I Unfriended Someone

Yesterday, I did something that I had only done maybe once before. I unfriended someone on Facebook. The previous time I had unfriended someone was because they were just always posting chauvinistic and sexist stuff, and it got irritating.

But this time it was someone that, for apparently ideological reasons, kept attacking me personally. Now I don't friend or unfriend at a whim, so this was a big deal for me.

Let me tell you the story...

There is a man, I'll call him Gordan, to protect his real identity. I had met him a few years ago to discuss the possibility of producing some video for an event he was arranging. Nothing came of it. Later he requested to be a friend on Facebook. No problem, as it is a great way to keep in touch with people and network.

I heard very little from Gordan until fairly recently, I would say over the last six months. He commented on a link I had posted to a story in the news. He obviously has very strong ideological opinions about things and his comment turned into a mini debate (although I hesitate to call it a debate). He made some sort of comment calling me radical and extreme. It became clear that he really didn't know what he was talking about. I asked if he had read the article that I had posted. He said, "No". I ask you, how can you debate something without having read what we are debating about. I let it go.
But the same thing happened on a few more occassions. Again, Gordan would comment on a link I had posted and start a debate without actually reading the article. I had been called extreme, radical and now Big Brother (BB). Although his definition of Big Brother is really bizarre.

Anyway this all culminated last night. I had posted a link to an article about the sad state of afairs at NASA. NASA, due to budget cuts is abandoning certain robotic Mars missions and is suffering in other areas as well. Now I believe that pushing the boundaries of science and exploration is an extremely important endeavor for the human race, and that is what NASA does very well, benefitting all of humanity.
"NASA is a force of nature on the hearts and minds of a nation." - Neil deGrasse Tyson

Gordan commented on this post as well. Now I would be happy to debate the merits of science, of exploration, and of NASA. No problem. People are welcome to have different views. But as usual this thread of comments was far from a debate. It again was a bizarre personal attack on me and my views. It began with him commenting that if I think it is important then I should fund NASA. I told him that that was ridiculous. And that as a government agency, it does not accept donations.

This is what followed. I ask that anyone reading this let me know what they think of it. I like to think that I am a reasonable, rational person. In my view, Gordan, was rambling all over the place. I am curious to know if I am wrong or right on this. And so here is the conversation...

14 hours ago

GORDAN

so fund rasing is out then for you?

BEN

it is not bad to raise funds, but it is an important government organization that deserves to be properly funded

GORDAN

well, fund it then

BEN

the government is, they need to give it more

GORDAN

why

BEN

there is very little that is more important than expanding the frontiers of science

GORDAN

so fund it then

BEN

the government IS, they need to give it more

GORDAN

why dont you fund it with your own money if you believe so much in it

BEN

don't be a dumb ass (I admit this comment was out of frustration, but I was not calling him a dumb ass, just not to act like one)

What would you do?

GORDAN

Your calling me a dumb ass because I think you should give money to things that you believe in?

BEN

Obviously no individual can fund something like NASA

GORDAN

and by the way,, have I ever used that kind of language with you? Have I ever called you a dumb ass?So, what are you gonna do about it then if you believe in NASA?

Why not get others involved in Raising money for NASA if you believe in it so much

Ben, are you typing using only two fingers?

Well Ben, I can't wait for you to post.. Gotta Go. I do think that if you believe in somthing so much that you should help it financially. Its only fair to do that if you really believe in it.

BEN

You have accused me of being a radical, big brother, extreme etc.

And complaining about my typing.

There are certain government programs that are important. There are probably some that are important to you but have no meaning to me. Everyone benefits from science and exploration, and throughout the history of exploration, all of the big things have been done by government funding first.

I wish you wouldn't just talk in circles.

GORDAN

Its seems that you do type slow

BEN

By the way, if I had the money I would love to fund something like NASA

GORDAN

I am not talking in circles. I do know that big projects cost money. So, if you believe in a Big Project ,, then dont you think that you should help financially?

Well, your a smart person.. Raise some

BEN

If I was an American, I would be through my taxes

GORDAN

What did you give to NASA last year?

But your not American

Why should Americans Pay for it and not you?

You said its important for you

BEN

It is an American agency

GORDAN

So

BEN

It is important to the world

GORDAN

Well , Shoot them some of your money

BEN

I would if I had some. What the hell is your agenda?

GORDAN

Send them 1000 bucks then

BEN

Do you like to just provoke people?

I don't have the money

GORDAN

sent them 10 bucks then

you have 10 bucks dont you?

BEN

What is it that you want?

GORDAN

nothing ,, I just suggested that you put up some money to assist NASA if you believe in it so much your a bright man.. go make some money.. give some of it to NASA

BEN

And I said I would if I had it, and if there was a way to do so. They need more than the average person can donate. They need long term steady funding and that comes from the government.

GORDAN

Can you send them 10 bucks?

BEN

No

Nowhere to send it

GORDAN

Do you want me to find out where you should send your 10 bucks to in NASA?

I have an idea for you

BEN

No, you are just being silly. Do you not think that science, exploration and pushing the frontiers are important?

GORDAN

I have an idea for you

My home show is coming up.. I will give you a job at it for 2 days..

I will pay you 120 bucks a day

why dont you keep 120 and send 120 to NASA?

BEN

You hire me to produce a video for the home show, and if there is a place to donate to NASA, I will donate 20% to it.

GORDAN

Why dont you do it for Free?

Do one for NASA

BEN

Video is my business. I am not a charity. I need to eat.

GORDAN

well, I will pay you 240 for 2 days.. you will work for me at my home show. you keep 80 percent and give NASA 20 percent

BEN

I do video work.

Don't want to do anything else. (do you think I should accept a job from someone like this?)

GORDAN

Does that mean you cant do any other kind of work?

ohh, well then,, send NASA 1 dollar

you can afford a dollar no?

BEN

You should have a video to promote or at least archive the show.(I figured if he really wanted to hire me then at least he could hire me to produce a video)

GORDAN

why? I dont want one

are you telling me how I should spend my money for my show?

BEN

Oh god.(frustration) No.

GORDAN

I dont feel I need that,, I feel that I need a general laborour to work for 2 days.

you can do it.. I know you can

AND,, you can keep 80 percent,, and send NASA 20 percent

Ben,, I wont twist your arm.. either you will do it or youwont

BEN

No. And you didn't answer my previous question (as usual) (If I ever asked a question related to the original topic or a followup question, he would never answer)

GORDAN

Ben,, I cant take you seriously if you dont send money for things you believe in..

BEN

Avoidance again

GORDAN

(I had in previous conversations, asked him to define Big Brother or BB)

BB ' s are people who want to spend other peoples money.. to have other people put forth effort for things THEY believe in ,, all the while NOT giving anything of their own. ,, you havent even sent in one fucking dollar to this thing you believe in and your asking me if its important?,, That doesnt make any fucking sense to me. ... If I asked you to put in some money for somthing that I believed in and you asked me ,, what did I send it, ,and I said ,, ,nothing.. WTF.. not even a nickle?.. are you kidding?Your the one avoiding.. not me.. I give to the things I believe in.

I also dont ask others to put in money If I dont

I beleive that to be retarted

This is why I dont believe in you

If you just told me that you would send in 10 fucking bucks
but no.. you wont even do that?

not even a nickle

dont you think thats embarrasing

Be a Man,, gut it up, ,and assist what you believe in

fuck,, do somthing

BEN

You have no clue what I do or do not give money to. You can donate to things that accept donations. NASA doesn't as far as I know.

Some people don't have the money to donate to things.

GORDAN

what did you give money to this past year?

Well make some,, your bright

get off your ass,, I told you I would give you a job for 2 days so you could send in your 20 percent,, and you wont even do that

BEN

Why should I tell you. It is non of your business.

GORDAN

sure sure

BB

OK Ben,, Your a non performer

your wasting my time (I'm wasting his time?! Remember, he is the one that initiated this conversation)your all talk and no action

BEN

By the way Big Brother, refers to an overseeing government or entity that peers into all aspects of people lives and controls what they do.

You have no clue. (I am geting a little more than annoyed)

GORDAN

OK BEN,, here is one.. you come up with Twenty bucks,, I will match it,, THEN ,, we can both send it to NASA.. will you do that?

BEN

What is important to you?

GORDAN

me offering to match your twenty

thats important to me

do we have a deal

BEN

No. I will not be bullied into doing anything. That is big brother

GORDAN

bullied?

Your a slug

BEN

Really, what issues are important to you?

GORDAN

nite ben

I offered you a job

no

I asked you to send in 10 bucks

no

I offered to match you 20 bucks if you came up with it,, but you still say no

and I am a bully?

your a sllug

you gotta be kidding

I offered you 20 bucks for somthing that YOU believe in and you said no

because I asked you to match it

BEN

Listen, you take an issue and you turn it around into a personal attack that has nothing to do with the issue. It would be great to debate someone on the merits of an issue.

GORDAN

are you going to come up with 20 ?

waiting

BEN

No! Because the only reason to do so at this point is because you want me to. Are you willing to debate an actual issue?

GORDAN

I dont debate with people who have no skin in the game

BEN

You seemingly don't debate at all.

GORDAN

you put up 20,, I will match it,, then we can debate..

Ben,, your the one who says you believe in NASA

BEN

I really don't understand because you were the one to comment on my post.

GORDAN

so, no to the twenty then?

BEN

Then lets debate the merits of NASA

GORDAN

Ben,, tell all your friends this,, GORDAN offered to match your twenty bucks and both of us to send it to NASA.. GORDAN said,, he cant take you seriously that you believe in somthjing if you dont put in some money of your own,, on your own volition.
Ask them ,, If what I offered was fair.. more than fair.

BEN

The offer was pointless. There is no way to donate to NASA.

GORDAN

nite BB

I immediately unfriended GORDAN

So there it is. I would really like some feedback. What would you have done? Was I unreasonable? Was I insulting?

Little Red Boots - Lindi Ortega

Today I bought and listened to the new album from Toronto singer, Lindi Ortega. I have been a fan of Lindi's music since I first met her about four or five years ago.

Over the years she has continued to write and perform. She is great to watch live. And now she has a new album out, "Little Red Boots" Now I am no music critic. I cannot tell you what song might have been influenced by what, or what style a particular tune is, but what I can tell you is that I really like Lindi's music. Lindi has a unique voice and her songs feel so personal. She has written one of my all time favourite songs, "Nothing At All" which was on her first album, "The Taste of Forbidden Fruit". This album has a number of songs that I really like. My favourites include , "Angels", "I'm No Elvis Presley" and "Dying of Another Broken Heart".

Lindi shot an excellent little video for "Angels" on her iPhone.
Here it is:

Lindi and I shot a video for "I'm No Elvis Presley" in which Lindi ran around in a cool Elvis outfit. I will have to get permission to show you the video. If I do then you will see it here.


I encourage anyone who likes music to get hold of "Little Red Boots" by Lindi Ortega. You won't be sorry.

"Little Red Boots" is available on iTunes.

Doctor Who - The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People

An interesting pair of episodes that answered some questions and raised a few more.

The Doctor wanted to drop of Amy and Rory for some fish and chips so that he could check on some things. Amy wasn't having any of that so they ended up coming along. They landed sometime in the twenty-second century at an island factory that produced a very corrosive acid. The workers had a rather unique way of dealing with such a dangerous product. They used 'gangers made from "the Flesh", duplicates of themselves controlled by them from control harnesses. But things went wrong when the factory was hit by a solar wave and the 'gangers went walk about.

Together, these episodes had a lot of the elements that I like in Doctor Who. One being that great drama can be played out on a small scale rather than the Doctor having to save the entire planet. It doesn't mean that the actions of the characters are any less important, after all for those involved in the story, it is the world to them.

I really liked the way the characters had to deal with duplicates of themselves. I mean, how would we react if we met our self. Would we accept a second version of us. I really don't know how I would react if it was me in that situation. Would I be as accepting as the Doctor was. I would hope so. But I have a feeling I would react a little more like the others did, with at best suspicion and at worst hatred. In "Amy's Choice" the Doctor realized that the Dream Lord was a version out of his sub-conscious. He reasoned, there's only one person in the universe that could hate him as much as the Dream Lord did. That would be himself. So I rather think that if we truly met our self that we wouldn't like it very much.

Of course in this case the Doctor accepted himself. It was Amy that had trouble accepting the Doctor. I am still a little unsure as to precisely when the Doctor and Flesh Doctor changed shoes. The Doctor implies that it was very early on. I suspect that it had to be before the Doctor went out in the hall with Amy and she told him about inviting them to his death.

It is always cool when they make references to the Doctor's history. As Flesh Doctor is stabilizing he has some trouble with previous regenerations. We get some Fourth Doctor coming through with the jelly baby comment with Tom Baker's actual voice, then "I'm the Doctor" from the Tenth Doctor and then he yells, "No, let it go, we've moved on." Great stuff.

There were touching moments too as when the Doctor made the phone call to Jimmy's son and tricked his 'ganger into an act of humanity.

I have said it before, that this season seems to be the torture Amy season, and they continued it with a vengeance in this episode. Karen Gillan is doing a remarkable job in the role. I am very impressed. In the final scene where she says, "Doctor, I am frightened. I am properly, properly scared." you can really feel her fear.

This whole double episode has led us to that final scene where we discover why Amy is pregnant and not pregnant and why she was seeing the Eye Patch Lady. We now know that Amy was a 'ganger of some kind. In her case being controlled by the real Amy without her knowing what was really going on. So we have had that question partially answered, but now we have more questions.
When was Amy captured and replaced with her 'ganger? Clearly before this season began.
Who kidnapped her?
With whose baby is she pregnant?
Is her child the one in the spacesuit?

Oh, and I have another small question. The Doctor gave Flesh Doctor his sonic screwdriver before they took off in the Tardis. He then dissolved Amy with it in the Tardis. Did the Flesh reproduce a working sonic screwdriver? Or did the Doctor have two of them? Or was this a continuity mistake? If anyone can answer this let me know.

We will apparently also find out who River Song is. (I am nervous about this.) The next episode will likely only tease us with answers as it is a cliffhanger and we will have to wait until the fall for part two. But still, I am looking forward to it.

The Amazing Sky

A couple of years ago I made a short film called, "The Amazing Sky" It was entirely made up of time lapse shots of the sky. It made me aware of two things.
One, shooting time lapse is very tricky and takes a long long time. Patience is definitely needed.
And two, the sky really is amazing.

I truly think that people don't look up enough. Everyday the sky is different. It can be totally clear and blue, have slight wisps of cloud or be very dramatic. The sky, especially the weather that comes with it, affects us daily, yet we often pay no attention to it. It is also just beautiful. Take five minutes or even just one and look at the sky. Do it right now.

We often wonder how ancient people were so good at knowing the time of day or navigation or building monuments that line up perfectly with the sun or stars. It is no mystery. They simply were aware of their surroundings. They looked up.

 Over the next few months I will be shooting some more time lapse and will make another short film. I hope to include some dramatic shots of the stars moving across the night sky (even trickier to shoot). I will also take the time to look down. There is a lot that happens beneath our feet too.

Until then, I hope you enjoy "The Amazing Sky".

The Old Squirrel

It was a beautiful day at the end of May. I was hiking in one of my favourite places, the Rouge Park. A little way off the main trail there is a pond likely created by a beaver dam. It is a place with many old dead trees standing like grave stones in and around the water's edge. The atmosphere, even on a sunny day is a little creepy.

I pushed through some brush as I made my way toward the water. Despite the dead trees, the place was full of life. Red winged blackbirds flew from brittle branch to brittle branch.

An owl chased by smaller birds fled into the forest.

On the ground were many fallen trees. On a log directly in front of me sat a small black creature. I stopped.

This thing just sat there looking at me. I didn't know what it was at first. It had the head of a squirrel but a thin body with very little hair. It turns out it was a squirrel. I realized this when it flashed its tail. A tail with only a few hairs left on it.

It was an old half starved critter. It didn't run and scurry up a tree as most squirrels would. It let me get quite close. In fact when I got too close it just walked of the log and moved behind a stump.

This little animal touched me somehow. I couldn't help but wonder what its life had been like. I'm sure at one point it was a lively young squirrel jumping from tree to tree, chasing other squirrels and having as much fun as squirrels can have. Now it was a skinny little thing, alone on the edge of a swamp. The neat thing is that it was old and still alive. It is rare in nature for any animal to die of old age. If this old squirrel could last a little longer perhaps it would die of old age. Whatever happens, I have a feeling that I will not see this squirrel again. And that is a little sad.

Doctor Who - The Doctor's Wife

Let me start by saying that I have in general really enjoyed Doctor Who since Matt Smith took over last year. He has claimed the role and done a fantastic job. The same goes for Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill.
While I feel a sense of excitement every time I sit down to watch a new episode, I also feel nervous. Unfortunately I have been disappointed a few times in either the direction that some of the stories have gone as well as the overall tone. It is hard to actually put my finger on exactly what it is, but I often feel something is missing.

A couple of examples:

Victory of the Daleks should have been a great episode. It started well, and for the first ten minutes or so I was really into it. Then it devolved into a silly spectacle that felt like a commercial to sell new brightly coloured Dalek toys. This is my least favourite episode. One that I can almost actually say that I disliked.

The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood was not bad but I felt like, being a two parter, it should have had more gravitas. It really could have been done in a more tightly written single episode.

Also throughout the Eleventh Doctor's first season, we had the ongoing plot of the crack in time. A perfectly valid and interesting plot. Unfortunately its execution lacked any sort of subtlety. It felt like we were being hit over the head with it. Compare that to the way Bad Wolf was used in series one, or Harold Saxon in series three or even Rose coming back in series four. In those cases you often didn't notice what was happening at the time. It was only at the end when the connection was finally made that you had that ah ha moment. Plus it led to more enjoyment when you would re watch previous episodes and see Bad Wolf in graffiti or the Vote for Saxon sign in the alley or Rose appearing on a tv monitor.

This season started with The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon. Both exciting episodes. But I was left feeling that there were too many story lines left open. I'm sure that these will be tied up by the end of the series, which is fine, but I felt unsatisfied at the end of the episodes. I read a quote on twitter today that was appropriately directed at Doctor Who, Writing for TV Series and Managing Viewer Expectations... "Leave Breadcrumbs, Not Boulders"

Last week's episode, The Curse of the Black Spot, was one that I enjoyed (who doesn't enjoy pirates?). But even this episode had an unsatisfying ending. It felt like they ran out of time and just quickly slapped together an ending.

One more complaint. Enough River Song. She has been in some great episodes but I have had enough of her. She diminishes the value of the Doctor. I have said it before, I think it would have been better if they had heeded the title of the music written for River in The Forest of the Dead, "The Greatest Story Never Told".

By the way I only complain because I really love the show. Even the "bad" episodes are better than most tv. But the show has the potential to be truly great. With the calibre of the writers on the show, we deserve a great show. Perhaps that is the problem. We expect too much.


Okay. For those that are still with me, I will finally get to The Doctor's Wife.

Simply a great episode. Almost as good as my favourite, Vincent and the Doctor.

I think that Doctor Who works best when it is about the characters. This was an excellent character piece. The heart of the Tardis is stolen and placed into the body of a woman, Idris. There was no real attempt from the writer to hide this from the audience and to most viewers, I'm sure they got the point right away. Sometimes it fun to know something before the characters do. We could delight in her choices of words. She called the Doctor her thief and talked in past, present and future tenses.

Once the Doctor realized who she was we got some great insight into their relationship. They were made for each other. They need each other. And it was nice to see the emotional attachment they have for each other. The Doctor truly is married to the Tardis.

The villian was House. He was some sort of malevolent power living inside the asteroid, who had tricked travellers into his trap, including hundreds of Time Lords. He would feed on the energy from their Tardises, and now he had caught the last Time Lord. House then moved into the Doctor's Tardis in an attempt to make it to our universe. I like how House was just a disembodied voice. It reminded me a little of the Devil in The Satan Pit. A creature with unmeasured power going up against the Doctor.

We also had some great moments with Amy and Rory. As they ran around the corridors inside the Tardis, House played with their minds. House brought out the subconscious fears in Amy's mind. Poor Rory being left for hours, then years, then dying and leaving some rather dark messages for Amy was really well done. I have to say that the writer's seem intent on torturing Amy this season and Karen Gillan is really putting in some great performances.

Here are some lines that I feel sum up the episode.

Doctor: "You gave me hope and then you took it away. That's enough to make anyone dangerous. God knows what it will do to me."

Idris (Tardis): "The first time you touched my console you said.."
Doctor: "I said you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever known."
Idris (Tardis): "Then you stole me and I stole you."

Doctor: "You have never been very reliable."
Idris (Tardis): "And you have?"
Doctor: "You didn't always take me where I wanted to go."
Idris (Tardis): "No, but I always took you where you needed to go."

Idris (Tardis): "You talk and run around and bring home strays."

House: "Fear me, I've killed hundreds of time lords."
Doctor: "Fear me. I've killed all of them."

Idris (Tardis): "There's something I didn't get to say to you."
Doctor: "Goodbye?"
Idris (Tardis): "No. I just wanted to say, hello. Hello Doctor. It's so very very nice to meet you."

Doctor: "You okay?"
Rory: "No. I watched her die. I shouldn't let it get to me but it still does. I'm a nurse."
Doctor: "Letting it get to you. You know what that's called. Being alive. Best thing there is."

It is so exciting when you have the pleasure of watching a truly well written episode. This was really exciting.

I will also mention that I was unable to watch this episode live as it aired because I was busy. Of course I recorded it and sat down to watch it when I got home. But before I did that I noticed that a video blog had already been posted on youtube about this episode by Rosianna on the TARDIStacular channel. I came across her reviews of Doctor Who a few years ago and found them to be really well done. Rosianna is very intelligent and articulate and I really respect and value her opinion on the subject. Anyway, I did not immediately watch her review as I had to watch the episode first, but just the fact that her review was already uploaded the night that the show aired got me excited. I assumed (and assumed correctly) that this meant that the episode must have been extraordinarily good.
For those interested, here is her review:

By the way, Rosianna is also a writer, student, book reviewer and freelance copy editor. Such talent. So, Rosianna, if you ever read this blog, please forgive any of my improper uses of grammar and poorly constructed sentences etc. That was probably a bad one right there.
And for any Doctor Who fans, be sure to follow TARDIStacular on youtube.

Survivor - That's a Hell of a lot of Steps

After two weeks of average episodes in what has been a great season, we get another really good episode.

It started with the tribe (and the RI group) receiving the Sprint 4G phone. Many people cringe at the product placement, but at least Survivor incorporates the products in a useful way. I know most people would prefer there was none but it is what pays for the show. I am developing a show right now so I know how very important sponsors are. If you want a show with the production value that Survivor has, it costs a lot of money. So cut them some slack.

On the phone were videos from loved ones. I used to hate these episodes. I thought it was cheesy and I thought the crying was wimpy. After all, they have only been gone a month. But as I get older I have come to really like these episodes. Also, you have to realize that these people have not just been away from family, they have been away from all civilization, they are hungry and tired and have been under tremendous stress. So to have a little love from home must be wonderful. I can imagine myself being out there and having my brother visit or seeing video of my two and a half year old niece. I would be teary.

The twist this time was that it was the winner of the Redemption Island challenge that got to see their family. Mike won the challenge and would get to spend time with his mom. Or... there is always an or... he could let the two remaining Redemption Island guys, Matt and Ralph, spend time with their loved one or let the entire Ometepe gang spend the time with their family. Wow, what a choice. What would he do? I think at that point in the game I would have been selfish. But Mike, whether for strategy, although I really don't think that alone would buy you votes from a potential jury, or maybe because he is just a nice guy, decided to let everyone on the former Ometepe have the time with their families. A very nice gesture. Whether it helps him in any way we shall see.

By the way, am I a bad person for hoping that Matt loses a challenge?

After the day with the loved ones came the immunity challenge. And what a challenge it was. They had to fit planks like a puzzle into steps that went up and up and up. It was one of those challenges that if you made one little mistake you would be out of it. Very quickly Phillip, Natalie and Ashley were so far behind that they would not be a threat. But the race between Grant, Andrea and Rob was close. It went back and forth. Rob really wanted to win. I also really wanted him to win. Andrea clearly wanted it too. You could feel them getting tired. Especially Rob, who was giving it all he had. He was a little ahead as he grabbed his last plank and barely made it to the top of the stairs. But he got it in place and collapsed at the top victorious.
I was tired watching. Actually I went for a hike yesterday and it included going up some steep hills. I was tired and out of breath going up the hill just once. They went up and down these steps multiple times. So Rob won the immunity necklace.

Who would they vote out at tribal? This is the first time that they have had to really turn on themselves. The consensus seemed to be to get rid of Andrea. But Phillip, being Phillip, started acting crazy again making them think twice. I like watching Rob think through the strategy here. Actually, he was the only one thinking things through. Everyone else was just doing what Rob told them. Rob can see that having Phillip at the end will help him get votes because no one is likely to vote for Phillip. He also sees that Andrea is the only one smart enough to see that Rob could be a threat. So logic seemed to support voting out Andrea and that is what they did.
I don't know that that was the right thing to do. Now you have Andrea on Redemption Island with Matt. This may or may not stir up trouble for Rob. I think for Rob's sake he would have been wiser to keep Andrea and maybe get rid of someone with less use to him like Ashley. They always say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
The good news is that Rob had won immunity this time. He still has the hidden immunity idol and he also is good at challenges so he potentially could win immunity again. Plus for some strange reason, his star struck tribe (that may be the reason) hasn't even thought about voting him out.

There is one more episode to go and then the finale. I am concerned about when they will allow the person from Redemption Island to rejoin the tribe. If they do it too soon, you could argue that it is unfair for those that get voted out and don't get a chance at Redemption. If they do it too late, then it is unfair to the people that have been playing the game and strategizing the whole time. I have liked Redemption Island up until this point. How it is handled from here will be the deciding factor for me.