SB Nation User Blog: Axion

Survivor 19: Samoa's First 27 Days - Week 11

Axion — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:00:47 -0000

Previously on ... the first 27 days of UNCOMMON SURVIVOR; surprise, a recap episode! They tricked us. They knew we'd be all fat and happy, too full to change the channel, and they got away with it. Maybe I'll use the rest of this to share Uncommon leftover turkey recipes.

So, Erik was a huge suck up. "I love you, leader!"
Mick is a terrible leader, jaw lines can be deceiving, apparently.
I'd forgotten about Ben's golden age basketball shorts. Good choice for TV.
Evil Russell's game plan also extends to copping feels.
Laura hated Shambo from day one.
Everyone hides papaya from each other. Erik cut a whole tree down and hid it. Isn't there a parable that goes something like this?
Shambo can't build a fire, and when Dave attempts to build one, she's talking shit on him, so he builds a sweet fire. She's like a clown.
After the challenge where Ben was eliminated, Jaison was mad about getting pushed down and called out John. It was a good story, too bad they probably had to cut it because Ben's a jerk.
Erik was obsessed with catching Shambo's sprung chicken.
This episode is literally half over and I haven't seen Brett once. I swear he walked out of the forest.
It's funny now, that Dave wanted to burn Shambo early, not that Galu was losing anyway, and he tried to be diplomatic, in his own way, but he pushed her away and now she's burning them.
I think I could handle a web series where Erik, or a similar Ed Hardy-class douchebag, tries to catch a chicken. Chickens sound weird when they scream, too.
Evil Russell letting out the chickens that night and walking around with the idol on and even talking to Dave? Those are classic pranks.
After Brett walked out of the jungle, he was Erik's puppy and his plan was to fly under the radar. He's camouflage.
Shambo is a bummer. Let's try to bond over cancer and then I'll cry on you. At least Laura pretended to be her friend until the clouds blocked out her sunlight. Shambo couldn't even pretend to be friendly back, that is not how you play.
I think Natalie and Evil Russell have the strongest alliance of anyone, but probably because she's completely dependent on him.
Weird, Shambo educated Monica on how to play Survivor, and she actually did it right!

The first letter of each bulleted sentence above represents the recipe to an excellent leftover turkey soup. Enjoy. Next time, God tells Shambo to vote out Dave.

Stuff You Should Know Podcast - 10 Odd Town Festivals

Axion — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:21:08 -0000

Stuff You Should Know Podcast - 10 Odd Town Festivals

The world is full of festivals, some of which are really odd. Tune in as Josh and Chuck take a playful look at ten ~~unusual~~ uncommon town festivals in this episode of Stuff You Should Know.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: If you had to vote today for your "favorite" player from this season? Who...

Axion — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:08:40 -0000

QUESTION OF THE DAY:
If you had to vote today for your "favorite" player from this season? Who would it be? I’m not talking about who you want to win the game, although it might be the same person, I’m talking about your "favorite" overall player or person in the game?

Jeff Probst blogs 'Survivor: Samoa': episode #10

Survivor 19: Samdayofreckonoa - Week 10

Axion — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:20:58 -0000

Previously on... UNCOMMON SURVIVOR; Back to back blindsides, are you kidding me? Evil Russell finding another idol without any clues again, are you kidding me? Possible cat fight between Laura and Shambo in a symbolic matchup of popular and annoying versus butch and oblivious, are you kidding me? This could only get better if someone jumps over a shark tank on water skis and then finds yet another hidden immunity idol without any clues.

Immediately after last week's tribal council, Evil Russell refers to his performance as a painting, and I can't argue at all, it has been a treat to watch him outwit and outplay. Laura can't stop saying, "wow" and she's kicking herself, hard. "He ruined everything." Shambo and Russell can't stop laughing, she's going to look for the next idol and give it to him again. I would hide it on a chicken.

Day 25 at Aiga, Russell is out hunting early, the early bird gets immunity. After another anti-Laura tirade, Shambo tries to recruit John to her splinter group, but he deflects instead of giving her an answer, any answer. But now he knows that she's flipped and has the Foa Foa Four on her side, and he promises not to betray her for asking. Why couldn't he have lied about the first thing?

Reward Challenge Time: Two teams maneuver someone in a cradle while they pick up flags and place them in a log. The reward is a trip to another island and a Palm Pre. Sponsorship, can you hear me now? Natalie's in the purple cradle, John's in the yellow one, and Natalie, being lighter, is easily grabbing and placing flags. John, a flag behind, knocks down a flag and loses more time. Natalie is barely in the cradle, holding herself up by her legs. She almost falls but she's able to hang on long enough to plant the 15th flag and win Reward. Natalie, Russell, Laura, Dave, and Brett get Palm Pres and fly to another island! Russell is excited about his phone because he needs to, "eat bad." The victorious five have a picnic and Dave poses in as many shots with Natalie as he can. The winners get their clues on their new phones.

Back at loser camp, Jaison makes an offer that Monica can refuse. They tell her they have a fifth vote, she thinks it's Shambo, but she also wants John out. My, how things change when you have a need.

As soon as Russell gets back, he rushes off to find the hidden idol after telling Jaison to look for a mossy rock. Dave keeps following Russell, so Russell sprints off. He circles around until Dave gets tired, and then goes back to where he thinks the idol is, only to find it and pocket it. The table is set!

Monica is whispering in Laura's ear, she doesn't trust Shambo and John. So much for Galu's number advantage, I think it's officially gone. Laura has to win immunity, she knows she's the target.

Immunity Challenge Time! Throw rocks to break tiles to get spears to shoot at targets. Jaison knocks out his first one, Dave knocks out Monica's, and Mick nails one of his own. Brett wanders out of the jungle and hits two of his own tiles with one throw. Laura goes last, she has to hit to stay in, but she misses, and Shambo bursts out laughing. How very unsportsmanlike! Brett goes first on the spear part and hits the target in the second ring. Jaison misses the target. Monica, who earned her way here via Dave, hits the target in the outer-most ring, not good enough. Mick lands a nice shot, forcing Brett to take his last shot. It's the battle of the nobodies! Brett fires and hits too low and Mick wins Immunity. Shambo foretells of Laura's destined demise.

There's a calm before the storm around camp. I guess when someone boring wins you give them a high five and that's it, no catchphrases in confessionals or anything. Shambo tells Brett flat out that she's voting for Laura and that Galu is dead. He cries a little bit. Dave and Laura, meanwhile, ask John who they should vote for. He decides that Natalie is the correct choice, and after a pause, Dave lets it go. Later, Dave, Monica and Brett decide they need a fake rumor to spread to Foa Foa, that John is the bait, but they can't tell him because he gets nervous. Monica tries to sway Russell, but he's not having it. She tries Mick, but he's wishy-washy at best. A small Foa Foa conference that doesn't include Natalie determines that they need to tell John. Speaking of him, Brett is letting John know that he's the bait. John doesn't like it at all. After talking to everyone, he's scared that there's votes being cast against him at all, even if the plan works. He doesn't want to be a pawn in Laura's game. He meets up with Russell and Russell catches him up on what's been delivered to him. John cites some rules with a colored rock in the event of a tie breaker. I don't remember this, I thought the two with the votes had to do a fire-making challenge.

Voting time! Jeff brings on the jury members and quickly senses the divide, figuring out that there's going to be a tie based on Laura's body language alone. Shambo, of course, writes down Laura's name, and Dave, in the only backstabbing he'll ever do to Natalie, writes, "NAT." They trade votes until it's tied. Erik pronounces this, "good sh_t." Everyone has to revote, and if it's still a tie, they have to draw stones. Jeff dramatically reads the newly-casted votes, it goes back to four Laura, three Natalie, and one vote left (they don't get to vote this time). As soon as Jeff speaks the words and turns the parchment, Laura's jaw hits the floor, Monica is stunned, Dave looks like he just ran over someone's dog, and Natalie smiles a happy little smile. Shambo is cracking up and John just looks down at the fire, then at Erik. Dave keeps casting glances down at Russell. Erik talks too much, even as a jury member.

via wwwimage.cbs.com

I didn't catch the previews for next week, I kept singing this:

Here's the full second vote footage:

This looks familiar

Axion — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:38:25 -0000

This looks familiar

Survivor 19: Samtasteslikechickenoa - Week 9

Axion — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:55:30 -0000

Previously on ... UNCOMMON SURVIVOR; It was the Best. Merge. Ever. The underdog Foa Foa members pulled a fantastic blindside on Erik, who brought his hidden immunity idol, but failed to play it. Evil Russell sensed danger and played his, which may or may not have been a smart move. He laid out his strategy in front of everyone and now he doesn't have any protection. And with Erik out, the Bros Before Hoes Alliance is broken and control of the tribe is essentially up for grabs.

Night 21 at Aiga, which could be a bottled water or a prescription drug, Russell knows he's on the chopping block, and Laura is crowning herself queen of the roost. Remember when everyone was under the spell of some kind of voodoo that made them believe that they had a tribe leader? Isn't it supposed to be Shambo?

The next morning, Natalie is overcome by hunger and kills a small rodent. She's even sick enough to ask it how it wants to die first, by stick or by rock. Then she cackles and says, "Just kidding, you don't get to pick," before smashing its head. She brings it back to camp and all the men's torches are lit because she's a hunter now. Marriage tip from Uncommon Survivor: Husbands, starve your wives. They'll get so hungry they'll kill household vermin in a bikini and you'll see a whole new attractiveness to them at the same time.

Tree Mail Time! Something about a digital display and a reward feast. Russell is already looking for another hidden idol. He's just crazy enough to find it, too.

Reward Challenge time! Collect a series of poles with coconuts on them and arrange them to find a four digit number, then have a blind-folded person Braille it out on a combination lock. The reward is a water slide and a feast. I wonder if that girl from Amazing Race is watching this. Since the game is 5 on 5, and there's 11 people, Natalie is left out. She gets to choose which horse to hitch her wagon to, and she chooses Yellow, which includes Russell and Jaison, former tribemates of hers. I also hate to say it, but they're losers in challenges.

The challenge starts and Yellow gets off to an early lead. Shambo lags on the last one for Purple, leaving Dave to carry by himself. They begin to assemble their codes and Dave figures it out and tells Monica the numbers. Yellow figures theirs out and tells Laura. Monica still pulls it out first and the Purple team wins. Dave, Shambo, Monica, John, and Kelly head off for their reward. Along with their food, they receive a clue telling them that there is in fact another idol hidden at camp. The five, who are all from Galu, talk about getting rid of Russell. Shambo wants to keep him, though. They all make a pact to not tell any of the former Foa Foa about the clue.

That's all well and good, because while those kids are off horsing around in the pool, Evil Russell is searching high and low for the new idol. Sure enough, he finds it under the bridge. The man is incredible. Even he is impressed with himself, but deservedly so this time.

Day 24 at Aiga, Shambo and Russell go on a fishing trip. He decides to show the idol to Shambo and she falls in love with him. The plan is laid to set a trap for Laura, let her six vote for Russell and have their votes invalidated while decapitating the Medusa at the same time.

Immunity Challenge Time! Throw grappling hooks to get bags of puzzle pieces. The first three to finish advance and have to put pegs in a board, winner gets immunity. Mick reels in his two, then Shambo. Russell hooks his second bag, and Laura right after him. It becomes a race to the finish. In his fervor, his bag becomes unhooked and Laura is able to pluck her victory out of the sand. The second round begins, Shambo and Mick immediately untie their bags and take a lead. Laura starts to catch up and begins to peg holes like a sailor on shore leave, eventually winning immunity, spoiling the plans of Shambo and Russell.

After the challenge, it's strategy time. Shambo's heart is broken, but the plan is to shift the target to Laura's right hand girl, Kelly. Russell tells Jaison about the idol, and he goes back to tell Natalie and Mick. Jaison is really beginning to love him, too.

The tribe formerly known as Galu plans to vote off Russell, and Monica explains the exact scenario that is laying in wait for them. Russell walks by the group and they all stare at him. He overhears them discussing this, and thinks they might vote out Natalie instead of him, which toys with his mind.

Tribal Council Time! Jeff asks Dave if the fact that Erik is out means that the tribal lines are gone. They all throw Erik under the bus and he has to remain silent. It's quite the opposite and they discuss it at length. Ominous drums play as everyone votes.

Jeff asks for any hidden immunity idols, and Evil Russell plays his new one. Everyone on the tribe formerly known as Galu looks like they each just shat immunity idols, too. The first vote is for Russell, and it's invalidated, as with the next ones. The first vote that does count belongs to Kelly. Erik has been fist pumping this whole time, and Laura is steaming mad. The trap is executed perfectly and Kelly is eliminated. Back to back blindsides! Awesome!

via wwwimage.cbs.com

Next week, it's a whole new game... again. It's Laura vs. Mr. Invincible in a race to find... another hidden immunity idol?

Padres broadcaster Jerry Coleman will be the keynote speaker at a Veterans Day ceremony aboard the...

Axion — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:14:45 -0000

Padres broadcaster Jerry Coleman will be the keynote speaker at a Veterans Day ceremony aboard the USS Midway Museum in San Diego on Wednesday.

What ~~Did~~ Will Jerry Coleman Do Today?

The Bacathlon, via Road to Nathan's H/T matto619

Axion — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:28:51 -0000

The Bacathlon, via Road to Nathan's
H/T matto619

Fans Bullish on Growth of Bull Riding

Axion — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:31:49 -0000

Fans Bullish on Growth of Bull Riding

"You're basically putting yourself on an animal that you've got no control over and he's the boss for eight seconds or a little longer"

Adam and Ben talk Survivor, treadmills, Samoan women, coconut crabs, and prohibition. Adam...

Axion — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:27:23 -0000

Adam and Ben talk Survivor, treadmills, Samoan women, coconut crabs, and prohibition.

Adam Carolla and Ben Browning (from Survivor Samoa) - 40:09 (direct link)