Survivor: Two Last Things

Two follow-ups from my last post regarding the season finale Sunday night.

1. I was wrong, the finalists were congratulated by some jury members. I still think the jury was unduly hostile, but they weren't all miscreants.
 
2. I've been asked to identify who I consider to be less worthy winners than Sophie. Wikipedia has a handy list of all the winners, and it doesn't take too long to rank them. Sophie isn't near the bottom. Here is my list in order of worthiness (season in parenthesis):

Tom Westman (10)
Brian Heidik (5)
Pavarti Shallow (16)
Boston Rob (22)
Richard Hatch (1)
Bob Crowley (17)
Chris Daugherty (9)
Yul Kwon (13)
J.T. (18)
Ethan Zohn (3)
Todd Herzog (15)
Earl Cole (14)
Tina Wesson (2) 
Amber Brkich (8)
Sophie (23)
Sandra Diaz-Twine (7)
Aras Baskaukas (12)
Danni Boatwright (11) 
Sandra Diaz-Twine (20)

Fabio (21)
Jenna Morasca (6)
Natalie White (19)
Vecepia Towery (4) 

I know some of these will be controversial. If you are going to write and scream: 'how can you have X so low?!?!', please include at least two people X should be ahead of on my list.

Later.

Survivor: South Pacific, Final & Reunion

It has been noted by people who have played that most Survivors vote for who they liked the best, not who played the best game. When Sophie started getting flak and then broke down at tribal council, I thought it was due to a realization that the game might be slipping away for this reason. In the final tribal, the unduly hostile jury didn't give many overt signals that they liked Sophie, so I really thought Coach might pull it out in the end. Thankfully, he didn't. It turns out nobody really liked any of the three, so Sophie won for being least objectionable. It was not an All-Star caliber performance, but she's nowhere near the list of least deserving winners. She played a good game, and I would have voted for her.

The duel and both immunity challenges were very exciting. Watching Sophie crack at tribal was interesting. It's clear the strain was finally getting to her, but I don't think less of her. She had the presence of mind to win the next challenge and stop Ozzy. It was a very good performance.

So, the question is - why did Coach target Brandon and Rick instead of Sophie? Albert was rightly worried about her, and Coach dismissed his concerns by saying that Albert isn't as smart as Sophie, so he's threatened by her. I too doubt Albert is as smart as Sophie, but on this issue, he was smarter than Coach. So, why did Coach not see it?

I think Coach could see that Sophie was smarter than Albert, but I don't think he was capable of seeing Sophie beating Coach. I'm not saying Coach is a full-blown misogynist. But, for whatever reason he had a hard time seeing Sophie winning - instead, he feared Brandon and Rick. I think Sophie being a young woman might have something to do with this. Coach coached collegiate women's soccer for 13 years. As a coach, I think Coach might have started seeing college-age girls differently. For whatever reason, he just couldn't see the 22-year-old Sophie beating him (when Albert could).      

The final tribal annoyed me a little. I understand the jury is going to be disgruntled, and often with good cause. But, frankly, though there were some legitimate grievances, I thought the anger was a little higher than in relation to the crimes of the finalists. It was unpleasant to watch the perpetual undertone of nastiness from the jurors. Did anyone even congratulate them for making it to the end? If so, I don't recall. 

Cochran rehabilitated himself a bit at the reunion show. He had months to prepare an explanation of himself, and made the most of it. Brandon, however did not. I thought Ozzy was pompous and long-winded. Ultimately, the reunion show was only OK. so, overall the first half of the evening was very good, and the second ninety minutes were a bit dry (apart from Sophie actually winning).

This was the best season since Heroes vs. Villains - but below average overall. Yet, a below average season of Survivor is still better than most of the garbage on TV.

At the end of the Reunion, Jeff revealed the twist for next season - the two tribes will live on the same beach. This makes cross-tribe alliances much easier. I also suspect it could lead to a challenge or two getting thrown (I hate that). We'll see. In general, I like the idea a lot. The next season premiers February 15, 2012 (less than two months away!).

Silence the Bell

The FOX News debate last night was dominated by the sound of a bell signaling the candidate that his/her time was up. Needless to say, most candidates continued for long periods of time after the bell rang.

Why can't they have a clock which shows how long each candidate has spoken thus far, and warn the long-winded that they won't get any questions until the other candidates have caught up? Isn't that preferable to a distracting bell that everyone ignores?

Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011

Christopher Hitchens was one of the few voices on the left willing to defend Enlightenment values from the forces of darkness. While most leftists crumble when faced with Islamic militancy, Mr. Hitchens could always be relied upon to muster a muscular defense of Western ideals. He will be greatly missed.

Acting for the Sake of Acting is a Fool's Errand

Salon has a piece titled, "Why do people still deny climate change?" It opens:

At the expense of being tedious, from a climatological perspective, 2011 was a real killer — both figuratively and literally. If not quite so hot as 2010, which tied 1998 for the warmest in recorded history, it’s likely to end up among the top 10, all occurring over the past 15 years according to the World Meteorological Organization.

So? Records go back 150 years. It sounds like temperatures increased after coming out of the Little Ice Age and have now plateaued. Where's the problem? Why is a slightly warmer world than 100 years ago a bad thing?

The author then notes that in 2011, "Extreme weather plagued much of the world", and proceeds with a laundry list of meterological events. All of these events have happened in the past, and will happen in the future. Linking them to climate change is tendentious. If the world were cooling, would we have fewer extreme weather events? Why the assumption that warming menas more extreme weather?

The piece meanders into insults ("It’s remarkable how well some people can type with both eyes closed and their fingers stuck in their ears") before ending with this:

Everybody wishes global warming weren’t happening. But the evidence is overwhelming. Alas, one can’t help doubting that human beings, genetically predisposed to tribalism, can quit fighting each other long enough to act.

It's remarkable that the author is able to insult those who disagree with them and then ask that we quit fighting.

More importantly, what does the author want us to do? Cap carbon emissions? What will that accomplish? Can it survive a cost benefit analysis? That's how you get people to act. Vague whining and name-calling of your political opponents won't accomplish much.

One of the reasons I'm a skeptic about the hazards of climate change is that the alarmists rarely debate it. They don't have confidence in their theories. You can find dozens of examples of Richard Dawkins debating evolution vs. creationism - but not one of Al Gore debating global warming. Global warming alarmists rely on the opinion pages - places where they can avoid answering questions.

Alarmists, it's simply not enough to say we have to do something about climate change. I need to know the costs and what it will accomplish. You guys can't answer those questions, and that's why nobody has acted thus far.

Survivor: South Pacific, Ep. 13

When I wrote my last update, I thought I might have been too tough on Brandon. I wasn't. 

In many ways, last night's episode was tough to watch. Games are entertaining as long as they are competitive. No one wants to see the Green Bay Packers demolish a High School team or a kid with Down's Syndrome play Jeopardy.

I said early on that Brandon had no business being on the show - he was way too young, immature and out of control. I still don't know how he passed any sort of psych evaluation to get on the program. It took a while for the train to jump the tracks, but when it did - it did so in spectacular fashion. Frankly, even though it was entertaining, it was also a little bit uncomfortable. 

Back in Fans vs. Favorites, it was fun to watch 10 former players run rings around 10 new-comers. It wasn't Green Bay vs. Glendale High, it was more like the Washington Generals vs. the Harlem Globetrotters. But one episode made me very uncomfortable (Erik was convinced to give up his immunity, and then he was voted out). His decision was so stupid, it was unbearable to watch -  like watching an autistic kid getting tricked out of his lunch money - sickening. Last night sort of approached that feeling for me. I want to see people win making great moves, rather than watch people lose making horrendous mistakes. I'd rather see an awesome game-winning shot than watch Fred Brown pass the ball to James Worthy with two seconds left in the 1982 NCAA Championship.

Those misgivings aside, last night was good television.

I can't understand how Brandon would hug Coach after the vote. I can't believe Coach had the nerve to say "It's God's Will, go win redemption." That is outrageous, and I hope Brandon can see that some day.

I don't know how the jury will interpret yesterday's events, but I would have an impossible time voting for Coach after a move like that. How dare he blame his vote on God's Will? Own your vote - don't blame it on God. I think Albert can recover from last night's episode, but I'm not sure Coach can.

What we had last night was the classic problem with Predestination. It has plagued the Abrahamic faiths since their inception. How do we reconcile the fact that God gave man freewill, yet  God is also omnipotent? If God is omnipotent, isn't any event the result of his Will? Do you see the paradox?

Despite the paradox, I reject Predestination. I think it's horrible and extremely dangerous. It gives people an excuse for poor decisions. It allows people to tolerate and justify the existence of terrible evils (Predestination was used to justify the existence of slavery). Predestination has plagued Southern Protestant denominations for centuries. As you can see, Brandon got caught up in it. Man was given Reason and Free Will by the Creator. I believe in Free Will because I have to ;-). If you don't, you go down the path of Predestination, and it's one heck of a swamp. You're left with that scoundrel, Coach, denying responsibility for his vote, and blaming it on the Will of the Lord.

When Coach is asked about last night's vote in the final tribal, how is he going to answer? How did he know God's Will? Did he hear voices? Is he Joan of Arc now?

Coach has studied. He had a conversation a few episodes ago with Cochran where he was giving the other players names from Greek mythology. Coach doesn't believe in Predestination. He believes in a Chivalric code, and your actions always reflect your character. He pulled this Predestination stuff out to save his butt in a tight spot - because clearly, he and Brandon had some sort of understanding that they were going to the finals together. Coach violated that, and was searching for justifications as to why. Coach did what he did because he had exaggerated Brandon's chances of winning a jury vote - so he decided his betrayal was God's Will. It makes me want to puke.      

Was Jeff taking sides a little regarding giving the idol back. He asked Albert multiple times. I've never seen him ask that question ever. Granted, swapping the immunity usually occurs AFTER the Q&A and right before the vote, so Jeff usually doesn't have a chance to grill the people. But, still, he seemed to be pushing for Albert to return it (IMO).

If ever Ozzy was vulnerable in a duel, last night was it. It was all puzzles, and Edna had five coaches. Nevertheless, Ozzy keeps cruising. Ozzy needs to win one more duel and two immunities. That is very doable - and I think he'll wipe up a jury vote.

Odds of winning (off the top of my head):
Sophie  33%
Ozzy    22%
Coach  17%
Rick     15%
Albert   10%
Brandon  3%

Enjoy Sunday's episode!

Survivor: South Pacific, Ep. 12

-----Original Message-----
From: Sean Hantz
To: Russell Hantz
Sent: Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 4:22 pm
Subject: Brandon has lost it

Hey little bro!!! What up dude!!! I'm rockin' it in the islands!!!

Am I ever glad I made this trip! Brandon's girl wanted to come down here, but I had to put my foot down. I was goin' to make sure MYSELF that the boy wasn't muckin' things up. And, bro, it's a good thing that I did - because that boy is a royal mess. There is no doubt about it - this was a pickle only his Daddy could fix. I just hope I wasn't too late.

I used to let his mother take him to the local prayer meeting every once in awhile because it gave me a chance to slip over to Big Billy's for a couple of longnecks with the boys, and I figured a little religion never did hurt nobody. But, I had no idea my son would turn into a fire-breathing, hell & brimstone type!!!  I can't believe he's still even in the game!

Russell, honest to God, I have no idea what that Baptist on the corner of Main and Orchard has been telling Brandon all these years, but his revival meetin' is gonna be my first stop when I get my tired butt back to Texas, because I got a thing or two to say to that fellow - preacher or not! To think that my Annabelle has been puttin' on her best and sassyin' down to that fool's tent all these years and this is the reward I get? I got a boy who is a couple of moves away from a million bucks and he's talkin' about throwin' the whole thing for Jesus? For Jesus! He's got hungry mouths to feed at home and he thinks throwin' a million bucks to Jesus might be God's plan?!?! Good Lord!

I told that boy that his mother has already given enough to Jesus in the collection plate and there was no need to be givin' away no million dollar check on top of that. I told him straight out that Probst had been owin' the Hantz family a million dollar prize for quite some time, and we would be a collectin' this year - one way or the other. Jesus ain't Santa Claus, so God's plan was for Brandon to pull his head out of his keister and start working on getting to the finals any way he can.

Kids!!!! You can never tell if they hear a darn word your a sayin', so I went to that Coach fella - the one you pwned in Heroes - and I told him that Brandon here was a good boy and would do exactly as he says. But, he went on about dragons and such, and you would of thought I was back in King Arthur's court or somethin'. I don't know if he was happy with the advice, but you'd think a guy who had been pwned the two previous times he's played wouldn't mind a little assistant coaching once in awhile. Lord knows what will happen now, but I hope my talk bought Brandon some more playing time. But, the last thing I told the boy was that he better get his act together. I told him that I don't rightly know if God is out there with him on the island, but if he doesn't get his head on straight - they a-goin' to send his sorry butt to Redemption, and he's goin' to be spendin' his time with somebody who really thinks he is god, and there ain't nothin' worse than that.

After all that, back at the hotel bar, I went up to that Pretty Boy Probst, and you are right brother - is he ever the dweeb. Anyways, I says to him, why did you reject my audition tape all those times. If anyone could defend the Hantz name it would be me, not my son Brandon. And Probst, he's got nothing to say - he just blew me off like I was nuthin'. So I says to him for Chrissakes look at this cast - you got the dragon guy runnin' the whole thing, and I would have owned this group if I had been in the game. It would have been like the old days with Russell, because Brandon might be a Hantz, but not all the acorns fall the same distance from the tree - if you know what I mean?  And again, Probst, he didn't say nuthin' back, he just looks at me. So I told him if Brandon doesn't win, he had gone and stole a million dollars from the Hantz family, and I ain't never gonna forget it, and he better never come around Katy, Texas, cause he ain't welcome there after puttin my boy on the show to make a darned fool of himself like he has. And Jeff, he just walks away like I couldn't kick his butt right then if I wanted to.

But, is it ever nice down here. Bro, you should have seen the girl Brandon gone and went and targeted on day one. She would go and make Pavarti- the one you was so sweet on - she would make Pavarti look like Roseanne. So, I sees her at the Ponderosa bar, and I apologize for Brandon being all ungentlemanly for targetin' her, and this Mikayla girl, she went and blamed me for the whole darn episode, like it was my idea to get rid of her in the first place! And there she was, the centerfold for February 2011 hootin' and a hollerin' at me about the Hantz family and this and that right in the middle of the bar, and it took near ten minutes before she got herself calmed down.  So, there was no chance of gettin' her number after a row like that, so on top of nearly blowin' the million, my boy had gone and ruined any chances I might have had with a playmate in the South Pacific. Is there any end to Brandon's foolishness?

But, I wouldn't mind splittin' some season tickets to the Tampa Breeze if you are game?

See ya soon baby brother and Go Longhorns!

- Sean