Photo of the Day October 16, 2008

Addin is 21 and from NORTH PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

BEASTIE BOYS EXTEND OBAMA TOUR October 16, 2008

The Beastie Boys have added three dates to their swing state tour in support of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

 

       The “Get Out the Vote” trek will now begin on Oct. 27 in Charlotte, N.C., with Sheryl Crow and Santogold in the lineup, reports Billboard.com.      

       Crow, Ben Harper and Norah Jones will join the effort two nights later in Youngstown, Ohio, while Crow and Harper will play Oct. 30 in Dayton, Ohio.      

       Jack Johnson, Tenacious D and David Crosby and Graham Nash are on board in various incarnations for previously announced shows on Oct. 28 in Richmond, Va., Nov. 1 in St. Paul, Minn., and Nov. 2 in Milwaukee.

T.I.’S ‘PAPER TRAIL’ STILL NO. 1 October 16, 2008

T.I.’s new album “Paper Trail” survived a 69% drop-off in sales to remain at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart for a second week.

 

       The Grand Hustle/Atlantic set sold 177,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, after debuting last week with 568,000.      

       Elsewhere on the chart, Jennifer Hudson’s self-titled Arista debut fall 2-4 on a 71% sales decrease to 63,000, and Ne-Yo’s “Year of the Gentleman” (Def Jam) continues its decline, falling 6-8 with 47,000.

Obama’s XBOX 360 ad; Dennis & Donald; Pimps & Ho’s game; Marcia Brady dated MiJac October 16, 2008

Barack Obama has purchased virtual billboards inside of an XBOX 360 game called “Burnout Paradise” in an attempt to get out the vote among video game heads, reports Gigaom.com. While playing inside of the fictional Paradise City, gamers encounter a billboard with Obama’s image next to the words “Early Voting Has Begun, voteforchange.com.”

       *The Donald has apparently taken a liking to Dennis Rodman during filming of the next “Celebrity Apprentice” in Manhattan. A source close to the show tells the Palm Beach Post: “Trump likes hard-working people, and Dennis does work hard.” Meanwhile, the source adds that Rodman – who has been “spotted everywhere around NYC making his presence known” – is particularly smitten with fellow cast member Khloe Kardashian.

       *A company called Weaver Games has created a board game called “Pimps and Ho’s.” A press release states: “By taking control of your pimp, the goal is to prove dominance over the other players by building up serious cash flow while keeping a close watch over the Ho’s at all times. The available expansion sets, including the newly released HoTropolis, guarantees countless hours of hilarity.” The price tag for Pimps and Ho’s is $29.99 for the Standard Edition and $69.99 for the Deluxe Edition at http://www.pimpsandhos.com.
 
       *In her new book, “Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice,” actress Maureen McCormick spills the beans about her dates with various famous men, including the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. She also opens up about her two abortions, her battle with cocaine addiction and her long history of clinical depression.

D.L. HUGHLEY HIRED BY CNN October 16, 2008

       The show will air Saturdays at 10 p.m. beginning Oct. 25 and feature the comedian riffing on politics, entertainment, sports and pop culture. Hughley will also conduct one-on-one interviews with newsmakers and the reporters covering them.       

       The effort is part of CNN’s effort to attract younger viewers who get more of their news from “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report” than they do from mainstream news outlets.       

       “D.L. is a very thoughtful, well-informed guy with unpredictable views, and I’ve always admired his comedy,” said CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein. “The basic premise of the show is, what if a guy like him was let loose in the CNN building for a weekend after the lights went off?”       

       Klein said CNN could not release the name of the show yet, but he did say the tone would be a bit different Comedy Central’s “Daily” and “Colbert.” Those are “fake newscasts,” Klein explained, “whereas this is really D.L.’s observations and comments on the week’s events and his riffs on the news.”       

       “I’m a big fan of both of those shows,” Hughley added, “but I’ve got a different skill set. I’m not going to parody a news show or a news anchor. My show will reflect my views on things just as their shows reflect their views.”       

       For instance, Hughley continued, “There have been six movies with a black man as the president, and in all those movies, the world was coming to an end. If this election isn’t art imitating life, I don’t know what is.”

 

       Hughley’s show will tape before a live audience on one of CNN’s news sets in New York. Klein says the comic will have full access to the network’s global newsgathering operations, adding: “We expect he’ll run amok a little.”       

       “It’s like getting to drive my father’s Mercedes to school. I’d like to know what Jesse Jackson is going to do for a living if Obama is elected,” Hughley said, adding that he would invite Jackson to appear. “I’d like to know what Sarah Palin is going to do if she doesn’t get elected. Ever notice that she does all the things a good waitress does when she wants better tips? You know, wink and smile.”       

       Politics will not be the only fodder for the show, Hughley emphasized.       

       “In three weeks, 50% of the country is going to be angry. So we’ll be looking at a lot of other things, too,” he said.

MEL B REJECTS $1.8 MILLION PLAYBOY OFFER October 16, 2008

 

      “I’m not going to do it,” she tells Access Hollywood, adding that she’d prefers to show off her birthday suit to her husband Stephen Belafonte in the privacy of their own home.

 

      She said: “There is (an exhibitionist side to me) – in my bedroom, late at night for hours on end!”

 

       The former Spice Girl does strip down to her lacy underwear as the spokesmodel for underwear company Ultimo.

ANGELA & VANESSA ‘RUN’ TO MTV SPINOFF October 16, 2008

MTV is developing a spinoff series to “Run’s House” that would star Reverend Run’s daughters Vanessa and Angela Simmons.

 

       Titled “Daddy’s Girls,” the show will follow the famous sisters as they adjust to life in Los Angeles and attempt to transform their Pastry shoe and clothing line into a more mature brand, reports AOL’s Blackvoices.       

        “I appreciate my process because that’s going to make me stronger in the end and the best talent that I can possibly give the world,” says Vanessa Simmons.      

       “Run’s House” also stars mom Justine Simmons, and brothers JoJo, Diggy and Russy.

EMINEM, DR. DRE HELP 50 CENT ‘SELF DESTRUCT’ October 16, 2008

Rapper 50 Cent has production and guest turns from his mentors Eminem and Dr. Dre on his upcoming album “Before I Self Destruct,” due Dec. 9 via Shady/Aftermath/Interscope. Producer Scott Storch helmed first single “Get Up.”

 

       According to Billboard.com, the package comes with a 90-minute, feature-length movie about an inner city boy named Clarence who seeks to avenge the death of his mother. 50 Cent wrote, directed and stars in the movie. (View trailer below.)       

        “My film captures the harsh realities that reflect so many communities today,” 50 Cent said in a statement. “There will be some who will greatly identify with the characters and the situations presented and then there will be others who may be shocked at the struggles that go on in the inner city. I made the film for both groups.”      

      

“Before I Self Destruct” Trailer

MTV, CNN TEAM FOR CONCERT HONORING VETS October 16, 2008

MTV’s Choose or Lose campaign and CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360″ are partnering for a two-night event to support veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

 

      “A Night for Vets: An MTV Concert for the BRAVE” will air Oct. 24 on MTV (8 p.m. EDT) from a performance taped in New York the previous day, reports the Associated Press.  BRAVE stands for Bill of Rights for American Veterans, a petition created by MTV and several veterans’ organizations.

 

       The concert, which will also broadcast online at www.vMTV.com, features performances by 50 Cent, Ludacris and Saving Abel, as well as taped performances from Kanye West, Kid Rock, Fall Out Boy, Angels and Airwaves, Nelly, Juanes and Taylor Swift. Also making taped performances are Beyonce, Will Ferrell, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend and others.      

       On Oct. 25, CNN will air a special of “Anderson Cooper 360″ titled “Back From Battle” that focuses on stories of young veterans. News packages from CNN and MTV News will air throughout the special, which will be held in front of an audience of young veterans and their families.      

       “It doesn’t matter where you stand on the war, we can all agree that young veterans serving our country must receive the benefits they’ve earned for their sacrifices,” said Van Toffler, president of MTV Networks. “We aim to elevate these issues and ensure they’re a top priority for our government officials.”

 

THE JANET SHOW IS BACK ON October 16, 2008

Janet Jackson took the stage to exploding fireworks, clouds of smoke and the sounds of some early hits Wednesday in her first concert since she was sidelined for two weeks by a bout of vertigo, reports the AP.

 

      Sporting a huge mohawk and light-colored body suit, the Grammy-winning performer opened with “Pleasure Principle,” followed by “What Have You Done for Me Lately.”

      “It feels so good to be back after being down just a little bit,” Jackson told the crowd at the less-than-full Verizon Center.

 

      Last night’s show marked Jackson’s return to the concert trail after several show cancellations because of the vertigo condition that was finally revealed by her camp late yesterday.

 

      That statement confirmed that that the singer was suffering from vestibular migraines, described as an unusual condition that creates the sensation of vertigo.

 

      As previously reported, Janet’s brother Randy told a Michael Jackson fansite earlier this month that his sister was suffering from vertigo, but her camp would not reveal the cause of her illness. A week later, Santa Barbara-based firm One Way Publicity released a statement denying the vertigo reports.

 

      Jackson’s show at Madison Square Garden, originally slated for tonight, has been rescheduled for Nov. 1. New dates for other cancelled shows are still being worked out