'Survivor: Exile Island' East Coast Update 4/06 - Voted Off

By a vote of 5-3, Austin was voted off. Aras received the 3 votes. The hidden Immunity Idol didn't come into play.

A full recap/review will be posted later tonight. Please stop back! :-)

'Survivor: Exile Island' East Coast Update 4/06 - Immunity

Terry won Immunity. Again!

'Survivor: Panama - Exile Island' East Coast Update - Reward/Exile

The tribe was split into teams of three for the Reward Challenge. At stake was bed and breakfast and the choice of who to send to Exile Island.

The teams were chosen by Jeff (or producers, or someone not a castaway) -
Shane, Terry, Austin
Bruce, Aras, Sally
Cirie, Courtney, Danielle

Winning team - Bruce, Aras, Sally
Sent to Exile Island - Austin, Danielle

'The Amazing Race 9' - Ep. 6 -or- "He's Not Heavy; He's My Swordfish"

So, I had some nice grilled swordfish for dinner around 7 PM, then tuned into The Amazing Race at its new day and time - 8 PM ET/PT on Wednesday. I like the time, but prefer my TAR on Tuesdays. 9 PM on Tuesdays is good. Someone fix that, please. Huh. For some reason, I don't think the network cares what I think. Darn them to heck. There. I told them!

Apparently the new day and time necessitated a recap of the whole season thus far. Yikes! I sat through each team's trials and tribulations wondering when tonight's episode would really start. I'm not too thrilled with reality shows showing a five, sometimes ten, minute recap of the previous week. I've been watching. I don't need it. Oh. I forgot. The network didn't listen to me on time slot and day; they don't care what I think of weekly recaps. To the show ...

Seven teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

The show opened where we left the teams in Sicily at the last Pit Stop. I learned that the word vandal is historically connected to a group of people from that area. Cool. I love learning trivia stuff! As the show progressed, it seemed fitting with the amount of graffiti on the walls of the cities there. It could almost rival the Lower East Side of Manhattan or along the NJ Transit train lines. I kept looking for an Uncle Sex tag to no avail.

After pausing to skritch-scratch a puppy's tummy, the first team to leave was BJ and Tyler. The clue directed teams to drive approximately 135 miles to the city of Catania where they had to find an historic amphitheatre. They referred to Jeremy and Eric as the Frat Brats while Eric/Jeremy mentioned pixie dust while talking about them. Of course, neither comment was actually made to the teams. The race is on!

The destination was supposed to be yet another bunching point for the teams, something which usually gives the teams departing later a chance to catch up -- it didn't open until 8:30 AM. BJ and Tyler arrived first and decided to make an "official" sign up sheet for arriving team order and entrance once the site opened. Jeremy and Eric came along next, noticed BJ/Tyler napping in their car and almost fell for the "official" notice until it dawned on them that it was the other team's handiwork. Both teams were the only teams there at 8:30 when the gates opened as all the other teams got stuck in rush hour traffic and/or got a bit lost. The teams had to first find a clue, then count the number of heads on fenceposts around the structure. No, not real human heads, silly! Then they had to find the groundskeeper to tell him the count and receive the next clue. Jeremy/Eric edged out my favorite team of BJ/Tyler by moments, but it was enough to hand over the lead. I found this task very simple and, while the location was indeed historical, it wasn't too challenging at all.

That clue led to my dinner. Well, not directly to my dinner. At least, I don't think so. Teams were faced with a Detour -- Big Fish or Little Fish. In Big Fish, teams had to travel by foot to a street vendor, then each had to carry a 32 pound swordfish for a third of a mile to a street market. Once there, they had to find a particular vendor and swap the fish for the next clue. In Little Fish, teams traveled by foot directly to the market where they had to sell 2 kilos of a small fish whose name escapes me. Both groups of guys carried the Big Fish the best way, over their shoulders. Other teams had some issues. Monica had a breakdown over her fish, cried and fussed. In tears she declared it "the worst thing I've ever done!" Get a grip, girl! Even Ray was trying to carry his in one hand so as to not get his clothes fishy. Fran and Barry made the wise decision not to attempt Big Fish and were the only ones doing Little Fish. Amazingly, it didn't take them all that long to sell 2 kilos worth of fish. Little fish, that is. They thought it was fun.

Teams then had to drive to the town of Siracusa (not to be confused with Syracuse) where they encountered a Roadblock. Now, of course, a Roadblock is a task only one member of the team can undertake. This one was kayak water polo, which actually looked like fun. The racer had to join an existing game as part of a team, then score a goal. Most teams didn't have too much trouble with this. Barry had some rowing issues while Ray managed to capsize his kayak, but all got through it.

The clue after the Roadblock directed them to travel on foot to the Pit Stop where one team may be eliminated. Jeremy and Eric hung onto their lead and made it to the Pit Stop first passing a band playing some nice music. We got to see Phil dance. Um ... that brought back my nightmares of Donald Trump dancing. Make him stop!

The order of arrival was:
1. Jeremy and Eric -- won a Caribbean cruise
2. BJ and Tyler, frolicked their way in
3. Joe and Monica
4. Fran and Barry
5. Lake and Michelle
6. Ray and Yolanda
7. Dave and Lori - last team to arrive and Philiminated

Sigh. I liked Dave and Lori. I would like to see Lake and Michelle outta there. Or, even Monica and Joe. Ah, well. I guess the Force just wasn't with them. Watch ... next week one of the teams I want gone will be last and it will be a non-elimination leg. I'm still liking BJ and Tyler the best out of the bunch. They're smart, funny and entertaining. I'd love to see them win!

How about you?

'American Idol' East Coast Update - Bottom Three and Boot

Bottom three --

Elliott. Mandisa and Paris.
Paris is safe.
Mandisa is going home.