This past week I got rid of more books, some baskets that I don't use, placemats and napkins that I don't use, and a bunch of softballs and baseballs (went to the "Free Stuff" table). 5 plastic bags full of dried out highlighters and pens (to the trash). 3 boxes of recycled junk mail and catalogs. Six more rolls of architectural prints and some cardboard boxes (those are now mulch in the garden - hopefully they will slow down the weeds). Hopefully this week my neighbor will be available to take a pickup load of no longer working electronics to the recycling center. Right now they are piled in the middle of the living room.

I agree with Sushipup on all points (except I'm not loving this season so far). I also like that the returnees were voted in, instead of being cast by the producers. There are far fewer "types", and while there are some favorites from the past, many of the ones selected are there more because they're interesting and memorable, I think, than because they're beloved. I think it's interesting that a loose cannon like Abi-Maria might do better than a textbook American hero like Terry Dietz, but she might! Yes, she's annoying, and classic Survivor strategy is to keep the annoying ones around. I'm glad they've given time to what she has to say, because although she's a loose cannon, she has a very strong backbone and is pretty honest about herself. She won't work with Woo because he voted for her twice. Period. Won't consider it. It's frustrating to the people who need her for numbers because she won't work with them, and will only do what she wants. And why not? She knows that they're going to dump her first chance they get. And someone else will take her up for her warm little hand on the pen, but then she's going to vote her own way then too, unless she feels like she has to bend to survive, and maybe not even then... Raven, they were pleading with Abi because in that one moment she was the god of their survival in the game. She's so blunt about everything else, I believe her when she says her mind isn't made up at Tribal Council. At that point, if you're on the bottom, you're pleading to your survivor god to let you survive. There's a huge amount of history that shows that the nice guy, who just lets the chips fall where they may without pleading his case, usually goes home for not showing that he wanted it enough. I like Kass. I think I liked her the first time. I think she's a good person, bright and interesting. I get bored by the cookie cutter hero types. People like Dietz, but he doesn't reveal anything about himself. He's all buttoned up military man who uses charisma more than social skill. Kass is so socially unaware, however, that she had to read a book. And then had to plot a scenario to demonstrate her new socialiness, making that birthday present--see! it's not a fake idol! Actual sociability involves being interested in people, asking them about themselves, caring about their answers, and finding connections. I wonder if she learned any of that from Carnegie's book. I haven't read the whole book, but he took great stock in learning about the doormen's families, asking after them, etc. In other words, treat everybody you meet like someone you're interested in knowing, and someone you care about. I, too, miss the camp life survival stuff. I think they handed out the goodies early just to make it that much tougher when they took them away from the third tribe. Which is also cruel. One of the all time best challenges was that digging in the sand for treasure chests in Season One, but the ones they run nowadays are much more visual and more dramatic, horserace style. That's to keep people tuned in. The only thing that changes season to season nowadays, given that there isn't even anything really twisty about the twists anymore, is the "characters" and their social game. And new or old players, they all know it's the social that will get them to the win. From year one, however, I've been hooked because it plays out like a Zimbardo experiment, where people voluntarily put themselves into distressing situation. Instead of being psychologically harassed and abused by the "guards" (production staff), they're physically abused in the challenges, and make their own psychological challenges. Many many "reality" game shows, everything from Project Runway to Top Shot to Hell's Kitchen to Project Runway, make the contestants live together as roommates with limited access to communication with the outside world, so that tensions will be heightened, and they won't have their love and support systems to help them through, forcing them to rely on their inner strength. They get comfy beds, though, and good, pentilful food. On Survivor, they have deprivation, exposure, vermin and physically brutal challenges, with no outside communication at all until near the end. It strips down their personalities to the core to be so physically deprived. The result is fascinating. But if it were done at as university research, rather than a game show, it would never pass Human Subject regulations.

This season the episodes were 90 minutes long, because production anticipated the writers/actors strikes and knew that there would be time to fill. The season airing now was not supposed to be shown this season - they flip-flopped it with what will be next season (that was supposed to be this season). Next season Survivor will start with two, two-hour episodes, and then the remaining episodes will be 90 minutes each.

There was a documentary on the new dig at Pompeii on PBS at 10pm., so I only watched a half hour of TAR. However, I was able to switch over to TAR just as Cesar and Ricky ran up to the mat. ha I think I saw Amber and Vinnie already at the final amongst the other past contestants. How did that happen? I must have missed them being eliminated at some point - last week?