Survivor: Worlds Apart - March 11 Blog Party

Survivor fans ready?

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be posting the major happenings in live time here on this entry. Refresh the page to get the latest news! As you all know, the real party is in the comments -- I hope to see you there!

The Lovely Lifeguard Laurie is once again running the blog pool (thank you!) Here's the latest --

Blue Collar
Dan - Brian, CherylinNC 
Kelly - Petals, Ed in Ohio 
Lindsey - Donna in FL, David 
Mike - meb, Nickelpeed
Rodney - Margo 
Sierra - Jennasmom

No Collar
Hali - Zoetawny, monty924 
Jenn - Merrilee, Becky 
Joe - SueGee, Chris 
Nina - Lynn1 
Will - Rbennie

White Collar
Carolyn - Jackie TerryinTX 
Joaquin - Laurie, Rochelle 
Max - PDX Granny, Marlo 
Shirin - NanaintheNW 
Tyler - Donna in Alabama, ORKMommy

Out! 
So
Vince - Delee 

Okay, it's on with the show we will go!

Nina knows she's a target and makes things worse for herself. Joe is now leery of Will because Will didn't go with the plan at the last Tribal. Over on WC, Shirin got a bit too excited about seeing howler monkey sex. The boys on BC seem to be going for testosterone issues. NC girls are surfing on driftwood and Joe's giving Nina pep talks.

Gee, looks like they're pulling at straws for filler this week.

WC is all about searching for the idol -- which Carolyn already found long ago. On BC, Mike with the forever hoarse voice is thinking he's the only one who ever does anything. Rodney is clashing with Mike. Whoa! One of the gals really called him out. Good.

Huh. The show is over half-over and the Immunity Challenge is beginning. Each tribe carries large bucket to water tower, fill it, race to their barrel while trying to keep the water from leaking out holes. Massive comfort reward -- chairs, blankets, pillows, etc. Second prize, tarp.

It's weird; Nina isn't really participating although she's participating. NC is trailing, too.

Blue Collar wins! White Collar comes in second and No Collar will go to Tribal Council.

Things are not looking good for Nina. She wants to push Will out instead. Jenn and Hali seem to be really leaning towards a Will ouster. At TC, Nina backstabs Will from the front! Heh.

The tally:
Nina, Will, Will, Nina, Nina.

Nina is gone. She'll never be able to prove she can fit in with the No Collars. That just might not be such a bad thing.

Next week is a two hour show!

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - March 8, 2015

Good, albeit late, Sunday morning to all y'all! My apologies for this being so late. This, of course, being my weekly off television topic reflection of the week gone by in both words and photographs taken along the way. Sure, we had the "spring forward" jump to Daylight Savings Time and I lost an hour. But, truth to tell, I was exhausted last night yet I couldn't fall asleep for the life of me. Then, once sleep came, I didn't wake up when I had planned to do so.

Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's my health. I don't know. But I do know that if I were to return to bed now, I could probably sleep for several hours. Like many around here, I'm winter-weary. I'm tired of having to don my big coat and snow boots. I'm tired of climbing over snowbanks or carefully treading the ice on sidewalks. I don't long for the heat of summer. I long for spring with its light jacket early mornings, birds singing and photo opportunities all about me.

I really don't have much more for you right now outside photos I've taken. It's a bit warmer although we had a snowy week with three different snowstorms since the start of the month (a week ago). At least without bitter cold, I don't shiver when taking photos. I'm still waiting to REALLY test out the camera, though. Here's what I've got for you -- clicking an image will open a larger view of it:

Gnarly tree covered in snow

Sure, it makes a good picture. But I'd rather it stop. Please. No more snow.

Fallen sweet gum tree fruit

I tend to think more of it as a seed pod than fruit. But fruit it is. This was the day it rained atop the snow before it snowed on top of the rain which fell on the snow.

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

The Amazing Race 26 - March 6 Blog Party

 

It's Friday night! I hope you haven't forgotten that it's time for The Amazing Race! So far, I'm generally liking most of the couples -- both the "real" couples and the blind date couples. I'm not too keen on Kurt of Kurt and Bergen fame. He seems to be working against his partner and I'm thinking they won't last long due to him. I'm really enjoying how both Jelani/Jenny and Tyler/Laura have been working together for folks just thrown in with each other.

Here's the updated blog pool presented by the Magnificent Margo:

Mike and Rochelle - Cheryl in NC, Laurie

Aly and Steve - Jackie, SueGee

Harley and Jonathan - Becky, Willie J

Matt and Ashley - Delee, Merrilee

Bergen and Kurt - Nana in NW, Rbennie

Blair and Hayley - Terry in TX, Margo, Chris

Jeffrey and Jackie - Brian, Donna in AL, ORKMommy

Jelani and Jenny - Marlo, Lynn 1, dla

Tyler and Laura - Ed in OH, David, Nickelpeed

PHILIMINATED:

Jeff and Lyda - Jennasmom, Paula Bell, meb

Lebya ang CJ - Donna in FL, PDXGranny

As the show airs here, I'll update this entry with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest news! As always, the real party will be in the comments area. Come join us there!

Teams are flying to Thailand. Uh-oh. Harley/Jonathan get a really later flight.

Oh, geez. They're doing something with "selfie sticks." I'm not too pleased with the selfie craze hitting the show. They have to find a clue in an upside-down house.

Detour - Ski or Tree. Ski has them doing an obstacle course on a waveboard ski. Tree has them delivering a meal via zipline. Dang, Hayley is annoying as she goes off on Blair because they did the task wrong.

Oh, my! Rochelle and Mike take over the lead! Who woulda thunk it? They now have to dress as go-go dancers and learn a choreographed routine. They made it through the dance routine and are heading to the Pit Stop!

1. Mike and Rochelle - Won a trip to Prague. 

Matt left his fanny pack behind at the dance hall. They have to go back.

2. Haley and Blair

3.Tyler and Laurie

4. Aly and Steve

5. Jelani and Jenny

6. Jackie and Jeffrey

7. Matt and Ashley

8. Kurt and Bergen

(I think ... they all came stampeding in.)

Matt proposes to Ashley! How exciting!

9. Harley and Jonathan -- A non-Philimination! They're still in it!

Survivor: Worlds Apart - March 4 Blog Party

Survivor fans ready?

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be posting the major happenings in live time here on this entry. Refresh the page to get the latest news! As you all know, the real party is in the comments -- I hope to see you there!

The Lovely Lifeguard Laurie is once again running the blog pool (thank you!)  The one person who had So, booted on the premiere night, has been reassigned to another castaway. We hardly got to know So!

Blue Collar
Dan - Brian, CherylinNC 
Kelly - Petals, Ed in Ohio 
Lindsey - Donna in FL, David 
Mike - meb, Nickelpeed
Rodney - Margo 
Sierra - Jennasmom

No Collar
Hali - Zoetawny, monty924 
Jenn - Merrilee, Becky 
Joe - SueGee, Chris 
Nina - Lynn1 
Vince - Delee 
Will - Rbennie

White Collar
Carolyn - Jackie TerryinTX 
Joaquin - Laurie, Rochelle 
Max - PDX Granny, Marlo 
Shirin - NanaintheNW 
Tyler - Donna in Alabama, ORKMommy

Out! 
So

Okay, it's on with the show we will go!

Heh. Dan lost his underwear and has juryrigged his t-shirt to cover himself. I'd rather him in that than in his "manties" which looked like Speedos. Yikes, Max is calling the ghost of Richard Hatch and skinnydipping. Now Shirin is walking around bottomless. Now the No Collar gals are skinnydipping and leaving poor deaf Nina behind.

Vince definitely has issues. He's so jealous about Joe that it's ridiculous.

Immunity Challenge time. Dive, swim to platform, maneuver buoys through course, get them all in baskets. Massive fishing reward for first place. Line, lures and spear for second place. No Collar and Blue Collar in the lead. Whoa, Shirin made time for White Collar while Will blows the chance to win for No Collar. Joaquin is making hoops quickly.

White Collar wins! Blue Collar takes second place! No Collar goes to Tribal.

Will is weak. Nina is unpopular. Joe and Vince are power fighters. This should be interesting. Joe thinks Nina might have the idol. They're planning on splitting the vote. Will is thinking he, Vince and Nina can flip the vote. Then Nina puts a bug in Will's ear that Vince is worried about his health. "It's going to be a doozy."

Tribal Council time.

The tally --
Jenn, Vince, Nina, Jenn, Vince, Vince.

He's in shock. Vince is gonzo.

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - March 1, 2015

Good morning! It's Sunday. You know what 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.

Once again this week, the photos are a bit lacking. It's been way too cold to play with the various features of the new camera. They've determined it to be the third coldest February on record here. Only 1934 and 1895 were colder. But, of course, they didn't measure windchill temperatures back then. It probably hasn't been much colder than where I spent a good part of my youth in Saratoga County, New York. But I was a kid then. Cold doesn't matter as much to a child! Nor does a child have a fancy-schmancy new camera to explore!

We're due more snice (snow/ice) later today and during the overnight hours. We haven't had the snowfall amounts of Massachusetts. But, for some reason, every time it snows, we come out of the deep freeze momentarily and get ice, then return to the deep freeze. 

Unfortunately, because the new camera is too big to fit in my pocket and I didn't take it with me for a brief walk to PetSmart (someone demanded I not come home without cat treats) one evening at my workplace, I missed what probably was a shot of my lifetime.

I kept hearing ooo-oooo noises and footsteps behind me. I thought a child was imitating an owl. I slowed to a stop and the maker of the footsteps walked by. It was an older woman! I heard ooo-oooo again. I looked up. There was a HUGE OWL atop the nearby parking lot lamp! It wasn't a snowy white owl -- it was brown or grey, hard to tell in the dark. But it was HUGE! I told him to stay there and ran back to work for my camera. When I returned, he was gone. ARGH! I haven't seen an owl in person since childhood and never one that big.

Other than that, I don't have much to report from this end. I'm still not 100% health-wise and realize I probably will never be. I still really, really, really want to retire and do something I enjoy. Yet I don't dare as I can't cut my income. Gah. Childhood was a lot easier.

Onto the photos for the week --

 A very cold Big Top

You would think that, after last year's horrible winter, the Big Apple Circus might think of scheduling its annual appearance in Bridgewater, New Jersey, a few weeks later. Nope. There they are! I would imagine there's some kind of heat in the tents. But going there in this frigid weather to watch a dog and pony show would be amongst the last things on my list of fun stuff to do.

Like ships passing in the night

It's trains passing in the day! I took this shot just east of the Plainfield Train Station. While the locomotives are both facing the same way, the locomotive on the right is pushing the train while the one with the headlights is pulling the train.

The one coming my way (headlights) is a newer dual duty locomotive -- both diesel for my train line and has an extendable doohickey to attach to overhead wires, thus being powered by electricity to go into NYC. Diesel trains aren't allowed in the tunnels. (We're all gonna DIE!) Most of the trains on my line stop at Newark Penn Station and passengers have to transfer to get into Manhattan. Now they're up to several trains daily directly in and out of the city or, as they say, one seat rides.

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