Wacko - the second nose

[Matheus]

Brokeback Mountain will be a hard movie to watch, I gotta say. Seems like a story that I know all too well...

I just hope I don't cry like a little bitch through the whole fucking thing. That would suck.

On the bright side, I hear I'm gonna get to see Jake Gyllenhaal's ass, which is definitely worth the price of admission. I'm not a big "oh, he's hot" type of guy, I'm much more emotional, but good god, he's definitely one celebrity I find quite attractive.

[chrisfan]

Did anybody watch this season of Survivor? If so, I have a deep thought on Stephanie as a player. But i don't want to go into depth about it only to discover that no one else around here watched!

[Kensterberg]

I'm a faithful Survivor watcher, Chrisfan. And I am absolutely amazed that (1) Rafe expected people to do the "right thing" when it wasn't in their own self-interest, and (2) that Danni won the whole thing. Considering that from the time of the merge on, her head was continually on the chopping block, this was one hell of a performance. She definitely earned her money, and without being a part of any strong alliance for the most important part of the game.

[chrisfan]

I agree that she earned the money. I also take issue with any of those who will argue that Stephanie is one of the best Survivor players ever. Here's why:

Stephanie had the outlasting and outplaying down pat. She's a great athlete and a fierce competitor, and she didn't really have much issue with those two components. But she failed MISERABLY at the outwitting. She did not ever think more than 2 steps ahead of where she was in the game. She was worried about getting rid of the people who were threats - but that's ony half the task in winning! She never ever thought about the jury until it was too late. Even when she as in front of the jury, she couldn't come up with a coherent argument as to why she should win. She didnt come close to outwitting - she was a dimwit! Without the outwitting, you can't be considered one of Survivor's greatest players.

Danni had the game mastered for a long long time. She managed to get rid of threats, and make it appear that it was other people doing the work. Her best move in this regard was splitting up Judd and Stephanie. She planned out the entire thing, and managed to make not only Judd, but Rafe and Stephanie as well think it was Rafe and Steph who did it and not Danni.

All in all, i think that Stephanie fell victim to her "Star effect" more than Amy or any other player did. She had herself convinced that she was a big enough deal that if she could just make it to the end, she'd win. As a result, she slashed her own throat.

[Kensterberg]

You're exactly right about Steph's weaknesses. I don't think she would have done any better against Rafe or Lydia in the final two: everyone in the jury blamed Steph for their ouster (and they were all at least partially right). So even though Rafe played the exact same game Steph did, I'm sure that if he had been sitting next to Steph, he would've walked away with the prize.

And Rafe's grabbing the post to adjust himself right after Probst had said "you can no longer use your hands" has to rank as one of the costliest bone-head mistakes in all of Survivor history. I don't know if he would have beaten Danni (height was a huge advantage in this contest), but I'm pretty sure he would have outlasted Steph, which would have made Danni more likely to keep her previous deal with him. And I really don't know how a final two of Rafe and Steph would have been.

And speaking of bone-head moves, why do you take a strong player like Danni into the final three instead of Lydia, who had won a total of, uh let's check, ZERO immunity challenges. And Lydia would have been the first one out in this particular challenge, as her stature would've basically eliminated her once she let go of the rope.

Can't wait for the next season ... this "exile island" thing looks like it could add some new twists to the player's strategies.

A final thing ... this show has gone through ten renditions now, and I could understand players in the first one or two shows being upset about being lied to, but by now it should be widely known that this is how the game is played. Everyone crosses other people in the course of this game, or they don't go very far at all. Unless you're Tom (from the last season, who I don't think ever really lied to anyone, but I don't remember for sure).

It'll be interesting to see how The Amazing Race wraps up tomorrow. I just hope that damn Weaver family doesn't win. Most. Annoying. Contestants. EVER!

[chrisfan]

I'm pretty sure that Tom never lied. He was way too much a perfect specimen of man to have done anything bad. Speaking of perfect specimen of man, I had no idea until he took the stage that Gavin Rossdale's new band was opening for U2. Talk about a BIG bonus!

I'm befuddled on Lydia too. I can understand why Steph would have gone along with ousting her. But I can't understand why Rafe and Danni wouldn't have taken the chance to go after Steph instead. They could have come together, ousted Steph, kept Lydia, and been in the final 2 together. I think it may have been a case of each of the three (Dani, Steph, Rafe) wanting to show loyalty to the other two in order to ensure the second spot in the final 2.

[Kensterberg]

Yeah, I was also waiting for Rafe and Lydia to realize that this was the perfect time to get rid of Steph -- and no matter how sneaky they were about it, the jury would have forgiven them for it!

But Rafe was too committed to keeping his "deals" with Steph and Danni to see that this was the best route to the million bucks for him. Rafe beats Lydia in the final two, and Rafe is at least competitive with Danni. Similarly, Danni beats Lydia and has at worst a toss-up with Rafe. Plus, there's that huge fact that you know Lydia won't win the final immunity challenge, and so Rafe and Danni have a fifty percent chance of controlling who sits next to them in the final two. In a way, I'm surprised that Danni and Lydia didn't just go ahead and vote for Steph anyway, that would have forced a tie between Steph and Lydia, and who knows how Burnett/Probst would've handled that one.

BTW, I'm happy that Probst re-upped with the show. He's the perfect host for this game, and it really wouldn't be the same without him.

So, how was the U2 show? I didn't see a post where you talked about it, though I could've just missed it.

[chrisfan]

I didn't post much about it except for my opinion that The Edge is WAY underrated so you didn't miss it.

It was INCREDIBLE. For most concerts, unless I'm on top of the stage, I find myself watching the jumbotrons more than the stage, because you're far enough away you can't really see much. With this show, almost ignored the screens. The staging was so outstanding that you don't really notice that the guys are teeny tiny. I loved loved loved the lights. And there is something about the energy that comes from an arena full of people singing all the songs - not because the performer says "Come on, help me out" (which I HATE - I paid YOU to sing!) but because everyone is just singing along.

At the beginning of the show, I was actually thinking that Tina may have to watch out, and I may have a debate in my mind over the best show I've ever seen. Tina was saved though. I have immense respect for Bono's activism, and the way he conducts his politics (this is what I believe, if you agree, take action this way - as opposed to this is what I believe, and here's a list of people who suck because they disagree) and I like that he works it into the show. But I thought that the political segment of the show went on too long, and sucked some of the energy out of it. When that energy was gone, they never seemed to get it back. So since Tina maintained the energy the entire way through, she still wins.

But I LOVED the way they finished out the last encore - with each guy one by one stopping playing his part and walking off the stage. It was fantastic ... especially because Bono was the first to leave and you didn't realize what was happening except for a quick wave. He gets the bulk of the attention throughout the show, so it's nice that he's got enough confidence to be humble and let the other three get their due at the end.

[chrisfan]

Is it just me, or is Lindt chocolate the most perfect food on earth?

[Ampage]

Funny that you should say that. I never heard of the stuff til today when someone (who is English) chose it over some other chocolate on a This or That board. I am not a huge chocolate fan, but if it is around thh house.....

[chrisfan]

Yeah, I can't say that I've ever bought myself any Lindt's chocolate, or even had the desire to go out to the store to get it. But when it's delivered in a gift basket to my office ... I make sure that it's devoured very quickly.

[kool]

Chocolates aren't really 'food' imo. They're just a quick buzz for the taste buds. I'd take a nice meal over the fanciest of chocolates any day. Even white chocolate.

[chrisfan]

I'd have to confess that if a meal is made up of food, the chocolate technically has to be considered a food in my world.

[kool]

I suppose 'technically' chocolate is food, it's just that whenever I hear the word 'food', I instantly think of a plate with something steaming and delish on it.

[chrisfan]

Oh, I'm just fine with filling a plate with chocolate. Especially if it's lindts.