I loved "Shear Genius." I dig the personalities on the show and I actually like the challenges. I'm not digging some of the results of the challenges, but the challenges generally seem well thought out.

Oh, I agree. I think that was mentioned upthread but the key seems to be that they are doing actual haircuts on actual people who have to live with them (well for a while at least) while Top Design just all seemed very hypothetical: let's pretend that this is a room in a top hotel - DESIGN!

Just caught up on Shear Genius - damn, Ben was lucky he didn't get cut. I thought his style was much worse than Evangelin's whackadoo updo. It didn't look like anything. Daisy's was very pretty, but Danna's was indeed the most Vanessa Williams looking with a face flattering front and a very complex and original and glam looking back.

Dr. Boogie apparently ain't all that if that's his forte. Actually I thought it was a good style. Tabitha's was blah. Anthony's was not as good as it could have been.

Shear Genius: Yeah, I think Ben's the next to go if he doesn't show something soon. That hair was atrocious. It would have looked better if he'd put it all in a ponytail. Or lit it on fire.

I didn't like the front of Danna's, but the back was gorgeous and definitely original. She did have a huge advantage from her model choice by being able to pick the one with hair vaguely like Vanessa's.

I found Tabatha's forgettable.

Very good Survivor. Okay, the pork thing was gross, and all the contestants looked feral and exhausted and kinda pathetic afterwards, but it led to the interesting Helicopter Ride of Boo Talking Too Much. Who woulda thunk that it would be Dreamz that wanted someone to stop talking...I think Fiji is really getting to him in a good way.

Love the crazy machinations before tribal council. This group is really playing this game.

I thought Dr Boogie's red carpet hair made the model's head look like a giant vagina. Not what I'd call classy. (Ben's was borderline incompetent, but at least it didn't make me think of pubic hair.)

In the day-to-night challenge, I was surprised that all of the contestants chose to leave the client's hair down for day and up for night -- I would have gone the other way around, creating a casual but twisty updo for daytime that when you pull the pins out becomes sexy nighttime hair with just a little gel, no fancy styling skills required.

I had to ff through the pork-eating challenge. It was just gross. But I am really enjoying all the machinations this season -- maybe people aren't making the best possible choices, but this is the first season in a long while where I've truly felt that at least everyone was trying to strategize. (Well, everyone except Boo. I wonder if he realizes he's dead weight.)

Shear Genius:

model's head look like a giant vagina

Bwah! Hahahaha! I didn't think this originally, but now that you've said it I can't stop picturing it that way! You're totally right.

And totally about the day-to-night. It's way easier to take an updo down than to put it up.

Survivor:

But I am really enjoying all the machinations this season -- maybe people aren't making the best possible choices, but this is the first season in a long while where I've truly felt that at least everyone was trying to strategize.

I think the reason the post-merge leg of this season has been so good is because the tribe reshuffle split personal and strategic alliances whose strengths no-one had a good handle on and because there are so many fair to poor players actively strategizing. I usually wish for a game loaded with smart players but I'm glad that's not the case now because then I wouldn't have Dreamz trying to vote of his left foot while Alex hides under a big pile of coats hoping it'll all work out somehow.

I love Dreamz and his "strategy" of basically agreeing with the last person he spoke with. "My best ally is Jeff Probst. We are going all the way together" "Dude, we have to vote off Jeff Probst." "Oh, yeah, now that you mention it, I think I should vote Jeff off."

Excellent Kentucky Derby.

And then - -the Barbaro special. I cried and cried. My eyes are still sore from all the tears and it was more than an hour ago.