these weird things pop up on my viewport and obscure my images of actors. how do I get rid of them?

drawn

and I might as well, wth has happened here?

I don't know what those stickies are in the first image.  Is this within Poser?  

In the second image, the figure appears unwielded.  Is this also a Poser viewport image?

Did you parent the clothing to Ben at any point?  If so, the 'bend with' feature may be unchecked.  However, it appears that the parenting was performed in reverse, Ben parented to the clothing.

The first is chain break. As you drag a body part, like the hand, it may move a chain of parts, like the forearm, shoulder, collar, chest, etc. If you add one of those to a body part, then it won't move that part. So if you add one to the collar, and drag the hand, it won't move the collar or chest but will the forearm and shoulder.

The second looks like you have bending turned off. You can turn it back on in the properties dial.

Ah, the chain breaks.  I forgot about those.  Good catch, RP.

thanks, guys, I think I got both probs fixed now.