'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - Looking at the Tribes - Part 2

Yep, it's another nifty Cook Islands/Jackie logo made by Zoetawny!

I'm slowly making my way through the tribes and castaways for the upcoming Survivor season. For more background on the season, as well as the skinny on the Asian tribe, please check out this previous entry.

Here's a look at the Caucasian Tribe:


Adam Gentry is in copier sales and, though listed by the show as hailing from San Diego, he was born and raised in Virginia. An interesting note - he graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute where fellow castaway Cao Boi also attended. In the past, he was a personal trainer. He appeared on the MTV show The Grind in 1999. He likes basketball and swimming. No mention of a spouse or his family on the CBS site.

Um. Okay. He has a short bio and looks like someone I know (no, it's not the person I know). I have no clue how this guy will do. I think I'll call him "Mystery Man."



Candice Woodcock was born and raised in Fayetteville. In high school, she was the class president and captain for both the soccer and cross country teams. She won full merit sholarships at two schools and graduated from UNC at Chapel Hill. Unlike Adam, Candice's bio is very long. She's no mystery. A Survivor: Africa fan, she lived in a mud hut in Kenya teaching for a few months. She's active in an UNC program which provides scholarships to students from Zimbabwe and Tanzania. She also has worked at a cancer clinic and a Latino clinic. She wants to earn a medical degree to work with people from developing nations and the underserved folks in the United States.

She's single, involved with her family and her dog, Louis James. Hmmm... interesting.


Jessica Smith, a nice easy name. She was born and raised on a ranch in Palo Cedro, CA, and went to high school in Redding, CA. When she turned 18, she decided to move to the arts-supporting town of Chico. She's a performance artist/rollergirl. She sounds like a mix of Nakomis from Big Brother and the fire-swirling performance artist Courtney from Survivor last season. She's been on Roller Derby teams, managed a costume shop, designed costumes and worked in a fabric store. She seems a bit of a free spirit who lives with her cat, Alita.

How will she do? I don't know. I doubt she'll be the sole Survivor, but I could be wrong.


Jonathan is a native of New York and attended the prestigious Phillips Andover Prep School, then went on to earn his degree from Sarah Lawrence College. He's an actor who has appeared in numerousTV series over the years. He's also a producer/director/writer. But can he sing? I don't know. He seems to be very show-businessy. He likes reading, writing, cooking, baseball and traveling. He's married, has two children, a bunny rabbit, a cat, and two lizards.

What's he doing on Survivor? Maybe a mid-life crisis, maybe he wants to win a million, maybe he thinks it will be good for his career.


Okay, I won't say she's Shallow (but, she is!). She's a boxer/waitress who was born in Vero Beach, FL, but moved to Atlanta when she was 11 years-old. Her previous jobs include being a model, bartender and in public relations. She's been on her own since she was 17, putting herself through college at the University of Georgia. She's studied martial arts and enjoys boxing, running, hiking, volleyball, yoga, skiing, softball, dancing and swimming. She loves boxing and the outdoors. Her bio doesn't mention a spouse or family.

Although this photo of her reminds me of Misty from last season, I think we have a contender here. I just hope she doesn't box as she waitresses. "Leave a good tip. I know you have a glass chin!"

I'll be posting on the remaining two tribes over the next few days, or at least by Sunday.

'Big Brother 7: All Stars' - Live Feeds Blurb With Screencap - Wednesday 9/06

<--- A recent quadcam screencap I snagged shows Janelle and Erika lounging about talking while Mike Boogie (bottom right) burrows under blankets in another room.

Not all that much has happened since my last feeds entry.

There was an odd inside HOH lockdown where we actually heard music... real music. Well, mostly rap music, but not the show theme. However, we saw flame/clouds.

• Erika and Janelle went over past comps and BB house events in preparation for a quiz-related competition.
• Both women still seem to be on the same Anti-Chill Town page and the plan still seems to be to evict Mike Boogie and have an all female final two.
• Mike finally joined them and they talked about show-related Internet websites... not this one. I never get a shout-out from BB houseguests. Sniffle.
• Still no word on when the next part of the HOH will happen.

'Big Brother 7: All Stars' - Live Feeds Report - Wednesday 9/06 Into the Afternoon

Today has been a really uneventful day in the Big Brother house. As I mentioned previously, I don't think either (or both) remaining parts of the HOH competition will play out for the feeds.

Of course, if there's any news about the remaining two parts of the comp, I'll keep you updated. The houseguests think one part may be played tonight, but no confirmation or time. The endurance comps play out live for us feed-watchers, but if they do play tonight, I'd imagine blocked. I'll let you know and, if they do have a competition part tonight, I should be able to at least get the results posted once they talk. But, please, please... keep in mind that if a part plays out, either I or someone who reads here will post about it. Asking repeatedly isn't going to make it happen any sooner. ;-)

Here are the events (or lack thereof) from today so far in that Big Brother House of Three's Company:

• All three houseguests slept in until around 1 PM their time (PT).
• Mike played Solitaire while Erika put on her make-up and Janelle worked out a bit.
• Janelle and Erika think one of the BB Staffers in the Diary Room sounds "cute" and "cool." [Editor's note: Heck, I might be able to sound cute and cool if I wanted to... and I'm not quite either.]
• Erika and Janelle hung together leaving Mike Boogie to his own misery a lot. Whenever all three gathered, there were huge awkward pauses and uncomfortable silences.
• Janelle told Mike that if either she or Erika wins, they will take him to the Final Two. [Editor's note: That was a ploy Janelle and Erika previously discussed - leading him to believe they'd both choose him to throw off his game. I think Janelle was ploying rather than being honest with him.]
• Mike Boogie told Janelle that they've always been honest about things and that she shouldn't let Erika "into her head." [Editor's note: Too little, too late, too many lies.]
• Erika asked Mike Boogie if he's okay and he said he was still shellshocked. He's glad it's only five days left and he misses Will so much.
• Erika said she thinks the second part of the HOH comp will be held tonight. Janelle wondered why at night. No one knows.
• Erika wore Janelle's tiara once again, this time with feeling.
• They played cards.

And, that's what it is.

Graphic by Zoetawny.

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - Looking at the Tribes - Part One

<-- 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!

'Big Brother 7: All Stars' - Live Feeds Report - Evening and Overnight Into Wednesday 9/06

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.