Is the annual turning of fall leaves into brilliant colors being delayed by climate change? That’s the theory of some scientists given the record temperatures in the U.S. this year, which will likely mean colors changing later, exaggerating an ongoing trend. Studies in Europe and Japan have indicated that leaves are both changing color and dropping later, and areas of the United States are beginning to show similar signs. Accuweather (dot) com’s Valerie Smock explains that when leaves turn from green to shades of yellow, orange and red, it’s only only because of the temperature, but daylight. The production of chlorophyll, the green pigment in leaves, slows down during the fall, when the days get shorter, revealing other color pigments normally hidden from view. However, “If autumn days are cool, trees quicken the change. If autumn days are warm, trees delay the change. So overall, global warming could delay leaves from turning.” In short, maybe push back that trip to Vermont by a week or two. Or if you’re a climate change denier, rip the liberal media for distorting the facts to foster its own agenda.
Actress Mayim Bialik was involved in a car accident this afternoon in Los Angeles, sustaining a severe injury that may result in the loss of a finger. Sources tell TMZ that the crash took place around noon at the corner of Hollywood Blvd. and La Brea. The Big Bang Theory star was reportedly driving alone in a white Volva and was struck by another vehicle, which was carrying tourists from Chile. An ambulance soon arrived and witnesses say there was “tons and tons of blood everywhere,” adding that Bialik’s finger was “almost completely severed… it was just hanging there.” The 36-year old is being treated at the hospital while we type. We send her our very best wishes. UPDATE : Bialik has Tweeted that she is in a lot of pain, but will not lose any digits. [Photo: WENN.com]
Tea Party Extremist Claims President Obama Was Once Married To A Man As the election nears, the “NoBama” bunch is going pretty hard with the smear tactics . This week, it’s the good ol Tea Party claiming that President Obama was once married to his college roommate……who was a man. Jerome Corsi, Tea Party activist and author, now asserts that president Obama is bisexual and was once married to man. Corsi, a birther, who authored The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality, claims he has compelling evidence that supports his theory that Obama was once married to his Pakistani roommate. Corsi does not indicate whether Obama was married to Imad Husain, Obama’s freshman roommate at Occidental, Mohammed Hasan, or Wahid Hamid, the two other Pakistani men who were once roommates of the president. Corsi has published photos of the president on 1776nation.com where, according to Corsi, it appears the president is wearing a wedding band. He also asserts that there was long-running joke among the president’s classmates at Harvard regarding the mysterious ring and why Obama wore it. Now this is just ridiculous. We wouldn’t be surprised if Michelle “Nutcase” Bachman was behind this….SMH. Source
Singer will appear alongside Jim Parsons in ‘Happy Smekday!’ based on a novel by Adam Rex. By Jocelyn Vena Rihanna Photo: Rihanna battled some bad aliens in “Battleship,” but now it seems she’ll be tackling a much friendlier extraterrestrial life form in her animated flick, “Happy Smekday!” She’s set to play the lead alongside “Big Bang Theory” Emmy-winner Jim Parsons. The flick, based on Adam Rex’s book “The True Meaning of Smekday,” follows an alien race who come to Earth to hide away from their enemies. When one of the aliens accidentally spills the beans about their hideout to the bad guys, he must go on the run with a teenage girl. The twosome then goes on a road trip through a dystopian America, learning about humanity along the way. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is slated for a 2014 release. “Antz” and “Over the Hedge” director Tim Johnson will helm the DreamWorks Animation project, with “Get Smart” screenwriters Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember penning the script. It’s just another film credit for Ri, who has begun her transition from singer to singer/actress. Ever since her appearance in “Battleship,” roles have been steadily coming her way. “I got a few scripts, actually, a lot of incredible roles,” she told MTV News recently. “Some of which I felt were a little too big for me, being that I never did a movie. So I wanted to really get my feet wet, try it, see what it was like and know how I wanted to move from there. I’m really glad ‘Battleship’ turned out to be the first one.” She was recently spotted on the set of “End of the World,” confirming her long-rumored cameo in the Seth Rogen comedy. She shot down chatter that she would play Whitney Houston in a biopic of her life, and her rep recently denied rumors that she would be in the next “Fast and The Furious.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Battleship’ Related Artists Rihanna
Danica McKellar of The Wonder Years fame has filed for divorce from her husband of three years, composer Mike Verta, citing irreconcilable differences. Court documents were filed June 4. They have a 1 1/2-year-old son, Draco, of whom the 37-year-old actress is asking for joint custody with Verta. She and Verta tied the knot in La Jolla, Calif., in 2009, after already spending eight years together as a couple. She lists a separation date of June 1. McKellar may be best known as Fred Savage’s crush from ages ago, but she isn’t just a pretty face. She has a degree in mathematics from UCLA! Not only that, she gained an entirely new level of fame by co-authoring a paper as a student that resulted in the “Chayes–McKellar–Winn theorem.” She also voiced a main character on the animated series Young Justice and she’s had guest spots on How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory . [Photo: WENN.com]
Crazy a$$ Jackie is back y’all! Jackie Christie Talks Basketball Wives L.A. And Cheating In Her Marriage According to BossChicks Watching Basketball Wives it would lead you to the theory that all NBA players cheat. But you and your husband have made it work. How does that make you feel? It makes me feel extremely blessed. I’m not saying our relationship is perfect. Of course we’ve had our ups and downs, but those hard times have only made us stronger. I’m thankful I have a husband that respects me, not only me but women in general. Of course, he’s had women approach him but he respected me enough to say to them “hey you don’t want to do this. I have too much respect for you, and my wife to ever cross that line.” I’m married to my best friend, we’ve been married for 16 years and we get re-married every year to celebrate our marriage. So you know I have to ask. How do you feel about the petition against Basketball Wives Miami? Honestly I’ve been too wrapped up in my own projects to watch this season of Miami. But I will say I think VH1 is doing a good job of portraying the wives. Of course, they cut and edit things but they are only editing things that we do. I can say I’m very pleased with how I was portrayed on the show. What are you feelings on Basketball Wives LA Season 2? I’m actually excited! I’m a little apprehensive but excited. I know that some of the girls might come back and have a few bones to pick and that’s fine. I believe that we are all grown women and should be able to admit to things that we have said. The he say, she say I don’t deal with it. If you’re grown say I said it, because I’m going to put it all on the table. I read recently that they’re turning BBW’s into a movie. What do you think about that? I’m excited about that. Shaunie and Traci are both friends of mine and I look forward to the movie. Hopefully, they’ll use some of the cast members from both shows in the movie. I’m unsure how it’s going to play out but I wish them the best of luck. Will you be watching Basketball Wives L.A.’s new season? They seemed to be a LITTLE less ratchet than the Miami crew… Image via WENN
When you end up with an IV in your arm, that might be a sign to slow it down. Friends are concerned Rihanna is doing too much and may need to go to rehab!!! According to RadarOnline.com reports : Rihanna was taken to the ER and hospitalized following Monday night’s Met Gala in New York, RadarOnline.com has learned, and a new Star magazine report blows the lid off the downward spiral the singer’s headed for if she doesn’t change her ways. The Umbrella singer tweeted a pic of herself hooked on an IV. The 24-year-old singer makes no bones about her fast-living, party-hard lifestyle, frequently tweeting images of herself enjoying the nightlife and all of its’ accruements. “Rihanna loves to party but this past month she’s gotten really out of control,” a source tells the new issue of Star magazine. “She’s been drinking almost everyday and talking about smoking weed a lot, too.” The past few months have been a gauntlet of late nights and exotic locales for the Barbadian beauty, who’s been seen in London, Sydney, Hawaii and New York. During a May 2 trip to the Big Apple, she tweeted a raucous pic from a seedy Queens strip club she’d frequented. “It was crazy,” an insider told Star. “Clearly, she parties hard!” Rihanna’s revelry stems part out of boredom and part out of solitude from life on the road, one insider said. “She’s actually a very lonely girl … she gets fed up with sitting in her hotel room, so she goes out drinking.” Another theory circulating about RiRi’s turn toward the dark side is residual longing for her ex Chris Brown, who got the face of his new girlfriend, Karrueche Tran, tattooed on his arm after media murmurs the storied couple had briefly reunited. “When Chris got the tattoo, Rihanna freaked out,” the insider told Star. “She’s been obsessed with the thought that he’s going to marry Karrueche and she’ll never be able to get back with him. She’s heartbroken and in a bad place … she’s been numbing the pain with alcohol.” Friends of the hitmaker see trouble on the horizon. “She says she’s having fun, but it’s clear she’s acting out because she’s in a lot of emotional pain,” a source told Star. “Everyone is telling her to slow down and think about therapy, or even rehab.” The issue is further complicated by a family history of addiction, as her father Ronald Fenty battled demons with crack in the family’s home country of Barbados. “Nobody wants her to end up like her father, or worse, turn out to be a tragic figure like Whitney Houston,” a source told Star. “But that’s what’s going to happen if she doesn’t take some action furious because it’s extremely rare for to save herself — fast.” For more on this story, check out the new issue of Star, on newsstands Thursday. Is Breezy really driving RihRih to drink??? What do you think? Peep her tweet and the photo with the IV below:
When you get a chance, go read Dennis Hensley’s interviews with Elizabeth Berkley and Paul Verhoeven from the days before Showgirls was a cult cause célèbre. It’s worth every minute: “Oh my God, I just saw it like a week ago. You have to understand, I’ve been working at this since I was like 5 years old so it was pretty overwhelming. I sat in the screening room by myself. The lights went down and I started to cry because it was just overwhelming at first. I’m such a perfectionist, but a certain point, was able to get lost in the story, which was a good sign to me. I really thought that I was watching another girl.” Oh, you wish , honey. [ Dennis Hensley via The Hairpin ]
Tragic, shocking news out of New York just now: Adam Yauch — a.k.a. MCA, one-third of rap legends the Beastie Boys, influential filmmaker and music-video director, and founder of independent-film distributor Oscilloscope Laboratories — has died following his long battle with cancer. He was 47. Movieline will have more on Yauch’s passing, including official comment from Oscilloscope and appreciations of Yauch’s artistic legacy, throughout the day. Developing… [via Global Grind , Rolling Stone ] UPDATE [3:56 p.m. EDT]: Movieline received this statement from Yauch’s Oscilloscope Laboratories colleagues Dan Berger, David Fenkel and David Laub on behalf of the entire company: “We are deeply, deeply saddened by the passing of Adam Yauch – an amazing leader, a dear friend and an incredible human being. Today we are heartbroken at Oscilloscope as we take in this awful news and our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time. Adam’s legacy will remain a driving force at Oscilloscope – his indomitable spirit and his great passion for film, people, and hard work – always with a sense of humor and a lot of heart.” And this followed from the Beastie Boys’ management company Nasty Little Man: It is with great sadness that we confirm that musician, rapper, activist and director Adam “MCA” Yauch, founding member of Beastie Boys and also of the Milarepa Foundation that produced the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits, and film production and distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories, passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer. He was 47 years old. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Yauch taught himself to play bass in high school, forming a band for his 17th birthday party that would later become known the world over as Beastie Boys. With fellow members Michael “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Adrock” Horovitz, Beastie Boys would go on to sell over 40 million records, release four #1 albums–including the first hip hop album ever to top the Billboard 200, the band’s 1986 debut full length, Licensed To Ill –win three Grammys, and the MTV Video Vanguard Lifetime Achievement award. Last month Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Diamond and Horovitz reading an acceptance speech on behalf of Yauch, who was unable to attend. In addition to his hand in creating such historic Beastie Boys albums as Paul’s Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty and more, Yauch was a founder of the Milarepa Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting awareness and activism regarding the injustices perpetrated on native Tibetans by Chinese occupational government and military forces. In 1996, Milarepa produced the first Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, which was attended by 100,000 people, making it the biggest benefit concert on U.S. soil since 1985’s Live Aid. The Tibetan Freedom Concert series would continue to stage some of the most significant benefit shows in the world for nearly a decade following in New York City, Washington DC, Tokyo, Sydney, Amsterdam, Taipei and other cities. In the wake of September 11, 2001, Milarepa organized New Yorkers Against Violence, a benefit headlined by Beastie Boys at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom, with net proceeds disbursed to the New York Women’s Foundation Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Association for New Americans (NYANA) September 11th Fund for New Americans–each chosen for their efforts on behalf of 9/11 victims least likely to receive help from other sources. Under the alias of Nathanial Hörnblowér, Yauch directed iconic Beastie Boys videos including ‘So Whatcha Want,’ ‘Intergalactic,’ ‘Body Movin’ and ‘Ch-Check It Out.’ Under his own name, Yauch directed last year’s Fight For Your Right Revisited , an extended video for ‘Make Some Noise’ from Beastie Boys’ Hot Sauce Committee Part Two , starring Elijah Wood, Danny McBride and Seth Rogen as the 1986 Beastie Boys, making their way through a half hour of cameo-studded misadventures before squaring off against Jack Black, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as Beastie Boys of the future. Yauch’s passion and talent for filmmaking led to his founding of Oscilloscope Laboratories, which in 2008 released his directorial film debut, the basketball documentary Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot and has since become a major force in independent video distribution, amassing a catalogue of such acclaimed titles as Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy , Oren Moverman’s The Messenger , Banksy’s Exit Through The Gift Shop , Lance Bangs and Spike Jonze’s Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait Of Maurice Sendak , and many more. Yauch is survived by his wife Dechen and his daughter Tenzin Losel, as well as his parents Frances and Noel Yauch. UPDATE [5:20 p.m. EDT] Here’s Movieline partner ENTV ‘s dispatch on Yauch:
While Think Like A Man may have conquered the domestic box office two weekends in a row – an impressive feat for what Hollywood execs refer to as an “urban comedy” – there’s no question that the film’s success is as much due to the popular self-help book on which it is based as it is to its comedic merits. Roger Ebert hit the nail on the head in his review , remarking: “The movie’s mistake is to take the book seriously. This might have worked as a screwball comedy or a satire, but can you believe for a moment in characters naive enough to actually live their lives following Steve Harvey’s advice?” The funny thing is that the screwball version film Ebert would have liked to see actually exists — and is infinitely superior to the more dramatic, contemporary incarnation. That film is Two Can Play That Game , Mark Brown’s hilarious entry in the battle-of-the-sexes subgenre. A distant descendant of true screwballs (most notably The Awful Truth , which depicts a recently divorced couple’s attempts to derail one another’s new romances), Two Can Play That Game is, like Think Like A Man , anchored by a character explaining dating rules and philosophy to the audience. However, in this film that character actually has skin in the game – in fact, she’s its heroine: Shante Smith (Vivica A. Fox) is an ad agency exec who dispenses advice to the audience (and her girlfriends) about her seemingly perfect “Ten Day Program” for keeping a straying boyfriend in check; when her own boyfriend Keith (Morris Chestnut) begins to stray, a battle of wits ensues. The Kevin Hart comedic-sidekick role is played here by Anthony Anderson, as Keith’s relationship consigliore. Anderson knocks the role out of the park, with a performance that easily steals the entire film. It’s true that the most dramatic moments of Think Like A Man – when the characters try to level with each other and Own Up To Their Mistakes – are the moments in which it feels the most deadened. Two Can Play That Game , alternatively, embraces its absurdity; like its finest performance, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. In one scene, when Anderson seconds the points Keith makes by shouting as if he’s at church, an organ and chorus suddenly appear on the soundtrack to emphasize the revelations the men are coming to about women. The film, at various points, informs us that the first law of thermodynamics explains how best to manipulate your partner; has Vivica A. Fox punch Gabrielle Union in the face; and, in the funniest scene, puts forth the theory that church is a better place to pick up promiscuous women than a nightclub. And while the film understands that it’s a light comedy, it’s not lacking for bombast. “This is way bigger than you,” Anderson tells Chestnut late in the film. “You’re doing this for all men across the country. You’re doing this for men all around the world!” With increasingly deranged anxiety, Anderson goes off the rails: “Pretty soon women are gonna be pulling these head trips on us, dog, and you know what’s gonna happen? We’re gonna be the ones cooking dinner! We’re gonna be the ones changing the diapers! We’re gonna be the ones washing the dishes! And you know what they’re gonna be doing? They’re gonna be sitting on our couches, watching football on our Sunday!” Between putting forth the misguided belief that people need to engage in psychological warfare to keep their partners in line and the propagation of all kinds of stereotypes and clichés, no one’s going to accuse either of these movies of responsibly depicting gender relations. But when choosing one to watch, a viewer is well-advised to pick a film that is fully aware of – and complicit in – its own absurdity. Zachary Wigon is a writer based in New York. His work has appeared in the New York Press, NYLON, and Filmmaker Magazine, among many other outlets. He tweets @zachwigon .
