I Knew I Recognized That Pie!
In an attempt to motivate ourselves to lose weight, Debbie and I have been faithfully watching NBC's The Biggest Loser every week. Two weeks ago they played a home video of one of the contestants, Arthur, in front of his favorite pizza place, proclaiming it as "...the best pizza in Southeast Portland." It was a strange moment for me because I had no idea he lived in Portland but even before he said anything, the backdrop was eerily familiar. With a little help from Hulu and Google Street View, I got to the bottom of the mystery. As it turns out, Arthur's go-to pizza joint is just two blocks from where I grew up:
Oddly enough, I don't know anyone who has ever eaten at Hometown Pizza but I think Debbie and I need to try it out on our next "fat day". Hopefully we don't run into Arthur.
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Update: Debs and I have now lost 70 pounds combined and decided it was time to celebrate. We had the pizza last night and it was DELICIOUS. Although when I mentioned being on the Biggest Loser, the owner just sort of grumbled and walked away. Fair enough.
Survivor China Recap
Alright, so embarrassing as it might be, I still watch Survivor. I know, I know, everyone stopped watching Survivor in, like, '01, but I stuck around. And it's still entertaining a lot of the time but as everyone noticed 6 years ago, it's a little repetitive. You do have to hand it to CBS, though, because they tried to shake things up by introducing Exile Island. Their mistake was it was not the game's rules that were getting repetitive- I mean, we've been playing baseball for over 250 years and it's still not repetitive (well...I actually think it is, but the masses think I'm wrong :-)). People are repetitive and that's what the show is about. As a result, it's fairly easy to guess the winner and I have a pretty good track record as of late. Here's my thoughts on the new cast...
Jean-Robert Bellande
I hated this guy when he was on the World Series of Poker and I hate him now. Jean-Robert is very, very annoying. The thing is, though, that to be a poker player takes patience and strategy, and he wasn't a bad poker player. This is why I think he was probably acting when he was talking to Todd with his gut hanging out and telling him he didn't think he was a Flight Attendant. I think Jean-Robert is going to lie his way into the top 10 and probably get ousted somewhere around 6.Todd
Todd is going to make some friends and then he's going to totally freak out. He has the potential to make the top 10 but he has no chance to win. Oh yeah, and he'll cry on his exit interview.
Amanda
Wow.Frosti
Classic but way too nice. He's a hard worker and a cock-eyed optimist. I just don't think he'll have the cunning to make it to the end, but his athleticism will take him far. Top 5.James
Definitely a 3rd place finisher. He can't make 2nd because the jury would vote for him. He can't win because he's too quiet. Physical ability alone rarely wins Survivor and I'm afraid that appears to be all he's got. He'll probably end up being my favorite player, however.Dave
This guy is so dumb it hurts. I have no doubt he'll do fine as the leader of the second worst tribe I've ever seen (it's always the sign of a troubled tribe to vote off the hardest working member, although Chicken admittedly was not meant for this game) and probably go out around #9. By the way, his title is listed as "former model" but his bio says he is a bartender. So apparently he wants to be known as a model rather than a bartender...I'd probably keep them both a secret and instead just leave it at "Former High School Student" or something as generic.
Aaron
When I saw the words "Surfing instructor" flash across the screen, I immediately ruled him out. However, after hearing him talk for about 4 seconds, he seems to be a pretty level headed guy. I think he has exactly the kind of common sense that it takes to win this thing. He's my pick for number one.The rest don't really standout. My sister picked Erik, but I can't really say anything because I don't even remember him being in the episode. Well, I trust her judgment so he'll probably do pretty well. #2 will be a woman who flies low under the radar. I don't think it's Amanda and Jaime are too attractive to go unnoticed, Ashley, Leslie, Peih-Gee, and Sherea are too annoying, and Courtney is better than everyone else because she's a New Yorker. I haven't heard Denise talk but I have to assume she's going to go the way of the Chicken. Someone will have to surprise me, and I think it will probably end up being Courtney or Jaime.
