Anne Hathaway sexy photos channel Heidi Baron in Penthouse

Anne Hathaway, who last week was the toast of Harvard, is now hot again because of her sexy photos that heat up the Internet. It's a goof thing because her nerdy side was starting to hamper her pop-culture image. Anne Hathaway is a nerd. Who else would have this take on kissing:

"You have to leave your mouth open a little bit. Open up. More, more, ever so lightly…Otherwise you're going to be getting smoothy. Now, slow it down...just a little bit."

Whatever happened to just doing it?

Just as Bill Cosby is not dead, Anne Hathaway can steam up the internet. Hathaway's frankly had a bit of a nerdy, goody-two-shoes image that was in need of a makeover to give it some bite. GQ to the rescue in this March 2010 sexy photo shoot that isn't quite Heidi Baron level in exposure but does the trick.

In this way Anne Hathaway's channeling her inner Heidi Baron.

Stay tuned.

Urban Dictionary Week on Facebook users changing their images

Urban Dictionary Week on Facebook. Urban Dictionary is taking the Internet World by storm. Already the breakout buzz word on Yahoo Buzz, Urban Dictionary is the website where you can find out the "street" meaning of words and names. It has over 4 million words.

But apparently it's also used to give to terms and meaning to words, or make up new ones like "Street Creep":

1. A new perjorative term for Wall Street executives who raked in huge bonuses while plunging the world into economic chaos.

2. A financial advisor who sells Wall Street products on commission.

Or "The time":

Giving the time to someone means having sexual intercourse with that person.
Salinger uses this phrase quite often in his novel, The Catcher in the Rye.

"I don't think he gave that girl the time that night-but damn near."

Check out Urban Dictionary.

Super Bowl in Miami means parties and the art of party-crashing

Miami, South Beach - The 44th Super Bowl is just two days away, but Miami is buzzing with parties. Some parties have had the name of someone like P Diddy on it. So people come to the event expecting to see him and he doesn't show up.

Frankly, I've attended about 24 Super Bowl parties in my time, so I know the formula: free drinks, free food, celebrities, all in a large space with dancing optional but preferred.

There are an estimated 150 Super Bowl parties held during Super Bowl week, but the "go to" events are on Friday and Saturday Night.

The list (this is not a list, just a discussion) is paced by the NFL Commissioner's Party, or what is called the NFL Friday Night Party. It's at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Center, and is underway as I write this.

The NFL Commissioner's Party is a huge affair with several tons of food, celebrities, and generally "human art events". The main reason to go - if you can and I've been to one of these - is to see the people and sample the monstrous selection of food. If you have a ticket to that, cool, but leave early and head to the ESPN Party.

The ESPN Super Bowl Party is at The Fountainbleau Resort on Miami Beach. The ESPN Party layout brings celebrity athletes with patrons and a lot of cocktails in an interactive setting. An ESPN Party is nothing without video games, and they're all over the place. It starts at 9, but really gets going at 10 PM. I don't have a ticket, but the last time I did and still crashed the party.

How?

The guy never looked at my ticket! He just let me in. That's the art of party-crashing: acting like you belong there and walking in. It also helps to know someone or be willing to drop cash. Not saying I've ever done it, but I've seen it happen.

I had this wry idea of making a video of how to crash or not crash a Super Bowl Party. I still may do it just for grins. If so, you saw the idea first, here.

Of course, it's raining now. Hmm...

Stay tuned

Taylor Swift Grammy Controversy: Kelly Clarkson v. Scott Borchetta

The "Taylor Swift Grammy Controversy" is one for the books, but given Taylor Swift's wild success, she was bound to be attacked for something small. In this case, the small something is her off-key singing performance with Stevie Knicks at the Grammy Awards Sunday night as well as why Stevie Knicks would "stoop so low" as to work with Taylor Swift.

It kicked off a reader-sparked comment controversy on MTV.com, and took off from there.

The controversy has gotten so deep, Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta, who's label features Taylor Swift, jumped in, saying "This is not 'American Idol.' ... This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It's not about that technically perfect performance."

Well, that got American Idol Star Kelly Clarkson really pissed off. On her blog, Clarkson writes:

Wow .....Dear Scott Borchetta,

I understand defending your artist obviously because I have done the same in the past for artists I like, including Taylor, so you might see why it's upsetting to read you attacking American Idol for producing simply vocalists that hit 'the high notes'. Thank you for that 'Captain Obvious' sense of humor because you know what, we not only hit the high notes, you forgot to mention we generally hit the 'right' notes as well. Every artist has a bad performance or two and that is understandable, but throwing blame will not make the situation at hand any better. I have been criticized left and right for having shaky performances before (and they were shaky) and what my manager or label executives say to me and the public is "I'll kick butt next time" or "every performance isn't going to be perfect" ......I bring this up because you should take a lesson from these people and instead of lashing out at other artists (that in your 'humble' opinion lack true artistry), you should simply take a breath and realize that sometimes things won't go according to plan or work out and that's okay.

Sincerely,
One of those contestants from American Idol who only made it because of her high notes ;)

Here's the performance that's caused so much chatter:



But what's really off are the priorities of those who complain about Taylor Swift's singing. Where were they when she did this:



Well? Well?

Geez.

Taylor Swift's a great talent who had an off night. Give her a break.

Super Bowl XLIV update: On Michael Irvin and Miami's South Beach

South Beach, Miami, FLA - Super Bowl XLIV in Miami is really the story of what's happening on South Beach. Right now, it's not yet this blogger who's totally exhausted. Still, the sound of music and people call, and the desire to be among them is strong. Which will happen later - a trip to the beach and the NFL Network area where Michael Irvin hangs - after this Super Bowl XLIVL update is done.

This blogger arrived at the Miami airport and was met by my good friend Steven Schnitzer, who with his brother Ray owns the nationally-known 11th Street Diner on 11th and Washington in South Beach (1065 Washington Avenue Miami Beach, FL), where Rosie O'Donnell is one of his favorite customers.



From the airport, we wound up going to the Home Depot, where I met a couple of women who talked about producing Saturday's Celebrity Beach Volleyball event at South Beach, then going to get stone crab, and finally home to freshen up.



On the matter of Michael Irvin, that's awful news that he's the focus of a civil lawsuit claiming a rape of a woman that allegedly happened in 2007; but now it's 2010. Moreover, the Broward State Attorney's office has reportedly been investigating a case that's without physical evidence: no photos, bruises, or video. Not surprisingly, no charges have been filed.

While it's too early to tell if Michael Irvin's situation is indeed a false rape claim, they are unfortunately quite common and take years for the person accused to overcome. But the question is, did Michael Irvin even know the woman? According to the LA Times, the answer isn't "no" but that nothing ever happened between them, "there was no encounter".

Famous and wealthy people have to be careful who they come into contact with; Super Bowl week is a great example. Miami's South Beach is known for its parties, but all of the lovely women here aren't just in town for the scenery and the game. Some are here just to meet a guy with money, or who they think have cash.

The untold Super Bowl story is of women who come to Super Bowls as the guests of married, or to meet married men, who often live in different parts of the country. The reason I know this, is I met one such woman at a party at the Super Bowl in Arizona. She's what I would call a "player's groupie" who goes to training camps with friends - one of them being her married boyfriend.

Now, before you get the wrong idea, this woman's a professional executive who makes a decent living for herself. She's not involved in the sex business.

But she seeks out players or former players to get to know, and they're just as willing. If this reads like a "Tiger Woods situation" you're getting the picture. It's not the best activity to take on, but some people just don't think about that when they're doing it. Then, when it all heads South, it can end in terrible ways, like robbery, extortion, or rape.

Now, how I know that detail is because she told me. Straight out, full and clear coughed up the story over dinner on the Monday after the Giants v. Patriots Super Bowl game in Glendale, AZ. Did she think I was a football player? No, and I gave her no reason to think so. Did we have relations? No. Friends? Yes. But some women see you at events like this, and figure you're into something interesting, else you wouldn't be at an exclusive Super Bowl party.

If you're a single guy, this is a great place to be, but even it's more fun to bring your girlfriend. At least you know what you're getting into. What's great about this is networking with business people and celebrities. If you can keep the Super Bowl experience at that level, you'll love it. If you've got to get laid, make sure it's someone you know and your friends know, too.

Why do gun-rights advocates trust the GOP?

That was one of the big deals during the campaign, and it continues to echo through the Teabaggers sites, and on the signs at Tea Party rallies. You'd think the Democrats had "abolish the 2nd amendment" as a platform to hear the NRA and their lobbyists talk.

It's true, the President has some concerns he's been up-front with relating to assault weapons - the sort of rifle that has no place in the sport of hunting.

But when was the last time the government actually took away people's weapons in any sort of mass sweep of the citizenry, such as Obama's opponents seem to fear he'll do?

Oh, right, it was back in 2005. September of 2005, according to ABC news; it was under a Republican administration, of course, so it didn't provoke the outcry it might have.

"Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job!"
After all, former President George Bush is nominally a Texan, and if a Texan says you should give up your guns, that's different - right?

I mean, after all, Bush's Vice President was even a hunter - right?

It makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, journalist, and political analyst who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

Super Bowl XLIVL: Zennie in Miami for Leigh Steinberg Party

Miami is hot. Miami is also the city host of Super Bowl XLIVL. That means parties, people, food, and fun, and my second time here. I'm here for The Leigh Steinberg Party Super Bowl Party more than for the Saints and Colts battle. My game plan, if you will, is to fly to Atlanta Sunday to watch the Super Bowl with my Mother. Miami's stadium is, OK, but this is my seventh Super Bowl and I'm not a fan of that facility. Plus, this trip is virtually free for me.

Super Bowls should be played in dome stadiums, under the lights; not outdoors. The last time I was here in 2007, the stadium was hard to get to, it rained like you've never seen before, and I got waterlogged and saw the game from a stadium TV.

But that written, everyone should experience the Super Bowl at least once.  The giant pulse of human energy that's emitted at kickoff is a drug worth the price of admission, and doesn't come through on television.  But I've felt it six times.

As this is being blogged, I'm siting at Miami International Airport's "J" Terminal, totally exhausted having traveled all night long to get here. My flight was crawling with Colts fans. Two flights, three cities - San Francisco, Washington, and Miami - and not enough sleep. I'm wiped.

The Super Bowl is an almost annual pilgrimage for me that started with my work to bring the 2005 Super Bowl to Oakland between 1999 and 2001. Seeing - and this is an unfortunate truth - how terrible the City of Oakland treated me as I was working to form the bid, NFL execs I will not name said "If there's anything we can do to help you build your business, we will." That's how the Super Bowl trips and the annual NFL Draft press pool came about.

Ok, an aside: What did Oakland do? Well, everything from then-Mayor Jerry Brown and City Manager Robert Bobb calling the NFL (or having others do so) with questions I'd already given them answers to; or refusing to cooperate with me in preparation for our Super Bowl Bid presentation to the NFL Owners; having meetings behind my back with Oakland business representatives who should have been on our sports commission; Oakland economic development heads who were so angry that I was working on the Super Bowl that they 1) would not cooperate, and 2) worked to deliberately harm my work in some way, either by inaction, lies, or character assassination.

This was the case from Brown, to Oakland Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente, and a number of people I could name. When I left Oakland, I silently vowed I'd succeed in a way they'd never forget. I've done that.

The NFL was, and has been, a better friend to me than the City of Oakland. Regardless of what's said and whatever idiot chimes in with some lie, the bottom line is Oakland will stumble all over itself to prevent anyone from succeeding at something large scale that calls for the City's involvement. Why this is, I don't know, but I see it all the time. Oakland can't seem to work together to achieve much.

That's why, even with three sports teams, there's no one major sports event that Oakland has consistently hosted or formed a bid for more than once. That's the culture of Oakland. In Jerry Brown's case, some observers in the media would say "Well, he's an intellectual, so he's not interested in sports", which is about the dumbest comment I've ever heard of. First, he's the Mayor, or was. Second, a Mayor's job is to serve the people, not his own tastes. Third, sports is an export industry that generates job in Oakland.

I pray the Oakland Marathon is the start of the end of that problem of Oakland's working against itself. I think it may be.

But all that's in the past. Now, I'm in Miami and looking forward to seeing my friends and attending Leigh Steinberg's great party. Leigh has been a friend since 1998, when he came to help me with Oakland Athletics issues while I was Elihu Harris' economic advisor.

This is my seventh Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party. I've met all kinds of people, from Jacksonville Jaguar Head Coach Jack Del Rio, to Steven Baldwin, Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, Bay Area Sports Writer Art Spander, former Oakland Raiders Exec (now Washington Redskins GM) Bruce Allen, then-Tampa Bay Bucs Head Coach Jon Gruden and his wife Cindy, ;and a group of people that are still my friends to this day - some of them who helped me on the Super Bowl: Oakland work, and all from the private sector.

For me the Super Bowl is a celebration of people who like to make things happen.  That's why I'm here.  For me, it's more than the game, but that written, Go Colts!

Stay tuned.

Brittany Murphy's death called an accident

The case of Brittany Murphy's death is now officially closed for now, after the L.A. County Coroner called it an accident. According to TMZ.com Brittany Murphy's death was caused by "community acquired pneumonia," iron deficiency anemia, and multiple drug intoxication.

But Brittany Murphy's death could have been prevented if she were taken to the hospital in time. Murphy was found in the bathroom of her home by her Mother. She had "multiple drugs" in her system, not illegal, and all either doctor-assigned or over-the-counter. Still, it was the pneumonia and iron deficiency anemia that worked to engineer Brittany Murphy's death, December 20th, 2009.

Artie Lange doing better says Rosie O'Donnell

Artie Lange, the famous sidekick on The Howard Stern Show doing better says Rosie O'Donnell. A guest on Late Night with Craig Ferguson, last week, Rosie O'Donnell said "He's doing better. He's got a lot of trouble with addiction and depression in his life, and his dad when he was young and he tried to take his own life, and it really really was so painful to everyone who loved him including Howard (Stern)."



Artie Lange tried to commit suicide in January, although the news of his attempt wasn't immediately reported until the New York Times Page 6 article surfaced. Artie Lange's friends and co-workers have expressed love and support for Lange and he's welcome back on The Howard Stern Show.

Toyota Prius recall has Toyota in big legal trouble

The Toyota Prius recall has Toyota in big legal trouble. It was announced today that the U.S. Department of Transportation is now looking into the braking problems surrounding the Toyota Prius recall issue as the problem of "uneven breaking" is now reported Worldwide.

Now, reports of Prius problems are surfacing in Australia. The Toyota brand, once associated with safety, quality, and reliability, has taken a massive beating.



Before the Prius braking problem, Toyota was already the focus of a massive recall effort. Toyota recalled the RAV4, Corolla and Matrix 2009-2010, Sequoia 2008-2010, Tundra 2007-2010, Avalon 2005-2010, and 2010 Highlander, and stopped sales of those cars.

Toyota has issued the following statement:

"Helping ensure the safety of our customers and restoring confidence in Toyota are very important to our company. This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized. We’re making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible."

Now the Prius, its new flagship, is being recalled. Before that, over 2 million Toyota cars were impacted. Now the number is much higher.

Stay tuned.

Scott Brown can wait his turn; Scott Brown supports can wait too

Massachusetts Senator-Elect Scott Brown is scheduled to be officially sworn in February 11th and after a long process that includes overseas vote counting and Governor and Secretary of State Certification, that date is set for February 11th.

Even with this, there's the irresponsible idea that all of the official procedures should be skipped over and Scott Brown should be seated today. The Scott Brown backers are still a bit too drunk with the cocktail of special-election victory over Democratic challenger, Mass Attorney General Martha Coackley and need a major dose of reality: Brown is a U.S. Senator that is now bound by traditional legal procedure; Brown didn't just win a city council seat. It's bigger than that.

That then is the problem. The emergence of "activism creep" and Couch Potato Conservatism has battled against intelligent thinking and statesperson discourse. With organizations like Fox News and at times CNN helping, and add to that Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin, that dangerous and rouge fringe point of view has a voice much louder than it should be.

Still, such intellectually vapid voices are dampened by procedure. Scott Brown's title is Senator-Elect, and it's clear he and his office understand their new role in Washington. It's just too bad his supporters can't do the same.

Stay tuned.

Hayward and Calpine will get first plant with Greenhouse Gas limit

Hayward, California and Calpine will have the first the plant with a Greenhouse Gas limit, ending years of talks, battles, and controversy. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District approved a "Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit" which is the final federal regulatory approval needed for the Calpine energy plant to be built.

"Once again California is demonstrating leadership on greenhouse gas related issues. We applaud the BAAQMD and Calpine for going beyond existing federal law and being the first in the nation to require an enforceable greenhouse gas limit," said Linda Adams, California State Secretary for Environmental Protection. "This action furthers efforts at a statewide level to balance our economic needs while meeting our environmental challenges. Aggressive and early action like this is needed to fight global warming and is critical to our economic recovery."

Hayward, California will get a new energy plant that will result in 650 union construction jobs, a number of part-time and permanent jobs, and an estimated $30 million in one-time tax revenue and $5 million annually in property tax revenue.

This is a project I've long advocated for because we have never seen a plant that was created from the start with a Federal Greenhouse Gas Limit. The Calpine Russell City Energy Center will be a supplier of energy and jobs to the San Francisco Bay Area.

The approval ends a process that saw the California Energy Commission grant a license for the plant in September 2007, California Public Utilities Commission approval of a 10-year power purchase agreement in April 2009 under which PG&E will purchase the electricity generated by the plant, and a major public hearing on the plan on September 2, 2009:



But what's more, the natural gas powered plant will reportedly use 100 percent reclaimed water from the City of Hayward’s Water Pollution Control Facility for cooling and boiler makeup. The process conserves water and prevents nearly four million gallons of wastewater per day from being dumped into San Francisco Bay.

It's also a process that was first used on a major scale at Walt Disney World in Florida, when its power plant systems were built.

Calpine reports that Russell City Energy Center also will donate $10 million to help build a new library for Hayward.

Stay tuned.