Andy Rooney is on 60 Minutes as I start this, so the show we really want to see (sorry Andy) will be starting soon.
As it airs, I'll update this post with the major events including Philimination. Late tonight my full review of the episode will be up on TV Squad.
Please feel free to jump in with your thoughts in the comments!
TK and Rachel are WAY behind.
Ron and Christina came in first each winning an electric vehicle.
Nathan and Jennifer second. (Grr)
Nicolas and Donald number three.
YAY! The last non-elim! Nearly three hours behind the other teams, TK and Rachel survive. They'll face a Speed Bump next leg.
Phew.
A New York City subway train, rather subdued and uncrowded. I'll get into the TV Newsy Bits in a moment, but I must tell a tale of urban apartment living first.
Y'see, I live in a fairly large multi-story (but not high-rise) apartment building in urban (as opposed to suburban) New Jersey. I have neighbors on top of me, below me, on both sides, and across the hall. The building itself is an elevator building with about 40 apartments, an intercom system for a supposedly secure building, and a laundry room in the basement. The neighborhood is quiet with apartment buildings, senior citizen housing, some large older houses cut up into apartments, and churches. My biggest complaint about the neighborhood itself are adults on bicycles on the sidewalks, as well as the senior citizen gang with flags atop their motorized scooters who terrorize the sidewalks making me step into yards.
But this isn't about the neighborhood. It's about last night. Well, actually it started before that. The apartment abutting my dining room turned computer/library/home office and kitchen has been vacant for some time. That apartment was traditionally the super's apartment, but the last family man super left months ago. The new super is single and has a studio apartment on the first floor.
I know they renovated the apartment long ago, but heard noises in there this past Wednesday. It sounded like maintenance workers and I heard no more from the apartment until last night when I got home around 8 PM. There was a stereo going ... a very loud one.
Sigh. New neighbors throwing their first party? At one point my intercom buzzed. When I used the talk button, no one answered. No way was I going to buzz anyone into the building when I wasn't expecting any company. And the beat went on next door. It had to be blaring in there because I never ever even heard the first superintendent, the second one there had a surround-sound system and, while that was annoying, it paled in comparison to the music last night.
Then there was a flurry of activity in the hallway and banging on the door over there. I peeked out my window and saw several police cars at the back of the building (which is very odd as they would come in the front for most things). It turns out NO ONE still lives there! A bunch of people commandeered the vacant apartment for a party!
How did they find the apartment? How did they get into the building and then the apartment? The cops said about 30 people were in there! How did they have electricity in there? The apartments come with heat, hot water, and cooking gas, but the power has to be turned on for each individual tenant.
How did I not really hear any unusual hall traffic, no voices from the apartment and just the music blaring? Apparently some of the party-goers were roaming the hallways and smoking cigarettes in the elevator. One of the tenants on the first floor called the police about the strangers in the hallway. But here, the apartment was right next to me and I didn't hear anything in the hallways. I believe they had to be coming in through the back door of the building away from me.
In the end, I'm relieved I don't have new partying neighbors there. I didn't call the police because it wasn't all that late at night and I didn't want my first introduction to neighbors being a call to the police before 10 PM on a Saturday night. My other neighbors have parties and make noise occasionally but we all get along and know we can say something if it gets too much. No one takes advantage although I know when the guy downstairs is having a football game party or the folks upstairs have a small party. They say I'm very quiet, but I've been known to crank my stereo on occasion. Living in an apartment building takes some tolerance of others, but I guess I was a bit too tolerant last night, eh?
Onto today's TV Newsy Bits:
- Ohh ... lots of news about the upcoming Survivor Micronesia -- fan and firefighter Joel Anderson has a write-up as does fan motivational speaker Alexis Jones and the returning Ami Cusack. I didn't care for her in Vanuatu. As a matter of fact, Vanuatu was my least favorite season on the show. I'm so not looking forward to Jonny Fairplay, either. Yeah, I understand that they want a villain, but he just creeps me out. But the concept of the season itself sounds fresh. I'm looking forward to seeing the fans kick Ami and Jonny's butts while Yau-Man makes me smile!
- Our friends over at Buddy TV say the finalists are in place to be cast for Big Brother 9 and that there are rumors it will be a shorter season than the typical three month run we see in the summertime. And, yes ... before I get asked again ... it seems the show will have another new season come July.
- The latest in the ongoing Britney Spears saga is that Dr. Phil "rescued" her from the hospital. I'm sure he'll turn it into ratings for himself. I think it's just a sad situation and it's very scary to think of K-Fed as a level-headed parent. Those poor kids.
- Matthew Fox spilled the Lost beans as he knows them for EW.com. Verrry interesting.
- Tonight we'll have another episode of The Amazing Race. I'm thinking it must be the finale next week as we're at the final four now. The finale always pits the last three teams in the final leg. I'll put up an east coast spoilers post when it starts here. It's very likely there will be a football delay. I haven't looked at the schedule, just guessing.
Today's musical non-sequitur:
Chickity China the Chinese chicken
You have a drumstick and your brain stops tickin'
Watchin' X-Files with no lights on
We're dans la maison
I hope the Smoking Man's in this one
-- "One Week" - Barenaked Ladies
Brr ... cold enough out there for you? Here's a hint about what I had to face this morning in 15 degree temperatures and high winds. Although that article has few comments, I know what the commenter from a previous post was talking about with the nasty comments left on that site. Scary stuff.
I'll talk about The Celebrity Apprentice towards the end of this entry. I'll be mentioning the fired person at the end of the post, so beware if you haven't watched the show yet. Although the show caught my interest enough tonight, I doubt I'll be watching it come mid-February. So I'm not going to get into blogging about it full-force.
A few other things first:
- I was pleased with the return of Letterman last night, but that beard has to go. Soon. And far away. It frightened me.
- I think I'm going to like the new cast changes on Law and Order. It's about time McCoy got a promotion, eh? I like Jesse Martin fine, but Dennis Farina partnering with him didn't do anything for me. The new dude shows some promise. I was a bit disappointed that it was two separate one-hour episodes. I think it could have made a splash debut with an involved two-hour story.
- I watched Wife Swap last night. Is it just me or is that show getting even cheesier each season? What the heck was up with that "sparkle" bit? I kept feeling I was watching a commercial of whatever that gum is that cleans "dirty mouths." Why do people go on these shows knowing that they'll look like idiots?
- The cast list is up for Survivor -- thanks, ORKMommy! Jonny Fairplay indeed. I thought they said fan favorites?!?
Onto Celebrity Apprentice ...
The pros:
- I actually enjoyed Gene Simmons from Kiss and, on the whole, how the men got along.
- They're in NYC where the show belongs. Good.
- The "celebrity" bit enhances the tasks -- they can call on their contacts, etc.
- The proceeds go to charity.
The cons:- Donald Trump, the Trumpette, and the Trumpling.
- Piers Morgan is rude. There, I said it.
- I hate the Baldwin's eyes. He always looks stoned.
- Who are half of these celebrities? If I saw most of them on the street, I wouldn't even notice.
- Trump is partial to Omarosa and tonight's show showed it.
- Omarosa is still a B Word.
The odd:
- Not even going to his hair, but Trump's tan/coloring is all screwy. It looks like he's been in a tanning booth wearing sunglasses. Ew.
- The winning team got to watch the main boardroom session of the losing team prior to the firing. I'm of mixed feelings about that. They can see the weak links of the other team too much.
SPOILER COMING
The Fired:
- It should have been Omarosa because she's the one who decided (and enforced) they shouldn't use their celebrity to sell hot dogs. But, instead, it was Tiffany the Playboy Bunny who didn't call Hugh Hefner for a donation. (After Omarosa didn't want them to do that, mind you.)
Nah, not an exciting photo, I'll admit. It's raindrops on a berry-bearing tree. We certainly won't see raindrops here tonight as the temperatures dip down into the teens. But we've been lucky so far this season here in the NYC area. I know folks in the Midwest, further up the Northeast coast and even just a few hundred miles north of here have had tremendous snowstorms. Since my knee won't allow me to ski, I'd just as soon as little snow as necessary here, thank you.
In today's TV Newsy Bits:
- In NYC News news, I was thrilled to see meteorologist Jeff Berardelli on and off the past few weeks on WCBS2. I got all excited thinking he was back for good, but he isn't. He was just helping them out as he visited his family for the holidays. Soon (if not already), he'll be back in Miami and we'll have to deal with Conan O'Brien's doppelganger Lonnie Quinn doing the weather. Blech. John Bolaris is off of CBS2 and into Philly. I'd like to put in a request for a real meteorologist and not a soaps actor, please.
- Law and Order returns tonight for a special two-hour season premiere beginning at 9 PM. I'm so there. I didn't care so much for Dennis Farina the last season or two. It looks like the cop cast has been revamped and I've always liked the stories.
- I'll also be watching David Letterman's return (with writers) tonight. His guest is Robin Williams. I'm not as keen on Williams as I was a few decades back, but I wouldn't miss the show's return tonight for anything! Leno won't be able to do a monologue and has one of the Presidential candidates on for his return tonight.
- Ohhh ... gossip! Claire and Peter from Heroes are a true-life couple these days? Yikes! He's 30, she's 18. She denied they were dating all through that odd haircut he used to sport.
- Tonight also brings us season premieres of Wife Swap and SuperNanny. A new Deal or No Deal is on as well. Power of Ten, too. Oh, my. Television has returned. I'm not so much into any of them, but I might watch Wife Swap before Law and Order. That can be amusing at times.
Today's musical non-sequitur:
But then they sent me away to teach me how to be sensible,Logical, responsible, practical.And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,Clinical, intellectual, cynical.
-- "The Logical Song" by Supertramp
Well, well, well. It's 2008. I hope everyone had a good time last night whether it was staying at home or going out with the crowds.
Me? Um, well. I fell asleep early. I had planned to at least watch the ball drop on television, but missed it all. I had to work yesterday and had been up since before 5 AM. I thought I was merely taking a nap around 9 PM, setting my alarm to get me up at 10 PM. Uh-oh. I awoke at about 4:30 in the morning. That's just the way it goes sometimes.
Thinking back over the past year I've certainly had some successes, lots of so-so stuff, one major personal blow.
In the success arena:
- This blog has to be at the top of the list. A community has developed here and it opened the doors to a paying writing gig -- something I've wanted for years although my original intention was more along the lines of the Great American Novel. I thank everyone who's been reading regularly and even more of a nod to those who have made it a community.
- Of course, the paying writing gig for TV Squad is a huge success for me in 2007. No, I can't live on the pay I receive, but it sure helps out a lot and getting paid to write is a very personally fulfilling kind of thing. It's something I dreamed of when I received my first typewriter as a Christmas gift at the age of nine.
- My 401K at my day job did very well this year. I can actually see some sort of life after retirement (which, alas, is several years away) between that, my company retirement benefits, and Social Security. It no longer looks like I'll have to go live in a van down by the river.
- I bought a new computer which I will be able to claim on my taxes due to the writing income.
- I bought seasons 1-4 of The Wire and will watch them over and over again. Storytelling done right in the TV medium. Unfortunately, I can't claim the DVDs on my taxes.
To the so-so arena:
- September marked 30 years since I started with my day job employer (which will remain nameless in this blog). I left them for about five years in the 80s, so I don't have 30 straight years with them. It feels like I have 50, though. 1977. I was surely a child.
- I got addicted to Trader Joe's Espresso Coffee Soda only to see it discontinued. I guess I didn't need the calories, but I definitely love that stuff.
- Despite the reputation of the NJ town in which I live, people say hello on the sidewalk, I see diversity everywhere I go, and I have made friends in town as well as new train friends I enjoy this past year.
The 2007 bad stuff:
- The absolute worst thing is the loss of my cat Teaser. I miss him every day. I found out that my brother (the one who left a comment here) lost his cat of about the same age three weeks prior to the death of Teaser.
- My left knee is crumbling more all the time. I fear I'll have to have the knee replacement before long. I'm not all that worried about the operation itself, nor the recovery. I just don't want to be in a hospital or rehab place for more than a few days.
- I fear my day job is successfully sucking just a bit more of my soul out of me day by day.
Stuff I want to do in 2008:
- I want to keep this blog going at the levels previous to this past month. December was a rather boring TV month, plus I was busy at work, and dealing with the loss of my cat companion of fifteen years.
- I want to continue writing for TV Squad. My contract renews in July (at least it should). I already know I'll be covering BB9 live feeds and the upcoming Survivor season for them.
- I have to get my knee fixed. (Waaah.)
- Knee fixed, more photo stomping. Yay!
- I want to take up real painting. I've been having urges to paint (art stuff, not walls or houses) for a few months now. I used to draw and sketch a lot when I was younger but I never got into painting. I plan to buy an easel, some paints, and some brushes (and other stuff I might need), and see what comes of it. I have to decide between oils, acrylics, or watercolors. But I will do it. Also, it's something I could do in knee replacement recovery time.
How was your 2007?
(Graphic by rockin' Zoetawny)
