Susan Boyle loses UK show on a high note

Susan Boyle performs in the
finale of Britain's Got Talent.
(Photo: ITV)

YouTube sensation Susan Boyle lost "Britain's Got Talent," coming in second place after a dance troupe called "Diversity."

WTF?

"The best people won," Boyle said, according to a CNN report.

OK, so they're good...but...hello? It's nothing we haven't seen before a million times over here.

And maybe that's it. The British are not known for their spectacular Hip Hop routines, know what I mean?

Yet, word is the 48-year-old Scottish unemployed charity worker's alleged "four-letter tantrum" days before the finals influenced millions of viewers to switch their vote from Boyle to Diversity.

The 10 dancers, ranging in age from 12 to 25 years old, will get a $159,000 prize and the chance to perform before Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Variety Show (whoopdeedoo).

For the finals, SuBo sang the song that made her an Internet sensation: "I Dreamed A Dream" from "Les Miserables" (big mistake...to give the audience more of the same). After the announcement, Boyle curtsied to the audience and gave them her signature hip shake, AP reported.

The dream, however, is not over. Boyle can sing. Boyle can really sing. And any producer with half a brain out there can see that.

Boyle became a favorite to win the competition after her audition on the show in April, when she first sang "I Dreamed A Dream." Her frumpy appearance drew condescending looks from the studio audience and the judges, but her soaring, evocative voice silenced the doubters and turned her into an Internet sensation.

Her first appearance has been viewed millions of times on YouTube, and it's the fifth-most watched clip in history on that website, AP reported. It was a moment that went down in reality show history.

During that performance, as Boyle hit a high note at the end of the song's first line, Cowell's

She has since appeared on TV shows and been the subject of numerous tabloid stories. She reportedly lost her cool this week during a confrontation with two reporters, and the police intervened, several news sources reported. Boyle reportedly contemplated pulling out of the competition to soothe her frazzled nerves.

The global fame and the "odd bit of negative press" in the past week have been too overwhelming for her, Piers Morgan, one of the show's three judges, told CNN's Larry King Live on Friday.

"She's just had a pretty rough week because I think the full enormity of what has happened to her is beginning to hit home," Morgan said. "Earlier this week, she had a lot of tears... At one stage, she was going to leave the show. So, fortunately, we've calmed everything down."

"I'm not going to throw away my big chance now," Boyle she said on the show's Web site.

Boyle was up against nine other contestants who participated in the finals Saturday, including Shaheen Jafargholi, a 12-year-old whose voice has been compared to Michael Jackson's; Hollie Steel, a 10-year-old who turned in a solid performance after a tearful semifinal meltdown, and a grandfather-grandaughter singing duo, AP reported.

There was also "Stavros Flatley," a father-son act who parodied "The Lord of the Dance" by romping around the stage shirtless, in blond wigs and leather pants, combining Greek dancing and Irish beats. Like Boyle, they received standing ovations from the judges, and Amanda Holden confessed that 40-year-old Demetrios Demetriou and his 13-year-old son Lagi were her favorite act, AP reported.

"I want you to win," she said. "I love you."

Cowell called their act "genius."

But it was Boyle whom millions of people tuned in to watch.

"You are one special lady," Cowell told her last week. "You really are."

Cowell was quoted as saying that Boyle could be the biggest star he's ever discovered. Word is Simon and SuBo will embark in a special relationship in which the music and TV entrepreneur will take her far from the U.K. to "conquer the U.S."

Media estimates place Boyle's earnings after the show at somewhere around $13 million (£8 million). On top of a multimillion dollar record deal and share of album sales, Boyle is also set to profit from a Hollywood movie of her rags-to-riches tale, a book deal, image rights, endorsements and TV appearances, The Sunday Mirror reported.

"They don't care in America whether she wins a British TV show--they care about the woman they saw singing on YouTube," a Cowell insider told the Sunday Mirror according to a CNN report. "If anything, £8 million in her first year might be an underestimate."

Good for her.

Source: The Associated Press, CNN, The Sunday Mirror
Copyright © 2009

Sick Fuck of the Week: Serial Cat Killer

Photo source: unknown

Miami Police are on the prowl for a person (sick fuck) who has mutilated more than 20 cats in two of Miami's southern suburbs in the past month, three of them this week.



Frightened pet owners in Cutler Bay and Palmetto Bay have been told to take their own cats indoors and to round up neighborhood strays at night, which is when the killer strikes, Reuters reported.

Cats have been found skinned and gutted, left dead on their owners' lawns, the Miami Herald reported.

"Someone is mutilating these cats. They are having their innards removed and sometimes their pelts are removed," Miami-Dade Police Officer Rebeca Perez told Reuters. The killer dumps the carcasses, sometimes on the owner's property, sometimes nearby, Perez said.

What an animal! No--scratch that: what a sick fuck human!

Dozens of dead cats have been found in the Miami area, raising fears that the perpetrator is mentally unbalanced and could begin harming people. (Ya think?)

Investigators have been hampered by residents who dispose of the remains before they can examine them for clues, the Miami Herald reported. Police are asking people who find a carcass in their front yard to leave it alone and treat it like a crime scene. They may cover the animal with a plastic bag, rather than cloth, which can taint evidence, according to the report.

Police said they would not speculate on a motive for the killings.

Well...let's see...he was sexually abused by a cat when he was five?

''This man [Man? How much you wanna bet it's a teen or teens?] is getting bolder and bolder. The cat that was found this morning was skinned from the waist down, and that takes longer and longer [Jesus!]. It is very frustrating and it is heart wrenching,'' said Dee Chess, founder of Friends Forever Animal Rescue in Palmetto Bay.

Another cat's belly was sliced from front to rear, and its skinned corpse was found on the owners' side yard, the Herald reported.

According to residents, the cats' butchered bodies have been left like mangled trophies on their owners' yards since early May. Research in psychology and criminology has shown that individuals who commit such acts of cruelty to animals often graduate to harming humans. (Duh!)

Last week, the Humane Society of the United States announced a $2,500 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in what it called "serial cat killings.'' The reward was increased to $3,500 via Crime Stoppers. Tax-deductible donations are also being accepted to increase the reward amount, the Herald reported.

Now, here's the thing: Can you imagine what each and every one of those cats went through while they were being sliced, gutted and peeled like bananas? This is exactly what should be done to the SICK FUCK(s) when he/they get caught, if you ask me.

Sources: Reuters, Miami Herald, UPI
Copyright © 2009, Primetime Oracle
All Rights Reserved

Prescription for deceptive TV drug ads

Photo source: UCLA

This week the Food and Drug Administration said TV ads for drugs and medical devices should avoid distracting images and music that can reduce viewers' comprehension of potential side effects, Reuters reported.

Advertisements also should use similar type styles and voice-overs when conveying benefits and risks, the FDA said in guidelines published Tuesday.

The guidelines follow complaints that manufacturers use various techniques in their widely seen television ads and other promotions to downplay risks while emphasizing potential benefits, according to the report.

Techniques. I wonder if these "techniques" include the super-human speed at which announcers speak when going over the side effects...might experience this or that...dry mouth...constipation...irregular heartbeat...death...

The FDA noted that leaving out or minimizing side-effect information is the most frequent violation, Reuters reported.

The guidelines are not mandatory, however, which means pharmaceutical companies executives will wipe their asses with these guidelines.

The advice covers techniques ranging from the use of contrasting colors to highlight information, the location and timing of risk details and other factors that can influence how well viewers understand a product, Reuters reported.

Prescription drug ads have drawn fire for portraying healthy-looking, active and smiling patients (OMG, I fucking hate that!) while explaining benefits and then rushing through or providing distractions when required risk information is conveyed.

The instinct to kill rises within me when I see some young looking woman with gray hair or older looking woman with great hair (to appeal to all ages) in great shape talking about a chronic, debilitating condition with no cause and cure while throwing a cookout for her big family, having a wonderful time with her coworkers at the job that she miraculously still has, teaching others how to paint (yes, mind numbing pain and unbearable fatigue are truly inspiring), gardening (cuz when we feel "better" we garden vs. washing our hair or changing our sheets after weeks of not being able to), enjoying the outdoors with the grandchildren (cuz we love life), climbing on the 100-year-old Trolley to tour the city (cuz our bodies are well equipped for the unpredictable), meeting a friend (cuz we have so many left) for a lovely lunch (cuz we can eat anything we want anytime we want it), going to the museum (cuz we have the stamina to stand and walk around for hours), talking a long walk holding hands with the bubbly husband (uh huh) as the sun sets...all in one day--morning 'till night.

Are you fucking kidding me?!

If that were possible, who would need the fucking pill being advertised?

Jeez...

At a congressional hearing last year, a Schering-Plough Corp ad for allergy drug Nasonex drew criticism for featuring a bee that flew around during a description of side effects but simply hovered while benefits were explained, Reuters reported.

I've seen that stupid bee ad. Ridiculous.

In the new guidelines, the FDA said busy scenes, frequent scene changes (you mean like the all-day-long excursion to downtown and all its entertainment options the carefree fibro patient takes?) and moving camera angles "can misleadingly minimize the risks of the product being promoted by detracting from the audience's comprehension."

No way. Really?

Yes, I'm cynical.

You would be too if you spent five minutes in my body.

The FDA also warned against speeding up an announcer's description of risks (the high-speed car-dealership talk).

"If risk information is considerably more difficult to hear and process than benefit information because it is presented at a much faster pace, the piece will not convey an accurate impression," the FDA said.

I wonder how many millions of dollars of taxpayer money the FDA spent in studies and research to come to that shocking conclusion.

Drug companies "remain committed to producing responsible, balanced promotional materials" (responsible and balanced my ass) and have adopted voluntary (nonexistent) guidelines that say risks "should be presented in clear, understandable language [if you record the ad and play it back at half the speed] without distraction," said Ken Johnson, a spokesman (whore) for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Reuters reported (with the exception of all the stuff in parenthesis--that's me). The group represents Pfizer Inc, GlaxoSmithKline PLC and other drugmakers.

Blow me.

Sources: Reuters
Copyright © 2009

Agency probes Jon & Kate kids for exploitation

Kate with some of her eight children (Photo courtesy of TLC)

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor is looking into whether the hit reality show Jon & Kate Plus 8 is complying with child labor laws, AP reported Friday.

Uh, oh...

Labor Department spokesman Justin Fleming told AP that the department is looking into "a complaint" against the show. Based on media reports, that complaint probably was filed by Kate's brother and sister-in-law. Nice.

The TLC series follows Jon and Kate Gosselin as they raise their eight young children, including 8-year-old twins and sextuplets who just turned 5. The show drew nearly 10 million viewers for its fifth-season premiere Monday following reports of trouble in the Gosselins' marriage, AP reported.

Not surprisingly, TLC says it "fully complies" with state laws and regulations.

Word is Jon has been cheating with some teacher while Kate is out on a book tour and bonding with her body guard.

What else is new? It's the same old story: the rags-to-riches syndrome. It's all fun and games until they get the new mansion, the book deal, the killer haircut and highlights.

Here's what irks me the most about all this: it's yet another example of the cultural hypocrisy prevalent in this country. For five years the same people now complaining milked as much entertainment and mindless TV therapy from the show. But now, now that someone might be having an affair (*gasps* OMG!), now that the marriage is not a fairytale, the couple is scum and "we" must stop the "child exploitation" or "child abuse" that is shamelessly being perpetrated on the poor children.

Before the marriage went south, the show was not child exploitation and now it is. Why do you think that is? I'll tell you why: because of the self-righteousness that infects this society. Whenever cheating or affairs come into play, the self-righteous rise like zombies from their graves to point fingers. Meanwhile, these self-righteous vigilantes here to protect us from ourselves (thank you so very much) are having their own affairs, coveting and lusting after fortune and fame, committing their own sins.

They tune in while cursing the show.

Me? I can't keep my eyes off her hair.

Sources: The Associated Press
Copyright © 2009

Fairytales can come true

Sergio Garcia was crowned prom queen on May 23 at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles. "You don't have to be a certain gender to accomplish things," said Garcia, adding that he identified more with being a queen. (Photo by Liz O. Baylen, Los Angeles Times via AP)

An openly gay teen was voted prom queen at Los Angeles' Fairfax High School in a campaign that began as a stunt but ended up spurring discussion on the campus about gender roles and teen popularity, the Associated Press and Los Angeles Times reported earlier this week.

Sergio Garcia, 18, was crowned queen May 23 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, AP reported. "I feel invincible," he said in his tiara and charcoal-gray tuxedo. Yes, he wore a tiara.

A queen with no king, since Proposition 8 banning gay marriage in that state was upheld by the California Supreme Court Tuesday.

It was all fun and games until a few days before the coronation, when he gave a speech that won over some cynics and led to an ovation and his unlikely victor, according to the report.

"At one time, prom may have been a big popularity contest where the best-looking guy or girl were crowned king and queen. Things have changed and it's no longer just about who has the most friends or who wears the coolest clothes," Garcia told a gymnasium full of seniors, AP reported.

"I'm not your typical prom queen candidate. There's more to me than meets the eye."

Well...he's right. For one, there's a penis somewhere in there not meeting one's eyes, and that's definitely atypical. According to the report, Garcia assured the crowd he wouldn't wear a dress on prom night. Darn!

"I will be wearing a suit," he said. "But don't be fooled, deep down I am a queen." Ha! Good for him! Although I would've loved to see him in a prom gown...

Garcia said he the fliers advertising the prom and the election didn't specify the queen must be a girl and thought the role would suit him better than prom king. I don't wish to be a girl," he told the LA Times. "I just wish to be myself."

The school has long been a haven for students who would be considered outcasts at many schools, AP reported, noting that one of the members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers attended that school.

Senior class president Vanessa Lo said she and many other students were initially against the idea but were won over by Garcia's speech and became convinced he wasn't just an attention-seeking clown, according to the report.

Long live the Queen!!!

Source: The Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, USA Today

Copyright © 2009

It could happen to you...not!

"Money Rain" photo by Dmitri Sunagatov

Hoping to help her parents, a university student in Australia cashed some long-forgotten lottery tickets this week and discovered she had won $10 million (AU$13 million), CNN reported.

She also helped solve a lottery mystery that has made headlines in Western Australia for 10 months.

"People had been wondering for months, who is this mystery winner? Do they know about this ticket?" said Jodi Eastman, spokeswoman for Lotterywest. "We have a 12 month expiry on lottery tickets, and people thought it might end up expiring and go unclaimed," she added, according to the report.

It would have, too, had the student--who is in her 30s and asked lottery officials to keep her anonymous--not woken up earlier this week, suddenly remembering the bundle of lottery tickets collecting dust in a drawer, CNN reported.

The first couple of tickets yielded small amounts--$16 total. Then she checked tickets her father had given her as a gift.

At first glance she thought she had won $10,000 (AU$13,000). No, the retail store clerk told her, it's $10 million (A$13 million), according to the report.

"I checked the commas and decimal places and then I realized," the woman told Lotterywest.

The winning ticket cost $6.70 (AU$8.70). The odds she beat: 1 in 45 million.

Some will say it was meant to be.

Others will claim it was just luck.

I have no idea why her and not someone else. Good for her, though.

But I can't help but wonder: when the fuck is someone gonna show me the money?

Source: CNN
Copyright © 2009

Literally Twisted

Photo source: plasticbags.org

Yesterday, we learned details about the eloquent red-paint epitaphs left on walls throughout the Coleman home after the May 5 triple homicide. Today we are made privy to threatening letters the Colemans allegedly received months ago.

Do I hear "premeditated"?

The contents of the letters were revealed Wednesday with the unsealing of search warrants, the Belleville News-Democrat, which filed the request to unseal the search warrants last week, reported. Also released were additional discoveries made by detectives investigating the murders of Sheri Coleman, 31, and her sons Garett, 11 and Gavin, 9, who were strangled in their beds early May 5. Husband and father Chris Coleman has been charged with three counts of first degree murder.

Coleman told police on Jan. 2 that he received an anonymous letter that stated, "(Expletive)! Deny your God publicly or else! No more opportunities. Time is running out for you and your family." The letter referred to someone traveling to Asia, but didn't refer to anyone by name, the Belleville News-Democrat reported, noting that Sheri participated in missionary trips to southeast Asia, including Cambodia. "Have a good time in India (expletive)!" the letter concluded.

With the Spring came another letter, which Coleman dutifully took to police on April 27. That letter stated, "I am giving you the last warning! You have not listened to me and you have not changed your ways. I have warned you to stop traveling and stop carrying on with this fake religious life of stealing people's money." The letter referred to an unnamed woman, the Belleville News-Democrat reported.

"You think you are so special to do what you do protecting or think you are protecting her. She is a (expletive) and not worth doing it. Stop today or else. I know your schedule. ... This is my last warning."

According to the search warrants made public Wednesday, police also took into evidence a greeting card addressed to Coleman's post office box in Columbia from St. Petersburg, Fla., found in the glove box of Coleman's 1998 green Ford Explorer, the Belleville News-Democrat reported. Word is Coleman was having an affair with a woman from St. Petersburg who went to high school with Sheri.

Coleman, a 32-year-old former security guard for the Joyce Meyer Ministries, remains in the Monroe County Jail without bond.

Source: Belleville News-Democrat, USA Today
Copyright © 2009

Factbox: gay marriage, civil unions in the U.S.

Photo source: flickr.com

Reuters published this factbox earlier this week after California upheld Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage. It's interesting info, plus I thought I might as well have it here for future reference.

The following is a look at laws on gay marriage and same-sex civil unions in the United States after California's supreme court backed a ban on gay marriage.

* The first-same sex marriages in America took place in Massachusetts in 2004, a year after the state's highest court ruled that a ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional.

* Connecticut became the second U.S. state to legalize gay marriage when its supreme court overturned a ban on same-sex marriage on October 10, 2008. Local authorities began issuing marriage licenses on November 12.

* California began marrying gay and lesbian couples in June 2008, a month after the state Supreme Court ruled that barring same-sex marriages was unconstitutional. But that was reversed on November 4 when Californians voted in support of a proposition to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

* Iowa became the third state to legalize same-sex marriage when its supreme court issued a unanimous ruling on April 3 that said a gay marriage ban violated the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples.

* Vermont followed suit on April 7 when lawmakers overrode a governor's veto of a gay-marriage bill, making the New England state the first in the country to legalize gay marriage with a legislature's vote.

* The District of Columbia city council voted on May 5 to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where those unions are legal, although gay marriages cannot be conducted in the city itself.

* Maine's governor signed a bill on May 6 that cleared the way for the rugged state to become the sixth to legalize gay marriage. But the law could be delayed or even voided before it is due to take effect in September if opponents gather enough support for a statewide referendum on gay marriage.

* The New York State Assembly passed a bill on May 12 to legalize gay marriage but it faces an uncertain future in the state Senate, where Democrats hold a slim majority.

* A bill that would have made New Hampshire the sixth U.S. state to authorize gay marriage stalled unexpectedly on May 20 because of concessions to religious groups opposed to such unions. The bill has been sent to a committee where lawmakers from both chambers will try to resolve their differences.

* Forty-two U.S. states have laws explicitly prohibiting such marriages, including 29 with constitutional amendments restricting marriage to one man and one woman, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights advocacy group.

* New Jersey permits same-sex civil unions that grant largely the same state rights as married couples -- from insurance coverage to tax benefits and hospital visiting rights -- but lack the full legal protections of marriage.

* Hawaii and Washington each offer gay couples some legal rights as partners.

* The patchwork of laws has caused some unusual complications. Rhode Island's top court, for example, ruled in December 2007 that a same-sex couple married in Massachusetts could not legally divorce in Rhode Island, saying the state's family court did not have authority over same-sex marriages.

* The U.S. Supreme Court has not taken a case on gay marriage, leaving states to decide the issue. But eight same-sex couples who married in Massachusetts and three gay widowers filed a lawsuit on March 3 seeking access to federal protections and programs granted to straight married couples.

(Compiled by Jason Szep in Boston; Editing by Bill Trott)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Bullies in the sky

Photo source: unknow North Korea appears to be preparing to test-fire its longest range missile. Photo: EPA

I don't normally follow war news. What for? It's the same old story, one that has been told continually since mankind appeared on this planet. Here's how that story goes: "I'm right. You're wrong. If you don't agree, I'll blow you up."

If we blow up, we blow up; if we don't, we don't. I don't need to hear the details to decide that war sucks. I don't need to know who said what when and how to be of the opinion that neither side is right or wrong in the absolute sense. That's just my opinion, of course. Feel free to disagree...

But, since we've been warned repeatedly that North Korea and not the Middle East would be the world's greatest threat "nuclearly" speaking, I figured I might as well post something, you know, for the record, in case we blow up.

In a nutshell: North Korea is huffing and puffing, displaying its military in all its glory hoping, we have to assume, to scare somebody.

North Korea warned South Korea and the United States on Wednesday that South Korea's participation in a U.S.-led program to intercept ships suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction is equal to a declaration of war, AP reported.

How so very macho of them.

In a statement distributed by North Korea's Central News Agency, the North's military said it will respond with "immediate, strong military measures" against any attempt to stop and search North Korean ships under the Proliferation Security Initiative, according to AP's report. It added that it no longer considers itself bound by the armistice that ended the Korean War and accused the U.S., which signed the armistice, of "dragging" the South into the program under its "hostile policy" against the North, AP said.

North Korea also said it cannot guarantee safety for South Korean and U.S. navy ships sailing near the disputed western Korean sea border, according to the report.

Now, I'm really scared...Not!

South Korea announced its participation in the program Tuesday, one day after North Korea conducted a nuclear test, drawing international criticism, AP said. In other words: the shit started to sprinkle on the fan when them macho NK men launched five short-range missiles in two days, indicating it has restarted a weapons-grade nuclear plant.

Oh, I don't know, my friends...I read this stuff and in my mind I see a bunch of insecure bullies lining up in school hallways against locker-covered walls adjusting their tiny balls.

Sources: The Associated Press
Copyright © 2009, Primetime Oracle
All Rights Reserved

Kris Allen shocked he won American Idol

Kris Allen was shocked (and he wasn't alone) when he heard he was the new American Idol.
Photo by Kevin Winter, Getty Images for Fox

Did cheating play a part in who won American Idol last week?

The New York Times reported Wednesday that AT&T might have swayed American Idol finale results by providing cellphones for free texting and lessons in lessons in casting blocks of votes at two parties organized by fans of Kris Allen, 23, who was the winner last week.

At this time, it appears that no such "power texting" parties were thrown for runner-up Adam Lambert, 27, who was expected to be the winner by a landslide, the NYTs reported.

AT&T's cellphone network is the only one that can be used to cast American Idol votes via text messages.

“In Arkansas, we were invited to attend the local watch parties organized by the community," a spokesman for AT&T said in a statement Tuesday according to the NYTs report. "A few local employees brought a small number of demo phones with them and provided texting tutorials to those who were interested.”

Let's see. You're a huge company that sponsors a show that rides on votes, many of which are made via texting on your network. You're "invited" to "parties" at one of the two finalists' towns....and you go. Not only do you go, but you provide--yes, you, because your employees do not own the demo phones--a "small number" (how many is "small") of phones and texting tutorials "to those who were interested."

Are you kidding me? These so-called tutorials showed users how to send 10 or more texts by pressing a single button. And power-texts can influence voting results in ways single texts and phone calls can't.

And what about AI rules? At the end of each show, a statement on the screen warns that blocks of votes cast using “technical enhancements” that unfairly influence the outcome of voting can be thrown out. So, were they? Did Fox disqualify the power-texted votes?

According to the NYTs report Fox Broadcasting has declined to comment on the matter, but I doubt Fox will remain quiet for long if these allegations are true.

News of the voting support were first reported last week in an article in The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the NYTs reported.

UPDATE:

Fox and the show's producers issued a statement late Wednesday reaffirming Allen's victory.

"The results of this competition are fair, accurate and verified," Fox said. "Kris Allen is, without a doubt, the American Idol. We have an independent third-party monitoring procedure in place to ensure the integrity of the voting process. In no way did any individuals unfairly influence the outcome of the competition."

Uh...alrighty then.

In its own statement, AT&T said that "going forward, we will make sure our employees understand our sponsorship celebrates the competition, not individual contestants. That said, it's quite a leap to suggest that a few individuals could have impacted the final results."

My Call...though I'm probably wrong

How else could Kris Allen win American Idol? Don't get me wrong--guitar and piano-playing Allen is OK, but that's it, just OK. Glam rocker Adam Lambert, on the other hand, showed up on that stage week after week looking like, singing like and performing like a superstar. If that's not an American Idol as per the show's own standards, then no one is, and Fox might as well rename the show to American Prom King or Queen.

My theory has been that textaholics (whose affliction is worse the younger they are) were responsible for the results. Cute-boy Allen became the favorite among prepubescent and pubescent girls since the first week, when the 13 finalists were being chosen. And those girls are faithful to their imaginary lovers.

So it was no surprise, though it was frustrating, that Allen sailed through week after week, regardless of his performances (which got better with time but which was not great in the beginning), while Adam ended up in the bottom two or three several times.

But to actually win the show? That's just nuts...or tough luck for Glambert.

No wonder nationwide SAT scores are dropping. This country needs a texting intervention, if you ask me.

Source: The New York Times
Copyright © 2009, Primetime Oracle
All Rights Reserved

Coleman's wrongdoing written on the wall

Sheri Coleman's brother Mario Weiss, left, and cousin Enrico Mirabelli held a news conference outside the Monroe County Courthouse in Waterloo, Ill. Tuesday, May 26, 2009, to announce a wrongful death lawsuit against her husband Chris Coleman on behalf of Sheri Coleman's family. (AP Photo/Steve Nagy/Belleville News-Democrat)

A lawyer for the family of murder victim Sheri Coleman described Tuesday what the alleged killer wrote on the walls of the family's home in red spray paint at the time of the murders.

Sheri, 31, and sons Garett, 11, and Gavin, 9, of Columbia, Illinois, were strangled in the early hours of May 5 and left dead their bedrooms. Husband and father Christopher Coleman was charged and arrested for the murders. Last week, he pleaded not guilty to the triple homicide and settled in his new accommodations at the jailhouse after a judge denied bond.

Previously, it had been reported the killer wrote something along the lines of "I told you so" on a wall downstairs, but it turns out Coleman was much more creative than that. Perhaps it was the adrenaline rush in his body after killing his wife and children that inspired him to elaborate.

Lawyer Jack Carey said the killer wrote:

1. "Fuck you bitch" and "Punished" in the dining room.
2. "I told you so" by the stairs.
3. "Whore paid" and "U have paid" upstairs.
4. "I saw you leave. Fuck you. I am always watching" in the kitchen.

Wow, killer poetry.

Meanwhile, Angela DeCicco and Mario Weiss, the mother and brother of Sheri Coleman, filed a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday against Coleman "to strip the culpable party of all financial holdings--all that he has now and all that he may ever have," according to a statement accompanying the suit filed in Monroe County circuit court.

"To allow one penny of ill-gotten gain to be derived at the expense of Sheri, Garett and Gavin is not acceptable to those who dearly love them," DeCicco and Weiss said in the statement.

The money would go to a memorial fund set up for the three murder victims. "These funds will be used to erect a lasting tribute in the city of Columbia," according to the suit.

"Our goal is to extract something positive from such a horrific and senseless tragedy and to honor the lives of my sister and her two young sons," Weiss told the press outside the court house.

The wrongful death suit also names Coleman's father, Ronald, and the Joyce Meyer Ministries, where Coleman worked until shortly after his family was killed, as "respondents in discovery," which means they may be forced to hand over financial documents and information such as Coleman's personnel file, his work schedule and travel itineraries and the Ministries' employment policies, CNN reported.

The suit claims the Colemans took the deed to their home in 2005, but six months ago ownership was transferred to Christoper Coleman alone, CNN added. "Sheri did not voluntarily sign the deed transferring title to the residence to Christopher," the document states.

The civil suit also alleges that in the period between the killings and his arrest, Coleman removed personal property from the house and asks Coleman and anyone "acting at his direction" be forbidden from entering the home again and that he provide a list of items already removed, CNN reported.

This is about to get as nasty as it gets, if you ask me.

Sources: CNN, The Associated Press, CBS News

Copyright © 2009

Obama nominates Hispanic woman to Supreme Court

President Barack Obama looks on as his Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday May 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais )

President Obama Tuesday nominated a federal appellate judge who could become the first Hispanic U.S. Supreme Court justice and the third woman to serve on the high court.

If confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Senate, judge Sonia Sotomayor, 54, would replace Justice David H. Souter to become the second woman on the court and the third female justice in the history of the Supreme Court, according to media reports. She also would be the first Hispanic justice to serve on the Supreme Court.

Sotomayor, who is on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, was named a U.S. District Court judge by President George H. Bush in 1992 and was elevated to her current seat by President Bill Clinton, CNN reported.

From the projects to the Ivy League

Sotomayor reportedly grew up at a housing project in the South Bronx, raised by her mother after her father died when she was 9 years old.

She went on to graduate from Princeton University summa cum laude in 1976 and and attend Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal, the New York Times reported. She spent five years as a prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney’s office before entering private practice.

Sotomayor's parents left Puerto Rico decades ago to settle in New York. Her father, a factory worker, was from the Santurce area of San Juan. Her mother, a nurse, was from Lajas, AP reported. She has a younger brother.

The GOP has a cow

Conservative groups blasted Obama's choice.

Whoa, I didn't see that coming...

Liberal.

Woman.

Hispanic.

Need anyone say more?

I wonder what trash Republicans will dig up from pre-historic times to use as an excuse to reject this nomination, given that they can't utter their true objections, at least not in public. It will be interesting to watch how this situation develops during upcoming months.

Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh, who must be frrreaking out, will continue to freak out...maybe even fall off the wagon if he's not careful. You need to pace yourself, Rush. Obama is just getting started.

Sources: CNN, The New York Times, The Associated Press
Copyright © 2009

No more "cheeeeese" for you!

Photo by H. Darr Beiser, USA Today

Wipe that grin off your face!

Four states have adopted a "no-smiles" policy for driver's licenses, USA Today reported Tuesday. "Neutral facial expressions" are required at departments of motor vehicles (DMVs) in Arkansas, Indiana, Nevada and Virginia, meaning you can't smile or grin, according to the report, written by Thomas

Say what? :)

Believe it or not, the decision to ban smiles from the photos has a logical basis. Its purpose is to stop driver's license fraud by cutting down the use of fake IDs.

What does smiling have to do with it? you ask. Allow me to explain.

In one word: technology. The no-smile policy is being implemented in DMVs that have installed high-tech software that compares a new license photo with others previously shot. When a new photo seems to match an existing one, the software sends alarms that someone may be trying to assume another person's identity, USA Today reported.

It turns out this technology frowns at smiles. Face-recognition software can fail to match two photos of the same person if facial expressions differ in each photo, Carnegie Mellon University robotics professor Takeo Kanade told USA Today.

Dull expressions "make the comparison process more accurate," said Karen Chappell, deputy commissioner of the Virginia DMV, whose no-smile policy took effect in March.

Yet, the other three states, Arkansas, Indiana and Nevada, allow "slight" smiles. "You just can't grin really large," Arkansas driver services chief Tonie Shields told USA Today.

Uh...define "really large." Can you imagine the new guidelines for the photo-talking clerks?

1. Guide the subject to stand in front of the blue screen.
   
2. Instruct the subject to sustain a neutral or dull facial expression.
3. Take a moment to ascertain that the subject's upper and lower lip are joined.
4. A slight opening of the lips is allowed for those who suffer from any medical condition that forces them to breathe through their mouths.
5. In these cases, only the bottom edge of the two front teeth may show through the opening.
6. Should the subject have difficulty maintaining a neutral or dull facial expression, state you have been notified the subject has a criminal record.
7. Take the photo immediately upon making that statement.
8. You may also report non-cooperative subjects to the shift supervisor.

Yet, most of the 31 states currently using computerized matching of driver's license photos claim their software matches faces regardless of facial expression, according to the report.

"People can smile here in Pennsylvania," state Transportation Department spokesman Craig Yetter told USA Today.

Three other states are considering adding the technology, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators reportedly said. Photo matching has stopped 6,000 people from getting fraudulent licenses since the technology was launched in 1999 in Illinois, Beth Langen, the state head of Drivers Services, told USA Today.

Me? I don't mind. It's not like I'm in the mood to smile whenever I have to allocate a chunk of my time on Earth to go stand in line at the DMV for who knows how long to comply with some bureaucratic rule--plus I hate posing for photos. Yeah, yeah...I know it has to be done. But that doesn't mean I have to like it or be happy about it.

It's nothing to smile about...

Source: "Four states adopt "no-smile" policies for driver's licenses" by Thomas Frank, USA Today
Copyright © 2009

Bigotry triumphs in California

Photo: Los Angeles Times

I’m not gay, but I’m for equal rights–for EVERYONE.

Shame on California.

Shame on the close-minded, self-righteous, self-centered, pseudo-spiritual, arrogant, hypocritical so-called “Americans” who cite Freedom for their sins (and atrocities) while crushing the freedom of “The Others.”

Here's the thing: I don't care who anyone wants to marry. It's none of my business. And whom I choose to marry is none of anybody's business as far as I'm concerned. It's that simple. Those who claim it is their business...that the future of this country depends on gays not being allowed to get married...are, in my opinion, extremely insecure individuals who, evidently, need to force their views and opinions and lifestyles on others in order to justify theirs.

So what if I'm in love with a cactus and want to marry it? Mind your own business.

Copyright © 2009

Would "W" do this?

I'm not into "cute" but I'm loving this picture. Below is the caption that was published with the photo.

President Barack Obama bends over so the son of a White House staff member can pat his head during a family visit to the Oval Office May 8, 2009. The youngster wanted to see if the President's haircut felt like his own. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Copyright © 2009