiness: Welcome to not-the-bottom, Moon! I actually struggled with who should be ranked higher, Pizza or Cute, but in the end settled on placing Cutesy third. Cutesy's strengths are that there are 3 of them, and that hopefully the women's physical weakness will leave them unnoticed for a few episodes. Cutesy's weakness is that all of the players' names keep being brought up right before tribal anyways. Well, not Mick's yet, but I think it will be soon. Keep clawing Moon!

4. Evil Box: Evil Box took a couple of HUGE hits last night - two of Bag's players had immunity idols, and now one has been voted out and the other misplayed his. Evil Russ basically defanged himself last night. Really, the hidden immunity idol is actually more powerful when it has the potential to be played, rather than when it actually is played. Evil Russell had one trump card and he played it too early. Having an immunity idol means you need to play a finesse game (dorky bridge analogies are running through my head) and Russell is not a finesse player. Shambo - the only player besides Erik to vote for Jaison - was really dependent on Erik, and completely disconnected from everyone. If the women start to become more powerful, I think Monica and Laura's dislike of her will get her voted out quickly. I'm not counting this team out though, even though previews for the next episode look dire for Evil Russell. If anyone can squeak out of a bad situation, it's Evil Russ!

Last. Goody Two-Shoes: Well, I'm pleased to see that Kelly has a brain and is willing to make moves as well. I'm also really starting to love her hair. Could mini-dreds be a good look for me too? Go Kelly!

Individual Power Rankings:
1. Dave (3)
2. Kelly (8)
3. John (5)
4. Natalie (6)
5. Laura (7)
6. Brett (4)
7. Jaison (11)
8. Monica (12)
9. Mick (10)
10. Evil Russell (2)
11. Shambo (9)
12. Erik (1)

Survivor Samoa - the trauma continues

2009-10-30T11:40:00.007-06:00

This season of Survivor started off so promisingly, but I feel like it's starting to peter out a little bit. Not a lot has changed over the past several episodes. Yellow tribe keeps saying that they're just getting unlucky, purple tribe keeps crushing them, and one-by-one the women that Evil Russell doesn't like keep getting voted out. This week's victim was my own Liz, whose only chance lay in a merge that didn't come in time to save her.

Next week's merge I hope will reinvigorate the show. I think there is potential for a lot of scheming and drama once the merge happens, but it will only happen if Evil Russell makes a move. He seems like the only one smart enough to do any scheming at all right now. Eric is a runner-up in this category, but he hasn't been tested enough yet to see if he really got the skillz. But I would love nothing more than to see a yellow tribe + purple ladies overthrow of the purple guys + Shambo. It's probably unlikely to happen, but if there's ever a chance to knock those guys off their throne, this is it.

Evil Box (29 points):
1. Evil Russell (3 pts)
2. Erik (22 pts)
3. Shambo (4 pts)

Pizza Place (21 points):
1. John (8 pts)
2. Brett (10 pts)
[3. Ashley (3 pts)]

Cutesiness (17 pts):
1. Monica (8 pts)
2. Mick (3 pts)
3. Laura (6 pts)

Goody Two-Shoes (14 pts):
[1. Good Russell (5 pts)]
[2. Liz (3 pts)]
3. Kelly (6 pts)

Dachui (10 pts):
1. Jaison (3 pts)
2. Dave (4 pts)
3. Natalie (3 pts)

Here's how I rank us:

1. Evil Box - If anyone has a chance to win on the sad little yellow tribe, it's Evil Russell. Shambo doesn't know it but she's now a part of the most powerful alliance currently in the game. Eric may prove to be the canniest player this season. They will all rack up points in the individual immunity challenges. Nuff said.

2. Pizza Place - John and Brett seem to be Eric's lackeys. They could easily go deep, but I don't think Eric will risk going against them in the finals. They need to throw a coup before it comes down to that, but will either have the wherewithal to think of it? They'll probably win a lot of the upcoming individual challenges; hopefully a streak of those will put them in contention with Evil Box and keep things interesting!

3. Dachui - I would think that Jaison is more likely to bring in points with the upcoming merge what with his size and strength, but he's completely given up. Dave might take down a few, but Natalie probably won't. Since they're already behind in the points, I think it will be very hard for them to come back and win this game. All their hopes rest on Action "He got clotheslined... by the clothesline!" Dave, who's still a contender. He's in a unique position of being a part of the strongest alliance without being a physical threat, which I think will serve him well now that they've merged. The biggest negative is that the other people on this team are from the yellow tribe, so even if he makes it to the finals, Dachui may be so far behind in other points that even a win wouldn't be enough for them to take down the pool.

4. Cutesiness - Moon's picks have risen in my opinion, though not enough to move up any spots in the rankings. I think his team will greatly benefit from the upcoming merge. I don't think they'll win many individual challenges, but they might last longer than I predicted earlier.

5. Goody Two-Shoes - my team has crumbled. I'm down to my dreg, a scrawny woman who is unlikely to win many individual challenges. I hope for a lot of team challenges where she's paired with Eric and Russell. For me to have a chance at winning this I need her to win the whole thing, I need her to win challenges along the way, and I need the other finalists to be from low-point teams. I'm basically giving myself a 0.73% chance to win the whole thing, and a 38% chance that I'll be out completely within the next 3 weeks. Go Kelly!!

Individual power Rankings (parenthesis indicate last week's rank):
1. Eric (1)
2. Evil Russell (3)
3. Dave (2)
4. Brett (6)
5. John (4)
6. Natalie (11)
7. Laura (7)
8. Kelly (5)
9. Shambo (10)
10. Mick (9)
11. Jaison (8)
12. Monica (13)
13. Liz (12)

Survivor Samoa - it continues....

2009-10-26T13:21:00.003-06:00

Sorry for my delinquency, but here's an update, after 2 more episodes, on our standings:

Team Evil 'Box (aka Bag): 21 points
1. Evil/Fat Russell (3 pts)
2. Erik (17 pts)
3. Shambo (1 pts)

Team Pizza Place (aka Doug): 13 points
1. John (5 pts)
2. Brett (5 pts)
[3. Ashley (3 pts)]

Team Goody Two-Shoes (aka me!): 11 points
[1. Good/Black Russell (5 pts)]
2. Liz (3 pts)
3. Kelly (3 pts)

Team Cutesiness (aka Moon): 11 points
1. Monica (5 pts)
2. Mick (3 pts)
3. Laura (3 pts)

Team Dachui (aka Richey and Danielle): 7 points
1. Jaison (3 pts)
2. Dave (1 pts)
3. Natalie (3 pts)

The points haven't changed all that much because - for the FIRST time in Survivor Pool HISTORY - no one actually won any points last episode. But some people did LOSE points for sitting out a challenge that no one won. It was a fascinating episode where no team won immunity or reward challenges, and it looked like 3 people were going to get kicked out... but in the end, only my #1 pick passed out of the show. Doug lost his dreg in the episode before, so we are both down to 2 players, while everyone else still has 3. On to the power rankings:

1. Evil 'Box: This team can do no wrong. Even when they do things wrong, it somehow works out. Take Shambo: this woman has lost their fishing gear, a chicken, annoys the hell out of everyone, and it's saving her from elimination! Crafty Eric, also on the team, has noticed her uselessness, and subsequent useFULness, and is turning what looked to be Bag's greatest weakness into a dark horse to go deep. And with Eric and Evil Russ both carrying hidden immunity idols, it looks like they're going nowhere soon.

I think that finally Russell is starting to realize that his evilness was played prematurely. If he'd saved all his early-game shenanigans for a merge (burning socks, dumping out water) I'd declare him an Evil Genius. Instead, he put his team behind before the game even started. If he doesn't win, it's his own fault, because I think if he'd had any restraint at all he could've taken this thing.

2. Pizza Place: Even with losing a player this team is still fairly secure. John has shown that he can indeed strategize, although I still doubt his first-round pick quality. I still have no idea who Brett is, but he seems safe for now at least. A merge could shake things up a little for them, because I have a feeling the purple tribe will not hold strong for long after a merge. But until that alliance crumbles, these two will do a good job racking up points for Doug. My only qualm is that these two players are too similar; if one of them gets voted out, I have a feeling the other will go shortly after. Doug needs a diversified portfolio, IMO. And losing a player hurts, of course, although since it was only Ashley, the hit was not too painful.

3. Dachui: Unfortunately, I wouldn't qualify this team as strong, merely the best of the bad teams. Jaison and Natalie could be strong contenders, I think, but they're on the losing tribe. They don't have numbers, and Jaison will have a huge target on his back once they merge. Natalie depends almost entirely on Evil Russ to get far, and if he sees a better opportunity come along, that guy will drop her fast. Dave is good though - I think he could do very well in this game. But I want to see more from him before I get too enthusiastic.

4. Cutesiness: Moon and I both breathed easier after Jeff announced that there'd be no votes at tribal, because we both had candidates on the chopping block. Monica, Moon's #1 pick, has proven to be a bad competitor in challenges and too obvious in her alliances. Even if there is a merge next week I feel like the purple tribe could vote her out first anyways, just to finish their plotting from last week. But I certainly don't think she has a chance if they don't merge, so she's likely screwed either way. Mick will be the obvious first target once there's a merge, and he has no idol like Evil Russ to protect him. Which leaves Moon with Laura. Laura is to Moon what Kelly is to me - a wish and a prayer. But if anyone wants to make bets, I'd put my money on our dregs lasting the longest on both our teams.

Last. Goody Two-Shoes: I lost my #1 pick, Good Russell, to a medical evacuation. That sucks a lot, and SERIOUSLY hurts my chances of winning this season. I wasn't counting on Russell to win the whole thing, but I was counting on him to win me SOME points! Now I have Liz and Kelly, who are both good players, but Liz is painting a huge target on her back first by calling out Evil Russell, and then saying dumb things like "our tribe needs the guys, so it'll be either me or Natalie" instead of arguing her case! What Liz should be plugging is something more like this: we need strong women on our tribe because most challenges pit guys against guys and girls against girls. If Natalie is your only female you're screwed! Not only would this save her ass, but it's TRUE. And the fact that she can't see that is making me lose respect, not only for her, but for their whole tribe. Liz needs a merge more than anyone else in the game. I hope we get one soon! But Kelly, my dreg, is my only real hope. I actually do like her chances more than any other woman left in the game. So I'm going to try and stay optimistic for now.

I'm going to keep doing individual power rankings too, just for fun:

1. Eric
2. Dave
3. Evil Russell
4. John
5. Kelly
6. Brett
7. Laura
8. Jaison
9. Mick
10. Shambo
11. Natalie
12. Liz
13. Monica

RE: Notes

2009-10-20T12:53:00.002-06:00

I just got a shout out on Moon's blog which is making me smile :). Although still no cred for the "Old Whitey" moniker. WTF mate?

Survivor blog will be coming soon, but I keep leaving my spreadsheet at home. Also due: wedding blog and hit & run blog. Those will undoubtedly take forever to post, sorry for anyone who cares.

Survivor Samoa - it starts....

2009-10-09T13:03:00.003-06:00

I know the season's already 4 episodes in, but I don't feel like Survivor really starts until the pool has begun! Last night marked what I consider to be one of the most serious, competitive, and well-organized pools we've done so far, which to mean also means the most fun. I spent a large part of last night sitting at a table in Murphy's with 5 other competitors, and 2 semi-supporters working through the rules, agonizing over picks, and taking copious notes. It's how I imagine a fantasy football draft must go.

The most notable change to this season is that team Dachui, elimated from last season's competition because of numerous absences, actually made the draft this time around. Good luck to you, rooks!

RULES:

We've made some small adjustments to last season's rules, which I've posted here:

45 points (+15 for sweep) - 1st place
30 points - 2nd place
20 points (+10 if makes jury) - 3rd place
10 points - Jury
2 points - Wins a team reward challenge
3 points - Wins a team immunity challenge
4 points - Wins an individual reward challenge
1 points - Invited to share a reward challenge
6 points - Wins individual immunity challenge
10 points - Finds the hidden immunity idol
+10/-5 points - Plays hidden immunity idol at tribal council (+ 10 for successful, -5 if it was played unnecessarily)
-10 - Plays a fake immunity idol
-2 - Sits out a challenge

The first place prize was downgraded just a bit, while most of the early-game points were bulked up. I think this was a good decision as it increases the chances of someone winning the pool, even if their pick doesn't win the competition. However, it's still highly likely that whoever's pick wins Survivor, will win the pool too. Hopefully the scoring will make it as exciting as I think it will!

PICKS/CURRENT STANDINGS:

Team Evil 'Box (aka Bag): 15 points
1. Evil/Fat Russell (3 pts)
2. Erik (12 pts)
3. Shambo (0 pts)

Team Missing a Pizza Place (aka Doug): 7 points
1. John (2 pts)
2. Brett (2 pts)
3. Ashley (3 pts)

Team Dachui (aka Richey and Danielle): 6 points
1. Jaison (3 pts)
2. Dave (0 pts)
3. Natalie (3 pts)

Team Goody Two-Shoes (aka me!): 5 points
1. Good/Black Russell (0 pts)
2. Liz (3 pts)
3. Kelly (2 pts)

Team Cutesiness (aka Moon): 5 points
1. Monica (2 pts)
2. Mick (3 pts)
3. Laura (0 pts)

ANALYSIS (in order of the strength of teams):

1. Evil 'Box: Bag's team has already started with a huge leg up: two of his players have hidden immunity idols. Besides getting bonus points for that, it also makes his team a lot more powerful and dangerous. Both guys found them without having seen any clues, which speaks highly of their innovation and the fact that they're playing the game 24/7. Shambo could go out next week, but she could also be one of the key players in the game since she has a foot in both camps right now. Will she win? Probably not, but as a dreg, she has the potential to bring in a lot of points. And if she doesn't, no big loss.

2. Dachui: Dachui had a very scary episode to watch after the picks. Jaison looked like a quitter, Dave looked like he was insane, and Natalie looked really dumb. But they all pulled through and no one got the boot. I think that if anyone has a chance to win without having picked the actual winner, this is the team. Natalie somehow worked her way into an unstable, but potentially huge alliance. Jaison is a huge threat if he can get his head back in the game, and Dave is canny, if weird. They all have the potential for very deep runs in this game.

3. Goody Two-Shoes: I have some solid players, but none of them are real stand-outs. I picked Liz because I thought that she was good at allying herself with people while still laying low, and was disheartened by previews of next week's episode (please don't piss off Russell!) because it looks like she loses her composure. Good Russell right now is sitting very pretty, but he also needs to work on laying low. Finally, Kelly, my dreggery, actually seems like she could be really cool. I had no idea who she was when I picked her, but I thought she did well in this last episode. It seems like she has a good feel for the game. Fingers crossed that my dreg won't be the one carrying my whole team!

4. Missing a Pizza Place: Maybe this team doesn't deserve to be 2nd to last, but I really know nothing about these players, and I think that's a bad sign. Shows like this tend to at least introduce you to the finalists at the beginning, IMO, so if 4 episodes in I still don't know who they are, it doesn't bode well. And cameo sightings of Brett don't count.

5. Cutesiness: Moon, this is nothing personal, but I think your team sucks. I'm not singling you out. I'm singling out Monica, Mick, and Laura. Monica, Moon's #1 pick almost got voted out last night, which usually doesn't bode well for a team. Mick will be an easy target for the majority tribe, if they merge and the yellow team is still down players. And Laura could be good, but who really knows yet?

Overall there were a LOT of players we know practically nothing about, which made this season's draft very interesting. I think there's a lot of parity in the teams this year, and honestly whoever wins this season will have gotten lucky along the way. Should be really fun!!

Finally, as a sort of post-script (dedicated to Moon), I'm posting my "power rankings" on how I rated the players leading into the draft.

Top Tier:
Jaison
Good Russell
Evil Russell
Liz
Mick

Middle of the Pack:
Erik
Brett
Monica
Laura
Kelly
Natalie
Shambo

Hope I Don't Get:
Ashley
David
John
Yasmin

Moon laughed at these rankings, but I think he'll be sorry he did that later (except maybe Dave; that guy impressed me last night). Only time will tell...

2009-08-31T13:28:00.003-06:00

The wedding is less than 2 weeks away. My parents arrive in 5 days. The sound of inevitability is constantly in the back of my head. It sounds like Bag saying "Eeeeeeeee!"

(p.s. I am thrilled to get married and have a wedding and spend the rest of my life with the man I love. It's the planning of it that causes the stress!)

You haven't heard from me because....

2009-08-26T13:19:00.002-06:00

I (sort of) got a promotion! I've never been busier or happier at my job than I am right now. It's pretty awesome. Unfortunately the promotion is supposed to be only temporary because at this point they can't accompany my promotion with an increase in pay (thus the naming of it, a Dougmotion). But it is encouraging that it happened at all, and it's also encouraging that I'm enjoying my new responsibilities so much!

That's all for now... I no longer seem to have time for blog posts, what w/ work and the wedding less than 3 weeks away!

Nappy's Last Chance

2009-08-03T13:02:00.002-06:00

Nappy, this is a public post directed to you - if you ever change the website your blog is on again, I will remove you from my list on my blogsite. I have no problem with you changing your outlook on life, changing gears in both poker and life goals. I do have a problem with spending 3 minutes trying to figure out how to update my blog. Yes, 3 minutes is enough to push me over the edge. This would be incredibly damaging to you, as it would mean losing 1/11th of your readership.

You have been forewarned.

Galileo

2009-07-30T12:10:00.002-06:00

Listening to Galileo by the Indigo Girls right now. (I prefer the Abby-a capella group's better, but I don't have an mp3 of it anymore :(.) It made me start thinking about reincarnation. I feel like I've got it pretty good right now, so my previous lives must have done a damn good job of "living right." But what if I'm messing it up? Am I just sitting back and taking it easy instead of taking that crucial next step to get me to Paradise? I imagine my soul living life after life, alternating between working my ass off to be a good person, then sitting on my heels, condemning myself to another grindy existence.

If I actually believed in any of this stuff I might get motivated to do more... but instead I'm just going to appreciate what I have and enjoy my life. What can I say? Current me's just a little too lazy :).

Holy bananas!

2009-07-20T13:13:00.003-06:00

George RR Martin just posted on his blog that they've got Sean Bean cast as Eddard Stark for HBO's Game of Thrones pilot! Check it out here: http://grrm.livejournal.com/. I'm also really excited about their cast for King Robert (this guy's got "loud and drunk" written all over him and I thought he was great in A Knight's Tale) and for their choice of an "intense" unknown for Jon Snow. But getting Sean Bean attached to this project makes it feel like it's got a whole lot more weight and authenticity behind it now. (Peter Dinklage was previously cast as Tyrion... also exciting, but it's old news.) I can't wait to see who's announced next!

Money for Nothing

2009-07-06T22:28:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago Bag IMed me to see if I wanted to play in a softball game on Saturday. I told him I couldn’t because I was playing in some weekly freerolls. A scoffing Bag wrote, “softball >>>>>>>> freerolls” to which I replied, “not if you win.” Fast forward to last week, another Saturday where I found myself playing a few freerolls, and mercifully untempted by softball. Freerolls, more than any other tourney (that I play, i.e. turbos don’t count), are true donkaments. But I’ve been reading Nappy’s blog a lot lately and his crasian aggro style has been rubbing off on me, which means I’m currently playing a style ideally suited to a donkament freeroll. I played a lot of hands, called light, and put people on a weaker range than I normally would.

About 1,600 people played in the $75k freeroll and 288 made the money. With about 200 people left I felt like I was in complete control of the tournament. I told myself I would at least get top 18. I’d been ridiculously aggressive, raising and then calling all ins with hands like T8s, and even a 43s once, both of which I was delighted to win.

Soon after the money, I got moved to a new table, where I was pleased to be sitting directly to the left of the table’s big stack, Rhubarb. This guy was pretty open about the fact that he was robbing people blind. He probably raised about half the pots, and usually took it down. But when he got reraised he usually folded quickly, not getting into any pissing contests with the upstarts. This was an ideal situation for me because I was able to resteal from him most of the time, bringing in a hefty amount of chips but not having to risk mine very often. Unfortunately, when that table broke I got moved to a new one where the guy to my right, EasyY, was very good and started to knock large chunks out of my sizeable stack. He was moved to the new table in time to watch me raise one hand and take it uncontested, then double up in a 250k pot with JJ against AK the very next hand (3 for 3 on my flips). Two hands later I have 77 UTG and raise it to 12.5k with blinds at 2.5/5k. He reraised from the button to 40k and I flatcall. The board came 995 and he bet 44k into an 88k pot. I figured this was a good spot for me so I reraised to 109k, and he instantly went all in. With 97k left behind, I made a very difficult fold, but good fold all the same. I’m sure I wouldn’t be posting this blog if I hadn’t. Two hands later I get JJ in the SB, and after an EP limp EasyY raises 3x. I really should have seen that one coming, but I was pissed off from our previous hand and shipped it for 100k. EasyY with the obvious rockets called immediately, but BINK! a beautiful jack on the river doubled me up! (Sorry Nappy, but JJ is my new favorite hand. I’m probably the one sucking out on you constantly.)

Suddenly I’m there. I’d made top 18 and I paused for a moment of celebration because I’d achieved my goal and then some! I was sitting pretty at 5th in chips, and from there I cruised my way easily into the final table.

I wasn’t too happy with where I was sitting, as Rhubarb was three seats to my left. However, while still active I’ve still got a pretty good read on him. Easy_Y is there too, sitting two to my left. The two shortest stacks are sitting to my right, one of whom had been folding to me all through the last table. Of the remaining final 9, a guy named Freako8 had 500k, Rhubarb and I each had 350k, and 4 guys had around 250k.

The very first hand I get AK in the SB. Rhubarb, as predictable as pie raised to 18k w/ blinds at 3.5k/7k, and Freako called. I reraised to 69k, and they both folded. Good start! Rhubarb knocks out the smallest stack 4 hands in, and after that everyone’s stacks are so close it’s a battle to the end. With 7 left, 5 of us are right around 400k, EasyY was up to 600k, and one shorty had 150k. I continued my bludgeoner style and started shtealing my way up to a more dominating stack. I was up to 550k when I called a small-stack’s all in with AJo, running up against their QQ and bumping me down to 350k. I tightened up for a couple of orbits, when I played this hand:

With 6 left it folded to me in the hijack and I raised it to 29k w/ blinds at 6/12k with Jd5d. The player to my left flat called, and the board came 563 with two clubs (I had no clubs). I bet out 52k and he called. The turn was a non-club deuce, and I checked. He bet into me for a 90k and I considered my options. If he’d had a 4 I thought he would’ve checked, so I immediately discounted that option. He could’ve had a pocket pair, but if that were the case he probably would’ve raised the flop. Plus, with such a junk board it didn’t look like I’d hit anything, so he could be betting with crap just because he thought I didn’t have anything. So I shoved all in. He used up almost his entire timebank before calling with JcTc. No club or T, and I was up to 660k.

Down to 5: I was still in the middle of texting Wolf news of my double up when I woke up with AKo on the button. I raised to 29k (blinds still 6/12k) and it folded to Rhubarb in the BB with 600k who reraised to 51k. I wasn’t surprised; I’d been stealing a lot and was pleased to see him defending since I held a monster. I rereraised to $139k, and after tanking he pushed all in. I thought I was in a coinflip, but then he showed AdQd! In my mind I pictured his cheeks reddening in embarrassment as his cards were revealed. But AK < AQ was proven yet again when he hit a flush, and I was crippled down to 47k. Rhubarb now had 1.2M from the biggest pot—and biggest suckout-- of the entire tournament. I was confident that I would wind up in 5th place.

I folded until my BB where I got 82o. Rhubarb, reveling in his newfound wealth, raised to 30k and I glumly went all in for my pittance of 43k. He had AK, but I spiked a 2 and doubled up to 100k. The very next hand I woke up with aces and cheered. Rhubarb continued his raising ways and when I re-shoved he called with QJo. I held and suddenly I was back in the game with 210k. After that it was a grind as the nit to my right slowly got blinded out of the tourney. Then the other short-stack tight player at the table went into panic mode and started raising like crazy. EasyY and Rhubarb basically sat back and watched us try and knock each other out. In the end though it was Rhubarb who knocked out the other guy, and we reached final three with Rhubarb at 1.3M, EasyY at 800k and me with a small but feisty 300k stack.

We ended up making a deal, and I walked away with $8,000. It’s the biggest score I’ve ever made, and it comes from a tournament in which I invested $0 dollars and only 6 hours of time.

'Synthetic tree' claims to catch carbon in the air

2009-06-24T10:01:00.001-06:00

Very cool: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/06/22/synthetic.tree.climate.change.ccs/index.html

Survivor Tocantins - Crush like Brush

2009-05-21T14:16:00.002-06:00

Survivor is over and therefore the pool is too. I'm pleased to report that the winner is... ME! And JT, I suppose, but who really cares, right? Here are the final scores:

Pickett - 132 points
- JT (104)
- Taj (22)
- Sandy (6)

Bag - 75 points
- Stephen (44)
- Joe (7)
- Debra (24)

Alia - 56 points
- Spencer (6)
- Erinn (28)
- Coach (22)

Moon - 40 points
- Brendan (24)
- Candace (0)
- Sierra (16)

Doug - 36 points
- Jerry (0)
- Tyson (29)
- Sydney (7)

The points look a little different because I realized in the very last episode that making the jury was supposed to count for 10 points, not 5 which is how I'd been counting it. The above scores are actually correct, but if we go with how I was scoring it all along it would look like this: Pickett (127), Bag (70), Alia (51), Doug (31), Tom (30). So the only difference is who ends up in last. Sorry for misleading you, Doug, but you did the worst this season.

Overall I thought it was a decent season, although without Coach it could have been one of the worst. For all the blindsides that the contestants felt, it actually seemed rather predictable from a viewer's point of view. And honestly, I was hoping/expecting a little more drama from Coach at the final tribal council, and felt a little disappointed when he didn't give a "one of you is a snake, the other is a rat" Susan-type speech at the end. But I am really happy that JT won - he seems like an all-around great guy who needed the money. Plus, he was my pick, woo hoo! I think I won a dinner sponsored by all the runners-up, which I will enjoy heartily.

I really liked doing our more complex pool this season, and I hope that we can continue it in the future. I do think there should be a few changes made to it though. Personally, I'd like to have more ways for players to lose points. We really didn't have all that many of those, but I think it could be really fun to add in something like "-5 points if one of your players cries" and stuff like that. Also, in the end it really came down to whoever picked the winner would win. Had Stephen won the majority of jury votes, then Bag would be the victor of this sesason. So I think that we shouldn't give the winner so many points next season. Maybe 40, 25, and 15 points, for 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Drop it down in baby steps.

Next season will be in Samoa, which I'm very excited about. It seems like such a cool, exotic place (which, I guess all of the locations are). I'd like to visit it some day. It makes me a little sad though because it would have been SO cool if Moon had actually made it on the show! I'd love to watch him on Survivor, I think he could be an amazing player in the game. So don't give up Moon! Apply every season until they let you in!

Survivor Tocantins

2009-05-11T15:01:00.001-06:00

Bag (39 points)
- Stephen (13)
- [Joe (7)]
- [Debra (19)]

Doug (31 points)
- [Jerry (0)]
- [Tyson (24)]
- [Sydney (7)]

Pickett (30 points)
- JT (12)
- Taj (12)
- [Sandy (6)]

Moon (30 points)
- [Brendan (19)]
- [Candace (0)]
- [Sierra (11)]

Alia (26 points)
- [Spencer (6)]
- Erinn (8)
- Coach (12)

♪ Ding dong, Debbie’s gone!♪ Not that she was a witch or anything, but I believe she was the only one smart enough to coordinate a blind-side of JT (besides Stephen, but I don’t think he’ll do that). Getting rid of her greatly increases my chances of winning this season. With Debbie’s exit though, I must finally concede defeat. Debbie > Sandy. They were the last two picks and Bag took Debbie to leave me with the dreg Sandy. I was happy with that though because I was convinced that while Debbie would remain in the game longer, she wouldn’t earn very many points along the way. She turned out to be a much smarter and better competitor than I’d anticipated, so congrats to you Debbie for earning three times as many points as the other old white lady in the game! Sandy, you were exactly what I thought you’d be—totally nuts, but great for a handful of much-needed points.

Bag had a bittersweet week last week. He earned 10 big points while no one else got anything, but he lost a player. I’d say that losing Debbie wasn’t that great of a loss, but she brought in more points than Stephen so far (not even counting the 5 points she earned for making the jury). Stephen has always been a long-term threat, but I think Bag needed his “producer” in the game to ensure the win. Now I feel like the field is wide open. And by wide open I mean that it’s really come down to me and Bag, while Alia continues her insane claw to victory.

Quick note, in my first post I noted that Alia actually said she wanted the dregs since she hadn’t had time to watch the show yet. Instead, an ever-so-slightly-more-informed Bag picked for her. (Which means that 50% of all of Bag’s picks are still in the game. Impressive.) I predicted that—had Alia gotten what she wanted—she would have gotten Debra, Sandy, and Coach. Which would have given her 37 points with one player left right now. She’d probably be in the lead.

For me to win I need JT to start pulling his weight again and win some immunities. It would also be extremely helpful if either Taj or JT played the hidden immunity idol and Stephen did not. I think it could happen that they think of this (I think that the last week to use it will be this week) and play it “just in case”. If it’s played it’s possibly a 10 point swing between me and Bag. I also need the current alliances to hold as they are.

For Bag to win, Stephen needs to win the whole thing. Nuff said.

For Alia to win, the rest of the tribe except Coach needs to come down with a brutal case of giardia so they are all med-evacked, thus handing Coach the victory. At this point in the game, even if he or Erinn makes it to the final 2 (or 3) I just don’t see anyone voting for them, not even people from their own alliances. If Coach was in the final 2, maybe Debbie and Tyson would vote for him, but they both know that he was the pawn not the player, and I think they’d prefer to reward the person who outfoxed them, not their lackey. If it was Erinn, well, most people don’t think she’s all the smart, I don’t think. She’s always a name away from being the next to go. So what Alia really needs is for both Erinn and Coach to make it to the final 2, because then people would have no choice BUT to vote for her players.

I want to conclude this post with my favorite part of the episode, which is that Coach brought his assistant coach on the show as his “special someone.” Everyone else brought their husbands, fathers, siblings, but Coach chose his co-worker. And not just his co-worker, his professional subordinate. I think this guy lives to be on one long power trip. It’s also sad that there’s no one in his life who he’s really close to. I think that Coach is what Randy from the last season would have been if he was stupid. They are both awkward loners who don’t fit in with society. Randy knew that, but Coach is too ignorant to realize it.

Survivor Tocantins

2009-05-01T18:24:00.002-06:00

Doug (31 points)
- [Jerry (0)]
- [Tyson (24)]
- [Sydney (7)]

Moon (30 points)
- [Brendan (19)]
- [Candace (0)]
- [Sierra (11)]

Pickett (30 points)
- JT (12)
- Taj (12)
- [Sandy (6)]

Bag (29 points)
- Stephen (8)
- [Joe (7)]
- Debra (14)

Alia (26 points)
- [Spencer (6)]
- Erinn (8)
- Coach (12)

Gaaah! We're all within 5 points of each other! It's this sort of score that makes me wonder if all this effort was really even worth it. But then I think about how much fun it's been to do, and I just don't really care. :) Plus, with Doug and Moon out, the rest of us will quickly pull away.

This last episode was really fun to watch. Particularly the part where Coach was revealed to be a liar and a freako. I'm okay that he didn't get voted out this week, because I do feel like his end is very near. I wish they'd voted Debbie out though; she's way too canny to keep in the game when they have a chance to get rid of her.

In any case, JT and Stephen's plan right now suits me very well. If their plan works then it's JT, Taj, and Stephen in the final three. Then, even if Stephen wins, I'll earn just as many points with second and third place. And I think that JT should earn a few immunities along the way, putting me ahead of Bag to eke out the win.

Other than that I guess there's not much to report. It's really getting down to it, I think there's only 3 or maybe 4 episodes to go!

Survivor Tocantins - 1.5 down, 2.5 to go!

2009-04-28T10:51:00.003-06:00

Thursday marked the exit of our first player, Doug. Tyson got blindsided, and thus ended Doug’s potentially epic run for the win. With Moon crippled, that really only leaves me, Bag, and Alia racing to the end. Here’s our standings:

Doug (31 points)
- [Jerry (0)]
- [Tyson (24)]
- [Sydney (7)]

Pickett (28 points)
- JT (11)
- Taj (11)
- [Sandy (6)]

Bag (27 points)
- Stephen (6)
- [Joe (7)]
- Debra (14)

Moon (25 points)
- [Brendan (19)]
- [Candace (0)]
- Sierra (6)

Alia (21 points)
- [Spencer (6)]
- Erinn (8)
- Coach (7)

It’s interesting, because for a season that is so unpredictable, people are getting voted out essentially along the same lines as most seasons. Pre-merge, those voted out were fairly poor producers, but after the merge, the strongest, aka those who’ve made the most points, were the first to go. If that continues, then Debra will be the next to be voted out. I think it’s unlikely, but you never know!

Doug is currently in the lead, but without being able to earn any more points, he’ll likely end up in dead last by the end of the season. The only person with the potential to finish lower than him is Moon. And while his one pony Sierra did survive this last episode, I got the impression that absolutely no one likes her, so I think it would be very hard for her to win the whole thing. If people are smart, though, they should try to take her to the jury with them, so she could get 10 or 20 points, as opposed to the 5 a jury member earns.

The other three remaining players all still have 2 ponies in, and all of us have a good chance at going deep. I think that Bag is still in the lead because his two picks are probably the smartest ones left and the most capable of making plays. With Tyson gone, Debra will have to step up and make some decisions, since Coach is convinced he’s a dragon-slaying samurai that lives in the 13th century and is incapable of making plays.

I feel relatively secure at this point since both JT and Taj have access to the hidden immunity idol. JT still has a target on his back, and Taj isn’t doing much of anything right now, but I don’t think either will go out in the next episode.

Alia still has both Erinn and Coach in the game. I actually really like the game that Erinn is playing right now. She’s not in any alliance, but somehow she’s in all the alliances at the same time. It’s a surprisingly secure position to be in. And Coach, well, I think at this point Coach’s stock may actually be on the rise. He’s a loon and his puppet master Tyson was taken out. If Debra doesn't take control of his strings next, he’s just a powerless figurehead that no one will vote for when it gets down to the jury. Every week I hope he gets voted out, but as each week passes, my optimism dwindles a little more.

If you haven’t seen me lately it’s because…

2009-04-24T16:58:00.001-06:00

I’ve gotten back into the groove of playing online tourneys lately. It’s something that I’ve been on a long hiatus from until just about a month ago. I’m not sure what made me stop in the first place, but I think it had something to do with a) sucking, and b) the introduction of Mario Kart Wii into my life. The break was much-needed. Now that I’m back, I’m only fiending for more. From two Sundays ago to last Sunday I played tourneys on 5 out of the 8 days. When I’m not playing, I’m thinking about it, and when it’s too late to get tourneys started, I’ve been analyzing past tourneys with Wolf.

I’ve never felt more confident about my play than I do now. I feel more focused, more educated, and straight-up just have more fun with tourneys these days. This time in my poker “career” is only rivaled by the last days of PartyPoker, where I really found my groove in their donkaments. But those tourneys didn’t take as much skill as the ones I’m playing now. I’ve moved up in stakes (slightly) from my usual $10 and $20 tourney’s to the $50 and $75 stakes. We even played the Sunday Million ($215) last weekend, which I had vowed to never play again two years ago because I was too intimidated by the players.

I’m certainly no pro, and in the past two weeks I’ve only made one final table. But I have cashed in 35% of all the tourneys I’ve played, and made the money in 3 out of 5 of the biggest buy-ins. I used to play with my heart and my guts. Now my brain is getting more involved and I feel like I’m finally truly starting to understand the game. Considering that this summer will be the first time I will ever visit Vegas since I’ve turned 21, the timing couldn’t be better.

Survivor Tocantins - Gnight, Moon

2009-04-20T12:00:00.005-06:00

Pickett (26 points)
- JT (9)
- Taj (11)
- [Sandy (6)]

Moon (25 points)
- [Brendan (19)]
- [Candace (0)]
- Sierra (6)

Doug (24 points)
- [Jerry (0)]
- Tyson (17)
- [Sydney (7)]

Bag (20 points)
- Stephen (6)
- [Joe (7)]
- Debra (7)

Alia (19 points)
- [Spencer (6)]
- Erinn (6)
- Coach (7)

* I don't have my nerdy spreadsheet with me, but I think this is correct.

The latest episode should really be considered a continuation of the episode from the week before. The same intrigues continued through both. Brendan got slayed by Coach, the now-proven loon. I honestly believe that he spent most of his formative years on one big acid trip, which resulted in the human-like person we are now seeing on TV.

Tyson is proving to be a serious force in this game. He's Coach's puppet master who is winning every immunity along the way. He's set up what looks to be a perfect game at this point. I think he's only rivaled by Stephen, who's playing a more subtle game, but could be the true dragon slayer when he coordinates the Tyson blind-side. JT is playing an honest game, but the fact that everyone loves him and he's competitive, will at some point make people realize he shouldn't be around anymore. If he went to a jury today, I think he would win. But I seriously doubt that Tyson would let him get that far, if he continues to be the one in control. Erin, Debra, Sierra, and Taj may be the most useless women in Survivor history. I am really disappointed in the female performance this season. If any of them win, it will be because the jury was too angry with the man they are up against, not because they actually deserve it.

Looking at our current standings, Doug continues to get the scores he needs. Tyson is leading the active players with most points earned, 17. My only concern is that Tyson is looking TOO good. He needs to tone it down while he's still got a strong alliance, or people will start to notice that he's winning all of the immunities and vote him out. Brendan had already marked him as the biggest threat, and I think that Stephen and JT are concerned as well. (Hopefully they'll actually act on it.)

Moon's recently eliminated Brendan racked up 19 points (5 from making the jury), but is guaranteed to earn no more. Probably the worst part is that he had an immunity idol in his pocket, but didn't play it. I expect that's the part that burns the most, doesn't it Moon? Moon is pretty much dead in the water. His only remaining pick, Sierra, has earned a grand total of 6 points so far. Skeletor Sandy, who was eliminated almost a month ago, earned the same amount. This girl is NOT a producer. Even if Sierra doesn't go out next week, Moon is pretty much drawing dead. His K2o is up against KK.

Bag is still the front-runner for winning the whole thing IMO. Neither of his picks have been mentioned even once as far as getting voted out, and they've done nothing to give people a reason to put them there. Expect him to continue sitting in the 3rd place spot in our rankings, and then make a burst at the end of the season to take the whole thing.

I'm doing okay, but my place is still shaky. JT has a heart-shaped target on his back that I'm worried someone will take aim at. I feel like the biggest confrontation will be Tyson wanting to eliminate him, and JT and Stephen trying to take Tyson out instead. I just hope my team wins the battle!

Alia.... what can I say? She continues to survive and thrive. She's only 7 points off the lead right now and has two active players still capable of bringing in a lot more points. I thought that either Erinn or Coach would for sure be gone by now, so I can't really say with any confidence what will happen to her picks in the future. I still doubt that Alia will win the whole thing, but at this point, I certainly can't guarantee it. Is Alia screwed? Not nearly so much as Moon.

Survivor Tocantins - Dragon Slayer

2009-04-15T11:19:00.006-06:00

Sorry for the belated Survivor update. I think it took me so long because the episode was kind of a let-down, so I didn't feel like posting. There was a lot of great drama and build-up right until the end, when Joe got med-evacked and therefore there was no epic upset at tribal council like they were hinting at through the whole episode. Overall I thought it was a solid episode, but the ending was so disappointing that looking back on it I thought it was weak. Hopefully this episode will be a great build-up for an epic show tomorrow, though!

There are many things that I liked about this episode:
1 - neither of my picks got voted out, and even more importantly, one of Bag's picks is gone now without getting a jury seat. My guess is that the next person voted out will be a jury member, so this is a big loss for him.
2 - I thought JT was going to be in really bad shape going into the merge. He's on the short-stacked tribe and is clearly both their leader and a really strong competitor. I don't think he could put a bigger target on his back. But the weird twistedness that is the other tribe instead loves him and they all want to be in an alliance with him. This is an unexpected and very welcome surprise.
3 - Tyson won the only points last episode. Considering that he is Doug's only pick and Doug was in last place, I'm fine with that. If I don't win the points, then I want Doug to.

Here are our current standings:

Pickett (24 points)
- JT (7)
- Taj (11)
- [Sandy (6)]

Doug (19 points)
- [Jerry (0)]
- Tyson (12)
- [Sydney (7)]

Alia (19 points)
- [Spencer (6)]
- Erinn (6)
- Coach (7)

Bag (18 points)
- Stephen (6)
- [Joe (7)]
- Debra (5)

Moon (18 points)
- Brendan (12)
- [Candace (0)]
- Sierra (6)

I haven't earned any points in two weeks now, so that fact that I'm still in first is remarkable. Based on the way things developed last episode, I think my team is likely to stick around at least a few weeks more (thank you, survivor gods!). It helps me that they are allies, so if one does well so does the other. If they lose I'll go down hard, but if they keep succeeding I will reap twice as many benefits.

Doug still only has Tyson... his personal sole survivor. Last post I said he needs to win the whole thing and a lot of immunity challenges along the way for Doug to have a chance at winning the pool. Last week, Tyson pulled through. He's in a pretty good alliance, so he'll probably last at the minimum a few more weeks. I'm still calling him a long-shot but if anyone can do it, Tyson can.

Alia's team continues to blow my mind. How Coach and Erinn are both still in- and are winning- I don't know. But Coach is leading the show in his wacko way. He's now calling himself the Dragon Slayer since he is hoping to blindside Brendan. He's also saying things like "the strongest deserve to be here, so we're going to vote out the weak" right as he plans on voting out the strongest person in the tribe. I think Coach may have either done a lot of drugs in his youth or is just straight-up delusional. In either case, I don't like him but I love watching his antics on TV. He may be one of the most entertaining cast members ever and will undoubtedly get invited back to any all-stars seasons in the future if he's not dead or in jail at the time. Coach is a lot like Dreamz (from the season that Earl won). They are both loose cannons, which makes for a really exciting competition.

Bag's team took a big hit with Joe being med-evacked last episode. He was a solid strong player who, had he not gotten injured, would probably have gone pretty far... although I don't think he would have won. Still, Bag has two other great players in Stephen and Debra. I think out of all his players, Joe was the most expendable. Don't expect Stephen or Debra to win many challenges, but you should definitely expect them to go deep in the show. I think at least one if not both of them will finish top 3.

Two weeks ago I said that Brendan was in the most secure position, and I would be shocked if he got voted out. But this season is one of the most unpredictable they've ever had, and sadly for Moon, both of his players were on the chopping block last week. Fortunately for him, they never actually went to tribal council, but he could still be screwed if nothing changes. Previews hinted that Brendan would bust a move in the next episode, but we won't know how successful that turns out to be until tomorrow.

This week it looks like either Brendan or maybe Coach will get voted out - if that happens then either Alia or Moon's dragon really will have been slain. Erinn and Sierra cannot win this survivor pool on their own.

Survivor Tocantins - it's baaaaack!

2009-04-03T10:29:00.006-06:00

Survivor aired last night for the first time in three weeks, hurrah! Overall it was an entertaining episode, although points-wise it was disappointing (for me). Here's our current standings:

Pickett (24 points)
- JT (7 points)
- Taj (11 points)
- [Sandy (6 points)]

Alia (19 points)
- [Spencer (6 points)]
- Erinn (6 points)
- Coach (7 points)

Moon (18 points)
- Brendan (12 points)
- [Candace (0 points)]
- Sierra (6 points)

Bag (18 points)
- Stephen (6 points)
- Joe (7 points)
- Debra (5 points)

Doug (14 points)
- [Jerry (0 points)]
- Tyson (7 points)
- [Sydney (7 points)]

Currently the point differential is too close to really matter. The merge will be next week, and that's when the points go up and things start getting really interesting. It's 2 points for winning an individual reward challenge, 1 point for being invited to share the reward, and 5 points if a player wins the individual immunity challenge. Even more importantly, soon the players that are left will become members of the jury, which is worth 10 points each. (By the way, it's interesting to note that while having a player win the game will earn you 50 points, if someone else's players finish 2nd and 3rd, then they've made just as many points. Something I hadn't noticed before!)

What does this mean? It pretty much means Doug is screwed (and Alia still too). He's down to only 1 player, and he's already in last place. For Doug to have a chance at winning, Tyson needs to win the whole thing, and a lot of the challenges along the way too. Alia's players are bringing in solid numbers, but I just don't think they are in the position to make a run for the top 3.

Moon and Bag on the other hand are both looking pretty solid. The merge is coming, but never has it been less apparent who will be the first to get booted. However, none of the players that they have are on my list of who I think are the likeliest candidates. (JT, Tyson, Coach, and Joe are my top contenders right now for "next to go.") Bag and Moon's picks are all in good alliances, or are doing a good job of not putting a big target on their back. Moon though I think is now our new leader because no matter what happens next week I don't think Sierra or Brendan will get voted out. In fact, I'd be shocked if one of them was.

And me? I live in a constant state of fear. It seems that every week one of my picks is in the bottom two for potentially being voted out. Also, the Jalapao tribe did not kick nearly as much ass as I'd hoped. I was hoping to go into the merge with a sizeable lead-- and 5 points is anything but. In fact, the only reason I'm ahead at all is because Taj found the idol. And now the people who she's supposed to be aligned with are talking about voting her out so they can steal it from her! For me to do well, I need the Secret Exile Island Alliance to pull through big time. Moon does too I think. Alia and Doug need for it to fall apart, and Bag I think could do fine either way.

In any case, next week's episode will be very interesting...

It’s the end of an era!

2009-03-23T16:28:00.002-06:00

I went to a very interesting lecture a couple of weeks ago that was the keynote speech of a colloquium that was right up my alley. It was called "Apocalypse and Transformation," and was essentially a discussion and analysis of books about the apocalypse. Sadly, the keynote speech was the only event that I was able to make in a week-long colloquium (stupid job), but I am grateful that I at least was able to attend that.

One of the most interesting points that was touched on was a fairly trendy term that’s used today: Anthropocene. This term is used by some scientists to describe the current geological epoch that we are living in. (Officially we’re in the Holocene, but maybe that will “officially” change sometime soon.) Basically the term Anthropocene was coined because human impact is so great that we are changing the face of the earth dramatically. Greenhouse effect and global warming aside, it was also mentioned that our presence is causing mass extinction on our planet on the level of the KT extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs.

I’d love to go into more detail on this, but honestly most of the info I have is from Wikipedia, so if you’re interested, just click on the links above. The main point I have to make about this—besides blowing your mind— is that the human species has the same effect as a giant meteor crashing into the planet. When it happened 65 million years ago, dinosaurs went extinct and mammals became the new “power” on the planet. When our work as Species Destroyers is done, some scientists predict that we’ll have wiped out 50% of extant species, but I honestly think it’ll be more. I think that we’ll be the last species that we wipe out, since we’ll have changed our planet so dramatically that it will be unsustainable to us. I wonder what the next dominant species will be? Insects? Fish? Something completely new? Hopefully not something as destructive as we are.

I’m not trying to get too deep, since this is only a blog after all, but if you believe in an omnipotent and omniscient higher power, who knows exactly what's going to happen in the future, then what does that mean that they purposefully put our destructive species in this world? I can’t help but think of the line in The Matrix where the AI Agent Smith tells Morpheus that the human race is a virus that kills everyone else. Maybe that’s been our purpose from the start.

I have trouble wrapping my brain around the idea that I was created to be a harbinger of death. Most of the time I tell myself that it’s just my vivid and paranoid imagination running away with me. But every so often, I believe.

Survivor Tocantins

2009-03-13T11:09:00.003-06:00

Two weeks ago Sandy was voted out, a sad but inevitable occurrence. She did get me 6 points though before going, which was better than could be expected. Last night Spencer, from Alia's team, was voted out. He'd also accrued 6 points, which ties him w/ Sandy for most points won for people who are no longer in the game. (Jerry and Candace, the other two who got booted, made 0 points each before going.)

Our current standings are:
1. Pickett - 24 points
- JT (7)
- Taj (11)
- [Sandy (6)]

2. Bag - 16 points
- Stephen (6)
- Joe (7)
- Debra (3)

3. Alia - 14 points
- [Spencer (6)]
- Erinn (4)
- Coach (4)

4. Moon - 12 points
- Brendan (9)
- [Candace (0)]
- Sierra (3)

5. Doug - 11 points
- [Jerry (0)]
- Tyson (4)
- Sydney (7)

At this point it really could be anyone's game. I don't think anyone is completely secure in their position right now; a lot of strong contenders seem to be putting big targets on their backs, and a lot of underachievers and pariahs are somehow sliding under the radar. If I had to pick though I think Bag has a very solid team, followed by Doug. Tom and I are kind of hanging around the middle right now- the next couple of episodes should clarify our fates-- and Alia, after losing her number one pick, is now firmly in last place contention. (If Coach ends up winnning.... well, that's a future I'm not ready to think about yet.)

I think the two players most secure right now are probably Stephen and Joe, which means that Bag, the only person left with all three players in, is my current favorite to win the whole thing. Coach and Tyson also appear to be in very secure spots, but on a tribe that I think in the long run will lose more than they win.

Taj and Brendan, two players who last week seemed safe, are now looking a little shaky. I'm hoping this was just overdramatized for this episode though, because the loss of Taj would hurt a lot. So long as she can make it to the merge, I think she'll be fine, but I'm worried about her lasting that long. If Brendan isn't careful, he'll be gone soon too. His surprisingly canny tribe may vote him out for their own self-preservation. If they do that next, they'll have voted out 3 of their strongest, most competitive tribemates. In the first episode Coach said that he wanted to keep the strong players around, but I think once he realized that he was not a strong player he changed his mind. And Sierra's fate is tied to Brendan's at this point, so if he goes, she'll be gone next.

JT is a great player who works really hard and is the leader of his tribe, but I think that he's setting himself up to be eliminated by proving he's so strong. He'll stick around for a while, but once the merge happens, he'll need to keep a low profile to get very far.

Sydney and Erinn I think are in some danger of getting voted out as throw-aways for either team. They've done nothing wrong, but they haven't really proven themselves yet. Their tribes' success is crucial to them getting to the merge. If they get to the merge, I think they'll both be in great shape.

Debra is actually playing a really good game. She's apparently made a pretty strong alliance with Coach and Tyson, so she probably won't get voted out any time soon since they're running the show (Sierra, Erinn, and now maybe Brendan are all higher on the chopping block right now than she is). She's certainly not a physical threat, and she seems really nice, so even if her alliance gets broken up later in the game, I could see her ingratiating herself with the other team. She could easily make it to the finals if it ends up being a Final 3, just like Suzy did last season. If it's a Final 2, I think it'd be harder for her to get there.

Tocantins is Portuguese for "Alia is screwed"

2009-02-27T10:03:00.004-07:00

*SPOILER ALERT*

Bag's DVR "malfunctioned" last night, so Bag, Moon, and I-- being the fanatics we are-- decided to stay up til midnight when the show came On Demand to watch. After a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit and a few drinks, it was time. Overall I found it to be a very interesting and highly entertaining episode. Jerry was unfortunately booted due to sickness, which was a shame, but watching the tribe dynamic while making the decision was fascinating. I think Coach is without a doubt the most useless person on the Timbira tribe. But he does a really great job of acting like he's the most important, and unfortunately the other tribemates at this point are too dumb to see through the act. I don't think his stay in Brazil will last much longer though, since he'll undoubtedly stick his foot in his mouth soon and everyone will finally see through the charade.

I do hope he'll stick around longer though. I think one of the greatest strengths of my team is that none of them are stuck with Coach. So they keep winning. If the tribes get switched up soon though I might be in trouble!

Here are the current standings of the pool:

1. Pickett - 15 points
- JT (5)
- Taj (5)
- Sandy (5)

2. Bag - 9 points
- Stephen (5)
- Joe (5)
Debra (-1)

3. Alia - 5 points
- Spencer (5)
- Erinn (0)
- Coach (0)

3. Doug - 5 points
- [Jerry (0)]
- Tyson (0)
- Sydney (5)

3. Moon - 5 points
- Brendan (5)
- [Candace (0)]
- Sierra (0)

I personally am happy that Doug's strong team took a hit, although I'm sad about how it happened. I think Jerry had a lot of potential and it's always a bummer when a strong player has to leave because they get sick. He could've been a real producer. But it means that the rest of us have a better chance to win, so that's good! On the plus side, Jerry wasn't in any strong alliance that could have crippled any of Doug's other picks, so I feel like his other 2 team members are still very capable of racking up a lot of points.

Moon was looking to go scoreless again as his team is goose-egging every challenge at this point. But plucky Brendan came through in the end to get him 5 points by finding the hidden immunity idol. This pulled him into a tie for 3rd place. I still think Brendan will go far, but with his other picks failing to produce, I'm just not sure that he will be enough for the Moon win.

Bag and I have similar teams at this point and I think we're both doing very well. From previews for next week it looks like Stephen and Taj will become strong forces in this game soon, which means that JT will probably be brought in as well. I think our fates are in each others' hands at this point.

And Alia... poor, poor Alia. Her team is not only failing to produce big points right now, but they're also trying to cannibalize each other. Erinn just dodged getting voted out this episode by Coach, but I think either she or Coach will be next to go the next time their tribe loses. Spencer has been laying low at this point, but from what I can tell his performances during challenges seem to be only average. If he can get himself into a strong alliance he could go far, but I haven't seen that happen yet, and he could end up being a scapegoat vote-off if he somehow messes up a challenge in the future. I doubt he'll get voted out before Sandy, but once she's gone he could be next.

Survivor Pool Season 18 - Spoilers!

2009-02-20T12:32:00.007-07:00

This season we survivor poolists mixed up the rules quite a bit:
- We tried to add a couple of extra players, but after they failed to come to our first 2 Survivor events they were unanimously voted off the tribe.
- We also added a scoring system. So now it's not just whoever picks the winner wins, you have to accumulate the most points by the end of the season to win. The person who picks the winner should still be heavily favored, but it is no longer a guarantee.
- Finally, we made our picks after just one episode, which is the earliest we've ever done the drawing. This means we picked our players based on their own qualities/strengths, and not because of the alliances they were in. Since alliances tend to break down anyways, I think that this made the basis for our picks a lot stronger. (Except for those people who didn't get much air time in the first episode.)

Here's how you can score:

- Survivor winner earns 50 points, and will receive an additional 25 points if they sweep the votes
- 2nd place finisher earns 30 points
- 3rd place earns 20 points
- Everyone who makes the jury earns 10 points
- Your pick is on the tribe that wins a team reward challenge = 1 pt
- Your pick is on the tribe that wins a team immunity challenge = 2 pts
- Your pick wins an individual reward challenge = 2 pts
- Your pick is invited to share in a reward challenge = 1 pt
- Your pick wins individual immunity challenge = 5 pts
- Your pick finds the hidden immunity idol = 5 pts
- Your pick successfully plays their hidden immunity idol at tribal council = 5 pts
- Your pick plays a fake immunity idol = -3 pts
- Your pick sits out a challenge = -1 pt

And here's who everyone picked:
(I've also included the points we've earned after our first episode with the pool)

Alia (2 pts total):
- Spencer (2)
- Erinn (0)
- Coach (0)

Bag (3 pts total):
- Stephen (2)
- Joe (2)
- Debra (-1)

Doug (2 pts total):
- Jerry (0)
- Tyson (0)
- Sydney (2)

Pickett (6 pts total):
- JT (2)
- Taj (2)
- Sandy (2)

Moon (0 pts total):
- Brendan (0)
- Candace (0)
- Sierra (0)

Finally, here's the order of whose picks I think are strongest:

1. Doug - The reigning champ did well for himself in his draws. Overall Doug has very strong players. I think these people will not only get far, but they'll win quite a few challenges, and therefore points, while doing it. They've all shown themselves to be strong in physical competitions, and also smart by laying low around camp. Technically Sydney is Doug's "dreg" (the last-round pick) but there is nothing dreggish about her. The fact that she didn't get much airtime in the first episode allowed her to fly under the radar so Doug could get this gem late in the game.

2. Pickett - JT and Taj are both strong, and I think both of them will get far. Though Taj's value dropped when she revealed that she's married to former NFL star Eddie George. She seems like a canny player, but revealing that she's filthy rich was a bad move and will make it hard for her to win jury votes if she makes it to the finals. Sandy, aka Skeletor, is strong enough and weird enough to last longer in the competition than the first episode indicated, hopefully racking up points along the way. I think she has no chance to win, but she'll be a good dreg for me for the few episodes she'll be in.

3. Moon - At first glance Moon's picks look weak, but upon further analysis I put him in a close third behind myself. In the first episode we watched after the draws ended Cassandra got voted out. Overall she was very smart and strong and I think should have lasted much longer. The importance of Candace going out first cannot be underemphasized, since she now has the potential to win Moon absolutely zero points. Sierra barely survived the vote, which could be huge. It looks like she's about enter an alliance with his third pick, Brendan. And Brendan right now is probably the front-runner to win the whole thing. If Sierra moves quickly to solidify that alliance then she could go far. If that falls through though I think she'll be next to go. Brendan should go far, but if Moon's other two picks give him no points it will be hard for him to win.

4. Bag - Stephen found himself in a good alliance with JT by the end of the 2nd episode, and he seems like a smart guy who will get far. I think Joe will do pretty well too, but that Debra will be a drain. I don't really know a lot about these players now, but I think they have the potential to do alright. I predict that 2 of them will make the jury.

5. Alia - Unfortunately Alia was unable to make her own picks, so Bag did it for her. This team is not as strong as the one I think she would have put together. (She also volunteered to take the dregs, which I think would've ended up being Debra, Sandy, and Coach. It'll be interesting to see at the end of the season if the dreg-team would've done better for her.) Spencer, the youngest Survivor ever, I think was overvalued when he was picked first. I think there are smarter and more athletic people in the game, and I think that Spencer is softer than he initially came across. I'm guessing that the elements will beat him sooner than the politics and he'll end up going out in the middle of the pack. Erinn was a decent pick, but she was closest to Candace, who was voted out last night. Now she is alliance-less and will need to work quickly to get in with the power-players. Coach, or as Alia likes to call him, Cooch, has the kind of personality that will get him voted off fast. He'll go even faster when people realize that he's not even a physical player. Overall I think this guy has absolutely nothing going for him except for the false image of being strong. Once that's seen through he'll be gone.

In the end though, only time will tell. I think this will be a really fun season to watch, if only because of the intensity of the pool!

That's Mister Pickett to you!

2009-02-18T15:09:00.004-07:00

My name is confusing, especially through email to strangers. They get an email from "Michal", and if they're not reading closely they tend to assume it says Michael. If they are reading closely, they still may not know whether I am a male or a female since Michal is a pretty unusual name. I understand that. I have mostly come to grips with that. I get emails addressed to Michael and Mr. Pickett all the time and I usually refrain from commenting.

I appreciate the smarter folks who just repeat my name, Michal, as their greeting in the email. That's a good move, and I recommend it to everyone. It's a good play not to assume things, especially when assuming gender because if you're wrong, it's a big misstep. (Same goes for assuming a woman is pregnant.) What I HAVEN'T gotten before, I just got for the first time today: "Hi Mike!" IMO that's taking things at least 3 steps too far. 1. You didn't read my name correctly, 2. You assumed I was a guy, and 3. Even if I had signed my name Michael, why on earth do you think I go by Mike? Shouldn't you have assumed that I prefer to go by the name I gave you, "Michael"?

Bad play my gender-neutral friend. Bad play.

Overhaulin'

2009-02-10T12:27:00.003-07:00

So Ben read my book, which I think was really exciting for both of us. The review that he gave it was better than I'd expected, and slightly less than my wildest dreams come true. Most importantly, he gave an honest opinion, for which I can never be grateful enough. The final analysis was that the book was entertaining and enjoyable, and has the potential to be published, but only after a serious overhaul.

Basically, besides a few sticky sections that need to be changed (most of which I already knew, but was just too exhausted to redo) the biggest problem with my book is that it doesn't fit into a specific category, and therefore doesn't appeal to a specific audience. It's funny to think about that sort of thing. When I first got the idea for my story I never really thought about who would read it. I just wanted to get it down on paper. Now that I've written it though, I want people to actually read it, which means making adjustments to appeal to a specific audience.

The book as it is now is lying somewhere between Young Adult and Adult fantasy (but also sort of sci-fi). The characters' ages are pretty much wrong for both categories (main characters should be aged approximately the same as the audience-- it makes the reader more sympathetic), and while I started writing it as a Young Adult book, it quickly turned into something I was writing more for grown-ups. I had to make a decision. If I opted for Young Adult, the changes I'd need to make would be simpler. A few of the more violent/risquee scenes would need to be cut and replaced with something a little more PG-13. But the overall depth and length of the book (already at 321 pages) would pretty much stay the same.

If I chose door #2 and went for Adult fantasy, then the book would need to be expanded, go more in-depth, bring out a lot more details. The characters need to be aged-up, which meant that a lot of the major storyline would need a serious overhaul. The length of the book by the end would probably end up somewhere around the 450 page mark minimum, maybe even more.

I sat at the crossroads for a few days, trying to decide. It felt like Young Adult was kind of like driving through Kansas. It's a straight shot through, maybe a little boring, but you know you'll get there in the end, barring falling asleep at the wheel. Appealing to the Adult audience is more like driving up Pike's Peak. The road is rougher, you have to really focus on what you're doing, and-- considering there's no guard rail-- there's a chance you may not even get to the top. But the ride is a hell of a lot more entertaining, and if you do get to the top, the view makes the whole ordeal well worth it.

In the end I probably didn't need to take that long to decide. I'd known all along I'd go for the adult audience.

The thing is that I already know all the depth and detail that needs to be put in. I've been living every day in this world for over 3 years now. I just never bothered to write the details down. Now I have the opportunity.

I started my re-write/overhaul a couple of days ago, and I've never been more excited to write. With every detail that I add I know that I'm bringing out the world I created for others to share in. And as far as the storyline/character changes... honestly, a lot of the stuff I'm dropping was crap anyways. The way the story is headed now not only makes more sense as far as the story goes, it makes more sense for the characters. I feel like I'm finally cutting through the crap and getting to the core of who these people really are. I know I won't regret this decision. Even if I don't get published, I'll know that at least I did the story justice.

So I guess this post is a little bittersweet- for those of you who thought you'd be getting to read my book sometime soon, unfortunately I'm going to be stringing you along a little more. But when you do get the chance, it'll be a more satisfying experience.

Teh perfect homepage

2009-02-04T16:37:00.002-07:00

I use iGoogle as my homepage both at work and at home. There are a ton of features which I love, and after a long search, I think I’ve finally perfected it. I highly recommend creating your own!
The features I have on my iGoogle page are: Gmail and quotes of the day (these are the two features I use/enjoy the most). I also have movie ratings and times, cnn.com headlines, links to dictionary.com and Wikipedia, weather updates, and Google translate which is like Babelfish, only on my homepage.

But the feature which I have been working on for months and finally “perfected” was the theme of my homepage. The theme is the background imagery and the colors of the link on the homepage. I was using their default theme for a while, which basically just changed colors over the course of the day. It was nice but pretty tame. Then I switched to “theme of the day” which would give me a new theme each day. That was cool, but there were too many lame themes that would show up. Things like “Faith Hill theme” which was just different pictures of Faith Hill, or “Gucci theme” which was just pictures of skinny women were of no interest to me. But it opened my eyes at least to the variety of themes available. So I did a search and found “WWF theme” which is brought to us by the world wildlife foundation. Sounds cool, but honestly they really didn’t have a lot of wildlife pictures that I liked. But today I found the “Sierra Club theme.” Brilliant! The pictures are amazing and they switch out for new ones every few hours! I could stare at my home page all day now J.

What homepages do you have and can you beat mine? (I know that cute animals are impossible to beat, but maybe you can at least come close.)

Best sports weekend ever?

2009-02-02T13:25:00.003-07:00

This weekend there was the Australian Open final with an epic match of Nadal v. Federer, hands-down the best active men's tennis players. Also showing an excellent Superbowl (my 2nd favorite, I still thought the Giants/Patriots was more exciting), a UFC fight which included a championship match, and a Duke basketball game. Granted it wasn't against a very good team (Virginia) which is why it falls so low on the list.

Excluding the Olympics, I think it's hard to find a more exciting weekend for sports-lovers. Personally I think this weekend was created just for me. The only thing missing was a curling match and darts tourney.

Pickett Recommends...

2009-02-02T11:42:00.000-07:00

Deadwood (Insert phallic joke here. That’s what she said.)

We’ve been watching HBO’s Deadwood fairly obsessively for the past few weeks. It’s one of the best TV series I’ve seen in a long time, and one of the most unique as well. It’s got a lot of action and a really interesting plotline set in “the realistic West.” Deadwood’s the kind of show that, even though you can’t smell the people on it, you KNOW that they reek. The streets are full of human and animal waste, and people regularly get dangerously ill from things that we don’t even consider major sicknesses anymore. The show completely de-glorifies the idea of the West and the frontier. And true to form, Deadwood messes with the idea of who is a hero and who is a villain and what traits embody each, something that HBO is famous for.

There are all reasons the show is great. What makes me love it though is its incredibly unique style of dialogue. These characters don’t just fire conversations back and forth at each other. Instead many of the characters tend to have several large soliloquies in each episode where they wax on metaphorically about their circumstances in a way I find reminiscent of Shakespeare. It’s a strange paradox that South Dakota in the 1870s would go so well with a Shakespearean style.
I have to admit that it takes some getting used to. You don’t hear this sort of dialogue anywhere else these days. The first episode I didn’t have a clue as to what was going on because I couldn’t follow what they were saying. But once you get into the rhythm of the show, it’s a joy to watch.

The only downside to this series is that it is only 3 seasons long. Like so many great shows (e.g. Firefly, Rome, Arrested Development) the audiences don’t find out about it until it’s too late. And when you can’t stop watching it three seasons goes pretty fast (we’ve already finished 2).

My favorite characters: Al Swearengen and E.B. Farnum
My favorite trivia: Over the whole series the word F**k and it’s derivatives is said 2,980 times, which means on average they say the F word over 80 times per episode.

The Bad outweighs the Good

2009-01-26T12:38:00.002-07:00

Top 11 reasons I hate winter:

It’s COLD!
It’s dark over half the time
When it snows it smells like cow poo in Boulder
Driving is more dangerous
I eat more and exercise less
The wind is unbearable
I can’t play any of the outdoor games I like
Dressing in layers is a pain in the ass
I get sick a lot
There are no holidays to look forward to after MLK Jr. Day for almost 4 months
Wintry mix- what the hell is that??

Top 7 reasons I like winter:

Snow is pretty
Bowling league
Wood fires in our fireplace
Snuggling under our big warm comforter
Christmas/Hanukkah
Australian Open
At least I know that spring is coming soon!

2008, a year in review

2008-12-31T13:09:00.006-07:00

I just re-read my 2007 year in review blog post to check out how well I did with my resolutions. My '08 resolutions were 1) finish my book, 2) work out, and 3) eat more citrus (this was posted while combating a wicked cold). And I'm happy to say that I did accomplish at least one. My book is done! Hurrah!! Old Glory is currently in the hands of my editor, Mr. Wolf, who will hopefully love it. If he does, then maybe I'll start sending it out to real editors/book companies and then start praying. For those of you who want to read it yourself, too bad! I'm still feeling a little uncomfortable with my fiance reading it, so you'll have to wait until I get a review from him. If he likes it then... maybe.

Through the process I learned a lot about what it means to be a writer. I'm getting into a rhythm, I'm developing self-discipline, and I can tell that every day that I stick with it my writing gets better. Writing is like exercise: it's hard to get started, but once you start doing it regularly, you feel better every day and start craving it. I have several other story ideas that I've been keeping on the back-burner which I hope to get started on in 2009.

I called 2007 a great year because it really helped me to focus and get goals and have motivation. 2008 was probably the perfect year to follow that because I worked hard and actually accomplished several of these goals: I got engaged (not that that was a "goal" necessarily, but it certainly was a very large life event), finished my book, and we got our beloved cat Dexter.

Getting engaged was a bigger turning point in my life than I ever could have imagined. At first it seemed like nothing had changed except that I had a little bling on my hand. But everything changed. Wild dreams and goals like travelling the world and becoming rich and famous have been replaced by simpler dreams. Having a home and a family. Growing old with my husband. I'm actually looking forward to a time when I'll be complaining about my neighbors and my biggest concern will be the weeds in my garden. I never thought that these were the kind of goals that I would feel passionately about. I thought it was something that everyone just did. But these stepstones in my life are things I can't wait to see come true, and I certainly care more about that than being able to say that I've been to 30 different countries or some other pointless boast. The most important thing to me now are that I am happy and the people (and cat) I love are happy too.

With every year that passes I get more and more excited about the years I have in front of me.

So, with that being said, here are my goals for 2009:

1. Get married. The date is set- September 13th, 2009! Now to plan the rest of it... :)
2. Lose weight. I know everyone--including me-- says this every year, but I'm feeling like this year I'll actually do it!
3. Keep working hard on my writing. Finishing my book is no excuse for slacking. If anything I hope to write even more this year.

I want to end this by sharing one of my favorite quotes, brought to you by the great Ursula LeGuin: "It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matter in the end." I gotta say, I'm loving the ride that I'm on right now.

Happy New Year to all, and may 2009 be the best year we've had yet!

Survivor: Gabwned

2008-12-12T12:55:00.005-07:00

I went from first place to dead last. But I'm not too sorry. (Except for Charlie, I miss him.) I cheered along with everyone else when Crystal got voted out last night. Good riddance. Of the remaining players, here is my ranking of them:

5. Susie (Alia's) - Really has no chance. I think she'll make the final three, but there's no way she'll convince the jury that she deserves the money.

4. Matty (Bag's) - Matty's done well to survive this long, but I don't think he's playing enough of a strategic game to win him enough votes.

3. Kenny (Moon's) - I think if he made it to the final three he'd have a good chance of winning. But I don't think they'll let him get that far. If he does though, look out!

2. Sugar (Alia's) - Sugar has made the plays to earn her the victory and I think she's a shoe-in to make it to the final 3. Her downsides: she's made a few enemies, and I think that people's perception of her as being unintelligent will hurt her chances. On the plus side, a lot of her strategic moves have happened in front of the jury, which will leave a stronger impression than just hearing about it.

1. Bob (Doug's) - Bob went from verge of being voted out to being a dominant force in this game. His insanely large brain makes up for his mediocre brawn. And those who think he's not playing a strategic game haven't been paying enough attention. He laid low in the beginning, but then when he had to he started winning challenges left and right. Look at how far he's gotten and how many friendly faces are sitting on the jury. His Achilles heel is that everyone knows what a threat he is now, so they may drop him before the finals.

We'll see how it goes! The finale is on Sunday night but we'll be watching it Monday at Pamber's before MNF (hopefully... we haven't actually asked them yet). If you're invested or just plain curious, stop on by!

HBO to Produce Ice and Fire Pilot

2008-11-12T11:42:00.003-07:00

It's so weird because I had a feeling that big news was coming from George RR Martin soon. I've been checking his blog every day when I usually only check it once a week. I was hoping that it would be news that the next installation of his series, A Dance with Dragons, was finished and was being sent to the printers, which turned out not to be true. But my instincts were good and I was rewarded for my diligence with the news that I saw today, which is almost as exciting:

HBO has officially picked up the option to turn GRRM's series into a TV series and they just announced that they will be making the pilot! If the pilot looks good then they'll greenlight the show (I think). There've been so many hoops to jump through, so many ifs and buts, but now it looks like it's actually going to happen.

Almost as cool, the producers said that they would take fan suggestions for casting! Obviously the lists that I've made won't fly since most of them are major actors, but it's still cool to feel like we can be a part of it! If you are interested in voicing your opinion, I highly recommend going to this website: http://www.westeros.org/, then go into the Ice and Fire forums, and then Game of Thrones: The Series. Cast a vote, and be a dork like me and start joining the forums too! (This is my secret haunt, which is no longer secret. I am officially giving up the claim to knowing the most about a Song of Ice and Fire amongst my friends.)

Wish I could blog more, but now I'm off on a work field trip!

Survivor: Gabwned

2008-11-10T11:41:00.008-07:00

Survivor pool updates - don't read if you're not caught up! (Unless you don't care, in which case read away!)

It looks like we're only a couple of episodes away from a merge, and here's who everyone has left:

Pickett
Charlie
Crystal
Randy

Bag
Matty

Alia
Sugar
Susie

Doug
Bob

Moon
Corinne
Kenny

Unfortunately for both Doug and Bag they are down to 1 pony, neither of whom are in a good position. Up until last week, I'd say that Bag was looking strong, but now he is in a new horse-race: who will be knocked out first. I think that this week's episode will decide that one since right now it looks like both Matty and Bob's heads are on the chopping block. However, while unfortunate, I think Bag's demise was inevitable. The strong leader tends to get knocked out right around merge time when people start to panic about winning individual challenges, and decide to vote out stronger players.

At this point I think Alia is doing as well as expected with her picks. Unfortunately Ace was cannibalized by Alia's own team, so one of her strong picks is gone. However, Sugar's position right now is pretty secure, even though she doesn't really have an alliance, since she has the immunity idol. Her biggest danger right now is of being blindsided, so getting into an alliance is important for her. Susie-- someone Alia didn't even pick, but was instead stuck with-- made a bold play last week that in my opinion significantly improved her position. I still don't think she'll win, but she certainly has a better chance than say, Marcus or GC.

Moon's team is slowly clawing its way up the totem pole. After dumping the dead weight of GC this team has benefited from all of the tribe switches and is emerging as stronger than it originially looked. I think the Marcus vote-off benefited this team the most. It certainly put Kenny in a position of strength, and it gives Corinne a chance to step up and show her merit. At this point I think Alia and Moon are neck and neck for second place.

Obviously having all three of my picks is a huge advantage over the others in this pool. But even better, none of my picks seem to be in immediate danger at this point. Charlie's alliance is shakier than before, however, he benefits in the same ways as Corinne from Marcus' loss. Randy is looking better and better every week. My biggest fear is that he will get too cocky and then his annoying personality will come out. At this point I think he knows he's abrasive and is hiding it pretty well, but if he gets too comfortable and relaxes, he'll put a big target on his back. Crystal at this point is pretty useless, but her position is secure right now, and since she hasn't actually proven that she is a physical threat, she may coast far once they've merged.

Current ranking of the players (this idea is stolen from Moon's NFL blogs):

1. Randy
2. Charlie
3. Sugar
4. Corinne
5. Kenny
6. Crystal
7. Susie
8. Bob
9. Matty

Home is where your rump rests

2008-11-07T13:56:00.005-07:00

We just spent most of the week cat-sitting (or cat-neglecting, depending on how you look at it) for Wolf's parents. We moved into their house for the week, brought our cat, clothes, Dr. Mario, Diet Coke. Everything I need. Needless to say, their house is way nicer than our apartment. It has the same basic stuff as we have in the apartment, but it's higher quality, there's more of it, and it's been treated better. But while we were up there I missed our little apartment so much! We got back last night, and I must've spent the first 30 minutes just walking around smiling, and every so often sighing with contentment. Tension I hadn't even realized existed was draining out of my body. I told Wolf, "It's good to be home." And I knew that it wasn't the couch or the teeny kitchen that I missed. It was the feeling of Home.

Home. It's such an indefinable, but special word. A home can be anything from a house to an apartment to a tent or even a cardboard box. I started thinking about what makes our apartment my home. It's certainly not the stuff in it, or the people necessarily, since Dexter and Wolf were both with me at his parent's place. I finally decided that it's the time I spend there with the people/cats I love, and the work that I put into the place as well. Maybe the aparment isn't the cleanest in the world, but when it is clean, it's because I made it that way. And when it's not clean, well, I worked at that too! We picked the color of the walls and the arrangement of our furniture. Everything that's in the apartment is there because we want it there. I feel safe in my home because I know it-- better than any other place. And in some way, I think it knows me too. Certainly the style and messiness-level are a reflection of who I am. It's also full of memories of friends and family coming over and sharing special times.

The first couple of years that we lived in Boulder, I didn't really think of it as my home. I thought of the apartment as a transitional residence, a place to store my crap, and kept waiting for when we'd move on to something bigger and better. As far as Boulder was concerned, I didn't really know it all that well, but by reputation it didn't seem like the place for me. It's a great place to live, but would I ever feel like a part of the community? I didn't know. But lately, I've definitely felt like this is unquestionably my home. And it's nice to know I'm there.

Plumbers

2008-10-30T13:30:00.003-06:00

Good Morning America on ABC called Joe the Plumber the most famous plumber in America. But I disagree.....

... nuff said.

Survivor: Gabwned

2008-10-10T13:21:00.003-06:00

The new season of survivor started a few weeks ago, and as usual the Survivor pool has begun again. Here's the line-up:

Pickett
Charlie
Crystal
Randy

Bag
Marcus
Matty
Kelly

Alia
Ace
Sugar
Susie

Doug
Jacquie
Bob
Dan

Moon
Corinne
GC
Kenny

The coolest part of the picks this year is they lined up perfectly with the tribes switching up right after we made them. So in a season where I already feel it's anyone's game, it made the picks even that much harder to choose well. I'm really happy with my team. I think that Charlie is in the lead right now as most likely to win, but I've got my dark horse Randy in there who I think will do very well (despite being picked 2nd to last) and Crystal, who will probaby get far although she probably won't win (unless all hell breaks loose again).

The second-best picks I think go to Bag. He's got Marcus who I think is really strong and Matty, who looks like he's in better shape now with a tribal mix-up than he was before. Kelly is about as useless as they come, but with two other strong picks, Bag will probably get far in this pool.

Alia I think is the third strongest. Sugar has the immunity idol, which is a huge boost, and I think she's playing the game well besides. Ace is pretty indispensible right now, so I think he'll get further than he would have without the mix-up. Alia got stuck with Susie as the last person picked, but I still think that she is a better option than Kelly and GC, so it could've been worse!

Doug has probably been the most rocked by the tribes mixing up. His number 1 pick was booted the very next episode basically because she was playing the game too well and her new tribe saw her as a threat. His 2 other guys Bob and Dan are both average players, and I think one or both of them will make the jury, but it's unlikely that they will crack the top 4. They don't have the alliances going their way.

Moon I think has the worst team. Corinne is an okay pick, but I think one episode depicted her as being a bigger player in the game than she will end up being. Moon picking GC in the second round was probably the worst move I've seen in the draft, although he did pick Eric "stupidest survivor ever" last season, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

The prize this season? Probably a dinner paid for by all the losers, but more importantly, the winner will break the current 5-way tie we have going. Everyone in this pool has one once: I won with Danni in Guatemala, Moon won with Yul in the race v. race Survivor, Bag won with Parvati in fans v. faves, Doug won with Earl in Fiji, and Alia won with Todd in China.

To infinity... and beyond!

2008-10-02T12:46:00.004-06:00

I read in the news today that NASA has written up a plan to prepare our astronauts for a trip to Mars. It's one of those moments that I've always dreamed of, but never really could say for sure if I'd get to see happen. This is of couse some REALLY long-term planning. They first want to test the astronauts' voyage through simulations aboard the International Space Station and the Moon (our pretend Mars), which would probably last somewhere between 2-3 years. If that goes well, then they'd begin to put together plans for a real trip to the Great Beyond.

As an avid SciFi fan, I've read and watched about a hundred different writers' visions for what our lives would be like if we lived on different planets in the future. It's one of the final frontiers so the imagination can run wild with what might be out there. To think that these dreams may some day be a reality would be so amazing.

At this point I think that for sure I'll be around to see the first (wo)man walk on Mars. (Barring an untimely death on my part, or the Apocalypse.) And by the end of my life, I think I could even see people living on Mars, creating a new civilization, even. That would truly be remarkable. It's beyond words how I would feel if that happened.

With everything that's happening right now, I can't help but think back to the 50s and 60s, when the Cold War was icily raging, and everyone was living with a slightly nervous edge, or maybe even full-fledged fear. And then JFK turned that fear into competition and excitement when he turned the goal of the Cold War from potentially another world war into a race to the Moon. I think that's exactly the sort of thing we need now. Our economy's in a rut, our country is involved in a war that most people don't even want us to be in, gas prices are skyrocketing, and our politicians keep talking about how terrorists are out to get us so they're going to take away more of our freedoms. What we really need is a distraction from how crappy life is right now. And I think that distraction should be Mars.

Now that's cold...

2008-09-30T12:40:00.003-06:00

Just read that Lane Kiffin was fired from the Raiders. Everyone was saying it was inevitable, not a surprise, etc. What I do find surprising is this little tidbit I read on ESPN:

"ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that according to sources, Kiffin was fired via the telephone and without pay....Linehan [the Rams coach who got fired] was allowed to speak briefly with his players on Monday. Kiffin will not be afforded the same opportunity, a source said."

It seems to me if the Raiders are looking to hire a new, good, strong applicant for the position, they should set a good example by treating the former coach with a little more respect than that. The more I see the way the Raiders franchise is run, the more I don't like that team. They're impatient, unsympathetic and most of all mean. The way it's looking now, I'm guessing they only way they'll get anyone good is by throwing a LOT of money into it.

Life and Politics

2008-09-02T14:49:00.004-06:00

Okay, so I actually wrote this a while ago, but completely forgot to post it. So I'm sorry if you no longer care but I'm gonna post it anyways.....

I couldn't stop laughing when I heard that Palin's 17-year-old daughter was knocked-up out of wedlock and the response of several people was that it wasn't Palin's fault. After all, no one can control a 17-year-old.

Excuse me?

I'm not sure how that could possibly be considered a good response. I'm not a fan of the word "control" myself, particularly when discussing another human being, but I'm hearing the gist of the message and couldn't disagree more.

Sure, you can't "control" your daughter, but you'd at least hope that in the 17 years prior to the pregnancy both parents would have had some influence over what their daughter's standards and ethics are going to be. Even if by 17 parents don't think they have any influence over their child's decisions, they really should.

I'm not saying that pregnant at 17 is the worst thing in the world, or is in some way "unethical." But I'm pretty sure that the people who are saying that it's not Palin's fault think so.

Anyways, I think one of the most interesting things about this whole scenario is the way politicians handle other politicians' children. It's generally accepted to be a topic that they don't mess with. In a profession where everything tends to be criticized and put under the microscope I find this a nice standard for them to have. At least politics has some boundaries, right? But when I hear people say that this teenage pregnancy news shouldn't even be discussed since it's about Palin's personal life, I start to get upset. After all, it was the Republicans who brought it up in the first place. And it has a very real impact on Palin's message and image.

Palin believes that sex ed in high schools should be limited teaching them only about abstinence. I'm assuming that this was her message in the home as well. And we know what a success that ended up being. Shouldn't this be very real proof that this tactic does not work? And as a woman who has tried to deliver that message and failed, she should say, "Listen, it's a nice idea in theory, I know, but in reality it just isn't effective. So let's move on to something that might actually work." But it appears that she's going to stick to her guns, even though the guns have no bullets. And I can only believe that this sort of behavior would continue, if she became VP.

Feelin' fine....

2008-08-05T16:38:00.003-06:00

George RR Martin will be in Denver starting tomorrow, at Denvention 3, a sci-fi/fantasy convention. I want to go for the following reasons:

1. Owning an autographed copy of one of his books would be awesome,
2. This is probably the only time ever that GRRM will be within an hour's reach of me
3. It'd be fun to see the kinds of crazies that go to these sorts of things, and
4. It might be fun.

The following reasons are why I don't want to go:

1. I'd be going to something called "Denvention" which disturbs me to the core,
2. Denver is far away (relatively speaking) and I don't like going there,
3. If I go to see the crazies at the convention, and I'm at the convention, that makes me a crazy by association,
4. I doubt anyone else would want to go with me, and
5. It might be no fun at all.

On an unrelated note, here's the premiere schedule for a bunch of shows I'm excited about. I'm listing them here because I just spent the last 20 minutes at work slacking off and needed something to distract me:

- Entourage starts September 7th
- Survivor: Gabon airs September 17th
- The Office season 5 premieres on September 25th

- Dexter season 3 starts on September 30th, so our cat will actually get to see his namesake soon

Guster

2008-07-25T15:11:00.002-06:00

I'm sitting at my desk and rocking out to all the Guster that I put on my iPod. I haven't really listened to them since college and I realize now how cool they are. They'd probably be on my top 10 favorite bands if such a list existed. If you haven't heard them before I strongly recommend that you download some. Particularly "Demons."

Can't say much more since I gotta get back to work!

Wedding themes?

2008-07-16T13:52:00.003-06:00

One of the first questions (after when is the wedding) tends to be "have you picked your colors yet?" Taken out of context, this question makes almost no sense. But in true wedding tradition, most couples have colors matched through their whole wedding. From the invitations to the website down to the napkins at the reception the colors are the same. Some people even pick a theme for their wedding. The more extreme versions of this include Star Wars themed weddings or medieval renaissance weddings. More likely though the theme would be winter, fall, waterlilies... you get the idea.

The question I now pose to you, faithful reader, (okay, I stole that from Stephen King but I always love it because it feels like he's talking directly to me. What a nice guy!) is what do you think our wedding theme should be?

Bridezillas

2008-06-24T16:04:00.001-06:00

I've started watching "Bridezillas" on WE.

There. Admitting it is supposed to be the first step to recovery, right?

I first put it on because I figured that it was about brides and I'm going to be a bride so it could serve as a warning system for me. If I found myself doing any of the things that I saw these women doing on the show then I'd know I'd gone too far.

But after watching only 2 episodes I know that I will never go that far. This show is like the Real World, except it's so much worse because these brides are doing horrible things to their families and friends, not to strangers they've just met. One instance that comes to mind is when the woman stabs her husband-to-be in the head with a pair of scissors (it was a glancing blow and he was not injured), and then makes HIM apologize to HER for upsetting her so much that she was forced to attack him. If this wasn't a wedding show it would be a Cops episode where the mustached heroes arrive at their house to arrest the woman for domestic abuse.

In an interview with a bridesmaid (for a different bride) she tells the camera that this bride is a Bridezilla 365 because "she's been a bitch her whole life. Or at least since she was 10 when I met her." Which begs the question, why is she her friend?

It's a surprisingly entertaining show. I like seeing how far these women can push the limits and marvel at how much everyone else lets themselves be treated like shit. It's the sort of show I like to watch because it reminds me of how good my own life is. The only thing I don't like about it (besides it being trash in general) is that the narrator has this chirpy little voice that implies with every upbeat syllable that while she knows what these brides are doing is unreasonable, it's okay because it's their wedding day, and we can cut them a little slack, right?

Wrong. I don't care if a person is at a wedding, is drunk at a party, whatever. It should never be acceptable for someone to treat her friends like servants, her family like a bottomless ATM, and her fiancé-- the man she's supposed to be spending the rest of her "happy" life with-- like a puppy she can kick and yell at when there's no one else around to take her abuse.

But in the end I don't feel too bad for these guys. After all, they had to know what these women were like before the wedding and actually liked that bitchy attitude. If they didn't, they probably wouldn't have gotten engaged in the first place, and if by some chance they didn't beforehand, they definitely wouldn't have gone through with the wedding once they saw the Monster come out of its cage during the wedding planning! It's what I like to call the Mel Gibson situation. Maybe it takes a lot of booze or a wedding to bring to the surface the absolute worst in a person, but that nasty aspect of that person has always been there. And the men who are marrying them are attracted to the Monster just as much as the woman.

"When I say Rip, you say Ers"

2008-06-18T13:28:00.004-06:00

Our softball team has played 6 games so far and while our record is a paltry 2-4, after last night's game I have reason to believe that this team could be a contender in the play-offs.

Our first game was what some people might call a disaster. We didn't know the rules (two different sized balls threw a lot of people off), our team was disorganized, our hitting was a disappointment, and our pitchers had been practicing at a distance probably a good 10 feet closer to the plate than what it turned out to be. We lost against a team that today we probably would beat.

Since then though, we've grown. Our batting has shown significant improvement, and our pitching is very good-- bordering on excellent. Most important to me, in this last game we made much better decisions than we have in the past. We held the ball instead of throwing it away, and when there were overthrows or misses people were there backing each other up. I think we listened to each other better than we have before.

Our batting was surprisingly poor this game considering how good it's been lately. This is mostly due to low pitching that the ump accepted as strikes, but besides that I think it was one of the best games we've played. It ended up going into extra-inning-overtime, where each batter only gets one pitch. If it's a ball they walk, if it's a strike or hit foul they're out. We really stepped it up and got 5 runs out of them and then played some solid D to hold them for the win.

It was suspenseful and exciting and so much fun. We even had fans-- the Boulderite parents showed up in force to cheer us on. I hope that the rest of our games can be as fun as this one.

We have a make-up game this Sunday: Stazio field 6 at 5:00pm against Intela, a team with a record similar to ours. Should be a good game. If you're around I hope I see you there!

Lessons from the Affianced

2008-06-10T13:26:00.001-06:00

Zazu: Oh, just look at you two. Little seeds of romance blossoming in the savannah. Your parents will be thrilled, what with your being betrothed and all.
Simba: Be-what?
Zazu: Betrothed. Intended. Affianced.
Nala: Meaning...?
Zazu: One day, you two are going to be married!
Simba: Yuck.

It's been exactly one month since Ben and I got engaged. (If you didn't already know that well...sorry for not telling you. But better late than never, eh?) We knew each other for somewhere between 1-2 months just as friends. Then we dated for 6 years and one month (and 4 days, but who's really counting?). Now we've been engaged for 31 days, and while most of the time things feel pretty much the same, here are a few lessons I've learned already about the differences between "just dating" and "on the road to marriage."

1. The ring, holy crap, the ring!

I've never been big into jewelry, and when I say that I mean that a) my ears aren't pierced and I never wear anklets or bracelets, b) the only necklace I ever wear is a silver chain given to me by Ben, and c) I grew up playing sports, piano, and doing any number of other things that taught me that wearing jewelry will only hurt me in the end (and keep your fingernails trimmed at all times). But man I love this ring. I never knew that I could like a piece of jewelry as much as I do. Point C is still valid-- I've already made myself bleed at least twice that I can remember from this thing-- but the pain is worth it. The ring is gorgeous and every time I look at it I think about what it represents it only makes me happier.

2. There are a lot of ugly wedding dresses out there

Not only are they ugly, but someone out there must actually think they're pretty, otherwise they wouldn't be on the market in the first place. That bothers me.

3. I freak out more easily and more often now

I have two wedding books-- compliments of my mother-- that I am reading right now and coming to grips with the massive task ahead puts me more than a little on edge. One book said (paraphrasing here): "this is the most elaborate, biggest ritual/gathering you will ever host" which, when I think of it that way, is pretty overwhelming. I think my stress level is a notch higher on average than it was two months ago and I expect it will stay that way for the next year or so. But Ben's been a big help in keeping that stress level only one notch higher, rather than 4 or 5!

4. It's not "me and my boyfriend" anymore, it's "We"

Being a united front is key. It took me maybe 30 minutes to figure that one out. It's not something "I" was thinking about, it's something "We" were considering. I think the reason people go through engagements is to practice for raising kids. This is the precursor to the whole parenting technique of agreeing with your partner's decision whether or not you agree with them and then debating it later in private.

Howdy, Duty

2008-05-14T09:35:00.009-06:00

About a month ago I got a letter in the mail that made my stomach roil. "Jury Duty" was stamped in clear bold red letters across the front. Ben tells me he's jealous, he's never been called and wants to see what it's like. But I've already been called twice before when I lived in NC and I knew it was no picnic. My experiences in NC involved angry government employees, dirty rooms in hard-to-find downtown administrative buildings.

This time however, was a pleasant surprise. Boulder's Justice Center is located on 6th and Canyon, pretty close to the library, the Boulder creek, and a lovely park is right next door. Parking is free right across the street, and signs are up everywhere so getting there was simple. The building itself is actually really nice too. Windows are everywhere, and if the outside looks a little outdated, they make up for it by providing a very soothing decor inside. I entered and a posse of mustached cops greeted me at the front entrance, waiting to tackle any ne'er-do-wells. They were really polite, directed me to where I needed to go, and told me to have a nice day.

When I got to the jury assembly room a nice lady took my forms and I read a book until they started a hokey video whose message was that being a juror really isn't all that bad. The cast of characters included a white-haired, wise but stern-looking judge, male and white. There were a few women, clerks and baliffs, all white, and then a big, bald and burly black man who played the "law enforcement officer" over the proceedings. Certainly stereotyped, but I found it highly amusing (my standards for amusement are low at 8:30 in the morning). The crazy part though, is that the message got through to me. By the time the video finished I was really excited about being a juror. For the first time ever I wanted to get picked for the jury! Let me do my duty, I want to do my part to keep this country running strong.

The video ended and the woman announced that the defendant had a medical emergency so the trial would not be happening. We were all dismissed. We didn't have to return tomorrow, and our duty had been complete. We wouldn't get summoned for at least another two years.

I walked out of the building feeling really disappointed. Not only had I not done my duty, but I wouldn't be allowed to participate again for two whole years! I started wondering if jury duty was the kind of thing you could volunteer for, before quickly realizing that would be a bad system and not really democratic at all.

It was the first time that doing my civic duty wasn't something that I just had to do, it was something that I wanted to do. Our country doesn't ask much of us, really. We pay her taxes, we obey her laws... mostly... and every once in a while we have to go to a justice center, and help enforce those laws. In exchange we get to live the easy life of a nation that has power, wealth, food, shelter, and all that other good stuff. But I think a lot of Americans are apathetic about their country and the kind of work it takes to make it so good. Maybe what this country needs is to demand more from its citizens. Maybe we should be required to do more for our own country and fellow countrywomen and countrymen so that we realize just how much work it takes to be successful.

This is just a random musing that I haven't thought through at all, but maybe all citizens should be required to do a year of duty in a civil group, something like Americorps. After high school perhaps. Everyone who did it would get paid by the government and work with their community to make where they live an even better place. Or they could travel to other states and help there. I think it could bring this nation together, and eliminate so much of the apathy that has a strangle-hold on our country. People would realize that they can make a difference, and maybe if our people help each other, then we could reach out and help the rest of the world too.

Eating my Words

2008-04-28T13:39:00.001-06:00

I saw Across the Universe about a week ago and afterwards I said that I didn't care for it very much. I thought of it as a stoner flick... and I'm partly right. For those of you that don't know, Across the Universe a rock musical movie based entirely on the Beatles' songs. The writers took about 30 of their songs and strung them together (with some dialogue between them) to give it a plot. The plot therefore, has a lot of holes in it that bugged me to no end. They would often sing a song that seemed to have nothing to do with the movie at all, they just wanted another song in there. And halfway through the movie all the characters get into a bus and tour the country getting high on an assortment of drugs. In the middle of the drug tour there's a weird circus scene that I still don't come anywhere close to understanding.

But it's been a week since I've seen the movie and I can't get it out of my head. The songs stuck with me in a way that I never expected. I find myself singing them in my head when I'm at work, and I spent all of last week reading about the movie trivia on Imdb and then Wikipediaing The Beatles, several individual Beatles songs, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Charles Manson (because of references to them in the movie... okay so not Manson, but I was curious!). Last Thursday, I did what any person who wants to get these songs out of their head would do. I downloaded the entire Across the Universe album. Then I downloaded the original Beatles' versions and listened to all of them for probably a good four hours. I thought if I overdosed on it then maybe I'd finally get over it and they'd go away. But it didn't help. Then I found myself criticizing myself for not liking the movie enough in the first place. Why didn't I get it the first time? So this weekend, I bought the movie. I decided that if I didn't get it the first time I could at least give myself the opportunity to better appreciate it the second and maybe third time I watch it.What changed my mind about this movie? I realized that it wasn't meant to be a movie with a great storyline that is particularly coherent. It's supposed to be a reflection on life in the 60s, and more specifically an homage to the Beatles. What's really cool about it though is that they use classic songs but they twist the meaning into something that is often completely different from the original meaning. Which makes for an interesting mind-fuck because suddenly you're thinking not only about what the song means to the movie, but also what the original song was supposed to mean in the first place.

Across the Universe will never be my favorite movie, but I've learned to appreciate it for what it is. I recommend it to others too, keeping in mind that the plot should be taken with a grain of salt. But beware of the potential risks and side effects, mentioned above.

Favorite character: Max
Favorite song based on the twist of meaning: I Want You (She's So Heavy)
Favorite song based on song: I Want to Hold Your Hand

Jaded

2008-04-15T09:09:00.002-06:00

I was in a meeting this morning where several random facts were revealed by various co-workers that were basically helpful little life tips. Things like how to keep your computer healthy, and which vacuum cleaners are the best (the robot ones that automatically clean your floor). At the end of the meeting someone said, "before we go, does anyone else have any words of wisdom to share?" and the only thing I could think to say was "there's no sex in the champagne room." Thank you Chris Rock.

ASOIAF Casting: Part X

2008-04-11T16:25:00.003-06:00

In King’s Landing:

Varys: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Littlefinger: Edward Norton

Grand Maester Pycelle: Ian Holm
Barristan the Bold: Sean Connery
Gendry: Logan Lerman
Jaqen Ha’gar: Billy Crudup
Thoros of Myr: Ken Watanabe
Beric Dondarrion: David Wenham
Syrio Forel: Ben Kingsley

Rhaegar Targaryan: Jude Law
Mad King Aerys: Christopher Lee

Top Things making me Happy right now

2008-04-09T12:38:00.002-06:00

8. Someone at work called me a genius

7. I played Catan for the first time in months and almost won

6. Summer is just around the corner

5. The promise of volleyball

4. Dexter

3. Softball!

2. I bowled a 200 on Monday - my best score ever

1. For our anniversary Ben got me a trip to my favorite place with my favorite person

Goodbye sweet Coke!

2008-04-04T12:31:00.005-06:00

Since before I can remember I've always had a Coke for lunch. Maybe not in elementary school, when my parents probably gave me juice boxes, but definitely in middle school and beyond. It was the same every day for 7th through 12th grade: a can of coke (with a straw... I've had that habit since childhood), turkey sandwich, pretzels, and 2 Milano cookies. And since I've been regularly employeed, the sandwich has changed, but the soda remains the same... only it's Diet now.

But one day not so long ago I didn't have a can and I got a caffeine-deficiency headache. I told the Wolf that it proved how much I really needed caffeine. He said that it proved how much I really need to stop drinking so much caffeine. And for once I actually listened to him. I decided to start being a healthier person. I dropped my Coke addiction, and swapped it for V8. I used to hate V8 but I've recently discovered that it's not so bad as I remember. I haven't completely given up on soda, but this will significantly cut back on the amount of it I consume.

The most shocking part is how little I miss that Coke. I thought it would be hard, but it's really not. And it makes me happy to know that I can still make these sorts of adjustments to my life. Sometimes I feel like, even at 24, I'm set in my ways. It's a comfort to know that I can change. I know this is a small thing, but I still consider it at least a medium-sized step.

ASOIAF Casting: Part IX

2008-04-01T12:17:00.002-06:00

This is the second-to-last posting, so those of you who don't care/like these posts anyways, have hope!

Arryns and Associates:

Mya Stone: Emmanuelle Chriqui
Lysa Arryn: Kirstie Alley

Robert Arryn: Charlie Tahan

Martells and Associates:

Arianne Martell: Mila Kunis

Doran Martell: Geoffrey Rush

Areo Hotah: Javier Bardem

The Red Viper: Hugo Weaving

A nicer Haiku for Zoe

2008-03-25T16:52:00.001-06:00

Lips oh so floppy
The long claws of stretchiness
Zo Zo Zo Zo Zo

Haiku to Zoe

2008-03-24T09:38:00.002-06:00

Zoe’s farts are rank
So much so they wake me up
I want to kill her.

Poker's a lot like...

2008-03-19T13:35:00.007-06:00

It's my favorite Poker TV phrase. No matter what your profession, the interviewer always gets you to start a sentence like that. Like "Poker's a lot like playing professional soccer" or "Poker's a lot like being a waste manager for the city of Chicago." At some point it reaches a ridiculousness level where you either have to just laugh or cry. I choose laughter. (For a good poker analogy, check out the Kermyfrag's latest blog.)

All this stuff led me to think about what I would say if I was interviewed. Back when I was working at the wildlife rehab place I had a great line: "Poker's a lot like rehabilitating wildlife. Some days are rewarding, but other days you just get shit on."

Now that I work in a more mainstream line of work, that line doesn't fly quite as well. But the other night while we were bowling, I picked my new poker analogy.

I will never claim to be a good bowler. I think I'm averaging a 130-somthing, which is actually really good for me. But for some reason I'm leading all the women in our league with the most games won. I have 25 wins under my belt out of a total of 33 games played (I think... correct me someone if I'm wrong). And I roll against good bowlers too! But for some reason they keep bowling badly against me and I keep scoring the big Ws.

How is this possible, you may ask. I can't rightly say, but I will give you my theory. I show up to bowling on Mondays, grab one of the alley's 12-pound balls, and during warm-ups consider myself lucky if I get one spare. My opponent thinks, sweet, here's an easy 3 points for me. But then the real bowling begins. I go out and get a few spares, maybe a strike or two, and they realize that I'm not quite as bad as I first seemed. Then they get all thrown off that this mediocre chick is beating them, and they just get worse. Perhaps they start drinking more heavily to try and deal with the pain they are feeling. By the end of the night they are both wasted, and they got their ass handed to them by a girl who doesn't even know how to put spin on her ball.

By the end of Monday they leave broken men. And the Pickett racks up another 2 or 3 points.

So... in my future poker interview, I'll say: "Poker's a lot like my bowling league. I'm such an unassuming person that other players think I suck. They'll go easy on me because they think I'm out of my league. And then before they know it, this young lass with a beguiling smile has taken their stack. And their dignity along with it."

ASOIAF Casting: Part VIII

2008-03-18T12:04:00.002-06:00

Baratheons and Associates:

Robert Baratheon: Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Stannis Baratheon: Gerard Butler
Melisandre: Famke Janssen
Davos Seaworth: Gary Oldman
Patchface: Zach Braff

Shireen: Georgie Henley

Renly Baratheon: Joseph Fiennes

ASOIAF Casting: Part VII

2008-03-17T13:26:00.003-06:00

At the Wall and Beyond:

Jon Snow: Justin Long
Ygritte: Reese Witherspoon
Sam Tarly: Jonah Hill (okay, I don’t really think he’d be that great for the role, but he’s the only fat actor I could think of)
Jeor Mormont: Brian Cox
Allister Thorne: Nick Brimble (John Little from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves)
Maester Aemon: Anthony Hopkins
Janos Slynt: Alan Rickman
Mance Rayder: Jim Carrey (think Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

Craster: Willem Dafoe
Rattleshirt: Steve Buscemi
Dolorous Edd: John Turturro

ASOIAF Part VI

2008-03-13T15:28:00.003-06:00

Across the Narrow Sea:

Dany: Michelle Williams
Viserys: Elijah Wood
Ser Jorah Mormont: Jean Reno
Khal Drogo: Sala Baker
Mirri Maz Duur: Kathy Bates
Illyrio Mopatis: Vincent D’Onofrio

Good Communication

2008-03-11T09:08:00.002-06:00

A couple of my co-workers went to a "good communication" seminar, and they relayed what they learned to us in a meeting this morning. One thing that really caught my attention was this fact: only 25% of what is communicated by the speaker is actually received by the listener. So my question is, if they only got 25% of the info from their session, and I'm only getting 25% of the info they're telling me, how much am I honestly getting out of this meeting?

Top 10 Drinking Games

2008-03-10T10:01:00.002-06:00

10. Drinking Ro Sham Bo
9. Olives to Olives
8. Power Hour
7. Flip Cup
6. Drinking Jenga
5. Quarters
4. Hat Game (when applicable)
3. Kings
2. Short Bus
1. Beer Pong

Growin' Up Ghetto

2008-03-09T03:06:00.003-06:00

Alizzle, Kermy, the Zo and I watched Step Up tonight— a movie that I enjoyed, despite it being a mediocre movie that has a plot that’s been reused at least a dozen times now. A boy from the ghetto meets a preppy girl and they dance the night away, falling in love with each other despite their different backgrounds because they love dancing so much. The part that caught my attention was, beyond mocking the generally lame parts of the plotline, Alizzle and Kermy criticized the ghetto boy’s clothes. Everything he wore was too baggy, and why on earth was he layering a t-shirt over a long-sleeved shirt? To which my thoughts were, why wouldn’t he wear that? I went to a high school where that was generally accepted to be the cool outfit. Even better if topped off with a toboggan (ski hat) with three tassels bursting from the top.

I usually don’t think of my childhood as particularly unique or special by any means, but tonight I was very aware of my roots.

I spent years 2-12 growing up in small town Vermont. It was 99% white, upper class, rural America. We lived in a town of 3,000 people. The nearest movie theater was a 30 minute drive away. We only got a handful of radio stations, and so I spent most of these years listening to my parents’ cassette tapes. I grew to love Paul Simon, Johnny Clegg, and Peter, Paul and Mary. But once my sister and I reached a certain age, my parents decided to move—for a number of reasons, but amongst them was so that my sister and I could experience what true diversity was. When I insisted that I did know what diversity was, my mother said, “You don’t even know any black people” to which I replied, “Of course I do. Mei Jing is one of my best friends.” The fact that Mei Jing was an adopted Korean girl only furthered my parents’ resolve.

I was just starting 7th grade when we arrived in Durham, NC. I had more culture shock then than when I studied abroad in Kenya. Everything was different. First of all, there were so many people! The middle school I attended probably had more students in it than my entire elementary school. One class I remember in particular was my 7th grade Social Studies class, where the boy sitting behind me would every day pull out his compass from math class and poke me in the back with it to try and make me bleed, while one of the kids in the back would try and get high on his asthma inhaler, and the teacher got fired because she was caught dealing pot to her 12-year-old students.

I took Honors classes, but I was very careful not to stand out too much. In Vermont you were encouraged to be smart, but in my middle school, smart kids were ridiculed and left friendless. We had a spelling bee in which I purposefully misspelled the word “herring” because I knew that if I spelled it right I’d be outed for what I truly was.

High school was much the same. Parents tended to choose which high school their child went to based less on which school was the most academically sound, and more based on which school had had fewer knifings. I had a solid group of friends, all of us pretty dorky, but I was on the softball team too, which certainly added cool points in my favor. (At least I like to think it did.) But even among talks with my fellow nerds we were more likely to be discussing whether DMX or Jay-Z was hotter rather than Hollywood celebrities. (I thought DMX was, because Jay-Z did too much “white” rap.) While most of the friends I have today were listening to Dave Matthews and Matchbox 20, I listened to Tupac, DMX, and Master P. And the louder your car stereo system was to blast this music, the better. Everyone cruised around town with their drivers’ seats pushed way back, so it almost looked like you were trying to catch a nap while you drove home from school. It was the cool thing to do… only later did I learn that this style originated because when your seat was that far back the side bar between your front and back seats would protect you better in a shooting.

Not that I was ever shot at, or even was worried about being shot at at any point in my life. In general I was simply a good student, an athlete, and led a very sheltered life. This is just to show how much the “ghetto” lifestyle infiltrated my entire school, down to the lowly geeks. The boys in our school would inevitably be wearing outfits exactly like the guy from Step Up, only showing a hell of a lot more underwear. My most-worn pair of pants was sweatpants that almost enveloped me, accompanied by wife beaters. Once I even gave myself corn rows.

After high school my ghettofication stopped almost instantaneously. I went to Duke, then moved to Boulder. I gave up rap and started listening to Dave, Michelle Branch, and other groups that I can’t name. I turned in the sweatpants for more form-fitting jeans. But there are still some times when I find myself in the confused, either about a huge gap in what I know, or a huge gap in what other people know. I can't name most bands or their songs to save my life. Or when my friends don’t understand people wearing baggy clothes or I meet someone who’s never drunk sweet tea or know what Bojangles is.

I neither miss my “ghetto” life nor do I resent those years. I think back on that part of my life as an adventure, sometimes wondering if that really had an impact on who I am; maybe I’ve gone back to that Paul Simon-loving child of 15 years ago. But then I’ll be driving and listening to my radio and Tupac will come on. Without even realizing it, I sing along, and I still know all the lyrics. That ghetto girl is still inside me, and I like it when she visits.

Survivor: Season XVI Picks - Go Chet!

2008-03-06T14:37:00.003-07:00

Alia, defending champion:
Jason
Ami
Jonathan

Pickett, putting all her hopes on Ozzy:
Ozzy
Cirie
Tracy

Dr. Coins, who likes the chicas:
Amanda
Natalie
Eliza

Moon, picked the fluffy-haired guy first... enough said:
Erik
Alexis
Chet

Bag, likes beauty and brawn but not brains:
James
Parvati
Joel

As far as strength of each team, I think that I'm in the lead, only because Ozzy has the immunity idol. Then Alia, with no serious stand-outs yet, but all with the potential to come on strong (plus, as defending champion, she's always dangerous). Then Bag and Dr. Coins, each with 2 solid picks and one who probably will go out sooner than Chet. Last, and I must say least, is Moon. Out of his three picks the only one who's gotten serious air-time is Chet, and that's only because people keep talking about how horrible he is. Fluffy hair aside, I think this team has no stand-out potential.

p.s. Kathy was the only one not picked, and rightly so, I think. This woman has less chance of winning than Yau-Man, and he's already been voted out.

ASOIAF Casting: Part V

2008-03-05T12:31:00.003-07:00

The Ironborn and Associates

Asha Greyjoy: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Damphair: Guy Pearce
Victarion: Ray Stevenson (Titus Pullo from Rome)
The Crow’s Eye: Russell Crowe
The Reader: Michael Caine

Theon Greyjoy: Jonathan Rhys-Meyers

ASOIAF Casting: Part IV

2008-03-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

Tullys and Associates

The Blackfish: Jeremy Irons

Edmure Tully: Michael C. Hall
Hoster Tully: Christopher Plummer
Walder Frey: Zeljko Ivanek

Racism at CU

2008-02-27T08:38:00.002-07:00

There's a lot of hoopla going on right now about an editorial that was published in the campus newspaper a week or so ago. It was by a white boy who claimed that all "Asians" hate white people. (I put "Asians" in quotes because what does that really mean? Asian Americans? Actual Asians? If he means literally people who originally lived in Asia-- not children of people who originally lived in Asia, well, there just aren't that many of them in Boulder and I highly doubt that he's talked to more than 4 of them.) Anyways, it rightly got a lot of attention and flack. What I find interesting is that the paper published another editorial right alongside that one from an Asian American student that seems to support the original editorial's opinion, and in my opinion is equally offensive. But this one's getting almost no attention at all!

If you go to this website: http://www.colorado.edu/news/reports/campuspress/chronology.html there's links to the two editorials. All I can think is there must be monkeys running the campus press, because no one in their right mind would publish either of these articles without expecting a lot of backlash. Perhaps they were supposed to be sarcastic and satirical, but in today's world where it was a Korean student that shot up Virginia Tech, this sort of satire is not welcome. There is enough racial tension in the US without poorly-expressed editorials like these fanning the flames.

Oscars Reflections

2008-02-25T15:40:00.002-07:00

We had a girls' night last night and watched the Oscars. I got pizzas, Alizzle made sangria, and Amber brought Zoe. It was a great night, with altogether too much snarkiness regarding the celebrities' outfits and too much pizza... at least for me! Some majors points that I got from the evening:

1. Sangria is delicious. Rock on wine and rum!

2. John Travolta dressed like a woman for his last movie Hairspray, and decided to continue the trend by wearing a LOT of makeup to the Oscars.

3. Tilda Swinton wore no makeup to the Oscars. Her coollness level skyrocketed when I found that out. But perhaps she and John Travolta should take a page from the others' book and switch that trend up. John at least would benefit from the lesson.

4. A lot of the ladies went with the classic Hollywood look on Sunday. I thought they looked more beautiful than usual. I hope this trend keeps up.

5. John Stewart is frickin' hilarious. I hope he's the new Billy Crystal and they keep bringing him back.

6. I'm very grateful that the writers' strike is over. I hope they got a good deal out of it, but I'm really happy that they ended before the Oscars. It's such a fun night! Plus, it means that awesome shows like The Office will be starting up again soon!

7. Papa Murphy's may be my favorite pizza in town. Abo's would normally be number 1, but I've been disappointed with them lately. Their pizzas aren't as crispy as I like.

8. I really need to see No Country for Old Men.

The Gods Must be Angry

2008-02-18T13:34:00.003-07:00

I played in the uber-crapshoot yesterday, the 10k FPP turbo tourney on PokerStars. 9600 ppl registered, although there was room enough for 12k. The top 4,000 people cashed, so it was a juicy tourney to play, even if it was a turbo. I managed to qualify for it in a 2k FPP 6-man qualifier, and joined the Wolf and Bag for what I predicted to be a wild, but fun ride.

It started off so well. I doubled up early and kept building my stack the way my bludgeoning style does so well. I was especially proud of the hands I didn't get involved in. Sometimes I get so excited about playing that I'll jump into pots I shouldn't... but not this time. I was up to 24k when the average stack was about 8k, and then made what I hoped would be the play of the tourney. Two players ahead of me with average stacks both went all in, and I called on the button with 99. I was wavering on the decision of whether or not to do it, but then Wolf said, "folding here is a fine play, but if you're playing for the final table, picking this pot up would be huge." And I always play for the final table. I called and the others showed A9 and KQ. I somehow managed to dodge all the high cards, and BLAMO! I'm at 42k.

This is when the poker gods got angry.

Apparently that was too much success, because I don't think I won a pot after that. And I was playing good hands. I lost 99 to KQ, KK to JT, AK to QJ, AK to J5, AK to AA, JJ to A4, and I'm sure plenty more that I've stricken from my memory. These were all in pre-flop. The only hand I didn't lose was when I got AK in against AK, and even then I was seriously worried, until the flop came rainbow for the split.

I managed to finish in the 750s for a pretty decent score considering that I put zero dollars into the tourney, but I found no joy in it. I was playing a great game, had a great stack size, and lost it all to an insanely bad run of luck. Even when I was crippled, with a measly 1200 stack when the ANTES were 400 each I got it in with Tc2c against KT. I thought that there'd be a little mercy at the end when the flop came 3 K x with 2 clubs. The turn was 3c and I had a flush to bring me back to 6k (certainly no reason to hope for a comeback, but it would've been a moral victory) but then the river brought the dreaded third tre and I was gonzo.

What's the lesson of this story? I have no idea. If you can find one, you let me know. The best I could come up with was that maybe I'm not meant to have a huge poker score, maybe the gods want me to be a small fish in a big pond. But I'll be damned if I stop trying.

ASOIAF Casting: Part III

2008-02-13T13:21:00.004-07:00

Tyrells and Associates:
Mace Tyrell: Bernard Hill (seen in Lord of the Rings)
Loras Tyrell: Shawn Ashmore (seen as Iceman in X-Men)
Margaery Tyrell: Alexis Bledel
Randyll Tarly: Zach Grenier (pictured above)
Queen of Thorns: Gloria Stuart (old lady from The Wedding Singer)

Top 10 No-Thinker Games:

2008-02-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

These are games that are good for slacking off at work, or when you just wanna zone out. Other game lists pending.

10. Mahjong
9. Free Cell
8. Solitaire
7. Bounce Out
6. Alchemy
5. Minesweeper
4. Web Sudoku
3. Daily Jigsaw Puzzle – shout out to Dr. Coins for getting me obsessed with this one
2. Spider Solitaire
1. Text Twist

15 Hottest Women

2008-02-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

15. Padma from Top Chef

14. Angelina Jolie

13. Crush, the American Gladiator

12. Megan Fox

11. Ana Ivanovic

10. Emmanuelle Chriqui

9. Katherine Heigl

8. Jennifer Aniston

7. Shakira

6. Rachel McAdams

5. Evangeline Lilly

4. Jessica Alba

3. Elisha Cuthbert

2. Eva Green

1. Tricia Helfer

SUPERbowl

2008-02-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

There are so many things to say about Sunday's Superbowl, and I've heard many of my own thoughts echoed on ESPN, in Moon's blog, and talking to friends. I won't repeat it again here. What I wanted to add was a quote that came to me while watching the game. It's from Miracle, the movie about the USA hockey team that beat the Soviets in the Lake Placid Olympics. I love that movie because it shows the side of great sports moments that are so often neglected by other sports movies. It shows that it's not just talent but working your ass off that'll get you that far. (I've never seen another movie devote so much of its time to sprints.) And it also shows that sometimes working that much harder, and having team unity can overcome a more talented team. That's a lesson that everyone should know, because-- if you're not Tiger Woods or Roger Federer-- there's always someone more talented than you playing your sport.

"Great moments... are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here, tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game. If we played 'em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can! Tonight, WE are the greatest hockey team in the world. "

Nice job Giants.