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PETA Ad Banned On TV

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It’s Superbowl time and all of America knows that one of the best things about this show is the fact that there will be countless commercials shown. I know, that just sounds wrong – don’t we all hate TV ads intruding into our viewing pleasure? We’re not just talking about any other commercial here, though. We’re talking about beefed up ads that are actually interesting and funny.

For PETA, though, this year’s Superbowl is a no go. Although PETA is a friend of controversy, it seems that they might have gone a bit too far this year. At least according to NBC. The PETA ad that was supposed to be shown during the airing of this year’s Superbowl has been banned by NBC due to its overly sexually explicit nature.

What were NBC’s specific complaints about the ad? The Associate Content reports:

PETA promotes a vegetarian lifestyle and this ad depicts attractive, scantily clad models bumping and grinding vegetables, among other sexually suggestive scenes, along with the message that studies show that vegetarians have better sex.

Surely the sexually charged PETA ads wouldn’t mesh well with the Superbowl’s family friendly gridiron action? Many Pittsburgh Steelers fans live in Pennsylvania, which, as anyone who followed the 2008 presidential election knows, is rife with constituents who cling to their religion (and their guns). Seeing sexy models rubbing eggplants, pumpkins and asparagus suggestively on their body may not sit well with the evangelical fans.

Am no prude but somehow, the ad showing sexy models making out with vegetables didn’t entice me at all. Oh yeah, I love vegetables too.

So anyway, if you haven’t seen it yet. Here it is – decide for yourself.


‘Veggie Love’: PETA’s Banned Super Bowl Ad

Slumdog: The Reality TV Show?

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61st annual Directors Guild of America Awards in Beverly Hills, California

Slumdog Millionaire has caught the world by surprise and what a big pleasant surprise it is! This movie did not really seem to catch our interest in the beginning but once people started watching it, it took off like a rocket on jet fuel overdose.

It shouldn’t be much of a surprise then, to hear that some people are looking to cash in on the concept. Take for example the producers of the movie. Rumors have been circulating that they are going to create a reality TV show dubbed Secret Slumdog Millionaire. The name is a juxtaposition of the movie title and a highly successful British TV show called Secret Millionaire.

In the TV show, affluent men and women go undercover and choose a fortunate person to be the recipient of their charity. They infiltrate the less fortunate communities and make their choices from there.

Quite obviously, Secret Slumdog Millionaire will move along similar lines. I am thinking that they will gather affluent people and take them to the needy areas of Mumbai. These people will then have to choose the lucky recipient and reveal to them – with all the pomp and drama of TV – their “destiny.”

Naturally, this move will attract some criticism from many sectors. It’s something like using poverty to make money – get my drift? I am sure, though, that if this show ever gets off the ground, it will prove to be a success. Then again, I have been wrong before.

What about you, would you watch this kind of reality TV show?

TV Shows On The iPhone

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Lara Bingle and Lote Tuqiri at Vodafone's iPhone Launch

Who has time to watch TV these days? If ratings are to be believed, quite a lot of people indeed. However, I also know that there are a lot of people who are always on the go and that they do not have enough time to spend on watching their favorite TV shows. In fact, this is one reason TV series on DVDs has been catching on so much.

Here’s an option that could work very well for these people – watching TV shows over WiFi on the iPhone. This service is provided by Joost, which is actually one of the pioneers in offering TV shows online. Though they are one of the first providers of online TV shows, Joost did not really take off all that much due to other competitors getting the better of them. With this partnership with the iPhone, however, they are looking to make a big comeback.

Joost offers a free application for the iPhone by which users can watch TV shows from various providers such as CBS, Comedy Central, Warner Bros. and Sony. When viewed over WiFi, no charges apply.

This is certainly good news for a lot of iPhone owners who seem to be on the continuous lookout for applications that will not cost them anything but allow them to have a lot of fun. It is even good news for Apple as applications such as Joost are bigger incentives for those who do not own an iPhone yet.

Smile, You’re Under Arrest

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Sheriff Joe ArpaioI doubt that many people under arrest would actually smile but hey, in this day and age wherein reality TV is a whole new reality on its own, who says that criminals would not smile when arrested? This tag line is not a joke, though. It is actually the title of a new reality TV series starring Sheriff Joe Arpaio of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Arpiao has gained fame – and notoriety – due to his radical approach to law enforcement. According to residents of the county, his methods and actions have not really done much to deal with crime in the area. Yet Fox has given him this new show. Hmmm…

Alternet recently ran this report:

Arpaio has transformed his police department into an immigration-enforcement agency, gaining international notoriety in the process. Armed with a 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a mandate to enforce immigration law, Arpaio has taken the pursuit of undocumented immigrants to “unconstitutional extremes .”

It’s becoming clear that the self-proclaimed “America’s Toughest Sheriff” and his over-the-top, media-grabbing immigration-enforcement methods are harmful to the people of Maricopa County and that local anti-immigrant policies are no substitute for comprehensive and substantive immigration reform at the national level.

Obviously, in spite of his reported inability to keep his county safe – well, at least from the “real” criminals and not the illegal immigrants – Sheriff Arpaio can still get some attention. And that is exactly why a big TV network is spending money on giving him his own reality TV show. Let’s see how long this one will last on air.

Maneater To Be Shot In Phoenix

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17th Annual Women In Entertainment Power 100 Breakfast - Arrivals

There’s going to be a new TV show in town – something similar to Sex and the City but “more appropriate” for a wider audience. Now I do not know if that will have a very good result as many Sex and the City fans may actually be after the inappropriateness of the series. The new TV show, titled Maneater, just might prove to be a success, though.

It is based on a novel with the same title by Gigi Levangie. The setting of the novel is Los Angeles and rumor has it that the people behind the show’s production is looking at some other place to shoot the series. AZ Central has this story:

But Maneater, adapted from author Gigi Levangie’s novel by the same name, takes place in Los Angeles, not New York. It’s no wonder Sony Entertainment turned to sprawling and auto-friendly Phoenix to help capture the soul of the City of Angels.

Apparently, film scouts are seeking out locations in town that resemble LA landmarks. It’s probably safe to say they’ll be exploring Phoenix’s historic neighborhoods and Biltmore mansions rather than its sea of strip malls.

Filming for the Lifetime Television four-part series is expected to run from February through April.

So why not shoot in LA? Who knows? Another question remains, though – is this going to be only a 4-part series? Or do they have plans of continuing the story line if the show meets success?