May 4, 2009

- Last nights Amazing Race episode had a lot of interesting moments. First and foremost was the decision by Jen to stop at a Porta-Potty on the way to the Pit Stop. The show made it seem like the only reason that Kisha and Jen were eliminated was because of that decision, with Phil even telling them that it was ‘mere seconds’ that caused them to be eliminated. I had a strong suspicion that it was just dramatic editing, and that it couldn’t have been that close, especially since we didn’t see Cara and Jaime anywhere close when Kisha and Jen arrived, and the shocked look on their faces to hear they were eliminated. It was obvious that they couldn’t see Jaime and Cara nearby, and with it being an open courtyard area, it had to be significantly longer that they arrived behind. I read all sorts of things this morning about how this Pee-Break cost them $1 million, but I maintained that we should wait to hear the post-race interviews and read Phil Keoghan’s blog to learn exactly how much they lost by. As of right now, there haven’t been any interviews with Kisha and Jen yet, but Phil’s blog was posted this afternoon, and while he was relatively cryptic in terms of exact times, he did confirm that they missed the final leg by “several minutes”, so it’s NOT because Jen stopped for a pit stop on the way to the Pit Stop. I’d still like to hear more from Kisha and Jen in the coming days.

There was also a lot of discussion about how viewers are thinking that the race is unfair to the other contestants and favouring Tammy and Victor since a bulk of this season (the last 3 episodes, which in reality was only 2 legs) have taken place in China. I have no way of knowing this for certain, but I have to think that the entire course for the race, and the challenges that they do throughout the race, are laid out and created before the casting process, so the fact that they have two Chinese-Americans (that happen to speak Mandarin Chinese) is no different than any Americans who know Spanish from school going to a Spanish-speaking country in past seasons. Get over it, it’s not a conspiracy!

I was, however, confused by Tammy and Victor’s use of the Yield on this episode. Not that I think they shouldn’t have used it, on the contrary, at this point, I think it would be foolish NOT to use it. But I don’t know why they used it on Kisha and Jen instead of Margie and Luke. Kisha and Jen have come in first place only once on the race (a 3-team footrace), while Margie and Luke have won three legs. Doesn’t make much sense to me why you wouldn’t Yield Margie and Luke instead from a strategic standpoint.

Josh Wolk’s recap is even funnier than usual this week, so here’s a link.

- While I have been enjoying this season of The Celebrity Apprentice, I still can’t fully buy into two-hour episodes. I had to zip through most of last night’s show, and just get to the meat of the challenge and boardroom firings. Annie vs. Joan was pretty much pre-ordained based on the way the show was edited. To me, it’s a no-brainer. Annie should win regardless of what the final challenge is. I don’t care if it’s a “who’s the better 75-year-old comedian who looks like the puppet from the Saw movies” challenge, Annie has been head-and-shoulders above everyone else on the show.

And I’m not just saying that because she’s a poker player (and a damn good one), she’s 3-0 as a project manager, and has handled everything in a business-like manner, while Joan has consistently failed and spent the entire show hurling personal insults and attacks. The opening graphics of the show state “It’s Not Personal, It’s Just Business”, so how on earth could he even consider her being in the final, much less the winner. If it’s not Annie winning in the finale, it’s a joke.

And Brande spelling ‘crap’, S-R-A-P, certainly didn’t do much for her argument that she’s NOT a dumb blonde. Funny.

- Hell’s Kitchen last week was entirely predictable, as have the last few episodes. The only choices for the finale were Paula vs. Danny. I’m glad the ‘Angry Mexican’ Andrea finally got the boot. It was long overdue. I predict Paula wins the whole thing next week.

- For those of you who watch Survivor and were wondering why when Brendan was eliminated 3 weeks ago, he didn’t toss the Immunity Idol to Sierra for her to use, I read an interview with Sierra stating that they are informed ahead of time that they aren’t allowed to do that if they get voted out, so he couldn’t have given it to her. But it makes sense that if you’re in an alliance with someone, and you’re heading to Tribal Council knowing full well that you are NOT using the idol that night, leave it back at camp so that your alliance-mate can still use it if you get blindsided. But then again, if you think there’s a chance that you might get blindsided, then maybe you should be bringing it…and USING it!

- The “perceived act of thievery” reference in my post a couple of days ago was rectified with a nice winning session this weekend with Paul as my dealer again. Good karma for stating I don’t blame the dealers, I guess.

- Yesterday, I was out with a friend, and we were just sitting outside talking when we noticed these two swallows flying near us. Then we noticed them tangling up with each other, in what we first thought was some sort of mating ritual, but then became clear that they were fighting. All of a sudden these birds, while fighting in mid-air, swooped down and whizzed right between us, about 6 inches from my face! It was crazy!

- Really enjoying Flight of the Conchords lately. For those of you that haven’t watched the clip from the last post below, I highly recommend you watch it and enjoy the songwriting. Very very funny.