SURVIVING SURVIVOR FROM AN EASYCHAIR
Are you a fan of this avant-garde reality series?

We've watched them all and are fanatical about tuning in Thursday nights even when we're on the road. When checking into a room, a working TV with CBS is our first priority - a king-size free of bed bugs is second. When looking for a topic of conversation with strangers, we like bringing up "Survivor" and found the responses break down into 2 Columns: A firm "No" or an enthusiastic "Yes!" We get mostly Column 1.

Most 'Nos' believe that CBS manipulates the contestants. Yes, 'tis true. CBS might dress 'em up or dictate how they string along the beach for max camera angle or edit the hell out of the interaction and dialogue but, waddaya want? You might learn some valuable survival tips from disoriented, unprepared people.

And, yes, CBS pays very close attention to the T&A element - string bikinis, cleavage, tight pecs, and bulging ceps are of the essence. But what you also get to see is humanity bordering on Neanderthal - people eating people - who, all the gnarly, grueling while are driven by the bottom line: Big Bucks for Outwitting, Outplaying, Outlasting. If you're a Column 1...hey, Lighten Up, Tune In, Get Hooked.

Survivor 12: The current 9th-day contingent in Panama, Exile Island, includes a former astronaut, a yoga instructor, a former Navy jet pilot, and 2 trekster-type gals, one of whom is a Marathon Des Sables completer.

Wanda Shirk, AKA: Wacky Wanda, sent home early in Palau, writes a weekly column offering her deep insight into the 'game' with good people-observations. Reality Shack - Articles or PlatypusBen The #1 Place for TV!.

LIVING DREAMS. SHARING DREAMS.
An AP writer on 2 wheels does both.

This story was released some weeks back. For those who missed it the message is the same.

Last summer, Calvin Woodward, an Associated Press writer, biked from D.C. to Newport Beach, CA and wrote about his trip for a series, Roads Less Traveled. As he peddled from east to west he met with people who, notably, wanted to share their dreams with the adventurer - those off-center aspirations they didn't quite get around to fulfulling just yet.

The recent Super Bowl is a reminder that sports events Americans seem to identify with are, anymore, the means we've chosen to live our adventure dreams vicariously. That's you running the touchdown, hitting the home run, scoring the ice hockey/soccer goal, or soaring through the air on an Olympics ski jump. Or, perhaps, Mt. Whitney awaits you - a matter of just putting one foot in front of the other, for real.

The Woodward article is a nicely-written. It sublety begs you live your own "wild and crazy" fanasty, get off your butt and score in your own game, pack up and go.... Dream/Share

SCIENTISTS DISCOVER ISOLATED LOST WORLD
(Message to the scientists: Get Lost!)

The message board at AOL News was abuzz yesterday when they ran AP's Indonesian 'Lost World' report. A team of eleven international scientists entered a wilderness in the Foja Mountains where native Indonesians never go. After a month they cataloged species such as the smoky honeyeater (pictured), Berlepsch's six-wired bird of paradise, the golden-fronted bowerbird, 20 frog species, a tree kangaroo believed to extinct, and unknown butterflies and flora. It will take 6 months to several years to thoroughly explore this Rhode Island- size area.

In response to AOL's "Post Thoughts," members expressed their mostly "leave it alone" reaction to the story as well as displeasure with Bush's policies. Is this just another animal habitat for man to dominate, exploit, and trample; the next pristine environment for mismanagement and corruption by human beings; a national park with accomodations for lots of tourists? Meanwhile, Walmart - free enterprise run amok - is probably already on top of this find.
BBC NEWS Science/Nature Science team finds 'lost world'