Yau-Man Chan, a Fan Favorite of “Survivor” TV Show Applies Resourcefulness as a Real IT Leader - CIO.com - Business Technology Leadership By Tom Kaneshige

The reality television series “Survivor” may seem like an improbable teaching tool for an IT executive. But in today’s changing workplace — where business users wield more tech choice and power — Yau-Man Chan has found kindness and smarts can be powerful weapons in an IT leader’s toolkit.

April 08, 2008 — CIO — What does IT have in common with the reality television game show Survivor, which tests contestants’ survival skills in remote locations as they compete for the grand prize?

For Yau-Man Chan, quite a lot. Both call on his defining traits of kindness and intelligence.

Here’s one illustrative scene. Last year on a deserted island in the South Pacific, burly men tried to open a wooden crate filled with supplies. Their muscles were flexed for cameras filming the first episode of Survivor: Fiji, but their attempts were in vain.

Then, a slim Asian man with glasses picked up the crate and smashed its corner against a rock. The crate broke into pieces. “The corner is a rectangle’s weakest point,” says Chan.

“Muscle for muscle, I know I cannot compete with them, so I have to use every resource to advance things to the next level,” says Chan, who holds a physics degree from MIT. Intelligence and resourcefulness, particularly as an underdog, were two of Chan’s best tools during Survivor: Fiji—and at his full-time job as CTO of the College of Chemistry at the University of California Berkeley.

Chan bolsters his smarts with kindness. In Survivor: Fiji, Chan, 55, wasn’t expected to last long against his younger, more athletic rivals. But thirty-nine days after the crate bashing, Chan finished the show in fourth place, he also became a favorite of millions of techies’ and reality-television viewers, receiving the highest popularity rating on that season’s show. More… »

‘Survivor’ star Kwon decides against congressional bid - Examiner.com

San Mateo County (Map, News) - It’s official: One of People magazine’s sexiest men of 2006 will not vie for the congressional seat the late Tom Lantos held for nearly three decades.

Yul Kwon, a San Mateo management consultant better known for winning the $1 million prize on “Survivor: Cook Islands” two years ago — an honor garnering him a sexy spread in the celebrity magazine — opted not to file for the San Mateo-San Francisco House of Representatives seat vacated by Lantos, D-San Mateo, who died from cancer in February.

Kwon, a Yale Law School graduate and former legislative aide to Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., considered running in recent months but did not file before Friday’s general election deadline. He said he’s sticking with television and will soon appear in another popular show he wasn’t allowed to name.

“I feel there are other opportunities and ways I can have an impact,” Kwon said. “Media is a very powerful tool for getting people, particularly young people and minorities, engaged in politics.”

Read the entire article at ‘Survivor’ star Kwon decides against congressional bid - Examiner.com.

SFist: Survivor Winner Yul Kwon Speaks About Law School in S.F.

Survivor Winner Yul Kwon Speaks About Law School in S.F.
Famous local Yul Kwon spoke to college students and recent grads today about the pros and cons of entering law school. Larger photo here.

Survivor winner and yogurt loser Yul Kwon spoke to a crowd of aspiring law students about the advisability of making that choice. The Asian American Bar Association Law Day for Minority Youth gave a chance for young people to weigh their options.

It seems Yul is thinking about going back to public service. Is elected office in his future? In the meantime, he’s still out promoting the Asian American Donor Program.

He says that he isn’t necessarily a “cheerleader for law school” and that Yale was “depressing”, but he values the experience of law school because it can “sharpen your ability to think critically.” Fair enough. Choose wisely.

Read the entire article at SFist: Survivor Winner Yul Kwon Speaks About Law School in S.F..

Jeff Probst Talks ‘Survivor: Micronesia’

Next month, Survivor returns for a new season and changes things up.  Originally intended to be a second All Stars season, executive producer Mark Burnett decided to take a different route.  Instead, he took 10 Survivor superfans and pitted them up against 10 Survivor players of the past.  The fan favorites include: Johnny Fairplay, Yau-Man Chan, James Clement, and Ozzy Lusth.  The 20 players headed back to a familiar location, the island of Palau, where season 10 was filmed.  Today, Jeff Probst participated in a conference call with the media to talk about the exciting upcoming season of Survivor.

This season, Survivor fans get the opportunity to play the game against people with lots of past experience in the game.  Determining who should be on the show as a fan became a tough task for producers.  “We wanted to find the biggest fans that we had like Kathy, who applied 7 times,” Probst said.  “We almost put her on Vanuatu.  She’s crazy to the point of being so wacky, that it’s peculiar, but at her core, she is a huge Survivor fan.  She knows everybody that ever played and she wants to play.  That’s what we were looking for in everybody.”  Probst describes the first time the fans met the favorites like a rock concert, saying that they were screaming and cheering to see the returning players … until they realized that they weren’t there to make friends! More… »

WHMI 93.5 FM Radio Station for Livingston County Michigan with News, Traffic, and Weather Service for Howell and Brighton

A former ice cream scooper from the tiny hamlet of Hell in Putnam Township is going back to his roots for the premiere of the latest “Survivor” television show. Eric Reichenbach (pictured) is competing for the $1 million prize in “Survivor: Micronesia-Fans vs. Favorites”. He’ll be at the Dam Site Inn for the first episode that will begin airing at 8 pm on February 7th on CBS. The 22 year old Pinckney native worked at Screams Ice Cream in Hell and was a cross country star at Pinckney Community High School, where he set the school’s 400 yard record. Reichenbach is currently in his senior year of studying art at Eastern Michigan University and is a member of the college’s track team. (JM)

Survivor Returning to Palau || Jaunted

After running all those seasons of The Amazing Race and Survivor, seems like CBS has finally run out of places to film. The upcoming Fans vs. Favorites season of Survivor will return to Palau, where season 10 was shot a few years back. The producers are hoping that we don’t catch on by calling it Survivor: Micronesia.

While you know what to expect from the competitors on the show–now in its 16th iteration–you probably don’t know as much about the South Pacific archipelago. First and foremost, it’s a long way from, well, everywhere, and that keeps tourist traffic relatively light. That said, you can get there from New York in about 26 hours, from Houston in about 20 hours and from Sydney in about 19 hours.

Once you’re in the islands, the thing to do–if you’re not on a hit reality show–is go scuba diving. The Palau Visitors Authority has a big list of all the local outfitters. You can also check out WWII history: The islands of Peleliu and Angaur are littered with materiel from fierce battles that killed thousands in 1944.

Jonny Fairplay & Michelle Deighton Welcome a Daughter - Babies : People.com by JESSICA HERNDON

A new reality star is born!

Former Survivor star Jonny Fairplay and his fiancée, ex- Top Model contestant Michelle Deighton, have welcomed a daughter, Pagesix.com reports.

The little girl, named Piper Addison, was born Wednesday. Mom and daughter are doing well, according to the report.

Up next for Fairplay, aside from the inevitable diaper duty, is another stint on reality TV. He stars in Survivor: Micronesia as part of its fans vs. favorites edition, which premieres Feb. 7.

Asked about how fatherhood would influence him, Fairplay told PEOPLE at a press day for Survivor recently: “It definitely changes the way you go into the game. The last time I went in I was playing for me. Now I’m playing for my little girl.”

Still, he says that fans can still expect him to be the guy they love to hate. “Motivation wise I’ve got to do the best thing for my little girl, but at the same time I’m still the same scumbag as I was before,” he said.

Photos and cast descriptions below!

Entertainment Weekly By Dalton Ross

For its 16th season, the reality staple brings back favorites from previous seasons to compete against newbies who idolize them

When producers initially began mapping out season 16 — yes, 16! — of Survivor, they considered making it their second All-Stars edition. But then they considered something else. ”None of us felt like a full-on All-Stars was the right choice, because we did it once and since then so many other shows have done it,” says host Jeff Probst. ”It felt like we needed a twist.” And when has this seminal reality show not embraced a twist? Enter the Fans vs. Favorites concept of Survivor: Micronesia (debuting Feb. 7 on CBS at 8 p.m.), featuring one tribe of former Survivor standouts, and another tribe of newbies who idolize the players they are about to compete against.

So who was lucky enough to make the cut? The Favorites tribe features contestants going all the way back to season 7, including two from the recently completed Survivor: China — gravedigger James Clement and the person who engineered his ouster, Amanda Kimmel. Survivor: Fiji sends its most popular player, 55-year-old Yau-Man Chan, while the Cook Islands season is responsible for three contestants: flirt-tastic Parvati Shallow, triple-crossing Jonathan Penner, and challenge dominator Ozzy Lusth. Rounding out the tribe is Survivor: Panama ’s Cirie Fields, Vanuatu’s Eliza Orlins and Ami Cusack, and Survivor’s biggest villain ever: Pearl Islands ‘ Jon Dalton (a.k.a. Jonny Fairplay), who once famously faked his own grandmother’s death to further himself in the game. ”You can’t do the season and not invite your most notorious person,” says Probst. ”And Fairplay delivered, I will say that.” Does that mean he delivers a victory? Don’t bet on it, laughs Probst. ”This guy is no threat to win this game — zero.”

No people from the highly regarded Palau or lowly regarded Guatemala seasons made the trip. That is in large part because two popular contestants — Stephenie LaGrossa and Bobby Jon Drinkard — already appeared in both those seasons, and Palau’s winner, Tom Westman, declined to participate. (No other past winners were chosen.) Survivor: Micronesia was shot on many of the same beaches as the Palau season, and will also feature the return of Exile Island, which was absent from Survivor: China.

The Fans taking on the Survivor two-timers include a large-and-in-charge firefighter (Joel Anderson), a beauty pageant coach (Chet Welch), a golf course vendor (Kathleen Sleckman), and a man who scoops ice cream for a living in Hell…Michigan, that is (Erik Reichenbach). In contrast to recent seasons, where contestants were heavily recruited and largely unfamiliar with the program, the new players of Micronesia are all followers of the show. How they fare against their heroes remains to be seen.

Survivor: Micronesia will feature a new twist on the tribal competition: Fans vs. Favorites. In this 16th season (premiering Feb. 7), former Survivor standouts will take on a tribe of newbies who idolize the players they will now compete against. Click the link for the inside story of the Survivor Fans vs. Favorites concept. And read on to meet this season’s competitors, and see what host Jeff Probst has to say about their chances.

Fans
1. MICHAEL BORTONE
2. TRACY HUGHES-WOLF
3. JOEL ANDERSON
4. KATHLEEN SLECKMAN
5. ERIK REICHENBACH
6. MARY SARTAIN
7. CHET WELCH
8. NATALIE BOLTON
9. JASON SISKA
10. ALEXIS JONES

Favorites
11. CIRIE FIELDS
12. JONATHAN PENNER
13. AMANDA KIMMEL
14. JAMES CLEMEN
15. OZZY LUSTH
16. YAU-MAN CHAN
17. ELIZA ORLINS
18. JON DALTON (A.K.A. JONNY FAIRPLAY)
19. PARVATI SHALLOW
20. AMI CUSACK

THE ROOKIES: JOEL ANDERSON

AGE: 32

OCCUPATION: Firefighter

HOMETOWN: Avondale, Ariz.

JOEL SAYS: “Bottom line, I’m here for my family. If I just wanted to go on vacation and hang out on the beach, I’d take my family with me.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “Joel is the one guy who might be able to give James [Clement, the returning Favorite from Survivor: China] a run for his money, because he is every bit as big as James. He’s a fireman, he’s a father and a husband, and when I met with him the thing that really struck me is how he does everything for his wife and his family. And I like that about him. He’s a big, big guy, and these challenges start off physical right from the get-go. Sometimes being a physical threat works against you early; I think in Joel’s case it’s going to be advantageous.”

HE ROOKIES: NATALIE BOLTON

AGE: 32

OCCUPATION: Personal trainer/bartender

HOMETOWN: West Hollywood, Calif. (originally from Houston)

NATALIE SAYS: “I need to be fearless again. I want to unearth all those things when I was 8 and didn’t give a s— about what people thought, and I did it anyway.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “I’m on the fence with Natalie because I can’t figure out if she has any business being in this game or not. On paper she sounds great - she’s a personal trainer and she’s young and she’s attractive - but when I watched the first few moments on the show, I’m not sure her attitude is going to be able to survive. You have to have a sense of humor or you’re going to be a miserable person if you can’t laugh about being hungry at some point. I’m not sure Natalie’s had to go through anything as difficult as what she’s about to go through.”

THE ROOKIES: MICHAEL BORTONE

AGE: 34

OCCUPATION: Writer/actor

HOMETOWN: Los Angeles (originally from Boston)

MICHAEL SAYS: “I’m good at reading people. You got to be everybody’s best friend.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “I like Mikey B. a lot. He’s Boston, and Boston is so damn good to Survivor. He’s got a colorful way of saying the most mundane thing, and that makes him somebody I will love to go to at Tribal Council.”

THE ROOKIES: TRACY HUGHES-WOLF

AGE: 43

OCCUPATION: Commercial builder

HOMETOWN: Fredericksburg, Va.

TRACY SAYS: “I’m a thrill seeker. I want to push myself to that point where I know I can do it.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “Tracy should be very valuable because of her background, because she’s a woman who works in construction. I don’t know how much she wants to share about what she does, because there’s a part of her that thinks if she comes on too strong [she] could be seen as a threat. But on paper, this is something you rarely get: somebody who knows how to build. Boston Rob knew how to build things and that made him hugely valuable. I think Tracy could be the same way.”

THE ROOKIES: ALEXIS JONES

AGE: 24

OCCUPATION: Motivational speaker

HOMETOWN: Beverly Hills (originally from Austin, Tex.)

ALEXIS SAYS: “People will see the Southern belle in me. But I’m fiercely competitive - despite my dimples.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “When she came in she was so excited. And I launched into this speech about how you need to drop the excitement and get your head in the game because these other people out here, they’re already playing, they’re already playing you, and they’re already seeing you’re this little simple girl from Texas that they’re going to run right over. And she looks at me and says, ‘I’ve read every person here.’ And she had a pretty good read on everybody. I thought, This is all I need to know. This girl knows how to play. As a fan, I picked this girl to win.’

THE ROOKIES: ERIK REICHENBACH

AGE: 22

OCCUPATION: Ice cream scooper

HOMETOWN: Ypsilanti, Mich. (works in Hell, Mich.)

ERIK SAYS: “I want to do this for myself, to grow up more. I haven’t experienced a lot of life. I haven’t experienced a lot of stress.” (Trust us, Erik - you will.)

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “Erik loves the show more than anyone I have ever met. He remembers things that I did that I don’t remember. He’s a young kid, and that young exciting energy is what’s going to keep him in this game and could easily be what gets him knocked out, because he doesn’t have the maturity of life to know when he’s being played. That’s what he’s going to have to watch out for. Because you could see people looking at him on Day One and going, ‘Who is the kid in the green shoes, for crying out loud?”‘

THE ROOKIES: MARY SARTAIN

AGE: 29

OCCUPATION: Real estate entrepreneur

HOMETOWN: Emeryville, Calif.

MARY SAYS: “This is closer to $1 million than I’ve ever been. I’m definitely in it for the money. I’m largely money-driven.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “I think Mary coming into the game is going to be on the bubble. She’s either going to learn where to fit in this group quickly or she’s going to be on the outs for the whole time. Mary’s best play is to hide in the middle, not become a nuisance, just hang out and see if you can hang out long enough that your vote becomes valuable.”

THE ROOKIES: JASON SISKA

AGE: 22

OCCUPATION: Student teacher

HOMETOWN: Fox River Grove, Ill.

JASON SAYS: “I’m not evil or devious. But I can be. If it comes down to lying, I have no problem.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “Jason loves to compare himself to Ozzy [the returning Favorite from Cook Islands]. He thinks Ozzy is the greatest player to ever participate in Survivor - I think he’s kind of got a man-crush on him. He’s coming on strong in the beginning saying, ‘I’m going to go toe-to-toe with Ozzy. I can climb coconut trees just like he can, I can swim just like he can, and I’m just as athletic as he is.’ My response to that is, it’s one thing to say it and another thing to do it. So he can talk the talk, but the big question is, can he walk the walk?”

THE ROOKIES: KATHLEEN SLECKMAN

AGE: 45

OCCUPATION: Golf course vendor

HOMETOWN: Glen Ellyn, Ill.

KATHLEEN SAYS: Sleckman’s ideal alliance? “I’m tending to look for misfits, people who are psychologically or emotionally damaged, like myself.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “We almost put Kathy on Vanuatu and we didn’t. It’s one thing to have a positive attitude, it’s another to survive 39 days eating some rice, clams, and an occasional fish. I think Kathy’s going to be tested enormously, and the longer she lasts, the tougher it’s going to be unless she can embrace it. It’s not an easy season out there. It rained almost every night we were there, and if you get sent to Exile, it can be brutal.”

THE ROOKIES: CHET WELCH

AGE: 48

OCCUPATION: Beauty pageant coach

HOMETOWN: Ford City, Pa.

CHET SAYS: “I play outside the box. I know how to stand out, and I know what I need to do.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “Chet works in the pageant world. He produces winners and he will do whatever it takes to get his pageant girl to win. If he plays this game the way he plays in the pageant world, then he is definitely a force to be reckoned with. If he doesn’t, he could be going home soon. He has sort of been playing a version of Survivor for the past 20 years in the pageant world, and he gets this game.”

THE RETURNING FAVORITES: YAU-MAN CHAN

AGE: 55

SEASON: Survivor: Fiji

YAU-MAN SAYS: “Last time, I was able to play the weak old man under the radar before the merge. I definitely cannot do that [this time].”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “You can’t do a favorites season without Yau-Man. He’s sort of the Rudy of this season. He’ll be the oldest guy and the most frail and probably be one of the most popular. Yau-Man’s problem is going to be those things. He’s so popular, everyone there knows that he’s popular and well liked, and everybody knows what happened to him in Fiji. But I think Yau-Man’s going to have to come out and play aggressive. I don’t think he can play that same game of just chopping coconuts and being everyone’s friend.”

THE RETURNING FAVORITES: JAMES CLEMENT

AGE: 30

SEASON: Survivor: China

JAMES SAYS: How has he altered his strategy from last time? “I’m going to have to hustle a little bit more, and smile a whole lot earlier.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “I feel like the reason James is likable is there is a sense of authenticity there that you don’t see that often - he’s just going to tell you what he thinks. I don’t think James is that great of a Survivor player, as we saw in China. He made, without question, the single biggest blunder in the history of the show. I don’t think he gets how to play, but he’s so strong and he works so hard and he is so likable that it’s really hard to vote him out. I think James could do really well this season.”

THE RETURNING FAVORITES: AMI CUSACK

AGE: 34

SEASON: Survivor: Vanuatu

AMI SAYS: “I’m going to slowly peel away each alliance that I see building. I’m going to start chipping away to keep the numbers in my favor.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “Ami will betray you; she’ll do whatever it takes to get deeper in the game. But she’s sexy, and she’s got this ‘Everything’s beautiful in the world until I stab you in the back’ thing. And that’s what we want on this show. And if Ami has her way, I guarantee you there will be a women’s alliance, because that is what Ami wanted in Vanuatu and that’s what’s she’s going to try to make happen here.”

THE RETURNING FAVORITES: JON DALTON (A.K.A. JONNY FAIRPLAY)

AGE: 33

SEASON: Survivor: Pearl Islands

JONNY SAYS: “I’m either the first one out or the last one here.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “You can’t do the season and not invite your most notorious person. And Fairplay delivered, I will say that. He delivered, and I think we got what we expected we would get, which is that character he created called Jonny Fairplay. What gets me is just how effective it can still be. He can call you stupid and somebody will get mad. And I’m looking at this going, ‘Why are you getting mad at this guy? He’s created a character, he’s trying to get under your skin - and it’s working!’ This guy is no threat to win this game - zero.”

THE RETURNING FAVORITES: CIRIE FIELDS

AGE: 37

SEASON: Survivor: Panama

CIRIE SAYS: “If I go before Jonny Fairplay, something is really wrong. Nothing against Jonny, but damn!”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “Cirie represents the kind of people I love to see on the show. You look at Cirie and you think, ‘How are you going to survive? You don’t have the tools, you don’t come from this background, you’re not physically fit enough.’ But there’s more to this game than that. My hunch is Cirie played a very good game the first time, and I expect her to play an even better game the second time.”

THE RETURNING FAVORITES: AMANDA KIMMEL

AGE: 23

SEASON: Survivor: China

AMANDA SAYS: “I know things about [fellow Favorite and China castmate] James he doesn’t want people to know. And he knows stuff about me. We could be worst enemies, or we can become allies.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “Amanda knows how to play Survivor. She knows how to build an alliance, how long to keep it, when to get rid of it. She’s very good at looking at odds, she’s very good at assessing if [she’s] better off against this person, or with this person. And you need that. Survivor only thrives when you have people who will continue to turn and switch and make moves. Amanda’s in great shape, she does well in the challenges, she’s beautiful, and she knows how to play

THE RETURNING FAVORITES: OZZY LUSTH

AGE: 26

SEASON: Survivor: Cook Islands

OZZY SAYS: “My mistakes last time were basically being too much of a loner. I’m never going to go anywhere by myself except to use the bathroom.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “Ozzy’s big problem’s going to be the fact that he’s Ozzy. Ozzy played a brilliant physical game - the only thing Ozzy lacked was the social skill of how to play Survivor. And that’s probably going to be the deciding difference. If he can figure out a way to survive socially due to the kind of targets he’s going to have on his back due to his physical strength, then he can do really well. Otherwise it wouldn’t surprise me if Ozzy went out really early because you just don’t want him around.”

THE RETURNING FAVORITES: ELIZA ORLINS

AGE: 25

SEASON: Survivor: Vanuatu

ELIZA SAYS: “I need to watch myself a little bit in terms of talking so much. I think I should do a little bit more listening.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “Eliza is one of the most enjoyable people to have on the show because she gets it. Everybody knows Eliza will betray you at the drop of a hat, and Eliza knows you know that. Eliza is a Favorite because she can be so charmingly annoying. It’s fun to watch Eliza get mad, and it’s fun to watch people get mad at her, and she doesn’t take it personally. That’s the most beautiful part about her; she knows it’s only a game: ‘I have a life, I have a boyfriend, I’m going to be an attorney, I have a dog, that’s my life - this is only a game. Of course, I’m going to try to cut your throat. I’ve got knives coming out of every part of my body.”‘

THE RETURNING FAVORITES: JONATHAN PENNER

AGE: 45

SEASON: Survivor: Cook Islands

JONATHAN SAYS: “These are serious players now,” says Penner of the increased competition. “There are no players with names like Chicken who are just there to get blown up.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “Penner only plays to win. He’s not interested in third. He’s not interested in second. And you saw that at Cook Islands. And Penner is gold. At Tribal Council I can just look at him and know that he’s ready to light somebody up. And Penner is the biggest complainer that we’ve had on the show. He complains about every challenge, and I get a kick out of it. I’m so happy he’s on the show. And Penner could win - absolutely. He’s a smart dude, and I think he probably learned a couple things in watching his season’s playback.”

THE RETURNING FAVORITES: PARVATI SHALLOW

AGE: 25

SEASON: Survivor: Cook Islands

PARVATI SAYS: “I have tricks up my sleeve like you would never know. Not just the flirting game this time, at all.”

JEFF PROBST SAYS: “To me Parvati is this season’s Amber. Last time, Parvati used her flirting, and it got her a long way. But we didn’t really see her do a whole lot more than that, and the question was, what if underneath that she’s got a strategy? What if she’s figured out how to play this game - could she last long enough to become a threat? Parvati’s a question mark. She could be the same thing, come out and giggle a couple times, eat some chocolate cake, and go home. On the flip side, if Parvati’s figured out how to play this game, and maybe she teams up with somebody…

Pedro and the Watcher - OCRegister.com posted by The Watcher

Here’s the news the Watcher desperately didn’t want to pass along: It’s all but official that the 16th season of “Survivor” will be the second All-Star extravaganza.

Or perhaps we should call it “Survivor: Second Chance,” as the lineup may be a little light in the star department.

Everything is still in the rumor stages, but with filming under way in Palau, all indications are that the cast will be made up of familiar faces - at least in part.

According to several reports, producer Mark Burnett’s team and CBS execs debated whether to cast all second-timers or to pit returners against rookies. The results of that debate remain unclear.

So far, the only participant to be named by multiple reliable sources is Eliza Orlins, the charming chatterbox who made the final four of Vanuatu.

One of the best sources of information about the season has been ex-castaway Coby Archa. You may recall Coby as a member of the highly successful Koror tribe on “Survivor: Palau” - and as the only juror that season to vote for runner-up Katie Gallagher rather than winner Tom Westman.

According to posts by Coby on the fanatics chat board Survivor Sucks, many of the people we might think would be shoo-ins for an all-star cast will not be there - including all the winners and such popular also rans as Ian Rosenberger, Terry Dietz, Cirie Fields or Rafe Judkins.

Two names continually popping up are two bad boys: Jonathan Penner from Cook Islands and - gulp - Jon Dalton from Pearl Islands. We must point out that most reports limit the stars to seasons 9-15, and Dalton appeared in season seven. But if there was ever a castaway for whom an exception should be made, it’s Johnny Fairplay.

“Survivor” Champ Spits Venom at Snake Eater - TMZ.com by TMZ Staff

Jenna Morasca — the winner of “Survivor: Amazon” — is biting the CBS hand that fed her, after a wannabe contestant skinned and bit into a live snake during auditions for the next “Survivor. ” Jenna screamed for cops to throw the snake-chomper in the slammer

Morasca, through The Humane Society, thrashed “Survivor,” saying that its “billed as a reality show, but sadly, cruelty to animals is a reality that occurs every day. I hope local authorities fully investigate this case, and I hope the man who did this gets to experience the reality of jail time.”

The Bakersfield Californian first reported that a man from Tehachapi skinned and ate a live snake for his audition, and gave his name only as Rusty Shackleford, a common pseudonym used on “King of the Hill.”

“Survivor” has been littered with live animals killed and eaten, including a live chicken in “Survivor: Vanuatu,” and a wild pig hunted and killed in the “Australian Outback” edition.

It’s the latest rumor.

www.buddytv.com

The ol intertubes are buzzing with the rumor that the Spring 2008 season of Survivor will, in fact, be another All-Star edition for the long-running reality series. There are a variety of reasons good ones too for this sort of speculation, and well get to those reasons in a moment, but first lets make it clear that there has been absolutely no official announcement either way from CBS, Mark Burnett, Jeff Probst, or anyone else peripherally involved with the show. Survivor: China, the fifteenth season of the program, is filming as we speak and is set to air in the normal time slot in the fall. Again, there has been no word on where Survivor 16 may end up.

But, after sifting through the available information, I firmly believe that the sixteenth season of Survivor will end up being Survivor: All-Stars II. Heres why: More… »

CBS.com

An Open Casting Call is an event your local station holds for SURVIVOR. When you attend an Open Call, you will fill out an application and be put on camera there. You do not need to bring your own tape, and you do not need a copy of your passport. Open Calls alleviate the headaches and expenses of making your own tape, transferring it to VHS format and mailing it.

These events are also lots of fun. Meet fellow SURVIVOR fans, make some new friends, enjoy. Your local station will send the tape directly to the casting department, where it will be watched by the casting team and the same as it would be if you sent in an individual tape yourself.

Good luck, and have fun

CBS2 Los Angeles
June 22, 2007 Friday
Time: 10a-4p
Living Spaces
14501 E. Artesia Blvd
La Mirada, CA 90638
For more information, go to the station website.

KCTV5
Kansas City
June 23rd, 10a- 2p
Metro North Mall
400 NW Barry Rd.
Kansas City, MO 64155
For more information, please contact Beth Stockton, beth.stockton@kctv.com or 913-677-7151.

CBS 5 Phoenix
June 28, 2007
5-9pm
At Fort McDowell Casino
Highway 87 and Fort McDowell Road, Scottsdale, AZ
For more information, visit KPHO.com or call 602-650-5405.

KXII
Sherman, TX
Saturday, June 30th, 10a-4p
Midway Mall
4800 Texoma Parkway
Center Court
Sherman, TX
For more information, please contact Sarah Loyd at 903-891-1249, or sarah.loyd@kxii.com.

WWTV-WWUP/TV
Traverse City, MI
Monday, July 9th, 10am-4pm
9&10 News WTCM Marketplace
At the National Cherry Festival
For more information, contact Tessia Klix at 231-775-3478, x3154.

KMEG
Sioux City, IA
July 10th, 4-6pm
Jensen Imports
1901 E. 6th Street
Sioux City, IA 51101

WCAT-TV
Charlottesville, VA
July 14th, 10am – 2pm
Rivals Sports Bar & Grill
1525 E. Rio Road
Charlottesville, VA 22901
For more information, please contact Daniel Adams at daniel.adams@wcav.tv.

You can get your SURVIVOR 16 APPLICATION here.

CBS.com

An Open Casting Call is an event your local station holds for SURVIVOR. When you attend an Open Call, you will fill out an application and be put on camera there. You do not need to bring your own tape, and you do not need a copy of your passport. Open Calls alleviate the headaches and expenses of making your own tape, transferring it to VHS format and mailing it.

These events are also lots of fun. Meet fellow SURVIVOR fans, make some new friends, enjoy. Your local station will send the tape directly to the casting department, where it will be watched by the casting team and the same as it would be if you sent in an individual tape yourself.

KCTV5
Kansas City
June 23rd, 10a- 2p
Metro North Mall
400 NW Barry Rd.
Kansas City, MO 64155
For more information, please contact Beth Stockton, beth.stockton@kctv.com or 913-677-7151.

CBS2 Los Angeles
Official Date: June 22, 2007 Friday
Time: 10a-4p
Living Spaces
14501 E. Artesia Blvd
La Mirada, CA 90638
For more information, go to the station website.

KMEG
Sioux City, IA
July 10th, 4-6pm
Jensen Imports
1901 E. 6th Street
Sioux City, IA 51101