Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen-X Blog Party - November 30

As Survivor airs here on the East Coast, I'll be live-blogging with the major events.  As always, the real party is in the comments area. Please feel free to join in on the fun!
 
Here are the blog pool match updates from the Lifeguard Luau Laurie:

Survivors
Adam Klein - Brian, Kelsey NY, Sharon N
Bret LaBelle - Brandi Peralta, Judi Sweeney, Skyriverblue
David Wright - Buzzmaam, MikesGirl, Sharon C
Hannah Shapiro - David, meb, Terry is a Texan
Jay Starrett - Becky, Jackie, Shayne
Ken McNickle - Dolores in Hollywood, Margo, Russ
Sunday Burquest - Brenda, Kristen from Ohio, SueGee
Will Wahl - Cheryl, Indiana Jane
Zeke Smith - Beachmom, monty924 , Glenn

Jury
Michelle Shubert
Taylor Lee Stocker 
Chris Hammons 
Jessica Lewis

Survivor fans ready? 

Hannah is beside herself about the Jessica rock pick. David is ticked that he burned his idol for no reason at Tribal. Zeke thinks he's winning the war over David. 

Ken came across the Legacy Advantage note he received from Jessica. If he can make it until Day 36, he'll be using it!

Reward Challenge time! Jeff starts bringing out loved ones. Tears all around as usual. Adam, whose mother is in stage four cancer and whose brother came, mentions his advantage to steal someone's reward. He will not be using it. 

They have to be tied to a rope and go through obstacles. Prize is the loved one at a barbecue. Jay wins Reward! He takes Will along as he had promised. For his second, he chose Sunday as "they" had made a promise. He gets to pick one more and even though they've been "brawling" all this time, he chooses Adam. 

Whoa! Adam, in appreciation of Jay's move, gave Jay his advantage with no strings attached. 

Will decides to defect to David and company. Hmm.

Immunity Challenge time - Endurance, they have to clench a thing holding a bar. David out first. Hannah out. Will out. Bret out. Sunday out. Zeke out. Jeff is torturing them about the hot sun baking their minds. Ken out. It's Jay versus Adam. Jay out.

Adam wins Immunity!   

With Will aboard, the move is on to vote out Zeke. Zeke thinks something is amiss because the others are too calm. He thinks David might have another idol and he needs to throw someone else under the bus. That someone is Hannah.

Ken gives Will a third-degree treatment before being willing to trust him. Will tells Ken that "they" will be voting for him. Uh-oh. Ken tells Jay that Will is saying his name. Will claims he needs to play his game for himself.

Gah! Adam calls it right that it was a stupid move on Ken's part! Now Will is going to be solid with the others as he can't trust his "new" group.

Tribal Council time. Both sides vie for Will's vote. He may be the youngest, but he has the deepest voice! 

Adam pulls out his idol! He plays it for Hannah!

The tally:
Hannah, Hannah, Hannah, Hannah, Zeke, Zeke, Zeke ...

Zeke is out!   

BBOTT: PoV and the Final Three - Tuesday, November 29

Determined to win?

Well, well, well. Of course, the only really big news of the day was the Power of Veto comp.

• It was called End of the Road.
• They had to run through metal police crowd control barriers set up in a switchback kind of queue.
• Jump over hay bales.
• Grab a hamster face picture, then return back the same way they came.
• Nine pictures in all. Had to get one at a time.
• The puzzle questions might have more than one possible answer.
• But there is only one correct solution using all nine.
• Justin was into making sound effects and cussing as he went along. He started to put faces in the spots first, getting a few wrong.
• Morgan decided to get all the faces first and solved some as she was bringing them back.
• In the end, it wasn't really any contest. Morgan solidly beat him, had all the answers right while he had some answers wrong on the board and didn't have all the faces.
• Surprisingly, in view of his behavior the last few days, he left the house on a good note.
• Julie came to the final three in video form, congratulating them and telling them they need to prepare a two-minute speech each.
• Those speeches will air live on Wednesday at 7pm ET/4pm PT. 
• The final three -- Morgan, Kryssie and Jason -- popped the champagne and got giddy. 

All spiffed up to host the comp

Monty was there.

Game faces on

The running was unreal.

It wasn't an easy puzzle, either.

Morgan WINS! She's in the Final Three!

Says he loves them. Yeah, right.

BBOTT: Nothing to see here. move along - into Tuesday, November 29

Eddie McGee, BB1 Winner

The Power of Veto comp isn't scheduled until 5pm today, Tuesday. I will report late tonight on its results. Otherwise, things have been pretty much the same in the house with even more tension due to the boredom.

In other news, I watched the Elementary episode from November 20th and immediately recognized BB Season One winner Eddie McGee in it! 

BBOTT: Into Monday, November 28

Jason being mellow? That won't last!

Well, Justin got up a bit more today ... 

• Unfortunately, he decided Morgan is his buddy now.
• Now, they're both slated to go head-to-head in the Power of Veto comp (today, Monday) together.
• She's been almost constantly studying or spending time with Jason and Kryssie.
• In comes Justin.
• The not so smart thing he does is to keep talking about how he has to win this comp, then the game, then "rub it in their faces."
• Um.
• He's saying that to his competitor.
• Morgan has been actually restraining herself quite well -- not saying much about how SHE needs to win the comp and then the game!
• Kudos to her for her restraint!
• At one point, she did say something. Justin claimed none of the people in the house have souls. She said, rather quietly, "Everybody has a soul."
• Justin, at one point, sat down with the rest and ate something. As they all talked, I noticed he was paying absolutely no attention to the others, would occasionally glance up at a camera and then start dancing in place to music in his head. 
• The others are right that he's very camera-conscious.
• I don't know how Morgan is putting up with all of Justin's bragging about his game and how he will win.
• Darn it, she wants to win, too!
• He told her how the LNJ had to keep fighting to keep in place and now the ones remaining have deserted him.
• Heck, Justin. Morgan's side also had to fight with the up/down power changes week to week! And, she's the sole remainder from the Ball Smashers!
• I'm also sick of hearing him tell how many women are willing to have sex with him and how much he misses having sex. @@
• We'll know more once the PoV comp goes down.
• May the best woman win that one!
• Heehee. 

Justin actually posed for one HoH camera shot

Morgan studies some more

I don't like any of these people

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - November 27, 2016

Good morning! Since it's Sunday, it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way. This is a regular Sunday part of this blog in addition to the television posts. Right now I'm covering Big Brother: Over the Top daily -- you can find those posts at this link. I'm also live blogging Survivor episodes as they air on Wednesday evenings. Come join the blog parties!

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! As per my usual, I spent the day here with Vincent. I don't really have much family left and, of what few are left, no one is local. I often turn down invites to join families of friends for the day. I would feel like an intruder and, after all, it's not my family. After decades of such, I've grown to like the peaceful solitude of the day. I made a turkey breast feast for myself and relaxed. I always have to work the Friday and Saturday after the holiday, so I can't travel anywhere. I'm also in a very busy and stressful work environment, even worse at the holidays. So, I'm content with what I do for the holiday. Maybe, if I ever do get to retire before I pass, I'll travel to visit family. But for now and many decades gone by, as they say, it is what it is. Christmas is pretty much the same.

So, this isn't really my favorite time of the year. I do enjoy seeing the excitement of children, especially toddlers, seeing the hubbub and lights. I do have some very good memories of the season. But it's all photographs and memories at this time for myself. And, work, work, work, then more work.

I am thankful for the friends and family I have in my life, as well as you folks who faithfully follow this blog! I'm certainly thankful for Vincent, as well as my previous cat companions over the years. I'm thankful I've always held a job and kept a roof over my head even though I'm so ready, beyond ready, to retire and pursue things I want to do rather than things I have to do. I'm thankful for Peapod Grocery delivery so I don't have to deal with supermarket madness. I'm thankful I live in an area with so many different kinds of people with lives so different from my own, yet enriching my own life and enforcing the realization that the majority of people are good at heart.

Okay, onto this week's photos! I didn't really get great shots this week. I managed to arrive near the train station one day just in time to snag a few photos of another (the same?) Red-Tailed Hawk atop the Chotola Apartments Building on North Avenue just as he was preparing to fly away. 
 

Sitting in the railway station ...

... got a ticket for my destination. Whoowoo. ('Homeward Bound' - Paul Simon) I was actually homeward bound. This is last night when I arrived back home in Plainfield after yet another workday in life. Although the train itself stretches perhaps a long block, only about ten people got on or off at this time at the Plainfield Station. However, inside the train -- the two cars that were open -- it was quite full for a train this day and hour. Many people were heading home to NYC from the holiday or just heading into town (Manhattan) for holiday season happenings. I just wanted to get home and put my feet up.

Where'd they all go?

Y'know ... there was a party going on with pigeons and starlings here. I come and they all flew away! Do I have bad breath? Am I inappropriately dressed for the party? Every time I try to join in on the bird fun, everybody leaves me here alone! I feel shunned! It's enough to give me a complex! 

Getting ready to swoop away.

At least I got nice detail on that red tail of his!

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

BBOTT: It's Official - Two of the Final Three Confirmed - into November 27

Just a few more days ...

Nothing much has changed in the house.

• Jason is still HoH.
• Kryssie is still Kryssie and will always be Kryssie.
• Morgan has been repeatedly going through all the comps, things in the house and hamsters trying to prep for the Veto Comp tomorrow.
• Justin has been in Audrey mode, occasionally coming to life, but mostly in bed.
• The decision to take someone to the final two became official yesterday.
• But we knew since he won HoH, Jason was choosing to take Kryssie.
• That's what started Justin's poor behavior in motion.
• On the other hand, I've been very impressed with Morgan's behavior in the house since her best and last ally Shelby got the boot.
• She's mixed. She's mingled. She's been partaking in things. Plus, every moment she can, she's studying.
• I hope she wins the veto!
• As for Justin, I'd say I'm disappointed.
• But I'm not, really. I've said all along he was just coasting and being himself. He's entertaining when he wants to be, but he hasn't been playing the game of Big Brother. 
• In this last stretch, he has to play the game or get the boot.
• Instead, he's still working on America's vote -- talking to the camera about all is love and how he wants to start a fishing program for the kids in New Orleans.
• True, that's a worthy goal. But it's not something you need a half-million dollars to put in motion! If he really wanted to do that, he could get active in the community and work on getting people to sponsor the much less than a half-million needed to get it off the ground.
• I think he wants to convince America that he's all that, a bag of chips AND has these lofty goals to give back to the community.
• Personally, I don't care what reality show folks do with their winnings ... with the exception of the arrest/drug stupidity of a few. That's total stupidity.
• It's their money. They went before the public eye, endured mocking and ridicule to win it. They can spend it however they want -- college loans, bills, homes, cars or wasting it away. I don't expect anyone to suddenly become a philanthropist and give it all away to a good cause. Very few do that.
• All will tell tomorrow when either Justin or Morgan win a place in the final three.
• At this time, I'm really hoping it's Morgan. She's been very impressive lately. Well, with the exception of that 11 minute time in the Maize Maze, that is. 

It's AUDREY! Er, I mean Justin.

Repeatedly going over days and comps

Opening last nicotine patch

BBOTT: Dwindling Days - into Saturday, November 26

Memorizing the days, the comps

The Justin rift in the house continues.

• Justin said his poor behavior on Thanksgiving was due to being homesick.
• True, he is young. True, he's often said he's never been away from home for more than two weeks.
• But, as his fellow hamsters tried to tell him, they're all pretty much in the same boat.
• Had he told them that he was homesick and needed alone time, it may have been understood.
• Instead, he just slept the day away, showing up to eat only. He didn't partake in any of the special things BB had set for them for the day.
• Kryssie ended up preparing Justin's mother's turkey recipe.
• He didn't even help clean up.
• And, coupled with his bragging about how great his game has been and his obvious bitterness about not being Jason's one safe pick this week ...!
• He went around apologizing "if he offended people" instead of owning up to bad behavior on his part.
• Morgan tried to tell him there's a difference between confidence and arrogance ... and he's been coming off as arrogant.
• Yet he maintains how he's made so many moves and been a great player.
• Go figure.
• The others are right that he's been playing up to America.
• One thing I've noticed is that he tells his fellow hamsters that he's thrown comps. He's told us that he has sucked at them.
• Even now he's putting on a different face for us than he is for his fellow hamsters.
• Kryssie really lit into him.
• Jason grouses about him. However, this Justin imploding might be one of the best things ever for Jason's own game. I think he knows that.
• While Morgan has spent an inordinate amount of time studying and preparing for the Veto Comp, Justin has been working out, napping and spreading insincere apologies. 

Listening (or not) to Kryssie

Playing for second ... or third place

He thought he'd be gone first week

BBOTT: A BB Thanksgiving - into Friday, November 25

Drumsticks are better eaten than worn

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving with family, fun and food! I didn't write up a report yesterday because I was busy having a mellow day myself. But I'm here now and here's what's been going on!

• As I mentioned in my last post, Jason easily won the last HoH of the season. He will nominate two people for eviction and save one. Those two will have the opportunity to play for the Power of Veto.
• After the comp, secrets came bursting out of nowhere -- Morgan told them that Alex is her sister and their whole story (not getting along well over the years, Alex was the superfan, didn't know each other would be in the house, etc.)
• Jason told them that he didn't just reenter the house this season -- America voted him in over Jozea. 
• Of course, if they knew Jozea, they should figure nobody wanted to endure Jozea in there again!
• In between getting told by BB to stop talking about production, they all talked how they got on the show this season.
• Justin admitted he was a recruit and had tried for a cooking show.
• Jason indicated to Justin that he would be taking Kryssie with him to the final three, leaving Justin and Morgan to battle it out in Veto.
• Oh my.
• There is a side of Justin which certainly isn't entertaining! Not AT ALL!
• Justin started saying how he played the game this year the best of all. After all, he didn't know the game at all and has sailed right through to the end!
• He played better than Jason or any of the others! 
• Give me a break!
• Jason ranted (not in front of Justin) with Kryssie about Justin not doing much all season, yet thinking he was entitled to be chosen rather than Kryssie.
• Now, I totally understand the Kryssie choice, as does Kryssie herself. She knows she has no chance to win against Jason. But she has been WITH Jason since the get-go.
• On the other hand, Morgan is mixing and mingling with Jason and Kryssie quite nicely.
• Obviously, she wasn't expecting Jason to save her in this scenario.
• But things get worse with Justin.
• In the daytime, BB gave them letters from home, expecting them to read them together as a group.
• Justin just up and left the other three and his unopened letter.
• As they said, if he didn't want to read it aloud, fine. But stay with them and listen to theirs as BB did it for them.
• Instead, Justin stayed in bed almost all day.
• BB also gave them all the ingredients and recipes for a holiday feast. The recipes were ones from their families and some from previous houseguests.
• Morgan, Kryssie and Jason worked preparing and cooking.
• Justin slept.
• Remember, Justin is the one with the "chef" background.
• Justin woke up in time to eat, then went to read his letter and return to sleeping.
• Morgan, Kryssie and Jason cleaned up the kitchen.
• In this 24-hour period, Justin has managed to totally alienate the other three in the house.
• Both Jason and Kryssie want Morgan to be with them in the final three.
• They think Justin has been acting entitled to the win, disrespecting BB and the show itself.
• Y'know, I kind of agree with them.
• All along I've said he's not really playing the game; he's just being himself. And, while he can be entertaining, he's not playing BB.
• He wasn't even entertaining yesterday. 

In the spirit of the day

Look who decided to show up

BBOTT: Final HoH Competition - November 23

Morgan reads the rules

The final HoH comp of BBOTT has begun. It's called Uphill Battle. Morgan can play even though she's outgoing HoH -- since it's the last one of the season.

Each plays on own game board. Each board has same question. Maneuver ball into answer pocket using a bar and rope to lift one color-coded answer ball at a time up the board. If wrong, they use the stick to push the ball out from behind playing board. 

WHOA! It barely started and we have a winner!

Uphill Battle

Quad Cam view

Jason is the final HoH!

 

Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen-X Blog Party - November 23

As Survivor airs here on the East Coast, I'll be live-blogging with the major events.  As always, the real party is in the comments area. Please feel free to join in on the fun! Tonight is a two-hour show!

Since the BBOTT weekly show is starting at the same time as Survivor, I'm putting up a post for it that will be concurrent with this one. I'm not expecting the eviction there until after Survivor ends, so I will be here until the end of this show. I can't physically (or mentally) watch and post about two shows at one time! Gah! I'll have the feeds on minimized and low volume during this show. If I hear the eviction go down, I'll see what's up.

Here are the blog pool match updates from the Lifeguard Luau Laurie:

Survivors
Adam Klein - Brian, Kelsey NY, Sharon N
Bret LaBelle - Brandi Peralta, Judi Sweeney, Skyriverblue
Chris Hammons - Cheryl in NC, Jennasmom, Lanell from TN
David Wright - Buzzmaam, MikesGirl, Sharon C
Hannah Shapiro - David, meb, Terry is a Texan
Jay Starrett - Becky, Jackie, Shayne
Jessica Lewis - Cupcake, Jean, Petals
Ken McNickle - Dolores in Hollywood, Margo, Russ
Sunday Burquest - Brenda, Kristen from Ohio, SueGee
Will Wahl - Cheryl, Indiana Jane
Zeke Smith - Beachmom, monty924 , Glenn

Jury
Michelle Shubert
Taylor Lee Stocker

Survivor fans ready? 

Both Adam and Jay are scrambling to overcome the Taylor Food Fiasco from Tribal. Chris still wants to target Jessica instead of either of the boys.

Oh, geez. Hannah has a crush on Ken. I might have a panic attack over that.

Will, who's been a bit of connected to Jay at the hip, has decided to work with Zeke instead. He tells Zeke about Jay's idol. He thinks telling one individual will only help his game. The news of the idol spreads through camp like wildfire. Poor Will. 

Chris wants to vote out Jess. Zeke wants to flush the idol out from Jay. They will all soon have to eat one another to survive in the Donner Party. Um, well. Okay, not that far!

Reward - Floating pizza restaurant. It's an obstacle course and stacking blocks. It's a random draw for teams. One person won't play. David volunteers to sit out due to his poor swimming. The others encourage him to play.

It's a rock pick thing. Jay got the sit-out rock.  

Adam, Bret, Zeke, Hannah and Sunday win reward. At said reward, they received letters from home. Tears all about. Well, except maybe Bret.

David thinks that he, Jessica and Ken should target Bret, Sunday and Chris. David thinks Chris needs to go first. Jessica knows that Chris is her biggest nemesis, so she's fine with that. 

Immunity Challenge - Stand on a narrow beam balancing a statue on a long pole. As time passes, they'll need to move farther away from the statue. Hannah out first. Ken out. Sunday, Chris, Will, Jay and Bret out. Ants crawling on them are taking a toll. Adam out. Jessica out. Zeke out.

DAVID wins Immunity! 

At Tribal, everyone is 100% sure the vote will go the way they want. I'm not 100%.

Jay doesn't play his idol even though he kept saying he was going home during the Tribal Council.

The tally:
Chris, Jessica, Chris, Jessica, Chris, Jessica, Chris, Jessica, Chris, Chris.

Yay, Jessica stays and Chris goes! 

Zeke made things good with Bret. He needs Bret and Sunday to build up a charge against David and Company. Jay is a target. But David realizes he needs to get rid of Zeke. He mistakenly tells Bret.   

Hannah is torn between Zeke and David. Zeke told Adam and Hannah that David has another idol. The Reward is slithering through a course and solving a snake puzzle. Helicopter tour of the island and a picnic are Reward. One person will not have a chance to earn Reward, but automatically win a spot -- white rock. David got the white rock! 

Bret, Zeke and Sunday will go on Reward with David. Now, Adam is tempted to use his advantage, but doesn't. Bret and Zeke bond even more over many beers. Bret tells Zeke that he doesn't care if a guy is gay. Hmm. Their target is still David.

Hannah has made the decision to go with David. She tells him that Zeke told her and Adam that he has an idol. She also told him that Bret told Zeke he's (David) gunning for him (Zeke).

Immunity Challenge time! Stand behind a caged door, maneuver a handle through a maze and solve a slide puzzle.  

Jay gets through the handle maze first. Jay wins Immunity and no one else even got through the door!  

David gets Jessica and Ken to agree to vote for Zeke. Zeke puts Hannah on the spot. He realizes that Hannah isn't on his side. Uh-oh. Zeke thinks he should switch his target to Hannah. Hannah goes to Adam trying to get him to vote for Zeke. Adam doesn't really trust her. She's paranoid and thinks they're going to target her thus she would need David to save her with his idol. 

Tribal Council is uncomfortable. Lots of whispering. Hmm. No real trust showing.

David plays his idol. Adams tells them the whispers were to vote for Ken. He uses it to save Ken.

Zeke, Hannah, Zeke, Hannah, Zeke, Hannah, Zeke, Hannah, Zeke, Hannah.

It's a tie.

Re-tally:
Hannah, Zeke, Hannah, Zeke, Hannah, Zeke, Hannah, Zeke.

A double tie deadlock!  

Re-vote time. Nope! It's drawing for rocks if they don't make a unanimous decision.  

Ken, Hannah, Zeke and Jay are safe. The rest must draw rocks.

Jessica drew the black rock. She's going home. She's crushed. She leaves her early earned Legacy Advantage to Ken.