Big Brother 11, July 13 Live Feeds: The Musical Fruit

When we last left the Big Brother house, seven of the houseguests were still awake, and fatigue had finally gotten the better of yours truly. As the sun rose in Los Angeles, here on the east coast, I was barely conscious, as it was well into the morning and I had been up for 23 hours.

So to be thorough, here’s what you may have missed from the time I stopped writing to the time they finally went to bed, at 5:30 am: Lydia and Jessie chatted on the hammock about nothing in particular, then joined Chima and Natalie in the living room. Conversation topics were general, mostly focusing on potential future competitions and the sleeping arrangements on a day to day basis. Elsewhere in one of the bedrooms, Braden, Jordan, and Jeff all took part in a late night farting contest. Don’t you just feel so much better knowing all that? It takes dedication to be a fan of this show.

Less than three hours after the raccoons turn in, Russell and Casey greet the day. The fact that Casey’s up surprises me, as he was the last one to go to bed before I gave up last night. He couldn’t have gotten more than four hours’ sleep.

Still, he’s up and about, and even has enough energy to carry on a strategy session with Russell while they both work out. They both agree that they will vote Braden out on Thursday, as they see him as more of a threat than Chima. Despite that, Russell doubts that Chima will last another week in the house if the Brains lose the next Head of Household (HOH) Competition.

The other major bullet points of the conversation are bits we’ve heard before. One, they think Ronnie is playing too hard. Russell goes as far as to call him, “the rat of the house.” The only Brain either of them trusts right now is Michele. Two, Casey says that amongst his teammates, Lydia talks too much and Kevin plays too emotionally. Three, he gives Russell some constructive criticism, saying that he comes off as angry, like one who holds grudges, which can work against him. Still, he says that Natalie is the Athletes’ biggest liability right now.

As the game progress, each of them has a pecking order for how they want the evictions to go down. Each say they want to target the other two cliques (because it would be incredibly stupid to admit you’re going after the other’s team). They agree that they want Laura and Chima gone in the next couple of votes, and Russell adds that Ronnie’s time will come up about week four or five.

After an hour of alone time, some others begin to stir, with Ronnie rising for the day. He heads out back for a morning workout and joins the other two. While they rotate between the elliptical and jogging around the yard, Big Brother himself signals the wake-up call at 9:45. Let us hope that the lack of sleep for the night owls will help them get it into their heads that they need to turn in at a reasonable hour. I’m not holding my breath (though I am holding a large soda chock full of caffeine just in case).

While the house crawls to life, those houseguests that can be called “morning people” set about their daily routines. Aside from the normal stuff, Kevin has invited Jordan for a morning swim, and Lydia has decided to take a few liberties with her team shirt, creatively cutting and ripping holes here and there.

The idea of a morning swim has struck an appealing chord amongst the houseguests. Ronnie and Laura prepare to take a dip as well. Jordan, looking at Ronnie’s hairy chest, asks him if he’ll shave it. He says he will once he’s “buff,” and that the others will be allowed to shave a “man-o-lantern” onto him. I’m afraid.

While Jordan brags to Ronnie about her breast implants (I figured Laura would be the first to do so, so I lose that bet), Russell and Braden chat in the kitchen. Braden is basically resigned to his fate at this point, and is planning for life after Big Brother. As mentioned before, he gave up his $2,000 a month apartment to come on the show, so he doesn’t know where he’ll go. He says he may move back to China, where he made decent money as a model. He even claims that in a series of basketball-related ads, he was referred to as “The White Kobe [Bryant].” So, he’s an overrated egomaniac and alleged rapist in China? Whatever floats your boat, dude.

Kevin quickly checks in on Chima and informs her that she’s going to stay this week, which she appreciates. She then joins Braden and Russell in the kitchen, and catches the tail-end of their conversation. Braden, within the context of the game at least, hates Lydia now and warns them that she’ll slit their throats while they sleep. This guy goes from mellow to sociopath in the blink of an eye.

Russell heads upstairs to the HOH room to check on Jessie, who has been sitting up in his bed in a manner that resembles a waking coma. He relays the conversation he just had with Braden, and they agree that they’re making the right move in getting rid of him. They both like him, but he needs to go. Jessie, revealing once again who he really cares about, justifies his actions by saying that Braden didn’t take as much time to get to know him as the others.

Braden won’t let his anger go in this situation. He goes outside and sits with Jeff and Jordan by the pool. Nearby, but also in the yard, are Lydia and Kevin. Initially, Braden tells Jeff and Jordan that he wants to call Lydia out during his speech on the live show on Thursday. Jeff warns him that he’ll only have 20 seconds, which may not be enough time.