pimblr.com

After his speech, we’re assuming Obama led those party animals at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in a rousing version of Hava Nagila. He may have even joined them in the circular Horah formation.  In fact, our bet is that Obama’s senior staffers are probably sitting on the “Change Talk Express” right now singing, “Hava Obama, Hava Obama, Hava Obama, He Really Likes The Jews …”
Will it work? We’ll see … with more Democrats voting against him than for him, Obama’s clearly got a tough road ahead.
Are we the sexiest blog ever? You better believe it, people. Even Amy Adams (above) says so. And if she didn’t actually say it, you can bet she’s thinking it.

fitsnews.com

Recently returned to Los Angeles following work on the Utah set of High School Musical 3, Ashley Tisdale turned up at last night’s star-studded American Idol season finale.
The 22-year-old actress sported a cute black ensemble as she posed on the red carpet outside of the Nokia Theatre - soon after heading inside to catch the night’s festivities, which ended with David Cook beating out David Archuleta as the season’s Idol winner.
As for her much-anticipated new Disney movie, Chris Connelly caught up with the entire cast of HSM3 on-set before the shooting of a prom night scene.
“We have, like, a prom scene. It’s actually a play that we’re putting on about a prom … I have to say we’ve never dressed so nice—it almost feels out of character. But you only get to do it once,” Ashley’s co-star Zac Efron said.
Tisdale then added that she not only went to prom but that, “I graduated too. I went to a regular high school.”
High School Musical 3 will be the first film in the series to open on in theaters - due out this October.
Enjoy the pictures of Ashley Tisdale at the American Idol season finale and out to the gym the previous day (May 21).

celebrity-gossip.net

Although it’s obvious that David Archuleta will win "American Idol," beware: David Cook could still prove to be the biggest, ultimate champ when all kudos are counted some future day. As Jennifer Hudson kicks back in her mansion right now — buffing her Oscar and Golden Globe and getting ready for the premieres of "Sex and the City" and her debut album — do you think she ever pauses to weep hysterically over the fact that she only made it as far as No. 7 in the "Idol" runoff?
Obviously, there are strong parallels between David Cook and that other rocker to lose "Idol" -– Chris Daughtry. Although Taylor Hicks won Season 5, Daughtry, who came in fourth, has enjoyed far greater success fronting his own rock band. The group earned four 2008 Grammy nominations for their debut album ("Daughtry"). Meantime, hey: whatever happened to Hicks?
Here’s a look back at how some of the "Idol" stars, winners and losers, have fared in other top show-biz contests.
Season 4’s Carrie Underwood is a rare example of a champ who swept other kudos after her "Idol" win. She won the 2007 Grammy as best new artist and another for female country vocal performance ("Jesus, Take the Wheel") and repeated in that category in 2008 ("Before He Cheats"). She’s also snagged four American Music Awards, five Country Music Assn. Awards, five Academy of Country Music Awards and three CMTs.
Season 1 champ Kelly Clarkson enjoyed some success with her debut album, "Thankful," but it was her second album that won her two Grammys in 2006 — best pop vocal album ("Breakaway") and best female pop vocal performance ("Since U Been Gone"). Her third album, "My December," has met with less success.
Season 2 winner Ruben Studdard picked up a Grammy nom in 2004 for best male R&B vocal performance ("Superstar"), but he lost to his idol, Luther Vandross. He is currently without a record label.

goldderby.latimes.com

American Idol’s official retard Taylor Hicks will be starring in the musical Grease, what did Broadway do to deserve this? Hicks will play Teen Angel beginning June 6th and leave in September.
If you have been wondering why AI’s ratings have been slipping, you do not have to look much further than Hicks. So this could be the possible end of Broadway as we know it — it just may burn to the ground.
“I am incredibly excited to be a part of one of my favorite musicals. The Soul Patrol’s gonna invade Broadway,” Hicks told Playbiil.
Too bad the “Soul Patrol” consisted of either a group home for the mentally challenged who accidently got hold of a phone during American Idol season five, or a bunch of old people from Florida, who still thought they were voting for George Bush for president over the phone.
Because who ever voted for him sure as hell didn’t support him when his first album came out that is for sure. Hicks’ self-titled album only sold 640,000 copies in the first week, then took a slide from number 2 to 136. Those are bad numbers for an American Idol winner.
Ooooooo! Such negativity, such hate, such vile, such resentment!! Have you seen a doctor for you problem?
GO TAYLOR!!!!!!!!!!! Great press today!Loved you on The Today Show! You go dude and break a leg show ‘em how it’s done on Broadway!!!!!!!!
YOU GO TAYLOR HICKS!!!!!Good for you! Couldn’t be more proud of you. What an honor to be asked to play on Broadway.
AI’s ratings started slipping AFTER Season V — the greatest Season of all!! The ratings are slipping because Taylor Hicks HAS NOT BEEN THERE!!!!! He has been the most exciting of all contestants to date!! He may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you certainly remember Taylor for the entertainer that he is. He had a plan, he stuck to it, and he won American Idol!!

2snaps.tv

This week, I had planned to use this space to relay my thoughts about the 20 finalists in the American Songwriter competition, which will ultimately generate the song the Top 2 sing in the finale. The voting has concluded in that contest, so the winner has already been chosen, and I’ll eventually tell you that this year’s Top 2 Idols, as well as the viewing and listening audience, will certainly not be winners. Not with the schlock that the AI producers gave voters to choose from.
Well, I guess I just did tell you that. But I’ll eventually tell you why that’s the case, song-by-song. But this week, I’m still a bit hung over from Wednesday night’s sad elimination show. The anger and resentment still linger, and not just from me. Hard feelings abound across the country, and it’s evident both in Internet postings and in critical reviews that people were shocked and dismayed that some of last week’s strongest performers were up for elimination. Carly Smithson’s dismissal from the show, when coupled with the season’s earlier elimination of Michael Johns, has revealed some serious cracks in what was previously purported to be the "strongest cast in the history of the show."
As the rankings have slipped this season, I’ve put some thought into this show’s strength and its longevity. Honestly, regardless of the viewing numbers, I’m convinced that no more than 1 million people are voting in any given week. Thousands of power-voters are cranking out more than 1,000 text votes with their AT&T cell phones, pretty much negating the 20 or so votes that moms and grandmas are getting through on traditional land lines. I did a little number crunching (at my core, I’m a bit of a statistical geek) and figured that maybe two out of 100 people are power voting, and that 10 or so are making as many as 100 calls a night. The rest of the people are likely in the 20 to 50 call range, with a few making more or less than that. The average works out to about 50 phone calls (or text messages) per person. Honestly, I suspect that it’s higher than that, but if you take AI’s reported figure of 38 million votes last week and divide that figure of 50 into it, you wind up with about 750,000 voters.

the-trades.com

Chuck Barney’s TV Picks for May 18-24
DON’T MISS: The “American Idol” finale — They hyped the heck out of this season, proclaiming it to be the greatest ever. Alas, it wasn’t. Too many dull personalities and too little musical versatility conspired to mar the proceedings. It didn’t help, either, that Paula’s loopy antics and the little tiffs between Simon and Ryan got old. Still, “Idol” remains prime time’s marquee attraction, and the “Idol” crown still carries a lot of clout in the music biz. This week, the final two contestants go toe-to-toe and then await America’s votes. Will the winner be the next Carrie Underwood “… or Taylor Hicks? 8 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday, Channels 2 and 40 (Fox).
TONIGHT: You would think Kenny Chesney has a great chance to take home some hardware from the 43rd annual Academy of Country Music Awards. The guy leads all comers with 12 nominations, including one for entertainer of the year. 7 p.m., Channel 13; 8 p.m., Channel 5 (CBS).
TONIGHT: Funnyman Carlos Mencia is back with a new stand-up special. Filmed in Hollywood, Fla., “Carlos Mencia: Performance Enhanced” is fortified with his irreverent takes on politics, race and culture. 9 p.m., Comedy Central.
MONDAY: They’re pumping up the intensity for the season finale of “Bones” as the Gormogon serial killer strikes again and a lab explosion leaves Zack severely
injured. Better take cover. 8 p.m., Channels 2 and 40 (Fox).
MONDAY: It’s time for a woman to call the shots as “The Bachelorette” returns for another go-around. DeAnna Pappas, a Georgia real estate agent spurned by Brad Womack on “The Bachelor,” gets her pick of 25 hunky hopefuls. 9:02 p.m., Channels 7 and 10 (ABC).
TUESDAY: The ballroom blitz is about to wind down on “Dancing With the Stars.” A pair of happy hoofers will take home that big, ugly disco-ball trophy. Yes, that’s what they get for enduring weeks of torturous workouts and hideous costumes. 8 p.m., Channels 7 and 10 (ABC).

mercurynews.com

GREAT NECK, NY–(Marketwire - April 25, 2008) - Investment firm Bang Ventures reminds all would-be venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and anyone interested in the business of starting up a new company that the deadline is fast approaching to vote for your favorite new business idea in the You Be the VC competition. Votes must be cast at www.youbethevc.com by 11:59 pm on April 30, 2008, to be counted in the judging of America’s best new company concepts.
The competition, which launched in the fall of 2007, offers people from all walks of life, not just insiders in the traditional VC community, to compete for resources to start their own companies. The nineteen finalists were selected by an expert panel of judges from companies such as Google, GrandCentral, Slide and Pownce and are currently in the running for the top three spots, which will be chosen with the help of public voting and announced in May.
The finalists are: Covel Allen of Arizona, Gil Allouche of Massachusetts, Raymond Angel of Indiana, Juan Carvajal of Florida, Andre Charoo of New York, Peter Ciancarelli of New York, James Clavin of North Carolina, Pete Coppola, Tyler Davis of Georgia, Joe DiPasquale of Connecticut, Leon Gomez of Florida, John Lynn of Nevada, Michael McCarthy of Massachusetts, Dan McLellan of New York, Michael O’Neil of Ohio, Tim O’Rourke of Massachusetts, Joe Uwazurike of North Carolina, Volodymyr Zakrevskyy, and Eric Zurbrugg of Georgia.
“We took an American Idol-inspired approach to finding some of the best hidden entrepreneurial talent in the U.S.,” said Lynn Martin, of the You Be the VC competition at Bang Ventures. “As a result, we’ve seen an incredible response from people with terrific new ideas and the drive to see them through. We’re excited to move into the next phase of You Be the VC and are looking forward to unveiling the winning ideas in a few short weeks.”

marketwire.com

American Unreason, whose title plays on Tom Paine’s late 18th century polemic, The Age of Reason, but more directly draws on Richard Hofstadter’s groundbreaking Anti-Intellectualism in American Life (1963) and such other mid- and late-20th century social critics as Paul Goodman and Neil Postman, is an important and timely attempt at assessing the present situation.
Jacoby writes in a straightforward, non-academic style — her book is intentionally rather “middle-brow” in its appeal to a general readership — but my fear is that, insofar as she receives much notice at all, she will either be shrugged off as merely alarmist (the “oh, come on, things aren’t that bad” line), or rebutted by techno enthusiasts who tout the wonders of the Internet’s cornucopia of infinite information (the “it’s all there, you just need to know where to look and have the will to find out” defence). Both of those ploys against Jacoby’s thesis strike me as woefully wrong-headed.
Slide to stupidity
American Unreason begins with Jacoby’s sketch of the current situation, as a prelude to tracing the historical sources of a gathering intellectual darkness in recent decades. “It is difficult to suppress the fear,” she says, “that the scales of American history have shifted heavily against the vibrant and varied intellectual life so essential to functional democracy. During the past four decades, America’s endemic anti-intellectual tendencies have been grievously exacerbated by a new species of semiconscious anti-rationalism, feeding on and fed by an ignorant popular culture of video images and unremitting noise that leaves no room for contemplation or logic.”
Jacoby examines various strands that make up the present cultural context, several of which have a particularly American tinge. They include a three-decade resurgence in fundamentalist Christian religion, coupled with a propensity to hold nutty paranormal beliefs. As well, there’s a media system that dumbs down public events to sound bites and sensationalism, and for the rest of prime time ensures that we’re “amusing ourselves to death” (to recall the title of Neil Postman’s 1985 book). Add to that a national attention deficit disorder fuelled by a cascade of gadgets that makes sure there are no idle hands, eyes, or ears (because we’re kept busy pushing cellphone buttons, clicking computer mouses, and pouring iTunes into our heads, often all at once). Finally, there’s the decline of reading and writing, and the erosion of what was once a functioning mid-level culture.

thetyee.ca

The market was under pressure from several disappointing earnings reports released on Wednesday, including double-digit losses in the first quarter, from bond insurer Ambac (ABK) and struggling airlines Northwest (NWA) and Delta (DAL). Bearish comments about “tell-tale signs of domestic recession” came way of UPS (UPS), which met first-quarter earnings estimates but reduced its profit forecast.
On the flip side, buying was fueled by Boeing , which easily beat the Street with a 48% increase in first-quarter profit, fueled by commercial-plane strength. Also, Boeing impressed the market by reiterating its 2008 earnings guidance and gave a forecast for 2009 that could come in above Wall Street’s current estimates.
The Dow member earned $1.2 billion in the first quarter, or $1.62 per share, compared to $877 million, or $1.13 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 4% to $16 billion, slightly short of Wall Street’s expectations. Analysts expected airplane maker to earn $1.35 per share on $16.5 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.
Crude oil futures failed to pullback even after the Energy Department reported a larger-than-expected increase of 2.4 million barrels in U.S. crude supplies for last week. However, gasoline supplies decreased by 3.2 million barrels, worse than the 2.3 million decrease expected. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil gained 23 cents to settle at $118.30 a barrel.
Also, tech giant Yahoo! (YHOO) beat the Street with a 9% rise in revenue in its first-quarter results, however analysts and shareholders have indicated it may not be enough to raise an offer from Microsoft (MSFT). The software giant made a $44 billion bid for Yahoo and has refused to-date to increase that offer even though Yahoo said it significantly “undervalues” the company.
After Wednesday’s closing bell the tech world turned its attention toward Apple (AAPL), which beat the Street with a 43% jump in second-quarter revenue and topped sales expectations for iPods, iPhones and Mac computers. Amazon.com (AMZN) also released results above the Street’s view after the bell.

foxbusiness.com

Wall Street’s rally came despite several newly released double-digit losses in the first quarter, including ones from bond insurer Ambac (ABK) and struggling airlines Northwest (NWA) and Delta (DAL). Bearish comments about “tell-tale signs of domestic recession” came way of UPS (UPS), which met first-quarter earnings estimates but reduced its profit forecast.
On the flip side, Boeing jumped higher after it easily beat the Street with a 48% increase in first-quarter profit, fueled by commercial-plane strength. The Dow member earned $1.2 billion in the first quarter, or $1.62 per share, compared to $877 million, or $1.13 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 4% to $16 billion, slightly short of Wall Street’s expectations. Analysts expected airplane maker to earn $1.35 per share on $16.5 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters. Boeing also reaffirmed its 2008 guidance.
Crude oil futures pulled back following a government report on supplies, giving Wall Street a brief reprieve from the recent run-up in energy costs. Selling in oil futures accelerated after the Energy Department’s reported a larger-than-expected increase of 2.4 million barrels in U.S. crude supplies for last week. However, gasoline supplies decreased by 3.2 million barrels, worse than the 2.3 million decrease expected.
In recent trading, oil fell $1.07 to $117.00 a barrel, while gold fell $20.00 to $905.20 an ounce in morning trading.
Also, tech giant Yahoo! (YHOO) beat the Street with a 9% rise in revenue in its first-quarter results, however analysts and shareholders have indicated it may not be enough to raise an offer from Microsoft (MSFT). The software giant made a $44 billion bid for Yahoo and has refused to-date to increase that offer even though Yahoo said it significantly “undervalues” the company.
After the bell the tech world will turns its attention toward Apple (AAPL), the iPod maker that is always subject to very high expectations. Also, Amazon.com (AMZN) will be in focus as the Internet retailer reports its results.

foxbusiness.com