Thursday, 29 March 2012
Drama! As grandmother auditions for Big Brother Africa
IT is indeed time for drama and intrigues as preparations get in full gear for the seventh edition of the popular reality show, Big Brother Africa. And going by revelations at the three-day audition in Lagos, this edition tagged ‘Stargame’ will indeed be a blast. Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare reports.
FAITHFUL viewers of popular MNet television reality show, Big Brother Africa had wondered what the organisers would do to make a difference in the reality show this time round. So when the ‘Double up’ order came, several people, including sceptics, who believed that nothing better could be added knew this edition would be with a difference.
The fall out of the ‘Double up’ order shows that the show will, indeed, be more entertaining than all previous editions going by the eclectic mix of personalities that turned up for the recent audition in Lagos.
The double up order forced intending contestants to look for the best people that they think will blend well with them and give them an edge in the auditions and finally if selected to the BBA house.
The auditions, which kicked off across the continent, were a proof that this edition will be full of surprises. Nigeria’s audition which was held in Lagos for three days at the Protea Leadway Hotel, Maryland, showed that the interest in the show, rather than waning is on the increase, considering the thousands that turned out daily throughout the three day period of auditions.
From across the federation, thousands of hopefuls gathered at the audition’s venue to try their luck and immediately, the drama this season portends began to play out. Thousands of people jostling for the slot to represent Nigeria when the show starts in May, converged on the Protea Leadway, clad in the best of their attires they thought could give them an advantage over others.
This is however not surprising, considering the fact that the show had been won majorly by Nigerians. Starting from Kevin Chuwang Pam in 2009; second-time lucky Uti Nwachukwu in 2010, and Karen Igho, a joint-winner in 2011.
The exact drama was, however, in the line-up of the people that came as partners to compete. Grandmothers came with their nephews, some ladies came with their mothers, boyfriends partnered girlfriends, and a popular act, Trybson (who acted as Dagrin in Ghetto Dreams) came with his manager.
Also, there were cases of boyfriends or girlfriends who had waited in vain for their partners to show up at the venue but when it became clear that their partners would not make it before end of the audition, they hooked up with jilted but available partners on ground.
How will all these elements play out when the show eventually starts.The intending housemates in their thousands were a sight to behold as they turned out in different styles. In fact, it was a kind of competition on the craziest dress, hair colour, swag while one wondered who the lucky pair would be amongst the multitude.
There was a parade of mum and daughters, sisters, lovers, friends and even nephews and nieces. There were also music stars, reality show stars, doctors and even herbalist who were auditioned for the show.
From the thousands, only a pair would be picked to represent Nigeria and this is what makes the competition very keen. There was a parade of semi nude contestants and an array of colourful hair, ranging from blue to blonde, yellow and red.
The various creative appearance might not be unconnected with M-Net’s advert for interested participants for this season, as with previous seasons,to be fun-loving, vocal, creative, original and articulate. In addition, entrants are expected to demonstrate the social flexibility to live in close proximity with others and must be tolerant of views and lifestyle choices other than their own.
The piece of information supplied, it was gathered, was vital in the view of previous episodes and encounters with housemates who showed strong objections to the views and behaviour of other housemates leading to altercations and violence, resulting in such housemates’ consequent disqualification; as in Uganda’s Hannington and Tanzania’s Lotus in Big Brother All Stars and Big Brother Amplified, respectively.
One of the intending housemates is Dr May Blossom Brown nee Okafor, a herbalist who holds a Ph.D degree in Theatre Arts. The grandmother, who said she loves being an herbalist is doubling up with her nephew, Munachimso Ejiofor, who is also married and is a computer logistics officer.
The duo became a centre of attraction to all including other intending housemates as their camaraderie reflected what they could offer in the house and the fact that they would represent Nigeria well.
According to the duo, one needs an infusion of youth energy with the younger ones and this they believe BBA can offer. The grandmother herbalist believes that she will not feel out of place among the youth and if her attitude at the audition is considered, it is indeed going to be dramatic if she actually gets into the house.
All hands are in deed on deck to see whether the duo would be selected to show their creative energy to the world.
It is however obvious that it is only BBA that can bring out such an eclectic mix of people and according to the MNet African Managing Director, Mrs Abiola Alabi, “The really big news this season is that entrants must enter as pairs. In the past, we’ve seen a natural and continuous cross-over between individuals and their families, their friends.
“The show is built on the idea that, given the chance, anyone can be a star, anyone can find himself shot to stardom. This year, we’re honouring this essential element of the show directly in the title, putting the concept of rising stars and dreams of stardom right at the front of what is a challenging, fun and dramatic game.”So this year, we decided to include that as part of the game. It will definitely make a dramatic addition to the series, so we urge people to enter and experience what will be a unique different Big Brother Africa show.
The seventh edition of Big Brother Africa by M-Net, known as ‘Stargame’ starts on Sunday, May 6.
Esther Akankwasa and Ex-Chilli Gal for BBA Auditions
Chilli Galz member Marie and Ex-Cyclone Gal Esther Akankwasa were spotted at Sheraton Hotel yesterday for the Big Brother Africa Auditions. Esther was all unsettled and dashing to the toilet every six minutes showing all signs of being tensed up. The Chilli gal came in walking with a swagg in her stilettos and sat outside the room waiting for her ex-boyfriend who we later identified as Keith. The two sat outside for a while as it looked like the guy was fresh from the gym where he had been working on those biceps that could blow the judges away.
An official from MNET walked by and told them that we want crazy people in there not serious ones. The Chilli gal looks all geared up and ready for the show more so having teamed up with her ex, she feels she can give the fans a show they have not seen before.
One of the gals who had a short skirt as her swagg for the dress code was asked if she could try to cross the line that Maureen of BBA2 crossed, she said no I cannot get to that extent, then the ex-chilli gal asked her why the hell she was even auditioning.
30 couples who comprised of dreadlocked fellas and bummy chics were vetted and another 60 couples will be vetted this weekend. The issue of pairing has affected the numbers of those who were to turn up for auditioning. In the past, you could see long queues, but this was not the case.
Global Warming Presents Historic Disaster Risk, Report Says
Mumbai is among the densely populated cities that scientists say is at great risk. (Photo: Getty Images) WASHINGTON — Global warming is leading to such severe storms, droughts, and heat waves that nations should prepare for an unprecedented onslaught of deadly and costly weather disasters, an international panel of climate scientists said in a new report issued Wednesday.
The greatest threat from extreme weather is to highly populated, poor regions of the world, the report warns, but no corner of the globe — from Mumbai to Miami — is immune. The document by a Nobel Prize-winning panel of climate scientists forecasts stronger tropical cyclones and more frequent heat waves, deluges, and droughts.
The 594-page report blames the scale of recent and future disasters on a combination of man-made climate change, population shifts, and poverty.
In the past, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, founded in 1988 by the United Nations, has focused on the slow, inexorable rise of temperatures and oceans as part of global warming. This report by the panel is the first to look at the less common but far more noticeable extreme weather changes, which have been costing about $80 billion a year in damage.
"We mostly experience weather and climate through the extreme," said one of the report's top editors, Chris Field, an ecologist with the Carnegie Institution of Washington. "That's where we have the losses. That's where we have the insurance payments. That's where things have the potential to fall apart.
"There are lots of places that are already marginal for one reason or another," Field said. But it's not just poor areas: "There is disaster risk almost everywhere."
The report specifically points to New Orleans during 2005's Hurricane Katrina, noting that "developed countries also suffer severe disasters because of social vulnerability and inadequate disaster protection."
In coastal areas of the United States, property damage from hurricanes and rising seas could increase by 20 percent by 2030, the report said. And in parts of Texas, the area vulnerable to storm surge could more than double by 2080.
Already, U.S.-insured losses from weather disasters have soared from about $3 billion a year in the 1980s to about $20 billion a year in the last decade, even after adjusting for inflation, said Mark Way, director of sustainability at insurance giant Swiss Re. Last year that total rose to $35 billion, but much of that was from tornadoes, which scientists are unable to connect with global warming. U.S.-insured losses are just a fraction of the overall damage from weather disasters each year.
Globally, the scientists say that some places, particularly parts of Mumbai in India, could become uninhabitable from floods, storms, and rising seas. In 2005, over 24 hours nearly 3 feet of rain fell on the city, killing more than 1,000 people and causing massive damage. Roughly 2.7 million people live in areas at risk of flooding.
Other cities at lesser risk include Miami, Shanghai, Bangkok, China's Guangzhou, Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, Myanmar's Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon), and India's Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta). The people of small island nations, such as the Maldives, may also need to abandon their homes because of rising seas and fierce storms.
"The decision about whether or not to move is achingly difficult and I think it's one that the world community will have to face with increasing frequency in the future," Field said in a telephone news conference Wednesday.
This report — the summary of which was issued in November — is unique because it emphasizes managing risks and how taking precautions can work, Field said. In fact, the panel's report uses the word "risk" 4,387 times.
Field pointed to storm-and-flood-prone Bangladesh, an impoverished country that has learned from its past disasters. In 1970, a Category 3 tropical cyclone named Bhola killed more than 300,000 people. In 2007, the stronger cyclone Sidr killed only 4,200 people. Despite the loss of life, Bangladesh is considered a success story because it was better prepared and invested in warning and disaster prevention, Field said.
A country that was not as prepared, Myanmar, was hit with a similar sized storm in 2008, which killed 138,000 people.
The study forecasts that some tropical cyclones — which include hurricanes in the United States — will be stronger because of global warming. But the number of storms is not predicted to increase and may drop slightly.
Some other specific changes in severe weather that the scientists said they had the most confidence in predicting include more heat waves and record hot temperatures worldwide and increased downpours in Alaska, Canada, northern and central Europe, East Africa and north Asia.
IPCC Chairman Rajendra Pachauri told The Associated Press that while all countries are hurt by increased climate extremes, the overwhelming majority of deaths occur in poorer, less developed places. Yet, it is wealthy nations that produce more greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, raising the issue of fairness.
Some weather extremes aren't deadly, however. Sometimes, they are just strange.
Report co-author David Easterling of the National Climatic Data Center says this month's U.S. heat wave, while not deadly, fits the pattern of worsening extremes. The U.S. has set nearly 6,800 high temperature records in March. Last year, the United States set a record for billion-dollar weather disasters, though many were tornadoes.
"When you start putting all these events together, the insurance claims, it's just amazing," Easterling said. "It's pretty hard to deny the fact that there's got to be some climate signal."
Northeastern University engineering and environment professor Auroop Ganguly, who didn't take part in writing the IPCC report, praised it and said the extreme weather it highlights "is one of the major and important types of what we would call 'global weirding.'" It's a phrase that some experts have been starting to use more to describe climate extremes.
Field doesn't consider the term inaccurate, but he doesn't use it.
"It feels to me like it might give the impression we are talking about amusing little stuff when we are, in fact, talking about events and trends with the potential to have serious impacts on large numbers of people."
Sharon O and Ronnie Are Now in a Relationship
Following Sharon O’s nude pics in the tabloid, many were quick at pointing fingers to Ronnie Mulindwa for having leaked them to the press now that the two are believed to be worlds apart. This forced the two to change their facebook status to reflect that they are in a relationship. This prompted questions like; “What have you been up to all along?” They have a three year old son, Lisbon.
It’s been hell for Ronnie from the time Sharon O came back from the Big Brother house last year. Participating in the show came with a lot of fame for Sharon that has left Ronnie not a happy man.
He even got to the extent of posting on his wall that; “Am always pretending that everything is alright becoz everybody else thinks am fine. But u my love should know better coz behind my smile ,if u look deep into my eyes, u’ll see my pain, u’ll feel my hurt.”
This clearly showed the guy was not happy, but he was quick at refuting all this claiming that it was a line from one of the tracks he was listening to.
Since the start of this year, Ronnie and the Big Brother Amplified star Sharon O have been rumoured to be hitting the rocks.
Lady Gaga Wears Crown, No Pants for Her Birthday
Lady Gaga may have told Oprah Winfrey that she didn't "intend to speak to anyone for a very long time," but she's certainly commanding attention in other ways. Her latest "look at me" moment occurred on Wednesday (her 26th birthday) — a mere 10 days after her comment to Winfrey — when the pop star stepped out in West Hollywood in a rhinestone-covered crown, studded motorcycle jacket … and no pants. Instead, Gaga, who also carried around a little dog in a white T-shirt, opted for a pair of black sheer tights over her brief-style panties. She even posted a photo of her kooky getup on Twitter, with a message to her more than 21 million followers: "I can be, the Queen that's inside of me. You guys are the best."
Whatever Gaga does, her Little Monsters revel in it. Although wearing a crown could be considered a bit vain (even for a celebrity), countless fans re-tweeted her photo, and even more left her loving comments telling their Mother Monster how beautiful she was and wishing her the happiest of birthdays. "Thank you for being in my life!," wrote one named @JemmaLovesGaga. "Your so special to me. I love you so much happy birthday my queen!" Other Little Monsters tweeted original videos they made in honor of her big day. The "Born This Way" singer even tweeted one in particular that caught her eye. "This is so sweet!" she added to the post. "The best birthday present ever. I love little monsters so much. Thank you so being in my life!"
Ever since Gaga's March 18 interview with Winfrey, during which she revealed she was going to purposely retreat out of the public eye, she's really done anything but. Although she hasn't been constantly out and about, she has made her presence known via her Twitter account, where she tweets out messages and photos of herself practically every day. Three hours before her March 28 birthday, Gaga uploaded a pic of a slice of her birthday cake, albeit smashed — and placed right next to a pricey Chanel purse. On Tuesday, she posted a photo of herself sans makeup, which of course made the rounds on nearly every entertainment website since it's such a rare occurrence to see the singer without her usual face paint. Other tweets have focused on her exercise routines (yoga and cycling), jokes about her gay friends, and a plug to buy her ex-boyfriend Luc Carl's new book.
Get ready to see a lot more of Gaga when she kicks off her Born This Way Ball tour in Seoul, South Korea, on April 27.
MARRIAGE NO BE BY FORCE!!!
Perez Hilton’s Mad Hatter Birthday Party
Over the weekend it was Perez Hilton’s birthday party! He decided on a mad hatter theme so all the guests had these amazing hats on. Such a fun night!
Style Snapshot:kim is wearing an Antonio Berardi dress, Tolentino hat and Christian Louboutin heels
LaLa In Kardashian Kollection
Doesn’t LaLa look amazing in our Kardashian Kollection jumpsuits? Which do you like more on Lala… the red of the blue?
Kim Kardashian Slams Tabloid: I Didn't "Steal" Eva Longoria's Man!
But when a tabloid accuses her of betraying a close friend, she'll be the first to stand up for herself and speak the truth.
In Touch magazine claims that the reality star, 31, "stole" Eva Longoria's man, Eduardo Cruz. (The Desperate Housewives star and Penélope Cruz's kid bro split earlier this month after a year of dating.)
"I'm used to rumors & almost never address them," Kardashian tweeted. Buuuut….
"It's not ok when magazines like InTouch involve my close friends in their made up stories," she continued. "They were told by multiple people that their current cover isn't true, but they decided to go ahead. & run it anyway. So there you have it."
Couldn't have said it better ourselves, Kim.
Khloe Kardashian Is DIVORCING Lamar Odom
According to HOLLYWOODLIFE report, Kris Kardashian has ordered Khloe to break up withLamar - so that it could increase the ratings on her show.
And the website is saying that Khloe and Lamar's marriage is virtually over. Here's An excerpt of their report...
A close friend revealed: “Kris is constantly telling Khloe that marital conflicts equals ratings! Kris has convinced Khloe that if it weren’t for Lamar, she would not have her own reality show and thatif she wants another season she needs to embellish the conflicts in the marriage because that’s what viewers want.”
But the 56 year-old seems unaware of the damage she is actually doing to her daughter’s marriage as her NBA star husband’s career begins to suffer due to his role in the reality TV drama.
”Kris is blind to the fact that Khloe and Lamar’s relationship is suffering because of reality TV,” the source revealed, “Lamar is a pretty laid back person but he has had enough. He feels like a puppetand he has already told Khloe that he is not going to create drama on the show for ratings, in fact, hewants out completely.”
Rihanna Dismisses Nosy Reporter For Asking Stupid Question About Ashton Kutcher
During a press conference in London for the new movie ‘Battleship,’ a rude reporter had the nerve to imply that Rihanna was unhappy in her personal life.
The reporter asked if “Ashton Kutcher” would be making the trip to London for the movie’s premiere.
After a brief pause to collect her thoughts,
Rihanna replied, “Wow, how disappointing was that question.
“I’m happy and I’m single, if that’s what you’re really asking.”
Meanwhile, Rihanna has never confirmed the rumors that she was dating Ashton Kutcher.
Beyonce And Her Glamorous Spring Fashion
Last week the singer revealed that she had plans to return to the stage. She announced her intention to perform three concerts in Atlantic City this coming May.
Your fans can't wait to have you back!!
Sexy Nollywood actress Susan Ekwe takes very daring photos
VIVAN WHO WAS BEATEN BY HER SO CALLED HUSBAND...
di
NA WA Got this pix from a friend this young lady vivan was wheeled this yesterday into Ikeja General Hospital, after she was beaten up by her husband. But when will the law rise to defend women? When will these laws be carried out and not just written in black and white. Just like most husbands, her husband might likely get away with this. If only these men are sent to jail after their inhuman acts, won’t they think twice before laying a finger on their wives another time? We are still far behind in this country.
MAN DIES AFTER FALLING OFF ELEVATOR AT WAEC BUILDING
A young man named Fatai died today after falling off a moving elevator on the eighth floor of the 12-storey building of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) building in Yaba, Lagos.
Fatai, who had come to the WAEC office to help a relative submit some documents, had stepped out of the elevator when the doors opened midway on the eight floor, thinking he had reached its destination. Unfortunately he stepped out into open space and plunged to his death. The elevator wasn't functioning well and there was no notice to warn people.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)