Certified Blogaholic

While it has become apparent the past years that the quality of Hollywood movies has been going downhill, it seems that the contrary is happening to television. For the past couple of years, we have seen quality television shows, some even featuring renowned movie celebrities. Aside from quality, the genre has likewise evolved into more daring concepts previously seen only in movies. Now, we see several TV series with interesting stories and twists complemented by outstanding special effects. TV producers now realize that giving its viewers the best that entertainment can offer may prove to be more profitable than making movies.

Can we credit “Lost” to this evolution in tv programming?  Maybe.  Nevertheless, we now find ourselves glued to our seats at home while we watch the newest the TV broadcasting can offer.  After the success of the Golden Globe nominated American Horror Story recently with Jessica Lange and Dylan McDermott, the highly anticipated The River is up to prove itself next week.  Produced by Steven Spielberg, The River is directed by no less than Oren Peli of Paranormal Activity and Insidious.  As expected, it will feature found footage camera work made popular by The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, and of course, Paranormal Activity.  While more traditional TV viewers may find the found footage style annoying, it does have fans now eagerly awaiting the pilot episode. Read the rest of this entry »

Novak Djokovic finally gets his first title at the US Open  by defeating Spanish former topseed, Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Rafa was completely dominated and outplayed and Novak now has a formidable 6-0 winning streak against Nadal in the final this 2011. Incidentally, Novak has also won 3 out of the 4 Grand Slam tennis this year.

From where Certified Blogaholic is standing, this confirms our earlier prediction that we are seeing a new rivalry in the tennis world.  The Nadal-Djokovic neck and neck battle will continue and we look forward to the next competition between these lads at the Australian Open as well as in the British Open. 

Here’s the second trailer for the new film by Taylor Lautner, “Rapture” which opens on 23 September

Lionsgate announced this week that “Kidnapping” will be released soon on VOD (Video on Demand). The film will be released three months later the VOD that hits theaters and will go for a low price of $ 6.99.

Watch the video here:

Follow me on Facebook! • Follow me on Google +

View the original article here

Here’s a new preview video for Vampire Diaries Season 3 that premieres on 15 September.

Stefan evil! Elena sad! Damon shirtless! Caroline Tyler Lookwood straddling shirtless! OMG!

Watch the video here:

Follow me on Facebook! • Follow me on Google +

View the original article here

Wow, this show Jersey Shore is really really really good.

Britney Spears gave Pauly D a lap dance in Montreal.

Access Hollywood:

The “Jersey Shore” Star (born Paul DelVecchio), who recently joined tour “femme fatale” of Brit to DJ for several shows, was treated to a lap dance from introductory pop superstar during his show in Montreal, Canada, on Thursday.

During the “Pizzo & skin” BritBrit show, stopped the rigid reality hair star on stage, a pink boa wrapped around his neck and strutted his stuff while Pauly smiled and bobbed his head to beat.

By Pauly d:

Yup happened that loll … # FemmeFataleTour # DJPaulyDSwagg http://t.co/nyI8E5O

From Britney Spears:

@ DJPaulyD hope you enjoyed your dancing! It was hard getting my legs around that grande bouffe – Britney “

Follow me on Facebook! • Follow me on Google +

View the original article here

As predicted, Lee Dewyze wins the title as American Idol for 2010 garnering more votes than contender Crystal Bowersox. Despite pitch problems, Lee still managed to get the votes from teenyboppers and older women. Apparently, he got most of Casey James’ fans on his side.
Though there are those who believe his talent would be wasted with the win, the AI crown is still no easy feat. This could also be the last credible AI competition being Simon Cowell’s last. Of all AI winners, very few have really made it far. David Cook and Kris Allen’s career seem to be going no where while that of Taylor Hicks is almost non-existent. On the other hand, those who exited early are flourishing in every way possible — Chris Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson are currently at the top of their game. It wont be such a surprise if Casey James’ career soars even higher than both finalists — his duet with Axl Rose tonight was pretty cool.

With Lee taking the title, it appears that America is still as predictable as ever.  In the end, the screaming and giggling prevails and it becomes difficult to hear the music beyond the din.

After a few years of the onslaught of forensic drama on TV from CSI, spin-offs, and copy cats, its refreshing to find a new kind of series on the small screen. Fox released the pilot episode of Glee in May 2009 to whet viewers’ appetite and started the full season in September 2009. Glee is a musical comedy-drama television series set within the fictional William McKinley High School that focused on the school’s choir group or glee club. More than the storyline that revolved around the lives of the students, it’s the music featured on each episode that sets the series apart.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last night on CBS’ 48 Hours Mystery, the show featured the high profile murder case of fitness champs Craig Titus and his wife Kelly Ryan. The show featured the defense attorneys of the couple, Marc Saggese and Mike Cristalli, who discussed the case that brought them to the national spotlight a few year ago.

Read the rest of this entry »

Fans of CSI: Las Vegas will have to savor the remaining episodes of the series with Gil Grissom still on board. CBS confirmed that Willam Petersen will soon be leaving the show and remain only as the series’ executive producer.  However, CBS hints that Grissom may still show up now and then as they insists that viewers haven’t seen the last of him yet.

According to Petersen, leaving Grissom isn’t what bothers him.  As an actor, he believes that it’s time to move on and try other things.  However, saying goodbye to the cast and crew would be the hardest part.  As such, he wants to be a part of the show behind the scenes and stay until the lights turn off.  Petersen’s exit is the latest blow following the departure of Jorja Fox and Gary Dourdan last season.

Producers assure fans that they still have a lot under their sleeve.  Aside from new casts, they also plan to have William Friedkin (The Exorcist) direct the show’s 200th episode this spring.  Whatever’s up their sleeve, I hope it works.  Grissom’s exit may well be the clincher that will spell disaster for the famed series.

As of 11:00 P.M. June 17, 2008, broadcaster Ces Drilon, her cameraman Jimmy Encarnacion and Professor Dinampo, have been freed by their bandit kidnappers in Indanan, Sulu. A few hours after the freed hostages were delivered to Mayor Isnaji’s son, they were flown via a Huey helicopter to a military camp for debriefing. All negotiators, including Senator Loren Legarda, as well as military and police officials vehemently denied payment of the P15 million ransom demanded earlier, but of course, that could also be part of the whole negotiation/agreement, we don’t really know.

How Newscaster Ces Became the News

Drilon was laughing and crying during the initial press conference, visibly happy and relieved despite her wretched appearance. She thanked all the negotiators, her peers in the media and her Kapamilya network for all the help and prayers. She was also very apologetic to her superiors and local military commanders “for being stubborn and failing to follow protocols” and to her family and the families of her crew for subjecting them to this ordeal.

“I’ve been in and out of Mindanao, and I want to understand the situation here. Sa kasamaang palad (Unfortunately), there was some betrayal involved, and we were kidnapped,” she told reporters early Wednesday in Zamboanga City.

She refused to get into the details but simply said, “We’ll get there. We are cooperating with the investigation and we condemn [the kidnappers] for what they did.” Read the rest of this entry »

USA Network’s new original series In Plain Sight premiered last June 1, 2008 showcasing a new storyline based on the responsibilities of agents working under the Witness Protection Program. While most popular TV series at present revolve around various jobs of crime investigators such as CSI or Dexter, In Plain Sight features the dilemma and difficulties of Witness Protection agents who protects the identities of their witnesses and oftentimes their own.

One of the characters in the series is Mary Shannon (played by Mary McCormack) who keeps her job a secret to her mother and sister. Protecting witnesses with targets painted on their foreheads is hardly a job any mother would be proud of. Her job not only entails protecting witnesses from harm, but also playing several parts in the witness’ transition to a new life. More often than not, she plays therapist, best friend, maid of honor, mother, and homicide agent.

A job that places the life of a witness in your hands plus the justice that depends on the witness staying alive is not a job for most. But for Mary Shannon, keeping herself and the witness hidden in plain sight is the name of the game. Would you like to play a game? Find Mary in the blog hidden in plain sight.

Television series are getting better and better each day. After the avalanche of new TV series that came following the success of CSI, USA Network’s new original series In Plain Sight launched its pilot episode on June 1. How is the new series different from the rest? Well, this time, it details the exploits of US Marshals with the Witness Protection Program.

I checked the website and tried to find out more about the new series and find out if it’s something to look forward to when the series catapults itself into cable here in our country. I have been a fan of CSI, Prisonbreak, and Dexter. I wonder if the Witness Protection Program has as much excitement as the CSI. I checked out the characters too and read their bios. I believe I would find Mary Shannon the most interesting character of all. Like her, I prefer to keep details of my job off limits to family. I don’t discuss it with them over dinner or during evening chats. However, Shannon’s character goes a bit further as she is required to keep her job totally undisclosed to family to keep them safe. This is necessary when your job is to keep the identity and location of your witnesses a secret and hot on their heels are criminals trying to shut them up. Read the rest of this entry »

Television will never be the same since the 21st century started. These days, it is quite difficult to find out what people actually watch. With the numerous shows available at the click of a button, it has become difficult to predict what will make people put down that remote and watch a TV show for more than 15 minutes. People living a fast-paced lifestyle where they spend so much more time working than relaxing at home also makes it difficult for shows to sustain viewership when most viewers are unable to regularly watch the show. Once they miss one or two, they rarely watch it again even if they have the time because they know it would be unable to follow the current flow of the show. This goes for most soaps and Reality Shows on television.

Reality TV is the newest hit that has taken the television industry by storm for the past several years. Networks are continually finding new concepts to get people glued to the TV. Everyone wants to know what David Archuleta sang this week or who was kicked out of American Idol. There are others who want to know who the reigning American Gladiator is or who is leading the pack in Survivor. Missing any episode of your favorite soap or reality show is not actually a problem. RealityBug.com provides daily written updates of your favorite daytime soap. Even while you work, you can get updates on the shows daily and still be able to understand what is happening in the episode when you have the time to do watch it yourself. RealityBug.com ensures that it can provide viewers with their reality show needs with news and updates as it happens.

So, don’t hesitate to watch or keep current on daytime soap or reality shows even with a tight working schedule. Check out RealityBug.com and find out all you need to know about your TV show.

The first time I watched an episode of Dexter, I was a bit confused at the initial scenes. My brother was watching the series in DVD and was in the middle of of the first season when I saw it. He had to explain the background before I started to enjoy it. This one was different. And that was the reason I enjoyed watching the episodes while I slowly discerned Dexter’s character. While watching, I was in awe at the genius behind the concept and the writers who knew exactly how to reveal Dexter’s character.

Dexter, played by Michael C. Hall of Six Feet Under, is the story of a man orphaned at age 3 and adopted by a Miami Police Officer named Harry Morgan. Harry saw Dexter’s sociopathic tendencies early on. But instead of giving Dexter professional help, he taught the young man to divert his passion into more constructive activities. You see, Dexter dreams of killing people. Like most sociopathic killers, he feels a sense of satisfaction and pleasure at the thought of killing and the sight of blood. Psychologists equate this pleasure to the same feelings normal people experience towards sex. As such, Harry saw to it that Dexter consummate his passion by murdering those “who deserved it.”

Throughout the first season, Dexter kills heinous criminals and serial killers but likewise finds victims that are less deserving than the others. He murders a young alcoholic responsible for multiple vehicular accidents and a nurse that performs euthanasia. Like most sociopathic killers, he kills without flinching and remorse. It makes you wonder what keeps him on the line. What keeps him on the path that his foster father has taken him? Does he actually believe in the moral principles of right and wrong? Or will he let go of his instincts even at the most superficial excuse?

With his thirst for blood, he grows up to work as a blood spatter analyst at the Miami Police Department. This provides him with the information to find serial killers and criminals — a resource for his continuous drive to kill people. The first season deals mostly with the introduction of Dexter’s character as he pursues the ice truck killer. The ice truck killer murders people and leaves the body parts severed in many pieces without a single drop of blood. He communicates with Dexter, leaving clues and signs, and challenges the young analyst to find him. To avoid suspicion, Dexter maintains a friendly demeanor and nurtures a romantic relationship with Rita (a rape victim and single mother) despite his indifference to feelings and sex. I will not divulge the season ender because I know there are still people who have not completed watching the series. As expected of any protagonist, let as just say that Dexter’s deeds remain hidden but threats now exist that could expose his true calling.

Unlike other stories, there are no clear boundaries that distinguish good and evil when you watch Dexter. The audience remains doubtful of his heroism and yet they continue to admire his strength to suppress his inner demons while cheering him on as he saves the innocent from the monsters in society. And the question lingers. How far can he keep his secret? How long can he continue to resist the hunger to draw blood and watch the fear in his victim’s eyes that gives him pleasure and purpose?

We wait and see with bated breath.

 

I have been on a diet for the third week now.  I know I wasn’t going to make my target for our summer outing last week but I was aiming for next year’s summer outing.  I have a lot of extra fats to lose, so I think one year is the ideal time frame to do it.  Doing it too fast would be detrimental to my health, especially my skin — no stretchmarks please!

It has been frustrating trying to look for a cool swimwear before our summer outing. When I went out with my friends, I saw all these great looking two-piece suits that I knew I would never have the guts to wear at the moment with the extra flab I have gained throughout the years.  Why were these not in fashion when I was only 96 pounds?!  This frustration now makes me determined to work on an ideal weight that would give me the license to wear a two-piece suit next year.  Do you think I will make it?  The funny guy in my life laughs at me when I told him what I was aiming for.  I swore to him I would get the last laugh.  I have lost about 6 pounds since I started.  It’s not bad considering that I am aiming for a gradual decline.  I have to work on a program that would not slow down my metabolism.  That meant still eating enough but with less fat and carbo.  I don’t want to totally get off carbo since that could be disastrous for my skin.  At the moment, my skin is the only thing I am grateful for.  If I lose that together with my weight, I might end up looking 10 years older.  So, it’s slow but steady for me.

Wish me luck.  A year from now, I know I can fit into those skimpy swimwear that sexy ladies are flaunting around.