POPcast 012: What were the biggest pop culture moments of 2010

Welcome to the First Annual POPpies!  Here, The POP Patrol discusses what the big pop culture moments were of the year, and we award the winners with....well, nothing physically.  BUT they will go down as the first POPpie Award winners.  Exciting, isn't it?!  But we had a difficult time trying to narrow down winners and moments, knowing that not everyone will agree with our choices.  Heck, we didn't even agree with many of our choices!  You'll hear us debate it in POPcast 012 (at the end of this post).  

Enough blab, let's get on with The First Annual POPpies!

UPDATED: Monster Cable suing startup Fanny Wang

Beats looking to take out Fanny Wang

UPDATE:
The Monday before CES, a Judge denied the restraining order that Monster Cable was asking for.  This made sure that Fanny Wang headphones were able to show off their product.  You can read the full press release by taking the jump below.

Judge Denies Monster Cable® and Beats™ Electronics Motion to Block Fanny Wang Headphone Co.™ From Showing Products at CES

At CES we did visit the Monster Cable booth and asked about the lawsuit.  This person had his name badge on backwards so his name was not visible.  He did tell us that he did not know very much about the lawsuit, yet went on to tell us in full detail how Fanny Wang was impeding on their copyright and, "ripping them off."  We were then asked if he could give their Social Media rep our business card (which I happily gave) so that they could get in touch with us.  


That's when he let us know that Monster Cable really wants to start reaching out more to web sites and blogs.  He admitted that in the past they've handled things wrong and really want to have sites like ours start reviewing their products and have a good dialogue going.


As of the writing of this, no one has reached out to us.


We will be posting a review of the Beats by Dre headphones vs. the Fanny Wang headphones. 


ORIGINAL POST:
You may not have heard of Fanny Wang yet, but Monster Cable (maker of Beats headphones) sure have.  They have decided that competition from a new company looking to make a better, and more affordable, product need to be taken down.  But instead of working on improving their products, Monster Cable has filed a lawsuit against Fanny Wang in an attempt to keep them from showing their product at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month.      

Monster Cable claims that Fanny Wang has "infringed on Beats and Monster's intellectual property."  In the letter that was sent to Fanny Wang, Monster Cable says:

..Fanny Wang's numerous comments about Beats on its website, as well as the fact that Fanny Wang specifically claims - indeed, touts - that it hired an engineer who was associated with Beats' headphones in the past, is direct evidence that the entire advertising campaign is designed to infringe Beats' rights, rather than develop rights or goodwill on its own.  

*Read the full letter from Monster Cable

What I don't understand is that Monster Cable believes that because Beats are mentioned on FW's website, that means that they are trying to make it look like they are wanting consumers to believe they are associated with them.  And apparently you do this by saying that your product is better than theirs. 

Consumers will be blown away at the superior sound quality which rivals Beats by providing a forceful bass without loss of clarity.

So Monster Cable believes that Fanny Wang is copying them by claiming to have a better product?  Genius!

This is not the first time that Monster Cable has filed a weird lawsuit, all in the name of copyright infringement. In 2001 Monster Cable sued the Walt Disney Company to stop using the word "Monster" in 'Monsters Inc.'  They have also sued "Monster Garage", "Monster.com" and "Monster Energy" drinks.  This is has got to be one of the most paranoid, or clinically insane, board of directors to do all of this.  

Well, Fanny Wang's founders are not going to back down from Monster Cable.  In a letter sent back to the legal team for Monster Cable, they said:

In short, this isn't our first rodeo. We have no intentions of infringing your intellectual property and we have no intentions of being bullied into going away--in fact, quite the opposite.  If you choose to proceed, we can promise you that we will not back down and will ensure that this matter comes to a head with a high-profile jury trial so that the country and your customer base understands Monster’s and Beats’ overzealous tactics.  Moreover we will seek recovery of all attorney fees and costs and potentially damages and other relief based on the counter claims we are currently considering.

*Read the full letter from Fanny Wang

Let's just remember that Dr. Dre (not a real doctor) has Beats, and we don't want to see an electronics East Coast/West Coast thing happen.  Not just because of the violence, but because sound engineers don't look good in low riders and Dickies.  

POPped by
Jungle Jesse

Source: SFGate, WDWMagic/Bloomberg , FannyWang.com

Dancing Stormtrooper makes CNN's Wackiest Scenes of 2010

A huge cheer went out at the POPped Office today.  CNN informed us that our Dancing Stormtrooper made their 'Wackiest Scenes of The Year'!  And they are "The Most Trusted Name in News" so you can take their word for it. Take the jump to the 1:15 mark in the video below:

Here is the original video:

A HUGE thanks to CNN for spotting the video on our YouTube channel.  And another big thanks to all of you who have been watching the video and passing it around to your friends.  Be sure to visit our YouTube channel and see all of our coverage from 2010.  From Dancing Stormtroopers to William Shatner flying in on a helicopter, POParitaville has had an exciting year.  

Here's to a wacky 2011!  Drinks are on the house!

POPped by
Jungle Jesse

Superheroes around the world

In our lifetime we've already seen incarnations of some of our favorite comic book character and heroes.  From Superman to Batman, there have been many incarnations.  Television, comics, movies...there have been many versions.  But what about versions that perhaps are not as well known?  In the past we've shown you one such version, Japanese Spider-Man, but there are plenty more.  

Mexican Batwoman


Filipino Batman and Robin


Indian Superman


Turkish Superman


Do you think the way we see these, is they way that they see American versions?

POPped by
Jungle Jesse


Source: Asylum.com

Conan apologizes to Jimmy Kimmel

Earlier this week Conan aired a gag where they edited a clip of Rudolph being shot by Sarah Palin.  Then some people via the interwebs cried foul when they noticed Jimmy Kimmel did the same bit two weeks ago.  As of the writing of this, the piece has been pulled from the Team Coco web site.  So instead of just hiding that this happened (unlike other hosts who have stolen material for yeeears and never owned up to it...coughLeno...cough coughLeno), Conan taped an apology to Kimmel.

Good form Mr. O'Brien.  Good form.

POPped by
Jungle Jesse


Did you miss Conan's 'Legally Prohibited' tour?  See our coverage of his San Francisco performance.

FIRST LOOK: Kevin Smith's 'Red State'

It's been a very interesting road getting 'Red State' made.  Not only getting it made, but getting it out.  You see, Kevin Smith shot the movie in October, edited the movie at night, then screened the movie at the wrap party.  Since then the movie was submitted to the Sundance Film Festival AND got in.  Today marks the first time that those not attending his live 'Red State of the Union' podcast recordings got to see footage from the movie.  And I have to say that these clips have me veeeery intrigued.

This looks like nothing else Kevin has done and I am incredibly excited to see it.

What say you?

POPped by
Jungle Jesse

POPped Review: 'West Side Story' at The Pantages Theatre

In an age of dying regional theatres with substandard orchestras, I cannot even begin to express my excitement and anticipation Sunday evening walking through the rain to the Pantages Theatre. The architecture and the history of that building are both spectacular.

The production that is the regional tour of the Broadway revival of West Side Story is almost as spectacular. As of yesterday, the 2009 Broadway revival production has become the longest running incarnation of the groundbreaking musical. On the New York closing date of January 2, 2011, the revival will have played only 16 more performances than the original 1957 Broadway production.

Granted, I’m pretty hard to impress. Everyone should try to see this version. The dancing is stunning. The original Jerome Robbins choreography has been perfectly recreated, and is danced by top-notch young dancers. Howell Binkley’s lighting design is perfect, and James Youmans’ sparse set is exactly what it should be. Well, except for when it came time to rumble and it looked like a giant UFO was landing onstage. That was a little weird.

My only complaint all night was the lightness in the Jets’ loafers. Not the dancing… the dialogue. Maria’s (Disney's Aladdin Ali Ewoldt, pictured above with Kyle Harris as Tony) speaking voice was unusually low, but her singing voice was divine. Michelle Aravena’s Anita steals the show. Stephen DeRosa’s Glad Hand was especially fresh and enjoyable. Ladies – dehydrate before you get to the theatre. The Pantages bathroom queue is ridiculous.

I think it was very appropriate for this production to be 12% in Español… it is Los Angeles, after all. There is less Spanish in Act One, while more of the songs in Act Two are about half English, half Spanish. Since the work is so well known, it’s effective and not very distracting.

If you are into the heartbreakingly beautiful Leonard Bernstein score, you absolutely cannot miss this production. You will never be able to hear it played like this live by the top musicians in town. The only touring musicians are conductor John O’Neill (I am a big fan), his associate conductor, a keyboardist, drummer, and trumpeter. The rest of the orchestra is made up of Local 47 kids, and I guarantee you have heard their work on television, film and radio. It’s an absolutely breathtaking musical interpretation of the piece, flawlessly executed – worth the price of admission and then some. Music Supervisor Patrick Vaccariello always exceeds my expectations.

West Side Story closes at the Pantages on January 2, 2011. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. There are no more Goldstar tickets, but there are $25 student rush tickets.

See it with someone you care about.

POPped in the rear orchestra -

Elsie Laura

Photo/Source: BroadwayWorld.com

UPDATED: Another accident hits Spidey on Broadway

UPDATE:
Much has happened since we brought you this story late last night.  First the very good news is that the stunt performer portraying Spidey last night, Chris Tierney, is doing well.  According to the New York Post, Actor's Equity has said that last night accident was the result of "human error."  This resulted in a shut down of the show until OSHA could conduct an inspection.  A spokesperson for Spider-Man:TOTD has said that new safety measures are being implemented immediately, and previews would resume on Wednesday evening.

Along with that news, the New York Post has gotten amateur (ahem...bootlegged) footage from last nights show.    



In the slow motion replay you can clearly see the wires holding Mary Jane lower her into the pit.  That's when we see Spidey's cable snap.

For more info on the story, take jump over to the New York Post.

ORIGINAL POST:
During tonight preview performance of 'Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark', one of the actors has been hurt.  Eyewitnesses are reporting that during a scene in Act 2 a cable snapped and the characters of Spider-Man and Mary Jane fell through a trap door.  It appears that they were supposed to make their exit through that door, but the cable was supposed to stop them.  Not the floor.  

One eyewitness (Brian Lynch) recounted via Twitter what he witnessed:

Someone took nasty fall. Screaming. 911 called. No idea what happened, kicked audience out.  No joke. No explanation. MJ and Spidey took what seemed to be a planned fall into the stage pit. Then we heard MJ screaming.

Another eyewitness account says that the actors fell two stories, and this witness quickly deleted their tweet about this.  That's not before Gawker got a screen grab of it.  (Yes kids, tweets are forever.)  Which leads me to believe that they may somehow be connected with the show.  While the lone tweeter could lose a gig because of the tweet, things are looking good for the web slinger who took the fall.  It does appear that the actor playing Spidey is conscious and reportedly doing okay. (Because he's a super hero, duh!)  News service OLV is reporting that the actor is "awake talking in ambulance on the way to the hospital.."  As of the writing of this story, no news has come out as to the condition of the actress playing "Mary Jane".  

This latest accident does not bode well for the production.  We covered what happened during it's first preview show, but things were beginning to look okay.  This accident though will probably require another inspection, which could mean that the producers have lost their opening date of January 11.  Depending on the severity of this accident, it could even mean the end of the show.  We will keep you updated with this story as more details come out.  

And they now have.  While working on the story, the official Spider-Man:TOTD Twitter feed has tweeted:

An actor sustained an injury at tonight's performance of Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark...He fell several feet from a platform approximately seven minutes before the end of the performance, and the show was stopped...All signs were good as he was taken to the hospital for observation. We will have more news shortly.

What say you?

POPped by 
Jungle Jesse

TRON, The Electrical Parade and The Pointer Sisters collide

Thanks to the power of the interwebs, and @RobyMB on Twitter, we now can show you what happens when TRON, Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade and The Pointer Sisters collide.  It's an 80's mashup that is hard to fathom.  If only this too were in IMAX 3D, it could have helped TRON: Legacy be more entertaining.  

Antoine Dodson becomes a Christmas carol

If you've been a hostage for most of the year, you might have missed this gem:

Weeelll, the kids at Liberty University decided to try something cool during a Christmas show at school.  While the song itself does work, do your best to avert your eyes from the over acting of the choir director.  Try reeaaaalllly hard. But enjoy the song at least, because it is pretty amusing.

 

Profiles in History - Auction 43

Today at 12:00 PST, Profiles in History (of Syfy's hit show 'Hollywood Treasure') is holding Auction 43.  This is the sale of some of Hollywood's most amazing items.  From an original matte painting used in the opening scene of 'The Wizard of Oz', to the original 'Edward Scissorhands' outfit worn by Johnny Depp in the movie; this auction is covering all areas that you love.  Of course there are plenty of 'Star Wars' items that truly made us geek out.  There's a Taun-taun, a background At-At, and even Darth Vader's cloak from 'The Empire Strikes Back'!  Man, it's a fanboys dream. 

What made all of this even more cool is that The POP Patrol was invited to come and view these items in person.  (I know!)  Head of Acquisitions for Profiles in History, Brian Chanes, took the time to give us a tour of many of the incredible items up for auction.

Once again, the auction takes place beginning THIS afternoon at 12:00 PST. You can view the catalog online at www.profilesinhistory.com or log in to the auction LIVE online at icollector.com.  

We can not thank the team at Profiles in History enough for inviting us to visit them.  You can watch episodes of the past season of 'Hollywood Treasure' online at Syfy.com and OnDemand.  Stay tuned for a premiere date in 2011 for season two of the hit series.  From our discussion with them this week, there is even more cool stuff to look forward to.  

If you haven't yet, listen to our POPcast interview with Profiles in History owner Joe Maddalena.  You can also see some behind the scenes pictures of our visit on our Facebook page.  (Don't forget to "Like" us.)  

Now go bid on something!

POPped in awe
Jungle Jesse
Happy Hour Chica 
ReevesReel     

FIRST LOOK: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Sorry for the delay in getting this up.  We have a couple of very cool things coming this week that I was working on.  But that's enough about us, here's what you want to see.  The first official trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - 

From first appearance with this trailer it seems that the adventure from the first movie is finally back.  I truly hope that is the case because (despite what die hard fans have said) the 2nd and 3rd movies were horrible.  This movie was filmed in 3D, and if you see TRON Legacy in 3D this weekend, you'll see this trailer in 3D as well.    

What say you?

POPped with a sword
Jungle Jesse

FIRST LOOK: Games of 2011

Tonight was the Video Game Awards on Spike TV, where 'Red Dead Redemption' won Video Game of the Year and people wished for Dane Cook to shut up.  Along with those moments, gamers were treated to several video game trailers.  Let's start off with the one that I was waiting for:








Batman: Arkham City


For more trailers, take the jump below.

NEW TRAILER: Thor

Photo: Paramount/Marvel

What say you?

POPped by
Jungle Jesse


Source: Yahoo! Movies

Episode II - The Force is With You Katie

To celebrate 'May The Force Be With Katie' day, we recored a special edition podcast with one of our favorite Star Wars fangirls.  Miss Natalie is a regular at several conventions, and a dear friend of POParitaville.  Some of you may even remember her from our Comic-Con scavenger hunt.  We decided to talk in depth with Natalie about her experience being a fan/geek girl.  Stream the episode on our POPcast Podcast page, or download at iTunes.  (If you listen closely, you may even hear Carrie Fisher break out in song on an old SNL.)

Episode I - The Force is With You Katie

A few weeks back the phrase "The force is with Katie" was all over social media streams.  (That would be Facebook and Twitter, and one or two on MySpace.)  Who was Katie?  Why was the Force with her?  It turns out that Katie is a 9 year old girl from Illinois.  What makes her stand out?  Well, Katie had a Star Wars water bottle she used to take to school.  The problem was that she was getting teased for being a girl and liking Star Wars.  When her mother found out about it, she decided to write about it on her blog.  (Her mother writes a blog called 'Portraits of an Adoption'.)  

South Park creators bring 'The Book of Mormon' to Broadway

Trey Parker and Matt Stone have long used South Park as an outlet for their love of musicals.  Then last year I heard that they were working on a musical that had Broadway in its sight.  That was good enough for me, but I heard what the show was called.  From that moment I wanted as much information as possible:

Since that announcement, there hasn't been a lot of information that has come out about the show.  That changed as Trey and Matt sat down to talk about the show.

Tickets for The Book of Mormon are now on sale.  It opens on Broadway February 24, 2011.  Unless Mormons end up stuck in wires over the audience, then it could be pushed back.

For more information head to bookofmormononbroadway.com.

POPped on a mission
Jungle Jesse  

'Wonder Woman' won't be on television any time soon

Just a couple of months ago it was announced that David E. Kelley would be bringing Wonder Woman back to television, making the idea of a big screen version not likely any time soon.  Then today we find out that the television version may not come very soon either.

Zap2it spoke with Mr. Kelley about the show:

"There's no real deal in place yet, but yeah, my intent is to take a stab at it," Kelley tells Zap2it. "I've been working on it between scripts for 'Harry's Law.' It's a very, very different genre for me, a very tricky beast. I won't know whether I've cracked it or not until I've finished it, but it's going."

Every agent representing a remotely Amazonian actress might be expected to submit a bid, but Kelley says he has "not really" experienced that ... at least not yet. "At the beginning, there was a little bit of that, but we quickly made it known that was premature. I haven't necessarily committed to doing it yet. I'm at the point where I'm trying to figure out if I can make the franchise work for me.

So let me get this straight, Warner Bros./DC Comics announces a famous TV writer/producer is rebooting a potentially HUGE television franchise based on a popular comic book character....and he still hasn't necessarily committed to it?  Does anyone else feel like maybe this isn't a good idea, or am I all panicky because of all the coffee and wine I had tonight?

What ever does happen with Kelley, you can bet that we are still a couple of years away from seeing any type of Wonder Woman brought to life.  *sigh*

What say you?  Should Kelley just step away from this and let someone who knows the material, and is willing to commit to it, take over?  Should they still try a movie before a TV show?  Am I asking too many questions?

POPped in an invisible jet
Jungle Jesse    

Source: Zap2it

iTunes premieres new Michael Jackson single featuring Lenny Kravitz

Next week the much anticipated album Michael will hit stores and online retailers (but really, you're going to buy it from iTunes).  They have already released one single, 'Hold My Hand', which was a duet with Akon.  And today iTunes has premiered the next single '(I Can't Make It) Another Day', which features Lenny Kravitz.  

I have to say, after listening to it.  It is great.  Really, it is.  So far everything I have heard from this album has been very good.  It's not a mess tossed together to make some quick cash.  This is a worthy addition for any Michael Jackson fan. 

Take the jump over to Michael's Ping profile page on iTunes to listen to the new single.  

'Michael' is available for pre-order on right now.

POPped with one glove
Jungle Jesse

New Teaser: 'Batman: Arkham City'

Batman:Arkham Asylum quickly became a favorite of gamers and fanboys.  A Batman video game that wasn't based on a movie and was so high quality that we felt like we were controlling a movie.  A good one at that!  When WBI announced a sequel to the game, we all squealed in anticipation.  When we saw the first teaser, we were ready.  This coming Saturday, at the Spike TV Video Game Awards, (a very clever name, by the way) a new trailer will debut.  To hold us over, Warner Bros. Interactive has released a new teaser leading up to Saturday.



UGH....Fall of 2011!  But...but....but.......I want it now.

What say you?

POPped by
Jungle Jesse

FIRST LOOK: Transformers - Dark of the Moon

Just a few days ago a few members of the press were brought to Michael Bay's editing suite to see 20 minutes of rough footage from Transformers 3, which is named Transformers: Dark of the Moon.  They were also shown the 3D version of the teaser trailer that will be hitting screens with Voyage of the Dawn Treader this weekend.  Luckily for us, the interwebs doesn't want to make us pay for Diet Lord of the Rings (much like we paid for Met Joe Black.)

This is a great teaser.  This alone does more to set up more of a mythology of the Transformers.  And I know that, like me, some of you may already be scoffing about the idea of crappy 3D.  The good news is that it was actually shot in 3D.  It won't be any of that transfer to 3D crap the studios have been shoving at us all year.  So, that's a good.  

You can also watch it in HD at Apple's trailer site here.

What say you?  

POPped while rolling out

Jungle Jesse

Orlando Bloom headed back to Middle Earth

Yesterday New Line announced that Cate Blanchett will be appearing in The Hobbit (even though Galadriel is not in book).  And today Deadline.com brings word that Orlando Bloom is in final negotiations to wear his Elven ears again while staring longingly to the distance.  

..Orlando Bloom will likely be the next original cast member set for an encore. He's near a deal to return as Elven archer Legolas. And it's for more than a cameo, I'm told.

What say you?

POPped by an Orc 
Jungle Jesse

Source: Deadline.com

Muppet movie will take on Thanksgiving 2011

Photo: BleedingCool.com

The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made was supposed to be released during the Christmas holiday in 2011.  The new movie has gotten a lot of press lately with news of all the celebrity cameos that they have lined up (Ricky Gervais, Jack Black, Billy Crystal, Lady Gaga,  Zach Galigianakis); and those they thought they lined up but will not appear (Paul Rudd).

Word comes out today that Disney has pushed the opening date up from Christmas Day to Thanksgiving instead.

The Walt Disney Studios announced today that it has moved the release date for its upcoming The Muppets Movie to November 23, 2011. Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie the Bear, Gonzo, Animal and the rest of the gang will reunite in theaters just in time for the 2011 Thanksgiving holiday weekend. "Disney has had incredible success opening films over the Thanksgiving weekend, and thanks to Tangled, we have the top three Thanksgiving openers of all time,” said Chuck Viane, president of global distribution for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. “I have spoken with The Muppets, and we all agreed this comedy is a great fit for the holiday 2011 time frame.”

The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made was co-written, and stars, Jason Segal.  The movie is about the Muppets reuniting to save their studio.  I can not WAIT for this movie!

POPped in line already
Jungle Jesse

Take the jump to see more photos.

The Princess Bride + lightsabers = AWESOME

The Princess Bride has been deemed a cult classic fairy tale movie by nerds everywhere.  It's a movie you can watch with kids and be entertained at the same time.  Now someone has taken this movie and thrown in some lightsaber action to make it even more awesome-er.

Take a look:

   

POPped with a wheelbarrow
Jungle Jesse

The POPcast with guest Joe Maddalena of Syfy's 'Hollywood Treasure'

Background AT-AT from 'Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back' up for auction on December 17th and 18th

Photo: Profiles in History

In this episode The POP Patrol geeks out and interviews Joe Maddalena ('Hollywood Treasure' on Syfy) to discuss the shows season finale and their upcoming auction.  We get the scoop on what the Holy Grail of movie memorabilia is and what he thinks happened with the Darth Vader costume that no one bought.  The POP Patrol also discusses murder in Disney's creepy city, Spider-Man stuck on a wire, Monty Python heading to Facebook, the Swedish New Jherk Times, Richard Branson's magazine for the iPad, Muppet Simpsons, Leslie Nielson, Irvin Kershner, going international and trying to become the new morning show in Australia.  And as usual, cocktails are being had and there is the occasional naughty language.    

For more information on Profiles in History and the upcoming auction, head to their official web site www.profilesinhistory.com.

To listen to the POPcast, head over to iTunes.  Don't have iTunes but still want to download an MP3?  Head to the podcast page here.  Or you can stream it online by taking the jump to the POPcast page.

Haven't watched 'Hollywood Treasure' yet?  Here's an episode to get you hooked.




POPped by
Jungle Jesse

Thanks to Crowdrise, you could win a cowbell signed by Will Ferrell

Edward Norton started a charity that takes fundraising and social media then mashes them together. With Crowdrise, you get the opportunity to raise money for different charities that different celebrtities are involved with. But what does it all mean, and what do you have to do?

It's pretty simple actually. Here is the information from the press release:

1. Assuming people are decent typists, in one minute or less, they can join a celebrity's fundraising team and help them raise money for their cause. So, if someone wants to raise money for the American Cancer Society they can join Paul Rudd's team and then reach out to their own friends and family and ask everyone to donate to their campaign under Paul's umbrella.

2. People can start their own personal fundraiser for the charity that they care about most and have a chance to win $3,000 for their campaign from Judd Apatow. That’s right, super writer, producer, and director Judd Apatow, is donating $3,000 to the top three non-celebrity fundraising campaigns as long as everyone promises to watch all of his movies from now until eternity and to read his book “I Found This Funny” which he wrote to raise money for 826 National.

3. People can donate to any charity and send a holiday e-Card to the person they're donating on behalf of. They're predicting this is the only present that most people won't end up regifting, recycling, throwing away or just getting mad about receiving this year. Basically, a donation is the best present ever.

To encourage you to raise lots of money, the stars are offering some great prizes for those that raise the most donations for their charity. And yes, one of the prizes is a cowbell signed by Will Ferrell. (I know, right?!?) Take the jump over to Crowdrise.com to sign up and choose who's team you'll be on.

Take the jump below to ready the full press release.

POPped needing more cowbell
Jungle Jesse

'Inception - The Video Game' a reality, or a dream?

Director Christopher Nolan confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that he is developing a video game based on the movie.  

 “I always imagined Inception to be a world where a lot of other stories could take place,” says Nolan. “At the moment, the only direction we’re channeling that is by developing a videogame set in the world.” He declined to elaborate on details or time table, only to say that he was developing the game with a team of collaborators and that it was “a longer-term proposition.” 

He also said that having it as a "massive multiplayer online role playing game" would be a perfect fit for the movie.  The only problem is when you buy the game.  You open to case to get to another case to open the other case that opens another case that you think is the game until you load it and see that it's a game that consists of opening another case, which might be the real game.

POPped in a dream
Jungle Jesse 


Source: Entertainment Weekly

Win an iPad signed by Conan O'Brien

The wonderful people at the Tweet-House, and Dr. Drew have teamed up to give away an iPad signed by Conan O'Brien.  To top it off, for each entry to the contest, $1 will be donated to Hillsides charity organization.  To enter the contest, take the jump over to the Tweet-House site here.  (And you know how much we love them at the Tweet-House.)

More importantly, for more information on Hillsides or donate, please visit their web site at www.hillsides.org.

POPped by 

Jungle Jesse