Some Frustrating Things in Amazing Race

Contrary to popular beliefs, teams joining this reality show do not have what it takes to win the million dollars (plus some great freebies if you arrive first at the pit stop). No matter how good you are on reading at maps/directions or how physically strong you are, it won't really matter if some unfortunate things happen unexpectedly. Here are some things that would actually change the drama of this show.

1) The first team leaves the pit stop at around dawn and arrives at the airport, only to find out that the next scheduled flight to their next destination will be at around noon or evening. The other teams behind them will surely catch up. Back to square one.

2) Teams arrive at the airport and dash outside the terminal building to search for vacant taxis. Then the teams made a mad dash on the highway to their next destination. Unfortunately, upon arrival at their destination, they found out that the place they're going to perform a certain task is closed. They have no choice but to wait 'til morning.

3) No matter how good you are in reading maps, it would be useless if you bought a map written in a foreign language. I can't imagine myself reading a Chinese map.

4) You use all your charm just to be on THAT certain flight.

5) Virtual Pit Stop. This would surely spoil the euphoric mood of the supposedly 'winning' team, after the host gives their prize: their next clue.

6) Taxi drivers usually know where they are going, given that they have been driving on that certain country for a decade (or forever). Although, some of them can't understand English, resulting to confusion and a waste of time and resources.

Team member: Excuse me, sir. Can we just stop for a while and ask a local because I think you don't know where you're going.

Driver: Yes, yes, I do! (Then, he continues to drive, leaving the team clueless).

7) Foot race. It's a bit frustrating when you're seconds away from winning a grand vacation package from Travelocity. Things get worse if you're racing to the finish line. I'm pretty sure that those teams who are only seconds behind the prize will regret about it.

8) Overcharged fees of the taxi or public utility vehicle drivers.

9) The taxi stops in a gasoline station to fill its tank. Time is precious.

10) You're team mate keeps on whining about your clumsiness on a certain task. Your team mate doesn't have the right to direct you. I'd rather quit the show if I have a team mate who keeps on yelling, "Stop being so stupid" or "Run faster, you idiot!" at me.

11) Language barrier. Always the problem (especially in China, Japan, and South Korea).

Well, teams must have witty strategies to overcome these predicaments. I'm pretty sure that team work will overcome these. If you audition and got lucky to become a part of the show, just enjoy the race.

It's a race of a lifetime.

Miss Latin Universe 2009

What's new? Venezuela once again ruled this year's Miss Universe. Like duh, they are always on the Top 15, at least. Last year, it was Venezuela who ruled the whole universe. Today, it is still Venezuela. What the _____.

Okay, I'm quite bitter with regards to the result of the "prestigious" beauty contest in the whole universe. Surprisingly, there were no Asian finalists. I was really hoping... ah, no! EXPECTING that Pamela Bianca Manalo will be at least on the Top 15 list. But no... Again, there were no Asians. Surprisingly, Miss Indonesia was pretty. And Philippines didn't win the Miss Photogenic title, it was Miss Thailand who earned that special award. China, is still the Miss Congeniality. Oooh, I think Chinese people were, uhhm, friendly? I think. Nahahaha Kidding.


But on a serious note, the show was not that good. I mean, who could imagine that the guest performers were Flo Rida et al. Apparently, there are more artists who deserves more than Flo Rida. Sorry for Flo Rida fans out there, but I don't think he's the right artist to be on that show. I just find him, uhmm, inappropriate. Peace!


But let's move on to the brighter side. I think in my own opinion, Australia and Sweden have a big chance to win the Miss Universe title this year. But yeah, it was the decision of twelve judges. But I find Rachael Finch (Australia) and Renate Cerljen (Sweden) prettier than Stefania Fernandez of Venezuela.

Rachael Finch of Australia

Renate Cerljen of Sweden

Oh well, better luck next year. SHEEEESH.
I just abhor Donald Trump. HAHAHAHA

That's all.

Reality Check

Ah yes. The reality shows that I’ve been watching since Day One had finally come to its end. First on the line was The Amazing Race (Season 14). I didn’t expect that the challenges were that short but I really think that carrying a hundred forty pound of pig in relatively long distance is a tough task. Also, I did expect that the final task would be a puzzle, like remembering all those tasks, road blocks, and detours from the first leg to the latest.


Margie and Luke may have won the million bucks only if Luke didn’t commit a crucial mistake on the last two surf boards. Plus, I think his mind went into a bedlam state when he saw the arrival of Tammy and Victor. Then again, the former NFL cheerleaders, Jaime and Cara were STILL very unlucky on choosing their cab driver.


To conclude the fourteenth season of the race, Tammy and Victor won the million dollars, followed by the aggressive Jaime and Cara and the last but not the least, the first deaf racer of this season, the mother and son tandem, Margie and Luke.

photo courtesy of: CBS.com


As what the previous seasons have shown on TV, the eliminated racers will come to the top three teams and give them hugs and kisses, whether if it’s genuine or not. But the important thing is Tammy and Victor deserved to win the million dollars. Woohoo! Hurray for the first Asian team to win the award winning reality show, The Amazing Race.


Tune in for the fifteenth season of The Amazing Race. I think they have started filming the race already or they already have finalized the final set of eleven teams. CBS will air the latest season this fall or winter.



Next week, it’s going to be the season finale of American Idol. Ooooh yeah. May the best man win.

Wait…Did I say “man”?!

One Hot and Exciting Race

I can already smell the million bucks waiting in the finish line of the race, but the three remaining teams must struggle through different tasks, tricky directions and grumpy taxi drivers.



But before that, I was quite happy with the outcome of the race and dude, it was the funniest episode that I’ve seen in the show!


Let’s start with Jaime and Cara. They all thought they were about to win the first place. If I’m not mistaken, their highest standing in this season was only second, only a few minutes from Margie and Luke. When they arrived on the mat and when Phil announced that they were the first team to arrive on the “pitstop”, both of them rejoiced, for just a couple of jiffies. I couldn’t forget their faces when they received another clue from Phil. They were deeply disappointed because they all thought that they have won a special prize for finishing this China leg first. Too bad girls, but I guess the experience from joining the race is the most important thing.

One by one, the three remaining teams (Margie and Luke, Jen and Kisha and Tammy and Victor) retrieved their clues from Phil.

Beijing is an amazing place. But if you’re stuck on the middle of the bustling streets of Beijing and armed with only the English language, then it’s going to be a disaster. Now that’s the primary predicament of Jaime and Cara especially on acquiring a taxi and/or asking directions from the locals.

Tiananmen Square was really breathtaking, apart from the bloody protest back in 1989.

Images courtesy of cbs.com

Now the four teams rode an electric bicycle and headed straight to their next location. They found a clue box and it was a detour. In this Detour, teams had to choose between Beijing Opera and Chinese Waiter. The latter requires teams to address the orders of the hungry Chinese customers in MANDARIN while the former needs teams to dress like a princess and a gentleman (accompanied with heavy makeup) and present it to the opera master.

Tammy and Victor opted for the Chinese orders due to their advantage in the language. The three remaining three teams chose to have a Chinese makeover. Tammy and Victor finished their detour task quickly and went straight to the U-Turn, and made a right decision for they’ve U-turned Jen and Keisha. Imagine having them as the opponent on the foot race, the Chinese team wouldn’t outran the six-footer black sisters. This made Margie and Luke and happy and was very thankful to Tammy and Victor critical decision.


While Jaime and Cara struggle for directions and finding a taxi driver, Jen and Kisha suffered in their U-turn. Writing down phonetically what they heard, the sisters didn’t fare very well in their first recitation to the chef. Fried chicken became “Monthly use Taiwanese Chicken” and Kisha’s pronunciation of vegetarian noodles turned it into “Good western heads lack fish.” After a few more tries, Kisha & Jen finally received the chef’s approval and served the dishes to the waiting patrons. I can’t help but to laugh so hard on to the silly translations. Good thing, the chef wasn’t insulted by it. Lol.


The last task, which is the roadblock, needs only one member of the team to accomplish the task, and if you’re hungry, it’s going to be a perfect time to relish weird and alien Chinese delicacies – deep fried grasshoppers, starfishes, maggots and scorpions. It may taste like deep fried potatoes, but Westerners may find these to be weird. Even the Chinese team freaked out with the exotic street foods. Victor didn’t mind the food at all – gobbled the crunchy scorpions and went straight to the pit stop, the famous Bird’s Nest (Beijing National Stadium), used to be a stadium during the 2008 Summer Olympics and the penultimate and the tenth Pit Stop of the race. Tammy and Victor finished first and won a trip for two to Galapagos Island.


Meanwhile, Margie and Luke came in second place. The two remaining teams are still in the Chinese exotic food task and it was really a close fight. Because Jen drank four bottles of water, she really had to pee. So upon arriving in the pit stop, they first went to the porta-potty, wasting valuable amount of time. After a while, Jaime and Cara arrived on the pit stop and finished third, leaving the black sisters to be the last team to be eliminated on the race.


Lesson learned: Do not pee if you haven’t checked in to the pit stop.

And next week, I can’t wait for the season finale. Who will win the million dollars?!



The finish line of this race will be on Maui, Hawaii. I’m so excited!!! :)

The Future of American Idol 8

America’s much celebrated talent show, which is the American Idol, has finally come to its top ten contestants, thanks to the nationwide voting. Since the start of the elimination process the show had generated a whopping 65 million calls. This show started at around 2001 and it’s on its eighth season. People around the globe didn’t fail to give support on to this show. Likewise, those who have at least passed the audition are already considered lucky. But for those who have qualified to the Top 13, well it spells another thing. They get more benefits, more opportunities and most of all, they get LOTS of publicity. You already know America isn’t a safe place for celebrities when it comes to privacy. But who knows, these juvenile stars knew the consequences already. Like any other human beings who try to reach their goals or dreams, they must undergo series of predicaments, challenges and tribulations.

And now we’re down to the top ten. So let me have this quaint opportunity to evaluate them and probably make some predictions. :)


Adam Lambert. This dude is a bomb and I think he’s overqualified on to the show. So far he is the only contestant that I’ve heard to have a distinct voice even if he had reached an almost impossible high note that a human larynx can endure. He got his own style on singing. His forte: Definitely when he belts on the high notes, a distinctive one.

Latest Gossip: That he is gay. Actually, while surfing a good picture for his icon, I saw something that can actually prove that he is gay. He had tons of pictures locking is lips and tongue to his boyfriends or what. But who cares right? His sexuality is not that important to the show. As long as he got an appeal to the ordinary people, it won’t affect his career. Dude, he’s talented and his talent can’t be removed by any means.

Weakness: If he’s consistent on to the succeeding weeks, he has this tendency to become relaxed and people may actually see as if he’s not serious with the competition.

Prediction: Go straight to the Season Finale dude.


Allison Iraheta. This red-haired sixteen year-old teenager has an amazing voice. You couldn’t believe that this girl had a voice of a rock star. She always had a rock solid performance. For the past two weeks, she never fails to amuse not just the judges but the audience as well. Apparently this could be the reason on why she was on the bottom three this week. Her fans thought that she was safe base on her performance, probably they didn’t vote due to that unhealthy assurance.

Weakness: I haven’t seen her performing slow songs. Well let’s wait for her doing that thing.

Prediction: Probably Top Five or Six. There’s a high chance that she’s going to be saved by the judges, that is if she’s in danger.


Anoop Desai. He is the only Asian contestant. What’s good on Anoop is, he tries his best to impress the judges and the audience. But hey, he doesn’t need to impress the audience for he has this unique charm to the viewers, most probably brought about by the award winning movie Slumdog Millionaire. Likewise he is one of Randy Jackson’s favorites.

Weakness: Wrong song choice. Oh Anoop, please choose the right song and make sure that it fits you.

Prediction: He won’t make it to the Final 5.


Danny Gokey. He is one of the early favorites of the judges as well as the audience. Many were touched by the untimely demise of his wife a few months ago and his support to his best friend, Jamar Rogers. This Milwaukee resident is surely talented. He made the classic Hero into a heroic one. Although there are some rumors that he only got his fame through the sympathy of the audience. Well, in a good way he defended his own side, at least.

Weakness: Tends to become overconfident.

Prediction: America will be confused in the near future - Torn between two favorites…


Kris Allen. This small man had indeed a big voice. Girls (and pseudogirls, hehe) love him so much. Even Simon Cowell can’t believe that he’s already married. Singing ballad songs is his forte and Paula would definitely be blown off from her seat whenever Kris plays with his own guitar accompanied by his angelic voice.

Weakness: If he has difficulties on choosing the right song on a chosen genre for the performance week, he opts to sing a safe song. Sometimes this isn’t a safe maneuver.

Prediction: Top Three.


Lil Rounds. Or ‘little’ Rounds as what Simon Cowell had called her during the last performance week. This Tennessee native had what it takes to be the next RnB queen. Well, she is the hybrid between J.Lo and Beyonce. Lil Rounds’ name may be little but her dreams are very profound.

Weakness: She is a risk taker and wants to explore all genres and may this cause her early downfall in the show. But hey, she has the attitude of an artist. That’s the spirit!

Prediction: Between seven to four.


Matt Giraud. The wild-card who made it to the top ten. I was very disappointed when he sang Coldplay’s award winning Viva La Vida. Only Chris Martin can sing that well, even the famous Boyce Avenue’s rendition isn’t that good too! But the judges had already seen a great potential to Matt since the start of the show and I guess he deserved to be on the top ten. Likewise, he creates a Michael Buble-ish aura when he hits the piano keys. He got a great voice too.

Weakness: He may have the talent but I think some people don’t like his image and I don’t know why. He may have a hard time to please some people. Ouch.

Prediction: Between final eight to four.


Megan Joy. This Utah native poses uniqueness not just on to her voice but to her style of singing as well. She may not have the best performance but the audience and sometimes the judges love her so much. The reason? She has this so-called originality. She is indeed a singer as well as an entertainer. Her quirky moves were effective to catch the audience’s attention.

Weakness: She must be sick to have a great performance… Just kidding!

Prediction: Probably she won’t make it to the Final 5 or 6.


Michael Sarver. The oil-rigger-turned-singer has a delicate heart for his family. That’s why he gets his inspiration from them. He is such a nice guy and had a great vocals too. During the audition, the judges were quite impressed when he hits the big notes.

Weakness: Like Kris, he tends to play safe.

Prediction: Likewise, he may be the next one to be booted out of the show. Let’s wait for next week though.


Scott MacIntyre. He is the living proof that God is indeed fair. He may be almost blind but he is really talented. Likewise, he is a great pianist as well as a great vocalist. He reminds me of Jim Brickman and he can be the NEXT Jim Brickman of this generation.

Weakness: He tends to create his own world whenever he’s on his piano and I think he hates surprises. He tends to become boring if he doesn’t change his style if he still plays on his piano again, and again, and again.

Prediction: He may have the big chance to flare up to the final four or three.


So who’s your bet? Let’s wait and see ‘til the finals night. I think it will be this May.

But prepare for some big surprises on the show.

Disclaimer: This blog article does not reflect to the show’s outcome or the results of the succeeding episodes. This is purely based on the author’s point of views and fearless forecasts. Well, just so you know.