I will be hosting (and participating) in the big blog party for the season premiere of The Amazing Race tonight starting at 8 PM ET. Be there or be square!
However, I will not be putting up my weekly photo post this morning. My apartment has been undergoing painting and kitchen renovations for the last few days. I took it upon myself to move all my furniture away from the walls as well as get everything off the walls. He finished the painting yesterday and I just collapsed. I still have to move everything back (or rearrange!)
He has to come back tomorrow although I'll have to be at work -- new bathroom sink and medicine cabinet, possibly new tiling around the tub. If they're going to do all that, they might as well give me a new toilet and tub, too!
The bathroom sink replacement is my own doing. The night before he first showed up, I leaned on it and it fell off the wall! I scrambled to catch it before it ripped the water lines out of the wall and then strained about 15 minutes to get it up on its brackets. When I finally got it up there, I noticed the big S pipe underneath disconnected. I asked him to fix the pipe and he told me he'd get me a new sink in a vanity. Yay! But, in a way, boo as under the sink was Vincent's litter box. The bathroom is tiny. I have to come up with a new place for it.
Between moving my whole darn life of stuff, straining with a deceptively heavy bathroom sink and helping the 4'10" Ecuadorean contractor dude move the refrigerator ... I'm hurting all over. And I have so much yet to do moving things all back. Sigh.
But do come back tonight for the show!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Survivor: One World - Season Premiere Blog Party
Welcome one, welcome all! Yep, it's a new season of Survivor at hand! Zoetawny was kind enough to create a new blog logo for the show and, knowing what she's been going through, she rocks indeed!
Lifeguard Laurie is running the pool -- the random draw has these picks:
Troy Robertson -- Lynn1, Margo
Sabrina Thompson -- Leigh, meb
Nina Acosta -- Laurie, ML
Monica Culpepper -- Jenna's mom, Monty 924
Michael Jefferson -- Jackie, Nana in the NW
Matt Quinlan -- Glenn, Pam
Leif Manson -- Estelle, PDX Granny
Kourtney Moon -- Ed in Ohio, Petals
Kimberly Spradlin -- Dusty, rbennie
Kat Edorsson -- Donna, Rochelle
Jonas Otsuji -- dla, Sue Gee
Jay Byars -- DKNYNC, Tammy
Greg Smith -- Delee, Terry
Colton Cumbie -- Caela, Zoetawny
Christina Cha -- Buzzman
Chelsea Meissner -- Brent McKee
Bill Posley -- Becky
Alicia Rosa --Ann
If you didn't make the pool cut-off, feel free to cheer on your favorite team for the win anyway! I was in shock that my pool pick actually won last season. I guess I can't depend on that two seasons in a row, eh? Well ... maybe I can! We'll see.
Margo will be running the TAR pool -- if you want in on that one, please reply to the cast post I made earlier today!
Survivor fans ready?
Jeff divided them into two tribes -- men and women. But we knew that would happen. They have 60 seconds to strip any goods they can off the truck they arrived in, but they don't know they'll be sharing a camp ... yet. Uh-oh. My pool pick stole from the women!
Jeff gave each tribe a map to the camp, yet still hasn't told them it's the same camp. He told them hidden idols will be in play, but no Redemption Island. (YAY!) The girls are already forming a "final five" as they hike to the camp. They arrive to the camp first and see both flags, so the cat is out of the bag.
They're all chasing chickens. One girl catches TWO -- Chelsea. Now the guys are hitting them up to share. Colton is already alienating his tribe by hanging around the girls. Will he spy for the guys or just hang with the women on his own?
The guys got a fire going first. Sabrina offered a chicken for fire. Hmmm. One gal wants the axe back that they stole. Heh, the girls went to go steal back the axe while the men slept and stole fire instead.
The women now are weaving twenty fronds for the guys in exchange for fire because their stolen fire pooped out.
One of the women (still not good on names yet, black woman) found the Manano (mens tribe) idol and must give it up before Tribal Council. She chooses Colton who has already groveled around for it with the women.
Immunity Challenge time! It's physical -- jumping into a net, balance beam. Uh-oh -- it looks like Kourtney might have broken her wrist. She needs x-rays. Due to her dropping out, the men win by forfeit. They have the choice to take the win and run or continue the challenge. The guys take the win.
Tribal Council time ... Kourtney still not back. She's their major pick to go. But one of the girls (Alicia) wants to get Christina out as she thinks she's in too much with the men. Whoa! Christina/Alicia cat fight ... MEOW.
Kourtney's wrist is broken in a few places, she'll need surgery. She's out of the game. No one is getting voted out.
My verdict? This could definitely be an interesting season, for sure! I just hope the women get together a bit more. The cohesiveness of the men (so far, except Colton) is going to hurt them.
The Amazing Race 20 - Meet the Cast
The Amazing Race begins this Sunday! Who's gonna be here? While I have no favorite team just going over the bio videos, I do have a least favorite team for the win. Can you guess who it is?
Is there any interest in a pool this season? If so, respond to this post. And, of course ... stop back tonight for the Survivor blog party!
Is there any interest in a pool this season? If so, respond to this post. And, of course ... stop back tonight for the Survivor blog party!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - February 12, 2012
Yes, it's another Sunday. That means it's time for another off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken. Never fear, TV fans --- Survivor returns this Wednesday! As usual, I'll have the blog party going on as the show airs here on the east coast. Everyone is welcome to join in!
The esteemed Lifeguard Laurie will be running the blog pool. If you want to get in on the action (no real wagering, but bragging rights if your random pool pick is the sole survivor!), please respond here in comments or email her at lifeguardlaurie@gmail.com. This is the list Laurie has so far:
Ann
Becky
Brent McKee
Delee
Donna
Ed in Ohio
Jackie
Jenna's mom
Laurie
Leigh
Margo
meb
ML
Monty 924
Nana in the NW
PDX Granny
Petals
rbennie
Rochelle
Sue Gee
Terry
Zoetawny
The esteemed Lifeguard Laurie will be running the blog pool. If you want to get in on the action (no real wagering, but bragging rights if your random pool pick is the sole survivor!), please respond here in comments or email her at lifeguardlaurie@gmail.com. This is the list Laurie has so far:
Ann
Becky
Brent McKee
Delee
Donna
Ed in Ohio
Jackie
Jenna's mom
Laurie
Leigh
Margo
meb
ML
Monty 924
Nana in the NW
PDX Granny
Petals
rbennie
Rochelle
Sue Gee
Terry
Zoetawny
******************************************************
In other business, we had snow not once, but TWICE this past week! Wow. I'd say the total of both storms combined was less than an inch. Wow. During my skiing heyday, I'd be miserable about the lack of snow this year. But I'm not missing it at all. We've paid our snow dues the last few years, last year in particular. I just wonder what effect it will have on the other seasons. I've never seen a winter in the northeast this warm.
On Friday morning, there was a big fire in Plainfield. There I was, making my lunch to take to work with the TV news on in the other room -- WCBS out of Manhattan. I heard, "We're over Plainfield ..." Huh? It must have been a slow news day in NYC as all the network affiliates had their helicopters hovering over Plainfield. As I waited for my train, there were four helicopters just hovering there like dragonflies watching for prey.
Usually if they give that much coverage to a fire in NJ, it's huge. This one wasn't really huge like a city block or a forty unit apartment building -- it was a single home with an attached vacant body shop. But it was a relentless fire fueled by a gas main. And, the smoke as I headed to the train station was unbelievable.
No one was injured which, of course, is a good thing. However, I was very saddened to hear that the family there had three emaciated pit bulls in the yard, one which had to be put down on the scene as he was in such bad shape ... and not anything to do with the fire. Didn't the neighbors see the poor dogs suffering? Please, folks, if you see neglect like that, report it!
Not much else has been going on. As promised, I'm first bringing you photos of the Tropicana Train -- the Times Square shuttle. I'm really not sure how orange juice will make you feel better when the day goes awry, but it does make for a different NYC subway experience. I took them on January 29th.
***HIT THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS!***
Sunday, February 05, 2012
Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - February 5, 2012
It's Sunday morning once again. Odd thing, that. It seems like it comes around once a week or so! But, because it's here again, it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken.
First, let's talk a little about television. I'm tired of the American Idol auditions. I'm glad they're over and it's onto Hollywood next week. Perhaps I've just wearied of the show concept, but no one I've seen has rocked my socks. Eventually, in just a few weeks, Idol will be up against Survivor on Wednesday night. When that time comes, I go Survivor.
Since we've entered the February sweeps, at least Letterman was new this week. I can't believe he's been hosting late nights for 30 years. The scary thing is that I think I've seen most of the shows! Although I got a new Southland, I want a new Castle!
Okay, onto my week ...
As I mentioned last week, on Sunday I went into the city to the big Lunar (Chinese) New Year parade in Chinatown. Oy. I really didn't think of how crowded it would be. I'm not a fan of crowds, especially ones which totally squish me. Had I realized it, I would have headed in earlier. Instead, I decided to watch CBS Sunday Morning and, at 10:30 when it ended, I packed up my DSLR and my best Canon point and shoot, then moseyed to the bus stop on the corner to catch the 10:41 bus which ended up being late. The parade was supposed to wind through the streets of Chinatown from 11 to 4.
But I didn't know 400,000 people would show up! The crowd situation was worse than the two years I've ventured into Times Square (and never will again) for New Year's Eve. The bus I took ends up at Port Authority which is way uptown from Chinatown. By the time I took three separate subway lines to end up down there, it was going for 1PM and the crowds were unbelievable.
Although there were tons of police, NYPD really did a horrible job with crowd control. I got really SQUISHED, to the point of being scary squished -- the pressure of the bodies was probably capable of breaking brittle bones. On one block on Mott Street (that's almost the Main Street of Chinatown), the police kept letting people in one end while the police at the other end blocked them in. The crush was horrid and only relieved when a bunch of folks started screaming that someone was hurt, someone fainted and one yelled that someone was dead. But no one either fainted or was dead that I saw. I think they just wanted to get the cops to let us out of the crush.
So the cops opened a barricade and let us go right into Hester Street where another segment of the parade was coming through. Now, they wanted us to go back onto the sidewalk on Hester. But I found a safe crowd-free place between two parked cars on the street and stayed right there for the rest of the parade. So, while this was a great photo op in thought, the reality was not as exciting. If I go again, I'll go early in the morning and stake out a spot right along the street, not stuck in the masses in the middle of the sidewalk.
Yet I'm glad I went. I did get some nice shots, not necessarily of the parade. Because I have so many photos, you can expect the Tropicana subway shots next week. Since I took the 6 train back uptown and planned to take the 7 over towards Port Authority only to find out that the 7 is shut down on the weekends right now for maintenance, I ended up on this bizarre Times Square shuttle which hyped Tropicana orange juice. It was kind of cool, but I didn't want to add that series to this already photo-laden entry.
Oh yes, I always seem to end up in Times Square. But, never again on New Year's Eve. The reason I always end up there is because I take the bus home (it stops right across the street from my apartment) and the Port Authority Bus Terminal is in the edge of Times Square. If I take a train home, I don't go that far uptown.
That was my big excitement for the week. Other than that, it was work, eat, sleep, rinse and repeat. Onto the photos ... clicking on an image will open it larger in a gallery thingee.
Yes, that's a NYC cab. But take a closer look. That's the Plainfield Police Department in the background. Apparently some folks have money to throw away. The train or bus would cost $10 or less. I believe the going rate for the cab is $135 these days. That's not including the tip! Since his number light was lit, he was available. I should have hailed him to bring me home and found out the difference for the crosstown trip from him versus the local cabs. This was taken Monday afternoon on Watchung Avenue, Plainfield.
I guess the parade is in there somewhere!
I took this one stuck in the mob on Mott Street. Some parents were foolish enough to bring strollers. The best place for small children was atop the shoulders of their parents. It kind of spoiled the view for people like me, but it was the safest for the kids. This one wasn't quite that high. One idiot during my squished state actually had rolling luggage! I couldn't figure out why my upper body was moving around a bit in the crowd but my legs seemed to be stuck against a rock or something! I thought the knee replacements got bent!
***CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS***
First, let's talk a little about television. I'm tired of the American Idol auditions. I'm glad they're over and it's onto Hollywood next week. Perhaps I've just wearied of the show concept, but no one I've seen has rocked my socks. Eventually, in just a few weeks, Idol will be up against Survivor on Wednesday night. When that time comes, I go Survivor.
Since we've entered the February sweeps, at least Letterman was new this week. I can't believe he's been hosting late nights for 30 years. The scary thing is that I think I've seen most of the shows! Although I got a new Southland, I want a new Castle!
Okay, onto my week ...
As I mentioned last week, on Sunday I went into the city to the big Lunar (Chinese) New Year parade in Chinatown. Oy. I really didn't think of how crowded it would be. I'm not a fan of crowds, especially ones which totally squish me. Had I realized it, I would have headed in earlier. Instead, I decided to watch CBS Sunday Morning and, at 10:30 when it ended, I packed up my DSLR and my best Canon point and shoot, then moseyed to the bus stop on the corner to catch the 10:41 bus which ended up being late. The parade was supposed to wind through the streets of Chinatown from 11 to 4.
But I didn't know 400,000 people would show up! The crowd situation was worse than the two years I've ventured into Times Square (and never will again) for New Year's Eve. The bus I took ends up at Port Authority which is way uptown from Chinatown. By the time I took three separate subway lines to end up down there, it was going for 1PM and the crowds were unbelievable.
Although there were tons of police, NYPD really did a horrible job with crowd control. I got really SQUISHED, to the point of being scary squished -- the pressure of the bodies was probably capable of breaking brittle bones. On one block on Mott Street (that's almost the Main Street of Chinatown), the police kept letting people in one end while the police at the other end blocked them in. The crush was horrid and only relieved when a bunch of folks started screaming that someone was hurt, someone fainted and one yelled that someone was dead. But no one either fainted or was dead that I saw. I think they just wanted to get the cops to let us out of the crush.
So the cops opened a barricade and let us go right into Hester Street where another segment of the parade was coming through. Now, they wanted us to go back onto the sidewalk on Hester. But I found a safe crowd-free place between two parked cars on the street and stayed right there for the rest of the parade. So, while this was a great photo op in thought, the reality was not as exciting. If I go again, I'll go early in the morning and stake out a spot right along the street, not stuck in the masses in the middle of the sidewalk.
Yet I'm glad I went. I did get some nice shots, not necessarily of the parade. Because I have so many photos, you can expect the Tropicana subway shots next week. Since I took the 6 train back uptown and planned to take the 7 over towards Port Authority only to find out that the 7 is shut down on the weekends right now for maintenance, I ended up on this bizarre Times Square shuttle which hyped Tropicana orange juice. It was kind of cool, but I didn't want to add that series to this already photo-laden entry.
Oh yes, I always seem to end up in Times Square. But, never again on New Year's Eve. The reason I always end up there is because I take the bus home (it stops right across the street from my apartment) and the Port Authority Bus Terminal is in the edge of Times Square. If I take a train home, I don't go that far uptown.
That was my big excitement for the week. Other than that, it was work, eat, sleep, rinse and repeat. Onto the photos ... clicking on an image will open it larger in a gallery thingee.
 |
| Call me a cab! |
Yes, that's a NYC cab. But take a closer look. That's the Plainfield Police Department in the background. Apparently some folks have money to throw away. The train or bus would cost $10 or less. I believe the going rate for the cab is $135 these days. That's not including the tip! Since his number light was lit, he was available. I should have hailed him to bring me home and found out the difference for the crosstown trip from him versus the local cabs. This was taken Monday afternoon on Watchung Avenue, Plainfield.
 |
| Cover me -- I'm going in! |
I guess the parade is in there somewhere!
 |
| Not sure what to make of it all |
I took this one stuck in the mob on Mott Street. Some parents were foolish enough to bring strollers. The best place for small children was atop the shoulders of their parents. It kind of spoiled the view for people like me, but it was the safest for the kids. This one wasn't quite that high. One idiot during my squished state actually had rolling luggage! I couldn't figure out why my upper body was moving around a bit in the crowd but my legs seemed to be stuck against a rock or something! I thought the knee replacements got bent!
***CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS***
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