Big Brother 14: Meet the Cast

My personal jury is still out. I will need to know more before I can draw conclusions other than young and can spend three months away from life as they know it. But I wanted to get the photos and basics up for you. More as I delve into them to see what makes 'em tick. Four "mentors" would bring the cast to 16.

Top Row: Danielle, Frank, Shane, Ian, Willie, Jenn /Middle Row: Joe, Kara, Jodi /Bottom: Jojo, Wil, Ashley

Jenn Arroyo, 37

From: Brooklyn, NY

Current City: Brooklyn, NY

Musician - former bass player for the female metal group “Kittie”

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Joe Arvin, 41

From: Lexington, KY

Current City: Schererville, Ind.

Chef

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Frank Eudy, 28

From: Marion, AR

Current City: Naples, FL

Unemployed

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Jodi Rollins, 42

From: Englewood, CO

Current City: Calipatria, CA

Restaurant server

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Willie Hantz, 34

From: Vinton, LA

Current City: Dayton, TX

Tankerman

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Wil Heuser, 24

From: Louisville, KY

Current City: Louisville, KY

Marketing consultant

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Ashley Iocco, 26

From: Pittsburgh, PA

Current City: West Hollywood, CA

Owner of a mobile spray tanning company

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Shane Meaney, 26

From: Bennington, VT

Current City: Bennington, VT

House flipper

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Kara Monaco, 29

From: Orlando, FL

Current City: Los Angeles, CA

Model

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Danielle Murphree, 23

From: Grant, AL

Current City: Tuscaloosa, AL

Nurse

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JoJo Spatafora, 26

From: Staten Island, NY

Current City: Staten Island, NY

Bartender

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Ian Terry, 21

From: Pittsburgh, PA

Current City: New Orleans, LA

Engineering student

Big Brother 14: Hamster News

We've already gotten a glimpse of the new Habitrail and now, despite the fact that the official cast reveal is supposed to be tomorrow ... we see some of the hamsters.

It is looking like it's going to be a season of new hamsters mixed with returning rodents as mentors. Whether the returning rodents will be eligible to win, I don't know. Folks who know me know that I'm not too keen on returning houseguests. Rumors are still persisting that the returning hamsters are Mike Boogie, Janelle, Dan (BB9) and now ... Rachel (WAH). And one of the rumored new houseguests even bears a familiar name. 

Here's what I've gathered for y'all on the new hamsters:

A new commercial:



 Another new commercial:



Here's the familiar name, alas, Russell Hantz's brother. Sigh. That said, I don't think he's going to be either like Russell or that silly weird nephew.
 


 Kara is Playboy's Playmate of the Year 2006. @@




One of the new hamsters, Wil Heuser, has his own YouTube channel and, supposedly, a fan following.

Your thoughts on these hamster glimpses and the new "twist"? 

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone has a fantastic Fourth! Tomorrow I expect the big cast reveal for BB14!

Big Brother 14: Press Day Stuff!

Okay, I'm not such a happy camper with the rumors I'm hearing. You've all seen the commercials hinting at the largest number of houseguests ever. Well, rumor has it that there will be sixteen new hamsters and four "mentors." The mentors would be returning players. Sigh. It had better not have the couple we see in this Press Day video (keep in mind, these are not the real hamsters, they're press people -- maybe one day I'll get an invite!) --

 

Other new house decor photos can be seen here and here.

The new hamsters should be in sequester now. We should be seeing commercials by the end of the week featuring them, I believe.

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - July 1, 2012

It's once again Sunday morning. You know what that means. It's time for my weekly off television topic post reviewing the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way.

Briefly visiting the actual topic of this blog -- television, really -- I expect there to be announcements perhaps as early as tomorrow regarding the cast of the new season of Big Brother. They should be in sequester at this time filming teasers for commercials and avoiding the outside world. My personal educated guess is that they will enter the house next weekend (July 7, 8) although the live feeds won't start until after the season premiere. When I know news, I'll get it posted.

In other TV news, I'm now on individual waitlists for every single America's Got Talent live show in Newark through August. I really hope to snag tickets to go with friends to at least one show! In looking at the times of the shows which vary from 5:30pm to 6:30pm, I'd have no trouble getting to Newark on time on the train after working. It's only a two block walk from Newark Penn Station to the Prudential Hall where the shows will be filmed. And, it's FREE. The only real problem is actually getting the tickets!

In other news, it's just been one of those icky weeks for me. The weather was either stormy or heat wave. I hate the heat and humidity. I don't like to sweat while just walking. I wrote the letter pleading that Vincent be grandfathered with the new landlord, but haven't heard back yet. I didn't take ANY photos this week that excited me. But, then the week got worse.

I fell. I fell due to an idiot putting a dark duffel bag on the floor of a dimly lit corner store directly in the only path one has to approach the register area. I already get irked by the people who just mill around in that store on Saturday mornings buying bus tickets to Atlantic City or spending their government issued monies on scratch off tickets and Lotto. Now I will regard them all with distrust and venom in my eyes.

I fell directly on both knees (replacements). The pain was unreal. I yelled at the woman who had no reason on earth to leave that bag on the floor! It wasn't even near her. It was five feet away next to the Drake's Cakes rack. I went ahead to work as I was nearby the train station already.The left (older) knee immediately swelled up. The right (new) knee had a scrape on it, but didn't swell. I worked a shortened day, did what I had to get done, then headed home to elevate and ice.

That was yesterday. Today both knees seem to be stable enough, but the left one is still quite swollen, the right one a bit swollen. Both still hurt. There's no sense in going to the Emergency Room as, while they might take x-rays, there's nothing they could do about knee replacement damage other than to give me painkillers. I don't need painkillers bad enough to pay the deductible for an ER visit. I have needed to set up my yearly follow-up on both knees with my orthopedic surgeon. He takes x-rays then. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get in during the holiday week, hopefully next week. I'll live with the pain ... as long as the knees seem to be stable. Hopefully I did no damage to the mechanisms. Sigh.

In better news, I only work three days this week. It should be four days due to the holiday, but I also added a personal day in for Saturday. Then I'm on my last staycation before my paid time off hours switch over on September 1st (anniversary with the company). I get several weeks vacation and a number of personal days yearly. If I don't take those hours, I lose them come my anniversary date. On the other hand, my sick hours can accrue up to six weeks, then they add up no more. If I leave the company, I can collect any vacation or personal days due, but not the sick time. The sick time just vanishes. I think I might be sick a lot the year I retire. :-)

Onto my rather lackluster photos of the week. Clicking on an image will open it in a new window, clicking again will make it larger. Just close out that window to plunk you right back here on the blog. 

Hey, everybody, have you heard?

He's going to buy me a mockingbird. If that mockingbird don't sing, he's going to buy me a diamond ring. This mockingbird I spotted at the Bridgewater Train Station was surely going through an array of songs ... in between dive-bombing any other bird in sight. What a violent little bird!

We're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave

One morning, it was already really warm and sticky as I headed to the train station a bit after six in the morning. The sun just hung in a haze. Yet, in the other direction, storm clouds darkened the skies. I took this shot at the fence for the Union Community College parking lot on Church Street in Plainfield.

Bees don't care

With the exception of torrential downpours, bees don't care about the weather. They have stuff they have to do! If these bees sit still enough, they're great photo fodder. They're not aggressive at all. But I did see some yellow jackets this week. I'm leery about them. I am allergic to bee stings, so I have to be careful with more aggressive bees.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**