<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659</id><updated>2012-01-07T09:02:52.763-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Pig Brother</title><subtitle type='html'>A few personal observations on BB6. Please email me if you would like to contribute.

pig@planethopkins.com</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>cerebral pig</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14984343125092564588</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='32' src='http://www.planethopkins.com/mesmall.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>22</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-112107882040398639</id><published>2005-07-11T05:42:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-07-11T03:47:00.496-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Blog Over</title><content type='html'>It's all over due to lack of interest.  Shame&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-112107882040398639?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/112107882040398639/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=112107882040398639&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/112107882040398639'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/112107882040398639'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/07/blog-over.html' title='Blog Over'/><author><name>cerebral pig</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14984343125092564588</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='32' src='http://www.planethopkins.com/mesmall.jpg'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111943020140138855</id><published>2005-06-22T01:43:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-06-22T01:50:01.406-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Dull</title><content type='html'>How wrong could I be?  I thought it was game on in the house but it obviously isn't... except, that is for Saskia and her huskies. Why don't the others try to break them up?  I'll have to do some serious watching this week and see if I can work it out. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Very disappointed with the nominations.  Quite frankly... dull!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111943020140138855?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111943020140138855/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111943020140138855&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111943020140138855'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111943020140138855'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/dull.html' title='Dull'/><author><name>cerebral pig</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14984343125092564588</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='32' src='http://www.planethopkins.com/mesmall.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111929914857441843</id><published>2005-06-20T13:25:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-06-20T13:57:33.186-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Predictive text</title><content type='html'>Ok, I think that it's time to start taking a more analytical approach to Big Brother this year. I've not posted for a while, because every time I thought that I'd got the nominations figured out Big Brother would bend the rules somehow to fiddle the situation somehow. This week is perhaps the first set of nominations by the rules, so it's time to stick my neck out and make some predictions ...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Person Nominee&lt;br /&gt;Anthony Derek   Vanessa&lt;br /&gt;Craig   Maxwell Saskia&lt;br /&gt;Derek   Maxwell Saskia&lt;br /&gt;Kemal   Maxwell Science&lt;br /&gt;Makosi  Anthony Maxwell&lt;br /&gt;Maxwell Derek   Roberto&lt;br /&gt;Roberto Maxwell Saskia&lt;br /&gt;Saskia  Derek   Roberto&lt;br /&gt;Science Kemal   Maxwell&lt;br /&gt;Vanessa Anthony Roberto&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I think the guiding factors this week will be Maxwell's food theft and the perception of the Derek/Roberto axis as a threat. The critical floating vore could turn out to be Kemal's - I think that he will still harbour some resentment towards Science for the water throwing incident, despite (or maybe because of) Science's half hearted apology.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The tally therefore works out as :&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maxwell  6&lt;br /&gt;Derek    3&lt;br /&gt;Roberto  3&lt;br /&gt;Saskia   3&lt;br /&gt;Anthony  2&lt;br /&gt;Kemal    1&lt;br /&gt;Science  1&lt;br /&gt;Vanessa  1&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If I've worked it out correctly (and I suspect that Science may pick up more votes somehow) then Maxwell is a cert for nomination, and it could well be a tie between Derek, Roberto and Saskia for the rest, depending how the floating votes pan out.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We shall see tomorrow  ...&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111929914857441843?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111929914857441843/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111929914857441843&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111929914857441843'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111929914857441843'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/predictive-text.html' title='Predictive text'/><author><name>Neil Hopkins</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5tMzwh_Kvww/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAADTM/hxzf7s_koPo/s512-c/photo.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111929762721150896</id><published>2005-06-20T12:36:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-06-20T13:10:09.783-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Nominations- It starts to feel personal</title><content type='html'>There's been a lull... it happens. I'm sitting outdoors sipping Pimms (BB4) from my BB5 knobbly orange picnic glass and feeling nostalgic as BB6 housemates nominate for the fourth time and it looks like a straightforward nomination session this time... but I'm not holding my breath.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I think Maxwell could well be up. Derek pointed up the trio's confidence in their popularity. It would be good to undermine that more than a little. The escapade with the cider may do for him... and others although I have to confess that I'm not sure how the latest task will affect the HM's feelings, guilt wise. Hmmm...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Saskia has done herself no favours with her head wagging and petulance at BB and her critisism of the GBP. I don't like her. Feelings of hatred (just intense irritation really :)) for Saskia are growing in me... Look back through this blog and you will see I took an early dislike to her which has grown over the weeks. It's the cocky head wagging... poor strategy... if it was a put on persona, I would enjoy it but I suspect she really does think she's something special. Bit of a turn off. Will be her downfall.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Others up could be Roberto... er Science...er Vanessa- just guessing. I don't know. I haven't watched closely enough this week.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Looking forward to hearing the results tomorrow.  I hope BB plays it straight for a change.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111929762721150896?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111929762721150896/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111929762721150896&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111929762721150896'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111929762721150896'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/nominations-it-starts-to-feel-personal.html' title='Nominations- It starts to feel personal'/><author><name>cerebral pig</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14984343125092564588</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='32' src='http://www.planethopkins.com/mesmall.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111853355309783458</id><published>2005-06-11T16:27:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-06-11T16:45:53.100-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>It's past midnight and I'm sat here watching someone grating a pair of jeans.  There are four people in large cardboard boxes and I haven't got a clue what's going on.  It could only be Big Brother.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Makosi, Derek, Craig and Roberto are still boxed.  Science is pontificating yet again.  He makes me smile.  I'm going through one of those BB doldrum times when I think I've had enough... losing interest.  Usually something happens to spark my interest once more and I'm back on track.  I ownder what it will be this time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I don't know if you watched Dr Who tonight.  Big Brother and Daleks.  It was FANTASTIC. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Craig comes out as I'm typing.  Ha! I need some dialogue.  Where are you Neil?  Someone...please join in.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tomorrow is another day... Day 17 to be precise.  Maybe I'll be more in the mood.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111853355309783458?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111853355309783458/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111853355309783458&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111853355309783458'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111853355309783458'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/its-past-midnight-and-im-sat-here.html' title=''/><author><name>cerebral pig</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14984343125092564588</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='32' src='http://www.planethopkins.com/mesmall.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111843996085026460</id><published>2005-06-10T14:43:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-06-10T14:46:00.853-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Lesley Gone</title><content type='html'>As predicted. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's interesting how many housemates say they want to go when they're up for eviction.  :)&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111843996085026460?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111843996085026460/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111843996085026460&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111843996085026460'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111843996085026460'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/lesley-gone.html' title='Lesley Gone'/><author><name>cerebral pig</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14984343125092564588</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='32' src='http://www.planethopkins.com/mesmall.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111839536717933468</id><published>2005-06-10T01:51:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-06-10T02:45:00.596-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Day 15  Who goes?  Who Cares?</title><content type='html'>Eviction night and it seems that Lesley could go.  The bullying may have done for her.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I worry about Sam. She just doesn't seem equipped to deal with a group of people like this- any group of people really. There's something missing in her pschological make up that separates her from the rest of the house. A lack of self awareness? Her singing is a sign of this. It's painful to watch her make such a complete fool of herself as she sings with gusto, apparently unaware of the awful sound she is making. I was aghast when I heard her singin 'I Need a Hero' at the top of her voice, alone in the garden, in her bikini, flinging her hair back like a diva... I watched Maxwell, Anthony and Saskia encouraging her to sing and then rolling around in fits of laughter. I don't think Sam understood that they were laughing &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;at&lt;/span&gt; her and not with her.  That made me very uncomfortable.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lesley hiding the make up bag and Sam's tears were hard to bear. I know she shouldn't have cried but the lack of understanding and sympathy that this met with is disturbing to me. Sam is still a child... a very small child and Lesley is the big playground bully with her cronies backing her up. I was glad that BB eventually pointed out to her that what she was doing was unacceptable and that at least some of the HMs stood up for Sam. Not everyone can stand up for themselves. Lesley's response of appearing to apologise to Sam without actually doing so... infact she still blames her victim... is classic. A sign of supreme self centredness, where abuse of others can be justified because there's something wrong with&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt; them.  &lt;/span&gt;The abuser can never admit they are wrong or they will have to face up themselves... and their deep seated feelings of inadequacy and self hatred.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Derek's response to Sam in the kitchen when she said, 'OK, you can go now', was bizarre and awful. What does he think he is doing? I feel sure it was an affected response because his face didn't fit the words. I'm still thinking about that one. Was he trying to provoke her? Push her over the edge? Despicable methinks.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I don't like any of them... except maybe grudgingly, just a little bit...Science.&lt;br /&gt;Sam would be better off out for her own well being.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So all I can say is...  Who goes?  Who Cares?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111839536717933468?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111839536717933468/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111839536717933468&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111839536717933468'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111839536717933468'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/day-15-who-goes-who-cares.html' title='Day 15  Who goes?  Who Cares?'/><author><name>cerebral pig</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14984343125092564588</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='32' src='http://www.planethopkins.com/mesmall.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111818719154358338</id><published>2005-06-07T16:21:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-06-07T16:33:11.546-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Real Life</title><content type='html'>Work and friends have taken me away from my pooter...and BB... for a couple of days so I've been left behind and it's taking some catching up.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It was interesting to hear Craig telling Vanessa that he doesn't like sex.  Rather than being homosexual or heterosexual, he's asexual.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'll be back when I know what the hell is going on.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111818719154358338?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111818719154358338/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111818719154358338&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111818719154358338'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111818719154358338'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/real-life.html' title='Real Life'/><author><name>cerebral pig</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14984343125092564588</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='32' src='http://www.planethopkins.com/mesmall.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111788496942910710</id><published>2005-06-04T04:18:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-06-04T04:41:24.293-07:00</updated><title type='text'>That was the week...</title><content type='html'>Looking back over the weeks posts, I hold my hands up and say...how wrong could I have been? That's one of the more interesting aspects of this blog... seeing how views change over the weeks.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Well...Mary's gone. Not sure how I feel about that. I just hope Craig earns the extra time he's been given...his tale telling to Big Brother shows that he just might. I watched the faces of the HMs as he told them via Lesley who had been trying to discuss nominations... thrilled rather than outraged I think. I'm sure they're all wondering how they can influence other HMs' nominations without getting caught. Craig was obviously aware that his own actions in revealing Derek's scheming could also be construed as discussing nominations. I think he's made it obvious who he'll be nominating next week. Derek's comment to Science that the house dynamics would be very different without Sam and Saskia is surely no worse?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What I want to know is, when is it discussing fellow HMs and when is it discussing nominations?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I was surprised that Roberto had so many nominations and Mary so few. That Lesley got no nominations is very interesting. Is it tactical voting... no one sees her as a threat? I warmed to Lesley over the week and find her fascination with her own breasts hilarious. Most of Friday was spent adjusting them and admiring them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyway...back to some more BB watching. :)&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111788496942910710?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111788496942910710/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111788496942910710&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111788496942910710'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111788496942910710'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/that-was-week.html' title='That was the week...'/><author><name>cerebral pig</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14984343125092564588</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='32' src='http://www.planethopkins.com/mesmall.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111782278177990444</id><published>2005-06-03T11:14:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-06-03T11:19:41.783-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Why?</title><content type='html'>I never find BB easy to watch. I find it quite challenging. The housemates have &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;their&lt;/span&gt; challenges to deal with, working out how to survive without going mad amongst all the emotional chaos...some of their choices are not pleasant. I know people say they are just a bunch of wankers and dismiss the whole phenomena but I think that's very very unfair. I think that what they are doing is a massive personal challenge and not without risk. It has to be life changing and I kind of envy that.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's a criticism constantly aimed at Big Brother- that it's immoral to manipulate people in the way that it so obviously does- cruel and demeaning- exploiting them. But every year, thousands of people queue up to be exploited in the BB house, knowing that the chance of making anything from it is very slim indeed. Are they all sad wankers? Of course not.  If I did't have so many skeletons in my closet and a little boy to worry about, and a whole host of neurosis to deal with, I'd be tempted myself. :)   Just kidding.  I couldn't hack it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So, for me, there's challenge in the watching... watching my own reactions to what's happening in the house...how I react to the people and what they do...how I feel about them. Do I get the urge to join the witch hunt... how easy is it for me to see them as less than human? Is it possible to remain objective? Can I figure out what is real and what isn't? It's a complex game...immersive for the spectator and a balance of chance and strategy that is extremely unpredictable. I never vote. My involvement is almost always passive. My other half said to me the other day- Who needs friends when you have Big Brother? Of course, he was mocking me but it made me think...  As an introvert, I'm easily over stimulated and find the presence of lots of people in my life very difficult to manage so I tend to steer away from that. Perhaps the BB thing is an easy way for me to have the extrovert's experience of people...and I can put them back in the box when it all gets too much. :)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; I know this is a bit flaky but I'm just trying to think it through.  At the end of the day, ;) feel free to shoot me down.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111782278177990444?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111782278177990444/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111782278177990444&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111782278177990444'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111782278177990444'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/why.html' title='Why?'/><author><name>cerebral pig</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14984343125092564588</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='32' src='http://www.planethopkins.com/mesmall.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111772837935994573</id><published>2005-06-02T08:36:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-06-02T09:11:48.380-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Day 7  Too many Chiefs?</title><content type='html'>I was up into the early hours watching the post nomination fall out. I desperately needed sleep but just couldn't tear myself away until my laptop made the decision to hibernate due to low battery.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Craig did himself no favours at all by moaning about how everyone shuns him, hates him, is rude to him. I heard him trip out the same self pitying speech several times...not very attractive. He really needs to find a more positive slant on this or he is out on Friday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Then Mary started her- I'm the most intelligent/genuine person in this house- rubbish. She was obviously very cross at having been put up for eviction and saw fit to start accusing everyone of being fake. I think there is a touch of projection going on there with Mary being one of the most affected HMs in the house. It was interesting to see that she forgot to do the intense stare and eye rolling thing that she's been affecting ever since she entered the house. Fake? Real? It's a tv game show for goodness sake! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cut to Roberto and Science arguing in the kitchen. It was hilarious...pure comedy. At one point, Science was heard to say something like, "You were disrespecting my chicken." It couldn't get any better.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cut to Maxwell having a go at Kemal...it was hard to tell what they were really arguing about but it seemed entirely pointless and trivial. Kemal followed Maxwell into the bedroom to carry on the argument and it ended with Maxwell doing some very loud, intimidating shouting before the camera cut away, probably worried that something very unpleasant was going to happen. It was as close to physical violence as I have seen.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More of Craig moaning, Lesley arguing with someone or other and I was beginning to lose the will to live.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They can't possibly keep up this level of confrontation. I hope it's just a matter of jostling for position before they settle finally into their respective cliques or the house is going to burn up the the flames of so many raging egos. Last year we saw two well defined groups emerge, leaving a centre ground for the floaters. I don't see that happening yet. Are there too many chiefs and not enough indians in the house? Time will tell.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111772837935994573?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111772837935994573/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111772837935994573&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111772837935994573'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111772837935994573'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/day-7-too-many-chiefs.html' title='Day 7  Too many Chiefs?'/><author><name>cerebral pig</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14984343125092564588</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='32' src='http://www.planethopkins.com/mesmall.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111766241862386537</id><published>2005-06-01T14:46:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-06-01T14:46:58.636-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Wow!</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;What a fantastic bit of live telly, even if Endemol nearly cocked it up by not leaving enough time for the nominations to be announced.I was really on the edge of my seat through the whole process, from Makosi&amp;rsquo;s reaction, to her reasons for nominating Mary, the hurried conferance with Kemal and then the bombshell. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Initial reactions? I was surprised that Roberto and Sam had so many nominations, and even more surprised that Mary and Maxwell had so few. I wonder if tactical voting is an issue at this stage with people voting for those they perceive as their main rivals, rather than picking off the easy targets first? Mary is going to take this badly, and I suspect the great British public will be voting against her on Friday. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Most interesting of all is Makosi throwing in her lot with Kemal, effectively forming a very strong alliance. I think Derek will be taken into their confidence as well, and then Makosi stands a good chance of avoiding being nominated next week which should give her a chance to rebuild relationships and see her through to the middle game. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111766241862386537?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111766241862386537/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111766241862386537&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111766241862386537'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111766241862386537'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/wow.html' title='Wow!'/><author><name>Neil Hopkins</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5tMzwh_Kvww/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAADTM/hxzf7s_koPo/s512-c/photo.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111761290910955621</id><published>2005-06-01T01:01:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-06-01T01:01:49.113-07:00</updated><title type='text'>There's something about Mary</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;Well, somebody had to use that tagline sooner or later. It&amp;rsquo;s obvious that Mary is rapidly running out of options &amp;ndash; she came into the house expecting to be the center of attention simply for being a bit weird. When that didn&amp;rsquo;t work she switched into being a victim to get attention, and her latest tactic is simply to say stupid, cryptic and irritating things to the other housemates in the hope that they will somehow be impressed and realize how wonderful and deep she is. None of it is working, and I suspect that she doesn&amp;rsquo;t yet have sufficient grasp of how the game is played to do anything about it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It&amp;rsquo;s too early to make detailed predictions about the voting this week &amp;ndash; there are too many housemates and I haven&amp;rsquo;t really seen enough of them yet &amp;ndash; but my gut instinct is that Makosi has done enough to get sufficient nominations to be safe, leaving Mary and one or two others to face the vote. If this is the case then Mary is doomed, which might explain why Channel 4 gave such a favourable edit to the summary show with her party in &amp;ndash; cutting a lot of the really weird stuff out. When she leaves she is certain to face a hostile crowd, so I think this is a case of damage limitation by Endemol.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111761290910955621?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111761290910955621/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111761290910955621&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111761290910955621'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111761290910955621'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/theres-something-about-mary.html' title='There&apos;s something about Mary'/><author><name>Neil Hopkins</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5tMzwh_Kvww/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAADTM/hxzf7s_koPo/s512-c/photo.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111756868763095966</id><published>2005-05-31T12:42:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-05-31T12:44:47.636-07:00</updated><title type='text'>BB art</title><content type='html'>Now, what was it that &lt;a href="http://artpad.art.com/?ihddetl4yr4"&gt;Albert&lt;/a&gt; said?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111756868763095966?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111756868763095966/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111756868763095966&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111756868763095966'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111756868763095966'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/05/bb-art.html' title='BB art'/><author><name>Neil Hopkins</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5tMzwh_Kvww/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAADTM/hxzf7s_koPo/s512-c/photo.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111755319568633387</id><published>2005-05-31T08:24:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-05-31T08:31:12.976-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Can ya tell what it is yet?</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://artpad.art.com/?ihd0sy12bt2k"&gt;What a rotten pig! &lt;/a&gt;Follow the link to my slideshow painting- make sure you watch it as a slide show- don't just skip to the end.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Apologies in advance.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111755319568633387?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111755319568633387/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111755319568633387&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111755319568633387'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111755319568633387'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/05/can-ya-tell-what-it-is-yet.html' title='Can ya tell what it is yet?'/><author><name>cerebral pig</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14984343125092564588</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='32' src='http://www.planethopkins.com/mesmall.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111753407306463867</id><published>2005-05-31T03:07:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-05-31T06:22:17.100-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Day 5</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;Science told Craig that he was just on the low point of the rollercoaster yesterday when everything got all too much for the nasty natured hairdresser and he gave into crying. He’s not the player he thought he was going to be. Getting the women together and encouraging them to bitch is not a good strategy. The public don’t like it and if he’s unlucky enough to go up for eviction he just might go. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I have a feeling– and it’s not a very strong feeling at all– that Mary will get lots of nominations and Lesley, Makosi, Sam &amp; Max   ( ;) to Neil), Science…loads of others– it’s be easier to say who definitely won’t be up! I think Dek is safe and Roberto, probably Vanessa and Anthony for sure but watch this space. Can you tell I don’t have a clue.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Anyway– last night the singing thing raised it’s ugly head and as Lesley started warbling, I experienced my first Big Brother Blush *cringe* the horror. And Max’s performance was something to behold– very scary… talking of witch, Mary was particularly scary last night– she obviously loves being the centre of attention– vying for attention in the house isn’t easy and I reckon now, that’s why she said wanted to leave…she thought she would be at the centre of things but it didn’t work out that way. The act isn’t working so far– she’s not good enough and playing victim just won’t hack it-so she's changed tack to evil imp. I'm finding her very hard to watch...atm she's telling everyone that BB is going to let her have her dog in the house. The other HMs look baffled. That brittle laugh of hers is very worrying...and I sense the HMs feel the same.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Makosi is the one commanding attention.  She is magnificent.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111753407306463867?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111753407306463867/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111753407306463867&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111753407306463867'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111753407306463867'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/05/day-5.html' title='Day 5'/><author><name>cerebral pig</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14984343125092564588</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='32' src='http://www.planethopkins.com/mesmall.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111738521907593537</id><published>2005-05-29T09:46:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-05-29T09:46:59.083-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Spice Sisters</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;Mary sometimes blows light bulbs.&amp;nbsp; Makosi can make people do things&amp;hellip;intense persuasion&amp;hellip;but&amp;nbsp;she obviously can&amp;rsquo;t make them laugh judging by the row of stony faces on the couch when she told her joke.&amp;nbsp; I laughed though.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;All the&amp;nbsp;talk&amp;nbsp;of people being deep makes me cringe when I hear it coming from the mouths of people who are so obviously shallow.&amp;nbsp; It seems this new age witchy psychic thing is the spice for BB this year&amp;hellip;the thing that is, for now, giving it flavour.&amp;nbsp; I wonder how long it will be before the spiritual spice loses it&amp;rsquo;s kick and the bouquet garni of housemates &amp;ndash; a mix of Mary, Makosi and Kemal is taken out of the pot.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I&amp;rsquo;m not convinced that Makosi aka Mechano will be successful with her challenge unless she steps it up a bit and if she&amp;rsquo;s up against Lesley, it&amp;rsquo;ll be a close call.&amp;nbsp; Mary could be up too.&amp;nbsp; I&amp;rsquo;m so looking forward to the first nominations&amp;ndash; that&amp;rsquo;ll tell us so much.&amp;nbsp; I don&amp;rsquo;t have a clue which way it&amp;rsquo;ll go yet.&amp;nbsp; I&amp;rsquo;m usually quite good at predicting who goes up for the vote but I just don&amp;rsquo;t seem to have got into the zone yet this BB.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Happy BB to y&amp;rsquo;all.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111738521907593537?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111738521907593537/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111738521907593537&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111738521907593537'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111738521907593537'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/05/spice-sisters.html' title='Spice Sisters'/><author><name>cerebral pig</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14984343125092564588</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='32' src='http://www.planethopkins.com/mesmall.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111727569769033298</id><published>2005-05-28T03:21:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-05-28T03:21:37.693-07:00</updated><title type='text'>First Impressions</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;First of all, I&amp;rsquo;m very excited.&amp;nbsp; I&amp;rsquo;m enjoying Mary, Kemal, Roberto and Derek&amp;ndash; particularly his impromptu poetry in the kitchen this morning &lt;font color="#ff0000"&gt;*cringe*&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mary seems very vulnerable and completely nutty which I can identify with to some extent&amp;ndash; I just hope she doesn&amp;rsquo;t keep asking for ressurance&amp;ndash; that gets very wearing.&amp;nbsp; Kemal is just very likeable so far&amp;ndash; cute and funny.&amp;nbsp; Roberto appeals but I&amp;rsquo;m not sure why yet.&amp;nbsp; And Derek&amp;ndash; well-what can I say&amp;hellip;very entertaining and he looks likely to be the daddy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It&amp;rsquo;s too soon to say any more except Craig aka Shirley Ghostman is already grating on my nerves. Lol.&amp;nbsp; Not that that&amp;rsquo;s necessarily a bad thing.&amp;nbsp; Oh yes, and I&amp;rsquo;ve taken to Science.&amp;nbsp; I always find the women harder to like at first although I have to admit that I usually struggle to like any of the HMs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Oops I&amp;rsquo;ve just taken an instant dislike to Saskia&amp;ndash; bossy boots!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111727569769033298?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111727569769033298/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111727569769033298&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111727569769033298'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111727569769033298'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/05/first-impressions.html' title='First Impressions'/><author><name>cerebral pig</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14984343125092564588</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='32' src='http://www.planethopkins.com/mesmall.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111726820034323957</id><published>2005-05-28T01:16:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-05-28T01:16:40.346-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Tactics</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;It&amp;rsquo;s early days, but the factions are starting to develop. Anthony and Maxwell will form a good alliance, and I wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be surprised if Kemal and Science fall in line with them as well. A four way bloc vote is a good starting point for eliminating rivals one by one, as long as they are not too blatant about it, and it should see them through to at least the midway point of the game. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The most unlikely pairing is Mary and Derek &amp;ndash; they both seem like outsiders and vulnerable to being nominated, but I suspect that Derek has enough political nous to play the game properly and sufficient public appeal to survive at least one nomination. If Mary gets nominated then I think she is likely to go, unless she goes all out with her psychic nutter persona &amp;ndash; unfortunately, I don&amp;rsquo;t think it&amp;rsquo;s an act &amp;hellip;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111726820034323957?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111726820034323957/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111726820034323957&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111726820034323957'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111726820034323957'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/05/tactics.html' title='Tactics'/><author><name>Neil Hopkins</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5tMzwh_Kvww/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAADTM/hxzf7s_koPo/s512-c/photo.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111723390973876799</id><published>2005-05-27T15:43:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-05-27T15:45:09.740-07:00</updated><title type='text'>First predictions</title><content type='html'>Clearly Makosi hasn't got the nous to play the game this week, so I think she is a good bet for the first eviction. Science has the potential to go all the way - he's got a natural charm but is interesting enough to survive public votes.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111723390973876799?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111723390973876799/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111723390973876799&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111723390973876799'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111723390973876799'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/05/first-predictions.html' title='First predictions'/><author><name>Neil Hopkins</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5tMzwh_Kvww/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAADTM/hxzf7s_koPo/s512-c/photo.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111723379343770488</id><published>2005-05-27T15:23:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-05-27T15:43:13.443-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Housemates in two words</title><content type='html'>Anthony : Pretty Boy&lt;br /&gt;Craig   : Mouthy git&lt;br /&gt;Derek   : Camp Tory&lt;br /&gt;Lesley  : Naughty Nurse&lt;br /&gt;Kemal   : Crackalack Dingdong&lt;br /&gt;Makosi  : Rich Bitch&lt;br /&gt;Mary    : Wacky Witch&lt;br /&gt;Maxwell : Diamond Geezer&lt;br /&gt;Roberto : Old Smoothy&lt;br /&gt;Sam     : Posh Slapper&lt;br /&gt;Saskia  : Silly Cow&lt;br /&gt;Science : Crazy Name&lt;br /&gt;Vanessa : Shouty Girl&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111723379343770488?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111723379343770488/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111723379343770488&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111723379343770488'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111723379343770488'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/05/housemates-in-two-words.html' title='Housemates in two words'/><author><name>Neil Hopkins</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5tMzwh_Kvww/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAADTM/hxzf7s_koPo/s512-c/photo.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13066659.post-111723225882818793</id><published>2005-05-27T15:04:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-05-27T15:22:43.080-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Day 1  Opening Night</title><content type='html'>What can I say?&lt;br /&gt;I'm stunned.&lt;br /&gt;I'm watching the live feed on broadband and it looks like a bunch of b movie actors who have wandered off from their sets and have found themselves stuck in a nightmarish limbo. I'm not sure, but it could even be hell.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Big Brother starts here.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13066659-111723225882818793?l=bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/feeds/111723225882818793/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13066659&amp;postID=111723225882818793&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111723225882818793'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/13066659/posts/default/111723225882818793'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://bigbrotherblog.blogspot.com/2005/05/day-1-opening-night.html' title='Day 1  Opening Night'/><author><name>cerebral pig</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14984343125092564588</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='32' src='http://www.planethopkins.com/mesmall.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
