20 July 2008

A prophet not without honour, except in her own city

| johnboy
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Let’s talk about Brigitte.

I’m sure that if Canberra could choose its own representative in the Big Brother house it would have been a stern intellectual brunette with a whiff of the dominatrix and possibly a pair of leather pants.

Or maybe that’s just me.

What we got was Brigitte, a 21 year old waitress with a louse of a not-quite-boyfriend (by all accounts). She considers her most prized possessions to be her fake breasts valued at $4,500 each. (Personally my most valued possession is my print of Hokusai’s “Great Wave off Kanagawa” taken from the original block. I own a great many things that cost more, but none that are worth more.)

So we do the best with what we’ve got.

The real question, looking at Brigitte’s Big Brother page is why there’s no Canberra night club appearance slated?

Is she avoiding her home town? Her apparently odious ex?

Or is Canberra just not that interested?

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Yikes – another attempt at internet dating gone bad. Thanks for the heads up Diane, err Absent……ummm maybe consider changing your handle, it’s ripe with confusion!

Absent Diane12:43 pm 23 Jul 08

<– absent diane is male.. however I am dating an existential nihilist female. sorry to disappoint.

“……..due to my dazzling combo of looks, talent, wealth, intelligence, humour and modesty.”

And she knows who Jello Biafra and Ministry are! Do you date Anarchists Dianne???

Nothing with Marieke in it is a good thing.

Ever.

Absent Diane11:42 am 23 Jul 08

yeah you wouldn’t throw me in there. i would pretty much win hands down – due to my dazzling combo of looks, talent, wealth, intelligence, humour and modesty.

I reckon throw in that Cardinal Pell fella and you can pit him against Alan Trounson – the aussie stem cell dude – now that would be entertainment ++.

neanderthalsis11:35 am 23 Jul 08

I could see a Big Brother revival if they did some formatting changes and made the list of housemates interesting.

Have ABC take it over, the housemates could include:

Marieke Hardy from First tuesday book-club/JJJ
Barry Cassidy from Insiders
Peter Berner
Barnaby Joyce
Andrew Bolt (for comedic value)
Bill Bryson
Alain de Botton (author / philosopher)
Peter Garret (for even more comedic value)
Pauline Hanson (to keep Andrew Bolt company because rednecks need mutual support)
Red Symonds
Sarah Hanson-Young (new Greens Senator)

Throw in a few Rioters:
Deadmandrinking & Maelinar (for the seething animosity)
Absent Dianne
Ant

And some randomly kidnapped folk from shopping centres in low SES areas

Absent Diane11:34 am 23 Jul 08

jello biafra died for me when he did lard with ministry now that is some crapola music (or at least the bits I have heard) he kind of rose from the dead a little when he introduced the world to wesley willis (greatest muso of all time?).

Jimbo leaves Rollins for dead!

Big Brother sucks arse.

All roads lead to Rollins?

…Ummm we’re now talking about Rollins in a thread about big brother…

It’s my fault, I started it and I am ashamed.

Sorry people.

“Duke is a BLASPHEMER!!!”

I’m a bit sensitive on this issue Jake. My other punk idol Jello Biafra turned against me too when he swapped Dead Kennedys for spoken-word Argghhhhhhhh

Now I dont respect nuffin no more f8%$

smiling politely5:33 pm 22 Jul 08

Must admit Henry Rollins got me through some hard times when I was an angsty, angry young man. As he’s getting older he’s getting a bit more “right on” politically (check out the Henry Rollins Show to see what I mean) but I still find a lot of what he has to say relevant and appealing.

I’ll never forget “When life hands you lemons – say “I like lemons, what the f^ck else you got?””.

Part of me is looking forward to introducing my boy to Black Flag and the Rollins Band (and maybe chuck my old bass guitar in the room with him) when he’s a surly, annoying blaggard of a teenager listening to “music I don’t approve of”. At the risk of making stupid generalisations, it might be a bit of a gen x parenting thing…

Oddly enough my american friends don’t get our Rollins excitement.

“He’s just an MTV VJ” they say.

Duke is a BLASPHEMER!!!

“Henry Rollins is a legend”

Black Flag Henry was a legend, spoken word Henry blows.

illyria said :

Angry Henry, I agree that the generations will always be generations apart. IMO we should never pretend that we understand each other, we just need to be aware of what each other is thinking/doing.

Jakez, Your parents must be very proud. I wish my kids and all their peers were all perfect like you.

I remember what I got up to between the ages of 17-20 and quite frankly, it makes me shudder to think. Lucky it wasn’t put up on Facebook or Bebo or broadcast live on Channel Ten.

You know I’m always telling my parents how perfect I am and they never believe me ;-).

I’m not saying I’m perfect not at all, it’s probably more of a case that I appear to be on the cusp of a generational change. Like you said in your first paragraph, I don’t understand these youngins.

AngryHenry said :

jakez said :

…”Old people don’t know a f*cking thing about being young and young people don’t know a f*cking thing about being old” – Rollins

END OF STORY!

Ahh I finally get your username. Awesome man, Henry Rollins is a legend.

Angry Henry, I agree that the generations will always be generations apart. IMO we should never pretend that we understand each other, we just need to be aware of what each other is thinking/doing.

Jakez, Your parents must be very proud. I wish my kids and all their peers were all perfect like you.

I remember what I got up to between the ages of 17-20 and quite frankly, it makes me shudder to think. Lucky it wasn’t put up on Facebook or Bebo or broadcast live on Channel Ten.

jakez said :

This isn’t ‘youth at play’, it is something far more significant.

Angry Henry: It was hyperbole, don’t get hepped up mate.

Hah! I ain’t hepped up! I was waaaaayyyy hepped up at your age though, looking back I think about some of the stuff I reacted to and knowing what I know now I’d do so much differently, but hinsdight is alway 20-20 and if it wasn’t for all those lessons learned I wouldn’t be the person I am now. I cretainly wouldn’t have wanted to make those mistakes on a national television show though, because you never live that sh*t down.

It might have been hyperbole but if that’s the case maybe it would have worked in a better context, like if you had suddenly pretended you were a fuedal Japanese warlord sarcastically saying ‘she bling shame upon our town’ but it wasn’t, it was just hung out there to be misread.

Is it really far more significant? Because I fail to see any significance.

And being an old trout I’m pretty open-minded towards ‘young whippersnappers’.

Here it is real simple like (for any whippersnappers who don’t know what hyperbole is!)

…”Old people don’t know a f*cking thing about being young and young people don’t know a f*cking thing about being old” – Rollins

END OF STORY!

Look illyria I can’t buy that ‘it’s youth’ line one bit.

I’m 24 years old so I’m sure many consider me to also be a young whippersnapper, but people just one or two years younger than me completely baffle me. I don’t know if it’s because I’m in the cusp of the Gen Xers and Gen Y’s but something has happened to the youth of today (yes I completely recognise how ridiculous it is for someone of my age to say that).

This isn’t ‘youth at play’, it is something far more significant.

Angry Henry: It was hyperbole, don’t get hepped up mate.

I watch the show because my kids like it. I actually really liked Brigitte and found her quite endearing, albeit in a spoilt teenagy kind of way. I agree with Dianne. Brigitte was bloody funny.

She was not a bad person. She was not mean and spiteful, she was just plain young and a bit silly.

I am sure that she will be a completely different person when she is 40, as we all are.

It is youth people, and like it or not, we need to stay connected to what the little whippersnappers are thinking and doing in their teens so that we can continue to be there for them to clean up the mess and have the great satisfaction of saying “I told you so” at the end of the day!

jakez said :

I saw one episode, when she was ‘not talking to Big Brother’ for some stupid reason. She brings shame upon our town.

I used to be a fan but the show very quickly went into terminal decline. I stopped watching a few seasons ago and I’m a better person for it.

Each to his own though, as a libertarian I’d never call for its banning.

Shame on our town??? That’s a pretty big call! Like I said before, she is a product of our town, she was brought up here, she’s part of our society and there is a big part of Canberra’s community where there are tonnes more people like her.

It’s not like she was elected as Canberra’s official envoy to Big Brother so she’s not representing anyone but herself and if that’s how she wants to be portrayed who cares!?!?!

Doesn’t make me feel any less proud or ashamed to be a Canberran. And I think it’s pretty shallow to allow any individual’s actions to do so.

I think on a National scale Big Brother certainly doesn’t represent the majority of Australians either. God help us if it did.

lux said :

She’s appalling.
She says she hates liars…. yet aren’t her fake breasts a form of lying? She says she wouldn’t be caught dead on national tv without makeup – yet says she doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her?!!

Reminds me of part of Chris Rocks comedy show ‘Bigger and Blacker’

That’s right. Who the biggest liars? Women the biggest liars.

Masters of the lie, the visual lie.

Look at you. You got on heels, you ain’t that tall.
You got on makeup, your face don’t look like that.
You got a weave, your hair ain’t that long.
You got a Wonderbra on, your titties ain’t that big.

Everything about you is a lie, and you expect me to tell the truth? F*ck you!

I saw one episode, when she was ‘not talking to Big Brother’ for some stupid reason. She brings shame upon our town.

I used to be a fan but the show very quickly went into terminal decline. I stopped watching a few seasons ago and I’m a better person for it.

Each to his own though, as a libertarian I’d never call for its banning.

Absent Diane12:59 pm 21 Jul 08

big brother uk has had some interesting personalities.. the one that comes to mind is pete the tourettes guy.. he was hilarious and off the fcken planet to boot. but australian media is too fickle and conservative (except of course abc/sbs)

duke – people can only go by what they see on tv.. we didn’t think she was that bad.. she wasn’t worst on the show..her dumbness made us laugh.

I don’t think the poor dear realises what she has gotten herself into. In spite of this abomination of a show being on air for eight seasons and having grown up in front of it, the repercussions are going to really hit her now. Which is why I say go easy on the girl!

She’s 21, she would have been 13 the first time she saw Big Brother on the TV and I’ll bet she was quite the fan. So should she know better than anyone what the potential consequences of putting yourself into the spotlight without any notable ‘skills’ to speak of? Well yes and no I guess. I think that the influence media has had on our culture has really been amped up over the years, and it has warped our view of success.

In other words, they have made us believe that fame equals success. Brigitte is living proof.

So what did she achieve, she brought her family reluctantly into the spotlight, she cried and carried on like a spoilt two year old, she started a highly inflammatory war of words between her friends and her ex, whom she severed ties with extremely publicly and she became one of the most talked about housemates this season. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED???

My first reaction to her was ‘I can’t wait until she comes back here and is lining outside Academy and some Bogan Sheila just comes up and sits her on her arse for being such a stupid little tart.’

Then I thought about those thousands of girls just like Brigitte in Canberra, you know the ones who’ll cruise around Civic in the middle of winter in the tiniest items of clothing imaginable all for a bit of attention. Don’t even think about pretending they don’t exist.

As much as Canberra would like to disown her she is a direct product of an upbringing in this City. Maybe not a lower or working class Canberra upbringing but a Canberra upbringing nonetheless. Yes her parents play a large part in that upbringing but the community definitely is responsible to a degree also.

And what does it say (as a massive generalisation) about our town? For me it says we need to broaden our horizons before we become disconnected with our youth and disconnected with the rest of the country. It’s an easy place to live in despite what some might say and while some have it much better here than others ultimately the majority are being taken care of and surviving quite well.

We can leave for work and be there in half an hour and home in about the same time, our patience is short because things run fairly efficiently here. It’s a little expensive but ultimately it’s an easy life in Canberra. And because things come together so easily we never need to question anything, we sit here safely in our little bubble naive and happily disconnected until something comes along that criticises us or even worse represents us in a way we don’t want to be represented. Then we are outraged, especially when one of our own comes across contrary to the way we see ourselves!!!

I don’t like the girl, but it takes all kind of people to make this community, and indeed the rest of the world, go around. She makes me appreciate the kind of girls I do like so much more.

Before you knock her think about what you were doing when you were running amok in Canberra at 21 and let him or her who was without stupidity at that age cast the first stone.

I’ll be holding my rocks for a more worthwhile cause.

Ahhh check out all these brave keyboard warriors, jumping boots and all on some girl they don’t know who appears on a show they don’t watch. I don’t know Brigitte either but I have chatted to her a few times (we frequent the same social venue) and I occasionally watch Big Brother.

Certainly she’s not the brightest spark, but I’ve always found her to be sweet and approachable not to mention gorgeous and happy to talk to anybody. In my book that makes her one top gal!

If she wants to make some quick cash by appearing on some lame tv show them good for her.

I would also point out she is a talented dancer who has represented Australia in competition, which puts her in the same boat as these dumbass League players so many people worship.

And I would also like to point out to the people who don’t know Brigitte, don’t watch Big Brother and don’t know how television works, that it is the producers who decide which nightclubs housemates visit, not the housemates themselves.

sexynotsmart10:48 am 21 Jul 08

Our usual Saturday haunt (North Bar) used to have Big Brother evictees present some Saturdays. But no-one saw it as a ‘big deal’. I don’t know what the cost of getting a ‘celebrity’ for a night is, but I guess it’s not cheap. I suspect Brigitte’s non-appearance in Canberra just reflects the return-on-investment.

The link shows she’s slated for appearances at huge cities known for cultural elitism: Sunbury, Melton and Mildura. Oh, and Darling Harbour.

Big Brother is absolute crap.

Each version has had the same idiotic, fake and shallow type of people on it; just change the names each series.

Why don’t they get original and make one of the housemates someone with full-blown AIDS, TB or weeping facial sores – then sit back and watch all the idiots in the house do whatever they can to get evicted.

Ivan Milat would also make a great mystery guest.

Being a Campbell resident one thing I did notice was the suburb felt a hell of a lot smarter while Brigitte was on the Gold Coast. Don’t know if this can be backed up with cold hard science, but I’m quitely confident.

and a lot of you blokes wouldn’t turn her down if the opportunity arose…

I’m pretty sure this comment can be applied to most of the male gender. Not myself, obviously, but have quite low standards after a few beers.

She’s a fair sort. A lot of girls wouldn’t mind her “fake breasts valued at $4,500 each” and a lot of you blokes wouldn’t turn her down if the opportunity arose.

tylersmayhem8:55 am 21 Jul 08

Thank god this show has now finally been cancelled. It’s about 5 years overdue! As for this bird from Canberra who was apparently in the show this season, I’m sure she at least has the sense to know the slating she’ll get here in Canberra, and that people wouldn’t even buy her a drink.

My advice to her is enjoy the free Cosmo’s why you can, because you’ll be forgotten within a couple of weeks unless she follows the steps of Paris Hilton and Mini Me and releases a sex-tape of sorts.

Absent Diane8:43 am 21 Jul 08

i watched it through association.. I didn’t get addicted but I stopped hating it as much the more I watched it. but it is not a good show. if they put some interesting people in and it made a little more experimental then yeah.. and sandilands and the other chick are fcking joke.

I am one degree of separation from Brigitte, and yet I can proudly say I have no idea what she looks like, nor have I watched a single episode of BB! 😀

Participating in this conversation does make me feel a little dirty though…

Deadmandrinking8:01 am 21 Jul 08

I think that speaks for the whole show, Diane. Kyle Sandilands as a host makes me shudder as well, even though I never watched the show.

Absent Diane7:58 am 21 Jul 08

her stupidity was outrageously funny.

Deadmandrinking7:53 am 21 Jul 08

bubzie said :

Does anyone in canberra actulary give a toss that she got evicted anyway??

Does anybody in the world apart from 12 yr old morons?

Ewwwwww, big bother.

seriously, i havent watched/or even discussed it in a couple of years.
I was kinda happy like that. Now you guys are all just ..re-opening wounds. It’s all your fault, ya know. (Ok. Lack of sleep does this to you..)

but, errgh. Does anyone in canberra actulary give a toss that she got evicted anyway??

She’s appalling.

“I don’t like thinking” ????!!!!! wtf??

She says she hates liars…. yet aren’t her fake breasts a form of lying? She says she wouldn’t be caught dead on national tv without makeup – yet says she doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her?!!

What a waste of space. I’d thus far managed to avoid having any contact with Big Brother this year, having hardly turned on the telly in the last four months, but now i have, i feel dirty. Thanks a lot, RiotAct.

Damn I got to get out and buy more books.

There are 300 hundred “brigitte”s out every week in canberra usually in groups who cluster around and look identical with their foot of make up each but are too scared to talk to anyone who isn’t from their school or played first rugby. Trust me there is nothing interesting, unique or special about that girl. I could find far more fun, less self interested and exciting girls walking around civic talking to shop assistants. I see Zoo and Ralph signed her up pretty quick but she’s no Krystal.

Open your eyes people I spoke to a more beautiful and nicer girl in borders about buying a birthday present…

What other format can give the new digital channels 120 hours a week of content?

Sadly, it will be back.

Is she avoiding her home town? Her apparently odious ex?

Or is Canberra just not that interested?

Who really cares? Big Brother is almost done with, and she’ll be forgotten in 2 weeks.

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