<-- One of my cool new Survivor: Cook Islands logos created by Zoetawny! She rocks, y'know!And, yes, I interrupt the Big Brother 7: All Stars live feeds report to kickstart my Survivor: Cook Islands blogging. I'll be posting a BB7 feeds report a bit later. So, if you have no interest in Survivor, check back a bit later!The show's season is already off to a controversial start before the season even starts because they've split the tribes by racial or ethnicity groups. Good idea? Bad idea? I'm holding out judgment right now. I know the young, old, gender-based tribes didn't last but a week or two. I don't know how long the split will last this season. One thing I will say, though... knowing the four separate tribes ahead of time makes it a lot easier to list them by tribe in parts for my blogging. So, thank you CBS.The new season will start on Thursday, September 14, at 8 PM ET/PT. Alas, the premiere is only an hour - a problem I have with the show each season. One castaway gets voted off before we even get a chance to know him or her! If you want to read up more on the show, the official CBS site is here. Cool spoilers for the show can always be found at the Survivor Fever site.I'll be listing the tribes themselves in no particular order in four separate entries - four tribes of five members each. All images are the property of CBS and I'm just using them for review purposes here. The color at the bottom of the images should be the color of the tribe buffs. (Yeah, I did that and stuck names/ages/location on the photos.) One interesting thing to note - although the cast seems very California-heavy, most of the "Californians" aren't from California; they're just living there now.Without further ado, I present the Asian-American Tribe:
Yul Kwon is a management consultant born in Queens, NY, but moved to the West Coast when he was 6 years-old. He was his high school's valedictorian, went onto Stanford, then earned his Juris Doctor degree at Yale. Is he all brains, no brawn? Well, his hobbies include boxing and "ultimate fighting." I'm not too sure what the latter is, but it sounds physical. He volunteers by working with children and says he's idealistic, compassionate and ambitious. From his bio, I believe him. He looks like a strong competitor. No spouse or family is mentioned in his bio.
Rebekah "Becky" Lee was born in Flushing, NY. I made an error in her graphic which I just noticed now. Oops. She's listed by the show as being from Washington, DC and was raised in Pittsburgh, PA. She's an attorney who played tennis all through secondary school, going on to lead several Asian/law associations/clubs while in college. Her law interests focus on domestic violence and rights for battered women. She's been a kickboxer in addition to her tennis playing. She enjoys competitive sports, plays flag football, and practices yoga. She looks like she could have what it takes.My apologies to Pittsburgh and Washington, DC. Again, no spouse or family mentioned.
Brad Virata is a fashion director who was raised in Oak Harbor, WA. In school he excelled in track, football and volleyball. He worked as a model, traveling through Europe and Asia. He then moved to California to study fashion and went to work for Guess. He's a beach vollyball player and surfer, as well as into power yoga and rollerblading. He's very invloved with charities in his area including AIDS, Project Angel Food, Big Brothers, and the Starlight Foundation.Single, he lives with his dog Maxx.Do we have a sole Survivor here?
Jenny Guzon-Bae was born in Chicago and raised in the suburb of Melrose Park, IL. She was a tomboy and grew up loving to play football, softball, basketball as well as tree-climbing and bike-racing. She's done professional writing and today is a real estate agent. From reading her bio, her sports run the gamut. I think this is one gal the guys should worry about. She also has a cerebral side. She was a news anchor for a Filipino-American television show in the Chicago area and seems very driven. Jenny is married and has a son and three dogs at home.Will she be the strongest woman on the show? Those who grew up as "tomboys" tend to make it pretty far. We'll see!
Anh-Tuan Bui is nicknamed Cao Boi (pronounced "Cowboy") and was a Vietnam War refugee at the age of 11. He currently works as a nail salon manager, but has held several jobs over the years including fisherman, farm hand, photographer, and used car salesman. He attended college, but it doesn't look like he holds a degree. His sports and hobbies include bicycling, hiking, sky-diving, meditation, photography and classical guitar. He's an U.S. Army veteran and is currently a member of the local Moose Lodge and is involved with the Boy Scouts.Cao Boi is married, has two children, one dog and two cats.Oh, he sounds very interesting, doesn't he? So, there you go... the first tribe (in no particular order) for Survivor 13: Cook Islands. Will you be watching? Stay tuned right here on this blog for show recaps, newsy bits and more!
Well, well, well... did you think Janelle would actually do it? Evict Dr. Delicious? Do you think Erika will stick to her "word on her mom"? I guess we'll see!To start this, I just wanted to pipe in with my own thoughts regarding last night's big endurance competition. Now, I'm just a watcher of the game, not a player. But, I'd have to assume that the players know as much about the comps as I do. When Julie Chen said "for now" in answer to the question whether both hands have to remain on the key, I understood it fine. I think Janelle probably did, too. The "for now" is because once things start moving, smoking, shaking, whatever they're going to do, Big Brother usually sends out a message that they can only hang on with one hand to make things tougher.That was the biggest fiasco of an endurance comp I've ever seen. While Janelle's removal of one hand from the key was accidental (she was straining to see what the heck Mike did), Mike's leap off was overly dramatic and will probably backfire on him. He knew he couldn't win against the girls in an endurance comp, so he didn't even try. Will and Mike have said on and off all season that they wouldn't try at an endurance comp. "Remember Richard Hatch?" Oh, I do. He was my pick to win that Survivor season. I remember Richard Hatch won. I bet Janelle and Erika remember he won, too. All the more reason to vote out Mike! I still can't believe an endurance comp which started near the end of the live show and ended before the live show went off the air. What's that noise I hear? Ah, it's all the eyes rolling out there!Here are the events since after the live show in that Big Brother House of Take That Chill Town!:- Erika and Janelle are beside themselves with glee. Janelle said that Will told her that he was the fox and she was the bunny. "Who's the bunny now, BLEEP?"
- Mike went to the Diary Room as the two girls celebrated the victory over Chill Town, chortled and chuckled.
- The girls took a moment to ask Mike if he was okay. He still seems shellshocked. He just mumbled, "I've never been in the house with him..." [Editor's note: Mike was the fourth person evicted from BB2. He really wasn't in the game long at all.]
- Mike talked to Janelle. He said he knew she had to do what she thought was best for herself in the game. He then said maybe he's better off without Will. [Editor's note: As if! Will carried him into the house and carried him all season!]
- Mike tried to work mojo on Janelle to swing her away from her trust in Erika.
- Erika told Janelle that he was just trying to play nice so he can be in the final two.
- Erika and Janelle then discussed their final two dresses again.
- Janelle kept imitating Mike's shocked look when Will was voted out.
- The girls decided they'll both make Mike think them that they're each taking him to the final two.
- Erika told Janelle that she told her he'd jump off. She thinks he'll throw the next part, too. He's sure that one of them will take him to the final two.
- They don't think the next part will be on Wednesday because Big Brother gave them alcohol.
- Janelle's pretty upset that she let go of the key with one hand. She had psyched herself to do the comp.
- BB gave them a sushi feast for dinner.
- Erika is still going on about revenge of Chill Town. She's still mad.
- Mike, alone, told the Internet why he threw the comp. He's sure that because he's so hated, he's the best choice for either woman to bring to the final two as either should win against him. He said he would indeed try at the second part, but he has no worries or pressure - he knows one will take him. [Editor's note: In a way, he's right. Against him, either woman should win. But I so hope that they keep the plan to take each other.]
- He also said "America loves you even more now, Janelle."
- Janelle and Erika rehashed the evils of Chill Town and how they affected both nominations and evictions throughout the show.
- Janelle admitted to Erika that Mike helped her in the doll POV comp by pushing a correct doll her way.
- The women just went on forever, happy with themselves, toasting each other and going over every wrong that Chill Town ever did. Mike wandered aimlessly or perhaps he's just bereft.
- Erika told Janelle that she told Will the "gig is up" in her redone goodbye video. [Editor's note: Remember... I said she asked BB if she could redo it once the tides turned.]
- Mike slept on the floor next to the bed in the room where the two women took the beds. Very quiet, very subdued.
Image by Zoetawny.
Part 1 of a three-part HOH starts.To the backyard. Winner of Round 1 to Final Round, remaining 2 compete for second part - winner of part two competes in final.Mount HOH - volcano in backyard, climb up and grab key, stay on. Let go of key or feet touch mat, eliminated. Need good grips on keys. Smoke coming from volcano. Mike Boogie... "Julie, Remember Richard Hatch? Both of them have to take me to the finals." And he jumped. Erika and Janelle hanging on.Mike sitting drinking water. He thinks that whoever wins has to take him, that they won't go together to the final. (At this point, I think he's wrong, though either stands a better chance against him because he'd never win first place.)He's eliminated from this round. For someone with his move, he looks very worried.The volcano is going to erupt. Commercial...Janelle let one hand off the key and Julie snagged her. Erika won this round. I can sleep tonight. Janelle isn't happy. All look confused. Mike looks... intense.
Mike looks stunned. Erika and Janelle high-five. Mike looks so worried.Julie asked the PuppetMaster how he lost control. He said he's not really surprised. He did the best he could. Did he underestimate Janelle? - No, he underestimated Erika. He thinks that Janelle and he had something very interesting together. Was he just flirting? It was a game - he's close to her and she's a great friend, but it's a game. He doesn't know how real it was. She was playing him as much as he was playing her. He thinks the girls will have to get Mike out as quick as possible if one of them wants to win.He thinks Erika and Mike may or may not have a relationship. Goodbye messages. Erika - "The gig is up. I hope Howie doesn't hurt you badly." Janelle - "you talked me into a lot of things. I hope we will be friends."Will is taking it fine.Mike wasn't! :-)
We know this part is taped... because we're omniscent. Yep.When The Stars AlignIdentical stars with clues, put HG faces from "goo pool" according to clues.Final Golden Power of Veto. 10 faces, 10 side/clues of the star - one solution.Erika said she had to win, Janelle said she had to win.Will thought Alison's picture was Jennifer Aniston. Mike was missing a face and didn't realize it.Janelle won - Erika wasn't far off. Will is smug. Erika says she'll have to appeal to Janelle's sense of logic. She starts right away. Mike is smug. Erika gave Janelle a "what if I gave my word on my mother" speech and said she needs money. Janelle thinks Mike is the biggest liar in the game, Erika looked at her and then Janelle said Will. Erika promised not to take Mike to the Final Two.Now they're going into the tape from last night when Erika really exposes Chill Town (see my feeds posts). Will just told Mike that he (Will) will go home - Janelle didn't give any eye contact. Erika definitely swore on her mother to take Janelle to the final two.Now they're discussing how they were both told they were part of Chill Town. It's dawning on both of them that both have been played all along by the guys. Back to the live stuff --Julie asked if the bonds will continue outside the house. Will and Janelle both think they'll be friends. Erika said she and Mike would be friends, too. Mike said that if he's in the F2, he'll see how her vote goes - implying Erika won't be there. Janelle is surprised Danielle didn't make it further. Live Veto Meeting -Janelle uses the veto to save herself. Mike had to put up Will. The vote is up to Janelle... commercial break. Of course.Janelle votes to evict...SHE'S DONE MAKING MISTAKES -- WILL IS EVICTED
