According to the latest tabloid report, Kim Kardashian is gearing up to steal the wedding spotlight from Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth . Life & Style reports the reality star and her rapping new man are making “SECRET PLANS TO ELOPE,” with Kanye West pressuring Kim to finalize her divorce from Kris Humphries so they can become husband and wife. “Kanye wants to marry Kim, and he’s telling her to expedite the divorce so they can start their future,” a Kardashian insider tells the tabloid. “Kanye’s like, ‘Just do whatever you need to do to make it go away.'” We might find out more about what that entails in a couple weeks when Kim and Kris give depositions in their ongoing legal battle. For now, the public is left to wonder whether Kardashian and West really are serious about taking the next huge step, with this source claiming the former is “starting to come around to Kanye’s way of thinking” about marriage: “As things get more and more intense and comfortable, both Kim and Kanye hate being apart. And as they grow closer, Kanye’s desire to marry Kim – and hers to be married to him – keeps getting stronger.” Do you think these two should get hitched?
Rush Limbaugh, asserting that President Barack Obama spends too much time courting celebrities for campaign cash and endorsements during times of financial hardship for average Americans, referred to him as “Barack Kardashian.” The White House responded in kind. “Two words: Donald Trump. Next question,” said Obama’s press secretary, Jay Carney, when asked about Limbaugh’s most recent ridicule of his boss. Trump, an outspoken supporter of Mitt Romney, has become a foil for Obama since he started fueling “birther” claims that Obama was born overseas. Carney’s comments aboard Air Force One came as Obama jetted to California for a set of fundraisers, one at the home of Glee creator Ryan Murphy. Obama’s re-election bid has also harnessed the power of celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker , George Clooney and Jon Bon Jovi, among many others. On Tuesday, Limbaugh hammered Obama’s celebrity connections, highlighting his 2012 campaign’s latest ad, starring Vogue editor Anna Wintour: “It’s an indication once again how out of touch they really are, how distanced they have become from the people who make this country work.” “It’s an indication of what they think the strong drawing power of the presidency is. I’ll tell you that’s what’s becoming. He’s Barack Kardashian.” “He is becoming the male Kim Kardashian with this stuff,” Limbaugh said. SIDE NOTE: Obama has said that he doesn’t let his daughters watch the Kardashians, and also famously called Kanye West a jackass . Just saying. SIDE NOTE #2 : Kim’s management team has yet to fire off a vapid Tweet about this, followed by a plug for some lame product. But give it an hour. Asked if the president might be sending the wrong message, Carney said Obama’s millions of mostly unknown small donors reflect his true nature. “The difference between President Obama’s support, financial support, and his opponent’s is stark, but not in the way that you describe,” he said. “The fundamental difference is President Obama has vast numbers of small donors who support him. That is not the case for the Republican nominee.” “The fact that the president enjoys that kind of support speaks to what his policy priorities are. He’s out there fighting for the middle class.” “The bedrock foundation of his support are millions of Americans who believe in his vision for this country’s future and believe that he has their back.” As for whether Obama is actually a fan of Murphy and Glee , Carney deferred. “I don’t know the answer to your question,” he said, unamused. If the election were held today, for whom would you vote?
Last night, viewers were treated to one surprisingly impressive act on America’s Got Talent : Andrew De Leon , a gothic-looking opera singer. They were also treated to one controversial contestant: Timothy Poe, a veteran who claimed to have developed a major stutter after suffering an injury in Afghanistan. You can watch video of his audition and backstory here… Timothy Poe America’s Got Talent Audition HOWEVER, multiple sources have now come forward and are casting doubt on Poe’s assertion that a RPG blast in 2009 resulted in this brain-damaged condition. First, there’s the Minnesota National Guard, which said in a statement to Yahoo! TV: “Sgt. Poe’s official military records do not indicate that he was injured by a grenade in combat while serving in Afghanistan in 2009, as he reports. Then, there’s investigative work by The Associated Press, which dispute Poe’s self-proclaimed 14 years of service and state it could only find evidence that he was a specialist for nine years and did not receive a Purple Heart, which is handed out to all military personnel injured in combat. Finally, there’s this simple quotes from Poe’s ex-wife to The New York Post : “There were no combat injuries. I think he developed a ‘feel sorry for me’ stutter.” Poe tells TMZ , however, that it’s not unusual for there to be medical record snafus coming out of Afghanistan and that he DID receive treatment at a medical facility in that country before moving to one in Landstuhl, Germany. But he also said, citing legal reasons, that he cannot produce any evidence to back up these claims. What do you think of all this? Do you believe Timothy Poe’s story?
Dr. Alessandro Olivi tells MTV News the diagnosis shouldn’t change Crow’s lifestyle: ‘She can still sing!’ By Kara Warner Photo: Bryan Steffy/Getty Images Despite the severity of the news that Sheryl Crow has been diagnosed with a brain tumor , the good news is that the type of tumor, a meningioma, is non-cancerous. MTV News caught up with Dr. Alessandro Olivi, a professor of neurosurgery and director of the Meningioma Center at Johns Hopkins University, who spoke very positively about Crow’s prognosis. “If they elected to observe it [and not perform surgery], that means the tumor is an incidental finding and considered, like it is in the majority of these cases, biologically favorable,” Olivi said. “It’s benign and doesn’t need to come out, because it’s not causing any problems and can be monitored safely.” Olivi, who also serves as the vice chairmen of the department of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins, went on to say that doctors don’t yet know what specifically causes the tumors, just that they tend to occur in women and that estrogen might play a role. “We don’t know what causes them. We know that there is preponderance in women over men. Some people have said it’s related to estrogen. There might be some receptor, but not to the point where I would say to change hormone treatment,” he said. “For example, with menopause, you produce less estrogen and people are on hormone replacement. I don’t consider that a reason not to do it. In other words, the correlation [between estrogen and meningioma] is loose. We don’t know in reality what the cause is. The good thing is that in the vast majority, they are self-limiting, and the biological behavior is not one of an aggressive cancer.” Speaking to how the tumor will affect Crow’s day-to-day lifestyle moving forward, Olivi said she’ll likely only need routine checkups. “She just needs to do what she is told as far as monitoring and imaging, which will probably be once every six months if everything is OK and can be moved up to once a year,” he said. “But no change in lifestyle; she can still sing!” Related Artists Sheryl Crow
‘I see myself as part of the collective of hip-hop,’ Jay-Z tells MTV News, saying his success is good for the culture. By Rob Markman Jay-Z Photo: MTV News Jay-Z ‘s career trajectory is something else. He was once a tongue-twisting underground MC who started his own Roc-A-Fella Records independently because he couldn’t secure a major-label deal. Now Hov is rap’s biggest draw, turning his multilayered bars into multimillion-dollar businesses. In hip-hop, where so much worth is based on the notion of maintaining street credibility, it would be easy for someone of Jay-Z’s stature to lose touch. “I’m not jaded by the whole process,” Jay-Z insisted when he spoke to MTV News out in Philadelphia to announce his upcoming Made in America music festival. On that day, Jay took the stage at the Philadelphia Museum of Art with the city’s mayor, Michael Nutter, which is nothing new. On his 2009 single “On to the Next One,” Jigga bragged that he had President Obama “on the text.” Still, the man who once battled DMX while standing on top of a pool table is not desensitized. “I’m a fan of the journey as well,” he said. To his credit, Jay has remained on top of his game on the road to becoming a global icon. Just this past weekend, he performed in Paris, where he and Kanye West rocked their infectious rap hit “N—as in Paris” 11 times in front of a star-studded crowd that included wife Beyonc
‘I see myself as part of the collective of hip-hop,’ Jay-Z tells MTV News, saying his success is good for the culture. By Rob Markman Jay-Z Photo: MTV News Jay-Z ‘s career trajectory is something else. He was once a tongue-twisting underground MC who started his own Roc-A-Fella Records independently because he couldn’t secure a major-label deal. Now Hov is rap’s biggest draw, turning his multilayered bars into multimillion-dollar businesses. In hip-hop, where so much worth is based on the notion of maintaining street credibility, it would be easy for someone of Jay-Z’s stature to lose touch. “I’m not jaded by the whole process,” Jay-Z insisted when he spoke to MTV News out in Philadelphia to announce his upcoming Made in America music festival. On that day, Jay took the stage at the Philadelphia Museum of Art with the city’s mayor, Michael Nutter, which is nothing new. On his 2009 single “On to the Next One,” Jigga bragged that he had President Obama “on the text.” Still, the man who once battled DMX while standing on top of a pool table is not desensitized. “I’m a fan of the journey as well,” he said. To his credit, Jay has remained on top of his game on the road to becoming a global icon. Just this past weekend, he performed in Paris, where he and Kanye West rocked their infectious rap hit “N—as in Paris” 11 times in front of a star-studded crowd that included wife Beyonc
By Susan Duclos Laughter can be heard across the blogosphere after MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell declares Obama the big winner of Tuesday night’s Wisconsin recall election, after parent network NBC called the race for Gov. Scott Walker over Democrat Tom Barrett , reports The Daily Caller . “John Heilemann, I said at the top of the show that President Obama big winner tonight because in the exit polls… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Wake Up America Discovery Date : 06/06/2012 08:49 Number of articles : 2
It looks like Kim Kardashian is not the only one to somehow pick up the pieces from her 72-day marriage and move on. Despite a denial from Kris Humphries himself – after photos leaked of him and a woman on a beach in Miami and he claimed she was someone he only met that day – TMZ confirms the power forward DOES have a new girlfriend . Her name is Myla Sinanaj . Sinanaj and Humphries have reportedly been dating since January, with the latter providing courtside seats for his new woman and her family to watch him play basketball. Sources say she the pair met at the fancy New York City hotel where Sinanaj works. We can only assume this hotel does not ever get Internet access. Or newspaper delivery. Or cable. Or any medium that would identity Humphries as the immature bonehead he has proven himself to be. No comment so far from anyone in either side of the couple’s camp.
After watching a man blast himself out of a cannon and then witnessing an overweight pole dancer on America’s Got Talent , one thing became painfully evident last night: A high level of strange was featured throughout day two in Austin. Read through our previous AGT recap for all the acts from opening night here and then get caught up with the latest below… Andrew De Leon America’s Got Talent Audition Mind-Blowing Aurora light Painting – First a sand artist, now light artists? The leader claimed to live in a commune which probably was the first question mark popping up in my head, his hair was the second. The performance was interesting, but it reminded me of the Disney Channel promotions where the actors would wave the mouse ear shape with their magic wand. The obvious point was that this really seems like a really artistic telestrator. Eric & Olivia – The non-daters from the University of Texas had a cute vibe together but it really was Olivia’s voice that was the winner. She had great jazz-soul diction. Once in a while it got a bit too froggy, but I think with the right arrangements the duo would be great. I’m shocked that Howie said no because there’s a lot of potential in this act. Eric Diddleman – Eric claimed to be a “professional mind reader” but I think the better part was him wrapping duct tape around his eyes. His guesses were great considering that Sharon was the only one to draw something hard (Howard and Howie basically drew themselves). I’d love to see this trick a second time with a few more bells and whistles. Summer Lacey – We only saw a few seconds of her but she chose to use chains instead of silks as she did some creative acrobatics. According to Sharon, Summer was also a lot higher than we must have seen as she dropped for one trick. She should join several of the acts this season as a more Punk/Accessible version of Cirque. Andrew De Leon (Above) – The closet-opera singer wasn’t bad. The biggest problem is that now he doesn’t have that surprise factor in future performances. Let’s hope that he has a stronger repertoire of songs and a bit more confidence in the future. I hope he wears prescription contacts because those contacts could scar his eyes if he’s not careful. Mind-Boggling Doppelganger Circus Sideshow – Take one part geeky/goth couple, one chainsaw and apple, and a small jaw and you get a silly performance. The girlfriend got a dislocated jaw because she didn’t listen to him when he said, “Do you have a preference for apple size?” Jada – While we only saw this group of women for a few seconds, it must have been for the mercy of the audience’s ears. It’s called synchronization; Jada didn’t have that. Also, four girls singing “Only Girl in the World” makes no sense. Which one was the only girl? Richard Grossman – The opera singer from New York, who sub-sings as practice was ahead of his song and choked. It was kind of embarrassing. That’s someone’s delusional uncle who called Howard rude. The fact that Andrew followed him with a great opera performance made him seem even sourer.
The film: Telling Lies in America (1997) Why It’s An Inessential Essential: Two years after Showgirls got screenwriter Joe Eszterhas ( Basic Instinct , Burn Hollywood Burn: An Alan Smithee Film ) blacklisted, the wily self-promoter returned with Telling Lies in America . Lies , based on a semi-autobiographical story, is somewhat similar to Showgirls in that they have common themes. Both films treat selling out and deception as an integral part of getting ahead in show business. But Lies , directed by Guy Ferland, is obviously not as garishly sarcastic as Showgirls is (few films are…). It’s refreshing in that sense to see Eszterhas show genuine affection for his con men and hucksters in Lies rather than alternately mock and then half-heartedly show affection for his desperate protagonists. Set in heartland America during 1960, Telling Lies in America stars a young Brad Renfro as Karchy, a high school-aged immigrant that dreams of becoming a disc jockey. Karchy hates the catholic school his father Dr. Istvan Jones (the ever-reliable Maximilian Schell) has sent him to and is, as stiff-necked Father Norton (Paul Dooley) delights in reminding him, on the verge of flunking out. Karchy’s dream of becoming a disc jockey is his ticket away from his mundane troubles and possibly even his means of scoring with older woman Diney Majeski ( Ally McBeal star Calista Flockhart). Thankfully, DJ Billy Magic (a winningly sleazy Kevin Bacon) is looking for a young dupe/assistant. Johnny and Karchy, who changes his name to Chucky, are thus able to form a symbiotic relationship. They each lie and take advantage of each other but not necessarily with malicious intent. All praise is due to Eszterhas, whose name is plastered on Lies ‘s opening credits (though “Joe Eszterhas Presents” undoubtedly didn’t mean what Eszterhas wanted it to mean at the time), for giving an ostentatiously moral bildungsroman an appreciable level of sophistication. Everybody cheats everybody else in Lies , even Diney, a female protagonist that Eszterhas allows to be intelligently ambivalent about her relationship with Karchy. Thanks to Eszterhas’s sensitive scenario and Flockhart’s semi-nuanced performance, Diney isn’t a tease but rather just uncertain about what she wants. Magic is similarly complex. He starts out as a loser scrounging for work but never once blows his cool so much that he shouts or pouts his way out of a confrontation. The affection Eszterhas has for his characters is salient and it makes Telling Lies in America proof that he’s not just coasting on the reputation he got from working with Paul Verhoeven. How the Blu-Ray Makes the Case for the Film: The only special feature on Shout! Factory’s Blu-Ray release of Telling Lies in America is a B-feature of Traveller , another 1997 drama about, well, telling lies in America! Bill Paxton and a very young Mark Wahlberg co-star as Bokky and Pat, a pair of grifters that are also members of a community called, “travellers.” Against the advice of his fellow travelers, Bokky takes Pat in and the two form a father-son bond. Bokky and Pat’s relationship is one of several ways that Traveller is more generic than the idiosyncratically thoughtful Telling Lies in America . In Traveller , Bokky makes the same mistakes that got Pat’s biological father killed, including falling in love with one of his own marks (Juliana Margulies!). Pat thus has to save Bokky, his surrogate dad, from his own worst impulses. Traveller therefore suggests that being jaded is a good thing, which decidedly sets it apart from the relatively straight-laced Lies . Still, the two films make a good double feature as they both feature snappy dialogue and similarly polished takes on very seedy characters. Simon Abrams is a NY-based freelance film critic whose work has been featured in outlets like The Village Voice, Time Out New York, Vulture and Esquire. Additionally, some people like his writing, which he collects at Extended Cut .
