Sunday, June 12, 2011

Pratchett obtains assisted death paperwork

The Discworld novelist, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, is known for his outspoken views on euthanasia and has previously urged health officials to establish a system so people with incurable diseases can apply for assistance in ending their life.

Currently a person faces up to 14 years in jail if they are convicted of helping in a suicide.

Switzerland is one of the few countries in Europe where lawmakers have legalised assisted suicide along with Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands - and Pratchett has started the formal process which could lead to his own assisted suicide at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland.

However, Pratchett is holding off from signing the papers to finish a book project and see his film, Terry Pratchett: Choosing To Die, which follows a 71-year-old sufferer of motor neurone disease as he travels to the Dignitas clinic.

Speaking at the Doc/Fest event, which brings documentary-makers together, he said, "The only thing stopping me (signing them) is that I have made this film and I have a b**ody book to finish."

Terry Pratchett: Choosing To Die is set to air on Monday (13Jun11).

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Octomom's Bikini Car Wash -- CANCELED

6/12/2011 10:41 AM PDT�by TMZ Staff��

If you wanted to catch a glimpse of Octomom in a bikini AND get your car washed ... �sorry, you're outta luck -- her bikini car wash for next weekend has been canceled.

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Nadya Suleman's manager tells TMZ the car wash -- which was organized to help Nadya raise some scratch for mortgage payments -- is off because the deal with they had with the Melrose Strip Auto Detailing went south. �The manager says the place wanted $13 from the $20 they were charging -- plus they had to bring their own towels and soap.

The manager says the car wash is off and they're looking for a new place to have it.

The weekend manager at the car wash confirmed it was canceled, but wouldn't go into detail.


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Source: http://www.tmz.com/2011/06/12/octomom-bikini-car-wash-canceled-house-mortgage-foreclosure-fundraiser/

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Happy Endings: ABC Sitcom Renewed for Season Two

Happy Endings season twoThere was at least a little positive news to come out of ABC after a flurry of cancellations. The network has renewed newbie sitcom Happy Endings for a second season.

Happy Endings follows a young group of friends whose relationship is put in jeopardy after the couple that brought them together break up at the altar. Fortunately, Alex (Elisha Cuthbert) and Dave (Zachary Knighton) remain friends but there?s plenty of awkwardness ahead for them and their friends; Max (Adam Pally), Brad (Damon Wayans, Jr.), Jane (Eliza Coupe), and Penny (Casey Wilson).

The sitcom debuted very late in the season, usually an indication that the network execs have little faith in a project. Happy Endings premiered at 10pm on April 13th to a decent 2.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 7.3 million viewers. The second episode, airing at 10:30pm, dropped to a 2.3 rating and 5.7 million.

Viewers aren?t used to seeing sitcoms at that hour and ABC likely needed something to fill the hour. After all, all but one of ABC?s new dramas failed this season so they had few choices.

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Subsequent episodes of Happy Endings have fallen to some serious lows, hitting a 1.4 demo rating and 3.26 million viewers. Ordinarily, that would be an easy cancellation. However, ABC execs are said to really like the series and likely feel that it didn?t get a fair shot.

Each season, the network gives one or two struggling shows a second chance and that appears to be what has saved Happy Endings. There?s also word that ABC?s considering a second night of comedies so, if that happens, they?ll need shows to fill those slots.

Of the renewal, Happy Endings creator David Caspe told Zap2it that he was very grateful for the renewal since, ?I?m very aware that it does not usually go this way.? He noted that they don?t know the details yet, saying, ?We don?t know when or how many or anything? but at this point I?m just so happy to get the opportunity to keep going.?

What do you think? Are you glad that Happy Endings will be back for season two? Do you think it just needs time to catch on?

Wondering where the rest of your shows stand? Check our ABC cancel/renew page.

Image courtesy ABC.

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Source: http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/happy-endings-season-two-19930/

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Gabrielle Giffords Smiles in First Photos Since Shooting

Gabrielle Giffords Smiles in First Photos Since Shooting | Gabrielle Giffords

U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and her mother Gloria Giffords

P.K. Weis/Giffords Campaign

Since the January shooting that left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords seriously wounded, the Arizona congresswoman has been recovering in private.

But on Sunday, Giffords posted two photographs of herself on her official Facebook page.

The images, which were taken by photographer P.K. Weis, on May 17 ? the day after the congresswoman attended husband Mark Kelly's NASA shuttle launch ? outside a Houston, Texas, medical center. They show a smiling Giffords with short, darker hair wearing wire-rimmed glasses.

"These photos reveal an upbeat image of Gabrielle Giffords," spokesman C.J. Karamargin tells PEOPLE. "When you see the pictures you see that she has progressed in leaps and bounds. When they say that a picture is worth a thousand words, if ever that was true, it is true here."

In one of the images she's with her mother, Gloria Giffords. "Gloria has been by her side throughout," Karamargin said. "You can see the mother-daughter bond [in the photo]. It is an apt reflection of their relationship."

Gabrielle Giffords Smiles in First Photos Since Shooting| Gabrielle Giffords

P.K. Weis / Giffords Campaign

As for that smile, Karamargin said Giffords was beaming after watching the launch of space shuttle Endeavor captained by her husband.

"She was in very, very good spirits. The reason was that she got to watch Mark ride off into space. She was thrilled by that. People who know her say they saw a boost in her spirits and her strength. And her doctors predicted this might happen," Karamargin said. "Going to the launch was a tremendous milestone for her."

Giffords will soon have even more to smile about when she reaches another milestone. Doctors, Karamargin said, expect to release her from the hospital to an outpatient program.

"They are preparing her to go home," he said. "This is wonderful for her."

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Source: http://feeds.people.com/~r/people/headlines/~3/IkmvbyPWfiw/0,,20502132,00.html

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Student Academy Awards have foreign flavor (AP)

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. ? There was a decidedly international flavor to Saturday night's Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 38th Annual Student Academy Awards, with top medalists hailing from homelands spanning the globe ? from Norway to South Korea to Israel to Brazil.

"For the first time Foreign Film is not just an honorary category, as it has been for the past 31 years," said event co-presenter, "Alias" actress Jennifer Garner. "The Student Award executive committee felt with all the quality work they were seeing each year from the schools outside America, it was about time to make to make Foreign Film a regular category."

Garner noted that foreign students submitted 52 films from 32 different countries this year, and the winner of the new foreign prize was Norway's Hallvar Witzo, director of "Tuba Atlantic."

Even one of the top Hollywood-produced winners, narrative-category gold medalist "Thief," had a foreign flair. It spun around a young Saddam Hussein, was set in Iraq and in Iraqi-Arabic with subtitles.

"This is just an incredible ride, a thrill ride," "Thief" director Julian Higgins said in a pre-ceremony interview Saturday afternoon. Higgins, a graduate of the American Film Institute, added, "We do have a mantel, for once in my apartment. So, that might be the choice. But, you'll never know. I mean, I hear these are people that win the Oscars and they put it in their closet or in their office or something, I've never thought about it before. So, I guess I should start thinking."

Other gold medal winners included New York director Zach Hyer's "Correspondence" in the animation category and Chicago-based Wonjung Bae's "Vera Klement: Blunt Edge" in the documentary category.

While all winners knew they would each receive an award, their placement __ Gold, Silver or Bronze __ was not revealed until the ceremony. Gold medalists received cash grants of $5,000. Silver medalists received $3,000. And Bronze medalists received $2,000.

The Academy established the Student Academy Awards in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 43 Oscar nominations and have won or shared eight awards.

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110612/ap_on_en_mo/us_film_student_academy_awards

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Tina Fey Speaks Out On Tracy Morgan's Anti-Gay Comments

Tina Fey Speaks Out On Tracy Morgan's Anti-Gay Comments

Stephen Lovekin/ Michael Loccisano/ Getty Images

By JACK SWIKER

June 11, 2011

Tina Fey has issued a public apology for her "30 Rock" co-star Tracy Morgan's homophobic jokes from a standup show he did earlier this month.

Fey said that Morgan's joke, said during a show in Nashville, just "doesn't line up with the Tracy Morgan I know, who is not a hateful man and is generally much too sleepy and self-centered to ever hurt another person."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fey said she was happy that Morgan had recently gone public with his apology for his comments and that she hoped "for his sake that Tracy's apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian co-workers at '30 Rock,' without whom Tracy would not have lines to say, clothes to wear, sets to stand on, scene partners to act with, or a printed-out paycheck from accounting to put in his pocket," Fey said.

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Saturday, June 11, 2011

Jimmy Fallon To Appear On Live Q&A On 'Sunday Morning'

Jimmy Fallon To Appear On Live Q&A On 'Sunday Morning'

Jason Kempin/ Getty Images

By JACK SWIKER

June 11, 2011

"Saturday Night Live" alum and "Late Night" host Jimmy Fallon will sit down with Russ Mitchell on Sunday June 12 for a live Q&A at "CBS News Sunday Morning"'s studio in New York.

For the "Sunday Morning" profile on Fallon, Mitchell takes the talk show host out for one of his favorite pastimes: bowling. The two talk about Fallon's early obsession with "Saturday Night Live," on being known for not being able to keep a straight face, and not letting his early critics get him down as he began hosting "Late Night."

Following the profile on Fallon, he will appear for a live Q&A streaming over the web.

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To watch the livestream on Sunday June, 12 at 9AM EST, visit the site here.

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