Amazing Race 7

POOL RESULTS

2005-05-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

Sarah 6900
Ami 6460
Tracy 6300
Jill T 6000
Jay 5600
Eric 5280
Dave 5110
Stephanie 4985
Ben 4970
Bari 4610
Caitlin 3930
Mary K, Robyn, Steve 3420
Erick 3180
Karen 2965
Mike 2800
Jill 2220
Liz 1730
Katie 1700
Chris 1624
Melissa 1590
June 1525
Kim 1110
Kristin 680
Allegra 520
Jack, Joanna 1
Curt, Jan, Jonathan, Judy, Lee, Mark, Mary / Anton, Samuel, Scott 0

The Amazing Race 7 Finale Drinking Game

2005-05-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

Hee hee!
Brought to you by Scrappy, Smitty, and Eric (who really needs a nickname):

Uchenna and Joyce get lost
Ron makes a reference to his military career
Rob gives the camera a shit-eating grin
You see a gnome ad
The Camera shows a close-up of the "Beauty Queen's" zit covered face
CBS shows an ad for Rob and Amber's wedding
Amber says something witty (and you down that drink, 'cause it hasn't happened all season!)
A racer says it's an Emergency (in any other language, including Mirnish and Charlades, which would then include doctoro, emergencia, and 'I have a sick child')
A racer says "we're in it to win!" (Duh)
Uchenna and Joyce say they want to win to get a kid.
Any "Survivor" References
Any Phil-worthy (by Phil or not) eyebrow pop.
If you see, hear the word, or even think about a MONKEY!

Finale Tonight!

2005-05-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

Saw a promotion this morning for tonight's finale.

Insert Suspenseful Voice-Over Voice here:
"There are Three Teams Left: Rob and Amber (Amber squeals 'Go Baby!'), Uchenna and Joyce (Uchenna exclaims 'That's what I'm talkin' about!') and Ron and Kelly (Ron states 'Go Fast').

I find it somehow telling that the most exciting sound-bite they could come up with for Ron and Kelly was Ron speaking dully about the most obvious thing one could talk about when talking about racing; speed. If that is most excitement you can must for the FINAL LEG then all I have to say is, "Bye Bye."

Where will Romber show up next?

2005-05-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

I already know. Too bad it's up against both the American Idol and Lost season finales!

What the Gnome Knows

2005-05-08T13:45:00.000-07:00

Or at least, what the gnome says. An article from Canada.

Week 11 - My Thoughts

2005-05-05T08:19:00.000-07:00

Well, the outcome of the pentultimate episode wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be, but I dug it all the same. The trail of the Race Boomerang continues as the teams head to London. And this is what I thought:

Meredith / Gretchen

You know, Gretchen, a boat is a lot easier to get into than an elephant. Why didn't you just jump on in?
You did smack your face into it, though, which was awesome. At least some patterns of behavior are continuing.
Um, brawn? Over brains? On second thought, never mind. I guess they did the best one.
I'm sad to see you guys go, I really am. But seriously, you became the Scott Savol of AR7--totally overstaying the welcome and getting by with those leprechauns in your butt or something. It was fun while it lasted!

Rob / Amber

I don't blame you for not knowing what a whirling dervish was (seriously, how many people besides me knew that?), but a topless woman? Eh, at least your cab driver appreciated that comment with an eyebrow pop worthy of Phil!
Amber, you dressed as Sherlock Holmes was my favorite moment of you from the entire season. Which is kinda sad, 'cause it was like a two second clip and all you were doing was walking down the street. I'm glad you've got Rob to make life interesting!
Your new friend Stuart was like the fifth or sixth local you've gotten to help you out and show you around. I mean that's all fine and stuff, but you've been ragging on the other teams about relying on each other. What is it that you're doing differently by relying on a local to get you out of a paper bag? And Uchenna wasn't even allowed to help Meredith with the Detour so...I'm confused.
Hey, Rob? Since you're on a travelocity sponsored show, I probably wouldn't have used expedia to look up flights from Istanbul to London. Hopefully I'm the only one who ever pays attention to the design of the flight matrix on those websites. You owe Jerome an apology.

Ron / Kelly

Ron "I flew a 35 million dollar helicopter -- I could have done the bus". Well, I seem to remember you mentioning at least one time during this season that you, uh, CRASHED that 35 million dollar helicopter. As far as I know, the only thing Kelly's ever crashed is probably a frat party.
Ron "You become a soldier and you don't have to deal with this [emotional] stuff." Good to know this means nothing to you.
Begging for lipstick, Kelly? I would have begged for some zit cream if I were you.
Ron "I think I've seen everything I want to out of Kelly on this race." REMEMBER THAT. And kick her to the curb when you get home. Thanks. Bye bye now.
"At least they speak English here." Man, do I wish you had been sent to Scotland. They speak English there, too, but I doubt you could have understood it.
Did any one else catch Ron say "Damn!" at the yield?! For our good ol' military boy, we know he was angry uttering that kinda language!
Kelly, your doodling on Rob and Amber's picture made me realize that you're just about as mature as the President you adore so much. Thank god you're a Republican.
Okay, you two. I understand you really don't like each other, and that your relationship is falling apart, but still, you are in the final leg and have a one in three shot of getting a million bucks. It's sad that all it looks like you talk about next leg is your interpersonal issue. Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!
Is anyone else wondering just how much money Ron and Kelly were able to get begging? The last time I checked, lorries in London are really-ass expensive.
Kelly "I don't know what straight is!". Actually, I think that's all you know. Bye bye now.
Hey, Ron--I have a book for you. Read it and run. But not like you did in Iraq.

Uchenna / Joyce

Hey, Joyce! You're bald.
Hey, Uchenna! You're bald, too.
Now, get some navigation skills and you'll be just fine next week.
But do something interesting so I have more to write about, okay?

Other General Thoughts

I loved the London Eye task. It was a hearkening back to my favorite task of Season 1. Except that was when the flag was Yellow and White, and was much harder to see.
But I think the London Eye was more interesting when it was sending alien messages.
Roadblock montage. I really wanted the background music to be "Oops, I did it again". But I don't always get my way.
Sherlock--Yea! A literature related task!
And a new Gnome ad. Seriously, it doesn't get any better than that.

That's it for today. Remember, send me your wagers before 4 pm Tuesday, and all will be well in the world.

BONUS - FINALE!!

2005-05-04T06:56:00.000-07:00

Because I really like this question, I'm going to ask it again as I did last season:

Figure out how many miles the teams have traveled up to this pit stop (Potter's Field Park, London). I will accept answers within +/- 2500 miles of the answer that I come up with (unless you have really excellent Amazing Race related documentation of how you came up with your answer, and then I'll use yours as the benchmark!).

GOOD LUCK!

Answer to Bonus - Week 10

2005-05-04T06:55:00.000-07:00

To answer this bonus, you first needed to realize that Turkey is famous for a good luck charm. That good luck charm is called the Nanzar Bonjuk, or Evil Eye.

Pool Standings - After Episode 11

2005-05-04T06:36:00.000-07:00

Jan (3) 3755
Stephanie (3) 3485
Sarah (2) 3410
Ami (2) 3190
Tracy (2) 3130
Chris (2) 3035
Jill T (2) 3000
Karen (2) 2965
Eric (2) 2880
Mark (2) 2810
Jay (2) 2800
Curt (2) 2755
Judy (2) 2735
Scott (2) 2710
Mary / Anton (2) 2650
Lee (2) 2630
Dave (2) 2555
Allegra (1) 2510
Ben (2) 2465
Bari (2) 2305
Joanna (1) 2250
Kristin (1) 2080
Samuel (1) 1990
Caitlin (1) 1965
Jonathan (1) 1960
Robyn (1), Steve (1) 1710
Katie (1) 1700
Mary K (1) 1670
Erick (1), Melissa (1) 1590
Jack (1) 1540
June (1) 1525
Mike 1400
Jill, Kim (1) 1110
Liz 865

Episode 11 - Player Standings and Roadblock Count

2005-05-04T06:34:00.000-07:00

Rob / Amber 205 (11 episode total: 1165)
Ron / Kelly 55 (11 episode total: 865)
Uchenna / Joyce 85 (11 episode total: 985)
Meredith / Gretchen -145 (11 episode total: 340)

Roadblock Count

Meredith 6 / Gretchen 4
Rob 6 / Amber 4
Ron 5 / Kelly 5
Uchenna 5 / Joyce 4

"Mandatory Rest Period" Defined

2005-05-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

Just how long is that mandatory rest period. MSN answers your hard-hitting questions.

Who?

2005-04-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

At the risk of being hubristic, the next stop in London made me look up some pictures of when Jan took me on an "amazing race" to Europe in 1974. It was a combination of survivor and amazing race. We took the "Europe on $5 & $10 per day" tour. Jan got $5 or $10 per day & I got squat. No food, no drink, no sleep, Jan's middle name may be Gretchen!

2005-04-27T18:10:00.000-07:00

London, Russell Square, 1974

Episode 10 - My Thoughts

2005-04-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

Well, here's my overriding thought on this leg: HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH!

Meredith/Gretchen

If you watch the Insider Video from the episode where Gretchen and Meredith got all their stuff taken away, you will see that Gretchen was sad to have to give up her calculator. That would have come in handy on the scales!
Jerome. Jerome the Gnome. I love it. Thanks, Meredith.
You know, what is it with the older team having issues finding the clues on this show?
I've finally decided what Gretchen's problem is. She has absolutley no internal dialogue. Instead, every thought inside her head just comes spilling out of her mouth. It's like that totally painful scene in About a Boy when Marcus starts singing "Rainy Days Will Always Get You Down" in the middle of class. Except when he did, I felt really really bad. With Gretchen? I'm just annoyed.
Except when she comes out with these gems like, "Only 58 kilo? God, a lightweight." That was awesome.
The thing I do like about this team is that they did acknowledge at the end that they've really gotten as far as they have because of stupid mistakes made by other teams. But no one ever said that luck wasn't part of the game. Meredith must have a whole family of leprechauns up his butt!
Major props to Gretchen for doing that roadblock. I was joking when I said it before, but maybe she is what Joss Whedon's looking for.

Rob/Amber

Hubris.
I think Rob's horseshoe finally fell out of his ass, making room for Karma who must have been watching Solyaris or something and otherwise occupied, letting him get away with all of his little tricks up until now.
Or maybe he's like Walt, making things up in his head and then BOOM! they just appear! Seriously, how did Rob not find out about the earliest flight?
After all the comments that Rob made about Meredith and Gretchen and Uchenna and Joyce, I hope he's having fun eating some humble pie.

Ron/Kelly

Schadenfreude.
I was having fun replaying the conversation between the cameramen at the Pit Stop: "Dude, guess what Beauty Queen said to POW today?" Oh, was that great.
Props, Ron. Good on yeh. You might be a little funny. A little dumb, but a little funny.
Do you think Ron was resisting the urge at the detour to call out "H-7? You sunk my battleship!" I was.
Kelly: "We're in second place and gotta catch up!" Well, catching up is for sure!
Maybe they should spend the $20,000 from Travelocity and Ron can take Kelly to Baghdad and see if she's committed to their return ticket or something (there was more of a joke there, but I'm struggling with the wording today).
But there's the biggest question: Will staying in the Four-Star suite for the night completley throw Ron off his game because...it's not like Baghdad?!
Ron, thank you for providing me with my favorite scene of the episode. When Rob and Amber were checking in at the Pit Stop there you were, all on your own, standing on top of the tower searching the skies aimlessly for the key. I'd maybe, um, check the WALL in front of you or something. I don't know.
HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH. Bye bye now.

Uchenna/Joyce

Why is it that I really like you guys but I never have much to say about you? You ran a good leg.
Uchenna--good thinking telling the people in the street to keep their coats on keep holding their bags!
For all that head shaving, you only had a TWO minute lead over Ron and Kelly leaving the pitstop. That's, like, cutting it close. I'm glad you extended your lead this time.

Some other general thoughts

I love gnomes. How great was it that they had to carry the little guy all over Istanbul? Way better than either Kodak Easy Share task 1, Kodak Easy Share task 2, T Mobile task, or AOL Task.
Why didn't anyone call out "Have Fun Storming the Castle"?!
And, last, why are they going to Turkey? Seriously? And I don't think I'm spoiling anything (because you can see it on the preview video for next week on the CBS site) that next they go to ENGLAND. Um, isn't this supposed to be a "race around the world"? Maybe that's why Phil is saying that phrase so fast at the beginning of the show, like "a...racearoundtheworld" because he has to say it, but he knows it's not true. It's more like a big boomerang trail. Really really far, and then it comes back right at you. I don't understand boomerangs, either.

That's it for today!

Week 11 BONUS

2005-04-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

Next week is almost certain to be the last elimination leg, getting us down to the final three who will run to the finish line. What should team members find and wear in Turkey to help them get there?

Good luck!

WEEK 10 Bonus - ANSWER

2005-04-27T06:51:00.000-07:00

Well, people found many, many reasons why Hindus and Indians shave their heads! Here is a smattering:

A rite of passage for children around age 3 in order to divide them from their animal (i.e. hairy, natural) state.

When someone was widowed (male or female)

When a father died, his eldest son would shave his head

To speed up the time to get to Nirvana--each hair shaved was equal to buying one cow for your God!

POOL STANDINGS - After Episode 10

2005-04-27T06:13:00.000-07:00

Jan (3) 3370
Sarah (3) 3215
Stephanie (3) 3140
Tracy (3) 2975
Karen (2) 2965
Ami (2) 2930
Chris (2) 2855
Jill T (2) 2740
Eric (2) 2615
Mark (2) 2550
Jay (2) 2500
Judy (2) 2475
Scott (2) 2450
Curt (2) 2445
Mary / Anton (2) 2390
Allegra (1) 2385
Lee (2) 2340
Joanna (2) 2300
Dave (2) 2245
Bari (2) 2165
Ben (2) 2135
Kristin (1) 1875
Caitlin (1) 1840
Samuel (1) 1785
Jonathan (1) 1755
Robyn (1) 1655
Mary K (1) 1615
Erick (1) 1535
Melissa (1) Steve (1) 1505
Katie (1) 1495
Jack (1) 1485
June (1) 1440
Mike 1400
Jill 1110
Kim (1) 1055
Liz (1) 1010

Episode 10 - Player Standings / Roadblock Count

2005-04-27T06:11:00.000-07:00

Uchenna / Joyce 160 (10 episode total: 900)
Meredith / Gretchen 100 (10 episode total: 485)
Rob / Amber 90 (10 episode total: 960)
Ron / Kelly 70 (10 episode total: 810)

Roadblock Count

Meredith 5 / Gretchen 4
Rob 5 / Amber 4
Ron 5 / Kelly 4
Uchenna 5 / Joyce 3

Jerome the Gnome

2005-04-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Last night the Travelocity gnome made a guest appearance on TAR in the cutest cross promotion I've seen in some time! [Unlike the movie "Fever Pitch" aka "The Apprentice 3" with its shameless Marquis Jet product placement]. Did you know that the TAR appearance isn't Travelocity's 1st unique promotion using the gnome? Read about it here and here.

Travelocity isn't the first to borrow the globe-trotting gnome idea from the Gnome Liberation Front. Remember Amelie?

Think the gnome is so cute you just gotta have one? Rumor is, you can have your very own for only $10.

Gnomes aren't your thing? This monkey has racked up some frequent flyer miles of his own!

Will it ever end?

2005-04-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

The Rob and Amber debate continues...and continues...

What about Jon?

2005-04-25T06:55:00.000-07:00

Kelly Parks, of "Kelly and Jon" from TAR4, needs to update her IMDB profile to include "Olivia Cruise passenger" from last night's episode of "The L Word."

Farewell Lynn and Alex

2005-04-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm having a hard time with their departure from the race! Here's a great article with my boys!

http://www.tvguide.com/news/insider/

Episode 9 - My Thoughts

2005-04-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

Well, that was a doozy. If you think about it, that leg started in Botswana where there was a long wait before their charter to Frederickstown, where there was another long wait before their flight to Mumbai, where they had an overnight layover before flights to Dehli and then Lucknow, a roadblock and detour in Lucknow before seeing Phil, then waiting roughly nine hours before a twenty-four hour train ride, then push a 600 lb elephant through the crowded streets up Jodhpur before going to ride camels (or get your head shaved if you're Joyce) and then running up to a pitstop. Finally. What is that, a four day leg? Crazy.

Lynn/Alex

I'm sad to see you boys go! But at least Lynn can get his facial products that he's been missing. While another team has been missing everything they brought with them the last four legs.
I did appreciate that you learned some Hindu, though. You guys actually made India look fun (that's the first time that's ever happened in the Race!).

Meredith/Gretchen

I'm voting for these two to become the new Centrum Silver spokespeople. Anyone want to start the petition?
Gretchen, Gretchen. Did you see anyone else hop of the back of that elephant? What, were you hoping there was an engine or jet pack up in that saddle? Or a steering wheel? Now that I think about it, it was probably better for you to be up there out of the way (too bad it didn't stop your voice. Seriously, you were like bagpipes on that leg--loud, dead weight).
You know, it's kinda funny that when we had both a broken ox and a broken elephant, one of the team members kinda forgot that they could help out on the task.
Meredith, "I think those guys are gay." Gretchen, "Well, that one that helped us was pretty cute." Hee hee.
These two actually have a fairly good chance of becoming one of the few teams (if not the only team) in Race history to reach the final three without ever coming in first in a leg. And that's a huge feat.
My new guess is that Meredith and Gretchen fly to India at least three times a year and get their heads shaved. How else do you explain this luck they're having?!

Rob / Amber

I knew Rob was an evil genius just like me. He won't go see scary movies, either!
Rob, you're skating a thin line with "It's a tough job organizing Indian labor". I know you work construction and all at home, but watch it, buddy.
I think I know Amber's camel's name: LEX.

Ron/Kelly

Kelly at the camels: "That hurt my bottom so bad but it was so much fun!" Wow. I could say so many things to that, but I think it's better I just keep them in my head.
I believe we finally had Ron's first non-military reference episode! Didn't the camels remind you of Baghdad, too?!
I did find it odd that the couple with the least amount of chemistry were the only ones sharing a bunk on that train, and those bunks didn't look too big, either.
I can't not comment on Kelly's little "you're a committment phobe and got out of the army by being a POW" comment. I must say that comment reminded me of Baghdad--a little Shock and Awe! But really, really funny all the same and I laughed all the way home about it.

Uchenna/Joyce

You know, it's not like Joyce had to do it. No one was pointing a gun at her head (just a razor).
I am officially dubbing these two the new Bald Snark. Get your funny on, guys, so you can live up to your predecessors!
I don't know. If I was a producer of the show, I would have had a prize at the end of this leg for coming in first. That was a very big and brave thing to do.
Oh, and Joyce officially kicks Brandon and Nikki's asses.

Other Random Thoughts

Wow, that wedding looked like fun. I kept thinking maybe they would turn out to be extras in this movie.
Okay, creepy man giving out clues on the train! In the middle of the night!

That's it. Sorry this was short. I just didn't have much to say today. If anyone would like to add anything, feel free!

Week 10 - BONUS

2005-04-20T06:45:00.000-07:00

Well, okay, I had to ask about the head shaving.

Name three reasons directly related to India or Hindu why someone would shave their head.

Good luck!

Week 8 Bonus - ANSWER

2005-04-20T06:32:00.000-07:00

The practice of predicting the future through tea dregs is called Tasseomancy. Many people found the answer Tasseography but, because of the actual meanings of the suffixes, Tasseomancy was what I was looking for. A Kite in the tea leaves symbolizes good luck, wishes coming true, something along those lines.

Both Karen and Sarah received the double bonus for finding Ron and Kelly's new team name: PRAISE THE LORD AND PASS THE AMMUNITION. I mean come on, how perfect is that?!