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Candle knocked over during voodoo sex ritual causes apartment fire

2011-03-05T08:17:00.001-08:00

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Candle knocked over during voodoo sex ritual causes apartment fire

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Candle knocked over during voodoo sex ritual causes apartment fire

An elderly Brooklyn, New York woman was found dead yesterday after a fire triggered by a voodoo ceremony caused a blaze in an apartment that left dozens homeless. The details of the ceremony were not clear, but sources say it led to sex.

An unidentified woman hired a Voodoo priest for $300, identified as Nelson (Pepe) Pierre, to perform a mystic ceremony meant to bring her good luck. The woman went to Pierre's apartment, where she ended up in bed surrounded by lit candles which were mistakenly knocked over, setting the bedsheets on fire. In an effort to suppress the flames, Pierre splashed water from the bathroom sink on the sheets while his roommate, who was ironing at the time, opened a window for air. However, according to the New York Fire Department, wind gusting through the open window created a "blowtorch effect" which caused the fire to spread to the 4th floor hallway and into the 5th and 6th floors. The blaze killed one woman, three others were severely injured, and at least 20 firefighters were left with burn wounds.

In an NYFD statement, Fire Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano said, "Time and time again we respond to tragedies that could have been so easily prevented. This fire had so many of those elements ... hopefully others will learn from this tragedy." It took hours for hundreds of firemen from dozens of companies to bring the raging fire under control.

Pierre, a man in his 60s, did not call 911 right away, but attempted to quell the fire using water from the bathroom sink. A source in law enforcement said, "Nobody sees a crime right now. It was an accident. Maybe they weren't careful, but they did try to put it out."

Mary Feagin, a 64-year old retired teacher, died in the blaze.

The New York Police Department is currently investigating the incident.

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Stampede in Budapest club kills three

2011-01-22T10:23:00.000-08:00

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Stampede in Budapest club kills three

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Stampede in Budapest club kills three

A stampede at Budapest nightclub leaves three dead. According to police reports the three young women were caught in the crowd of thousands of visitors after a mass panic broke out. The cause of the panic is not yet known, but officials have ruled out the earlier report that the victims were stabbed in a knife fight.

The first calls arrived to the ambulance at 11:23 pm January 16, 2011, reporting three women unconscious. According to eyewitnesses the women were carried out in hand by security guards. After they had no circulation, nor respiration the ambulance failed to reanimate them, after around 30 minutes of trials they were decleared dead. Earlier reports about the women having been stabbed were denied by officials for no proof of stabs were found on the bodies. A later suggestion that the victims were trambled to death was also ruled out by the final results of the official autopsy which said they suffocated from the pressure of the crowd.

Witnesses said that the club had been overcrowded. Later investigations revealed that there were 2,888 people inside the building with thousends waiting for entry in front of it, however the club only had a licence to host a maximum number of 300 visitors until 10 am. The time limit apparently was exceeded at the time of the incident. Police were also looking into reports whether the place had enough emergency exits.

The building, originally an old communist shopping centre, was evacuated after the incident and sealed off for further investigations. The evacuated had to wait.

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Wikipedia celebrates ten years online

2011-01-20T09:49:00.000-08:00

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Wikipedia celebrates ten years online

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Wikipedia celebrates ten years online

The free encyclopedia that anyone can edit Wikipedia has celebrated ten years since its launch on January 15, 2001. To mark the occasion, a subdomain website Wikipedia 10 has been created to host 472 events trough the world.

Jimmy Wales thanks the 400 million unique visitors connected each month to the website hosting 17 millions of articles in 257 active language versions. He told BBC News the site needed to improve its interface to attract a new generation of contributors, including more women and older people.

The english version of Wikipedia contains over three and a half million content pages, with more than 22 million pages on the wiki and in excess of 438 million total edits being performed since its founding. On it, there are approximately 13.7 million registered users; roughly 125,000 of them have performed an action on the site within the last thirty days.

At present, Wikipedia has an Alexa Traffic Rank of eight and is given funding by members of the public who donate to it.

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Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs on medical leave

2011-01-19T12:23:00.000-08:00

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Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs on medical leave

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Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs on medical leave

Steve Jobs, the chief executive officer of Apple Inc., announced Monday in an internal memo that he would be on medical leave for an undetermined period of time. The statement caused a sharp decrease of Apple share prices in foreign markets, while US markets were closed in honor of Martin Luther King.

Monday's email announcement marked the third time in the past decade that Jobs, aged 55, has taken medical leave. He fought pancreatic cancer in 2004 and took six months off in early 2009, later revealing he had undergone a liver transplant. Jobs has not yet mentioned what prompted his decision this time around, but said he will still be the company's CEO. He left current chief operating officer Timothy D. Cook in charge of day-to-day operations, the same move made in Jobs' last two absences.

While no additional comment has been officially made by Apple, The New York Times reported that someone familiar with the situation said Jobs's health has "ups and downs" due to problems with his immune system, problems frequently experienced by those who have had liver transplants. The insider, who asked to remain anonymous, said that, over the past few weeks, Jobs' health appeared to be deteriorating and that he was becoming thinner. Lewis W. Teperman, a doctor at New York University, said, "It’s very common for transplant patients to have issues that are not life-threatening."

On its website, Apple released the text of Jobs' email, which reads:

Team,

At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple's day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011.

I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.

Steve

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Fifteen flu sufferers die in Wales in one week

2011-01-18T12:09:00.000-08:00

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Fifteen flu sufferers die in Wales in one week

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Fifteen flu sufferers die in Wales in one week

Over the course of the last week, Fifteen People who have suffered from influenza have died in Wales, as reported to the Welsh Assembly Government. The total amount of people who have suffered flu-related deaths in Wales since October 2010 has now increased to 27.

On Tuesday, 49 people were being treated in serious care beds in hospitals around Wales, according to health officials. With twelve reported admissions, Aneurin Bevan Local Health Board had the highest amount of essential care patients in Wales. Betsi Cadwaladr University Local Health Board has the second highest total number of patients experiencing this critical care in the country, with eleven being cared for. Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board have nine important care admissions each. Cwm Taf NHS Trust contains five of such patients, while Hywel Dda NHS Trust has three.

The age group of 25-34 years old had the largest amount of meetings with general practitioners; the rate of consultation was 147 people for every 100,000. For all age groups, 93 people out of every one hundred thousand have been consulting with a GP; on January 5, the total figure stood at 85 meetings per 100,000.

"Despite the slight increase in the clinical consultation rate for influenza this week compared to the previous week, the rate of consultations for flu-like illness in Wales still remains within the levels of normal seasonal flu activity," said Dr. Tony Jowell, the Chief Medical Officer of Wales. "Most healthy people will recover from flu-like illnesses within five to seven days with plenty of rest and drinking non-alcoholic fluids. On the issue of vaccination against seasonal flu, whilst we have been working to make stocks of the vaccine that was developed against swine flu available to be used where supplies of seasonal flu vaccine have run low, we are now well into the flu season."

According to Media Wales, 13 patients experiencing flu-related symptoms were getting treatment at Withybush General Hospital in Haverfordwest on Tuesday. Meanwhile, five were receiving hospital treatment at Bronglais General Hospital in Aberystwyth. Also, Carmarthenshire NHS Trust in Llanelli and West Wales General Hospital in Carmarthen both had a solitary patient.

Jowell also commented: "People in at-risk groups are at a higher risk of complications from seasonal flu, and the best protection is early vaccination. A press and publicity campaign has been running since October and has included television, radio and bus adverts to let people know if they are in an at-risk group, and that the vaccine is available free of charge to those groups from GPs. We have also encouraged health boards and GPs to ensure that their patients and front line NHS staff are vaccinated against seasonal flu."

Throughout the United Kingdom, 62 individuals reportedly died in the last week, as the result of suffering from influenza. The majority of these victims were suffering from swine flu. In most of these cases, the sufferers were aged between 15 and 64. However, nine of the fatalities were of children aged below fourteen.

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Burma introduces military draft

2011-01-17T08:53:00.000-08:00

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Burma introduces military draft

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Burma introduces military draft

According to an official document, the Burmese junta has passed a law dated November 4, 2010, requiring able-bodied persons over the age of 18 to register with local authorities. Furthermore, the law requires all men between the ages 18 and 45 as well as all women between 18 to 35 to join the army if they are called upon. Those who fail to report for military service could be imprisoned for three years, and face fines. Those who deliberately inflict injury upon themselves to avoid conscription could be imprisoned for up to five years, as well as fines. Civil servants, students, those serving prison terms, and those caring for an elderly parent are currently excluded from the draft, but they could be later called to serve. Totally exempt are members of religious orders, disabled persons, and married or divorced women with children.

The Democratic Voice of Burma claims that the law was passed just before the new parliament convened in order to avoid scrutiny of the practice by the new parliament. However, laws surrounding forcible conscription are murky and it is unclear how tightly the new law would be enforced.

The new law has faced stiff criticism by Burmese around the world. Aung Kyaw Zaw, a military analyst on the China-Burma border, said that there are pros and cons to the new law. "From the bad side, our country is already in deep poverty and the people barely have anything to eat. So [adopting such a law] may cause bigger negative effects on the country, which is already…struggling to feed the current army and carry the burden of military expenses."

"On the plus side, civilians will learn how to use guns and be given a chance to understand the nature of the military. With the knowledge of how to handle weapons, the people will be able to rise up against the military – in a way they will be trained for the revolution."

Many people see the draft as a threat to ethnic armed groups, who have been long embroiled in guerrilla conflicts with the government.

Burma is a military dictatorship and already has a standing army close to half a million, one of the biggest per capita in the world. Previously, professionals, including doctors, engineers and mechanics, between the ages of 18 and 44, and females between 18 to 33, were required to serve in the military for up to three years. However, the new law extends this to five years in case of a national emergency.

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Mayor declares weather emergency in New York City

2011-01-16T10:43:00.000-08:00

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Mayor declares weather emergency in New York City

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Mayor declares weather emergency in New York City

On Tuesday, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced a weather emergency in New York City, New York. The announcement was issued as a preemptive measure in preparation for an expected 6-12 inches of snow Wednesday, although the Metropolitan Transportation Authority claims to be ready for 14 inches.

Bloomberg explained the meaning of the preemptive announcement by stating: "We recognize that we did not do the job that New Yorkers rightly expect of us in the last storm. We intend to make sure that does not happen again." Despite declaring an emergency, the mayor said the city would not make the decision to close public schools until 5 AM.

The city is looking for people to shovel snow off sidewalks and intersections. The New York City Housing Authority announced on their Twitter page, "Turn a snow day into a payday. The city is looking for snow removal help. Apply now." The linked page offered $12 an hour to shovel snow for the city.

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BBC receives 8,400 complaints over EastEnders cot death story

2011-01-15T04:48:00.000-08:00

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BBC receives 8,400 complaints over EastEnders cot death story

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BBC receives 8,400 complaints over EastEnders cot death story

Some 8,400 complaints have been made to the BBC and 374 complaints have been received by Ofcom, a British media regulator, after soap opera EastEnders broadcasted what BBC News Online described as the "cot death storyline".

The storyline involves character Ronnie Branning – portrayed by Samantha Womack – taking her baby, who experienced sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and exchanging for another living baby, Alfie and Kat Moon's recently born son. The plot has caused the largest number of complaints to be made about the show since it was first broadcast in 1985.

Campaigners attempting to raise awareness of SIDS criticised the plot. Anne Diamond, a television presenter and one of those campaigners, remarked that the exchange of the babies was a "crass twist to an otherwise credible storyline" and said that not "one iota of good in educating a young audience about cot death" had been achieved by it.

Due to the complaints received, the BBC have made the decision to end this storyline earlier than originally scheduled, during the spring of 2011. Bryan Kirkwood, the current executive producer of EastEnders, has disclosed that, at the end of this storyline, the baby, named Tommy, will remeet Kat Moon, his mother.

Kirkwood said that this storyline, like many others in the BBC One programme, approaches "social issues in a powerful and dramatic way". He also explained: "Although we have had complaints we have also had positive responses from people who have been through the experiences we are currently dramatising who feel we've done this and have contacted us to offer their backing.

"Whenever we embark on a story at EastEnders we always leave it open-ended to monitor and listen to audience reaction," he continued. "With this in mind we are going to bring the story to a close on screen in the spring. As the story progresses and Kat is reunited with her child, we hope to explore the impact of the tragic events that have befallen the characters in a way that is powerful, but true to the best public service tradition of the show."

Justine Roberts, the chief executive officer and founder of British community website Mumsnet, created a letter of complaint for Mark Thompson, Director-General of the BBC. "The focus of the complaint is the swapping story line," the letter reads. "Our members are concerned that, as is all too common, a bereaved mother has been portrayed as deranged and unhinged."

In response to the Mumsnet letter, Jana Bennett, director of vision at the BBC, stated that this plot was managed in a manner that was "sensitively handled". She stressed that "[t]he show is absolutely not suggesting that this behaviour is typical of a mother who has suffered such a terrible and tragic loss.

"Taking Kat's baby is the action of a character in great distress due to a series of events that have befallen her in the last 18 months," Bennett explained. "It is the culmination of these that has driven her to this one moment of madness rather than as a direct result of the loss of her baby. The issues of grief caused by the loss of a child and sudden infant death syndrome more generally are sensitively handled. EastEnders has a long history of tackling difficult issues in a way that allows viewers to learn and debate the topic at hand."

On Thursday, Samantha Womack denied that this storyline was the reason for her leaving the programme. She has mentioned that her departure had already been arranged with producers of the programme for a few months.

Before this incident occurred, the record for the highest number of complaints for EastEnders was a storyline in April 2009 that involved Danielle Jones being killed as the result of a car collision. That storyline received in excess of 7,000 complaints.

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Persons from Punta Arenas, Chile on strike after government announcement to increase gas prices

2011-01-14T23:10:00.000-08:00

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Persons from Punta Arenas, Chile on strike after government announcement to increase gas prices

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Persons from Punta Arenas, Chile on strike after government announcement to increase gas prices

Persons from Punta Arenas, Chile, the world's southernmost city and capital of the Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region, remained on strike Wednesday after Chilean President Sebastián Piñera announced the increase of gas prices by 16.8 percent, in that region.

Persons from Punta Arenas and politicians are demanding that Piñera maintain subsidies on natural gas. "We want dialogue, to continue talking in a serious and responsible way about the future of Magallanes," Ena von Baer, the government spokeswoman, said on Wednesday morning.

Piñera's government justifies the increase of the gas price "as a technical decision in response to its declining reserves." Two persons were killed amid the protests in the capital of Magallanes, on Tuesday night.

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Chuck Lorre

2010-05-18T01:27:00.000-07:00

Chuck Lorre Productions

chuck lorre productions

Chuck Lorre (born Charles Michael Levine on October 18, 1952) is a writer, director, producer and composer who has worked on many American sitcoms, including Grace Under Fire, Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory and the Canadian 1980s to 90s show My Secret Identity.

Career

Grace Under Fire

Lorre's first produced show as creator was the popular ABC sitcom Grace Under Fire. It premiered on ABC in 1993, and gained a large viewer base. The show was nominated in 1995 for the Golden Globe Award for Best TV series (Musical or Comedy).

Cybill

Lorre's next project was the sitcom Cybill. The show aired for four seasons on CBS and received critical acclaim, winning an Emmy in 1995: Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy series for co-star Christine Baranski and 2 Golden Globe Awards in 1996: Best TV series (Musical or Comedy) and Best Actress in a TV series (Musical or Comedy).

Two and a Half Men

Two and a Half Men is a seven-season long comedy series. At the time of writing, 150 episodes have been created and have been -- or are going to be -- aired. This program focuses on two brothers, one of whom, "Charlie" (Charlie Sheen), is rich and owns a big house, while the other, "Alan" (Jon Cryer), is having to live in his brother's big Malibu house. Alan also has a son, "Jake" (Angus T. Jones) who comes to visit the brothers on weekends. Seasons 8 and 9 have been confirmed, meaning the show will last until 2012 at least.

The Big Bang Theory

Lorre's most recent show is The Big Bang Theory, which follows two young male academics living next door to an attractive young woman. Each episode usually focuses on the daily lives of the men and two of their friends, with a dose of absurdity from the relationship with their normal neighbor. The show is known for its ability to relate an obscure scientific theory with a common every-day occurrence, while at the same time illustrating the vast differences between the nerds and the girl. The two protagonists, Sheldon and Leonard, are named for the famous actor and television producer Sheldon Leonard.

Show Crossovers

On "The Big Bang Theory", Sheldon, Leonard and Penny are seen watching Oshikuru: Demon Samurai. "Oshikuru" was the show Charlie wrote the theme song for on Two and a Half Men. However, the placement of Big Bang in relation to Two and a Half Men is muddied by the appearance of Charlie Sheen, seemingly as himself, in the Big Bang episode "The Griffin Equivalency".

Also a few of the characters from Roseanne (Lorre helped to write for a few seasons in the early 90's) have appeared throughout the three seasons, Sheldon's mother played Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) on Roseanne and one of the women that Leonard works with, whom he kissed to see if there was a "spark" played Darlene (Sara Gilbert) on Roseanne.

Music

Lorre won the BMI Television Music Awards in 2004, 2005, and 2008 for Two and a Half Men. He also composed the soundtrack to the 1987 television series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Dennis Challen Brown.

Charity

Chuck Lorre has been a long-time contributor to the Venice Family Clinic. In 1999, he established the Dharma/Grace Foundation where he insisted that the foundation directly benefit the people for whom the money was intended.[citation needed] On February 10, 2002, Lorre was honored with the Silver Circle Humanitarian Award.

Acl 2010 Lineup

2010-05-18T01:13:00.000-07:00

Acl 2010 Lineup

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The line up for the 2010 Austin City Limits festival has been revealed. Headlining Friday is Phish, on Saturday Muse will close out the night and on the final day of the festival the Eagles will take the stage.

Other big names include M.I.A., Flaming Lips, the Strokes, Vampire Weekend, Pat Green, Robert Earl Keen, Norah Jones and Austin-favorite Spoon.

Some of the names are not surprises. Earlier this week there were billboards and posters around the city featuring song lyrics.

Three-day passes are sold out. Single-day tickets go on sale for $85 at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The festival is October 8th through the 10th at Zilker Park.

For a complete list of who is playing on what day, check out the ACL website .

Fat Embolism

2010-05-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

What Is a Fat Embolism?

The term “fat embolism” rocked to #1 on Google Trends as the term was used on Fox’s popular television show House during the season finale.

“Yeah, she died from a fat embolism, riding in the ambulance after the amputation. It was unavoidable,” tweeted Saul Nutts. “I don’t even know what that is, but I gotta look it up now.”

“She mostly lived until the end of the episode. Had a fat embolism from the amputation. I can’t believe she would,” tweeted Maria.

What are the causes of a fat embolism?

“Fat emboli can occur whenever there is a chance for fat to enter the circulatory system, such as during surgery or trauma. A common scenario is fatty marrow entering the circulation after a fracture to a large bone such as the femur or pelvis, or after surgery on such a bone,”

Fat emboli can occur whenever there is a chance for fat to enter the circulatory system, such as during surgery or trauma. A common scenario is fatty marrow entering the circulation after a fracture to a large long bone such as the femur or pelvis, or after surgery on such a bone.

It can also occur during childbirth.

Unlike emboli that arise from thrombi (blood clots), fat emboli are small and multiple, and so have widespread effects.

Fat Embolism Syndrome (FES) is distinct from the presence of fat emboli. Symptoms usually occur 1-3 days after the insult, and are predominantly: pulmonary (shortness of breath, hypoxemia), neurological (agitation, delirium, or coma), dermatological (petechial rash), and haematological (anaemia, low platelets). The syndrome manifests more frequently in closed fractures of the pelvis or long bones. The petechial rash, which usually resolves in 5-7 days is said to be pathognomonic of the syndrome; however, it only occurs in 20-50% of cases.

The risk of fat embolism syndrome is thought to be reduced by early immobilization of fractures, especially by early operative correction. There is also some evidence that steroid prophylaxis of high risk patients reduces the incidence. The mortality rate of fat embolism syndrome is approximately 5-15%.

Survivor Winner

2010-05-17T02:46:00.000-07:00

'Survivor: Palau's' Jenn Lyon gets tribute during 'Heroes vs. Villains' finale

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Jennifer Lyon, fourth-place finisher on "Survivor: Palau," passed away of breast cancer at the age of 37 in January 2010. She was given a lovely video montage during the "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" live finale show.

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Lyon's diagnosis of stage three breast cancer came in 2005. She endured a double mastectomy at the time and then started her chemotherapy.

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Austin Carty, a "Survivor: Panama" contestant who dated Lyon in 2007, told US back in January when she passed away that Jenn "was a genuinely selfless, sweet-natured person. She always had a smile. She cared about every person. This has really rocked the 'Survivor' community."

Jenn was an ally of "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" contestant Tom Westman during the Palau season. When the final four vote was split between Jenn and Ian, they went to a fire-building challenge and Ian pulled out the win, leaving Jenn with a 4th-place finish. Jenn's website shows that she has been advocating for breast cancer research since her diagnosis 5 years ago.

Desperate Housewives Season Finale

2010-05-17T02:31:00.000-07:00

Desperate Housewives season finale

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After a season that was undoubtedly rocky a rollercoaster ride through a mix of good and bad storylines the minds behind Desperate Housewives managed to put together a season finale that was rather action-packed and full of drama. Just look at the major storylines: a twist-ending bomb, a baby delivered by a serial killer, and a major move off of Wisteria Lane. Now, my fellow Desperate TV Watchers, that's a season finale.

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But before we get to all that, what I loved most about last night's goodbye to season 6 was the delicious setup it gave to season 7, potentially making the next year one of the series' best. Two huge storylines were put into motion, and they seem like good ones. First, we've got a baby switch coming on the Lane this fall. Specifically, last night, an old nurse at Fairview Memorial, Teresa Pruitt, confessed on her deathbed that there'd been a baby switch on her watch. We weren't given any clues to work with about who it was, besides the news that it's someone on Wistera Lane, natch.

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Now, the Desperate producers could take this storyline in one of two directions. It could concern a switch between a child of the main housewives and someone random or, with the potential to be much juicier, a switch between two children of the main housewives. I was thinking about whose kids are around the same age and sex and wasn't coming up with much. I had the thought, however, that this seemingly random storyline could have something to do with next season's other big storyline — the return of Mary Alice's husband Paul. See, do you all remember their creepy son Zach? Could it be that, maybe, Andrew and Zach were switched at birth? I have a feeling that the baby switch has something to do with Zach or Paul. Actually it must otherwise, it just won't be as interesting.

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But anyway, the second storyline for next season Paul's return should be good. That the producers are dipping back into stories from earlier seasons is a good sign — mostly because those seasons were much better than the last couple. I say, let's bring some of that yesteryear magic back! Paul moving in clarified why Susan and Mike and MJ had to move off of the lane mostly so that Mary Alice's husband would have somewhere to live. Although it's not exactly clear about why, for story purposes, Paul needed Susan and Mike's house specifically. Couldn't the producers have just created a new house on the Lane for him to live in and left Susan and Mike there? I'm betting there's a sick and twisted reason why Paul needed that house, and we'll find out more about that come September. Also, bringing Paul back means that the delightfully nasty Felicia might also make a return appearance. Which: Yes! Love her.

Ronnie James Dio dies

2010-05-17T01:35:00.000-07:00

Ronnie James Dio dies at 67

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Ronnie James Dio who took over as lead singer of Black Sabbath after Ozzy Osbourne left the group died today. He was 67.

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Dio announced last summer he was battling stomach cancer. According to his website, he had been undergoing treatment at a Houston hospital.

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Dio is often credited for popularizing the "devil's horn" hand gesture in metal culture.

Picture Of Ronnie James Dio

His wife Wendy, said on his website, "Today my heart is broken ... Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever."

Episode 201 of South Park

2010-04-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

Episode 201 of South Park

Last week’s episode of South Park left us with several pressing questions: Who is Cartman’s real father? Would the assembly of pissed-off celebrities succeed in kidnapping Muhammad so they could steal his “goo,” which makes him impervious to mockery? Would the gingers get there first? Could anyone find a way to defeat Mecha-Streisand, since Robert Smith was apparently too busy to do a cameo? Why does The A.V. Club continue reviewing this show, when week after week they just don’t get it?

Then, in the last 24 hours a far more pressing question came up: Would South Park continue making relatively light fun of the idea that even making relatively light fun of Muhammad is verboten, especially now that they’ve received death “warnings” from radical Muslims? And wouldn’t you know it, the answer to that question spawned its own question: Did the creators of South Park intentionally bleep out all occurrences of the name “Muhammad” tonight as a way of satirically commenting on the controversy? Or was it Comedy Central’s own fears over stoking the flames even further that caused them to chicken out? And by doing so, did America give in to terrorism?

Unfortunately I don’t have an ironclad answer for you on whether the bleeping was meant to be there all along—though I expect we’ll find out soon enough. On the one hand, yes, it seems like could it have been hastily added after the fact, owing to some combination of wanting to point out how ridiculous the whole thing is while also covering their own asses. (After all, the name “Muhammad” was bandied about freely last week, before anyone brought Theo Van Gogh into this.) On the other, it definitely would appear that the long bleeps covering up the de rigueur “I learned something today” speeches at the end were an extended “fuck you” to censorship, and as such they simply had to have been planned. It seems too crucial to the “message”—that if you let censorship have its way, art loses all its meaning (or something hifalutin like that)—for it to be a late addition, so I’m going to err toward the “it was planned all along” argument, while keeping the idea in reserve that Parker and Stone decided to just be really, really annoying about it once Comedy Central forced their hand. (After all, the network hasn't exactly been smiles and sunshine about this before.)

But whatever the reasoning, it’s sure to become one of, if not the most talked-about episode of South Park ever by this time tomorrow—which is sort of funny, considering it was once again less of a cohesive episode than a grab bag of balls-out crazy scenes and cameos only loyal fans would really appreciate. Like I said last week (though I think it was lost under the looming shadow of that “C+”), that’s not necessarily a bad thing. South Park has established an insanely complex backstory and cast of tertiary characters, and there’s a certain thrill in seeing it try and cram as many of those as possible into one place, storytelling logic be damned, just so we can see the return of favorites like Mr. Hankey, Dr. Mephisto, Mr. Slave, Big Gay Al, and Pip (who finally returned from his mysterious three-year absence, only to be crushed to death). But it is funny to think what sort of impression this episode will have on anyone coming to South Park for the first time, just because they read about it in the ensuing press.

Also funny: the welcome surprise of Scott Tenorman’s Killing Joke-inspired revenge on Cartman, where we got the answer to the question Cartman insisted “way more” of us cared about than the Muhammad thing. Actually, finding out that Cartman’s dad was one of the Denver Broncos—who also happened to be Scott Tenorman’s father, whom Cartman had killed and then fed to his half-brother back during what is arguably the show’s finest hour—was a suitably fantastical, completely illogical contrivance that answered a question we didn’t really need answering in the first place, but it certainly fit right in with the rest of the crazy. (Also in that category: Mitch Connor’s Vietnam flashback. That guy has a pretty rich history for a left hand.)

Anyway, I would still prefer watching a regular South Park episode with a single plot to the crazy cartoon cavalcade that was “200” and “201,” but I suppose taking issue with South Park for indulging itself over its milestone would be like getting mad at a toddler for making a mess of his birthday cake. And while I did, in fact, take some issue last week with the show rehashing jokes that were—say it with me—funnier the first time, tonight took all of those rehashes and spun them off into newer, deliberately ridiculous places. Hey, it even found room for a throwaway riff on white liberal guilt in the Obama age, something the show may have built an entire episode around on a week where it didn’t have bigger things to concern itself with. And really, it was worth any number of crammed-in callbacks for the stinger of having Tom Cruise end up on the moon next to Willzyx; that silent shot of a decaying killer whale on the moon just never stops being funny.

But of course, all anyone will want to talk about is the bleeping, and whether it’s worth making such an extreme point about censorship at the expense of some potentially irritated viewers—and boy, there were a lot of them. So I’ll shut up now so we can all do that. First, even though I’m tempted to skip trying to assess a grade, I think I’ll just arbitrarily tack on some points to last week’s for a nice, safe, non-controversial “B,” which is sort of the equivalent of making some big statement about how silly it is that you can’t make fun of Muhammad, while also going out of your way to make sure that no one can ever accuse you of actually making fun of Muhammad. Thematic!

UPDATE: Well, that was fast. Not 15 minutes after I posted this article, South Park Studios replaced its page for "201" with the following message: "We apologize that South Park Studios cannot stream episode 201 at this time. After we delivered the show, and prior to broadcast, Comedy Central placed numerous additional audio bleeps throughout the episode. We do not have network approval to stream our original version of the show. We will bring you a version of 201 as soon as we can." So there you have it, I guess. The bleeps were added after the fact and against the show's wishes—which really makes you wonder what was being said in that last scene. Hopefully we'll have more clarification on this later.

Scott Tenorman

2010-04-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

Scott Tenorman

“Scott Tenorman Must Die” is actually a chapter 69 of the Comedy Central dynamic series South Park. It formerly broadcasted on July 11, 2001. It marks the band Radiohead like guest celebrities.

The short summary of it is as follows:

Cartman obtains people’s hair. However Cartman doesn’t acquire presently any pubes; he purchases a few from one of the elder children at South Park Elementary, Scott Tenorman. Cartman desires to explain the further children that he can be the earliest child in the fourth ranking with this spot of masculinity, until everybody informs him that pubes don’t calculate except he produces his own. Cartman looks for bad revenge on Scott Tenorman when he won’t provide him his wealth back.

If we see at the cultural references of it, we come to know that the episode insecurely goes after the plot of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, in which the supposed character acts the mother of his daughter’s rapists to have her own two sons. The finishing satires the Looney Tunes cartoons, with Cartman expressing “That’s all folks!”

In a survey detained through Comedy Central, this episode graded 8th mainly well-liked of record. In one more poll, it was labeled Cartman’s Greatest Moment.

This chapter is at present one of the highest-rated South Park episodes on IMDb website as well as the website of TV and as well looks on the South Park: The Hits in addition to The Cult of Cartman DVD.

The episode was selected as first, on a five top episodes countdown, on ‘South Park Super Fan Night’.