The Amazing Race 26 - Casting the Singles, Part One

I think this "blind date" bit for a twist this season might be rather interesting. Perhaps the five couples will be strangers at the start. However, by the end they'll have shared a special experience and should either love or hate each other.

Oh. That's kind of like the established already couples on the show. Never mind. Let's check these people out:

KURT

Hmm. He seems to place more emphasis on physical qualities in his "blind date" than the real stuff of a relationship. Now, I'm not talking physical qualities as in what's needed to endure and compete in the race. Nope. He's talking the shallow stuff.

Kurt Jordan Belcher is 24 years old and hails from Butler, Kentucky. His online bio kind of confirms the video with little else thrown in there for us to ponder. He's matched up with ...

BERGEN

Bergen Olson is 23 and currently living in Sunnyvale, California. He's originally from Minnesota. While Kurt tends to go for such deep things as good looks and muscles, it seems that Bergen tends towards more laudable traits in his online bio -- good personality, sense of humor and commitment. That conflicts a bit with what he says in the video (in which he's also going for looks a lot). Overall, I think I like him better than I do Kurt. Neither has ever been out of the country.

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JELANI

Jelani Roy is a 32 year old lawyer from New York City, New York. I like him. He comes across as both smart and knowing that the concept of the date is to WIN THE AMAZING RACE. Unlike the first person in the last couple I looked at, Jelani seems a lot more laid-back regarding any sort of romance. It sounds like, to him, if that happens ... cool. If not ... he still wants to win the race. In his bio, he mentions the fact that he passed the NYS bar exam on the first try. He seems confident and I'd certainly partner up with the dude! He's matched up with ...

JENNY

Jenny Wu is a 32 year old lawyer/blogger from Los Angeles, California. A blogger! Woot! Woot! I think she's got a good match with Jelani. She doesn't seem to be searching for the love of her life -- she wants someone she can work with. Unlike Kurt (and to a lesser extent, Bergen), she wants strengths of the mind, humor and athleticism. In her bio, she mentions photography being a hobby. I already like her! A relationship deal-breaker for her is "an aversion to desserts." Boy, I like this gal. I'm not sure if she'll see any resemblance to Leonardo DiCaprio in Jelani, but she'll get over it. I think these two could be contenders!

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HALEY

Haley Keel is looking for the win and the man of her dreams. Okay. Haley is 28 years old, a registered nurse currently residing in St. Petersburg, Florida. She original hails from Ohio. She's um ... perky, bubbly and upbeat it seems. I personally don't do those traits, but more power to her. She's intelligent and likes to do athletic kind of things. Having a need to control might not work in her favor seeing that she's on a blind date race around the world. We'll see. She's partnered with ...

BLAIR

Blair Townsend is a 31 year old physician from Amelia Island, Florida. He's originally from Virginia. Obviously, TAR is really trying to set up relationships here -- lawyer/lawyer, doctor/nurse. From his online bio, he mentions doing Ironman competitions and such. Haley should like that! I really like how he came across in his video. If Haley is strong, these two could make a formidable team on the show. I think I like him more than her. Bubbly tends to get on my nerves. Hopefully she won't be bubbly on the show. (No offense meant for those who enjoy bubbly.)

What do you think of these matches?

The new season premieres Wednesday, February 25.

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - July 27, 2014

Good morning! Welcome to my weekly off television topic photo post! If you're looking for my Big Brother coverage, you can find those posts right here at this link. This particular post is one I do each Sunday morning throughout the year, BB or not! I reflect on the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way.

Alas, I didn't have a great photography week. It seemed like I was always rushing or conditions just weren't right. Oh well, there will be many more photos to take in my life.

I'm going to go once again with some random thoughts from the week:

• Last night as I arrived home to my New Jersey 'hood, I had to hear two competing Mexican Polka Bands. Ack! One was at a house near the corner of my block -- they were having a huge child's birthday party with a bouncy-house and all set up in the front lawn. As I walked by, they sang Happy Birthday, then WHAM into Mexican Polka! The second band was at the usual suspect house in back of my apartment. Even with my windows closed, a fan and the AC on, I could hear the thump-thump of the music. It lasted until nearly midnight.
• Two very young misbehaving children on the NJ Transit train were yelling and carrying on without any effort on the part of the parents to control them. When the piped announcement said, "Watch out for the gap when exiting." -- the girl cried out, "Cat? Where's a cat?" (I'll admit that was cute.) Her mother told her, "Gap. Watch out for the gap." The girl asked, "What's a gap?" I almost said, "A gap is a monster that swallows children who don't behave." I bit my tongue.
• There's an abundance of lightning bugs around here this year. If I were several decades younger, I'd be all over that!
• My cable and power were out on separate days this week, each for about six hours, neither due to a storm. Of course, my cable could have also been out while my power was out. I have no way of knowing.
• I panicked a bit when I saw Vincent pursuing a long dark quick bug along the floor into the kitchen. Ah. A carpenter ant. Not that I want those in my apartment, but it must have somehow strayed in from outside. As I predicted, I have had no influx of bugs by refusing to have my apartment fogged with poisonous junk.
• Oh. And Vincent killed the carpenter ant and then wondered why it wouldn't play with him anymore.

Onto this week's photos --

Early morning sun

Although the days are getting shorter, it's not to the point that I'm seeing the sunrise on my walk to the train station. We have been lucky in that we haven't seen many actual heat waves so far this summer (temps over 90 for three days or more). But we've had a lot of humid days and it's been a summer for lots of thunderstorms. I took this shot on Church Street in Plainfield.

Cool old car!

I have no clue exactly what make and model this is, but it sure is cool. There was an older man driving it. While he'd be too young to be the original owner, he seemed appropriate for the car. Watchung Avenue, Plainfield.

Looking up!

This Eastern Swallowtail Butterfly flew over my head at the Bridgewater Train Station. I was delighted to see I actually captured a halfway decent photo of him.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK FOR THE WEEKLY FLOWER SLIDESHOW AND THE REST OF THE PHOTOS!**

Big Brother 16: Live Feeds into Thursday - July 24

Frankie is with friends

The news of Frankie's grandfather's death resulted in a bit more somber house Wednesday evening. Here's the latest from inside that Big Brother House of Sad Moments:

• Frankie and Cody can never figure out what's going on in Zach's head.
• I don't think Zach knows what's going on in Zach's head, so they shouldn't worry themselves about it.
• Alone in the HoH room, Frankie addressed the cameras and discussed his relationship with his grandfather and the letter from his mother announcing his passing.
• He talked a long time about his family.
• They want him to stay in the house.
• So, he will.
• Then he cried. Probably many watching cried as well.
• I did.
• Brittany went to bed early. All of her campaigning must have caught up with her.
• Caleb stared at Amber from his bed for a long time.
• Creepy.
• Jocasta is sick again. I'd hate to see her on slop if she gets sick on their regular food!
• Zach mimicked Caleb's desire for Amber.
• Whoops, Brittany isn't done for the night yet! She's up again and mingling.
• Derrick and Victoria talked about Victoria's photography business.
• Yawn.
• They discussed hamsters from previous seasons.
• Move along; nothing to see here ...

What am I doing here?

What am I doing here?

I'm here to win

Big Brother and Me (and you, too!)

Greetings, fellow hamster fans! Since we have some new folks coming aboard each season for the show, I thought I'd post a bit of the history of the blog, what we do, the blog community and more! If you're a returning blog community, a lot of this will be old news to you. Not to worry -- we'll have enough new news in just a few days!

Who am I?
I'm Jackie. I run the place here. I started watching Big Brother in its first season and hosted the AOL Message Boards for the show as well as some of the AOL chats. When blogs came to being more popular, I happened to be out of work with knee surgery the summer of BB6. Unlike Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window, I had no neighbors committing murders. So, I turned my interest to another form of voyeurism -- a Big Brother blog on the now defunct AOL Journals product.

I decided I wanted to cover the live feeds in addition to show reviews. (I've had the live feeds every season, even the first one with its chicken coop cam!) But, since I'm just one person, there's no way I could post every breath the hamsters take 24/7. So, I created a bulleted listing, sort of a Reader's Digest condensed version of what struck me, the major happenings and just stuff I wanted to report. Very few blogs were doing the live feeds at that time.

My blog did so well that I was soon writing show reviews and live feeds reports for Blogcritics, then AOL Television, eventually getting picked up as a freelance writer for TV Squad (AOL Television, now Huffington Post). Along the way, as I wrote the paid reviews of the show, I thought I was shortchanging my own blog community -- that's when I came up with the blog parties on show nights.

During each show as it airs on the East Coast, I put up a blog party post. In the post, while I don't write a review per se, I post the major happenings on the show. Oh, sometimes I interject my own opinions in it. But, hey ... it's my place, right? The parties are actually in the comments area where dedicated show fans in this community post their thoughts throughout the show. We share cyberdrinks and eat lots of fattening food without gaining a pound during these parties!

Alas, the AOL Journal product died and it's no longer available, even cached. The paid gig went away when Huffington Post took over and didn't want freelance writers. But, this blog remains! It's actually a year-round blog and includes Survivor and The Amazing Race, plus my own weekly off television topic photography post.

As I watch the hamster introductions and those who claim to be "superfans," I can only think that I would have to qualify as a super-über-fan or something of that ilk with my BB history! I'm not stupid enough to go on the show, though.

But I couldn't have done it without you! Over the years, the blog community members have stepped up to the plate -- from Zoetawny creating cool gifs for the blog to ORKMommy (and Lifeguard Laurie and Margo) running the blog pools! The community we've built here on the blog is definitely opinionated, but generally respectful of others. Now, that's a rarity these days!

I do monitor the comments and ask that others talk about the houseguests, not their fellow commenters and that comments are kept to a PG level. I'm also not keen on people making nasty comments about the physical aspects (or religion, gender, any racial or sexual slurs, etc.) of various hamsters, nor coming up with nasty names to call them. Heck, sometimes I don't even know who people are talking about when they call a hamster other than his name! I don't like to remove comments, but will remove trolling comments or flame wars. The First Amendment does NOT apply to a blog, y'see!

That said, I go into each season hoping never to have to delete a comment. We'll see how this season does! We do have lots of fun here. We've found out that you can have fun without being hateful. That's a good thing! New commenters are always welcomed by the group, too. We're not exclusive -- the more the merrier!

What you can expect posting-wise from the blog:

• Once the live feeds start up -- Thursday night/Friday morning 1am -- I will regularly be doing two to three live feeds reports daily, along with screen caps.
• On show nights, I'll post a blog party coinciding with the East Coast airing of the show. I turn off the word verification on comments, so comments during the party are very free-flowing. You're all welcome to attend!
• When endurance comps go on after the show, I'll provide real-time coverage from the live feeds -- along with screen caps and the winner.
• Even though most comps are blocked to the live feeds, we find out shortly after who won what. Since I'm the only one posting entries, I guarantee that any winners I post actually won. Unlike some sites where anyone can post false information (and sometimes they do here in comments, but I remove false info comments), if I post something, it's because I saw it for myself. And, you can bet your bippy on that!
• This blog, with the exception of the blog party show nights, is all about spoilers. We generally know who won PoV and nominations more than a couple of days before it's shown on the air.
• We also get to know the hamsters outside of any CBS edit, plus when they show situations out of order.
• I also have a Big Brother on Jackie's TV Blog Facebook page where I link any posts I make on the blog. Occasionally I put other content on there, too. If you "like" that page, you'll know the moment I post here on the blog.
• I also link updates to this blog on Twitter, but tend not to really twitter much otherwise.
• I also have a personal Facebook page, but try not to post much on Big Brother on that page as it overwhelms the page. Believe it or not, many of my friends and family aren't into the show! Yikes! That's why I created a separate page mainly for BB. Most of my BB posts on that will be directing people to the show FB page.

SOOOO ... wanna come aboard the party boat for Big Brother 16?

You can get into the blog pool at THIS LINKED POST -- the cut-off for the blog pool is Sunday night, midnight EDT. Please only sign up on the linked post as we might miss your request on other posts.

The first blog party of the season will start on Wednesday night, 8pm EDT. Be there or be square.

Big Brother 16: Cast Revealed

The big cast reveal was today. Hmm. Again, we have little diversity in age or race amongst the hamsters and it looks like they shot for folks who look good in bathing suits and/or might go for some hanky-panky under the covers. (Hopefully UNDER the covers! I don't want to see THAT!)

That said, it does seem like they aimed for more than the mindless unemployed bartenders for the most part this season. I'll be going more into the cast over the days leading up to the season premiere, but here's a quick lowdown --

Coming from a family with a single mother and raised in low-income housing, Amber Borzatra says she'll do anything to win. Um. Okay.

Brittany Martinez in the mother of three children. (Who's watching the kids?) She's divorced after eight years of marriage and thinks she's sneaky because she once faked labor to get out of a traffic ticket.

Caleb Reynolds served in the military as a jail guard in Iraq. His family owns a hunting business. He wears a cowboy hat. Hmm.

Christine Brecht has been to Disneyland over 50 times and has lived to tell the tale. She also was in a hot air balloon accident in high school and lived to tell that tale as well. Will she make it though Big Brother?

Cody Calafiore gives teenage girls dating and fashion advice in Seventeen magazine. He likes chick flicks and was drafted to a professional soccer team in college, but an injury blew that for him.

Derrick Levasseur might be the brains of this operation. He had a full baseball scholarship to college, went on to get his Business Administration Masters, He started police work as an undercover agent at 20 and has been a sergeant for ten years. How come he looks 22? I'm feeling old now.

Devin Sheperd played pro baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. Oh. And he's tall. He bio bit was really a bit!

Donny Thompson comes from a small town where he was the janitor in Kelly Pickler's high school. (Remember, American Idol country gal?) He's never been on a plane. Well, I bet he didn't WALK to California to be on the show! So, now he's been on a plane and is all kinds of worldly.

Frankie Grande is a former Broadway actor. (Never heard of him.) He's also a YouTube sensation. (Never heard of him.) His sister is pop star Ariana Grande. (Never heard of her. But I'll admit modern pop isn't my area of expertise.)

No, not OUR Hayden! Hayden Voss is a pedi-cab driver who recently moved to Los Angeles. (Probably looking for that big break. He's more the typical hamster we get.) He plans on using his "surfer dude" persona to win. Good luck with that.

Jocasta Odom is a minister who says she'll swear on the bible to win and plays pranks on her husband. Well, that's different, I guess.

Joey Van Pelt -- perhaps a relative of Linus and Lucy -- was the big girl on campus in her high school. She was the team mascot (a tiger), homecoming queen and class president. She's liberal, big on recycling and wants to save the world. Or something like that.

Nicole Franzel has wanted to be on Big Brother since she was EIGHT. Eep. What was she doing watching this show at that age? That should be the sign of a superfan. Then she goes and says she'd like a showmance with someone like Ian. @@

Now, Paola Shea just might be a contender. She's a Maxim magazine girl, a top-rated gamer and wants to be the best female DJ ever. The gamer part could definitely work in her favor.

Victoria Rafaeli isn't our standard hamster. She was raised by Israeli parents and is expected to live at home until marriage. Did she bother telling her parents about this? My gosh, I hope they don't get the live feeds! She started her own photography business at 19.

Zach Rance recently received his degree in economics. He thinks of himself as a con artist. Well, that goes well with his chosen academics, doesn't it? Lofty goals in mind, he wants to be a professional caddy.

So, there they are. I haven't really looked into their ages much, but it's doubtful that more than one or two are over 30 even and probably none over 40. What do you think?

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - November 3, 2013

Hello, welcome to Sunday! This is my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way. Later tonight I'll be posting the Amazing Race blog party post. If you watch the show, please come join in on the fun as the show airs!

Did you set your clocks back an hour? This is the time change I enjoy rather than that annoying "spring forward" change. I recall last year that wasn't the case, though. Last year I was still deep into a power outage from Hurricane Sandy -- daylight was precious and not to be wasted. As I wasn't working the clock change day, I actually slept in. When I awoke and realized (thanks to my cell phone) that it would be dark an hour earlier in the evening, I almost cried. My candles and batteries were both running low at that time into the ordeal. No open stores for miles seemed have any. Thankfully I had plenty of batteries for my MP3 player which is also a radio. That was my big link with the outside world.

Last year at this time I was living in a weird post-Sandy surreal kind of existence. This year was much different. Our weather this week was mostly sunny with above seasonal temperatures. Overnight last night, the colder air crept in. Oh well, it is that time of year. Last year around this time we had snow on top of the Sandy woes. I can't complain.

On Wednesday it was overcast, but I made my way over to Westfield for a Mindowaskin Park and Trader Joe's visit. As a result, lots of fall foliage and (of course) duck shots in today's entry. I've always loved Trader Joe's, but thought it was small and cramped. Oh my gosh, I love it even more now because it's more than doubled in size! I noticed during my latest visit that, in addition to the wine and beer they carry, they now have a small section of actual hard liquor. Most are name brands, but I did pick up a bottle of Trader Joe's brand "Rum of the Gods." It was very reasonably priced and I think I'll make cookies with it and have an occasional rum and Coke. I'm not a big drinker, but I occasionally will imbibe.

The kids actually had Halloween in the city this year after two years of it being canceled. Last year was Sandy, the year before a six inch snowstorm. Both resulted in downed wires and downed trees for Halloween. Even though the holiday was on, I kept up with having no trick-or-treaters here at my apartment. I haven't had any for the dozen years I've lived here. As I arrived back in town after work, I did see the downtown streets full of children in costume. Good for them!

On Saturday, I had the day off from work to attend the Plainfield Library Photo Contest Exhibition opening and awards presentation. Going into the contest this year, I had trouble with the theme of "Plainfield Celebrates." I usually work on Saturdays when they hold the fun city events.  I also had trouble getting the Saturday off to attend the event as a new boss didn't like the short notice although I've said I needed a Saturday off in November for nearly two months. I just didn't know which one!

Much to my surprise, I won first prize for a photo I really love, but thought too somber for a win. I won a third place prize for a photo I took the 4th of July parade the last knee replacement recovery summer (which is why I had the parade Saturday off). And I won a Special Time Capsule Award for a photo I took during Sandy recovery, the only Sandy-related photo entered. The photos in the competition become a part of the local history archives in the library. Just as we look back on photos of days gone by, someday in the future folks will be checking these photos out for a clue about what our lives are like.

On the home front, the workers showed up yesterday to do Crazy Joe's (across the hall) windows and the common area/stairway windows. It's amazing how much better the building looks with all the new windows! I think the only windows which remain to be done are the ones in the stairway by the elevator. They'll probably show up this morning to do them. If my "huge" five dollar rent increase hadn't gone down in the beginning of September, I'd be very worried about a rent hike with all the building improvements.

Eep, this is way long-winded and there are tons of photos, as well. Let's get to it! If you click on an image, it will take you to the Photobucket page with a larger image. Close that page to return directly back to the blog!

Eagle! Bald eagle in flight!

Unfortunately I didn't get any great photos of it. I spotted it flying over my workplace near the Bridgewater Train Station. At first I thought it was a large hawk, but then I noticed the white head and tail. EAGLE! Woot! Woot! I watched it for nearly a half-hour. Alas, it decided to either fly too high or to soar too fast when flying low and this was the best shot I got of it. But, man ... an eagle here in Central Jersey! While I've seen some in the far north part of the state and also in Connecticut, it's a first for here.

True dat

In front of the First Unitarian Society of Plainfield on Park Avenue. I also can't help but notice the Amazing Taste lunch truck in the background. Mmm.

What? Mums again? Yes!

These were growing in a planter on Elm Street in Westfield.

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

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - October 20, 2013

Good morning! It's Sunday morning, yep. You know what that means. It's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way. Later tonight we'll have The Amazing Race blog party. I do hope to see you there!

I do have a few television related things I'd like to bring up before I get into the week. Odd, but both have to do with commercials --

First, I see the YouTube "Kid President" is now on the Meineke commercials. Very nice. Not only is his upbeat attitude infectious, but he has some serious health issues -- he has a brittle bone disease and has suffered over 70 broken bones so far in his life. It's good when good things happen to someone who's had their share of bad.

Second, as I was watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine (one of the only new sitcoms I haven taken to so far this year), I was wondering if there would be an Allstate "Mayhem" commercial as Dean Winters was the guest. Yup, there was!

Okay, enough television for the off television topic post!

My week started last Sunday morning -- yes, it always does, but this was different! Workmen showed up to rip out my old original (about 50 years old) windows and replace them. What an ordeal that was! They were supposed to have been here the day before, but switched to Sunday. That's good in a way as I was home on Sunday, not Saturday. The project lasted from about 9am until 1pm, partially because the contractors were doing another apartment at the same time. I wouldn't want them in here when I wasn't home and the super (whom I trust) can't be everywhere at once. Poor Vincent was trapped in the bathroom for all that time. There's a window in there, but it only leads out to the ventilation chute. That one wasn't replaced.

The landlord who bought this building about a year and a half ago has really made many improvements. New attractive glass entrance doors on the side and front. Railings for the steps at the door in the rear as well as a raised platform for the exit -- rain water used to puddle right in front of the door. New washers and dryers in the laundry room. Brighter lighting in the stairways and halls. IF the elevator goes wonky, it's fixed within a day.  They also installed a new emergency phone in there -- one I'm less likely to accidentally set off while toting packages or bags. Heck, they even fixed the light on the first floor button in the elevator. I can't recall that working in the past ten years. This landlord is the first (out of four since I've lived here) who has actually stopped ALL the leaks from the apartment above me! And, they only raised my rent $5 this year.

All that said, I do wish they'd watch how many people, including children, live in the apartments. I don't see how, when the building is only studio, one bedroom and two bedroom units, people can have five kids in an apartment ... often with two adults! There's a sticker from 1983 inside one of my kitchen cabinets saying my unit passed inspection and maximum occupancy is two tenants. Mine is a one bedroom. I guess that's all changed, huh?

In other news, I had good news this past week on the personal front. At least, good prospective news. I'll go more into things when (and if) they come to fruition. One has to do with blogging, the other with photography. Ah, two of my passions! 

The weather this past week wasn't as dreary as the last few. What rain we had confined itself to the overnight hours. As it should, of course! So, I got in some decent photos. This week it's supposed to be about ten degrees cooler on the average. That's okay with me. I have new less drafty windows!

Red leaves in the sun

Although the leaves are growing more sparse, the color is glorious at this tree outside the Friends Meeting House (Quakers) on Watchung Avenue in Plainfield.

Late season bee

This one's working the spotted knapwood at the Bridgewater Train Station.

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

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - December 9, 2012

It's Sunday morning. Yay. I'd say that means I can sleep in, but obviously I'm not really doing that. But sitting around sipping coffee in my robe and fuzzy slippers isn't anything like heading out to work for the day. So, I'll take that any day! It also means that it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken.

Hmm ... this week certainly isn't going to go down in the annals of exciting times in my life. I'm pulling a bit of a blank on reflection. Oh my. Well, I did catch a brief, but nasty, stomach bug going around here. I'd just as soon forget that. It didn't last more than a day, but ...!

I had planned on going to the lighting of the Plainfield Christmas tree by City Hall when I got out of work on Friday. It was raining, so I skipped that. When I got home last night from work, I noticed the tree was totally dark. So I don't know if the lighting ceremony even went down. 

Tonight is the season finale of The Amazing Race. Depending on how I feel next Sunday, I might head into the city (Manhattan) to get some photos of holiday happenings there. There's no place like New York City during the holidays. I could also check out some of the places listed in this piece. I'd have to go out to Brooklyn to get the bacon donuts, but the rest of the bacon desserts are in Manhattan. I so want to try a Choinkwich from the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop! Chocolate ice cream sandwich with bacon marmalade? I'm so there!

I really don't have much more for you this week. My photo shots were dampened by the weather most days, so not too many great shots this week. I did, however, have an extended photo shoot of Vincent! Clicking on an image will open it in a Photobucket page, clicking again will make it larger. To return here, just close the Photobucket page. 

The Vincent

Yep, I'm leading off with a Vincent shot this week. Not to worry, I'll also be closing with a Vincent shot. Who's the cat? He's the cat!

Off to work

It has been foggy or rainy (or any combination thereof) in the mornings when I leave for work. So I decided, since it's a grey world, this shot would be best in black and white. Plainfield Train Station.

Berries in the rain

The golden casings on these red berries are disappearing by the day. I've noticed that birds leave these alone. I'd say they're probably either poisonous or just plain nasty to eat. Church Street, Plainfield.

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

Off Topic: That Was The Week It Was - April 29, 2012

Good morning everyone! It's Sunday morning once again. And, once again, it's time for my weekly off topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken. 

I've had a bit of a stressful, hectic and just plain annoying at times week here. The weather has been at times cold and windy, other times rainy and it really wasn't conducive for photography. Yet I got in a few good shots and noticed some out of the norm kind of things. 

At home, the people upstairs managed to flood my bathroom once again. Thankfully the floor plans are in line here -- their bathroom over mine, bedroom over my bedroom, etc. So nothing of my own got damaged. Well, the brand new roll of toilet tissue I had put out was a goner. But it's not like they flooded my computer equipment or anything. I hope they finally get whatever up there fixed this time. Since I moved in here 11 years ago, it's been one thing after another leaking and subsequently fixed. 

There was some excitement here very early yesterday morning. Although I don't have to get up as early on Saturdays as I work later, I tend to wake up by 5:15 or 5:30. Well, I heard a ruckus in the hallway with police radios involved. Hmm ... I turned on my scanner. It turns out that a man fell from the fire escape shared by Crazy Joe across the hall and new tenants in the apartment next to him.

Now, they may call him Crazy, but Joe's not stupid. Nor is he athletically inclined. He's a retired guy who's lived here for nearly ten years without climbing the fire escape. So I would guess it was either the new tenants or a burglar. Since the cops didn't say anything about an arrest, I assume tenant. It's possible they only have one key, lost the key, didn't know who to call, aren't on the intercom system yet (as they connect the intercom to a phone number) or something. A compound fracture of the arm and a head injury. I bet he won't climb that again.

On the other hand, I wish I hadn't chucked my old small Hibachi years back. Although totally illegal, it would be so tasty to cook up steaks on a grill using the fire escape outside my bedroom window! I'm sure if I still had it, I wouldn't have the nerve to use it. But, still ...!

This week's quirky observation  -- when an automatic IN door doesn't function, a crowd will gather and stare at it instead of just pushing the door open. They'll back up and look. Then they'll get closer and give it a hard stare. But will they push it open? Nope. 

Since I had the hectic week, even to the point of working really late last night, I have a treat coming to myself with a Peapod grocery delivery in a few hours. I get the deliveries about once a month now. It's heaven not to worry about heavy items without a car. Plus, I do like the cuts of meat better than at the local supermarket a few blocks away. Yet I do stop in there on occasion because their produce department is fantastic!

Onto the photos ... remember, as of last week, they're hooked to my PhotoBucket account. Clicking on an image will bring you to the shot there, click again and it's large, close that window and you're back here!   

The NYC taxi again by the Plainfield Police Station

Nope, this is not the photo I took a week or two back. But it is the same passenger in the cab. Very odd. I'm not sure if it's the same taxi driver, but it could be. I don't feel bad spending $6.95 for grocery delivery when I see something like this! I edited the shot to leave only the taxi cab in color.

Up Close and Personal

Despite temperatures below freezing a few nights this past week, the flowers continue to bloom by the Bridgewater Train Station.

***HIT THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS!***

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was and Happy New Year 2012!

Happy New Year!

I'm posting this a bit earlier than usual -- at midnight, for some odd reason! My best wishes for a happy and healthy 2012 (or, I believe, 5722) to all. Over the years, the community on this blog has become a part of my life ... and definitely a welcome part! I can only hope each and every one of you have a wondrous and amazing year ahead.

Thinking back on this past year, 2011 actually was a good year for me. Finally I have two knees which are, for the most part, painless. I've had chronic knee pain for more than twelve years and I can finally walk once again without pain. Sure, it was a bit rough getting there with the knee replacements. However, except for the dislocation kerfuffle with the new right knee, the recovery was so much easier than the first knee!

Also in 2011, I had a fantastic vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina with fabulous friends I originally "met" through this very blog! Laurie, Margo, Ruth, Marge, Elaine, Delee, Ann and a tremendously cool waterfront house made me forget my knee was still healing! Wild horses, the ocean, great food and fun. You can't beat that with a stick!

Also in 2011, I had my first invitational photography exhibit. True, it was the local city library and not some fancy-schmancy gallery in SoHo. But it was an honor to have my photographic works on exhibit all summer at the Plainfield Public Library. Perhaps 2012 will brng about a fancy-schmancy artsy exhibit in NYC and worldwide photography recognition! Well, I can dream, can't I?

There have been some down moments during 2011. However, I've definitely had worse years throughout my life. Thanks to my new knee, I feel better than I have in years. Vincent (the cat) is still a treasure and remains in excellent health. I can't complain. Well, I could but that would be whiny and ungrateful of me. So I won't.

I do have one brief whine. I sort of kind of broke my best camera. It technically works, I guess. But I dropped it on Christmas Eve. Since then, each time I take a photo, it wants me to input the date and time. I can skip the step, but then the photo file has no date or time and each photo becomes its own folder. Ack! It's a nightmare when I take lots of photos and put them on my computer.

For a few days I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Then I realized there's an opening on one side there never was before. Huh? I researched online and found out there had been a door there with an internal battery (not to be confused with the regular batteries). That battery controls at least the date and time. GRR! I found the battery size -- a watch type battery -- and will order it from Amazon. I also found the missing battery holder/door doohickey on Ebay. So it looks like I can fix it myself. 

With the camera the way it is, it's put a damper on my photo taking this past week. I ended up taking my next best camera out just so I'm not as annoyed. The zoom on that one isn't as good. But least it doesn't want me to program in the date and time with each photo! Soon I'll have my first DSLR camera as I'm buying a used one from a friend ... that I met on the blog! I can't justify a new one, but it will be a treat for me nonetheless. I've never had anything other than a point and shoot. Maybe that fancy-schmancy gallery exhibit might just happen!

Onto the photos ... these are from the past couple of weeks ... 

Times Square

NO ... not tonight (or last night)! I'm not crazy! I stayed home! Do you know that you have to go through a metal detector to get in Times Square on New Year's Eve these days? I fail that at airports and courthouses. No way would I even think of going into that mass of people going through that! I took this shot a couple of weeks ago when I went into town. With the latest lighting, Times Square has an almost pinkish brighter than daylight color about it.

Just an illusion

Playing with the "Illusion" filter on the GIMP photo editor, this is a street lamp in Bridgewater, NJ.

Holiday police

Huh. The Plainfield Police Station has two less trees than last year and only white lights. Last year they had blue and white lights. The city tree in front of City Hall is done up in red lights. Alas, it's never lighted when I'm near it!
 
IF YOU'RE ON THE MAIN BLOG PAGE, HIT THE "READ MORE" LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS!

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - December 18, 2011

It's Sunday morning, time for my off television topic look back on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken. My apologies to the Plainfield folks who come by looking for photos of our town. I'm only posting a few this week -- I'll make amends next week!

The reason I'm not posting more Plainfield photos is because it finally wasn't raining on a Tuesday night. Yep, that's why! Y'see, one of my favorite things I used to do before bad knees was to head into the city (NYC) and do what I call "photo stomping." Well, the knees are both good now and it's the perfect time of year to start up my photo stomping once again! 

However, I'm fussy. I have to get up around 5 AM for work every day except Wednesday and Sunday (my days off) or Saturday morning as I go in to work later. I don't really love crowds (although they can't be avoided even in the middle of the night this time of the year in Manhattan). So I don't want to go on a Friday night even though I can sleep a few hours later. I don't want to go on a Saturday night because I get out of work too late and I'm tired. Weekend nights in the city at Christmas are twice as busy as weeknights. My day I wanted was a TUESDAY evening -- evening is better than the day to capture the holiday lights and stuff.

But it has rained every Tuesday night since the Rockefeller Center tree was lighted. Grr. That is, until this week! Yay! 

So I went into town and overdid my walking about so that I could barely walk on Wednesday, my day off. I took the train directly from work, ending up at Penn Station. From there I walked to Macy's, the NYPL (New York Public Library), Bryant Park, up Fifth Avenue, then part of Sixth Avenue, over to Rockefeller Center, down to Times Square, then ended up at the Port Authority Building to catch the 113 bus home. Mind you, that stops right across the street from my apartment, a good thing indeed because I was zonked!

I only have a few Plainfield photos this week, both of the same thing. Sigh. A fire has destroyed an historical (1885) building nearby the Plainfield Train Station on North Avenue. It's a building I've photographed many times in the past because it has (had) one of the best ghost signs in town. As a photography fiend in city areas, ghost signs always attract my interest. They're the old signage painted directly on the buildings. I called the now burned and slated to be demolished building "The Bull Durham Tobacco" building. 

The Bull Durham Tobacco building

As I had conked out early last night, I woke up around 4 AM and heard on my scanner that there was a fire on North Avenue. This is what it looked like when I arrived to the train station around 9 AM. Some smoke was still coming from within and firefighters seemed to be surveying the roof from the cherry picker. Part of the roof has collapsed.

A total loss

Sigh. When I heard about the fire, I automatically thought it was the abandoned building across the street. The Bull Durham building was abandoned with the exception of a restaurant on the first floor. The evening before, the Portuguese BBQ Restaurant on the other side of the train station burned down. Well, it's still kind of up, but will end up coming down. 

Onto photo stomping Manhattan in the holiday season! I warn you ... there are a LOT of photos here and video coming next week of the Lord and Taylor windows and more! You might want to grab a cup of coffee.

Believe

Macy's holiday theme this year is "Believe." I noticed that one of their Believe lighted signs over a marque lined up very neatly with the Empire State Building if you caught the right angle.

A holiday wonderland

While Manhattan itself is breathtaking during the holidays, everyone should go at least once to Rockefeller Center around Christmas. I was lucky -- the crowds were nowhere near as bad as the last time I photo stomped during the holidays in the city.

Macy's

I edited this shot of one of the Macy's entrances. I like how it turned out. Do you know that the Manhattan Macy's holds the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest department store in the world? I didn't go inside on Tuesday, but I have been. It's really old school different.

FOR A GAZILLION MORE NYC HOLIDAY PHOTOS, CLICK THE READ MORE LINK IF YOU'RE AT THE MAIN BLOG PAGE.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving full of family, friends, food and love! Although the times aren't easy these days, friends and family are something that we're all thankful for everyday.

While in no way a compete list, I'm thankful for many things this past year:

• Having friends and family I care about and who care about me.
• Knowing so many GOOD people who keep my life interesting.
• Working for a company where I have a fairly secure job despite hard economic times.
• Having health insurance and short term disability insurance, both at a very reasonable cost.
• My successful knee replacement.
• My cat Vincent, as nutty as his person.
• New Jersey for being as weird as it can be.
• Trader Joe's and Peapod grocery delivery for feeding me well (at a cost, of course).
• Coke Zero
• Adventures in the Outer Banks with good friends.
• Chocolate.
• My photography addiction which keeps both mind and body active.
• Technology such as Facebook which reunited me with family and friends from my youth.
• You -- the friends who have been a part of this blog community for years!

Of course, my list isn't necessarily in that order! May everyone have a fantastic day!

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - May 8, 2011

It's Sunday morning, Mother's Day! So, if you're a mother, I hope you're being pampered by family today (as you should be every day, but that should go without saying). It's also time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken. I warn you -- it's going to be active in both arenas today. You might want to grab a cup of coffee.

The biggest news week was the death of Osama Bin Laden. While I'm not going to jump up cheerleading, I must say it's about time and best for the world on the whole. Great job, Navy Seals! What would be better would be if we could turn time back and he never rose to such a power for evil. Alas, that can't be done and our lives are forever changed.

It came to my mind last Sunday night that his followers would be angry and we're always going to have to worry about terrorism. Then I heard an explosion outside. Huh? Already? Targeting my little New Jersey 'hood?

Nope. Yet another drunk driver plowed into parked cars on the street in front of my building. This time I didn't go out to take photos. It was late Sunday night, I was ready for bed and was just waiting for the President to come on television to talk about Bin Laden's demise.

Then there was the talk that trains were planning to be targeted. Okay, I take NJ Transit trains all the time. I, when my knee is feeling up to it or I have something I want to do, am in and out of Manhattan ... via train. There's no way they can screen train (or bus) passengers like they do at airports. Society around this area (Greater NYC Metropolitan) would come to a standstill.

I'm not really concerned on my regular line for my work commute. I suppose we could be tipped over because it's only double-decker trains on the line and they seem a bit top-heavy anyway. But I ride off peak direction -- away from NYC in the morning, towards it in the evening. We'd be a boring target.

In other news, I met my classic rock playing new(ish) neighbor. My curiosity was a bit piqued because I'm probably the only one in my building of 40 (or so) apartments who plays classic rock. He was coming out of his apartment and I introduced myself. I mentioned the classic rock and, lo and behold ... this is good neighbor material ... his first words about that were, "I'm sorry. Did it bother you? If my noise ever bothers you, just knock on the wall and I'll understand."

:::thunk::: A considerate neighbor in that apartment where the Greta Garbo Home for Wayward Boys and Girls existed before?

I explained to him that I LIKE classic rock, just haven't heard anyone other than me playing it here. Plus, just because I can hear something doesn't mean it really bothers me. Fighting bothers me. Music cranked so loud that my walls and floor vibrates bothers me. Even slightly less louder music extremely late at night or early in the morning bothers me. But his classic rock in the afternoon or early evening, just loud enough for me to discern the song, isn't an issue.

He reminds me of Pat Morita in looks (Happy Days and original Karate Kid movie). But he's actually a mix of Chinese and Costa Rican named Carlos. He's in his fifties, lives with his wife and they're taking care of his mother-in-law. That's a two-bedroom apartment as opposed to my one-bedroom. So much better than the last tenants! He told me he hasn't heard me at all. I should be louder, I guess. Yay, good neighbors in that apartment finally!

In yet other news (I warned you this would be long), I went to my orthopedic surgeon's office to sign all the papers for my June 16 knee replacement. Ack. Since the hospital became some sort of top ten in the nation in joint replacement, they've instituted a whole new approach to knee replacement.

I'm not really all that keen on a lot of what they're doing. You see, I'm not great with strangers. I'm a bit of a lone wolf. So, what do they do? They went and started this huge huggy-feely group support stuff.

They want me to have a coach. I'm not going to have a coach. I'm not a pregnant woman with a husband at my side coaching me to breathe right during contractions. I'm not having a mutual interest love child. I'm having a knee replacement meant solely for me. I'm not going to have a friend miss work to go to courses and therapy sessions in the hospital with me. I don't need it. I've had one already.

I know what I'm getting into. I'm grouchy when people hover over me. It's bad enough that the hospital expects me to get into all these group related things (meals with the group, therapy with the group). It's also bad enough that I MUST attend a course prior to my surgery (with the group). They even gave me a huge binder of material to study. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to give me a pop quiz as I'm coming out of anesthesia!

The good thing is that they are pushing going home after three days and not into rehab. I went home after seven days before due to the blood clot. I was supposed to go to rehab, but didn't as I was doing well at getting around once they let me out of bed. Hopefully I'll be out in three days this time. I know I'll need to get away from all the group hugs from strangers. That will be good until the reunions start. (Yes, they have group reunions, too. ACCCCCCCCKKKKK!)

Onto the photos for the week. I hope you like flowers. Clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window, then hit your browser's back button to return to the blog.

Don't do it! Don't do it!

I watched this tall truck approach the low bridge on Watchung Avenue near the police station last night. He realized it and started creeping under it. Thunk. Oops. So then he decided to back up in traffic. The traffic was about as smart as he was -- getting right in his blind spot as he was backing up! Sheesh!

Here she is to save the day!

A Plainfield police officer happened to be passing by, blocked the intersection of Watchung and East Fourth Streets and got him backed out of there. But the real question is why is Plainfield pink?

This is why

Red skies at night, sailor's delight. The sky over the intersection of the truck incident. Well, it was kind of orange-ish, but there were also pinks and reds.

Tall and tanned and young and lovely ...

... the Girl From Ipanema goes walking to Latino Heat on Watchung Avenue. Obviously, I'm not the only one noticing. I watched the elderly man peek his head around the corner then duck back a good half-dozen times.

Time for bugs ...

Ant on a leaf

Not sure what kind of bug on a leaf

Maybe a baby wasp? It was very small.

Beetle on a leaf

No bugs

These bushes turn bright red in the fall. But, if not for my photography addiction, I never would have noticed these teensy doohickies growing within the bush in the spring. Nature is always amazing!

The pink blossoms at the Plainfield Train Station

History this week, but they went out with a flurry of pink!

A littered ledge

A lot better than beer bottles and Chinese food containers usually resting on it. North Avenue by the Plainfield Train Station.

We're talkin' FULL gospel.

No half-gospel, no almost full. We're talkin' FULL. East Front Street.

Supremo's remodel

The grocery store a few blocks from me, Supremo's, is still undergoing a massive remodel. They have new aisle signs (amongst a lot of other changes). Since this town has so many folks from so many places, many countries get their own aisles. Another aisle has West Indies, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. Although I'm really a very tame eater, I've found some foods I really enjoy that I never saw in Wegmans or Pathmark!

One thing to note, though. When reading down the list on the right (for example), "galettas" doesn't belong in a list of countries. Galettas are cookies, crackers and biscuits dependent on what type of galetta it is. Even with the new remodel, checking expiration dates is definitely a needed practice at Supremo's. But it's close to my apartment. I can deal with that. Their produce is fantastic and there are butchers right there to serve you. Oh ... and they sell Mexican Coca-Cola in classic glass bottles with sugar in it for sweetener.

Back to spring ...

Now appearing at the Plainfield Train Station

Dogwood on East Third Street in Plainfield

A stunning baseball blossom! What a find!

Er, this is at the TD Ball Park where the Somerset Patriots play near my workplace in Bridgewater. The season has opened. I often pick up the new-looking balls and give them to Vincent or local children. This one didn't come home with me.

******************************

Here come the flowers! When I walked from the Bound Brook Train Station to my doctor's office on Friday, the entire neighborhood was flower heaven. Here's a bit of what I saw ...












Snap back to reality ...

I'm always drawn to this sign

This is at the Bridgewater Train Station. Different places where parking lots and roads used to be for the old Calco plant still have signing although the plant has been gone for decades. The poison ivy is also drawn to the sign.

'shrooms again

This bit o' land at the Bridgewater Train Station is odd. One day last year, tons of mushrooms. Gone the next day. Last week, tons of mushrooms. Gone in two days with rain. Now they're back and almost gone again.

NJ Transit sandwich

Yes, the bus fits under the bridge. New Jersey Transit - "It's the way to go!" That's the 114 bus heading to Bridgewater from Manhattan. The train is heading to Newark with a transfer to Manhattan. I wasn't heading to Manhattan. I was, however, heading to Bridgewater. But not on the bus.

Guarding the Plainfield Train Station

Attack birds. They taught angry birds what it's all about!

The winter wonderland house in spring glory

The woman who lives at this house at Richmond and East Front has caught me taking photos of her flowers. She's happy about it. Her lawn makes me smile, no matter the season.

Lots of things to come

Oh my

I don't know if this is a robin egg hatched or one stolen by another bird or even blown out of its nest. I didn't see a nest around, nor have I heard the baby birds in the underpass (Bridgewater Train Station) yet this season. The parent birds are very busy building in the eaves of the underpass. Soon it will be a cacophony.

Last flower ... for now

Vincent sound asleep

He has no issues with insomnia. As a matter of fact, he's the most solid sleeping cat I've ever known. I can poke him and he often won't wake up easily. Especially when he's on me. Maybe he's just pretending to be asleep, eh?

How was your week?