BBOTT: It's Official - Two of the Final Three Confirmed - into November 27

Just a few more days ...

Nothing much has changed in the house.

• Jason is still HoH.
• Kryssie is still Kryssie and will always be Kryssie.
• Morgan has been repeatedly going through all the comps, things in the house and hamsters trying to prep for the Veto Comp tomorrow.
• Justin has been in Audrey mode, occasionally coming to life, but mostly in bed.
• The decision to take someone to the final two became official yesterday.
• But we knew since he won HoH, Jason was choosing to take Kryssie.
• That's what started Justin's poor behavior in motion.
• On the other hand, I've been very impressed with Morgan's behavior in the house since her best and last ally Shelby got the boot.
• She's mixed. She's mingled. She's been partaking in things. Plus, every moment she can, she's studying.
• I hope she wins the veto!
• As for Justin, I'd say I'm disappointed.
• But I'm not, really. I've said all along he was just coasting and being himself. He's entertaining when he wants to be, but he hasn't been playing the game of Big Brother. 
• In this last stretch, he has to play the game or get the boot.
• Instead, he's still working on America's vote -- talking to the camera about all is love and how he wants to start a fishing program for the kids in New Orleans.
• True, that's a worthy goal. But it's not something you need a half-million dollars to put in motion! If he really wanted to do that, he could get active in the community and work on getting people to sponsor the much less than a half-million needed to get it off the ground.
• I think he wants to convince America that he's all that, a bag of chips AND has these lofty goals to give back to the community.
• Personally, I don't care what reality show folks do with their winnings ... with the exception of the arrest/drug stupidity of a few. That's total stupidity.
• It's their money. They went before the public eye, endured mocking and ridicule to win it. They can spend it however they want -- college loans, bills, homes, cars or wasting it away. I don't expect anyone to suddenly become a philanthropist and give it all away to a good cause. Very few do that.
• All will tell tomorrow when either Justin or Morgan win a place in the final three.
• At this time, I'm really hoping it's Morgan. She's been very impressive lately. Well, with the exception of that 11 minute time in the Maize Maze, that is. 

It's AUDREY! Er, I mean Justin.

Repeatedly going over days and comps

Opening last nicotine patch

BBOTT: Dwindling Days - into Saturday, November 26

Memorizing the days, the comps

The Justin rift in the house continues.

• Justin said his poor behavior on Thanksgiving was due to being homesick.
• True, he is young. True, he's often said he's never been away from home for more than two weeks.
• But, as his fellow hamsters tried to tell him, they're all pretty much in the same boat.
• Had he told them that he was homesick and needed alone time, it may have been understood.
• Instead, he just slept the day away, showing up to eat only. He didn't partake in any of the special things BB had set for them for the day.
• Kryssie ended up preparing Justin's mother's turkey recipe.
• He didn't even help clean up.
• And, coupled with his bragging about how great his game has been and his obvious bitterness about not being Jason's one safe pick this week ...!
• He went around apologizing "if he offended people" instead of owning up to bad behavior on his part.
• Morgan tried to tell him there's a difference between confidence and arrogance ... and he's been coming off as arrogant.
• Yet he maintains how he's made so many moves and been a great player.
• Go figure.
• The others are right that he's been playing up to America.
• One thing I've noticed is that he tells his fellow hamsters that he's thrown comps. He's told us that he has sucked at them.
• Even now he's putting on a different face for us than he is for his fellow hamsters.
• Kryssie really lit into him.
• Jason grouses about him. However, this Justin imploding might be one of the best things ever for Jason's own game. I think he knows that.
• While Morgan has spent an inordinate amount of time studying and preparing for the Veto Comp, Justin has been working out, napping and spreading insincere apologies. 

Listening (or not) to Kryssie

Playing for second ... or third place

He thought he'd be gone first week

BBOTT: A BB Thanksgiving - into Friday, November 25

Drumsticks are better eaten than worn

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving with family, fun and food! I didn't write up a report yesterday because I was busy having a mellow day myself. But I'm here now and here's what's been going on!

• As I mentioned in my last post, Jason easily won the last HoH of the season. He will nominate two people for eviction and save one. Those two will have the opportunity to play for the Power of Veto.
• After the comp, secrets came bursting out of nowhere -- Morgan told them that Alex is her sister and their whole story (not getting along well over the years, Alex was the superfan, didn't know each other would be in the house, etc.)
• Jason told them that he didn't just reenter the house this season -- America voted him in over Jozea. 
• Of course, if they knew Jozea, they should figure nobody wanted to endure Jozea in there again!
• In between getting told by BB to stop talking about production, they all talked how they got on the show this season.
• Justin admitted he was a recruit and had tried for a cooking show.
• Jason indicated to Justin that he would be taking Kryssie with him to the final three, leaving Justin and Morgan to battle it out in Veto.
• Oh my.
• There is a side of Justin which certainly isn't entertaining! Not AT ALL!
• Justin started saying how he played the game this year the best of all. After all, he didn't know the game at all and has sailed right through to the end!
• He played better than Jason or any of the others! 
• Give me a break!
• Jason ranted (not in front of Justin) with Kryssie about Justin not doing much all season, yet thinking he was entitled to be chosen rather than Kryssie.
• Now, I totally understand the Kryssie choice, as does Kryssie herself. She knows she has no chance to win against Jason. But she has been WITH Jason since the get-go.
• On the other hand, Morgan is mixing and mingling with Jason and Kryssie quite nicely.
• Obviously, she wasn't expecting Jason to save her in this scenario.
• But things get worse with Justin.
• In the daytime, BB gave them letters from home, expecting them to read them together as a group.
• Justin just up and left the other three and his unopened letter.
• As they said, if he didn't want to read it aloud, fine. But stay with them and listen to theirs as BB did it for them.
• Instead, Justin stayed in bed almost all day.
• BB also gave them all the ingredients and recipes for a holiday feast. The recipes were ones from their families and some from previous houseguests.
• Morgan, Kryssie and Jason worked preparing and cooking.
• Justin slept.
• Remember, Justin is the one with the "chef" background.
• Justin woke up in time to eat, then went to read his letter and return to sleeping.
• Morgan, Kryssie and Jason cleaned up the kitchen.
• In this 24-hour period, Justin has managed to totally alienate the other three in the house.
• Both Jason and Kryssie want Morgan to be with them in the final three.
• They think Justin has been acting entitled to the win, disrespecting BB and the show itself.
• Y'know, I kind of agree with them.
• All along I've said he's not really playing the game; he's just being himself. And, while he can be entertaining, he's not playing BB.
• He wasn't even entertaining yesterday. 

In the spirit of the day

Look who decided to show up

BBOTT: Final HoH Competition - November 23

Morgan reads the rules

The final HoH comp of BBOTT has begun. It's called Uphill Battle. Morgan can play even though she's outgoing HoH -- since it's the last one of the season.

Each plays on own game board. Each board has same question. Maneuver ball into answer pocket using a bar and rope to lift one color-coded answer ball at a time up the board. If wrong, they use the stick to push the ball out from behind playing board. 

WHOA! It barely started and we have a winner!

Uphill Battle

Quad Cam view

Jason is the final HoH!

 

Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen-X Blog Party - November 23

As Survivor airs here on the East Coast, I'll be live-blogging with the major events.  As always, the real party is in the comments area. Please feel free to join in on the fun! Tonight is a two-hour show!

Since the BBOTT weekly show is starting at the same time as Survivor, I'm putting up a post for it that will be concurrent with this one. I'm not expecting the eviction there until after Survivor ends, so I will be here until the end of this show. I can't physically (or mentally) watch and post about two shows at one time! Gah! I'll have the feeds on minimized and low volume during this show. If I hear the eviction go down, I'll see what's up.

Here are the blog pool match updates from the Lifeguard Luau Laurie:

Survivors
Adam Klein - Brian, Kelsey NY, Sharon N
Bret LaBelle - Brandi Peralta, Judi Sweeney, Skyriverblue
Chris Hammons - Cheryl in NC, Jennasmom, Lanell from TN
David Wright - Buzzmaam, MikesGirl, Sharon C
Hannah Shapiro - David, meb, Terry is a Texan
Jay Starrett - Becky, Jackie, Shayne
Jessica Lewis - Cupcake, Jean, Petals
Ken McNickle - Dolores in Hollywood, Margo, Russ
Sunday Burquest - Brenda, Kristen from Ohio, SueGee
Will Wahl - Cheryl, Indiana Jane
Zeke Smith - Beachmom, monty924 , Glenn

Jury
Michelle Shubert
Taylor Lee Stocker

Survivor fans ready? 

Both Adam and Jay are scrambling to overcome the Taylor Food Fiasco from Tribal. Chris still wants to target Jessica instead of either of the boys.

Oh, geez. Hannah has a crush on Ken. I might have a panic attack over that.

Will, who's been a bit of connected to Jay at the hip, has decided to work with Zeke instead. He tells Zeke about Jay's idol. He thinks telling one individual will only help his game. The news of the idol spreads through camp like wildfire. Poor Will. 

Chris wants to vote out Jess. Zeke wants to flush the idol out from Jay. They will all soon have to eat one another to survive in the Donner Party. Um, well. Okay, not that far!

Reward - Floating pizza restaurant. It's an obstacle course and stacking blocks. It's a random draw for teams. One person won't play. David volunteers to sit out due to his poor swimming. The others encourage him to play.

It's a rock pick thing. Jay got the sit-out rock.  

Adam, Bret, Zeke, Hannah and Sunday win reward. At said reward, they received letters from home. Tears all about. Well, except maybe Bret.

David thinks that he, Jessica and Ken should target Bret, Sunday and Chris. David thinks Chris needs to go first. Jessica knows that Chris is her biggest nemesis, so she's fine with that. 

Immunity Challenge - Stand on a narrow beam balancing a statue on a long pole. As time passes, they'll need to move farther away from the statue. Hannah out first. Ken out. Sunday, Chris, Will, Jay and Bret out. Ants crawling on them are taking a toll. Adam out. Jessica out. Zeke out.

DAVID wins Immunity! 

At Tribal, everyone is 100% sure the vote will go the way they want. I'm not 100%.

Jay doesn't play his idol even though he kept saying he was going home during the Tribal Council.

The tally:
Chris, Jessica, Chris, Jessica, Chris, Jessica, Chris, Jessica, Chris, Chris.

Yay, Jessica stays and Chris goes! 

Zeke made things good with Bret. He needs Bret and Sunday to build up a charge against David and Company. Jay is a target. But David realizes he needs to get rid of Zeke. He mistakenly tells Bret.   

Hannah is torn between Zeke and David. Zeke told Adam and Hannah that David has another idol. The Reward is slithering through a course and solving a snake puzzle. Helicopter tour of the island and a picnic are Reward. One person will not have a chance to earn Reward, but automatically win a spot -- white rock. David got the white rock! 

Bret, Zeke and Sunday will go on Reward with David. Now, Adam is tempted to use his advantage, but doesn't. Bret and Zeke bond even more over many beers. Bret tells Zeke that he doesn't care if a guy is gay. Hmm. Their target is still David.

Hannah has made the decision to go with David. She tells him that Zeke told her and Adam that he has an idol. She also told him that Bret told Zeke he's (David) gunning for him (Zeke).

Immunity Challenge time! Stand behind a caged door, maneuver a handle through a maze and solve a slide puzzle.  

Jay gets through the handle maze first. Jay wins Immunity and no one else even got through the door!  

David gets Jessica and Ken to agree to vote for Zeke. Zeke puts Hannah on the spot. He realizes that Hannah isn't on his side. Uh-oh. Zeke thinks he should switch his target to Hannah. Hannah goes to Adam trying to get him to vote for Zeke. Adam doesn't really trust her. She's paranoid and thinks they're going to target her thus she would need David to save her with his idol. 

Tribal Council is uncomfortable. Lots of whispering. Hmm. No real trust showing.

David plays his idol. Adams tells them the whispers were to vote for Ken. He uses it to save Ken.

Zeke, Hannah, Zeke, Hannah, Zeke, Hannah, Zeke, Hannah, Zeke, Hannah.

It's a tie.

Re-tally:
Hannah, Zeke, Hannah, Zeke, Hannah, Zeke, Hannah, Zeke.

A double tie deadlock!  

Re-vote time. Nope! It's drawing for rocks if they don't make a unanimous decision.  

Ken, Hannah, Zeke and Jay are safe. The rest must draw rocks.

Jessica drew the black rock. She's going home. She's crushed. She leaves her early earned Legacy Advantage to Ken.
  

BBOTT: Weekly Episode, Live Eviction - November 23

Since the weekly (online) BBOTT show now starts at 8pm ET until the season ends, I'm putting up this post so anyone who wishes to do so can comment on the weekly show. I'm not going to live blog the show itself as we've already discussed all that happens.  Plus, the early time here for the show has it at the same time as Survivor -- which I live blog and more people are into than this CBS All Access only version of Big Brother.

This week Survivor is two hours, so I won't be watching (although it will be kind of sort of on) BBOTT's live eviction. It's not like there will be much suspense to it anyway. Jason saved himself with the veto. Morgan had to put Shelby on the block because Justin had already saved himself with the care package. So, it's only Justin and Jason voting with Kryssie and Shelby on the block. Guess who will go home? I'll return to post the news when it goes down anyway.

Guess what? The live eviction went down and both Jason and Justin voted to evict SHELBY! 

BBOTT: Change of Game Direction Again - into Tuesday, November 22

Justin makes ice cream sandwiches for all

My gosh, this has been one topsy-turvy season of BB! I'm not sure if we've ever seen the change of power in the game rotating so evenly between sides of the house!

• But first ... Justin made homemade ice cream sandwiches late in the evening after the hoopla of the veto comp was long over.
• I've never made them, but now he's given me ideas!
• BUT ... he was handling the ice cream in his bare hands and I saw him lick the ice cream off his fingers.
• Now, I would do that myself in my own kitchen if I were the only one eating them and not being filmed. However, that's not the case with him. Eww.
• The huge news of the day was the veto comp.
• Going into it Jason and Kryssie were on the block, Morgan HoH.
• They were each sequestered in separate rooms to wait as each hamster did the comp one by one.
• If I were Kryssie, I'd complain about always getting stuck in the storage room for these things -- it's the least comfortable although she could always snack.
• The Power of Veto Comp was a Maize Maze.
• They had to crawl through a big maze to retrieve three ears of corn.
• The finish times ranged from Jason at 1:30 minutes to Morgan at 11:00 minutes.
• You heard me.
• It took Morgan eleven minutes to finish! EEK! Horrible!
• Justin did his season best so far with the exception of completing the challenge in the care package for safety. His time was second fastest at 1:56 minutes.
• Kryssie didn't do shabby at all with 2:05 minutes.
• Then came Shelby. She sucked at the comp, but not anywhere near as badly as Morgan did. Shelby had a time of 4:24 minutes.
• So ... JASON won the Power of Veto.
• Before going into the comp, he knew it was do or die for him in the house. If he didn't get taken off the block, he would be the one going home this week.
• He couldn't risk his life on Justin winning.
• He was a bundle of nerves going into it and even went through so fast that he cut up his knees.
• He wanted the win just that bad.
• And, he got it.
• Of course, that puts the writing on the wall for Thursday.
• Jason will save himself.
• Morgan will have no choice but to put Shelby on the block.
• Justin and Jason will vote Shelby out.
• The Morgan/Shelby cry fest went on ... and on ... and on.
• Shelby ended up trying to pep talk Morgan.
• Morgan, meanwhile, feels she has the weight of the entire Ball Smashers on her shoulders fighting impossible odds.
• She can play in the next HoH comp even though she's outgoing HoH.
• She better do better than she did in the maze! 

Waiting and waiting some more

Retrieve your three ears of corn

Reading the comp instructions

Crawling through the Maize Maze

Really? Really? I won veto?

Realization and a fake Morgan hug for Jason

I actually DID IT!

The writing is on the wall

BBOTT: No Surprise Noms - into Monday, November 21

Ohhh! The HoH camera!

Well, it was yet another exciting fun-filled day in Happy Hamsterland! Er, well. Okay. Maybe not.

• Morgan got the HoH camera. 
• And fun was had by all.
• Or, by some.
• Um. Make that a few.
• Well ... make that Shelby and Morgan.
• Some of the day was spent with Morgan and Shelby desperately seeking a pineapple hidden by the Late Night Jamboree crew.
• Shelby and Morgan spent a lot of time going over the details of every comp, every day.
• I didn't bother to study at all.
• While they were doing that, the LNJ bunch was talking about Jon Lovitz and Alexis Arquette.
• But, Justin does have a song memorized to help him with the days.
• Of course, he doesn't have to worry this week -- he achieved safety by walking the slack line as per America's Care Package.
• The nominations were evident even before the Safety Ceremony.
• Justin is off the table.
• Shelby is Morgan's only ally.
• That leaves Jason and Kryssie.
• Duh.
• Yet, they went through with the ceremony.
• Instead of just saying they were her only options, Morgan went on about the division in the house in her nominations speech.
• Morgan and Shelby want Jason out.
• Jason is worried, but doesn't seem to really be working on studying for possible question comps.
• As a matter of fact, he's acting rather defeated.
• Justin claims that, with the numbers, they have his back.
• Hmm.
• One of them would have to win veto forcing Morgan to put Shelby on the block.
• Otherwise ... the LNJ will be down to two. 

Can you feel the love?

Studying? Nope!

The suspense is killing me!

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - November 20, 2016

Good morning! Since it's Sunday, 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. This is a regular Sunday part of this blog in addition to the television posts. Right now I'm covering Big Brother: Over the Top daily -- you can find those posts at this link. I'm also live blogging Survivor episodes as they air on Wednesday evenings. Come join the blog parties!

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving will be upon us in just a few days! Around here, we've had more warm days than cold so far. Of course, Thanksgiving is early this year, so there's that. I wouldn't mind temperatures in the 50s all through the winter season, though! But it's already changed. They don't expect temperatures to get out of the forties starting today and remaining for the rest of the week. They predicted snow not far north of here and flurries for here overnight leading into today. I saw no flurries.

With the exception of a Red-Tailed Hawk sitting atop the Chotola Apartment Building on North Avenue (across from the Plainfield Train Station) one morning as I headed to work, it wasn't a great photo week. But I certainly took advantage of the hawk sighting! One of the best things about digital photography is the ability to shoot and shoot ... and shoot. I think I took a total of about fifty shots of him before he flew away!

I found out that the Trader Joe's in Westfield will be reopening in about two weeks. I'm SO looking forward to that! I'm still going through Trader Joe's withdrawal pains since their roof collapsed in a blizzard last January. I have a Peapod grocery order set for Wednesday. But, since it's the day before Thanksgiving, I doubt all items will be in stock. I just know I'll be way busy at work from Friday on, have to work weird hours Monday and Tuesday ... Wednesday is my only day to get groceries other than today. I don't want to go out there today! After making the mistake of going into a food store the day before Thanksgiving in the past, I also refuse to madhouse once again. I figure if Peapod is out of the turkey breast I ordered, they will have the Porterhouse steak and I'll have a good meal on the holiday no matter what.  

Today I'm making up a big batch of beef stew in my crock pot. That will last me through Wednesday for my main meals. When you're me and live with a cat, you don't mind living off of leftovers for three days! I only cook things I like because I have no one to please with my cooking but myself. Often I'll make a big dish on a day off to have for a few days so I don't have to cook on workdays. When you only have one day off at a time and no "weekend" to speak of, it makes life easier. 

Anyway ... onto the photos. Clicking on an image will bring up a larger version.
  

Artsy Red-Tailed Hawk

I edited this shot to highlight the hawk. Deadly to some, yet a magnificent bit of nature.

Morning moon and the hawk

I was so happy to see the hawk sit in place for so long! It's hard to capture them in flight.

The original Hawkeye

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