The Amazing Race Blog Party - March 11, 2016

The show is starting! As it airs here on the East Coast, I'll post the major happenings live. Refresh the page to get the latest! However, as it always is ... the real party is in the comments area. Please join in on the fun! (And bring tasty beverages and snacks!)

The Magnificent Margo (and Mom) have made the random picks for the blog pool and here they are ...
Tyler & Korey-P- Paula Bell, Bruce & Ray, SueGee
Burnie & Ashley- Buzzmaam, Delee
Erin & Joslyn- Brian, Margo, Rbennie
Sheri & Cole- Donna in FL, Merrilee, Becky
Zach & Rachel- Sharon N, Nana in NW
Dana & Matt- Grandi, Nicklepeed
Scott & Blair- Meb, Jennasmom
Kurt & Brodie- David, Ed in OH

Philiminated:
Marty & Hagan- Jackie, Willie J
Cameron & Darius- chrob61, PDXGranny
Jessica & Brittany- Donna in AL, Monty924

Amazing Race fans ready? Let's GO!

Teams have to find certain cars in Chamonoix  to get their next clue. Then they're going up to the top of the highest mountain in Europe in a gondola car. They're set for a mountain hike. In ice and snow, of course. They're going up with mountain guides.

Yikes! They have to ascend snow stairs and then take a hand powered kind of zip line among high peaks to retrieve their clue.

Detour: Dynamite -- must deliver explosives and lunch to experts. After the pros explode the dynamite to control avalanches, they will get their next clue. Campsite has them setting up a snow camp.

The dynamite detour is very treacherous ... especially for those afraid of heights.

Alpha Boys Kurt and Brodie are in the lead. The Roadblock has them para-gliding and answering a question regarding it to get the next clue.

Erin and Joslyn are wandering about clueless looking for lunch.

Now Tyler has overtaken the Alpha Dude. (Alpha Dude crashed on take-off.) Tyler spots the (clue) Yeti with a Frnech flag.

Cole is having issues with the heights. Poor guy.

Pit Stop:
1. Tyler and Korey - won a trip to the Phillipines
2. Brodie and Kurt (Alpha Boys)
3. Dana and Matt
4. Scott and Blair
5. Zach and Rachel

Erin just can't get the take-off done.

6. Burnie and Ashley
7. Cole and Sheri
8. Erin and Joslyn - Philiminated.

The next episode will air April 1st. I assume that's due to March Madness basketball.

Survivor: Kaoh Rong Blog Party - March 9, 2016

Survivor fans ready? As the show airs, 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. Please join us there. We like snacks.

Lifeguard Laurie is running the pool, but that doesn't mean you can run around the pool. It's slippery, y'know!

Here are the random match-ups:
Chan Loh - Brains
Peter Baggenstos - Jackie, Tammy
Neal Gottlieb - Merrilee, JoyzJenn
Debbie Wanner - meb, Rbennie
Aubry Braco - Jennasmom, Glenn
Joseph Del Campo - Grandi, Petals

Gondol - Beauty
Tai Trang - Margo, anonymouse
Nick Maiorano - Laurie, ML
Anna Khait - monty924 , SueGee from the Left Coast
Michele Fitzgerals - Brian TCC, Kelsey NY
Julia Sokolowski - Indiana Jane, Nickelpeed
Caleb Reynolds - Ed in Ohio, Stephanie in Baltimore

To Tang - Brawn
Kyle Jason - Nana in the NW, Sharon N.
Alecia Holen - Becky, Donna NY
Scot Pollard - Delee, Pinky
Cydney Gillon - Leo Lionharted, PDX Granny

Torch has been snuffed:
Darnell Hamiltonn - free play!
Jennifer Lanzetti - David, Paula Bell
Elizabeth Markham - Donna in FL, Terry is a Texan

Let's get this party started!

We're starting off this week with Jeff telling us about the brutally hot weather at Kaoh Rong. Then we get a brief recap of each tribe's times so far. Fifteen are left. Who will be voted out tonight? 

On Brains, Debbie thinks she should be called The Mastermind. Peter is still shocked. He thinks his tribe is no longer strong. Oh, well. 

My gosh ... it's right to the Immunity Challenge! Racing through obstacles, digging under walls, digging for bags of balls, rolling the balls into holes on a platform. Reward is a huge array of spices, second place gets salt and pepper.

They're all digging for the bags of balls. The camera goes to slow motion and the sun. All are exhausted. Brains finally got the last bag of balls first. Brains win it while the other two tribes are still digging for bags. Beauty now has their three bags.

Debbie (the Mastermind) thinks she has heat stroke and the medics are called in.

Brawn finally have their bags and the game is on.  Beauty wins second place and Brawn will go to Tribal once again. 

Oh. And, Debbie lived. 

Now Caleb has passed out. Cydney is about to be next. The show's entire crew get called in to help the fallen. Oh, noes! Has Caleb died?!?! (We know he hasn't, but it's onto commercial.)

They're giving him fluids, but Jeff just called for the chopper. It's an evacuation! Caleb might be out of the game. Yep, Caleb is a goner as far as the show goes. Rats. I liked him here so much more than on BB. Tai is devastated as is the rest of his tribe. He's been the strongest on it.

On Brawn it's a kerfuffle between Alecia and Scot.  

No Tribal and it's onto another Immunity Challenge. Race into jungle, climb up ladder, retrieve puzzle pieces. Two others dive for puzzle pieces. 

Brains wins first place! Beauty gets second place and Brawn will go to Tribal. 

Scot tells Jeff that Alecia has a zero chance of staying. Jason and Scot are willing to have Tribal right there, but Alecia balks. So, it's now onto the real Tribal Council. It sounds like a clear-cut decision to send her home.

The tally:
Alecia, Scot, Alecia, Alecia.

No surprises there. But now Brawn is down to three. Yikes.

Next week, it's Drop Your Buffs time. Whether it's the merge or a reshuffling, I don't know. But Brawn can't continue to go on with only three tribe members.

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - March 6, 2016

Good Sunday morning to you! Since it is indeed Sunday, that means just one thing ... 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. Please stop back for live blogging of Survivor and The Amazing Race on show nights!

Our weather wasn't technically as wacky this past week as it has been all this winter. Instead of the record highs/lows roller coaster, we pretty much just maintained wintry cold weather all week. Snow had its (hopefully) last gasp Wednesday night into Thursday morning. It wasn't a bad snow at all, sticking mainly to unpaved surfaces, trees and cars. The sidewalks had few slippery spots as I walked. They claim that we might have record-breaking high temperatures this week on Wednesday. I'm off from work that day.

I have a four-day work week ahead. I requested Saturday off as a paid vacation day due to rumors of a "soft strike" lead-in to an NJ Transit rail workers strike planned for next Sunday if they don't resolve issues before then. I don't feel like having an iffy commute with buses and such on a weekend when I work late. I'm hoping there will be no strike. But, if there is, I have a combination of walking, buses and getting rides to bus stops on the work end of things if it comes to fruition. I'm not looking forward to it. It's going to be extremely inconvenient and leave me on the city streets late at night some nights when that's the last place I want to be for safety reasons. Plus, it will add hours onto my workdays. Sigh.

I don't have much for you other than the photos I took this past week. Clicking on an image will bring it up in a larger version. Have a great day!

Se compra oro

Alas, I have no oro to sell them. Looks like they buy and sell many things. One day I should peek in there. Park Avenue, Plainfield.

Snowy morning

The tree in front of the local Presbyterian Church held the snow nicely. I edited this photo to leave only two orange lamps by a doorway in color.

What a blue sky!

No, I did nothing with the color on this shot! I had some condensation on my lens which made the lights a bit streaky. It's finally not totally dark when I get home from work three days out of five. Plainfield Train Station.

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

The Amazing Race Blog Party - March 4, 2016

The show is starting! As it airs here on the East Coast, I'll post the major happenings live. Refresh the page to get the latest! However, as it always is ... the real party is in the comments area. Please join in on the fun! (And bring tasty beverages and snacks!)

The Magnificent Margo (and Mom) have made the random picks for the blog pool and here they are ...
Tyler & Korey-P- Paula Bell, Bruce & Ray, SueGee
Burnie & Ashley- Buzzmaam, Delee
Erin & Joslyn- Brian, Margo, Rbennie
Sheri & Cole- Donna in FL, Merrilee, Becky
Zach & Rachel- Sharon N, Nana in NW
Dana & Matt- Grandi, Nicklepeed
Jessica & Brittany- Donna in AL, Monty924
Scott & Blair- Meb, Jennasmom
Kurt & Brodie- David, Ed in OH

Philiminated:
Marty & Hagan- Jackie, Willie J
Cameron & Darius- chrob61, PDXGranny

Amazing Race fans ready? Let's GO!

Teams are on their way to Geneva, Switzerland. All teams are to be on the same flight, so we have a bunching point. Lots of talk about Blair having a crush on Brodie. Hmm. It seems like he kind of likes her, too!

The first clue leads them to a place which doesn't open until morning. So, Brodie and Blair got in some cuddle time.

Detour: Workbench or Bench Work -- They have to assemble 27 Swiss Army Knives. Or, the latter is saying how many people can sit on the bench touted as the longest in the world.

Both Detours seem quite tough.

Although Brodie and Kurt made it through the bench sitting/counting spaces first and shared their answers, the others in that detour had to go through the motions again. They're the first through to the next clue, then Tyler and Korey finished the knives detour. So, the two leading teams are leading once again.

Brittany and Jessica didn't get the Alpha Boys answer, so they seem to be the only ones still stuck on the bench.

One thing I've noticed with these basically younger Internet quasi-related teams is that the teams are more friendly with each other than we've seen in many other seasons. That may change when the win gets closer. But there's no animosity between teams.

Roadblock: "Who is Having a Banner Day?" Teams have to identify ten flags of ten countries which were original members of the United Nations. (Where's Sheldon Cooper and Fun With Flags?)

Burnie and Ashley get done first and are headed to France for the Pit Stop.

Brittany and Jessica are the last team to arrive at the Roadblock. The remaining teams there are all already working together and they feel shunned.

Now, after two separate groups taking two different trains, all the teams are on the same connecting train heading to the Pit Stop ... except Brittany and Jessica.

1. Brodie and Kurt first - 3,000 each
2. Tyler and Korey
All the other teams converged on the mat so quickly, I lost track.

9. Brittany and Jessica -- Philiminated

Survivor: Kaoh Rong Blog Party - March 2, 2016

Survivor fans ready? As the show airs, 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. Please join us there. We like snacks.

Lifeguard Laurie is running the pool, but that doesn't mean you can run around the pool. It's slippery, y'know!

Here are the random match-ups:
Chan Loh - Brains
Elizabeth Markham - Donna in FL, Terry is a Texan
Peter Baggenstos - Jackie, Tammy
Neal Gottlieb - Merrilee, JoyzJenn
Debbie Wanner - meb, Rbennie
Aubry Braco - Jennasmom, Glenn
Joseph Del Campo - Grandi, Petals

Gondol - Beauty
Tai Trang - Margo, anonymouse
Nick Maiorano - Laurie, ML
Anna Khait - monty924 , SueGee from the Left Coast
Michele Fitzgerals - Brian TCC, Kelsey NY
Julia Sokolowski - Indiana Jane, Nickelpeed
Caleb Reynolds - Ed in Ohio, Stephanie in Baltimore

To Tang - Brawn
Kyle Jason - Nana in the NW, Sharon N.
Alecia Holen - Becky, Donna NY
Scot Pollard - Delee, Pinky
Cydney Gillon - Leo Lionharted, PDX Granny

Torch has been snuffed:
Darnell Hamiltonn - free play!
Jennifer Lanzetti - David, Paula Bell

Let's get this party started!

Alecia tells Cydney she wants Scot to go. She seems to be barking up the wrong tree there.

Meanwhile, Tai wants to bark up the right tree and retrieve the key to hidden idol he knows is there. He gets what he wants -- the key to the idol and the idol. He kisses trees, the idol and he would kiss Caleb if he was there!

The idol is one part of a Super Idol. If he finds the second fitting idol, it can be used AFTER the vote is read. (A new twist going on there!)

On Brains, Debbie (the wackadoodle) wants to target Liz. She doesn't like Peter, but feels they need him for challenges. She's all secret agent gal around camp. 

Beauty is thinking of killing one of their chickens for food. Caleb, the voice of reason (oh my), is thinking of how Tai will feel about it. The deed goes down with Tai holding the chicken for Caleb to chop off its head. Tai is accepting the fate but is sad anyway. 

Anna trusts Caleb and Tai and wants to pull them in against Nick. She sees right through his fake smiles. 

On Brawn, Scot is in search of an idol. Alecia is looking, too. Kyle (Jason) sees Cydney and Alecia searching. Heh. Cydney has Alecia go away and she gets the locked idol box similar to what Tai found at his camp. When confronted, Cydney tells Jason and Scot about the clue and they run off. Now Alecia's there as Jason finds the clue. All of them are off running. Scot and Jason are trying to get the key down. Jason snags the key when it falls.

Immunity Challenge time! They have to jump off into water, swim to boat, retrieve bags of rice, balance beams, search for balls in the rice, maze ... sheesh, just a bit convoluted! Reward is a choice for first place -- comfort or emotional items. Second place gets what first didn't choose. 

Beauty wins first place! Brawn actually wins second place! It will be Brains going to Tribal. Beauty chooses comfort, so Brawn gets their emotional items. It might be emotional enough for them to not lose another member!

Peter thinks Neal will get the boot. He doesn't know that Secret Agent Debbie has been working against him. Or, his ally Liz anyway. Neal is suspicious. Peter thinks he's the one in charge. We'll see about that. 

Debbie promises us a total blindside (either Peter or Liz). And, it's time for Tribal.  Jeff asks his Probsting questions. 

The Tally:
Aubry, Aubry, Peter, Peter, Liz, Liz. A three-way tie with a re-vote. Peter, Liz and Aubry cannot vote and the others must vote for one of them.

The Re-Tally:
Liz, Liz ... 

Liz is out. Secret Agent Gal was right.