simplyme

WNY state, though not Buffalo itself. I also spent over a decade living in Pittsburgh, which has a significant Dyngus Day celebration. All in all, it's just a fun day for everyone to celebrate being Polish, even if they aren't.

I just want to wish everyone a happy Dyngus Day. Wikipedia link to Dyngus Day in the US

This last time when Tai "accidentally" spilled the beans about the Sandra vote to Varner, I'm not sure that was accidental or all that bad of a move for Tai. His alliance had already been considering turning on him (which I do at least partially ascribe to his paranoia and having more difficulty understanding him when he speaks). By saying Sandra's name in front of Varner, if she WAS the agreed-upon vote, he wasn't saying anything Varner wasn't supposed to know. If she wasn't the agreed-upon vote, Tai's alliance was lying to him (which he kind of sensed) and he had two idols as back up. It was bad for Tai's alliance partners that he did that, but I'm not convinced that it was actually bad for Tai. Sandra, at least, seems to think that she had convinced Ozzy to be her new Malcolm and vote with her and Varner, but Tai running at the mouth and clutching his idol at TC spooked Ozzy into a safer vote for Sandra. I honestly can't tell how much of what Tai does is luck and how much is being able to sense when he's vulnerable and trying a way to flip things. I mean, he isn't going to win, and I don't think he's a genius, but I don't think he's an idiot either.

This suddenly made me think of a quote someone posted from an interview with JT. I of course can't find that link, remember which thread it's in, or remember who posted it. But JT claimed that Probst brought Michaela and Zeke up to him and introduced them as players who had just finished their season and were now doing the next and then added "you know, just like Russell Hantz." JT said that would have pissed him off if he were Zeke. (Yet apparently not if he were Michaela...? Yeah, that's JT. :P) I'm just curious if Probst did say that and if so how many people he said it to. It certainly doesn't excuse Varner, but it could have been something that helped plant some of the "Zeke/Russell" seeds in Varner's mind if any of this is true.

Public outcry? The company fired him (three weeks after hiring him) because they didn't like the bad press being associated with their company. I also imagine it's difficult to sell things to people if you're really unpopular. I don't think Varner should be stoned for making a (bad) mistake, but there are repercussions for things we say. If you say something that essentially reflects poorly on you and impacts your ability to do your job, most companies will let you go. Especially if you're a new hire. (And the right to free speech means you can criticize the government. It doesn't mean there are no consequences for what you say.) At this point, I do feel bad for Varner and hope he gets some positive things going soon. ETA: Er, apparently @pennben types faster than me.

Thank you. I needed this giggle today. :)

I think there's a difference between A. forgiving someone and B. pretending it was okay and trusting someone again. Zeke may have managed the forgiveness (or at least appears to be trying), but that doesn't mean he has to (or should) welcome Varner into his life in a significant way. I was hoping those weren't the actual pizzas they were served. *shudder* Also, I learned from Zeke's Hollywood Reporter article that coconut is a natural laxative, so... Regarding whether Probst specified whether the buoys spelled a word or phrase, I thought he said they spelled a 13-letter word at the beginning. Er, Trish wasn't on that season. She was on Cagayan. It was probably Sherri. They look similar. I confess to yelling, "Go, Debbie! Use those years of gymnastics!" during the reward challenge.

I'm sort of a strange case. In general, I try to avoid spoilers because I like trying to predict what's going to happen. However, I inevitably click on the button at the bottom of the page to go to the next unread post in the next thread and THEN realize it's the spoilers thread, so on occasion I have accidentally read a couple and simply hoped they were wrong. (Usually I squint and scroll down as fast as I can, trying not to focus my eyes.)

Have you seen Survivor South Pacific? It might make you rethink the nice guy thing a bit. (Or the second episode of Cook Islands.) He's not a bad guy, but he can have his jerk side.

I think Tai's biggest problems in-game are a language/accent/cultural barrier and his paranoia. The paranoia and unpredictability actually make sense to me since he talked briefly in the past about being a Vietnamese boat person and the horrible things he went through. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_boat_people

I understand that argument, though in this scenario I think it's unlikely as two of the people Jeff was counting on voting with him were Sarah and Andrea. They both appeared genuinely upset and appalled with him, instantaneously, to the point where there's no way they were saving his ass. So at that point, anyone else thinking to vote out Ozzy would probably have also reconsidered exactly how being the sole person voting with Varner would appear. Mostly I did want to point out that there was an official vote, even if the public nature means the result was different than it might have been. I've seen a few comments that said things about how in Brandon's case they at least took a verbal vote. They did here, too.

Just pointing out that Jeff called on them all last night for an official verbal vote, too. People seem to be overlooking this. Also, in defense of Sarah's reaction and some people's criticism that it seemed to be all about her, I didn't take it that way. She was stunned and upset and was asked about how she was feeling. I felt she was honest and also tried to explain that she just saw Zeke as Zeke. I'd also like to point out that witnessing an emotionally hurtful attack can be just as traumatic as witnessing a physically hurtful one. Yes, the primary concern should be for Zeke, but everyone else there was affected too.

The rumor was mentioned here somewhere in one of the Millennials vs Gen X threads, but I only recall two responses to it. One saying that at that time the person replying could find nothing online (except the rumors) to substantiate it, and another reply saying as far as that person was concerned, unless or until Zeke himself said something it was either not true or no one else's business. That was pretty much where our little previously.tv Survivor community seemed to feel it should be left at the time. (And rightly so, imo.) So yeah, as soon as Varner had the TH where he said something about telling them that Zeke was deceiving them, I started to dread where it was going. Or Varner noticed certain subtle characteristics Zeke had that led him to that conclusion. If Varner does have friends who have transitioned, he may be familiar with the process and telltale characteristics that most people wouldn't notice.

Yeah. Ozzy didn't even need to hand Varner the rope.

Awesome. Thank you, @fishcakes! Apparently it is only safe to win the family reward if your season absolutely sucks. :P

It was bad enough that Varner outed Zeke, but then he went the extra mile and made excuses trying to justify why it wasn't that bad. It was dumb. It was unnecessary. It had to have been hurtful. Trying to downplay the impact and weasel out of taking full responsibility pretty much killed any sympathy I may have felt for Varner. (Everybody makes mistakes. It annoys me that Varner tried multiple tactics before realizing that the only one that would be acceptable to people was showing contrition. I don't know that I believe he's sorry he hurt Zeke, though I do believe he's sorry he outted Zeke... though mostly because it went wrong for him.) Who is this sensitive Brad Culpepper? I'm expecting him to walk on water soon.

Jesus. Just imagine the challenge narration and voting in a season of, say, Tribe Bob versus Tribe Jessica.

I've been streaming seasons on Amazon. While I can't say that no seasons are spoiled by whatever they've chosen as the picture, I have yet to notice it. I'm currently making SimplyMom watch Cook Islands as her intro to classic Survivor (she watched last season and this season), and the art for the streaming version of that season is simply a blue sky with rays of light. (I have no idea why.) So I will tentatively say that streaming is safer than dvd versions. On an unrelated note, in another thread, someone mentioned the car curse. That made me think of something else I wanted to ask Ye Survivor Geeks. How many people who have won the family reward have actually won the game? Because I admit, I'd be throwing that challenge since people get pissed if you win it and don't choose to take them, and they get paranoid about jury goodwill if you win and give it up for the tribe. Offhand, I couldn't think of anyone, but I also can't even remember who won it most seasons, so that's not much of an indicator.

Also, I think I may officially be a curmudgeon. I mimed gagging at SimplyMom when I realized it was Most Memorable Year week. It wasn't as bad as some years, but I still hate it. I'm dreading Disney pimping week. Same with BoyBand/Girl Group week. Can't we have a no themes week? (It may be genetic. SimplyMom responded with, "Oh, no. *eyeroll*")

I think having to ask some of the scripted questions and push the agenda that the producers want you to push makes for a very difficult job. And, of course, there's a wide palette of views and tastes in the viewing audience, so no matter what Erin says (or wears), someone is going to be offended. Overall, I think she handles it fairly well. Obviously, ymmv.

Personally, I don't know how much more of Erika/Gleb I can take. I generally like women who are empowered and feel in control of their sexuality, but that should only be one aspect of a multifaceted dance, for God's sake. Erika and Gleb's routines are just painfully tawdry. Heck, if we're comparing Housewives, NeNe Leakes outdanced Erika by miles in her Cruella De Vil role, and it was way more sensuous than anything Erika's done. The rest of the women are great dancers and should outstay the men, but some probably won't. (We could get into the ringer debate, but there are some every season. Also, imo women with no background that lends itself to dance tend to get shredded on DWTS, whereas men can skate longer on just charisma and fanbase.) I generally despise Bachelors on principle, but Nick is trying, seems to have some ability, and has a brain and a sense of humor. (How the hell did the brain and humor thing slip past the Bachelor casting folks? I thought those were immediately disqualifiers from past examples.) Technically I think he should outlast David and Bonner, but he won't. Rashad seems to have quite a bit of natural ability and a great personality. David has a fun personality, great sense of humor, and a huge fanbase, but he's not a great dancer. Still, he's here for the long haul. Bonner needs to go after Erika. This has nothing to do with the hand thing, which I think was purely accidental, and everything to do with his personality and inability to dance. Every time he opens his mouth, my eye starts to twitch. Sad to see Mr. T go, but it was the right call. He was one of my childhood heroes. :)

Snrk. Wonder how Antonio Sabato Jr feels about being called a woman who oozes sex appeal? ;) (To be clear, I'm thrilled you included him in the list because he fits the category you intended, I think. I'm just amused at the phrasing.) But yes, being able to effectively convey an emotion or mood (including sexy) through fluid movement is hard.

There's a horrified-yet-possibly-fascinated part of me wondering if I'm going to have to watch Gleb and Erika do an over-the-top sexy cha cha to a butchered version of Madonna's song. This brings to mind terms like "wrong reason viewing," "train wreck," and "eye bleach." I'm not proud of that part of me, mind you. I'm just admitting it exists.

At the point where people like Will last season are losing like 30 pounds in what, 30 (?) days I'd argue that some of the contestants actually are starving. Everybody's body is different. Some can compensate better and for longer, but no, I don't think they're getting enough food out there. Possibly getting a reward to add calories every few days helps, but I think people are overestimating how much most of these people are eating. From Sandra's interview, it sounds like they were wild goats that islanders were also trying to trap. Personally, I don't have a problem with hungry people hunting and killing their own food since it appears they ate it. (It's also unclear whether it was the goats shown or if they caught a different one.) They catch and eat fish, which definitely feel pain. I know people tend to have more sympathy for fellow mammals, and I do understand that, but for many people it is just as valid to draw the line anywhere from "anything that feels pain is off limits" to "all animals except humans are fair game."

But the tribal advantage will only be good at the next IC. That only gets you through one vote. Having the ability to cast two votes on a season where ties go immediately to rocks could have some extremely interesting leverage if used correctly. I am not in any way expecting Debbie to use it usefully, mind you.