Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - Sept. 2, 2012

Good Sunday morning to y'all. No, I haven't gone all Southern on you. It just didn't sound right for me to address you as "youse guys." This is my weekly off television topic post which reflects on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken. If you're looking for the latest news from inside the Big Brother house, hit this link. Otherwise, grab a cup of joe and settle in.

Although Hurricane Isaac wreaked havoc down near the Gulf, our own weather has been rather unspectacular. We did have some rain in the beginning of the week, then some days which were summer done right. I'm talking highs in the low 80s, low humidity and gentle breezes. That would be my hope for every summer all summer! I'm so not a summer person these days. 

Work continues to be busy. It used to be that we had lulls through the year, not so much anymore. I guess it provides more job security, but it also adds in a bit more stress. Lately I've been training people. I relish the days I'm actually alone in my office now. Add work to the BB14 live feeds coverage and you have one really tired Jackie. Thankfully I have a four-day work week ahead this coming week and another one the week after.

I have today and tomorrow off. Two days off in a row is a rarity for me. So, did I make big plans? Nope. I have a Peapod grocery delivery coming in this morning. I definitely have some housekeeping to do. I believe I might have some napping to do as well. The beach? No way am I go "down the shore" (as they say here) on a summer holiday weekend! Ew. All those sweaty people! Social hermit that I am, I'll have a mellow two days and my mindset will be better for it.

Let's see ... what's left? Oh. The home front. Nothing of any note has happened in the apartment building. I know that if I lived in the front wing, I'd be moving out. This morning I went to get my newspaper and noticed that the riff-raff in the front wing have trash sitting outside their doorways. Well, not all of them, but enough of them to be irking. Candy wrappers are abandoned on the floor. You go to my wing and the hallway is spotless; the only items in the hallway are door mats. I know it's silly on the second floor. But I put one here. No matter how much I clean, if I step out directly on the dark green carpet in the hallway, I track white Vincent fur. 

On the larger home front, the people who live on the street in back of me with their yard facing my windows (perhaps 300 feet away), continue to have live bands and parties which last all day Saturdays and into the night. I swear if the police didn't get called, they'd go overnight. If it were a rare thing, my "live and let live" personal policy would kick in. But this happens almost weekly. This is a residential neighborhood. I don't live over a bar which features live bands. I shouldn't have to put up with live amplified Mexican bands, loud Spanish over loudspeakers and party animals 300 feet from my bedroom window. That's not how to behave in a city environment. Go rent a park somewhere!

I filmed them for a minute from inside my apartment just to show how disruptive and inconsiderate it is. I called the police, which I hate to do because I know they have more crucial matters than noise complaints on a Saturday night. It eventually got shut down around 11 PM. Sigh. Here's the short video:




Onto this week's photos ...

Childhood abandoned

This abandoned rocking horse sat in front of the Dumpster at the U-Haul building on East Second Street in Plainfield for four days before it vanished. I hope it found a home and didn't just ride off into the sunset.

Pink!

Lots of flowers are still in bloom. These are growing in the planter lining the front of Union County Psychiatric Center on Roosevelt Avenue in Plainfield. No, I'm not a patient there. If I walked in the door, they just might keep me!

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

Big Brother 14: Live Feeds Saturday Into the Evening - Sept. 1

Yes, Jenn is still in the house ... and will probably stay for now

So, what's been happening today inside that Big Brother House of Hapless Hamsters? Read on ...

• After staying up half the night expecting a comp, they napped all morning and then again after the comp finally happened.
• Frank and Jenn decided that if one of them win HoH (assuming they stay), Ian and Shane will be their next targets.
• Frank thinks he's talked Ian into not putting up Dan as a replacement nominee and putting Joe up instead. That is, if one of them wins veto.
• Gee, don't they think Joe might win veto?
• Bwahahahahaha!
• Ahem.
• Ian alone in the HoH room bed to the cameras, "I'm just petting my snake."
• Oh my!
• Then he pulls his stuffed toy snake out from under the covers.
• That silly boy!
• Frank and Dan talked about the (then) upcoming veto comp. Frank said it would look sketchy if Dan won and saved him. So, it would be better if he saved Jenn if he wins, then they'd vote out Joe.
• Heh.
• Frank said to Dan that he could say he owed Jenn a save.
• Heehee.
• Ian is being generous by offering anyone and everyone his snack foods from HoH. Since Jessie took all of the regular house snacks, Ian is literally all that (HoH) and a bag of chips.
• They do have stuffed animals, pool toys they can't use in indoor lockdown and small children rated trucks and generic huge Lego blocks.
• Ian thinks it's sad that they only have childrens toys and they're amusing themselves with them.
• I think it's sad that all the stuff looks like it came from a dollar store!
• Finally, at around noon their time, the comp started.
• After about four hours, the feeds came back and Dan was wearing the PoV necklace.
• About time he won a comp!
• Talking to Ian, Dan said he can't tell ANYONE about their final two deal.
• Maybe that's because he also has final two deals with Frank and Danielle.
• Then he said, "This is my ticket to get Frank out of the game."
• Oh, please do it, Dan!
• Dan told Ian he's thinking of using it on Jenn because she saved him.
• I love it when a plan falls in place.
• Don't you?
• The Quack Pack held its forum discussing their options.
• Shane offered (again) to (stupidly) go up as a pawn.
• Didn't Britney tell him to stop that? Doesn't he listen?
• Although Ian is nervous about making the Frank move, the rest think it might be their only chance to get him gone.
• They might be right.
• Dan told Ian he'll probably use it on Jenn.
• Ian told Joe he doesn't think Dan will use it. (He already had told Joe he'd probably be the replacement if the veto is used.)
• Dan told Frank he's thinking of using it on Jenn.
• Frank said using it on him would be too obvious, but he would love it.
• Heh. After Dan left Frank, he told us: "He'll never know what hit him."
• :-)
• Frank started checking out his votes with Shane, Joe and Danielle. Gee, people weren't really committing but not telling him no, either.
• The veto meeting won't be until Monday, so things are subject to change.
• But, I'd love to hear, "Son, you're out" on Thursday. If he gets to the final two, he will win.

Pretty, I'm so pretty!

Dan, Dan, the man with a plan ... and a PoV

Big Brother 14: Live Feeds Power of Veto Bulletin - Sept. 1

Dan finally won something. Yes, he won the Power of Veto. Will he use it? We won't know until Monday.

I'll be posting a full report on today's live feeds a bit later tonight.

Big Brother 14: Live Feeds Friday Evening Into Saturday Dawn - Aug. 31-Sep. 1

It's just a jump to the left, then a step to the right

Let's do the Time Warp again! Or is it just another case of deja vu all over again? Here's the latest from inside that Big Brother House of Psychological Studies:

• Yep, Frank is on the block once again. This time with Jenn. That was totally expected as per discussions and the revival of the Quack Pack yesterday.
• They've been on indoor lockdown FOREVER.
• Well, pretty much since they got the hammock yesterday.
• A PoV comp was expected last night.
• It never came.
• But, as a result, they all napped for some hours before the BBAD feed went live.
• They aren't allowed to sleep through that.
• Frank is reading a lot into the fact that Dan's key was last to be drawn in nominations.
• Not much to read into that. 
• When the PoV comp eventually comes to fruition, everyone is playing except Shane.
• Danielle thinks double eviction episodes are two hour shows. 
• She's obviously wrong.
• They do think another double eviction is looming, but they don't seem to feel it's this week.
• Heh.
• They are not happy with all of Jessie's healthy foods and no good junk food.
• Danielle moaned about the foods, but Joe said he can work with it and make some good stuff. Oh noes, salsa but no chips!
• BB finally told them there's no comp last night.
• Sure ... after they all had taken huge power naps!
• Jenn supervised as Danielle tried to teach Joe how to do a dance. 
• He's bad. Very bad.
• Shane joined in so it looked like good old line dancing, but Joe couldn't catch on.
• Meanwhile, Dan and Ian were having a long talk not about the game in the HoH room.
• They were discussing Ian's stimming (repetitive movements, rocking, etc.) and other OCD symptoms we've seen on the feeds.
• Ian told Dan it's ADHD, an attention disorder. He keeps moving no matter what ... even if it's just tapping his foot.
• He refuses to be on the medication they want him to take for it.
• He denies it's any form of autism although the physical symptoms he exhibits are identical to many who have autism.
• His parents knew when he was two years old. He realized he was different when he was six.
• Dan asked him if BB knew when they took him on. We got the fish cam.
• But Ian did say they obviously know now and haven't said anything to him.
• He said it's a real struggle to control the need to constantly move.
• Even when he's controlling it in social situations, he will still be moving something, but not blatantly rocking.
• Ian also told Dan he got $1000 from the Pandora's Box yesterday, but not to say anything.
• Ian hopes people like him. He thinks because he was aligned with Britney and they could hear the cheering for her from the audience inside the house, they might like him.
• I like Ian. 
• He really shouldn't drink to excess, though. But that tends to go for them all.
• Ian thinks that Frank picked up on him working with the Quack Pack when Dan yelled "I'll rat you out" at the veto ball comp.
• Dan asked Ian what the "mist" around him that Britney kept talking about was.
• Ian told him it's what gets him out of trouble in the worst situations and makes people do what he wants.
• Dan asked him again about becoming a Renegade with him.
• Ian didn't really give him a definitive answer.
• After all went to bed, Ian sat in his HoH room bed muttering, "It doesn't make sense."
• Hmm ...

Ian discusses his ADHD with Dan

She's just Jenn(city) from the block

Big Brother 14: Live Feeds Friday Daytime - Pandora's Box - Aug. 31

He bought time, but how much time?

While the nominations won't be until later tonight, there's been some action in the house today. No, I'm not talking about Danielle jumping on Shane. (After all, he is so infatuated with her.) Here's the latest from inside that Big Brother House of Healthy Living:

• Ian thinks Frank's social game is garbage. He says there's a reason he's on the block every week when he's not HoH. It's the way he treats people.
• The Quack Pack (minus Britney, of course) agreed that the nominations should be Frank and Jenn with Joe going up as a replacement if veto is used.
• Huh?
• I guess they do have two weeks to get rid of Frank. But about the only way they're going to do it is with a backdoor. If he has the chance to save himself, he will.
• Well, at least a floater will go home.
• Shane said Frank thinks he's already won the game.
• @@
• "The Quack Pack is back."
• Um. Okay. 
• Joe knows that he'll go up as a replacement if needed. But he's been assured that they have the votes to save him.
• Joe still needs to hula hoop at the sound of horns.
• Then there was trivia. Say what? If the feeds are briefly blocked, they have a fish cam. With trivia, it's usually a comp or something along the lines.
• Oh, geez ... Allison Grodner (Executive Producer), I do NOT want to see Jessie.
• I don't.
• I really don't.
• Dang it, he was in the Pandora's Box today ... again.
• Now, it was kind of funny last year seeing him annoy Rachel. But that's mostly because I liked to see things annoy Rachel.
• Ian got all kinds of "Christmas gifts" including a luxury hammock and blow up toys for the pool.
• Ian likes to almost live in the water, so blow-up toys are fitting.
• He did NOT get a blow-up doll for the HoH room. :X
• Danielle blew up a lot of the toys.
• She's good at that.
• Oh, I'm being terrible, aren't I?
• Jessie wasn't in the Pandora's Box, per se. However, he was in the house.
• He threw out all of their snack foods, replacing them with healthy foods.
• He threw out all their saved beer.
• Heh.
• BB also took their grill away. Or maybe Jessie carried it out on his back. I don't know.
• Jenn tried to use her mojo on Ian to keep off the block.
• He told her that he didn't like to keep floaters who don't make big moves in the game.
• Her "big move" last week was actually a Frank move.
• Joe told Ian that Britney wanted them to work together. 
• He really doesn't want to be a replacement nominee.
• Frank is suspicious of Dan.
• Well, geez ... he's DAN, the Man with a Plan!
• He wonders if Dan has a deal with Ian and finds it strange that there's nothing being said about Dan going on the block -- the names coming up seem to be Frank and Jenn.
• Heh.
• Nominations will be later today.
• I predict Jenn and Frank. Wouldn't be my choices, but ...!

No longer a carrot, now wearing a Boogie shirt. @@

Most congenial houseguest

Danielle is full of wind

New hammock ... wait, won't anyone sit with me?