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EMPIRE 203 Poor Yorick & Cookie Won’t Crumble

The Curvy Girl Diva
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empire 2013 poor yorick recap 2015Every week, Empire gets more and more explosive (and unbelievable) and this week’s episode, it started and ended with a bang.

It opens with the FBI raiding Empire and you immediately just know that it was Cookie. I mean after all, Lucious did make it so that none of the music Lyon Dynasty makes will play on the radio. Just when you think she has exacted sweet revenge, Lyon Dynasty is raided by the FBI too. It is an intense first few minutes of the show. Lucious is sleep in his bed with some hottie as Thirsty bursts into his room letting him know what went down at Empire and that the feds are headed his way too. That’s okay to Luscious; he stays calm, cool and collected. When DA Ford (the badass attorney looking to nail him for Bunkie’s death) comes through his doors with her people (and her girls all out and about), Lucious is standing right there in the nude to greet her. I feel some sexual tension between these two and I won’t be surprised if they end up sleeping together at some point during the show. That’s just my two cents.

People panic back at Empire. Lu finally shows up and gives the pimp pep talk of the year. “Back in my hood, if the police raid your place you’re a G. If the FBI raid your place you’re an OG.” His speech reenergizes the staff, and all doubt of the business going down is out the window. Lucious really should be a motivational speaker.

He later meets with all Lyon family members as they discuss what happened, what it means and how to proceed. There is truly in interested dynamic here because in the real world, when family members break away to form their own whatever, they don’t keep huddling with the enemy. They do their own thing. But here, which further shows the show’s often uneven storyline, they don’t. It is actually somewhat psychotic. But I digress.

Cookie and Lucious have a personal meeting where they talk about the raid and more. Cookie lets him know that Anika told her about his coming for her masters and using Boo Boo Kitty to do so. He says she’s lying, which Cookie knows he’s lying but lets it be for the time.

Jamal and Hakeem also shoot a video, and it is clear that the young Lyon feels a certain way about the attention his brother continues to get. He doesn’t like how Jamal is put on a pedestal and has no issues with showing it. At the video shoot, which is so reminiscent of Dr. Dre. and Tupac’s “California Love” video with a cage dome and everything, things really explode as Lucious and Hakeem have “a moment.” At that moment, daddy tells son the reason he chose Jamal is because Hakeem can’t function without his momma and the middle Lyon can. This prompts Hakeem to put a dagger in a beautifully painted picture of Jamal in front of everyone. They go back to filming the video and break out into a fight, ending said video shoot.

Which Cookie would have been able to stop had she been there, but she was “occupied.” As in arrested occupied. She has a warrant out for her arrest because she jump a turnstile (she is shown a picture of Portia her assistant actually jumping the turnstile, and she supposedly gave Cookie’s name). It is just a way for DA Ford to get her in custody so that she can question and threaten her. Cookie is left alone for a second, and we see a flashback to her prison days. She comes to and then requests to speak to Ford. For a second you think that Cookie is about to be a snitch, bitch, but what she actually does is tell her that Bunkie, who we all know is dead, and Lu fought over something to do with a radio deal. This, I am sure, is a ploy to get them to look into Lu buying Apex Satellite Radio, the deal that somehow prohibits Dynasty from being on the radio.

This episode focuses on Vernon a lot and brings back into focus Andre’s newfound faith. He tells Rhonda that he has to dig up the body so that he can show his father his can handle making tough choices and because it’s the right thing to do. They go to the spot where Vernon is buried only to realize that they may be digging in the wrong place. They are at their wits end after digging several holes looking for the corpse when a car pulls up. They hide in a ditch but are told to “come out” by whomever just arrived. It is Lu and Thirsty (they put a tracking device on Dre’s car). They find the body with a gadget Thirsty has and put it in their trunk. Now, what do you suppose they are going to do with that dead Vernon?

Well, at the end of the episode we find out. DA Ford heads to her car the next morning, and as she gets in, Vernon’s body is right there in the passenger seat. WOW!

There were some “jump the shark moments” in this episode, which kind of makes me feel like the actual “jump the shark” moment is near. But until then, they keep the story going and audiences begging for more.

 

Democratic Debate 2015 Breakdown

The Curvy Girl Diva
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Democratic Debate 2015 Breakdown

democratic debate 2015 breakdownThe first democratic debate of this presidential “season” was one to define the candidates. If you didn’t know who’s who or what each hopeful stands for, after watching the debate, you got a good idea of each candidate’s stance.

Before I get into the meat of my critique, I want to point out the clear and blaring differences between this debate and the last Republican debate. The reason I feel the need to do so is because, in my view, the differences are indicators as to how each party and within that, each candidate, is going about portraying who they are. That, to me, is a central aspect as to how people will think and vote.

Barrack Obama really changed the game when it comes to the way campaigns are run and in how candidates carry themselves. Considering the democratic debate and keeping in mind how the Republican candidates like Trump, Christie and Rubio presented themselves, the Democrats are winning. They were poised, they were serious, and they stuck to what really matters- letting the American people know their agenda. Whereas the Republicans were more concerned with personally jabbing each that relayed to me and I am sure others a cattiness that exists within that party.

The Republicans definitely gave a better show, but I was not impressed with their wit and quick comebacks at each other. Yes, some of those elements were present during the democratic debate, but they were not a central focus that kept creeping its way back into the discussion every other question. It’s not a good look.

Now as for the actual debate, there were some standouts of course. The main two being Sanders and Clinton with O’Malley coming in third and the other two just coming in.

Bernie Sanders, as everyone is saying, won the night, and it’s not just because of the things he had to say. He expresses his views and plans with such fervor and conviction, and he had actual solutions that may sound unfeasible to the others on stage, but that didn’t matter to him because he believes in them. I like Sanders. I like him a lot. He embraces the title of socialist that the other candidates and the media have placed on him, and he actually makes you agree with his reasoning when he explains why he is okay with being considered that. Plus he had the highlight of the night when he told Hilary Clinton, “We are all tired of hearing about your damn emails.”

Speaking of Hilary Clinton, she spent a lot of her time defending herself against everything from her decisions on foreign policy to her leaked emails. Aside from that, she has a seasoned debate style that is very effective and convincing. She is poised and in control of her emotions. She knows what she is talking about and seems to have solutions. It just comes down to whether or not we, the America people, feel hers are the best.

Martin O’Malley has the looks but doesn’t have the presence. And if I’m really honest here, he doesn’t have the track record. I lived in Baltimore for three years and to say that he has a bad rep in that state is the understatement. I mean hell, his lieutenant governor couldn’t even get elected when he ran for governor after O’Malley left office, and it’s because of the laws pass and patterns of government/law enforcement behaviors during O’Malley’s reign that he allowed to flourish. As far as I am concerned, nothing that comes out of his mouth can be trusted, and I feel all the same doom and gloom at the thought of him being president as I do when I think of Trump in that position.

Jim Web was interesting in that we didn’t get to hear a lot from him, as he pointed out, but when he did have a chance to speak, he made sense. He was particularly strong in voicing his agenda and that, to me, was in his favor.

Lincoln Chafee was boring, and I honestly can’t remember much of what he said or how it affected me when I heard it. He did speak more than Webb, but I don’t feel that his time made an impact whereas Webb’s commanding approach the few times he got a word in did.

The democratic debate clearly positioned the forerunners Sanders and Clinton and also gave a glimpse into who might be running mates (O’Malley for Clinton). As reported by numerous outlets, the Republican presidential hopefuls were “put to sleep” watching the debate and bored out of their minds. I guess that’s what happens when you’re used to making a spectacle of everything you do.

EDITOR’S NOTE: We were a little late with this one as Curvy Girl Diva and our team have been investigating and covering Lamar Odom’s tragic unconsciousness at the Love Ranch and his fight to survive.

Love Ranch Accused Of Robbing Lamar Odom: Kardashians Want A $75K Accounting

The Curvy Girl Diva
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Love Ranch Accused Of Robbing Lamar Odom: Kardashians Want A $75K Accounting

love ranch accused of robbing lamar odom 2015 gossipHere we are, barely two days after the devastating find of Lamar Odom unconscious at a brothel in Las Vegas, and more information is being released (both willingly and through our journalistic investigation) that reveals something that I have thought from the beginning – the possibility of foul play.

Now am I saying that Lamar was drugged, or there was a conspiracy in place to “take him out?” Not totally. I do, nonetheless, feel like there were forces and people at play that may have greatly aided in Lamar ultimately being found in the condition in which he was discovered. I also think that the withholding of certain information by the Love Ranch is for their protection. From what? That remains to be seen.

There are so many things being reported right now about Lamar Odom: He confessed to doing crack, he partied all weekend, he was popping nearly 10 herbal Viagra pills at one time, he drank a whole bottle of Cognac, and of course, one of the women that both partied with him and then later found him unconscious is a transsexual porn star courtesan. We may need to shift the focus off him and what he did and focus on the brothel itself. Is it possible that there were some suspicious behavior and things done on their part? I’d say so.

They say they don’t allow drugs on the premises, but the media spokesperson of the Love Ranch spilled to 911 that Lamar admitted to doing cocaine during his stay. They sold the Reload to Lamar, and if you recall, this is a product that the FDA warned consumers to throw away immediately. The Sheriff’s Department wound up seizing all of that product from their display counter.

Recent reports, as cited by TMZ, claim that Lamar’s people and family suspect that he was grossly overcharged by the Love Ranch. They also think that staff members robbed him of all cash he had on him.

According to his bodyguard, Lamar’s personal items were returned to him without any cash, which is odd since he always carried large amounts on him at all times.

Of course, Dennis Hof of the Love Ranch refutes these claims saying that the money Lamar spent was for the services rendered. Hof maintains that the $75,000 Lamar spent was for two women to be with him at all times (24/7). But Khloe Kardashian and his family are not buying it.

madison montage 243 tweetMy question is that since Lamar was left unattended for nine hours, was he also paying for the two women for this period? During this nine our timeframe, Madison Montag was on Twitter promoting her services and stating ‘Let’s party!’.

Hof insists that all of Lamar’s things were returned to bodyguard without anything missing. It is clear that he feels a certain kind of way about everything, especially since, according to the DailyMail, he has reportedly been told by Khloe’s people not to speak to the press, to which he has pretty much said “F off.”

“I got a call from their [Kardashians] publicist today saying, ”Are you going to do any media?” and I said yes I’m going to go on the Nancy Grace show and she said ”please don’t do that, we’d rather have Khloe say what needs to be said’… I told her to go to hell.”

Why is he so hostile? The Love Ranch and its owner are obviously trying to capitalize on this situation. Why else would he feel so strongly about the Kardashian’s asking him not to say anything to the press? I get why they don’t want him speaking to the media. He has already given out information that has caused media outlets, like us, to break stories that call a lot of things into question about Lamar’s lifestyle.

dennis hof love ranch

His comments have led to so much press that Madison Montag has made her social media pages private because as you can imagine, people have a lot to say to and about her once it was revealed she not only found him but is transsexual. It was a smart move too since people were tweeting her questions about Lamar, and at this point, she should be careful with what she says as authorities will be watching all social media.

What’s also interesting is that when we contacted the Love Ranch early Tuesday morning asking about Madison Montag, she was more than happy to let my Editor-in-Chief know that he could get a date with her later that day (she let him know how popular Madison was, and he shouldn’t waste any time setting something up), but Wednesday, the place was closed to new customers. I’m assuming when the news trucks and photogs showed up, they realized they needed to be more cautious.

Hof explained why he’s been so open to the media. “I know what happened,” he said. “I’m the one protecting my business and telling the truth about it.”

People want to accuse the Kardashian clan of trying to capitalize on this situation, and I think that they are genuinely upset and saddened by what has happened to Lamar. But what about Dennis Hof? Is he not trying to spin the spotlight he’s getting into free press and publicity?

As I mentioned before, as this situation continues to unfold, the details will prove to be more suspicious and more complicated as to what really happened. And none of us may be ready to know the truth.

AMERICAN HORROR STORY HOTEL 502: Chutes Ladders Recap

Ricki Reay
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The new season of American Horror Story continued tonight with episode two, “Chutes and Ladders.” After the season premiere dived right into the spooky, gory and intimate aspects of the show, this episode slowed things down a fair bit and allowed us to gain some insight into the various characters. Airing for well over an hour, this episode built a solid foundation for the upcoming season and as Iris puts it, “if you want to know what this place is about, you have to know about the man who built it.”

The episode starts off with Sally, played by Sarah Paulson, who is opening up a sewn up mattress (which was previously showcased). Hidden within it is Gabriel (Max Greenfield), who was seen getting raped in last week’s show by some sort of demon. She leans down and kisses him, advising him that he cannot cheat death and then sews him back up.

Shortly after, Sally hears a scream and follows it, which leads her to Iris (Kathy Bates) who is devouring a victim with two young children. It appears the victim is one of the women from the very beginning of the last episode (obviously the one who didn’t get her throat slit by The Countess, played by Gaga). After the victim is declared dead, she is rolled down the hallway and shoved down the hotel’s laundry chute, landing on a pile of other dead bodies.

The next scene shows Iris delivering a decanter of children’s blood to The Countess. Iris inquires where her son Donovan is, but The Countess simply shuts the door on her face and proceeds to share her “drink” with him. After The Countess decides she wants to go out and hunt for more victims, she is shown decked out in a glamorous red dress and sparkly silver gloves – definitely a Gaga moment.

Later, it is revealed that Detective Lowe’s (Wes Bentley) wife is a doctor and is seen treating a boy who has the measles. She shows concern when his mother claims his illness is “nothing serious.” Here, Lowe’s wife expresses the pain she is feeling due to her own son still being missing.

Meanwhile, Detective Lowe is staying at the hotel. He wakes up and notices something in his room that appears to be a camera. He suffers from a range of hallucinations (or at least they seem to be) including visioning the demon that raped Gabriel, and a dead couple having sex in his shower. After taking a sip of water to try and snap out of it, Lowe sees his son Holden running down the hallway. He chases him to the lobby but then loses him by the time he gets there.

Lowe winds up sitting at the hotel bar and starts conversing with Sally. The two get deep into conversation and Detective Lowe ends up telling her about the day he lost his son.

american horror story hotel 205 chutes lady gaga imagesThe next day, Detective Lowe is back at his office when he receives a suspicious package. Right away, he gets the whole building evacuated. However it turns out to be an awards statue. Nonetheless, he decides to get it tested for DNA.

The next scene introduces supermodel Naomi Campbell as a stylish employee from Vogue. She greets Will Drake (who is planning to purchase the hotel) and shows him the fashion show set-up that is underway at the hotel. During the runway show, we get another Gaga moment as she is seen in a floor-length white gown with an extravagant headpiece.

Meanwhile, Detective Lowe’s daughter Scarlett gets introduced to Drake’s son. They end up exploring the hotel together. Drake’s son shows Scarlett a room of glass cases with blonde children inside. He knocks on the glass claiming “nothing wakes them up,” however as he does Holden’s (Scarlett’s lost brother) eyes beam open.

Following the fashion show, model Duffy (Finn Wittrock) tries to track down The Countess. However, he runs into her partner Donovan as he breaks into their shared room. Donovan attempts to kill Duffy, as he didn’t like the connection he saw between him and The Countess during the show. Fortunately, Duffy is able to escape and breaks into another room in the hotel where he runs into Mr. March (Evan Peters), the original owner of the hotel.

Next, Scarlett is seen returning to the room of glass coffins, where her brother Holden was. Although the case is now empty, she winds up finding him in the games room. Right away, she notes that Holden has not aged at all since he disappeared. Then, she shows Holden a picture of her parents and explains how excited they will be that she found him. However, when she goes to take a picture of him he bites her. Unsurprisingly, this causes Scarlett to flee.

Afterwards, she is seen walking down a street at night filled with police. She walks into her home to find her parents frantic, as they have been searching for her for hours. Scarlett tells her father, Detective Lowe that she saw Holden at the hotel. However, he yells at her in disbelief.

Towards the end of the episode, we see Duffy and The Countess getting intimate, including an erotic love scene in the bathtub. At this point, it is clear that The Countess has converted Duffy, and he is now immortal. She advises him to stay out of the sunlight and never to fall in love.

At the end of the episode, Detective Lowe comes back to the hotel and arrests Iris. However, Iris convinces him to let her go, and she will tell him all he wants to know. Iris goes on to explain the origins of the hotel and how Mr. March designed it to be the perfect place for torture (including the chutes that were ideal for disposing bodies).

In a flashback, it is revealed that Mr. March’s wife turned him in for killing countless people in the hotel. Unfortunately, before the police arrived Mr. March shot her and then slashed his throat.

Afterwards, Iris tells Lowe that room 64, where he is staying, is where Mr. March’s office once was.

The episode concludes with Detective Lowe finding out that there were traces of blood on the award he was sent that match the blood found at the crime scenes he has been investigating. He ends up researching Mr. March and determines that someone is carrying out the Ten Commandments in their killing spree.

You can catch the next episode of American Horror Story on Wednesday, October 21 on FX.

CNN’s Lamar Odom Confusion: Guess they look alike to them

Shanka Cheryl
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CNN’s Lamar Odom Confusion: Guess they look alike to them

cnn lamar odom confusion 2015 imagesCNN might want to have their photo editor and producers recheck their work as they seemed to have thought Lamar Odom looked an awful lot like LaMarcus Aldridge. They ran a story today talking about Odom condition at the hospital, and a picture of Aldridge slipped into the mix.

The newscasters were busy talking, and, of course, they assume that the producers would have the right pictures in place.

Of course, social media went on fire blasting the cable network for their goof with many stating: “After all these years, people still think we all look alike.”

We know that mishaps happen from time to time, but you can be sure this wouldn’t have happened if it was a story on Kylie Jenner or Katie Perry.

Here’s a few tweets blasted out at the cabler.

Here are the two basketball star in action. Can you tell them apart even from this angle?

lamar odom with lamarcus aldridge 2015 images

As we’ve been following this story closely, Lamar Odom’s situation has not improved but has sadly gotten worse. As anyone who’s had a loved one in a coma knows, the longer the person remains unresponsive, especially in this situation, the worse the odds are that they will come out of it. Yes, Khloe believes she felt his hand squeeze hers, but this is something that happens more often than you’d think. I’d like to be more optimistic, but since the doctors have no idea of how much brain damage that he suffered, it’s just not looking good for him. Plus, no one knows how long he was unconscious before being found.

 

Lamar Odom Condition Worsening, Khloe Kardashian May Have A Big Decision To Make

Shanka Cheryl
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Lamar Odom Condition Worsening, Khloe Kardashian May Have A Big Decision To Make

lamar odom condition worsening 2015 celebrity gossip

UPDATE:

10/17/2015

5:15 PM ET:

Just when the odds were nearly all against him, Lamar Odom looks like he’s going to have a full recovery, and having his wife Khloe Kardashian with him through this was definitely a big help. Doctors at the hospital have upgraded his condition as he is now breathing completely on his own without the aid of an oxygen mask or ventilator.

Doctors are keeping him on an oxygen mask though as a way to bring up his oxygen levels for better recovery of his vital organs that were failing earlier this week. His heart is doing very well, and his kidneys have begun to respond also. His two other organs are still not responding so he’s not out of the woods yet, but he’s making some amazing progress on his journey out.

As someone who has gone through this with a family member, this is truly a miracle, and I have to give Khloe Kardashian credit for being there the entire time for Lamar. Just having a loved one (even an estranged one) can make all the difference in someone’s recovery.

10/16/2015

6:02 PM ET: Doctors have realized that Lamar Odom did not go without oxygen which is a rather large factor for his regaining consciousness. The only thing that can be a problem is the series of strokes he had once he was admitted to the hospital. This is more good news so fingers crossed that those strokes didn’t cause brain damage.

3:45 PM ET: Finally, some good news to report! The doctors have been able to get Lamar Odom to breath for a short time off the ventilator with the aid of a breathing mask. They are going back and forth to try and get him onto the breathing mask as a good step down to breathing on his own. With his heart responding, this is definitely a sign of improvement, but his other organs that were failing have shown no recovery yet.

The doctors don’t know if he’s capable of breathing on his own yet, but it gives a slim glimmer of hope that he’s able to use a breathing mask, even for a short period of time. No word yet on brain damage yet, but that’s something that Lamar has to truly regain consciousness to fully understand.

10:00 AM ET: A glimmer of hope for Lamar Odom as this heart function has improved. His heart, kidneys and two other organs were failing, but having one organ respond does give some form of hope. Khloe is the only person allowed in the room with him now as the doctors do not want to be stimulated in any way in hopes of his improving. There hasn’t been any word on how his kidneys or other two organs are faring, but with one organ responding and functioning, there’s a slim chance the others may do as well.

This still doesn’t answer about how well his brain functions will be, but unlike the situation with Bobbi Kristina Brown, Lamar did not lose as much oxygen to the brain as she did. This has given a bit of hope to all.

10/15/2015

7:00 PM ET: The Love Ranch is being questioned about how Lamar Odom wound up spending $75K during his long weekend stay there. His family and the Kardashians are asking for a full accounting which had us pose a few questions of our own. You can check out that article here.

3:00 PM ET: The Kardashian family including, Kim, Kourtney, Kris and Kylie Jenner are leaving Vegas to head back to Los Angeles. They’ve been at the hospital since yesterday, but now have to get back to their life and commitments. Not surprising, Khloe is remaining behind to stay with Lamar as she’s already been making medical decisions, and she may have to make one of the biggest decisions of her life soon.

kardashian family leave hospital of lamar odom 2015Kendall Jenner will be joining Khloe todays as she was in London when this happened.

2:00 PM ET: Kourtney Kardashian sent out this tweet for Lamar Odom:

Other media are now picking up what we said about Lamar’s condition not improving even though it was believed he had squeezed Khloe Kardashian‘s hand.

Rob Kardashian, who’s been mostly reclusive for some time now, put out this Instagram:

https://instagram.com/p/81wl2PJWfL/

Reports are coming in that Lamar Odom is improving after Khloe Kardashian believed he squeezed her hand and fluttered his eyes, but sadly, this doesn’t mean he is improving. Many times, people in a coma or unresponsive state will make involuntary motions which give the family hope, but usually doesn’t mean improvement. We wish that it did mean that as Lamar has had it pretty rough this year.

Our sources have said that the ten-percent chance hospital staffers felt he had of having no significant brain damage has lessened. They are making sure everyone at the hospital knows that since he’s not getting better, his chances of survival are getting smaller with each passing day. The 50/50 chance of survival is only something doctors wish could be true, but they are marking it down as much closer to 25 percent at this point.

His internal organs have not gotten better, and our source said that there have been a few comments about keeping him on the machines, but this is something that “Khloe Kardashian has not mentioned yet as she’s got plenty on her plate already.”

It’s looking like Khloe may be having to make the decision on whether to pull the plug on the machines keeping Lamar alive as they are still married in the eyes of the court. I’m sure that he would rather have her make the choice rather than his fater, and Khloe has always been the more pragmatic one in the family when it comes to tough choices.

Cam Newton Ready for Challenge as Carolina Panthers Travel to Seattle

Chris Maurice
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cam newton ready for challenge 2015 nfl imagesCam Newton isn’t a huge fan of the Seattle Seahawks. The No. 1 overall pick back in 2011 had a ton of success at Auburn, as well as a moderate amount in the NFL, but one team he has never been able to top (0-4 for his career) is Seattle.

“They’re a pretty good team,” said Newton. “They’ve been extremely successful in the postseason these past couple of years, but yet those are old statistics. I’m eager to face them on Sunday. The stats say one thing, but those are old things that I refuse to dwell on.”

That’s right, Newton is calling the back-to-back NFC Champs out. The Seahawks are sitting on a disappointing 2-3 record right now thanks to some assistance from the refs while the Panthers have yet to lose a game this season.

That doesn’t change Newton’s history against the Super Bowl XLVIII Champions. Seattle’s renowned defense has been Superman’s Kryptonite since he stepped into the professional circuit, mainly because they excel at containing running quarterbacks.

Newton’s rushing stats dip away from his career averages when Seattle comes to play, dropping by 1.4 yards per carry. That can definitely affect a read option offensive scheme.

“I think they’re one of the few teams that use it as much as we do,” said Panthers head coach Ron Rivera, noting that Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch also make use of the style quite often. “They’re used to seeing it. It forces us to try to do other things or put a wrinkle in here or there.”

That’s where the difficulty comes in. Wilson has had even more success than Cam using the option, mainly because of his defense, but still.

“A big part of it is they do it; they have a quarterback that’s very good at doing it, so you see it all during training camp when they’re competing against each other.”

Basically, Rivera is saying that the Seahawks’ defense is so used to playing against it at practice that they have no problem stopping it when Carolina comes to town.

But, let’s not ignore two big things: first, Newton is healthy right now, unlike the last time the teams met up. Second, the Panthers are red hot, while the Seahawks are…well, not doing well. They almost lost to the Detroit Lions.

No matter who comes out on top, Sunday will be a statement win. For the Panthers, they can start to show the NFL they’re for real. For the Seahawks, they’re trying to show the league that they haven’t lost it.

Kickoff is at 4:05 ET. Let’s do this.

Car Contagion: Yes they can get malware or hacked

Marius Manuella
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Car Contagion: Yes they can get malware or hacked

car contagion hacks malware problems 2015 techIf Your Car Has a Computer, it could Get Malware or Get Hacked

Anyone remember the good old days when we get computer viruses the old fashioned way? It goes like this. Someone inserts an infected floppy disk, probably a virus-infected operating system or program disk in a drive, the virus loads into memory once the infected program is run and later infects files and executables of clean floppies. Who needs the internet back then to spread malware?  Now the same thing happens on a larger scale. Except today’s newfangled computer-controlled cars are the floppies and the automotive dealership’s computerized diagnostic tools act as the computer.

Someone, malicious or otherwise with a malware-infected car comes into an auto-shop or dealership and gets hooked up to their diagnostic equipment. The malware then gets uploaded to the equipment which, in turn, can spread to uninfected cars. A classic virus infection process. Is it possible? According to Craig Smith, author of the Car Hackers Handbook and founder of open source car hacking group Open Garages, it is.

car contagion malware 2015 tech“Once you compromise the dealership, you have a lot of control…” – Craig Smith.

Control of a lot of vehicles that is. The cars won’t exactly drive by themselves. But a malicious hacker could have potential control of hundreds of vehicles, play God and shut them down or trigger any type of chip-controlled annoyance. Worse if the hacker decides to mess with the brakes during the car’s speed run. Yes, car owners should be very nervous unless they drive the gas-guzzling classics that have no chips on them. Imagine if a car’s GPS system was integrated with another chip-controlled system? An enterprising hacker could shut down the car in the middle of nowhere and demand ransom from the driver just to get it running. Just like that remote-start feature shown in Die Hard 4 only this time, it won’t be 911 in the controls (unless that scene was put there just to emphasize connectivity). A real-world example would be that news where hackers were able to shut down a Chrysler Jeep Cherokee’s brakes resulting in the vehicle running off the road. The very same systems that keep the vehicle safe, secure and comfortable could be used against the owner.

 

Smith demonstrated the possibility at the recent Derbycon hacker conference in Louisville Kentucky using a PC and a very inexpensive tool he crafted that’s used to seek out vulnerabilities of automotive diagnostic systems. The theory is, that if hackers can find the right vulnerability in automotive diagnostic equipment by bombarding it with errors from an infected car, that vulnerability can be used to carry a malware payload that will then be transferred to subsequent vehicles. As more and more equipment and appliance manufacturers think it’s a good idea to add an internet connectivity feature, the more these hacking scenarios get easier. The closest scenario to Craig Smith’s idea was when a team from the University of California and Washington in 2011, tested an auto-dealership attack by hacking into the dealership’s Wi-Fi and later gaining access to the mechanic shop’s diagnostic equipment and gaining access to whatever car was connected to the equipment.

bruce willis justin long diehard movie 2015“…You just get through the Wi-Fi in the dealership’s waiting room, and the attack spreads to the mechanics shop. Any car connected to it, it would be compromised. If the goal is to create mayhem or plant some form of ransomware, then going after the dealership is a fine way to get a lot of cars…”

–Stefan Savage, professor, University of California San Diego

Automotive computers are specialized and not full blown computers that can be loaded with anti-virus or anti-malware programs. But they do have overwritable or updatable firmware, and that firmware can be infected with malicious code. So the best way to avoid the scenarios indicated above, at least for now is to use tools such as what Mr. Smith developed. Tools that check out auto-dealership equipment and the cars themselves. Smith and others like him may have just carved a piece for themselves in the security industry, but that piece goes into the hole the automotive industry created ever since they decided to add chips to cars.

Adding computers to cars created a security hole. That hole just got bigger when those computers became updateable via overwriteable firmware. Made worse when those computers became connected to the internet and can be controlled remotely. Who can blame Mr. Smith for potentially cashing in? But there are others who could do worse, and Mr. Smith and other researchers should be thanked for spreading the awareness of hackable vehicles and creating solutions.

Now that some parties are pushing for driverless, fully automated vehicles, their research becomes all the more important. We have prototypes for driverless cars and maybe someday driverless trucks. It might not be long before some madman actually makes one of Stephen King’s works a reality.

crazy truck 2015

PARANORMAL WITNESS 408: Sacred Ground Recap

Julie Wein
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PARANORMAL WITNESS 408: Sacred Ground Recap

A sacred Indian burial ground is at the center of this episode of “Paranormal Witness,”  when a couple found something rather disturbing in their house. Nelson’s wife Christi had a stroke, and five weeks later she saw their new house in Iowa. They discovered the house had a weird, spooky basement. The couple’s daughter Amber had two stuffed animal bunnies joined in a kiss, in her room, and suddenly she found them broken. Christi was using a CPAP machine overnight to avoid having another stroke. Nelson said he smelled something weird in their house, and the scent was familiar. He found a door in the house that was open for no reason. Nelson then realized he was smelling tobacco. He shut the basement door to block out the smell. It opened on its own again.

Christi saw someone looking out of the blinds in Amber’s bedroom while she was home alone. She went to Amber’s room and got hit with a wall of cold air, but there was nothing there and no one in the room. She saw an indentation of two fingers on the blinds in Amber’s bedroom window.

Amber said in this house she woke up every night at 2:45 A.M. Amber thought her brother Matt was playing a trick on her. A few minutes later Amber took her pillow and blankets and went to her parents room downstairs. The she heard a little boy giggling in the house. Amber ran to wake up her parents and told them she heard someone that wasn’t there. Amber said she heard a voice whispering in her ear to get out. A few nights later Christi was in the bathtub when her bathtub attacked her with dirty, muddy water. The bathroom door was locked, and Nelson couldn’t get in. Amber got a dance game for her birthday and was playing it one night when she saw a little boy in the house. She said he had dark hair and looked Native American. She told her parents about seeing the boy, and they didn’t believe her, which made her very upset.

One night Christi had her CPAP mask on but could not breathe. Nelson once again went to inspect what was making noise, and he found Christi gasping for air because her CPAP machine had been shut off. Christi was groggy but got up for water. She heard chanting and then saw something standing in her dining room. Christi told Nelson there was something in the house, and he told her she was wrong and to calm down. She said if they walked away from their house they would be ruined financially. Nelson told Christi to take Amber and visit Christi’s parents.

Matt went in the backyard to play and went to retrieve a lost arrow. He heard weird noises that made the hair on the back of his neck go up. He heard scratching noises and said he knew something was hunting him. Armed with his bow and arrow Matt went looking for a predator on their property. He opened the garage door and went inside to hide.

That night at 2:45 A.M. Nelson said he saw a dark mask in the house and assumed it was Matt. When he didn’t answer, Nelson got up with his pistol in his hand. Matt went in the basement looking for hunting gear. He felt like he was being followed just as he had when he was outside playing. Matt saw something in the basement and tried to leave, but the door was locked. He banged on the door until Nelson answered it.

Amber and Christi came home and Nelson said Amber looked happy. Nelson told Christi she looked much better than she had when she left. Nelson told Christi what had happened in the house while she and Amber were away. Christi researched paranormal activity and realized her home was being terrorized by a paranormal Native American spirit. She went to a Native American store in town and told the clerk she thought her house was haunted, and the woman said she wasn’t surprised to hear that. She found out their house was built on land owned by Native Americans, and that it had been done against their will. Christi bought Sage and was told to take it home, lit it, put it in each corner of the yard and told the spirit that her family wouldn’t be afraid of it anymore. The family joined hands and burned the Sage. On Christmas Eve, the family lit their tree and decorated it. That night at 2:45 A.M.Christi woke up in a panic but realized her CPAP machine was normally working. On Christmas Day, Amber came into the living room and saw an empty, unlit Christmas tree. The tree then collapsed, and that was when the family finally decided to move out.

LAW & ORDER 1705: Community Policing Recap

Julie Wein
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LAW & ORDER 1705: Community Policing Recap

law order svu community policing 2015 imagesIt’s all about Community Policing on this episode of “Law & Order: SVU,” Benson and Finn arrived at a house to investigate a case. The injured woman, Cynthia said the man who raped her took her 12-year-old daughter. The police investigated the building where the crime was committed and found the 12-year-old, Sophie, in a washing machine.

Cynthia’s husband, who was in the apartment at the time, told Finn that he got pistol whipped and then the man who did it raped Cynthia. She told Benson and Sonny she should have screamed in terror, but she kept her mouth shut. Finn and the team went looking for someone who could identify Cynthia’s rapist. Rollins got a hit on the rapist’s bank card, and a local convenience store worker said the rapist had just robbed his store.

The cops chased the man and heard gunshots. They caught up to him, shot him and searched him for his gun. They couldn’t find his gun at the scene even though they heard him shooting it. Sonny went into the guy’s house to look around and told the guy’s roommate he needed permission to search the house. He got permission and the man’s roommate said he had no idea what had happened to him.

The man’s parents arrived and were told their son Terrance had been running from the police. Benson told the parents that Terrance had just passed away. Benson brought Cynthia into the station, showed her a picture of Terrance and asked if he was her rapist, but she said she had never seen him. The officer that shot Terrance was questioned by officials.

Benson said Terrance was not the man who raped Cynthia, and they had killed an innocent man. Benson and the DA watched a news report attacking the NYPD for killing an innocent person. Terrance’s parents showed up at the DA’s office, and apologies were made for killing their son in error.

Rollins went to a bar to meet a male policeman friend, and his female companion got angry and left. He tried to talk about Terrance’s death, but Rollins told him not to talk about that in public. Deckland approached Rollins on the street and asked her if her baby was his. She confessed that she knew, but she didn’t want to tell him because she knew he didn’t have time to worry about it since he works on the federal level of law enforcement. Deckland gave Rollins his number and told her to call him anytime.

On the news, footage was shown of Terrance running from the police before they shot and killed him. The DA said that didn’t change anything, but Benson disagreed. She defended the cops that chased Terrance down and killed him.

In court, Finn testified that Terrance looked a lot like the rapist they were looking for. Sonny said they had no way of knowing they were in pursuit of the wrong man. Terrance’s father testified that his son did nothing wrong and was just trying to go home. Benson said all police procedures were followed, and the DA asked her if the cops could have waited before they fired shots. She said that procedures were properly followed, and they did nothing wrong. The cops testified that they all thought their lives were in danger when they shot at Terrance. One cop testified that if they had waited even one more minute they wouldn’t have shot Terrance.

After court, Benson stormed into her office. The next day the jury took a vote on charges against the cops. One juror wanted to know if the cops could be charged with murder.

SURVIVOR SECOND CHANCE 3104 Recap: What Beef?

Julie Wein
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SURVIVOR SECOND CHANCE 3104 Recap: What Beef?

survivor second chance 3104 beef images 2015The new tribe gets put to the test on this episode of “Survivor,” the Angkor tribe went to camp, and Jeff said he was loyal to Abi and he had to kiss the butts of his other tribe members. Abi said she was uncomfortable with what had happened, but she wouldn’t talk about it. She said she new Woo voted for her twice and if it were up to her he would go home next.

Jeremy talked about how he found the hidden immunity idol. He told Steven to look for it because he didn’t want Steven to know he already had it. He said they could be friends for life after this. Andrew said last time he played Survivor he had an abundance of seafood but that wasn’t the case this time. Woo said he was starting to feel like he was withering away.

For this week’s reward challenge, they had to race into the water, get a bag, bring it back and launch it into a net. The winners would get a barbecue set complete with sausages. Each tribe had to choose one member to run the whole challenge. Savage, Jeremy and Deets were the ones chosen to run. Savage won the challenge for Angkor. The Ta Keo tribe won the second award, a smaller version of the barbecue set. Andrew said he was vindicated now.

Kass said everyone thought she was going to be difficult this season, and she took that to heart and decided to act sincere. Kelley said she didn’t trust Kass and that Kass is sneaky enough to make a fake immunity idol. Kelley then found out Kass had made her a late birthday present instead. Kass said she didn’t have the skills to make an immunity idol.

Spencer said he knew he was in trouble. Monica said she didn’t think Spencer was being honest in this game because he is sneaky. She said once a challenge is lost; Spencer needs to be the one to go home.

This week’s immunity challenge involved each tribe collecting puzzle pieces, blindfolded. The first two tribes that get all the pieces and put the puzzle together correctly win immunity for the week. Jeff, Kim and Kass directed their blinded tribe members to the locations of each puzzle piece. Ta Keo won immunity, as did Bankor. The Angkor tribe was told they were going to Tribal Council.

Andrew said his tribe had hit rock bottom with this immunity challenge. Tasha said Abi was unpredictable. Andrew and Tasha discussed that Jeff needed to go home. Jeff said he thought he or Woo was going home tonight. He said the one thing that might keep him in the game is never having targeted Abi. Abi said Woo stabbed her in the back even though he said he wanted to work with her. Woo said he was trying to rekindle his relationship with Abi. Tasha said Woo should stay because he could help them win challenges, but Abi insisted she wanted him gone. Abi said she had a huge decision to make tonight, and she hated having to make it.

At Tribal Council Woo said he and Varner felt like they were on the bottom. Abi said she had been reflecting on who to vote off because Varner had helped her in the game, but Woo was winning challenges. Woo said he was the pivotal player that would stay loyal. Tasha said they needed Woo on their tribe to keep winning. Jeff Probst said nobody on the tribe wanted to give up. Woo promised Abi he would stay loyal to her and asked her not to vote him out.

After the votes were cast and counted Jeff Probst announced that Jeff was being voted off this week. Jeff hugged and kissed Abi before he left. Woo thanked Abi for not voting him out.

T.I. Not Up For Woman President & Claudia Jordan Rips That Smiley Rickey

The Curvy Girl Diva
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T.I. Not Up For Woman President & Claudia Jordan Rips That Smiley Rickey

It’s hump day people, and I hope you are enjoying every single bit of it. It has truly been a crazy busy day in the gossip world as we’ve been covering Lamar Odom’s sad situation non-stop. T.I. doesn’t feel a woman should be president since we’re so ‘sensitive’, Claudia Jordan tears Rickey Smiley a new one on Twitter and Suge Knight gets a trial partner with Kat Williams.

ti thinks woman as president not good 2015 gossipT.I Doesn’t Think A Woman Can Be President?

If you are a woman who has dreams of ever being in a place of authority, go ahead and throw them out the window now because according to rapper T.I, women are too emotional to be president.

“Not to be sexist, I can’t vote for the leader of the free world to be a woman… Just because every other position that exists, I think a woman could do well. But the president, it’s kind of like, I just know that women make rash decisions emotionally — they make very permanent, cemented decisions — and then later, it’s kind of like it didn’t happen or they didn’t mean for it to happen.”

Um T.I maybe the women you have been dealing with do that kind of shit, but not every woman is a groupie trying to get on (or an Australian rapper hated by all). His comments are both sexist, despite his disclaimer of not being sexist, and ignorant. Does he really think a woman would send us to war before a male president? Get real T.I.P.

“And I sure would hate to set off a nuke…You ain’t gonna be able to negotiate the right kind of foreign policy. The world ain’t ready yet.”

I, LITERALLY, have no words. What he said is offensive and ill-informed and honestly, how a lot of men feel about a woman being President. I mean saying that the freaking Lock Ness monster has a better chance of being elected before a woman? What are you ten years old that you reference a mythical creature in your everyday conversations on a radio broadcast?

Ugh… T.I don’t you have a charge or something to fight?

claudia jordan rips into rickey smiley 2015 gossipClaudia Jordan Rips Former Boss Rickey Smiley on Twitter

Just when you thought the comments about Claudia Jordan parting from the Ricky Smiley Morning show amicably were true, she goes on a Twitter rant about her former boss that proves the very opposite.

As the story goes, the former Real Housewives of Atlanta star, model, radio personality and a host of other things, feels a certain kind of way about comments Smiley allegedly made about her.

“It’s amazing how these so called religious, successful & grown men that claim to be walking in the light can’t wait to gossip about ME… Y can’t folks just part ways professionally w/out going the bitch route? Some partnerships just ain’t meant 2 B-doesn’t mean u gotta B enemies… Say one thing publicly & lie/hate privately. YOU DO NOT want folks that know YOUR truth to do the same to YOU But it’s coming, sir.”

Yo, I know how it feels when stuff goes on behind closed doors and you’re so fed up that all you can do is write cryptic (but not cryptic) social media posts about a person. With that, I know that he had to be something that Claudia just could not take any more of and thus felt the need to “go there.”

She further says in her post that whatever is going to be revealed will not be coming from her and that “the streets are talking.”

Well damn Claudia, tell us how you really feel.

suge knight and kat williams stand trial 2015 gossipSuge Knight and Kat Williams to Stand Trial for Robbery

As if his current murder trial isn’t enough, Suge Knight now has to deal with standing trial for a robbery that also involved his friend Kat Williams.

The two have been ordered to appear in court for a robbery that took place in Los Angeles last year in which a female photographer claims to have been assaulted and her camera stolen by Knight and Williams.

As they story goes, they took the freelance paparazzi photographer’s camera and chased her down outside a Beverly Hills studio. When the police arrived, she told them that Knight and Williams, who were gone by the time authorities showed up, grabbed her equipment and fled.

Because Knight has a previous “assault with a deadly weapon” conviction, he runs the risk, if found guilty, of facing up to 30 years to life in prison. Williams could face a maximum sentence of seven years.

They have, of course, plead not guilty to all charges.

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