Survivor: Game Changers - Casting Part 2

In just one week, we'll be settling into a new season of Survivor! Woot! Woot! While I don't necessarily love the idea of people playing on the show multiple times, it looks like this cast is going to make it all worthwhile.

Hali - Game changer or not? I'm thinking not for her. I don't know. She might have a trick or two up her sleeve. But being pretty, playing under the radar ... those seem to be standards we see in a few every season. I barely remember her from her original season. Yeah, she made some decent alliances. Yeah, she won a few challenges. I think this season I'm more interested in seeing her and Sierra maybe get into a cat fight. Meow.

Zeke - Game changer or not? I believe he indeed can be a game changer. Although he got weaselly last season, often times Survivor calls for weasels ... and rats and snakes. He's definitely a thinking strategical player who can sometimes really throw himself into the comps. I like his thinking in this intro video. Might he win it all? In the words of Rudy, "Don't know."

Tai - Game changer or not? Darn-tootin' right he's a game changer! This guy named the chicken and made it into a camp pet! He weighs less than most prepubescent children, yet can climb trees and give his all in challenges. He's entertaining. And, think about it ... he will be reunited with Caleb! "Reunited and it feels so good ..." He is so not the typical Survivor castaway that he's the perfect Survivor castaway. I do hope he works on that social game and remembers the jury can be bitter.

Jeff - Game changer or not? Hmm. In my opinion, he was certainly not a game changer in his previous two seasons. I liked him in Season 2, not so much in Cambodia. So, he has this new game strategy -- he's going to be everybody's best friend! Ohhh! While he definitely needs a better social approach because he tends to make enemies on rapid order, we'll see how that works for him.

Debbie - Game changer or not? Oh my. The female version of Coach is returning to share her delusions of grandeur and tall tales once again. Hmm. She thinks she would like to work with Culpepper and Tony? I'm not sure they would be that willing to work with her! Perhaps we should take wagers on whether she'll get Aubrey out before Aubrey gets her out. I don't really want her to win. Her game changing claim to fame might be that the show sometimes attracts the lunatic fringe.

Anybody have any thoughts on these five castaways?

Stay tuned for the blog pool sign-up post. It's coming soon!

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - February 26, 2017

Good morning! Since it's Sunday morning, this is my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I took along the way. I swear I will continue posting cast entries for Survivor: Game Changers this week -- you can find any Survivor posts I make at this link right here. My apologies for not posting on the cast this past week. The season premiere isn't until March 8. I will also be posting the blog pool entry post later this week. Stay tuned!

The weather this week was almost early summer-like from Thursday through yesterday. It was all capped off with a very vivid and violent thunderstorm last night. And, yes, it's February. Global warming? I don't know. Unless something changes a lot in the next few days, it should be declared the warmest February on record for this area. While I personally enjoyed the warmer temperatures, it's probably not good for nature overall. It's back to seasonal today. However, nature might have already fallen for the ruse of warmer temperatures. Spring growth seems to want to burst through and a gazillion geese are heading north. I saw a mosquito yesterday.

As for me myself, I'm not doing all that well. I went to the hospital for some tests needed to proceed with the vascular surgery. It was a glorious day in Somerville. In normal circumstance, I'd roam the town I don't go to much and take photographs. Instead, all I want to do is be home elevating my legs to ease the pain. I'm not sleeping well, either. Overall, I just don't feel well at all. My blood pressure is high and has never been high before and more. I'm gaining weight because walking hurts so much. Gah. But, mind you, the knee replacements are both doing well. People keep asking if my knees are feeling any better. It's not the knees. It's the rest of me! 

I also seem to have shrunk two inches from my normal height somehow. It's been years since anyone measured my height and I'm two inches shorter! That's just weird. Perhaps a combination of the knee replacements and poor posture due to pain? Age? I don't know.

Enough woe is me ... 

Onto the photos I took this past week -- clicking on an image will open it in a larger version.

Wheels

I was once again at the Somerville Train Station on Friday. This is another shot of the train wheels/smoke-stack sculpture.

Early morning on North Avenue

On Friday, I took my old regular train to work at 6:40am -- the train I took for several years before work decided to mess with my schedule. (Yes, I'm still ticked about that. I HATE getting home at 7pm!) I took this shot looking towards the north over North Avenue from Track One of the Plainfield Train Station a few minutes before the actual sunrise. 

Bird on a wire

Not quite like a cat on a hot tin roof.

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

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - February 19, 2017

Good morning! Since it's Sunday morning, this is my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I took along the way. I will continue posting cast entries for Survivor: Game Changers this week -- you can find any Survivor posts I make at this link right here.

Not a great week for me this past week, but not the worst in my life, either. I had the appointment with the vascular surgeon. This coming Friday I'll go to the hospital for more intensive testing to determine the best surgery options (and to make sure I'm good for the surgery). While I've been focusing on the right leg which swells so rapidly when I'm on it and hurts so much, the other leg is in rough shape, too. The doctor told me that I probably didn't really notice because the right one is so painful. My blood pressure was also high once again. Hmm. I never really had a problem with that before this year. I guess I'll have to have that looked into this year. Heck, I might as well meet my out of pocket maximum on my health insurance and have all my health woes done!

The weather here this week has been fluctuating between record high highs and bitter cold with lots of wind. I can deal with the cold, but the wind was killing me earlier in the week! After a cold morning, yesterday's temperatures hit above 60 although I was inside work and didn't get to enjoy it. Today, it's supposed to be even warmer. Alas, I'll probably stay in for the day anyway. I'm really not feeling well enough to go out and roam around if I don't have to go out to go to work. I'll compromise -- I'll open my windows this afternoon and sit in the recliner chair by the open window!

I'm thankful for the local friends I have! One friend, originally a train friend for years, now has a car on the road and, when our work schedules permit, she's been giving me rides in the morning to work. Another, originally a blog then Facebook friend, has offered me transportation needed for medical doings (and did take me to the ER when I went)! Yay! There are really good people out there, more so than evil ones, for sure!

Oh, well. Enough about me. Onto the photos I took this past week -- clicking on an image will open up a larger one in a gallery format.   

Tunnel tile art -- it's the bee's knees!

At least, when the rehabbed the tunnel at the Somerville Train Station, while the previous murals went away, the tile art pieces remained. Why a beekeeper, I don't know.

Can you strike a pose, pretty pigeon?

How's this? -- A pigeon atop the Chotola Apartment building on North Avenue in Plainfield.

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

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - February 12, 2017

Good morning! Since it's Sunday morning, this is my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I took along the way. Although its season premiere is still almost a month away, CBS has announced the entire list of castaways for Survivor: Game Changers. I posted yesterday on a few of them and will continue slowly posting on the cast. The blog pool won't open up until we're a week or two away from the premiere. You can always find any Survivor posts I make at this link right here.

Welp, I was on staycation this week and I pretty much stayed home trying to keep the swelling in my leg down by elevating it a lot. I ventured downtown on Wednesday when we had record highs. On Thursday, we had a rather cruel (windy and raw) snowstorm. We got only six inches or so, but the wind and the temperatures made it quite slippery and treacherous. I stayed inside. Today we're expecting sleet, freezing rain, rain and snow. I'm so over it. Bring on spring! It felt glorious on Wednesday when I was out and about!

I saw my neighbor on the bedroom wall side of my apartment building this morning -- the one from Africa who has/had his very elderly mother living there. We've been neighbors for probably ten years or more, but I only see him in passing. I had been worried about him because his rent invoice, hanging in a packet from his doorknob, stayed on his door up until the day before the late cut-off for paying. That's not like him at all. He told me he went to his home country, Nigeria, for four weeks. He reports that it's always hot there! I'm thinking his mother must be gone, though. I didn't ask. But there's no way she could stay alone and no way she could make a trip like that. She looked over 100 the last time I saw her about six years ago. He's a good neighbor -- quiet, pleasant whenever we see each other and seems to work a lot. No, he's not the Nigerian king sending out scam emails! If he were, he wouldn't have to work as much as he does!

My neighbor on the other side -- sharing kitchen/dining room walls -- came knocking on my door one day. Now, he's only lived there for about a year. He replaced the screaming kid/thumping family. He listens to his TV a bit loud, but not to the point where it's annoying. I just can hear it when I'm in my dining room turned computer room. He came from another building the landlord owns which doesn't have an elevator. He had a knee replacement and, unfortunately, it ended up being a failed one and he's now in a wheelchair. I found out that if someone in a wheelchair is off slightly to one side knocking on my door, I can't see them in the peephole which is pretty wide-angled. But he told me who it was. He wanted to know where I get my grocery deliveries from. I hope he can do Peapod. If anyone needs grocery delivery, it's him!

I return to work tomorrow. Wah. My appointment with the vascular surgeon is Friday afternoon. Right now, with keeping off my feet a lot, the swelling is down and it really doesn't hurt like it was. But, I'm sure after working up until seeing him, it will blow up and be painful once again. My workplace really needs to adhere to the limitations set forth for walking and standing! They didn't want to do so the week before my staycation. The job duties listed for my job do not include any long periods of standing or walking. Yet, they want me on my feet for hours each day. It's not gonna happen. I'm just sayin' ...

Anyway, onto the photos I took this past week. Clicking on an image will open it in a larger window.

Jazzy utility box!

It may have been there for a while, but I just discovered it this past Wednesday. It's yet another utility box painted to deter graffiti and spruce up the city. I realized right away that it didn't seem to be the work of Pedro Baez, the one who's painted other utility boxes that I've seen and photographed. It's signed off by a "Grayson III." If my research on that name is correct, the artist is an art teacher who has painted utility boxes for the city of Newark. He's quite renowned for his African-American art and loves to create jazz-themed art. This utility box is on the corner of Watchung and East Front in Plainfield.

A shame

The over 100-year old BPOE building on Watchung Avenue continues to sport gang and other graffiti. With all the renewal going on downtown, I'd love to see that building restored to its previous glory. It's truly a neat building which has been neglected and abused for just about all the years I've lived in Plainfield. I don't think there would be any saving of the giant lobster on the roof -- that's pretty much down to its frame. But, the building itself? It could definitely fit into a Transit Village kind of project. It doesn't seen to be in horrible shape -- just neglected and not in use.

Let there be kale!

I've been meaning to photograph some of the ornamental kale growing at the apartment buildings across the street. On Wednesday (in the 60-some degree weather), I crossed the street to take the 113 bus downtown. I wanted to run a few errands before the expected snow on Thursday. Now they're covered with snow. But, nevertheless, they will persist.

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

Survivor: Game Changers - Casting, Pt. 1

Well, the hype is on with the official cast release for Survivor: Game Changers. Remember, the season premiere isn't until March 8th! I won't be posting the blog pool sign-up posts until we're closer to that date. But, I might as well take a look at the casting and give you my thoughts. Are they really "game changers?" We'll see about that!

I usually not all that keen on returning players. And, some of these castaways are making their 4th appearance! Yikes! As on says in the video above, "If you've been married four times, does that make you an expert on marriage?" There are a few I'd rather not see again. However, the majority of these returnees are ones who played great games or were cut down way too soon. Caleb comes to mind for the latter. Hopefully, he won't burn and crash (and get Med-Evac copter treatment) again this season.

While there are some folks from the most recent season, they're wild cards to the others. They hadn't seen Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen-X when they went into filming for this season. 

Michaela - Game changer or not? I'd have to say she's leaning towards the yes on that Game Changer Scale. Why? I think she's a female powerhouse, akin to a female Ozzy. (It's interesting that she mentions possibly wanting to work with Ozzy in the video.) She's also quite strategic, but wasn't given the best hand to deal with in her season. Hopefully, she'll be a bit sneakier and not betray her motives. I thought she could have done so much more last season. I'm glad she's back!

Troyzan - Game changer or not? I'd say "kinda not" with him. He's going to have to not play the game like he's all that and a bag of chips this time. While I think he's got a great grasp on what to do, he doesn't go about doing it all right on the social end. He misses clues that others might be scheming against him and he himself is a bit too blatant in his own schemes.

As the days go by, I'll be posting more on the others we'll see this season. What are your thoughts on these two? Game changers?  

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - February 5, 2017

Good morning! Since it's Sunday morning, this is my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I took along the way. Right now I'm still in between seasons of the television shows I regularly cover.

I'm officially on staycation. Good. I can elevate my swelling leg! Oh, it's the small things that thrill me, I guess. 

Some random ramblings:

• After many years of doldrums, Trump has made Saturday Night Live great again. 
• I don't watch football. I hear rumors some game is on this evening. I don't care. If I so desire, I can catch the commercials and half-time show on YouTube later on.
• Please, please ... do NOT STOP when entering or leaving a store, at the top or bottom of stairs. You are in the way, fools!
• I didn't win the lottery this past week. I didn't really lose, either. I didn't buy any tickets.
• I'm thankful we've had a mild winter so far around here. Please keep up the good work!
• It was old friends day one day on the train. The new conductor must think I'm a social butterfly because I stayed with one ex-employee (from over 20 years ago) of mine, then moved upstairs to join two train friends I hadn't seen in ages. The first time the new conductor saw me was when her coworker sat with me and we all encountered someone I mention later in this post after the jump. I am not a social butterfly. She's already not bothering to check my monthly train pass.
• Speaking of which, NJ Transit moved around so many of its conductors! I'm seeing old faces return and new faces aboard.
• I'm getting too well-known on public transit. One day, a train conductor picked me up at the bus stop and gave me a ride to the train station. Another day, both a taxi driver and an NJ bus driver beeped and waved at me.
• I wish CBS Sunday Morning would make a show totally made up of their "Moments of Nature." I'd watch!

Onto this week's photos ... clicking on an image will open a larger version. I hope everyone has a great week!   
  

Last night's moon

As seen from the Bridgewater Train Station.

It's Christmas once again!

On Groundhog Day, I noticed that the Christmas trees at the Plainfield Police Department were all lighted up once again. They had been dark since early January.

Man vs. Nature

I caught the sunset on Thursday evening. I took this shot at the Bridgewater Train Station.

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

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - January 29, 2017

Good morning! Since it's Sunday morning, this is my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I took along the way. Right now I'm still in between seasons of the television shows I regularly cover. 

I really, really have little in the way of photos for you this week. I was home-bound for most of the week with a trip to the hospital emergency room one day. I brought my camera that day thinking I might shoot medical stuff in the exam room. But I ended up being on a gurney in the hallway most of the time. 

It seemed to me that drug seekers and drug addicts complaining about chest pains had to make up at least a third of the other patients. I've only been in ERs a handful of times in my life and not at all in a few decades. They sure have changed! Although, not necessarily the gurney in the hallway bit. I recall being left on a gurney in a hallway for over eight hours at Albany Medical Center and being forgotten back when I was 19 and had broken bones in my foot. 

Somerset (Robert Wood Johnson in Somerville), where I had my knee replacement surgeries, didn't forget me, though. I went to the ER mainly because I was worried I might have a blood clot in my leg and I knew they had the testing equipment to check it. The good news is that I don't have one. The bad news is that my varicose veins might need surgery for relief. They referred me to a vascular surgeon for a follow-up. I turned down pain meds as I don't like the feeling they give me and prefer to limit them to when absolutely needed. I return to work tomorrow after calling off this past week trying to get the swelling down on the leg. I've had a DVT before and don't want another one! At least they gave work restrictions as to how long I can be on my feet and such. The earliest appointment I could get with the vascular surgeon isn't for a few weeks.

The cost of this ER visit was as frightening as I thought it would be -- which is why I don't go to ERs and forget the thought of an ambulance unless I'm truly life or death! Even with my decent health insurance from my workplace, it's costing me about what I spent for my new refrigerator a few years ago! Gah. Part of it is that it's a new year and I have to meet my deductible and all, but ...! Who is paying for all the drug addicts, drug seekers and "frequent flyers"? Hmm. 

In television stuff:

• I saw that casting for BB19 will be starting soon.
• I've been watching murders on Discovery ID to avoid a lot of the politics and such on television. They're less scary.
• I'm awaiting the return of Survivor, Bates Motel and The Walking Dead.    
• I found out that The Amazing Race isn't slated to return until Friday, April 21st. Eep. That's a long time away and it's still scheduled on Friday nights.

Onto my photos (or lack thereof) this week --      
 

Squirrels love the lack of snow so far!

Although the children are probably upset that we've had no great snowstorms so far this winter, the squirrels seem thrilled with their foraging.

Free "art"

By the mailboxes in my apartment building, folks often leave stuff for the taking. This morning, I found this as I went to get my newspaper. A very odd art piece -- it was like a mini-angel standing next to still life. I was tempted to take it for the frame and matting, then put a blow-up of one of my photos in it. But, looking at the backing, it wouldn't be an easy task. So, it's still there if you want it!

Cats just want to play

Vincent decided that if he draped himself over my head and purred loudly this morning, I would get up and pay attention to him. It worked.

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - January 22, 2017

Good morning! Since it's Sunday morning, this is my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I took along the way. Right now I'm still in between seasons of the television shows I regularly cover. That's not to say I'm not watching ANY television, but ...!

I really don't have much for you this week in either words or photographs. I've been dealing with some health issues which have kept me home the past few days.

But here's what I have ... clicking on an image will open a larger version of the photos.

Taking the turn

The New Jersey Transit 59 bus turns by the Center for Islamic Enlightenment on North Avenue in Plainfield. Perhaps if all areas had diversity as we have here, more people would realize people are just people ... some good, some bad. But I truly believe there are more good people in the world than bad. 

44 Years ago, I protested in DC

If feeling well yesterday, I would have ended up at work. Had I been feeling well and scheduled off for the day, I don't believe I would have gone to DC. As I get older, I tend to not want to be in massive crowd scenes. But I would have gone to the local Sister March in Westfield! I can deal with a few thousand people, just not hundreds of thousands and being squished. I get panicky. These buttons date back to my work on the McGovern campaign during college with the big button from my trip to DC to protest Nixon's second inauguration. I entered college young and was too young to vote in that election, having just turned 17 that autumn.

My apologies to Carly Simon

A friend of mine attending yesterday's Sister March in NYC spotted a sign paraphrasing the song. I thought it quite appropriate. So, I threw the words atop a photo of the DC event. No, it isn't really about YOU ... it's about US, We the People.

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

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - January 15, 2017

Good morning! Since it's Sunday morning, this is my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I took along the way. Right now I'm still in between seasons of the television shows I regularly cover. That's not to say I'm not watching ANY television, but ...! 

Once again, my photos aren't all that great this week. I've had little inspiration and I'm still a bit in an overworked and not feeling well kind of funk. Nothing has really been going on in my life that's all that interesting and absolutely nothing all that exciting. Work, home, eat, sleep, cater to a certain Vincent cat. Oh, well. In about three weeks I'll have a week off. Yay.

Random observations:

• Apparently the Plainfield Police accomplished my upstairs neighbor's loud stereo issue when the landlord didn't. I've been saying all along that he had sub-woofers sitting on the floor and needed to get them off the floor as the thumping bass was shaking my whole apartment. Well, I called the police about 1am one night about two months ago. He had turned it off before they arrived. But, talking to the police via the intercom, I mentioned the speakers on the floor bit. They went up to talk to him even though he had turned the music off. It worked! They must have said the bit about the speakers on the floor! Since that night, I can hear his music (often), but it's not life-disturbing thumping. I can deal with that. Yes! Now, had the landlord actually said "speakers up off the floor" to him, I wouldn't have had to go through months of torture.
• I'm tired of everyone snipping at each other over local and federal politics. Obviously, the Trump fiasco is divisive. Yet, here in Plainfield, there's all sorts of nastiness going on. I'm tired of it all. Overall, I think Plainfield has made tremendous strides in moving forward during the nearly twenty years I've lived in town. I know there are projects and people living in poverty. Yet, the kids have more organized stuff to do than anywhere I've ever lived and more resources available to them. There are poor areas and wealthy areas in town ... but more people just living, working and trying to peacefully live here. 
• As an observer of stuff, I see friction between some people who grew up here and didn't take part in any enriching of the city and the immigrants who have opened all kinds of businesses. I can get along with anyone out there trying to do the right thing for the city. But a few folks are determined to think their particular group is more important than any other. The city needs to keep moving forward. It's actually the working class people who are the vast majority in town -- and we are black, white, Latino, Asian, etc. We're not the ones shooting each other or hanging out on the streets at night drinking or doing drugs. We don't live in lofty mansions either. We all just keep working and paying the bills. All we want is a decent town in which to live.
• I'm looking forward to the upcoming week's winter weather after today. Yes, you heard me! The forecast is for the low 50s for most of the week. I can deal with that. I don't ski anymore. I don't need snow.
• I was an unwilling bit of someone's Facebook Live session yesterday. Grr. A young woman got off the train in front of me and an older man was right there to hug her (in my way, mind you!). As I tried to get around them, I heard a woman say, "Wave to everyone in Georgia and tell them you arrived safely." Gah. There was an older woman filming this reunion (or whatever). That would have been fine had the man/young woman reunion had not blocked everyone else trying to exit the train! So, hello, Georgia.

That's it. Onto the photos, none of them all that great this week. If you click on an image, it opens up in a larger version. 

As seen from Track 1

The view of North Avenue from the platform at the Plainfield Train Station on Monday before our big snow meltdown. I edited this very ordinary shot with a "nostalgic" filter on Google's Color Efex photo editor. I like how it turned out.

Home to the icy snow last night

We didn't get anything like the midwest got yesterday, but it sure was slick walking getting home from work last night! I'd say maybe a half-inch of snow covered by a layer of ice. The streets seemed to be just wet. However, the sidewalks were treacherous. Plainfield Train Station.

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

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was and I'm Back - January 8, 2017

Yes, I'm alive. My apologies for the two-week hiatus I took from the blog. I've just been running on empty and with little photographic inspiration, as well. I never fare all that well during the holiday seasons for a number of reasons, both personal and work-related. This year, all came colliding together as well as some health issues made worse by my workload on the job.

I still don't have much to report. Thank you all for your concern, though. 

Onto the photos from the week ... at least snow gave me some photo fodder. Clicking on an image will bring up a larger version.

Saturday snow

The snow was already coming down pretty steady as I headed off to work yesterday. Plainfield Train Station.

Salt doing its job

NJ Transit had already salted the walks Thursday evening when I came home from work. On Friday, pre-dawn, as I headed back into work, the walks at the train station itself were clear. Of course, it would be nice if someone, whether NJ Transit or the city of Plainfield, would realize that the North Avenue walk itself along the train station grounds needs attention, too. No wonder people feel they have to walk in the street!

My train home ...

... approaching the Bridgewater Train Station yesterday afternoon. 

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