Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - July 28, 2013

Good morning, folks! Welcome to my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken. If you're looking for Big Brother live feeds reports, the most recent one is right here at this link. This particular post will have no show or live feeds content in it, but I will be posting later today and there will be a blog party tonight as the show airs here on the East Coast.

It's been a rather odd week for me here this past week. At least the heat wave finally ended. Folks were complaining it was too cold one day as I was dancing around saying how much I loved it! As I get older, I'm SO not a summer person. I don't like sweating while I'm just walking or even standing!

I also had to deal with an infected spider(?) bite this week, probably two bites next to each other. I'm not sure if it happened outside or at home. I haven't seen any spiders in my apartment lately although I've had a few here and there in the past. Vincent tends to not let any bug he can get to live, brave hunter that he is. I went to a doctor after a huge bright red swatch around the bites appeared a day afterward and my foot/ankle swelled up. The bite(s) were on the back of my left ankle. So I'm now on antibiotics and I missed a few days of work. But it did feel good to have it elevated on ice. I have paid sick time, too. So, things could be worse.

Without further ado, onto the photos I took ... 

First sunflower sighting

The sunflowers have blossomed on East Front Street in Plainfield.

Hey, whazzat?

I heard it first. Then I saw it -- a female downy woodpecker pecking away on a common mullein weed. (Or is it a great mullein? Some are about 12' tall!) As this is indeed a female woodpecker, there is no bright red patch on the back of her head. Bridgewater Train Station.

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

Big Brother 15: Live Feeds Saturday Night Into Sunday - July 27-28

Oh, no! They're going to put me on the block!

In my last post, I let you know that Spencer (of all people) won the Power of Veto. Woe is the world at this point ... the day Spencer wins a comp. Here's what's been happening since the big win inside that Big Brother House of Messy Misfits:

• Candice asked Helen to ask Aaryn to put GinaMarie up in Spencer's place instead of her (Candice).
• Like THAT is gonna happen!
• Amanda wants it to be an all Howard vote.
• Putting Candice up there might muddle that a bit since some are so vehemently against her.
• Aaryn is worried that if she puts Candice up, with the two black people in the house on the block, they'll claim it's racially motivated.
• Spencer thinks they have the votes to get rid of Amanda.
• Like THAT is gonna happen!
• It's fun to watch Amanda worry and squirm, though. She's so controlling and bullying that watching her panic a bit is fun!
• I know, I have my own mean streak.
• Aaryn claimed she's never done or said anything racist.
• Okay, let's review the tapes, little girl!
• Aaryn thinks that she will say that Candice is going on the block because she ruined her (Aaryn's) reputation with false allegations.
• Andy said Howard sucked at the competition. It was some sort of puzzle.
• Howard said he over-thought it.
• Which is probably just another way to say he sucked at it, I say.
• Jessie told Candice she's going to go along with what the house wants.
• Helen says it needs to be Howard gone this week, Amanda another time.
• Judd thinks Howard is a nice guy, but possibly has the worst social game of anyone ever in BB.
• I wouldn't say the WORST. I mean ... there was Justin in Season 2, there was that guy tossed for throwing chairs, etc. Howard's biggest social game flaws are: too many bad lies, not manning up to obvious lies when confronted, secluding himself from the others, too much hyped religion in front of others and talking in circles.
• But, he's not the worst by any means.
• Judd is now saying he wants Helen out before Elissa because Helen is driving him crazy.
• That will last until Elissa goes bonkers again.
• Judd also thinks that Helen plays people very well.
• He's indeed right.
• Judd reminded Amanda that she needs to play buddy-buddy with Elissa to make sure Elissa won't vote for her to go.
• Amanda asked Judd who would win in a final two of her and McCrae.
• He told her McCrae.
• She claimed that's because it's just a popularity contest at that point.
• They still don't know America is the MVP. A few are pondering that "someone" really wants Amanda out to put her on the block.
• Yeah, I do. I'd like to see McCrae actually play the game for once. I know how Amanda plays it.
• There was a weird feeds outage with NO SIGNAL for a while. It was during the BBAD hours, so I turned that on.
• Amanda is worried a bit again -- when she's on the block with Spencer and Howard, she thinks she's relatively safe. Now it will be another dynamic thrown in.
• Andy told Candice that Howard is the likely target.
• Well, duh.
• Howard managed to take himself out of exile to enjoy a dinner Helen and Co. made.
• Helen tried telling Candice that there's no way Howard has the votes to stay.
• Candice thinks they can flip them to vote out Amanda.
• Um. Probably not, I say.
• Not against Howard, at least.
• The stress must be getting to Helen. She bummed a cigarette off of Jessie. Helen is an ex-smoker.
• Although she's not on the block YET, the others are wondering why Candice is working so hard to save Howard instead of herself in the house.
• Candice cried.
• Howard said, "It is what it is. If I go, I go."
• Candice cried some more.
• Meanwhile, Spencer is working behind the scenes to save Howard. He went to GinaMarie and told her that he was in an alliance with him. He's pushing a Candice Go Home agenda.
• Probably because he knows that there's no chance of Amanda going right now.
• Rats.
• Of course, GinaMarie is the perfect one to approach on that as she dislikes Candice more than she ever disliked Howard.
• Spencer also hit up McCrae with the same agenda.
• Since Amanda is so anti-Howard and McCrae is her little puppy dog following her about, I can't see him voting any way other than what Amanda tells him.
• Judd also really wants Howard out. 
• We'll see. I don't think Howard is going to survive the week, myself. And, most of it will be his own darn fault.

Run, little hamster, run!

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

(Old R.E.M. song, for the young'uns)

Howard-a-Day

They COULD be cleaning the room!

Big Brother 15: PoV Winner in da House! July 27

Oh my

Big Brother 15: Special Bulletin - MVP Nominee - July 27

America spoke

Heehee! We voted Amanda to be our nominee! She's freaking! Candice and Jessie are the two additional PoV players besides HoH and the three nominees. She's now freaking out about the upcoming PoV comp plus the fact she might go home!

They all think that Howard is the MVP who made the decision.

Big Brother 15: Live Feeds Friday Night into Saturday - July 26-27

Howard-a-Day

Okay, I've already touched on who the Have Nots are for the week and who's on the block. But now it's time for the details. Here's what's been happening inside that Big Brother House of Harried Hamsters:

• To recap a moment: Judd, GinaMarie, Amanda and Candice are the Have Nots. The foods voted for them are ramen and raisins. Howard and Spencer are the nominees chosen by Aaryn (and her "friends").
• Aaryn told Howard that she wouldn't backdoor him and asks that he does the same for her -- not backdoor her if he wins HoH.
• She also told him that most of the house wants him out. They're worried he's just throwing comps and will suddenly start winning and flip the house.
• Aaryn thinks that if the MVP is America, then Elissa will be the nomination as she can't play for veto this week.
• Amanda told Aaryn she'd like for her to be the last girl in the house with her, over anybody else.
• Well, yeah. Make the jury decide between the lesser of two evils!?!
• Nobody wants to talk gameplay with Elissa since the fiasco the other night.
• Aaryn told Spencer that Howard is the target.
• After the feeds returned from nominations block, we found out Judd's key was the last one pulled from the box.
• Yikes! The order is usually telling. However, the order was Aaryn's, the nominations were Helen and Elissa this time (as per Aaryn's deal for safety last week).
• Jessie, of all people, cried to Howard about how much she likes and respects him.
• @@
• Howard spent even more time secluded with Candice. That's not quite the way to win friends and influence people.
• Judd pointed out that the Goof Troop alliance -- himself, Andy, Amanda and McCrae -- are the only four in the house who haven't been on the block yet.
• Amanda and GinaMarie had a hate fest about Candice. They laughed that she has her period, she's a Have Not and her boyfriend is on the block.
• Candice is sure she will be the MVP nomination.
• Howard told her that if she is, he will win and use the veto to save her.
• @@
• Sorry, Howard. But if I were dealing with all the idiocy in the house, I'd be in it to win it, not to give it to a showmance.
• GinaMarie fussed that since she hurt her hand a few weeks ago, she can't snap her fingers. 
• Good. I don't want her snapping her fingers.
• Amanda wonders if America might be mad at her due to the drama with Elissa over McCrae's birthday.
• Nope, Amanda. That's not why. We're mad at you because you're obnoxious and controlling.
• She thinks she's funny in her Diary Room segments.
• I'll give her credit for that.
• I guess.
• Amanda told McCrae she's head over heels in love with him.
• Um. Well, the heels up I believe. Alas, I've seen it.
• He thanked her. He didn't say he loves her. Good.
• Elissa thinks Andy got the MVP -- perhaps because he was called to the Diary Room.
• The suspicions start.
• Judd pointed out that no matter what teammates he had, he's lost every Have Not comp he's played.
• Judd told Candice she needs to put up a good front.
• GinaMarie referred to her cockroach speech as "medicalphorical."
• McCrae felt that Howard was referring to himself and Amanda when he said he had "bigger fish to fry."
• Well, I'd say Amanda, at least. 
• Jessie, who poured her heart out to and cried for Howard, has changed her tune. She said that Howard, Candice and Spencer have all changed and gone crabby since the nominations.
• To be honest, she never liked Spencer much anyway.
• The HoH crew wondered why Spencer claims he loves his girlfriend Marilyn at home, yet totally lusts after Jessie night and day.
• Amanda, McCrae and Judd wondered if Howard might be Danielle's (BB5) brother.
• Why? Because he's black and attractive?
• @@
• Aaryn thinks the show wants to keep Howard because the Diary Room keeps asking her about him.
• Amanda thinks McCrae is too nervous and negative.
• But she loves him anyway.
• @@
• Jessie got really ill, possibly with a migraine headache. Judd helped her get to a room to rest.
• Judd again said he can't cry.
• I often wish I couldn't.

Cop Candice in food comp gear

Le braid

The infamous Judd's bear shirt

Judd sans bear shirt