Automotive X Prize Finalists (PHOTOS): 9 Cars That Could Change The World

They're aerodynamic, they're snappy, and, best of all, they're efficient.

The Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize has announced the finalists in its competition to develop a new breed of energy efficient vehicles.

Just 9 cars (down from 136) remain in the competition, which aims to "inspire a new generation of super fuel efficient vehicles." The cars, which go through a grueling series of tests and technical inspections to determine their road-worthiness, must be able to handle real-world scenarios. "It is about developing real, production-capable cars that consumers will want to buy, not science projects or concept cars," the X Prize Foundation explains.

Check out the finalists in the slideshow below, then vote for your favorite on the X Prize website.

The two-seater vehicle, designed by X-Tracer, has a slick aerodynamic design. The car weighs about 1350 pounds, runs on an electric battery, and should cost around $100,000.

Stats:
- Best mpg to Date: 350 mpge (miles per gallon equivalent) at constant 62 mph
- Acceleration (0–60 mph): < style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-style: none;">- Top Speed: 155 mph regulated, but 180 mph unrestricted

Angelina Jolie, Maddox, Pax, Zahara & Shiloh In Japan (PHOTOS)

Angelina and her oldest four kids landed at Japan's Narita airport near Tokyo on Monday, after arriving from Russia, as Jolie promotes 'Salt' around the world.

Brad Pitt and twins Knox and Vivienne appear to have stayed home.

Click through for photos.

U.S. actress Angelina Jolie, second from right, and her children from left, 8-year-old Maddox, Zahara Marley, 6, Pax Thien, 6, and Shiloh Nouvel, 4, arrive at Narita International Airport in Narita near Tokyo Monday, July 26, 2010 for the Japan premiere of her spy action-thriller film "Salt." (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

No More Apologies -- It's Time to Stand Up for Our Convictions

For some time now, various "reporters" and on-air personalities on the Fox News Network have failed to report the full story or relevant facts, instead indulging in race baiting in order to exploit people's fears and crank up the fringe of their audience. This was exemplified by Glenn Beck's nightly assault on Van Jones earlier this year. Recently, Fox has cranked up stories about the Department of Justice's decision not to prosecute a voter intimidation case against a Black Panther group and even worse, calls for Atty. General Holder's resignation. And now, the Sherrod Debacle.

Turns out Van Jones' name was added to a website without his permission, a fact the group finally admitted some time after he resigned. And maybe he said some things about the Republican Party that he shouldn't have -- but that has nothing to do with the fact that he is a brilliant environmental organizer. It also turns out that it was the Bush Administration who decided not to prosecute the case against the black panthers because as Bush's Assistant Attorney General Perez testified, "the facts did not constitute a prosecutable violation of the criminal statues, and under the Obama Administration Justice Department a judgment was won in a civil case.

And by now we all know how the Sherrod story went down. Despite his claims to the contrary on Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace didn't have his facts quite right. As a media matters study showed, Fox News did in fact spend a lot of air-time on July 19th and 20th cranking up the false story. Not to mention that foxnews.com bragged that shortly after they posted a "report" about the video Mrs. Sherrod resigned.

None of this is new. I don't believe all or even most of the Republican party voters are racist, but going at least as far back as Lee Atwater, the Willie Horton ads, and the attacks on John McCain in the South Carolina primaries in both 2000 and 2008, the immigration debate in 2006, there is a persistent willingness in the Republican party to use race baiting for electoral advantage. The fact is, this is racist behavior.

Now if the Tea Party, which is not a professional group of politicians have the decency to repudiate the racist fringe in their group, why can't the Republicans? Obviously they think this approach works on the margins, but even if this stuff works, it sure doesn't produce good leaders or a civil society, and it certainly doesn't produce a stronger America, it produces an even more polarized and angry America. It's that willingness to put party ahead of country that has the Republicans in such low regard.

There are lessons to be learned here. Tom Vilsack stated the first one best: don't make decisions without all the facts. To that I would add: consider the source. If it is a group of individuals or a corporation that has chronically ignored the facts and engaged in race baiting in the past, they are likely to do it again. A report by Fox News, Breitbart or Matt Drudge, ought to have -- as it does in most people's minds -- little credibility.

The second lesson is harder. Stand up for what you believe in. I admire Nancy Pelosi because she is tough, gets things done, and doesn't take crap from the right wing or any one else. After the year and a half this country has just been through, it is pretty obvious that the right-wing has no intention of cooperating with anyone, and that they will do anything to regain power, just as they were willing to do anything to hold on to it. The only reasonable approach is to stand up to them as you would any group of bullies. Call them out for what they do- or don't do as the case may be. If the Tea Party can call out some of their own members, surely we can call out a group of people who have put their party ahead of their country.

I have often said the biggest problem with the Democrats is that we are not tough enough. Now is the time to be tough. The fact is that the stimulus package has reduced unemployment from where it would have otherwise been in this Bush-induced recession (based on policies most of the Republicans now in Congress voted for). The fact is, as 60 members of the House and the CBO showed last week, the Public Option, or Medicare Buy-in, as it should more correctly be called, would have reduced the deficit over ten years by an additional $68 million dollars. The fact is that President Obama -- despite Republicans killing the climate change bill -- has done more in 18 months to change America's approach to the environment and green jobs than any president in memory.

The fact is that if we are going to tackle the deficit, it makes no sense to cut taxes for people with plenty of money while we tell people who depend on Social Security and Medicare that they have to do with less, or to play games with unemployment insurance for those who need it most.

The fact is that the Democrats won the election in 2008. The Republicans refuse to do anything for the country except say "no". That means we have to work hard and do what we believe is right. And we have to stop apologizing for it. We have to stand up for what we believe in and stop trying to make deals with people who cannot be trusted to make deals for the good of our country. It's not too late to win in 2010. Conviction politics works. Just ask the right wing!

Sarah Palin's Endorsement Of Kelly Ayotte May Have Hurt Senate Candidate's Campaign (POLL)

Sarah Palin's endorsement of Republican candidate Kelly Ayotte in the race for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire may have adversely affected the conservative contender's campaign.

A new survey from Public Policy Polling finds that Ayotte has experienced diminished support from moderate voters since the ex-Alaska Governor issued a statement of support for her candidacy.

An excerpt of analysis from PPP:

The Palin endorsement may well be playing a role in this. 51% of voters in the state say they're less likely to back a Palin endorsed candidate to only 26% who say that support would make them more inclined to vote for someone. Among moderates that widens to 65% who say a Palin endorsement would turn them off to 14% who it would make more supportive.

The polling organization notes that 47 percent of New Hampshire voters identify as moderates -- comprising the largest voting bloc in the stat

Neel Kashkari, TARP Guru, Supports Cutting Entitlements, Citing 'Me-First' Attitude Of Beneficiaries

Remember Neel Kashkari? Back during the financial crisis, Kashkari sat at the U.S. Treasury's Office of Financial Stability, where he was in charge of implementing the Troubled Asset Relief Program -- the fancy name for a wheelbarrow full of $700 billion in taxpayer money that went to revive the do-not-resuscitate banks of the world, which is exactly what those banks asked the government to do. Well, the whole experience made Kashkari terribly, terribly sad! So he went out into the woods to build himself a Cabin Of Emotions, where he could grieve over the fact that Washington, DC had lost the lustrous glamour that attracted him in the first place -- during the Iran-Contra hearings.

But since then, he was rescued from his doldrums by bond giant PIMCO, where he became its managing director of investment management. Now he's on the op-ed pages of the Washington Post, with a message for the olds: STOP BEING SO "ME-FIRST" and let us cut your entitlements!

A nation's culture can have a profound impact on its competitiveness. Our shared beliefs in free markets, fair play and the rule of law inspire entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams and give global investors confidence to bring their money to America. These beliefs have passed from citizen to citizen, from generation to generation. They have strengthened over our history and brought an important competitive edge to the United States.

Hey, let's remember some basic things before we go any further, shall we? "Free markets" equals "too big to fail banks will never be allowed to fail." "Fair play" equals "bailing out these too big to fail banks when they nearly destroy the economy while small banks die by the hundreds." "Rule of law" equals "big banks using derivatives to get around capital rules." Okay? Moving on!

Our belief in free markets is founded on the idea that each individual acting in his or her self-interest will lead to a superior outcome for the whole. The financial crisis has reminded us that free markets are not perfect -- but they do allocate capital better than any other system we know. A "me first" mentality usually makes markets more efficient.

Okay! So, a person who retires today probably entered the workforce in the mid to late 1960s. They acted in their self-interest, let's say, and this led to some "superior outcomes for the whole." It was so "me-first" of those people to not consider the possibility that decades after they started contributing to the nation's wealth, that another generation of idiots would come around and destroy it, leaving us with no other choice than to push those aging former societal contributors out onto ice floes to die! What jerks! Where was their foresight? Why weren't they smart enough to get way into toxic mortgage-backed securities? They could be the ones holding America hostage today!

Cutting entitlement spending requires us to think beyond what is in our own immediate self-interest. But it also runs against our sense of fairness: We have, after all, paid for entitlements for earlier generations. Is it now fair to cut my benefits? No, it isn't. But if we don't focus on our collective good, all of us will suffer.

Well, Neel Kashkari isn't going to suffer, because he works for PIMCO, remember? And PIMCO's brilliance was the way it strictly adhered to a "me-first" philosophy:

As of June 30th, 61 percent of PIMCO's holdings -- $500 billion -- were in the very mortgage backed securities that it's now being hired by the Fed to buy back on behalf of US taxpayers, according to a September Bloomberg report that cited data on PIMCO's own website.

That could explain why, as financial blogger Rolfe Winkler pointed out earlier today, PIMCO chief Bill Gross was sounding the alarm in early September about the disastrous fate that would befall the US economy unless the government started buying up troubled mortgage assets.

If we are to prevent a continuing asset and debt liquidation of near historic proportions, we will require policies that open up the balance sheet of the U.S. Treasury.

Within days, Treasury did what Gross was asking. In other words, as Peter Cohan, a professor of management at Babson College, put it at the time in a post on Bloggingstocks.com:

Bill Gross, who manages $830 billion, has convinced the U.S. Treasury to use your taxpayer dollars to bail him out of his bad investments.

And Gross seems to have had his eye on the endgame for a while here too. Later that month, he argued in a Washington Post op-ed that a broader bailout -- what became TARP -- was also desperately needed, and he seemed to suggest that his own PIMCO would be a perfect candidate to manage the funds.

And now, Neel Kashkari is in the Washington Post today, arguing that cutting entitlements is akin to TARP because both are "unpopular decisions that are in our collective best interest." Except that TARP benefitted PIMCO greatly and, having been done a good turn, PIMCO rescued Kashkari from his sad little cabin in the woods. Some pigs are more collectively best-interested than others.

But Kashkari says we have to act now now now! Cut entitlements before it's too late!

If we wait until the bond market shuns Treasurys, the economic consequences could be dire. Virtually overnight, we could have far less money to spend on priorities such as defense, education and research. Once confidence in U.S. Treasury bonds is lost, it could take years to return.

Let's take a look at the bond market, shall we?

That red line indicates the interest rate yield on 2-year T-Bills, currently at about 0.6%. Now, there are plenty of market experts who will be willing to debate the fine points of this, but doesn't it seem like the world's investors a) find 2-year T-Bills to be one of the safest investments around and b) are really unconcerned about the U.S. deficit? When, exactly, is the confidence going to be lost? Will it be soon?

Fun fact: Right now, the 2-year T-Bill is seen as so safe that, judging by the yields, it's apparently riskier to get a 2-year CD from a bank. The average yield on a 2-year CD is about DOUBLE that of a 2-year T-bill, according to Bankrate.com. So investors are passing up double the yield in order to buy Treasuries.

Kashkari says, "Our leaders need to make the case for cutting entitlement spending by tapping into our shared beliefs of sacrifice and self-reliance." That word -- "our" -- seems awfully ironic! Pare back now, America, so there's money on hand to save the banks again! Shacks in the woods for everyone else.

NYSE:BP – BP Loses $17 Billion, Robert Dudley New CEO

BP has been through a lot lately.

Filling the Gulf of Mexico with millions of barrels of oil for one.

Then CEO Tony Hayward resigned over pressure from the way he handled (or didn’t handle) the oil spill.

Finally, BP just announced that so far, the company has lost $17 billion dollars because of the oil disaster in the gulf.

That’s a lot.

BP names Robert Dudley the new CEO of BP.

Dudley is an American. The first non-British CEO in BP’s history.

Dudley will take his new post at BP at the beginning of October.

However, in the pre market, BP is up +0.25 (0.65%).

BP shares (NYSE:BP) closed yesterday at +1.79 (4.86%) at 38.65.

Apple Store (Online) Down, Newness Is Coming

The Apple Store website is down!

This is quite possibly the only website in history that when it goes down, millions of people get excited.

That’s because when the Apple Store website goes down, it means new goodies are on their way.

The rumored “newness” this time however isn’t going to be a new iPhone, or even a new iPad.

According to Engadget, Apple’s got a new lineup of Mac Pros and some updated iMacs to show you.

As is typical for Apple, we can expect the Apple Store to be back up around 8:30′ish, in standard Apple fashion.

Android Smartphone Market Explodes in UK, Up 350%

The British love their smartphones!

In fact, they love their smartphones so much that the marketshare of mobile phones in the UK has expanded to 73.5% of the UK contract market.

That’s up from 55% in the first quarter of this year, and 66.7%, the second quarter average.

Android explodes in the UK

Those numbers are nothing when you look at the Android smartphone growth in the UK.

Android smartphones have grown at a blazing 350% from Q1 to Q2 of this year.

The Android marketshare in the UK sits at 13.2% in Q2, up from only 3% in Q1.

So that’s 350% growth rate in just one quarter!

And with all of the new Android smartphones, coupled with the new iPhones hitting the UK market, you’re talking about unprecedented future growth for the mobile market in the UK!

Yahoo Marries Google in Japan

Hold onto your mouse, and make sure your keyboard is stable!

Yahoo announced today that it will use Google technology to power its Yahoo Japan search engine and ad delivery system.

This was attempted before in the US until the government squashed Yahoo’s efforts because of fears over a search monopoly.

But regulators in Japan do not share the same fear factor.

According to HuffPost, the decision by Yahoo Japan, which is largely independent from its California namesake, will mean that the bulk of Internet searches done in Japan will use Google’s search engine, though both companies said enough independence would be maintained to keep the market competitive.

Yahoo is making every effort to find a way to recover in the hyper competitive search market.

I guess Yahoo’s perspective is, if you can’t beat em’, then join em’!

Actually, this is probably a smart move by Yahoo because of their new commitment to focusing on high quality news and content delivery – which Yahoo excels at doing.

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares are up +3.51 (0.72%) at 491.81 on the news of the Yahoo Japan deal.

AT&T’s Dell Streak On Sale Tomorrow?

Ready for a 5 inch touch screen mobile phone!

The widely discussed Dell Streak is going to be available for purchase tomorrow on the Dell website.

Signups for pre-orders have stopped, but you can move right on up to purchasing the Dell Streak tomorrow.

The Dell Streak is a combination between a tablet (think the iPad), and an Android OS powered phone (think HTC EVO 4G). This phone is massive with a 5 inch touch display screen and like I mentioned, powered by the Android mobile OS.

Here’s what the Dell website was showing earlier today:

Our Dell Streak pre-sale sign-up opportunity is no longer available. Please visit www.dell.com/streak tomorrow to purchase your Dell Streak.

However, if you visit the Dell site now that message is no longer there.

Is it possible they were just testing their message?

Or can we really expect to see the Dell Streak available tomorrow?

The Dell Streak will be serviced by AT&T.

Chevy Volt Release Date, Price Announced

The Chevy Volt is ready to hit the streets!

GM announced today that the Chevy Volt, the industries first commercially marketed electric vehicle, is ready to hit GM lots later this year and will carry a sticker price of $41,000.

But don’t let that price tag scare you off too fast.

Even though there’s a $41,000 price tag, factor in the federal income tax credit (which ranges from $0 – $7500), and you are now looking at a net price of $33,500 – a much more doable price range indeed.

But the pricing gets even sweeter if you are willing to lease.

The leasing terms will be 36-months at MSRP with payments as low as $350 per month with $2,500 due at lease signing including security deposit.

The Chevy Volt’s main competitor is the the Nissan Leaf. And after all is said done with the Leaf’s price tag you are looking at around $20,000 (after subsidies that is).

Chevy Volt release date

A solid date has not been announced other than the Chevy Volt (as well as the Nissan Leaf) will be available later this year (2010).

Nissan Leaf, Coming To Enterprise Soon

Wanna try out an electric car before you buy?

Well you might just get the chance with the new Nissan Leaf.

You may have heard by now that the Chevy Volt has been announced by GM and will be the first commercially marketed electric car and is set to arrive by the end of this year.

Well the Nissan Leaf is also scheduled to arrive by the end of the year.

Enterprise to rent the Nissan Leaf

The Nissan Leaf is rumored to be heading to an Enterprise rental location in the following cities: Phoenix; Tucson; Knoxville, Tenn.; Nashville; San Diego; Los Angeles; Portland, Ore.; and Seattle, and Enterprise will start renting Nissan Leaf electrics beginning in January, according to USAToday.

The cool thing about the Nissan Leaf coming to Enterprise is that you’d technically be able to rent the car and try it out prior to you making a decision as to whether or not you want to buy and electric car.

The electric car is a new concept, so being able to test it out first might have its advantages.

What do you think?

Madden 11 Demo on PS3, XBOX

Reports are moving fast on the Madden 11 demo.

People are reporting they are currently updating their PS3 and then moving on to downloading the Madden 11 demo.

Also, XBOX players are reporting that they already have the demo of Madden 11 and are playing live on their consoles.

Whatever the case may be, there is no question about it – the Madden 11 demo has hit the video game scene.

According to other reports, the demo has an adjustable difficulty level, and features the ability to use both teams’ playbooks to build a GamePlan for the new “GameFlow” play-calling system.

If you can’t find the demo on the Xbox Marketplace, that may be because you need anXbox LIVE Gold subscription to access it. The game is scheduled to be released in August 10^th in USA, for Europe, release date is august 13.

Here’s the Madden 11 demo:

RIP T-Mobile’s Android G1 Phone

Google Android phones have come a long way!

It seems like Android has been on the market forever competing with big mobile brands like the iPhone.

Google first Android phone was the G1 which showed at T-Mobile on October 22nd, 2008 (someone check my dates…).

And here we are nearly 2 years later and T-Mobile has finally retired the good ol’ boy. The G1 can no longer be found on the T-Mobile website nor in the T-Mobile stores.

You’ll more than likely need to hit up Ebay to find yourself a G1 from now on.

The QWERTY slider was unveiled in October 2008 as the flagship for Android and had many of the same platform features as later Android phones like the Hero. Its age primarily became apparent this year when some apps and Android versions would no longer run on its limited memory and processor.

As of today, the oldest surviving Android phone on T-Mobile and in most places is the myTouch 3G, which arrived in the spring of last year.

We are now looking at Android 2.2 coming to some of the highest end data phones in the history of the industry. Phones like Droid, Droid X, and the HTC Incredible will all be getting Android 2.2 shortly.

K-Mart Launches $149 Android Tablet (iPad Killer?)

Ok, so maybe not an iPad killer.

But I have to admit that this type of tablet is going to certain cut into the iPad market share!

K-Mart just released a $149, 7″ Android powered tablet called the Augen GenTouch 78

What do you get for the $149 ($149.99 to be exact):

The Augen GenTouch 78 7″ tablet is now available for $149.99 with the following features:

• 800×480 color TFT touch panel screen
• CPU: 800 Mhz
• RAM: DDR2 256mb
• Internal Memory: 2GB
• OS: Android 2.1
• Expansion Slots: SD/MMC card slot up to 16GB
• Wi-Fi Connectivity with full web browsing capability
• Supports Ebook Formats: Text, PDF, E-PUB, HTML
• Supports Media Formats: MP3, WMA, FLAC, AAC
• Picture Viewer in JPEG, BMP
• Video Player
• Rechargeable Lithium Battery
• Leather carrying case, USB cable, and AC adapter included

That’s right, you’ll get a free leather carrying case for your tablet as well. All for the price of $149.99.

And I suppose you could also pick up a 3G data package from Verizon as well for another $30 a month.

All in all, the Augen Android tablet at K-Mart is something that will certain fly off the shelves.

You can save about $350 by buying the Augen from K-Mart instead of the iPad.

That’s a 350 reasons that a lot people might like!

llinois office workers watch pieces falling off hovering daylight UFO

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A group of Illinois office workers observed a "copper colored, brightly flashing" object that hovered in the daytime sky while "smaller pieces appeared to be breaking away and falling rapidly" to the ground on July 16, 2010, according to testimony from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) witness reporting database.

"It was much brighter than anything I have ever seen in the day light which is what drew my attention," the reporting witness stated.

A group of workers assembled outside the building where the object had ascended higher in the sky, but was directly overhead.

"In a completely cloudless crystal blue background there was no reference for the altitude or size of the object."

At this point, the group reports that pieces of the object began to fall off to the ground
After 10 or 15 minutes, the witness reports that the object itself began falling toward the ground.

"You could almost see a tumbling type effect and it began to get substantially larger."

One of the witnesses got into a vehicle in an attempt to locate where the object came down, but was unsuccessful.

The group was also unable to agree on a consistent shape of the object. "As earlier stated, it first appeared oblong, and seemed to change. I believe we were probably seeing it from different angles."

The Illinois city was not named in the public portion of the MUFON report. No images were submitted with the report that was filed on July 17, 2010.

The following is the unedited and as yet uninvestigated report filed with MUFON. Please keep in mind that most UFO reports can be explained as something natural or manmade. If Illinois MUFON State Director Sam Maranto investigates and reports back on this case, I will release an update.

IL, July 16, 2010 - I saw a very bright object out of my office window. Myself and four co workers ran outside and oserved for fifteen minutes. MUFON Case # 24592.

At approximately 3p.m. out of my Southeast facing office window I observed a copper colored brightly flashing object larger than a planet and slightly elongated moving into the top of a line of pine trees.

It was much brighter than anything I have ever seen in the day light which is what drew my attention.

The object moved laterally to my left behind the tree tops, emerged on the other side, and began a slow vertical ascent. I pointed this out to several co workers.

My boss also took note of this as a very unusual looking object. He hurried outside to get a closer look, and I followed shortly.

When I arrived in front of the building in addition to my boss, were two other co workers who were out smoking at the time. All four of us were now oberving the strange object in braod day light. It was not like anything any of us have ever seen.

In the time it took me to go downstairs and outside, it had risen higher into the sky and was now almost directly over head. In a completely cloudless crystal blue background there was no reference for the altitude or size of the object.

Smaller pieces appeared to be breaking away and falling rapidly.

This effect was noticed at least three different times. After approximately ten or fifteen minutes of maintaining a relatively stationery position, it appeared to begin falling. You could almost see a tumbling type effect and it began to get substantially larger.

At this point I made a run for my phone with the intention of getting a picture. I told another friend of mine in the office about it on the way to my desk. He headed outside while I found my phone. By the time I came back the object had fallen below the tree line although the fifth witness did observe the object before it went out of sight.

My boss actually jumped in his car and took off in attempt to locate the point of impact. It is tough to estimate how near or far this may have been without the ability to get a feel for the altitude. There is also no way of knowing if the object was purely reflecting light, or giving off it's own. It was remarkably bright in the light of day, and at no point did it ever go completely dim the way an airplane does when its angle in relation to the sun changes.

It also lacked a consistent shape. As earlier stated, it first appeared oblong, and seemed to change. I believe we were probably seeing it from different angles. I have not seen any local news coverage so far, and was hoping you have encountered similar reports. I would love an explanation of what this may have been!!

What Will Brody And Avril Do With Their Name Tats If They Split?

We learned yesterday that apparently sporting matching lightning bolt tattoos isn't enough for lovebirds Brody Jenner and Avril Lavigne. Recent photos of their new ink -- tats of each other's names -- emerged earlier this week, causing us to shiver in fear. Not that we're rooting for the couple to break up (everyone deserves to be happy, right?), but we're always weary when people scribe names of loved ones on their bodies. What happens if/when things go down the crapper? (Remember when Lauren Conrad got a "J" for Jason Wahler and had to change it to an "L" when they broke up?) So, in the event that the two need to redo their tattoos, we have some suggestions for them:

Change AVRIL to FAVORITE
All Brody would need to do is place an "F" in the front of her name, squeeze in an "O", cross the "L" and slap on and "E" and he'd have the word "favorite." He could add whatever word he wanted after it, like the name of his next girlfriend.

Change BRODY to LABRADOR
Granted, Avril would have to go out and get a labrador dog, but that's a heck of a lot easier than staring at the name of an ex-lover right under your boob. We also recommend lasering off the D and Y to spell BRO, because we all know how much Brody loves a good bromance!

Get The Lowdown On Jemmye's Va-Jay-Jay Tat

Ever since we invited Preston, Knight, Jemmye and Eric into our studio to chat about Episode 2 of "Real World: NOLA," we've had Knight's description of Jemmye's va-jay-jay tat emblazoned on our brain: "It kinda looks like a fleur de lis on a sideways Sloppy Joe." And because misery mild OCD loves company, and because it's totally unfair to leave y'all hanging like that, we're sharing with you now the aforementioned fine art critique from New Orleans' front-runner in the Race To Steal Jemmye's White Boy Virginity. As an added bonus, the human canvas herself gives the lowdown on why she ever decided to get inked in such a vulnerable spot. Check out the video clip:

So, Justin Gaston Got VERY Naked For PETA

If aspiring model Giglianne Braga and actor-to-be Ben Elliot, of the Hulu reality show "If I Can Dream," plus underwear model/Miley Cyrus ex/Kris Allen tour opener Justin Gaston all dreamed of taking off their clothes for PETA, well then it looks like their dream came true! And doesn't everyone just look so ... comfy sitting there cheek to cheek in the name of animal rights?

Is it weird that he kinda has Billy Ray Cyrus hair? Eek. Anyway, watch Justin with more clothes on in Taylor Swift's "Love Story" video.

What Can We Learn From The Leaked Photos Of Kanye West's 'Power' Video

The above picture is not from Kanye West's "Power" video shoot. It's from his recent performance at the BET Awards. It does show you, however, that Yeezy is cooking with some serious gasoline these days (as well as rocking some serious ancient Egyptian iconography around his neck).

You can find a couple of leaked pictures from the "Power" video shoot right here (via Ace Showbiz). Shooting commenced on his "Power" video this past weekend in New York City. And based on said leaked photos, we can deduce a couple of things about "Power."

+ It might very well be set at a buffet table!
This is highly unlikely, given the high-concept thinking employed by Kanye when making his videos. But who knows, this clip could wind up being about a guy who has a lot of power ... at the lunch table.

+ There will could be a cross-generational romance at the center of the story.
"Power" doesn't mention any kind of younger-man-older-woman-romance in its lyrics, but the picture of Kanye at the buffet table with the slightly older lady suggests we could have the sequel to Harold And Maude on our hands.

+ There will probably be naked ladies.
I actually don't have a joke for this. There will probably be naked ladies. One of the leaked photos is of a naked lady in body paint (also at the buffet table). Kanye West videos have featured naked ladies before. You could say it's a go-to motif of his. Expect the expected in this one.

The music video for "Power" should arrive sometime this summer. Kanye's new album, which may or may not be called Good Ass Job, is due out in September. Watch Kanye's video for "Flashing Lights," below.

Ke$ha Goes Glam(?), Outdoes Herself In Her 'Take It Off' Video!

Ke$ha will be the first to admit that she's been keeping it pretty trashy in her videos up until now. The lo-fi animation of "Your Love Is My Drug," the "Animal House" aesthetic of "Tik Tok." You get the gist; she's a Dumpster-diving diva.

Which is what makes the leaked pics from Ke$ha's upcoming "Take It Off" video so surprising. Straightened hair? Sitting in heels on the back of a motorcycle? Fur?! What happened to our party animal?

It will be interesting to see if we're on the verge of Ke$ha 2.0 here. Summer's in full effect -- could be just the time for Ke$ha to switch up her style.

If that's the case, let's look back at her videos for "TiK ToK" and "Your Love Is My Drug," and remember the "lovesick crackhead" style we all knew and loved.

Star Spotting: Rihanna Sees All

After months of seemingly playing nowhere else but London, Rihanna has finally brought her Last Girl On Earth tour to North American shores. Above we see Rihanna, the aforementioned last girl, kicking things off in Vancouver. And I guess it was hot in ol' British Columbia because Rihanna only wore some rubber fencing as clothing.

Check this girl out! In full Grace Jones ferociousness! Rihanna's outfit is truly a onesie for the modern woman. The real winner here, though, are the geometrically astounding (though not particularly optometrist-approved) "glasses."

Rihanna is touring with Ke$ha throughout August. It's gonna be a hot summer. Check out Ri-Ri's "Rude Boy" and Ke$ha's "Blah Blah Blah" videos, both below.