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.