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"The HP Compaq 6730b Notebook delivers lowest-priced available at LaptopGalaxy.com"

2010-02-28T23:03:00.000-08:00

"The HP Compaq 6730b Notebook delivers lowest-priced available at LaptopGalaxy.com, the partner of TekGalaxy.com"

HP Compaq 6730b Notebook
Part No. FH005AW#ABA
Product Site: http://www.laptopgalaxy.com/showroom/18508.cfm
Main Site: www.TekGalaxy.com

Tailored for business. This newly designed notebook works just as hard as you do and includes features such as the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, HP mobile broadband, and enhanced security. It features desktop-like view with a smart design. With a starting weight of only 2.69kg and 33.6mm thin, the HP Compaq 6730b is a remarkable study in form and composition proving that the union of style and substance endures. The HP Compaq Business Notebook 6730b features 2 GB of RAM and a 160 GB hard drive.

Product Specification:

15.4-inch diagonal WXGA anti-glare 1280 x 800
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40 GHz, 3 MB L2 cache, 1066 MHz FSB)
2 GB (installed) / 8 GB (max), DDR2 SDRAM, 800 MHz
160 GB, Serial ATA-150, 5400 rpm Hard Drive
LightScribe DVD+/-RW SuperMulti with Double Layer
Mobile Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics controller
Sound Card
Stereo speakers, wireless LAN antenna, Bluetooth antenna
Genuine Windows Vista Business installed

Buy more affordable computer products at www.TekGalaxy.com

The HP ProBook 4510s Notebook delivers lowest-priced available at LaptopGalaxy.com

2010-01-16T08:36:00.000-08:00

Product Name: HP ProBook 4510s Notebook
Part No. FN071UT#ABA
Product Site: Laptopgalaxy.com/showroom/27744.cfm
Main Site: TekGalaxy.com

Product Description:

Business Style. Designed for small business professionals who want a stylish, affordable, 15.6-inch diagonal notebook with a larger display to work on big documents and spreadsheets.

Product Specification:

15.6-inch diagonal LED-backlit HD anti-glare 1366 x 768
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P7570 (2.26 GHz, 3 MB L2 cache, 1066 MHz FSB)
4 GB(installed) / 8 GB maximum (4 GB SODIMM in slots 1 and 2)
320 GB 7200 rpm SATA II Hard Drive
DVD+/-RW SuperMulti DL LightScribe
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 - 512 MB
Sound Card
Wireless LAN antenna
Integrated 2 MP webcam
Windows XP Professional (available through downgrade rights from Genuine Windows 7 Professional)

Buy more affordable computer products at www.TekGalaxy.com

Jommy Teotico: Pinoy Fear Factor Participante

2009-10-04T11:25:00.001-07:00

Jommy Teotico, 24 from Manila is a model who fears cockroaches and other insects. Jommy grew up playing in the streets of Manila; loved to make fun of his playmates; and the guy who makes others laugh at his antics. He’s the guy who gets the girls he likes and the ones who like him. This boy grew up to be a playboy and an easy-going young man. He is the “alaskador” Jommy.

Fate, however, knows how to play tricks as well. Jommy was framed up. After getting drunk, he woke up in bed with a woman who turned out to be married. Though he was 100% sure that nothing happened, the woman’s in-laws who saw them believed otherwise. They both got beaten up. He almost died.

Since then, he knew it was his second life. He vowed to change. Now, he’s no longer the playboy and easy-going young man. Now, he’s simply “alaskador” Jommy.

Life for Jommy is not a big joke and definitely not easy at all. But jokes are his way to make life awesome and joking is what he’ll do to distract other participantes. For his family and for his second life, he will laugh his way to the title “El Ultimo Participante” of “Pinoy Fear Factor.”

Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas touch down in Sydney

2009-10-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

ULTRA cool rock frontwoman and fashion icon Fergie touched down with her band The Black Eyed Peas in Sydney last night ahead of their Australian tour.

The band flew to Australia on the private jet of Virgin boss Richard Branson before attending a press conference for New York-based Australian photographer Russell James .
The US band will attend a private gig and perform at two Sydney concerts on Friday and Saturday nights.

The band's first Aussie gig will be in Brisbane on Thursday night and will see Fergie back pushing the boundaries of fashion, something she was asked to consider last Friday night when she dressed modestly in T-shirt and jeans for a gig before a predominantly Muslim crowd in Kuala Lumpur.

Charice Pempengco fans call Willie Revillame ‘rude’

2009-10-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ooops! He did it again?

To some of the fans of international singer Charice Pempengco, Willie Revillame seemed to have repeated his rude behavior when he abruptly stopped Charice as soon as she hit the last note of her song “Run To You” during “Wowowillie” at Harrahs and Harveys Outdoor Arena in Lake Tahoe last Sept. 6.

“Wowowee dapat i-boycott. Bigyan ng liksyon!” wrote one of Charice’s fans on YouTube.
Another wrote on the same site, “Dapat lang tanggalin si Willie. Bastos! Mataas ang lipad. Walang galang sa mga babae. Cancel na ang TFC subscription ko!”
Still another fumed, “I rather like ‘Wowowee’ NOW without Willie…Willie BASTOS. For me, you’re done!”

Charice sang in the finale of the show and was its main guest. She was supposed to have another spot number when the show was halted.

Willie explained in “Showbiz News Ngayon” last Sept. 8 that they had to stop the show because of the fireworks.

“Baka nga naman may tamaan 'yong apoy. We have to follow the rules here in Lake Tahoe. Maganda naman 'yon," Willie said..

Some of Willie’s fans seconded the TV host’s statement and came to his defense.

“It was the Fire Department in Lake Tahoe who stopped the show because of some technical problem and fireworks na ginamit nila [sa] show [kasi] baka pag mulan pa yon ng sunog kaya hindi pinatapos yung show…” was one explanation.

Another commentator shifted the blame to the Harrahs administration.

“I’m from Tahoe and it still disgusts me how Harrahs just cut the show short. All those months of hard work and traveling went to waste “security reasons” my ***. I feel sorry for Willie, Anne and Charice, her face seemed so malungkot.”

Still another who wrote on the comments part of the Charice-Willie video uploaded on YouTube, proved that errors –technical or otherwise---do happen.

“I think all people here are very emotional that they cannot even see that the date [of ‘Wowowillie’ on the uploaded video] is not correct. It’s September 6 not August 6!”

Willie Revillame chided for “Ondoy” donation

2009-10-03T18:01:00.000-07:00

It’s not what you do but the way that you do it.

Although “Wowowee” host Willie Revillame pledged a million-peso cash donation to “Ondoy” (international code name Ketsana) victims upon the on-air coaxing of ABS-CBN anchors Kim Atienza and Tina Monzon-Palma, not a few still criticized him for his apparent hesitation.

In that “Wowowee” segment aired Sept. 28, Revillame laughed and scratched his head when Palma wheedled him about donating for the cause.

“Nagbabalita lang ako dito eh,” he said, laughing.

Then Revillame backtracked, saying, “Pero andito na rin lang (grinning), tutal nilagay mo na rin lang ako sa sitwasyon eh, magbibigay na ako ng 1 million…1 million worth ng mineral water (laughs) hindi… cash, 1 million cash.”

Turning serious, Willie faced the camera and said, “From my heart, galing po sa akin, 1 million para sa mga Kapamilya natin.”

Though heartily applauded by studio audiences, including Palma and Atienza, Revillame was booed by some of those watching the show from their homes as evidenced by chides in several online fora.

“Parang ayaw magbigay…nagpapilit pa,” said one.

“Konti naman ng binigay! Mukhang napilitan…ang yaman yaman naman nya eh,” chimed another.

“Kuripot. Pero kaya bumili ng eroplano,” added one.

Revillame isn’t the only good Samaritan who’s getting censured even after extending a helping hand to the “Ondoy” victims.

Sen. Manny Villar, who happens to be a close friend of Revillame's, was also panned by critics for the relief goods he distributed with Willie to residents of Marikina, Pasig, and Cainta on Sept. 27.

Web-based social networking sites like Plurk and Twitter exploded with disparaging statements about the relief goods which allegedly had the note “Tulong Mula Kay Manny Villar” plastered on the packaging. Below the message was a “check” mark—Villar’s campaign sign.

“Naisipan pang mag-campaign while donating!? Disgusting!” posted one.
“People are dying and all he wants is to get elected. Despicable!” twitted another.
“(I) Still can't believe that some politicians are taking advantage of what happened...grabe...nakakahiya sila... Manny Villar nakakahiya ka!” added one.
A representative from Villar’s office denied they had the note or Villar’s name on the relief goods that were distributed, claiming “it is all just black propaganda."

Court subpoenas 2 journalists on Dacer-Corbito case

2009-10-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

The Manila court handling a high-profile double murder case subpoenaed on Thursday two journalists to shed light on their interviews with former police officer Cezar Mancao II, a key personality implicated in the November 2000 killing of veteran publicist Salvador “Bubby" Dacer and driver Emmanuel Corbito.

Defense lawyer Alex Avisado said Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18 Presiding Judge Myra Garcia-Fernandez subpoenaed GMA News reporter Maki Pulido and ABS-CBN News anchor Ted Failon (Teodoro Etong) to talk about the interviews they supposedly had with Mancao in 2008.

“Pina-subpoena ng Korte si kasamang Ted Failon at Maki Pulido para tumestigo tungkol sa mga interviews na ginawa nila kay Mancao ," said Avisado, who is the lawyer of Sen. Panfilo Lacson, tagged as one of the brains behind the twin killings.

On Thursday, the defense panel cross-examined Mancao, who Avisado said was “nagkabuhol-buhol" (got tangled in his own words).
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
But Mancao’s lawyer countered Avisado’s claim. “Yung defense nga ang mukhang nagkabuhol-buhol (It was the defense that appeared muddled)," said lawyer Ferdinand Topacio in an interview with GMANews.TV.

Avisado said Mancao made a counter-affidavit in 2001 that is different from his most recent affidavit executed on Feb. 13, 2009, where he pointed to former President Joseph Estrada and to Lacson, then Philippine National Police chief, as masterminds in the crime.

Topacio said Mancao indicated that he was “under pressure, under extreme duress" in 2001, when he executed the affidavit that made no mention of Lacson or Estrada.

Dacer and Corbito were abducted and killed on Nov. 24, 2000. The crime was allegedly carried out by members of the now defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force, which was concurrently headed by then PNP chief Lacson.

Asked whether the prosecution has any qualms about having Failon and Pulido subpoenaed, Topacio said: “Wala kaming tutol na ipatawag sila (We have no complaints), but now is not the time to produce them."

Topacio also said he hopes Pulido and Failon would come out with the proper tapes of their interviews with Mancao.

Christina Aguilera: Roosevelt Hotel Hottie

2009-09-29T10:13:00.001-07:00

Christina Aguilera and husband Jordan Bratman do a little partying at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood on Saturday (September 26).

The 28-year-old singer will soon appear in World Hunger Relief restaurant posters with the quote, “Together, we have the power to save lives and go from hunger to hope” and online efforts, including the web site FromHungertoHope.com. Consumers can also go to any KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s or A&W All-American Food restaurant to donate (no purchase necessary).

Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nicole Kidman delighted by Barbra Streisand at Village Vanguard

2009-09-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

The last time Barbra Streisand played a club as small as the one she poked into Saturday night, a subway ride cost 5 cents and President Kennedy sat in the White House.

Saturday night, another former President came to see her play that teeny space - Bill Clinton, along with current Secretary of State Clinton, and their daughter Chelsea.

Though the 97 highly-prized tickets to this free show, held at the Village Vanguard, were meant to go to fan club lottery winners, a clutch of the powerful did manage to find their way in, including Nicole Kidman, Sarah Jessica Parker, and, naturally, the star's husband, James Brolin.

Streisand staged this miraculously rare appearance to send up a flare about her new CD, "Love Is The Answer," out Tuesday.

Like the new CD, last night's 13-song, 80-minute set featured the kind of woozy saloon songs Streisand first crooned nearly half a century ago at nearby clubs like the Bon Soir.

Streisand appeared comfortable and chatty in the tight surroundings.
"This is hysterical," she said as she mounted the stage. "Are we a box of sardines here or what?"

But once she sang, Streisand couldn't have taken her mission more seriously.
Not only did the singer go back to the kinds of low-lit standards she crooned in her youth, but she performed them with the sort of spare support she has rarely allowed in the decades since.

As on the "Love Is The Answer" CD, a four-man jazz combo backed her.
Their arrangements provided only the most teasing encouragement to Streisand, allowing her to use the songs as her own, wide platforms.
And use them she did.

Seldom has Streisand applied her actorly skills to songs with such specificity and intelligence.

In the opening "Here's To Life," the 67-year-old Streisand brought a lifetime's worth of experience to her phrasing. She exuded relief, wariness, humor, wonder, and appreciation.

Her "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" nailed every ounce of the song's sophisticated ache, while she brought the crowd to its feet with her acute take on Jacques Brel's "Ne Me Quitte Pas."

Streisand's tone sounded as bell-like as ever, and her range skipped the scales with a balletic ease.

She inhabited the songs with complete authority, something she never could have mustered in her youth.

Those people who got to see this fleeting sight certainly could count themselves among life's luckiest.

Kirsten Dunst purse snatcher's defense: He's too stupid to have done it

2009-09-29T07:44:00.001-07:00

"Spider-Man" starlet Kirsten Dunst's accused burglar says he's too stupid to be guilty.

James Jimenez took the stand in a Manhattan courtroom Friday and portrayed himself as a patsy confused by big words.

He insisted that he didn't realize his pal had grabbed Dunst's designer handbag from a penthouse suite in the SoHo Grand Hotel.

"I was just following him," Jimenez, 35, said of Jarrod Beinerman, who is doing four years for the heist.

Jimenez said he thought he was on an errand for his pal's sick mother - but the prosecutor showed she's no dummy.

"At 4 a.m.?" Assistant District Attorney Tricia Stolfi asked incredulously.
Dunst testified Thursday that she returned to the penthouse suite to find the $2,000 bag missing, along with her co-star's camera and iPod and her assistant's $13,000 purse.

Salma Hayek: ALMA Awards Honoree

2009-09-29T03:43:00.000-07:00

It’s the biggest night for Latino American entertainers, and last evening (September 17) Salma Hayek was a big winner at the 2009 ALMA Awards.

The “Desperado” babe looked amazing as she arrived at Royce Hall, sporting a flirty short grey dress with a chunky necklace and silver platform heels.

During the course of the evening, Ms. Hayek was given the Anthony Quinn award for Industry Excellence, a top honor at the ALMAs.

Eva Longoria and George Lopez hosted the night’s affairs which included performances by Nelly Furtado, Shakira, and David Archuleta.

Justin Timberlake: Emmy Winning Stud

2009-09-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hamming it up in the press room, Justin Timberlake celebrated his win with a big smile at the Emmy Awards last night (September 20).

The “Cry Me a River” singer took home a trophy for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on “Saturday Night Live.” He was also nominated for Best Original Music.

When asked if he’d consider making a full-time jump to doing comedy rather than music, Justin replied, “I don’t know. I could definitely see doing it for maybe half of a season. But I might get antsy. You know, I like to do a lot of different things.”
Timberlake also hinted that we could see him out on the road in the not-too-distant future. “I haven’t really thought about it that much. I’m having so much fun in the studio and doing things like ‘SNL.’ But I’m getting the itch. I’m getting the itch.”

Spring's filmy, fresh frocks are made to move at Jason Wu's show

2009-09-21T09:32:00.000-07:00

Spring's on the move already. One minute you're at the St. Regis hotel for Jason Wu's show, where Kerry Washington chatted with Amanda Peet about relocating to New York for “Race,” her upcoming Broadway show, and the next, you're on the V train with eight of Wu's leggy models in their street clothes as they scoot off to their next walking job.

As they chat competitively about which shows they're working — munching on apples and, you know, air — you wonder if they're thinking about what they'll wear next.
From the looks of it Friday, it'll be whisper-thin, silky pieces that won't take up much room in your luggage. In fact, spring's looking so silky and sheer that it may be time to take your mother's lacy slip out of retirement.

At a ballroom in the regal St. Regis, Wu sent out delicate prints that clung to the body, plus a little volume with poufy minidresses.

Hemlines were short, but the young designer will probably lengthen them for a custom order from one of his best customers, Michelle Obama (don't know how she'll pull off those feather-heavy minis in the White House).

While Wu's pieces are ready to fly away, Yigal Azrouel's clingy jersey clothes are for pounding the pavement — in exactly that color: a New Yorky slate gray. Sexy slits of skin showed (clearly the rumors of the handsome designer getting tons of action from the ladies have translated to the runway).

Designers are putting lots of back details on their dresses, so that girls look great both coming and going. Wu emphasized the big, bold zipper, while for Preen, Thornton Bregazzi attached flyaway panels and deep dips on the backside of his see-through structured frocks.

Cynthia Rowley sent her runway back in time with '50s cocktail party dresses in dreamy watercolor prints.

The colors matched the mood outside: It was a dreary, rainy day as New York reflected on the past. But as far as fashion

Scarlett Johansson extends invite to 'Iron Man 2' premiere

2009-09-21T08:36:00.000-07:00

(People.com) -- Next spring's "Iron Man 2" premiere will be memorable not only for the stars of the film, but also for two lucky fans -- thanks to cast member and Oxfam Ambassador Scarlett Johansson.

Johansson is auctioning off for charity two movie premiere tickets, as well as a meet-and-greet with the Golden Globe nominee herself.

The auction begins Thursday at 10 p.m. EST at eBay.com/Oxfam and will run through September 24.

All of the proceeds will benefit Oxfam America, an organization long dedicated to finding lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and social injustice around the world.
"I'm so thrilled to be a part of this eBay charity opportunity, again raising funds for Oxfam," Johansson, 24, said in a statement. "Oxfam is an incredibly worthy organization that I'm most passionate about."

The winning bidder and his or her guest will attend the Los Angeles, California premiere and receive a complimentary session at the Cristophe Salon in Beverly Hills, California to prepare for the red carpet.

Also up for bids: Signed LPs of Johansson's latest single "Realtor" (a duet with Pete Yorn) and the actress's own chair from the set of her hit movie "He's Just Not That Into You."

This is the second year eBay.com and Oxfam America have partnered to offer Hollywood-style experiences featuring Oxfam Ambassadors, including Johansson, Giada De Laurentiis and Colin Firth.

Chris Brown begins community service sentence for beating Rihanna with stable work in Richmond

2009-09-20T00:13:00.000-07:00

His records have gone platinum, but Wednesday, singer Chris Brown was wearing fluorescent orange to pull weeds.

The disgraced 20-year-old R&B star began serving 180 days of community labor at a Virginia police-horse stable for beating up his ex-girlfriend Rihanna.

Brown donned a red cap, work gloves and a fluorscent orange vest over a white 'wife-beater' t-shirt - in contrast to the designer suits he's accustomed to.

'Check out my outfit,' Brown said in an afternoon Internet 'tweet' that included a picture of himself in his work duds.

The California judge who sentenced Brown in August granted his request to do his community labor near his home in Richmond after receiving assurances from Virginia officials that hed' be doing hard work.

Richmond Police spokesman Gene Lepley said Brown's schedule will be flexible and include assignments like washing government cars, picking up trash and cleaning up graffiti.

"We'll just take a look at it day by day and certainly would ask for the cooperation of the public and Chris' fans so that he is able to satisfy the work requirements.
While Brown's work hours were supposed to be secret, he clued the paparazzi in to his whereabouts Wednesday through his missives on Twitter.
"On my way to community service...." he tweeted en route to the Richmond Police stable.

News crews kept far away from Brown, who waved at a few fans who saw him working.
Besides doing roadside work, Brown also must undergo a year of domestic violence counseling.

The "Kiss Kiss" singer pleaded guilty in June to felony assault stemming from an incident in February in which he beat, choked and threatened to kill Rihanna after leaving a pre-Grammy Awards party in Los Angeles.

MSU alumnus travels world for 15th season of 'The Amazing Race'

2009-09-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

For Eric Paskel, life is about seizing the moment. Lucky for him, he didn’t expect just how amazing the moment could be.

Eric Paskel, an MSU alumnus, and his wife Lisa Paskel, will be featured on the upcoming 15th season of reality show “The Amazing Race,” which begins airing Sept. 27 on CBS, after a client passed their name along to those in charge of casting for the show.

“It was just like, ‘OK, here’s this great opportunity to be together, do this really crazy stuff, see the world and let people see who we are and how we work,’” Lisa Paskel said. “It was exciting, it was a challenge — I love a challenge.”
For those unfamiliar, “The Amazing Race” follows between 10 and 12 teams made up of pairs of people with pre-existing relationships such as family members, friends and co-workers.

Although the challengers have to not only complete the race itself, they’re also required to make it to several checkpoints, while competing against the other teams and the clock to complete their tasks the fastest. The goal is to finish first, winning $1 million.

“It’s funny because the show came to us, we didn’t come to them,” Eric Paskel said.

“It’s not something that would have popped up on my radar.”

The pair, who were suggested to the casting crew by a client, said they were never very familiar with the show before becoming involved with it.

“The reason why I knew about the show was because when I watched football on CBS every once and a while I would see these crazy promos for this show where people were doing some pretty wild stuff,” Eric Paskel said. “So when I saw the name, I recognized it.”

Although the show wasn’t an opportunity the couple sought out, the two jumped at the chance to have an adventure, and to spend some much needed quality time together.
“(It was) time with Eric that was long overdue,” Lisa Paskel said.

In addition to being a unique experience for the pair, MSU students will be able to see a fellow Spartan run the race.

“(They’re) close to home and you’re connected with them in some way,” said Anne Bailey, a prenursing sophomore. “You can brag about your school a little bit.”

The couple, who owns four yoga studios called Yoga Shelter located in Birmingham, Royal Oak, West Bloomfield and Grosse Pointe, currently lives in California.

Lisa Paskel said with all the retreats and trips they go on with clients and other people, the time together was something they were very much looking forward to.

“We rarely get to travel without a slew of people,” Lisa Paskel said.

Though the spot on the exciting, adventure-filled show was unexpected, sometimes you just have to say “yes” when this sort of thing comes your way, Eric Paskel said.

“Life is to be lived,” Eric Paskel said. “You only die once.”

Tatum, Bell, Sutherland fly with "Eagle"

2009-09-13T10:33:00.000-07:00

LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) - Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland and Mark Strong are sharpening their swords for director Kevin Macdonald's Roman epic "The Eagle of the Ninth."

The quartet have signed to star in the film, which is based on the 1954 children's novel by Rosemary Sutcliff. The script is by Jeremy Brock, who last worked with Macdonald on the Idi Amin drama "The Last King of Scotland."

Set in 2nd-century Britain, the movie follows the story of young centurion Marcus Aquila (played by Tatum), who arrives from Rome to solve the mystery of the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland and to restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth.

The film is being financed by Focus Features, a specialty unit of Universal, and U.K. broadcaster Channel Four's filmmaking arm, Film4.

Tennis stars Maria Sharapova and James Blake make fashion a part of their game

2009-09-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

After collaborating for quite awhile with their sponsors on their work clothes, tennis celebrities Maria Sharapova and James Blake are expanding their fashion roles, with launches of their own off-the-court collections.

Sharapova has been fashion's bright spot in tennis for several years. She has long worked with her Nike team collaborators on her tournament outfits, often culminating in a cocktail-turned-tennis dress for the U.S. Open. But, Sharapova says, her life isn't spent entirely on the court. There's lots of running to and from airplanes, hotels and conference rooms, and she wanted to expand her wardrobe to accommodate that.

She partnered with Cole Haan on a new line of bags and shoes that, save for the Nike comfort technology, is rooted in fashion, not active wear. "I had a little experience going into this," she says, "but (for) the first time I'm able to do something that totally branches out from tennis itself."

The flat-heel, over-the-knee boots she designed are first on her list of personal favorites from the collection, and she wants them in gray suede. "I'd wear them with a cute jumpsuit, or going into fall I'd wear them with a pair of jeans, or a great coat with a little dress," she says.

Look for her in airports with the Cole Haan hobo bag in a dark gray. It'll match those boots.

Blake says fashion may become a bigger part of his game plan when his days on the pro tennis tour are over. His Thomas Reynolds line is a way of honoring his late father, Thomas Reynolds Blake.

"The first time I put something on from my collection ... I wanted to do something that would tell fans where I got my values," Blake says. "I want to be someone kids look up to, and I couldn't be that guy without my father."

Blake is new to wearing Fila togs on the court this year, and his collaborative Thomas Reynolds collection will include golf, tennis and other active wear, and later expand to a broader range of clothing.

Blake says he hopes to infuse his line with at least a little bit of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill blue he wears on the court in homage to another role model: Michael Jordan.

Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler have romantic dinner - for six

2009-09-13T07:29:00.000-07:00

So are they a couple, or not?

Superstar actors Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler were out in public together again — but this time there was no lovey-dovey stuff.

The two stars of the film "The Bounty" were spotted with a group of six people dining on the candlelit patio of Cliff's Edge restaurant in the trendy Los Angeles neighborhood Silver Lake.

While Aniston hugged everyone, the stars otherwise kept their hands to themselves, or at least off each other.

"It was not a romantic date, nor did they kiss. They didn't even sit next to each other," a source told Us Magazine.

Aniston, in jeans and a tank top, "was certainly not spending any special time on Gerard," said another source.

"Gerard kept the group entertained with stories and they all shared many laughs."
That's a stark contrast to when they were spotted earlier this month in Manhattan holding hands. Both denied there was a romance going on.
As for the Silver Lake adventure, the restaurant valet had nothing but praise for the non-couple.

"Both Jen and Gerard are great tippers," he said.

Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo reunite over steamy makeout session

2009-09-13T05:44:00.000-07:00

It may not be the stuff of great romances, but apparently on-again couple Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo did partake in a steamy and public makeout session this weekend.

The twosome, who called it quits in June, reunited at Los Angeles bar Dime, RadarOnline.com reports.

One onewitness said, "They were making-out in one of the booths and seemed totally into one another."

Lachey and Minnillo arrived with friends around 11:30 pm, but sources said the one-time couple was enjoying some not-so-private time just 20 minutes later when they started hooking up.

Throughout the night, Minnillo joined her friends on the dance floor, while Lachey sat back and enjoyed the view.
A source who spotted the happy pair said, "They were having a great time and definitely appear to be back ' on.' They didn't care who saw them."

Halle Berry Carrying Baby #2

2009-09-07T09:45:00.000-07:00

Good news for Halle Berry - a friend of the actress has confirmed to Life & Style magazine that Berry is pregnant with her second child. Berry had difficulty conceiving her first child in 2007; the 'Monster's Ball' star went through 30 negative pregnancy tests before her daughter Nahla was born. Now Berry, 43, is three months pregnant with her second child.

"She's just ecstatic to be pregnant again," said a friend of Berry and her partner, model Gabriel Aubry. "She wasn't sure if she'd have another baby, so she's very happy!"

The friend added, "Halle is overjoyed. The first time, she struggled so much to get pregnant and eventually conceived through in vitro fertilization. This time, the baby was conceived through artificial insemination."

Berry's representative has yet to respond to the story.

Nelly Furtado Makes History by Being the First North American Artist to Land a #1...

2009-09-07T09:23:00.000-07:00

MIAMI, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Grammy Award winning superstar Nelly Furtado has made history by reaching #1 on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart with her single "Manos Al Aire," the lead single off of Mi Plan. Mi Plan is Nelly's fourth studio album and her first album to be recorded solely in Spanish. "Manos Al Aire" reached the top of the charts as an original Spanish song written by a North American singer/songwriter - the first for a US artist.

Nelly Furtado has sold over 18 million albums worldwide in her career, with close to 10 million in sales from her last album Loose, which reached #1 in global album sales in 2007.

Nelly Furtado's upcoming album Mi Plan will be released on September 14th internationally and September 15th in the US. The first single, "Manos Al Aire", is already a huge success in Germany, Italy, Colombia, Chile and Central America where it has stayed #1 at radio since its debut. The single also reached the Top 5 in Mexico, Spain and Argentina.

Nelly Furtado, who is known for wide-ranging musical taste and interest in different cultures, has invited a select group of international artists like Alejandro Fernandez, Josh Groban, Juan Luis Guerra, Julieta Venegas, La Mala Rodriguez, Buika and Alex Cuba, to contribute to the much-anticipated album. Nelly has had a long-standing bond with Latin music since her career began. In 2002 she recorded a duet with Juanes on the song "Fotografia", which peaked at #1 in 12 countries including the US. She has also collaborated with top Latin artists Calle 13 and Wisin y Yandel.

On September 13th, Nelly will start an intensive promo tour, which will take her across Latin America and the US. In addition she will also visit European countries such as Germany, France, Spain and England.

In New York, shop till you drop at 11 p.m.

2009-09-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

The fashion faction will be out in full force Thursday as stores in NYC stay open late to toast the art of shopping. Fashion's Night Out — the brainchild of Vogue magazine — is a global shopping initiative to promote and celebrate all things fashion. More than 700 designers and retailers will keep their doors open until 11 p.m.

Stores are also upping the ante by offering shoppers special incentives: Think free T-shirts at Gucci, cosmetics giveaways at Saks Fifth Avenue, barbecue and Champagne at Tory Burch, runway lessons from Alexander Wang and a bar run by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen at Bergdorf Goodman. Several cities around the USA, including L.A. and D.C., are organizing their own extravaganzas the same night.

Aubrey O'Day calls Adolf Hitler and Fidel Castro 'brilliant' men on 'The Sean Hannity Show'

2009-09-07T01:55:00.000-07:00

Aubrey O'Day really put her foot in her mouth this time.

The former Danity Kane member dug herself into a hole Monday night in a heated debate on Fox News' "The Sean Hannity Show" when the 25-year-old singer spewed out claims that both Adolf Hitler and Fidel Castro were "brilliant" men.

"As someone who has met [Castro]... I met him and worked with him while I was in Cuba. I'm not defending his behavior, but in many instances, but I do have to say, I will 100% agree, he's an incredibly brilliant man, he has outlived tons of our Presidents," O'Day said.

When Hannity gave the pop singer a second chance to clarify her point, O'Day reiterated, "I'm sure many murderers are brilliant people."
"Was Hitler a brilliant man?" Hannity asked.

"I don't condone Hitler one ounce, but yes, he was a brilliant man," she said. "He ran a country and convinced everyone of horrible things."

In response, Hannity shook his head and cut to Greta Van Susteren. In an effort to save what dignity she has left, O'Day issued a statement to TMZ.

"Murderers and dictators generally are some of the smartest people out there - they just use their brain power for evil purposes. I don't condone any of their evil behavior, but I was asked about their intellectual firepower... and in my opinion you can't have a low IQ and wreck [sic] that much havoc on the world," O'Day said. "What Hitler succeeded in doing, was deplorable... And I hope we never see such an abusive use of power again."

Still, despite such qualifiers, some members of the Jewish community find the singer's statements unforgivable.

Rabbi Chaim Cunin of Chabad House told TMZ, "When a woman like her uses public airwaves, with access to millions of wonderful citizens of America, and calls some of the most despicable, unspeakable hatemongers of history brilliant, then something is lacking with her intelligence. This is a constant reminder of how careful we need to be when we talk about hate, because hatred is always present."

He added, "We need to make sure we are careful and that hatred doesn't rear its ugly head. I'd like for her to think about some older Holocaust survivor having that comment beamed into their home while they are enjoying the freedom that this beautiful country provides and having to listen to her disgusting comments."

A stunning Burberry opening, by George

2009-09-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

Melissa George added some Hollywood glamour to the A-list opening of Perth's first Burberry store last night.

Stepping out of a limousine and onto a Burberry beige carpet, George looked stunning in a Burberry trench coat and print dress.

Back in town to visit family, the actress looked happy and relaxed as she mingled in the store after arriving with a group of well-dressed family and friends.

Guests were treated to an English evening complete with Pimm's, roast beef canapes and the Beatles playing loudly.

Select guests were loaned Burberry outfits for the occasion, including Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi who wore a metallic coat dress, artist Stormie Mills who donned a bow tie and tux, and model Alex Leahy who fell in love with her Burberry heels.
Also spotted were Perth Fashion Festival directors Mariella Harvey-Hanrahan and Tony Sage, Emma Milner wearing a super-short pink ruffle dress, and the One Fell Swoop designers.

No expense was spared, with guests packing the expansive store quaffing Pierre-Jouet champagne and each went home with the best goodie bag seen at recent Perth events - containing a bottle of the luxury label's eau de toilette fragrance The Beat.

Arnold's garage sale raises $1.5m

2009-08-31T18:30:00.000-07:00

Hundreds of people attended the main sale in Sacramento, where everything from former police cars to watches confiscated from criminals were sold.

A number of cars and motorcycles were signed by Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, who is the state governor.

However, reports said that in some cases this did not help boost prices.

One Californian resident who attended the Great Californian Garage Sale told the AP news agency that he objected to state officials increasing the sale price of a BMW motorcycle from $2,200 to $3,000 because it had been signed by Mr Schwarzenegger.

"It's graffiti," said Alex Wingate.
'Dress appropriately'
Six hundred formerly state-owned vehicles and 6,000 pieces of office furniture, computers, and other items went under the hammer during the two-day event.
While the main sale was held in Sacramento, some products - such a leather jacket autographed by Mr Schwarzenegger - were auctioned on websites eBay and Craigslist.
Attendees to the main auction, which took place at a warehouse, were warned that the building was not air-conditioned, and therefore to "dress appropriately for the heat and take precautions".

Mr Schwarzenegger's administration is continuing efforts to trim California's $26bn budget deficit.

Last month, it passed a cost-cutting budget, including reduced funding for schools and colleges, prisons and state healthcare provision.

Ashlee Simpson: Should Bronx Go Into Showbiz?

2009-08-31T08:58:00.001-07:00

Ashlee Simpson-Wentz says it doesn't matter if Bronx, her son with rocker hubby Pete Wentz, decides to go into show business someday.

"I'm all about whatever it is Bronx likes to do and wants to do," Ash told E! News at Saturday's Melrose Place party in L.A. "Definitely going to follow what it is that he loves and hope to be a great parent in that way."

As for the return of Melrose, she said, "It's great to have some of the old cast members but at the same time, it's definitely a new show and hopefully we'll entertain the previous Melrose Place fans."

One of those former stars is Laura Leighton, who reprises her role of Sydney Andrews. Colin Eggelsfield, who plays her love interest, Auggie Kirkpatrick, says things are gonna get hot between them.

How so? Read on to get the steamy details...
"Let's just say when my mom watches one of my scenes with Sydney, she'll have to leave the room," Eggelsfield told us at last week's InStyle Summer Soiree event in West Hollywood.

So what does that mean, exactly?

"Laura's character and mine are both recovering alcoholics and we meet in AA," Eggelsfield said. "Our characters end up hooking up, and Laura guided me through the filming process on set."

"Laura's like, 'Is it OK if I grab you here?'" Eggelsfield continued with a laugh. "'I'm going to throw you against the wall here, I'm going to put my elbow behind you to brace your impact, and then when I throw you down on the couch and lift your leg up, is it OK if I go this far? Or how flexible are you?' She's a great tutor."

Pregnant Nicole Richie refuses to Rest

2009-08-31T08:13:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles, Aug 10 Socialite Nicole Richie is determined to work full time even though she is nearing the birth of her second child as she wants to make sure her fashion range is a huge success.

Daughter of singer Lionel Richie, the would-be mother has been designing jewellery, clothes and shoes for her' House of Harlow&apos1960 label, and has launched a new line of maternity wear for clothing company&aposA Pea in the Pod&aposlast week, People online reported.

"I have my second collection of House of Harlow 1960 (jewellery range) coming out in November, and my regular clothing line coming out in Spring 2010 along with my shoe line. I&aposve been working extremely hard. It&aposs amazing," Ritchie said.
The 26-year reality TV star is currently in her third trimester, but has no plans to reduce her work load and take a break, to ensure that all her hard work in building her fashion empire pays off.

Richie is pregnant for the second time with partner Joel Madden&aposs child. The couple have a daughter who was born last year in January.

Fall Out Boy play 'national anthem' at Leeds Festival

2009-08-31T01:27:00.000-07:00

Fall Out Boy played an alternative 'national anthem' during their Leeds Festival set this afternoon (August 30) on the Main Stage.

Watch a video interview with bassist and singer Pete Wentz by clicking on the right.

The US emo-rockers, playing at 5:30pm (BST), covered Journey's 'Don't Stop Believing' as part of their set – tee-ing the song up by joking that they were going to pay homage to their home country.

"For the past eight years we've got a bit of a reputation, with George W Bush," Wentz told the crowd. "So we'd like to play our national anthem."

The speech prompted boos, but they quickly turned to cheers when the the crowd realised that the band were playing the cover version.

"Thank you for standing out in the rain for us," Wentz had earlier told the crowd as it began to drizzle. "You look very good wet."

The band dedicated 'I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me' to New Found Glory, who played on the stage earlier, then closed with 'Saturday'.

South Park MegaMillionaire Preview

2009-08-30T20:10:00.000-07:00

For many, the mere mention of a South Park videogame evokes the nightmare of Acclaim's licensed drivel back in the late nineties. South Park Rally. Chef's Luv Shack. The horror. RealArcade hopes to help reverse this damage with a collection of South Park games for the iPhone. The App Store launch game Imaginationland was a good start. Next month's MegaMillionaire is another step in the right direction.

MegaMillionaire is an over-the-top riff on those insane Japanese game shows, such as Takeshi's Castle (which is now mercilessly lampooned on "MXC"). The four boys -- Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny -- must strap rollerskates on their feet and rush through a series of obstacle courses to collect yen. There are crazy dudes in rabbit suits, sumo wrestlers, pits of slime and peanut butter, bacon-covered ramps, and more to negotiate. The ultimate prize for winning the challenge is 10,000 yen, which sounds awesome until you run that through a currency converter. Wait until Cartman does the math.

As you race through each stage, you must collect as much money as possible. Bills litter each scene. Each stage also contains three yen coins. These are not required to proceed to the next stage, but you get a huge bonus if you manage to pick up all three coins before jumping on the big red button at the finish line. Outside of the action stages, you move the boys along a board. Each square represents one of the 20+ stages, plus bonus squares where you spin a wheel to determine any extra conditions for the next scene, such as random farts that cause your character to jump.

American Idol's Kellie Pickler at House of Blues September 15 with CMA Songwriters Series

2009-08-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

American Idol Season 5 Top 10 finalist Kellie Pickler will be in Los Angeles area on September 15. Pickler will be at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip as part of then CMA Songwriters Series that also features Bob DiPiero, Chris Lindsey and Aimee Mayo.

The popular CMA Songwriters Series, which has played to sell-out crowds in New York City for the past five years, will hit the road this fall, stopping in Los Angeles and Chicago.

A two-time CMA Award nominee, Pickler has a top-10 gold single with "Best Days of Your Life," which she wrote with friend and tourmate Taylor Swift. She also co-penned hits such as "Red High Heels" and "I Wonder," both of which are on her debut album, Small Town Girl.

Joining Pickler at the event will be songwriters Chris Lindsey ("Amazed" recorded by Lonestar and "Let's Make Love" recorded by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill) and Aimee Mayo ("This One's For the Girls" recorded by Martina McBride and "Red High Heels" recorded and co written by Pickler).

Hi5 Adder is the ultimate Hi5 Friend Adder tool

2009-08-23T02:19:00.000-07:00

Hi5 Adder is the ultimate Hi5 Friend Adder tool to help promote your band, market your product and services, or even run for office.

Here are just a few features of Hi5

The affordable Hi5 Friend Adder. Add hundreds to even thousands of Hi5 friends! Hi5 Adder allows you to easily add friends into your Hi5 account. You can extract friends from other Hi5 profiles! You can also add friends based on names, keywords, and more!

Use with unlimited Hi5 accounts! Feel free to use Hi5 Adder with one or any number of Hi5 accounts you might have. Sending friend requests from multiple accounts increases your exposure.

Import and export a list of friend IDs! Quickly save and load a list of profiles that you want to send friend requests to without having to search for the same IDs over and over again.

NEW! Send personlized messages! Names can be extracted from profile IDs and automatically inserted into the body of your message to give a more personlized feel.

NEW! Send personlized comments! The friends name can be extracted and automatically inserted into the body of your comment.

Link or "Chain" multiple accounts together! Hi5 Adder allows you to send friend requests from any number of accounts automatically.

Human emulation! Easy adder has the ability to randomly sleep between actions and internally clicks links and submits forms as if a real person was doing it, thus reducing the chances of having your account deleted.

Urban Plucks More Than Heartstrings At Verizon

2009-08-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

You'd have to go back to Glen Campbell to find a pop-country star whose musical skills are buried any deeper in hit records than Keith Urban.

The guy can really, really play a guitar. But while Vince Gill and Brad Paisley, Urban's peers on country's guitar-hero scene, throw a few licks into even the most mindless single to remind you of their genius, Urban usually keeps his fingers to himself in the studio.

In a live setting, however, Urban turns his inner shredder loose. At Verizon Center on Thursday, he wore more vintage guitars onstage than Reba does gaudy outfits, and worried the strings on all of 'em.

The moody, Dire Straits-ish " 'Til Summer Comes Around," from his most recent CD, " Defying Gravity," is too long to ever be a country-radio hit, but it gave Urban plenty of time to wail. Same with "Stupid Boy," one of the few pages in Urban's songbook where his material lives up to his talents. Urban spent the mostly instrumental second half of the song bending beautiful notes on his 1957 Les Paul Jr. (the single cutaway model, as any of Urban's many gearhead fans could tell you), which he held high and pointed away from his face, as a frat boy would position a beer bong.

Urban knows that most of the folks who nearly packed the arena care less about his guitarsenal than they do his sweet and low-aiming singles, and he and his rock-centric band gave their all to renditions of "Days Go By," "Kiss a Girl" and "Where the Blacktop Ends," songs that sound pretty much the same as each other, whether in concert or on the radio. He slowed things down to croon the pile of cliches ("roll with the punches," "always on my mind," "no one that comes close to you," etc.) that make up his recent hit ballad, "Only You Can Love Me This Way."

Mark Hoppus Confirms He's Working With Panic! At The Disco

2009-08-17T23:49:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, Panic! at the Disco drummer Spencer Smith told MTV News that he hoped to hand Blink-182's Mark Hoppus a few of his demos while the two bands toured together.

Smith's goal was to convince Hoppus — who, what with his work with All Time Low, Motion City Soundtrack and the Michael Jackson estate, has suddenly become a rather hot commodity — to produce a couple of tracks on the new Panic! album.

Well, those demos must have been plenty convincing. On Tuesday, MTV News spoke to Hoppus, who confirmed that he'd be producing at least one song on the upcoming Panic! disc, and he'd like to do even more, if Smith and frontman Brendon Urie will let him.

"I've heard a few of Panic! at the Disco's demos for the new album, and they're really strong," Hoppus said. "There's one track in particular that I know I'm committing to produce for them, and hopefully I'll get to do a bunch more. I know they're talking to a bunch of producers, and that's always kind of a touchy subject, especially when you're on tour with people, and they're like, 'Oh yeah, we're recording a new album, would you do a little work on it?' "

Earlier, Smith had told MTV News that Panic! hope to begin recording their new album later this fall, after completing their run of shows with Blink. And Hoppus could be following them right off the road and into the studio. Because while he didn't go into great depth while talking about the Panic! demos, it's easy to tell he heard something special in one particular tune that has him plenty psyched to start work.

"It's one of those songs that, even in the demo stages, you can tell is gonna be a gigantic song," Hoppus said. "It's really catchy. It's one of those songs you hear one time, and you just remember the hook for the rest of the day. I think it's what everybody loves about Panic! at the Disco, so yeah, I'm excited about that."

David Blaine Appears at Rooftop Party as if by Magic

2009-08-17T00:51:00.000-07:00

Monocle magazine threw a rooftop party at the Gramercy Park Hotel this week, and who mysteriously appeared among the media movers and shakers, in what he said was his first time going out in six months? David Blaine.

Supposedly, the attendants checking the guest list said they didn’t even see him pass through. (According to Monocle magazine’s Emily Smith, “Honestly, he must have magicked his way in.”)

“He’s got to come to every party from now on,” remarked Tyler Brûlé, Monocle’s editor-in-chief. Brûlé was especially baffled by the magician’s seeming ability to melt a deck of cards into thin air.

With French-model fiancee Alizee Guinochet in tow, Blaine entertained other guests with card tricks and other illusions, including one where he somehow moved a federal seal on a dollar bill from one side of George Washington’s image to the other.

Although a surprise guest of a guest, Blaine, who first gained fame for this kind of street and close-up magic, found himself the talk of the party. Why was he performing on a rare night out? “I always do magic — that’s what I do,” he drawled. (Note: The man talks incredibly slowly — it’s either a trick to mesmerize you while he’s busy shuffling cards, or all that oxygen deprivation has turned his manner into that of a hibernating animal.)

For this reporter, Blaine faltered once out of about half a dozen tricks: he pulled a two of clubs when I actually had picked a six of spades. “But deuces are wild, so it’s okay!” he said, before ripping up the two and somehow — magically! — turning it into the six card while the pieces were still in my palm.

Sadly, no endurance feats — and Blaine looks much, uh, huskier, than he does on television, or hanging upside down in Central Park. (When Page Six snapped pics of the couple in April, Blaine raised the subject himself. Some things are hard to make mnagically disappear.

Deal or No Deal Philippines Season 3

2009-08-16T22:21:00.001-07:00

The big US hit Deal or No Deal is also huge game show in the Philippines. The Philippine version is called Kapamilya Deal or No Deal. The show will start its season 3 tomorrow (July 28th) with the pot at stake at P2 Million (approximately $47K).

The original Deal or No Deal was held in the Philippines (aired on May 5) and was seen worldwide as part of “Deal or No Deal Around the World” special. Host Howie Mandel with Kapamilya Deal or No Deal host Kris Aquino had a great time doing that special. I am not really crazy with Deal or No Deal but I did watch that special (Philippine episode only) just to see Kris Aquino and Philippines once again.

The Kapamilya Deal or No Deal show will come back with a brand new look and hotter 26k models (case carriers). They even added a drum and bugle corps called Parokya ni Banker (The Banker’s Church), to add more noise excitement to the show.

When the Deal or No Deal game show debuted in US, my husband told me that the show copied it from “Pera o Bayong” (Money or Basket), a segment of a Philippine noon time show Magandang Tanghali Bayan (Good Afternoon People, abbreviated into MTB) that was aired on ABS-CBN from 1998 to 2005. I died laughing when I heard what he said because I never thought or remembered “Pera o Bayong” or even see the similarity of both games.

I don’t think Deal or No Deal copied it from “Pera o Bayong” but since my husband mentioned it, I realized that the game concept was similar indeed.

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore: Hamptons Hotties

2009-08-16T16:40:00.000-07:00

Enjoying a weekend at the shore, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore were spotted at a special advanced screening of “Spread” on Saturday afternoon (August 8).

The “Butterfly Effect” stud and his lovely “Charlie’s Angels” wife looked to be thoroughly enjoying themselves as they hobnobbed with guests at the Gotham and Hamptons Magazines-hosted event.

Kutcher’s costar Anne Heche recently told press that she put in some extra work to get fit for her steamy love scene with him.

“I did everything I possibly could to give him a run for his money onscreen. I ran and I did a few more sit-ups than normal ... and stayed away from the butter.”

Likewise, Kutcher also tightened up a bit prior to the role. “I had just played a movie [Personal Effects] where I played a wrestler. so I had to lose like 10 pounds and stop eating and take care of myself. I really cut back to a meal a day. I was probably down to 175 pounds.”

Toronto to premiere Portman's 'Love'

2009-08-14T03:14:00.000-07:00

The world preems of Natalie Portman starrer "Love and Other Impossible Pursuits" and Demi Moore starrer "The Joneses" are among seven galas and 12 special presentations announced by the Toronto Film Festival on Thursday.

"Love," helmed by Don Roos, who also adapted Ayelet Waldman's novel, tells the story of a newlywed Harvard Law School grad's attempt to connect with her new stepson. Scott Cohen and Lisa Kudrow costar.

Joining "Love" on the gala slate are the world preems of writer-director Rodrigo Garcia's family drama "Mother and Child," starring Annette Bening, Naomi Watts and Kerry Washington; and Carlos Saura's period pic "I, Don Giovanni," charting the dramatic twists behind the creation of Mozart's renowned opera.

Gala lineup also includes the international preem of Matthias Emcke's "Phantom Pain"; the North American preems of Grant Hezlov's dark comedy "Men Who Stare at Goats" (Overture), starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor and Jeff Bridges; Jan Kounen's "Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky" (Sony Classics); and Alejandro Amenabar's fourth-century thriller "Agora," starring Rachel Weisz.

Suburban dark comedy "Joneses," helmed by Derrick Borte and co-starring David Duchovny, unspools in special presentations, which also screens the world preems of Christian Carion's Soviet fin de siecle drama "L'Affaire Farewell," Dev Benegal's traveling cinema ensemble pic "Road, Movie," and Claire McCarthy's India-set adoption drama "The Waiting City."

The international preems of Giuseppe Tornatore's small-town family epic "Baaria" and He Ping's war fable "Wheat" are also special presentations.

The program also includes the North American preems of helmer John Hillcoat's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel "The Road" (starring Viggo Mortensen), the feature helming bow of designer Tom Ford "A Single Man" (Colin Firth, Julianne Moore), Miguel Arteta's adaptation of C.D. Payne's cult novel "Youth in Revolt" (Michael Cera), Arnaud Larrieu and Jean-Marie Larrieu's "Les Derniers jours du monde," and Ahmed Maher's "The Traveler" (Omar Sharif).

Werner Herzog's mystery of myth and madness "My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done" receives its Canadian preem in special presentations.

Yellowstone’s bears fight back against Stephen Colbert

2009-08-10T22:40:00.000-07:00

Climate change may be threatening Yellowstone’s grizzly bears, but they are fighting back against another enemy—Stephen Colbert.

Stephen Colbert regularly attacks the bears on his popular show, The Colbert Report, referring to them as “soulless, godless, rampaging killing machines.” A representative for the bears expressed frustration over Colbert’s campaign: “We’re tired of his relentless persecution, which is causing millions of Americans to turn against bears.” Perhaps even more alarming, sales of teddy bears have plummeted in the park. “We’re being outsold by the bison stuffed animal toy these days and that’s insulting. Bison are not cuddly.”

To alert the public to their plight and to counter Colbert’s vicious smear campaign, the bears in Yellowstone released a video and staged a massive protest. “The public deserves to know the truth.” You can view the bear’s video on YouTube or below this article.

The bears hope that when President Obama visits Yellowstone next week, he’ll take an interest in their plight. “We’ll be happy to meet with him—provided he brings a full picnic basket. He’s proven his willingness to address climate change; we also need his help in defending ourselves against Colbert.”

In the past grizzlies inhabited a range that encompassed most of North American west of the Mississippi. Today, only 1,200 grizzly bears in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Washington live in the lower 48 states. Almost half of those bears call the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem home. The predicted effects of climate change in the Yellowstone area, however, bode ill for the health of the grizzly. “We have a beetle destroying our food supply—we shouldn’t have to also worry about a second-rate television personality defaming our character.”

One of the bears thinks cowardice is behind Colbert’s persecution. “A real man would confront his fears and visit Yellowstone.”

Trevor Hall

2009-08-09T19:28:00.001-07:00

Remember when Clay Aiken auditioned for “American Idol” for the first time? As soon as he opened his mouth, you looked around for the culprit who was providing his voice, because surely it couldn’t have been his own. Well, in the instance of Trevor Hall, as soon as you hear his tenor float through the air, you’ll immediately be hit with the reggae and soul vibes.

The 22-year-old South Carolina-raised, Los Angeles-based performer has managed to incorporate reggae, alternative, and folk sounds, bringing to mind acts like 311, Jack Johnson or Jason Mraz. “Unity,” is a ditty full of edgy guitar and a breezy background, and “31 Flavors,” is charming as he croons over the folksy, bounce track, “I wanna show you that my love is pure.”

The punk and reggae-flavored “Sing the Song” is addicting for its repeated phrase “dang-dang- diggity-dang.” Love songs that pluck the heart strings are apparent in the form of “Where’s the Love,” and the serene “Origami Crane.” “Who You Gonna Turn To” is a spiritually tinged joint about giving your cares to a higher power.

rom the sound of things, it’s no coincidence that he’s played and toured with Colbie Caillat, Los Lobos and Ziggy Marley. To see the truth, check his website for tour dates, and most definitely, he will be providing his own voice.

Pinoy Idol: Jolina’s Verdict

2009-08-09T17:57:00.000-07:00

As one of the three jurors in the first ever Pinoy Idol, Jolina Magdangal gives us an update and a judges’ point of view of what she thinks about the show and the Pinoy Idol hopefuls.

Now down to the final 14 contestants, the Pinoy Idol journey is getting more and more interesting every week. In the middle of all the excitement are the three jurors who have carefully chosen these contestants.

What’s on their mind now that they are witnessing these idol hopefuls fulfilling their dreams? We asked Jolina to share what she thinks so far of the competition and the remaining idol finalists.

Judging process

Jolina admits that she and her fellow jurors have been getting a lot of comments regarding the contestants they chose. She has this to say to their detractors -

“Para doon sa mga hindi pa nakakaalam kung papaano kami mag judge, ang jinujudge po namin ay 'yung totality ng contestant meaning lahat. Hindi lang boses, hindi lang 'yung damit, hindi lang itsura, lahat po. So ‘yung mga nagtatanong dyan kung ito ba ay singing contest o beauty contest, totality po ang hinahanap namin, kasi kailangan natin ng idol pag sinabing idol artistahin na may talent so kumpleto."

She feels strongly about this because she wants everybody to know how hard it was for them to choose the 24 finalists. And now that the judging is left to the hands of the voters and viewers, she reiterates to those people that did not make it to try again next year.

“Siguro 'yung mga unang na-reject isa lang naman ang lagi naming sinasabi hindi pa ito ang katapusan ng buhay nila. Baka naman meron pang ibang bagay na nakaprepare para sa kanila. Pwede pa naman next year, wala pa namang rule na bawal sumali ulit next year. Malay natin baka naman pupwede, hindi natin alam pag nagkaroon ng season 2, makita natin ang same faces," says Jolina to the not so lucky Idol hopefuls.

Anna Nicole Doc Expects Drug Cocktail in Michael Jackson's System

2009-08-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

Even though the toxicology results are due this week, it's not going to be easy to nail a doctor for manslaughter if it was an overdose of propofol that killed Michael Jackson, according to a pathologist all too familiar with the intricacies of toxicology.

"Propofol basically disappears [from the blood] within minutes," says Dr. Joshua Perper, the Broward County, Fla., medical examiner who spent weeks testing samples from Anna Nicole Smith's body before ruling her death the result of a prescription-drug overdose in 2007.

"Like Anna Nicole, my expectation in Jackson's case is that the toxicology would show a combination of drugs, where propofol will be present," the pathologist and author of the upcoming book When Doctors Kill told E! News.

"The problem in finding it in the body will depend on how long [Jackson] lingered before he became comatose. It breaks down very fast and can disappear or burn out in as little as two to four hours."

The longer the King of Pop lived after taking what could have been a fatal dose of propofol, the more likely it is that the evidence faded away.

Propofol can be found in other tissues, but that would make it hard to determine how much he took and whether it proved fatal and would take away a crucial piece of evidence required in prosecuting any doctor for manslaughter, much less murder, Perper said.

"To ask for more time to do testing, it stands to reason the medical examiner didn't have enough toxicology to explain the death from propofol and wants to look for something else, like a combination of drugs," he said, referring to the extra week the L.A. County Coroner's Office is taking before it releases the final autopsy report.

The main culprit in Smith's death, while she had a number of prescription drugs in her system, was the powerful sleep aid chloral hydrate.

Two of Smith's doctors and her companion, Howard K. Stern, have pleaded not guilty to felony charges of facilitating Smith with various substances.

Meanwhile, a family practitioner who has worked with nurse Cherilyn Lee, the nutritionist who says Jackson once asked her for Diprivan (propofol's brand name), tells E! News he immediately thought of Lee's story when he heard of Jackson's death.
"To be honest with you, my first reaction was 'God, I hope he didn't get that Diprivan,' " Dr. Dwight James of Porterville, Calif., said.

James said that Lee called him for more information about propofol when Jackson requested it, and that he told her it was mainly used in hospitals and wasn't the sort of thing he would prescribe a patient to use at home.

"[Lee] communicated to [Jackson] that he didn't want to use the drug because it could kill him," James said. "She took the Physicians' Desk Reference to him—it has all the indications—but he still wasn't convinced."

Grey's Anatomy: 'Lovely Story' for Mer and More Interns

2009-08-07T04:01:00.001-07:00

By now, everyone who can't wait for Grey's Anatomy's September 24 return know that the dish about George (TR Knight) and Izzie (Katherine Heigl), two characters whose lives were left hanging at the end of season 5. But just to be sure, let's just say that my initial prediction and interpretation of the elevator scene was right on the money.

OK fine George dies and Izzie survives. Heigl even complained that her return to the Grey's set was marked with a 17-hour day. David Letterman pointed out, quite astutely, that the 17-hour work day wouldn't have been largely plausible if flat-lining Izzie indeed died (unless, of course, she'd be filmed inside the casket for 17 long hours during her onscreen funeral).

As for other Grey's Anatomy season 6 developments, creator Shonda Rhimes told Entertainment Weekly that she has a "lovely story" in store for Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) to give her some time off the show to deal with her pregnancy. She adds that we might get several stand-alone episodes to fill this void. Because, really, can Grey's Anatomy move forward with its story line with the Grey in its title?

Elsewhere on the two-hour premiere, X Files' Mitch Pillegi will return as a member of Seattle Grace's board of directors most probably because of George's funeral. Also, more interns will crowd the hospital, with at least three new ones being added to the bunch. This, even before we get to know the interns well. So I'm not sure if that's a good idea.

Franklin: Belfort fight will be at 195 pounds

2009-08-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

Rich Franklin says his showdown with Vitor Belfort will happen at 195 pounds.
"Just found out i will b fighting vitor at a catch weight of 195 as per his request," Franklin wrote on his Twitter feed on Friday night.

Franklin is set to face Belfort in the main event of UFC 103, scheduled for September, in Dallas. It will be his second fight in a row at 195 pounds against a Brazilian legend of the sport -- Franklin won a unanimous decision over Wanderlei Silva in the main event of UFC 99, in June.

Belfort, a noted striker with knockouts or technical knockouts over several big names, returns to UFC after spending the past four-and-a-half years competing for Pride Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, Strikeforce and most recently Affliction Entertainment. He moved down to middleweight last year after spending most of his career in the 205-pound division.

Franklin, a former titleholder of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's 185-pound division, decided to move back to light-heavyweight last year, following losses in 2006 and 2007 to current middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
But a 195-pound weight class would be a perfect fit, Franklin said, immediately following his victory over Silva.

UFC 103's main event originally was planned as a rematch between Franklin and Dan Henderson, who beat Franklin in January at UFC 93. But fan backlash provoked the change in opponents, UFC President Dana White said Friday.

Belfort became available after Affliction Entertainment exited the fight promotion business, in the wake of Josh Barnett's positive steroid test. Belfort was originally scheduled to face Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago today.

Before cancelling the show altogether, Affliction toyed with the notion of Belfort as a replacement for Barnett against Fedor Emelianenko in the main event.

How many awards has Carrie Underwood won?

2009-08-02T10:21:00.001-07:00

Since winning the American Idol in 2005 Carrie Underwood has been on a winning streak. In just four years Underwood has received recognition in every major award show that nominates music artists.

Only a few months after her reality show win, Underwood received the Teen Choice Award for choice reality star-female. She ended her first year in the spotlight with three Billboard music awards including the award for country single sales artist of the year.

2006 was a big year for Underwood as it’s when she first became inducted into the hall of fame of country music winners along side with her own idols whose very songs she sang to help her win American Idol. Underwood won her first two Academy of Country music awards for top new female vocalist of the year and single record of the year for her debut single, “Jesus, take the wheel”. She also won in the female vocalist of the year category at the Country music awards beating out competitors Faith Hill and Martina McBride. As if that weren't good enough, Underwood took home the coveted horizon award at the CMA’s that year along with two CMT music awards.

Do not assume this country superstar is only honored in the country music genre. That same year Underwood took home the American music award for favorite new breakthrough artist.
Her biggest night in 2006 though came at the Billboard awards where Underwood made a clean sweep by taking home five awards including two album of the year trophies in country and all-genre music.

2007 was even bigger for Underwood as she won her first two Grammy awards for best new artist and best female country vocal performance for “Jesus take the wheel”.
That same year the people once again spoke in her favor and she took home two People’s Choice awards. One could say Underwood definitely got used to the feeling of winning as she won an additional 15 awards that year including another five Billboard music awards. She was a triple winner that year at both the American music awards and the Academy of Country music awards and a double winner at the CMA and CMT awards.

By the end of 2008 Underwood’s award showcase must have run out of space as she continued to receive top honors for her music. The Grammy music association honored her for a third time by awarding her with another best female country vocal performance; this time for “Before he cheats”, her most successful single off her debut album Some Hearts.

If Underwood was to be given a title in 2008, it would have been the ‘female vocalist of the year’. She not only took home that prestigious female music award at the Academy of Country music awards, but also at both the CMA’s here in the U.S. along with the European CMA awards.

2008 was also when her sophomore record Carnival Ride began to be honored as it won her the favorite country album award at the American music awards.

Carnival Ride continued to be recognized in 2009 as it won Underwood her fourth Grammy award and third in the category of best female country vocal performance. So far 2009 is turning out to be another year of big awards for Underwood; in January she took home three People’s Choice awards giving her a total of five. She has also received four Country Universe Reader’s Choice Awards this year including one for artist of the year.

The Pussycat Dolls Split!?

2009-08-02T08:55:00.000-07:00

The immediate future of The Pussycat Dolls has been thrown into disarray after Doll's member Ashley Roberts allegedly sobbed to fans about the group's recent split up.

The 'When I Grow Up' hit makers future has been under a cloud since lead singer Nicole Scherzinger tried her hand a solo career in 2006. Since then the break up rumours have gone into overdrive and were further fuelled recently when band member Melody Thornton publicly criticized Scherzinger onstage at a gig in Phoenix, Arizona earlier this year.

According to Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, Roberts has now supposedly confirmed that the band have split, the star broke down in front of fans after a concert and revealed all the details about the break up.

She allegedly sobbed, "This is the last time we'll be in the U.K. as a band. We've broken up. We're sorry."

But representatives of the The Pussycat Dolls have jumped to deny the rumours, insisting that Robert's comments are false and 6 piece are stronger than ever. "The girls are still together. They are in Beirut for a gig."

Denzel Washington Back for 'Unstoppable'

2009-08-02T00:08:00.000-07:00

Two weeks after formally stating his withdrawal from "Unstoppable", Denzel Washington is coming back to join the 20th Century Fox's drama. On Wednesday, July 22, Variety reported that the two-time Academy Award-winner and the studio have closed the deal which makes the project back on its track.

Back on July 14, the publication came up with a story that Washington decided to let go of his attachment to the movie project. Rumors at that time suggested the actor left the project because the studio tried to cut down their budget which resulted in them asking him to shave some of his fee. Following Washington's withdrawal, the studio allegedly prepared a new offer with hope that he might reconsider his decision of leaving the movie project.

Though leaving the project, Washington was said to go with director Tony Scott to promote "The Taking of Pelham 123" in Europe and take a fresh draft of the film's script with him. Variety further mentioned that "He and Scott kept talking, and Washington's reps and Fox found a way to compromise on the deal." It was not mentioned though how the new deal affects Washington's fee.

Pre-production of "Unstoppable" has been resumed in Pittsburgh while the shooting itself will be kicked off in September. The movie centers its story on a veteran engineer, portrayed by Denzel Washington, and his conductor, portrayed by Chris Pine, who jump into a locomotive to halt an unmanned runaway train filled with a toxic chemical. Produced by Mimi Rogers, Julie Yorn and Tony Scott, the movie will be released in 2010.

Jennifer Aniston gives a wave, but co-star steals the show

2009-07-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

He signed autographs, posed for pictures, even chatted it up with a fan on a cell phone. She briefly smiled and waved before slipping away. Gerard Butler, the Scottish actor, and Jennifer Aniston, the mega-superstar actress, had two different responses to fawning fans Monday after the pair shot a movie scene for their romantic comedy on the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway. "He was polite enough to sign for whoever he could," said Mike Struck, 34, of Levittown, who stopped by the neighborhood to catch Aniston. "She didn't really want to be bothered." Butler and Aniston were in Seaford to shoot a scene in the Columbia Pictures production "The Bounty Hunter." The scene involved Butler, who plays the bounty hunter, driving a car with Aniston, his ex-wife, in the trunk. At the end of the scene, the car starts smoking and Aniston is released. After the scene was shot, Aniston finally stepped out of her trailer around 7:30 p.m., fans said. "She said hello, waved at the crowd, jumped back into her Suburban and left the scene completely," said Christopher Labarbera, 34, of Seaford, who also was there to see Aniston. "She didn't really interact with the crowd." Aniston's rumored lover, but definite co-star, Butler walked up and down Seamans Neck Court, smiling and waving. He stopped at a street corner directly across from the entrance to Route 135 to sign autographs and take pictures while cracking jokes with the crowd, Struck said. Michelle Calderon, a resident of Seamans Neck Court, said she was thrilled to see Aniston make something of an appearance - even if she didn't stop to take pictures. But it was Butler who engaged the fans. After the shoot ended, Calderon, 19, and her father walked over to Butler's trailer. Calderon gave Butler her cell phone, where her anxious friend waited on the other line, she said. "He said, 'Hey, what's up?' and my friend said, 'I'm a big fan of yours!' and he responded with 'I'm a big fan of yours, too,' " Calderon said. "He's such a nice, chill guy."

FSU wants NCAA to release documents

2009-07-26T02:12:00.001-07:00

Florida State is taking legal action to force the NCAA to make the Committee on Infractions' most recent correspondence with the university public, the school announced Friday.

Florida State is appealing the NCAA's ruling forcing the Seminoles to vacate as many as 14 wins because of a highly publicized cheating scandal. Vacating the victories could cost Bobby Bowden the title of college football's winningest coach.

Earlier this month, the NCAA's Committee on Infractions responded to FSU's appeal, but the June 2 document was in a read-only format and unavailable to the public. FSU officials say the format prohibits downloading or printing. That has made it technically impossible for Florida State to provide the document to the public in compliance with Florida law.

Several news media organizations have sued both the NCAA and FSU to compel the release of public records associated with the university's appeal. On June 17, FSU officials released a typed transcript of the document with the student names redacted, but several media outlets are still seeking the original document. FSU officials would have had to make the same redactions on the original document because of student privacy laws.

Friday, the university filed a "cross-claim" in Leon County (Fla.) Circuit Court, essentially against the NCAA. The university also seeks compensation from the NCAA for legal fees and other costs it has incurred because of the NCAA's refusal to release the documents in question.

"The university has consistently complied with the Public Records Act to the degree that it is able to do so," Betty Steffens, the university's general counsel said in a prepared statement. "We do not have custody or control of the documents in question."

The case is pending in Leon County Circuit Court and is set for a hearing on Aug. 5-6.

This is an entirely separate case from Florida State's initial appeal, which is ongoing. The NCAA's Infractions Appeals Committee will have a hearing most likely in Indianapolis, but FSU officials haven't received a date. It will give them a chance to plead their case in person with a decision rendered afterward.

Aishwarya prepares 'Halwa' for the Jawans

2009-07-26T00:40:00.001-07:00

As India is going to pay homage to the martyrs of the Kargil war on July 26th, actor Abhishek Bachchan covered an extra mile and paid a visit to the soldiers who in the most difficult situation are standing still and protecting our country from the enemies. He brought something special for the jawans, Gajar Ka Halwa and Aam Ras especially made by Aishwarya Rai and Jaya Bachchan.

NDTV and Abhishek remember the sacrifice of the Jawans who gave their life for India in the Kargil war 10 years back. Abhishek Bachchan also read out a beautiful poem ‘Agnipath’ written by his grandfather Harivansh Rai Bachchan and also conveyed the special message of father Amitabh Bachchan.

Abhishek Bachchan travels to some area of the war field of Kargil and Drass. He met with the soldiers and had a chat with them.

This special episode of junior Bachchan visiting Kargil will be shown on NDTV's special show "Jai Jawan" Saturday at 12 p.m. and Sunday 11.30 a.m. and 9.30 p.m.

Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studdard dropped from J Records?

2009-07-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

It seems winning American Idol is no guarantee that you’ll actually keep your major label deal. Just before Christmas, rumors began circulating that season 2’s Ruben Studdard, who released three albums for J Records since 2003 (the latest, 2006’s The Return, to modest sales), had been dropped. (Studdard continues his management contract with 19 Entertainment.) Now the Hollywood Insider hears that season 5 winner Taylor Hicks has also lost his J Records deal.

“Taylor Hicks is going to record his next album on his own,” said a label rep. “He is no longer on the J Records roster.” Back in March 2007, we wrote about Hicks’ performance on the charts and later analyzed several more Idol hits and misses. What does this mean for the latest winner, Jordin Sparks? Or, with season 7 kicking off on January 15, the franchise’s star-making.

A Prada Temporary Store In Paris

2009-07-24T05:33:00.000-07:00

A PRADA TEMPORARY STORE IN PARIS. A new concept evoking one of the city’s iconic spots.

Prada announces the opening of a 5-month-temporary shop at Place Beauvau 92, in Paris.

Designed by architect Roberto Baciocchi, the front of the store evokes the image of the Mirabeau Bridge – the first bridge in the city to be constructed out of metal – immortalised by Guillaume Apollinaire’s popular poem “Le Pont Mirabeau”.

The energy of the city penetrates the space through shop windows, mingling the outdoors and interior space. The effect is further pronounced by the inclusion of striking perspective illusions, intriguing routes and rarefied environments in the two-level space, whose total surface is of approximately 570 square meters.

A selection of women’s ready-to-wear, bags, accessories and footwear are available at the store, whose ground floor, divided into three areas, recalls the outdoor life intrinsic to the city’s identity. In the first room the bridge silhouette is emphasised by a dramatic trajectory towards the staircase, incorporating mannequins staged to recreate a street scene. Merging brand’s history with innovation, the space retains the black and white chequered marble floor of Prada’s 1913 original store in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan.

The Parisian bridge motif, one of the city’s symbols, is carried through more abstractly in the other two ground floor areas, furnished with lilac carpeting and sofas, as well as bronzed metal and glass displays, recalling museum display cases.
This softer aesthetic continues at the monochromatic upper floor which lingers in a gentle daylight reflected by the beige velvet furnishings, the beige carpeting and a series of mirrors. A generous beige silk tent wraps around the dressing rooms creating a precious mirrored space.

An architectural interpretation of the charms of Paris on two floors where Prada welcomes visitors to explore this innovative venture.

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi postpones wedding

2009-07-19T09:41:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK : Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi will not be taking on another last name for a while as her wedding to Israeli multi-millionaire Aviv ‘Vivi’ Nevo has reportedly been postponed.

The couple were engaged in February last year and the 44-year-old Nevo was supposedly looking at holding the wedding at an offshore Italian island that his friend owns.

Due to their busy schedules, however, the two have postponed their wedding, which sources say, was due to take place next month.

The couple have been inseparable since they started dating two years ago and have often been caught canoodling by the paparazzi.

Of late, Zhang has been busy promoting her new big screen foray, “Sophie’s Revenge”, a romantic-comedy which she produced and starred in.

In an interview with a Chinese magazine, 30-year-old Zhang said that she has always dreamed of having a family of her own. But she isn’t about to get hitched just to fulfil that dream.

“What if the marriage doesn’t work out? Once I get married, I want to be like my parents, together for a lifetime...”

Zhang also added in an interview with the Global Times that she would not disrupt her booming career for marriage.

Looks like fans will have to wait a while more before they see Zhang walk down the isle.

Trump: Ex-apprentice would be great NJ Lt. Gov.

2009-07-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Donald Trump says a former winner of his TV reality show would do "fantastically" as New Jersey's lieutenant governor.

Randal Pinkett is among the names being considered by Gov. Jon Corzine as a running mate in the November general election.

Pinkett is a businessman who won season four of NBC's "The Apprentice."
Trump says Pinkett emerged as the leader of a group of intimidating, highly educated competitors by using charm instead of pressure.

Trump tells The Associated Press Pinkett "didn't do it with the stick."
Trump won't say whether he has spoken with Pinkett about the No. 2 job, but adds the Rhodes scholar is a tremendous leader.

N.B.A. Has Tough Year and Tough Talks Ahead

2009-07-16T07:24:00.000-07:00

LAS VEGAS — Commissioner David Stern said Tuesday that less than half the NBA's teams turned a profit last season and that some owners had argued that a worst-case decrease in the salary cap of 5 percent might be too optimistic.

The league’s board of governors convened here and will meet again Aug. 4 with the players union in hopes of jump-starting negotiations toward reaching a new collective bargaining agreement. The current one expires in June 2011.

Last week, the league predicted that its salary cap could drop to between $50.4 million and $53.6 million in 2010-11, which would represent a loss between 2.5 percent and 5 percent in basketball-related revenue. On Tuesday, Stern added that teams could face at least a 10 percent drop in ticket revenue next season.
“We are anxious to get going,” Stern said of the negotiations. “We’re not planning on a miracle here, but on the other hand, we’d be prepared to accept one.”

Stern also announced the appointment of a labor-relations committee of 10 owners that would be headed by the San Antonio Spurs owner Peter Holt.

“There is complete agreement that we need to look for a system that keeps our players — as well paid as they are — at the top of the heap, but on the other hand returns the league to profitability at the same time,” Stern said.

Some observers predict that the next collective bargaining agreement will feature drastic changes and that players will be forced to make concessions because of the economy.

In response to the league memorandum that the salary cap will probably decrease next season, Billy Hunter, the executive director of the union, cautioned that it could have a chilling effect on future signings.

“If it later turns out that the league did not have a good-faith basis for making these projections, the N.B.P.A. will pursue all available legal remedies, including a treble damages claim for collusion,” Hunter told ESPN.com last week.
When asked about Hunter’s statement, Stern smiled.

“We’ve been in touch,” Stern said. “He knows that we welcome him saying whatever he needs to say, but the facts are out and you’ll see our numbers and our projections out there.”

Neopets Puzzle Adventure

2009-07-15T22:27:00.000-07:00

Neopets Puzzle Adventure

In theory, Capcom owes D3Publisher a pint. What buzz there is for Neopets Puzzle Adventure is largely down to Infinite Interactive's last game, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, which brought a merry cast of rigid fantasy characters and RPG elements together with Bejeweled's match-3 puzzle gameplay to great effect. Despite the introduction of the kids-centric Neopets webgame IP, the expectation was that Neopets Puzzle Adventure would recreate, if not improve the experience with different components, most notably by replacing match-3 with the Othello/Reversi boardgame, and that was enough to catch a few people's attention.

The resulting game lives up to part of that - this is more than a rebadged Puzzle Quest - but the debt to Infinite's last game is very much felt in the framework. After creating a Neopet character from a range of species with wacky names (I'm a Kougru called Brrrambles, but you can also be a Mynci, Ruki, Techo or perhaps a Scorchio), players set off into a busily drawn and colourful world inspired by existing Neopet artwork and stories, and are invited to run errands for various characters associated with the Cyodrake's Gaze airship, which usually involve playing a game of Othello against a spitting monster of some sort.

Othello is a simple enough game on paper: you and an opponent take it in turns to place red and blue counters on a grid, and placing counters at both ends of a line of the other player's pieces flips them to your colour. This works horizontally, vertically and diagonally, but counters can only be placed at the end of lines in which you already have a counter present. The winner is the player with the most counters once the board is full or no more moves can be played.

Like Puzzle Quest, Infinite then adapts Othello to advance the notion of tactical combat, introducing collectible petpets, which can be selected before battles and used once per game instead of placing a counter. They serve various purposes: allowing you to place two counters at once, or to place counters anywhere on the board, or to switch the colour of specific counters, or to make certain counters unflippable. Otherwise, placing a counter so that it flips an awful lot of your opponent's sometimes initiates a shockwave, which flips another counter on the board to your colour, allowing the consequences to play out even though you've already had your actual turn.

Also like Puzzle Quest, there are other mini-games that perform acts like forging items, but unlike Puzzle Quest these are more to do with the Neopets subject matter than the core combat. One involves carefully deleting groups of blocks so that you end up with none left over, while another involves drawing shapes on the touch-screen as Neopets dash along the top screen holding triangles, stars, moons and hearts. Control is entirely stylus based throughout, as it is with the main game, and the implementation is confident and unremarkable, in a good way.

Reese Witherspoon: Sexy at the Salon

2009-07-12T01:09:00.000-07:00

Reese Witherspoon: Sexy at the Salon

Keeping her blonde locks looking beautiful, Reese Witherspoon was spotted leaving the Neil George Hair Salon in Beverly Hills on Tuesday (July 7).
Wearing a little blue dress, the “Legally Blonde” beauty smiled for paparazzi as she walked to her nearby car with a bag of hair care products in-hand.

And while Miss Witherspoon has been spending much of her time working on the new film “How Do You Know?”, she’s also been readying for the upcoming launch of her very own fragrance, In Bloom.

“In developing In Bloom, I found myself drawn to the scents of my childhood in Tennessee,” Reese told press of the Avon backed scent, which will launch in November. “We had a great big magnolia tree in the back yard, and it’s that beautiful white blossom that inspired the perfume.”

She adds, “In Bloom is indicative of where I am in my life today. I’m feeling very strong and independent, and so happy, so full of life. The fragrance truly captures that feeling it’s very sensual, very romantic and alluring.”

NY Times Manga Bestsellers: New Naruto, Fruits Basket Battle for #1

2009-07-11T02:37:00.000-07:00

NY Times Manga Bestsellers: New Naruto, Fruits Basket Battle for #1

After four straight weeks in the #1 spot, two blockbuster books finally pushed Bleach Volume 27 by Tite Kubo off the top of the heap of New York Times Graphic Books / Manga bestseller list. The two newcomers that duked it out for first? The latest volume of Naruto and the final volume of Fruits Basket in what must have been a very tight race.

Naruto Volume 45 marks the last part of the big Naruto Generation Ninja accelerated release blast of the last few months. Now after this release, new volumes of Naruto will be out on its regular quarterly release schedule, with Volume 46 due in the stores in October.

While its no surprise that Naruto continues to rule the charts, it was a little surprising that the highly anticipated final volume of mega-popular shojo series Fruits Basket wasn't able to claim the top spot in the week of its debut. But this won't be the last you'll see of this volume -- Furuba fans will likely generate strong sales for this volume for weeks to come. You can also check out a free online preview of the first 21 pages of this fabulous finale.
The other notable newcomer to this week's list is the first volume of Lucky Star, the latest manga adaptation of a popular Bandai anime franchise from Bandai's small but growing manga imprint.

Song over guitar broken by airline a YouTube hit

2009-07-10T04:02:00.001-07:00

Song over guitar broken by airline a YouTube hit

Call it the Broken Guitar Blues. And it's become something of an Internet hit in YouTube.

Canadian musician Dave Carroll says he had his $3,500 Taylor guitar smashed by United Airlines workers during a spring 2008 trip from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Omaha, Neb.

After the carrier refused to pay $1,200 in repair costs, Carroll channeled his ire into a song, "United Breaks Guitars,'' which he performed with his Halifax-based band Sons of Maxwell, filmed, and put on YouTube. The video has reportedly been viewed nearly 400,000 times since being posted Monday.
The Chicago Tribune reported that United has since had a change of heart and is talking to Carroll about compensation. But Carroll told the LA Times travel blog that he's no longer interested in the money and harbors the company no ill feelings.

But he does plan to make good on a promise to write a trilogy of tunes about the incident, the second part of which is due out in August and focuses on his relationship with Ms. Irlweg, a customer service representative.
It is, he tells the Times, the first song he’s ever written with a tuba in it.

NASCAR asks judge to reverse Jeremy Mayfield injunction

2009-07-09T04:07:00.000-07:00

NASCAR asks judge to reverse Jeremy Mayfield injunction

NASCAR filed an appeal Monday of a federal judge’s decision to lift Jeremy Mayfield’s suspension from NASCAR racing.

The sanctioning body asked that the judge reverse the preliminary injunction it granted pending the conclusion of the appeal.

According to court documents, NASCAR says the court did not meet the standards of a preliminary injunction and did not "evaluate the likelihood of success of Mayfield’s claims."

NASCAR also said the court didn’t consider how reliable Mayfield’s employees’ testimony was that Mayfield had not taken methamphetamines, the "sophistication and sensitivity of Aegis Laboratories’ drug testing procedures" and "the fact that Mayfield’s expert conceded that the level of methamphetamine revealed by Mayfield’s urine test indicates that Mayfield may be a chronic methamphetamine user."
The motion’s third point is that the court incorrectly decided that there exists a same-day test for methamphetamine that could ensure Mayfield was clean when racing in an upcoming NASCAR event.

By winning the injunction to his suspension on Wednesday, Mayfield was allowed to return to Sprint Cup racing. He had until 3 p.m. on Thursday to enter his race team in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway and after that could have entered the race as a driver for another team.
NASCAR suspended Mayfield on May 9 for allegedly testing positive for methamphetamines.

Mayfield said he could not mobilize his race team and find sponsorship in time for Daytona but instead stayed in Charlotte to work on making an attempt in Chicago this weekend.

Mayfield was not on Monday’s entry list, but has until Thursday afternoon to enter Saturday night’s race as a late entry. Late entries cannot earn points but they can earn prize money.

Casting Call: Noah Wyle, Jeri Ryan head to TNT

2009-07-05T09:07:00.000-07:00

Casting Call: Noah Wyle, Jeri Ryan head to TNT

Noah Wyle is jumping back into the TV pool, signing on to star in a sci-fi pilot for TNT that Steven Spielberg is executive producing.

The project will star Wyle as the leader of a group of soldiers and civilians who mount a resistance against an alien invasion force. Spielberg -- who also executive produced "ER," the show that gave Wyle his big break -- conceived the idea with writer Robert Rodat ("Saving Private Ryan"), who is penning the pilot.

Wyle has previously starred in TNT's series of "Librarian" movies and played Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in the cable channel's 1999 movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley."
"I am overjoyed to continue my association with TNT on this new project," he says. "We have a long-standing relationship spanning four projects, and I couldn't feel more at home."

Spielberg and Rodat will executive produce the pilot with Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank of DreamWorks Television. There's no word yet on a start date.
Also at TNT, Jeri Ryan has taken a recurring role on second season of "Leverage," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Ryan, who starred in CBS' "Shark" from 2006-08, will play a con artist who helps Sophie (Gina Bellman) on a job and gets pulled into the team.
Her other TV credits include "Star Trek: Voyager," "Boston Public" and a recurring part on "The O.C."

Eva Longoria Parker To Move To France When Husband Retires From Basketball

2009-07-03T01:50:00.000-07:00

Eva Longoria Parker To Move To France When Husband Retires From Basketball

Eva Longoria is moving to France. The "Desperate Housewives" star will relocate to the European country when her husband Tony Parker's professional basketball career is over.

The 34-year-old star told America's OK! magazine: "Tony and I will be moving to France after 'Desperate Housewives'. Actually, after his basketball career."
Tony, 26, is not expected to retire for another five years but the San Antonio Spurs star is reportedly keen to return to his home country as soon as possible.

Eva recently revealed she is the "gardener" in her marriage, and would do anything to keep her husband - who was born in Bruges, Belgium, but raised in France - happy.
She explained: "I'm the gardener, I definitely nurture. Tony is the flower. But there are times when Tony takes care of me in an emotional sense. But I love to take care of him. I'm really a very 50s housewife."

"I love having dinner ready and making sure his clothes are ironed and that he's packed and ready when he goes on road trips."

Eva and Tony wed in a romantic ceremony in France in 2007.

Nick Lachey Bored and Turned Off by Vanessa Minnillo's Need for Bling

2009-07-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

Nick Lachey Bored and Turned Off by Vanessa Minnillo's Need for Bling

After months of speculation that things between them were nearing an end, it was confirmed last week that after three years of dating, Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo had finally broken up. And friends of Lachey's say that the break-up is no surprise.

Nick Lachey was supposedly bored with the relationship, and was also none too thrilled with a recent interview Minnillo had done, during which she'd rambled on about how she was expecting a 10-carat engagement ring. Yeah, we'd say an interview like that is pretty much a relationship kiss of death.

Speaking to the Chicago Sun Times, a friend of Lachey's said, "Frankly, he was pretty bored." The friend added that he's been anticipating the break-up between Minnillo and Lachey "for at least the past few months... Nick just didn't find he and Vanessa had all that much in common anymore - with the exception of their shared experiences over the three years they had dated."
It's true, Nick was never a beauty queen, and Vanessa really doesn't know the heartache of being a washed-up boy band star or having a failed marriage to Jessica Simpson. What was there really to talk about?

And as for that interview in which Vanessa had pointed to her 5-carat ring and said that the engagement ring from Nick would be 10 carats, the source said, "I don't think her publicly announcing she was expecting an engagement ring of 'at least 10 carats' went over too well."

We don't either; especially considering that we have the feeling that Nick Lachey likely has absolutely no way of swinging a 10-carat engagement ring with the way his career's been going. When his marriage to Jessica Simpson ended, Lachey's professional life did as well. Perhaps he bailed on this relationship because he realized his girlfriend had some delusional expectations...

Howard Stern on Letterman: Shock jock talks 'Fartman' and Fatherhood

2009-07-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

Howard Stern on Letterman: Shock jock talks 'Fartman' and Fatherhood

Howard Stern was up to his old tricks last night on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" – hurling insults at Rush Limbaugh and dishing on his derriere.
Letterman asked the 55-year-old shock jock – who flew into the MTV Movie Awards 17 years ago wearing the "Fartman" costume that exposed his backside – whether he was flattered by Sacha Baron Cohen's copycat prank with Eminem at this year's ceremony.
"I am a bitter man. I am never flattered. I always sit there and go 'I did that! I hope somebody recognizes me for that,'" he said.
And added his stunt was "an innovation that should be honored…revered!" and that unlike 'Bruno's' staged hoax – his had been hidden from producers.
On having more kids, Stern, who already has three grown children, told Letterman, who has a five-year-old son, that the idea of starting all over again was crazy.
"I've seen pictures of you in tabloids…you don't look like you're having fun, my friend." he said.
Stern also talked about his marriage to actress Beth Ostrosky, 36, revealing the secret to the couple's relationship success: trips to the psychiatrist three times per week.
And finally, Stern mouthed off on the state of the radio business. His assessment? It's "in the hole" thanks to conservative radio host Limbaugh, whom Stern described as a "big bloated turd" for his desire to see the Obama presidency fail.

Zac Efron turns '17 Again' into No. 1 hit with $24M

2009-06-26T07:51:00.000-07:00

Zac Efron turns '17 Again' into No. 1 hit with $24M

Zac Efron has taken the box-office crown from his Disney teammate Miley Cyrus.

Efron's comedy "17 Again," in which he plays the youthful version of a middle-aged man magically transformed to high school age, debuted as the top weekend movie with $24.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The No. 1 opening for the Warner Bros. movie solidifies the big-screen potential for Zac Efron, who rose to fame with Disney's "High School Musical" series.
"There's no question that Zac's a star," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros. "He's such a hardworking, talented individual. He certainly has given his all to promote this movie."

Universal had the No. 2 movie with Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck's Washington thriller "State of Play," which pulled in $14.1 million. Crowe plays a reporter investigating a series of deaths linked to an old college friend (Affleck) who's now a rising star in Congress.

Cyrus' "Hannah Montana: The Movie" slipped from first place to fourth with $12.7 million. That lifted the domestic total for Cyrus' movie spinoff of her Disney Channel show to $56.1 million after 10 days in theaters.

"Hannah Montana" finished just behind DreamWorks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens," which took in $12.9 million to raise its domestic haul to $162.7 million. Estimates for "Hannah Montana" and "Monsters vs. Aliens" were close enough that the movies could switch rankings when final numbers are reported Monday.

Jason Statham had a so-so opening for his action sequel "Crank: High Voltage," which came in at No. 6 with $6.5 million, $4 million less than the first weekend for the 2006 original.

The Lionsgate sequel features Statham in a race to recover his heart, which has been stolen by organ thieves and replaced with a mechanical one.

Hollywood maintained a record box-office pace with just one weekend to go before the busy summer season arrives May 1 with "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," Hugh Jackman's spinoff of the blockbuster "X-Men" franchise.

HOLMES' LUXURY HOTEL SUITE

2009-06-26T02:37:00.001-07:00

HOLMES' LUXURY HOTEL SUITE

Katie Holmes, her husband Tom Cruise and the couple's three-year-old daughter Suri, will stay at a fellow Scientologist James Packer's luxury hotel when they move to Australia next month.

Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise are to stay in a $27,500(almost P 1,237,500 per day) when they move to Australia.

The Hollywood couple - who are relocating to Melbourne next month while the actress films new movie 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark' - will be the guests of fellow Scientologist James Packer at his hotel Crown Towers.

They are expected to take up the entire 39th floor of the five-star hotel.

As VIP guests Tom and Katie - along with three-year-old daughter Suri - will have panoramic views of the city, a butler and a nanny service on call 24 hours a day.
The suite - which features four huge bedrooms, a private lift, marble-lined bathrooms and state-of-the-art kitchens - is currently going through a refurbishment and is expected to be completed in time for the couple's arrival.

It is not known whether Tom and Katie will pay for the suite or if it is a gift from the casino owner, who is the son of media magnate Kerry Packer.

Katie recently revealed she can't wait to move to Australia and start working on the new movie.

She said: "I'm really looking forward to it.

"The movie is really character-driven. It's really her journey becoming a mother. In the midst of that, there are unexpected scares."

Trump's first - and last - Raw delivers record rating

2009-06-25T00:30:00.001-07:00

Trump's first - and last - Raw delivers record rating

Donald Trump delivered excitement to fans both in Green Bay's Resch Center, and to the millions of viewers in the WWE Universe, in his first - and ultimately, only - night in charge of WWE's flagship program, Monday Night Raw.
The ratings are in, and Monday's commercial-free edition of Raw delivered an incredible 4.5 coverage household rating / 7 share in 4,475,000 TV households with 6,813,000 total viewers (persons 2+).

This household rating is up 25 percent versus the last two-hour episode of Raw on June 8, which posted a 3.6 coverage household rating / 6 share in 3,582,000 TV households with 5,460,000 total viewers.

Monday night's 6,813,000 total viewers made Raw the most watched episode in more than seven years (since March 25, 2002, which held WWE's first-ever Draft).
Additionally, Raw was watched by more people than any program on ABC, NBC, FOX or CW Monday night. And Raw was watched by 2,251,000 females, beating all programming on CW or Lifetime.

SINGLE COVER FOR MARIAH CAREY'S "OBSESSED" REVEALED

2009-06-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

SINGLE COVER FOR MARIAH CAREY'S "OBSESSED" REVEALED

An artwork claimed to be the official single cover for Mariah Carey's new song "Obsessed" has been unveiled. It shows Mariah Carey wearing black top and panties. Her left hand grabs a handful of her clothes, revealing her cleavage, while her hair is dripping wet.

"Obsessed" is produced by The-Dream and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. Serving as the lead single from Mariah's upcoming studio album "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel", it will be played for the first time on Chicago radio station B96 on June 16.

Previously, The-Dream came up revealing that "somebody's going to be very upset" when the track arrives, leading to rumor suggesting Mariah will shoot down someone on this song. "It's going to light the blogs up too because you don't know who she's talking about, what she's talking about, but she's talking about something," The-Dream said.

Eminem to Reunite D12 For New Album

2009-06-18T07:39:00.000-07:00

Eminem to Reunite D12 For New Album

As if releasing two albums in one year isn't enough, Eminem is also planning to reunite his Detroit crew, D12, and release the first new album from the group in five years.

Slim Shady said on BET's "Rap City: The Relapse" special on Friday that D12 are planning to hit the studio soon to begin work on the disc. The yet-unnamed album from the crew will be their first since the death of member Proof three years ago, a death that Eminem has said caused him to go into a depressive spiral of drug use.
"Me and the guys, we got a bond, it's special," Em said of the group, which also includes Bizarre, Kon Artis, Kuniva and Swifty. "It's like, as far as the future of D12, we're gonna be back in the studio soon."

D12 have released two albums, 2001's Devil's Night and 2004's D12 World. Part of the reason Eminem said he decided to reform the group for a third album was because of his respect and love for Proof, who was his best friend and one of his biggest supporters when the then-unknown D-Town MC was trying to make a name for himself.

"Right now, my music would probably be the same [if Proof was still alive]," Em said in the "Rap City" interview. "I think this is what Proof always wanted, was for me to go crazy again. My life would be different because I would still have him."

D12 reunited for a one-off performance last month to celebrate the release of Em's Relapse album.

What is MySpace and why are children interested in it?

2009-06-15T04:51:00.000-07:00

What is MySpace and why are children interested in it?

According to Wikipedia, the definition of MySpace is…. MySpace is a popular social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music and videos for teenagers and adults internationally.

The following is how Wikipedia defines social network service….A social network service uses software to build online social networks for communities of people who share interests and activities or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Most services are primarily web-based and provide a collection of various ways for users to interact, such as chat, messaging, email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging, discussion groups, and so on. Social networking has revolutionized the way we communicate and share information with one another in today’s society. Various social networking websites are being used by millions of people every day on a regular basis and it now seems that social networking is a part of everyday life.

Networking is a fairly common word for 5th grade students. They understand it as a place they can go to talk with other kids. Networking means communication with others through a source like Facebook or MySpace.
UNFORTUNATELY:

Fourth and fifth grade students do not understand that they are not supposed to have a MySpace page. The legal age for MySpace is 14. This means that our fourth and fifth graders should not have these web pages. Unfortunately, one of the reasons, students get involved in social networking is because they have older brothers, sisters, friends, or family members creating MySpace pages. Therefore, they want to have a MySpace.

THE APPEAL:
Kids can go to MySpace and real quickly start building a Webpage that has music, videos, friends, email, photo sharing, groups, and more. Why wouldn’t they be interested in MySpace!!!! For teenagers, MySpace offers attraction and hours of fun.

Remember Stay Safe:
MySpace allows you to turn off “on line” so no one knows when you are online.
MySpace allows you to hide your friends so others can’t see them.
MySpace allows you to have anyone wishing to “be a friend” make a request and not be automatically added. This way no one can see your complete profile unless they are actually someone you have allowed as a friend.

CAUTION: when building profiles only share a small amount of information. Remember this is for students 14 and older not for our fourth and fifth graders! Do not give out your password to anyone.

Michelle Rodriguez Gives Up Avatar and Fast and Furious Spoilers

2009-06-12T04:25:00.000-07:00

Michelle Rodriguez Gives Up Avatar and Fast and Furious Spoilers

Michelle Rodriguez has three films set for release before the end of 2009, and in one simple sentence she issued a major spoiler for each of them. Good going, Michelle. The films in question are Fast and Furious, Tropico de Sangre and James Cameron’s actually still pretty darn secret Avatar.

She was speaking to Latina, but before I dare excerpt the interview I’m going to lay down the break as a safety precaution. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Okay, so here are the spoilers, drum roll please… In Fast and Furious - her character dies. In Tropico de Sangre - her character dies. In Avatar - her character dies. This is what she said:

Anytime you’ve got a wild, independent, free-spirited woman, she has to die at the end of the movie, unless it’s a movie that’s so sci-fi that it can’t be real, like Tomb Raider. Me? I die in every film that I’m in this year. They’re just gonna have to keep on killing me. I’ll keep coming back, until they realize what’s hot and make flicks for bitches like me.

So, now we know that Rodriguez’ character Trudy Chacon starts Avatar as an ex-marine pilot, and ends it as a corpse. That’s got to be one of the most dependable and serious Avatar spoilers to date. Run, Michelle, run! The hounds have already been set free!

The fact that Rodriguez’ character dies in Tropico de Sangre is hardly news, to be fair. It’s something of a “the Titanic sinks” scenario because the film is based upon historical fact. The movie tells of Minerva Mirabal, played by Rodriguez, and her sisters, who stood up in resistance against Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo. It’s a matter of public record that he had three of the four Mirabal sisters killed and I expect most people who buy a ticket will know this outcome going in.

Sangre is Rodriguez’ first film as a producer, and the first feature from Dominican writer-director Juan Delancer. I’m hoping it turns out to be good stuff because, frankly, I’m a sucker for a bit of cinematic revolution and insurrection.

Oprah Winfrey Featured In The All New "Female Force"

2009-06-11T05:44:00.001-07:00

Oprah Winfrey Featured In The All New "Female Force"

Talk show and media icon Oprah Winfrey will be the featured subject on an upcoming issue of Bluewater Productions Female Force biography comic series.

The monthly series, which focuses on strong and influential women who are shaping modern history and culture, will document Oprah's early childhood traumas through her rise to one of the most wealthy and powerful people in the world. It follows her multi-faceted careers including news anchor, Oscar-nominated actress, award-winning producer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and, of course, talk show queen.

"When you conjure up the concept of "Female Force," there are very few who immediately come to mind and Oprah's name rises to the top of that list," said Bluewater president Darren Davis, "Her influence on our culture has been profound."

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz May Reunite For New Romantic Comedy

2009-06-10T05:12:00.001-07:00

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz May Reunite For New Romantic Comedy

In his search for the return to stardom, Tom Cruise is considering a role in a yet-untitled romantic comedy opposite Cameron Diaz – this is something quite a bit lighter than 2001’s Vanilla Sky. However, neither Cruise nor Diaz has officially signed on.

The plot centers on that romantic comedy item: a woman who has terrible luck with men. But a blind date introduces her to a handsome and mysterious man, and thus their paths end up intertwined.

According to Variety, the actors are in talks to join the 20th Century Fox comedy that has changed titles and casts a few times over already.
Its initial title switched from Wichita to Trouble Man then to nothing. It was first set to fly with director Tom Dey, and starring Chris Tucker and Eva Mendes. The script has undergone several rewrites before and after that combination failed, including one by Frank and Dana Fox, the scriptwriters behind Diaz and Ashton Kutcher’s comedy What Happens in Vegas. And it’s now being redone by Scott Frank, who wrote the lines for Minority Report.
With so many familiar friends, no wonder Cruise and Diaz are interested.

Tricia Helfer stars as Carla on USA Network's "Burn Notice."

2009-06-05T03:07:00.002-07:00

Tricia Helfer stars as Carla on USA Network's "Burn Notice."

Tricia Helfer also stars as "Number Six" on SCI FI Channel's "Battlestar Galactica." Brilliant and devastatingly beautiful, Six is one of a new breed of Cylons, indistinguishable in appearance from their human creators. Appearing only to Baltar, she offers dark prophesies, cruel taunts and jealous rebukes.

Tricia Helfer is starring opposite LeeLee Sobieski as Celeste in the feature film "Walk All Over Me," which was selected for the Toronto Film Festival. Tricia Helfer began 2007 guest starring as Molly McNamara on "Supernatural" and as Naomi in the Fox pilot "Them."

Tricia Helfer's other film credits include the Independent feature "Memory," as Stephanie Jacobs, a strikingly beautiful painter and love interest of Billy Zane's Dr. Taylor Biggs. Dennis Hopper and Ann-Margret also star. Tricia Helfer played Leila Cole in "The Green Chain," a mockumentary; Sasha in the indie "Spiral" with David Joel Moore; General Kilian Qatar in the video game "Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars"; and the lead role of Ally in the feature film "The Genius Club." Tricia Helfer also produced and hosted "Canada's Next Top Model."

Victoria's Secret Model, Tricia Helfer was born in Donalda, Alberta, Canada, where she was raised on the family grain farm. Tricia Helfer fell into modeling when an agent discovered her in the line up of the local movie theater and sent her to New York. There Tricia Helfer won the "Ford Supermodel of the World Contest" and began her career as an Elite Model working for magazines such as Elle, Vogue and Cosmopolitan. Some of Tricia Helfer's campaigns include Ralph Lauren, Channel, Giorgio Armani and she has graced the catwalks of designers like Versace, Dolce Gabbana, and Christian Dior to name a few.

While modeling, Tricia Helfer also worked as a correspondent reporter for Canada's "Ooh La La" Fashion television where she realized a passion for acting during an on-camera class. This prompted her move to Los Angeles after two years of studying where Tricia Helfer quickly landed the role of 'Sarah,' the hero's love interest, in the two-hour premiere of the Showtime series, "Jeremiah."

Tricia Helfer memorably played a model who tries to cut off her own face in an episode of the hit series "C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation," and has recently finished filming the lead role of 'Eva' in the independent feature "White Rush."

Tricia Helfer also played pop icon Farrah Fawcett in NBC's MOW about "Charlie's Angels."

Sharon Stone to Act in Film Based on Namesake

2009-06-04T02:51:00.001-07:00

Sharon Stone to Act in Film Based on Namesake

Is Sharon Stone set for a trip to Mumbai and Kolkata in the coming months? The Hollywood diva is all geared up for a film — Lost Love, claims Bengali filmmaker Tapan Saha. In fact, she will fly down to India for the project.

“I will head for Los Angeles in August or September to sign a formal contract with her. Since the story kicks off from Kolkata before reaching Mumbai and LA, she will be shooting in the two metropolitans,” informs the filmmaker.

Co- directed by Saha, Lost Love is expected to be jointly produced by Lighthouse/ Lionsgate Productions in collaboration with Saha’s California- based international production company, Sampurn Entertainment.

“I am working on the script along with American writers — Josaline Hall and Mila Marcader. I will be co- directing the film in association with Ron Calvy. He had assisted Francis Ford Copolla in The Godfather ,” he adds.

Coming back to Sharon, Saha claims she was “impressed” with his emotional story. Some time ago, his casting director had met Sharon’s manager. According to him, Sharon’s manager “ was also in awe of the story”. “Sharon had sent a message to my casting director through her manager that she was very pleased with the story. She has gone through my script. Now, I am just waiting for a formal deal with her,” adds Saha.

If the deal comes through, Sharon will play an American girl in love with a Bengali boy.

One day, he comes to India and marries a Bengali girl. But she finds it hard to forget the boy and lands in India to look for her real love.

“It’s a very heart- wrenching story. The film is largely an emotional journey this girl takes to find her love after 25 years. If you write a good story, no star will hesitate in signing it irrespective of the country,” says Saha.

Already, the buzz goes that Lost Love ’s story resembles Maxine’s character from novelist Jhumpa Lahiri’s award- winning novel The Namesake. In the novel too, Gogol abruptly leaves a Manhattan girl for a Bengali bride.

“It’s not true that my story is similar to The Namesake,” counters Saha. “The novel has two Bengali protagonists but my film deals with what could have happened to a girl abandoned by her Indian boyfriend,” adds the filmmaker.

Interestingly, Amitabh Bachchan tops Saha’s wishlist as the leading man opposite Sharon. “I will approach him later but I want to rope in Sharon first. I might ask Abhishek Bachchan to play the young Bachchan,” he says.

In the meantime, Saha is gearing up for another Bollywood- Hollywood venture, titled Chimera. The film stars Hollywood actor Billy Zane and Bipasha Basu along with Victor Banerjee and Kunal Kapoor. The shooting starts in June.

The Sharon Stone Forum Site is dedicated to Sharon Stone fans includes, movies, interviews, forums, chat, latest news, wallpapers, magazines, photos, and information about Sharon Stone.

America's Next Top Model: Janice Dickinson Comments on Tyra-Paulina Issue

2009-06-02T02:59:00.000-07:00

America's Next Top Model: Janice Dickinson Comments on Tyra-Paulina Issue

Paulina Porizkova might have earned the fury of many America's Next Top Model contestants and fans for speaking her mind about the show, but she seems to have some major personalities backing her up. Janice Dickinson, a former judge of the reality TV competition, remarked that getting fired from the panel is just how things go on the series.

Last week, it was announced that Paulina Porizkova was let go from America's Next Top Model due to budget cuts. It appears as though Janice Dickinson has an entirely different take on the matter. "That's how Tyra rolls," she said on an interview with MTV News.

"Tyra rolls like that," the supermodel continued. "She likes to fire people just about when she's promising them large amounts of money, [then] they get the ax, like I did. And then she takes the money and runs."

While Tyra Banks herself could not be reached for comment, she and America's Next Top Model co-executive producer Ken Mok recently released a statement regarding Paulina's firing. As with what was said in the past, it maintains that the budget was the reason for it all.

"The current state of the economy has forced shows to make major budget cuts industry wide," the statement read. "America's Next Top Model is not immune to these financially challenging times. We've had to make significant cuts in every area of the production and, unfortunately, Paulina was a casualty of these cuts."

It continued to say that the former cover girl won't be returning to judge Top Model's 13th Cycle despite Tyra's tears. "Tyra, who pursued Paulina to join the show as a judge multiple times, was incredibly saddened by the decision the show was forced to make. We really enjoyed working with Paulina, and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors."

These two conflicting theories just lead us all to question what really happened to Paulina. Still, whether it was the wrath of Tyra or the economy's fault, there's still another season of the series to look forward to.

The American Series “Lost” Went Through Many Changes in Season 5 to 6

2009-05-31T02:39:00.000-07:00

The American Series “Lost” Went Through Many Changes in Season 5 to 6

There has been some Lost news making its way out from the current filming in Hawaii. Reliable information is few and far between but sources at tvguide.com and ew.com have come across a few new items. A second new character has been cast. Said Taghimaoui, a Frenchman seen in traitor, will play Caesar. Not much is known about Caesar except that he is mysterious and will be associated with Llana, a new character played by Zuleikha Robinson. Carlton Cuse stated that Caesar will play "an important part of the setup for the final act of the show in season 6".

Michelle Rodriquez will appear in the second episode along with Cheech Marin. It appears that Hurley will be seeing dead people again. Desmond has filmed a scene with Ben. Hurley has filmed a scene in a jail. Sawyer, Juliet, Daniel, Miles, Charlotte and someone else will learn of Jin's fate at the precise moment we do during episode 4. Claire will not be in season 5 but will be back for season 6.

Jessica Alba Wants to Have 3 to 4 Kids

2009-05-30T00:58:00.000-07:00

Jessica Alba Wants to Have 3 to 4 Kids

Jessica Alba has revealed she is eager to have more babies with husband Cash Warren. The mother-of-one tells Extra magazine, “We’ll have a few kids, three or four.” She would love to have a son!” She also spoke about the extra pounds she gained with pregnancy. “It didn’t all come off at once. In fact, I shockingly gained weight right after I had the baby — so I worked out twice a day. It wasn’t fun. I ate really healthy,” the 28-year-old actress explained.

She said that having daughter Honor Marie running around helps her to stay slim. “Now I don’t really have time to work out so much anymore — I’m running after my daughter and holding her. She’s heavy, so that really helps with the old arm tone.”

Jessica Simpson's New Single Is Released

2009-05-27T02:24:00.000-07:00

Her romance with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo may have overshadowed her singing career of late, but Jessica Simpson is back with a new single, the first off her upcoming country album.

The lighthearted, upbeat "Come On Over," airing on Jacksonville, Fla. radio station WQIK, features her breathy vocals over a steel guitar.
On the tune, she sings: "I need you now/ I need you bad/I need you baby looking just like that/Don't pack a bag/Don't make me wait/ I want to kiss that smile that's on your face/I need you wrapped up in these arms/ I want you just the way you are/Come on over."

Early feedback has been positive: in a poll on WQIK's Web site, of the more than 6,600 people who listened to the track, 58 percent gave it a thumbs up.

Simpson's record label says that she will be performing at fairs and festivals this summer in support of her country album, due out in September. Simpson's father told PEOPLE last year that the album will go back to her Texas roots. "She's a singer from top to bottom," Joe Simpson said. "And everything in the music business, especially pop music, has moved away from singers. And I think country is the only pure, storytelling kind of genre left."

Wikipedia is 5x more visited than Google News, Yahoo News and the BBC

2009-05-26T00:52:00.000-07:00

Wikipedia is 5x more visited than Google News, Yahoo News and the BBC

A new and very popular Internet news resource has emerged, from an unusual source. The online encyclopedia Wikipedia is now the number one choice for millions of web surfers who are looking for more in-depth analysis and background information about the latest news stories. Wikipedia attracted 22.3 percent of Internet users searching for information on the Gaza Strip when Israel withdrew its settlements in August. Five times more people went to Wikipedia than to Google News, Yahoo News and the BBC.

Wikipedia was started in 2001 and has quickly grown to contain almost 700,000 articles. Encyclopedia Britannica has just 80,000 references in comparison. Wikipedia can be edited in real time by anyone. Critics say this means some of the facts and statements on the site can be wrong. However, it is the community-based nature of its information posting policy that makes it successful. Its popularity is also because it has entries on almost anything, from the latest trends to up-to-the-minute coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

Angelina Jolie

2009-05-24T23:24:00.000-07:00

My Angelina Jolie Fan Site

Angelina Jolie is an American film actress, a former fashion model, and a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. She is often cited by popular media as one of the world's most beautiful women and her off-screen life is widely reported. She has received three Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and an Academy Award.

My Angelina Jolie Fan Site is dedicated to Angelina Jolie fans includes forums, chat, news, photos, wallpapers, videos, web logs, and information about Angelina Jolie.

http://www.myangelinajolie.com

Deal or No Deal

2009-05-22T02:11:00.000-07:00

Deal or No Deal Forum

Deal or No Deal is a television game show format owned by Dutch-based production company Endemol, known for creating such shows as Big Brother. The basic format of Deal or No Deal consists of a number of cases (usually 26) each containing a different amount of money. Not knowing the sum of money in each case, the contestant picks one case which potentially contains the contestant's prize. They then open the remaining cases, one by one, revealing the money they contained. At predetermined intervals the contestant receives an offer from the bank (run by "The Banker") to purchase the originally chosen case from the contestant, the offer being based on the potential value of the contestant's case. The contestant must then decide whether to take the deal from the bank, or to continue opening briefcases. If the contestant decides not to take the deal and reveals low value cases, then the next bank offer is likely to be higher (as the contestant's case is proven not to contain these low values). Alternatively, there is risk in revealing higher values, lowering future offers from the bank. This feature makes for an exciting suspense game.

Deal or No Deal Fan Site is dedicated to Deal or No Deal fans includes forums, chat, news, gallery games, downloads, how to join, how to play, web logs, and information about Deal or No Deal.

http://dondforum.com

Tiger Woods

2009-05-21T02:26:00.000-07:00

Tiger Woods Forum

Tiger Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Currently the World No. 1, he was the highest-paid professional athlete in 2008, having earned an estimated $110 million from winnings and endorsements.

Tiger Woods Forum Site is dedicated to Tiger Woods fans includes forums, chat, news, gallery, wallpapers, games, downloads, web logs, and information about Tiger Woods.

http://tigerwoodsforum.com

Shakira Fan Site

2009-05-20T02:07:00.000-07:00

Shakira Fan Site

Shakira is a Colombian contralto singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer and philanthropist who have been a major figure in the pop music scene of Latin America since the mid-1990s. She speaks fluent English, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, some Arabic, French and Italian. In 2001, she broke through into the English-speaking world with the release of Laundry Service, which sold over fifteen million copies worldwide. Shakira is the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, having sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, according to BMI.

The Shakira Fan Site is dedicated to Shakira fans includes albums, forums, chat, news, gallery, wallpapers, web logs, and information about Shakira.

http://www.shakirafanforum.com

Britney Spears

2009-05-19T00:13:00.000-07:00

Britney Spears Fan Site

Britney Spears is an American singer and entertainer. Britney Spears is ranked as the eight best- selling female recording artist the United States with 32 million sold albums certified by the Recording Industry Association of America. As of November 2007, Spears has sold over 83 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists.

The Britney Spears Fan Site is dedicated to Britney Spears fans includes albums, forums, chat, news, videos, gallery, web logs, and information about Britney Spears.

http://www.spearsfan.com

Facebook Fan Site

2009-05-17T23:44:00.000-07:00

Face Book Fan Site

Facebook is a free-access social networking website that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. People can add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves.

The Face Book Fan Site is dedicated to Face Book fans includes forums, stories, chat, news, videos, wallpapers, web logs, and information about Facebook.

http://thefacebookfan.com

PGA Tour

2009-05-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

PGA Tour Forum Site

The PGA Tour is an organization headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA that operates the USA's main professional golf tours for men. Its name is officially rendered in all caps as “PGA TOUR."

The PGA Tour Forum Site is dedicated to PGA Tour fans includes forums, chat, news, videos, wallpapers, web logs, information, downloads and links.

http://pgatourforum.com

Google Fan Site

2009-05-14T03:10:00.002-07:00

Google Fan Site

Google Inc. is an American public corporation, earning revenue from advertising related to its Internet search, e-mail, online mapping, office productivity, social networking, and video sharing services as well as selling advertising-free versions of the same technologies.

The Google Fan Site is dedicated to Google fans includes forums, chat, news, videos, web logs, information, downloads and links.

http://googlefansite.com

Google

2009-05-14T03:10:00.001-07:00

Google

2009-05-14T03:10:00.000-07:00

Stacy Keibler

2009-05-12T23:39:00.000-07:00

Stacy Keibler Fan Site

Stacy Ann Marie Keibler is an American actress and former professional wrestler and valet for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

The Stacy Keibler Site is dedicated to Stacy Keibler fans includes forums, chat, web logs, news, DVD’s, pics, information, wallpaper, downloads and videos.

http://stacyannmariekeibler.com

Colin Farrell

2009-05-11T22:38:00.000-07:00

Colin Farrell

Colin James Farrell is the handsome, dark-haired Irish actor with an intense screen presence, who has appeared in several high-profile Hollywood films including Tigerland, Daredevil, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, Alexander and S.W.A.T.

The Colin Farrell Fan Site is dedicated to Colin James Farrell fans includes forums, chat, web logs, news, photo, information, wallpaper and videos.

http://colinjamesfarrell.com

Beyonce Knowles

2009-05-10T21:45:00.000-07:00

Beyonce Knowles Fan Site

Beyonce Giselle Knowles is a popular American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and fashion designer. Knowles rose to stardom as the founding member and lead singer of R&B supergroup Destiny's Child.

The Beyonce Knowles Fan site is dedicated to Beyonce Knowles fans includes songs, lyrics, forums, chat, weblogs, news, photo, information, wallpaper and videos.

http://www.beyonceknowlesfan.com

Dog Show Club

2009-05-07T23:22:00.000-07:00

Dog Show Club

Dogs have lived and worked with humans in so many roles that they have earned the unique nickname, "man's best friend", a phrase which is used in other languages as well. They have been bred for herding livestock, hunting (e.g. pointers and hounds), rodent control, guarding, helping fishermen with nets, and pulling loads, in addition to their roles as companions.

The Dog Show site is dedicated to Dog Show fan includes forums, chat, weblogs, news, photo, information, wallpaper and video.

http://www.dogshowclub.com

Internal Revenue Services

2009-05-07T17:34:00.000-07:00

Internal Revenue Services

The Internal Revenue Service is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Assessment and collection of all taxes imposed by any law providing internal revenue. The Internal Revenue Service is the agency by which these functions are performed.

http://www.irsclub.com

Philippine Schools Directory

2009-05-06T06:52:00.001-07:00

Online School Directory of the Philippines

Philippine Schools Directory with over 1000 public and private schools around the Philippines listed and ready for browsing. List is based on the master list of Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education and TESDA master lists.

http://eskwelahan.com

www.eskwelahan.com

2009-05-05T04:48:00.000-07:00

This site is use as Philippine Schools Directory.
So visit us at http://www.eskwelahan.com