(CNN) -- Big Bird and the Cookie Monster have some new friends, but they're a long way from "Sesame Street."
One of America's best-loved children's shows, which began life on a fictional New York street over 40 years ago, is about to land in Nigeria under the title of "Sesame Square" -- bringing with it some distinctly West African twists.
The show stars Kami, a girl muppet who is HIV-positive, has golden hair and a zest for adventure; and Kobi, an energetic, furry, blue muppet whose troublesome escapades help others learn from his mistakes.
In a country with a population of over 150 million -- where, according to the CIA World Factbook, nearly half are under the age of 14 -- the show will address some of the biggest challenges faced by young people in the region: AIDS, malaria, gender inequality, religious differences -- as well as many positive aspects of Nigerian life. In the case of Zobi, this is characterized by an obsessive love of yams -- a staple food in the Nigerian diet.
"We have a very focused health and hygiene umbrella concept area that we're concentrating on," Naila Farouky, senior director of international projects at Sesame Workshop, told CNN. "This is something our local advisors have prioritized -- something that absolutely has to be addressed on the show."
In one episode, Zobi gets tangled up in a mosquito net, much to the amusement of the local kids. But there's an important message behind the antics -- mosquito nets are the best way to prevent infection from malaria on a continent where, according to the World Health Organization, a child dies from the disease every 45 seconds.
There are also an estimated 278,000 HIV-positive children in Nigeria, according to the National Agency for Control of AIDS.
However, like its American predecessor, "Sesame Square" is not solely focused on health and social issues, but a host of essential learning skills.
Farouky told CNN, "The thread of the show continues to be about basic life skills -- literacy, numeracy and pre-school education."
Source: CNNRead more…
Video After The JumpI thought I'd seen it all, but I truly had not until today.
The Dinka people are are out there wilding in the Sudan, with no direction.
The popular hair color amongst the tribesmen is orange. They achieve this by letting cows urinate on their heads.
And the things they do to get cows to lactate. *shivers*
Can't we send them some hair dye, some soap and instructions on how to milk a cow?
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Video After The JumpHouston rapper Trae The Truth is one of the realest in the game right now. Even though local radio station 97.9 The Box tried to blackball him out of the industry by refusing to play his music, Trae has continued to keep the streets buzzing.
His new album, 'You Can't Ban The Truth' hit stores September 28.
Trae sits down with VladTV to talk about a very important subject that is affecting the youth all across the country, and has cost legends like DJ Screw and Pimp C their lives. And that is the use of syrup to get high.
Rappers like Lil Wayne, Beanie Sigel, Juelz Santana, Three Six Mafia, and Lil Flip and many more have admitted to sipping that lean. Is it time to put that to bed?
"I think at the end of the day drugs is drugs," Trae says. "I think it kinda blew up more throughout the media, because each hood and each city have their choice of drugs. Sometimes people like to be on X [ecstacy] a lot, it's a lot of people who die from X. Sometimes people like to be on powder [cocaine], it's a lot of people that die from powder. Some places got heroin, some places got fry, if you don't know what fry is that's water like Formaldehyde/embalming fluid. Any drugs can harm you, it's not guaranteed to make you pass away, but it can harm you. I don't want to enhance what the media did, and make it seem like that's [syrup] what's killing Houston right now."
Vlad asks if the artists should be more responsible and speak out against the use of syrup.
"Each person gotta be held accountable for their own actions. A lot of people blame the music, but then at the same time we got movies where people doing the same sh*t and nobody pinpoints it to that. Everything any of us do in the entertainment business is an influence, but I'm not going to all the weight on {just] that," Trae said.
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Video After The JumpA heated argument on The View yesterday (October 14), led to two of the show's hosts walking off stage in disgust.
Republican Bill O'Reilly. known for being very opinionated and often outrageous, got into a heated argument with Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar, regarding the proposed building of a mosque at Ground Zero.
At one point O'Reilly said, "Muslims killed us on 911."
That remark so offended Whoopi and Joy they walked off the stage.
Barbara Walters took her co-hosts to task for leaving the stage.
"You have just seen what should not happen," Walters told the audience. "We should be able to have discussions without washing our hands and screaming and walking off stage."
I have to agree with Barbara. You know exactly what you're going to get with Bill O'Reilly. Joy and Whoopi should have kept their composure and talked him down with facts, instead of letting him get to them.
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Video After The JumpA heated argument on The View yesterday (October 14), led to two of the show's hosts walking off stage in disgust.
Republican Bill O'Reilly. known for being very opinionated and often outrageous, got into a heated argument with Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar, regarding the proposed building of a mosque at Ground Zero.
At one point O'Reilly said, "Muslims killed us on 911."
That remark so offended Whoopi and Joy they walked off the stage.
Barbara Walters took her co-hosts to task for being unprofessional.
"You have just seen what should not happen," Walters told the audience. "We should be able to have discussions without washing our hands and screaming and walking off stage."
I have to agree with Barbara. You know exactly what you're going to get with Bill O'Reilly. Joy and Whoopi should have kept their composure and talked him down with facts, instead of letting him get to them.
Read more…
Videos After The JumpJimmy Kimmel brought a powerful duo to his show last night (October 14).
Rapper Nas and Jamaican singing star Damian "Jr Gong" Marley, hit the stage to perform a couple of songs off of their album 'Distant Relatives.'
The duo led off with "Dispear", then came back later in the show to perform "Patience."
Nas and Damian Marley Perform "Dispear"Nas and Damian Marley Perform "Patience"Read more…
The IRS don't play, if you don't believe me, ask Young Buck.Buck, real name David Darnell Brown will have to send a friend to buy his "615 Cashville Records" chain back if he ever wants to see it again. Because on October 28, the IRS will auction off the items seized when they raided his crib August 3.
In addition to the "615" chain, other items that will be auctioned off according to the Tennessean include gold and platinum records earned when he was a member of G-Unit, recording equipment, multiple LCD and plasma televisions, designer watches and an assortment of faux-fur coats. Also pictures of Al Pacino and rapper Tupac, a “marijuana leaf picture”, three Royal Copenhagen white bear figurines and a 3-foot white and silver Santa Claus decoration.
The money from the auction is to help repay more than $164,000 Buck owes the Federal Government in unpaid taxes.
Buck earned by some accounts as much as $8 million dollars during his time with G-Unit. 50 Cent at one point loaned Buck a reported $200,000 to get out of one jam with the IRS. Instead of showing gratitude, Buck bit the hand that fed him by dissing G-Unit in the press and at various shows.
He released two succesful solo albums while working with 50 Cent. The platinum selling album 'Straight Outta Cashville' in 2004 and 'Buck The World' in 2007 which debuted at # 3 on the charts it's first week out.
His latest album 'The Rehab', released last month independently sold less than 7,000 copies it's first week out.
The IRS is holding an open house on Oct. 27 at 5373 Mt. View Road in Antioch to view the goods from noon until 5 p.m. and then again there on Oct. 28 from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m., when the auction will begin. Items must be paid in full with cash, certified check, cashier’s or treasurer’s check, or by money order, all payable to the United States Treasury.
For more information, including photos of some items and a complete inventory of the items up for auction, visit: http://www.treas.gov/auctions/irs/antn_anti_4775.htm.
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Video After The JumpThe very first blog I wrote involving Sidney Starr, I said he was trying to become to Kat Stacks of homos. So I find it pretty hilarious he is trying to knock Kat out of the game.
This beef kinda started slow, but somebody must have written Sidney some jokes, because he throws a few funny jabs in this one.
He goes in on Kat's v*gina again saying it looks like "two day old meat" lol. Says he's waiting for somebody to out Kat as a post-op tranny and basically calls Kat a bad mother.
I'm sure we'll see a new Kat video by the morning.
I still say they should just scrap, loser goes away forever.
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Looking almost as fresh as the day it was bought, this McDonald's Happy Meal is in fact a staggering six months old.
Photographed every day for the past half a year by Manhattan artist Sally Davies the kids meal of fries and burger is without a hint of mould or decay.
In a work entitled The Happy Meal Project, Mrs Davies, 54, has charted the seemingly indestructible fast food meals progress as it refuses to yield to the forces of nature.
Fresh: The Happy Meal on the day it was bought by artist Sally Davies in New York.
Tasty: Looking a little dry and with an 'acrylic sheen', but the burger has no signs of mould - not even on the bun
Sitting on a shelf in her apartment, Sally has watched the Happy Meal with increasing shock and even her dogs have resisted the urge to try and steal a free tasty snack.
'I bought the meal on April 10 of this year and brought it home with the express intention of leaving it out to see how it fared,' she said.
'I chose McDonald's because it was nearest to my house, but the project could have been about any other of the myriad of fast food joints in New York.'The first thing that struck me on day two of the experiment was that it no longer emitted any smell.
'And then the second point of note was that on the second day, my dogs stopped circling the shelf it was sitting on trying to see what was up there.'
Worrying: More than three months in and the usual effects of time appear to have had no impact.
Expecting the food to begin moulding after a few days, Mrs Davies' surprise turned to shock as the fries and burger still had not shown any signs of decomposition after two weeks.
'It was then that I realised that something strange might be going on with this food that I had bought,' she explained.
'The fries shrivelled slightly as did the burger patty, but the overall appearance of the food did not change as the weeks turned to months.
'And now, at six months old, the food is plastic to the touch and has an acrylic sheen to it.
'The only change that I can see is that it has become hard as a rock.'
Even though she is a vegan, Mrs Davies' experiment has brought her amusement rather than fear.
'I don't really see this experiment as scary, I see it almost as an amusement,' she said.
'Although, I would be frightened at seeing this if I was a meat eater. Why hasn't even the bun become speckled with mould? It is odd.'
When asked if their food was not biodegradable, McDonald's spokeswoman Danya Proud said: 'This is nothing more than an outlandish claim and is completely false.'
It comes after Denver grandmother Joann Bruso left a Happy Meal to decay for a year until March to highlight the nutritional dangers of fast food.
Morgan Spurlock also made the film Super Size Me in 2004 charting the changes to his body eating just fast food for 28 days had.
Source: Daily Mail UKRead more…
1. Ring Bells
2. Never Again
3. Sideways
4. A Bunch Of Rounds
5. Fast Lane
6. Hear Me Out
7. Can’t Find Love
8. Record Us
9. Switching Positions
10. Living Wonderful
11. Can’t Wait
12. Like A Swinger
13. So Original
14. Hero
15. Chance To Explain
16. Top Of The World Bound
17. So AppalledDownload HereRead more…
Video After The JumpA clown of a thief stumbled into a Handy Food Store in Tampa, Florida last night (October 13), and all he came away with is hurt pride.
The thief tried to force his way into the store, but couldn't get past the strong as an ox female clerk. When he finally does get past her, he couldn't steal the cash register because it had too many cables and wires attached to it.
As the would be robber tries to leave, it looks like he has keys in his hand. The clerk takes those from him too and locks him out of the store, lol.
I wish that store clerk would have knocked his a** out, she looked strong enough to do it.
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Foxy Brown has never shied away from lofty goals. Her attention has shifted to political aspirations. She now wants to be a positive role model to the youth of Trinidad and Tobago.
Boombox reports that the 31-year old who has Trinidadian roots, wants to be US Youth Ambassador for the Caribbean Island.
"Who else but me?" Foxy asked. "I am a staunch supporter of American-Caribbean relations and my music targets the exact same demographic and genre of young people I want to stand up for. Beyond just having a vast amount of music industry experience, I am a staunch believer in being the voice for our young Trinidadian people."
Brown also added that she has "forged many political alliances" and is "well-versed, articulate and educated."
I'm just guessing you would have to have a clean arrest record for this position. Fox Boogie might run into a few problems there.
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Audio After The JumpT.I. is getting a lot of well deserved praise today after playing a pivotal role in saving a suicidal man's life yesterday.
Some have questioned his motives in getting involved, seeing as he has a hearing on Friday. When a Federal judge will decide whether or not to revoke his probation due to his recent arrest for drug possession and a dirty urine test.
Police, however are not sure the man who was ready to jump from the top of a building would have come down if not for T.I.
Atlanta Officer James Polite says that Tip's help was invaluable.
"T.I. came to the scene and offered to talk to him," Polite told the Atlanta Constitution Journal.“He didn’t have to stop. He could’ve kept on going about his business. We’re happy it ended the way it did, and we thank him."
In an interview with WSB Radio's Pete Combs, Tip said he was moved by the spirit of God to act when he heard about the situation that was unfolding.
"I was leaving home on the way to shoot a video with Chris Brown," Tip says. "On the radio, I heard that there was a guy on the top of a building and he was threatening to jump. They said he was a 22-year old African American man, and something inside me said 'you gotta try to help this guy, you gotta do whatever you can.' First I started making phone calls to reach anybody who could assist me in how to help. Everybody was like 'we don't know what could be done, he aint really talking,' " T.I. continued. "So I just made my way down there and made my way up to the policeman. I told him 'I just wanted to see if I could be of any assistance and if there is anything I could do to help resolve this situation peacefully.' "
At that point, the policeman went to the hostage negotiator, who came over to talk to TIP.
"The negotiators came over and said 'what are you willing to do?' I said 'whatever you think will be beneficial, I'm willing to help save this guy's life.' They said he wanted a video message to assure him that I was really there. They did a video message of me saying 'no matter how hard it seems, it can get better and it will get better,' "
After getting the video message from T.I., the man came down from the roof. Tip talked to him about helping him, if he was willing to help himself.
When asked why he did it, T.I. said he reacted on instincts and that God played a hand in it.
"My heart moved me to do it," he said. "Some people might say God was speaking to me and told me to do it. God did all the work, I just whowed up."
Police say they won't be pressing charges against the man.
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Video After The JumpMatt Olivarez of Redford, Michigan made a very tough decision to have his 10-year old Rottweiler put to sleep, after his vet advised him it would be best.
The dog, Mia suffers from spinal injuries, can barely walk and is in constant pain, so Olivarez agreed to have it euthanized. But miraculously, the dog woke up the very next day.
"I watched her basically die in front of my eyes, at least I thought she was. And now I got to go through it again? I mean, come on, man," Olivarez said.
Thinking the dog was dead, Olivarez brought her home to decide whether to bury her, or to have her cremated. Much to his surprise, when he walks in from work the next day, Mia is alive sitting by her food bowl.
"When I came home from work, you know I was like, she was sitting right there, you know, in front of her bowl of food. All I know is that, when they injected her, they injected her twice. And, she went to sleep. And they said, 'That's it. She passed.' And they gave me a blanket, wrapped her up. I took her home. And I wanted to figure out what I wanted to do with her. And, the next morning, I came back, she was wide awake," Olivarez said.
Now he's left with an even tougher decision. Whether or not he should take Mia back to the vet to be put to sleep again.
"You know, what if I would have buried my dog alive? What if I had her cremated, you know? She would have gotten burned alive. You know, that's animal cruelty. You know, like, all type of stuff, like, I explained that to my kids. How am I going to explain to my kids, I gotta kill Mia twice? I gotta kill her again? My kids are eight and nine years old. I mean, she's a family dog," he said.
The clinic where he originally took Mia has agreed to refund his money.
I have to be real, if I brought my dog home after being put to sleep, I would bug out. The guy had to carry her from the clinic to his car, then from his car inside his garage. She obviously wasn't breathing.
This is too much like the movie 'Pet Sematary.'Read more…
Rapper Black Rob has a new label home.
After spending more than a decade with Diddy's Bad Boy Records, the 34 year-old gets a fresh start with Duck Down Records.
Rob had a smash hit in 2000 with "Whoa", which appeared on his first solo album 'Life Story.' In 2005, he released a second album, 'The Black Rob Report', but label politics and trouble with the law have slowed his career.
Duck Down is most famously known as the home of rapper and co-owner Buckshot, of the group Black Moon as well as Sean Price of Heltah Skeltah.
Of late, veteran rappers like B-Real and Pharoahe Monch have signed deals with the label.
Black Rob says his upcoming album is a “testimony of what I stand for and how I feel. The people have been asking for true hip hop music, and that’s what I’m giving them. I stayed away from features. I’ve been away for 4 joints, so I feel the people deserve to hear me. When I came home, I went right to work, and didn’t have time to reach out to cats. On my next project you will get that. As for producers, I have some up-and-coming cats on there. I believe in giving cats a chance. As far as named producers you may hear a joint or two from Buckwild, Self Service, Bishop, Scram Jones and Pete Rock.”
BR says he picked Duck Down because he "always respected their movement and also been a fan of their music. If I’m going independent why not go with a team I respect, and they have always had a true family setting & environment.”Read more…
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