Hey, I already dropped two posts in here this morning. I can only give so much. 
My thoughts in no coherent order.
Robb the idiot bothers me…and I think it’s funny that once again, he’s been left completely out of the loop on how the tribe is going to vote. The same thing happened last time…everyone else agreed that Jed had to go, but no one bothered to clue in DoofusBoy. That doesn’t bode well for his future…I think at this point, they’re assuming that they have nothing to fear from him and can get rid of him at their leisure.
As for the boat being lost, does anyone else think that it was tampered with? Why else would the camera crew be doing close-up shots of how Ted was tying it up if they didn’t know that it was going to later float away? Very suspicious, IMO.
The fish sorting challenge was so pathetically lame, I can’t even articulate it. I agree with whomever suggested it may have been against the rules to use their shirts as slings to carry the fish, since not a single one of the did it, and it would surely have been more effective than running back and forth with fish in your mouth. Ew.
The offer to allow people to change tribes was stupid…everyone did the right thing by not changing. It would have been political suicide. They might have lasted a few shows longer if they switched, but volunteering to switch tells your current team “I hate you, and you all suck” and they’d have been dead at the merge. Good call by all of them, AFAIC.
My new prediction is that Brian goes all the way to at least the final two. He gets along with everyone, and more importantly, he doesn’t irritate anyone. That’s the kiss of death in this game. He’s flying under the radar, and I think he’ll do well after the merge with the younger crowd. I think his chances are very good.
Oh…I forgot to add that Acme Brain Trust got the boot wrong again for last night. They’re only 2 for 5 now, where I think they were close to 100% last season.
Making excuses for my sweetie Shii: I think she meant that more in a cultural sense than a “racial” one. She’s Asian, raised at least some time in Taiwan, with all the cultural differences that entails. She was just realizing that eating organs and such was no big deal to her and her family, but kind of gross to Americans. The black folk are pretty much of the same culture as the white folk: American.
But anyway, although she did say “island”, I’m sure she meant “tribe”. (Yeah, she can do no wrong in my book.:D)
Didn’t fool me for a minute. Whenever they play it up that someone might be next, that person never gets voted off. I was dead certain Shii Ann was safe this week when they showed all the bitching about her.
I thought that was Erin (Boobiegirl) that Knobb was dishing with. (?)
Anyway, I’m still pulling for the Soup Guys. They can’t afford to lose the next IC. If they go into the merge at 6-4, they should be able to run the table. My only fear is that Boobs may supplant my beloved Shii-devil in the final four. Could happen.
I tend to agree with you there. After the cross-tribal alliance took control of the game last year, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the smarter players latched onto that as their winning strategy again–and both sides are showing cracks.
Even if Chewing Gum loses again next week and Jan gets booted, the obvious first pick for Pagonging is big guy Ted (remember Clarence?). Brian needs a couple days to smooth his way into alliance with someone on the other side, but if anyone can pull it off, it’s him. I’d watch for Brian and Helen to hook up with Jake, who’s played an equally quiet game over at Soup Guy and seems somewhat alienated from the younger players (except Shii Ann).
You know, I had the same thought. Then I began to suspect that SG losing their net might have been sabotage too…
I dunno. It’s possible. But then again, it’s also possible it was just the result of stupidity. I mean, what kind of dumbass doesn’t drag their canoe well up past the tide line?
Well, Stephanie would still be around if she’d switched. She was never going to win it anyway, but they get more more money the longer they stick around. I think she should have gone for it.
Excuse me, but it’s not as tho she’s fresh off the boat. That executive recruiter is one big city American chick. You telling me when she goes out on a business lunch she can’t help herself from using her fingers and grabbing orts from other diners’ plates?
Uh - sorry, Minty.
She can grab food off my plate any time.
Yeah, yeah, I know, it was kind of gross. I’m just making excuses for her because I have a crush on her. Give me a break!
** Ferrous ** she is kind of cute, but no Penny, let’s put it that way.
Also the boat floated away because those knuckleheads did not even tie the boat up, they just used a open loop of rope around a short pole of wood. Idiots. As soon as they showed them “securing” the boat up that way, I said to Mrs. elf6c-- “kiss that thing goodbye”. Sure enough. . .
Tides? What are tides? :rolleyes:
I loved Helen’s response. You could see her trying oh so hard not to rip into them.
[Helen] MUST . . . NOT . . . KILL . . . MORONS [/Helen].
I wish they had given the players a night to sleep on (and discuss) the tribe-switching option. Imagine all the scheming we might have witnessed. The producers missed some potentially good TV there.
While I still don’t have anyone I am openly rooting for, I am kind of enjoying the decrepit, pathetic lives these people have carved out. If the final group consists of Penny, Ken, Brian, and Clay I’ll be happy.
I can see Robb sticking around. He is a sure boot later on after a merge and he would seem to be a free pass for a week. He may be physically tough, but even physical challenges require brain power and he is pretty hopeless there. And, vice versa, the same goes for Jan. Let those two hang around and then they can take the fall while others make it closer.
Also, Probst was on the radio here this morning and said, in regards to the tribal switch, that if a person switched they would have been over on the other side with no compensation to the tribe they left. That could have really tipped the scales of power.
And, I think it is a given that a cross tribal alliance will make it to the finals considering how little love within each tribe there currently is.
I forgot my other favorite moment. When Robb was casting his vote, he said, “You irritate me and I don’t like to be around you. Nothing personal.”
Wha? That had to be the stupidest thing ever to come out of his mouth. Does he even know what “personal” means?
Took me about 10 seconds to figure out you could get more in your shirt than your mouth(except Knobb). It must have been against the rules. Fat Albert coulda taken a couple trips back and forth and that would have been it.
I especially loved how they showd teh boat about 100 yards away from them around the cove and here they are not seeing it(that was their boat, right?, with my shitty tv reception it was kind of blurry)
I think I’d start thinking about building raft, or something. Not sure how much longer they have there though.
Regarding the close-up knot tying, I wouldn’t read much into it. They do an awful lot of full-screen close-ups of busy fingers and toes for some reason. I’ve always assumed it was to highlight the primitive conditions (dirty fingernails and toenails, blisters, lacerations, etc.)
Over on the Television Without Pity boards, some posters have said that they’re on some sort of protected islands, and can’t cut down large trees to build a raft.
It did look like the raft was caught in some trees on that little outcropping just out from their beach. You think Helen would be able to swim out there to look.
Wasn’t the boat on the opposite side of the outcropping from their line of sight? While it was an easy swim away, they woudln’t be ablt to see it if it’s behind the rock.
Yeah, but it’d be worth swimming over to that outcropping to look around, IMHO.
Swim over to the little outcropping, and then you can walk around and look for it.
Ted was acting like an idiot, blaming it on the monkey.
Ted was acting like an idiot, but he wasn’t seriously blaming it on the monkey.
I like the idea that the powers-that-be untied the raft. Heck, if I was Mark Burnett, I would have untied it myself, and then made the next challenge one where you need the boat to participate. 
Of course, I was also secretly hoping that someone would trip while carrying a huge bowl of food back to their bench during the auction.
I think he was trying to deflect blame since he was the one who tied up the boat the night before. He should have pulled the damn thing UP on shore!