Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - May 10, 2015

Good Sunday morning to you! And, my best wishes for a happy Mother's Day to all! You've reached my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. Be sure to return on Wednesday evening for Survivor and then Friday night for The Amazing Race finale blog parties!

Some rather random thoughts and observations from this past week:

• I think I'm going to have to start wearing one of those surgical masks like many do in Japan. I seem to catch every bug going around the last few years. I had a stomach virus in the beginning of the week. The general public really needs to stop breathing on me!
• Along the lines of health (or lack thereof) -- they're dubbing this season the Pollen Tsunami. Achoo. Sniffle, sniffle.
• A 3,500 pound great white shark named Mary Lee has been swimming along the New Jersey shore. They've had a tracker on her since 2012. She hasn't attacked anyone ... yet. Cue the cello and get a bigger boat!
• Spring and autumn beauty passes way too quickly while winter white and drab lasts forever and summer seems to get stuck in time as well.
• I'm loving the nightly old clips on Letterman. I'm so going to miss him when he retires on May 20. The special this past Monday evening brought back many fond and funny memories. I wonder if he might have Richard Simmons back before the finale?
• My cat Vincent is way too spoiled. Too late to change things now!
• There's a ton of construction going on everywhere this spring -- Plainfield, Bound Brook, Bridgewater. I swear they must have save projects for a few years and then decided to do them all now. In my neighborhood, they redid all of the curb cuts. At work, they redid the entire road, curb cuts and installed a new sidewalk (for the first time). With all this road work going on in Plainfield, they seriously need to address some of the sidewalks.

That's about it. Onto the photos! Clicking on an image will bring up a larger version in a gallery.

There's been a horrible accident

Or ... was it a double flamingocide? Two fallen pink flamingos on a lawn at the corner of Richmond and East Front in Plainfield. Could the survivor be the murderer? I don't know. We should leave it up to the authorities and a jury of his peers.

Pink Azaleas

In the pink azaleas, the anthers boast an almost metallic look. No wonder bees don't seem to be attracted to them as much as some other flowers.

Pretty in purple-blue

Growing in a flower bed contraption outside of a mental health clinic on Roosevelt Street in Plainfield. I'd say flowers are good for mental health.

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

The Amazing Race 26 - May 8 Blog Party

 

It's Friday night -- time for The Amazing Race! Tonight is the penultimate show of the season, with the finale airing next Friday in the regular 8pm time slot.

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 is in the comments area. I hope to see you there. (And bring snacks. And beverages.)

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

Mike and Rochelle - Cheryl in NC, Laurie

Blair and Hayley - Terry in TX, Margo, Chris

Jelani and Jenny - Marlo, Lynn 1, dla

Tyler and Laura - Ed in OH, David, Nickelpeed

PHILIMINATED:

Jeff and Lyda - Jennasmom, Paula Bell, meb

Lebya and CJ - Donna in FL, PDXGranny 

Harley and Jonathan - Becky, Willie J 

Bergen and Kurt - Nana in NW, Rbennie

Jeffrey and Jackie - Brian, Donna in AL, ORKMommy

Aly and Steve - Jackie, SueGee 

Matt and Ashley - Delee, Merrilee

Let's get this show on the road! Teams are headed to the lower altitude area of Peru where they must search South America's largest mosaic tile wall with a magnifying glass to find their next clue.

Detour - Perform a national dance or make bricks for archeologists.

Mike and Rochelle are the only real dating couple -- not blind daters -- remaining in the race. I've grown to like them. Although unlikely, I would love to see them win.  Their car to the wall is not a healthy car. Fingers crossed for them! Uh-oh. Laura and Tyler, the last team to leave the Pit Stop, passed them. I do like Laura and Tyler, though. If I had my druthers, it would be one of the other two teams going home. I'm not keen on either Hayley or Jenny.

Hayley and Blair actually worked well together in the brick making/delivery detour and are in the lead. Mike and Rochelle are running last. 

Roadblock - Who wants to ride a seahorse? Has them going through the surf on a native handmade boat doohickey. 

Hayley and Blair are on the way to the Pit Stop. If Hayley had all season been as pleasant as she's been on this leg, I'd like her.

But I don't and she was nasty! 

It's looking dismal for Rochelle and Mike. They switched from bricks to dancing and are definitely trailing.  

Pit Stop --

1. Hayley and Blair - won a trip for two to India 

2. Jelani and Jenny 

Mike and Rochelle are finally on the way to the Roadblock while Laura and Tyler are finishing it up. 

3. Laura and Tyler 

4. Mike and Rochelle

HOWEVER, YOUR RACE IS NOT OVER! Whoopie! The final leg starts right now! They're still in it, but a team will be Philiminated before the finish line.

Survivor: Worlds Apart - May 6 Blog Party

Survivor fans ready?

While I'm not finding most of the castaways this season all that likable, recent happenings should provide interesting viewing for tonight. How will the others react to Mike's very public "save Shirin with my idol" bluff? Now, of course, they all know he has an idol. Thanks to Tyler's snooping, it's also known by some that Dan has two votes at a future tribal.

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

Before we get into the show, here are the latest blog pool standings from that Rockin' Lifeguard Laurie:

Carolyn - Jackie, TerryinTX
Dan - Brian, CherylinNC 
Mike - meb, Nickelpeed 
Rodney - Margo 
Sierra - Jennasmom 
Tyler - Donna in Alabama, ORK Mommy
Will - Rbennie 

Jury
Hali 
Joe
Jenn
Shirin

Let's get started!

Mike is just a bit too smug. The others are having a big kerfuffle over the votes that were from their own camp. Dan knows Will and Tyler cast votes for him. 

Tree Mail gives them the promise of food. 

Reward Challenge time. Divided into two teams, a convoluted walk through net, catapult balls into target. The reward is that they deliver supplies to a nearby orphanage with a big barbeque. Someone must sit out as they have seven. Dan, Tyler and Rodney. Carolyn, Sierra and Mike. Will can't play. 

Mike, Sierra and Carolyn win Reward. Rodney whines that it's his birthday and he hasn't been off the island. No one falls for it. "They just turned me into the psychotic person I am," Rodney tells us. Hmm. That would imply he was previously psychotic and they just triggered him.

Carolyn bonds a bit with Mike at the orphanage ... at least it might suit her game. Rodney continues to whine back at the camp. 

Rodney tells the guys at camp he's going to act crazy and wants to go home. Then they blindside Mike who won't use his idol because Rodney is the target. Yeah, right. I'm sure that will work. @@ 

When the others return to camp to Rodney's whining they should all just write his name down. Mike sees right through it. Tyler knows that he's still a target for Mike and wonders if Carolyn will save him with her idol.  

Immunity Challenge time. Balance over water on a small perch holding onto a rope with strategically placed knots. Every five minutes, they move their hands down a knot and increase the angle. Will is out, then Dan. Sierra out, then Rodney. Mike is down. Tyler is out. Carolyn wins Immunity again!

Carolyn suggests a split vote between Mike and Tyler. It will flush out Mike's idol. Will she use the idol on Tyler? Or will Dan go in a clever ruse? Carolyn is torn between her Tyler alliance or going with Mike. In talking to Tyler, she wants Dan ... or does she? She's worried about Dan's two vote advantage.

Tribal - Dan votes Mike, Mike votes Tyler.

Mike plays his idol. 

The tally -- Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Tyler, Tyler.

Tyler is gonzo. 

Jeff points out that everyone wants to take the weakest to the end.

For next season, we vote on returning castaways at CBS.com. Fun, fun, fun.

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - May 3, 2015

Good (late) Sunday morning to everyone! Welcome to my (late) off television topic reflection of the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. I ended up sleeping in later than planned this morning. Plus, I took WAY TOO MANY blossoms/spring photos this week. It took forever to load them into my Photobucket account and I had issues trying to get the slideshow function to work. Gah.

In happenings this week, plus a few random thoughts:

• The other day I heard a call on my scanner that the Plainfield Police were trying to catch a goat with a dog snare down the street from me. I thought it was related to the day care center near there -- you know, a kid visiting the kids. But apparently goats are a new thing (you can buy them on Amazon.com now); another call for a neighbor's goat in someone's yard not near the first incident happened as I was preparing this entry. Huh. I guess I'd rather have a goat living next door than a rooster. But, need I mention that this is a city?
• The children who shouldn't play in the hallway met Vincent this week. They love him. He tolerated them well. No, they cannot come over to play with Vincent. He's grounded for being a traitor.
• I'm more tired lately than a human should be. My allergies seem to get worse every year as I get older, too. However, spring is still one of my favorite seasons -- the other favorite being autumn. I could deal with spring and autumn year 'round, skipping summer and winter.
• My next staycation isn't until Memorial Day week. I must endure! I will endure! Then I will collapse and sleep for at least two days straight.

Onto the photos I took this week ... if you click on them, larger images will open in a gallery doohickey.

How I learn Spanish bit by bit

The work going on and closure of the bridge underpass by the Plainfield Train Station on Watchunghas taught me a few new words. Just don't mock my pronunciation! I edited this with the charcoal drawing mode of PhotoCat.com

NJ Transit Police

Upon seeing this vehicle and a half-dozen Transit cops at the Plainfield Train Station early on evening this week, I thought they were sweeping the annoying street vagrants away. Nope. Don't know what they were doing, but they were ignoring the street people who have now taken over the benches, the stairs, the shelters and more. 

I'm hoping this will work for you. As I mentioned above, I took way too many flower shots this week! I put most of them (well, the shots I really liked) in this slideshow. There's a heck of a lot of them. My apologies! Some from early in the week show buds that, by the end of the week, turned into full blooms. We've gone from daffodils to tulips and beyond. The magnolia blossoms are mostly gone in the wind by today while the light spring shades of green are noticeable on the trees. Even the poison ivy, growing at both the Bridgewater Train Station and along the fence by the Friends Meeting House cemetery in Plainfield are looking pretty.




If the slideshow doesn't load for you, you can check out the Photobucket "story" at this link. That too might take some time to load if you don't have a fast connection. I took way way too many flower photos!

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

The Amazing Race 26 - May 1 Blog Party

 

It's Friday night -- time for The Amazing Race! Since last week was a non-Philimination leg, we still have five teams as we race towards the May 15th season finale.

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 is in the comments area. I hope to see you there. (And bring snacks. And beverages.)

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

Mike and Rochelle - Cheryl in NC, Laurie

Matt and Ashley - Delee, Merrilee

Blair and Hayley - Terry in TX, Margo, Chris

Jelani and Jenny - Marlo, Lynn 1, dla

Tyler and Laura - Ed in OH, David, Nickelpeed

PHILIMINATED:

Jeff and Lyda - Jennasmom, Paula Bell, meb

Lebya and CJ - Donna in FL, PDXGranny 

Harley and Jonathan - Becky, Willie J 

Bergen and Kurt - Nana in NW, Rbennie

Jeffrey and Jackie - Brian, Donna in AL, ORKMommy

Aly and Steve - Jackie, SueGee 

Let's get this show on the road! 

The teams are heading to Peru. Laura and Tyler get a flight first, but will it be the first flight in? Blair/Hayley and Jenn/Jelani seem to have gotten a better flight -- 12 hours earlier. Yikes! Tyler and Laura, after celebrating Laura's birthday, just realized they could have booked an earlier flight. Matt/Ashley, Mike/Rochelle make the earlier flight. 

After watching fireworks in Peru, teams are off to get lost in taxis. 

Jenn and Jelani find the elusive clue at a shoe shine first while Hayley berates Blair. 

Roadblock - Who wants to take charge in the field? Work with a professional sugar cane cutter and harvest the crop. 

It looks like Matt/Ashley and Laura/Tyler will be totally lost as they follow wrong directions when they were right atop the shoe shine booth. 

Speed Bump - Matt and Ashley have to type (with a typewriter) a loan contract for llamas. 

They have to log their FitBit (more product placement as if we didn't have enough with cars) progress. They have to drink sugar cane juice and figure out how many steps they must take to burn it off.

Detour - Mamas or Papas. Mama's moonshine, find ingredients. Papas has them sorting and delivering potatoes. Jenny and Jelani remain in the lead. Matt and Ashley are trailing.

Uh-oh. When some of the potatoes were sorted wrong, the woman just dumped them on the ground. Jenny and Jelani lost their lead and Hayley/Blair are heading to the Pit Stop. 

Pit Stop

1. Hayley and Blair - Each won a FitBit fitness kit. Oh, gee. Wow. 

2. Jenn and Jelani 

3. Mike and Rochelle

4. Laura and Tyler 

5. Matt and Ashley -- Philiminated