The Amazing Race

The Amazing Race is back and just as good as ever. Before I get to my picks for favorite teams, a brief recap.

Eric and Lisa became the first team to get eliminated at the starting line. This year the teams had to find a licence plate of the first destination, Japan, and present it to Phil to get their tickets to Tokyo. It seemed that no teams noticed that the Japanese characters they needed to find on the licence plate were also on their clues. After a few trys some of the teams started to put it together. I would like to say that I would have noticed the characters at the top of the clue but I can understand why it was easily overlook in all the excitement. Never the less you should always read your clue very carefully on this show, if you don't it will always come back to bite you in the...well you know where. Eric and Lisa where the unlucky victims of this new twist and I can't say that I was sad to see them go, sorry. They just didn't seem like a team I would root for but now I will never know.


In Tokyo the teams had to go on a Japanese game show and swallow down a huge wasabi bomb that of course was on a roulette wheel. If they didn't get the wasabi then they got sushi (which to me would have been much worse then the wasabi) those teams that did get the wasabi had 2 minutes to eat it or risk thier luck on the wheel again. Once the teams had finished their wasabi bomb it was off to the streets of crowded Tokyo with a 20 game show audience members who they had to take to the pit stop. In the end, Maria and Tiffany came in last and without all their audience members. But in a twist that wasn't a shock it was a non-elimination round so they got a 2 hour penalty and the added speed bump the next leg.


The next leg was in Vietnam where the teams had to race on little wooden boats to a mud pit and them transfer mud to the roots of a tree before a local farmer would sign off and give them their next clue. Maria and Tiffany made quick work of the speed bump (which seemed way to easy by speed bump standards) and were back in the game. After the mud pit the teams race back to the mainland and one team member had to heard a group of unruly ducks over a small bridge and then back into their pen. A few teams (Sam/Dan, Zev/Justin, Gary/Matt) made quick work of this task but others (Garrett/Jessica, Brian/Ericka, Lance/Keri) seemed to have a hard time and the ducks quickly picked up on their frustrations. In the end Garrett and Jessica couldn't make up the time lost with the duck run and where eliminated and the end. Again I wasn't sad to see this team go either. Maybe that would have been different if we got to see more of them but what we did see didn't make them come off as a great team.



Now for the teams I like and their are a lot after the first episode. I really enjoy Zev and Justin and hope they make it all the way to end. My other teams to watch are the brothers Sam and Dan, the Harlem Globetrotters Herbert and Nathaniel, father and son Gary and Matt and dating couples Mika and Canaan and Marcy and Ron. And there you have it my top team picks after the first episode. Questions: Was the speed bump too easy? Could you have eaten the wasabi bomb in two minutes? Are you a Duck Whisperer? Who are your favorite teams?

Survivor: Soma Week 2

Well in week two Russell still is ruling over the yellow tribe and was somehow smart enough to look for the idol and find it without any clues. While I am not a fan of Russell's game play, I have to admit that it is working for him and his tribe keeps voting off the people that dare to go against him. This week that was Betsy and I was sad to see her go. At first I didn't think there would be a tribal for the yellow team after they lost immunity since Mike left for medical reasons after the quasi basketball-tackle game. But once it was revealed that they were still going to tribal no one dared go against Russell and Betsy was gone in a sweeping vote. Russell might be in control of the yellow team but if they continue to loose the challenges it will be a moot point since they other team will be able to pick them off after the merge. As for the purple tribe I still don't have any clues of who I like or don't like yet, although I think Shambo will be the first one kicked off once this team goes to tribal.

Survivor: Samoa

Survivor: Samoa kicked off tonight with 20 people, 10 on each team and while it is way to early to pick the ultimate winner it is never to early to pick the people you love to hate. And right off the bat 2 people stand out for that prize; Russell H and Ben who just so happen to be on the same tribe. Russell H is trying a unique strategy which is to lie to everyone and mess with his own team by pouring out all of their drinking and burning a teammates socks. It does cause contention but I don't see it as the best way to get to the final 3. Before long people will catch on to what he is doing and in fact some have during the first episode. Then their is Ben. He just doesn't seem to have a filter and it seems like in the end his mouth will do him in. But I could be wrong. The yellow tribe (Foa Foa??) won the first challenge and was awarded fire but the purple team (something with a G?) won immunity so Foa Foa was sent to tribal council where Russell H got ride of Marisa with the help of most of his tribe, although it seems a few don't trust him. Marisa was unfortunate enough to call out Russell on what he was doing and how he was playing the game and that made him see her as a threat and that was the end of Marisa. It seems like the purple team gets along pretty well and works well together and so far no one jumps out of the team as a strength or a threat, but there is always next week!

Alison Krauss: A Hundred Miles or More

Do you ever find yourself in need of a CD that is simply relaxing? Well if you do, then I have the CD for you. A Hundred Miles or More by Alison Kruass is just that kind of CD. The subject matter of the songs on this album cover every aspect of life but while doing so you can't help but be relaxed by the unique sound of Alison's voice. Once your drawn in my the melodies you start to pay attention to the lyrics and they run the gambit from happy (Sawing on the Strings, Down to the River to Pray) to heartbreaking (Jacob's Dream, Molly Ban) to hopeful (Simple Love, Get Me Through December, Baby Mine). Of the 16 songs on the album I can say that I really enjoyed them all, well maybe not You Will Be My Ain True Love as much as all the others but that might be because it is the one song that seems out of place on the album. Which is not to say that it is not a good song but just not as good as all the others. While the album is considered Country I would say that it is more Folk/Country then full on Country and the only song that screamed Country to me was Whiskey Lullaby and what a Country song it is! This CD is definitely worth a listen to. I have found that I have listened to it all the way through several times and keep coming back for more.

Below is Get Me Through December, one of my favorites from the CD.