Big Brother 11 Season Premiere Party ... er, Post

It's here! The show has started here on the East Coast. This entry will be updated as events air. However, the big party will be in the comments and you're all invited!

They're a bed short so two of the girls are doubling up to give Jeff a bed with them in the pool room. They've introduced themselves to each other. The gals really are taken with Jeff.

A bit of cattiness in their Diary Room comments to us about others. I wonder how the 13th person will fit if they're already short a bed. Hmmm ...

Cliques assigned, it's HOH time. The entire clique is safe if one wins HOH.
HOH comp is The Wedgie -- giant granny pants, hanging onto toilet seats. If last member loses it, the whole clique is out. But the winner won't win HOH. There are four un-named previous HG apparently also assigned to cliques. Whichever clique wins, that person will be HOH. I fear Jessie.

The four ex possibles are Cowboy BB5, Jessica BB9, Brian BB10, and Jessie BB10.

Brains out first, no Brian. Off-Beat out second, no Cowboy. It's between Jessica and Jessie to return. Two of each clique still wedgie-ing.

Athletes win ... Jessie will be the new HOH. Sigh.

Tonight, Tonight ... it's a Big Brother Night

While the Plainfield (NJ) Police Department seems to be more interested in Sanford and Son ... we're going to be here for the Big Brother 11 premiere tonight!

I'd like to welcome back those folks returning to the blog, welcome the new folks, and give a thank you to those who hang around all year long.

If you're new here, here's how we do what we do --

On show nights, I open up a live-blogging post in which I post the major show happenings as they air East Coast time. During the show, everyone is invited to share their thoughts in comments and we have a grand old party there. So, tonight ... expect the first show post of the season to be up at 8:00 PM ET.

Later tonight, I'll write up my actual show review for TV Squad. I'll generally zap a post up with a link after it's live.

Then there are the live feeds
TV Squad decided not to have me cover the live feeds there, so all content will be here on this blog. Since I do also have to work for a living, my feed reports don't post on every breath taken by the hamsters. I have more of a Reader's Digest condensed approach in which I tell what I deem to be the most important or things which really caught my attention on the feeds for some reason or another.

I usually post feed reports three times a day (all based on East Coast time) -- late evening, early morning, and early evening. If it's not a workday for me or if a comp is being held or something just HAS to be reported, there may be more posts in a day.

I take screencaps and post them here (once the feeds are up). This season the feeds have a flashback feature which is way nifty keen. I can check out what I missed. I might occasionally post some video. However, any video of the feeds I post will probably be short and sweet, kept to the 30 second fair use limit as YouTube and Real Networks are said to be clamping way down on the live feeds video. We'll see how that goes.

So, everyone get on your party hats, bring your snacks and beverages ... the show post will be up at 8:00 PM ET! See you there!

If You Missed Julie Chen on Craig Ferguson Last Night ...

... don't worry about it. As I expected, very little talk about Big Brother and absolutely no insight to anything behind the scenes that we didn't already know. Her big announcement was that her baby will be a boy.

That's all good and well, but it's not Big Brother!



In other news, Allison Grodner Twittered that three days in and they have a real sore loser. I guess someone pouts or has a tantrum, eh?

More Big Brother 11 Bloggy Bits

Somebunny is getting anxious for his Big Brother! Off topic image: I'm beginning to think rabbits will be New Jersey's next Canada geese. They're all over my neighborhood while the feral cats have all but disappeared.

Okay ... let's talk BB11 stuff:

• For those of you on dial-up, I plan to be linking all new entries on Twitter. By following links from Twitter, only one post at a time will come up. That may help downloading time. Yes, I'm talking to you AlbGlinka (and welcome back)! My Twitter page is right here.
• Julie Chen will be on Craig Ferguson tonight. Um, that just sounds odd, doesn't it? Supposedly she's going to share some big BB11 surprise with us. I'll let you know. And, I'll believe it when I see it.
• My latest scoop on BB11 is up over on TV Squad. It's mostly my take on the clique bit. There is a fun poll, though.
  
• A fun poll is never to be confused with a fun pool. This is the latest from Jackie's TV Blog Pool Monitor Margo:

********POOL REMINDER*********

Swimming Suits are NOT optional
No running
No Roughhousing
No Horseplay
No Name Calling
No Swearing
No Glass containers

We are only here to have fun so everyone please PLAY NICE.

Which ever team wins the Pool gets bragging rites until the next season starts.

The teams as of 3 pm CT are:

Braden – KarenCA, Monty924, DonnaAL
Casey – PDX Granny, Jackie, Patti in kzoo
Chima – Brent McKee, Delee, DonnaFL
Jeff – sizzie, dla, Margo
Jordan – Becky, meb, Lynn1
Kevin – Tessa, NanaNW, Laurie
Laura – nomad, SueGee, Sasha
Lydia – Witt, RBennie, Gaylos
Michele – Sydney, ORKmommy, Susan FL
Natalie – Caroline, Jennasmom, Plaidchick
Ronnie – Sally, Catonine
Russell – TerryCA, Zoetawny
??? – Lars Eller, Feral Cat, Petals

I will fill in the ??? when it is available. If it is more than 1 person I'm gonna have to shuffle some peeps around. I'll keep you posted.

Margo aka Pool Monitor

Big Brother 11: A Closer Look at Russell and Ronnie

Ah, finally ... I'm down to the last two hamsters! You can find all of my "closer look" posts as well as a cast cheat sheet by clicking on the "BB11 cast" tag on the bottom of the post.

Well, Russell ... what can I say? His last name is kind of fun. According to his CBS bio, his friends call him "Russell the love muscle." Um, I'm already getting the idea that Russell and I don't run in the same social circles. Oh, how I'd love to see him fall flat and be the first one out of the house after I read this on the bio -- "Loud and brash, Russell holds nothing back and is always ready for a fight. In fact, his brash personality is probably his biggest asset outside the house, where he is a mixed martial arts fighter. He claims nothing scares him and that includes the game of BIG BROTHER."

On second thought, he might be interesting to watch. Let me amend my previous thoughts. I'd like to see Natalie (the girl martial arts champ) whip his butt while Michele (the neuroscientist) humiliates his probably weak "brain muscle."

Diane Henry's non-embeddable video interview with Russell is at this link. The Reality Wanted interview is below. He apparently does have a strategy. I don't care. His neck is as big as some folks' waists. He scares me. Plus he's wearing a Dustin-esque v-neck.





It's onto Ronnie ... kind of a polar opposite of Russell. I think my biases are showing as I look at this cast. I'm definitely gravitating more towards the non-physical bunch although I think Natalie is going to be a strong contender in the game. But I LIKE the non-physical bunch better. I think Ronnie might have a strong game going.

According to his CBS bio, Ronnie is a gamer, debate champion, and a huge BB fan. All in all, the bio doesn't give us a ton of information about him. Diane Henry's interview tells us more.

Big Brother 11: A Closer Look at Natalie and Michele

BULLETIN: According to various sources, the HG entered the house last night and had their first HOH comp. The mystery hamster is supposed to be a male from Season 10 who will create drama in the house. Most of the guesses are Brian. I personally (with no insider information) fear it might be Jesse. He was the drama that season!

Continuing on with my slightly more in-depth looks at the new hamsters --

She's tiny; she's feisty. Not only is she a martial arts champion, according to her CBS bio, she's a poker player. Let's see ... tough, strategic game ... she better not be a Wahmber!

Diane Henry (season um ... five? - Drew's buddy) now covers reality television for the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles and interviewed Natalie. It's not embeddable or you know I'd embed it. I'm an embedder. It's better than being an enabler, right?

Poking about the web, we have a similar case to Jeff Schroeder Hamster isn't Jeff Schroeder Smashing Pumpkin. Natalie is NOT the actress who comes up immediately upon Googling her name.




Onto Michele! I know I have someone else in the blog pool, but I'm going to be cheering the local gal on. No, I don't live in CA and haven't since I was six years old. She's born and raised in Iselin (NJ), about a town and a half away from me. Okay, maybe six miles. And she's a neuroscientist. I so want her to do well.

According to her CBS bio, she's one of the three married hamsters. Casey and Ronnie are the other two. Her strategy is to be a bit under the radar, but consistent with winning comps without dominating them. Her interview with Diane Henry is interesting -- she answered a Craiglist ad looking for people with interesting jobs to audition for a reality show. She's a fan of the show. Alas, she thinks she's like a female Eric (BB9) and says she's doofy like him.

Off Topic: Roofus the Cat

Summer isn't the time to find Roofus the Cat up on his roof. Between the rain and then hot weather, Roofus tends to seek out shade (or dry) this time of year. Other than one sighting a week or so ago when I didn't have my memory card in the camera, I haven't seen Roofus.

But, I have spies. Local Plainfield blogger Bernice peeked into the "abandoned" ex-Budget Rental Car building and there's Roofus! He's hanging out with the big grey cat who's hiding in back of him in this shot.

Somehow they can get in and out of the building and the last time I peeked in closely, there was a fresh litter pan, food, and water. Although the place is definitely abandoned, cat food keeps mysteriously appearing.

I return you to your regularly scheduled blog now. And thanks go out to Bernice!

Big Brother 11: A Closer Look at Lydia, Laura, and Kevin

Continuing on with my slightly more in-depth pre-season takes on the Big Brother 11 hamsters, I give you Lydia, Laura, and Kevin. You can find all of my cast related posts by using the BB11cast tag at the bottom of this post. By the way ... have you noticed that CBS has dropped the season number from the website and show references? They're listing it as plain old Big Brother. What's up with that?


Ah, tattooed gal Lydia. In the initial Early Show cast introduction, she's the one who touted her bisexuality. She's attractive, but sports more tattoos than a Hell's Angel member. Looking at her CBS bio, she seems to be a rather excitable girl -- one who will definitely speak her mind. She appears to be a contrast of contradictions -- daughter of a cop, close to family, yet "eccentric" and heavily tattooed. I think she'll probably be interesting to watch. I hope she doesn't have obscene or offensive tattoos like James in season nine. We'd have to see a heck of a lot of Band-Aids.

Insider.com has taken over some of the dearth with the loss of Housecalls. He strays way off topic of the show and I find him annoying, but Ross Mathews has this interview with the women of the BB11 house online --



Diane Henry has a non-embeddable video interview with Lydia online. Now, there's a good video! I actually like Lydia ... I think. Hmmm ... she cries about spiders. I guess she shouldn't go into the backyard at night, eh?

Laura is a bikini model. I'm seriously going to have to overcome my bias against folks who are bikini models. After all, it could just be jealousy, right? They can't all be shallow obnoxious folks, can they? According to Reality Wanted, she's a huge fan of the show with her favorite season being BB8 and her favorite players being Evel Dick and Daniele (although she would have offed 'em early had she been on the show).

According to her bio on the CBS website, she's going to "live in her bikini." Oh joy. Just what I wanted to watch 24 hours a day -- a flashing tramp stamp. Sure, the guys will like it, but ...! I just don't share her values, I guess. Bikinis and suntans aren't my way of life. But she just might have some gameplay.


Then there's Kevin, the out gay guy representative of the season. In his CBS bio,"He describes himself as ghetto, fabulous and inappropriate, and warns his fellow Houseguests that, although he doesn't have a temper, he can get bitchy. He knows how to find the slightest flaw in a person and magnify it for all to see." In other interviews, he says he doesn't want to implode like many of the past gay men in the house.

He's estranged from his family and I just keep getting the drama queen vibe from him. I hope I'm wrong. He does know the show. Does he have a chance?

Big Brother 11: A Closer Look at Jordan, Jeff, and Chima

Continuing my slightly in-depth pre-season scuttlebutt on the Big Brother 11 houseguests ...

Hmm ... Jordan Lloyd, according to her CBS website bio, is a naive small town kind of gal. Although pretty, she says she won't be having sex in the house because her "grandpa will be watching." It's too bad a few others didn't realize that in the past. Nothing says "easy" more than being a showmance gone wild on live feed cameras.

I'm not finding much on Jordan. She's young, lives at home, and is a waitress. In the non-embeddable CBS video of the hamsters, she's the one who tells us she got her boobs done three weeks ago. Um. Perhaps she plans to use them as flotation devices in the hot tub. I don't think her grandpa needed to know about the boob job, do you?



Like Jordan, Jeff is kind of a mystery hamster -- there's not all that much about him on the Internet. When I searched for his name, most of the results pointed out a Smashing Pumpkins band member with the same name. Unless he's really cleverly disguised, that ain't him.

In his CBS bio, he sounds like a decent and normal kind of guy. I'm not sure how well that will all work out for him in the house or for entertainment value on the live feeds. He might end up being a bit boring. Why would a possibly normal person want to go on the show? Now, that's the real mystery!

I found an interview with him online --




Then there's Chima. She's probably the best-known hamster in the house. She's a journalist for Hollyscoop.com, does various BET red carpet events, and more.



How is she going to do in the house? Maybe since she's into hip-hop, she could get together with DJ Mingle Mixx and start some new house traditions.

Happy Independence Day!

The sun is shining and the local parade will be starting soon here in Plainfield, NJ. We've had so much rain this year that I think it just might be a miracle that the weather is cooperating with the holiday.

I hope everyone enjoys the holiday and can take some time with friends and family. Parades, cook-outs, fireworks ... yay! Enjoy!

I'll return a bit later checking out more BB11 hamsters. And, of course, the graphic above was made by Zoetawny.

Here are a few shots I took of the parade as it went by my apartment ...

Big Brother 11 - A Closer Look at Casey and Braden

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'So You Think You Can Dance' 7/02 Results

From the East Coast airing --

Karla is going home.
Vitolio is going home.

Aww ...

Big Brother 11 Bloggy Bits

First, the esteemed Zoetawny has created another new BB season logo for the blog. She rocks, y'know. Thank you, Zoetawny!

Second ... blog community lifeguard Margo is running the blog pool this season. The way it works is that we're assigned a houseguest to cheer on. There isn't any wagering (although virtual wagering would be okay, I guess -- you know, like a dozen virtual chocolate chip cupcakes or something). It's all just in fun. Here's the latest on the pool from what I can gather:

Braden – KarenCA, Monty924, DonnaAL
Casey – PDX Granny, Jackie, Patti in kzoo
Chima – Brent McKee, Delee, DonnaFL
Jeff – sizzie, dla, Margo
Jordan – Becky, meb, Lynn1
Kevin – Tessa, NanaNW, Laurie
Laura – nomad, SueGee, Sasha
Lydia – Witt, RBennie, Gaylos
Michele – Sydney, ORKmommy, Susan in FL
Natalie – Caroline, Jennasmom
Ronnie – Sally, Catonine
Russell – TerryCA, Zoetawny
??? – Lars Eller, Feral Cat

Margo will assign a name to the mystery houseguest once we know who it is. I'd like to thank her and possibly get a virtual round of applause from everyone for her efforts!

Some BB11 News

Look! It's Chris (Gunther?) from The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson! He was one of the twelve media people who did a week in a day in the Big Brother 11 house last week. Yikes, he got himself evicted, but not before he got a shout-out in to Craig. The videos aren't embeddable, but you can find them on the CBS BB11 website. Jen Johnson from BB8 was the host for the bunch. If you recall, I wasn't invited.

If you're not familiar with Chris, this video I previously posted may jolt your memory --



Due to Chris being in on the Press Day in the house, I guess we'll be seeing the hamsters and Julie each week on Ferguson once again. Also on the CBS website, there is a (non-embeddable) video of the houseguests telling us how great they are. One mentions her boob job. @@

Regarding Live Feeds

I always have mine as I use the Rhapsody credit monthly. I don't know how to go about offering the feeds to customers. But, if you're looking to sign up for them, it would be great if you did it through That Dingo's Hamsterwatch website. She runs one of those sites I keep an eye on all season and she works hard for her money. Of course, they can also be purchased at real.com.

Regarding my show episode reviews and live feeds coverage

TV Squad is paring down the coverage of Big Brother. I'll be reviewing all the episodes, but the reviews will be much shorter. I was also informed they will not be doing live feeds reports this season even though they brought in a lot of traffic. That decision may change, I don't know. It hits me in the financial arena as I was expecting the income.

Not to fear, though. I'll just do all the live feed reports here and not run myself ragged doing separate content for TVS and here. As always, there will be live blog show posts for discussion of the episodes as they air here on the East Coast. You know you're all invited!

New this season

I succumbed to cyber peer pressure. I'm now on Twitter. While I won't be going wacky tweeting all the time, I'm definitely planning on using it for some reporting in addition to this blog.

I'll be starting the more in-depth look at the houseguests tomorrow. In poking around, I already found two words for Braden -- "soft porn."

Sneak Peek: 'Leverage' Season Premiere

When I met up with blog buddies RBennie and Becky recently, the timing was perfect. I know that Becky is a big fan of TNT's Leverage and I just received the screener copy of the season premiere. How could I not? I'm including a video bit about the show and Becky's review. Once the season starts, I'll create a blog discussion post for the show.



From Becky, Guest Reviewer and Leverage fan:
The "Beantown Bailout Job": Thrills, cons and the pursuit of justice are back as TNT's fast-paced drama series LEVERAGE returns on July 15 with the Grifter, the Hitter, the Hacker, the Thief and the Brains returning for another season.

In case you missed last season, Timothy Hutton stars as Nate Ford, a former insurance investigator determined to bring down the kind of corrupt bigwigs whose neglect led to the death of his son. His highly skilled team includes Sophie Deveareaux (Gina Bellman), a grifter who uses her acting skills to corner her marks; Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane), a "retrieval specialist" with bone-crunching fighting skills; Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge), a gadget and technology wizard who keeps the team connected and informed; and Parker (Beth Riesgraft), a slightly off center thief adept at rappelling off buildings or squeezing into tight places.

During the first season, the team members put their energy, quick minds and keen intellects toward securing justice for society's underdogs. The five loners learn how to work as a team and to rely on each person's unique skills. They also developed a strong emotional bond.

After the destruction of their headquarters and the decision to go their separate ways at the end of the first season, the team now finds itself together again when Nate witnesses and attempted murder of a bank whistle-blower. Nate's new digs soon become the operational headquarters from which the team will conduct their activities.

When the group meets at a Sound of Music play starring Sophie, the not-so-good singer, they all profess that they enjoyed their six months away from each other. They then confess that Nate has "ruined" them for a life of selfish crime by making them one of the good guys. He has to be convinced to do "this one last job" to find justice for the bank employee. Some of their plans to vindicate the employee do not go as they thought they would, but they still overcome the obstacles for a delightful season opener.

Tonight's 'So You Think You Can Dance' and 'America's Got Talent' ... plus Julie's BB11 House Tour

Yikes. I've been posting so much today! Eep.



But I wanted to give folks a place to comment on So You Think You Can Dance and America's Got Talent. I'm watching the first one and recording the second.

And here's another BB11 bonus -- Julie Chen's tour of the BB11 house:

The Big Brother 11 Cast Cheat Sheet

I'll be taking a closer look at the hamsters in posts down the line. However, I edited these images with their names, current location (well, real current location is either sequester or in the house!), ages, and occupations. I figure I can look back at this entry in the beginning when I can't keep track who is who. Or, is that who is whom? Only three are married -- Ronnie, Michele, and Casey.

BB11 Twist Revealed

All kinds of news today -- I'm still working on my intro posts for the hamsters.

Meanwhile, from a CBS Press Release:

07.01.2009

CBS INTRODUCES 12 NEW HOUSEGUESTS AND REVEALS A SURPRISE TWIST THAT EVERYONE CAN RELATE TO WHEN "BIG BROTHER" PREMIERES THURSDAY, JULY 9, ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

The Houseguests Will Be Going Back to High School as They Are Divided into Memorable High School Cliques - Popular, Athletes, Brainiacs and Off-Beats

A Mystery 13th Houseguest Will Also Join the Game

House Guests To Compete in House That Has Been Transformed into Green, Eco-Friendly Living Machine

What group did you fit into in high school? That is the question 12 strangers will face on the season premiere of BIG BROTHER, Thursday, July 9 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

12 strangers will move into the Big Brother house and learn that they will be ‘kickin it old school' this summer, high school to be exact. The House Guests will be shocked to learn that they will be playing the game in one of four familiar high school cliques - popular, athletes, brainiacs and off beats. They will compete for food, safety from eviction and luxury prizes as part of their clique.

They will also be surprised to discover that a mystery 13th Houseguest is coming to the BIG BROTHER house, to join the game and give an advantage to one of the cliques.

"You may have graduated, but the truth is we never leave high school and this summer we are going to prove it," says Allison Grodner, Executive Producer of BIG BROTHER. "From the brains to the jocks to the off-beat, everyone will be able to identify to one of these cliques, giving the viewers a group to root for and against from the very beginning. The division will cause instant drama."

****************************

High school? Now I'm going to have nightmares! Your thoughts?

Big Brother 11 Cast on The Early Show Video

I'll be posting more later, but here's the video of the cast reveal on today's The Early Show --

Big Brother 11 Bulletin!

I just saw a blurb that the Big Brother 11 cast will be introduced this morning on The Early Show. I expect the website will be updated later today. It's my day off, so I will catch The Early Show and update here later!

UPDATE: Gack. The oldest hamster is 41. There is a gamer who can name all of the houseguests all of the seasons in order. He also led debate teams. My money would be on him for the win if I had to name a winner now. Lots of pretty (young) faces, a gay guy and a bi-sexual gal.

Once the video of the segment goes live either on YouTube or CBS, I'll post it here. Later on today, hopefully they'll update the website. I'm not so thrilled with the new hamsters. However, watching them implode as the season goes along should be fun!

UPDATE on the UPDATE: The hamsters are now on the official CBS website. I'll be analyzing them, snagging images, and sharing thoughts in my next post.

Big Brother 11 House Photos Revealed

The CBS website has photos of the new Big Brother house right here. There still isn't any word on the new cast. But when I know, I'll get the skinny and their photos!

Sorry this is so short and sweet, but I've been out being a tenant activist (or something to that effect). I went from work to grabbing a bite to eat to attending a City Hall meeting. I met Bernice, the local blogger, too! And, I was jokingly offered a job by the building inspector when I showed him some of my photos of building violations. I did tell him I can freelance!
;-)

More BB news as it comes in!