Big Brother 16: Live Feeds into Saturday pre-dawn - June 28

Caleb feels out who wants whom out

Hey, there hamster-watchers! I'm still feeling out this group and have no clue what I think of a few of them. But, others have made an impression on me. Of course, the biggest NEWS is that Donny won PoV and is sure to use it to save himself from eviction. Before I get into the feeds report, I'd like to share some of my thoughts on what I've seen so far. (Please let me know what you think in the comments!) --

• On the whole, everyone gets along fairly well ... which can be boring.
• Frankie has an excellent social game. He's worked his way into every hamster's heart. Unlike Andy of last year who did that, he's not nervous or jumpy about things. He has confidence. And, he's not coming across as sneaky.
• Zach thinks he's in with Frankie so his game is as good as Frankie's game. It ain't. He's coming across as some kind of spoiled frat dude to me.
• Cody wears Rutgers hoodies. Don't I see enough of them around here?
• Everybody is dismissing PauPau as no threat whatsoever. Chances are whoever goes on the block against her will go home. She had a lot of big talk going into the game.
• Donny is golden when he's there. I like him. I want him in the game. But he definitely needs to mingle and hang out with the others more. He's already an odd man out just due to being an odd man in the game. He NEEDS to get out there with the crowd and hang!
• It seems like the guys think that Cody's a bit of a wild card. Hmm.
• The girls are already mocking Victoria's not going to get sexual moves.
• Derrick is playing his park and recs dude ploy pretty well. He's also getting along with all. I actually wouldn't mind if he won it all.
• I do NOT LIKE them running the Jeff pre-show interviews instead of trivia during comps. With the theme music and trivia, I could take a nap with it playing and depend on the voices to awaken me when the feeds returned. With the Jeff interviews, it's all voices and I can't nap. Plus, there's too little fodder for the length of time the feeds are blocked!

Frankie is in with the in crowd

Here's the latest skinny from inside that Big Brother House of Silly Saps:

• Donny won the spelling/water and suds involved PoV comp with the word "splitters."
• Victoria almost won the PoV and has come away with a week of safety. She cannot be put on the block as a replacement due to her Battle of the Block win.
• Caleb went around talking to everybody asking for one guy and one girl's name they would want him to put on the block.
• Many were a bit iffy -- people are still getting along well in the house and any rifts have been quite minor.
• It seems the consensus is still against Joey. People are irked that she not only outed the girls alliance, but took credit for forming it.
• Devin's name came up as some people think he's too strong and he can be moody.
• Brittany thinks it's best to keep weak players around.
• Yeah, right. Send home all the good hamsters, Brit! Sheesh! (My own thoughts on that.)
• PauPau told Donny she was happy he won. He told her he's on her side. Aw ... sweet, but far from a showmance!
• Now, that would be interesting -- a PauPauDonny showmance! :)
• PauPau can rival Adam for the love of bacon.
• On a side note -- have you bought bacon recently? The price skyrocketed! 
• Some are worried that Christine and Nicole have too much game knowledge and might ally.
• Hmmm ... something happened on Day Two (before the feeds went live) that they're not allowed to talk about. Hmm.
• After nearly two weeks in the house, Donny hasn't got all their names down. I tell you ... he needs to get more involved with the others!
• I still don't have all them down, but if I think about it, I get the names right.
• I'm better at remembering the guys more than girls. I wonder why.
• When the backyard finally opened, they all made the escape. There were cartwheels, headstands, pool playing, hammock rocking and lounging about.
• Not much game talk with all outside.
• It sounds like most are willing to let Joey go on the block and then vote her out instead of PauPau.
• You go, Team America, huh!
• Joey seems to know her future is murky and is already working on votes to stay.
• Caleb is getting a bit smitten with Amber. His bromance boys (Frankie, Cody and Zach) tell him she's playing him.
• Caleb isn't coming off as obnoxious as he seems like he might be in real life.
• Victoria (in a tear-filled moment) told Frankie she lost all her hair suddenly a few years back. Her hair is her pride and joy. Her real hair now is only up to shoulder-length, not the big long braid we see.
• Joey thinks she's going to go up as a pawn.
• Sheesh ... Donny! Get your butt out here and mingle with these child hamsters!
• Frankie pledges to feed the fish all summer no matter who is HoH. He's even named them. Hopefully not as many will die this season as in the past.
• Devin's "Double D" alliance with Donny is but a joke he shared with Derrick, Cody and Caleb.
• Sigh.
• So ... it seems that Joey will go up as Donny's replacement and it will probably be her going home, not PaoPao.
• Notice I spell her name differently almost every time I write it. 
• Heehee.

PauPau has a pow-wow

Bro-power?

Disembodied head? Eek!

The tall and the short in gray hoodies

Victoria is safe for the week

Big Brother 16: Live Feeds into Friday evening and POV - June 27

Oh my, Jacosta. No bowtie?

Here's the latest from inside that Big Brother House of Mixed Nuts:

• It's really not looking good for Donny. Sigh. It seems almost everyone wants him out.
• My gosh. All the girls, except Christine and Nicole, had to waste well over an hour of live feeds time applying their make-up. I'm personally not a huge make-up fan, but this takes the cake.
• I realize they have time on their hands in the house, but I can't take watching all that!
• Devin is falling out of favor with folks. Apparently he's having his ups and downs and now a few are wondering if he's bi-polar.
• What? That guy with the easy grin? I think he might just be missing his daughter and letting it bother him.
• He let it get to him that he lent people things and cleaned up after others and no one would lend him a sheet.
• Ah, poor Devin. I guess no one gives a sheet about you.
• I crack myself up.
• Ahem.
• Meanwhile, Amber spent forever cleaning the kitchen.
• At least some people clean this year!
• Frankie is playing Caleb like a fiddle. 
• I wish Frankie didn't have a famous sister I don't know and a YouTube fan following. I'm actually respecting his game so far.
• Frankie, Caleb and Devin were talking fight stories. Caleb mentioned one in which he was with his "gay friend." (Not quite the word he uses on the internet.) Frankie even had a fight story where he flipped, kicked a guy in the face and broke his nose.
• Testosterone, yep.
•  Frankie and Zach are working together ... supposedly. 
• Devin is kind of sad that Donny will go home unless he wins the veto. He says there's no use in voting out Paola, though -- she's a weak player.
• Amber wants Joey out because she outed the girls alliance.
• Lots of rumbling about wanting Joey out.
• But, unless she goes up as a PoV alternate nominee, she's not on the block.
• That would be Donny and Paolo.
• Hayden wants to request peanut butter be added to the condiments allowed with slop.
• Frankie thinks that, since Amber gets along with the guys better than the girls, she's reluctant to vote for Donny to go.
• He said it doesn't matter; they have the votes without her.
• :(
• Woot, woot! I've had this all written waiting for the live feeds to return after the PoV ... and ... and ...
• DONNY is wearing the PoV necklace!
• DONNY WON THE POWER OF VETO!
• WOOT!

Donny with his PoV necklace!

Lookin' like Santa's elf

No copping out, Derrick!

I just don't know

Big Brother 16: Live Feeds Report - Into Friday 6/27

Caleb's in charge, he has minions

Welcome to the first live feeds report for BB16! Now, keep in mind that a lot has gone on that we didn't see. They've already been in the house for a week. So, for right now, it's a game of "catch up" to hear references of what's been going down. Here ya go:

Frankie says Relax ...

• Oh great. The feeds went live with Joey streaking topless. Is this a forewarning about the season?
• Then Hayden streaked with her, using a hat to hide his junk.
• Judging from missing keys on the Memory Wall, it looks like PauPau and Donny are on the block.
• Yay and GRRR.
• Yay, because PauPau annoys me. GRR because I really like Donny.
• It sounds like the girls' alliance is kaput.
• The PoV is "tomorrow." That would actually be "today" -- Friday.
• Zach and Victoria are playing.
• Not sure who else other than the two HoH.
• They already have Have Nots who stay in the Ice Room.
• Hayden, Joey, Brittany, Victoria and Cody are definitely Have Nots.
• Frankie needs to realize it isn't Big Brother the Musical. He can't keep singing!
• It's hard to tell who's working with whom right now. It looks like Zach is a bit in with Derrick and Cody while Devin and Caleb have clicked. And then it looks like Cody and Zach are in a bit with Caleb.
• I'm so confused!
• Frankie told Zach he'd prefer if PauPau went home.
• So would I.
• If she doesn't go, he thinks she'll self-destruct.
• Well, that could be interesting, too!
• The Battle of the Block has already gone down -- CALEB IS THE SOLE HOH.
• Why is that not a surprise?
• Apparently Frankie did form a bond with Caleb, though.
• Now, that IS a surprise.
• From the talk, it sounds like the plan is to evict Donny.
• :(
• Caleb told PauPau that the noms were chosen by both as per who fell in the HoH comp. They hadn't discussed it, just did it.
• It's three girls and Donny nominated. Hmm ... I know one is PauPau. Not sure on the other two. Frankie's nominees won the battle, so Caleb's remain on the block. I'm not sure why Caleb remains HoH and not Frankie, though.
• Victoria can't sleep with men in the room and Nicole is afraid of the dark.
• No one in the house smokes this year. That's the first year ever. Welp, no talk of bartering cigarettes for safety!
• Zach indeed seems to be into a lot of alliances.
• Supposedly Zach and Cody don't care for Caleb yet they act like they do!
• Hmm ...

Late night gathering

It's a cold world

She has her earmuffs!

The minions listen to Caleb

Big Brother 16: Season Premiere Part Two Blog Party

Tonight we see the second group of eight hamsters enter the house. I believe we'll see their HoH comp, but I'm not certain if much else due to the changes this season. I assume they might have the Battle of the Block after nominations, but I could be wrong. From what Julie said, it sounds like that battle will air Sunday night. However, I'm sure it will take place before then (if it hasn't already taken place in the house).

Once the live feeds kick in tonight after the West Coast show airing, we'll know more. I'll put up a report early in the morning to let you know. Keep in mind that we're not seeing anything live either last night or tonight (I think). The hamsters probably entered the house last Friday.

Before we get the party started, a few reminders:

• If you want in on the blog pool, you need to sign up on the blog pool sign-up post. Only there, please. It might be missed if you want in on this party post! As we are skipping the first ousted hamster, the cut-off for signing up for the pool is this Sunday night, midnight EDT.
• Due to the two night season premiere, the live feeds aren't starting until tonight's show ends West Coast time (1am here). I doubt my first live feeds report will be before early Friday morning. I have to gather info!

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll update this entry with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest! But the real party is in the comments. Come join in on the fun!

Recap and the intro of the second group of eight. They're showing the same sides they showed in the video interviews I posted. Perhaps Zach is even more obnoxious. Oh ... and Christine likes to be naked.

Julie lets them in on eight already inside and that an HoH has already been crowned. But then she lets them know there will be two HoH. At the end of the week, only one HoH will remain.

Jocasta, Caleb, Chistine and Hayden enter first. The previous eight greet them. The other four enter. Some people aren't going to get beds! Frankie and Victoria hit it off.

Donny makes cricket noises to entertain others and make himself more likable.

The new group's HOH starts, similar with a rolling log, but a barbeque theme. Over the Coals.  Fall into coals and you're gone. They hug the log instead of standing. The first group gets to watch them.

Victoria is out first. Now, Farankie wanted to team up with her. He's re-thinking that now.

BB gives them barbeque sauce. Brittany down. Jocasta down. Christine down. Zach is down, an obvious throw. Derrick down, thrown but not as obvious.

Hayden out, Caleb is the 2nd HoH.

After cleaning up, they gather in the living room with Julie on the monitor. She tells them every week 2 HoH, each nom two HG. Four noms a week. And ... Battle of the Block -- the nominees from each HoH battle. The ones who win will dethrone the HOH from the other side and that HoH loses his HoH-ship and could go up on the block (with the PoV used).

Team America -- Whoa, not Frankie! It's Joey! Carry out secret missions, each one gets them five thousand dollars. Two more will be chosen. Voting is now open for the second one at the CBS website.

Big Brother 16: Season Premiere Blog Party!

Is this what you want, Lester? Another summer of Big Brother? Oh, wait. I'm mixing Fargo up with Big Brother. No, Lorne Malvo is NOT a houseguest this season. Although, you have to admit that would be interesting!

Before we get the party started, a few reminders:

• If you want in on the blog pool, you need to sign up on the blog pool sign-up post. Only there, please. It might be missed if you want in on this party post! As we are skipping the first ousted hamster, the cut-off for signing up for the pool is this Sunday night, midnight EDT.
• Due to the two night season premiere, the live feeds aren't starting until after tomorrow night's show ends West Coast time (1am here). I doubt my first live feeds report will be before early Friday morning.

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll update this entry with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest! But the real party is in the comments. Come join in on the fun!

So ... hamster-watchers? Are we ready! It's AWN (in the famous words of Monica Bailey BB2) ...

8 are being introduced -- Pau Pau, Donny, Cody, Frankie, Amber, Nicole, Devin, Joey. Julie tells them they're facing the most twisted season ever, but only mentions they'll find out why there's only eight there later.

Cody, Amber, Donny and Joey go in the house first. Then the second group. It's Paolo *Pau Pau, who figures out there's sixteen in all.

Of course, this eight want to stick together as an alliance. They decide they're the Crazy8s. Devin makes a side alliance with Donny. The girls want a girl alliance called El Quatro. PauPau is suspicious that Frankie and Cody will form an alliance.

Julie shows up on the monitor promising a crowded house soon. She tells all about the HoH, ends with "completely safe, scratch that last part." She tells them that just because you're HoH, doesn't mean you're safe. Then she goes off screen.

PauPau is hitting on Cody big time. Frankie also has a crush on Cody.

They go to the yard in swimsuits for the HoH comp. Go Fly a Kite -- HG must hold up their kite string while on a rotating beam (kind of like log-rolling).

Out first is PauPau. Too bad, so sad. Joey is out. Nicole is down once sunscreen is sprayed by BB. The log changes direction. Donny, then Devin down. Cody is down.

FRANKIE wins HoH!

Julie keeps talking about the "Team America" vote regarding whom we'd like to make an alliance with and threatening another big twist.

They have to go to the living room, Frankie is directed to one of the nomination chairs. Julie tells them that another group of eight will be in and there will be two HoHs. But, by the end of the week, only one HoH will remain standing.

Team America news -- the winner of that will be a part of a three person alliance chosen by us, one a week chosen. They will have secret missions and all.

Tomorrow night is the second eight. Sunday night will be the Battle of the Block.

Big Brother 16: More cast videos and some pre-show thoughts

There are several media outlets with hamster videos out there. This isn't one of them. Well, okay, now it is as I'm linking one of the "bigger media who gets chosen for such things" videos. One site has videos that are nearly 20 minutes each! Yikes! The ones I'm posting here, from bigbrothernetwork.com, are five to six minutes each -- much easier to take, yet more in-depth than the ones on the official CBS website.

Here are my thoughts after not only watching these videos, but others too and poking around on the web. Now, I could be misjudging based on preliminary information, but this is what I think:

• Caleb has to go. With all the racial prejudice stuff from last year, they took him on the cast? Not necessarily shown on the videos, more on stuff he's personally posted on the internet, I don't like him. I don't care if he's good-looking.
• To counter Caleb, several of the guys want to go in as honest and nice. The ones coming immediately to mind are Derrick, Devin, Cody and Donny. All admit there will come times they need to lie, but on the whole all seem to want to play the game with as much integrity as possible.
• A handful of the women in the individual interviews really want to make a LASTING female alliance, knowing it's never really held up before. Now, if this handful of women can actually get together and make it last, it could go down in BB history!
• There are at least three true superfans in the cast this season -- Donny, Christine and Nicole. Donny and Christine have seen every season. There are other good fans such as Jocasta, Derrick and Frankie, then there are some who were recruited and never watched the show until they were approached by casting and/or in sequester. One, Victoria, was a fan of the show in another country as she spent each summer in Israel. That might bring an interesting perspective to her gameplay.
• As far as gameplay, I think Derrick might just have a great edge in the house with his undercover police background and being a big fan of the show.
• It seems Amazing Race wannabees get cast on Big Brother -- both Caleb (if I'm not mistaken) and Devin applied to TAR, Frankie had applied to Survivor.
• Although I personally had no idea or knowledge of either Frankie or his pop star sister, I guess many people are familiar with them. I personally don't like a built-in fan base who might be voting for things which influence the game and there's a power block. I didn't like it with Elissa last season, and I'm not too keen on the possibilities of it happening with Frankie this season. That said, he seems okay on his own. 
• Cody is not only good eye-candy for me, he's a Jersey boy. And, he comes across as nice. I just might have to cheer him on despite whatever hamster comes up in my blog pool pick.
•  I wonder what it's like going through life knowing you're all that and a bag of chips ... AKA Zach.
• Speaking of blog pool picks ... have you entered your name on the blog pool pick post yet? Only enter on that post, not on this one, please. We might miss requests from other posts!

Without further ado, here are the videos from bigbrothernetwork.com --

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE VIDEOS**

Big Brother and Me (and you, too!)

Greetings, fellow hamster fans! Since we have some new folks coming aboard each season for the show, I thought I'd post a bit of the history of the blog, what we do, the blog community and more! If you're a returning blog community, a lot of this will be old news to you. Not to worry -- we'll have enough new news in just a few days!

Who am I?
I'm Jackie. I run the place here. I started watching Big Brother in its first season and hosted the AOL Message Boards for the show as well as some of the AOL chats. When blogs came to being more popular, I happened to be out of work with knee surgery the summer of BB6. Unlike Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window, I had no neighbors committing murders. So, I turned my interest to another form of voyeurism -- a Big Brother blog on the now defunct AOL Journals product.

I decided I wanted to cover the live feeds in addition to show reviews. (I've had the live feeds every season, even the first one with its chicken coop cam!) But, since I'm just one person, there's no way I could post every breath the hamsters take 24/7. So, I created a bulleted listing, sort of a Reader's Digest condensed version of what struck me, the major happenings and just stuff I wanted to report. Very few blogs were doing the live feeds at that time.

My blog did so well that I was soon writing show reviews and live feeds reports for Blogcritics, then AOL Television, eventually getting picked up as a freelance writer for TV Squad (AOL Television, now Huffington Post). Along the way, as I wrote the paid reviews of the show, I thought I was shortchanging my own blog community -- that's when I came up with the blog parties on show nights.

During each show as it airs on the East Coast, I put up a blog party post. In the post, while I don't write a review per se, I post the major happenings on the show. Oh, sometimes I interject my own opinions in it. But, hey ... it's my place, right? The parties are actually in the comments area where dedicated show fans in this community post their thoughts throughout the show. We share cyberdrinks and eat lots of fattening food without gaining a pound during these parties!

Alas, the AOL Journal product died and it's no longer available, even cached. The paid gig went away when Huffington Post took over and didn't want freelance writers. But, this blog remains! It's actually a year-round blog and includes Survivor and The Amazing Race, plus my own weekly off television topic photography post.

As I watch the hamster introductions and those who claim to be "superfans," I can only think that I would have to qualify as a super-über-fan or something of that ilk with my BB history! I'm not stupid enough to go on the show, though.

But I couldn't have done it without you! Over the years, the blog community members have stepped up to the plate -- from Zoetawny creating cool gifs for the blog to ORKMommy (and Lifeguard Laurie and Margo) running the blog pools! The community we've built here on the blog is definitely opinionated, but generally respectful of others. Now, that's a rarity these days!

I do monitor the comments and ask that others talk about the houseguests, not their fellow commenters and that comments are kept to a PG level. I'm also not keen on people making nasty comments about the physical aspects (or religion, gender, any racial or sexual slurs, etc.) of various hamsters, nor coming up with nasty names to call them. Heck, sometimes I don't even know who people are talking about when they call a hamster other than his name! I don't like to remove comments, but will remove trolling comments or flame wars. The First Amendment does NOT apply to a blog, y'see!

That said, I go into each season hoping never to have to delete a comment. We'll see how this season does! We do have lots of fun here. We've found out that you can have fun without being hateful. That's a good thing! New commenters are always welcomed by the group, too. We're not exclusive -- the more the merrier!

What you can expect posting-wise from the blog:

• Once the live feeds start up -- Thursday night/Friday morning 1am -- I will regularly be doing two to three live feeds reports daily, along with screen caps.
• On show nights, I'll post a blog party coinciding with the East Coast airing of the show. I turn off the word verification on comments, so comments during the party are very free-flowing. You're all welcome to attend!
• When endurance comps go on after the show, I'll provide real-time coverage from the live feeds -- along with screen caps and the winner.
• Even though most comps are blocked to the live feeds, we find out shortly after who won what. Since I'm the only one posting entries, I guarantee that any winners I post actually won. Unlike some sites where anyone can post false information (and sometimes they do here in comments, but I remove false info comments), if I post something, it's because I saw it for myself. And, you can bet your bippy on that!
• This blog, with the exception of the blog party show nights, is all about spoilers. We generally know who won PoV and nominations more than a couple of days before it's shown on the air.
• We also get to know the hamsters outside of any CBS edit, plus when they show situations out of order.
• I also have a Big Brother on Jackie's TV Blog Facebook page where I link any posts I make on the blog. Occasionally I put other content on there, too. If you "like" that page, you'll know the moment I post here on the blog.
• I also link updates to this blog on Twitter, but tend not to really twitter much otherwise.
• I also have a personal Facebook page, but try not to post much on Big Brother on that page as it overwhelms the page. Believe it or not, many of my friends and family aren't into the show! Yikes! That's why I created a separate page mainly for BB. Most of my BB posts on that will be directing people to the show FB page.

SOOOO ... wanna come aboard the party boat for Big Brother 16?

You can get into the blog pool at THIS LINKED POST -- the cut-off for the blog pool is Sunday night, midnight EDT. Please only sign up on the linked post as we might miss your request on other posts.

The first blog party of the season will start on Wednesday night, 8pm EDT. Be there or be square.

Big Brother 16: Blog Pool OPENS!

Yep, yep ... the pool is opening and the water is just fine!

ORKMommy will be doing the random match-ups and running the pool again this season. She rocks, right?

What it's all about: Blog community folks in the pool will randomly be matched up with a hamster in the Big Brother house. Now, they might get a "good" one or they could end up with a "hated by the Internet" one. You never know. That's as random as it gets! They get to cheer on their hamster during its life in the house. If your hamster wins, you retain bragging rights until the next season! I'd say you win a gazillion dollars and, while the sentiment is indeed there, the money is not.

Entry to the pool closes Sunday evening, June 29, midnight EDT.

Yes, we'll be skipping the first eviction. Why? Because we never even get to see that person on the feeds or anything! They're gone before we get to know them. By skipping the first eviction, at least we get to quasi-know the second evictee by the time the eviction comes.

ALL ENTRY REQUESTS HAVE TO BE ENTERED IN COMMENTS ON THIS POST!!

I'll be linking this post to all the posts between now and the cut-off date (next Sunday night). I cannot guarantee you'll make it into the pool if you ask in on other posts!

Hamster watchers ready?

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - June 22, 2014

Good morning! For those now cruising the blog for Big Brother television show news, I'll be posting the blog pool sign-up post later today (don't sign up for it on this post, please!). This here post is my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way.

As for the week gone by itself, it wasn't a heck of a lot of much more than work, work, work. The big news is that Big Brother started revealing the new hamster house, new hamsters and new twists. I've covered those things in previous posts and will be posting more daily as we head into the season premiere on Wednesday night.

The weather here in my area of New Jersey hit the nineties for the first time this year. As it was only two days, it wasn't a legitimate heat wave. It still felt like it. I'm not a big fan of summer with ultra-hot and humid days. If summers could have an 80 degree cut-off with low humidity, I'd like it much more. I don't like sweating!

I had good luck with critter photos this week -- a pigeon with its wings expanded during landing and the Plainfield Train Station groundhog, along with a rabbit and a squirrel. Had I been more prepared, I would have had a nice deer shot last night. I climbed up the stairs at the Bridgewater Train Station only to practically walk into a large doe. I gasped. She gasped. She ran so quickly that I couldn't get the shot. She even scared a bunch of rabbits who also hopped away quickly. I was happy that she ran into a fenced area rather than towards the train tracks.

Onto the photos for the week ... clicking on the photo will show it in its Photobucket page. In that view, there's a magnifying glass on the bottom right. You can make the photo larger twice there. To get back to the blog, just close the Photobucket window.

Can you see the hidden groundhog?

This groundhog at the Plainfield Train Station thought he found the perfect place to hide from me. Yeah, right. I've got you, groundhog!

Religion and Politics Shouter

With a nod to Stephen King's "Monster Shouter" in The Stand, I came across this man with a megaphone at the corner of Park Avenue and East Front Street in Plainfield one afternoon this this week. He was shouting against gay marriage, abortion, Obama ... you name it. No one was paying any attention to him. Also, no one was at the chess tables in the sun!

My flower slideshow teaser

If you're reading this post from the main page of the blog itself instead of the individual post, this week's flower slideshow is after the jump.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Big Brother 16: Cast Interviews

Now, I watched all the Jeff Schroeder interviews with the new hamsters at the CBS website. They're short, they're CBS-controlled. I've also made it clear that I'm very tired of Rachel Reilly. But, to give her credit, she does know the BB world inside and out. These cast interviews, which play after the initial intro ones, are longer and much more interesting. If you click to watch them on YouTube, you can pick and choose which cast members to watch in what order.

I'm getting more and more partial to Donny here. It's definitely not the beard. He's watched every season and is way into reality television. Good. Every video I watch of Zach annoys me.

These come from BiteSizeTV/Reality Relapse --

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Big Brother 16: Cast Revealed

The big cast reveal was today. Hmm. Again, we have little diversity in age or race amongst the hamsters and it looks like they shot for folks who look good in bathing suits and/or might go for some hanky-panky under the covers. (Hopefully UNDER the covers! I don't want to see THAT!)

That said, it does seem like they aimed for more than the mindless unemployed bartenders for the most part this season. I'll be going more into the cast over the days leading up to the season premiere, but here's a quick lowdown --

Coming from a family with a single mother and raised in low-income housing, Amber Borzatra says she'll do anything to win. Um. Okay.

Brittany Martinez in the mother of three children. (Who's watching the kids?) She's divorced after eight years of marriage and thinks she's sneaky because she once faked labor to get out of a traffic ticket.

Caleb Reynolds served in the military as a jail guard in Iraq. His family owns a hunting business. He wears a cowboy hat. Hmm.

Christine Brecht has been to Disneyland over 50 times and has lived to tell the tale. She also was in a hot air balloon accident in high school and lived to tell that tale as well. Will she make it though Big Brother?

Cody Calafiore gives teenage girls dating and fashion advice in Seventeen magazine. He likes chick flicks and was drafted to a professional soccer team in college, but an injury blew that for him.

Derrick Levasseur might be the brains of this operation. He had a full baseball scholarship to college, went on to get his Business Administration Masters, He started police work as an undercover agent at 20 and has been a sergeant for ten years. How come he looks 22? I'm feeling old now.

Devin Sheperd played pro baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. Oh. And he's tall. He bio bit was really a bit!

Donny Thompson comes from a small town where he was the janitor in Kelly Pickler's high school. (Remember, American Idol country gal?) He's never been on a plane. Well, I bet he didn't WALK to California to be on the show! So, now he's been on a plane and is all kinds of worldly.

Frankie Grande is a former Broadway actor. (Never heard of him.) He's also a YouTube sensation. (Never heard of him.) His sister is pop star Ariana Grande. (Never heard of her. But I'll admit modern pop isn't my area of expertise.)

No, not OUR Hayden! Hayden Voss is a pedi-cab driver who recently moved to Los Angeles. (Probably looking for that big break. He's more the typical hamster we get.) He plans on using his "surfer dude" persona to win. Good luck with that.

Jocasta Odom is a minister who says she'll swear on the bible to win and plays pranks on her husband. Well, that's different, I guess.

Joey Van Pelt -- perhaps a relative of Linus and Lucy -- was the big girl on campus in her high school. She was the team mascot (a tiger), homecoming queen and class president. She's liberal, big on recycling and wants to save the world. Or something like that.

Nicole Franzel has wanted to be on Big Brother since she was EIGHT. Eep. What was she doing watching this show at that age? That should be the sign of a superfan. Then she goes and says she'd like a showmance with someone like Ian. @@

Now, Paola Shea just might be a contender. She's a Maxim magazine girl, a top-rated gamer and wants to be the best female DJ ever. The gamer part could definitely work in her favor.

Victoria Rafaeli isn't our standard hamster. She was raised by Israeli parents and is expected to live at home until marriage. Did she bother telling her parents about this? My gosh, I hope they don't get the live feeds! She started her own photography business at 19.

Zach Rance recently received his degree in economics. He thinks of himself as a con artist. Well, that goes well with his chosen academics, doesn't it? Lofty goals in mind, he wants to be a professional caddy.

So, there they are. I haven't really looked into their ages much, but it's doubtful that more than one or two are over 30 even and probably none over 40. What do you think?

Big Brother 16: Twist(s) and House Photos Revealed

Hamster watchers ready? It's not long now!

On The Talk today, Julie Chen revealed the new twist(s) for the season. Here's the skinny:

• There will be two HoH each week all summer long.
• Each HoH will make two nominations, making for four nominees weekly.
• The HoHs themselves aren't safe as there will be a new competition introduced -- Battle of the Block.
• "Team America" will be able to influence the game.

Hmm. Well, this will be different. Alliances are going to have a harder time to grow, at least the larger half/house ones we've seen the last several seasons. I'm not sure what will happen when the numbers dwindle. I'm not all that keen on the viewers taking more than a very non-influential part. People often tend to want the most interesting people (often villain types) gone and, to me, they're what makes the live feeds and show more interesting!

Your thoughts?

Also, the Hollywood Reporter revealed the house photos today. You can find them at this link. Their article about the new house is right here.

There is also a video at the CBS press site with Julie touring the house. I can't seem to embed it here, but you should be able to watch it at this link.

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - June 15, 2014

Happy Father's Day to everyone out there! My own father passed away young, decades ago. Yet I think of him almost every day.

Since it is Sunday, it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. By the end of this week, all the quietness on the blog will go kerflooey as my coverage of the Big Brother live feeds and shows commence. I'll still post this weekly off topic post, but there will be multiple daily content spoilers and such for the show. It's our summer guilty pleasure! Also, Under the Dome and Falling Skies return!

The weather here this past week was similar to the week before -- rain during the weekdays, nice weekends. You would think, with all the technology in the world, instead of spending money on wars, mankind could focus its attention on doing things like harnessing the weather -- redirecting rainfall to areas of drought and such. I'm sure the money spent by all nations for wars could handle that, as well as research into cures for diseases. But, nah. Mankind would rather just kill each other off, I guess.

I realized this past week that I've apparently become allergic to mosquito bites. To those who saw the photo of a bite I posted on Facebook, the bite is okay. Yeah, still obvious and all, but no longer inflamed. If a mosquito bites me on the nose, I'm going to have to hide from all society.

I don't have much more for you right now. Look for BB posts and announcements by the end of the week! If you click on any of the photos, you'll be brought to that image on my Photobucket page. You can make the image larger and really larger from there. Have a great week!

My train arrives

Yes, it's MY train. I'm getting tired of all the strangers and tourists aboard. How dare TD Ball Park in Bridgewater have a Saturday daytime game coinciding with my work commute! Is there a reason that parents and children don't understand that the phrase "inside voice" applies to train travel? Sheesh. I'm seriously frightened that the large percentage of children these days who are never taught how to behave in public places are going to make it an even more ill-mannered society in the future. Sure, children will be children. However, if parents don't address unacceptable behavior at a young age, the kids aren't going to listen to them at all later on. On the other hand, I compliment both child and parent whenever I see good manners and well-behaved children. It makes both the child and parent feel good!                                                      

Approaching storm

I thought Friday's storm was going to miss us as I straddled the line between storm and sun. It was hot and humid with the air so thick that breathing didn't really come easy. To the north and west, dark clouds made the skies look like night was coming. To the south and east, the sun was shining brightly. On the new electronic sign by Plainfield's Municipal Court, the temperature hit over 100 degrees. Of course, the temperature is still whacked on that -- it's still over ten degrees off. It wasn't THAT hot. It was only in the high eighties with severe humidity. The storm hit hard about ten minutes after I got in the door at home. Lightning, thunder, wind and hail. Oh my.

Coming up next!

After the jump (if you're reading from the main blog page, not the individual post link), you'll find this week's flowers slideshow.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - June 8, 2014

Good morning! Soon we'll have all kinds of Big Brother stuff to gossip about! But, for now, this is my off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way.

I realize I'm getting this up late this week. I'm having trouble getting my flower photo slideshow working on the blog. My apologies.

As for the week gone by itself? Blah! It was a rather horrible work week fraught with the usual come back from vacation mess, lots of bad weather while I was walking to or fro, training a new person at my workplace and computer failures there, too. Gah. There really has to be a better way. Who the heck came up with this idea of working for a living anyway?

Oh, well ... onto the photos and let's see if that slideshow finally works ...

What's up, bunny?

Rabbits, the new squirrels in my New Jersey 'hood, are back once again. This one and an occasional friend or two can be found early mornings on the front lawn of the Richmond Towers housing complex on East Front Street in Plainfield.

Rose is a rose

Is a rose ... and so on, according to Gertrude Stein. Roosevelt Avenue, Plainfield. (See the slideshow after the jump for a plethora of flowers!)

Storm clouds move in

This is Watchung Avenue in Plainfield on Tuesday afternoon as I arrived home from work. Although you can't tell from the photo, the winds were horrific. Since it was hot and muggy, all that nasty street dirt kicked up by the winds stuck to me. It got in my eyes, too! Since the weatherman said the storms would start in the EVENING, I didn't bring my umbrella as I was due to come home mid-afternoon. I ended up ducking into one of the taxi places just as the skies let loose with torrents of rain, accompanied by lightening and thunder.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - June 1, 2014

Welcome to my off television topic weekly reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way. I did post a bit about Big Brother and Fargo this past week and will be posting on Falling Skies in the upcoming days as I've seen the two first episodes of that show on pre-release screener copies. I was happy to watch the new season premieres of So You Think You Can Dance and America's Got Talent. Both of those shows are in their audition phases and I'll probably stop following one or another when I get bogged down with Big Brother. The CNN ten episode series The Sixties is going to be a must see for me even if it does go up against the Thursday night live BB eviction!

Hey, this post isn't about television!

Um. What did I do this past week? Well, I napped a lot. I watched television. I read. I hung out on the computer. I cooked. I baked. I did some housecleaning. I napped some more. I didn't take any day trips. I basically goofed off.

But, it was worth it! I feel very relaxed. Onto the photos, as few as there are, for the week --

Scotch Plains Farmers Market

Plainfield has a farmers market each year, but that one's small, on a workday for me and I don't think they've started it yet. The Scotch Plains Farmers Market has several different vendors -- not just one farm with produce and flowers. Lots of produce limited only by the season, but there's also pastries, ethnic foods from different countries, a Picklelicious tent, even a local winemaker. Our growing season has been off this spring. I only bought some asparagus and a few beautiful green peppers.

Deadly nightshade

I keep seeing this in new and different places each year. This time it's growing along a fence at East Front and Berckman streets in Plainfield.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**