Greetings everyone and a HAPPY VETERANS DAY to our former and current members of the United States Armed Forces. Thank you for your service.
Our members of the armed services go through intense training and physical and mental abuse. And while it may not fully compare, the contestants of The Amazing Race face heavy challenges. After all, it does lead to a possible million dollar prize. You don’t get there without challenges.
Last week one team quit their quest to win the million dollar prize. The pressure and hard work of being a contestant on The Amazing Race was too much for Maria & Tiffany. This leaves us with 5 strong teams and the possibility of intense competition over the next few episodes.
So this episode starts with openly gay brothers Sam & Dan in first place and leaving the 7th pit-stop at 9:33pm, Meghan & Cheyne at 9:48pm, Flight Time & Big Easy at 10:32pm, Gary & Matt at 11:08pm and the last team was Brian & Ericka who left the pit-stop at 1:38am. Teams had to fly from Holland to Sweden but as usual the thing I call the “Great Amazing Race Team Equalizer” was in effect as all teams found themselves waiting together at the airport for flights leaving at 6:25am. However only the first three teams were able to get on the first flight. Gary, Matt, Brian & Ericka had to settle for a flight leaving 3 hours later.
Once teams arrived in Sweden they had to travel via train and ferry boat to an amusement park. Of the first three teams on that first flight, the Harlem Globetrotters “Flight Time & Big Easy” missed the train leaving the airport, giving some relief to the leading two teams Sam & Dan and Meghan & Cheyne who admit that they feel a competition threat from the very athletic Globetrotters but the Globetrotters didn’t take very long to catch up. Later when the last two teams arrived in Sweden, Gary & Matt got left behind after taking an elevator instead of the escalator. Brian & Ericka boarded the train in time. The train left while Gary & Matt were still buying their train tickets now having them in last place.
Once at the amusement park, teams had to look for a route marker arrow from the top of a parachute type ride. The arrow pointed toward the location of the next clue box which sent them to an amusement park game where teams had to toss rings to win their own (show sponsor) “Travelocity Gnome” which would contain their next clue and they would have to carry the little statue for the remainder of this leg of the race.
The clue on the Gnome had teams drive themselves to this episode’s “detour” choices of “Nobel dynamite” where teams had to use explosives to expose a box containing their next clue or “Viking alphabet” where teams had to decode a message using the ancient Viking Alphabet. Most teams chose the more physical “nobel dynamite” task.
After completing the “detour” teams had to drive themselves to a farm where one of the most difficult tasks ever on The Amazing Race occurred. It was the return of a “roadblock” task from a previous season where teams had to find one of only 7 route marker flags among 186 rolled bales of hay. This was after teams had to park their car nearly a kilometer away and run to the farm field.
This “needle in the haystack” task was both physically and mentally demanding for all involved. Team relationships tend to strain under the pressure and it could take hours for one team member to roll so many bales of hay to look for a small flag. When this task appeared on a previous season, it took one team over 10 hours to complete and they were stopped a few hours after the last team checked in having never found their clue.
The top three teams held their positions up to the “roadblock” and gay brothers Sam & Dan began to yell at each other during the roadblock and Meghan struggled with minimal complaints at first then after a several failed attempts we saw her in tears. But the Harlem Globetrotters easily completed the task and left for the pit-stop which was right there at the farm. That added to the stress of the other teams still looking for their flag in many rolls of hay.
For their first place arrival at the pit-stop, “Flight Time & Big Easy” turned in their “Travelocity Gnome” for a vacation package from the show sponsor Travelocity. It was also “Big Easy”s birthday, so a good present for him.
So while the Harlem Globetrotters already made the pit-stop, the three hour gap between flights came to a close as Brian & Ericka arrived at the farm closely followed by Gary & Matt. Gary & Matt had problems with directions along the way but managed to catch up and it was revealed by Meghan that she had worked on the “roadblock” task for more than two hours. Also Sam & Dan were still yelled at each other as Sam also hadn’t located the clue. After a while they calmed down and Sam focused and eventually they found the flag. Gary & Matt was the last team to find their flag in the hay but it didn’t take anywhere near as long as the contestants in season six.
The official arrivals were
FIRST: “Flight Time & Big Easy”
SECOND: Meghan & Cheyne
THIRD: Brian & Ericka
FOURTH: Sam & Dan with Dan crying in regret over how he treated his brother during the last task.
FIFTH: Gary & Matt
And this was a NON-ELIMINATION leg of the race which means Gary & Matt are not eliminated (blowing my prediction last week) but they will have to face an additional task (the “speed bump”) during the next leg of the race. I honestly don’t think they will be able to catch up especially if the tasks get any more demanding. The other remaining teams are stronger and more capable. So I will have to repeat my prediction for next elimination by saying that I think Gary & Matt was given a reprieve allowing them one more leg of the race.
While my prediction for next elimination remains the same, the predictions for the FINAL THREE have changed slightly. I believe “Flight Time & Big Easy” and Meghan & Cheyne” are DEFINITELY going to be in the final three. They are the two strongest teams on the race, relationships are good and their physical and mental ability is strong. However I must change my predictions between Brian & Ericka and the brothers Sam & Dan. I see Sam & Dan breaking down in terms of their conduct and focus. With Sam & Dan yelling at each other, Sam having the older sibling authority complex and the both of them feeling the threat of the Harlem Globetrotters in competition are having an effect on their focus on performing in the race. It appears they may have a conflict in the previews for the next broadcast. If the tension escalates then Sam & Dan are not going to make the final three. So I predict the Brian & Ericka will make the final three for their better attitude and focus along with ability.
Whatever happens, we will have good competition that’s not as focused on stardom or good looks. We have exactly what we should with this season. The weakest teams have dropped off in good order, we have the strongest teams remaining and its going to be a good finish.
And so we shall see what happens next week! See you then, same Amazing Race Time (depending on the NFL on the East Coast) and of course the same Amazing Race Channel.
Have a good week!
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Sunday, November 01, 2009
The Amazing Race 15 Weekly Blog: Knowing when to fold them.
6 teams are left in The Amazing Race and the standings changed really quick in the broadcast.
Meghan & Cheyne had an over 2 hour lead departing from the pit-stop at 1:40, the second team leaving after 3:30 and the last team leaving at 4:30pm. But the legenday “Great Amazing Race Team Equalizer” eliminated Meghan & Cheyne’s wide lead they held for two full legs of the race. That “Equalizer” was a flight schedule that had teams waiting until MIDNIGHT for the next available flight to their next destination. All teams sat together at the airport waiting for the fight.
Teams left Dubai to fly to Amsderdam where they drove themselves to a monument to get their first clue which told them to drive to another location for the “roadblock” task where a team member had to climb up the steep stairs of a bell tower while counting each of the bells. While traveling to this task, Brian & Ericka slipped to last place when Brian could not figure out how to engage the electroinic driving of their assigned Mercedes-Benz.. Then Ericka struggled to complete the “roadblock” task.
After completing the “roadblock” teams had to drive themselves to another town where they would find a windmill which would be the “detour” tasks where teams had to dress in local customary Dutch farmers outfits including walking in CLOGS. Yes, wooden clogs.
Anyway their choices were “Farmers Game” where teams had to strip down to their farmer underwear and swim across a lake then play “farmers golf”. Or “Farmer’s Dance” where teams had to find a local festival where they would have to perform a local dance custom and eat fish.
A few teams switched tasks when they either had difficulty getting started or in the case of one team, eating fish was not appealing so they decided to switch tasks. Maria & Tiffany switched tasks back and forth several times. That allowed Brian & Ericka to catch up and head to the pit-stop. However, Brian & Erika made a mistake that almost cost them the race.
Gay brothers Sam & Dan finished their “detour” very quickly and travelled by bicycle to the next pit-stop where they arrived first. And for being the first team they won a sand buggy.
The rest of the team arrivals were.
SECOND: Meghan & Cheyne
THIRD: “Flight Time & Big Easy”
FOURTH: Gary & Dan
FIFTH: Brian & Ericka’s mistake during the race was their failure to use bicycles during the “detour” part of the race. They were recovering emotionally from Ericka’s struggle during the “roadblock” and forgot the part of the detour clue that required using bicycles. So they borrowed bicycles from someone after completing the “detour” but were charged with a 30 minute time penalty for forgetting part of their clue and had to wait out their penalty before checking in at the pit-stop. If another team were to arrive during that 30 minutes, they would have been the next team to check in and Brian & Ericka would have been last and possibly eliminated.
But the professional poker player “gamblers“, Maria & Tiffany knew when to hold them and when to fold them. They knew when to walk away because they gave up running on The Amazing Race. They had switched “detour” tasks several times and found themselves tired and knowing they were in last place, they decided to give up and accept their elimination.
Its not often when a team simply gives up but Maria & Tiffany handed me a successful prediction for elimination on The Amazing Race and for exactly the reasons I cited for my predictions. When the tasks became more physically demanding, they could not compete. The last place team sailed through the demanding final task, a sign of physical and team strength. Maria & Tiffany had the team strength but the physical strength.
And of the remaining teams, my predictions for the next elimination and the possible contenders for the final three are narrowing down but are tough to determine. The previews for the next episode show an extremely difficult task with some teams breaking down including the current top two teams. Of course you really can’t determine the next elimination based on the previews. So I am going with the a prediction based on the weakest team long term. And that is the father and son team Gary & Matt. Although I would like for them to prove me wrong I think the youth and physical strength of the other teams will surpass the oldest and fattest racers left on the race. Again I am being honest here and not disliking Gary & Matt in any way. My prediction for next elimination regretfully is Gary & Matt.
For the final three I am currently expecting it to include Meghan & Cheyne, Sam & Dan and Flight Time & Big Easy. At this point in the season with only 5 teams I no longer select four possibilities for making the final three. We still have a few weeks to go. My predictions are subject to change next week depending on the performance of Brian & Ericka. I don’t include them in the final three only because of their current standing. They will have to catch up in order to be considerred for the final three.
I enjoyed this fast paced simple epidsode of The Amazing Race from a hotel room South of Atlanta. And I will enjoy the next episode in a week. I hope you’ll enjoy it with me.
Meghan & Cheyne had an over 2 hour lead departing from the pit-stop at 1:40, the second team leaving after 3:30 and the last team leaving at 4:30pm. But the legenday “Great Amazing Race Team Equalizer” eliminated Meghan & Cheyne’s wide lead they held for two full legs of the race. That “Equalizer” was a flight schedule that had teams waiting until MIDNIGHT for the next available flight to their next destination. All teams sat together at the airport waiting for the fight.
Teams left Dubai to fly to Amsderdam where they drove themselves to a monument to get their first clue which told them to drive to another location for the “roadblock” task where a team member had to climb up the steep stairs of a bell tower while counting each of the bells. While traveling to this task, Brian & Ericka slipped to last place when Brian could not figure out how to engage the electroinic driving of their assigned Mercedes-Benz.. Then Ericka struggled to complete the “roadblock” task.
After completing the “roadblock” teams had to drive themselves to another town where they would find a windmill which would be the “detour” tasks where teams had to dress in local customary Dutch farmers outfits including walking in CLOGS. Yes, wooden clogs.
Anyway their choices were “Farmers Game” where teams had to strip down to their farmer underwear and swim across a lake then play “farmers golf”. Or “Farmer’s Dance” where teams had to find a local festival where they would have to perform a local dance custom and eat fish.
A few teams switched tasks when they either had difficulty getting started or in the case of one team, eating fish was not appealing so they decided to switch tasks. Maria & Tiffany switched tasks back and forth several times. That allowed Brian & Ericka to catch up and head to the pit-stop. However, Brian & Erika made a mistake that almost cost them the race.
Gay brothers Sam & Dan finished their “detour” very quickly and travelled by bicycle to the next pit-stop where they arrived first. And for being the first team they won a sand buggy.
The rest of the team arrivals were.
SECOND: Meghan & Cheyne
THIRD: “Flight Time & Big Easy”
FOURTH: Gary & Dan
FIFTH: Brian & Ericka’s mistake during the race was their failure to use bicycles during the “detour” part of the race. They were recovering emotionally from Ericka’s struggle during the “roadblock” and forgot the part of the detour clue that required using bicycles. So they borrowed bicycles from someone after completing the “detour” but were charged with a 30 minute time penalty for forgetting part of their clue and had to wait out their penalty before checking in at the pit-stop. If another team were to arrive during that 30 minutes, they would have been the next team to check in and Brian & Ericka would have been last and possibly eliminated.
But the professional poker player “gamblers“, Maria & Tiffany knew when to hold them and when to fold them. They knew when to walk away because they gave up running on The Amazing Race. They had switched “detour” tasks several times and found themselves tired and knowing they were in last place, they decided to give up and accept their elimination.
Its not often when a team simply gives up but Maria & Tiffany handed me a successful prediction for elimination on The Amazing Race and for exactly the reasons I cited for my predictions. When the tasks became more physically demanding, they could not compete. The last place team sailed through the demanding final task, a sign of physical and team strength. Maria & Tiffany had the team strength but the physical strength.
And of the remaining teams, my predictions for the next elimination and the possible contenders for the final three are narrowing down but are tough to determine. The previews for the next episode show an extremely difficult task with some teams breaking down including the current top two teams. Of course you really can’t determine the next elimination based on the previews. So I am going with the a prediction based on the weakest team long term. And that is the father and son team Gary & Matt. Although I would like for them to prove me wrong I think the youth and physical strength of the other teams will surpass the oldest and fattest racers left on the race. Again I am being honest here and not disliking Gary & Matt in any way. My prediction for next elimination regretfully is Gary & Matt.
For the final three I am currently expecting it to include Meghan & Cheyne, Sam & Dan and Flight Time & Big Easy. At this point in the season with only 5 teams I no longer select four possibilities for making the final three. We still have a few weeks to go. My predictions are subject to change next week depending on the performance of Brian & Ericka. I don’t include them in the final three only because of their current standing. They will have to catch up in order to be considerred for the final three.
I enjoyed this fast paced simple epidsode of The Amazing Race from a hotel room South of Atlanta. And I will enjoy the next episode in a week. I hope you’ll enjoy it with me.
Monday, October 26, 2009
The Amazing Race 15 weekly blog:
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.
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.
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!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
One less "Good Ole' Boy" in the network.
So I worked a little this morning and was home by noon. Heard some sirens but didn't think much about it. After all I do live between a police station, two fire stations and about a mile from the hospital. I hear sirens all the time.
Early afternoon: I noticed someone posted a status update saying they were praying for the speedy recovery of the Mayor Donald Walker. So I took a break from work (paperwork submission online) and looked online to see what happened. The mayor was shot, then the news changed to he shot himself and was in surgery.
Ten minutes after the "surgery" update came this news...
This suddenly became a real tragic big deal. The mayor who was up for re-election and for the first time in 15 years actually had a few serious competitors for his job was now dead. And nobody knows why he killed himself.
I'm thinking about all the negative things I said about the mayor and came to the resolution that while this city needed new political leadership, THIS WAS NOT THE WAY FOR IT TO HAPPEN. I felt that I should be respectful in my comments.
But then the sugarcoated evening news reports came about.
The 6:00 News including a few tibits you will NEVER see or hear in the local media...at least not for a while.
Watching the news and listening to local radio and the sugarcoating of King Donald Walker's political career from his friends in the good ole' boy network could be dangerous for a diabetic.
So I took a break from the evening news, allowed the political blood sugar level to get back into shape in time for the 10 and 11:00 news. And luckily I did not go into diabetic shock from the late night cream puff sweet stories about the Late almost great Mayor Donald Walker
I could go into deep details of my observations as a resident of Warner Robins Georgia for almost 15 years, the entire time of King Donald's reign. But there are two things to keep me from expressing my real true thoughts.
1. I met the mayor many times and as a person he was always courteous. And for that there is really no reason to slam the man at the time of his death. I did that enough while he was living. If you find my past comments about Donald Walker on MySpace or Facebook, that should suffice.
2. I am not really that much of a mean spirited asshole. And while I prefer to be the one offering painful honesty I don't feel like being that mean one today.
So Rest IN Peace Mayor Donald Walker. And may this city I live in continue to progress but in a way that abandons the good ole' boy 1950's mindset.
Early afternoon: I noticed someone posted a status update saying they were praying for the speedy recovery of the Mayor Donald Walker. So I took a break from work (paperwork submission online) and looked online to see what happened. The mayor was shot, then the news changed to he shot himself and was in surgery.
Ten minutes after the "surgery" update came this news...
This suddenly became a real tragic big deal. The mayor who was up for re-election and for the first time in 15 years actually had a few serious competitors for his job was now dead. And nobody knows why he killed himself.
I'm thinking about all the negative things I said about the mayor and came to the resolution that while this city needed new political leadership, THIS WAS NOT THE WAY FOR IT TO HAPPEN. I felt that I should be respectful in my comments.
But then the sugarcoated evening news reports came about.
The 6:00 News including a few tibits you will NEVER see or hear in the local media...at least not for a while.
Watching the news and listening to local radio and the sugarcoating of King Donald Walker's political career from his friends in the good ole' boy network could be dangerous for a diabetic.
So I took a break from the evening news, allowed the political blood sugar level to get back into shape in time for the 10 and 11:00 news. And luckily I did not go into diabetic shock from the late night cream puff sweet stories about the Late almost great Mayor Donald Walker
I could go into deep details of my observations as a resident of Warner Robins Georgia for almost 15 years, the entire time of King Donald's reign. But there are two things to keep me from expressing my real true thoughts.
1. I met the mayor many times and as a person he was always courteous. And for that there is really no reason to slam the man at the time of his death. I did that enough while he was living. If you find my past comments about Donald Walker on MySpace or Facebook, that should suffice.
2. I am not really that much of a mean spirited asshole. And while I prefer to be the one offering painful honesty I don't feel like being that mean one today.
So Rest IN Peace Mayor Donald Walker. And may this city I live in continue to progress but in a way that abandons the good ole' boy 1950's mindset.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
The Amazing Race 15 Weekly Blog: Leaving ONE team behind.
Greetings everyone. The Emmy Award winning Amazing Race is back for season 15 and I am back with my weekly Amazing Race blog. Basically this weekly blog entry is a recap of what happened along with MY TOTALLY BIASED OPINION. I make no apologies for what I am going to say but I will try to be nicer than in past seasons.
If you are new to this “experience” then please allow me to explain how my weekly Amazing Race blogs work. I try to predict who will do what and I am usually wrong. Honestly, my “predictions” are more of a “hope” of what will happen. If I don’t like a team I am not likely to say nice things about them but I will be honest. I am not politically correct, I tend to have nicknames for some teams and I tend to have a dislike for arrogant teams, teams that constantly argue and teams that play dirty tricks. Sure you may have to play tricks in order to achieve in the game but it doesn’t always make it right and I will call that out. So if you are ready, I thank you in advance for sharing the discussion of The Amazing Race. Please feel free to share your opinions or differences in
Tonight was a two hour season premiere. And as usual for us east coast viewers, the starting time was delayed by a late running NFL Football game broadcast. These delays are annoying and are troublesome if you are recording the program to watch at a later time.
The contestants this year include the first inter-racial married couple and the usual “token” teams of Married couples, dating couples, engaged couples, the “older” couple, straight guy friend team, the straight female team, the parent-child team and one African-American team. Also for the first time since I started watching the show in 2005, there is no team that I would call the “blonde bimbo” team. I know that is not a nice thing for me to say but I am not politically correct and I tend to identify teams by what they are in appearance. The oldest contestant is 60, the youngest is 21 The casting for this show is predictable and they try to cover as many people and genres as possible as to not upset any group.
This season started in Los Angeles and a new twist was an elimination BEFORE the start of the race. Teams had to search among a thousand license plates along a fence for a license plate containing a specific Japanese symbol. Once teams found the correct plate they were given their plane tickets and selected a Mercedes Benz automobile to drive to LAX Airport for their flights to Tokyo Japan. There were only 12 sets of tickets and 13 teams and the last team to find the correct license plate was an engaged couple Lance and Keri so the first team to be eliminated was Eric & Lisa a married couple who are Yoga instructors in their early 40’s.
The teams were divided on flights leaving 30 minutes apart but the second flight caught up with the first. Once in Tokyo teams had to travel by taxi to a television studio where they were greeted by a cheering audience on a Japanese TV Game show called “Sushi Roulette” and the game required a team member to eat Sushi and a large portion of Wasabi within a 2 minute time limit. Some team members failed to finish eating within the time limit and had to repeat the task. Apparently the wasabi food was very spicy and a large portion that was difficult for some.
After eating the Wasabi “bomb” teams had to match their winning colored flag with that of a visor worn by audience members then they had to take the audience members with them through the crowded streets of Tokyo to a Shrine that would be the first “pit-stop” of the race. None of the audience members spoke English so the amazing racers had to find directions through other sources.
The first team to arrive at the pit-stop was MEGHAN & CHEYNE (Shane), a young dating couple who were childhood sweethearts now age 23. For being the first they won two vacation packages from Amazing Race sponsor Travelocity.
The rest of the arrivals at the first PIT-STOP were in the following order and this is where I would used some nicknames for their “token” descriptions representing on The Amazing Race.
SECOND: Zev & Justin, friends (The “straight guy” team) They are between 25 & 30 years old and the younger one has a medical condition that was described in their introduction to the program.
THIRD: Lance & Keri, an engaged couple from Massachusetts. He is 41 and she is 33. Lance appears to be one who will be very competitive with attitude.
FOURTH: Marcy & Ron, a dating couple who met on the internet. At age 60 and 59 respectively, they are the oldest team on the race this season.
FIFTH: Herbert & Nathaniel, who are Harlem Globetrotters basketball team members 28 and 32 years old going by the names “Flight time & Big Easy” and they are also THE all African-American (or Black) team on the race. You know they only have one.
SIXTH: Brian & Ericka, married couple from Tennessee and the first interracial married couple on The Amazing Race. They are both 27 and Ericka Dunlap was also Miss America 2004. Brian struggled while eating the Wasabi at the game show and they were the last team to leave the studio but surged past 6 other teams to make it to the pit-stop.
SEVENTH: Father and Son team Gary & Matt from Montana. Gary is 47 and Matt is a big boy with pink hair at age 22.
EIGHTH: Garrett & Jessica another dating couple and they are in their late 20’s and from California. They were delayed on their way to the pit-stop when one of the audience members in their group following to the pit-stop had to use the restroom.
NINTH: Sam & Dan, THE Gay Team and they are brothers from the Midwest and both of them came out gay to each other. I think this is the first “gay brothers” team on The Amazing Race but there have been gay team members on most seasons of the show with one team of gay men winning the race. They were the former gay couple “Reichen & Chip”, both of whom have had some fame after The Amazing Race.
TENTH: Mika & Canaan, dating couple from Tennessee. They nearly lost one of the 20 audience members of their group and had to backtrack to find the lone straggler before they could be officially checked in .
And the last team to arrive also lost some of their group. MARIA & TIFFANY were missing two of their audience members and for that along with being LAST to arrive at the pit-stop, they incurred a 2 hour time penalty. But this was an NON-ELIMINATION leg of the race which means Maria & Tiffany can continue but they will face an exclusive “speed bump” challenge in the next leg. The professional poker players and the only all-female team on this season will face a lot of challenges in the next leg.
And that was just the FIRST HOUR!
So after the pit-stop teams left between 12:19am and 3:22am for a flight from Tokyo to Vietnam. Most teams used hotels and internet cafés to book their flights while some went directly to the airport pressing their luck. The earliest flights didn’t leave until 10:30 in the morning and while it took a lot of begging, four teams who didn’t get their plane tickets in advance managed to get onto the flight.
With the second leg of the race we began to see who are the sneaky ones and who are the assholes on the race. And I quickly determined that Lance, the lawyer traveling with his fiancée’ Keri is an asshole and he seems proud of it. He said he was “cutthroat” in his opinions and he referred to Maria & Tiffany as “bastards” in saying they should have been sent home. I am likely to hope that it is Lance and his fiancee Keri “going home” as soon as possible. I can’t stand arrogant assholes on The Amazing Race.
So even with Maria & Tiffany’s time penalty, all teams were equalized by the flight schedule and arrived in Vietnam at the same time but they arrived in a rain flooded city with instructions to travel by bus to the city of Chi Bei. Teams were split onto different buses and arrived at their destination in the evening only to find it closed and all teams had to camp out for the night. In the morning teams had to ride a small boat to a muddy pit and collect mud in bowls then place the mud around the roots of a tree for fertilization. This was also the time of the first “speed bump” on the race in which the last place team Maria & Tiffany had to locate a soup vendor where they would have to order the ingredients for soup and then serve the food to a “Dock master” before continuing on the race. They easily completed their exclusive task.
So teams continued to place mud around the base of the trees by getting really down and dirty and muddy. About the only one who complained about the muddy situation was Lance. Some teams struggled to carry heavy bowls of mud to the trees but most did so with little complaints.
After the muddy task, teams returned by boat to the dock and were given instructions to perform the “roadblock” task of herding 150 ducks through a course and back into their pen within 10 minutes. If they failed to complete the task in the allowed time, they would have to wait for other teams to finish before making another attempt.
After completing the ducky “roadblock, teams had to race on foot to a riverboat for the next pit-stop. And the arrivals at the second pit-stop were as follows.
FIRST: Gary & Matt, the father and son team won a Kayak for being the first at the pit-stop
SECOND and THIRD: Herbert & Nathaniel and very closely behind them were the gay brothers Sam & Dan
FOURTH: Lance & Keri
FIFTH: Zev & Justin, and
SIXTH: Meghan & Cheyne
SEVENTH: Maria & Tiffany overcame their last place position and their extra task to arrive in 7th place.
The rest of the teams had to repeat the duck herding “roadblock”, some had to repeat more than once.
EIGTH: Mika & Canaan.
NINTH: Marcy & Ron
TENTH: Brian & Ericka
And the last to arrive was GARRETT & JESSICA and they were eliminated. They will join Eric & Lisa at the “Elimination Station” which is a hideaway location where they can relax on “vacation” until the other racers reach the finish line. They will have it better than the others for a couple weeks but they also won’t have a million dollars at the end.
And this folks was the first Amazing Race for this season. Like previous seasons I blog about what happened as I watch it. What you read here is my immediate impressions. At the end I predict which team will be eliminated and occasionally I will say why I feel they will be eliminated. Same for predicting the teams that make the final three and possibly the winner of The Amazing Race. And like I said in the beginning, it will be my biased and non politically correct opinion. Another way to put it, I am just another Amazing Race viewer with an opinion and access to express that opinion online as if it were important. I don’t take any of this seriously and I hope you’ll do the same and maybe even enjoy my weekly blogging about my favorite TV competition.
One last thing. I may post these very soon after watching. So if you are in the western time zones and are a fellow Amazing Race fan, you might want to hold off on reading my blog until AFTER you saw the show in your home area. Don’t want to spoil it for you.
See you next week, same Amazing Race blog time, same Amazing Race blog channel. Have a great week!
If you are new to this “experience” then please allow me to explain how my weekly Amazing Race blogs work. I try to predict who will do what and I am usually wrong. Honestly, my “predictions” are more of a “hope” of what will happen. If I don’t like a team I am not likely to say nice things about them but I will be honest. I am not politically correct, I tend to have nicknames for some teams and I tend to have a dislike for arrogant teams, teams that constantly argue and teams that play dirty tricks. Sure you may have to play tricks in order to achieve in the game but it doesn’t always make it right and I will call that out. So if you are ready, I thank you in advance for sharing the discussion of The Amazing Race. Please feel free to share your opinions or differences in
Tonight was a two hour season premiere. And as usual for us east coast viewers, the starting time was delayed by a late running NFL Football game broadcast. These delays are annoying and are troublesome if you are recording the program to watch at a later time.
The contestants this year include the first inter-racial married couple and the usual “token” teams of Married couples, dating couples, engaged couples, the “older” couple, straight guy friend team, the straight female team, the parent-child team and one African-American team. Also for the first time since I started watching the show in 2005, there is no team that I would call the “blonde bimbo” team. I know that is not a nice thing for me to say but I am not politically correct and I tend to identify teams by what they are in appearance. The oldest contestant is 60, the youngest is 21 The casting for this show is predictable and they try to cover as many people and genres as possible as to not upset any group.
This season started in Los Angeles and a new twist was an elimination BEFORE the start of the race. Teams had to search among a thousand license plates along a fence for a license plate containing a specific Japanese symbol. Once teams found the correct plate they were given their plane tickets and selected a Mercedes Benz automobile to drive to LAX Airport for their flights to Tokyo Japan. There were only 12 sets of tickets and 13 teams and the last team to find the correct license plate was an engaged couple Lance and Keri so the first team to be eliminated was Eric & Lisa a married couple who are Yoga instructors in their early 40’s.
The teams were divided on flights leaving 30 minutes apart but the second flight caught up with the first. Once in Tokyo teams had to travel by taxi to a television studio where they were greeted by a cheering audience on a Japanese TV Game show called “Sushi Roulette” and the game required a team member to eat Sushi and a large portion of Wasabi within a 2 minute time limit. Some team members failed to finish eating within the time limit and had to repeat the task. Apparently the wasabi food was very spicy and a large portion that was difficult for some.
After eating the Wasabi “bomb” teams had to match their winning colored flag with that of a visor worn by audience members then they had to take the audience members with them through the crowded streets of Tokyo to a Shrine that would be the first “pit-stop” of the race. None of the audience members spoke English so the amazing racers had to find directions through other sources.
The first team to arrive at the pit-stop was MEGHAN & CHEYNE (Shane), a young dating couple who were childhood sweethearts now age 23. For being the first they won two vacation packages from Amazing Race sponsor Travelocity.
The rest of the arrivals at the first PIT-STOP were in the following order and this is where I would used some nicknames for their “token” descriptions representing on The Amazing Race.
SECOND: Zev & Justin, friends (The “straight guy” team) They are between 25 & 30 years old and the younger one has a medical condition that was described in their introduction to the program.
THIRD: Lance & Keri, an engaged couple from Massachusetts. He is 41 and she is 33. Lance appears to be one who will be very competitive with attitude.
FOURTH: Marcy & Ron, a dating couple who met on the internet. At age 60 and 59 respectively, they are the oldest team on the race this season.
FIFTH: Herbert & Nathaniel, who are Harlem Globetrotters basketball team members 28 and 32 years old going by the names “Flight time & Big Easy” and they are also THE all African-American (or Black) team on the race. You know they only have one.
SIXTH: Brian & Ericka, married couple from Tennessee and the first interracial married couple on The Amazing Race. They are both 27 and Ericka Dunlap was also Miss America 2004. Brian struggled while eating the Wasabi at the game show and they were the last team to leave the studio but surged past 6 other teams to make it to the pit-stop.
SEVENTH: Father and Son team Gary & Matt from Montana. Gary is 47 and Matt is a big boy with pink hair at age 22.
EIGHTH: Garrett & Jessica another dating couple and they are in their late 20’s and from California. They were delayed on their way to the pit-stop when one of the audience members in their group following to the pit-stop had to use the restroom.
NINTH: Sam & Dan, THE Gay Team and they are brothers from the Midwest and both of them came out gay to each other. I think this is the first “gay brothers” team on The Amazing Race but there have been gay team members on most seasons of the show with one team of gay men winning the race. They were the former gay couple “Reichen & Chip”, both of whom have had some fame after The Amazing Race.
TENTH: Mika & Canaan, dating couple from Tennessee. They nearly lost one of the 20 audience members of their group and had to backtrack to find the lone straggler before they could be officially checked in .
And the last team to arrive also lost some of their group. MARIA & TIFFANY were missing two of their audience members and for that along with being LAST to arrive at the pit-stop, they incurred a 2 hour time penalty. But this was an NON-ELIMINATION leg of the race which means Maria & Tiffany can continue but they will face an exclusive “speed bump” challenge in the next leg. The professional poker players and the only all-female team on this season will face a lot of challenges in the next leg.
And that was just the FIRST HOUR!
So after the pit-stop teams left between 12:19am and 3:22am for a flight from Tokyo to Vietnam. Most teams used hotels and internet cafés to book their flights while some went directly to the airport pressing their luck. The earliest flights didn’t leave until 10:30 in the morning and while it took a lot of begging, four teams who didn’t get their plane tickets in advance managed to get onto the flight.
With the second leg of the race we began to see who are the sneaky ones and who are the assholes on the race. And I quickly determined that Lance, the lawyer traveling with his fiancée’ Keri is an asshole and he seems proud of it. He said he was “cutthroat” in his opinions and he referred to Maria & Tiffany as “bastards” in saying they should have been sent home. I am likely to hope that it is Lance and his fiancee Keri “going home” as soon as possible. I can’t stand arrogant assholes on The Amazing Race.
So even with Maria & Tiffany’s time penalty, all teams were equalized by the flight schedule and arrived in Vietnam at the same time but they arrived in a rain flooded city with instructions to travel by bus to the city of Chi Bei. Teams were split onto different buses and arrived at their destination in the evening only to find it closed and all teams had to camp out for the night. In the morning teams had to ride a small boat to a muddy pit and collect mud in bowls then place the mud around the roots of a tree for fertilization. This was also the time of the first “speed bump” on the race in which the last place team Maria & Tiffany had to locate a soup vendor where they would have to order the ingredients for soup and then serve the food to a “Dock master” before continuing on the race. They easily completed their exclusive task.
So teams continued to place mud around the base of the trees by getting really down and dirty and muddy. About the only one who complained about the muddy situation was Lance. Some teams struggled to carry heavy bowls of mud to the trees but most did so with little complaints.
After the muddy task, teams returned by boat to the dock and were given instructions to perform the “roadblock” task of herding 150 ducks through a course and back into their pen within 10 minutes. If they failed to complete the task in the allowed time, they would have to wait for other teams to finish before making another attempt.
After completing the ducky “roadblock, teams had to race on foot to a riverboat for the next pit-stop. And the arrivals at the second pit-stop were as follows.
FIRST: Gary & Matt, the father and son team won a Kayak for being the first at the pit-stop
SECOND and THIRD: Herbert & Nathaniel and very closely behind them were the gay brothers Sam & Dan
FOURTH: Lance & Keri
FIFTH: Zev & Justin, and
SIXTH: Meghan & Cheyne
SEVENTH: Maria & Tiffany overcame their last place position and their extra task to arrive in 7th place.
The rest of the teams had to repeat the duck herding “roadblock”, some had to repeat more than once.
EIGTH: Mika & Canaan.
NINTH: Marcy & Ron
TENTH: Brian & Ericka
And the last to arrive was GARRETT & JESSICA and they were eliminated. They will join Eric & Lisa at the “Elimination Station” which is a hideaway location where they can relax on “vacation” until the other racers reach the finish line. They will have it better than the others for a couple weeks but they also won’t have a million dollars at the end.
And this folks was the first Amazing Race for this season. Like previous seasons I blog about what happened as I watch it. What you read here is my immediate impressions. At the end I predict which team will be eliminated and occasionally I will say why I feel they will be eliminated. Same for predicting the teams that make the final three and possibly the winner of The Amazing Race. And like I said in the beginning, it will be my biased and non politically correct opinion. Another way to put it, I am just another Amazing Race viewer with an opinion and access to express that opinion online as if it were important. I don’t take any of this seriously and I hope you’ll do the same and maybe even enjoy my weekly blogging about my favorite TV competition.
One last thing. I may post these very soon after watching. So if you are in the western time zones and are a fellow Amazing Race fan, you might want to hold off on reading my blog until AFTER you saw the show in your home area. Don’t want to spoil it for you.
See you next week, same Amazing Race blog time, same Amazing Race blog channel. Have a great week!
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Don't go out with your BUTT OUT!
One of my biggest pet-peeves is the trend of wearing one's pants or shorts low enough to show your underwear or worse. Some areas have tried to establish and enforce laws against this terrible fashion trend.
I am not one to want to tell anyone what to do on their private property but in this case I am exposing someone who really should be ashamed of himself.
Not only did this person walk out of his home wearing his shorts below his buttocks but his underwear was dark brown causing one to think at first that he really did go outside with his bare ass hanging out. His "drawz" were the same color as his own skin.
To make this vision worse was when this fool bent over at the trunk of his car, his undies riding up the buttcrack and again, we see way too much and NONE of it attractive at all.
Please people, PULL YOUR PANTS UP! Most of us don't want to see your booty!
I am not one to want to tell anyone what to do on their private property but in this case I am exposing someone who really should be ashamed of himself.
Not only did this person walk out of his home wearing his shorts below his buttocks but his underwear was dark brown causing one to think at first that he really did go outside with his bare ass hanging out. His "drawz" were the same color as his own skin.
To make this vision worse was when this fool bent over at the trunk of his car, his undies riding up the buttcrack and again, we see way too much and NONE of it attractive at all.
Please people, PULL YOUR PANTS UP! Most of us don't want to see your booty!
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