Reports surfaced yesterday that newscaster Robin Roberts will extend her medical leave from Good Morning America.
Roberts, 52, began an extended medical leave from GMA on August 30, 2012 (a day earlier than planned) in order to receive her bone marrow transplant due to her MDS, a condition that she announced that she had received in June, and to attend the health of her mother, Lucimarian Roberts (born February 5, 1924) following Hurricane Isaac. Lucimarian died a few hours after Robin's arrival on the same day that she began her medical leave.
Roberts underwent her bone marrow transplant in September, a transplant which she received from her older sister, Sally-Ann Roberts. She was released from the hospital on October 11, three weeks after undergoing the transplant.
Sources connected to Roberts and GMA stated that Roberts' immune system is currently extremely weak, which will cause her return to the show to be delayed to May at the earliest, but more likely June. Sources are stating that Roberts could return by February, however that she is taking the necessary 5-6 months on the bench. A rep said that Roberts "isn't crazy about [taking an extended leave] but realizes it's necessary". Cards and emails wishing Roberts well are reportedly coming in by the truckload, and GMA producers predict that Roberts' return will boost ratings for the show even higher, which may cause problems for rival program Today.
We're wishing all the best for Robin.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Demi Lovato and Wilmer Valderrama on vacation in the Bahamas
Several media outlets are reporting that X Factor judge Demi Lovato and That 70's Show star Wilmer Valderrama are currently vacationing in the Bahamas.
The two have reportedly been in an on-and-off relationship for the last year or two, however Lovato, 20, has stated several times that she is not interested in having any relationships anytime soon. Despite this, the two are very frequently spotted together, with Valderrama, 32, visiting Lovato on the set of X Factor last month, and reports surfacing in September that the couple has reconciled their relationship.
Lovato's rep attempted to keep the vacay on the DL, by saying on Friday that Demi wasn't in the Bahamas or with Wilmer. Despite this, paparazzi pictures surfaced pretty quickly. Lovato tweeted about her sunburns on Thursday and on Saturday, and on Sunday tweeted "Vacations aren't even fun anymore :(", likely referring to the paparazzi pictures of the former Disney star surfacing onto the web. Lovato later retweeted a tweet from a fan who was vacationing in the same place, saying that the paparazzi were "totally wrong" and that "they should be kicked out".
Fellow X Factor judge, Simon Cowell was also spotted catching some rays, when he was photographed jet-skiing in Barbados on Sunday, with reports stating that Cowell ducked out of U.S. in order to avoid awkward questions regarding the judging panel on the upcoming third season of X Factor USA, with L.A. Reid exiting and Britney Spears reportedly on her way out.
The two have reportedly been in an on-and-off relationship for the last year or two, however Lovato, 20, has stated several times that she is not interested in having any relationships anytime soon. Despite this, the two are very frequently spotted together, with Valderrama, 32, visiting Lovato on the set of X Factor last month, and reports surfacing in September that the couple has reconciled their relationship.
Lovato's rep attempted to keep the vacay on the DL, by saying on Friday that Demi wasn't in the Bahamas or with Wilmer. Despite this, paparazzi pictures surfaced pretty quickly. Lovato tweeted about her sunburns on Thursday and on Saturday, and on Sunday tweeted "Vacations aren't even fun anymore :(", likely referring to the paparazzi pictures of the former Disney star surfacing onto the web. Lovato later retweeted a tweet from a fan who was vacationing in the same place, saying that the paparazzi were "totally wrong" and that "they should be kicked out".
Fellow X Factor judge, Simon Cowell was also spotted catching some rays, when he was photographed jet-skiing in Barbados on Sunday, with reports stating that Cowell ducked out of U.S. in order to avoid awkward questions regarding the judging panel on the upcoming third season of X Factor USA, with L.A. Reid exiting and Britney Spears reportedly on her way out.
Kim Kardashian is pregnant
Twitter is currently exploding, with Kanye West announcing just moments ago that Kim Kardashian is pregnant with his child.
West, 35 stopped partway through a concert at the Revel entertainment resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey to address the audience, saying "Stop the music and make noise for my baby mama", pointing to Kardashian, 32 who had been sitting in one of the sold out seats during the performance.
West and Kardashian have been in a relationship since April and have previously denied pregnancy rumors. In October 2010, Kardashian began dating NBA player Kris Humphries, 27, to whom she became engaged to in May 2011 and married on August 20, 2011. The marriage lasted just 72 days, when Kardashian filed for divorce from Humphries on Halloween 2011. The horribly short marriage was highly criticized by several media outlets, who called the marriage a publicity stunt in order to generate attention to the Kardashian family's brand and ventures. Kardashian's former publicist stated that the wedding was indeed staged and an attempt to generate money. Kardashian filed a lawsuit against the publicist, calling his claims "untrue". It is expected that the divorce will be finalized by May, with Kardashian and Humphries expected to meet in a court to continue divorce proceedings in February.
Kanye West ended his on-and-off 6-year relationship with designer Alexis Phifer in 2008. The relationship had begun in 2002, with West eventually proposing in August 2006. The proposal was called off in 2008, with West reportedly focusing and dedicating all his time to his concert tour which caused the couple's relationship to become strained and eventually collapse. Phifer told People that she remains friends with West. West was in a high-profile on-and-off relationship with model, recording artist, and actress Amber Rose from 2008 to Summer of 2010. Rose became engaged to Wiz Khalifa in March 2012 and is expecting her first child with him in January.
Tonight, #kimye (Kardashian and West's couple name), Khloe, Kanye, Kris Humphries, Ray J (Kardashian's ex-boyfriend), and Blue Ivy (Beyonce and Jay-Z's child) are trending worldwide on Twitter.
12/31/12 1:19 pm Update: The pregnancy has been confirmed. Kim Kardashian released a statement on her official website saying "It's true!! Kanye and I are expecting a baby. We feel so blessed and lucky and wish in addition to both of our families, his mom and my dad could be here to celebrate this special time with us. Looking forwards to great new beginnings in 2013 and to starting a family. Happy New Year!!! Xo". Accompanied with the statement is a black and white image of Kardashian and West embracing in what appears to be a dressing room. Sources confirm that Kim is 12 weeks pregnant, and apparently several members of the Kardashian clan have been sitting on the secret. The kid was reportedly conceived while the couple was vacationing in Vatican City in October when they were celebrating West's birthday. The child is due in June.
West, 35 stopped partway through a concert at the Revel entertainment resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey to address the audience, saying "Stop the music and make noise for my baby mama", pointing to Kardashian, 32 who had been sitting in one of the sold out seats during the performance.
West and Kardashian have been in a relationship since April and have previously denied pregnancy rumors. In October 2010, Kardashian began dating NBA player Kris Humphries, 27, to whom she became engaged to in May 2011 and married on August 20, 2011. The marriage lasted just 72 days, when Kardashian filed for divorce from Humphries on Halloween 2011. The horribly short marriage was highly criticized by several media outlets, who called the marriage a publicity stunt in order to generate attention to the Kardashian family's brand and ventures. Kardashian's former publicist stated that the wedding was indeed staged and an attempt to generate money. Kardashian filed a lawsuit against the publicist, calling his claims "untrue". It is expected that the divorce will be finalized by May, with Kardashian and Humphries expected to meet in a court to continue divorce proceedings in February.
Kanye West ended his on-and-off 6-year relationship with designer Alexis Phifer in 2008. The relationship had begun in 2002, with West eventually proposing in August 2006. The proposal was called off in 2008, with West reportedly focusing and dedicating all his time to his concert tour which caused the couple's relationship to become strained and eventually collapse. Phifer told People that she remains friends with West. West was in a high-profile on-and-off relationship with model, recording artist, and actress Amber Rose from 2008 to Summer of 2010. Rose became engaged to Wiz Khalifa in March 2012 and is expecting her first child with him in January.
Tonight, #kimye (Kardashian and West's couple name), Khloe, Kanye, Kris Humphries, Ray J (Kardashian's ex-boyfriend), and Blue Ivy (Beyonce and Jay-Z's child) are trending worldwide on Twitter.
12/31/12 1:19 pm Update: The pregnancy has been confirmed. Kim Kardashian released a statement on her official website saying "It's true!! Kanye and I are expecting a baby. We feel so blessed and lucky and wish in addition to both of our families, his mom and my dad could be here to celebrate this special time with us. Looking forwards to great new beginnings in 2013 and to starting a family. Happy New Year!!! Xo". Accompanied with the statement is a black and white image of Kardashian and West embracing in what appears to be a dressing room. Sources confirm that Kim is 12 weeks pregnant, and apparently several members of the Kardashian clan have been sitting on the secret. The kid was reportedly conceived while the couple was vacationing in Vatican City in October when they were celebrating West's birthday. The child is due in June.
Our "X Factor" USA Season 3 Judge and Host Predictions
With the second season over and auditions for the third season (which are scheduled to start on March 6, 2013 in L.A. and wrap on May 14, 2013 in Denver) rapidly approaching, its time to start making predictions for the judging panel and host(s) of The X Factor season 3.
At this point, it seems likely that Britney Spears will be asked to exit the show as a judge or at least to accept a pay cut. While it would seem absurd to say that she wasn't a successful judge, with her incredible act Carly Rose Sonenclar being the runner-up, and one of her other acts Diamond White finishing fifth, producers are reportedly disappointed with Spears' enthusiasm as a judge. Radar Online and US Weekly are both reporting that the $15 million that Spears received to judge the show's season was not a hugely worthwile investment, with Spears often appearing distracted and giving half-hearted claps and one-liner compliments to the show's contestants. If Spears were to return, she would need to accept a fairly major pay cut, which seems unlikely considering pay raises are usually imminent for judges when they agree to take part in an additional season. Spears' $15 million contract made her the highest payed singing show judge ever, and after watching the entire season, we can't say that Spears gave a $15 million effort. Despite this, Simon Cowell has stated that he would like to have Spears return. Our guess is that Spears will be fired as a judge.
While Spears' dismissal is fairly clear and likely, we can't say the same thing for Demi Lovato. While we can see and hope that Lovato will return for the next season, it seems as if the producers may be on-the-fence about renewing Lovato's contract for season 3. Lovato, who is 20, was the show's youngest and most inexperienced judge, however despite this, it would make sense to keep Lovato as a judge as she knows what youth audiences are listening to and can use this knowledge to her benefit as a judge. However, Lovato's last remaining act, CeCe Frey finished in sixth place, which left Lovato the first judge to have all her acts eliminated, making her the least successful judge. Lovato's pay was never revealed to the public, however it was estimated to be anywhere between $6 million - $13 million, making her a fairly cheap judge (when compared to Britney Spears), which would be a beneficial factor (pun intended) to keep her as a judge. Lovato has stated that she has "no idea what's gonna happen next season", nor does she think that anyone does. Lovato stated, "Just like L.A. is, I'm trying to build a career for my own too. It was an amazing experience and I loved doing the show," which may have hinted that she may not return for season 3, but she then went on to say "It's just, there's no way to tell. I have no idea". Our guess is that Lovato will be asked to return since she is an extremely popular figure in the youth demographic, however will likely suffer from a pay cut or a pay freeze.
On the other hand, hosts Mario Lopez and Khloe Kardashian Odom have both stated that they would like to return for the third season. Khloe has stated "Of course I [want to return], who wouldn't? It's a party!". Khloe stated that she likes to keep her fans in "suspense" and won't reveal whether she will return as a host for a while, hinting that she probably hasn't signed an official contract yet. Don't get us wrong - we love Khloe, but it seemed as if most of the time her co-host Mario Lopez was doing most of the talking while Khloe just stood there smiling at the camera. However, her performance as a host is warranted, as this is basically the first time that she ever hosted anything, while Mario has had tons of experience. Our guess is that Mario and Khloe will both be asked to return for season 3.
So, who will replace L.A. Reid (and possibly Spears)?
If our predictions were to be right, Lovato and Cowell would fill one chair for each gender, respectively, which would likely lead to the producers hiring 1 male judge and 1 female judge (unless they were to decide to take The Voice's route by hiring 3 of one gender and 1 of the other gender). Since Cowell serves as an older male judge, and Lovato serves as a younger female judge, it would make sense to hire an older female judge (over the age of 30) and a younger male judge (between the ages of 18 and 30).
To fill the older female judge seat, we think that Shania Twain, Fergie, Madonna, Celine Dion, Cher, Lady Gaga, and P!nk could all make valuable contributions to the show, with our personal favorite choice to be Shania Twain, however it would seem unlikely that Twain would join considering her involvement in her Las Vegas residency Shania: Still the One which is ongoing through 2013. Twain also has experience as a judge, as she appeared a guest judge during an episode of American Idol in 2010. Simon Cowell has expressed his interest for Twain to join the panel. Fergie, who Mario Lopez has suggested, could also be seriously considered as a judge, with The Black Eyed Peas currently on hiatus. Madonna would probably be an unlikely candidate due to her controversial antics, however her MDNA Tour has just wrapped up which would likely give her a free schedule. Celine Dion would probably be unlikely as well, due to her being occupied by the release of her album Water and a Flame, which is due out in April 2013, along with her participation in her Las Vegas residency Celine. Cher would likely be unlikely as well, due to her possibly becoming too old for the job, and her working on her broadway show, new album, and upcoming tour. Lady Gaga would also be fairly unlikely, as her contract would likely be ridiculously high, and her busy schedule including the continuation of her Born This Way Ball Tour, her upcoming album Artpop, and her documentary film. P!nk would be a more likely candidate to fill the seat. Although her The Truth About Love Tour will be taking place from February through September 2013, it wouldn't be difficult to cancel a few of these tour dates. Also, since live shows do not begin until October/November, she would have a clear schedule for the live episodes. Simon Cowell has also recruited Katy Perry, Jessica Simpson, and Kim Kardashian as judges. We feel that all 3 of these girls would be extremely unlikely candidates for judges. Perry shut down a $20 million offer to judge American Idol during its 2013 season due to a busy schedule, so it seems unlikely that she would agree to judge The X Factor. Jessica Simpson would also be unlikely, as just days ago she announced her second pregnancy, so it would be hard to work a schedule for filming a show around the birth of a child. Kim Kardashian also seems unlikely, since her sister Khloe is already hosting and if they were to hire Kim they might as well just fire all the other judges and hosts and just let the entire Kardashian clan take over the show. This is X Factor, not Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Our prediction is that Fergie or P!nk could be possible additions to the panel.
To fill the younger male judge seat, we think that Bruno Mars, Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Ed Sheeran could all make valuable contributions to the panel and their schedules appear to be mainly empty.
At this point, it seems likely that Britney Spears will be asked to exit the show as a judge or at least to accept a pay cut. While it would seem absurd to say that she wasn't a successful judge, with her incredible act Carly Rose Sonenclar being the runner-up, and one of her other acts Diamond White finishing fifth, producers are reportedly disappointed with Spears' enthusiasm as a judge. Radar Online and US Weekly are both reporting that the $15 million that Spears received to judge the show's season was not a hugely worthwile investment, with Spears often appearing distracted and giving half-hearted claps and one-liner compliments to the show's contestants. If Spears were to return, she would need to accept a fairly major pay cut, which seems unlikely considering pay raises are usually imminent for judges when they agree to take part in an additional season. Spears' $15 million contract made her the highest payed singing show judge ever, and after watching the entire season, we can't say that Spears gave a $15 million effort. Despite this, Simon Cowell has stated that he would like to have Spears return. Our guess is that Spears will be fired as a judge.
While Spears' dismissal is fairly clear and likely, we can't say the same thing for Demi Lovato. While we can see and hope that Lovato will return for the next season, it seems as if the producers may be on-the-fence about renewing Lovato's contract for season 3. Lovato, who is 20, was the show's youngest and most inexperienced judge, however despite this, it would make sense to keep Lovato as a judge as she knows what youth audiences are listening to and can use this knowledge to her benefit as a judge. However, Lovato's last remaining act, CeCe Frey finished in sixth place, which left Lovato the first judge to have all her acts eliminated, making her the least successful judge. Lovato's pay was never revealed to the public, however it was estimated to be anywhere between $6 million - $13 million, making her a fairly cheap judge (when compared to Britney Spears), which would be a beneficial factor (pun intended) to keep her as a judge. Lovato has stated that she has "no idea what's gonna happen next season", nor does she think that anyone does. Lovato stated, "Just like L.A. is, I'm trying to build a career for my own too. It was an amazing experience and I loved doing the show," which may have hinted that she may not return for season 3, but she then went on to say "It's just, there's no way to tell. I have no idea". Our guess is that Lovato will be asked to return since she is an extremely popular figure in the youth demographic, however will likely suffer from a pay cut or a pay freeze.
On the other hand, hosts Mario Lopez and Khloe Kardashian Odom have both stated that they would like to return for the third season. Khloe has stated "Of course I [want to return], who wouldn't? It's a party!". Khloe stated that she likes to keep her fans in "suspense" and won't reveal whether she will return as a host for a while, hinting that she probably hasn't signed an official contract yet. Don't get us wrong - we love Khloe, but it seemed as if most of the time her co-host Mario Lopez was doing most of the talking while Khloe just stood there smiling at the camera. However, her performance as a host is warranted, as this is basically the first time that she ever hosted anything, while Mario has had tons of experience. Our guess is that Mario and Khloe will both be asked to return for season 3.
So, who will replace L.A. Reid (and possibly Spears)?
If our predictions were to be right, Lovato and Cowell would fill one chair for each gender, respectively, which would likely lead to the producers hiring 1 male judge and 1 female judge (unless they were to decide to take The Voice's route by hiring 3 of one gender and 1 of the other gender). Since Cowell serves as an older male judge, and Lovato serves as a younger female judge, it would make sense to hire an older female judge (over the age of 30) and a younger male judge (between the ages of 18 and 30).
To fill the older female judge seat, we think that Shania Twain, Fergie, Madonna, Celine Dion, Cher, Lady Gaga, and P!nk could all make valuable contributions to the show, with our personal favorite choice to be Shania Twain, however it would seem unlikely that Twain would join considering her involvement in her Las Vegas residency Shania: Still the One which is ongoing through 2013. Twain also has experience as a judge, as she appeared a guest judge during an episode of American Idol in 2010. Simon Cowell has expressed his interest for Twain to join the panel. Fergie, who Mario Lopez has suggested, could also be seriously considered as a judge, with The Black Eyed Peas currently on hiatus. Madonna would probably be an unlikely candidate due to her controversial antics, however her MDNA Tour has just wrapped up which would likely give her a free schedule. Celine Dion would probably be unlikely as well, due to her being occupied by the release of her album Water and a Flame, which is due out in April 2013, along with her participation in her Las Vegas residency Celine. Cher would likely be unlikely as well, due to her possibly becoming too old for the job, and her working on her broadway show, new album, and upcoming tour. Lady Gaga would also be fairly unlikely, as her contract would likely be ridiculously high, and her busy schedule including the continuation of her Born This Way Ball Tour, her upcoming album Artpop, and her documentary film. P!nk would be a more likely candidate to fill the seat. Although her The Truth About Love Tour will be taking place from February through September 2013, it wouldn't be difficult to cancel a few of these tour dates. Also, since live shows do not begin until October/November, she would have a clear schedule for the live episodes. Simon Cowell has also recruited Katy Perry, Jessica Simpson, and Kim Kardashian as judges. We feel that all 3 of these girls would be extremely unlikely candidates for judges. Perry shut down a $20 million offer to judge American Idol during its 2013 season due to a busy schedule, so it seems unlikely that she would agree to judge The X Factor. Jessica Simpson would also be unlikely, as just days ago she announced her second pregnancy, so it would be hard to work a schedule for filming a show around the birth of a child. Kim Kardashian also seems unlikely, since her sister Khloe is already hosting and if they were to hire Kim they might as well just fire all the other judges and hosts and just let the entire Kardashian clan take over the show. This is X Factor, not Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Our prediction is that Fergie or P!nk could be possible additions to the panel.
To fill the younger male judge seat, we think that Bruno Mars, Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Ed Sheeran could all make valuable contributions to the panel and their schedules appear to be mainly empty.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
2012: Bingemans Screampark Review - Coming Tonight!
Hi, everyone! Today is October 30, 2012 and we are going to be attending Bingemans Screampark for its penultimate night of the 2012 season, tonight! We will be posting our review either tonight or tomorrow afternoon, just in time for you all to read our review and go see Screampark one last time tomorrow night (Halloween night)! This year, Bingemans is offering 4 attractions: Shady Acres, Statesville Penitentiary, Redneck Rampage, and Blood Run; which are available for $12 individually, per person, or you can attend all 4 of the attractions for just $30 per person! An additional attraction, called The Last Ride, will be available for an additional $5 per person.
We are very excited to be attending Screampark for our fifth consecutive year and we can't wait to post our review!
P.S. Be sure to check out our review of Bingemans Screampark from 2011!
We are very excited to be attending Screampark for our fifth consecutive year and we can't wait to post our review!
P.S. Be sure to check out our review of Bingemans Screampark from 2011!
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
"Smiley" (2012) - Review
Today, we are reviewing the new independent horror flick "Smiley", which is directed by Michael Gallagher and stars Caitlin Gerard, Melanie Papalia, Andrew James Allen, and Shane Dawson.
The film follows an internet serial killer that goes by the name of Smiley, whom most believe to be an urban legend that suggests that Smiley can be "called" through a Chat Roulette-like website. However, several strange events cause Ashley (Gerard), Proxy (Papalia), Zane (Allen), and Binder (Dawson) to begin believing that Smiley may be more than just an urban legend.
The Pros:
The film follows an internet serial killer that goes by the name of Smiley, whom most believe to be an urban legend that suggests that Smiley can be "called" through a Chat Roulette-like website. However, several strange events cause Ashley (Gerard), Proxy (Papalia), Zane (Allen), and Binder (Dawson) to begin believing that Smiley may be more than just an urban legend.
The Pros:
- Delivers enough thrills to satisfy most audiences
- A captivating, original, modern plot
- Some good acting
- Well-written script
- 2 completely unexpected twists at the end
The Cons:
- Special Effects
- Mostly poor acting by the main cast
- Repetitive story
Rating (from First Stop News employees): 72%
Rating (from myself): 69%
Rating (from First Stop News editor): 68%
Overall rating: 69% (Hahahaha)
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Shocking Autumn Studios announces mysterious December event
September 4, 2012 - San Fransisco, California - Today, Shocking Autumn posted a mysterious picture to their Twitter account, with the caption "If you are interested in hearing something interesting, please come to our offices on December 4".
The photograph consists of a giant 4, with words positioned near it in order to say "Season 4 Event", referring to the fourth and final season of "You Just Got Mugged!" which will premiere on Shocking Autumn on November 16. Below "Season 4 Event" is a caption reading the date of the supposed event - December 4.
Shocking Autumn told First Stop News exclusively today that the event will be a press conference where details regarding the fourth season will be announced. While Shocking Autumn hasn't gone into detail about the details, many outlets are reporting that, during the event, the series finale air date will be announced. It has also been reported that, during the event, a trailer for the 2013 episodes will premiere, and information about syndication of the third and fourth seasons will be revealed. Syndication is expected to be handled by The Online Network, who syndicated the first season in June, and who will begin syndicating the second season next week.
Shocking Autumn also told First Stop that 4 events, and 3 mini events will be held simultaneously on the same day, where the same information will be announced at the same time. The 4 events will take place in Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, and Toronto; while the 3 mini events will take place in Vancouver, Mexico City, and London. Here are the events planned for each event:
New York City - Main Event - will be held in Shocking Autumn's International Headquarters in Brooklyn, New York City. Matthew LaVernon, Annie Mercury, and Sonja Vernon will attend this event.
Los Angeles - Secondary Event - will be held in Shocking Autumn's American Headquarters in West Hollywood, Los Angeles. Tim Hurkoy will attend this event.
Miami - Secondary Event - will be held at Miami Speed Centre in Miami, Florida. Shocking Autumn executives will attend this event.
Toronto - Secondary Event - will be held at Shocking Autumn's Canadian Headquarters in Downtown Toronto, Ontario. The 3 mugs will be present for a skit during the presentation.
Vancouver - Mini Event - will be held at Shocking Autumn Vancouver Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. Will include giant screen broadcasting live from main event in New York City. No special guests.
Mexico City - Mini Event - will be held at Le Tampa Market in Mexico City, Mexico. Will include giant screen broadcasting live from main event in New York City. No special guests.
Paris - Mini Event - Shocking Autumn European Headquarters in Paris, France. Benjamin Zecks and Kevin Todds will appear.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Matt LaVernon "docks" into the harbor of porn
Translated from Déclaration de l'Nouvelles: Québec:
The secret is out - and so is the penis. Matt LaVernon appeared at the premiere of a new comedy-pornography film entitled Suck My Dock, in which he filmed a cameo appearance for in February.
In the cameo appearance, which is about 2 minutes long, LaVernon's character is seen swimming naked in a lake. He exits the lake, and quickly covers his "dock" with a towel; but not before we get to see a full-frontal of the actor, which only lasts about 2 seconds. The end of the clip ends with his character turning to a cabin, in which he notices that a trio of attractive women (one of which are played by LaVernon's wife, Sonja Deltrose) had been watching him during his swim, and had obviously got a look at his "dock". The girls are shown seductively giggling, discussing his "schlong", prompting LaVernon to give a sexy smirk, drop his towel, and begin approaching the cabin fully naked; his ass fully visible.
The film is an independent comedy-porn film scheduled to be released on Augsust 31, 2012 exclusively in France and Germany, but a release in other countries will follow within the coming weeks. LaVernon attended the premiere of the film in Gatineau, where he was asked if he would appear in more porn films, to which he replied, "I would never say never, but not for now. Right now, I have my first kid growing up and another kid on the way, so it wouldn't be a very good environment for my kids to be growing up in iv their father was running off getting payed to fuck people while he's still happily married, so right now it's a no. I was in the area, they asked me to do the cameo, it was something I had never done before, and it wasn't technically porn because I wasn't fucking any body, so I said 'to hell with it, sure, I'll do it'. To me, it's just being naked on camera if you're not having sex, and I think that's okay."
Friday, August 3, 2012
An Email from Josh Kingston
We have just received the following e-mail from Banana Recordz cover artist, Joshua Kingston, 16, who has asked us to publish this e-mail publicly.
"At this point, I have been signed to my record label for over 1 year. Banana Recordz, along with their viewers and my viewers, have allowed me to create numerous projects, songs, and records, and have continued to inspire me to work on bettering myself everyday. The components of my life of which I have improved over the past year include my vocals, communication skills, and knowledge on the music industry. Now, I feel I am finally ready to reveal another part of my life that has improved over the past year: my tolerance, appreciation, and respect for those around me, and myself.
Recently, I have been reminded and inspired by several aspects of society that are shaping a positive, sheltering future for our youth - a light at the tunnel, if you will. Our current world has begun to shape the history books of our future, and I have recently become inspired and moved by the recent changes on our planet and in our society. These changes have began to make me considerably question how I have kept a crucial aspect of my life private for so long. As a musician and writer, I feel that it is my job to allow others to feel as if they can relate to me and the stories that I compose in my music and upcoming literature works, which is why I have decided to reveal the most private thing in my life to the world.
I am bisexual. I have recently ended a relationship with a man, of which I was with for over 1 year. Now, as I have begun to ponder my ceased relationship, I have also begun to ponder the honesty that I have attempted to portray in my music. All 3 of my original songs that I have released to date are about he relationship that I had with this man. "Bend or Break" is regarding my pondering of whether our relationship will work out due to some of our differences. "In January" was written during a brief break-up that I had with him, in which I was imagining us working out our differences. "Eyes Open", my most recent single, was written shortly after our break-up, where I realized that our arguing and fighting was not worth the pain, which is also another important factor that has recently been addressed in our society. I have very recently begun a new relationship, with a person that respects me and my personality. I can honestly say that I have never been so happy, comfortable with myself, and proud of who I am.
I am excited to see how our society will continue to bring issues that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people to light, and how our society will continue to fight to bring justice to these people. Thank you all, I will now be taking a break from promoting my album for the remainder of August, in order to enjoy the chapter of my life that has just begun; being open with myself and the ones around me. See you all in September."
Banana Recordz did not respond before press time when asked for comment. First Stop News would like to wish Josh all the best, and are extremely happy that Josh has begun this new chapter in his life.
"At this point, I have been signed to my record label for over 1 year. Banana Recordz, along with their viewers and my viewers, have allowed me to create numerous projects, songs, and records, and have continued to inspire me to work on bettering myself everyday. The components of my life of which I have improved over the past year include my vocals, communication skills, and knowledge on the music industry. Now, I feel I am finally ready to reveal another part of my life that has improved over the past year: my tolerance, appreciation, and respect for those around me, and myself.
Recently, I have been reminded and inspired by several aspects of society that are shaping a positive, sheltering future for our youth - a light at the tunnel, if you will. Our current world has begun to shape the history books of our future, and I have recently become inspired and moved by the recent changes on our planet and in our society. These changes have began to make me considerably question how I have kept a crucial aspect of my life private for so long. As a musician and writer, I feel that it is my job to allow others to feel as if they can relate to me and the stories that I compose in my music and upcoming literature works, which is why I have decided to reveal the most private thing in my life to the world.
I am bisexual. I have recently ended a relationship with a man, of which I was with for over 1 year. Now, as I have begun to ponder my ceased relationship, I have also begun to ponder the honesty that I have attempted to portray in my music. All 3 of my original songs that I have released to date are about he relationship that I had with this man. "Bend or Break" is regarding my pondering of whether our relationship will work out due to some of our differences. "In January" was written during a brief break-up that I had with him, in which I was imagining us working out our differences. "Eyes Open", my most recent single, was written shortly after our break-up, where I realized that our arguing and fighting was not worth the pain, which is also another important factor that has recently been addressed in our society. I have very recently begun a new relationship, with a person that respects me and my personality. I can honestly say that I have never been so happy, comfortable with myself, and proud of who I am.
I am excited to see how our society will continue to bring issues that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people to light, and how our society will continue to fight to bring justice to these people. Thank you all, I will now be taking a break from promoting my album for the remainder of August, in order to enjoy the chapter of my life that has just begun; being open with myself and the ones around me. See you all in September."
Banana Recordz did not respond before press time when asked for comment. First Stop News would like to wish Josh all the best, and are extremely happy that Josh has begun this new chapter in his life.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Locations of the Olympics
With the 2012 Summer Olympics well underway, we're summarizing the locations of which the Olympics have been held since they first began in the 1800's.
1896 - Summer - Athens, Greece
1900 - Summer - Paris, France
1904 - Summer - St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
1908 - Summer - London, England
1912 - Summer - Stockholm, Sweden
1916 - Summer - Berlin, Germany (Cancelled due to World War I)
1920 - Summer - Antwerp, Belgium
1924 - Winter - Chamonix, France (The First Winter Olympics)
1924 - Summer - Paris, France (2nd time Paris hosted)
1928 - Winter - St. Moritz, Switzerland
1928 - Summer - Amsterdam, Netherlands
1932 - Winter - Lake Placid, New York, U.S.
1932 - Summer - Los Angeles, California, U.S.
1936 - Winter - Garmisch-Patenkirchen, Germany
1936 - Summer - Berlin, Germany
1940 - Winter - Sapporo, Japan (Cancelled due to World War II)
1940 - Summer - Tokyo, Japan (Cancelled due to World War II)
1944 - Winter - Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy (Cancelled due to World War II)
1944 - Summer - London, United Kingdom (Cancelled due to World War II)
1948 - Winter - St. Moritz, Switzerland
1948 - Summer - London, England (2nd time London hosted)
1952 - Winter - Oslo, Norway
1952 - Summer - Helskini, Finland
1956 - Winter - Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
1956 - Summer - Melbourne, Australia
1960 - Winter - Squaw Valley, California, U.S.
1960 - Summer - Rome, Italy
1964 - Winter - Insbruck, Austria
1964 - Summer - Tokyo, Japan
1968 - Winter - Grenoble, France
1968 - Summer - Mexico City, Mexico
1972 - Winter - Sapporo, Japan
1972 - Summer - Munich, Germany
1976 - Winter - Innsbruck, Austria
1976 - Summer - Montreal, Canada
1980 - Winter - Lake Placid, New York, U.S. (2nd time Lake Placid hosted)
1980 - Summer - Moscow, Soviet Union
1984 - Winter - Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
1984 - Summer - Los Angeles, California, U.S. (2nd time Los Angeles hosted)
1988 - Winter - Calgary, Canada
1988 - Summer - Seoul, South Korea
1992 - Winter - Albertville, France
1992 - Summer - Barcelona, Spain
1994 - Winter - Lilehammer, Norway
1996 - Summer - Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
1998 - Winter - Nagano, Japan
2000 - Summer - Sydney, Australia
2002 - Winter - Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
2004 - Summer - Athens, Greece
2006 - Winter - Turin, Italy
2008 - Summer - Beijing, China
2010 - Winter - Vancouver, Canada
2012 - Summer - London, England (3rd time London hosted)
2014 - Winter - Sochi, Russia
2016 - Summer - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2018 - Winter - Pyeongchang, South Korea
2020 - Summer - To Be Determined (Istanbul, Tokyo, OR Madrid)
Friday, June 29, 2012
A Special Thank-You Message from Matthew Vernon & Sonja Deltrose
Friday, June 29, 2012 - Coronado, California
Dear friends, family, and supporters,Hello, everyone! It is Matt & Sonja. We are here to present you with a short, however important and special message to thank you all for being so supportive and loving over the past few days. As you most likely are already aware of, our first child, Alexander Everett Xavier Vernon-Deltrose, was born on Tuesday, June 26. We are so excited to have begun this brand new chapter in our lives, and we are so thankful for your continuous support that you have sent our way. We have received your kind messages, comments, letters, e-mails, and gifts, and we can not thank you enough for being so generous and thoughtful.
Alexander was born at 8:43 a.m. in San Diego, California, where we had been preparing for a performance during the evening of June 26. Sonja and Alexander were released from the hospital around noon on June 28. Currently, we are renting an apartment in Coronado, California until we are able to go back home to New York City. It is with imperativity and patience that we ask for considerable privacy at this paramount time.
At this time, we would both like to confirm that we have both decided to leave our current occupational projects and endeavors, indefinitely. For the next few months, we are looking forward to focusing on this amazing, brand new chapter of our lives that we have been looking forward to for an extremely long time.
We are so excited to have a new addition to our family, and we hope to be sharing many new stories regarding our parental adventures with Alexander, and with new changes to our lives in the near future.
Thank you all, God bless.
Sincerely,
Matthew Vernon & Sonja Deltrose
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Q&A with Matthew LaVernon - June 7
Today, we sat down with Matthew LaVernon in our New York offices to discuss his upcoming projects, his hiatus, You Just Got Mugged!, and his wife's pregnancy.
Q: Oh well, hello stranger!
A: For god's sake, I honestly can't believe I'm back here doing another interview with you people, I should just move into your offices, it would be a lot more convenient. -laughs-
Q: You just keep coming back here because you love us.
A: If you just gave me a little sleeping bag and a place to call home I would love you a whole lot more.
Q: How are you enjoying your little break hiatus so far?
A: Well considering it just started yesterday, it's been pretty fucking good. I'm not sure how I can call it a break when I still have to do a bunch of interviews until the end of the month, but it's still nice not to have to go in to work every day.
Q: I know your wife is pregnant, congratulations on that, so how are the next few months looking for you?
A: Thanks so much, yes she's due July 31, but I mean we both have a feeling it will be at least a little sooner. Her and I were both preemies so maybe it's in the genes, I don't know. But basically the next few months are gonna be pretty relaxed, just hanging around the house and getting ready for the new addition to our family. It's very nerve-racking, we're trying to take it slow and stay calm but it's hard, it's definitely hard.
Q: I heard you were going on vacation, though?
A: You know what, it's still sort of up in the air. Back in January or so when we didn't exactly know when she was due, we were planning on going to Cuba in July, but I'm not sure if air flight would be good for the baby, so we don't know yet. I think we'll probably just do some road trips around the country, there's some places I'd like to visit.
Q: So your show YJGM! is about to come to a close for the Summer, sort of like you, yourself are doing.
A: Yeah, the last episode before we go on hiatus airs on June 22. It's a really great episode, there's a lot of shit going on in it. I'm not allowed to say anything about it, but there's literally so many different plots for the episode that we've released on different websites to try to trick people. It's a weird episode, but it's great. One of my favourites.
Q: And the last episode before that 2-part episode on the 21st and 22nd airs tomorrow?
A: Yes, that will be Tornado Wars, which airs June 8. I really like that one too, we tried a little something new with it.
Q: I heard that there is an extended version of Tornado Wars?
A: A lot of the past couple episodes have had 2 versions; extended and standard. It's just - I don't know, really. There's just some stuff that we're not allowed to use for the final standard cut, so we just fit it in to an extended version.
Q: Apparently there were some profanic scenes at the beginning of tomorrow's episode that were cut?
A: That's what went down, yeah. I can just tell you, that those scenes will be available in the extended cut. Everything just got blown way out of proportion, we were just trying to try something new.
Q: What do you mean 'new'?
A: There were just some dick jokes we through around at the beginning of the episode. Jon is a weatherman, so we got some - um - questionable images to include there in his little weather report that got cut. You'll see them in the extended version, though.
Q: Dick jokes? I thought the show was targeted to a younger audience.
A: I think our audience is slowly changing to sort of a teen audience. Before our target was ages 10-14, but now I think it's more like 15-19, which is weird because it's a show about coffee mugs, almost like a live action cartoon. But yeah, we just found some weather satellite images that looked like cocks and shit, and we just tossed it in. It's funny, I like dirty jokes, they're fucking hilarious. I think as time goes on things change, so the show has changed, I suppose. I think it's for the better.
Q: When will Season 3 return after the hiatus?
A: September 21.Which is a ways down the road but we'll have some previews and shit going on in the Summer, and that should keep the fans tied over, I think. It'll be worth the fucking wait, I promise.
Q: I think we're actually going to be seeing you again pretty soon.
A: I'm supposed to come back June 22, to talk about the last episode before the hiatus, and then that will be my last interview that I have to do before I go on break until the beginning of September. So, as long as that baby stays in there, I should be back then.
Q: Oh well, hello stranger!
A: For god's sake, I honestly can't believe I'm back here doing another interview with you people, I should just move into your offices, it would be a lot more convenient. -laughs-
Q: You just keep coming back here because you love us.
A: If you just gave me a little sleeping bag and a place to call home I would love you a whole lot more.
Q: How are you enjoying your little break hiatus so far?
A: Well considering it just started yesterday, it's been pretty fucking good. I'm not sure how I can call it a break when I still have to do a bunch of interviews until the end of the month, but it's still nice not to have to go in to work every day.
Q: I know your wife is pregnant, congratulations on that, so how are the next few months looking for you?
A: Thanks so much, yes she's due July 31, but I mean we both have a feeling it will be at least a little sooner. Her and I were both preemies so maybe it's in the genes, I don't know. But basically the next few months are gonna be pretty relaxed, just hanging around the house and getting ready for the new addition to our family. It's very nerve-racking, we're trying to take it slow and stay calm but it's hard, it's definitely hard.
Q: I heard you were going on vacation, though?
A: You know what, it's still sort of up in the air. Back in January or so when we didn't exactly know when she was due, we were planning on going to Cuba in July, but I'm not sure if air flight would be good for the baby, so we don't know yet. I think we'll probably just do some road trips around the country, there's some places I'd like to visit.
Q: So your show YJGM! is about to come to a close for the Summer, sort of like you, yourself are doing.
A: Yeah, the last episode before we go on hiatus airs on June 22. It's a really great episode, there's a lot of shit going on in it. I'm not allowed to say anything about it, but there's literally so many different plots for the episode that we've released on different websites to try to trick people. It's a weird episode, but it's great. One of my favourites.
Q: And the last episode before that 2-part episode on the 21st and 22nd airs tomorrow?
A: Yes, that will be Tornado Wars, which airs June 8. I really like that one too, we tried a little something new with it.
Q: I heard that there is an extended version of Tornado Wars?
A: A lot of the past couple episodes have had 2 versions; extended and standard. It's just - I don't know, really. There's just some stuff that we're not allowed to use for the final standard cut, so we just fit it in to an extended version.
Q: Apparently there were some profanic scenes at the beginning of tomorrow's episode that were cut?
A: That's what went down, yeah. I can just tell you, that those scenes will be available in the extended cut. Everything just got blown way out of proportion, we were just trying to try something new.
Q: What do you mean 'new'?
A: There were just some dick jokes we through around at the beginning of the episode. Jon is a weatherman, so we got some - um - questionable images to include there in his little weather report that got cut. You'll see them in the extended version, though.
Q: Dick jokes? I thought the show was targeted to a younger audience.
A: I think our audience is slowly changing to sort of a teen audience. Before our target was ages 10-14, but now I think it's more like 15-19, which is weird because it's a show about coffee mugs, almost like a live action cartoon. But yeah, we just found some weather satellite images that looked like cocks and shit, and we just tossed it in. It's funny, I like dirty jokes, they're fucking hilarious. I think as time goes on things change, so the show has changed, I suppose. I think it's for the better.
Q: When will Season 3 return after the hiatus?
A: September 21.Which is a ways down the road but we'll have some previews and shit going on in the Summer, and that should keep the fans tied over, I think. It'll be worth the fucking wait, I promise.
Q: I think we're actually going to be seeing you again pretty soon.
A: I'm supposed to come back June 22, to talk about the last episode before the hiatus, and then that will be my last interview that I have to do before I go on break until the beginning of September. So, as long as that baby stays in there, I should be back then.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Online Survey: Gay Marriage
Recently, First Stop News composed an online survey on the online chat website, Omegle, to find the general public's opinion on gay marriage.
Using the spy/question mode on the site, (which enables 1 user to ask 2 other strangers a question) we asked 76 strangers from all over the world on their opinion on gay marriage, and we informed that they may be quoted, here on First Stop News.
Out of the 76 people asked, 14 people said that they opposed gay marriage, meaning that about 18% of the people we asked do not support gay marriage, while 82% do support it.
We gathered several quotes from the people surveyed. Please note that we will keep the quotes anonymous, due to security and safety issues.
Many of the statements that people replied to our question with were extremely disturbing.
"Gays should be burned in a fire, like witches," said one opposer of gay marriage.
"Gay marriage should be held at a gas chamber!" said another opposer, "Gosh darn no good queers!"
While some statements were disturbing, others were enlightening.
"I mean, I'd love to get married some day, possibly."
"Yes, please legalize it! I want to marry my girlfriend."
A surprisingly large amount of people supported gay marriage, with an even more surprising amount of people asked in the survey being openly gay. 5% of people asked in the survey said that they were openly gay.
"I'm gay, so I love it," said one person who was asked in our survey, "I want to have the right to marry, just as everyone else does. I get so much shit everyday for something I can't help. You have no idea what it's like to be hated by society."
"I think that the reason that, when we did this survey, it was so surprising that 82% of people supported gay marriage, is because the support is not reflected in our society, today. Currently, just 7 U.S. states allow gay marriage, meaning that only 14% of states allow gay marriage. The legalization of gay marriage is absolutely, without-a-doubt warranted, after seeing all these people approve of same-sex marriage today, with this survey. What I'm trying to say is, if same-sex marriage is supported by so many people, why is it illegal in so many places?", said First Stop News E.I.C., Tamara Samuels during a staff meeting today, in New York.
Currently, same-sex marriage is performed in a mere 10 countries; Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Sweden. Same-sex marriage is only performed in a few other jurisdictions - Mexico City, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont.
Same-sex marriage is recognized, but not performed, in Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, Israel, Mexico (with exception of Mexico City), California (conditionally), Maryland, and Rhode Island.
Homosexuality is punishable by death penalty in Sudan, Mauritania, Iran, and Yemen. It is punishable by either up to a life in prison or by heavy punishments in most areas of Africa, and by several areas in the Middle East.
"I like it. I totally agree. They're humans too. Why can't they get married? You can't help who you fall in love with, and no one has the right to say who you can spend your life with. It's your own decision and I don't see the big problem in it," said an anonymous supporter in our survey.
"I personally believe in gay marriage, but I think the US is going about legalizing it in all the wrong ways. It's being legalized state by state. What ever happened to separation of church and state? I think it should be legal everywhere in the country, but if a church feels that it is immoral to preform a marriage ceremony for a gay couple, they shouldn't have to," said another supporter.
"It's horrible. It's only good for population control. But, I respect everyone's views. It's a controversial thing. Politicians only support it for votes and money," said an opposer.
"People should be able to marry who they love. No matter what," said a supporter, "It isn't our life that is being impacted, it's theirs."
"I just would not like it called marriage or related to religion in anyway," said an opposer.
One certain individual was against both heterosexual and homosexual marriages, saying, "Well, I oppose it. But, I also oppose heterosexual marriage. More specifically, I oppose the government having anything to do with it."
Earlier this month, current United States President, Barack Obama became the first sitting president to publicly declare his support for the legalization of same-sex marriage.
"Marriage is a civil contract, between two people," said a supporter, "When you look at a family member, you don't say, 'I love them because of their gender', because you don't. You love them for who they are on the inside, so why should it be any different for marriage?"
"It's really just two people who love each other making a commitment to each other," said a supporter...
"Is it really that immoral?"
Using the spy/question mode on the site, (which enables 1 user to ask 2 other strangers a question) we asked 76 strangers from all over the world on their opinion on gay marriage, and we informed that they may be quoted, here on First Stop News.
Out of the 76 people asked, 14 people said that they opposed gay marriage, meaning that about 18% of the people we asked do not support gay marriage, while 82% do support it.
We gathered several quotes from the people surveyed. Please note that we will keep the quotes anonymous, due to security and safety issues.
Many of the statements that people replied to our question with were extremely disturbing.
"Gays should be burned in a fire, like witches," said one opposer of gay marriage.
"Gay marriage should be held at a gas chamber!" said another opposer, "Gosh darn no good queers!"
While some statements were disturbing, others were enlightening.
"I mean, I'd love to get married some day, possibly."
"Yes, please legalize it! I want to marry my girlfriend."
A surprisingly large amount of people supported gay marriage, with an even more surprising amount of people asked in the survey being openly gay. 5% of people asked in the survey said that they were openly gay.
"I'm gay, so I love it," said one person who was asked in our survey, "I want to have the right to marry, just as everyone else does. I get so much shit everyday for something I can't help. You have no idea what it's like to be hated by society."
"I think that the reason that, when we did this survey, it was so surprising that 82% of people supported gay marriage, is because the support is not reflected in our society, today. Currently, just 7 U.S. states allow gay marriage, meaning that only 14% of states allow gay marriage. The legalization of gay marriage is absolutely, without-a-doubt warranted, after seeing all these people approve of same-sex marriage today, with this survey. What I'm trying to say is, if same-sex marriage is supported by so many people, why is it illegal in so many places?", said First Stop News E.I.C., Tamara Samuels during a staff meeting today, in New York.
Currently, same-sex marriage is performed in a mere 10 countries; Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Sweden. Same-sex marriage is only performed in a few other jurisdictions - Mexico City, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont.
Same-sex marriage is recognized, but not performed, in Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, Israel, Mexico (with exception of Mexico City), California (conditionally), Maryland, and Rhode Island.
Homosexuality is punishable by death penalty in Sudan, Mauritania, Iran, and Yemen. It is punishable by either up to a life in prison or by heavy punishments in most areas of Africa, and by several areas in the Middle East.
"I like it. I totally agree. They're humans too. Why can't they get married? You can't help who you fall in love with, and no one has the right to say who you can spend your life with. It's your own decision and I don't see the big problem in it," said an anonymous supporter in our survey.
"I personally believe in gay marriage, but I think the US is going about legalizing it in all the wrong ways. It's being legalized state by state. What ever happened to separation of church and state? I think it should be legal everywhere in the country, but if a church feels that it is immoral to preform a marriage ceremony for a gay couple, they shouldn't have to," said another supporter.
"It's horrible. It's only good for population control. But, I respect everyone's views. It's a controversial thing. Politicians only support it for votes and money," said an opposer.
"People should be able to marry who they love. No matter what," said a supporter, "It isn't our life that is being impacted, it's theirs."
"I just would not like it called marriage or related to religion in anyway," said an opposer.
One certain individual was against both heterosexual and homosexual marriages, saying, "Well, I oppose it. But, I also oppose heterosexual marriage. More specifically, I oppose the government having anything to do with it."
Earlier this month, current United States President, Barack Obama became the first sitting president to publicly declare his support for the legalization of same-sex marriage.
"Marriage is a civil contract, between two people," said a supporter, "When you look at a family member, you don't say, 'I love them because of their gender', because you don't. You love them for who they are on the inside, so why should it be any different for marriage?"
"It's really just two people who love each other making a commitment to each other," said a supporter...
"Is it really that immoral?"
Monday, May 14, 2012
Britney Spears & Demi Lovato to join 'The X Factor'
After months of negotiations, speculation, and reports, Fox has officially confirmed that international superstar Britney Spears, along with former-Disney princess, Demi Lovato of Sonny with a Chance and Camp Rock fame will join the 4-person judging panel, for the second season of the U.S. version of The X Factor, which aired it's first season from September 21, 2011 to December 22, 2011 on Fox.
Spears, 30, and Lovato, 19, will be the replacements for former U.S. X Factor hosts, Nicole Scherzinger, the former lead of The Pussycat Dolls, and Paula Abdul, who also co-judged American Idol along with Simon Cowell (the creator of X Factor) up until Abdul's departure in 2009 and Cowell's departure in 2010. Scherzinger and Abdul were let go from their judging duties on X Factor, earlier this year.
Up until this official announcement, several names had been tossed around regarding who would take the remaining 2 places on the judging panel, including Avril Lavigne, Miley Cyrus, Mariah Carey, and up until her unfortunate February 2012 death, Whitney Houston. Of course, the remaining 2 judging seats will be occupied by Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid. Reid serves as the current head of Epic Records - an imprint of Sony Music Entertainment.
During Fox's upfront presentation in New York City, on Monday, the judging panel all appeared to announce the 2 new judges and to promote the second season.
"I couldn't be more excited to join The X Factor juding panel. I'm a huge fan of the show and now I get to be a part of the action," Spears said during the annual presentation, "I'm ready to find the next true star."
Lovato, who just completed her Special Night with Demi Lovato tour earlier this month, which had stops in the U.S., Mexico, and Central & South America, said during the upfront presentation, "I'm totally stoked to be here, [and to] represent my generation and find the winner!". Lovato will kick off her Summer Tour in Del Mar, California on June 12, 2012. Her Summer-long tour isn't expected to mess up her judging duties.
Simon Cowell showed appreciation, approval, and excitement with the new judging panel.
Spears will reportedly rake in a cool $16 million to judge the second season of the hit singing competition show. Since the second season will contain approximately 26 episodes, that equals out to about $615,000 per episode. It is unknown how much Lovato will earn from the show.
No word yet on who will replace former X Factor host, Steve Jones - who was fired from his position as host in January. X Factor U.S. is scheduled to begin auditions in Austin, Texas on May 24, 2012.
The United Kingdom counterpart of The X Factor is expected to return for it's ninth season in August 2012, however will not feature Cowell as a judge.
The second season of The X Factor U.S. will premiere in September 2012.
Spears, 30, and Lovato, 19, will be the replacements for former U.S. X Factor hosts, Nicole Scherzinger, the former lead of The Pussycat Dolls, and Paula Abdul, who also co-judged American Idol along with Simon Cowell (the creator of X Factor) up until Abdul's departure in 2009 and Cowell's departure in 2010. Scherzinger and Abdul were let go from their judging duties on X Factor, earlier this year.
Up until this official announcement, several names had been tossed around regarding who would take the remaining 2 places on the judging panel, including Avril Lavigne, Miley Cyrus, Mariah Carey, and up until her unfortunate February 2012 death, Whitney Houston. Of course, the remaining 2 judging seats will be occupied by Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid. Reid serves as the current head of Epic Records - an imprint of Sony Music Entertainment.
During Fox's upfront presentation in New York City, on Monday, the judging panel all appeared to announce the 2 new judges and to promote the second season.
"I couldn't be more excited to join The X Factor juding panel. I'm a huge fan of the show and now I get to be a part of the action," Spears said during the annual presentation, "I'm ready to find the next true star."
Lovato, who just completed her Special Night with Demi Lovato tour earlier this month, which had stops in the U.S., Mexico, and Central & South America, said during the upfront presentation, "I'm totally stoked to be here, [and to] represent my generation and find the winner!". Lovato will kick off her Summer Tour in Del Mar, California on June 12, 2012. Her Summer-long tour isn't expected to mess up her judging duties.
Simon Cowell showed appreciation, approval, and excitement with the new judging panel.
Spears will reportedly rake in a cool $16 million to judge the second season of the hit singing competition show. Since the second season will contain approximately 26 episodes, that equals out to about $615,000 per episode. It is unknown how much Lovato will earn from the show.
No word yet on who will replace former X Factor host, Steve Jones - who was fired from his position as host in January. X Factor U.S. is scheduled to begin auditions in Austin, Texas on May 24, 2012.
The United Kingdom counterpart of The X Factor is expected to return for it's ninth season in August 2012, however will not feature Cowell as a judge.
The second season of The X Factor U.S. will premiere in September 2012.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
"Survivor: One World" Finale Predictions
NOTICE: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS SPOILERS.
One World. One Show. One Finale.
Tonight is the finale of the 24th season of Survivor, this season billed "Survivor: One World".
Just moments ago, Alicia's voting off was aired on CBS. Now, the final four contestants are preparing to plead their case to the jury in hopes to win the $1 million prize, and the title of Sole Survivor.
With only four contestants - Christina Cha, Chelsea Meissner, Kim Spradlin, and Sabrina Thompson left, we're making our final predictions for the placement of the contestants.
PREDICTIONS
Fourth Place: Chelsea Meissner
Third Place: Kim Spradlin
Second Place: Christina Cha
First Place (Sole Survivor): Sabrina Thompson
ACTUAL OUTCOMES
Fourth Place: Christina Cha
Third Place: Chelsea Meissner
Second Place: Sabrina Thompson
First Place (Sole Survivor): Kim Spradlin
The live portion of the finale is expected to begin at 10 pm, when the official winner will be announced. As the show progresses, we will post the episode's progress here on First Stop News.
9:08 pm EST Update: Kim Spradlin has just won the final immunity challenge of the season, securing her a guaranteed spot in the Final 3. Chelsea Meissner, Christina Cha, and Sabrina Thompson will be taking place in the second last Tribal Council of the season, with Kim safe from Tribal Council.
9:20 pm EST Update: Christina Cha has just been voted off in a 3-1 vote. (Chelsea, Sabrina, and Kim all voted for Christina, while Christina voted for Sabrina) The Final 3 will now enter their final day in the South Pacific, and will plead their case to the 9-person jury of why they should be awarded $1 million and the title of the Sole Survivor. My prediction for the winner remains Sabrina.
9:54 pm EST Upate: The contestants have pled their case and the jury will begin voting or the Sole Survivor after the commercial break. The live show will begin in approximately 6 minutes.
10:04 pm EST Update: Kim Spradlin has just received the title of Sole Survivor and the prize of $1 million. Sabrina Thompson finished in second place, with Chelsea Meissner finishing in third place. Kim was named the winner in a 7-2-0 vote. (Kim got 7 votes, Sabrina got 2 votes, and Chelsea got 0 votes) The season finale aired live from New York City.
Thanks for following our predictions of the finale, we hope to see you back in December for the finale of the 25th season! Thanks, and have a great summer!
One World. One Show. One Finale.
Tonight is the finale of the 24th season of Survivor, this season billed "Survivor: One World".
Just moments ago, Alicia's voting off was aired on CBS. Now, the final four contestants are preparing to plead their case to the jury in hopes to win the $1 million prize, and the title of Sole Survivor.
With only four contestants - Christina Cha, Chelsea Meissner, Kim Spradlin, and Sabrina Thompson left, we're making our final predictions for the placement of the contestants.
PREDICTIONS
Fourth Place: Chelsea Meissner
Third Place: Kim Spradlin
Second Place: Christina Cha
First Place (Sole Survivor): Sabrina Thompson
ACTUAL OUTCOMES
Fourth Place: Christina Cha
Third Place: Chelsea Meissner
Second Place: Sabrina Thompson
First Place (Sole Survivor): Kim Spradlin
The live portion of the finale is expected to begin at 10 pm, when the official winner will be announced. As the show progresses, we will post the episode's progress here on First Stop News.
9:08 pm EST Update: Kim Spradlin has just won the final immunity challenge of the season, securing her a guaranteed spot in the Final 3. Chelsea Meissner, Christina Cha, and Sabrina Thompson will be taking place in the second last Tribal Council of the season, with Kim safe from Tribal Council.
9:20 pm EST Update: Christina Cha has just been voted off in a 3-1 vote. (Chelsea, Sabrina, and Kim all voted for Christina, while Christina voted for Sabrina) The Final 3 will now enter their final day in the South Pacific, and will plead their case to the 9-person jury of why they should be awarded $1 million and the title of the Sole Survivor. My prediction for the winner remains Sabrina.
9:54 pm EST Upate: The contestants have pled their case and the jury will begin voting or the Sole Survivor after the commercial break. The live show will begin in approximately 6 minutes.
10:04 pm EST Update: Kim Spradlin has just received the title of Sole Survivor and the prize of $1 million. Sabrina Thompson finished in second place, with Chelsea Meissner finishing in third place. Kim was named the winner in a 7-2-0 vote. (Kim got 7 votes, Sabrina got 2 votes, and Chelsea got 0 votes) The season finale aired live from New York City.
Thanks for following our predictions of the finale, we hope to see you back in December for the finale of the 25th season! Thanks, and have a great summer!
Friday, May 4, 2012
Is James Blunt really dead?
According to several, possibly unreliable sources through out the internet, English singer-songwriter, best known for his songs "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye, My Lover", has died at the age of 38 in Los Angeles.
According to Benkling.com, Blunt died Thursday after being rushed from his L.A. home after suffering a cardiac arrest. The Benkling article appears to be a copy-and-paste from a CNN Entertainment division, but the article is not visible anywhere on CNN's website, which has sparked controversy over the internet over Blunt's state.
At First Stop News, we would like to confirm that, as well as we know, James Blunt is NOT dead.
While many have likely not recalled of Blunt since his 2005 release of "Goodbye My Lover" - the fourth and final single off his debut album Back to Bedlam, Blunt has continued to stay some-what on the music scene, releasing his sophomore and junior albums All the Lost Souls and Some Kind of Trouble; the first of which was released in September 2007, and the latter in November 2010. He released a live album, Trouble Revisited in December 2011. Blunt even earned himself a Regenbogen Award in 2011.
As James Blunt's death has failed to appear on CNN, TMZ, the Associated Press, Reuters, or any other 100% reliable news source, James Blunt is not dead. He is 38, and as far as we know, happy and healthy.
According to Benkling.com, Blunt died Thursday after being rushed from his L.A. home after suffering a cardiac arrest. The Benkling article appears to be a copy-and-paste from a CNN Entertainment division, but the article is not visible anywhere on CNN's website, which has sparked controversy over the internet over Blunt's state.
At First Stop News, we would like to confirm that, as well as we know, James Blunt is NOT dead.
While many have likely not recalled of Blunt since his 2005 release of "Goodbye My Lover" - the fourth and final single off his debut album Back to Bedlam, Blunt has continued to stay some-what on the music scene, releasing his sophomore and junior albums All the Lost Souls and Some Kind of Trouble; the first of which was released in September 2007, and the latter in November 2010. He released a live album, Trouble Revisited in December 2011. Blunt even earned himself a Regenbogen Award in 2011.
As James Blunt's death has failed to appear on CNN, TMZ, the Associated Press, Reuters, or any other 100% reliable news source, James Blunt is not dead. He is 38, and as far as we know, happy and healthy.
Monday, March 19, 2012
EXCLUSIVE: "You Just Got Mugged!" Renewed for fourth season
"You Just Got Mugged!" renewed for fourth season
YOU JUST GOT MUGGED! RECEIVES FOURTH SEASON RENEWAL
NETWORK "EXCITED AND ELATED" TO CONTINUE WEB SITCOM
a FIRST STOP NEWS exclusive: March 19, 2012 - Los Angeles, California - Today, Shocking Autumn Studios officially renewed their 2011 online sitcom, You Just Got Mugged! for a fourth season.
“We are extremely excited and elated that we will be able to continue to work with such an amazing crew on this amazing show,” the network said in a statement, “These next few episodes in the fourth season, as well as the episodes that are yet to come in the third season, will be the best episode of the series, to date.”
In a phone interview with First Stop News, series creator, Matthew LaVernon said, “I am so blessed to be able to come work on such an incredible show, with such an incredible crew, each and every day and I’m so excited that I’ll be able to keep doing it for many months to come.”
No word yet on when season four episodes debut, or how many episodes there will be in season four, but LaVernon and Shocking Autumn said in a joint statement that "more information would be revealed soon."
First Stop News was given the press release to release it exclusively; before anyone else.
UPDATE: Shocking Autumn released this press release on their website at 8:03 pm EST. LaVernon confirmed the fourth season renewal on Twitter at 8:03 pm EST.
First Stop News was given the press release to release it exclusively; before anyone else.
UPDATE: Shocking Autumn released this press release on their website at 8:03 pm EST. LaVernon confirmed the fourth season renewal on Twitter at 8:03 pm EST.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
We Are Saviour announces mini-tour
Last week, we had an interview with Nicholas Pearson of We Are Saviour, when he mentioned that he had "bits and pieces" of vocals and music that he could potentially put together to create a song if he had his bandmates permission.
Well now, he has permission.
"Hannah was right on board for it, Charlie was a little more reluctant - he asked for 50% of the profits from the song, but if that means we can give the fans a final goodbye, then he can have any amount of money he wants. This really isn't about money, now."
He also announced that the band would be embarking on a mini-tour.
"We all just decided to put away our differences so that we could do a mini-tour; a final goodbye to the fans." The tour will include 11 dates and will be spanned out over both United States and Canada (4 in U.S., 7 in Canada) over the course of 1 month.
Some fans expressed disapproval of the locations of the dates, saying that they felt that the band would only be visiting "major" locations and are not going to smaller areas, such as central and Northern United States and Western and Northern Canada. Pearson defended the choice of the dates, saying, "It is just a mini-tour, we can't visit everyone, unfortunately," he said in an interview, "We're offering very cheap tickets so that people can focus on their fares for transportation." Tickets for most stops are $4/person. Children between the ages of 4 and 12 and senior citizens 60+ will get in for half price ($2/person), while children under the age of 4 are allowed free access. Group tickets are also available; if 3 people come in a group then the 4th person in the group will be allowed in free, as long as the 4 people are between the ages of 12 and 60.
The following are the tour dates.
May 21, 2012 - Sacramento, California
May 25, 2012 - Austin, Texas
May 30, 2012 - Orlando, Florida
June 3, 2012 - Albany, New York
June 6, 2012 - Fredericton, New Brunswick
June 8, 2012 - St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
June 11, 2012 - Montreal, Quebec
June 13, 2012 - Toronto, Ontario
June 15, 2012 - Thunder Bay, Ontario
June 18, 2012 - Regina, Saskatchewan
June 21, 2012 - Vancouver, British Columbia
Also, there will be no announced venues for the stops. The day before the stop, a tweet will be posted on We Are Saviour's twitter account with a hint as to where the concert is being held. Tweeters will then be able to tweet the band the answer, and the band will private message them if their guess is correct. If it is not correct, the band will private message the tweeter another, easier hint as to the location of the concert. People without twitter will be able to text WEARESAVIOUR to a number (which will be announced a week before the date via We Are Saviour's website) and fans will then receive a text from the band giving them a hint to the location of the concert. People without twitter or SMS-sending cell phones will need to wait until 1 hour before the concert begins when the band will reveal the location of the concert on Twitter and on the local news of the location of the concert.
Well now, he has permission.
"Hannah was right on board for it, Charlie was a little more reluctant - he asked for 50% of the profits from the song, but if that means we can give the fans a final goodbye, then he can have any amount of money he wants. This really isn't about money, now."
He also announced that the band would be embarking on a mini-tour.
"We all just decided to put away our differences so that we could do a mini-tour; a final goodbye to the fans." The tour will include 11 dates and will be spanned out over both United States and Canada (4 in U.S., 7 in Canada) over the course of 1 month.
Some fans expressed disapproval of the locations of the dates, saying that they felt that the band would only be visiting "major" locations and are not going to smaller areas, such as central and Northern United States and Western and Northern Canada. Pearson defended the choice of the dates, saying, "It is just a mini-tour, we can't visit everyone, unfortunately," he said in an interview, "We're offering very cheap tickets so that people can focus on their fares for transportation." Tickets for most stops are $4/person. Children between the ages of 4 and 12 and senior citizens 60+ will get in for half price ($2/person), while children under the age of 4 are allowed free access. Group tickets are also available; if 3 people come in a group then the 4th person in the group will be allowed in free, as long as the 4 people are between the ages of 12 and 60.
The following are the tour dates.
May 21, 2012 - Sacramento, California
May 25, 2012 - Austin, Texas
May 30, 2012 - Orlando, Florida
June 3, 2012 - Albany, New York
June 6, 2012 - Fredericton, New Brunswick
June 8, 2012 - St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
June 11, 2012 - Montreal, Quebec
June 13, 2012 - Toronto, Ontario
June 15, 2012 - Thunder Bay, Ontario
June 18, 2012 - Regina, Saskatchewan
June 21, 2012 - Vancouver, British Columbia
Also, there will be no announced venues for the stops. The day before the stop, a tweet will be posted on We Are Saviour's twitter account with a hint as to where the concert is being held. Tweeters will then be able to tweet the band the answer, and the band will private message them if their guess is correct. If it is not correct, the band will private message the tweeter another, easier hint as to the location of the concert. People without twitter will be able to text WEARESAVIOUR to a number (which will be announced a week before the date via We Are Saviour's website) and fans will then receive a text from the band giving them a hint to the location of the concert. People without twitter or SMS-sending cell phones will need to wait until 1 hour before the concert begins when the band will reveal the location of the concert on Twitter and on the local news of the location of the concert.
Monday, February 20, 2012
TV Cancellation Index
With renewal season less than 3 months away, we're predicting the fate of our beloved series on the five networks; CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, and The CW. We'll mark them in one of five categories; either Renewed (will return for another season), Cancelled (will not return), Already renewed (already officially renewed), Already cancelled (already officially cancelled). We will add up these scores and give the network an individual percentage. Whichever network has the highest score, will be named "The First Stop NETWORK OF THE YEAR", while the network with the smallest score will be named "The First Stop MOST HORRIBLE NETWORK OF THE YEAR". In some cases, the show will be marked as "Completed" if the show has already finished airing, and not under cancellation circumstances. In this case, this show will not be added to the network's score. "Final Season" will be shown if the series is on it's final season in a non-cancellation circumstance. Also, "Basically already cancelled" will be shown if the show has aired it's season finale, a back 9-type order had not been placed, and it is extremely unlikely that the series will be renewed.
CBS:
CBS:
- A Gifted Man - Cancelled
- CSI: NY - Cancelled
- Blue Bloods - Renewed
- The Good Wife - Renewed
- Unforgettable - Cancelled
- How To Be A Gentleman - Already cancelled
- CSI: Miami - Renewed
- Hawaii: Five-O - Renewed
- The Mentalist - Renewed
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Renewed
- Person of Interest - Renewed
- Rules of Engagement - Renewed
- NCIS: L.A. - Renewed
- Criminal Minds - Renewed
- Rob - Cancelled
- Mike & Molly - Renewed
- How I Met Your Mother - Already renewed
- NCIS - Renewed
- 2 Broke Girls - Renewed
- Two and a Half Men - Renewed
- The Big Bang Theory - Already renewed
So, the overall renewal percentage for CBS is 76%, indicating a B score for the CBS, this year.
NBC:
- Prime Suspect - Already cancelled
- The Firm - Already cancelled
- Free Agents - Already cancelled
- The Playboy Club - Already cancelled
- Harry's Law - Cancelled
- Chuck - Completed (Not part of score)
- Community - Renewed
- Grimm - Renewed
- 30 Rock - Renewed
- Whitney - Cancelled
- Parenthood - Renewed
- Are You There Chelsea? - Cancelled
- Parks & Recreation - Renewed
- Up All Night - Renewed
- Law and Order: SVU - Renewed
- The Office - Renewed
- Smash - Renewed
So, the overall percentage for NBC is 52%, indicating a D- score for NBC, this year.
ABC:
- Pan Am - Basically already cancelled
- Charlie's Angels - Already cancelled
- Body of Proof - Cancelled
- Work It! - Already cancelled
- Man Up - Already cancelled
- Castle - Renewed
- Private Practice - Renewed
- Last Man Standing - Renewed
- Revenge - Renewed
- Suburgatory - Renewed
- Desperate Housewives - Final Season
- The Middle - Renewed
- Happy Endings - Renewed
- Once Upon a Time - Renewed
- Grey's Anatomy - Renewed
- Modern Family - Renewed
So, the overall percentage for ABC is 66%, indicating a C score for ABC, this year.
Fox:
- Fringe - Cancelled
- The Cleveland Show - Already renewed
- Allen Gregory - Already cancelled
- Raising Hope - Renewed
- The Finder - Cancelled
- Terra Nova - Renewed
- Bones - Renewed
- House - Final Season (Not part of score)
- Alcatraz - Renewed
- Napoleon Dynamite - Cancelled
- The Simpsons - Already renewed
- Family Guy - Already renewed
- Glee - Renewed
- New Girl - Renewed
- Touch - Renewed
So, the overall percentage for Fox is 71%, indicating a B- score for Fox, this year.
And finally, The CW:
- Nikita - Cancelled
- Ringer - Cancelled
- Hart of Dixie - Cancelled
- Gossip Girl - Renewed
- 90210 - Renewed
- One Tree Hill - Final Season (Not part of score)
- The Secret Circle - Renewed
- Supernatural - Renewed
- The Vampire Diaries - Renewed
So, the overall percentage for The CW is 62%, indicating a C- score for The CW, this year.
THE RESULTS:
Here are the results.
- Network Average Percentage: 65.4%, or a "C".
- The First Stop Network of the Year: CBS (Congratulations, you win absolutely nothing other than that title, and you're network initials standing for CBS: Can't be Bull Shit. Treasure it forever.)
- The First Stop Horrible Network of the Year: NBC (You win nothing but the shame of your initials standing for NBC: Nothing But Cancellations).
The Rankings:
- CBS
- Fox
- ABC
- The CW
- NBC
We Are Saviour's Nicholas Pearson to pursue solo career
Two weeks ago, Canadian electropop trio We Are Saviour announced on Twitter that they disbanded last Summer, and had sold unreleased songs to Cape and Horn Records to release within the next few years in a compilation album titled We Are Saviour: The Collection, which was chosen as the name under contract. Now, we are exclusively reporting that We Are Saviour lead, Nicholas Pearson will be pursuing a solo career, now that his band has dissloved.
"Nothing has been finalized yet, but I will be doing a solo career," Pearson, 24, said in a phone interview with us, yesterday evening. "My record label is currently shopping for a new name, as it is currently titled Saviour-Pearson Records, and the 'Saviour' part of that name is no longer existent [...] It's very exciting to be pursuing a solo career, without any boundaries or anything from the other band members. Now, I can do, musically, whatever I would like."
Surprisingly, Pearson also expressed interest in working with former bandmade, Hannah Hash on his solo album. "Hannah remains a great friend of mine, I know she understands why the band broke up, and I have remained in contact with her, through the past few months, since the band broke up in August. She understands it's just business."
However, he wasn't as open on a collaboration with the third member of the trio; Charles "Charlie" Boulevardez. "Charlie and I, unfortunately, have not remained in contact with each other. We haven't spoken since October, when I texted him for his Birthday - but even that was just through texts. But, what's done is done."
While Pearson will eventually be pursuing a solo career, he stated it likely wouldn't be any time soon. "I wouldn't be looking in to rushing it, it'd be a very gradual kind of thing. I can't see a solo single anywhere for at least, maybe a year, and an album would be closer to two years away."
We also asked Pearson about when he expected Cape and Horn to release the unreleased We Are Saviour tracks from their cancelled third album, The Reason Why, which had been due for release in September 2011 before the band's August 2011 dissolution. "I honestly have no idea, they have full rights to those songs, they can release them whenever they'd like; it could be tomorrow, or it could be 20 years from now. We basically just sold the songs to them so that the songs wouldn't be sitting obsolete in a dark vault somewhere for all of eternity."
While Pearson isn't in a rush to have those songs released, he stated that he would like to give a special something to fans before the release of anything from his solo projects. "It's been 8 months since that last single, and I think the fans may be getting a bit restless. I have a few vocals and little snippits of forgotten things in my home that no one owns right now, and I think that if I could just get Charlie and Hannah's permission, I could turn those little pieces into something bigger - like a goodbye song, sort of. I'm sure Hannah would be on board, it's Charlie that I'm worried about."
After a pause, he added, "It could be closer than some may think, if I could just get permission."
We Are Saviour released their first two albums 13THIRTY and Strobe in the Fall of 2010. They released a single in July 2011, and nothing musically has been heard from them since, as the band broke up in August 2011.
"Nothing has been finalized yet, but I will be doing a solo career," Pearson, 24, said in a phone interview with us, yesterday evening. "My record label is currently shopping for a new name, as it is currently titled Saviour-Pearson Records, and the 'Saviour' part of that name is no longer existent [...] It's very exciting to be pursuing a solo career, without any boundaries or anything from the other band members. Now, I can do, musically, whatever I would like."
Surprisingly, Pearson also expressed interest in working with former bandmade, Hannah Hash on his solo album. "Hannah remains a great friend of mine, I know she understands why the band broke up, and I have remained in contact with her, through the past few months, since the band broke up in August. She understands it's just business."
However, he wasn't as open on a collaboration with the third member of the trio; Charles "Charlie" Boulevardez. "Charlie and I, unfortunately, have not remained in contact with each other. We haven't spoken since October, when I texted him for his Birthday - but even that was just through texts. But, what's done is done."
While Pearson will eventually be pursuing a solo career, he stated it likely wouldn't be any time soon. "I wouldn't be looking in to rushing it, it'd be a very gradual kind of thing. I can't see a solo single anywhere for at least, maybe a year, and an album would be closer to two years away."
We also asked Pearson about when he expected Cape and Horn to release the unreleased We Are Saviour tracks from their cancelled third album, The Reason Why, which had been due for release in September 2011 before the band's August 2011 dissolution. "I honestly have no idea, they have full rights to those songs, they can release them whenever they'd like; it could be tomorrow, or it could be 20 years from now. We basically just sold the songs to them so that the songs wouldn't be sitting obsolete in a dark vault somewhere for all of eternity."
While Pearson isn't in a rush to have those songs released, he stated that he would like to give a special something to fans before the release of anything from his solo projects. "It's been 8 months since that last single, and I think the fans may be getting a bit restless. I have a few vocals and little snippits of forgotten things in my home that no one owns right now, and I think that if I could just get Charlie and Hannah's permission, I could turn those little pieces into something bigger - like a goodbye song, sort of. I'm sure Hannah would be on board, it's Charlie that I'm worried about."
After a pause, he added, "It could be closer than some may think, if I could just get permission."
We Are Saviour released their first two albums 13THIRTY and Strobe in the Fall of 2010. They released a single in July 2011, and nothing musically has been heard from them since, as the band broke up in August 2011.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Matthew LaVernon talks "You Just Got Mugged!" Season 3, other projects
Today, we sat down with You Just Got Mugged! series creator, Matthew LaVernon to talk about the upcoming third season of YJGM! as well as several of other upcoming projects.
When asked about what the third season would be like, LaVernon said, "The third is season is going to be incredible - we've completely changed the format this season and everything is going to be different. The comedy in the episodes will be much funnier and frequent and we have been given permission from Shocking Autumn to make the episodes up to 5 minutes long. When we had the 2-minute maximum, we kind of were restrained with the episodes and we weren't able to include all the jokes because we had to introduce the problem and solve it in such a short period of time. These 10 episodes will be the best yet of the series."
LaVernon also talked about secrets and surprises that would be included in the third season. "There is going to be a few major surprises - the biggest one is that there's going to be a new cast member. I won't say whether or not that new member is a main character and joins Billy, Jon, and Sheena or whether they'll just be a neighbor or a tenant or anything - and I won't say what the character is like - but I will say that we're very excited and people will really, really enjoy it - a lot."
The Jay Day also popped up while we were doing the interview. "It's been kind of weird to get back into things with The Jay Day because we made those original episodes back in August and September, so it was kind of weird to have to rewrite and reshoot and kind of just get back into those shoes again 3 or 4 months later - but I'm very excited to have that show return because the new episodes are fantastic. I'm not sure about the exact date that Shocking Autumn plans to start airing those episodes because it's completely out of my hands - but I'm very excited."
LaVernon also worked on new series The Mega Show as creator and director. "The Mega Show is going to be absolutely incredible. I have never done a sketch show before, so it was weird at first - but it's a totally whole other world of what I'm used to, but with the sketches it's just joke after joke after laugh, and it is great. It takes a long time to come up with ideas for sketches and to pave it all out and come up with jokes, but it comes naturally after a while."
You Just Got Mugged! Spin-off, You Just Got Viraled! was scheduled to premiere this month, but has not yet - which recently sparked rumors and speculation that the spin-off had been axed, before it even began airing, "I can confirm that You Just Got Viraled! has been pulled from the schedule and cancelled," LaVernon announced today, "I was included in the decision to pull it from the schedule, and I am happy with the decision. Right now I just want to focus on other projects, and maybe that particular project will resurface in the future." LaVernon also confirmed that the French versions of You Just Got Mugged! and The Jay Day had been pulled, after the French choreographers, directors, translators, and voice actors pulled out from the show.
Speculation revolving around Cabbie Carl's possible cancellation arose in December 2011, of which LaVernon was shocked to learn of. "Just because there hasn't been any mentions or announcements about Cabbie Carl in a few months doesn't mean it's cancelled. The 5-episode order for Cabbie Carl will be completed very soon, we only have 2 episodes to put the final touch on and the other 3 are completely done. It's still scheduled to premiere on the same date in April, and the pilot will debut at a private screening next month." Shocking Autumn confirmed that Cabbie Carl cancellation rumors were false in a statement released a few hours after the interview with LaVernon.
"Matthew LaVernon contacted us this afternoon about rumors regarding a cancellation of Cabbie Carl. We would like to confirm that these rumors are absolutely and positively false, and the series will premiere on April 11, 2012 just as we announced on November 6, 2011." Shocking Autumn announced in a prepared statement, "We can also confirm that You Just Got Viraled!, Le Jour Jay, and Vous Venes D'obtenir Vole! have been definitively cancelled in a mutual decision made by LaVernon and Shocking Autumn executives."
We also asked LaVernon about a possible fourth season of You Just Got Mugged! and LaVernon replied, "I talked about this with you guys back at the end of November - and my beliefs are still truly the same. I don't believe that Shocking Autumn be interested in a fourth season, and we have written the season three finale in a way that it could definitively serve as a series finale, if Shocking Autumn decides to cancel us. Truly, though, I have not even discussed the future of the series with Shocking Autumn passed the third season, so anything could happen when they announce the schedule on May 13th, and we will know for sure then. I'm sure private talks between me and Shocking Autumn will begin before that and I'll let you know, for sure."
We will sit down with LaVernon again on May 13, 2012 following the announcement of Shocking Autumn's 2012-2013 season schedule at WebTV-Con so that we can discuss the new schedule with LaVernon and talk about the shows.
When asked about what the third season would be like, LaVernon said, "The third is season is going to be incredible - we've completely changed the format this season and everything is going to be different. The comedy in the episodes will be much funnier and frequent and we have been given permission from Shocking Autumn to make the episodes up to 5 minutes long. When we had the 2-minute maximum, we kind of were restrained with the episodes and we weren't able to include all the jokes because we had to introduce the problem and solve it in such a short period of time. These 10 episodes will be the best yet of the series."
LaVernon also talked about secrets and surprises that would be included in the third season. "There is going to be a few major surprises - the biggest one is that there's going to be a new cast member. I won't say whether or not that new member is a main character and joins Billy, Jon, and Sheena or whether they'll just be a neighbor or a tenant or anything - and I won't say what the character is like - but I will say that we're very excited and people will really, really enjoy it - a lot."
The Jay Day also popped up while we were doing the interview. "It's been kind of weird to get back into things with The Jay Day because we made those original episodes back in August and September, so it was kind of weird to have to rewrite and reshoot and kind of just get back into those shoes again 3 or 4 months later - but I'm very excited to have that show return because the new episodes are fantastic. I'm not sure about the exact date that Shocking Autumn plans to start airing those episodes because it's completely out of my hands - but I'm very excited."
LaVernon also worked on new series The Mega Show as creator and director. "The Mega Show is going to be absolutely incredible. I have never done a sketch show before, so it was weird at first - but it's a totally whole other world of what I'm used to, but with the sketches it's just joke after joke after laugh, and it is great. It takes a long time to come up with ideas for sketches and to pave it all out and come up with jokes, but it comes naturally after a while."
You Just Got Mugged! Spin-off, You Just Got Viraled! was scheduled to premiere this month, but has not yet - which recently sparked rumors and speculation that the spin-off had been axed, before it even began airing, "I can confirm that You Just Got Viraled! has been pulled from the schedule and cancelled," LaVernon announced today, "I was included in the decision to pull it from the schedule, and I am happy with the decision. Right now I just want to focus on other projects, and maybe that particular project will resurface in the future." LaVernon also confirmed that the French versions of You Just Got Mugged! and The Jay Day had been pulled, after the French choreographers, directors, translators, and voice actors pulled out from the show.
Speculation revolving around Cabbie Carl's possible cancellation arose in December 2011, of which LaVernon was shocked to learn of. "Just because there hasn't been any mentions or announcements about Cabbie Carl in a few months doesn't mean it's cancelled. The 5-episode order for Cabbie Carl will be completed very soon, we only have 2 episodes to put the final touch on and the other 3 are completely done. It's still scheduled to premiere on the same date in April, and the pilot will debut at a private screening next month." Shocking Autumn confirmed that Cabbie Carl cancellation rumors were false in a statement released a few hours after the interview with LaVernon.
"Matthew LaVernon contacted us this afternoon about rumors regarding a cancellation of Cabbie Carl. We would like to confirm that these rumors are absolutely and positively false, and the series will premiere on April 11, 2012 just as we announced on November 6, 2011." Shocking Autumn announced in a prepared statement, "We can also confirm that You Just Got Viraled!, Le Jour Jay, and Vous Venes D'obtenir Vole! have been definitively cancelled in a mutual decision made by LaVernon and Shocking Autumn executives."
We also asked LaVernon about a possible fourth season of You Just Got Mugged! and LaVernon replied, "I talked about this with you guys back at the end of November - and my beliefs are still truly the same. I don't believe that Shocking Autumn be interested in a fourth season, and we have written the season three finale in a way that it could definitively serve as a series finale, if Shocking Autumn decides to cancel us. Truly, though, I have not even discussed the future of the series with Shocking Autumn passed the third season, so anything could happen when they announce the schedule on May 13th, and we will know for sure then. I'm sure private talks between me and Shocking Autumn will begin before that and I'll let you know, for sure."
We will sit down with LaVernon again on May 13, 2012 following the announcement of Shocking Autumn's 2012-2013 season schedule at WebTV-Con so that we can discuss the new schedule with LaVernon and talk about the shows.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Our Ratings of The Twilight Saga franchise
Twilight - 7/10
New Moon - 2/10
Eclipse - 6.5/10
Breaking Dawn Part 1 - 5/10
By far, New Moon is the worst film of the series with its melodramatic scenes and annoying plot lines. The film also included some scenes that caused laughing - scenes that weren't supposed to be funny.
New Moon - 2/10
Eclipse - 6.5/10
Breaking Dawn Part 1 - 5/10
By far, New Moon is the worst film of the series with its melodramatic scenes and annoying plot lines. The film also included some scenes that caused laughing - scenes that weren't supposed to be funny.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" ends iconic run
The philanthropic reality TV series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (EM:HM) completed it's run on January 13, 2012 on ABC after 9 seasons and 206 episodes.
The show that helped dozens of families with disabled or troubled members live better lives; building new, amazing, accessible homes for underprivileged families and after an 8-year-run, the series has come to a close after the show experienced dropping ratings - and building magnificent homes in 7 days (along with sending families off to Disney World and other expensive locations) isn't the cheapest thing to do.
While the series has been axed, ABC has promised to continue to do occasional EM:HM specials.
The altruistic show has truly helped out and changed thousands of peoples lives and has inspired millions of viewers to give to the less fortunate. Thousands of people have donated their time, money, and help at each and every makeover. The builders of homes in the show incorporate people's safety, interests, and needs into the beautiful homes that they build, and their contributions have changed and inspired many people, and the show will be greatly missed.
The show that helped dozens of families with disabled or troubled members live better lives; building new, amazing, accessible homes for underprivileged families and after an 8-year-run, the series has come to a close after the show experienced dropping ratings - and building magnificent homes in 7 days (along with sending families off to Disney World and other expensive locations) isn't the cheapest thing to do.
While the series has been axed, ABC has promised to continue to do occasional EM:HM specials.
The altruistic show has truly helped out and changed thousands of peoples lives and has inspired millions of viewers to give to the less fortunate. Thousands of people have donated their time, money, and help at each and every makeover. The builders of homes in the show incorporate people's safety, interests, and needs into the beautiful homes that they build, and their contributions have changed and inspired many people, and the show will be greatly missed.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Disney officially ends their four major series
As of Friday, January 6, 2012, Disney sucks and is no longer relevant.
Disney's major power-heads; the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, and Miley Cyrus - have all officially ended their runs on the channel
The first show to end - Jonas L.A., which of course - starred Joe, Nick, and Kevin Jonas was cancelled after 2 seasons, and aired it's final episode on October 3, 2010.
The second to end - Sonny with a Chance neither really got cancelled, but it didn't really "end" either. Demi Lovato - who plays the main character, Sonny Munroe announced her departure from the show in April 2011. While it is proceeded by a spin-off called So Random; the spin-off doesn't feature (or even mention) Lovato's character at all, and has became a critical and ratings flop. The show ran for 2 seasons and aired it's "series finale" (which is in quotations because it didn't give viewers an ending at all. In fact it was practically a cliffhanger) on January 2, 2011.
The third show to bite the bust is Hannah Montana, which was the first of the 4 series we're talking about to air, The show (which stars Miley Cyrus as Miley Stewart, a girl who lives a double life as a normal teenage girl and a popstar sensation) started back in March 2006, and aired for four seasons. The show is arguably the most successful Disney Channel show in history, earning and being nominated for several awards (including Emmys and BAFTAs), 5 soundtracks, hundreds of types of merchandise, a movie (which earned over $155 milion in the box office), a concert movie (which earned over $70 million in the box office), and is credited for launching the career of Miley Cyrus, as well as her co-stars on the show, including Mitchel Musso and Emily Osment. The series finale aired on January 16, 2011 after almost a 5-year run.
And finally - Wizards of Waverly Place which has also been considered the most successful Disney show, too. This show, which is my personal Disney favourite, stars Selena Gomez, David Henrie, and Jake T. Austin - as siblings who have magical, wizarding powers. The show follows these 3 siblings becoming wizards living in the normal city of New York City, while trying to keep their amazing secret from the mortal world, and attempting to become the Family Wizard, who will keep their powers forever, while the other 2 siblings' powers are taken away and the 2 siblings become mortals, too. The show (which first premiered in October 2007 and ran for 4 seasons) consisted of 106 episodes and aired it's 1-hour series finale on January 6, 2012 - four days ago, making it the final series of the Disney "Major 4" powerhouse line-up. The series finale attracted roughly 10 million viewers - making it the most watched Disney Channel Series finale ever.
Now, if you'd excuse me, I will be calling my cable provider to cancel my subscription to Disney Channel, because Shake It Up and Austin & Ally are the biggest excuses for a show I've seen since - well - ever, and I don't want to rot my brain and burn out my eye-sockets watching those characters' faces and idiotic plot lines roll across the screen for 30 minutes an episode.
Jonas L.A., Sonny with a Chance, Hannah Montana, and Wizards of Waverly Place are the best Disney shows ever and no other shows will ever beet them. Thank you, Disney, for giving me my childhood with these fantastic 4 shows.
Disney's major power-heads; the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, and Miley Cyrus - have all officially ended their runs on the channel
The first show to end - Jonas L.A., which of course - starred Joe, Nick, and Kevin Jonas was cancelled after 2 seasons, and aired it's final episode on October 3, 2010.
The second to end - Sonny with a Chance neither really got cancelled, but it didn't really "end" either. Demi Lovato - who plays the main character, Sonny Munroe announced her departure from the show in April 2011. While it is proceeded by a spin-off called So Random; the spin-off doesn't feature (or even mention) Lovato's character at all, and has became a critical and ratings flop. The show ran for 2 seasons and aired it's "series finale" (which is in quotations because it didn't give viewers an ending at all. In fact it was practically a cliffhanger) on January 2, 2011.
The third show to bite the bust is Hannah Montana, which was the first of the 4 series we're talking about to air, The show (which stars Miley Cyrus as Miley Stewart, a girl who lives a double life as a normal teenage girl and a popstar sensation) started back in March 2006, and aired for four seasons. The show is arguably the most successful Disney Channel show in history, earning and being nominated for several awards (including Emmys and BAFTAs), 5 soundtracks, hundreds of types of merchandise, a movie (which earned over $155 milion in the box office), a concert movie (which earned over $70 million in the box office), and is credited for launching the career of Miley Cyrus, as well as her co-stars on the show, including Mitchel Musso and Emily Osment. The series finale aired on January 16, 2011 after almost a 5-year run.
And finally - Wizards of Waverly Place which has also been considered the most successful Disney show, too. This show, which is my personal Disney favourite, stars Selena Gomez, David Henrie, and Jake T. Austin - as siblings who have magical, wizarding powers. The show follows these 3 siblings becoming wizards living in the normal city of New York City, while trying to keep their amazing secret from the mortal world, and attempting to become the Family Wizard, who will keep their powers forever, while the other 2 siblings' powers are taken away and the 2 siblings become mortals, too. The show (which first premiered in October 2007 and ran for 4 seasons) consisted of 106 episodes and aired it's 1-hour series finale on January 6, 2012 - four days ago, making it the final series of the Disney "Major 4" powerhouse line-up. The series finale attracted roughly 10 million viewers - making it the most watched Disney Channel Series finale ever.
Now, if you'd excuse me, I will be calling my cable provider to cancel my subscription to Disney Channel, because Shake It Up and Austin & Ally are the biggest excuses for a show I've seen since - well - ever, and I don't want to rot my brain and burn out my eye-sockets watching those characters' faces and idiotic plot lines roll across the screen for 30 minutes an episode.
Jonas L.A., Sonny with a Chance, Hannah Montana, and Wizards of Waverly Place are the best Disney shows ever and no other shows will ever beet them. Thank you, Disney, for giving me my childhood with these fantastic 4 shows.
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