Martha Stewart says in a new interview that her nickname in prison was M. Diddy, that house arrest is "hideous" and that her prosecution was about bringing her down "to scare other people." In the interview, Stewart tells Vanity Fair magazine she agrees with those who say her crime - lying about a personal stock sale - is far different from massive corporate scandals such as Enron, WorldCom and Tyco. "Of course that is what it's all about," Vanity Fair quotes Stewart as saying. "Bring 'em down a notch, to scare other people. If Martha can be sent to jail, think hard before you sell that stock."

Stewart has two TV shows planned for the fall season - a one-hour daytime talk show Martha and a version of the NBC reality show The Apprentice. She says her version of The Apprentice will be different than Donald Trump's and that she doesn't want to be portrayed as mean and harsh. She says she would never use Trump's catchphrase, "You're fired." "We are trying to come up with other ways to say it," she says. "For instance, if someone is from Idaho, I could say, `You're back in Boise for apple-picking time.'"

Asked whether she owes anyone an apology, Stewart says she is sorry for the "chaos" her prosecution caused but suggests she is not personally to blame. "You can't be sorry for something that - let's see, how can I say this? I'm on appeal. You don't appeal if you think that you should be sorry," she says.

She even laughs at a joke made by Jon Stewart of The Daily Show - that she could make a shiv, or small blade, out of a lamb shank. "He was talking about me after I left, and - I have to say - Jon Stewart is even better looking in person than he is on TV," Stewart says. "I have such a crush on him."

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2005 Now One Second Longer

If you were hoping for a little extra time this year then your hopes have been answered. The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) has announced that they will be adding one extra second this year to make up for a slowdown in the Earth's rotation. This is also known as a leap second. A LiveScience.com article explains the need for the extra second.

On Dec. 31, the clock will read like this as it leads into Jan. 1, 2006:

23h 59m 59s ... 23h 59m 60s ... 00h 00m 00s. Normally, the seconds would roll from 59 directly to 00.

The IERS keeps track of time by measuring the Earth's rotation. The IERS measurement is then compared to an atomic clock. When there is a difference between the time on the atomic clock and the time measurement by the IERS the leap second is used. There have been 22 leap seconds since 1972.

Posted on July 8, 2005
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The Scientology Secrets of Katie Holmes' Ring

The National Enquirer reported it, so we know it's true. The engagment ring given by Tom Cruise to Katie Holmes is surrounded by intrigue. Gossip maven Mike Walker shares the secrets of the one ring, as uncovered by his inside sources:

Did it come from Tiffany... Harry Winston?? TomKat 1 and TomKat 2 keep stone-walling about the origin of the most mysterious ring since Gollum hissed "I wants my Precious-s-sss" during the Middle Earth wars — but I've discovered the untold secret behind that whopping engagement bauble Tom Cruise slipped on the finger of soonto- be bride Katie Holmes! First amazing fact: Tom did not pick out the ring himself, my sources say. He left the selection to a trusted Church of Scientology adviser! Second amazing fact: The ring's alleged to hold special "spiritual powers." Third amazing fact: Tom's Scientology advisor arranged the purchase of the ring, say sources, from "a special jeweler who deals only in diamonds that are found in a spiritual cave in Africa." (Think that's weird? I'm surprised My Favorite Alien actually bought it on this planet!)

Well, now you know.

Posted on July 8, 2005
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London is Hit Hard

Our thoughts are with our British readers. Here are some links that provide updated information on the London bombings:

Wikipedia Current Events. Helpful pages with frequent updated info and links.

The London Line blog. Blog from the alt-weekly newspaper.

BBC.

The Guardian Blog. This blog from The Guardian newspaper (UK) has good, ongoing coverage.

Update: A post on BloggersBlog.com has more information about blogs and citizen journalism sites covering the attacks.

Posted on July 7, 2005
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John O'Hurley Was Robbed

Well, it's official: Dancing With the Stars was rigged! John O'Hurley (who played J. Peterman on Seinfeld) and his partner Charlotte Jorgensen gave a stunning performance at the finale this evening. John shimmied. He shaked. He hurled Charlotte over his shoulder, as carefully coached by Patrick Swayze (ok, the Swayze thing was a trifle weird, but hey...he can dance.) Charlotte took her hair out of her bun and turned into a Rockette. The judges were ecstatic......

Then, out came Kelly Monaco and her stoic Russian partner, Alec Mazo. They did the rhumba/samba/salsa combo. She stumbled. She missed steps. And when she did a walk-over off the steps she nearly fell. In fact the Russian lost his cool and closed his eyes in terror as she ran up behind him for the windmill lift. She made it without falling on her ass, but she did land on both knees so hard after one move that we swear, we heard cartilage pop....And yet the judges (after first inhaling as if steeling themselves for the lie) gave them all 10's! And they won.

OK, here's our theory. There is no question O'Hurley and Charlotte won. But the execs at ABC were worried that the demographic was skewing too old, so they picked the plucky Kelly who plays Sonny Corinthos' pregnant mistress on General Hospital. She's funny. She's likeable. And she looks really hot in her rhumba outfit. But she can't dance to save her life.

We thought reality TV was real. That it wasn't rigged. When we found out that those "unscripted moments" on reality shows are actually written by writers and editors who now want to unionize, we didn't want to believe that it was all a scripted sham. But now we do. We're crushed. And O'Hurley was robbed.

Posted on July 7, 2005
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No Canada Day Fun For Corn Cob Bob

Corn Cob Bob, the mascot for the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, was banned from this year's Canada Day festivities. Corn Cob Bob was originally given approval by the National Capital Commission to appear at this year's Canada Day event. Bob was given a booth and planned to hand out stickers and balloons -- but the decision was thwarted by Shell Canada, a big sponsor of this year's event. Apparently, Canada Day is not big enough for both Shell Canada and Corn Cob Bob. Shell Canada doesn't even deny kicking out Corn Cob Bob according to an Ottawa Sun news story:

As the "official fuel for Canada Day," sponsor Shell Canada filled the tanks of the Chrysler vehicles that NCC staff drove.

Shell Canada spokeswoman Benita Davis insisted the "significant amount of money" invested gave the company exclusive rights to advertise fuel at the celebration.

"We own the fuel category," said Davis. "We asked the organization to respect our exclusivity."

CBC Ottawa reports that the National Capital Commission told the Canada Renewable Fuel Association that there was a mixup and Corn Cob Bob will be welcomed back next year. In the meantime, Corn Cob Bob has a busy summer schedule -- he will be handing out balloons, temporary tattoos and teaching children about renewable fuels at 14 more events throughout the summer.

(Via Sploid)

Posted on July 6, 2005
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Jessica Simpson Livens Up the 4th of July

ABC decided to go with a sure thing last night and aired for the second time Nick and Jessica's Tour of Duty, which we somehow missed the first time around. Nick and Jess went to Germany to cheer up the troops, Jessica learned to shoot a rifle (nearly killing everyone present, then amazingly hitting the bulls-eye), Nick got to wear a giant padded suit and be attacked by a German Shepard, then Jimmy Kimmel asked why we still had troops in Germany: hadn't we already beaten them? But the highlight of the evening had to be an inebriated-looking Willie Nelson accompanying Jess in a fringed mini-dress and cowboots as she shimmied her way through a steamin' hot rendition of These Boots Are Made For Walkin'". It was the sexiest number Willie Nelson has ever been involved with in his entire career.

And in other breaking Jessica Simpson news, she poses on the cover of GQ magazine, which posits the theory that behind the blond facade there is a girl with an IQ of 160.

Simpson—who says if she weren't a star she'd be a therapist, like her minister/therapist-turned-Svengali father—does show distinct signs of an actual interior life. In her bags today, she carries In the Company of Soldiers by Rick Atkinson; The Painted Kiss by Elizabeth Hickey; The Book of Positive Quotations; a rhyming dictionary; The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style; a paraphrased New Testament; "and then of course Nicholas Sparks," she says, holding up True Believer. These—along with a forty-gig iPod and Atkins-approved chocolate-mint cookies—are some of the tools Simpson is using to craft the next stage of her career.

It's a theory, anyway.

Posted on July 5, 2005
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Snapple's World Record Attempt Ends in Sticky Mess

Snapple picked the middle of summer to try and break a Guiness World Record for the largest popsicle ever. Unfortunately, the 25-foot-tall popsicle melted before it could even be unloaded off the truck. CNN has a video of the giant melting popsicle. MSNBC.com has a report and picture of the gooey disaster as the enormous kiwi-strawberry treat melted and flooded part of downtown Manhattan.

The 25-foot-tall, 17.5-ton treat of frozen Snapple juice melted faster than expected Tuesday, flooding Union Square in downtown Manhattan with kiwi-strawberry-flavored fluid that sent pedestrians scurrying for higher ground.

Firefighters closed off several streets and used hoses to wash away the sugary goo.

Snapple had been trying to promote a new line of frozen treats by setting a record for the world's largest popsicle, but called off the stunt before it was pulled fully upright by a construction crane. Authorities said they were worried the thing would collapse in the 80-degree, first-day-of-summer heat.

The New York Post reported that the sticky kiwi-strawberry flood even caused several bicyclists to wipe out.

"I can't believe this, it's so dangerous," said cyclist Dave Currente, who took a nasty tumble.

The Fire Department raced to East 17th Street between Broadway and Union Square East to hose down the super-slick road menace.

The Post had the best headline for the incident with Snapple Slips Up In Ice-Pop Flop. MSNBC.com's headline read Disaster on a Stick. Other headlines about the Snapple PR disaster that we liked include:

Chicago Tribune: Is There a Record for a Kiwi-flavored Flood?

BevNet.com: Snapple Unfreezes Funds to Clean up Unfrozen Popsicle Disaster.

Blogcritics.org: Snapple's Biggest Mistake

Norwich Bulletin: Stupid Popsicle Tricks

WebProNews.com: Attack Of The Giant Ice Pop

Newsday: World's Largest Ice Pop? More Like Red Sea of Slush

The Herald, UK: World's Largest Ice Lolly Meets With a Sticky End in New York

CNN: Largest Ice Pop Has its Moment

Posted on July 1, 2005
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