AmazingRace6

Amazing Race 7

2005-03-09T16:54:00.000-08:00

Amazing Race 7

A nice poem found in the quest of question 3.

http://www.boppin.com/neruda.html

The Amazing Race 6 Finale Drinking Game

2005-02-09T06:25:00.000-08:00

Brought to you for your viewing and imbibement pleasure by Scrappy and Smitty. Will be repeated at the Amazing Race 6 marathon in a couple weeks.

Take a drink every time:

A Teammate calls the other "Baby".
Phil appears on the screen wearing an ugly-ass shirt.
Kendra says something racist, classist, or otherwise discriminatory.
Jon calls a taxi driver "Holmes".
Adam and Rebecca are "Currently in Last Place".
Hayden threatens to hyperventilate.
Kris says something nice about where they are.
Freddy wears his army-issued glasses/doo-rag combo.
Rebecca tells Adam, "We're over."
Aaron brags about doing something better than the other guys.
A racer proclaims, "This is an Emergency".
Adam cries out for his mommy.
CBS shows a commercial for the new season of Survivor.
CBS shows a commercial for Dr. Phil's Jonathan and Victoria interview.
You see a monkey, someone acts like a monkey, you hear the word monkey.
When you see Jonathan and Victoria waiting at the finish line.

FINAL POOL STANDINGS

2005-02-09T06:17:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to everyone! It wasn't the best season ever (in my mind, that's with season 3 and always will be), but we had fun, right? :)

Final scores:

Scott 6330
Judy 3390
Jan 2405
Jay 2210
Kristen 2135
Lee 1795
Jonathan 1385
Allegra 1030
Boogie 540
Eric 448
Karen 164
Samuel 45
Dave, Stephanie 20
Curt 18
Chris 11
Ami, Ben, Bill, Caitlin, Jack, June, Kristin, Mike 0

Which makes Scott our winner! It's fitting, as he has had his score and Karen's score taped up on the fridge in his kitchen since the beginning of the race figuring out just how much he was behind and how he could possibly win.

Prizes will be given to Scott, Judy (2nd place), and Jan (3rd place) the next time I see them.

For the record, one person thought Freddy and Kendra would take it. Ten were rooting for Kris and Jon. Two put their faith in the little monkeys Adam and Rebecca, and four were very, very sad that Hayden and Aaron got lost in whine country.

Butt Floss

2005-02-04T14:00:00.000-08:00

I don't think we've linked to Rebecca's homepage yet. She and her dad have both set bench press world records. Who knew?

The Trifecta

2005-02-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

Dr. Phil, Jonathan, Victoria. TV's own axis of evil. In case you missed the commercial for Voldemort and Victoria's appearance on Dr. Phil, it airs on (I believe) February 15th. Ahh, a Valentines Day special event. If Dr. Phil stays true to form, he'll hold Victoria more accountable for staying with Voldemort than he will Voldemort for the abusive behavior to begin with. I can't wait.

BONUS QUESTION - FINALE

2005-02-02T08:05:00.000-08:00

We've been following these teams since November 16th as they traveled all over the world.

Name the starting city plus the 10 pit stops so far.
Calculate in miles, how far the teams have traveled (I'll accept + or - 2500 from the answer I came up with, as it's impossible to know the exact distance)

GOOD LUCK!

BONUS ANSWER - WEEEK 12

2005-02-02T07:09:00.000-08:00

The Sri Lankan holiday is called Nikin Poya Day. My favorite new website is www.earthcalendar.net, and you can punch in any day (or search by country or religion / tradition) and it will tell you what holidays are going on all over the world! For example, today is:

Candlemas - Liechtenstein
Candlemas, Presentation of the Lord - Switzerland
Dia de la Candelaria - Mexico
Festa de Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes Porto Allegre - Brazil
Fiesta de la Virgen de Candelaria - Bolivia
Groundhog Day - Canada and the United States
Kyndelsmassodagen - Sweden
Virgen de la Candelaria - Puno - Peru
Candlemas - for both Christianity and Paganism

For all of you non-catholics out there, here's a good article on Candlemas. Who knew Pagans celebrated it, too? Just one of those strange little usurping traditions so we can convert the locals Catholicism has hanging around the far reaches of its history.

POOL RULES: FINALE

2005-02-02T07:05:00.000-08:00

Now that everyone has their final point total, we flip into "final jeopardy" mode. By Tuesday at 4 pm, everyone (regardless of whether you're answering the bonus or not) must send me two things:

The name of the team they think is going to win
How many of their points (0 - everything) they are betting

With the exception of next week's bonus question, no new points will be given during the finale--including the elimination of the fourth place team.

If I do not receive a bet from you, you are not eligible to win.

Prizes will be given to the top three finishing teams. I will not publish the wagers nor the teams that people decided would win until after the finale, as I don't want anyone's bets influenced by anyone else.

That's it! GOOD LUCK!

POOL STANDINGS - EPISODE 12

2005-02-02T07:01:00.000-08:00

Karen 3555
Judy 3390
Scott 3165
Jonathan 2885
Mike 2725
Ami 2470
Jan 2385
Jay 2210
Kristen 2135
June 2115
Samuel 2035
Chris and Jill 2020
Caitlin 1875
Lee 1795
Curt 1735
Stephanie 1580
Eric 1525
Jack 1140
Allegra 1030
Ben 965
Dave 940
Kristin 890
Bill 615
Boogie 540

How do they do that?

2005-02-02T06:33:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting Q&A reagarding the organization it takes to produce the Amazing Race.

I've hijacked the Blog!

2005-02-02T06:25:00.000-08:00

For those of you already disillusioned by the re-election of Dubya, you'll be further disenchanted to learn the State of the Union Address has trumped Alias. Well, the DJs at Air America have come up with the perfect solution for tonight's "reality" TV event: The State of the Union Address Drinking Game. Take a swig everytime you hear the word/phrase:

Bankrupt
Frivolous
Activist Judges
Iraq (chosen b/c Dubya managed to not mention Iraq by name even once during his inaugural address)
Behinds, or anything being left behind

What does this have to do with AR? Absolutely nothing! Nadda! Diddly-squat!

You Know AR is Getting Popular When

2005-02-01T08:40:00.000-08:00

Today's AR Reference of the Day:

From the zap2it article on last night's Bachelorette show:

The group date with Ben, Fabrice, John Paul and Wendell starts off as a relaxed pizza party in Little Italy and turns into a segment of "The Amazing Race." I half-expected to see Phil Keoghan elbow Chris Harrison out of the way and explain to the four guys that they had to give up whatever money they had and race to the top of the Empire State Building, where Jen would be waiting to share a final one-on-one date with the winner.

After promising to send a cabbie $300 for a quick ride over, Wendell gets there first, much to his own and Jen's delight. Runners-up Ben and John Paul are informed of their loss by seeing Jen and Wendell canoodling on a couch, which must have really sucked for them. As for Fabrice, he just walked home because, he says, he's tired of playing games for Jen's heart.

Reality TV Fear Factor

2005-01-31T13:50:00.000-08:00

Just in case anyone's interested, on February 21st Reichen (of Chip and Reichen, the winners of Amazing Race Four) will be one of the contestants on Reality TV Star Fear Factor.

Other contestants will be Omarosa from The Apprentice, Ryan Sutter from both The Bachelorette and Trisa & Ryan's Wedding, Ethan Zohn from Survivor, Jenna (not sure if it's Lewis or Morasca) from Survivor, and Nicki McKibbon from American Idol.

Episode 11 - My Thoughts

2005-01-26T11:29:00.000-08:00

And I'm back. In somewhat good creative form. This post may grow after I rewatch the episode, but these were my first impressions:

Poor Kendra getting all sick from the Ethiopian food. I totally feel for you. Note: Skip down to the next paragraph unless you don't mind reading a fairly gross comparision and a potentially offensive movie quote. My introduction to Ethiopian food was in the movie When Harry Met Sally. Billy Crystal is talking about a date he just went on, and he explains "She said she wanted to go for Ethiopian food and I thought, 'Great! We'll order two empty plates and go home!'". Keep in mind, the movie was taking place during the Live Aid era. I got suckered into going to an Ethiopian restaurant a few years ago, The House of Lalibela in Minneapolis. The restaraunt has since closed and has been replaced by Molly Quinn's Irish Pub, in case anyone's interested. I'm not the most adventurous of food eaters, but I do dig a lot of Egyptian and Middle Eastern food, so I thought I'd be fine. The people in my group decided to order the combination platters, and what came were these huge plates with mounds of different unidentifiable lumps all over it. There wasn't any silverware and instead we were given these cold, rubbery gray pancake things that you put in your hand, placed over your desired cuisine, and put in your mouth. The only thing I can compare it to is, well, you know how when you walk your dog (not that I really know 'cause I've never owned one, but I want one of these and name it Gatsby) in the park and there are those stands with plastic baggies that you use to pick up the poo? Yeah, like that.

Okay!

I'm going to miss Lori and Bolo, mainly because they kept giving me these great one liners (and if you want to hear another great Boloism, check out their Early Show interview from this morning!). My favorite from last night? "I'm gonna run like the police are chasing me, 'cause I know how to do that 'cause I'm used to it." Lori can totally hold her own on that front, too. Right before she starts running, "I wish I didn't have to pee!" To be honest, I would think that's maybe an advantage--wouldn't it make you go faster?

And on to Sri Lanka. I imagine it must have been so surreal for these racers to hear about the Tsunami after having just been there. The train in this picture was the one the racers took between Colombo and Galle. Normally I hate it when TV shows go all sentimental and "dedicating episodes" on our ass about stuff. Maybe I'm just cynical, but I see it as a ratings getter--especially in the wake of 9/11 when every single sitcom had someone wearing an FDNY hat or shirt at some point in the show in the episodes that were filmed after everything happened. But this was different, seeing as how it was filmed months before and they had to show the leg otherwise everyone would be like, "now, where did the frozen implant woman go?!". I thought Phil's introduction was very good, and actually heartfelt, and that's all I'm going to say about it.

I liked this detour a lot. Climb like a monkey, or ride an elephant? I'm not sure what I would have chosen, but it would have been harder had they not provided coconut slabs to step on while climbing, or make the players drive the elephants as well as hit the polo ball. My favorite moment was Hayden after she completed the task and she looks at the camera and says, "The only way to get over your fears is by...is by...um, doing them?!" There was a lift at the end of that statement that she wasn't exactly sure of herself. I think her fear of heights is one that she's not ready to let go of yet, and I feel a Flo coming on next week.

Hey! Adam said monkey! I gave anyone who had Adam and Rebecca five points.

I think I've found my favorite mode of transportation, and it's a Tuk Tuk. They've been around in this show for a while, and I just think they're cool. I want one. But maybe only if it has Bolo's head peaking out of it, because that was awesome.

And Adam and Rebecca's Tuk Tuk stops for gas. Seriously, do these guys have bad car-ma or what?!

And onto one of my favorite Roadblocks. It's totally a rip-off of the Season 1 Episode 2 Eiffel Tower / Arc d'Triomphe roadblock, and it's really too bad Freddy didn't pull a Lenny.

They swam to the pitstop? I'm going to just call that a shoutout to the Twinkies from last season.

This is it for now, I will hopefully be back later with some more. Woo hoo! Scrappy's thoughts are back!

WEEK 12 BONUS QUESTION

2005-01-26T08:54:00.000-08:00

So, I've found a new website that I'm totally addicted to. But I'm not going to tell you what it is until next week, because it would make the answer too easy!

Question: The teams ran the race from mid-Augustish to mid-Septemberish. Chances are, they may have been in Sri Lanka on the holiday that is described as such:

During the month of August the conducting of the first Dhamma Sangayana (Convocation) is commemorated. This was held three months after the passing away of The Buddha. Five hundred Arahat Theros participated in the convocation which was help over seven months in the cafe at the foot of the Rajagahanuvara Vebhara Rock.

Good luck!

Pool Standings After Week 11

2005-01-26T06:23:00.000-08:00

Karen 3345 3 teams (Hayden & Aaron, Kris & Jon, Adam & Rebecca)
Judy 3100 3 teams (Hayden & Aaron, Freddy & Kendra, Adam & Rebecca)
Scott 2905 2 teams (Kris & Jon, Freddy & Kendra)
Jonathan 2845 2 teams (Kris & Jon, Adam & Rebecca)
Mike 2385 2 teams (Hayden & Aaron, Freddy & Kendra)
Ami 2380 1 team (Kris & Jon)
Jan 2255 1 team (Kris & Jon)
June 2165 1 team (Adam & Rebecca)
Jay 1910 2 teams (Hayden & Aaron, Freddy & Kendra)
Jill 1890 1 team (Hayden & Aaron)
Samuel 1865 1 team (Hayden & Aaron)
Kristen 1835 2 teams (Hayden & Aaron, Freddy & Kendra)
Chris 1800 2 teams (Hayden & Aaron, Kris & Jon)
Curt 1745 1 team (Adam & Rebecca)
Caitlin 1705 1 team (Hayden & Aaron)
Lee 1665 1 team (Hayden & Aaron)
Stephanie 1590 1 team (Adam & Rebecca)
Eric 1355 1 team (Hayden & Aaron)
Jack 1010 1 team (Hayden & Aaron)
Allegra 940 1 team (Kris & Jon)
Ben 925 0 teams
Dave 900 0 teams
Kristin 850 0 teams
Bill 615 0 teams
Boogie 540 0 teams

And that's how the scores stand going into the last two rounds. It's time to start thinking about those final wagers! After next week, everyone needs to send me the name of the team they think will win as well as how many points they would like to wager. It will be out of these four, as next week will be a non-elimination round due to the "Phil turns into a mugger and takes all your money" rule they have (I don't think they'd make a team run the final leg with no cash). Here are how the teams have placed in the legs so far:

Adam and Rebecca: 7, 6, 5, 6, 6, 5, 1 (Fast Forward), 5, 4 (average 5)

Freddy and Kendra: 4, 8, 6, 5, 1, 6, 2, 4, 3 (average 4.33)

Hayden and Aaron: 1, 4, 1, 4, 3, 4, 6, 1, 2 (average 2.89)

Kris and Jon: 2, 1, 2, 1, 4, 2, 4, 3, 1 (average 2.22)

As a comparison, these are the average placings of the five teams that have won the race:

Season One: Rob and Brennan: 1, 3, 3, 6, 4, 3, 3, 3, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1 (average 2.46)

Season Two: Chris and Alex: 6, 2, 7, 7, 1, 6, 2, 2, 1, 3, 3, 3, 1 (average 3.38)

Season Three: Flo and Zack: 2, 5, 3, 2, 4, 2, 1, 2, 5, 3, 2, 3, 1 (average 2.69)

Season Four: Chip and Reichen: 9, 2, 3, 5, 4, 2, 5, 2, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1 (average 3.15)

Season Five: Chip and Kim: 8, 8, 7, 1, 4, 2, 1, 3, 2, 4, 1, 2, 1 (average 3.38)

OVERALL AVERAGE: 3.02

So, what does this all tell us? If your name is Chip, you have a good chance of winning.

Reality Recycle

2005-01-26T06:22:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already heard, It's official: Amber and Rob from Survivor will be running the next Amazing Race. Ish. Scrappy is all for it. I have my doubts.

WEEK 11 BONUS ANSWER

2005-01-26T06:21:00.000-08:00

The two athletes who raised their fists on the medal stand were Tommie Smith and John Carlos. It was the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, and the event was the 200 meter run.

Starting Tomorrow

2005-01-25T13:41:00.000-08:00

I will be trying out a brand new format of "my thoughts" sections. If they write themselves quite well, we'll carry them on to Amazing Race 7. I think my brain has just kind of collapsed and couldn't think of anything to say the last two weeks. Except:

Episode Nine:
Adam in the diving suit: did he remind you more of Bubble Boy or the Stay-Puff Marshmallow man?!

Episode Ten:
It's over. He who is vile is off of our TV Screens! And I have one thing to say: Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!!

A tired recapper, signing off. Answer the evite, people!

Voldemort quit the race?

2005-01-20T14:15:00.000-08:00

According to this article, He-who-is-vile briefly considered dropping out of the race after he and Victoria arrived at the Berlin pit stop, the infamous end of leg when he shoved her. Apparently he was mad at "how it was handled." I went back and reread the paragraph three times to make sure isn't wasn't Victoria who was being quoted. What did he have to be so angry about? Those 7 hours he dropped out must of been the happiest of the whole race for the producers and other racers (up until J & V were officially eliminated).

POOL Standings after week 10

2005-01-19T13:15:00.000-08:00

Karen lost a team! I didn't think it would ever happen. Actually, the only one left with all four teams is my mom. Here are the standings after week ten:

1. Karen 3070
2. Judy 2935
3. Scott 2735
4. Jonathan 2730
5. Ami 2290
6. Mike 2215
7. June 2210
8. Jan 2165
9. Jill 1870
10. Samuel 1805
11. Curt 1750
12. Kristen 1735
13. Jay 1700
14. Caitlin 1685
15. Lee 1605
16. Chris 1550
17. Stephanie 1525
18. Eric 1225
19. Ben 955
20. Dave 930
21. Jack 920
22. Allegra 820
23. Kristin 810
24. Bill 685
25. Boogie 610

This week also marks the week that the first pool participant lost their last team: and that honor goes to Kristin. Look at it this way: at least you can't lose any more points! But keep doing the bonus!

Bonus Question - Week 11

2005-01-19T13:13:00.000-08:00

I don't know much about Ethiopia--except that I don't like Ethiopian food. So I'm going to pose a bonus question about something else.

As Voldemort and She's in Denial marched towards the pitstop, Voldemort told all the kids walking with them to raise their fist in the air and put their head downs. This was a popular symbol of "black power" during the Civil Rights movement.

Question: Name the Olympic Games (location and year) in which three athletes did that on the medal stand, the event, and the athletes' names.

Good luck!

ANSWER TO BONUS QUESTION - WEEK 10

2005-01-19T13:11:00.000-08:00

Jean Jacque Rosseau was the philosopher who said that one day Corsica would astonish Europe. And he was right! Three years later, in 1765, Napolean Boneparte was born on Corsica and went on to conquer quite a bit of Europe before being banished.

WEEK 10 - Bonus question

2005-01-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

This week we find the teams at a pit stop in Corsica, an island steeped in history and tradition. Name the philosopher who, in 1762, had this to say about Corsica: "One day this little island will astonish Europe."

Hint: Are you totally Lost?!

POOL STANDINGS

2005-01-12T11:09:00.000-08:00

After Episode 9:

1. Karen 2810
2. Scott 2625
3. Judy 2545
4. Jonathan 2520
5. Ami 2220
6. Mike 2165
7. Jan 2055
8. June 2030
9. Jill 1620
10. Samuel 1555
11. Jay 1550
12. Kristen 1525
13. Curt 1470
14. Stephanie 1445
15. Caitlin 1435
16. Lee 1355
17. Chris 1330
18. Eric 1075
19. Kristin 870
20. Ben 815
21. Jack 810
22. Dave 790
23. Allegra 750
24. Bill 585
25. Boogie 510

Have no fear everyone! It's still anyone's game. This is why: Karen has 2810, followed by Scott with 2625. Since the game turns into a Final Jeopardy situation going into the finale where everyone wagers points, Karen would have to wager 2441 points to ensure that she wins if Scott pulls a good ol' Daily Double and bets it all. If Karen is wrong, she would be left with 369 points, thereby proving that anyone still has a chance of winning.

Ergo, do your bonus questions to stay in the game!!

WEEK 9 BONUS - ANSWER

2005-01-12T11:07:00.000-08:00

People go to the town of Mariapocs on pilgrimage to see the statue of the weeping black madonna. However, the real one was taken by Maria Therese to St. Stephen's in Vienna.

Amazing Race 1 on DVD

2005-01-11T05:52:00.000-08:00

This doesn't say much, but here's a small link I just found.

Because IKEA Never Stops Being Funny

2005-01-05T14:05:00.000-08:00

For no apparent reason (other than juvenile humor), check this out!

Week 9 BONUS QUESTION

2005-01-05T13:44:00.000-08:00

This is kind of lame, but I used up my good Hungarian trivia on last week's question.

Two Parts!!!

Why do people flock to the town of Máriapócs, but where should they really be going?

EPISODE 8 - MY THOUGHTS

2005-01-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

Okay, Scrappy's back from skiing. With a bum knee (but that's okay). My notes from last nigth's episode seem to be very messy, so I'm going to do my best to interpret them.

We start at the internet cafe in Hungary. Now, I don't profess to be a regular internet cafe earlier, but the hours of operations were 10.00 pm - 10.00 am? From the looks of the sign outside the place, I think the one they were in is number 8 on this list, and it looks like the hours are noon to ten PM. Of course, it could be that they didn't want the racers in there the same time as normal patrons, so maybe it makes sense? It make more sense than Adam not being able to figure out how to use AOL! And, dudes, it would have been so much cooler if they had made them search for their next clue using the internet or something.

Yea, Bolo and Lori caught up on a 2.55 AM train! And, as Bolo said, "If we aren't last, God is with us." Of all the teams, I didn't see them invoking the Big Dude first! And I liked him whistling for a cab and Lori admonishing, "Bolo, this ain't New York!"

Kris, I'm glad to know that Gothic architecture makes you happy. Jon, just keep Pillars of the Earth on her bedside table at all time.

We've had Transportation Gates #1, #2, and #3 in the last two seasons. Now, we have GATE-GATE. Yes, Freddy, you got a little bump on your supermodel face. Because that's so much more ugly and distracting as that combination of black plastic glasses and red do-rag thang you got goin' on. Word to the indignant nerd.

Much more fascinating that GATE-GATE was the mauling of the route marker (or, as Lori put it, the cremation thereof). Seriously, dudes. I did like the fact that it was all the big guys and Hayden in the fracas. But the wrestlers (surprise!) came out victorious in the physical fight. As they left on the little train (which has nothing on this train --scroll down, bottom row of four pictures, third picture. Yep, that's inside a saltmine in a mountain!). And here is one of the conversations that endears me to Lori and Bolo (more to come this episode): Bolo: [general glee] Woo hoo! We're first! Lori: It don't mean we're ahead! Bolo: Yeah it does, we're out first! And they take off to the Fast Forward, but not before Bolo did an extended and hilarious "Let's make fun of pretty boy Freddy". Word to the wrestler.

Jon, get Kris one of the trains, too. Because, according to her, it's all vibraty and she wants to go again. She must have gotten a bit addled, as she kepts referring the Hayden and Aaron as "Heron and Aidan". That to me screams an Irish man's guide to waterfowl.

All of the other teams ride the little train. But no one's funny.

Let's give a shout out to the Hungarian Taxi Drivers once more. Hera: Do you speak English? HTD: No. Brilliant.

I had no idea that Hungary was known for Waterpolo and blowing up things without the use of electricity. But, apparently, they are! Well, waterpolo at least. I can't find any evidence of them being good at blowing things up without electricity. But neither are Gus and Hera, so it's okay.

Waterpolo was fun, wasn't it? Personally I would have rather played hockey or table tennis. But my mom was happy that Kris and Jon did waterpolo, as she exclaimed, "Oh my God, he is hot! I never realized that Jon's hotness was a disputable fact. I do hope that the teams are all a bit smug watching last night's episode as they saw everybody get it in on the first try (or, at least we saw them get it in on the first try). My favorite moment of that sequence goes to Adam and Rebecca. Rebecca has the ball and she's going for the goal and yells to Adam, "Distract him!" What does Adam do? Puts his had out of the water, waves, and shyly says, "Hi!" I'm certain that's what Rebecca had in mind.

Poor Gus and Hera. They really shouldn't pick detour options no one else is going to do. I helped pump up an air mattress at Christmas this year and it took forever. I can't imagine doing it with a whole raft.

Cut to Lori and Bolo driving to the Fast Forward. In another moment of Bolo's mastery of the English language, Lori is complaning and worried that they aren't going to find the place and they're going to come in last, and Bolo says, "You're the biggest optimist I've ever seen in my life." I'm hoping it was sarcastic. But, with Bolo? You really can't be sure. But they were totally masters at that Fast Forward! Drinking the stuff I'm sure is nasty. But eating it is even worse.

I love spicy food. But I have had some Hungarian dishes that were spicier than any Thai food I've ever had. I agree with Jon that the cook maybe should tone it down a bit next time. That's all I'm going to say about that who roadblock.

And the race to the pitstop. My favorite line of this sequence goes to Adam, who thought that a funicular was a small person bicycle. No, it's not. But here's a song about a Funicula. I've been on two of them. One in Paris and one in Salzburg. They are cool, and I don't blame Adam and Rebecca for wanting to take it instead of climbing the hill. But they shouldn't have stopped to watching the changing of the guard! But Adam was very cute when he said, "Don't stop to watch--I'll bring you back". I can't help but really dig these two. Hellboy horns and all.

Oh dude, that was the best ethnic greeter ever! Even better than the dude at the castle in Scotland!

Well Gus and Hera, it's time to say goodbye. But it's a relief that as one SpyDaddy leaves my TV, the best SpyDaddy come on my screen at 8 pm tonight!

WEEK 8 STANDINGS (with how many / which teams left)

2005-01-05T09:02:00.000-08:00

Karen 2395 (4 teams: Hayden & Aaron, Kris & Jon, He Who is Vile & She's in Denial, Adam and Rebecca)
Scott 2275 (4 teams: Kris & Jon, He Who is Vile & She's in Denial, Freddy & Kendra, Lori & Bolo)
Jonathan 2090 (4 teams: Kris & Jon, He Who is Vile & She's in Denial, Adam & Rebecca, Lori & Bolo)
Judy 2080 (4 teams: Hayden & Aaron, Adam & Rebecca, Freddy & Kendra, Lori & Bolo)
Mike 1970 (3 teams: Hayden & Aaron, He Who is Vile & She's in Denial, Freddy & Kendra)
Ami 1960 (3 teams: Kris & Jon, He Who is Vile & She's in Denial, Lori & Bolo)
Jan 1795 (3 teams: Kris & Jon, He Who is Vile & She's in Denial, Lori & Bolo)
June 1660 (3 teams: He Who is Vile & She's in Denial, Adam & Rebecca, Lori & Bolo)
Jill 1495 (2 teams: Hayden & Aaron, Lori & Bolo)
Samuel 1390 (2 teams: Hayden & Aaron, Lori & Bolo)
Jay 1385 (2 teams: Hayden & Aaron, Freddy & Kendra)
Kristen 1310 (3 teams: Hayden & Aaron, Freddy & Kendra, Lori & Bolo) and Caitlin (2 teams:
Chris 1195 (2 teams: Hayden & Aaron, Kris & Jon)
Lee 1190 (2 teams: Hayden & Aaron, Lori & Bolo)
Curt 1130 (2 teams: Adam & Rebecca, Lori & Bolo)
Stephanie 1125 (2 teams: He Who is Vile & She's in Denial, Adam & Rebecca)
Eric 1000 (1 team: Hayden & Aaron)
Jack 775 (1 team: Hayden & Aaron)
Kristin 760 (1 team: He Who is Vile & She's in Denial)
Allegra 690 (1 team: Kris & Jon)
Ben 685 (1 team: Lori & Bolo)
Dave 660 (1 team: Lori & Bolo)
Bill 495 (1 team: Lori & Bolo)
Boogie 425 (1 team: Lori & Bolo)

ANSWER TO BONUS - WEEK 7/8

2005-01-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

The ruling family of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was the Habsburg (also spelled Hapsburg) family, and their color was yellow. Look at their palace, Schonnbrunn, in Vienna!

POOL STANDINGS

2005-01-04T12:05:00.000-08:00

1. Karen 2055
2. Mike 1860
3. Scott 1845
4. Ami 1710
5. Judy 1690
6. Jonathan 1670
7. June 1440
8. Jan 1395
9. Jay 1355
10. Jill 1305
11. Samuel 1200
12. Caitlin 1120
13. Stephanie 1095
14. Lee 1040
15. Kristen 1020
16. Eric 1000
17. Chris 995
18. Curt 950
19. Jack 815
20. Kristin 750
21. Allegra 710
22. Ben 565
23. Dave 540
24. Bill 415
25. Boogie 340

Poor Voldemort.

2005-01-04T08:52:00.000-08:00

I'm guessing it was a fellow Voldemort-hater who wrote the caption to this photo.

After all, Australia houses some of the most poisonous spiders in the world.

2005-01-04T06:38:00.000-08:00

One funny clip I failed to include in the last recap was Lena's fear of the spiders she found in her bed in the Viking village. And since Kristy shares this fear, Lena just sprayed the bed with bug spray, made Kristy sleep against the wall, and didn't tell her about the spiders until afterwards. But I bet it didn't look like this spider, which once crawled out from under a poster in my dorm in Wollongong, Australia. Turns out it was a "good spider" that kills the poisonous ones. But we didn't know that at the time, so it didn't stop my roommate from grabbing me by my arm, hurling me around away from the poster, taking off her shoe and giving that spider hell. I mean, that thing had fur!

The Greatest Show on Earth

2005-01-04T06:23:00.000-08:00

I was talking to my Uncle Kenny over the weekend and when I told him about this blog, he told me that a few years ago when the circus came through town, Phil Keoghan (Amazing Race host) was the ringmaster! I did a Google search for "Phil Keoghan ringmaster," but didn't come up with any leads...

Dude, I just ran spell check on this post, and it didn't recognize "blog" as a word. How could a blog site not recognize "blog"?

Episode 6 1/2 (OHSERNBSF) - My Thoughts

2004-12-31T11:55:00.000-08:00

Just when you thought you couldn’t gain or lose points based on the actions of Philimated teams, CBS brings you their Official Holiday Special Episode of Recaps and “Never-Before-Seen Footage” (OHSERNBSF). But if you watch the insider videos on CBS.com with any regularity (and when you live with Scrappy, you do), you’d know that several of the “Deleted” Scenes have actually been available online for weeks. Speaking of Scrappy, she is somewhere skiing on a Colorado mountaintop right now, so I’ve been given the honor and great responsibility of writing a recap for the latest episode.

Early on in OHSERNBSF we learn that Freddy and Kendra misplace their very first clue. Come on guys, you don’t even have fatigue and hunger as an excuse. Turns out Voldermort picked up their dropped clue and just when the viewers are relishing the fact they have one more reason to hate him, Voldemort returns the clue to Freddy. But you still hate him for his smugness when he returns it. That and the wife-beating.

Normally I’m not a fan of people faking illness or handicaps to get ahead in the race (I’m thinking of Charla getting on a flight in AR5 because she supposedly needed a ‘doctoro’), but there is something kinda funny about Bolo faking cerebral palsy to cut in line at customs(?).

While Adam and Rebecca are usually described as “formerly dating,” for the OHSERNBSF they get upgraded to “former lovers” during a Phil voice over. Yuck.

At one point we see Meredith/Maria’s (who’s who again?) safety goggles perched on her forehead and jump down her face at their own will. That was funny.

Does anyone know was Avi/Joe’s (again, I don’t know who is who- damn these teams that get philiminated early on) Hebrew hat says?

Why does Voldemort feel the need to turn into the camera and say that in order to win the race you need to “Be the game.”? What does that mean? Or is it just some BS cliché buzzword Voldey came up with? The only thing that makes this footage bearable is that it is immediately followed by Victoria telling him, “you stink,” effectively knocking him off his whole Buddha on the mountain top high horse.

I love Lena and Kristy for taking time out in the car to reapply lip gloss in preparation to see Phil. Gloss is a much more subtle and acceptable way to spruce up than the AR5 twins always showing up at the Pit Stop in their sports bras for no good reason.

Voldemort, continuing to act like an insolent impulsive child, tried to ride the bull ice sculpture at the Ice bar. As Taurus, I was offended for the poor frozen bovine, just minding its own business when it gets its horns snapped off by a stinky “superhero.”

CBS just had to show Bolo miscounting the IKEA beanie babies one more time, didn’t they?

I love that the mystery of who told Voldemort to shut up in IKEA was solved, as I had never been sure whether it was an IKEA employee or Aaron who did so. We were treated to extended footage of Aaron taunting Voldey. Unfortunately, we are also served an extra helping of Voldemort berating Victoria while they assemble the desk. Voldey may be an easy target because it doesn’t take much to get him steamed, but perhaps a good strategy by Aaron because insolent impulsive toddler-men are so easily distracted.

You know, when I was in Paris as an exchange student in high school, I would get frustrated with Parisians that answered me in English when I made an effort to speak in French. But when it took Adam and Rebecca 30 seconds to spit out “Parlez-vous francais?” and the Sengalese cab driver answered “yes.” I cracked up. Because clearly the only French they knew was that question and it is a stupid thing to ask. “Do you speak French?” “Yes [but clearly you do not].”

Well, we had hoped when Voldemort asked for plane tickets to “Dakar, Africa” that he knew in the back of his mind that Dakar is in Senegal. Or at least he would figure that out once he got there. No such luck. Which we find out when he repeatedly tells the camera that the “President of Synagogue” is blocking traffic. President of Synagogue. Is that like a Rabbi?

We are offered a nice juxtaposition to Kendra’s evil racist “breeding” remarks when we are shown OHSERNBSF’s recording of Kris and Jon using extra time in Senegal to swim in the ocean and play with local children. I love Kris and Jon.

Hayden thought the Berlin wall was going to be prettier. A wall meant to keep people out, where 192 were killed trying to cross is supposed to look like what exactly? A doily with barbed wire on top?

One of my favorite parts of OHSERNBSF is when Adam and Bolo team up to tease Rebecca before she does the reverse bungee jump thingy. Adam: “If you die, can I have your power bars?” Bolo: “Do you have a living will?” But Rebecca’s response is the best: “Everyone suck it!”

Well, OHSERNBSF leaves us once again in to-be-continued-limbo. All the teams except Lori and Bolo are at the internet café. Lori and Bolo are still sleeping on train station benches in the rain (I really feel sorry for the camera guys and their equipment at times like these, don’t you?). Previews for next week still have Victoria mad at Voldemort and Freddy threatening to snap someone in half.

Pool Standings - Episode 6

2004-12-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

At long last, here are the pool standings from last week (but, really, nothing much changed as there weren't any placements!)

1. Karen 2025
2. Mike 1860
3. Scott 1835
4. Ami 1680
5. Judy 1650
6. Jonathan 1630
7. June 1400
8. Jan 1375
9. Jay 1325
10. Jill 1245
11. Samuel 1160
12. Caitlin 1080
13. Stephanie 1075
14. Lee 1000
15. Kristen 990
16. Chris 965
17. Eric 960
18. Curt 900
19. Jack 795
20. Kristin 740
21. Allegra 660
22. Ben 505
23. Dave 500
25. Boogie 300

Episode 6 - My Thoughts

2004-12-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

Okay. That episode was just totally not fair. I sat on the couch at the end for about two minutes staring blankly at the commecials playing, thinking to myself (and probably muttering out loud), "they are so not allowed to do that. And next week is a clip show so we won't see who gets kicked off this leg for two more weeks!"

Anyways. As it's a day later than I usually get my thoughts up, today's recap is really just that. Unstructured thoughts straight out of my notebook.

Okay, why are these people are eating, sleeping, and mingling on boats in the beginning of the episode? I think this is the third time now we've seen them do that. Are they trying to mess with the already precarious balance and equilibrium of some of these individuals?

Checkpoint Charlie. Cool, cool, cool. I still have a t-shirt from when I was eight or nine that says "you are leaving the American Sector" in four different languages.

Gus. Please do not be happy and satisfied about being in 5th place. Sure, the only objective right now is not be last, but 5th will do me no good in the pool. But kudos to you saying stuff about Checkpoint Charlie being used by all the spies!

Victoria. For a pop artist, you seem to be a bit colorblind. That traffic light was totally red. On all accounts.

Freddy, you totally stop being attractive in any way, shape, or form when Kendra calls you "Fred". Please don't give cause for her to do that again. And it makes you seem really old, too. I was waiting for you to pull out the cardigan sweater and sing "It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" or something.

I absolutley loved Rebecca's comment at the bungee jump "You're not doing it, wussy boy". I think that was totally my favorite line of the episode (at least until I get further down in my notes and find another one).

Story time!
When Karen was on foreign study in Australia, her parents came to visit and they went to New Zealand, and she went bungee jumping. Dave videotaped the whole thing, and the picture is all shaky because he was so nervous watching her do it! So I understand Gus talking about "this doesn't look good, she's still down!" in regards to Kendra. I would have never done that roadblock. I would have been with whoever was drawing that little picture on the sign up board (did you guys see it? It was so funny!).

Oh wait, here's my favorite line of the episode! And that award goes to Lori, when she was getting strapped into the bungee thing, and she said, "I'm glad I didn't get a bigger boob job than I did!". Oh, the funny.

And off we go to Hungary. As most airport drama revolved around Voledmort, I'm not going to talk about it.

Yea Trabants! Seriously, those are the goofiest little cars ever. I think I remember hearing or reading somewhere (probably from my mom) that those were one of the few car models available in easter bloc European countries, and there was actually a years' long waiting list for them! Proper nickname: Trabbies. Unofficial nickname: Ente--German for duck. One of the models of the Trabbie had windows that didn't roll down. Instead, they were hinged halfway down so you had to fold the top half over the bottom half and, like, snap it down or something on the outside of the door. Like the rest of the car, the snaps never stayed together very well so the windows would be flapping on the side, giving the impression that they were wings. That would be cool. Was anyone else hoping that by some miracle Meredith and Maria made it this far in the race so we could see them trying to drive those cars?!

Hayden, maps scare you? I understand the plight of the directionally impaired (because at least a certain two members of this pool suffer greatly from it, but not me!), but I've never heard of anyone being scared of a map other than getting paper cuts when trying to fold the things back up. Maybe that's the book I need to write--"The Idiot's Guide to Map Reading". They've got idiot's guides to everything else, but not maps!

Aaron, what did you hit? I thought it was a plastic construction cone, but your hand was all cut up and bleeding.

Jon--I didn't realize that cars made good surf boards. But you made it look easy!

That was a sweet detour. I would have gone insane at the castle and whiled away any lead I had climbing all over the walls and looking at stuff. And Hayden, you're dumb. "The stone is the castle?" No. The castle is made out of fiberglass and steel beams and is in the financial district of Eger. Come on!

And we have our first instance of product placement this season (well, with the exception of the trips to beautiful Hawaii and exotic Mexico and all)! I really don't have a problem with this. When you travel you go to internet cafes. And you use computers. And you sign on to an internet provider of some kind. It makes a lot more sense than Jeff Probst coming to a challenge with a package of Pringles and Bud Light, you know?

Adam and Rebecca are totally growing on me--about as quickly as Adam's horns seem to be growing (seriously--have you noticed they aren't so tidy anymore?). I like the matching Lance Armstrong "Live Strong" bracelets they have, and Rebecca is just too funny. I had to rewatch the episode to catch most of her lines, and I suggest you do the same :-)

The hero of the week award goes to: Voldemort's Cab Driver!
Never before in the history of this show has a team been kicked out of a cab. This was like the taxi drivers of the world, unite! gotcha back kharma for all the crap that racers have thrown at them. Here's to you, Hungarian Taxi Man!

Week 7 Bonus

2004-12-23T08:32:00.000-08:00

The teams now find themselves in Hungary, and went to a really sweet castle, too! I couldn't let the teams escape Europe without my castle obsession making an appearance in a clue.

Week 7 Bonus Question: Name the ruling family of the Austro - Hungarian empire from 1282 - 1918, and what color did they paint all of their castles and homes and imperial buildings (and subsequently prohibited that color from being used anywhere else?).

Answer to Week 6 Bonus

2004-12-23T08:30:00.000-08:00

The actress's name is Monika Bleibtrau, mother of Moritz Bleibtrau, who played Manni in Run Lola Run (he also did much of the soundtrack).

AMAZING RACE TRIVIA QUIZ

2004-12-20T13:42:00.000-08:00

From TV Guide Online. I got 10 out of 10. But does that really surprise anyone?

Quick Monday Update

2004-12-20T07:34:00.000-08:00

Well, Miss Alli's taken a week off from the recaps (which is sad, because I was looking forward to reading the diatribe on Voldemort), but she's got a great subsititute recapper. Read M.Giant's recap here.

GERMAN TO ENGLISH

2004-12-15T13:18:00.000-08:00

For those of you struggling to read Allegra's german email, try this site:

http://www.worldlingo.com/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html

it totally cracked me up! I just noticed that the word Lingo is part of the address. I'm not positive, but that is pretty sketchy in my book!

cheers!

WEEK 6 - BONUS

2004-12-15T12:44:00.000-08:00

There's no way the race can be in Berlin and I don't have a question about Run Lola Run, one of the best films of all time--and with one of the best sountracks! If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and go buy it. Right now. Because if you don't, I'll kick your ass the next time I see you.

In the movie Run Lola Run, there's a blind woman. What's her real name, and how did she get that part?

EPISODE 5 - My Thoughts

2004-12-15T11:16:00.000-08:00

There was really ugly stuff but there was also really great stuff in this episode. I'm just going to get the ugly stuff out of the way, and then go on with the rest.

Ugly: The First
This goes to Rebecca, for her "I can see why so many people escaped" line. Which, personally, I didn't see as all that ugly because it just didn't make sense. I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt and maybe she was referring to refugees after the civil wars or something. So, there's that.

Ugly: The Second
This goes to Kendra. She was so absolutley ugly that even though I said I'd give points when people complain, I took 15 from her for her various comments, culminating in the "they just keep breeding and breeding". There are so many things wrong with that I'm not going to get into it. If you want to read the discussion on this, the Freddy and Kendra thread on Television Without Pity is where you want to go.

Ugly: The Third
Jonathan. Just in and of himself. I rewatched the episode last night, and I do want to point out that he did not hit Victoria--he shoved her backpack, which is heavy, which is what caused her to stumble as the weight shifted. This is not in any way to excuse his behavior towards her. I have been going back and forth in my mind since watching it thinking about why the editors even put that shot on the show--each team has a camera crew which is with them all the time, so they literally had hundreds of hours of footage from this leg of the race that was whittled down to about 43. I'm not it would have been better to not show it, you know? This guy is just ugly and it's better we have a full picture of him. I dunno. I've been trying to think up an appropriate punishment for him in terms of the blog and the pool, but there's not much I can do without punishing Victoria. And then I thought, "hmm. He's nothing but an attention-wanter". So, no longer will I type his name. He will now be referred to as Voldemort. And even if Voldemort does do something funny? I won't talk about it. So there.

Okay. Ugly done. Now let's have some fun.

First off, Lori, what was with that outfit you were wearing when you left Senegal? It was hideous, and about two sizes too small. I know when I travel, I prefer something a bit more comfortable.

While I'm sure some people are yelling, "Cheese!" at the music and such and the time spent with the roses at the Gate of No Return, I appreciated the fact that they did it. Back in Season Two the teams had to actually go into the cell where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned to get their clue, and there was a lot of flack because only one of the teams actually took a moment and was like "Wow, look at where we are right now". In an effort to make up for that, I like that they took the time to make the racers, really appreciated where they were. And Gus's breakdown? The first of six reasons why I think this leg was a pivotal one in a) this team doing better in the race on a whole and b) me actually starting to root for them.

I had no problem with Don and Mary Jean simply asking the other teams for money. Yep, here's a couple, an affluent one that owns a vineyard, in Senegal with absolutley no money. I think it is a testament to the impact that the surroundings had on the other team that they all gave them money, too. And, I'll say it again, this season's racers didn't see last season (or most of it), so they had no basis for what to do with the "we're giving you no money, figure it out" rule.

Here's a question for all of you (although I'm probably the only one who lays awake at night thinking about these things): The teams caught the 9.30 AM ferry back to Dakar (and from the looks at the map, I don't think that would have taken any more than fifteen - thirty minutes). The flight that they all were on didn't leave until 7.15 PM. Why didn't anyone look for a better flight? Were there none to be had? I find it hard to believe that there's only one flight to Europe from Dakar a day. In fact, I know there's not. I miss my airport drama, although the little exchange with Hayden and Bolo re: Steroids was pretty funny, especially when they totally cracked up over it right afterwards. This is a strenuous race. People say stupid things, they get stressed out, so I didn't think that was all too bad.

Und jetzt, fliegen wir nach Berlin!

My favorite Boloism of the episode: Bolo trying to pantomime the Berlin wall to someone from Berlin who speaks perfect English in the train station. I'm giggling just thinking about it again.

Off to the Berling wall. Being a German speaker, and the daughter of my mother who lived in Germany for a while, and a huge WWII era history buff, I really loved the fact that Gus made the connection between the Wall and Dakar / Slavery as illustrations of the horrible things that people do to each other. I think sometimes that we, as first world westerners, tend to forget / ignore / overlook the atrocities (IRA, Holocaust, fascist Italy, etc.) that happen to countries that are similar to us (and by that I mean overall affluent, European descent, western) in an effort to distance ourselves from the horribleness of the world sometimes (African civil wars, Palestine/Israel, Tibet/China conflicts, etc.), and it takes a really humble person to be able to look around, make the connections, and say, "Wow. We all suck." Because, really, the only way to make sure that those things of the past don't happen again is to never forget. And that's the end of the lecture from this holocaust studier - comparative folklorist - postcolonial scholar. I promise that I will not be this serious again.

Oh, Hera, watching Adam and Rebecca and Freddy and Rebecca overshooting and then having to go back to the clue: "That is a perfect example of why running too fast can be bad". Love it. Just, totally, love it.

Which brings us to the detour. Gus, it sounded a lot like you said "Beer or Breasts"?! Maybe you didn't, but if you had gone to St. Pauli Girl, you probably would have gotten both!

Freddy, you don't know what a stein is? Seriously. You're a model that's traveled all over the world. Here are some for you to look at!

I loved the beer detour. Should be no surprise to anyone. Tomorrow I will try to upload some pictures of this great beer festival I stumbled upon when I was in Innsbruck. We were in the main square in Innsbruck and I saw these people in total traditional Austrian dress walking towards the bridge and I was like, "I think I want to be where they're going". So I followed them, and there was a half-mile stretch that was blocked off with long tables and beer taps all over the place, and a floor where people were polkaing! I asked what was going on, and they said "It's the St. [insert random Austrian sounding name] festival!" I answered that I was Catholic, and I didn't know what that day meant. "Well," they answered, "today is the day that in 1645 St. [insert random Austrian sounding name] stood on that hill over there and shot a gun. So, we drink and have fun."

I love German speaking countries. But seeing the accordian lady at the Brauhaus? Totally brought me back to that.

Aaron, we already know you used to live in Chicago. Stop saying "beers" like you're an SNL wannabe.

Hera, awesome for asking if people had seen the "black people" on the coasters. I laughed.

And Gus, one more time, you wanting to stop and have one or five? You rule. Plain and simple. That was great.

Rebecca, it would have been a little hard to squeeze Wienerschnitzel out of a tube.

I could make a lot of tasteless jokes about that detour option, but I won't. Besides, Bolo would have been able to tell us just how tasteless it was! I still can't believe he ate it!

A couple more random comments:

1. Seeing the human statue on a smoke break? Priceless. This is how I'm used to seeing them.
2. Phil, what was up with that shirt you were wearing? Did you borrow it from Jeff Probst?
3. What does Victoria's hat means? 1.618? Well, I googled it and found an answer. Too bad she's with Voldemort, because, besides from that whole "I'm a Playboy Bunny" thing, she could be kinda cool.

That's it for today!

POOL STANDINGS

2004-12-15T11:04:00.000-08:00

Pools standings after week 5:

1. Karen 1945
2. Scott 1765
3. Mike 1710
4. Ani 1680
5. Jonathan 1670
6. Judy 1580
7. June 1400
8. Jan 1385
9. Jill 1255
10. Jay 1185
11. Samuel 1170
12. Caitlin 1090
13. Lee 1050
14. Stephanie 1045
15. Kristen 970
16. Curt 910
17. Chris 905
18. Eric 900
19. Jack 735
20. Kristin 680
21. Allegra 640
22. Ben 525
23. Dave 520
24. Bill 435
25. Boogie 360

Week 5 - BONUS ANSWER

2004-12-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

This was a fun question for me, because I didn't know the answer myself! Thanks to all of you who told me that Lac Rose is pink because of the high concentration of micro-organisms and minerals in the water.

Here are some pictures.

This just makes me laugh

2004-12-14T11:03:00.000-08:00

This is from the official AR6 website on CBS in their Photo Finish section. Enjoy!

Dave's Spreadsheet!

2004-12-13T08:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to Dave's spreadsheet so you can see how everything is being scored. It's an episode (or maybe two) behind because I haven't sent updates to Dave (which I'm doing right now). Enjoy!

Oooh, like I'm so scared Scott.

2004-12-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

The Amazing Race is not the only Race to use Dakar/Lac Rose for its final leg (well, the final leg of the last episode). "Each year the world's bravest drivers come together to compete in the Paris-Dakar Rally, a grueling 7,000 mile trek across every imaginable terrain, from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, Africa. They do battle in trucks, cars, motorbikes and ATVs, all striving for the honor of being called the ultimate off-road champion." That's right Scott, motorbikes. Check out the action here and here.

Speaking of my motocross enthusiast brother-in-law, he's recently taken to leaving threatening messages on my voice mail. Apparently he thinks he's gaining on me in the AR6 pool and feels the need to rub it in. Bring it on Bro, bring it!

POOL STANDINGS

2004-12-09T08:33:00.000-08:00

Well, we're about 1/3 of the way through the race now. Here are the pool standings, along with how many and which teams people have left:

1. Karen 1575 (4 teams: Adam & Rebecca, Hayden & Aaron, Jonathan & Victoria, Kris & Jon)
2. Scott 1390 (4 teams: Freddy & Kendra, Jonathan & Victoria, Kris & Jon, Lori & Bolo)
3. Ami 1380 (4 teams: Gus & Hera, Jonthan & Victoria, Kris & Jon, Lori & Bolo)
4. Jonathan 1340 (4 teams: Adam & Rebecca, Freddy & Kendra, Kris & Jon, Lori & Bolo)
5. Mike 1305 (4 teams: Freddy & Kendra, Gus & Hera, Hayden & Aaron, Jonathan & Victoria)
6. Judy 1275 (4 teams: Adam & Rebecca, Freddy & Kendra, Hayden & Aaron, Lori & Bolo)
7. June 1120 (4 teams: Adam & Rebecca, Gus & Hera, Jonathan & Victoria, Lori & Bolo)
8. Jan 1105 (3 teams: Jonathan & Victoria, Kris & Jon, Lori & Bolo)
9. Jill 1035 (3 teams: Gus & Hera, Hayden & Aaron, Lori & Bolo)
10. Stephanie 965 (4 teams: Adam & Rebecca, Don & Mary Jean, Gus & Hera, Jonathan & Victoria)
11. Samuel 950 (3 teams: Gus & Hera, Hayden & Aaron, Lori & Bolo)
12. Caitlin 910 (3 teams: Gus & Hera, Hayden & Aaron, Lori & Bolo)
12. Jay 910 (3 teams: Freddy & Kendra, Gus & Hera, Hayden & Aaron)
13. Eric 880 (3 teams: Don & Mary Jean, Gus & Hera, Hayden & Aaron)
14. Lee 830 (3 teams: Gus & Hera, Hayden & Aaron, Lori & Bolo)
15. Jack 755 (3 teams: Don & Mary Jean, Gus & Hera, Hayden & Aaron)
15. Kristen 755 (3 teams: Freddy & Kendra, Hayden & Aaron, Lori & Bolo)
16. Curt 720 (3 teams: Adam & Rebecca, Gus & Hera, Lori & Bolo)
17. Chris 715 (2 teams: Hayden & Aaron, Kris & Jon)
18. Allegra 510 (2 teams: Gus & Hera, Kris & Jon)
19. Bill 455 (3 teams: Don & Mary Jean, Gus & Hera, Lori & Bolo)
20. Kristin 450 (2 teams: Gus & Hera, Jonathan & Victoria)
21. Ben 385 (2 teams: Gus & Hera, Lori & Bolo)
22. Dave 380 (2 teams: Gus & Hera, Lori & Bolo)
23. Boogie 260 (2 teams: Gus & Hera, Lori & Bolo)

It's still anybody's game. Seriously. It really is. I could go into all the analysis that's in my head right now, but as soon as I figure out how to get past the password blocker, I'll post Hart's website with the spreadsheet from heaven on it.

Episode 4 - My thoughts

2004-12-08T12:37:00.001-08:00

Maybe it's because I watched the episode twice last night, but it seems as if I've got a lot to say today!

While Still in Sweden...

Jonathan. Let's talk. You're in a race around the world. Where you, you know, run and stuff. Why would you pack a hat like that? I'm guessing this is the site where you bought it. Stars and fatigues are so out.

Hayden and Aaron, Kris & Jon, Gus & Hera and Jonathan & Victoria. At least you have learned your lessons about always checking the operation times for yourself. After watching this show for six seasons now as a die hard fan, last night was the first time it occurred to me that, maybe, the race producers set their own operation times for things so that they aren't always filming at major tourist spots while major tourists are around, you know? The local (I watched closley, and I think that the two sets of teams talked to the same person, but maybe not) may indeed have been correct about telling you the tower opened at 10.00 AM, but the "hours of operations" sign clearly was placed there by the race peeps--it was in English, after all!

Off to Senegal...
This is the time when I get to tell a little story. When I was a freshman at Concordia I went on this literature seminar to Ireland & Wales & France & England, and one of the other people on the trip was this total midwestern Norwegian Lutheran named Pauline Nygaard--except she grew up in Dakar because her parents are missionaries. I kind of stumbled into this storytelling gathering in this pub in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, and ended up telling stories with these "real" Welsh storytellers. When we left, Pauline turned to me and said, "That was just like watching Jesus in the temple with all the elders!" That was the first (and I'm sure last) time I will ever be compared to Jesus. And it came from a kid who had grown up a missionary. And that's my Senegal connection.

This was the fourth episode in, and the first real airport scramble (they all ended up on the same flight from Paris, but whatever). Jonathan is not allowed to say things like "we're going to strike fear in the other teams" while wearing the aforementioned hat ever, ever again. And he's also not allowed to say "we need to get to Dakar, Africa". Totally chanelling the Twinkies.

Bolo rules because he says things like "we gotta find someone to sell us a ticket". Yep. That's what you usually do in an airport.

And upon arrival in Senegal, we got an actual clue! Like the good ol' days. And I think this is quite possibly the first literary one we've had. Yea, Senghor!

I loved this next sequence of all the teams trying to a) figure out who wrote the poem and b) where he's buried and c) trying to get there. I'll share my highlights:

Jonthan and Victoria. According to her bio, Victoria speaks four languages, one of which is French. I don't know why Jonathan insisted on finding an English-speaking local, but the Jonathan: "Fast, fast" Victoria: "Vite, Vite" Jonathan" Beep, Beep!" dialogue was priceless.

Don & Mary Jean. Getting a flat tire sucks. Just ask the pizza brothers. But seeing you guys lift the car was awesome. As well as "Finger of fate has diddled us". I'm not sure what "diddle" means, but according to dictionary.com it means "to cheat, swindle". I guess that would make sense.

Bolo--if the person you're talking to doesn't understand English very well, it's not going to help by saying "He died in the cemetary". Personally, I think he's just dead in the cemetary. Same for you, Jon. The last time I checked, it wasn't the "cemetary where the author resides".

Lots of teams complained about Senegal when they first got there. That's not really a surprise, as they're coming from Scandanavia, so I'll let it go. But I did find Adam's "this is the most [insert derogatory adjective here, I don't remember what he said] place I've ever been" very funny, seeing as how, according to his bio, a long trip is going from San Fernando Valley to Santa Monica.

Kris, we like you. You think that Senegal is enlightening. And you meant it! Not like Colin!

And onto the detour...
It's time for my second story of the recap. I totally felt for Don and Hera getting sick on those boats. When I was living in Ireland I was headed out to Inish Oirr for the weekend, and it was a really small boat. And the water was really rough--in fact, the captain apologized to us afterwards because if he had known it was going to be that rough, we wouldn't have sailed. And an 88 year old woman who had lived on that island her whole life told me she'd never seen the water that bad. And this is from the same island group that "Riders to the Sea" is about. What should have been a 45 minute jaunt turned into an hour and a half of pure hell where I and three Germans stood on the back of the ship, hanging on to this metal pole above our head with the circumference of a Folger's Coffee Can, and puking straight down because, we were warned, had we gone any closer to the edge of the boat we would have been tossed over.

So Don, Hera, I understand.

Mary Jean, you can tell that you and Don have been married for forty years when you get to the detour that says "catch fish" or "stack fish", and you say "I'm feeling like the fish", and he knows what you mean. But, Mary Jean? Andele isn't French. Or Wolof. And I'm not sure you can tell a fishing boat in rough water to andele anyways.

And we move on to the roadblock...

Freddy, culprit of African Transport Gate not #1, not #2, but #3. Yes, it's very uncomfortable to see Freddy and Kendra acting this way to their cab driver, as the viewing public goes, "dude, didn't they see what happened to Colin last time?" But that's the thing--they didn't. This race started being run on August 13th, and the Colin / taxigate episode didn't air until August 24th. Which means they really didn't see it, and had no idea they were doing the exact same thing. So, ergo, I give them a little bit of wiggle-room.

Kris totally kick ass on this roadblock, but you know why it was? She was the only one who was smart enough to carry the bucket under the water, where it would be lighter. I don't know why anyone else didn't do that. And Jon was just so cute admiring Kris doing the task. I hope those two do well (of course, my pool picks consist now only of Kris and Jon and Gus and Hera. One of these teams is not like the other...).

One more thought. This is the earliest a non-elimination leg has ever been.

I'm not sure how I feel about this trend of more and more non-elim legs and the non-elims coming earlier and earlier, but I was glad to see Don and Mary Jean stick around!

That's it for today, folks. I will post pool scores tomorrow!

WEEK FIVE - BONUS

2004-12-08T11:51:00.000-08:00

Okay, here's next week's question:

In this week's episode they went to Lac Rose outside Dakar. Why is Lac Rose pink?

WEEK FOUR BONUS - ANSWER

2004-12-08T09:29:00.000-08:00

Thanks to most of you who got your bonus answers in! The answer:

Abba got their big break in 1974 in the Eurovision Song Contest singing "Waterloo".

I love Eurovision. It's like American Idol on crack. I have the soundtrack from the 2001 competition, including my favorite Turkish boy band singing "2 Much". And if you haven't heard Stephan Raeuber's "Wadde Hadde Dudde Da", you haven't lived.

A HAIKU

2004-12-08T08:54:00.000-08:00

Don to his wife, "Once

again the Fickle Finger

of Fate diddled us!"

The Hay Bale Game

2004-12-07T13:13:00.000-08:00

A fun little game!

Episode Three - My Thoughts

2004-12-01T14:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I admit it. I'm sad to see the smurfs go. It's not like they were Marshall and Lance and gave up, you know? So far I've resisted the urge to breakout my Ole and Lena jokes. But no longer.

Ole and Lena were having Lars and Inge over for dinner. Lena was making lefse, and she knew that Lars liked plenty of pepper on his lefse. She searched all through the cupboards for pepper but couldn't find any--but she did find a large, unmarked container of black powder way in the back, so she put it on the table.
The four of them had a great dinner, and Lars ate plenty of lefse. When Lena was cleaning up the next morning, she realized that it wasn't pepper Lars had put on his lefse, but GUNPOWDER. She called Lars to tell him what happened.
"Hey Lars? I've got some pretty bad news. That wasn't pepper you were eating, ya know. It was gunpowder."
There was a long pause on the other end, and then Lars said, "Well Lena, thanks for telling me. I was a little worried because when I got home last night I bent over to untie my shoe and accidentally shot the cat!"

Okay, back on topic.

Plain and simple: I want to go to the ice bar. They should have one at the St. Paul Winter Carnival.

Ikea: I love Ikea. I just went for the first time a couple weeks ago. I'm not a big shopper, but I any store that has a restaurant halfway through where you can get a plate of 15 swedish meatballs, 2 red boiled potatoes, gravy, and lingonberry sauce for $4.99! And they have lingonberry juice on tap, too! And some cool furniture. Like the couch we're getting.

Detour: Count vs. Build. I would have built. But that's me speaking with years and years of LEGO experience (except I started to build them when they looked like this). Except, I've had plenty of experience with the whole counting until you start sweating and dream in numbers as well. Does 40, 000 Fringe buttons separated into bags of 100 ring a bell with anyone else (couldn't link to the picture: scroll down to the 8/4 slide show. First picture. That's me and all of the boxes of buttons. And this is what I looked like after I was done)?!

There's a debate going on as to whether it was Aaron or an Ikea employee who told Jonathan to shut up. I hope it was the employee. Find that man and give him a RAISE.

Tandem bikes are hard. I do not envy any of the teams trying to ride those bikes.

And then we reach the roadblock of disaster. If I remember correctly, Phil said that of the 250 some hay things, twenty of them had clues in them. When Lena and Kristy got done at the end, she said there were "two or three more" she could try. But only eight clues were gone at that point. Does that mean that she, possible, had rolled 12 clues already and couldn't see them? See, the more I think about this the more sad I get. . But like Miss Alli said in the recaplet posted today, I would have been sad to see any of the last three teams go. Which speaks well for this batch of racers. Go casting directors!

Bolo: Didn't you ever watch Sesame Street? The last time I checked, 70 came after 69, not 82.

Mary Jean: I truly hope that the shot of you without your feet on the pedals after Don said "we've got to pedal like we've never pedaled before" was some creative editing. In any event, it was funny.

Gus: You are growing on me after you went way down with your little snow bath in episode one. But, seriously, where's Jack Bristow when you need him? Jack and Sydney Bristow as a team on this race? They would totally go all Rambaldi on your ass.

I, um, think that's it for now. Not quite sure how my thoughts got so off topic on this recap, but I hope y'all enjoyed it all the same. Now I'm going to go and fight the question of the evening: grade Hamlet papers, or watch Wife Swap?

Episode Four - Bonus Question

2004-12-01T12:15:00.000-08:00

Eight teams are left and are now in Sweden. When I think of Sweden, I think of ABBA.

Name the song competition in which ABBA got its big break (along with the year of their big break and the song they performed).

Answers, as always, are due to me by 4 pm on Tuesday!

Answer to Week 3 Bonus Question

2004-12-01T12:12:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who answered the bonus question!

The correct answer is Kurt Nilsen (and just look at the little Norwegian cutey!), and his debut album is I. But if you found any of his albums or his single, I gave you points. :)

Episode Standings - Places and Points

2004-12-01T12:04:00.000-08:00

Here's the boring post of the day:

Team Standings - Episode Three
1. Hayden & Aaron (120)
2. Kris & Jon (150)
3. Gus & Hera (80)
4. Jonathan & Victoria (70)
5. Adam & Rebecca (70)
6. Freddy & Kendra (40)
7. Lori & Bolo (30)
8. Don & Mary Jean (0)

Pools Standings - Episode Three
1. Karen 1195
2. Ami 985
3. Mike 980
4. Scott 975
5. Judy 970
6. Jonathan 960
7. Jill 815
8. Jay 760
9. Jan, June 750
10. Eric 740
11. Caitlin, Samuel 730
12. Stephanie 715
13. Lee 650
14. Jack 615
15. Chris 575
16. Kristen 555
17. Curt 485
18. Allegra 380
19. Bill 315
20. Ben 255
21. Kristin B 235
22. Dave 210
23. Boogie 130

SMURF: THE ROCK OPERA???

2004-12-01T11:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, so inspired by Allegra - here is my dream cast for

SMURF! The Rock Opera!

Actor Smurf - Rupert Everett

Architect Smurf - he designed those cute little mushroom houses.
(Paul from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition)

Baby Smurf - the baby Smurf.
(Maggie Simpson)

Barber Smurf - he cut the Smurf's hair... although only Smurfette had hair.
(Kyan - Queer Eye)

Brainy Smurf - wore glasses & annoyed everyone because he thought he knew everything.(Hayden Christiansen "character from Shattered Glass")

Doctor Smurf - the doctor Smurf.
(Jack from LOST)

Handy Smurf -
TY PENINGTON ( EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION)

Miner Smurf - wore a hard hat with a light.
(Ewan MacGregor from Brassed Off)

Papa Smurf - leader of the Smurfs.
MICHAEL MOORE.

Smurfette -
Janene Garafalo, although Hollywood would probably cast Paris Hilton!

Tailor Smurf -
Carsen (Queer Eye)

Timber Smurf - the lumberjack Smurf.
(They boys from Monty Python!)

Vanity Smurf -
The cast of Manhunt, America's Search for the Most Gorgeous Male Model.

Later on, four Smurflings were introduced: THE CAST OF THE OC!

Thoughts, comments...I missed a few smurfs, but this got long!

Cheers...see ya at the premiere!

Rat Race

2004-11-30T12:23:00.000-08:00

If the IKEA logo we saw in last weeks previews is any indication of tonight's AR6 destination, the contestants will be making the same trip as these Norway to Sweden stow-aways.

Episode Two - My Thoughts

2004-11-29T11:51:00.001-08:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to get my post up here, but I was in Michigan all weekend and didn't have much of a chance to sit down and get the flotsam in my head into coherent thought. Again, a great episode. But I do agree with Miss Alli in this week's recap that Jonathan's contant yelling and spaziness is detracting a little from the viewing pleasure--but I can get over it quickly. Here are my thoughts:

Lena and Kristy: So glad you two didn't go bye-bye! The next time I'm in Utah I want you to be my skiing buddies (although I must admit that Winter Park's "pizza pie, french fry!" method of teaching skiing always made more sense that "snowplow"). But both of you are probably in L.A. right now auditioning for the role of Smurfette in the live action Smurf movie.*

Freddy: You're dumb. And you lost five points for taking another clue. Seriously, no more of that.

Kendra: You are officially this season's Christie. I was seeing shades of caviar everywhere. Although, thankfully, no actual caviar.

Hellboy: You screamed for your mom? On a zipline? What are you going to do if you have to jump out of a plane? Or bungee jump? Or search through a 30-ft pile of cow shit?

Don & Mary Jean: Since you asked for the discount, I'm going to chalk up taking the wrong car as a senior moment. But it still lost you five points. Silly people. My grandfather did that once in a parking lot in Sioux Falls, back in th day when key security wasn't like it is now. But if I remember the story correctly, he actually got all the way home with it. I hope you dudes stay around for awhile because it's awesome to see an older team that doesn't feel the need to give themselves a stupid nickname like the Gutsy Grannies.

Meredith & Maria: Very sorry to see you go. But, since you did, I got to write my first song of the season!

Maria (to the tune of, obviously, "Maria" from West Side Story)
Maria, we'd just met a girl named Maria
Should couldn't drive a stick
It didn't make her quick
At all!

Maria, you wore a really cute headband
It said Barbie and had hearts
It helped us to tell you apart
From Meredith!

Maria, we will think of your accent fondly
Better than Avi and Joe's,
And Lori and Bolo's
For sure

Maria, we said hi and now goodbye, Maria!

My inner gay man failed me today and I couldn't remember any more of the tune than the refrain. Sorry for the repetitiveness.

*Okay, sorry about that. But wanted to let people know that the new application for Fringe is out. There is no live action Smurf movie. But if there was, wouldn't it be cool? Blue Man Group doubling as all the Smurfs that have no names? I'm voting on Michael Moore for papa smurf--if he would consent to switch his Michigan State cap for the red of Ohio State.

Episode Two - My Thoughts

2004-11-29T11:51:00.000-08:00

Week 3 bonus

2004-11-26T09:22:00.000-08:00

I was having trouble finding a bonus question for Norway, but I got one.

I am not the only one psycho about reality TV. Norway also has a reality TV fixation. They even have their own Norwegian Idol! Name the Norwegian Idol who recently became the first World Idol and the name of his debut album.

Answer To Week 2 Bonus

2004-11-26T08:55:00.000-08:00

Wasn't that a fun one?

Bjork wore a swan dress, complete with egg purse, to the 2001 Oscars. Here is a picture.

Ellen Degeneres wore her own swan dress to the 2001 Emmys. Here is a picture.

Thanks to my mom and a few others who also found out that Kevin James, host of the 2002 People's Choice Awards, also wore the swan outfit! Here is a site with all three wearing the swan.

And here come the scores!

2004-11-26T08:26:00.000-08:00

Hi all. I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was great! After eating way too much yesterday and realizing that both Survivor and Apprentice had new shows last night, stuff did not get posted. So here we go!

Team Standings (with points received)
1. Kris & Jon (100)
2. Jonathan & Victoria (90)
3. Gus & Hera (90)
4. Hayden & Aaron (70)
5. Lori & Bolo (60)
6. Adam & Rebecca (30)
7. Don & Mary Jean (35)
8. Freddy & Kendra (25)
9. Lena & Kristy (40)
Last. Meredith & Maria (-130)

Pool Standings
1. Karen 725
2. Jill 665
3. Judy 650
4. Scott 645
5. Ami 615
6. Mike, Jonathan 610
7. Eric 580
8. Jay 560
9. June 500
10. Jan 470
11. Stephanie 455
12. Samuel, Caitlin 440
13. Lee 360
14. Jack 355
15. Kristen 335
16. Curt 285
17. Allegra 250
18. Chris, Ben 245
19. Bill 165
20. Dave 60
21. Kristin 45
22. Boogie 20

We are all on the plus side, which is quite a feat! Kristin would like it to be known that her streak is continuing. She has had teams knocked out in each of the first two legs.

I will be back later today with the answer to last week's bonus, a new bonus, and my thoughts on the episode.

I TOTALLY ECHO ERIC!

2004-11-24T17:23:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody,

I'm sitting at my friend Aran's computer in Kalamazoo, Michigan. We didn't quite make it to Ann Arbor--what would have been normally a ten-hour drive was complicated by holiday traffic and a bunch of big ass snow, and thirteen hours later we stumbled here with a dinner and beer. :)

But the race was great! Sorry I haven't gotten the scores out to everybody. Thoughts on the race to come tomorrow. And scores. And Hart has been nice enough to offer to help me with the excel spread sheets. Yea!

Allegra

NOW THAT WAS A RACE!

2004-11-24T08:54:00.000-08:00

OK Folks -

Now last night was a race. I know there were several of us disappointed in the premiere (sorry, Allegra ~ kinda boring!) WELL ALL THAT HAS CHANGED! What a fantastic episode. For those who didn't see it, I have saved it on tape. MOVE OVER NBC or as I now call it (NoBody Cares TV), This is MUST SEE TV. Side note: what the bleep happened to NBC's comedy people. It is all crap, sorry but even Joey!

Ok, enough of a tangent. If anyone wants to watch it tonight, give me a call. We can watch it after LOST. It was so good, I was already planning on watching it again!

eric

No Viewing Party Tonight

2004-11-23T14:18:00.000-08:00

Hey Folks!

I am working at Marshall Field's tonight, so I won't be able to host a viewing of race tonight! Sorry. I think I have that problem again next week. I am trying to get my scheduled changed to make sure we can have viewing parties!

Hey - Does anyone know if Allegra found Icelandic Beer??

cheers
eric

More official websites

2004-11-22T13:32:00.000-08:00

Hayden from Hayden/Aaron

Kristy from Lena/Kristy

I couldn't find a website for Don, Mary Jean or their vineyard, but here's a blurb about Don's wine, including his award-winning Millennium Chardonnay.

By the way, I tried typing in VictoriaFuller.com to see if she has her own website and I got this message: The Web site you are attempting to access contains material deemed inappropriate by Target Corporation's Information Securitypolicy. All Internet activity, whether appropriate or inappropriate, is loggedby individual user ID. Oops, hope I'm not in trouble.

That's what happens when one of your racers is a Playboy Bunny.

Recap is up!

2004-11-22T11:56:00.000-08:00

Miss Alli, of Television Without Pity, has posted her First Episode recap. Read it in its 27 page glory!

You say it's your birthday?

2004-11-22T08:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Hart! As he invested in a geriatric bed last week, I think it is safe to say he's officially over the hill. Love you Dad!

FOODS OF THE WORLD

2004-11-20T19:49:00.000-08:00

While this has absolutley nothing to do with the Race in and of itself, I could see any one of these used as a food challenge later on (although nothing is as bad as what Chip and Reichen did). ENJOY!*

*Thanks for Smitty for finding this site. Also, Smitty would like everyone to know that reading this site at work may not be the best idea, as it is hard to cover up gut-wrenching fits of hilarity as a cough or sneeze more than once every fifteen seconds.

It's time to stop blaming the editing...

2004-11-19T11:26:00.000-08:00

For those of you at the AR5 Marathon Party last weekend, the possible use of editing/production in skewing viewers' perceptions of the cast was hotly debated, at least sarcastically.

Kim Reed takes off her gloves when she takes on Colin & Christie (and other reality TV villains) in this hard-hitting article.

All Right, Who's Coming With?!

2004-11-18T08:27:00.000-08:00

Iceland, anyone?

And one more makes 25!

2004-11-18T06:16:00.000-08:00

Another coworker of Kristin's, Kristen, is joining us as well. Kristin passed Kristen's teams along to me before the premiere Tuesday night (and I just forgot to write them any where I would remember). Welcome, Kristen! Here are her teams:

Meredith & Maria
Lori & Bolo
Hayden & Aaron
Freddy & Kendra

Race Team Websites

2004-11-18T06:07:00.000-08:00

For those of you who may be bored at work, I've found a couple (and had one sent to me--thanks, The Backer!) websites that AR6 teams either already had or have created. Click below.

Lena (the mormon / sister / former striptease aerobic instructor / model / once got in a fistfight with her sister / upholding conservative mormon values / Smurf)

Jonathan & Victoria

C.I.Lame (but he really doesn't sound lame! I'm so conflicted)

Week 2 Bonus Question

2004-11-18T06:04:00.000-08:00

Keeping on the Bjork theme:;

A few years back Bjork wore quite the outfit to the Oscars.

What was the outfit (including her purse)?
Which host at what awards show made parodied it a few months later?

You must get both parts right to get forty points. And if anyone finds a link to a picture, please send it to me, too! As always, email your answers to Allegra.Lingo@target.com.

Episode 1 - My Thoughts

2004-11-17T08:59:00.000-08:00

For those of you who were the recipients of my emails during the last race, you know that I leave the major recapping up to Miss Alli of Television Without Pity. Of course, I do have a few things to say:

Don, I think you're totally amazing. But, um, dude? At 69 you are the oldest person ever to run the race. Why, oh why, would you show yourself with an antique car in your promo shot? I'm not sure I'd want people to make that connection. And, while we're at it, I'd like to compliment you on your award winning wine label, and also for your comment about how you'd enjoy the ice a lot more if it was in a martini glass. I'm just trying to figure out, taking those two things into consideration, why you're the only one that commented on the inebriation of the Icelanders early on a Sunday morning? Maybe they were just coming out of church. When I lived in Ireland I went to mass a few times at a church that had a side door that led directly into a pub. It was pretty sweet. I'm guessing Iceland's kinda like that, too.

Lena and Kristy, thanks so much for being on this race. Not only did you come in third (well, it would have been second but you got lost. At least you didn't swim to the pitstop) and prove to me I made a good choice on picking you as one of my four teams, you also commented that you look like smurfs in the blue parkas. Now I can refer to you as Momons/Sisters/Striptease Aerobics Instructor/26 year old single mom of an 8 year old/ once got in a fistfight with each other/Upholding conservative Mormon values/SMURFS. Thanks for being you. La la la -a la la, la la-la la la.

Meredith and Maria: Other bottom feeders who have missed the route marker on the first leg have ended up doing just fine on this show. I believe in you. But maybe not in your belief that you are party girls as I watched you drive a snowmobile two miles an hour! Oh, and Mary Jean totally kicked your ass going up that ice wall. Sloths.

Adam and Rebecca: Oh, team Hellboy. You've never seen snow? I wonder how long y'all will last. And you hold a strong possibility of getting on my nerves after too long. But it was awesome to see someone following in the footsteps of Aaron & Arianne, Teri &amp; Ian, Zach & Flo, and Michael & Kathy. Cut off the antlers and we'll all be okay.

Gus & Hera: I totally wanted to like you guys. Apparently, so did a lot of other people in the pool as nearly everyone picked you as part of their top four. But, um, Gus? C.I.A. (or, as Caitlin has eloquently put it, C.I.Lame)? I'm beginning to wonder if you were the one who was in charge of analyzing the August 6th 2001 PDB sorry, everyone. Let me know when I'm out of line.

Lori and Bolo: I'm going to chalk up your argumentiveness to fatigue and steroid withdrawl (thanks, Dave!) right now. I want to like you guys. Also, Lori, thanks for making the comment "My implants are frozen". Not only did it make my day, it won 5 more points for anyone who had picked you.

Freddy & Kendra: Kendra, you said monkey. I like you. And so should anyone who picked you, because it won them 5 more points.

Avi & Joe: I'm actually kind of glad to see you go because while you were funny, you were already getting on my nerves. For my yiddish humor, I'll have to go back to relying on Amy's Answering Machine.

Other random thoughts:
I know, I know, Jonathan is going to be the Colin of this season. As long as we don't run into any oxen we should be okay. But I can't hate him yet. Why? Because I'm afraid I'd be a bit like him if I'm ever on this show. Not in the yelling-at-my-team mate part, but the overall joy and exuberance he obviously has for being on the race. So, let's give him maybe just a little bit of a chance? Please?

Dude, Iceland looked awesome. And the ice lagoon where they were searching for the clue bouy? It made me want to grab a cheese slicer and some crackers.

I know some of you thought this episode was boring. How could you? It had everything an opening episode could want.

They flew through Minneapolis!!
People got lost!
People used the wrong gas!
We got to know the teams!
They were funny!
And stupid!
They went somewhere they've never been before on the race!
We got to see teams driving themselves around after nearly two races of spoonfed transportation!

Arguably, Iceland's most famous recent export is Bjork. If anyone would like a few extra points, write a song about something in the premiere episode that is set to a Bjork song (the link includes samples of her latest album).

That's it for now! Race Rocks! I will post this week's bonus question later this afternoon before I leave work. As always, if anyone would like to post comments anywhere on the blog or become a member of the blog team to post anything you like, let me know!

The Answer to the Bonus Question

2004-11-17T08:47:00.000-08:00

Most of you were able to get the bonus question. Awesome! Keep it up!

The answer to last week's question was Pasha, on Clark Street. I've never been there, but, I watch a lot of "World's Best" countdown shows on the Travel Channel when I'm near a TV with cable. And this was from the "World's Best Bathrooms" show.

Pool Standings - Episode 1

2004-11-17T07:40:00.000-08:00

Here's the list that really matters.

Judy 425
Karen 395
Jill 365
Jonathan 355
Jay 335
Scott 330
Mike 315
Kristen 310
Eric 305
Ami 275
June 190
Caitlin 180, Jan 180, Samuel 180
Stephanie 170
Chris 165
Allegra 150
Ben 145
Lee 140
Jack 120
Bill 90
Curt 65
Dave 0, Boogie 0
Kristin, -25

I just want to point out one small thing here. Kristin, whose teams she had picked for places 1, 2, and 3 in the AR 5 pool, actually went out on episodes 1, 2, and 3, this time has teams that, after the first episode, were 7, 8, 10, and Eliminated.

Points for Each Team

2004-11-17T07:37:00.000-08:00

Here are the points that each team received:

Adam & Rebecca: 45
Avi & Joe: -105
Don & Mary Jean: 25
Freddy & Kendra: 90 + 5 points because Kendra said "Monkey"
Gus & Hera: 0
Hayden & Aaron: 160
Jonathan & Victoria: 60
Kris & Jon: 90
Lena & Kristy: 80
Lori & Bolo: 80 + 5 points because Lori had the best line of the episode "My Implants Are Frozen!"
Meredith & Maria: -20

I will be sending an email out to everyone later today with the spreadsheet of how these teams amassed these points.

RACE Standings - Episode 1

2004-11-17T06:58:00.000-08:00

In the second of many posts today, here are the standings after the first episode:

1. Hayden & Aaron
2. Kris & Jon
3. Lena & Kristy
4. Freddy & Kendra
5. Jonathan & Victoria
6. Lori & Bolo
7. Adam & Rebecca
8. Meredith & Maria
9. Don & Mary Jean
10. Gus & Hera
Eliminated: Avi & Joe

It's ON!!

2004-11-17T06:27:00.000-08:00

The race has started. The pool has started. I will be sending out an email later today with all of the information I put on the blog in an easier form (read: spreadsheets!). And I will also be posting information throughout the day.

Woo hoo race!

And one more makes 24!

2004-11-16T16:52:00.000-08:00

Say hi to Marissa everyone, who will here on out be referred to as Boogie. She has left the travails of senior year of high school long enough to come play in the pool with the big kids. And here are her picks:

Lori & Bolo
Gus & Hera
Avi & Joe
Meredith & Maria

I'm off to watch The Rebel Billionaire before the Race starts. If anyone can stand another reality show for their Tuesday evenings (or, at all) I would highly suggest this one on FOX at 7 pm CST. It's Race + The Apprentice + the good parts of Fear Factor--all rolled into one!

Peace out, yo.

Just When We Thought We Were Done Adding People--

2004-11-16T13:26:00.000-08:00

Here comes Scott to make it 23! And here are his picks:

Jonathan & Victoria
Kris & Jon
Lori & Bolo
Freddy & Kendra

Race. It's what's for dinner.

And we're up to 22!

2004-11-16T11:17:00.000-08:00

Let's all say hi to Mike Kelly. Hi, Mike! I don't know Mike. But he works with Kristin at NovaCare in Chicago. And here are his picks:

Freddy & Kendra
Gus & Hera
Hayden & Aaron
Jonathan & Victoria

Happy Race Day!

Chip's flowery vocab

2004-11-16T09:51:00.000-08:00

Chip does it again. In the same vein as describing chair cushions as "accoutrements," he now says he'd like to take a "joyful jaunt through the Louvre." Check out this article where Chip & Kim give the back nod to Canada.

Enjoy tonights premiere!

TEN NEW PLAYERS!

2004-11-15T06:05:00.000-08:00

For those of you at the AR 5 Marathon yesterday, thanks for coming! It was a good time had by all. And while there, TEN new people have joined the pool! Here are their picks:

Eric:
1. Lena & Krista
2. Don & Mary Jean
3. Hayden & Aaron
4. Gus & Hera

Bill:
1. Gus & Hera
2. Lori & Bolo
3. Don & Mary Jean
4. Meredith & Maria

Ben:
1. Lena & Krista
2. Gus & Hera
3. Meredith & Maria
4. Lori & Bolo

Jonathan:
1. Kris & Jon
2. Lori & Bolo
3. Adam & Rebecca
4. Freddy & Kendra

Sam:
1. Lori & Bolo
2. Avi & Joe
3. Gus & Hera
4. Hayden & Aaron

Lee:
1. Gus & Hera
2. Avi & Joe
3. Lori & Bolo
4. Hayden & Aaron

Curt:
1. Gus & Hera
2. Lori & Bolo
3. Adam & Rebecca
4. Avi & Joe

Amy:
1. Lori & Bolo
2. Kris & Jon
3. Jonathan & Victoria
4. Gus & Hera

June:
1. Gus & Hera
2. Lori & Bolo
3. Adam & Rebecca
4. Jonathan & Victoria

Jill:
1. Lori & Bolo
2. Gus & Hera
3. Hayden & Aaron
4. Lena & Krista

Remember: Bonus question answers are due by 4 pm TOMORROW, Tuesday November 16th, also known as RACE DAY!! And just because I'm feeling nice, I'll repeat the question here again:

The new racers are beginning their trip in Chicago, a city which is home to many cool things, one of which is one of the World's Best (tm) Bathrooms! Name the bar that has a bar in the Ladies' Restrooom where you can get champagne and shots of tequila rose for $6.

That's all for now!

Doesn't Everybody Love Stats?

2004-11-12T13:50:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't like numbers? I like numbers! Here are some pool numbers for your favorite Friday update:

Number of people currently in the pool: 11
Number of people in the last pool: 13
Number of people who were in the pool last time who haven't given me picks yet: 5

How Many People Have Picked:
Adam & Rebecca: 3
Avi & Joe: 6
Don & Mary Jean: 2
Freddy & Kendra: 2
Gus & Hera: 7
Hayden & Aaron: 6
Jonathan & Victoria: 4
Kris & Jon: 4
Lena & Krista: 2
Lori & Bolo: 4
Meredith & Maria: 4

I'm off to the gym. More stats later. We'll see some of you at the Marathon on Sunday!

Jay's in!

2004-11-11T11:37:00.000-08:00

My dad's picks:

Freddy & Kendra
Gus & Hera
Hayden & Aaron
Lena & Krista

Judy's in!

2004-11-10T11:16:00.000-08:00

My mom just got her picks:

Hayden & Aaron
Lori & Bolo
Freddy & Kendra
Adam & Rebecca

Jack's on Board!

2004-11-10T07:55:00.000-08:00

Indie-hipster Target Employee Jack has placed his picks. And, here they are:

Don & Mary Jean
Gus & Hera
Avi & Joe
Hayden & Aaron

WEEK ONE BONUS QUESTION

2004-11-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

Woo hoo! The first opportunity for points is underway! :)

Please email me your answer at Allegra.Lingo@target.com so that other people cannot see your answers. I will post all the responses, plus the correct answer, on the following Wednesday.

WEEK ONE BONUS QUESTION:
The starting line for the race is Chicago. Chicago is home to many wonderful things, including one of the World's Best (tm) Bathrooms! Name the bar that has a ladies' room that has a bar in it where you can get champagne or shots of tequila rose for $6.

2004-11-09T15:31:00.000-08:00

Hello again,

Since Blogger was so nice to start archiving my posts for me, I decided that the pool rules should be posted again so it's always present. SO, here they are. Eight people with picks so far! Rock! But I want more!

To anyone who was in the pool last time, you will know that it required constant vigilance (sorry, I've been listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on CD) in order to keep up with the pack. And, sadly, due to Fringe and stuff, I wasn't as vigilant as I should have been about keeping things up to date. This time, it's A LOT easier. And it's also loosely based on the CBS Fantasy Survivor.

RULES

Each player will choose four teams.

Players will receive/lose points based on what happens in each episode.

Once one of the player's teams is eliminated, they can not add another one. However, the player can still participate in the weekly bonus questions for points.

Before the last episode, players will have the chance to wager points on who they think will win, even if none of their four teams are left in the race.

The top three players at the end of the season in terms of points will each win a prize.

See? Easy.

Points (these are subject to change up until November 16th)

1. Episode standingsThe first episode points will be as follows:

1st: 100

2nd: 90

3rd: 80

4th: 70

5th: 60

6th: 50

7th: 40

8th: 30

9th: 20

10th: 10

11th (Eliminated): -100As we do not know where the non-elimination rounds will be I am unable to determine right now what the point values for each place will be on each episode.

2. Using a Fast Forward: 100.

3. Uses a Yield: 50

4. Gets Yielded: -50

5. Screen shows the team "currently in first place" at any point during the episode: 10

6. Screen shows the team "currently in last place" at any point during the episode: -10

7. Team is the only one to choose a detour option (i.e. everyone chooses rock except for one team that chooses roll): 20

8. Team gives up on a detour and goes back to the the other one -10.

9. Team complains about the location they are in or the people there (not other racers): 5
Bonus PointsEach week I will post a bonus question about the episode that just aired. If you get the answer correct, you will receive 40 points. The question might be about a team, a location, Phil, whatever! The answers are due by 4 pm on the airdate of the next episode.

Example: The teams had a layover in East Timor. Name the two Nobel Peace Prize Winners who were honored for their work in the East Timor civil wars.

Answer: Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and Jose Ramos Horta.

I'm Not An Extremely Political Person

2004-11-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

It's true. I'm really not. I hold a quiet disregard, distrust, and dis-pretty-much-any-word-you-can-think-to-put-after-dis- of politics. But as we are now only ONE WEEK FROM AMAZING RACE 6 I began to think that this race is amazing. And this world is amazing. But our country doesn't feel that amazing right now. So, in an effort to be less disheartened about the people of this country, I offer this website as an exercise in group solace.

New News Article!

2004-11-08T13:26:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share this link. WARNING: it does include some information on some tasks, mixups, and the pitstop of the first leg.

Answer to a Question:

2004-11-08T11:06:00.000-08:00

In a comment off of the "Amazing Race 6 Pool" entry, Smitty asks:

"If a team complains about a location, shouldn't it be -5 points?"

Nope! It always makes me laugh when teams complain, so their whining will earn them 5 points for making me smile.