American Idol gone really, really bad
At a taping for the upcoming “bad talent” series, “Superstar USA” producers lied and told audience members that the talentless contestants were actually terminally ill patients from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The producers were worried that if they didn't lie, the audience [Note: who had been paid to be there] would laugh or boo the contestants and give away the entire premise of the show, which is to fool really bad singers into thinking they're good.
The show, which debuts Monday on the WB network, is a spoof of “American Idol” reject William Hung and the rest of the tryouts who don't seem to realize just how bad they are.
The idea of the show is to reward only the worst singers in the competition and move them on to the next round. The joke, of course, is on the deluded singers – with the very worst of them being crowned the “winner” at the end of the four-week series.
Officials for “Superstar USA” and the WB issued apologies over the weekend about the Make-a-Wish Foundation comment after an article appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
Bletchley Park and the quest for the Holy Graal
Experts from Bletchley Park are trying to crack a 250-year-old code rumoured to point the way to the Holy Grail. Specialists from the Buckinghamshire code-breaking centre hope to decipher words etched on a garden ornament at Shugborough in Staffordshire.
The Shepherd's Monument in the grounds of the stately home displays an inscription that has never been solved. Second World War veterans using the celebrated Enigma machine are joining Bletchley's current team of experts. […] Bletchley Park's director said: “This is such an unusual challenge that my colleagues and collaborators, who include veteran code breakers and modern day decoding experts from Bletchley Park's 'offspring' GCHQ, cannot resist.”
Shugborough's general manager, Richard Kemp, said: “The Anson family, who built the estate, commissioned the monument but it had unproven connections with the Knights Templars. “The inscription is rumoured to indicate the location of the Holy Grail, which must rank as one of the world's great mysteries.”
The women of Home Depot
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – Playboy is trying to find out if the young woman who helps you find a bolt at Home Depot has something else she wants to show you. Playboy.com says it is seeking female employees of the largest home improvement chain to “shuck their orange smocks and show their hardware.”
The adult men's publication has previously run pictorials of the women of collapsed energy trader Enron, the world's largest coffee chain Starbucks and the world's largest retailer Wal-Mart.
For those Home Depot employees interested in applying for the pictorial, Playboy.com said they can send a headshot and a full-body shot, bikini-clad or nude, a copy of a government-issued ID proving they are 18 or older, and a recent pay stub proving they are employed by Home Depot.
When contacted, Home Depot released a statement saying “the company is aware of this invitation, but does not endorse it, support it, nor are we affiliated with it in any way.”
Ukranian ammo dump goes boom when soldiers light up
KIEV (Reuters) – Two smoking soldiers set off tons of ammunition that killed five people, caused $725 million in damage and sent debris showering across southern Ukraine last week, the emergencies minister said on Tuesday. A series of blasts hurled debris as far as 25 miles after fire broke out last Thursday at a warehouse complex where 92,000 tons of artillery ammunition was stored.
Blasts were still heard on Tuesday, emergencies minister Hryhory Reva told parliament. “At about 12 o'clock on Thursday, two servicemen, who were stocking military ammunition, began smoking at their working site. It caused the fire and set off the explosions,” he said.
The blasts caused some $725 million in damage to the defense ministry and population in the Zaporizhya region, he said. They destroyed buildings in a two-mile radius, including a local railway station. A minor gas pipeline was also damaged. Metal fragments and other debris were thrown 40 km, causing fires in nearby towns.
Authorities evacuated some 7,000 people from the surrounding area. People started to return home on Tuesday, five days after the initial blasts.