Tag Archives: comic

‘American Idol’ Midterm: Experts Grade Ellen DeGeneres So Far

Jury is mixed on how DeGeneres has fit into the club. By Gil Kaufman Ellen DeGeneres and Randy Jackson Photo: FOX As anyone who has switched high schools mid-year can tell you, it’s never easy fitting in with the cool kids. Midway through her first season on “American Idol,” talk-show host/ comedian Ellen DeGeneres hasn’t tripped and dropped her lunch tray in front of the whole school yet, but she also hasn’t exactly gotten the lead in the school production of “Grease,” according to our panel of experts. DeGeneres was ostensibly brought in to add a touch of humor to the judges’ table following the departure of judge Paula Abdul. But our “Idol” watchers said she was also tapped to beef up the panel before Simon Cowell’s departure, which became an eventuality before Ellen even had a chance to warm up her seat. And while she hasn’t set the show on fire, she’s made her presence felt with some patented wacky metaphors (see “ripe banana”) and her signature “I really like you” compliments. “Ellen started off strong in Hollywood Week,” said MTV News “Idol” aficionado Jim Cantiello. “As a die-hard ‘Idol’ fan, I was relieved that she took the job so seriously. … Ellen was into it. She kept her comic shtick to a minimum. It appeared she had a nice balance between Paula’s compassion and Simon’s acerbic wit. I was stoked.” Once the live shows started, though, Cantiello said DeGeneres’ critiques turned into endless run-on sentences, and the bad reviews almost always ended with “but I like you!” or “you’re adorable!” “I guess she was trying to cushion the blow, but it just clouded her criticism,” he said, lamenting that DeGeneres’ hug for Tim Urban after his cover of “Hallelujah” probably helped the iffy singer solidify a spot in the top 12. Bob Thompson, professor of television and popular culture of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse and an avid “Idol” watcher since day one, said he could sum up his feelings on DeGeneres in one word: disappointment. “Ellen is a very talented comic presence,” he said. “I’ve seen her do stand-up, and she’s really good at off-the-cuff stuff on her talk show. When I first heard she was becoming a judge, I thought two things: What credibility does Ellen DeGeneres have in judging future music stars? And, besides that massive gap in her r

Cheryl Tweedy’s Disappointing See Through Top

Obviously I’m not too upset with the fact that my one true love Cheryl Tweedy-Tuna decided to completely kill my potential boner by wearing a bra under her awesome see through sweater. How could I be? She still looks amazing and she’s sporting some impressively tight pants that work just as well in their own special way. Besides, she does things in my dreams that more than make up for it. If only she knew. Enjoy.

Coming This Summer: True Blood Comic Books

It was already a series of novel. Then, it became one of the most popular shows on TV. Now, True Blood is taking another step toward its goal of dominating the world of pop culture and entertaining: the graphic novel. Look for a set of comic books to be released this July, each featuring the same characters on the HBO drama, but each focusing on different storylines. Says True Blood creator Alan Ball, the man behind the project: “I’m really looking forward to exploring this new format. Comics have no limitations, things that we could never do on the show because of time and budgetary constraints we can do in a comic. The writers of the show and I are closely involved in the creative aspects of the comic, plotting art stories, characters. “They exist in the same world, but it’s a completely different story than what you will see on TV.” In True Blood spoiler news, meanwhile: check out the first photo of Joe Manganiello as the character of Alcide. He’ll play a major role on the show, whose third season kicks off on June 12.

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Coming This Summer: True Blood Comic Books

iPad Apps To Keep An Eye On

Which apps could be game-changers and make the Apple tablet worth considering? By Brian Warmoth iPad Photo: Apple The iPad will inherit 150,000 apps when it lands in consumers’ hands this weekend, according to Apple. With more than a thousand new ones entering the fray that are uniquely optimized for the device, however, casual browsers will have a lot to sift through. Given the iPad’s hardware strengths and the new roles it could play as both a work tool and entertainment platform, a few apps could become game-changers and justify the Apple tablet on their own. Netflix App A leaked look at Netflix’s stream-able video app for the iPad indicates that subscribers with unlimited accounts might be able to get access to their queues on the go. Its availability would put the app in direct competition with iTunes, but a streaming process that requires a constant Internet connection may distinguish Netflix’s app from iTunes’ rental service enough that they can still play nicely together in the App Store. iWork Keynote, Numbers and Pages Apps The iPhone and iPod Touch hit home runs in portable gaming, but they came up short competing with netbooks and laptops in terms of business applications. Google Docs support was great, but iWork apps that will allow word processing as well as spreadsheet and slideshow creation may be the software Apple needs to serve students and working adults in a whole new way. ABC App ABC, CBS and NBC reportedly all have plans for delivering TV shows to the iPad with methods that don’t require iTunes, but ABC may be the first to come out with their own app capable of streaming programs without a browser. Depending on how ABC’s app performs, this could become a new model for networks to consider going forward. Amazon Kindle App Kindle provided a smooth yet simplified experience on the iPhone, but a larger HD screen capable of displaying big images in normal book and eReader-size dimensions could mean big things for Amazon. The Kindle app would also mean competition for Apple iBook downloads, but competing models and options for consumers can only mean better products in the long run. Marvel Comics App The iPad will be well suited for reading prose novels and textbooks, but when discussing killer apps for Spider-Man and Iron Man followers, the Marvel Comics app , designed by ComiXology, stands to make huge waves if it takes off as a distribution platform for the number-one monthly comic book publisher in America right now. Panelfly’s Comic Book Reader app will provide another source of digital graphic-novel distribution as well, so those two, Amazon and Apple’s ePub format will all be looking to define how comics get consumed on the iPad. Risk App The iPad means game developers will have to think in new proportions with new gameplay options, but no genre of gaming will be more ready to walk onto a flat multi-touch screen than board games. The potential to play table-top games over Bluetooth, WiFi and 3G with other players means EA will have a great foot in the door if they leverage Hasbro properties like Risk onto the iPad. And they will, according to Kotaku . Will you be first in line for an iPad? What apps are you excited about? Let us know in the comments below!

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iPad Apps To Keep An Eye On

Cheryl Tweedy And I Are Meant To Be

It seems that my future ex wife Cheryl Tweedy is still single, which is good news for our upcoming nuptials. Here she is leaving the BBC studios the other day in a very very very tight pair of jeans and some sort of garbage bag jacket, but we’ll just focus on the positive. I doubt she can take off those jeans by herself, which is exactly why we’re perfect for each other, she likes wearing tight pants and I like pulling them off of her with my teeth…. A match made in heaven. more pictures of Cheryl Tweedy here

Featured Gold Star Posts – Tuesday, March 23, 2010.

Here’s some recent posts and contributions that have received gold stars from our editors. Read

Ninja Fingers

A woman paints her fingernails to look like the Ninja Turtles. She should definitely paint the Foot Clan on her toenails. ( via Succeedblog ) View

Giant Photorealistic Sculpture

Sculptor Jamie Salmon uses silicone rubber, fiber glass, acrylic, and human hair to create scary-ass giant photorealistic sculptures. Here's a sampling of his work. (Via The Swedish Bed .) View

Sandra Bullock Vs. Michelle McGee

Why Sandra is a goddess and that other woman is just awful. Let's examine case on its merits. View

Comic Sans Walks Into a Bar…….

Boom Boom ! / Poor old Comic Sans is the target of all the Typography Jokesters. View