Purex® Complete 3-in-1™ Laundry Sheets

Talk about a godsend! I just started using Purex® Complete 3-in-1™ Laundry Sheets which come in three scents and are available in two package types – a Starter Kit (1 Dispenser + 20 Laundry Sheets) and a value Refill Pouch (24 Laundry Sheets).

The Starter Kit includes a refillable Dispenser that makes it simple to protect and access Purex Complete 3-in-1™ Laundry Sheets. Once you have the Dispenser, you can simply purchase the money-saving Refill Pouch to fill the convenient Dispenser.  Used these for the first time today and not only DO they work but I only had to carry ONE package with me to the laundry!  I'll admit I was skeptical at first.  How could you get the right amount of detergent for each load into one little sheet.  Well, I won't have to worry about that anymore because like I said they worked and the close are clean, soft & smell fresh!  Anyone else using these?  What do you think? 

P90x

One of the most talked about products in the fitness world today. Have the body you have always wanted in under 90 days! Fitness expert Tony Horton guides you through the whole process.

Leno to America: Goodbye! I'm Not Going Anywhere!

"We're not really leaving," Jay Leno told the studio audience on his last Tonight Show. And he was right. So how do you throw yourself a goodbye when you're not going anywhere? TV has a history of lugubrious farewells for longtime personalities, and while Jay Leno may not have stuck around as long as Johnny Carson, at 17 years, he's been there long enough to earn such a send-off.

The problem is, of course, that Jay is going to be back on NBC in three months, nightly, at 10 p.m. E.T. every weeknight. He's like the high-school big man on campus who's graduating, but will be enrolling in the local community college next fall.

Susan Boyle comes up short - Finishes second on 'Britain's Got Talent'

Internet senstation Susan Boyle came up short, coming in second during "Britain's Got Talent" finale on Saturday.

Boyle was upset by winner Diversity, a 10-person dance group from Essex and East London, England, ranging in age from 12 to 25 years old. The group won 100,000 British pounds ($161,000) and will perform for Queen Elizabeth II in the Royal Variety Show.

"The best people won," Boyle said.

Boyle wowed the crowd Saturday night with an encore performance of the song that first made her so famous around the world -- "I Dreamed a Dream," from the musical "Les Miserables."

After her performance Saturday, the crowd and judges gave Boyle, who wore a floor-length gown, a standing ovation.

Banks target checking fees to find new ways to raise cash

As people shift from using credit cards to debit cards, banks need to find new ways to sock it to them. And it looks like they may have found one: higher checking fees. If you're not careful, these fees can add up to hundreds of dollars before you even know they hit you. To wit:

* Bank of America (BAC) will increase its monthly account maintenance fee on its MyAccess checking from $5.95 to $8.95 per month in June. It will also start charging a one-time fee of $35 if your account is overdrawn for five business days. And that's on top of the overdraft fees, the maximum number of which has also been raised. Last year, they would never ding you more than five times in one day; now, they can whack you up to 10 times.

* Citigroup (C) began charging 3 percent of the transaction for some debit card purchases and ATM withdrawals made outside the U.S. last year, up from 2 percent before. That now matches the cost of using credit cards. Citi also increased its overdraft fee to $34 per incident. It had been $30.

* SunTrust (STI) is charging a higher fee on its basic checking if customers overdraw multiple times. The bank also raised its overdraft fees on other accounts.

* Wachovia/Wells Fargo (WFC) is doubling to $10 its fee to transfer money to checking to cover insufficient funds on some accounts. It will also start charging that fee to a credit card rather than taking it from a linked bank account, so you could end up paying interest on that charge as well.

"They are supposed to act in the interest of shareholders, so they're gouging consumers," Sam Johnson, a former chief economist for the International Monetary Fund, told USA Today. He thinks banks are raising account fees because of a "mix of market power and opportunism."

While the U.S. government bails out these banks because they are "too big too fail," banks choose to use this power to take advantage of consumers who are struggling. The same consumers who are taxpayers that helped to bail out these banks.

Banks defend their choices by saying say consumers have become riskier customers with the higher unemployment rate. In addition, banks say their borrowing costs are higher -- which I really have to wonder about, given the trillions the government has pumped into the loan markets at this point. 

The Fed is thinking about cracking down on some of these fee increases, but the weak rule now being discussed does not cap overdraft fees, does not require banks to disclose the overdraft interest rate and does not prevent them from manipulating the order of checks to maximize overdraft fees. (Banks commonly will clear the largest checks first, so the customer ends up with overdraft fees on lots of smaller checks.)

Bankrate.com says ATM fees, monthly service fees and balance requirements for interest checking accounts all hit record highs in 2008 before inflation. Bankrate predicts consumers should expect more of the same in 2009.

Have your fees gone up on your accounts? Are you thisclose to throttling the people who run your bank?

Wikipedia Bans Church of Scientology From Editing Entries

Wikipedia, which characterizes itself as "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit," might need to tack a slight addendum on to the end of that description: "unless that anyone happens to log in from a computer owned by the Church of Scientology." According to the Register, the administrators of Wikipedia have decided to ban all editors who log on to the site from IP addresses owned by the Church of Scientology. Some of those administrators have claimed, according to the Register, that those spunky Scientologists have been "damaging Wikipedia's reputation for neutrality" by delving into biased self-promotion. Scientology, a 55-year-old religion founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, has gained both notoriety and criticism in recent years as celebrity members like Tom Cruise and John Travolta have become increasingly vocal.

This does not mark Wikipedia's first attempt to quelch zealots in the Scientology debate. In the past, site administrators have banned several determinedly anti-Scientology accounts from editing entries related to the religion. Due to the prohibitively time-consuming nature of identifying specific editors and banning them from specific pages, though, Wikipedia has elected to prohibit any and all editorial action taken via Church IPs. While many Web philosophers are bound to woundedly cry "Free speech!" in response to such an issue as this, we must take a different stance. Whether or not Wikipedia was right in taking such broadly prohibitive measures, Wikipedia certainly has the right to do so. The more dependent on massive media companies we become, the more we need to accept that such companies -- at the end of the day -- are companies, after all, and are beholden to themselves, not the people.

Adam Lambert Is Openly Gay, Says Kara DioGuardi

American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert may want America to keep speculating about his sexuality, but there's at least one person who has no doubt which way the 27-year-old singer swings: judge Kara DioGuardi. 

"I don't think that Adam was ever in [the closet]," she says in a chat set to air on The View Friday. "I think he was always openly out." 

Her comment came as part of a response to host Barbara Walters, who had asked if Lambert's controversial loss to Kris Allen was influenced by questions about whether Lambert is gay. Lambert has a penchant for eyeliner, nail polish, tight pants and flamboyant hair styles, and has been photographed kissing other men.

"I hope not," DioGuardi answered. "Because we should be judging on talent and viability in the music industry, and they both had that." 

In an earlier interview with PEOPLE.com, Lambert said people who worried about whether he preferred men or women romantically needed to "calm down," and that the most important thing was that he was being true to himself. 

"You should own who you are and what you're about, and never make apologies for it," he said. 

Autoworker jobs lose luster as industry reels

There was a time, not very long ago, when getting a job on the production line at a big automaker meant an instant ticket to the American dream, even for someone with little formal education. Not anymore.  In a recent CNNMoney.com report,  entry level pay is now $14 an hour, half of what it used to be.  And I say it about time!  For years the auto industry over paid it's entry level and management employees across the board.  Unions, which had their place back in the days have sucked the life out from the industry.    So HELL YEAH and it's about time that those in the auto industry got to see how the other half has to live.  We don't have jobs that are given to us just because we have a family member working at a plant and have to bust our asses off with additional education just to get the paycheck that we get.

Man Calls 911 Over Orange Juice

In Oregon man spent Memorial Day in jail after dialing 911 to complain that a McDonald's worker was rude and didn't give him an orange juice he ordered. Raibin Osman was accused of improper use of the emergency telephone number.

Can I ask whatever happened to dialing "0" for the Operator?  Had the person in question did that they would have been directed to the proper telephone number for their local police station.  Why is it that so many of these people as of late are calling 911 instead of 0? 

 911 call over juice box*

'Project Runway': Inside Season 6!

WHAT'S NEW ON THE RUNWAY

THE L.A. LOCALE Shooting in a new city ''gave us a little twist, a different energy,'' says EP Cha. ''There was excitement on the set every day.'' Still, the show had to stick to the city's quiet downtown area to steer clear of L.A.'s epic traffic.

MORE CELEB JUDGES The revolving panel includes Eva Longoria Parker, Christina Aguilera, Rebecca Romijn, Lindsay Lohan, and Bob Mackie. And once, says Cha, ''we had a near fainting when the designers saw who the guest judge was.''

NEW SPONSORSTRESemme out, Garnier in! Also gone is the Bluefly.com Accessories Wall; contestants will use an array of goods from Macy's. Finally, judge Nina Garcia's new employer, Marie Claire, takes over for Elle as the featured mag.

THE PRIZE: PARIS! This season's winner gets $100,000, a fashion spread inMarie Claire, and an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Paris. Sorry, no more free Saturn Astras for the top designer — but who wouldn't prefer a stroll around the City of Light?

MODELS OF THE RUNWAY The 30-minute spin-off will air each week after Runway and focus on the same drama — but from the perspective of the ladies on the catwalk. ''It's a little looser,'' says EP Murray. ''More behind the scenes.''

'Smallville' scoop: Are they casting Zod?!

It sure sounds like it based on this season 9 casting notice that just fell into my lap:

MASON: Late 20's early 30's. He's a handsome charismatic charmer who savors life. He appreciates good food, loves fast cars and sees beauty in every woman. There isn't a detail in life that eludes his senses. He is a master of seduction... knowing what everyone wants and needs before they do. But don't let his magnetism fool you. There's more than meets the eye. His intelligence can't be matched. He outmaneuvers everyone in his path. Though he longs to find a home, that vulnerability can be twisted -- making him a force to be reckoned with."

Thoughts?!

Adam Lambert on His Sexuality: 'Keep Speculating'

Adam Lambert says role models come in a variety of different forms – even in eye makeup, fingernail polish and tight pants. 

"It's a really, really cool thing," the American Idol runner-up says, "to be able to show people that you can be yourself, and you should be proud of yourself, and you should own who you are and what you're about, and never make apologies for it." 

So to those who speculate about his sexuality, he has a message. "Calm down," he says, and "keep speculating." 

"Conforming is not cool," he adds. "Embracing who you are and what makes you different is actually what's really cool ... The kids that are different and out there and expressive and are bold with those choices, those are the people that grow up to be people we all want to hang out with, that become celebrities or become really successful in what they do because they believe in who they are." 

As for all the talk about his personal life, Lambert says just one word when asked if he'll address his sexuality directly, say in an upcoming issue of Rolling Stone: "Maybe." 

Nicollette Sheridan's BF -- Like A Horse

You all know that I love my Nicollette Sheridan to know end but desperate housewife or not, Nicollette Sheridan needs to do some research before she gets back on the horse.

TMZ  found out Sheridan's new beau, Steven Pate, was convicted of receiving four stolen horses from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Rodeo Arena back in 2000. The horses were ridden by students for rodeo competitions.

We're told a mare and three geldings were led out of their stable on September 27, 2000 and disappeared. When the reward swelled to $10,000, Steven Pate just happened to show up with all sorts of info. He was arrested and charged with 5 felonies, including Grand Theft Animal. 

Pate pled no contest to felony "receiving stolen property" and was sentenced to 6 days in county jail.  When he completed all the terms of his probation, the conviction was bumped down to a misdemeanor.

A rep for Nicollette tells us Pate didn't know the horses were stolen when he received them, and that he was the one who brought the info to the attention of authorities.

Jessica Simpson to Star in Reality Show About Body Issues

Jessica Simpson knows how to turn hard times into good times.

According to a report in Us magazine, the singer — who endured serious criticism for donning some unflattering mom jeans earlier this year — may be soon starring in a reality series about the beauty issues women face in society.

“The Price of Beauty,” as the show may be potentially called, would center around Simpson and a friend on a trip around the world to explore different beauty standards.

The former reality star, who rose to fame on her “Newlyweds” series with her ex-husband Nick Lachey, will even try some of “the shocking things that women do to make themselves beautiful. Picture ‘Fear Factor.’”

The star will likely be “very hands on” with the show, according to an insider.

Simpson's rep confirmed to Us that the star is indeed working on a new show, but the details have yet to be finalized.

Small changes in kitchen staples can help your family get healthy

The Skinny Chef shares smart grocery shopping swaps to pack maximum health benefits into everyday eating.  Learn more about Jennifer at skinnychef.com, and read her exclusive Slashfood articles every Monday and Friday.

Gym etiquette 101

Going to the gym can be pleasant or, well, not so pleasant. The difference is often due to how others conduct themselves while working out.

Competitive bodybuilder and fitness coach Gennaro Ferra offers some basic etiquette for all gym goers to keep in mind.

Replace weights - There’s nothing more basic than this. Not only does putting weights and dumbbells back where they belong make finding them easy, but it makes workouts more efficient and safe.

Cut the clanking - Letting the weights you’re lifting drop hard is extremely distracting to others and it can easily damage equipment.

Forget cell phones - Cell chatting should be restricted to either a designated area or outside. Never, ever on the gym floor.

Wipe sweat away - Sweating is a byproduct of a hard workout, but others don’t want to know that. After you’re done with equipment, wipe it down and spray it with disinfectant.

Take turns - If you’re going to be a while with equipment, allow others to work in (use it while you rest).

Keep it quiet - Grunting and yelling is really not necessary. Just like talking, it’s distracting.

Be efficient - Value your time. If you’re waiting for equipment, kindly ask to work in or find an equivalent piece. There’s nothing worse than wasting workout time by waiting.

Don’t misuse gear - It’s OK to be creative, but when you start hanging from cables, management should be notified. This can cause injury and it sets a bad example for those wishing to learn proper technique.

For more information on Genarro Ferra visit his website at http://www.gennaroferra.com/

Baby Boomers Quitting Facebook

Facebook may be losing ground among its older users, according to Inside Facebook.

Over the past few months, baby boomers joined the popular social networking site in droves, creating some inter-generational tensions in the process. From February and March, though, to April and May, that trend seems to have reversed. According to data that Facebook supplies to its advertisers, the 55-to-65-year-old age group's activity has drastically declined over the past couple months (by 651,080, to be exact), making it the only demographic to experience an overall drop in numbers.

The data is not accompanied by any reasons why baby boomers are quitting, but Inside Facebook wonders if the over-55 set just hasn't figured out how to use the real-time updates that were implemented on social network's recent facelift. Then again, it could be all the phishing scams that have surfaced on the service lately. We think it might just be because half the time we try to send messages on social network, we get an error message telling us to log in again (very annoying), or any of a myriad of other reasons to quit Facebook.

While their parents seem to be fleeing Facebook, 18-to-25-year olds are spending more time on the site than ever. Since the end of March, nearly 2 million new members have joined up in that age bracket. The root of these developing Facebook trends? We'd bet that those Gen Y-ers, finding themselves unemployed and out of school, are aiming to waste some time and distract themselves. Meanwhile, we'd guess that their parents, in light of their companies' tightening belts, are laying off the during-office-hours browsing.

How about you? Are you still on Facebook? Have you thought about quitting?

Did AT&T Rig 'Idol' Voting?

Complaining about voting irregularities in real elections is so last year. The new craze is tracking misconduct in voting for 'American Idol.' Message boards are abuzz with accusations that AT&T may have unfairly influenced voting results by providing phones, free text messaging, and lessons in casting multiple votes at once for parties in support of Kris Allen (pictured), the Arkansas singer who won the singing competition.

According to the New York Times, both AT&T and attendees of the parties confirmed that the company hosted two such voting parties in Allen's home state of Arkansas. The provider, however, did not provide similar support for Adam Lambert, the runner-up to Mr. Allen in the show's finale.

AT&T reps instructed party-goers in how to send so-called "power texts" -- blocks of 10 or more messages sent to the same number.


If the charges are true, AT&T would have broken two rules governing voting in the 'Idol' competition. At the end of every show an on-screen statement is displayed warning that blocks of votes cast using "technical enhancements" which would unfairly influence the outcome can be thrown out. The show also states that voting via text message is open only to AT&T subscribers, and that standard texting rates apply.

While AT&T admits to attending the parties and providing demo phone units, it has not copped to any wrongdoing. Fox has so far declined to comment on the situation

Jonas Brothers are 'Paranoid' in New Video

Does Texting Hurt Teens? Some Say Yes

If you're a parent who frets about how much time your child spends sending and reading text messages, you're in good company.

Doctors and psychologists have begun raising red flags about the effects of incessant texting, The New York Times reported.
American teenagers send and receive dozens, perhaps hundreds, of texts a day. The habit seems to be triggering a variety of problems, including repetitive stress injury, sleep deprivation, anxiety and falling grades, health experts told The Times.

"If you're being deluged by constant communication, the pressure to answer immediately is quite high," psychologist Sherry Turkle told the newspaper. "If you’re in the middle of a thought, forget it."

Texting may also interfere with normal adolescent development, making it tougher for teens to separate from their parents. "Now you have adolescents who are texting their mothers 15 times a day, asking things like, 'Should I get the red shoes or the blue shoes?'" Turkle said.

Teens haven't been texting for that long, so there's no scientifically sound data on the health impact. Check out the Times story for more anecdotes about some harmful side effects of too much texting.

Economists See Recession Ending in '09

More than 90 percent of economists predict the U.S. recession will end this year, although the recovery is likely to be bumpy.
That assessment came from leading forecasters in a survey by the National Association for Business Economics to be released Wednesday. It is generally in line with the outlook from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues.

About 74 percent of the forecasters expect the recession — which started in December 2007 and is the longest since World War II — to end in the third quarter. Another 19 percent predict the turning point will come in the final three months of this year, and the remaining 7 percent believe the recession will end in the first quarter of 2010.

If you ask me I say "Thank God for the Swine Flu" because before then the recession (Crisis on Wall Street) was all we were hearing on the news 24/7 -- which if you ask me only served to dampen the economic outlook in the first place.

Child Wakes From Coma Singing

Mama Mia!

A three-year-old girl defies the odds when she woke up from a five-day coma singing "Mamma Mia."

Layla Towsey was on life support after being revived from a near-fatal heart attack, brought on by meningitis. Doctors had just finished removing her breathing tube when her mother, Katy Towsey, heard her humming tunes from the popular musical and film.
Now back at home and full of energy, Towsey sings "Mama Mia" tunes all around the home. "It was driving me insane before," said her mother. "Now it just reminds me of what happened. It makes me so happy."

Flight Turbulence Paralyzes Grandmother

A Texas woman is paralyzed after breaking her neck during severe turbulence while on board a Continental Airlines flight.

Sylvia Tena talked to NBC's 'Today' show Monday as she lay in her hospital bed.  The 47-year-old grandmother suffered her injuries in April when was traveling on a short flight from Houston to McAllen, Texas, that was already delayed because of thunderstorms. She got up to use the bathroom while the plane was hitting a particularly harsh patch of turbulence. While inside, Tena said, she was suddenly thrown against the ceiling and suffered serious injuries that left her paralyzed her from the chest down.

This gives new meaning to the phrase "keep your seat belt buckled"

Supernatural and Smallville break up

CW splits up its Thursday night block, sending Smallville over to Friday nights.

For the last several years, Thursdays on The CW has been etched in stone:Smallville at 8 p.m., followed by Supernatural at 9 p.m. The two seemed like a match made in heaven, thanks to their science-fiction and paranormal-driven plotlines. But business is business, and the two will now go their separate ways.

The CW is breaking up the couple that's been together since March 2006, with Supernatural getting the time period in the divorce. Smallville will now air on Friday nights, and Supernatural will stay put on Thursdays, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Moving into Smallville's old digs will be the newbie The Vampire Diaries, one of the network's biggest freshman shows. And with Vampire star Ian Somerhalder leading into Supernatural's Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, it could be a teen girl's dream.

The move makes sense for The CW, as Supernatural and Smallville are now strong enough to help other shows. But Thursday is a bloodbath, with The Mentalist, Fringe, and Flash Forward moving into the night that already includesGrey's Anatomy, CSI, and The Office. Total TiVo explosion.

The CW is also expected to pair up Melrose Place with 90210 on Tuesdays, and The Beautiful Life with America's Next Top Model on Wednesdays. 

Prison Break: The Final Break

Ok, so if you are a Prison Break fan like me, this is a straight to DVD movie of what happened between the 4 years they skipped over on the series finale. It will show Sarah and Michael's wedding, what happened to Gretchen and so forth. This will wrap up any questions and/or loose ends they left us with at the finale.  It's available through Amazon.com for preorder out on July 21, 2009.

O.J. Simpson appeals conviction

Attorneys for imprisoned former football great O.J. Simpson on Tuesday appealed his conviction to the Nevada Supreme Court, claiming his trial was "fundamentally unfair."

In the 47-page brief filed Tuesday, Simpson's attorneys accuse Clark County, Nevada, District Judge Jackie Glass of judicial misconduct, saying her behavior constituted "cumulative error that was so egregious and prejudicial that the defense could not get a fair trial."

The judge inflicted herself into the trial proceedings, issued improper jury instructions, improperly admitted hearsay evidence and refused to allow defense attorneys to fully cross-examine witnesses, the filing alleges.

In addition, she would not allow defense counsel to ask prospective jurors about their "known and unknown" biases, the brief said, and allowed prosecutors to strike the only two African-American potential jurors eligible to be on the jury.