By: Bryan Enk | Movie Talk

It's strange how a world obsessed with comic book movies can no longer accept a man in tights... or at least red briefs. 

What Warner Bros. (and millions of fans) hope will be a Superman for the 21st century (following the lukewarm reception of Bryan Singer's well-intentioned but perhaps ultimately misguided 2006 would-be reboot, "Superman Returns") will be unveiled next summer, and with him a somewhat dramatic tweaking of that most dubious aesthetic challenge in bringing a superhero to the live-action screen: his costume.

Don't worry -- the "Man of Steel," played by Australian actor Henry Cavill, will still have the red cape and that awe-inspiring big capital "S" on his formidable chest. He'll even have a blue bodysuit and red boots. But what he won't have is the red briefs of previous big-screen Supermen played by Christopher Reeve and Brandon Routh.

"The costume was a big deal for me, and we played around for a long time," director Zack Snyder said in an interview with the New York Post. "I tried like crazy to keep the red briefs on him. Everyone else said, 'You can't have the briefs on him.' I looked at probably 1,500 versions of the costumes with the briefs on."

Snyder said the brief-less look was chosen to update Superman's outfit without completely throwing away what makes him iconic.  He said, "If you look at the costume, it's very modern, but the relationship to the original costume is strong.

By: Gil Kaufman-MTV

Twitter can be your best friend and worst enemy, often at the same time. For Chris Brown, the instant gratification microblogging service has helped him rebuild his fan base in the wake of his 2009 assault on once and possibly current girlfriend Rihanna.

But, it has also been the scene of a number of high-profile, profane beefs with other artists, comedians and stars that have added to a perception that Brown is a bit too quick to hit "send."

The latest dust-up, with comedian and TV producer Jenny Johnson,
 erupted over the weekend and resulted in Brown deleting his Twitter for the second time in three years.

But the beef with Johnson is just the tip of the Twitter iceberg for Brown, who has frequently taken to the service to post controversial pictures, defend himself against critics and promote his music and many spin-off products.

A history of Brown's Twitter blow-ups:

December 2009: Brown deleted his @mechanicaldummy Twitter account after an epic rant against music retailers
 and the music industry for what he claimed was "blackballing" of his Graffiti album in the wake of the Rihanna assault.

December 2010: In the wake of a series of homophobic tweets
 aimed at former B2K singer Raz-B, Brown issued a Twitter apology. "Yesterday was an unfortunate lack in judgment sparked by public Twitter attacks from Raz-B, who was bent on getting attention," Brown said of the virtual feud, which was sparked by a comment Raz made suggesting that Brown disrespects women.

June 2011: In the midst of the praise being heaped on singer Frank Ocean, Brown tweeted out a seeming dis, comparing the Odd Future crooner to some lesser-known singers. Ocean shot back with a tweet reading, "I Fawks wit chris brown, reminds me of a young sisquo or ike turner." Brown didn't appreciate the slight, firing off a series of tweets in which lashed out at Odd Future and appeared to be invite them to settle it in the street before eventually quashing the beef. The back-and-forth came a few months after Brown had tweeted his feeling that he just didn't get OF's "demonic music" style, which had sparked a Twitter feud with of leader Tyler, the Creator.

Copy by: Dailyeor

Louisiana is leading the way in a movement to secede from the United States. So far, petitions from all 50 states have been posted on the U.S. government website, We the People.

The federal government has 30 days from the time a petition garners 25,000 electronic signatures to respond. This week, Louisiana's petition passed the 30,000 mark.

But is this a good idea?  We seceded from the union once before, and it didn't end very well.  It probably wouldn't end well this time, either.

The state is broke, its health care system is in disarray, its education system has significant problems and some members of the state legislature are at war with the governor.

On top of that, according to the nonprofit Tax Foundation, Louisiana takes in $1.78 in federal money for every tax dollar it sends to Washington, D.C. That cash flow would stop after Louisiana became independent.

And besides, what would secession do to Gov. Bobby Jindal's obvious plans to move onward and upward in national government?

The first online petition was filed by a Slidell man, after President Barack Obama won the Nov. 6 election, defeating challenger Mitt Romney, the odds-on favorite in Louisiana.

Other Southern states soon gathered the required 25,000 signatures. As of Wednesday, there were more than 675,000 electronic signatures on 69 petitions from all 50 states.

By: Alex Temple - MSTv

First off, I know I might get a lotta negative feeling about this comment, but its my opinion and my editorial, so its my call.  I gotta say, I can't stand frigging Elmo.  This little red/orange, high-pitched speaking and laughing sock puppet annoys me to no end. When I first discovered the character as an adult, I thought Grover (way cooler) had an annoying kid or something.  But, this isn't about Elmo, but rather the man who perfected the character's image, Kevin Clash.

My annoyance by the iconic Muppet doesn't extend to its innovator; the man who turned a stale idea on Sesame Street into a marketing phenom and universal friend of children, Kevin Clash.

I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed in Clash resigning his position; and I'm sure I'm not alone in this feeling.  But, my concern isn't for the incident he's been involved in.  I actually don't care that he had a "relationship," or whatever, with some guys who are now obviously hustling him.  No, I care that a man who worked himself up from nothing, only to eventually achieve his dream is letting something like this take it all away from him.

Clash appears to be a big, likable chap and a little introverted.  But, no one can argue that he isn't amazingly talented in his craft.  He single-handledly grew a failed Muppet idea into the actual flagship of the most recognized and beloved educational kid's show in the U.S; if not the world. This is a man, hand-picked by his mentor Jim Henson (Muppet creator) himself, to be his heir apparent toward his work and vision being continued.  That's not a bad outcome for a young Black kid from Baltimore, Maryland who just loved puppets and got a chance to prove himself to his hero.
No, that's not a bad outcome at all.

By: BBC News/Reuters

Last week a man accused him of having sex with him when he was a teenager, which he denied.  The next day the man recanted the charge. A lawsuit by a second accuser has been filed, according to US lawyer Cecil Singleton.

Sesame Street says the controversy surrounding his personal life was "a distraction that none of us want".

Kevin Clash, 52, created the voice and persona for Elmo in the 1980s.  The character has since become one of Sesame Street's most popular.  Kevin Clash was given a leave of absence from the children's show last week.

'Sad day' A Sesame Street statement said: "Kevin Clash has helped us achieve a mission for 28 years and none of us, especially Kevin, want anything to divert our attention from our focus on serving as a leading educational organisation.

"The controversy surrounding Kevin's personal life has become a distraction that no-one wants, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his job and has resigned from Sesame Street.

"This is a sad day for Sesame Street."

Kevin Clash did not deny the original relationship, but said it happened after the young man was an adult.

"I am relieved that this painful allegation has been put to rest," he said in a statement. "I will not discuss it further."

Sesame Street producers defended Kevin Clash last week but said he had shown "poor judgement" in breaking company policy on using the internet.

Mr Clash was the subject of a documentary Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey last year and has also won several Daytime Emmy awards for his work on Sesame Street.

By STACEY PLAISANCE  The Associated Press

The Dalai Lama and an entourage of Tibetan monks are heading to New Orleans in May in a rally of support for communities still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.For more than a decade, Ronald Marks, dean of Tulane University’s School of Social Work, which is sponsoring the Dalai Lama’s trip, has been conducting a graduate social work class in north India. Students work with the Tibetan refugee population and with the Louisiana Himalaya Association, a local social service organization that provides services to Tibetan refugees in Dharamsala and in surrounding villages throughout north India.

“I firmly believe that whereas we have much to offer the Tibetan exile community, we also have much to learn from it,” Marks said during a news conference Monday on Tulane’s campus where a centuries-old oak tree was draped with colorful Buddhist prayer flags.

Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader plans to speak at Tulane’s commencement ceremony on May 18 in the Superdome, where he will be presented with an honorary degree.

He also will speak at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on May 17 and May 18, at the University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena. The public can buy tickets to listen.

The 77-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner makes annual trips to the U.S. in October and May. His visit to New Orleans has been more than a year in the planning.

During the visit, monks will create an elaborate sand mandala — a circular symbolic design — at the Morial Convention Center and perform multiphonic chanting, known as zokkay. They will lead a procession to the Mississippi River and disperse the mandala’s sand into the river.

By: Barbara Sharik

Request: If Louisiana secedes, leave New Orleans out of it

Is the milk of human kindness drying up? When did the bottom line become “all I want is all I can get”? For most my life, I’ve been humming the song, “The times, they are a changin’”… and they always will be. Nothing stays the same, and would we like it if it did?

I suppose what I’m saying is, I’m hearing a lot of “If I don’t look out for myself, who’s going to?” It’s the old “I’m going to pull up my pants and go home” adage. Relax. If you cannot find peace and happiness then make peace and happiness.

This defeatist, negative attitude has overwhelmed far too many. All this talk of seceding is outlandish. You know, if Louisiana gets enough authentic signatures on its petition, all I have to say is, I hope those irresponsible folks agree to annex New Orleans back to the rest of us. I mean, New Orleans is such an exquisite mixture of uniqueness, it would add nothing to the insanity that spurts from the mouths of miscreants. Seceding radicals wouldn’t know what to do with the carefree loving souls that blend and meld New Orleans into the city it is; they’d only bring joy to hearts bound and determined not to be joyful.

First thing we’ll need to do, should these 20 states secede, is set up an immigration policy. Daughter Theresa asked, “Am I going to need a passport to get into the seceding states.”

Another friend said, “I must note that threatening to secede is actually a non-story. It happens regularly. Not at all unlike all the people who threaten to leave the country if/when the other candidate should win the election. Yeah, sure you will. But then... you don't.”

Hmmm. But then… you don’t. Good point.

In my newest humor book about the South in general, and northeast Louisiana in particular, “BooCat Throws a Frisbee,” BooCat considers that maybe northerners are the way they are because it’s much cooler up there. Snow. Ice. Slush. Dark skies. Cold that seeps into the very marrow of the bones.

After the highly publicized 2012 elections, residents of 40 states signed petitions requesting permission from the White House to peacefully secede from the Union to form independent governments.  

The first petition signed on “We the People” page of the whitehouse.gov website originated from a resident of Slidell, a town in the state of Louisiana, on November 07, 2012.  Since the initial creation of the posting other states have followed suit, either creating carbon copies of the words stated by Louisiana residents, or, like Texas, have devised their own written petitions: “Peacefully grant the State of Texas to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government.”

In order for states to be recognized and their petitions taken into consideration under the Obama Administration, the White House requires 25,000+ signatures, in one month’s time, on each states petition before they will respond accordingly. As of Tuesday, November 13, Texas, now in their 57th attempt at secession, has 81,000 signatures, and Louisiana has 26,955. They are the only two states that have succeeded in gaining the required signatures.  

States Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Alabama are gaining ground with signatures ranging from roughly 16,000 to 18,000 signatures, and more signatures are being added every minute.   Every petition that reaches the required amount of signatures within the 30-day time limit receives a review by the appropriate executive department and a response from a White House staffer. 

The other states’ residents creating and signing petitions are as follows: Arkansas with 13,320 signatures; Colorado with 13,185; Florida with 19,241, Indiana with 12,074, Kentucky with 11,605, and New York with 10,634.  Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, South Carolina, and North and South Dakotas, have all had residents sign petitions requesting their secession from the Union.  However, with each state lacking substantial numbers supporting their request for seceding from the union. the amount of support for secession does not appear to be significant enough to bring all of the  states to the table before the December 10, 2012 deadline comes.

The last widespread withdrawal from the Union occurred from 1860-1861, when 11 Southern States seceded, and formed what was to become the Confederacy.

By Janice D’Arcy: The Washington Post

Celebrating the holidays with children can be magical, sometimes. Other times, it can be a season of migraine-inducing family problems. We asked a few experts to sort out some of the most vexing, such as navigating expectations, handling family drama, teaching children gratitude and figuring out how to explain Santa. Here’s hoping this advice gets you more joy and less jaw-clenching during the next few weeks.


Meredith Gelman, a Fairfax, VA-based clinical social worker who works with parents and families, said when parents have different ideas about gift-giving, the approach should be broken into three phases: creating a recipient list and budget, discussing each other’s expectations and reasons for giving, and negotiating.

“Identify ways that you and your partner might combine each other’s gift ideas: Can you still buy at the toy store while also purchasing toys and clothing for a local needy family?” she said. She suggested involving children in the conversation, too, so they begin to understand the underlying reasons for giving gifts.