American Idol Shocker - Constantine Leaves!

Wow, how quickly the mighty are felled. Constantine Maroulis generated so much buzz with his performance of Bohemian Rhapsody two weeks ago, it seemed he would sail through into the top 3 on the basis of that single performance. Mediacorp Channel 5 even started airing an AI trailer that featured only Constantine; "His journey began when he left his band... He may not be the strongest vocalist, but he has charisma and star quality.... Watch Constantine Maroulis on American Idol." I don't recall any trailer that focused on other finalists individually.

And now, two weeks later, Constantine is leaving the show, receiving the lowest number of votes after last night's "Songs of the new millenium" show. I won't get into the conspiracy theories, even if I find it somewhat strange that he suddenly ended up with the lowest number of votes despite never being in the bottom 3 before.

I haven't thought very highly of Constantine's singing ability, and his over-the-top performance style isn't to my taste either. But I am sad to see him go, because he was never boring and made interesting musical choices, even if they were not always perfectly served by his vocal performances. Most of all, his off-stage personality is rather appealing. He is world-weary and blatantly seeking fame and fortune. I like that he isn't exactly coy about it and at the same time, has a city-slicker slyness about him. After so many seasons of AI celebrating the Southern girl/boy- done-good stories, it was nice to see an unashamedly urban New York son of Greek immigrants on the show.

Among this year's finalists, he came across as being the most intelligent and having the most subversive sense of fun. He seems to know the AI game and that it is a bit of a joke, but one that would benefit him to go along with. He wasn't always able to avoid poking fun at the show; when he wore a Justin Guarini t-shirt and sang a Partridge family song. You could say it was hypocritical to parody a show that he obviously wants to win. To be charitable, I think he realises how difficult the music industry is and he appreciates the opportunities that AI can give him, but he maintains enough self-awareness to know that AI is cheesy and something of a joke. I can respect that. It's better than your average fame-whore who would embrace the AI schlock machine whole-heartedly just because of what it can do for their careers. You don't have to unconditionally love something that is helpful to you; it's not hypocritical or ungrateful to admit that.

As a singer, he has been wildly uneven. I think he sounded great on his sing-out, better than he had sounded when in competition mode (except My Funny Valentine). Maybe his problem is that he overthinks his performances, rather than singing from instinct. That might come from being a bit of smarter than is good for himself. Despite his inconsistency, he has been far more interesting than any of the remaining AI contestants. The finale looks really predictable now; Carrie and Bo, with nobody else even coming close. Constantine would have made things interesting, if only because he could be counted on to do something surprising.

I wouldn't necessarily want to listen to Constantine sing myself, but I would really like to see him do well in his career. Good-bye, Constantine. You played the AI game cleverly, and I hope that great things will come from it.

Audio Review: American Idol Top 6

Theme: Songs of the New Millenium
Well, this is not promising. Popular hit music in the last 10 years hasn't hit many high points for me, personally. Whenever I listen to the Current Hits stations, I end up wondering how three quarters of the songs ever reached hit status.

Carrie: "When God-Fearing Women Get the Blues"
One phrase food-analogy summary: Overcooked, soggy noodle
A country song, done country style, which is right up Carrie's alley. I really don't like the tone of her voice; it always sounds so brittle to me, like it's on the brink of cracking. Once again, it made me think of severely strained vocal chords. On the last high "wooo!", where she was arguably not really singing and just exclaiming in a semi-falsetto, her voice sounded quite lovely. Too bad she doesn't sound like that most of the time. There was some character in her performance this time, she actually sounded like she might be having some fun. Not a whole lot of it, mind you, but we should be thankful for what we can get. She also lost her pitch on quite a few notes, so she fell short in the one area that she usually pulls off competently.

Bo: "I Don't Want To Be"
One phrase food-analogy summary: Budget-chain housebrand chocolate
This is supposedly a song currently on the charts. His voice got lost on a couple of notes in his lower register and he completely bailed on one high note (which I think he might have needed to either wail or sing in falsetto) and sounded rather scratchy on another. Vocally, this was not one of his better efforts, but there was energy aplenty and his voice sounded as solid as ever for the most part. The song, though, is not all that interesting, so the overall effect lacked a Wow factor.

Vonzell: "I Turn To You"
One phrase food-analogy summary: Reject batch pretzel
Wow, another really difficult song to sing. The first part of the song was disastrous; flat in many places and notes cut off due to bad breath support. The runs and modulations were particularly rough. She corrected course eventually and it ended far better than it started, although she cheated on the very last note. I like the sound of her voice, but this was not pleasant to listen to. The pitch problems were difficult to overlook, although she made sure to be on key on the high, held notes. I give her credit for getting it together at the end, and finishing off strongly. But she should stop being so ambitious with her song choices. She still does not have complete control over her voice to be completely successful at these types of songs.

Anthony: "Surrender"
One phrase food-analogy summary: Salt-free egg-white omelette
A really breathy and whispery first verse, which I found aggravating. When he kicked into the chorus (and got away from his shaky lower register), he was spot-on. This song was suited to his vibrato-free style of singing. The held notes were strong and clear, without signs of strain. His voice lacked its pretty head-tone today, but that was probably not appropriate for the over-wrought sentiments of this song, anyway. An excellent effort, if you forget about the first verse.

Constantine: "How You Remind Me"
One phrase food-analogy summary: Burnt hamburger patty
He's back to singing rock this week, and it's not a wise move. He does not have a voice suitable for rock, and his deliberate "dirtying up" of his tone sounded studied, rather than spontaneous. He was also completely off-key whenever he tried to inject the "scream" elements into the song. When he is playing rock star, his enunciation becomes damned near incomprehensible. So it was again tonight - I could hardly make out the words for half the song. What a contrast to the purity of tone he used in My Funny Valentine (I did not care for the way he interpreted the song, but his voice sounded good and was well utilised).

Scott: "Dance With My Father"
One phrase food-analogy summary: Sunken souffle
When he was in pitch, he sounded rather nice. When he went off pitch, as he did several times, it was rather excruciating. He has a good voice, but lacks technique. His singing sounded lazy and tired tonight, but I think that might be his own lack of experience with nursing and using his voice. He lacked expression and passion, which is something he usually has no trouble with. His vibrato tonight was also out of control, especially on the last note. That sounded like he was doing a thrill in an augmented fourth.

The Survivor Research Project: Ep 10

We have truly swung into the Koror story arcs, with this latest episode. It seems a little abrupt, as we have seen so little of them apart from Tom and Coby. I did feel that the edit for Janu came from nowhere, with the editors wringing a redemptive story line from her time on exile island. Perhaps if they had shown her mental deterioration a little more, her tribesmates reactions to her might have seemed more understandable. As it was, I got the sense that they wanted her to leave in a positive light despite the fact that she quit the game, to play up her role in the twist that saved Stephenie's neck during TC.

My personal opinion is that there was undue producer intervention, with Jeff Probst persuasively helping Janu make the decision to lay down her torch. I did notice that Ian was the first to make the suggestion, which might be a sneaky maneuver on his part to not vote for Stephenie while keeping Gregg and Jenn happy. However, we are actually shown very little about the strategies and alliances of the Koror members. Gregg talked about the threat posed by Stephenie, but was not shown discussing his longer term plan to remove the Tom-Ian axis, which he had been concerned about in earlier episodes. Tom spoke of his early alliance with Stephenie, Ian and Katie, but not about the specifics of how that is supposed to be maintained with Gregg and Jenn in the picture. The females are hardly shown to talk about strategy at all. For us as the viewer, it leaves room for much interpretation and speculation, which does keep up interest in the game.


ST: Screen Time ; Im: Impression Left ; Lk: Likeability

Caryn
ST: 1 (a couple of interviews about the reward challenge)
Im: 1 (where's Caryn in this scheme of things? She's the potential swing-vote that does not seem to be used? Or perhaps she has a super-secret alliance which has been kept away from the cameras?)
Lk: 2

Gregg
ST: 3 (strategising with Ian and Tom to remove Stephenie, a couple of confessionals )
Im: 3 (a very interesting confessional on what "deserving" means in the context of the game. He's thinking, but I am not sure if he's on the right track. If it's just him and Jenn, how are they going to overcome the Tom/Ian/Katie group?)
Lk: 3.5 (He shows that he understands that the game is not personal although it is social. He also made a great comment about the "Stephenie story", clearly thinking ahead to how the show would be edited after they are off the island. All very meta, and very highly-aware of the manipulated environment they are in.)

Ian
ST: 3 (taking a backseat role in the strategising discussions with Tom and Gregg, and being the first to mention the possibility of someone quitting during TC)
Im: 3 (a strong performance in the underwater cage IC, coming second to every-conquering Tom. He was also the one that Stephenie approached about the voting at TC, where he could not directly lie to her about her being the target.)
Lk: 4

Janu
ST: 5 (arguing with Katie, a whole segment about her time on exile island, many confessionals.)
Im: 5 (over-wrought and somewhat creepy, although classy and dignified in her departure. She will always be memorable for being the first person who made the jury to willingly quit, and for her unwitting foiling of voting plans.)
Lk: 2 (Despite the editing, I think she was somewhat whiny and overly dramatic. Jeff Probst wanted to make us think that the Koror tribe was being unkind to her when she bailed the IC, but quitting after 6 minutes was worthy of a more than a few giggles.)

Jenn
ST: 1 (shown gossiping with Katie about Janu)
Im: 1 (a bit of the popular Heather girl emerged this week, but not as strongly as I think the editors want us to think.)
Lk: 2

Katie - Koror
ST: 3 (gossiping about Janu, then complaining in a confessional about Janu's creepiness, and how Caryn and Janu ate the dessert they brought back from their reward challenge.)
Im: 3 (she is the sarcastic, mean girl of the group. She was also shown to be a pathetic challenge player, being by far the worst performer during the team tower building RC. Her team was slowed down entirely by her slowness and her lack of stamina.)
Lk: 2 (she's obviously of little worth in terms of contributing to camp life, and is of no use in challenges at all.)

Stephenie
ST: 4 (an impassioned plea at TC)
Im: 5 (tears at TC, showing distress at the thought of possibly leaving before Janu, who had declared her desire to leave. )
Lk: 2.5 (My conflicted feelings over Stephenie returned in full force during this episode. I think she's probably delightful as a person and I still respect her more than any female player in all Survivor series. But her sense of entitlement because of she showed "too much heart" is truly gag-worthy. She needs to understand that the game isn't always about being "deserving" and "worthy". I agree she's more worthy than the non-working females on Koror, but the other part of the game is strategic and social. She's well liked in Koror, but has not formed a close one-to-one relationship, which I think she needs to do in a great hurry.)

Tom - Koror
ST: 4 (strategising with Gregg and Ian, and a couple of confessionals about strategy, also confessionals about Janu and Caryn eating the food they brought back. Once again winning the IC, with a clever strategy of forming a snorkel with his hands. He also spoke quite a lot at TC about how the game isn't like real life, and how you might vote off people you like that in real life, you would like to keep around.)
Im: 4 (he's the superman of challenges, with strong performances in both the RC and IC. But I am not sure where he is going strategically. He might have pissed Stephenie off to his own great detriment, but I think that has a lot to do with the producer's intervention. If they had kept their hands off the intended voting outcome, the threat of Stephenie strategising next would be a non issue.)
Lk: 4

Next week: Stephenie plots with the women, possibly in retaliation after realising that her long-ago alliance with Tom/Ian/Katie might no longer be working. I don't know that it's particularly in Katie's or Jenn's interest to go along with this, though.

All this Talk is Bad for Business

I caught the highlights of the Parliamentary "debate" last night, which was expectedly focused on the casino. The theme for the evening seemed to be "Gambling is a very, very bad thing." I believe PM Lee might have said something about it being a pointless activity. The newspapers today have picked up this thread of thought, with multiple headlines decrying the act of gambling and informing us how to not be lured into the dark pits of the casino.

I know this is all very well-intentioned. It shows that the government understands that gambling is a social ill. This is a public service announcement for more and better education. It also serves to appease those who might have felt ignored when they voiced their concerns over the ills of gambling.

However, it's almost like shooting yourself in the foot. Here's the message being relentless drilled into the watching and reading public - "Gambling is bad. If you are smart, you will stay away from the casino." Well, that's all fine and maybe true, but it's hardly going to inspire confidence in potential investors. "Hey, come build a casino. Heck, build TWO casinos. Business will be GREAT!!! By the way, we are doing everything we can to keep people away."

I suppose the rationale is that the casino is not meant for locals. It's for tourists. The ones who are too dumb or not educated enough to realise they shouldn't be going to the casino. The ones who are imprudent and lack self-control. It's a pretty condescending signal to send out to foreign visitors.

I PERSONALLY believe that gambling is bad and a waste of money, but I don't agree that this is an universal truth. In economics, we speak of the "utility" derived from consumption. For people like me, there is no utility gained from gambling when there is only money going out and none coming in. For others, the process of gambling, of "buying a little hope" provides plenty of utility, which is not eroded one bit by their failure to win or to break even. The money spent in buying hope also buys them enjoyment, much as we might enjoy a movie or a foot massage, both of which we are willing to pay for. It makes people feel good for the duration of the experience. And if people can do this within their means, is that so bad?

I think the casino is a great idea for people who can enjoy the gambling experience in this way. And they should not be made to feel bad or stupid for this. The unbalanced assessment of gambling as being absolutely bad might put some people off. And these are exactly the people that are needed to make the casinos successful economically - which was the main reason why they will be built at all.

Audio Review: American Idol Top 7

This is another review of mp3s without visual distractions. I think it does reveal who are the singers vs performers and who are good at both performing and singing.

Theme: 70's Dance Music

Constantine: Nights on Broadway
As a vocal performance, I prefer this to last week's Bohemian Rhapsody, which I thought was very uneven. I think he kept on pitch much better this week. On the whole, he was drowned once too often by the band and the back-up singers, so the overall impression was not as favourable as it could have been. I also don't care for the slight screech in his voice when he transits to a high note "A ^Night^ on Broadway". It might be an artistic choice but sounds like a weakness in technique. Ruben did this back in Season 2, and I felt the song was much better suited to his wonderfully rich and mellow voice, compared to Constantine's.

Carrie: MacArthur Park
What happened to her sense of rhythm? She started the song a few beats behind, got back to speed for a while, and then lost it again. I heard some straining in the upper notes, and she was barely audible in her lower register. Did she arrange the song lower so she could belt out the high notes at the end? Bad idea, because it meant we could not hear her for 90% of the song. Finished witha string of sustained notes, which were quite well done, but these don't make up for the incompetently executed verses before. I think she was much worse this week than last week, when she sung while nursing an illness. She is usually technically very sound, so I think she just arranged the song below her tessitura and was struggling to control the low notes. I usually critique Carrie as lacking emotion, but I can't say that this time, because I couldn't hear enough of the song to make any judgement.

Scott: Everlasting Love
He has a pleasant tone, but not well-deployed in this song. He did not do enough to modulate and "colour" his voice, so the overall effect was dull. He was on-key this week, which is an improvement after the pitch problems he had in previous weeks, but it was the least heart-felt that I have ever heard him. For once, Scott sounded boring and passionless. This song has been done by Clay in Season 2 and Jasmine in Season 3. Scott's version falls between these 2. He lacked Clay's control over the vocal dynamics, but was far superior to Jasmine in terms of phrasing and pitch.

Anthony: Don't Take Away the Music
Great in patches, ordinary for the most part. He needs learn to introduce some vibrato to certain notes, to break up the monotony of his sound. I think his voice is very pretty, but it can lack variety. In this song, which in itself is rather dull, he was competent in hitting the right notes and keeping in tune and time, but was otherwise completely unremarkable. There was a sameness throughout the entire song.

Vonzell: I'm Every Woman
She doesn't back away from the difficult songs, does she? This is vocally very challenging. She was greatly helped by the backing vocals, especially in the chorus. A couple of the high notes were shrieky tonight and slightly sharp again, as has been her tendency. One low note was also slightly wobbly. It was overall rather impressive, because this is such a difficult and rangy song and she kept it together. She is also the type of performer that has an infectious energy that you can sense even just through listening. I do think she needs to learn to control her voice better and to find some musical identity.

Anwar: September
He sounded far more nasal tonight than he has in a couple of weeks. He also backed off from the high notes in the chorus (usually sung in falsetto) and allowed the back-up vocals to carry the melodic line. It's a bit of a cop-out to me. As with other contestants tonight, he was drowned by the band in certain parts of the song. He improvised an interesting end to the song, so it finished on a high. On the whole, though, this was very average to my ears. Tonight, his tone was not that pleasant to listen to; it was edging towards sharpness a couple of times, which was grating.

Bo: Vehicle
Started off a little weak and soft, and was drowned by the band. His lower register was unsteady in that first verse, with a couple of notes sounding like they were swallowed the moment they were sung. When he warmed up, the rich timbre of his voice, especially in his middle register, came to the fore. He showed good musical instinct in the way he inflected certain notes and words. I liked the last note, it was open throated and sensibly sustained, unlike the usual AI tendency to just hold the notes as long as possible, without paying heed to the musical value of that choice. One thing I wish Bo would do is to sustain his notes longer when modulating downwards at the end of phrases - I think this would showcase his voice better. Even in an upbeat song like this, I think that would improve the vocal expression of the song.

Worse of the night for me: Carrie, Scott (but I don't think Carrie is going anywhere near the bottom 2).

Why are they calling it a "debate"?

So, the green-light has been given for a casino (well, 2 of them!) in Singapore. Oh, sorry ... I meant to say "Integrated Resort", of which the casino is only a small part. Less than 5% of each IR floorspace will be taken up by the casino. I think I would like to know another figure. What proportion of investments is expected to be channeled to developing the casino part of the IR? I bet (haha, "bet", get it?) the figure would be a lot higher than 5%. Here's another number I would like to know. What proportion of the IR profits is expected to be derived from casino operations? Odds are (there I go again, with the gambling terms!) the figure would be closer to 95% than it is to 5%.

What I don't understand is why the media persists in calling the parliamentary proceedings a "debate" over the casino issue. Isn't it more or less dried and dusted and now in the process of a highly civilised discussion to ensure collective consensus? The word "debate" suggests opposing points of view. It hardly seems to apply here, when firstly, the go-ahead to build the casinos has been given, and secondly, everyone seems to agree that the analysis supports this decision. What exactly is being debated here?

All debate over this issue has been taking place in the last few months, in civil society and the public sphere. Opinions have truly been split on this and the discourse between parties has resembled real debate, with valid points being raised on both ends. The case against the casino has been largely social, the case for has been largely economics. Unfortunately, I think the decision hinged on choosing one over the other, which reduced a complicated issue to overly simplistic terms.

Now that the decision has been made, does this signal a victory of economics and money over social and family values? Certain petitioners who rallied against the casino might be tempted to think so, in their disappointment. I sympathise, but of the many aspects of national wellbeing that a government must provide for, I think the most crucial are legal and economics. These are the basis for jobs, health, peace and order. Social and cultural policing is as much the responsibility of the individual and family unit, as it is the government's.

I think gambling can be likened to drugs, tobacco and alcohol, in that it is potentially addictive and hazardous. Drugs are illegal (and trafficking is punishable by death in Singapore and Malaysia), but smoking and drinking are not. The ostensible reason is that the health hazards of drugs are far better established medically, than those of tobacco and alcohol. The cynic in me believes that might have something to do with the political clout of cigarette and alcohol manufacturers, especially in the US. That said, the point is this - drinking and smoking, which introduce toxicities directly into the body, are not banned. The social ills of gambling addiction are easy to anecdotise, but impossible to empiricise. Without indisputable proof, a secular government cannot deny its citizens their civil liberties and criminalise the act of gambling. And if a government is to allow gambling, it might as well reap the economic benefits of having a home-based casino.

Do I sound like a casino apologist? To be honest, I was leaning towards the "against" camp in the initial debates. In part, this was because I have little faith in people's abilities to practice self-control and not fall prey to the temptations of a remote "chance at glory". I don't know how much we understand about the psychology of gambling addiction. My hunch is that those who are succeptible will give in the minute the opportunities to gamble are presented, like a chemical trigger in the brain. Self-control might not even be a factor, because it's an intinctive response like animals fending for themselves in the wild.

It seems cruel to provoke these people who are predisposed to gambling addiction. The studies show that 55,000 Singaporeans fall into this category. This works out to around 2% of the population. Putting on my statistician's hat, we could argue that the likelihood of having a gambling addiction is no worse than having a peanut allergy. Peanuts are not banned because of this 2% of people who are allergic. To protect allergic people, there are food labelling laws to indicate all ingredients in food products. To protect potential gambling addicts, there are the proposed safeguards of substantial entry fees and family intervention. These are not perfect, but better than nothing. I suppose the point is that the problems of 2% should not negate the harmless enjoyment of the other 98%.

And yet, every time I hear about someone committing suicide after losing everything they own in a casino, it is hard to be completely objective. Therefore I remain sympathetic to those who oppose the casino, even whilst I agree with the government's decision.

See, a DECISION was announced yesterday in Parliament. A decision is not debated. A PROPOSAL is debated. And this passed the proposal stage ages ago. In fact, there are some who might say that it was never really a proposal, but a decision-in-progress, because it was economically inevitable.

The Survivor Research Project: Ep 9

They finally merged this episode, but not before some cleverly edited scenes contrasting poor Stephenie's solo struggle at Ulong and Koror's rumbles of discontent as people get on each other's nerves. On the one hand, the desolation of solitude, on the other, the despair of not having your personal space. Quite brilliantly handled.

Stephanie's arrival at Koror introduced a new element to the alliance forming. Coby talked up a storm but was not shown to do anything to try and break up the Koror 5 of Tom/Ian/Katie/Gregg/Jenn. In the end, the picture is not a lot clearer for us, as we are not yet sure where the Gregg-Jen part of the equation stands. Jenn wants to vote off Stephenie, but it is foreseeable that Gregg/Jen might need her vote to oust the Tom/Ian/Katie alliance, which Gregg had already seen as being at the core of Koror 5. Unless Gregg/Jen can get Caryn on board, where would the numbers come from now that they have lost a potential ally in Coby? Caryn is an unknown quantity in all these. She was close to Coby and yet she voted for him to go. I wonder if she has made an agreement that we had not seen. I am discounting Janu because tonight's vote showed that she is clearly not in the main discussions on voting strategy, although that might change next week. Unless she gets a second wind, though, she might not be interested in participating anyway.


ST: Screen Time ; Im: Impression Left ; Lk: Likeability

Stephenie
ST: 5 (lone Ulong survivor shown struggling to find food, tend fire, fetch water all by herself at camp, in the middle of alliance discussions after the merge)
Im: 5 (what a strong competitor. She confessed to being scared and worried about being alone, but never whined about it. Her relief and joy at learning about the merge was quite affecting. She was also thrown straight into the mix after the merge. )
Lk: 3 (I still don't care for her earlier displays of self-entitlement, but I have never respected a Survivor female player as much as I admire Stephenie. I give her a lot of credit for not breaking down and giving up, as many would have done in her place. Over at Koror, she made (or remade) friends quickly, and you could see that she could genuinely get along with these people in a way she couldn't with her Ulong tribesmates. Perhaps her failure to play the social game in her old tribe had something to do with this)

Caryn
ST: 0 (so strange that she is being kept hidden, although we are down to the jury now)
Im: 0
Lk: 2

Coby (voted off Ep 9)
ST: 5 (major bitching about everyone, especially Tom and the fishing/baiting incident, complete with dramatic eye rolling. He also figured prominently in the politicking shenanigams, with complete lack of subtlety in the way he approached Stephenie and poured out all the tribal secrets to her. It seemed he was ready to go down in a blaze of bitchery.)
Im: 5 (he's certainly a "character", if nothing else. He admitted to being cranky, which might have explained the uncontrolled bitching tonight, and probably led to his own demise)
Lk: 2 (I found him too much to take tonight. He was almost determined not to like anyone and could not accept even niceness as anything other than "kissing butts". I lost respect for him tonight.)

Gregg
ST: 1 (took part in the finish expedition, but otherwise quiet)
Im: 1
Lk: 3.5

Ian
ST: 3 (caught up in the whole "should Coby come fishing/ should Ian stay baiting" rubbish. Some commentary on Coby's huffiness and an amusing couple of lines at IC.)
Im: 3 ("I would take off my clothes for peanut butter and chocolate" - hahaha! An excellent mimicking, and possible mocking, of Jenna M and Heidi's infamous "strip for food" performance in the same challenge in Amazon. He has a sense of humour, this one.)
Lk: 4

Janu
ST: 1 (talked about by others, more than she talked. Was depicted as ready to go, which she readily admitted to during tribal council)
Im: 2 (memorable for seeming to be at death's door)
Lk: 2 (if she is ready to go, perhaps they should be merciful and let her go. She really seems to have given in, not even being able to muster up enthusiasm to greet Stephenie's arrival. Where are your manners, lady?)

Jenn
ST: 3 (shown talking to Stephenie, along with Katie. Interviewed about how she perceived Stephenie as a threat and her preference to vote her off early)
Im: 2 (she talked about something akin to strategy, for a change.)
Lk: 2 (A bit of the competitive, possible bitchy side of her was shown today, although she is right to feel threatened by Stephenie. I still think I know very little about her. )

Katie - Koor
ST: 3 (shown a couple of times geelfully participating in the gossip-mongering in an all girl gaggle with Stephenie and Jenn. Also a couple of confessionals talking about Coby's blatant seeking out of Stephenie, and explaining that Jenn wants to vote off Stephenie while Tom and Ian want Stephenie to stay.)
Im: 3 (she obviously is gregarious, and has a tendency towards exaggerated expressions and exclaimations.)
Lk: 2 (she's like the eye-rolling, always-talking friend who might be exhausting and irritating at times, but is generally entertaining enough that you don't mind having her around, even if she doesn't do much other than being entertaining.)

Tom - Koror
ST: 4 (involved in the fishing/baiting disagreement with Coby, a hilarious show of drunken falling down after too much rum and an IC win)
Im: 4 (it was quite funny to see mighty Tom stumbling about in a drunken stupor. Other than that, I think think he showed with the fishing/baiting incident that he has a certain deterministic streak in him, in that he sees that things should be done in certain ways for certain reasons, and he is not easily dissuaded)
Lk: 4

Previews for next week look fascinating. Someone will be sent off somewhere to live on their own if they are the first to bail from a challenge. I wonder how long that enforced exile would last. It'd be interesting if they sent that player to permanent exile as long as he/she is not voted off, only getting back with the rest of the tribe for challenges and tribal council. But surely that is too cruel even for Mark Burnett.

European Showdown in England

Juventus 0 - Liverpool 0

So it came to pass that one European Champions League semifinal will be played between two EPL teams. Chelsea vs Liverpool, in Stamford Bridge for the first leg, in 2 weeks' time.

What an over-achieving performance by Liverpool last night. I did not expect their defence to hold out so well against the joint Serie A leader, especially in Italy. I saw the match only in bits and pieces, but saw enough to be pretty impressed by the comparative lack of panic on Liverpool's part. Juve rather surprised me in their lack of penetration; it seems Benitez's 5-man midfield managed to choke their flow through the centre of the pitch.

This is not a great Liverpool team but this was a great achievement. They rose above their own limitations to beat a team that is, objectively speaking, superior in skill and organisation. That they did it with all their injury problems is doubly admirable.

There will be those who will question the quality of Europe's premier club competition, when a team can get so far despite being more utilitarian than it is scintillating. This is fair enough. There does seem to be something not quite right about having Liverpool and PSV in the semifinals, when Real Madrid and Barca did not even make the quarterfinals. If you had to choose two clubs from England to be semifinalists, you might have chosen Man Utd and Arsenal, for their entertainment value and quality of players, or Chelsea for their consistency. Liverpool would certainly not be on most people's lists. That said, I think Liverpool has played patches of scintillating football to get to the semifinals. This is not a great team by any means, but it is a team capable of great moments, which they have managed to produce at the right times. For that, I think their place in the semifinals is just as well deserved as Chelsea's.

(On a different note, I saw the post match interview with Sammi Hyppia and Jamie Carragher. Could Carragher speak any more quickly and in any longer sentences? He was the token Brit SkySports chose to interview and yet it was far easier to comprehend Hyppia, the Finn who speaks English as a second (or maybe 3rd or 4th) language. It was actually rather remarkable! Later on, when they interviewed Benitez, his speech pattern was by far the easiest to understand, although his grasp of English is definitely the weakest of the three. Very strange phenomenon.)

Audio Review: American Idol Top 8

The Internet boards are all abuzz about Constantine's performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody". People who have hated him intensely are suddenly jumping onboard the love-wagon, and in the case of some women posters, practically ovulating. I wondered what the fuss is all about. I have said that I don't alway like Constantine but I think my aversion to him could be mostly visual because of his tiresome pout and smoulder act. If I didn't look at him, I might like the way he sounds.

To test this hypothesis, I decided to take 20 minutes to download and listen to the mp3's, without having seen this latest episode yet. These are impressions formed entirely from listening to the performances, without visual distractions.

(I later saw the episode, and have appended further comments based on the visual performance in parentheses)

Nadia: When I Dream
Nice quality to her upper register and some good transitions between notes. Her lower notes have a nice throaty quality that goes well with the country-flavoured lilt of the song. That said, the song itself is not all that interesting, so her vocal improvement this week is rather wasted.
(Nadia looked great in her rather odd short red dress, but this song didn't allow her to play to her strengths as a performer. It's too slow for her to get into her move groove. The visuals did not change my initial impressions.)

Bo: Free Bird
His voice is always dependably solid and rich. But his low notes at the end of phrases got swallowed by the band. Rather dull to start with, but the middle to end sections were excellent. Vocally strong and true to the style.
(This was definitely a case where having the accompanying visuals made the performance seem far less exciting. Bo's mic-carrying, stage-stalking style has become predictable and he seemed to move with less energy than in the past. As a complete audio and visual experience, this was okay, but not exceptional.)

Anwar: I Know I'll Never Love this Way Again
Nice and controlled vocal projection at the start of the song. His voice in this middle register has a pleasant woodwind tone, like a clarinet. He deploys it well in this song and employs a nicely judged vibrato in the slow opening verse. Towards the end, he kicks it into high gear, as is his wont, with some embellished semi-melisma and a few held notes. The last note is great, even and sustained.
(I think Anwar has a very pleasant stage presence, but not an exciting one. I did like his outfit tonight, Renaissance Man meets Hip Hop.)

Anthony: Every Time you go Away
A song that showcased his lovely tone in his middle and lower-high register. I found his phrasing in the chorus rather strange, "You Go A -a -way". It made him sound like he was having trouble supporting his vocal projection, but I think it might have just been the transition down to the low note on "way". Good last note, but not sustained enough.
(Frankly, I usually cringe when I watch Anthony because I find his movements so cheesy and awkward. Not so bad tonight, as he spent most of the time just walking around and doing some hand-waving. No time for strangely uncoordinated dance moves involving the lower body, so much the better.)

Vonzell: Let's Hear it for the Boys
Her voice is really growing on me. She has a "black" voice, in that it carries with it reminders of old-time gospel and R&B. She sang this with great attitude, with phrasing that made sense, after a couple of weeks when she tended to modulate at strange spots. Her high notes also did not sound quite so "spread" and strained this week, although she was slightly sharp on ocassion.
(Vonzell was so engaging on stage, so full of energy and a sense of fun. She communicated her joy in singing to the audience and pulled us all into the song, not just the performance of it. I enjoy listening to her, but watching her is beyond enjoyable, it's joyful.)

Scott: She's Gone
Ouch. Weak opening verse, due to a very shaky lower register. He was noticeably off-key, which I think was down to not being able to reach the low notes and hitting something not quite in the vicinity. The chorus was great, though, very strong and powerful. Of course, this showcased his much stronger upper register.
(He really has zero stage presence and basically does nothing more than the ocassional finger jab in the air. Did nothing for me.)

Carrie: Love is a Battlefield
I have realised that I simply don't like the tone of Carrie's voice, although I do think she is technically sound and has good range and vocal "elasticity". Her tone lacks the richness and purity that I usually find appealing in female voices. Even when she sounds well, her singing is not pleasing to my ears. Tonight, she sounded like she was congested. Her high notes were strained and several times, she lost control over her vibrato. This is a rock song and she tried to dirty up the vocals with attempted growls and shrieks. Good try, but it didn't quite pay off. The whole time, I kept thinking "damaged vocal chords". It was a very effortful vocal performance. On the plus side, it was probably the first time that I detected any passion in her voice.
(I liked the look she had this week, with the dramatic rock star make-up. But what was going on with the ... I hesitate to call it dancing, as it would insult even the worst dancing in the history of bad dancing ... the shoulder-shuffling? She leaves me cold because her facial expressions and eyes register no emotion at all.)

Constantine: Bohemian Rhapsody
Vocally, this was very uneven. He started with a couple of beautiful notes in the first verse, then deteriorated into inaudible murmuring. When the song swung into its dramatic sections, his voice was suitably full of angst and he modulated his tone and phrasing to suit the dramatic intent of the song. At the same time, some off key notes crept in, which rather marred the moment for me. The soft ending was a bit of a mess, a couple of sor notes which he quickly cut short and corrected and a last note that wandered around several quarter-tones before settling on one which was still not quite the one he was looking for. It was certainly not boring, but I wouldn't buy an album of this kind of singing. Heck, I might not even bother with free downloads.
(What can I say? He got the theatrical Son of God lighting. With his frizzed hair silhouetted against the blinding white backlight, it was like a revival of Jesus Christ Superstar on the AI stage. I think these effects helped the performance, by making the vocal shortcomings secondary to the overall dramatic impact. The few times Constantine tried to smoulder into the cameras, the backlight was so bright, we could not see his face at all. I rather liked that part of it! I can see why people loved this performance; it was riveting to watch. Even though I am not sure I liked what I saw, I give him credit for livening things up.)

Pondering Pageantry: Miss Singapore Universe Pageant

I was flipping through the latest issue of 8 Days and came across their one page coverage of the Miss Universe Singapore finals, held 2 weeks ago. I was overwhelmed by work back then, or I would have said something about the pageant earlier.

There was a photograph in 8 Days that reminded me about the one thing that I was dying to comment about. For a change, it's not about how unimpressive or embarassingly inarticulate most of the contestants are (this is my usual sore point about local pageants in Singapore and Malaysia). The thing that most affronted my senses was the fashion parade during the announcement of the top 10 finalists. A few of the horrendous dresses are on full display in page 12 of this week's 8 Days.

I was not really paying attention to the whole pageant, so I might have missed some announcement about what the ladies wore during that segment. Were those clothes designed by some local top-notch designer, or perhaps by students in a fashion design school? The loud prints and clashing colours were in themselves already too much to take. What really pushed the dresses over the line from "ugly" to "hideous" was the way they were cut. These dresses looked like costume rejects for a retro-1960's musical revival. Yikes! I half expected to blink and suddenly see the ladies wearing their hair in foot-high beehives. I know that retro, vintage fashion is back in style now, but it certainly is not meant to look this BAD!

The garishly blinding spectacle was also not helped by the contestants' one-hand-on-hip pose. This was so cheesy and played up to all the stereotypes of beauty pageants being a meat market display. What was wrong with standing with the hands naturally at the side? Hand-to-hip poses work fine when modelling and that's about it. When the ladies were maintaining the pose for long periods of time as they stood still, I felt certain someone would get a muscle pull in their lower arm.

Away from the clothes, it was an enjoyable pageant to watch. The top finalists were satisfyingly articulate and gave intelligent answers. The questions asked in the top 10 round were varied and did not encourage the "world peace" type of response, which was a refreshing change. One contestant did try to insert a referrence to 'racial harmony' when asked about her favourite cultural festival outside of her own culture. She must have been studying her copy of "Answering Beauty Pageant Questions for Idiots, 1995 edition".

The final question was very good, too: "What is the greatest strength and the greatest weakness of a woman?". Actually, I was concerned that this might turn into an opportunity to parrot a oft-quoted line that they must learn in Beauty Pageant Basics 101 about how "women are capable of anything if they believe in themselves". A few of the answers were in the same spirit, but spoken without the cringe-worthy sentiment. Maybe they have revised those Beauty Pageant text-books!

Some questions that I wish they would ask in a beauty pageant:

"If you had to choose between being incredibly stupid and being horribly ugly, which would you choose, and why? (Please note that whichever you don't choose, it doesn't mean you would be the complete opposite. Ie, if you don't choose to be horribly ugly, it would just mean that you are conventionally unattractive.)"

"Which current world leader of a democratic country would you most want to kick in the backside? Why? What's stopping you?"

"If you had a chance to have dinner with three famous serial killers from the past, who would you choose and why?"

"What qualities do you have that would make you a good role model for young teenagers who aspire to become anime artists?"

"If you run for election and become Prime Minister of your country, which three campaign promises will you break in your first month in office? "None" is not an option, get real, young lady."

"If your hair could talk, and you could ask it one question, what would you ask, and why?"

"What do you consider more important, mascara or lip gloss?"

Resigned to the inevitable

Bayern Munich 3 - Chelsea 2 (Chelsea win 6-5 on aggregate)

Sigh. In the end, despite the scoreline, it wasn't really that close for most of the 90 minutes. Bayern Munich's rally just came too late in the game.

I wouldn't engrave Chelsea's name on that trophy yet, but they have a good chance of becoming finalists. Objectively speaking (and putting aside my dislike of their manager and the current "crush all comers" philosophy), it has been a good run to the semifinals. In beating Bayern Munich and Barcelona, they overcame legitimately strong teams that are leading their home leagues. It hasn't been a free pass by any means. However, I would say that the victories have been close, and they did lose both their away matches. They should be rightly proud of their achievement, but I don't think they have any cause to crow about their superiority.

The other match pitting Inter vs AC Milan yielded another likely finalist in AC Milan, although UEFA still needs to meet to decide if the Inter 0- Milan 1 result will stand after the match was abandoned with 19 minutes to go. The Inter fans had peppered the pitch with missiles, including one that hit the Milan goalkeeper. Those Italian fans are really passionate about their football! This probably does not bode well for Liverpools visit to Juve tonight.

Whither the Musical: American Idol Musicals Night

This is a bit of a belated rant on last week's competition episode of American Idol. It was "Musicals" night, a theme that I wish they had done back in Season 2, where singers like Clay, Kim Locke and Trenyce would have succeeded brilliantly.

I really looked forward to last week's show when the Internet grapevine buzzed that at long last, AI would have a musicals theme. I am unashamedly a musical theatre nut; I have watched the movie versions of Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Oklahoma! and West Side Story more times than anyone would care to count. I still know by heart the words to all the songs. I wore out my tape of the 10th Anniversary Les Miserable concert (and then replaced it with the VCD version) and I own OCRs of Sondheim and (gasp!) ALW (I think Aspects of Love is his finest work since his salad days of Joseph and the ATCD and Evita. I saw a great production of it in Melbourne, all impressionist colours and muted tones of nostalgia, dreamy fleeting scenes and emotive outbursts.)

Based on what we saw last week, I grieve for American musical theatre. Here were the top 9 remaining competitors in America's largest and most popular singing competition and between them, they could not muster up 2 performances that would pass as serviceable on a musical theatre stage. Many people would have little acquaintance with musical theatre, beyond the occasional high school production. This was an opportunity to introduce the glories of Broadway and the West End to the masses. It was an opportunity greatly wasted. If I knew nothing before about musical theatre, this would not have made me more interested to explore it.

I suppose what was even more galling than the subpar performances was the lack of knowledge about the genre. Contestant after contestant interviewed about how they were basically clueless about musicals. I know they are not to everyone's taste, but musicals were so essential in the development of popular music in the early to mid 20th-century, especially in America, when Broadway became the stage capital of the world. They are an essential part of American music history. It is sad that this year's contestants seemed largely ignorant of this heritage.

Scott sang "The Impossible Dream" for "Man from La Mancha". Vocally, this was one of his weaker performances. The Impossible Dream needs to be sung like a resounding clarion call, not like a gospel attempt at a preppy camp song. The point of the song is that it is about Don Quixote and his ridiculous, foolhardy adventures. We are supposed to knowingly laugh and sympathise (if we are of a kinder ilk) that the singer's dreams are inherently pointless, and the stirring cadences are both a tribute to his indomitable spirit and a mocking of his stupidity. A good performance of this song is one where the singer is superbly tongue in cheek or bombastically self-delusional, inviting us to laugh with and at him. In choosing to be so earnest about it, Scott made the entire performance dull and uninspiring.

Constantine did "My Funny Valentine" from "Babes in Arms". I think of all the songs sung last night, this was the one that worked best out of its theatrical context. Constantine has trained as a musical theatre performer and has experience in stage musicals. I think it told in his singing which was enunciated and projected like a musical number should be. He does have a voice that is suited to musical theatre, in that it has a glass-like clarity in his middle register. However, his interpretation of the song struck a sour note for me. "My Funny Valentine" is wistful, but he made if almost aggressively seductive. And the last note was noticeably off towards the end. I don't much like Constantine because of his mugging and the over-the-top smouldering looks he keeps giving directly into the camera. However, vocally, this was one of the better performances of the night.

Carrie sang "Hello, Young Lovers" from "The King and I". Sigh, what a beautiful, beautiful song. This was sung with such purity and charm by Marni Nixon (dubbing for Deborah Kerr) in the movie version. Carrie sung well enough and in tune, as always, and completely without emotion, also as always. The problem with this was that I could not really recognise the song at all. It was arranged and sung in a way that was rather far removed from the musical's version. The phrasing seemed really off and the song sped up and slowed down in weird places. I just found the entire thing really puzzling, and this was even without going into Carrie's inexplicably bad outfit. I think her voice wasn't really suited to a classic showtune like this. You need to have a clear soprano like Marni Nixon, or Shirley Jones, to sing "Hello, Young Lovers". Carrie's tone, while pleasant enough, is not quite right for these types of songs.

Vonzell sang the much oversung "People" from "Funny Girl". I loved this musical as a kid, but People has been so done to death that I was prepared to be bored, much as I usually like Vonzell. She hit the notes, and I think her voice is suited to the genre, especially in her middle register and the lower end of her higher register (her highest notes tend to be a bit "spread" and "shouty"). However, she chose to do the R&B diva version of People, instead of the Streisand-musical version. I think this is fair enough; it's a song that has been used in TV commercials, so it cannot have too many pretensions to "authenticity" anymore. Vonzell's singing was fine enough for the most part (except there was strain in several of the jumps to high notes) and there was an emotional connection between the performance and the song. I just wished she chose a different song. All in, this was commendable enough, but not much better than a performance by the promising star of a semi-professional theatre group. She's close, but not quite there yet.

Anthony chose, of all songs, "Climb Every Mountain" from "The Sound of Music". I already said upfront that I have watched this countless times, and I love the musical. I could sing Climb Every Mountain in my sleep. The thing is, I think it's the kind of song that is better sung in one's sleep, if you're not dressed as a nun in an actual staging of the musical. It just does not work out of context, unless you have an ingenious arrangement. Anthony's version was really unbelievably cheesy; there were back up vocals of a "doo-wop" variety and an incessant pop beat. I think that showtunes can be reinterpreted using other musical languages, but a boy-band "revisioning" of any song is a bad idea. Vocally, Anthony has had a few rough patches lately, and the trend continued here. His first verse was slighly flat and there was a persistent breathiness in his tone. He also flubbed the lyrics slightly. His voice usually has a pleasant, open quality that should make it suitable for musical theatre, but he was completely out of his depth this week.

Nikko performed "One Hand, One Heart" from "West Side Story". Another favourite musical that I know by heart. This song is originally a duet between Maria and Tony and is sung in a mock wedding scene. I have always thought of this duet as being hymn-like, composed by Bernstein in a way that called to mind a church procession; stately, solemn and sacred but never stuffy or stifling. Nikko's version was musically the most interesting of all the arrangements last week. This was a contemporary R&B reading of One Hand, One Heart. I felt that this in fact brought out the hymnal flavour of the original and maintained the integrity of Bernstein's intentions. Nikko's voice is the most traditionally suited to R&B, and he chose wisely to play to his strengths. There were a few off-key moments at the start when he was going into subtle improvisational runs, but he pulled it together really well at the end. The riffing was appropriate and the melodic line never disintegrated, as it could have in a sea of melisma. On another note, I really liked how Nikko was practically the only one who said he chose this song because he knew the musical and loved the song. (So, naturally, he was the one who received the lowest number of votes and left the next night. Sigh.)

Anwar sang "If Ever I would Leave You" from "Camelot". I saw the movie version of this when I was young, but cannot remember it much now. I know some of the well-known tunes from this, including "If Ever I would Leave You", which is sung by Lancelot in the show. It is a lovely song, but written without "oomph" highlight moments, so it is entirely dependent on a sterling performance if it is not to come across as somewhat dull. It's rather like a delicate Debussy piece, in that a poor performance can make the work seem less than what it is. I think Anwar's vocal performance was just decent enough to make the song seem pleasant, but not terribly interesting. He sang it consistently this week, unlike his tendency in the past to build to a great climax that tried to disguise his weak lower register. On this song, his voice was suitably clear and his phrasing was appropriate to the arrangement. However, his voice was unpleasantly reedy in the high notes and his interpretation lacked emotion, which is criminal when singing songs from musicals.

Bo chose, almost at random, "Corner in the Sky" from "Pippin". I am not familiar with this musical and it was the first time I had heard this song. I think Bo has a great baritone voice for his chosen genre - Southern rock. It could work well in the musical theatre context, if he chose the right song. I felt that he wasn't even trying this week. The intonation was lazy and unusually for Bo, he did not even finish off all phrases cleanly. This is especially jarring in a song from a musical, because you are supposed to be able to hear the words and to appreciate the rhythmic inventions of the song and lyric writers. In this performance, Bo did not choose to sing a musical theatre song in a musical theatre way. Worse, he did not bother to work out another way to do it, as Nikko and Vonzell had done. I think he should have tried to rock it out and really gone to town on the song. It would have been a marked improvement on what he did.

Nadia sings "As Long as he Needs Me" from "Oliver!". Here's another musical I love. We did one of the songs in my secondary school choir. Nadia has a great, rich tone to her voice, but very little range. This song also exposed her lack of breath support in sustained notes. She tended to cut off notes before she should, but she was astute enough to make these instances less jarring than they would have been in the hands of a less professional performer. What I liked about this performance is that she was the complete showman and turned this tragic number successfully into a torch-song. What I didn't like so much is that the singing noticeably compromised the soaring quality of the song. The last three notes are a plaintive cry, they are supposed to be held and sustained - "Heeee Neeeeds Meeeee". Nadia chose to do a big-band cop-out "He. (drum bang) Needs. (drum bang) Meee (cut short by lack of support)." When she wasn't doing this sort of thing, she sounded lovely. But singing of this level might not even get her a role in a regional theatre production, never mind the bright lights of Broadway.

All in, a really disappointing night. I suppose the "kids" were hampered by the lack of song choices as I am sure the cheapskates at AI were not able to secure rights to more recent musicals. I don't think that's much of an excuse though. I think this proves, if anything, that the Broadway thing is not as easy as some people have dismissed it to be. It takes talent to sing musical theatre, maybe more talent than they have in this year's bunch of AI finalists. The tragic thing is that I think this year's top 10 is possibly the most talented bunch all round in the history of the show. I will always have a preference for Season 2, which had a bunch of really good singers in Clay, Ruben, Kim Locke, Trenyce and Rickey (and Josh, who went downhill throughout the competition, but was really quite good early on and is now successful in country music). But that season also had Carmen and her uncontrolled vibrato, and Kim Caldwell who didn't so much sing as shout. This season, there is no Clay or Ruben or Kim Locke, but also no Carmen (S2) or Jasmine, Jon Stevens or JPL (S3) or Nikki McKibbins or Jim Verraros (S1). Just by the lack of completely bad people, this is a better group than they have ever had before. When they completely ruin Musicals Night, there really isn't much that is positive to be said.

The Survivor Research Project: Ep 8

The producers have actually allowed a tribe to dwindle down to 2 people and then to 1 single person! After seasons of undeserved bail-outs through tribe swaps and pseudo merges, this was an interesting and welcome development. I have to admit that it was almost painful to watch poor pathetic Ulong, down to 2 members and losing both RC and IC yet again. Then again, by stretching the team part of the game this far, the producers have, I hope, negated the probability of future players trying to do what the men's team did on Survivor Vanuatu - which was to vote out the strong players early and play the individual game from day 1. I think that part of Ulong's downfall was due to certain tribe members thinking too early about the individual game and not enough about how to work as a team. Whenever the challenges required teamwork, Ulong fell apart. I think it is telling that the 3 reward challenges won by Ulong were more reliant on individual abilities than on teamwork. So, while it is sad to see Ulong's downward slide, it is not exactly undeserved.

This episode also gave us a glimpse of politicking at Koror. Ian and Tom had a pre-split alliance involving Stephenie and Katie. I think the editors showed this to us to introduce the possibility that Stephenie will be safe for several votes after they merge (which should happen next week, if the jury still stands at 9 people). It will be interesting to see how they "protect" Stephenie, since they will not have the numbers to call the shots until they are down to 7 people. Will they throw challenges to allow Stephenie to win individual immunity? This would justify voting off others such as Caryn or Janu before Stephenie goes.

ST: Screen Time ; Im: Impression Left ; Lk: Likeability


Bobby John - Ulong
ST: 5 (one of the last 2 on doomed Ulong, there was really no choice but to give him lots of screen time)
Im: 5 (the episode title 'Neantherthal Man' was named after him! I think they showed a bit more of the gross side of BJ this week in preparation for his eventual departure. His performance at the gross-food reward challenge was also rather entertaining, in a disturbing way, when he stuffed five of the balut eggs into his mouth at one go. He also has the marvellous distinction of leaving the show without the "tribe having spoken".)
Lk: 3.5 (I think his exit was particularly gracious. His praise of Stephenie was unstinting and genuine and you could tell that he honestly appreciated the experience of playing Survivor. I think that he was probably too nice and honorable to have gotten much further, even if he had beaten Steph at the fire-making challenge to win the right to stay.)

Stephenie - Ulong
ST: 5 (tonnes of interview time, talking about life for 2 at Ulong, BJ's standards of hygiene and her trepidations about what was to come after the individual immunity challenge against BJ)
Im: 5 (she revealed her vulnerability this week, actually breaking down and crying when talking about how hard it was now that they were down to 2 people and still caught up in a long losing streak.)
Lk: 3 (I liked her a lot more this week, when her insistence on not being ready to leave finally came across as determination rather than selfish self-entitlement. I think it helped that she seemed resigned to losing if BJ could win the fire challenge, as he was admittedly better at that task around camp than she was. This week, her gutsiness and never-say-die attitude were shown in the best possible light.)

Caryn - Koror
ST: 0
Im: 0
Lk: 2

Coby - Koror
ST: 4 (bitched at great length about how dirty things were at Koror, and how useless the women except Caryn, are. Also given an unusual post IC confessional to talk about how he was picked on as a kid, and how proud he was to have contributed to Koror's success.)
Im: 4 (another great puzzle solving performance at IC. The shed tears during his confessional about his bullied past was also memorable)
Lk: 2.5 (I like that he has shown some real personality and is not an anonymous cipher, compared to someone like Janu and Jenn. I think the bitchiness could start to grate, but he appears to have reserved most of it for confessionals and have not shown it in front of the tribe)

Gregg - Koror
ST: 2 (participated in the IC for Koror)
Im: 1
Lk: 3.5

Ian - Koror
ST: 3 (talking strategy with Tom about their pre-split alliance with Stephenie, taking part in the gross food Reward Challenge)
Im: 3 (signs of fun times to come once things get to the individual part of the game. He seems gleeful about the prospect)
Lk: 4

Janu - Koror
ST: 1 (one short interview about wanting to gargle with the Scope forever)
Im: 1
Lk: 2.5

Jenn - Koror
ST: 3 (interviewing about Tom refusing to allow people to use the 55 gallons of water they won as part of the Reward for showering, preferring to preserve it for drinking. Seems to think that Tom could be endangered because of it.)
Im: 2 (the editing is doing her no favours. She's coming across as rather vapid. I don't think she necessarily is any more so than the other women, but the only substantive interviews she has given so far have been about showering and her relationship with Gregg.)
Lk: 2 (I think she could be substantially more agreeable than what the editing has shown, so the jury is still out)

Katie - Koror
ST: 1 (one short interview about Koror's amazing winning streak in IC)
Im: 1
Lk: 2 (she has a way of speaking that comes across rather smug, but the jury is still out on her too)

Tom - Koror
ST: 4 (taking part in the RC and looking like he really liked the balut, commandeering the fresh water and making no friends as a result)
Im: 4 (I think he has painted a big target on his back with his handling of the shower water situation. I actually thought he was quite diplomatic and didn't say out loud what he said during the confessionals - that the idea of using it for showering was crazy. But in the game, diplomacy or not, people will remember that he vetoed what they wanted to do)
Lk: 4

Next week - the long awaited merge? I think they will have to allow Stephenie to at least live with the Koror tribe, if she is part of the jury. Who knows, the way this season has gone, they may reduce the jury to 7 people. I thought it telling that Jeff didn't say "Congratulations, Stephenie, you are guaranteed a place on the jury". He didn't say anything like that to the Koror tribe either when they won the IC. Perhaps, in this "season of firsts", they are not quite done with the innovations yet.

All "English" Semifinals

Liverpool 2 - Juventus 1
Chelsea 4 - Bayern Munich 2

The first leg matches of the Champions League quarterfinals have been played. If these results stand, one semifinal will be an all "English" affair, pitting Chelsea against Liverpool in a repeat of the Carling Cup final. I say "English" in inverted commas because neither teams are particularly overflowing with English players, although three of Chelsea's four goals were scored by English players.

I am not be placing my bets yet for this "English" head to head to come to pass. Juventus is such a strong team at home and have a precious away goal. They need only score once, then kick into the "bank vault" style of Italian defending. Liverpool were rampant in the first half yesterday, but lack killer-instinct finishing (Barros is becoming criminally wasteful nowadays; my theory is that he is actually reflexively slower than he needs to be in the English game).

I think Chelsea's place in the semifinals is more secure than Liverpool's, as they are defending a two-goal lead and are defensively more sound. Bayern Munich might not have the firepower to break down this defence, even at home; and their own defence may well be breached again, if evidence from this morning's match is anything to go on.

I am half-hoping, but not really expecting, Liverpool to pull off this audacious upset over an objectively better team. They have had a rather good few days, getting that hard-fought victory over Blackburn over the weekend, closing the gap with Everton to one point. Then, amazingly, Everton lost to relegation threatened WBA. Suddenly, it's all to play for in the Premiership.

The Survivor Research Project: Ep 7

Ulong continues to lose, setting a record for most number of consecutive Immunity Challenge losses, in addition to losing another Reward Challenge. This latest episode continued the recent trend of showing the contrast between the well-fed, well-sheltered Koror tribe and the despairing, devastated Ulong members.

With Ulong reduced to 3 people, the editors found time this week to show more of the shenanigans at Koror. I think the editors chose to show scenes that further underlines the difference in camp life at the two tribes. Ian bringing home the giant clam, then Tom's impressive shark haul and the sunset-backdropped depiction of the budding "romance" between Greg and Jenn. Depending on which tribe member you ask, life at Koror is either being in an adventure camp or a paradise holiday resort. To top it all, when they won rewards, they got beef stew, an amazing Home Depot shelter and military food packages (including real food like spaghetti and meatballs). When Ulong won, they got a sewing kit and Pringles. Poor Ulong; they can't even win the right challenges.

ST: Screen Time ; Im: Impression Left ; Lk: Likeability

Ibrehem - Ulong (voted off Episode 7)
ST: 4 (lots of interview time; why had I never heard that Southern accent before?)
Im: 3 (much more of an impression this time out, as the one finally voted out)
Lk: 2.5 ( he grew on me this episode, coming across as basically nice, if rather dull)

Bobby John - Ulong
ST: 4 (strategising with Stephenie, lots of interview time, disastrous showing "calling" the IC puzzle, and his spazz run into the ocean when attracting the plane during the RC)
Im: 4
Lk: 3.5 (I love that he was so honest is assessing the Koror tribe as being smarter than Ulong. He also graciously gave way to Stephenie when it was obvious the IC wasn't working out, instead of losing his temper from frustration. And you really sympathised with him when his sense of honour was tested when he had to decide who to vote for. A gentleman, I think, brought up to have good manners and respect for others.)

Stephenie - Ulong
ST: 4 (interview time, then playing hard to save herself by talking to both BJ and Ib)
Im: 4 (neck on the line during TC, and left a really strong impression with her repeated insistence that it was not her time to go and that she was not ready to go)
Lk: 2.5 (I am conflicted over Stephenie. I like that she plays and works hard, seems to be bitchiness-free and has not resorted to any of the feminine "sex appeal tactics" of young female contestants in the past. On the other hand, she has a tendency to appear self-centred and self-entitled with her constant harping on how losing sucks and how she isn't ready to go. She seems to think that her physical contributions at challenges has made her "deserving" of the chance to go further. I think she shirks responsibility; she did not step up during the bathroom challenge 3 episodes ago; she should have stepped up to do the calling for this week's IC and she was obviously the best person to do it, but again, she did not.)

Caryn - Koror
ST: 3 (interviewing about Koror's strengths as a tribe, contributing during the RC)
Im: 3 (tried hard at the RC, attitude seems to have improved)
Lk: 2 (she seems less sourly disosed this week and genuinely happy to be part of her tribe)

Coby - Koror
ST: 4 (commenting on Tom's shark catch and Gregg and Jen's relationship; also the mastermind of the IC challenge puzzle.)
Im: 4 (a strong, calm performance at IC. And cementing his "fretting" personality during the RC.)
Lk: 2.5 (he's entertaining for now, but I hope the complaining and bitchiness does not get old.)

Gregg - Koror
ST: 4 (interview time on Tom, Jenn and the RC, was the muscle of the RC)
Im: 4 (a calmly reasoned analysis of his game plan vs his relationship with Jenn)
Lk: 3.5 (I liked him a bit more this week, for not getting caught up in Jenn's high school romance scenario)

Ian - Koror
ST: 3 (catching the clam, then being one-upped by Tom)
Im: 4 (a genuinely good natured response to Tom getting a shark after he only managed a giant clam)
Lk: 4 (I like his sense of humour and what he said about needing to get a "humpback whale or something" the next time.)

Janu - Koror
ST: 1 (looking ragged during the IC)
Im: 2 (comes across as physically faltering)
Lk: 2.5

Jenn - Koror
ST: 3 (shown in conversation with Greg about their relationship, interviewing to the camera about how focused he was on the game)
Im: 4 (finally, some glimpses of her personality, if an unfortunately "girly" aspect of it)
Lk: 2 (not liking what I saw this week, with the vapid comments about Greg being stand-offish. Gosh, woman, you are on Survivor, not The Bachelorette)

Katie - Koror
ST: 3 (shown working on the RC and giving the commentary on the signal they were building)
Im: 3 (established as the creative one. "Got Food?" was her idea for the signal)
Lk: 2.5

Tom - Koror
ST: 4 (catching the shark and talking about how frustrated he was not to be able to contribute to the RC)
Im: 5 (the man caught a shark, for crying out loud. With a machette, no less! This is like Michael Skupin catching a pig back in Survivor Outback.)
Lk: 4

I look forward to what will happen when the tribes merge, and the Koror members are forced to play the individual game. Will Coby come into his own? Or have the editors been hoarding clips of politicking by the other tribe members?