After discussion about the fact that Paula is making a far lower salary than Ryan Seacrest, a differential of $38 million, Paula announced via Twitter last night that she is in fact leaving the show. I’m a little skeptical due to the medium she used to communicate such big news to be leaving the biggest show on television. I think she is doing the right thing by sticking to her guns because if she is only making $2 million (relatively speaking) in comparison with Ryan Seacrest at $40 million, she does deserve a lot more than she gets. Bonnie Fuller, (Canadian-born media executive) is calling her bluff and saying it’s a media stunt, which it may very well be.

Paula’s Twitter announcement went like this: “With Sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return to #IDOL. I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all being part of a show that from day 1become an international phenomenon. What I want to say most, is how much I appreciate the undying support and enormous love that you have showered upon me. ”

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This week’s HOH is Russell, the nominees have been decided as Ronnie and Lydia, and the number of people in the house is lower each week. People are started to scramble and the once strong power house alliance founded by athletes and Ronnie the Rat is now threatened. This alliance consists of Jesse, Natalie, Chima, Ronnie, and in the past included Russell. Russell is working smarter now. Russell knows that Ronnie is a liar and cannot be trusted. As far as he is concerned, Ronnie made his bed and he should lie in it and he’ll be more than happy to but the tombstone on it. Chima on the other hands tries to talk to Russell and convince him to get Lydia out instead. Then Jesse and Natalie come in and they’re working Russell as well, but he’s not budging. He’s made up his mind.

Later one, Natalie talks to Michele as they play pool, and tries to convince Michele to keep Ronnie in since they know that she is kind of the swing vote. Jesse joins in as well as he sees her as a floater, which worries them. They know she can go either way.

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Shit. I love Top Model, but sometimes I feel like Tyrant (AKA Tyra Banks) is determined to ruin the original concept. Recent cycles of America’s Next Top Model have been meek parodies of a once great show. Remember when it was actually about modeling? Remember when being “editorial” was actually a winnable trait? Sigh. Remember when Tyrant actually gave a shit about the show and actually participated in the process beyond the panel? Will Cycle 13 be doomed by Tyrant’s force fed artificial dramz or will she learn from the success of Mr. Jay’s latest Canada’s Next Top Model outing by going back to basics?

Sadly, it looks like Tyrant has chosen to keep moving the show further into the realm of bullshit. Cycle 13 doesn’t start until September 9, but we already know enough to worry. Firstly, the cast is made up of a bunch of mini models (5’7” and under) with zero chance of ever working a real runway. Secondly, she’s decided to bring in a couple of reality TV media whores into the mix as guest judges. WTF. What do Lauren Conrad and Kim Kardashian have to do with being a top model?

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Mariah Carey Sells Out
When Mariah’s latest album, “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel” drops on September 15, 2009, it will make history. No, it’s not expected to break album sales records but rather it’s because of another distinction. Carey will be the first recording artist to bundle her CD with ads from Elizabeth Arden, Angel Champagne and the Bahamas Board of Tourism. In addition to these ads, the 34-page booklet is a co-production with Elle Magazine. Sounds like this CD is going to weigh as much as Carey’s ass. If the experiment is proven a success, Carey’s label, Island Def Jam, will consider doing the same for Rihanna, Bon Jovi and others. Okay, I kinda get the Elizabeth Arden and Angel Champagne connection but the Bahama’s Tourism Board?!?!? WTF. I could get the synergy if Mariah was of Bahamian descent or if the Bahamas was her favorite tropical destination but this totally screams sell out which I don’t have a problem with if it makes sense. Are you more likely to pick the Bahamas instead of Jamaica, Cuba or Turks & Caicos because you saw it on Mariah’s cd booklet? Who buys CDs anymore? Doesn’t everyone just buy their music on iTunes or other online sites?

And The Moon Man Goes To?
Even though MTV has been criticized for not playing enough music videos on their schedule, the network still holds an annual celebration to recognize the music industry’s best SLASH most popular vids. Kinda ironic, don’t you think? The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards nominations were announced today and garnering the most nominations were Lady Gaga and Beyonce with 9 nominations each. It’s no surprise that two have the the most nominations. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t seen Beyonce’s Single Ladies video or the thousands of homages including the infamous SNL skit featuring Justin Timberlake. And with Lady Gaga, she’s dominated the charts and magazine covers with her catchy music and over-the-top fashion style. Some of the other multiple nominees are Britney Spears (7), Kanye West (4), Eminem (4), and Coldplay (4). Even though Russell Brand got mixed reviews with his first stab at hosting last year’s festivities, he’s been invited back for a second-go-round. The awards extravaganza will air on September 13 and will feature performances by Taylor Swift, Green Day, Pink and many more. Which music award show is the best? The MTV Awards, Grammys, Billboard, or MMVAs?

Click Here for More: Twilight Eclipse Cast Arrives in Vancouver. Country Music Festival Stage Collapses in Alberta. G.I. Says No to Movie Critics.

For those of you who have read my answers for the Homorazzi questionnaire, you’ll remember that my dream job is to be a Network Television Executive. The power to green light shows and cancel others would be insane. Of course, I would use my powers good and not for evil…..

Last week, the 5 major networks unveiled their fall schedules to the press and advertisers. This whole process is referred to as “upfronts” since the major purpose of the unveiling is to allow marketers to purchase commercial slots “up front” several months before the fall season airs.

I’ve gone over the schedules and picked out a few shows I’m excited about and also predicted which shows look like stink bombs.

THE CW

Pre-season Pick: Melrose Place 2.0
This probably will be a stinker like the recent reboot of 90210, still, I am uber excited about seeing the first episode. I was obsessed with the original back in the 90s and if the reboot is half as good I’m sure i’ll be a loyal follower once again. The producers have wisely asked back two of the most popular original cast members to the new cast: Laura Leighton (Sydney) and Thomas Calabro (Michael). It’ll be interesting to see how they explain Sydney’s death: she died in a car crash in the season five finale of the original series. The only thing that doesn’t excite me is the addition of Ashlee Simpson-Wentz to the cast. Sure, I loved her song “Pieces of Me”, but the whole Simpson family gives me gas. That includes you Jessica, and especially their creepy dad, Joe.

Stinker: The Beautiful Life
I love models, and for some unknown reason I like Mischa Barton, unfortunately this show looks like a clunker. First off, dramas about the modeling world never seem to fly because they don’t appeal to the masses. Secoundly, the premise of the show sounds extremely cheesy. Check it out: “The day-to-day lives and various career highs and lows of models who share a ‘co-ed residence’ in New York (where it’s likely that there won’t be many huge, family-style banquets going on).” Sounds riveting, don’t you think? Who knows. I’ll probably watch the first episode, love it, secretly deny watching it and then be upset when they cancel it. That’s just how I roll.

Afterthought: Personally, I was a little miffed that the Gossip Girl spin-off wasn’t picked up. It was soooo heavily promoted during the 80s flashback penultimate episode of Gossip Girl this season. I hear it has a good chance of getting picked up mid-season should any of the new shows fail miserably. Come on, “The Beautiful Life”, don’t let me down!

Find out what the other networks have to offer this upcoming fall

As the houseguest each get spun out of the HOH competition, 3.5 hours later Jeff and Russell remain. They decide to strike a deal that if Jeff hops of the carousel, giving Russell HOH, he will ensure that Jordan and Jeff will not be nominated. The first five people out of the HOH competition were eligible to win something. The first one off, Kevin, won a car. Lydia won a flat screen TV. Jordan won the power to decide which three people would be the Have Nots for the week. Since she didn’t want to get a target on her back, she did this randomly and the names she drew were Natalie, Jessie, and Kevin. Definitely glad that Jesse and Natalie got it. Squid & Squash for you bitches!

In a private discussion where they reaffirm their trust, Jeff & Russell decide that they should have a secret alliance because they are very strong competitors and no one would expect it, especially considering their big blow out in the first week.

Now, one by one everyone seems to be meeting with Russell to try to keep themselves safe before the nomination ceremony. First up: Lydia. She tells him that Jesse and Natalie are going to vote him out the first chance they get, and thinks they are stronger competitors as opposed to some of the other, such as herself or Kevin. After she leaves, Jesse, Natalie, and Chima flow into the HOH room to meet with Russell next, and Russell explains what Lydia said. They say she’s totally lying, conveniently making up stories right before nominations. After they leave, Ronnie goes in and also pleads his case. He asks Russell if he has anything to worry about this week, to which Russell responds that he does not.

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Maybe it’s just me, but lately I feel like I’m getting a little overwhelmed by technology. I just think there comes a time in a human being’s life where we reach this saturation point with a lot of things: we run too far, too fast, and we feel like we’re about to die; we drink too much and we puke; we stay up too late and we collapse from fatigue; we have too many freakin web-based communication tools and profiles to manage and during a dramatic psychological meltdown we sell everything and hop on the next ship to Antarctica and live amongst the penguins- the non-tweeting kind. 

You all know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s like how the heck do we manage to keep everything going? You’ve got your cell phone, your facebook account, your twitter account, your online-dating account, your work e-mail, your personal e-mail, that personal e-mail account that you haven’t used in years because you’re embarrassed by the address (something like twinkle_sparkle_glitter_735@…) but it was the only thing you could think of at the time that no one else had and you just can’t get rid of it because there are still a few people out there that send mail to it and haven’t bothered to change to your new e-mail address even though you’ve told them on numerous occasions. It all gets a little overwhelming, especially when your real life gets busy.

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Even before sneaking in episodes of Queer as Folk (the British version) late at night after everyone had gone to bed, before Will & Grace, before Ellen, BEFORE the Internet, I found my first gay icon. Where does a suburban kid growing up and grappling with “OMG am I gay?” go for his gay fix? Melrose Place! To be fair, David Chokachi on Baywatch was my first real crush, but he wasn’t gay. That doesn’t count.

Before Desperate Housewives, Doug Savant was “Matt Fielding” – the gay social worker who had lots of boyfriends, but never got it on. Not that we saw anyways. It didn’t matter. The mere thought of Matt and his hot manly sailor Jeffrey sneaking glances at each other, or hugging each other, was enough for a little 13 year old like me.

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