rimblr.com

This is what they need to do….
Ryan - keep him - he is good - and good for the contestants when they get slammed by the judges.
Randy - you can replace him - all he does is drop names, says Dawg, and tells them they have “pitch” problems.
Paula - well that is a no-brainer. And that goes for her too. She can not put a sentence together before moving on to another…and she says everyone is GREAT each time - she has no guts to tell them when they do bad.
Simon - he has to stay cause he is the show. Contestants hate when he says they are no good, but all they look for is a Good Praise from him. They could get amazing comments from Randy and Paula - but that don’t matter if Simon does not like em. But he needs to stop with the “theme park, cruise ship, etc” comments.
And the songs they do…get into this decade please. Doing songs from singers that even the contestants parents were too young to have grown up with. Neil Diamond?? I know he is amazing…but come on…these guys don’t have a clue who he is. Give them a different song book to choose from so they are NOT singing the same songs each year. And take out Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion. They CAN NOT sing ANY of their songs AT ALL. I understand having them sing different kind of music to see their talent….but don’t judge them by saying, “this is not your comfort zone, or not your style”. WELL YA they could have told you that.
One last thing…if Simon hates the Cruise Ship songs so much, STOP making them sing like that during the show. All in a group dancing around the stage….how cheesy.

latimesblogs.latimes.com

After 14 years of marriage, another woman may have come between Shania Twain and her husband, Robert “Mutt” Lange, several sources reportedly told People.
According to People, sources “close to the situation” claim a woman named Marie-Ann Thiebaud, a longtime secretary and manager of the couple’s chateau in Switzerland, was romantically involved with Lange.
“Mutt and Marie-Anne left their spouses for each other and are still in a relationship,” People quoted a source as saying.
However, Lange, a music producer, denies the claim.
“It’s absolutely not the reason [for the separation from Twain],” he told People in regards to the rumored affair. “It’s not true.”
Thiebauld could reportedly not be reached for comment.
When contacted by People following news of the split, the notoriously reclusive Lange said it was “an unfortunate thing” and attributed the separation from Twain to “just a growing apart, that’s all.”
Shania, 42, and Robert, 59, married on December 28, 1993. They have a six-year-old son named Eja.
Another source told People Twain, who launched herself into music superstardom with the 1997 hit “You’re Still The One,” has been left “devastated” by the split.
“This came out of left field,” the source said. “She loved him.”
Copyright 2008 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Access Extended: Julianne Hough Performs ‘That Song In My Head’
“Dancing With the Stars” champion Julianne Hough performs the first single, “That Song In My Head,” from her debut country album. Look out for Julianne’s new album in stores on May 20, 2008 and tour in June.
Backstage With The Jonas Brothers At Zootopia (2008)
The Jonas Brothers talk about performing in New Jersey for Z100’s Zootopia and how excited they are to be performing in their hometown. Also, they talk about their upcoming “Idol” appearance.

accesshollywood.com

It is soooo ON. Tonight’s big American Idol Finale is finally here. Cook vs Archuleta. Bartender vs. Prodigy. Rocker vs. Sweetie pie. THIS is American Idol.
Each Idol will sing three songs. Each has three phone numbers. You have four hours to vote. Neither AI has ever been in the bottom three. We are “treated” to a video package treating the two as boxers preparing for a match. Eh.
Last week, there was a coin toss to determine performance order, and Archuleta won. He chose to go second. Smart cookie, that Archie. Archie rehearsed as much as he could, and feels pretty ready. Cook says he has a tall order keeping up with Archie, and had to come up with the right energy for each of these songs.
Randy advises them to drop it hard. Paula says soak it up! And Simon says you need a desire to win and to hate your opponent.
Archie says Cook is awesome and wishes him the best of luck. Cook says the whole season has been amazing and Archie has been one of the most consistently nice people, and the competition is over and they’re just having fun.
First round songs have been chosen by the contestants’ future boss, Clive Davis. The boxing analogy continues, as what’s his face from ESPN tells us that they need to pace themselves. Clive has chosen “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” for David Cook. For Archie, “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me.” Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber wants Archie to keep his eyes open, and Cook to be tough.
Cook is first. He starts off a little soft, which I assume means he going to bust it out and rock hard at some point. And he does, on the second verse. He walks around, spends some time on the platform behind the judges. All in all, a good performance. An awesome song. But nothing that blew me away. Classic, classic song, though. Randy thinks it was a great way to start the duel, though he doesn’t know if he did everything he could have with the song. Paula says we have found what WE’RE looking for. Simon could see that David looked tense and emotional at the top of the show, and the performance was phenomenal.

tvgrapevine.com

-Reality Originally conceived as the US version of Britain’s Pop Idol, American Idol has since exploded into a full-fledged pop culture phenomena, launching the careers of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, resurrecting Paula Abdul and introducing America to a guy named Simon Cowell. Each week, contestants belt out stirring renditions of classic pop songs, while enduring the slings and arrows of the judges (or in Simon’s case spears and axes) before America votes to decide who will be the next American Idol.
For the first time in weeks and weeks, there is an absolute, prohibitive favorite to be eliminated tonight on American Idol. Thanks to one abysmal performance and another one scarred by forgotten lyrics, Jason Castro is probably on his way off the grand American Idol stage. Some of you are probably thinking “it’s about time.” Fair enough. Castro isn’t your typical Idol performer – not blessed with a big voice, an upbeat personality or a rabid desire for stardom, Castro’s ascension was more or less an anomaly. That doesn’t mean I don’t like him, but I understand those who have been calling for his head. Both John Kubicek and I are picking the dread-locked wonder to be eliminated tonight, and we discuss that and a whole boatload of other topics on our most recent edition of John vs. Oscar.
John and Oscar Elimination Prediction:
Jason Castro Going Home
As we have for the last few weeks, John and I tirelessly go through every performer and their relative merits in the podcast. We are in agreement on most things, but there is always contention when it comes to little David Archuleta. I ranked him first in my Top 4 Performance Rankings last night, despite my well-known hatred of his singing. I did so because he did exactly what he needed to do, put on two performances that his fans ate up, and made himself look like the favorite to win the entire competition. Still, John and I found time to ruthlessly pick apart his act.

buddytv.com

AFTRA TO COMMENCE NEGOTIATIONS WITH AMPTP ON MAY 7 FOR A NEW THREE-YEAR PRIMETIME TV CONTRACT
LOS ANGELES (May 6, 2008) - The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) announced that its Primetime Negotiating Committee, comprised of 31 working actors, will commence formal talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) regarding a new three-year Exhibit A of the Network Code agreement tomorrow, Wednesday, May 7.
Exhibit A of the Network Code covers such AFTRA primetime network TV dramas and situation comedies as “Rules of Engagement,” “Cashmere Mafia” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Flight of the Conchords,” “Dante’s Cove” “The Reaper” and “Til Death.” AFTRA’s current primetime television contract expires June 30, 2008.
AFTRA’s negotiating team for the primetime talks will be headed by Primetime Negotiating Committee Chairman Matthew Kimbrough, along with AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon and AFTRA National Executive Director Kim Roberts Hedgpeth.
The talks will take place at AMPTP headquarters in Encino, California.
AFTRA will adhere to a press blackout during the talks.
AFTRA announced last week that its members ratified the recently negotiated Network Television Code; the agreement was ratified by a 93% margin.
The AFTRA Network Code agreement covers actors and all other on-camera and off-camera talent on all forms of television programming, including reality shows, syndicated dramas, daytime serials, game shows, talk shows, variety and musical programs, news, sports, and promotional announcements. Programs covered by the Code include ” American Idol,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “Late Show with David Letterman,” “Good Morning America,” “20/20,” “The View,” “The Tonight Show,” “Oprah,” “The Price is Right,” “Deal or No Deal,” “America’s Next Top Model,” “Days of Our Lives,” “All My Children,” “Cake,” “Saturday Night Live,” “Entertainment Tonight,” and “Survivor,” among others. The new three-year pact is effective from November 16, 2007 to November 15, 2010.

latimes.com

April 23, 2008 5:00 pm ET
James Truganza - IR
Ken McBride - President and CEO
Kyle Huebner - CFO
George Sutton - Craig-Hallum
Kevin Liu - B. Riley & Co.
Mike Crawford - Riley Investment Management
Thanks very much for holding everyone. Welcome to the Stamps.com First Quarter 2008 Financial Results Conference Call. Just a reminder, today’s conference is being recorded. Now the time for opening remarks and introductions, I will turn the call over to Mr. James [Truganza]. Please go ahead, sir.
Good afternoon. On the call today is Ken McBride, CEO, and Kyle Huebner, CFO. Agenda for today’s call is as follows; they will review the results of our first quarter and talk about the business outlook. Then we will discuss financial results and talk about our guidance. At first, the Safe Harbor Statement. Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This release contains forward-looking statements of our expectations and financial guidance that involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors and the company’s ability to complete and ship its products, maintain desirable economics for its products, and obtain or maintain regulatory approval, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements, are detailed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission made from time to time by Stamps.com including its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31st 2007, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K. Stamps.com undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
In addition, today’s call is not a proxy statement or solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of Stamps.com and does not constitute an offer of any securities of Stamps.com for sale. Any solicitation of proxies will be made only by a definitive proxy statement mail by Stamps.com to all of its shareholders of record on the record date for its stockholders’ meeting and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

seekingalpha.com

It was the flub heard ’round the world. On a night when "American Idol" threw viewers yet another curveball by switching up the critique format, the only one who seemed really thrown was perennially positive judge Paula Abdul, who appeared to give Jason Castro poor marks for his second song … before he even sang it.
The painfully awkward few minutes of classic Paula confusion made for great TV, but also got some fans wondering about exactly what the gaffe meant. Literally within minutes, the blogosphere began lighting up with conspiracy theories and elaborate scenarios suggesting that the pre-tique was part of the producers’ secret plans to have a David vs. David ratings-bonanza finale. Before the show was even over, "Idol" blog Rickey.org posted this comment: "I totally did not enjoy tonight’s show because Paula Abdul just revealed that this show is rigged."
Abdul quickly shot down the theories, chalking her misstep up to confusion over the last-minute format change - more on that in a minute - but that didn’t stop fans from weighing in with comments both supporting and lambasting Abdul and the show.
Posting as take5 on the official "Idol" message boards, one fan was quick to defend Abdul, writing, "What happened was Ryan said the judges will give their critiques of the contestants’ 2 songs after the 2nd song. Then the contestants were all gathered after their first song, and the judges were asked their opinions. Paula was locked into what Ryan had said and then was confused when wanting to critique Jason’s second song to the point she started searching for her nonexistent notes on it. She just had a huge brain fart - that’s all it was."
But Furrypaws99 had a more sinister explanation, speculating that "the AI cat is out of the bag, thanks to Paula. IMO, this is a good thing for Jason. Now everyone will know who the producers want in their finale … the two Davids, and what underhanded tactics they’ll use to achieve that. The producers don’t decide for the voters though. Only the voters will determine who winds up in the finale. Jason will be back next week and the Dreadheads will be there to support him."

mtv.ca

I can’t really say I came away inspired last night, but “Inspiration” was the theme of the evening on American Idol. It started out with an inspirational song: Aerosmith’s “Dream On”. The problem is that no one can sing this song better than Steven Tyler. Michael Johns attempted to hit high notes out of his vocal range, and although Simon enjoyed the performance, to me, it came close to listening to fingernails on a chalkboard. I like this guy and I don’t think this will get him bumped from the show. Simon called him a “wannabe” (ouch) and though I wouldn’t go that far, I feel that he just didn’t pull it off. Disclaimer: I'm an Aerosmith fan. Update (4/10/08): I'm sorry to report that Michael Johns left the show tonight. This only reinforces the theory that song selection is essential. We all knew he wasn't going to win anyway.
Next up was Syesha Mercado who sang Fantasia’s “I Believe”. All I can say is the girl can sing. But we probably knew that already. This was followed by Jason Castro’s Tiny-Tim like performance of “Over the Rainbow”. Yes, the beloved classic, only a freaky alternative version of it. The judges seemed to like it but it left me confused.
Kristy Lee Cook sang “Anyway” by Martina McBride. Cook needed to go home before this performance but she sang a song that fits into her genre. Or maybe she just had a good night. This was followed by an interesting performance by David Cook. He sang “Innocent” by Our Lady Peace and I am not familiar with the song so I’m not going to comment beyond that.

cs.newhampshire.com

The University has student groups for everyone from squirrel enthusiasts to jet engine connoisseurs, but there’s one population of students you won’t find handing out quarter sheets on the Diag - those who choose to remain celibate until marriage.
While pro-abstinence groups at some of the nation’s most prestigious universities have garnered media attention in recent weeks, no such groups exist at the University of Michigan. Students here claim that abstinence groups at other schools have misled students, paying more attention to the negatives of sex rather than the positives of celibacy until marriage.
An article in the New York Times Magazine published last Thursday highlighted a group at Harvard University called True Love Revolution, which brings together students who abstain from sex before marriage.
Harvard student Janie Fredell, the group’s leader, said in the article that her group’s message is especially important in an environment where the “hook up culture” dominates. According to its website, TLR is not religiously affiliated.
An organization at Princeton University, called the Anscombe Society, is similar to TLR in its viewpoints and activities. On Valentine’s Day, the group put an advertisement in the school’s newspaper, listing the group’s reasons for promoting chastity. The group’s success at Princeton inspired an offshoot at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Chinyere Neale, a health educator with the University of Michigan’s Health Services, said she has found that high school students are more likely to make abstinence pledges than college students because they’re told more frequently told not to have sex.
While the group welcomes both males and females, TLR’s message is mostly directed toward women. In addition to viewing abstinence as an “empowering” act for women, the group says there are emotional benefits to waiting to have sex until marriage.
LSA junior Amanda Grigg, an executive board member of the campus feminist group F-Word, said there should be a campus abstinence group, but that it shouldn’t mislead students - something Grigg accuses TLR of doing.

michigandaily.com

After serving time as an American Idol , Alabama-bred musician Bo Bice is back to doing what he does best — playing Southern rock. Mr. Bice, the first runner-up in the fourth season of American Idol, will perform Sunday at the Columbia County Amphitheater.
After serving time as an American Idol, Alabama-bred musician Bo Bice is back to doing what he does best — playing Southern rock.
Mr. Bice, the first runner-up in the fourth season of American Idol, will perform Sunday at the Columbia County Amphitheater.
“Everything I write, everything I play, is from Alabama,” Mr. Bice said in a recent telephone interview. “So yes, it does have a very Southern feel. I did not invent Southern rock and I’m not bringing it back. It never left. Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers and Marshall Tucker gave me my career.”
Touring behind his self-written and self-produced 2007 release, See the Light , Mr. Bice has put Idol behind him. The record is full of heavy guitar, barroom blues and Southern boogie. He said that his first post-Idol release, 2005’s The Real Thing, contained little of that. The songs were mostly written by others and slickly produced.

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