Things I'd Like To Share

Celebrities 1/31

2012-01-31T09:00:00.005-05:00

Happy 31st Birthday Justin Timberlake!

Rumors were going around that Jennifer Lopez was gettingmarried to her boyfriend Casper. Matt Lauer asked her about it on the Todayshow and she said that she isn’t thinking about marrying Casper yet.Technically her divorce is finalized anyways.

In a recent interview, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie revealedthat they have blocked their names from the kids’ computers. They don’t wantthe kids doing a Google search on them. “I don’t want to make myself dependenton what other people think.”

Rachel McAdams gushes about boyfriend and Midnight In Pariscostar Michael Sheen: “Michael and I didn't get together while we were filmingMidnight in Paris, which I feel strongly about not doing when I'm working. Webecame quite good friends, which I think is a great way to start. I felt veryblessed to have made a Woody Allen film in Paris together. Michael and I neverspend more than three weeks apart — we rack up a lot of air miles — but youhave to be quite adaptable in this business whether you are in a relationshipor not. Trying to establish roots somewhere is a bit of a joke. You need totrust each other and be able to talk to each other and be best friends.”

Millionaire Park Avenue music mogul, Alan Meltzer, gave $1million to his driver and $500K to his doorman in his will. After his wifedumped him, he said that these two gentlemen gave him a shoulder to cry on andhe wanted to repay them.

TV/Movies/Music 1/31

2012-01-31T09:00:00.002-05:00

Tonight is the Michael Jacksonepisode on Glee.

Warner Brothers Music hasannounced that they are going to come out with a box set of Madonna music. Itwill have tracks from 11 albums and some additional tracks. Currently they willbe released march 5^th in Europe but no date has been set for the US.

Director Matthew Vaughn hasfinally signed the dotted line for the X-Men: First Class sequel. He directedthe first one but there were rumors that he wasn’t interested in doing anotherone.

Danny DeVito is heading over toLondon to star in the West End production of Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys. Itwill be at the Savoy Theatre and opens on May 17th.

Rumor has it that Jimmy Iovine,chairman and president of Interscope-Geffen-A&M, is in the process ofcreating his own music competition show. Well, at least he would make a goodjudge. He cultivated Eminem and Lady Gaga and started his career with JohnLennon.

Talk about a Twitter campaignbackfiring on your ass. McDonald’s tried to promote a Twitter campaign askingfollowers to promote stories of their experiences in McDonald’s. With thehashtag #McDStories, the campaign went from innocent marketing ploy to a soundboard for haters and animal activists. It seems like this was a #McFail.

Legal Issues and Politics 1/31

2012-01-31T08:59:00.000-05:00

Rude Music Inc is slapping NewtGingrich with a lawsuit for pirating Eye of the Tiger. The company claims thepolitician has been using the song at various events since 2009.

17-year-old JT Gaskins, who hasbeen battling cancer since he was a year old, wanted to give back to thecommunity. When he found out that the sister of a family friend was diagnosedwith cancer, he wanted to grow his hair out for Locks of Love. However, he wassuspended from his school because his hair is too long. (Because you know thebest way to teach a child right and wrong is to suspend them from school forcaring about others.)

Washington State’s marriageequality bill advanced again yesterday in the House Judiciary Committee. TheSenate version advanced last week and will be voted on tomorrow. The house billshould follow shortly. Anti-gay advocates are already collecting signatures tosuspend the bill and put it on the ballot.

By a narrow vote of 8-7, theVirginia state Senate General Laws Committee rejected a bill to add sexualorientation to the list of classes protected from discrimination in state hiring.Anti-gay groups testified that the bill was unneeded because there is no proofthat gays are discriminated against. Of course, since it is legal todiscriminate there is nowhere people can go to register a complaint so that isa totally bogus excuse.

To appease the Crazy Ass Right, NJGovernor Chris Christie says that openly gay state Supreme Court nominee BruceHarris has promised to recuse himself from any cases regarding same-sexmarriage. Because it is a conflict for gay men to decide on marriage rights butit isn’t a conflict for straight people to decide on marriages.

South Dakota’s House has votedthat all public schools in the state have to include Bible study. Hopefully itnever becomes law.

Martha Boggs, the owner of aKnoxville, Tennessee restaurant called The Bistro at the Bijou, denied SenatorStacey Campbell (who proposed the state's ridiculous "Don't Say Gay"law and said straights don’t get AIDS) entrance into her establishment becauseof his remarks. “I hope you understand now what it is like to be discriminatedagainst for being who you are.”

Celebrities 1/30

2012-01-30T08:20:00.002-05:00

Stacy Irvine is 17 and has pretty much eaten nothing butchicken nuggets (mostly McDonald’s but some store bought ones as well). Well,she collapsed and was rushed to the hospital for breathing problems and anemia.Her doctors are pissed at her mother for allowing it and social services isseeing if they should charge the parents with child abuse. (Side note: Rememberonly 49% of a McNugget is chicken. The rest is preservatives and other crapthat is so not healthy)

Revenge costars Emily Van Camp and Josh Bowman, whosecharacters are romantically involved on the show, are apparently dating in reallife.

People attending the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival onSaturday got to see more of Celine Dion than they planned. During her song MyHeart Will Go On, the microphone cord caught on her dress and she flashed theaudience a little. She quickly covered back up and even joked “Was a quickenough?” LOL!

The Congregation Beth Shalom, in corona, cannot pay back amassive loan it took out and has reached out to Mel Gibson to cover the costsas a way to prove that he isn’t anti-Semitic.

TV/Movies/Music 1/30

2012-01-30T08:19:00.003-05:00

The Grey was the #1 movie thisweekend bringing in $20 million. Underworld Awakening was #2 with One For TheMoney, Red Tails and Man on a Ledge rounding out the Top 5.

The fourth Mission: Impossiblemovie is not only a hit, but it has set a record for the franchise, bankingabout $571 million worldwide.

I don’t know if you have heardabout this yet, but supposedly NBC was going to air an episode of Fear Factorwhere the contestants had to drink donkey semen. However, it looks like theyhave pulled the episode because their schedule no longer says “New – Hee Haw!Hee Haw!” and says it will be a repeat called “Snake Bite.”

Oh no!!! There are reports comingin that Steve Jones might be getting the boot from X Factor. That is so notcool. He is so cute and that accent is just adds to it!

India’s Censor Board has deemedThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo “unsuitable for public viewing” and thereforehas canceled the release of the film in that country.

Colm Wilkinson and FrancesRuffelle, who played Jean Valjean and Eponine in the original London productionof Les Miserables, have been tapped to appear in the currently in-productionfilm adaptation of the musical. Wilkinson will play Bishop of Digne andRuffelle will cameo as a featured whore in Lovely Ladies.

Over the weekend, the New YorkTimes ran a long feature piece on Barnes & Noble and their process ofgetting eBook readers to abandon Amazon. In the piece, they mentioned thatB&N is planning to release a new eReader (their 5th one) this spring.However, they didn’t give any more details about it.

A new study suggests that peopleworking at least 11 hours a day, compared to those working just 7 or 8, areover twice as likely to develop depression. It showed that people who work morethan 5 days a week are 2.5 twice more likely to be depressed than those whohave two days off a week.

The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Award Winners

2012-01-30T08:18:00.003-05:00

MOTION PICTURES

Best Cast: The Help

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin (TheArtist)

Best Actress: Viola Davis (TheHelp)

Best Supporting Actor: ChristopherPlummer (Beginners)

Best Supporting Actress: OctaviaSpencer (The Help)

PRIMETIME TELEVISION

Best Cast In A Drama Series:Boardwalk Empire

Best Cast In A Comedy Series:Modern Family

Best Actor In A Drama Series:Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire)

Best Actress In A Drama Series:Jessica Lange (American Horror Story)

Best Actor In A Comedy Series:Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)

Best Actress In A Comedy Series:Betty White (Hot In Cleveland)

Best Actor In A TV Movie orMiniseries: Paul Giamatti (Too Big To Fail)

Best Actress In A TV Movie orMiniseries: Kate Winslet (Mildred Pierce)

SAG HONORS FOR STUNT ENSEMBLES

Best Stunt Ensemble In A Movie:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Best Stunt Ensemble In A TVSeries: Game of Thrones

Legal Issues and Politics 1/30

2012-01-30T08:17:00.002-05:00

Herman Cain has endorsed NewtGingrich for the GOP presidential candidate.

It is being reported that New YorkGovernor Andrew Cuomo will be vetoing the ridiculously gerrymanderedlegislative redistricting just submitted to him by the leaders of the Senateand the Assembly. Just looking at some of the maps cracks me up. Look at mydistrict: http://www.latfor.state.ny.us/maps/prop2012s/ps30.pdf

GOP introduces a bill banningsame-sex “ceremonies” on military bases. The bill also states that militarychaplains to refuse to conduct same-sex marriages, which they already have thepower to do but Republicans like to waste time and restate stuff that isalready law.

North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdueannounced last week that she will not seek reelection. This may not bode wellfor Democrats looking to hold an important swing state that is also the host ofthis year’s convention, but some however are cheering since she is underfederal investigation for campaign finance improprieties.

Parents in PA are pissed at PottstownMiddle School’s principal for banning UGG boots in the classroom. PrincipalGail Cooper sent a letter home on Wednesday that said the school’s been havinga problem with students hiding prohibited items like cell phones in their “opentop boots.”

Pennsylvania’s House passed aresolution declaring 2012 “The Year of the Bible.” The Freedom From ReligionFoundation put it best: “Our constitution grants sovereignty not to a deity ora ‘holy book,’ but to ‘We, the People.’ There is no reference to God, the bible,the Ten Commandments or Jesus in the U.S. Constitution, just as there are noreferences to ‘consent of the governed,’ ‘civil liberties’ or ‘democracy’ inthe bible. Those who have truly studied the bible realize that it is a moralquagmire, a behavioral grab bag, which has been used to justify automatic rule,tyranny, slavery, the degradation of women and gays, child abuse, war, atrocityand mayhem.”

Even though the Supreme Court ofthe United States has said that it is totally constitutional for a school torequire its counseling students to meet with LGBT students to complete theirdegree, a judge in Michigan said that the anti-gay student has the right to suethe school for expulsion. I’m hoping there was just some technicality as to whyshe can sue even though they did nothing wrong.

Celebrities 1/27

2012-01-27T09:57:00.006-05:00

With his recent heath troubles, Mariah Carey thought herhubby Nick Cannon needed a pick me up. She bought him a $300K Ferrari! Talkabout a get well present!

Reports are surfacing that Beyonce and Jay-Z have finallypicked a godmother for their little Blue Ivy. It is Oprah! Jay-Z’s pal Ty Tyhas been chosen as her godfather. (Does anyone else fear this is going to bethe most spoiled child in the entire world?)

Pat Sajak recently revealed that when he and Vanna Whitewere younger, they would have a few margueritas between tapings of Wheel ofFortune. And by few we mean at least four. LOL! He admits there were times when he was so drunk he hoped he didn’tpuke on the wheel. HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Representative Barney Frank will marry his longtime partner,Jim Ready. Frank’s office says they’ll be married in Massachusetts.

Drew Carrey and his fiancé Nicole Jaracz, after nearly fiveyears together, are pulling the plug on their plans to walk down the aisle.According to Carey’s rep, the pair are parting on amicable terms and insiststhat they will still be a family for the sake of their son.

Kevin Allred, a professor and doctoral student at RutgersUniversity, is now offering a course on Beyoncé, which will explore her abilityto "effect social change," as well as compare her to the works ofBell Hooks, Alice Walker and Sojourner Truth.

TV/Movies/Music 1/27

2012-01-27T09:57:00.002-05:00

Adele has made it 17 weeks at #1!She has surpassed the Titanic soundtrack and is now approaching the record setby The Bodyguard soundtrack (20 weeks)

According to “a reliable source,”the iPhone 5 really is going to be bigger and better. The screen of the newapple baby will be 4+ inches bigger. Of course Apple hasn’t settled on aversion to release so there may be some alterations before we see the bigreveal.

The Public Theater announcedyesterday that As You Like It and Into the Woods are going to be theShakespeare in the Park shows this year. Totally going!

According to new reports, as soonas Annapurna Pictures heard Blake Lively was cast in Steven Soderbergh’s SideEffects, they decided to pull out of financing it. The producers of the movieare looking for another studio right now.

Yesterday morning, in honor of theshow's 100th episode and the impact it has had on the city, Mayor Bloombergjoined the cast, including Blake Lively, Penn Badgely and Ed Westwick, on theirset in Queens to present them with an official proclamation dubbing January26th Gossip Girl Day.

NBC is working on a potentialOffice spin-off which would focus on Rainn IWlson’s character Dwight Schrute.Nothing has been confirmed yet but a “source” says it is pretty much a donedeal.

Idina Menzel’s album Idina MenzelLive: Barefoot at the Symphony is going to be released following the PBS airingon March 3^rd. Songs she will sing include: Life of the Party, Asleepon the Wind, No Day But Today, Poker Face, Where or When, Heaven Help My Heart.For Good, Defying Gravity, Tomorrow, Love for Sale/Roxanne, and Funny Girl/Don’tRain On My Parade.

We are about to get a lot moreshows on Lifetime featuring incompetent parents exploiting their children. Thenetwork’s show Dance Moms and America’s Supernanny garnered their largestaudiences and almost setting a record for the network.

NASA released a super-high resimage of the Earth: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/6760135001/sizes/o/in/photostream/

A lot of people are upset at NewYork Sports club for having this copy on their new ads: “Paula, you made afortune off of fat. Call us if you want to be around to enjoy it.”

Alaska Airlines is ending its30-year practice of placing prayer cards on passengers’ meal trays. The airlinealso insists that their recent partnership agreement with Emirates Airlines hasnothing to do with ending the cards. “Many of our passengers have come to us tosay religion is inappropriate on an airplane.”

Who says cats and dogs can't getalong? This is 2012, people! Get with it! In China, a very fertile White Tigergave birth to three adorable tiger cubs, marking her third litter in 18 months!(Someone has been busy) When it became clear that the mother could no longercare for the little ones, the cubs -- a rare stripe-less tiger and two regularwhite tigers -- were brought to the wildlife park in Rongcheng, China to be caredfor by ... a German Shepard.

Legal Issues and Politics 1/27

2012-01-27T09:56:00.000-05:00

Well known NYC anchor Greg Kelly hasbeen accused of rape from a woman he met back in October 2011. The woman claimsthat she met the TV anchor on the street and they went out for drinks. Theyreturned to her workplace, a law office, and that's where the assault happened.However, this is where things get fishy. The two continued to text and calleach other afterwards. The boyfriend discovered the text messages andconfronted her and that is when she tells him she was raped. The woman'sboyfriend then contacted Greg's father, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, andsaid Greg ruined his girl's life. The Commissioner told the boyfriend to writea letter and now the NY County D.A. Office is investigating the matter to avoida conflict of interest from Raymond Kelly and NYPD. Greg is said to becooperating fully with the investigation.

Hillary Clinton said yesterdaythat she won’t be staying on very long into Obama’s second term. But she isn’truling out future political options after that.

The Bill & Melina GatesFoundation renewed its commitment this year to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,Tuberculosis and Malaria by giving $750 MILLION! That is so awesome!

Indiana’s GOP-sponsoredcreationism bill has passed the Senate Education Committee and will head to thefloor. The bill would have public schools teach creationism as a fact and anopposing view to “science-based evolution.”

Washington state’s GOP tried tosink the marriage equality bill with poison amendments but lucky that didn’twork out. The decision is now to vote on it right away and risk the Rightgetting the 120,577 signatures to put it on the ballot or wait until the lastminutes of the legislative session so they have fewer days to get thesignatures. Signatures can’t be collected until after the bill is passed butbefore July 6.

Chris Christie saying somethingstupid: "The fact of the matter is, I think people would have been happyto have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in thestreets in the South. It was our political institutions that were holdingthings back. I don't think there's anything necessarily so special about thisparticular issue that it must be handled by a legislature. Why would that be? Idon't understand how anybody could argue with letting the people decide thisissue. Let's stop hiding behind this 'we don't put civil rights on the ballot'thing. Ya know, please. These folks would put anything on the ballot if theythought they could win." (Yep, because all those Black people who werekilled in the South chose to be killed and if their civil rights were put upfor a long, they totally would have been treated equally.)

Did we really need a study forthis? A new study reveals adults with lower intelligence are more prone togravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, which, because they stress aresistance to change, also leads to prejudice. Duh!

The new Canadian quartercelebrates marriage equality! How cool is that?! Artist Gary Taxali talks abouthis collaboration with the Royal Canadian Mint: “The coin that Taxali is mostproud of is the wedding-themed coin, featuring two intertwining rings thatrepresent a gender-neutral marriage. ‘I live in a country where gender isirrelevant and the coin has to represent that. I thought it would be a nicething to represent that and to show two rings; is one a man and one a woman?Two men? Two women? It doesn’t matter what they are, they represent the unionof two people.’” Even though the launch wasjust last week, the Royal Mint is already sold out of the first run!

Three years after a never-enactedmarriage equality law was repealed at the ballot box, Maine’s activists willattempt to repeal the repeal. They have delivered the signatures necessary toput it on the ballot so the state should be able to vote on it in November.Currently polls show 55% of Maine is in favor of marriage equality. And thebest part is that NOM can’t work in Maine this time because they are in troublefor breaking 12 different campaign laws the last time they were in the state.

Sophia Stockton, a junior at ajunior at Mid-America Nazarene University in Olathe in Kansas was scaredshitless when a bag of white powered fell a text book on terrorism. She took itto the cops who told her it was just cocaine — Like, a few hundred dollarsworth.

Celebrities 1/26

2012-01-26T08:59:00.003-05:00

Happy 54th Birthday Ellen DeGeneres!

Due to nightmares he has been having since his jet skiaccident, Sean Kingston has packed up and moved to the Hollywood Hills area ofLA. He doesn’t want to be anywhere near the ocean anymore.

50 Cent is so confident that the Giants will win the SuperBowl that he bet $500K on it. Well one of his followers on Twitter wanted tomake things more interesting. She said that if the Giants win, she will show ofher “goodies” and face on Twitter, but if the Patriots come out on top, 50 Centwill have to show off his penis on Twitter. Supposedly he has accepted the challenge.LOL!

While he avoids jail and allegations he beat his wife,Jeremy London is now homeless. His public defender filed with the court thatLondon is “transient” which is a nice legal term to say homeless.

TV/Movies/Music 1/26

2012-01-26T08:59:00.001-05:00

Adele has reclaimed the #1 stop onthe Billboard Hot 100 Songs chart with her single Set Fire to the Rain. Heralbum 21 is still leading the Billboard 200 charts too!

Facebook announced that over thenext few weeks, they’ll be automatically switching users’ profiles to the newTimeline format if they don’t do it on their own. They are really pushing thesenew 60+ Timeline apps so they want everyone on Timeline.

Extremely Loud and IncrediblyClose has officially become the worst reviewed movie ever for a Best PictureOscar nominee. LOL! (Let’s face it, please only voted for it because it isabout 9/11)

Seriously?!?! Warner Brothers hasgiven the green light for a third Hangover movie. (Is that necessary?) However,Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis are asking for $15 million eachso this might not happen.

It's been nearly six years sinceStar Jones announced live on The View that she was leaving the show for good,without giving anyone any warning of her departure, least of all BarbaraWalters. But bygones seem to be bygones as the big news today is that Star isreturning to the show in February. The former co-host is set to join the ladiesto promote the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women campaign, whichaims to raise awareness about heart disease in women. As both Star and Barbaraboth underwent open heart surgery two years ago, it's an issue they both feelstrongly about. Perhaps this is the thread that pulled these two back together.

Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainmentis partnering with Sony Pictures Television and Will & Jada Pinkett-Smith’sOverbrook Entertainment for a new DJ-themed reality competition show. The showid being described as a “live, new international TV format to find the world’sgreatest DJs.”

True Blood creator Alan Ball justgot that go ahead for a new show for Cinemax. The show is called Banshee and“centers around an ex-convict and master thief who assumes the identity of thesheriff of Banshee, PA where he continues his criminal activities even as he’sbeing hunted by the shadowy gangsters he had betrayed years earlier.”

JCPenney’s is permanently markingdown all of its merchandise by at least 40% so shoppers no longer have to waitfor sales to get bargains. Penney’s said yesterday that it is getting rid of thehundreds of sales it offers each year in favor of a simpler approach topricing. Starting February 1^st, the retailer is rolling out an “EveryDay” pricing strategy with much fewer sales throughout the year.

Legal Issues and Politics 1/26

2012-01-26T08:58:00.001-05:00

J Edgar and Social Network starArmie Hammer was arrested for pot possession. He was caught with marijuana inhis car at a border patrol checkpoint in West Texas.

Former Late Night with JimmyFallon employee Paul Tarascio is suing both Jimmy and NBC Universal fordiscrimination. He claims the he was fired from his position as first stagemanager and replaced by a “totally incompetent woman” in 2010. The reason isthat Jimmy “prefers to take direction from a woman.” He is also claiming thatthe director “knowingly fabricated alleged performance issues.”

The New Hampshire legislature willconsider a bill that would allow Christian businesses to refuse service to gaycouples. Rep. Frank Sapareto says anybody that opposes his bill is“intolerant.” (Yep, because if you don’t believe in discrimination, you are theone who is intolerant.)

Earlier this week, Ecuador’sgovernment announced that they’ll be shutting down ex-gay clinical programswhich were basically “torturing and abusing people with promises to cure themof homosexuality.” The state realized this is not the best thing for theircitizens and their tax dollars.

Two new studies have confirmedthat the mouth swab test for HIV was just as effective as a traditional bloodscreening. So OraQuick, the at home test, is about 99% accurate. Here is thedilemma in my opinion: by having an at-home test, hopefully more people willget tested BUT I’m afraid of people finding out results all by themselves. Ifsomeone gets a positive result, they might kill themselves thinking it is adeath sentence when nowadays people with HIV can live full lives.

Newt Gingrich in Florida: “By theend of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon and itwill be American," Gingrich said to applause. He said the developmentwould include commercial and private efforts, and will make apparent, "weclearly have the capacity that Chinese and the Russians will never comeanywhere close to us." Gingrich also said he would push to developpropulsion technology that would get man to Mars. He emphasized that it doesn'thave to be expensive, exploration in partnership with private companies canlower the cost.”

An initiative that started inSuffolk County, New York has now moved to several other states. The SuffolkCounty Society for the Prevention of the Cruelty of Animals was the first inthe country to actually set up an animal abuser registry similar to what sexoffenders have to do. Convicted animal abusers must provide a photo and theircurrent address for ten years and pay a $50 a year fee. New York state isconsidering picking up the law as well as Arizona, Colorado, Florida andMaryland.

I don’t know if this is a goodthing… The Westboro Baptist Church has endorsed Obama. Their reasoning? He isthe lesser of two evils. “Newt Gingrich is a liar, thief and adulterer and MittRomney isn’t a true follower of Christ, instead believing Jews magicallyappeared in America.”

Yesterday, New York Assemblyman DanielO’Donnell and his partner John Banta finally got their marriage license after31 years together. O’Donnell was one of the chief architects of marriageequality in New York having led his chamber to approve the issue in threeconsecutive years.

Last week, Oklahoma State SenatorRalph Shortey introduced a bill that would ban “the manufacturing and sellingof food or products which use aborted human fetuses.” Ummm… Which companies areusing these fetuses in their food? What the hell is the point of this bill? NPRspeculates that Shortey’s bill has to do with a recent boycott aimed at PepsiCofor working with a company called Senomyx that “has been accused of usingproteins derived from human embryonic kidney cells in its research.” (Hey,idiot, even if this bill passes, you aren’t solving the problem. They are usingthe cells for research and not in the actual food.)

Google has joined fellow corporategiants Starbucks and Microsoft in backing Washington state’s pending marriageequality bill. Also new to the ever-growing list is aluminum manufacturerAlcoa, which supplies much of the state’s aircraft industry. (PS: As you maysuspect, Crazy Right groups have been emailing their followers begging them toboycott Starbucks, Microsoft and Google. Good luck with that! LOL!)

As I've noted here on severaloccasions, Brooklyn's Hasidic communities have been increasing their attemptsto impose religious law on their neighborhoods. We've seen demands that womensit at the back of public buses and we've seen street signs commanding women tostep aside for approaching men. We've seen attempts to ban bike lanes so that"immodestly dressed" female bikers don't "flaunt theirbodies" as they pass through Hasidic neighborhoods. And now we have an openletter from one Lubavich landlord demanding that other landlords stop rentingto non-Jews.

An It Gets Better Video from Deployed Soldiers in Afghanistan

2012-01-25T09:05:00.007-05:00

An It Gets Better Video from Deployed Soldiers in Afghanistan

Celebrities 1/25

2012-01-25T09:05:00.004-05:00

The public viewing for Etta James is scheduled for Friday.However it is being reported that Al Sharpton eulogy will be at the privatefuneral on Saturday. Both the viewing and funeral will include performances bycelebrities.

Yesterday I reported about Gabriel Aubry and his abuse ofthe nanny. Well, his story to the police was that he didn’t push her, shetripped. The police are continuing their investigation but no charges have beenfiled yet.

CSI star Marg Helgenberge became the latest actress toreceive her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday.

On his talk show The Revolution, fashion design guru TimGunn confessed he hasn’t enjoyed sex for 29 years! There was an ickyrelationship in his past that really messed him up emotionally. He did stressto the audience that just because he might not be having sex, he is still a“perfectly fulfilled person” and that “sex does not define who you are. If youaren’t in the mood, you aren’t and there is nothing wrong with that.”

In a recent interview, Glenn Close revealed that she wasactually a part of the extremely conservative cult Moral Re-Armament from theage of 7 until she went to college. “Everyone was told to think alike andeverything was dictated to you. You didn’t have to think at all.” And while shewouldn’t wish that life on anyone, she says that she believes it helped heracting a lot because “it gives you a huge sense of looking from the outsidein.”

UNICEF ambassador Selena Gomez is headed to the DemocraticRepublic of the Congo to help some of the citizens of the war-torn country. Herprevious trips have included Ghana and Chile and she says she is grateful tohave been given the opportunity to help others.

TV/Movies/Music 1/25

2012-01-25T09:05:00.000-05:00

Khloe Kardashian has just landedher very own radio show on Dallas’ MIX 102.9 from Noon to 1pm. So if you don’tget enough information about the family from their four reality shows andconstant mention on blogs and the internet, you can now listen to her live inDallas or on I Hear Radio later in the day.

Up All Night star Will Arnett willbe returning to 30 Rock to reprise his role as Devon Banks, the nemesis of AlecBaldwin’s Jack Donaghy.

Ben Stiller is going to produce,direct, and star in a new comedy for HBO. The comedy pilot is called All Talkand is described as a “politically, religiously, culturally, intellectually,and sexually irreverent” look at a Jewish family in Washington DC. Alan Alda isalso going to star as Ben Stiller’s dad.

Lily Colins has dropped out of theSam Raimi remake of Evil Dead. It is being reported that she dropped the roledue to scheduling conflicts. They group is now scrambling to find a replacementso they can still hit theaters April 2013.

During a recent interview, LisaRinna announced that she’s got a book about sex in the works. “The book isgoing to be a very honest look at sex and how to keep it hot. All kinds of sexand I really go there. I open up about how important a great sex life is to alasting marriage and give you lots of tips on keeping your man a happy camper.I mean, as we all know, the key to a man's heart really is his penis.”

Even though they stressed thatthey do not condone the homosexual lifestyle, the Boy Scouts of America havedecided to join the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network’s NoName-Calling week. The head council has notified leaders that they should usethis time to teach scouts the dangers of name calling and having respect forothers.

Disney has relaxed its policies alittle and has decided that male employees (or actors since they believeeveryone is a “casted character”) are allowed to grow beards. However, thebeards must be shorter than a quarter of an inch and no “soul patches.”

The 2012 Oscar Nominees Are…

2012-01-25T09:04:00.001-05:00

Best Picture "The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"Extremely Loud & IncrediblyClose"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"The Help"
"Moneyball"
"War Horse"
"The Tree of Life"

Best Actor

Demian Bichir, "A Better Life"
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor SoldierSpy"
Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

Best Actress

Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Rooney Mara, "The Girl With the DragonTattoo"
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams, "My Week WithMarilyn"

Best Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh, "My Week WithMarilyn"
Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte, "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Max Von Sydow, "Extremely Loud &Incredibly Close"

Best Supporting Actress

Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain, "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer, "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer, "The Help"

Best Director

Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"
Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"
Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"

Best Original Screenplay

Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
JC Chandor, "Margin Call"
Asghar Farhadi, "A Separation"
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo,"Bridesmaids"

Best Adapted Screenplay

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash,"The Descendants"
John Logan, "Hugo"
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon,"The Ides of March"
Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian,"Moneyball"
Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughn,"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

Best Animated Feature

"A Cat In Paris"
"Chico & Rita"
"Kung Fu Panda 2"
"Puss in Boots"
"Rango"

Best Foreign Language Film of theYear

Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)

Original Score

"The Adventures of Tintin," John Williams
"The Artist," Ludovic Bource
"Hugo," Howard Shore
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," AlbertoIglesias
"War Horse," John Williams

Best Original Song

"Man or Muppet," The Muppets; Musicand Lyric by Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio," Rio; Music by SergioMendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Achievement in Art Direction

"The Artist"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsPart 2"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Cinematography

"The Artist"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"The Tree of Life"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Costume Design

"Anonymous"
"The Artist"
"Hugo"
"Jane Eyre"
"W.E."

Best Documentary Feature

"Hell and Back Again"
"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the EarthLiberation Front"
"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory"
"Pina"
"Undefeated"

Best Documentary Short Subject

"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldierof the Civil Rights Movement?"
"God Is the Bigger Elvis"
"Incident in New Baghdad"
"Saving Face"
"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom"

Best Achievement in Film Editing

"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"

Best Achievement in Makeup

"Albert Nobbs"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsPart 2"
"The Iron Lady"

Best Animated Short Film

Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. MorrisLessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Best Live Action Short Film

"Pentecost"
"Raju"
"The Shore"
"Time Freak"
"Tuba Atlantic"

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

"Drive"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing

"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

"Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsPart 2"
"Hugo"
"Real Steel"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"

Legal Issues and Politics 1/25

2012-01-25T09:01:00.003-05:00

This is disgusting! Jake Burris,campaign manager for Arkansas congressional candidate Ken Aden, came home to avery unpleasant surprise. The aide returned home with his family and saw theirbeloved cat had been murdered and the word “Liberal” had been painted onto itsside. The cat’s head had been clubbed and smashed gruesomely.

Chris Christie has finally spokenup about the marriage equality bill that is going through the New Jerseylegislature. He has called for a ballot measure to decide on marriage equality.If any bill reaches his desk, he says he will veto it. However, rumor has itthey are only a few votes away from getting a veto-proof majority so hisopinion doesn’t really matter for this issue. (Side Note: The NJ SenatePresident stated, “Civil rights don’t go on the ballot. The majority will neverhelp a minority.”)

The Charlotte city Council hasvoted to give police expanded powers during the Democratic convention. The newlaw allows police to stop and frisk any person they want. Backpacks, body armorand bike helmets are also prohibited within a 600 yard area of the convention.(The ACLU warns business men who ride their bikes to work to avoid theconference center or they will be arrested.)

The New York City Council wants toend the practice of slapping huge hard-to-remove stickers on cars that blockstreet cleaning machines. Bloomberg says he’ll likely veto their decision,because car owners need to suffer for their lazy ways. LOL!!! (Side Note: Didyou know in some parts of Manhattan, there’s an underground economy entirelybased on paying people to move your car to avoid these stickers? Love it!)

Televangelist Richard Roberts, theson of Oral Roberts, has been arrested for a DUI. His blood alcohol level was.11 and the legal limit is .08. In 2007, Roberts was forced to step down aspresident of Oral Roberts University after several lawsuits were filed allegingembezzlement. However he continues to make over $500K annually from the schooland hosts a nationally syndicated TV scam… I mean, show.

At Pepperdine University, a groupof students put in an application to start a gay-straight alliance. Here is whatthe Dean of Students for the school said: From the administration'sperspective, the issue remains how Reach OUT will align with the Pepperdinemission and tradition. While Davis acknowledged that the relationship with theChurches of Christ is important, more central is honoring the biblicalconviction that sexual activity should be reserved for a husband-wiferelationship. "Pepperdine seeks to be faithful to this teaching because webelieve it is God's will," Davis said, "and therefore we cannot endorseanother view or take a neutral position on sexual morality. Although Reach OUTstated in its application that it has no position on sexual activity, we do notbelieve it is possible for a LGBT student organization to maintain a neutralposition." (Yep, because only the gay kids are the horny ones. And theyare so horny they can’t stop themselves.)

Hunters are traveling from all overthe globe to kill giraffes while on safari. Okay, first off giraffe’s are oneof the most peaceful animals on the planet so what “honor” do you get bykilling one. I mean seriously? Apparently if you bribe an official with 10Kpounds you can bring your family along to kill these dangerously-near-extinctionanimals.

Celebrities 1/24

2012-01-24T08:54:00.000-05:00

Tracey Morgan collapsed unconscious after an awards ceremonyat the Sundance Film Festival over the weekend and was rushed to the hospital.At first, everyone said it was because he was intoxicated, but the hospitalreleased a statement saying there was no alcohol or drugs in his system. Theysaid that it was a combination of the high altitude and exhaustion.

There are news reports that Halle Berry’s ex-husband Gabriel Aubry hasphysically and verbally been abusing their nanny. Apparently Aubry has alwaysbeen about the racial slurs but it came to a head when Aubry decided Nahladidn’t need to go to school but didn’t tell Halle or the nanny so the nannywent to pick her up. And then of course they panicked when she wasn’t there.The nanny went to Aubry’s house where they got into a fight. When she picked uplittle Nahla, Aubry slammed the nanny into the wall repeated (with his daughterin her arms) trying to force her to let go. Charges haven’t been filed yet butthe nanny has met with the police.

It is being reported that Whitney Houston is flat broke. A“source” says “Music industry heavy hitters are supporting her and her label isfronting her cash against her next album, but no one knows when that will bereleased. She might be homeless if not for people saving her. She is broke as ajoke.”

Actress Bryce Dallas Howard and husband Seth Gabel welcomeda baby girl on the 19th. Beatrice Jean Howard-Gabel was 8lbs 6oz and is thecouple’s second child.

Rumor has it that Naya Rivera, Santana on Glee, has moved onfrom her flings with co-stars Mark Salling and Chord Overstreet and is datingGlee writer Matthew Hodgson. The pair were reportedly all over each other atNaya’s birthday bash this weekend.

Claire Danes has been named Woman of the Year by Harvard’sHasty Pudding Theatricals. Past winners have included Halle Berry, AnneHathaway, Julianne Moore and Charlize Theron.

CBS This Morning is reporting that Elizabeth Smart, the girlwho was kidnapped from her home in 2002 and held prisoner for 9 months, isdoing such a great job with her recovery and is getting married.

TV/Movies/Music 1/24

2012-01-24T08:52:00.004-05:00

In what I assume is the label’slast stab at glory, Katy Perry will be re-releasing her smash album TeenageDream. Called the Complete Confection edition, the album will include severalnew songs that she and producer Tricky Stewart did. Look for the song DressingUp which Tricky is calling “a big record that fits right there in what hersensibilities are as a musician and a songwriter.”

Due to what sounds like somelackluster planning, Australia's Heatwave Music Festival ended Kid Cudi'sheadliner set halfway through. Apparently the earlier shows didn't start untilthree hours later than expected which caused the rest of the line-up to sufferfor it. And instead of working around the headliner, the event organizers endedKid's concert right in the middle. This, of course, pissed off Kid and he wenton a violent crashing tirade, breaking lights and sound equipment!! And thefans were angry too... they began throwing water bottles everywhere and yellingdemands for refunds.

If you had personal files storedlong-term on the now-dead Megaupload, consider them gone for good. TheDepartment of Justice said “In fact, Megaupload.com expressly informed users through its Frequently AskedQuestions (‘FAQs’) and its Terms of Service that users have no proprietaryinterest in any of the files on Megaupload’s servers, they assume the full riskof complete loss or unavailability of their data, and that Megaupload canterminate site operations without prior notice.”

Diddy wants to bring back theglory days of MTV with a new channel. Revolt will only broadcast music videos,music news, and concerts. Former MTV programming guru Andy Schuon is involvedin the project which aims to launch on 12/12/12. So far Comcast is the only oneon board to distribute but there is a lot of excitement in the blogosphere soI’m sure others will follow suit.

Before Pearl Jam sets off toEurope, frontman Eddi Vedder will be making stops in Texas, Louisiana, andFlorida to promote his solo album Ukelele Songs. His solo tour starts in Apriland then the group will fly to Europe this summer.

It a recent interview, LA Reid letit slip that Epic Records will be releasing a new Fiona Apple album in 2012.

An Australian movie theater chainintroduced a live Twitter feed on their website in an effort to be cool andmodern, but that backfired. Of course people are not the classiest so the feedupset a lot of people. Tweets like “Shailene Woodley’s cleavage deserves anOscar nod for their work in The Descendants” and “I get that the guy and horsefrom War Horse were best friends but do you think they were also friends withbenefits?” got the feeds quickly removed from the movie chain’s website.

CMT (Country Music Television) isgoing the way of MTV and replacing music with shows, but it seems to have paidoff. CMT broke their record for most viewers with their two shows BayouBillionaires and My Big Redneck Vacation.

Over the weekend, the 1964 whiteCadillac hearse that carried JFK's body following his assassination in Dallassold for $176,000 at an Arizona auction! The hearse was purchased by67-year-old Stephen Tebo, a commercial real estate investor who lives inBoulder, Colorado. He says he's hoping to "open a museum with hiscollection of cars."

Netflix will reveal its fourthquarter results soon and it doesn’t look good. Netflix’s costs have continuedto rise as their profits decrease due to a mass exodus of customers since thatwhole mess in July. The company lost a whopping 67.8% of its value. Netflix’shead honchos predicted that investors would lose 29 cents a share but MichaelPachters, a Webbush Securities analyst, predicts it could be closer to a 62cent loss.

Legal Issues and Politics 1/24

2012-01-24T08:51:00.003-05:00

So sad… On Friday, an openly gay14-year-old high school student in Carthage, Tennessee named Phillip Parkercommitted suicide. He was relentlessly bullied and his parents, grandparents,and a few uncles even went to the school to talk to them about it. But with anew law about to be passed that says you can bully kids who are gay as long asyou say it is for religious reasons, Phillip decided to end his life because hecouldn’t “survive 3 more years of this hell.”

The Supreme Court announced thatno justices are going to be recused for the Obamacare case. Opponents of thelaw say Kagan should not participate because she was solicitor general duringthe passage of the law (which is weird since she had nothing to do with thepassage of the law) and supporters of the say Thomas should recuse himselfbecause his wife would make a lot of money trying to get the bill repealed.

Sen. Rand Paul told everyone thathe was detained by the TSA because he refused to submit to a full-bodypat-down. However the TSA says that Rand Paul is lying and that it was just asetup in order to give Ron Paul some talking points in yesterday’s debate.

It was reported yesterday thatWashington State has enough votes to legalize marriage equality in both theHouse and Senate. The bills were heard in both chambers’ committees yesterdayand could go to the floor any day now. (Side note: Sen. Ken Hutcherson told thecommittee, “How dare you think you know better than God. God made one man andone woman and that’s the way it should be.”)

Today Maryland Gov. MartinO’Malley will introduce his marriage equality bill. Over a year ago, Marylandwent to vote on marriage equality when all of a sudden the authors of the billback out and never brought the bill to a vote.

A Minnesota appeals court hasruled that a lower court was wrong to dismiss a lawsuit by three same-sexcouples. The ruling said the court did not properly analyze the couples’equal-protection, due-process and freedom-of-association claims. If this billrules the state’s DOMA law unconstitutional and the amendment doesn’t pass,Minnesota could see marriage equality.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie hasnominated an out gay black man to that state Supreme Court. Bruce Harris wasjust elected as mayor of Chatham, New Jersey in November where he ran as thenation’s first out gay black Republican mayor.

In April, voters in Anchorage,Alaska will decide whether the city should adopt protections for GLBTresidents. Joining the battle is the Alliance Defense Fund who contends thatbusinesses should have the right to deny employment to gay people because “theyare dirty.” The Anchorage City Assembly first approved an GLBT rights bill in2009, but the measure was vetoed by the mayor.

The Tennessee Tea Party isdemanding that references to slavery be removed from history books because itmakes the Found Fathers look bad. (Fact: Twelve presidents owned slaves. Justsaying)

Celebrities 1/23

2012-01-23T08:30:00.002-05:00

OMG! Heidi Klum is going to file for divorce from Seal!“Sources” say that Heidi will file the papers either today or tomorrow citing“irreconcilable differences.” However, gossip blogs are saying that Heidi wasfed up with Seal’s temper. Anyways, they’ve been married since May 2005 andhave 3 kids together. So, I guess renewing your vows every year didn’t do muchto help the marriage.

Speaking of divorce… Kenny G and his wife of 20 years LyndieBenson-Gorelick have filed for divorce. They cited “irreconcilabledifferences.”

On Friday, Etta James died from complications from leukemiawith her husband Artis Mills and her sons by her side. She would have turned 74on Wednesday. She was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010 and also suffered fromdementia and hepatitis C.

On Sunday, former Penn State coach Joe Paterno lost hisbattle with lung cancer. He died at the age of 85.

In an interview with UK newspaper The Daily Mirror, SimonCowell reveals that he and his fiancé Mezhgan Hussainy are taking a break fromboth their relationship and wedding plans. “It’s quite a complicatedrelationship. It’s not on, it’s not off, it’s somewhere in the middle. I don’tknow if I’ll be getting married but I am happy.”

Kris Humphries is splitting up with his PR team, AndersonGroup Public Relations, over a disagreement on how he wants his public imageportrayed in the media. The relationship lasted 73 days, one day longer thanhis marriage. LOL!

Glee star Cory Monteith was caught out with a new ladyfriend this weekend grabbing some breakfast. He was spotted holding hands withmodel Emi Perry before quickly rushing to his car to avoid being seen by thepaparazzi.

After a 30 year rift, during which neither of them spoke,Suzanne Somers and her Three's Company co-star, Joyce DeWitt, had an emotionalreunion on the former's web series Suzanne Somers Breaking Through! As Suzanneexplains: “I was fired for [asking] to be paid what they paid the men andeverybody turned on me. Yeah, it was a problem. [Then] I thought, you know,everybody’s gone from that show. John [Ritter] is dead, Norman [Fell] is dead,Audra [Lindley] is dead, the producers are all dead…It’s just me and Joyce, andwe shared a moment in time that will never be again. So she comes out and itwas so emotional. Here I’m looking at someone who I spent such a moment in timewith and I hadn’t seen her for 30 years and she looks great – you should watch!Of course I cried. I mean, it was just like, what a waste. And then it made methink of John and how awful it is that John is gone. I still can’t believe JohnRitter is gone.”

TV/Movies/Music 1/23

2012-01-23T08:29:00.002-05:00

Underworld Awakening was the #1movie at the box office this weekend making $25.4 million. Red Tails took the#2 spot followed by Contraband, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, andHaywire.

For the second time in five years,the New York Giants and New England Patriots face off in the Super Bowl. TheSuper Bowl is going to be in Indianapolis on February 5^th.

Adele is so talented and everyoneloves Someone Like You so much that she was even nominated for an NAACP ImageAward for Outstanding Song.

Kelly Clarkson performed at RadioCity Music Hall on Saturday. I didn’t get to go but I have been hearing on theweb that it was an amazing concert. Besides singing her own stuff, she sang acover of I’d Rather Go Blind in tribute to Etta James who she said influencedher life and music so much. (And if you remember, Kelly did sing At Last whenshe auditioned for Idol back in 2002.)

NBC is full of crap. Their newshow The Firm (which is a sequel to the movie from like 20 years ago) had suchhorrific ratings that it was in 8th place for the 10pm slot. Jersey Shore,Univision’s Rosa De Guadalupe, A&E’s Beyond Scared Straight and a rerun ofthe Big Bang Theory on TBS beat it. The sad part is that Prime Suspect (thatuse to have the spot) pulled in much better ratings but was cancelled becausethey were not good enough. But now NBC is saying that they have no desire topull The Firm anytime soon even though it is worse.

Nicki Minaj plans to do whatalmost every rapper has done and create her own clothing line.

With Extremely Loud and IncrediblyClose out in theaters now, ads for the film are everywhere. However theplacement of the ads are not that great. There is a screen playing images ofthe WTC buildings burning AT Ground Zero. Ummm… no one thought that was a badidea? Many New Yorkers have filed complaints against the ads with the city andwith Warner Brothers.

Rumor has it that Simon Cowell andthe other producers of X Factor USA are in talks with Mariah Carey to replaceNicole Scherzinger as a judge next season. I hope so because I didn’t like heras a judge.

With Hung canceled, Anne Heche ismoving to network TV. She has signed on to star in an upcoming NBC pilotcalled, Save Me. The pilot will have Heche playing a woman who gets into aterrible accident. When she awakes, she believes she has to ability to channelGod.

After selling Priceline for 14years (Wow! That is a long time!) the company has decided to give WilliamShatner the ax… by literally killing him off in the new commercial. The ad willdebut this week and Shatner rescues travelers off a crazy train running intodeath itself. His last words? “Save yourselves! Save money!”

McDonald’s has teamed up withOreos to create a Cookies N’ Cream pie that sounds awesome! At 2 for $1.39, Iwill definitely be getting one! The creation is to celebrate Oreo’s 100thbirthday.

Facebook announced that they aregoing to add over 60 different apps to its Timeline including a fitness appfrom Nike, a food app from Foodspotting and a movies app from Rotten Tomatoes.Basically they want you to tell the world what you are doing at all times.

All you horny Grindr users need tobe careful… the (umm… unprotected) server of Grindr was hacked into and over100,000 users login information, private messages, and private photos werehacked and copied.

Legal Issues and Politics 1/23

2012-01-23T08:27:00.002-05:00

Arizona Representative GabrielleGiffords announced yesterday that she is going to resign. It has been a littlemore than a year since she was shot and wants to take the time to concentrateon recovering from her wounds.

The Atlanta Jewish Times wants youto know that if Obama is not going to attack Iran for Israel’s sake, then it isyour duty to assassinate him. Really? Because that makes a lot of sense. Peopleare idiots.

For the first time in history,every company on Fortune’s Best 100 Companies to Work For offers sexualorientation non-discrimination protections. This year, Google is the nation’sbest company to work for. (Side note: About 60% of Fortune 500 companiescurrently offer domestic partner benefits. That’s almost double the number fromten years ago.

This is so sad! A new study showsthat unsafe abortions are now the rise again, the first time since 1995. Accordingto the report, women say they had to go to these unsafe places because theywere afraid someone would find out if they went to an abortion clinic. Most ofthe women in the study had to end up in the hospital due to complications andabout 41% of them can never have kids again.

Newt Gingrich won the SouthCarolina primary on Saturday by a large margin. He captured 40.3% of the voteand 2nd place Mitt Romney only got 27.9%. This is the first time 3 differentcandidates have won the first 3 primaries.

Chris Christie on Newt Gingrich: “Weall know the record. He was run out of the speakership of his own party; he wasfined $300,000 for ethics violations. This is a guy who’s had a very difficultpolitical career at times and has been an embarrassment to the party. The factof the matter is I don’t need to regale the country with that entire list againexcept to say this. I’m not saying he will do it again in the future, but sometimespast is prologue.”

Five unemployed Moroccan men setthemselves on fire to protest the lack of jobs in the country. Now the wholecountry’s unemployment rate is only 9% but it is about 21% for collegegraduates. (However, how does setting yourself on fire? Unless you had a joband now that you are dead someone else can have your job, I don’t see how thishelps.)

Massachusetts governor DevalPatrick held a ceremonial signing for bill H.3810 An Act Relative to GenderIdentity. The new law now protects transgender individuals from discrimination.It is only the 16th state that protects this community.

After distributing leafletscalling for the execution of homosexuals, three Muslim men have just been foundguilty in the first ever trial under Britain’s revised Public Order Act, whichnow outlaws inciting anti-gay hatred and violence. One of the men charged toldthe court that is was his "duty as a Muslim to spread what God says abouthomosexuality. The references on the leaflets are historical facts and quotefrom the Koran." Those convicted face a sentence of up to seven years inprison and an "unlimited fine."

Ben Roethlisberger, quarterbackfor the Pittsburgh Steelers, was accused of sexual assault by a Lake Tahoehotel employee. They have finally reached a settlement in the case. Theoriginal lawsuit was looking for a minimum of $440K in damages.

Filmmaker Jacob Cohl, son of leadproducer Michael Cohl, had his camera recording EVERYTHING backstage!Everything from day one of rehearsals to the June 2011 opening of Spiderman:Turn Off the Dark. But of course ex-director Julie Taymor is suing theproducers, trying to make sure any footage of her never sees the light of day.But they've answered her lawsuit with a hissing response: “Taymor’s attempt tostop the documentary apparently because she is fearful that it may portray herin an unflattering light is a classic prior restraint in violation of the FirstAmendment.”

Someparents leave emotional scares but some parents leave both. Chuntera Napier gaveher 10-year-old son Gaquan a tattoo. She said she wanted to give him a reminderabout his 12-year-old brother who passed away. Napier was arrested on Tuesdayand charged with misdemeanor cruelty and being a party to a crime.

Celebrities 1/20

2012-01-20T09:25:00.002-05:00

So the big secret is that Newt Gingrich asked his secondwife for an open marriage and that he filed for divorce right after she toldhim she had MS. Rush Limbaugh said that makes Newt a man of character fortelling his wife the truth and taking action when he didn’t get what he wanted.In my book, he is still a douche because he 1) left her the week she told himabout her disease, and 2) didn’t ask her for an open marriage until six yearsafter he started the affair with his current wife. And he wants to be thespokesperson for protecting marriage?

Sarah Burke, 29, and freestyle skier, has died due to“irreversible damage to her brain due to lack of oxygen and blood after cardiacarrest.” It was nine days since she crashed at the bottom of the superpipeduring a training run in Utah.

A high school student, Angela Zhang, might have just foundthe cure for cancer. That's crazy! Zhang, who is only 17 years old, has takenhome a check of $100,000 from the national Siemens science contest. It's now isbeing suggested that her research could lead to a potential cure for cancer. Here'swhat she said about what she created: "I created a nanoparticle that's kindof like the Swiss Army knife of cancer treatment in that it can detect cancercells, eradicate the cancer cells and then monitor the treatment response. Sothe major aim of the project was to personalize cancer medicine. I'm excited tolearn just everything possible. Everything in the sciences -- biology,chemistry, physics, engineering, even computer science -- to make newinnovations possible."

Funk and disco legend Jimmy Castor has died of heart diseaseat the age of 71. Castor scored half a dozen pop and disco chart smashes,including 1972 classic Troglodyte, the first five seconds of which are arguablythe most-sampled line in the history of rap and house music.

Apparently people have nothing better to do in the remotemountains of Utah than complain about how Katherine Heigl and her hubby JoshKelley still have Christmas lights on their house, even though they are not on.Katherine just laughs about it saying it is too cold to be up on the roof. Shesays she will take them down in June when it is warmer.

Reports are coming out that Seth Rogen refused to sign anyprenuptial agreements before marrying Lauren Miller in October. Though he wasadvised to do it just in case, he insisted that she is worth every penny hemakes and would be glad to give her half of everything.

In Australia, a 10-foot tiger shark attacked a swimmer off aremote beach. This is the third attack in a little over two weeks. Theynormally only have about three attacks a year. The doctors helped the 26 yearold man and he is in stable condition.

TV/Movies/Music 1/20

2012-01-20T09:24:00.002-05:00

On Tuesday, January 31, MichelleObama will appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for her first time sincebefore Barack was elected president.

Okay, I am watching the Super Bowl...H&M announced they are going to air a commercial of David Beckham hangingout in his underwear.

Amidst reports of productionprobably cutting Ryan Seacrest’s American Idol salary this year, originalproducer Nigel Lythgoe has a solution. If the AI team does in fact cut hissalary, Nigel is willing to pay the difference out of pocket.

The group One Million Moms was soupset that Modern Family would air an episode were the 2.5 year old said thef-word. They have protested, whined and complained and Unilever, WhiteWaveFoods, and Special K have decided to pull their ads from the hit show. Thegroup is still going after KFC and Home Depot but those sponsors haven’t saidanything yet about pulling their ads.

This is a great week for Adele.Not only has her record 21 lasted 16 weeks on the top of Billboards 200, tyingthe record with the Titanic soundtrack, but the sales of her album have alsosurpassed the $6 million in the US.

Of course… now that the Twilightfranchise has moved over to Lionsgate, there are rumors that the company hashired writers to write a 5^th movie. The move would obviously beoriginal and will focus on the family some years later.

The CW announced that they aregoing to have three new series. The first one is the long-talked-about prequelto Sex and the City called Carrie Diaries. The second is a modern remake of thepopular 80’s show Beauty and the Beast. The third show is a Smallville spin-offcalled Arrow which features cutie Justin Hartley as the Green Arrow.

Last week, ABC’s presidentannounced that the network hadn’t made a decision yet about whether or notthey’ll be cancelling General Hospital. Now ABC’s entertainment chief Paul Leehas confirmed that the network is considering the possibility of airing GH “asan evening summer series.”

A&E is developing a prequel seriesto the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho. In this story, A&E would “delveinto the explanation of Norman Bates psyche – from how his sinister evil beganin the first place to how it grew over the years.

Legal Issues and Politics 1/20

2012-01-20T09:23:00.003-05:00

Rick Perry is dropping out of theRepublican race for president.

Federal prosecutors have indictedMegaupload.com and shut down the cyberlocker. Founder Kim Schmitz and threeothers were arrested in New Zealand along with two others on behalf of the US.The website says the charges are “grotesquely overblown.” The Motion PictureAssociation of America begs to differ and claims the site robbed them of over$50 million.

After admitting to hacking intoJude Law’s phones and keeping him under tight surveillance, Rupert Murdoch andhis British newspaper company have agreed to pay him $200,000 in apology money.But he is not the only one… 35 others are getting checks in the settlement. Thesad part is that those 36 people apparently make up less than 1% of thoseviolated by News of the World.

Hopefully this doesn’t jinx it…but New Jersey Democrats believe they are extremely close to getting aveto-proof majority on the marriage equality bill! The scariest part about thishas been that Chris Christie has promised to veto any marriage equality billthat comes before his desk.

Six major Washington statecorporations including Microsoft have issued a joint letter endorsing themarriage equality bill proposed by Gov. Christine Gregoire. Advocates hope thismove will sway the state senators needed to guarantee the bill’s passage. Atlast count, the bill was two votes short with about nine senators listed asundecided.

Forever 21 has been hit with aclass action lawsuit. The suit claims that Forever 21 do not get their required30 minute breaks because they are required to wait up to 20 minutes for amanager to search them for Forever 21 merchandise. "Sales associates atForever 21 stores are often still in high school and under the age of 18 whenthey begin their employment. These young people are vulnerable and often do notunderstand their employment rights. This lawsuit is meant to give these youngpeople a voice about how they were treated while employed by Forever 21 inCalifornia."

70 big city mayors join togetherto advocate for marriage equality including Chicago, NYC, Boston, LA and SanDiego. “By joining the groups, mayors hope to expand public and politicalsupport for ending the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage.”

NebraskaGOP Rep. Beau McCoy has introduced a bill that would overturn the very fewlocal GLBT rights laws across the state. McCoy’s bill stipulates that only thestate has the right to create protected classes of citizens.

Celebrities 1/19

2012-01-19T09:29:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday Dolly Parton! She turns 69 this year.

Rumors were going around that Rihanna was hooking up withChris Brown in private (even though he has a new girlfriend). Luckily, myprayers were answered and it was all false.

Mark Wahlberg pissed off a lot of people in his interviewwith Men’ Journal. If you don’t know, Mark Wahlberg was supposed to be onUnited 93 on September 11th but was about to make standby on an earlier flight.Well, he told Men’s Journal that if he was on that plane, things who have endeddifferently. (I know, a stupid thing to say). Anyways, he has apologized forhis remarks and agrees that it was “ridiculous” to even speculate on what couldhave been.

It looks like Britney Spears and Jason Trawick are going tohave a late summer wedding. It is going to be an intimate affair with onlyimmediate family and very, very close friends.

There were tons of rumors online about how Adele’s newboyfriend is married to another woman. Adele has come forward and said thoserumors are completely false. She says he is not married and people need to moveon to better things than making up stories about her relationship.

Chris Hemsworth and wife Elsa Pataky announced that they areexpecting their first child. Well, they’ve known for a while because she is duethis spring. (Although that kind of sucks for her, because it is right when theAvengers is about to be released and she will have to take care of the baby byherself while he is out promoting the movie.)

How I Met Your Mother star Josh Radnor is apparentlyreleasing a memoir called One Big Blissful Thing in April. Umm.. I know he isnow a successful actor that came from Ohio, but he’s only 37 and he’s onlyfamous for one show… isn’t this a little premature?

TV/Movies/Music 1/19

2012-01-19T09:29:00.000-05:00

The Grammys will have an officialhost for the first time in seven years! The host this year is going to betwo-time Grammy winner LL Cool J.

Horrible Bosses director SethGordon is teaming up with actors Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy for his newcomedy Identity Theft. The movie is about a guy whose identity is stolen by awoman. The script actually has the character as a man but when Gordon andBateman saw McCarthy in Bridesmaid they wanted her instead.

Maury continues to dominate thetalk show world and has had the #1 show for 32 straight weeks. The show hasseen a 25% year to year increase.

LA Reid really liked being a judgeon the X Factor and has signed another contestant to his Epic record label. Thecompany just signed rapper Astro to a recording contract.

It is official… ABC announced thatEmily Maynard has accepted their offer and will be the next Bachelorette. But thereis one condition that she said she had to have… the show will be filmed in herhometown of Charlotte, North Carolina and not in LA.

On top of his busy schedule, RyanSeacrest is partnering with Mark Cuban to rebrand the already existing HDNET asAXS TV (that is pronounced “access”). The channel will start broadcasting underthe new name in the summer and “will feature mostly live lifestyle and liveentertainment fare geared toward pop culture and entertainment enthusiasts.”

Andrew Lloyd Webber really wantshis Phantom of the Opera sequel to make it to Broadway. The problem? People sayit sucks. So Webber is taping some performances of the Sydney, Australia castand sending them to executives in New York, hoping to spark some interest.

Apparently there was a huge sceneat a movie theater in Liverpool, England when moviegoers realized that TheArtist is a silent film. They demanded their money and caused a scene thatrequired the movie to be stopped for a while. At first the theater told them norefunds because they should have read up about the movie but then caved andgave out the refunds.

Legal Issues and Politics 1/19

2012-01-19T09:28:00.002-05:00

This is hysterical! The captain ofthe cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of Italy claimed in court thathe didn’t want to abandon the ship but accidentally fell into a lifeboat. Hefell in along with the second and third command of the ship. Yep, that shouldhold up well.

It seems that blacking outWikipedia and the logo on Google really got people’s attention and theycontacted their representatives. Several congressmen have backed off onsupporting the bill including the author of PIPA Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO). Ihave to point out though that it is interesting the Republican, including the authorBlunt, have started blaming Harry Reid on the bill saying that he needs toabandon his plan to rush the bill. Umm… he isn’t the one rushing things along anddumbass you are the one that wrote it! You can’t blame Democrats for somethingyou wrote.

The internet was abuzz last nightwhen Drudge reported that Newt Gingrich’s ex-wife Marianne claimed that shecould end her ex-husband’s career in one interview. Well she gave thatinterview to ABC News. Now the network is debating if they should air theinterview before the South Carolina Primary. Rumor has it that they want to airit tonight, but nothing is official.

A disgusting woman in SouthCarolina has been charged with felony animal cruelty for killing her nephew'spit bull. She hung the dog from a tree with an electrical cord and then burnedher to death. All because the dog chewed on a bible. Animal control officerssaid the 65-year-old woman killed Diamond, the female pit bull, because it wasa "Devil dog" and she worried it might hurt neighborhood children. Shefaces anywhere from 180 days to 5 years in prison if she is convicted.

New Hampshire’s planned vote torepeal same-sex marriage has been delayed until next month. Rumor has it thatthey don’t have enough votes or that they don’t have enough votes to overridethe governor’s veto.

Colorado’s Catholic churches arehanding parishioners a pledge card in which those that sign vow to oppose thepending civil unions bill being considered by the state’s legislature.

The 2013 mayoral election is along time from now, but NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the presumptivefavorite, has already raised far more money than those expected to challengeher ($4.5 million). In second place is Manhattan's popular borough president,Scott Stringer ($2 million). If Quinn wins, she'll become the first female (andlesbian) mayor of NYC, a post that arguably holds more political power thanhalf of the nation's governorships.

An anti-cheese vegan group isposting billboards all around New York (and have written letters to thousandsof schools in the state) saying that cheese on school lunches is what iscausing students to be fat. In New York State, one in three students areoverweight or obese.

Celebrities 1/18

2012-01-18T09:38:00.004-05:00

Emma Thompson was a bit surprisedwhen the police decided to pay her a little visit at her holiday home inScotland. They informed her the neighbors had reported a male intruder on theproperty. He was seen running around… NAKED!! They guessed he was in hisfifties. Terrified for a hot minute, Emma began wondering what to do. But thenher daughter chimed in, reminding her that was around the same time she wascoming back from the pond. Emma then realized she'd been mistaken for a man.She said: “And I thought, 'Oh my God, oh my God'. Making the connection, Icould see the same thing happening to the policeman. And I could see him, as hebacked off, and I was thinking, 'He's going to go back to the station and he'sgoing to say, 'You see that Emma Thompson? Her t**s must be so low that from adistance they read as testicles.' I nearly lifted up my nightie to show thatthey're not that bad.”

During an episode of podcast WTFwith Marc Maron, comedian Todd Glass publicly announced he is gay. Todd said hewanted to come out because the last three cases of teen suicides (in just thelast month) made him ashamed he was hiding it and not letting them know it getsbetter.

Danny Evins, who created CrackerBarrel Old Country Store, a restaurant heavy on grits and nostalgia, expandedit into a $2 billion chain and then fought a losing battle to discriminateagainst gay employees, died on Saturday in Lebanon, Tenn. He was 76. The cause wasbladder cancer, his former wife Donna S. Evins said. A January 1991 directive[ordered] all the company’s restaurants to fire employees “whose sexualpreferences fail to demonstrate normal heterosexual values.” Mr. Evins’sexplanation for the edict was that gay people made customers in rural areasuncomfortable. As many as 16 openly or suspected gay employees were promptlyfired. (Legally he could do it because there is no law protecting GLBT citizensfrom being fired for being gay, but it pissed off the stockholders and thecompany’s board of directors later issued a unanimous statement ofnon-discrimination. However, none of the fired employees were asked back to thecompany.)

TV/Movies/Music 1/18

2012-01-18T09:38:00.000-05:00

Betty White rocked NBC on Monday.Her birthday special brought in 14 million viewers and her new show Off TheirRockers brought in 12.5 million.

Are you a Twi-hard? Well youbetter make your way to Target. On February 10^th, when Breaking DawnPart 1 is released on DVD and Blu-ray, 500 stores across the country will hosta party that shows a few scenes from Breaking Dawn Part 2. The next movie doesn’tcome out until November.

With ratings sinking, a lot ofpeople were wondering if Glee would be renewed for a fourth season, especiallysince most of the cast will be “graduating.” Well, Oxygen just announced thatthey have the green light to do The Glee Project. And since the prize of thereality show is that you have a guest spot on Glee, then it is likely there isgoing to be a fourth season. Now I am a Glee fan, so I can say this… if theywant to make the ratings better, they need to do better job on the writing.They are very hit and miss with their episodes lately.

The man that brought you IndianJones and Star Wars says his is done with blockbusters. George Lucas, who iscoming out with Red Tails soon, wants to retire from big budget movies. Hewants to work on smaller projects that don’t consume too much of his time and “don’tcontrolled by the higher-ups.”

Due to pressure from the family,the manufacturing company In Icon has halted production of the Steve Jobsaction doll. They stress that it is not because they overstep any legalboundaries but that they felt for the family and the pleas they made.

In a recent interview, KateBeckinsale revealed that there is already talk about doing a fifth Underworldmovie.

Christina Aguilera recentlyrevealed in an interview about The Voice season 2 that she is working on a newalbum. Hopefully it will be better than Bionic was.

The Revolution is a brand-new ABCtalk show hosted by Ty Pennington, Tim Gunn, Dr. Tiffanie Davis Henry, Dr.Jennifer Ashton and celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak. They take lifestyletopics and discuss them from every angle to help audiences make positivechoices in their own lives. Unfortunately the ratings for Monday night’s premieresucked really bad. Of course why they premiered it during Betty White’sbirthday special, I’ll never know.

X Factor’s Chris Rene has signed arecord deal with Epic Records. He went from drug-addicted garbage man to beingon X Factor and now a record deal! The record label too wants him to stay cleanand have put measures in his contract so that he will stay clean and alsomeasures so he isn’t even tempted.

It is rumored that CBS is lookinginto a new show that is a modern take on Sherlock Holmes. It is tentatively calledElementary but that’s about all the details we have so far.

The morality police in Iran havedecided that Barbie is too much of a whore and have been raiding stores to takeall the dolls.

Legal Issues and Politics 1/18

2012-01-18T09:37:00.001-05:00

So there is no Wikipedia today andseveral other sites. The sites are blacked out to protest a bill in Congressthat would hold social media sites and search engines responsible for piracycommitted by users. The sites and engines are also held liable for anycopyrighted results. (Example: You google lyrics to Adele’s Someone Like You.According to the law, if Google returns any items that are not endorsed by therecord label, they can be sued by said record label. It is a totally stupid lawand the world is laughing at us especially since we are one of the onlycountries in the world with free speech.)

Opponents of Wisconsin GovernorScott Walker have about 1 million signatures on a petition to force a recallelection, according to a state Democratic Party news release. If the state’s GovernmentAccountability Board rules that at least 540,208 signatures are valid and anylegal challenges fail, Wisconsin will hold the third gubernatorial ouster votein US history.

Wow! The founder of Pinkberry wasarrested for allegedly chasing down and beating a homeless man with a tireiron! The incident happened on an off ramp of the Hollywood Freeway. Young Leewas stopped at the light when the homeless man approached the car for somemoney. Then there was an argument. Lee got out of the car and when the homelessman ran, he grabbed the tire iron from his car and chased him up the ramp andbeat in front of everyone! Something tells me needed less healthy frozen yogurtcrap and more Chocolate Therapy from Ben & Jerry’s.

Bachelorette guy Kasey Kahl got intoa huge fight at a Fresno nightclub and was arrested. He was bothering a coupleand when he decided punching the guy in the face several times was the rightthing to do. The even sadder part is when the girlfriend tried to stop Kasey heproceeded to beat her too and broke her nose.

90210 star Brian Austin Green istaking Vanessa Marcil-Giovinazzo, his ex-girlfriend and mother of his son, tocourt because she owes him over $200K. The couple met on the set of the 90’steen drama and dated from 1999 to 2003. Green claims he started lending hermoney in 2000 on the terms that she would pay him back “promptly.” He has yetto see any money.

Indiana has become the first statein the nation to approve a pro-GLBT specialty automotive license plate. Thelicense plate advertises and helps a fund Indy Youth Group which is a GLBTsupport center for Indiana’s youth. Of course the Crazy Right is all upset overit which is funny since they were talking about the freedom of speech when theywanted to put “Under One God” on some state license plates, but their hypocrisydoesn’t surprise anyone.

The group Catholic Advocate hatesObama and says that he will be the end of marriage in America. CatholicAdvocate is headed by Deal Hudson who was forced to resign from George W’sre-election campaign after he was accused of sexually assaulting an 18 year oldfemale freshman in his office at Fordham University. He lost his professorshipand paid off the girl in an out-of-court settlement. He got the church to annulhis first marriage and divorced his second wife. Like Newt Gingrich, he’s nowon his third wife and demands that our president defend the sanctity ofmarriage.

Three men were arrested yesterdayfor causing a disturbance at a local DMV. The men were reading verses of theBible to people waiting in line and telling them about “the charge Jesus hasput upon” them. When they were politely asked to leave they refused and werecharged with one misdemeanor count of creating a disturbance. Well, the CrazyRight is in arms because their freedom of speech of violated. (I’d LOVE to gosomeplace where these are and start reading the Koran to them! Let’s see howfar my freedom of speech would get me.)

Cruise Ship Capsizes Off Italy

2012-01-17T09:56:00.003-05:00

Three people are confirmed dead after a cruise ship carryingmore than 4,000 people ran aground off Italy. There were scenes of panic as theCosta Concordia hit a sandbar on Friday evening near the island of Giglio andlisted about 20 degrees. People reached land by lifeboats but some swam ashore.Rescue teams have been going from cabin to cabin, searching for survivors.Italians, Germans, French and British were among the 3,200 passengers. Therewere also 1,000 crew on board. Helicopters evacuated the last 50 people on thedeck who were in a "worsening" situation.

Reuters is reporting that 29 people are still missing: 14Germans, 6 Italians, 4 French, 2 Americans and one each from India, Peru andHungary.

Captain Francesco Schettino has arrived at Grossetocourthouse for his court battle. He is being charged with manslaughter.

Celebrities 1/17

2012-01-17T09:55:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Betty White! She is90 years old today. I hope you had a chance to watch her birthday special lastnight. It was great.

Bieber fans are not liking the newdarker-haired Justin Bieber. Photos taken this weekend show that Justin hasdyed his hair a dark brown.

At the Golden Globes, KelseyGrammer announced that he is having twins with his new wife Kayte Walsh. Thismeans his grandson will have two younger aunts or uncles to grow up with.Weird!

Everyone knows Paula Deen for herbutter/cheese/cream/sugar/fried specialties and the cook told People magazinethat her Type 2 Diabetes is not going to stop her from eating the way shewants.

Awkward! During an interview forJourney 2: The Mysterious Island, a reporter asked Vanessa Hudgens and JoshHutcherson how long they have been going out. Here is the thing… the two brokeup a few months ago, Vanessa already has a new boyfriend, and rumor has it Joshis very depressed about it. So hey, it makes the interview very awkward.

TV/Movies/Music 1/17

2012-01-17T09:54:00.001-05:00

Contraband was the #1 movie at thebox office this weekend. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast came in at #2 followedby Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol, Joyful Noise and Sherlock Holmes A Gameof Shadows.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales saysthe online encyclopedia will black its website tomorrow to protest anti-piracylegislation under consideration in Congress. The legislation is designed tocrack down on sales of pirated US products overseas. Critics say it could hurtthe technology industry and infringes on free-speech rights. Only the Englishversions are going to be shut down, so if you speak another language, you cango to their other versions.

Committees from both the AmericanFederation of Television Artists (AFTRA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) reachedan agreement proposal for a merger. The next step is for both unions’ boards ofdirectors and then out to the members for a vote.

Glee creator Ryan Murphy hasannounced that there is going to be a disco/Saturday Night Fever episode andthat they are currently in talks with John Travolta to guest star.

Hey Grey’s Anatomy fans… OnFebruary 2^nd, the show will undergo an energy shift that will showyou the characters in an alternate reality. Alex as a dork, a mousy Bailey, andDerek & Addison still being married are just some of the things that theshow will explore.

TBS announced that they are goingto renew Hot In Cleveland for a 4^th season. The fourth season willhave 24 episodes.

Kelly Rowland is packing her bagsand leaving the London version of the X Factor. Although rumor has it thatSimon Cowell is going to make a lot of changes to the show and get rid of allthe judges. (This season, the ratings for the show were horrible)

Thanks to a new Facebook app, youcan send messages to your online friends from beyond the grave. The app, calledIf I Die, lets users record a video farewell or text message and then save it.The app requires you to designate three Facebook friends as executors of yourmessage, and when all three of them confirm that you have in fact died, yourparting words will be displayed for all to see on your Facebook wall.

After only two episodes, ABCfinally got the clue and cancelled the cross-dressing sitcom Work It.

TheEnglish goth band The Cure are preparing for their fall tour. The band announcedthat they will be playing Sweden’s Hultsfred festival, Germany’s Southsidemusic festival, and Germany’s Hurricane music festival. They will be doing moredates around the European continent and those will be announced later

The 2012 Golden Globe Winners

2012-01-17T09:52:00.001-05:00

Best Motion Picture - Drama
"The Descendants"

Best Performance by an Actress ina Motion Picture - Drama

Meryl Streep, "The IronLady"

Best Performance by an Actor in aMotion Picture - Drama

George Clooney, "TheDescendants"

Best Motion Picture - Comedy orMusical

"The Artist"

Best Performance by an Actress ina Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical

Michelle Williams, "My WeekWith Marilyn"

Best Performance by an Actor in aMotion Picture - Comedy or Musical

Jean Dujardin, "The Artist

Best Animated Feature Film

"The Adventures ofTintin"

Best Foreign Language Film

"A Separation" (Iran)

Best Performance by an Actress ina Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Octavia Spencer, "TheHelp"

Best Performance by an Actor in aSupporting Role in a Motion Picture

Christopher Plummer,"Beginners"

Best Director - Motion Picture

Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

Woody Allen, "Midnight inParis"

Best Original Score - MotionPicture

Ludovic Bource - "TheArtist"

Best Original Song - MotionPicture

"Masterpiece" - W.E.,music and lyrics by Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry

Best Television Series - Drama

"Homeland"

Best Performance by an Actress ina Television Series - Drama

Claire Danes, "Homeland"

Best Performance by an Actor in aTelevision Series - Drama

Kelsey Grammer, "Boss"

Best Television Series - Comedy orMusical

"Modern "Family"

Best Performance by an Actress ina Television Series - Comedy or Musical

Laura Dern,"Enlightened"

Best Performance by an Actor in aTelevision Series - Comedy or Musical

Matt LeBlanc, "Episodes"

Best Mini-Series or Motion PictureMade for Television Movie

"Downton Abbey"

Best Performance by an Actress ina Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Kate Winslet, "MildredPierce"

Best Performance by an Actor in aMini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Idris Elba, "Luther"

Best Performance by an Actress ina Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made forTelevision

Jessica Lange, "AmericanHorror Story"

Best Performance by an Actor in aSupporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Peter Dinklage, "Game ofThrones"

Legal Issues and Politics 1/17

2012-01-17T09:51:00.001-05:00

GOP Candidate Jon Huntsman hasdropped out of the race and endorses Mitt Romney for the GOP presidentialcandidate.

Speaking of GOP candidates… ajudge has ruled against 4 GOP presidential candidates seeking to appear onVirginia’s primary ballot. The judge stated that the law is very clear and hasa rational basis for the state. It is not the state’s fault that they couldn’tget the required amount of signatures.

For somebody who screams nonstopabout government spending, Ron Paul doesn’t seem to mind much when thatspending seats him in first class: An Associated Press report published Mondayfound that since May 2009, Paul had billed taxpayers for 31 round-trip flightsand 12 one-way flights, all first class. In all, taxpayers paid $52,000 forflights where cheaper tickets were available. AP found that Paul’s office couldhave saved $27,621 by selecting economy tickets instead. We always get him fullrefundable tickets since the congressional schedule sometimes changes quickly,”Paul’s chief of staff Jeff Deist explained. But a review of the records showed thatnearly two-thirds of the tickets were purchased two weeks in advanced orearlier.

SeekingArrangement.com, thelargest social network for sugar daddies and sugar babies, today formallyendorses Mitt Romney for the GOP nomination for President. According to newsreports, on Saturday, Mitt Romney met Ruth Williams, a 55-year old joblessvolunteer at his campaign rally. While other presidential candidates may haveoffered only words of consolation or encouragement, Mitt Romney took action,reaching into his own pocket and giving all $50 in cash in his wallet to Ms.Williams. “This small kind act of reaching into his own wallet to help anotherhuman being in need is Sugar Daddy-ism at its best,” says Brandon Wade, theFounder & CEO of SeekingArrangement.com, a million-strong community ofsugar daddies and sugar babies. “When it comes to politics, small actions speaklouder than big words. Mitt Romney has shown all other politicians that being agood Sugar Daddy is about helping others.”

After Iran made the claim that theUS was behind last week’s murders of their leading nuclear scientists, Russiahas sent out a warning to the US and Israel saying they would “regard anymilitary intervention linked to Iran’s nuclear programme as a threat to our ownsecurity.” The ambassador did add that “We are definitely interested in thenon-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, but at the same time, webelieve that any country has the right to have what it needs to feelcomfortable, including Iran.”

A massive illegal billboard camecrashing down onto the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway on Friday. The sad part isthat the billboard had an advertisement for the NY Lottery, so someone sold thestate an illegal billboard.

Chuck E. Cheese is just a violentplace to go! Today in the CEC Chronicles, we take you to Dearborn, Michigan,where a man beat the living sh*t out of a 75 year old grandma. The man and hisfamily were using very inappropriate language and when the grandma politely(according to witnesses) asked him to please watch his language since this wasa children’s restaurant, he told her to “shut the f*ck up” and then punched herin the face. He then grabbed her by the hair, dragged her out of the booth ontothe floor and proceeded to kick her until people came and threw him to theground. The woman is in the hospital in critical condition.

Democrats in Minnesota are goingto try and repeal the state’s anti-gay marriage amendment that was passed lastyear. The bill would remove the amendment from the ballot but unfortunately therepeal effort faces a “high hurdle” in the GOP-dominated legislature.

Activists in Maine report thatthey’ve got more than double the required signatures to place same-sex marriageon the November ballot. Several GLBT organizations are getting together to comeup with a plan that will be announced on the 23rd. In 2009, Maine’s legislaturepassed marriage equality but a ballot initiative (heavily and illegally fundedby the National Organization of Marriage) repealed the law. The good thing, isthis time a lot more people will go out and vote since it is a Presidentialelection and not an off year one.

GOP Tennessee state RepresentativeRichard Floyd is so upset about Macy’s letting trans people use the dressingrooms that he has introduced a bill that would ban transgender people fromusing any public restrooms or fitting rooms at all. He posted a videoexplaining his “rationale” but he starts talking about horses and dogs and itgets a little confusing.

Speaking of anti-trans people… TheBaltimore County Council is about to vote on a trans rights bill that will addgender identity to their non-discrimination law for public areas. Of course theCrazy Right is the law a “peeping Tom” law and are saying that it will allowwomen to be raped by men. They even state that Montgomery County, Maryland, hasa similar law and they have rapes. (Although not one rape was caused by atransgender person, but that’s not the point. Just tell people there have beenrapes!)

Before she married Crazy RightRick Santorum, his now-devout wife Karen was shacking up with an abortion doctorforty years older than she was. And if that doesn’t get you, he was also thedoctor who delivered her. (Ewww!)

Celebrities 1/13

2012-01-13T09:56:00.002-05:00

Last night, Heather Locklear wastaken to the hospital after she ingested a lethal mix of prescription drugs andalcohol. Her sister decided to unexpectedly visit her sister and was the one thatfound her and called 911. She is still in the hospital but is awake andresponsive. The hospital psychiatrist to see if this was a suicide attempt or accidental. (Thank God the sister felt the urge tovisit Locklear!)

The internet has been attackingKhloe Kardashian saying that she is not a real Kardashian because her father isnot Robert Kardashian. (I have no idea why people are saying that. To me shedoes look like her sisters. But whatever). Kris Jenner wants to set the record straightand released a statement saying that Khloe is definitely Robert’s child andthat people need to get a life if this is the best they can come up with.

The reports that Halle Berry andOlivier Martinez getting engaged over the holidays were false.

This week, Toni Braxton wasunexpectedly rushed to an LA hospital after she started experiencing painful “flareups” of her Lupus condition. She is in better spirits now and will be releasedsoon.

Michelle Obama now has an officialTwitter account. @michelleobama will be managed by campaign staff but if shetweets herself, she will sign it “mo.” She had 50,000 followers in the firsthour.

British singer Bryan Ferry (66)has married Amanda Shepperd (29) who is his son Isaac’s (26) ex-girlfriend. Ibet that was an interested Christmas get-to-together.

The People's Choice Winners Are..

2012-01-13T09:55:00.003-05:00

FAVORITE MOVIE: Harry Potter andthe Deathly Hallows: Part 2

FAVORITE CABLE TV COMEDY: Hot inCleveland

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTOR: Johnny Depp

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTRESS: Emma Stone

FAVORITE TV COMPETITION SHOW:American Idol

FAVORITE TV CRIME DRAMA: Castle

FAVORITE MOVIE ICON: MorganFreeman

FAVORITE SCIFI/FANTASY TV SHOW:Supernatural

FAVORITE DAYTIME TV HOST: EllenDeGeneres

FAVORITE LATE NIGHT TV HOST: JimmyFallon

FAVORITE ACTION MOVIE: HarryPotter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

FAVORITE ACTION MOVIE STAR: HughJackman

FAVORITE DRAMA MOVIE: Water forElephants

FAVORITE COMEDY MOVIE: Bridesmaids

FAVORITE COMEDIC ACTOR: AdamSandler

FAVORITE COMEDIC ACTRESS: EmmaStone

FAVORITE TV GUEST STAR: KatyPerry, How I Met Your Mother

FAVORITE TV CELBREALITY STAR: KimKardashian

FAVORITE MOVIE STAR UNDER 25:Chloe Moretz

FAVORITE NEW TV DRAMA: Person ofInterest

FAVORITE NEW TV COMEDY: 2 BrokeGirls

FAVORITE ENSEMBLE MOVIE CAST:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

FAVORITE ANIMATED MOVIE VOICE:Johnny Depp, Rango

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST: Bruno Mars

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST: Katy Perry

FAVORITE MOVIE SUPERHERO: RyanReynolds as The Green Lantern

FAVORITE BOOK ADAPTATION: HarryPotter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

FAVORITE NETWORK TV DRAMA:Supernatural

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTOR: NathanFillion

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTRESS: NinaDobrev

FAVORITE CABLE TV DRAMA: PrettyLittle Liars

FAVORITE NETWORK TV COMEDY: How IMet Your Mother

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTOR: NeilPatrick Harris

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTRESS: LeaMichele

FAVORITE BAND: Maroon 5

FAVORITE COUNTRY ARTIST: TaylorSwift

FAVORITE R&B ARTIST: Rihanna

FAVORITE HIP HOP ARTIST: Eminem

FAVORITE POP ARTIST: Demi Lovato

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST: Katy Perry

FAVORITE SONG OF THE YEAR: E.T.,Katy Perry ft. Kanye West

FAVORITE ALBUM OF THE YEAR: BornThis Way, Lady GaGa

FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEO: T.G.I.F.,Katy Perry

FAVORITE TOUR HEADLINER: KatyPerry, California Dreams

TV/Movies/Music 1/13

2012-01-13T09:54:00.005-05:00

For the 15^th weekstraight, Adele’s 21 album is the #1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, pushing124K copies. Now it is likely to stay on top since there are no new albums nextweek and if it does, it will tie with the Titanic soundtrack’s record.

YAY!!!! Kelly Clarkson has beenpicked to sing the National Anthem at Super Bowl 46!

New York Philharmonic conductorAlan Gilbert brought Mahler’s Ninth to a screeching halt when an audiencemember allowed his iPhone to continue ringing. The audience then gave Gilbert astanding ovation.

Blue Ivy Carter is less than aweek old but she’s already in the history books. She is the youngest personever to appear on a Billboard chart after Jay-Z included sounds of her cryingon his song Glory. He even gives her credit “Jay-Z (featuring B.I.C.)

YAY!!! The very firstBroadway-bound production of the lovely Rodgers & Hammerstein musicalCinderella is aimed for the 2012-13 season. They have Mark Brokaw as thedirector and announced that not only are they going to keep the beautifulscore, but add several other Rodger & Hammerstein songs to the show.

Everyone pretty much thought thatafter its next two seasons, Dexter would be over. But Showtime’s David Nevinsreally wants to continue the show and is rumored to be working with writers toextend the story arc.

Tom Hardy, from Inception, TheDark Knight Rises and Warrior, has been cast to play Al Capone in the movieCicero. The movie is part of a trilogy and the first movie focuses on Capone’spoor childhood to his rise to power in Prohibition-era Chicago.

Don’t expect a new PlayStationsoon. Sony Corp’s deputy President Kazuo Hirai said at CES that the PlayStation3 videogame console will have a 10-year life span (meaning a new console won’tcome out until after 2016.)

Legal Issues and Politics 1/13

2012-01-13T09:54:00.002-05:00

The Canadian government shockedthe world yesterday morning when it released a statement saying they werevoiding all marriages performed on foreigners where marriage equality wasn’tlegal in their country. Meaning the thousands of American couples married inCanada were no longer married. Luckily the outrage was so strong that thegovernment started backtracking. The government says its reason for the changewas because people can’t divorce in their country or in Canada. The governmentsays it will now reconsider changing Canadian law so people can divorce.

The FDA has just stopped shipmentsof imported orange juice from all over the world so it can test each one fortraces of fungicide. They have decided to do this based on a report that a shipmentfrom Brazil contained fungicide, so they're going to test multiple parts ofeach shipment of all orange juice that arrive at US ports.

Lawmakers in New Hampshire arereportedly going to push the repeal of same sex marriage next week. The weirdthing is that polls have consistently reported that a majority of New Hampshireresidents support keeping marriage equality so I don’t know why they arepushing the repeal so bad.

Do you remember the part whereNewt Gingrich said he didn’t want any negative ads? Well this week he has beentalking about how Romney is a dog abuser (FYI, I don’t approve of strappingyour dog to the roof of your car, but it was in 1983, I’m sure Romney knowsthat is a no-no now) and that since he speaks French he is a “cheese-eating,surrendering frog.” Yep, real positive.

I love it! A petition is goingaround asking MSNBC to stop inviting “hateful, anti-gay liars on TV torepresent Christians.” I agree. There are plenty of other Christians you couldhave on your TV that aren’t as bad. To sign the petition: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2518/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=9130

An Arizona woman has filed suitagainst Avis, alleging that the car rental giant violates California’s lawagainst sexual orientation discrimination when it offers discounts to LGBT groups.This case though won’t hold up because the discount is offered to LGBT groupsnot LGBT people. Straight people are more than welcome to join gay groups toget the discounts. They don’t refuse it to straight people. Companies givediscounts to certain businesses all the time.

The school board of Uniontownship, New Jersey is moving to dismiss Viki Knox, the teacher who posted anasty anti-gay diatribe on her Facebook page. After Knox was suspended,Christians activists deluged the school board with complaints, but the schoolboard feels her remarks were so far beyond decency that she has lost therespect of her students and coworker and cannot do her job.

Not since 1965 has homicide rankedso low on the top causes of death in the US. Murder was ousted out of the top15 by pneumonitis, a disease in the elderly caused by choking on vomit. Theinfant mortality rate dropped to a record low in 2011 with 6.14 deaths per1,000 newborns. And life expectancy is at 78 years and 8 months!

Celebrities 1/12

2012-01-12T09:23:00.000-05:00

Last week, we found that Adele hasa new man (Simon Konecki). Well this weeks there are reports that the two ofthem are house hunting. I hope this rumor is false because that is way toofast.

The 28th Annual Drama LeagueBenefit Gala will be a tribute to Kristin Chenoweth! The evening will includetons of musical tributes by Joel Grey, Laura Benanti, Elaine Paige, Donnamurphy, Cheyenne Jackson, Debra Monk, Andrew Lippa, and many more. If you have$750 to burn, you can purchase tickets for the February 6th event.

TV/Movies/Music 1/12

2012-01-12T09:22:00.002-05:00

It has been announced that RobMarshall is working on a movie adaptation of the Sondheim musical Into theWoods. I love Rob Marshall and his movies are beautiful but I hope he doesn’tmess it up like he did Nine and cast people that shouldn’t be cast.

Time Warner and Warner Brothersare pushing to double the delay on DVD rentals to 56 days in support DVD sales.The biggest resisters are Redbox and Blockbuster who thrive on new releases.Netflix says they think 56 days is a little too much but isn’t putting up afight as there business model isn’t about new releases.

James Cameron announced yesterdaythat the release for Avatar 2 has been pushed to 2016. They want to “make surethey have everything right.”

SNL has announced that ZooeyDeschanel is going to be the host on February 11th. The musical guest is goingto be Karmin (which is awesome since they are just huge YouTube stars but noton the radio one anything!).

Ashley Judd is coming to atelevision set near you. In ABC’s upcoming drama Missing, Ashley will play along-retired CIA operative “who is forced to rediscover her spy skills when herson goes missing while at university in Italy.”

Wow! Grey’s Anatomy creator ShondaRhimes says that if ABC will let her, she could have the show go on for anotherten seasons! And rumor has it that ABC is actually interested in continuing theshow. I wonder what the actors think about that.

Whoopi Goldberg has been cast as aguest star on ABC’s The Middle. Her guest spot will be the guidance counselorfor the daughter Sue on the show.

The Kardashian Family wasnegotiating a contract with American Media, Inc. to launch their own magazine.On the web, there are already editorial mock-ups of K3 Magazine but it is withCanadian company Comminiqis. So no one is sure if they are real or fake.

American Idol finalist DavidArchuleta has been cast for a television series for TV5, the third largestnetwork in the Philippines. The network is excited because they believe Archuletawill help build ratings and make them #1 number in their country.

John Logan, writer of the movieHugo, has signed on to adapt the musical Jersey Boys into a movie.

Barbie has officially jumped onthe Twilight bandwagon. The company announced they are coming out with BreakingDawn dolls of both Bella and Edward. They are dressed in their wedding outfits.

Legal Issues and Politics 1/12

2012-01-12T09:21:00.003-05:00

The Pentagon and the US MarineCorp are facing international condemnation after the posting of a video thatshows US Marines urinating on the bodies of alleged members of the Taliban. “Atone point one of the men can be heard saying: 'Have a great day, buddy' tolaughter from his colleagues. Another of them jokes: 'Golden like a shower' and'Yeahhhh!' as they groan with relief whilst urinating. It is not clear if thecorpses belong to civilians or insurgents engaged in combat, although the filmdoes appear to have been shot in Afghanistan. The anonymous person who postedit included the caption: 'Scout sniper team 4 with 3rd battalion 2nd marinesout of camp lejeune peeing on dead talibans.' The film is likely to spark ahuge diplomatic row between Washington and Kabul and rekindle memories of theabuse meted out by American troops at Abu Ghraib in Iraq. The three corpses areall male and are wearing civilian clothes. The youngest lies on his front withan overturned wheelbarrow dumped by his side. The other two are on their backsand one has a large blood stain on his chest.”

The Crazy Right is promoting aboycott of Girl Scout cookies over the organization’s policy of allowingtransgender girls to join. “We accept all girls in kindergarten through 12thgrade as members. If a child identifies as a girl and the child’s familypresents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout.”The boycott is being spearheaded by a 14 year old Girl Scout member who lastweek posted a YouTube clip talking about how discussing trans people are. TheCrazy Right is also reporting that the 7 year Bobby Montoya is going to rapethe other girls because any boy who wants to join the girl scouts is just outto have sex with them.

In an unanimous decision, theSupreme Court ruled for the first time that religious employees of a churchcannot sue for employment discrimination. The court stated that the FirstAmendment protects the church even though the person suing was suing under theAmericans with Disabilities Act. So don’t work for a church if you have amental disability because they have the right to kick you out on the street.

Scottish First Minister AlexSalmond has announced that Scottish voters will get the chance to vote onwhether or not they want independence from the UK in 2014. Salmond chose 2014because he wants the vote to take place “just after the 700th anniversary of arenowned Scottish victory over the English at Bannockburn.”

Mitt Romney wants you to know thathe knows you are jealous of his money. He says it is unfair to talk about thedistribution of wealth in America. "You know, I think it’s about envy. Ithink it’s about class warfare. When you have a president encouraging the ideaof dividing America based on the 99 percent versus one percent — and thosepeople who have been most successful will be in the one percent — you haveopened up a whole new wave of approach in this country which is entirelyinconsistent with the concept of one nation under God. The American people, Ibelieve in the final analysis, will reject it."

The Sixth Court of Appeals inCincinnati is hearing the case of two Michigan ministers who say that hatecrime laws oppress their freedom of speech and are unconstitutional. The suit,of course, is bogus and an extreme waste of time as hate crime laws only applyto actions and not speech and the fact these two ministers have never beenarrested so have not been harmed by the law. They claim that they fear thattheir anti-gay sermons will bring their arrest. A lower court rightfullydismissed the suit last year.

Bishop Harry Jackson of Marylandsays that God has been planning to defeat gay marriage in Maryland since beforethe creation of the Earth. He also stated that God personally talked to him andordered him to join the marriage against the homosexuals. Jackson says he hasproof too. When he told God he didn’t have any money for the fight, the verynext day someone emailed him $50,000.

Celebrities 1/11

2012-01-11T09:55:00.002-05:00

Us Weekly is reporting that HalleBerry and Olivier Martinez are engaged to be married. (Third times a charm,right Halle?) Over the holidays, Martinez proposed with an emerald-and-diamondring from Gurham. The couple has been together since the Fall 2010.

Last week, people were freakingout because Tiger Wood’s ex demolished the $12 million mansion. Well it turnsout Elin Nordegren did the right thing. Not only was the house not hurricanesafe (it was built in 1920 before codes and laws were in place) but the housewas full of termites. However, for four weeks before the destruction, Elinallowed Habitat for Humanity to salvage tens of thousands of dollars worth ofcabinets, hardware, and fixtures to use on their projects.

Kate Middleton may havesingle-handed saved the British economy. LOL! Okay, not quite single-handedly.A new report shows that because of Kate Middleton and her marriage to PrinceWilliam, millions of British girls and women are pouring their money into thecountry’s economy by buying the latest fashions the duchess wears.

In a recent interview, Madonnaadmitted that she had to turn to ex-husbands Guy Ritchie and Sean Penn foradvice/tips on directing. She realized during pre-production of her movie W.E.that she might be a little over her head. But after some great advice, she saysshe is proud of her movie.

Nicki Minaj has become the mostfollowed rapper/hip hop artist on Twitter. She edged out Eminem’s total of 8.16million with 8.175 million.

In a recent interview for UK’sDancing On Ice, Corey Feldman said that he is going to write a tell all bookthat will include the names of the Hollywood people who molested him as achild. He also hinted that Corey Haim was also a victim of child abuse and hasvowed to release those names too so his friend could “finally have somejustice.”

TV/Movies/Music 1/11

2012-01-11T09:54:00.003-05:00

Wow! All tickets that have gone onsale for The Dark Knight Rises’ opening night in NYC, LA and San Francisco havesold out. Theaters are starting to see if they can add new showings to makemore money.

Daniel Radcliffe will be hostingSaturday Night Live this weekend. He says he is very excited to do it and thatit was “a no-brainer.” Movies, Broadway, and now television.

Even though its birthday is notuntil April 30^th, Universal is celebrated its 100^thbirthday yesterday. They announced that they will be restoring 13 of its iconicfilms, including Frankenstein, All Quiet on the Western Front, The Birds, Jaws,Schindler’s List, To Kill A Mockingbird, Dracula, and Out of Africa. “So saygoodbye to loud hisses, weird wobbles and horrible graininess for all your classics.”

Justin Timberlake announced thathe is going to save MySpace by turning it into an interactive TV service. Hisstatement: "We're ready to take television and entertainment to the nextstep by upgrading it to the social networking experience. Why text or emailyour friends to talk about your favorite programs after they've aired when youcould be sharing the experience with real-time interactivity from anywhereacross the globe? As the plot of your favorite drama unfolds, the joke of yourfavorite SNL (Saturday Night Live) character plays, or even the last secondshot of your favorite team swishes the net, we're giving you the opportunity toconnect your friends to your moments as they're actually occurring. This is theevolution of one of our greatest inventions, the television. And, we no longerhave to crowd around the same one to experience it together."

The days of the soap opera mightbe over. ABC did reveal that they are thinking of cancelling General Hospitalbut nothing is official yet. The President said, “Look, I’m a fan of GeneralHospital and we haven’t made a decision and we don’t really have a time frameon it.”

Jay-Z is prepping his daughter’scollege fund and has signed a deal to be the face and voice of the DuracellPowermat, while acting as an investment partner as well.

Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackhoffhas scored a lead in the third Riddick film. She will be palying Dayl, a Nordicmercenary after Vin Diesel’s Riddick. Karl Urban has also signed on to reprisehis role of Vaako.

Jim Carrey is reportedly in talksto reprise his role in Bruce Almighty for a proposed sequel. Jarrad Paul andAndrew Mogel are set to write the screenplay.

Oprah’s new show Oprah’s NextChapter has done wonders for OWN. The show premiered to 1.1 million and thesecond episode got 1.6 million an OWN record. And beside Next Chapter, othershows on the network are starting to get more and more viewers.

James Cameron is in talks to makea movie of Cirque du Soleil. “The twists and flips and near-impossible stuntsby crazy talented artists in those Cirque du Soleil shows are priceless. Well,there is a price and it is normally in the triple digits. A lot of peoplecannot experience the amazing sh*t these people do.”

I don’t know what people are goingto think about this. AMC announced that they are working on a series of MartinScorcese’s mobster film Goodfellas. The only good part is that AMC got theoriginal creative team to help out with the series.

MGM and Fox are going to packageall 22 James Bond films for a Blu-Ray boxed set.

Mercedes is working on makingFacebook an option on those little TV screens inside their cars. However, theyhave thought of safety and a driver can only enter a pre-made status update orhit a button to tell the world they’re en route to a destination on their GPS.

Hostess Brands has filed forChapter 11 for the second time. The privately held company carries more than $860million in debt. They are saying that high labor costs and the rising pricesfor sugar, flour and other ingredients have caused the problem. (I feel like Ineed to buy a bunch of those Hostess Cupcakes in case the company collapses!)

Legal Issues and Politics 1/11

2012-01-11T09:53:00.001-05:00

Well, Mitt Romney won the NewHampshire primary. The best part was seeing Gingrich all dejected because hehonestly though he was going to win. LOL!

Surprise, surprise… Lindsay Lohanis in legal trouble. Apparently she didn’t think she had to pay her 2009 incometaxes and the IRS says that she owes $93,701.57!

Longtime New Jersey AssemblymanAlex DeCroce, the leading Republican of the state’s lower house who representedMorris County for 23 years, collapsed and died in a bathroom inside theStatehouse late Monday night, just moments after the 214th Legislature held itsfinal voting session.

Robert Champion Jr’s family issuing the bus company involved in the Florida A&M University hazing death. FabulousCoach Lines made their final stop to an Orlando hotel where FAMU band-memberswere staying after a football game. After everyone departed, some members wereallowed entry again. And that's where they conducted a brutal hazing ritual andmurdered Robert Champion Jr. Robert suffered major trauma blows to the body andshock due to internal bleeding. Some witnesses think his sexuality hadsomething to do with it, but his parents and many other witnesses think it wasactually due to his strong stance AGAINST hazing. Either way, the family is nowsuing the bus company for letting such a thing happen. Not only did it happenon their bus, but they actually let members back on after they were allsupposed to leave for the hotel. Ray Land, the owner of the company, says hisstaff did everything they could once they realized something was awry. But let’sface it, there was no reason to let the kids back on the bus after they were atthe hotel.

The Los Angeles City Council hasapproved a measure requiring the use of condoms in all porn productions.Yesterday’s news probably makes the ballot measure moot, which will save somemoney because the LA City Attorney had filed a suit against the referendum,arguing that the state is the supreme authority in workplace safety.

Five British men began their trialyesterday for handing out "death to gays" leaflets outside of amosque in the city of Derby. The leaflets were also placed in some homemailboxes. The men are the first to be tried under Britain's revised PublicOrder Act, which since 2008 outlaws inflaming hatred based on sexualorientation. The US has no comparable law to Britain’s Public Order Act.

Liberty Counsel has issued their“Declaration of American Values,” a document they are working with politiciansto become law. (URL: http://www.lc.org/media/9980/attachments/declaration_of_american_values.pdf)It should be plain to even the most casual observer that the Crazy Rightdemands nothing less than the complete imposition of Sharia Law, which is funnysince they hate Muslims so much.

Oklahoma GOP State Rep. MikeReynolds has introduced a bill that would reinstate Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell forthe state’s National Guard. I hope the bill gets killed in committee like itdid in Virginia, but it is Oklahoma so you never know what will happen.

Celebrities 1/10

2012-01-10T10:19:00.002-05:00

This is so sad. It is being reported that a body found in the Fox River has been identified as Michael Philbin. Michael was the 21 year old son of Green Bay Packer offensive coordinator Joe Philbin. The last time he was heard from was 2am on Sunday when he left some friends in Oshkosh, about 21 miles from his home.

Rumors are going around that Rosie O’Donnell’s friends don’t want her to marry Michelle Rounds. They 1) think she is moving to fast and 2) they believe her fiancé is the next Anne Heche. Friends state that Rounds may be only dipping a toe in the “lesbian pool” as she has only dated men up to this point. They are worried once the sizzle of dating a celebrity wears off, Rounds will bolt.

TV/Movies/Music 1/10

2012-01-10T10:16:00.002-05:00

So far LMFAO’s The Party Rock has spent 28 weeks on the Top 40. So far only two other songs have lasted longer for this endurance record. Carlos Santana’s Smooth (30 wks) and Leann Rimes How Do I Live (32 wks). The Party Rock is currently at #6 so the likelihood of it disappearing soon is unlikely, so they might just take the record.

Disney is letting The Lady and the Tramp out of their vaults. On January 31st, you will be able to see it theaters across the country, but the theatrical run will only be for 12 days. And on February 2nd, the movie will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray. The special features include three never-before-seen scenes that were deleted before the movie was released in 1986.

Mark Wahlberg is stressing out a little about The Fighter 2. He really wants to make it but with director David O’ Russell saying he won’t do it, Wahlberg wants to get a script together ahead of time to show executives.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has changed some rules again. Starting next year, documentaries seeking this honor will have to be reviewed by either the Los Angeles Times or the New York Times to be considered for nomination.

Netflix has officially launched in the UK and Ireland. For 5.99 pounds in the UK and 6.99 euros in Ireland, residents can now enjoy “films and TV programmes from All3Media, the BBC, CBS, Channel 4's 4oD, Disney UK & Ireland, ITV, Lionsgate UK, MGM, Miramax, Momentum Pictures, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox and Viacom International Media Networks.”

Attention nerds and fantasy lovers, there are rumors that a new official edition of Dungeons & Dragons on the horizon. This will be the first overhaul since 2008.

Legal Issues and Politics 1/10

2012-01-10T10:15:00.003-05:00

New Jersey lawmakers introduced a marriage equality bill to committee and hope to have a floor vote before the budget break in March. The president of the NJ Senate apologized at the press conference for voting against marriage equality two years ago, calling it “the biggest mistake of my career.”

Don’t sign a licensing deal unless you intent to follow through on paying royalties. LOL! Grooveshark is being used by Universal, Warner Music Group, Sony Music and EMI for failing to make a single royalty payment. Grooveshark’s CEO alone has downloaded 113,000 songs. The labels are seeking $150K per song (the max allowed by law).

I guess Newt is over the “no negative ads” thing. He has created a site called StopRomneysPiousBaloney.com where you can find out about all the horrible things Romney will do if he is elected president.

President Obama announced yesterday that chief of Staff Bill Daley is stepping to spend more time with family. Budget Director Jack Lew will step in to take the role.

The Ali Forney Center, the nation’s largest organization working on behalf of homeless GLBT youth, yesterday announced that it has been awarded a two-year matching $500K Challenge Grant from the Calamus Foundation of New York. This grant will make possible the launch of the nation’s first 24-hour drop-in services center for homeless LGBT youth. Said Carl Siciliano, Executive Director of the Ali Forney Center: “The Ali Forney Center is thrilled to kick off our 10th Anniversary year by opening a services center available to youth at any times of the day or night. This facility will help address one of our major concerns, the growing number of homeless LGBT youth on the Center’s waiting list who resort to sleeping on park benches and subway cars, and must engage in high-risk behavior to survive.”

The Crazy Right group Liberty Counsel has released a statement saying that they have anonymous tips that women have been raped in Macy’s dressing rooms and the department store has done nothing about it. Now of course this isn’t true, if these six women were raped in the store, I hope they would go to the police if the store said they weren’t going to do anything about it. What is really going on is Macy’s has a non-discrimination policy protecting transgender individuals. When an employee caused a huge scene in a store refusing to let a trans woman in the dressing room, the company explained to her what a non-discrimination policy is. When she said she would refuse to follow it, they had to let her go. Now the Crazy Right is upset that her religious freedoms cost the employee her job.

When posting an article about molestation victims, you shouldn’t use the graphic of a baby crying with the big red circle with a line through it. That is what happened on the Catholic League website. They had an article posted about the Boston Victim’s Summit which marked the 10th anniversary of media reports about pedophile priests. But you know, molested children are just crybabies. (Next they are going to say that the children asked for it)

Speaking of Catholics… the Pope issued another denunciation of marriage equality saying that gay marriage will destroy humanity. Now if you follow logic of about 3% of people are gay… then there are 210 million of us in the world. We are humanity idiot!

Based on a formula that the Advocate created, Salt Lake City, Utah, is the gayest city in the US. Here is the formula: 1 point for very LGBT elected city official + 1 for a WNBA team + 1 point for an International Mr. Leather competition semifinalist + 1 point for an Imperial Court chapter + 1 point for each softball team that competed in the Gay Softball World Series + 1 point for each LGBT bookstore + 1 point for having a nude yoga class + 1 point for having laws prohibiting transgender discrimination + 1 point for every Gossip, the Cliks, or the Veronicas performance since 2009 ÷ the population within city limits. The #2 spot for the gayest city in America is Orlando, Florida, and #3 is Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In Australia, a family woke up in their suburban home to their dog going crazy. They went downstairs to the living to find a 5.5 foot crocodile camping out. They called the wildlife rangers who safely removed the crocodile. The rangers believe the crocodile might have been forced out of a nearby creek by a larger crocodile and might have been stalking the dog. The rangers have moved him to a crocodile farm a few miles away.

Celebrities 1/9

2012-01-09T10:23:00.000-05:00

Beyoncé and Jay-Z welcomed their new baby girl into the world this weekend. Her name is Ivy Blue Carter (or Blue Ivy Carter. Twitter doesn’t seem to know what the child’s name is)

Kristy McNichol, the Emmy-winning teen star of the 70’s drama Family and from Empty Nest has come out at the age of 49. McNichol retired from acting twenty years ago after her very public battle with bipolar disorder had been splayed across the world’s tabloids.

Alan Cumming and his partner Grant Shaffer married this weekend at the Soho Grand hotel in NYC. The two entered into a civil partnership in England in 2007 but wanted to “on our 5th anniversary make it even more official.” The couple has been together since early 2005.

For the first time since they announced their divorce, Katy Perry is speaking out. She took to Twitter to thank her family, friends and fans for their support. She also said that no one speaks for her. So if you hear anything on blogs, Twitter, “close sources,” or even family members, take it with a grain of salt.

Love Story actress Ali MacGraw told Town & Country magazine that she wishes she would have agreed to receive alimony from any of her three ex-husbands. “Back in the day,” it didn’t seem to matter as much, but now that she is 72 years old and broke, she wishes she would have had the money. (This is stupid beyond belief. First off, if she would have gotten it from her first two husbands, she would have spent it all anyways so it would have done her no good. Second of all, get a job! I know you were a big actress and it would be embarrassing to work at a McDonald’s but guess what everyone else has to work to live, you can too.)

Paula Abdul and her record label owner boyfriend Jeff Bratton have called it quits after a year and a half together, The two met during a flight and have been splitting their time between LA where Paula lives and New York where he lives.

According to Nobel Prize documents released after 50 years, Anders Osterling is the reason JRR Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings, was denied the Nobel Prize. Osterling, one of the jury members back in 1961 when Tolkien was nominated, said “Tolkien’s work has not in any way measured up to storytelling of the highest quality.” Also turned down that year were Robert Frost and EM Forster. The eventual winner was the Yugoslavian writer Ivo Andric, whose writings draw on the folklore of his native Bosnia.

TV/Movies/Music 1/9

2012-01-09T10:22:00.001-05:00

The Devil Inside was the #1 movie at the box office this weekend bringing in $34.5 million. Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol was #2 followed by Sherlock Holmes, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.

Madonna’s new single, Give Me All Your Love, is tentatively planned to hit radio and iTunes on February 7th. Unfortunately for Madonna and the label, a demo of the song was leaked. Now they are trying to let people know that the final version will be different. It will have “a lot more bass and beats.”

Lionsgate is on the verge of acquiring Summit for $700 million. That figure will stack up to roughly $400 million in cash and the rest amounting to the assumption of Summit’s debt. (Even though they make a TON of money off of Twilight, the company still has a massive debt due to poor money management.)

Pat Buchanan has been “indefinitely suspended” by MSNBC over his new book which minority groups feel is racist. The book has chapters titled The End of White America and The Death of Christian America and its author argues that the United States is in the "Indian summer of our civilization." MSNBC President Phil Griffin said, "When Pat was on his book tour, because of the content of the book, I didn't think it should be part of the national dialogue much less part of the dialogue on MSNBC."

Kathy Griffin has just landed a new hour-long weekly talk show on Bravo which will air this spring. The show is called Kathy and she’ll be ranting and raving about celebrities, pop culture, and “much, much more.”

Bethenny Frankel wants you to watch the third season of her show Bethenny Ever After (which premieres Feb. 20th) because it will be her last season. “I want to end the series on a high note.”

It’s been 14 years since Brandy and Monica released The Boy Is Mine and now they have announced that they are going back into the studio to record another duet. The new song is called Turn The Lights On.

Instead of doing a traditional tour, Bjork has announced that she’ll be setting up residency in New York to showcase her album Biophilla. She’ll be doing a ten-night run at the end of February and is billing it as a “three-week long education workshop.” (Not entirely sure what that entails)

A new study revealed that even though women have a lower sexual desire as they age, they are more satisfied with the sex they are having. Apparently woman achieve arousal and orgasm more frequently as they get older because they 1) know what they like, and/or 2) are more willing to “correct” their partner.

In Australia, Atomic Betty, a huge python, has been put on a diet. After being fed 10 goats a year, the 22 foot long, 302 pound snake is being limited to four goats a year.

Legal Issues and Politics 1/9

2012-01-09T10:21:00.002-05:00

Santorum’s former chief of staff Robert Traynham will join as a political analyst on MSNBC. The funny thing is on his lengthy bio there is no mention of Santorum. Just a short mention of his tenure with “a member of the US Senate.”

Taking advantage of the landslide election of Spain’s right wing Popular Party, the Catholic Church is ramping up its call for the repeal of same-sex marriage. And the Archbishop wants you to know that the United Nations has a secret plan to turn half of the world gay. (Yes, he seriously said that.)

In a move that has surprised (and unfortunately angered) a lot of people, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago apologized for comparing the GLBT community to the KKK. He even said “I can only say that my remarks were motivated by fear for the Church's liberty. This is a larger topic that cannot be explored in this expression of personal sorrow and sympathy for those who were wounded by what I said.”

Geisinger Health System, a hospital in Pennsylvania, has announced it will no longer hire smokers and requires employees to pass a nicotine test. “Not only do we want to practice what we preach, but we also want our employees to feel healthy, we want our patients and visitors to feel that they are in a healthy environment. So it’s an overall commitment to the well-being of all those people.”

The Crazy Right has been complaining for years that the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible makes it sound like only “bottoms in a homosexual relationship” are damned. So after tons of complaining, someone somewhere is rewriting the New International Version of the Bible so that all parties in a homosexual relationship are damned. (Some people have too much time on their hands. And I love how something that is the “word of God” can be rewritten and that is okay. LOL!)

For the second time in as many days, Rick Santorum waded into the issue of gay marriage, suggesting it was so important for children to have both a father and mother that an imprisoned father was preferable to a same-sex parent. Citing the work of one anti-poverty expert, Santorum said, "He found that even fathers in jail who had abandoned their kids were still better than no father at all to have in their children's lives." Allowing gays to marry and raise children, Santorum said, amounts to "robbing children of something they need, they deserve, they have a right to. You may rationalize that that isn't true, but in your own life and in your own heart, you know it's true."

Celebrities 1/6

2012-01-06T10:18:00.002-05:00

Jason Derulo is in the hospital after he fractured his neck doing “tumbling & acrobatics for tour.” He was trying to execute a move during rehearsal when he landed directly on his head and suffered an acute fracture of his vertebra. He is at Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines, Florida. His doctors say he is very lucky because that fracture should have left him paralyze.

Bob Weston, a once guitarist and songwriter for Fleetwood Mac, has died. The 64 year old lived alone but suspicion were raised when he never showed up to work on a new album with Rolling Stone guitarist Mick Taylor. The police investigated and sure enough he was found dead in his home. The police aren’t ruling his death as suspicious.

OK Magazine is reporting that Drew Barrymore is engaged to be married. Her boyfriend Will Kopelman proposed over Christmas. The couple started dating in 2010 and then split up and got back together in 2011. So of course jumping into a marriage is the perfect thing to do. This will be Barrymore’s third marriage.

There is a rumor going around that Sandra Bullock got super mad at Matt Lauer for pointing out during their interview that she is only in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close for about 25 minutes. Reports say she jumped in his face the second the cameras went off and was cussing him out. Several people and publicists have said that this rumor is not true in the slightest.

Jeremy Piven was super pissed that Erica Lancelotti blabbed about their relationship and decided that he couldn’t trust her. He gave her the boot and took a trip to Brazil for a little vacation.

Zac Efron revealed in an interview that his New Year’s Resolution is to spend more time with his family. He even wants to do a backpacking trip or roadtrip with just him and his younger brother.

Bruce Willis announced that he is going to have a baby girl with his wife Emma Heming. This will be the 56-year-old’s fourth daughter. (Wow he is going to be my grandpa’s age when that girl graduates high school!)

Chris Brown’s manager Tim Davis has banned him from doing interviews. The problem is that whenever the Rihanna questions start, he gets so mad and makes a scene (and sometimes breaks things). Davis just wants Chris to be judge on his music.

Lisa Lampelli has buried the hatchet with NBC after they apologized for their actions. What happened was NBC asked her to attend a NY Knicks game as a favor to promote Celebrity Apprentice. But they gave her seats in the 11th row while the rest of the cast was courtside. She got pretty angry and said it was because she wasn’t as skinny as the others. Anyways, she has accepted the network’s apologize and is ready to move on.

Marc Anthony has said bye to ex-wife Jennifer Lopez and is now dating Venezuelan model Shannon de Lima. The funny thing is that she is 24 which is the same age as Jennifer’s dancer boyfriend Casper Smart. HAHAHAHA! (Maybe Marc and Jennifer are more alike than they though. LOL!)

Bristol Palin has decided Hollywood is not for her and is moving back to Alaska.

TV/Movies/Music 1/6

2012-01-06T10:17:00.002-05:00

Rihana is number one among tech heads and the digital world. She has become the top digital artist of all time, selling over 47 million tracks. Her closest competition is the Black Eyed Peas and Eminem with about 42 million tracks each.

In an official statement from Comcast’s XFINITY TV, their subscribers will be able to watch the series premiere of Smash and The Voice on January 16th instead of like everyone else on February 6th.

It has been announced that Paranormal Activity 4 will be released on October 19th and that directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (who directed the third movie) will be back for this one.

Renowned documentarist Malcolm Leo has picked Jerry Garcia as his new subject. Leo will present a documentary featuring the Grateful Dead member based on a 3 hour conversation with Garcia in 1987.

Kim Kardashian is taking a break from reality television to appear on the Tim Allen sitcom Last Man Standing. It won’t be a creative stretch for her though because she will be playing herself.

Emma Stone will be starring in a new movie called Little White Corvette. The movie is about a young woman who travels with her nerdy little brother to Miami to try and sell cocaine they found in their late father’s car.

Horrible Bosses 2 is a go. The entire cast and creative team are going to return.

Right on time for your resolution considerations, US News & World Report has ranked the 25 most-popular diets in terms of their effectiveness, health risk/benefits, and ease of compliance. The top-ranked DASH plan is the federally approved diet to fight hypertension. Coming in at the bottom of the list is the Paleo Diet, which is “in vogue” with Manhattan's “A-gays,” but is notoriously tough to adhere to. Here are the top 5: DASH Diet, TLC Diet, Weight Watchers, Mayo Clinic Diet, and Mediterranean Diet. (So favorites and where they landed: Jenny Craig #7, Vegetarian #10, Slim Fast #11, South Beach #14, Vegan #14, & Atkins #22)

Speaking of dieting… Gwyneth Platrow wants you to start off the New Year with a good cleanse. Try the Goop Cleanse (which boasts “over 50,000 happy customers”) for the low price of $425. After spending that little amount of money and having nothing but pills and shakes for 21 days, you will be ready for a healthy 2012. LOL!

I don’t know why they needed a study for this, but… According to a British study, the majority of people said they would sacrifice one year of their life in return for having the perfect body. The breakdown: 83% gay men, 74% straight women, 62% straight men, and 51% lesbian women. So we are all shallow people. LOL!

Legal Issues and Politics 1/6

2012-01-06T10:16:00.002-05:00

Suspected murder Jordan Van Der Sloot is finally going to trial in Lima, Peru for the murder Stephany Flores. He is charged with killing Flores in his Lima hotel room May 30, 2010, after the two left a casino together. Peruvian police say that he confessed to killing Flores, saying that he had become enraged after discovering his connection to Natalee Holloway on his laptop.

Jeremy Renner was attacked in Phuket, Thailand in an early morning bar brawl that left one man in serious condition after getting slashed in the neck with an axe. (Yes you read that right, someone had an axe with them when they went to the bar!) Apparently someone in Jeremy’s party dropped a glass and that upset this group of six guys that then attacked Jeremy and his party. The guy that dropped the glass is the one who had an axe in his neck and he is in serious condition. Jeremy suffered very minor injuries. All six men who attacked them have been arrested.

An eighth-grader at Cummings Middle School in Brownsville, Texas was shot three times by police after it was discovered he took a pellet gun to school. The school was put on lockdown after the student allegedly refused to put the weapon down sometime around 8 AM. Officers shot the student after he "engaged" them in a hallway next to the principal's office. Paramedics took the teen to the Valley Baptist Medical Center where he later died. Students were later transferred to the Porter High School gym while officers searched for any other weapons on campus. Such a tragic, young life was lost and all because of the stupidity of bringing a weapon to school.

Archbishop John Nienstedt of Minnesota has ordered his priest to shut up if they oppose the anti-gay marriage amendment. He said they made a vow when they were ordained to follow all the church rulings and the church wants them to support one man one woman marriage. (I get what he is saying but I love how they are saying their First Amendment rights are being infringed upon by not banning same-sex marriage in the state constitution, but they he says his people can’t speak. LOL! Can anyone say hypocrite?)

Via press release: “Inspired by our friends at Occupy Wall Street, and Dr. Cornel West, Move To Amend is planning bold action to mark the second anniversary of the infamous Citizens United v. FEC decision! Occupy the Courts will be a one day occupation of Federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Friday January 20, 2012. Move to Amend volunteers across the USA will lead the charge on the judiciary which created — and continues to expand — corporate personhood rights. Americans across the country are on the march, and they are marching OUR way. They carry signs that say, “Corporations are NOT people! Money is NOT Speech!” And they are chanting those truths at the top of their lungs! The time has come to make these truths evident to the courts.” (The only thing that’s funny about this is that they can’t reverse it unless another trial comes up. It’s a good thing they recognize this and are just making it one day)

It is being reported that Israel has posted a request for volunteer gay envoys to promote the nation’s diversity. While it is great that they are looking for diversity, the NY Times had an interesting editorial where the question was brought up if Israel is doing this to conceal some violations of Palestinians’ human rights. “Gay rights have essentially become a public-relations tool. Especially since conservative and religious politicians remain fiercely homophobic.” I guess only time will tell on this one.

A 48 year old man welcomed the New Year with a stab wound in Parma Ohio. Ronald Deaver stabbed the man because he didn't know that Beyoncé and Jay-Z are married. The stabbing occurred around 11:00pm New Year's Eve and Deaver has been arrested and charges with felonious assault.

People are sick!! Witnesses say they saw them drive up near a flock of geese, when one of the Colorado teens got out of the car and started rounding up the geese. Then the teens scared all the geese onto the roadway. As they ran into the street, the teens' SUV sped by and ran over several geese! Their cruelty left three geese dead and one injured. The injured goose is now in stable condition and eating but he is paralyzed in both legs. Police are currently searching for the teens.

Speaking of Colorado… A Colorado woman was arrested for, yes, pulling down her pants, punching, and then peeing on a $30 million painting! Carmen Tisch, who is 36 and should know better than to just go around peeing on things like $30 million paintings, is accused of being the source of $10,000 worth of damage to the Clyfford Still oil-on-canvas at a Denver museum.

Celebrities 1/5

2012-01-05T10:09:00.002-05:00

Wow! Did not see this coming… Us Weekly is reporting that no only did Justin Timberlake decided to get back together with Jessica Biel but he just proposed to her! And she accepted! People, take some time and make sure that you are working to fix the problems you had that caused the first break up. Don’t jump into marriage!

Footballer Chad Ochocinco's wedding has been put on hold... and there seems to be rumbling of some cheating going on. His fiancé is now suspecting that Chad's been messing around behind her back. Nothing is officially cancelled yet, but let's be honest: if something like this comes up, things can't be good.

Rumor has it that Emma Roberts has decided to put her college education on hold so that she can be with her man, Glee’s Chord Overstreet. A “source” says that their romance has “really hit into overdrive and because they have gotten so serious, she just can’t leave him.”

If this is true, Russell is going to make a ton of money! It is being rumored that Katy Perry and Russeell Brand do not have a pre-nupital agreement. If that is true, California law states the pair must split their wealth and assets. Katy Perry is worth $40 million and Russell Brand is worth $6 million.

Speaking of divorce… Zooey Deschanel has filed for divorce from her husband Ben Gibbard after two years of marriage.

It is being reported that Jonah Hill has a new girlfriend, Ali Hoffman. Ali is Dustin Hoffman’s daughter. Now it isn’t too strange since Jonah has been friends with Dustin’s son for several years. As their friendship grew, apparently he found out he had feels for Ali.

Yesterday it was being reported that a Rochester, NY based grocery store decided to pull a commercial they had running for the holiday season featuring Alec Baldwin. At the time, the store was receiving “dozens of complaints” from customers in the aftermath of Alec's confrontation on an American Airlines flight. However, the dozens of complaints didn’t compare to the outrage found on Twitter, Facebook and across the Internet after they indeed pulled the ad, so Wegmans released a statement to confirm that they are reinstating the ads.

Dennis Rodman has been through a lot. Being a basketball star, to no basketball at all. From Celebrity Apprentice, to Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew. Now that he's sober, he's gotta find something else to do. Well that’s easy. He'll coach a basketball team made of topless women: “I don't know too many men that don't like a good-looking woman running up and down around the court.” The team will be a part of New York's Headquarters Gentlemen's Club, one of Rodman's favorite places as he's been a member for 30 years. Tryouts begin soon so ladies, if you want to run up and down a court topless in front of a bunch of me, here is your chance.

TV/Movies/Music 1/5

2012-01-05T10:08:00.002-05:00

According to a study released by Deloitte, Americans love their DVRs and still prefer DVDs and Blu-rays to streaming movie content. When Netflix announced that it was splitting its streaming from its DVD services because “DVDs are becoming obsolete,” a lot of people thought the same thing. Now while it did drop a little, it is still the #1 way Americans prefer to watch movies by 35%. And even though only 44% of Americans have a DVR, it is the #1 way people like to watch TV.

The legendary film company Kodak is filing their Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection papers either this month or early February. They currently hoping someone buys them before then have to file. It is sad because their stock has dropped to a whopping 44¢.

While Glee’s Darren Criss just started his stint as J Pierrepont Finch in the Broadway show How To Success In Business Without Really Trying, the producers are already getting Nick Jonas out on a press tour talking about the show. Nick will take over for Darren when his three week gig is up.

It looks like Rihanna’s fans have spoken and her next single will be Talk That Talk. The other favorites were Cockiness, Watch N’ Learn and Drunk On Love.

Work has it that Martha Stewart’s popular daytime show isn’t really that popular. The Hallmark Channel has decided to cancel the show which will cease production come April.

Frontman Brandon Flowers confirmed that The Killers will be back and have actually recorded some tracks for the new album. He said they are taking the best of Hot Fuss, Sam’s Town and Day of Age to come up with a smash album.

Last we heard about Gossip Girl creator Josh Schwartz, he was working on a US remake of UK sci-fi series Misfits. Well now, he has teamed up with his Gossip Girl co-creator Stephanie Savage to produce Rockne S. O'Bannon's new mystery drama Cult for The CW. “Cult centers on an inquisitive, young female production assistant on a wildly popular television show called Cult who, after a rash of disappearances and a likely murder, joins a journalist blogger in investigating the rabid fans of the series who might be re-creating crimes seen on the program in real life.” The pilot has been picked up.

Back in May, Stephen King opened up about the upcoming Carrie remake, and he suggested both David Cronenberg and David Lynch as good choices to direct. However, it looks like MGM/Screen Gems has decided to go with Boys Don't Cry director Kimberly Peirce instead.

Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, Paul Rudd and Christopher Walken are in talks to star in a movie about cryogenics called Freezing People Is Easy.

Speaking of Kristen Wiig… She told Warner Brothers that she is not interested in starring or writing Bridesmaid 2. Some say it is because she wants Bridesmaid to stand on its own without a sequel. But some insiders are saying that Universal screwed the girls and Kristen isn’t happy about it. The movie made $288 million but the girls only got $100K bonus checks.

Next month, Glee’s Jonathan Groff will make a guest appearance on CBS’ The Good Wife as Jimmy, “a plaintiff suing a software company after his sister disappears during a peaceful protest in Syria.”

Ringo Starr has announced that he is teaming up with former Eurythmics rocker Dave Stewart to write a musical they hope to bring to Broadway. There are no details at this time but Ringo did say “We wrote it for Broadway, but it will more likely end up as a movie.”

At the start of the new year, The Hiltons lost one of their priced pieces of real estate. Their Las Vegas hotel-casino has changed from the Las Vegas Hilton to just The Las Vegas Hotel & Casino after their licensing agreement expired. The hotel has been a Hilton since 1971.

Legal Issues and Politics 1/5

2012-01-05T10:07:00.002-05:00

Sarah McKinley, an 18 year old mother of an infant boy and, as of Christmas day, widow to a deceased husband who lost his battle with cancer, was forced to shoot and kill an intruder in Oklahoma on New Year's Eve when he and accomplice attempted to break into her house with force and a long hunting knife. She barricaded the door and called 911. However the men kept at it (apparently one of them as been stalking her for some time) so she asked the 911 operator if she is allowed to shoot them if they come in. The 911 operator told her “I can’t tell you that you can do that, but you do what you have to do to protect your baby.” When the men finally broke in she shot. The other man ended up turning himself into police.

Less than a month after a local gay teen took his own life after allegedly being tormented at his high school, a proposed change in a Tennessee law would protect students who engage in anti-gay bullying as long as they have a “strong religious belief that homosexuality is wrong.” So you have a crappy law that doesn’t work and your solution is to help the bully not the victims?

Yesterday, Washington Governor Chris Gregoire said she’ll put forward legislation to legalize marriage for gay and lesbian couples in her state. “It’s time, it’s the right thing to do and I will introduce a bill to do it.” Democrats hold a 27-22 majority in the state Senate and a 56-42 advantage in the state House. However, some conservative Democrats in the Senate have voted with Republicans in the past to oppose extending rights to same-sex couples.

Michele Bachmann announced yesterday that she is suspending her campaign. “The people of Iowa have spoken. I didn’t tell you what the polls say you wanted to hear.” She says she is going to focus her energy on repealing Obamacare in Congress.

In the fall of 2011, AirTran Airways advertised one-way fares for $59, but failed to provide customers with information about the type or amount of applicable taxes and fees. This omission, which is a violation of the Department of Transportation’s rules, will cost the airlines $60,000 in fines.

The American Family Association, which for YEARS has said that all gay people have AIDS and that they only live to be 46, has now joined a group of AIDS denialists. Apparently the entire HIV/AIDS thing is “a racket to make money.”

Speaking of HIV/AIDS… AIDS deaths and new HIV infections are plummeting in British Columbia. Experts say the decline is due to an aggressive policy of placing the newly infected immediately on a drug regimen and thus reducing their infectiousness. Credit is also being given to Vancouver’s “safe injection” center where IV drug users can get and use clean needles on the premises.

An assistant bishop of the archdiocese of LA has resigned because he “has a secret family, including two teenage children in another state.” The Catholic Church said that the Pope accepted his resignation.

Tuesday morning, 48-year-old Florida homeless man Ricky L. Leer decapitated another homeless man at their campsite! The men were reportedly "barbecuing steaks and drinking" the night before the horrifying attack. According to a witness, Leer became enraged when "the grill got knocked over." After that, he pinned the victim to the ground and proceeded to "chop at the victim's head with a machete-like knife." Soon thereafter police picked up Leer, who was "leaning against a tree and drinking rum" when he was found. He's being charged with second-degree murder.

Celebrities 1/4

2012-01-04T09:49:00.001-05:00

After winning her first opening match of the 2012 tennis season, Serena Williams told reporters she doesn’t love tennis. “I don’t love tennis today but I’m here. I have never liked sports and could never understand how I became an athlete.”

Over the weekend, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glanville got wasted in Vegas and ended up marrying her “friend” Darin Harvey. Well it turns out Darin is actually an ex-husband to one of her closest friends… well ex-closest friend. Michelle Harvey took to Twitter to say “She was my best friend until she started an affair with my ex-husband behind my back. Her marriage to Darin wasn’t funny yo out son Tanner. Darin told me they did it got the publicity! Pathetic fame whores. All 3 kids devastated.”

Look out Dallas! Kim Kardashian is coming to your town. Apparently Khloe is overwhelmed with the move and Kim is going down there to help her out for awhile.

Since winning the MLS Cup with the LA Galaxy in the final year of his contract, David Beckham has had a big decision on his shoulders whether to stay or go join the Paris Saint-Germain Football Club. Well, the French team’s president announced yesterday that Beckham doesn’t want to uproot his family and will be staying in LA.

Erin Brady has been dating Steven Tyler for seven years. She has got a lot of time invested in this relationship so is not going to have Steven cheat on her. She warned him when they first start dating that if you cheat, I will cheat too. “He didn’t really like it when he was on the other side of that scenario.”

Broadway stars Audra McDonald and Will Swenson have decided to tie the knot. According to McDonald’s publicist, the pair got engaged to be married on New Year’s Day. This will be the second marriage for them both but since they co-starred in 110 in the Shade, they’ve been pretty much inseparable so hopefully it works out for them this time.

Now this is from the National Enquirer so take it with a grain of salt, but it is rumored that Dateline NBC star Chris Hansen is going to leave his wife for mistress Kristyn Caddell, a former news reporter at NBC affiliate WPTV.

Today, Mollie Thomas will be leaving LA and beginning her journey to become Miss California (which is on Friday). Thomas will be the first openly gay participant in the Miss California pageant (or any other major pageant for that matter)

The Lion King Rises

2012-01-04T09:48:00.002-05:00

This is a great video that uses the Lion King trailer from the 90’s for visuals and the audio from the Dark Knight Rises trailer!

TV/Movies/Music 1/4

2012-01-04T09:47:00.005-05:00

Did you notice something at your Starbucks yesterday? Well Starbuck announced it raised prices by an average of 1% in the Northeast and Sunbelt regions of the US because coffee, milk, and fuel could cut into profits this year. Cities like New York, Boston, Washing ton DC, Atlanta, Dallas and Albuquerque can expect prices for “tall” brewed drinks to go up by 10 cents.

Fox executives are in a little bind. They need to make a decision about their series Terra Nova and House but 3 of their 4 new dramas have yet to premiere. So they have to decide if they are committed to new seasons of two modestly rated existing series so early with so many unknown. At least House has some time but Terra Nova has to start production soon if they are going to premiere in the Fall.

In a recent interview, Rachel McAdams said that she is a little worried about what people might think of her upcoming movie The Vow with Channing Tatum. The movie is a romantic comedy but she says that her and Channing have been friends for so long that they are more like brother and sister and hopes that didn’t mess up the film. The movie is opening Valentine’s Day weekend.

X Factor winner Melaine Amaro signed her contract with Epic Records yesterday. The $5 million deal was part of her prize for winning the show as well as starring in a Pepsi commercial that will premiere during the Superbowl.

Disney announced that they are going to have both the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland opened 24 hours on February 29th. You can enter at 6am and not have to leave until 6am on March 1st.

Warner Brothers is pushing really hard for an Oscar nomination for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. A series of For Your Consideration ads have been released.

What is going on with the upcoming Les Miserables movie. Twitchfilm.com and Broadway.com are reporting that Taylor Swift and Amanda Seyfried are in talks to play Eponine. Before the Christmas break, the rumors were Scarlett Johansson, Evan Rachel Wood and Lea Michele. (See, Lea Michele would have kicked ass on the role, not these other women.) So it looks like the only good part of this movie is going to be Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean.

The story goes that before Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows was even released, author J.K Rowling pulled Alan aside to tell him how it all would end for Severus Snape. For quite some time, he was the only other person other than Rowling that understood where his character would end up and as series producer David Heyman, it came in handy when making some of the earlier films. He explains: "It was quite amusing, too, because there were times when a director would tell Alan what to do in a scene and he would say something like, 'No I can't do that - I know what is going to happen and you don't' He had a real understanding of the character and now looking back, you can see there was always more going on there — a look, an expression, a sentiment — that hint at what is to come … the shadow that he casts in these films is a huge one and the emotion he conveys is immeasurable."

It has been announced that Liz Minnelli has been cast in season three of Hot in Cleveland. She’ll be playing the agent of Wendie Malick’s character Victoria Chase.

ITV has announced its contestant line-up for the upcoming season of Dancing on Ice and Corey Feldman will be one of the contestants. That should be interesting.

Five years after Sao Paulo, Brazil began fighting visual pollution by banning billboards, posters, and bus advertisements, people report being happier with their city and business leaders. LOL! Hewlett-Packard’s Marketing Manager said her company never considered how inefficient billboards and the like were until they were illegal.

Legal Issues and Politics 1/4

2012-01-04T09:47:00.002-05:00

Last night was the closest Iowa caucus in history. In terms of delegates, it was a tie between Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney. But technically Romney won by a whole 8 votes. Ron Paul took the third place spot.

And being the total professional… Ron Paul tweeted “@jonhuntsman we found your one Iowa voter, he’s in Linn precinct 5 you might want to call him and say thanks.” You are a class act Ron Paul.

A dejected Rick Perry told his supporters that in light of his fifth place finish last night, he is “going back to Texas to assess whether there’s still a way to move forward with this campaign.”

The NYPD has brought in a man suspected of four “firebombings” that took place Sunday night. According to the Police Commissioner, the suspect was “at the scene of at least two of the attacks” The suspect is also believed to be responsible for an attempted fifth attack at a home in Elmont, NY.

I hope Nas’ excuse is true and he didn’t just bail! An American concert promoter, named Patrick Allocco, was kidnaped in and held at gun point in Angola simply because the rapper failed to show up for a heavily promoted concert. Nas and opening act Jemiah Jai were paid $315,000 to perform two shows in the African country but "missed their flight" and couldn't make the concert. This really pissed off the people that invested in the concert, especially since Naz and Jemiah Jai had already been paid. So they did the most business savvy thing they could think of: they kidnapped Allocco and his son and held their ransom at $315,000. After lots of scariness and drama the U.S. Embassy stepped in a bailed out the concert promoter and is boy.

Several more Crazy Right groups are siding with the Catholic Church over the new route of the GLBT Pride Parade in Chicago. Because the parade has grown ever year, it is too big for its old route. The Catholic Church is upset because the parade goes by one of their churches and will disrupt parking for their parishioners. (The other groups just want to ban the parade period). The funny thing is that they keep bringing up the handful of time over forty years that misdirected activists disrupted a church’s service. They NEVER EVER mention the hundreds and thousands of times (in tons of different cities) that they disrupt gay pride events with gigantic signs predicting our eternal damnation in a lake of fire. But you know, that is okay because they are doing Jesus’ work and there for can do no wrong.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has launched a petition drive for a ballot measure that would require condom usage in all porn produced in Los Angeles County. The President said that there are thousands of STDs and it is not safe for the performers to make them have unprotected sex. The AHF must collect 200,000 signatures by June 5th to be an item on the ballot. (The sad news is that the AFA and other Crazy Right groups are taking the AHF President’s word and twisting them to say that all gays are diseased and have thousands of STDs and that homosexuality should be illegal.)

Hungary’s new constitution went into effect yesterday. The new constitution has been criticized by many, including Secretary Hillary Clinton, for being “anti-democracy” (it is hard to change/amend it), restricting marriage between a man and a woman, banning abortions, not protecting citizens from discrimination on the grounds of age or sexual orientation. Amnesty International said it would not satisfy international human rights laws. The good news is that tens of thousands of people Hungarians have taken to the streets to protest the new state framework so hopeful something will change.

Celebrities 1/3

2012-01-03T08:55:00.002-05:00

It was rumored that Beyonce had her baby on New Year’s Day, but those rumors are false. She has not given birth yet.

After 14 months in wedded bliss, Katy Perry and Russell Brand have called it quits. Russell was the one to file the papers but the break up was mutual. Katy’s parents are conservative Christians who don’t believe in divorce and she wanted to lessen the blow by not being the one to file.

Olympic skater and reality star Johnny Weir got married last week. Well, technically the ceremony will be this summer, “but all the official stuff is done now! No more livin’ in sin!”

And speaking of wedding bells… El Neuvo Dia newspaper is reporting that Ricky Martin and his boyfriend Carlos Gonzalez will marry on January 28th in New York.

LeBron James proposed to his longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson this past Friday at a party celebrating his 27th birthday and the New Year.

Aretha Franklin revealed that she plans to marry long-time partner William Wilkerson later this year. This will be her third marriage.

Etta James has not been doing well lately. She has been battling the final stages of leukemia in the hospital. She is now at least breathing without a respirator but the doctors have told the family they don’t expect it to get much better.

Rumor has it that Derek Jeter and Minka Kelly are back together. The couple broke up in August but have spent the past few days in Paris together getting lovey-dovey in restaurants and holding hands while walking.

Salma Hayek will join the highest rank of honor in France… Legion d’Honneur. President Nicolas Sarkozy will knight the actress personally at the Elysees Palace within the next two months.

Rebecca Gayheart and Eric Dane welcomed their second child, a little girl named Georgia Geraldine, on December 28th.

Unfortunately Kelly Clarkson took to Twitter to endorse Ron Paul for the Republican presidential nominee. Thank God I can separate great music from politics. ;)

TMZ is reporting that the reason all of Octomom’s Facebook, Twitter and Ustream accounts have been deleted (I know you are really upset by this) is because she has been dumped by her manager. The mother of 14 was apparently “the ultimate flake” and even though her management company would book “paying gig after paying gig,” she would find any excuse to cancel last minute.

To flog interest in her new book, Anthony Weiner’s mistress is telling everyone that he wanted a threesome but with another man.

TV/Movies/Music 1/3

2012-01-03T08:54:00.005-05:00

Mission Impossible 4 was the #1 movie at the box office this weekend. Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadow was #2 followed by Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and War Horse.

Last night, Hugh Jackman’s one-man show came to an end (so sad!). In its final week, Hugh Jackman Back To Broadway earned $2,057,354 which is the highest weekly gross record by the Shubert Organization.

Considering Paranormal Activity 3 achieved the biggest October opening EVER, it is no surprise that Paranormal Activity 4 has been given the green light to begin production.

Cee Lo pissed off a lot of people because of his performance at New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly. Cee Lo changed the lyrics to John Lennon’s Imagine from “And no religion too” to “And all religion’s true.”

Last month, a Madonna “super fan” from Spain who calls himself JMR was arrested for leaking seven songs, including a demo version of Give Me All Your Love. Now the investigation is hunting for an associate in her camp whom they believe was working with JMR.

In a recent interview, Elton John said that he is working on a movie about his life and that his dream casting would be for Justin Timberlake to play him in the movie.

Verizon announced that they were going to charge a “convenience fee” to customers who use the one-time phone or online payment option. After TONS of complaints, the company is backing down.

Nigel Lythgoe announced that Fox wants to change the format of So You Think You Can Dance. They no longer want result shows. It will only be on once a week and the producers will think of a way to eliminate contestants. But as Nigel put it “At least we have another season at the end of May.

Joey Fatone is back in Las Vegas to host The Price Is Right Live stage show at Bally’s Las Vegas. From January 11-April 8, you can meet Joey and have a chance to win fabulous prizes. (You just won’t be on national television.)

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is still the world’s most popular browser, but it and Mozilla’s Firefox lost a lot of market share to Google’s Chrome in 2011, which is now firmly in second place. According to StatCounter’s 2011 data, IE currently has a 39% market share, Chrome 27%, and Firefox has 25%. Safari and Opera follow with 6% and 2 % respectively. The interesting thing is IE started 2011 with 46% of the market and Firefox with over 30%.

Here are the top 5 girl names in 2011: Sophia, Emma, Isabella, Olivia and Ava. The top 5 boy names were Aiden, Jackson, Mason, Liam, and Jacob.

Legal Issues and Politics 1/3

2012-01-03T08:54:00.002-05:00

LA police yesterday booked a 24-year-old man on suspicion of arson after an investigation linking him to FIFTY deliberately set fires around the LA area. His name is Harry Burkhart and he is being held in lieu of $250,000 bail.

With the New Year comes the enactment of civil unions for the residents of Hawaii and Delaware. Five states now have civil unions (Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Hawaii and Delaware.)

Love it! The wife of GOP House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has come out in support of marriage equality. She says she understands her husband’s politics but she sees nothing wrong with two people in love getting married.

Over the loud objections of many progressives, President Obama signed the national Defense Authorization Act, which, among other things, includes a GOP-authored provision for the indefinite and untried detention of terrorism suspects. Obama threatened to veto the bill because of that issue, but I guess changed his mind.

Donald Trump has announced again that he is going to wait for the Republican pick to be finalized. If he thinks the wrong person is picked, he will run for a third party run.

Just to remind people: “Employee rights are said to be valid when employers pressure employees into sexual activity. Why don’t they quit once the so-called harassment starts? Obviously the morals of the harasser cannot be defended, but how can the harassee escape some responsibility for the problem? Seeking protection under civil rights legislation is hardly acceptable.” - Ron Paul, from his 1987 book, Freedom Under Siege. (Yep, it is your fault that co-worker is sexually harassing you. Quit your job because they can’t act in a professional manner.)

Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich are suing Virginia about the law requiring 10,000 signatures to be put on the primary ballot. VA Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli initially appeared receptive to changing the rules but this weekend retreated.

Speaking of Cuccinelli… he is running for governor in the election but has refused to resign ahead of the election as is traditionally done because if he loses the governorship, he “still wants a job.”

Indiana GOP State Senator Vaneta Becker wants to impose fines on any singer who performs The Star Spangled Banner in any other than the “officially approved” manner. The bill calls for schools to maintain audio recordings of all performances for two years and develop a procedure for dealing with complaints if a musician is alleged to have strayed from the approved lyrical or melodic guidelines.

A man in Connecticut has a simple dream to become a cop. Unfortunately he scored too HIGH on his intelligence test and the force rejected him. It’s not that they don’t want smart people, it is that “those with too high an IQ easily become bored after pricey training and leave.” So if you get pulled over in Connecticut, don’t plan on talking quantum physics or complex economics with the officer.

For the sixth time in two years, federal courts have ruled that anti-gay groups can’t hide the identity of donors to their political action committee. Disclosure laws are have been found constitutional in every trial level and appeal level case. However, the groups still don’t disclose because the elections they work in are over. Hopefully this catches up with them soon.

Go ESPN Magazine: “Just as some argue that gay players can't gain the respect of their teammates, there were those who felt that white players would never believe in their black teammates. We hear that gay players' sexuality would be a distraction in the locker room, just as black players supposedly weren't intelligent, disciplined and committed enough to satisfy whites. The objection that fans would savage an openly gay player is no different from the belief that whites did not want to sit in the same section as blacks (or live next door to them). For every concern that fundamentalists would not accept a gay player, so too was it believed that Southerners would never play alongside black players.”

Newt Gingrich in Iowa: “I’m an amateur paleontologist. I spend a lot of time looking at the Earth’s temperature for a very long time. I’m a lot harder to convince than just looking at a computer model.”

Celebrities 12/20

2011-12-20T09:44:00.002-05:00

Wow! Chaz Bono and fiancé Jennifer Elia have called it quits. The news of their engagement came out at the end of November on OWN’s Being Chaz show. A rep for the couple said: “They leave this relationship with great love, respect and affection toward one another. No further amplification will be forthcoming and they ask that you respect their privacy at this time.”

The Associated Press has named Lady Gaga as the Entertainer of the Year. Second place went to Steve Jobs who lost the title by THREE votes. (Although to be fair, I didn’t consider Steve Jobs an entertainer.

Joe Jonas was rushed to the emergency room on Sunday due to severe stomach pains. Though his rep would not explain to the press what happened, it must not have been too bad because he was out of the hospital a short while later.

Oh dear! Elizabeth Taylor has a 55.95-carat pearl that recently sold for a record $11.8 million. The funny part is that Taylor’s dog accidentally ate it once and they had to wait for the dog to crap it out to get it back.

Sacha Baron Cohen released as statement as His Excellency Admiral General Aladeen – Supreme Leader, All Triumphant General and Chief Ophthalmologist of People’s Republic of Wadiya (for his upcoming movie The Dictator) to mourn the death of “my dear friend Kim Jong Il.” He also said: “On behalf of myself, Ahmadinejad, Chavez and Newt Gingrich, we would like to welcome his son, Kim Jong Un, into the Axis of Evil.” HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Vivica A. Fox’s friends decided that she shouldn’t mourn her engagement breakup, so they threw her a Dodged the Bullet party. LOL! They threw a pretty lavish party and even had a “On To The Next” Mojito. LOL! Fox had been engaged to 28 year old Omar White for two years before the breakup.

It was just revealed that Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard actually broke up two years ago. They just didn’t want to tell the public. How did they keep that secret for two years. They are pretty good. LOL!

TV/Movies/Music 12/20

2011-12-20T09:43:00.004-05:00

It is being rumored that Steven Spielberg is pitching the idea of 3D-ing Jurassic Park and re-releasing it like Titanic is doing. (At least that is better than redoing the whole movie which Spielberg pitched earlier this year.

During a recent interview, Bond producer Michael G. Wilson spoke about plans to keep Daniel Craig as James Bond for at least five more films. (Well, he will have plenty of time them to make up for Quantum of Solace. LOL!)

NBC wants you to catch up with some of their series this holiday break. All previously aired episodes of Up All Night, Whitney, Grimm, Parenthood, The Biggest Loser and The Sing-off (Yay Sing-off!!!) will be available to watch online.

Speaking of NBC… they are putting together a very special Betty White birthday show for all to see. Betty White’s 90th Birthday: A Tribute to America’s Golden Girl will air January 16 from 8 to 9:30pm. Following the special will be a sneak peek at her upcoming hidden camera show Off Their Rockers, which has old people pranking young people.

While Kelly Clarkson and Charles Barkley will be starting off the new year for SNL, it has been confirmed that Daniel Radcliffe and Lana Del Rey will be on the show January 14th.

During a press conference for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, director David Fincher announced that he’ll likely shoot the next two sequels back to back. He says we all know they are going to do all three movies so why put it off. (Plus, by doing it before the first movie is even out, you can get the actors at a cheaper price because they won’t have box office sales as a bargaining chip.

It is true, Punk’d is coming back. Ashton Kutcher is producing the new show but it will have a different host every episode.

Octo-Mom Nadya Suleman was supposed to debut her new webseries show on Sunday. Unfortunately due to technical difficulties it didn’t air. Now it will premiere on Christmas Day. So if you are bored with the family, jump online and watch her talk about parenting, fitness and shopping on a budget. LOL!

The Sydney Theatre Company’s Uncle Vanya will be coming to New York City. Starring Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving, Uncle Vanya will be a part of the Lincoln Center Festival July 19-28, 2012.

After complications with the FCC, AT&T has dropped its plans to merge with T-Mobile. They still think it was in the best interested of consumers even though the FCC said it would mean less competition and higher prices. (Side note: So reading the article, it seems T-Mobile gets $4 BILLION just because it didn’t work out. How did that happen?)

Legal Issues and Politics 12/20

2011-12-20T09:43:00.000-05:00

Failed Libertarian candidate Jules Manson yesterday posted on Ron Paul’s page “Assassinate the fucken nigger and his monkey children.” Seriously?! Are we in 1953? I hope he knows his politic career is officially over.

Former NYU professor Jose Angel Santana has filed a lawsuit against NYU in Manhattan Supreme Court stating that the school fired him because he gave James Franco a bad grade. The Professor gave Franco a D in Directing the Actor II because he missed 12 out of the 14 classes. James said in an interview, “I did the work… I did will in everything else.”

A federal appeals court has ruled that Augusta State University was allowed to expel counseling student Jennifer Keeton for refusing to attend a diversity program. Keeton claims that her anti-gay religious convictions would not allow her to take the course, which is required for graduation. Here is my favorite part of the ruling: “The requirements of the counseling program—needed for its continued accreditation and compliance with the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics—are similar to the rules for judges, who must apply laws even if they consider them erroneous. In seeking to evade the curricular requirement that she not impose her moral values on clients, Keeton is looking for preferential, not equal, treatment.” (LOVE IT!)

The Christian Anti-Degamation Commission is applauding a California appeals court for ruling that a church was allowed to fire an employee because she was living in sin. Religious institutions are generally held to be exempt from the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The court ruled that the exemption applied in this case because the woman was fired for religious reasons.

The city council of Duluth, Minnesota voted 6-2-1 to approve a resolution to join Minnesotans United for All Families. It is the first city to take a stand against the upcoming state constitutional amendment to define marriage as one man, one woman. Council President Gardener said “Duluth has a diverse population and is home to many Minnesotans who would be directly and negatively impacted by the passage of this divisive constitutional amendment. We proudly support and welcome all families who chose to make our city their home, and we’ll continue to support them by voting no next November.”

In true Christian manner, a Catholic group is claiming credit for the destruction of a billboard posted by a New Zealand Anglican church that has Mary with a pregnancy test. The group felt the church was mocking Mary and the annunciation. Here is what the Catholic Church said: "This is Satanic, this is the ultimate Satanic attack, when Lucifer attacks his worst enemy, the Blessed Virgin. This particular church - so called - is run by a gay, feminist-type lobby. They claim to be Christian and yet they put up a blasphemous image of the Blessed Virgin, attacking her virginity and the fact that she was the mother of Christ, the God-Man." So you destroyed someone else’s property? Jesus is not going to like that people. And do you notice how the gays got thrown in there?

An estimated crowd of 5000 turned out in the small town of Athens, Texas to protest the removal of a nativity scene (because as long as it is Christian you are allowed to shove it down everyone’s throat) from a local courthouse. Except, the nativity was never going to be removed. LOL! Some atheist group sent tweets and emails to people and everyone freaked and ran down there. LOL!!!!

Celebrities 12/19

2011-12-19T10:39:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Jake Gyllenhall! He is 31 years old.

After 10.5 years of marriage, Kobe Bryant’s wife Vanessa has filed for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences.” Rumor has it though that there is more to the story. Apparently Kobe was caught cheating again and she has finally had enough. The thing that sucks for Kobe is that there is no prenup and he is worth over $150 million. She has asked for spousal support and joint custody of their two children.

Well, on Friday the internet was a twitter if the news that Britney Spears and Jason Trawick are engaged. The news was first captured on Facebook when she changed her status to engaged. The news has been confirmed by her rep.

Speaking of Britney… she is the first person to get one million followers on Google+.

Alison Hannigan and her husband Alexis announced that she is pregnant even though everyone was guessing it since last September and she kept denying it.

The up-and-coming rapper Slim Dunkin was shot and killed in an Atlanta recording studio Friday night. He was shot once in the chest with a handgun around 5:30pm. About a dozen people were also in the studio. The problem police are having is that that all the witnesses witnessed something different and they are having a hard time putting things together.

Last week rapper Freddie Gibbs tweeted “The TSA found my weed and let me keep it. They just left me a note. "C'mon Son". LOL” He included a picture of the note.

Just so you know, Scarlett Johansson does not want to be called ScarJo. So if you have a blog, please don’t write ScarJo. LOL!!!

War vet and Dancing with the Stars champion JR Martinez announced that he and girlfriend Diana Gonzalez-Jones are expecting a child. This is the couples first child.

The co-creator of Captain America, Joe Simon, passed away this weekend at the age of 98. Captain America was first introduced during World War II and rivaled Superman as one of the most popular characters during the war but the Captain’s popularity waned after the war ended.

If you like to help children with charitable donations and also like to get it on with a hooker, then you are in luck if you live in Texas. A 37 year old escort named Shelby is offering discounts to johns who are charitable customers willing to help needy children. “I am currently having a Holiday Special. Book 1 hour, bring an unwrapped gift for a boy or girl, and receiver 1 hour free.”

TV/Movies/Music 12/19

2011-12-19T10:38:00.002-05:00

Well, Playboy is a little disappointed that no one is really rushing to get their issue with Lindsay Lohan dressed up as Marilyn Monroe. “People probably would have bought it if she would have shown something. No one cares that she just dressed up

William Shatner’s one-man show entitled Shatner’s World: We Just Live In It is coming to Broadway this February. The show will run for two to three weeks at the Music Box theater. It will then go on a 15-week national tour.

The original Beach Boys have reunited to record a new album and go on a new tour. Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine are coming back together to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary.

Following her co-star Julianne Hough’s footsteps, Dancing with the Stars’ Karina Smirnoff wants to do acting. She has lined up a guest appearance on the new ABC comedy Apartment 23, which will air midseason 2012. She will be with James van der Beek and Dean Cain.

In a recent interview, Tom Cruise says that he is begging David Beckham to do an action movie with him. “He would be great. He could kick ass. He could also teach me soccer during down time.”

Legal Issues and Politics 12/19

2011-12-19T10:37:00.004-05:00

The North Koreas dictator Kim Jong Il died yesterday at the age of 69. A broadcaster reported that Kim died of “great mental and physical strain” while in a train during a “field guidance tour.” The funeral will be held December 28. South Korean military units have been placed on “emergency alert” as the North Korea will go through a bit of a power struggle.

In a recent Iowa poll, Ron Paul took the lead with 23% of the vote! I guess it is his turn to be shown for the idiot he is.

Bullying is a huge problem in schools and it doesn’t help when the teachers are in on the action. First year teacher Alex Boles, who hasn’t been fired yet, decided to write “stupid” on a student’s forehead in permanent marker and backwards so “he could read it in the mirror.” No child deserves that no matter how stupid you think they are. I hope Overton Country School fires his ass.

The 37th annual Monitoring the Future survey polled about 50K 8th, 10th and 12th graders about their use of drugs and alcohol. The good news is that less kids than ever before are smoking cigarettes and the use of alcohol is the lowest it has been in last 15 years. The bad news is pot smoking is on the rise. It is at the highest it has been in 30 years.

A group of Broncos fans are petitioning quarterback and “display” Christian (people who like to flaunt their religion in everyone’s faces) Tim Tebow to make an It Gets Better video. I’m not holding my breath for that.

Speaking of Tebow… Four Long Island high students have been suspended for creating a “hallway hazard” repeatedly when they would “Tebow” in the hallway. (That’s when you drop to one knee put your fist to your head and praise Jesus.) The school principal says the repeated demonstrations were slowing the class changes and constituted a fire hazard. Stand by for screams of religious oppression from the Crazy Right.

Mitt Romney told Fox News that cutting $700 billion in welfare aid to the states won’t hurt the poor. Because the economy will magically improve the poor can stop being lazy and get jobs. (Note to Obama’s Team: Please get a copy of the interview, you might find it useful in a few months.)

Connecticut Gov. Daniel Malloy has named former deputy comptroller Mark Ojakian to be his chief of staff making him the first legally married gay man to have such a high government position. (Well, married to another man. There are plenty of closet cases who are married to women and hold a high position.)

Minnesota GOP State Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch has resigned after it was discovered she was having an affair with a Senate staffer. “Minnesota’s greatest defender of marriage” apparently believes marriage is between a man and a woman but doesn’t feel you have to honor your vows of monogamy.

Newt Gingrich says that he will arrest Supreme Court judges who enforce the separation of church and state when he is president. “Activist judges who make disagreeable decisions should be held accountable before Congress.” He send he would send US Marshal or Capitol Police officers to arrest the judges and encourage their impeachment. (Have I mentioned this man is an idiot?)

On this same type of note… Michele Bachmann wants everyone to know that she finds this three branch thing to be ridiculous. It was obvious that the Founding Fathers want Congress to be the most powerful and really only added the Supreme Court in a drunken haze. She says “The courts had a relatively minor function, it was to take current facts and apply it to the law that Congress had passed. So it was really a beautiful system that they set up but it’s been distorted since then.” (So then why are Republicans pushing Obamacare through the courts so fast.? If they don’t like the courts, they should get the amount of votes needed to repel the law and shut the hell up.

A Republican mayor in Mississippi admitted this week that he was gay after an audit revealed that he spent taxpayer money at a gay adult store in Canada. Greg Davis was elected as the mayor of Southaven in 1997 on a platform of conservative “family values,” but he says he recently realized that he was gay. “At this point in my life and in my career, while I have tried to maintain separation between my personal and public life, it is obvious that this can no longer remain the case,” the mayor, now in his third term, told The Commercial Appeal. “While I have performed my job as mayor, in my opinion, as a very conservative, progressive individual — and still continue to be a very conservative individual — I think that it is important that I discuss the struggles I have had over the last few years when I came to the realization that I am gay,” he added.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez has become the 32nd member of the Senate to become a sponsor of the bill to repeal DOMA. Last month the Judiciary Committee approved the repeal, but the bill will not move forward until it is assured passage which may be a very long time.

The American Family Association (AFA) wants politicians to pass a bill that would criminalize adultery and sex outside of marriage. The funniest part is that Republican politicians are the worst offenders of adultery so I don’t think we have to worry about this bill passing.

Tens of thousands of children have suffered sexual abuse in Dutch Catholic institutions since 1945, a report says. The report by an independent commission said Catholic officials had failed to tackle the widespread abuse at schools, seminaries and orphanages. But the report also found that one in five children who attended an institution suffered abuse - regardless of whether it was Catholic. Allegations at a Catholic school in the east Netherlands triggered the inquiry. The commission, which began work in August 2010, sought to uncover what had gone on and how it had happened, and examined what kind of justice should be offered to victims. It studied 1,800 complaints of abuse at Catholic institutions, identifying 800 alleged perpetrators, just over 100 of whom are still alive.

The Concerned Women of America (especially their North Dakota branch) want you to boycott Macy’s because Macy’s wants men to rape your children. This of course stems from the fact that Macy’s allowed transgender individuals the right to the dressing room of the gender identity they identify. I’m 100% positive that their non-discrimination policy says nothing about allowing children to be rape. 100% positive.

Christmas Layaway Angel

2011-12-16T10:07:00.000-05:00

An article by the Associated Press

The young father stood in line at the Kmart layaway counter, wearing dirty clothes and worn-out boots. With him were three small children.

He asked to pay something on his bill because he knew he wouldn't be able to afford it all before Christmas. Then a mysterious woman stepped up to the counter.

"She told him, 'No, I'm paying for it,'" recalled Edna Deppe, assistant manager at the store in Indianapolis. "He just stood there and looked at her and then looked at me and asked if it was a joke. I told him it wasn't, and that she was going to pay for him. And he just busted out in tears."

At Kmart stores across the country, Santa seems to be getting some help: Anonymous donors are paying off strangers' layaway accounts, buying the Christmas gifts other families couldn't afford, especially toys and children's clothes set aside by impoverished parents.

Before she left the store Tuesday evening, the Indianapolis woman in her mid-40s had paid the layaway orders for as many as 50 people. On the way out, she handed out $50 bills and paid for two carts of toys for a woman in line at the cash register.

"She was doing it in the memory of her husband who had just died, and she said she wasn't going to be able to spend it and wanted to make people happy with it," Deppe said. The woman did not identify herself and only asked people to "remember Ben," an apparent reference to her husband.

Deppe, who said she's worked in retail for 40 years, had never seen anything like it.

"It was like an angel fell out of the sky and appeared in our store," she said.

Most of the donors have done their giving secretly.

Dona Bremser, an Omaha nurse, was at work when a Kmart employee called to tell her that someone had paid off the $70 balance of her layaway account, which held nearly $200 in toys for her 4-year-old son.

"I was speechless," Bremser said. "It made me believe in Christmas again."

Dozens of other customers have received similar calls in Nebraska, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana and Montana.

The benefactors generally ask to help families who are squirreling away items for young children. They often pay a portion of the balance, usually all but a few dollars or cents so the layaway order stays in the store's system.

The phenomenon seems to have begun in Michigan before spreading, Kmart executives said.

"It is honestly being driven by people wanting to do a good deed at this time of the year," said Salima Yala, Kmart's division vice president for layaway.

The good Samaritans seem to be visiting mainly Kmart stores, though a Wal-Mart spokesman said a few of his stores in Joplin, Mo., and Chicago have also seen some layaway accounts paid off.

Kmart representatives say they did nothing to instigate the secret Santas or spread word of the generosity. But it's happening as the company struggles to compete with chains such as Wal-Mart and Target.

Kmart may be the focus of layaway generosity, Yala said, because it is one of the few large discount stores that has offered layaway year-round for about four decades. Under the program, customers can make purchases but let the store hold onto their merchandise as they pay it off slowly over several weeks.

The sad memories of layaways lost prompted at least one good Samaritan to pay off the accounts of five people at an Omaha Kmart, said Karl Graff, the store's assistant manager.

"She told me that when she was younger, her mom used to set up things on layaway at Kmart, but they rarely were able to pay them off because they just didn't have the money for it," Graff said.

He called a woman who had been helped, "and she broke down in tears on the phone with me. She wasn't sure she was going to be able to pay off their layaway and was afraid their kids weren't going to have anything for Christmas."

"You know, 50 bucks may not sound like a lot, but I tell you what, at the right time, it may as well be a million dollars for some people," Graff said.

Graff's store alone has seen about a dozen layaway accounts paid off in the last 10 days, with the donors paying $50 to $250 on each account.

"To be honest, in retail, it's easy to get cynical about the holidays, because you're kind of grinding it out when everybody else is having family time," Graff said. "It's really encouraging to see this side of Christmas again."

Lori Stearnes of Omaha also benefited from the generosity of a stranger who paid all but $58 of her $250 layaway bill for toys for her four youngest grandchildren.

Stearnes said she and her husband live paycheck to paycheck, but she plans to use the money she was saving for the toys to help pay for someone else's layaway.

In Missoula, Mont., a man spent more than $1,200 to pay down the balances of six customers whose layaway orders were about to be returned to a Kmart store's inventory because of late payments.

Store employees reached one beneficiary on her cellphone at Seattle Children's Hospital, where her son was being treated for an undisclosed illness.

"She was yelling at the nurses, 'We're going to have Christmas after all!'" store manager Josine Murrin said.

A Kmart in Plainfield Township, Mich., called Roberta Carter last week to let her know a man had paid all but 40 cents of her $60 layaway.

Carter, a mother of eight from Grand Rapids, Mich., said she cried upon hearing the news. She and her family have been struggling as she seeks a full-time job.

"My kids will have clothes for Christmas," she said.

Angie Torres, a stay-at-home mother of four children under the age of 8, was in the Indianapolis Kmart on Tuesday to make a payment on her layaway bill when she learned the woman next to her was paying off her account.

"I started to cry. I couldn't believe it," said Torres, who doubted she would have been able to pay off the balance. "I was in disbelief. I hugged her and gave her a kiss."

Celebrities 12/16

2011-12-16T10:04:00.003-05:00

Time Magazine has named Ryan Gosling the Coolest Person of 2011. The other finalists were SEAL Team 6, Melissa McCarthy, Julian Assange, and Zach Galifianakis.

In a bid to figure out why the Kardashians are famous, Barbara Walters apparently straight up told them that they have no talent and that then need to explain to her why they're actually famous. Love it!

Rumors are going around that Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively are doing so well that he is thinking of proposing to her. Seriously dude, you need to slow down. Two failed marriages should be a sign that you need to take your time. You guys haven’t even been dating a year yet.

Nicole Scherzinger and choreographer Brian Friedman were held at gunpoint while shooting her new music video in Mexico. Luckily for them, they were in a bullet-proof SUV so were able to drive away with no one getting hurt.

In a recent interview, Matt Damon opened up about being a stepdad. When he married Luciana back in 2005, she already had a 4-year-old daughter named Alexia. When asked about becoming a dad, Matt said “The only way I can describe it – it sounds stupid, but – at the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, you know how his heart grows like five times? Everything is full; it’s just full all the time.”

Courtney Love seems to have taken a break from being Lindsay Lohan's sober coach, because she is busy being evicted from her West Village townhouse, for which she pays $27,000 a month, because owner Donna Lyon claims that the Hole singer not only owes over $50,000 in rent, but also "ruined" the design décor by painting over hand-finished walls, and even set the curtains in the master bedroom on fire, all of which will cost up to $100,000 and up to 12 weeks to restore!

PETA has named Russell Simmons as their Person of the Year. “Ever since Simmons learned about the yogic principal of ahimsa [which means “doing no harm”], he has rejected the meat industry. His outspoken public advocacy of peace and respect for all living beings, regardless of race, religion, gender or even species is what earned him the title PETA's Person of the Year 2011.”

Sources are reporting that Jason Trawick is anxious to put a ring on Britney Spear's delicate and perfect finger, but alas, she won't let him just yet. The hold up stems from her Christmas wish to have the pesky lawsuits against her go away, giving her a free slate to start a new life with Jason.

Tony Braxton has cancelled her recording session to fly back and be with her sister Trina. Trina discovered a video of her husband Gave Solis pleasuring himself while talking to a lady friend from Twitter. The other woman, @1DonDiva, uploaded the video as well as screengrabs exposing Gabe as a cyber cheater.

After two years together, Ashley Tisdale and her boyfriend Scott Speer have decided to part ways. They both decided that the relationship has run its course and they need to go their separate ways.

Former Andy Warhol muse/OWN reality star Robert Dupont is PISSED at Oprah Winfrey. Dupont stars in Beverly’s Full House, which premiere’s on Oprah’s network in February, and he claims that he’s homeless now as a result. “The producers were egging on the drama and it took a toll on my relationship with Beverly.” Things got so bad that he moved out of the house. The producers put him up in a Holiday Inn Express and offered to pay his expenses through the end of the year, but he says he is so broke he will be homeless on the first.

Famed atheist and author Christopher Hitchens has died of cancer at the age of 62. Of course the Crazy Right is saying that the God Is Not Great author died of cancer because he defied God. (Because what… only bad people get cancer? Idiots)

TV/Movies/Music 12/16

2011-12-16T10:04:00.000-05:00

Google just donated $11.5 million to help combat modern day slavery! Shockingly and sadly, slavery is still a huge problem and it affects more than 27 million people around the world. This would make it the largest corporate grant ever in the fight devoted to the advocacy, intervention and rescue of people being held, forced to work or provide sex against their will.

Simon Cowell will be the focus of the upcoming biography by Tom Bower. Sweet Revenge: The Intimate Life of Simon Cowell will be “an objective biography about Cowell’s rise to fame.” The book is expected to be released in Spring 2012.

Michael Buble’s album Christmas has been doing so well that it might actually be the 4th best selling album of 2011! It has been on top of the charts for the last 4 weeks and in the Top 5 for 7 weeks.

Nicholas Sparks has confirmed that a musical adaptation of The Notebook is in the works. He says once he is done with his next film, he will work on casting the reading.

ABC has canceled Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It has just finished its 9th season and 200th episodes. However, all is not lost. The show is going to be a special event series and will broadcast periodically at certain points of the year. Once Upon A Time will now take over their time slot.

Jane Fonda has signed up for the upcoming HBO Aaron Sorkin series. In Newsroom, Fonda will play a corporate friendly CEO who interferes with the news her children networks report.

FX has just closed a deal with Russell Brand for “six half-hour installments of an unscripted late night series.” The show is currently untitled and scheduled to debut in Spring 2012.

Troops serving overseas received a care package from an unexpected sender — Spanx. The shapewear company shipped 10,000 of their Men Cotton Compression undershirts to Operation USO Care Package just in time for the holidays. Spanx CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said of their donation: “We launched SPANX for Men to help guys battle the bulge, and now we’re proud to donate SPANX Cotton Compression Undershirts to the men who go to battle for us every day. The shirts help men feel firmer and stand taller, and we hope they serve as a reminder to our servicemen that we stand firmly behind them. This donation is a unique way for Spanx to support the troops, and we appreciate the partnership of the USO to help make it happen.”

According to two seismic stations outside the Western Springs stadium, during the Foo Fighter's Monday night show in Auckland, New Zealand, a strong low frequency of tremors were detected at the time of the show. The tremors actually corresponded to the highs and lows of the band's performance, with the levels reaching the same frequency of volcanic activity.

R. Kelly is hosting the Love Letter cruise that will take passengers on the Carnival Destiny from Miami to the Bahamas, October 1, 2012. For only $1500, you can hop aboard the love boat and gain access to one of the singer's two on-deck shows.

Legal Issue and Politics 12/16

2011-12-16T10:03:00.002-05:00

After nine years, the US military has formally ended its mission in Iraq. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta flew into Baghdad yesterday to partake in a low-key ceremony outside a terminal, during which troops lowered their command’s flag that officially marked Operation New Dawn.

Lean On Me star Jermaine Hopkins could spend up to five years in prison after being caught trying to buy 200 lbs of marijuana! He was caught in a sting operation in Phoenix and is jail.

A California Republican group is going after schools that allow bilingual students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish. Because everyone knows you can’t be patriotic unless you say it in English. (Seriously, they are so racist that they can’t even have people say the pledge in Spanish. Who the hell cares!!!!!)

Newt Gingrich has signed the National Organization for Marriage’s (NOM) Hate Pledge stating that he will use all his executive power to end rights for GLBT people. All the GOP candidates have now signed it except Ron Paul.

I use to think that GLBT citizens were just second-class citizens but according to Romney’s new plan, I get to be third-class. After suffering national embarrassment at the hands of a married gay Vietnam vet, Mitt Romney has issued a plan for a three-tier system of marriage. Straights at the top, those that are already married in the middle (they can stay married but only in their state and not nationally), and then the third tier which is unmarried homosexuals who will be barred from marriage.

The City of San Francisco has made the unusual request for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to let them know when they are going to release their ruling on the Prop 8 case. “In any instance where crowds of protesters gather, and particularly where the issue is as emotional and contested as this one, it is helpful for the San Francisco Police Department to be aware of the gathering in advance to plan for and deploy an adequate number of officers to the areas where protests are likely to occur.”

Celebrities 12/15

2011-12-15T10:40:00.002-05:00

Time Magazine Person of the Year is The Protester “No one could have known that when a Tunisian fruit vendor set himself on fire in a public square, it would incite protests that would topple dictators and start a global wave of dissent. In 2011, protesters didn’t just voice their complaints; they changed the world.”

Jennifer Hudson recently opened up about the horrific 2008 murder of her mother, brother, and nephew, and revealed that if she hadn't decided last minute to fly to Florida with her fiancé, David Otunga, for his wrestling career, she would have been home with them, and possibly deceased, too.

In their last interview for the year, the Obamas let politics fall to the wayside and opened up about the family dynamic. For instance, their daughters are not allowed on Facebook (which is good because they are too young anyways according to the sites terms & conditions) and that their favorite show is Modern Family. When alone, the President likes to watch sports, Boardwalk Empire, and Homeland.

The Duggar Family has exploited the miscarriage of what would have been their 20th child by sending the picture to TMZ. You read that right, the family took a picked of their miscarried baby and sent it to TMZ to publish to the world. GROSS!

Rob Kardashian has decided to move to Dallas with his sister Khloe and his brother in law Lamar. Why? Because he wants to be on their reality show. He thinks that the one with the “most promise.”

Brooklyn DJ Jonathan Toubin has hit by a taxi… in his hotel room! Toubin was in bed in his Oregon hotel when the taxi crashed through the wall and pinned him to his bed. The cab was then stuck to the crashed wall and a police officer and three maintenance men had to lift the rear of the car. A maid then slowly DROVE the car off of Toubin. The cabbie, Terry Uding, was hypoglycemic during the crash and this may have caused the diabetic to crash into the hotel. Toubin is currently in the hospital in Portland.

The Smurfs were asked to leave their hand and footprints in the iconic courtyard of the Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Papa Smurf, Clumsy Smurf and Smurfette were the lucky ones to be immortalized

Melanie Griffith does not have a lot of fans at LAX airport. The actress infuriated passengers waiting to board the flight when she pushed her through the crowd, yelling out: “I'm a first-class passenger…I'm allowed to pre-board!” The problem is Melanie showed up so late to board her flight, she was way past the deadline that allowed to board early. The funny thing is that the other passengers weren't buying her attitude and refused to stand aside for her. One man actually turned around and snapped: “Then you should have been here on time! Now you can wait like the rest of us.”

Golden Globe Nominations!

2011-12-15T10:39:00.001-05:00

Best Television Series Drama

AMERICAN HORROR STORY

BOARDWALK EMPIRE

BOSS

GAME OF THRONES

HOMELAND

Best Television Series – Comedy/Musical

NEW GIRL

ENLIGHTENED

EPISODES

GLEE

MODERN FAMILY

Best Television Series – Miniseries/Movie

CINEMA VERITE

DOWNTON ABBEY

THE HOUR

MILDRED PIERCE

TOO BIG TO FAIL

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Comedy/Musical

Laura Dern, ENLIGHTENED

Tina Fey, 30 ROCK

Laura Linney, THE BIG C

Amy Poehler, PARKS AND RECREATION

Zooey Deschanel, NEW GIRL

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy/Musical

Alec Baldwin, 30 ROCK

David Duchovny, CALIFORNICATION

Johnny Galecki, THE BIG BANG THEORY

Thomas Jane, HUNG

Matt LeBlanc, EPISODES

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama

Claire Danes, HOMELAND

Mireille Enos, THE KILLING

Julianna Margulies, THE GOOD WIFE

Madeleine Stowe, REVENGE

Callie Thorne, NECESSARY ROUGHNESS

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama

Steve Buscemi, BOARDWALK EMPIRE

Bryan Cranston, BREAKING BAD

Kelsey Grammer, BOSS

Jeremy Irons, THE BORGIAS

Damian Lewis, HOMELAND

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Jessica Lange, AMERICAN HORROR STORY

Kelly MacDonald, BOARDWALK EMPIRE

Maggie Smith, DOWNTON ABBEY

Sofia Vergara, MODERN FAMILY

Evan Rachel Wood, MILDRED PIERCE

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Peter Dinklage, GAME OF THRONES

Paul Giamatti, TOO BIG TO FAIL

Guy Pearce, MILDRED PIERCE

Tim Robbins, CINEMA VERITE

Eric Stonestreet, MODERN FAMILY

Best Drama

The Descendants

The Help

Hugo

The Ides of March

Moneyball

War Horse

Best Comedy/Musical

50/50

The Artist

Bridesmaids

Midnight in Paris

My Week with Marilyn

Best Animated Film

Rango

The Adventures of Tintin

Puss in Boots

Winnie the Pooh

Arthur Christmas

Best Actor in a Drama

George Clooney, The Descendants

Brad Pitt, Money Ball

Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March

Michael Fassbender, Shame

Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar

Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical

Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Brendan Gleeson, The Guard

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50/50

Ryan Gosling, Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris

Best Supporting Actor 

Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn

Albert Brooks, Drive

Jonah Hill, Moneyball

Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method

Best Actress in a Drama

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs

Viola Davis, The Help

Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy

Jodie Foster, Carnage

Charlize Theron, Young Adult

Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids

Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

Kate Winslet, Carnage

Best Director 

Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

George Clooney, The Ides of March

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Martin Scorsese, Hugo

TV/Movies/Music 12/15

2011-12-15T10:38:00.002-05:00

It is official… Howard Stern is going to be a judge on America’s Got Talent new season. This should be interesting.

Media watchers are laughing over the lack of interest in a reality series based on Sarah Palin’s husbands, Todd Palin’s career in snowmobile racing. (Which is an actual sport apparently)

On this year’s holiday special, we get to see the Simpsons thirty years into the future. Lisa has a lesbian fling in college but ends up marrying Millhouse, Bart marries and has two kids, and Maggie is a Lady Gaga-like rockstar.

Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut is already garnering acclaim. In the Land of Blood and Honey received the Stanley Kramer Award. The award is given to movies or individuals that display a provocative call to social justice or issues.

Today, Jason Reitman will direct Paul Rudd, Mindy Kaling and Patton Oswalt will be giving a "live read" of the Princess Bride at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Rudd will play farm boy Westley, Kaling as Princess Buttercup and Oswalt will be Vizzini. If you're in the LA area a line will start to form at 6pm for standby tickets.

Looks like the people fighting piracy are doing it themselves. Employees from major movie, TV, and music studios have been caught illegally downloading the TV series, new albums, unreleased movies, etc.

The townhouse that Audrey Hepburn’s iconic character Holly Golightly called home in Breakfast At Tiffany’s has gone on sale. If you would like to live at 196 E. 71st Street, it will only cost you $5.85 million.

Legal Issues and Politics 12/15

2011-12-15T10:37:00.002-05:00

Teenage murder John Katehis has received the maximum sentence of 25 years-to-life in prison for the gruesome 2009 slaying of openly gay CBS newsman George Weber. The sad part about this trial is that the defense painted Weber as a kinky pedophile who trolled for young male prostitutes on Craigslist when the evidence pointed showed that Katehis contacted Weber first and sought out the meeting.

The Family Research Council has their underwear in a twist because a post office in Maryland told carolers that they could not sing in the post office. The US Postal Service does in fact banned Christmas caroling under their no-solicitation policy. FRC and Tony Perkins are “appalled” by this, but I’d like to point out one fact. If the Post Office allows carolers than according to the Supreme Court, they would have to open the Post Office to all solicitations. Now who wants to be bombarded with Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhist, Atheists, etc. preaching their views when you are stuck in that horrifically long line at the post office. I’m all about the Christmas cheer but this is one thing that doesn’t bother me.

Yesterday, Christine O’Donnell endorsed Mitt Romney. Gingrich thanked her immediately.

The horrifically awful Michael Savage is offering Newt Gingrich $1 million to drop out of the presidential race within 72 hours. He feels Gingrich will never win against Obama so what is the point of ruining the GOP’s chances. (By the way, Savage’s offer is technically illegal.)

Kevin Poe of Manchester, CT, was arrested on Tuesday on federal charges of conspiracy and unauthorized impairment of a protected computer after he was linked to attacking a website that belongs to Gene Simmons. No other arrests have been made and Poe was released on $10K bond. He is facing up to 15 years in prison. (So what was the point of doing that and getting 15 years in jail? Was it worth it?)

Celebrities 12/14

2011-12-14T09:47:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, Steve Guttenberg was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The funny part is that Steve arrived in an LAPD car in honor of his days in the Police Academy.

Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom are moving to Dallas. But don’t worry, Khloe and Lamar will tape every part of Odom’s move to the Dallas Mavericks so you won’t have to miss out on this “big transition in [their] lives.”

Tyra Banks and her boyfriend John Utendahl have called it quits after three years of dating. A “source” close to Tyra says she is currently “island-hopping, visiting Bali and taking a spiritual retreat” with a friend.

After five years together, Katie Couric and Brooks Perlin have called it quits. It is being reported that they were having “compatibility complications.”

Jessica Simpson has signed a $3 million deal with Weight Watchers to become their next spokesperson. Obviously she will start losing weight after she gives birth.

Natalie Strawn has overcome a lot in her weight loss battle. She is literally half the woman she was before. The Omaha native shed over 280 pounds over the last three years. At here heaviest she was 562. After tons of teasing in high school (she had to switch to homeschooling) and her inability to get behind a steering wheel to learn how to drive were the biggest factors in getting her to lose the weight.

TV/Movies/Music 12/14

2011-12-14T09:47:00.000-05:00

Russell Simmons is leading the fight against the Florida hate group that claims to have convinced 65 companies to cancel their ads during TLC’s All-American Muslim. (Lowe’s is taking the brunt of the backlash because they are the only ones to admit that they cancelled because of the bigoted group). Russell tweeted “Just purchased remaining spots for #allamericanmuslim for next week. The show is now sold out! Keep your money @lowes and we will keep ours.”

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants still isn’t over the Alec Baldwin thing and has a petition going around to pull 30 Rock from flights.

Kelly Clarkson is coming out with an iTunes session on December 27th. The nine-track EP has three songs from her new album, revamped versions of some classic Kelly, and a holiday classic I’ll Be Home For Christmas.

Fear Factor premiered to stellar ratings on NBC. It was 106% up from NBC’s season averages.

Sony Pictures announced that they will be releasing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo one day early. It will now be out December 20th instead of the 21st.

Yesterday, Film Independent announced that Seth Rogen will be hosting the 2012 Film Independent Spirit awards, which will air on Saturday, February 25th.

The group OneMillionMoms.com is upset by Mariah Carey in the new Jenny Craig ad. (URL: http://youtu.be/WArl69MLkxY) “The weight-loss program commercial is extremely sensual and sexual as it shows a scantily clad Mariah Carey draped in fabric. There is too much skin shown for most audiences. Bottom line, it is inappropriate, and now the commercial is being aired on ABC Family during family Christmas movies such as Rudolph when children are obviously watching.”

The American Horror Story mansion is officially on the market. 1120 Westchester Place is selling for $4.5 million. The house is in LA and has three stories, six bedrooms, five baths, a grand ballroom, Tiffany fixtures, and six vintage fireplaces. (And you will be able to reenact scenes from the show with your friends. LOL!)

Legal Issues and Politics 12/14

2011-12-14T09:46:00.002-05:00

Donald Trump says he won’t moderate the December 27th GOP presidential debate, which was promised to be the best debate ever. He explained that he no longer wanted the job because "he's still not convinced there's a strong GOP challenger" out there, and he still wants to give himself the possibility of running for president.

The Washington Blade reports that the military ban on sodomy will not be repealed by an amendment attached to the National Defense Authorization Act. The Senate version had the repeal but it did not survive reconciliation with the House version. Anti-gay groups are very excited and actually found themselves in an unusual alliance with PETA in opposing the repeal, which would have also repealed a ban on bestiality because both items were in the same original clause of the military’s conduct code.

EPIC FAIL! Earlier this year, 26 year old Swiss national Behar Merlaku tried his luck at a slot machine in an Austrian casino. The machine tried ringing and informed him that he won 43 million euros! Until the casino owner told him that there’s been a software error and offered him 100 euros and a free meal. Merlaku is suing saying they should honor the win. The casino says the rule is the grand prize is for a 5 slot match and Merlaku only got a 4 slot match.

Yesterday the FCC officially passed the 2010 Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act which “requires commercials to be kept at the same volume as the programs they’re airing around.” Unfortunately the Act won’t go into effect December 13, 2012.

In what’s being seen as a major blow to the fight against climate change, Canada yesterday formally withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol, the greenhouse gas reduction agreement among most of the world’s nations. The US signed the treaty in 1998, but the GOP has successfully blocked its ratification ever since. China, while having signed the treaty, is exempt from its rule because it is considered a “developing country.” Climate change deniers are triumphantly tweeting Canada’s decision.

On Sunday, a couple was charged with having sex in public on both a Toronto subway train AND platform. They clearly made ZERO effort to be discreet! In fact, a passenger was able to videotape them and post it on the Internet, where nearly 500,000 people have already viewed the video. The couple started up on the train, and WHEN THE POLICE ARRIVED, they transitioned to the subway platform and continued to have sex in front of the cops!

The US Copyright Office has ruled that yoga movements are not choreography and cannot be copyrighted. “We will not register such exercises (including yoga movements). They do not constitute the subject matter that Congress intended to protect as choreography.”

Anoka-Hennepin School District is just messed up (of course this is also the district that Michele Bachmann represents). They have had over 5 children in the last two years commit suicide because of bullying. But there is a law saying they cannot talk about GLBT issues or name calling GLBT kids. Well they are being sued like crazy over this because kids are dying or being beaten up. The school board proposed a “Controversial Topics Curriculum Policy” to bypass the law but parents aren’t happy about it and would rather see kids die than teachers mentioning homosexuality.

Former NYC Mayor Ed Koch says that when openly gay City Council Speaker Christine Quinn formally announces her 2013 run for mayor, he’ll endorse her. Of course he wanted everyone to know that he would have preferred NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly but Kelly is not going to run so Koch will back Quinn. LOL!

Celebrities 12/13

2011-12-13T10:49:00.003-05:00

Former pro wrestling star Hulk Hogan is suing his ex-wife for telling interviewers that he had a long-term gay relationship with fellow wrestler Brutus Beefcake. "After the four-year crazy divorce I thought I'd heard everything I could hear in the courtroom," he told Us Weekly, laughing. "Then, all of a sudden she says I abused her, that I was violent. She told everybody that I was a homosexual." (Linda leveled her claims in both a shocking memoir and interviews promoting the book.) Clarified Hogan about Linda's charge that he had a sexual relationship with fellow wrestler Brutus Beefcake: "If any of that was true, I would admit it, and I was a homosexual I would embrace it. It's just so crazy to hear, so I have a real problem with it....If you're going to say I'm something that I'm not to try to ruin my career and my livelihood....I have to answer her back." Hogan's ex-wife won 70% of the couple's assets several years ago in a highly-publicized divorce settlement.

Sunday night, CNN hosted their annual Heroes All-Star Tribute in LA. They named Robin Lim as the 2011 Hero of the Year. Through her Yayasan Bumi Sehat health clinics, "Mother Robin" has helped thousands of poor women in Indonesia, where the women are 300 times more likely to die in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications, have healthy births. On top of receiving the title of Hero of the Year, Lim receives $250,000 for her cause and $50,000 for just being nominated.

TV/Movies/Music 12/13

2011-12-13T10:49:00.000-05:00

Activision’s new game Modern Warfare 3 is the fastest item to reach $1 billion. It reached $1 billion in 16 days beating out the previous record holder, James Cameron’s 2009 3D film Avatar with took 17 days to reach the mark.

This morning, while co-hosting with Kelly Rippa on Live with Kelly, David Hyde Pierce announced that his show It Shoulda Been You will be heading to Broadway. Pierce directed the musical comedy at the George Street Playhouse and is very excited that it has been picked up by producers for Broadway.

During a recent interview, Scarlett Johansson said that if she was asked to do a Black Widow movie (a spin-off of The Avengers) she would totally do it. “I love the character and I love kicking ass.”

Mike Myers is apparently in talks to bring the whole Austin Powers franchise to Broadway. He is still working on the 4th movie but is also considering a stage adaption of the first movie.

Thirty Seconds to Mars just set a Guinness World Record. The band has set the record for “Longest Concert Tour by a Rock Band.” The group played 309 shows in just two years.

The rumors are true… Lisa Rinna will be reprising her role of Billie Reed on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. She left the show 6 years ago.

Pfizer’s patent on their “blockbuster” heart drug Lipitor, which has raked in billions, ended last Wednesday. Already a cheaper generic has been cleared for sale. This news may be a literal lifesaver for people whose insurance didn’t cover Lipitor because it was so expensive.

Yesterday, LA’s Nate D. Sanders Auctions announced that they’d be putting Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane Oscar for sale online this month. His Oscar was assumed to be lost for decades but it was actually in the possession of a cinematographer who was given the trophy by Welles himself.

Grammy Nominations

2011-12-13T10:48:00.002-05:00

Record of the Year:

Rolling In The Deep (Adele)

Holocene (Bon Iver)

Grenade (Bruno Mars)

The Cave (Mumford & Sons)

Firework (Katy Perry)

Album of the Year:

21 (Adele)

Wasting Light (Foo Fighters)

Born This Way (Lady Gaga)

Doo-Wops & Hooligans (Bruno Mars)

Loud (Rihanna)

Song of the Year:

All of the Lights (Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie)

The Cave (Mumford & Sons)

Grenade (Bruno Mars)

Holocene (Bon Iver)

Rolling In The Deep (Adele)

Best New Artist:

The Band Perry

Bon Iver

J. Cole

Nicki Minaj

Skrillex

Best Pop Solo Performance:

Someone Like You (Adele)

You and I (Lady Gaga)

Grenade (Bruo Mars)

Firework (Katy Perry)

Fuckin’ Perfect (Pink)

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:

Body and Soul (Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse)

Dearest (The Black Keys)

Paradise (Coldplay)

Pumped Up Kicks (Foster the People)

Moves Like Jagger (Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera)

Best Pop Vocal Album:

21 (Adele)

The Lady Killer (Cee Lo Green)

Born This Way (Lady Gaga)

Doo-Wops & Hooligans (Bruno Mars)

Loud (Rihanna)

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:

Duets II (Tony Bennett)

The Gift (Susan Boyle)

In Concert On Broadway (Harry Connick Jr.)

Music Is Better Than Words (Seth MacFarlene)

What Matters Most (Barbra Streisand)

Best Musical Theater Album:

Anything Goes

The Book of Mormon

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying

To view all the nominees, visit http://www.grammy.com/nominees

Legal Issues and Politics 12/13

2011-12-13T10:47:00.000-05:00

This is two weeks old but worth sharing… Fox News and investigative reporter Mike Beaudet asked a teacher from a top-rate Massachusetts public school to come on the air to talk about his teaching methods. It was really an ambush when the news team outed him and said he performed in a gay porn video (that’s right, just one) years ago. The teacher has been suspended and will possibly lose his job. Students have been wonderful and took to Twitter and Facebook condemning Fox News for their actions and the school for wanting to fire him. “It’s not like he was doing anything illegal.”

Mitt Romney slid into the booth of a man with a Vietnam Veteran cap when in New Hampshire. What Romney didn’t know is the man was having dinner with his husband. Things got bad when Mitt Romney found out and didn’t want to associate with the man telling him that the Supreme Court was on his side and that this man’s partner wouldn’t get any benefits that real married people get if he had his way.

Lowe’s has caved to the idiots at the Florida Family Association. The company (along with 65 other companies) has pulled its ads from TLC’s new show All-American Muslim which shows the daily lives of five Muslim-American families in Dearborn, Michigan. According to the hate group, the show is “propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.”

According to the New Zealand Herald, anti-gay Alabama politician Bill Johnson has been caught “donating sperm to lesbian couples in New Zealand behind his wife’s back.” He was done there to “assist with the earthquake that struck Christchurch” but ended up donating sperm to couples. The story doesn’t quite connect how he went from one to the other.

According to a new report, border control agents have arrested a 21-year-old Mexican citizen who was trying to cross into southern California with $140K of meth! Customs stopped him when he was crossing with tons of cans of nacho cheese and jalapenos. The drugs were hidden inside the cans.

The National Organization of Marriage (NOM), which gets time on CNN and Fox News because they have “such a wide base” or “speak the opinions of a large group of people,” has been lying to the world. The Washington Independent shows that 66% of their money in 2010 came from just two people/organizations. (No names were given). 92% of their donations came from just 22 people. Wow that is such a huge base.

The Crazy Right website World Net Daily has been posting stories saying that Obama’s hate crime law means that a Christian would be severely punished for attacking a homosexual but a homosexual would only be slightly punished for attacking a Christian because they don’t get the hate crime protections. Anyone with a brain or the ability to use Google, would know that religious-based hate crimes have been law since 1969 when the Federal Hate Crime Law with passed.

Starting in January, the minimum wage in San Francisco will be $10.24/hour. Of course the Crazy Right wrote “The dirty socialists running San Francisco will drive small businesses out of town by demanding that workers be paid that salary.” LOL!

Rick Perry, speaking in Iowa: “I'm for pulling all of those tax credits, or subsidies or however you refer to them out of the energy industry. No greater example of it than this administration sending millions of dollars into the solar industry, and we lost that money. I want to say it was over $500 million that went to the country Solynda.” Solyndra is actually a recently bankrupt solar power company.

A small church in Kentucky is making national news after banning interracial couples from becoming member. However, they want you to know that they are not racist. They love all races as long as they don’t co-mingle. (Seriously?!?! Did the church time-travel to the 1960’s?)

The world’s first off-leash park for cats has been proposed in Vancouver. “It is quite common in most urban public parks these days to these days to have a designated area for dogs. These areas allow owners and their furry companions to have the freedom they may not feel in other urban spaces. Well, according to a group of cat owners in Vancouver’s west-end it’s high time the cat world gained this same privilege.” (Umm, what do you do when Fluffy is up a tree and it is the end of your lunch hour?)

Celebrities 11/30

2011-11-30T09:56:00.001-05:00

Us Weekly is reporting that Kourtney Kardashian is pregnant. This will be her and husband Scott’s second child.

Last night, a couple of “warlocks” snuck onto the Beverly Hills property of Seth MacFarlane and “made it rain toilet paper” at around 11 pm. Sources say the vandals were a couple of kids (two boys and one girl) and were huge Charlie Sheen fans. How do we know that? They left a note on his door. LOL! Why they did it? No one knows. I thought Seth and Charlie ended the Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen (which the cartoon creator hosted) on good terms. But I guess Sheen fans still felt like they need to seek revenge.

Comedian Patrice O’Neal, who does a lot of Comedy Central Roasts, suffered a stroke back in October. Last night, he lost the battle with his condition and passed away. He was 41 years old.

A 50-year-old Atlanta man named Delma Kinney has won a $1 million payday from the Georgia Lottery’s Super Millions instant game. This is his second time winning a million dollars in three years.

Obsessed Twilight fans are going to great lengths to look like Bella Swan on her wedding day -- even if it's only for a few minutes. The employees at Alfred Angelo bridal salons say Twi-hards have been flocking to the various locations and lying about their engagements just so they can try on the $799 replica wedding gown. The employees add the Bella Swannabes are driving them nuts and make it difficult to conduct business with real brides.

TV/Movies/Music 11/30

2011-11-30T09:55:00.001-05:00

Elvis Costello and his own website are urging fans not to buy his new box set The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook. Why doesn’t he want you to buy his album? Because the record label is charging $202.66 for it! “I am unable to recommend The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook as the price appears to be either a misprint or a satire. If you want to buy something special for your loved one at this time of seasonal giving, I suggest, Ambassador Of Jazz — a cute little imitation suitcase containing ten re-mastered albums by one of the most beautiful and loving revolutionaries who ever lived – Louis Armstrong.”

The main villain for the upcoming Spider-man movie has been a tightly guarded secret. Well, that was until Pez released their new line new revealed that Dr. Curt Connors aka Lizard will be the new villain. Nothing can be kept secret anymore.

It has been revealed that Ricky Martin is in negotiations with Fox to guest star on the show next season. Not only will he be headlining two big musical numbers but his character is described as “the hottest Spanish teach ever in the history of Ohio.”

Michael Bublé is going to be having a Christmas special on NBC. A Michael Bublé Christmas will air December 6th and features special guests like Justin Bieber, Kelli Pickler and Ed Helms.

ABC has decided to cancel their new drama Pan Am. In recent weeks, the show’s ratings have plummeted so it isn’t that big of a surprise. The last episode will air after Christmas.

PETA launched a new ad campaign that tells people not to get pets as presents. The ad puts it best “Cats and dogs require a 10 to 20 year financial and emotional commitment. Please don’t buy animals as presents.”

Wow! They earned their money back fast! The producers of The Book of Mormon are officially out of the red! Almost every ticket they sell going forward will include some profit!

Jersey Boys has now surpassed The Producers and is the 22nd longest-running show in Broadway history. Next milestone is Avenue Q. (Which I know is still running but it is now Off-Broadway and not Broadway anymore.)

Harrison Ford is set to return as Indian Jones for a fifth movie. Filming will begin in 2012 and he will be 70 years old!

Want to see a teaser trailer for The Hobbit? Well you will have to go to the Adventures of Tintin because it has been confirmed that they will be premiering it before the movie when Tintin is released December 21st.

The ABC Family show Pretty Little Liars has been picked up for a third season. The show has been on hiatus since Halloween but will be back January 2nd.

David Hasselhoff, in a desperate move, has asked his Twitter followers to bombard Simon Cowell with tweets to reinstate him as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent. A replacement hasn’t been made yet so technically he has a chance.

American Airlines and its parent company are filing for bankruptcy protection as they try to cut costs and unload massive debt built up over the years. AMR Corp has continued to lose money while other US airlines returned to profitability in the last two years after charging for check-in baggage.

Legal Issues and Politics 11/30

2011-11-30T09:54:00.001-05:00

Doctor Conrad Murray was sentenced to the maximum of 4 years in jail for his involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson. The judge said that he felt the max was necessary because Murray has never shown remorse for his actions.

After all the smack ESPN talked against Penn State, the sports channel may have found themselves in their own little cover up. ESPN aired a secretly recorded phone conversation between Laurie Fine, Bernie’s fine wife, and one of his victims which indicated very clear wrongdoing on the coach’s part. The thing is, ESPN has had the tapes for 8 years and did nothing about it.

Poor Rick Perry, he can’t get anything right. He said at a recent event “Those of you that will be 21 by Nov 12th, I ask for your support and your vote.” Ummm… the voting age is 18 and the election is November 6th.

Norway’s mass murderer has been found criminally insane and unable to stand trial.

The LAPD forced out campers for the Occupy Wall Street protest last night. The group is seeking a federal court injunction to stop the eviction from campsites (aka the sidewalk outside of city hall). In their court documents they say that if the city can allow Twilight fans to camp out for a week before a movie premiere, they should have the right to camp outside for their protest. Again, why can’t they do what other protests do and go home at night and come back the next day to protest? Unions do that all the time when they are on strike. There is no need for them to camp out.

Lawrence Taylor paid money to have sex with an underage girl. He was found guilty and got 6 years probation and has to register as a sex offender. Now he is being sued by his victim for sex trafficking. Now the Trafficking Victims Protection Act is used against pimps, which in her case it was. (Her pimp was convicted and got 7 years in jail.) This will be the first time a buyer has been sued under this law. Gloria Allred, her lawyer, and the victim feel that buyers should have the same penalty as the pimps.

The Federal Trade Commission announced that they have “settled” with Facebook on terms to punish the social network for violating privacy laws. Facebook has agreed to conduct 10 privacy audits in the next 20 years, actually delete information Facebookers delete from the site and require users to opt-in to any new privacy settings.

A spokesman for the Russian government has denounced the US State Department for a statement made in opposition to St. Peterburg’s pending ban on all LGBT-related media, books, poster, and speech. “We view with bewilderment the American side’s attempts to interfere, what’s more, publicly, in the lawmaking process.” (Umm… if what you are doing is stupid, I’m glad someone said something. You can’t make homosexuality disappear by forbidding people to talk, write, etc. about it.)

The Christian hate group New Yorkers For Constitutional Freedom is suing to overturn same-sex marriage on the ground that legislators were promised campaign donations in return for their vote. A state judge has now ruled that the suit may proceed. First off, everyone donates to candidates that vote their way. So this is such a stupid case to begin with. HOWEVER… the best part is that NOM has publicly announced (even on billboards) that they would donate $1 million to candidates that voted against it. So I wonder how that plays out in court. LOL!

Michigan State University professor Danny Guthrie has been photographing himself with students, some who are nude, for over 40 years for “his art.” His picutres have been under scrutiny recently, with some calling them “obscene” and oppressive to women.

A Texas judge has ruled that Pastor Tom Brown’s recall election against El Paso’s mayor may take place. Anti-gay Christian activists are attempting to remove the mayor and two members of the city council for voting to reinstate domestic partners insurance for city employees. You may recall that when Brown’s initial drive to repeal domestic partners succeeded, the poorly written bill also deleted insurance for retired cops and firefighters. That was fine with Brown as long as those FOURTEEN dirty homos didn’t get to insure their partners.

Celebrities 11/29

2011-11-29T09:14:00.003-05:00

Last week, Syracuse basketball coach Bernie Fine was accused of molesting kids. At first he was put on paid administrative leave but yesterday Syracuse terminated him after a third boy came forward.

Maggie Gyllenhaal and husband Peter Sarsgaard announced that they are expecting their second child together according to Life & Style Weekly. The magazine says that “over Thanksgiving weekend, Maggie was telling friends that she’s six months pregnant.”

Anne Hathaway and boyfriend Adam Shulman are engaged! The two have been dating since 2008.

In a recent interview, Eva Longoria says that she is no longer angry at Tony Parker for having an affair with a teammate’s wife last year. “It stands to reason that I should be angry and resentful. But I am not.”

It is official… Sara Gilbert is dating songwriter Linda Perry. The two were spotted walking holding hands Sunday while picking up some grub from an LA eatery. While prompted a lot of questions. It’s only been three months since Gilbert split from her long term partner and the mother of her children Alison Adler.

Kate Winslet’s ex-husband Sam Mendes is officially in a relationship with English actress Rebecca Hall. Back when Sam and Kate divorced in 2010, there was speculation that Rebecca was the “other woman” and eventually was the reason why the two split.

After a tough few months for Sugarland, it was announced that the band’s lead vocalist Jennifer Nettles has tied the knot with entrepreneur Justin Miller. The ceremony was a small one with family and friends and was in Tennessee.

Wow! Now this is an act of revenge! Ryan L. Fitzgerald, a tattoo artist, found out that his girlfriend was cheating on him with a long-time friend of his. He told her he wanted to give her the tattoo of “a scene from Narnia” that she always wanted. Instead he tattooed a big pile of poop and flies. Rooise Borvent, his now ex-girlfriend, is suing him for $100,000.

TV/Movies/Music 11/29

2011-11-29T09:14:00.001-05:00

The holiday weekend was a big winner for online retailers, who broke previous records by DOUBLE digits. The average was a 26% gain on last year. Bloomberg reports that physical stores saw an increase of 6.6%, the largest rise in several years.

After playing Dr. Gregory House for eight seasons, Hugh Laurie wants to call it quits. The British star says that once House has completed his run, he wants to retire from TV roles.

Office fans rejoice. Quill.com is starting to sell Dunder Mifflin premium copy paper at the price of $34.99 per carton. The offer will only be available until January 31st so you hardcore fans better place your orders soon.

It is being reported that Bethenny Frankel’s talk show has been dropped by Telepictures and will no longer be happening.

MGM has announced that they are remaking the movie Poltergeist. Roy Lee is in talks to produce the new flick.

You remember Doug Hutchinson right? He is also the guy who married a 16 year old. Well he was cast in the upcoming movie called The Genesis of Lincoln because he had an issue with the fact his character ends up in a “strange relationship with the teenage pop star he casts” in the movie. (Ummm aren’t you living that plot in real life?)

Mercedes has officially announced that they will be saying goodbye to their Maybach luxury brand beginning in 2013, as a result of poor sales for the past decade.

Legal Issues and Politics 11/29

2011-11-29T09:13:00.001-05:00

Herman Cain has yet another accusing woman coming forward. But from his lawyer’s statement, it sure seems like Cain is admitting to this one. “This is not an accusation of harassment in the workplace – this is not an accusation of an assault – which are subject matters of legitimate inquiry to a political candidate. Rather, this appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults – a subject matter which is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public.”

Representative Barney Frank announced that he will be retiring from politics. He will not be seeking reelection after 30 years in politics.

Seattle hair salon owner Danny Vega has died after two weeks in a coma that resulted from a brutal street attack by several men. Vega’s family believes the assault was a hate crime, although the police are not investigating it as such.

Oh dear Lord! Reports say that a Craigslist post in Ohio is preying on those desperate for work. The ad targets middle aged and divorced white men and lures them to a farm. They are then robbed, murdered and buried. One victim managed to escape after being shot in the arm which led the police to find three other bodies.

Because the Governor of Kansas has nothing better to do than scout Twitter, he contacted high school student Emma Sullivan because she said he sucked. They contacted her school and the school mandated that she apologized. Luckily she has a brain (unlike her principal or governor) and said no. I wonder if he uses taxpayers’ money to hire people to scour social media sites. Great use of money.

A study shows that the US Marine Corp is ahead of the other branches when it comes to fully implementing the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal. This is awesome considering that USMC Commandant James Amos fought so fiercely against it.

According to court documents, the rapper Bow Wow owes the IRS $91,105.61 because he decided not to pay his taxes back in 2006.

Since hate groups could not get the repeal of the FAIR Education Act on the 2012 ballot. They have two plans: 1) strike “gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender” from the bill and 2) make it a law to allow parents to opt-out of any lessons about GLBT people.

Washington DC’s Department of Motor Vehicles recently launched a test program offering free in-house HIV tests. The response has been so good, the city has expanded the program to other agencies. “In a city with one of the highest percentages of residents living with HIV or AIDS, health officials have now test-driven the in-DMV testing and are finding that it works. More than 5,000 people have been screened and gotten results while they wait. Now officials are expanding the program, offering testing at an office where Washington residents register for food stamps, Medicaid, and other government assistance. On the first day of the program, 60 people were tested, officials said. As an incentive they’re being offered a $5 gift card to a local grocery store.”