The Bachelorette Summer 2010 Blog Discussion

I received a few requests for a blog discussion post for the new season of The Bachelorette which airs on Monday evenings at 8 PM on ABC. The official website is right here. I don't watch this one, so I won't be blogging about it. However, this is a place where you and your friends can comment on the episodes. Enjoy!

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - 5/30/10

Sunday morning is upon us once again. Gee, it seems like this happens every week at this time! Go figure. What it means for me (and anyone reading this) is that it's time for me to take an off TV topic look back at the week gone by in words and photographs I've taken.

It's the Memorial Day holiday weekend and lots of folks are hitting the shore here in New Jersey (going down the shore, as they say), but I'm only a Jersey shore person when others aren't. I like the shore during stormy winter days, off season, and away from the sweaty crowds. I'm also a bit leery about swimming in the ocean since a rip tide at Jones Beach snagged me back in the early 80s. It took me away a good two hundred yards, almost drowned me and wrenched my arm in back of me so hard I thought it broke. It didn't. But my will to swim in the ocean has been broken ever since that incident.

I actually have two days off in a row from my workplace, an oddity for me. I plan to stay in today, catching up on some chores and watching TV shows I've recorded. Oh. I must give Vincent some quality time, too. That could mean anything from running around the apartment playing with him to sitting reading a book while he conks out on my lap or shoulder. Silly cat! It's supposed to be very hot with high humidity today, not my favorite weather to be out and about.

My living situation sans the landlord seems just about the same as when he was here. The elevator, not working for a month before the bank booted the landlord, hasn't been working. I came home one day through the front door of the building and immediately trudged up the stairs only to pass the elevator with its door open and fan blowing on my floor. Yay! The next morning, I gathered my trash to take out on my way to work only to find the door still open, yet the elevator car sitting about two feet low. Sigh. Now it's all closed up and turned off once again.

The elderly woman from upstairs had some sort of operation and is in the nursing home/rehab center across the street -- the one I was set to go to with my knee replacement rehab, but didn't go. They won't let her out until the elevator is fixed. I plan to visit her tomorrow.

Onto the photos I took during the week ... clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window:

New batch of deadly nightshade

This is on Church Street in Plainfield, NJ. The blossoms are tiny, but I wouldn't suggest eating them. I took the shot on the way to the train station after a night of rain.

Beauty in weeds

This was taken at the Bridgewater Train Station (NJ). It's not quite a clover, I don't think. The plants are fairly tall and quite rampant.

Spotted Knapweed

Also taken at the Bridgewater Train Station. I edited this photo to leave only the spotted knapweed in color while also muting the background some.

The return of the stinkhorn mushrooms

These popped up overnight in Bridgewater. No, I'm not going to smoosh that icky stuff on their ends. I'll take the word of the Internet that they smell like rotting carrion.

Cardinal

As I was walking to the train, I saw a flash of color. A quick shot and he was gone. I edited the shot, leaving only the cardinal in color. East Front Street, Plainfield.

Supermarket cacti

I swear this is the same cactus I saw growing wild all over Texas when I was there. I took this at Supremo Supermarket on East Front Street in Plainfield. They have a great produce department full of all kinds of Latino, Jamaican, and other ethnic favorite fruits and vegetables. I wouldn't know how to prepare cacti for consumption. All the card in front of it said was "Product of Mexico." Um. Okay.

Blue-eyed Grass

Thanks to Bernice, I now know what this cute little flower is! The shot I took of them last week was in bright sunshine. A cloudy day makes the colors turn out much more vibrant. Bridgewater Train Station.

New recruit

This young robin doesn't fly well yet. He kind of hopped/flew away from me, yet I shot him anyway.

Grown robin

Oh my, nowhere near as cute, eh? Plainfield Train Station.

Not the weekday crowd

I worked this past Sunday and noticed the crowd heading to Newark/New York City is much different from the business suit folks of the weekday mornings. Plainfield Train Station.

North Street Demolition Site

It's coming along. They've filled in the basement and have sealed the wall. Although someone other than the city of Plainfield owns the property, this is MY proposal for what should be done. I think grass should be planted, perhaps a small flower garden, too. Benches. And, people (artistic ones, not me) should paint a huge mural of what the block USED to look like on the side of building on the right of the cavity. On the left, perhaps a sunny scene with children playing? Anything is better than a plain wall and gap.

Mr. Lee in his Sunday Best

Well, he told me it's his pimp suit, but he was coming from church. The pants match and he's even wearing white shoes while showing off a pink Bic lighter. My downstairs neighbor -- he usually wears jeans, sweatshirts, or overalls. Plainfield, NJ.

My Elite Bus

Yep, it's my tour bus! Okay ... it's not. I saw it parked at the ball stadium in Bridgewater, NJ.

Flower in the rain

Vincent pays homage to Kliban Cats

I came home on Friday to find a little mouse body in one spot with its head a foot away. Who could have done this crime? Why, Vincent, Jaws of Death! Now, the exterminator was just in the building on Monday, so I'm glad the mouse was just brutally murdered and beheaded, not eaten. Thankfully, it's hardwood floors, not carpet. But I really want this to stop. While Vincent might think it's the best toy ever, I'm not into killing or having dead little bodies in my apartment. However, when I saw the mouse, I couldn't do anything other than think of Kliban Cats and the blues song. Although B. Kliban (a true cat genius artist) passed on some years back, his website lives on. And, it's on the eatmousies.com domain. Heh.

How was your week? Doing anything exciting this holiday weekend?

American Idol Finale Rocks the House

I watched in fear and admiration as Bret Michaels sang with Casey on the American Idol finale. I know his doctors were probably aghast about him doing the show. He rocked and looked good, too. With all that's been going on with him, I've developed a new respect for the man. Well, a respect, I guess. I wasn't a fan of his at all until his Celebrity Apprentice days and his health battles.

What a night on the show! Not only would either Crystal Bowersox or Lee DeWyze be crowned the new idol, but it's Simon Cowell's final hurrah on the show. Rock stars from the 70s were dredged up from wherever they've been all these years -- Hall and Oates, Chicago, Alice Cooper, Joe Cocker, and more. Joe Cocker looked like a real pale Fred Sanford playing a pirate. Janet Jackson, Cristina Aquilera, and every contestant ever on the show. Well, some were missing. I didn't see Corey Clark there, did you? Paula and Simon reunited and it felt so good.

The real shocker other than Bret's amazing performance was that Lee DeWyze won. I've been on the Lee train since early in the show, saying all along that there was something about his voice I like. But I like Crystal Bowersox, too. I think she's very special and has an incredible voice. I thought it would definitely be a Bowersox win, but nope. Lee got it! They'll both do well in their careers.

You don't have to win Idol to get a career jump start from it. In local news here, Diana DeGarmo is now starring in Hair on Broadway. I saw the announcements for ticket sales for the Jordin Sparks concert tour this summer.

I'm going to miss Simon on the show and, while I'll give the next season a shot, it won't be the same.

What do you think of the finale?

PHOTO CREDIT: TMZ

LOST Alternate Endings from Jimmy Kimmel Live

Being who I am, I like the Jeff Probst Survivor ending the best --

"Sayid, the tribe has spoken."
"I didn't spend five years in the Republican Guard, get shot, get drowned in a pond, take a bomb to the stomach on a submarine ... just to get eliminated by Jeff [bleeping] Probst!"

Loved the Newhart ending, too!

LOST - "The End" Series Finale Blog Party

Well, this is it. It's the series finale for a show which brought us both smoke monsters and giant polar bears. Will our questions be answered?

What better time for me to include various Lost logos made for us by Zoetawny over the past five seasons? Enjoy!

I won't be live-blogging the show because I actually want to WATCH it without typing or taking notes, but I will be piping in during some commercials, for sure. Everyone is invited to party and hang out in the comments section. It's BYOB and snacks!

So far they're each reminiscing about their characters. "If we can't live together ... (dramatic pause) ... we're going to die alone!"

Ah, I was right. The smoke monster only threw Richard Alpert. He's still alive.

No. Wait. Everyone's dead. Um. Okay.