Big Brother 11 Nominations: Episode 23 Review (Pandora’s Box)

This week’s ‘Big Brother 11′ challenge was to race on a graham cracker track and fill a bowl with hot chocolate. The first to win would gain power to nominate two housemates for eviction. Kevin slid his way to victory.

Last week, Kevin and Natalie convinced Jeff that they would form an alliance with him if he got rid of Russell. Unwittingly, Jeff played into a trap. But the gloves are now off, as Jeff learns that Kevin and Natalie played him.

Next week, contestants will try to win veto power, and one will decide whether to save Jeff or housemate Michele from eviction.

‘Big Brother 11′ had a strong ratings run. The CBS show boasted an average of 8.08 million viewers and earned a 2.7/9 with adults 18-49.

In related news, fans are all hot and bothered about a ‘mystery door’ Kevin went into. We’ll call the door “pandora’s box,” because it is rumored to have consequences for Kevin when he emerges from it. At this point, only the producers know what’s going on.

Americas Got Talent Results Show: Week 10, Night 2 Review

NBC’s ‘America’s Got Talent’ revealed the final contestants who will round out the remaining five spots in the semifinals. As results shows go, this one was filled with exhaustive behind the scenes footage, recaps and storytelling twists to build tension and fill an hour of airtime with material that wouldn’t take more than five minutes to reveal ordinarily.

That being said, the following acts did not get enough viewer votes to make it to the semifinals: African High Flyers, Pam Martin’s Dogs, Matt and Anthony, Ishaara and The Lollipop Girls. Drew Stevyns, The EriAm Sisters, Recycled Percussion and Barbara Padilla all made it to the semifinals and are still in the running to win the $1million prize.

The final spot in the semifinals was a battle between singer Mia Boostrom and dancing prodigies Erik and Rickie. Erik and Rickie claimed the final slot, beating Mia Boostrom by earning two out of the three possible votes from the judges. For Boostrom, what’s worse than being eliminated twice from competition is losing to adversaries under 10 years old.

The toast of the evening was a performance by Reba McEntire, who dazzled audiences with a song from her new album “Keep on Loving You.”

‘America’s Got Talent’ semifinals Week 10, Night 2 pulled in 3.3 million viewers to score a 2.6 rating, nearly tying with Big Brother’s Sunday episode, according to TV by the Numbers.

Disney Buys Marvel in $4b Deal

The Walt Disney Company announced today that it would by Marvel in a $4 billion deal those amounts to about 60 percent cash and 40 percent stock. Marvel, the comic book titan, is home to 5,000 characters, includes some of the world’s best-known superheroes: Iron Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Captain America and Thor.

Disney plans to aggressively integrate Marvel characters into the Disney family, placing superheroes at Disney’s theme parks in Paris and Hong Kong and on Disney’s cable television channels.

“Marvel’s brand and its treasure trove of content will now benefit from our extraordinary reach,” Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, said in an interview with New York Times. “We paid a price that reflects the value they’ve created and the value we can create as one company. It’s a full price, but a fair price.”

The Marvel deal makes Disney a partner with Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment and 20th Century Fox, all of which have long-term deals to make or distribute movies based on Marvel characters, including Sony’s “Spider-Man” franchise and Fox’s “X-Men” series.

The purchase got mixed reception on Wall Street and has yet to be approved by Marvel shareholders.

Americas Got Talent Quarterfinals : Week 10, Night 1 Review

The first act to get a strike from one of the judges on NBC’s America’s Got Talent was the African High Flyers, an acrobatic group from Kenya. Their routine rivaled that of a high school cheerleading squad, certainly nothing to write home about.

Overall, judges David Hasselhoff, Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan, seem to love, or at least like, every performance, including the truly mediocre. So, this review will focus on the few acts the judges didn’t give a ‘thumbs up’ in the quarterfinals round.

The first act to get a strike from one of the judges was the African High Flyers, an acrobatic group from Kenya. Their routine rivaled that of a high school cheerleading squad, certainly nothing to write home about.

The judges detested Coney Island Chris, who promised a life risking performance, but instead delivered a generic comedy act that left the audience silent. The only moment that earned a laugh was when Hasselhoff expressed his disappointment that Coney Island Chris didn’t set himself on fire.

‘America’s Got Talent’ quarterfinals pulled in 4.03 million viewers to score a 3.1 rating, coming in just below Hell’s Kitchen, which brought in 4.5 million viewers and a 3.5 rating, according to TV by the Numbers.

Services to be held for Slain Oklahoma Pastor

Funeral services will be held in Oklahoma City for a pastor who was brutally killed inside her small church in Anadarko. Funeral services for 61-year-old Carol Daniels are set for 1 p.m. Monday at the Greater New Zion Baptist Church in northeast Oklahoma City.

African-American Pastor Ritually Murdered in Oklahoma: Hate Crime Victim?

Was an African- American pastor in Oklahoma the victim of a ritualistic hate crime killing? Well, authorities have warned pastors in a town where a preacher was brutally killed inside her church that they should take precautions at their buildings. Police have not shared with the public precisely what happened. She tried to fight off her attacker before her throat was slashed and she was nearly decapitated, according to a forensics expert who reviewed a preliminary autopsy report on Friday.

District Attorney Bret Burns, who described the killing as “horrific,” is said to have held a closed-door session with about 24 pastors, along with members of law enforcement. Several pastors who were there said authorities did not discuss any facts of the case.

“We talked about security issues within their churches and their congregations,” Burns said. “We asked them to remain vigilant and be aware of their surroundings and their church locations.”

He did not say why the meeting was held just with pastors rather than the community at large, or what kind of a threat the clergy might face.

The corpse of 61-year-old Carol Daniels was found last Sunday in the Christ Holy Sanctified Church in Anadarko. Law enforcement declined to elaborate and have been tight-lipped about details of the crime or a possible motive.

The DA told The Oklahoman newspaper that Daniels was killed between 10 a.m. and noon Sunday, while preparing her sermon. He did not rule out the possibility that the killer specifically targeted a pastor or a church. “There are a lot of things we’re not prepared to rule out,” he said. “I’m concerned about the nature of this crime. I’m concerned about the community.”

No arrests have been made, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Howard Kurtz, a local criminology professor told reporters that after seeing the medical examiner’s autopsy notes, it appeared Pastor Carol Daniels put up a fight. “The marks on her hands are defensive looking marks as if she was trying to defend herself from an attacker. It looks like she put up a pretty good fight,” said Kurtz.

Rumors of a cult killing are still circulating in Anadarko and on Thursday, according to News 9 in Oklahoma. Investigators confirmed that Daniels’ body was staged.

“It could be a thrill killing, somebody who wants to make a name for himself or somebody who thinks this would be a fun thing to do. It could be revenge. The fact that she was stabbed so many times would often mean that this could be a domestic case,” Kurtz said.

Investigators have said that whoever killed Daniels posed her body in an unnatural position, or “staged” it, but have declined to elaborate. The staging of the body is extremely rare, according to Dr. William Manion, a forensic pathologist and deputy medical examiner in Burlington County, N.J., who spoke with the Associated Press. “It’s something to repel and nauseate people, something very shocking to try and upset people investigating the crime,” he said.

Oklahoma is home to the 1921 Tulsa race riots, which left a total of 301 dead African Americans after two days of violence and arson directed by whites against African American neighborhoods. Hundreds were injured, and more than 1500 African American owned homes and 600 businesses were destroyed. Also destroyed in the African American neighborhoods were 21 churches, 21 restaurants, 30 stores, 2 movie theaters, a hospital, a bank, the post office, libraries, and schools.

District Attorney Bret Burns, who described the killing as “horrific,” is said to have held a closed-door session with about 24 pastors, along with members of law enforcement. Several pastors who were there said authorities did not discuss any facts of the case.

“We talked about security issues within their churches and their congregations,” Burns said. “We asked them to remain vigilant and be aware of their surroundings and their church locations.”

He did not say why the meeting was held just with pastors rather than the community at large, or what kind of a threat the clergy might face.

Noel Quits Oasis

In stunning weekend news, Noel Gallagher, guitarist for 90′s British rock band Oasis, famous for their American hit “Wonderwall,” has quit the band. “Verbal and violent intimidation” is the cause, says Noel in a letter to fans posted to the band’s Web site Saturday.

Weekly Address Focuses on Hurricane Katrina Losses

President Obama devoted this weekend’s White House address to remembering the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. The President described what his administration has done to boost the Gulf Coast recovery effort, and said that he will visit New Orleans before the end of the year. As the Gulf Coast recovers, “we must learn the lessons of Katrina, so that our nation will be more protected and resilient in the face of disaster – whether it’s from a hurricane, earthquake, wildfire, pandemic, or terrorist attack,” the President said.

Cheney Says White House Ducks Responsibility for Torture

Former Vice President Dick Cheney said today that the Department of Justice decision to review detainee interrogation practices by CIA workers and contractors was “a political move.” He said that President Obama was trying to “duck the responsibility” by saying the choice was the attorney general’s.

On “Fox News Sunday,” Cheney called Attorney General Eric H. Holder’s decision to name a federal prosecutor to examine abuse of prisoners “clearly a political move. I mean, there’s no other rationale for why they’re doing this.” The review would create “an outrageous precedent” for the Justice Department under Mr. Obama to take an “intensely partisan, politicized look back at the prior administration,” Cheney said.

Glenn Beck and his Childrens Crusade

Glenn Beck failed to deliver on the promise he theatrically made on Thursday’s “Glenn Beck Show,” wherein he said he would share with the world his plan to ‘save the republic.’ He said: “I’m tired of being a sheep. I am tired of being a victim. I am tired of being pushed around. Well, you know what? The gloves come off tomorrow. I will give you a plan. … The way you can save your republic.”

With bated breath, millions tuned in to get ‘the word,’ and instead got a lesson in how to cope with name-calling. That’s right. Glenn Beck left his plutocracy–loving revolutionaries in a lurch. Resorting to name-calling himself, Beck instead tried again to link the Obama Administration to Maoists, socialists and Marxists, because calling President Obama a racist and comparing his administration to the German Nazi Party wasn’t inflammatory enough.

Glenn Beck chided the White House for not responding to his name-calling. But why should an administration democratically elected by a majority of the people, without Supreme Court intervention or the use of terror alerts, respond to the inane utterances of a virtual heckler?

Glenn Beck, wanting to be taken seriously, rhetorically asked: “Have you seen the ratings?” Indeed, his ratings have skyrocketed. But his ratings grab is undoubtedly the product of liberals tuning in to watch Beck’s ‘dime-store’ act implode, as it did Friday when he backed away from his ‘plan’ to overthrow what he called the “I don’t know if we’re turning into an oligarchy or what we’re turning into, but unless you ask why, we’re gonna transform into something” oligarchy.

Well, if the Bush, Cheney, Blackwater triumvirate wasn’t an oligarchy, perhaps Beck should define “oligarhy” for us.

Glenn Beck, who seems to court racists, militia, and domestic terrorists through his 9-12 Project and teaparty participation, claimed in Friday’s show that his plutocratic junta does not involve “militia groups or guns.” He said: “You know who will save this country? Alcoholics and drug addicts.” So, he’s going to overthrow an oligarchy, not with guns and bullets, but with booze and pills? Does he mean to brainwash folks into following him, or does he intend to help pump drugs into urban areas to neutralize entire communities?

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