Survivor: Worlds Apart - April 29 Blog Party

Survivor fans ready?

When I checked the listing for tonight's show, it mentioned something to the effect of a "confrontational Tribal Council." Huh. Really? It seems like that's the norm rather than the exception!

As the show airs here, I'll update this post with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest news! As always, the real party is in the comments area. I hope to "see" you there!

Before we get into the show, here are the latest blog pool standings from that Rockin' Lifeguard Laurie:

Carolyn - Jackie, TerryinTX
Dan - Brian, CherylinNC 
Mike - meb, Nickelpeed 
Rodney - Margo 
Shirin - NanaintheNW 
Sierra - Jennasmom 
Tyler - Donna in Alabama, ORK Mommy
Will - Rbennie 

Jury
Hali 
Joe
Jenn

Let's get started!

Dan pretends to sympathize with Shirin, then turns around and tells us how horrible he thinks she is. Pot/kettle/black in my opinion. 

Reward Challenge time -- divided into two teams, transport tribe members with planks and barrels and such across field.  The reward is a catamaran trip with burgers and pie. Woot woot. It's a schoolyard pick. Blue is Rodney, Mike, Shirin and Sierra. Red is Tyler, Dan, Will, Carolyn. Red wins!

The four remaining at camp killed off the last chicken. Rodney reminds us he hasn't won not one reward. Too bad, so sad. 

Sierra thinks they should get Tyler out, keep Shirin because no one would ever vote for her to win the million. Meanwhile, Rodney thinks he himself is the biggest threat and is sure to win. @@ 

Dan considers his group on Reward are his allies. We'll see if that sticks. 

Immunity Challenge time -- hold onto a rope handle attached to 25% of body weight, eventually weaken, drop water bucket on head. Last man and last woman both win Immunity. 

Sierra out, Tyler out, Will out, Dan out, Shirin out. Carolyn wins for the women. Rodney out. Mike wins Immunity (second time in a row) for the men.  

The plan is to take Shirin out tonight. She tells Dan they're all incredibly stupid to vote her out. What an approach! She pushes her vote Tyler out agenda. Meanwhile, Tyler snags Dan's bag to see what's inside. Tyler tells Carolyn about Dan's extra vote advantage. Tyler's worried.

Mike knows the vote is leaning towards Shirin. He tells us he could shake up the whole game by giving her his idol. Hmm. 

It's Tribal Council time once again. Back to the Will attack on Shirin during the last tribal. Shirin tries telling them that not voting out Tyler would lose them a million dollars as he's the biggest threat and she's no threat.

Mike pulls out the idol before the vote and says he'll use it on Shirin. Is it a bluff? Shirin will vote Tyler and he will randomly vote. Jeff calls it Survivor Roulette. 

He does NOT play the idol.

Tyler, Shirin, Dan, Tyler, Shirin, Dan, Shirin, Shirin.

Well played, guys. I didn't think he'd waste the idol on her when he needs it. Now they know he has it.

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - April 26, 2015

Good morning! Since it's not just a morning, but a SUNDAY morning -- 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. Tune in on Wednesday and Friday evenings for the Survivor and Amazing Race blog parties!

It seems much of this week was windy or rainy or very cold (freeze warnings out and about) and rather sucky for taking photos. Yet I got some decent ones. At least I think I did. Of course, I was better off with more stable objects. No bugs! I had more failed flowers photos due to the wind, too. Grr.

Once again, I don't have much to report on regarding happenings during the week. Work, eat, sleep, give a cat attention, rinse, repeat. So, I'll offer up some random ponderings and observations:

• NJ Transit is considering up to a 9% increase in bus, light rail and train tickets. They could probably get at least 5% of that if conductors in every train collected/checked tickets of every passenger instead of not bothering. That and actually enforcing the $5 surcharge for buying tickets on the train itself instead of via online, machines or ticket agents.
• While they're at it, they seriously need to enforce the "no feet on the seats" rule. I remember decades ago getting bopped with a nightstick on my toe when I did that on the subway in NYC.
• I hear no coyotes at night around here. Yet they've been spotted in Manhattan.
• Good manners in public go a long way -- it doesn't matter whether you're a child or an adult.
• I'm looking forward to summer TV series. Big Brother will premiere on June 24. Under the Dome will be following BB on either Wednesday or Thursday nights, can't remember which one. Woot! I just saw a commercial for Falling Skies. So You Think You Can Dance should be popping up again. I'm also interested in the upcoming James Patterson series Zoo even though it brings back memories of the defunct whacked series When Good Pets Go Bad.
• What is the record for the length of time a cat can purr?
• I saw a Lamborghini this week during a rare moment without my camera. It was dirty. If I owned a Lamborghini, I'd pay someone to wash it. 
• They ripped out the hedge where I used to shoot periwinkle growing underneath. I wish they'd stop doing things like that. It's bad enough they removed the flowering bushes which used to attract butterflies and bees up by the TD Ball Park in Bridgewater. 
• I'm looking for the snakes to reappear at the Bridgewater Train Station. Although, it could be like the Year of the Snails there -- only showing up one year, then gone.

Onto the photos -- clicking on an image will open it up larger in a gallery doohickey!

The moon last night

Rockin' Robin

Tweet, tweet.

Looking more like spring in da 'hood

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

The Amazing Race 26 - April 24 Blog Party

 

It's Friday night! I hope you haven't forgotten that it's time for The Amazing Race! The last time out, my own blog pool team got Philiminated. Five teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

As the show airs here, I'll update this entry with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest news! As always, the real party is in the comments area. I hope to see you there. (And bring snacks. And beverages.)

Here's the blog pool standings presented by the Magnificent Margo:

Mike and Rochelle - Cheryl in NC, Laurie

Matt and Ashley - Delee, Merrilee

Blair and Hayley - Terry in TX, Margo, Chris

Jelani and Jenny - Marlo, Lynn 1, dla

Tyler and Laura - Ed in OH, David, Nickelpeed

PHILIMINATED:

Jeff and Lyda - Jennasmom, Paula Bell, meb

Lebya and CJ - Donna in FL, PDXGranny 

Harley and Jonathan - Becky, Willie J 

Bergen and Kurt - Nana in NW, Rbennie

Jeffrey and Jackie - Brian, Donna in AL, ORKMommy

Aly and Steve - Jackie, SueGee

Let's get it on! 

Teams are heading to Amsterdam. Jenny and Jelani are ticked at Matt and Ashley for U-Turning them and will seek revenge if possible. 

The Roadblock has teams seeking a matchingpair of clumpets? (Wooden shoes).  The person has to match two individual shoes out of a gazillion pairs.

Jenny and Jelani get through the Roadblock first and they're riding bicycles to the ferry to get their next clue. Laura and Tyler next through.

Matt and Ashley are the only ones remaining at the Roadblock. Matt has touched the correct shoe several times and is growing more and more frustrated. On his 43rd attempt he made the match.

Detour - Soak or Shuffle. Floating hot tub looking for the clues or play a Dutch version of shuffleboard. 

Haley continues to freak out on Blair. I think it might be cause for a justifiable homicide on his part.

Tyler and Laura have their clue to the Pit Stop. 

1. Laura and Tyler - won a trip to Seoul, South Korea 

2. Haley and Blair 

3. Jelani and Jenny 

4. Mike and Rochelle 

5. Matt and Ashley - A non-Philimination! They're still in it!

Survivor: Worlds Apart - April 22 Blog Party

Survivor fans ready?

From the promos, it's the loved ones episode we'll be seeing tonight, plus what looks like a lot of acrimony going on betwixt the castaways. This should be interesting!


As the show airs here, I'll update this post with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest news! As always, the real party is in the comments area. I hope to "see" you there!

Before we get into the show, here are the latest blog pool standings from that Rockin' Lifeguard Laurie:

Carolyn - Jackie, TerryinTX
Dan - Brian, CherylinNC 
Jenn - Merrilee, Becky
Mike - meb, Nickelpeed 
Rodney - Margo 
Shirin - NanaintheNW 
Sierra - Jennasmom 
Tyler - Donna in Alabama, ORK Mommy
Will - Rbennie 

Jury
Hali 
Joe

Let's get started!

Rodney is trying for a "Get Mike Out" now move with Will, Tyler and Carolyn. Mike knows about this. 

It's Survivor Auction time. Will bought a note telling him that he just bought himself out of the auction, head back to camp. Eep. That was the first covered item. Now Jeff is showing fried chicken and waffles -- Shirin bought it for $300. 

Most admit they're waiting for an advantage, not food. Rodney went for food. Now Jeff is offering them love from home. Sierra offers $20 and Jeff offers the rest of them the same offer. Everyone goes in on it for that price. Then they'll worry about the advantage. Ohh ... Mike didn't do it. Now he has more money than anyone else for the advantage clue.

Now they don't trust him. Carolyn gives back her clue and Dan gets back in, too. All three had to draw rocks -- Dan has the advantage.

Meanwhile, Will found a clue waiting for him back at camp. It leads him to a private box of rations he can share or not. He decides to share.

Mike calls out the alliance against him. Rodney gets a bit over-excited in denial. Ha. 

Tears as they all read their letters from home. Mike feels guilty that he ruined the moment. Rodney wants to take advantage of that. 

Dan's advantage is that he gets an extra vote in Tribal. He has to cast it after Jeff says he'll go tally the vote. 

As I figured, they now think Will didn't share all the food he found. Mike starts the buzz over that and they all believe it. Will brings the empty box, but took his ire out on Shirin rather than Mike. 

Immunity Challenge time. Will says he's willing to take himself out of the challenge in return for the letter home. Jeff says all must agree to it. Shirin objects. Will must compete. 

Transporting six balls with huge tongs across teeter-totters. Mike wins Immunity! His only allies now are Jenn and Shirin, so he needed it.

Mike wants to get Dan in with them and blindside Carolyn. The others want to split the vote between Jenn and Shirin. Mike is blue, blue, blue-ing Dan. Carolyn is worried. She tells us she might have to use her idol.

Ohh ... Dan tells his "allies" that whatever choice he makes is his. He will make either a million dollar decision or a mistake.

Tribal Council time. Fireworks ensue. Carolyn does NOT play her idol, Dan doesn't use his clue.

Jenn, Shirin, Jenn, Shirin, Jenn, Carolyn, Shirin, Jenn, Jenn.

Jenn is voted out.

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - April 19, 2015

Good morning! Since it is indeed Sunday, you know what that means. It's time for my weekly reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. Remember to come back on Wednesday and Friday evenings for Survivor and The Amazing Race blog parties!

Let's see ... what has been happening with me this past week? My Killer Cold has lessened a great deal. What I have now is either leftover remnants of the cold and/or allergies kicking in. All day yesterday I was sick to my stomach, but that seems to be gone today. I have no clue what's up with that. I feel better today in that aspect. Perhaps it was something I ate.

Spring has finally taken hold here. I wouldn't mind if it lasted until autumn. I'm not a summer heat kind of person. While I love a cool storm, I'm not into extremes of temperature -- either heat or cold. I can actually take cold weather better than hot and humid.

Random bits:

• I bought Vincent some fresh catnip yesterday and he loves it. Yes, I'm an enabler.
• Seriously, if you get off the train, do NOT stand on the stairs blocking others while you mess with your smart phone.
• Sometimes you have to grin and bear it. But that doesn't mean you're happy inside.
• If you forget to give your Peapod grocery delivery dude your coupons (they double up to 99 cents), you can mail them in for credit.
• Yes, I forgot to give him about $12 worth of coupons.
• Peapod drivers who get this route with Plainfield like it more than the Manhattan routes. Too many walk-ups there, too much traffic and no parking.
• I need to clean my windows.
• But most of the "dirt" is on the outside. I have to remember how they put them in so I can take out the panes to clean the outside. I don't have a squeegee on a pole to reach up from outside.
• Hmm ... maybe I'll just do the insides.
• NJ Transit cops or the Plainfield police really have to get someone stationed at the Plainfield Train Station from late afternoons into late late nights. The bums, druggies and street people loitering is ridiculous. They ought to limit it to ticketed passengers. That would clear up the problems there.

Onto the photos for the week. Clicking on an image will bring up larger versions of the photos.

Sunset at the Bridgewater Train Station

Complete with the edge of woods, birds on a wire, stadium lights and the back side edge of the scoreboard doohickey for the TD Ball Park.

Love me some forsythia!

Basic yellow daffodil

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