Posted: 30 Aug 2009 11:55 PM PDT

*With today's release of her first studio album in seven years, Whitney Houston is gearing up to sell the heck out of it with a string of broadcast and print appearances in the coming weeks.

As previously reported, the 46-year-old pop sensation will promote "I Look to You" with an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that will air on Sept. 14. Next Tuesday, she'll tape a performance in New York's Central Park for ABC's "Good Morning America."

And according to Reuters, several magazine cover stories are in the works, including the next issue of Ebony. A tour may also be on the horizon for next year.

Industry sources expect the Arista album will sell between 300,000 and 400,000 copies across the United States during its first week, easily taking the No. 1 spot during a late-summer slump. Such a start would outpace first-week tallies for recent releases by Kelly Clarkson (255,000) and Madonna (280,000) but fall short of those for Mariah Carey (463,000), Beyonce (482,000) and Britney Spears (505,000).

"This is a cultural event," said Scott Seviour, the label's senior VP of marketing and artist development. "The enthusiasm and the energy for this release is palpable."

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Interview With Drunk Chick - USA Vanguard

Posted: 30 Aug 2009 10:36 PM PDT

There was an episode of "Family Guy" where one of the aside bits referenced the drunk chick at a party that everyone tries to avoid. The girl was staggering around announcing, "This song is about me!" and "I just smoked the wrong side of a cigarette!" before falling down.

It was hilarious. Why? Because everyone has either seen, met, heard about, or been "that girl," and now, The Vanguard has scored an exclusive interview with the drunkest chick at any given party.

The Vanguard: How long have you been drinking excessively in public?

Drunk Chick: Oh, about three years now. Like, all of my friends used to drink a lot, but they've calmed down, and they don't get drunk-drunk anymore. I'm the only one left.

V: Uh, huh. How do you feel the morning after you drink? Are there things you can't remember from the evening before?

D: Um, usually hung-over. Like, on a scale from one to throttled, I usually rate a minced-meat. (Laughs) Usually, everything comes back to me from the night before. I use my cell phone text messages for context clues as to what I'm thinking or what I did. For example, if I have a "leave me alone you drunk (bleep)" message, then I know at some point, I tried to text one of my ex-boyfriends. But yeah, there are usually scenes missing, depending on how late the night ended up being. The worst is when I wake up in someone else's bed.

V: You wake up in other people's beds and you can't remember how you got there? What methods do you do to ensure you're not taken advantage of or don't get sexual diseases from your "memory loss" episodes that end with you in a stranger's bed?

D: Well, I'm on the pill, so I know I won't get pregnant, and I mean, I sort of figure most guys will use a rubber because they don't know I'm on the pill. It hasn't been an issue so far. As far as being taken advantage of … I think someone gave me a roofie colada once, but then again, I was so drunk (giggles) I really don't know!

V: Wow. Uh, did you know that the last time you went out, last Thursday, your tube top slipped and at some point, you announced that three Britney Spears' songs, including "Circus," summed up your life to a T. How does that make you feel?

D: (visibly uncomfortable) Uh, really? Kind of embarrassed. I said my life was like a Britney song? Really? Oh, God.

V: When you go out, is it that you feel you can't stop drinking? Do you think if you don't drink, people won't find you as fun? Why do you drink so much when you go out? Do you enjoy being the drunkest girl at the party?

D: Uh, no, I don't get wasted on purpose. I sometimes pre-game to make the evening cheaper, so I'm usually tipsy when I show up. Then, I have a few drinks, and I drink pretty quickly, so I'm drunk before I know it, then someone asks me to do a shot, and I can't say no to shots! (nervous laugh) Who can, right? So, by the time I'm plastered, I forget that I only meant to have a few drinks. Next thing you know, it's the next day and there are pics of me on Facebook, and I'm housed. You know the pictures I'm talking about?

V: Yeah, the ones where your eyes are half-opened, you're showing a little too much side-boob, and you can see the cellulite on the back of your thighs for some reason. Hot stuff. What do you think the perceptions of others are of your behavior?

D: Well, they're drinking too, so they don't notice, I don't think.

V: Well, actually, they're not drinking as much as you, so they're not as drunk as you, so they do notice. People you engage with socially have anonymously reported that you're obnoxious, and they would prefer to not invite you, but because you guys are going to be in the same medicine program for the next few years, they'd rather avoid tensions in the work place and just invite you. You're the pity invite.

D: (upset) Good Lord, what am I supposed to say to that? (getting flustered) I thought this was an interview, not an intervention! (pushes back chair) This is bull (bleep). I'm leaving. (storms out and slams door)

Be the first to comment on this article!

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Britney Spears and Russell Brand at it again - Osoblog.tv

Posted: 28 Aug 2009 01:31 AM PDT

Britney Spears and Russell Brand at it again

Britney Spears has continued her recent campaign to prove that she's now slim, definitely not mad and has a sense of humour with yet another spoof video.

This time, she's teamed up with Russell Brand in an advert to promote the 2009 Video Music Awards. The video sees Britney by her pool in LA considering Brand's amorous attentions.

The British comedian is then shown alone in a hotel room, trying to send her telepathic messages. He of course sticks to his usual chat up lines:

'Britney. This is the voice of your mind. Go to Russell's hotel room and abandon yourself. Give yourself to him, Britney. Sleep with Russell!'

Well, if it worked on Kate Moss...

Click here to get your discount voucher for the new Dove HairMinimising Anti-Perspirant

Click here to check out our new Victoria Beckham style special with 6 get the looks

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Sci/Tech briefs - Tartan

Posted: 30 Aug 2009 10:07 PM PDT

Nostrils compete to process scents

Researchers conducted a study that resulted in new information on how the brain processes scents. In the study, volunteers simultaneously sampled smells from two bottles with different odors, one through each nostril. Researchers found that the brain processed the smells in an alternating fashion, with participants switching between perceiving each of the scents. Rather than smelling a mixture of the two smells, the smells alternate in a binary rivalry. Understanding this perception, called an "olfactory illusion," might help cure olfactory disorders, particularly those affecting the elderly.

Source: ScienceDaily

Wikipedia adds editorial review

Within weeks, Wikipedia will impose editorial review on articles about living people before any changes become public. Edits to pages about living people will become "flagged revisions," which will be invisible to visitors until an experienced volunteer approves of any changes. Those at the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that governs Wikipedia, hope that this will make Wikipedia more dependable given its large size and influence.

The system is particularly important for pages about living people because inaccurate information can be very harmful. Some pages are already "protected" or "semi-protected," including articles on Britney Spears and President Obama, limiting editing capabilities to only certain Wikipedia contributors.

Source: The New York Times

Scientists explain decline in bees

Honey bee colonies may be declining due to damage in their internal production of proteins. Bees make proteins using ribosomes, and a study of sick bees found fragments of ribosomal RNA in the bees' gut. These bees suffered infections that attack the ribosome, preventing bees from responding to life-threatening problems, such as pesticides and inadequate nutrition.

Additionally, a virus that damages the ribosomes is carried by Varroa mites, which were accidentally introduced in the U.S. in 1986. This virus might contribute to ribosome breakdown among bees.

Source: Associated Press

More mosquitoes may reduce disease

Researchers found that a less dense mosquito population results in bigger mosquitoes that pose more of a risk of spreading disease. An experiment where density of Aedes vigilax mosquitoes was reduced by a factor of 10 resulted in female adults increasing in size by 8 percent, living 48 percent longer, and laying 67 percent more eggs.

This finding is likely a result of less competition for food, resulting in the ability to become bigger. The mosquitoes' increased lifespan is a cause for concern because the longer a mosquito lives, the further it can fly and the more easily it can spread disease. This new information on mosquitoes suggests that mosquito control programs should focus on areas with low density of mosquitoes in addition to those areas with high mosquito density.

Source: ABC News

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Michael, Ava top R.I. baby names in ’08 - Providence Business News

Posted: 30 Aug 2009 09:17 PM PDT

PROVIDENCE – Michael and Ava topped the list of Rhode Island's most popular baby names in 2008, according to recent statistics from the Social Security Administration.

The agency's annual rankings of the 100 most popular names showed that there were 89 Michaels born in the Ocean State in 2008, the second year in a row the name topped the list. The runners-up were Jayden, a name given to 83 babies in 2008, and Jacob, which was given to 82.

As for girls, the 88 Avas born in Rhode Island in 2008 displaced last year's most popular girl's name, Sophia. Ava had come in fourth in 2007. Coming in second and third place in 2008 were Emma (85 babies) and Olivia (79).

Nationally, the most popular boy's name was Jacob, which has retained the number one spot since it displaced Michael in 1998. Jacob has also fared well in Rhode Island, ranking among the top three in each of the past five years. Taking the top spot for girls nationally was Emma, displacing previous titleholder Emily.

Celebrities may have impacted the rankings. Jayden was the name Britney Spears gave to her son in 2006, and last year it was the 11th most popular name for boys nationally and the second most popular in Rhode Island.

By contrast, in 2005, the year before Spears' Jayden was born, the name ranked 54th nationally and 35th in Rhode Island.