Big Brother 11 Live Feeds Through Monday Daytime 8/10

Finger-lickin' good slop!

This house needs some shaking up. I want a brouhaha! I want a cat fight! Fisticuffs would be a welcome respite from the doldrums. Hey, throw in a unicorn and I'm so there.

Here are the day's happenings from that Big Brother House of Acrimonious Anti-Allies:

• After getting up, Kevin was directed to the diary room where there was a brief audio leak. He was receiving instructions on how to do the PoV. Not whether to use it or not, mind you.
• Then, when the time came (blocked feeds and all) ... he did NOT use the veto to save Lydia. He's going on the promises that she's definitely safe.
• Lydia isn't a happy camper. Nor would I be if my best friend in the house won the veto and didn't save me with it.
  
• Ah, something new and different -- Michele trash-talked Russell to Kevin. Russell's a terrorist, y'know.
• Chima told Kevin she's angry that Natalie never follows the direction of BB and thinks she can do whatever she wants. I'm paraphrasing there, but you get the general idea. BB tells Natalie to get up, she doesn't -- that kind of thing.
• Natalie apparently didn't cooperate when BB told her to "look alive" just before the PoV meeting.
• Chima thinks that Jeff has the "wizard power" because he's always getting called to the diary room and hasn't started any drama.
• Huh? Jeff has never been one to start drama in the house. He tries to avoid drama.
• Jeff made a slop concoction; Jordan made a fruit salad.
• And life goes on.

Today's song lyrics:
There was green alligators and long-necked geese,
Some humpty-backed camels and some chimpanzees.
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born,
The loveliest of all was the unicorn.
-- As sung by The Irish Rovers

Big Brother 11 LIve Feeds Overnight Into Monday 8/10

Yep! Open that champagne and celebrate! At 2:48 AM this blog had its 2,000,000th visitor. Someone using Comcast and Mac out of Atlanta, Georgia. Whoohoo! Unfortunately, Russell is opening wine and it's just because BB is letting them drink alcohol once again last night. Here are the happenings from that Big Brother House of Whirling Dervishes:

• Russell polished off that bottle and some beers, too.
• Russell teased Jeff because Jeff is a have not this week and couldn't have any.
• Jeff is probably the lucky one.
• Russell told Jeff that if Lydia gets removed from the block and he (Jeff) goes up, he won't trash talk him.
• Russell says he plans to redeem Braden's name and call out people when he's evicted.
• The secret of the wizard remains safe. Although Jessie, Chima, and Natalie think Jeff has it, Russell thinks it's either Kevin or Michele.
• Russell thinks his father's letter to him during his HOH reign had secret code telling him to befriend Jeff.
• Those letters are written at the start of the season.
• Russell admitted to Jordan that he was the vote for Casey to stay.
• Chima is still going around calling Russell a terrorist. Y'know, she really should stop that. These days that's akin to calling someone a murderer or rapist.
• Jessie is sure that Jeff must have the wizard power. He thinks that Jeff will take Lydia and Russell off the block and he and Natalie will go up. Then that unicorn will come gore him ... er, cart him off on Thursday.
• Russell apologized to his father for losing the game. Well, he spoke into the cameras. I don't know if his father actually heard it.
• Michele told Jeff she's worried about herself or Jeff going up as replacements.
• Jeff told her he can't be a sheep any longer and needs to play the game.
• There ya go. Nothing earthshaking and Russell will probably have a hangover later.
  

Big Brother 11 Live Feeds Into Sunday Evening 8/09

EEK! Russell has a Dustin v-neck shirt on! But he fills it out just a bit differently.


Now Jeff is looking like the Hank Azaria character who walked the dog on Mad About You.

Here's what's been happening in that Big Brother House of Pride and Prejudice:

• Lots and lots of fish tank (blocked feeds) today due to conversations about production, conversations about people who haven't signed releases, and the movie in the HOH room.
• In between feed blocks, Chima talked about how she wants to provoke Russell into hitting her so he gets booted from the show.
• I don't think Russell would ever hit a woman. He's got a temper, but he also knows how strong he is.
• Jessie drank way too much (for him) last night. He felt it today.
• Russell started singing that Chima was a chia pet. Chi-chi-chia.
• I snickered.
• They all reaped the benefits of the candy from the movie. Er, not the have-nots. But these folks really have had tons of candy, they should still have a lot left over from the margarita party pinatas.
• I wonder if BB has a dentist under contract.
• Oh my gosh ... so much of NOTHING today.
• And you might have wondered why I didn't post before this.
• Bad hamsters! Boring hamsters!
  

Big Brother 11 Nominations Show Blog Party 8/09

The show has started here on the East Coast. This post will be updated as it airs, but the real fun is in the comments section. Everyone is welcome, bring your own snacks and beverages! Later tonight my show review will be posted on TV Squad. Sometime tonight this blog should hit 2 million unique visits (about twice that in page views). I might miss it, but I hope to catch the rough location of the 2,000,000th visitor in my Sitemeter (bottom of the blog). All it tells is sometimes location in the country and through what ISP ... nothing really personal.

I want to thank those special people who made a tremendously generous offer for Wednesday. Hopefully I'll know more tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest.

Later tonight I'll post the live feeds happenings for the day. It hasn't been really eventful. On with the show ...

Whoa ... they're doing the bath tub rapist story/Chima from WEEKS ago as filler. I wonder if the old margarita party is next.

Jeremy Piven is in the house and a luxury comp is starting. The winning team sees his new movie and one member wins a large prize. The team of Jessie, Natalie, Russell, and Jordan won. Russell won $10,000.

Nominations - key order:
Natalie, Jessie, Kevin, Michele, Jordan, Jeff.

Russell and Lydia are on the block.

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was 8/09

Another week done and over with. I guess I should be happy that I have the rather all-encompassing Big Brother live feeds and the blog to concentrate on. I've been having extreme troubles sleeping -- I'll sleep three or four hours tops a day, then crash for eight on about the third day. I'm ending up a bit fuzzy-minded at work (which isn't a good thing) and definitely much too "emo." Well, that's what the kids call it.

Things may be changing. I met a cat, a cat who needs a home, a cat who really seemed to take to me. I can't replace Scherzo, but I know that each cat is special in his own way. I stopped in at PetSmart during my lunch hour from work yesterday. Each week they have a volunteer group -- Second Chance for Animals -- doing pet adoptions for the Franklin (Somerset) Animal Shelter. I got there just as they were packing up the cats. There were mostly kittens, but one cat attracted my attention.

If I hadn't been at work without a cat carrier and such, I think I would have snagged him right then and there. They've named him Dudley (which might end up being a middle name as I don't want to call a cat "Dud"). He's actually on the Petfinder.com website, so you can check him out. He's two years old, neutered, microchipped, has all his shots, and is feline leukemia/aids negative. He licked my hand and purred as I petted him. The volunteer there said he didn't do that for anyone else all day. He's very sweet.

I'll be calling the shelter on Tuesday when they're next open. If I can get a ride there on Wednesday, I'll pick him up then. If I can't get there Wednesday on my day off (they're open for two hours a day Tuesday-Friday), I'm going to have them bring him back to PetSmart on Saturday. I'll bring my small carrier and if he has to ride the train home with me, so be it. The trains do allow pets in carriers. I honestly think I'll be a whole lot better with a friend in my apartment again.

Then there's my weekly photography. It was an odd week there, too. I think my best shot was a huge unidentified black bug. I seemed to be having a bee week rather than a bird week, too. Clicking on any of the images will open them larger in a new window.

My, what big alien eyes you have

Yep, this is my shot of the week. Albeit a very scary huge bug (insect?), it has the coolest alien eyes I've ever seen. This guy was sitting on a bridge overpass. At first I thought he was dead, but he started moving as I shot him and eventually flew away. I'd say he measures an inch and a half to near two inches long ... the size of a mouse. I've never seen a bug like this before. I'm not even sure what classification it is. But, dang, way cool eyes. You NEED to click on this one to get a good look at the eyes.

UPDATE: Ding, ding, ding -- we have a winner! Delee identified this as a horse fly. It was bigger than any horse fly I've ever seen, but it is indeed a black horse fly - Tabanus atratus - the largest of the species. Ohh ... they slash the hides of animals and then drink the blood. But they still have cool eyes.

Sign of the times, Plainfield, New Jersey

Commercial reprographics? Whatever it is, I like this weathered sign.

Eek. A wasp.

Or, maybe it's a hornet ... a yellow-jacket or a mud-dauber. I only know that I'm deathly allergic and would probably go into anaphalactic shock if stung. Ah, putting my life on the line for the sake of one good shot. To be honest, he wasn't interested in me at all.

In which I continue to risk my life.

I believe this is a carpenter bee rather than a bumble bee. Its abdomen didn't seem to be hairy. Of course, I didn't tickle his tummy to explore the matter. These bees are out in full force this week, but most of my shots are fuzzy because they just don't stay still.

Frolicking in the graveyard

The quality isn't too good as this was a one-shot deal. The squirrel jumped down from the headstone right after this was taken. But I liked the image anyway. This is at the old Friends Quaker Cemetary in Plainfield, NJ -- taken through the fence.

Used tire for sale

I guess they keep a single used tire in stock at all times. Plainfield, NJ.

Do I have a death wish?

I continue to bug the bees with my camera.

I don't think I want an Aztec car, thank you.

Parked in front of Custom Underground in Plainfield, NJ.

We're talking classic car now.

I found this gem parked in front of the Plainfield Police Department/Municipal Court. I used layers to make the background black and white while keeping the car its brilliant blue. Like my bug shot, I have no clue what kind of car it is. But it is indeed on my Cool Meter.