The Daily Bongo
September 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009 -- Late Afternoon
We Got Bling!
The Pens received their Stanley Cup rings yesterday, and I'm surprised that they didn't get sprained wrists trying to sport the darned things! Each ring has 167 diamonds with the player's name and images of the Stanley Cup and Pens' logo. The players had a private ceremony last night where the rings were distributed. Afterwards, Sidney Crosby came out to show the press the ring, and it filled the space between the knuckle and the first joint on the ring finger. Obviously, this ring is meant to be displayed and not worn.
The Pens' home opener is this Friday. They will be playing the New York Rangers. Before the game, there is going to be a ceremony raising the Stanley Cup banner. This weekend, the Pens giving season ticket holders the opportunity to take a picture with the Cup.
Sunday, September 27, 2009 -- Late Afternoon
Steelers vs. Bengals
The Steelers were playing the Cincinnati Bengals this afternoon. The Steelers started the game well, putting 10 points on the board, and Hines Ward got his 10,000th yard in reception yards. Not bad. The Bengals were having a great deal of trouble getting a first down in the first half, until Chad Ochocinco (good old Chad Johnson) got the first down for them. When the second half started, the Bengals got their first interception of the year by grabbing a pass from Ben Roethlisberger and running it in for a touchdown. The Bengals weren't able to the extra point because the ball was over thrown for the kicker. Although the Bengals weren't playing well, they still managed to keep the game close. Every time they would score, the Steelers would come up with an answering rally, and sometimes with points. In the last minute of the game, Ike Taylor managed to knock two touchdown passes out of Ochocinco's hands. The Bengals needed to score a touchdown to get a win, and they got the touchdown with 14 seconds left in the game. They Carson Palmer threw another pass for an extra two points. The Steelers had 14 seconds to do something, and they took 12 of the seconds running the ball around to get some yardage on the kick return. The Steelers were on their 35 yard line, and Roethlisberger's hail Mary pass dropped to the ground. The Bengels won with a final score of 23 - 20.Friday, September 25, 2009 -- Evening
Filming Ending
The filming for the Love and Other Drugs movie is wrapping up. I didn't see much action this morning as I went past the filming area.
Crosby's Groin Injury
Sidney Crosby left the Pens pre-season game against the Columbus Blue Jackets last night with a groin injury. So far, it is supposed to be only minor, but Crosby has had groin injuries before.Thursday, September 24, 2009 -- Evening
G20 in the 'Burgh
The G20 started today here in Pittsburgh. Although there was a problem with a protest march that did not have a permit, everything seems pretty calm. The businesses here in Pittsburgh did a good job of taking preventative measures by closing in the downtown area and boarding up windows. I believe that people should protest. However, I don't think vandalism and threatening people's lives or property is not cool. I only have a few pictures of the action in the Oakland area. I went to a keynote speech given by the Honourable Kevin Rudd, the prime minister of Australia. The speech was extremely funny at the beginning where Rudd talked about Pittsburgh, America, and Australia. I thought the funniest was when Rudd said that once Britain lost control over America, they had to find a new location for their penal colony. He said because of their past history, we should all just blame the British for everything. That made everyone in the audience laugh.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 -- Evening
Love and Other Drugs
Pittsburgh has become a haven for the film industry, and recently, a few movies have been filmed here. i was very surprised to see that a movie crew was setting up two streets from where I live in Squirrel Hill to film an interior at my favorite house on Bartlett Street. The movie is Love and Other Drugs and stars Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal. So far there really hasn't been anything to see, except for the crew who is taking up the entire street and part of Wightman with trucks of equipment. They also have a parking lot filled with trailers that is designated as the base camp. Movie making is an interesting business in a way. They have extremely long hours, and spend tons of time standing around trying to make things right. That hasn't stopped the crowds from standing on the street to watch the action. One of the crew guys yells out, "rolling" and we all hush. We can't see a thing of the filming because it's inside the house and the backyard. Still the atmosphere is charged with excitment and the glitter that is Hollywood.Sunday, September 20, 2009 -- Evening
Steelers versus the Bears
The Steelers were in Chicago this afternoon to play the Bears. There was some talk that the Steelers might have an easy time of it because Jake Cutler, quarterback of the Bears, didn't have a very good opening game. But a much better Jake Cutler showed up today, and he did not have the interceptions that he had suffered the week before. The Steeler fans were concerned about Troy Polamalu missing the game. There was also some talk this week because Jerome Bettis is now writing for Sports Illustrated. He commented in his article this past week that the Steelers have not been able to run the ball, and that Wilie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall, and Mewelde Moore have not been able to break through. Bettis also said that the Steeler front office and coaching staff did nothing to improve the offensive line which sucks. The thing is that Bettis didn't say anything that the fans and local sports reporters haven't been saying. The comments are true, which is probably why they sting. But back to the game. The Steelers took an early lead with a touchdown, but then some rain came in the second quarter. The Bears tied it up as they went into half time, and then they traded touchdowns again in the second half. Unfortunately, Jeff Reed missed two forty something field goal attempts. The Bears kicker wasn't as troubled, and with 21 seconds left in the game, Brad Maynard, kicked a 50 yard field goal to win the game for the Bears. The finishing touch was when the Steelers', Stefan Logan, fumbled the return kick that was recovered by the Bears. Final score: Steelers 14 - Bears 17.Tuesday, September 15, 2009 -- Evening
Final Big Brother
The final Big Brother of the season. It's a two hour special, and we got to see Jordan, Kevin, and Natalie's reaction to the second HOH competition. Natalie was trying to be both Kevin and Jordan's best friend so she gets to the final two. Kevin says that if the choice is up to him, he would take Jordan to the end because Jordan doesn't have a ton of friends in the jury house like Natalie does. Kevin says he will take Jordan to the end, and she tells him the same. However in Diary Room, Jordan says that she is going to take Natalie because Jordan believes she can beat Natalie. Jordan even guarantees Natalie her vote if Jordan is evicted.Jury House
We got to see Michele's entry into the jury house. Jeff said there were only a couple of stones on the first day in the house, but it got better after that. Jeff and Russell thought Kevin would be in the jury house, and Jessie and Lydia thought it would be Michele. Russell did not want it to be Michele because he wanted her to win it all. Russell and Jeff were both sad to Michele, and Michele told everyone about Natalie's Pandora box escapade and engagement. Everyone in the jury house just really hates Natalie. Everyone was bashing Natalie with her lies and stories. As the jury members watched last week's events, they were really angry. Lydia did some pretend vomiting too. Everyone in jury told Michele that she would have gotten the vote at the end. Lydia hopes that Kevin throws Natalie out of the house, but Michele doesn't think that will happen. When the jury members debated, Jeff really fought for Jordan. It was hilarious because Jeff took on Lydia and Jessie, telling Lydia that Jessie was her puppet master. I loved it when Jeff told Jessie that Jessie had his hand up Lydia's butt, controlling her mouth. Lydia was really campaigning for Kevin. Michele admitted that Kevin talked a good game, but that she was angry and bitter. The jury members got to talk to all three finalists.Jordan is Final HOH
Finally, it's time for the final HOH. The questions, of course, are based on responses of the juror in the jury house. Kevin got the first question right about Jessie's liking the women in the house. Jordan got the second question right about Lydia thinking the worst moment in the house was Jeff and the coup d'etat. Jordan got the third question right about Russell telling Michele too much, then Kevin got the one right about Jeff not winning the POV. Both got the answer to Michele thinking Jessie was the most outrageous. It finally came down to a tie breaker question about how many total votes were cast to evict. Jordan guessed 50, Kevin guessed 80, and the answer was 51. Jordan is the final HOH! I think no one expected her to win the final HOH. I know that I didn't!Both Natalie and Kevin begged Jordan to stay in the house. Kevin looked close to tears. Jordan evicts Kevin and apologizes. Jordan keeps on telling Kevin that she feels really bad, and that it's nothing personal. Kevin admits that he can't be mad at Jordan because it's a game. Kevin says he has no regrets, and it is a dream of a lifetime because he's been trying to get on the show since the first season. It sounds like Kevin is going to vote for Natalie.
Jury Questions
The jury members came out to get ready for the final vote. Jeff guesses that Kevin was evicted, and Lydia guesses Natalie. Lydia makes some obnoxious comments about Jordan, saying two witches are left. We get to see the jury questions live for the first time. Russell asks Jordan what her strategy was before the BB house and after. Jordan said she wanted to lay low and not trust anyone. She said that she finally decided in the house to be her self and lay under the radar. Lydia asked Natalie who was her biggest threat in the house, and how did Natalie get rid of the person. Natalie said that she campaigned against Lydia. Jeff asks Jordan what her best move was in the game. Jordan said that she thought it was getting rid of Kevin. Michele asks Natalie about the engagement and why Natalie wanted everyone in the jury house to know it. Natalie says it's because she has so many friends there and wanted to share her happiness with them. Jessie and Lydia rolled their eyes. Jessie asked Jordan about why she deserved to win, and Jordan said that it was because she won the final HOH. Russell asks the same of Natalie, and Natalie said that by aligning herself with other strong people, she got far. Natalie claims to be true to her alliance. Kevin asks Jordan what she did better than Natalie, and Jordan said that she thinks both were rather the same. Jordan said that she did win some competitions, like the HOHs and POV.Jury Votes
Jordan gave her final speech and said that she wanted to stay true to her alliance. Jordan stresses that she did win the final two HOH competitions. She rambled abit, but that's Jordan. Natalie claims that she was running the house even though she wasn't HOH because she aligned herself with winners. The jury votes in order of eviction. They get to make one brief statement before casting their vote. Jessie says commatada to Jordan and votes. Lydia says "Jordan, I love a good blonde." Russell says that he chose the person who played the best game start to finish. Jeff to Jordan that he was very proud of her and that he knew she could do it. Michele said she's voting for the strongest female in the game. Kevin said he was going to vote for cuter, but he had to vote strictly strategic. Julie Chen says that America will vote as the 7the juror. She locks in America's vote.Return of the Early Evictees
Ronnie called out Natalie as the biggest liar of the game. Casey told Jeff that he made the worst decision by believing Kevin and Natalie's lies and voting out Russell. Jeff was shocked because Michele also confirmed the lie. So Jeff didn't know who to believe. Braden gave Jessie props for being in bed with all the girls. Laura was really offended at Chima's actions, and thought that Chima threw her alliance under the bus. Ronnie said that his comments about Michele being the worst human being ever was because of strategy. Ronnie also apologized for calling her that. Julie Chen also called Jessie on his comment about having a platonic relationship with Lydia, by showing their sex scenes in the BB house. It seems it carried on in the jury house. Jeff said that he would have to see what happens outside of the house when questioned about his relationship with Jordan. He first made a joke that it depended on whether Jordan won or not.Finally Vote Time!
Finally, it's vote counting time. Boy, did they drag this event out. The winner gets $500,000 and the second place gets $50,000. America's vote goes to Jordan. Jessie's vote goes to Jordan. Lydia voted for Jordan. Russell voted for Natalie. Jeff's vote went to Jordan, of course. Jordan should have realized when she heard that Lydia voted for her that she had the win. Michele voted for Jordan, and Kevin voted for Natalie. It was a vote of five to two. Jordan says that she has plans to buy a house for her mom, and to help her aunt send her kids to college. Jeff won $25,000 as America's favorite house guest. As Julie Chen said, it wasn't even close. This was a great season.First Pre-Season Pens Game
The Pens played the Columbus Blue Jackets this evening here at Mellon Arena. I didn't stay for the whole game, only the first period. I am really not a huge fan of pre-season games because only a few players play, and the team as a whole is just trying to find its way. From what I saw, Eric Tangradi seemed impressive, putting a nice hit on a Columbus player. All in all, pre-season sucks because the food stands don't have their act together. The announcer for the game was also pretty annoying. I miss the old announcer, who may have retired. I don't know who won, and it really doesn't matter anyway.Sunday, September 13, 2009 -- Early Evening
Thursday's Steelers Game
I really didn't watch the Steelers game on Thursday. I watched the first half at a local bar, and then came home to keep it in the background. The game was incredbily boring, and neither team seemed to be doing very well. The only big news from the game was that Troy Polamalu suffered and MCL sprain (knee) when the Steelers were successfully blocking a Titan field goal. One of the Titans fell on Polamalu's knee. Some people are calling it the Madden curse because Polamalu was on the cover Madden 2010 video game. Over the past several years, the guys who feature on the cover of the video game have had bad luck. As the game neared the end, Hines Ward fumbled and turned over the ball. The game went into overtime, and fortunately, the Steelers won the coin toss and got to go first. Jeff Reed kicked the winning field goal to give the Steelers a win in the first game.Thursday, September 10, 2009 -- Late Evening
Pens at the White House
The Pens were invited to the White House to celebrate their Stanley Cup win. Of course, they took the Stanley Cup, and President Obama held it.
Thursday, September 10, 2009 -- Evening
2nd HOH Competition
Tonight's Big Brother show started with an announcement that for the first time, all three houseguests will make it to finale night. Kevin said that he had to win the first HOH because he needs to think of himself, and Kevin has to take Jordan to the final two because he doesn't have the votes to beat Natalie. As Jordan said, Jeff and Michele were the ones that she trusted, and she wanted to cry after Michele left. Natalie said that she was glad to see Michele gone because she hate Michele. Kevin told Natalie to stop it. Jordan thought Natalie was funny for making comments about Michele finally getting to be alone with Jeff. As Jordan says, she knows that Michele is happily married and that Jeff likes Jordan.Watching the log rolling competition, Natalie slipped. It looked like she would fall, but she didn't. It looked like she was trying to throw the competition. The change in seasons really bothered the three. BB had wind, rain, cold, and snow that Jordan claimed was very much like real snow. Jordan was shivering, and Kevin told Jordan to keep shivering because that would warm her up. Really he was trying to get her to fall and 3 hour and 27 minutes into the competition, Jordan fell. So it was down to Kevin and Natalie. Kevin tells Natalie that he will take her to the end, and that she has to throw the competition as Natalie promised. Kevin says that his word isn't sincere because he's going to throw Natalie out. Kevin tries to tell Natalie that she needed to fall, and she kept on arguing with him that she didn't want to fall. Then Natalie finally falls. Kevin can't believe that he made it to round three and there's only one more competition between him and $500,000.
Julie lets Kevin, Natalie, and Jordan know about tonight's events. Julie tells them that all three will make it to finale night. Natalie said that she just packed all her stuff. Tonight is the competition between Jordan and Natalie, and then the final HOH competition is on finale night. Then the evicted houseguest joins the jury live. Then we have the jury question the two remaining houseguests and vote. We got to see Jeff entering the jury house. Lydia didn't want to see Natalie and said that Natalie would have to do alot of explaining. Russell wanted to see Jeff. And so did Jessie. Everyone was very excited to see Kevin. As Jeff said, it was a tough pill to swallow. Russell said that it was validation that Jeff should have kept Russell. Jeff said that he was really happy to hear that everyone was against Natalie in the house because it gave him hope for Jordan. Lydia said that she doesn't respect Natalie because Natalie uses other people.
We had the return of Evel Dick, Danielle (from BB3), Mike Boogie, and Janelle. They gave us some insight on this season. Danielle said that she thought the best player was Natalie because she lied so well and used Kevin. Janelle thought that Jeff getting rid of Russell was a bad move for him. Janelle said that Jeff could have made it further if he kept Russell. Mike Boogie liked Jeff using the Coup d'Etat and Natalie and Kevin lying to get rid of Russell. Evel Dick agreed with Boogie. Boogie said that Chima should have been thrown off, but no one understands the stress. Evel Dick said that she lost sight of the end of the game. Boogie thought Kevin would win. Janelle wanted Kevin to win and Jordan as the final two. Evel Dick said that he thought Kevin. Danielle wanted it to be two women as final two. Danielle is a loser. :)
Part two of the HOH started. Natalie was first up. The goal of the competition, Heads Will Roll was to bowl a ball up a ramp into a hole for each of the HOHs. So Jessie's ball had to be rolled into the 1st HOH spot. They only had two minutes and the one with the most right won. If it was a time, the houseguest who got the guesses in the shorter time wins. Natalie really stunk at the game and was getting the wrong balls into the holes. Natalie completed all the holes with only 2 seconds left. Natalie got five of the ten HOHs right. Jordan was up next. (Obviously!) Jordan was more quiet as she went through the competition. She was really good at getting the balls in. Probably because she was practicing on the practice table. Jordan had 18 seconds left, and she got nine of ten right. As she was competing the audience was applauding.
As everyone on the Internet thought, America is the seventh juror. You get to vote for the houseguest of your choice based on the pair that makes it to the final two. The final scene of the show was Julie giving the results of the second part of the HOH. Kevin was looking really nervous. So Jordan won the second HOH. Jordan said that she was sweating at the stress. Kevin looked shocked. Natalie was really upset because she couldn't get the ball into the right hole. Julie Chen just cut her off though. I hope that Jordan wins, and the smart thing would be to take Natalie since no one likes Natalie in the jury house. We got to eavesdrop on Natalie explaining how she screwed up the competition. She seemed to stupidly think that if she got the wrong ball in the hole for an HOH, she just put the that HOH in the next hole. What a complete idiot!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 -- Early Morning
As Expected
Kevin won the first round of the HOH competitions last night. No big shocker there because neither Natalie or Jordan is good at competitions. I'm betting Natalie wins the next one. That's when Kevin has to start sweating. Would Natalie take the better competitor to final two? She might, and then again, she might not.Tuesday, September 8, 2009 -- Late Evening
HOH Endurance Competition
So far, all the houseguests are still on the log. They have been on for almost an hour, through rain, wind, log stoppages, and log reversals. I think it may be a long one because all three realize the importance of winning this one. Especially Jordan. I'm ready for bed, so I will probably find out in the morning who won this first HOH competition.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009 -- Evening
Final Three
It's eviction night on Big Brother. It seems that Kevin is going to vote out Michele, and both Natalie and Kevin have final two deals with Jordan. I suppose everyone wants to take Jordan because they think that no one would vote for her. That's one reason why everyone in the jury house should vote for Jordan. As the show started, the producers were making it sound as if the POV competition didn't already happen a few days ago. Kevin said that he is looking for an opportunity to get Natalie out. Jordan is not sure if she should believe the conflict between Natalie and Kevin because it seems too good to be true. Jordan admits to Natalie that she is really conflicted over what to do if she won the veto. Natalie reassures Jordan that Kevin would vote Michele off if Kevin came off the block. Jordan thinks it's weird that Natalie seems to want Kevin out, but then switches to Michele. Jordan says that Jeff told her to stick with Michele, and that's what she is going to do. Kevin told Natalie that he was a tad pissed with her because she chose to open Pandora's Box instead of playing in the POV. The POV competition has Kevin, Michele, and Jordan stacking blocks so they could would answer two questions about houseguests. Both Jordan and Kevin seemed to have issues figuring it out. Michele's problem was that she couldn't see the Jessie and Russell block that was right by her feet. Jordan of course, was hopeless in the competition. The BB producers were playing stupid music while they showed Jordan. Michele was realy close. She rang the buzzer, and she only had one entry wrong, but before she could figure it out, Kevin rang in and won. Michele said that way Natalie was celebrating with Kevin made her suspicious about the whole plot to put up Kevin. As usual, Jordan tells Michele that she is pissed with herself. Well, she should be since she sucks in every single competition. Natalie tries to tell Kevin that she is going to take the blame for Michele. Natalie keeps on telling Kevin that they will be final two. The problem is that Kevin knows that he can't take Natalie to final two because she has the jury house stacked. Michele quizzes Kevin about his alliance with Natalie. Michele tells Kevin that she would take him to final two, because she hates Natalie. Michele tells Kevin that if she drops out in final three she will give Kevin her vote, but if she goes out now, she won't give Kevin her vote. Kevin, however, can't figure out who to take to final three. If he's smart, he would take Michele because she can win competitions, and they can eliminate Natalie.Time for the final POV ceremony. Kevin, of course, uses the POV. He's not a Marcellas! It's time for Michele and Jordan to talk to Kevin. Jordan tells Kevin that she thinks they all played a similar game and she hopes that Kevin keeps her. Michele tells Kevin that she burned so many bridges and has so many enemies in the jury house that Kevin would be a sure winner. And Michele says that she will campaign against Kevin in the jury house. Kevin votes out Michele. We'll have to see whether that was a smart move or a stupid move. Michele says that Kevin couldn't count on Michele not getting votes for jury. Michele said it would depend because it could go either way for Kevin now. I think if Natalie wins, she will take Jordan because no one will vote for Jordan since she was so crappy at the game. In the good-bye messages, Kevin said that he couldn't trust Michele not to turn on him in the final three. Michele rolled her eyes at that because I think that Michele hates Natalie so much, she wouldn't take Natalie. Julie asked Michele why so many people in the house had such strong negative feelings toward Michele. Michele said that she couldn't understand why people didn't like her in the house, and ever since she was a child, she was always being bullied by others.
Time for the endurance HOH competition. The houseguests have to hold on to a key while they stand on a huge moving log. I am imagining that the competition won't last very long. None of the three are very good at endurance. I think that Kevin will go off first, then Natalie will throw it to give Jordan the win. We'll have to see what happens. As the show went off the air, the BB producers had rain pouring on the houseguests on the log. Jordan was commenting on how the key was getting higher. It wasn't. She was just looking like she was starting to slip off the log.
Sunday, September 6, 2009 -- Evening
The Natalie and Kevin Show
I have to admit that I am sick of the Natalie and Kevin show on the Big Brother feeds. Natalie nominated Kevin because they thought that he could win the POV, and the goal was to look as if there was a fall out between them. Obviously both are trying to play mind games with future jury members. Natalie was left out of the POV competition because she gave up the right with Pandora's box. People are theorizing online that Natalie met with Jessie, but she is telling Kevin, Michele, and Jordan that she met her boyfriend and he proposed to her. Kevin won the POV, so that means that Michele is more than likely going home. Everyone knows that Jordan is the lamest competitor when it comes to competitions, and it's highly unlikely that she will win two of the three remaining competitions.The show started with Jeff's eviction. Natalie took credit for evicting Jeff, and Jordan bemoaned his loss. Kevin claims that if Jeff had approached him for a vote, Kevin would have kept Jeff. We got to hear Natalie gloat. As Kevin said, Natalie celebrated like she won something really important, and meanwhile, she's not that great a competitor. Jordan and Michele were upset because both felt that they should have won. Natalie told Keving they were in the final two and that Natalie would be playing so hard for the veto. Yeah, right! Jordan just cried to herself and said she didn't want to be part of any schemes, she just wanted to be left alone. My favorite part was Natalie's scheme to put Kevin on the block so she could "cover" herself. Natalie claims it is because she wants to fool Jordan for some reason. What a really lame, sick girl. When it came time for the HOH room, Natalie was in a skimpy bathing suit. She got all excited about getting a blanket from her boyfriend, and she claimed the blanket smelled like him. She then backtracked and said that it might have been washed. Natalie bonds with the girls and told them that she's putting Kevin up even though he is her friend. As Natalie said, if Kevin goes to the finals, then Kevin will win. Actually, that's probably true. Natalie claims that her agreement was final four with Kevin. Natalie thinks that she is just really good at fooling people. She's not. It's just that there ware really stupid losers in the BB house. It's time for the luxury competition. Kevin and Natalie team up and obviously that leaves Jordan and Michele on the other. The teams had to find matching clothes, then pose in the window with the clothing. If they finish in less than 10 minutes, they get to spend the rest of the time picking clothes in the house for themselves. Kevin admits to Michele that he has to think of himself and start to think of final two. Kevin tells Michele that the two of them can take out Natalie. Michele seems hesitant, but she should snap up the deal.
So Natalie wasn't lying. She found the Pandora's box in the HOH room, and the option was to meet with her boyfriend in the BB house and if she agreed, she couldn't compete in the POV. Her boyfriend did propose to her. Natalie agreed, but it wasn't the emotional event that I would have thought. Natalie only had five minutes with her boyfriend, and they had some champagne. Natalie's boyfriend looks alot older than she does. Then Natalie chose an extra 15 minutes with her boyfriend having a sushi dinner, and unleashed a guy dressed as a baby, and a midget, who was acting like a copy cat. Then a woman dressed as a bug came into the house, spraying Kevin, Michele, and Kevin. Natalie was saying though that she wouldn't tell the other houseguests because then they wouldn't keep her. Natalie did a very unconvincing job of looking upset. Natalie makes up some sort of story that if she made it to the final two, it was a reversal. If she got the votes, they would be taken away and give to the other person. It was such a bad lie that no one believed it. Even Kevin questioned her on it immediately, and his thought was that Natalie got something good and was just lying. Even Jordan realizes that Natalie was lying. Everyone thought that the reversal was that Natalie would get the votes. Natalie makes it even worse by telling them all to not ask her any more about Pandora's box. Kevin knows that Natalie is lying and wants to get to the truth. Kevin tells Natalie that she needs to think about what she is saying. So then Natalie tells them all that she got to spend 20 minutes with her boyfriend, and that he proposed. Unfortunately, no one believes her. Natalie said in diary room that she pulled herself out of hot water. Kevin realizes that the girl is a chronic liar, and has probably lied about everything. Natalie looked like a psycho with an orange crown and sunglasses for the nomination ceremony. Natalie put Kevin and Michele on the block. Natalie tells Kevin that she has to get him out because he is a strong player. Natalie also tells Michele that making a deal with Michele is like making a deal with the devil. Kevin said that he doesn't trust Natalie since she gave up the POV competition. Tuesday will be a live eviction night.
It's also time for America's vote to vote for favorite houseguest. That person gets $25,000. I know that I'll be voting up a storm for Jeff.
Saturday, September 5, 2009 -- Evening
Rachel is The Man!
Rachel Alexandra had a date with the older boys in today's Woodward Stakes at Saratoga. The race wasn't on any of the regular channels, but it was on TVG. Rachel Alexandra was the favorite, and she broke well. She also took off like dogs were at her heels. She had a time of :22.85 for the first quarter and :46.41 for the half mile. I was starting to get worried because that was an extremely fast pace for a 1 1/8 mile race. As they made the tern into the final stretch, the other horses started to charge, but Calvin Borel and Rachel Alexandra weren't done yet. She dug her heels in, and put on a valiant fight for the win. And win she did. Rachel held off Macho Again to win by a head in 1:48.29. It was a great demonstration. It was an incredibly impressive feat because this the first times since 1887 that a three year old filly took on older horses and won. Also, it broke the Saratoga jinx of being the burial ground for favorites. Bullsbay finished third, followed by Asiatic Boy, It's a Bird, Past the Point, Cool Coal Man, and Da' Tara.Thursday, September 3, 2009 -- Evening
Eviction NIght
Eviction night. I have not been looking forward to this night because it seems that Jeff will be going to the jury house. On the other hand, the BB sites have been hot with rumors that Russell may be coming back into the house. This came about because on Tuesday's episode, Russell's picture went from one leaving the house without a name to the one when Russell was in the house with his name. I think that it was just a faux pas on the part of producers, but because of it, people have been anxiously awaiting this show.The show starts, and the picture of Russell is of him leaving. Obviously a faux pas on Tuesday's show. We see a rehash of the POV ceremony. Jeff said that his worse fear is to go up against Jordan. Jeff says he's really pisssed at Kevin, and he's going after Kevin if he gets to stay. Michele said that since Kevin didn't fall for it, she has to work on Natalie. Kevin and Natalie were talking, and Kevin stupidly isn't seeing that most of the people might be on Natalie's side. Natalie even bragged in diary room that she had no blood on her hands. Jeff said that he wants to keep Jordan's spirit up because he wants her to win this thing. As Jeff said, it was destiny because they were meant to meet and Jordan should win. Jeff tells Michele to stick with Michele because Michele will take Jordan to the final two. Jordan, though, thinks that Jeff should stay. Jeff realizes that he has Michele's vote, but that he needs another vote. Natalie said that is Jeff wants her to burn her only ally, Kevin, she needs a sweeter deal than he's offering. Jeff and Jordan were in bed together talking about the good-bye kiss that they will share when Jeff leaves. Later Michele and Jeff talk about giving Natalie the HOH next week. That would give her a guarantee to get into the final three. Natalie claims to be thinking about it, but based on the live feeds, it looks like Jeff's time is up.
We finally had some insight into Michele. BB had her husband, Tim, on the show. He talked about how on their first date, Michele brought a book to study for an exam the next day. Michele reminds me of other grad students that I've known. I like her. If it comes down to Jordan, Kevin, Michele, and Natalie, I'll be cheering for Michele. We got to see Russell arriving at the jury house. I like how they are showing more jury house time this season. Lydia admits that she has a crush over Jessie. I would imagine that means they are having non-stop sex. Both Jessie and Lydia were disappointed to see Russell. Jessie even ripped off his shirt. Jessie loved the story that Russell was backdoored. It seems that Natalie is getting ripped in the jury house because Jessie told Lydia and Russell that Natalie isn't 18, but 24. She acts like she's 16. Russell and Jessie both admit that they would vote for Jeff if he made it to the final two. Kevin said that he had no choice but to evict Jeff.
It's time for the eviction vote. Jeff tells Natalie that she has to do what is best for her. Jeff reminds Natalie that Kevin won't take her to final two because he doesn't have the jury votes to beat her. Natalie goes first and votes to evict Jeff. Michele votes to evict Jordan. So it is a tie that comes down to Kevin. Kevin then evicts Jeff. it makes sense because Jordan is the weakest competitor left in the house, even weaker than Natalie. Jeff leaves the house to wild applause. He was a very popular player. As Julie said, it was the first standing ovation that they had. Jeff said that the worst part of the game was not winning the POV. Jeff claimed that the reason he aligned with Kevin and Natalie was because he thought Russell was coming after him. As Jeff said, he took his chances, and he only has himself to blame. Julie also asked him what happened to the good-bye kiss with Jordan. It didn't happen because as Jeff said, he just got wrapped up and forgot.
HOH competition. It's a fact or fiction game where the houseguest takes a step one way or the other. Jordan got the first question right for one point. Then everyone got the second question right. Jordan and Natalie get the third question right. Everyone got the fourth question right. Michele was the only one to get the fifth and sixth question right. Then Natalie got the last question right so we had a three way tie. The tiebreaker question was won by Natalie, unfortunately. Natalie kept on saying over and over that she kept to her word, and that this win was for Chima. Boy, this really sucks. I hope that Michele wins the POV and that Kevin goes home, because I'm assuming that Natalie will put up Michele and Jordan.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009 -- Afternoon
Big Brother DVR
I had an early night last night, but fortunately for DVR, I recorded the show. The show started with the nomination ceremony. I love how Jeff called Kevin a snake for breaking his promise. The thing is that Jeff was stupid to believe that Natalie and Kevin weren't lying. Michele tells Jordan that Jordan lucked out because she didn't get nominated, and Michele says that in diary room that she has to win the veto. Jordan feels bad because she let Jeff down by not winning the HOH. Jordan realizes that she really needs to win the POV so she can take Kevin off the block, and then Natalie would have to go up in his place. Now we come to the big twist that Julie was pimping last Thursday. Kevin walks into the HOH room and sees a door and an envelope with question marks. Kevin opens the envelope and it says that opening Pandora's box (the door) can give something good or bad to the house. Once he opens the door, Kevin is commited and can't change his mind. Kevin sees a video that says something about putting your hand in a box to release $10,000. Kevin enters the room and puts his hand into the box. Then he screams a few times because his hand gets locked into the box. The houseguests go outside, and there is money coming down from the sky. One dollar bills are floating all over, and Kevin is trapped inside. Finally Natalie goes to look for Kevin and finds out that Kevin needs a key. Then Natalie goes downstairs to collect more money. Jeff thinks something else is up. Jeff goes upstairs to check out where Kevin is. Kevin tells Jeff that the only way to keep the money is to find the key. Because Kevin thinks that is the only way they will free him. Jeff finds the key, then goes running outside to collect more money. We then find the amounts of money each gets: Jordan $1,726, Natalie, $1904, Michele, $2563, and Jeff $3181. Finally, Natalie again goes up to Kevin, and Natalie says that she will steal the key from Jeff. Jeff instantly thinks that Natalie is up to something. Jeff tells Natalie to stop creeping after him. Jeff lets Keving free, and Kevin runs out to get the money. He winds up with only $626.Next up is the POV competition. Each person had to get their gear and go into separate rooms where they waited for BB to call them out individually. Kevin realizes that from Natalie's actions that he can't trust her and has to win the veto himself. The game was to guess the two houseguests pictures that were used to create an alien face. Not only does the fastest player get the POV, but he or she gets a HD-TV. The first picture was Casey and Kevin. The second was Lydia and Ronnie. The third was Jeff and Jordan. The fourth was Natalie and Michele. The fifth was Jessie and Laura. The sixth picture was Braden and Russell. Kevin and Natalie seemed to do okay. Jordan really sucked at the game. Or at least she seemed to as they showed it. Michele looked good in the competition, and we know that she won. Kevin did it in 3:05, Natalie in 2:55, Jordan in 5:09, Michele in 1:52, and Jeff in 3:01. So Michele won the POV and the HD-TV. Michele says that she has to just win competitions and make it the final two. Michele said sorry to Jeff, and he just told her to get away from him. Michele approaches Jeff and tells him that she is going to vote for Jeff to stay because Michele realizes that she and Jeff stand a better chance to win HOH than Michele and Jordan. Jordan is crying and tells Jeff that she is going to tell everyone to vote for her instead of Jeff. Michele talks to Kevin and says that the final three should be Kevin, Michele, and Jeff. Michele tells Kevin that Natalie has more friends in the Jury house. Michele tries to explain that Jordan can't win competitions. Kevin says that he would like to get Michele in the end. Michele tells Kevin that Natalie will throw him under the bus. Kevin admits that he needs to think about what Michele is saying because Jeff could get rid of Natalie. Of course, we know that Michele takes herself off the block, and Kevin puts Jordan up in her place. I really dislike Natalie. She is my least favorite of the remaining houseguests. Jordan says that she would rather have Jeff stay over her. Kevin said that historically the gay houseguests have not made the best decisions, and he wants to make good ones. If Jeff goes home on Thursday, Kevin would be the one most worthy of winning.