The Amazing Race - Blog Pool OPENS!

Come one, come all! The Amazing Race Blog Pool is now OPEN!

 Okay, here's how the blog pool works:

• Names are matched up randomly with the teams.
• You get to cheer on your chosen team until they're Philiminated or win it all.
• If your chosen team is creepy, fights, fusses or cries a lot, we won't hold that against you personally.
• Not much, anyway.
• Heehee
• There is no wagering of monies.
• The winner(s) of the blog pool retain bragging rights until the premiere of the next season while we all bow to them and lament on what could have been.

How do you get involved? Sign up right here on this post! If you're posting anonymously, you need a sign off name on your comments. We don't care if you're a boy named Sue, we have to know something other than anonymous. The cut-off for entering is this Tuesday, April 4, 8pm ET/5pm PT. 

REMEMBER - YOU NEED TO SIGN UP ON THIS VERY POST YOU'RE READING! If you sign up on another post or the Facebook page, your request might be missed.
We have a new lifeguard this season -- I'd like you to all welcome Sharon C! Please don't test her patience by running with scissors around the pool!

And, here are the teams that we'll be cheering on:

Shamir Arzeno, age 28, Bronx, NY -- Banking Firm Associate
Sara Fowler, Age 27, Baltimore, MD -- Luxury Real Estate Agent

London Kaye, age 27, Brooklyn, NY -- Street Artist
Logan Bauer, age 27, Navarre, FL -- Orthopedic Device Rep

Seth Tyler, age 37, Seattle, WA -- Police Officer
Olive Beauregard, age 24, Providence, RI -- Firefighter

Brooke Camhi, age 36, Lynbrook, NY -- Lawyer
Scott Flanary, age 34, Charlotte, NC -- University Recruiting Manager

Tara Carr, age 38, New Milford, CT -- U.S. Army Officer
Joey Covino, age 46, Boston, MA -- Police Sergeant

Becca Droz, age 26, Pittsburgh, PA -- Rock Climbing Instructor/Barista
Floyd Pierce, age 21, Highlands Ranch, CO -- College Student

Liz Espey, age 24, Maryville, MO -- Auctioneer
Michael Rado, age 37, Pittsburgh, PA -- Butcher

Matt Ladley, age 25, Steamboat Springs, CO -- Professional Snowboarder
Redmond Ramos, age 28, Fremont, CA -- Motivational Speaker

Jessica "Jessie" Lynn Shields, age 28, Howland, OH -- Police K9 Officer
Francesca Piccoli, age 33, Banning, CA -- U.S. Army

Vanck Zhu, age 28, Saint Paul, MN -- Investment Research
Ashton Theiss, age 25, Fort Worth, TX -- Real Estate Agent

The Amazing Race - Season Premiere Blog Party - March 30

Are you ready for this? For the first time ever, TAR took on single racers and they will pair as strangers. Heck, some probably will get along better than some of those with previous relationships!

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be live-blogging it the best I can. The first few episodes are rough because it's so easy to confuse the names until I get them down. Of course, the real party will be in the comments area ... please join in on the fun!

The teams haven't been officially announced as yet. Tomorrow night, I'll list them in the blog pool opening post. We have a new lifeguard this season -- Sharon C -- I'd like everyone to give her a big welcome aboard! Please sign up ONLY on the pool opening post I'll post Friday night. Requests put in elsewhere may be missed!

Let's go! 

They're starting in Los Angeles, will travel nine countries.  Phil tells them they will pick their teammate. First they have to go to the luggage store -- gives them directions by number of blocks and terms like "northeast" and "southwest." They have to pick up a bag with a Panamanian (?) flag?

At least one has grabbed a bag with the wrong flag. We're getting intros to each as they go for them. It was Joey with the wrong bag. He thinks no one wants to be his partner now. He's a police sergeant.

They're standing in the order they arrived.

Seth chooses Olive.
Matt - Redmond
Shamir - Sara
Brooke and Scott

I'm not keeping up with these ... more on tomorrow's post.

The first clue is in the luggage, two flights, Phil will take Jessie and her partner to the airport because they didn't pick each other. The game's only Express Pass is in one of the pieces of luggage. Becca and Floyd have the Express Pass.

They're headed to Panama. And, after arrival, it's on to the canal. 

Seth and Olive get to the clue first.  They head to Zamboa Tower -- Detour. Shoot or Scoot. In a canoe-thing, they have to either shoot down two targets or scoot along the river in a "sprint."

There is no Roadblock. Seth and Olive are heading towards the Pit Stop first. Floyd and Becca did shoot and just finished. Whoa, Matt and Redmond got Scoot on the first shot!

Pit Stop --
1. Seth and Olive
2. Becca and Floyd
3. Matt and Redmond
4. Brooke and Scott

The other teams are still doing the Detour or not there yet.

5. Shamir and Sara
6. Joey and Tara
7. Vanck and Ashton  
8. Logan and London 
9. Jessie and Francesca
10. Kevin and Jenn -- 2 hour penalty for not completing the Detour (shut down due to dark)

10. Michael and Liz beat Kevin and Jenn!

Kevin and Jenn have been Philiminated. 
  

The Amazing Race Starts TONIGHT - Casting and STUFF

It sounds like we're in for quite an amazing season this season on The Amazing Race! The website on cbs.com has the first seven minutes of the show online. Even after watching that, we're not sure of who teams up with whom. The majority of the cast seem quite strong. But we have some variations between the strengths. The bios online at the website delve into each racer. However, an awful lot is going to hinge on the partners.

Of course, a blog party with live blogging of the episode will happen tonight. I hope to see many of you there! As for the blog pool? I'd like you to all welcome this season's pool lifeguard -- Sharon C.! We should be finding out the teams tonight. Tomorrow night (Friday), I will put up a list of the teams in a blog pool sign up post with a cut-off a few days before next week's episode. We usually don't do one until after the first team is eliminated. This season we don't even know the teams yet!

Survivor: Game Changers - March 29 Episode Blog Party

Everybody ready? Got your snacks? Got your tasty adult beverages? As the show airs here on the east coast, I'll be live-blogging with all the major happenings. Refresh the page to see the latest news! But, as always, the real party is in the comments area. I hope to see you there!

Will we see another blindside tonight? I would so love to see Sandra go just to see how she would react!

Here's the updated pool from the best pool lifeguard ever, Lifeguard Laurie:

NUKU
Aubry Bracco - Ed in Ohio, meb
Jeff Varner - Donna in FL, Rochelle, DonnaNY
JT Thomas - Carol C, Petals
Michaela Bradshaw - David, Jackie
Sandra Diaz-Twine - Jennasmom, SueGee

MANA
Brad Culpepper - Brian, Sharon N
Debbie Wanner - Glenn, tbc
Hali Ford - Buzzmaam, Nana in the NW
Sierra Thomas - Becky, monty924
Tai Trang - Cheryl in NC, Sharon C

TAVUA
Andrea Boehlke - Indiana Jane, ML
Cirie Fields - Leonia Hart, Terry is a Texan
Ozzy Lusth - KelseyNY, Margo, PDX Granny
Sarah Lacina - Delee, Rbennie
Troyzan Robertson - Donna in Alabama, Lifeguard Laurie
Zeke Smith - Janice from GA, Paula Bell

No more fire!
Ciera Eastin
Tony Vlachos
Caleb Reynolds
Malcolm Freberg 
 
Survivor fans ready?

JT is against a rock and a hard place. He knows he told Brad that Sierra was their target thinking they'd vote out Sandra. Instead, it was Malcolm, JT's closest ally and one of the strongest players on his tribe whose torch got snuffed. Sandra's mad. He ends up finding a clue and pursuing the hidden idol. He's got it and says he'll tell no one ... as it should be.

Reward Challenge - grappling hook, retrieve, again balancing a ball through obstacles, slide puzzle. Winning tribes - 1. PB&J sandwiches, cookies and milk. 1. PB&J sandwiches. Debbie is doing horribly on this one!

TAVUA wins first place! NUKU wins second place.

Debbie blames Brad for the loss because he decided positions. Cue to replay: Debbie saying, "I'm very good at balance." Brad replies, "Then you balance." Ha! 

Sarah and Troyzan are quasi-bonding. Sarah tells him they need to work on trust and that she's looking for an idol. Troy has one, but doesn't tell her and now is reluctant to use it right away. 

Debbie goes on a rant about Brad to Hali and thinks she (Debbie) ZOOMED across the balance beam and Hali being slow. Um. Alternate facts, methinks. Tai tells us he thinks Debbie is a "crazy lady." Well, duh. Debbie tells us that she doesn't go on rants, she works out physically and has a calm approach. Sheesh. She wants to take out Brad. I would suggest they hide any knives in camp.

Oh my. JT and Michaela are rubbing each other wrong. Sandra decides to eat all the sugar because she knows JT will blame Michaela. Varner knows it was Sandra. 

Tai is worried about the tension in his tribe. He doesn't know where he stands. He thinks that he needs another idol and, sure enough, finds a clue.

Immunity Challenge time -- Race up and over tall wall, work together to roll big cube, keys, sandbags across balance beam, giant slingshot to knock down five targets. First two tribes are safe. Cirie sits out. Debbie is being a jerk. But I expected that.

MANA wins Immunity! TAVUA wins Immunity! 

JT thinks they should target Michaela, mainly because she stole the sugar. Will Varner tell him? Sandra thinks they need to target JT because it was his fault Malcolm went. Um. WHY AREN'T THEY TARGETING SANDRA? 

Tribal Council. JT claims he had no idea Malcolm would go. Michaela trash-talks JT. JT says he's sick of babysitting. It sounds like Michaela is the target of most. 

The tally:
Michaela, JT, Michaela, JT, JT

Whoa! Varner flipped and voted out JT!

Sandra and Michaela fist bump. Aubry is shocked. Sandra also 'fesses up to taking the sugar.

I feel bad that JT is out. I still would love to see Sandra blindsided. But, I've gotta say ... well-played, well-played.  

A teaser for next week has them dropping buffs again, Exile Island and a returning castaway (whether cameo or not, we don't know). JT tells us he felt confident and didn't bring his idol to Tribal. Maybe he can earn some $$ selling it on eBay?

The Amazing Race: Lifeguard Wanted! (And Casting ...)

Greetings, Amazing Race fans! While it seems like forever since the last season, this one sneaked up on us. The premiere is this THURSDAY night at 10pm ET. Yes, Thursday, not Friday. I like that although I'm not too keen on the late hour.

Another change is instead of teams with previous relationships racing, it's all total strangers. That should shake things up a bit!

We will have a change here on the blog -- Margo is going to sit out Lifeguard duties on the blog pool this time 'round. We don't usually kick in the pool until after the first team is out since we barely get to know them. And, this year, they won't even know themselves for the first team gone! So, we're talking about throwing together the pool by next Tuesday or so. As I post this, the cast has been announced, but not the teams. We've seen snippets on promos, but that's it.

I'd like to get a volunteer to lifeguard the pool here this season. The position entails:

• No wages. No health insurance. No 401K.
• But, you'll certainly have my undying gratitude!
• And you can help yourself to the eats and drinks!
• You can blow a whistle if you own one.
• Randomly matching up blog readers who want in with the teams.
• Of course, you can throw your own name in there. Randomly, mind you!
• My name also automatically goes in.
• Updating the pool as teams get eliminated.

I would definitely prefer that the volunteer is someone who has been a regular commenter on the blog and has taken part in previous blog pools. But, other than that, you don't even have to have your summer body for a bathing suit! I will accept the first person who replies to this post and meets my strict criteria listed above for this lofty but not lucrative position.
😸

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - March 26, 2017

Good morning! Since it's Sunday morning, this is my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I took along the way. If you're here for Survivor -- you can find any Survivor posts I make at this link right here.  Remember-- The Amazing Race season premiere will be THIS Thursday, March 30th! I will be live-blogging the show and there will be blog parties!

Let's see ... what's new this week?

Well, the weather still isn't new -- we're still having winter temperatures for the most part although (thankfully) we've had no more snow. Yesterday was the first day with temperatures above the 40s. Today we're back to high in the 40s. March is often like this. But that doesn't mean I have to like it!

On the apartment front: I think Joe, my neighbor across the hall for fifteen years or so, is moving out. I stopped some kids I saw lugging things out during the week. I've never seen kids visiting him. Joe is one who will come out and yell at kids playing in the corridors! Since these were very young black kids I didn't know and they were taking stuff to the dumpsters, I just asked them if Joe was okay. He's in ill health and I thought he may have passed and relatives were clearing out his place. The oldest boy, about 12 years-old, told me Joe was fine, they're his great-nephews and they were just helping him by bringing stuff to the dumpster. Okay, sounds good. Until today ... when I took a bag of trash to the dumpsters. Uh-oh. I recognize furniture out there and the dumpsters (with the exception of one with closed lids and the recycle one) were over-fllled. That's JOE'S furniture! Yeah, he's alive, I guess. But he's moving, perhaps to an assisted living place, I would think. I wonder what the new neighbor will be like. Sigh. Joe and I always got along well. He has even offered to loan me his car if I ever needed it for something.

In other apartment news, the idiot ... um, guy with the loud thumping stereo upstairs has been quiet all week. Good.

In workplace news, a two-year nightmare has ended. It's like a weight off my shoulders, fresh air ... but I still want to retire as soon as I can. In health news, I really have no new news. I haven't been on my feet as much during the workdays and my leg issues feel a lot better. But I still have to have that vascular surgery done.

Onto the photos from the week. It's a bit gull heavy. We've had bitter cold temperatures and strong winds most of the week. So, I only took photos at certain times and some days I didn't want to kill off the camera's batteries with the cold. Clicking on an image will open it in a larger gallery window.

NJ Transit Plainfield Train Station

The main building off of East 4th Street is (of course) on the Newark/NYC bound Track Two side of the station. With NJ Transit, anything train or bus has better shelter on the side that heads in that direction. They're under the false assumption that people wait only on that side and just head home without having to wait on the other side.

Things are looking up?

Well, at least this ring-billed gull is looking up! Corner of Gavett Place and North Avenue.

Hmm ... another one

Perhaps they're waiting for the Rapture? I don't know.

Oh noes!

Snowstorm white and yellow daffodil victims in Plainfield. How sad is this?!?!

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

Survivor: Game Changers - March 22 Episode Blog Party

Everybody ready? Got your snacks? Got your tasty adult beverages? As the show airs here on the east coast, I'll be live-blogging with all the major happenings. Refresh the page to see the latest news! But, as always, the real party is in the comments area. I hope to see you there!

Last week's episode started out by buff dropping and the creation of a third tribe. This week we've been warned that only the one winning tribe will be safe from Tribal Council. Second place only counts in horseshoes, I guess!

Here's the updated pool from the best pool lifeguard ever, Lifeguard Laurie:

NUKU
Aubry Bracco - Ed in Ohio, meb
Jeff Varner - Donna in FL, Rochelle, DonnaNY
JT Thomas - Carol C, Petals
Malcolm Freberg - Judi Sweeney, Merrilee
Michaela Bradshaw - David, Jackie
Sandra Diaz-Twine - Jennasmom, SueGee

MANA
Brad Culpepper - Brian, Sharon N
Debbie Wanner - Glenn, tbc
Hali Ford - Buzzmaam, Nana in the NW
Sierra Thomas - Becky, monty924
Tai Trang - Cheryl in NC, Sharon C

TAHUA
Andrea Boehlke - Indiana Jane, ML
Cirie Fields - Leonia Hart, Terry is a Texan
Ozzy Lusth - KelseyNY, Margo, PDX Granny
Sarah Lacina - Delee, Rbennie
Troyzan Robertson - Donna in Alabama, Lifeguard Laurie
Zeke Smith - Janice from GA, Paula Bell

No more fire!
Ciera Eastin
Tony Vlachos
Caleb Reynolds
 
Survivor fans ready?

Hmm. Tai shows he's trustworthy to the others by talking about voting out his buddy Caleb? Hali could definitely use that against him in a court of law! Meanwhile, Debbie wants to target Hali as she thinks it's too soon to make Tai a target. Or, would that be a Taiget?

We're starting out with a Reward Challenge. Only two members of each tribe will complete. First two tribes to finish win reward. First, coffee makings and chocolate chip cookies. Second, thermos of coffee. First person has to carry a ball on a stick over obstacles, second throws sandbags. 

Tai is doing a horrible job in the first part of the challenge. 

Nuku wins first place! Brad Culpepper won second place for Mana after Tai's disappointing showing. It was Troyzan who lost it for Tahua.

Uh-oh. Ozzy seems to be getting a bit too confident. He thinks his providing the others make him invaluable. Then he catches a sting ray and makes them even happier with him.

Over on Nuku, Sandra is way over-confident. JT wants her out SO bad! Malcolm is willing to work with him toward that goal. But, will Sandra do that voodoo thing she seems to do and eork her mojo on them all? It wouldn't surprise me. However, any smart player should be targeting her. 

Immunity Challenge time! Blindfolded, tethered in pairs, caller, collect bags, table maze. Sandra and Troyzan sit out. Jeff tells them that both losing tribes go to Tribal Council. 

TAHUA wins Immunity!    

Ohhh! Only ONE person will go out tonight between the two tribes at Triabal. That changes the stakes a bit!   

Nuku is six versus the five on Mana. Most seem to think they need to stick together. JT wants to target Tai if that's the case. Sandra wants to take out Sierra. JT would still love to see Sandra go tonight. He trusts Brad. Over on Mana, they really want to target Sandra. Brad thinks if they go Sandra, JT will be voting her.  

Tai thinks he better go looking for an idol. He finds a clue and runs off looking for the idol. He's got it! (So, for the record, both Tai and Troyzan have idols.) Oh, geez. He runs and tells Brad, Debbie and Sierra! 

Time for Tribal Council. This should be interesting. 

Debbie mentions that JT used to be close to then and now he's in the spotlight. Jeff points out the other threats. Sandra says she knows she's not going home tonight. Hmm. Oh my. Hali hints Culpepper should be targeted.  They're all whispering. Sheesh.Whoa! JT tells Culpepper they're voting him out! Hali is reluctant to be the first vote. They're all still whispering.  

Tai gives his idol to Sierra.

The tally --
Sierra, Sierra, Sierra, Sierra, Sierra, Sierra, Malcolm, Malcolm, Malcolm.

ARGH! Malcolm is sent packing!