I think the social game is playing a bigger part in this season of Survivor than it ever has before, although I simply may not have been paying that much attention before. Or maybe it's because Boston Rob is the ultimate puppet master & does a very nice job of explaining to the fans what he's doing and why. In any case, I really like watching him serve as the ref in the Saggy Bottom Panties Cage Match: Ashley v. Phillip. Somehow he's making this zany group work as a team, and no one else can claim any credit for helping with the group dynamic. If Rob wasn't there I think they would have lost every single challenge this season. Outside of Rob there is no brains and no heart.
Also interesting was Purple Team's decision-making at tribal council. I think that if someone besides David had campaigned to get Stephanie to stay, she might have had a chance. But Dave is already a bottom-dweller in his alliance, and his opinion has very little merit. Still, a good effort on his & Stephanie's part, and I hope to see her again!
The Standings
Team Cockydoodlebug: Doug/Bri - 53 pts
1. Grant (15 pts)
2. Rooster (23 pts)
3. Andrea (15 pts)
Team #Winning!: Moon - 51 pts
1. Boston Rob (25 pts)
2. David (13 pts)
[3. Krista (13 pts)]
Team Saggy Bottom Panties: Me - 45 pts
1. Phillip (15 pts)
2. Ashley (15 pts)
3. Natalie (15 pts)
Team Evil Crushell: Courtney - 36 pts
[1. Evil Russell (10 pts)]
2. Sarita (11 pts)
3. Julie (15 pts)
Team Fabioesque: Dachui - 34 pts
1. Mike (15 pts)
2. Matt (4 pts)
3. Stephanie (15 pts)
Team Haterz Gonna Hate: Bag - 25 pts
[1. Francesca (0 pts)]
[2. Kristina (10 pts)]
3. Steve (15 pts)
Power Rankings
1. Team Cockydoodlebug - Again, Doug/Bri's team comes out looking really strong, although they are minus one t-shirt now... a devastating blow, I'm sure. Besides that, there's not much to criticize. As a team, they're the most physical team, the 2nd-most mental team, they're in the best alliances, and they have the best hairdos. That's tough to beat!
2. Team #Winning! - Boston Rob continues to hold his tribe together & impress with his long-term view of this game. Obviously his experience with the game gives him a huge advantage, but he also has a huge target on his back because of it. At this point I really don't see anyone on his tribe being smart enough to blindside him out of the game, but once they merge there will be some Purple players targeting him. It might not matter if the Yellow Tribe comes in with a majority of players though. Plus, Rob probably already has 3 plans laid out for taking out the other tribe already.
3. Team Fabioesque - No matter what happens next week, Fabioesque will be down to 2 players. It's a sad fate that this team is stuck in "Minimal Points Land," aka Redemption Island. Matt is one of the toughest competitors in this game, but he's only earning minimum wage. If he & Mike both make it to the merge, then Dachui could really make a comeback, but in the meantime they won't be earning much very quickly.
4. Saggy Bottom Panties - Aka team Stealth R Us: Specialist Forces. The intellect of my team combined probably equals that of a 7th grader's, and they are all physically weak too. They're earning points now, but even if they all make it to the merge I have no expectation that they'll contribute anything to my team.
5. Evil Crushell - Things keep getting worse in the Crushell camp. Purple team is collapsing & Sarita now looks like she's in the bottom 2 on her team. Julie's strong & I think she can go far, but one player being the sole breadwinner for a team has not worked well for us in the past.
6. Team Haterz Gonna Hate - What's the deal with Steve? His inexplicable explosion over Stephanie & Krista's decision to vote for him was bizarre to say the least. Maybe that's the first time someone told him he was old? It'd be pretty bad timing to have a mid-life crisis while on Survivor. Steve needs to grow some thicker skin and quickly, because the blows to the ego only get more painful from here on out.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Redemption Island: Episode 5
I thought the most interesting part of last week's episode of Survivor was how it revealed the weaknesses of Moon's entire team. First, Boston Rob mentions that keeping Phillip around will keep the heat off of him. Second, Krista is annoying & gets voted into Redemption Island. Third, David is now very much aware that he's player #6 in his 6-player alliance. Moon may be winning the most points right now, but his position is rather precarious!
Gotta say, while having Phillip on the tribe may keep the heat off of Boston Rob, KEEPING him on the tribe will draw a lot of heat too! I'm sure he's thought through this, but it's going to be a tricky dance to keep everyone balanced. I really hope that Stephanie and Saggy Bottom Panties both make it to the merge, because I think the two of them together could really create some fireworks!
Other than that, my only other contribution is that Purple Team is in a lot more trouble than they thought they'd be. They're ahead by 1 tribe member now, but that tribe member hates them. So really, Yellow Tribe is up 1 player at this point. Which really highlights another aspect of the bad karma that throwing a challenge will give you. Your team voted someone out, sure, but the other team also DIDN'T. It's a 2-person swing. Really, they should have figured they'd lose a challenge eventually & that's when it'd be a good time to vote Russell out. Now they're in quite the pickle!
The Standings
Team #Winning!: Moon - 46 pts 1. Boston Rob (20 pts)
2. David (13 pts)
3. Krista (13 pts)
Team Cockydoodlebug: Doug/Bri - 43 pts
1. Grant (10 pts)
2. Rooster (23 pts)
3. Andrea (10 pts)
Team Evil Crushell: Courtney - 38 pts
[1. Evil Russell (10 pts)]
2. Sarita (13 pts)
3. Julie (15 pts)
Team Fabioesque: Dachui - 33 pts
1. Mike (15 pts)
2. Matt (3 pts)
3. Stephanie (15 pts)
Team Saggy Bottom Panties: Me - 30 pts
1. Phillip (10 pts)
2. Ashley (10 pts)
3. Natalie (10 pts)
Team Haterz Gonna Hate: Bag - 25 pts
[1. Francesca (0 pts)]
[2. Kristina (10 pts)]
3. Steve (15 pts)
Power Rankings
1. Team Cockydoodlebug - Crow away team Rooster, your team continues to dominate! Andrea is my MVP of the week because of her insightful view of the social game, and her willingness to consider an alliance with someone who's tantamount to being a leper. She's right in that she can't make plays now, but I think that she'd be open to a drastic move should the opportunity arise. My favorite part of this episode was the way they showed her body language with the other girls & then hearing them all talk about each other in their Talking Head interviews. The anthropology major in me was tickled to death!
2. Team Fabioesque - Maybe I'm just in a funny mood right now, but I'm really starting to love Team Fabioesque. They get their weekly rent of 1 point from Matt every week, and alliances are starting to be forged on the assumption that he'll return. That's the game working for you! Mike's still very strong, and Stephanie is both resourceful & crafty! Again, really hope she makes it to the merge.
3. Team #Winning! - Already discussed Moon's team at the top. I'm sad that as soon as I posted that I like David he got all bitchy about not being allowed to do a puzzle. It's not like he's even solved one yet, right? The only other puzzle challenge they've had was the challenge they threw! Stop being cocky when you've proven nothing. The same might be said of Moon, who called this a "two horse race" after only 3 episodes :).
4. Team Evil Crushell - I have concerns about Sarita. I love that she's one of the very few females to be the leader of a gender-mixed alliance. That's a hard gender stereotype to break with a group of strangers. I don't like how unilateral her decisions are. I think her reasoning was sound in choosing Stephanie to lead the challenge, but if/when a tribe loses the tribe will often turn on the leader who makes the "bad" decision. She needs to step a little more lightly to avoid becoming a sacrificial goat!
5. Team Saggy Bottom Panties - My team was sad before because of Phillip but now I've learned that my two female players also have bad personalities! I picked Ashley & Natalie because I thought that they wouldn't be those vapid girls who didn't do work & decided to hang on coattails the whole game. Turns out that's exactly who they are. Sigh. At least all 3 are still in. With their powers combined this may be the most despicable team ever!
6. Team Haterz Gonna Hate - Baggins is down to Steve. A solid, but lonely player. Sadly, Steve < Saggy Bottom Panties in the Survivor Pool world... though probably not in real life.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Potpourri
1. I need a new name for my blog, as neither my name nor this blog can still be considered “new.” Does anyone have suggestions? My only idea so far was “Outwit, Outplay, Outblog” but I think as a group we can come up with something better.
2. Starting on March 19th, 2011, I am no longer a notary! This is a long-awaited day for me, and I was planning on having a party to celebrate it. But after further consideration I’ve opted against this. There’s so much to celebrate these days already that I think I’ll just throw this in with the Patrick’s Day/Bag’s birthday events. During my 4-year tenure as a representative of the state of Colorado, I’ve completed notarizations for over 200 people and made $0 doing so. I will not miss this responsibility.
3. One of my favorite fantasy series, George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire, has turned into an HBO TV series! It’s airing on Sunday, April 17, 2011. Whether you’ve read the books or not, I recommend giving it a try. People have been describing it as “Sopranos with swords,” which I believe is a fairly accurate description. Plus, Sean Bean plays the lead, and who doesn’t like him?
4. In other Ice & Fire news, George has officially announced the release date for his 5th book, A Dance with Dragons. This is (supposedly) the 5th book in a 7 book series, and is going to be his longest yet. I will quite probably start re-reading the series in preparation for the book release, but won’t start doing that until George actually announces that the book is complete.
5. I thought I’d broken my toe on one of our cat-scratching posts this weekend. It turned a lovely deep purple & has now started making very artistic bruise patterns. However, it doesn’t hurt nearly as much as the other toes I’ve broken in the past, and so I now believe that it’s only a serious stub. Also stubbed my left baby toe on a curb in January. The toenail on that one has turned into a deep purple “nailscab.” I think it might fall off sometime in the next month. I’m very excited to see how this develops!
6. While the toes seem to be doing okay, I caught a hard throw in softball last night right on a finger joint. Again, not broken, but the finger is now twice as large as it’s supposed to be and I can’t bend it or put any pressure on it. Hopefully it’ll feel better by next week’s game!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Bracketology: Redemption Basketball
March Madness is here, which means tournament pools are too! As this is a blog that specifically appeals to people who like to watch & bet on real-life elimination challenges, I wanted to take this opportunity to advertise for the tournament pool that I do. It fits well with this season of Survivor's theme of Redemption. Originally invented by Danny Fahey of Norwich, VT, this basketball pool format became so popular that we had to have a Pickett family spin-off to actually give ourselves a chance to win!
In our pool you don't have to pick the entire tournament ahead of time - we do it by weekend. So even if you guess ALL the wrong teams the first weekend, you still have a chance at redemption (and getting your money back) in weeks 2 and 3. 1st week you pick the winners, 2nd week you pick winners & their margin of victory, and for the 3rd week you pick winners & the final scores. It's $6 per weekend, and participating in all 3 weekends is optional.
The pool is open to any and all, whether you're related to me or not. Our very own Survivor-poolist, Sir Baggage Claim, was the overall money winner last year, and has big plans to defend his title. If you would like to get in on the action & try to take on the reigning champ, let me know! I'll send you all the info you need. Deadline to submit picks for Weekend #1 is Thursday by tip-off, so please get back to me soon!
Go Duke! To hell with Carolina!
In our pool you don't have to pick the entire tournament ahead of time - we do it by weekend. So even if you guess ALL the wrong teams the first weekend, you still have a chance at redemption (and getting your money back) in weeks 2 and 3. 1st week you pick the winners, 2nd week you pick winners & their margin of victory, and for the 3rd week you pick winners & the final scores. It's $6 per weekend, and participating in all 3 weekends is optional.
The pool is open to any and all, whether you're related to me or not. Our very own Survivor-poolist, Sir Baggage Claim, was the overall money winner last year, and has big plans to defend his title. If you would like to get in on the action & try to take on the reigning champ, let me know! I'll send you all the info you need. Deadline to submit picks for Weekend #1 is Thursday by tip-off, so please get back to me soon!
Go Duke! To hell with Carolina!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Redemption Island: Episode 4
Poor Russell. He wanted it so bad, and was completely crushed when he lost on Redemption Island. What really bums me out though is that he did such a beautiful job of trying to ruin his team's mojo by revealing so much information. But he told Phillip & Kristina, the two people least capable of making good use of it.
I hated the challenge for this week - usually Survivor does a better job of avoiding blatant product placement, but this was a huge fail for me. I also didn't like that so much of the challenge could rest on only 2 team members. These are still supposed to be team challenges, not Boston Rob v. Rooster expos.
My absolute favorite part of this episode was their focus on Phillip's underwear. I laughed so hard at Boston Rob's comments that I had to change my team name. Phillip may not last much longer, but his underwear will be remembered for months after he's gone.
Phillip. Phillip, Phillip, Phillip. Sigh. What am I to do with you? Ben & I had an interesting discussion of this whacky fellow last night. What really makes him unique is that he's super weird, super annoying, but also very aware of the fact. He knows that everyone hates him, but he can't not be who he is. He knows his personality will almost certainly get him voted out. Which is actually really refreshing after dealing with the likes of Coach. Coach was nuts too, but he thought he was awesome. Phillip has no such delusion. He just can't help himself. So while I can't imagine being stuck with him for more than 48 hours without slapping him in the face, I'm still cheering for him. Him and his saggy-bottom panties.
The Standings
Team #Winning!: Moon - 41 pts 1. Boston Rob (15 pts)
2. David (13 pts)
3. Krista (13 pts)
Team Evil Crushell: Courtney - 38 pts
[1. Evil Russell (10 pts)]
2. Sarita (13 pts)
3. Julie (15 pts)
Team Cockydoodlebug: Doug/Bri - 33 pts
1. Grant (5 pts)
2. Rooster (23 pts)
3. Andrea (5 pts)
Team Fabioesque: Dachui - 32 pts
1. Mike (15 pts)
2. Matt (2 pts)
3. Stephanie (15 pts)
Team Haterz Gonna Hate: Bag - 25 pts
[1. Francesca (0 pts)]
2. Kristina (10 pts)
3. Steve (15 pts)
Team Saggy-Bottom Panties: Me - 15 pts
1. Phillip (5 pts)
2. Ashley (5 pts)
3. Natalie (5 pts)
Power Rankings
1. Team Cockydoodlebug - I still believe that this is the strongest team this season, and I'm pleased to see my graph backing me up on that! Cockydoodlebug has been making steady progress throughout the season so far, regardless of who is winning challenges.
2. Team #Winning! - I was worried that David was going to be like Marty - always trying to show everyone else how smart he is. Right now he's turning into one of my favorite players. He's laying low, making really good observations, and keeping his options open. I'd be shocked if he didn't make the jury.
| Julie, is that you? |
3. Team Evil Crushell - Russell was crushed, but team Evil Crushell lives on! Courtney nabbed the two strongest women from the strongest tribe & I think she can still do well. Craggy-faced Julie is one of my favorites - she's clever & positive, and reminds me of that stone guy from the Neverending Story.
4. Team Fabioesque - I'm so happy that we're giving the winner of Redemption Island challenges 1 point. It's such an insignificant amount that it's almost an insult, but I think that Matt would be really proud - if he knew about our pool - that he was still earning points for his team. Definitely rooting for him in the Matt v. Kristina duel next week!
5. Team Saggy-Bottom Panties - My team moved up! Woo hoo! My team didn't improve as much as my team name, but I think that should count for something. Plus, Bag's team got much worse, finally dipping into that "This team is actually worse than having Phillip" level.
5. Team Saggy-Bottom Panties - My team moved up! Woo hoo! My team didn't improve as much as my team name, but I think that should count for something. Plus, Bag's team got much worse, finally dipping into that "This team is actually worse than having Phillip" level.
6. Team Haterz Gonna Hate - Bag's team is going down the toilet fast. While I disagree with Moon that Bag is bad at the pool (Parvati anyone?) he certainly is on a cold streak. Steve is solid though - he's older which helps him appear to not be a physical threat, but the dude is still tough. He could easily go far, especially if Purple Tribe keeps winning.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Redemption Island: Episode 3
Overall, while an entertaining episode, this week's episode only ranks 3rd on my "Reality Shows Pickett Loves" scale. 1st place goes to Face Off with their Zombie competition (dancing zombies is the ultimate reality trump card), 2nd place goes to Top Chef: All Stars for an episode where everyone did so well that the judges couldn't eliminate anyone, 3rd place is for Survivor, and 4th place goes to Top Shot, which featured an entertaining but forgetful archery competition.
I do want to give Julie major MVP points for the move she pulled against Russell in this episode. She was smart enough to fake going along with his plan so that he wouldn't try and persuade others to join him. That's an advanced move, and one that many contestants mess up. LVP award is a tie this week: Phillip definitely gets one for sitting on top of the hidden immunity idol clue & not finding it, but Stephanie also steals some of that bacon by being so obnoxious during tribal council as to practically guarantee that she's the next to be voted out of their tribe.
Ultimately I think it was a bad idea for the Purple Tribe to throw a challenge. They were not so dominant as to be able to do that. And they really underestimated the momentum swing that just happened. They gave the other tribe some serious luxuries, and a feeling of what it's like to win. Talk to the Cleveland Cavs this year, and you'll know how important that feeling is. And even if you don't care about "feelings" and "momentum" keep in mind that Yellow Tribe got a tarp! That's one of the single greatest reward items you can get. Getting a good night's sleep is more important than food, especially in a game that's so mental.
The Standings
Team Evil Crushell: Courtney - 28 pts
1. Evil Russell (10 pts)2. Sarita (8 pts)
3. Julie (10 pts)
Team Cockydoodlebug: Doug/Bri - 28 pts
1. Grant (5 pts)
2. Rooster (18 pts)
3. Andrea (5 pts)
Team #Winning!: Moon - 23 pts
1. Boston Rob (5 pts)
2. David (8 pts)
3. Krista (10 pts)
Team Fabioesque: Dachui - 21 pts
1. Mike (10 pts)
2. Matt (1 pts)
3. Stephanie (10 pts)
Team Haterz Gonna Hate: Bag - 20 pts
[1. Francesca (0 pts)]
2. Kristina (10 pts)
3. Steve (10 pts)
Team Brief(s): Me - 15 pts
1. Phillip (5 pts)
2. Ashley (5 pts)
3. Natalie (5 pts)
Power Rankings
1. Team Cockydoodlebug - Doug/Bri's team is in the rare position where all of their players are in a majority alliance. That almost never happens. They also have an immunity idol which NO ONE knows about, which gives it more power than a normal immunity idol, I think. I also like Rooster's position of being a leader of his alliance without appearing to be the leader. That's an advantage that Boston Rob doesn't have.
2. Team #Winning! - I have doubts about this team name - it looks way to much like some sort of Twitter thing. That being said, Moon's team is definitely looking solid. My only doubts are that Boston Rob is outplaying everyone too much & that his own alliance will, come merge time, try and turn against him. That won't matter much if he finds an immunity idol though. Krista may have been on the wrong end of the alliance battle, but at the same time she was the least atrocious of the 3, so she could squeak by the danger stages of the alliance crushing, and then watch while the majority alliance turns against itself.
3. Team Evil Crushell - Crushell takes a big hit with Russell going to Redemption Island as there are no hidden immunity idols to be found there! At the same time, he does have a chance to come back, and I was really impressed with Julie this week. Sarita seems pretty canny too, although she's laying low right now. Perhaps this team has more depth than I originally thought :)
4. Team Fabioesque - Fabioesque's team is starting to look sad. Matt's still in Purgatory, and Stephanie looked like a fool. Mike is still going strong, but you gotta have dregs earn points to win The Pool. Dachui needs a Matt comeback for this team to really have a chance.
5. Team Haterz Gonna Hate - Francesca is officially gone, which is really sad because I would have loved to see her go farther in the game. I rarely think this about any of the early-outers, but in this case she just got extremely unlucky. I also like Steve for his strategy, even though I disagree with throwing a challenge. At least he's trying to make moves!
6. Team Brief(s) - My team may still have 3 players, but one of them is Phillip, and the others are Boston Rob minions who appear to have no brains of their own. I'm not loving my team & have decided to cheer against them from now on. Although I will admit that I was thrilled to have a score above 0 by the end of this week!
I do want to give Julie major MVP points for the move she pulled against Russell in this episode. She was smart enough to fake going along with his plan so that he wouldn't try and persuade others to join him. That's an advanced move, and one that many contestants mess up. LVP award is a tie this week: Phillip definitely gets one for sitting on top of the hidden immunity idol clue & not finding it, but Stephanie also steals some of that bacon by being so obnoxious during tribal council as to practically guarantee that she's the next to be voted out of their tribe.
Ultimately I think it was a bad idea for the Purple Tribe to throw a challenge. They were not so dominant as to be able to do that. And they really underestimated the momentum swing that just happened. They gave the other tribe some serious luxuries, and a feeling of what it's like to win. Talk to the Cleveland Cavs this year, and you'll know how important that feeling is. And even if you don't care about "feelings" and "momentum" keep in mind that Yellow Tribe got a tarp! That's one of the single greatest reward items you can get. Getting a good night's sleep is more important than food, especially in a game that's so mental.
The Standings
Team Evil Crushell: Courtney - 28 pts
1. Evil Russell (10 pts)2. Sarita (8 pts)
3. Julie (10 pts)
Team Cockydoodlebug: Doug/Bri - 28 pts
1. Grant (5 pts)
2. Rooster (18 pts)
3. Andrea (5 pts)
Team #Winning!: Moon - 23 pts
1. Boston Rob (5 pts)
2. David (8 pts)
3. Krista (10 pts)
Team Fabioesque: Dachui - 21 pts
1. Mike (10 pts)
2. Matt (1 pts)
3. Stephanie (10 pts)
Team Haterz Gonna Hate: Bag - 20 pts
[1. Francesca (0 pts)]
2. Kristina (10 pts)
3. Steve (10 pts)
Team Brief(s): Me - 15 pts
1. Phillip (5 pts)
2. Ashley (5 pts)
3. Natalie (5 pts)
Power Rankings
1. Team Cockydoodlebug - Doug/Bri's team is in the rare position where all of their players are in a majority alliance. That almost never happens. They also have an immunity idol which NO ONE knows about, which gives it more power than a normal immunity idol, I think. I also like Rooster's position of being a leader of his alliance without appearing to be the leader. That's an advantage that Boston Rob doesn't have.
2. Team #Winning! - I have doubts about this team name - it looks way to much like some sort of Twitter thing. That being said, Moon's team is definitely looking solid. My only doubts are that Boston Rob is outplaying everyone too much & that his own alliance will, come merge time, try and turn against him. That won't matter much if he finds an immunity idol though. Krista may have been on the wrong end of the alliance battle, but at the same time she was the least atrocious of the 3, so she could squeak by the danger stages of the alliance crushing, and then watch while the majority alliance turns against itself.
3. Team Evil Crushell - Crushell takes a big hit with Russell going to Redemption Island as there are no hidden immunity idols to be found there! At the same time, he does have a chance to come back, and I was really impressed with Julie this week. Sarita seems pretty canny too, although she's laying low right now. Perhaps this team has more depth than I originally thought :)
4. Team Fabioesque - Fabioesque's team is starting to look sad. Matt's still in Purgatory, and Stephanie looked like a fool. Mike is still going strong, but you gotta have dregs earn points to win The Pool. Dachui needs a Matt comeback for this team to really have a chance.
5. Team Haterz Gonna Hate - Francesca is officially gone, which is really sad because I would have loved to see her go farther in the game. I rarely think this about any of the early-outers, but in this case she just got extremely unlucky. I also like Steve for his strategy, even though I disagree with throwing a challenge. At least he's trying to make moves!
6. Team Brief(s) - My team may still have 3 players, but one of them is Phillip, and the others are Boston Rob minions who appear to have no brains of their own. I'm not loving my team & have decided to cheer against them from now on. Although I will admit that I was thrilled to have a score above 0 by the end of this week!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)