Almost posted on this episode the other day, they should really re-name this show Ugly Americans. One of the girls said something to the effect ""no wonder these people (Africans) escaped"" this was right before the show had them go to a slave departure point.

Also didn''t see a posting on Survivor, guess women''s solidarity still has a way to go.

Ok. I was literally left sitting in my living room last night with my jaw on the floor waiting for Phil to cold c*ck the little SOB. In no way does this knucklehead and the ""dating models"" epitimize ''Americans''. I liked the challenges in this episode and the daughter/father team had me laughing out loud when they were looking for the coasters in the beer house. The dad telling his girl to go ahead, he''s going to get his pack while also trying to down a stein of beer was absolutely the exact same thing I would have done.

The box car race was too easy but the crash by the grandparents team at the end caught my attention. I thought the grandparents handled the no money situation very, very well.

The wrestler couple should have lost this one. If it wasn''t for the fact that the grandparents team got turned around at the old church, they would have been sent packing.

Hadden and Arron and the other couple (Chris and Kim maybe?) seem very strong and alway seem to be no more than middle of the pack.

BTW: Blue hair freak (BHF from now on) cost himself the first place position by throwing a fit and parking his car. The fact that he was unable to man it out in a run with his pack just shows what an absolute child he was. This is the third of fourth time I was expecting him to haul off and punch his wife. I keep waiting for Bolo to stand up for the BHF wife and pile drive him into the floor.

RE: Survivor

Chris pulled it off. When it came down to it, Chris was able to play the ends against the middle without either end knowing what was going on

Did you all see that Rob and Amber look to be a team in one of the up coming Amazing Race seasons?

Like Ann Landers used to say - nobody can take advantage of you without your permission.

Behavior like Jon''s is reinforced by a wife that takes it instead of introducing his head to a Louisville Slugger. First time, shame on him. Second (third, fourth, eight thousandth) time, shame on her.

I prefer to beat you with my bare fists.

I give even odds that Phil hires Bolo to toss BHF (aka Jon) off a brige in southern asia.

The episode on 12-21-04

Ok so the what the hell! To be continued?

Low self esteem and the ""woe is me"" attitude is kind of an excuse for not taking control of one''s own life. There are people with low self-esteem that don''t allow themselves to be abused. It''s not a debilitating condition. People are ultimately responsible for the positions they put themselves in. (Not that you were arguing to the contrary). It routinely amazes me how humanity can struggle through oppression, torture, starvation, and other such tragedies, but some reasonably well-to-do woman can''t control her life because oh, she doesn''t have great self-esteem, ya know? Sometimes I think a lot of people in the ""Western world"" are entirely too sheltered and badly lack perspective.

But hey, these people keep ""Dr."" Phil in business.

The ""To be continued"" thing is pathetic. Every episode you can rely on someone not making it... until that one. Talk about stretching the content.

It''s too much to hope for Jonathan the super twit and Victoria to be gone this/next time.

** SPOILERS WARNING **

RE: To be continued
Well, they definitly streched this episode out. However, I''m glad they did. It would have been a damn shame for them to edit some of this episode out to fit a single hour.

RE: Bolo & Lori
I''m impressed that they were able to rally and come back, win the foot race at the train station on little or no sleep and complete the fast forward with little or no difficulty. They definitly get a high mark from me just for sticking with the race and not giving up.

RE: Hungarian Soup
I could almost smell this roadblock. It was both wonderful and tragic at the same time. Freddy gets a gold star for loosing his lunch, so to speak, and then enjoying it a second time.

RE: Freddy vs. the World
Nice temper tantrum. I flipped through the gate thing in slow mo and it looked like the gate came back on it''s own. Does Freddy really think he can break Bolo or Lori in half?

RE: Kendra in the pool
Very nice.

RE: The end game
Is it just me or does Kris and Jon look really strong? Not pissing anyone off. He kept the soup down. They both seem to be truly enjoying themselves and consistently finish each leg in the top three. Hadden and Aaron seem to be melting down and I can''t imagine that Johnathan and Vicotoria won''t kill each other in a ritualistic suicide in Asia.

RE: Pissed off look of the episode
Victoria glaring at Jonathan when he volunteered her for the roadblock and the subsiquent experience it had on Aaron, Freddy and, eventually Rebecca (who took a close look at a planter outside).

RE: Kudos of the episode
Rebecca who took a very Chip like approach to the eating roadblocks. Spoon in one hand and a glass of water in the other and just chow down.

Gus and Herra benefited from their being last. The restaurant was able to clean up before they arrived and that seemed to help everyone.

Anyone have any idea as to what was in the soup?

I would think that if you eat 24oz of anything as quickly as you can that most people would lose their lunch, not to mention the screeching violins and the rest of the cacophony of sound in the environment. I think it was great when John told the orchestra to shut up. His attitude towards Veronica continues to be horrific. Was playing Mario Sunshine with my beloved last night and when stuck at a certain part let slip with a, ""You can''t do it drama queen, you can''t do it!"" and it went over about as well it did when John said it to Veronica over..and over..and over..

Couple of snowflakes got in my eye when Gus and Hera were kicked and talking about how much stronger their relationship is..

There isn''t really anyone left that I want to see win.

I like Kris & Jon. People don''t really like them yet because they don''t get much camera time! And they don''t get much camera time because they don''t fight like bitches. Later on in the race, they''ll emerge as peoples'' favorites, when the group has thinned and they get on camera more.

I agree on Kris and Jon -- very calm, well behaved people who laugh and shrug off pretty much any adversity they experience. Their stress tolerance is incredible given that the Amazing Race is in and of itself a pretty stressful experience that would put strain on any relationship.

Plus they be very pretty people -- my wife and I have both commented on that. She can like the Jon, and I can like Kris. And I do. Oh yes.

I hope the pretty people win.

**SPOILERS WARNING**

RE: January 11th Episode
Ok. The start was pretty typical with lots and lots of hanging around until 10 AM for so-and-so to open. Takes the wind out of those poor soles that were able to finish the fast forward.

The trip to Corsica was pretty interesting. Agree with the statement that the show is well done both on the edits and the over all photography.

Now, to the meat of the matter.

Jonathan is absolutely mind boggling. The fact that Victoria supports him claiming that he is very motivating leads me to think that she has been so degraded by this knucklehead over time that she has no idea what an ass he is. The fact that he, Jonathan the Blue Haired Freak, just about got themselves eliminated by; (1) taking the wrong choice on the detour, (2) apparently doesn''t weigh enough to crush grapes and (3) decides that he doesn''t need foot wear was amazing. The fact that it was a non-elimination leg didn''t help matters. Had Hadden not lost her mind and had they not flip-flopped on driver and navigator roles three times, and had they kept the models in sight, then Jon/Vic would have been a resounding last.

I am holding out that J/V will be bounced next week.

What a great show. Loved Bolo''s comments while he was crushing grapes about Lori''s mouth.

You know, I''ve kinda felt sorry about Victoria (though still thinking she''s a dumbass and is the creator of her own problems), but this episode, hearing her freak out while Jonathan was crushing grapes, made me think that she''s got plenty bad attitude of her own.

I''m starting to think that there''s plenty Victoria does too, but that editing it to be more one-sided makes for compelling TV - someone for viewers to hate and talk about and remember to watch next week.

Not to let Jonathan off the hook for any of it - his shoving and verbal abuse is still every bit as bad. But I''m getting more convinced that there''s clever editing at work.