Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was 8/23/09

Welcome to my weekly off TV topic look at the week behind me and what caught my attention (and my camera's attention) here in um ... I guess it's called north central New Jersey. If you're looking for Big Brother live feeds news, just head to my BB posts here. If you want a ramble through the week and a peek at some things I saw and experienced this past week, read on.

We started the week with the first official heat wave of the summer -- highs in the 90s and high humidity levels. When it went down into the 80s, the humidity went up even more. That is, when it wasn't storming. Some terrific storms came through, but it's still just hot and sticky. I don't like sweating. Make it stop.

I actually saw Roofus the Cat from the Plainfield Train Station two separate mornings this week. One day was overcast, the other was horribly hot. I don't blame him for staying off the hot tar roof in the summer.

My week isn't much to write about:

• Write up BB11 live feeds reports and show posts for here and TV Squad.
• Watch BB11 live feeds.
• Work.
• Eat.
• Sleep a bit.
• Sweat a lot.
• Turn up my air conditioning in my apartment.
• Rinse and repeat.

Here's some of what I saw during the week -- clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window:

Roofus and the people below him

Yep, people are in three of the four windows below our beloved Roofus the Cat ... and they don't even know he's up there! I messed around with editing this photo to highlight the windows a bit more. Since Roofus is a black and white cat, there's not much I can do to highlight him. This photo is probably best viewed larger.

Hey! He buzzed me!

Cicadas do NOT belong indoors. This one was in the laundry room. Eek. He came out of nowhere and I thought it was a teeny helicopter attacking me. You know, with teeny aliens and all.

When good sunflowers go bad.

This one is the size of a dinner plate. Some of those leaves are longer than my forearm. East Front Street in Plainfield.

It must be love -- the US Open

I prefer this normal NJ Transit bus advertising over their tendency to shrink-wrap advertise. When they do that, it's hard to tell if it's an NJT bus and, if you sit looking out the window, you're looking through dots. I hate looking through dots. I'm a window sitter and observer and dots make me go dotty! Plainfield, NJ

Roofus the Cat before the roof gets hot.

Obviously, this was the sunny morning I saw him. North Street, Plainfield.

Goldfinch in flight

I really need more shutter speed. Bridgewater, NJ

Goldfinch on the rocks

Sounds like a tasty beverage, eh? Just mix it in the blender ... heehee! I also need a better zoom. One of these days, when I win the Mega Millions, I'll get a fancy-shmancy camera with all those cool lenses. Bridgewater, NJ

Walking in black and white

Urban image I took as I sweated in Plainfield, NJ.

What? The Yellow Cab Company went yellow?

The Plainfield Yellow Cab Company has always had puke neon green cabs. Well, they have all new yellow yellow cabs now. Yikes! They compete with orange, red, blue and other cab companies in town. Taking a cab here is very different from taking one in the city (NYC). About the only thing in common is that you might share a cab with strangers these days.

Red sky at night

This was no sailor's delight as it was Friday evening over Westfield, NJ, after a tremendous storm passed through. It rained all day Saturday.

Two in the door!

A friend and I went to the new Five Guys burger place in Westfield, NJ. I could never work there. They're all too energetic for me! But they do have good burgers and great fries.

Yay! A bat in Bridgewater!

I know the image quality isn't the best, but this is important to me. For years there have always been several bats up in the corners and eaves here from May until October. I've taken some amazing photos of them in the past right at eye level. This week I saw not one, but two, back at home. I feared white nose syndrome had gotten to them all. Yes, I like bats. I don't like them in my apartment, no. But they're really neat animals who eat evil insects and they have cute little faces.

The pit bull is waiting for the train

Sigh. This poor dirty pit bull was hanging around the Plainfield Train Station the other day. He's either lost or abandoned. While he wasn't vicious, he was very shy. Another commuter and I tried to give him water, but he slunk away from us and hid behind a trash can.

I got very nervous when he was on the platform as the train was arriving. However, he just waited amongst the crowd and tried to board the train. The conductor said he didn't have a ticket, so he couldn't ride. Maybe he just wants to get out of town. I hope the poor doggie finds his way home or some kind of help.

Get your minds out of the gutter!

It's a MUSHROOM. I think it's a stinkhorn or, as it's more officially noted, a member of the phallus family of mushrooms. I'm not kidding.

Reflective bling on the train

I actually wanted more from this photo when I took it. It does look a bit like the giant watch is over the Dunellen NJ Train Station, eh? What got me was the guy with the bling watch had the dirty t-shirt and jeans of a day laborer. The bling was so incongruous!

Roofus' downstairs neighbor at the window again

I'm not sure why this woman is always looking out the window. The apartments in the building tend to be seasonal migrant sort of folks. No screens, no air conditioning, and across the street from the Plainfield Train Station. I couldn't live there. But I bet some nights it's better than watching TV ... but I wouldn't be hanging out the window!

Big Brother 11 Live Feeds Into Sunday Dawn 8/23

Talking, talking ...

Kevin works his matchmaking mojo guessing Jeff's type of gal.

Okay, it's official. I would like Natalie's head to blow up the next time she calls someone, especially a woman, "dude." I've had it! If someone called me "dude," I'd probably go into my Robert DiNiro Taxi Driver character mode ... "Are you talkin' to me? Are YOU talkin' to ME?" Bam!

I live in a very urban mean streets kind of area (well, not so much right in my neighborhood) and I don't hear the women her age call other woman "dude." I saw a guy address an NYPD cop as "dude" once. I thought the cop was going to go all Taxi Driver, but he just lectured him.

Here's what's been happening in that Big Brother House of Underlying Psychosis:

• Jordan didn't realize the "90210" part of Bevery Hills 90210 was the zip code.
• Jordan and Jeff are seriously considering backdooring Russell.
• Jeff said he'd take Kevin off the block and put up Russell. He didn't tell Kevin, of course.
• Jeff, Jordan, Kevin, and Natalie trashtalked about Jessie.
• Kevin said that Jessie was the hated fool last season and should have expected it this season.
• Russell and Michele are both bothered that Kevin and Natalie are spending so much time with Jeff and Jordan.
• Jeff brought up Russell's vote to keep Jessie. Russell once again said he promised him.
• Russell told Jeff that he keeps his word.
• Jeff told Jordan he's a bit worried about trusting Kevin and Natalie because he really hasn't talked to them much since the start. He thinks they'll owe him big time if he saves them and backdoors Russell.
• Kevin and Natalie are already talking about knocking Jeff out next week if one of them get HOH.
• But Jeff doesn't know this.
• Of course, Russell and Michele are talking about taking Jeff out, too.
• The only one not talking about taking Jeff out is Jordan.
• Bless her heart.
• Jordan feels uncomfortable around Russell. She thinks he used them to get Chima out of the house.
• Jeff made a deal with the devil ... er, Natalie. Oh, and Kevin.
• Yep, the final four deal is that he saves them this week by backdooring Russell. Natalie promised not to put him on the block.
• Kevin said (if he won HOH), he'd put up Natalie and Michele and they'd vote Michele out.
• Jeff is doing this thinking they'll honor the deal as he would have saved them twice now.
• I don't think honor is a part of the BB backstabbing greed.
• Then, after all that, Jeff told Jordan he's not 100% sure he'll use the veto.
• Waffles, anyone?
• Ohh ... Natalie and Kevin discussed game strategy in Spanish and got busted for a rules violation.
• Heh.
• BB apparently went as far as to tell them they could be expelled from the house for the violation. Oh, big time crime! They're both mad and Kevin is blaming Natalie.
• Natalie wants to find it in the rule book.
• Kevin said just not to do it again.
  
• Kevin told Natalie she should work on being more positive around Jeff. He pointed out that he's stopped doing things he know annoy Jeff like complaining about things in the house, etc.
• Then Natalie and Kevin once again schemed to get rid of Jeff next week.
• In English, mind you.
• Lots of small talk and laundry doing ... apparently the PoV comp really did a job on their clothes.
• Jordan was surprised when Russell referred to her and Jeff as the showmance of the season. She thinks they're good friends who hang out a lot together.
• Kevin still seems to think Natalie's older than she says she is. He's right, of course. The only people who knew her real age are gone (Chima and Jessie).
• Russell and Michele talked some more. Russell claims he likes Jeff and Jordan but feels they're (Russell and Michele) getting played.
• Russell and Michele think Jeff wanted Kevin to win the PoV so he would have "no blood on his hands."
• Jordan thinks Natalie sounds sincere.
• I think Natalie is only sincere when she's sleeping.
• Russell told Michele he'll unleash holy hell if he gets backdoored.
• Oh, my. Russell is so ... so ... Chima-esque!
• Jeff told Jordan that he thinks Russell would keep him (Jeff) next week, but not Jordan. He thinks Jordan is more safe with keeping Natalie and Kevin.
• Yikes!
  
• To be honest, I think at this point, any scenario is dangerous for Jeff and Jordan. I think Russell may actually have Jeff's back to a point due to giving his word. But all bets are off with the others -- Michele, Kevin, and Natalie.
  
• Jeff and Jordan are going to have to keep having the power as they're the main targets in the game now.
  
• No one wants to be with Jordan in the final two (except Jeff). Her niceness paints the bullseye smack dab on her back. Since Jeff has started winning, it's all that much more important to get him out.
  

Russell worries. As he should.

Michele takes off her slippers and puts on her socks to go to bed with Russell. I don't think her husband has any worries.

Big Brother 11 Live Feeds Saturday Daytime 8/22 - POV

Well, since I'm running behind today, I'll start with the big news -- Jeff won the power of veto. I like to think this is karma for the folks who thought he's been dead wood and was given the coup d'etat for doing nothing. He's got game!

Here are the happenings from inside that Big Brother House of Regional Accents:

• Jeff made the best breakfast sandwich ever this morning. He's still talking about it going into the evening.
• Michele asked Jeff who he wanted voted out this week (Natalie or Kevin). He told her it depends on the PoV, but Kevin is stronger player than Natalie.
• In other words, Kevin.
• Jeff and Michele discussed the blow-up ball of confusion spool of lies between Russell and Michele.
• I'm the one calling it a ball of confusion spool of lies, not Jeff.
• Michele's latest is that she's a bit deaf in one ear and doesn't always hear right.
• Yeah, sure.
• Thankfully, Jeff is still talking of getting Natalie out next week if someone from their own side wins HOH.
• Russell is paranoid, nothing new.
• Natalie is all of a sudden a social butterfly ... sort of a street gang oriented one, but one nonetheless.
• Then the feeds got blocked for the POV. We're talking more than a couple of hours.
• From what they said, Jordan was the first one out.
• Russell is not a happy man between losing POV and his paranoia demon.
• The comp had a taped Casey and something to do with bananas, a slippery banana peel lined track, and done in rounds.
• I guess you have to see it.
• Which I haven't.
• Natalie said the track was hot.
• BB swapped out for a smaller kitchen table.
  
• Russell is laying around moping. And Kevin is ... well, look at the screencap below.
  

Big Brother 11 Live Feeds Into Saturday Dawn 8/22

Then numbers are dwindling in the house and Jeff's nominations are in. Kevin is a poor lost soul who's looking each moment like he would go for a do-over and pick a different alliance in the beginning of the game. Natalie, on the other hand, spent the first part of the season sleeping all the time with Jessie (while plotting, but still avoiding the rest of the house). Now she's out there mingling and playing her game. The dynamics are changing, but Jeff and Jordan are a constant. As Jeff says, "We're stuck with each other."

Here's the latest from the Big Brother House of Loquacious Louts:

• Jordan has gained 10 pounds while in the house. She's still stinging from the "fat" comment Lydia made about her.
• I don't think she's skinny, but I surely wouldn't call her "fat."
  
• Russell has also gained 10 pounds. But since he's a have-not this week, some of that should go away.
• I think Jeff has lost weight. He was more muscular in the beginning of the season.
• He's still a cutie-patootie.
• After nominations went down, Russell told Jeff he once again owes him -- he won't put him on the block or vote for him to go.
• I think he'll keep his word. But I also think he wouldn't mind if someone else did his dirty work for him. cough:::Michele:::cough
• Kevin tried to make Jordan think that Michele and Russell are bigger threats than he is. Michele and Russell have won comps!
• But, guess what ... Kevin has won, too. He's also often right up there in second place. Compare his record with Natalie and he should be perceived as a greater threat than her. That's basing on comps only.
• I want Kevin to stay merely for his diary room takes on people on the show. In the house, he's nowhere near as insightful or humorous.
• Kevin said his target all along has been Russell while Natalie claims hers was Lydia.
• Neither claim to have ever in their lives been after Jeff and Jordan.
• Jordan's period finally came. You needed to know that.
• Jeff and Jordan argued, she blamed her period. He said he wants a divorce.
• He wants her to focus on her game so they'll go to the final two together.
• They're a hoot when they fight. They'll get snapping at each other, then both will crack up.
• Russell and Michele talked. Russell claims the HOH comp was geared for Kevin to win because it needed a delicate and precise touch. Russell says he himself is a bit clumsy with anything that precise. Michele said they knew she's scared of heights.
• Russell thinks the producers wanted a Kevin win to shake up the house again.
• But Kevin didn't win. Almost doesn't count.
• Jeff thinks they should keep Natalie because she's the weaker player of Natalie and Kevin.
• He probably has a point there although I'd personally prefer Kevin to stick around.
• But they didn't ask me.
• Jeff and Jordan are still talking the possibility of backdooring Russell if the veto is used. I doubt either of the would use the veto, but if someone else wins and either Natalie or Kevin are saved.
• In that scenario, I think they just might vote out Russell.
• Jeff warned Jordan about getting too close and trusting Natalie too much.
• Jeff and Jordan think they need to get Michele in tighter with them and away from Russell.
• As they should because Russell and Michele are still talking about targeting Jeff.
• I'm sure Michele will lie, get flustered, and forget about the most recent Jeff target talk if confronted.
• They're all asleep as I get this posted. Sometime later today, the POV comp will take place.
  

Big Brother 11 Live Feeds Bulletin - Nominations 8/21

As he said he would, Jeff nominated Kevin and Natalie for eviction. Natalie is taking it all in stride, but Kevin is really down. More later. (Long day even the feeds haven't been all that exciting.