CBS announced its new batch of contestants for Survivor: Vanuatu, Islands of Fire. As the season approaches, I will weigh in with uninformed opinions and misguided predictions based solely on their photos and CBS bios, much as I did with Big Brother (as you can see, I'm not the expert prognosticator). For now, I have a few impressions. First of all, why did Mark Burnett scour the Hey Dude! fan clubs this season? His casting offices have given us Brady, Dolly, Eliza, Leann, Rory, Scout, and Twila. Well gosh gee willickers. Actually, only Dolly and Scout are farmers (surprise, surprise). The rest fill out the standard cornicopia of Survivor jobs like "research assistant" and "pre-law student" (from the 'Cuse - by way of Strong Island, I'm sure). One fella with an interesting job is John K., who lists his occupation as Mechanical Bull Operator from Los Angeles. Great. The Saddle Ranch has infiltrated Mark Burnett. Usually realilty stars go from TV to bull operator at the Sunset Strip joint (case in point: Blair from Road Rules), but apparently El Nino has struck, and the flows of cheesiness have reversed. Oh well. I'm sure dealing with Valley trash all day has prepared John K. well for the displeasures of Mother Nature.

We don't have any pics of the cast yet, but we do have puppies.