Ellen DeGeneres Leaving American Idol After One Season

Just one year after filling Paula Abdul’s vacant seat on the American Idol judges panel, Ellen DeGeneres has decided to leave the show, saying that it was not “the right fit” for her.

She had brought her concern of not being the right person to be judging the American Idol hopefuls to Fox and the show’s producers a couple months ago, but said she would hold off on doing anything until they were able to find someone to fill her seat. Understandably, DeGeneres said that having her daytime talk show and then judging the nationwide singing competition made her work schedule more than she bargained for.

DeGeneres commented on her decision, saying:
“I also realized this season that while I love discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes …

Want to Find Out if Your Friend is Really a Zombie? There’s an App for That

It is always wise to keep the possibility of a zombie invasion open; it’s usually the people who don’t believe in zombies that are the first to be eaten. To make matters worse, they’re not only eaten, but devoured by the people they thought were their friends; and perhaps they were friends, before one couldn’t help but stalk their friend down and start feasting on their meaty arm.

Luckily, there is now an iPhone app that could possibly save your life in the case of a zombie attack. Max Brooks’ bestselling book The Zombie Survival Guide is now a free iPhone app.

The Zombie Survival Guide Scanner is an app from the Crown Publishing Group that uses the iPhone’s rear camera to take a picture of someone and “scan” their face to illustrate …

Barack Obama Appears on The View

Barack Obama was recently a guest on The View. No, you’re not going crazy–it’s still 2010 and there is no presidential election going on.

It was announced earlier this week that President Obama would appear on The View and in no time at all, pundits were throwing their notes together, writing their speeches and coming up with silly metaphors to accurately portray how crazy they think it is for Barack Obama to be the first sitting U.S. president to ever appear on a morning talk show. A segment on Nightline concluded with a voice-over booming on over a picture of Obama with his wife and two daughters saying “After all, being constantly surrounded by women is well within Mr. Obama’s comfort zone.” Dylan Rattigan of MSNBC showed a picture of the five co-hosts of …

Study Analyzes Changes in Credit Card Industry Since CARD Act

The CARD Act has forced credit card issuers to make a number of good changes that are already benefiting consumers, but there is still room for improvement, so says a study by the Pew Health Group.

The study released last week–”Two Steps Forward: After the Card Act, Credit Cards are Safer and More Transparent–But Challenges Remain”–analyzed and compared the credit card marketplace before and after the CARD Act. The study reviewed credit cards offered inline by the twelve largest banks and twelve largest credit unions–nearly 450 credit card offers.

Here are some of the major findings from the Pew Study:

Rates continued to increase. Overall, purchase interest rates have increased 30% between December 2008 and March 2010. In December 2008, the median purchase APR was between 9.99% and 15.99%. In March 2010, the range was …

Want Your Home to Look Terrific, But Not Too Trendy?

Try IKAT.
it’s the hip fabric in use in all the magazines like this recent picture from ElleDecor. 

It’s just showing up in our favorite online stores, our My Design Guide custom room designs and Art and Accessories plans.  We all need to introduce just a bit in our home – to keep it fresh.  But, we gotta do it so our house doesn’t look like crazyville.  Too much IKAT and your significant other will ask you to start wearing a belly dancing outfit and riding a camel.
First, What is IKAT?
 Fabricadabra.com  (what an awesome name) offers a great, detailed definition….I just use pictures:

…

NPR and Fox News Both Actively Vying for Front Row Seat in the White House Press Briefing Room

The front row center seat in the White House press briefing room has been recently vacated by Helen Thomas. There are several news organizations who would be honored to be sitting in that seat, but those most actively vying for the seat are NPR and Fox News.

NPR is a public radio network that regularly reaches 27 million listeners with its news programming. They report on the facts in an unbiased manner, making it one of the few news sources you can frequent without having someone’s agenda pushed on you. Fox News on the other hand, is a conservative, right-wing network that features and discusses recent news from a conservative, right-wing perspective only. To give the front row center seat of the White House press briefing room to a biased news source, whose own anchors …