Big Brother 8 that dingo's
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June 25-30, 2007 - Pre-season

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Here we go


CBS finally took BB off "Casting Calls" on their site this afternoon and put up a teaser page this evening.. in between, they added a blurb to their homepage with "More details coming soon" where their show links usually are, along with this snap of Julie in yet another questionable outfit.. all in all, it's an odd way to promote something on its official "press day" if you ask me

Here's what we've got so far, to be updated as the dirt gets dug up, thanks to Aldav, Reality BBQ, Jokers Updates, and all the other sleuths who've been hard at work (including me, between "real" work)

Amber (Siyavus) Tomcavage She works at Caesars Palace and has an 8 year old daughter Lexi.. she also has Alabama ties - boyfriend maybe?
MySpace is set to private but cached version shows a quote "NOBODY HAS A GOOD ENOUGH MEMORY TO BE A GOOD LIAR" hmmmm
MySpace - cached MySpace - pics

Carol Journey She's a squad dancer like Jessica, and her squad page shows her hometown as Haysville, like Jessica.. hometown or childhood rivals, or dance team frenemies maybe
dance squad page

Daniele Donato Dick's daughter, confirmed by son/brother Vincent, who's also let slip some doubt about their estrangement, or not
He posted on her MySpace blog "I miss my dog and hate your Grandparents too"
If her MySpace name is punched in as an URL, it goes to BB8 feeds signup page - hmm.. but please don't sign up there - you know which links to use
MySpace - cached MySpace - Friendster

Dick Donato aka "Evel Dick" Daniele's father, confirmed by son/brother Vincent, who's also let slip some doubt about their estrangement, or not
He posted on her MySpace blog "I miss my dog and hate your Grandparents too"
It looks like he may be the resident potty mouth/loud guy this year.. he may be the same guy who's a BB feedster/poster and was a BB5 finalist
I asked a couple friends who know everyone in the music circles his Spacefriends are in, but they never heard of him
MySpace - another MySpace

Dustin Erikstrup Current or recent student/fashion major.. quote: "i hate tv....it numbs the mind....who seriously watches it??"
Gay & Chicago like Joe, and almost the same age - ex's maybe? Grew up 65 miles from Nick
Friendster

Eric nothing

Jameka (Cameron?) I'm not buying the MySpace linked on some sites - that one's in the UK and logged in today.. a Jameka Cameron attended Gwynn Park High and Bowie State, both in Maryland.. there's also a Florida Jameka who sounds right - Zach's got Florida ties also

Jen Johnson she's no nanny - she's a bikini model, as she says on the "Early Show" video snippet linked below, and she's done a fair amount of acting also.. "nanny" was tacked on to the filename of her original photo - the others just had their name - maybe that was to throw us off.. ha!
I'm going to guess she and Mike are ex's, or something
MySpace - IMDB - website/modeling with resume - modeling agency

Jessica Hughbanks she's an indoor football dancer (sound familiar, BB6 fans?) and has been an intern for KFDI radio in Wichita as a news intern.. the logical guess is that she's frenemies with Carol - same age/Kansas/dancers
MySpace - radio report podcast - people who had problems with BB5 Holly's voice might experience some déjà vu here

Joe Gay & Chicago like Dustin, and almost the same age - ex's maybe?

Kail Harbick as reported below, store/restaurant/resort owner with hubby Darin, mom of three, real estate broker, and former pageant runner.. she's done some acting
IMDB - Prudential page - local news profile (3 years old) - Harbick's Country Inn (click contact for pic) - Holiday Farm Resort - also Harbick Country Store

Mike Dutz very aggressive with promoting his actoring/modeling.. if the MySpace isn't enough to convince you it's him, Dutz & Sons is one of only two painting companies in Three Lakes.. his MySpace has a flyer for the grand opening of trendy SoCal nightspot Shag with a note "PLEASE EMAIL ME ON MYSPACE TO GET ON THE LIST".. Shag is coincidentally (or not) affiliated with Dolce Group
I'm going to guess he and Jen are ex's, or something
MySpace

Nick Starcevic He's just come back from Australia - maybe pro football was there? He played for University of Minnesota before that.. Kimball is 65 miles from where Dustin grew up
One of his pics is captioned "Hello all you single mens out there ;) haha" and he has a quote "I think A.C. Slater quite possibly could be the dreamiest guy ever (sigh)..."
His MySpace has a new comment since they were announced: "Can't believe thats why you were acting shady... Yay, I love big Brother. Congrats : )"
MySpace

Zach Swerdzewski nothing solid (see Jameka)
MySpace (friends are not linked - mostly bikini girls)

TD's latest BB8 Parks are posted in their new permanent home in the forum which is now open, kinda - I'm not sure that everything's functional yet but peek in and take a test drive.. I'll get the kinks ironed out in the days to come (hopefully)

Meanwhile the chatroom is open and ready - it's got a sweet interface and is very easy to use.. enjoy


They speak


Julie introduced the hamsters on "The Early Show" with video snippets and I'm a little worried.. they must figure the "worst enemies" theme is good for ratings, but feedsters don't usually warm to this stuff well

Among the tidbits, we find out that Amber works at Caesar's Palace, Jen's a bikini model/computer nerd and Daniele works at Hooters (Julie had just emphasized they're from "all walks of life" - uh-huh).. we know that BB sometimes "enhances" job descriptions & locations either to make things sound better or to stop us snooping too much and already this year's no exception: Jameka says she's from Temple Hills not Walford (though Maryland's consistent), and Zach says he's from Tallahassee rather than Burbank.. well, maybe those are just editing casualties

What we're really interested in here is what they have to say.. a sampling:

Amber: I'm a little weasel
Nick: I'm a charmer with the ladies
Dick: Manipulating girls is kind of a way of life for me (he intro'd himself as Evil Dick.. we've had a few of those over the years)
Jessica: I'm loyal until you backstab me
Joe: What's gay and has two thumbs? (he seems to be Allison's favorite)
Jameka: I have only been around black people the majority of my life (not this summer!)
Eric: I think I have a charisma that will rally people behind me
Dustin: I'm pretty good at selling things, including myself

See for yourself what we're in for: here's a direct link to watch the piece in Windows Media Player


We have hamsters (June 27)


Just the basic facts so far: no deep, dark, dirty secrets yet, but give it time.. the new crew is in place on the sidebar, and presumably in sequester before they move in to their new digs - possibly July 1

Dare I say some of them look eerily familiar? I won't go so far as to compare who seems to be the spitting image (and persona?) of which hamsters past, but suffice to say most of them look like they came right out of Central Casting, as usual

TD called it with his latest BB8 Park

The new ad says "14 new houseguests are moving in - and so are their worst enemies".. this is not good news at all, and I can only hope it's just advertising hype (but it seems legit).. unless they're evenly paired up a là BB6, the house would get very crowded very fast if each of the 14 has an enemy in tow

There's also a new gimmick coming called America's Player, where one hamster can get some extra cash or stash if they do what we tell him or her to do via internet votes or text message fees reaped by CBS

There was definitely a mistake or two in the early reports: Dick & Nick had the same pic at first.. they couldn't look that much alike, and anyway, we already did the twins thing in BB5 and Allison has promised this season will have "new twists", like she does

I almost went out on my first limb of the season and predicted that Kail is really Kali, but a bit of easy research shows up a Kail who fits the description in that part of the country.. that Kail & her husband have three kids, own a country store and a couple resorts (that look very nice), she used to run the Mrs. Oregon United States pageant, and she's done some acting.. I hope she cooks for them all in there or she's toast

Mike was on "Gay, Straight or Taken?" as culled by Dreamer at Jokers.. I don't know which of the taglines was his

Chances are good all these guys will show up on "The Early Show" Thursday morning and on the CBS site sometime during the day, along with as many AccessInfoExtratainment shows CBS can manage, so we'll find out more about them soon.. in the meantime, start googling


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We have a habitat


It's an Alice in Wonderland theme this time, with some Early Bordello thrown in

Allison Grodner talked with TV Guide and called the new decor (and the season) "whimsical" and said the house has a "fractured fairy tale quality".. hmm, that could be good, or not

One bedroom has 5' long beds and kiddie chairs, and the other has shoulder-height beds and a ladder to reach the top drawer of the dresser - that could be fun.. the backyard has a built-in, oversize chessboard, animal topiaries, and what looks like a teacup salvaged from the Disneyland ride

No pics of the HOH room in the article, but there are indeed 14 photo frames now



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All quiet on the BB front


No real news is coming out at all and feedsters are getting antsy.. the CBS site usually has at least a teaser site up by now but the only signs over there that BB8 is coming at all are some posts on their pirate show message board asking for it, and a link for hamster-wannabe's under Casting Calls - I sure hope they aren't still looking to fill spots

But not to worry, our own TD has given us a couple pre-season BB8 Parks to get us warmed up: So much waiting and Houseguest types

Note that once we get underway, TD's toons will be in the message board area (which is being prepared as I type)



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Today's must-click specials: BB8 Park by TD - So much waiting, Houseguest types and The houseguests

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POWER STATUS
Nobody is Head of Household
Nobody is nominated



LESS THAN A WEEK TO GO
Pay the bills, stop the mail, say farewell to friends & family - it's almost aawwnn!



NEXT SHOW
Thursday, July 5 at 8pm
Feeds will likely kick in after the premiere airs in the East



RATINGS WATCH
To follow

Rating = % of all TV households
Share = % of households watching TV




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GET ACQUAINTED EDITION
Stay tuned for daily ratings. I will try to be kind & objective, but it's really up to them.. I'm making no promises here. Complimentary neutrals all around til we have something to go on.



Editors
EditorsEveryone starts with a complimentary neutral, even them. Here's hoping for more reality and less 'twist' - it would be nice to give them lots of ups this year (for a change).
Well, that's out the window already: looks like it's all 'twist' again, boo. Note in the latest ads Julie says America's Player will do what we tell HIM to do.. so it's already decided who it is? The first vote should have been to decide who we get to push around!



Amber
27
Las Vegas, NV
Separated
Cocktail waitress



Carol
21
Lawrence, KS
Single
Student

Probably paired with Jessica?



Daniele
20
Huntington Beach, CA
Single
Waitress

Dick's daughter



Dick
44
Los Angeles, CA
Single
Bar manager

Daniele's father



Dustin
22
Chicago, IL
Single
Shoe salesman

Probably paired with Joe?



Eric
27
New York, NY
Single
Talent management assistant



Jameka
28
Waldorf, MD
Single
School counselor



Jen
23
Beverly Hills, CA
Single
Nanny



Jessica
21
Haysville, KS
Single
College student

Probably paired with Carol?



Joe
23
Chicago, IL
Single
Receptionist

Probably paired with Dustin?



Kali
37
McKenzie Bridge, OR
Married
Business owner



Mike
26
Three Lakes, WI
Single
Painting contractor



Nick
25
Kimball, MN
Single
Former pro football player



Zach
30
Burbank, CA
Single
Graphic designer



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BB Reloader



This site isn't necessarily thorough: it's what I catch and/or what interests me. It also isn't necessarily about who should win, who will win, who I'd be friends with or who is cute. It's about watching hamsters: which ones are doing what and why, which are fun and which are dull. If they aren't entertaining, get rid of 'em! Thanks for encouraging my behavior.






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