Sunday, October 23, 2011

Survivor South Pacific E6: Other Coach Things

I admit it. I was wrong about Mikayla. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, we can move on…except we actually can’t. I wasn’t completely wrong about Mikayla and why is a demonstration of the intricacies of Survivor editing and analyzing it. Her edit was extremely crafted for an important purpose. Namely, it tells us a lot about Coach’s story and his chances of winning (hint: they plummeted drastically). This episode could have been the Dragonslayer’s key mistake that costs him the game. I’m just unsure if the same can be said for Upolu. Thus, I’m left to ponder if Upolu is Zapatera to Savaii’s Ometepe or instead Coach's downfall is this season’s endgame.

Actually, the better question is which leader's strategy (Coach or Ozzy) is the heavier weight on the seesaw that will tip the advantage to his tribe for good? As Probst has continually reminded us and reality has demonstrated, the challenges this season have gone back and forth. Starting in episode one where Savaii won reward and Upolu won immunity, the tribes have exchanged the immunity idol every other challenge. This episode saw Savaii reclaim it from Upolu, will the trend continue next episode? Attempting to induce the next challenge winner from past results is bad reasoning, but doing it based on the content of the episode is not—and it’s hard to deny that this episode didn’t look too great for Coach or Upolu.

After Tribal Council, Probst said: "Loyalty, as honorable as it may be, is not always the answer” which was followed in Mikayla’s final words by: "I'm just going to laugh if the next challenge is something physical." The former quote refers back to an early Coach comment from—well, almost every confessional he’s ever given really. Even early on in this episode, he gave a confessional about his relationship to Brandon, "I want to play this game completely honorably." Coach’s honor was even put on the line this vote when he had to choose between staying loyal to Edna or keeping the stronger Mikayla around. The former quote refers back to Mikayla’s constant edit as the difference maker in the challenges, which was once again emphasized in the “Previously On” segment through showing her “getting dirty” for the piece of ham Rick drop, the couple ounces that won the challenge. What does all of this mean? The editors are falling back on their favorite device, ironic mockery—and the words of some of our key characters, Albert, Brandon, and Coach, fill in the blank as to exactly how.

Albert took on the role of the dissenting voice this episode, which is especially interesting because he has previously been established as Coach’s #2 and the voice of reason on Upolu. The majority of his story this episode was attempting to keep Mikayla in the game, a plot that ultimately failed. His words are what really stood out though. As he argued for voting based on strength rather than loyalty, almost every line he said seemed to be foreshadowing. Multiple times he told people that the next challenge is make or break and if they don’t win it they’re in a terrible spot. He also informed them that Coach wants to keep Edna because he thinks she’ll listen to him, but she’s smart and that a smart person who realizes she’s the sixth in the merge will act desperately. These assertions bring attention to the affects of the vote on the next immunity challenge and Coach’s future in the game. When at tribal council Albert says that loyalty can be faked, he’s right. Even Brandon knows it.

Brandon may have been acting like a Hantz, but he had the same analysis as Albert. Though he still voted for Mikayla, he acknowledged that Edna was acting too sweet not to be playing them. It makes it especially ironic that he didn’t keep Mikayla around as he went on his Bible Belt Christian rant at tribal council about how even a half lie is a lie. Are we supposed to like Brandon? Are we supposed to hate him? It doesn’t matter anymore. What we’re supposed to see him as his an unstable element, kind of like Uranium in the hands of an Iranian. He’s going to blow up eventually, something that became apparent as his anti-half-lies comment directly clashed with Coach’s comment earlier in the episode that a half lie isn’t really isn’t a lie.

This divergence, and the first step towards the fruition of the continued foreshadowing of their split, makes it even more chilling that Brandon and Coach exchanged I Love Yous after Mikayla walked away. This episode began with Coach echoing Mikayla’s observation that you can’t get past seeing the Russell Hantz in Brandon and ended with Coach taking Brandon’s nonsensical side in voting out Mikayla. The symbolism here is clear, especially when considered in conjunction with all of Albert’s comments. By siding with Brandon and choosing loyalty and honor over strength in challenges, has Coach doomed his game? It’s interesting to consider that his character has actually reached a place that it can inspire such a discussion. Coach is finally being treated like a serious Survivor player, but there are dangers that come with that. When you’re a comic relief character or prophet, you’re one note. Everyone knows what to expect from you and appreciates you for it. However, when you’re an actual character, your complexity makes you controversial, and that more often than not means you’re being used as a fable.

The similarities between Zaptera last season and Upolu this season are numerous and disturbing. As Russell became the icon of a fable, so has Coach. As Zapatera made a key mistake that cost them the game (story wise), it seems as though Upolu may have as well. Over the first few episodes, Coach talked about how important winning challenges is and then voted out the girl who, in the story, was shown to have won them three challenges, that he himself called strong one episode. Why? Because this isn’t about Coach Things anymore, it’s about Other Coach Things: his arbitrary definition of honor that completely drops context (and alters his perception of reality, as he denied Mikayla was valuable beyond the first challenge). Coach’s application of his philosophy of honor and strength has been put directly in the crosshairs. If he truly cared about honor and strength, he would think about what those mean in each situation he’s in. Instead, he makes a promise and sticks with it, regardless if the other party doesn’t deserve his consideration anymore. In Heroes vs Villains, it caused him to not vote out Russell even though it made much more sense to honor Boston Rob, one of the strongest players in history, than Russell, one of the most duplicitous players in history. Rob, as it is recorded, was voted out that episode. Coach followed him out the next. This season, Coach once again stuck to his arbitrary promise to a Hantz and voted out the stronger player that even the Hantz acknowledged was stronger. Will it cost him as it did in his previous game? That is the interesting question.

Coach mentioned not wanting to repeat Heroes vs Villains as he saw the Russell in Brandon. The storyline may lead to him doing so. He has voted out Mikayla after he said how important immunity challenges are. His alliance is divided. Savaii looks as if they are bonded. It is completely conceivable that Upolu loses the next challenge. Who do they then vote out, Edna as the sixth? Hold on there. Sophie and Albert know Coach has the idol. What if the little dragon finally hatches like in the first season finale of Game of Thrones? If Sophie leads a blindside of Coach to flush the HII out, a major plot line and its foreshadowing would be satisfied. Factor in that Edna would want to try and save herself and that Coach said "[Edna]'s the one person out here who I think would lay her Survivor life down for me” and the irony that the editors love is invoked once again. And to round out the hypothetical, there is one last fact to consider. Christine is waiting for Coach on Redemption Island. If she were to beat him, return, and join Savaii at the merge, Upolu would be, in Zaboo terms, Zapatara’d—and Coach would once again be the player no should listen to. It’s almost too perfect not to happen.

Hold on a second though. Coach’s Survivor strategy isn’t the only one being put on trial this season. Ozzy’s calmness is the ironic center of Savaii’s firestorm and we can’t ignore that his leadership style was made to look so much worse than Coach’s in episode one. However, we also can’t ignore that Savaii’s side of the seesaw rose once again this episode, and it was due to the sudden flipping of Ozzy’s position in and treatment of his tribe.

In another moment of possible major foreshadowing, in their makeup scene, Keith told Ozzy, "We can either tear each other apart or unite as a tribe and win two in a row." It was the beginning of the return to the cool, calm Ozzy from the whiny, hissy-fit Ozzy that merged after the last tribal council. After his conversation with Keith where they also said they could run all the immunity challenges until the end (interesting possible foreshadowing considering how important challenges have been made out to be this season), Ozzy apologized to the rest of the tribe, uniting them and leading to half of Keith’s comment coming true. Savaii won the first of the next two challenges. Interestingly, in the “Previously On” segment, Ozzy was again highlighted saying, "It's all about keeping us as strong as possible." Clearly he is on Albert’s side of the debate (understandably, of course), which makes all this challenge foreshadowing so strong and the parallel stories between the tribes so obvious.

By now it should be an accepted fact that Cochran is to Ozzy as Brandon is to Coach. The success of the former is dependent on and at odds with the latter. In other words, if Ozzy fails, Cochran succeeds and if Coach fails, Brandon succeeds. Every time Coach seems to be doing well, there is a flash of Hantz in Brandon that causes rifts in the alliance, yet Coach keeps him around. Every time Ozzy seems to be doing well he focuses on strength and makes Cochran a target. Cochran even acknowledged this dynamic himself stating, "The less pleasant [Ozzy] is, the better it is for me." And he was right, especially as he was at his most likable yet calling Ozzy out on being a “little bitch.” Of course, by cognate, Ozzy’s reconciling with the tribe in the episode can only be a bad omen for Cochran. Still, the redhead’s story continues to trend upward as he overcame his sweater vest yet again by sliding down the rocks. It was an interesting detail that convolutes the story. Cochran’s success seems to be a major arc this season, but it is also at odds with Savaii’s success, as that is linked to uniting around Ozzy. It makes me wonder if we’re going to see a cross-tribal alliance post-merge, especially as the final parallel to Upolu convolutes matters further.

Whereas Albert is the other leader/mastermind of Upolu that Coach doesn’t listen to, Jim is the other leader/mastermind of Savaii that Ozzy was shown “listening” to. I put listening in quotes because he didn’t do so directly but rather was shown to in the editing. Albert talked strategy with Coach but was unable to convince the returning player to change his strategy. In a confessional, Jim stated the strategy Ozzy should change to (apologizing and uniting rather than being a free agent) and Ozzy went about doing so, much to the returning player’s success. Will the inverse hold true for Coach, Albert, and Upolu? We have now come full circle as that is the question I began this column with, and it’s also what makes this season so interesting

The strength of this season is how difficult it is to prognosticate a winner. It's the opposite of Redemption Island as this story isn't about a dominating performance, so anyone who says he knows who wins is either trying to fool himself or fool you. (More on this thought in a "making of" column released soon.) This episode was a perfect demonstration of why. Over much of the season, and very strongly in the first episode (which is always important), Coach and Upolu looked strong and Ozzy and Savaii looked weak. Suddenly the story has shifted and recent foreshadowing seems to point to Savaii succeeding because Upolu fails. Are we really supposed to believe Savaii’s sudden unity is genuine and not another high on the seesaw? And what does that mean for wunderkind Cochran, besides the fact that he gets to stick around? So many of the answers will be revealed by the result of the next challenge—and the audience thinking and feeling that anticipation is the mark of an enthralling narrative. The next chapter should always be the most important one. I’ll be more sure of who wins then, but for the sake of tracking now, here are my top three Jacob-esque candidates:

Sophie – If anyone wins on Upolu now, it’s her. Coach is on borrowed time, Albert’s story isn’t a full season arc, and Brandon has been made out to be too much like Russell to win. The only question is if she was prepared in episode one (which she arguably was). She is a non-mastermind and I’ve leaned towards one winning since the beginning of the season. Plus, if Coach really is screwed and Edna switches sides, Sophie could benefit greatly.

Dawn – The problem with Dawn is how unprepared she was in episode one. However, she is a non-mastermind with a strong story. Has she already had her redemption though with that challenge win?

Jim - The anti-Jean Robert, Jim had a strong episode one edit that fit the being prepared theme. Episode two seemed to be a chink in his armor as Keith seemed to be the one controlling things and not him, but Jim has since been shown as correct in both his analysis and strategic response to it. If a mastermind wins this season, it will be him, as his comment about Ozzy being the perfect post-merge teammate for him sticks out in light of Keith’s comment to Ozzy about their running the immunities post-merge. If a mastermind wins this season, it will be Jim. I’m just convinced one (or a Savaii) does yet.

90 comments:

Anonymous said...

YAY! I love your blog dude. Thanks for the well thought out post.

I daresay, without your blog I'd probably just be another casual Survivor fan.

Anonymous said...

Great analysis of Brandon, "He's Uranium in the hands of an Iranian." lol! For someone who was solely cast as a relative of Russel, Brandon has a lot of character, whether it be good or bad.... It would be very interesting if he won.

Oliver said...

Are we really giving up on Mikayla? I was terribly upset when she got voted out. I'm still convinced she would come back and reunite with Sophie and Albert and run it.

But then again, your foreshadowed demise of Upolu might be true. Sophie's comment last episode stood out to me, "Christine is the worst person to come back from Redemption." Also, you brought up a lot of good points about Mikayla's edit being tied to Coach's twisted reality, twisted honor, and wrong decisions. Mikayla's story might be over here. She has now become Delilah in terms of having caused the downfall of Coach. But I don't want her to be done yet. I've become too invested in her as a great Survivor player.

I'm glad to read your columns, man. I've been looking forward to this since Thursday. LOL.

Anonymous said...

Being of Iranian decent, I found the comment "He's Uranium in the hands of an Iranian" incredibly distasteful and quite racist. I have been an avid reader of this for a long time now, but do not believe I will any longer. Thanks for the interesting reads, they were great. Not so much any more.

Jayemel said...

@Anonymous #1: Thank you for the huge compliment. I can't begin to express to you how much it inspired me to read it. I'm glad you've enjoyed what I've written and hope you continue to.

@Anonymous #2: I don't know much about how they cast the show, but I seriously doubt they would cast Brandon solely because he was Russell's nephew. As you pointed out, he is good for television and a great character. In some ways, he is the perfect character for Survivor, especially at this point in its history. How does a player deal with the knowledge that playing the game like Russell is very effective but basically evil? Brandon is the inner conflict that question creates personified.

@Oliver: Where would Mikayla go from here? What loose ends are there left to tie up if she were to come back from Redemption Island? I agree that it's conceivable that she could come back and align with Sophie and Albert. I certainly wouldn't be surprised if she did that and even took it all the way to the victory. However, I wouldn't be intellectually honest if I said that was the most likely scenario. Though it might make sense for the story in a way if the person that gets redemption doesn't need it. I also want to be clear that I didn't even think Mikayla was going to be a great Survivor player, just a winner. Those two categories don't necessarily go together.

It's rewarding to hear you've been waiting for my column since Thursday. Thank you. I worked hard on this edition.

@Anonymous #3: If one small throwaway joke can make something of value completely invaluable, how do you consume any media or interact with any person? In my experience, there is always something distasteful or irrational going on. The only way to avoid it is to lock your doors and stay inside, but that of course is irrational.

As for the racist accusation, I'm sorry you feel that way, but there is a large difference between making a joke based on generally held collectivized concepts and judging individuals solely based on their race or ethnicity.

George said...

GREAT analysis. And great rebuttal to the "racist" comment. If that person is a devout reader of your blog, they should have assessed by now the type of person you are and the way you think. Their loss. Seriously.

Polonium said...

Lolololololololololololololololololololololol
pwnt

Jayemel said...

@George: Thanks for the positivity and support. You know it's always appreciated.

@Polonium: Who are you again? I forgot.

The Real Polonium said...

The person who posted as Polonium above me was not actually me.

BUT I AGREE WITH HIM 100% LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL T.EARS.

The ACTUAL Real Polonium said...

The person who pretended to be the real Polonium was not actually me. However, I do completely agree with their sentiments

LOLOLOL U GOT PWNT LOLOLOL ARE THERE TEAR.Z???

p.s. Andrea is a g.oddess most high <3.

Mariano Man said...

Great arguments SM! You tell it like a true Rob fan! I'm pretty confident that Jim is going to win myself (75% or so) but Coach is definitely still in the running as well.

But have you given any thought to Albert? It's definitely an outside shot, but if Coach truly does meet his downfall, why couldn't Albert be there to pick up the pieces and run with his edit? He's not my top pick or anything, but he's still got a better shot than Cochran who people are still latching onto. They must see themselves in him!

Polonium said...

Obviously the second Polonium is the real one. I'm not a fan but that post made me ~get~ him <3

Anonymous said...

Well, at least you are on a... errr.. "righter" track now. Mikayla winning is VERY unlikely, but she could return and wreak havoc in a post-merge situation (fulfilling her role as the "Delilah" to Coach's "Sampson").

I definitely agree with Jim or Dawn winning.

A nice read as always. If you weren't so damn stubborn about certain things, people wouldn't have reacted so childishly though.

~Lexxan~

Jayemel said...

@Mariano Man: I don't see Coach winning. I also didn't pick Jim out of any philosophical desire for him to win. After the most recent episode, I just thought he had the best chance to win.

As for Albert, he is my favorite player this season, but clearly has no story. He is more of a themeless plot device than a real character.

@Lexxan: The purpose of Brandon calling Mikayla Delilah was only to demonstrate Brandon's incorrect perception of her, which builds and adds to Coach's mistake as Coach was all concerned about Mikayla's loyalty when she would have been more loyal than Edna will be.

Yog said...

I know you are more concerned with the dialogue/comments and how they point towards the future story, but have you looked at the symbolism of the cool Upolo colours versus the warmer Savaii?

It seems to my eye that whenever we see Savaii it is sun-drenched, warm vibrant beaches - there is possibly even filters added on the cameras. Over in Upolu's camp, there is a lack of lush greenery. We see rickety branches and greyer skies.

We see at the start of the series Savaii as the fun-loving sunbathing tribe, while Upolu has been clearly divided - and even now are divided within their majority alliance.

Even when Savaii are arguing, it's light hearted and fun (think Cochran's jokes), and when Upolo are having fun, it's at the expense of one of their own.

Anyways, do you read anything into this colour based symbolism? The contrasting approaches to fun between the two tribes?

Maybe the tribe that plays together stays together..

(Predicting a Christie/Cochran/Jim F3 here btw, I'll expand on that later)

(even down to the buff colours, though ofc they could not be pre-determined)

Anonymous said...

Post your analysis in Spec, or are you too much of a pussy to face the fact that you were wrong?

Anonymous said...

PUSSY

Anonymous said...

TROLOLOLOL

Anonymous said...

U FAIL

The Real Actual Polonium said...

Let's be honest. I'm a fucking retard. "Fucking kill yourself" is what I should be saying to myself. I apologize for all my shit. Sorry SM :(

Anonymous said...

U MAD?

Dora said...

PWNT!

Im surprised you're responding to these comments. I guess there's no way to know if they have over 500 posts, but they aren't essay responses! omg! You're a condescending twat.

Dora.

Rattana said...

Unbelievable. I actually agree with something Polonium says. I hope he does in fact kill himself.

SM, you really should come back to sucks. There are a lot of trolls and shitty posters (like Homonium) but trust me when I say you have more fans than haters. We just maybe aren't as vocal. Don't mind Trollonium. He's just an attention whore.

Anonymous said...

Trollo in 50 times the poster you will even be Rattana <3 Get out of here Rattnna you dick-sucking asshole!

Rattana said...

Fucking kill yourself. Pussy using anonymous account. Speaking of how annoying Polonium is, "FUCKING KILL YOURSELF." Get some new material. Funny how you bring up dick-sucking when talking about Polonium. He knows a lot about that.

I don't know why everyone kisses his ass.

Oowatanite said...

:eyes :eyes :eyes :alien :alien :eyes :eyes :alien :eyes :alien :alien :alien ...............................

100% Legit Actual Polonium said...

Rattana, you must be functionally retarded if you think the comment where "I" apologized to SM and told myself to "fucking kill myself" was actually me.

Fucking kill yourself.

Dora said...

Rattana, please FUCKING KILL YOURSELF.

Jayemel said...

@Yog: Interesting observations on your part and certainly something I've been passingly aware of. I think you're sort of correct in that Savaii is shown as the sun drenched fun loving tribe. Here are just a few issues I have:

1. The editors don't get to choose the location. It's not a set they build. The players build the shelter and it may just be that the Savaii put their shelter in a cooler location.

2. If any filters are applied to the cameras, that is done WHILE shooting, way before the final result is known. It's possible the director/producer may have said "Savaii is more fun loving, use Filter A," any statement on what that fun loving means to the result of the game is made by the editing in post.

3. I still struggle with the idea that Ozzy's laid back have fun approach was pretty much openly mocked by the producers and the only reason Savaii has been shown to have a modicum of success is because Jim hatched a plan, Cochran was an enthusiastic opportunist, and Dawn proved she was a legit contender (storyline wise). So why go through all the trouble to make Savaii the fun loving relaxed tribe and mock it only to have them win? Is it just to destroy Ozzy?

@Rattana: Thank you for your kind words. They mean a lot. Keep in mind that what I am doing is extremely intentional and part of a greater scheme.
...Or maybe they're right and I'm just ashamed and afraid. :)

Anonymous said...

There is no 'grand plan' you wanker, its clear you're just a pussy.

Everyone Agrees said...

Rattana is a festering sore on the lip of humanity.

UlongWinsImmunity said...

Ahahahaha u fail you fucking dumb piece of shit. I will be back next week to shove this down your fucking throat again once Mikayla gets pwned on redemption island ya fucking cunt.

Jayemel said...

Whoa, it was all mildly amusing until the above comment. I'm not deleting it so people have concrete evidence as to why I stopped visiting the message board known as "Survivor Sucks."

It's just Survivor analysis. Chill out.

Christine Shields said...

AHAHAHAHAHAH SARAHS MONKEY MIKAYLA JUST LOST THE DUEL AND IS OUT OF THE GAME FOR GOOD.

ETERNAL T.EARS FOR YOU. ^_^

Rattana said...

See this is prime example of Sucks retard morons. Polonium the dumbass tries to go back on a post he made that we CAN ALL SEE. Trying to say "that was the other Polonium" or other things he tries to pull. Strange coincidence that the hate posts I'm suddenly getting all come from "anonymous" users. I'm surprised none of them told me to kill myself.

Anonymous said...

RATANNA SUCKS DICK

Rattana said...

POLO I AM SO SORRY. FORGIVE ME FATHER FOR I HAVE SINNED. LET ME FELLATE YOU PLEASE SARAHS MONKEY <333

Linesinaconversation said...

You are all being very irresponsible and should be ashamed of yourselves. Especially you Polo. For shame. It would be nice if you could all apologize to Sarah's Monkey. Stay strong gurl <3. Keep those chins up <3.

Linesinaconversation 2.0 said...

What the actual fuck. The comment above is not me. I would be insulting Polonium, Rattana and SM... Way to get the voice completely wrong.

Anonymous said...

holylol

RyAn MaGnEr 87 said...

I LOVE YOU SARAH MONKEY MARRY ME

RyAn MaGnEr 87 said...

uR a PiEcE oF sHiT iGhT??$$ uR pRoBaBlY a WoMaN aNd WoMaN HATE!

RyAn MaGnEr 87 said...

together we can become SarahiNaMaGnEr :P

SirCrocodilep said...

True.

Anonymous said...

This is becoming better than most threads on sucks lately <3 <3 <3 <3

Also kind of funny that linesinaconversation just happened to be here three minutes after an "impostor" makes a post as him

Anonymous said...

Sarah do u spit or swallow?

YemaGirl1988 said...

DON'T FEEL TOO BAD ABOUT YOUR WINNER PICK LEAVING SO EARLY. MY CONTENDERS WERE SEMHAR AND STACEY. LOL.

Anonymous said...

Actually you should feel bad.

You got pwnt.

Anonymous said...

Sarah iz U a fyne piece of ass

Anonymous said...

iGhT

Anonymous said...

Why is somebody impersoniating me on the internet.

This is RyAn MaGnEr btw.

Jayemel said...

I never thought a comment thread on my blog would turn into a version of the flaming wood meme. Continue.

Anonymous said...

Continue I will!

ElmoEmo said...

Mikayla was a shitty winner pick. Girls are the worst players evah and there hasn't been a women winner since Parvati.

Anonymous said...

heh.

Rogersballer15 said...

i actually think Mikayla could win just from her edit.

Anonymous said...

Don't worry SM, I think there will be an outcast twist.

Jayemel said...

Btw, I don't know if that was really SirCroc, but that's my favorite post.

Rattana said...

This comment thread would be epic if not for the worthless presence of Rattana.

What a turd.

Anonymous said...

Is that confirm?

Lexxan said...

holy LOL @ the entire comments section :lbf :lbf

Jayemel said...

I eat poop for breakfast.

Panurge46 said...

LOL Cochran wins

The Real Dora. said...

Um why are people impersonating me? This is the real dora, the other people claiming they are me are not. Stay strong SM <3.

p.s. PWNT

Lisman said...

Hey I don't agree with everything to say but i respect your opinion. What do you think of Cochran? I have a good feeling he can make it really far. I also think he has potential to be a very interesting character. What do you think? Do you agree? He looks like he will be getting an villain edit next week so that should be interesting.

The Real Actual Dora said...

STFU UP LISMAN GO FINGER YOUR CLIT OVER COCHRAN SOMEWHERE ELSE

Lisman said...

Interesting opInion but I disagree honestly. But how do you feel about David Murphy from last season? I wanted him to win, he was my favorite and a good strategic player.

Lisman said...

To Dora sorry

Dora said...

GTFO LISMAN GO FINGER YOUR ASSHOLE ABOUT DAVID MURPHY SOMEWHERE ELSE

doratheexplorer said...

Okay seriously THIS is the real Dora and this isn't funny anymore. Please stop commenting and pretending to be me, I would never be rude to lisman like that. Please stop.

Lisman said...

Aw thanks Dora. I was surprised at you acting like that. People are getting rude and out of hand. I hope Jay Emel will still come back because I really want to hear his input on Cochran.

Anonymous said...

Yeah I don't buy linesinaconversation's attempt at getting attention. First of all nobody would care enough to pose as him. Then he coincidentally is here three minutes after the supposed faker. You're full of shit dumbass bitch

Linesinaconversation 2.0 said...

Believe what you will (probably) Polonium, but as I was discussing this hilarious comment-fest with several other people at the time that it was posted, it is quite likely that one of them was the impostor.

Also :lbf at Dora, both the real and the fakes.

Rupert Boneham said...

RAWR!

Anonymous said...

FEET (L)

Polonium (P.S. Andrea is a G.ODDESS) said...

Lines, you c.unt. That wasn't me. :alien

Anonymous said...

Not sure if I should feel sorry for you, JML. You left PoS, then you had to leave Sucks because of haters. I don't condone but I don't blame them either; you've been so arrogant and condescending on your posts on both groups - you reap what you sow.

Jayemel said...

@Anonymous: Your "feeling sorry" would be based on the idea that I "had" to leave--or, in other words, was forced out. No one banned me, booted me, or held me at gun point. I left of my own free will. The only "force" that could have hypothetically coerced my action was peer pressure and I wasn't even influenced by that in high school.

Finally, I find it interesting that someone who didn't post with his own name or nickname thinks his judgments on ego are sound enough to be heard. (Yes, that's a play on the word "sound.")

T.ears said...

acol x infinity at Sarahs Monkey trying to justify his ragequit.

Anonymous said...

MIKAYLA IS GONNA WIN HYUCK HYUCK HYUCK

T.ears?

Anonymous said...

Your assumptions are incorrect. I did not say that you were banned, booted, forced out or was held at gun point. I said you had to leave, meaning you left on your own free will, which is more accurate as you've done it a couple of times on POS.
If you haven't noticed yet, putting a name is pretty much immaterial at this point, as my statement somehow echo and reinforce what most people here have already been telling you. Arrogant and dogmatic. Again, you reap what you sow.

Jayemel said...

These two things are not equivalent:

"I said you had to leave"
and
"you left on your own free will"

You fail basic communication. Arguments from authority are also a logical error, especially when that "authority" is the majority. (Rhyme refutation FTW.)

Seriously though, I've tried to keep this civil, but I'm done with this discussion. Here's why (and it's the reason I left PoS AND Sucks).

Continually threads became about my character and not the content I posted. This thread is an example. Inevitably some dude on the internet gets it in his brain to pass judgment on someone that he knows nothing about their psychology or context. It's incredible difficult to pass judgment on someone when you do know his psychology and context. Likewise, I don't know any PoSers or Suckesters psychologies or contexts. What I do know is that neither is a value to me. Quite the contrary, due to this instance on meta-discussion, it's a negative. And I'm done with negative. Through.

In conclusion, every person can only speak for himself (no, I'm not interested in discussion the philosophy of representation), so either nut up and post under your real name or shut up and slink back into the corners of the internet you hide in because no one takes you seriously anywhere else dude to your arguments lacking any real basis in reality.

I'm done. Really. I'm writing my next column and will respond to content comments only.

Anonymous said...

"Continually threads became about my character and not the content I posted."

You are absolutely right. It shouldn't really be about your character. But when you insult, make fun of, attack others who disagree or may have a different opinion, it becomes personal. Somebody raised this issue before; the difference between you and Panurge is that he doesn't get seething comments on his thread because he welcomes other ideas.

Like you, I am also done. And I have also decided that I feel sorry for you. Best of luck to you in your future, whatever it may be. You look like you need it. Tons of it.

Dora said...

You say that "Inevitably some dude on the internet gets it in his brain to pass judgment on someone that he knows nothing about their psychology or context" yet you do the exact same thing. You specifically stated in your thread in Spec that "If your nic has under 500 posts or is obviously trolling, I'm going to ignore it" is this not passing judgement on someone you know nothing about? When I responded to one of your column's saying "good analysis! i don't agree with your mikayla pick and think you're over-analyzing the scenes on redemption island, but its still a great read. jsyk, its cochRAN not cochRANE =)" you responded with "Sure, ignore any evidence that doesn't agree with your emotionalism and then attempt to refute me by undermining my ethos. Good contribution to the discussion!", thereby showing that YOU were passing judgement on ME, someone who YOU knew nothing about. So now you can add hypocrite to your long list of personal flaws including egomaniac, condescending, elitist, and finally c.unt.

Jayemel said...

Seriously, your e-pissing matches don't interest me anymore. Please find another playground. Thank you.

Dora said...

E-Pissing matches only don't interest you when you lose. In this case, I'm thoroughly enjoying myself ^_^

Karl Marquez said...

"The similarities between Zaptera last season and Upolu this season are numerous and disturbing."

Aside from tribe color blue, what are some proofs that back up this theory. It will also be interesting to note that it is possible for a player from a blue-colored tribe may win the game for the first time.

Anonymous said...

Based off last episode, who would you know put as a winner's pick?

Dora Ownage said...

DORA OWNAGE.

Kris said...

Lolololololololololololololololololololololol pwnt