Continuing with my television theme, tonight while watching Survivor, I think it was one of the first times that I've genuinely cared who was voted out of tribal council. In the past, the tribes are always so large, so there's always the possibility that it's someone you wouldn't expect. However, poor Ulong has lost every immunity challenge and they were down to three members this week - Bobby John, Ibrahim, and Stephenie. Two weeks ago, Ibrahim was going to be the one voted off, however, in a twist, the opposing team was able to choose to give immunity to one person and they chose Ibrahim, granting him a few more days on the island. Now, he's just one of three - Bobby John, a fellow Alabaman along with Ibrahim has been flying under the radar for the most part - he's soft spoken and doesn't really stand out, so I didn't care if he went tonight. But then there's Stephenie.

I'm not sure what it is about her, but she's got this way about her that really makes her stand out. I think it's her fierce competitive spirit - be it an immunity challenge, a reward challenge, or even the challenge of building a fire or shelter, she's always right in there and if they lose, if something doesn't turn out right, she's upset. I think that her unwillingness to lose is quite attractive - I hate to lose as well - many of my friends will attest to that - be it a boardgame, a softball game, or a game of bowling - I hate losing. I try to contain myself when I lose and be a good loser, but it just hurts - there's nothing good about losing - absolutely nothing. So sitting here, watching Stephenie try her hardest to win, work her ass off for the tribe, and get genuinely upset when they lose - not the "poor us" attitude most survivors get, really has drawn me to her.

Unfortunately, even though she's survived this tribal council along with Bobby John, I really don't see her staying on the island much longer. The other team is 8 strong and there has to be a merge next week - there's no way a team can compete with just two members. And even if there isn't a merge, the team of 8 would have to split and there'd be two teams of five - either way, both Bobby John and Stephenie are outnumbered. It really is a shame - she's got that competitive spirit that a lot of the others on the show lack. For example, Jenn on the opposing team wondered why her "boyfriend" on the island, a fellow castaway, was standoffish at times - could it be he's playing the game? She didn't get that Gregg couldn't be talking to her all the time. He couldn't be all lovey-dovey all the time. He had to play the game. People like that deserve to be voted off. Not Stephenie.

URL: CBS.com

I thought briefly tonight about creating a blog just for my television ramblings since a) I seem to watch too much TV, b) I like to rant and rave about said television shows, and c) well, why not? But...since I've got even less time than usual with classes, training, and work, even when I have time to watch my shows, I doubt I'd have time to quickly recap each one. However, tonight while watching The Amazing Race - easily the best reality show on television right now (with Survivor a close second), I thought some teams were extremely stupid. If you watched it, feel free to read on, if you plan on watching it, don't read on quite yet.

But basically, while driving through Africa, Brian and Greg flipped their car - now, I guess it's not too hard to imagine since they were on a dirt road and if you hit some sand, it could happen, but they were probably going too fast in the first place and on said dirt road, they should have exercised a little more caution. But since they didn't, they flipped their car and lost their second place position (they fell to last obviously as they waited for a replacement car). The third place team, Lynn & Alex, stopped and offered assistance, but it was quite clear to me that all they would be able to offer is moral support since they had no first aid kits in their car (and if they did, the flipped car would have the same supplies) and they had no expertise in that particular area. So while they stood on the side of the road and offered moral support, Rob & Amber passed them by. Lynn & Alex were shocked. Simply shocked! How could you not stop and help? Granted, they probably should have slowed down and offered assistance as did the other teams that passed by, but either way, they wouldn't have been any help and stopping to offer assistance may be the polite thing to do, but to win a million dollars, it's been shown many times throughout the previous six seasons that politeness certainly doesn't win races.

Anyways, I've been very impressed with the game Rob & Amber have played thus far. Rob knows what he's doing and knows exactly which shortcuts to take and exactly which buttons to press on the other teams. He's used his head consistently and hasn't fallen into the same traps you see teams make every season. Take the detour tonight - you could either pound corn to make flour or you could suck some water out of a hole with a reed and put it into an ostrich egg. Let's see...pounding corn takes a lot of physical strength, and even if you assumed it wouldn't be too hard, once you saw how much you had to pound, the smart person would have moved over to the water. The water challenge required no physical strength and was just a matter of sucking up water and putting it into an egg. Only two teams chose this option - Rob & Amber who jumped ahead of another team and finished second overall and Greg & Brian who were able to pass Ray & Deana as they pounded corn and stayed in the race despite flipping their car.

My only pet peeve is how Rob & Amber have received assistance due to their celebrity - it isn't really fair that they get the advantage at certain points when other teams can't get the same benefit. I have no problem with a team recruiting someone to help them through their tasks, however, people volunteering to help because Rob & Amber are semi-famous doesn't quite sit will with me. However, what does sit well is the new rule regarding non-elimination legs. Last season, when you were last, you'd have your money taken away and would start with none on the next leg. Teams quickly found the loophole and begged for money during the 12 hour rest period, and in some cases, had more money at the start of the leg than teams that didn't. Now, you have to start the next leg with "no money to your name." So there's no more begging during "rest time" - though you can beg once the leg begins. The other twist this year is that not only do they take your money, they also take your packs and leave you with just a passport and the clothes on your back.

I felt sorry that Gretchen & Meredith were put in the position of not having any money or any clothes because they incurred an injury (though if they had properly done the task, they wouldn't have had to go back into the cave where the injury was sustained). But the other teams once again made a mistake - I have no problem with Uchenna & Joyce offering some clothing as it's pretty hard to lose all your clothes, but when the other teams chipped in $5 each, it just wasn't right. I realize you want to be nice since Meredith & Gretchen are the "older" couple in the race, but please...let's not go crazy. Again here we see Rob & Amber playing the game correctly by not lending a hand (Ray & Deana also didn't give them any money). The other teams not only helped keep Gretchen & Meredith in the game for another leg (and almost at their own peril), but now you're $5 poorer and you never know when you'll need the cash. Last season we saw teams run out of money because they had used it unwisely - these teams should take note - every cent should be cherished (though season 6 was the first time I saw teams run out of money without spending it crazily and this season was filmed while season 6 was on air). Either way, you don't help another team like that - share a taxi, give them a shirt or two, but don't straight-up give them money - there's a reason it's taken from them.

URL: CBS - The Amazing Race