Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - October 2, 2011

It's Sunday morning, time for my off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken. I'm cheating a bit this week because I'm totally exhausted. So, I'm using photos I've already posted during the week on Facebook. I will be going through my photos and putting together albums rather than posting thousands of images here on Blogger.

I had a fantastic time last week in Corolla (NC) -- the Outer Banks. I did do a bit too much standing and walking and by Friday I could barely walk at all. But it was all worth it! I gave that new knee quite a work out even if I didn't try surfing, nor did I end up renting a bike. I got very little sleep and tended to stay up later than everyone else, then get up early almost every morning so I could watch (and photograph) the sunrise and take walks on the beach.

We ate very well with meals in local restaurants and fantastic meals cooked by my fellow vacation friends at the house. Marge made us all breakfast daily. (Hey! Where's my breakfast today? I'm hungry!)

When it came to the ocean, I was a bit of a wimp. I don't really trust my knee -- sometimes it gives way on dry land. Plus I have a caught in the rip tide incident in my past when I almost drowned. So I limited myself to about knee-high wades in the surf. I do love that hot tub, though! That felt like heaven!

I became mesmerized by the abundant ghost crabs in the area. I had brought a flashlight to look for them at night, but it wasn't needed. If they weren't so darned cute, I'd say the area was infested with them. I took some video of one eating a Cheez-It and another working on his hole. I have to edit them a bit, but will let you know when they're up.

The big highlight of the trip was our Jeep-ish vehicle guided tour of the northern part of Corolla where the wild Spanish mustangs live. They used to be all over Corolla, but too many were being hit by cars as the town developed. Now they're fenced away from the lower part and have a huge expanse of land only accessible by 4x4 vehicles. Yes, (sigh) there are houses up there. The horses date back 500 years when they were abandoned by Spaniards fleeing the Outer Banks. They're gorgeous.

Oh. And they pronounce it Cah-RALL-ah, not like the car.

Margarita on the front deck

We did see quite a bit of rain in the first few days, plus thunderstorms nearly every overnight. The wind blew the rain onto the back decks facing the ocean. But the front deck, at least a part of it, usually stayed dry.

Gulls on pylons in the sound

We de-crabbed our pool on a regular basis

Isn't he cute? We rescued some alive, but unfortunately we didn't get to others in time. This one was very alive. He jumped out of the net and skittered away on his little crab legs.

Keep off the dunes!

The dunes protect the homes and the Outer Banks itself from hurricane tidal waters. I couldn't get up the dunes if I wanted to. Going up and down the stairs from our crow's nest private beach access was grueling enough on the knee.

Jellyfish

Dead jellyfish were found every morning on my early walks, but I didn't see any live ones in my ocean forays.

At the local library

Surf's up!

I can't remember if I took this one in Kill Devil Hills or Nag's Head. I only saw one surfer near our house and I didn't think the waves were that great for surfing for the most part.

Early morning

THE WILD HORSES ...

Solitary sunrise

But he likes Cheez-Its!

Vincent at Best Friends

He comes home this afternoon. Yay!

Survivor South Pacific 9/28 Blog Party

Survivors ready? It's almost time for the show to start here on the East Coast. As it airs, I'll be updating this post with major events. But the real fun and active discussion can be found in the blog party comments. Stop on in and share your thoughts on the show!

It's immediately to Redemption Island for the suel between Christine and Semhar. It's concentration and balance. Semhar goes all funky with some spoken word prayer. Christine wins! Bye Semhar.

Brandon admitted to all that he;s Russell Hantz's nephew. He tells them he hates to lie and Russell is NOT him.

Ozzy told Keith he had the idol. Keith told Whitney after promising to tell no one.
Baby Hantz continues to alienate the rest of his tribe with his odd behavior.

Immunity challenge ahead -- reward is coffee, tea, etc. Upolu wins ... and Coach is still doing so much better than his previous seasons.

The tribe wants to vote out Papa Bear, but tell Papa Bear it's Cochran. Papa Bear pretended he found the idol, made a fake one and told Cochran.

The tally --
Papa Bear
Cochran
Jim
Papa Bear
Papa Bear
Papa Bear

Papa Bear is heading over to Redemption to go up against Christine.

The Amazing Race 19 Season Premiere Blog Party

It's here! Welcome to the blog party! As the show airs, I'll post major events here in this entry. But the real fun is in the comments area. Please stop in and share your thoughts on the show!

Racers ready?

Margo has the pool all set to go! Here are the random match-ups --

**POOL MATCH-UP****

Amani and Marcus - Nana in N G W, Tammy, Jackie
Andy and Tommy - Caela, DKNYNC, meb
Bill and Cathi - Pam, Auntie Leigh, Monty924
Ernie and Cindy - Brent McKee, Becky, Delee
Ethan and Jenna - BuzzmaKaylaniam, Lisanne, Sydney
Jeremy and Sandy - Donna in AL, Zoetawny, DoraM
Justin and Jennifer - Rbennie, Lynn1, Margo
Kaylani and Lisa - Donna in FL, Laurie, ML
Laurence and Zac - Ed, estelle, JOEY
Liz and Marie - SueGee, Jennasmom, ChicMc
Ron and Bill - PDXGranny, Glenn, Terry in PA

This season has a new obstacle called a hazard.

Good. One of the cocktail waitresses dropped a passport. (I'm not impressed with them.) Gotta give them credit ,,, they tweeted and good samaritans turned it in to them. Kaylana and Lisa, with the hazard for coming in last in the first challenge, have to have one bungee jump..

Ernie and Cindy arrived at the pit stop first. OMG! Bill and Cathi were last, but it's the first non-elimination in a premiere. They're still in the race. Next week is the first ever double elimination.

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - September 25, 2011

My new friend Ralph, the ghost crab

It's Sunday morning, time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken. As an on television topic reminder -- don't forget ... the new season of The Amazing Race begins tonight 8 PM ET/PT! C'mon by the blog party!

Okay, most of you know I'm on a trip. Mind you, my neighbor (who has machetes and is far more likely to use them than I) is watching my apartment. So, no funny business.

Getting to the Norfolk airport was a nightmare on Friday. The weather caused all kinds of airline delays and cancellations. My own planned route -- Newark, Detroit, Norfolk -- got discombobulated. The flight out of Newark was running so late I'd miss the last Detroit to Norfolk plane. So I was re-routed through Atlanta instead. They promised me my checked bag would be rerouted too.

They lied. My checked bag went to Detroit and missed the last plane of the night to Norfolk. Grr. I couldn't wait for that plane to come in Saturday afternoon, so they did deliver the bag to the house here (with its TSA approved lock and the nifty yellow zipper pulls ripped off).

But all is cool -- met up with Laurie, Margo, Marge, Ann, Ruth, Elaine and Delee. Despite the rainy day here, we ate well and goofed off well! I roamed the beach despite the rain. My photos aren't that great because, while I made sure to keep my camera lens away from the raindrops, my eyeglasses didn't fare as well. Haf the time I couldn't see what I was shooting! But the rain stopped during the evening and I KNOW I'll have plenty to shoot during the week.

Here ya go ...

EWR

Nuff said.

Gate Gourmet

At EWR

Rain, fog and plane

The fog was so heavy that the airplanes taking off soon vanished from sight. Once I was flying and saw the sunset above the clouds, that was striking -- a deep shade of red over the floor pillows of clouds. No photos as I didn't have a window seat because I was on a plane going to Atlanta instead of my original flight.

Virginia cool 'shrooms

Laurie pointed these out to me by the parking lot of the hotel we stayed at Friday night.

From the same area

'Shrooms from the side

Note Santa runs the locksmith

The sign adjacent to this decrepit business said something about super security. Maybe the Claus ... I don't know. This is in Virginia. I think. Maybe North Carolina.

Corolla NC 'shrooms

I suppose it's okay if you carry it in the open.

Wet bird

Wazzat?

Why ... it's a herd of pelicans!

Don't tell me it's a pod. I don't want to hear it. I like herd.

Vincent at his Best Friends

Whenever I bring him there, the big monitor flips to photos they've taken of him. Sniffle. I miss him! But they do treat him well there.

Survivor South Pacific 9/21 Episode Blog Party

Survivors ready? It's almost time for the show to start here on the East Coast. As it airs, I'll be updating this post with major events. But the real fun and active discussion can be found in the blog party comments. Stop on in and share your thoughts on the show!

Semhar is miserable on Redemption Island. Too bad, so sad.

Ozzy found the hidden idol without a clue. He says he won't tell anyone. We'll see about that.

Brandon told Coach he's Russell's nephew. So they now pray together. @@

Christine found the clue to the idol, but hasn't a clue.

Immunity is mainly physical. Reward is blankets, pillows, a hammock. Savaii wins!

Brandon wants the strongest woman, Mikayla, voted out because she "tempts" him. That Hantz kid is whacked in an entirely different way than his uncle. Great Tribal Council!

The tally:
Sophie
Edna
Christine
Stacy
Christine
Stacy
Christine
Stacy
Christine

Christine was voted out.

The Amazing Race 19 - Meet the Cast!

Our Emmy-winning favorite whirlwind trip around the world returns this coming Sunday for its 19th season. As we always do, we'll have blog parties here all season as the show airs East Coast time.

That great gal Margo is running the blog pool for the show. If you want in, please respond to this post. If you're an anon, you'll have to give some sort of name to participate. It's all in fun with no real wagering -- teams are picked randomly for each pool participant so we can cheer them on all season. The folks with the winning team earn bragging rights!

Racers ready?


The cast (left to right): Top row -- Ron and Bill, Kaylani and Lisa, Amani and Marcus, Jeremy and Sandy, Bill and Cathi, Andy and Tommy. Bottom row -- Liz and Marie, Justin and Jennifer, Ethan and Jenna, Laurence and Zac, Ernie and Cindy. [Clicking on the image will open it larger in a new window, then hit the back button on your browser to return to the blog entry.]



Here are my quick takes on the cast accompanied by a bit of information and the links to their CBS bios:

Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca -- Oh, I HAVE to do them first! Everybody knows I'm not a huge advocate of folks returning or crossing over on reality shows. That's because most of the time, it's folks who are "notorious." So, each of them are previous million dollar winners of Survivor. Why am I happy they're on TAR? Because I admire both of them so much! Ethan fought off cancer and is such a great guy, too. Jenna is intelligent and so not devious. They're dating and, even though they've both had their big reality payday, I wouldn't mind at all if they won this season. I like 'em that much! He's 37, she's 30 and they both live in NYC.

Amani and Marcus Pollard -- They're a married couple. He's 39, she's 36. He's on Phil's competitor list in the video above because he's a retired NFL player/coach. Their hometown is Pine Mountain, GA. They have four children. Hmm ... I'm not getting any real vibes off of them. I'm not a football fan, so I have no clue who he is. One thing in their favor is that they seem to have a solid marriage and will probably work well together as a team.

Andy Finch and Tommy Czeschin -- Yet another one of the "competitor" teams, Andy is 30, Tommy is 32. They're both from smaller towns in California. And, they're both professional ex-Olympics snowboarders. Now, I don't expect snowboarding to take place on the show this season even though they often visit colder climes. But I think these two bear watching. I know from my skiing days that snowboarders are a special breed -- they're definite risk takers. Something like that is going to work in their favor on the show. I hope they're really likable because I'm going to bet they have a strong chance at the win.

Bill and Cathi Alden -- These two are my sentimental favorite for the win right off the bat ... but they probably won't. He's 63, she's 62. While they seem to be in great shape, we all know those years work against them. They're married and live in Albany, Oregon. He's a retired teacher, presently a rancher. She's a retired high school principal and presently an online professor. They have three children. (Most likely grown children, I'd hazard to guess.) I like them. But the race is grueling on teams decades younger. We'll see.

Ernie Halvorsen and Cindy Chiang -- This engaged couple -- he's 29, she's 30 -- hail from Chicago. He's a project manager while she's a brand manager. Um. Okay. That's better than mixologists, I guess! (The bios do explain the positions a bit more.) I see a possible foods stumbling block as she's gluten-free, not a bad thing in the normal course of life, but it might have inherent problems running the race. I'm not getting either winning or losing vibes from their bios.

Jeremy Cline and Sandy Draghi -- A dating couple, he's 35 and she's 33. He hails from Alamo, CA while she's from Dublin, CA. He's a commercial real estate broker while she's a nurse practitioner. They have no experience working together under stress. Uh-oh, they better watch out! She says he reminds her of George Clooney. I'm just not seeing that. They want to build a stronger relationship together on the race. Well, I hope they don't bicker or call each other "babe" a lot.

Justin and Jennifer Young -- This brother/sister team hails from Stone Mountain, GA. He's 31, she's 26. He's a doctor and she's a special education teacher. Man, their parents did something right with them, huh? They both seem like nice people, but their bios make it evident that they might have some sibling rivalry issues. I usually enjoy sibling teams, but if he does indeed always treat her like a kid sister, that might not be too cool on the race. They'll have to work as a team or they won't make that finish line.

Kaylani Paliotta and Lisa Tilley -- My gosh, haven't we had enough VIP cocktail waitresses out of Las Vegas on reality TV shows? Kaylani is 33, Lisa is 32. They're friends. I'm just not overly enthusiastic about them. Not only is there the Vegas girls thing, but I know I'm not going to be able to tell which one is whom. Maybe they'll surprise me and do well. Hopefully they won't have annoying laughs.

Laurence and Zac Sunderland -- This father (48) and son (19) team is from Thousand Oaks, CA. They're on Phils competitor list because the son was the youngest person to sail around the world alone back when he was 16. The father is a yacht manager. So now we know where the kid got his boat! Oh my gosh, there are eight kids in the family! Zac could have gone off sailing and not be missed! These two could possibly be a strong team. I'm getting little clue about their personalities, so I'll chalk them up as a "we'll see" team.

Liz and Marie Canavan -- Oh, great. I already have one female team I fear I won't be able to tell apart and what does the show do? They give me twin sisters! Both girls are 24 and from Deerfield, IL. Liz is a marketing assistant while Marie is "soul searching" as she goes through her quarter-life crisis. @@ They seem to fight a lot. Yeah, we all love that so much with teams on the show, right? I'm not too enthused about these two.

Ron Zeitz and Bill Smith -- Domestic partners living in Laguna Niguel, CA, they're both flight attendants. Ron is 44, Bill is 49. Neither have a fear of traveling (a good thing considering their careers) and they might have an edge in airport travel. But how will they do at the rest of the racing? Hmmm ...

What are your thoughts on the teams? And, don't forget ... speak up in comments here if you want to be in the blog pool!

Dancing With the Stars Blog Discussion Fall 2011

Yep, it's here again! Dancing With the Stars makes its premiere with a whole new cast of dancing fools! Who will win? Has Chaz a chanze? How will Ricki Lake do?

Here's your place to discuss the show with friends! I won't be blogging weekly about it, but I am interested in what you think. This post is listed in the sidebar or you can access it by searching for "Dancing With the Stars" on the blog. Have fun, but remember ... no drunken dancing!

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - September 18, 2011

My apologies for getting this up late today -- first Blogger didn't want to let me post photos, then I ended up making breakfast and watching Sunday Morning on CBS. Well, at least it's still Sunday morning and now it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken.

I do need to touch a moment on television, though. The recently ended (yay!) season of Big Brother will go down in my records as the worst or, even giving it some credit because I enjoy watching Jeff and Jordan, perhaps a tie with BB9 as worst. I watched the after finale interviews. Ho-hum. Keith wants everyone to know he's single and looking. Adam is still delusional that he's some great game player. Jeff and Jordan will be moving in together -- they're just not sure where or when. Rachel and Brendon are supposedly getting married this weekend as per TMZ. Y'know ... I don't really care. I'm just glad the season has been put out of its misery despite the fact that they're claiming higher ratings.

My week was, for the most part, uneventful. I'm trying to get ready for my trip to the Outer Banks next week. I bought new travel-sized stuff to put in my good old quart bag to get through TSA checkpoints at the airports. I know from my last trip that the knee(s) are going to set off alarms, so I'm expecting extra scanning or pat downs.

I "graduated" physical therapy this past Friday. No, not because the knee is all healed. It's more because I ran out of the allowed visits per calendar year on my insurance. Since the kneecap dislocated and attention has had to be paid to that, I didn't do half the things I did in PT with the previous knee. I'll probably be returning to use the exercise equipment in October. I didn't have the knee replacement only to be dependent on a cane or wear a brace.

On Tuesday I have another follow-up visit at the orthopedic surgeon's office. Those have been coming every two weeks since the dislocation, too. I suppose I should be worried about the knee while in the Outer Banks, but I'm not planning on stressing it a lot. I won't even attempt to climb up to the top of the lighthouses. I am tossing around the idea of renting a bike down there for the week. The rental bikes are sturdy and may let me go off exploring more with my camera. I'm mainly thinking heated pool, hot tub, hammock on the deck, and relaxing. Oh. And FOOD.

I didn't really get a lot of great photos this week, but here are some:

Ban the scan!

I can only think they mean the TSA scan at the airport. Newark is supposed to change from the scan which puts out "naked" images to one which shows gingerbread men cut-out type images. But I don't know whether the latter will be in place when I go through security. Last year the scanners weren't so prevalent and I ended up going through a pat-down each time.

Nature's beauty

These shrubs/small trees bear off-white blooms well into the summer, then turn to this in the early autumn.

Scotch Plains 9-11 Memorial Flag

Benches dedicated to the three lives lost in Scotch Plains on 9-11

Unveiled

The memorial

Won't be around much longer

Replacing the H

Interesting -- I never thought about the neon tubing having to be specifically made for the signs. John's Meat Market, Scotch Plains.

Flower in the park

I took this from inside the gazebo at the little park in Scotch Plains

Cat nap

o
Vincent at rest after a big meal.

Big Brother 13 Season Finale Blog Party

The show is about to start here on the East Coast. As it airs, I'll update this entry with major events. It's been a long odd season and the final three going into the finale aren't what I would have liked from the beginning. But, I guess since they're there, they're deserving. I guess.

The real fun is in the comments and I hope you all join in! Partay!

Back to part one of the final HoH ... surprise, surprise ... Adam is the first out early in the mixer bowl. Rachel is in the zone, for sure. 46.10 minutes and Porsche is out. Rachel wins the first round!

Second round - Porsche vs. Adam. Underwater maze, matching HoH faces to correct spot. One at time, Porsche first. Although he's a smoker, Adam can definitely hold his breath longer. But he screws up discarding then retrieving his goggles. 6 1/2 minutes for him and 3 min. 50 sec for Porsche. So he sucked again!

Kalia joins the jury, then Jordan. Awkward!

3rd round of HoH -- Rachel vs. Porsche -- how well do they know the jury? They both did poorly, but Rachel is the new HoH!

Porsche and Adam can plea their case to stay. Rachel votes to evict ... Adam. She's keeping her deal with Porsche.

Time for the jury interrogation.

Now they each can plea their case to stay. Rachel is repeating herself again, but she does make a solid case. Porsche, hmm ...

Voting time --
The order inserting their keys for the win:
Brendon
Daniele
Jeff
Shelly
Kalia
Jordan
Adam

But first ... the early hamsters return.

The jury votes:
B -- Rachel
D -- Porsche
J -- Rachel
S -- Rachel
K -- Porsche
J -- Rachel
A -- Porsche

RACHEL WINS BB13!

America's favorite houseguest -- Jeff wins!

Survivor South Pacific Season Premiere Blog Party

Yep, it's here -- a new season of Survivor! That way too cool Zoetawny made us a new blog logo for the season and Margo is running the blog pool.

The pool participants are as follows (randomly picked by Margo's Mom) --

Upolu Tribe
Albert - Jennasmom, Margo
Brandon - Zoetawny, Keith
Christine - JOEY, Ed
Edna - Glenn, Monty 924
Mikayla - Rbennie, Becky,
Rick - SueGee, Auntie Leigh
Sophie - Jackie, Delee,
Stacey - meb, Sharon S
Coach - Donna in AL, ML

Savaii Tribe
Dawn - PDXGranny, lynn1
Elyse - Buzzmaam
Jim - Pam, DKNYNC
John - Caraleigh, Nana in NW,
Keith - Terry in PA, Dora M
Mark - Lisanne, Donna in FL
Semhar - Sydney, Laurie
Whitney - Karen in CA, Lorraine
Ozzy - Teri, Petals

As the show airs here, I'll update this post with major events. The real fun is in the comments area -- please join us there!

Survivors ready?

Ozzy is on Savaii, Coach on Upolu chosen by ink colors in random eggs pick.

Redemption Island is going to work just like last season.

Hero challenge -- Ozzy against Coach. It's physical, wanna bet who wins? The reward for the winning tribe is "terra" (sp?) -- like potatoes and flint.

Shocker! Ozzy wins and his tribe was a big help. Coach's tribe just confused him on the puzzle.

Christine already put a target on her back by calling Coach and Ozzy "temporary" and then going off immediately to search for the hidden idol.

Meanwhile, the retired NYPD detective is gay. Interesting!

Immunity challenge coming!

Upolu wins immunity and Semhar probably sealed her fate. Very close.

For his own reasons, Ozzy is pushing for Cochran to go instead of Semhar. We'll see.

Tribal Council time ... time to tally the votes:

Cochran
Semhar
Semhar
Semhar
Semhar
Semhar

YAY! Cochran stays!

Even Ozzy voted her out after pushing for her to stay. The vote was unanimous with the exception of her vote for Cochran. Good.

Big Brother 13 Live Feeds Into Finale Day

The end is nigh ... finally. Tonight is the big season finale of Big Brother with the final HoH round between Rachel and Porsche. As usual, it should have ended more than a couple of days ago. Three hamsters in the house is always tedious. These particular three hamsters, even more so. I've had a few people ask why I haven't posted updates the past few days. Well, honestly ... I tend to post updates when something actually happens. After all, how many times can I post:

• The girls have agreed to take each other to the final two.
• Adam keeps pleading his case with each nonetheless.
• Adam begged America to vote him as favorite player.
• They played cards.
• They talked in funny accents.
• Not funny ha-ha, mind you. Funny annoying.
  
• They napped.
• They worked out.
  
• They cooked.
• They ate.
• Then they played more cards.
• They reminisced.
• They tried to figure jury votes.
• They tie-died shirts.
• They ate some more.
• You get the drift.
• Now, had I caught some actual news -- say something like one of the girls said they'd take Adam to the F2 -- I would have broken in with a post.
  
• However, it does look like the girls will definitely take each other.
• I guess we'll see tonight!
  

Stop back tonight for the Survivor premiere party at 8 PM ET followed the Big Brother 13 season finale party at 9:30!