What I've Learned

Katharine McPhee performing her single Had It All on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien:


Her new album Unbroken is out today.

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Gemma Arterton is, in her own words, a freak. “I was born,” says the 23-year-old former Bond girl (Quantum of Solace) and St Trinian’s starlet, casually thrusting forward her hands, “With two extra fingers.” She rubs softly the raised pinkish knuckle scars on the side of both hands and continues, “There were no bones in them, just the fingers and the fingernails.” Arterton, dressed down in denims and black winter woollies, and munching on a rocket and goat’s cheese salad in an East London rehearsal studio, then cocks her head to one side, parts the hair of her trademark bob, and adds, “And I’ve got a crumpled ear, look!” She taps the mildly swollen flesh at the top of her right ear, and sighs, “I was a freakish baby. A bit of an oddball. And I still feel like that now.”

( rest of the article under the cut )

Source: The Times

David Gerber, an Emmy-winning producer and executive behind series such as Batman and thirtysomething, has died, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He was 86.

Gerber's work on the small screen dates back to the '70s in the TV division of 20^th Century Fox. Gerber's producing credits include Police Story and Police Woman as well as TV movies as recent as 2006's Flight 93.

Watch videos from David Gerber

During his lengthy career, Gerber received a Peabody and Golden Globe as well as accolades from the American Film Institute and the Caucus of Producers, Writers and Directors. Following his tenure as president of the TV division at 20^th Century Fox, Gerber also served as president of the TV divisions at Columbia Pictures and MGM. He was responsible for notable programs such as In the Heat of the Night and Room 222, too.

Gerber — who died Saturday at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center — hailed from Brooklyn and graduated from the University of the Pacific. Before making a name for himself in Hollywood, Gerber served in World War II in the U.S. Air Corps and was held as a prisoner of war for 13 months.

Gerber is survived by his wife, Laraine.

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The NY Post Slams Beyonce for Performing For Terrorists

The NY Post wrote a scathing piece today slamming burlesque singer Beyonce for performing a private 1-hour concert for the son of Muslim Libyan terrorist, Moammar Khadafy.

This is more evidence that celebrities will do anything for money and fame.

Beyonce performed for an hour on New Year’s Eve at a party thrown by terror-backing Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy’s son, Hannibal, who has a long record of violence against women.

Some vacationers on the island were aghast. DJ Sam Young tweeted: “Jigga [Jay-Z], Beyonce & Usher were @ Nikki Beach performing for Khadafy family, WTF?” Read More…

Apparently, Khadafy’s son Hannibal beat his wife to a pulp inside their hotel room over the Christmas holidays. The wife suffered a broken nose, among other injuries, and had to be hospitalized.

The criticism is so damaging that Beyonce’s camp at first denied that Beyonce received a $2 million fee to perform. Then they denied that Beyonce even performed. But music magnate Russell Simmons already tweeted the pics from the concert and confirmed that she was there performing. It remains to be seen how this one will play out.

Thanks to loyal reader Gina for the tip!

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Fox news is comin' 4 u gurl.... ima pray 4 u tonight.

The new season of No Reservations begins January 11th on the Travel Channel. In the preview teaser, he’s seen in Panama burning tons of cocaine, an integral ingredient in many American restaurant kitchens. I asked him to describe that situation, considering he was a former user. He said that we’d all “just have to watch” but it was a lot of smoke, fire, and probably some tears. He then continued, “They actually told us to burn our shoes. The entire crew was each walking around with an eight-ball in the grooves of their shoes.”

HUGE TL;DR article from New Orleans.com about new season here

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SOURCE 2(Facebook)

What could be better than some zombie-brain-bashing fun with Left 4 Dead? How about some L4D zombie-brain-bashing in glorious retro 8-bit? Better yet, how about playing it for free?

Pixel Force: Left 4 Dead – a “retro de-make of Valve’s hit zombie killing masterpiece” that offers two difficulty levels and co-op – is now available to download from Eric Ruth Games. It’s worth a download for the kick-ass 8-bit soundtrack alone.

Source: Girl Gamers Suck.com

Vinegar shots aren't a magic potion for weight loss and soda pop does not cause wrinkles, no matter what celebrities say, a British science charity declared on Monday.

"The body, including the liver, is a well-oiled detoxing machine which will not be improved by vinegar, whether it be organic, apple cider, unfiltered or your bog standard malt vinegar," said dietician Lucy Jones in the 2009 Celebrities and Science report of the Sense About Science charity trust.
Actress Megan Fox, Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie and model Cindy Crawford have all promoted the benefits of vinegar. Fergie told CosmoGirl last year: "I do vinegar shots. It has to be organic apple cider, unfiltered. I've noticed a difference on my stomach."

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow ran afoul of science by advocating organic, local foods that are not exposed to pesticides. "When I read about what pesticides do to small animals, I thought, why would I expose my child to that?" she told Good Housekeeping magazine.

Both scientist Dr. John Cherrie of the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh and Professor Alan Boobis, a toxicologist at the Imperial College London said Paltrow was missing the point. "It's the dose that makes the poison," said Cherrie.

"Experimental animals," added Boobis, "are exposed to doses substantially greater than those to which consumers will ever be exposed."

more at the source: http://www.thestar.com/news/sciencetech/science/article/746186--don-t-take-science-advice-from-gwyneth-paltrow

The Kick-Ass movie trailer is starting to make the rounds on the internet, and although many fans are looking forward to this movie, as it's based on a popular comic book, many discussion threads are starting to pop up about whether it's appropriate for the 12-year-old star Chloe Moretz to be swearing so much in the film.

Chloe Moretz plays Hit-Girl in the movie, which also stars Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Mark Strong, and is directed by Matthew Vaughn, and in the movie Chloe uses the f-word and the c-word while shooting people in the head and cutting off limbs.

This is along the lines of the comic series, which is extremely violent, but some parents and groups are starting to get upset about the implications of so much swearing, so young, in a movie. The movie however, will be rated-R, but with so much available on the internet already, many are asking the question 'is Hollywood pushing the envelope too far?'

( more waaaaaah under the cut )



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Law & Order: SVU is once again living up to its title as the most stunt-casting-obsessed series on television. Sharon Stone is joining the cast for a four-episode arc beginning in April.

The Oscar-nominated actress will play a former cop-turned-prosecutor who will (presumably) go toe-to-toe with Benson, Stabler, and the gang.

“It is obviously a thrill and a delight to have a star of Sharon’s wattage and importance joining SVU,” raves SVU boss Dick Wolf.

This isn’t Stone’s first flirtation with the small screen. In 2004, she won an Emmy for playing nutjob attorney Sheila Carlisle in three episodes of ABC’s The Practice. And the following year she recurred on Showtime’s Huff as a high-powered PR exec.

Thoughts? Did SVU top themselves? Who should SVU’s next dream hire be? Sound off below!

ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/01/05/law-order-svu-casts-sharon-stone/

Police investigating the death of Casey Johnson say that although the Johnson & Johnson heiress had a well-known drug abuse problem, she may have died from not taking her diabetes medication.

Johnson, who was diagnosed with diabetes as a child and had worked with the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, told the New York Observer in 2000 that she gave herself insulin shots every day.

"She was still suffering from diabetes and she was still on diabetic medications," a police source with knowledge of the situation tells PEOPLE. "The speculation is she came home after a night of partying and passed out without taking her meds or her insulin and that was the end of her."

Police say there was no sign of foul play and, although Johnson, 30, had battled drug problems in the past, there were no obvious signs that she took any illicit drugs before her death.

An autopsy was imminent, although a conclusive report might take several weeks pending the results of toxicology tests.

The source also notes that Johnson has had some wild ups and downs in her life over the past few months. She had become engaged last month to reality star Tila Tequila. And about five weeks ago, she was arrested on suspicion of grand theft for allegedly stealing from a fellow Hollywood party girl.

Johnson, who leaves behind a toddler daughter Ava whom she had adopted, was the great-great granddaughter of the founder of the pharmaceutical giant, and the daughter of New York Jets owner Robert Wood Johnson.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20334529,00.html

Three of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's six children will inherit money from the estate of Jolie's late mother, the actress Marcheline Bertrand, according to new reports.
Bertrand, who died in 2007, left $100,000 each in a trust fund to Maddox, 8, Zahara, who turns 5 Friday, and Shiloh, 3, TMZ.com reports, citing documents filed this past week in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The three will have access to the money when they turn 25, TMZ says.
Pax (adopted in 2007) and the 17-month-old twins Knox and Vivienne arrived after Bertrand last updated her will, in 2006, and thus will not receive an inheritance.
Bertrand died of ovarian cancer in January 2007 at age 56.

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Not that Pax & the twins would need it, but bb Z at least seems like the type to share:

Reggie Bush. Idris Elba. Lance Gross. LL Cool J. Need we say more? ESSENCE's first "Black Men, Love and Relationships" issue features its top 10 countdown of the sexiest men in sports, music and Hollywood. Then ESSENCE senior editor Jeannine Amber, channeling her inner bad girl, spins ten naughty tales starring some of our favorite men to curl up

with--if only in our minds!

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Most of the comments are critical about using Reggie, since he's not dating a woman of color

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Last year — even before James Franco made his foray into daytime TV on "General Hospital" — Snoop Dogg paid a visit to the fictional town of Llanview, Pennsylvania, the setting of the venerable soap opera "One Life to Live." Not only did he perform two songs from Ego Trippin' over a pair of episodes on the show, but he also acted in some scenes with the cast. He'll be back next month on February 24 for another visit to the show, this time to perform "I Wanna Rock." His return will also allow for his remix of the show's theme song.

In fact, Snoop has already shot his bits on the show, and he posted some behind-the-scenes footage to his official YouTube account. While it doesn't seem like life on set with Snoop Dogg is terrifically productive, it certainly seems like the veteran rapper is enjoying himself (and the rest of the cast is too).

Snoop's enthusiasm for the show dates back to his childhood. "I've been a fan of 'One Life to Live' since I was a baby," he said when his first guest spots aired last May. "My momma always had it on the tube in the crib growing up." And obviously Snoop is no stranger to the acting world, having given Snoopified performances in flicks like "Starsky and Hutch," "Training Day," "Soul Plane" and "Bones," as well as guest spots on TV shows from "The L Word" to "Monk."

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Supercouple Todd & Tea welcome you in!

Featuring Forest Whitaker, America Ferrera, Carlos Mencia & Lance Gross.



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Also, don't forget that TNT starts re-airing Southland on Jan 12th. It has everything: fat Shawn Hatosy, crazy cops flipping cars, bbs crawling the streets alone, Ryan Atwood all grown up, and the beautiful and perfect Lydia Adams as played by Regina King.

In a fairly honest interview with Latina magazine, pop star, actress, and mother Jennifer Lopez opens up about what it's like to be her. We especially enjoyed the parts where she daydreamed about winning the Oscar for her role in the critically dismissed El Cantante the way, well, any normal person with big dreams would:

"I feel like I had that [Oscar-worthy role] in El Cantante, but I don’t even think the Academy members saw it. I feel like it’s their responsibility to do that, to see everything that’s out there, everything that could be great ... Well, it is a little bit frustrating. It was funny; when the Oscars were on, I had just given birth on the 22nd, and the Oscars, I think, were a day or two later. I was sitting there with my twins — I couldn’t have been happier — but I was like, ‘How dope would it have been if I would’ve won the Oscar and been here in my hospital bed accepting the award?’ ‘Thank you so much! I just want to thank the Academy!’ But we joked about it. It’s all good.”



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