No second NFL game on CBS this week which means for those of us on the East Coast, THE AMAZING RACE began at its scheduled time of 8pm! YAY!
This leg began without the team I most disliked on this season. Lance & Keri were eliminated and have gone away to the “Elimination Station” to enjoy as Lance says is a “free vacation”. Well I’m happy for them. Actually I am happy they are gone!
The teams didn’t have any major traveling to do on this leg. This leg began and ended in Dubai with Meghan & Cheyne having a large lead over other teams because of their successful “fast forward” from the previous leg. They left the pit-stop around 8:40am and the last team left the pit-stop three hours later..
Teams chose a briefcase and took it to a marina for their first clue which was a “roadblock” task requiring a team member to take an inflatable rowboat out to a yacht where they were given a watch then return to the marina and use the time that the watch is set to as their code to unlock their briefcase and retrieve their next clue. On the way to the marina, the Harlem Globetrotters “Flight Time & Big Easy” had their first setback on the race thanks to their taxi driver taking them to the wrong location. Then we were treated to the amusing view of an extremely large man in a small inflatable boat that he struggled to navigate with the oars but instead used his big hands and arms to row the boat.
“Flight Time and Big Easy” were the only team who couldn’t figure out the correct code for the briefcase. Instead of using the time on the watch, they came up with some crazy idea of adding the numbers where the hands of the watch pointed to and using whatever figure that was, then when didn’t work, they just counted down from there. And went from being in third place to last.
After teams got their clue from the briefcase the teams had to travel to a water taxi station for the “detour” task choices of “gold” where teams had to weigh gold according to the frequently changing gold stock prices on a display monitor or “glass” where teams had to assemble 12 “hookahs”, as in “smoking glass”. Each of these tasks required precision calculations and teams struggled to meet the approval of their judges. After several failed attempts, Brian & Ericka changed tasks.
After the “detour”, teams went to a water slide center where they would have to slide down into a shark infested water tank. This is where Mika’s fear of heights led to a meltdown between her and her partner Canaan. Mika & Canaan. Canaan begged, yelled and even tried to push Mika onto the water slide and she kicked and screamed, refusing to do anything and then the Globetrotters arrived in last place encouraging Mika to give up the water slide. Canaan's response was to tell the Globetrotters that they were being "pieces of crap" for doing that.
Now that another team was waiting there was a 2 minute policy in place. Mika sat on the edge of the water slide refusing to move because her fear with Canaan begging her to go and The Globetrotters begging her NOT to go. When the 2 minute deadline came, Mika had to step aside and the Globetrotters wasted no time diving for the waterslide grabbing that next clue. Canaan, frustrated and knowing it was all over decided to go down the water slide hoping Mika would follow and she did not.
After finishing the water slide, teams went to the nearby “Dolphin Bay Beach” for the next pit-stop and without missing a beat or losing any part of their lead, Meghan & Cheyne were the first team at the pit-stop and for their first place win they each won a personal watercraft.
The arrivals at the pit-stop were as follows and contained some surprises
SECOND: Maria & Tiffany who I predicted for elimination had no problem with any of the tasks on this leg and surged forward to their best ranking so far in the race
THIRD: Sam & Dan have been more of an alliance with Maria & Tiffany for the past couple legs and their close arrival at the pit-stop continues that.
FOURTH: Brian & Ericka were fast despite a few minor complications
FIFTH: Gary & Matt, with Matt relieved to have a cooling off from the extreme heat of Dubai.
SIXTH: “Flight Time & Big Easy” after Mika’s refusal to go down the water slide, the Harlem Globetrotters were spared elimination. But they are now in last place and capable of catching up.
This means the last team was Mika and a forgiving Canaan who acknowledged the Mika was crippled with fear and could not overcome her fear of heights and that fear led to their elimination from The Amazing Race.
So again I have failed to predict the elimination but viewers shouldn’t be surprised at the results of this episode. If you can’t complete a task then you are not going to go far on The Amazing Race.
As for my weekly predictions for next elimination of The Amazing Race. I kind of have fun doing it every week and I admit that my predictions are mostly wishes for elimination. But I try my best to be honest with my predictions based on performance and current position. But as this episode proved, you can go from the top to the bottom in one leg of the race especially if you make a big screw up like “Flight Time & Big Easy” did in this leg. So if I were to consider that then I would go with the weakest team for the next elimination.
I still think that weakest team right now is Maria & Tiffany. I think they are only still in the race because there was no travel or extremely hard physical tasks to complete. This leg of the race was more for the brains than for the brawn and with Maria & Tiffany being professional poker players, their ability to calculate and make decisions helped them maintain during this leg of the race but I don’t think they will survive the next two legs. I am going with my prediction for Maria &Tiffany as the next elimination.
So I made my prediction based more on who I think are the weakest teams. The previews for next weeks broadcast show Brian & Ericka having problems, mainly Ericka having her meltdown. And I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened despite their being a stronger team than either Gary & Matt or Maria & Tiffany. But I am not counting them out yet.
Predicting which teams are likely for the final three, I feel sure that Meghan & Cheyne will definitely make the final three with a strong chance of winning The Amazing Race. They do have a good lead at the moment but of course the “great amazing race team equalizer” will kick in at any time in the form of a flight schedule or closed location that would allow the teams to catch up. But if any team can keep up and make up for lost time, Meghan & Cheyne can do it. I also think Sam & Dan will make the final three but they have to cut their alliance with Maria & Tiffany and focus on being more competitive instead of just looking cute in bathing suits.
Two other teams I think have a chance at making the final three with question marks are Brian & Ericka and “Flight Time & Big Easy”. They have the physical ability but I don’t think they have the full brain ability. They have made mistakes that cost time during the race. The Globetrotters made the biggest of those mistakes but everyone knows it will be hard to outrun them and many teams want them to be eliminated so it would be easier for them. I think the competitive spirit will keep them alive. Brian & Erika will make it to the final three more out of luck than ability. When I get down to just predicting only three teams for the final three, Brian & Ericka are likely to not make that list.
This leaves me with the two next teams to be eliminated. I already picked Maria & Tiffany for the next elimination but Gary & Matt won’t be far behind. Its not that I don’t like them. Right now, there are no teams that I dislike remaining on the race. I just don’t see Gary & Matt out running any team left on the race. I do think it would be cool if they did. Imagine seeing a big pink haired man winning The Amazing Race. As one of the “ugly” out of shape people in this world, I would not mind one bit is someone uglier than I am won this contest.
And that’s all I have to say about The Amazing Race this week. I will have to rely on accurate recording of next week’s broadcast as I will be wrapping up some responsibilities out of town next Sunday. I am planning on backup systems to record so I don’t miss next week. And my blog may be a couple days in coming but I’ll be back with more Amazing Race impressions next week.
And finally, this commercial message featuring one of the contestants of The Amazing Race. Brian is the first person you’ll see in this video in a commercial for KRYSTAL restaurants.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Hate crimes law passed despite Georgia Senator throwing the military under the bus
On October 22nd, the US Senate voted to approve HR 2647 which was to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2010 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, to provide special pays and allowances to certain members of the Armed Forces, expand concurrent receipt of military retirement and VA disability benefits to disabled military retirees, and for other purposes.
BOTH of Georgia's senators voted against the bill because of an amendement within the bill that added sexual orientation as protection under a Hate Crimes Law. This means if someone is Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgendered, crimes of discrimination against them are protected the same as if a crime were based on their race.
Saxby was even the star speaker on the Senate floor expressing his opinion against this bill. Since this was a bill of fiscal support for our Armed Forces, let it be noted when re-election time comes. Saxby isn't the friend of the military that he claims to be.
He voted against fiscal support of the military and the expansion of military retirement and disability benefits because other citizens who currently aren't allowed such benefits would be protected from harm under the law.
His hate for a group of people was stronger than his dedication to our armed forces and vetrans. Lets remember this when he somes to THIS military town I live in stumping for votes. He's not the friend we thought he was.
Does any of this make any sense? Saxby Chambliss was my congressman for a few years before entering the Senate. He always claimed to be a friend of the military. If so, then why vote against supporting it?
Oh, cause them "homosexchalls" might be protected under the law from someone bashing them upside the head.
And those staunch military supporters who are on Chambliss' side are so pissed about a pending hate crimes law they forget all about their "friend" just threw them under the bus.
I am daring someone to justify that!
--------------------------------------------------------------
PS: I really don't like when they add amendments in these bills that have nothing to do with the original intent. But the problem is both political sides often sneak in these things to get something passed. This time the Democrats were successful. And Saxby's dissention was in vain along with 28 other Senators. Together, their vote threw the Armed Forces and our Veterans under the bus.
BOTH of Georgia's senators voted against the bill because of an amendement within the bill that added sexual orientation as protection under a Hate Crimes Law. This means if someone is Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgendered, crimes of discrimination against them are protected the same as if a crime were based on their race.
Saxby was even the star speaker on the Senate floor expressing his opinion against this bill. Since this was a bill of fiscal support for our Armed Forces, let it be noted when re-election time comes. Saxby isn't the friend of the military that he claims to be.
He voted against fiscal support of the military and the expansion of military retirement and disability benefits because other citizens who currently aren't allowed such benefits would be protected from harm under the law.
His hate for a group of people was stronger than his dedication to our armed forces and vetrans. Lets remember this when he somes to THIS military town I live in stumping for votes. He's not the friend we thought he was.
Does any of this make any sense? Saxby Chambliss was my congressman for a few years before entering the Senate. He always claimed to be a friend of the military. If so, then why vote against supporting it?
Oh, cause them "homosexchalls" might be protected under the law from someone bashing them upside the head.
And those staunch military supporters who are on Chambliss' side are so pissed about a pending hate crimes law they forget all about their "friend" just threw them under the bus.
I am daring someone to justify that!
--------------------------------------------------------------
PS: I really don't like when they add amendments in these bills that have nothing to do with the original intent. But the problem is both political sides often sneak in these things to get something passed. This time the Democrats were successful. And Saxby's dissention was in vain along with 28 other Senators. Together, their vote threw the Armed Forces and our Veterans under the bus.
Monday, October 19, 2009
The Amazing Race 15 weekly blog: "A snowballs chance in Dubai"
Better late than never. This week the Amazing Race was delayed an hour and fifteen minutes on the East Coast because of an NFL game that went into overtime. CBS also had an abbreviated broadcast of “60 Minutes” leaving out a couple segments including Andy Rooney.
So with eight teams remaining this leg of the race began in Cambodia with teams leaving between 12:25 and 12:55pm. Teams had to figure out the their clue meant that they would have to locate the world’s largest building in the Persian Gulf. Most teams easily figured out that they would have to fly to DUBAI which is in the Persian Gulf. All teams made the same flight out of Cambodia.
Teams arrived in Dubai at night and their first stop was to find a fountain where they would sign up for one of two groups to proceed on the next morning at 5:30 and 5:45. The fountain was near the base of the worlds tallest building and teams had to go to the top of the building to get their next clue. One racer was extremely afraid of heights but managed to get through.
The next clue had teams select automobiles to drive themselves into the desert where they would have 4 wheel drive vehicles with drivers take them across the desert to their next task. But at this the option of using the FAST FORWARD was available. The “fast forward” is an optional task that if a team completes or if multiple teams are involved the team that completes the “fast forward” first, they would be able to bypass all other tasks and proceed to the pit-stop. If a team fails to complete the “fast forward” first then they would have the setback of having to continue with the race from where they left off.
This “fast forward” really lived up to the name as a team member would drive a formula one type race car and make a lap around the track within 45 seconds to complete the task. Meghan & Cheyne were the only team to attempt the “fast forward” and then they were taken for a ride in a Maserati sports car to the pit-stop as the FIRST place team. And for being the first team at the pit-stop, they won a trip to Jamaica from show sponsor Travelocity.
If you have read my other “Amazing Race” blog entries this season then you know that a part of this broadcast I enjoyed was watching Lance & Keri get lost in an empty parking garage looking for their vehicle. All of the other teams had left the sky scraper in Dubai at this point and Lance & Keri had returned to having arguments during the race. The first we saw on this broadcast was when they attempted to book their flight reservations at an internet café they had problems with the computer. Lance insisted he knew what he was doing while his fiancée Keri kept pushing for him to give up and go to the airport to book their flight. Eventually Keri won that argument. Then Lance whined as Keri asked strangers for directions, she then closed her car window and said she was no longer asking anyone for help. One can imagine if they can’t work together on this race that their pending marriage will be a disaster.
Once teams drove themselves to the selected location in the desert they met their drivers and 4 wheel drive vehicles for an off-road ride deeper into the desert to get their next clue. This was the “roadblock” where a team member had to locate water in buried urns within the desert. After finding the water they had to fill their container and feed the water to a camel. They had to deal with the extreme heat of the desert. At the end of their desert task the only all female team (Tiffany & Marie) managed to run over a post and punctured their radiator requiring a replacement vehicle.
After completing the very hot task in the desert, teams had a great chance to cool off. Their next stop was at an indoor snow skiing arena called “Ski Dubai”. At the indoor snow skiing facility teams had their “detour” choices of “Build A Snowman” where they would have to build a traditional snowman outside under warmer conditions before their snowman melts, or “Find a Snowman” where they would have to ski down the indoor ski slope and dig through mounds of snow for miniature toy snowmen. And the racers were skiing in their “summer” attire. (shorts and t-shirts)
The father and son team Gary & Matt had a good lead entering the ski arena but many teams arrived at the same time and the lead Gary & Matt thought they had was no more. Many teams worked quickly and some teams including Gary & Matt changed tasks and decided to build snowmen instead. Eventually it was Brian & Ericka who finished their chosen snowman task first and headed off to the pit-stop followed by the Harlem Globetrotters while we watched as Lance & Keri were still trying to figure their way out of the desert. (LOL). As teams arrived at the pit stop, Lance & Keri were discussing and exploring the many directions and exits of the Dubai freeway system.
So with Meghan & Cheyne already at the pit-stop, the rest of the arrivals were:
SECOND: Brian & Ericka
THIRD: “Flight time & Big Easy”
FOURTH: Gary & Matt
FIFTH: Sam & Dan
SIXTH: Maria & Tiffany
SEVENTH: Mika & Canaan
And sweet justice for arrogant assholes! I cannot stand Lance of the team Lance & Keri and they were ELIMINATED from the race! They argued through directions, made wrong turns and lost a lot of time. But more specifically, those who think they are mighty (Lance the tough talking lawyer from BAAston) are often the ones who fall the hardest. It was truly beautiful to watch.
BUH BYE Lance & Keri. Hope you had a good “vacation”. Now go off to get married and have a good life. Hope I never see you on TV ever again.
Folks, I told you I am honest in my opinion and perhaps a little biased. I appreciate this episodes elimination despite the fact that I predicted another team for this elimination.
And speaking about my failed prediction. Maria & Tiffany are still good candidates for elimination. They damaged their vehicle on this leg of the race which caused a delay and the only other reason they are still in the race is because the two teams that placed behind them struggled with directions. Mika & Canaan were almost as bad with directions on this leg of the race as Lance & Keri.
I am going to maintain my current prediction for the next elimination on The Amazing Race and predict Maria & Tiffany for the same reasons as before. The other teams are simply stronger and capable of the harder tasks with greater speed. They are going to have to work extra hard to keep up with the top three teams, Meghan & Cheyne, Brian & Ericka and the Harlem Globetrotters. And I include those three teams along with Sam & Dan as the strong contenders to make the FINAL THREE.
We are now in a position where only the strong teams are at the top. Mika & Canaan are already in a struggle because of Mika’s fear of heights and the previews for next weeks broadcast show Mika and Canaan struggling to complete another high rise task. Mika’s fear of heights is a problem for their team and I no longer consider them as contenders to make the final three. As for Gary & Matt, they are strong but they are not as fast as the other strong teams. I actually hope they make it to the final three and possibly a win but honestly I don’t think they will surpass the current top three.
Well, sometime next Sunday evening we shall see what happens next. Until then, stay warm…summertime is OVER. Time for me to get under the covers and get some sleep for the work week ahead.
I wish all of my fellow Amazing Race fans a great and productive week.
So with eight teams remaining this leg of the race began in Cambodia with teams leaving between 12:25 and 12:55pm. Teams had to figure out the their clue meant that they would have to locate the world’s largest building in the Persian Gulf. Most teams easily figured out that they would have to fly to DUBAI which is in the Persian Gulf. All teams made the same flight out of Cambodia.
Teams arrived in Dubai at night and their first stop was to find a fountain where they would sign up for one of two groups to proceed on the next morning at 5:30 and 5:45. The fountain was near the base of the worlds tallest building and teams had to go to the top of the building to get their next clue. One racer was extremely afraid of heights but managed to get through.
The next clue had teams select automobiles to drive themselves into the desert where they would have 4 wheel drive vehicles with drivers take them across the desert to their next task. But at this the option of using the FAST FORWARD was available. The “fast forward” is an optional task that if a team completes or if multiple teams are involved the team that completes the “fast forward” first, they would be able to bypass all other tasks and proceed to the pit-stop. If a team fails to complete the “fast forward” first then they would have the setback of having to continue with the race from where they left off.
This “fast forward” really lived up to the name as a team member would drive a formula one type race car and make a lap around the track within 45 seconds to complete the task. Meghan & Cheyne were the only team to attempt the “fast forward” and then they were taken for a ride in a Maserati sports car to the pit-stop as the FIRST place team. And for being the first team at the pit-stop, they won a trip to Jamaica from show sponsor Travelocity.
If you have read my other “Amazing Race” blog entries this season then you know that a part of this broadcast I enjoyed was watching Lance & Keri get lost in an empty parking garage looking for their vehicle. All of the other teams had left the sky scraper in Dubai at this point and Lance & Keri had returned to having arguments during the race. The first we saw on this broadcast was when they attempted to book their flight reservations at an internet café they had problems with the computer. Lance insisted he knew what he was doing while his fiancée Keri kept pushing for him to give up and go to the airport to book their flight. Eventually Keri won that argument. Then Lance whined as Keri asked strangers for directions, she then closed her car window and said she was no longer asking anyone for help. One can imagine if they can’t work together on this race that their pending marriage will be a disaster.
Once teams drove themselves to the selected location in the desert they met their drivers and 4 wheel drive vehicles for an off-road ride deeper into the desert to get their next clue. This was the “roadblock” where a team member had to locate water in buried urns within the desert. After finding the water they had to fill their container and feed the water to a camel. They had to deal with the extreme heat of the desert. At the end of their desert task the only all female team (Tiffany & Marie) managed to run over a post and punctured their radiator requiring a replacement vehicle.
After completing the very hot task in the desert, teams had a great chance to cool off. Their next stop was at an indoor snow skiing arena called “Ski Dubai”. At the indoor snow skiing facility teams had their “detour” choices of “Build A Snowman” where they would have to build a traditional snowman outside under warmer conditions before their snowman melts, or “Find a Snowman” where they would have to ski down the indoor ski slope and dig through mounds of snow for miniature toy snowmen. And the racers were skiing in their “summer” attire. (shorts and t-shirts)
The father and son team Gary & Matt had a good lead entering the ski arena but many teams arrived at the same time and the lead Gary & Matt thought they had was no more. Many teams worked quickly and some teams including Gary & Matt changed tasks and decided to build snowmen instead. Eventually it was Brian & Ericka who finished their chosen snowman task first and headed off to the pit-stop followed by the Harlem Globetrotters while we watched as Lance & Keri were still trying to figure their way out of the desert. (LOL). As teams arrived at the pit stop, Lance & Keri were discussing and exploring the many directions and exits of the Dubai freeway system.
So with Meghan & Cheyne already at the pit-stop, the rest of the arrivals were:
SECOND: Brian & Ericka
THIRD: “Flight time & Big Easy”
FOURTH: Gary & Matt
FIFTH: Sam & Dan
SIXTH: Maria & Tiffany
SEVENTH: Mika & Canaan
And sweet justice for arrogant assholes! I cannot stand Lance of the team Lance & Keri and they were ELIMINATED from the race! They argued through directions, made wrong turns and lost a lot of time. But more specifically, those who think they are mighty (Lance the tough talking lawyer from BAAston) are often the ones who fall the hardest. It was truly beautiful to watch.
BUH BYE Lance & Keri. Hope you had a good “vacation”. Now go off to get married and have a good life. Hope I never see you on TV ever again.
Folks, I told you I am honest in my opinion and perhaps a little biased. I appreciate this episodes elimination despite the fact that I predicted another team for this elimination.
And speaking about my failed prediction. Maria & Tiffany are still good candidates for elimination. They damaged their vehicle on this leg of the race which caused a delay and the only other reason they are still in the race is because the two teams that placed behind them struggled with directions. Mika & Canaan were almost as bad with directions on this leg of the race as Lance & Keri.
I am going to maintain my current prediction for the next elimination on The Amazing Race and predict Maria & Tiffany for the same reasons as before. The other teams are simply stronger and capable of the harder tasks with greater speed. They are going to have to work extra hard to keep up with the top three teams, Meghan & Cheyne, Brian & Ericka and the Harlem Globetrotters. And I include those three teams along with Sam & Dan as the strong contenders to make the FINAL THREE.
We are now in a position where only the strong teams are at the top. Mika & Canaan are already in a struggle because of Mika’s fear of heights and the previews for next weeks broadcast show Mika and Canaan struggling to complete another high rise task. Mika’s fear of heights is a problem for their team and I no longer consider them as contenders to make the final three. As for Gary & Matt, they are strong but they are not as fast as the other strong teams. I actually hope they make it to the final three and possibly a win but honestly I don’t think they will surpass the current top three.
Well, sometime next Sunday evening we shall see what happens next. Until then, stay warm…summertime is OVER. Time for me to get under the covers and get some sleep for the work week ahead.
I wish all of my fellow Amazing Race fans a great and productive week.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
The Amazing Race 15 weekly blog: Camelot in Cambodia
FORTY MINUTES!!
This was the delay in the east coast broadcast of The Amazing Race as Andy Rooney’s segment on “60 Minutes” talks about falling asleep while riding a city bus. I am falling asleep waiting for The Amazing Race to begin 40 minutes later than its scheduled time thanks to an NFL game that ran overtime.
Anyway, during this delay there was a preview for this broadcast that indicates that my predictions for elimination on this leg of the race may be wrong but my pre-mature predictions on who won’t make the final three may prove true. The preview for THIS broadcast showed us a team with lost “documents” and a team loses its passports. So know that before I finish writing this blog I am expecting some surprises on this broadcast.
So on to the weekly blog about the Amazing Race and I start with a totally biased opinion. I am sick of the NFL delaying the Amazing Race on the east coast! Dammit, tell the players to get their crap over with on time or cut some of the boring ass segments on “60 minutes” and maintain an accurate prime-time schedule. You can save most of the segments from 60 minutes for another week.
Now on to the race, this next leg began in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam with teams flying to Cambodia.
The departure times were in the early evening, the first team left at 6:53pm and the last team left at 7:32pm. When teams arrived at the airport they discovered the earliest flight wasn’t until 12:25 the next afternoon. So it was a very long wait for the racers but two teams were almost out of luck. Lance & Keri and Zev & Justin faced a sold out flight so they booked for a flight leaving 2 hours later with standby for the 12:25 flight. And they all made the standby flight. So all teams traveled together to Cambodia.
Once in Cambodia, teams had to find the Foreign Correspondents Club to get their first clue from an “assignment editor”. Their assignment was contained in a photo of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis riding in a car on a visit to Cambodia. Teams had to travel to the location in the photo which was the Royal Hotel then request to see the hotel suite named after the former United States First Lady. But the interesting part here is that many of the teams did not recognize the late former first lady as the woman in the photo. Canaan (of Mika & Canaan) thought she was Queen Elizabeth, the Globe Trotters thought she was some sort of princess and another team only said they thought she was some Cambodian Queen. Only the oldest remaining person on the race, Gary ( of Gary & Matt) identified her as “Jackie Kennedy” and saying that he probably was the only person who would have caught that. But Zev & Justin also knew who she was which made it easy for them to get their next clue.
The next clue was the “detour” choices of “cover” where teams had to sell motorcycle helmets or “Wrap” where teams had to go to a local market, select a scarf from a shopkeeper then search for a woman within the market that is wearing the exact same scarf. Most teams chose the “wrap” detour. Last place team (and my least favorite team) Lance & Keri were the only team choosing to sell helmets.
After the “detour” teams were required to travel by foot to their next destination. At this time, Zev & Justin kept their taxi and walked behind it.
The “roadblock” required a team member to perform a series of monkey related maneuvers. Zev & Justin were the first team at the roadblock and Zev performed the task but nearly passed out and he sat down for a while as the gay brothers Sam & Dan completed the task and headed for the pit-stop assuming to be the first team. But their cab driver and vehicle were much slower than the taxi that Zev & Justin retained for the day. So Zev & Justin arrived at the pit-stop first.
There was no mention of any prize for Zev & Justin’s first place finish. Then after viewers saw Dan & Sam arrive as the second team and “Flight Time & Big Easy” arrive as the third team, it was revealed that Zev was missing his passport. He and Justin were denied check-in as first place and they were told they would have to return to the course to locate the missing passport and return before the last time checks in or they would be eliminated. This made the gay brothers the first place team by default. Justin happened to have a business card to call his taxi driver and the driver helped them backtrack to locate the passport but they were not successful in locating it.
So, the official pit-stop arrivals are in this order..
FIRST: Sam & Dan
SECOND: Harlem Globetrotters “Flight Time & Big Easy” (Herbert & Nathaniel)
THIRD: Brian & Ericka
FOURTH: Gary & Matt
FIFTH: Meghan & Cheyne
SIXTH: Lance & Keri, blowing my prediction (and hope) that they would be eliminated.
SEVENTH: Mika & Canaan
EIGTH: Maria & Tiffany escaped elimination because of Zev & Justin losing Zev’s passport.
Zev & Justin were eliminated from the race. But they were not saddened by the situation. They have a strong friendship.
And so we are down to EIGHT with one team I hate rising up a few positions. Lance & Keri may stay around just to piss off viewers like me who cannot stand him. Lance has his arrogant competitive spirit but he didn’t argue with his partner and that is what I think causes good teams to fail. So if they keep their personal attitudes toward each other, then Lance & Keri will be around for a while.
I watched the “elimination station” segments online and I watched as some eliminated racers predicted the next team to go would be the two Harlem Globetrotters. I don’t know if there is some hate going on there but the Globetrotters seem to be one of the strongest teams on the race. I include them as strong contenders to make the “final three” of The Amazing Race.
The other teams I predict as strong contenders to make the final three are Meghan & Cheyne, Brian & Ericka, Sam & Dan and I am replacing consideration of Mika & Canaan and (reluctantly) replacing them with Lance & Keri. This puts Mika & Canaan into a questionable status. Their performance on this leg of the race was satisfactory at best.
What’s easier to predict is the team for next elimination. The professional poker players Tiffany & Maria are struggling and I don’t see signs of improvement. The youth and physical strength of the other teams along with Maria & Tiffany being in the last place make them the prime candidates for next elimination. So my prediction for next team elimination is for Maria & Tiffany.
My hope is that the Amazing Race will start on time next week. Would this be wishful thinking?
Well we shall see next week. Save Amazing Race weekly blog, same old internet channel.
Have a good week!
This was the delay in the east coast broadcast of The Amazing Race as Andy Rooney’s segment on “60 Minutes” talks about falling asleep while riding a city bus. I am falling asleep waiting for The Amazing Race to begin 40 minutes later than its scheduled time thanks to an NFL game that ran overtime.
Anyway, during this delay there was a preview for this broadcast that indicates that my predictions for elimination on this leg of the race may be wrong but my pre-mature predictions on who won’t make the final three may prove true. The preview for THIS broadcast showed us a team with lost “documents” and a team loses its passports. So know that before I finish writing this blog I am expecting some surprises on this broadcast.
So on to the weekly blog about the Amazing Race and I start with a totally biased opinion. I am sick of the NFL delaying the Amazing Race on the east coast! Dammit, tell the players to get their crap over with on time or cut some of the boring ass segments on “60 minutes” and maintain an accurate prime-time schedule. You can save most of the segments from 60 minutes for another week.
Now on to the race, this next leg began in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam with teams flying to Cambodia.
The departure times were in the early evening, the first team left at 6:53pm and the last team left at 7:32pm. When teams arrived at the airport they discovered the earliest flight wasn’t until 12:25 the next afternoon. So it was a very long wait for the racers but two teams were almost out of luck. Lance & Keri and Zev & Justin faced a sold out flight so they booked for a flight leaving 2 hours later with standby for the 12:25 flight. And they all made the standby flight. So all teams traveled together to Cambodia.
Once in Cambodia, teams had to find the Foreign Correspondents Club to get their first clue from an “assignment editor”. Their assignment was contained in a photo of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis riding in a car on a visit to Cambodia. Teams had to travel to the location in the photo which was the Royal Hotel then request to see the hotel suite named after the former United States First Lady. But the interesting part here is that many of the teams did not recognize the late former first lady as the woman in the photo. Canaan (of Mika & Canaan) thought she was Queen Elizabeth, the Globe Trotters thought she was some sort of princess and another team only said they thought she was some Cambodian Queen. Only the oldest remaining person on the race, Gary ( of Gary & Matt) identified her as “Jackie Kennedy” and saying that he probably was the only person who would have caught that. But Zev & Justin also knew who she was which made it easy for them to get their next clue.
The next clue was the “detour” choices of “cover” where teams had to sell motorcycle helmets or “Wrap” where teams had to go to a local market, select a scarf from a shopkeeper then search for a woman within the market that is wearing the exact same scarf. Most teams chose the “wrap” detour. Last place team (and my least favorite team) Lance & Keri were the only team choosing to sell helmets.
After the “detour” teams were required to travel by foot to their next destination. At this time, Zev & Justin kept their taxi and walked behind it.
The “roadblock” required a team member to perform a series of monkey related maneuvers. Zev & Justin were the first team at the roadblock and Zev performed the task but nearly passed out and he sat down for a while as the gay brothers Sam & Dan completed the task and headed for the pit-stop assuming to be the first team. But their cab driver and vehicle were much slower than the taxi that Zev & Justin retained for the day. So Zev & Justin arrived at the pit-stop first.
There was no mention of any prize for Zev & Justin’s first place finish. Then after viewers saw Dan & Sam arrive as the second team and “Flight Time & Big Easy” arrive as the third team, it was revealed that Zev was missing his passport. He and Justin were denied check-in as first place and they were told they would have to return to the course to locate the missing passport and return before the last time checks in or they would be eliminated. This made the gay brothers the first place team by default. Justin happened to have a business card to call his taxi driver and the driver helped them backtrack to locate the passport but they were not successful in locating it.
So, the official pit-stop arrivals are in this order..
FIRST: Sam & Dan
SECOND: Harlem Globetrotters “Flight Time & Big Easy” (Herbert & Nathaniel)
THIRD: Brian & Ericka
FOURTH: Gary & Matt
FIFTH: Meghan & Cheyne
SIXTH: Lance & Keri, blowing my prediction (and hope) that they would be eliminated.
SEVENTH: Mika & Canaan
EIGTH: Maria & Tiffany escaped elimination because of Zev & Justin losing Zev’s passport.
Zev & Justin were eliminated from the race. But they were not saddened by the situation. They have a strong friendship.
And so we are down to EIGHT with one team I hate rising up a few positions. Lance & Keri may stay around just to piss off viewers like me who cannot stand him. Lance has his arrogant competitive spirit but he didn’t argue with his partner and that is what I think causes good teams to fail. So if they keep their personal attitudes toward each other, then Lance & Keri will be around for a while.
I watched the “elimination station” segments online and I watched as some eliminated racers predicted the next team to go would be the two Harlem Globetrotters. I don’t know if there is some hate going on there but the Globetrotters seem to be one of the strongest teams on the race. I include them as strong contenders to make the “final three” of The Amazing Race.
The other teams I predict as strong contenders to make the final three are Meghan & Cheyne, Brian & Ericka, Sam & Dan and I am replacing consideration of Mika & Canaan and (reluctantly) replacing them with Lance & Keri. This puts Mika & Canaan into a questionable status. Their performance on this leg of the race was satisfactory at best.
What’s easier to predict is the team for next elimination. The professional poker players Tiffany & Maria are struggling and I don’t see signs of improvement. The youth and physical strength of the other teams along with Maria & Tiffany being in the last place make them the prime candidates for next elimination. So my prediction for next team elimination is for Maria & Tiffany.
My hope is that the Amazing Race will start on time next week. Would this be wishful thinking?
Well we shall see next week. Save Amazing Race weekly blog, same old internet channel.
Have a good week!
Sunday, October 04, 2009
The Amazing Race 15 weekly blog: Team Zebra "Movin' on Up"
This is the second weekly blog for the 15th season of The Amazing Race but we are already on the THIRD leg of the race after the two hour season premiere. The title of this blog is in reference to "The Jeffersons" and if you were a fan of the show, you'll get the references as you read the blog.
This third leg started with another new twist as the 10 teams were on a riverboat as their pit-stop in Vietnam. But the riverboat sailed to another location while the teams rested and they were not told of their location. So they began the next leg from an unknown location where they would have to take a taxi to Ho Chi Minh City. It turns out that this would be a 2 hour taxi ride from their unknown location.
Departure times only ranged 45 minutes from the father and son team Gary & Matt to the interracial married couple Brian & Ericka leaving at 6:30am. This was a rare occasion when the pit-stop departure times weren’t obscured by what I call the “Great Amazing Race Team Equalizer” which means whatever great lead a team would have is lost when everyone is forced to wait together because of a flight, train or bus schedule or a closed departure location.
Once in Ho Chi Minh City, teams had to get their first clue by locating a theatre where teams had to pull their clue from the mouths of simulated dragons in a pool. The clue was on a photo stamp enclosed in an empty bullet. Teams had to figure out that the photo was of a post office and they would travel there for the “detour” task choices of “Childs Play” where teams would have to transport a large concrete animal statue on a cart collecting balloons along the way or “Word Play” where teams had to look for letters from atop an observation deck to make out a word. Those letters would be traveling through the crowd on the ground below. Then they would use the letters to make the Vietnamese word for “independence’
Most teams had no problem figuring out the clue was INSIDE the bullet except the team I immediately disliked the most, the engaged couple Lance & Keri as they didn’t open their bullet to get their clue. They ran around aimlessly with Lance yelling at Keri until they figured out the clue was inside the bullet and later while locating the clue box. Lance and his arrogant highly competitive ego was already effecting their progress in the race. These kinds of attitudes always get in the way of success and I tend to route for such teams to fall flat on their asses. This Lance guy reminds me of ROB & AMBER who’s 15 minutes of reality show fame went on much longer than it should have. Long time Amazing Race fans may remember them. But I digress and return to this season.
Anyway most teams chose to do the “kids play” detour task of transporting the concrete animals. There were a couple problems, one team had a broken cart and another team dropped their animal and pieces of it broke off. But there was one team that would make “George Jefferson” cringe, that would be Brian & Ericka who are the “Tom and Helen Willis” of The Amazing Race choosing a ZEBRA as the concrete animal they would transport. And they were “movin on up” during the race.
Only one team chose the “word play” detour and that would be the oldest team on the race Marcy & Ron who at this point were acting more like tourists than contestants on a race. Ron even stood for a minute to say that he was “taking it all in” which I am sorry to say that is NOT what you are there for. While is cool that you are traveling around the world for free, you are not really there to sightsee, you are there to win a race. Sightseers don’t win The Amazing Race.
After completing the “detour” teams traveled to an electronics “chop shop” where they would have to disassemble a VCR and place all its parts into separate piles for recycling.
After taking apart the VCR’s teams went to the next pit-stop, Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City, which is the former Saigon. And there was a foot race to the finish with the first team to make to the pit-stop mat was the Harlem Globetrotters, Nathaniel & Herbert and for their first place finish they each won a vacation package to Aruba from show sponsor Travelocity.
“Flight Time & Big Easy” had a good lead but could not get good directions from the “roadblock” to the pit-stop so they chose to follow Meghan & Cheyne’s taxi to the Reunification Palace gate knowing they would beat them in a foot race. And while Cheyne was the first to reach the mat, both Globetrotters made it to the mat before Meghan. This meant Meghan & Cheyne were officially in SECOND place.
The rest of the arrivals were..
THIRD: Gary & Matt
FOURTH: Brian & Ericka, “Team Zebra” moved on up from last place to fourth.
FIFTH: Gay brothers Sam & Dan.
SIXTH: Maria & Tiffany
SEVENTH: Mika & Canaan
EIGTH: Zev & Justin
And the final two teams are where they are at this point for traditional reasons.
NINTH: Lance & Keri, now at the back of the pack after a leg of Lance’s ego and competitiveness combined with his poor treatment of his partner and fiancée’ Keri. His ego is getting in the way of their making progress in the race. His yelling at Keri is getting in the way. She is not happy being treated with the disrespect Lance has displayed toward his team partner AND his fiancée’
And
TENTH: Marcy and Ron had a short “vacation” on CBS and The Amazing Race’s tab. Like I said earlier, sightseers don’t make Amazing Race winners and on this leg of the race, Marcy and Ron were sightseers who took a break to play a word game is if they had all afternoon to do it. Sorry, but you play Scrabble at home. You play a QUICK word scramble when it is on The Amazing Race. But Marcy and Ron can now relax for a couple weeks at the “elimination station” where they will meet Garrett & Jessica at a nice tropical cottage somewhere in Vietnam.
And at the "Elimination Station" seen only online at CBS dot com, we learn that Garrett & Jessica were the ONLY team at the hideaway. The first team to be eliminated BEFORE the race began (Eric & Lisa) didn't even get to go to the "Elimination Station" to wait for the race to complete. And while Garrett & Jessica seemed to be a little depressed at this vacation hideaway, Garrett moved up his plans to surprise Jessica with a marriage proposal and she accepted. It was done off camera but mentioned during the online segment.
Well they sort of have a pre-honeymoon until Ron & Marcy show up.
Now that we are a couple episodes into the season, I now begin my weekly blog predictions for next team elimination and my predictions for which teams will make the final three. Now to be honest, these “predictions” are really my own personal wishes and I admit that it is based on who I like or don’t like most of the time. But I try to be honest about it. You can’t deny who are the strongest and weakest teams whether you like them or not.
I definitely can’t base any prediction on the previews for the next broadcast. The previews mention that one of the teams will lose their passports but the visual shows all of the “strong” teams in some sort stress moment. But they are always in a stressful moment on the race because it is a competition. And creative editing can play with your mind. That is their intention. So my predictions for elimination are more biased and wishful.
I predict (hope) for LANCE & KERI as the next team eliminated. I cannot stand Lance for his arrogance and disrespectful treatment of his partner. You saw in this episode their relationship struggles which mean TEAM struggles in the race unless Lance makes an attitude adjustment. I would not be surprised if it turned out that Lance & Keri were the team that lost their passports. When you have attitude issues and aren’t properly focused you tend to screw up . I am looking for Lance to do just that.
My early predictions for which teams will make the final three will change from week to week. My predictions are based on who I feel are the strongest teams on the race in terms of their relationship (how they treat each other on the race) and their physical ability. I usually pick 5 teams as having a good chance to make the final three and that number decreases every couple weeks.
So my predictions for any of these FIVE teams to make the final three are.
Meghan & Cheyne
The Harlem Globetrotters Herbert & Nathaniel (or “Flight Time & Big Easy”)
Brian & Ericka
Mika & Canaan
Sam & Dan
Those five teams are the ONLY ones I think have a chance at making the final three. I do not believe that Zev & Justin, Maria & Tiffany or Gary & Matt will make the final three. The upcoming legs of the race will wear them out. Maria & Tiffany struggled through the physical running of the recent “detour” and Zev, Justin, Gary and Matt may simply be outrun by the other teams I predicted for the final three.
Because I predicted Lance & Keri to be next eliminated I don’t include them in anything else. I feel any further appearances by them this season is either out of luck or Lance manages to back up the bullshit he talks and his fiancée doesn’t completely give up on him. But I don’t see that happening. What I do see is he keeps treating her like crap with his Bostonian Machismo and she doesn’t take it well.
And that’s my opinion on The Amazing Race this week. See you next week!
This third leg started with another new twist as the 10 teams were on a riverboat as their pit-stop in Vietnam. But the riverboat sailed to another location while the teams rested and they were not told of their location. So they began the next leg from an unknown location where they would have to take a taxi to Ho Chi Minh City. It turns out that this would be a 2 hour taxi ride from their unknown location.
Departure times only ranged 45 minutes from the father and son team Gary & Matt to the interracial married couple Brian & Ericka leaving at 6:30am. This was a rare occasion when the pit-stop departure times weren’t obscured by what I call the “Great Amazing Race Team Equalizer” which means whatever great lead a team would have is lost when everyone is forced to wait together because of a flight, train or bus schedule or a closed departure location.
Once in Ho Chi Minh City, teams had to get their first clue by locating a theatre where teams had to pull their clue from the mouths of simulated dragons in a pool. The clue was on a photo stamp enclosed in an empty bullet. Teams had to figure out that the photo was of a post office and they would travel there for the “detour” task choices of “Childs Play” where teams would have to transport a large concrete animal statue on a cart collecting balloons along the way or “Word Play” where teams had to look for letters from atop an observation deck to make out a word. Those letters would be traveling through the crowd on the ground below. Then they would use the letters to make the Vietnamese word for “independence’
Most teams had no problem figuring out the clue was INSIDE the bullet except the team I immediately disliked the most, the engaged couple Lance & Keri as they didn’t open their bullet to get their clue. They ran around aimlessly with Lance yelling at Keri until they figured out the clue was inside the bullet and later while locating the clue box. Lance and his arrogant highly competitive ego was already effecting their progress in the race. These kinds of attitudes always get in the way of success and I tend to route for such teams to fall flat on their asses. This Lance guy reminds me of ROB & AMBER who’s 15 minutes of reality show fame went on much longer than it should have. Long time Amazing Race fans may remember them. But I digress and return to this season.
Anyway most teams chose to do the “kids play” detour task of transporting the concrete animals. There were a couple problems, one team had a broken cart and another team dropped their animal and pieces of it broke off. But there was one team that would make “George Jefferson” cringe, that would be Brian & Ericka who are the “Tom and Helen Willis” of The Amazing Race choosing a ZEBRA as the concrete animal they would transport. And they were “movin on up” during the race.
Only one team chose the “word play” detour and that would be the oldest team on the race Marcy & Ron who at this point were acting more like tourists than contestants on a race. Ron even stood for a minute to say that he was “taking it all in” which I am sorry to say that is NOT what you are there for. While is cool that you are traveling around the world for free, you are not really there to sightsee, you are there to win a race. Sightseers don’t win The Amazing Race.
After completing the “detour” teams traveled to an electronics “chop shop” where they would have to disassemble a VCR and place all its parts into separate piles for recycling.
After taking apart the VCR’s teams went to the next pit-stop, Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City, which is the former Saigon. And there was a foot race to the finish with the first team to make to the pit-stop mat was the Harlem Globetrotters, Nathaniel & Herbert and for their first place finish they each won a vacation package to Aruba from show sponsor Travelocity.
“Flight Time & Big Easy” had a good lead but could not get good directions from the “roadblock” to the pit-stop so they chose to follow Meghan & Cheyne’s taxi to the Reunification Palace gate knowing they would beat them in a foot race. And while Cheyne was the first to reach the mat, both Globetrotters made it to the mat before Meghan. This meant Meghan & Cheyne were officially in SECOND place.
The rest of the arrivals were..
THIRD: Gary & Matt
FOURTH: Brian & Ericka, “Team Zebra” moved on up from last place to fourth.
FIFTH: Gay brothers Sam & Dan.
SIXTH: Maria & Tiffany
SEVENTH: Mika & Canaan
EIGTH: Zev & Justin
And the final two teams are where they are at this point for traditional reasons.
NINTH: Lance & Keri, now at the back of the pack after a leg of Lance’s ego and competitiveness combined with his poor treatment of his partner and fiancée’ Keri. His ego is getting in the way of their making progress in the race. His yelling at Keri is getting in the way. She is not happy being treated with the disrespect Lance has displayed toward his team partner AND his fiancée’
And
TENTH: Marcy and Ron had a short “vacation” on CBS and The Amazing Race’s tab. Like I said earlier, sightseers don’t make Amazing Race winners and on this leg of the race, Marcy and Ron were sightseers who took a break to play a word game is if they had all afternoon to do it. Sorry, but you play Scrabble at home. You play a QUICK word scramble when it is on The Amazing Race. But Marcy and Ron can now relax for a couple weeks at the “elimination station” where they will meet Garrett & Jessica at a nice tropical cottage somewhere in Vietnam.
And at the "Elimination Station" seen only online at CBS dot com, we learn that Garrett & Jessica were the ONLY team at the hideaway. The first team to be eliminated BEFORE the race began (Eric & Lisa) didn't even get to go to the "Elimination Station" to wait for the race to complete. And while Garrett & Jessica seemed to be a little depressed at this vacation hideaway, Garrett moved up his plans to surprise Jessica with a marriage proposal and she accepted. It was done off camera but mentioned during the online segment.
Well they sort of have a pre-honeymoon until Ron & Marcy show up.
Now that we are a couple episodes into the season, I now begin my weekly blog predictions for next team elimination and my predictions for which teams will make the final three. Now to be honest, these “predictions” are really my own personal wishes and I admit that it is based on who I like or don’t like most of the time. But I try to be honest about it. You can’t deny who are the strongest and weakest teams whether you like them or not.
I definitely can’t base any prediction on the previews for the next broadcast. The previews mention that one of the teams will lose their passports but the visual shows all of the “strong” teams in some sort stress moment. But they are always in a stressful moment on the race because it is a competition. And creative editing can play with your mind. That is their intention. So my predictions for elimination are more biased and wishful.
I predict (hope) for LANCE & KERI as the next team eliminated. I cannot stand Lance for his arrogance and disrespectful treatment of his partner. You saw in this episode their relationship struggles which mean TEAM struggles in the race unless Lance makes an attitude adjustment. I would not be surprised if it turned out that Lance & Keri were the team that lost their passports. When you have attitude issues and aren’t properly focused you tend to screw up . I am looking for Lance to do just that.
My early predictions for which teams will make the final three will change from week to week. My predictions are based on who I feel are the strongest teams on the race in terms of their relationship (how they treat each other on the race) and their physical ability. I usually pick 5 teams as having a good chance to make the final three and that number decreases every couple weeks.
So my predictions for any of these FIVE teams to make the final three are.
Meghan & Cheyne
The Harlem Globetrotters Herbert & Nathaniel (or “Flight Time & Big Easy”)
Brian & Ericka
Mika & Canaan
Sam & Dan
Those five teams are the ONLY ones I think have a chance at making the final three. I do not believe that Zev & Justin, Maria & Tiffany or Gary & Matt will make the final three. The upcoming legs of the race will wear them out. Maria & Tiffany struggled through the physical running of the recent “detour” and Zev, Justin, Gary and Matt may simply be outrun by the other teams I predicted for the final three.
Because I predicted Lance & Keri to be next eliminated I don’t include them in anything else. I feel any further appearances by them this season is either out of luck or Lance manages to back up the bullshit he talks and his fiancée doesn’t completely give up on him. But I don’t see that happening. What I do see is he keeps treating her like crap with his Bostonian Machismo and she doesn’t take it well.
And that’s my opinion on The Amazing Race this week. See you next week!
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