Survivor: Tocantins, Episode 3 Recap

Let's just get to it: Coach may be my favorite villain in years. I love that he comes in a shiny, new-agey wrapper. I love that he speaks in pithy metaphor. I love that his ego is so big that he can turn a smile into an expression of pure evil, and then turns it into a crisis of conscience to allow himself to even be near her. And I LOVE the bad Fabio hair. This is the kind of guy that gives aging hippies a bad name. (You KNOW he loves a good drum circle.)

I'm also digging on Fake Mormon. I'm pretty sure I will dislike him by the end, as his "I will laugh as I crush your dreams" speeches come across just a little too rehearsed. But his "relationship" with Coach is just delicious. Coach benevolently christening him "assistant coach", and his subsequent mockery that he will soon demand to be called Coach too? Priceless television entertainment. Thank you!

Otherwise, let's go for a little chronology. All the post-tribal hating on Erinn was pure filler. She was buddies with Boobs, now she is scrambling to save herself. Duh. So for people (i.e. Coach) to feign offense by that is just theatre.

The first challenge was notable only for the blue team to get crushed. It is always hard in these kinds of challenges to assign blame. The caller girl didn't seem like she was slacking or anything (and we've certainly seen people fail mightily at this position in the past.) They just sucked. Coach lets out a few "primal screams" (his words) at the end, that both annoyed and delighted. Annoyed because I HATE people who act like that. Delighted because I HATE people who act like that. Back at camp he starts out complaining, then goes all Deanna Troi and orders everyone else not to go off in little groups and complain about other people. Cue silly music, and cut to Coach going off in a little group and complaining about other people. I LOVE THIS!

Then Coach says that he doesn't care about comfort, and if it meant staying around longer he would bury himself in the sand and get attacked by tarantulas and bitten by spiders. Please, please let that be foreshadowing.

Brandon (Brendan?) and Taj go back to Exile together. I love that these two are playing a new game with this alliance. Stupid Jeff has to call them out on it, although I bet he does that a lot, so hopefully no one takes it too seriously yet. My spider-sense is worried that the show is playing its hand on this alliance too early, and that it won't end up playing out, which is a bummer, cause I'm always in favor of new twists. But maybe I'll get lucky. My problem - I don't trust Sierra any more than Taj does. (And I don't mean that in a bad way. She is here to play the game, which I totally respect. Her dismissal of Coach's stupid vendetta against Erinn was refreshing sanity. Just not sure I can trust what decision she would make if presented with this unusual opportunity.) But we'll see what develops. I was surprised when Brendan found the Idol, I thought it would be harder than that. If they don't send him to Exile next week, he might be forced into an alliance with someone besides Sierra anyways.

Challenge Two was good I usually like the muscles + brains challenges. I usually don't like it when one team starts to dominate, but so far I'm fine with it, cause that keeps the attention focused on Coach. And he continues to deliver, as noted above. Also great was when he reenacted the suspicious smile for his Assistant Coach. "Wait, I've been practicing it." he says. Really. YOU ARE A FREAK! A delicious, finger-licking good freak.

The Tribal banter is a little more pointed than usual, and I love the battle between Erinn and Coach. I mean, Erinn is stupid to engage him like that, I don't care how much you hate him, it is just stupid to give everyone else so much cover to vote for you next time. That said, she is totally right. I seriously doubt Brendan had any motivation to be the group leader, so Coach gets him off the hook. And while everyone besides Erinn seems content to laugh Coach off for now, that won't last forever. I can only imagine a spectacular set-up for his demise, although I'm sure nothing will ever be as satisfying as Randy's ouster from last season, so I shouldn't get my hopes up I suppose.

Survivor: Tocantins, Episode 2 Recap

Ok folks. Prepare for a fast and dirty edition of Survivor: Tocantins. I'm working 12 hour shifts the next three days in a row, over which same time my dad is going to be visiting, so if I don't get this blog done within a half hour of the show being over (at which time I have to go to bed to prepare for my 5am alarm) then it just isn't going to get done. It won't be quite a live blog (which I tried once before) because I can't watch and think and type all at the same time. I'm starting this before the show even starts, and at this point I have to admit I'm getting my reality show contestant mixed up, with Idol and Amazing Race also starting this week. (Speaking of which, can you imagine the fun if Tatiana Del Toro came on Survivor??? Can't you just see her at the first Tribal Council, with her hand over her heart begging Jeff not to snuff out her fire of dreams? I actually feel a little bad for her, the Idol machine chewed her up in a way she wasn't ready for and she is reeling trying to find her balance again. That said, I'm Gokey all the way.)

Strep Throat Blondie enlists help to find the idol. I guess she sort of had to, it is hard to go off by yourself for too long. Also, it is a good way to get an alliance going, which she desperately needs at this point. But of course they get caught. So if they build a fire over the spot the idol is buried, how will they ever keep looking?

I'm never a huge fan of this challenge. Too violent and angry. It isn't as bad this time around at least, and no one seems to be hurt. And good for the Football players wife, who has some brute force on her side if nothing else. Her and the lawyer were an interesting pair. lol Until the very end when I saw that Crazy Lady was on the winning team, I had no idea who was on which team. Not that I have a favorite yet anyway, but it is nice when things are relatively even.

I like the idea of pairs sent to tribal. I feel like this has happened once before (was it Fans vs. Favorites?), but to have it happen every week could get very interesting. I'm liking Brendan, anyone who has their hand in searching for two different idols in two days is definitely in the game. And I'm liking The Football Players wife too. I identify with the city slicker guy, cause I have no idea who her husband is either, but she is just charming. And that they can switch teams? I usually hate it when the force the teams to change, but voluntary switches could add in a whole new layer.

City Slicker is bromancing on Tom Sawyer. Well, he says he is "smitten" by his "pretty country ways". Again, you can't write this stuff.

OK, so when I said this wasn't the most attractive cast, I'll admit I hadn't gotten a good look at Candace. She is striking, and I'm not even talking about the boobage. However, she is also a bitch. Now I think Coach is smarmy, and I'm even more convinced that he's gonna have an uphill battle to survive. Demanding a kiss was creepy enough, and then he licked her face! First off, gross, secondly, isn't that harassment? But it rarely pays to be opinionated. That is two in a row now. (And in the end even her friend in the ruffles voted for her. Ouch.)

All in all, not a huge episode, but it has set up a lot of fun potential. Cross-team alliances, team switching, idol-hunting, the eventual takedown of Coach. Oh, and perhaps a bonfire on the grave of Barbie's now dead idol! Yes indeed, there is some fun to be had.

Survivor: Tocantins, Episode 1 Recap

I was dragging my feet about blogging this season of Survivor. Let's be honest, last season wasn't exactly one of the best. There were some moments of brilliance for sure (Crystal yelling to the camera while voting off Randy comes to mind, or Bob making not one but two fake idols), but overall it just never seemed to pull itself together, much less rise to the genius of previous seasons. Feel free to disagree, but I know I'm right.

Anyway, so I just wasn't sure I was gonna find the time this season. I mean, there's seemingly going to be a great batch of singers over on Idol (the laughing girl is fun for the producers, but they'll never advance her to the top 12), and LOST has finally gotten good again. Really good. So how much TV can I watch? We had some couchsurfers from England staying with us on Thursday night, so I didn't watch the show until yesterday. (OH, and if you haven't been paying attention to my blog and don't know what couchsurfing is, you are totally missing out. We had the best time, even if Sharon was under the impression that my hatred of clowns was somehow funny, which it totally isn't. She did, however, agree that the doll my mother has standing in the corner of her bedroom is totally "Blair Witch" evil, something I've maintained for years. For reals Mom.)

But I have to say, I'm rather excited about this new season. This is probably the least attractive cast they've had in a while, generally speaking. Which isn't to say they are unattractive, but still, they seem to have been chosen more for personality than for looks, which I take as a good sign. Also, there are only 16, so we don't have to suffer through quite so many early rounds where you can't quite get a grasp on whom everyone is.

I didn't watch the episode with the intent to blog, so I may forget some details, but here is why I'm seeing a lot of potential for a great season.

The vote right off of the truck ticked me off. They've done this once before, which I thought was stupid, and was mad they were doing it again, although Jeff's careful wording did have me suspecting something was up. So, the two weak players were not eliminated, but instead sent up ahead, losing crucial bonding time with their tribe. Interesting. When they got to the camp, they had to decide whether to set things up or search for a hidden idol. Very interesting. Crazy Lady (sorry, I'm bad with names) decides to look for the Idol. Good move. Except I'm pretty sure it isn't going to be very easy, so had I been her I might have at least made a casual effort to do something around camp. But whatever, she searches. And then doesn't know what the word "pace" means. This is why I love reality TV, because you can't make that up.

Strep Throat Barbie, who seems too bitter to ever recover enough to get people to like her again, actually makes what I think was a smart move. The chances you would find an idol quickly is slim, but if you can get back in good with your team, it might buy you a tribal or two and give you more opportunities to search. So I'm down with that.

We meet a few other players. One thing, I don't care what he says, the naked guy is not a Mormon. Trust me on that one. Maybe he grew up Mormon, and maybe he was Mormon for a while, and probably did if he grew up in Utah. I can see how it is a fun label to claim, but our Survivor mormons are getting less and less actual Mormon. The boring girl with the weird name, Neleah or something, that almost won Marquesas, she was a real Mormon. (And she should have beat Vecepia, but then original Crazy Lady Kathy should have beat both of them. Remember when she peed on the guys leg after he got stuck by a sea urchin? Undiluted awesome, especially since pee is good for jellyfish, not sea urchin spines.) Then we had Rafe, the gay Mormon. This guy seems even less Mormon than that. Anyway, this hardly matters at all, I'm just saying. Anyway, Fake Mormon Guy was kind of creepy when he was naked, but then he had the line about wanting a Man Tiara, and I instantly forgave him everything.

I agree with Coach's sentiment of wanting the strong players to go to the end together, but I'm not sure anyone will trust him about that. With his demeanor, I bet he becomes pushy and will be an early target as soon as they don't need his strength.

So yeah, there were others, but they were almost all blonde and I can't remember who was who. I'll get better about that. I can't give everyone fake names, thats just annoying.

The challenge was a good one, and both Crazy Lady and Strep Throat Barbie seemed to perform well under the pressure. Loved it that the strong guys sprinted out to the water, and then just had to sit there waiting for everyone else to catch up. Dude, you know the rules, how about helping the slower players go faster? Less glory, but you might win.

At first I was hoping Crazy Lady would go, but I have to say she has totally charmed me. I suspect the charm won't last, but when Jeff asked her straight up if she was crazy, and she just smiled and said "yeah, I get that a lot", again, you can't script this stuff. (And my fanboy crush on Probst continues.) So sorry Cowgirl Who Went Home First. You seemed interesting too. Not like someone who had a shot at winning, but someone who was at least interesting and nice to boot. Speaking of boots, I guess you could make an argument for wearing cowboy boots into the Amazon, but I'm still glad I at least won't have to look at that anymore. Just not a good look with the swimsuit.

By the way, earlier in this posting when I sort of intimated that there was a possibility that I might not watch this season of Survivor? Yeah, that was a total lie. If I could only watch one show on TV, it would be this. I don't really know why. Too much Gilligan as a kid? Or the fact that one of my favorite books is an autobiography of a guy who moved to a deserted island and built himself a life there, living alone for a couple of years with a duck and some chickens. (Tom Neal, "An Island To Myself". Get yourself to the library, you know you want to read more.) I love the fantasy of doing it myself. Yeah, yeah, there is too much fighting and bickering and stupid farts like Randy. But it is worth the pain. Let's just hope Tocantins has more of the fun intrigue and less of the meek shall inherit.

My Facebook 25 Things

One of the reasons I love Facebook is because you spend time reconnecting with old friends. One of the reasons I hate Facebook is because you spend lots of time reconnecting with old friends. I got tagged with this "25 Things About You" meme by about ten different people, so in the end I couldn't resist. Here are my 25:

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I used to be embarrassed of my inner-nerd. Now I love the freedom embracing the label gives me.
2. I hate clowns. Mostly because I know they are evil and will kill me if given the opportunity, but also because they are stupid. And ugly.
3. I have never seen "Grease" or "The Breakfast Club", and didn’t see “The Dark Knight”. I'm lucky if I go to the movies a half-dozen times a year. Usually the movies I do see in the theatre involve singing or Angelina Jolie brandishing a weapon.
4. I hate talking on the phone. Hate. It. I almost never answer unless it is my mother, and much prefer email if I can’t just talk to you in person. Last month I used just 46 anytime minutes, and that was over the holidays. Despite this, I feel naked if I don’t have my phone with me, even if it is just buried in my backpack on silent.
5. I don’t feel guilty about the fact that I love reality TV, especially Survivor, Amazing Race, and the Idol. I'd never want to compete on any of them, though I am jealous of Cady Huffman's judging job on Iron Chef.
6. Guilty pleasures include pancakes for dinner, sudoku, and Suze Orman's "Can You Afford It" segment. Denied!
7. Last year we discovered the couchsurfing community, which I’d encourage all of you to check out. www.couchsurfing.com Basically when you travel you can find fun people who will let you stay with them instead of having to get a hotel. The best part is then you have a local to tell you how to get around and what to see, not to mention have fun dinner conversation with. We stayed with two different people on our trip to Canada last year, and now have hosted a dozen or so people from all over the world, which has been excellent. As I write this we have a couple from England asleep upstairs.
8. I'm a morning person, and hate sleeping when the sun is up. Except for an hour nap in the early afternoon, which is the greatest pleasure known to man.
9. A favorite memory from the past: it was dawn, sitting on the bow of a small boat with the warm water splashing my legs on a five day journey to see Komodo Dragons, eating fresh pineapple jam toast while dolphins, flying fish and eventually huge whirlpools (yes they really do exist!) surrounded our boat on all sides. Later that night the water glowed with phosphorescent algae. Indonesia rocks.
10. I have a goofy yet irresistible compulsion to climb any outdoor staircase I come across. This has gotten me into trouble with more than one tour guide. Reason #742 that I love David is that he always goes with me.
11. I do math in my head. For fun.
12. I am a gypsy at heart. Some places I’ve lived: LA, NYC, Albuquerque, San Diego, Singapore, Sacramento, Taiwan, DC. (And a shout out to Pasco Washington!) Some places I will live: Hawaii, Anchorage and Sydney, Australia for sure. Probably more. Weird opportunities tend to present themselves to me, which I am grateful for.
13. The last book I read was Jules Verne’s “Journey To The Center Of The Earth”. It was different than I expected style-wise, but I love the story. Next on my book-list: “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea” and “Treasure Island”.
14. Someday I will learn to speak Spanish at least semi-fluently. ¿Es verdad? Si, es verdad! (Our plan is to do a relatively long-term immersion course in Guatemala.)
15. David and I watch “Mixed Nuts” every year at Christmastime. If you are ever around us and we start giggling at some inside joke, it is probably because we’ve just quoted it, which somehow never gets old. (“Get me free, or hit me in my face!”) I will always love Michelle Brooks for sharing that movie with us. (I also love you for making me look good in front of Uta Hagen, but I digress.)
16. I once played softball with Tom Wopat, otherwise known as Luke Duke from the original “Dukes of Hazzard”, and before the game even started he heckled me. Getting ribbed by a childhood idol was amazingly satisfying and enjoyable. His team won on the field, but our next competition was on stage, and my hip-high leather boots totally trumped his dress and pearls.
17. My favorite book is still “The Power Of One” by Bryce Courtenay, which despite the title is not a self-help book but actually a novel about a South African boy who wants to be a boxer. Read it if you want to be as awesome as me.
18. I do think I’m awesome. Not any more awesome than anyone else is, but just totally awesome in my own dorky way. I didn’t always think that, but life got a lot better once I did.
19. I love my five siblings more than I can possibly say. I want them all to be wildly happy. That, I believe, is partly due to a lot of good parenting.
20. Pet peeve - when people confuse “their” with “they’re”, or “your” with “you’re”. Drives me absolutely nuts.
21. What is the opposite of a pet peeve? A pet delight? Nothing makes me happier than when a cashier counts back my change. Most of them are lazy and just read back the number it says on the register while handing you a wad of bills and coin. So when someone counts it back, I know they are awesome and I wish I could hug them. Of course, I rarely use cash anymore, so I have fewer and fewer opportunities to discover these delightful people.
22. I’m good at saving money. Really good. In fact it is probably my greatest skill of all. Believe me, that has come in handy many times over the years as a (formerly) starving artist. We’ve got a lot of ground to make up, but I’m very optimistic about it.
23. I just had a salad with almonds and grapes in it, which I thought was awesome.
24. Performing on the 2003 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall with David at my side was one of the proudest days of my life. I will never forget it.
25. David and I are just past our 16th anniversary, and I can’t believe how immeasurably lucky I am to be with him. I couldn’t have imagined a better partner for this adventure of life. And somehow each year we share is better than the one before. I can’t imagine what I ever did to deserve this, but it must have been GOOD.

Her Morning Elegance / Oren Lavie

Awesome!!

Broadway Today at the Kennedy Center

Yesterday there was a special free concert at the Kennedy Center. [Side note: because I am retarded, I have a malingering tendency to refer to the Kennedy Center as the Lincoln Center. I can't keep my Presidential centers straight, it is quite annoying, so forgive me if I mess it up unintentionally.] The Kennedy Center has a free concert every day of the year, but this was some big special anniversary of free concerts or something, so they got a bunch of awesome Broadway singers to come in and a bunch of awesome Broadway composers to play for them. Or so I thought. Anyway, David and I got there early to stand in line for the tickets. and much to our surprise were only about 100 people back or so. I think the cold weather worked in our favor, and most people came much later than usual, so we ended up with Orchestra front and center which was awesome. Our friend Christina called after we were there and came over too, but by the time she got there she was probably close to 1000 people behind us. However through some twist of fate she ended up with a seat not too far away from us, so that was nice.

The concert started with Stephen Schwartz (who wrote Pippin and Wicked), and as he sits at the piano the moderator starts asking him lots of questions, how he got started in the business, who were his role models, how does he go about writing a song. Then he sang "The Wizard and I", but prefaced it with two early versions of the song, and told us why they didn't work and why they made the changes they did. And suddenly I realized I was in for much more of a treat than I'd expected. This wasn't just a quickie concert of some greatest Broadway hits. They had four composer teams (Schwartz, Jeanine Tesori, Flaherty/Ahrens, and Frankel/Korie) who all gave anecdotes and talked about their work while an amazing lineup of singers gave us examples. So we got Brian Stokes Mitchell singing "Wheels Of A Dream", Adriane Lenox singing "Lot's Wife", and Carpathia Jenkins singing "Spark Of Creation". As a bonus Jeanine Tesori sang one of her songs from the recently opened "Shrek: The Musical", and in addition to having a few cast members singing a song from Frankel/Korie's about-to-open "Happiness" (at, of course, the LINCOLN Center), Scott Frankel also sang a song from a show they are writing based on the Johnny Depp movie "Finding Neverland". In short, it was totally freaking awesome. The highlight, for me, was seeing the incomparable and still in perfect voice Liz Callaway sing "Meadowlark" live with Stephen Schwartz at the piano. And this was free people! I love living in a big city.

Since this was a special concert, it was held in the big theatre. As we sat down and looked around, I recognized it from watching the Kennedy Center Honors, which for some reason was kind of exciting. The stage itself is ginormous. Maybe this year we will try and see an actual production there.