If it’s a U.S. industry that has the potential to be cleaner and greener, chances are the Obama administration has already set aside some stimulus money for it. In February 2009, the new president signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law. Besides creating jobs, the bill promises to spur American companies to greener heights through investments totaling over $75 billion. Read the rest of this entry »
In an eventful week on “America’s Got Talent,” we saw a 63-year-old grocery store clerk “Push It,” a group of moms prove that clogging and firemen’s uniforms can be sexy, and judge Piers Morgan make a little girl cry. Read the rest of this entry »
So the much buzzed-about “America’s Next Top Model” season of the shorties is almost upon us, but after seeing the bios and photos of these vertically challenged girls, we think that “short” might be a bit of an overstatement. Sure, they aren’t traditional runway height, but the smallest girl measures up at 5′3″, which is at the taller end of the petite spectrum in most retail stores. And that’s not the only thing that has us worried about Cycle 13: between the absence of judge Paulina Porizkova, a revolving door of guest judges, and host Tyra Banks’ ever-expanding ego, this season could be the biggest letdown yet.
Let’s start with the new crop of girls. Looking over the photos of the 14 new wannabes, there are only maybe three who actually look short. They may range from 5′3″ to 5′7″, but they all seem to have freakishly long legs. That, combined with the tallest high heels available and a photographer who is a fan of shooting them from below, makes them all appear much longer than they actually are. Oh, and naturally, most of them have super-lanky body types with ultra-skintight pants on, accentuating the elongation effect. So this season doesn’t seem to be so much about short girls as it does about making smaller girls look like they are truly Amazonian in stature.
At the end of last season, my favorite permanent judge, Paulina, was fir