Survivor Needs Some Changes; Blocked on Twitter by a Survivor Villain

I have been a fan of the television show Survivor since the end of its first season. People might not remember, but both Survivor and Big Brother started at about the same time 24 years ago. I had seen previews of both and decided that I would watch Big Brother and not Survivor. I lost my love for Big Brother sometime after Season 2, but I have been pretty faithful over the years to Survivor. My favorite season has always been Season 2. My brother, thundering36, and I would pour over all the internet clues from people across the US who were sleuthing big time. We listened each week to the three main predictors of who would be voted off. I took part in a radio station's Survivor contest and was in position to win going into the final episode. I decided to pick Tina Wesson to win over Colby Donaldson, and I was right! Being the contest champion won me a cool $1,000. I promised my kids that they would share in my winning if I won, so there was a great celebration at my house when Tina won Survivor. I don't remember what the kids wanted, but I'm pretty sure a doll and a video game was involved.

Anyway, my wife and I continue to watch each season of Survivor. It remains a link between some of my family, as I regularly text/message thundering36 and my nephew, Andrew, who is a huge Survivor fanatic. After watching the shocking Final Tribal Council vote (my main favorite during the season was Kenzie, followed by Charlie and then Maria), I felt like there were some things that definitely need to change in the future if Survivor is to improve or not backslide. they include:

1) Do not allow helping another contestant during a challenge. I thought it was decidedly unfair that Liz was able to help Kenzie win that crucial challenge at the final five over Maria.

2) Enough with all the hidden immunity idols and advantages! It was amazing that in this season, so many people were eliminated while holding an unused immunity idol. Still, I believe the idols have a disproportional affect on the game.

3) Enough with the puzzles! So many physical challenges were cheapened by having a puzzle at the end. I just think Survivor has gone puzzle crazy. Keep some in, but eliminate the high number of puzzles.

4) Eliminate the fire challenge at the final four. I am tired of seeing it. Maybe you are also.

5) Keep away from making political statements. In past seasons, I was tired of hearing people talking about how they were representing for various ethnic/gender/geographic groups. Diversity is important, but can we get away from quotas?

6) Improve casting. The past two seasons have included too many people who have quit or were woefully prepared to be on a show like Survivor. Can you imagine applying for Survivor and not expecting to be starving on a tropical island?

7) Go back to the old format for the reunion show. Imagine being Charlie and having the aftershow  right after seeing a million dollars slip through your fingers. Having the live reunion show gave us a look at what the contestants look like in real life and give them the change to reflect on their experience. It also gives the pre-jury people a chance to be there. Imagine what fun would have gone on if Jelinsky had been there!

8) Bring back some other discarded features, like the gross eating competition and the "ghost walk" before Final Tribal where all the contestants were named and we heard a nice thing or two about them.

9) Go back to having the final vote being between only two people instead of three. Almost always, there is one person like Ben who has no chance of winning.

10) Time to bring in some fresh blood assisting or replacing Jeff Probst. If you recall, the final episodes used to be such big news that CBS had big name people hosting the reunion show (Bryant Gumbel and Rosie O'Donnell the first four seasons). I am thinking that maybe now would be the time to bring in an assistant for him with the thought of passing the torch. But please please please -- not Boston Rob!

11) Bring back the visits from loved ones. Thanks to @griff10 for the suggestion. 😀

As for the ending of season 46, I could not believe that Maria voted for Kenzie (the woman who beat her out due to help from Liz) instead of her buddy, Charlie. I understand that they both had plans to vote the other out in order to win the game, for there can only be one winner. But for her to talk about "Uncle Charlie" and how they were great friends ...  I commend Charlie for taking the high road with her despite his profound disappointment. I doubt that I could do it. And frankly, if it were me, I doubt that I would have ever spoken with her again. As things are now, it looks like the friendship, not surprisingly, has gone el busto. 

Maria has been giving lame reasons for her voting for Kelsie, and I don't buy them. I responded to a tweet by Dalton Ross with the following:

I had many people like my tweet. Today, I was surprised to see the following:

Really! I know that Maria has received a ton of hate, including a number of nut cases who have contacted her, harassed her, etc. That is really sad. However, I did not contact her nor even send a tweet to her. When you become a public figure, especially of your own doing, you should know that a certain price comes with it. That includes criticism. However, I completely abhor that some people have decided to be so outwardly cruel to her. That was certainly not my intent, but I did feel that my comments were not out of bounds. Ah well.

Comments about my suggestions are certainly welcomed. I know that some people do not like to comment on the blog but post their comments on Twitter, However, the Twitter comments often seem out of place since the body of the message does not appear with the comment. However, any intelligent comments, criticisms and suggestions are always welcome. And believe me, if Charlie was my bud, no way would I have given my final vote to someone else. No way.

Thanks for reading!

In Honor of What Would Have Been My Dad's 100th Birthday: A Reposting of a Dad/Rolling Stones Story

It is with fold memories and some sadness that what would have been my dad's 100th birthday is now almost over. My father passed away almost 20 years ago. Can it really be that long? Perhaps it is by divine providence that I am going to see the Rolling Stones in concert tomorrow night -- a reminder of a funny night that I shared with my dad waaay back in 1978, when I was a know-it-all college student.

The setting: The Rolling Stones were hosting and the musical guests for Saturday Night Live. Mick Jagger's voice was totally shot and sounded like crap. With that in mind, I take you back to a post I wrote in 2011.

Funny, the things we remember sometimes. This week marks the seventh anniversary of my father's death.  One of my favorite memories of my dad was a night many, many moons ago when we were watching Saturday Night Live. The Rolling Stones would be performing some songs on SNL, so of course I was going to watch.

Dad was sitting in a rocking chair and I was standing as the Stones broke into a tune. And then ... the moment ...

My goodness, you'd have thought that someone dropped a bomb on our house! The sight of Mick Jagger's tongue going near a guy had my dad ranting and raving. I tried to settle him down by saying "Dad, Jagger is just trying to be provocative and make some headlines." But it didn't matter -- the dirty deed had been done.

So yeah -- 33 years later the memory still remains -- a young guy and his father watching one of the greatest rock and roll bands ever.

So yeah -- almost 46 years later, the memory still remains. Happy birthday, Dad!  💓