Apprentice Episode 5--Dan Sinks The Ship

Lots of Suprises on this week's Apprentice right to the end. We flashback to the boardroom where Roxanne, who apears to be one of the weakest candidates, says that Tammy is a better leader than Andrea. Andrea is not going to take that lying down and the two women face each other. It apears that Andrea is the victor as she is an A type if there ever was one. Roxanne has a lot of resolve though and steps up to be project manager.
Dan, who many predicted would take all the marbles, is PM for Goldrush.
He is a take charge guy. Something that rattles everyone. I had mistakingly thought that there was an alliance between Dan and Lee, but the two seem like rivals now.
The two teams board cruise ship Norwegian Jewel, not for a leisurely spin around New York Harbor, but to come up with a commercial for Norwegian Cruise Lines. You've seen the Carnival Cruise commercials with the heavy drumbeat and the action shots.
Lenny comes up with the idea of a shipwrecked castaway who boards the ship and is blown over by the offerings.
Synergy's idea is emphasizing "Free Style Cruising" can choose their activites rather than having them assigned or something to that effect. Their idea is to show a compare and contrast concept where you show a couple bored by a standard cruise compared with the offerings of Norwegian's Free Style cruise.
I thought Gold Rush had the better presentation but there big mistake was to use text rather than a voice over for the commercials. Apearantly Dan did not know that Gold Rush's shrinking violet Leslie had broadcasting experience.
Roxanne' s presentation was shaky at best, but an outstanding voiceover made the spot effective and Synergy is declared the winner.
Synergy finally gets a decent reward as they get to pick diamonds in a secret vault patrolled by armed guards.
Tarek, who is in a lot of "hot water" with Trump wants Dan to bring in Lee and Lenny. Tarek it apears, is Dan's only ally. Tarek makes an almost fatal comment though, "you will have no friends in that boardroom" Dan must have seen other Apprentices so he takes that as a threat and brings Tarek in with Lee. He does not bring Lenny in because he thinks that Lee and Lenny would be a force to big to be renkoned with. That is where the biggest suprise comes in. You would think that Trump would fire Tarek who has been on the chopping block since day one. But Trump is angry that Dan did not bring Lenny in and fires Dan.

De Ja Vu Once Again

For someone who roots for Washington teams, it was groundhog day in the NCAA tournament as U-dub Huskies blew a large lead in the closing seconds and lost to the U-Conn Huskies 98-92 in overtime. This game was so similar to the UCLA-Gonzaga game and as equally painful. U-Conn hit a miracle a three pointer with less than a second to go to tie the game. Unbelievably 5 players for Washington fouled out including superstar Brandon Roy.

Maple Valley Library

Maple Valley had a brand new library open in December of 2000. Environmentally friendly, it is surrounded by tall trees and has a real rural setting. 

Seahawks Find Replacement At Guard

The Seattle Seahawks did not wait to replace Left Guard Steve Hutchinson. Tom Ashworth who has played on New England's Superbowl teams has been signed by the 'Hawks for 13 million dollars over 5 years. At 6'6 305 pounds, there is little doubt that he can fill Hutch's shoes!

The End Of The Road For Gonzaga

Tonight looked like a big night for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, they were on top of the UCLA Bruins by 17 points in NCAA tournement action, but it was not to be. The Bruins came on strong in the second half and the Zags could not do anything right in the last minute and a half. Adam Morrison (pictured above) scored 24 points, but I'm sure he would trade all of them for a Gonzaga victory.

Vikes Land Seahawk Star Hutchinson

Right Guard Steve Hutchinson will be fitted with Horns for the 2006 season as the Seahawks will not match an offer made to him from the Minnesota Vikings. It was the ability to land players like Hutch that built the 'Hawks into a Super Bowl team and we would be all for this if the situation was reversed.

The Apprentice: Brent Meets Reality

Until this week's episode, Brent was thought to be the weird, but lovable scapegoat for Team Synergy. After this episode, it is clear that he is a dillusional vindictive loose cannon.
Synergy and Goldrush began the show meeting at the Trump Grill which is also in the Trump Tower. Maybe Trump is also a delusional vindictive loose cannon as well, at least he has something to bank on.
During this show I took careful notes and had come up with an angle for this weeks show, it all went out the window with the boardroom. Goldrush wins the task and it is now obvious that these too teams were chosen well.
Synergy goes to the boardroom and noone on the team mentions Brent. They know that the team did not perform well in this task. Trumpquizzes each individual on what they think of project manager Tammy. Everyone has high praise for her until it is Brent's turn. "She Stank!" was Brent's assessment. Trump finally has the ammunition that he needs, he realizes that Synergy had learned it's lesson about accountability and finally does what he has wanted to do all season. He fires Brent Michael Buckman.

Do You Have What It Takes?

If you possess business acumen or if you are intelligent, telegenic, and dysfunctional enough to make good TV and live here in the Puget Sound region, The Apprentice is taking it's act here in a search for candidates. You'll need to bring a resume and a video. Auditions will take place Saturday March 18th at Bell Square, wristbands will be given out at 9:00 am. The interviews start at 10:00am. With ratings a little less strong, you may have a good chance!

A Distinguished Walla Wallan

The late Dr. Walter Brattain was a Walla Walla Resident. Brattain was a co-winner of the 1956 Nobel Prize for Physics for his work with Bell Labratories including the invention of the transistor. He later taught at Whitman College.

Apprentice 5 The Pendulum Swings Back

The episode begins with Synergy and even some members of Gold Rush hoping to find out about Brent's firing, soon the remaining Synergy candidate should come filing in. All of a sudden, a larger than life figure filled the doorway with "La Shanah Tovah"!
Yes, the High Holidays have started and 2 Jewish members of Goldrush will leave this task to observe Lee and Dan. Lenny is also Jewish but he remains for better or worst. He tries to shame Lee and Dan, Lenny, did you ever hear of Sandy Koufax, who sat out a World Series game and became a hero for doing that?
This week the task is to set up a retreat for GM dealerships across the the nation to introduce the Chevy Tahoe.
If you remember last week, Goldrush stepped up to the task while Synergy did not quite get off the ground. This week it is quite the opposite and the blame goes directly to Theresa, who volunteers to be Goldrushes PM. She appoints Tarek to be creative director, then won't listen to his idea to get a theme. She pulls all sorts of ideas out of her head, but nothing ties together.
They bring female models, make some sort of muddy golf course and on top of that secure a vulgar comedianne. Andrea takes the reigns of Synergy and they come up with a theme right away. I wonder how a team that a week ago couldn't get up in time is now running so smoothly. It must be because Andrea has a theory on how to deal with "off the wall" Brent. She lets him say his piece and then moves on. Synergy comes up with the theme "Nature Refined" (you may say that they have synergy). There performance ties in with rock climbing, fly fishing, and skeet shooting. One problem, they cannot shoot skeet in the park so they change that to a golf cart race. I don't know how a golf cart race ties to the outdoors, but with a bunch of drunk car dealers it's a hit!
Synergy wins and gets to swim with the sharks. Brent gets to be the sacrificial lamb and his team jokes about maybe it's a good way to cure a problem, at least I think they're joking. Anyone on Goldrush could be fired but Theresa is focused on Lenny who is blunt and marches to his own drum. She also brings in Tarek, who was almost fired in episode 1. Again, Tarek is almost fired but makes it out. Trump seems to like Lenny who says "fire them all." It is obvious that Theresa is a lousy leader and is fired.

Joe Jurevicius Goes In Free Agency

Joe Jurevicius has signed a 4 year, 10 million dollar contract to play for his hometown Cleveland Browns. While Joe is happy to play for the Browns, he should be missed.
Jurevicius, caught 55 passes for 694 yards and lead all 'Hawk receivers with 10 touchdowns, incredible statistics in themselves. In addition, he filled in for Darrell Jackson, and seemingly gave the team the lift they needed after losing it's star receiver. 

The Barer Family Tales.

I just can't get enough of my Father's new blog (already on line for 2 months). I never got the chance to meet my Great Grandfather, B. Barer, the founder of B. Barer And Sons which ruled the steel industry in Walla Walla for the majority of the 20th century.
I loved this story.
"A man came into B. Barer & Sons one day to relate this story. I was walking across Main Street one day many years ago. I saw your Grandfather bend over to pick up a penny from the street. I said to him "Mr. Barer, you are a prosperous merchant why are you bending over to pick up a penny?" He replied that I would only have to know how hard he had worked to earn a penny during his lifetime to understand."

Connor Trineer--Celeb From Walla Walla

Connor Trineer from the TV show Enterprise is a former resident and a Wa HI graduate. 

The Family

Here I am with Deb and Rusty, with our nephew in the center.

Pat Tillman Death To Be Investigated

The US Defense Department is planning an investigation into the death of Pat Tillman. Tillman sacrificed a multi million dollar contract to play for the Arizona Cardinals to serve in our armed forces. He was motivated by the tragedy of 9/11. In 2004, word filtered back to the states that Tillman had been killed in Afghanistan. It was sad, but being employed in special forces, it was assumed that he had to perform on some dangerous missions. But soon there was a twist when it was leaked that Tillman was killed by his own men in a mishap. Tillman's family discovered that they were not told the truth and feel betrayed. They think that the Army wanted to use Tillman's death to foster support for the "War On Terror" and the Bush administration.
Hopefully this investigation will shed a light on what happened in this tragedy and let us know the truth about our overseas missions.

Close Call For Gonzaga

As I have said before, I just don't get into college basketball as much as other sports. Maybe because college football has one big game every week, or that WSU usually is an also ran in the Pac-10. However when a powerhouse from Eastern Washington is on ESPN, I'll watch and I sure am glad I did as the Gonzaga Bulldogs beat Loyola Marymount 68-67. The game went down to the final shot just before the buzzer as the lead seesawed throughout the closing minutes. Gonzaga winning ways have spawned many years and 2 head coaches. The best may still be ahead for them.

The Apprentice--Synergy Sticks It To Brent

Once again, the candidates failed to grasp a lesson taught on previous shows, perhaps these high flyers are too involved to actually watch The Apprentice, but looking at this dysfunctional group, I am inclined to doubt it.
Tarek returns to the suite knowing that he was spared by Summer's untimely ramblings.
Just like last week, this task will involve two seemingly unrelated things, text message and a new razor by Gillette called "The Fusion"
Synergy had just one the last task, but seems to have very little of it's own "synergy". Brent is obnoxious and he is monopolizing the brainstorming meetings with his bizarre behaviour. Meanwhile, Lee, is project manager for Goldrush, he shows very little or nothing in his leadership style. Lenny who is very blunt says that they are wasting time and all they need is too just find a key word. At first Lee resists, but eventually realizes that although the messenger is awkward, the message is correct.
The next morning Roxanne wakes up her synergy teamates, she realizes that Goldrush is already rolling. Stacey, a native New Yorker picks the Times Square as a location. She had earlier said that she was threatened by Brent. Pepe the team leader is worthless as he cannot make a decision to save his life.
Although this week's product was a razor, it was not a close shave. Goldrush wallops Synergy. As a special reward they participate in Career Gear, a non profit organization providing clothes to disadvantaged men looking for work.
Synergy of course wants to throw Brent "under the bus" or maybe off the roof of the Trump Tower. However we all know that if you blame the eccentric for the loss when others are responsible, Trump will see right through it and so it goes. Stacey and Pepe are deservedly fired, Brent will stay, guaranteeing another interesting episode. As the candidates leave, you cannot miss Brent smirking at the two fired candidates.
By the way, Ivanka Trump got to sit in the boardroom in Caroline's place and fortunately, resembles her mom.

Forever In Blue

Seahawk Running back Saun Alexander inked an 8 year, 62 million dollar contract, which should mean that he will be a Seahawk his entire career. Alexander lead the NFL in rushing and the Seahawks to their first Super Bowl. Today the Super Bowl, tommorrow the title! 

Familliar Seattle Morning Voice Has WW ties

Star 101.5's Kent Phillips, half of the Kent and Allen radio team, is a graduate of Whitman College in Walla Walla and also worked for KUJ on the outskirts of the town.

Steve Lawrence And Eydie Gorme: Review

Last Wednesday, my Dad and Jean treated us to Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme at Lovely McCallum Hall in Palm Desert. Although they are not always the music of our generation, they were extremely entertaining with standards from every decade since the forties. The couple have been widely lampooned mostly by themselves at themselve but are indeed talented. They have done albums paying tribute to Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter and most recently Frank Sinatra. In addition, they have a comedy act that is not always G rated nor is it always politically correct. There were people of all ages there and everybody enjoyed the show which included a singalong, as well as a documentry film showing them with seemingly every entertainment heavyweight of our time.