Amazing Race 7 - Episode V

Wow! That's all I've got to say. Wow! We have Rob and Amber almost make a game ending move by waiting for another team to chicken out in a fast forward. Thanks to their world wide fame, South Africans recognized them and helped them catch up to the other teams. Meredith and Gretchin lost the first leg of the double hitter, but were not eliminated. Gretchin got a whoppin smack to the head when she slipped in a cave and needed stitches, but she kept going, and on the second leg of the trip they beat Ray and ? (her name escapes me). The Brothers, my absolute favourites this season now, drove too fast in the sand in Africa and ended up rolling the Land Cruiser, injuring the cameraman. EVERY team stopped or slowed down to ask if they were okay, EXCEPT ROB and AMBER. Cold. Very very cold. There is reality TV karma however, and it will come around and bite them. Mark my words. The Brothers caught up in a foot race and Ray and ? were thankfully elimated.

We let it happen again

Nadia was in the bottom three of the pack. I'm not happy. I'm even less happy that Jessica got eliminated. It's just not right that people who rarely sing in key (ie. Scott and Anware) are still in the running to be the next American Idol when Jessica, who had a great voice, is sent packing. Pull it together America!

Nadia Turner - let's show our support people

For you US based American Idol fans out there, let's pull it together folks. I know I love Bo Bice and so do you. But lets face it, the person we want to see him batteling it out with in the final two is Nadia Turner. She rocks. I would be thrilled if either won Idol. Carrie Underwood is great, yes, yes. She'll do fine now that she's had some TV exposure. She got the pure voice, and the young innocent blonde persona that the public goes ga-ga for, but she just doesn't have the stage presence that Nadia does. It was just horrendous last week that Nadia was in the bottom two. WE MUST NOT LET THAT HAPPEN AGAIN. I know it wasn't the best performance of Nadia's, but it was creative and imaginative and brave, and we know what Nadia can do. We must vote! Many Many votes. I refuse to see her or Bo ever standing at the bottom of the pack unless they are the only two left. We can do people!

Awesome New York subway photoblog

If you like the feel of New York City, this photoblog captures it everyday on the subway. It's way cool.

Amazing Race 7 - Episode IV

Rob and Amber are unstoppable once again, taking first place. They are smart, calm, fit, comfortable in front of the camera and have nothing to lose. Oh I hate them. Oh I love them.
Sadly Susan and Patrick lost and were eliminated. Just bad luck kicked them out of the game, but that's part of the game so c'est la vie. The two brothers, Brian and Greg, still rock.
Next week is a two hour special episode. It looks quite a bit scary, with the old lady slipping on a rock climbing challenge and splitting her head open. I don't like her personality, but my heart aches that a fragile old person should be injured just for television. Also it looks like Brian and Greg roll and jeap. Hopefully everybody survives and only a few stitches are needed.
It's getting good!

Excellent Books about Managing Money

Due to recent changes in my life (I'm single again), I am now faced with different money management decisions. I have been saving money anticipating settling down in the next few years, but now I'm back to the single life, but this time with a savings account. Over the last couple of weeks I've been trying to figure out what on earth to do with my meager, and yet pain-stakingly saved money. So I bought a couple of books on Amazon and am way excited that someone has actually written about this topic.

The first book is Suze Orman's "The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke" published this year. I'm half way through it and so far it has made complete sense and given great advice. I've had the book for only three days now and finally I know what a credit report is and what a FICO score is. More than that I know what my scores are now, and what that means to me and my financial decisions. WAY IMPORTANT STUFF for those living in the USA. Now I'm reading the chapters on what I need to be thinking about for my next steps. I'll continue to blog about the book if people are interested.

I also bought David Bach's "Smart Women Finish Rich: 9 Steps to Achieving Financial Security and Funding Your Dreams (Revised Edition)". I haven't started reading that one yet, but Kalani (my sister) has started reading it and she likes it. When I get to it I'll blog about it as well.

I never realised how early in life financial institutions start caring about who we are and what our money management skills are. In fact, it's a little bit creepy. But now that I am getting a handle on it I'm already feeling a lot more confident. It's just another system, but a system that I think traditionally women, and students, have been led to think are none of their business. Well times are-a-changin'!

Have a groovin' easter

Plug in the headphones and click HERE. (-thanks to J.R.)

The Germans

Touche.

The Irish E-mail Song - a must listen

Seeing it was Saint Patrick's Day this week, and this site has an Irish Correspondant (who has recently returned from world travels back to the Irish motherland so hopefully we will hear from her soon), and Deirdre Flint will be singing with the babes tomorrow night at a concert I am going to, and I'm getting more junk mail than usual, I thought I would post this gem.

The Irish E-mail Song.

Enjoy.

Why women vary more than men in every way

This week's Nature magazine has several articles, including this one, about the detailed sequence of the X chromosome. Women have two, men have one X chromosome. Traditionally we have been taught that one of the two X chromosomes in females are randomly 'silenced' so that the dosage effect is only 1 X, as men have. Well, not so we are learning. Between 10-15% of the 'silenced' X chromosome is actually active, which means women vary in many ways more than men.

So in a group of 100 women, there would be far more variation in happiness, moodiness, aggression or any trait affected by genetics than among 100 men.

"This could mean that women are much more variable than men," Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, head of developmental genetics at the National Institute for Medical Research, said.

"They could have greater variations in their susceptibility to disease but also in their behaviour and physical appearance.

"I always thought they were more interesting."

This and further commentary (although not with quite accurate science) can be found in this news report.

I don't support the death penalty

Breaking from my normal comment of frivolous things, I'm saddened again that another person in this country is receiving the death penalty. I am pro-life, both for the unborn innocent child and for the rotten and evil adult. Capital punishment just doesn't seem right to me, no matter how evil the crime. I believe in life after death, and I believe in God's mercy, but I also believe in God's justice.

Elder Richard G. Scott recently said

The Lord’s mill of justice grinds slowly, but it grinds exceedingly well. In the Lord’s economy, no one will escape the consequences of unresolved violation of His laws. In His time and in His way full payment will be required for unrepented evil acts.

It frightens me when we, as a society, takes the position of delving out death in this type of situation in an attempt to delve out man's justice. We have the resources to keep such an individual behind bars till he reaches the end of his life naturally, I would volunteer more tax dollars to do so. I believe in the sanctity of life, even a rotten life.

That's my soap box for the month. I may be wrong and probably most people would disagree with me, but that's my gut feeling.

Amazing Race 7 - Episode III

There are few things in life more difficult than when somebody I can't stand earns my respect. Rob (of Rob and Amber) is a prime example. Strueth that guy is brilliant, but I sooooo dislike him. Bringing "out wit" from Survivor over into Amazing Race, Rob brilliantly persuaded others to take a 4 hour penalty in an eating challenge knowing that he himself would struggle with it and if he were the first one to take the penalty than they would be safe from elimination. Smart. Unbelievably smart considering that when this episode was filmed, they had not seen the previous season in which one of the final teams, with no other option of success left, took the 4 hour penalty. What Rob did at the time of filming was unprecedented. He can work the system like nobody else. Other teams in previous seasons have dallied in kaniving behaviour, but Rob has brought this show to a different level.

The two girls who have been friends since they were 6 years old were fairly eliminated. They got so lost at one point they just couldn't make a come back. Lucky for the mother and son team who also got lost, but just not as lost.

The brothers are my favourite team right now. I just love their humour. Oh, and the gay couple, classic! They so wanted to beat the "Survivors" in at least this one leg of the race, and they did. Congratulations guys!

Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade 2005

That's where I am heading this evening. Pics and stories to be blogged upon return next week.

UPDATE: Just returned. It was AMAZING. They really do dye a segment of the river green, a bright neon like green. Would never have believed it unless I saw it with my own eyes. Pics to come some time this week.

The history of Michael Jackson's Face

A Photographic History of Michael Jackson's Face. Bizarre is an understatement.

Somebodies PhD dissertation just went up in smoke

This wins the "sorry 'bout that" award for the day.

Amazing Race 7 - Episode II

Unless karma comes around for Rob and Amber, they are likely to win this whole darn thing. It's so horrifically fabulous to watch Rob work. I can't stand him, and yet I'm finding his evil game play a lot more fun to watch in Amazing Race than in Survivor. Survivor he was manipulating players, in this game he mostly manipulates locals to get his way, and for some reason I don't mind that as much. I think it's because the people he is bribing, or using, don't have anything to lose so therefore I am okay with them not seeing through Rob. It's not like when Lex made the fatal move to keep Amber on and lose Jerry. I would still like it if Rob and Amber got outsmarted though. So far I'm not entirely impressed by anybody else's game play. We'll see how the other teams fair once they hit their reality TV stride (which Rob and Amber had coming into the game).

Megan and Heidi got the boot, which I was fine with because I couldn't tell them apart and they are just too TV morsel for my liking. Amazing though how close Megan and Heidi were behind Brian and Greg. That's two weeks in a row now where the loser was determined by only seconds. That has rarel happened before, except on the final foot race to the ultimate finish.

I still like Susan and Patrick. Classic line of Patrick's when they reached the finish mat, "It will be this emotional every time" he told Phil has his mother gasped with strained emotions. They seem like a good team.

No major favourite yet for who I really want to win. I shall take my time in deciding.

How to survive a severe cyclone - Australian style

Ingrid hasn't hit far north Queensland yet, but David Glasheen is ready for it:

"I don't think I'll have a roof tomorrow," David Glasheen said from the island.
"This one is behaving pretty strangely. I am working on the premise that I will lose all of the roofs in the whole place here, hopefully the buildings will stay. I've got plenty of cold beer."

Satellite tracking Cyclone Ingrid

A massive cyclone is about to slam into north east Queensland (Australia). My mum and brother (& wife) and the rest of my extended family is in south east Queensland right now. I'm sure they are following the progress on the tele. In the mean time, I will be satellite tracking from over here in Wisconsin.

Moments of enlightenment

I believe every person has a few moments in their life where they can't help but recognize "I am one lucky -explicative-of-your-choice-!" I suspect that this was one such moment for Mr. Leonard Woronowicz.

And the Best Car Chase Scene award goes to...

The Blues Brothers had a legendary car chase in it, but oh my gosh, the Bourne Supremacy was awesome at the end! I truly believe that Oscars should be given away each year for the category of "Most Kickin' Car Chase Scene."

Perhaps I shall create a new awards show, it shall be called the People's Select Scene Awards, because goodness knows, with only the American Film Institute Awards, the British Academy of Film & Television Arts Awards, the Critic’s Choice Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, the Guild Awards, the MTV Movie Awards, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Awards (Oscars), the People’s Choice Awards, the PRISM Awards, the Razzies, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Teen Choice Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards, the American Music Awards, the Billboards’ Industry Awards, the Cajun French Music Association Awards, the Country Music Awards, the Flame Worthy’s Awards, the Grammy Awards, the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards, the Juno Awards (Canada), the Much Music Awards, the MTV Video Awards, the Native American Music Awards, the People’s Choice (Music) Awards, the PRISM (Music) Awards, the Soul Train Awards, the Teen Choice (Music) Awards, the VH1 Awards, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Emmys) Awards, the American Film Institute Awards, the British Academy of Film & Television Arts Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, the Guild Awards, the Peabody Awards, the People’s Choice Awards (TV), the PRISM Awards (TV), the Radio - Television News Directors Association & Federation Awards, the Soap Opera Digest Awards, the Teen Choice (TV) Awards, the TV Land Awards, the Tony Awards and the Gospel Awards shows, we certainly need at least one more awards show!

Polar Plunge Pics

I have finally posted a collection of photos from the Madison University Ward's Polar Plunge for the Wisconsin Special Olympics 2005. Click here to check them out.

Amazing Race 7 - Episode I

Llamas really do spit. How ‘bout that.

Dang it, Rob and Amber were very good. Granted they got extra help in Peru from somebody who recognized them from Survivor, but they can’t help that, and I don’t blame them for accepting the help. I just loathed the way Rob and Amber played Survivor All Stars, and to this day am annoyed at the other players who let Rob and Amber climb to the top of the pack. A two person alliance in Survivor is strong, particularly if there is romance involved and I still am frustrated with those experienced players for letting that happen!

So, I don’t want Rob and Amber to win on my favourite reality show. Problem is, they’re strong physically, and Rob isn’t the dunce that Patrick (of Susan and Patrick) thinks he is. Speaking of Susan and Patrick, I like them. Not sure yet if they are my favs like Kris and Jon were last season, but I do like them. We will see how they fair. Susan may turn out to be emotionally too weak, she did start crying near the end there this week. But maybe that was first leg jitters.

Ryan and Chuck, who I picked to be gone first, did indeed lose first. However, they didn’t lose because of why I thought they would. Their southern drawls spelled inexperienced disaster, but in actuality they were very good. They missed surviving in the game by only a few seconds. They could have been fun to have around. After watching the game I wished that Ray and Deana had lost first. They are too reminiscent of Jonathan a Victoria for my taste. (Just not as bad).

Ron and Kelly seem great. Ron treats Kelly really well. They’ll be interesting to follow.

Bo Bice - My American Idol

And I'm not the only one who thinks so.

UPDATE: My love grows in a more recent post with pictures and a link to mp3s.