Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2008 > May
May 2008
Flavor Flav finds love
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So I guess true love does conquer all.
Three reality shows later, and a whole lot of drama heaped in between, Flavor Flav, I think, has finally met his girl.
(I just hope he and Thing 2 don’t decide to have children because no child deserves those odds in the “good looks” department.
As much as I thought she and her twin sister were a bit raggedy looking, I was touched that Flav admitted to making a mistake in sending her home.
I’m glad he sent Sinceer and her conniving ways back to planet Klingon but I’m surprised he booted Seezins, too.
I knew when he brought Thing 2 all the way to France, that he really felt a connection. But I thought in the final two it would come down to Thing 2 and Seezins. But it came down to Black and Thing 2.
It was clear that he had the body hots for Black, but Thing 2 had his spirit. Maybe it was the romantic backdrops of Paris.
Maybe it was the candlelight dinners. Maybe it was Thing 2 denying him his nightcap and in so doing, showing her true vulnerability. Whatever it was, it was clear that he connected with her in a different way than the winners from the previous seasons.
Did he make the right choice? After two previous tries, he vowed that this is it and that there won’t be a Flavor of Love 4. Do you believe it?
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Major airlines rank low in customer satisfaction
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Airline passengers aren’t a very happy lot.
The airline industry dropped to near historic lows in a new University of Michigan American Customer Satisfaction Index. Read more
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines ranked fourth among the nation’s seven biggest carriers. Southwest Airlines led the industry in passenger satisfaction for the 15th consecutive year.
The industry, whose satisfaction rating has been slipping over the last few years, drew the worst scores of 18 industries in the index. Cable and satellite TV were next-to-worst despite logging their highest score since the index began.
Is the index on target? How satisfied are you with current airline service? Which industries do you rate highest or lowest?
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What would you give your mother?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat helped his mother realize a lifelong dream by buying her a church in Chicago.
We hear stories all the time of successful children giving their parents special gifts as a way of thanking them.
What would you give your mother if you could?
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Did country music fans get it right?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For the first time, fan votes determined the entertainer of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards. And the winner was? Kenny Chesney.
The category was filled with heavyweights. In addition to Chesney, who won for the fourth straight year, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, George Strait and Keith Urban were nominated.
The one person who seemed most unhappy with the new voting system was the same one who benefitted from it. “It really diminishes the integrity of the music,” Chesney said backstage. “It’s not about flying somebody to some shows and seeing how hard you can push some buttons on the Internet.”
With such stiff competition, do you agree with the outcome? Do you think the fans should be allowed to determine the winner of the biggest award? Did the Academy get the nominees right in the first place? Were women such as Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert not good enough to compete with the guys?
RELATED LINKS: Chesney wins fourth straight; Photos: On the red carpet; Photos: At the show
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Are some prom dresses too risque?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
 |
| From CNN video |
| Marche Taylor’s prom dress was deemed too revealing. |
A Houston teen’s choice of prom attire landed her in cuffs instead of wrist corsages. SEE THE DRESS in this video.
Marche Taylor, a student at Madison High School, tried to attend her prom at a Marriott hotel wearing a custom-made gold, midriff-baring mini-halter dress. School officials deemed the frock way too revealing and said that it violated a school dress code.
“I actually like the dress. Everybody else likes my dress,” Taylor told a KHOU-TV reporter. She said friends tried to make quick adjustments to the dress but she was still denied access.
She demanded her money back and at some point the police were called.
It’s unusual for police to intercept a prom-goer, but this time of year the internet is usually filled photos of risque and downright weird prom outfits.
Was it the right decision to deny Taylor access to the prom? Should police have been called?
Check out these AJC prom photo galleries.
What was your favorite part of Mother’s Day?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Did you get breakfast in bed or diamond earrings? Or did the hubby take the kids for the day to give you a little “girl time” ?
Sunday was Mother’s Day, a time set aside to honor moms and other women who have influenced our lives.
What was the best part of your Mother’s Day?
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‘Model Maker’ looking for a few big girls in ATL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Do you remember Toccara, the plus-sized model on “America’s Next Top Model” who later went on “Celebrity Fit Club” to shed a few pounds and get in shape? Now’s your chance to follow in her footsteps.
MTV is coming to Atlanta to cast for a new show, “Model Maker.” The producers — who also are responsible for such reality shows as “Flavor of Love” and “Surreal Life” — are looking for women who are 30 to 100 pounds overweight. Yes, they want the girls who are thick, but if cast, don’t expect to stay that way. Applicants must have “a great attitude, a pretty face and the endurance to sweat off the pounds” during the three months the show tapes. At the end, in addition to being healthier, one lucky lady will win $10,000 and a possible modeling contract.
The finalists will be big winners before the show begins. MTV will provide them with nutritionists, dietitians, stylists, trainers and others to help them improve themselves.
Who is eligible for the show? In addition to the weight requirement, you must be 18 to 25 years old and at least 5-foot-7. Those who want to tryout can attend the open call from 2 to 5 p.m. May 12 at Torrid in Kennesaw’s Towne Center Mall. If you can’t make it, you can pre-interview by sending your name, age, contact information, height, weight, current photos and a brief bio about you and why you want to be a model to mtvmodelmaker@gmail.com.
What do you think of a show like this? Too much reality? A fun idea?
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Mr. and Mrs. Cannon
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Reports broke last week that Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon had quietly gotten married.
Now it looks like it’s official. In the issue that hits newstands Friday, People magazine has exclusive photos of the couple’s nuptials at the pop star’s estate in the Bahamas. “We really do feel we are soulmates,” Carey says in the story.
Oprah Winfrey also talked about the wedding on her show
Tuesday (watch the clip). The talk show queen says Carey already had a “Mrs. Cannon” tattoo on her back when Winfrey interviewed her, a week before the ceremony.
A lot of people have talked about how quickly the two tied the knot, but their chemistry is obvious in Carey’s new video “Bye Bye.” The age difference between the two also is frequently discussed — Carey is 38, 11 years older than Cannon. And there has been some speculation from naysayers that it was done as a publicity stunt to promote Carey’s new album and to jumpstart Cannon’s career.
Considering their whirlwind romance, will their marriage last?
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Obama’s edges closer to Democratic nomination
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sen. Barack Obama edged closer to the Democratic presidential nomination after beating challenger Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton by 14 percentage points in North Carolina.
Although Clinton eked out a win in Indiana, the margin was much closer than expected.
With Tuesday’s results, Obama secured a larger lead in pledged delegates. Aides to Clinton acknowledge she has rough road ahead, according to an article in The Washington Post.
What’s next for Clinton, who has vowed to continue fighting for the White House?
How difficult will it be for her to woo superdelegates now? Can Clinton catch Obama in the remaining six contests? Here’s your chance to weigh in on last night’s results.
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Flavor Flav: The return of Thing 2
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
To borrow from Flav: “Woooooooow!”
It was a night of surprises for the lovelorn Flavor Flav. Maybe it was the wine. Or the oh-so-romantic mood music. Whatever it was, the magic of France, where Flav took the final three girls, Seezinz, Sinceer and Black did something, because as Nicole who posted on this blog last week (good eye, Nicole) Thing 2, whom he tearfully let go two weeks ago, came back.
That can’t be good for that slithering snake, Sinceer. After all, Sinceer backstabbed Thing 2 quite well. You know what they say about payback being a scientific term for female dog.
And Thing 2 came back with a vengeance. As much as I thought the Thing Twins looked like hell, they seemed more real than most of those fake contestants.
Speaking of fake — as in silicone — what a desperate move by Black to knock Seezinz out. Sure, she pulled a page from the Thing Twins and Sinceer by tattling to Flav about her conversation with Seezinz who confessed the only reason why she was still around is because of the drama she had going on with Sinceer.
Black was desperate, of course, and proved that being a successful psycho stalker requires the skill of quick thinking. I was sort of rooting for Seezinz since she was pretty and smart, but in her goodbye hug n’ kiss with Flav, she had about as much love as a barracuda. She was there for the camera time (but I guess you could say that about all of them).
Black bought herself another week but she won’t last. She’ll be the next one to go down. I think it’s going to come down to Thing 2 and Sinceer. I can’t wait; it’ll be like Godzilla vs. Mothra. I’ve got my money on Thing 2 all the way. What do think? Does black stand a chance between those two?
Will Sinceer get the beat-downs of all beat-downs at the hands of Thing 2? I can hear them sharpening their claws now.
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Where do you get your favorite Margarita?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you don’t order a margarita very often, it might seem like a straightforward concept. But in reality, the choices can make your head spin before you’ve even tasted the tequila.
First you have to decide whether you want it on the rocks or frozen, then salt or no salt. And that’s just the beginning.
Frozen margaritas come in almost any flavor of fruit imaginable, and even the on-the-rocks variety has its own twists — Texas margarita, anyone?
What’s your favorite margarita and where do you get it?
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Worst album covers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When artists put out albums,
one of the many things they have to consider is the cover art. An aesthetically pleasing cover can make people want to buy the album. And something that is less than stellar? Those covers (such as Nelson’s “Because They Can”) become popular for entirely different reasons.
Sites such as coverbrowser.com keep tabs on the best of the bad, but the Orlando Sentinel has elevated the discussion, letting users vote for the very worst among 50 choices (see the covers here).
What is the worst album cover you have ever seen? Are there popular artists who missed the mark?
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Mariah Carey to Nick Cannon: I do, and so do you
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Right: Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon have apparently made it official after a brief courtship. (Left: Rene Macura/AP; right: Jeff Christensen/AP)
Just when you had quit caring whether Beyonce and Jay-Z had got themselves hitched, singer Mariah Carey and actor Nick Cannon (“Drumline,” “Love Don’t Cost a Thing”) reportedly tied the knot in the Bahamas, according to sources who talked to Web sites NewYorkPost.com and E! online.
The two lovebirds are a recent match, Cannon only having broken off his engagement with Victoria’s Secret angel Selita Ebanks in October. Time, and a steady diet of hotties, heals all wounds, we suppose.
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People names its “Most Beautiful”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Don’t ask us why we’re obsessed with People magazine’s “World’s Most Beautiful People” issue. It features the same old stunners
who we already knew were beautiful: Kate Hudson (duh!), Jessica Alba (duh!), Salma Hayek (double duh!).
Right: Actress Kate Hudson, beautiful as always.
But People magazine carries weight in the industry. The mag staged some impressive photo shoots, got a bunch of actresses to go without makeup (admittedly, the actresses are young and flawless to begin with), and persuaded sneaker-loving Sarah Silverman to wear stiletto heels.
Besides, where else would we find out that Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard has 500 swimsuits? Or that NBA star Tony Parker calls his wife’s favorite shoes (Uggs) “Hugs”?
Get a sneak peek of the “World’s Most Beautiful People” here.
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Have you tried to lower your credit card rates?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When it comes to credit cards, we’ve always been told to look for the best rate. That’s particularly important for those of us who choose to carry a balance because all that interest adds up.
Let’s assume you have a credit card balance of $5,000 at 8.99 percent interest. If you didn’t charge anything else to that account and simply paid the monthly minimum balance, it would take you about nine years and 10 months to get a zero balance and would have had $1,122.54 in interest.
For those of you with good to great credit, you can get rates ranging from 6.25 percent to 17 percent.
But have you ever wondered how high interest rates can go? There’s practically no limit because many of the largest credit card lenders are in South Dakota or Delaware and other states with no usury laws on their books or liberal caps that set the maximum rate pretty high.
For example, Chase Bank and Citibank right now charge as much as 29.24 percent interest to those customers who fail to make their monthly payments on time to any of their creditors. Bank of America charges up to 29.99 percent for those customers, while American Express’ Blue card and Discover demand 27.24 percent and 30.99 percent respectively.
If you think that’s high, try being someone with bad credit in the United Kingdom. One British institution, Vanquis Bank charges anywhere from 19.94 percent to 59.94 percent on purchases depending upon how dinged the applicant’s credit is. And if that customer chooses to get a cash advance, the rate for that — which is calculated separately from purchases, as is common with credit cards — ranges from 33.97 percent to 74.75 percent.
Bankers say higher risk customers need to be charged more to mitigate that risk and they have a point. But where should they draw the line? If someone is such a bad risk that they have to pay 59 percent interest is a credit card company being responsible? What rates are you paying on your cards? Are you finding it hard to get your companies to lower your rates?
