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Steel Magnolias at Aurora Arts Theatre

Dave Froehlich — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:37:35 PM

CORPUS CHRISTI- 'Steel Magnolias' is the latest production from the Aurora Arts Theatre.

The play will be familiar to many people because of the popular film that's based on the play.

Performances continue on Friday-Sunday through May 26th.

For more information, go to auroraartstheatre.com.

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Popular Psychologist Joyce Brothers Dead at 85

Associated Press — Mon, 13 May 2013 5:31:15 PM

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Popular psychologist, columnist, and television and film personality Joyce Brothers has died. She was 85.

Longtime publicist Sanford Brokaw says Brothers died Monday in New York City.

She was a pioneer of the television advice show.

Her celebrity took off after she entered a television quiz show called "The $64,000 Question." She became the only woman to ever win the show's top prize.

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Astronaut Exits Space Station to Bowie's 'Space Oddity'

Associated Press — Mon, 13 May 2013 3:55:24 PM

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - In a high-flying, perfectly pitched first, an astronaut on the International Space Station is bowing out of orbit with a musical video: his own custom version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."

It's believed to be the first music video made in space, according to NASA.

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield's personalized rendition of "Space Oddity" was posted on YouTube on Sunday, one day before his departure from the orbiting lab. He's wrapping up a five-month mission that began last December.

His return aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule, along with American Thomas Marshburn and Russian Roman Romanenko, was set for late Monday in Kazakhstan.

Hadfield, 53, a longtime guitarist who played in an astronaut rock 'n' roll band, recorded the video throughout the space station. He had some down-to-Earth help from a Canadian music team.

"With deference to the genius of David Bowie, here's Space Oddity, recorded on Station. A last glimpse of the World," Hadfield said via Twitter.

The spaceman altered some of the lyrics of Bowie's 1969 version, singing "Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing left to do." The Bowie version goes "... and there's nothing I can do." And instead of "Take your protein pills and put your helmet on," it became, "Lock your Soyuz hatch and put your helmet on."

Planet Earth provided a stunning backdrop for many of the scenes.

"It's just been an extremely fulfilling and amazing experience end to end," Hadfield told Mission Control on Monday. "We're, of course, focusing very much on flying the Soyuz home now and looking forward to seeing everybody face to face. But from this Canadian to all the rest of them, I offer an enormous debt of thanks." He was referring to all those in the Canadian Space Agency who helped make his flight possible.

Hadfield, an engineer and former test pilot from Milton, Ontario, was Canada's first professional astronaut to live aboard the space station and became the first Canadian in charge of a spacecraft. He relinquished command of the space station on Sunday.

He sang often in orbit, using a guitar already aboard the complex, and even took part in a live, Canadian coast-to-coast concert in February that included the Barenaked Ladies' Ed Robertson and a youth choir, and featured the song I.S.S., "Is Somebody Singing?"

I.S.S. is NASA's acronym for the International Space Station.

Also last February, Hadfield joined the Irish band The Chieftains and two ground-bound astronauts in a Houston concert, singing the lead on "Moondance."

The five-minute video posted Sunday drew a salute from Bowie's official Facebook page: "It's possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created."

NASA broadcast the video on its daily space station update late Monday morning.

One of the video collaborators was piano arranger Emm Gryner, part of the Bowie band in 1999 and 2000.

"Planet Earth IS blue," she said in her online blog, "and there's nothing left for Chris Hadfield to do. Right. Safe travels home Commander!"

___

Online:

Hadfield video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?vKaOC9danxNo

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Lauryn Hill Gets 3 Months for Failing to Pay Taxes

Associated Press — Mon, 6 May 2013 5:33:21 PM

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Grammy-winning singer Lauryn Hill has been sentenced to three months in prison for failing to pay about $1 million in taxes.

She was also sentenced Monday in Newark to three additional months of home confinement.

The 37-year-old South Orange resident pleaded guilty last year in the case.

During a forceful statement to the judge, Hill explained she had always meant to eventually pay the taxes but was unable to during a period of time when she dropped out of the music business.

Before the sentencing, her attorney had said Hill had paid more than $970,000 to satisfy the state and federal tax liabilities.

Hill had faced a maximum sentence of one year each on three counts. Her attorney had sought probation.

She's to report to prison July 8. It's not clear where she'll serve her sentence.

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Disney on Ice this Weekend at American Bank Center

Dave Froehlich — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:41:56 AM

CORPUS CHRISTI - Disney On Ice is back at the American Bank Center this weekend with their new show Rockin' Ever After.

The show even features characters from the new Disney films Brave and Tangled.

Performances run through Sunday.

For ticket information, call 1-800-745-3000.

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Groundbreaking Improv Comic Jonathan Winters Dies

Associated Press — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:58:52 AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Comedian Jonathan Winters, whose breakneck improvisations inspired Robin Williams, Jim Carrey and many others, has died at age 87.

Longtime family friend Joe Petro III says the Ohio native died Thursday evening at his Montecito, Calif., home of natural causes.

Winters was a master of improvisational comedy, with a grab bag of eccentric personalities and facial expressions. Characters such as the dirty old lady Maude Frickert were based on people Winters knew growing up in Ohio.

In the mid-1950s, "The Jonathan Winters Show" pioneered the then-new videotape technology on to do stunts such as showing up as two characters on screen together.

He was introduced to millions of new fans in 1981 as the son of Williams' goofball alien in the final season of ABC's "Mork and Mindy."

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Beloved Disney Mouseketeer Annette Funicello Dies

Mon, 8 Apr 2013 12:19:35 PM

NEW YORK (AP) - Annette Funicello, who became a child star as a cute-as-a-button Mouseketeer on "The Mickey Mouse Club" in the 1950s, then teamed up with Frankie Avalon on a string of '60s fun-in-the-sun movies with names like "Beach Party Bingo" and "Bikini Beach," died Monday. She was 70.

She died at Mercy Southwest Hospital in Bakersfield, Calif., of complications from multiple sclerosis, the Walt Disney Co. said.

Funicello stunned fans and friends in 1992 with the announcement about her ailment. Yet she was cheerful and upbeat, grappling with the disease with a courage that contrasted with her lightweight teen image of old.

"She will forever hold a place in our hearts as one of Walt Disney's brightest stars, delighting an entire generation of baby boomers with her jubilant personality and endless talent," said Bob Iger, Disney chairman and CEO.

The pretty, dark-haired Funicello was just 13 when she gained fame on Walt Disney's television kiddie "club," an amalgam of stories, songs and dance routines that ran from 1955 to 1959. She appeared in mouse ears, a pleated skirt and a sweater emblazoned with her name.

Cast after Disney saw her at a dance recital, she soon began receiving 8,000 fan letters a month, 10 times more than any of the 23 other young performers.

Her devotion to Walt Disney remained throughout her life.

"He was the dearest, kindest person, and truly was like a second father to me," she remarked. "He was a kid at heart."

When "The Mickey Mouse Club" ended, Annette (as she was often billed) was the only club member to remain under contract to the studio. She appeared in such Disney movies as "Johnny Tremain," ''The Shaggy Dog," ''The Horsemasters," ''Babes in Toyland," ''The Misadventures of Merlin Jones" and "The Monkey's Uncle."

She also became a recording star, singing on 15 albums and hit singles such as "Tall Paul" and "Pineapple Princess."

Outgrowing the kid roles by the early '60s, Annette teamed with Avalon in a series of movies for American-International, the first film company to exploit the burgeoning teen market.

The filmmakers weren't aiming for art, and they didn't achieve it. As Halliwell's Film Guide says of "Beach Party": "Quite tolerable in itself, it started an excruciating trend."

But the films had songs, cameos by older stars and a few laughs and, as a bonus to latter-day viewers, a look back at a more innocent time. The 1965 "Beach Blanket Bingo," for example, featured subplots involving a mermaid, a motorcycle gang and a skydiving school run by Don Rickles, and comic touches by silent film star Buster Keaton.

Among the other titles: "Muscle Beach Party," ''Bikini Beach," ''Beach Blanket Bingo," ''How to Stuff a Wild Bikini" and "Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine."

The shift in teen tastes begun by the Beatles in 1964, and Funicello's first marriage the following year pretty much killed off the genre.

But she was somehow never forgotten though mostly out of the public eye for years. She and Avalon staged a reunion in 1987 with "Back to the Beach." It was during the filming that she noticed she had trouble walking - the first insidious sign of MS.

When it was finally diagnosed, she later recalled, "I knew nothing about (MS), and you are always afraid of the unknown. I plowed into books."

Her symptoms were relatively mild at first, but gradually she lost control of her legs, and she feared people might think she was drunk. So she went public with her ordeal in 1992.

She wrote of her triumphs and struggles in her 1994 autobiography, "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" - the title taken from a Disney song. In 1995, she appeared briefly in a television docudrama based on her book. And she spoke openly about the degenerative effects of MS.

"My equilibrium is no more; it's just progressively getting worse," she said. "But I thank God I just didn't wake up one morning and not be able to walk. You learn to live with it. You learn to live with anything, you really do."

"I've always been religious. This just makes me appreciate the Lord even more because things could always be worse. I know he will see me through this."

Funicello was born Oct. 22, 1942, in Utica, N.Y., and her family moved to Los Angeles when she was 4. She began taking dance lessons the following year and won a beauty contest at 9. Then came the discovery by Disney in 1955.

"I have been blessed to have a mentor like Walt Disney," she said 40 years later. "Those years were the happiest of my life. I felt that back then. I feel the same today."

Asked about the revisionist biographies that have portrayed Disney in a negative light, she said, "I don't know what went on in the conference rooms. I know what I saw. And he was wonderful."

In 1965, Funicello married her agent, Jack Gilardi, and they had three children, Gina, Jack and Jason. The couple divorced 18 years later, and in 1986 she married Glen Holt, a harness racehorse trainer. After her film career ended, she devoted herself to her family. Her children sometimes appeared on the TV commercials she made for peanut butter.

The beach films featured ample youthful skin. But not Funicello's.

She remembered in 1987: "Mr. Disney said to me one day, 'Annette, I have a favor to ask of you. I know all the girls are wearing bikinis, but you have an image to uphold. I would appreciate it if you would wear a one-piece suit.' I did, and I never regretted it."

___

Associated Press writer Bob Thomas in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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Luke Bryan Wins Country Music Award

Mon, 8 Apr 2013 7:49:49 AM

LAS VEGAS - Luke Bryan heard his name called at the end of the Academy of Country Music Awards, accepted the entertainer of the year trophy and then things became a blur.

"It was like I was on the tilt-a-whirl," Bryan said.

Bryan pulled off a dizzying upset, all right, beating out the night's top winner Miranda Lambert, two-time entertainer of the year Taylor Swift and top male stars and good friends Blake Shelton and Jason Aldean for the academy's top award.

The 36-year-old Georgia native's reaction? He hugged the trophy and hung his head, appearing to fight back tears as members of the crowd at the MGM Grand shouted "Luke!"

"I don't think there was anyone in the room more shocked than him," Aldean said. "That's why I love him."

Though Bryan got tons of love before the ACMs because of his new role as co-host with Shelton, the idea of winning entertainer of the year was far from his mind as he prepared to replace Reba McEntire on the show. He told reporters afterward he was so focused on hosting duties, he had trouble remembering what categories he was nominated in.

And he didn't give himself any chance to beat Swift, the undeniable pop star who has reshaped the genre and used a legion of fans to rule the ACMs the last two years.

Heck, he was still opening for Aldean last summer and only recently started his own headline tour. Even he thought it was too early to win an award usually given as a reward to veteran performers who were almost universally acclaimed.

He won an award before the show, sharing vocal event of the year with Aldean and Eric Church for their collaboration on "The Only Way I Know." And he thought he might have a shot at album of the year or male vocalist.

"But this is unobtainable, this is so unobtainable," Bryan said as he held the trophy up and looked at it. "You know that statue in Rio De Janeiro (of Jesus Christ). That is what this award is like for me, up on the mount, you know."

Turns out a majority of a record 1.1 million voters thought he'd look good holding that silver trophy.

Bryan's win will be the talk of Las Vegas as the celebration continues well into Monday morning, but Lambert again walks away as the academy's trophy magnet.

She won her fourth straight female vocalist award, joining Reba McEntire and Loretta Lynn as the only singers to win female vocalist of the year four or more times. She also picked up three trophies for her hit song "Over You" - one for single record of the year and two for song of the year. She was performer of the song and co-wrote it with Shelton, her husband.

"As a songwriter, having your song and your lyrics recognized by your peers is pretty much as good as it gets," Lambert said. "And I'm so thankful for being in this genre of country music, every single time someone's nominated, I just cheer, because I love everybody to death. So thank you for accepting me as a songwriter, not just as a singer, because that means the world to me."

Church won two awards, including album of the year for "Chief," and was tied with Aldean, Little Big Town and Florida Georgia Line in overall win total. Church's producer, Jay Joyce, also won two awards - for album of the year and the off-camera producer of the year.

Church called "Chief," which was nominated two years in a row, a defining album.

"I think my career is going to be pre-'Chief' and post-'Chief,'" Church said. "Album of the year is most special to me."

Aldean, country's top-selling male act, also won male vocalist of the year. Little Big Town had wins for vocal group and video of the year. Florida Georgia Line won for new artist and were previous winners in the new vocal duo/group category. And husband and wife Shawna and Keifer Thompson continued their feel-good story as Thompson Square won its second straight vocal duo of the year award.

The night was full of colorful performances, but the anticipation of Garth Brooks and George Strait performing together overshadowed almost everything else. The two paid tribute to the late Dick Clark, the executive producer of the show since 1979 who passed away a year ago.

Brooks appeared on stage in flannel shirt and black cowboy hat with a Fu Manchu to perform his hit "The Dance" before Strait joined him for "The Cowboy Rides Away."

Reba McEntire introduced the two and paid tribute to Clark, momentarily breaking down as tears appeared in her eyes.

"He would slap me if he saw me crying up here," she said.

Shelton kicked the show off with his new single "Boys 'Round Here," a hip-hop-flavored ode to redneck swag. He was joined by Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow and Pistol Annies, a trio that includes his wife Miranda Lambert.

Lady Antebellum debuted new song "Downtown" and Charles Kelley finished off the song by rubbing pregnant trio-mate Hillary Scott's belly. Carrie Underwood stepped out of a black Cadillac parked on stage as she started her song, "Two Black Cadillacs."

Lambert appeared later with a fiery, diamond-studded rendition of her recent hit "Mama's Broken Heart."

John Mayer joined Paisley for a guitar summit on "Beat This Summer" and Taylor Swift and Keith Urban joined Tim McGraw on stage for "Highway Don't Care," which Urban finished off with a scorching guitar solo.

And Stevie Wonder made his first appearance on a country music awards show, joining Hunter Hayes for a performance by two guys who got their start as precocious teens. Hayes kicked off their set with his song "I Want Crazy," then was joined by Wonder for his hit "Sir Duke." Wonder returned to finish off the show with "Signed, Sealed, Delivered."

Asked to explain why he decided to join Hayes on stage, he had a simple answer.

"What I can tell you is I have always been a lover of music and country music," Wonder said. "The amazing thing (is) I recently saw a few days ago a Motown show. And what was amazing to me, comparing this night to that, it was about lifting people up, lifting love up. And so tonight, again, here in this event, it's about lifting people up, music up, love up. Listen, we could not be here without love."

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American Bank Center Events Next Week

Dave Froehlich - dfroehlich@kristv.com — Thu, 4 Apr 2013 12:37:11 PM

CORPUS CHRISTI - The American Bank Center is gearing up to host televised wrestling and boxing events later this month.

On April 11th, Impact Wrestling will hold an event at the American Bank Center that will be broadcast live on Spike TV.

Then on Saturday April 13th, the ABC plays host to Fox Sports Boxing.

For tickets to either of the events, call 1-800-745-300 or go to ticketmaster.com.

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Sun-Times: Famed Movie Critic Roger Ebert Dies

Associated Press — Thu, 4 Apr 2013 2:50:35 PM

CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that its film critic Roger Ebert has died. He was 70.

The paper says on its website the Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic died Thursday.

Ebert was known for his thumbs-up, thumbs-down TV reviews that influenced moviegoers across the nation.

On Wednesday, he had announced on his blog that he was undergoing radiation treatment after a recurrence of cancer.

Ebert was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2002 and later had surgery for cancer of the salivary gland. He lost his chin and his ability to speak. But he later resumed writing full-time and eventually even returned to television.

Ebert started as a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1967. In 1975 he became the first movie reviewer to get the Pulitzer Prize for criticism.

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Facebook Unveils New Experience for Android Phones

Associated Press — Thu, 4 Apr 2013 12:24:39 PM

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) - With its new "Home" on Android gadgets, Facebook aims to put its social network at the center of people's mobile experiences.

Facebook has introduced software called Home that makes the social network the hub of any smartphone running Google's Android operating system. The idea behind the software is to bring Facebook content right to the home screen, rather than requiring users to check apps. "Home" comes amid rapid growth in the number of people who access Facebook from phones and tablet computers.

Available for download starting April 12, the service is part of Facebook's move to shift its users' focus from "apps and tasks" to people, said CEO Mark Zuckerberg during Home's unveiling at the company's Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters on Thursday.

The new product, which can reside on the home screen of Android phones, is a family of apps designed around people's Facebook connections. Rather than see a set of apps for email, maps and other services on the screen, users will be greeted with photos and updates from their Facebook feeds.

"We think this is the best version of Facebook there is," Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg says users can have an experience on Android phones that they can't have on other platforms. That's because Google makes the software available on an open-source basis, allowing others to adapt it to their needs.

The move that coincides with rapid growth among the number of users who access the social network from smartphones and tablet computers and Facebook's aim to evolve from its Web-based roots into a "mobile-first" company.

"What Facebook wants is to put itself at the front of the Android user experience for as many Facebook users as possible and make Facebook more elemental to their customers' experience," said Forrester analyst Charles Golvin.

In addition to Home, a new HTC phone that integrates the service will also be available starting April 12, with AT&T Inc. as the carrier.

The move could help to attract more mobile advertisers. Though mobile ads were a big concern for Facebook's investors even before the company's initial public offering last May, some of the worry has subsided as the company muscles its way into the market.

Last year, Facebook began showing ads to its mobile audience by shoehorning corporate-sponsored content into users' news feeds, which also include updates from friends and brands they follow. Facebook now faces the challenge of showing people mobile ads without annoying or alienating them.

The mobile advertising market is growing quickly, thanks in large part to Facebook and Twitter, which also entered the space in 2012. Research firm eMarketer expects U.S. mobile ad spending to grow 77 percent this year to $7.29 billion, from $4.11 billion last year.

EMarketer said Wednesday that it expects Facebook Inc. to reap $965 million in U.S. mobile ad revenue in 2013. That's about 2.5 times the $391 million in 2012, the first year that Facebook started showing mobile ads. Clark Fredricksen, vice president at eMarketer, says "there are some clear reasons why a deeper integration with mobile operating systems and handsets make sense for Facebook. At the end of the day, the more deeply Facebook can engage consumers, no matter what device or operating system or handset," the better.

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Fallon Taking Over 'Tonight Show' in Spring 2014

NBC — Wed, 3 Apr 2013 11:59:54 AM

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (NBC) - April 3, 2012 - Jay Leno, longtime host of NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," announced today that he will wrap up what will be 22 years of headlining the iconic late-night show in Spring 2014. NBC also announced today that Jimmy Fallon, now host of NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," will transition into new hosting duties on "The Tonight Show" franchise after Leno concludes his successful run.

As part of the transition, "The Tonight Show" will be returning to its original home in 30 Rock in New York and will be executive-produced by Emmy Award winner Lorne Michaels ("Saturday Night Live," "30 Rock").

Programming plans for the 12:35 a.m. (ET) time period currently are in development and will be announced soon.

Said Leno: "Congratulations Jimmy. I hope you're as lucky as me and hold on to the job until you're the old guy. If you need me, I'll be at the garage."

Said Fallon: "I'm really excited to host a show that starts today instead of tomorrow."

"Jay Leno is an entertainment icon, making millions of people laugh every weeknight for more than 20 years," said Steve Burke, Chief Executive Officer of NBCUniversal. "His long reign as the highest-rated late-night host is a testament to his work ethic and dedication to his viewers and to NBC.

"We are purposefully making this change when Jay is #1, just as Jay replaced Johnny Carson when he was #1. Jimmy Fallon is a unique talent and this is his time. I'm thrilled he will become the sixth host of ‘The Tonight Show' at exactly the right moment, in conjunction with our coverage of next year's Winter Olympic Games from Sochi, Russia.

"I also want to congratulate and thank Debbie Vickers and her ‘Tonight Show' team for producing an entertaining, first-class show every night for the past two decades. Debbie's role in the creative and popular success of this franchise cannot be overstated."

Leno has hosted "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" since taking over the reins from television icon Johnny Carson in 1992.

"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" has ranked #1 ahead of its ABC and CBS time-period competition in 18-49 viewers and total viewers for each season since Leno's return in March 2010 and for the 14 seasons before his departure in May 2009. During the current season, "Tonight" is consistently #1 versus its ABC and CBS slot rivals, averaging a 0.8 rating, 3 share in adults 18-49 and 3.5 million viewers overall.

At 12:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" has consistently ranked #1 in 18-49 versus the time period's ABC and CBS competition each season since debuting in March of 2009 and has also held the advantage over CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" in total viewers for the last three seasons. So far during the 2012-13 season, "Late Night" is averaging a 0.5 rating, 3 share in adults 18-49 and 1.7 million viewers overall.

Before Leno became the host of the top-rated "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," he honed his comedy in clubs all over the country often exceeding 300 dates per year. He opened for the likes of Tom Jones and John Denver and after moving to Los Angeles began his career in television and film, both writing behind the scenes and making appearances in shows such as "Welcome Back Kotter" and films including "American Hot Wax." On March 2, 1977, Leno made his first appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and was named permanent guest host in 1987. While he took over the desk full-time in 1992, Leno never stopped touring on the comedy circuit and still averages over 150 gigs a year.

Emmy and Grammy Award winner, Fallon began his TV career with "Saturday Night Live" in 1998, where he quickly became an audience favorite. Known for his spot-on impressions, innovative musical and comedy sketches and his stint as co-anchor of "Weekend Update" with Tina Fey, Fallon spent six successful years on the show. In March 2009, Fallon returned to NBC and took over the late- night legacy with "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." The show has continued to garner attention for its viral videos, audience games, A-list guests, and Fallon's choice of critically acclaimed house-band, The Roots.

In just four years on air, Fallon and the "Late Night" team have already begun collecting awards. Most recently, Fallon was honored with his second consecutive People's Choice Award for Favorite Late Night Host (2012 and 2013) and the show received the 2012 Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Talk Show. "Late Night" was celebrated with a 2012 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Variety Series and earned three Emmy nominations in 2011, including the show's first nominations in the series and writing categories. The year prior, Fallon earned an Emmy for the show's website in the Interactive Media category and received the "Webby Person of the Year" Award in 2009. Fallon received a 2013 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album after releasing "Blow Your Pants Off" in 2012, a musical comedy album featuring song parodies written and performed on "Late Night."

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DeGeneres Hooked for 'Nemo' Sequel 'Finding Dory'

Associated Press — Tue, 2 Apr 2013 2:59:43 PM

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ellen DeGeneres is going fishing again with a sequel to the animated blockbuster "Finding Nemo."

Disney and its Pixar Animation unit announced Tuesday that DeGeneres will reprise her "Nemo" voice role for "Finding Dory." The sequel is due out Nov. 25, 2015, and will be directed by Andrew Stanton, who also made "Finding Nemo."

"I have waited for this day for a long, long, long, long, long, long time," DeGeneres said. "I'm not mad it took this long. I know the people at Pixar were busy creating 'Toy Story 16.' But the time they took was worth it. The script is fantastic. And it has everything I loved about the first one: It's got a lot of heart, it's really funny, and the best part is - it's got a lot more Dory."

The new film picks up about a year after the action of "Finding Nemo," with DeGeneres' forgetful fish Dory on her own adventure to reunite with loved ones.

According to Disney, the film will feature new characters along with familiar ones, including Nemo and his dad, Marlin, who was voiced by Albert Brooks. There's no word yet from Disney on whether Brooks will reprise his voice role.

"Finding Nemo" was released in 2003 and took in $921 million worldwide. The movie was the first Pixar production to win the Academy Award for best animated feature after the category was added in 2001. Pixar films have gone on to dominate, winning the Oscar seven years out of 12.

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'BUCKWILD' Star, 2 Others Found Dead in West Virginia

Associated Press — Mon, 1 Apr 2013 8:26:58 PM

SISSONVILLE, W.Va. (AP) - Shain Gandee lived for the outdoors, often going on muddy, off-road thrill rides in the hills near his West Virginia home. A recent late-night escapade ended in tragedy for the MTV reality show cast member and two others.

The popular "BUCKWILD" cast member was found dead Monday inside a sport utility vehicle belonging to his family that was found partially submerged in a deep mud pit about a mile from his home near Sissonville, authorities said. Also inside were the bodies of his uncle and another man.

Kanawha County Sheriff's Cpl. B.D. Humphreys said the red-and-white 1984 Ford Bronco's muffler was below the surface and that mud covered the passenger side. No foul play is expected.

Authorities said the cause of the deaths was still under investigation and they refused to speculate on what happened. If the muffler was submerged and the engine kept running, it's possible the cabin of the vehicle could have filled with fatal carbon monoxide from the exhaust.

Shain, nicknamed "Gandee Candy" by fans, was a breakout star of the show that followed the antics of a group of young friends enjoying their wild country lifestyle. It was filmed last year, mostly around Sissonville and Charleston. Many of its rowdy exploits were his idea. In one episode, he turned a dump truck into a swimming pool.

Gandee was a true outdoorsman, shedding modern conveniences such as cell phones and computers for his proud redneck ways. He loved to hunt, ride all-terrain vehicles and go "mudding," or offroad driving. He went mudding in the show's first episode and ruined his pickup truck's motor.

"Shain always rides with these kids in four-wheelers and trucks," said a neighbor, Swanna Frampton, who had known him since he was a small child. "They were just out riding and having a good time."

Frampton said the 21-year-old Gandee "loved to live and have fun. He was a great person. He did what (the show) wanted him to do, but he wasn't like that. He was a real person. If you needed help, if needed something, he would come help you no matter what."

Humphreys said Gandee, his 48-year-old uncle, David Gandee, and 27-year-old Donald Robert Myers were last seen around 3 a.m. Sunday at a bar and they told people they were going driving off-road.

State police were getting ready to send out an aviation unit to search for the men when authorities received a call Monday morning. Humphreys said the SUV was found by one of Shain Gandee's friends next to a trail used by four-wheel drive vehicles, about 15 miles outside of Charleston.

The terrain in the Thaxton Hollow area was "very muddy, very rough," Humphreys said, and responders had to use all-terrain vehicles to get to the site.

Humphreys did not provide details on the condition of the bodies.

Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said the news was devastating for the small community near Charleston.

"It's a very sad day for the Sissonville area and for these families," he said. "This is a small community, and most of us know directly members of these families. We're keeping them in our hearts and prayers."

MTV issued a statement saying it was shocked and saddened to learn of its star's death.

"We are waiting for more information but at this time, our main concern is for the Gandee family and their friends," the statement said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them. Shain had a magnetic personality, with a passion for life that touched everyone he met and we will miss him dearly."

Shooting for the second season of "BUCKWILD" had begun, but MTV spokesman Jake Urbanski said Monday afternoon it has been suspended.

MTV said the half-hour series in the old "Jersey Shore" time slot was pulling in an average of 3 million viewers per episode since its premiere and was the No. 1 original cable series on Thursday nights among 12- to 34-year-olds.

Shain Gandee is the third BUCKWILD cast member to make headlines.

Last week, 24-year-old Salwa Amin was sent back to jail for violating the terms of her bond following a February arrest. She was charged with two counts of drug possession with intent to deliver and initially jailed on $200,000 bond. That was later reduced to $100,000, but Amin remained behind bars without bond on Monday.

State Police say a multi-agency task force arrested Amin and two other people at a Summersville residence after receiving a tip from an informant. A search found oxycodone pills, heroin and $3,000 in cash.

Another cast mate, Michael Douglas Burford, was charged in February with driving under the influence.

Urbanski said none of Gandee's cast mates was available to do an interview Monday, and none immediately planned to issue a statement. But their feelings came through on Twitter, where Ashley Whitt called her friend "the most amazing person I've ever known."

"I know you will be watching over me every time I hit a mudhole. You will always be my best friend, I love you!" she wrote.

Cast mate Cara Parrish and others asked fans to pray for Gandee's parents, Loretta and Dale. "This is the emptiest I've ever felt," she wrote in a tweet.

___

Associated Press Writer Vicki Smith contributed from Morgantown.

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'Bible' Producers Dismiss Obama-Satan Connection

Associated Press — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 2:45:18 PM

NEW YORK (AP) - The producers of the cable TV miniseries on the Bible say Internet chatter that their Satan character resembles President Barack Obama is "utter nonsense."

Mark Burnett and Roma Burnett said Monday the Moroccan actor who played Satan in the History channel series, Mehdi Ouzaani, has played Satanic characters in other Biblical programs long before Obama was elected president.

The connection got widespread attention after talk show host Glenn Beck last week tweeted: "Does Satan look EXACTLY like Obama? Yes!"

History said in a statement that the network has "the highest respect" for Obama, and that "it's unfortunate that anyone made this false connection."

"Both Mark and I have nothing but respect and love our president, who is a fellow Christian," said Downey, the "Touched By an Angel" actress who is married to Burnett. "False statements such as these are just designed as a foolish distraction to try and discredit the beauty of the story of the Bible."

Beck has actually been a big supporter of "The Bible." The same tweet that pointed out the actor's resemblance to Obama urged his followers: "Don't miss it."

On Monday, Beck tweeted "Media - relax."

He said the observation was "funny, nothing more" and that the series "is 1 of my fav shows. Keep watching."

The five-part miniseries has been a big hit for History, reaching more than 13 million viewers for its first episode.

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Review: Tech in Galaxy S 4 Doesn't Come Together

Associated Press — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 12:28:00 PM

NEW YORK (AP) - The Galaxy S 4, Samsung's latest and greatest, has a cute feature we'll probably see in a lot of phones soon: You can shoot both yourself and your surroundings at the same time, using the front- and back-mounted cameras. It's a bit like having a two-camera film crew follow you around.

But other than that, it's hard to point to anything that will set the world on fire in the new phone, revealed Thursday at an event in New York. The S 4 has what you'd expect from a new smartphone: a bigger screen and a faster processor. It may prove to be unfortunate that didn't stop there when it presented the successor to its hit Galaxy S III, because the phone has a grab-bag of features that don't come together as a pleasing whole.

The phone will go on sometime between late April and the end of June period, from Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA, US Cellular and Cricket, Samsung says. If history is any guide, even smaller phone companies will get it, if not right away. The phone companies will set the prices; expect this phone to start at $200 with a two-year contract.

Samsung provided reporters with some hands-on time with pre-production units, which revealed the S 4 to be, in terms of hardware, a solid successor to the III. The screen is slightly larger, at 5 inches on the diagonal compared to 4.8 inches for the III and 4 inches for the iPhone 5. It sports a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels, as much as you'd find on a high-definition TV set. This should mean that the resolution chase is over in the smartphone area: the eyes just can't discern any more pixels on these small screens. Competing top-line Android phones already have the same resolution, so Samsung isn't breaking new ground here.

The bigger screen is crammed into a chassis that's actually a hair narrower and thinner than the S III's. This is quite a feat. Samsung shrank the frame surrounding the screen to make room. Shrinking other internal components allowed it to make the battery 20 percent larger than III's, but Samsung isn't saying whether that translates into longer battery life - the added battery power could be eaten up by software and hardware changes.

The body is still dominated by softly molded plastic, and the S 4 doesn't really advance the aesthetics of its predecessor the way competitors Apple, Sony and HTC have done with their latest phones. Apple and HTC, in particular, have put a lot of sweat into machining metal into jewel-like enclosures; Samsung doesn't seem to care all that much about looks.

Samsung does care about trying to push the envelope on what the phone does, but it may have poked through the envelope, tearing a hole or two in it. It's probably not a disaster, because most of its features can be turned off, but first-time users could be confused.

For one thing, Samsung is taking the whole "touch screen" thing further by now sensing when the user's finger is hovering over the screen. In other words, you don't even need to touch the phone to make it react. Hovering over a thumbnail of a picture in the Gallery will reveal a bigger thumbnail, and hovering over one email in a list will show a preview of its first lines.

The idea is similar to the "mouse hover" feature on a PC, which sometimes reveals things before the mouse is clicked. Implementing it on a smartphone is trickier, though. On the PC, you have to use the mouse, so you'll discover the hover functions in the normal course of use. But since the feature is new in a smartphone and there's normally no reason to have your finger hovering over the screen, users are likely to discover this feature by chance. That wouldn't be so bad if all applications responded to hovering in a consistent manner, but very few applications react to it all. On the S 4, the "Email" app will show previews, but the "Gmail" app won't. The built-in "Gallery" app will show picture previews, but other photo apps won't. I suspect users will get tired of trying to hover with their fingers and give up on the whole thing.

The hovering feature also sets the phone up for another problem. In my testing, I found that the phone sometimes registered a close hover as a touch. In other words, the screen was overly sensitive, thinking I was touching it when I wasn't. This may be fixed by the time the phone is in production, but it's potentially an annoying issue.

The S 4 tries to divine your intentions in two additional ways. It has an infra-red sensor that looks for hand movements up to about 4 inches away from the phone, and it uses the front-side camera to figure out if it's front of the user's face. Thanks to the IR sensor, the phone's browser responds to an "up swipe" in the air above it with by scrolling up, and to a "side" swipe by jumping to another tab. This could be pretty useful when the smartphone is the lunchtime companion and you don't want to grease it up with foody fingers, but again, the "air swipe to scroll" shows up in only a few applications.

The camera is supposed to engage when you're watching a video, pausing playback if it thinks you're looking away. This didn't work in the preproduction unit I tested, but it's hard to imagine that this is a feature to die for.

The list of user interface innovations goes on, but they don't amount to a coherent new way of interacting with the phone. Nor do they turn the phone into something that's intelligently aware of what goes on around it. It's more like Samsung is throwing a bunch of technologies into the phone to see what sticks. Sometimes, that's how progress works, but consumers might not appreciate being guinea pigs.

The S 4 presents an interesting contrast to the BlackBerry Z10, which is coming out in a few weeks. Research In Motion Ltd. jettisoned the old BlackBerry software and rebuilt it from the ground up. The phone's hardware isn't as impressive as Samsung's, but the software is easy to use, and it's based on a strong idea: taking the pain out of communicating across email, text messaging and social networks. The S 4, unfortunately, doesn't have the same clarity of purpose.

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Pepsi's 'Test Drive' Video Goes Viral

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 3:12:12 PM

A new Pepsi video prank staring NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon has gone viral. The video features an undercover Gordon test driving a 2009 Chevy Camaro.

The salesman got the test drive of a lifetime. Some believe its all staged and the salesman was in on the prank, the folks behind the video insist the salesman was clueless to the whole situation.

According to pepsi, the salesman threatened to call police, but eventually backed-off when he learned it was all just a joke.

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2 Acts Seeking Compensation for 'Harlem Shake'

Associated Press — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:42:59 AM

NEW YORK (AP) - Two performers who say their songs have been used in Baauer's No. 1 hit "Harlem Shake" are seeking compensation because their vocals have been used without permission.

The New York Times reports that songs from Hector Delgado and Jayson Musson are used in "Harlem Shake," which has become a viral hit thanks to YouTube videos of people dancing to the song.

Delgado's "Maldades" and "Miller Time" by Musson's former rap group, Plastic Little, are said to be sampled in "Harlem Shake." The song is spending its third week on top of Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

Delgado and Musson say they never gave Baauer, who was born Harry Bauer Rodrigues, permission to use their songs. Both Musson and Delgado are seeking compensation from Mad Decent Records, which put out the single and declined to comment.

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Facebook Changing Layout of News Feed

Associated Press — Thu, 7 Mar 2013 2:04:07 PM

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has unveiled a new look for the social network's News Feed, the place where its 1 billion users congregate to see what's happening with their friends, family and favorite businesses.

The makeover will carve out more space to show the billions of photos and videos that are being posted on Facebook each month. The redesign, which began rolling out Thursday, also ushers in more ways for users to control the types of posts that appear in their feeds.

Zuckerberg says he wants the News Feed to become more like a digital newspaper filled with compelling information tailored for each user.

The changes are Facebook's attempt to learn more about its users and keep people coming back so the company can sell more advertising.

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Bonnie Franklin, 'One Day At a Time' Star, Dies

Associated Press — Fri, 1 Mar 2013 12:18:04 PM

NEW YORK (AP) - Bonnie Franklin, the pert, redheaded actress whom millions came to identify with for her role as divorced mom Ann Romano on the long-running sitcom "One Day at a Time," has died.

She died Friday at her home due to complications from pancreatic cancer, family members said in a statement. She was 69. Her family had announced she was diagnosed with cancer in September.

Franklin was a veteran stage and television performer before "One Day At a Time" made her a star.

Developed by Norman Lear and co-created by Whitney Blake - herself a former sitcom star and single mother raising future actress Meredith Baxter - the series was groundbreaking for its focus on a young divorced mother seeking independence from a suffocating marriage.

It premiered on CBS in December 1975, just five years after the network had balked at having Mary Tyler Moore play a divorcee on her own comedy series, insisting that newly single Mary Richards be portrayed as having ended her engagement instead.

On her own in Indianapolis, Ann Romano was raising two teenage girls (played by Mackenzie Phillips, already famous for the film "American Graffiti," and a previously unknown Valerie Bertinelli). "One Day At a Time" ran on CBS until 1984, by which time both daughters had grown and married, while Romano had remarried and become a grandmother. During the first seven of its nine seasons on the air, the show was a Top 20 hit.

Like other Lear productions such as "All in the Family" and "Good Times," ''One Day at a Time" dealt with contemporary issues once absent from TV comedies such as premarital sex, birth control, suicide and sexual harassment - issues that had previously been overlooked by TV comedies whose households were usually headed by a husband and wife or, rarely, a widowed parent.

Meanwhile, the series weathered its own crises as Phillips was twice written out of the series to deal with her drug abuse and other personal problems.

Writing in her 2009 memoir "High On Arrival," Phillips remembered Franklin as hardworking and professional, even a perfectionist.

"Bonnie felt a responsibility to the character and always gave a million notes on the scripts," Phillips wrote. "Above all, she didn't want it to be sitcom fluff - she wanted it to deal honestly with the struggles and truths of raising two teenagers as a single mother."

In her 2008 memoir "Losing It," Bertinelli noted that Franklin, just 31 when the show began, wasn't old enough to be her real mother.

Even so, wrote Bertinelli, "within a few days I recognized her immense talent and felt privileged to work with her. ... She was like a hip, younger complement to my real mom."

The truth of "One Day at a Time" was brought home to Franklin when in 2005 she got together with both TV daughters for a "One Day at a Time" reunion special. She told both actresses, "You are living, in a sense, Ann Romano's life - you are single parents raising teenage kids. That is shocking and terrifying to me."

Franklin herself was married for 29 years. Her husband, TV producer Marvin Minoff, died in 2009.

Born Bonnie Gail Franklin in Santa Monica, Calif., she entered show business at an early age. She was a child tap dancer and actress, and a protege of Donald O'Connor, with whom she performed in the 1950s on NBC's "Colgate Comedy Hour."

A decade later, she was appearing on such episodic programs as "Mr. Novak," ''Gidget" and "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."

On stage, Franklin was in the original Broadway production of "Applause," for which she received a 1970 Tony Award nomination, and other plays including "Dames at Sea" and "A Thousand Clowns."

Franklin's recent credits include appearances on "The Young and the Restless" and the TV Land comedy "Hot in Cleveland," which again reunited her with Bertinelli, one of that show's regulars.

A private memorial will be held next week, her family said.

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