Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - June 2, 2013

Good morning, afternoon, evening ... whatever it is whenever it is that you're reading this! Since, for ME, it's Sunday morning, that can only mean one thing. Yep! It's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way.

I was on a staycation this past week. I still am, for that matter. It's over when I go to work tomorrow morning. I really didn't do a heck of a lot of anything other than relax. In the beginning of my week, the weather kept me in. Then there was a nice day, then more rain. Then we went into a heat wave.

Now, if I were a "normal" New Jersey person, off for a week during a heat wave, I would have headed down the shore. But I'm far from normal. I do love beaches and the ocean. I really do. I just don't like them crowded with people when the water is still too cold to go in. I'm not a lay on the beach blanket all greased up to tan (burn) type of person. I'm pale. I prefer to stay pale. The only alternative to pale for me is red. Plus, I'm not good at getting up from the floor with the knee replacements. I can get up, but it's very awkward. I don't need strangers pointing and laughing at my exploits when I don't even have much clothing to hide me. "Hey! Look at the chunky old chick trying to get up!"

Nope, not for me, thankyouverymuch. My perfect beach day is anytime that it's not summer. Stormy winter weather on the beach? Gorgeous! Sunrise off season? I'm so there! But during heat waves, my best friends are my air conditioner and some good books. Oh. And a cat. Can't forget the cat.

Same random observations on the week (or on life, too):

• I didn't travel far during my week off. The farthest I went was to the farmers market in Scotch Plains, an adjacent town. I saw not a one cicada. So much for the 17-year invasion around here.
• My upstairs neighbor, still a stranger to me, seemed to have a child up there last weekend. Thankfully, it went away.
• The rowdy new people in the front of the building who arrived in March are already gone. 
• The elevator of my building smelled like Braunschweiger yesterday. That's not good. I prefer it smell like fresh laundry from the basement, please.
• I visited Park Liquors in Scotch Plains on my outing yesterday, buying some Brooklyn Lager and some Samuel Adams Summer Ale. The liquor stores around here in Plainfield tend to Budweiser and various Central/South American beers. I'm not a big beer drinker, but I do like to have one now and again on summer days. I like to experiment around trying different kinds. I can't recall the last time I had a Budweiser.
• Yes, yes, I can. It was in the 1980s. That was also the last time I had a kamikaze. Do you know they glow in black light?
• I don't like to sweat unless I'm doing something physical. Standing still in the shade is NOT physical. It's too early for heat waves.
• Vincent was supremely spoiled all week, more so than usual.
• I'm tired of television commercials for the Jersey Shore singing "we're stronger than the storm." Enough already.
• There was a shooting last night at Kennedy Fried Chicken on Park Avenue in Plainfield. I heard it on my scanner. The police were already dispatched to a fight when the Shot Spotter doohickey indicated shots fired. A man was shot in the shoulder. The police stopped a car driving away with no lights on. Voila! A gun. Good work, Plainfield PD!
• Of course, I wouldn't be there at 2 in the morning. 

Here in Plainfield, the primary is coming up this Tuesday. As it always seems to be, it's a heated Democratic brouhaha between the incumbent and others. Although it really doesn't mean much except to the local folks in town, I endorse (with this mighty blog) Adrian Mapp for mayor. We really need change. The current mayor isn't doing the job for me. How 'bout you?

Onto the photos I took this past week ...

Allium ball

I took this shot on Berckman Street in Plainfield. It's odd -- directly across the street, the allium flowers have passed. It's like they're in two different climate zones or something. Did you know that the generic "allium" is the Latin word for garlic?

She went and CLOSED the window!

Yes. In the second day of the heat wave (three days at 90 degrees or more), I closed the window and put on the air conditioning. Sorry, Vincent.

So pretty!

Typical me, I have no clue what this flower is. I can tell you it's growing on Berckman Street in Plainfield, though! I wouldn't know what allium is except for someone telling me. Maybe someone will tell me what this one is and I might even actually remember. Maybe.

Deadly nightshade

Ohhh! Ohhh! (Doing my best Horshack impression.) I do know this one! It's deadly, but very cool.

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

Talking Big Brother 15 ...

It's getting closer now! Big Brother 15 makes its debut a few weeks earlier than usual this season. Its premiere is set for Wednesday, June 26, instead of the after 4th of July premiere we've had for the last several seasons. Rumors have it that the number of house hamsters is the most ever, too.

There have been also some other changes, mainly with the live feeds themselves and the elimination of the Showtime Too Big Brother: After Dark nightly shows. Or, is that Showtime Two? I only have basic cable, so I never had that anyway. On the other hand, I do have TVGN (on two channels!), the new home of the After Dark show. Apparently the format for that nightly show has gone from three hours down to two hours along with the network change. A bit more information can be had at this TVGuide.com announcement.

While I know about that change, the one which really doesn't affect what I do all that much, I have no clue about the live feeds yet. This is the first season since the first season that Real Networks isn't our feedline. Supposedly, the CBS.com site itself will be, but there's been little official word about any details. It will surely cost money as did Real Networks. I still plan on buying them and need to cancel my real.com Superpass before the quarter is up. I need to download my June songs from Rhaspody before I do!

As soon as I have the skinny, I'll pass it on to you. Will you be watching?

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - May 26, 2013

Yo, good morning, peeps. Oh, did I say that? You'll have to forgive me. I just looked up who's doing the cover of "All Along the Watchtower" in the commercials for the new upcoming Stephen King TV series Under the Dome. It's a rap group called Devlin out of the UK. Very catchy although it's definitely not Dylan or Hendrix. A good song holds up no matter what. Leave it to King who owns (owned?) a classic rock radio station up in Maine to come up with this version for the promos.

Anyway ... it's Sunday morning. Welcome to my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way. Not to fear, TV fans, it won't be long until this television lull is in the past. I have a bunch of screeners from TNT to cover in the upcoming days. Big Brother is back in the last week of June. There's the series mentioned above which I find very intriguing because I'm a huge Stephen King buff. We will have our television fodder!

Last week's weather here in my corner of New Jersey ran the gambit from almost winter-like to summer heat and humidity with very little spring tossed in there. The wind howled a lot. Yesterday was cold and raw with high wind warnings -- not a good start to a three day holiday weekend to kick off the summer for many folks.

I actually was off yesterday on a Saturday. My original plans had been to visit the farmers market in nearby Westfield. I have never been to that one and thought it would be nice. Thankfully, I looked up online to see if they were started yet this year. What? They've canceled it for this season? They want to go another direction? Sheesh. So, I decided I'd hit up the even closer Scotch Plains one instead. The only farmers market that comes to Plainfield comes during my working hours on a weekday. I so rarely have Saturdays off that I thought it would be fun. Alas, due to the weather, I stayed inside all day yesterday. Since I'm on a staycation this week, I'll hit up the Scotch Plains one next Saturday and I'll also see if the Plainfield one is up for this Thursday.

Since I have a Peapod grocery delivery scheduled for today which includes a ton of fruit (five dollars off when ordering $20 worth), it's not that I need the farmers market anyway. So there, Westfield! I'm looking forward to making up a fantastic fruit salad to last a few days. Plus, I'm going to make me a blender-full of chocolate-banana shakes. Mmm.

This past week was one struggling through weather and trying to wrap up loose ends at work so I felt okay leaving it behind for a week. I do know I'll come back to a mess and I'll also have a new manager to train in my office. I surely will rest up this week! I don't have many plans at all other than spring cleaning and possibly checking out the Westfield Memorial Day Parade on Monday morning. Perhaps I'll go into Manhattan one day. Or, maybe I'll take the cameras to a strange town along the bus or train route just to explore. Gosh, I love staycations! My next one in July is a mix of staycation with a few days away for my 40th high school reunion in upstate New York.

Onto the photos I took this past week. Once again, the flower shots are heavy. If you don't see rain in the photos, that means it's hot and humid.
 

Into the iris

I'm in awe at Mother Nature when I look into an iris. What stunning beauty! Growing on Berckman Street in Plainfield.

Rhododendron beauty

Growing on Berckman Street in Plainfield.

Colorful on a dreary day

Growing in the yard at the corner of East Front and Richmond in Plainfield.

Plainfield Fire Rescue 1

I edited this one to leave only the firetruck in color. This was on Berckman Street responding to a fire around the corner on East Second Street. More in the next photo ...

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

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - May 19, 2013

Good Sunday morning, world! As it is Sunday, that means it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. I'm taking a bit of a television rest as finales have aired and summer shows have yet to start up. However, during this week I do plan on posting about Falling Skies and possibly a few other shows.

Our weather here where I live in New Jersey is still a bit off. We had cold temps early in the week with some overnight lows sending up freeze alerts. By the end of the week we had springlike day temperatures at least. Oh, but then yesterday was grey and we're expecting some rain almost every day for the next seven days. It better get it out of its system as I have a staycation coming up the following week!

I've had a relatively uneventful week. I bought two tickets to the big Powerball drawing. And, let me be the first to announce it right here on the blog ... I got the Powerball! Yes! Yes! Yes, I did. Um, well. I got the Powerball number and no others. I guess I'll have to cancel the order for the Lamborghini.

Let's see ... what else? Oh, I know. There's been a real creepy guy on the train for the last few weeks. He seems to be drunk, even on the first train out in the morning. He's on the train already when I get on it, then gets off where I get off.

The first day he talked to me, he complained about how unfriendly the woman conductor is. "It's Monday morning. You're supposed to be happy. She didn't even say hello or smile!" Well, she always says hi and is friendly to ME. Maybe she just figured you're a creep, I thought but did not say. Plus, in what world are people bouncy and friendly on Monday mornings? Are we supposed to be happy on Monday mornings as we head to work on the early train? I don't think so! (Especially to dudes who creep us out.)

As we left the train, he proceeded to tell me that he should be getting his license back in two weeks. Good. As I continued to basically nod my head and ignore him hoping he'd go away, all of a sudden he stopped in front of me, lifting his shirt. "I got shot here and here. I got stabbed here," as he pointed out scars on his beer belly. Eww! Eww! Ever since that day, I dawdle and let him get WAY ahead of me so I don't have to deal with him. He really creeps me out.

So, last night, there I was lurking by the annex for the Plainfield Police Department Narcotics and Gang Unit waiting for the bus after getting off the train. (The bus to take me a block from home is free with my monthly train pass.) Out of the door comes my buddy ex-narcotics detective who was promoted to sergeant a few months back. He was in his (still crisp) sergeant uniform. I hadn't seen him since the day he got promoted. So we exchanged a big hug and talked for a bit.

It turns out he's been assigned to the Union County Homicide Task Force. It's a very good career thing for him, plus he's learning a lot which, in the long run, will be good for the Plainfield Police Department. He was involved in investigating that bizarre Kai, the hatchet-wielding hitchhiker murder case of a lawyer in the area this past week. While he said he can't give details, I said the whole case seemed weird from what I've read. He emphatically agreed to weird.

After a goodbye hug, he left to go back across the street to the police station. And then, who comes along? Mr. Creepy from the train! Ack! Thankfully he saw the police uniform and the hug. He seemed drunk once again. Or still.

"Was that your husband?" he asked.
"Yes," I said without skipping a beat. Heck, I don't care that the cop in question is probably more than twenty years younger than me and married. For that moment, he's my husband. Yes, indeed. Mr. Creepy staggered away without another word.

Good.

Onto this week's photos ...  

Azalea up close and personal

Bridgewater, NJ.

Colorful iris

Growing on Berckman Street across the street from the photo below.

Allium and azaleas

The big ball allium is incredibly cool. This photo was taken on Berckman Street in Plainfield.

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

Survivor: Caramoan - Season Finale and Reunion Show Blog Party

Welp, this is it. We're down to five castaways and the promos hint that one will leave in a medical emergency. I've got different scenarios running through my head as I think of each one leaving. For some reason, I'm thinking it might be Sherri or Erik. But I could be totally off base there -- I have no spoilers info as I haven't searched any out this season.

We all know that things will get shaken up if Eddie wins Immunity. However, for a buff kind of dude, he hasn't really performed well during the challenges. I guess we'll see! As the show airs, I'll update this entry with the major happenings. Refresh the page often to get the latest news.

But, as always, the real party is in the comments. Come join us! Bring snacks and beverages, too!

Oh my. I'm right about it being Erik. His head is spinning since leaving Tribal Council. The medic pulls him from the game -- dehydration and starvation. (Meanwhile I'm hearing ice cream truck music from outdoors which is way incongruous with what's happening on the show.)

Reward challenge has them balancing while building a house of cards. The winner gets an advantage in the final immunity challenge. Cochran wins the advantage in the final immunity challenge! Woohoo!

Dawn, of course, is freaking. While she can do well in challenges, she's a basket case so often at other times that it makes her her own worst enemy. Cochran is tired of her.

Rites of passage. I wonder how they'll come of with good words about Brandon. Okay, he's still delusional and claiming he was the author of his own elimination. While he was, it was a stupid story indeed!

The final Immunity Challenge has them racing up a tower, getting bags of puzzle pieces in multiple trips and completing a puzzle. Cochran's advantage is that he doesn't have to untie his bags while the others have to untie the three bags. Okay.

Cochran is screwing up his advantage and Dawn is in the lead. Now he's catching up. Eddie is in last place. Cochran steams ahead ... COCHRAN WINS FINAL IMMUNITY!

He's planning on bringing Sherri to the end because he's sure he can beat her. He's in a quandary over the other two. Time to vote!

The tally -- Dawn, Eddie, Eddie, Eddie. The final three are Cochran, Sherri and Dawn.

The three get to plead their cases in front of the jury. Dawn is feeling humble and tells how hard the game was for her. She explains her strategy and is proud of her game. Sherri tells about her marriage, children and her successful business. She thinks she became very pliable and worked to get in with everyone. Cochran talks of half his life following the show and his obsession with it. He thinks his timing has been right and wants to prove why he's played the best game.

Jury time ...

Malcolm -- Not bitter, no question for Sherri. His vote is between the other two. Dawn -- Best friend, you played cold-blooded, you have to own it, can't be warm mom, fight for it. Cochran -- What quality do you have that I don't have? Cochran says his insecurity had him taking out people with plans.

Eddie -- Sherri, willing to admit carried to final 3? Nope! Dawn -- Strong claims, weaker than others, daily routine. She's taking Malcolm's advice. Cochran -- where are you going from here? He'll be at the bar with them!

Phillip -- Congrats to all. Sherri, strategic join with favorites, he removes her from StealthRUs. Dawn -- talks of his intolerance with her crying and excuses. He won't cast a vote. Cochran -- played a strategic game, enjoyed it, class act.

Erik -- Dawn - Thought we shared something, you crushed it with vote for Brenda. She once again takes Malcolm's advice. Sherri - Do you understand why you're here? He says she was a seashell on the beach and did nothing.

Mike -- Dawn and Cochran -- you were playing the same game. Dawn, explain why Cochran isn't getting called the villain you are. She doesn't think Cochran would still be there without her. Cochran admits he's happy people are lighting into Dawn. Talks of her paranoia. He thinks he became her therapist.

Reynold -- Dawn - Disliked from day one, complete fraud. Asks her what she thinks about him. 

Andrea -- Not bitter. Grateful even with the blindside. Cochran - Choose an animal he played like. Chameleon. Dawn - Proud of you, strategic game and understands where she's coming from.

Brenda -- Cochran - the family visit, took something from me. He talks of separating game and emotion. Took out a threat to his game. Dawn -- Strong bond I thought we had, pain. She talks about the lost partial plate bit. Would she have quit w/o teeth? No. She tells her to take out her teeth. Dawn refuses, then does it. Brenda said she wanted her to feel the heartbreak.

The voting commences. Phillip votes Cochran and is proud of him, did right by fans and favorites. Eddie wrote down a name he didn't think he'd write tonight, but I didn't see it.

It's off to California! I miss the cheesy jetskis and stuff.

The tally: Cochran, Cochran, Cochran, Cochran, Cochran.

COCHRAN WINS IT ALL!!! It apparently was unanimous as Jeff said Dawn got no votes.

Cochran is a hoot! And, though he just graduated with a law degree from Harvard, he'd like to write. I think he'd do well.

Brenda was via satellite as she's about to give birth any day. She forgave Dawn and all is peachy-keen once again.

Jeff gives a clue about where they're going next season. It looks like blood in water. Hmm. 

Cool ... Rudy and Richard Hatch are there!

Flashback to Borneo. Rudy is now 85! He looks good.

71% of the votes for fan favorite were for Malcolm and Brenda. Malcolm had 36% of those, narrowly beating out Brenda. He gets the 100 grand.

The new season new hint is Blood vs. Water. Okay.

Thank you everyone for taking part in the weekly parties this season! You make it all worthwhile!