American Idol Results Show 3/26

I watched last night's show into the wee hours due to it being on the air the same time as Survivor and LOST. So, I didn't comment. That said, I was actually impressed with Adam Lambert for a change. I thought that Megan, Scott, and Michael were the worst of the bunch with Lil Rounds on their tails. That's unusual for Lil and I usually enjoy Megan. Not so much last night.

Onto tonight --

Rueben Studdard sweated all over the place and sang. Blech. Smokey Robinson sang a duet with Joss Stone and they were good. But I always have a special place in my heart for the big guest of the night -- Stevie Wonder. I remember back when he was Little Stevie Wonder. I think he's only five or six years older than I am. Now, "Little" isn't a good description these days, but the man is great. I recall blasting "Superstition" in the college dorm and his music was such a part of my life in those days. He did a medley which included "Superstition."

The results --

The bottom three weren't quite what I expected. Megan was safe, but Michael Sarver and Scott MacIntyre were indeed two of the three. The third was a bit of a shock -- Matt Giraurd. Say what? I thought he did quite well last night.

It doesn't matter. The right one went home. Bye-bye, Michael Sarver. And, no. He wasn't saved by the judges.

Survivor Tocantins - It's Clips on a Special Night

Zoetawny made me this monkey Survivor logo a while ago, but I had some trouble getting onto the PhotoBucket site the first night I wanted to use it. I just remembered now. (A mind is a terrible thing to lose.)

Tonight's show is the seasonal clips with some added footage. So no one will go home. But if you ARE home and want to comment, you're welcome to hang out here!

Internet Outage, Tonight's TV and Spring?

I'll start this with "Spring?" -- Hopefully this crocus I photographed early Monday evening has survived. We've been having high winds with wind chill temperatures in the teens for the early part of the week. I want spring. I like spring. I'm tired of cold weather!

So, where have I been since Sunday night? On Mondays I have to go into work earlier than usual now. So, up before five AM, I was a bit tired and didn't post. Had I known that on Tuesday night my Internet would vanish, I probably would have posted something. I've never had any problems with my Verizon DSL since getting it a few years back. I don't think it's even blinked. That is, until last night.

There I was, just checking out a few websites with plans to post the crocus when ... no pages would open. I tried going online via AOL and got a message than I had no broadband connection. I looked at my DSL modem and its lights looked normal. I unconnected and reconnected all of my connections. I rebooted the computer and turned off/on the DSL modem, too.

Nothing, I couldn't even get to Google. I tried my own computer troubleshooting and it told me there was a connection problem with my DSL. Okay, so I went to get the Verizon phone number online. Um, oops! I had no online! It's amazing how much I do on the Internet. Most of my bills have gone paperless (including my Verizon bill). I look up TV listings and phone numbers online.

I finally found my phone book and managed to find the repair number for Verizon. But as I was going through their automated menu, they said, "A major DSL outage has affected the 908 area code. Does this address your question?" Why, yes. Yes, it did. But I'm back up and running now. I'm glad I didn't bother to get the dial-up modem connected to the computer. I didn't feel like moving stuff and more connecting cables and irksome things.

Then there's tonight's TV. Survivor is on at 8 PM ET tonight, not tomorrow, due to March Madness tomorrow. It's the clips show, but I still have to write it up for TV Squad and I'll throw a post up here. Then, at 9 PM, it's LOST, another new episode. I have to watch that. You know that.

But, meanwhile, from 8 - 10 PM ET, it's the American Idol show which wasn't scheduled for last night due to the Presidential speech. Sorry, AI -- I'll have to record you and watch you maybe tomorrow night after the results show!

I shouldn't even mention that Criminal Minds is on at 9 PM. At least I can catch that in reruns.

How are you juggling your TV tonight?

The Amazing Race - "Alright Guys, We're at War!"

Sigh. It was too good to be true. So long without a delay and we really have one on the East Coast this week. Due to basketball, 60 Minutes started at 7:52 PM ET instead of 7:00 PM. Once TAR starts, this post will be updated with the major events and I'll be writing a full review of the show for TV Squad.

As always, the comments section is THE place to be!

8:52 PM ET and it's ON.

It's off to India!

Pit Stop --
1. Tammy and Victor -- Each won an ocean kayak
2. Mel and Mike!
3. Jen and Kisha
4. Margie and Luke
5. Jaime and Cara
6. Mark and Michael
7. Christie and Jodi - Philiminated

Off Topic, a Meme, and a Dangling ... Um ...

Later on tonight we have a new episode of The Amazing Race. But of course, I'll get a blog post up for that one! But until then, I've got a bit of everything for you with only one TV mention.

OMG!!!! (As the kids would say.) I watched Cops after getting home from work last night and was surprised by a dangling um ... male anatomy piece (don't want to say the word and have people find this blog by searching for it). For a good twenty seconds, dangling in the wind and out of the pants and even in a bit of a close-up! Who edits these things? It was SO much more than the Marcus Survivor bits! How could they miss it? Yikes!

Clicking on any of the images below will open them up larger in a new window ...


Who watches the watchers? This is a shot I took of two gulls on a parking lot lamp. There's something about it that I like, perhaps that it's simplistic. I don't know.


Yep, the Big Apple Circus is still there. I still haven't been.


Breaking news from New Jersey: A giant, possibly radioactive, rat has been terrorizing Route 287 in Northern Central New Jersey just outside of Bridgewater. Do NOT drive on Route 287 until we can get the giant cats from Rockland County in New York to battle this hazard!

Now onto one of those memes I found out on the web. If you do this on your blog, please link to here in comments so we can see! I'm not tagging anyone, so no one is obligated. But it is kind of fun!

Rules: Basically highlight stuff that you've done. I also made some comments in italics.
1.Started your own blog -- Or two or three!
2. Slept under the stars -- Ah, the memories
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower -- Can't see them around here due to light pollution
6. Given more than you can afford to charity -- Perhaps time but not money. Have to keep the roof over my head.
7. Been to Disneyland --Been there, but never Disney World thanks to childhood years in southern California.
8. Climbed a mountain -- My first was Mount Marcy in NY. We had a snowball fight in late July at the top. I never became Himalayas material, though.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo -- Not in public!
11. Bungee jumping -- Always want to years back, but not allowed now with the knee replacement.
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables -- When I was a child. Now I can't even grow a houseplant and have it live a year!
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch-hiked -- I don't condone it but I did it when I was young and foolish with a boyfriend in college.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill -- Mental health day!
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb -- Does petting one count?
26. Gone skinny-dipping -- Went with others while they did it, but I chickened out. I giggled when the cops came!
27. Run a Marathon -- Oh, gee. I'm not allowed to run on doctor's orders. Too bad, eh?
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language -- I let others teach me French in high school and college.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing -- The Gunks in my more adventurous days!
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David -- A replica in NYC doesn't count, does it?
41. Sung karaoke -- EEK!
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted -- As a child (my mother was a commercial artist)
48. Gone deep sea fishing -- Used to go every year with my Dad, a few times in my adult life.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie -- Kind of, sort of. I was an extra in The Way We Were. Hey, they paid $25 a day for three days!
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business -- If my freelance writing counts, sort of kind of.
58.Taken a martial arts class -- I fulfilled my physical education requirement in college by taking judo and bowling. Not at the same time, of course!
59.Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies -- I have eaten a lot of them! Mmm ... Thin Mints!
62. Gone whale watching -- Not intentionally, but watched them more than a few times while deep sea fishing.
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma -- Tried in college, was turned down as I was anemic. Now I can't due to the DVT issue.
65. Gone sky-diving -- My father forbid this activity as he was a paratrooper in WWII -- said it would kill my knees. My knees died anyway, I should have tried it!
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check -- OOPS! Not in years and years, though!
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar -- And HATED it! Gag, gag!
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job -- I was hired as the couple running the business were friends of my parents. I was fired because the couple split up and the wife thought I was on her husband's side. (Which I was.) She apologized years later. It didn't matter; it was just a college summer job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone -- Broke my right collarbone at three (falling out of bed), my right big toe at ten (leaping on rocks in the "crick" at my grandparent's house), broke two vertebrate in my back falling from a kitchen counter while doing a yoga position at twelve, greenstick fracture of the left arm (being struck by a moving car trying to kill me decades ago when I worked as a store detective) and I shouldn't even mention that major bones in your leg are broken (sawed) in knee replacement surgery.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle -- Riding, not driving, mind you. Young and foolish days!
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book -- Written a few, never published. But I have some nifty rejection slips!
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car -- 1973 Ford Maverick in college, 1978 Ford Mustang when the Maverick died, leased a new 1997 Mitsubishi Mirage and then bought it when the lease was up.
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper -- Some school thing when I was a child.
85. Read the entire Qur’an
86. Visited the White House -- Never inside, but does outside the gates count?
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating -- I started fishing when I was about eight. My Mom would cook the fish if we cleaned it. I haven't been in years. I went deer hunting once (my father and grandfather did it), but couldn't shoot. I wanted to talk to the deer instead.
88. Had chickenpox -- And mumps, measles, German measles, whooping cough, scarlet fever ... all of them. No vaccines except polio and diphtheria when I was little.
89. Saved someone’s life -- In college I had a job with the university police. My partner and I discovered a rather drunken woman who had fallen off the back side of a residential quad, breaking her back. We were told that she would have died from exposure (it was upstate NY dead winter) had we not found her. Once at a traffic accident, I put a tourniquet (belt) on a man's leg as he was bleeding from a cut artery. I was told it was excellent work. But the ambulance arrived about two minutes after I did it. So he probably would have lived anyway.
90. Sat on a jury -- I was turned down! Sniffle!
91. Met someone famous -- Several
92. Joined a book club -- I joined that one with the great promotional offers back in the 70s -- something like a dozen books for 12 cents or something.
93. Lost a loved one -- Several
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit -- Worker's comp case on my right knee. It was judged a 40% permanent partial disability of the entire leg. Of course, now it's acting up again. I won the case, still work for the same company.
98. Owned a cell phone -- Nope, hate them with a passion!
99. Been stung by a bee -- Several times. I was attacked by a swarm of bees when I was a child, stung over 150 times at once, and had to be hospitalized. I'm allergic nowadays, but haven't tested (been stung) in over 30 years.
100. Read an entire book in one day