Well, from all the votes yesterday, one thing is clear - there is absolutely no consensus on who we think is going home tomorrow night. The votes are all over the place, with every Survivor represented, and there is no clear leader. Which I think shows how good this season really is - because I don’t have any idea who I’d pick for this week. I know who I’d like to see go home, which I think I made clear in my last episode MAC, but I am very aware anything could happen. I don’t think there is any foregone conclusion.

Below is yesterday’s column from TV Guide Online. It contains details of how the finale will work (though no spoilers on what happens with any of the players.) Read on for explanation of how they will get from 6 down to 1 winner in two shows. It’s pretty cool. I can’t wait to see the last two episodes!! I’m even more excited now.

Survivor: Cook Islands — Finale Shockers Revealed!
by Ileane Rudolph

Survivor: Cook Islands
“Think of Survivor like a letter from a loved one,” says Mark Burnett, who created the reality show that’s now coming to the end of its 13th season. “You recognize the envelope and the handwriting, but [inside] is a fresh letter.” “Fresh” is a good word to describe what’s coming up in the finale of CBS’ Survivor: Cook Islands. In an exclusive sneak peek, Burnett and host Jeff Probst tell TVGuide.com how they’ll upend hallowed traditions on Cook’s finale airing Sunday, Dec. 17.

Cooking the Numbers: There will be three finalists (instead of the usual two) at the final tribal council. And with the size of the jury raised to nine (from seven), there’s the possibility of a three-way tie in the competition for the $1 million prize. Not to mention a bigger dose of rancor, bile and wacko questions from cast-offs who make up the newly expanded jury.

Final Challenges: The finale begins busting protocol immediately with five players still in the game. Their first challenge, Burnett reveals, “is the hardest puzzle we’ve ever done, called Compass Rose.” Challenge producer Dan Munday spent two days, “like a mad scientist, cutting pieces of wood,” says Probst. ” Finally, he showed us exactly how it comes apart and then asked us to put it back together. I quit after 30 minutes.” It takes the winner 25 minutes to solve it, Probst reveals, adding that “this final five had the highest IQs of any final five.” The final four’s last immunity challenge involves balancing on a very small post, one that gets smaller and smaller — 10 feet above the water. “It required balance but also intense concentration and pain tolerance, because it was made of steel and was not comfortable,” Probst explains.

Survivors’ Reactions: How does the surviving quartet react to the news that there would be three headed to the final tribal council? “The reaction is mixed,” says Probst. “A couple are excited because it gives them an extra shot at the million. But for the other two, there is a sense of dread — they realize the strategy they had been planning won’t work. From an audience point of view,” says Probst, “the best news is that you have at least two people who are likable and very deserving of winning, and for me, that is a home run. I’ll be very satisfied that whoever wins is a good winner.”

Live Doin’s: The big prize will be awarded in L.A. “The coolest part of the finale is that we’re re-creating the tribal-council shipwreck at the CBS studios,” Probst reveals.

The finale changes come at the conclusion of a season marked by new rules and procedures — first and foremost, the racially segregated teams that opened the Cook Islands contest. Despite the loud, early criticism of the tactic, Burnett says he’s proud of the season. “What it really showed is that the American public will embrace a diverse cast,” he says. “And the number of applications from minorities is now getting larger, because they see they have chance.” So who’s going to win? We asked Burnett to handicap the six players still in the game.

Yul: “He has that dangerous combination of being extremely likable and extremely cerebral. He used the immunity idol in a very smart way, and it actually turned the game.”
Ozzy: “He’s one of the greatest challenge players we’ve ever had, up there with Terry and Colby. He certainly is a target.”
Adam: “There’s no question that we’ve focused on his alliance with Candice, but he’s a very strong player. He might be more clever than we think.” (Candice, who was booted a couple of weeks ago, was “near genius,” says Burnett, but Adam was “her Achilles heel.”)
Becky: “She may be playing a clever, silent but deadly game in that she’s letting [her ally] Yul take all the heat [while], for much of the show, she has been under the radar.”
Parvati: “Parvati’s a good athlete and can be a very strong challenge player, and she’s not afraid to use her sexuality.”
Sundra: “Sundra has offended nobody, and is the kind of person who can go to the end because she’s not seen as a threat. And if she gets to the end — everyone likes her.”

And the future? Survivor: Fiji — the show’s 14th edition, set on the South Pacific island — will likely debut in February. “It has an extremely unique opening episode,” Burnett says. “There will be an Exile Island, but it’s quite different, and the hidden immunity portion of the game has an interesting twist.” And look for yet another new way to divide the tribes — and keep Survivor fresh.

End of article.

Sounds pretty interesting, doesn’t it? Any guesses on who finishes the puzzle that fast? My first thought was Yul, but I’m thinking Becky is the puzzle monster, so who knows! At least this finale sounds like it promises to be a whole lot more exciting than the one this past Sunday. Pay attention, Jerry!

Happy Hump Day everyone!

Tags: Uncategorized by Donna
4 Comments »

Okay, so it’s time for this week’s SHaQ Attack. I made ya hunt a bit last week, but as we’re all probably spending this week hunting for the rest of our holiday shopping list, I thought I’d go a bit easier on you.

This week also marks the end of both of the remaining reality shows we’ve been MACing about for the past few months. Sob! Amazing Race is already over, and Survivor will end as of this coming Sunday. I know! How cruel is this? Of course, with Survivor only on this Thursday, then again Sunday…and with 6 people still in the game, I have NO idea how they’re going to winnow it down to one. Twists are sure to happen this week!

So, I thought I’d give you all a few shots at being entered in Monday’s drawing for a free book. Here’s how it’s going to work:

Tell me who is going home on Thursday. (And since it’s likely to be more than one, you have a few shots at getting it right, since you only have to tell me one of them.)
Tell me who is going to win it all on Sunday!

Send me an email to donna@donnakauffman.com with “It’s over!” in the subject line. Everyone can vote twice, once for each question. Both votes in the same email is fine, or you can send them separately, one before Thursday night’s show, then another before Sunday night (so you don’t inadvertantly vote for someone to win the whole thing who ends up going home on Thursday’s show.) How you send your votes is up to you - but Question #1 vote has to be in by 8pm EST Thursday, and vote for Question #2 has to be in by 8pm EST on Sunday.

One winner will be drawn from all the correct guesses. (If you get both right, you are entered twice!)

In order to help out those who don’t watch (we’ll get you to watch eventually, you know!) here are the remaining players as of today: Yul, Becky, Sundra, Ozzy, Parvati, and Adam.

On Friday’s MAC of the Thursday show, I’ll update who goes home, so, if you haven’t voted for Sunday yet, you’ll know who is left to vote for. (I’m so helpful like that!)

Good luck!

And then next week - ack! Whatever will we talk about with no MAC on the horizon? Maybe I’ll start gabbing about Men in Trees. Jack and Plow Guy alone are definitely worthy of at least a blog or three…

Have a great Tuesday, everyone.

Tags: Writing by Donna
3 Comments »

A grand Amazing Race finale? Not so much. Yes, the most deserving team won. I guess. But otherwise the final leg wasn’t much to write home about. Or even come home for, really. After a season of really interesting and different locations, filled with harder tasks and more actual racing, the final leg was kind of meh on both of those parts.

We had skydiving for one while the other team member did a controlled dive in the plane - wish we could have gotten a better sense of that (oh, and shut up, Rob, you went on a race around the world. You can skydive anywhere, anytime, sheesh) and, in Paris, we had a run up the Eiffel Tower, then teams either carrying art through the streets or making a jacket. All three teams took the fashion option. The Moddicts breezed through that one (pretty funny actually) with Kim and Rob finishing last. Then it was back to the airport again for flights out to New York.

A lot of flying and taxi driving…not all that exciting really. This time, however, the *lyns picked the wrong airport to fly out of and ended up screwed out of a good seat on a plane to the U.S….and at that point, they were out of the race.

Once in New York….nothing much really happened. On the past two seasons, there has been a nail-biting, last minute task (arrange the flags last year, put the map together the season before that) which has added a good element of suspense.

This time? Find a building, get your clue. Find a sculpture, get your clue. Take a taxi to the final Amazng Bath Mat and Phil. And yes, Romberly and the Moddicts were neck and neck during this leg, which involved running on foot for 30 blocks (from buildng to sculpture) but in the end? It came down to which taxi driver had the EZ Pass.

At the finish, it was just a run for the mat, and Tyler and James got there first. A good team, as I’ve stated before, and definitely deserving. Rob and Kimberly got there about 20 minutes later (according to what Rob said at a fan party last night) and Lyn and Karlyn were a few hours behind them, having finallly gotten their flight into the US.

I wish I could make it sound more exciting. It…wasn’t. Good, yes. And the hour went by fast. But edge of your seat? Not really. A final task at the final location would have made a big difference and taken the edge off all the airport/taxi time that dominated this final leg.

All in all, it was a great season and I did really enjoy many aspects. It was nice seeing all the racers again at the finish line (and yes, Peter was with Sarah, but not “with” Sarah, if you know what I mean.) And was anyone really excited thinking that the Moddicts families where actually there, but it ended up being a phone call “ad” for Sprint? Yeah, kinda weird. (But not as weird as James’ dad’s scary eyebrows!) I was hoping they had all three final teams families there. Would have loved to see the *lyns reunited with their kids. Would have made up for a lot of the meh feeling of that leg.

They also showed a brief commecial for next season, which will be an All Star version. They didn’t announce the teams yet (though there are spoilers all over the dang place for those who want to know…) but they did announce it will start airing in February! So not that long to wait.

Bye, Phil! See you, your eyebrow and amazing pants soon!

I will definitely be tuning in next time! More MAC all around!

What did you all think of the finale?

Tune in tomorrow for this week’s SHaQ Attack Contest question. Happy Monday everyone!

Tags: Writing by Donna
12 Comments »

Well, there was snow in the forecast (false alarm) and everyone bailed out last night and I got stuck working late instead. (No fair I say!) …so no Grey’s rerun for me, and my Men In Trees tape is still waiting to be watched. However! I did stay up way to late to watch Survivor, so there is some MAC today. Grudging, on my part, but only because after a string of very satisfying episodes, this one? Not so much fun.

But before we talk about Survivor losers, let’s talk Blog Babe winners! This week’s SHaQ Attack asked that you identify my two Gannon Brothers and their stories. Double Bonus Score if you could identify their sister (well, at least one of them anyway.) Correct answer? Sean Gannon, from the Temptation titled Sean, and Brett Gannon, from Buried, which was part of the American Heroes anthology. Their sisters were Carly and Isabel (aka Izzy) although as Izzy is the single one, she was the one I was referring to, but either would have earned you an additional entry. I still get a lot of mail about Izzy…and for those on the “when will she get her own story” train, well that train might actually — FINALLY — be leaving the station. Talks are underway. Stay tuned!

The winning blog babe….please, everyone wave their ice cream scoops at Susan C! And, she gets a double dip, as she correctly listed all of the Gannon sibs. Woo hoo! Send me a short list of choices from my website bookshelf and two of your choices will be heading your way.

Now, on to some Survivor MAC (do I haaaaave to? Sigh.)

Okay, so there were some highlights. Mainly, because this was the week everyone got to see a loved one. I always love those episodes and tonight was no exception there. At the Reward Challenge Ozzy got to reunite with his mom, Yul with his brother, Becky with her sister, Sundra with her mom, Jonathan with his wife, and Adam and Parvati with their dad’s. The folks from home joined in the challenge which involved sloshing a lot of water back in forth in buckets. Blindfolded. It ended up being a close race between Parvati, Ozzy, and Jonathan, but Parvati (boo hiss) prevailed.

So she got to send Jonathan immediately to exile (but not until J strolled over and laid a nice one on his wife - Candice? Adam? Now that? Was hot) much to Probst’s dismay. (There is a distinct lack of like between those two - but I was cheering Jonathan’s bold stride over with every step. Take that production people!) Then off he goes and Parvati’s dad, poor guy (in more ways than one) has to decide who gets to go on the feast with him and his daughter. Knowing nothing of tribe dynamics, he chooses Sundra and Adam. They, along with their respective family members, head out to a tribal feast. But not before all of them get to go back to camp, just in case Becky, Yul, and Ozzy weren’t feeling left out enough. Awww, group hug you guys. I felt for them.

The feast group heads out, leaving the Aitu 3 behind to contemplate hiding food from the remaining Raro’s to help even their chances at future challenges, but when the Raro’s + Sundra come back bearing all kinds of leftovers, they toss that petty plan back out to sea.

Then it’s on to the Immunity Challenge, where Jonathan returns to absolutely no one’s delight, including all of the Aitu Tribe. Seems that everyone realllllly enjoyed having him gone for a few days and now they’re thinking how nice and lovely it would be if he were always gone.

A show of hands for everyone who took one look at the Immunity Challenge obstacle course on water and shouted, Ozzy Wins! I did…and yep, I was right. Part dolphin, part monkey that one. No one was really even close, although Yul was trying.

So…now we have Oz with the Immunity Bling around his neck, Yul with the Idol that everyone knows he has, and Aitu up with the numbers. So Adam and Parvati start lobbying Yul hard about future jury votes and how much more fun it would be around camp with J gone. I’m assuming Yul wouldn’t be so stupid as to not split up Adam and Parvati now, but from how the show appeared with all the edting, it sure seemed as if Jonathan was a pariah all the way around after he returned. He definitely got that, but wasn’t sure what was what. He made some very saliant points with Yul, but the women, Becky and Sundra, seemed to be done with him…and I worried.

Because, Aitu? As Yul was probably most decidedly aware, not getting rid of Adam right now would be supremely stupid since he’s an Immunity threat at challenges. Jonathan? Not so much, plus you still have numbers to get him out the following tribal. Parvati would have had to swing two people back to her side with Adam gone, and a show of hands as to how many think she had that in her? Yeah, me neither.

But I have a feeling, though we weren’t shown any real talk with the women of Aitu, that they suddenly went all Raro on Yul and “we don’t liiiike him, we want him gone” - which had NO strategic benefit at this point. The only reason I can see Yul going along with it is because he thought it would sway future jury votes. Not sure it was worth it, Big Y. There is also the outside possibility that Becky pushed for the J ouster based on what we saw between her and Yul last week. She might have woken up to the fact that J was a good bet for Final 2 and she didn’t want to risk her spot in the F2, so took advantage of having Raro numbers who hated J and pushed to send him home before Adam, knowing that with Adam gone, it might have been harder to get him out if things started to fall apart in Aitu early. (which, it looks like she might have a point given next week’s previews.) However, since we saw absolutely no behind the scenes plotting with Becky, I’m not sure she was employing that stategy - seems to me the editors would have played that up if she had. Who knows.

So, off they go to tribal council, where, before getting voted off, Jonathan did get one very satisfying moment in when he explained to a still bitter Raro, that he wasn’t the only one who voted off their OWN TRIBE MEMBERS. I have wanted to shout that for three weeks now. How DARE they call him a rat and be all wanting to vote him off when they could have done it not once, but THREE TIMES and chose - CHOSE - to sacrifice their own people first instead. Jonathan, onthe other hand, flipped once when he saw his one true alliance flip first - that would be you, Candice the Mutineering Hypocrite - and then again when Yul forced him to or be voted off. Both times he made the logical choice - for him. And every single vote his tribe debated voting him off - but then professed he was family when he wanted to vote them out. Sheesh. I can’t stand these people.

So it was really hard to watch Aitu fall victim to the same mentality and join ranks with the idiots to vote Jonathan out. Not so much because they owed him anything - they saved him more than he saved them. But for strategic purposes, they should have split Adam and Parvati and finished what they started in decimating what was left of any Raro bloc. Dorks. I was fed up with all of them.

To Jonathan’s credit, annoying though he may be, even when he knew his number was up, he didn’t take it personally. He discussed the strategy of the game in his interviews and with his tribe mates calmly and rationally and always kept it very clear in his mind that this was a game. He really was a good player, he just didn’t understand the need to keep his stratagic trap shut more often.

So, looking at next week’s previews, we start to see the implosion of Aitu. Which, of course, had to happen, but I’d just hoped it would have started at F5 - Aitu +J - instead of at F6 - Aitu 4 and Raro 2. Another thing to note - we have 6 people left, but only two shows on the schedule left to air. (The last one, I think is a three hour show - two hour finale, followed by the hour long reunion.) Which means three hours of air time left - and a lot of people still to go home. Me thinks we’re in for some Big Twists yet. Which would explain why they started the jury early. Hmm….. Can’t wait to see how it shakes up the game!

Next week? The mercenary in Ozzy comes back, and Yul and Becky aren’t blind to this. What will happen next?? Who goes home?? (And…will it only be one person? Something tells me mebbe not!) What do you think will happen?

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Tags: Writing by Donna
9 Comments »

I think Thursdays are my new favorite night. It’s Trifecta Night for me…and with all my other shows gone, except Race, it’s my one night to be a total television junkie. (No, I do not want a 12 Step Program for this. I’ve earned my one night of total escape, dammit, and I’m going to wallow in it. Now, where’s my ice cream scoop?)

So, Survivor, Grey’s, topped off by my absolute favorite guilty pleasure, Men in Trees. (I’m torn between wanting Jack, and my very own Plow Guy…. Decisions, decisions…)

Thursdays are also my favorite night because a bunch of my co-workers and I have started having Grey’s Night after work. For those of you who don’t know, I also run the education program at a local craft store here. My instructors and I spend a lot of time working on the projects that we teach, and consequently, little time on our own. So when we discovered our joint love of Grey’s, and realized we happened to have this huge television set in our lovely, big classroom (for showing craft how-to videos) we decided to start getting together on Thursdays to watch Grey’s, snack on whatever we brought with us to share (this is quickly becoming a critical part of our enjoyment of the evening, to the surprise of absolutely no one, as we’re all foodies, too) and work only on our own projects. No store projects allowed.

Our little group has quickly grown to include a number of our regular students/customers (well, Doris had the daquiri blender, so we could hardly say no) and everyone gets in on discussing McDreamy, and now, McTreemy as well. Then I head home to watch my tape of Survivor, usually with my night owl youngest for additional social commentary,and write up my MAC for Friday morning.

I so look forward to Thursdays and think we all need our version of a Grey’s Night Out. But I also get a great deal of pleasure from our Friday Morning Survivor MAC Klatch here. I only wish we could all get together in person as well. Just think of the breakfast/brunch snacks we could share! (Who has the cappucino maker?)

Don’t forget to enter the SHaQ Attack contest this week if you haven’t. See Tuesday’s post for the details. I’ll announce the winner tomorrow, along with some Survivor MAC. Who will be voted out tonight? It’s getting down to the wire!

Also, I’m guest blogging today over on the Brava Authors site. Come join me!

Tags: Writing by Donna
8 Comments »

So…I started my Christmas shopping. No lines, no traffic, no crowds, and I wore my pj’s the entire time. Yes, I have discovered the joys of online shopping. Even better, I discovered this joy early enough to actually be able to use it without paying Santa for overnight delivery. Yay me. Where has this been all my life? I mean, I’ve shopped online for years, in a general way, for books and stuff. But this…this is the Best Use Ever. Maybe it’s because I’m spending time working the other side of the counter this holiday season, but normally I don’t mind the crowds, the lines. I just get my brain in the zone and do what needs to be done. This year, I have to say, it’s been a godsend to avoid it after working it all day. And night.

And, double bonus, this means I get to see the Man In Brown more often! UPS sightings are never a bad thing in my neighborhood. Rather like the office workers gathering at the window to watch the construction worker take his break on that Coke commercial of yore.

Ho ho ho, indeed.

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

Tags: Writing by Donna
14 Comments »

Time for the weekly book contest…. Hmm…. What to do, what to do…

I know! We haven’t had a real Scavenger Hunt Question in awhile. Let’s do it! This week’s prize is the book of your choice from my website bookshelf. To win, send your answer to donna@donnakauffman.com with “I found it!” in the subject line. Friday morning I’ll draw a name from the correct entries.

And the Question is: Name my two Gannon brothers and the titles of their stories.

Bonus! Win a second book if you can tell me their sister’s name. (Hint! She has no story of her own…yet! But that might change. Oooh, gossip amongst yourselves!)

Happy hunting everyone!

Tags: Writing by Donna
4 Comments »

So, on the Amazing Race, we’re down to four teams, all vying for the final three spots. Someone does lose this time around. Happily, for Blog Babes, we are winners!

But first, a little race MAC…

The Beauty Queens take off in last place and, unless they come in first this leg, they have a 30 minute penalty hanging over their heads when they reach the Amazing Bathmat. They also have the other three teams all vying to get them out first, as they are seen as the strongest racers (which they have been, despite being in last.)

The teams all head to Casablanca, where they encounter their Roadblock for this leg of the race. They have to find a meat market, which happens to be filled with dead camel heads. I know, this is where I hope you’re not eating breakfast. I know I’m not. Maybe ever. As it turns out, for a food eating challenge, other than it’s a full pound of meat that has to be eaten, the meat itself isn’t all that bad apparently. (Camel, the other red meat.)

The Moddicts get to the market first and after the way he slammed through teeth and hair last time, James is totally doing this roadblock. Which he makes look about as challenging as pounding down a few Big Macs. Or Big Humps. Whatever. The BQ’s somehow manage to smoke past both Romberly and the *lyns, and Kandice chows down as well.

Kimberly and Lyn are the eaters for their respective teams, only Karlyn isn’t respective of anything, especially her partner, who, after Karlyn’s continual nagging about how she should be eating her camel meat, basically tells her to STFU, and when Karlyn can’t take a hint in the form of a neon sign across Lyn’s forehead, continues to have to tell her, oh, every other five minutes. I think I’d have had to use my shish kabob skewers in an effective, partner silencing manner. Shut up, Karlyn. GROW up, while you’re at it. How childish and hateful was she? Great role model for your kids. Who are probably already taking merciless abuse at school over your actions as it is. If nothing else causes you to take a good hard look, I hope that does. Poor Karlyn’s kids.

So Lyn finishes up and heads out, followed by Kimberly not too far after her.

The teams now head to Barcelona, Spain, where they have their Detour. This one is emotionally and physically bruising for our very tired teams. They have to either walk a mile through town, in blistering heat, balancing what looks like two story doll costumes…or dig through a pile of tomatoes while being seriously pelted with the same tomatoes by locals who are waaaay getting into this challenge. Perhaps too much.

BQ’s and Moddicts take the towering doll costumes, while Romberly and the *lyns opt for tomato brawling. And brawl it is. Kimberly more or less panics, and just can’t really handle being that tired, that frustrated, doing a needle-in-a-haystack task, while simultaneously being hit - and hard, mind you - with cold, nasty tomatoes. The locals jeering and cat calling while smacking her upside the head and body didn’t help. She implores Rob to please abandon this task and go do the other one, but he is panicking in his own way. With no other teams there yet, he has no idea where they are in the race and feels if they leave now, they are dooming themselves. With both of them panicking, especially Kimberly, who I think truly just kind of hits her personal wall, it’s not a pretty sight. She finally walks off (several times in fact) until Rob has to follow her. He is a total insensitive ass, but I don’t think he really is tuned in to the real meltdown she’s suffering at the moment. He’s totally race focused. In the end, he talks her into going back and they do find the clue to the pitstop.

The *lyns aren’t happy with each other at the moment, as Lyn has finally (finally!!!) had enough of her sourpuss, pain in the ass partner (who we were fed up with, oh, back on the first episode) and tells her so. Rather than get the fact that she’s finally Gone Too Far, Karlyn just degenerates further into her own world of complete self entitlement. Which makes her getting hit with tomatoes quite rewarding. More footage of that please, Race Editors! Lyn, on the other hand, really doesn’t need this crap. From either side. But they do find the clue, and finally Karlyn owns up to the fact that maybe, just maybe, she could have lightened up a bit. For me, (and I suspect Lyn feels this way, too) there is no apology big enough for the ‘tude she’s been sporting the whole time. Lyn does interview that she’s aware of her partner’s (massive) emotional shortcomings, but she’s trying to run the damn race here, too and it would be nice if her partner could get her head out of her behind and see that and get over herself. Good luck with that, Lyn.

Meanwhile, the Moddicts and BQ’s are sweating it out, literally, under their giant doll frames (which? I loved. Amusing, yet freakish, all at the same time. Like mutant undead Ukranian nesting dolls.) They get lost a few times, stop for directions a few times, but in the end, it’s the Moddicts who get the right path first and their clue to the pitstop.

We finally get so see Phil (Hi Phil!!) and his lovely Amazing Bathmat Companion at the Pit Stop. Romberly makes it to the mat first. It is here, realizing they are in the final three, and in the current lead, that Rob falls apart a little. On their way to the pitstop, they both apologize to each other for losing it during the challenge, and show a great deal of self awareness of how much this is the race, and, also, how much this is who they are. And I think they are really trying. As bickering couples go from seasons past, I am irritated a lot less by these two than by most of their predecessors. They can be trying, but I do think they truly love and respect one another and want to be better to each other. Something I can’t say I’ve seen in past bickering couples.

Rob cries on the mat, realizing how close they are to winning this, and what it would mean to their lives. They talk about how, with the other remaining teams being all friends and not couples, they’d all just split the pot and go on, but with Rob and Kim, it would help them start their lives together. And I understand their point, though I think the *lyns, especially, might disagree on the fact that it would help Romberly more than the other teams. Team single moms? Yeah, they need the money more, Kim. Sorry. But I get what she was trying to say, so I’ll go easy on her. Besides, I’d like to just give Lyn all the money, and Karlyn’s kids. Just not Karlyn.

The Lyns hit the mat second (makes you wonder how they’d have done if they’d abandoned the Cho Alliance earlier on) and are thrilled to be the first female team ever in the final three, and therefore, getting the chance to complete the entire race. And I really wish I liked Karlyn more, because I wasn’t as happy about this as I wanted to be.

The Moddicts are next, and the last team to make the finale. They are relieved, both that they get to complete the race and compete for the million…and that the BQ’s are not going to be competing against them on the last leg. (They do need to be a little more nervous about the *lyns than they seem to be, although I do get why they’d want to race them vs. the beauty queens, if given the choice.)

The BQ’s hit the mat last and they know they are done. I am glad they didn’t lose on the time penalty, because we’d have never heard the end of how they would have made it if not for THAT. Instead, they were last two times in a row, through no fault but their own. I think they were very, very good racers. But their smug entitlement as the race wore on, really wore me down. A shame, because there is a whole lot to admire about this team.

So…only one week left! Sniff! Sob! Then no more Phil until spring! What will we do?

Who will win?!?!

To be honest, it’s a tough one for me. The *lyns probably need the money most. (Though Karlyn with money will be even more insufferable than Karlyn with no money.) Romberly did tug on my cold, cold heart a wee, tiny bit this leg with their attempts at relationship improvement…while admittedly exposing their need to keep working on it. And then there are the Moddicts, who can be somewhat bland, but have also been good racers, good teammates, enjoyed themselves immensely, and basically been pretty decent guys the whole way through. In terms of racing for racing’s sake, and not about who needs the winnings, I’d have to pick these guys for the win. But a strong case could be made for any of the final three. Or none of them.

But enough about these guys! Let’s talk winners! This week’s SHaQ Attack was about being a winner by choosing losers. More precisely, picking who would be sent packing on Survivor and Amazing Race this week. Most of you got at least one right, and a few of you got both! On Survivor, whiny Candice went home, and, as we saw above, on Amazing Race, it was the Blondes, Dustin and Kandice. (Rough week for reality contestants named C/Kandice.) But a great week for Blog Babe’s named Jennifer. Particularly, Jennifer Y! (Who happened to get both picks right!) Woo hoo, Jennifer! You win a book of your choice from my website bookshelf.

Tune in tomorrow for this week’s SHaQ Attack contest!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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It’s a bit soggy and a lot windy out there, which is why I’m glad I’m in here, dishing about last night’s Survivor!

Jonathan isn’t the most liked guy at camp, which comes as no surprise to him and doesn’t particularly upset him. Or me. He’s not stupid. Far from. But when the Raro’s can’t seem to wrap their tiny, ineffective brains around the fact that he flipped sides again because Yul threatened to vote him off the island, he tells them Yul has the idol and he really didn’t have a choice. The game is called Survivor and if he wanted to, you know SURVIVE, he had to do what he had to do. Certainly, you’d think the puny Raro tribe would get this since they have done the SAME THING three weeks in a row to their own tribemates. Yeah, YOU chose to keep Jonathan in the game over them. Your votes did that. Not Yul’s, not anything Jonathan did. You kept him in the game because you’re too lazy to get up and do all the work he does. I wanted to throttle all of them. Not only do they not get their supreme hypocrisy, they don’t believe him about Yul having the idol, which proves he made the right choice anyway. Raro doesn’t have the collective strategic brains of a flea.

(Sorry, I’m insulting fleas everywhere.)

Not only do they not get that someone is actually playing the game, NOW they want Jonathan gone because, waaaaah, they can’t believe he’s going to be in the game longer than they are. So unfair, pout pout! Uh, gee, Brad, Rebecca and Jenny probably felt the same way. Sheesh!!

At Reward Challenge, it’s auction time, which means a lot hot dogs, fries, and pizza if you’re Jonathan, a hot bath and cake if you’re Parvati, endless ice cream if you’re Ozzy, and even more power in the game if you’re Yul and Becky. Which nets Becky the chance to send Candice to Exile immediately AND take her money. Loved that. And Candice still doesn’t get why, oh why, don’t they like her? Why would they keep doing this to her? Well, Candice, they’ve already pissed you off about as much as a person can by sending you the first three times. Why piss somebody else off? It’s called strategy. You might want to look that up when you get home. And, you know, you mutinied. Remember? (Oh, or does that only count when Jonathan does it?) Sure, it sucks, no doubt. Cry me a river. You chose your own path in the game, so you could essentially lay around and do nothing and mac with your boyfriend (and am I the only one who is completely and totally skeeved out by the idea of kissing anyone after a month of not brushing teeth and bathing? Shudder shudder shudder!) Your strategy, Candice, consists solely of doing nothing around camp, then trying hard for immunity. Game doesn’t work that way. It’s a social game, not just an immunity contest. Raro has NO clue, and you’re the ringleader of cluelessness, but then look who you chose as your boyfriend?

Back at camp, Jonathan’s stock falls even further with his boorish behavior after all the food he ate. Now, mind you ANYONE could have bid on that food. Jonathan didn’t keep anyone from eating and its not like he could share. He’s not particularly gracious about it (loved it when he tipped Probst), but it’s not his fault you didn’t put your money on the table if you were so damn hungry. Again, I don’t get the hate. YOU kept him in the game, you knew what he was like, live with it.

Oh yeah…and at reward challenge, Yul not only tells everyone he does have the idol, he shows it to them. And Candice, Adam, and Parvati are shocked, shocked I say. Like, oh my god, Jonathan was telling the truth? But…how can this be? How can the smartest guy in the game actually have the idol?

Are you kidding me, Raro??? Are you guys here on vacation?

Back at camp, do the Raro Trio DO anything to improve their standing with Yul, who is now openly the power player in the game? No. They go in their tent and play snuggle bunnies while Jonathan fishes, and Becky and Sundra clean camp and Yul and Oz get firewood. So, when Aitunes + J are sitting around preparing dinner, having done ALL the work, do they bother calling out the snuggle bunnies to join them? Uh, no. (I stood up and cheered. Finally, the workers giving the slackers the collective finger. It’s about damn time.) What’s truly hilarious, is that it’s the team in power doing all the work, when traditionally, they’re the ones who become slacking asses, because they can. The dim bulb Raro Trio can’t seem to grasp the fact that, with no power, why should anyone be doing them any favors? Including feeding their sorry behinds.

So Candice has the Brilliant Idea to head right on over there and give that skanky rat Jonathan a piece of her mind. And when Jonathan calls her on her crap – like when she claims he’s only working hard to kiss up, and he’s like, uh, I’ve always worked hard. What have you done missy? Oh yeah, nothing - she then outs the four people in power, and mainly the Big Guy, Yul (always a great idea, Candice. Boy, you are SMRT smart) by blabbing to Jonathan that she heard them dissing him, too. Yul calmly tries to interrupt her tirade to explain that she’s taking the things he said out of context, but she’s on a roll now. A roll straight to tribal council, but she doesn’t get this. If I could have, I’d have sent her back to Exile right then.

Oh yeah..somewhere in there they had an immunity challenge that involved math. Now, don’t fall over in shock, but Adam wins this. I know. The world tilted off it’s axel slightly, dogs and cats, living together, insanity reigns. However, to be honest, I don’t think anyone in Aitu tried all that hard. They’re tired, they don’t need this one, so let the worms squirm for it. Still. Adam? Math? I marvel.

So now the Raro Three come up with the New Brilliant Idea of blackmailing Yul into voting Jonathan off before them. (Like it’s not occurring to them how to change the game for them to stay, much less win, just, we hate J and we want him out first, then you can just vote us out, too.) Um. Lay down and be rolled over much? Good thing Yul didn’t play the game that way. They tell Yul that when he’s final 2 (because, hey, it’s a foregone conclusion in their mind now that he would get there and god forbid they try and use logic on one of his teammates to see this and maybe change the game up…I mean, doubtful they’d do it, but TRY people, TRY.) So they tell Yul that when he’s standing there wanting that million, if he votes J out before them, they’ll give Yul their votes. If not…no votes for you, Yul! Neener neener!

Yul makes one hugely critical mistake however. He’s so used to using Becky as his sounding board, he seemingly doesn’t realize that when he – going along with their final 2 scenario, and thinking ahead in case he’s one of the final 2 – discusses the possibility of losing their votes in that scenario, that he’s saying this to the woman who he has promised to be the one standing next to him if he is final 2….uh, not smart there big guy. The look on Becky’s face was all, waaaaait a minute here…. So…chink in the impenetrable armor that is Aitu? Well, it does have to happen, as they can’t all win, and I think Becky just woke up to the actual reality of that fact.

We’re off to tribal council, where Nate is a complete ass to the shock of absolutely no one, and even Jenny seems to be all happy on Nate’s side when the remaining survivors have a tribal council shout down between Jonathan and well, everyone else. I don’t get that. I get she doesn’t like J, but does she still remember it was HER OWN people who voted her out? Helllllooooo? So, no making faces in the jury please. You’re sitting over there for a reason, Smirky McSmirkysons, and that reason is YOUR OWN tribe, not Jonathan.

Back to Tribal Silliness. Jonathan takes on Raro before they can point the finger at him and whiiiiiine for him having the nerve, the very nerve, to do all the work, provide all the food, and not invite them to the table after he was done doing all the work. How dare he! And, he’s such the rat, Jeff! Betraying people. Sort of like, oh, I don’t know, all three remaining members of Raro who did this not once, but THREE times to their own teammates, each time choosing to keep the rat over their allegiance to their own people. God, the hypocrisy was getting so deep, I needed a back hoe. At least Jonathan doesn’t pretend to be anything other than he is – a guy playing the game of Survivor. Love him or hate him, and it’s easy to swing back and forth with this guy – he’s not doing anything he’s not supposed to be doing. Like he said, they’re playing for a million dollars. A million dollars. He, like me, can’t seem to get why they aren’t figuring out it’s a game with pretty big stakes, so why are you getting all wounded when someone does something to get farther in the game and win the big bucks? Mostly because when Raro voted out their own people, they only did it because, well, they just didn’t like them that week. Neener neener nancy cakes.

In the end, Aitu rules and Candice’s whiny, hypocritical little fanny is sent packing. But not before she and Adam share the longest (ickiest – one word here, Listerine!!) goodbye kiss in tribal history. After which, Probst snuffs Candice’s torch while simultaneously delivering the Best Parting Shot ever. He says, “A kiss is nice, but if it were love, he’d have given you his immunity necklace.” HA! Buh bye, Candice.

And now I reallllllllllly want it to be Yul and J as the final two, but only to make Raro eat their words (if not fish…ha) and vote for Yul anyway, after making their weak blackmailing threats. Actually, if Jonathan makes it that far, he is every bit as deserving as Yul, because they are both playing this game as a game. To that end, Yul was completely right in what he was telling the Dim Bulb Trio – he can predict what J would likely do, because J plays with logic, not “I don’t like him, vote him off!! Waaaah!” They are both seriously playing this game. I hope Yul and Co are smart enough to say buh bye to J while they can.

All the same, Becky? Now’s the time to get with Oz and Sundra and start making plans if you want to be around in the end. But I think she gets that.

Next few weeks might not be all that surprising at tribal, but camp life should be entertaining!

Don’t forget to send your votes in for Amazing Race….a lot of names already in the pot with the Candice ouster, but it’s not to late to join them! I’ll announce the winner Monday, along with some Race MAC.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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