Originally posted Thursday, March 14, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Ron Clark of Ron Clark Academy pulled off a little "Survivor" chicanery in the fourth episode of season 38 "Edge of Extinction."
He spent time talking with returnee Joe Anglim - a target for elimination - pretending that he was seriously pondering coming to Joe's side. But 20 minutes earlier, he had fellow alliance member Julia Carter rifle through Joe's personal belongings to see if he had an "Idol." Joe did not.
Anyway, the “Survivor” gods smiled upon Ron and his Kama tribe. When the 15 remaining contestants - in two tribes - were split into three, there was just a single swap: Manu’s Wendy Diaz joined four Kama tribemates. Ron was placed in a relatively safe space for the time being with four of his Kama tribemates.
(Notably, Ron has proven to be a solid puzzle solver to date. He helped his team finish first in the immunity challenge Wednesday. Ron’s practice of all previous puzzle challenges over the first 36 seasons has clearly helped.)
The newly formed Lesu tribe consisted of five Manu tribemates.Of course, the cursed crew lost the immunity challenge again. With Wendy elsewhere, the remaining five had to eat their own. The ultimately goner: Macon TV anchor Rick Devens. He had aligned with returnee David Wright while the Wardog was close to fellow returnee Kelley Wentworth and Lauren O'Connell. The loss of Wendy ultimately hurt Rick's shot at the $1 million.
Best moment though was Wendy on her new tribe freeing the chickens and jumping around like she had won immunity or something.
“They’re free! Their lives are saved!” she yelped. “This is my master plan. I’m ecstatic.” Somehow, this “master plan” has absolutely nothing to do with winning the game. So... congrats??? Her tribemates are flummoxed that she’d rather get voted out than allow them to eat some necessary protein.
***
A former WYZE gospel personality Bishop Ray Neal has purchased the license of the now dark WZYE-AM/1480 signal for an unspecified amount.
According to a press release, he used retirement funds to buy the station.
The previous owner shut WYZE down in November due to unspecified technical issues.
Neal, who hosted an evening show at WYZE for 30 years, still needs a facility to run the station and is raising funds to lease or purchase another location and get it up and running. You can give through a cash app, Paypal or GoFundMe via www.wyzeradio.com.
It’s a daunting task. They need $300,000.
“We have the equipment, we have the license-all we need is a new home and engineering to set it up,” Neal said. “The concept behind the station was to offer affordable radio time to the average congregation of 100 members or less. We want to be able to give them the opportunity to have an international voice on the airways and through the internet.”
The station had been on air 38 years.
***
Credit: NBC
Credit: NBC
Carter Lloyd Horne, 20, of Marietta last week made it past the blind chair round on season 16 of "The Voice."
The country singer and 2017 Sprayberry High School grad chose Midland's "Drinking Problem."
Technically, he isn’t even of drinking age but he said in an interview this week that “it’s a good, fun, tongue-in-cheek song. I really enjoy the song personally.”
His vocal style is a bit laid back and the judges held back as a result. He even had said in his head toward the end of his performance that he would accept the fact nobody turned their chairs.
But at the very last second, as he was hitting his final note, both Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton pressed their buttons.
“I almost fell down,” he said. “It feels like a dream. It’s crazy.”
He ultimately chose Blake as his coach although he said his first pick had been John Legend. But he was drawn to Blake because Blake critiqued his work in a way that made Carter think Blake could really make him better.
“It just made me feel like he was going to be the most brutally honest and sincere coach,” he said. “So far, he has been. It’s been amazing.” (This portion of the show was pre-taped many weeks ago.)
He has been super committed to improving his craft the past two years, playing music “non stop” at restaurants and venues all over Marietta, Woodstock and Kennesaw.
“It doesn’t feel like work,” Carter said. “I can play a four-hour gig non stop and take no breaks. It’s just fun. It’s what I love. It’s my passion.”
However far he gets, Carter hopes getting his name out there and networking with some big names in the music business will give him a kickstart to his career.
He is psyched for the battle rounds and got advice from Brooks & Dunn, which we'll see in a future episode.
About the Author
