Watching Boston Rob play Survivor is a real treat. I'll get to that in a moment.
I am really enjoying this season so far. Usually it takes a few episodes to get into it, but this season things have been very entertaining from day one. Rob and Russell are a big part of that. Yet there are others that I have come to like and dislike (or at least think are dangerous to the ones I like).
I really like Russell's little alliance. Unfortunately I have a feeling that Russell is slightly behind the play so far. Ralph, with dumb luck, finds the idol. He then takes on Russell. Bad news in this scenario is that Ralph has everyone else (with the exception of Stephanie and Krista) apparently on his side.
There seem to be some smart players on Zapatera and this could be trouble for Russell, although as Russell said, he has never had the numbers, so maybe he is feeling fine. I hope so.
Now back to Rob.
I am extremely impressed with how Rob is playing. He is playing two, three and four moves ahead of anyone else. I thought that if they were to lose the challenge (which they did) that it would be a no brainer to get rid of either Phillip or Kristina. But Rob is such a great observer of people that he was able to notice Matt and Andrea getting a little too close. While I would have probably still aimed to get rid of Phillip or Kristina had I been there, Rob was smart enough to make some major plays.
He was able to strengthen his now four person strong alliance. He broke up the potential threat of Matt and Andrea. He played Phillip. He was able to get Kristina to play her idol. Wow!
Blindsides are best when the victim has no clue it is coming. Matt clearly did not see it coming. I did feel a little bad for Andrea. Previews for next week imply that she could be some trouble for Rob, but as things stand right now, Rob should be safe for quite some time. As a viewer I really would like to see him get to the merge and hopefully be able to play with Russell. Of course that means that Russell has to make it to the merge as well. That may be a harder task.
Can't wait 'till next Wednesday!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Survivor - I'm a Federal Agent
Survivor is back!
And this season has got off to a great start.
I know that there are some people out there that groaned when they heard that Boston Rob and Russell would be back, but I was not one of them. They are both master players and it has always been a pleasure watching how they skillfully play the game. Survivor is like watching sports. There are good players and there are great players and whether you like them or not it is always a treat to watch great players play.
The interesting thing will be to see how long both Rob and Russell last. It might be wise for the new players to get rid of them right away. Or maybe it is a better play to keep them, use their strengths, ally with them and then hope you can beat them in the end. I'm not sure what I would do if I was playing, but as a viewer I want them to stick around for a while.
I really liked the first immunity challenge. I felt the exhaustion that the players must have felt after pushing those heavy steps. I'm glad Russell's team won, but was impressed by how close Rob's team came after falling behind.
As always, when the new season starts, it takes a while for the new players to make an impression. To be honest, at this point I can only name a few. But the few that stood out did so spectacularly.
There is Kristina who very smartly thought that there might be a clue to a hidden immunity idol in the tool box. Here we saw how quick Rob is. He knew what she was looking for. Then after finding no clue she went out and found the idol. So she started to look like a really smart player. That was until she decided that she wanted to eliminate Rob. This was bad for a whole bunch of reasons but mainly because five tribe members seem to have already aligned with Rob. Even if she along with Francesca and Phillip managed to get Rob voted out by her playing the idol, it would leave the three of them at the mercy of five angry members.
Of course her other mistakes were telling two people that she had the idol. Why do players do that? I wouldn't. This came back to haunt her big time.
Francesca seemed like a smart player. Unfortunately she somehow got herself tied up with Kristina and Phillip. This led to her demise, although she could come back from redemption island.
By the way, I'll have to see how that plays out to actually decide if I like it. It will certainly make things interesting and at the very least gives you hope that a player that you liked might not be out of the game if they get voted out. So I'll give it time.
Now Phillip at first came across as confident and smart. He used to be a federal agent don't you know. We were told this over and over and over again. This tribe has their very own member of the "Criminal Minds" team. He is someone who can read people and know if they are telling the truth. A great asset in the game of survivor. Ha!
I don't think Phillip understands the concept of Survivor. Kristina, Francesca (or is it Francostina or Fransquahana) and Phillip agreed to vote for Rob while getting the tribe to vote Kristina. She would use her idol (which was only known to the three of them) and Rob would be voted out. Easy plan (but stupid as I had previously mentioned).
Now what Phillip doesn't seem to grasp is that this is a game of deception. So when Francesca was questioned about whether Rob had a target she replied by saying yes, but that no one was voting for him tonight. Any rational person in a group that planned to vote Rob out would realize that you don't want Rob to know that you are actually going to vote for him.
Phillip is not rational. What followed was one of the most hilarious tribal councils ever. Phillip piped up saying, yes we were going to vote for Rob, Francanfurter, I mean Francesca you are lying. Then he told everyone the whole plan including outing the fact that Kristina had an idol. WTF! He destroyed their game. Over the course of the episode I grew to dislike Kristina but I did feel bad for her.
Then Rob demands to see the idol and tells Kristina to give it to him or go home. She kept it and surprisingly didn't use it. But in the end Francesca was sent to redemption island and I don't think it will be long before Phillip and Kristina join her.
Wow! I was laughing hysterically through the whole thing.
I'm looking forward to more.
On another note, I worry a little bit for Russell. There are a couple of guys that seem to want him gone even though Russell seems to want to work as a team. Although he has found his cute girl ally already, but she is no Parvati.
It's going to be a fun season to watch.
And this season has got off to a great start.
I know that there are some people out there that groaned when they heard that Boston Rob and Russell would be back, but I was not one of them. They are both master players and it has always been a pleasure watching how they skillfully play the game. Survivor is like watching sports. There are good players and there are great players and whether you like them or not it is always a treat to watch great players play.
The interesting thing will be to see how long both Rob and Russell last. It might be wise for the new players to get rid of them right away. Or maybe it is a better play to keep them, use their strengths, ally with them and then hope you can beat them in the end. I'm not sure what I would do if I was playing, but as a viewer I want them to stick around for a while.
I really liked the first immunity challenge. I felt the exhaustion that the players must have felt after pushing those heavy steps. I'm glad Russell's team won, but was impressed by how close Rob's team came after falling behind.
As always, when the new season starts, it takes a while for the new players to make an impression. To be honest, at this point I can only name a few. But the few that stood out did so spectacularly.
There is Kristina who very smartly thought that there might be a clue to a hidden immunity idol in the tool box. Here we saw how quick Rob is. He knew what she was looking for. Then after finding no clue she went out and found the idol. So she started to look like a really smart player. That was until she decided that she wanted to eliminate Rob. This was bad for a whole bunch of reasons but mainly because five tribe members seem to have already aligned with Rob. Even if she along with Francesca and Phillip managed to get Rob voted out by her playing the idol, it would leave the three of them at the mercy of five angry members.
Of course her other mistakes were telling two people that she had the idol. Why do players do that? I wouldn't. This came back to haunt her big time.
Francesca seemed like a smart player. Unfortunately she somehow got herself tied up with Kristina and Phillip. This led to her demise, although she could come back from redemption island.
By the way, I'll have to see how that plays out to actually decide if I like it. It will certainly make things interesting and at the very least gives you hope that a player that you liked might not be out of the game if they get voted out. So I'll give it time.
Now Phillip at first came across as confident and smart. He used to be a federal agent don't you know. We were told this over and over and over again. This tribe has their very own member of the "Criminal Minds" team. He is someone who can read people and know if they are telling the truth. A great asset in the game of survivor. Ha!
I don't think Phillip understands the concept of Survivor. Kristina, Francesca (or is it Francostina or Fransquahana) and Phillip agreed to vote for Rob while getting the tribe to vote Kristina. She would use her idol (which was only known to the three of them) and Rob would be voted out. Easy plan (but stupid as I had previously mentioned).
Now what Phillip doesn't seem to grasp is that this is a game of deception. So when Francesca was questioned about whether Rob had a target she replied by saying yes, but that no one was voting for him tonight. Any rational person in a group that planned to vote Rob out would realize that you don't want Rob to know that you are actually going to vote for him.
Phillip is not rational. What followed was one of the most hilarious tribal councils ever. Phillip piped up saying, yes we were going to vote for Rob, Francanfurter, I mean Francesca you are lying. Then he told everyone the whole plan including outing the fact that Kristina had an idol. WTF! He destroyed their game. Over the course of the episode I grew to dislike Kristina but I did feel bad for her.
Then Rob demands to see the idol and tells Kristina to give it to him or go home. She kept it and surprisingly didn't use it. But in the end Francesca was sent to redemption island and I don't think it will be long before Phillip and Kristina join her.
Wow! I was laughing hysterically through the whole thing.
I'm looking forward to more.
On another note, I worry a little bit for Russell. There are a couple of guys that seem to want him gone even though Russell seems to want to work as a team. Although he has found his cute girl ally already, but she is no Parvati.
It's going to be a fun season to watch.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Lara Logan Attacked in Cairo
A statement from CBS news on February 15th said that correspondent, Lara Logan "suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating" in Cairo on February 11th during the celebrations of ex-president Mubarak stepping down. Lara was apparently separated from her crew and was attacked by a mob. She was later rescued by a group of women and Egyptian soldiers.
She "suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating".
That line is chilling and horrifying. "Brutal" and especially "sustained" really make it worse. One can imagine (although I really don't want to) what is meant by "sustained". It is just terrible.
My reaction was shock, sadness and overwhelming anger. No one, anywhere should ever have to suffer anything like that. I felt that I would like to see those responsible strung up.
I then had to question myself as to why I had this reaction. Assaults and sexual assaults happen everyday all over the world to all kinds of good people. Why, when I hear in the news of some stranger suffering a sexual assault do I think, "that's terrible" then move on to think of other things. Is it precisely because they are a stranger? Maybe.
I don't personally know Lara Logan so why has this event sparked such emotions in me?
I think it is because I have seen her reporting. I have seen her in interviews. She is an incredibly intelligent woman. She does a very important and often dangerous job. She is courageous. She is very beautiful (this should have no bearing at all, however subconsciously I have to admit that it does). I have great respect for her and admire what she does. And the fact that she is seen on TV makes one feel like they do know her (the same would apply if it was any celebrity or public figure). And that maybe the reason.
It would be great to live in a world where these things did not happen. Unfortunately we do. Hopefully events such as this will make others react like I did. The more people that have respect for women and are repulsed by those who do not, the better things will be.
I hope that Lara Logan recovers soon both physically and emotionally. I hope she continues to do what she loves and is good at. A good sign is that CBS probably would not have reported what happened to her if she didn't approve. To me that is a sign that she is a very strong woman.
I hope only the best for her.
She "suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating".
That line is chilling and horrifying. "Brutal" and especially "sustained" really make it worse. One can imagine (although I really don't want to) what is meant by "sustained". It is just terrible.
My reaction was shock, sadness and overwhelming anger. No one, anywhere should ever have to suffer anything like that. I felt that I would like to see those responsible strung up.
I then had to question myself as to why I had this reaction. Assaults and sexual assaults happen everyday all over the world to all kinds of good people. Why, when I hear in the news of some stranger suffering a sexual assault do I think, "that's terrible" then move on to think of other things. Is it precisely because they are a stranger? Maybe.
I don't personally know Lara Logan so why has this event sparked such emotions in me?
I think it is because I have seen her reporting. I have seen her in interviews. She is an incredibly intelligent woman. She does a very important and often dangerous job. She is courageous. She is very beautiful (this should have no bearing at all, however subconsciously I have to admit that it does). I have great respect for her and admire what she does. And the fact that she is seen on TV makes one feel like they do know her (the same would apply if it was any celebrity or public figure). And that maybe the reason.
It would be great to live in a world where these things did not happen. Unfortunately we do. Hopefully events such as this will make others react like I did. The more people that have respect for women and are repulsed by those who do not, the better things will be.
I hope that Lara Logan recovers soon both physically and emotionally. I hope she continues to do what she loves and is good at. A good sign is that CBS probably would not have reported what happened to her if she didn't approve. To me that is a sign that she is a very strong woman.
I hope only the best for her.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Charles Darwin's Birthday
"... from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved." - Darwin
Charles Darwin was born February 12th, 1809.
Darwin developed the theory of evolution by natural selection, probably the most important theory in science, particularly because it relates directly to all life including our own.
A note for any that still may claim that evolution is "only a theory", theory as it is used in science is defined as "a scheme or system of ideas or statements held as an explanation or account of a group of facts or phenomena; a hypothesis that has been confirmed or established by observation or experiment, and is propounded or accepted as accounting for the known facts; a statement of what are held to be the general laws, principles, or causes of something known or observed." (the Oxford English Dictionary)
At 22, Darwin embarked on the voyage of the HMS Beagle. The voyage lasted almost five years and went from Plymouth, in England, all the way around South America, up to the Galapagos Islands, across the Pacific, around Australia, through the Indian Ocean, around Africa and back to England. On this trip he studied geology and collected specimens of flora and fauna. He observed similarities and differences between species. Over the many following years he began to formulate his theory of life.
"I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection." - Darwin
It wasn't until 1859, that he finally published his book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.
The theory of evolution by natural selection is so simple and so elegant that it is surprising that no one thought of it before. It has become the unifying theory of life and is hugely important in the modern sciences of biology and medicine and in agriculture.
Charles Darwin was one of the most important people in science that the world has ever seen. So happy birthday Charles and thank you.
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science." - Darwin
For those who don't know much about Darwin or the theory of evolution there are countless books and documentaries that can be referenced. Here is a very short list of some I would recommend:
Books
The Origin of Species - by Charles Darwin
The Greatest Show on Earth - by Richard Dawkins
Documentaries
What Darwin Never Knew - NOVA
Becoming Human - NOVA 3 part series
Darwin developed the theory of evolution by natural selection, probably the most important theory in science, particularly because it relates directly to all life including our own.
A note for any that still may claim that evolution is "only a theory", theory as it is used in science is defined as "a scheme or system of ideas or statements held as an explanation or account of a group of facts or phenomena; a hypothesis that has been confirmed or established by observation or experiment, and is propounded or accepted as accounting for the known facts; a statement of what are held to be the general laws, principles, or causes of something known or observed." (the Oxford English Dictionary)
At 22, Darwin embarked on the voyage of the HMS Beagle. The voyage lasted almost five years and went from Plymouth, in England, all the way around South America, up to the Galapagos Islands, across the Pacific, around Australia, through the Indian Ocean, around Africa and back to England. On this trip he studied geology and collected specimens of flora and fauna. He observed similarities and differences between species. Over the many following years he began to formulate his theory of life.
"I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection." - Darwin
It wasn't until 1859, that he finally published his book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.
The theory of evolution by natural selection is so simple and so elegant that it is surprising that no one thought of it before. It has become the unifying theory of life and is hugely important in the modern sciences of biology and medicine and in agriculture.
Charles Darwin was one of the most important people in science that the world has ever seen. So happy birthday Charles and thank you.
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science." - Darwin
For those who don't know much about Darwin or the theory of evolution there are countless books and documentaries that can be referenced. Here is a very short list of some I would recommend:
Books
The Origin of Species - by Charles Darwin
The Greatest Show on Earth - by Richard Dawkins
Documentaries
What Darwin Never Knew - NOVA
Becoming Human - NOVA 3 part series
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