Saturday, April 09, 2005

Early Show: Bobby Jon

Bobby JonDuring the Individual Immunity Challenge he said that he got distracted for an instant when he stopped to look at Stephenie's fire. That may have cost him winning Immunity. On losing all of the Immunity Challenges: just bad luck, no luck at all - black cat, maybe. The word puzzle immunity - Coby is just good at puzzles (Note: Coby directed and won the floating puzzle also.) With just two left on Ulong it got real difficult because there was so much work to do and not enough people to do it. Bobby Jon admits that he got on Stephenie's nerves a little bit; he could have improved his manners.

Currently: Bobby Jon is in L.A. (for about the last two years) modeling and waiting tables.

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Friday, April 08, 2005

Episode 8, Bye Bye Bobby Jon

Bobby JonKoror again win Reward and Immunity ('sound familiar?); at Tribal Council Bobby Jon loses an individual immunity challenge to Stephenie.

After the recap of last episode: Stephenie is glad that Bobby Jon kept his word and voted for Ibrehem. Stephenie says it's weird being down to two. Over at Koror they are dealing with rats. They've left food (coconuts and shark pieces) too close to camp and the rats are helping themselves. Coconuts especially are left all over the campsite. In private Coby is a work martyr. He tells us that he's the only one that really works. He complains about everyone leaving food and trash around attracting the rats. He complains about Tom's shark head (he hung it from a tree too close to camp). Coby says Janu is on her "eighth straight day of I wanna go home."

Reward Challenge
Competition: Balut eating contest
Reward: 55 gallons of fresh water with a shower head and soap, shampoo, etc.
competing for Koror: Tom and Ian

Balut is basically a duck fetus. A fertilized duck egg is allowed to develop but before it hatches it is eaten. It sounds delicious. There were four rounds. First round each Survivor (one from each tribe) had to eat 1 Balut, second round 2 Baluts, third round 3 Baluts and fourth round 4 Baluts. These rounds were not timed.

Here's how they competed:

Tom and Stephenie each ate 1 Balut
Ian and Bobby Jon each ate 2 Baluts
Tom and Stephenie each ate 3 Baluts
Ian and Bobby Jon each ate 4 Baluts

Tie Breaker
5 Baluts timed

Tom wins, but it was close. Koror wins Reward!

Maybe the fact that Tom had eaten only 4 Baluts before the tie breaker and Bobby Jon had eaten 6 Baluts made a difference?

TomAfterwards at Koror Tom (left) wants to save the fresh water for drinking instead of taking showers. Everyone grumbles a little but agrees. In private a lot of people complain about Tom regarding this. Alone Tom and Ian are worried about Gregg and Jennifer. They talk about an alliance with Stephenie that Gregg and Jennifer don't know about (but Katie does).

At Ulong Bobby Jon is pissed at losing again to Tom. Bobby Jon reverts to being a caveman in front of Stephenie. He coughs up something and blows his nose in front of her (the lean your head back and blow mucus straight out kinda way). He probably was farting right in front of her too. With only two players left they are shown struggling to put the outrigger canoe into the water. On the bright side, Bobby Jon catches a decent sized fish so they eat well. In private Stephenie breaks down and cries while telling us how hard it has been.


Immunity Challenge
Competition: swimmimg and puzzle
competing for Koror: Coby and Gregg

Four platforms are floating in the water, each farther out than the one before. They are connected by a plank. Under each platform (underwater) is hanging a bag of puzzle pieces. Also underwater there is a rope connecting each puzzle bag.

In turn a Survivor swims out to the first buoy, then dives and pulls himself/herself to the nearest bag of puzzles. They surface with the bag and walk back along the platforms and planks and then swim back to the beach (starting line) and the next competitor goes to get the next bag farther out.

After all of the pieces are collected, then the tribes must assemble the word puzzle and circle the listed words. Letters that intersect words are then used to spell a three word phrase. Whichever tribe gets the phrase first wins Immunity.

Ulong manage to get all of the puzzle pieces first with a healthy lead. However Gregg and Coby win by completing the puzzle very quickly. Koror wins Reward! (The three word phrase was "Victory at Sea.") Jeff Probst tells everyone that there will be an Individual Immunity Challenge at Tribal Council to determine who leaves and who stays.

CobyAfterwards in private Coby (left) cries and tells us how hard life has been for him. Kids in school picked on and made fun of him (for being gay), he was always picked last in sports etc. It was so bad that he quit school. He's proud to be doing so well in Survivor.

Is this Coby's Rupert Moment? I think everyone started to root for Rupert after he revealed what an outsider he was as a kid. Will it have the same result for Coby?

"We suck at puzzles" says Stephenie. She also says it's been scary with two people it will be even scarier alone. Bobby Jon says nothing has worked but he's prepared to go it alone. It's Team Bobby Jon now.


Ulong at Tribal Council
(paraphrased)
Probst: What are your thoughts? (or some such chit-chat)
Stephenie: Whoever wins Immunity deserves to stay.
Bobby Jon: There's still a lot left to do.
Probst: Bobby Jon what has been the highlight so far?
Bobby Jon: Catching a fish today. I proved to myself that I can live off the land.
Probst: What's the one ability you need to survive?
Stephenie: Making fire, catching fish, gathering coconuts and fire wood. A lot of which I learned from Bobby Jon.
Bobby Jon: Stephenie can do what a man can do.
Probst: What is the key to living out here?
Bobby Jon: Fire, being able to make and keep a fire going.
Stephenie agrees.

Individual Immunity Challenge
Make a fire big enough to light their torch. The torch end is about a foot and a half above the fire area. (Fire is, once again, the symbol of life on Survivor.) Stephenie mumbles that she's not that good at building fires. She also wishes Bobby Jon good luck. They are each given 25 matches and kindling; the first to light their touch wins Immunity.

It was close but Stephenie wins Immunity!

Bobby Jon is removed from competition.

IanAlliances
Tom, Ian (left), Katie and Stephenie - is anyone else in this alliance? Will there even be a merge to bring Stephenie into it? I doubt there will be a merge. How is the Soft Alliance (Gregg, Jenn, Coby and Janu ) doing? Janu can't last much longer. She's breaking down emotionally and physically. If Koror goes to Tribal Council she's most likely a goner.

StephenieHeroes and Villains
Stephenie (left) is still my favorite and I hope that she makes it at least as far as the jury. No one really stands out on Koror, but Ian is my favorite (I guess). I kind of like Coby but he whines too much. Tom is likable but he's bossy sometimes. I don't really dislike anyone on Koror yet, but I'm sure that will change soon.

Official Episode Title: Neanderthal Man

Won Reward: Koror
(55 gallons of fresh water with shower head and soap, shampoo, etc.)

Immunity: Koror

Voted Off: Bobby Jon
(no votes, he lost an individual immunity challenge to Stephenie)

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Thursday, April 07, 2005

Survivor Fantasy: My Picks

I don't know what to do so I'm sticking with the same picks again this week.

TomTom, first interview
He seems to get a lot of screen time so hopefully this translates into points somehow.

points last week: 12

IanIan, first interview
As a dolphin trainer he likes the water and going in the ocean above the knees (not during a challenge) gets fantasy points.

points last week: 12

KatieKatie, takes a nap
She's already taken a nap twice and I think this is going to be a theme - "lazy Katie". So I figure it's worth a shot even though she took a nap last week.

points last week: 48 (took a nap, 40 points)

StephenieStephenie, first interviewed at tribal council
I know she's on Ulong and they're down to two players so she has a very good chance to be knocked off this week. However she's smarter and a better athlete than Bobby Jon and if they do go to Tribal Council the word is that a competition will decide who goes, not the luck of the draw.

points last week: 10


Tonight's Episode
Neanderthal Man, Episode #1008.
Stephanie becomes increasingly irritated at Bobby Jon's behavior; the castaways sample a Palauan delicacy that is hard to swallow.

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Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Sea Mist Beach Club

Sea Mist Beach ClubSea Mist Beach Club and Bonus Question Answers

The Sea Mist Beach Club has scored 7,188 points so far. We are 527 points behind the 100th ranked tribe in the private tribes standings.

This Week's Bonus Questions

1. What weapon did Tom use to kill the shark? (machete)

2. What question did Koror's SOS pose during the Reward Challenge? (got food)

3. During the Immunity Challenge, what Koror member stood on the platform and directed the movement of the puzzle pieces? (Coby)

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Monday, April 04, 2005

More About: Willard, Angie and James

Just when I thought that I would never hear about Willard, Angie and James again, I come across a radio station in Canada (96x Edmonton's #1 Hit Music Station) that interviews each Survivor after he/she is voted off. Each former competitor gets interviewed by the morning show's hosts, BJ and Shannon, for about five minutes. The interviews are on the radio station's web site in MP3 format.

I've listened to the interviews of Willard, Angie and James and here are my notes:

WillardWillard
It turns out that Willard is a hockey fan and an even bigger fan of curling (yes, curling). They talked about curling on TV for a little while (and Willard talks about the "crap on American TV"?). For more information about the exciting sport of sliding large rocks on ice visit the World Curling Federation web site.

Then thankfully the talk turned to Survivor. Wanda and Coby had a real emotional investment in the game. They really cared about doing well and were students of he show. Willard said he went on Survivor more as a joke (note: he previously mentioned a bet with his wife and friends; and Survivor as a way of getting in shape). He was asked if he planned to fly under the radar. He answered "no", but that's what the situation called for since he had heat exhaustion on day three and foot problems. (This is about the third time he's mentioned his mysterious foot problems without being specific. He's only said that he couldn't put on his shoes. If anyone knows any more details please leave a comment or contact me.) Willard never really considered what he'd do if he won the million dollars. He doesn't need the money, he's not really into things. (Maybe he could go see more curling matches.)

Interesting factoid: Willard met and moved in with his wife on the same day (the 1970s were wild times, weren't they?). They've been happily married for 34 years now.

AngieAngie
She hasn't been nearly as interesting as she was on Survivor. Angie's appearances on the Early Show and Survivor Live were pretty uninspiring, which continued with this interview (I scribbled "bunch of nothing" in my notes.) She said Survivor was a once in a lifetime experience and she has no regrets (*yawn*). It was funny to watch Ulong continue to lose so much. Katie really made her mad when she watched the sock puppet show. The black panties Angie wore on Survivor are safely tucked away (what, no eBay auction?).

Interesting factoid: Angie phoned in the interview from her current place of employment - a New Orleans bar that's open 24 hours a day. The patrons have been very supportive of her.

JamesJames
As always James was oddly entertaining. To start, they talked about a whole lot of nothing but it was interesting. They played an audio clip where James said it "feels bad to have my butt whooped by a homosexual" (that would be Coby in the sumo wrestling challenge). Then they moved on to him being voted off. James feels betrayed by Stephenie and Bobby Jon. He said Stephenie is "just butch enough to write like a man" which is why Bobby Jon thought James voted for him. At Tribal Council he knew something was up when he heard Bobby Jon breathing heavily behind him. He just didn't know what really happened until he saw the show on TV.

The Knots. James admits that he "miscalculated their (Koror's) intellect" when tying his knots. Koror got through them a little faster then he thought they would. Ulong lost the challenge because they had fewer knots on the box and Koror had more knots. It was a case of quality versus quantity. Survivor changed his life. James said before the show he took his wife and four kids for granted, but not any more.

Interesting factoid: The first thing James did after Survivor, he "fornicated with his wife and roasted hot dogs and marsh-mellows with his kids." (Now that's what I call a new appreciation for one's family.)

JamesJames in TV Guide
Confirmed: his wife is a stripper and her name is Brandi (that sounds like a fancy city stripper name and not a good redneck stripper name). She sat on his lap throughout the interview. James said Brandi wants to confront Stephenie in a non-violent way about betraying him (isn't that what the reunion show is for?). James said that he has no regrets about being politically incorrect. He lost 22 pounds during Survivor.

Interesting factoid: James needs a job, "I take care of the kids and [Brandi] takes her clothes off for money."

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