And The Best Of 2011 Are …

Other sites have been making lists based on their preference, telling you who they believe was the best of 2011. We here at the Yak like to do it another way … put you in command. You nominated, you voted, and now it’s time to reveal who YOU chose as the Best of 2011. As 2011 comes to a close in just a few days, we figured it’s time to take you down memory lane as we reminisce about what made these people, TV shows, songs, albums, and celebrities the best (or in some cases the worst) of 2011. There were some EXTREMELY tight races this year, but fans came out in full force to make sure their favorites got to the top. No more yakking, let’s just get right to it. Click on a pic below to see what they won – or just click on the first pic and scroll through to see who and what made YOUR list of favorites in television, music, movies and more in 2011.

 

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Song of the Year:

Favorite Live Performance of the Year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLLMzr3PFgk

Most Viral Video of the Year:

Netflix: N8107-154-5006 Back to One Stream at a Time

[singlepic id=720 w=320 h=240 float=left] You may remember back in September, many Netflix members were complaining about a new error code they were receiving, N8107-154-5006, which apparently is the error code for too many streams running at a time. (Which for subscribers of the “unlimited” streaming plan, says 1.) I say apparently because to put that code into Netflix.com help, you get no answer other than them telling you that you must have entered the code incorrectly. Back in September, amidst a customer uproar, Netflix responded that it was a mistake, that they do allow concurrent streams, and it was just an error on their part.

Not anymore.

Netflix in the last couple days has now decided the one single stream at the $7.99 price was a good idea. I had been receiving the error for the last two nights, and decided to call them up and ask if it’s an error again. A very nice gentleman named Thomas at their customer service desk tells me no, that the limit is now one stream at a time. I asked if there was another streaming plan that I could upgrade to that would allow me to have streaming on 2 or 3 devices at a time and was told that they do not have that option, however if I wanted to add a DVD plan, I could get more streams. Hence 2 DVDs at a time would give me two streams. 3 DVDs out, 3 streams… you get the picture.

Really Netflix? Is this a wise decision on your part? I personally think not. Type in Netflix in Google News and all you see nowadays is “Netflix drops in Customer satisfaction” and “Netflix paying for it’s mistakes” and “Netflix losing customers” and so on. So… were they sitting in the board room thinking “Hey, I know! Let’s limit the streams our customers get! That ought to raise the satisfaction levels!” Or were they thinking this move might get people back to pay their DVD subscriptions, just to get more streams? I have no idea what exactly they were thinking, but it seems they were more likely NOT thinking. Hey, maybe the CEO just doesn’t want the hassles of the daily grind anymore and is ready to run the business into the ground. Who knows. Maybe he is being bought off by the big boys to kill his own creation.

Whatever the case may be, doubling the price for the streaming/DVD plan, separating the streaming and DVD service, changing their mind on that separation, then limiting the streaming to one stream at a time pretty much killed it for me. Amazon has many of the same movies on their Prime Membership already, so I guess Netflix can do without my $7.99 per month.

What do you think about the new “One stream at a time” service? For those of you on just the streaming plan, will you keep Netflix?

The Yak’s Interview with Survivor Cast-Off’s Dawn and Whitney

The Yak had the opportunity to interview our last two Survivor castoffs this week. Both declare that they are huge fans of Survivor prior to being cast.

[singlepic id=689 w=200 h=150 float=left]Dawn Meehan is a 41-year-old mother of six adopted children from South Jordan, Utah.
She is an English professor at Brigham Young University. Her hobbies include swimming with her children, writing/blogging and baking bread. Another passion of Dawns for the last 11 years was to become a contestant on Survivor! Dawn was actually cast for the Nicaragua season but was cut just prior to filming. She is ecstatic that she was able to meet Jeff Probst and relishes her “Survivor experience”. Dawn admits that she was out of her element on day one. “I was overwhelmed! The sky is falling!” She laughs when thinking about how that first day went. She’s rightfully proud in her ability to shake that off and become an extremely strong competitor and Survivor!

[singlepic id=690 w=200 h=150 float=left]Whitney Duncan is a 27-year-old Country Western singer from Nashville, Tennessee. Her inspirations are Jesus and Elvis. “Jesus saved me and Elvis is the reason I started singing and performing.” Whitney was also set to star in the Nicaragua season ironically, however at the time she was under contract to Warner Brothers and it didn’t work out.

Another passion of Whitney’s is a tragic event that has happened to her family. In April of 2011 her beautiful, blonde 20-year-old cousin Hollie Bobo was abducted from her home in Tennessee and hasn’t been seen since. Whitney wants to bring this to light and wears a pink “Bring Hollie home” bracelet in honor of her missing cousin. Under scrutiny right now, Whitney says that she wants to keep her private life private however she was forthcoming with the information that prior to Survivor she was in an unhappy and unhealthy relationship. She definitely fell in love with Keith on Survivor and they are now a couple. “Who would have thought I would fall in love on Survivor?” she exclaimed. “We have a lot in common, we come from similar families and we have similar values. He’s just a great guy!”

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The Yak: What did you think about Cochran flipping on your Savaii tribe and being voted off?

Whitney: Cochran said it best. If the debt is not repaid it goes down as one of the most idiotic moves in Survivor history. Well, that’s how I saw it. I saw that it was not a smart move and he even admitted that he was humiliated. I really hate that Cochran was that gullible to believe Coach’s line of B.S honestly. We knew he was going 7th. I wasn’t shocked when his torch was snuffed.

The Yak: What was your strategy if the merge had resulted in Savaii taking out Upolu instead?

Whitney: Well the great thing, I think the whole tribe would agree that Ozzy would have gone sixth. For sure we would have had to get him out because of individual immunity and all that. You need to take out the biggest threats. In my mind it would have been Ozzy, Jim. Cochran was actually the perfect person. In my mind I had him going to final 3 with me. Of course because of individual immunity I didn’t think he would beat me. I had a great alliance with Dawn and with Keith and I felt very secure in that.

Dawn: Jim and Cochran would have been my final 3. I know since the show has aired Jim has laughingly said “I’m not going to take the Mormon mother of 6 adopted children to the end with me, but Jim and Cochran were definitely my final 3. The 3 of us trusted each other a great deal since day 11.

The Yak: Dawn, after Papa Bear was voted out who were you closest to?

Dawn: Oh, P Bear, you know for me I’m really close to Whitney throughout the whole game. I guess that’s not something we see a lot of (on the episodes). It doesn’t show that we have tension either. Again, I was really close to Whitney in the game, Jim, Cochran, and Keith. We all had a good relationship. I think “Sliding Rocks” typifies for me what the game was like for us. We all had a lot of mutual respect for each other. We all wanted to play the game hard. We were all in it for ourselves but we wanted to work with each other as much as we could for as long as we could.

The Yak: What is your honest opinion of Coach?

Dawn: You know I’ve had a hard time knowing how to explain what I think. You know I am impressed based on his day one reception from Upolu to see how he has been able to turn around his position in his tribe from day one, it’s remarkable. I mean his strategy, his ability to outwit when I’m around him, it seems so transparent. When we were in the game at the merge, I’m surprised that everyone is listening and following it. He’s so convincing and persuasive. I don’t think that anyone on Savaii would have been influenced by him outside of Cochran; he’s just so transparent. I think that’s why Christine and Mikayla left is because they weren’t buying it. I do think he’s doing a great job of playing the game though.

The Yak: Did you try to find any chink in the armor at Upolu prior to being voted out?

Dawn: Had we had Sophie we would have at the very least gotten rid of Edna. We had Cochran, we had Albert. The goal was Coach. To me that was the goal. Whitney and I tried to make the argument to Albert and Cochran that Coach is going to win this. A jury is going to vote for him.

Whitney: These people are smart people; I don’t understand how they don’t see this coming. It’s shocking! They were not bold enough to make that move.

The Yak: Dawn any regrets on not outing Cochran to your tribe?

Dawn: I did approach Ozzy and told him I thought Cochran might waffle. Ozzy talked to him for about 15 minutes and said he thought we were ok, that I was worrying too much. It didn’t make any sense for him to flip. I did have a good handle on how Cochran was thinking though.

The Yak: Dawn we did see you considering switching sides with Cochran, what changed your mind?

Dawn: One, I won immunity. By having immunity I didn’t have to draw a rock that night. There were better odds staying loyal to our tribe. The second reason though, I was approached with a final 3 or 4 scenario by Coach. I never felt like it was a genuine or legitimate offer. I felt like it was just what it was; a way to advance their game. It was frustrating for me to see Cochran believe Coach and I spent a lot of time trying to tell him, “There is no way! They are just using you.” But Cochran really believed Coach, so that was hard and frustrating for me.

The Yak: You’re both so tiny, were you surprised at your strength?

Dawn: Yeah!

Whitney: Dawn’s amazing. She pulled off that weight challenge. I wouldn’t have been able to do it. I’m really proud of what we accomplished. I think we both played an impressive physical game.

Dawn: No question. This game makes you push beyond your limits. After a while you start thinking. Hey, why not me?

The Yak: Are you both looking forward to the reunion?

Whitney: Of course!
Dawn: Absolutely, it’s like family and we’re also excited to see the outcome!

The Yak: Do you consider yourselves bitter jury members? What will you base your vote on?

Whitney: Definitely not bitter. It’s who outwitted, outplayed in 39 days.
I took that job of giving someone a million dollars very seriously. I would never vote off emotion. It’s not about one aspect; it’s the overall best player.

Dawn: Personally for me it’s not bitter. For me it’s who outwitted, outplayed and outlasted in 39 days. I took that literally. Who best met the definition of sole Survivor.

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Join us in the Forum HERE for all things Survivor!

The Sing Off’s AfroBlue: “We really love to be cerebral about music”

This week on NBC’s The Sing-Off, judges Sara Bareilles, Shawn Stockman, and Ben Folds made a tough decision and eliminated one of the last remaining collegiate groups, AfroBlue. After a dueling sing-off between the crew from Howard University and the Dartmouth Aires, the show lived up to it’s name with a decision coming down to one final battle. After delivering memorable performances week after week, such as “American Girl” and “Need You Now,” AfroBlue knew they had to follow through with critiques and focus on their arrangements. Unfortunately, found themselves eliminated and exited the Top 4. Earlier today, YakkityYaks had the pleasure to participate in an exclusive call with Danielle Withers from AfroBlue to get some insight on the group’s inspiration, challenges and what they think about the top 3 groups in the competition. Read on to find out these and much more!

For details on how to vote for the Top 3, click HERE. The Sing-Off bows with its finale next Monday, November 28 at 8/7c on NBC!

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The Yak: Hey there, how are you today?

Danielle, AfroBlue: I’m good, thanks!

The Yak: So, what made you guys do The Sing-Off?

Danielle: A few of us kept up with the show from season 1 and we were definitely into the show. We thought it would be cool to be on, but never really thought to audition or send in a tape. In the past, we were afforded the privilege to perform with legendary jazz singers, such as Take 6. Our director reconnected with Cedric from Take 6 and he remembered who we were and put in our name with casting at The Sing-Off. They saw our videos and asked us to audition. The rest is history.

The Yak: You guys had the privilege of knowing each other for some time before doing the show. How do you think that helped you week after week?

Danielle: Well, actually the group on the show was formed from members of the current class and some former members of AfroBlue. So, this was the first time we performed as a group together. Myself, Charity and Elijah have sang together in the past, but our director put us all together and we realized how well we sang as a group and brought it to the stage week after week.

The Yak: You’ve mentioned your director a couple of times. Were you able to work with her during the competition or were you not able to?

Danielle: No, we didn’t really work with her during the show. It was just us out there. As you saw on the show, there was no jazz night, so we had to arrange things freshly week after week. We were bravin’ it on our own. Our repertoire didn’t have any songs that coincided with the themes.

The Yak: Speaking of the themed nights, was one week particularly challenging for you as a group?

Danielle: Hmm, definitely rock/country week. We were familiar with “Need You Now” as a group. Even though we’re a jazz group, we listen to all kinds of music, but we don’t sing all kinds together as AfroBlue. The challenge was to be authentic and find yourselves in each piece we performed, no matter what. I was also not familiar with “American Girl,” so that was a challenge in and of itself. We took the advice of the judges from previous weeks and thought delicately about the arrangements.

The Yak: Well, I loved both of those arrangements, so well done. Have you guys heard from any of the artists you’ve covered this season?

Danielle: Oh, ya actually. We saw a tweet from Estelle the following morning praising our performance of “American Boy,” so that was really cool. We hope others saw our covers and think that we did them justice. I’d love to hear from more of them.

The Yak: You guys were one of the few groups who changed soloists almost weekly. Other than finding the right voice for the song, was there anything else that led you guys to choose a particular vocalist to perform that week?

Danielle: Basically you hit the nail on the head. It all depends on whose voice does the song most justice. We want the personality of the song shine through the voice and sometimes one person’s tone does that better than another.

The Yak: Did you have a favorite performance from the season? If so, why?

Danielle: My favorite was “Killing Me Softly.” I felt as though it were pleasing to the ear. I loved our arrangement. It really was an indicator of who we are as a group. It showed that we can be crazy and have a good time. We really love to be cerebral about music and that song did it for me. I love intricate arrangements like that.

The Yak: Sorry to have seen you guys eliminated last night, but was there any particular feedback from the judges after the show that gave you a little bit more insight into their decision?

Danielle: Nothing extra. What you saw was what they essentially said. They based their decision off the consistency of the season. We were in the bottom 2 more than Dartmouth Aires, so that made sense to us. They are an amazing and dynamic group. Michael’s vocals are amazing.

The Yak: Ya, that note during their sing-off performance blew me away.

Danielle: Haha, exactly my point! We root for each other, that’s the tricky part of this competition.

The Yak: Going into the finale next week, anyone in particular you guys are rooting for?

Danielle: Oh man, all the groups are good for different reasons. Like I said, the Aires are amazing and dynamic. I’m a huge theatre fan and I have told them that everytime I see them perform I feel like I’m watching a Broadway show. As for Urban Method, they have really cool arrangements. I can see things they do on a record. The intricacies you can hear in the background are so unique. And then Pentatonix. You know how some of the best musicians/singers are ahead of their time? That’s who they represent for me. They have the longevity in an artist that will keep them around for a while. Their attitudes are great – tongue in cheek in a really cool way. All the groups have been great.

The Yak: So you can’t commit, huh?

Danielle: Haha, nope, sorry!

The Yak: That’s OK – Before I let you go, are you allowed to give us a sneak peek into next week’s finale?

Danielle: Nope, sorry, you’ll have to tune in and see!

The Yak: Well thanks for your time. It was great talking to you. Have a great Thanksgiving.

Danielle: Thanks, same to you!

Yak Exclusive: Big Brother 13’s Shelly Speaks Out Against Bullying

As Anti-Bullying week comes to an end here at YakkityYaks, we want to be a reminder that ACTION leads to CHANGE. We hope we have gotten that across throughout the week as we have teamed up with past and present Reality TV Stars, our Forum members, and fans on Facebook and Twitter to bring an awareness to the anti-bully movement. Hopefully together, we can help put a stop to it, and help those currently stuck in the situation and in dire need of help or just someone to talk to. Just because the week is over, doesn’t mean the movement stars here. We encourage you to keep the momentum going and keep us updated on your own personal initiatives!

As one of our biggest supporters throughout this week, Big Brother’s Shelly Moore, has provided the Yak with her story as well. Shelly is probably fresh on the minds of many Big Brother fans after her time spent in the house this past summer, which housed “newbies” and alums of the game alike. Shelly is no stranger, as we previously reported, to cyber attacks after reports of threats to Shelly herself, her job and her family surfaced while she was in the house and may have lingered after. Dwelling on those experiences, among others, Shelly has joins our initiative with other reality personalities to share her story below.

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I have never been bullied. That is a statement I can no longer make. It saddens me, it infuriates me, and it enlightens me. All too often in this world, we have the mentality of, it is not happening to me, so it can’t be that bad. It took hate, threats, jeers, and pure ugliness through the Internet, by people who hide behind sometimes clever, occasionally mean, and usually just a spur of the moment screen names for me to realize there is a problem much bigger than any of us realize. The harsh reality of “no one listens until someone dies” became more than a headline to me. I had become a statistic, obviously not one of the horrific suicides consuming young, barely a decade old children, but someone at the other end of the gun. A gun being pointed at me by people who don’t know me, but think they do through the popular TV genre called – Reality TV.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that reality TV for the most part is an edited, made for TV drama. Its sole purpose is to create entertainment, garner huge ratings and advertisers, and create water cooler talk so people, often known as fans, come back for more. It is one of the most popular forms of television today, consuming prime time slots on nearly every major network. And oh yeah, if you can’t get enough, there are marathons that play endlessly on certain channels, and even channels that play nothing but reality drama day in and day out. You can see hoarders, addicts, celebrities (that were made celebrities through reality tv), prison stays, crazy police encounters, survivors in nearly every climate and survivable condition, races, and my personal favorite…house guests. Each year a new twist on reality is spun of golden thread, given a name, a network, a crazy cast of characters and off they go. And right alongside the show comes a cast of bigger characters who evaluate, blog, analyze, argue, converse, and develop opinions that in many cases are extremely polarized. It is very rare with reality characters that you would hear the statement “he or she is alright.” Instead, the casts of these “reality shows” are either gods and goddesses or villains. There is not too much in between. You’re either a character or you’re not and to be a character you have to have the traits the audience wants to cheer or jeer. You can be classified as a god or goddess if you’re hot, entertaining, funny, charming, kind, social, look great in a bathing suit, and say and do all the things the “audience” wants you to say and do. Occasionally you can receive the highest ranking for gameplay, but it really depends on who or what or how you got there. It doesn’t matter if the entire game is set up for lies, deceit, and manipulation. If you ever once utter you hope to not play that way, get ready for the so-called fans to eat you alive. It is possible to be deemed a god or goddess and then fall from grace, just as it is possible to be a villain and have redemption. It just depends how many times you get to play the game or if the audience chooses to let you sneak by.

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Yak Exclusive: A Video Message from Survivor’s Gillian Larson about Bullying


Anti-Bullying week continues here at YakkityYaks where we have teamed up with past and present Reality TV Stars, our Forum members, and fans on Facebook and Twitter to bring an awareness to the anti-bully movement. Hopefully together, we can help put a stop to it, and help those currently stuck in the situation and in dire need of help or just someone to talk to.

Below is a video message from none other than Gillian Larson. You may remember Gillian from Survivor Gabon, the 17th season of the Survivor Reality series. Gillian is one of the most adventurous, tireless and tenacious women we have ever known, who has led her life always trying to help others. A retired nurse of 41 years, wife and grandmother, Gillian spends her time traveling and just hanging out with family and friends. Gillian’s motto? “Believe in yourself and you can achieve anything!” Heck, she applied for Survivor 15 times! How is that for being tenacious and believing in yourself! She certainly fits the bill as role-model!

She is currently participating in a 60 mile walk for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure this weekend! You can keep up with Gillian at her website HERE.

Listen to her video message below:
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Anti-Bullying Week: “Triumphs Taste So Much Sweeter”

As you already know, YakkityYaks has joined forces with past and present Reality TV stars and fans just like you in honor of Anti-Bullying Week. We continue to feature stories from Reality TV personalities, members in our YakkityYaks forum, and fans from Twitter and Facebook. In an effort to join forces and increase awareness, we encourage you to share these stories with your friends and family and encourage continuous efforts to make a difference! We all are capable and we just hope that this motivates and encourages each and every one of us to take a stand and put a stop to bullying once and for all. YakkityYaks, don’t talk smack!

Read on below for another personal accounts from a fan on Twitter who felt so moved to submit their own personal and touching story, in addition to all of our other coverage today. Names have been changed to protect identities, but the stories are straight from the heart and unedited.

If you are interested in participating in our anti-bullying initiative by sharing your story, please contact JDMontgomery@yakkityyaks.com or ShellyBB13@me.com (Big Brother’s Shelly). Each and every story can bring about great change.

We also want to announce an exciting addition to our special features this week. Everyone who submits a story will be eligible to win a phone call from a reality TV personality!

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“When I was a kid, and perhaps my young adult life, I assumed bullying had to do with being gay. I thought, only gay kids get bullied. Kind of like, how some associate racism only having to do with African-Americans. We all know both aren’t true. While many gay youth experience bullying, & many African Americans experience racism, we’re actually all prey to the predator we call, the bully.
Growing up in football loving- Midwestern Ohio, and attending private Catholic school, I experienced bullying at it’s worst. I remember what I just called “the 6th graders” (God they still scare me and I’m 30). One day running late into school I got stopped by one. The BIG one. Why the heck isn’t he in class already I thought? I’ll never forget his words that day, “listen you little faggot, we’re all watching you, if you run around here acting like a faggot or try out for basketball, I will bash your fucking face in, & kill you”.

Wow, right? Needless to say, I didn’t try out for basketball till 7th grade (when this 6th graders were 9th graders & I felt the coast was clear). Ironically one of our basketball practice drills were called ‘Suicides’. Where you ran the court back & forth four times till you just drop. It wasn’t so much my bullies words, or threats that scared me. It’s how I knew the teachers turned a blind eye, how the parents did nothing, how there was NO ONE to go to that made me feel hopeless.

On a side note, it’s a common misconception that gays, especially men, don’t like sports. Ever think we were scared or threatened out of playing? Funny how our military JUST repealed DADT, trying to scare people out of serving & protecting our great nation.

This leads me to my conclusion, that is, we are all bullied in some way, shape or form. Maybe we are the bully.  I recently read that as a child, Eminem was so severely beaten by bullies as a child he was in a coma for 5 days. I think it’s why gays were never offended by his lyrics, we knew it came from a source of pain. Heterosexuals are called faggots everyday. Young girls, who don’t even understand sexuality are called sluts & whores. I’d rather be the bullied than the bully. In a bizarre way it built character & strength, & made all my successes and triumphs taste so much sweeter. My face was never bashed in, but somewhere, lingering in the back of my mind I still think it could be.

Talk to your Mom, or Dad, or neighbor, someone you trust. Dont take matters into your own hands. It really does, as they say, “get better”, and think of things from someone else’s perspective. Who or what is that bully scared of that he or she is taunting you? That kid that threatened me? He was BIG. Overweight actually, for a 6th grader. I wonder how many times he was called ‘Fat’ on a daily basis. I wonder if he has kids now, & how as a parent he feels if his kids are being bullied. Remember, we all grow up eventually. The person you want to outcast, could be the very person who saves your life. I hope by writing this piece, I saved yours.

Ps – I grew up, have tons of friends & those days I was bullied seem like they never actually happened, but they did, & I survived.

~D.”

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The Yak’s Interview with CBS Survivor Jim Rice and Keith Tollefson

Today the Yak was double lucky to interview both Jim Rice and Keith Tolleson. In Wednesday’s episode they became Jurors #1 and #2 after being bested by Ozzy in the Redemption Island Challenge. Both Jim and Keiths evictions were basically at the hands of their former tribemate Cochran who flipped to Upolu tribe after the merge, leaving only devastation for Savaii tribe. There bios are listed below:

[singlepic id=682 w=280 h=200 float=left]Name (Age): Jim Rice (35)
Tribe Designation: Savaii
Current Residence: Denver
Occupation: Medical Marijuana Dispenser
Personal Claim to Fame: I’ve worked on Wall Street, won over 40 poker tournaments, started several successful businesses and earned my MBA at a top five school from the University of Michigan.
Inspiration in Life: My dad. The guy rocks and is responsible for who I am.
Hobbies: Playing guitar, playing poker and anything outdoors.
Pet Peeves: Close-mindedness and disingenuous people.
3 Words to Describe You: Ambitious, magnanimous and competitive.

[singlepic id=683 w=280 h=200 float=left]Name (Age): Keith Tollefson (26)
Tribe designation: Savaii
Current residence: Edina, Minn.
Occupation: Water Treatment Tech
Personal claim to fame: I graduated college and moved to Hawaii for two years because that was my dream.
Inspiration in Life: My mom. She raised me and my sister with little help and eventually bought a house for us after saving for years. She taught me how to be a gentleman even while I was causing trouble when I was young. She instilled great morals, values and love for all those around me.
Hobbies: Surfing, swimming and long-boarding.

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The Yak: Hi guys, thanks for speaking with us today. This question is for both of you. Looking back Jim do you think that you created a monster by saving Cochran and soliciting Keith and Whitney’s vote to blindside Elyse? Do you regret your decision?

Jim: The move to get rid of Elyse was a sound decision. Ozzy and Elyse were tight. Ozzy could have recruited Cochran and had the numbers, that’s why I chose to get rid of her. On Survivor all you know is what you know at the time, we thought of self preservation moving forward.

Keith: I tried to talk to Elyse about game and strategy. There was nothing there. Whitney also tried to talk to Elyse about the game and she got nothing back. That led us to believe that Elyse was talking game with only one person and that was Ozzy. You could even see it in one of her interviews. She stated that she and Ozzy’s strategy was the same. She basically had no concept of the game so we felt that it was our best bet.

The Yak: This is anti-bullying week and we at Yakkity Yaks want to know if you have any stories, quotes, or thoughts about bullying?

Jim: I find it interesting that it’s anti-bullying week. Yes I do have something to say about that. The theme of bullying comes up a lot in the context of Survivor. Upolu looked at Cochran and assumed that he’d been bullied by our Savaii tribe without even knowing. It bothers me that any one of us could be considered a bully. You saw how upset Whitney was at tribal council when she said we had been “villainized.” This upsets me.

Keith: Coach’s propoganda made us out to be bullies. This was a smart play by Coach. I considered Cochran a friend, well not anymore, lol. They showed no bullying on the show because there was never any bullying!. Cochrane himself said he flipped for self-preservation not because of any supposed bullying.

The Yak: Jim since you’re a fan of the show how do you feel about slamming Cochran by calling him a coward?

Jim: I actually despise name calling, it’s so immature you stupid idiot.. lol.
I meant it when I called him a coward. I think he made his decision based out of fear and to me that’s a coward. I think he deserved it.

The Yak: What’s Ozzy really like?

Keith: Ozzy is just a really nice guy. Very down to earth, a beast in challenges. We became very close friends. He’s a very regular guy. We had a pretty good time on Redemption Island together, we fished every day, had coconuts and fresh fruit.

Jim: He was a real nice regular guy. I was only at Redemption Island for one night.

The Yak: How did you view Coach?

Keith: From my basic knowledge he was running the show. He was making his presence known as the leader. He was saying if you don’t listen to me or do what I say there will be consequences. I was completely creeped out by Coach. The honor, integrity and the shoulder rubbing just creeped me out.

The Yak: Why do you think Cochran flipped at the merge?

Jim: As a team we should have made a bigger effort to solidify our team. We should have stressed that we were all sticking together. We had the advantage. We had two immunities AND an immunity idol. It makes no sense whatsoever that Cochran would want to flip. Cochran basically had the best spot in our tribe. He had a final 3 deal with every person on our tribe. As a fan Cochran should know that you can piss off one person and still get jury votes in the end. By flipping and screwing over 5 people it’s 100% lose. I just don’t see how you can flip if you’re playing for the end game. it’s amazing to see someone so smart, going to Harvard, do something so stupid.

*(ed note: Don’t think Cochran will get Keith or Jim’s vote. lol)

The Yak: Keith what did you think when you found out Jim’s true profession? (Medical marijuana dispenser)

Keith: (laughing) I was shocked that he lied about it! It actually made me like him more! It doesn’t really matter, Jim was a real hard worker. I thought “why didn’t you tell us???”

The Yak: Keith can you tell us about your relationship with Whitney?

Keith: We became very close. I can’t answer anymore questions because she’s still playing the game. Hopefully at the finale we can talk about more things and give everyone answers they want to know.

The Yak: Any thoughts about the final challenge against Ozzy?

Keith: Well we thought it was one person going home so to find out it was two, that caught me off guard. During an endurance challenge like that one mental lapse and you’re done!

Jim: As a fan of the show I knew many of the challenges that I hoped to compete in and many that I was hoping not to compete in. As soon as I saw it I realized it was one of the ones I was hoping against.

The Yak: If Jeff Probst called you and asked you to play Survivor again, would you?

Keith: I don’t know (laughing)

Jim: Anyone would love to play again. Who would say no? You get to take off and forget everything, go to a beautiful place and compete for a million dollars!!

To see more Keith and Jim go to CBS.com and view their time on the “Ponderosa”!
The Yak: Thanks so much guys. It was great talking to you, see you on finale night!!

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Can you tell you they will be voting for by their interviews? Let us know what you think below, then come on into the forum HERE where we are discussing all our favorite reality shows!

Glee’s Amber Riley Speaks Up Against Bullying

Thanks to one of our Twitter followers, @Marc_Higginboth, for pointing this out to us! We want to bring you a brief announcement from Glee’s Amber Riley (Mercedes) regarding bullying and the Anti-Bullying movement. Glee has tackled the topic of bullying in past episodes, but Amber has teamed up for the “Mean Stinks!” campaign to make a change for the better! In the video below, Amber lays out three very easy ways for people to help counter bullying, gossip and plain old negative attitude in our schools. Check it out below!

Don’t Miss Big Brother Jun’s Tips Too

In an effort to join forces and increase awareness, we encourage you to share these stories with your friends and family and encourage continuous efforts to make a difference! We all are capable and we just hope that this motivates and encourages each and every one of us to take a stand and put a stop to bullying once and for all. YakkityYaks, don’t talk smack!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLwwhRIbqpA

Yak Exclusive: Big Brother Jun Song’s Tips To Combat Bullying

In accordance with our initiative this week, Big Brother 4 champion Jun Song took some time to send her thoughts, exclusively to the Yak, regarding bullying and the Anti-Bullying movement. Cast as part of the X Factor twist, Jun weathered through to win the prize at the end. Since her time in the Big Brother house, Jun has remained active in social media and has kept up with her fans on Twitter. While Jun has been a very polarizing previous houseguest on Twitter, she has committed herself to the Anti-Bullying movement with the Yak. At the start of the week, Jun has made a couple of affirming tweets in support of our initiative. I, Jun Song, do hereby solemnly swear to ““Stop and think. Words can hurt.” in honor of #AntiBullyingWeek because well, words are my thing. Well known by some fans for her “Twitter wars,” Jun even promised to play nice this week in support. Regardless of your impressions, stepping up for the cause is what this is all about. Here is Jun’s story and 10 tips on how to combat bullying.

We would like to personally thank Jun for stepping up and saying a few words about this important movement. We also want to sneak in a congrats to Jun as she learned that she will be having a boy!

In an effort to join forces and increase awareness, we encourage you to share these stories with your friends and family and encourage continuous efforts to make a difference! We all are capable and we just hope that this motivates and encourages each and every one of us to take a stand and put a stop to bullying once and for all. YakkityYaks, don’t talk smack!

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Growing up the only (yes, check the Census records…only, haha) Korean girl on the Lower East Side of New York City in the late 70s/early 80s I was a prime target for bullies. But after receiving my first black eye I learned to fight with my quick wit and sharp tongue instead of relying on my obviously lacking physical prowess.  That doesn’t mean I was cursing people out my whole life…only occasionally…instead I was careful in who I befriended and why. It’s no wonder I ended up on a show like Big Brother where one’s social capacities and intuition lead people down such different paths. Confrontations can’t always be avoided, but people can be more thoughtful and calculating in how they deal with  such events. Not to say BB is exactly a bullying scenario, but there are so many parallels. Everyone just wants acceptance, including bullies…and unfortunately bullies don’t have the ability to deliver that message and therefore prey on others.  We just all need to be more aware. I’m happy to be a part of Anti-Bullying Week. Thank you for the opportunity!