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Taking Out the Trash
by Drew, the Big Brother Cynic

It’s almost as if Big Brother read my mind. After Me&Brendon defied the odds by staying in the house week after
week, Rach finally goes home on the week when I have officially run out of things to say about them. So here’s a bit
of “emptying the recycling bin” with my (hopefully) final musings on Brendon and Rachel.

I’m not a conspiracy theorist by any means, but it felt a bit convenient for the Diamond Power of Veto to show up this
week. One of the undisputed “stars” of the show (Me&Brendon) was almost guaranteed to go home, and a power shows up that
could have conceivably kept them both around for two more weeks. Obviously, Bren-Bren still would have had to win a Head
of Household competition that was essentially seven against one, but the table was definitely set for Me&Brendon to stick
around and stir up trouble way beyond their expiration date.

But then, in a clear case of “the house giveth and the house taketh”, the PoV competition was brutally stacked against
them. Making the safe assumption that all of the players would have challenged Brendon and Rachel, as well as the even
safer assumption that Me&Brendon would not have challenged each other, the pair of nominees would have had to win five
straight games (in a competition where everybody basically was at the same skill level) to knock off the remaining players.

If you believe in the power of gross, under-the-covers love, Brendon thinking about using the PoV to save Rachel makes
at least a little bit of sense. At least that failure stays a secret from the rest of the house. But trying to vilify
himself like he did is a failure on two accounts: not only did it not work, but he also put a target on his back for
next week. Poor guy didn’t even realize that everybody in the house would have liked him once the two-headed monster
was finally slain.

Up until this point, Rachel had my (hypothetical) vote if she were to advance to the final two. However, if she had
been saved by Bren-Bren while he was also on the block, I would have definitely changed my mind. I know (thanks to
Jamie) that Evel Dick and his daughter each pulled that move once en route to Dick winning season 8, but Brendon
saving Rachel and KNOWING that he’s going home because of it is a horse of a different color. Not that I think he
has a prayer, but I also wouldn’t vote for Brendon knowing that he tried to sacrifice himself to save Rachel. You
play to win the game, son.

While I’m at it, do you think Brendon ever would have considered using the PoV to save Rachel if we weren’t already
into the “Jury House” weeks? No way is he basically forfeiting $500,000 if there’s still a chance that The Chest
might end up back running wild in Vegas instead of being sequestered in the Jury House with him.

I said last week that Rachel will be mad after she sees some of the things that Brendon said in the Diary Room. But
after this week (especially during the PoV competition), I’m thinking that he’s the one with a right to be angry at her.

Pobody’s Nerfect
Two weeks ago, I referred to a study by Dr. Daniel Goldstein and, in doing so, made numerous mentions to San
Diego, Calif. being larger than San Antonio, Texas. Reader Michael pointed out that San Antonio is, in fact, larger
than San Diego in terms of both population and area. After a little digging, it turns out that the study in question
was performed in 1994, when San Diego did in fact have a larger population than San Antonio. Good looking out, Michael.
If I had prizes to give, I assure you that one would be in the mail.

Misspeak of the Week:

“Neanderthal”… sometimes this section is just too easy.

Looking Ahead:
There’s still plenty of time for things to change, but early accounts make it look as if the Saboteur could be
eliminated completely by accident for the second time this season. Is it time to give up on this one yet?

And that about does it for “emptying the recycling bin” and for Me&Brendon in the Big Brother house. I’m not sure
if you’ve noticed, but there are seven other people in house, so maybe I can burn 500 words on a few of them next
week.

Drew

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