In May of 2008 we learned that Shania Twain and her hubby Mutt Lange decided to end their marriage reportedly due to infidelity on Lange’s part … and altho we learned in December ‘08 that Shania may have found the romantic company of a new man (in an old friend), she has remained relatively silent on her personal and professional life all the while — until now. Shania just posted a new message to fans on her official record label website and explains (in great detail) why she has not been releasing any new music lately and opens up a bit about how her personal struggles have been affecting her and her son. Here is the full text of Shania’s new and very long letter to fans:

Dear Friends,

The energy it has taken me to deal with my personal life and managing to still be a responsible parent has been challenging, and while I have been putting what energy I have left at the end of each day into my writing, it’s been hard to put it all together into song format.

Wow … considering that Shania has never really opened up about personal matters in the past, this fairly brutally honest treatise is quite a read. I am a huge Shania Twain fan and it pains me to hear that her break-up has been so difficult for her and her young son. Shania does talk about the new music that she has been working on in the second half of her letter. After the jump, read the rest of Shania’s message to fans …

READ THE REST OF THIS POST »

Jason Mraz, the politically-minded musician and marijuana rights advocate, has posted a new blog on his personal website asking that all y’all out there consider using recycled products when purchasing toilet paper to use in your homes, schools, offices, etc. Mraz carefully and in great detail explains how the world’s use of 2-ply toilet tissue is having an adverse effect on our environment and he offers solutions to help YOU make more eco-friendly decisions when making t.p. purchasing choices. I understand the idea to share this wealth of information came to Jason while he was camping in Costa Rica … which is also from whence this photo of the nekkid singer doing his biz in the lake most likely comes from:

Recent News from our friends at the Natural Resource Defense Council (The NRDC) say that Americans’ addiction to two-ply, super soft toilet paper is causing greater harm to our environment than our gas guzzling cars. No shit. How is that so? In order to produce all that perfectly plush paper, companies must harvest tons of virgin trees, which the reaping of means less oxygen for the atmosphere to offset or all the carbon that seems to be frying us here on the surface. So our asses are in trouble. The US is the country that consumes the most forests specifically to fulfill the demand of Charmen Assficiandos far and wide. If you travel abroad, you may find discomfort in the thin one-ply offered up pretty much everywhere else. But that’s because most other countries are more careful about their resourceful trees and/or use recycled and post-consumer paper in the manufacturing of toilet tissue. Click HERE to learn what post-consumer means. I remember visiting India and being astounded to find there wasn’t any paper. Talk about saving trees and not clogging the septic! Instead, there was a water hose next to the toilet and it was recommend you use your hand (which is why you always shake hands and eat meals with your right (and only your right).) So I’m writing this today to invite you to buy only recycled or large percentage post consumer paper for your household, school or office. If you aren’t the one buying it, then encourage your janitorial staff to consider it. The paper isn’t nearly as soft, but it’s just as durable. Click HERE for the Tissue Shopper’s Guide provided by the NRDC. It was while camping in Costa Rica last week that I realized I needed to share this with you. When it came to the limited supply of tissue brought to the jungle, one has to be selective on how and when to use. My friend was amazed at how little paper was actually required for the job. And it has nothing to do with my raw diet, because quite honestly, I’ve been swimming in deeper waters lately, introducing my stomach to rich and indulgently devilish foods. (How dare I!) … Forgive me for being anal about this. I just thought I’d share the news and suggest an eco-friendly solution to one of nature’s biggest pains in the ass. For more helpful blogs like this one, intended to enhance your life and the lives of others around you, check out SuperForest.Org. It’s my personal favorite.

Pura Vida!
-Jason

Well … there you have it. I, personally, had no idea that the use of toilet paper in the Western World caused such a shitstorm for the environment … tho, it does make sense. I have to say, the idea of using recycled (ie. scratchy) toilet paper does not sound all that appealing, in the long run it does make more sense to make little sacrifices where we can. You’ve gotta love that Jason Mraz is always putting out useful information about subjects that he feels so strongly about. I’m also fond for his affinity for sharing such revealing photos … tho, let’s try and not think about what he’s prolly doing in that lake, shall we? Click HERE to read the entire text of Jason’s post which offers a few Toilet Tissue Tips. We can save the planet, one wipe at a time.

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Pink reader Ash gave me the head’s up that Clay Aiken posted an update on his official website in response to all the criticism that has been leveled against him after the text of his American Idol blogpost (where he lambasted both Adam Lambert and the show itself, which he only watched one time this season) made the rounds on the Internets. Aiken is under the impression that he is being maligned by sites that “picked and choosed” comments from his post in order to use his words out of context. On my blog, I reposted the entire text of his post so that readers could judge for themselves … but clearly he takes issue with other sites that did not allow his comments to be read in full. In retrospect of what he wrote, Aiken felt the need to apologize and recant from some of his previous comments … and then goes on to explain to his fans how important he believes his comments to be. Here is the full text of Clay’s latest blogpost (which he generously shares on his site for free rather than for the $29.95 cost of premium access to exclusive parts of his site):

Who knew I had so much influence and that my words and opinion mattered so much to so many people!?!?! HA HA HA I’ll be the first to admit that my opinion is just that, only my opinion, but for as much as some of the bloggers seem to dislike me and care so little about my thoughts, they sure can waste a lot of their space on what I say! If only many of them took the time to pay attention to important things like the US economy and the welfare of the world’s children. But… nah… I could blog about that type of stuff anytime and most wouldn’t think twice, but let me say something that they can pick and choose quotes and misinterpret me… and it’s showtime! I never assumed my opinion mattered so much! I guess I may have been wrong.

Now, for those of you who are able to comment on this…. lets take bets as to which bits and pieces of this blog will end up mass distributed. Be creative…. they don’t seem to care about punctuation or whether or not they use all of the words in a sentence… so, have fun…. ;-)

I’m not sure what kind of criticism he got on other sites but I know my comments on his original post are still valid. He did seem really bitter about the whole American Idol process and very easily threw out his own criticisms when I’m sure he thought no one was was reading (after all, his comments were available only to members of his fan club who paid the fee to read them). It seems to me that now that he is aware that people are reading what he has to say, he’s more willing to temper his criticism of a performer (Lambert) that he only watched perform once before making his critiques. Is he allowed to do that? Of course he is … but the fact that he is a former American Idol contestant (and loser, let’s not forget) the things he says about the show are gonna be of interest to some people. Trust me Clay, you are right to say that your comments aren’t that important at all. Say what you want, whenever you want … once this AI thing dies down, folks will stop paying attention again. It is commendable that he apologized to Adam Lambert, tho. Now if he would just apologize to the rest of us who have been subjected to his singing (and have lived to regret it) we’d be all squared away.

[Source, thanks Ash]

Clay Aiken, the runner-up for the American Idol title who lost out to Ruben Studdard back in 2003, appears to no longer be a fan of American Idol. Clay posted a message about this season of American Idol on his official website (a site that charges a $29.95 annual fee for access to “ultimate membership”) that makes clear that he no longer watches the show (except for “once a season”) and is clearly not an Adam Lambert fan (who he described as “contrived, awful, and slightly frightening!”). I suppose it could be argued that he is not a Kris Allen fan either since Clay confesses, “I never saw Kris sing on the show, but whether he was good or not is really relative.” Thankfully, someone at Gawker/Defamer pays for the access to Clay Aiken’s deep thoughts (I suspect it’s my friend Brett who wrote their item for the site) so they can be disseminated to the rest of the Internets free of charge. Here is the full text of Clay’s nutshell commentary of this season of the American Idol:

Now that it’s all over, and for the record…. I couldn’t be happier about the way AI ended this year. I only turn the show on once a season, and only to see what the set looks like each year. This year, I happened to turn it during the minute that Adam Lambert was singing “Ring of Fire” and, at that moment, thought my ears would bleed. Contrived, awful, and slightly frightening! I wasn’t really a fan and found myself surprised whenever folks told me that they liked him. Granted, I never saw another performance (and many folks who I trust said that he was great) but I can’t imagine I would have enjoyed it. Just not my cup of tea at all. To each his own. I never saw Kris sing on the show, but whether he was good or not is really relative. It’s usually a matter of taste, right? But Idol is not always a matter of musical taste only. It’s about the person you like. From what little I saw, Kris seemed likable. (That’s not to say that Adam isn’t just as likable as anyone.. maybe more so… I don’t know) When Ruben and I were standing next to each other every night (many years ago) you had two equally talented, equally unlikely, equally unpolished contestants…. so it really was a matter of taste as to who was voted for. While some may argue that one of us was hyped more than the other, I don’t feel that was the case. However, this year, there was an obvious bias. Not even having watched the show, I can tell you that I was WELL aware of the bias from the judges as to who should win. In my opinion, that is awfully unattractive. I don’t think I am alone

Will American Idol choose to listen to the resounding and clarion call that those voters gave them?…. “Enough with the pretention. More Rubens, more Clays, more Fantasias and Tamyras and Kellys please.” My faith has always been in the voters. I think they have gotten it right every year (mine included). It’s now up to American Idol to decide if it will finally REALLY listen to the folks that keep it on the air.

HMMM. While Clay does make some valid points, the overall tone of his rant seems awfully negative. He deffo sounds like he’s been noshing on some sour grapes. Why you gotta hate Clay? While I agree with his point that American Idol seems to really come down to a popularity contest (after all, Kris’s home State of Arkansas, with a population of 2.8 million, reportedly generated 38 million votes) I absolutely do not agree with his assertion that the show needs, “More Rubens, more Clays, more Fantasias …” On the contrary, what I think it needs is to limit voting to one vote per person … and it deffo needs more controversy cuz that’s what makes everyone talk about a show they don’t even watch (including former contestants, like Clay Aiken). I don’t personally believe that Clay’s commentary is worth the $29.95 annual fee, especially if most of his posts read like this one. It’s some funny shizz, tho, to read for free.

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On Wednesday we got to check out a very strange photo of Kanye West, Jared Leto of (among other things) 30 Seconds to Mars and Brandon Flowers of The Killers together in the studio where they were working on a “DOPE ASS SONG” (Kanye’s words, not mine) together. Today, Jared Leto published a new blogpost on his official My Space profile enlightening us on the experience. Here is the full text of Jared’s latest blogpost and a photo he shares of Kanye “working his MPC“:

THE SECRET IS OUT…

Thirty Seconds to Mars is also doing a MySpace video chat on MONDAY, APRIL 27th at 6PM PST. See you then.

So, I guess we will prolly get to hear this song after all. I have to admit, I never would’ve pictured Kanye West and Jared Leto as the kind of musicians who would fancy working together (throwing in Brandon Flowers just makes the whole notion even that more unbelievable) but here we have it. I, for one, love that these guys do like working together. If anything, it’s bound to be an interesting if not DOPE ASS SONG to check out. Who knows, if this collabo turns out to be a huge success, mebbe we’ll get to see other odd parings in the future. Marilyn Manson and Ashlee Simpson? Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift? Chris Cornell and Timbaland? Nah, all of those pairings would be TOO incapable of making any sort of interesting music ;)

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Kanye West posted a new blogpost on his official blog yesterday along with a very interesting photo … both of which I present to you here (all spelling, grammatical and CAPS errors are Kanye’s own):

I WAS WORKING ON THIS DOPE ASS SONG WITH JARED AND BRANDON STOPPED BY. I PLAYED THEM SOME OF THE NEW JEEZY BEATS AND BEFORE EVERYBODY BOUNCED BRANDON HOPPED ON THE KEYBOARD AND I HOPPED ON THE MPC. SHIT WAS DOPE. OH AND YES THOSE ARE SWAROVSKI CRYSTALS ON BRANDON’S SHIRT BY DRIES VAN NOTEN.

Um, whut? Talk about your strange bedfellows … but, hey, I can dig it. I’m so glad that Kanye provided a photo of these three together cuz as strange as the blogpost sounds, the somewhat awkward photo really tells the tale. We can only hope that we will be able to, one day, hear this “dope ass song” by Kanye West featuring Jared Leto and Brandon Flowers. Do any of y’all have any guesses as to what an opus like this might be titled?

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Earlier today we saw photos of Paris Hilton and her new paramour Doug Reinhardt enjoying each other’s saliva while they frolicked on a beach in Miami, FL yesterday. Well, it turns out that Paris’s visit to Florida hasn’t been all fun and games … no siree. She and Doug were assaulted, y’all … and for no reason! Imagine that. Here is the full text of Paris’s latest My Space blogpost that explains in her own words what went down in Miami … as always, all spelling and grammatical errors are her own:

Clearing a few things up

Love always Paris xoxo

LOLOLOL! “Doug was fighting off like 6 guys” … yep, that sure does sound like a knight in shining armor to me (tho, by the look of the photos we saw of the pair in Miami yesterday, he was prolly more like a knight in $12 orange board shorts). It really sounds like things got out of hand and all because Paris Hilton was unhappy with the music being played at a club. Do you see the kind of power and influence that she wields? The second paragraph of Paris’s post talks about her alleged engagement to Reinhardt … it sounds like she ain’t ready to say I Do just yet. Aw shucks, well … we’ll give it 15 more minutes … mebbe they’ll get hitched soon. In any event, I’m sure we’ll be seeing photographic proof of Doug’s supposed heroism very soon … since Pug Dilton can’t go long without getting photographed, there is bound to be some evidence of Doug’s altercation with “like 6 guys” … can’t wait! In the meantime, I hope Paris learns to like the music that gets played in clubs she visits … after all, we wouldn’t want her to get assaulted for no reason again, would we?

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