Quick message to Bob Geldof

Quit trying to destroy my childhood

(At least he acknowledges the horribleness that is "We Are The World".)

Things that somebody else did when they got married which I wish I had thought of

TV talks about newspapers vs. blogs

A great piece by The Score on the Newspaper/Blogosphere battle:


Both sides have valid points. Cox's point that getting comment from Colin Campbell would have provided better balance is well taken, while Dellow and Sanchez's point that knowing Cox's name doesn't mean that we know his biases and personal relationships is just as valid.

It's something to think about, and I honestly think that both should be able to co-exist. Bloggers tend to take a different angle on stories - for example, Dellow looked at the emails differently than a Toronto Star reporter who initially was reporting on the lawsuit that the emails were evidence in. But the MSM can also help to flesh out the story, get the reaction from the principals thanks to their "access".

RIP Pat Burns

Here's Scott Morrison's piece on Pat Burns.

Edit: Here's the tribute video that played before the Canadiens/Maple Leafs game on Saturday.

Survivor: Nicaragua Episode 10 Thoughts

Some quick thoughts:

• Chase might be the stupidest player to ever get this far in Survivor. He acknowledges that Brenda is a major threat who is running the game, watches her turn on a group of players who seemed to be her alliance, is told by his trusted friend Jane that Brenda is trouble and STILL refuses to get rid of her. Huh?


• Speaking of Huh?, does NaOnka understand that immediately pulling somebody aside (who you've flipped off at tribal council nonetheless) after they ask a strategy question might be construed as suspicious? I guess it's too much to ask of NaOnka to have a general understanding of societal norms, but still, really?


• The person who has to be laughing the most about Brenda's outster is Sash. Having his biggest threat eliminated for him without having to get any blood on his hands is a win-win. It also lets him try to expand into a different alliance (Benry/Fabio?) while still having the protection of the immunity idol.


• Brenda's attempt to out NaOnka as having another idol was kinda weak. It was a situation where she was getting revenge on NaOnka, and if NaOnka managed to be voted out, she got to show how smart she was. A recurring theme for her.


• And really, Brenda did absolutely nothing to stop being voted out. I think that she thought she was absolutely safe, whethe that be because she thought that she had the votes lined up in her favour, or if it was because she thought that her knowing that she was targetted was going to be a deterrent. Either way, she went out with an absolute whimper, which probably dooms her to not being a part of any future Survivor season. At least Marty tried until the bitter end. Brenda gave up.


• Did Brenda think of trying to get the immunity idol from Sash? It would have let them blindside the person of their choice.

This is how you do it

I might have a post up later today about Saturday night's Habs/'Canes game, but I wanted to share this picture. Please note the highlighted man, who is in a hockey arena with 3 degree Celcius temperatures outside.

He's done it again!

After successfully training Anderson Silva to victory over Chael Sonnen, Steven Seagal turns his attention to helping Lyoto Machida in training for his fight with Quentin "Rampage" Jackson:

Survivor: Nicaragua Episode 9 Thoughts

I'm very torn right now. I can't decide whether Brenda and Sash are playing this game smartly, or if they just think they are playing the game smartly.

I see the argument for getting rid of Marty. He is a schemer who could threaten him. As well, he's likely to not hold a grudge, so voting him out is not going to negatively impact the jury. And finally, voting him out solidifies you with at least 4 other members fo the tribe, the weaker members of the tribe who you should be able to beat in a physical challenge pretty easily, while isolating the stronger players.

The flip side of this is that they have cast their lot with a more tightly knit group in Jane/Chase/Holly. If everything goes to plan and they vote out Benry/Dan/Fabio, Sash abd Brenda will be in a position where they will be forced to play with NaOnka, and that assumes NaOnka will want to play with them. (It seems like a safe assumption, but things change.) The immunity idols they hold would be key, but even then it becomes a guessing game as to who needs to play them. And what happens if at 7 left, the remaining outsider wins immunity?

(It's also worth noting that Benry/Dan/Fabio could flip to Jane/Holly/Chase and 100% blindside one of Sash/Brenda/NaOnka, and there's very little they can do about it.)

Meanwhile Marty seemed to have his loyalty with them. His hyper agressive play method isn't difficult to channel to your needs, and it provides a decoy to your moves. Getting rid of him isn't going to destroy you on the jury; stroke his ego at final tribal and you should be okay. The risk you take is if Marty decides to rally against you, so you would have to strike first.

I'm hope that they've thought this through and have their contingency plans in place. My gut says they decided to get rid of Marty as an ultimate play - to prove to him that he doesn't run the show, and to prove to everybody else that they are running the show. That's fine so long as they don't get overconfiden; if they do then I can think of a couple of players from Survivor Marqueases who could tell them how that ends up.

Survivor: Nicaragua Episode 8 Thoughts

Some random thoughts from this episode:

• Just when I thought NaOnka was some sort of diabolical genius by bringing in Alina to share in her stolen food, she gets convinced to admit to stealing food. While Sash might think it makes her better to keep around for the final tribal, when combined with all of her other actions prior to the merge it makes her likely to eventually push people over the edge and for her to get the boot when you want to get an actual threat to win out. Speaking of that...


• Marty thinks that Jane is essentially a shoo-in if she makes the final tribal council. Brenda thinks Marty has the wrong impression of Jane. Brenda is wrong, even if it leads her to the right conclusion of having to get rid of Marty. It's only exasperated when you see her win the immunity challenge. That should be a huge, blinking warning sign that Jane might be a bigger threat than you think Brenda.


• Purple Kelly disappears from the competition much like she disappeared from the first part of the season.


• Jane wanting to beat the guys in the immunity challenge was endearing, but stupid. It's another set up for her final tribal council narrative (nobody believed in me) but it's also a warning sign that you could be a threat.


• The Fabio/Alina conversation was painful. Alina was trying buy time in the game, but Fabio didn't want to piss anybody off. Ultimately it boiled down to Alina asking Fabio to sacrifice part of his own game to improve her game significantly. In other words, Fabio is put in a no win situation.


• Gary and I talked about Marty's alpha dog being his undoing. I think we were wrong. It's actually his just his mouth. The man likes to hear his own voice, has no sense of inner monologue, or he just does not kno when to shut up. Pressuring Sash to live up to his piece of the bargain is one thing; complaining to Brenda about it not helpful to his cause. Calling Jane's gameplay out at tribal council does not help anybody, especially himself. Dude, why are you still talking?


• "Alina, on the flip side, could Marty have hurt himself?" "He just proved he was the biggest threat." What's that?


• It was interesting to watch Dan and NaOnka try to deflect heat from Marty and Alina respectively. NaOnka because it reinforced that she actually has an almost clue about the end game, and Dan because he obviously feels secure in blatently sticking up for Marty.


• NaOnka trying to claim she was punished by not being talked to was not good.


• Alina's final attempt to sway votes to Marty by claiming that she was a "swing vote" and a "pawn" probably sounded better in her head than it did coming out. Admitting that your vote could move if needed is stupid when there's a majority of players in an alliance that you aren't a part of, especially when you are facing a desperate person who's shown he's willing to do anything to further himself a bit in the game, no matter how stupid the move might appear to be.


• What the heck is a dirt squirrel, Benry?


• Ultimately, it's too bad for both Marty and Alina that they had no chance to work together to try to pick off the other tribe. They could have made a really good team.


• I can't believe they left an obvious spoiler for next week's immunity challenge in the preview for next week.

Your funny of the day

Penny Arcade brings the funny here (Warning: slightly salty language). Great use of the single panel New Yorker/Playboy style.

Monday Musings - November 1, 2010

It's back!

• I'm shocked it took so long for this to have been done: The Linux Credit Card. If you get it, the Linux foundation will get $50 for every activation, and a percentage of all purchases. This is a fantastic and no lose situation to support Linux, and is a creative way for Linux to make money.


• Dustin Parkes demonstrates how to dress up like Brian Wilson (SF Giants version) for Hallowe'en. Granted, Hallowe'en has passed and next year nobody is going to understand the joke next year, but, uh, wear it when the Giants win the World Series! (Yes, I have decided to support the Giants in the World Series. #6org will serve as a consolation prize.


• The Rally to Restore Sanity produced some good signs and placards. Talking Point Memos compiles some of the best.


• The Edmonton Oilers announced they were going to introduce cheerleaders to their home games. Fans revolted against this idea. Sean Leahy decides to go to Carolina Hurricane Storm Squad members to find out their view, and they have interesting views on the value of a cheer squad.


• Things that make me happy: Geoff Molson talks about owning the Canadiens


• Tasha Kheiriddin has a good final takedown of the government's use of 10 percenters.


• Shockingly, Elmore Leonard - who doesn't own a cell phone or use a computer - doesn't like eBooks.


• Dave Perkins forsees a future where sports betting will be allowed in Ontario Casinos, thanks to internet betting. I welcome this sort of thinking.


• Grange has an amusing post on how to write an appeal petition. (BTW, start reading his blog if you are interested in poker, legislation, poker legislation, or just fun writing.


• And your (late to the party) video of the week...Gordon Pinset reads Justin Bieber's autobiography: