After hitting stores Tuesday, it’s already being heralded as a top album of the year. By James Montgomery Yeasayer Photo: MTV News Those in the know have been buzzing about Yeasayer’s Odd Blood for months now, ever since the Brooklyn avant-pop aesthetes released the first single, a delightfully loopy slab of weirdness called “Ambling Alp.” Since then, both the band and the album have slowly started picking up accolades (we highlighted them last month during MTV News’ Rock Week ), and now, it’s not inconceivable to think that Blood might be this year’s version of Merriweather Post Pavilion, the Animal Collective effort that was already being hailed “The Best Album of 2009″ from the day it was released in January. Blood hit stores Tuesday (February 9), and so, to highlight an album that we really think you ought to hear, we sat down with the three men behind Yeasayer — Anand Wilder, Chris Keating and Ira Wolf Tuton — and had them tell us the stories behind the 10 wonderfully weird tracks that make up the record. From in-flight make-out sessions and ridiculous riddims of Haddaway to Moroccan dance music, here’s their take on what very well may be the best album of 2010. “The Children” Chris Keating : We were pretty determined to have it first on the record. I like the idea of starting the record like that, as a departure point from the last record [2007's All Hour Cymbals ], especially the last song on the last record, which was very choral, and then all of a sudden, you’re transported to further into the future, and you’re on some off-world colony that has crazy percussion and slowed-down vocals. We sang harmonies through a fan, sang into the pitch thing and tried to sing it live. Ira Wolf Tuton : I couldn’t get through the mixes. It kept making my CD player skip because of the low end. I loved that. Keating : Yeah, we definitely buried some sub beneath the sub. “Ambling Alp” Tuton : That song probably existed between the three of us longer than any other song on the album, so just psychologically, it made sense for us to release it first and try to get it out of the way. Keating : I think the hardest thing about writing a song is getting that initial idea: “What’s an interesting thing to write about?” And once you get that, you roll with it. You get excited … so I kind of came up with this idea to write about boxing, and that’s where the title came from; it was [the name of] a 1930s Italian boxer . I was reading about Joe Louis at the time, and my grandfather was a professional boxer in the late ’30s, early ’40s, so all these things kind of started tying together. “Madder Red” Anand Wilder : It was a kind of quiet, folky, acoustic lullaby that I worked on. I think I stole a lyric out of, like, a Celtic book of verse for the first line and kind of went from there. I kind of wanted to write a song in the vein of “Jealous Guy” by John Lennon, a song about being a weak man, a gambler or something like that. So we had that basic structure for the opening, and then Chris had the idea to drop this really heavy beat on top of it. And it completely changed the feel of the song. “I Remember” Keating : It was a demo recording, made in the basement — the same setup we had when we were making the All Hour Cymbals record. And I just had my busted-up Nord [keyboard], and I just kind of worked out these weird sounds that I thought were interesting together. And a lot of stuff I do like that, I’m trying to achieve a sound I like. And you get that tone, then it’s cool. You lock it in, you write down all the numbers and all the dials, and from there, I know I can write something on top of it. And I had just met my wife, and I started writing a love song, so I kind of just ran with it. I’m afraid of flying, but the first time I met my wife, we made out on a plane. Wilder : My only input was to try and steer us away from adding too much to it, because I think Chris did a really good job of getting these tones that really sat well in the mix. And it was just this demo that really sounded almost finished. And slowly we began adding on to it, and we did a live version and made it twice as long, and then we made compromises, and eventually it became the four-and-a-half-minute-long mixtape love ballad of 2010. “O.N.E.” Wilder : I was trying to explore the idea of a song that didn’t just have one chord in it. Because a lot of songs on the first album had maybe just one chord in it, or maybe just two chords. Maybe we’d go to three in the chorus. So I created this really long riff that went on for about 16 bars and had chords that were changing along with the riff. And then I had this idea about writing a song about addiction — alcoholism — but kind of relating it to a way you’d get rid of a girlfriend or something. So we worked on that song for many months Upstate, in Woodstock, and threw a big beat over it. It became kind of like a early-’90s era Beck song, with a break beat over it. And then when we brought it to the live setting, with our new bandmates, Chris kind of said, “It’s not a dance song,” and we were talking about how, on this album, we wanted to commit to certain styles for an entire song and not jump around. So, finally, I caved in. I only caved in after the Bonnaroo audience was so excited by our live version, and I was like, “OK, I guess I lost that argument.” Keating : That was a cool experience, because we hadn’t finished the record. … We were able to play some songs at different festivals. And the ones we’d be really excited about, it was like, “Why does no one care about this song?” … And that one, the way we were doing it live, with a funkier vibe to it, we were all psyched on, everyone was really, really into it. … They were singing the words to an MGMT song over it. [ Laughs. ] “Love Me Girl” Wilder : I wanted to do this loopy thing that would go over and over again, kind of like that final scene in “Trainspotting,” and then it would just drop into this R&B, Justin Timberlake-y kind of thing, which I made the melody by just creating MIDI notes on GarageBand with just a flute. That had some acoustic guitar on it … but then when we brought it Upstate, we added more synthetic elements, and we kind of decided the beat was going to be a dancehall thing, because we were listening to a lot [of it] and just kind of straight ripped off those songs. Tuton : It was exciting to do, another new thing to rip off. Wilder : We added some Real McCoy elements and some Haddaway elements. “Rome” Keating : That’s the song with the Coldplay reference [in the lyrics]. That’s not a Coldplay reference. But that’s cool, because we’re trying to start a little beef with Coldplay. Wilder : We’re trying to rip off Coldplay so they would sue us, so they would have someone to sue. Keating : That song sort of rips off certain Moroccan dance music, Syrian dance music, that my wife had on her iPod, and when she hears the song now, she sort of shakes her head like, “It’s such a rip-off.” She feels like she’s responsible for that one. “Strange Reunions” Keating : That song gets sh– on in the press, and I don’t know why, because I think that song is awesome. It’s so crazy. Like “And the throwaway track … ” and it’s like, that song is so weird and crazy. Wilder : We got really stoned and listened to the album once it was pretty much fully mixed, and that was the one song where I was like, “This is awesome!” … That was based on the idea of a really short song that had many different parts in it … and it would all be done in under three minutes and would also explore these weird time-signature shifts that bands like the Dirty Projectors do so effortlessly. And we’re so unskilled that we still haven’t figured out how to play it live. And we probably never will. “Mondegreen” Keating : That’s a song that I had been working on for a while. … It’s really old. I set up a bunch of samplers and plugged them all into the TV for a whole Sunday, and I got, like, four channels, didn’t have cable or anything, so it was all, like, daytime Sunday weirdness, bad commercials, infomercials, soap operas, I don’t know what. And I recorded four banks of sound and started to structure a song out of it. And I sang on top of it. I thought it was cool to make this real paranoid. … I liked the late-’70s era of David Bowie that’s very paranoid, where he’s, like, so coke-addled and crazy, and I like that kind of feel, and mixing it with the sort of 24-hour news cycle, and Glenn Beck and Hannity, the sort of absurd, psychotic rants that those guys go on. I sort of think it’s amazing, because it just seems like something out of the movie “Network.” I don’t know; the world is going to end in a year. “Grizelda” Tuton : I kind of think of “Grizelda” in the same way that I really like “Children” being the first track. I thought of it for a long time as being a real nice benediction for the whole album. It just seemed a nice way to close an album. It lulls you into sitting back in your chair, puts you in a trance a bit, although the subject matter might be a bit dark. Wilder : The subject matter is this woman Griselda Blanco. We had watched the movie “Cocaine Cowboys,” and it was kind of all about the cocaine industry in Miami and how it was relatively violence-free, until this woman Griselda Blanco came around and just started ordering murders. And she’s responsible for hundreds of murders. … So the main interview of the whole movie is this guy who was a hit man for her, so I thought it would be nice to write a song from his perspective. Maybe he’s in jail, and he’s writing a letter to her, just as she’s been extradited to Colombia, and all these people are coming to kill her. He’s kind of afraid of her, but he’s also kind of in love with her. Keating : She’s like the Colombian connection to America’s cocaine industry in the ’80s, just ruthless. So it’s like this female mass murderer and had all these guys working for her who were kind of in love with her. Related Videos Yeasayer’s Odd Blood Track By Track

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Yeasayer Lead Us Through Odd Blood, Track By Track

What should ‘Idol’ fans expect from the talk-show host’s judging debut? By Gil Kaufman Ellen DeGeneres Photo: FOX On Tuesday night (February 9), we find out what kind of chemistry — if any — talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres has with the rest of the “American Idol” judging panel as the comedian makes her debut as the fourth judge during the start of Hollywood Week. In the early going, DeGeneres reportedly clashed at times with lead judge Simon Cowell, who is departing at the end of the current season, a move that has set off rampant speculation about who might fill his opinionated shoes next season. DeGeneres has some pretty big sneakers to fill herself, as she steps in following the departure of beloved loopy ex-judge Paula Abdul, who quit the show last year after failing to reach a new contract settlement. The ninth season of “Idol” will be the first without Abdul’s lovably loony and predictably supportive commentary. Fox is hoping the cuddly and quick-witted DeGeneres can make fans forget about Abdul’s exit and boost slowly eroding ratings on what is still the #1 show in prime time. “Ellen brings a huge fanbase and people will be curious to see how she does. But if she performs poorly, that is bad for the show’s long-term health,” Entertainment Weekly senior writer Michael Slezak told Reuters. MTV’s resident “Idol” expert Jim Cantiello couldn’t agree more. “I am super excited to see it for several reasons,” he said. “One, it’s a new element to a show that’s been on the air for nine seasons, and we heard rumors there might have been tension on the first day because Simon showed up late, so it’s fun to watch that episode with that filter. Also, she’s one of the most famous people out there, so anything she does warrants attention.” Like a lot of “Idol” followers, Cantiello said he was a bit nervous about the addition of DeGeneres to the expert panel following her poorly received guest stint on “So You Think You Can Dance” last summer, where detractors faulted her for making jokes, but not really commenting on the dancing. “That was really bad, and if she does that on ‘Idol,’ the show will die a horrible death this year,” Cantiello said. “When the news first came out about her, people freaked out, but that’s subsided, and once I saw the promos Fox cut, they did a really good job teasing it.” In particular, Cantiello pointed to the most recent teaser, which appeared to show the amiable DeGeneres putting her foot down and giving some tough love to a Hollywood contestant. “I’m really excited and I was anti-Ellen at first,” he said. “So if I’m excited, I think other people should be too.” “Idol” has ruled the ratings for the past six years, easily besting every other show in prime time during its winter run, while churning out superstars like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and solid pop singers like Fantasia and Jordin Sparks. Part of the reason was the fire-and-ice repartee between Cowell and Abdul, which typically consisted of harsh words from the Brit and soothing platitudes from the former pop star/ choreographer. With the addition of professional songwriter Kara DioGuardi last year, who sits alongside longtime producer/musician Randy Jackson and music-industry veteran Cowell, the panel has plenty of cred. And though DeGeneres doesn’t have experience in the industry, former finalist Kimberly Caldwell thinks she could add that “it” factor Abdul brought to the show. “I’m a massive Ellen fan,” said Caldwell, who finished in seventh place in season two. “One of my dreams is to just be on ‘The Ellen Show.’ … I think that she’s gonna be really great, especially with Paula gone. There’s not gonna be … a little sensitive side. I think she’s gonna give constructive criticism, which we don’t see from other people.” Caldwell defended the show’s resident crank, explaining that her experience in the music industry has taught her that Cowell is just keeping it real. “If you think he’s mean, then you haven’t been in the music industry, because he really is like a little cupcake compared to people I’ve dealt with, what most people deal with,” she said. With Cowell bowing out after the finale in May to focus on his other talent show, “The X Factor,” the pressure is on for DeGeneres to pull her weight on the panel and perhaps emerge as the new go-to voice the audience loves to hate — or, as might be the case for her, loves to love. “If Ellen works, it puts [producers] in a much better position when they replace Simon. The dynamic is the thing I am curious to watch. I think some people will miss Paula’s ‘camp mom’ spirit,” Brian Mansfield, who runs the USA Today Idol Chatter Blog, told Reuters. And, if all else fails, there’s always the possibility that shock jock Howard Stern could step into the Cowell seat next year and really shake things up. Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

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Ellen DeGeneres Makes ‘American Idol’ Debut Tonight

‘The song me and Ashanti did … it’s crazy,’ the MC tells Mixtape Daily. By Shaheem Reid Game Photo: Interscope The O.D.: A Mixtape Daily Exclusive Just a few years ago, the Game was throwing straight lava at Ja Rule, Irv Gotti, Ashanti and the rest of Murder Inc. during the G-Unit wars with “the world’s most talented record label.” Since leaving the Unit, Game has become friends with Ja and Irv and even recently collaborated with Ashanti on a track for his upcoming The R.E.D. Album. Dr. Dre, who produced the track, suggested the pairing. “Hey, man, it’s ‘No beef 2010.’ That’s the trending topic on this interview, man,” Game laughed. “Dre called me and he was like, ‘You got any current-day problems with Ashanti?’ I was like, ‘Nah. I ain’t got no problems with Ashanti.’ She can sing like mutha—-a and you put her on a hook, it’s automatically radio. So he was like, ‘I’mma have her come down.’ ” Within an hour, Game, Dre and Ashanti where in the studio working on music. “Dre was going through beats and I picked one. I was like, ‘Let’s try her on this hook.’ Me and Ashanti wrote the hook, I went in on the verses and that was it,” he explained. “The song me and Ashanti did, it don’t even have a name for it yet. It’s crazy. We just did that a week ago and I ain’t even name it.” Ashanti seemed excited about the record as well, posting a photo from the session on her Twitter page . “Awwwwwww sh– it’s a problem!!!!!” she wrote . “Me DRE & GAME in the lab ohhhhhhh booooooy this is a SMMMMIZAAASHHH!!!!!” Game’s R.E.D. LP, which also features production by Pharrell Williams and a collaboration with Justin Timberlake , has a tentative release date of March 23. “I got so many amazing records, I don’t know if I should go hard to the streets or go radio,” he said about the first single. But before the album there will be a mixtape with DJ Drama, Red Everything. ” Red Everything mixtape — it’s a bunch of tracks I did specifically for Drama,” Game explained. “They’re full songs mixed with a few freestyles. I’m trying to finish up ‘400 Bars’ and get it on there. Ain’t nobody piss me off that much. But even if that ain’t on there, the mixtape is still gonna be crazy.” For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines . Related Videos Mixtape Daily: Ludacris

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The Game Talks Ashanti Collaboration, New Mixtape With DJ Drama

Rapper is expected to turn himself in after sentencing and immediately begin his prison term. By Jayson Rodriguez Lil Wayne Photo: Andy Kropa/ Getty Images Lil Wayne, easily the hardest-working MC in hip-hop, will have his career come to a screeching halt when a Manhattan judge formally sentences the rapper to a one-year prison term Tuesday (February 9). The move is the final process in the case, which dates back to July 2007, when Lil Wayne was arrested for gun possession in New York following his first headlining concert in the Big Apple. In October, the Cash Money superstar struck a deal with prosecutors that saw him plead guilty to a reduced charge of attempted gun possession. He’s now expected to serve up to 10 months in prison with the possibility of an early release after eight months for good behavior. The rapper was originally facing as much as 15 years behind bars; New York is among the toughest states in the country when it comes to gun laws for individuals not affiliated with law enforcement. Lil Wayne will appear before Judge Charles H. Solomon on Tuesday morning, where he will formally enter his plea and likely turn himself in to immediately begin his sentence. The firearm in question was registered to Wayne’s manager, Cortez Bryant (and not found on Wayne by police), and the rapper’s attorney attempted to have the case dropped through DNA challenges. Wayne’s defense also sought to have the case dismissed after authorities handling the case misprinted information on the arrest report. The rapper eventually decided to reach a plea deal with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. In New York, stringent gun laws were enacted during former Governor George Pataki’s administration. In a different state, the rapper could have been levied a fine and probation for the same offense. Wayne pleaded guilty in the case because attempted possession carries almost the same threat of punishment as full possession. “Possession is defined as actual possession or dominion or control. … We said it was dominion and control,” Joan Illuzzi-Orbon explained to MTV News after the deal was announced. The distinction is that the weapon was potentially something available for immediate use. In other words, the threat of controlling the weapon is just as much of a crime as actually controlling one in New York. “Basically, the old law [prior to Pataki's tenure] required someone to have a loaded weapon and intend to use it [before] the mandatory minimum would kick in,” said Scott Leemon, a defense attorney in New York who has represented G-Unit’s Tony Yayo in the past. “And basically, what they did is they took that out of the law. So the mere possession of a loaded weapon in New York State is a felony.” Lil Wayne has been busy in the weeks leading up to his sentencing. In December, he performed his final hometown show before his jail time. The rapper has also furiously been at work on the forthcoming Tha Carter IV, which will likely see a release by the end of 2010. He also is still facing charges in Arizona , and his trial is set to begin March 30. Despite the challenges the rapper is facing, experts expect Lil Wayne to quietly serve his jail time and continue leading one of the biggest careers in music afterward. “Wayne is from the streets, from the Magnolia Houses in New Orleans, so I’m sure those guys have been in jail or locked up at some point,” retired NYPD Detective Derrick Parker told MTV News. “So being in prison is no big deal to them.” Related Videos Lil Wayne Goes To Jail

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Lil Wayne To Be Sentenced Today

The world's tallest skyscraper has unexpectedly closed to the public a month after its lavish opening, disappointing tourists headed for the observation deck and casting doubt over plans to welcome its first permanent occupants in the coming weeks. Electrical problems are at least partly to blame for the closure of the Burj Khalifa's viewing platform – the only part of the half-mile high tower open yet. But a lack of information from the spire's owner left it unclear whether the rest of the largely empty building – including dozens of elevators meant to whisk visitors to the tower's more than 160 floors – was affected by the shutdown. The indefinite closure, which began Sunday, comes as Dubai struggles to revive its international image as a cutting-edge Arab metropolis amid nagging questions about its financial health. The Persian Gulf city-state had hoped the 2,717-foot (828-meter) Burj Khalifa would be a major tourist draw. Dubai has promoted itself by wowing visitors with over-the-top attractions such as the Burj, which juts like a silvery needle out of the desert and can be seen from miles around. In recent weeks, thousands of tourists have lined up for the chance to buy tickets for viewing times often days in advance that cost more than $27 apiece. Now many of those would-be visitors, such as Wayne Boyes, a tourist from near Manchester, England, must get back in line for refunds. “It's just very disappointing,” said Boyes, 40, who showed up at the Burj's entrance Monday with a ticket for an afternoon time slot only to be told the viewing platform was closed. “The tower was one of my main reasons for coming here,” he said. The precise cause of the $1.5 billion Dubai skyscraper's temporary shutdown remained unclear. In a brief statement responding to questions, building owner Emaar Properties blamed the closure on “unexpected high traffic,” but then suggested that electrical problems were also at fault. “Technical issues with the power supply are being worked on by the main and subcontractors and the public will be informed upon completion,” the company said, adding that it is “committed to the highest quality standards at Burj Khalifa.” Despite repeated requests, a spokeswoman for Emaar was unable to provide further details or rule out the possibility of foul play. Greg Sang, Emaar's director of projects and the man charged with coordinating the tower's construction, could not be reached. Construction workers at the base of the tower said they were unaware of any problems. Power was reaching some parts of the building. Strobe lights warning aircraft flashed and a handful of floors were illuminated after nightfall. Emaar did not say when the observation deck would reopen. Ticket sales agents were accepting bookings starting on Valentine's Day this Sunday, though one reached by The Associated Press could not confirm the building would reopen then. Tourists affected by the closure are being offered the chance to rebook or receive refunds. The shutdown comes at a sensitive time for Dubai. The city-state is facing a slump in tourism – which accounts for nearly a fifth of the local economy – while fending off negative publicity caused by more than $80 billion in debt it is struggling to repay. Click link to continue: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_DUBAI_TALLEST_BUILDING?SITE=AP&SEC… added by: xiola

Sandra Bullock has already jinxed herself for the Oscars. “I’m so not winning an Oscar,” said Bullock, whose work is finally receiving acclaim. Her star turn in The Blind Side has earned her an Academy Award nomination for this year’s awards ceremony, to be held in the heart of Hollywood at the Kodak Theater on March 7. But the star of such light weight rom-coms as The Proposal told reporters at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival “Nine times out of 10 I always pick who’s going to win. And I already know who’s going to win. I’m not going to say, but nine times out of 10 I’m right.” Bullock, 45, was picking up the American Riviera Award for the influence she has shown in film. Before that she won best actress in a drama at the at Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild award. What do you think, can she win?

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Sandra Bullock Refuses To Believe She Will Win An Oscar

I know Hilary Duff has been struggling with her hotness lately so I’m glad to see that she’s trying to mix it up with a new haircut. It’s a start, but I think a topless scene or a torrid love affair with another woman would be more appropriate. Is she still dating the hockey player? I blame him. It’s time to move on. Anyhow, she’s still cute as a button.. (here comes an old lame joke)… A button I want to have sex with. Yes!

Victoria Beckham reportedly wants another baby after finding out her sister is pregnant for the third time. The 35-year-old is said to be longing for a daughter after finding out that her sister Louise, 31, is 14 weeks pregnant. Victoria has three sons – Brooklyn , 10, Romeo , seven, and Cruz , four – with husband David , 34, and she has reportedly said they should start trying for their fourth after the World Cup finishes in the summer. A pal said to UK newspaper The Sun: “Louise has just told everyone she is expecting and Vic has immediately become broody. She and David have always wanted a girl. He’d love more kids, so it’s great news.”

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Victoria Beckham Wants A Daughter

Ever since Andrew Wiles solved Fermat’s Last Theorem, the greatest intellectual puzzle facing humankind has been: How does The New York Times ‘ “Most-emailed” list work? Science has finally given us the answer! A team of sociologists at the University of Pennsylvania undertook an exhaustive study of the New York Times most-emailed list. They first assembled a data set based on the contents of the list over more than six months. Then they dug in to see why stories ended up there. Thus they unlocked the secret of journalism’s holy grail— and perhaps even of virality itself. Their findings, as reported by the Times’ John Tierney , are a mix of the totally obvious and the Slate -y counter-intuitive. The obvious: A prominently-featured article is more likely to make the list, as is one written by a famous person. Slightly more surprising is the fact that longer articles were more e-mail-worthy. But the most fascinating findings are also the most useful for anyone hoping to make it on the only list that matters, journalism-wise. Using complicated math, researchers identified four qualities of an article which resonate with the ‘email-this’ part of readers’ brains. Most-emailed articles are: Awe-inspiring: Being ‘awe-inspiring’ was the quality which most improved an item’s odds of making the list. These articles blow readers’ minds by dealing with something physically or intellectually enormous—a natural wonder, a work of art, a big idea, the indomitable human spirit, etc. People like to share awe-inspiring New York Times articles at lunch so they can forget their own puniness long enough to finish the workday. (Example articles: “Fury of Girl’s Fists Lifts Up North Korean Refugee” and “The Promise and Power of RNA.”) Emotional: If you want to convince a reader to hit the ‘email this article’ button, try tugging on their heart-strings with a weepy tale of struggle or redemption. Soon, their offspring will be deleting yet another email from Mom with the subject “You HAVE to read this article. SO SAD!”. (Example: “Redefining Depression as Mere Sadness.”) Positive: “If it bleeds it leads”—the old newspaperman’s cliche—did not hold up under our researchers’ critical gaze. People like to share happy things, apparently. (Example: “Wide-Eyed New Arrivals Falling in Love With the City”) Surprising: Unsurprisingly, people like to share articles that are surprising. Think, things that make you go “woah.” (i.e. a story about chickens in Harlem, or a marathon-running restaurateur.) Using these four variables, we have visually dissected the top five most e-mailed Times articles as of 11pm, Feb. 9th, 2010. Study them, for they hold the secret of Internet immortality: 1. America is not Yet Lost 2. Sinatra Song Often Strikes Deadly Chord 2. The New Math on Campus 4. Have Faith in Love 5. For Students at Risk, Early College Proves a Draw

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Secrets of The New York Times’ Most-Emailed List, Revealed

Twilight star Robert Pattinson has denied that he will be playing the role of Spider-Man in the next movie. The 23-year-old actor was rumored to be taking on the role of the web-slinging hero after Tobey Maguire quit the series after three films. However, Pattinson said to UK newspaper Daily Record: “I don’t think I’m going to be playing Spider-Man, even though I would quite like to do it.” How bad do you Twi-Hards want to see RPattz running around in a skintight spandex suit?

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Robert Pattinson Will NOT Be Playing Spider-Man

Once upon a time, gay activists hated Vaughn Walker for legally squashing the Gay Olympics. But this weekend The San Francisco Chronicle definitively revealed that the Prop. 8 judge is gay. Judge Walker’s sexual identity has overlapped with his public life before. Appointed to the bench by the first President Bush in 1989, he spent his early career battling the perception that he was anti-gay after he represented the U.S. Olympic Committee in a trademark infringement battle with San Francisco’s Gay Olympics. Nancy Pelosi accused him of “insensitivity.” (Putting a lien on the Gay Olympics’ AIDS-ravaged leader during the man’s dying days didn’t help.) Walker had “no comment” on Chronicle political gossip duo Matier and Ross ‘ question about his sexuality, but did note that “Life is full of irony” when they brought up the Gay Olympics debacle. Matier and Ross’ headline is both report and conclusion: ” Judge Being Gay a Nonissue During Prop. 8 Trial .” It’d be cool if the relative quiet on Walker’s orientation was because America recognized that Judge Walker’s sex life doesn’t affect his job. ( Minimal MSM and right-wing pickup so far .) As SF Weekly points out , even calling the Chronicle ’s article an “outing” is misleading: Walker has never tried to hide his orientation, and it’s pretty common for judges to keep their personal lives away from the spotlight, in the interest of perceived impartiality. But I tend to think a slightly funnier explanation for the relative quiet—that the right-wing bullies who usually drive a story like this forward simply don’t read the San Francisco Chronicle or gay blogs like Queerty , which has been reporting this story for months—is at play. Recall that six months ago right-wingers feared Sonia Sotomayor incapable of fairly judging white men. When it comes to minority judges, plenty of people are still idiots. Hard-right hangouts like The Corner are just warming up so the wingnut freak-out machine still has time. The most cynical guess would be that the right measured the risks and calculated that luck of the draw (which is how the Prop. 8 trial landed in Walker’s courtroom) is still in their favor. Here’s why: A Republican appointment, Walker is believed to lean conservative, albeit by way of libertarianism, which could make him gay-friendlier. Almost everyone agrees that, after 21 years on the bench, Walker is fair. There is no reason to believe he’d change now—if anything, the Gay Olympics debacle demonstrated an imperviousness to public pressure. (And resisting the urge to scream But I am one in Nancy Pelosi’s face was probably hard.) If he rules against Prop. 8, the homophobes will have their big, nasty appeal primed and ready. It goes without saying that Judge Walker’s sexuality is irrelevant. Assuming gay judges always side with other gays (or “Wise Latinas” with other Latinas) is a flawed logic that assumes neutrality lies with heterosexuals (or whites, or males). The rabbit hole of identity-based speculation is infinite (What if Judge Walker is self-hating? What if he overcompensates? What if one of the lawyers looks like his ex-boyfriend who was such a jerk , and he can’t judge fairly because he just hates that guy’s face so much? ) and pointless. As Queerty elegantly states , “Immutable characteristics do not disqualify a person from exercising justice.” Also, if you write a law that so offends an entire class of people that you cannot trust them ever to discuss it fairly, then perhaps there is something wrong with your law. SF Chron: Being Gay a Nonissue During Prop. 8 Trial SF Weekly: Chron Hardly ‘Outed’ Judge Vaughn Walker Above the Law: Prop 8 Judge May be Gay: Does It Matter? WSJ Law Blog: Prop. 8 Judge Reported Gay: What to Make of That? SF Chron: Editorial: Gay Judge Has Proven Record of Impartiality Queerty: Remember When the Gays Hated Prop 8 Judge Vaughn Waker?

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The Prop 8 Judge Is Gay, and It Doesn’t Matter

I usually put hot babes as my Amatuna Moment, but this cat Scott Dunbar has mad talent. Check out the best cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”. *Submit sexy, funny, interesting videos here Scott Dunbar Billie Jean Video More AmaTuna

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Hollywood Tuna’s AmaTuna Moment – Scott Dunbar Billie Jean

This little turtle got sweets for Valentine's Day. With a week left until the big day, why not make a turtle your valentine this year? View

Conan employee Aaron Bleyart Tweeted some photos of the former studio on his last day with a badge (February 5). NBC went with the metaphorical approach to redecorating, apparently. [Tear.] The Best Links: Via Gawker View

If you thought this was the worst Ninja Turtle song ever; I think you're in for a treat. Watch

In the years since Andrew Wiles solved Fermat’s Last Theorem, the greatest intellectual puzzle facing humankind has been: How does the New York Times “Most-emailed” list work? Social science has finally given us the answer! A team of sociologists at the University of Pennsylvania undertook an exhaustive study of the New York Times most-emailed list. They first assembled a data set based on the contents of the list over more than six months. Then they dug in to see why stories ended up there. Thus they unlocked the secret of journalism’s holy grail— and perhaps even of virality itself! Their findings, as reported by the Times’ John Tierney , are a mix of the totally obvious and the Slate -y counter-intuitive. The obvious: A prominently-featured article is more likely to make the list, as is one written by a famous person. Slightly more surprising is the fact that longer articles were more e-mail-worthy. But the most fascinating findings are also the most useful for anyone hoping to make it on the only list that matters, journalism-wise. The researchers identified four key qualities of an article which resonate on some psychic level with school-teachers, your mother and procrastinating college sophomores alike. Most-emailed articles are: Awe-inspiring: Being ‘awe-inspiring’ was the quality which most improved the odds of an item making the list. These articles blow readers’ minds by helping them contemplate something physically or intellectually enormous—a natural wonder, a work of art, a big idea, the indomitable human spirit, etc. People like to share with others an awe-inspiring New York Times article so they can forget their own puniness long enough to make it through the workday.. (Example articles: “Fury of Girl’s Fists Lifts Up North Korean Refugee” and “The Promise and Power of RNA.” Emotional: If you want to be emailed, try tugging on a reader’s heart-strings with a weepy tale of struggle, or of redemption. Before you know it, their son will be deleting an email from them with the subject “You HAVE to read this. SO SAD.” (Example: “Redefining Depression as Mere Sadness.”) Positive: The old newspaperman’s cliche of “if it bleeds it leads” did not hold up under our researcher’s critical eye. People like to share happy things, apparently. Surprising: Unsurprisingly, people like to share articles that are surprising. Think, things that make you go “woah.” (i.e. a story about chickens in Harlem, or a marathon-running restaurateur.) With this science-approved information in hand, we have visually dissected the top five most e-mailed Times articles as of 11pm, Feb. 9th, 2010. Study them, for they hold the secret of Internet immortality:

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How to Make The New York Times’ Most-Emailed List

In the years since Andrew Wiles solved Fermat’s Last Theorem, the greatest intellectual puzzle facing humankind has been: How does the New York Times “Most-emailed” list work? Social science has finally given us the answer! A team of sociologists at the University of Pennsylvania undertook an exhaustive study of the New York Times most-emailed list. They first assembled a data set based on the contents of the list over more than six months. Then they dug in to see why stories ended up there. Thus they unlocked the secret of journalism’s holy grail— and perhaps even of virality itself! Their findings, as reported by the Times’ John Tierney are a mix of the totally obvious and the Slate -y counter-intuitive. The obvious: A prominently-featured article is more likely to make the list, as is one written by a famous person. Slightly more surprising was the fact that longer articles were more e-mail worthy. (Because they were more interesting?). But the most interesting findings are also the most useful for anyone hoping to make it on the only list that matters: The researchers identified four key qualities of an article’s content which resonates on some psychic level with school-teachers, your grandmother and procrastinating college sophomores alike. The most-emailed articles are: Awe-inspiring: The quality which most helped an article reach the list was inspiring awe in the reader. That is, they blow their mind by making them contemplate something physically or intellectually enormous—a natural wonder, a work of art, a big idea, the indomitable human spirit, etc. People like to share with others their feelings of awe. (Example articles: “Fury of Girl’s Fists Lifts Up North Korean Refugee” and “The Promise and Power of RNA.” Emotional: If you want to be emailed, try tugging on a reader’s heart-strings with a weepy tale of struggle, or of redemption. They will be all “You HAVE to read this. OMG SO SAD/INSPIRING.” (Example: “Redefining Depression as Mere Sadness.”) Positive: The old newspaperman’s cliche of “if it bleeds it leads” did not hold up under our researcher’s critical eye. People like to share happy things, apparently. Surprising: Things that make you go “woah.” (i.e. a story about chickens in Harlem, or a marathon-running restaurateur.) With this science-approved information in hand, we have visually dissected the top five most e-mailed Times articles as of 11pm, Feb. 9th, 2010. Study them, for they hold the secret of “going viral”:

Read more here:
How to Get on The New York Times’ Most-Emailed List

Why wasn’t Michael Jackson’s doctor charged with murder? What does involuntary manslaughter even mean? He deserves everything he gets! —Wanda, New York, via the Answer B!tch…

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Why Wasn’t Michael Jackson’s Doctor Charged With Murder?

Filed under: Baby Watch , Beyonce Knowles , Exclusives Beyonce Knowles has a new half-brother — if you believe Alexsandra Wright.Wright — who filed a paternity suit against Mathew Knowles back in October — gave birth last Thursday to a baby boy. The name … Nixon. Priceless.Wright — who once … Permalink

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Beyonce’s Dad — Destiny’s Child?

There’s nothing like Brooklyn in the summertime. Sports Illustrated has decorated the cover of its famed swimsuit issue with Brooklyn Decker, touted as “a perfect 10, sizzling in…

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Mrs. Andy Roddick Nets Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover

Sir Richard Branson and fellow leading businessmen will warn ministers this week that the world is running out of oil and faces an oil crunch within five years. The founder of the Virgin group, whose rail, airline and travel companies are sensitive to energy prices, will say that the

I like posting pictures of Paulina Rubio , even though most of you couldn’t care less about her, but I find her to be skankalicious. Girl knows how to dress to impress. Here she is performing in South Beach showing off her delicious legs. Mmm lick!

Filed under: Celebrity Justice , Twilight Find a successful movie and TMZ will find a corresponding lawsuit alleging a shameless ripoff. Case in point – “Twilight.”Summit Entertainment, which owns the trademark to the stylized TWILIGHT trademark, is suing a company that is selling a … Permalink

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‘Twilight’ Lawsuit – That’s Our Moonlit Forest!

Filed under: Celebrity Justice Comedian Gabriel Iglesias — a former finalist on “Last Comic Standing” — had to call in extra security to his stand-up show in L.A. this weekend after receiving 2 threats on his safety. The comic claims someone fired off an email and a voicemail … Permalink

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Gabriel Iglesias Laughs Off Cyber Threat

Filed under: TMZ Sports , Exclusives The San Antonio Spurs are SOL in their attempt to have nude pics of one of their players removed from a website — for now — because the site’s lawyer just said the pics of their player’s basketballs are there to stay.The Spurs’ lawyer fired off a … Permalink

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Spurs Organization Joins Battle over Nude Pics

Filed under: American Idol Since losing “American Idol” four years ago, Chris Daughtry has really grown as an artist.The 30-year-old showed off his non-bald scalp at a concert in Miami this weekend.It’s good to see Chris going back to his roots. See Also Daughtry — … Permalink

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Daughtry’s Hair — All Growed Up!

Filed under: Music , Beauty , ‘Memba Them?! In 1984, English pop star Paul Young became famous for hits like “Everytime You Go Away,” “Come Back and Stay” and for singing the first line of the Band-Aid charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Guess what he looks like now! … Permalink

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Singer Paul Young: ‘Memba Him?

You’ve read about the Cold War-level skulduggery that went into keeping that Letterman/Leno/Oprah Late Show promo secret in the days before the Super Bowl . Tonight, Jay Leno gave his side of the story on his show. It was nothing that we didn’t already know: Dave’s producer called up Jay’s producer and asked if Jay would want to be in the spot. Jay said yes and the two recorded the ad in a super-secret shoot with Oprah last week. Some have wondered what Leno could possibly have to gain from appearing in a spot for his soon-to-be rival (again). Tonight, Leno spun the ad as a very public move to clear the air of any leftover fog of Late Night War in advance of his move back to The Tonight Show : I walk in and I see Dave, and he puts out his hand and we shake hands. And you know, whatever happened for the last 18 years disappeared. It was great to see my old friend again. It was wonderful—he was very gracious, we talked about the old days, we told some jokes… you know, it was really good to see him. But if the Late Night Wars spectacular ratings boost are any guide, Leno should be throwing darts at a picture of Dave’s face right about now.

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Jay Leno on His Late Show Super Bowl Promo: ‘A Good Joke is a Good Joke’

A billboard along Interstate 35 in MN depicts Former President G. W. Bush with the caption, “Miss Me Yet.” NO added by: lucasives

These are the top posts from Monday, February 8, 2010. Read

While there’s a more detailed explanation as to how Jay Leno ended up spending 30 whole minutes with David Letterman last week, Jay is peddling this romanticized version. “As you…

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Jay Explains Reconnecting With Dave: "He Found Me on Facebook"

French illustrators love women, and I love them for that. Here's a selection of the best. View