So, it’s starting to look like Smash is slowly settling into the groove that it’s been looking for the past two episodes. for the most part, it’s a rather reassuring sign that it is doing so this early in its run. there are still some trouble spots but characters are starting to be fleshed out in a manner that is not off putting. and matters that might have slipped into ham-fisted cliches haven’t yet. That’s very, very good — especially for a network show.

“Enter mr. DiMaggio” may not win any awards for the best episode of television ever but it lays down a couple of new, much needed ground rules that will help steer Smash for the rest of the season. Firstly, that Ellis (Jaime Cepero) isn’t 100% annoying nor 100% conniving or even 100% gay (I really thought he was). He wants credit for giving the creators the idea to make a musical about Marilyn Monroe but he’s a passive aggressive prick about it. it touches the edges of soap opera-like characterization but Cepero, and the writers, know well enough to make him somewhat sympathetic. We’re not necessarily rooting for him but shit happens behind the scenes of showbiz and he just wants what he thinks is his.

Secondly, Debra Messing’s Julia stars in the main plot, for the first time, and it doesn’t involve that dumb adoption storyline. Instead, she’s going through a momentary — and relevant — crisis: Eileen (Anjelica Huston) and Derek (Jack Davenport) want to cast Michael Swift (Will Chase) in the role of Joe DiMaggio but Julia is very uneasy about it. Turns out, she cheated on her stay-at-home husband with Michael a couple of years ago and those feelings may have not dissipated. the back-and-forth Julia has throughout the episode turns her into a complex, compelling figure, away from the main drama of the “which girl will get the lead role?” which had dominated the last two episodes. (Remember last week when I wrote that I was glad that they got that plot over with very early? this is a reason for my sentiment.)

What I enjoyed most about this particular plot so far was Michael’s introduction: signing an overwrought rendition of “Grenade” in what looked like to be an awful but still Broadway-style production of a Bruno Mars jukebox musical. the audience applauding that performance says more about the typical new York theatre goer than the actors in the show. It’s the little things like that that ring true. (I doubt anyone at home enjoyed that number.)

There are still a couple of clunky things that happen in “Enter mr. DiMaggio”, mostly on the personal front:

-Eileen is still battling her ex-husband (Michael Cristofer) over their estate and he’s still messing with her mind when it comes to the show.

-Derek is still sleeping with Ivy (Megan Hilty). Even though she’s still on the fence of whether or not she got the role by using her body, Derek has now slipped into “douche” mode with regards to the relationship. a cliche.

-Karen (Katharine McPhee) returns to Iowa, briefly, for a friend’s bridal shower where she kills it at karaoke. It’s a minor plot that isn’t very necessary, other than to showcase McPhee’s voice. (Though the Alpha Male Brit-off between Derek and Raza Jaffrey’s Dev before Karen’s trip was pretty amusing.)

So, the kinks still need to be ironed out. It’s early enough to not worry. and the fact that Smash is slowly coloring its characters with rich, complex details is a very, very good sign.

‘Smash’ Episode 3: ‘Enter Mr. DiMaggio’ – The Hit NBC Series Starts To Have a Bit of Fun

Lambert’s rowdy opening salvo, “Fastest Girl in Town,” was a perfect thematic threefer: cars, guns and booze. She sang into a shotgun-shaped microphone stand and played a pink Stratocaster. on the mid-tempo rocker “Heart like Mine,” she imagined wine as the slender basis for mutuality with Jesus. “I’m proud to be everything but a Southern belle,” she later declared.

The redneck chanteuse: To some unknowable extent it’s pure shtick, but it matters not. She does it so well.

In fact, the flattest moment of Thursday’s 90-minute set came as Lambert abandoned her persona and tried to go high-concept on the slow-jamming “Fine Tune.” With the video screens having faded to black-and-white, Lambert picked up an antique microphone and retired to a fainting couch like some weary Hollywood goddess.

She quickly shook off the misfire with a breezy cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic “up Around the Bend.”

Lambert’s voice is rather on the petite side; infectious though they are, songs like “Kerosene,” with its slashing guitars and martial drumbeat, easily overwhelmed her.

It was no wonder, then, that Lambert made ample time for introspective ballads such as “more like Her” and “Over You.” The latter, originally written in honor of husband Blake Shelton’s late brother but rededicated to his recently deceased father, was doubly layered with personal tragedy.

An unflaggingly energetic audience — limited though it was to the arena’s first and floor levels — seemed especially drawn to “The House that Built Me,” Lambert’s nostalgic tale of character formation.

The hit single “Baggage Claim” found Lambert’s sweet spot. its taut, mildly funky groove gave her space to unleash her inner Beyonce, and its woman-scorned lyric was hungrily devoured. As if to underscore the point, Lambert fashioned Tom Petty’s “You’re a Free Girl Now” into her own anthem.

For an encore, Lambert assayed Aretha Franklin’s “do right Woman, do right Man.”

So don’t let the tattoos and shotguns fool you: Lambert may act like a spitfire, but she’s full of soul.

Galupo is a freelance writer.

Miranda Lambert at 1st Mariner Arena: A spitfire with soul

Image Credit: Jemal Countess/Getty Images

Blink while laughing way too hard during Maya Rudolph’s Saturday Night Live hosting duties last night and you might have missed it: during commercial break, the show announced that Lindsay Lohan would host the sketch comedy show March 3, alongside musical guest Jack White. It’s an interesting development in the actress’ career — Lohan doesn’t have any projects to promote (having been forced to drop out of Inferno in 2010 following her substance abuse problems), but she does have a good image to promote. After all, Lohan seems poised for a personal comeback, having so far impressed the Los Angeles court system while on strict probation.

But should a stint hosting SNL expedite a career comeback for Lohan, who most recently made headlines for posing for Playboy? The actress has had an interesting history with the sketch comedy show — she hosted three times in the mid-2000s, and found an ally in head writer Tina Fey, who starred with Lohan in Mean Girls. And SNL‘s cast and crew seemed to be the only people committed to support Lohan when her career began to falter — even when rumors began circling in 2005 that Lohan was headed down the wrong path, the sketch show helped her downplay her problems via a monologue featuring “The Ghost of Lindsay Future.” (A sketch that, read seven years later, rings far too true for comfort.) And while, years later, late night talk show hosts had a field day teasing Lohan about her multiple arrests and substance abuse issues, SNL stayed mum — Lorne Michaels was rumored to be too fond of the actress to make fun of her during trying times.

But it seems Michaels is still fond enough about the actress to let her make fun of herself during her SNL stint. (When has a performer with so little on his/her plate been invited on the show?) Will we see a return of a hopefully more well-adjusted Ghost of Lindsay Future in her monologue? SNL could just prove to be the perfect place for Lohan to launch a career comeback, especially since her attempts thus far (Inferno, ugly Betty, Playboy) have only led to more ridicule. This time, Lohan will be able to be in on the joke. 

At the very least, can we get Rachel Dratch back in Studio 8H with Lohan for another Debbie Downer sketch?

PopWatchers, looking forward to seeing Lohan make fun of herself on Saturday Night Live?

Read more:Next up for Lindsay Lohan: Playing Liz Taylor?Hef says Lindsay Lohan Playboy issue is breaking sales recordsPhoto Gallery: Lindsay Lohan 18 Highs and Lows

Lindsay Lohan hosting ‘Saturday Night Live’ March 3

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-…
yes she was there and had a unwanted sexual adventure with a large group of men, how she got the 200 men number i don't know.

why does she keep bringing it up over and over… shes african and should know better about men and sexual assault.

I think you need to redefine your question. being attacked and gang raped is definitely not a "sexual adventure."

I agree with Writer_B. Da **** with this question… -_-;

Why does Lara Logan always bring up her sexual adventures from egypt a big deal?

The Kobe Bryant scandal and the Michael Vick scandal didn't really affect the image of the sports of basketball and football, respectively – their actions brought repercussions on themselves at a personal level.

But golf is different than those sports – it has more of a gentlemanly and classy image. so, will this Tiger Woods scandal bring down the sport of golf in a way? or, do you think that it'll be the same as Kobe and Vick scandals, in that it won't affect the image of the sport of golf?

Kobe was charged with a felony, Statutory rape and Vick was charged with animal cruelty and abuse which is also a felony charge. All what happened here for Tiger was an accident. a bizarre one but an accident nonetheless. it has got people talking, but even an affair wouldn't be that disastrous career wise.

They checked his alcohol levels and realised that it wasn't DUI so they issued a ticket for reckless driving since he wouldn't co-operate with the police. I think it's all about the sport. I think that is what the sponsors care about. Kobe lost deals but has got new ones now. as long as his performance levels are high, he should be okay

At first I didn't think it would have any effect. but it seems now that so many women are coming out and saying that they had affairs with Tiger. I think that if this is true then Tiger must have some kind of mental problem and needs to get something done about it even if it means missing a season of golf.
Now there seems to be a 5th mistress. Tiger Woods' 4th mistress has been revealed to be Jamie Junger. I wonder if he is a sex addict. Dr. Drew doesn't seem to think so.

I don't think it will have any affect on the game of golf in the least. Unfortunately Tiger may be treated differently for awhile. by that I mean other golfers will – keep thier eyes on thier wives more than they did before. Sad but true. Tiger will have more inter-active problems – the game will continue.

Golf has its traditions, but America is still America. It's still a forgiving country over time and as soon as Tiger makes his first birdie, all will be forgotten. People need to stop looking up to athletes anyway. I don't know why people are always surprised when people find out they aren't any different(behavior wise) than us.

no…Tiger Woods isn't golf. true, he may be the best in the game, and the only player average people (who do not follow golf) associate with the sport, but no, this won't affect it at all.
and classy? if this were true, John Daly should've ruined the image of golf years ago!

It should have none.. he is not the first golfer to have had an affair….it is just the media is hounding him because he is so famous.. and of course because he is partially black…good old media.. try so hard to look fair.. but here they are proving their racism once again.. nice going!

None whatsoever. what golfers need to concern themselves with is how Tiger will perform on the course next year. He will find solace at the one thing everyone knows he loves and that is golf. You thought this year was great on the course. look out next year!

without tiger in the world of golf, it's pointless.
remember back in '08 when he took time off and viewing revenues fell by 46%?
we might not like the fact he's a cheating husband and father but he's one heck of a golf player

I think people seem to be pretty upset about the way he acted. my friend showed me a website called dropwoods.com, where people have started to petition. I don't think golf will suffer though, golfers are classy dudes, they will be okay.

It won't have any effect on Golf unless Tiger stops winning because of it.

If Tiger stops winning though, Golf broadcast ratings are going to tank like they do every time Tiger doesn't play in a tournament.

You look around and see all these golf jokes about holes, putter, wood, and iron being posted in this very section, then you make the call yourself.

I don't think his scandal will bring down the gentleman's game of golf. I do however think it will bring down Tiger Woods. no one likes a liar, cheat or scumbag.

Tiger Woods just got caught fooling around… no big deal.
Kobe Bryant got off scott free from a rape charge… but maybe he as set-up.
Michael Vick is a cold blooded killer… and should have never been allowed back in the NFL.

Like Mark Twain said, I view golf as the ruination of a good walk. I can live with or without Tiger Woods and golf… but, the sport of golf is much stronger than Tiger Woods ever was… Tiger? Ha!!!

nope,Tiger may be treated differently for awhile. by that I mean other golfers will – keep thier eyes on thier wives more than they did before.

Basketball and football fans will actually watch golf now. so, it will increase viewership

Well for now it wont this will blow over like verything else people will forget and still love him its all about the hype right now

We'll see. I think it'll be up to the media as to how Tiger is perceived after this scandal.

will absolutely do nothing guaranteed

Make it cooler.

What effect will the Tiger Woods scandal have on the sport of Golf?

STATS LLC

The Houston Rockets are one of the hottest teams in the NBA, and Kevin Martin’s absence hasn’t cooled them.

The New York Knicks are slumping, and playing without Carmelo Anthony only makes matters worse.

With Martin’s status clouded, the Rockets attempt to take advantage of Anthony’s absence and win for the ninth time in 10 games when they host the struggling Knicks on Saturday night.

Houston (11-8) is averaging 102.8 points during an 8-1 run, making a 3-7 start to the season an increasingly distant memory. Martin missed Friday’s home game against Washington due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot, but the Rockets didn’t miss a beat and routed the Wizards 103-76.

Houston’s top scorer at 20.1 points per game, Martin is averaging 29.3 over his last four games overall, and 28.1 the last seven times he’s faced the Knicks (7-12).

If Martin is unable to return, Chase Budinger would likely increased playing time again. Budinger took advantage of the opportunity Friday, scoring a season-high 21 points and adding eight rebounds while sinking 4 of 6 3-pointers after not having appeared in the three previous games.

“You just have to be professional,” Budinger said, “and just be ready and wait for the opportunity like I did. I like to play, I like to be out there on the court with my teammates. It really just comes down to what the coach wants.”

As coach Kevin McHale has been trying to tighten Houston’s rotation, Budinger was an odd man out after averaging 7.1 points through the first 15 games.

“I told him that in our league, a lot of times, things just happen,” McHale said. “He stayed ready and he’s a professional man.”

Luis Scola, averaging 15.6 points, also saw an increase in production without Martin available, getting 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists against the Wizards.

McHale may not feel the need to rush Martin back, given that the Rockets have won 12 of their last 13 against the Knicks. That includes a six-game home winning streak, during which Houston has held new York to an average of 88.2 points.

Losers of eight of nine overall, the Knicks now must also take the court without Anthony — their leading scorer at 23.6 points per game — who will miss a second straight contest with ankle, thumb and wrist injuries.

The Knicks are trying to salvage a split of a four-game road trip after falling 99-89 at Miami on Friday. they tried to compensate for Anthony’s absence by taking more shots from beyond the arc, going 18 for 43 — the second-most 3-point attempts in franchise history.

“We shot a lot of 3’s, but we did hit a bunch of them, which kept us in there,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We just couldn’t sustain it all the way through.”

Similar to Budinger’s situation with Houston, Bill Walker may get a second chance to capitalize on the absence of a star.

Walker played a season high of more than 31 minutes Friday, scoring a season-high 21 points — all on a 7-for-10 effort from 3-point range — and adding seven rebounds. He’s averaging just 6.1 points on the season, and had just three while missing 5 of 6 from the floor in his only start, a 104-92 loss at Oklahoma City on Jan. 14.

Amar’e Stoudemire had 25 points in each of last season’s two meetings with the Rockets, which both ended in new York defeats. He’s averaging 28.2 points over his last six games against Houston.

New York Knicks vs. Houston Rockets – Preview – January 28, 2012 – ESPN New York

The Pittsburgh Steelers have many big roster decisions to make, but they won’t happen soon.

Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said Monday that the team probably won’t make any moves until free agency begins March 13, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, allowing all eligible players to hit the open market. Colbert said the team has “serious issues” with the salary cap. 

As of Feb. 6, the Steelers were $22.5 million over the cap, according to NFL.com research. the team has restructured several contracts since then.

“What our team will be at training camp? I don’t know what it will be,” Colbert said.

Colbert also said the team hasn’t yet made a decision about veteran wide receiver Hines Ward, who has two years and $8 million remaining on his contract, although there have been “internal discussions.”

Ward, 35, has publicly said he wants to play out the rest of his career in Pittsburgh despite his diminished role behind Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders. NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora cited sources in reporting last week that the Steelers are likely to cut Ward, who became the eighth player in NFL history to reach 1,000 career receptions.

The Steelers’ priority is keeping Wallace, who was just named to his first Pro Bowl after posting 71 receptions for 1,182 yards and eight touchdowns. Pittsburgh could use the franchise tag on Wallace, but Colbert said the team wants to lock up the receiver to a long-term contract.

One of the players who will return, eventually, is running back Rashard Mendenhall. Colbert said Monday that Mendenhall likely will begin next season on the physically unable to perform list after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the regular-season finale against the Cleveland Browns.

Even while expecting to be without Mendenhall, who had 228 carries for 928 yards and nine touchdowns last season, Colbert doesn’t consider finding help at running back an offseason priority for the Steelers. He said Isaac Redman has “established himself as an NFL running back,” according to the Post-Gazette, and mentioned rookies John Clay and Baron Batch and second-year pro Jonathan Dwyer as possibilities at the position.

The associated Press contributed to this report.

Steelers GM Colbert sees ’serious’ salary-cap problems

One of the problems with the Air Force’s drone fleet? there aren’t enough humans to operate the flying robots. and it’s contributing to a surprising Air Force decision to buy fewer drones — even as its own budget plan calls for the robots to get much busier.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced weeks ago that the armed, unmanned Predators and Reapers will fly more often in the coming few years, going up to 65 combat air patrols, or CAPs — teams of up to four flying robots — “with a surge capacity of 85.” That’s up from 61 today. but the Air Force’s budget figures, released on Monday, show that the flyboys will slow down their drone purchases, rather than increase them.

Under last year’s defense budget, the Air Force bought 48 Reapers, the bigger, faster, more lethal descendant of the Predator. (The Air Force stopped buying Predators in 2010.) in the proposed budget, the Air Force wants to buy half as many — 24 armed, spying drones. and its budget chief, Maj. Gen. Edward Bolton Jr., was unsure when the service will start buying the next-generation, jet-powered, stealthy Avenger drone in earnest.

There are a couple reasons for the shift. One is that there aren’t enough airmen who know how to remotely pilot the things. Another is that the Air Force says it can do more stuff with fewer drones. and of course, there’s the budget crunch.

“it turned out, when the [Pentagon's Joint Requirements Oversight Council] established this past year the requirement of 65 CAPs, we determined we could meet that with this [reduced] production rate,” Bolton told Danger Room during a Monday afternoon briefing.

After the briefing, Brig. Gen. Les Kodlick, the Air Force’s public-affairs chief, told Danger Room that the reduced Reaper purchase has to do with flesh-and-blood concerns — namely a lack of airmen trained to fly the drones and analyze the data the robots collect.

Well, sort of, clarifies Jennifer Cassidy, an Air Force spokeswoman. “Manning was a consideration in reducing the MQ-9 Reaper purchases for [the next fiscal year], but not the only consideration,” Cassidy emails Danger Room. “the MQ-9 crew production rate and the attrition rate of the [Predator] allowed the reduction of MQ-9 purchases [next year] without impact to the Air Force ramp-up to 65 CAPs.”

But the Air Force has acknowledged it’s got a people problem with its unpeopled planes. “Our no. 1 manning problem in the Air Force is manning our unmanned platforms,” Gen. Philip Breedlove, the vice chief of staff, recently told the Los Angeles Times.

In recent years, the Air Force relaxed its restrictions on who can fly its drones, in order to make up the shortfall; there are pilots now flying Reapers who have never grabbed the throttle of a traditional aircraft. but it hasn’t been enough. Contractors are brought in to the drone bases to remotely pilot the Predators and Reapers, as well as to help analyze the endless hours of full-motion video they collect. Thousands of airmen have been shifted into new jobs, in order to better scour all the video.

Absent a big crash program to train up new drone experts– or switch to the Army’s preferred method of using pasty, video-gaming teenagers to pilot their robot planes — the manpower problem is likely to get worse. in the next few years, the sensor and video packages carried by Air Force drones are going to get more sophisticated, like when the panopticon Gorgon stare spy suite comes online. and the Air Force will cut 9,900 personnel over the next year, although it’s unclear what specialties the cashiered airmen will have performed.

When top Pentagon officials like former Defense Secretary Bob Gates browbeat the Air Force into accepting 65 unmanned CAPs, top service officials complained that there was no formal “requirement” for the drones — no way of knowing when it had satisfied the other services’ need for robotic eyes in the sky. Even drone-backers at the top of the Air Force thought all those patrols were overkill. So it’s not surprising that they chose to slow the rate of drone buys, when budgets got tight.

Instead, the Air Force’s priority future upgrades and purchases are all in manned planes. Upgrading the software on the F-22 Raptor, even as it’s got big problems with its oxygen systems. Enhancing the radar on F-15s. Extending the service life of F-16s. Buying 19 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, even as they develop 13 expensive new flaws. an arguable exception is that the service’s desired next-generation long range bomber won’t always be piloted by a human being; it’s “optionally manned,” as the Air Force calls it.

But a recent congressional study obtained by Danger Room explains the Air Force’s preference for manned planes. About 40 percent of the air fleet is robotic. Yet over 90 percent of the Air Force’s procurement money is spent on planes with a human in the cockpit. of course, part of the allure of drones is that they are cheap. and obviously, drones are the weapon of choice for the Obama administration’s Shadow Wars against terrorists in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.

Asked by Danger Room, Bolton said that the new budget figures “should not” be interpreted as a sign that the Air Force prefers its manned planes.

“This budget really is a manifestation of the strategy that was laid out by Secretary Panetta on the 26th of January,” Bolton said. “and so our real challenge within this budget was to first determine how we could build a budget that could implement that strategy, and then secondly, how could we do that within the necessary physical constraints as based upon the guidance of the Budget Control Act passed to us by [the White House].”

Except Panetta was clear that day that the Air Force would “provide unmanned capabilities through their operators as well” — and would increase its Predator and Reaper flights. the robots are still waiting for the humans to catch up.

Air Force Buys Fewer Drones — But Ups Drone Flights

By Ben Cohen Ben Cohen for the Wall Street JournalTrainer Ashley Cuzzolino took Oscar the Grouch for his laps around the ring Tuesday at the Westminster Dog Show.

How does a show dog get to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show? If he’s Oscar the Grouch, he walks across town.

It was 7:15 a.m. Tuesday when the competitor known as Greater Swiss Mountain Dog No. 18 took the elevator 22 floors down to the street from his home in Murray Hill high rise, a bone’s throw from the East River, and dragged his owner uphill for his Madison Square Garden debut.

Readers of the Journal met Oscar on Monday. of the 2,000 dogs competing at Westminster, Oscar and his owner, 29-year-old David Moskowitz, have the distinction of living closest to the action. with his rookie status and long odds, we saw Oscar as a classic New York underdog.

The first thing the 2-year-old dog did upon leaving his building’s marble lobby was pee. then he peed again a few steps later, and once more before the end of the block.

“A dog can sense if you’re nervous,” said Moskowitz. “and I’m a little nervous.”

Before long, Oscar passed signs touting his Westminster appearance taped in the windows of second Avenue pet shops. with the air of a champion, he strutted past other city canines in the morning’s prime dog-walking hour. Near Madison Avenue, he tried playing with a terrier dressed in a fleece overcoat and orange boots. the only thing Oscar wore was his red leather collar.

Oscar had good night’s sleep, having passed out at 11 p.m., so he was game for the half-hour commute across Manhattan. at one point he  leaped at — and missed — a pigeon before settling for a sniff at some heaps of garbage.

Moskowitz fed Oscar biscuits along the way — a stranger smoking a cigarette outside Zara in Midtown also gave him a treat — and twisted himself around on multiple occasions to untangle Oscar’s leash. as long as there was something in it for him, Oscar sat, pawed and jumped on command, no matter his surroundings.

“He should be tiring soon,” Moskowitz said as he crossed Seventh Avenue. “this is why I’m happy that I walked him.”

When  they reached the Garden at 8 a.m., Moskowitz made a rookie mistake of his own and tried to whisk Oscar through the entrance for the general public. “You’re showing him?” asked building employee. before Moskowitz could reply, Oscar barked four times in the affirmative.

They were directed to a side entrance off 33rd Street, where Oscar packed into a freight elevator with other dogs, big and small, on his way to the benching area. Not long afterward, he was lapping up a $5 bottle of water from a red cup while waiting to his crate.

Moskowitz said Oscar usually finds a way to calm himself down amid the chaos backstage at other dog show. that is, until he sees a good bitch. ”Unfortunately, he tries to hump them,” he said. “Boys can be boys.”

Oscar finally made his way into the ring around 10:30 a.m. this was Moskowitz’s cue to hide.

The owner paced around the ring and took a seat in the Garden’s bleachers to watch judge Clay Coady examine the dozen Swissies in the breed-level battle. they are among finest Swissies in the world, but to an amateur the short-haired specimens looked almost identical: black coats, white patches under their necks, almond triangles above their eyes.

Oscar was inspected third by the judge, who felt his legs and then sent him and his handler, Ashley Cuzzolino, for two laps around the ring. Oscar waited out his competition while draped in a glittery blanket.

There would be no home turf advantage on the Garden’s green carpet. Cuzzolino said she knew right away that Oscar was nervous.

“usually he shows like a Doberman — intense and focused,” said Moskowitz, who admitted he had been praying and shaking with nerves throughout the judging. After the tensest two minutes of Oscar’s young life, Coady pointed to a group of five dogs. Oscar was one of them.

It was the moment of truth, with spectators standing three deep around Ring 3 to await the final result. But the local underdog had been selected for the wrong group. Oscar and his four companions were swooped out of the ring, left admiring the other best of Breed contenders like ordinary humans.

Oscar was already backstage when the judge anointed a dog named George Bailey’s Irish Creme the champion of the Swissies.

Oscar greeted Moskowitz with a hug, as he always does after competitions. the dog then climbed back into his crate to dream of the gift that awaits him after he walks home: a candy-cane-shaped bone as tall as a Swissy.

An Underdog’s Moment in the Westminster Ring

FBI in Nevis Investigating Robbery of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer by L.K. Hewlett   U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer (Photo: Politico)    

Feb. 11 — An agent with U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is presently in Nevis in relation to the armed robbery of a Justice on the United States’ highest court.

Police confirmed that on Thursday (Feb. 9) night sometime after 10:00, a masked intruder wielding a machete robbed Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer at his Golden Rock vacation home.

According to information reaching this media house, the robber stole a total of about US$1200 and fled the scene without further confrontation.

Breyer, the Observer was told, is a regular vacationer to the island and was traveling with his wife and several friends on this sojourn.

The Observer understands that the U.S. Federal Agent arrived in Nevis on Friday (Feb. 10), however it was not confirmed if he is observing the local law enforcement’s handling of the case or working in conjunction with Nevis police.

Information reaching this publication is that Nevis police had been notified of the Judge’s presence on the island, as was the custom, however it is unclear if any police officers were assigned as a shadow detail.

The Observer spoke with Assistant Commissioner of Police Robert Liburd who said police are “vigorously” investigating the matter. He informed that no suspects were in custody as of Saturday morning (Feb. 11).

Another foreign national was also the victim of a robbery that same night. An elderly ex-patriot who resides in Morning Star, Gingerland, was beset by three armed masked men and robbed of money and personal items around 9:30 pm, police inform. the homeowner was not injured during the incident.

Police are also investigating a break-in at the Nevis High Court Building on Prince William Street in Charlestown, which occurred between Thursday night and early Friday morning. Reports are that several items, including computer equipment, were stolen.

The Observer was informed that the stolen computer equipment did not contain saved information from the recently concluded high profile Election Petition trial. Friday was the deadline date set by Justice Lionel Jones for the legal teams of the petitioner and the respondents to turn in written submissions before he hands down a decision.

ACP Liburd assured that police were working around the clock to bring these latest and other crimes to swift resolution. He appealed to the general public to come forward with any relevant information or to contact police anonymously via telephone.

The St. Kitts-Nevis Observer :: The Federation’s Poltically Independent News Source

The Obama administration is once again standing with education special interest groups and against low-income children in Washington, D.C. His 2013 budget request zeros out funding for the highly successful D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which was revived last year thanks to the hard work of Speaker John Boehner and the thousands of D.C. families who received scholarships to attend a private school of choice.

In 2009, Senator Dick Durbin included a provision in an omnibus spending bill prohibiting any new children from receiving scholarships unless the program was fully reauthorized by Congress and authorized by the D.C. City Council. the make-up of Congress in 2009 was such that a reauthorization of the voucher program was highly unlikely, meaning Durbin’s provision effectively doomed the program, since no new children were allowed to receive scholarships.

But in April 2011, Speaker John Boehner forced President Obama’s hand during heated budget negotiations, securing the restoration and expansion of the D.C. OSP. Families were elated. Once again, children would have the opportunity apply for scholarships to attend a private school of their choice, providing them a lifeline out of the underperforming and often dangerous D.C. Public Schools.

The D.C. OSP’s restoration in early 2011 was an important milestone in the “Year of School Choice.” More than 1,600 low-income children in the Nation’s Capital are using vouchers this school year to attend a school that they chose.

The D.C. OSP has been highly successful. according to federally-mandated evaluations of the program, student achievement has increased, and graduation rates of voucher students have increased significantly. while graduation rates in D.C. Public Schools hover around 55 percent, students who used a voucher to attend private school had a 91 percent graduation rate.

And at $8,000, the vouchers are a bargain compared to the estimated $18,000 spent per child by D.C. Public Schools.

The Department of Education’s budget will increase 3.5 percent if the proposal is enacted, continuing a failed trend of spending more taxpayer dollars through Washington on a myriad of programs with a poor track record.

The President’s budget request signals that his administration is more interested in propping up a government school system than providing options for children to receive a quality education. regardless of the prospects of advancement for the budget request, elimination of funding for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program shows that the Obama administration is not interested in funding “what works.” if the move is not a concession to education special interest groups, the administration should explain why they have placed this critical school choice program on the chopping block.

Obama’s Budget Ends Funding for D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program

The experimental folk act Bon Iver has won for alternative album at the 54th Grammy Awards for its second and self-titled album, beating several major-label peers for the honor.

The project, led by Wisconsin-based singer-songwriter Justin Vernon, rose from a beloved underground sensation on the independent Jagjaguwar label to mainstream crossover with “Bon Iver” in 2011. This is the first year Bon Iver has been nominated for a Grammy, and the project is also up for best new artist, record of the year and song of the year for the single “Holocene.”

Vernon, known for his pristine falsetto and increasingly ambitious arrangements, has performed on “Saturday Night Live” and collaborated extensively with rapper Kanye West on West’s album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” Bon Iver reportedly declined an invitation to perform at this year’s Grammys, citing Vernon's discomfort at performing alongside other artists not of his choosing.

FULL COVERAGE: Grammy Awards

Bon Iver beat out several other established bands for the award, including “Codes and Keys” from the Seattle-based quartet Death Cab for Cutie; “Torches,” the debut full-length from the L.A. electro-pop trio Foster the People; the latest album from longtime Grammy favorite Radiohead, “The King of Limbs”; and the Kentucky quintet My Morning Jacket’s latest record of jam-friendly rock, “Circuital.”

The Grammys are determined by about 13,000 voting members. The eligibility period for nominated recordings was Oct. 1, 2010 to Sept. 30, 2011.

The latest headlines and any breaking news will be posted here on Pop & Hiss. 

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Photo: Justin Vernon, known as Bon Iver, at the 2011 SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas. Credit: Los Angeles Times.

Grammys 2012: ‘Bon Iver’ wins for alternative album

The surviving members of the Beach Boys, who will tour this year in honor of the band's 50th anniversary, gave fans a sneak preview at the 54th Grammy Awards. though the lead-in with Foster the People and Maroon 5 was puzzling at best and cringe-inducing at worst, the Beach Boys' run-through of "good Vibrations," while not an exalting return to the stage, was borderline heartwarming. 

It brought Glen Campbell, who once performed with the Beach Boys, to his feet, and seeing Brian Wilson, Mike love, Bruce Johnston, Al Jardine and David marks perform together was something of a refreshing relief. The song's sonic explorations are as refreshing as ever, and though Wilson isn't all that mobile these days, there's no denying the look of sheer joy on his face every time he gets to perform.

It doesn't say much when "good Vibrations" was far more experimental and out of this world than the numbers by many of the acts that had already appeared. The Beach Boys, in fact, showed the limitations of the acts they performed with. Maroon 5's take on "Surfer Girl" was far more serious than need be, and the band's slick electro-pop has nothing in common with the Beach Boys' studio-enhanced musical journeys.

PHOTOS: Memorable Grammy red carpet moments

Same for Foster the People. Maroon 5, however, is at least pro. Foster the People looked scared, as mousey vocalist Mark Foster seemed out of his element, not knowing whether to smile, play it serious or just cut loose. It looked as if he couldn't wait to get offstage while performing "Wouldn't It be Nice." while the song is all about youthful anxiety and romantic ideals, stagefright likely wasn't the emotion Wilson wanted to capture when he wrote it.

So … Pop & Hiss offers a quick list of artists that would have been a better choice to back the Beach Boys:

* The Fleet Foxes. Nominated for folk album, the Fleet Foxes may not have been the most obvious choice for this role on a major awards show, but no other nominated act puts such a premium on harmonies. Hearing the act giving a stripped down take on a Beach Boys classic, with hypnotic, layered vocals that aim for the cosmos, would not only have filled the need to slap a younger group with the Beach Boys, but also would have presented the West Coast legends with a group that may have even appealed to Beach Boys fans.

* Wilco. The rock album contenders are quite possibly the most versatile act nominated this year. Songs such as "Sunloathe" on new album "The Whole Love" reach for a "Pet Sounds"-like grandeur, creating an orchestra of sounds based around the guitar.

FULL COVERAGE: Grammy Awards

* The Muppets. If producers are intent on appealing to a younger audience, at the very least they could have snared an act without the self-seriousness of Maroon 5.

* Raphael Saadiq. his latest album, "Stone Rollin'," has a retro-sheen and shows a knack for modernizing vintage sounds. this also would have fulfilled the Grammy tendency to place acts of different genres on the same stage together, and 'Stone Rollin' " comfortably moves between R&B, rock 'n' roll and country.  

Later, Paul McCartney performed his new song "My Valentine," one of the more likable cuts on his "Kisses on the Bottom." It's a low-key, late-night slow-burner. It's delicate, ornate, and the performance tonight, with Diana Krall and Joe Walsh, was fancy and pretty-like, although it would have felt more at home amid the smooth jazz of the Web-only Grammy pre-telecast. 

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Commentary: Where's the love for the supreme Diana Ross?

 – Todd Martens

Photo: Mike love of the Beach Boys and Adam Levine, right, of Maroon 5, speak onstage after performing. Credit: Matt Sayles / associated Press

Grammys 2012: More Beach Boys, less Maroon 5, Foster the People

In the wake of a bad tabloid day for the legendary diva; through the ashes good news follows.  The Hollywood Reporter ,  are reporting that industry sources says  Simon Cowell has offered Whitney a position on the XFactor judging panel.

This would be ecstatic news for Whitney fans abroad; Whitney is usually a very elusive diva and it would be good to see her every week being her humorous self. what better person to judge amateur singers than someone who’s been there-done that? This would also be a big paying gig for the iconic diva being she is a huge media draw and would bring big ratings to the show.

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It is mixed reactions from fans:  many feel Whitney is too legendary to be on a judging panel; some fans would rather see her continue to do movies and make music;  while there are other  fans who think this gig would only give rags the opportunity to use her eccentric behavior as her being under the influence of drugs.

No matter what we all may think, publicity is publicity and the decision would be ultimately hers. I personally think this would be a very smart career move and only hype her image even more.

What do y’all think?

Note: Catch Whitney Live on the red carpet   talking about her new movie Sparkle at Clive Davis’s annual pre-Grammy party tomorrow at 7PM/PST 10PM/EST. We will provide a link for  live stream of the red carpet arrivals

Whitney Houston offered judging gig on X-Factor USA according to sources

Two days before Madonna took the stage for the Super Bowl halftime show, she dropped a video for her lead MDNA single “Give Me All your Luvin’ ” that was chock-full of cheerleaders and football players.

While it may seem awfully suspicious that Madge would tout football in a video released mere days before her halftime spectacle Sunday night, the clip’s duo of directors, the Megaforce, insist the similarly themed moments are purely coincidental.

“I think the track has something to do with cheerleading. It’s pretty clear that the beginning is a kind of cheering [anthem],” the Megaforce’s Clement Gallet told MTV News about the song, which also features Nicki Minaj and M.I.a. “With this one, it felt like there was no point to bring it somewhere else [in terms of visuals] other than where it was. I don’t think our cheerleaders are really obvious.”

In fact, the cheerleaders in the video look way different than the ones cheering at the Big Game. Led by Minaj and M.I.a., the cheer squad sports anime-like masks and even gets a bit cheekily violent when one bats the head off a football player near the end of the clip. While the Super Bowl plans had been in the air when Madge and the crew hit the new York set back in December, the video’s look was influenced more by the Martin Solveig track than anything else, the director say.

“We were aware that this video, this track was supposed to be aired during the Super Bowl, but we never felt or we were never even asked to make something in relation to the Super Bowl,” Gallet explained. “And I think it’s just — it’s not a coincidence, we had the Super Bowl in mind — but we are not doing a video about Super Bowl.”

Did Madonna’s new video put you in the mood for Sunday’s Super Bowl performance? let us know in the comments below!

Madonna’s ‘Luvin’ Not Meant To Be A Super Bowl Video

Ben Gazzara, Original Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Dies at 81

by Robert Simonson03 Feb 2012

Ben Gazzara, with his wife. Photo by Aubrey Reuben

Ben Gazzara, an intense actor of stage and film who created the role of Brick in Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, died of pancreatic cancer at Bellevue Hospital Center in new York on Feb. 3. he was 81.

Darkly handsome, with a brooding, manly persona, the new York-born, Italian-American actor—born Biagio Anthony Gazzara—caught the acting bug when still a teenager. Though he majored in electrical engineering at City College, he soon after was taking acting classes at the Dramatic Workshop of the new School in new York with the influential German director Erwin Piscator.

thereafter, he joined the Actors Studio, and quickly became one of the most visible proponents of its performance theories. (In those early days, he was frequently compared to Marlon Brando.) he made his Broadway debut in 1953 in End as a Man, a stage adaptation of Calder Willingham's novel (written by Willingham) about life at a brutal southern military academy. It opened at the Theatre de Lys in Greenwich Village and soon transferred to Broadway. Mr. Gazzara won a Theatre World Award for his performance.

Two years later he was a star, creating the role of Brick in Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and, later in 1955, playing morphine-addicted war veteran Johnny Pope in Michael V. Gazzo's A Hatful of Rain. His deep, gruff voice (one writer called it a "buzzsaw basso"; Mel Gibson was known to imitate it when on the set of his movies), focused gaze, and intensity of manner lent an innate manliness to both parts. It would prove a trait he would bring to most every performance.

His being cast in the Williams drama—playing a disaffected, alcoholic, injured ex-athlete who freezes out his beautiful young wife—was a particularly poetic stroke of luck. Mr. Gazzara decided to become an actor after seeing Laurette Taylor perform in Williams' The Glass Menagerie. Though Mr. Gazzara would forever be associated with Cat, it was Hatful for which he received a Tony Award nomination.

Mr. Gazzara repeated his role in End as a Man in the film version of the play, titled "the strange One" (1957). But he would lose the movie part of Brick to Paul Newman. Thus set the pattern for an erratic film career in which prime opportunities were juxtaposed with long fallow periods of poor choices and inactivity. "I turned down so many movies because I was idealistic," he reflected in later life. "I was so pure. I didn't really take advantage of the opportunities. if I had the same chances today I would take them all because you never know where it will lead."

Some good film roles he did accept. he starred opposite James Stewart—a movie star he had tried to imitate as a child—as a soldier on trial for avenging his wife's rape in Otto Preminger's 1959 courtroom drama "Anatomy of a Murder." the 1960s brought a couple of Italian films, including "the Passionate Thief" (1960) opposite Anna Magnani, as well as the Hollywood films "the Young Doctors" and "Convicts 4." But for the most part, opportunities were wanting, and Mr. Gazzara turned to television for work.

"I had to pay the rent," he said of the TV show "run for Your Life," in which he played a successful lawyer who is told in the first episode that he will die in one to two years, and decides to do all of the things he has never had time for before. "the offer was good, but it was before the big, big money in television. and that was hard work, I gotta tell you. You know we made 30 one-hour shows a year? I was in every scene, morning, noon and night. It was really tiresome, I gotta tell you. Hard, hard. Ran for three years, and we made 80, 85 shows." the series was rewarding attention-wise, however. he won two Emmy nominations and three Golden Globe nominations.

In the 1970s, his movie career revived when his filmmaker friend John Cassavetes cast him in several of his critically praised films, including "Husbands" (1970), "the Killing of a Chinese Bookie" (1976) and "Opening Night" (1977). the actor called the first and second among the favorite films he ever made.

After disappearing from view for several years, Mr. Gazzara experienced a career renaissance in the late 1990s and early 2000s, after a host of independent filmmakers rediscovered his work with Cassavetes. he took on key supporting roles in films by David Mamet ("the Spanish Prisoner"), Vincent Gallo ("Buffalo '66"), the Coen brothers ("the big Lebowski"), Todd Solondz ("Happiness"), John Turturro ("Illuminata"), Spike Lee ("Summer of Sam") and Lars von Trier ("Dogville").

Mr. Gazzara returned to the stage regularly, acting in The Night Circus in 1958 (which had a short run, but introduced him to his second wife, actress Janice Rule); a revival of Strange Interlude in 1963; and Traveler without Luggage in 1964. he starred in a 1975 revival of O'Neill's Hughie, and as George opposite Colleen Dewhurst's Martha in a 1976 production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? His final Broadway appearance was as the grandfather in a 2006 revival of Odets' Awake and Sing!, for which he won a Drama Desk Award. he was nominated for Tonys for Hughie and Woolf.

he is survived by his wife, Elke Stuckmann, whom he married in 1982, and a daughter.

while he frequently played combustible neurotics on film and stage, in interviews Ben Gazzara came off as thoughtful, literate and grounded. Asked by a reporter in a 1957 interview about the premiere of the movie "end as a Man" what was next on his agenda, the actor replied, "meanwhile, I'd like to be a man."

Ben Gazzara, Original Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Dies at 81 – Playbill.com