Back from vacation with a torn MCL, yes - Lake Tahoe and skiing at Heavenly was great fun!! Spent most of my time at Cabo Wabo's at Harvey's, what a blast, but anyway...

More of the same this week, but more of the same fun as opposed to the same of the more bore from last season. Koror kicked Ulong's ass as usual in both the reward & immunity challenges!

Quotables:
"I'm gonna stomp on anyone's ass that lags!" - James to which Kim replies that he should try and motivate people instead of stomping on them.

"I never thought I'd be that excited to see tools" - Coby, after finding out that winning the reward challenge would get them a custom built shelter.

"We found Nemo" - Angie remarking about the size of the fish that BJ caught.

"Tom and Ian are very careful about making sure to say something positive about everyone in front of everyone everyday... Tom's our motor" - Willard, observing Tom & Ian during the building of the bathroom/shower.

"Women around here can't throw a stick in the fire without saying Oh Tom, Oh Tom, can I throw a stick in the fire?" - Caryn, remarking on Tom's leadership in the tribe, funny but I could have sworn that she accused Katie of having to approve the 'extra stick throwing' into the fire.

"I need food, I am so dizzy, I can pass out right now" - Kim, when Stephenie asks her what she wants to do about it she replies, "I don't know".

"I don't brush my teeth cuz' I'm a redneck" - James responding to Probst's question as to how well the plant-form toothbrushes work.

"Heee heee heee snort hehehehehehehehehehehe snort snort teeheeteeheeteeheeteeheee snort" - Caryn after drinking some champagne.

"Feel terrible having my butt whooped by a homo-secs-xual y'know, but a lot of gay folks are strong man, they all be working out at the gym and all, y'know - Dam!" - James in a QI after being beat by Coby in the immunity challenge.

"I've never lost this bad in my entire life and I'm about to flip out, thank God for the women because the guys are getting their butts handed to them" - Steph, talking to Angie about their losing streak and who they should vote off.

"...trying to keep someone around and hope you maybe don't get voted off, but then if she helps us lose it, then someone goes anyway" - Angie, contemplating whether she should vote Kim off or go with a guys vs. girls plan.

"No doubt. I'm thinking, man he's a hairdresser, he don't look like he's got any muscle tone, I oughtta' be able to whoop him. I'll tell you what, that boy right there has got some ass behind him" - James answering Probst's question as to if he thought he was going to beat Coby in the immunity challenge.

Perhaps the most striking difference between the tribes is the question of leadership, or lack thereof. Ulong may have made a fatal error in voting Jolanda off. As much as everyone resists against being seen as the leader and as much disdain that is shown by most of the tribe to those that dare to 'tell others what to do', they have resisted to the point of making their tribe defunct, and ineffectual.

Although there is much dislike for Tom and Ian garnering at Koror, they are smart in knowing that leadership skills are needed and are keeping their mouths shut for the most part. Let's just hope that Tom and Ian are able to collect enough admirers to last through the merge. As much as I'd like for Tom to win, he'll probably either be the 1st to be axed once the merge comes or he'll be kept around but won't make the final four because he is too much of a threat. Astro update soon, I didn't do so shabby with the limited amount of information. Scary huh?

Well, I'm probably soaking in a hot tub in Lake Tahoe after a tough day of skiing in 60 degree weather. Hahah! Oh yea, I'm probably giggling from downing a magnum of champage too.

I'll update when I get back. Go Tom!! Hope I didn't just jinx him.

Starting with Ulong, Kim is pissed off at Probst for his pointed questions and/or remarks at Tribal Council. She then tells us that the 2 person alliance was exaggerated by Probst and she doesn't want that image, editor cuts to her & Jeff giving Eskimo kisses. Heh, love it!

James meanwhile says they may just be cuddling now, but soon they'll be sucking face and stuff he has ears like a bat. Kim's got to go cuz 'all she's got is her seks-xu-ality!

Cut to Koror where it's pouring rain and everyone complains because they have a crappy shelter. Coby walks into the camera in his bikini black underwear - Egads!! That was NOT something I wanted to see, at least Hatch got the blurry circle that covered him, they should do the same on Coby - ugh!

Meanwhile, Caryn is acting like a 3 year old as she throws a temper tantrum directed at Katie. Complete with that irritating, whiny nyah-nyah voice she tells Katie that she has been on this island for 7 days and has kept her mouth shut - Huh? Must be her other personality that has been bitching and moaning for the past week - and just can't do it anymore. Katie has the posture and tone of a psychiatrist telling Jack Nicholson that she sees Johnny too, in the QI Katie laughs and calls Caryn crazy and informs us that she's lost it.

Caryn stomps off telling Katie not to tell her what to do anymore!! Cut to Willard and the blonde girl (who the heck is that?) just standing on the beach and smiling, cut to (shudder) Coby in his weenie bikini's (shudder) mentioning that it's good that they still have everyone on their team, but there are also too many people on the team. Sounds like a precursor as to what's to come. Coby has already shown this manipulativeness, and up to now he's been pretty docile in his pink tu-tu way.

Reward Challenge: Oh, now this is a great one and I think all of us that have played in a swimming pool when we were younger could appreciate it. It's sort of 'smear the queer' (well that's what we called it when I was young) but in a body of water and with a life-ring instead of a ball. Competitors have to have one hand on the life-ring and one hand on their pontoon in order to get one point. First team to get 3 points win. Everything is legal except for the choking maneuver ala Robb. Reward - A sewing kit with fabric, Probst notes that a lot of them are in their underwear and this could help them. Please, oh please let Koror win so they can cover Coby's weenie-bikini's up! (shudder)

First up is Tom vs. Jeff - The life-ring is released and Tom quickly swims out while Jeff hangs back. Tom pauses assessing the situation and decides to get the life-ring around his body. Jeff calmly swims over and hand on life-ring swims, pulling Tom who is floating inside towards his pontoon. Tom realizes his faux-pas and gets himself out of the life-ring and puts up a bit of a fight, but it's too late. One for Ulong. Next up...

Jen (Oh! that's who the blonde is) vs. Stephenie - Steph swims out to retrieve the ring, Jen hangs back, trying to use Jeff's drag maneuver. But Steph manages to swim almost to her pontoon before Jen can catch up. Two for Ulong. Next up...

New twist, boy/girl teams: BJ and Angie vs. Greg and Janu - BJ swims out for the ring the other 3 hang back. Janu tries to go after BJ but Angie is all over her, Janu should probably stick to her monkey-tree climbing and stay out of the water. Angie, dunks her, hold her under, heh Janu is NOT happy, and is pretty much out of it... As BJ swims towards the pontoon Greg gives pursuit and Angie is all over Greg like a shark sniffing seasnake blood. Greg manages to get free, and gets a hand on the ring, but it's too late and BJ reaches the pontoon. Three for Ulong - Winners!

Back on shore Ulong is celebrating - Angie getting hugs and high fives all over the place - cut to Janu who now looks like a drowned rat, a seriously pissed drowned rat, heh.

Back at the ranch, Ulong checks out their sewing kit. BJ is going to make fishing gear, Ibrehem says in a QI, I'm not a sewer or a seamstress and have no idea what to do with it. BJ goes spear fishing and catches yet another guppy. BJ is really loving Angie. BJ chops wood. Cut to everyone else lounging on the beach. Jeff is saving his strength for later - of course - hmmm, shades of Osten here. BJ is knocking down coconuts and Kim sits on a log cheering him on. BJ is disappointed in the laziness of his team, but someone has to do the work. Kim is mad that BJ is working so hard because it make the rest of them 'look' lazy.

Over at Koror, Tom the seasnake hunter with his posse Ian & Greg are, well, hunting seasnakes. We hear how venomous and deadly they are, but it is food ( I guess). Tom traps the snakes in the cave, while Ian delivers the finishing blow that would make any highlander proud. They manage to kill 3 or 4 of them and hang them on a branch to (dry out?). (Jaws music please) Enter the shark. Apparently the shark gets a whiff of seasnake blood and comes sniffing around. Tom decides that shark fillets would be a whole hell of a lot better than poisonous seasnake. He and Ian grab their pointed sticks and try to lure the shark in for the kill.

Poignant QI with Tom (had me laughing) - Says 'going after the snakes was a little foolhardy and he's hooked up with 2 other "knuckleheads" that take fun in stuff like this'. About the shark hunting: '...If we had seen a shark at Jones(?) Beach in New York, everyone would come running out of the water, here we see a shark and everyone goes running INTO the water, the sharpened sticks probably won't work, but what the heck, it's all about the adventure.' I'm really liking Tom. I hope he wins, he is the Michael Skupin, Hunter, Rudy, Sarge, Matthew of this series and they never win - and it sucks man!

Ulong at night we see Jeff walking along the beach. QI: 'I had to use the little boys room and rolled my ankle on a coconut, I've sprained my ankle before and I know it's sprained'. Morning, BJ makes himself a diaper out of the cloth and bright lad that he is bunches it up right under his -ummm- manhood and decides that would be the PERFECT spot to put the safety pin. Yowtch, maybe men don't have as much experience using safety pins, but probably every woman out there cringed while watching. If that pins 'sproings' the boy is going to be in a world of hurt.

Immunity Challenge (water based again): Everyone is tethered to each other by a rope and has to carry a 20 lb. sandbag. There is a giant rectangle made of ropes in the water. The two tribes start kitty-corner from each other and the first team to tag a player on the other team wins. Tribe members can quit when they get tired, the catch? The quitting player has to hand off the sandbag to one of the remaining teammates.

Jeff takes 3 steps and quits. Caryn, Willard, Greg, Kim, Angie, Coby & James follow suit. It's Tom, Ian & Greg, vs. BJ, Ibrehem & Stephenie. I don't know how long this actually took, but watching it on t.v. seemed like they were out there for hours, everyone is worn out. Tom runs his line like a true military leader, I was waiting for the military running chant to start and was sorely disappointed that it didn't. Tom tells them to dig deep and that every time they hit the shallow sections, they are to run. The plan works and Ian finally gets within reach to jump on Ibrehem's back. Koror Wins!

Back at Ulong. Tribal Council maneuvering: Jeff calls a meeting saying everyone tried hard and apologizes for not being able to help, he says his ankle won't get better for another 3 weeks and he should be voted off. OMG, you idiot! QI's: James says they can't vote out Jeff cuz' he's strong. Ibrehem talking to BJ says that if they vote Jeff off it's like voting two people off because they'll then be stuck with Kim, and she doesn't do anything (good one!). BJ finally sees the light and agrees that Kim has to go. BJ approaches Angie and she says she is voting Jeff off and not swaying from her vote. As they walk back they see Jeff splitting coconuts with one strike of the machete. BJ whispers to Angie, 'see that, Kim can't do that'. QI-Kim people are whispering and conspiring and she's feeling vulnerable.

Tribal Council: Probst says they've got to be sick of seeing him. Ibrehem says it's frustrating getting pummeled and if they would have had Jeff, they would have won. Probst asks BJ if Jeff really was the difference and he says, 'No, Tom was the difference, he respects him man against man'. Well, I'm starting to like BJ, turns out he may have pulled a scarecrow and found the Wizard of Oz. But the rest of the team seems unhappy with his remark.

Steph says there was no finger pointing as Jeff immediately sat them all down and asked to be voted off, to which Jeff says that he has always been a team player, and he can't allow himself to drag the team down. Probst asks Kim if the tribe is at a point now where they can see who is really doing all the work as opposed to who is laying around. Kim says it's hard to be on this team with all the strength and stamina of the guys and there's now way to measure up to that. She's sick of being on the tribe because she's not weaker than the average person, but is on this tribe.

Vote:

• Jeff
  
• Jeff
  
• James (huh?)
  
• Kim
  
• Kim
  
• Jeff
  
• Jeff

First, I have to remove the 'Dumb Ass' title from BJ and thunk Jeff over the head with the much deserved and earned title of King Dumb Ass! Sure, I'm slightly pissed because my $200 gimped away, but I HATE when people quit the game - either outright ala Osten, Morseca & Sue or by 'asking' to be let go ala King Dumb Ass and a few others who's names I can't remember.

Even worse, his 'reason' for leaving was crap! I really don't know what the hell he was thinking, if he took a bullet for Kim, well than his new title is King Dumb Ass of the Universe. Look, I used to run the 110/220 hurdles in high school (and was actually quite speedy as a matter of fact, but enough about me, sort of...) I have sprained my ankles more times than I can count, and I was always able to run at the next track meet. Perhaps my original concern over Jeff pulling an Osten wasn't far off base. He did have very little body fat to begin with, and maybe he saw the 'ankle sprain' as his way out. Any which way you trip over it - It was pathetic. Jeff you're worse than a loser, you are a QUITTER!

I'm still in my pool, barely. Jeff is walking a fine line right now.

This episode started with Janu shrieking about finding rats on their new beach. This turned into Caryn calling Tom out for picking the new beach without consulting everyone. She now wants to have a vote on the beach to see who would have voted what way? Huh? The way the episode was shown it did appear that Tom made the decision on his own, but after the QI with Katie, we find out that the majority of the tribe DID want to switch, and that Katie is getting really annoyed by Caryn, as am I.

Switch over to Ulong - QI with Stephenie saying how happy everyone is with Jolanda gone & what a great decision it was, then the ever-quotable James says everyone is feeling good and no one is telling anyone what to do anymore - Cut to the tribe standing around on the beach doing nothing and Stephenie says, "So what should we do?" - hah, great editing. QI with James again, "We're American's and we're going to do Democracy".

It's now time for the Reward Challenge. Probst asks Karor if they are enjoying their fire and when they say they lost the fire, Probst's mouth drops gapingly wide, and the Ulong tribe is obviously happy, Jeff the most obvious about it. The Reward Challenge is another obstacle course with the added ooo-factor of having a couple of tribe mates wielding sandbags on the sidelines to swing at the others as they are trying to cross the balance beam type course.

Katie cannot get the 'swing' of it, pun intended, and after about 700 failed attempts, Willard has to tell her to keep her knees up longer. Angie on the other hand dominates the challenge. There are a couple of spectacular wipeouts. James had one of them that looked like he might have knocked his tailbone up through his throat... Yowtch! And for the 'guffaw' factor, we see Coby on his second attempt, stop half way through, put his hands over his head take a deep breath for a zen moment, puts his hands down, lifts his foot to take a step and wipes out (snicker, snicker)... heh, that could be a 'priceless' moment. Anyway, Ulong kicks Karor's ass & they get diving/fishing gear & fire.

Meanwhile, back at the camps... Jeff goes fishing and catches a spotted fish about the size of a goldfish and takes it back to camp. Ashlee isn't hungry & goes to bed early by herself instead of sitting by the fire as noted by Bobby John in his QI. Ian manages to retrieve the box with flint, they set up a pulley-type system to pull the box up which was very smart.

Immunity Challenge. Yet another water challenge, tribes had to memorize Morse code to decipher their clues once they were released by pulling a weighted trunk under water. Ulong has a serious lead because Willard obviously can't swim and all 8 team members have to be at the pontoon before they can begin diving. Ulong breaks down and it appears that no one can stay under long enough to be able to pull the trunk. Kim doesn't even try. While at Karor it seems that Tom single-handedly manages to drag the trunk far enough to release the mess kits with the Morse code symbols on them. Karor wins easily. So much for strength. Hmm, that sounds familiar.

Ulong is now doing the tribal-council-pre-dance. It seems the tribe is split 4-4 between voting Ashlee or Kim off. Stephenie, Ashlee, Angie, James want Kim gone because she didn't even try during the Immunity Challenge and because it's become very apparent that her & Jeff are getting very, very close. Jeff, Kim, Ibrehem and Bobby John (BJ from now on, or Dumb Ass) want to vote Ashlee off because she isn't part of the group, and because she didn't eat, and went to bed early by herself.

James confronts Jeff about the relationship. Kim confronts James about voting her off, and there are lies all around. BJ approaches Stephenie to vote Ashlee off, Stephenie tells BJ that they need to break Jeff & Kim up, but Dumb Ass says, 'I don't see them as a threat'.

Well, they go to tribal and it pretty apparent that Kim is going home, and Jeff is probably only around because of his strength (Boy's got me worried). When Probst asks Jeff about his relationship with Kim, Jeff says that there are no relationships being built, they are just snuggling, pan-out to everyone else doing some good ole' eye-ball rolling. Time to vote. Votes are Kim, Ashlee, Jeff (Huh?), Ashlee, Ashlee, Ashlee (huh??). I'm confused!

What did we learn this week?

• Jeff & Kim have a cuddling relationship, that is threatening to the majority, but they managed to survive - holy shades of Rob & Amber.
• Caryn is irritating the hell out of everyone.
• Angie has proven herself to be a fighter.
• James continues to offer up one-liners, and I think between him & Stephenie, they would make a strong Alliance.
• BJ is a DA, oh wait we already knew that.
• Tom is the rock of his tribe.
• Ian the dolphin trainer, can't dive very well.
• Katie is going to kick Caryn's ass, and I personally can't wait.
• Coby makes a crappy ballerina, pink tu-tu and all.
• Janu is afraid of mice.
• Jeff can't fish.
• Willard only talks when necessary, for the time being anyway.
• Greg who?
  

Jeff was not one of the 3 to get 'voted' off the island yesterday, so I'm still in the hunt for the $200 in my work pool. Georgia, Karen & Paul D. all lost their chances as their survivors were history by the end of the episode.

I like this 'new' survivor better already. I hate the male vs. female shows, and it seems I am in the minority with that opinion, but those shows are just so boring to me. It almost makes it too predictable and I like the extra finagling that comes in when tribes are mixed with males & females.

So the show starts out with Jeff giving us a history of Palau, without the cultural schtik which was also nice for a change. Zoom out to show all 20 of the survivors rowing themselves through some choppy water, well except for the wildcard Janu who seemed to pull a 'cleopatra' move as Boston Rob would have put it and sat on the (bow?) of the ship along with a blonde guy doing, um..well... nothing. Probst pulls up on his boat and informs everyone that they are all going to the same island (straight ahead) and on that island are 2 immunity necklaces. The first female & the first male that make it to the island get the immunity necklaces. The only other things they have are 2 machete's and one map to the water source. He then tells them they are about a mile out and how, when or where they decide to get to the beach is up to them.

Coby is the first to get up and is about to jump out of the boat, looks around and sees that he is the ONLY one that has done so. Everyone is yelling "row, row" in the background, but they should have let him jump, he would have reached shore by nightfall, heh. There is some maneuvering to get to the back of the boat, when all of a sudden...

The middle-age female schoolteacher who may actually be the mother of William Hung if dance moves and singing are hereditary. Stands up at the front of the boat and shows where sonny boy Hung got his skills. OMG, I almost feel sorry for her. Tom informs us that he would have liked to knock the lunatic out with his oar, but somehow resisted the urge. Coby tries to be nicer about but it seems that Wanda Hung has irritated the shit out of everyone within 2 minutes of opening her mouth.

And to make matters worse for poor Wanda, (God Love her). They do one of those quickie interviews (from now on, they'll be known as QI) where she lets us all know that she has written a bunch of songs for survivor and is "all about this being one big party as long as it lasts". Oh, this poor woman, lol, c'mon now have you all seen her picture? I just get images of a not so good-looking June Cleaver walking into the sock-hop at Wally's high school, and yelling c'mon kids let's pahty, pahty, pahty as she jumps on the dance floor by herself and starts doing the Twist and screaming woo-hoo, while all the kids look at her with their mouths agape.

Stephenie & Jonathan are the first to jump, and make royal asses out of themselves as the boat blows by them. QI Katie laughs at them, the rest keep rowing and when they are about 50 yards out there's a mad scramble and they all jump in Ian & Jolanda win the immunity.

QI's: Jolanda says she wasn't about to let that (long pause) young girl beat her to immunity, James call Ian a fast little booger, heh, Willard notices that there is only one tribe sign, Gregg is paranoid and worried about what is going on, people are introducing themselves, Jolanda raises her hand above her head waving and screams her name out to everyone. Jonathan & Stephenie swim to shore about 20 minutes later.

They break off into 2 groups 15 to build shelter & 5 to hunt down the water. When out of the forest you hear, "We are Survivors, we're going to build a for-tress, we are sur-vivors" totally off-key and it's party-girl Wanda. A couple of the others are doing the cringing-smile at her.

QI Tom is smart enough to stay away from trying to build a fire, Ian likes how the females are using the machete to modify their clothes, everything is getting shorter. Angie knew that her & Cody understood each other and were kindred souls, Coby agrees that they are cut from the same cloth, Janu climbs up a tree, "climbed that puppy like a monkey" - her words.

There is some positioning already as people know this one tribe thing will probably not last long. Coby begins a smear-campaign on Jonathan. I figure Cody being the pink shirt wearing, slightly lispy guy that he is... is either jealous, intimidated or got blown off by Jonathan. Water is found, along with a bag that contains all of their shoes. As they are all working or scheming...

Jeff comes out of the woods and calls the 2 winners of the immunity necklaces to the front and tell them that they are guaranteed to stay in the game for at least the next 10 minutes which can't be said for the rest of the group. Basically this has turned into that oft-lamented schoolyard team picking with Ian and Jolanda as captains. You can just see everyone's faces drop. Being one of the tom-boyish, athletic girls, I never really worried about this as I was often picked high up in the order, and reflecting on it now, this is one of those instances in which where you fall in the pecking order in early elementary school often follows you through high school. Funny as I hit the rewind button, you can almost imagine all of these people flashing back to being 8 years old and by the look on their faces you can tell what percentage they fall into in the equivalent of the Athletic MEAP (a test in Michigan that kids have to take every 2 years to see how smart they are in different subjects) test. Some faces immediately drop, eyes are rolled, sweat breaks out on foreheads, while others try to contain the smile on their faces. The one BIG difference here?

The jocks don't have the benefit of years of kicking other peoples butts in dodge-ball that almost makes these situations a no-brainer. Also, you didn't have to worry about having someone on your team then turning on you to try and take your head off with the dodge ball when you were the only 2 left. I guarantee if that were the case, team picking would be much different even in elementary school.

The captains pick a person, that person in turn picks the next person. They are to pick a person of the opposite sex. And the new tribes in the order they are chosen. KAROR: Ian-Katie-Tom-(apparently he remembers the monkey climbing skills and picks...)Janu-Gregg-Jen-Coby-Caryn(uh oh, Coby just totally f'ed over his 'made of the same cloth' friend, Angie)-Willard.
ULONG: Jolanda-Bobby John (Coby gives Jolanda a thumbs up & 'good choice' which is very obviously an attempt at bravado as he continues to rub his chin in worry)-Stephenie-Jeff-Kim-James-Ashlee-Ibreham-Angie.

Jonathan (still apparently in shock at not being picked) & Wanda leave & Wanda gives us an encore of another Survivor ditty, fist raised in the air, wearing her wet slip (God love her). If this were the Breakfast Club, a better looking Emilio Estevez & dorky Ally Sheedy got sent packing.

The tribes are kept together on the island and are not sure as to what is going on. It is obviously going to be hard living on the same beach with the other team. Jeff magically pops out of the jungle a little later to tell them their first immunity challenge will be an obstacle course. At the end of the first leg the team will have to untie a bunch of boxes that contain different items (tools for fire, tarp, food, etc...) Once they are all untied it is up to them whether to take any items or all items, oh and by the way, the boxes are weighted to add some extra fun to the challenge. They then have to run back through the obstacle course to a rowboat, have to go around the buoyie(sp?) and back to the beach with their flag.

They are pretty much neck and neck the whole way with Tom taking a serious lead (surprise, surprise). Once they get to the boxes KAROR obviously has decided to take the fire only, they do so and take off. ULONG meanwhile is confused, with Jolanda yelling, we have to get everything and will not leave even after the KAROR takes off. ULONG is now distracted between watching how far KAROR is getting, trying to untie knots, decide what to take and finally the rest of the team pulls a mutiny (finally!), they take what they have and take off. Jeff pops as ULONG is trying desperately to catch up and informs us that they have taken food & the tarp, but no fire..."Interesting". He's a funny guy .

Once they hit the water KAROR way ahead, you once again see the difference in the teams. KAROR is rowing straight, strong & as a team, while ULONG seems to be going in circles about 15 yards off the beach. One of the guys slaps the oar in the water in frustration, it's one of the younger dark haired guys (Gregg, Jeff or maybe James). KAROR wins handily.

Jeff is waiting for them and tells the winners they have a choice of choosing islands. Do they want to stay with the known, or take the unknown. Tom pipes up and wants to go for the new & exciting, so off they go rowing to their new beach. Along the way, the boat tips. Good-bye fire. There are a few half-hearted attempts to retrieve the weighted down box, and many editorial shots of the box laying all by itself at the bottom. They decide to leave it there? Huh? Maybe they tried longer and they didn't show us, but it sure didn't look like it.

Meanwhile Jolanda is doing some serious campaigning to get Angie voted off, because Jolanda is strong and a vital asset to the team. I'm sorry, but you know what Jolanda - you MAY be stronger than Angie, but you're a DUMBASS and a loud-mouthed, cocky one at that. Stephenie is approached go vote Angie off (she sort of agrees) but can't seem to get the taste out of her mouth of Jolanda's incompetence. Jolanda herself even approaches her, and Stephenie calls her out, in a pleasant way. Another segment of the tribe (we'll call them the smarter side), approaches Angie and asks her if she'll vote out Jolanda. QI Angie knows her heads on the block, she remembers who was picked last, pretty much says hell yeah I'll vote anyone else off and thankyou! Bobby Jon is going to vote for Angie, because he "doesn't see how Jolanda hurt their tribe" now this is a guy who uses his first & middle name, is it really so surprising that he's a dumb ass? Seriously?

TRIBAL COUNCIL: James says he loves his team, it's damn fyine, full of enehrgy, young and full of tes-tos-terown, giddyap, hyuk hyuk . Didn't I tell ya' James would be funny? Then again, it could be his accent. Probst calls MY Jeff out and asks about the seeming lack of strategy and although they are young and strong, did brains beat them out? I'm cringing now, don't say it Jeff, don't you open your mouth in tribal council and ostracize yourself buddy. But he does it, in a cool-headed way, says part of his team wouldn't leave, flash to Jolanda not looking too happy. Jolanda pipes up making excuses and talking about how strong she is and a vital asset to the team, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they lost BECAUSE of HER.

Voting begins, we are led to believe it will be either Angie or Jolanda, with the Angie more than likely being voted out. As Jolanda goes to vote, we catch a close up of a snake - Woo Hoo, Jolanda is GONE! Gotta love all the subtleties that the editors come up with. Votes are read, and yes Jolanda is history. She only gets two votes on her side and they are Bobby Jon and Ibreham. Ibreham looks absolutely mortified over Jolanda leaving. Probst parting remark? Seems the team needs to stop making excuses (ahem Jolanda) and start working together.

Okay, I didn't do too bad with the limited amount of information on each person's astrological imprint. I knew as I was finishing it that I should have focused more on Mars as far as people that would appear to be leaders, but didn't have time to expound.

Think of the progression of the astrological signs as a baby as it grows through the different stages in life. Aries is the first sign and although it would appear to be the weakest, since we have a baby here, it is actually the most aggressive, self-centered, cardinal (meaning leader), fire (meaning they do first, jump before you look) sign there is. Each sign in the progression has it's own personality traits which eventually ends at Pisces.

Pisces are the old wizened person who has lived through all the other stages in life and have come to the reflecting stage in life. They are characterized as dreamers, cautious and as symbolized by two fish swimming in opposite directions slightly fighting their different natures. They are a mutable (meaning changeable), water (meaning they feel first, emotional) sign. They seem to have a world of their own and that they keep hidden from others, which make them hard to understand.

As stated earlier, the template of our personalities is our sun sign. Our Rising Sign is the 'mask' we wear to others and is the first impression people get from us. Which is probably the most important aspect to making it in the early stages of survivor, and obviously we don't have that information. I'm willing to bet that Jolanda had some fiery or cardinal sign as her rising sign.

I think it's safe to say that both Tom & Gregg have emerged as 'leaders', and have that steady as a rock quality to them. James & Angie's leadership qualities are tempered by their flamboyant fun sign of Leo, with Angie being even more subdued by her pisces aspect. James on the other hand has funny, emotional leader cancer doubled with quirky weird Aquarius and showman Leo. He should be a hoot!

The Merc in Scorpio's, Jolanda, Stephenie & Willard have shown themselves to have the verbal capacity mentioned earlier. Scorpio's also tend to be very deep and very protective of themselves. It is very had to bust your way into having a Scorpio's trust, but once you do, you should have a friend for life. With Mercury in Scorpio, they should also be quick to understand other people's underlying motives. Willard should take a stronger (more up front) position than Stephenie with his Leo vs. her Pisces. Although, we can't forget that environment also plays a role in shaping all of us and I think that may subdue Willard until he feels more comfortable with his fellow survivors, as well he should.

Ashlee & Katie also have a mental edge with their Mercury in Gemini (they should turn out to be the 'thinkers' in the group), although their thinking may harm them if they take too long in making a decision. I think Ashlee is more prone to fall on that one as Katie has impetuous Aries in her Mars, while Ashlee had a double whammy of thinking signs with Libra in her Aries, and although Libra is another leader sign, it tends to think before it jumps. And as symbolized by it's sign of the scales they are forever trying to weigh out all the possibilities before making a decision. It's usually the right one, but may be too late in the game of Survivor.

Ibrehem, Jennifer, Kim should follow the leader's. As Ibrehem did with Jolanda, and Bobby Jon who has his signs in Aries (the ram) and Taurus (the bull) sort of explains why the dumbass put so much emphasis on strength.

Well, that should give a snapshot of what to look for, and we'll see how it pans out. The other thing about astrological signs is that sometimes they just rub each other the wrong way. I'm a Libra among other things and Pisces (although I really like them at first) tend to irritate the shit out of me in the long run, I usually end up viewing them as spineless weak jelly fish. On the other hand I get along great with Aquarian's (a fellow thinking-air- sign) with enough quirk to them that although I don't always understand them, they have enough guts and fun to be very endearing. And I'm pretty sure the Cancer's just love the servitude and quirkiness of Pisces. Therefore, although Tom and Gregg are naturally stoic leaders (Capricorn's-Earth) they're bound to bug the crap out of some other sign. More than likely it will be the water signs, because earth & water make mud.

Okay, enough weighing for me.

Disclaimer: I do not proclaim to be a professional astrologist, more of an astrological hobbyist, if such a thing exists, hah, guess it does now... I created my own race! woo hoo. Guess that would make me Queen, who wants to pay me taxes for my castle dammit? Well that's a subject for a different day, here goes & I'll start with my man...

1. Jeff, 21 yr old Aquarius-Mars in Pisces;Merc in Cap - Personal Trainer
2. Bobby John, 27 yr old Taurus-Mars in Aries;Merc in Tau - Waiter
3. Coby 32 yr old Virgo-Mars in Virgo; Merc in Virgo - Hairstylist
4. Gregg, 28 yr old Capricorn-Mars in Cap; Merc in Cap-Business Consultant
5. Ian, 23 yr old Virgo-Mars in Cancer;Merc in Virgo-Dolphin Trainer
6. Ibrehem, 27 yr old Pisces-Mars in Aquarius;Merc in Pisces-waiter
7. James, 33 yr old Cancer-Mars in Aquarius;Merc in Leo-Steelworker
8. Jonathan, 23 yr old Virgo-Mars in Leo;Merc in Libra-Sales & Mktg.
9. Tom, 41 yr old Capricorn-Mars in Cap;Merc in Cap-Firefighter
10. Willard, 57 yr old Sagitarius-Mars in Leo;Merc in Scorp -Lawyer
11. Angie, 24 yr old Aries-Mars in Leo;Merc in Pisces-Bartender
12. Ashlee, 22 yr old Taurus-Mars in Libra;Merc in Gemini-Student
13. Caryn, 46 yr old Leo-Mars in Tau;Merc in Virgo-Lawyer
14. Janu, 39 yr old ?? -Hmmm, not listed for her a wildcard-Vegas showgirl
15. Jennifer, 32 yr old Pisces-Mars in Tau;Merc in Pis-Nanny
16. Jolanda, 39 yr old Scorpio-Mars in Sag;Merc in Sag -Lawyer
17. Katie, 29 yr old Gemini-Mars in Aries;Merc in Gemini -Ad Exec.
18. Kim, 25 yr old Pisces-Mars in Pisces;Merc in Aries-Student
19. Stephenie, 25 yr old Sagitarius-Mars in Vir;Merc in Scorp-Pharm. Sales rep.
20. Wanda, 55 yr old Virgo-Mars in Cancer;Merc in Virgo-English teacher

Wow!! I can't believe how many Pisces & Virgo's there are, this is either going to be a very, very boring show or one full of emotional rollercoasters! Pisces tend to be dreamy servants, while Virgo's tend to be anal-retentive servants meaning they both like to please others. If someone leaves for the irritating factor, I've got to pick Coby - triple Virgo (ick).

Mercury is said to rule intelligence/thinking, Mars is your 'life force'/aggressiveness and your sun sign is a sort of general template.

Look for Gregg, James, Tom & Angie to be the leaders. As a matter of fact Greg & Tom might be twins. James & Angie will be funner. Bobby John will more than likely be a very stubborn, aggressive yet agreeable guy. Mercury in Scorpio? Want a verbal tongue-lashing that leaves you crying & stunned? Piss off someone with mercury in scorpio, not a pretty thing to see, but sometimes, people deserve it and it doesn't hurt my feelings afterward (yes, I'm one of those).

Look for some seriously charming 'double-speak' and manipulation from Ashlee & Katie, while Jonathan will be another word-charming, manipulator. My Jeff isn't looking too bad astrologically. Aquarians tend to be a little off-beat, but get along really great with people, his Mars in pisces will definitely temper his aggressiveness (think Barry Sanders) & with Mercury in Capricorn he should be pretty level headed and business like. This is going to be interesting.

I admit it, I'm a reality junkie... I absolutely love most of the reality shows with Survivor topping the list & The Apprentice & The Amazing Race coming in tied for second.

What I love about them is the sociological/psychological aspect, along with the competitions. Us Reality Show lovers have become almost as maligned as smoker's lately, I don't understand why some people hate the shows so much. I mean they're probably the same people that were addicted to Friends or 90210 or some such garbage.

The interaction between people is fascinating to me, and it's like watching a mystery, but better because I usually can't figure out what is going to happen. Humans are so damn unpredictable sometimes, but especially in the circumstances they are thrown into in Survivor. I'm thinking about doing a quick prediction on who will get along or personality types by their sun signs. It would be hard because there is so much more to it than just a person's simple sun sign, but it might be interesting.

A new thing for me this year is I got into a 'Survivor Pool' at work, thanks to PEE for nominating me and Don for running the thing, although it doesn't look too complicated. I picked one of my lucky numbers (2) and a few days later... Voila... Don sends me an email (totally work related of course) informing all of us who 'we have', I have Jeff. I hope he's not a jackass, well actually I sort of like the jack asses on Survivor, so strike that last comment.

Anyway, if Jeff is the sole Survivor my $10 (I'll pay you Monday, I swear Don!!) will be a cool hundred (I think) hmmm, maybe I should have checked into the rules of this pool before I threw my money in (on Monday, I swear Don!). Looking at the Survivor website and Jeff, he's kind've a dork, I wonder if I can trade him in for Jonathan (he looks cute!).

But my Jeff is 21 & a personal trainer, which is good. The fact that he isn't drop dead should actually be a bonus too, people won't be too threatened by him. I just hope he doesn't go the way of Osten who had so little body fat, his body couldn't hack it. Well good luck to everyone in the pool, and Go Jeff... kick some butt buddy!!