The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c Don’t Mess With Textbooks www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Reform
See the article here:
Jon Stewart has a little something to say about conservatives in Texas choosing the nation’s school textbooks.
Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hot Stuff
Tagged conservatives, daily, Education, episodes, jon-stewart, political-humor, politics, reform, table-cellpadding, texas, textbooks, the-truth, thurs
Following Tuesday night’s American Idol performances , and given how average a lot of them were, it isn’t surprising to see Lacey Brown go on last night’s results show. The pastor’s daughter from Texas got no love from the judges or the fans for her cover of “Ruby Tuesday,” landing in the bottom three with Tim Urban and Paige Miles. Urban would’ve been equally deserving of a pink slip, but this isn’t The Bachelor , where they make up rules on the fly. One stays, one goes. Nice knowing you, Lacey. Ryan announced the return of the “Judges Save” option, allowing the esteemed panel to reverse decisions if fans really, really screw up, but it was not used on Brown. Instead, she sang farewell to her attempt at stardom with Brandi Carlile’s “The Story,” an emotional track prominently featured on Grey’s Anatomy a few seasons ago. Lacey Brown bids American Idol farewell. If Brown and her bottom three cohorts underscored anything, it was how dramatic the dropoff is in talent from the top handful to the rest of the pack. Here’s how we see the remaining finalists going forward, grouped into tiers … The Contenders Crystal Bowersox Siobhan Magnus Michael Lynche Casey James Should Hang Around Awhile Didi Benami Lee DeWyze Andrew Garcia Bottom Three Calling Any Day Now Paige Miles Aaron Kelly Katie Stevens Tim Urban
Posted in Celebrities, Gossip
Tagged around-awhile, bachelor, bottom-three, brandi-carlile, emotional-track, from-the-judges, Gossip, Hollywood, katie-stevens, lacey-brown, miles, remaining, siobhan magnus, texas, used-on-brown
Martha Stewart ‘s (former) friend Mariana Pasternak has just released her backstabby tell-all book The Best of Friends: Martha and Me . We have culled some of its bitchy allegations for your reading pleasure! Today: Martha drives dangerously, is insane about animals. Martha Stewart is allegedly not only a dangerous driver, but a vindictive one: And she likes to holler! The death of Martha Stewart’s dog allegedly drove her past the edge of sanity: Martha Stewart allegedly made her author friend’s children eat sweet, sweet guinea pigs, on a trip they all took to Peru: [Martha: please email us at once with your side of the story. Because we have more excerpts from this book to post soon! Also, choose nicer friends.]
Read the original:
Martha Stewart: Road-Raging Guinea Pig Eater [Books]
Posted in Celebrities, Hot Stuff
Tagged black, dog-allegedly, Family, gettypic, Gossip, rolling-stones, starchildren, stewart, tell-alls, texas, worst
Well, America. There it was. Your Top 12 Idols. What you prayed and voted for, what you made happen. I hope you were happy. Because, thanks a frigging lot, that was some bullshit . Well, OK, it wasn’t that bad. But did you, like me, find yourself wondering what Lily, Epperly, and Carol Brady would have sung? There, flickering dimly in the crumbling Aztec theater that is my sad and addled brain, was Alex Lambert doing a crystal-croony version of “Wild Horses.” There was Epperly doing a slo-mo piano “Angie.” And the Worst Witch? Well, I don’t know. I don’t really know any more Rolling Stones songs. I’m honestly sort of skeptical that anyone in this world actually sits down and listens to the Rolling Stones. When is that occasion? OK, maybe if you’re hanging out with Tim Allen and John Travolta and they’re like “Wanna take a motorcycle ride?” then maybe I would listen to “Start Me Up” or whatever. But then and only then. Otherwise, forget about it. Give me my Justin Bieber and call it a motherfucking day. Heard? The Good Thumperstacks did good. We all love Thumperstacks. Her performance last night was absolutely her worst so far, but it was still basically miles ahead of everyone else and her little pre-song package about her Ohio daddy cryin’ and carryin’ on was pretty nice, so Thunderpants wins this round. Or does she? Siobhan Magnus, the last of the Starchildren, is trying to sing her way back to her home planet of Songtasia and lemme tell you, I think she might get there. Nothing about her “Paint It Black” made any cognitive sense in terms of a human person trying to record and sell music in the year of our Lord 2010, but other than that it was good! She sang it interestingly and was reminiscent of a male Adam Lambert and that is nice. Plus I liked her intro package about being from Cape Cod, because I always imagine that growing up there is like living in a lighthouse. Just a sea of lonely lighthouses that inevitably house creatures like Siobhan Magnus. Why her skystreamer crashed here three hundred years ago we’ll never know. Why all the other Starchildren are gone — not dead, just gone — we’ll never know either. But what we do know is this: Siobhan and Blisterknickers are the two top favorites of this, our god-awfulest season of American Idol since the last season of American Idol . Paige Miles finally showed some trace of the voice that Simon’s been yammering on about since Day 1, so that was interesting to see. I still think she’s confused about what this show is and should probably be escorted home, but she didn’t totally embarrass herself last night as she has in weeks past, so good for her. The Bad Do you guys mind talking to me for a second about Lacey Brown? Why is she on the television? I factually know at least ten people who are much better, more interesting singers than her. People I know in my real-ass, theater-ass life. And yet there’s Lacey Brown, gurgling along up there on stage, heinously mangling… wait, what was that? “Ruby Tuesday” ? Arguably Lacey picked the prettiest of Stones songs (it’s so pretty it sounds like the Beatles) and then she walked up to it and strangled it. That was some cold blooded gangster shit right there. She was all nice to it, saying sweet things to it, and then she got behind it and slowly strangled it, saying “Sshhh, sshhh, ssshhh,” stroking its head as it slumped over and died. Lacey is a tough-cookie song murderer. Goodbye Ruby Tuesday indeed. A leather shirt. As if this season didn’t have enough avatars of awfulness in play already — the sex troll that is Tim Urban, the teef of Boomerslacks, the Carol Brady haircut — last night we got yet another artifact that will forever stand as representative proof that American Idol season 9 was indeed the groan and whimper that ended the world. That sad-eyed kid from Texas (I really sincerely can never remember his name) came out wearing what I thought at first was a fetching, Ryan Gosling-esque fitted caramel leather jacket. Oh how wrong I was. The camera then panned back to reveal all his makeover glory and I realized that this kid wasn’t wearing a leather jacket. No ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. This rat-like fellow was wearing a leather shirt. A collared shirt, made of leather. Remember denim disasters (how can we now think that JT is cool? just look at that) and how those were bad enough? Well, this was worse. It was a shirt made of brown leather. This is post -makeover, guys. That the only thing I can say about this kid — who, if he’s not pulled out of this competition immediately, is going to be blowing dudes for nickels at the bus station pretty soon and really needs to be rescued — is that he wore a crazy leather shirt last night should give you some indication of his singing ability. I’m pretty sure there’s a guy on this show named Phil Dweezy who’s been pretty much whiffing it every night for weeks. Am I right about this? He’s like David Cook’s stoner cousin who wore Vans and cargo jeans to Thanksgiving and no one could really figure out what happened with his parents, how they raised wrong-side-of-the-tracks kids when everyone else in the family was firmly right-side. I don’t know. I like the tone of his voice sometimes but it’s never consistent. One shining moment of surprise on the first night of semifinals does not an Idol career make, friend. Nor does one shining Paula Abdul-graced performance during Hollywood Week. Yes, Andrew Garcia, I am looking in your direction. What happened to him? He really is the Chris Sligh of this season. All faded, growly promise. Too bad, so sad. The Whiffenpoof So I’m watching Idol last night with my dear friend Cathy, a Latin teacher who never watches the show but was tolerating it before we turned on Lost , and we were watching Tim Urban and she was like “I just don’t think he should be on this show. He looks like he should be a Whiffenpoof or something.” And after I’d stopped cackling and got myself back up on the couch I asked her, “What, dear friend, is a Whiffenpoof?” Because it was the most accurate description of Tim Urban I’d ever heard and I didn’t even know what it meant. Turns out it’s one of Yale’s prestigious a cappella groups . A Whiffenpoof. That is Tim Urban. Tim Urban shall forever be known from here on out as Whiffenpoof. Gratias tibi ago, Cathy. But yeah, Whiffenpoof is a total dinkins and sang dreadfully, as always, but of course he will linger on forever. He really could win this thing. He really could. It’s those dimples! Oh and didn’t you weep soft humanity tears last night while watching Whiffenpoof’s package and seeing his brother, who sort of looks like him but clearly is not as attractive and isn’t that sad when that happens? Also, 10 kids. Ten kids. What’s the story behind that? I Can’t Anymore With the Katie Stevens. I just can’t. Did you see in her Let’s Meet… video when she was like all robotic “I was very shy!” and then her mom was like “No, she was a total ham”? That was such a treasure. I hate how models or beautiful actors are always like “I was such a dork in school!” because that’s supposed to make us like and relate to them somehow. “Ohhh they were a dork way back when just like I am a dork right now and always will be. Connections!” Well it’s the same thing with the Stevens Machine saying “Oh I was so shyyyyyyy.” No you weren’t and the lie will not make us like you any more. And good for Mom for being honest. I also could not believe that people who were that young when “From This Moment” came out are capable of walking and talking now. Years. And did you see that picture of Katie as a little girl that was hanging on the wall? That picture ? It was like Thomas Kinkade highjacked an Anne Geddes photoshoot. It was a young Katie sitting in a white photo studio wearing a jaunty chapeau and grinning. It was basically an outtake from the opening credits of a never-aired 1994 TGIF show called House Rules , about a weary referee, his sassy-smart wife, three precocious daughters (who he just doesn’t understand, because he’s a man!), and his one horny teenage son. It was supposed to air after Step by Step but was canceled immediately for mysterious reasons. That was Katie’s photograph and it was just so telling. So very telling. Anyway, Katie’s “Wild Horses” was predictable and boring. And that’s that!
Follow this link:
American Idol: We May Have Just Finally Killed Keith Richards [Recaps]
Posted in Celebrities, Hot Stuff
Tagged black, Family, katie, miles, recaps, rolling-stones, Sex, starchildren, texas, urban, whiffenpoof, worst
After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday voted to approve a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the role of Christianity in American history and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light. The vote was 11 to 4, with 10 Republicans and one Democrat voting for the curriculum, and four Democrats voting against. The board, whose members are elected, has influence beyond Texas because the state is one of the largest purchasers of textbooks. In the digital age, however, that influence has been diminished as technological advances have made it possible for publishers to tailor books to individual states. In recent years, board members have been locked in an ideological battle between a bloc of conservatives who question Darwin’s theory of evolution and believe the Founding Fathers were guided by Christian principles and a handful of Democrats and moderate Republicans who have fought to preserve the teaching of Darwinism and the separation of church and state. Since January, Republicans on the board have passed more than 160 amendments to the 120-page curriculum standards affecting history, sociology and economics courses from elementary to high school. The standards were proposed by a board of teachers. Efforts by Hispanic board members to include more Latino figures as role models for the state’s large Hispanic population were consistently defeated, prompting one member, Mary Helen Berlanga, to storm out of a meeting late Thursday night, saying, “They can just pretend this is a white America and Hispanics don’t exist.” “They are going overboard, they are not experts, they are not historians,” she said. “They are rewriting history, not only of Texas but of the United States and the world.” added by: ProjectBat
Posted in Celebrities, Hot Stuff
Tagged curriculum, democrat, democrats, figures-as-role, helen-berlanga, Hollywood, separation, texas, TMZ
You there, Seacrest! What day is this? Oh I had the most wondrous vision last night. Last night I think I actually cared about this season of American Idol . I felt real feelings. Too bad they were angry feelings. Yeah. Those eliminations last night? They were bunk , man. Well three quarters of them were, at least. But we’ll get to those in a moment. You know what else was bunk, though? That new bit they tried called Two Completely Forgettable Contestants From Last Year Do Dueling Pianos. What the Dunkleman was that thing? And then afterward Seacrest walked up to Scott the Blind Guy and it was all “Hey, dude how’s it going, dude” and all faux relaxed and shit when all Seacrest was thinking was “Don’t try to high-five him. Don’t try to high-five him. Oh god, don’t try to high-five him.” And then Matt Giraud was on the other side. Matt Giraud, ladies and gentlemen. Him. Nothing says “music star” quite like… Matt Giraud. He said he was working on some stuff, a jazz tune he did with some lady had hit number one on iTunes’ jazz charts. Oh I’ll bet iTunes’ Jazz Charts are just a bumping place to be, here in the year 2010. Ohhhhhh smoooooth jazz on the computer. So many people who love jazz know how to operate a computer. Jazz. Matt Giraud. Ladies and gentlemen. The eliminations! Todrick Hall This was not surprising. The guy just didn’t have much steam. He was perfectly capable, but would always be known as the dancer who was trying to sing. For whatever reason, folks just don’t cotton to that kind of thing on Idol . I think in some ways they don’t want to root for someone who’s already sorta worked in The Biz. Todrick was on Broadway. There’s not a lot of come-up-from-nowhereism in that story. Plus, he just wasn’t the strongest vocalist. Plain and simple. Simple and plain. Goodbye Todrick! See you on the White Way. The Witch of Blackbird Pond This was surprising! I thought people loved Willa the Wisp. Though maybe she suffered from a sort of vote-splitting kind of thing. Those that wanted weird-haired ladyguitar went for Crystal Bloomersmacks, and those that wanted a pretty girl who plinked out a few notes on her cute little mandolute went for Didi Baloney. So Elizabeth Proctor just got stuck in the middle, left to fend for herself with nothing but her fading witch powers to protect her. It’s too bad, because the gal had chops. And she was up against Katie Stevens! This season’s second most-annoying contestant! (After Haeley, of course and forever.) Though in America’s defense, sort of, I will say that Professor Trelawney was maybe one of the worst-styled contestants in American Idol history. (OK, that’s probably overreaching, but.) I mean those ridiculous gray tatters of hair. Gray!!!! On a show about youth and spunk! You’re gonna show up with motherfucking gray hair you idiot? Gah. Plus she always wore fourteen layers of pancake makeup and then no color, so her whole face, lips included, were this washed-out mess. I mean she looked really terrible . So I get that, America. You are all horrible shallow people, but I get you. Because I too am a horrible shallow person. The witch has been burned at the stake of public opinion. Now. What else floats? Very small rocks? Churches? Katelyn Epperly This was really a “The fuck?” moment last night. She was up against Paige Miles. Yes, the Paige Miles. Paige Miles who’s had no idea where she is for weeks now. She wants to go home but is too nervous to ask anyone how exactly she can go about doing that. “Well, I don’t want to bother them, they all seem so busy… I’ll just stand here. They’ll figure it out eventually.” Except they won’t, Paige! They once put a cat scratching post through to the final two! They didn’t notice until almost the very end! You could literally put a wig on a shoe and the Idol producers would be like “Great great, get this kid in hair and makeup, we’re live in ten.” Paige, you need to say something. Just tell them you have an emergency or something. It’ll be fine. But if you don’t, then more people like Katelyn Epperly, a deserving contestant, will be sent home. Epperly! Can you believe it? What is America thinking? First, and most importantly, she’s pretty. (Though I suppose that doesn’t matter that much to the TeenScream 5000 voting collective.) But also she was certainly one of the better singers out of the rumpled and disastrous ladies. And yet, now she’s dead. Dead and buried. Out by that old creepy shed in the back. A sad little barely-marked grave. Just a cross of sticks. Ryan muttering “In spirito sancto…” and blessing himself and walking away. A cold moon perched in the sky. The air in wisps. A faraway cackle. The Witch out there somewhere in the woods, planning. Alex Lambert Watch this at the 1:35 mark. That’s how I feel about you, America. No, ya didn’t. YOU ELIMINATED THE BEST GUY. Ohhhhhh I know Fozzie Bear sang that pretty Maxwell song on Wednesday and hurbity-burbity. But will you ever actually buy that fool’s slow-moans album? No, you won’t. Would you buy Carol Brady’s album of teen-centric Jason Mraz songs? Yeah, you would. So why are you not voting for him, America? I suppose I could have done my part and cast a vote or two, but I’m just one man. I just don’t understand this. That Teenager from Texas is still on the show! Still on the show! And Alex Lambert, the great white hope of Idol season 27 has now been tossed in a shallow grave next to Epperly, two blondes not making a right, his sad and beautiful mullet lost forever to the ages. I do not understand. I will never understand. I just want to know why. So that’s that and here’s your Top 12, America! You’ve got Fozzie Bear, Idi Amin, a kid from Texas who’s someday going to go on a shooting spree from a bell tower or settle down with a nice fellow named Bruce or both, Katie the Uneven Stevens, the Egghead Latino who somehow made it through, a couple of other people, Paige Miles who’s starting to really get worried that they might never let her leave, and Tim Urban. Tim Urban. Sex bomb. Hollister mannequin. Beautiful disaster. This is the worst season of American Idol in history. And the worst part? All of a sudden, I care .
Go here to read the rest:
American Idol: The Blind Side [Recaps]
Posted in Celebrities, Hot Stuff
Tagged america, cute, fozzie-bear, paige, paige-miles, People, professor, season, Sex, texas, white
Things aren’t looking good for Paige Miles and Aaron Kelly. By Gil Kaufman Paige Miles Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images This year’s “American Idol” top 12 will be revealed on Thursday night’s (March 11) show, but not before the final four semifinalists are shown the door. Unlike previous weeks, when it was fairly obvious which two guys and two girls would be leaving the show, the competition has finally begun to get tighter, and making the call this week is a bit harder. The decision seems pretty clear, though, to MTV News’ “Idol in 60 Seconds” honcho Jim Cantiello. “Paige Miles blew it,” he said of the singer who has been touted as having the strongest voice in the competition by the judges during the live shows after getting next-to-zero screen time in Hollywood. “For two weeks, we’ve heard the judges go on and on about her big voice. Then she finally tries to share it with America and chokes!” Cantiello was referring to Miles’ uneven, off-key cover of “Smile,” a song written by silent-movie star Charlie Chaplin, which was one of Michael Jackson’s favorite tunes. “Take her lack of preseason screen time and add it to her dreadful ‘Smile,’ and you have a Paige farewell in the cards.” He suspected Miles would be joined by old-before-her-time teen Katie Stevens, who he said “floundered in the semifinals with bad song choices and a lack of identity.” Cantiello said Stevens’ cover of original “Idol” Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway” on Tuesday night “not only had the unfortunate opening spot [on the show] … but it was also Katie’s weakest vocal to date.” He also predicted that fellow identity-deficient high-schooler Aaron Kelly had worn out his welcome on the show with a “goat-y vibrato and a song that swallowed him whole,” speaking of a wobbly take on Lonestar’s “I’m Already There.” On the show, judge Simon Cowell said the vocal wasn’t great, but he liked the song, while Kara DioGuardi felt the 16-year-old didn’t sell her on a lyric about a dad calling home to his kids. “Plus, he’s from a super-small town [Sonestown, Pennsylvania] so he doesn’t have that organized support system some of the other contestants have set up.” Though Todrick Hall surprised everyone with a cover of Queen’s bombastic “Somebody to Love,” Cantiello thinks it’s curtains for the dancer. “I haven’t come across too many Todrick fans on the Web (other than, randomly, season eight’s Matt Giraud), so his days were numbered regardless of how he performed on the boy’s show,” he opined. “Incidentally, I dug what he did with that Queen song but not sure it won him any new fans, though.” Our other “Idol” expert, MJ Santilli, who runs “Idol” fan site MJsBigBlog.com , agreed with Cantiello on Miles and Kelly but diverged on the other two picks. “Stick a fork in her, she’s done,” Santilli said of Miles. “Paige needed to come out this week with a strong performance, but her WTF rendition of ‘Smile’ sealed her deal. A sad waste of potential.” As for Kelly, she said his pitchy performances didn’t really connect emotionally with the audience. “He needed a couple of more years of maturing to be ready for prime time,” she suggested. “And as tween fodder, he’s competing with Tim Urban and Alex Lambert.” Santilli’s pick for the other guy going home was a surprise: Lee Dewyze, a perennial favorite of Cowell’s who sang a Dave Matthews-ish folky version of Owl City’s “Fireflies” that the judges generally agreed was good enough to get him through to the top 12. “The judges like Lee, but the grunge rocker’s pitchy, tentative performances haven’t really connected with ‘Idol’ viewers,” said Santilli, whose site features hundreds of comments from show fanatics on the week’s performances. Santilli also predicted that Texas singer Lacey Brown would be sent packing. “Her excellent performance Tuesday night of Brandi Carlile’s ‘The Story’ was too little, too late.” Do you agree with our experts’ picks? Let us know by leaving your comments below. Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Videos ‘American Idol’ In 60 Seconds Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season Nine Performances
Go here to see the original:
‘American Idol’ Experts Predict Who’s Going Home Tonight
Posted in Music
Tagged america, judges, kids, miles, news article, paige-miles, Photos, semifinalists, singer, texas, TMZ, urban, Videos, week
read it. instead of science and exploration, obama wants to focus on commercial space flight. sweet, something to make the super rich richer, and robbing us of scientific exploration. oh and it'd lose 70,000-100,000 jobs. great job again obama WASHINGTON, March 10 – U.S. President Barack Obama is trying to tamp down an uprising in politically vital Florida against a new strategy for NASA that has rankled space veterans and lawmakers and sparked fears of job losses. Obama's decision to kill NASA's Constellation program to launch astronauts into orbit and return Americans to the moon has prompted soul-searching on whether the United States is prepared to cede a pre-eminent space role to Russia and China. “As with all great human achievements, our commitment to space must be renewed and encouraged or we will surely be surpassed by other nations who are presently challenging our leadership in space,” Democratic and Republican members of the U.S. Congress from Florida wrote to Obama last week. Obama's move for a greater private sector role in space launches — as he seeks to keep ballooning federal deficits in check — has generated fears of job losses among thousands of NASA employees who provide an important economic base in Florida, a state usually crucial in presidential elections. Employees at major space complexes in Alabama and Texas are also worried. It is making for a potentially explosive environment when Obama travels to the Cape Canaveral area on April 15 to host a space conference with top officials and leaders in the field. “What reception will they get? Not good,” said Keith Cowing, editor of nasawatch.com, a website that closely monitors the U.S. space agency. “It's a gutsy move. It's Daniel in the Lion's Den.” Obama, in his Feb. 1 budget proposal, planned to increase NASA's overall funding to $19 billion in 2011 with an emphasis on science and less spent on space exploration. He would cancel the Constellation program's Orion spacecraft and Ares rockets, after $9 billion and five years of tests. Constellation is aimed at returning astronauts to the moon in the 2020s to clear the way for a Mars mission. Instead, Obama would spend $6 billion a year for five years to support commercial spacecraft development and pursue new technologies to explore the solar system in what the White House called “a more effective and affordable way.” LARGER ISSUE Various members of the far-flung U.S. space community have been troubled by the change, such as former NASA administrator Michael Griffin, who struggled to get more funding for Constellation from the previous administration of President George W. Bush and believes Obama should stick with it. “There's a larger issue here,” Griffin said. “Does the United States want to have a real space program? Do we actually think we can have a robust, exciting, world-leading space program by hiring private enterprise to furnish it?” But John Logsdon, former director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, said he believed it was time for the private sector to get more involved in space. “There's no reason to think that the technical talent in the private sector, combined with a significant degree of NASA engagement, cannot come up with a good solution,” he said. The debate to some extent has riven the space community. Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, supports the change in direction while Harrison Schmitt, one of the last on the lunar surface, opposes it. NASA already has contracts with Space Exploration Technologies and Orbital Sciences Corp to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. SpaceX and other firms are developing spaceships that can carry passengers to orbit and back. The shuttle system still has four more flights to get crews and hardware to the International Space Station before the craft are retired. After that, NASA will be without a heavy-lift capability for a period of time. This means Americans would have to pay to ride on Russian rockets to get into orbit, a stark turn of events after the pivotal battle the United States and the Soviet Union fought to outdo each other in the space race. To maintain a lift capability, Florida Democratic Senator Bill Nelson wants the administration to add one shuttle flight and develop the Ares rockets that are part of the Constellation program. Ultimately, Nelson believes Obama needs to give the United States a goal for its space program and hopes it will be a mission to Mars. (Additional reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by John O'Callaghan) added by: diode
Posted in Celebrities, Hot Stuff
Tagged alabama, editing, Hollywood, Obama, russian, texas, TMZ, United, united-states, university
Katie Stevens and Paige Miles appear to be headed home. By Eric Ditzian, with additional reporting by Gil Kaufman Crystal Bowersox on “American Idol” on Tuesday Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images The first grade in this week’s “American Idol” women’s report card goes to the producers for lopping 60 minutes off the show’s running time. A+ programming move, folks. The two-hour, filler-heavy live episodes we’ve seen in recent weeks will not be missed, even if the leaner, meaner show still managed to kick off with a painfully corny, too long bit involving the openly gay Ellen DeGeneres cuddling in the lap of the painfully heterosexual, recently engaged Simon Cowell as some sort of bid to convince us that the two talent adjudicators are BFFs. Now about those contestants . A few will not be missed either next week, based on their subpar performances on Tuesday night. Others, meanwhile, continued to impress and had us thinking this season is not nearly as dull as we once feared. Who surprised us, who disappointed us and who’s in danger of going home? Let’s take a look at the top 12 women’s report card. (And don’t miss Jim Cantiello’s recap of their performances in the MTV Newsroom .) Excellent Didi Benami : Picking up the guitar for the first time since the Hollywood rounds, Benami wins the comeback-kid award for her acoustic folk take on Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon.” Her confident strumming and doleful camera stares made the judges fall in love with her again, with Cowell declaring that she’d had her first “wow” moment of the season. Crystal Bowersox : After last week’s health scare, this season’s one to beat did it again, effortlessly killing it with a bluesy shuffle through Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me One Reason.” Though not as revelatory as last week’s Creedence Clearwater Revival cover , Bowersox’s confidence and chops inspired Cowell to absolutely guarantee she’d be in the top 12 next week. Good Lilly Scott : Performing in the prime final spot, Scott strummed an electric mandolin for Patsy Cline’s classic “I Fall to Pieces.” Kara loved how she made a 50-year-old song sound contemporary, and Cowell praised her unique personality and oddball delivery but wasn’t sure it was enough to get her through to the next round. Scott won’t hoist the trophy in May, but we beg to differ with Cowell: She will live to sing again next week, at least. Siobhan Magnus : This season’s resident quirky girl paid homage to her dad with the Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun.” In place of last week’s soul-wail-heard-round-the-world, she kicked the retro tune off with a strong a cappella section and turned in a solid, if unexceptional, performance that should get her into the top 12 as well. DeGeneres said she was captivated and called the rendition spectacular. The glassblower’s apprentice may have kept it in check this week, but make no mistake: She can wail. Lacey Brown : She’d had very little success mixing it up with Fleetwood Mac and Sixpence None the Richer up until now, so Texas’ Brown decided to chuck it all and just do what comes naturally, crooning countryish ballads. From her rooster-like hair to the animal-print cardigan, it was all a bit Beauty School Dropout, but Brown did just enough with Brandi Carlile’s “The Story” to impress most of the panel, with Simon giving her props for knowing how to seduce the camera. She’ll keep on keepin’ on, but just giving good camera face won’t get her that far. Satisfactory Katelyn Epperly : She wanted to up the energy, but with a disco-lite stumble through Carole King’s “I Feel the Earth Move,” all Epperly did was likely make voters second-guess their opinions after two strong weeks. Kara went so far as to say she didn’t think Kate had her game face on and was just going through the motions, while just about all Randy Jackson and Simon could compliment was her gorgeous head of blonde curls. She’s probably safe for another week, but just barely. Unsatisfactory Katie Stevens : We’ve hammered her for many things in the past, but never before for being pitchy. A new week, a new critique. After repeated criticism for picking songs that made her sound older than a 17-year-old high-schooler, Stevens smartly went with Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway” … but it still didn’t measure up. Her Benjamin Button-like qualities just make her incapable of communicating any sense of youthful energy. Jackson said the song was too big for her voice, while Cowell called it gloomy, complaining that she too didn’t know what kind of artist she wants to be. You could see it in her eyes: She knows she’s going home. Voters will likely agree. Paige Miles : One of the most epic fails in “Idol” history. Miles, who despite scant screen time before the semi-finals has been tagged by the judges as having one of the best voices in the competition, butchered one of Michael Jackson’s favorite songs, “Smile,” turning it from inspiring to just plain sad and heavy in Ellen’s eyes. Cowell said it was like a Holiday Inn lounge-worthy effort and effectively signed her ticket home. Miles broke down and said she couldn’t keep her emotions in check during the performance, perhaps a precursor to Thursday night’s tears. What did you think of the women’s performances? Who killed it? Who blew it? Who is definitely making it to the top 12? Let us know by leaving your comments below. Related Videos ‘American Idol’ In 60 Seconds Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season Nine Performances
See original here:
‘American Idol’ Report Card: How Did The Girls Do?
‘I just want to pick her up and put her in my pocket and feed her animal crackers,’ Liz Lee tells MTV News. By Jocelyn Vena Liz Lee Photo: MTV News Liz Lee bid a fond farewell to Burleson, Texas, on Monday night’s season finale of “My Life As Liz” and made her way to New York. When she’s not busy getting an education in the Big Apple, she’s hanging with the “Jersey Shore” cast at work functions and tweeting with Snooki . “I don’t go to clubs with Snooki,” Lee said to MTV News. “I can’t say I’ve ever fist-pumped with her to house music at a club, but I’ve seen her at MTV functions. Just stuff for work. And she’s a really, really sweet girl. Basically, she talks about how she likes the show and says she watches it and how she was a cheerleader in high school, but she was nice to people.” If they haven’t been clubbing, it begs the question: Do they “GTL” together? “No gym, tan, laundry,” she laughed about the “Jersey Shore” stars’ top priorities. “I think she’s gym, tan, Emilio [now]. She recently fell in love. I haven’t met Emilio. I’ve seen pictures on Twitter, though. He’s tan, lots of hair gel. “She’s so sweet, though, and she’s so cute,” Lee continued about her pal. “I just want to pick her up and put her in my pocket and feed her animal crackers. She’s a really, really sweet girl, and you can’t help but love her. It’s inescapable.” Although Lee is a celeb herself, when she first met the cast of the “Jersey Shore,” she was pretty starstruck. “They didn’t really know much about the show, but they were pretty sweet,” she recalled. “And then we were at lunch together, and I thought that was insane. Eating lunch with the ‘Jersey Shore,’ it was incredible, and they were all really, really nice.” What do you think of this intra-MTV friendship? Would you like to see Liz hit Jersey and the “Shore” crew head to Texas? Let us know below!
Original post:
‘My Life As Liz’ Star Says ‘Jersey Shore’ Guidette Snooki Is ‘So Sweet’
Posted in Music
Tagged animal, animal-crackers, apple, bennyhollywood, jersey-shore, Pictures, really-sweet, texas, TMZ, were-at-lunch
Breaking Sports Video
Pac-12 NCAA Sports
Justin Bieber Fan Site Breaking News
