This time, it’s Survivor: Nicaragua, and the twist?  “Young” versus “Old”…

This should be a very interesting season.  I am staring at a newspaper clipping here with the cast all assembled.  It is all the usual suspects in terms of washboard abs and slinky bikinis.

Natch…

But there are other faces in the crowd, including a famous sports figure.

So, who are they?

La Flor, the Young ‘uns:  Kelly Shinn, Alina Wilson, Ben “Benry” Henry (really?), Brenda Lowe, Chase Rice, Jud Birza, Kelly Bruno, Matthew “Sash” Lenahan, NaOnka Mixon, and Shannon Elkins.  This tribe has it all, it would seem…abs, bikinis, nicknames in quotes…there is a nursing student in here, as well as a race-car jack man and a P.E. teacher.  The obligatory “medical student” is on this tribe, as well as some small business-type people.

Ah, it’s good to be young and camera friendly.

As for Espada, the older ones:  Dan Lembo, Holly Hoffman, Jane Bright, Jill Behm, Jimmy Johnson (yes, that Jimmy Johnson), James “Jimmy T.” Tarantino, Marty Piombo, Tyrone Davis, Wendy DeSmidt-Kohlhoff (that might give our typing fingers some trouble this season), and Yve Rojas.  Notice only one of these folks has a nickname in quotes.  That could hurt their chances.  This group contains a football coach, a fisherman, a fire captain and a goat rancher.

Nice.

As always, we blog the show here at Orumai in an effort to study human dynamics.  When you get all these folks together in one place, what happens?  How do the last become first?  How do the strong always end up begging the weaker players for votes?

And, that ever-present motif of hope…no matter how far down you are in your tribe’s pecking order, there is always hope that you could get that vote at the end.

We’ll (try to) be here each week as the show is going, so make sure you join us.  Talk to us.  Whatever you can.

It’s going to be a great season, as always!

Tonight the cattiness came out early and Jeff guided us through the inevitable pitfalls.

The medallion of power came out early, as did the scatter of the chase.  Survivor always dangles that thing in front of you.

The medallion went to the younger ones.  Jimmy Johnson seemed a bit nervous about the tribe affiliations, but Jimmy is a leader for sure.

In the end, Brenda and the young’uns had to make a choice…keep the power medallion or trade?  They traded…a good, veteran move.

Wendy and Holly made a quick alliance…really quick…unsettlingly quick…but we’ll have to see how that goes down the road.  The dog trainer made a quick fire, making that medallion trade a little less powerful!

Kelly B. told her tribe about her leg, and NaOnka was pretty outspoken to the cameras.  She threw down the challenge to Kelly to outperform…and I think there is a great chance Kelly will do just that.

It didn’t take Jimmy long to get sick…watch it, Jimmy!  You said that was the toughest 24 hours of your life?  Just wait.  I’m sure it is going to get worse than you ever thought.

The young’uns came into the first challenge with a bizarre display of dance and, well, song I guess.  It didn’t get a good reception.

Jeff explained that the medallion gives an advantage at challenges and Espada kept it for this time.

In the end, the younger tribe won out, winning immunity.

Espada tried to decide between Jimmy and Wendy…unfortunately, Jimmy T’s name did not come up….but it will soon.  Probably very soon.

Wendy talked herself right out of the show at tribal council, making a tough decision quite easy, according to one of her tribemates.

This is going to be quite a season!  What do you think of this first show?  Let us know!

-josh

Now, if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know how much we love Survivor around here.

I tuned in with great interest last night because the show included a preview for the 20th season, which will be entitled, “Heroes vs. Villians“.  Exciting!  Intriguing!  Just plain cool.

And right in the wheelhouse here at Orumai.

Why?

Well, the interest of Survivor is not just the game.  It’s more than that.  It’s the strategy and the beautiful locations.  It’s also the group mentality, and what that says about individuals.  In other words, when you tune in to a fresh season of Survivor, it’s like taking the shrinkwrap off a brand new box of possibility.  When you put 20 or so people together in one place where they will be denied constant food, water, and basic hygiene, plus you dangle $1,000,000 in front of them, well, that is a recipe for human nature to shine at its best…and worst.

This season, Orumai will conduct a weekly Survivor blog.  It’s another chance to get dialogue started on this board about what it means to be human and, possibly, spiritual.  That’s right.  When we watch shows like Survivor, we have a visceral reaction to them because they show us something about our deepest selves through watching others.  When we see people lying, scheming, truthing, battling, and generally hanging tough in adversity, those are usually times when we do an internal check to see if these actions are something we think we would do, or whether we think we would act differently.

It’s also a time to see if we are telling ourselves the truth about such matters.

Whether or not you watch Survivor, I know you’re reading Orumai…and that means you have a point of view on life.  Well?  Do you?  Join in.  And let’s enjoy season 20 together.

Yeah, I know it’s not life or death.

But it’s Survivor!

-josh

Your Twitter stream could not be collected. Normally this is caused by no XML feed being returned. Why this happens is still unclear.

Now, I have to say, that sounds kind of…sketchy.  Who wants to collect my Twitter stream?  Can they say that?  Can they do that?  I mean, no one told me my Twitter was going to be tested today.  Can I have a few minutes to prepare?

That’s ok.  We’re Tweeting anyway, whether or not it can be collected.

You heard right.  Tweeting.  Or, maybe it’s Twittering.  Who the heck knows?  Maybe it should be Tweetering…

Now, I expect to see this garner both glee and groan, but we’re in, and you know?  It’s actually pretty cool.

So, here’s why I’m posting this now…I am actually going to be attending the Palm Springs International Film Festival from January 8-17 and will be Tweeting from there.  I’ll be talking about the latest movies and goings on, and I want this to kick off our Twitter campaign.

It’s easy!  Just find Orumai on Twitter and help us build the list!

At Orumai, we’re building an online community, and this is another way we can do that.  So, if you don’t have a Twitter account, create one and join us.  If you do, follow Orumai today.

We look forward to seeing you and, er…Tweetering you.

Can I say that on here?  Is that ok to say?

-josh

I know it has been a long time since I posted, but I was away.  I was in Canada.  I was in New Mexico.  I was at a medical outpatient facility (but I’m ok!)

I was in other places in my mind.  I was in the world this whole time.  I’m in the world, but have been strangely detached from it.  I can’t really explain that much more.  It has been a weird time.  But Orumai was always in my mind.

I’ve been thinking about what I will write about all these experiences.  I want to share them.  And I will.  There are plans in the works to expand Orumai in various ways.  It’s all in process right now, but they are big ideas.  They are all in the mind, but not all in the world yet.

However, one has already come to pass.  iAffirm.

Orumai, in conjunction with Sunscape Photography and Cynical Peak Software, has co-created an iPhone/iPod Touch application that presents you positive daily affirmations along with beautiful photography, right on your iPhone or iPod Touch!  It’s really great.  For just $.99, and a mere shake or a swipe, you can have a nice message and a nice pic.  And maybe a good feeling.

Orumai is hoping it is just the first step.  The future looks bright.  Keep coming.  Keep reading.

And I’ll keep posting.

I’m here.  I’m in the world.

Sometimes.

-josh