Way Wes Jr

I've seen this complaint mentioned, particularly against Vanessa, a ton this season, and while it may very well be true, there are two points to be made. First, the above, and second - that reality show hobgoblin: editing. We have no proof that Vanessa isn't detailing her plans to the Diary Room, and that they are ignoring it in order to show more Johnny Mac clips. Or to present Van in TPTB's preferred narrative. Or, institutional sexism. Or, etc. Occam's Razor thought experiment: Given how much talk there has been over M&M / Skittles Candy Crush Counting by the live feed watchers, is it really possible that the DR isn't asking Vanessa about her strategy? So either she isn't giving them anything, (case one,) or she is, and they aren't showing us (case two.) Really, how many minutes, (and I was tempted to write seconds there,) of DR clips do we get an episode versus how many minutes (hours?,) of interviewing the hamsters do in-between episode?

For completeness: Julia was evicted (3-0) Vanessa won HoH.

From Kass' Gordon Holmes' interview, the "Align or Malign," section: Italics mine. The tinfoil hat part of my lizard brain says, "signed and sealed." ETA: hyperlink

So, which Wild Cards did they reveal? (Kacy, I'm willing to guess. But who else?)

One of the reasons I annually give up on Big Brother is that, I too, am cord free. (And of the networks, CBS has far and away the worst signal in the Chicago area.) But CBS.com reliably has Survivor and Amazing Race episodes up the next morning. [They have BB up also, I just can't make the time to watch the eps.]

Yes, and I can't say this for the players necessarily, as a viewer, I was expecting more small-s survival, because I knew of Mark Burnett from Eco-Challenge. (Tangent, my one beef with Survivor is that its success killed off Eco-Challenge.) I forget, were Rob and Russell's RI tribe assignments random, easily manipulated "random," or assigned? Because if they had been on opposite tribes, I believe they both would have been performing Redemption Island Carnival Games before the merge. Russell's original tribe was anti-returnee in the mold of Jeff Kent, and the Hantzhole isn't charismatic enough (in the right way,) to have formed his equivalent of "Rob's Zombies."

Okay feed watchers, I give it 24 hours, (from the end of the HoH competition,) for the DR to say to someone, "So how would your plans change if you thought there was another double eviction this season?" Any chance of that happening before nominations at this point? (I've already - mercifully - forgotten the production schedule.)

I find myself more excited for this season than I have for any season since Australia. As someone who dislikes "returning players seasons," this means I am very disappointed with myself. I guess there is an "all-stars only," exemption in play. This will be my preseason thread, as I am consuming RHAP podcasts and Josh Wigler's PARADE columns, and will probably hit up Dalton Ross and Gordon Holmes' stuff as well. There is a great embedded video at RHAP, taken before the S31 folk left Los Angeles, where some of the players talk frankly about pre-game alliances. Some don't, and the juxtaposition is hilarious.

Also known as, the skippable episode.

Disclaimer: I don't watch the feeds, and by now I'm only watching every other Thursday if the chips fall my way. I do not wish this on you, the diligent feed watchers who keep me up to date on this annual train wreck, but frankly at this point the 'other' houseguests deserve to have alternating Austin / Twin HoH's the rest of the way out. I think they have the skill sets to pull it off, and if the "house" was too dumb to break up a power triplet consisting of two power couples ..., like I said, future seasons need the cautionary tale.

Fixed that for you.

I really think ordered numbering would be an improvement. The only thing I don't know is what that would do to the "ten days waiting in line" crowd. Obviously, they'd be given lower numbers, (which would be very dramatic when some finish, followed by a bunch of experienced runners flaming out,) but I don't know what the process is for being accepted, and how the would affect the "seeding." [Also, would the experienced crowd try to shop around for the city final that would give them the "best" number?]

We've discussed the (high) difficulty factor of the City Finals courses ad naseum at this point. And really, when 1-3 people are finishing the course, (and maybe 1-2 others make the "ladder climb,") every week, it starts to feel, "same ol', same ol'." There is no feel of urgency when the late runners only have to finish the Salmon Ladder to make the Vegas Final - and heck, three competitors who washed out on the Salmon Ladder this week are advancing - as opposed to previous seasons where they at least had to make the penultimate obstacle by a certain time.

I seriously hope that Austin was sarcastically throwing shade at Vanessa with that comment. Because, if not, yeah ... like, dude.

Up until the point AG decides she wants to save someone and gives us the "Reset Button" takeover.

I don't hate Drew, but I do feel that he comes off both as a show-off, and entitled. He is, admittedly, very good at this - and frankly, having just watched and read about his run at Sasuke 31 - I find myself rooting for him to do well at the Vegas final.

That (Sasuke 31,) was awesome to watch. However, I was disappointed to discover that production screwed Drew D. over. (And I don't particularly even like Drew...)

So the ADC now have two rooms, (HOH with Becky, and the HN room,) where they can go and plot against "the other side?" Please tell me that this was actually planned out - 'cause that reeks of str-te-gery. [And Grodner - this is an unintended consequence of the Battle of the Block, by eliminating Have Not competitions, you don't get mixed groups in the Have Not room.]

I just finished watching Sasuke 30 (2014) on YouTube. A lot of fun to watch, and with only about half the number of "get to know the contestant," bits. (Which is good, 'cause it's in Japanese. Play MST3K with it though: Be Matt Eiserman!) I'd love to see the "swim against the current," obstacle ported to ANW - much as it caught the competitors in Japan off guard, I can only imagine the reaction if it were to be used in the States. (Plus you know there'd be at least one competitor who couldn't swim. Heh heh.) It's in eleven parts, so it is easy to watch in batches. Sasuke 31 (2015) may be available also, but that looks to be in two (much longer) parts.

I believe the age cut off for competitors is 21. (Seems arbitrary - was an early sponsor a beer company?) There have got to be a ton of legal adults (18-20) who would sign an NDA for the experience of running course testing for free. I've always assumed that (Day 1) they show up, and set up the whole course. They just use camera angles to not show us the back half of the course. (There is probably ample video evidence that I'm wrong. Doesn't mean that it would be more efficient use of labor to do it my way, and they don't.)

Can we deep fry that bad boy?

For an invert-able bot, like Tombstone or Sweet Revenge, that part of their design *is* their self-righting mechanism. A low wedge bot, with an "upside-down" wedge on its rear, would also work - to cite a non-spinner example.

There is a 250 pound, Battlebot shaped hole in my schedule tonight...

I am so tempted to get my "free week" of CBS stuff...

Off-topic: Noooooo! "I'm here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum."