Archive for December, 2006

In the continuing saga of Miss USA Tara Conner it appears that she has been evicted from her apartment in the Trump Plaza. Mr. Trump of course owns the Miss USA Pageant. He told CNN that Connor is “going through some personal problems and difficulties right now which could affect her ability to reign. We are right now looking into what we can do to work with her and what we will do about her reign going forward.”

However, in a press release from The Miss Universe Organization, the organization that runs the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA competitions, Paula M. Shugart, President of the organization said “Miss USA Tara Conner has not been dethroned.”

She continues “The Miss Universe Organization and Mr. Donald J. Trump will be evaluating her behavioral and personal issues to see what we can do to work with her, and what we will do about her reign going forward. Mr. Trump will make a determination and announcement within the coming week.”

Tara Connor was crowned Miss USA on April 21, 2006. She has stirred controversy recently because while she is only 20 she has been spotted in many bars around New York City where the drinking age is 21. The Miss America pageant tries to maintain a certain image for its winners.

One of the most famous incidents came in 1984 when Vanessa Williams, the first black winner, posed nude for Penthouse. She resigned her throne.

Your Therapy:

Vanessa Williams is probably the only Miss USA winner that anyone can name besides possibly Miss Connor. It’s ironic that she broke the rules and then her career as a singer and actress took off.

Will we see the same thing for Tara? She is certainly a natural beauty who could leverage her looks to model. Can she sing? Who knows, but I’m sure most of the men out there could care less.

Filed under “Oh Boy”.

A stripper has given birth barely nine months after a she was allegedly raped at a Duke University Lacrosse party.

The defense in the case has asked for a paternity test and the judge has granted the request. Prosecutor Mike Nifong has stated he believes the victim became pregnant roughly 2 weeks after the alleged rape.

Defense attorneys remain adamant that there was no sex at the party. However, DNA testing showed genetic material from SEVERAL males in the accuser’s body and underwear but NONE matched the any member of the Lacrosse team. The defense also claimed that the stripper was given emergency contraceptives and a pregnancy test which came back negative.

There has been much speculation that the case has been woefully mishandled by Prosecutor Nifong. Defense lawyers say that the photo lineup was an “incoherent mas of contradiction and error” because procedures were not followed and only players were included so she would choose a player no matter what.

The accuser has several other children.

Your Therapy:

This case is a mess no matter how you look at it. It’s quite disturbing that the woman had several other men’s DNA (eww) in her and on her underwear. Then she gives birth nine months later to a child. Something doesn’t add up. I’m betting that a certain prosecutor’s ego is not letting him back down. It might also have something to do with him seeking re-election on the basis of prosecuting this case in a largely black area.

Will Smiths stars as Chris Gardner in this real life inspired story of rags to riches. “The Pursuit of Happyness” tells the story of Gardner’s life on the streets of San Francisco trying to raise his young son as best he can. Gardner decides he wants to become a stock broker at the age of 38 so that he can provide a better life for him and his son.

As the story opens Gardner, his wife Linda (played by Thandie Newton) and their son Christopher (played by Will’s real life son Jaden) are living in a small apartment in San Francisco. Gardner decides to dump their money into the bone density scanners, the equivalent of magic beans from Jack and the Beanstalk. Bone density scanners turn out to be way more expensive than X-ray machines and Gardner has a hard time selling the machines.

Gardner has to haul around the unwieldy machines from hospital to hospital via the subway which makes for good imagery in the movie. Meanwhile, his wife is working double shifts to try and support the family. Needless to say, this is not a situation conducive to a happy family, but then again this is not a Disney flick.

The stress leads Linda to take off to New York, leaving Gardner and Christopher behind to fend for themselves. Feeling that there are no other options, Gardner decides to become a stock broker and applies for an internship with Dean Witter. He makes the cut by proving his math skills with a Rubik’s cube (keep that in mind if you want to be a stock broker, learn to solve a Rubik’s cube).

The problem is that the internship is unpaid, so Gardner has to sell his scanners on the side while working at his internship full time. At the end of the internship one of the 20 interns will actually get a salaried job.

Now we see Gardner really start to struggle and run. He runs a lot. And he struggles a lot. He gets booted from an apartment to a motel to a subway station to a homeless shelter. Then Gardner gets robbed, his car gets stolen and he’s late for a big meeting. This is the story of Job re-cut for modern times.

But we also see Gardner start to succeed and keep pace with his 19 competitors and ultimately this will be a movie about triumph and perseverance and a father caring for his son.

Oh and about the spelling of Happyness. Gardner sees a sign at the China town daycare where he takes Christopher. The sign is celebrating the Declaration of Independence and the misspelling of happiness has a profound impact on him as the teacher explains that kids don’t care how it’s spelled just so long as they understand what it means. Gardner is then led to wonder why the founding fathers included this as a right and what it means to him.

Your Therapy:

Of course, Will Smith delivers with his usual charismatic performance. Don’t expect to see “Independence Day” or “Bad Boys” as it is a welcome change for the talented actor.

In a case that sounds like a bad Law and Order plot, a chauffer for Yoko Ono allegedly threatened to release potentially embarrassing photographs and audio recordings if she did not pay him $2 million.

According to Assistant District Attorney Maureen O’Conner, Koral Karsan, 50, said “he had people on standby waiting to kill the victim on his orders.” She made this remarks at Karsan’s arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court.

Tanya Kennedy, after hearing from O’Connor that Karsan “had threatened to kill the victim,” set Karsan’s bail at $500,000 bond or $250,000 cash, and gave the district attorney’s office 72 hours to examine the source of the money if it is posted

Karsan is originally from Turkey and according to O’Connor has family, property and contacts in Turkey. O’Connor claimed that Karsan was an “extraordinary flight risk” and continued “there is no doubt he would flee.” Karsan had been in the country for approximately ten years.

Karsan’s defense lawyer, Patrick Kevin Brosnahan, said his client was not guilty and “will vigorously dispute these charges.”

The defendant maintained that Ono was trying “to stop me from pursuing a sexual harassment case.”

Police alleged that on December 8^th, Karsan delivered a note and a photo of Ono in her night gown to the Dakota apartment where Ono currently resides and at one time shared with John Lennon. The note was allegedly rambling and stated the he had secretly photographed Ono and made tape recordings of her during private moments and that he would publicize the material if she did not pay him.

The timing was especially bad as this was the night of the 26^th anniversary of John Lennon’s death. On the night of Dec. 8, 1980, Lennon and Ono were returning to their apartment in the Dakota when gunman Mark David Chapman shot John four times with a .38-caliber.

Karsan had been an employee for almost six years and had driven Ono almost everyday during that period.

Police claim they recorded Karsan talked about killing Ono, her son and himself during a conversation with one of Ono’s associates.

More news on Nicole, her attorney Howard Weitzman says that she is prepared “to accept whatever responsibility is appropriate.”

He continued, “This is a difficult time for Nicole but she is prepared to accept whatever responsibility is appropriate. She intends to continue with her career and will deal with any other issues that need to be addressed.”

As stated in previous PopTherapy stories, Nicole was allegedly driving the wrong way down the freeway in a black SUV and was reported to authorities via 911 calls. The California Highway Patrol field sobriety checks indicated she was NOT under the influence of alcohol however, surveillance camera footage released Tuesday shows Richie talking to the officers and failing field sobriety tests before being taken into custody.

Nicole allegedly admitted to smoking marijuana and taking Vicodin for menstrual cramps.

Apparently, Nicole also pled no contest four years ago for another driver under the influence charge. Her confession might be enough to land her in jail as California law requires a judge to impose a jail term.

The mandatory sentence is five days in a county jail as well as a one year license suspension for a second conviction of DUI.
Richie’s first incident, in 2002, left her 3 years of probation. Not but half a year later she was again arrested, this time for heroin possession and driving with a suspended license.

Your Therapy:

I can see why Paris keeps this chick around. Wow. We all had that crazy friend in college who you could always count on for a good time. Nicole is that person but with the crazy knob turned up to 11. Guys, if you’re in Hollywood and looking for a date find this girl! A rich pill-popping party machine is every young mans dream, right?

On second thought, if she needs Vicodin for menstrual cramps, look out. I would take a quick peak at the calendar before picking her up for a date. Yikes.

Peter Boyle, most recently famous for playing the grumpy but lovable father on “Everybody Loves Raymond” has passed away at age 71. Boyle died Tuesday, December 12^th at New York Presbyterian Hospital. According to his publicist Jennifer Planted, Boyle had apparently been suffering from the effects of multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells, and heart disease.

Mr. Boyle led an extraordinarily interesting life. He served in the Navy and then became a member of the De La Salle Brothers, a Catholic teaching order and taught high school in Pittsburgh. He then did improvisational comedy with “The Second City” before landing a role in “Medium Cool.”

Boyle’s big break came in the 1970 Vietnam era film “Joe,” where he played a New York City factory worker/union member. During this time Boyle participated in many Vietnam War protests and turned down many roles in films such as “The French Connection” because he believed they glamorized violence.

Boyle became friends with Jane Fonda and John Lennon during this time. John Lennon was actually the best man at his wedding in 1977.

Boyle was also known for his role in 1974’s “Young Frankenstein,” a Mel Brook’s parody of horror films. One of the most humorous and memorable segments has Gene Wilder and Boyle donning tails and performing a song and dance routine to Irving Berlin’s “Puttin’ On the Ritz.” Wilder played Dr. Frankenstein and Boyle was his monster.

This performance was an early indication of Boyle’s comedic talent. He actually hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 1976.

Boyle won an Emmy in 1996 for his role as an insurance salesman who could see future in “The X-Files” television series.

He was however probably most famous for his role as a loveable curmudgeon in “Everybody Love Raymond.” He said of his character, “He’s just obnoxious in a nice way, just for laughs…It’s a very sweet experience having this happen at a time when you basically go back over your life and see every mistake you ever made.”

Phil Rosenthal recalled when Boyle was auditioning for the role opposite Ray Romano’s Ray Barone and was kept waiting for his audition, “He came in all hot and angry and I hired him because I was afraid of him.” Rosenthal continued, “I knew right away that he had a comic presence.”

He is survived by his wife Lorraine and his two daughters Lucy and Amy.

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JibJab, the animation company responsible for many hilarious parodies such as Big Box Mart, which pokes fun at Wal-mart and Do I Creep You Out, which parodies “Do I Make You Proud” by Taylor Hicks, is at it again.

Here is their year in review which pokes fun of all the crazy news that happened this year including Paris and Britney and, oh yeah, all the important stuff like wars and dictators and bombs and stuff.

Gwen Stephanie, Beyonce and Fergie were big gainers this week. The Fray and Hinder both fell down two spots to seven and eight respectively.

1. Beyonce - Irreplaceable

2. Akon Featuring Snoop Dogg - I Wanna Love You

3. Akon Featuring Eminem - Smack That

4. Fergie - Fergalicious

5. Justin Timberlake Featuring T.I. - My Love

6. Gwen Stefani - Wind It Up

7. The Fray - How To Save A Life

8. Hinder - Lips Of An Angel

9. Bow Wow Featuring Chris Brown & Johnta Austin - Shortie Like Mine

10. Jim Jones - We Fly High

-source: www.billboard.com Issue Date 2006-12-16

Jada Pinkett Smith donated $1 million to her high school alma mater. Pinkett Smith attended the Baltimore School for the Arts with classmate Tupac Shakur. She asked that its new theater be dedicated to Shakur, who was shot to death in 1996.

Donald Hicken, head of the school’s theater department said “It means a lot when you’re a teacher and your most famous alumnus comes back to give a donation.” Hicken, Jada’s former music teacher and head of the department since its founding in 1980 continued, “It really says a lot to the community that the school matters in people’s lives.”

The Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, which had previously given $112,500 to the school, is based in Baltimore. The donation will be used for expansion and renovation of the existing structure. The school’s new theater will be named for Pinkett Smith.

Pinkett Smith, 35, was last seen on screen in 2004’s “Collateral”. She is married to Will Smith, who stars in “The Pursuit of Happyness” with the couple’s 8-year-old son, Jaden.

The school will increase its enrollment from 316 to 375 students once a $30 million expansion program is finished in late 2007.

The actress was moved by the school’s advances since she graduated, said Karen Banfield Evans, executive director of the Smith Family Foundation, and Pinkett Smith’s aunt.

The theater will be named for Shakur because of the friendship that Pinkett Smith and Shakur developed at the school. The rapper was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.

The actress has appeared along side her husband Will in “Ali” and she was the voice of the hippo Gloria in the animated film “Madagascar.”

“The Pursuit of Happyness,” starring Will Smith, opens in theaters Friday December 18^th 2006.

Your Therapy:

Yo, this is great deed and it’s great to see people giving back to the community. It doesn’t hurt to promote your own project at the same time. A million dollars of publicity might help Will’s new joint blow up proper.

I don’t know why they won’t name the theater for my brother Tupac but the “Pinkett Smith Theatre” sounds good too.

Matt Damon is wicked funny with his dead-on impression of pal Matthew McConaughey. Claiming, “we would probably get more chicks if we took our shirts off”, Damon shows us he is just another guy and doesn’t take himself too seriously in this clip from the Letterman show.