Just because: March 2007 Archives

A New York City art gallery has cancelled an exhibit that featured a life-size chocolate sculpture Jesus Christ naked. 

Roman Catholics from all over the world have issued a protest against the Roger Smith Lab Gallery and a boycott on its affiliated Roger Smith Hotel.  As a result, execs have pulled the plug.

In his own form of protest against the decision to kill the sculpture "My Sweet Lord" by Cosimo Cavallaro, the gallery's artistic director submitted his resignation.

"We have caused the cancellation of the exhibition and wish to affirm the dignity and responsibility of the hotel in all its affairs," James Knowles, president of the Roger Smith Hotel, said in a statement.

The sculpture was to be exhibited for two hours each day next week in a street-level window of the Roger Smith Lab Gallery in Midtown Manhattan.

Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant has been dropped from their network CMT.  Trump inked a deal yesterday saying that the pageant will run through at least 2011, but now CMT doesn't want 86-year-old event any more.

"We are embarking on discussions with potential new television partners to further expand our new marketing efforts and to ultimately broaden our viewership," pageant head Art McMaster said in a statement.

This is the second time in three years that the pageant has been dropped from a network as ABC gave the pageant the boot in 2004 after record low ratings.  The pageant was CMT's #1 program in 2006 and 2007.

YouTube is taking over the world!  Not only can anyone go there and express their thoughts, but they can now win awards for it!

According to their site, "After five days of fervent ranking, the YouTube community selected these seven videos as the champions."

The winners are:

Most Creative - OK Go: This is the freaky treadmill video that also won a Grammy for "Best Short-Form Music Video” and has been viewed by 13 million people.

Most Inspirational - Free Hugs: A heart-warming video showing a man getting hugs from people.

Best Series – Ask a Ninja: Created by L.A. comedians Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine, a series of ninja answering questions (its as strange as it sounds).

Best Comedy – Smosh: The creators Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, aka Smosh, run the number two most-subscribed channel on YouTube.

Best Music – Terranaomi: Terra Naomi, a YouTube success story now with a major record label, began vlogging and broadcasting live acoustic performances from her LA apartment in February 2006.

Best Commentary – The Winekone: A half-naked man rants.

Most Adorable Video – Kiwi!: This film, Dony Permedi's master's thesis in animation with music Tim Cassell, is about the aspirations of a kiwi bird.

Get to work people!  If you plan to win in 2007, you've gotta get your video up and hope it catches on like these do!

Congrats to the winners!!

Smoke 'em if you've got them  

A new study published last week in the UK says that both the party drug ecstacy and the herbal remedy marijuana are safer than alcohol.

The scientists behind the study believe that drugs and alcohol should be ranked by the amount of harm they do rather than the current A, B, C divisons in the UK Misuse of Drugs Act.

The authors of the study say the current system overestimates the risks of ecstacy. Ecstacy only claims the life of an average of 10 people each year compared to the hundreds who suffer alcohol related deaths.  Marijuana is involved in even less cases than both.

In the study, alcohol and tobacco were compared with restricted drugs such as marijuana, LSD and ecstacy.  Tobacco and alcohol scored in the upper half of the table measuring more harm than all of these three drugs.

This study, however, doesn't seem to offer any support to the legalization of any of these drugs; so don't get excited that you'll soon be able to order tabs of ecstacy or joints from the bar.  It doesn't look like that will happen any time soon.

Rachel Smith, my home state girl, has stepped up from just being Miss Tennessee to becoming Miss USA! 

Ladies from all 50 states and the District of Columbia battled it out on Friday night to see who would succeed Tara Conner. 

Conner of course has made history as the Miss USA who evidently had a drug and alcohol problem spending a portion of her reign as Miss USA in rehab.

"It has been the most unforgettable year of my life and I'm back, and better than ever," Conner said to a supportive crowd.

Rachel Smith, 21, is a graduate of Belmont University and a former intern for the production company behind "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

"I'm speechless at this point, I really am," Smith said after the pageant.

Here's to the new Miss USA.  Stay off the nose candy and out of rehab!  Make Tennessee proud!

 

Descendants of the legendary magician Harry Houdini say they want a forensics team to exhume his body to see if he was poisoned.

Houdini died on Halloween 1926.  Doctors at the time said his cause of death was appendicitis as the result of a blow to the stomach.  Since then, medical professionals have proven this isn't possible.

His family says the authors of "The Secret Life of Houdini" have uncovered new  facts that could support foul play associated with his death.

The family's attorney says there could still be traces of poison in his body if it is exhumed.

The magician was buried in a cemetery in Queens, NY.

Why in the world would two US television programming companies team up?  To take down a competitor, of course.  In a world that relies on the web, network television companies are going to have to step it up a notch.  News Corp. (aka Fox) and NBC are teaming up to take on YouTube.

The presidents of the two companies got together on Thursday to make the announcement saying they aren't trying to take down YouTube.  Instead they are offering a convenient way to get all the programming you want in one place. Yeh right!

They're doing the same thing that Sony and Universal did when they tried to take down the copyright infringers of the 90's... Napster.  If you can't prevent copyright infringement, then you should just offer it before they can. 

NBC/News Corp says their yet-to-be-named site will be "mostly free" as compared to Google owned YouTube which is completely free.   Are they really trying to compete here?

The new site boasts that it offers online content in the nice, neat, and legal way. 

What would you do if you got indicted on manslaughter charges?  It's a tough question to answer, huh?  Well Michael Oliver, the cop who got indicted for shooting 31 of the 50 shots at the New York City groom-to-be Sean Bell after his bachelor party, went out and partied like a rock star spending $4,200 on dinner at a New York City flashy resturant!

The New York Post is reporting that he wined and dined at the lavish hot spot Nello known for its high profile and celebrity clientelle.  It's definitely a place where you to go to be seen. 

Oliver had an hourlong dinner at 7 p.m. yesterday with four young hotties and the man who picked up the check, José Garcia, Oliver's friend from Spain.

The unmarried Oliver was particularly flirty with one foxy brunette, said sources inside the restaurant.

The paper also reports one of their sources saying that: 'throughout the grand-jury proceedings, Oliver was seen partying at Chelsea club Cain on West 27th Street. He was apparently dating one of the bar's hostesses.'

I guess you can't blame the guy for living ever day like it might be his last!  He may be headed to prison.

The big wigs behind such popular television shows such as South Park, the Cobert Report and Sponge Bob Square Pants is taking on the internet's #1 video source.

Viacom filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Google, the company that recently purchased YouTube, for copyright infringement.

"The Googles of the world seem to forget that a lot of money goes into paying stars and producing films and TV shows," Chase Norlin, CEO of the rival video search engine Pixy said.

Towns named 'Springfield' across the country are vying for the right to host the premier of the upcoming Simpson's movie set to be released this summer.

Sixteen Springfields all in different states will make the final list of competitors.  Each town will have to make a short film touting their town and its "Simpsonesque" qualities to help win over the Fox execs.

City officials are taking these competition very seriously.  From Massachusetts claiming the accent to Illinois and Tennessee marking their spot due to the proximatey to Simpson vacations and travels.

The Simpsons movie opens July 23.

Yes, it's true... I really don't watch the show Nashville Star, but I did get a press release today saying that Angela Hacker, a 29-year-old single mother from Muscle Shoals, Ala., is the latest winner of the talent competition.

Congratulations Angela.  I drove through Muscle Shoals, Ala once and had my picture made with a sign... but I digress. 

Hacker beat out these two guys pictured here with her on Thursday night's season finale of the USA Network program.  One of which is his brother Zac Hacker (pictured beside of Angela). 

Angela won a pickup truck (I'm serious) and a recording contract.

Her debut album will be released on April 3.   I would have to assume it will be released on the country charts.