• Today’s reports exaggerate the comments made by the professor, and ignore the difference between correlation and causation.
• A spokesperson for Facebook • Regarding the insane claims that a rise in the service’s popularity increased the spread of syphilis in a handful of British cities. “Social networking sites are making it easier for people to meet up for casual sex,” said Prof. Peter Kelly, who pushed forward the theory. Careful, or you might get it the STD from these guys. source

• Mashable did an awesome interview with him. Skype is quickly becoming the blogger’s interview tool of choice. And in the case of Merton, the lovable, not-Ben-Foldsy guy behind Chatroulette’s biggest phenomenon, it drew out some pretty great details.

• one The original video
  was forced offline
  after two chatters
  felt their privacy
  had been violated
  by the coolest
  guy ever.
• two That same video
  was also the
  highest-rated
  video YouTube
  has ever hosted,
  which is pretty
  crazy to consider.
• three Merton, who
  chooses to (for
  now) remain
  anonymous, is
  way more inspired
  by Tori Amos than
  Ben Folds.
• four That doesn’t
  mean he doesn’t
  find Ben Folds’
  rendition hilarious,
  though, especially
  with the crowd
  interactions.
• five He says that the
  clips allow him to
  mix his sense of
  humor with his
  often-maudlin
  piano playing.
  Neat. source

• bad Michael Jackson – a.k.a. the King of Pop – just had cardiac arrest. You’re his doctor. You live there and give him the insane sleeping medication that probably killed him.
• worse You reportedly stop doing CPR on him so you can pick up a bunch of drug vials. A witness says this. This information gets unsealed. Your lawyer freaks. source

• It’s future generations, our children and grandchildren, who will pay the price for our government’s arrogance and recklessness, and the American people won’t ever forget the irresponsible actions of this administration and Democratic majority.
• Rep. Michele Bachmann • In a press release announcing her support of a bill that would repeal the health care bill. You know, the one that passed 20 hours ago. We wonder if the ink dried on the old bill before she submitted this bill. “I’m asking my colleagues to join me in repealing this monstrosity of a bill,” she says. Showy political tactic or not, we’re guessing it’s not going to pass. source

• “Alice” had a good first week, and hasn’t done bad, but it’s not epic. Tim Burton’s latest big-budget hit, which also uses the spectacular 3D technology of “Avatar” (though not as well), looked like it was on the way to a similarly epic run for a couple of weeks. But while it did good this week, it’s now clear that it’ll just be a big hit, not an epic one.

“Alice” in her third weekend

• 45% dip in box-office receipts in weekend three source

• $116M “Alice in Wonderland’s” box-office take after its first weekend
• $209M “Alice’s” second-week mark; receipts dipped 46 percent
• $265M its third-week tally; it managed to stay on top despite competition

“Avatar’s” first three weeks

• 9.8% dip in “Avatar” in its third weekend source

• $77M where “Avatar” stood after its snow-marred first weekend
• $212M “Avatar” after weekend two; it was a huge hit during the week, even
• $352M after its third weekend, it was over halfway to “Titanic’s” $600 million

Why the diverging paths?

• » Did the snow help “Avatar” build staying power? Director James Cameron miraculously had a movie with a similar box-office run to his previous film, “Titanic.” Part of that may have been due to a huge snowstorm which slammed the East Coast in its first weekend, keeping demand for the movie high when the snow was eventually cleared.
• » Blow up, then fade: One of the major differences between “Alice” and “Avatar” is that “Alice” had a more traditional path to success, one that most blockbusters have followed in the last decade. The much-hyped movie with the big first weekend often fades quickly. Some exceptions exist – “The Dark Knight,” for example, came out of the gate quicker than “Avatar” did and had some staying power, but faded by its fifth week. The secret to an “Avatar”-style run? Slow and steady wins the race.

• Actually, she’s joining it at the end of April. The longtime CNN anchor, famous for her international coverage, will helm “This Week,” replacing George Stephanopoulos. It’s a bit of a change, but just look at the comments on this CNN post. Amanpour is universally loved and probably won’t damage the “This Week” brand. CNN, on the other hand, is looking like a rickety old ship that just lost its first mate. source

• NO and neither does the killed trainer’s family source

• yes Sandra Bullock moved out of the couple’s shared home
• yes Jesse James says he’s at fault for the drama that transpired
• yes that model has a tattoo on her forehead for some reason source

• Oh, South Park, we missed you so. Last night’s episode tackled everyone’s favorite punching bag, the Tiger Woods saga, with clever bits such as this one, where Cartman and Stan play a Tiger-themed fighting game. We want to buy this game. source