Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - March 29, 2015

Good morning! Welcome to my weekly off television topic reflection of the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. During the upcoming week, we'll have both Survivor and return of The Amazing Race. The latter has been off the schedule for a few weeks due to March Madness basketball.

I'd kind of like to know who watches March Madness basketball myself. With all the hype about "brackets" and other hoopla, I don't think I know anyone who's personally into it. Oh, I can see if your alma mater is involved. I noticed my old alma mater was in it at the beginning and was rather surprised -- it was known as more of an academic college when I attended rather than having much more than losing sports teams. I guess times have changed.

Oh, geez. I sneezed and Vincent just realized I'm here. He came bounding from the other room and leaped on me. Sheesh. It's like he was launched like a kitty cannonball.

Ahem.

Not much going on here this past week. In the ongoing unreasonable and disturbing noise issues from the new neighbors, progress has been made. The downstairs people called the police and I backed them up on their complaint. Then I called the landlord and filed my first official complaint against another tenant in the 14 years I've lived here. It's been quiet over there since. We'll see.

Work remains work. Sigh.

Onto the photos I took this week. Clicking on an image will bring it up in a larger version.

Colorful bike

I wonder if it's his primary bike! Heehee ... I crack myself up. Parked at the Plainfield Train Station. Note that the snow piles are still existent, albeit dwindling, near the building.

Look out!

Coming in for a landing atop a roof on North Avenue in Plainfield.

Oh, deer

Just after sunset last evening I saw a deer at the Bridgewater Train Station. I didn't really have the opportunity to do more than get out my camera and shoot, thus getting really sketchy photos. She was wary of me and kept watching me. I kept trying to get to the opening in the fence near me so I could take photos. She watched me. I watched her. She edged away. I edged towards her. And so the story goes.

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Survivor: Worlds Apart - March 25 Blog Party

Survivor fans ready?

It's post-merge into two tribes with a really uneven playing field tonight. I can't believe how the one tribe is all guys except for one and the other one is mostly female. Yeah, that second tribe did vote out Max, a rare guy, but he's not such a great loss. I personally would have gone for Shirin out first due to the annoyance factor. However, I wasn't there.

I'll update this post with the major happenings as the show airs here East Coast time tonight. Refresh the page to get the latest news! As always, the real party is in the comments area. I hope to see you there!

Here's the latest on the blog pool from the Lovely Lifeguard Laurie:

Blue - Escameca
Dan - Brian, CherylinNC 
Joaquin - Laurie, Rochelle 
Joe - SueGee, Chris 
Mike - meb, Nickelpeed 
Rodney - Margo 
Sierra - Jennasmom 
Tyler - Donna in Alabama, ORK Mommy 

Red - Nagarote
Carolyn - Jackie TerryinTX 
Hali - Zoetawny, monty924 
Jenn - Merrilee, Becky 
Kelly - Petals, Ed in Ohio 
Shirin - NanaintheNW 
Will - Rbennie 

Out 
So
Vince - Delee NC Nina Lynn1 
Lindsey - Donna in FL, David 
Max - PDX Granny, Marlo

On with the shenanigans! Er, show. On with the show! 

Aw, Shirin feels like she's all alone. "Is it me?" Yes. Yes, it is.

The Joaquin/Rodney bromance is getting its start. 

Reward Challenge time -- race up a tower through obstacles, launch sandbags to hit six targets out in the field. They're playing for a trip to a turtle sanctuary to watch turtles migrate and lay eggs. They're also to have a feast. No. Not turtle soup. Dan sits out. 

OMG! Nagarote wins Reward! Now, that was unexpected! 

Uh-oh. Sierra wants to link up Joaquin. Actually, it's the other way around. Rodney and Sierra both think they need Joaquin and Tyler to get ahead, though.

Rodney tells Mike that he has Joaquin like a puppetmaster and they have to throw the challenge to get Joe out. Meanwhile, Mike isn't against throwing challenges because it would keep his ally Kelly safe on the other tribe.

The Immunity Challenge is memorizing objects in a certain order. Carolyn blew Rodney out of the water in the first round. Hali also does well. If Will gets it, they can win in this round. Joe beats him. Shirin vs. Dan now. That ties it up. Either tribe can win now. Mike vs. Kelly ... hmm. Both are wrong. Mike threw it. They go again. He tells her he's giving it to her. Mike is wrong, so is Kelly. Down to five items. The blatant throw finally works. Nagarote wins. Kind of sort of.

Too much talk about Joe going home. So, I kind of doubt he will. 

Both sides are after Sierra for the vote.

Tribal Council brings out honesty from Sierra. Lots of talk of trust or the lack thereof. A teaser with the Sierra vote -- she's shown writing JO ..

Joe, Joaquin, Joe, Joaquin, Joe, Joaquin, Joaquin.

Good. I like Joe more than I like Joaquin!

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - March 22, 2015

Good morning! It's Sunday morning. 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.

As we're in the March Madness phase (which I am SO not into), most CBS shows are preempted anyway. There will be a new Survivor episode this week, but no Amazing Race. Tonight's CBS schedule is still intact, but the only show I watch in that Sunday line-up is Battle Creek. Nope to CBS, I'll be watching Brooklyn Nine Nine on FOX, then The Walking Dead on AMC.

They held an open casting call yesterday for Big Brother in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. Derrick and Cody from last season were there. I wasn't there.

Meanwhile, life goes on. Work goes on. (And on and on and on.) Vincent is doing well and living the life of King of the Apartment. Alas for him, but good for me, we haven't had any mice issues although he's gone on alert and stalked the kitchen wall a few times lately. We heralded the arrival of spring with a snowstorm. I have two stitches in my back due to the removal of a cyst. I'm getting very weary of health problems. I would like my body to be 25 years old once again, please.

But I did win two dollars on a two dollar purchase of the Cash4Life lottery. My plan had been to win $1,000 a day for life. Or, even the second place win -- $1,000 a week for life. At least I got my investment back.

Onto this week's photos -- clicking on an image will bring it up in a larger version.

Walking in the spring wonderland

It was still a (freakin') winter wonderland Saturday morning at the Plainfield Train Station. Due to the fact that Friday's snow was a wet and sticky kind of snow, it etched all of the trees and was truly a pretty snow. It was the kind of snow that's good for snowball fights and snowmen. But, still ... enough already.

The Polar Express, NJ Transit style

This was my train home from work on Friday pulling into the Bridgewater Train Station. Yay, spring is here!

The Bull Durham building is coming down

I call it such due to a very cool large ghost sign on its side before a fire four years (or so) ago took out the back half of the building. Then it became the Bull Building, Durham gone from view and amongst the rubble. The building should have been torn down after the fire, yet it sat with its entire rear half gone missing all this time. Now it's an emergency to tear it down tying up North Avenue from Gavett Place to Park Avenue. Plainfield. Go figure.

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

Survivor: Worlds Apart - March 18 Blog Party

Survivor fans ready?

Tonight's show is a two-hour ordeal, most likely because March Madness basketball is going to bump it for a week or two. The promos show a bad accident during a challenge, plus the inevitable "drop your buffs" which heralsd the merge. 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 
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
Nina - Lynn1 

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

On NC, Will is rightfully concerned that if they go to Tribal again, he's gone. BC catches a snake for food.

Whoa ... it's right to an Reward Challenge! It's one of those with callers and blindfolded tribe members searching for stuff. First tribe gets three egg laying hens and a rooster. Second tribe gets ten eggs. From the promo, this has to be where the accident happens. They have to pull the items up to a platform. No Collar is ahead.

Kelly gets hit by the dropping platform from her tribe. Medical gets called and we're in commercial land. The medic tells her he can bandage it and she can continue the challenge. There is a lot of blood, but apparently not a major injury.

No Collar wins Reward! White Collar takes second place.

While the others eat chicken, Jenn searches around and found the idol.

Kelly ended up with six stitches.

Lindsay and Rodney are going after each other, mainly because Rodney's ideas of women are antiquated in view of Lindsay's.  Meanwhile, on WC, Shirin told the others that she slaughtered a rabbit in prep for the show. That turns Joaquin off. Max wants to sit Carolyn out of the next challenge because he doesn't want Shirin to be upset. Carolyn tries to convince the guys Max needs to go.

Immunity Challenge time! Each tribe attached to a rope, go through a course, retrieve bags, get three balls to the top of a maze to win. Shirin does indeed sit out.

No Collar wins! White Collar takes second place. Blue Collar goes to TC for the first time this season. For all his brawn and mouthiness, it was Rodney who screwed up for them during the challenge.

Lindsay tries to get Dan to agree that voting out Rodney is the move. Meanwhile, the guys and Kelly seem to have an alliance. But neither Mike nor Kelly (close) trust Rodney. It sounds like either Lindsay or Rodney will go.

Tribal Council time.

The tally --
Rodney, Lindsay, Rodney, Lindsay, Sierra, Sierra.

Three way tie. Re-vote with Mike, Dan and Kelly only.

Re-vote tally -- Lindsay, Lindsay

She's voted out, smug sexist Rodney stays. All three voted for her, though. Now, Sierra is all bummed.

Right into another challenge. Drop your buffs.

No more collars, Blue and Red tribe only.

Red - Max, Will, Hali, Jenn, Kelly, Shirin, Carolyn
Blue - Joe, Dan, Sierra, Mike, Tyler, Joaquin, Rodney

The challenge looks a bit lacrosse-ish. They launch a ball to be caught in a net.

Blue wins its first Reward Challenge!

Shirin tries to win over Kelly to join the WC members of the new tribe. On the other tribe, Tyler likens Sierra to a broken puppy. Both her old tribemates and the new ones need her. Shirin is already alienating new people. Max got stung twice by a stingray. Carolyn would love for either Max or Shirin to be blindsided.

Dan totally screws up his "apology" to Sierra, just as Mike had advised him not to do so.

Immunity Challenge time! Placing pots on a sled through obstacle course, put them on stands, one member uses a wrecking ball to kill the pots. The tribe with all the guys is not surprisingly doing much better hauling the heavy sled through the mud in the obstacle course.

Blue wins. Not a shock seeing all the muscles. Max says he's happy to go to Tribal and change the dynamic around his camp. He might have to eat his words if he's the dynamic that goes ... or his main ally Shirin gets the boot.

Max wants to blindside Will. Shirin thinks she's orchestrated everything. Meanwhile, Carolyn is thinking a totally different blindside. The others agree with her but can't decide who's more annoying -- Max or Shirin.

The tally --
Will, Will, Max, Max, Max, Max.

Bye-bye, Mr. Survivor Professor. I wanted to like him, but I just couldn't.

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - March 15, 2015

Good morning! It's Sunday morning. 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. Today is the Ides of March. Beware. You've been warned.

After a big blast of winter last week, we finally got a touch of spring this week! I wasn't necessarily pleased with all the rain we got, but it's better than snow. It was nice to be able to crack the windows open on the warmer days and to not have to wear my big coat ... not even once!

I also got to play more with the new camera as my fingers weren't freezing and I wasn't shivering. I still long for time spent in the park or in the city (NYC) photostomping, yet this past week's weather was certainly more conducive for taking photos.

I'm still having some headaches and dizziness and I fear that might never stop. But I have been going to work. I'm counting the years to retirement. I wish it could be counting the days, but that would be unrealistic. Sigh. I'd love to have the time to pursue pursuits I enjoy rather than come home exhausted every day just to have it all happen again the next day. But, for the meantime, I need to keep the roof over my head and the company health insurance.

Without further ado, it's on to the photographs from the week. If you click on an image, you can see a larger version.

I see the silhouetto of a bird ...

Gotta fly, gotta fly.
I'm just a poor bird, nobody loves me.
He's just a poor bird from a poor family.
Spare him his life from this monstrosity!
-- My apologies to Queen

Zoo York

I bet some of the kids who use downtown Plainfield as a skateboarding mecca would love the meet this guy. He skateboards for Zoo City, a company based in Manhattan which makes fancy skateboards, hip-hop skateboard clothes and accessories as well as putting on shows and exhibitions which you can find on YouTube. He was on the train last night on my way home from work and I had to ask him about the skateboards. He was kind enough to balance a few for a photo for me.

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