BELANJA MAYA

Clinton Kelly

Clinton Kelly says that one of the worst dressed women ever to set foot on TLC's What Not To Wear appears on tonight's episode (9 p.m. ET).

"I generally lump the women on What Not To Wear into three different categories," says Kelly, who has starred on the show for five years with Stacey London. "They're either frumps, sluts or freaks. Crizti (Walsh, a disc jockey from Norfolk, Va.,) had a little bit of each one."

It's the 250th episode of the show and Kelly says he's got one more year on his contract. But he's not ready to go anywhere. "I'll keep doing the show as long as they want me. I like it. Stacy and I have pretty much a belly laugh every day."

On hiatus now, Kelly has been running around all week working another show: Miss America: Behind the Curtain, airing tonight on TLC at 10, right after What Not To Wear. Earlier this week, he pretended he was a contestant.

"It was fun to have Rush Limbaugh firing questions at me. And Vivica Fox! She's more intimidating than Rush," he says. "She's beautiful and intense - that's a scary combination." He says they gave him an 8 out of 10 score.

Other celeb judges at Saturday night's Miss America 2010 show include: Olympian and DWTS champ Shawn Johnson, comedian Paul Rodriguez and American Idol favorite Brooke White. Mario Lopez will host and Clinton will be a correspondent for the show, which airs live from Las Vegas at 8 ET on TLC.

Lalah Hathaway

We spoke about Gemma Genazzano yesterday, and how her true essence is jaded by a focus on looks rather than a focus on her talent. An beautiful, sensual, but more importantly extremely talented lady, seen as a sex bomb more than she is seen as a singer. She’s a Latina, sensuality goes with the territory, we know it, and we see it. Her songs remind us of it – Dan Aquilante was right, she has a velvet voice, but if the media continues focusing on her looks, she will never be remembered for her true gifts. Yesterday I was wrong in blaming solely the media. Her PR is focused on looks, as her website reveals.

“I want to be a symbol for women everywhere and it’s OK to be very sensual,” says Gemma. Yes, she is right – it’s more than OK to be sensual. As sensual as Lalah Hathaway (photo right), who seems to ignore her sex appeal, focusing on her love for music instead. The right focus brought her a Grammy nomination this year.

“Music is so textured and layered,” she says on her About page, “and it is an absolute entity in my life. It’s three-dimensional, it’s tangible, and when I die, I’ll say goodbye to it, just as I will to everyone standing around my bed.”

I don’t know about you, but when I read this I got goose-bumps.

Gemma GenazzanoAt the other end of the spectrum, Gemma has other things to say: “There are three things that excite me…sex, men, and chocolate! Yes this is true and I bet there are others who get a little crazy for sex, men, and chocolate. I would even venture to say that women crave feeling love, passion, and sensuality in their lives just about more than they are willing to admit. I love to include these themes in my songs and when I am performing, I enjoy giving you some love and passion.” Yeah, they sell, all right. Gemma Genazzano will be a success, and if she continues like this, she’ll soon get offers from Playboy and the likes.

Lalah Hathaway, as beautiful as Gemma, has other priorities, at the other end of the spectrum if you want.

She debuted four years ago, and instead of trying to become yet another sex bomb on the block, she’s been “working, writing music and living a very, simple life. Many people think that you’re just lounging between albums, but that time for me was about trying to find a place to land that will give you the opportunity to create something artful, something mindful,” in her own words.

Amazingly, both these artists are equally talented. Gemma brings sensuality in jazzy tunes, Lalah in R&B. Just listen to them, and take the godly tunes to your heart. Never mind the looks this time. A voice is a gift, and music knows no borders… A godly voice can reside in any body… as Susan Boyle has proved, not long ago. It’s time for the right focus. Kudos to Lalah for proving what true artists are made of, for having the right focus. We keep our fingers crossed for you, chica. You deserve it!

Lady Gaga Death

Pay attention to that woman opening the Grammys.

At Sunday's awards show, Lady Gaga is expected to play a duet on a single piano with Elton John. She is nominated for five awards, including record of the year, but that's less important than her broader impact on music culture in the space of a year, which has been seismic.

Her debut album has generated four No. 1 songs. She topped the digital sales chart for 2009 with 15.3 million tracks sold. Her dance hits, including "Poker Face" and "Paparazzi," recalibrated the sound of pop radio with a spacey Euro vibe that's crept into songs by rock and rap artists. She grabbed attention beyond the music world with outfits that make her look like a refugee from a sci-fi film. In concert, on video and at past awards shows she has sported full facial masks, worn planetary rings around her head, and framed her face in what looked like a bird's nest.

"She's very vaudevillian," says an admiring Alice Cooper, the rocker whose history of stage theatrics includes simulated decapitations. But he says Gaga's antics only work because "she can really sing."

Gaga may turn out to be yet another fleeting pop novelty, but many other industry veterans see her as the real deal, and her ambitions and skill at navigating the turbulent industry may make her a durable star. Born Stefani Germanotta, she graduated from Manhattan's Convent of the Sacred Heart school, then left a music program at New York University to chase a music career. She was signed and dropped from one label, Def Jam, before uniting with a core team of advisers. She then stormed the media in a year when Michael Jackson's death reminded us how few new music stars transcend narrow genres anymore.

Underneath Gaga's haystack wigs is a case study of what it takes to succeed in the music business today. Gaga, 23 years old, has made shrewd use of new digital platforms, while still leveraging the clout of a major label, an institution deemed obsolete by many proponents of DIY culture. She is a product of a new kind of recording contract which goes beyond just selling records to encompass everything from touring, merchandise–even her make-up deal. Though she writes her own material, she is as focused on visual theatrics, fashion, and global appeal as she is on the music.

Gaga's actual odds in the Grammy race are uncertain. For instance, the best-album award typically goes to nominees with a long record of achievement, including recent winners Robert Plant, Alison Krauss and Herbie Hancock. This year, the senior slot is represented by Dave Matthews. Another strong contender: Beyoncé Knowles, who at just 28 is a veteran who leads the pack with 10 nominations. The Black Eyed Peas are reliable hitmakers with a bevy of corporate sponsors including BlackBerry. Newcomer Taylor Swift, the 20-year-old country singer, also has a strong shot at awards.

This year, expect the cameras to hover around Gaga, who will be challenged to top the six different costumes she donned at the MTV Video Music Awards. Divining fashion trends from her outfits would be fruitless. Instead, here are three things Gaga can tell us about how the music industry works now.
She's a digital phenomenon

Lady Gaga's towering digital sales, almost all of them iTunes downloads, only tell part of the story. In fact, much of Gaga's audience got her music for free, and legally. They have listened to free streams—by the hundreds of millions—on YouTube and the other online services that Gaga currently leads, according to research firm BigChampagne. On MySpace, Gaga has had 321.5 million plays. By contrast, singer Susan Boyle tallied only 133,000 plays, despite scoring the No. 2 selling album of 2009. A difference (among many) between Gaga and the dowdy Scotswoman discovered on a British talent show: Ms. Boyle's material, including "Amazing Grace," was traditional—and so were most of her buyers. Some 97% of her albums were sold on compact disc.
"That tells you how pronounced the generational divide is," says BigChampagne founder Eric Garland. When it comes to the free streams that dwarf her still-impressive sales, Gaga isn't giving it away for nothing—musicians typically earn fractions of a penny each time a song is streamed on Yahoo, for instance. While most artists stand to profit more from high-margin CD sales, being embedded across the Web can pay dividends in exposure and the loyalty of fans.

Author J.D. Salinger 'doesn't go out of style'

J.D. Salinger turned his back on the world long before his death Wednesday in New Hampshire at age 91.
The last thing he published was a 25,000-word short story titled "Hapworth 16, 1924" in the June 19, 1965, issue of The New Yorker.

But the reclusive author's work, particularly The Catcher in the Rye, continues to connect with readers.

Narrated by Holden Caulfield, an angry prep school student who rails against "phonies," the novel has sold more than 60 million copies since its publication in 1951.

The Catcher in the Rye has spent 483 weeks in the Top 150 of USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list, rising as high as No. 19 in July 2001, the month it turned 50.

Only three books have spent more weeks on the list since it was launched in October 1993.

The secret to The Catcher in the Rye's long-lived appeal? Caulfield.

"His voice reaches (readers) directly and immediately," says John Wenke, 57, a professor of English at Salisbury University in Maryland and author of the 1991 book J.D. Salinger:A Study of the Short Fiction. "He is unique in 20th-century literature."

Wenke has taught The Catcher in the Rye for 30 years and says his students today still respond to Caulfield: "He doesn't go out of style."

Salinger's seminal novel certainly spoke to one Minnesota high school student back in 1960.

Garrison Keillor tells USA TODAY that Salinger was "the great author of my teenage years. He was one of those authors you felt intimately friends with and wished you could call him up on the phone and talk, which is why, I suppose, he spent all those years in New Hampshire not taking phone calls. There must have been millions of young people who wanted to talk to him."

Another gauge of Salinger's influence: He still gets people riled up.

"The Catcher in the Rye has been a constant on our list of banned books for the past several decades," says Deborah Caldwell Stone of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom. "It remains one of the most challenged books well into the 21st century."

One of the great literary mysteries of the last half-century is whether Salinger continued to write during his seclusion from the world.

"I'm guessing there is a trove of unpublished works," Wenke says. (Salinger's literary agent had no comment.)

Says novelist T.C. Boyle: "I wonder now if we'll see more stories. I absolutely hope so. I hope he's been writing some great stories that will blow us away."

J.D. SALINGER IS DEAD AT AGE 91

Mr. Salinger, who died Wednesday at age 91, leaves behind one fully-realized novel ("The Catcher in the Rye") and five collections of shorter writings, all surrounded by a penumbra of unknowns about the author, who went into seclusion in 1953.

Yet Mr. Salinger's books have remained highly visible, iconic presences in American classrooms and have sold more than 65 million copies, including translations around the world. "The Catcher in the Rye" is often cited in lists of the best 20th- century novels.

The son of a cheese importer, Mr. Salinger grew up on Manhattan's Upper West Side. He attended a military academy for high school and never graduated from college. Critics and enthusiasts had little problem drawing parallels between Mr. Salinger's youth and that of the "Catcher in the Rye's" narrator, Holden Caulfield.

Mr. Salinger's early stories appeared in magazines while he was serving in the Army in Europe during World War II, in magazines including The Saturday Evening Post and Esquire. His more mature work appeared in the New Yorker starting in the mid-1940s, including "A Perfect Day for Bananafish."

"The Catcher in the Rye" caused a sensation when it was published in 1951, unusual for its salty language and sentiment, attributed to Caulfield, who styled himself an enemy of "phonies." Taken as portraying a thirst for authenticity by some, the work is seen by many young people these days as merely whiney.

Mr. Salinger's celebrity was hardly dimmed by his decision to live out of the limelight. He appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1961 yet remained a sphinx. His last original published work, "Hapsworth 16, 1924," appeared in the New Yorker in 1965. Visitors who caught sight of him in New Hampshire where he lived described an unkempt recluse.

More and more, his public face consisted of lawsuits brought against unauthorized publishers of his early works or unpublished letters. After Mr. Salinger filed suit, a federal judge last year barred a Swedish writer and publisher from publishing a sequel to "Catcher in the Rye."

In one of the few public statements he made after 1953, Mr. Salinger told the New York Times in 1974, "There is a marvelous peace in not publishing."

Mr. Salinger's death is almost certain to generate renewed interest in his work and increasing pressure to bring his work to the big screen, something the author for the most part resisted.

Greg Oden Dirty Pictures

Greg Oden nude photos are the burning topic these days on Twitter where everyone is speculating either about the authenticity of these pictures or about his asset. It’s interesting that many are talking about the length of his penis. He is approximately 7 feet and people are speculating about the length of his penis. Funny Dudes.

Many are also questioning about the authenticity of the photos questioning about his shorts and tattoos that are not shown on these photos. So, they have notion in their mind that these pictures are nothing but a fake and star has nothing to do with these snaps. Till now, no statement has been issued either by himself or by his spokesman regarding these pictures.
I have just one authentic news i.e. his nude pictures were first seen on Twitter on 25th January, 2010. From last two days, Greg Oden, is the most searched keyword not only on Twitter but also on Google too.

Toyota Recall Models Affected

Millions of Toyota owners face a difficult choice in how to react to the sticky accelerator recall: risk driving it or park it.
Three big auto-rental companies cast their votes on Wednesday. Enterprise, Avis and Hertz said they have roped off their Toyota fleets until they can be repaired under the recall.

And the Transportation Department acknowledged Wednesday that it leaned on Toyota to stop selling the eight affected models. The government "informed Toyota of their obligations" after it announced the recall and that "the decision to halt sales was legally and morally the right thing to do," said David Strickland, chief of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

But while it thinks Toyota shouldn't sell new ones, NHTSA thinks it's fine to keep driving one of the affected models if you happen to own one. Owners should "exercise caution," it said in a statement.

The government has taken more drastic action to protect the public from potential transportation danger in the past. In 1979, the nation's airlines were ordered to stop flying the DC-10, a popular jumbo jet of the era, after a crash.

But the Toyota case raises questions of whether expediency is involved.

"It's a practicality issue," says Sean Kane of Safety Research & Strategies. "I have three kids." They've got to get around.

Toyota insists that the cars should give telltale signs before the pedal sticks. It and NHTSA also say drivers can take steps to safely stop if it does.

If you own a Toyota that's under recall, pay careful attention to whether the accelerator pedal action seems rough or is sluggish in returning to the idle position, says Toyota spokesman Mike Michels. Only if someone experiences these problems do they need to stop using the vehicle and contact their dealer, he says.

If the pedal does stick while driving, the owner should apply the brakes, pull over and park safely, shut it off and have it towed to a Toyota dealership.

Only if the car becomes a runaway should drivers try to stop it in motion by shifting into neutral or turning off the ignition.

Outside experts agree the problem is manageable for most drivers.

"These cars aren't dangerous," says Jake Fisher, senior engineer at Consumer Reports' Auto Test Center. Drivers shouldn't be overly concerned if their car is on Toyota's no-sell list. Out of the huge number of cars involved, the acceleration issue is "a very rare occurrence," he says.

However, Fisher says it's a good idea for drivers to practice what they'd do in case of unintended acceleration.

Don Friedman, an engineer who works with the Center for Injury Research in Santa Barbara, Calif., says that technically the recalled cars probably shouldn't be driven, "but people take risks every day." If a car hasn't acted erratically, "It's hard to tell them not to drive." Instead, they should "be more suspicious and careful in how they drive."

States improve transparency of Recovery Act spending

State governments in Kentucky, Illinois, Minnesota and Utah made the most dramatic progress in reporting their federal economic stimulus spending online in the last six months, according to a new report from the Good Jobs First nonprofit research group.

In comparison to a previous evaluation in July 2009, Kentucky rose to 2nd place from 47th, Illinois climbed to 7th place from 50th, Minnesota jumped to 4th place from 34th, and Utah went to 24th place from 50th, according to the report. Maryland topped the list for the second year.

The research group reviewed state Web sites that reported American Recovery and Reinvestment Act spending and graded them from 1 to 100. About $200 billion from the economic stimulus law was distributed to states.

The states with the highest scores in the new report are Maryland (87), Kentucky (85), Connecticut (80), Colorado (72) and Minnesota (72).

Eleven states scored below 20, including North Dakota (5), District of Columbia (6), Missouri (10), Alaska (13), Vermont (13), Louisiana (16), Mississippi (17), Idaho (18), Oklahoma (18), Texas (18) and South Carolina (19).

“Some states are making great strides in fulfilling President Obama’s promise that the Recovery Act would be carried out with an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability,” said Good Jobs First Executive Director Greg LeRoy in a news release.

The state Web sites are linked with Recovery.gov, which is the federal government’s Web site for tracking economic stimulus law spending. Congress and the Obama administration approved $787 billion in stimulus allocations a year ago to boost the economy; a portion of the money went for information-technology projects, including energy smart grids, broadband development and health IT.

BOB MCDONNELL

Virginia Governor—Bob McDonnell—was the spokesman of Republicans who was given the spoke for the Republicans. During his 10 minutes speech, he delivered before 300 supporters, friends and family members. He criticized government on their policies stating they will put USA on a level of indefensible debt. He challenged President directly and said Republican’s victory in Massachusetts is a blow for President.

Also Republican leaders think that government needs to show some practical work instead of long speeches.

and we say "DUH" and we are not even Republican. Less talk and more doing. Isn't that what people wanted with all presidents?

Obama is a talker, Bush jr. was a follower and Clinton 'cared' about our nation. Remember when Clinton was president, there were jobs and the economy was a lot better.

iPad Price:iPad 3G Plan iPad Cost

Apple iTablet

Apple’s new iTablet is a new tech toy that many people want to have on their hands. It features a 10 inches touchscreen and operates like an iphone. The new versions include 3G Models which allow users to subscribe internet facility. What is the price of new iTablet? The price of the iPad depends on the type you choose. More facilities, more price. It has models with different storage capacities like 16gigabytes, 32gigabytes and 64 gigabytes.

If you have chose an iTablet equipped with WiFi, it will cost you in ranging from $499 to $699. If you want to have an iPad equipped with 3G facility, it will cost you in ranging from $629 to$829. You will have to pay extra $14.99 for monthly data plan on 3G that will provide you 250 MB data and if you want to access on unlimited data then you will have to pay $29.99.

features:

* 1/2″ thin and only 1 1/2 lbs
* 9.7″ IPS display with multi-touch sensors
* 1GHz Apple A4 chip.
* Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1 EDR
* Supports 16 to 64 GB Flash Storage
* Accelerometer
* Compass
* Speaker
* Microphone
* 30-pin connector
* 10 hours of battery life, 1 month standby
* Environmentally friendly being Arsenic-free, BRF-free, Mercury-free, PVC-free and is highly recyclable.
* Runs all iPhone apps, and can run them full screen by doubling the pixels.

iPad price a 'gigantic win' for Apple

Apple shares have risen about 1 per cent on analyst predictions that the surprisingly low price of the iPad will lead to "millions" of sales.

Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs launched the multipurpose device at a company event in San Francisco early this morning Australian time.

The initial price will be $US499 [$557] for the base 16-gigabyte version capable of displaying e-books, web content, movies and more.

Analysts say the price and functionality sits the product somewhere between an iPhone and Apple's Mac laptop computers.

"The price is a gigantic win. The non-3G model at $US499 is very surprising," Michael Yoshikami, an analyst with YCMNet Advisors told Bloomberg.

Brian Marshall, an analyst at Broadpoint Amtech, says that the iPad's advantage will be its higher multi-functionality than many other e-book readers, such as Amazon's Kindle.

"Pricing is very aggressive, so it's pretty positive from a mass adoption perspective. It was about $US200 lower than what I was expecting," he said.

"I think [Kindle is] going to have a tough road ahead. There is a lot of functionality, it's just a better design for a similar price point.

"I don't understand why anyone would want to buy a Kindle when they have an opportunity to buy an iPad for a similar price point."

Investors seemed to largely agree, with Apple shares edging $US1.94 higher to $US207.88.

However, not all analysts are convinced that the iPad will make anything like the social impact and financial return of products such as the iPod and iPhone.

"It's tough for me to figure out who needs this device because most people are doing everything it does on the iPhone. Maybe there's a whole bunch of people who need a bigger iPhone with a keyboard, but I'd be surprised," said Seth Jayson, the senior technology analyst at Motley Fool.

"So far nothing here has been surprising. It's almost like a Microsoft presentation. We knew everything before its came out, which is unusual for Apple.

"I think this would be a tough sell in the current economy. iPhone does almost everything but fits into a pocket and most people have laptops. They are really competing against themselves."

Apple also faces a legal headache over the iPad name, with computing company Fujitsu already having made a trademark application for the name.

"They probably need to talk to us and we haven't had any direct communications with Apple," a lawyer for Fujitsu, Edward Pennington, told Bloomberg.

"Apple filed extensions to oppose it [the Fujitsu trademark application] and now it makes sense. Now we can see why they did."

Mr Pennington says that Apple's position is "a little awkward", but that the company may argue that there would be no confusion between its iPad and Fujitsu's device that is used in grocery stores at self-service checkouts.

Measure 66 and 67 Results

Early results from Oregon voters have Ballot Measure 66 and 67 passing rapidly, but failing marginally in Umatilla County.

The vote in Oregon on two tax increases, Ballot Measure 66 which sets to raise the taxes on individual filers who make $125,000 or more on a household income at or above $250,000. And the Measure 67 Ballot which will see the increase of State business tax from $10 annually to $150 for most businesses, it will also reflect on larger corporations for either a new sliding scale tax on gross sales of a new minimum tax.

With so far almost a million votes already which is half of Oregon’s voters, with both Measures already passing with about a ten percent margin.

As the vote’s show Measure 66 is passing at 530,637-433, 853 or 55.02 percent for to 44.98 against, while Measure 67 is passing at 525, 700-436, 958 or 54.61 percent to 45.39 percent.

But in Umatilla County they are not so popular with the Measures failing although only slightly, Measure 66 is failing at 6,768 against to 6,263 for and, Measure 67 failing at 6,945 against to 6,100 for.

Voters have up until 8 tonight to submit ballots in the election.

Justin Shenkarow

Justin Moran Shenkarow is an American actor best known for his roles of Matthew Brock in Picket Fences, Simon Holmes in Eerie, Indiana, and the voice of Harold Berman on Hey Arnold!.
Shenkarow was born in Torrance, California. He has starred in television and film for over 19 years. He received three Young Artist Award nominations for his work as an actor on "Picket Fences." He has starred in television shows including Eerie Indiana, Home Improvement, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Strong Medicine, and Boston Public.

Shenkarow's production company, "Shake That Fro Productions" has produced three short films 2006 which he directed and starred in, Decoy, The Best Christmas Ever and Tears, and they are currently hitting the festival market. He has a comedy pilot in development, and 2005 he appeared in two films, House of the Dead 2 and Comedy Hell co-starring Eric Roberts.
Shenkarow is a graduate of Stanford University, where he studied business, and also spent a year studying art history in Paris. In 2004, he was elected to the Screen Actors Board and was recently elected to chair the Young Performer's Committee. He is determined to improve the conditions of young actors and provide them with every opportunity. In 2008, Shenkarow appeared on an episode of TLC's Flip That House where he flipped a home in Sherman Oaks, California. In early 2010, he is set to appear in an upcoming episode of Bravo's Millionaire Matchmaker.

How Old is Avril Lavigne

Singing star Avril Lavigne, appeared on the LA auditions for American Idol as well as Katy Perry.

People have been questioning how old Avril really is, and the Canadian singer songwriter, who was born, Avril Ramona Lavigne, was born on September 27 in 1984, which would make her 26 this year.

Her biggest singles in which she has had five number one’s worldwide, include “Complicated,” Sk8er Boi,” “Girlfriend,” “I’m with You,” and “My Happy Ending.”

Lavigne is currently working on an album her fourth to be released mid this year.

She has also ventured into film and business, launching a clothing line called Abbey Dawn in 2008, which featured a back to school collection. Lavigne has also launched her own fragrance called Black Star, which was created by Proctor and Gamble Prestige Products. It was announced on her official website on March 7, 2009 it was released in summer 2009 in Europe, America and also Canada. The fragrance which includes notes of pink hibiscus, black plum and dark chocolate is expected to make $50 million in sales.

She also in 2008 signed a contract with Canon Canada to appear as image of the brand on campaigns and publicity commercials. she in 2009 extended that partnership to also be part of Asia’s campaign starring in a commercial for the brand.

The star who also has claims as a fashion designer and actress, has sold more than 30 million copies of her albums worldwide. Lavigne broke into the recording industry with her debut album Let Go in 2002. Currently she is one of the best selling artists releasing albums in the United States with 10 million copies or more certified by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Cult of Personality

"American Idol" heads to Los Angeles with judges Avril Lavigne and Katy Perry.

I missed the opening three minutes due to a TV problem, but since the auditions are in Los Angeles, let's just assume there were thousands of screaming fans and the Hollywood sign. Am I close?

Up first we have Neil Goldstein with "Rock n Roll Dreams Come True." He's a big nervous weird guy with some very unfortunate hair. Why do you let this guy go through to the judges? Please make it stop. His voice has a very sheep-bleating quality. When he's told he's no good, Neil refuses to leave. This has to be a producer-directed tantrum, right? Or is he really that whiny and deluded?

Jim Ranger is our first good audition with "Drive," an original song. It's catchy, I like it! He's got a very old-school rock/country vibe. Avril shoots down his dreams with a "it's hard out thre on the road for a father" speech and then she passes. Wow. Bold, Robin Sparkles. But the other judges put him through.

Bad Montage. Jayson Wilson badly Adam-Lamberts the song "All By Myself," Asian Jesse Chang sings "Kung Fu Fighting" (oh yes, he does) and Martin Perez stomps a lot.

Ryan Seacrest then says, "After LA has taken so many blows, it's up to-- " and I don't even hear the rest because I'm laughing too hard.

Turns out he was talking about martial arts enthusiast Damien Lefavor with "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin.'" Um, I'll take Goose and Maverick please. NEXT! Lefavor says "I choked so badly" after his audition. Well, after all those blows...

Why yes, I am 13 years old. Why do you ask?

Kids montage. Oh, the cuteness! It leads into mom Mary Powers, who has an 8 year-old daughter. She sings "Love is a Battlefield" and I love her. LOVE HER. She's what Amanda Overmyer wishes she was. Avril loves her tone and Simon loves her voice, but says to ditch the cliche rocker chick look. She's through unanimously. The daughter gets to meet Simon and is all excited. He kisses her on the head. Aww.

AJ Mendoza is an Adam Lambert fan who sings "Cult of Personality" and is banking on the advice he got from Lambert on his demo. It's... not my cup of tea. His enunciation is all wrong, like his jaw is wired shut or something. Simon then likens it to him having Novocaine from the dentist. But other than that, I still didn't love his voice. The tone was not pleasing. The judges send him along, Avril with an "absolutely not!" Man, she's got her balls all hangin' out. I like it. The other guest judges have been so timid.

Does anybody think "Past Life" looks good? I feel like it looks ridiculous. And I am a huge fan of star RIchard Schiff.

Katy Perry joins for the second day and she looks effing smoking hot. I hate her "I Kissed a Girl" song because it's like the anthem of daddy-issue, drunk 19 year-old coeds who make out with each other for attention from boys, but Katy Perry seems pretty cool.

Up first is Austin Fullmer in a very shiny shirt who sings "Surrender" with a bad British accent and some strange jumping jack things. It's terrifying. Kara, Randy and Katy compare him to a cheap Mick Jagger or Iggy Pop.

Rejection Montage. Tears, tears, tears, tears, CRYING GIRL! SANJAYA'S CRYING GIRL! That's hysterical. I can't believe we didn't get to see her audition.

Andrew Garcia is up next. He's the guy people were feverishly searching for last week, which is weird since we hadn't even seen him yet. He and his dad have a very emotional relationship because his parents used to be involved in gangs and they want better for their son. Aw, "Cat's Cradle" meets "West Side Story." Or something. Garcia sings "Sunday Morning" and he's very good. THe judges love him and he's through unanimously.

Tasha Layton is the first female Golden Ticket receiver of the day. She sings "Baby baby baby" and it's great. She has a very contemporary voice. Simon guarantees that if she makes Top 12, there will be an "Oh Happy Day" medley because Tasha is a minister. That'd be awesome, remember that form "Sister Act 2?" Great song. She's through unanimously.

Serial killer time. First we had Andrew Fenlon, then we had Jarrod Norrell and now we have Jason Greene with "I Touch Myself." Jason can't sing at all, he's just being a big dirty queen and it's really alarming. He gets shown the door, after making Katy feel like she needs to shower with some steel wool.

Katy-Kara-Kat-Fight montage. Katy and Kara are apparently getting a little snippy at each other, but not in a malicious way. They appear to just not agree with each other all the time and "Idol" is trying to make more out of it. I didn't get an actual fight vibe.

Last of the day is, the Justin Guarini-lookalike Chris Golightly. HE bounced all around the foster care system as a kid, which sucks a lot. Honest to god, I had to close my eyes for this audition to be objective becuase the curly Justin hair REALLY BUGS ME and I can't explain why. Anyway, Chris's "Stand by Me" is enjoyable, but not blow-me-out-of-the-water good. SImon and Katy give him yes votes with little ys, Kara and Randy give him big yesses. But good for him either way.

Toyota Suspends Sales

DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp said on Tuesday it will suspend sales of eight models involved in a recall announced last week for potentially faulty accelerator pedals.

Toyota also said it would halt production at plants in the United States and Canada in the first week of February.

The sales suspension and recall includes Toyota's top-selling vehicle in North America, the Camry, for model years since 2007.

Also included are 2009-2010 model year RAV4, Corolla and Matrix; 2008-2010 model year Sequoia; 2007-2010 model year Tundra; 2005-2010 model year Avalon; and the 2010 model year Highlander.

Toyota is suspending production of these models for the first week of February at plants in North America. The plants are in Indiana, Texas, Kentucky, and in Ontario.

Production will be halted for the week of February 1 at plants that make the eight models involved in the recall. Two are in Indiana, with one each in Texas, Kentucky and Canada.

Bob Carter, Toyota U.S. group vice president, said the world's No. 1 automaker is taking the actions to ensure safety and restore confidence in Toyota among consumers.

"This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized," Carter said in a statement. "We're making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible."

Morgan Harrington Body Found

A press conference was held after skeletal remains were found in the Anchorage Farm of David Bass, leading to suspicion that is could well be the body of missing Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington.

During the the conference the assembled crowd was told by Colonel Steven Flaherty, the superintendent of the Virginia State Police, that, “based on evidence… we’re fairly confident that the remains are those of Morgan Dana Harrington.”

The remains that were found were soon moved to the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond from the farm in Anchorage.

Flaherty also added that they, “cannot release the evidence that leads us to this conclusion at this particular time.”

Although owner of the farm Bass had told C-Vile that “there were some clothes” found near the remains.

Harrington who went missing from a rock concert, was last seen in a black Pantera t-shirt, black mini skirt, black tights and black knee high boots, as well as a Swarovski necklace.

Bass also spoke about the discovery as he was checking the fences in the morning in a location he arrived at with his tractor, ” I saw what looked like a dead deer. When i got a little closer, it didn’t look like a deer skull.”

Bass who has owned the farm since 1985, also stated that there was no real history of trespassing on his property. And he had no idea how the body could of gotten there, as the location where it was found is not accessible by car.

Large High Schools in the City Are Taking Hard Falls

The boos cascaded over the auditorium as a city education official read out the case against Christopher Columbus High School, one of the last remaining large high schools in the Bronx.

Columbus has had a “long history of sustained academic failure” and “chronically poor performance and low demand,” Santiago Taveras, a deputy chancellor, told the standing-room crowd. As a result, he said, it should be closed.

But the frustrated teachers, soft-spoken students and former football players who stood up at the hearing said otherwise. They described a school that had served some students well, despite the difficult circumstances faced by many. They told of a school that, even after the city identified it as struggling, continued to receive an increasing share of the city’s most demanding students — the very students that needed the most help.

“And now that they have found a home here, and have been welcomed with open arms to our family, you want to take that away from them, too,” said Jaime Allen, a special education teacher.

Closing schools for poor performance, especially large high schools, has been one of the most controversial hallmarks of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s control of the school system. And it is taking on a new urgency, both in New York and around the country, with the Obama administration putting a premium on “school turnaround” policies in its nationwide competition, called Race to the Top, for billions of dollars in federal education grants.

Since 2002, the city has closed or is in the process of closing 91 schools, replacing them with smaller schools and charter schools, often several in the same building, with new leadership and teachers. This year, the city has proposed phasing out 20 schools, the most in any year. It is also the first year in which the city is required to hold public hearings at each school proposed for closing, as a result of a change in the mayoral control law that resulted from complaints about an insufficient role for parents.

The hearings are unlikely to save any school from closing; on Tuesday, a panel controlled by mayoral appointees will vote on the proposals. But in auditorium after auditorium at schools on the closing list, like Columbus, Jamaica and Beach Channel High Schools in Queens, and William H. Maxwell Career and Technical Education High School in Brooklyn, the hearings have exposed a torrent of anger about how large high schools have fared in the Bloomberg years.

The city’s Education Department says that on the whole, the closings have been a success. The small high schools created in the shells of old large high schools have average graduation rates of 75 percent, 15 percent higher than in the city as a whole and far greater than those of the schools they replaced.

“Obviously, closing schools is not something anyone enjoys,” said Joel I. Klein, the schools chancellor. “By and large, what this is about is simply the fact that when you have many kids in a high-needs community, you find that the smaller schools, where they are highly personalized, where they have strong partnerships and involvement with various organizations, those things really have been a successful strategy for us.”

To education officials, the failures of Columbus, a 70-year-old school that graduated only 40 percent of its students on time last year and received a D on its most recent report card, are self-evident. And they say they make the closing process as painless as possible. For the closing school, it is a gradual death, with current students allowed to graduate if they do not fall behind, but no new classes admitted. As space opens up, the new schools come to life, adding a grade each year.

A study last year by the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School backed the chancellor’s argument that students at the smaller schools — which are organized around themes like science or community service — fare better. But the study also found evidence of a domino effect at the large high schools.

Because the new schools, at first, accepted relatively few special education and non-English-speaking students, those students began enrolling in greater numbers in the remaining large high schools. Overall enrollment increased at many large high schools, and attendance fell. “While a few schools were successful in absorbing such students, most were not,” the report said.

From the classrooms of Columbus, the last seven years have felt like forging ahead though a snowstorm, said Karen Sherwood, an English teacher since 1993. In 2003, for example, its honors programs were peeled off and became separate small schools in its large brick building on Astor Avenue in the Pelham Parkway neighborhood. Three other small schools moved in. (One is now on the city’s closing list for poor performance.) The result was severe overcrowding for Columbus’s 3,400 students, who had classes on the auditorium stage and attended in split shifts between 7 a.m. and 5:45 p.m.

Bourbon Street Web Cam

New Orleans Saints has defeated Minnesota Vikings and after that win has secured their place for Super Bowl XLIV. The match that was played in Superdome went overtime and the drama and thrill continued till last second of the match, but after all, Saints managed to win that most important match with close scores 31-28.
Now, New Orleans Saints will play their first NFC Championship game after this win. The whole Orleans City celebrated their win through fireworks and there were celebrations on the roads in shape of music and dance by enthusiastic guys.
In Super Bowl, Saints will face Indianapolis Colts. There are a number of live web cams of Bourbon Street where you can watch the live match.
New Orleans Live Web Cam: http://www.earthcam.com/usa/louisiana/neworleans/bourbonstreet/
Bourbon Street Web Cam: http://www.tropicalisle.com/webcam.html
Jackson Square Live Web Cam: http://www.nola.com/jacksonsquarecam/
Lee Circle Livestream: http://www.wdsu.com/video/16117072/index.html

Decibel Levels

According to the meter of Fox TV that they showed during game the decibel level of sound was 102 dB. Super—where the match was played—is an enclosed structure and so the voice was even louder. In enclosed structure, the voice reflects after hitting the walls and thus produces louder sound.

Although Minnesota Vikings did not managed to win the match but however their players had managed the purple earplugs due to noise factor. The game that was tied in the fourth quarter with scores 28-28 went in favor of Saints who got victory in overtime with scores 31-28.

The decibel is actually a measure of sound pressure level that is expressed with symbol dB. The term dB is after the famous scientist Alexander Graham Bell who is the inventor of telephones.

The decibel level will be higher if the sound is higher. Normal conversation has 60 dB.

Don Hewitt

Actress JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT regularly gives her genitals a sparkly makeover - by decorating her “precious lady” with expensive crystals.

The Ghost Whisperer star first experienced the wonder of the vaginal glitter when a friend offered to add a dash of bling to cheer her up after a love split - and now she regularly adds a sparkle before going out to attend events, parties and launches.

She explains, “It’s called ‘vajazzling’. After a break-up, a friend of mine Swarovski-crystalled my precious lady and it shined (sic) like a disco ball… Women should ‘vajazzle’ their vajay-jays (vagina).”

Hewitt confessed she was wearing the bling during her appearance on chat show Lopez Tonight on Tuesday (12Jan10): “I am currently vajazzled… It’s cute.”

Asked if boyfriend Jamie Kennedy likes her sparkled vagina on the TV show, the actress quipped, “I’ve had no complaints.”

Walmart Clown Commercial

created quite a stir on Twitter today after it ran during the NFL playoffs on Sunday.

It begins with a father dressing up in a clown suit with make-up. The mother and friend are talking together at her child’s birthday party about how much money she saved at Wal-Mart on supplies. The father comes out and accidently jumps onto a unicorn toy.

What started out as a moment of excitement ended in a flash of terror. You can see the father reach for his leg in absolute pain. You need to see it to get the joke (see the commercial below).

From Twitter

Brycebudd said on Twitter: The walmart clown commercial IS insanely funny.

SkterDave: Check this video out — Walmart Clown Commercial still hilarious i love it!!

Johnny Depp Dead

When Twitter gets it right, it beats all the major news gathering organisations to the punch with the really big news. I heard about the Haiti earthquake first on Twitter, and it took a fair while for the traditional news networks to catch up. But what happens when Twitter gets it wrong?

Well you get silly rumours such as the death of Johnny Depp becoming the hottest trending topic, as has happened overnight. The trouble being, because Twitter is getting a reputation for breaking big stories so quickly, people are starting to believe whatever is trending. So when right at the top of the trending list is 'RIP Johnny Depp' and this links to thousands of tweets saying things like "OMG NOOOO, JOHNNY DEPP DIED???" and "Johnny Depp is really dead" which in turn link to a news story reporting the car crash which killed him, well, the thing takes on a momentum that is hard to slow down.

But the person who tweeted "Johnny Depp cannot be dead. No. Just no. I won't believe it until I see it properly" was right. You should treat Twitter as the Chinese Whispers of news, lots of reports that could be breaking a major news story but not the actual source of the story itself.

My wife is a woman so perhaps it should come as no great surprise that she fancies the pants off of Mr Depp and ordered me check it out when she heard that he was dead. Thinking that the whole car crash story rang a bell it really didn't take me that long to Google it back to a hoax which first saw light of day way back in 2004 when someone published a mocked up fake CNN story on an Angelfire web community page. You can still see the original hoax story here.

That hoax stated that "Johnny Depp's car was found along side a road outside Bordeaux, France, with the guard rail embedded deep inside the car. A tourist was driving down the road when he saw a car wreck alongside the road. He stepped out and tried to see if anyone was in there while his wife dialed the police for help. To his dismay, he found the a body in the car among liquor bottles. The police arrived at the scene shortly after and pulled out the body of the former actor, Johnny Depp. The police suspect that alcohol was the cause of the accident".

All of which sounds kind of believable, right? Wrong, at least if you read on and see the next paragraph talks about "A source with the British embassy said the entire expedition group is to fly back to London on Friday" and continues with "Among the cavers were four members of the British Navy". All of which proved quite quickly that it was just a bit of very sloppy cut and pasting over a genuine CNN report, but one which caught enough people out not so much because everything online has to be true but rather because they wanted to believe and in so doing be part of the early adopter grieving group for want of a better term. This kind of hoax relies upon the need to be part of the group, to belong to a community no matter how sad the reason for belonging might be.

Which brings us back to Twitter, the ultimate news buzz community of the moment. Where better than to kick start such a hoax, albeit a 5 year old one?

So, just for the record:

Johnny Depp is not dead
Do not believe everything you read on Twitter
Do your research before spreading the misinformation further
Don't click too many links about this, the celebrity malware spammers will be joining in soon enough

Catcher Freeman

The city of Neosho parks and recreation board unanimously approved the recommendation that the Neosho City Council pursue a lease agreement with the Freeman Southwest Family YMCA for the use of Morse Park’s baseball and softball complex, two concession stands and all game equipment for it to operate a youth baseball and softball program this summer.

During a special meeting Monday night at the Neosho Rec Plex, Jenny Holweger, executive director of the Freeman Southwest Family YMCA, approached the four-member parks and recreation board asking that the city of Neosho draft a lease agreement allowing the YMCA to use the Morse Park facilities to operate a youth baseball and softball program in the summer of 2010.
It was announced during the regular monthly meeting of the parks and recreation board on Jan. 11 by Todd Banes, parks and recreation director, that the city’s youth baseball and softball programs would be victim to potential budget cuts in a new 2010 budget being drafted by the city of Neosho.

That new budget has yet to be approved and adopted by the Neosho City Council, which will not review the budget proposal put together by Jan Blase, Neosho city manager, and his staff until the first regular meeting on Feb. 2, at the earliest.

But, after the parks and recreation board learned of the possible cut to the youth baseball and softball program, the members began looking for options, first turning to a parent organization led by Todd Cholka and Chad Mabrey. On Jan. 13, Richard Davidson, a member of the Neosho City Council and a parent and coach with the youth softball program, approached Holweger and the YMCA staff about whether or not it would be interested in taking over operation of the youth baseball and softball program from the city.

On Jan. 15, Holweger met with Davidson, parks and rec board chair Scott Swope, parks and rec boardmember Steve Hart, and other interested parties to learn more about the existing city program and whether or not the youth baseball and softball leagues would be a good fit for the YMCA.

During Monday’s special parks and rec board meeting, Holweger said the YMCA “wanted to do whatever it takes to keep the ball program going in Neosho. The YMCA has the capacity to operate a program such as this, all that we lack are fields. We have one undeveloped field on our property, and to offer this program we would need the use of the city fields.”

Holweger said without having a lease agreement in place with the city, and getting true numbers from the city on expenses and revenues of past summers, it was difficult to come to the meeting Monday with set dollar amounts on how much the program would cost to operate and what the cost of the program would be for players and parents.

Holweger said the cost of the program to the YMCA would include the hiring and paying of staff, purchase of supplies, and the lease agreement with the city for use of the fields and equipment.
Swope told Holweger that the city is committed to do all field prep work, and the equipment the city currently owns for the teams, which includes balls, bats, catcher’s gear, etc., would also be included in the lease agreement. Swope suggested a lease agreement of $1.

Holweger said the program was also difficult to budget for because she has been given varying numbers for the amount of players in the program from year to year.

Holweger did stress the YMCA would do its best to keep the cost of the program between the $25 to $30 range. The cost to play last summer was $25 per player. Holweger said there would be a break on the fee for members of the YMCA. She said an example could be a $5 discount for Y members.

“The reason for that break is that it is because of my membership that I can sit here today and offer this program,” Holweger said. “The strong membership of the YMCA pays for the structure we already have in place.”

Holweger stressed that no child would be turned away from the program because of the cost, saying that the YMCA has scholarship programs available.

“Everybody needs to play,” she said. “Remember, this is going to be a Y program, and the (problems of cost and fee structures) would be a Y problem. We are here for the kids and families, and we would do everything we can to make sure kids and families can participate. No one will be turned away.”

Bill Slade, a parent who attended Monday’s meeting, said he had two children in the program since T-ball and asked Holweger what would be different if the YMCA takes over the program.
“The last two years in the rec program haven’t necessarily been sunshine,” Slade said.

Holweger responded by saying the YMCA, if it agrees to the lease with the city and takes over the program, would hold parent-input meetings to see what has worked well in the program in the past, and what has not.

Holweger stressed that the YMCA would still use volunteers and parents as coaches, but that a member of the YMCA staff must be present at all practices and games.

Having a staff member present would be a drastic change from previous years, when practices were held at the coach’s whim. But Holweger said that it is Y policy, and having a staff member present at all practices and games protects the coach and children. Holweger also said all coaches and volunteers would be subject to a background check.

There was much discussion as to whether or not the concession stand would be included in the lease agreement between the city and YMCA. Rhonda Warren, a member of the parks and rec board, said a parent group had expressed interest in running the concession stand, and that profit from the stand could be put back into improving the fields.

Holweger said the YMCA would be open to putting any money back into the program, or the fields at Morse Park to make improvements, once all expenses associated with the Y program were covered.

“Obviously, we are not looking to get rich with this program,” she said. “But, we are not looking to lose money either.”

Holweger suggested the lease be written to include that a percentage of the profit go to the city for park and field improvements.

Chad Mabrey, a member of the parent group that was first interested in possibly taking over the ball programs, said groups have offered to help renovate the ballpark at Morse Park in the past, but have been turned away by city staff.

“If someone wants to donate to the fields, they just need to come before this board,” said Steve Hart, board member. “We can make sure this happens in the future.”

Todd Cholka, another member of the parent organization, said getting the program out of the city’s hands “would do wonders for the program.” He also voiced his support for the YMCA’s plan.

“Jenny met with us for two hours (Sunday) and she didn’t have to do that,” Cholka said. “To me, that showed a lot of class. I think the YMCA taking over the program is going to be a great thing. I think the people should get behind this 100 percent. I know I am.”

A future meeting was scheduled between the parent organization and the parks and rec board to discuss its option, but Cholka canceled the meeting.

At the end of the meeting, Slade asked the board, “Is there going to be baseball and softball in Neosho this summer?”

The board answered, “absolutely.”

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Break Up

Brangelina – as they are known, have been partners for the past five years after they met during the filming of the movie Mr and Mrs Smith. Reports say that the couple have mutually agreed to split and that the children will live with Angelina Jolie.

The couple had made it public that they would marry only once there was a law in place that American homosexuals can get married too. Looks like even if the law for gay marriages is passed in the US, Brangelina won’t be getting married!

Brad Pitt, is reported to have full access to the couples three biological children, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne, as well as their three adopted children, Maddox, Zahara, Pax, from Vietnam since all have the surname Jolie-Pitt.

Reports say that the reason that the documents were filed sometime earlier this month was to help the couple with a no hassle smooth separation.

Even though Brad and Angelina have been putting up a bhappy face at awards ceremonies and charity events, everything doesn’t seem all hunky dory between the two. Just last week, the National Enquirer magazine reported about a major argument that Pitt and Jolie had at a New York restaurant called the Alto this month.

It is alleged that Angelina has a bad temper and is suspicious of Brad’s whereabouts, but this all seems to stem from her depression that she has ever since her mother died.

Tabloids have always been reporting about an upcoming Brad and Angelina split, but this time it looks for real.

Screen Actors Guild Awards 2010

The 2010 SAG (Screen Actors Guild) Awards air tonight on TBS and TNT, beginning at 8pm. The awards show is unique in that actors get to vote and pick their faves for winners, no critics or foreign presses for these babies.

They are also a good indicator of what's to come during the Academy Awards, as they come after the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards. We have to wait until March to see who take home the Oscars, but SAG Awards are a good barometer to hold us over. The SAG Awards also feature TV awards.

The red carpet already highlighted some of Hollywood's finest, and we're sure there's more to come as the show kicks off. The Hurt Locker, Precious and Inglourious Basterds are up against An Education and Nine, while previous awards show favorites Avatar and Up In The Air aren't in the running.

tornado warning contra costa county

Digital News Report – There is a tornado warning for the Contra Costa County today.

A weather spotter saw a funnel cloud near Brentwood California, about seven miles South of Oakley about 1 pm. The Doppler also showed a strong rotation, according to a report from CBS.

During a tornado warning residents are asked to go indoors, preferably a basement or inside room, hallway or closet. Stay away from the windows.

Contra Costa County is in the San Francisco bay area about 40 miles north of Santa Cruz.

The funnel cloud was said to be traveling in the southeast direction.

The weather service is calling for clearing tonight but rain again on Sunday.

will ferrell wife

The last few moments of Conan O'Brien's final night hosting 'The Tonight Show' were nothing but love -- free love, that is.

Dressed up in hippie garb, comedian Will Ferrell and his wife, Swedish actress Viveca Paulin, joined O'Brien on stage to perform Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1973 hit "Free Bird" as the credits rolled.

Ferrell donned a long blonde wig, bell bottoms and a black cowboy hat while his wife - whom he jokingly referred to as "Dawn" - wore a floral head scarf and mumu that barely contained her pregnant belly (the couple are expecting their third child this month).

As her husband sang, Paulin swayed to the music and occasionally made out with her man in a nod to Woodstock and various other musical gigs of the 60s, which brimmed with drug-induced affection.

Though the actor's voice was a little flat, he was buoyed by the likes of Beck Hansen and ZZ Top, who played behind him, not to mention O'Brien, an amateur guitar player.

As Ferrell hammed it up on vocals, O'Brien had a hard time keeping up his strum.

The show's musical theme was set earlier in the show when Neil Young performed his 1976 song "Long May You Run."

This was O'Brien's final 'Tonight Show' after he confirmed Thursday that he and NBC had reached an agreement for his departure.

He had only hosted the show for seven months, but the network felt hard hit by his poor ratings.

O'Brien is reportedly getting tens of millions to walk away from the position that will be turned over to Jay Leno.

All we have to say to Big Red is: "Bye, bye, baby it's been a sweet love."

justin timberlake haiti

Friday night's "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon brought together some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Some like Selena Gomez, Bradley Cooper and Vanessa Hudgens, took to the phones to accept donations. While, other participants like George Clooney (one of the driving forces behind the event) and Robert Pattinson, who talked about the importance of technology during a crisis, shared stories from the aftermath of the earthquake. Then, of course, there were the performances. Singers like Jay-Z, Madonna and Beyonce took to the stage, some with surprising duets and covers. Needless to say, the night had its share of memorable moments. We share a few of our favorite highlights below.

It's not often you see Hollywood's leading ladies working side by side to answer phone calls. So it should come as no surprise, that we're absolutely in love with this picture of supermodel Cindy Crawford and actresses Reese Witherspoon, Drew Barrymore and Julia Roberts banding together at the "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon. Oh, and if you're wondering why Drew's got a clipboard on her, she told MTV News' Sway during the MTV post-show that it was because Clooney asked her to be an assistant director at the event.

Justin Timberlake was one of the many artists at the "Hope for Haiti Now" benefit who took to the mic Friday night. He performed a powerful cover of Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah," which he said was fitting for the telethon during a post-show interview. He sang alongside Matt Morris, a former Mickey Mouse club member, who Justin recently signed to his label (we've got a feeling we're going to be hearing a lot more from him!). Meanwhile, "Star Trek" actor Chris Pine manned the phone bank, answering calls from people who were interested in donating to the cause.

Click on any of the photos above to see who else donated their time to such an important cause, including the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Tobey Maguire, John Krasinski and Emily Blunt and more!

How old is Madonna?

Madonna is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance. After performing as a member of the pop musical groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her self-titled debut album Madonna in 1983 on Sire Records. Madonna born on August 16, 1958 and 51 years old

Obama Seeks Limits on Banks, Condemns Campaign Finance Ruling

President Obama is proposing rules to limit the size of banks and the risks they can take. He wants to prevent banks from using government-insured deposits to make risky investments. He also wants to keep them from owning hedge funds or private equity funds.

Banks took big losses as they traded mortgage-related securities that went bad. That helped create the financial crisis.

Bank shares fell after the president's announcement Thursday. His earlier efforts at financial reform have faced strong opposition from financial companies and some members of Congress.

In the Senate, sixty votes are needed to prevent unlimited debate on a bill. But the Democrats have lost their sixtieth vote. On Tuesday voters in Massachusetts elected a Republican to finish the term of Ted Kennedy who died in August.

Scott Brown opposes the health care legislation in Congress. His election could also affect other areas, like climate change legislation and reforms in the financial system.

And at the same time a separate development could affect future elections. The United States Supreme Court has cleared the way for independent spending by businesses and labor unions in political campaigns. The court decided, five to four, on Thursday to overturn its own ruling from nineteen ninety.

That case let the government bar corporations from using their own money to pay for campaign ads for or against candidates. Now the court says the restriction on political speech violates free speech rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

But President Obama says the decision will reduce the influence of average Americans. He called it a "major victory" for powerful interests like big oil companies, Wall Street banks and health insurance companies. He directed his administration to talk with congressional leaders from both parties to develop a "forceful response."

Elections for Congress are this November. The next presidential election is in two thousand twelve.

Wednesday marked Barack Obama's first anniversary in office. But the Republican victory in liberal Massachusetts was seen in large part as a sign of voter anger across the country about the economy.

Unemployment has doubled in two years to ten percent. Many people are angry that they struggle while the government rescued big banks. Some banks took losses last year but others earned record profits.

mine that bird

Conan O'Brien is apparently on a mission to cost NBC as much money as possible, before he takes his final Tonight Show bow. Thursday night's offering of senseless spending featured 2009 Kentucky Derby Winner Mine That Bird. Conan said on air that the bit will

Conan's $4.8 Million Mine that Bird Bit: Conan's Mission to Cost NBC Big Money
Date: December 31, 1969
cost NBC a whopping $4.8 million.

Conan claimed that on his final two days on the Tonight Show, "We're going to be having a lot of fun on television." He said the Tonight Show had a lot of surprises planned, that he thought would blow viewers' minds.

As a lead in to the expensive vignette, Conan said that they were going to do what they wanted on the Tonight Show and claimed NBC had to pay for it. He was blunt with his objective: the bits are not necessarily meant to be funny, just hurt NBC's wallet.

What could be more expensive than buying a Kentucky Derby winner? Conan introduced Mine That Bird, dolled up in a mink snuggie. Just to add a little bit more to the cost, Conan had Mine That Bird watching restrictive NFL footage. All for what Conan claims is a $4.8 million cost to NBC.

It is unclear (and slightly doubtful) that Conan actually had the studio purchase Mine That Bird, or if he was just referring to what it would cost to own the racing horse. He also didn't break down the costs of sketch element, so it is uncertain how much the mink horse snuggie or restrictive NFL footage account for that $4.8 million price tag.

On Wednesday's Tonight Show, Conan introduced a $1.5 million bit/character, the 'Bugatti Veyron Mouse'. They had tricked out the Bugatti sports car with whiskers and mouse ears. The cherry on top was when the car played a master recording of The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction."

ABC News reports that Wednesday night's may have missed the mark in the cost department. Entertainment lawyer Steve Gordon told ABC that NBC had existing agreements with music licensing companies. This would prevent any cost from live or time-delayed performances. It will be interesting to find out if the Mine That Horse sketch misses its estimated $4.8 million.

Air America Radio

One of liberal radio's most progressive outlets, Air America Radio, shut down its operations Thursday.
The network was launched in April 2004 and was considered (and billed) as one of the few alternatives to right-wing radio.

"This past year has seen a 'perfect storm' in the media industry generally. National and local advertising revenues have fallen drastically, causing many media companies nationwide to fold or seek bankruptcy protection," says a statement on the company's web site.
Based in New York City, Aitr America was carried by roughly one hundred outlets across the country and featured such celebrated and liberal personalities like Rachel Maddow, Al Franken, Steve Earle, Randi Rhodes, Ron Kuby, rapper Chuck D. and Arianna Huffington.

Franken hosted his own show from 2004-2007 before leaving to campaign for a United States Senate seat in Minnesota, which he won last year after a recount battle. As for Maddow, she moved on to host her own television show on MSNBC.
They stopped airing new programs earlier Thursday afternoon and said it will soon file to be liquidated under Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
The station will broadcast reruns of shows and will completely end those Monday night.
"So we intend a rapid, orderly closure over the next few days," the online statement says.

How to Earn Extra Income From Home With Ease

So, you have come here in search on how to earn extra income from home. Well, I can help you with that. There are many ways to earn extra income from home but, I will tell you 2 methods that are effective and can generate a great amount of money. The first method is to sell products online and the second method is to complete surveys and offers online. As you can see, you will need a computer to execute these two methods. Now, let's get into details on these two methods.

To earn extra income with the first method, you will have to pick a number of products you would like to sell online. After you have picked your entire products, you will have to advertise. If you do not advertise a lot, you will not earn a lot of money. This method needs a lot of patience and hard work. If you do advertise a lot, you will sell our products and you will earn that extra income you desire. You can get the products from different online marketing sites such as ClickBank.

The second method is easier and better. To get started, you have to find a paid survey site which you can trust and which is not a scam. Before you join a site, do a little research. Also, try to join a site that does not charge you to join. After you join a site, all you have to do is start completing surveys and offers. Each survey and offer will pay you a certain amount. The more surveys and offers you complete, the more money you will make. If you follow these steps, you will earn that extra income from home.

So, these are the two methods to earn extra income from home with ease. You can pick which ever you like.

How to Make Decent Money on the Internet

After years of trying, I think the best thing you can do to make money online is to create a blog over a particular topic where there aren't a lot of competing blogs. For example, there are several tech review blogs that tackle cell phones and laptops but another topic may not have numerous bloggers disseminating information. Try something more obscure that you enjoy.

You definitely want to steer clear from "busy" topics on the web like money and finance, but a website dedicated to a subject that has high search volume with lower competition will serve you well. It's also important that advertisers have a desire for ad space from readers on your website. If you have lots of traffic from people that won't convert to advertisers, your income will be limited.

The primary method of making money for most bloggers is Google AdSense. This advertising program picks up your site's content and in turn produces ads that reflect that content. For example, if you have a site on dog collars, Google AdSense will show dog product related ads and quite probably ads specifically for dog collars. Every time you receive an ad click, Google will deposit a little bit of the advertising money in your account.

If you don't want to make the commitment to purchasing a web host and domain name (the two things needed to start an independent blog), try writing for article sites that share ad revenue with you. The benefit to using these services is you will be immediately writing from large site with credibility.

To find out more info on how to write for larger sites or becoming a blogger, visit my home based money blog. For general ideas on building wealth as well as getting inspiration for making money, read my online get rich book. This guide is completely free.

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