AMAZING RACE SEASON 25 IS IN THE PHILIPPINES!

Finally, the US version of The Amazing Race is back in the Philippines. I remember that the last time that the show visited the Philippines was way back in Season 5 when I was still a college student in 2004. Ten years later, it took 20 seasons before TAR is back in my home country.

The first place that they visited was Baclaran Church where teams needs to find a flower vendor to receive their clue.

They were next instructed to take a jeep to the Rosario Municipal Plaza and look for Salina's Special. Here is a peek at the jeepney experience of the teams:

The next clue was for a detour, a choice between Catch or Coach. In Catch, teams get to experience to be a fisherman a fill 3 container full of fish. Only the wrestlers did this task:

In Coach, teams needs to assemble a tricycle before they receive their next clue. This task was chosen by the dentists, the candy girls and the surfers:

They were then instructed to go to the rice fields were they were asked to do a same challenge that was done in Season 5 where Colin had his very famous "My Ox is Broken" breakdown. This challenge was also done in the current season of the Amazing Race Philippines. Teams have to search for a clue in a rice field by plowing into it.

The next is a foot race to the nearby pit stop and as expected, this is a non-elimination leg. Teams are just a few minutes behind each other. I think this is the first time that I see all teams together in the same pit stop.

I think this season really provided a more realistic image of the Philippines as compared to Season 5. Some of the teams liked it here, some of the teams don't. One of the best things in this episode is the fact that they took different modes of transportation common in the country (cab from the airport, jeep to Rosario and tricycle in Cavite). 

Here are the teams reactions on their experience in the Philippines so far.

The next leg is still in the Philippines, and it looks like teams will have to experience pedicabs and basketball.

All videos are from the Official The Amazing Race YouTube channel.

THE FIRST MALE WINNER OF AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL IS...

After 21 cycles, America's Next Top Model finally named it's first male winner. The lucky male model is Keith Carlos, a 26 year old model and former professional football player from Connecticut. Keith bested 13 other aspiring models this cycle.

Also for the first time in its history, the final 3 models are all male. Runner up spot went to Will Jardell from Texas and 3rd place went to Adam Smith, a fratboy grad school student from Tennessee.

Fourth place went to Lenox Tillman, who was eliminated before the final runway show. She is the best placed female this cycle.

ANTM allowed male models to compete in Cycle 20 where 2 male models made it to the top 3 but a female, Jourdan Miller won.

But what also struck me is still the strong Philippine connection of ANTM. In the past few cycles, Filipinos were given exposure in previous cycles. These includes Filipino designers Francis Libiran (Hello Kitty chellenge in Cycle 18) and Michael Cinco (Final Runway Show in Cycle 17 - All Stars). Georgina Wilson and the Filipino brand Bench also made its appearance in Cycle 17 in the Greece swimwear photoshoot.

In this episode, ANTM alumna Allison Harvard (Cycle 12 and 17 All Stars) was a guest in the Tyra make up commercial shoot. Harvard has moved to the Philippines to pursue her modelling career here. Her ads with the local clothing store Bench was also shown. Also in the episode is K-Pop group 2NE1, where Star Circle Quest alumna Sandara Park is a member.

Image is a screencap from the finale episode, copyright is still with the owner.

6 THINGS WE LEARNED FROM LEG 9 OF THE AMAZING RACE PHILIPPINES SEASON 2

It is the 2nd to last leg and the last team was eliminated. The top 3 teams who will race to the finish line has just been revealed. So what did we learn from this leg of the race?

1. Finally, Team Mr. Pogi wins a leg!

After having a very shaky start and steadily inching their way up the rankings, Team Mr. Pogi won a race leg. As I have said in my previous post, what is working for them in this race is their teamwork and communication. But what was evident in the past few legs was that they really know their strengths and weaknesses and they are maximizing these. Plus their positive attitude and very calm disposition, they are really in the race now!

2. YIELD should not discourage you at all.

If Team Dating Couple did not have the Yield this leg, they might have won this leg, or it might have been a footrace. They really proved that nothing can stop them and even if the teams are ganging up on them, they will find a way to overcome the obstacles on their way. If there will be a Yield or a U-Turn on the last leg (which  I wish there will be none), this team will definitely still be the target. One thing they still need to improve is their communication, because it has been a factor going against them in the last few legs.

3. You should not ever give up - unless the you are eliminated.

Team Chefs has some unlucky things going their way in this leg, from the pastel challenge to getting the clue in the white water rafting to the bike challenge to the combination lock challenge, Team Chefs was trailing almost the whole leg. But it was in the combination lock challenge that Chef Roch almost gave up. After trying so many times and she was not able to open any of the locks, she almost broke down and got frustrated. But luck is still in their side when she was able to finish the challenge on her next try. But they were able to overtake another team in the last challenge. They need to be more confident of themselves in the last leg if they want to win the race.

4. Word of the day - MALAS

Team Magkapatid has been a very strong team all through out the race. They have been in the top 3 in all of the legs. Unfortunately, their race ended in this leg - when they finished fourth just because of the word "malas". But what they said in the pit stop was correct. They were not one of the teams that I initially picked to win - but they proved themselves leg after leg that they are a team that the other teams should not overlook. They communicated very well and they were very strategic, offering alliances and working with other teams on who to Yield or U-Turn. They ran a great race but there will only one winner and today is not their day.

5. The Amazing Race Philippines is just intense!

We have been witnessing so much intensity and competitiveness in the past 9 weeks that the season has been aired. But this leg also show how intense the race is even off camera. There was an injury that needed to be attended to - after Chef Eji injured his knee in the carabao race task in leg 8. But the fight between Team Magkapatid and Team Dating Couple showed how much emotions the teams are investing in this race. It just started with a simple high and escalated to shoving, shouting and threats. And that is really intense!

6. 1 more episode - who will win the race?

Now that we know that the top 3 teams are Team Mr. Pogi, Team Dating Couple and Team Chefs, who will win this race? The winner will be known in the 1 hour special finale episode tomorrow. These are 3 strong teams that will race to the finish and tomorrow's episode will definitely be an exciting one! No predictions, I don't want to jinx any of the teams - but I definitely think all of the 3 remaining teams deserve to win!

Images are from the following: @margienatividad in Twitter, Team Magkapatid's Official Facebook Page, 

THE PANTONE COLOR FOR THE YEAR 2015 IS...

According to Cosmopolitan Philippines website, the pantone color of the year is... Marsala (Pantone 18-1438)!

According to the Wall Street Journal article, this color was chosen because women are looking for a bold neutral color that can replace black. This color is also complimented by glacier gray and aquamarine.

Image is from the Cosmopolitan Philippines article.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE ANTI-TEEN PREGNANCY PSA OF DOH?

The Department of Health recently launched a public service announcement on teenage pregnancy. I agree that teenage pregnancy is one concern that government should prioritize. But the DOH already deleted the video from their facebook page.

Fortunately, When In Manila YouTube Channel uploaded the video. So here is the video:

So what do I think of this video? It is a complete waste of tax payer's money. Did DOH really think calling their target audience as "Gaga Girl" and "Bobo Boy" will get their attention? You just lost your audience in the first 20 seconds of the video!

The government agencies should be very careful on the message they want to convey in their PSA's. They are using tax payer's money and this should be maximized. So how much was wasted in this video? Your guess is as good as mine.

8 THINGS WE LEARNED FROM LEG 8 OF AMAZING RACE PHILIPPINES SEASON 2

We are now down to the homestretch of the race - after leg 8 was finished last Saturday. So here are the things we learned in the week before the finale week.

1. Team Dating Couple is now back on top.

Team Dating Couple is now back on top, and grabbed first for the 4th time in this race. The slowly inched their way to the top after finishing 5th in leg 5; to 4th, to 2nd - and now in 1st. They really proved they are the team to beat this season. But unfortunately, this would now put a big target in their backs in the final leg - and expect then to get the U-Turn or the Yield in the last leg of the race.

2. Team Magkapatid wins Most Consistent Team Award this season

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride - this is how I feel about Team Magkapatid. They finished 3rd four times and 2nd four times during the entire leg but never finished first. The consistency is good since they never went down and remained competitive but when will they get that top spot? Yes, they have never been in danger of going home and they manage to stay at the top 3 spots - but only 1 team will be declared as the winners of this race. So they need too step up if they want to win in the race.

3. Team Chefs will not go down without a fight

In this leg, Team Chefs finished 3rd, barely beaten by Team Magkapatid at the pit stop. Team Chefs has been very competitive in the past few legs but has been very inconsistent. They have gone up then down then up again in the rankings. What is working for them is their teamwork and their positive attitude but they can easily panic at some points. Will Chef Eji's knee injury which prevented them to race for 2nd place in this leg affect their race as well?

4. Team Mr. Pogi is the favorite underdog in this race

Team Mr. Pogi completed the cast of 4 teams that will race in the finale week. Who would have thought that this team will reach the last week? They have been in the bottom half of the pack in the first 6 legs of the race and was almost eliminated in leg 4. But these Miracle Boys, as they have coined themselves, have surprised us by steadily making their way up the rankings. Their good teamwork and positive attitude has been working wonders for this team but what is making miracles for them is their good luck. In the Rock task, they easily got their clue even if they got the trivia questions wrong. Thy were so lucky that when the rocks were unloaded, the clue was swept away by the wind and was not covered by the rocks. This gave them an edge over Team Nerds and eventually advanced to the finale week.

5. Double Elimination leg - I never saw that twist coming!

I was doing the math last week since it was advertised that there is only 2 weeks remaining for the show. Therefore, there will be 2 or 3 more eliminations before the last episode. But I never thought that there will be a double elimination. This has been done before in the US version (Season 10 Leg 1 - but one in the middle of the leg and another in the pit stop and in Season 19 Leg 2), I did not see this coming at all. To make it more surprising, the teams eliminated were Team Nerds and Team Mag-ama - two of the most competitive teams in the race. It was really sad to see both of these teams go. Team Nerds surprised everyone when they finished 1st on the first leg but they just cannot recover from the back of the pack. On the other hand, Team Mag-ama has been doing very well but has been the target of the Yield since they are a very strong team, and this really affected their race.

6. Eye on the prize!

This leg was a great leg and a very challenging one. One of the things that struck me the most was that this leg emphasised how important our eyes are. In the Batchoy challenge, it was keen observation and an eye for details that was key to get the next clue. Team Dating Couple and Team Mag-ama wasted so much time looking for clues every where in and out of the store - not paying attention to this small sign where they will find the next clue. In the Blindfold challenge, teams got a taste on what a blind person is experiencing everyday. And it was really touching to see the teams' reaction when they saw Tammy and Marvi.

 7. All teams are in game mode already

The race is on! This is what leg 8 showed us. All teams are in it to win it. In the ferry to Iloilo, the teams all agreed to U-Turn AJ and Jody since they are a strong team and they were saved from elimination. In the Batchoy challenge, no team shared the clue when they found the small sign on the store's wall. In the Zombie task, no information was shared by the teams when they found the clue. Team Mr. Pogi even lied to Team Mag-ama. This only shows that even a slight advantage can be used to get ahead and it is critical since the race is in the home stretch already.

8. The last leg promises to be an intense and emotional one

The last week will always be the best. The preview for the last leg promises so much - someone will get hospitalized, teams will fight and the race for the grand prize will be concluded. A few more days left before we get to know the season winners!

Images are from @margienatividad in Twitter