Christal's World (Labellange)

Wandering thoughts

2008-09-01T16:55:00.007+01:00

Another day drawing to a close. I sit here thinking about all that's transpired during this day. My memory is hazy. What occurred a scant moment or two ago seems to have taken place eons ago. I'm sluggish, unfocused and miles away from my current physical location. I hear the hums of dozens of computers (the curse of the modern open-plan office layout), I gaze at my monitor, but all I see is a whirling of colours.

Today I want to be miles away from here......in a park, by a pond or a lake, lying on the grass, feeling the sun on my skin, enjoying the last caresses of summer before dreary autumn sweeps in. I think to myself, "...if wishes were wings, I would definitely be flying a high and as free as a bird right about now." But noooooooooooooo......I'm stuck here behind a computer, slave to 'THE SYSTEM'. Well, more like slave to the last 'splurge' I went one....I knew I should have fought the urge to splash out on those jeans, the pair of boots and the dress. But they look great on me .....oh well, I digress.

I'm getting myself up from this chair, switching off my PC, packing up my stuff and taking that long-awaited walk to the exit, down the stair (no lifts for me today), out to the lobby and out the main entrance. I'm going to raced by the receptionist, breathe a quick goodnight (no time to chat today, my dear) and step out into the late evening light. I'll breathe deeply and just thank God for my escape from the haze. Life is beautiful.

McCain is "butt" of Paris' gag.

2008-08-06T13:44:00.004+01:00

Attention, America: Paris has spoken. Paris Hilton, the blonde, doe-eyed celebrity thrust into the presidential campaign in an ad by Republican candidate John McCain, issued a tart rebuttal Tuesday, albeit in a scantily clad, tongue-in-cheek kind of way.

Last week, McCain launched an ad comparing Democratic rival Barack Obama to Hilton and Britney Spears, suggesting Obama was no more than a celebrity candidate unready to lead the nation.

Hilton initially shied away from the debate over the ad and its effectiveness. But she responded Tuesday with a spoof on the comedy Web site Funny or Die.

"Hey America, I'm Paris Hilton and I'm a celebrity, too. Only I'm not from the olden days and I'm not promising change like that other guy. I'm just hot," Hilton said, speaking as she reclined in a pool chair in a revealing bathing suit and a pair of pumps.

"But then that wrinkly, white-haired guy used me in his campaign ad, which I guess means I'm running for president. So thanks for the endorsement white-haired dude."

"I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead," she said.
She then discusses energy policy, and suggests a hybrid of McCain's offshore oil drilling plan and Obama's incentives for new energy technology. "Energy crisis solved! I'll see you at the debates," she said.

McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said Hilton appears to support his candidate's "all of the above" energy solution. "Paris Hilton might not be as big a celebrity as Barack Obama, but she obviously has a better energy plan," Bounds said.

Hilton's mother, who with her husband donated $4,600 to McCain's campaign earlier in the year, has said McCain's ad is "a complete waste of the country's time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs."

McCain's ad uses footage of Obama's reception by Germans during a recent trip to Berlin to dismiss him as just another celebrity. Obama's campaign has criticized the ad; McCain has defended it as humorous.

Hilton's rebuttal includes plenty of humor at McCain's expense. An announcer calls him "the oldest celebrity in the world, like super-old, old enough to remember when dancing was a sin and beer was served in a bucket," and asks, "but is he ready to lead?" Hilton's spoof also intersperses images of McCain and Yoda from Star Wars and the cast of television's "The Golden Girls."

Laurence Fishbourne courted for CSI lead.

2008-08-06T13:42:00.003+01:00

Laurence Fishburne is in talks to replace William Petersen as the star of CBS' veteran crime drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

The search for a new lead has been shrouded in secrecy, but sources say Fishburne is being heavily courted to play the new character, described as a doctor/scientist outsider to the CSI unit who has the same genetic profile as a serial killer but hasn't previously acted on any homicidal impulses.

Fishburne, an Oscar nominee for "What's Love Got to Do With It," had been mentioned as one of the "CSI" producers' top choices for the role, along with John Malkovich and Kurt Russell.

Obama opts out of public campaign finance system

2008-06-19T15:14:00.003+01:00

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday he'll bypass the federal public financing system in the general election, abandoning an earlier commitment to take the money if his Republican rival did as well.

Obama, who set records raising money in the primary election, will forgo more than $84 million that would have been available to him in the general election. He would be the first candidate to do so since Congress passed 1970s post-Watergate campaign finance laws. Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee in waiting, has taken steps to accept the public funds in the general election.

Obama officials said they decided to take that route because McCain is already spending privately raised funds toward the general election campaign. Obama has vastly outraised McCain, however, and would likely retain that advantage if McCain accepts the public money.
The public finance system is paid for with the $3 contributions that taxpayers can make to the presidential fund in their tax returns.

"It's not an easy decision, and especially because I support a robust system of public financing of elections," Obama told supporters in a video message Thursday. "But the public financing of presidential elections as it exists today is broken, and we face opponents who've become masters at gaming this broken system."

Obama has shattered president campaign fundraising records, raking in more than $265 million as of the end of April. Of that, nearly $10 million was for the general election. McCain, on the other hand had raised nearly $115 million by the end of May,
But Obama's clear financial advantage over McCain is offset in part by the resources of the Republican National Committee, which has far more money in the bank than the Democratic National Committee. Both national parties can spend money on behalf of the presidential candidates.

Obama said McCain and the Republican National Committee are fueled by contributions from Washington lobbyists and political action committees.
"And we've already seen that he's not going to stop the smears and attacks from his allies running so-called 527 groups, who will spend millions and millions of dollars in unlimited donations," Obama said.

Obama campaign lawyer Robert Bauer said he had met with McCain lawyers to discuss terms for both campaigns operating in the public financing system, but he said they could not agree on how to limit spending by the campaigns and outside groups heading into the late summer party conventions.

He said McCain has had an advantage because he has been running unopposed since he secured the Republican nomination early this year. "The important thing is that John McCain has been running a privately financed campaign for the general election since February," Bauer said. "The problem from our perspective is that the horse is long gone from the barn here."
Despite Obama's claim that outside groups allied with McCain will spend millions of dollars against him, few Republican-leaning groups have weighed into the presidential contest so far. In fact, Obama allies such as MoveOn.org are the ones have been spending money on advertising against McCain.

McCain and Obama both declined public financing in the primary contests, thus avoiding the spending limits that come attached to the money. McCain has been in a dispute with the Federal Election Commission, whose chairman earlier this year said McCain needed commission approval to decline the funds. The FEC has not had a quorum to act, however, because four of its six seats have been vacant pending Senate confirmation of presidential nominees. McCain lawyers have disputed the need for FEC approval.

Last year, both Obama and McCain indicated in separate commitments that they would participate in the public system for the general election, as long as both candidates agreed.
In response to a questionnaire in November from the Midwest Democracy Network, which is made up of nonpartisan government oversight groups, Obama said: "Senator John McCain has already pledged to accept this fundraising pledge. If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election."

While presidential candidates have rejected public financing in primaries, no major party candidate has bypassed the system in the general election.

Young jeezy joins the damn fools' club.

2008-06-19T14:01:00.001+01:00

Rapper Young Jeezy was charged with driving under the influence and speeding after he was pulled over on an Atlanta highway early Wednesday.

The multi-platinum-selling artist, whose real name is Jay Jenkins, was driving a Corvette when he was stopped about 2:30 a.m. on Interstate 85, police department spokesman Officer James Polite said. The arresting officer noticed the vehicle did not have a license plate, but Polite could not say how fast Jenkins was driving.

Jenkins was charged with speeding, driving with no proof of insurance or license plate, having an open container, reckless driving and driving impaired by alcohol or drugs. He was released from the Atlanta City Detention Center a few hours later on a $4,100 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court July 17. His attorney, Scott E. Leemon, said in a news release that Jenkins was arrested after leaving a recording studio, where he was working on his new album.

"A court date has been scheduled and Jeezy looks forward to getting the matter resolved," Leemon said. Jenkins is due in court on July 17.

Jenkins' collaboration, "Love in This Club," with R&B star Usher is currently sixth on Billboard's Hot 100 list.

Lil Wayne's 'Tha Carter III' goes platinum in first week

2008-06-18T07:20:00.003+01:00

Lil Wayne now has official numbers to back up his bragging — the rapper's new CD has sold a spectacular 1 million copies its first week.

"Tha Carter III" is easily the best selling first week of the year, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures. Even Kanye West's "The Graduation" didn't eclipse that mark in its first week last year (though it was only about 50,000 copies short).

A prolific rapper who's been ubiquitous on the mixtape scene and on other acts' records, Lil Wayne is generally regarded as one of rap's most gifted performers — but he's never had a multiplatinum album. His last two albums, "Tha Carter" and "Tha Carter II," sold 1.1 million and 1.4 million copies, respectively. "Tha Carter III" was anticipated as the CD that would send the New Orleans rapper into superstardom.

"I've been saying a million all along, and I've been telling people, and they've been looking at me crazy," said Ron Williams, co-founder of Lil Wayne's record label, Cash Money Records.
"He worked hard. He just came with something different. He let his skills show on a lot of mixtapes. He's featured on a lot of people's records," Williams said. "It just made people anticipate his record more than ever."

Already, Lil Wayne's had a No. 1 smash for several weeks — the sexually explicit "Lollipop" — and has been featured on numerous hits over the past year, including the recent remix to Usher's "Love in This Club."

In a slumping industry where selling 200,000 albums in one week is becoming a rare feat, Lil Wayne's achievement is not only a triumph but a much-needed boost — the last CD to sell 1 million or more in its first week was 50 Cent's "The Massacre" in 2005.

Expectations for "Tha Carter III" were high, and it delivered — selling 423,000 copies in its first day of release. It achieved blockbuster numbers despite being heavily bootlegged and leaked on the Internet; past leaks of material for the CD caused parent label Universal Motown to delay its release several times.

Lil Wayne, 25, has been a star on the rap scene since he was a teen, but only in recent years has his star rivaled that of contemporaries like West, a contributor on his new CD.

Pamela Anderson to part with prized car for charity.

2008-06-09T21:37:00.002+01:00

Pamela Anderson may have a need for speed, but her favorite charity has a need for funds.

That's why the former "Baywatch" babe is selling her prized Dodge Viper and donating the proceeds to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "I've been working with PETA for 15 years," Anderson told The Associated Press. "They're kind of my ethical advisers. With them, I see actual results."

The 40-year-old actress recently held a private estate sale to benefit the animal organization, and she's planning to personally oversee the sale of her 2000 Viper, which she customized herself with white racing stripes. The car plays a prominent role in Anderson's forthcoming E! series, "Pam: Girl on the Loose," but she admitted it was dangerous for her to own such a high-performance vehicle.

"I'm a terrible driver," she said. "It's just not a good idea for me to have a Viper."
The car will be among the offerings at Julien's Auctions' Summer Entertainment Sale of Hollywood memorabilia, to be held June 21 and 22 at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Other items available include Alfred Hitchcock's driver's license, personal snapshots of Marilyn Monroe and Sammy Davis Jr. and an original "Ben Hur" script signed by Charlton Heston. The sale will be broadcast live on Auction Network.

Though Anderson regularly attends charity auctions, she said she's not much of a collector.
"I get sports stuff for my kids," she said. "But me? I, just on a whim, give everything away. This is another one of those opportunities, but it's specific. It goes to the cause."

Jessica Alba welcomes baby girl.

2008-06-09T21:35:00.003+01:00

Jessica Alba and her husband Cash Warren are new parents.

The 27-year-old actress gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Honor Marie Warren, on Saturday, her publicist Brad Cafarelli said Monday in an e-mail to The Associated Press. Cafarelli didn't provide further details.
Alba and Warren wed last month after becoming engaged in December. They met on the set of the 2005 film "The Fantastic Four," which costarred Alba. Warren was a director's assistant.

Lionel Ritchie gets a laugh taking swipe at Nicole.

2008-06-09T21:33:00.004+01:00

It's not easy raising a celebutante. Take it from Lionel Richie. The singer was accepting the "Icon" honor at Sunday night's taping of the TV Land Awards, when he got applause and a laugh at daughter Nicole's expense.

"Forget about surviving 40 years in the music business," Lionel Richie told the audience. "Just surviving 27 years of Nicole Richie has been a struggle-and-a-half, I want to tell you. I stand here as a survivor, I want you to know, for all the parents out there."

In 2007, Nicole Richie spent 82 minutes in jail after being convicted of driving under the influence of drugs. She was arrested in December 2006 after witnesses reported seeing her Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicle headed the wrong way on a freeway in Burbank, Calif.

Nicole, who made a name for herself on Fox's "The Simple Life" along with Paris Hilton, hasn't posed for any mug shots lately. Rather, she has been spotted out and about with 3-month-old Harlow, her daughter with Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden.
The sixth annual TV Land Awards are scheduled to air June 15 on the cable network.

Snoop to Beyonce: Have some babies!

2008-06-09T21:25:00.003+01:00

After a decade of marriage and three children later, rapper Snoop Dogg has a few words of advice for new husband and wife Jay-Z and Beyoncé Knowles.

"I told them to go home and make babies," he told reporters at the Dodge Celebrity Event in Rosamond, Calif. "They should, that's the next step as far as marriage, having kids ... add on to the family, so hopefully that's what they'll do."

When asked if he'd be planning on adding to his already full nest, he shook his head, grinning. "No. I'm good."

Snoop's key to lasting marriage? "Communication, and being able to fight and get back up," he says. "To have misunderstanding and [then] get some understanding."

After 4 years away, Ashanti makes a comeback.

2008-06-06T12:04:00.005+01:00

Ashanti was one of music's hottest stars, with two multiplatinum albums and a Grammy under her belt, until her third disc, 2004's "Concrete Rose," landed like a brick on the music charts.

The album came out while the head of her music label, The Inc.'s Irv Gotti, was under investigation by the federal government (he was later charged with money laundering but acquitted of the charges). Ashanti blames the cloud surrounding the label for creating a climate that made it difficult for "Concrete Rose" to bloom.

Ashanti spent the next four years away from the music scene, but she wasn't completely out of the spotlight: She appeared in movies and was often seen on the arm of her beau, rapper Nelly.

This month, however, marks Ashanti's musical return — and she's doing it with "The Declaration." The CD already has a hit on its hands with the dramatic woman-scorned ballad "The Way That I Love You."

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Ashanti talked about her yearslong absence from the charts, how heartbreak informs her music and why she has no hard feelings against Gotti, who was acquitted.

Q: You say your first single, "The Way That I Love You" was inspired by the television show, "Snapped" (which is about women who are pushed to their breaking points).

Ashanti: I was watching it and feeling the passion in the lyrics of the record. I was like, "Oh my gosh. This is perfect for a woman who has snapped." I wanted to do something to inspire the video and blow it out. We wanted to do something more cinematic as opposed to a regular music video since I have been gone for four years since my last album. It just made perfect sense to make that marriage between the record and the visual.

Q: Is heartache the best source of inspiration?

Ashanti: Definitely. As I said, it is almost like a double-edged sword. You take your pros and cons with it. Me as a writer, any experience is good because it allows people to relate to you. When you write about stuff that is sincere and it really happens to you that is what kind of gets people like, "Wow, she is writing about my situation right now."

Q: You have been away for a while. Were you worried about recapturing your fan base?

Ashanti: I don't think that I went through thinking there is not going to be room. I think it is really important, me as a person and me as an artist that you have to bring your own flavor to the table. Being that I write all my own records, that is my niche. I am never going to have a problem writing. I think that separates me from a lot of the females that are out. It is all about trying something different. Being that it has been four years it was really important to try something out of the box just to see. You have to keep the people interested and intrigued.

Q: A few blogs recently made fun of you, commenting on your weight. How do you deal with the criticism in this Internet/tabloid age?

Ashanti: Again, it is one of those things that is a double-edged sword. If there is something great and it is positive it is all good and with the click of a button, millions of people could know about it and chime in and give you your praises. On the other hand it could be something that is horrible and detrimental and someone could be exploiting you with a rumor or a lie or whatever they do with your picture. It comes with the territory. You have to take the good with the bad.

Q: Did Nelly help you with this album?

Ashanti: He definitely helped. He is a very passionate person when it comes to being in the studio. He likes to have fun, but he is so passionate about what he does and making things perfect and trying it. Just putting everything out there. Musically we come from very, very different places. I actually did learn a lot from him just about trying different things and being willing to do something different.

Q: Why did you decide to take total control of your record this time around?

Ashanti: I would say, if you are on a ship with people and someone picks you up and throws you out of the ship with people, you are either going to sink, or you are going to swim. I decided to swim. That sums up what happened.

Q: What is your relationship with Irv Gotti?

Ashanti: The situation is what it is. I am working on my project. Ja is working on his project. Lloyd is working on his project. I think it has been such a long time that everyone is working on their individuality. The trial took a toll on everyone personally and everyone's careers. This time around it is like focusing on the individual self, the projects and getting that music back out. No beef. I am really in a happier space right now. I have grown up so much and learned so much.

Q: Did you appreciate the break or were you yearning to be back on the music scene?

Ashanti: At times I looked at it like maybe this is a good thing. I got a chance to do "John Tucker Must Die." I got a chance to do "Resident Evil." At times I looked at it as I just want to get into the studio. I have this melody and idea and I think this would be hot. Again, you have to take the good with the bad. It is not like I decided to stop. Everything was yanked from me. When people say, "Did you appreciate it and you had your four-year break?" It wasn't really like that. It was more of (taken away). Now what?

Q: At a time when a lot of people are exploring and discovering their independence, you seem to be doing the opposite. Your mother is you manager. Is it difficult being 27 and having your mother always around?

Ashanti: My family, we are different. It is very close-knit. I can say things in front of my dad and my mom and I don't feel uncomfortable. There are certain things that I won't say. You have to live your life. I happen to have an amazing relationship with both of my parents so it is cool and I am comfortable. Do I tell them every single thing? No.

Source

Woman claims tryst with R Kelly and alleged victim

2008-06-03T10:58:00.003+01:00

Prosecutors rested their case in R. Kelly's child pornography trial after a day of sensational testimony about alleged trysts, extortion plots and a duffel bag full of sex tapes.

Star prosecution witness Lisa Van Allen cried on the witness stand, pausing to regain her composure, as she described several alleged three-way sexual encounters with the R&B star and the alleged victim, some of which she claimed Kelly videotaped.

Van Allen, 27, also told jurors in more than three hours of testimony Monday that Kelly offered her $250,000 last year to recover a tape of one of the trysts.

During cross-examination, a defense attorney accused Van Allen of plotting to extort money from the singer, which she denied. Under further questioning, she admitted she once stole Kelly's $20,000 diamond-studded watch from a hotel.

"Van Allen is an admitted thief and liar who wouldn't know the truth if she tripped over it," Kelly's business manager, Derrel McDavid, said in a statement.

Kelly, 41, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of child pornography for allegedly videotaping himself having sex with a female prosecutors say was as young as 13. He has pleaded not guilty and both he and the alleged victim, now 23, deny being on the video — which is separate from those Van Allen testified to being on.

The state, which called more than a dozen witnesses over two weeks, rested its case after Van Allen's testimony. Jurors will get Tuesday off before the defense begins its presentation on Wednesday.

Van Allen told jurors Monday she first had sex with Kelly and the alleged victim in 1998. Kelly would have been around 30 years old at the time, Van Allen about 18 and the alleged victim would have been 14, according to prosecutors' estimates.

Van Allen said Kelly told her then that the alleged victim was 16. The age of legal consent in Illinois is 17.

The three-way sex took place in the same home on Chicago's North Side where prosecutors say the sex tape at the center of the case was made, Van Allen told jurors.

She said she began crying during a second sexual encounter in 1999 with Kelly and the alleged victim, causing an upset Kelly to pick up the video camera and leave the room. She said that encounter took place at the house's basketball court.

"I started crying ... because I didn't want to do it," Van Allen testified. She said Kelly complained that her crying ruined the footage and that he never kept tapes during which she cried.

A final three-way encounter occurred in a trailer during a video shoot in Chicago in 2000, Van Allen said. When someone came to the trailer door, the alleged victim "had to run into the bathroom naked" because Kelly did not want others to see her there, she told jurors.

Several months pregnant, Van Allen, from Georgia, initially appeared relaxed on the witness stand and smiled frequently. But she wept when she discussed the second alleged encounter. Prosecutors paused for two minutes as she dabbed tears from her face.

Kelly looked on from across the room as Van Allen testified, at least once appearing to shake his head and other times staring at his folded hands.

Van Allen told jurors that Kelly offered her $250,000 last year to recover a tape of one of the encounters with the alleged victim. She said acquaintances of hers took the tape from Kansas City to a Chicago hotel, where it was handed over to a Kelly associate who paid $20,000 in cash.

Van Allen portrayed Kelly as obsessed with videotaping his sexual exploits, testifying that he even carried around a duffel bag with his homemade sex tapes in it.

"He carried it everywhere with him," she said. "Wherever he was at, the bag would follow him."

Van Allen said she first met Kelly at the making of a music video in Georgia about 10 years ago. She later appeared in several Kelly music videos, including one for the song "I Wish," in which she braids the singer's hair.

During a 1998 Kelly concert tour, Van Allen said she simulated having sex with the singer in front of the audience.

"You didn't cry then, did you?" asked defense attorney Sam Adam Sr., who repeatedly suggested Van Allen's tears in court were disingenuous.

Before Van Allen took the stand, Judge Vincent Gaughan advised that she had been appointed an attorney, saying some of her testimony might be "self-incriminating." She was granted immunity by prosecutors.

Van Allen said she approached prosecutors about testifying in the case only several months ago — six years after Kelly was charged.

"It's the right thing to do," she told jurors.

But Adam said Van Allen had ulterior motives when she contacted prosecutors in March, including to help get a reduced sentence in a weapons case for a man she lives with.

Adam also noted that Van Allen told prosecutors only Monday that she stole Kelly's watch in 2001.

"So the spirit didn't move you to do the right thing about this (the watch) until today?" Adam asked. He pointed across the courtroom at Kelly. "You tried to extort that man over there," he said.

Van Allen denied the accusation, saying Kelly asked her in 2007 whether she could hand over the tape of one of their three-way encounters.

Asked whether she knew of any other copies of that tape, Van Allen gestured at Kelly across the room, referring to him by his birth name.

"Robert would know," she said.

2008-05-13T21:13:00.002+01:00

A weeping Remy Ma was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday for shooting a woman outside a Manhattan nightclub. "I feel so bad for all the physical and mental pain you've gone through," the Grammy-nominated rapper told the victim. "This has taken a toll on us and both our families. I would never wish you harm and I pray the best for all of us."

The entertainer, whose real name is Remy Smith, had faced up to 25 years in prison for assault, weapon possession and attempted coercion for shooting Makeda Barnes Joseph last July in a dispute over money.

Smith, 26, begged the judge for leniency for the sake of "my little boy," saying she grew up "surrounded by failure, violence and poverty," but "made something out of nothing" from her life.

State Supreme Court Justice Rena Uviller said she recognized that Smith had had a difficult childhood, but noted the victim had nearly died and will never be the same physically. Uviller called the rapper "a young woman whose anger is out of control."

After the sentencing, Smith's fiance, fellow rapper Papoose, began screaming in a hallway outside the courtroom. "All you want is money!" he said, apparently referring to the victim.

"Lock me up! Lock me up!" he then shouted to court officers, who escorted him out of the courthouse.

The couple had planned to wed last weekend at the Rikers Island jail, where Smith has been incarcerated. Correction officials said they called off the wedding after Papoose showed up with a handcuff key.

Smith's lawyer, Ivan Fisher, said Papoose had a key but denied that it could be used to open handcuffs. Papoose, whose real is Shamele Mackie, hasn't been charged.

Fisher said the couple still plan to wed.

The fight in Manhattan's trendy Meatpacking District erupted after Smith accused Joseph of taking $2,000 from her purse.

Prosecutors said she then fired two .45-caliber slugs into the woman's abdomen and fled without calling police or for medical help.

Fisher said the sentence would be appealed.

He said the women struggled and the gun went off accidentally. He said Joseph's story changed when her lawyer was preparing a $20 million lawsuit, which was later withdrawn.

Smith was nominated for a Grammy as part of the Terror Squad for the 2004 smash "Lean Back."

2008-05-08T13:35:00.001+01:00

Simon Cowell once told Jason Castro that his face would save him from elimination. Not this time.

The dreadlocked heartthrob was voted off "American Idol" Wednesday as the show narrowed the competition to three finalists: David Cook, David Archuleta and Syesha Mercado.

Castro, 20, from Rockwall, Texas, started off strong in the show's seventh season but lost momentum in recent weeks. He gave weaker performances, and flubbed the lyrics to Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" on Tuesday's performance show.

Cowell predicted Castro's gaffe could spell the end of him. "Jason, I'd pack your suitcase," Cowell told the singer.

Castro took his fate in stride and didn't wipe the ever-present grin off his expansive face after learning the result.

Earlier in Wednesday's show, he told host Ryan Seacrest: "I think it's just getting tough for me. I think my inexperience is coming in."

Castro said this week he tried to pick songs he knew — "Mr Tambourine Man" and Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" — and yet he "screwed it up."

After Castro's cover of "I Shot the Sheriff," a less-than-impressed Cowell said: "I don't know what you're thinking!"

Castro replied: "I'm thinking, Bob Marley!"

Castro had his share of spacey moments while he was in the running, like when a viewer asked Wednesday what the contestants' biggest challenges were in the competition. Castro answered: "Just the brain being dead."

The program also featured performances by Maroon 5 and "Idol" alum Bo Bice.

2008-05-08T13:34:00.002+01:00

Mariah Carey really did get married to Nick Cannon in the Bahamas last week — and they have the tattoos to prove it.

The 38-year-old singer and the 27-year-old actor confirmed to People magazine that they tied the knot at Carey's Bahamian estate April 30 after a courtship that began in late March.

In an interview from the magazine's May 19 issue, Cannon said they clicked instantly when Carey cast him as a lover in the video for her new single, "Bye Bye."

"From the first time we sat down to discuss the video at the Beverly Hills Hotel, we connected," Cannon said. "We had so much in common spiritually, and we laugh at the same things. I didn't have to put on my Mac Daddy suave mode. I was able to be myself with her. We are both eternally 12 years old."

They began a whirlwind romance, and raised eyebrows when Carey was seen sporting a huge diamond ring on her finger at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of her movie "Tennessee," in which she plays a waitress. Carey said she told "only about four people" about the wedding.

Were Carey's friends surprised?

"Some were, but some weren't," she said. "One thing (few people) knew was we got tattoos a few weeks earlier. So anyone who saw my (Mrs. Cannon) tattoo wasn't surprised."

Chiming in, Cannon said, "To me rings are special and exciting, but tattoos mean more than anything. They're forever and ever. They professed our love."

A dozen guests attended their sunset wedding, where they served Maine lobster and Dom Perignon champagne. The bride wore a gown by Nile Cmylo that showed off her curves and faded from off-white to pale pink.

"My pastor Clarence Keaton flew in from New York," Carey said. "The whole wedding was really beautiful and sweet. Being there with loved ones under the sky ... it was a spiritual moment."

Cannon said he was speechless watching Carey walk down the aisle: "I was elated, but I was thinking, `Don't pass out.' ... (The pastor) said, `The eyes are the window to the soul,' then gave us an entire minute to stare into each other's eyes. So I was saying, `Don't cry.'"

The pair said they've thought about having kids.

"It's part of the whole purpose of getting married," Carey said. "I'd just want our children to have the best childhood and upbringing they possibly could."

Paula left 'empty' by song that never was.

2008-04-30T13:28:00.002+01:00

Paula Abdul must be hearing double. On a night when "American Idol" switched up the judges' format by making them hold their appraisals until every contestant had a turn, Abdul offered feedback Tuesday for two songs by Jason Castro — except that he'd only sung one.

Unlike the usual format, in which each "Idol" performance is judged immediately, Abdul, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell were made to take notes, then offer individual critiques in rapid succession at the end of each round. The reason, Seacrest explained, was because "this show is so tight."

So after each of the final five contestants sang one Neil Diamond song, Jackson zipped through his appraisals, offering a few terse words for each before kicking it to a visibly flustered Abdul.

"Oh gosh, we've never had to write these things down ... fast enough," she began, shuffling through her notecards. "Jason, first song, I loved hearing your lower register, which we never really hear, um ... ."

And that's where it started going off the rails.

"The second song, I felt like your usual charm wasn't — it was missing for me. It kind of left me a little empty."

Indeed.

All six people on stage, including Seacrest, stared blankly (except Syesha Mercado, who wore the furrowed brow of mystification).

"The two songs," she continued, "made me feel like you're not fighting hard enough to get into the top four."

After a smattering of nervous crowd laughter, Jackson finally broke the tension.

"That was just on the first song," he said sheepishly, pointing up to Castro. "Just on the first one."

Simon Cowell closed his eyes and shook his head, and began to guffaw as Abdul's confusion mounted.

"Oh my god, I thought you — I thought you sang twice!" she said.

She explained that she got confused by looking ahead at the notes for David Cook.

At that point Seacrest, who makes his money by smoothing over situations just such as these, pointed to Abdul, saying: "You're seeing the future, baby!" before cutting her off and throwing to Cowell.

Even Cowell gathered himself to help patch up the moment, patting Abdul on the shoulder and asking, as if to speed things along, "Paula, who was your favorite?"

Her reply: Cook (the same contestant whose performance she supposedly noted as having left her "empty").

Pressed for time, Cowell then put an end to the awkward-fest by bursting into his own rapid-fire valuation: "Jason, forgettable; David Cook, just above average; Brooke (White) a nightmare; David Archuleta, I thought it was amateurish; and Syesha, I thought it was old-fashioned.

"So guys ... I want to see the performance of a lifetime coming up," he said, as if to ensure absolute clarity, "the second time around."

Abdul told "Entertainment Tonight" after the show that she was thrown for a loop when producers apprised the judges of the change "in the dark" at the last minute.

"This was officially the strangest show we've ever done," Cowell said at the conclusion of the telecast, "but I like that. It's kind of a bit chaotic tonight."

Lol....Paula must be sipping on that yak.

Wesley Snipes sentenced to 3 years

2008-04-25T12:05:00.002+01:00

After haggling with revenue agents, criminal investigators and eventually U.S. prosecutors for almost a decade, Wesley Snipes finally caught them by surprise.

Hours before he was to be sentenced Thursday for failing to file income taxes he insisted he never had to pay, the action star cut the federal government three checks for $5 million, delivered in court.

So taken aback were prosecutors that they first declined the cash. But by the end of the day, the government took the money and more — a maximum three-year sentence for its highest-profile criminal tax target in decades.

"The sentencing court sends the right message to the American taxpayer — you've got to pay your taxes," U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill told reporters outside the usually quiet central Florida courthouse. "Rich, poor, it doesn't matter. We all pay our taxes."

Though Snipes was convicted of three counts of willfully failing to file returns, his trial was held by some as proof of victory for the tax protest movement. Snipes was acquitted of five other charges, including felony tax fraud and conspiracy, that would've exposed him to 13 more years in prison.

Criminal tax prosecutions are relatively rare — usually the cases are handled in civil court, where the government has a lower burden of proof.

Snipes' attorneys argued the sentence was too stiff for a first-time offender convicted of three misdemeanors, and recommended he be given home detention and ordered to make public service announcements.

But U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges said Snipes exhibited a "history of contempt over a period of time" for U.S. tax laws.

"In my mind these are serious crimes, albeit misdemeanors," Hodges said.

The action star of the "Blade" trilogy, "White Men Can't Jump," "Jungle Fever" and other films hasn't filed a tax return since 1998, the government alleged. Snipes and the IRS still must determine how much he owes, plus interest and penalties. The government alleged Snipes made at least $13.8 million for the three years in question, owing at least $2.7 million in back taxes on them alone.

Snipes read aloud from a prepared apology, calling his actions "costly mistakes" but never mentioning the word "taxes." He said he was the victim of crooked advisers, a liability of wealth and celebrity that attract "wolves and jackals like flies are attracted to meat."

"I am an idealistic, naive, passionate, truth-seeking, spiritually motivated artist, unschooled in the science of law and finance," Snipes said.

His lawyers said he was no threat to society, and offered three dozen letters from family members, friends and even fellow actors Woody Harrelson and Denzel Washington attesting to his compassion, intelligence and value as a mentor. They called four character witnesses Thursday, including television's Judge Joe Brown, who incited applause from the gallery by suggesting Snipes was no different than "mega-corporate entities" that legally avoid taxes.

Hodges twice halted the proceedings to quiet the crowd, threatening to clear everyone out if they made another outburst.

Snipes' co-defendants, Douglas P. Rosile and Eddie Ray Kahn, were convicted on both felony counts on which the actor was acquittal. Kahn, who refused to defend himself in court, was sentenced to the maximum 10 years, while Rosile received 4 1/2 years. Both will serve three years of supervised release.

Snipes and Rosile remain free and will be notified when they are to surrender to authorities. Defense attorney Carmen Hernandez signaled in court that Snipes would pursue an appeal.

Kahn was the founder of American Rights Litigators, and a successor group, Guiding Light of God Ministries, that purported to help members legally avoid paying taxes. Snipes was a dues-paying member of the organization, and Rosile, a de-licensed accountant, prepared Snipes' paperwork.

The actor maintained in a yearslong battle with the IRS he did not have to pay taxes, using fringe arguments common to "tax protesters" who say the government has no legal right to collect. After joining Kahn's group, the government said, Snipes instructed his employees to stop paying their own taxes and sought $11 million in 1996 and 1997 taxes he legally paid.

Defense attorneys Hernandez and Daniel Meachum said Snipes was unfairly targeted because he's famous. Meachum called prosecutors "big game hunters," selectively prosecuting the actor while Kahn's some 4,000 other clients remained free.

Hodges was not swayed.

"One of the main purposes which drives selective prosecution in tax cases is deterrence," the judge said, while denying it had anything to do with his sentence. "In some instances, that means those of celebrity stand greater risk of prosecution. But there's nothing unusual about it, nor is there anything unlawful about it. It's the way the system works."

New James Bond movie: 'Quantum of Solace' or 'Jinxed'?

2008-04-24T14:33:00.005+01:00

Stuntman fighting for life after third accident in a week on Italian set of 'jinxed' Bond movie

A stuntman was fighting for his life today after a spectacular accident on the Italian set of the latest James Bond movie - the third in less than a week.

Insiders on Quantum Of Solace are already speaking of a jinx following a series of mishaps in the shooting of the latest escapade of Her Majesty's favourite secret agent.

Last weekend British engineer Fraser Dunn, 29, cheated death after he crashed a £134,000 Aston Martin DBS into the water at Lake Garda in northern Italy. And just hours later a stuntman was injured in another car chase.

The latest incident involved a Greek stuntman, who suffered serious head injuries after an Alfa Romeo 159 he was driving in a chase scene involving James Bond ploughed into a lorry.

Grecos, who was playing a villain, had to be cut free from the mangled wreckage of the car by firefighters following the accident at Limone dell Garda near Brescia.

He was airlifted to hospital and was today in a critical condition in hospital with serious head injuries.

Another stunt driver Italian Bruno Verdirosi suffered minor injuries.

Filming on the 22nd Bond film - which again stars Daniel Craig - was immediately halted and today producers were still debating whether to reshoot the scene or scrap it completely.

Sandro Pelligrini, of the Italian production team, said: "It was the second to last day of filming at Lake Garda and we still don't know what is going to happen - whether it is going to be reshot or scrapped."

One set insider said: "There is talk of a jinx on this movie - three accidents in a week even for an action spectacular like James Bond is too much.

"Some are saying that the safety netting for the accident involving Evangelos wasn't secured properly."

Earlier this month, while filming in Chile, a local politician was arrested after driving onto the set to protest against the filming. Carlos Lopez briefly interrupted the shooting in the town of Baquedano, 995 miles north of Chile capital Santiago. According to local media, he objected to its producers using his community to film scenes ostensibly set in Bolivia.

The current Bond movie is far from the first to see injuries to cast or crew.

Bond girl Halle Berry was hurt in 2002 during the making of Die Another Day as Bond - played at the time by Pierce Brosnan - was filmed firing at a helicopter.

In 1997, during the filming of Tomorrow Never Dies, Brosnan was hit by fragments of a bullet and scarred.

In 1967 during You Only Live Twice with Sean Connery a stuntman lost both his legs in the rotor blades of a helicopter.

2008-04-23T14:15:00.003+01:00

UNITED NATIONS - Nicole Kidman has urged world leaders and ordinary people to join the global fight to end violence against women.

The actress, seven months pregnant and passionately committed to her role as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Development Fund for Women, said Tuesday the violence was probably the "most widespread human rights violation of our time."

"One in three women will encounter violence in some way, shape or form against them in their lifetime," Kidman told a news conference at U.N. headquarters. "That's an extraordinary statistic. Yet do we ever hear it?"

The 40-year-old Australian star became a goodwill ambassador in January 2006 for the U.N. Development Fund for Women, known as UNIFEM. Its acting executive director, Joanne Sandler, said Kidman wanted to focus on an issue "where she could make a difference."

She came to U.N. headquarters Tuesday to join Sandler, U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro and U.N. Foundation President Timothy Wirth to promote UNIFEM's "Say NO to Violence Against Women Campaign."

Since the yearlong campaign was launched Nov. 26, Sandler said some 210,000 people have added their names to a Web page calling on world leaders to end impunity for perpetrators, provide services for survivors and, most important, invest in prevention.

Kidman urged people of all nations to add their names and demand "that ending violence against women be made a top priority for governments everywhere." She also encouraged the private sector to contribute to the U.N. Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, which provides grants for programs in the developing world to help fight the scourge.

In January, the U.N. Foundation said it would donate $1 to the fund for each of the first 100,000 signatures — and Wirth said he was happy to pay up.

Sandler said progress has been made: 89 countries have laws on domestic violence, more than 100 have made rape a crime, 90 have provisions against sexual harassment, and 93 on human trafficking. There are 192 U.N. member states.

Kidman is expecting her first child with country singer husband Keith Urban.

In 2005, she starred in the movie "The Interpreter," a thriller in which she played a U.N. interpreter caught up in a cloak-and-dagger assassination attempt.

___

2008-04-23T13:44:00.002+01:00

LOS ANGELES - The 13-year-old son of Tom Cruise is following in his father's footsteps.

Connor Cruise, the adopted son of Tom Cruise and ex-wife Nicole Kidman, has a minor, non-speaking part in the upcoming Will Smith drama "Seven Pounds," a spokesman for Columbia Pictures confirmed Tuesday.

Connor Cruise shot his part over two days more than a month ago, playing Smith as a young man and mostly shown in photographs.

The movie, which is still in production, co-stars Rosario Dawson and is directed by "The Pursuit of Happyness" filmmaker Gabriele Muccino. The drama follows the story of a man who affects the lives of seven strangers.

Calls and e-mails to publicists for Kidman and Tom Cruise were not immediately returned Tuesday.

Cruise and Kidman also have an adopted daughter, 15-year-old Isabella. Kidman is pregnant with her first child with hubby singer Keith Urban.

Sexiest R'n'B song out at the moment: You decide!

2008-04-22T19:17:00.002+01:00

Raheem Devaugh's Customer

Usher's Love in this club

2008-04-22T16:49:00.002+01:00

Michael Moore wants voters in Pennsylvania to cast their ballots for Barack Obama.

Moore endorsed Obama in a 1,100-word posting on his Web site Monday. It includes praise for the Illinois senator and harsh words for Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic Party and the Bush administration.

Lamenting the lack of a valid primary in his home state of Michigan, Moore writes that Obama's experience and voting record aren't as important as his "basic decency" and ability to inspire.

"What we are witnessing is not just a candidate but a profound, massive public movement for change," Moore writes. "My endorsement is more for Obama The Movement than it is for Obama the candidate."

The 54-year-old Oscar-winning filmmaker was hardly as kind to Clinton.

"Over the past two months, the actions and words of Hillary Clinton have gone from being merely disappointing to downright disgusting," he writes, saying that she has tried to "smear" Obama — "Like you were nuts. Like you were a bigot stoking the fires of stupidity."

Most of Moore's ire is directed at the Bush administration "and the permanent, irreversible damage it has done to our people and to this world."

"I, like the majority of Americans, have been pummeled senseless for eight long years," he writes. "That's why I will join millions of citizens and stagger into the voting booth come November, like a boxer in the 12th round, all bloodied and bruised with one eye swollen shut, looking for the only thing that matters — that big 'D' on the ballot."

Moore says he is disappointed with the Democratic Party, too, for failing to end the war despite public outcry and for "do(ing) the bidding of the corporate elite in this country. Any endorsement of a Democrat must be done with this acknowledgment ..."

Moore declined to elaborate further when contacted by The Associated Press.

2008-02-26T13:13:00.001Z

Whoopi Goldberg seemed sad and choked up on "The View" Monday when her fellow co-hosts discussed how she was not included in a montage featuring Oscar hosts during the Academy Awards telecast.

The 52-year-old Goldberg has received two Oscar nominations, winning for her role as Oda Mae Brown in 1990's "Ghost." She hosted the event in 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2002. She did, however, appear as an Oscar winner in a separate montage Sunday night.

Goldberg appeared stumped that the academy would leave her out of the one clip, as well as repeat host Steve Martin.

"Maybe they accidentally lost a clip of you hosting. ... But I think it's wrong," Elisabeth Hasselbeck said. Joy Behar said "being slighted is never fun." Sherri Shepherd wondered if Goldberg had made someone mad.

"Undoubtedly," Goldberg said, smiling. "Undoubtedly I (bleeped) somebody off yet again. You know what, I don't — I don't know."

"Hey, we think you're a great host," reassured Barbara Walters, the creator of the ABC chatfest.

"I think we should do our own montage of you to make up for it," Hasselbeck said.

"This makes up for it," Goldberg responded, before getting up and kissing each co-host on the cheek. She and Walters embraced.

2008-02-22T11:06:00.003Z

Jennifer Lopez gave birth to twins early Friday, making the singer and husband Marc Anthony the parents of a boy and a girl after one of pop music's most closely watched pregnancies.

Lopez representative Simon Fields told People magazine the babies were born shortly after midnight on New York's Long Island, with the 5-pound, 7-ounce girl arriving first, followed by her 6-pound brother minutes later. The location was not identified.

"Jennifer and Marc are delighted, thrilled and over the moon," Fields told the magazine.

Lopez' publicists and agent did not return telephone calls from The Associated Press early Friday.

Ending months of speculation, Lopez confirmed her pregnancy at a Miami concert in November. Her father, David Lopez, told Telefutura's "Escandalo TV" earlier this month that the 39-year-old singer was expecting twins.

Lopez and Anthony, 38, married in 2004. The twins are her first children, and his third and fourth.

2008-02-20T13:47:00.003Z

Common Plans To Drop New Album In November -- In Between Acting GigsViews 100

'I feel a lot more free with my music now that I'm doing films,' the MC says.
By Shaheem Reid, with reporting by Yasmine Richard

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During his acceptance speech at the Grammys, Kanye West joked that he and frequent collaborator Common shouldn't drop albums in the same year, because they're always competing against each other for awards. Well, it looks like Com agrees, and he's already a step ahead of his good friend. Common is eyeing the fourth quarter of '08 to release his next potential classic.

"I'm looking around November," he told MTV News of the release date of his follow-up to last year's Finding Forever. "I'm working on a new album called The Believer. I'm just getting in the mode. I been touring a lot and been working on verses here and there. Now, I'm starting to get focused on the album, letting it take its shape. And at the same time [I'll] be working on films, God willing."

The Chicago MC's Hollywood dance card has been filling up quite nicely: He appears in this spring's "Street Kings" with Keanu Reeves and Game, and in "Wanted" with Angelina Jolie, which hits theaters June 27. He's also patiently waiting for his turn as the Green Lantern, assuming the "Justice League" movie will get back on track after being shelved during the writers' strike.

In the meantime, Com has also found time for a little social activism. He's hosting a lyrics contest with Think MTV's "It's Your Sex Life" campaign, asking aspiring rappers and poets to express why it's important to get tested for HIV.

All this moonlighting has actually helped in the recording studio, he said.

"Q-Tip and I been planning the Standard album," he said, referring to the duo the pair have formed. "We been conceptualizing, but we just gotta continue to work on it. We will. I look at it like two jazz musicians getting together, the way Charlie Parker and cats would get together and do work. I feel a lot more free with my music now that I'm doing films and stuff, because I don't put as much pressure on the music. It ain't my only source of income and way to make a living."

2008-02-19T00:44:00.001Z

NEW YORK - Lindsay Lohan is following in the footsteps of the most famous blond bombshell of them all — Marilyn Monroe.

In the issue of New York magazine on sale Monday, the 21-year-old star of "Mean Girls" and "Freaky Friday" poses nude for photographer Bert Stern in a recreation of one of Monroe's most famous photo shoots, done shortly before she died.

Stern photographed Monroe in 1962 at the Hotel Bel-Air in California, six weeks before she was found dead from an overdose of barbiturates. Those images for Vogue magazine feature Monroe in next to nothing, posing nude with some scarves and jewelry as her accessories and sipping champagne.
Stern recreated those images with Lohan this month, at the same hotel, with Lohan wearing a blond wig and not much else.

In the essay accompanying the photos, Lohan, who admitted to a serious interest in Monroe, said deciding to do the photo shoot was easy.

"I didn't have to put much thought into it. I mean, Bert Stern? Doing a Marilyn shoot? When is that ever going to come up? It's really an honor," she told the magazine.

Lohan described Monroe's suicide as "tragic" and said it, along with the Jan. 22 death of actor Heath Ledger from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, "are both prime examples of what this industry can do to someone."

The actress, who has been in and out of rehab after two arrests last year on drunken driving and cocaine charges, said she didn't know why the industry wreaked such havoc on some stars, adding, "I sure as hell wouldn't let it happen to me."

Stern told The Associated Press that he found women like Lohan and her tabloid companions Paris Hilton and Britney Spears "interesting."

"They're girls that draw attention to their notoriety and their celebrity through their behavior," he said Monday.

He noted that Monroe and Lohan had similar problems with alcohol but added that — in contrast to the sessions with Monroe — there was no alcohol on the set when he photographed Lohan.

He said he thought the photo shoot would be good for the young actress, giving her the chance to portray herself as a grown-up. He also lauded her for her willingness to do it in the nude.

"I thought she was a natural, not at all squeamish," he said.

2008-02-19T00:04:00.003Z

This video brings back memories of summer vacation back in '95. I was at the ripe old age of 12 and away at summer camp. Oh the joys and pains of the first crush (the totally cute, but so unattainable older boy); the excitement of getting away from mommy's 'rule' for a week or so; the nervousness of having to share living space with about 4 or 5 other girls, when I myself was so much of an introvert.......anywhooooo, I digress.

At summer camp that year, I participated in a a play -the message of which to this day still lives within my heart. I hope this play will convey the beauty of salvation and Jesus's sacrifice to you as it did to me. Enjoy!

2008-02-11T21:14:00.000Z

Miss Carrie Underwood......American Idol is not a complete waste of time, come to think of it. From this popularity driven contest masquerading as a singing competition we have seen some genuine talent (Fantasia, Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson). Now Carrie is proving to be one of these rare gems I consider to good for shows of this ilk.......but I'll remember that the beautiful diamond more often than not has humble beginnings.

My Intro

2008-02-03T22:36:00.000Z

Well, Isaac Newton (some old guy who made vast contribution to develop of physics) law of motion states that an object (or in this case an action or motion) is at a state of rest until an external force is applied to it, resulting in subsequent motion. Well, with all due respect to Mr Newton, he must not have met my childhood pet, Max. Now that was a dog that would have required a new set of laws physics just to get him to move the foot of my bed to his food/water bowl.....but that's a whole other story.

In order to get my blog from the non-existent state to a published, fully functioning and active blog spot I have drawn upon the tried, tested, and never-failed method of attraction - comedy.

To get the ball rolling ( or in the words of Mr Newton transitioning from a state of rest to a state of motion), here's a clip that is guaranteed to tickle your funny bone. Or if you don't have one, prompt a react of absolute shock and/or unease. Enjoy!