I have now watched the Big Brother launch epsiode, after taping it last night because, you know, the ABC was showing Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South and then a re-dramatisation of the life of George Eliot. Are my priorities out of whack - I honestly do not know. But, thanks to the miracle of the VCR, I never need to find out. I can have it all, and so forth. So this morning I caught up on the opening jaunt of BB05. Thoughts: I believe that I like Geneva, but I'm not sure how much her likeness to Maggie Gyllenhaal plays into it. I believe Constance is a prospect too, after hearing her describe herself as "the least successful person I know." Ah. She was the one bright spot of self-deprecation in a seething mass of self-promotion. Also, I very much want to like lefty Tim, but we shall see. Hotdogs is, of course, a tool. My god. But I did enjoy it when, after referring to himself constantly as 'Hotdogs' during his introduction tape and Gretel-time, once he actually got into the room with the other housemates he went, "Hey, I'm Hotdogs. Hey, nice to meet you, I'm Hotdogs..." Sorry, I didn't catch your name?... "It's Simon... Er, [cringing] Hotdogs." He he he. He's already regretting it! Way to be BRAVE in the face of other people's disdain, Hotdogs! Anyway, I have no idea if this season is gonna suck or not, but I am quite concerned by the high ratio of people who a) feel completely at ease in getting all gauche on us and describing themselves without the diffident qualifiers polite society requires, and b) settle on self-descriptions that either reek of cliché or that plainly do not hold up to reality-based scrutiny. Especially the boys. THE BOYS SUCK. Please refrain from talking about yourselves, ever. Anyway, you can keep yourself updated on the proper way to think about all this on Ausculture Jess' BB05 blog, or at the online diary the show itself has set up - which is utterly brilliant, by the way. Whoever writes that thing, I salute you. SO DRY.