Culturally Preconditioned

November is almost over. And well, I guess I can safely say that three time’s not a charm after all. I have totally FAILED this year’s attempt at NaNoWriMo. But at least it was a great improvement than my previous two attempts. Total words = 4215 out of 50000. At least I know where I’m heading with the story this time around. And I discovered www.writely.com (It’s pretty cool… I used to do a similar thing by writing emails to myself to get my notes in whenever there’s an interesting thought). Oh well.. I would probably try my hand at NaNoWriMo again next year. Hopefully I’ll get past the 10K words mark then.

Amazing Race Asia. Newsflash : 4th episode in and I still think Allen Wu sucks. Anyway, they finally moved out of Indonesia this time around. I’m actually surprised the flights were not as straightforward this time around, but it does make the whole airport scene quite suspenseful. And off they go to Sydney! Yay! I didn’t think they would go outside of Asia, although some people would argue that Australia is in fact part of Asia.. but whatever.

The roadbloacks and detours this time was much more interesting. The detour (Elevation or Crustacean) especially was interesting. Personally, I would’ve done crustaceans (since I just de-shelled half a kilo of prawns for dinner tonight) because I don’t think it’s as difficult and it would be so much quicker. AND I have done a little research on Sydney (since I’ll be going there next year), and the bridge climb would’ve taken so much longer. I WOULD like to do the bridge climb because, dudes, the tickets aren’t cheap, okay? And you’re getting a free pass to have that maginificent experience.

Thankfully I was wrong. Turned out de-shelling four-fucking-teen kilos of cold prawns was a lot more harder than it looks and sounds. And the bridge climb that the racers took must be different than the usual tour climb where they spend a much longer time on the bridge. So kudos to the teams who took up that challenge. Not only did they finish it faster, they also got a magnificent view of the harbour.

Again, shameless, shameless blatant product placement by Sony this time. Sony HD Handycam and Bravia TVs, bitch please. We already know these products, there’s no need to throttle them down our throats. I initially thought the challenge was very lame, but it got interesting when they had to re-record people that sang out of tune.
The detour, I can’t help but feel it is too similar to previous detours (getting clues from snakes pits lah, tiger enclosures lah bla bla blah) but it was still pretty interesting. I felt that the editors really did a pretty decent job, cause towards the end of the show, it seemed as if it was pretty clear that the Indian blokes were going to be the last team.. but again, I was wrong. I actually love it when I am proven wrong with these kinds of shows.

In order of their arrivals at the pitstop :

1. Andrew & Syeon

Way to go Team Malaysia! Or should I say Team Korean? Or Team Australia (since she said they moved there)? Whatever. I have always thought this couple would be one of the frontrunners, and this time, finally, they showed it. Personality wise, Syeon still draws a blank on me, and Andrew seems so serious. Not really outstandish, but they’re good racers.

2. Sharon & Melody

The Singaporeans are finally coming out of their shells. I am very impressed to see how these girls seem to be improving in the race. They lost their lead for a bit, but fortunately for them, they pulled it through during the shark roadblock.

3. Sandy & Francesca

They are fun to watch, but Sandy’s black tank top bothers me. It kinda looks like the kind of clothing that girls wear to go clubbing. But that’s not a reason to complain. They almost lost a lot of time when they got stuck at the traffic jam on the bridge, but they recovered real quick.

4. Mardy & Marsio

Geez.. whine whine whine. I’m not a big fan of this team, but surprisingly they keep getting really good placements. How DO they do it? And I actually feel physically tired everytime I watch them on screen. Don’t ask me why.

5. Prasant & Sahil

Watching someone fall can be funny. But watching someone fall after being pushed is not. AND watching someone fall after being pushed by YOU is simply despicable. What smug assholes. And a note to the producers. Next time you choose racers, please for the love of God, pick teams that will not require English subtitles when they are speaking. Man, I was so hoping they would be eliminated this round. Smug bastards.

6. Zabrina & Joe Jer

Okay, I’m a little confused. I thought they were somewhere in the middle. But how the hell did those two fuckers got in front of them? Zabrina and Joe Jer kept it real, as usual. Thankfully Joe Jer recovered from her fall at the airport. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I like them for being calm and collected and real… tak overdose. I’m just a little worried that their placement keeps slipping as the race goes along. Pick it up, girls!

7. Laura & Andy

Seven IS their lucky number. Come on! They got in seventh place four episodes in a row. Actually at one point during this episode (and the last episode as well, mind you), they were in first place. Somehow, some unfortunate circumstances falls on them and back to seventh place they go. I like their sneakiness for trying to hide away the maps at the bookstore. That’s pretty sneaky of them. I love it. It’s a shame Laura fell and injured her knee (was it?). I can’t help but giggle a little when she confessed that she fell down because she was watching the male surfer on the beach. I hope she’ll be able to continue, cause her exiting the show because of an injury is just really bad luck (and anti climactic)

8. Sahran & Howard

*shakes head* They were doing so well. And they pull that shit at the end. I don’t know. It feels like .. they were too quick to give up. COME ON ALREADY! And the whole process of Howard trying to think about quitting the roadblock was so extremely excruciating to watch. It’s like watching someone taking his own sweet time explaining to a fucking psychiatrist about his thoughts and fears and his claustrophobia and all the grandma and grandad story. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDD .. if you wanna quit, goddamn quit already lah.. no need to tell an epic while you are still half submerged in the tank. Get up and leave! Every minute is precious. It’s a race, for fucks sake. And then some more, lagi mau mandi ala2 model.. aaa tengok.. sampai aku cakap pun campur aduk ni. So geram one you know when teams like this get the chance to get into this once in a lifetime race, and they do these sort of thing. Arrghhh *slits writs* I swear, if I were in Sahran’s place, I don’t care who my team member is.. my best friend ke my brother ke, my mother ke… they will certainly get several mouthfuls from me (which will definitely be bleeped out of the show)

Thank goodness for them, it’s a non-elimination leg. I don’t know if the four hour penalty AND the fact that their money was taken away will pose a big problem for them to catch up in the next leg. Man.. I was so hoping this would be an elimination episode with the Indian guys leaving the show. Grrr…

Buffs. That’s all I can think about right now. 33 buffs + 5 new buffs = 1 happy bitch. Unfortunately, the CBS store hasn’t started selling the merge AituTonga buff yet. So I’m gonna have to wait. Before I go on, here are the download links to the latest Survivor and Amazing Race Asia episodes.

Survivor : Cook Islands Episode 11 (230 Mb)

Link: http://www.yousendit.com/download/OgfkvKWrQa95TA%3D%3D

Amazing Race Asia Episode 3 (350 Mb)

Link: http://www.yousendit.com/download/3pmoeCggQa95TA%3D%3D

AND.. I just found these amazing links where you can watch, what could possibly be, THE BEST DRAMA ON TELEVISION this season online.. Heroes! Man, I LOVE this show. It is so much better than Lost. It’s a little different, but the show doesn’t hold it’s mysteries spanning 30 episodes, which is a refreshing change from Lost. I’m not shooting lost down. I still like watching Lost, but Heroes is a lot better, in my opinion. If you’re into X-Men, you will love this show. It’s about ordinary people having extra ordinary powers. Watch these episodes online! (It gets really good in Episode 5)

Heroes Episode 1 : Genesis

Heroes Episode 2 : Don’t Look Back

Heroes Episode 3 : One Giant Leap

Heroes Episode 4 : Collision

Heroes Episode 5 : Hiros

Heroes Episode 6 : Better Halves

Heroes Episode 7 : Nothing To Hide

Heroes Episode 8 : Seven Minutes to Midnight

Heroes Episode 9 : Homecoming

Anyway, back to Survivor. Finally, they merge! It feels like this season has dragged on for ages! I think it’s a really really bad idea that they’re merging this late into the game. Hell, three of the jury members don’t even know the Aitus at all.. so how the hell are they going to decide who’s gonna win should the Final 2 (or 3) consists of ex-Aitu members? Idiotic. I can’t help but think that the producers somehow rigged this season to make it an even playing field for the underdogs. Oh well.

So they merge.. bla bla bla… we didn’t see much hostility going on. (By the way.. AituTonga — can they come up with an even lamer name than that?) The Aitus are down in numbers. They have four, the Raros have five. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and that’s exactly what Yul did. He tried to sway Jonathan back to the original Aitu voting lines. It was a desperate attempt, but he had more than enough reasons for Jonathan to come back to the old Aitu team.

It was pretty ballsy of Yul to disclose the fact that he had the hidden immunity idol to Jonathan. I mean, Jonathan could’ve spill the beans to the other Raros. In fact, Jonathan toyed the idea with the Raros about the possibility of Yul having the hidden immunity idol, but they straight away shot him down. If the Raros HAD entertained the idea, it was possible that Jonathan could’ve spilled the beans.. but since the Raros clearly aren’t thinking straight (or at all, for that matter), why work with these group of idiots? Survivor is like a chess game, you always have to think of possibly scenarios, no matter how minute the chances are, and you gotta come up with ways to overcome the situation and think a step ahead of your opponent. Raros were idiots, and I do not, for one second blame Jonathan for flipping back.

Anyway, Ozzy aka Mowgli won that challenge. Is anyone surprised? Not me. It was hilarious when Yul started rambling away, explaining the science behind the challenge, before ending it with “I will never have a date after this”. LMAO. That was funny, him realizing how nerdish his explanations were. Candice kinda rocked that challenge too. As much as I hate Candice, you gotta give it to her than she rocks at challenges. Too bad, she’s got the brains to match the colour of her hair though. Dumb bitch. I still can’t get over the fact that she could easily end up at the Final Two contestant, but the mutiny will most likely make her the next boot.

This was one of the more exciting episodes of this season. In fact, the entire season have been great so far. It might sneak in to me top five survivor seasons. Awesome. Will we ever see the hidden immunity idol get into play? I don’t think so. Yul is a shoe-in for the Final 3 spot, at the very least. And it would be nice to have our first Asian winner after 13 seasons.

I keep wondering, though, how did Jonathan know the hidden immunity idol WAS in fact the actual hidden immunity idol. Nobody really knows what it looks like. Like I said before, if I found the immunity idol, I would probably plant something else on Exile Island so that someone else can be fooled to think that THEY have the hidden immunity idol. That would be awesome. Then again, if I was vited out at tribal council and don’t have the immunity idol, when Jeff asks if I have the immunity idol, I would probably drop my pants and flash him my cock saying “Here’s my immunity idol, Jeff”. You know, just for the fun of it. If I was going to be voted out of a game for a million dollars, I’d make damn sure that it will end up at one of the greatest moments in the history of the show.

First up, can I just say that the challenges in this leg sucks ass? But still not as sucky as our very own Woody Allen host here (okay, I’m sorry, that would be an insult to the real Woody Allen, I take that back). The challenge, digging up that trench was both boring and evil. They come all the way to Kuta Beach in Bali (which I identified where they were going from last week. Yay me!), and their challenge was to dig up a trench? For more than four fucking hours? Are you kidding me?

That challenge was super lame, although it did manage to bring up some drama and suspense. Maybe that’s what the producers were aiming for with this challenge? But I wouldn’t give them the benefit of the doubt. Super kudos to all the teams who went through that gruelling challenge for hours! The perseverence was above all. Personally, I would’ve quit at the first hint of someone else from the show quitting.

I know people will nag about being in the race, you shouldn’t quit, bla bla yada yada yada.. but you have to factor in the strategic aspects of the game too. Or maybe I’m just saying that cause I’m a lazy bastard. But yeah, we’ve seen this happen before in another series (I think it was the episode with Romber where they all agreed to skip the task and take the penalty at the end). I mean, as long as there’s another team bailing out, you are still in the game.. so all is good. You just have to hope for the best.

On the other hand, I really do not like to quit. I mean, I had a lot of admiration for Lena & Olin who got eliminated at the challenge site because they spent fucking hours rolling the haystack (I think it was TAR7). *sigh* I didn’t think they would be the decisions in this game would be this hard, but it seemed like it really was.

The rest of the episode was quite good, which is of course, due to the 4 hour penalty incurred to five teams (our of nine). It did give quite a rush at the end. I hope the upcoming episodes will be filled with as much suspense as this was. I think the editors are getting better at keeping in the suspense. The host, on the other hand, does not.

In order of their arrivals at the….. *long pause* …… pitstop :

*fuck you Allen Woo for making the end a lot less enjoyable*

1. Joe Jer & Zabrina (JZ)

OMFG these two girls had me at the edge of my seat. I kept telling myself, no they’re not gonna quit they’re not gonna quit. But they did Joe Jer really reminds me a lot of what-supposed-to-have-been my Amazing Race partner (who I described as being the Asian Lucy Lawless in the application form). She doesn’t say much, but she’s determined, more calm and collective, and doesn’t mind the verbal abuse that I throw at her every microsecond (oh wait, that doesn’t apply to Joe Jer). Anyway, sure they fucked up the lame digging challenge, but I don’t really blame them. They did amazing on the rest of the leg. I had no fucking idea they would come in first at the pitstop cause it seemed they were lagging behind a couple of teams during the challenges (they even managed to outrun the Sri Lankans). One thing I have noticed though, this team have always chosen the best detour option. Let’s hope they will keep this up all throughout the race. You go, girls! <3 <3

2. Sri Lankans

Yeah yeah yeah, I’ve decided to call them Team Sri Lanka instead of Team Gay cause some people might find it offensive (touchy pricks). Anyway, they seem to do rather well so far. Without all the excessive drama queen nonsense, I’m actually starting to think that this team would go quite far indeed.

3. Muscles

Man, does this guy smile the frickin time?? It must’ve been very disappointing for the guy to watch all the other teams finish the digging challenge before them, cause he really was the Ox. They did really well this leg of the race, so much better than the last leg. The other teams may need to watch out for this team. Once they gain their momentum, I don’t think they will ever stop.

4. M&Ms

Okay, so they were kinda the ‘underdogs’ at first. Endearing folks that beats the odds despite being non-athletic but man, stop it already. The whole world knows that you’re both big and fat and that ‘your body is not designed for this challenge’ bla bla bla. Being humble is one thing, but their constant whining about their own physical self has simply gone down as self-deprecating, and personally I do not care for these kind of people. There’s a big difference between making humourous reference & being able to laugh at yourself, and just whining about your shortcomings. Sorry but I cannot root for teams with this kind of attitude. They bring me down. If you don’t think you deserve to be in the race, you simply don’t.

5. One Night Standers

Cheeky bastards. I knew there was a reason that I like this team. Though I’m not really gonna call them smart, I will however say that they are at least thinking strategy in this game. And that I like. I really like. They came up with the suggestion to take the 4 hour penalty and 4 other teams caved in and took that idea. And the previews next week looks good too. They are proving to be the conniving and manipulative team that I keep looking forward to in a race like this. Love ‘em.

6. Malanoys

It was hard to see Andrew pushing Syeon to dig and dig and dig through this challenge, but what else can he do? Okay, he can actually sit by the sidelines and shut the fuck up, but I don’t think he was aggravating his partner that much. He was just frustrated that he didn’t do the challenge instead, which was understandable. If anything, they are being way too nice. The whole scene about them ’stealing’ the cab from the models? Well, if it was me, I’d probably go “Screw you guys. It’s not our fault you didn’t give a name when you booked the taxi.” But that just the rude, obnoxious asshole in me talking. Seriously though, I would’ve made some phone calls and called the other teams taxis on their behalf. I would sooo make a good villain. Anyway, I’m kinda surprised this team hasn’t lived up to my expectations. Here’s hoping they’ll kick some ass soon.

7. Singaporeans

Meow! What was the whole drama at the airport all about? Who was the guy pushing them at the counter. I wish the cameras were actually there to capture the whole scene. It would’ve made a much more interesting scene than watching teams dig senselessly for hours on end at the beach. Anyway, major kudos to the Singaporean team for not giving up. Their perseverence was amazing and I’m actually glad their hard work paid off. One thing I wish they didn’t do was to take their own sweet time at the monkey place. I know you have a 4 hour lead on the other 5 teams, but you should never ever take things for granted in this race. If you already have the advantage, go for more. You don’t want to end up like the Guidos.

8. Models

Is it just me, or did one of them say this in one of their confessionals : “We’ve come into the game with a lot of girth.” Girth? Ooookay. Interesting choice of words. I’m still not really loving this team. They seem smarmy, and very dumb jock-ish to me. Meh. Boring. They lost a lot of ground this round, and they can’t use the Fast Forward anymore. We’ll see how it goes.

9. Perky Bitches

Yay. Well, you can tell that they’re not really in this show to either win the money, or get new experiences or some other shit, other than the fact that they are out there for the media whoredom. I will slice off my left nut and serve it on a bed of caviar if they went on to the show for reasons other than that. I am so glad they are gone.

Here are the moderated placings after the 4 hour penalty has been incurred :

1. Sri Lankans
2. Muscles
3. Singaporeans
4. Models
5. JZ (Joe Jer & Zabrina)
6. M & Ms
7. ONSers
8. Malanoys
9. Perky Bitches
Now, the question that I have in mind is whether the 4 hour penalty will be carried over into the next leg of the race (ie. if they will leave 4 hours later).. but even if they do, they might have a chance to catch up since we KNOW all the teams will head out on the same Air Asia flights. Can’t wait for next week (for the penultimate episode of TAR10!)

Don’t you just hate it that when one of these media whores from Reality Shows turn up at your message board/site/blog and they give you a shout out, your dislikes for them suddenly (and miraculously), turn into words of love/encouragement/support? Some people can be so damn fickle minded. But thank goodness I never dislike Zabrina. Woohoo!!! Thanks for the shout out, baby! I’m rooting for you guys all the way. Make us proud!

And for those of you that have missed the 2nd episode of Amazing Race Asia, here’s the download link for the episode : http://download.yousendit.com/98B7A16B053A993D (350 Mbytes)

And for Survivor lovers, here’s the download link for the 10th episode for Cook Islands : http://download.yousendit.com/86F77E6327BAB38E (230 Mbytes)

A note on this week’s episode. I still can NOT believe Candice jumped ship last week. It’s funny that her ‘reasoning’ for switching to the Raro tribe was because ‘they win (challenges) when it matters). Hello? They’ve won like only 3 challenges so far. And it’s diabolically delicious to watch their regression into oblivion.

After the mutiny, the new Raro kept on losing and losing and losing. They lost both the reward and immunity challenges last week. And this week, their bad luck continues with their loss of both the reward and immunity challenges again. However, that is debatable. I don’t think ‘bad luck’ has anything to do with them losing the challenges. You can simply see how poor they work together as a team. God, they SUCK! I’ve never seen such a dysfunctional group of people since the Ulong tribe that decimated themselves in Survivor Palau.

I’m a little torn actually, because I used to like Jonathan and Candice, but they had absolutely NO business switching tribes. Especially Candice (who I was so rooting to win). She was sitting very comfortably in the Aitu alliance with Yul and Becky and either Sundra/Jonathan. She could’ve breezed her way to the Final Four, or the Final Three even! But being a stupid dumb bitch that she is, she threw all that away to cuddle up with Adam (aka A-dumb). IDIOT. But it’s kinda appropriate.. A-dumb and Can-dunce. Fuck.. i was so rooting for her win and she pull this thing. Arrrghh dumb cunt.

Was anyone surprised she got sent to Exile Island twice in a fucking row? Last I heard, they were gonna rename Exile Island to Candice Island. GOD! And her crying on the island, wallowing in her self-pity.. ‘people who like you want to see you suffer’ bla fucking blah. Well you deserve it. Man, I am so pissed as to how someone could pull such an idiotic move in a game for a million dollars.

I’m pissed.

The double boot at the end of the episode was a nice twist. Poor Jenny never saw it coming. So, only 9 people left. Are they ever going to merge? Am I ever going to add another Survivor buff to my ever growing collection? Geez! I really want to see Raro self destruct. I’m not currently rooting for anyone, even the ‘underdogs’ Aitu. I don’t know. This could’ve been a great season. Goddamn mutiny.

Just a quick update. I know it’s only been the second episode but for fucks sake, can we vote that Allen Wu person off the show? Never mind that he keeps pronouncing KL as Kuala Lampore, I am really hating his inappropriate pause when announcing the placement at the pitstops.. “You are team number… *crickets*… six!!”. Geez!! And he is so bloody wooden (and not even the good kind!). Bleh.. Seriously, they must do replace this idiot with someone else if there is a second season.

On to the second episode. Whoa.. how quickly the show succumbs to shameless product placements. I am, of course, referring to Air Asia and Sony this time around. Actually I was surprised the Malaysian Tourism Board didn’t shove things down the viewers throat in the last episode. I don’t know the Air Asia thingy kinda takes out the suspense out of the airport scenes. I mean, basically, I can only foresee there will be a single predetermined flight for these racers to take, unlike the free-for-all multiple-possible-routes that takes place in the original Amazing Race. Everyone seemed pretty laidback.. no additional drama or suspense at the airport. Heck, the M&M brothers were seen gorging down a McDonalds hash browns (are they part of the product placements too?)

Anyway, I thought the challenges this time around was pretty lame. The challenge at the zoo with the snake, personally, was pretty scary, cause I really hate snakes.. so kudos to all the teams that made it through. I was very very surprised the Sri Lankan bitch didn’t have a meltdown over that whole challenge. The Bakso challenge was really bland to me. All it did was made me want to go and have that fabulous Mi Bakso they serve in Subang Jaya. Yummers. Here’s a breakdown on what I think of the teams (in order of their arrivals at the pitstops).

Team #1 : Models - They had balls for going after the Fast Forward, knowing that another team ahead of them was already going after it. They were extremely lucky the other team fucked up, and good for them on getting the Fast Forward. They seemed less annoying this time around, but only maybe because they got the Fast Forward and had less screen time.

Team #2 : M&Ms - Aaahh my separated-at-birth-out-of-shape twin brothers. It really says something that they managed to stay near the top on this second leg of the race. I’m not really sure if they really used their home advantage, though. They said there were no way anyone would buy the Bakso noodles at that hour, when it was pretty clear that the other team had no problems doing that. In any case, they didn’t really lose their lead, so bravo!

Team #3 : Gays - Not that I have anything against gayfolks, but oh who are they trying to fool. Anyway, I was pretty impressed that they ended up pretty impressively in this leg of the race. But I’m also a little iffy on the judging of the Bakso cart pushing thingy but whatever. Howard I guess I’m okay with. Sahran, not so much.

Team #4 : Zabrina - Sorry, but Joe Jer hasn’t been that stand out-ish so far, so I’m calling this team Zabrina. I was a little nervous cause they were the last to leave the airport, but surprisingly, they pulled a fast one on the Bakso challenge, so YaY! Next week’s previews don’t look to good for them though. I hope it’s false editing.

Team #5 : Singaporeans - Finally we get to hear something from this team, even if it’s hearing their kiasu-ness about learning the Bakso song while in the taxi cab. I think it’s a little endearing. For now.

Team #6 : Perky Bitches - I think I have succeeded in blocking this team out of my memory throughout the duration of the show. Did they do anything more annoying and perky than usual? I can’t remember. Someone posted on the message board that Aubrey’s most memorable roles as an actress: (1).Scholar prostitute. (2).A Bride Possessed by her dead sister. (3). Retarded woman who thinks like a 5 year old. So far, we’ve seen (1) and (3) personified on this show. I guess we’ll see (2) when their perky ass gets booted.

Team #7 : One Night Standers - Their calmness and collectiveness are pretty much bordering on being just plain boring. But they’re alright, I guess.

Team #8 : Malanoys - In case you didn’t get that, it’s the half Malaysian and half Pinoy team. I think we missed a lot on this team in this episode. How did they end up near the bottom rank? Urgh.. they better buck up soon.

Team #9 : Muscles - This team seemed to work well this episode, and not annoying at all. It’s just a case of bad luck, I guess (the numbering system at the zoo was really weird.. the teams that arrived didn’t get the proper numbers in order. Weird!) It must suck so much for them to end up almost being eliminated after arriving last in the previous pitstop. It was pretty kind and nice for the other teams to give them some money at the beginning of this show, so that pretty much says how the other teams feel about them.

Team #10 : Pinoys - Ironically enough, they only showed Team Muscle reading the cash contribution from Team Pinoy at the beginning of the show. I should’ve guessed that was some sort of foreshadowing. Man, I thought this team would’ve given a lot of competition in this race. In the end, their bad luck with a sucky taxi driver was their downfall. They were the first team at the beginning of this episode, and ended up being dead last because the driver didn’t send them to the right Fast Forward venue. And to add salt to the wound, they were the only team that had to do the cart pushing challenge twice. I’m guessing they are definitely not going to have fond memories of Indonesia, and I can’t blame them.

That said, I think the show was a slight improvement. There were moments of suspense, but you could already tell Team Pinoy were fucked halfway through the show and there were no turning back for them (especially after being told to do the cart challenge twice). The editing still sucks, but it’s still the only good show to watch on a Thursday.

Another week, another update but I’ll make this one a special one and post a double update : Survivor and Amazing Race Asia! Anyway, here’s the links to Survivor Cook Islands Episode 9, and for those who have missed this is AXN, here’s the link to the Amazing Race Asia Episode 1 (I will be updating TAR Asia regularly since some of my friends overseas would like to catch the show as well.
Survivor Cook Islands - Episode 9 Link: http://www.yousendit.com/download/2VcOCd9nBIc%3D (230 Mb)

Amazing Race Asia - Episode 1 Link: http://www.yousendit.com/download/fw2jO8GswLg%3D (350 Mb)
Do not proceed if you don’t want to get spoiled for the two episodes above.
Survivor Cook Islands :

Well the two tribes are dwindling down. Six people on Aitutaki (Yul, Becky, Sundra, Candace, Jonathan, Ozzy) and Six people on Rarotonga (Adam, Brad, Nate, Jenny, Parvati, Rebecca). And this episode was a first in Survivor history. Jeff Probst offered a chance for mutiny. Anyone on both teams can chose to leave their current tribe to join the opposing tribe - but they only had 10 seconds to make their decision. Now, this was absolutely not the first time such a chance has been offered by the Survivors. It was done in Survivor : Thailand. And as much as Shii Ann wanted to switch to the other tribe, she didn’t. Why? Because it was the smart thing to do.

But what do we see here on Cook Islands? Candace stepping off the mat and joining to the other team. Followed closely by Jonathan. So it’s 8 Raros against 4 Aitus. Wow. First of all, I still don’t see why these two felt the need to switch. They were sitting comfortably at the old Aitu (their alliance with Yul and Becky pretty much guaranteed their safety within the tribe). Secondly, by leaving (read: betraying) the old Aitu, they automatically have 4 votes against them. Why create such animosity at this stage of the game? Thirdly, joining the other team will not guarantee that they will be welcomed with open arms. They invited themselves over. I mean, wow. I am still shocked the mutiny took place.

The only possible good thing that I can see them doing this is, they’ve become perfect F2 goats. Everyone would probably now WANT to bring them to the Final Two. But it’s still early for that, so we’ll see.

Against all odds, the Aitu-4 won the Reward Challenge and they decided to send Candace to Exile Island. Can’t say that I’m surprised, but you can tell Sundra was really sad that it had to happen that way. She even mouthed “I’m sorry” when Candace waved them goodbye, when all Yul, Becky and Ozzy did was gave an icy cold stare. So Candace got exiled.. that pretty much sent a BIG signal to her as to what her ex-tribemates think of her. Her game is over (so she says). I still have an inkling of hope that she will pull this through.

Jonathan got some heat from Raro. With his domineering personality and his decision to jump ship, it certainly did not bode well for him. Jonathan is one of the most strategic players this season, but his decision to trust Candace and mutiny is possibly his greatest downfall. I do NOT see him winning this game at all. His best chance would go for the Final Two with Candace, but even then, Candace would probably win. It’s a shame cause I like Jonathan.

The Immunity Challenge ended with a surprise win by the Aitu-4. Talk about a comeback, eh? You can’t help but root for this four people on this tiny tribe who have been abandoned by their tribesmates. Candace and Jonathan musta been shitting their pants after losing two straight challenges to their former tribemates.

Talks around camp were that they were going to vote Jonathan out. I mean, that was the most logical thing to do. But in the end, because of Nate’s fucking hearsay (Brad says every man for himself bla bla bla), Brad ended up being voted out of the tribe AND BECOMES THE FIRST MEMBER OF THE JURY! Ohmigod. ohmigod ohmigod ohmigod. There are twelve castaways left. How is this ever going to work with a 10 person jury??? Anyway, it was one of the most entertaining and surprising show in a long time. I can’t wait to see what happens next week. Are they ever going to merge soon? I just can’t wait for the new buff to be released.
Amazing Race Asia :

Did I say this was the fugliest cast ever. Of course. But was I psyched for the show? For sure! That was just some sour grapes oozing out of my pores there. The premier episode was pretty good I’d have to say. The editing could’ve been done better, but it reminded me of the first Amazing Race where everything was so choppy. It doesn’t matter, I still think it was a pretty decent premier. I do, however, have to bitch about the host Allan Wu. Shit, dude. I didn’t think anyone could fuck up hosting a show like the Amazing Race but that was exactly what he did. OHMIGOD. Has he been taking robotic cue card lessons from Padma Lakshmi (or more fondly known as Padbot for her hosting stint on Top Chef 2)? Seriously. “Bla bla bla.. you are team number.. (pseudo suspense silence that lasts an eternity) ……. four.” FOR FUCKS SAKE, HOW FUCKING LAME AND ANTI CLIMACTIC IS THAT???

I’ll provide some brief thoughts on the teams :

Mardy & Marsio (Indonesia) - These two fat, out of shape brothers gives me hope that if these two can make it onto the show, than so can I (I could pass of as the third retarded brother or something). Seriously. Not only did they perform well overall in this episode, they also ended up being first on this leg. More power to them! I think they will be give the others quite a run for their money.

Jeena & Ernie (Phillipines) - I don’t know.. other than knowing these two own a climbing center fitness thingymagicy, these two didn’t leave much of a first impression for me. Sorry. But they did end up in second place which is quite impressive.

Zabrina & Joe Jer (Malaysia) - Call me biased, I don’t care but I LOVE these two chicas. You can understand how severely disappointed I was when they lost their lead, not once but twice!!! during this leg. I have the feeling that these two will have a good balance between having a good time and really wanting to win. They are possibly the only real team in this show.

Aubrey & Jaq (Phillipines) - For two ditsy blondes (they’re not blonde but fuck it), they did pretty well on this leg. Their extra perkiness and checking on their mascara every five goddamn minutes are kinda cute. For now. God knows I will be sick of them by the next episode though.

Andrew & Syeon (Malaysia/Phillipines) - Arghhhh again, I was kinda rooting for them at first, but they did two fatal mistakes. First was driving into a Wira. Granted that every Proton made car deserves getting rammed into, but do you really need to do that during a race? Come ON! And kudos to them for actually arriving first at the pitstop. But I’m gonna have to take the kudos back for them not following the instructions. I still have high hopes for them.

Sharon & Melody (Singapore) - Surprisingly we didn’t get to see or hear much from our neighbours. So, there’s nothing to gripe about them for now.

Laura & Andy (Thailand) - Possibly my second favourite team at this moment (behind Zabrina and Joe Jer). I like them because they seemed like a nice, playful couple who’s not going to take things to seriously. The seven year old one night stand comment was funny and proved they have some sense of humour. I hope they go far.

Prashant & Sahil (India) - Models? Seriously? Eh.. no thank you. Next. There’s something about them that I don’t like. Can’t put my finger on what exactly. Maybe their constant hair fixing over the car’s rear view mirror. Vain, much?

Sahran & Howard (Sri Lanka) - Initially, before the show started, I wanted to like them… but get the fuck off of my tv, bitches. I have never ever witnessed a bigger wuss on ANY reality show. Ever. Calling him a drama queen would be an understatement of the century. I mean for fucks sake, crying and sobbing like a fucking baby when you’re asked to rapel down 8 stories of a building? I know it’s scary but fucking crying and fucking sobbing like a bitch like that? It’s not fucking cute. It’s fucking pathetic. How the fuck did someone like this get on a show like this is totally beyond me. Seriously, what the fuck. I so wanted to bitchslap this cunt. Grow a fucking pair, already. Please be the first one eliminated. FUCK OFF.

Francesca & Sandy (Hong Kong) - They came off slightly arrogant for me, but it could possibly be me intimidated by all the muscles and shit. But after hearing that he couldn’t get away without his skin lotion and eye mask or some shit like that, I’m pretty sure it’s the arrogance thingy.

All in all, it was a decent premier. The challenges in this leg of the race is pretty tame. Again, I would like to reiterate that I am very very very disappointed that the Malaysian teams did not use the hometown advantage given to them. I mean, one has to drive out of KL, to Shah Alam, and back into KL again. I mean, if any of you are even familiar with the signboards in this country, you would know that it is a very near impossible task. The Malaysian teams should’ve known the roads in KL like the back of their hand and used it. But they clearly didn’t. *sigh* Well I still have high hopes for both of them.

edited to add this picture :

They are so annoyingly perky that they’re actually in mid-air.

Wow.. has it been that long since my last Survivor update? Thousand apologies.. what’s with the DeepaRaya celebrations and whatnots, I was too preoccupied (read : lazy) to make updtes. Anyway, I was in JB for Raya, and I managed to catch Singapore’s Channel 5 finally showing the premier episode of Survivor : Cook Islands. I was told that they didn’t want to run the show because of the racial divide issue (not sure how true this is).. but if that was the case, they’d probably realize that the race issue didn’t matter at all in this season. Like I said, if they wanted to raise a huge issue out of the racial thing, they would’ve split the races among the four teams to see if they would band together regardless which tribe they are on. In any case, kudos to TCS 5 for showing the the latest season (even though they’re 8 weeks behind).. at least they’re a whole lot better than our fucking local tv station.

Okay, I’m gonna stop rambling now and post the overdue Episode 7 and Episode 8. Episode 7 is a recap of the first 6 episodes (although I actually think it’s more of a NEW FOOTAGE episode than a recap episode). And Episode 8 is the continuoum (is this is even a word?) of the normal show.

Episode 7 : http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=E008469B0B22DA1F

Episode 8 : http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=1DE2DC753B5A67EC

I’ve had some problems with yousendit of late.. so I’m not really sure if those downloads work. Someone let me know if they don’t.

Anyway, I got yet another mention in this week’s Armchair Survivor.. (’our Malaysian friend.. eye-zad’).. they were discussing about my mention of the opening credits theory. Again, this isn’t based on any kinds of spoiler, but purely 100% speculations from the opening credits scene.. I still think Candace will be this season’s winner. Lots of stuff to review, but I don’t feel like writing much right now.

And, fuck, I haven’t written a single word for my NaNoWriMo for the past three days. Fucking hell. At this rate, this probably will be the third FAILED attempt. Deadlines are my nemesis. Fucking writer’s block.. look at me, I’ve hit a plateau. (But you gotta admit, the flash library card is totally bitchin’!)

Well it’s November 1st 2006.. and it has been 2 years since my first venture into NaNoWriMo (NaNoWriMo. WTF? The Author In You). 2 tries.. both have been failed attempts. Everyone says third time’s a charm. Oh well, we’ll see. A short refresher on those who don’t know what NaNoWriMo is :

NaNoWriMo…National Novel Writing Month
Never heard of it? Here’s the low-down

What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month’s time.

Who: You! We can’t do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let’s write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together.

Why: The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era’s most enchanting art forms! To write without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from our novels at parties. To be able to mock real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to produce their work.

When: Sign-ups begin October 1, 2006. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.

Always wanted to write that semi-true “autobiography” where you solve crime and get the girl? What about a 50,000 word pr0n novel that involves some sort of “Lost” and “Battlestar Galactica” crossover? The book about the spunky 30-something gal that finally finds love? DO IT! SIGN UP TODAY!

So far, I’m sticking to the same premise that I’ve started with back in 2004. Now that the Raya season is over (Raya was celebrated in November 2004 and 2005), hopefully I’ll be able to concentrate on this thing this time.

If you haven’t already done so, check out the site. They’ve added some pretty nifty things there, most noticably, the new bitching library card. If any of you are participating, add me as a writing buddy (it’s “izadsyah” on NaNoWriMo) because as most writers have realised by now, misery lurrvvessss company.

Good luck, suckers!