Tag Archives: Survivor Samoa

December 24, 2009

Confessions from a Cubicle

By Canadian Bald Guy

Confessions from a CubicleSometimes I drift off at work a bit. It’s not like I actually fall asleep or anything…I just let my mind wander. But sometimes on a break or during lunch I’ll hear or read something online that sticks with me.  This week has been crazy because Rugrat has been with me, and needless to say my concentration at work hasn’t exactly been 100% because I’m wanting to spend time with my daughter.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had enough downtime during the day at work to actually write down some random comments, but today is the day.

What I usually do is just jot something down and then finish these thoughts once I’m home (hence this being posted on Christmas Eve instead of, say, yesterday). And for whatever reason, people seem to enjoy my random take on the world… 

  • It’s been four days since the season finale of Survivor Samoa and I’m still bewildered and upset. I mean, Natalie won?? Seriously?? I understand that social politics play a major role in games like Big Brother, but it’s a rare occassion when a jury on Survivor is so envious and jaded that they take personal feelings and put them ahead of the end goal: choose the person who outwitted, outplayed, and outlasted everybody else. Russell should have won…hands down. I can’t even fathom those who feel otherwise. I mean, there are those who felt that Natalie was a nicer person and that her riding on Russell’s back was a great strategy. WHAT?? Since when has doing NOTHING been a great strategy?? And that argument holds little to no water because Mick received no votes. I mean, the guy won two immunity challenges and was just as nice and sweet and boring as Natalie was. Russell, however, not only found THREE immunity idols (TWO without having any clue, whatsoever) but was single-handedly the one responsible for the voting out of 90% of everybody else from the very beginning. He ran the show. Period. People don’t like him? That’s fine. Popularity has rarely been a major issue on Survivor. Sure, social politics play a certain aspect…that have to. But snakes win all the time because they, for the most part, play better games. It’s not about who is the most popular or honorable. It’s about who plays the GAME better…and there is zero valid argument out there that says Natalie played a better game than Russell. That’s not to say she didn’t play a good game…riding somebody’s coattails is certainly a valid stategy. But to say that her strategy was better than Russell’s? I just don’t see it.
  • I went out on Friday night with Sunshine to a bar with a few friends of mine from work to hear another friend from work play an acoustic set. I gotta be honest…she wasn’t that good. But that wasn’t the thing that stuck out for me the most. This hole in the wall (and literally…this bar was exactly that) had one of those machines that you pop in a few bucks and get a stuffed animal out of. A little out of place, I guess…but whatever. Upon closer inspection, though, I found that this machine contained a bit more than just stuffed animals. It contained a blow-up doll, a big-ass vibrator, and a porn dvd. Now, this got all of us laughing and we each took a turn throwing away $1 on the off-chance of getting that vibrator…but it got me wondering afterwards just why everything else in there was a stuffed toy. I mean, wouldn’t it be more fun to put a whole bunch of adult toys in there instead? If you’re going to go for it, you might as well go all the way…AMIRIGHT? I dunno…I just found it a bit odd. And no…neither Sunshine or I won.
  • Brittany Murphy was 32 when she passed away on Sunday. That’s way too young for anybody to die. Now, I was never her biggest fan so when I heard the news I just thought, “What a shame” and went on with my day. But then I saw the reactions on Twitter. Then I saw the references to drugs. See, Murphy died due to a heart attack. She has had a documented history of drug issues. People immediately went online and told the world that this is what happened when you did drugs. Perez “I’m a huge f*cking douchebag” Hilton actually had the nerve to not only blame drugs, but to also blame her husband for the death (tasteless, really).  One celebrity actually blamed her weight loss on the heart attack and claimed that Hollywood’s need for rail-thin girls was the reason for the death. In actuality, there isn’t an official cause of death yet (although the coroner initially said that it appeared to be of natural causes). Regardless of what the reasons end up being (they’re awaiting toxicology results so it probably was a combination of prescription drugs…a la Heath Ledger), it just really sucks that so many people felt the need to judge Murphy before all of the details of her death had been researched. Let the poor woman rest for at least 24 hours before tweeting that “drugs kill”. Seriously. It’s something like last Sunday on Twitter that I really get a taste for just how wacked-out and morally inept the general public can be at times. It’s a shame, really. What if it was an accidental overdose? Are you still going to sit back and say that she’s an example for Lindsay Lohan? C’mon…just let the poor woman die in peace. It’s nobody’s business, anyway.
  • Rugrat arrived on Monday without any incident. However, her step-father called me once she was in the air to complain about Air Canada. Y’see, where she’s only 10 (11 next month), there is an unaccompanied minor fee associated with every trip of $100 each way. This is kinda crappy, but it is accepted as required practise until she turns 12. Well, the argument presented to me was that Air Canada’s fee is to pay for an employee to walk my daughter to the terminal and wait for the plane, then walk her from the plane to the terminal to assist with luggage collection (at least that’s what her step-father told me on the phone). Now, Rugrat’s grandmother accompanied her to the terminal and waited for the plane…and then I was there to greet her and pick up her luggage once she landed. So why are we paying this $100 fee? The website states that the fee is mandatory for all children aged 8-11, but her step-father (who’s a good man, by the way) told me that he was already on the phone with Air Canada and was told that because her grandmother was the one accompanying the minor through until the gate, then we should be getting our money back because no service was actually performed. I’m not really on the side of us getting this money back because I think the rules are pretty cut-and-dry, but it’s difficult to justify paying $200 extra on every trip when you’re getting conflicting information from the company itself.
  • It’s funny…when I learned that there wasn’t a real Santa Claus and I told my parents that, my number of gifts reduced dramatically the following year. My little brother told me a few years ago that he didn’t believe anymore and I told him flat out: the day you stop believing is the day your gifts will disappear!! I know it’s wrong, but he at least took my advice for one more year (lol). Rugrat is 11 next month…if she hasn’t stopped believing by now, she probably soon will. I don’t know if I’ll give her the same talk I gave to my little brother, though.
  • Random Esquire wants to motorboat my girlfriend. Is it wrong that I don’t have a problem with that?
  • Is it also wrong that I’m not only REALLY anticipating the 20th season of Survivor in February (it’s the “villains” vs. the “heroes”…as the shows most popular and most hated characters are invited back for one more go-round), but I’m also looking forward to all new episodes of American Idol, Lost, Glee, and Ghost Hunters International? Jeez…you’d think I’d have a life by now or something. Maybe it’s because football is ending soon…
  • Speaking of football, I think I’m going with a New Orleans vs. Indianapolis match-up in the SuperBowl. I just don’t think the Vikings can beat the Saints and there is no other team in the NFC that’s even remotely as good. And on the AFC side? The Colts are simply unparalleled. There are too many “pretty good” teams and not enough “excellent” teams in the AFC, so as long as the Colts continue on their path (even if they lose a game before the end of the regular season) I just don’t see anybody else beating them in the playoffs. In the end, I think the Colts might be SuperBowl champs when all is said and done. But having said that, it certainly wouldn’t surprise me to see the Saints come out on top, either. It’s gonna be a GREAT few weeks of playoff football.

That’s all I’ve got on my mind today. Hope everybody has a wonderful holiday…whatever that holiday may be.

Cheers!

3 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Christmas, Confessions from a cubicle, entertainment, guilty pleasures, happiness, reviews, sports, Sunshine, TV

October 2, 2009

Survivor Samoa: Ep.03 – The Art of the Verbal Bitch Slap

By Canadian Bald Guy
"It's him or me." - Jaison

"It's him or me." - Jaison

Right out of the gate, Jaison is adamant about wanting Ben out of the game for how he acted at tribal council.  I can’t say that I blame him…he’d be my top target, as well.  Even without personal feelings involved, it’s just a smart strategic move.

Over at Galu, the only interesting bit of video we could see was four tribal members performing yoga while Shambo disapproved.  C’mon…that’s ALL the interesting video we can get from that tribe?  Seriously?

Russell, back on Foa Foa, was causing more havoc and loving each and every second of it.  He planted seeds with Ben and Ashley and then sat back and watched two more people go after each other.  Unbelievable, this guy.  He might be a jackass and he might be a complete douchebag, but right now he’s proving himself to be a hell of a player.

Yet another physical challenge

Yet another physical challenge

After 20 minutes of nothing much, the reward/immunity challenge was up next.  It was another physical challenge, but the good news is that everybody got swimsuits as a “reward” of sorts…meaning that we didn’t have to see anybody sitting around in dirty underwear anymore.

Galu pretty  much destroyed Foa Foa in this challenge (yet again) and won both immunity and reward (some pillows and blankets).  In addition, Russell S chose Shambo to go visit the Foa Foa tribe and sit-in on their tribal council…and Shambo got a clue from Probst to a non-available immunity idol in the Foa Foa camp.

And before you think Russell H might talk his way into trouble somehow before Tribal, know that he ended up sitting out of the challenge…hence he wasn’t even seen as a factor in Foa Foa’s losing.

So now it becomes Ben & Russell vs. Ashley & Jaison.  Who’d be going home?  Ben or Ashley??

Shambo likes Foa Foa

Shambo likes Foa Foa

Now Shambo made a completely different impression upon Foa Foa than Yasmin did previously.  She was as friendly as she possibly could be and immediately found herself thinking the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.  Of course, not everybody found her to be 100% genuine…even though she probably was.

Russell made a “deal” with Mick that if everybody voted Ashley out that night, that he’d promise to get Ben voted out the next time they arrived at Tribal Council.  To solidify his “trust”, Russell showed Mick his immunity idol…which got the exact reaction he was hoping to get.

This guy is impressing me more and more.

In a funny moment, Shambo appeared to have found the tree where the immunity idol was supposed to be…yet came out empty-handed.  It wasn’t really touched on, but it was picked up by the camera.

Shambo gets eaten by the immunity idol tree

Shambo gets eaten by the immunity idol tree

Tribal council was one of the most entertaining in awhile as Jaison held nothing back and called out Ben for the a**hole douchebag bully that he is.  As the conversation went on and on, Ben only dug himself deeper and deeper into a hole.  He couldn’t understand that his words could be interpretated as being racist.  He didn’t get that he was seen as a bully who talked down and tried to intimidate weaker players…especially the women.  Even when Ben attempted to mock Jaison a bit, Jaison mocked Ben right back and made him look ridiculous.

It really was incredible at just how much Jaison verbally bitch-slapped him and how Ben didn’t seem to care (or if he did, how he simply didn’t have the mental capacity to get into a war of words with a far more intelligent man).  Heck…Probst even gave Ben the opportunity to take back anything that he may have said, only for Ben to flat-out refuse.

Douche. Bag.

Needless to say, Ben was sent packing and Russell…in a move that he didn’t really like but had to do in order to not cause any mistrust with himself and the tribe…had to vote Ben off.  And needless to say, the result of the vote left a smile on my face.

Ben goes home

Ben goes home

Random Thoughts:

  • Russell S made a poor choice when he took blankets and pillows over a tarp for his tribe.  Sure, the women are happy…but as mentioned, when it rains what’s going to be better for the tribe? He may have made friends in the women, but the guys looked at him a lot differently.
  • I’m all for doing whatever to pass the time when there’s nothing to do, but performing yoga instead of gathering food, water, and/or wood for the fire is absolutely deserving of my mocking.
  • I mock them. They can consider themselves mocked.
  • Is it wrong that I’m overly happy that the men…Russell H specifically…are wearing shorts now instead of running around in their dirty underwear?
  • Any more losses on Foa Foa and there’s going to be a “tribal mix-up” where they even the teams out.  And the way Foa Foa is playing, that’s going to happen sooner rather than later.

The first half of this week’s episode wasn’t that entertaining, to be honest.  But tribal council more than made up for it.  Jaison made tremendous points and made Ben look like a fool without coming across as petty.  He was eloquent, well-spoken, and had zero problem mocking Ben to his face for being the douchebag that he is.  That totally made this yet another fun episode.

And in the spirit of cross-promoting, if you get the chance today check out Colette’s Bitchy Survivor Blog.

What were your thoughts?

2 comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in reviews, TV

September 25, 2009

Survivor Samoa: Ep.02 – Knowing when to STFU.

By Canadian Bald Guy

I don’t even know how to begin with this review.  I mean, I had a couple of sentences already written down describing what happened over the first few minutes…but then the improbable became probable.

Russell H. was bragging to the cameras about wanting to find an immunity idol.  He said that nobody in the history of Survivor had ever found an immunity idol before without getting a clue first.  Where this guy is (apparently) not really out for the money and is only in it to play the game as hard as he can, he pretty much knew that there had to be an immunity idol somewhere around camp.

And wouldn’t you know he f*cking FOUND IT!!!??!!!

Russell with the idol

Russell with the idol

I was blown away.  Not even 15 minutes into the second episode and this guy…this villain…has already found something that can make him safe.  He was searching all over camp and found a tree with a hollowed-out stump.  He was looking in it when his fellow tribe members asked him what he was doing.  He told then flat out: “I’m looking for the immunity idol”.  Then they started gathering around him and around the tree.  HE FOUND IT, stuffed it in his underwear, and walked away undetected.

Unbelievable.

The women were CRAZY!!

The women were CRAZY!!

The big immunity/reward challenge (it’s been combined thus far) was a physical challenge…kinda like basketball meets rugby meets wrestling.  The guys were “in the pit” first and it was getting nasty.  But it was in the second round where the women were REALLY hitting hard.  A hard tackle, a shot to the face…they weren’t holding anything back.  In fact, before the third round started Jeff Probst actually told everybody that they were now officially warned…the next “cheap shot” would get them thrown out of the challenge.

It didn’t take long for Jeff to stop the game and toss somebody out.

Ben's cheap shot

Ben's cheap shot

Ben threw a cheap kick at Russell S. and was immediately called-out by Probst.  He then made a note of telling everybody that it was the first time anybody had ever been kicked out of a challenge before.  After the fourth round, Galou had won reward (fishing gear) and immunity.

Russell S, as leader of the Galou tribe, was given the task of picking somebody from his own tribe to go back with Foa Foa and then attend their tribal council…an in-the-open spy.  He chose Yasmin.

Mike being taken to hospital and out of Survivor: Samoa

Mike being taken to hospital and out of Survivor: Samoa

This is where things got interesting as Mike was completely winded by the final round and was looking to be in pretty rough shape as the Galou tribe made their exits.  In fact, Probst made Mike stick around so he could be attended by the medical staff. Unfortunately, the medics on hand deemed that Mike’s heart wouldn’t be able to withstand the game…and thus, Mike became the 2nd person eliminated from Survivor: Samoa.

Oh…but that’s not the end.

Probst mentioned that there would STILL be a tribal council the following night and Yasmin would still be going to visit with the other tribe.  With Betsy on Russell’s bad side and Ben getting kicked out of the challenge when he was desperately needed, voting was going to be extremely interesting.

Yasmin...seriously...STFU

Yasmin...seriously...STFU

Wow…Yasmin got back to the Foa Foa camp and just went off!  She told everybody that she “wanted to help” because she didn’t like “taking candy from a baby” and told them that their “strategy was lacking” and wanted to talk directly to Ben in private.

WTF???

Needless to say, the tribe wasn’t overly impressed by this show of arrogance.  What’s funny is that Yasmin then read a clue that was given to her before arriving in the camp which told her about the hidden immunity idol at Foa Foa…the one that Russell now held. I had to laugh a bit.

Ben vs Yasmin

Ben vs Yasmin

Yasmin and Ben then got into a loud argument.  It was insane.  That let to Ben saying a LOT of really ridiculous things that should get him a TON of hate-mail. Let’s just say that Russell isn’t the only villain on this show, anymore.

Tribal Council was interesting…it boiled down to Betsy vs. Ben.  But Ben’s mouth really was shooting off.  He said that he didn’t know he had to play by Jeff’s “sissy rules”, which got a bit of a rise out of Probst.  In the end, though, it was Betsy that was the second person voted out of Survivor: Samoa.

Betsy: 2nd person voted off of Survivor: Samoa

Betsy: 2nd person voted off of Survivor: Samoa

Random Thoughts:

  • Yasmin needs to STFU. Period. The end.  I couldn’t believe how she handled going to the other tribe’s camp.  Instead of trying to blend and be approachable, she was a douchebag.  She’s VERY soon to go from the game, I think.
  • Ben acted like a douchebag and spoke like one…calling Jasmine a “hooker”.  Then came this brilliant piece of wisdom: “She’s ghetto trash, plain and simple. She needs to go back to eating ketchup sandwiches and drinking Kool-Aid.” Wow.
  • I have NO idea what’s really going on in the other camp because 90% of the show is focusing on Russell and the Foa Foa tribe.
  • Betsy, the police officer, quietly sang “Bad boys, bad boys, watcha gonna do…” when writing down Ben’s name.
  • Russell H appears to be trusting Jaison at the moment and even told him about having the immunity idol, which is odd…but the preview of next week’s episode shows that trust is short-lived.

All-in-all, this was a lot of fun to watch.  Say what you will, but only two episodes in and this is already one of the most entertaining seasons of Survivor yet!

What were your thoughts?

4 comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in reviews, TV

September 18, 2009

Survivor Samoa: Ep.01 – It’s Russell’s world…we just live in it.

By Canadian Bald Guy
The cast of Survivor: Samoa

The cast of Survivor: Samoa

After 19 seasons, Survivor has really gotten to the point to where there are two schools of thought: you either still like it or you think it “jumped the shark” long ago.

I, however, am someone who actually stopped watching it for a few years because I got tired of it. I didn’t like the characters and found most of the people dull (not to mention the challenges didn’t interest me at all). I started watching again a few seasons ago when Rupert Boneham was on (Pearl Islands in 2004, I think), and have been watching faithfull ever since. I loved the All-Stars version and really enjoyed last season in Tocantins, Brazil (c’mon…it had COACH!!)…so I was definitely looking forward to last night’s season debut.

Needless to say, I wasn’t disappointed.

Russell Hantz

Russell Hantz

Last night’s episode centered around one of the most intriguing characters any reality show has ever had: Russell Hantz. Apparently, Russell is a multi-millionaire oil company owner from Houston, Texas and isn’t playing the game for the money. No…Russell is playing this game specifically to raise hell and try to win by being the dirtiest player in the history of the game.

How so?

Let’s start off with his bedtime story, shall we? While the Foa Foa tribe were cuddling up on their first night, stories were being passed around in an effort to get to know one another. Russell’s story was heart-breaking. He was living in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit. His house was right next to the levies when they broke. As the water was rushing into his house, he didn’t know what to do next. It was him and his dog and his trusty ax…because being a firefighter, he knew that an ax may come in handy. So the water was rushing in faster than he could have ever anticipated and he scrambled to go up the stairs. He looked down into the murky waters for his beloved dog…but he was nowhere to be seen. He had to fight his way out of the roof of the house with his ax before finally being rescued.

Russell has never been a firefighter, didn’t lose a dog to Katrina floodwaters, and has never even lived in New Orleans.

Yes…I think it’s safe to say that this man is the new hell-raiser on Survivor. I mean honestly, this was the greatest lie told since Johnny Fairplay informed the group that his grandmother had died. But alas, he wasn’t done here.

His plan was to make his fellow teammates weak both mentally and physically so he could take advantage of them. He snuck out to the fire in the middle of the night and emptied out all of the water bottles. Yes…even his own. ALL of them. He then decided to burn random personal effects just so it would cause issues. Example? He burned a pair of socks belonging to Jaison…one of the big physical threats in the game. The next day Jaison was saying that his feet were starting to get blisters and didn’t know where his socks were.

In addition to that, Russell began making one-on-one “final two” deals with every woman on his team. He proceeded to call them weak, stupid, and pathetic. This guy was really firing on all cylinders, calling it the “Dumb Ass Girl Alliance“. Seriously.

When one of them, Marisa, told him that it concerned her that he was talking one-on-one with so many other people (i.e. she was questioning her own alliance with him), he immediately went on the warpath. He went to everybody in the tribe and told them that Marisa was coming after him and really wasn’t a person on the tribe that was to be trusted. Most of the tribe believed him, so when the Galu tribe won the immunity challenge, it all but spelled the end of Marisa’s time on Survivor.

While Ashley got a few votes, it was Marisa that ended up being voted off first.

Random thoughts from last night’s episode:

  • The “other” Russell (yeah…two people with the same name this year) was voted leader of the Galu tribe, while Mick was voted leader of the Foa Foa tribe. Russell #2 (also described as a “better looking Lennox Lewis”) was doing a pretty good job leading, where Mick was pretty much a non-factor.
  • SHAMBO!! This woman is an ex-marine with a mullet that would have even made Billy Ray Cyrus back in 1992 go “DAAAAMN!!!” Why the name “Shambo”? Well, her real name is Shannon and she loves wearing a headband like Rambo did back in the 80′s. Thus, she’d rather be called Shambo throughout the game.
  • First impression? Shambo is a moron.
  • First impression? John, the rocket scientist, really needs to STFU. Over-talkers can be early-exiters on Survivor.
  • If you’re gonna trash talk another team before an immunity challenge and call them “losers”, then you better back it up and actually WIN the damn thing. Idiot.
  • Ben’s got an attitude that’ll earn him enemies quickly in the game.
  • Betsy might be too smart for her own good…beware of Russell!!

cast names

I thought it was a great season premiere…99% because of Russell. I mean, where do you FIND somebody like this? I initially thought that he would be playing the game too hard too quickly, but now I’m fascinated to see just what he’ll be doing next!

Did you watch the premier last night?  What did you think of Survivor: Samoa?

6 comments   |  tags: , , | posted in entertainment, reviews, TV

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