Happy New Year from The Lime!!!!!!!

Tan-tan-da-ddaaaaaa! It's here guys! Welcome to 2010!

First and foremost I want to thank God for bringing me into this new year, I want to thank my family and friends for their love and support especially my brother Omari Lockhart AKA 5.8 and my mom Jacinta Bannis. Thanks to everyone who reads this site and continue to compliment me on the content.
Blogging takes up ALOT of my time and there are times I just want to quit. And then I go online and look for Caribbean entertainment news and shit is just all over the place. Then I think if I am this fustrated then I bet there are others just like me, so of course being the Taurus that I am, I like to help -and so I keep on posting.

This is going to be my first year blogging as a non-working university student so please show some love and donate to the site. I would love to make some upgrades in the coming months. This year I plan on posting interviews on a weekly basis, so look out for that. And I want to make a more concerted effort to report more entertaiment news from islands such as Grenada, St. vincent and St. Lucia. My original goal with this blog was to show that Caribbean Entertainment is not just Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados. Dominica you know I represent for you 100 percent. I just wish Dominican artists would take advantage of my natural bias towards you guys and send me more info/pics what have you. We'll see how this year goes.

Friends, just be safe this year, and try to improve on 2009. I have the same personal resolution I have every year but this year I am not even gonna really focus on it. I am just gonna live one day at a time and things will work out.

And artists stop the beefing, especially the women. Just when the fellas dem stop den?

Shaggy and Friends: I Dare You-The Caring Continues

The Shaggy Make A Difference Foundation hopes to raise 50 Million Dollars for the Bustamante Children's Hospital at their I Dare You concert series this Saturday on the lawns of Jamaica House.




Through last year's concert, The Shaggy Make A Difference Foundation was able to raise and purchase over $20 million Jamaican dollars worth of equipment for the Bustamante Hospital for Children (the only such facility in the English-speaking Caribbean. The funds were able to purchase an ENT (ear, nose, throat) microscope, Vital Signs Monitors, Volumetric Pumps, four stretchers and a Blood Warmer.

Check out my entry for the Puma Ventis Logo competition!

Sorry guys, I wasn't holding out on you, but I totally forgot to mention the competition for the new Puma Ventis logo. Basically you can just go to pumarunning.com and upload your logo in the comment section along with your name, age and location. The contest ends today so hurry!

Please note: and this is muy importante. One entry per person

And if my name wasn't Ayeola George eh, you know I had more than one idea! LOL. Take a look see:

IDEA# 1
English:Wind
Swedish: Vind
French: Vent
Italian:Vento
Spanish: Viento
Puma: Ventis

IDEA#2
(written with Arnold Shwazzenegaer accent)"Ventis is on yurr feet, there's no vone you caant beet!
Translation_When this is on your feet there's no one you can't beat!

IDEA#3
Preying Ventis: Pavements Beware!

So which do you think I posted? Click HERE to find out.

And one more thing. Doh steal my ideas eh! I will come for my royalties seen? Arite.

St. Lucia and St. Kitts tie for title of Miss Talented Teen 2010

According to SKNVibes.com : FOR the first time in its 30-year existence, judges of the Annual Digicel Haynes Smith Miss Caribbean Talented Teen Pageant were stumped, as two contestants tied for first place and both had to be crowned queen.

The historic event took place last evening (Dec. 30) at Carnival Village, where St. Kitts’ Berriscia Byron and Consuelo Dupal of St. Lucia both scored 731.5 points to lay claim to the coveted title.

However, a decision was made for both teenagers to be crowned queens; a decision that did not go down well for most members of the seemingly bewildered packed audience who voiced their disapproval, noting that there should have been a system in place tie-breakers.

While Miss St. Kitts was awarded Best Dress, Miss St. Lucia won the awards for Best Talent and Best Production. However, although the decision was already made for the winner of the Best Talent segment, the audience was given the opportunity of voting by text for the contestant they thought was the best, and Miss St. Kitts won 63 percent of the votes.

The Second Runner-up position went Ackelia Cornwall of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who amassed a total of 704.5 points; while Miss St. Thomas, USVI, Caprisha Richards, copped the Third Runner-up spot with 701.5 points.

Miss Grenada, Deirdre Greenidge, was named Miss Photogenic and she also won the Best Interview award, while Barbados’ representative Ashlee Simpson carted off the award for Best Ambassadorial Wear. The other contestants were Miss Trinidad and Tobago, Miss Bahamas, Miss Anguilla and Miss St. Croix.

However, despite being advertised weeks before the Pageant, the BVI and Guyana were not represented for reasons not known by this media house. Many patrons claimed that although Berrisca Byron might not have been outstanding in all of the judged segments, she was very consistent in every one.

A notable public figure in St. Kitts, on the condition of anonymity, said, “In any competition, the judges’ decision is final, but I am appalled at the outcome of this Pageant.

This competition is in its 30th year and the organisers should have a clause in their rules for tied positions. What should have been done, is that the two first place contestants should have been made to reappear on stage and asked a particular question and the one with the better answer be crowned queen. However, in the employment of this tie-breaker, the second contestant should be placed in an area where she cannot hear the question or the answer given by her counterpart.”

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE

Talented Teens Official Site

New Music: Stephen McGregor-"Cyan Friend Again"

So since I have arrived in Jamaica, I have been religiously listening to ZIP FM (except of Fridays when I listen to Arif Cooper on FAME FM every Friday from 5-6 when he plays soca) and one of my top rated DJs is ZJ Liquid (love you ZJ Rush, ZJ Sparks, and ZJ Fat Cat you Cats House sessions go hard too) Now every day he is on air from 2-6 and Wednesdays are especially a favorite for me as Liquid introduces audiences to all the new hit tunes.

Stephen "Di Genius" McGregor of Big Ship Records

Well here is a new one for ya!

It's called Cyaan Friend Again and it's by Stephen Di Genius McGregor, who sings on and produced the song. It's a diss to Vybz Kartel. Why??? Well apparently Kartel wanted the Outbreak Riddim for Gaza and obviously that did not happen as Busy Signal, Mavado, Assassin, Laden and Bramma are on it. So then Kartel diss him on the Israel Riddim with his tune "Rifle Shot" which is a diss to both Mavado's song "War Is In Di Air" (pre-peace concert of course) and Big Ship too. So now Stephen come with "Cyaan Friend Me" in reponse to Kartel.

Uugh can we just make good music already????? No wonder Mr. Vegas was venting over the state of the Jamaican music industry on his Twitter page @MrVegasMusic. But that is a whole other post....

Click HERE to listen to "Cyaan Friend Again."

Spice Disses Lisa Hyper---ya she lyrically slaughtered her, straight up!!!

OOOO Lisa Hype you picked the wrong itch to fuck wid. Spice totally killed her- lyrically speaking of course. Spice released a statement in response to Lisa Hype's "Sting Aftermath" diss song on which she along with other female Dancehall artists are mentioned,

Spice says:

"Lisa Hype, I mean Lisa Swipe is in no position to utter the words she did from her mouth, but I honestly feel very sorry for her. She's going through a shameful time in her life right now and is obviously lookingfor a dark hole to stick her head in. Lisa Swipe is calling names to keep her name out there; but my name? She ah play wid fire. She know say she nuh bad like mi likkle fingah. Di time she tek ah pick pon difemale artiste dem, she need fi go clean off di discharge offah harstomach. She ah gwaan like ah me tek har pictuh an sen' it out. And it's such a pity. Outta every female artiste name whe she call, she ahdi crawniest one. She feavah Geico lizard. I've been in the business for 10 years and I've never stooped so low, just to get highlighted.But Lisa doesn't know when to stop stooping and get up off her knees.It's tragic. Let me not bother to go there because she is not in my world. Lisa, as a woman-to-woman, I have never been as humiliated asyou are in my life, so I have no idea what you are going through. I canonly imagine. So I wish you a speedy recovery,"

Speaking of her non-performance at Sting, she adds:

"Nuffy sabotaged my thing. After Pamputae performed, he knew it should have been me, but he called up General B instead. When did he expect meto perform after that? During the clash with him and KipRich. It was unprofessional and it was done purposely because before that he was following the lineup and list. I just want to apologise to my fans fornot performing. I didn't get the chance to and I had a real end of year performance in store."

Yow this chune is bad!

According to one876 entertainment Lisa Hyper just laughed in response:

"Spice can stay de gwaan talk, tell her say mi have her file."

Well Lisa Hype have to come real good to beat that and she have to have a hefty file cabinet!!!!

Come on ladies, let's play nice in the new year...

2009 New Year's Eve Tonight On TV

That's New Year's Eve at Times Square in New York City. Times Square in New York City will be all over the TV tonight due to it being New Year's Eve.

New Year's Eve with Carson Daly
10/9c NBC
Carson Daly's 6th time hosting the NBC New Year's Eve party from Times Square. Scheduled to perform are Rihanna and Jay-Z, plus Green Day.

Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest
10/9c ABC
This is a bi-coastal party, part in Times Square, part in Las Vegas. I believe Dick Clark will be in New York City. I don't know where Ryan Seacrest will be, Vegas or NYC. Fergie will be doing some hosting from Vegas. Jennifer Lopez and Chris Daughtry will be performing from Times Square, while Selena Gomez, the Black Eyed Peas, Colbie Caillat and other are in Las Vegas.

New Year's Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin
11/10c CNN
Also in Times Square. I saw Kathy Griffin helping Anderson Cooper on a previous New Year's Eve, on the Life on the D-List show on Bravo. It was very funny.

New Year's Eve Live
11/10c Fox
Carmen Electra hosts from Las Vegas. With American Idol's Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta performing, along with Sean Kingston. Eva Longoria and Kim Kardashian also perform some function on this show.

I don't know if I'll last til midnight. I don't think I have since the 1999 New Year's Eve. That was a fun one. But I was not at Times Square in New York City for that one, I was at Sundance Square in Forth Worth, Texas.

Looking back, looking ahead

On the last day of 2008, I predicted (after watching a bunch of January and February screeners) that 2009 was going to be a very good year in TV. And that's exactly how things turned out.

I don't know that 2010 will live up to that, but I've been watching screeners for the past few weeks(*), plus I know we have things like the final season of "Lost" - which may or may not disappoint, but is sure to not be dull - and HBO's new "The Pacific," "Treme" and "Boardwalk Empire," FX's "Justified," AMC's "Rubicon" (and, of course, "Breaking Bad") and more, all coming up.

(*) The four shows pictured above - "Life Unexpected" on CW, "Human Target" on Fox, "Chuck" season 3 and "Caprica" - will be premiering in the first few weeks of the year, and so far I've liked them all to varying degrees.

So after another relatively quiet week of TV, things are gonna start getting really interesting as of January 10th. Looking forward to seeing how it goes.

Happy New Year, everybody. Stay safe.

Lisa Hyper says she still got love for Portmore Empire. Disses females in the game

Since her release from Portmore Empire, by her boss and mentor Vybz Kartel, Lisa Hype has issued a statement:

Lisa Hype and Vybz Kartel in happier days.

“I’ve just been released from my contract with the Portmore Empire but even though I am no longer the first lady of the Gaza, mi still ah say Gaza. Death before dishonour. Mi nuh haffi be a part of the Empire fi still say Gaza. Gaza means fight for what you believe in and never give up…never say die. In every setback, there is an opportunity fi grow and right now, mi not going to stop, ah persistence mi say…all mi name change, my new name is Lisa HYPER. As a solo artist, mi can explore new directions, new challenges, and new freedoms, mi ah go mek it. I want to thank everyone at Portmore Empire for the love and support they’ve shown me and to the Teacha especially who enlightened me to nuff tings inna the world. Mi love everybody same way, nothing no change, memba say mi ah the first lady fi put Gaza pon mi knuckles and Empire pon mi neck . Mi wish everybody the best. Gaza fi life. Gaza till death.”

Guess she just trying to go out with her head up. But her diss of several artists in the idustry just totally countered that. It's a lame song. Not lyrically captivating. Whoever is advising her need to come again. There are people on your side Lisa, focus on you and don't try to bring any body else down just because people did it to you. If you want to bother to listen to the song called "Sting Aftermath" check it out below:

Natral Vybz named Best Reggae Band of 2009 by Dominica Sun

Big ups to the Natral Vybz Band out of Dominica who was named Best Reggae Band in 2009 by local newspaper The Sun. Check out the clipping below:

Here's a shot of them performing at Digicel Red River Jamboree one of several events commemorating Dominica's 31st anniversary of Independence.

www.myspace.com/natralvybzinternational

Concert organizers say Rihanna does not have to tone down for Dubai

A British tabloid report claiming that Rihanna will have to tone down her raunchy performances for her New Year’s Eve concert in Abu Dhabi is “totally inaccurate” according to organisers Flash.
The Daily Mirror reported on Sunday that the Barbadan singer had been told to dress more conservatively for her concert in the UAE and that the star was now “tearing her hair out over what to do”.
It also reported that Rihanna is being paid $500,000 (Dh1.85 million) for the concert.
In a statement, organisers Flash rubbished the claims, saying ‘‘the facts and figures recently reported around Rihanna’s Abu Dhabi concert are totally inaccurate. Rihanna is bringing an incredible new stage show to the capital and there’s no doubt the event will be fantastic; an ideal way to celebrate the beginning of a new decade.”
Abu Dhabi has recently hosted concerts from international artists including The Killers, Aerosmith and Beyonce, all of whom performed their concerts without restrictions.
Source


Guess she can be as bad as she wants to be huh.

Jay-Z Rihanna concert to air tomorrow!

Although Rihanna is performing in Dubai tonight she will be seen on TV performing on Carson Daly's New Year's Eve special.

Aww look she's all covered up in like a cute wikkle snow bunny:-)

The performance took place on Sun. Dec 19th. She performed "Wait Your Turn" and was joined on stage by Jay-Z for "Run This Town" (click on the songs to see performance clips)


And waddayaknow, the coat came off and the sexy came on. She told ya'll she's gone bad right? No more good girl.

Photo source

What the heck?

Photo source

New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly, will air on NBC from 10-11PM (ET) and the party will continue from 11:30PM to 12:30AM, all in HD.

Lisa Hype Kicked Out of Portmore Empire

Former Portmore Empire First Lady Lisa Hype has been expelled from the Portmore Empire by Empire CEO Adidja 'Di Teacha' Palmer after what a release called her 'overall conduct' which was "not consistent' with what is expected of members of the group.

Lisa Hype is no longer a part of the Portmore Empire. The members of the Empire
have unanimously agreed to end our professional relationship especially in light
of certain ‘developments’ that have come to our attention regarding her overall
conduct, conduct that is not consistent with the decorum expected of a member of
the Portmore Empire. She is an incredible artist and we wish for her all the
best in her future endeavors, but Lisa Hype will not play a future role in the
Empire as she no longer fits in with our organizational goals as we move forward
in 2010.–Adidja “Vybz Kartel” Palmer–

Ok.let me go an get my enamel pan for me to empty the contents of my stomach. Oh wait but first I have to light my kerosene lamp, and I was so tired from washing in de river (sigh). Why I didn’t hear dat at high noon nuh when I was by de standpipe collecting water. Did I go back in time???? I must be hallucinating, have to be. This cannot be 2009, almost 2010.

That statement, that amalgamation of words which yet to form a complete thought (cause that is what a sentence supposed to do) just makes NO SENSE to me…..Empire CEO???? Empire finger pointer more like. How about turning that finger on yourself nuh? How about that CEO? I so vex for this gurl eh. Shayt. So she messed up. Even Nike sticking it out with Tiger.

So I had to read and reread the statement, you know, so it could make some kind of sense to me, right. The release says her “overall conduct” was “not consistent” with what is expected of the group members. Group members who oversaw and directed her career up to this point.

So let’s see admitting that yes you had oral sex (which I mean what else could she do the picture is all up and down the Internet)and being unapologetic about it, is not consistent with the group goals? Who plans on being caught like that? Maybe her’s was not the most PC move, but I felt she was being strong. You know why? Cause she was HONEST. She was an adult, doing adult things and she was obviously betrayed by someone she trusted. I commend her for claiming her part in what is an obviously embarrassing moment in her career.

I mean let’s forget that Vybz Kartel the CEO is banned from performing in several islands, lets forget that his lyrics are raunchy and sexually explicit not to mention violent, ooh oooh lets even close our eyes and pretend that we don’t see school children all over the region carrying out violent acts described in his songs, let’s find a similar situation where a member of the empire got bad press and see what was the outcome.

How about when it was rumored that Jeffery Hype had Kartel's name on his neck (he has his face on his arm). In the homophobic Jamaican society, that was a big scandal and was he banned?austracized? no. You know why? Cause he has a penis. That’s the beginning and end of it.

I’m sorry Lisa you missing a very important appendage and having it in your mouth doesn’t count ( ok thatwas a little harsh). Anyways my girl Lisa what can I say, maybe they kicking you to a brighter future.

So let them have their Vybz Rum and party at Asylum every Thursday, make more explicit songs, glamourizing their sexual exploits, glorifying their underdog status and

2010 is just a couple days away so I am waiting with baited breath for the unfolding of the goals of the Portmore Empire. Damn, guess I can forget an interview now huh?

Nhojj makes history as first black male winner of OUT Outstanding R&B Soul Song of the Year!!!

New York based, Guyanese Indie aritist Nhojj made OUTMusic Awards history when his ballad “Love” was voted 2009 Outstanding R&B/Soul Song of the Year by The Alliance of LGBT Recording Artists & Performers. Why? Because this is the first time an African American male has won an OMA.

Read about it in this Billboard Article:

Indie recording artist Nhojj made OUTMusic Awards history when his ballad “Love” was voted 2009 Outstanding R&B/Soul Song of the Year by The Alliance of LGBT Recording Artists & Performers. This marks the first time an African American male has won an OMA. The Logo sponsored event was held December 8, 2009, at the legendary Webster Hall in New York City. It is the biggest night in LGBT entertainment, and the only gala ceremony of its kind in the world.
Nhojj is also the first artist to win the OUTStanding R&B/Soul song of the year. OUTMusic added this and other categories to the ceremony this year to more fully reflect the music of the LGBT community. After his win, the singer/songwriter took the stage performing “Love” before an audience including OMA Lifetime Achievement recipient Kevin Aviance, Village Voice columnist Michael Musto, LOGO personalities DeMarco Majors and Julie Goldman among many other notables in the LGBT community. The ceremony was hosted by Noah’s Arc star Rodney Chester and GLAAD Media Award winner Kate Clinton.

“Love” features keyboardist Carl Evans (Stevie Wonder, Barry White); David Stark on Guitar (Rick James & Teena Marie); Tommy Aros on percussion (Luis Miguel); and is mastered by by Robert Honablue, whose Gold and Platinum credits include Santana, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, and Miles Davis.

Director Kirk Shannon-Butts featured "Love" in his highly acclaimed Indie film "Blueprint,” which screened at 2008 Cannes International Film Festival, and also directed the music video “Love.” Unlike many current R&B music videos, it is the sensitive reflection of two male college students who feel a mutual attraction toward each other. "I believe love is for everyone... homosexual and heterosexual" Nhojj says, "One day soon our world will acknowledge this simple truth."

Read the rest of the Billboard Article HERE!

Congrats to Nhojj on this historical achievement. His music is truly all-embracing and quite soothing to the soul! Here take a look and listen.

Jamaica Jazz and Blues Band Quest to hold auditions in New York and Florida

On January 18th 2010 talented hopefuls will converge on SOBs (204 Varick Street New York, NY 10014-4809 to be exact). From 7pm auditions will commence which could lead –no strike that- which will lead to a lucky winner heading to Greenfield Stadium in Trelawny Jamaica for their debut performance at Jamaica Jazzand Blues 2010.




This is part of the promotions for the event ant it is dubbed Band Quest. Basically organizers are looking for a talented band to perform at the festival this year. Which to me shows they are making a special effort to walk the walk and not just talk the talk in developing their Art of Music concept. Please note auditions are not walk in! Participants will be selected from online entries at BAND QUEST 2010. Hopefuls must joing the JJ&B Fan Zone in order to upload videos.
The New York audition is being presented by Link Up Media Group, Jamrock Magazine and Turn Key Productions
If you live in Florida, well Yippeeyeah…..you guys get an in person audition too! This one will be held on January 5th at the Ginger Bay Café at 1908 Hollywood Blvd in the city of Hollywood
The Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival (formerly Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival) will take place from January 24-30th. My first week back at school, oh honey I still going. LOL. C’Mon. Machal Montano Third World, Erykah Badu, Kelly Price, Tamia, Deborah Cox, Jon Secada, Gladys Knight etc etc… How could I say no. See you there!

Rihanna worried about what to wear in Dubai??? Seriously?

I’m reading online about Rihanna tearing her hair up because she has to dress conservatively for her New Year’s Eve concert in Dubai. This girl is a professional ( I hope). If I was her, stick a burka on me and put a mike in my hand, ok! I mean covering up for a couple of hours and to get paid half a million dollars is something to get mad about???? Nah man I hope she is better than that.
She had that issue in Malaysia before and I would hate to think that her staff did not have a clue about the potential for some type of censorship in an Islamic state. So sorry,I am not jumping posting bullshit band wagon just cause someone said so. Rihanna can’t be THAT dumb. Peace!

Lightbolt "Striking" Penang B-Suite Hotel

B-Suite Hotel in Malaysia's Penang Island is a quite new hotel which opened for the business only since 2 or 3 years ago. Because of its strategical position (2mins of driving to Penang Bus Station and <10mins to the international airport) together with its low price, B-Suite Hotel attracts a lot of tourists and those who are on the business trip.

On one day in 2008 July, when I went to eat at a nearby food court (now demolished for the properties development), I ran across a high school classmate who I didn't meet up for 12 years the second day he stayed in the hotel. He was then on a business trip from China.

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License

Everyday I can see the B-Suite hotel across the window of the house I currently rented but never took a picture for it. Several days ago, after a dinner with some friends who was going back to China, I brought my digital camera Nikon D90 to test the standard Nikkor AF 50mm/F1.8D lens. The night was rainy, an accidental opportunity made me picture a photograph of B-Suite Hotel as if it was struck by a lightbolt during a long (8') exposure. This was the first time ever I caputred a lightning in a shot. So surprised! Now I share it here.

The picture below was the original version which was directly converted from RAW to JPEG. And the top one was cropped, retouched and then converted a JPG using Nikon's Capture NX 2 software. Any kind comment are welcomed!

Lightbolt "Hit" Penang B-Suite Hotel

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License

Larger version: Picture 1, Picture 2. All Images released under Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 License.

The Real World: Washington D.C. Starts Tonight On MTV

I watched the first few seasons of The Real World without missing an episode. I do not remember what was the last complete season I watched. Seattle? London? Miami? The one in Hawaii? I do recollect watching some of The Real World Las Vegas. That's when The Real World started to turn a bit raunchier.

The Real World
10/9c MTV

This is the 23rd season of The Real World. I'm getting old. This time the 8 strangers are in America's capital.

So, of course the cast included an Obama delegate. Her name is Ashley and is described as outspoken, which, in Reality Show terms, means she is difficult to get along with.

Then there is Emily, an escapee from a fundamentalist Christian cult.

Emily will likely clash with Mike, he being an environmentalist from Colorado, who swings both ways, sex-orientation wise.

It is against the laws of Reality TV not to have a Texan in the cast. This time the Texan is Callie, who lived in a Texas junkyard.

Erika is a singer from Chicago. Apparently she likes to be the center of attention.

Josh is a Puerto Rican/Italian from Philadelphia with dreams of being a rocking rapper.

Andrew is from a Denver suburb where he has a reputation for his wit and politically incorrect comics.

Finally, there is Ty, from Baltimore, where he was a parentless foster child, finally adopted when he was 5. Ty likely has issues.

Maybe I'll set the DVR to record this likely train wreck. There's not a lot to watch these days.

Nielsen Rating's Top 20 for December 21 - 27

The Nielsen Rating's Top 20 TV Shows for December 21 - 27. The first number is the ranking, the second number is the season average, then the show name and network. The last number represents the number of viewers in millions. An asterisk * indicates a tie.

.	Cowboys/Redskins	NBC	19.0	19.5
2.	60 Minutes	CBS	15.7	14.4
3.	NCIS	CBS	15.4	21.0
4.	NCIS: Los Angeles	CBS	12.4	16.7
5.	Jesse Stone: Thin Ice	CBS	15.8	special event
6.	Two and a Half Men	CBS	10.8	14.7
7.	Criminal Minds	CBS	10.3	15.0
*	CSI: NY	CBS	10.3	14.0
9.	The Big Bang Theory	CBS	10.0	14.3
10.	Football Night in America Pt 3	NBC	9.8	10.2
11.	The Good Wife	CBS	9.1	13.5
12.	CSI: Miami	CBS	8.6	14.0
13.	The Mentalist	CBS	8.2	special event
14.	Cold Case	CBS	7.3	special event
*	Sing Off	NBC	7.3	special event
16.	CSI	CBS	7.2	special event
17.	How the Grinch Stole Christmas	ABC	6.8	special event
18.	The Sound of Music	ABC	6.4	special event
19.	Home for the Holidays	CBS	6.3	special event
20.	Dog for Christmas	ABC	5.9	special event

Better Off Ted, "It's Nothing Business, It's Just Personal": Better dead than red

A quick review of last night's "Better Off Ted" coming up just as soon as I help my daughter build a house of Legos...

That's more like it. The first few episodes of this season had funny bits here and there, but "It's Nothing Business" was the first one that reminded me of the stronger installments from last spring. It had physical comedy (Veronica sleeping sitting up, Ted's tiny office), a bit of farce (every one of Ted's attempts to interfere in Veronica's relationship with Mordor making things worse) and some sharper, more ridiculous corporate satire in the use of the red labcoat and everyone's reaction to it.

Don't forget that there's a new episode (and a new, JD-free "Scrubs") on Friday after the Rose Bowl, allegedly at 8:30 Eastern, but possibly airing later due to the unpredictability of live sporting events. I'm planning to pad my "Ted" recording by 90 minutes, which oughta do the trick of capturing both. And if not, there's always Hulu the next morning.

What did everybody else think?

Taylor Swift & Taylor Lautner Split Up

Taylor Swift, the 20-year-old country singer, has ended her rumored 3-months romantic relationship with Taylor Lautner, the 17-year-old New Moon star, US Weekly reported.

Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner met on the set of their movie Valentine's Day. They first sparked rumors of a romance after Swift hugged Lautner at one of her October concert.

A friend close to Swift claimed that the two Taylors have decided to stay friends. "It wasn't really developing into anything, and wasn't going to, so they decided they were better as friends," the source said.

"He [Taylor Lautner]  liked her [Taylor Swift] more than she liked him. He went everywhere he could to see her, but she didn't travel much to see him." the source revealed.

In 2008, Taylor Swift claimed that ex Joe Jonas dumped her during a 27-second phone call.

Kennedy Center Honors Tonight on CBS

I must be getting old. Bruce Springsteen is getting honored by the Kennedy Center Honors tonight? He seems too young for such a thing. Of the others getting honored the only one I have no clue about is Grace Bumbry. She's an opera singer.

Beside Grace and Bruce, Mel Brooks, Dave Brubeck and Robert De Niro are honorees at the 32nd annual Kennedy Center Honors.

Performers and presenters include Sting, Matthew Broderick, Meryl Streep, Melissa Etheridge, Martin Short, John Mellencamp, Aretha Franklin, Carl Reiner, Jon Stewart, Herbie Hancock, Jack Black and Martin Scorcese.

9/8c CBS

At the movies: My 20 favorite films of the '00s

Having run through my favorite TV shows of the decade and the year, and then having invited comments yesterday on your favorite films of '09, I guess the only thing that's left is a movies of the decade list, which follows after the jump...

First, a few caveats. In this decade, I had a kid, started a blog to go with my column-writing, and saw The Star-Ledger's TV department shrink from three people to just me, and those three things drastically cut down on my ability to either go to the movies or watch them on DVD. So there are many movies big and small that I just never got to. Because of that, and because my tastes are idiosyncratic, I want to be clear that I'm not saying these were the 20 best movies of the decade, just my favorite 20 of the films I saw.

Here's how I would sum up "best" vs. "favorite": my favorite movie of all time is "Midnight Run," but I doubt it would crack a list of the 100 "best" movies I've ever seen, if you catch my meaning. The 20 films below (and the handful of runners-up) are a mix of films I think are genuinely great ("Children of Men"), ones that I've watched a million times ("Wonder Boys," which, to be fair, came out in the decade's second month, and so had a head start on the other entries), ones that happen to strongly check a particular box for me ("Miracle"), and some combination of all three ("The Incredibles").

So in alphabetical order, here's the list:

"Almost Famous" - Deeply auto-biographical films can feel self-indulgent (see a later Cameron Crowe film from the decade, "Elizabethtown"), with lots of scenes, characters and storylines thrown in simply with the defense of "this is what happened to me, man!" With "Almost Famous," Crowe told his own story, but it was a great story, and one that turned out to be universal to anyone who's ever been passionate about music, or writing, or, really, passionate about anything.

"American Splendor" - I'm a comic book fan, but I'd never read Harvey Pekar's work until I saw Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini's film, which deftly, hilariously and at times movingly mixed the real Pekar with a bunch of fictional stand-ins, some live-action (most obviously Paul Giamatti, in a performance I liked even better than his work in "Sideways"), some animated. Great work as well from Hope Davis as Harvey's wife, and if the movie had contained nothing but the "Revenge of the Nerds" scene, it might still be on this list.

"Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" - The funniest, silliest, most spectacularly quotable movie of Will Ferrell's career. It makes me laugh every damn time, and I like it so much that I've even watched "Wake Up, Ron Burgundy," the straight-to-video "sequel" that's essentially a collection of (understandably) deleted scenes and subplots. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time.

"Before Sunset" - Like many Gen X'ers, this movie caught me right in the sweet spot, as I'm around the same age as Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy's characters, just like I was for "Before Sunrise." Richard Linklater made what seemed like one of the most unnecessary sequels of all time feel essential and powerful, and now, like many of my bretheren, I hope like hell the trio keep revisiting the characters every 10 or 15 years, "7 Up"-style.

"Children of Men" - Just balls-out filmmaking by Alfonso Cuaron and company - not just the famous tracking shots (like the ambush scene), but the creation of a believable, terrifying dystopian world, the performances by Clive Owen and Michael Caine, the music and the rest.

"City of God" - Foreign language films probably suffered the most in my movie downsizing this decade. The Brazilian "City of God" is one of the few I saw, and I was damn glad. Like "Children of Men," it's a marriage of incredible filmmaking technique (by director Fernando Meirelles and company) with a nightmarish world - only this one is the very real slums of Rio, as seen over several years. Loved the TV spin-off "City of Men" (which Sundance Channel aired a few years back), too.

"The Dark Knight" - The first of several comic book movies on the list, and also the first of three Christopher Nolan movies. In addition to giving us the justly-celebrated performance by Heath Ledger as the Joker, "Dark Knight" also did as good a job as I've seen of a live-action movie showing what it would be like to live in a comic book world, to live in terror of people like the Joker and even Batman himself.

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" - Kate Winslet's best performance in a very good decade for her, a Charlie Kaufman script that managed to marry his usual inventiveness with a real depth of feeling often lacking in his other scripts, and beautiful direction from Michel Gondry. What's not to like? (Other than the fact that Clementine and Joel are probably toxic for each other, that is.)

"The 40-Year-Old Virgin" - Still the best of the Apatow brand of films (both those directed by him and those made by his pals and/or former "Freaks and Geeks" stars). It has a lead performance by Steve Carell so good that it more or less helped save "The Office" (Greg Daniels credits this movie with helping him figure out how to write Michael Scott) and one explosively funny joke or set piece after another. Often imitated, (still) never quite duplicated.

"High Fidelity" - It leaves out a couple of key moments from the Nick Hornby book - Rob refusing to buy the records from the woman with the cheating husband (which is on the DVD as a deleted scene), and Rob and Laura arguing about the mix tapes he always made her - but otherwise Stephen Frears, John Cusack and his screenwriting buddies expertly translate Hornby from England to Chicago. A great (and, whenever Dick or Barry are on-screen, hilarious) meditation on love, be it of music or a woman.

"The Hurt Locker" - I had 19 films set on this list and couldn't pick a 20th. Then I did the post yesterday about the year's best movies, and I just couldn't get "Hurt Locker" out of my head. Among the many things that are cool about it - Jeremy Renner's performance (I can't believe ABC had this guy under contract for a show and let him go), the various action set pieces expertly set up by director Kathryn Bigelow, all the effective cameos - I may be most impressed with how Bigelow and writer Mark Boal managed to make a 100% non-political Iraq War movie. "The Hurt Locker" never asks why we're there; it just accepts that we are, and then goes to show you what that experience is like (terrifying, but also thrilling, mostly) for one specific unit that's there.

"The Incredibles" - I could probably put a half dozen Pixar movies on this list and not blink, but for diversity's sake, I'm going to let my favorite one stand in for all of them. A tremendous superhero movie (and at times spy movie), a great family story, a fantastic commentary on the "Everybody gets a trophy!" mentality our society falls prey to (case in point: my endless Best of the '00s in TV lists), impeccable voice casting and the follow-up I was hoping for from Brad Bird after the wonderful "Iron Giant."

"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" - A tale of two comebacks. Shane Black had more or less dropped out of the movie business after "The Long Kiss Goodnight," and Robert Downey Jr. was in the midst of another of his troubled, underemployed periods, when the two teamed up for this self-aware modern noir played half-straight, half for laughs, and all of it fun. Val Kilmer hadn't been this good in a long time, and no one has ever used Michelle Monaghan this well before or since. A high rewatchability level, as well.

"The Lord of the Rings" trilogy - Ask me to pick one of the three, and I'll probably go with "Return of the King" (even with the endless epilogues), but everyone seems fine treating them as one single work, so I will, too. I remember going to a critics' preview of "Fellowship" with Matt Zoller Seitz, and when the Balrog came out to battle the fellowship, Matt turned to me with an 8-year-old's smile on his face and whispered, "I'm so happy right now." "Me too," I said back, and I'm sure I was wearing a matching goofy grin. A tremendous technical achievement, but unlike "Avatar" (which I admittedly enjoyed), one that also seemed invested in the more traditional aspects of storytelling like plot and characterization.

"Memento" - The one that put Nolan on the map to make the other two of his films on this list (with a minor bump along the way in the solid-but-nothing-more "Insomnia"). You know a gimmick movie works if it stands up to multiple viewings, and this one does, thanks not only to the clever device that Nolan and his brother used to tell Leonard's story ("I have this condition..."), but the performances by Guy Pearce, Carrie-Ann Moss and Joey Pants. If anything, multiple viewing prove rewarding, as the story only becomes creepier and more tragic once you get out of Leonard's mindset and can remember all the pieces at once.

"Miracle" - The list's token Underdog Sports Movie, it's one I think is really underrated because it was one of a wave of Disney assembly-line sports flicks of the decade. What elevates "Miracle" above the likes of "Remember the Titans" or "The Express" are two things: Kurt Russell giving one of the best, most committed performances of his career as Herb Brooks (jump to the 1:50 mark of this clip and watch how Russell plays Brooks' uncertain reaction to the victory he devoted his whole life, and arguably too much of it, to achieving) and director Gavin O'Connor's long recreation of the Miracle on Ice game, a rare sports movie game sequence that feels almost as thrilling as the real thing.

"The Prestige" - Our third and final Nolan movie, it's a bit of a puzzle box like "Memento," but on a grander scale, as we watch a pair of magicians (Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, both at the top of their games) try to outdo each other with ultimately deadly consequences. The Nikola Tesla stuff alone is wonderful, but this is another one of those "watch til the end every single time you see it on cable" movies for me.

"Spider-Man 2" - The overcrowded nature of the third film, and the greatness of "Dark Knight," have made it easy to forget how many people were happy to crown this one as The Greatest Superhero Movie Ever when it came out in 2004. With the origin story out of the way (and it still amazes me that everyone feels the need to do origin movies for these franchises, when the second film is usually much better), Sam Raimi got to tell a classic Spider-Man story on screen, with one great action sequence after another (Spidey vs. Doc Ock on the skyscraper is my favorite), a good command of the idea of Peter Parker as the guy with the world's worst and best luck at the same time, and a very strong supporting performance from Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius.

"Wonder Boys" - Based on a book by one of my favorite authors, Michael Chabon (and far more adaptable than "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay," which spent the decade in development hell, and which is probably better off unmade), "Wonder Boys" is a funny, shaggy, exceedingly likable story of one memorable weekend in the life of a one-hit wonder author (Michael Douglas), and the various eccentrics (including Tobey Maguire, Katie Holmes and Downey Jr.) trying to help or hinder his return to usefulness. I'm a writer, so the subject may speak to me more than most, but it's my go-to DVD whenever I need to put a movie on while getting something else done.

"You Can Count on Me" - The smallest movie on this list, it's the simple story of an estranged sister and brother briefly coming back together before the usual forces send them apart again. It's carried by great performances by Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo, and by playwright-turned-filmmaker Kenneth Lonergan's attention to the small details that define a sibling relationship.

Others considered: "The Royal Tenenbaums," "Sideways," "Lost in Translation," "Serenity" (just for the TV fanboy in me), "Casino Royale" and many other Pixar films (notably "Wall-E" and "Up").

Men of a Certain Age, "The New Guy": Big shirtless Ray

A quick review of tonight's "Men of a Certain Age" coming up just as soon as I look at all our sexy cabbage...

I'm on vacation this week, and a little under the weather, so I don't have a lot of time and energy to spend on "The New Guy." Once again, I think Ray Romano and Andre Braugher are really bringing it, here depicting Joe so adrift that spending a night hanging with his bookie seems like a good idea and Owen struggling with the revelation that Joe's marriage was over much sooner than he had thought.

This wasn't one of the stronger Scott Bakula episodes, though, but I imagine I could watch weekly installments of The Joe & Manfro Show, so it's all good overall.

What did everybody else think?

What was your favorite movie of 2009?

Since this has apparently turned into a movie blog for the last week of '09 (what with the absence of most original TV this week), I may as well ask a question that's come up a bit in the "Up in the Air" discussion below: what was your favorite film of the year?

Now, I don't get to a lot of movies anymore, and I doubt I'll have seen more than 3 or 4 of the 10 Best Picture nominees this year. But with that caveat in mind, my favorite of 2009 would be either (depending on my mood) "Up" or "The Hurt Locker" (today is a cold and windy day, so I'm feeling "Hurt Locker"). "Up" was yet another Pixar masterpiece (particularly the opening montage about Carl's marriage), while "Hurt Locker" was both a kick-ass action thriller and the most engrossing war movie I've seen since "Three Kings."

So, what was your favorite from this year, and why?

Victoria Beckham’s Christmas Gift to Husband David Beckham: A Bulldog

Victoria Beckham's Christmas gift for husband David Beckham was a bulldog, Sun reported. The animal, from a London breeder, cost Posh 2000 pounds. She presented the pet dog him when the couple celebrated Christmas at Beckingham Palace. Speculating why Posh selected this special present? She belives "it is a symbol of Becks's spirit on the football field." Do fit! Hope Beckham can lead England to win a trophy in South Africa's 2010 World Cup.

At the movies: Up in the Air

The Christmas-to-New-Year's period is my one big movie-going stretch of the year these days, so two days after hitting the local multiplex for "Avatar," I was back to see George Clooney in "Up in the Air,", which I thoroughly enjoyed even as I had to keep reminding myself that the movie wasn't called "The Air Up There." A spoiler-laced review (designed, like my TV reviews, to be read after you've watched the thing) coming up just as soon as I throw out a pillow...

"Up in the Air" works on a lot of levels at once. You can simply enjoy it as George Clooney's most unapologetically dashing, romantic leading man performance since "Ocean's Eleven," or maybe even "Out of Sight." He's been great in other movies, but often in roles that feel designed for him to run away from his own innate charms. (He did, after all, win his Oscar for "Syriana," a movie where he packed on weight, grew a beard, and got tortured.) Clooney has become a great actor - and the scene on the airport shuttle where he takes the call from Vera Farmiga may be the best-acted of his career - yet there's something tremendously appealing about just seeing Clooney be Clooney... at least until those later scenes in which Clooney sees the folly of this.

Farmiga and Anna Kendrick are also terrific, and the sequence where the older duo console a heartbroken Kendrick and then invite her to crash the party (complete with a cameo by a not-so-Young MC) was as purely fun a 15 minutes as I've had at the movies in a long time.

But "Up in the Air" isn't just the story of a dashing road warrior. It's a blunt and poignant look at getting downsized in the worst job market in decades. Jason Reitman's idea to cast real people who had been recently fired to talk about their experience was a nice touch. Even better were Clooney and Kendrick's scripted interactions with J.K. Simmons and Jeff Eastin (as the devastated guy in Detroit), the former illustrating Clooney's belief that his job can be about more than just letting people down easy, the latter illustrating just how brutal this profession really is, particularly at a time like this when jobs are scarce.

And, of course, the second half of the movie also beautifully shows how Clooney's personal philosophy is just as much a delusion as his professional one. His life is fun, but empty, and the 1-2-3 punch of spending time on the road with Kendrick (who's far more human and empathetic than her tele-firing plan would suggest), falling for Farmiga and going to his sister's wedding (where Danny McBride showed how easily he can dial his usual schtick into more realistic, dramatic levels) forces him to realize that he does, in fact, need other people in his backpack.

And what makes the movie feel particularly resonant, I think, is that Clooney figuring this out doesn't solve anything for him, any more than his platitudes really help most of the people he fires move on in the job market. Had the movie followed a more predictable arc - had the "When Harry Met Sally" moment where Clooney goes running to tell Farmiga that he loves her worked out(*) - it would have made everything that came before feel phony. Instead, Clooney ends the movie in the exact same physical space as he began it, even as his emotional life has been ripped apart.

(*) Fienberg (who didn't love the movie in general) complained that he figured out that Farmiga's character had a family early on, and therefore grew impatient waiting for Clooney to find out. I have to admit that I didn't catch on until right when he showed up at her doorstep - again, I feared that Reitman was going the cliched rom-cm route when Clooney bailed on his big motivational speech - and was floored when I realized what was up. But I can see how spotting the twist early (like the people who somehow figured out Donnie Wahlberg killed Bruce Willis) could make some sections of the movie drag.

I don't get to the movies a lot anymore, and I haven't seen a lot of the movies that are considered serious Oscar contenders. But of the films I got to in 2009, "Up in the Air" is easily in the top 3 with "Up" and "The Hurt Locker."

What did everybody else think?

Survivor Samoa: John Fincher Had Never Watched The Show

That is John Fincher, Rocket Scientist, from the recently concluded Survivor Samoa. The first few weeks of the most recent Survivor I thought John Fincher and the seldom seen, Brett Clouser, were the same person. Til John grew a beard and Brett did not. Then I realized these were two different people.

Yesterday, while bouncing around the Internet, I came upon an interview with John Fincher that I found both interesting and annoying.

I thought it odd that John called himself a Rocket Scientist. John says he is an Aerospace Engineer and knows of no one on the planet who calls himself a Rocket Scientist. It was the Survivor producers who thought it was clever to call John a Rocket Scientist.

Speaking of those Survivor producers.

John had never watched a single episode of Survivor. John did not apply to be on the show. John was recruited. Why? I don't know. After John agreed to be on the show that he'd never seen, he asked the producers for video of past shows so he could study how the game is played.

Now, this just strikes me as all kinds of wrong. You have thousands, maybe millions, of loyal Survivor fans who would love the opportunity to be on the show. There are only 16 or 18 slots and they give one to a Rocket Scientist who has never watched the show? That is just annoying.

Recruit me. I'd be good on Survivor. Though I suck at starving. I'm great at back stabbing and blindsiding.

John also said he tried to put on weight prior to being stuck on an island and gave up boozing, so as to maximize his healthiness. Boozing and a Rocket Scientist seems sort of counter-intuitive to me.

Speaking of weight, John says he weighs 180 and is 6 feet 2. He thought his size would make him a target, but turns out other guys were bigger. That explains why John looked like a small guy to me.

So, the Survivor producers also cast for giants? I wonder how big Shambo is? That annoying Eric guy must be at least 6 feet 6.

How many other Survivors has been recruited, rather than send in an application?

And now we've got the upcoming Survivor Redemption: Heroes vs. Villains, with everyone having been on at least once already.

Between Survivor All-Stars, Fans vs. Favorites, Heroes vs. Villains and John Fincher, what percentage of people, who are on Survivor, have not been recruited, in some manner, by the producers?

I guess it is their show to cast how ever they like. But it sort of ruins it for me.

I may not watch Heroes vs. Villains.