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I feel bad for Caleb the Farmer Ninja. He completed the first course, got all sorts of hype going into his run . . . and he bites it on the second obstacle. Wouldn't be surprised if he gets a wild card. Because the show didn't mention it: Spartan wraps up on Thursday. In addition to Kevin Bull and Lance Pekus, another team with two ninjas made it to the finale, and one of them is Neil Craver, who got the WWWA treatment last night.

Oh, Steve. Probably the funniest guy on RR10. Remember when he was on his blind date, and she revealed that her last boyfriend died? Cut to Steve in interview, sputtering. "Wine? More wine, Amy?!?" So funny . . . even moreso than a drunken Ellen almost getting run over. Steve was way too normal for BMP. Once again: I'm still pissed he didn't get a "pack up and go" montage after getting beat by Trishelle in the Gauntlet. Funniest departure from that season? I'm thinking the first one . . . David trying to talk to ex-roommate Matt about dealing with people. This is the same David that had sex nineteen times in NOLA, often with Matt in the nearby bed.

I would not be surprised if Abram has left a trail of bodies in shallow graves through the state of Montana. At least his brother looks normal. Forgot to mention Jenna before. I bet she thinks tablets get heavier the more you download onto them. And the taste in men? First Jay. then Zach (a two-pump chump if there ever was one), and now rumors about Wince (half a pump, collapse) She needs an intervention.

Sean to speak at GOP convention today. I believe that also counts as disappointing.

While I'm thinking about it . . . should I read anything into the lack of AYTO idiots? Or is too soon to hope for the best?

I should probably steer clear of Texas altogether. Or is Annville a giant stereotype? I mean, picnics during a siege? Am I being too big a Yankee bastard about this? Nice way to counter Genesis. Honestly thought Whashisface had killed himself. Turned out he just sacrificed his hearing. Nice to think long-term.

Maybe I shouldn't have read the manga first, because I knew about all the stories . . . especially the giant killing his brother. That was funny, wasn't it? ETA for anybody reading: What's your favorite part of the opening? I'm torn between Saitama punching a knife-wielding star (who has at least one bloody hand) and the singer bringing himself to climax at the very end.

It was in Sex Criminals: Two Worlds, One Cop.

Let the S29 speculation run rampant! Nice to see BMP indulging in my worst case scenario, plucking the bottom three from GBOGH to possibly complete. For some reason, my pick for best cast member might make the cut. I'm thinking that person is too nice, and will be sacrificed to the dark gods that these idiots worship. ETA: There is one noticeable name missing. I'm choosing not to read into that.

Are these stories available online? Do you know if they would make the next issue of SotC?

Not much action this week, unless you count the painting zombies trying to get an eyeful of Nami getting changed. We find out why Brook wants to keep his hair like it is . . . turns out his crew met a young whale at least fifty years ago. And because it's a small world, five of the Straw Hats encountered Laboon on their way to the Grand Line. Luffy sucks at drawing even worse than me. ETA: New anime on Toonami means different transitions to shows. I liked the one they had going into commercial. "Do skeletons poop?!?" "Oh, yes. I poop."

Nice to squeeze in a few chapters of the manga, before the guy after the credits is brought in. I like the idea of a guy with ennui over being able to defeat his enemies with one punch, where he can only get a decent battle in his dreams. And yes, bringing in Christopher Sabat to voice a villain clearly based on Piccolo was a cute touch. ETA: I take it Jay Leno likes to get his freak on while in Japan. Damn, kids aren't supposed to have that chin.

Reposting . . . back in 2012, I was going to do a series on moments from the "Indecision" coverage from The Daily Show, but I stalled at two. Here they are, both from 2004 . . . Clip Clip

That counts. So would witnessing torch relays. I'm guessing the viewership here has a slim chance of seeing the Games in the U.S., Canada, England or Australia, so you can talk Olympics-adjacent stuff here.

I succumbed. And now I'm mad because there's going to be a panel spotlighting Christopher Priest, who was the driving force of two great comics of the late Nineties/early 2000s: Quantum & Woody and Black Panther. I was legit surprised that he popped up in the "Thanks" credits of Captain America: Civil War. Oh, and I'm just on Thursday. Grrrrrr. ETA for anybody heading to CCI next Sunday: John Barrowman's panel is scheduled for 2 p.m. I got to see him at Heroes & Villains two weeks ago, and it was an experience that I won't soon forget. Even if you never got into Doctor Who, Torchwood or Arrow, I still recommend it.

My trial run ran out. I think it can be extended to 30 days, though I may have missed out on that. While the Unlimited package is about $5.95/month, I think I'd want to be making more money before diving in for keeps. It's so sad . . . I was downloading so much Thursday in the hopes that it wouldn't be all gone Friday. At it was. At least I got to read several Valiant series, as well as stuff like G.I. Joe vs. Transformers, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and other stuff I wouldn't get from the library because I'm cheap as hell. I've read the first three volumes of The Wicked + The Divine. Interesting stuff. I'm also amused that a porn parody popped up in Sex Criminals. "Amateurassu" . . . that's funny.

While I can't imagine any Brazilians attend these forums (and goodness knows they have enough on their minds these days), I figured that a few of you out there may have attended the Olympics (winter or summer), and I'd like to hear about that. Back when I was attending grad school at NYU, I wrote a piece on NYC2012 for one of my classes. While the IOC are probably FIFA-level scumbags, and the city would have been tough to negotiate (not to mention the horror of the West Side stadium), I probably would have tried to attend a few events . . . especially the ones slated for my home of Staten Island: road cycling, equestrian, and softball (which got shitcanned in '08). Oh, and I went to a few Goodwill Games things when the city hosted that . . . but c'mon, that probably never counted.

All I really took away from this episode is that jackets are required to pilot Gundams in space. You can't go topless. Even Martians aren't that uncivilized.

I see it more as a sport. Look at the Olympics . . . people sometimes doing unorthodox things while NBC pipes in touching stories. I consider ANW to be as much a reality show as Hollywood Game Night, and I'm stumped as to how Jane Lynch would get nominated for Best Host, let alone winning it. Does that mean Matt & Akbar were eligible? "I SEE YOU, EMMY!!!"

How awesome would it be if Johnny rolled in expecting the audience and host to blow him as per usual, only to be horrified that they realized that they had teeth. On-Topic: I still think Devyn should replace TJ as host.

. . . maybe I'll just pick up the first few issues of Torchwood.

After setting up a "behind the scenes" thread, I figured we needed a place to talk about contestants in general, going as far back as Road Rules: All-Stars (aka When Sean Met Rachel . . . And Knocked Her Up Soon Afterward) to Rivals III. If anybody wants to set up a thread for an individual, like this asshole, feel free to do so. Here's my first question for the group: Is there anybody worth rooting for this season? For the most part, I focus on the guys, because the women tend to blur into a blobby mess. It feels that everybody is either an asshole or asshole-adjacent. I mean, Corey is probably a cool guy, but I never seemed to get behind him. And now, he and Smashley are out. As for the others: Are You The One: Rooting against them on general principle. Devin is basically the low-rent version of Wes. Dario is a moron who will be playing for third-place money with Nany. Johnny: Has his own thread. Cannot fucking stand him. Vince: I refer to him as "Wince" like Wes trying to pass "Vinny Pineapple" on viewers. I feel my nickname is better, because wincing is what most people do when he opens his mouth. Or touches a woman. If he and Jenna win, I could totally see him giving his share to his cousin in exchange for magic beans. Also: reminds me of Mac from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, minus the homoerotic tenancies. Sarah: Enabler. I want to see her as somebody who holds her breath and powers through being partnered with Johnny, occasionally crying and/or throwing up. But it looks more and more like she's okay with the "bros bein' bros" atmosphere. Also hangs with Susie in "real life," and that girl is shysty. Wes: You might wonder why I don't like Johnny's natural enemy. I feel that he considers himself better than everybody else, and that he probably roots against the Deltas when he watches Animal House. Also, most of his schemes to take down Johnny and those in power positions usually end up blowing up in his face. It gets tiring after a while. Hence the comparison to Wile E. Coyote. You can totally see him psyching himself in the mirror. "Weston Bergman, soooooooooper genius!!!" Conclusion: Absence makes the heart grow fonder. If Sarah had retired after BOTE2, we wouldn't be scrutinizing her that much. If Jordan doesn't pop up in the next few years, we'll forget the time he tried to challenge Johnny and lost. Cara Maria should lay off the show, so we can forget about "COUSIN!!!" and hooking up with a probable serial killer. And CT is the best example . . . he's the rare case of an asshole turning it around. Even if you don't factor in his relationship with Diem, it's still a sweet turnaround to remember. If he comes back, he risks losing his shit and looking like an asshole again.

Pinhead? For some reason, I think those are mushrooms growing out of him. Dunno who's worse . . . Leorio or Sanji. I'm thinking Leorio, since he actually got to feel up a woman, and he screwed over others to do it. If Kurapika and Killua took turns punching him in the head, I wouldn't have blamed them. You think Leo would have played it like that had he known how scary Killua was? Yes. Yes, he would. Anybody else think that Killua had removed his opponent's scrotum and nuts through the chest cavity? It's the packaging that makes me cringe a little.

*sigh* I think I peaked when they showed the ice-melting mission from BOTS2. Cue Veronica: "Blow and suck! Blow and suck! Use your hands!" On Planet Challenge, pussing out on a final mission is far worse than almost dying for lack of stamina. Eric "Big Easy" Banks probably feels so grateful not to have his name mentioned. Meanwhile, people probably point at Jay's crotch and laugh all the time. BTW, does Jenna deserve some scorn for bailing, or was that all Jay? If you're gonna show Katie going off, run the highlight where she almost kills Veronica, if not for Mike's timely intervention. Katie's a mom now. I feel so old. Thanks to MTV and/or BMP for not inviting Kenny. He co-hosted the last retrospective, and he probably still needs to be punched in the face. I'll take Marky Mark over him, and Marky Mark probably still thinks he can do another season. Awwwwww . . . CT & Diem. Manipulative as hell, but it does get to me. And we got to see Shavoun maybe burst an implant. This is funny because I felt she sucked ass almost as bad as Trisha on Sydney.

Stupid question: If this was really "Civil War," who would be Baron Zemo? And at least that movie made compelling arguments on both sides. I'm at a point where I kinda/sorta hate everybody because they're a dick/bitch or weak. Better nickname . . .Dummio or Bitchio? I'm open to either one. At least we're spared Raphy. That would be stupidity in stereo. Speaking of AYTO people nobody should like . . . Devin is basically the discount Wes. He thinks he's so much better than everybody else, you can't help but root for him to fail. Speaking of Wes E. Coyote . . . I just want him to haul off and punch Johnny. Or Wince. Either one. Once again, he's on the wrong side, and he winds up getting shat upon by Johnny Fortune and his idiot cousin. I'm happy that he didn't go over the cliff, but it's a matter of time. Kudos for labeling Sarah as a "fair-weather friend." Didn't want to hate her, I can see her swallowing a lot of shit to work with Johnny . . . but she's making it so hard. I know this is next week, but what the fuck . . . Zach strikes me as a guy who would last two minutes, tops. Jenna is better off