Talking About Stuff, with Mike and Christiana

Hey everyone.
Recorded the thing last night, but then sleep.
Now work.
I'll get it uploaded and online by this evening.
That is all... for now.

UPDATE!

Podcast still isn't up yet, but I thought I would mention some of the things we discussed, and open last night's episode up for discussion!

I was very sorry to see Amy go, though it wasn't totally unexpected. Still, especially given the merge, I'm not sure it was really in their best interests to get rid of her instead of Bobby John. Mike and I spent a lot of time discussing the pros and cons of that decision.

Also disappointing in that Amy was the last person who seemed to care at all about Gary's stupid lie. I'm worried now that the whole thing will just fall flat and go nowhere.

I read an email from Hannah where she described how she's changed her mind about Brandon. (Not sure she liked him before, now, love.) And we spend some time talking about Brandon and his worldview.

Not a lot of fireworks from Judd this week, but after expending so much drama last week he probably needs to build up a new head of steam.

I mention how, for me, Stephanie has almost started to take on a "villain" role, in opposition to Danni who is the "hero." Mike felt the reverse, but interesting that we both percieved the same connected dynamic between the two.

We both discuss our like for Rafe, but Mike suspects his fate is to be used and discarded.

So, what did you all think? Since there's still time, I may add your comments to an extra segment on the podcast when I put it up tonight! Also, remember you can leave me audio comments on my voicemail line at 1-206-202-3280!

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Okay, so the podcast won't be up until this weekend, but that doesn't mean we can't still talk about it here! In fact, Mike and I will even be able to discuss your comments in the podcast, as well as including discussion of Survivor Live from the CBS.com site.

So, I was very sorry to see Brian go, but it was as I predicted. Brian did a great job, but playing the strategy game as aggressively as he did just attracted attention to himself.

Of course, I think that the problem on that tribe was that there really weren't any weak links remaining, so I don't think Brian would have gone home if there had really been anyone else obvious. Amy's ankle is hurt, sure, but after coming back as spectacularly as she did in the challenge, there was no way they'd send her home for that. So Brian got the votes. I'm not happy about it, but I can't really blame any of the people who voted for him.

With Margaret, I think she gave up, which was a shame. So it was no surprise really that she went home. Even Cindy realized what was happening and wisely distanced herself. But even given that, I was really glad to see Margaret standing up to Judd, purely because it was another perfect opportunity to let Judd act like a total crazy person.

Seriously, I hope he sticks around as long as possible, because he's great fun to watch when he goes into a complete meltdown at the tiniest suggestion of criticism. "No I don't think I'm a bad sportsmanship."

So, what did you all think?

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Okay, so looks like tonight is double-elimination night on Survivor: Guatemala! According to the previews, both tribes are going to tribal council.

I imagine they will be using a similar thing as in Palau where the tribe that wins the challenge will get to sit and watch the losing tribe's tribal council.

We kind of knew this was coming, because if you work out the number of "days" total spent on the island and the number of people remaining, there had to be at least one double-elimination episode.

But anyway, I think Yaxha is in for some angst tonight. Nakum has Margaret and Cindy in a minority who are probably the next two voted out from that tribe unless they pull off something really dramatic. But with Blake gone, who does Yaxha vote off next?

Looks like Amy goes down like a bowling pin in tonight's challenge, but no one knows whether that will produce an actual injury or not. She may be seen as one of the weaker members of the tribe, but then there's Brian. As much as I love him, I think he may have tipped his hand a little by playing the strategic game so aggressively. But then there's Brandon, the only one left who didn't vote for Blake, and of course Gary.

According to Blake's interview on Survivor Live, the fact that he IS an ex-quarterback and that he's lying is pretty much a given for all the ex-Nakum members, but even though they actually teased him about it, Gary continues to deny deny deny.

I can see why nobody would push too hard on it right now, because he's one of the stronger people on that team, and it would be counter-productive. But I want closure, dammit! If it just fades into a non-issue, I'm going to be really annoyed.

Anyway, just want to let everyone know that the Survivor Edition of the Podcast will be a little late this week, (probably Saturday), but there's no reason that we can't continue to talk about it in advance of the show tonight, and I'll have a place for comments tomorrow as well. In fact, since the show won't be recorded until later, we might even be able to include your comments, so don't be shy!

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Now it seems to happen all the time that two movies about the same subject get released at nearly the same time, but this may be the first time that it happens intentionally.

Apparently, Clint Eastwood is making two different films about the WWII battle of Iwo-Jima, one from the American perspective and the other from the Japanese point of view. Then he will release the two films simultaneously.

Read about it here.

The two films show how that the battle, and the war in the Pacific presented a clash of cultures ... While Japanese officers believed that surrender was dishonor and that they had an obligation to die in defense of the island, the U.S. troops worked hard to stay alive, and died for their comrades in arms, the magazine said.

Even though I was decidedly underwhelmed... no that's too weak, I was thoroughly annoyed by Clint's last film, Million Dollar Baby, I do think he's a very talented director and this, I must say, is a really cool idea.

Here's hoping both films will be good!

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Seriously, what's your deal? You're only depriving yourself needlessly.

Anyway, if you still need convincing, check this out!

You can watch the first 9 minutes of the film right here in glorious full-screen streaming video!

Or if you're like me and you've already seen it twice or more. You can just watch it again and swoon in the comfort of your own homes.

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I haven't posted anything about the Numa Numa Guy in several months, but to this day, a good chunk of my blog traffic still comes from people searching for Numa Numa-related material. First and foremost, the Numa Numa Guy himself.

According to my traffic statistics, people visiting my blog have watched that video more than 3350 times!

Anyway, Erika Stimac, one of my readers helpfully wrote in to inform me of a broken link and to give me a few updates!

Hi Christiana,
I found your site whilst looking for numa numa junk. I just got broadband & am catching up on the fads, so forgive me for being a beat behind.

First - that spoof bye Lower West Side Boyz (I prolly messed that up) was fantastic. I don't think the lip sync was a problem; my guess is that the file compression was making things look bad. I have a soft spot for boys that make me laugh, so even though they were mocking the "sexy sexy dance" of O-zone, they managed to come across attractive to me. I found it rather adorable actually1

Second - you have a link to the original O-zone video on your blog. Unfortunately, that link takes you nowhere now - no server or some odd thing. There is a flash version of the vid (I found this on http://www.blifaloo.com/info/numa_numa.php, to give credit its due). Here's the link to the flash site:
http://www.fobiopatel.com/dongles/movies/ozone.swf

And third, my brush w/ celebrity. Not sure if you'd want to promote this or not, depending on your feelings for O-zone. While trying to find out WTF this "Numa Numa" song was, and who were these Romanian guys (all I had found was the anime type illustrations of them, & got curious), I did a search for "Dan Balan", who is the lead/tall guy of the group. Well, he just started his own little space on Bebo.com - the direct link is:
http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=19514441

IMHO, Bebo is not the place to set up shop - its clientele are way too young. Hopefully he has a manager that will step in & set him straight. He also needs to learn how to talk the english more goodly before he posts huge monologues about himself, or at least have someone edit for style (the tone is weirdly arrogant). On a less critical note, I emailed Dan through this site to send him the link to that goofy Japanese kitty numa numa (I wasn't aware of how widespread it was). Amazingly, he emailed back. So, don't tell my DH that I had an exchange with the guy who wrote the world famous "numa numa" song! :D

That's about it - have a great weekend!

- Erika

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We've got natural selection in action tonight on Survivor.

The rumor mill (not to mention TV Guide) is saying tonight's episode has a tribe shuffle.

I'm glad to hear it, because it was looking pretty bad for Yaxah. I figured they were going to keep losing, despite their strategy of preserving the athletically strong folks.

Still, sounds as though this might not be a run-of-the-mill tribe switch-up, because the promos are going on and on about something that has "never happened before!" Along with lots of reaction shots of people looking surprised. So I'm thinking we'll get not just a normal shuffle, but something unusual.

What do you all think it will be?

One idea I think would be neat is if they are told simply to pick their own tribes. Not the one at a time school-yard type thing from Palau, but simply, "All right, everybody, figure out your own tribes and come back when you've got even groups. And since you have an odd number, the odd person out gets to go home."

Only downside to that I can think of is the possibility that they would just stick with the tribes they have now. I'm doubting that though. Stephanie at the very least sounds like she wants out, and Judd & Bobby John may want to get away from Margaret.

Still, that's rampant speculation. Who else has theories?

Got predictions about anything else? Will Amy's ankle be okay? Will Gary's top-secret cover come around and bite him? Will Blake be eaten by crocodiles?

Speak now!

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