Big Brother 12 - Live Feeds Into the Dawn, Monday Aug. 2

As you can tell from the screen caps, it's been an exciting night in the Big Brother house! Here's the scoop:

• Britney continued to work on her plan (see last live feeds report). She told Lane about it.
• Britney told Lane that it helps her if Kristen is there, yet won't hurt her if Kristen leaves.
• If Rachel says definitely not to use the POV, she won't. She doesn't want to hurt her own game.
• She told the others that Kathy doesn't want her to use the veto and throw her under the bus.
• Matt and Ragan hung out with Brendon and Rachel.
• But then, Kristen and Hayden met up with Brendon and Rachel in the HOH room.
• And, they struck a deal.
• The two couples, the four ... will be the strongest alliance ever in the game.
• Rachel said everyone needs to be completely honest.
• They think it's a bold move.
• Kristen and Hayden are lying -- if Kathy goes up and out, whoever wins HOH is to put Brendon and Rachel on the block.
• Rachel said that if a nominee comes off, her only real choice for replacement is Kathy.
• Enzo isn't really aboard the plan. I don't think he'll make waves, but I think he would rather Kristen out to force Hayden 100% Brigade.
• Brendon and Rachel are hedging a bit, but it sounds like Britney's plan could very well go down.
• Most are still up as I post this.
  

Big Brother 12 - Live Feeds Sunday, Aug. 1

Ragan makes the monkey's tail a different appendage.

As usual, Sunday is a bit of a down time day for the hamsters in the Big Brother House of Psych School Examples:

• BB didn't wake them up early -- woke them up a bit after 10 AM their time.
• While Enzo can talk Meow Meow, if they start singing like the Meow Mix commercial, the feeds get blocked.
• Britney talked to herself (or us!) while all alone -- she finds Enzo hilarious, said she'd rather sear her eyes with hot grease than to see Rachel and Brendon have sex, likes Lane but knows he's thinking of himself in the game and wants Brendon and Rachel out.
• Rachel said she dyed her her red because she was bored with brown. She won't bleach it blond because, combined with her saying "like" so much, she'll come across as real ditzy.
• She's real ditzy as a fake redhead, I say.
• Since Matt planted the idea that America was voting for something, they're already wondering if it could be a saboteur vote.
• Bingo, guys! Smart thinking, BB!
• Lane, Matt and Britney think America probably hates Rachel and Brendon.
• Heh. I think Brendon's a fool to "fall in love" within days. Rachel is just too twisted to be in the house. She's going to Chima on us if Brendon gets voted out!
• Brendon, Rachel, Enzo and Matt saw their movie.
• Kathy told Rachel she's worried about being thrown under the bus.
• Meanwhile, Britney is seriously thinking of ways to save Kristen and get Kathy out without making waves.
• Britney talked to Hayden. What she would like to see happen is a Hayden/Kristen alliance with Brendon/Rachel pushing the "we have half the house and are strong" aspect of such.
• Kristen and Hayden would make a deal not to put up Rachel and Brendon and they'd have all the power.
• Britney would save Kristen with the POV and Kathy would go on the block because she's not playing the game at all and shouldn't be there.
• Despite hard feelings, everyone else is playing to win. Kathy keeps focusing on the jury house as a goal.
• A Kathy eviction would leave all true players in the house and be more challenging for all.
• All they need to do is to convince Brendon and Rachel.
  
• But the whole alliance would be a lie ... whomever gets HOH on Thursday puts Rachel and Brendon on the block.
• I don't think they'll fall for it, but it would be entertaining if it were to go down!
  

Big Brother 12 - Nominations Episode Blog Party - Aug. 1

The show is about to start here on the East Coast. As it airs, I'll post important updates in this entry. But the real fun is in the comments section. Everyone is invited to join in with your thoughts! Later tonight (or, worst case scenario, early in the morning), my full show review will be posted over on TV Squad.

Woohoo! The cat fight blocked to the feeds aired.

Hayden, Enzo and Brendon won the luxury comp - a Will Ferrell movie (of course). Rachel goes by default for hosting and being HOH. Kristen and Hayden nominated ... but we knew that.

Big Brother 12 - Live Feeds Into Sunday Dawn - Aug. 1

Orphan Annie wig with a "hippie" unitard. Um, okay.

That was Kristen's punishment "won" at the POV comp. It's too bad she didn't win the veto. I believe her days are definitely numbered.

Here are the happenings from inside that Big Brother House Malingering Miscreants:

• The latest Brendon and Rachel hit list is Kristen, Hayden, Matt and Kathy. Oh my, they like Enzo, Lane and Britney.
• That's not to say Enzo, Lane and Britney like them!
• Britney and Lane have struck up a side alliance.
• Matt's birthday is a fake ... and BB played into it with candles, ice cream and the makings for a cake.
• His birthday is a lie. His wife's disease is a lie. The next thing we'll find out is that the tattoos are just color marker art.
• The comp was one in which they win things, then trade with others already finished.
  
• Enzo didn't just win a TV, he won a 3-D TV. He's already talking about selling it.
• Hayden and Kristen sat on the floor on opposite sides of the door confining him. They played fingers under the door. Gag me now. If they wanted to convince the others they aren't a couple, this isn't the way to go about it.
• They blame Andrew for the dilemma.
• It doesn't matter that most of the house thought something was going on with them before Andrew spoke up.
• Kathy and Kristen want to convince Britney to use the veto to save Kristen.
• How delusional can they be?
• Everyone is talking about how poorly Hayden played, yet supposedly he came in second. He took the veto from Kristen and Britney took it from him.
• You know the final person always takes the veto!
• Kristen actually pleaded with Britney to save her with the veto.
• Britney said that there would be no guarantee that Rachel would put Kathy on the block.
• Britney, probably just to get away from the begging and pleading, told her she'd consider it.
• I don't think she will.
• When questioned by Rachel and Brendon, Britney didn't go into detail and just said that Kristen was giving her reasons she wants to stay in the house.
• Brendon and Rachel told Britney they'll take her to the final three with them.
• I think Britney is going to prove to be a better player than either of them.
• Britney has decided Kathy is Doom -- every person who's her most recent BFF heads out the door.
• All are asleep as I post this and I doubt Britney will use the veto. Kristen will go out that door this week ... in her Orphan Annie Hippie Unitard.
  

Get the face!

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - August 1, 2010

It's Sunday morning ... kind of sort of. It's actually really really late on Saturday night. Anyway, it's time for my weekly off television topic look back at the past week in words and photographs I've taken. If you're looking for the latest Big Brother live feeds update, that will be up later in the morning.

I was on a staycation this week and enjoyed every minute of it. The beginning of the week was super-hot, so I rejoiced in air conditioning. Then, the latter part of the week turned to the kind of summer temperatures I enjoy -- highs in the 80s, low humidity. I'd prefer temps in the 70s, but I suppose that's not really summer.

In addition to watching a lot of the BB live feeds and writing reports on them for the blog, reviewing the show for TV Squad and all that stuff, I caught up on some movies I bought on DVD and did some reading. A certain attention-monger cat got his just due of attention, too.

The biggest thing happening this week is my purchase of a new camera. A real fancy-schmancy SLR is out of my budget, but I took a step up with a new Canon PowerShot SX120 IS. It has a much better zoom and, although I'm familiar with a lot of it as my most recent digital camera was a Canon, lots of nifty settings which I will have to experiment with down the road. Like my other Canon and the Pentax before that, it takes AA batteries. They might make it a bit heavier, but it's so much better than a proprietary battery. If my batteries die, I can pick them up anywhere!

Onto this week's photos (with the new camera!) ... clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window:

Whazzat? A new camera? Paparazzi?

A rare white-breasted squirrel checks out my new technology. Okay. I lied. I think most squirrels have white chests.

Pants on the ground
Pants on the ground
Lookin' like a fool
With your pants
On the ground

Thank you, American Idol! This is at the Plainfield Train Station. I had to stop by to buy my monthly pass. It's either that or get it last minute on the other side of the station ultra-early Monday morning.

Oh, rats.

Somewhere off Park Avenue in Plainfield.

Workman at work

They're finally doing something with the old Miron Furniture Warehouse building on East Second Street in Plainfield. Now, instead of gaping holes in the roof, there is a new roof covering. I won't be able to take photos of pigeons sitting in the window frames anymore as they've finished almost two floors worth of windows. It's being turned into apartments. I'd be curious to see what the apartments will look like.


He looks worried, but he's just watching traffic as he's going to jaywalk. East Second Street by the Miron building.

Bookends

No loitering in this area, eh? They're just having a harmless chat and the building is closed for business (Saturday). I edited the photo to leave the people and sign in color. Watchung Avenue, Plainfield.

Whoa! Check it out!

You never know what's going to drive by you when you sit on a bench on Park Avenue in Plainfield. I have no clue whether it's a kit car or the real thing. I'm sure the real thing didn't come with the orange wheels!

Mmm ... Blackberry's ... what kind of beverage is that?

So, I went across Watchung Avenue and found it it's their Uptown, a fruity iced tea beverage. I took a free sample. I'm not an iced tea fan, but this was great! While I was out there sipping at my sample, one of the folks I regularly greet on my commute came out of the restaurant. It turns out that he works in the kitchen. He started telling me of all the dishes ... and I hadn't eaten lunch yet, so ...

Soul food, here I come!

I raised my Uptown towards the building and headed inside. Now, you might think I'm pale for soul food. Not so! Soul food, to me, is basically good down home cooking, with an emphasis on Southern dishes. Blackberry's also has foods with a Jamaican influence -- jerk chicken and such.

Why I'm not a food photographer ...

I'm too lazy to get up and I already ate some of the chicken. This was my $4.99 lunch special. Baked chicken, seasoned rice, green beans and a salad. I couldn't have gotten that much at a fast food place for the price. Not only that, but the woman working there (the mother of the owner) was such a dear -- friendly, helpful and just a very pleasant lady. Plus, the food was delicious, like a real home-cooked meal!

Blackberry's interior

Clean and neat with a cool theme of vinyl albums, album covers, 45 RPM records, memorabilia and African art. Some of the records were ones I have in my own collection. Creative and different!

Back out on the street

I didn't strike up a conversation with him. Watchung Avenue

Off to the park!

I stopped by Mindowaskin Park in Westfield on Thursday. I wanted to do a Trader Joe's run and the park is right nearby. I have to say I'm very disappointed with the lack of upkeep in the park on this visit. Algae all but covered the lake and no one seems to be picking up after dogs. It was never in this shape during previous visits. Of course, that didn't stop me from taking photos. This is a dragonfly on a rock at the water's edge.


This is the same dragonfly closer up. Unfortunately, the sun was bright and the shadows kind of obscure the actual wings.


Patterned after Central Park in Manhattan, I find this bridge for the walkway mesmerizing in its potential for photos -- the shape, the reflections in the water, etc.

The goose has no neck!

Maybe someone told him to duck! Alright, he does have a neck, he's just walking around pretending to be short or something.

Did someone say duck?

A mother duck with her ducklings.

Ducklings at rest

The two ducklings settle down for a rest by the water's edge. The algae-covered water's edge ... grr.

Another dragonfly

This one seems to be a blue dasher.

Common whitetail skimmer

He was nice enough to fly back and pose on the walk for me.

No one will notice me if I hide in the grass.

Oh, that bridge!

Ignore the goose butt in the lower left corner.

Did you call me a goose butt?

What's going on over there?

I think it's paparazzi!

Day lily

Can't a goose sleep in peace?

The blue dasher from another angle.

It's classified as a "skimmer" in the dragonfly um ... genus? (I'm forgetting all the science I once learned.)

Whazzat? A new camera?

This is the first photo I took with the new camera. I no sooner loaded the batteries and memory card, turned it on ... and there was Vincent peering into the lens. What a Nosy Parker!

How was your week?