The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business 4/17 Episode Blog Party

Wow, it's actually starting on time this week here in the East! Once it starts, everyone is welcome to join in with comments as it airs -- that's where the real fun is! I'll be updating this post with any big news as I watch it here on the East Coast. Stop on by and jump in the pool!

It's off to Vienna, Austria! All on the same flight except the cowboys. They took one with fewer connections, but a half-hour later arrival. This leg is a Ford Focus focus -- winners of the leg each win one. Lots of product placement. Gary and Mallory off to a rough start with the car clue and now the cowboys have arrived.

Zev and Justin have a short lead ... things could change. Onto the library!

Detour - Long Hard Walk (Freud, transport analyst's couch) or Quick and Easy Meal - meals on a Ferris Wheel, eat all in one rotation of wheel.

Jen and Kisha didn't finish their food and are heading to the couch. Same with Zev and Justin. Cowboys are just getting to the detour. Gary and Mallory failed on the meal, too.

Since everybody is switching detours, the cowboys (who went with the couch) are now back in the pack. The Globes have taken over the lead. Gary and Mallory are now in last place and Kent keeps whining. Kent and Vyxsin are having a bickerfest leg. Grr.

Roadblock - chimney sweeping! Globes in the lead heading to the pit stop. They missed the turn allowing Zev and Justin to beat them!

Pit Stop -
1. Zev and Justin! Won the cars.
2. Globetrotters
3. Kent and Vyxsin
4. Jen and Kisha
5. Jet and Cord
6. Gary and Mallory -- NON-PHILIMINATION LEG! They're still in it!

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - April 17, 2011

Is it Sunday already? Why, yes it is! That means it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs. Although we only had a few days of really nice spring weather here, at least I have more photo fodder as things come to life after the long and heavy-duty winter.

Work is still very hectic, something I find a bit perturbing as this isn't the usual time of year for hectic. I'm usually fine-tuning things, cleaning out files and such this time of year. Oh, not this year. Gah.

I shouldn't fuss, though. I'll be having the entire summer off. I made the plunge and set up the date for my right knee replacement. My left knee will be three years old on May 14. My right knee, as it is now, will be history on June 16. I'm using the same surgeon, same hospital and the same physical therapist. Heck, with the exception of the DVT, I was very satisfied. Hopefully there will be no DVT this time around and I'll heal well enough to mosey the beaches of the Outer Banks in late September!

Even if it's still a bit rough, I'm going to take that vacation. I'm committed. I have bought tickets for the flights. Swimming is great for a knee replacement and there's a pool. I'm going and I'm going to have a fantastic time with friends I've met right here through this blog. Woohoo! I'm not overly keen on facing the TSA with two knee replacements, but I'll do it.

In other news, I finally did my taxes this week. With the writing income, it's not as simple as things used to be. At my day job I have extra monies taken out weekly to cover no taxes taken out on my 1099s. While my return is more than enough to pay for the above airline tickets, I can't help but wonder what a $3,000 tax return is like. I keep hearing that's the average. It must not be the average for a single person with no dependents unless they're earning huge bucks or have way too much taken out in the first place!

My upstairs neighbors have their grandchild again for the weekend. They don't do it often, but I definitely know it when they do. Nothing like a child above my head running and stomping on hardwood floors. Vincent is irked, too. The couple who live up there, despite always wearing shoes or hard-soled slippers, generally walk fairly lightly. So, I can't really complain. Oops. I already complained.

I tend to kick off my shoes the moment I come in the door and, even though I'm not a light-weight, I walk quietly. My downstairs neighbor sometimes thinks I've moved because he doesn't hear me. I'd love an upstairs neighbor like that! That said, the current couple upstairs (who have lived there maybe six years or so) are the quietest that have been up there since I moved here. So, that's good.

Well, onto the photos I've taken this week. Clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window. Then just go back to the blog using your browser's "back" function.

A rainy night in Plainfield

This is last night on Watchung Avenue as the rain came down. What a dismal day we had! Heavy rain, gusty winds and flood warnings. Lots of areas in town had their streets flooded. I was fine here. While we had some lightning and thunder, the storms didn't hit us anywhere near as bad as other areas of the country. But it was enough to have some businesses close their doors and the streets were practically deserted as I returned home from work.

Standing guard

A bird outpost has been set up in Bridgewater, NJ, as the birds plan their takeover of the planet.

Stuff is growing

Remember the snow wall?

Yep, this is the same bench which had the 15-foot mountain of snow behind it for most of the winter! Church Street (Plainfield), early morning on our sunny day this week.

Almost open

The holiday decorated yard at East Front and Richmond in Plainfield has traded in Santa for flowers.

Now the fire hydrant looks silly again.

But when the snow was shoulder-high on the corner, it wasn't looking silly. Um, I think it was buried even though it's raised anyway. Watchung Avenue and East Fourth Street, Plainfield.

More stuff growing.

Hindi summer camp!

Now I know what I'll do with myself for the summer! I know how to say thank you, hello, good night and goodbye in Hindi. But don't ask me how to spell them. It comes from working in Edison, NJ for a few years.

More stuff growing!

Exit to street

This was taken from the westbound platform of the Plainfield Train Station. A sad note is that the Xpress Mart convenience store shut down over the winter. I thought it was business-related due to sales. I know that although I liked the convenience to the station and the folks who worked there, the prices were extremely high, the service tended to be slow and they weren't dependable as far as being open their posted hours.

An ex-worker told me they closed due to issues amongst the owners/workers. Sigh. I try to patronize local small businesses as I know it's not easy for them to survive.

Circling

Several hawks were circling over North Avenue in Plainfield on Saturday morning. I only caught a few of them in this shot (on the left), but there were a good half-dozen. Something must have caught their attention.

Church Street in its spring glory

The trees lining this street are beautiful this time of year!

Oh my

I believe this is my find for the week. This head on the porch railing can be found on East Fifth Street near the corner of Richmond (unless Saturday's winds blew it down). I saw no signs of petechial hemorrhaging, so it's doubtful it was strangulation. Wait, I've watching too many C.S.I. shows! I have no idea what the head is all about. But it's kind of creepy!

Growing!

Looking down on a flower on Berckman Street in Plainfield.

The scourge of summer is back

No, not the Berckman Street crew o' kids. I'm talking that ice cream truck! They've outlawed "Turkey in the Straw" here. So they've got an even more annoying tune playing LOUDLY, then it stops and a voice shouts out LOUDLY, "Hello! HELLO! HELLO!" Then the music starts all over once again. This was our one really nice day this week. No, I didn't buy ice cream. If I buy ice cream, it will be decent stuff ... like Godiva!

Regeneration

No, you can't kill the poison ivy by chopping at it over the winter! Kind of like a starfish regenerating a lost limb (point? whatever!), the poison ivy recreates itself. Bridgewater, NJ.

Looking up

Looking at the tree blossoms on Church Street. Obviously, not yesterday!

Da 'hood is budding

Quite a difference from the last time I posted this scene, eh?

Masonic Temple

Back in the day, they used to do things all fancy-like. 105 East Seventh Street (naturally), Plainfield.

Pretty in pink

Looking at West Eighth Street from the Plainfield Library steps.

These sandals were made for ...

... um, sticking in rails? Plainfield Train Station.

Growing!

A closer look at the blossoms on the Church Street trees. I'm not really sure what they are. Dogwood? Oh, Bernice ... what are they?

Square within a violet

Not the best focus, but I found the square pretty cool. East Front Street, Plainfield.

Into the belly of the beast

Dandelion extreme.

Foggy morning

Tuesday morning was extremely foggy, then it rained. Such is spring. But, sheesh, it would be nice to have a run of GOOD days, wouldn't it? Bridgewater Train Station.

I'm too sexy for my whiskers

Okay, Vincent. You do realize you're not "sexy" at all, don't you?

By the way, in case you missed it -- I posted on Survivor's Seven Most Outlandish Characters the other day. Let me know your thoughts!
How was your week?

Survivor's Seven Most Outlandish Characters

Folks who are "characters" tend to not do all that well in the corporate world. When you add the word "outlandish" in front of the descriptor, it makes matters even worse. Then you're talking hardcore unemployable.

But when you mix in the reality television genre then, all of a sudden, outlandish characters are in high demand. On Survivor, most of the most outlandish have been men. Sure, every now and then there's a stray female outlandish character. Yet it's the men who prevail.

Survivor has hit pay dirt with the over-the-top types for a number of seasons now. I'm not talking quirky like the dude with the coconut phone in the first season. I'm talking deranged, delusional, outright wacky and smarmy! Some I've enjoyed watching, others not so much.

It all started with ...


Ah, yes ... dear Richard Hatch. When Survivor was fresh, new and extreme water cooler fodder, Hatch took a new game show concept and became the first puppetmaster of the reality genre. Hatch thought of developing alliances and used people for his own means. He was good at it, too.

I pegged him for the winner by the second episode. Yeah, he was the obnoxious fat naked gay guy. But he was so much more than that. He was the ultimate schemer. Not only that, but I still remember his evil "heh, heh, heh" as his schemes came to fruition. Time hasn't done well with the guy. In his last "All Stars" version, he was basically obnoxious and kept aiming his spear at Sue Hawk.


Boston Rob Mariano. In his early reality television days, he was all over the place -- Survivor, marriage to Amber, Romber on The Amazing Race, segments on The Early Show, back to Survivor. It was a Boston Rob overload. And now we have him back again this season.

Rob's different from many on this last as he does have some sort of charisma about him. But the dude is smarmy! He's a shrewd player of the game much like Hatch was in his heyday. Yet he tends to get overly cocky and he'll stab his best friend in the game (Lex, for example), throw him under that reality bus, then vote him off the island. Heck, I wouldn't put it past him to rig a trip wire heading to the welcome mat!

I just can't understand why this latest bunch of castaways seem to worship him. Smarmy and evil, I tell ya! But I do enjoy watching him anyway.


Some of Survivor's most outlandish characters were just creepy icky dudes with no gameplay. Yes, I'm talking about Jonny "Fairplay" Dalton. If memory serves, he was never good at challenges. In his last appearance on the show, he didn't even try. He didn't have charisma and he was just nasty.

Outside of throwing the towel in and giving up on his last appearance, Fairplay is remembered for telling a lie about his (not) dead grandmother. Most normal people don't lie about dead family. Sure, I've worked with a few who seem to have had six grandmothers die to get time off, but it's so classless and almost straying on forbidden territory. It worked -- the others believed Fairplay's lie and didn't vote him out.


Speaking of folks I didn't like watching, here's Ben "Coach" Wade. He had it all -- delusions of grandeur, weirdness, strange fashions and he was a drama queen to boot. He performed dismally at most challenges and was more irksome than entertaining. I like a bit of sensitivity in men. But as the kids would say, the dude was emo.

This special snowflake dominated airtime in his season and there was nothing at all redeeming about him. He had no decent strategy. He bragged about how tough he was and then cried during challenges. I hope he never appears on any show again for as long as he (or I) shall live!


You can't talk about outlandish characters on Survivor without throwing Rupert Boneham into the mix. Now, I know that he's always a fan favorite. And, he surely isn't an evil dastardly gameplayer. But, for me, he's no gameplayer. With the exception of stealing the shoes on Pearl Island, his gameplay is mostly roar and be a pirate. Or, maybe that should be a primate.

I liked him some in that first season. He does worthy work with children. But by the time I saw him again, the tie-dyed wifebeater shirt and the constant animal roar coming from deep within his gut were annoying me. In his last showing, he had virtually no strategy at all. Yet, he retained his outlandish character.


Sure enough, Evil Russell Hantz has made my list. In his first season, I though "eww" when I first saw him. Then I got all confused. He was so slimy, such a snake oil salesman. Yet there was something oddly intriguing about the man. Why did people just let the guy use them and then toss them aside? It's not like he has the looks or charisma of a Boston Rob.

But he had something. In gameplay, he fared okay on challenges -- no Colby Donaldson shut-outs, but okay. At least he didn't cry and whine like Coach. No one will ever be able to find hidden idols like he did. Russell went in with a strategy, too.

It's just a shame that he's a one-trick-pony. He can strategize well until it comes to the final two. Nor did he ever learn his lesson. He approached each season he was in with the same strategy and never learned the social side of the game. Unlike Coach, I actually enjoyed watching Hantz at times. He did have good game (except for the end game) and I was amazed that folks fell under his spell.


The newest addition to the list and perhaps the funniest is Phillip Sheppard of the current season. When I first saw him in action, I wanted him gone ... like, last week! But as the show goes on, I think I'm falling for Secret Agent Man (SAM -- drink up!). The guy is a hoot!

Sure, he doesn't seem to have much strategy. Sure, the others mock him. Sure, he's a sexist so-and-so. But the things which come out of his mouth, especially convoluted sentences, give the season such a welcome comedy relief that he needs to stay. He really does.

I was trying to figure out why, with some parallels between Coach and Phillip, I despised Coach on the show and Phillip entertains me. It's because, despite the shared delusions of grandeur, Phillip is actually funny. He can stay as long as he makes me laugh during Tribal Council.

What do you think? Are there others you'd add to the list? Why aren't the women as outlandish? (Yes, a few have been -- Shambo comes to mind.)

Images: CBS

Survivor: Redemption Island - 4/13 Episode Blog Party

The show will be starting in about five minutes here on the East Coast. As it airs, I'll update this post with major news while sharing some opinions on what I see both here and in comments. Of course, the comments area is where the real party is! Everyone is welcome to join in, the water's fine! Oh. And bring snacks. Snacks are always good.

At least Matt is smart enough to realize he's stupid!

I find Rob entertaining to watch on the show. But why in hell are these fools trusting him? Don't they remember Lex?

Interesting multi-part immunity challenge -- digging up a club, untie knots, smash tile. First six move on. Eww ... submerge head in trough, go through obstacles, spit to fill tube. Three move on to puzzle. David, Grant, Mike in final round.

Rob looks nervous.

Grant wins immunity!

Huh, not a half-hour into things and we have Tribal Council?

Vote tally: Phillip, Phillip, Phillip, Phillip, Phillip, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike ... Mariano's Mafia does the kill.

Rob told us he wants the final three to be himself, Phillip and Natalie.

Second immunity -- hang from a bar as long as you can, after 20 minutes, by legs only. Cheeseburgers -- white rock, black rock. Black means play, white means eat. Phillip and Steve choose to eat.

Rob's out first! Down to three Ometepe women and David.

David is out! ("That leg's going to be decapitated!," Phillip told him.)

Andrea won after the other two jumped.

Rob told his tribe not to eat the dead fish that Zapeteras caught in a net. Grant nibbles. Uh-oh.

Second Tribal Council. Phillip still with his feather and funny stuff.

The vote tally: Rob, Rob, Rob, Rob, David, David, David, David, David, David ... bye, David! Mariano Mafia hit will go swim with the fishes on Redemption Island.

Then there were three on Redemption Island. Interesting, ain't it?

The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business 4/10 Episode Blog Party

The show is delayed twelve minutes here due to the Masters golf tournament. Once it starts, everyone is welcome to join in with comments as it airs -- that's where the real fun is! I'll be updating this post with any big news as I watch it here on the East Coast.

Gary and Mallory were treated to the best of India, which obviously includes Snapple Ice Tea. They're remaining in India this leg -- at least for now. Zev thinks Calcutta should be called Calcrowded. Uh-oh, most of the teams got a 10:45 arrival time for their flight, the cowboys 11:45 AM. The Globetrotters got the 10:45 AFTER the cowboys got the later flight!

Ron is now being played up as a nice daddy? Hmm ...

Kent is being a bit obnoxious, don't you think? The Globetrotters got a great taxi driver!

Roadblock - Search for meaning of life. Reminds me of the old Maharishi Mahesh Yogi kind of deal, finding six religious dudes by photos. Big Easy and Jen worked together for a while, doing well. Anorexic Santa Clauses is Justin's description of the holy men. Ron is failing at this!

I find myself a bit like Zev surrounded by noise and chaos.

Big Easy, Jen and Justin through! The cowboys finally got there and Cord is beating Ron. Kent is through. Gary is through.

Detour - Feed the fire or feed the buffalo.

Cord is through with the roadblock test, Ron not doing so well. Ron FINALLY got through the Roadblock. Most of the other teams are well into the Detour.

Zev and Justin are in the lead with the Globes on their tails. Heading to the Pit Stop.

Globetrotters went from last to first! Trip to Hawaii.
2. Justin and Zev
3. Kisha and Jen
4. Gary and Mallory
5. Jet and Cord

Yikes, Ron and Christina took the water taxi and may beat Kent and Vyxsin!

6. Kent and Vyxsin
7. Ron and Christina -- Philiminated.

The nice take on Ron as Daddy was a huge clue in the beginning of the show.