Sarah Palin To Host ‘Today’ Show } What’s Up With Katie Couric?

   

The morning show war is ON! While Katie Couric guest hosts ‘Good Morning America,’ Sarah Palin will be sitting pretty in Katie’s old anchor spot at NBC — we smell revenge!

Sarah Palin is set to co-host Today on April 3 at the same time that Katie Couric will be guest anchor on GMA. There’s no way this timing is a coincidence!

Who can forget Katie’s infamous interview with Sarah Palin when she ran for US vice president back in 2008? Obviously not Sarah!

She’ll be teaming up with Katie’s former co-anchor Matt Lauer – and Today promises Sarah will “reveal a different side of her than you’ve seen before.”

We can’t wait to see how she does behind the anchor desk!

What do YOU think, HollywoodLifers? Are you Team Sarah or Team Katie?

– Kaydi Poirier

Here is The Official Trailer of Wrath of The Titans } In Case You Haven’t seen it

Warning: Some say that the best way to watch the actual movie is : Drunk!

Wrath of the Titans, enhanced by the booze-abetted visceral jolt, is the cinematic equivalent of a keg stand: It's rowdy, dumb, escapist, and you'll come out the other end with fewer brain cells than you had going into it. It is, however, very difficult to determine how much of that is the movie, and how much of it is the hooch.

Wrath of the Titans got a wide release on Friday, March 30. The film is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of fantasy violence and action.  

CORBIN FISHER’S SEAN Has Died } Pics

Written by Zach March 27th, 2012

Corbin Fisher has just announced that Sean, one of their most popular models, has passed away.

The news was posted to the official Corbin Fisher Facebook this afternoon (March 27, 2012), and the studio has set up a tribute page. A Corbin Fisher rep tells The Sword that Sean died yesterday, Monday, but no one knows the cause of death at this time. Corbin Fisher is in contact with Sean’s family, who had been supportive of him and his career.

Sean was one of the most stunning, likeable, and gorgeous models to have joined Corbin Fisher in the past year. His first movie premiered exactly one year ago, and since then he appeared in over a dozen more.

I remember being almost kind of taken aback the first time I saw his pictures (and I look at a lot of pictures all day long, every day), and I thought, this guy is too perfect to even be real. I remember thinking how naturally handsome he was, and how different that was from all the muscles and tattoos and harder-edged guys we see coming in and out of porn.

Sean was the epitome of clean cut, with the classic “all American” look that Corbin Fisher is known for, but somehow he effused it even more than all their other models. There was always just something more and something special about him that will be greatly missed. Sean was flawless, really.

Rest in peace, Sean.

Matthew (a.k.a. “Sean”)
1990-2012

Anderson Cooper: Kids on Race } The Hidden Picture

 
In this behind-the-scenes preview, Anderson Cooper describes "Kids on Race: The Hidden Picture," the groundbreaking year-long investigative study that will air the week of April 2 at 8 and 10 p.m. ET. Race relations is one of the most explosive issues in America and for many, it’s one of the most taboo to talk about, especially with children. For this special report, AC360° contracted a renowned child psychologist to help us understand how race influences a child’s world.

The CNN commissioned pilot study builds on the original Doll Test’s historic research done in the 1940s that examined how African -American children interpret race, discrimination and stigma. Teaming up with child psychologist Dr. Melanie Killen, the report scientifically explored how kids view interracial contact in their daily lives. The children, ages six and thirteen, were shown images that were designed to be ambiguous to children. “What is happening in this picture” was the starting point for interviews conducted with the group of 145 African-American and Caucasian children in six schools across three states. The report explored how children’s interpretations of the images changed when the races of the characters were switched.

This series will tackle controversial issues and answer some difficult questions. Is race a factor in how children view conflicts and choose friends? Do children see race or are they, as many parents believe, socially colorblind? How, when and why do they form their opinions on race? Can those opinions change over time or at a certain age, are kids “hard-wired” about race? And does the racial make-up of their school and environment affect their opinions on race? Anderson along with CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien will share with the viewers the children’s answers and the conclusions our researcher drew from their responses.

Find out more about the project from the CNN Press Room and be sure to watch starting Monday, April 2 at 8 and 10 p.m. ET on CNN.

Gay Supporter/Fired Commentator Olbermann Will Be At Letterman This Tuesday

Jason Kempin/Getty Images

CBS announced via Twitter that the ousted political commentator will tell his side of the story on an episode of “The Late Show” next week.

Following the war of words that erupted on Twitter after Keith Olbermann was terminated from Current TV and replaced with Eliot Spitzer, CBS used the social networking medium to announce what might be the next chapter in this very public battle: Olbermann is scheduled to appear on The Late Show with David Letterman. Olbermann’s manager confirmed that he will appear on the talk show Tuesday, April 3.

PHOTOS: Keith Olbermann's Famous Feuds

Olbermann took to Twitter at approximately 2:30 PM PT to announce that he was fired, explaining both the circumstances of his departure and his subsequent plans for legal action against Current TV. Some 30 minutes prior, Current TV tweeted the link to an an open letter written by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt which stated that “the values of respect, openness, collegiality, and loyalty to our viewers… are no longer reflected in our relationship with Keith Olbermann and we have ended it.”

Since then, Current has not responded publicly to Olbermann’s allegations. Olbermann, meanwhile, has offered several jabs at his former home via his Twitter feed, retweeting followers who made observations like “weird how they see fit to replace a pro journalist w/a guy who got busted w/a Hooker,” and then adding, “Had to restore their ethics they said :).”

Given the legal ramifications of Olbermann’s announced lawsuit, it will be interesting to see what he is able to say, much less what he wants to, Tuesday evening on David Letterman’s show. But the pundit’s willingness to court controversy certainly indicates that his statements may only intensify they battle between himself and Current, no matter how diplomatically the network attempts to move forward with Spitzer as his replacement.

Can A Stroke turned him gay?

Rugby jock says 

By

Ryan Jaslow  .cbsnews.com

(Credit: istockphoto)

(CBS) Strokes can have strange consequences. Some stroke victims wind up with different accents, others with different personalities. Chris Birch said he discovered he was gay when he woke up after a stroke.

The 26-year-old Welshman suffered a stroke after breaking his neck while attempting a back flip at a gym,The Daily Mail reported. His then-fiancée and family stayed by his side, but when he woke, something had changed.

"It sounds strange, but when I came round I immediately felt different," Birch told the paper. "I wasn't interested in women any more. I was definitely gay. I had never been attracted to a man before - I'd never even had any gay friends."

Before the stroke, Birch was a banker who loved playing rugby, watching sports, and drinking beer with his buds. After the stroke, he found he had little in common with his blokes, quit his job to train as a hairdresser, and started dating a man.

"I went back to my job in the bank and tried hard to fit back into things but it didn't seem right anymore," Birch told The Mirror last month. "Suddenly, I hated everything about my old life. I didn't get on with my friends, hated sport, and found my job boring."

He also focused more on his appearance, lost a lot of weight - and became more confident.

Birch's neurologist told him the changes in his personality could be from the stroke "opening up" a different part of his brain, according to the Daily Mail.

What do experts have to say - can a stroke really turn you gay?

Dr. Ira G. Rashbaum, professor of rehabilitation medicine and chief of stroke rehab at NYU Langone Medical Center, wouldn't speculate on this specific case since he wasn't involved in Birch's care, but he told CBS News that it's quite common to see personality changes in patients following a stroke.

Rashbaum said some recovering stroke patients might experience anxiety, depression, or difficulties paying attention. In some cases if a stroke affects the brain's frontal lobe - which controls inhibition - a previously quiet person might become angrier, suddenly telling others off.

But a full-blown personality change?

"This is a more rare circumstance, certainly not a common thing" he told CBS News. He added that profound personality changes usually aren't permanent following rehabilitation with a team that might include psychologists and social workers.

Joe Korner, director of communications for The Stroke Association in the U.K., told CBS News in an email that he's never personally heard of a stroke changing someone's sexuality, but he doesn't doubt the stroke had some impact on Birch's life.

"Strokes are traumatic, life-changing experiences, which can make you reassess life and your feelings so perhaps that's the reason behind it," Korner said. "Whether or not the stroke turned Chris gay, or whether he was gay anyway but unaware of it, his experience seems to be a positive one, which is great."

 

By Neal Broverman Advocate:

Chris Birch

After breaking his neck attempting a backflip and then suffering a stroke, Welshman Chris Birch went from a sports-loving heterosexual to an out and proud homosexual, or so he says.

Birch made headlines last month in the United Kingdom when he told The Mirror about his accident and subsequent reversal of orientation.

"It sounds strange, but when I came round I immediately felt different," the 26-year-old told the paper. "I wasn't interested in women any more. I was definitely gay. I had never been attracted to a man before — I'd never even had any gay friends."

Birch then became more obsessed with his appearance, which he believes is a gay trait. He also started training to be a hairdresser. CBS News asked Britain's Stroke Association if the organization was familiar with someone "becoming gay" after a stroke — not really, officials with the group responded, but they did say people often reassess their lives after such an ordeal. Read more here. 

DOMA in Appeals Court Next Week

Litigation challenging the Defense of Marriage Act — as well as House Republicans’ continued defense of the anti-gay law — is receiving renewed attention as a court hearing is set to take place next week in Boston on the constitutionality of the statute.

On Wednesday starting at 10 a.m., a three-judge panel on the First Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments on DOMA, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage, marking the first time an appellate court has considered the constitutionality of the statute.

Normally, oral arguments before the court last 30 minutes, but that time has been extended for an entire hour because judges are hearing two cases: Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, filed by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, and Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Department of Health & Human Services, filed by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.

The three-judge panel will be made up of Chief Judge Sandra Lynch as well as Judges Juan Torruella and Michael Boudin. Lynch was appointed by a Democrat, former President Bill Clinton, while Torruella was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan and Boudin was appointed by former President George H.W. Bush.

Representing GLAD at the hearings will be plaintiffs in the GLAD case as well as Mary Bonauto, GLAD’s civil rights project director, who in 2003 successfully argued for the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General Maura Healey is set to argue on behalf of her state’s lawsuit against DOMA.

The Justice Department, which, after dropping its defense of DOMA, joined in efforts to declare the law unconstitutional, will also have a presence in the courtroom. Stuart Delery, who’s gay and the acting assistant attorney general for the civil division, is set to represent the Obama administration. He was promoted Feb. 27 to the position.

Defending the anti-gay law in court will be Paul Clement, a solicitor general under former President George W. Bush whom House Speaker John Boehner hired to defend the statute. Clement will be coming to Boston to defend DOMA fresh from oral arguments before the Supreme Court in D.C. against the health care reform law.

The arguments that attorneys will make before judges will likely reflect the basis of the lawsuits they filed. GLAD contends that DOMA violates its plaintiffs’ rights under the Equal Protection Clause, while the State of Massachusetts has said DOMA interferes with a state’s Tenth Amendment right to regulate marriage. The Justice Department will likely join in these arguments.

On the other side, Clement will likely argue that DOMA is justified because it ensures uniformity with marriage laws and that marriage should be reserved for opposite-sex couples to ensure procreation.

In both DOMA cases that are coming before the First Circuit, DOMA was found unconstitutional at the district court level. U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro, a Nixon appointee, ruled in July 2010 that the anti-gay law was unconstitutional in both cases.

The cases come before the First Circuit just a month after a California federal court ruled against DOMA in the case of Golinski v. United States. In February, the U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White ruled against DOMA on the basis that the anti-gay law “unconstitutionally discriminates against married same-sex couples.”

Jason Wu, a staff attorney for GLAD, said the California district court decision may play out in the oral arguments before the appellate court.

“It always helps when another court affirms what we believe is right, which is that DOMA represents a straight-forward equal protection violation and there is really no good reason to treat gay married couples differently from straight married couples,” Wu said. “The court in Golinksi agreed with us; the district court in Massachusetts, Judge Tauro’s opinion agreed with us. And that’s what will be presented to the First Circuit.”

Wu said GLAD hopes for a decision from the First Circuit in “a timely fashion” after the oral arguments, but said he couldn’t offer a more precise prediction for when a ruling would be handed down. The case dragged out after the Obama administration dropped the defense of DOMA and the House took up defense of the statute, and Wu said the prolonged duration of the lawsuit has harmed plaintiffs.

“It’s been almost two years actually since the district court’s ruling came down in our favor, and in that two-year period, our plaintiffs continue to be harmed,” Wu said. “One of our plaintiffs is owed $50,000, I believe, in tax harm. One of our plaintiffs, Herb Burtis, is 82 years old and continues to be denied the survivor Social Security benefits from his deceased spouse.”

Despite his hopes the case will be resolved, Wu added he expects the Supreme Court will take up the case after a decision is handed down.

 “We need resolution as to the constitutionality of DOMA for all married couples in the country because it’s not just couples in Massachusetts who are being harmed by DOMA everyday,” Wu said.

House Republicans elected to take up defense of DOMA in court after the Obama administration early last year announced it would no longer defend the anti-gay statute. In the past week, the Republican defense of DOMA has come under fire from Democrats.

During a hearing before the House Appropriations Legislative Branch subcommittee on Tuesday, House Chief Administrative Officer Dan Strodel asserted Republican leadership had collected nearly $742,000 to fund defense of DOMA in court. Boehner had last year raised the cost cap of defending DOMA to $1.5 million.

Strodel testified that the money had come from the House Salaries, Officers and Employees account. Boehner had threatened to redirect funds from the Justice Department to pay for defense of the law, but Strodel said those funds hadn’t contributed to defense of the statute.

According to the Huffington Post, the issue of defending DOMA prompted a fiery debate between Democrats and Republicans.

Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) reportedly asked House General Counsel Kerry Kirchner why the House is defending an “unconstitutional law that separates all of us” and said the money could go to better uses, such as ”resources to the family of Trayvon Martin in Florida.”

Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-Ohio) toed the Republican line on DOMA saying, “When is the Department of Justice going to do their job? You can’t pick which laws you want to defend and which laws you don’t feel like enforcing.”

On Monday, six House Democrats — Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.), David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and John Conyers (D-Mich.) — sent a letter to Boehner renewing their earlier request for a briefing on his defense of DOMA as they urged him to stop defending the law in the wake of a California federal court’s decision against the statute.

“There simply is no legitimate federal interest served by denying married same-sex couples the federal responsibilities and rights that other married couples receive, and the harm caused to these families is unjustifiable,” the letter states. “Two federal courts have agreed, and it is no longer credible to claim that the law is not constitutionally suspect.”

Boehner’s office didn’t respond to the Washington Blade’s request for comment on the letter, but Michael Steel, a Boehner spokesperson, dismissed the letter when talking to the Huffington Post.

“Washington Democrats had two years of unified control over the House, the Senate and the White House to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act,” Steel was quoted as saying. “They chose not to try. We will continue to respect the law, which passed both Houses of Congress with bipartisan support and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.”

Activity also continues in other DOMA cases. On Monday, the Justice Department submitted briefs in the Golinski case asking the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to expedite consideration of the case. Boehner’s lawyers last month appealed the decision to the the appellate court.

Boehner’s intervention in McLaughlin v. Panetta, the lawsuit filed on behalf of gay troops against DOMA by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, is also expected soon. The House has until April 28 to decide if it will defend the anti-gay law against the lawsuit.

Dustin Lance Black weighs in on the Carson Daly Homophobic Moment

 By Greg Hernandez  

 

Dustin Lance Black has such great perspective on LGBT issues and the fight for equality.

So when I chatted with the screenwriter and activist the other night at the 45th anniversary party for The Advocate, I asked him to weigh in on the Carson Daly episode from earlier in the week.

On his radio show, Daly made jokes about gay people not being able to take down the crazed pilot on this week’s JetBlue flight. He apologized after his remarks were posted online by TMZ.com.

“I always look at these as learning moments,’ Black said. ‘So whenever they say something wrong – and a lot of Americans think it and still leans on these stereotypes, these myths about gay people – and when someone slips and one slips out, it’s probably something they learned early on. Then they apologize and correct the record. I think that’s a learning moment for the country.’

He added: ‘In a way, it’s a terrible thing to have happen but it’s good that the country gets to learn. So much of what’s important in this movement is education and outreach. We don’t always do enough of it. So if someone gets it wrong, if we can reach out and teach them the truth, and they’re willing to learn that truth and apologize for their mistakes, that’s what we’ve got to do more of.’

Black pointed out that homophobic remarks are not limited to high-profile celebrities caught making a gaffe.

‘We’ve got to start reaching out to other communities that do it even more than Carson Daly,’ he said. ‘We have religious communities and racial minority communities that we need to do a lot more of that outreach, education and allow them to catch up.’

To see what other celebs have to say about Daly’s remarks, see my story over at Gay Star News.

Self-Driving Car Taking Blind Man to Taco Bell Will Make You Cry (VIDEO) Posted by Jacqueline Burt on Mar 30, 2012 at 12:54 PM If you're like me, your first reaction to the concept of a blind man riding in a self-driving car (to Taco Bell) was probably ... bemused alarm, let's say. Like: "Whoa, cool! Hey, wait a minute ... a blind guy going on a taco run in a self-driving car? This can't possibly end well." But that's the thing -- it does end well. Really! Because believe it or not, we actually have the technology to make this kind of thing happen now ... it's just really, really expensive. Which is sad, because I bet there are lots of other white-haired, legally-blind guys like Steven Mahan who could go for a taco right about now. Google's driverless car (a Prius) relies on a laser-range finder, which it uses to map out surroundings and respond to GPS signals. The laser-range finder alone runs about $70K -- that's without the cost of the actual vehicle. Dang. Does it frustrate the daylights out of anyone else that such life-changing technology is available -- but most people can't afford it?

 

Posted by Jacqueline Burt  

If you're like me, your first reaction to the concept of a blind man riding in a self-driving car (toTaco Bell) was probably ... bemused alarm, let's say. Like: "Whoa, cool! Hey, wait a minute ... a blind guy going on a taco run in a self-driving car? This can't possibly end well."

But that's the thing -- it does end well. Really! Because believe it or not, we actually have thetechnology to make this kind of thing happen now ... it's just really, really expensive. Which is sad, because I bet there are lots of other white-haired, legally-blind guys like Steven Mahan who could go for a taco right about now.

Google's driverless car (a Prius) relies on a laser-range finder, which it uses to map out surroundings and respond to GPS signals. The laser-range finder alone runs about $70K -- that's without the cost of the actual vehicle. Dang.

Does it frustrate the daylights out of anyone else that such life-changing technology is available -- but most people can't afford it?

THE FUTURE 

 

Google has just released video of its self-driving car (possible Transformer?) helping a legally blind man run some errands. It's much less scary than the last nerve-wracking footage of Google's self-driving car, even though it does feature a trip to the humid lair of theDoritos Locos Taco.

Behind the wheel is Steve Mahan, a soft-spoken old man rocking an adorable newsboy cap. The video makes it seem like the Taco Bell run was his idea. Like he doesn't have bigger dreams.

While, at this point, Google's driverless car has clocked over 200,000 test miles without incident, it's still a long way from mainstream use. According to USA Today, vehicle's key feature is a laser-range finder, which it uses to map out surroundings and respond to GPS signals. That piece of equipment alone runs about $70,000.

German auto company Continental AG is much closer to making its semi-autonomous modified VW Passat publicly available. Their car is expected to reach 10,000 test miles within the coming weeks, making it eligible for Nevada roadways. (Nevada became the first state to approve the operation of self-driving vehicles on its roadways last month.)

Unlike Google's Prius, which is fully-autonomous, Continental's Passat requires a driver to take control when passing another vehicle or changing lanes. (Gawker)