Archive for June, 2010

Reports are coming in from dnaindia’s post: Gerard Butler trying to woo Kazakhstani billionaire Goga Ashkenazi? Could the news be true?

According to dnaindia, the New York Post said “Gerard was spotted chatting up Goga at a party in Cannes and they exchanged numbers.”

As you all know, Gerard Butler is usually known for being with Jennifer Anniston. (See picture below)

Now, he’s becoming known for going after Goga Ashkenazi, who, by the way, is a billionaire. A huge article about Ashkenazi, along with many pictures, can be seen over at Daily Mail: Best friends with Prince Andrew and mistress of a £28m London mansion – Goga Ashkenazi hasn’t done badly for a ‘peasant girl’ from Kazakhstan.

This brings me to the poll question: Of course, you will need to check out Goga’s pictures over at Daily Mail first. Now, to the poll question. What do you guys think of Goga Ashkenazi? Is she hot? Is she not?

Also, what do you guys think about her being a billionaire? Is this why Gerard Butler’s calling her name? Be sure to take the poll above and leave your comments below. I forgot to mention this, but if you would like to make a video about a specific article on our site, and have it featured in that article, contact us at taylorthompson@newsbythepeople.com.

According to Perez Hilton, one of my absolute favorite Celebrity Bloggers of all time, Seinfeld Reruns Make BANK! Before I tell you just how much bank, take the time to take the poll below:

Here are some photographs you can look at: (Builds suspense to the answer below the photos.)

Now that the anticipation has been built, I can now tell you that Seinfeld reruns have racked in a whopping $2.7 billion dollars, since the show went off air 12 years ago.

You may now be saying to yourself “That’s totally awesome!” But you may also be asking yourself “Where is all of that money going?”

According to the Big Perez Hilton, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David have a disclosed ownership. Basically, we know they’re making big money, we just don’t know how much. Forbes magazine estimates that Jerry Seinfeld has been making between $65 – $80 million dollars from show reruns, but this is strictly an estimate (Economic Times).

Sadly, other cast members are not included in the deal.

If you’re curious, Seinfeld is the top grossing show in TV history. If you’re like me, you were probably asking yourself “What can beat $2.7 billion dollars?”

If you would like to contribute to the mayhem, feel free to check out Amazon, to see how you can get your Seinfeld groove on.

Sandra Bullock kissed Scarlett Johansson at the MTV Movie Awards! This is not a joke. In fact, we have the pictures to prove it:

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Nice rebound, Sandra.” Sadly, it seems like the kiss was all for fun and games. If one things for sure, it definitely got your attention.

The kiss came after Ryan Reynolds didn’t show for the awards ceremony. Here’s the pre-kiss dialogue, provided by US Magazine:

“Scarlett….I love you and all but this is a little uncomfortable…why are you here?”

“Well, since Ryan was working, I wanted to be here in his place when you guys won Best Kiss.”

“That’s so nice… But we didn’t win.”

“Right…well…I thought you should have won…it was a great kiss,” said Johansson.

Awkwardly, Bullock and Johansson moved closer and closer together, before finally kissing. The kissed lasted for just under 2 seconds.

This brings me to the poll question. What do you guys think of Sandra Bullock’s + Scarlett Johansson’s kiss, on a hot to cold scale? Was it super hot, pretty weak, or something in between? Be sure to take the poll, and don’t forget to leave your comments below, to voice your opinion! Personally, I thought it was pretty weak.

One of the NBA’s tallest players, Manute Bol, has sadly died. His death came on June 19th, 2010. His cousin told news reporters that Bol had internal bleeding, along with other complications from Stevens-Johnson syndrome; an extremely rare skin disease he contracted from a medicine he had taken in Africa. Bol was only 47-years-old.

Bol’s life began in Southern Sudan, where he worked as a cattle-herding member of the Dinka Tribe. One day, a United States basketball coach was working in Sudan, and he happened to stumble across Bol. Granted, Bol’s height of 7 feet 6 3/4th inches was extremely hard to miss. Without knowing the English Language, Bol came to America.

In 1985, Bol appeared in the NBA Draft, where he was picked up by the Washington Bullets. Because he was extremely tall, but only 190 pounds, Bol had an extremely thin frame. Many began to wonder whether or not this unknown individual would do well on the court, for the fact of the matter was, Bol had never played basketball.

By the time the 1985 season began, Bol had gained 17 pounds. Although his basketball skills were very limited, Bol got better the more he played. In 1985, Bol had blocked 397 total shots. Over the span of his 9 year basketball career, Bol had blocked 2,086 shots and scored a total of 1,599 points.

Charles Barkley described Bol

“You know, a lot of people feel sorry for him, because he’s so tall and awkward. But I’ll tell you this — if everyone in the world was a Manute Bol, it’s a world I’d want to live in.”

Although Bol spent 9 years in the NBA, he always returned to his homeland. Bol had donated an estimated $3.5 million dollars to Dinka-led rebel group, stating “I don’t work for money. I work to save people. I can always make more money, but you can’t bring back those that are gone.”

Source: Washington Post

Although I am not a big fan of Twitter, most people I know use it for the smple things. They’ll let there friends know that they’re going to the movies, the mall, or simply going out for icecream. Other friends I have use Twitter for things like following their favorite celebrities, or as a way of getting news updates. Basically, everyone I know Tweets things of what’s considered to be normal.

Today, marks the first day Twitter has been used to announce the go-ahead on a death penalty. At least, I think it’s the first day that someone has used Twitter for this option. Around midnight, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff Tweeted, “A solemn day. Barring a stay by Sup Ct, & with my final nod, Utah will use most extreme power & execute a killer. Mourn his victims. Justice.” He then Tweeted, “I just gave the go ahead to Corrections Director to proceed with Gardner’s execution. May God grant him the mercy he denied his victims.” The Utah firing squad then proceeded to follow orders sent out towards killer, Ronnie Gardner. [Wired.com]

Since the execution, many people have been researching the Utah Firing Squad. On Wired.com, I found a comment that noted that the firing squad was banned from use in 2004. Because Gardner chose the firing squad over lethal injection before it was banned, he was able to still go through with the firing squad, as a form of punishment. Gardner will likely be the last person to do so.

Many people have mixed emotions regarding the Tweet. Some people are okay with it, while others are making sarcastic comments like, “So… When will we have live streaming?” Because of this reason, I think it’s a great idea for a poll. Do you guys think Utah Attorney General, Mark Shurtleff had the right to post what he posted on his Twitter page? Be sure to take the poll below, and leave your comments at the end of this article.

If you’re looking for something to do today, the annual Mermaid Parade and Mermaid Parade afterparty ball just may be the places for you to attend.

The Mermaid Parade takes place at around 2:00 PM. The event will begin on West 21st Street and Surf Avenue, and will continue to move east to West 10th Street, before finally turning south, to head back towards the boardwalk. [Continental Daily]. People in the parade will dress as sea creatures, such as mermaids and neptunes. In the past, celebrities like David Byrne, Queen Latifah, Curtis Sliwa, Moby and Harvey Keitel, have been featured in the parade. [Brooklyn Eagle].

After the Mermaid Parade, the 8th annual 21 and up Mermaid Parade Ball afterparty will take place. The afterparty will take place at the New York Aquarium, at Surf Avenue and West Eighth Street. The event will begin at 6:00 PM and last until 11:30 PM. Burlesque shows, raffle tickets, and live music will all be available at the event.

Today is June 19th, and although many may not know it, it’s the holiday Juneteenth, in around 36 US States. Juneteenth was created in Texas, to celebrate the day that General Granger made the announcement that all slaves were free. In actuality, slaves around the United States were actually freed 2.5 years before Granger’s announcement, but the freedom didn’t reach Texas until June 19th. [Gather.com News]

More and more ever year, Juneteenth is becoming more and more of a popular holiday. Juneteenth.us is a website that’s campaigning for the holiday to become a national holiday. In 2009, both Wisconsin, Mississippi, and a handful other other states added Juneteenth to their list of state holidays.

If I am 100% honest, I have never heard of Juneteenth until today, when it received hot rankings on Google’s popular tool, Google Trends. If you’re interested in making Juneteenth a holiday in your state, be sure to check out the JuneTeenth.us official website. Also, feel free to take the poll and leave your comments below.

Kyron Horman’s stepmom along with the rest of the Horman family is completely exhausted, and today, Horman’s stepmom will have to take a second polygraph test. Currently, suspects and person’s of interest have not been noted by the police.

According to Jaymie Finster, a friend of Terri Moulton Horman, the Horman family is completely exhausted, and Terri is extremely frustrated with the questions she’s been receiving. Finster told Oregon Live that she was “tired and frustrated with the intensity of the questioning she’s been getting. she’s not very happy about it.” She continued on to say, “I just don’t know what’s going on. This is what I did that day.”

Jason Gates, of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Department commented on the situation.

“Terri is the last known person to have seen Kyron before he disappeared. We are releasing this information at this time in hope that it helps jog people’s memory of that day.”

On Friday, a press conference was held by the police to say that they have not yet found Kyron. A rumor recently said that Kyron has been found, but police are still looking.

Many people have been commenting on the recent news of the second polygraph test for Kyron’s stepmom. Those comments can be seen by checking out Oregon Live’s Post: “Friend: Terri Moulton Horman to take another polygraph in Kyron Horman’s disappearance.“

When you don’t get your icecream, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? In Dina Lohan’s case, calling the cops seemed to be the best option.

On Wednesday, Lindsay Lohan’s mom went to pick up icecream for her son’s 14th birthday. She attempted to get the cake using her daughter, [Lindsay Lohan's], Carvel “Black” Card. This promotional card allowed Lindsay to pick up free icecream for the next 75 years. When Dina gave the card to the employee, he then asked her if she could show him her ID. Since Lindsay wasn’t present, the employee didn’t allow Dina to receive the cake. As his second move, the employee also took the card.

When this happened, Dina decided to call the cops, seeing how that would’ve definitely been her best possible option. In a recent intreview with Radar, Dina said:

“Finally he gave up and gave me my card back. But he told me, ‘You can have the card, but you can’t have the cake!’ It just shows how we [the Lohans] get treated so much worse than regular people.”

The recent incident has since gone viral, and has caused Carvel to release the following statement, which we obtained from the Huffington Post:

“Unfortunately, the Lohan family has been abusing the card. While the card was issued in Lindsay’s name only, her extended family has repeatedly used the card without her present. At first, we graciously honored their requests while explaining that the Black Card was not a carte blanche for unlimited Carvel Ice Cream for the extended Lohan family and friends. After more than six months of numerous and large orders for ice cream, we finally had to cut off the card and take it back.”

In a situation like this, I think it’s only fair to ask you what you think about this incident. Do you think Dina Lohan was denied her free icecream for a legitimate reason, or do you think the employee should have just given her the ice cream? Be sure to take the poll, and leave all comments below, at the end of this article.

It’s that time of year again; the time for the 34th annual Grandma’s Marathon race. The race, which will take place later today, has around 8,000 registrations. Scott Belsvik, one of the organizers for the event, noted that him and other organizers had to arrange around 6,000 pounds of noodles, 500 loaves of bread, and over 600 gallons of sauce, for the event.

Many amazing individuals will be participating in today’s Grandma’s Marathon, but two of those individuals in particular, stand out. 33-year-old Mary Akor and 49-year-old Fira Sultanova both have a history of running, and in particular, a history of running in the Grandma’s Marathon.

Last year, Mary Akor ran in the Grandma’s Marathon and won first place, to make it the 3rd year in a row, that she has won the race. A month before the race, Akor’s father passed away. Although she considered dropping out, she knew she had to stick to it. This year, Akor is dealing with fibroid tumors in her uterus, but that’s still not enough to stop her from competing.

Star Tribune managed to receive a few words from Akor:

“I wanted to come and run, even though due to my health issues I haven’t been running to my full potential… This is one year since my dad passed away, and I’m running it for him… This race means a lot to me. I’m really happy I’m alive and I’m still running, doing what I love to do.”

Akor’s surgery has been arranged for June 25th; 6 days after the race.

Fira Sultanova is another strong individual to look out for. At 49-years-old, Sultanova is looking to come back and do well in the Grandma’s Marathon, after havint knee surgery. “I’m hoping this race brings back good memories for me. I’m not concerned about how old I am, or anything else, I’m here to run the best I can. I’m happy to see my record is still standing.”

Complete stories on both individuals and today’s Grandma’s race can be seen at the Star Tribune, Duluth News Tribune, and Puggal.