Saturday, November 29, 2008

outwit, outplay, outlast, outclass?

finally watched the Survivor: All Stars finale on NTV7 an hour ago, after a few days delay. the popular show was delayed since last monday. that's 4 days dawg! just 'cause some jerk refused to give up their mother's day movie slot to Survivor...waarrrggghhh hahahaha...okay okay actually i understand why they delayed the finale, but NTV7 should've been aware of the schedule a looonggg time ago, and took the necessary steps. whatever.
SURVIVOR. a brilliant show don't you agree? have been following this show for quite some time, and got attracted initially after watching a half-naked Colleen Haskell (the chick starred in "The Animal" with Adam Sandler's sidekick, Rob Schneider) in Survivor: Borneo. rrrr...right here in our own country, Malaysia.

the latest of Survivor: All Stars just ended in a dramatic, emotional and twisted way. Amber Brkich (25-year-old All-Star of Survivor: The Australian Outback) emerged as the one-million dollar winner when she outlast Rob Mariano, appropriately known as Boston Rob (the 28-year-old All-Star of Survivor: Marquesas) by only one vote (4 to 3). sometimes the speech by the Jury could me more entertaining and interesting than the final result itself, including this one. the Final Tribal Council of the All Stars made Sue's (Susan Hawk) infamous speech to Kelly in the first Survivor: Borneo seem like nothing.

for all Survivor fanatics out there, what do you guys think about the Jury's speech? most Americans and some of us agreed that Boston Rob deserved to win the million bucks, 'cause he's without a doubt, the strongest player physically and strategically of All Stars. he may not play a clean game, as he's hurt and backstabbed so many to be in the final two (noticeably Lex and Rob C.). consequently, he "paid the price" for choosing to play that game the way he did. hmmm can we actually say that? he paid the price? no i don't think so. i really believe that Boston Rob is viciously smart in approaching the game (having an alliance with your girlfriend or future wife is amusingly clever), highly competitive and knows what it takes to win the game. and again, the word GAME is indeed a big word in this episode.

is this simply a game or a reflection in life? if this is only a game, are we permitted, encouraged, advised & required to lie and backstab other contestansts in order to survive? of course! different contestants chose different strategy, and in the end, the one with the most brilliant strategy wins. ethics do not matter in this game. ethics matter in life. eliminated contestants like Lex, Kathy, Alicia & Big Tom who were so damn pissed at Boston Rob for "backstabbing" them, took the game to a personal level. why should they pissed anyway? 'cause they're not in the final two? they talked shit and out of proportion to Boston Rob as a form of defense mechanism? Boston Rob, a construction foreman and part-time bartender deserved to be in the final two, 'cause he played the game right and won most of the immunity challenges. Boston Rob was even thinking strategically after the game was over. he proposed to Amber before (not after) the final vote was announced, and Amber gladly accepted. doesn't matter who won the competition, Boston Rob was already the winner. he got the girl, $250,000 complimentary prize from CBS and perhaps a share of the sweet million bucks when they got married?
if Lex, Kathy, Alicia & Big Tom worked their asses off and won most of the immunity challenges, they wouldn't be in the Jury right? i strongly believe the only way to play this game fairly, is to win EVERY single immunity challenge. that's it. as perfectly said by Shii Ann, if you don't want to be lied and backstabbed in this game, why bother trying? outwit, outplay, outlast. and this is the All Stars for God sake! the ones who had already experienced and learned the game before. this is not a typical season of Survivor. they should come to the game and expect to be lied and backstabbed by anybody. which comes to the first rule of Survivor, "don't trust anyone." the losers might defend themselves by saying they played a fair game, but in the hand, the millions dollars are not in their hands. i'm not saying i admire Boston Rob's questionable strategy nor to condone it, but he played one hell of a game right? and yes, this is only a game.

oh, Rupert Boneham, the guy from Indianapolis, Indiana (that's my place), was announced the winner of second one-million dollar prize after winning the viewer's vote. by having this vote, i think in the future there will be 2 distinct winners; a good guy/girl and a bad guy/girl. the bad guy/girl will win the million dollar the traditional way (Final Tribal Council's vote) and the good guy/girl will win by playing the game clean and fair.

p/s: are there such thing as brilliant backstabbers and gifted liars?
oh, one more thing, can you guys help me out? a highschool friend sent me this riddle to a bunch of my friends, trying to figure it out too. till today no one have solved it.

"Ada 3 org..seorang buta, seorang pekak, seorang bisu.. tiba2 PEKAK curi duit BUTA. BISU nampak. Macam mana BISU nak bagitau BUTA yang PEKAK curi duit BUTA..."

anybody?

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

I'm reading a book of childhood memories by Anthony Eden, Lord Avon, onetime Prime Minister of England. It brings to mind the reality of everyone's childhood memories and England and glimpses of another world, which is the title of his book. Time is so strange. All the advances and thoughts change the fabric of our existence. Individual lives and decisions. Lives cut short or unrecorded. Memories particular to one person never expressed. And those that are can be woven into another's conciousness through the reading. I love being present in that world, being there one hundred years ago or more, to see his lovely sister as a bride, and his feelings on the page. But it is only a tiny slice of his whole life, and only published because he was a famous and noted man. How can anyone save life? All those unrecorded memories are consumed in death. Perhaps there are mighty books in some library above, recording every action against the day of judgement. I heard an analogy once of angels constantly writing the deeds of your life with invisible ink; only the good deeds show up, the bad are left off. Surely only for those that have Yahshua washing their transgressions away. Stuart said that the footprints we leave behind matter most. These literary footprints have their own stride, rhythm and tread, telling us tales about an otherwise inaccesible time. I'm reminded of Sherlock Holmes, deducting many facts from footprints left at a scene.

Reading: Another World by Anthony Eden - and - The Autobiography of David Crockett.

Listening: The Man Who by Travis

Watching: Remains of the Day

Playing: with my dog, Sam.

Feeling: Cold, because the fan is on.