Dexter season 5 episode 10 review: In The Beginning


This review contains spoilers.

5.10 In The Beginning
I've noticed the signposts that things on Dexter are about to get deadly serious, because this story, in particular, was almost entirely devoid of any humour, even the very dark variety the show can do so well.
But then the season was always going to have an explosive finale, from the moment that Dexter saved Lumen, and with her a huge can of worms that got unleashed.
Before In The Beginning, we didn't really get much of a handle on the sort of person that Jordan Chase was under the marketing driven exterior, but now how nasty a piece of work he is has finally been revealed.
I couldn't help but be impressed with the elegance of his plan to have Dexter/Lumen eliminate the last of his associates, and to get them arrested before they got to him. It seems to be working rather well, except that Dexter's possibly an even more ruthless killer than Chase can even guess.
I'm not going to go into the details of what transpired, but some of the scenes with Lumen this week were quite harrowing, and what interested me most was to see Dexter's reaction to them. He's a seriously reformed sociopath, if such a creature exists, and the tenderness with which he treats Lumen was genuinely moving in places.
This is turning into the oddest love story ever, but that doesn't make it any less watchable, with both actors firing on all cylinders.
My only problem with this was where it ultimately led them, as I'm not sure that, given what Lumen had been through, she could actually handle being physically intimate. But in the context of their most unusual allegiance, their union made some sense. I accept that.
Given the emotional journey that Dexter is making, one can't ignore how badly the last season ended for him, and what another blow like the death of Rita might do to him.
But it's not just him that's on the edge. There are strong hints that at the end of season 5 life's not going to be the same for most of the key characters in the show, with a simultaneously crisis enveloping them all.
The two who look most likely to come to the fore are Debra and Joey Quinn, who are both close to working out the chain of disappearances and linking it to Dexter.
Liddy has stumbled into Dexter and Lumen's hobby, and that might be a fatal mistake. I'm curious how he thinks he's going to present his case, because he stole equipment to spy on the couple, and as he's not got a warrant for the surveillance, almost none of the evidence he's got is admissible in court. But clearly those aren't things he's bothered about.
Two more episodes to go, and we're on the edge of a disturbing precipice, wondering how long the fall takes. I'm not even going to attempt to guess where we're being taken and what the consequences for all concerned might be. It's a white knuckle ride and there's no getting off now.
I so want Lumen to survive, if just for Dexter's sanity. But maybe her destiny just isn't that neat or it's just an implausible resolution for her to live?
The only certainty is that we'll know soon. Tick-tock, tick-tock!
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Best Cyber Monday Deals 2010: Walmart and Amazon Final Week Full Blast

Ronald Isley honored at Soul Train Awards: The Isley Brothers great was released from a jail stint over tax evasion earlier this year. Don't call it a comeback! [MTV]
Speaking of comebacks: Nearly forgotten soul singer Freddie Jackson, who has 10 No. 1 hits but none we can remember, has released a new album, "For You," just in time for the holidays. [Amazon]
Comcast taking aim at Netflix? The cable provider is reportedly charging extra fees to a Netflix intermediary over the service's bandwith consumption, drawing the ire of Net Neutrality supporters (not to mention Netflix supporters). [Bloomberg]
Mandy Moore, burger eater: The "Tangled" star says if she wants a burger and fries, "I'm going to do that." (So are we. With a beer flight.) Note to People magazine: Stop asking adorable, interesting actresses what they had for dinner, please. [People]
NASA announcement coming: Did they  discover life on one of the moons of Saturn? Stay tuned for an "astrobiology" press conference on Thursday. Fingers crossed it's the aliens from "Alien!" [Gawker]






-- David Greenwald

Best Cyber Monday Deals 2010: Walmart and Amazon Final Week Full Blast


Were you able to buy the products that you’ve been dying for to buy at Black Friday 2010? It’s not too late because the Cyber Monday 2010 is a full blast on its last day today. It is considered as the biggest techno and online sales in United States as well as in some part of the world like in Canada, UK and Europe.
What would you ask more if the giant and popular store Walmart has a lot of products to offer also thru online on the last day of Cyber Monday 2010. If you will try to access the Walmart.com, you will get there their wide range of Best Cyber Monday Deals 2010.
Furthermore, Walmart is offering the following deals to grab by the active shoppers: Element 42? 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV Element 42? 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV – $499 , RCA 42? Plasma 720p 600Hz HDTV, 42PA30RQ – $419 , Playstation 3 Entertainment Value Bundle Playstation 3Entertainment Value Bundle – $388
Whats the latest online and Best Cyber Monday Deals 2010 at Amazon.com? Amazon is known for being one of the giant stores online. Their best deals composed of Cyber Monday Lightning Deals that includes:  Dollhouse: Season One” Blu-ray $9.99, “Home Alone Collection” Blu-ray $14.99 , “Repo Men” DVD $7.99 , “Alice” 2009 miniseries Blu-Ray $7.99.
Some Cyber Monday Lightning deals to grab at Amazon.com includes: “Back to the Future: 25th Anniversary Trilogy” + digital copy on Blu-ray $24.99 , “Fringe: The Complete First Season” DVD $13.99 , “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” Widescreen Edition DVD $6.99 , “Stargate 15th Anniversary Edition” Blu-ray $8.49 , “Shutter Island” Blu-ray $12.99.
Meanwhile, on macys.com, hot offers included $600 one-carat sapphire earrings for $199. On bestbuy.com, $999.99 60-inch Mitsubishi high-definition TVs were $599.99.
Hurry up, check out their official websites now and grab this chance to participate at the Best Cyber Monday Deals 2010 and get the chance to buy the products that you want, until last supply last.

Barca past is link to the future


In Spain, Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez is seen as the clear favorite to win the Ballon D'Or trophy, given to the world's best player. It's not difficult to see why. He exerts an unprecedented level of influence upon the biggest games in football. To wit: In Barcelona's 5-0 victory over Real Madrid on Monday in El Clasico, Xavi completed 110 passes -- the highest number for any player in any La Liga game so far this season. And that's despite being substituted a few minutes from the end.
It is the third time in four Clasicos that Xavi has been sensational. In Barcelona's 6-2 win at the Bernabeu in May 2009, he had four assists. In Barcelona's 2-0 win a year later, he created both goals. He always performs on the global stage -- at the World Cup he created 25 goal-scoring chances, eight more than anyone else in the tournament, and completed 599 passes, more than any other player in history in a single World Cup.
In this game, Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho tried to subdue him by using attacking midfielder Mesut Ozil to track him, but Xavi was still able to find space by moving into more advanced positions, from where he opened the scoring. His performances this season have been particularly special, since he's been playing with a persistent tendinitis problem in his Achilles, and so he has completed only 90 minutes in four of his 20 games for club and country.
Unless the problem clears up, Xavi may be forced to play fewer games as the season wears on, but there's no doubt that manager Pep Guardiola will continue to use him in the big matches. Xavi's performances over the past two years have elevated him to a position where he should be considered one of the best midfielders of all time.
Of course, Xavi was just one cog in the Barcelona passing machine. The understanding between the home team's players was something Real could only dream of, and literally something that money cannot buy. Real's starting XI cost 285 million pounds to assemble, more than three times the cost of Barcelona's side. Instead, of the 14 players Barcelona used in the match, only four -- Dani AlvesEric AbidalSeydou Keita and David Villa -- did not spent time in Barcelona's famous youth academy, La Masia, where they were taught how to play the close passing game that has become the club's trademark.
In his postmatch press conference, Guardiola did not single out any individual on the pitch, but instead paid tribute to Johan Cruyff and Charly Rexach, the duo who coached Guardiola in the late 1980s and early 1990s, establishing the total football ideology the club has maintained ever since.
Barcelona, while being one of the biggest sports brands in the world, is also a close-knit, family club. Defender Gerard Piqué's grandfather was once a vice president of Barcelona. Midfielder Sergio Busquets, the son of a former Barcelona goalkeeper, has spoken of the benefits of training for years with your future teammates. "Because so many of them have been around for so long, not only do you fully trust them as players, but they become genuine friends," he told reporters. "That's good for the spirit of the club and creates a great atmosphere in the dressing room."
Maybe such brilliant mutual understanding on the pitch is only possible with this background. The pretender to Barcelona's crown of playing beautiful football is Arsenal, and though the Gunners are some way off at the moment, manager Arsene Wenger is trying to take the same approach by bringing through players from the youth system. "I believe the target of anything in life should be to do it so well that it becomes an art", Wenger has told the English press. "When I watch Barcelona, it is art."
Wenger is trying to go down the Barcelona route of developing players, rather than buying them. The aim, according to Wenger, is "creating a style of play, creating a culture at the club" which will "give us strength that other clubs will not have."
If football continues to place such a big emphasis upon possession, passing and therefore close teamwork, other clubs might find themselves moving toward this model.
Barcelona, though, is still only two points clear of Real, and still has to go to Madrid near the end of the season. Will history repeat itself? In late November 2009, Jose Mourinho took his Inter side to Barcelona's Camp Nou, and the Italian champions found themselves completely outplayed. Barcelona may have won only 2-0, but its dominance was astounding, and Mourinho couldn't hide the difference in quality. By April 2010, however, Mourinho had worked out how to beat Barcelona, and did so over an epic two-legged Champions League semifinal.
Monday's 5-0 defeat was 370 days after Inter's 2-0 loss at Camp Nou, and Mourinho was again magnanimous in defeat. "It is easy for me to take because it is fair," he told reporters after the match. "We played very, very badly and they were fantastic."
But he recalled his defeat from a year ago. "I left here defeated at the start of last season with Inter Milan, and then at the end of the season we were playing in the Champions League final, while they had to watch it on television."
In other words, time to start counting down the days until the return fixture at the Bernabeu in April, when you can bet Real will not be so weak.
Michael Cox is a freelance writer for ESPN.com. He also runs zonalmarking.net.

Leslie Nielsen Dies

Legendary funny man Leslie Nielsen died today of complications of pneumonia in a hospital near his home in Fort Lauderdale, this according to his agent. He was 84.

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His agent tells TMZ Nielsen passed surrounded by his wife and friends at about 5:34 PM ET.

Nielsen was best known for his roles in "Airplane" and the "Naked Gun" series. His "Airplane" co-star, Barbara Billingsley, passed away last month.

Ted Striker: Surely you can't be serious.
Rumack: I am serious... and don't call me Shirley.

Elaine Dickinson: A hospital? What is it?
Rumack: It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now.

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Bear Gallbladder Uses

There is a big hit on the internet search today regarding “bear gallbladder uses”. It seems that people are curious about the usefulness of this particular organ that comes from animal to human.

As we try to find out what exactly is the benefit of this bear gallbladder, there are some interesting facts about the uses of this bear gallbladder. One thing for certain is that it produces bile that was often used in the traditional Chinese medicine.
 Bile itself is a fluid that was synthesized in the liver. It was then stored and concentrated in the gallbladder and concealed into the small intestine via the bile ducts to help in the absorption of fatty acids and cholesterol.  Other than that, bile also carries lots of waste products away from the liver into the intestine so that they can be eliminated.
It surely is one medicine that good enough to be used by people who wanted to lose some of their weights as well to keep in good shape. In a domestic market, it worth about $400 – $600 each, but if it’s pounded into the typical Asian pharmacies often look like, the price could go up more than 30 times of that domestic price. It surely becomes one of the most highly valued commodities on the black market.
It surely must be sold in a black market because this kind of medicine was extracted illegally from a bear. It is prohibited by law, anywhere in the world to kill a bear and uses it for trade use. This kind of business involves millions of Dollars as well many other crimes, not to mention the possible threat that it brings. Along with the trafficking as well as the smuggling, people’s lives are often getting killed because the rareness and the high value of money that it brings.

spiderman on broadway

Reeve Carney will play the lead in 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark' in the long-anticipated musical.
Noonan for News
Reeve Carney will play the lead in 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark' in the long-anticipated musical.
Andrew Shaffer and Gwendolyn Lee showed up for the new Spider-Man Broadway show.
Taggart/News
Andrew Shaffer and Gwendolyn Lee showed up for the new Spider-Man Broadway show.

Spider-Man has swung into town.
After a year-long delay, on-set injuries and a ballooning budget of $65 million, "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" staged its first public preview Sunday night.
The rock musical, created by U2's Bono and the Edge and directed by "The Lion King" queen Julie Taymor, who also co-wrote the book, is being called Broadway's biggest gamble ever.
The audience in the packed, 1,800-seat Foxwoods Theater, who paid as much as $275 a ticket, called it a surefire smash hit despite some kinks.
There were four unplanned stops in Act I alone that left actors suspended over the audience, one for six minutes. A fifth stop an hour into Act II caused some theatergoers to walk out.
The show lasted 3 hours and 40 minutes, including a 40-minute intermission.
"It was very exciting, especially for the kids. But I was just as excited," said Long Island teacher Gilda Schultz, 42, at the show with her three daughters.
Before the curtain rose, producer Michael Cohl issued the audience a warning: "Please do not try to catch a ride with any of the performers."
The rollicking highflying performance featured a midair battle scene between Spidey and the villainous Green Goblin that left spectators craning their necks.
"He's a bad guy, but his skin is my favorite color," awestruck 6-year-old Jack Soldano of Long Island said of the Green Goblin.
Andrew Shaffer, 32, and his wife, Gwendolyn Lee, 30, of Iowa, came dressed in Spider-Man costumes, but expected a dud.
"It was really good," Shaffer said. "I was pleasantly surprised."
The celebration on the Great White Way was a long time coming. The show based on the Marvel Comics hero has been tangled in a web of problems almost from the start. Production had already been delayed several times due to money issues and tricky stage stunts, when the show's producers announced previews would begin last January. That date came and went and the opening night of Dec. 21 had to be put off until next January.
The bumps along the way led to wholesale cast changes. Rocker Reeve Carney still stars as Spider-Man and his alter ego Peter Parker. Evan Rachel Wood, who was to play Parker's girlfriend, Mary Jane, was replaced by "Next to Normal" star Jennifer Damiano. Alan Cumming's departure made room for Patrick Page to take over the role of the Green Goblin.
Bono said on "60 Minutes" Sunday night that creating the show with bandmate the Edge has been a fantastic voyage. "It has been one of the funnest, more joyful rides of our artistic life, for sure," said Bono, who made sure to recycle familiar U2 anthems like "New Year's Day" and "Vertigo" in the score.

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