Andre Balazs

Andre Balazs : If rumors about Courtney Love and Andre Balazs dating in the past were true, than we may see a cat fight between Kurt Cobain's widow and Chelsea Handler.

The reason? According to Page Six, Chelsea Handler was joined by Andre on Saturday night, at the Sundance Film Festival.
The two were seen canoodling at the Florence and the Machine concert at the Bing Bar. They also perched on a banquette hip-to-hip at Tao at the Samsung Galaxy Lift. "They looked  very giddy. At one point Chelsea put her arms around his torso and held him close. She then went around the barricade and he followed", one eyewitness revealed.
What about 50 Cent? Or Courtney Love!

Manuela Testolini

Manuela Testolini, Singer Eric Benet has announced its commitment to “Manuela Testolin,”an entrepreneur and founder of the charity Children in a perfect world.

Benet, 44, was married to Halle Berry. Their marriage ended six years ago. Testolin was married to Prince.Their marriage ended in 2006.

Benet and Testolin are in Egypt today celebrated the commitment. He told Lifeline Live in a statement how he popped the question:

“During a romantic dinner that I finally decided to suggest Manuela Never Want to Live Without You, a song from my new album that I wrote for her. I sang it for her, then got down on one knee and proposed. ”

Although Halle Berry seems to get serious with Olivier Martinez, her ex-husband Eric Benet has to settle for it.

The musician, 44, whose divorce was finalized Berry six years ago, proposed Manuela Testolin in November with a diamond antique ring he designed, Benet confirms to PEOPLE.

“During a romantic dinner that I finally decided to suggest Manuela” Never Want to Live Without You, “a song from my new album that I wrote for her,” said Benet. “I sang for her, then got down on one knee and proposed. ”

Manuela, an entrepreneur and founder of the charity in a perfect world, was previously married to the prince. She has been dating for three years Benet. The wedding is planned for this summer.

Cry Baby

Cry Baby, “Champ” (or Greaser) Wade Walker, also known as Crybaby for his ability to shed one tear, falls madly squares Allison Vernon-Williams who, incidentally, is tired of being good. Written by Corey Semple corrected by Mickey

Allison is a “square” good girl who has decided she wants to be bad and falls hard for Cry-Baby Walker, a grease (or “Champ” in the language of John Waters). Spoofing Elvis movies and films juvenile delinquency scare of the 50s, this film follows the adventures of Crybaby, which, if sent to Juvie, is determined to cross class (and taste) boundaries to get Allison back. Written by Linda (& Moo)

Poor boy meets rich girl. Boy falls for girl. Friends do not approve of the boy. Girl falls for boy. Friends and family do not approve
In the new horror celebrity not, the last member of a family cast the most popular on television, David Nelson died Tuesday from cancer of the colon. Nelson was 74.

David Nelson had a long career in showbiz, appearing in several episodes of hit series of his family “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,” during its run of 14. He also traveled to direct and produce shows many episodes before the end of the program in 1966.

The series was filmed in the family home Nelson, who is now a tourist attraction in California. Nelson continued his film career and appeared in the 1990 film “Cry Baby””starring Johnny Depp, while working in television as both actor and director. He had guest appearances on several popular television shows including “The Love Boat.”

Carlina White

Carlina White, (CP) – A woman who was kidnapped as a newborn 23 years ago to find her real mother said “It was like a dream.”

Carlina White was just 19 days old when she vanished from Harlem Hospital in New York. She tells the New York Post that after the woman who had raised it could not produce a birth certificate, she became suspicious.

White was raised in Connecticut, under the name Nejdra Nance. She now lives in Atlanta.

The Center for Missing and Exploited Children has helped her find her biological mother, Joy White. They were reunited in New York on Saturday.

The newspaper interviewed both women and Carlina’s father on Wednesday.

A kidnapping case that baffled police for more than two decades has finally been resolved, thanks to efforts by the victim herself removal.

Carlina White was less than three weeks in August 1987 when her mother took her to Harlem Hospital to be checked for fever. But when Joy White returned to the emergency department two hours after admission, her daughter had disappeared.

While the abduction made national headlines, as investigators puzzled and finally cold.

But Joy White, who was 16 at the time of removal, has never given up hope that she would see her child again.

That patience was rewarded earlier this month, when a woman of 23 who grew up in Connecticut and now lives in Atlanta, Georgia unexpectedly contacted joy

Police said the young woman who now bears the name of Njedra Nance had long harbored suspicions she was not biologically related to her family. After launching its own investigation, she came across photos of a child posted on the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website that she thought was an uncanny resemblance to her own child shots.

Nance contacted the center and was put in touch with Joy. After sending along some of her own baby pictures, White was convinced too.

While the White family said they knew right away that Nance was actually Candice little baby all grown up, he turned to the New York City Police Department conclusive.

“It seemed legitimate and credible, so I had the missing persons (team) to reach out to her,” NYPD Martin Brown told the AP, explaining that DNA tests conducted on Joy White, her ex-husband Carl Tyson, and 23-year-old Nance has now officially confirmed the family ties.

But the long-lost relatives did not wait for the evidence collection, instead of a first meeting last week when Nance traveled to the Bronx with her 5-year-old daughter, Samani.

“It was wonderful, she did not even seem like a stranger, she has just the right person,” Elizabeth White told AP. “We all went there, we had dinner together, her aunts were there. She brought her daughter beautiful. It was magical. “

QWIKI

QWIKI, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, in conjunction with YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim, CEO of Juniper Networks and CTO Pradeep Sindhu, and venture capital investors have added $ 8 million into the coffers of Qwik start, which gives results research in multimedia, rather than links.

The latest round of funding – which has also received suggestions from Greylock, Lerer Ventures, Contour Ventures, Ventures and tug – Qwik means has raised a total of 9.5 million, including turn angel. Founded in 2009 by CEO Doug Imbruce, management of the corporation includes CTO Louis Monier, founder of AltaVista.

Qwik, which is currently in its alpha phase by invitation only, uses a variety of sources to answer user queries, taking pictures of sites such as Flickr and Wikipedia data, for example, to generate video storyboards. Content is mechanized, as the promoter. To date, the site has over 3 million terms of reference to deliver results in a combination of video, audio, text and images.

“Our new financial partners will help provide the resources, independence and strategic know-how to grow Qwik the next level and to continuously improve the way the world consumes information,” said Imbruce, in a statement.

Saverin, who now lives in Paris, declined to disclose the amount invested in Qwik. He was director of Facebook first company and owns 5% of social media giant, valued at about 2.5 billion.

“Qwik is a revolutionary platform that will define the future of information consumption in the world. I am particularly pleased to support the team Qwik that their product is the initial momentum. It is always fascinating to be involved in the early stages of disruptive technology, “Saverin said in a statement.

The company, which began in September 2010, plans to use the financial infusion to fund technology development and launch across multiple platforms, according Qwik. This year, people will be able to use and create Qwik on almost any subject, on any device, the company said. In addition, Qwik considering adding more scientists and artists to its staff, he said.

“Whether you are planning a trip on the Web, the evaluation of restaurants in your phone, or help with homework in front of family AppleTV, Qwik dedicated to providing information in a format that is the quintessence of the man – the story instead of research, “the company’s Web site said.” We believe that because the machine stores the data does not mean it should be presented as a machine-readable list. Try harder. ”

Qwik, a startup pioneer “experience information” via a processing broadcast data in the accounts of rich media, announced today that it closed and 8 million in Series A funding. To date, the company raised a total of 9.5 million and including turn angel.

The round was led by several high-profile investors, including investors Eduardo Saverin primary (co-founder, Facebook), Jawed Karim (Co-founder, YouTube) and Pradeep Sindhu (Co-Founder, Juniper Networks). Institutional investors included Lerer Media Ventures, Ventures and Contour Venture Partners tug. Pejman Nozad Saverin and will join the Board of Directors Qwik as observers. The union of the individual investor has been organized by the New York City-based investment Felix.

“The public’s enthusiasm for Qwik after our debut TechCrunch Disrupt demonstrates the incredible opportunity that awaits us,” says CEO Doug Imbruce. “Our new financial partners will help provide the resources, independence and strategic know-how to grow Qwik the next level and to continuously improve the way the world consumes information.”

Eduardo Saverin said, “Qwik is a revolutionary platform that will define the future of information consumption in the world. I am particularly pleased to support the team Qwik that their product is the initial momentum. It is always exciting to be involved in the early stages of disruptive technology. ”

“Qwik is a game changer,” said Jawed Karim. “The team has managed to create a new media format that will greatly enhance the Web experience.”

Funding follows the release of private invitation-only Alpha Qwik of its reference product, for which the company has received hundreds of thousands of user registrations. Qwik use the $ 8 million to fund technology development and launch publicly on multiple platforms.

About Qwik, Inc.
Qwik was co-founded by the entrepreneur and Doug Imbruce Internet industry pioneer Dr. Louis Monier (AltaVista founder). Company’s technology transforms the data into rich-media stories, offering an “experience of information.” Qwik began in September 2010 at the TechCrunch Conference Disrupt, where he won the Cup Disrupt TechCrunch. The Company released its private alpha and plans to launch publicly on multiple platforms soon. For more information, please visit www.qwiki.com.

Source: http://www.informationweek.com/news/smb/ebusiness/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=229100031&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All

Portlandia

Portlandia, Jason Sudeikis is on the lookout. The new single “Saturday Night Live” actor, who had just separated from “Mad Men” star January Jones, spent nearly an hour hit on Heather Graham at the premiere of IFC”’Portlandia “Edison Ballroom on Wednesday evening. Graham, who we hear was separated from his brother Yaniv Raz, the actor has found relatively fun, but after a male friend of the “hangover” hottie stopped Thurs Sudeikis, funny man went to a redhead.

”’Portlandia “star Fred Armisen and his” SNL “co-star Abby Elliot has done nothing to the rumors of their relationship to rest. The two sat together and smiled at each other periodically during screening of the issue. They also blocked during a performance close later in the night by The Thermals. At one point, 44-year Armisen even kissed the wall next to where Elliot, 23, has was brutally dance. We will not ask.

Dreaming of living in a country where food trucks offer meals in reusable boxes, cyclists get respect at the drive, and Freegans forage for free? Portland is for you – and a new show of the IFC called”Portlandia “both celebrates and parodies of the city so-green-It’s-funny.
“It’s like Gore won! – The Bush administration never happened “.”’ Portlandia “That’s how the idealism of Portland has described the scheme opening musical nitpickiness And this idealism in a green usurped restaurant scene where a pair of guests pepper the boy with a battery of questions about the chicken they can or can not eat – “How big is the area that the chickens are able to travel for free?” – before leaving the restaurant to visit the farm firsthand.
GOOD Taylor Clark thoughtlessly details inside jokes non-’Portlandia”ns may not be aware. “The [Portland] audience laughed riotously” We put the bird on things, “the second episode of skits featuring a bike messenger motorist who abuse the television and a duo who specialize in birds stenciled on each type of consumer product imaginable, but for those who have not experienced cyclists belligerents Portland and birds obsessed indie artisans first hand, I’m not sure it’s funny these bits will be. “

Spartacus Gods of the Arena

Spartacus Gods of the Arena season 1 episode 1 online with an episode title “Past Transgressions” which is set to air on January 21, 2011. The series is the prequel to the Spartacus: Blood and Sand and surround with the story of Gannicus (Dustin Clare), the first gladiator to become Champion of Capua. Casts of this series are Dustin Clare, Lucy Lawless, John Hannah, Peter Mensah, and Manu Bennett. The premiere episode of the mini-series was directed by Jesse Warn.

The following shows the plot summary of Spartacus: Gods of the Arena episode 1 – Past Transgressions with the promo trailer below:

Once young Batiatus finally gets the control of his father’s gladiator school, he immediately begins to plot to make a profitable business out of his ludus. In order to succeed, he puts his most skilled fighter into good use to gain the favour of a rich and cunning nobleman who can help fund the building of a new arena.

Portlandia

Portlandia, Jason Sudeikis is on the lookout. The new single “Saturday Night Live” actor, who had just separated from “Mad Men” star January Jones, spent nearly an hour hit on Heather Graham at the premiere of IFC”’Portlandia “Edison Ballroom on Wednesday evening. Graham, who we hear was separated from his brother Yaniv Raz, the actor has found relatively fun, but after a male friend of the “hangover” hottie stopped Thurs Sudeikis, funny man went to a redhead.

”’Portlandia “star Fred Armisen and his” SNL “co-star Abby Elliot has done nothing to the rumors of their relationship to rest. The two sat together and smiled at each other periodically during screening of the issue. They also blocked during a performance close later in the night by The Thermals. At one point, 44-year Armisen even kissed the wall next to where Elliot, 23, has was brutally dance. We will not ask.

Dreaming of living in a country where food trucks offer meals in reusable boxes, cyclists get respect at the drive, and Freegans forage for free? Portland is for you – and a new show of the IFC called”Portlandia “both celebrates and parodies of the city so-green-It’s-funny.
“It’s like Gore won! – The Bush administration never happened “.”’ Portlandia “That’s how the idealism of Portland has described the scheme opening musical nitpickiness And this idealism in a green usurped restaurant scene where a pair of guests pepper the boy with a battery of questions about the chicken they can or can not eat – “How big is the area that the chickens are able to travel for free?” – before leaving the restaurant to visit the farm firsthand.
GOOD Taylor Clark thoughtlessly details inside jokes non-’Portlandia”ns may not be aware. “The [Portland] audience laughed riotously” We put the bird on things, “the second episode of skits featuring a bike messenger motorist who abuse the television and a duo who specialize in birds stenciled on each type of consumer product imaginable, but for those who have not experienced cyclists belligerents Portland and birds obsessed indie artisans first hand, I’m not sure it’s funny these bits will be. “

Keith Olbermann

Keith Olbermann, the highest-rated host on MSNBC, announced abruptly on the air Friday night that he is leaving “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” immediately.

The host, who has had a stormy relationship with the management of the network for some time, especially since he was suspended for two days last November, came to an agreement with NBC’s corporate management late this week to settle his contract and step down.

In a closing statement on his show, Mr. Olbermann said simply that it would be the last edition of the program. He offered no explanation other than on occasion, the show had become too much for him.

Mr. Olbermann thanked his viewers for their enthusiastic support of a show that had “gradually established its position as anti-establishment.”

In a statement, MSNBC said : “MSNBC and Keith Olbermann have ended their contract. The last broadcast of ‘Countdown with Keith Olbermann’ will be this evening. MSNBC thanks Keith for his integral role in MSNBC’s success and we wish him well in his future endeavors.”

MSNBC announced that “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” would replace “Countdown” at 8 p.m., with “The Ed Show” with Ed Schultz taking Mr. O’Donnell’s slot at 10 p.m.

Redbox

Redbox : Sigourney Weaver in 1986′s Aliens wasn’t the first action woman in film–tough chicks with guns had been a staple of drive-in exploitation and blaxploitation flicks for decades. (It’s no coincidence Aliens director James Cameron came up through the ranks of Roger Corman’s B-movie mill.) But the moment Ellen Ripley learned how to lock and load a pulse rifle it signaled the mainstreaming of the female action hero.

Angelina Jolie carried the torch in the ’90s with the Tomb Raider movies, and in 2003 and ’04 Uma Thurman and Quentin Tarantino brought Asian-style cinematic female empowerment (and sword play) to American screens with Kill Bill.

But the past year has also seen the rise of a new kind of action lady: The hipster powerhouse with neon hair and deadly blades, a la Knives Chau and Ramona Flowers in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and of course that foul-mouthed, possibly sociopathic, instant grrl-power icon, Hit Girl in Kick-Ass. Not only will they slice, dice and stomp you, but they probably have better taste in music.

Vegemite

Vegemite : Some people just can’t leave well enough alone. Vegemite has tasted exactly the same for 85 years and suddenly, someone has had a rush of blood to the head and decided to mess with it.

I don’t normally use this blog to comment on Australian happenings (save for gratuitous John Butler adoration) but when you discover that an Australian icon has been tampered with, you have to take a stand!

According to media reports, Kraft Australia, has decided to create a “versatile Vegemite” one that you can dip and spread in a way that previous Vegemite consistency just did not allow for. To achieve this feat of engineering the manufacturers have mixed Vegemite with cream cheese. Apparently “It’s Vegemite, But Different.”

Now I am a die-hard Vegemite supporter, and have been known to indulge in some Vegemite-nostalgia with Australians we’ve met along the way, but Vegemite and cream cheese??? I think that’s pushing the boundaries of culinary decency.

Perhaps Kraft has decided to round out the nutritional properties of this wonder food. While Vegemite-detractors (ie. Nyani) may dispute Vegemite’s health advantages, way back in the 1940s, Vegemite earned British Medical Association endorsement for its high Vitamin B content. Vegemite was even strictly rationed during World War II so that supplies could be sent to the troops abroad.

Or maybe Kraft simply felt there were some dishes that Vegemite just wasn’t finding its way into. I have previously limited my Vegemite intake to toast, and maybe the occasional spread-on-cracker-squeeze-through-holes adventure (which makes me a "Wormer" according to the Vegemite profiler page, with occasional "Scrambler" and "Redback" leanings), but, according to the Kraft site, Vegemite has far wider application – Vegemite Asian Prawn Skewers anyone?

Maybe I’m getting old, but vegemite and cream cheese? Sounds downright un-Australian to me.

John Dye

Actor John Dye has died.

The actor, best known for playing Angel of Death Andrew alongside Della Reese and Roma Downey on CBS’ non-defunct Sunday night drama Touched by an Angel, passed away at his home in San Francisco on Monday.

He was 47.

News of Dye’s death spread across the web like wildfire on Thursday after the actor’s former Touched by an Angel co-star Valerie Bertinelli paid tribute to her pal in a message posted to her Twitter: “Dear, sweet John Dye, rest in peace,” Bertinelli wrote.

The actor is remembered by dad Jim Dye as “very giving” and a tireless supporter of the Make a Wish Foundation and various organizations on the forefront of AIDS research.

A cause of death has not yet been determined, but family members believe Dye succumbed to heart failure.

The Mississippi native Dye racked up a number of TV credits during his career with appearances on shows including Murder, She Wrote, Promised Land, and The Young and the Restless in addition to his nine season run on Angel

Cnet Download

The new Mac App Store may be a useful way to find software for OS X, but some people have expressed their disgust at the store and would rather not have it in their systems. Some even have avoided upgrading to OS X 10.6.6 to avoid putting the store on their systems. While this is a way around the store, doing so will also prevent them from benefiting from the latest security and bug fixes that future OS updates will bring.
         
Some people have worried about the “storeagent” process that appears in the OS X Activity Monitor in OS X 10.6.6. This process is in the “Kit Trade” framework that is part of OS X 10.6.6, and is configured to run on demand when the store is open, and seems to be a version manager to help Store notifies you when updates are available, or to inform the store that a software package is already installed.

MacFixIt reader “Bill” wrote in suggesting that if you have to add the App Store again, you can always install by running the combo update to 10.6.6 or later versions of OS X when available. Also, if you have a backup Time Machine or other backup of the application, you should be able to copy it to your Applications folder and then run a permissions fix the boot drive to run it as it was initially installed.

If you are interested in alternatives to the Mac store on the application, there are few resources on the Web that are similar, including CNET Download.com.

JPM

Banks may have the wind at their backs, but there appears to be a ‘sell the news’ reaction this morning after J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) reported its fourth quarter earnings.  The bank touted as the healthiest of the money center banks beat earnings at $1.12 EPS versus the Thomson Reuters estimate of $0.99 EPS.  We had written down $1.00 as the estimate before and we were actually looking for as much as $1.10 this morning by our own count.  The banking giant posted almost 6% higher revenues to $26.72 billion versus a Thomson Reuters estimate of $24.44 billion.
                         
A significantly lower credit loss provision and overall higher revenues drove the earnings.   Non-interest revenue was up more than 35% to $14.5 billion on principal transactions revenue and by higher mortgage fees and other related income.  Net interest income was down 15% to $12.2 billion due to rates and lower loan and securities balances.

The provision for credit losses was down a sharp 66% to $3.0 billion; total consumer provision for credit losses was cut by more than half to $3.1 billion on reductions in the allowance for credit losses for both credit cards and for mortgages.  JPMorgan is citing improved delinquency trends coupled with a lowering of credit losses.  Consumer net charge-offs were $4.8 billion versus $6.6 billion a year earlier. Non-performing assets were $16.6 billion versus $19.7 billion a year ago and versus $17.7 billion in the third quarter.  The total credit reserves across the company fell to $33.0 billion, resulting in a coverage ratio of 4.5% of total loans.

JPMorgan’s Tier 1 Common ratio was estimates at 9.8% at the end of the year versus 8.8% a year before and versus 9.5% one quarter back.