Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - May 13, 2012

It's Sunday morning, time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken. 

First, I'd like to wish all of the mothers out there a happy Mothers Day! May you be pampered, fussed over and fed all day long! Well, all day until the Survivor: One World season finale, that is. Yep, 8pm EDT I expect many of you right here for the big blog party!

Since I touched on television, I might as well run with it for the moment. Guess what? TNT sent me the first four episodes of Falling Skies (season premiere June 17) for review purposes. Woohoo! Now, I just need time to watch them! I'm looking forward to the return of that show. Once I get them watched, I'll post about them. (Yay!)

They also sent me seven hours of the new Dallas series, also premiering in June. Unfortunately, I just cannot watch seven hours of Dallas -- I never got into the original series. I gave them to a friend who's a huge fan of the show. He's going to report back to me.

On the home front, life in my apartment, building, and neighborhood is just fine. I do feel safe here, even at night. I have good neighbors and all is well. That said, just beyond my immediate neighborhood, on a route I walk daily ... there was a murder. It happened at about 4:15am, an hour when I might be up but I'm not walking to the train station! I generally leave a couple of hours later to catch the first westbound train. 

Nonetheless, this latest murder is unsettling. It doesn't seem to be gang or drug related. It was a hard working Hispanic man a few years younger than me just waiting for his ride to work. It appears to have been a robbery from the reports I read. 4:15am is not a time to be on the streets here. There's hardly anyone out and about at that hour. When I go through, there are several folks I see each day. A robbery isn't likely then. I hope someone saw something or knows something and comes forward. 

The police were still arriving to the scene as I passed through that morning. Thankfully, the body was covered and I didn't see any signs of blood, etc. Had there not been all the police around, I might not have even realized there was a body under the covering. As I passed by, I first thought it was a pedestrian struck as the body was adjacent to the crosswalk. I'm so leery of people running lights early in the mornings! But all the NYC news helicopters and the tons of Plainfield and Union County police seemed to indicate more than a hit and run accident. A victim of gunfire. Sigh.

Anyway ... onto this week's photos. Clicking on an image will open it in a new window, clicking again will make it larger. Closing the new window will land you right back here on the blog.    

Squirrel on duty

This squirrel was kind enough to pose for me Saturday morning in the sunshine. It rained and/or was windy for most of the week. East Front Street, Plainfield.

Help me! Help me!

Oh no! The fly (left) is stuck on the azalea! Bridgewater.

Damselfly on poison ivy

I had my first damselfly sighting Friday afternoon on my commute home. Yes, that was when the sun broke through! Like the squirrel, he was kind enough to pose for me. They are so hard to photograph with detail as they're not much larger than a big sewing needle ... in flight, they're impossible.

***CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS!***

Survivor: One World May 9th Blog Party

So here we are ... it's the penultimate episode of the season. The big finale is Sunday evening, hopefully at 8pm here on the East Coast. The one thing which has made this whole season worthwhile is the community here on the blog. If I were just watching it alone, I might have given up by now. As it is, this whole season gets an "eh" from me in the entertainment rating.

As the show airs here, I'll update this entry with major happenings. But, as usual, the real fun is in the comments! Come join us!

Reward challenge has them spinning around collecting discs (getting dizzy) and decoding a box. The winner is taken by yacht, cocktails, shower, big meal and sleep away overnight on the yacht. Chelsea wins Reward! She chose Sabrina because she hasn't had much food, then Kim, too.

The Immunity Challenge has them using large fish hooks to pick up bags of puzzle pieces, then completing a fish puzzle ... all with one hand tied behind their backs. Alicia won immunity with Kim on her tail.

Tribal Council -- it should be down to a vote between Tarzan or Chelsea. 

The tally -- Chelsea, Tarzan, Tarzan, Tarzan, Tarzan ... let's see if he'll swing from vines on the way out!

The Amazing Race 20 Season Finale Blog Party

Welp, this is it. It's the season finale. And, much to my dismay, Brendon and Rachel are still in it. Sigh. Tonight is a two-hour show ... I wouldn't mind it if the last hour didn't include them! I know. I'm a cruel person. But I'm SO tired of seeing their drama! If I had to cheer on a remaining team, I think I'd go for the Other Rachel and Dave.

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll update this entry with the major events. However, the real fun is in the comments area. Come join us! (And bring snacks!)

The teams are headed off to Japan. The teams will bunch up on the same flight. Brenchel missed the bus which the rest of the teams caught. Too bad, so sad. Sigh. They caught up. Now it's Dave and Rachel behind by missing the ferry.

Heh. The Roadblock is a Japanese TV game show!

The Detour has sushi and sumo premises. Sushi bingo, then eat. Or, with the latter, convince locals to pose for photographs with sumo wrestler cut-outs.

Rachel and Dave hit the Pit Stop first, tying the record for the most first place wins. They won a trip to New Zealand.
2. Art and JJ
3. Brenchel

Vanessa and Ralph are Philiminated

Teams are heading to Hawaii. After rappelling up and down a 45 story tower, the Roadblock has them shaving ice. JJ and Art are trailing.

Whoa! Brenchel took a cab when the clue said to go on foot!

Rachel and Dave arrived at the Pit Stop before completing the Roadblock! Eek! JJ and Art are at the Roadblock while Brenchel has yet to reach it. Art is stuck at the Roadblock, Rachel and Dave are on their way back to the Pit Stop.

RACHEL AND DAVE WIN THE AMAZING RACE!

Art and JJ make it second. Brenchel is third.

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - May 6, 2012

Yes indeed. Yes, it is Sunday morning and time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken. On a television note -- remember, tonight is the two-hour season finale of The Amazing Race -- stop by the blog for the big party. (I so want Brenchel to be last!)

Let's see ... what happened this week? Well, it rained quite a bit. They claim that we're still in danger of a drought, though. For some reason, we've been having early morning thunderstorms this past week. Lucky me, I got drenched Friday morning going into work. I had my umbrella, but I should have worn a rubber suit!

Last night was the "super moon." It's a full moon and closest it gets to us in orbit. It sounds like a perfect photo op, but the clouds were obscuring it when I looked. And, once I had my pj's on, that was it. I wasn't going to go out again.

On both the work and home fronts, not much to share. I worked a lot, didn't sleep enough yet ate quite well. I have no drama to report. Nor did I mysteriously or miraculously receive a million dollars. I was hoping for the latter, but it never seems to happen. 

Onto the photos. Since they're on Photobucket, clicking on an image will open a new page, clicking again will open a larger view, then closing that page will land you back here.

Handicapped bird roost?

This one-legged sparrow seems to be fending for himself just fine in Bridgewater, NJ.

Purplish and poufy

Someone told me what these flowers were once, but I've forgotten. In the words of Dan Quayle, "A mind is a terrible thing to lose." Berckman Street, Plainfield.

An explosion of spring!

Here's "purplish and poufy" in their native habitat with pink azaleas.

***CLICK ON THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS***

Survivor: One World Blog Party - May 2

Survivor fans ready? If not for parties each week, this might be a season to give up on. Sure, it's great to see the women stomping their way to the final four. But things are SO predictable. Perhaps this will be the week Tarzan steps up to the plate and his real game will finally be afoot! Maybe this week Christina will tromp all the others winning both Reward and Immunity!

Yeah, right.

As the show airs, I'll update this post with the major happenings. However, the real fun is in the comments ... come join the party!

Sprint tree mail, the families time is here. Reward challenge has them getting a brief hug with their loved ones and participating in the challenge. Each castaway and loved one have to go through a rope course with knots while tied together.

The relationship between Kat and her cousin seems a bit much to me. Very unsettling. Kat wins, chooses Kim and Alicia as the ones to spend time with her and loved ones. The girl doesn't think. The others think Tarzan and Christina should have been chosen.

Once again, Immunity is up for grabs. It's endurance. I'm sure Tarzan has a chance at this one! Er ... or not. Sabrina's out, then Tarzan. He did better than I thought he would. Alicia is out, so is Chelsea. Christina is out. Despite her pouting that she wants to win, Kat is out. Kim wins Immunity!

The tally -- Sabrina, Kat, Kat, Kat, Kat.

Buh-bye, Kat! She will probably go down as the one who cried the most at the boot.