I'm Jackie and I watch TV. I'm not proud. Bookmark the blog now as your source for live feed reports from inside the 'Big Brother' house! Come, join in on the fun ...
Not surprisingly, Lil Rounds is the first to go tonight. I'm watching Lost, but keeping tabs on AI in the background. We have one more going home tonight. I'm thinking it will be either Anoop or Matt. But I'll let you know!
They're doing the bottom three for the second boot. Anoop is in the bottom three. Now Allison has joined Anoop. One of the two will be going home.
Oh my. The show is starting on time here on the East Coast tonight. Once again, I offer my apologies for not posting a lot. I'm still working extra hours at work and have battled a cold since Tuesday. It's not a serious cold per se. But every time I go to bed, my sinuses and throat fill up with ick. Therefore I'm hardly sleeping. And due to working extra hours (which I must take as I rarely am offered them), I'm going around groggy-headed this week. Blech.
Anyway ... onto the show. My full review will be posted later tonight on TV Squad and everyone is welcome to party in comments!
Pit Stop -- Three teams arrive almost all at once -- 1. Jen and Kisha -- won a trip to Barbados 2. Tammy and Victor 3. Margie and Luke 4. Cara and Jaime
Explosions betweeen Margie and Luke at the Pit Stop.
The show has started here on the East Coast. While my full show review will be posted at TV Squad later tonight, I'll update this post with the major events as they air.
Of course, the real fun is in the comments! Join on in!
Brendan, JT and Debbie won reward -- whitewater rafting and a picnic. They sent Stephen to Exile Island (alone).
Tyson won immunity again.
ARGH. They listened to Coach! Brendan was voted off. ARGH!
Argh. Due to golf, the show is way delayed once again. 60 Minutes began at 7:39 PM ET here in the NYC area. So I don't expect TAR to begin until around 8:40 PM ET (or so). Once it starts, this post will be updated with the major events and my full review of the show will be posted over on TV Squad. Everyone is welcome to join in with comments!
8:38 PM ET -- we're starting!
Pit Stop 1. Margie and Luke - won a trip to Puerto Rico 2. Jaime and Cara 3. SORT OF Kisha and Jen, but they can't be checked in without their travel documents which they left at the Roadblock. They must go get them and have no money. 3. Tammy and Victor 4. Mark and Michael -- But they have a four hour penalty (two two hour penalties) for using their personal possessions to pay for cabs. 4. Kisha and Jen 5. Mark and Michael - 3:10 penalty time, got checked in. It's a non-elimination leg, so they're still in the race. The time remaining on their penalty and the speed bump await them in the next leg.
Although Zoetawny has so much going on in her life right now, she took the time to make us an Easter logo for the blog. She does rock! I hope everyone has a good holiday.
Plus, I want to share some pictures I've taken during the week of our favorite roof cat, Roofus -- (clicking on any of the images will open them larger in a new window) --
Roofus on the move.
Roofus checking out the window.
Roofus thinking about the birds on the fire escape railing.
Whoa! I usually don't see Roofus when I return home from work (it's a morning thing), but there he is all curled up on the windowsill. This is the view from the train station.
Welp, according to the promos, the merge is on tonight! The show has started here on the East Coast. While my full show review will be posted at TV Squad later tonight, I'll update this post with the major events as they air.
Of course, the real fun is in the comments! Join on in!
The merge has gone down and they're pigging out ... er, eating.
Tyson won the first individual immunity. Jeff is making Joe get his infected knee checked by medical.
No one will be voted out tonight -- Joe was evacuated due to his leg.
I'm actually watching Lost, but have a second TV muted in the background. The bottom three are: Anoop, Scott, and Lil. That's pretty much what I thought it would be although I had Kris in there instead of Anoop.
I think it's a toss-up who goes home -- Scott or Lil. I'm thinking Lil. I'll update this post with more results soon.
Whoops! I was wrong there. Lil was the one they sent back first. It's between Anoop and Scott and both Lost and AI are in commercial at the same time. Grr.
Scott and Anoop were separated by only 30,000 votes in the bottom two. Anoop is safe, Scott is singing. I know this sounds mean, but I hope the judges don't save him.
Tonight the final eight sang songs from the year of their birth.
Gosh, I feel old.
Overall, I totally agree with the judges about Lil Rounds version of "What's Love Got to Do With It." She was imitating Tina Turner rather than anything else -- down to the outfit, the heels, and the moves. I think she's going to be in trouble.
I think it could be time for Scott MacIntyre to go if Lil doesn't. For me, he's the same week in and week out whether he has a guitar or a piano. Kris Allen also had a weak performance tonight, but I think it will be between Lil and Scott going home. Anoop rebounded.
The best performances of the night came from Allison Iraheta, Matt Giraurd, and (sigh, it pains me to say this) Adam Lambert. I was truly impressed with Matt, in particular. However, Adam's performance was very theatrical and we know he's not going anywhere but to the finals even though I don't like a lot of what he does. He did do a good job on the record-selling performance side of things and that's what it's all about. Danny Gokey was good tonight, but more middle of the road.
I looked around for songs from my birth year that I would sing if I could sing. Although the date says the next year, this was actually released and a hit in my birth year:
I remember singing this one in the car with my brothers and father. My father could really sing it well. The other song I'd want to sing from that year would be "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash if only for the line "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die."
Is there a song from your birth year you'd sing (if you could sing)? I just Googled my "songs from" and my year of birth. Because ... obviously I was too young to remember them.
Now, there's some New Jersey love if I ever saw New Jersey love, eh? Actually, it's rather foolish placement of an advertising sign with its bottom half behind the bench at the Dunellen (NJ) Train Station. The bottom half is WPIX Channel 11 Morning News. (Clicking on any of the images will open them larger in a new window.)
Onto some TV doings --
I was a bit disappointed that Bonnie Hunt didn't have Mike and Mel from The Amazing Race on her show this week. I could have gone without seeing Christie and Jodi the week before. I'm at work while The Bonnie Hunt Show is on, but I record it every day. Buddy TV ran an interview with them. I'm surprised to hear that Mike is a vegan and barely ate during the race. Here I was feeling all kinds of sorry for Mel due to his age and injuries (yet amazing perseverance) and Mike's not eating! I find it interesting to see that they thought Margie and Luke are more sneaky a team than shown.
I did watch Lost this week, but found it a bit confusing. I was tired when I watched it. Perhaps my mind just wasn't working quite right. Maybe the Lost Entangled will help me out.
I watched the finale of Life on Mars and got confused by that, too. A mind is a terrible thing to lose. Okay, they're really from Mars and it was all just a mission? Odd.
Taj needs to stop taking chances on Survivor! After all, she's my castaway in the blog pool! Sheesh!
Roofus was fast asleep in the gloomy fog near the Plainfield Train Station yesterday on my way to work.
Although it's been a bit on the cold side most days, spring has sprung. Achoo!
I walk this empty street On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams Where the city sleeps and I'm the only one and I walk alone
-- "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day
I thought the song went nicely with the photo I took walking to the train station pre-dawn ... which I did a few times this week. Every Monday lately, I've been going in early to work and I had to a few other days, too.
There is no Amazing Race nor a Cold Case tonight. But I'll be writing up my Reality Clack column for CliqueClack TV and I have an article in mind for TV Squad, too. At least I won't have the pressure of writing up two shows knowing I have to get up before 5 AM.
The show is starting! While my full review will be up later over on TV Squad, this post will be updated with major events. Everyone is welcome to join in on the fun in the comments area!
Timbira won reward -- BBQ at a waterfall. From Timbira, Joe went to Exile Island and chose Erinn to go with him.
Timbira won Immunity.
Sydney was voted out with the Stephen, Taj, and JT alliance voting her.
My apologies for the lack of updates the last few days. I've been a bit under the weather and overworked at the same time. Yes, I believe I've become a zombie.
In the bottom three tonight are Megan, Allison, and Anoop. Based on last night's performances I think it will be between Anoop and Megan leaving ... most likely Megan. I'll update this when they announce it.
Well, it's a bit better than last week, but still delayed here on the East Coast. 60 Minutes started at 7:17 instead of its usual 7:00 PM ET. So I expect that TAR should start here about 8:17 PM ET. Be warned that I'm in the middle of a line of severe thunderstorms, so if I disappear ...
Once the show starts, everyone is welcome to post your comments on the happenings! My show review will be posted on TV Squad later. However, I'll update this post with major events and the pit stop order. Enjoy!
8:17 and we're starting!
Uh-oh. Mark and Michael hit the Pit Stop first but have two thirty-minute penalties. One for tampering with the pumps on the rickshaws to hamper the other teams, the other for hiring a taxi to lead them while they did the rickshaw.
Poor Mike and Mel are WAY behind because they went to the beach instead of the zoo looking for the gorilla statue.
Pit Stop 1. Tammy and Victor (won trip to Oahu) 2. Jaime and Cara 3. Mark and Michael -- satisfied penalty time 4. Margie and Luke -- she passed out at the Pit Stop and we went to commercial 5. Kisha and Jen 6. Mike and Mel - Philiminated
Rats. I liked Mike and Mel, plus they were my team in the blog pool. SNIFFLE
So, there I was ... innocently riding the NJ Transit Raritan Valley Line train to work today. (No, I didn't see Roofus the Cat as it was very damp out this morning.) As usual, the train was approaching my departure station, so I was up waiting in the vestibule as it stopped.
Um. It stopped way before the station. The conductor messed with the doors, then got a message over his radio.
"Okay, everyone. Back to your seats. We hit a car."
Huh? None of us felt anything. So I returned to my seat and looked out the window. (Clicking on any of the images will open them larger in a new window.)
The dark bracket-looking thing on the other side of the brush in front of the car is the back bumper of the car.
A conductor checking on the woman in the car before police and rescue personnel arrived. She's hurt, but more like a stopping train hit her, not a speeding train.
The cops line the road on the other side of the train.
The gates were down, the clanging things a'ringing, and the train blew its horn before hitting the car. Either the woman thought the train was going to stop (as it was slowing for the station) and she could go through the gates or she thought she could beat the train. Nope!
Before the fire department arrived with the Jaws of Life, a Bridgewater police officer tried to shift the air bag so she could be a bit more comfortable.
If the train had been going at its highest speed through here, there would be no car. As it was, you saw the bumper. Car parts were strewn for about twenty feet, the car spun totally around once and ended up heading the same direction it was originally headed. It also hit a NJ Transit huge grey electrical stuff box/building.
Looking out the other window again.
There. She's out on the stretcher and ready to go away. We were stuck inside the train for over a half-hour. Although the front of the train was actually in the station where I wanted to be, they wouldn't let us out for liability reasons. After she was taken away in the ambulance, the lights on the train went out and we were told everyone had to walk to the front of the train and get out. Dang, I never realized how long the train actually is! For the ride in the morning, only the last two cars are open for passengers.
I was lucky -- it was my station. But anyone wanting to go further west was stuck there as the train had to stay for all kinds of investigation. I went off to work, just a bit late. Had I not been at work, I would have tried to sell some of the photos to news sources in the area. But it's old news now.
I watched last night's show into the wee hours due to it being on the air the same time as Survivor and LOST. So, I didn't comment. That said, I was actually impressed with Adam Lambert for a change. I thought that Megan, Scott, and Michael were the worst of the bunch with Lil Rounds on their tails. That's unusual for Lil and I usually enjoy Megan. Not so much last night.
Onto tonight --
Rueben Studdard sweated all over the place and sang. Blech. Smokey Robinson sang a duet with Joss Stone and they were good. But I always have a special place in my heart for the big guest of the night -- Stevie Wonder. I remember back when he was Little Stevie Wonder. I think he's only five or six years older than I am. Now, "Little" isn't a good description these days, but the man is great. I recall blasting "Superstition" in the college dorm and his music was such a part of my life in those days. He did a medley which included "Superstition."
The results --
The bottom three weren't quite what I expected. Megan was safe, but Michael Sarver and Scott MacIntyre were indeed two of the three. The third was a bit of a shock -- Matt Giraurd. Say what? I thought he did quite well last night.
It doesn't matter. The right one went home. Bye-bye, Michael Sarver. And, no. He wasn't saved by the judges.
Zoetawny made me this monkey Survivor logo a while ago, but I had some trouble getting onto the PhotoBucket site the first night I wanted to use it. I just remembered now. (A mind is a terrible thing to lose.)
Tonight's show is the seasonal clips with some added footage. So no one will go home. But if you ARE home and want to comment, you're welcome to hang out here!
I'll start this with "Spring?" -- Hopefully this crocus I photographed early Monday evening has survived. We've been having high winds with wind chill temperatures in the teens for the early part of the week. I want spring. I like spring. I'm tired of cold weather!
So, where have I been since Sunday night? On Mondays I have to go into work earlier than usual now. So, up before five AM, I was a bit tired and didn't post. Had I known that on Tuesday night my Internet would vanish, I probably would have posted something. I've never had any problems with my Verizon DSL since getting it a few years back. I don't think it's even blinked. That is, until last night.
There I was, just checking out a few websites with plans to post the crocus when ... no pages would open. I tried going online via AOL and got a message than I had no broadband connection. I looked at my DSL modem and its lights looked normal. I unconnected and reconnected all of my connections. I rebooted the computer and turned off/on the DSL modem, too.
Nothing, I couldn't even get to Google. I tried my own computer troubleshooting and it told me there was a connection problem with my DSL. Okay, so I went to get the Verizon phone number online. Um, oops! I had no online! It's amazing how much I do on the Internet. Most of my bills have gone paperless (including my Verizon bill). I look up TV listings and phone numbers online.
I finally found my phone book and managed to find the repair number for Verizon. But as I was going through their automated menu, they said, "A major DSL outage has affected the 908 area code. Does this address your question?" Why, yes. Yes, it did. But I'm back up and running now. I'm glad I didn't bother to get the dial-up modem connected to the computer. I didn't feel like moving stuff and more connecting cables and irksome things.
Then there's tonight's TV. Survivor is on at 8 PM ET tonight, not tomorrow, due to March Madness tomorrow. It's the clips show, but I still have to write it up for TV Squad and I'll throw a post up here. Then, at 9 PM, it's LOST, another new episode. I have to watch that. You know that.
But, meanwhile, from 8 - 10 PM ET, it's the American Idol show which wasn't scheduled for last night due to the Presidential speech. Sorry, AI -- I'll have to record you and watch you maybe tomorrow night after the results show!
I shouldn't even mention that Criminal Minds is on at 9 PM. At least I can catch that in reruns.
Sigh. It was too good to be true. So long without a delay and we really have one on the East Coast this week. Due to basketball, 60 Minutes started at 7:52 PM ET instead of 7:00 PM. Once TAR starts, this post will be updated with the major events and I'll be writing a full review of the show for TV Squad.
As always, the comments section is THE place to be!
8:52 PM ET and it's ON.
It's off to India!
Pit Stop -- 1. Tammy and Victor -- Each won an ocean kayak 2. Mel and Mike! 3. Jen and Kisha 4. Margie and Luke 5. Jaime and Cara 6. Mark and Michael 7. Christie and Jodi - Philiminated
Later on tonight we have a new episode of The Amazing Race. But of course, I'll get a blog post up for that one! But until then, I've got a bit of everything for you with only one TV mention.
OMG!!!! (As the kids would say.) I watched Cops after getting home from work last night and was surprised by a dangling um ... male anatomy piece (don't want to say the word and have people find this blog by searching for it). For a good twenty seconds, dangling in the wind and out of the pants and even in a bit of a close-up! Who edits these things? It was SO much more than the Marcus Survivor bits! How could they miss it? Yikes!
Clicking on any of the images below will open them up larger in a new window ...
Who watches the watchers? This is a shot I took of two gulls on a parking lot lamp. There's something about it that I like, perhaps that it's simplistic. I don't know.
Yep, the Big Apple Circus is still there. I still haven't been.
Breaking news from New Jersey: A giant, possibly radioactive, rat has been terrorizing Route 287 in Northern Central New Jersey just outside of Bridgewater. Do NOT drive on Route 287 until we can get the giant cats from Rockland County in New York to battle this hazard!
Now onto one of those memes I found out on the web. If you do this on your blog, please link to here in comments so we can see! I'm not tagging anyone, so no one is obligated. But it is kind of fun!
Rules: Basically highlight stuff that you've done. I also made some comments in italics. 1.Started your own blog -- Or two or three! 2. Slept under the stars -- Ah, the memories 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower -- Can't see them around here due to light pollution 6. Given more than you can afford to charity-- Perhaps time but not money. Have to keep the roof over my head. 7. Been to Disneyland --Been there, but never Disney World thanks to childhood years in southern California. 8. Climbed a mountain -- My first was Mount Marcy in NY. We had a snowball fight in late July at the top. I never became Himalayas material, though. 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo -- Not in public! 11. Bungee jumping --Always want to years back, but not allowed now with the knee replacement. 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child. 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18. Grown your own vegetables -- When I was a child. Now I can't even grow a houseplant and have it live a year! 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch-hiked -- I don't condone it but I did it when I was young and foolish with a boyfriend in college. 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill -- Mental health day! 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb -- Does petting one count? 26. Gone skinny-dipping -- Went with others while they did it, but I chickened out. I giggled when the cops came! 27. Run a Marathon -- Oh, gee. I'm not allowed to run on doctor's orders. Too bad, eh? 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run 32. Been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language -- I let others teach me French in high school and college. 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing -- The Gunks in my more adventurous days! 40. Seen Michelangelo’s David -- A replica in NYC doesn't count, does it? 41. Sung karaoke-- EEK! 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted -- As a child (my mother was a commercial artist) 48. Gone deep sea fishing -- Used to go every year with my Dad, a few times in my adult life. 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Been in a movie -- Kind of, sort of. I was an extra in The Way We Were. Hey, they paid $25 a day for three days! 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business -- If my freelance writing counts, sort of kind of. 58.Taken a martial arts class -- I fulfilled my physical education requirement in college by taking judo and bowling. Not at the same time, of course! 59.Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies -- I have eaten a lot of them! Mmm ... Thin Mints! 62. Gone whale watching -- Not intentionally, but watched them more than a few times while deep sea fishing. 63. Got flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma -- Tried in college, was turned down as I was anemic. Now I can't due to the DVT issue. 65. Gone sky-diving -- My father forbid this activity as he was a paratrooper in WWII -- said it would kill my knees. My knees died anyway, I should have tried it! 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check -- OOPS! Not in years and years, though! 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten caviar -- And HATED it! Gag, gag! 72. Pieced a quilt 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job -- I was hired as the couple running the business were friends of my parents. I was fired because the couple split up and the wife thought I was on her husband's side. (Which I was.) She apologized years later. It didn't matter; it was just a college summer job. 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone -- Broke my right collarbone at three (falling out of bed), my right big toe at ten (leaping on rocks in the "crick" at my grandparent's house), broke two vertebrate in my back falling from a kitchen counter while doing a yoga position at twelve, greenstick fracture of the left arm (being struck by a moving car trying to kill me decades ago when I worked as a store detective) and I shouldn't even mention that major bones in your leg are broken (sawed) in knee replacement surgery. 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle -- Riding, not driving, mind you. Young and foolish days! 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book -- Written a few, never published. But I have some nifty rejection slips! 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car -- 1973 Ford Maverick in college, 1978 Ford Mustang when the Maverick died, leased a new 1997 Mitsubishi Mirage and then bought it when the lease was up. 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper -- Some school thing when I was a child. 85. Read the entire Qur’an 86. Visited the White House -- Never inside, but does outside the gates count? 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating -- I started fishing when I was about eight. My Mom would cook the fish if we cleaned it. I haven't been in years. I went deer hunting once (my father and grandfather did it), but couldn't shoot. I wanted to talk to the deer instead. 88. Had chickenpox -- And mumps, measles, German measles, whooping cough, scarlet fever ... all of them. No vaccines except polio and diphtheria when I was little. 89. Saved someone’s life -- In college I had a job with the university police. My partner and I discovered a rather drunken woman who had fallen off the back side of a residential quad, breaking her back. We were told that she would have died from exposure (it was upstate NY dead winter) had we not found her. Once at a traffic accident, I put a tourniquet (belt) on a man's leg as he was bleeding from a cut artery. I was told it was excellent work. But the ambulance arrived about two minutes after I did it. So he probably would have lived anyway. 90. Sat on a jury -- I was turned down! Sniffle! 91. Met someone famous -- Several 92. Joined a book club -- I joined that one with the great promotional offers back in the 70s -- something like a dozen books for 12 cents or something. 93. Lost a loved one -- Several 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a law suit -- Worker's comp case on my right knee. It was judged a 40% permanent partial disability of the entire leg. Of course, now it's acting up again. I won the case, still work for the same company. 98. Owned a cell phone -- Nope, hate them with a passion! 99. Been stung by a bee -- Several times. I was attacked by a swarm of bees when I was a child, stung over 150 times at once, and had to be hospitalized. I'm allergic nowadays, but haven't tested (been stung) in over 30 years. 100. Read an entire book in one day
Yep, yet another blog logo from our favorite Zoetawny! On last night's LOST, things moved forward a bit. At least we're in 1977! Here's the quick lowdown --
Ben and Sun were with the plane and Lapidus when it went down on an island near our main nutty island. We already know the others landed separately (somehow).
Sawyer and Juliet rigged it so that it looked like Jack, Kate, and Hurley were new Dharma recruits from the submarine which arrives every six months.
We saw Ethan as a new baby.
Ben's about 12, maybe a bit older, on the island. I personally wonder what happens when worlds collide -- adult Ben meets child Ben. Will the universe fall off its axis or something?
Sayid was wandering through the woods handcuffed. Jin had to act like he was a hostile and capture him due to a Dharma dude witness. So, Sayid is being held in a cell.
Sun said she trusted Ben would lead her where she wanted to go (to join Jin), but she didn't. She whacked him with a log and took off with Lapidus for the main island.
Under spooky circumstances, Sun and Lapidus meet Jack's father, Christian. He shows them a picture of the 1977 recruits which includes Jack, Kate, and Hurley.
Sun and Lapidus are not in 1977.
And that's that. Oh, there's a very suspicious Dharma guy. I think he knows something is hinky with the new arrivals.
