7 changes I would like to see on the amazing race

Be it the US or the Asian edition, there are a few changes I would like to see on the show.

1. There's a lack of transparency in the non-elimination leg. The producers can eliminate or not eliminate whoever they want. For example, if I'm not wrong, BJ & Tyler from season 9 survived twice from being eliminated and eventually won. In the Asian edition, it's very clear that the producers would like to keep "favourites" Sandy & Francesca from being eliminated in the first round.
2. I wonder why must there be models on The Amazing Race (TAR) and The Amazing Race Asia (TARA)? There are a lot of beautiful people out there and they are not necessary models.
3. Choosing Allan Wu as the host of TARA is obviously a mistake. This guy is so stiff and fake. If you watch AXN Xtreme Macau, the host Alex Niu, in my humble opinion, did a better job than Allan. Well, there's no way to regret now. Looking at the success of TARA probably we just have to accept him and see some improvement over time.
4. I'm glad that season 10 omitted the "strip all cash" from contestants who survived the non-elimination leg. TARA should stop stripping cash too in the future season because I think begging people for money isn't very nice.
5. The contestants rely too much on the locals and taxi drivers to bring them to places instead of self-navigation. Perhaps the producers should implement new rule to disallow locals to ride or join the contestants in their car. I prefer to watch contestants display their navigation skill rather than paying taxi drivers to bring them to places.
6. There are too many advertisement and product placement in the recent TAR. As for TARA, we can see them every week from Ford to Sony Walkman MP3 and MSN. During the last leg on TARA, contestant need to take a picture of their partner while performing the jump at Sky Tower with Sony Ericsson Cybershot camera. And the week before, teams have to record a video with Sony HD Cam.
7. I hope to see alliance being formed in TARA. I'm not sure why no teams form alliance to oust the others. It will be more fun than seeing teams minding their own business. The Six Packs alliance (Cho bros, Kentucky and Alabama) of season 10 did a great job and went really far.

Rain World Tour in KL

This should be the most anticipated concert of the year.

Date and Time: 27 JAN 2007 SAT 8PM
Venue: Stadium Merdeka, K.L.
Ticket Prices:

VIP RM750, Numbered Seating RM500, RM400, RM300, Free Seating RM200, RM130, RM80

Most of my friends thought Rain's concert is for muimui chai (young girls). There is also a friend who doesn't even know who Rain is. And luckily my sister (who's just two years younger than me) is interested (so are her friends). In fact, she's the one who suggest us to go.

There's no way I'm going to miss Rain's concert! If you see him often on TVBS Entertainment News or on MTV's TRL earlier this year, you know he's a charismatic performer. And oh yeah, he definitely can sing too! Unless you have been living under the shell or ignorant about the Korean pop culture, you know this is the concert that you don't want to miss this year.

So far there's no confirmation about the seating plan or where to get the tickets. Hopefully, there'll be more information soon.

project runway 3 - where's the good fashion and integrity?

I've been watching Project Runway (PR) since the first season. I love the show just like what I love about the Amazing Race. PR is a serious competition where real talent wins and you don't see drama like other reality tv shows.

However, PR begins to change its direction this season. I'm fed up with all the arguments and the fact that the producers are eliminating the 'good' people and keeping the 'bad' ones. I'm so mad when Alison was kicked off from the show in the "Waste Not, Want Not" challenge. Vincent was supposed to be eliminated. His model could barely walk in that long dress (it doesn't look like one). Perhaps the producers loved his antique with Angela. And I have no idea how come Angela is still in this competition despite her hideous talent.

PR, please cut the drama and focus more on how the designers do their sketches, pattern drafting, pinning, cutting, sewing, fitting, etc.

the amazing race crossword puzzle

I was thinking of coming up with crossword puzzles on my blog once in awhile. So for the first time, I'm putting up a crossword puzzle based on The Amazing Race theme here. For this first puzzle, I'm going to put up something simple, easy clues but definitely not for those who never watch the earlier seasons.

The Amazing Race Crossword (interactive version)

The Amazing Race Crossword (pdf version)*

*please come back again if you are not able to download because there is limitation for downloading per day.

Across
1. New twist in TAR Season 10.
4. Two teams from this country participated in TARA.
6. First family.
7. Team Joe & Bill (life partners) from the TAR Season 1 is also known as team ___.
10. New element in TAR Season 5. Time matters.
13. How many participants from TARA are not Asians?
14. In TAR Season 3, participants received their clues from this popular actor in Singapore.
15. "Romber" team finished ___ in TAR Season 7.

Down
2. Which South East Asian country did the participants race to in TAR Season 2?
3. Spoiler. Finish line. (You know this is about TAR Season 10)
5. B.J. & Tyler (winner of TAR Season 9) are also known as The ___.
8. ___ themed challenges - track and field, swimming, water polo, archery. Athens 2004.
9. ___ & Chip (winner TAR Season 4). Long-term relationship with Lance Bass (N Sync).
11. TARA Season 1 has ___ participating teams.
12. ___ hours penalty - "Who Digs the Beach?".