Mereja

Author: Amanda Crum

  • Sofia Vergara: Illness Keeps Her Away From Oscars

    Sofia Vergara, one of the stars of “Modern Family”, was hit with a nasty bout of the flu over the weekend and had to skip all the Oscars excitement.

    The curvy star says she’s fine but is recovering at home and trying to keep away from anyone who might contract the illness. The flu has been particularly bad this season, with some states declaring emergencies after so many victims checked into the hospital at once that some had to be turned away. Many celebrities have been hit, including actor Burt Reynolds, who had to be briefly hospitalized with the illness.

    In fact, so many people fell victim to the flu this year that an ice cream maker decided to unleash a specialty item on the public: Influenza Sorbet. The orange-flavored treat is infused with honey, lemon, ginger, orange, cayenne pepper, and pectin, which is found in cough drops, and many swear by the food as a means to feeling better.

    Vergara has made several headlines already this year after she and fiance Nick Loeb were kicked out of a Miami club during an altercation on New Year’s Eve, but she seems in good spirits and tweeted about having to stay home this past weekend.

  • Janet Jackson Married, Not Engaged

    Janet Jackson has confirmed that she and billionaire boyfriend Wissam Al Mana are married, and have been for months.

    The couple didn’t confirm or deny reports last year that they were engaged, with sources coming from every direction to report to the media that the superstar had accepted her boyfriend’s proposal. Though there was never a ring sighting, no one thought twice because she reportedly said she’d locked it up out of fear she would lose it.

    Some of the reports got pretty elaborate, with one “source” even talking about what the wedding would be like.

    “He is flying in all of Janet’s friends and family on private jets. He wants to get a top chef to create a custom menu,” the source said.

    But the couple says that’s just false. Apparently they were married in a very quiet (obviously) ceremony a while back and just, you know, forgot to tell anyone.

    “The rumors regarding an extravagant wedding are simply not true. Last year we were married in a quiet, private, and beautiful ceremony,” the couple said in a statement. “Our wedding gifts to one another were contributions to our respective favourite children’s charities. We would appreciate that our privacy is respected and that we are allowed this time for celebration and joy.”

    This is the third marriage for Jackson, who was previously wed to singer James DeBarge and dancer Rene Elizondo.

    Image: Marco Giaviano

  • Kim Kardashian At Oscars: Glowing In White

    Kim Kardashian and her sisters showed up at Elton John’s Oscar viewing party last night dressed to the nines, with Kim rocking a white Donna Karan gown that hugged her pregnant figure.

    The sisters mingled with a crowd of famous faces at Sir Elton’s bash, including models Heidi Klum and Molly Sims and scores of fashion and jewelry designers, as well as a newly-brunette Britney Spears. Kim looked every inch the glowing mother-to-be as she partied with the other guests, but later tweeted that she wouldn’t be staying out too late due to a photo shoot scheduled for today for the Kardashian Kollection.

    The reality star announced recently that she and beau Kanye West are expecting a baby girl in July and said that, since becoming pregnant, her views have changed considerably on just about everything.

    “I used to always say I can’t wait to get pregnant because I will just eat whatever I want, but it’s completely different,” she said. “I’m like, OK, I want to eat as healthy as possible. Though lately I’ve been watching shows like I’m Pregnant and Addicted to Meth. It definitely makes me feel better if I’m wanting one sip of Diet Coke or, you know, too much sugar. I’m like, This woman is on meth.”

    Images: Instagram

    kim kardashian oscars

    Image: Us Weekly

    kim kardashian at oscars

  • Derek Fisher Deal: Guard Is Coming Back To Thunder

    Derek Fisher has officially inked a deal to come back to the Oklahoma City Thunder after a knee injury prompted him to leave the Dallas Mavericks.

    Fisher helped the Thunder move towards the NBA Finals last season, but only played in nine games with the Mavs before the injury took him out. He asked to be released afterward, leaving him free for the Thunder to snatch up.

    The 38-year old veteran spent a good deal of his career with the Lakers before being signed to the Houston Rockets, where he eventually bought out his contract and made the move to Oklahoma. The news that he’s returning to the Thunder is big, considering no one knew what the future would hold after his knee injury. Fisher released a statement when he was released from the Mavericks and spoke about the uncertainty that came with his decision to be released:

    “The recovery time [from the knee injury] will be approximately two weeks. With this news and the difficulty I have been having being away from my family, I have asked the organization to waive me so I can return home. (Mavericks owner) Mark Cuban has been extremely supportive and has granted me this request. I cannot say enough good things about this organization. From Mark, to Coach [Rick] Carlisle, to the players on the Mavericks’ team, I sincerely thank them for the opportunity. I have made decisions in the past, leaving money and opportunity on the table, and I will need to do that again. My family is my priority and that is where I choose to be. I won’t close the possibility that I will play again; however, for now my family and being close to them remains the priority.”

    The news of Fisher’s deal comes just after the Thunder’s trade of Eric Maynor to Portland.

  • Robin The Boy Wonder Killed: Last Of The Sidekick?

    Spoilers ahead! Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

    Robin the Boy Wonder is set to be killed off in an upcoming issue of “Batman Incorporated”, and some fans are wondering if this spells out the end of Batman’s sidekick for good.

    This incarnation of Robin was created after the first one–Dick Grayson–moved on and after the death of teenage Robin Jason Todd. In the latest comics, Robin is Damien, the 10-year old son of Bruce Wayne and the daughter of his longtime enemy, Ra’s Al Ghul. After starting his storyline as an ill-tempered, violent brat, Damien eventually rose up to become a respectable member of the Batman universe. It took over six years to achieve, and writer Grant Morrison is proud of the character arc.

    “What we did was turn this little monster into a superhero,” he said. “He’s a little brat, but he’s a super-brat.”

    Though he does admit that Damien is about to meet his end, he doesn’t want to give too much away, saying only, “He saves the world. He does his job as Robin. He dies an absolute hero.”

    There’s no word yet on whether Morrison believes Damien could be resurrected in future issues, like Jason Todd was. However, Morrison did say that Batman will always have a friend at his side.

    “You can never say never in a comic book . . . Batman will ultimately always have a partner,” he said.

    Image: Batman Incorporated, Issue 8

  • Jennifer Lawrence Gets Starstruck And It’s Adorable

    Jennifer Lawrence has been the darling of critics, moviegoers, and Hollywood veterans for a while now; it’s a heady combination of talent, looks, wit, and self-deprecation that has attracted everyone like bees to pollen, and now that the awards season has come to a close, she’s proven her funny personality wasn’t just a fluke put on for a talk show.

    Though she landed herself in a bit of hot water after her Golden Globes acceptance speech, the whole incident was quickly cleared up and the “Silver Linings Playbook” star went back to charming the pants off everyone who came into contact with her. And though some think her cavalier attitude towards the celebrity life is put on, she seems to have proven that she can be funny and humble at the same time–take a look at her Oscars spill if you need more proof.

    While it seems easy for Lawrence to shrug off the sudden fame she found after starring in the widely acclaimed “Winter’s Bone”, she does still get starstruck, and Jack Nicholson was the culprit. The legendary actor came up to her during a backstage interview last night and succeeded in making her blush, turning an epic night into an even bigger epic night.

  • Seth MacFarlane Upsets Oscar Viewers With Song

    Seth MacFarlane seemed an odd choice to host the Oscars for many, being the mastermind behind decidedly family-unfriendly shows like “Family Guy” and “American Dad”; he sure didn’t disappoint those who had their doubts last night when he began the show with a musical number devoted to whose boobs we’ve all seen and peppered the night’s comedy with sexist and homophobic jokes.

    The web is buzzing today about the opening number–”We Saw Your Boobs”–and the subsequent reactions from some of the audience members he called out, including Naomi Watts and Charlize Theron. But the clips of both actresses shown in the audience appear to be from past awards shows; Watts is wearing a totally different dress and has her hair styled differently than she did the rest of the night (though the man sitting beside her does offer a pointed look at her chest when she’s on camera).

    Still, even if the reactions from the actual actresses weren’t real, the song didn’t get a lot of love from Twitter users. Some are pointing out today that several of the scenes MacFarlane references were rape scenes and say his use of them as comedy was disrespectful.

  • 50 Cent: Erin Andrews Kiss Denied At Daytona 500

    50 Cent happened to catch up to Erin Andrews in the crowd on pit road before the start of the Daytona 500 race on Sunday, and what ensued was a horribly awkward attempt at a hello-kiss on his part that ended in Andrews dodging out of his way like Ellen Griswold ducking Cousin Eddie.

    Andrews was there reporting live and, to her credit, things were a bit hectic in the crowd. The rapper didn’t seem fazed by her diss, though, and grabbed hold of her waist to follow her through the throng.

  • Snooki Selling Car On eBay: Bids Exceed $70,000

    Snooki, the diminutive star of MTV reality show “Jersey Shore”, has sold her custom Cadillac Escalade on eBay as a chance to “own a piece of pop culture history”, and she managed to get quite a bit of dough for it despite the fact that it was clearly tailored for her own personal tastes.

    The pink-trimmed black Caddy features ambient lighting and custom wheels, and the winning bidder scooped it up for just $77,510 after all was said and done. Of course, that price included an autograph across the hood by Snooki herself.

    From the eBay description: This 2011 Cadillac Escalade is currently owned by Nicole Snooki Polizzi. It is the actual car that she has driven in many of her television appearances. The vehicle has been completely wrapped and has been customized with many add ons to her taste and specifications, such as custom wheels and ambient lighting. It has been autographed across the hood by Nicole. This is not a vehicle that you can buy everyday, it is an opportunity to own a piece of pop culture history!

  • “DWTS”: “Idol” Contestant Signs Up To Dance

    Many fans of “Dancing With The Stars” are also fans of “American Idol”, so news of a crossover will be a nice surprise.

    Former “Idol” contestant and country star Kellie Pickler has reportedly signed up to appear on the dance competition’s upcoming season, and fans are thrilled. Of course, nothing is official yet; the cast roster will be announced on Tuesday’s edition of “Good Morning America”. However, several sources are reporting that Pickler is indeed in the lineup.

    Among the other contestants rumored to have a spot on the show are fellow country singer Wynonna Judd and Baltimore Raven Jacoby Jones.

    Pickler earned some headlines last fall when she shaved her head in support of her best friend, Summer Holt Miller, who was diagnosed with breast cancer. She also appeared on the cover of men’s magazine Maxim last summer and spoke about her USO tours with her band.

  • 79-Year Old Shot Dead, Stray Bullet To Blame?

    A 79-year old man was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment on Sunday, and police are trying to figure out exactly what happened.

    James Jackson was found with a gunshot wound to the neck after his wife–who is blind and wears a hearing aid–reported to a neighbor that she couldn’t wake him. Neighbors say he had no enemies and investigators found no evidence of a break-in, prompting them to believe he might have been the tragic victim of a stray bullet. Jackson’s wife would have been asleep at the time without her hearing aid, making it plausible that she never heard the shot.

    “She said, “Joyce could you come down here, I can’t wake up Tyrone”, he was laying in the couch in a puddle of blood,” a neighbor said.

    Jackson is described by those who knew him as a kind man who was quick to help anyone who needed it.

    “He was a good person,” said neighbor Eric Turner, 47. “If you needed something, he’d always give it to you.”

  • 19 Arrested At Mall After Boy Band Performance

    19 people were arrested on Saturday at Ford City Mall in Chicago, officials said, after wreaking havoc inside the building and then jumping on top of cars–both moving and parked–in the parking lot.

    The disturbance came about 30-45 minutes after the band Mindless Behavior performed in the food court to promote the release of their new album, “All Around The World”; police were dispatched to control the crowd after receiving several reports of disturbances and injuries and say at least two people were hurt in the melee.

    “A group of older youths came into the mall with the intent of causing havoc and chaos and were running through the mall, screaming, yelling and so forth,” mall manager John Sarama said.

    Officials are still trying to figure out what exactly caused the disturbance. There were no reports of serious damage to property, and the mall reopened at normal business hours after closing early on Saturday night. Of those arrested, the ages ranged from 13 to 18 years old.

  • Quvenzhane Wallis Scores Big Film Role

    Quvenzhane Wallis, the 9-year old actress who impressed movie-goers and film critics alike last year with her portrayal of Hushpuppy in the Oscar-nominated film “Beasts Of The Southern Wild”, got some good news on Sunday: she’s officially been offered the role of Annie in a new film version of the Broadway classic.

    Wallis has been in talks for the role for a while now after Willow Smith–the daughter of Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith, whose production company, Overbrook Entertainment, is overseeing the project–bowed out due to her age. The young Academy Award nominee was a favorite to win this year for Best Actress, but ultimately lost out to Jennifer Lawrence, who won for “Silver Linings Playbook”.

    Wallis was just six years old when she filmed “Beasts” and has said she still feels confident about her work a few years later.

    “Yeah, I felt like I did good. … [But] I’m not fierce as much anymore. If I have to be fierce, I’ll be fierce,” she said, referring to a comment made about her by director Benh Zeitlin.

    The “Annie” project is one that’s been underway for several years, but those in charge feel they’ve finally found a match to their vision for the lead role.

    “With the recent Academy Award nomination and critical acclaim, Quvenzhane Wallis is a true star and we believe her portrayal as Annie will make her a true worldwide star,” said Hannah Minghella, president of production for Columbia Pictures.

    The film is due out in 2014 and will be helmed by “Easy A” director Will Gluck.

  • “Survivor” Engagement News: Country Singer To Wed

    “Survivor” contestant and country singer Whitney Duncan is all set to marry Keith Tollefson, whom she met on the show.

    Duncan was actually married when she appeared on the show, to KingBilly singer Donny Fallgatter; however, the two had allegedly kept their vows a secret, and when she met Tollefson and fell for him, it was the beginning of the end for her prior relationship. Their divorce was finalized at the end of 2011, freeing her up to marry Tollefson. The singer shared a picture of her engagement ring on Twitter recently and received well-wishes from fans and friends alike; she also spoke a bit about her relationship with Fallgatter.

    Duncan also acknowledged on Twitter the news that her cousin, Holly Bobo, has still not been found after reportedly being abducted by a man wearing camo; a witness said he saw her being led into the woods from her home in April of 2011 and the case is still open. Holly disappeared from Decatur County, Tennessee; a reward is being offered for her safe return. She is five foot, three inches tall and weighs 110 pounds, with blue eyes and shoulder-length blonde hair. She was last seen wearing a pink shirt, blue jeans and black flip flops.

    Lead image: Wikimedia commons

    Image: Twitter/Instagram

    survivor engagement

  • Russian Flash Mobs Are The Best Flash Mobs

    It’s something that’s gained notoriety on the web in the past several years; someone organizes a “flash mob” to meet up at a certain time and place and impress a crowd of onlookers with their random outburst of dancing and/or singing. They’re all the rage these days, and it seems like there’s a new one every week.

    But I think we have a thing or two to learn from the Russians, who put on a hell of a show during their flash mobs. They don’t phone anything in, that’s for sure; incorporating Taco’s ’80s hit “Puttin’ On The Ritz” with choreographed sweepers, professional-looking backflips, and a newly married couple in the snow, this group knows what the hell they’re doing.

    The original song:

  • Pistorius Granted Bail, Released Until Trial Begins

    Oscar Pistorius, the South African Olympian and Paralympian who is accused of the pre-meditated murder of his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day, has been granted bail and released prior to the trial, which could take six to eight months to begin.

    Pistorius has spent the last eight days arguing his innocence before Magistrate Desmond Nair, who granted bail on the condition that Pistorius surrender his passport, refrain from imbibing alcohol, and report to a local police station twice a week.

    Nair admits that after over a week of hearing evidence, he admitted that it is far too soon to make a judgement on how the state’s case will go during the trial because there were many, many details to be pored over. Pistorius claims that he awoke in the early hours of Valentine’s Day–after having gone to bed with girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp–to turn off a fan on the balcony just off his bedroom. When he came back into the pitch-black bedroom, he says he realized someone was in the bathroom. Thinking Reeva was still in bed–where he’d left her before going to the balcony–he put on his prosthetics (Pistorius is a double amputee), grabbed a gun, and went to confront the intruder. He shot through the door of the bathroom, hitting Steenkamp three times. Pistorius says when he realized the person inside could have been his girlfriend, he opened the door to find her wounded but still alive. An attempt at resuscitation was unsuccessful, he claims. Since that day, various reports have come in from witnesses who say they heard the sounds of an argument coming from the home that night, and the first responders on the scene admitted they weren’t wearing protective slippers over their shoes, which may have contaminated the crime scene. The former chief prosecutor of the case, Hilton Botha, was removed after it was discovered he was involved in a controversial incident of his own, wherein he participated in chasing down and shooting at a vehicle full of people while drunk. He is accused of seven counts of attempted murder in that case.

    “The pieces of the puzzle may not yet all be before me,” Nair said of the Pistorius case.

    Pistorius has had several people give conflicting accounts of his relationship with Steenkamp; some say they had a volatile relationship and that there had been incidents of a “domestic” nature between them before, while others insist they were a normal, happy couple.

    “If Oscar was to ask her to get married, she would have said yes,” friend Kevin Lerena said. “That’s how happy and joyful their relationship was.”

  • Cleotha Staples Dies: Gospel Singer Was 78

    Cleotha Staples, a member of The Staple Singers gospel group, has died after a decade-long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. She was 78 years old.

    Cleotha was considered the backbone of the group, preferring to take on the role of the “strong, silent type”. She was described by those who knew her as wise beyond her years, even as a child.

    “When she was young they used to call her granny because she acted like a granny in terms of being wise and always sure of the best thing to do,” Bill Carpenter, a friend of the family’s, said.

    The Staple Singers were born after their father, Roebuck (also known as Pops), taught them to sing along as he played guitar when they were young. It began as a way to pass the time in the evenings, but after a performance at church garnered major attention and accolades, the family began to take it more seriously. Cleotha was particularly talented as a child, Carpenter says.

    “When Pops used to sit them in a circle and play music with them he was sort of feeding off of her voice. It was high in a light way, sort of soothing and velvety so his guitar playing bounced off of that.”

    Pops had already enjoyed a musical career after learning guitar as a young man and singing with the gospel group The Golden Trumpets. Later, he would incorporate his distinctive Delta-blues guitar playing with The Staple Singers’ sound, bringing them success and hit songs in the ’60s and ’70s. Pops passed away in 2000 after sustaining a fall and concussion.

  • Chocolate Bar Resume: Guy Gets Creative For Job

    If you look around the web on any given day, you’ll probably find several instances of people being creative. Everyone wants to do something that hasn’t been done before; as an artist, I can attest that it isn’t always easy to achieve. But one way to get the creativity flowing is to direct it someplace it usually isn’t found…like a resume.

    Rather than send out a boring, dry, plain old resume that looks like every other in a thick stack, some people are thinking outside the box to create something that will jump out at a potential employer. As more and more stories pour in through the wickedly slow economy of graduates being unable to land a job within their field, it’s especially important to stand out from the crowd.

    That’s where things like chocolate bars and web pages come in. A Reddit user posted a photo of his buddy’s resume, which happens to be printed on a candy wrapper, and it quickly went viral. Reportedly, he got the job.

    chocolate bar resume

    There’s also this guy, who created a resume that looks just like an Amazon product page.

  • “El Chapo” Killed? Chicago “Public Enemy” Reportedly Taken Down

    “El Chapo”, a.k.a. Joaquin Guzman, has reportedly been killed in a bloody shootout on the Guatemala border.

    Guzman was head of the infamous Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico and was largely considered to be Chicago’s “Public Enemy Number 1″, as he used the city as his American hub. After years of heading a huge web of cocaine and heroin producers, Guzman was thought to have amassed a fortune of around $1 billion. After escaping from a Mexican prison in 2001, Guzman has been on the run and has been considered by law enforcement officials in Chicago as more dangerous and infamous than even Pablo Escobar, the famed drug lord of the 1980′s.

    Witnesses to the gun battle this week–which allegedly occurred between rival drug gangs in the jungle surrounding Peten, Guatemala–say Guzman was among several killed, but officials haven’t confirmed that yet. They say they will conduct a thorough investigation of the area and have a copy of Guzman’s fingerprints to go on, but as of now, they haven’t even been able to confirm that a shootout even took place.

    “We have to wait for all the technical information in order to determine if, in fact, one of the dead is of Joaquin `El Chapo’ Guzman,” government official Francisco Cuevas said.

    Image: Damian Dovarganes

  • Slayer Drummer Out Of Soundwave, Posts On Facebook

    Slayer fans were ecstatic to learn that 3 of the original band members would be performing together at the Soundwave Festival in Australia this year, but drummer Dave Lombardo had some bad news for them on Thursday: he’s been asked not to come.

    Lombardo says he was asked by the band’s lawyers to disengage himself from the tour due to a dispute over money and posted a lengthy explanation on Facebook yesterday, apologizing to fans.

    I want to personally apologize to all of our fans in Australia who have bought tickets for the tour expecting to see me in my usual place on the drums.

    So that you all know the truth, as of the end of the business day on February 14th, I was notified that I would not be drumming for the tour in Australia. I’m saddened, and to be honest I am shocked by the situation.

    Last year, I discovered 90% of Slayer’s tour income was being deducted as expenses including the professional fees paid to management, costing the band millions of dollars and leaving 10% or less to split amongst the four of us. In my opinion, this is not the way a band’s business should operate. I tried rectifying it by letting my band mates know, and Tom and I hired auditors to figure out what happened, but I was denied access to detailed information and the necessary back up documents.

    I spent the Christmas and New Year holidays realizing I had toured all over the world in 2012, but yet, had not been paid (except a small advance) or provided a proper accounting for a full year’s sweat and blood. On top of this, I was told that I would not be paid until I signed a long form contract which gave me no written assurance of how much or on what basis management would deduct commissions, nor did it provide me access to the financial budgets or records for review. It also forbade me to do interviews or make statements having to do with the band, in effect a gagging order.

    Last Monday, I sat down with Kerry and Tom to rehearse for Australia and to propose a new business model that I felt was the best way forward for Slayer to confidently protect itself so we could do what we do best . . . play for the fans. Kerry made it clear he wasn’t interested in making changes and said if I wanted to argue the point, he would find another drummer. On Thursday, I arrived at rehearsals at 1 pm as scheduled, but Kerry did not show. Rather, at 6:24 pm I received an email from the lawyers saying I was being replaced for the Australian dates.

    I remain hopeful that we can resolve our issues. But once again, I sincerely apologize to all of our fans in Australia who spent their money expecting to see the 3 of us original Slayer members.
    I look forward to seeing you in the future.

    Sincerely,
    Dave Lombardo

    Lombardo, who has also played with Fantomas with Faith No More’s Mike Patton, isn’t the first drummer to have issues with this year’s Soundwave tour; Blink 182′s Travis Barker just recently announced he won’t be able to make it due to a reluctance to get on a plane, after a tragic crash five years ago took the lives of two of his close friends and left him severely injured.

    If you have a few minutes, check out this haunting cover by Tori Amos.