love at dim sight!

Interesting episode of Survivor. Thought at first that Aitu were making a huge mistake by throwing the challenge so early in the game (actually, never a good idea at any time in the game!). But then Billy opened his mouth and went on about his love, Candace, and how she was motivating him to continue playing. And I thought his biggest problem was his laziness! He's delusional, too. He didn't get that when Candace said, "we love you" she meant it in a kind way, to encourage him. He didn't hear the word we, or understand what she meant. So add dumb to that list of problems. Though Ozzy annoys me, he's a better player than Billy. At least he's rational (immature and headstrong, certainly, but not delusional). I smirked when I saw that both women changed their votes to boot Billy. They realized how necessary it was to jettison the crazy heavy-metal musician. Alas, the downside to this is that I'll never get to see what would have happened when Billy met Sekou (another crazy musician). And Yul rocks! The clues to the idol were pretty simple, but considering how dim some of the other players are, Yul was the one who had the best chance of finding the idol. Let's just hope that he doesn't decide to reveal his possession of the idol, and turn other players against him. I think he's smart enough to know when the right moment to use the idol will be. I love how Survivor has turned Exile Island around, and given the losing team the choice. Quite delightful to see the reactions of the winners, when Jeff told them how it was going to work.

Survivor

I shall endeavor to update this blog with comments on my favourite show, Survivor. I have been asked by several people what I think of the racial tribes this season. What do I think? I think Mark Burnett is a brilliant spin doctor and marketing genius. In one swoop, he has managed to answer all previous criticisms about race on Survivor, and create a ratings buzz that rivals Richard Hatch winning the first season! What he has done is say to the critics, "the people will prove whether Survivor is racist," and compelled many people to tune in, just to see how this plays out. I agree with some reviewers, who've said that, in the end, Survivor is all about singular greed. Starting off with racial tribes does nothing but guarantee interesting water-cooler chat. The participants may start off thinking about representing, but will have to emerge as individual combatants, to gain Ultimate Survivor status. I find it more interesting that the tribes seem to be dividing more along gender lines, even with the awareness that they are "representing." Despite the common race, the tribes are splitting along the familiar men/women dynamic that Survivor has seen many times before. I do find it annoying that critics seem more upset by racial division than gender division. There's no real difference - both segregate a portion of society and consider them less. And so far, my favourites are women (as it usually is when I watch Survivor, with the exception of Tom from Season 5); Stephanie, the two Latino women (can't remember their names!), and one man, Yul. The person I find most interesting to watch, yet I wouldn't want him to win, is Cao Boi. I doubt he'll even get to the final four, but he is fascinating to watch. The only skill, though, that he really has is his survival through Vietnam. But I don't really think he can stand up to Sundra or Stephanie or Yul, when it comes to strategy (or people skills!).