HOLLYWOOD DIRT OVERFLOW (10-13-10)

THE 2010 AMA NOMINEES

THE NOMINEES FOR THE "AMAs" HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED:

The nominees for the "38th Annual American Music Awards" were announced yesterday . . . and this year, EMINEM and LADY ANTEBELLUM tied for the most nominations with five apiece. --JUSTIN BIEBER was next with four . . . and KATY PERRY, KE$HA, USHER and rapper B.O.B. followed with three each. --Eminem and Justin will face off in three categories . . . including the top award, Artist of the Year. LADY GAGA is also up for that, along with Katy Perry and Ke$ha. --AMA nominees are determined using a formula that weighs artists' music sales, prevalence on radio and TV, Internet streams and videos . . . plus, "additional online metrics," which includes "social-media activity." --ABC will air the ceremony live on Sunday, November 21st. --As usual, YOU will choose the winners. Voting is open NOW at AMAvote.com. You'll have to provide an email address to register before casting your vote.
(ALL GENRES)

ARTIST OF THE YEAR:

--Justin Bieber
--Eminem
--Ke$ha
--Lady Gaga
--Katy Perry

BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST:

--B.o.B
--Justin Bieber
--Taio Cruz
--Jason Derulo
--Ke$ha
--Lady Antebellum
--Travie McCoy
--Mike Posner

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST - POP / ROCK:

--Justin Bieber
--Eminem
--Usher

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST - POP / ROCK:

--Ke$ha
--Lady Gaga
--Katy Perry

AVORITE BAND, DUO OR GROUP - POP / ROCK:

--Black Eyed Peas
--Lady Antebellum
--Train

FAVORITE POP / ROCK ALBUM:

--"My World 2.0", Justin Bieber
--"Recovery", Eminem
--"Teenage Dream", Katy Perry

FAVORITE ARTIST - ALTERNATIVE ROCK:

--Muse
--Phoenix
--Vampire Weekend

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST - RAP / HIP-HOP:

--Eminem
--Drake
--B.o.B

FAVORITE RAP / HIP-HOP ALBUM:

--"Recovery", Eminem
--"Thank Me Later", Drake
--"B.o.B Presents", B.o.B

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST - SOUL / R&B:

--Chris Brown
--Trey Songz
--Usher

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST - SOUL / R&B:

--Alicia Keys
--Rihanna
--Sade

FAVORITE SOUL / R&B ALBUM:

--"The Element of Freedom ", Alicia Keys
--"Soldier of Love", Sade
--"Raymond v. Raymond", Usher

FAVORITE COUNTRY ARTIST - MALE:

--Jason Aldean
--Luke Bryan
--Brad Paisley

FAVORITE COUNTRY ARTIST - FEMALE:

--Miranda Lambert
--Taylor Swift
--Carrie Underwood

FAVORITE COUNTRY BAND, DUO OR GROUP:

--Lady Antebellum
--Zac Brown Band
--Rascal Flatts

FAVORITE COUNTRY ALBUM:

--"Need You Now", Lady Antebellum
--"Play On", Carrie Underwood
--"Wide Open", Jason Aldean
FAVORITE ADULT/CONTEMPORARY ARTIST:

--Lady Antebellum
--Train
--Michael Bublé

FAVORITE CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL ARTIST:

--Casting Crowns
--MercyMe
--TobyMac

FAVORITE LATIN MUSIC ARTIST:

--Shakira
--Enrique Iglesias
--Daddy Yankee

FAVORITE SOUNDTRACK ALBUM:

--"Iron Man 2" . . . with music by AC/DC
--"Glee: The Music, Volume 3 - Showstoppers"
--"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"


CHRISTINA AGUILERA AND HER HUSBAND ARE BREAKING UP:

Celebrity breakups are apparently the big thing this year . . . because CHRISTINA AGUILERA and her husband, Jordan Bratman, are trying it too. --A so-called "source" says, quote, "Yes they are separated. Right now they're just trying to figure things out. There are no divorce proceedings at this point. They have their ups and downs like all married couples. They argue like everyone else." --Another source says, quote, "They were very much in love. But over the last six months, it became clear they were more like friends than husband and wife." --Christina released a brief statement saying, quote, "Although Jordan and I are separated, our commitment to our son Max remains as strong as ever." --Max will be 3 in January. Christina and Jordan got married in 2005.


JOAN COLLINS SAYS JENNIFER ANISTON IS "CUTE" BUT NOT "BEAUTIFUL":

If you're like me, you wake up most mornings with one question on your mind: Is JOAN COLLINS Team Angelina or Team Jennifer? And now, we have the answer. She's Team Angelina all the way. --Joan says, quote, "I have to say, there aren't that many good looking actresses around today. I mean, there's ANGELINA JOLIE and there's . . . Angelina Jolie. --"JENNIFER ANISTON is cute, but I wouldn't call her beautiful. She's no Ava [Gardner] or Lana [Turner]." --Reached for comment, Jennifer's rep said there was, quote, "no need to engage with that nonsense." --Joan herself is still a bit of a minx at the age of 77. And she owes none of that to plastic surgery. Nor will she ever. --She says, quote, "Women who turn to cosmetic procedures look ghastly. I quite like the way I look, I'm quite happy with the way I look and I really don't want to change it. --"In front of the camera my skin probably isn't nearly as good as it used to be. But, I mean, what the hell, everybody's got to get older. I think there's something rather terrifying about people who are in their 50s or 60s trying to look 30 or 40." (--Also helping Joan feel young, we assume, is the fact that she's got a 45-year-old husband.)


MATT DAMON'S WIFE IS HAVING ANOTHER BABY GIRL:

MATT DAMON is already surrounded by women at his home . . . and now he's adding another one. Matt's wife, Luciana Barroso, is pregnant with a girl. There's no word on a due date. --Matt and Luciana already have two daughters, ages 4 and 2 . . . and Luciana has an 11-year-old daughter from a previous marriage.




JIM CARREY’S NEW WOMAN

JIM CARREY is having no trouble moving on from JENNY MCCARTHY. This past Saturday, he was messing with what appeared to be some quality woman at a rooftop party in New York City.
(--Check out some pics . . .)
http://www.tmz.com/2010/10/11/jim-carrey-jenny-mccarthy-new-york-city-rooftop-party-new-girl-pictures/


A SUDANESE WOMAN BLESSED GEORGE CLOONEY . . . BY SPITTING ON HIM:

GEORGE CLOONEY was recently in the Sudan . . . where civil war is a very real possibility these days. And he was SPAT ON by an elderly woman. But it was a good thing. --Apparently, it's a BLESSING for someone to spit in the palms of both your hands, and then on the top of your head. And that's exactly what the woman did to George. (--Check out video here . . .)
http://www.popsugar.com/Video-George-Clooney-Getting-Spit-11438060
--Clooney is back in the States now, trying to convince the government to do something about the situation in the Darfur region.
--On yesterday's "Today" show, he said, quote, "I think [civil war] can be stopped. We stopped it in 2005 with diplomacy. We didn't stop it with soldiers. So, yes, if we get involved now, we have a shot." --He added, quote, "Everyone acknowledges that this is what is going to take place if someone doesn't moderate and mediate . . . I'm just trying to say it as loud as possible."


SOMEONE CALLED A NOISE COMPLAINT ON KATHERINE HEIGL AND HER HUSBAND . . . BECAUSE THEY WERE BEING TOO LOUD IN THEIR HOT TUB:

How would you like to be a cop responding to a noise complaint . . . and when you walk up to the house in question and knock on the door, KATHERINE HEIGL answers . . . IN A BIKINI??? --That happened to some lucky police officers on Monday night, when a neighbor called the cops because Katherine and her husband were being too loud in their hot tub. --I know what you're thinking, because I'm thinking it, too. But there's no indication that the noise they were making was of a sexual nature. --Katherine and her husband told police that the woman who called them has had noise issues with several other neighbors as well. (--So she's one of THOSE kinds of neighbors. We all have at least one, don't we?) --The cops apparently decided this was just a silly neighbor dispute, because they left without issuing a citation. http://www.tmz.com/videos?autoplay=true&mediaKey=ba7f3fc3-4e92-453c-82f8-fccbf47251c6


"GQ" MAGAZINE HAS RELEASED A "BALD 100 POWER LIST":

"GQ" magazine has released the Bald 100 Power List . . . which is just what it sounds like: A list of the 100 most powerful bald men in the world. --The magazine says, quote, "Bald guys always seem to be feeling that dudes with all the hair not only get all the women but have all the power. Not so! --"The truth is, bald dudes form a power base of frightening strength and size. We at 'GQ' wanted to alert the world to the power these bald men wield in our society." --The list doesn't seem to be ranked in any order, but it includes . . .

--BRUCE WILLIS

--GEORGE FOREMAN

--THE DALAI LAMA

--HOWIE MANDEL

--SEAL

--HOMER SIMPSON

--PATRICK STEWART

--BILLY CORGAN

--CHRIS DAUGHTRY

--DICK CHENEY

--MOBY

--DANNY DEVITO

--ROBERT DUVALL

--MICHAEL JORDAN

--SAMUEL L. JACKSON

--JOHN MALKOVICH

--DR. PHIL

--RUPERT MURDOCH

--VERNE TROYER (???)

(--Check out the full list here . . .) http://www.gq.com/entertainment/celebrities/201010/bald-100#slide=9


A MAN WAS ARRESTED FOR BIKING UP TO PARIS HILTON'S FRONT DOOR:

Some guy got on his bicycle early yesterday morning, pedaled right up to PARIS HILTON'S front door and started banging on it. -One of Paris' security guards tried to stop him, but the perp put up a fight. Security restrained him until the cops arrived and hauled him away. This happened at around 12:15 A.M. That's pretty much all we know about it. --Paris lives in a gated community. There's no word how the guy managed to get through the front gate. --Paris might want to start paying a little more for security. Back in August, a 31-year-old man was caught trying to break into her house with TWO KNIVES. --It was Paris' boyfriend, Cy Waits, who caught the dude . . . and actually held him at GUNPOINT until police showed up.


THE SITUATION THINKS HE'S TOO COOL FOR STEVE-O:

IT'S ON!!! . . . between two MTV superstars. Because MIKE "THE SITUATION" SORRENTINO from "Jersey Shore" has dissed "Jackass" jackass STEVE-O. -It happened at the "MTV Video Music Awards". Apparently, Steve-O is a "Jersey Shore" fan . . . but when he tried to approach The Situation, he got "COOL-GUY'D." --According to EHREN MCGHEHEY of "Jackass", being cool-guy'd is when someone brushes you off with an uninterested nod of the head. --So according to Ehren and JASON "WEE MAN" ACUNA, there's no love in the "Jackass" camp for The Situation. --Except maybe from Steve-O himself. Yes, in spite of being cool-guy'd, he's still a fan. -He says, quote, "I have a rescue dog named Walter, and Walter and I are such fans of the 'Jersey Shore' that we changed his name to DJ Wally D. Yeah, he pulled a little bit of a 'cool guy' routine. --"But then again, that's kind of what he's supposed to do, right? Be a douche bag? What am I, like, going to be shocked?" (--Here's video . . . but BE WARNED!!! There's an unedited S-word in this clip . . .)
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1649849/20101012/story.jhtml


ERIC STOLTZ WAS ORIGINALLY SUPPOSED TO STAR IN THE "BACK TO THE FUTURE" MOVIES . . . BUT THEY FIRED HIM AFTER FIVE WEEKS OF FILMING AND REPLACED HIM WITH MICHAEL J. FOX:

"Back to the Future" would have been a vastly different movie if MICHAEL J. FOX hadn't starred in it. The thing is, that almost happened. In fact, it sort of DID happen in a way. Let me explain: --ERIC STOLTZ was originally hired to play Michael's character, Marty McFly. And they were five weeks into shooting the movie before director ROBERT ZEMECKIS realized that it just wasn't working out. --He decided something drastic had to be done, so he went to STEVEN SPIELBERG, who was producing. --Spielberg says, quote, "He showed me the first five weeks of footage cut together, and he just said, 'I don't think we're getting the laughs that I was hoping we would get. And . . . I realized that he was absolutely correct." --Zemeckis adds, quote, "I had to make this horrific decision, which was very heartbreaking for everybody." (--This is from the extra features on the upcoming "Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy", which comes out on Blu-ray on October 26th.)
(--Here's a video clip that includes never-before-seen footage of Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly . . .)
http://video.hollywoodreporter.com/services/player/bcpid87884717001?bctid=632057561001


NBC IS DOING ANOTHER "CELEBRITY APPRENTICE" NEXT YEAR:

DONALD TRUMP has NBC by the balls. I don't know how . . . maybe he's blackmailing them . . . but SOMETHING is going on. --"Entertainment Weekly" says NBC will launch a fourth season of "Celebrity Apprentice" early next year . . . with STAR JONES, SUGAR RAY singer MARK MCGRATH and one of MICHAEL JACKSON'S sisters. --It's LA TOYA. (--I know. You either couldn't care less, or are already programming your DVR . . . depending on how much you enjoy THE CRAZY.) -NBC wouldn't comment. (--In 2003, 20.7 million people watched the first season of "The Apprentice".) (--In the nine seasons since, the audience has shrunk, significantly, every season except one: The first "Celebrity Apprentice", which briefly breathed some life back into the franchise.)


ANDY RICHTER HAS JOINED CONAN O'BRIEN'S NEW SHOW:

CONAN O'BRIEN'S longtime sidekick, ANDY RICHTER, will follow him to TBS. --Andy said, quote, "I'm thrilled to be going back to work with Conan . . . and very excited to start a whole new venture on TBS. However, I am mostly looking forward to getting out of the house again." --And Conan joked, quote, "This decision was made without my authority. I will get to the bottom of this." (--The new show, "Conan", premieres on November 8th.)


WILL THE NEXT SEASON OF "SURVIVOR" FEATURE A REMATCH BETWEEN ROB AND RUSSELL . . . AND CARRIE PREJEAN?

RealityBlurred.com reports that the upcoming 22nd season of "Survivor" may feature some familiar faces. --Supposedly, ROB MARIANO and RUSSELL HANTZ are coming back . . . again. --It would be Rob's FOURTH "Survivor" season. (--He's also done two seasons of "The Amazing Race".) --And it'd be Russell's third season, but all of those are recent. In fact, it'd be his third season in the last four. He and Rob even butted heads this past spring . . . on "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains". --It sounds like producers want a rematch. There's some talk online that Rob and Russell will have automatic immunity until the merge . . . so I guess the plan would be for them to meet up and battle or something. --Meanwhile, there's also speculation that former Miss USA runner-up CARRIE PREJEAN will be one of the castaways next season. Carrie is the one who became famous for dissing gay marriage and preaching her support of "opposite marriage." --It's unclear how she fits with the Rob and Russell rematch, but some people are saying the season could have a "redemption" theme.


"DANCING WITH THE STARS" IS STILL YOUR #1 SHOW:

Once again, "Dancing with the Stars" was the most watched show on TV last week, with 20 million people tuning in to the performance show. It just barely beat out "NCIS" by about 100,000 viewers.

1.) The "Dancing with the Stars" performance show, ABC, 19.9 million viewers
2.) "NCIS", CBS, 19.8 million viewers
3.) "Sunday Night Football", NBC, 16.9 million viewers (--The Philadelphia Eagles beat the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 27-24.)
4.) The "Dancing with the Stars" results show, ABC, 16.7 million viewers
5.) "NCIS: Los Angeles", CBS, 16.1 million viewers
WEDNESDAY TV REMINDERS: (--Check your local listings.)

--"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" . . . 9:00 to 10:00 P.M. on NBC. (--"Numb3rs" geek David Krumholtz guest stars as the prime suspect when a woman turns up dead in a fountain from toxic mushrooms.)

--"Dog the Bounty Hunter" . . . 9:00 to 9:30 P.M. on A&E. (--Dog returns to Hawaii to track down a fugitive who is being protected by friends and family.)

--"South Park" . . . 10:00 to 10:30 P.M. on Comedy Central. (--New Jersey invades the town of South Park.)

--"I Shouldn't Be Alive" [3rd Season Premiere] . . . 10:00 to 11:00 P.M. on Animal Planet.

--"Storm Chasers" [4th Season Premiere] . . . 10:00 to 11:00 P.M. on Discovery.

--"What's Eating You?" [SERIES Premiere] . . . 10:00 to 11:00 P.M. on E! (--This six-part series focuses on eating disorders, starting with a dancer battling anorexia and a woman trying to suppress her bulimic tendencies.)


RICK SPRINGFIELD KILLED A MAN IN 'NAM!!!

RICK SPRINGFIELD is mostly known as the suave, '80s heartthrob who brought us "Jessie's Girl", which of course is a gift that's still giving even today! --But here's something you probably didn't know: RICK KILLED A MAN IN 'NAM!!! --Seriously. He talks about it in his new autobiography, "Late, Late at Night", which hit bookshelves yesterday. Since you NEED to know . . . here's the story --Back in 1968, Rick went to Vietnam to entertain the U.S. troops. He was 17 at the time. While he was there, the Americans were attacked . . . and Rick lent a hand by loading explosive rounds into mortar tubes. --Well, one of the ones he loaded killed a Viet Cong soldier. --Rick says, quote, "That was a war situation but it is still something that to this day sends a shiver down my spine." He calls it one of his "deepest, darkest secrets." --Elsewhere in the book, Rick talks about his on-and-off battle with depression. --It was so bad, that he actually tried to commit suicide when he was 16 by hanging himself in a backyard shed. Fortunately, the rope's knot didn't hold. --He says, quote, "Having suicide ride on my shoulders was not a lot of fun through a lot of my life . . . and surviving that was a real high point for me. --"Once puberty hit, I was pretty much skimming along the bottom, and I am [now] living long enough to understand how to deal with it." --Naturally, the book also addresses "Jessie's Girl" . . . but in an interview promoting the book, he admits that he still doesn't know what to think of its success. --He says, quote, "I am amazed actually. I didn't think ['Jessie's Girl'] would have the legs it has. I didn't think it was a hit. There are better songs on the record. --"The great thing is it is an iconic song . . . the bad thing is a lot of people think it is the only song I ever wrote. But I understand that, and I certainly don't get upset about it."


A FEW HIGHLIGHTS FROM JUSTIN BIEBER'S NEW MEMOIR:

JUSTIN BIEBER'S memoir, "First Step 2 Forever: My Story" hit bookshelves yesterday . . . and in it, Justin shares all kinds of stories from the 16 years that he's been alive and the two that he's spent in the music business. --Here are a few highlights: (--These come to us courtesy of "Entertainment Weekly". I did actually go out to purchase my copy . . . but at the last minute, I noticed that I'd left my wallet at home. Actually, that's a lie . . .)

--On being a celebrity: "Until three years ago, that was my definition of a celebrity: Somebody who gets to ride around in a Zamboni."

--On touring: "It takes eight buses and a whole fleet of 18-wheelers to move all the people and equipment. WOW!"

--On nerves: "That's another question I get all the time: 'Do you get nervous?' The truth is: I don't. I don't mean for that to come off as cocky. I just don't see what's to be afraid of."

--On his fans: "Every single one of you lifts me a little bit higher." (--Sure.)

--On dairy products: "Singers aren't supposed to have dairy before a show . . . but we all know I'm a rule breaker. Pizza is just so good!"

--On his favorite things: "I love hockey, maple syrup and Caramilk bars." (--He IS Canadian. Caramilk bars are caramel-filled chocolate candy bars in Canada.)

--On his favorite, more-AMERICAN things: "There are lots of things I really like besides girls. Like pizza. And pranking. And CHUCK NORRIS."

--On dating: "I hate being on a date where both people are working too hard to come up with stuff to say. You know it's working when you can just chill . . . without feeling like you have to force the conversation. It should just be natural."

--On his first date: "My first date has been sort of mythologized as 'Bieber's Dating Disaster.' I took her to King's, a buffet restaurant.

--"Yes, I wore a white shirt. Yes, I got spaghetti. No, this was not the brightest idea. But it wasn't a big trauma, though."

--On the Future: "This is just the beginning. Thanks for making a small town kid's dreams come true. Never say never. Love you."


BEYONCÉ IS POP MUSIC'S "SEXIEST VIDEO HOTTIE":

Fuse TV recently conducted a survey to determine pop music's "Top 10 Sexiest Video Hotties" . . . and after over 30,000 votes were counted, BEYONCÉ came out on top. She received the honor for her "Sweet Dreams" video.

--Here's the Top 10:

#1.) BEYONCÉ, for her "Sweet Dreams" video

#2.) KATY PERRY, for her "Teenage Dream" video

#3.) BRITNEY SPEARS, for her "Womanizer" video

#4.) LADY GAGA, for her "Bad Romance" video

#5.) FERGIE, for her "London Bridge" video

#6.) RIHANNA, for her "Hard" video

#7.) CHRISTINA AGUILERA, for her "Dirrty" video

#8.) PINK, for her "Sober" video

#9.) SHAKIRA, for her "She Wolf" video

#10.) NICKI MINAJ, for her "Massive Attack" video


GODSMACK SINGER SULLY ERNA CALLED SCOTT STAPP THAT GAY SLUR THAT STARTS WITH THE LETTER "F":

Last Saturday night, during a gig in Connecticut, GODSMACK singer SULLY ERNA called CREED singer SCOTT STAPP a bad word. --It was a gay slur. The one that starts with the letter "F" and rhymes with the last name of perhaps the very finest stand-up comedian who ever lived. I am speaking, obviously, of BOB SAGET. --Here's your context: Sully was trying to get people into the mosh pit. And he was using the time-honored coercion method of CHALLENGING THEIR MASCULINITY. --He said that if the crowd wasn't interested in tearing it up, then, quote, "maybe you should be going to see a Creed show or some (crap) like that." --Apparently, there was a Creed fan in the audience, because somebody gave Sully the finger. He said, quote, "You're flipping me off? What, you like Creed? You like Scott Stapp? He's a (F-word). (F-word)." (--Here's video . . .)
(--WARNING!!! There's a good bit of UNEDITED PROFANITY in this clip . . .)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhkiCOz4sPI
JAY-Z IS ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO GET OUT AND VOTE:

JAY-Z has released a video encouraging people to get out and vote on November 2nd. --He says you should vote to, quote, "Fight for what's right, fight for what you believe in . . . and stay forever young." (--I'm not exactly sure what he means by that last part.)
(--Here's the video . . .)
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/51942/218434


IS TAYLOR SWIFT'S SONG "BACK TO DECEMBER" HER APOLOGY TO TAYLOR LAUTNER FOR BREAKING UP WITH HIM?

We know TAYLOR SWIFT loves to trash her ex-boyfriends in the songs she writes. Well, guess what? She actually wrote a song admitting SHE was the A-hole in the relationship. --It's called "Back to December", and it's on her album "Speak Now". (--The song is available now on iTunes. The album drops October 25th.) --Here's what Taylor said about "Back To December", quote, "(It) addresses a first from me in that I've never apologized to someone in song before. Whether it be good or bad or an apology, the person I wrote this song about deserves this. --"This is about a person who was incredible to me, just perfect to me in a relationship, and I was really careless with him. So, this is a song full of words that I would say to him that he deserves to hear." --Taylor didn't say who the song is about . . . but Popeater.com suggests its "Twilight" stud TAYLOR LAUTNER. As you know, they dated for a while last year, and broke up in . . . wait for it, December. --At the time, they both called it a mutual breakup, but Popeater claims Taylor Swift is the one who ended it because she was feeling smothered. --They cite a rumor going around that Lautner flew to Nashville to surprise Taylor Swift on her twentieth birthday, which was December 13th. But Taylor Swift didn't appreciate the intrusion, and she broke it off. --So now the song "Back to December" comes out and it's no stretch to believe it's about Taylor Lautner. I agree. --And on an entirely different Taylor Swift note. Last week we told you that TOBY KEITH called his iPhone voice recorder, quote, "The greatest thing to songwriting since they invented the pencil." --Well, Taylor Swift likes it too. And she's been known to whip it out in the middle of a conversation. She explains, quote, "I have an app on my iPhone that's a voice recorder. --"I'll be in the middle of a conversation and will literally walk away and record a bridge, a pre-chorus or half of a hook, then go right back to the conversation like nothing happened."


NAZZY’S RANDOM STUFF

PEOPLE WOULD RATHER WORK FOR OPRAH THAN OBAMA . . . AND FOR BASICALLY ANYONE OTHER THAN SIMON COWELL:

Man, the 1600s must be rolling over in its grave. According to a new survey, the two celebrities that Americans most want to work for are black . . . and the two that we least want to work for are rich, white, British males. --A human resources consulting company called Adecco Group just released the results of a survey of 1,000 U.S. workers asking them which famous people they'd want to work for. --OPRAH WINFREY was the most popular pick . . . with 37% of the people surveyed saying they'd want to work for her. PRESIDENT OBAMA was number two, at 35%. People could vote for as many famous bosses as they wanted. --TONY HAYWARD, the former CEO of BP, came in last, with only 4%. And SIMON COWELL came in second-to-last, with only 8%. --After Oprah and Obama, the rest of the list, in order, is: Donald Trump at 28%, Michelle Obama at 26%, George W. Bush at 19%, Arnold Schwarzenegger at 16%, Sarah Palin at 15% . . . --Martha Stewart at 14%, former GE CEO Jack Welch at 12%, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at 9%, former Yankees and Dodgers manager Joe Torre at 9%, Simon Cowell at 8%, and Tony Hawyard at 4%. --The survey was taken before "The Social Network" came out, so Mark Zuckerberg finished toward the bottom of the pack WITHOUT all that extra negative publicity. (Fast Company)


FOR ONLY $20, YOU CAN GET A POSTER FEATURING ALL YOUR FACEBOOK FRIENDS:

This actually sounds like a pretty cool thing to have. Especially on days when your real-life friends are totally ignoring you and you want to feel some love. --An artist named Benjamin Lotan launched a website called PrintingFacebook.com, where he'll print you a poster featuring photos of ALL of your Facebook friends. It only runs $20, plus $6 shipping. --The poster is 20 inches by 40 inches. It can accommodate as few as 200 friends, or up to 2,200 friends. If you have more than that, or you don't want to include all your friends, you can select a specific group of friends you want for the poster. --Benjamin says that looking at all of your friends on a poster, quote, "Is totally different from looking at pictures on Facebook. You get drawn into it. It's a trace of everyone you've known or met."
(Printing Facebook)

71% OF TWEETS GET COMPLETELY IGNORED:

It's not just your imagination: People really ARE ignoring all those brilliant observations you're making on Twitter. --A social media analytics company in Toronto called Sysomos scanned 1.2 BILLION tweets in August and September to analyze how the average tweet is received. And they found that most of the time, you're just tweeting into the void. --71% of tweets get absolutely ZERO response. --Only 23% get an "at" reply. (--Meaning an "@ reply".) An "at reply" is when someone sends a public response directed at a specific Twitter user. --Only 6% get retweeted. Retweeting is when someone re-posts something you tweet, giving you full credit in the process. -And 92% of those retweets happen within the first hour after posting. --Only one out of 200 messages gets retweeted after it's been up for over an hour. --Of the messages that get a reply, 85% only get one reply, 10.7% get two, and just 1.53% get three. (Wired.co.uk)


FOR THE FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW, THE DALLAS COWBOYS ARE AMERICA'S FAVORITE FOOTBALL TEAM:

The Dallas Cowboys haven't really been Super Bowl contenders in a long, long, long . . . deep breath . . . long, long, long time. But apparently, the fans they made when they WERE champs aren't the bandwagon jumpers we all thought. --Harris Interactive just released the results of its annual NFL poll, and for the fourth straight year, the Cowboys are the most popular team in the U.S. --The five most popular teams are the Dallas Cowboys, the Indianapolis Colts, the Green Bay Packers, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the New Orleans Saints. --As expected, everyone jumped on the New Orleans bandwagon last year, after they won the Super Bowl: They made the biggest jump, from the 24th most popular team in 2009, to fifth most popular in 2010. --For the second straight year . . . and the fifth time in six years . . . the Jacksonville Jaguars are the LEAST popular NFL team. --The Seattle Seahawks had the biggest drop, from 14th last year to 31st out of the 32 NFL teams this year. --Overall, 53% of Americans say they actively follow professional football. That's up from 51% last year. (Harris Interactive (--You can see how all 32 NFL teams ranked in popularity this year, and how they've ranked since 1998, here . . .)
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/mid/1508/articleId/582/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/Default.aspx


THE REASON YOUR DOG DESTROYS YOUR FURNITURE IS . . . HE'S A PESSIMIST?

I really don't know if I have the time or energy to add "my dog's outlook on life" to the list of things I can worry about. But here we are. --According to researchers at Bristol University in England, dogs can be optimists or pessimists, just like people. --Mike Mendl is the animal behavior professor at Bristol who led the study. He says, quote, "We know people's emotional states affect their judgments. What our study has shown is that this applies similarly to dogs." --For the study, they trained dogs to recognize that food bowls on one side of the room were empty, and the ones on the other side were full. Then they took the bowls and shuffled them around into other places in the room. --Some dogs sprinted toward the bowls, hoping every time that they'd find food. Other dogs were more hesitant and slowly approached the bowls, assuming they'd be empty. It's the dog equivalent of the "glass is half empty or half full" thing. --Mendl found that the dogs who sprinted toward the bowls are the optimistic dogs . . . and they're calmer when their owners leave them alone because they fully believe their owners are coming back. --The pessimistic dogs don't fully trust you to come back so they might LASH OUT . . . which is why they'd be more likely to destroy your furniture or make a mess in your house. (Yahoo News)


A STUDY FIGURES OUT THE MOST DEPRESSING DAY OF THE WEEK:

We usually figure MONDAY is the most depressing day of the week: Your weekend is over, you're back to work, and you don't even have any TV to look forward to now that they moved "CSI: Miami" to Sundays. --Well, a new study of 22,000 people by the London School of Economics found that we're wrong. TUESDAYS are actually the most depressing days of the week. Mondays are second. --Why does this happen? The researchers say that on Mondays, sometimes going back to work can be exciting because you've had a few days off. But on Tuesdays, that's worn off and you just have a long, boring week ahead of you. (The Telegraph)


WHY ARE ANIMATED MOVIES SO GOOD AT MAKING ADULTS CRY?

Animated kids movies make adults cry. It's a scientific fact. I saw "Up" in the theaters and within the first 15 minutes every adult in that place . . . man, woman, ME . . . was bawling. --Lee Unkrich is the director of "Toy Story 3" and he has a theory about why adults seem to cry at animated movies more than they do at live-action movies. -He says, quote, "Live-action movies are someone else's story. With animation, audiences can't think that. Their guards are down. The characters are clearly not alive, so counterintuitively, people identify with them more readily." (Time)
THE MCDONALD'S RESTAURANTS IN HONG KONG ARE ROLLING OUT WEDDING PACKAGES:

I'd NEVER get married at a McDonald's. I mean, come on . . . that's pretty low class. At the very least I'd spring for Chili's. --But apparently in Hong Kong, there's a legit demand for McDonald's weddings. So starting on January 1st, Hong Kong will be the first city to roll out McDonald's wedding packages. --And if they catch on, they could head to the rest of the world too. --Here's what's included: You get to hold your wedding at a McDonald's . . . but you don't get to close the restaurant down, so other customers will still be ordering and eating on your most special day. --You get a cake made out of their baked apple pies . . . a dress made out of McDonald's balloons (???) . . . party favors for the guests . . . and catering by McDonald's. --The entire thing will only set you back a few thousand Hong Kong dollars . . . which translates to about 250 U.S. dollars. Obviously, since that's a FRACTION of the cost of most weddings, the price is a big selling point for a lot of couples. (CNN Go)


NAZZY’S SILLY VIDEOS OF THE DAY

#1.) A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT IN A WHEELCHAIR SCORED A TOUCHDOWN FOR HIS FOOTBALL TEAM:

On this season of "Glee" there's a completely unrealistic plotline about a student named Artie making the football team even though he's in a wheelchair. But something similar really did happen at a high school in Arkansas last Friday. --The Manila Lions were losing big to the Rivercrest Colts, and there was no way they were going to come back. So the Colts' coach agreed to let a Manila student with cerebral palsy take a hand-off and score a touchdown. --Obviously, it was all arranged between the coaches before the game . . . but the touchdown DID actually count. (--Search for "high school football player in wheelchair scores touchdown.")
http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2010/10/12/high-school-football-player-in-wheelchair-scores-touchdown/


#2.) A BAND STARTED A TRAFFIC JAM ON L.A.'S 101 FREEWAY . . . TO PROMOTE A SONG CALLED "TRAFFIC JAM 101":

An L.A. band called IMPERIAL STARS decided to promote a song called "Traffic Jam 101" by starting a REAL traffic jam on the 101 Freeway. --They blocked three lanes by parking a truck sideways, then climbed on top to perform. They were arrested soon afterward. (--Search for "Imperial Stars Traffic Jam 101 freeway.") (--WARNING: This video includes the S-word.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL5S5_16t8E


#3.) AN 11TH GRADE MATH TEACHER FLIPPED OUT ON HIS CLASS:

Last Friday at McGavock High School in Nashville, Tennessee, an 11th grade algebra teacher named Donald Wood basically had a nervous breakdown in the middle of class and started flipping tables and throwing chairs. --Wood . . . who's been a math teacher for 17 years . . . had to be led out of the building in handcuffs. And he's been suspended indefinitely. -The cell phone footage of the meltdown starts with Wood yelling, but it seems like he's just joking around. Then things get crazy, and all the students run out of the room screaming.

(--Search for "algebra teacher freaks out." The craziness starts at 1:10.)
(--WARNING: This video includes the word "mother(effer).")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9RLp8wZAlE


#4.) AND NOW . . . THREE KIDS BREAKDANCING IN A WAITING ROOM:

There's a new video on the Internet of three little kids dancing in a waiting room . . . and they're awesome. (--Search for "awesome dancing kids waiting room." The second kid starts at :27, and the third kid starts at :50.)

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1942376
FOUR THINGS WE DO THAT MAKE RESTAURANTS MAD:

When you go out to eat, you expect good service. But according to some restaurant employees, we expect too much. Here are four things we do that make them mad . . .

#1.) MOVING THE TABLES AND CHAIRS. They especially hate it when you pull up an extra chair and put it right in a spot where the wait staff normally have to walk through. Plus, most people don't move the tables and chairs back before they leave.

#2.) EXPECTING THEM TO CELEBRATE YOUR BIRTHDAY. If you're at Hooters or T.G.I. Friday's, fine. But if you're at a nice restaurant, don't ask them to sing "Happy Birthday," and don't expect free dessert. It's not like you get free gas on your birthday when you fill up . . .

#3.) ARRIVING LATE FOR A RESERVATION AND EXPECTING TO GET A TABLE. Most restaurants will eventually seat you, but not always. And you're also not necessarily doing them any favors by getting there early. --It just screws with their schedule and makes them feel pressured to find an open table when there aren't any.

#4.) CALLING THE RESTAURANT DURING LUNCH OR DINNER. The busiest times of the day for most restaurants are between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m., and between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. --So if you want to make a reservation or ask questions, call some other time. And if you just need to know their hours or menu, go online before you call. (Eatocracy.com)