Nanami Kamimura's Blog (Fancy Gray Edition)

Links to Survivor videos.
(Posted on Monday, December 19, 2005 at 05:02 p.m.) I was about to upload these while I was making my last post, but at the time, MyFileHut disable its upload utility while it is upgrading its systems. So I only got this now.
I also uploaded the videos from both Palau and Vanuatu just for reference. The original ones on Ripway were deleted after the site closed my account.

Remember that these zipped files contain 3GPP files and require RealPlayer to see them.

This entry is brought to you by Nanami.

Finale Reports
(Posted on Saturday, December 17, 2005 at 11:08 p.m.) Survivor: Guatemala ended last Monday afternoon, but since I was at work at the time, I took solace of watching the primetime telecast. Here is what happened:

Lydia became excited when she received the TreeMail; she thought it will involve a feast. Instead, it involved a sacrifice of a chicken done by some modern Mayas who somehow understood Lydia's Spanish.
In the immunity challenge, the Survivors went through a maze to find puzzle pieces. Rafe edged Steph to win immunity yet again.
After the challenge, the hungry Survivors decided to eat the chicken. But Rafe knew the chicken was a sacrifice to the Mayan gods so he let the girls eat it. What happened next was weird as it rained very, very hard.
In Tribal Council, Lydia was unanimously voted out for what I think is eating the chicken and "making" the gods mad.
In the rite of passage, the Rafe, Danni, and Steph burned sketches of their fallen comrades from their torches in the pyramids. Then, in the immunity challenge where stability and holding up is the key, after two hours and five minutes on a wobbly platform and no more ropes, Rafe accidentally touched the bars when he was not supposed to and he was eliminated. Then Steph's quest finished by dropping on the ground, putting Danni on the immunity spot.
After the final immunity challenge, Rafe told Danni that she was free to make her own decision on which to take to the final two. So Danni decided to take Steph to the final two.
In the final Tribal Council voting, Rafe voted for Steph as he promised. But everybody else got Steph tongue-tied and sided with Danni, winning 6-1.

Steph, along with Bobby Jon, got her second chance in Guatemala after her first tribe Ulong was dessimated in Palau. But against a newbie, she got blindsided (as Jamie would put it).
From what I gathered, the next one will take the show back to Panama, this time for an exile. That will be an interesting one, but I cannot tell what happened in the reunion show until this Friday.

Last Wednesday's final episode of The Amazing Race Family Edition saw the families from Montana to Montreal in Canada. After going under in the "Underground City" where they found a Detour where they would Roll It (logs) or Slide It (do curling or sliding giant pucks on ice). They rolled to the Expo '68 American Pavillion, and then to La Porte J (that's Door J for us English-speakers) where they did a trapeze Roadblock. After going to StadOlympique, finding a flight ticket stub and rested, they flew to "La Tour Ce-Ene" (the CN Tower) and found a flag at the ground. At the box near the flag, the found a Detour to retrieve and flag at a Ship or choose a Shoe that fits. After that, they sailed on the rapids in the Canadian side of the Niagara Gorge and then proceeded to the American side, where there was a final Roadblock waiting before proceeding to the finish. The race was tight between the Linzes and the Bransens, but it took a piece representing Rhode Island to pull the Bransens down and made the Linzes win the million. Here's the final leaderboard:

The Linzes: GOLD (These guys are very fun. The boys even take care about their little sis very well. All I can say is that their bridesmaid placings later paid off to the top spot.)
The Bransens: SILVER (Wally is the oldest guy in the Race and despite losing because he did not find Rhode Island quicker, I still laud him for keeping up with his daughters.)
The Weavers: BRONZE (They have been very bad, they have insulted the other two teams, even using their Christian beliefs in the race. But they give up easily and karma caught up.)

Now, the race is over, but next February, it is back to the two-per-team Race with eleven vying for a million.

This entry is brought to you by Nanami.

My alter egos day with Big Brother personalities.
(Posted on Monday, December 12, 2005 at 05:55 p.m.) As promised on my last update, here are some of my alter ego's pictures with some of the former contestants of the Philippine version of Big Brother.
With Racquel Reyes, the oldest of the contestants

With Racquel Reyes, the oldest of the contestants

With JB Magsaysay, the who asked while inside the house if it is bad to bring culture there.

These are taken on the first week of last month when I heard that my sister just gave birth to my first niece. But I won't upload her picture for this site.

This entry is brought to you by Nanami.

Late reality updates.
(Posted on Sunday, December 11, 2005 at 12:35 p.m.) I know, I know. I'm late with this entry again because of my work and my other worries that I already forgot to type a new one last week. This week's entries are brief because I forgot about what I watched this past week.

This is what I remembered on last Friday's episode of Survivor after Danni took advantage of a special move and took immunity sending Judd home:

In another reward challenge where everything takes a second chance, Cindy took home a brand new car plus lunch at an archeological site. As we all know, Colby, Lex, Sean, Ted, Matthew, Burton, Boston Rob, Eliza, and Ian have won cars, but never the million dollars. So Jeff Probst gave her the choice to keep the car or get rid of the curse and give everybody a car. Although she wanted to be generous, she decided to keep it.
Steph won the immunity challenge, something she never had back in Palau.
Because the others felt very bad about keeping the car, Xhakúm decided let the curse take its course and admit Cindy to the car winners' club. This even prevented an all-female final four.

Now, the final four is complete: Newcomers Danni, Lydia, Rafe and Palau alumna Steph. Steph will try to gain what she never had in Palau because of the numbers game while Rafe must use his gay attitude and do a Vanuatu's Chris to win this thing.
The finale will be shown on Monday, but I won't be seeing everything until this Friday because of my work.

Last Wednesday's episode of The Amazing Race Family Edition continues a cliffhanger from last week's in which the families rode out on horses in double Roadblock and witnessed Old Faithful. After they met Phil in the midpoint, they went to an open plateau for the Detour and smelled either Pioneer Spirit in riding horses or Native Tradition in building a tepee. After taking a picture with Buffalo Bill, they went golf ball hunting before reaching Asbarokee in Montana. The Godlewskis tried as they might in keeping themselves together, but their fighting became their downfall. In the end, they were eliminated. Here's the leaderboard as of the end of this episode's leg:

The Bransens
The Linzes (As usual, they became bridesmaids. And I thought they'll be eliminated if not for the stopover equalizer.)
The Weavers (They are mad at the other teams because of being taunted, especially on the Yield. They even told the Linzes that the Linzes should be sorry for the using the Yield. Now they are putting on my nerves.)
The Godlewskis: ELIMINATED (I think why all-female never place in the final three because of in-fighting. What happened in these sisters is a classic example: bickering and complaining in doing tasks.)

This Wednesday: It is now a race for the million. Who will run and who will fall and who will win the Amazing Race.

As a final note, I'll be showing you on the next update pictures of some of the personalities of the Philippine version of Big Brother. My alter ego met them in person last month. My entries image and file host, MyFileHut, is still in server maintenance and I can't upload them at this time.

This entry is brought to you by Nanami.

A late comment update.
(Posted on Monday, November 28, 2005 at 08:34 a.m.) I know, I know. I'm late with this entry because my brother brought my laptop with him last Saturday, putting this entry on a standstill. Now I have to remember what will I type...

This is what I remembered on last Friday's episode of Survivor:

In a reward challenge picking the odd man out. Cindy eliminated all the others and won the challenge where she would get a massage and a spa-like waterfall. And to Lydia's disappointment, Cindy chose Rafe to share the reward.
Back at camp, Steph began to explain that Survivor is just a game, but Lydia had none of that talk because she has not eaten any good food.
In the immunity challenge where knowledge of the legend is the key, Rafe and Gary were neck-in-neck to victory. But Rafe proved to be faster and he won immunity again.
It was a trail of bad luck for Gary he was in the minority alliance. He campaigned for Lydia's ouster. But it failed. Worse, Judd caught Gary lying when Gary said that he found the mini-idol at the ground; he found it at the trees. Gary was thus eliminated, leaving Danni fending for herself.

Last Wednesday's episode of The Amazing Race Family Edition left Arizona and went north to Utah. They took a helicopter ride to the very inaccessable top of Elephant Butte. They came up in the Detour where they Dropped Down the rappel or Rode Down in bikes. After spending the night at their trailers in Green River State Park, they went to see Bart the Bear. Then they went to Utah Olympic Park where they skied down on the summer slopes in the Roadblock. The Weavers got lost in the wrong trail and got Yielded again. They were not eliminated, but they lost their money and things. Here's the leaderboard as of the end of this episode's leg:

The Linzes (They finally got their first place finish and yielded the Weavers.)
The Bransens
The Godlewskis (They got the bad luck of having their car broke down along the way, putting them on the back of the pack.)
The Weavers (They are mad at the other teams because of being taunted, especially on the Yield. But they themselves made other people made. Calling Utah ugly just because of its population is Mormon? Now you made the Mormons mad. Now you got the karma and went to the scenic route rather than the faster route. They made us mad, too.)

This Wednesday: The Linz and Bransen hot-air balloons have a mid-air collision. And the Weavers want to make the Linzes sorry for using the Yield. (Uh, shut up!)
Where in the US will the families go next? We may find out about them next time.

This entry is brought to you by Nanami.

Survivor only.
(Posted on Saturday, November 19, 2005 at 11:13 p.m.) I know this entry is short, but there is no new episode of Amazing Race this week, as I said in my last post. So this week, I have less to talk about.

This is what I remembered on last night's episode of Survivor:

In a reward challenge where went ducking in the mud, the team of Judd, Gary, Danni, and Steph raced against Jamie, Rafe, Lydia, and Cyndi. Although Jamie and Rafe were stronger than Gary and Judd, Lydia slowed the team down. As a result, Gary, Judd, Danni, and Steph won and where whisked away in a helicopter to a lush private resort. There, not only did the four cleaned themselves up and dove into the pool, ate luscious food, wore pajamas, drank coffee the next day and watched videos from loved ones. Those who are left behind were jealous, of course.
In the immunity challenge, Rafe, Steph, Jamie, and Cyndi went toe-to-toe for immunity. Cyndi got stuck on the ropes and had a gash on her leg, enabling Rafe to take immunity. Gary knew he was done.
But something happened before Tribal Council as Rafe was beginning to be annoyed by Jamie about his safety on the vote. So it turned out on Tribal Council, instead of Xhakúm shooting bullets at Gary as he feared, but at Jamie who got very jittery. At least, Steph's standing from her previous stint in Palau has improved.

That's all for this week. I don't have anything else to talk about.

This entry is brought to you by Nanami.

An Amazing Race comment update... finally!
(Posted on Wednesday, November 16, 2005 at 08:08 p.m.) Last Wednesday's episode of The Amazing Race Family Edition started in Costa Rica. After some team members went out for a swim, they were directed to do a Detour where they would use some Brushes or pull out some Barrels. Then, they flew back to the United States through Phoenix, Arizona and went karting in a Roadblock before making a Pit Stop in Fort McDowell. From there, they went riding on fighter planes and made 360 loops. After finding Grand Canyon's Lipan Point, they went down to Glen Canyon Dam for a Detour were they went Bearing for direction or Bailing out water from a boat. From there, they raced to a houseboat in Lake Powell. The Paolos got lost in this leg and in the end were eliminated. Here's the leaderboard as of the end of this episode's leg:

The Godlewskis (First in Fort McDowell. Only the Bowling Moms went this far in being the all-female team in the Final Four. But will they be the first all-female team in the Final Three?)
The Linzes (Third in Fort McDowell. They seem that they never step on the mat first.)
The Weavers (Second in Fort McDowell. Every other team seems to hate them now. But at least, Rebecca went karting with her father's death right behind her.)
The Bransens (Last in Fort McDowell, but not eliminated.)
The Paolos: ELIMINATED (Fourth in Fort McDowell. After winning two legs, they got lost in Phoenix and on their way to the Grand Canyon. To make things worse, they bickered as usual. But they said that how things run. I hope after seeing themselves on TV that they were humiliated at themselves. But at least, they now have respect at each other than ever before.)

Next Wednesday (because there will be no episode tonight): Christine Godlewski has trouble rappeling. Nick Linz went water skiing.
Where in the US will the families go next? We may find out about them next time.

I'm sorry I didn't blog my Amazing Race comment on the last entry because it was a lot to digest. But since (as I already mentioned) there will be no episode of Amazing Race, I finally have to time to do this. Let's hope for the next one.

This entry is brought to you by Nanami.

Short thoughts
No Amazing Race update!
(Posted on Saturday, November 12, 2005 at 11:41 p.m.) I didn't catch most of the events of the latest episode with my Amazing Race updates because of it being a two hour episode. Maybe I'll catch up with it and give an update as soon as I digest what happened. For now,...

This is what I remembered on last night's episode of Survivor:

In a reward challenge where distance became a factor using a traditional Maya weapon rather than a bow to fling an arrow. Judd hit the farthest with his arrow. As a result he got some hearty steak. On the other hand, Jamie hit fourth to the last, but conceded himself to last to atone for his sins in Tribal Council. So he ate ramon nuts and water from the lake. Judd took the Palau alumni Bobby Jon and Steph to drink in the bar. So Judd came home to camp drunk.
In the immunity challenge, Rafe, Steph, Jamie, and Gary went toe-to-toe for immunity. Gary never passed through, and Jamie won immunity.
On the events leading to Tribal Council. There was talk that Gary was the next on the chopping block. Desparate, Gary went out to find the mini-immunity idol and Judd followed to beat him to it.
On Tribal Council, it seemed everybody was ready to vote off Gary, but (lo and behold) Gary had found the idol and everybody had no choice but to vote out the next best thing: Bobby Jon.

Now Bobby Jon becomes a jury member for the first time, something he never experienced back in Palau. When Steph, a jury alumna, will join him is a matter of time.

In my last entry that I became a little interested with Sister Princess. Now, it looks like that I am currently hooked to this anime. Proof of this is the one of the newest links under the anime section. It is a very good and informative site on Sister Princess. I've also modified my desktop to reflect this. My Current Desktop

I'm a sucker for cute things.

This entry is brought to you by Nanami.

Vacation thoughts + Sister Princess
Xhakum, Xhakum, Xhakum, Xhakum, Xhakum!
(Posted on Saturday, November 5, 2005 at 11:44 a.m.) It's been a while since I wrote something. On my last entry I decided to leave my laptop because of my brother supposedly for four days. I didn't count on an extra day of vacation because I didn't know that I'll have to stay until November 3 (not 2 as I always do). But anyway, during my time, I did eventually play pretend more, appreciate Sister Princess and finally saw Hamtaro, not to mention I've watched some more anime that I will disappointingly miss when I'm back home, plus some more free time. Boring considering what I will do if did bring my laptop (bought the newspaper), but that's how the cookie crumbles sometimes. Furthermore, I'll be back to work on Monday. *sigh*

As for Sister Princess, it all started with the picture of the little booklet below that I bought two weeks ago. It contains pictures and some profiles of the "sisters" themselves. The Sister Princess booklet.

I got a little interested in this anime. So I bought the DVDs (although it cost me most of my weekly wage) and previewed the various episodes, especially while I'm on vacation. It was really cute and sugary sweet atmosphere in watching this anime. I'll try to watch the episodes in due time.

On last night's episode of Survivor, Yaxhá and Nakúm came together at the Maya ruin and immediately a single red-wearing tribe. Lydia even came up with the merge name: Xhakúm. Say it four times.
Then the survivors were tasked to find a little immunity idol that one can use in Tribal Council, aside from winning an immunity challenge. So far, the search turned up nothing. Come to think of it, where can one find an immunity idol six inches tall in a jungle the size of a small county?
The immunity challenge came, but only optional. So Rafe, Stephenie, Lydia, and Jamie decided to take on the feast, while Cindi, Danni, Bobby Jon, Brandon, Gary, and Judd took the balancing jars challenge. After an hour, only Cindi faltered. So the rest put the jars on their heads and walked up a temple. Gary came on top to win individual immunity.
A tribal council, the Danni, Gary, Bobby Jon, and Brandon knew they were in the minority, they made the spat and campaigned for Jamie's ouster because of his rude manners. But the majority of Xhakúm won, with Brandon being the victim.
Now the Palau alumni of Bobby Jon and Stephenie are now in jury stage, with Steph doing reprising her jury role if the time comes. But how Bobby Jon (whose first tribe Ulong never won immunity) will play this part of the game from this point onwards is anybody's guess.

The Amazing Race Family Edition left Panama and went further down to Costa Rica via bus. There, the teams searched for red coffee beans in the Roadblock. After visiting Javier in a surf shop in Jaco, the teams either obtained some Relics or harvested some Ripe bananas in the Detour. Then it is off to Quepos from there. A bad, time-consuming leg plagued the Gaghans and in the end, they were eliminated. Here's the leaderboard as of the end of this episode's leg:

The Paolos (Bickering again, but for some reason, there are in the lead for the second time in a row!)
The Linzes
The Bransens
The Godlewskis (They went around begging for money for the trip. Luck is on their side as each bus loads two teams.)
The Weavers (Sharon is hot-tempered this week because of bogging down on the grass. I hope you enjoyed being Yielded because you can get your revenge next time.
The Gaghans: ELIMINATED (Tommy and Carissa are very confident in their situation. In fact, in my view, these tykes got way too optimistic about their future in the race. Now these two kids experience the pain of defeat.)

This Wednesday: Tony Paolo drowns (somebody call a lifeguard). And Wally Bransen tries to bring back order to his daughters.
Where in the world will the families go next? We may find out about them next time.

This entry is brought to you by Nanami.

Pre-Holiday Pines + The Usual.
(Posted on Saturday, October 29, 2005 at 12:14 a.m.) Once I finish this entry and post this, I would have slept to prepare for my five-day vacation out of town. I would have brought my laptop with me if my brother decided to have it left behind. I still have other things to do while on vacation, but my brother just lessened my activity. I hove I can recover from four days without any contact with the computer because I know I'll be offline in four days.

On today's edition of Survivor, Bobby Jon's wounds are starting to create scars. Ew! I don't know what happened back in Nakúm after Judd's brush with Margaret the night before.
In the reward challenge where chocolate and trip over a zip line is the reward, Yaxhá overtook Nakúm, giving itself the victory. After savoring the reward, the Yaxhás "invaded" Nakúm's camp to invite them for a pool party to celebrate Danni's birthday. The Nakúms reluctantly accepted. Later, while the two tribes had their fun, Jamie decided to tell his tribes to get the heck out of there before Yaxhá would anything silly.
In the immunity challenge, where the puzzle pieces are buried became the factor as Nakúm stole Yaxhá's lead and won.
Back at camp, Gary and Amy strategized on removing Bobby Jon (who after all is in his second Survivor after Palau). But instead, Amy was the one done for. We should blame on her swollen ankle for that. But once she left, Nakúm and Yaxhá merged into a single red-wearing tribe faster that you could say, "Snuff my torch." I wonder what name they would give?

The Amazing Race Family Edition restarted once again with the families leaving New Orleans, and finally flying out of the US into Panama. There, they found Ricardo Diaz, they rode Diablo Rojos and either searched for instruments that make Rhythm or find birds that make Coos in the Detour. They went straight into a Road Block where they played beisból. The Gaghans wanted to get to the Fast Forward, only to be beaten by the Paolos. But Bill managed to bat a home run, pulling his family past the Godlewskis. The girls were not eliminated, but they were stripped of everything but their passports. Here's the leaderboard as of the end of this episode's leg:

The Paolos (A few episodes ago, they bickered. But they managed to pull themselves together. And together with DJ's courage and the Fast Forward, they're here at the front. In fact, that Fast Forward is the only one in the entire Race.)
The Weavers
The Bransens
The Linzes
The Gaghans (These children were way too confident on getting the Fast Forward. Better thank their dad they were not last.)
The Godlewskis (They were not eliminated, but the funny part is they padded themselves way too much. Their bags would be surrendered anyway. Plastic bags anyone?)

This Wednesday: The teams walk over a suspension bridge above a rain forest. And the Weavers cannot leave their van!
Where in the world will the families go? We may find out about them next time.

It's the end of the line for me. Until next time, Happy Halloween!... BOOOOOOO!!!

This entry is brought to you by Nanami.

My Own Thumb Drive
Plus Anime and Reality Show Thoughts.
(Posted on Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 07:55 a.m.) My thumb drive.

I am very lucky this week. I got a USB storage drive from a friend of my sister (now a friend, too), and so far that storage drive is a god-send. 256MB might be too much, but with a lot of files I want to save, it certainly gives my laptop's hard disk more room as its free space ever diminishes. I'm even planning to place MP3 files I'll burn later on CD, in case I want to. For now, this will be the primary storage for files that my floppies could not handle.

Now that WOWOW is now out our cable channel line-up, the number of anime I've been watching has now greatly reduced. So I have to purchase DVDs of Girls Bravo first season and Midori's Days. But like all of the anime series I bought, I haven't have time to watch them. Again, I'll to do so as much as I can.

The Amazing Race Family Edition restarted once again with the families leaving the rockets of Huntsville, Alabama and went down further south. After finding the world's largest office chair, they drove to the race track in Talladegga to ride a lap in party bikes rather than cars. After staying in a trailer park for the night, they set their sight for Louisiana for a Detour that guarantees Work (by sawing wood) or Play (some blackjack). They went to New Orleans from there. The Schroeders tried as they might, even as Stassi, the daughter , was about to break. But they lost. Here's the leaderboard as of the end of this episode's leg:

The Bransens (Despite Wally's age, the seem to keep him together.)
The Paolos (As usual, they quarrel again. They just got lucky in finding the 7:40 one.)
The Linzes
The Godlewskis
The Weavers (Mr. Weaver died at a race track, so it's natural Weavers got uneasy when they were about to go to a race track. They pulled through anyway, since all teams drove party bikes, which, although slow compared to NASCAR autos, won't a bit.)
The Gaghans (Can't you believe Tommy and Carissa played a casino game which they aren't supposed not play? At least, it doesn't involve money.)
The Schroeders: ELIMINATED (Stassi is a groaner and a nagger. She cried a lot. They got eliminated and everyone cried.)

BTW, weeks later, New Orleans was razed by Hurricane Katrina, hence the message by Phil to give donations continuing to suffer, especially those who experienced Hurricane Rita recently.
This Wednesday: The teams finally go out of the USA and do some fishing.
Where in the world will the families go? We may find out about them next time.

On yesterday's episode of Survivor, there was no tribal immunity challenge, just a reward challenge where a barbecue feast and a shot at individual immunity were at stake. There was a shouting match between Bobby Jon and Jamie to pump themselves and in another round, Amy got hurt again. But Judd and Jamie's strength got him through. Later, in another challenge where individually immunity was a stake. Stephenie was the first to gather her tiles, but because Judd knew the answer while he was having problems of opening his own bags, Rafe unscrambled the phrase "ancient ruin." to win.
Fast forward to Tribal Council. Nakúm's was a very tense one. Judd kept switching loyalties and Margaret was not happy about it. Even Margaret accused Judd of bullying. But instead of removing Judd for his arrogance, the tribe removed Margaret because of the pecking order.
Rafe stood behind as he watched Yaxhá's Tribal Council, which was more somber. Nobody among the Yaxhás wanted somebody out, especially Brian whom the tribe just pepped out of boredom. Rafe was supposed to give immunity to one member secretly and then left. Brian was voted out especially that Rafe gave immunity to Gary. Brian said the he was proud of his experience in Guatemala because in the last moment, the tribe made him feel like a part of them, even if Yaxhá is now mostly made of former Nakúms.
Next Friday, there will be an invasion as the Nakúms invades Yaxhá camp. This will be interesting.

I also watched the premieres of The Apprentice and The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. Compared to Donald Trump's direct-to-the-point approach, Martha's is more soft, but realistic. The problem is that the two show are in conflict with my other favorite show Big Brother. Nonetheless, I'll try to give a recap of my thoughts about the shows as I can.

~~Right now, I have problems with MyFileStash because its bouncing loads. So, for the meantime, I'll switch to ImageShack.~~

This entry is brought to you by Nanami.

Laptop Jitters and Playing Card Pines;
Plus the usual
(Posted on Saturday, October 15, 2005 at 07:58 a.m.) The Amazing Race Family Edition restarted once again with the families leaving Middleburg, Virginia and flying (finally!) to Charleston, North Carolina, once there, they stopped on a Detour to either prick 200 pounds of shrimp their heads off or drive over very muddy pits. Then, they went by bus to Huntsville, Alabama to a Space Park where they resisted 3.2g's in the first ever two-person Roadblock. After they logged on to AOL, they ran to Rocket Park. Aiellos tried to catch up with the Gaghans after the Gaghans passed them at the Detour. But it was too late; the Gaghans sent the Aiellos packing. Here's the leaderboard as of the end of this episode's leg:

The Bransens (Free gas from bp or Arco for life? Sounds good considering the high price of oil nowadays!)
The Linzes
The Schroeders
The Godlewskis
The Weavers (In pretending to be a happy family despite the pressure, they acted so insane, the others thought they're insane!)
The Paolos (They quarrel again, but they managed to pull through.)
The Gaghans (Billy got his first Roadblock with his pop. Good for him!)
The Aiellos: ELIMINATED (You got to love this family. They knew they were smoked by two children. But Tony seems to be happy that his three sons-in-law showed him why they married his three daughters. They may not be related by blood, but as brothers-in-law and their wives' father in law, they are one. We will sure miss them.)

This Wednesday: The teams go to a racetrack—and the Weavers are uneasy about it. And the Godlewski sisters fight (for what, I don't know).
Looks like the Weavers have to face their demons because Mr. Weaver died in a racetrack. As for the other teams, we may find out about them next time.

On yesterday's episode of Survivor, Margaret spoke to Judd about him betraying the alliance. His response: It's a game; bear with it.
In the reward challenge, where margaritas, chips, salsa, and a croc-proof swimming spot were on the line, Brandon the farmer propelled Yaxhá to absolute victory, considering that Nakúm's Jamie couldn't even finish the first part of the challenge. So, the blame falls on him for his tribe's loss. And Stephenie started to woe about the Palau nightmare that seemed to haunt her even in Guatemala.
Meanwhile, on Night 13 while the rain poured in, Brian and Blake slept while the rest of Yaxhá kept the fire going. And this "whiff of sunshine" gave Blake the title "Golden Boy."
In the immunity challenge where the tribes catch balls tossed by a catapult, the score was even, but the Nakúm tribe stole two shots from Yaxhá's Brian. They scored five and won immunity, breaking the curse that followed Stephenie and giving Jamie the taste of revenge.
So the Yaxhás scrambled for who to vote. The suspects: Brian, being the weakest of the original members; and Blake, the "Golden Boy" who talks about himself. With the originals outnumbered, Brian sprung into action and asked Danni and Bobby Jon to switch. It worked. The tribe turned Golden Boy into a rock and sent him home.
But surely there will be challenges ahead as the preview for next week sees Amy injure again, sending Bobby Jon and Jamie on a nose-to-nose confrontation. Let's hope this does not go to a fistfight.

I don't know what's happening but there is something wrong with my laptop lately. Sometimes, when I turned it on, sometimes the computer "stops" at the middle of the start-up process, forcing me to turn it off and on again. And I first encountered it after I connected my PC's printer to the laptop and removed it again. I'm certain that it may have something to do with the ports at my laptop or the wires connecting to hard disk must be malfunctioning just like what happened a few times with my PC. Or it may be a virus. All I'm sure is that the hard disk is working fine. But for now, I still get jitters when I use my laptop because it might "stop at start-up" again.

I've in the progress of developing version two of my Assorted Anime Playing Cards, this time, with new characters that I knew, seen, and liked since I made the first one (over two years ago) and any anime characters I left out. So far, I'm stalled with only eight spaces left. But with few anime I watch lately coupled by the fact I haven't watched WOWOW for the fourth week now (plus my job has kept me from watching the weekday morning anime), this seems to be a Herculean task. I'm currently trying another approach by buying DVDs of some of the anime I wanted to see but haven't yet dubbed in the Philippines. I've bought Mamotte Shugogetten and Midori's Days through this method. But the problem is that I don't have the courage to watch each of them. I haven't even finished with Chobits yet. But I'll try!

This entry is brought to you by Nanami.

Welcome to the Fancy Gray Edition
plus the usual.
(Posted on Friday, October 7, 2005 at 11:19 p.m.) Welcome to the new edition called the Fancy Gray Edition. I call this the Fancy Gray Edition because the background is sort of a grayish one, but also this is my first attempt at using the <div> tag. I've seen this when I was re-editing the Japanese and Korean Major Arcana translations for AAT. But I didn't mind it. But I noticed that some websites are now using the <div> tag now rather than just simple HTML.
At least, the <div> tag is still applicable even with just using simple HTML. I even decided to include my existing code to this new code. And voila! It worked. So I also integrated the image map with includes pictures of Lucia and William Petersen, the crossword puzzle, some solitaire-sized cards and the Big Brother house (supposed to be occupied by Jeff Probst). These pictures reflect my current interests.
To be exact, this layout is based on one of the layouts by Lucy of moon-wave.net, provided on the Kawaii Sakura Shrine. I just downloaded that layout so I may know how it works. The trick to doing it right is where in the page you would exactly place the elements.
I'm sure that even though some computers use monitors with bigger resolutions that I have right now (mostly at 1024x768), I'm know that this page will be just the same whether if it is viewed in an 800x600 monitor or a 1024x768 one. Just don't be bothered by the small text.

The Amazing Race Family Edition restarted once again with the families starting to Lancaster. They found a big shoe on their way and went to Washington, D. C. They went to the Reflecting Pool at the U. S. Capitol (as opposed to that near the Washington Monument) where they became part of a spy mission. They picked up suitcases from a limo and went to the Tidal Basin for a covert ops Road Block where they would tell spies, "The sky is blue"; The spies should answer "The sea is green" before the teams could proceed. Then the teams went to Middleburg, Virginia where they got themselves in a Civil War re-enactment for a Detour where they would either go to the Heat of the Battle (to retrieve the injured) or light the Heat of the Night (with lamps). The Rogerses made bad decisions and it cost them big time, they were eliminated. Here's the leaderboard as of the end of this episode's leg:

The Weavers (A trip to Bermuda for them.)
The Linzes
The Godlewskis
The Schroeders
The Aiellos (This unusual relationship is a father and his three sons-in-law is still going fine. I agree with the RNO columnists that they acted like gentlement.)
The Bransens (I'm just worried about Wally. He must too old to catch up with his daughters)
The Gaghans (They may be leading, but they made a big mistake at going to the well-known reflecting pool at the Washington Monument. Against, it cost their lead.)
The Paolos (DJ may be a Juvi, i.e. Juventus, fan but he and his entire family continue to irritate us viewers.)
The Rogerses: ELIMINATED (They missed Interstate 83 and went to the wrong reflecting pool. Worse, they never recovered from their debacle.)

This Wednesday: The teams have fun at NASA. And the Aiellos drive themselves crazy at the pits—mud pits, that is.
Their next destination might be Florida, but we may never know until the next time.

On today's episode of Survivor, the teams were treated to a "reward" session. Jamie and Danni were hungry (according to their respective tribemates), so Jeff gave them apples. Bobby Jon and Gary were smelly, so Jeff gave them a chance to take a bath. Gary, Amy, Judd, and Margaret wanted to have a picnic, so Jeff gave them one—at the top of a Maya pyramid. Brian and Cindy have loyalty to their tribes so Jeff the gave them their tribe flag—and new members! So Brian ended up with Bobby Jon, Blake, Brandon, and Danni on Yaxhá while Cindy (and Brooke) were stuck with Stephenie, Lydia, Rafe, and Jamie on Nakúm. Those who had a picnic came back with new tribe members. Two things are certain when the switch happened: Gary continues to be the king of denial as refused to reveal his NFL days, while Judd seems to be switching loyalties with Steph and Jamie. Also, the numbers game is playing again as the original members of both tribes feel vulnerable to their new tribemates.
The immunity challenge involves rowing and throwing sticks on targets. It was neck-and-neck as Nakúm, but it was their firepower that suddenly failed. Yaxhá caught up and with Bobby Jon, Blake, and Brandon's help, they "regained" immunity (for most of the tribe).
Stephenie sensed that the Ulong curse seemed to follow her from Yaxhá to Nakúm, but the focus was more on which to go on Tribal Council: Brooke of the originals or Lydia of the Yaxhá faction. At Tribal Council, Judd became a factor as he sided with the Yaxhá faction to vote off Brooke. Looks like Judd has some explaining to do with Margaret and Cindy!

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