# Survivor 5/7/09 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 8, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705 "2009-05-08T00:23:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/1 "2009-05-08T00:23:34Z")
“Guess what they call me?” “?” “The Dragon-Slayer.” :rolleyes: No, Coach, honey, you call yourself that. And you’re not exactly controlling much of anything at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/2 "2009-05-08T00:49:07Z")
Unless he is…I have a bad feeling J.T. might just get blind sided tonight…it’s a weird feeling. He and Stephen just seem so confident. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/3 "2009-05-08T01:06:00Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Unless he is…I have a bad feeling J.T. might just get blind sided tonight…it’s a weird feeling. He and Stephen just seem so confident. I thought the same thing. It definitely felt set up for a blindside. Which I don’t see happening now. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/4 "2009-05-08T01:08:33Z")
It’s amazing, all 6 of these people thought they are in an alliance with each other and only JT and Steven seem to realize it. Coach is toast (and so very gay for assistant coach), which should make the final tribal council very interesting. ETA: Maybe I’m just a freak, but the way some of these people blubber over not seeing their siblings for a few weeks drives me insane. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/5 "2009-05-08T01:26:14Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > ETA: Maybe I’m just a freak, but the way some of these people blubber over not seeing their siblings for a few weeks drives me insane. I think it’s just the stress of the situation all comes up when the family is there. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/6 "2009-05-08T02:11:26Z")
That was about the sweetest reward challenge/family visit in Survivor history, but I think it reminded everyone that Taj is already a millionaire many times over. That was one sad looking monkey sitting out in the rain. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/7 "2009-05-08T02:38:55Z")
Oh. Well, OK. I was wrong. I like that they showed Taj’s reaction in slow-mo…cute! ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/8 "2009-05-08T02:49:59Z")
I didn’t quite get the “sacrifice” that Taj had to make… if she had to give up seeing her husband so the other 5 could see their “loved ones,” THAT would’ve been a sacrifice… getting to see her husband away from everyone at exile island, seemed like an extra added bonus. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/9 "2009-05-08T03:12:53Z")
> [@phungi](#): > > I didn’t quite get the “sacrifice” that Taj had to make… if she had to give up seeing her husband so the other 5 could see their “loved ones,” THAT would’ve been a sacrifice… getting to see her husband away from everyone at exile island, seemed like an extra added bonus. Part of me thinks Jeff switched up the standard “you can’t see your loved one if you give everyone else a chance to see theirs” thing when he saw how emotional Taj got. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/10 "2009-05-08T05:10:07Z")
I missed it, but my wife noticed that the jury members all had a feather in their hair, and coats slung over their shoulders, apparently making fun of Coach. The Ponderosa video confirms this, see the end of “Sierra at Ponderosa Part 3”, [here.](http://www.mahalo.com/Survivor_Ponderosa) And wow, Tyson’s snark is really world class in the rest of that video. Stephen’s use of memorizing a 7-digit number as a look up to the math signs was inspired. Well done. Other than that, no big surprises this week. The usual auction, the usual “loved ones”. Debbie was telling different people different stories, so the people currently running the team (anyone who isn’t Coach) tossed her under the bus for being a loose cannon. Coach’s pained reaction at tribal was precious. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/11 "2009-05-08T05:14:21Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Part of me thinks Jeff switched up the standard “you can’t see your loved one if you give everyone else a chance to see theirs” thing when he saw how emotional Taj got. Eh… they’ve been a lot more lenient on the “loved ones” reward recently. I think everybody got to come by last season too. > [@squeegee](#): > > Stephen’s use of memorizing a 7-digit number as a look up to the math signs was inspired. Well done. > . Man, I’ve done that many times before, but I doubt I would’ve thought of that during the crazy challenge. Great move, especially considering how much trouble he had with the balance beam. Does any one know what was the deal with those poles by the spinning math symbol thing? I saw some people hold them, but not actually do anything with them ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/12 "2009-05-08T05:38:50Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > “Guess what they call me?” > “?” > “The Dragon-Slayer.” > :rolleyes: > > No, Coach, honey, you call yourself that. > > . Everyone I know calls him “the Douchebag”. When are we going to find out how phony he has been? _Who_ was that that Coach brought along for his special someone?😕:eek: ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/13 "2009-05-08T05:56:23Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Everyone I know calls him “the Douchebag”. When are we going to find out how phony he has been? Well, he is a descendant of Pocahontas. And Linda Ronstadt’s relatives once saved him from certain death. And he was the inspiration for the film _Cast Away_. [Really](http://www.petewadeshow.com/whoarewe.htm)! His name is _synonymous with adventure_! Its says so right there on his brother’s web site! > [@](#): > > Who was that that Coach brought along for his special someone? Apparently his chiropractor. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/14 "2009-05-08T08:12:31Z")
1. Coach brought his assistant coach. 2. The pole was used to get the math symbols spinning. I doubt that contraption was motorized. 3. If they fly loved ones out, there’s not much point in preventing survivors from spending at least a few minutes with them. It would be stupid to fly out all the loved ones (needed since the producers don’t know who will win that reward) and have some of them not be seen at all. 4. Stephen said people can memorize 7 digit numbers, but not that he used a 7 digit number. If it was 10 symbols, he would have memorized two 5 digit numbers. Also, I noticed JT had written down a plus sign at the end, but it should be a multiplication symbol. Debbie had a shot if she did a better job with the symbols. 5. I also didn’t much like the sappy loved ones reunion and skipped a lot of it. ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/15 "2009-05-08T11:57:02Z")
Coach doesn’t always drink beer, but when he does, he prefers Dos Equis. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/16 "2009-05-08T12:09:33Z")
Alright, dammit, Taj made me get a little verklempt at the auction. Girl is looking real good after a month of roughing it, isn’t she? I cannot wait to hear Douche at final tribal. He _has_ to be on the jury - that’ll be the blowhardiest blowharding that any blowhard ever blew…hard. Does he have any idea how universally despised he is? There was a great Insider video on the CBS site of her venting how much she cannot _stand_ Douche. I visit a lot of message boards, and I have never come across a single entry defending the Dragon Doucher, regardless of how TRUE and BOLD he is.:rolleyes: How telling is it that not one friend or relative or loved one came to see him. Even Jeff took a poke at his bullshit during tribal.😛 At least he can console himself with the loving tribute paid him by the jury. Will Debbie be feathered next week too? ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/17 "2009-05-08T15:27:15Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > I missed it, but my wife noticed that the jury members all had a feather in their hair, and coats slung over their shoulders, apparently making fun of Coach. The Ponderosa video confirms this, see the end of “Sierra at Ponderosa Part 3”, [here.](http://www.mahalo.com/Survivor_Ponderosa) And wow, Tyson’s snark is really world class in the rest of that video. I didn’t notice the feathers, but I did wonder about the jackets…it seemed strange that they were all carrying them that way, but I didn’t get the joke at all. > [@](#): > > Stephen’s use of memorizing a 7-digit number as a look up to the math signs was inspired. Well done. That WAS pretty impressive. I was thinking how I would do it if it were me, and I thought to myself that I know that 7 is the limit to how many distinct items you can remember short-term, so the plan should be to not to remember all of them at once, and just make two trips. This is why I would never make it on Survivor. Among other reasons. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/18 "2009-05-08T15:45:59Z")
> [@singular1](#): > > Does [Coach] have any idea how universally despised he is? … How telling is it that not one friend or relative or loved one came to see him. Even Jeff took a poke at his bullshit during tribal.😛 Seriously – I wonder what he’s making of the way he’s being portrayed (though I’m sure we’ll hear some fucking nonsensical mythic version of it at the finale). Obviously he’s got a major ability to ignore real-world feedback on his actions, but you know he’s got to be reading a lot of the commentary (esp. since he lost his coaching job, so is presumably unemployed and at leisure to spend most of the day each Friday to visiting the fan sites) – do you think any of this is penetrating? And, yeah, telling indeed that is was his assistant coach – is this the first time ever that it wasn’t a friend or a relative by blood or marriage? Jeff’s been snarking at him for a couple of weeks now – he’s no fool. > [@Sarahfeena](#): > > I didn’t notice the feathers, but I did wonder about the jackets…it seemed strange that they were all carrying them that way, but I didn’t get the joke at all. Totally missed it – that’s what I get for being online while I watch, instead of doing what I should and settling in for an hour’s intent scrutiny. Funny shit, though. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/19 "2009-05-08T15:53:29Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > And, yeah, telling indeed that is was his assistant coach – is this the first time ever that it wasn’t a friend or a relative by blood or marriage? We don’t know for sure his assistant coach isn’t also a close friend, but referring to him as “my assistant coach” is a big sign Coach is a wacko. > [@twickster](#): > > Jeff’s been snarking at him for a couple of weeks now – he’s no fool. Of course he’s a fool. He thinks the other players think of him as “The Dragon Slayer” even though they encourage Jeff’s snarking. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705/20 "2009-05-08T15:57:19Z")
From [Jeff’s EW blog:](http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/05/jeff-probst-b-1.html?iid=top25-Jeff+Probst+blogs+%27Survivor%3A+Tocantins%27+(episode+12)) > [@](#): > > FINAL WORDS: I did something this blog and I hope you all appreciate it. Can you guess what it is that I did? Mention Coach? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-5-7-09/495705.md?page=2)