Wed, 14 Mar 2007 02:43:33 GMT

Madonna and Guy Ritchie - Bad Parents?

Madonna doesnt allow her kids to watch TV. The newspapers arent safe either. Madge says its all just noise. So Madonna is a strict parent. Does that make her and Guy bad parents? It seems so.

It seems as if there is only bad news for Madonna this month. Madonna and Guy Ritchie have been accused of not properly securing their 17 month old child in their SUV. The celebrity couple and their children were leaving a temple, when an onlooker noticed that Malawian baby David wasnt correctly restrained in his seat.

A witness told a tabloid publication

There was no car seat. Madonna sat in the middle row, and they left with David on her lap.

The very next day, Madonna performed a similar stunt, this time with young Rocco not safely restrained.

If you find these tidbits of gossip interesting, youll be happy to know that Madonnas former nanny is in the process of writing a revealing memoir of her time with Madonna and co.

Source: Celebrity-gossip.net

Posted by: Silentscreamer      Read more     Source

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 02:33:08 GMT

New Couple Alert: Cameron Diaz and Tyrese

Cameron Diaz seems to be the celebrity du jour for gossip magazines to link with available Hollywood men.

A few weeks ago, it was reported that the Charlies Angel was dating Djimon Hounsou. Camerons reps denied any funny business, insisting that they were just friends (Guys, the just friends tag has been so overused, it has lost meaning.)

Now there are reports that our golden girl Cameron has been cozying up with actor-singer Tyrese Gibson.

The 34 year old Californian was spotted with Tyrese Gibson in full lip-lock at the hip L.A. club Xenii. At their reserved table, Diaz and Gibson were kissing and holding hands.

A People magazine spy said:

They made out right in front of me on the dance floor.

They also came (and left) together to a pre-Oscars party thrown by Harvey Weinstein, Tamara Mellon and Tracey Edmonds, although Diazs rep tell People magazine the two are not dating.

Tyrese, 28, is an R&B/hiphop artist and a former model. Gibson was picked as one of People Magazine’s Sexiest Men of the Year in 2000.

Dating or not, Cameron sure has taken a liking for African-American guys post her split from Justin Timberlake. Add to that Camerons earlier quote about sex being the best thing for everyone. Put two and two together, and could this be why Cameron and JT split? Hmmmm.

Source: People

Posted by: Silentscreamer      Read more     Source

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 10:37:58 GMT

ANOTHER AMERICAN IDOL SCANDAL

Source:www.nationalledger.com



If there's a scandal involving celebrities, even celebrity wannabee's, Las Vegas is getting into the act big time these days, even if only by familial connection.

Jersey girl, Antonella Barba, who is a cousin to Las Vegas Judge, Valorie Vega, is the latest "American Idol" contestant to be involved in a tawdry sex scandal.

Or is she?

There is speculation that the lascivious photos of her, are actually not of her, at least not the X Rated ones.

So far the scandal has not only not hurt her, it's apparently helped her since she survived to the next round.

She can probably thank rising testosterone levels among the youthful male viewers for the possibly undeserved positive votes she garnered.
Posted by: Helen      Read more     Source

February 22, 2007, 9:58 PM CT

wireless speaker system for iPod

Griffin technology feels it's time for you to evolve, cut the chord already! At CES they were showing their brand-new Evolve wireless speaker system for your iPod, which is comprised of a charging base and two cube-shaped speakers. Just simply place the Evolve cubes wherever you want to hear the music, or move them room to room. Me, I'd put them outside when we have a party, keeping in mind that they're not all-weather of course.

Each speaker cube has its own Lithium-Ion battery pack, delivering up to 10 hours of music between charges. To charge, just place the speaker on its charging station. There's nothing to plug in, and nothing to unplug when you're ready to deploy the music. Each speaker features its own on/off switch, and an automatic sleep mode to conserve battery charge.

To complete the wireless picture, Evolve comes with its own RF remote. The system works with all iPods, but there is a line-in in the back, so you can plug any music player into it (zune,.

sansa, etc.).

It'll retail for $349 in late spring/summer......... Posted by: Gina      Read more         Source

February 20, 2007, 7:01 PM CT

Photo software creates 3-D world

In the digital age, organizing a photo collection has gone from bad to worse. The saying used to be that a picture is worth a thousand words. Now the question arises: what are a thousand pictures worth?

In a word, mainly a headache.

"Anyone who has a digital camera has the problem that they have more photos than they can possibly navigate," says Steve Seitz, associate professor of computer science & engineering. "And it's always a problem to find the photo that you're looking for".

Now experimental software developed by UW and Microsoft computer scientists, called Photo Tourism, turns the surfeit of images into a benefit. Hundreds of photos of a single scene can be mapped into a 3-D virtual world. The technology has potential not just for organizing photo collections, but for capturing scenes and, perhaps someday, creating a visual map of all the photos on the Internet.

Over the past year the research has catapulted to the marketplace. Early work attracted attention in March at Microsoft's TechFest meeting. The project again made headlines in August when it was presented at a major graphics conference. Microsoft Live Labs signed a commercial license for the prototype software last August. Within a few months the company shipped a technology preview of a product that it called Photosynth......... Posted by: Gina      Read more         Source

February 19, 2007, 8:38 PM CT

Beethoven, Sibelius and Music Plus One

Begin with violinists. Then, bring in a computerized musical accompaniment program. It all adds up to a unique blend of classical music.

Christopher Raphael, associate professor at the Indiana University School of Informatics, will share center stage with Mimi Zweig, professor at the Jacobs School of Music. They're appearing together in Informatics Philharmonic at 3 p.m., Saturday (Feb. 24) at the Sweeney Lecture Hall in the Simon Music Center.

Raphael is the creator of Music Plus One, a sophisticated computerized instrumental accompaniment program that responds in real time to a soloist's tempo changes and other expressive gestures. The accompaniment is drawn from recorded past rehearsals from, say, a concerto or sonata. As the musician plays, the accompanying music is synthesized through an audio recording.

Zweig teaches violin, string pedagogy and heads the IU String Academy. She's also a former member of the American Symphony Orchestra, Syracuse Orchestra, Piedmont Chamber Orchestra and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

The concert features Yoo-jin Cho and Thomas Rodgers, who will play movements from the violin concertos of Ludwig Van Beethoven and Jan Sibelius. They will be accompanied by Raphael's Music Plus One "orchestra." Raphael, who once played for the Santa Cruz (California) Symphony, also will perform on the oboe......... Posted by: Gina      Read more         Source

February 15, 2007, 6:11 AM CT

Turn your TV into abstract art

Don't just let your flat-panel TV just hang there, taking up precious space that could be used to brighten up your home. Affix one of TV2Art's Lightascopes over the TV screen and those electronic signals can start making art instead. The brainchild of artists Daniel Goldstein and John Kapellas, Lightascopes sample light and colour from the TV to create changing patterns and swirls, adding a modern aesthetic accent to the room.

Lightascopes are made of the same lightweight, durable plastic as a credit card and are fixed to the TV screen using micro-suction tape. This makes for easy removal when there's actually something good on TV that you might want to watch instead of your new art piece. The Lightascopes also work when the TV's off.

Lightascopes come in 3 different styles, each creating its own signature pattern. You can try out a selection of light and sound effects before you buy.

Available in sizes 32"-50" for $135-$199. There's also a deluxe version with all 3 styles combined, which goes for a hefty $480......... Posted by: Gina      Read more         Source

February 7, 2007, 4:26 PM CT

Boycott CNN

Anyone who has tuned to CNN would have watched the miserable allergy causing ad about Headon. I, like everyone else was thinking this would go away. But it keeps getting worse and keeps repeating this ridiculous ad as if to hammer the message to our brain. I think it is time to react from the consumer side.

Every time I see this ad I feel like vomiting and change the channel to some other channel. I think we all should boycott CNN for perpetuating such an awful ad. Let's all do this: every time a Headon ad is shown we all should change the channel from CNN to some other channel and don't return to CNN for the whole day. If CNN does not learn a lesson from this we would boycott CNN completely. Who are all with me?........

Posted by: Tom      Read more

February 5, 2007, 9:43 PM CT

Photographer of the Year 2006

Enjoy the stunning photos from the competition Photographer of the Year 2006 by Digital Camera magazine. Categories including Portraits, Landscapes, Animals, Action & Movement, Travel and Blakc & White. Click on the images to view the entries.

Via........

Posted by: Gina      Read more         Source

February 5, 2007, 7:32 PM CT

The Living Weapon

Decades before President Bush began railing against Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, the United States had its own top-secret program to develop biological weapons of mass destruction.

From 1943 to 1969, U.S. researchers worked with pathogens such as anthrax and tularemia, seeking to develop deadly bioweapons that experts say were meant for the mass slaughter of enemy civilians as well as enemy combatants.

The time is now ripe for a re-examination of this program, say these experts, including Jeanne Guillemin, senior advisor in MIT's Security Studies Program and author of "Biological Weapons: From the Invention of State-Sponsored Programs to Contemporary Bioterrorism" (2005).

Guillemin is among those featured in a PBS documentary on biological weapons, "American Experience: The Living Weapon," which airs Monday, Feb. 5, from 9 to 10 p.m. on WGBH 2. The documentary looks at the years of secret testing, animal experiments and top-level, closed-door meetings as American researchers attempted to turn some of the world's most potent germs into devastating weapons. First driven by fears that Nazi Gera number of was developing the bioweapons, then by Cold War agendas, U.S. military scientists raced to develop methods of dispersing lethal diseases in bombs and sprays. They even conducted open-air tests (with harmless bacteria) on major American cities to make sure the systems would work. The program was ended in 1969 by President Richard Nixon.........

Posted by: Gina      Read more         Source