Folks in Durham, North Carolina have reason to celebrate today. Jabari Parker, considered by many to be the best high school senior in the nation, announced this afternoon that he will attend Duke University in 2013, instantly boosting the Blue Devils’ title chances a year from now. Parker is a 6’8″ forward who attends Simeon Career Academy in Chicago. His all-around game has been compared to players such as Grant Hill and he’s considered a surefire top pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. In the end, Parker selected Duke over Michigan State, BYU, Florida and Stanford.
Ke$ha has inadvertently found her way into some controversy related to the tragic Connecticut shooting in Newtown last week. In the wake of that massacre, many radio stations have pulled the artist’s hit, ” Die Young .” And in response to that move, Ke$ha initially Tweeted that she was “forced” to sing the lyrics to the track… despite actually having a co-writing credit on it. So now here is Ke$ha once again, attempting to clarify the confusion via public statement: “After such a tragic event I was feeling a lot of emotion and sadness when I said I was forced to sing some of the lyrics to Die Young. Forced is not the right word,” she said, adding: “I did have some concerns about the phrase “die young” in the chorus when we were writing the lyrics especially because so many of my fans are young and that’s one reason why I wrote so many versions of this song. “But the point of the song is the importance of living every day to the fullest and staying young at heart, and these are things I truly believe.” We think this issue can be put to rest now. There are clearly bigger things to focus on.
Art wasn’t the only thing folks were celebrating in Miami during Art Basel weekend. Jay-Z hosted his official D’USSÉ Cognac launch party at LIV Nightclub on South Beach. In case you didn’t know, D’USSÉ is Jay-Z’s joint venture with spirits giant Bacardi and the party def didn’t fail to impress. Beyoncé tagged along and a host of their other friends, including Fabolous, Flo Rida, The Dream, Kelly Rowland, Paris Hilton, Young Chris, DJ Clue, Stevie J, Don P, Teyana Taylor, Memphis Bleek, Floyd Mayweather, Pusha T, and Claudia Jordan, were all in attendance for the launch. Check out the hot vid produced just for the event and let us know what ya think! Images via vimeo/tumblr
Brooke Mueller is hoping the 19th time is the charm. The troubled ex-wife of Charlie Sheen has checked back into rehab, sources tell TMZ, following a hospitalization this week that she admits was due to a problem with Adderall . As previously reported, Mueller’s assistant found the former Oxygen reality star passed out a few days ago, although Brooke insisted at the time that it was a misunderstanding because she was simply tired from designing a line of jewelry. Really, Mueller said that . But TMZ now confirms Mueller has checked into a rehab facility yet again, one she has frequented in the past. The reason, according to attorney Yale Galanter? “Brooke was uncomfortable with the way Adderall was making her behave.” The lawyer also claims no illegal narcotics were found in his client’s system at the time of her latest incident, which may be important if Mueller wishes to avoid jail time. She’s still on probation in Aspen and even traces of alcohol may cause serious legal problems for the perpetually troubled mother of two. Concludes Galanter: “Brooke continues her lifelong battle with drug addiction by taking these steps herself to prevent a further drug relapse.”
When it comes to this photo of Alessandra Ambrosio posing completely naked, just six months after welcoming her second child, there’s really not a lot for us to add. If a picture’s worth a thousand words … this one may be worth a few thousand. The 31-year-old Victoria’s Secret model opted to forgo any clothing when it came time to do a photo shoot for Made in Brazil magazine, and for that, we thank her. Take a look at a few more Alessandra Ambrosio photos after the jump …
Former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY) has a message for the Millennial generation: use social media to spread the word and sign up for The Can Kicks Back campaign. We know what you’re thinking: Huh? The 81-year-old Simpson – of the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction commission – wants to encourage politicians to work across party lines to fix the $16 trillion U.S. national debt. He’s even willing to dance “Gangnam Style” to get your attention: Alan Simpson Gangnam Style His grassroots movement is called The Can Kicks Back, in reference to the old “kicking the can down the road” adage. With the Fiscal Cliff looming, it’s even more crucial to watch. It’s also funny.
The biggest names in country music assembled in Las Vegas for the 2012 American Country Awards last night, and the night belonged to Luke Bryan and his NINE awards. Luke won Male Artist of the Year and overall Artist of the Year, plus many other honors. Carrie Underwood (pictured) and Lady Antebellum (featuring the pregnant Hillary Scott ) took home the top female and group artist categories, respectively. Here’s the complete list of winners from the 2012 American Country Awards: Artist of the Year: Luke Bryan Artist of the Year: Male: Luke Bryan Artist of the Year: Female: Carrie Underwood Artist of the Year: Group: Lady Antebellum Artist of the Year: Breakthrough Artist: Jake Owen Artist of the Year: New Artist: Lauren Alaina Album of the Year: Luke Bryan, Tailgates and Tanlines Single of the Year: Luke Bryan, “I Don’t Want This Night to End” Single of the Year: Male: Luke Bryan, “I Don’t Want This Night to End” Single of the Year: Female: Miranda Lambert, “Over You” Single of the Year: Group: Lady Antebellum, “We Owned the Night” Single of the Year: New Artist: Hunter Hayes, “Wanted” Single of the Year: Breakthrough Artist: Brantley Gilbert, “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do” Single of the Year: Vocal Collaboration: Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood , “Remind Me” Music Video of the Year: Luke Bryan, “I Don’t Want This Night to End” Music Video of the Year: Male: Luke Bryan, “I Don’t Want This Night To End” Music Video of the Year: Female: Miranda Lambert, “Over You” Music Video of the Year: Group or Collaboration: Little Big Town, “Pontoon” Music Video of the Year: New Artist: Hunter Hayes, “Wanted” Touring Artist of the Year: Jason Aldean Song of the Year: Eric Church, “Springsteen” Most Played Radio Track: Luke Bryan, “I Don’t Want This Night to End” Most Played Radio Track: Male: Luke Bryan, “I Don’t Want This Night to End” Most Played Radio Track: Female: Miranda Lambert, “Over You” Most Played Radio Track: Group: Zac Brown Band, “Keep Me in Mind” Most Played Radio Track: New Artist: Kip Moore, “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck”
When you get paid, Uncle Sam gets paid, too. This is a concept way too many rappers, and musicians in general, who can usually afford accountants, have failed to understand. In 2012 it seemed like every other week another artist was getting called out, usually by TMZ, for owing taxes. Continue
If you lived through Watchmen ‘s troubled journey to the screen, Zack Snyder ‘s Man of Steel doesn’t exactly make one feel like leaping the nearest tall building. Watchmen is the platonic ideal of missing the forest for the trees, and as for his work overall, there’s only so many times you can see slow-motion downward-punching before you start to wonder if his characters are suffering from undiagnosed strokes. That Man of Steel is being exec produced by Chris Nolan should be a point in its favor, but after The Dark Knight Rises , in which we’re expected to believe the same government that secretly assassinated Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan can’t handle an ostentatious blowhard taking over an American city, I can’t help but fear for the grim, poorly plotted future in store for Superman. Man of Steel ‘s marketing hasn’t helped. The first teaser came off like the last five minutes of every episode of The Incredible Hulk *, the only thing missing being sad piano music to really nail down the emo superhero mood, and the posters have been as dull as Lex Luthor’s scalp after a busy day plotting world conquest. But hang on, look, up in the sky! It’s a new poster, and it’s actually interesting . Superman, handcuffed and flanked by soldiers, appears on his way to the big house, and for the first time I’m suddenly intrigued by this thing. Why the hell is Superman willingly submitting? (Obviously, he’d have to be volunteering for incarceration, unless the film uses something like the Inhibitor concept from Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Oeming’s Powers .) Lex Luthor isn’t Man of Steel ‘s villain, but this conjures up the ‘Public Enemies’ arc from the Superman/Batman comic series. That storyline had newly-elected President Lex Luthor frame Superman and Batman for plotting the destruction of earth, and while Superman wasn’t jailed, he was chased around the world by law enforcement and deputized supervillains. Could we be seeing something like that play out here? Perhaps the actions of Man of Steel villain General Zod freak people out enough that Superman, having the same powers, is labeled a public menace and arrested. It would make sense for the big blue boy scout to set a good example by complying with the law. Whatever happens, at least we know it’s not just going to be a lot of super-moping. Unless of course he and Lois Lane break up over a completely solvable misunderstanding and Superman copes by making an iPod playlist of John William’s greatest movie scores. * I’ll admit Henry Cavill would make an awesome Bill Bixby . RELATED ARTICLES: Christopher Nolan Talks Batman Trilogy, Heath Ledger & ‘Man Of Steel’ Get A Peek At Superman in First Man of Steel Teasers: My Two Dads Ross Lincoln is a LA-based freelance writer from Oklahoma with an unhealthy obsession with comics, movies, video games, ancient history, Gore Vidal, and wine. Follow him on Twitter at @rossalincoln .
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