a quick break from actual TV viewing with Renzie Baluyut.

Spoiler Alert! If you're actually following Survivor: Gabon, and would rather not read anything on what happens on the show, or who got voted out, you might want to read something else- like my other featured TV eye candy on Too Much TV | Renzie on TV's Favorite TV Chicks.

Otherwise, hey- welcome aboard- read on!

I must admit- I've stopped following Survivor a long time ago. It was the hugest thing for me when it first came out, as the concept of reality shows were still pretty new at the time, and maybe it was interesting watching people eat pretty much anything to get just a little bit of protein.

My interest definitely waned right after Survivor: All Stars- which was, what? Season 7 or 8, I think? Still, Survivor continues to be one of CBS's strongest shows today, and they've even lined it up on Thursday nights along with CSI to go against NBC's comedy line-up, ABC's Grey's Anatomy, and The CW's teen-oriented programming.

Oh, and gratz to Jeff Probst for bagging an Emmy this year.

I'm not about to watch Survivor again, but I have been keeping tabs of what's going down online at least. And like any other red-blooded heterosexual male, I cheer for the chicks. So let's meet our four Survivors: Jessica, Kelly, Paloma and Michelle.

The Chicks of Survivor: Gabon

Jessica "Sugar" Kiper looks more like a 50's pin-up girl than an actual Survivor: Gabon contestant, at least in this press release photo. But in real life, she IS a pin-up model- working as a waitress in 50's-themed restaurants and taking on acting gigs in New York.

She's bubbly, spunky and flirty- but let's see how far she actually gets this season. Go, Sugar, go! Read the rest of her bio on the official Survivor: Gabon website.


Kelly Czarnecki might be one of the cutest on this season of Survivor, but she also looks like she can kick my ass anytime- because she's a kickboxer! Our one-time cheerleader is also into outdoorsy stuff (like camping and canoeing), yoga and fashion. In fact, she hopes to open her own clothing store someday.

Read up more on Kelly here on the Survivor: Gabon section of the CBS official website.

Paloma Soto-Castillo looks like a real nice girl, but our college student has a bit of an adventurous streak in her. According to her profile on the Survivor website, she just decided to drop everything one day and moved to Kenya all by herself- and actually lived with natives and wild animals for 3 months- with no friends, family or the trappings of real life.

So it seems she's probably really at home on Survivor. Then again, probably not- as her tribe members just voted her out this week in their first ever tribal council- seeing her as their weakest player in challenges.

Michelle Chase has this nice little girl-next-door vibe going on, if you ask me. But she's actually one tough chick- and not afraid to speak her mind. According to the CBS website, Michelle also runs triathlons, enjoys boxing, and has been supporting herself since she was 16.

In a landslide vote, however- on the very first episode of this season, Michelle Chase, the 24-year-old music assistant from Los Angeles, California was the first person to be voted out of Survivor: Gabon. One less reason for me to watch the show.

Check out more of Survivor: Gabon on it official website on CBS. Or you could read up on it more on TV.com. Pics are from TV.com.

As long as TV keeps coming up with delicious eye-candy, this blog's feature on "Favorite TV Chicks" will be on hand to get to know more about our fine female performers who make our TV shows a little bit more interesting. Only on "Too Much TV | Renzie on TV!"

Cheers, everyone!

from the couch of Renzie Baluyut

Thanks to a message thread on Facebook, I've been able to check out some old Sesame Street clips I've marked as my favorites on my YouTube account.

Sesame Street was definitely one of the most influential TV shows for me when I was a kid. Seared into my subconscious are some of the most fun sketches and songs I've ever seen, which to this day, I could still recite from memory. Check these lines out:

You take the Golden 'An' to the tan van- you give it to Dan, who'll take it to Fran!

A loaf o' bread, a container of milk, and a stick o' butter. (If you can't remember it, I'll write it down for you. That's OK momma, I won't forget.)

Once upon a time in the land of 8, there stood a castle, very great. With 8 flags up in the air, for the King of 8 had put them there (*trumpets*).

That's about the size, where you put your eyes, that's about the size of it!

What do you think your mother would do, if you yelled like a Yellow Yahoo? (Boo!)

But the coolest of all has to be this one: Stevie Wonder's live performance of "Superstition". And he brought his whole crew with him. And some kids to jam out on the balcony. And I mean really jam out. Check out my post on that particular version of "Superstition" here on my personal music blog, My Thoughts in Stereo.

But just as cool is this one song: something I've never seen on any Stevie Wonder album, though I've heard it's been included in a Sesame Street box set sometime ago.

Stevie has his exact same crew with him, this time with some lovely backup ladies (I wonder if one of them was Denise Williams?). Check this one out and tell me you won't be funkin' out to this. Enjoy!


Now THAT'S how you jam on TV. Thanks to lamarixoxi on Youtube for the video.

Stevie used the Heil Talk Box- and he wrote another cool song for Chaka Khan called "Tell Me Something Good" (thanks to rcollins305 for the info). I don't think I ever noticed the tubing (almost well-hidden by the microphone) when I was a kid. Stevie just moves away from the mike to breathe in from time to time.

Now if I could only find a clip of The Pointer Sisters' "Yes We Can Can". I tried searching for it on YouTube. Fail.

Wanna get more Sesame Street vids and clips? There's a whole lot of em posted all over YouTube, but you may want to check out the official Sesame Street Channel on YouTube here.

Hope you enjoyed this post, ladies and gentlemen.

Cheers, everyone!

from the couch of Renzie Baluyut

On today's feature on Favorite TV Chicks, we turn the spotlight on two of the prettiest contestants to ever sign up for The Amazing Race: Asia. For those of you who have been checking out the show on AXN, you know what I'm talkin' about: the two lovely ladies of Team Thailand: Pailin and Natalie.

Just what the show needs- some serious weekly eye-candy. But if you caught last night's episode, you probably already know how my favorite team fared.

Maybe it was the heat, the sleep deprivation, or just the race itself, but it seemed that Natalie's spirit had begun to give, despite Pailin's best efforts to keep her going. And as luck would have it, this week's leg ended in an elimination.

Who would've thought, right? They look great, they're most likely in top shape, and definitely in a good mood when the race started out. Then again, whoever's going to win any cycle of The Amazing Race- Asia or otherwise- is really going to need more than just physical prowess, endurance, charm and luck. It's really more about a strong desire to win. They have to want to win more than any other team on the competish.

It was truly disappointing since I was really looking forward to seeing more of the two every week on The Amazing Race: Asia.

Here's Pailin and Natalie's write-up from the Amazing Race: Asia website:

No Amazing Race season is without its resident eye candy but with leggy beauties Pailin and Natalie, their team has one credential none of the previous good looking teams in race history ever had – being in a Miss Universe pageant and winning one!

25 year old Pailin Rungratanasunthorn was the first runner up in 2006 Miss Thailand Universe and represented her country as Miss Thailand Earth 2006 as well.

As for her good friend Natalie Glebova, the 26-year-old actually was a Miss Universe. Natalie took home the gleaming crown and title from the competition held in Bangkok, Thailand in 2005. The Russian Canadian beauty originally from Tuapse, Russia represented Canada in her winning event and is the second Canadian to claim the title.

It is no wonder that beauty pageants are part of their blood, having met in the 2006 Miss Thailand Universe pageant and becoming fast friends after that. Pailin was also one of Natalie's bridesmaids when she married Thailand's highest ranked tennis player, Paradorn Srichaphan, in November 2007.

But beauty is not the only thing that links the Thailand team together. Both have acute business sense as they are running their own business. Pailin's company makes toys, t-shirts and gifts for sale online, while Natalie's company sells beauty products across Thailand.

Describing herself, Pailin notes of her decision to participate in The Amazing Race, "I am really competitive and I want to do something where I can put my energy in it."

Agreeing, Natalie adds, "We're both very competitive and cannot stand to lose. We love to travel, love to do adrenaline like things, love to experience new cultures and learn."

And with both their credentials, travelling has become second nature to them. Pailin has travelled to Japan, China, South Africa, and Egypt while Natalie, other than gracing beauty pageants around the world, has attended the G8 Summit in New York, and as a HIV/AIDS awareness advocate, has travelled extensively to India and Africa.

Having spent their formative years in the beauty circuit, the damsels know a bit about what it takes to stay ahead. And having seen the show on television, the duo is also gunning to experience the thrills and tumbles that only the race can deliver. Exclaims Natalie, "We love to try new things. Give us bungee jumping, parachuting, paragliding and parasailing any day!"

She adds, "We are competitive, we're in shape and we're going to kick ass."

The girls have started preparing for the trek around the world based on what the previous Amazing Race Asia seasons were like. Surprisingly, their strategy for winning is to be the underdog and "fly under the radar". "Let's hope that no one will take us too seriously so we won't be recognized as a threat until it's too late!"

Well, so much for those two. But even if they did get eliminated, they still have a fan in me. Just look at those two- absolutely gorgeous :D

You can check out the rest of the teams, team photos and even interact with other fans of The Amazing Race: Asia on the official AXN Asia website.

As long as TV keeps coming up with delicious eye-candy, this blog's feature on "Favorite TV Chicks" will be on hand to get to know more about our fine female performers who make our TV shows a little bit more interesting. Only on "Too Much TV | Renzie on TV!"

Cheers, everyone.