POP CULTURE: NICK JONAS SET TO OPEN UP ABOUT HIS DIABETES ON CNBC

DO YOURSELVES A FAVOR AND TUNE IN TO CNBC THIS SUNDAY, JULY 19, AT 7P. NICK JONAS, OF THE UBER POPULAR ‘JONAS BROTHERS’ BAND, WILL SHARE HIS STRUGGLE WITH DIABETES 1 IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW. I’M A HEALTH NUT, & BELIEVE THAT EVERYONE WHO KNOWS DIABETES IS HEREDITARY IN THEIR FAMILY, AND THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW THEIR FAMILY HISTORY, TO WATCH WITH AN OPEN MIND. I APPLAUD NICK FOR DOOING THIS, AND I PRAY THAT PEOPLE TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THIS GREAT SERVICE HE’S PERFORMING FOR US. CHEERS.

NICK Jonas Opens Up about His Diabetes

The candid and extensive TV interview about his 4 year challenge with type 1 diabetes will be broadcast by CNBC on Sunday, July 19.

WESTPORT, CT—dLife, the world's largest and only multi-media diabetes resource, announced today that Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers will be featured in a candid and extended interview about his four-year challenge with type 1 diabetes. It will air on dLifeTV Sunday, July 19th, 2009 at 7:00PM ET on CNBC.

Jonas has succeeded in integrating diabetes management into the daily lifestyle of a pop music superstar, balancing frequent blood sugar testing, a restricted diet, and insulin delivery while touring and playing to 50,000 adoring fans. "Sometimes having diabetes can take away the joy of a situation," says Nick about the reality of diabetes. "It's a full life change."

Jonas agreed to the dLife interview to help raise awareness about diabetes, motivate others and ensure they know they are not alone. Nick's story will be delivered across dLife's comprehensive multi-media network that uses television, web, and other media to reach more than 1.5 million people living with diabetes every month.

"Nick Jonas is just 16 but he is a larger than life player in our culture and has a unique opportunity to share his story to benefit so many," said Howard Steinberg, founder and CEO of dLife. "He deserves credit for seizing this moment to help others. The reality is that every single American is touched by diabetes in some way. dLife's goal in interviewing Nick Jonas is to ensure he empowers the people that really need to hear his message."

Steinberg created dLife in part because he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes four decades ago.

"I was about Nick's age when I was diagnosed with diabetes," said Steinberg. "Thankfully, the tools available to manage this disease have advanced light years, but diabetes is still a 24 hour, 7 days a week disease that requires not just hypervigilance by patients, but awareness among their family and friends to achieve the highest quality of life possible."

POP CULTURE: MIKE VICK TO STAR IN THE UFL???

Is Michael Vick looking at a salary of $620,000 in 2009?

By MJD

There’s nothing close to a guarantee that says Michael Vick will be plying his trade in the National Football League in 2009; in fact, if you judge by Roger Goodell’s suspension-happy past, it’s more likely that Vick won’t be in the big leagues this season.

That would leave Vick looking at the upstart UFL and presumably their maximum salary of $620,000. That’s the figure at the high end of the new league’s salary scale, with $35,000 being what most of the anonymous UFL’ers will make.

There are pros and cons to the UFL path for Vick. On the pro side, he would be playing football again and he’d have an opportunity to knock some rust off and show that the skills are still there.

On the con side, if he plays for the relatively light UFL paycheck, he risks major long-term injury, in which case he’d never get back into the big leagues, where the real money is to be made. One could even argue that Vick would be better off just sitting out a year entirely, as opposed to taking the risk of playing a year in the UFL.

Given his debt situation, though, it’s hard to imagine a court saying to Vick, “Yes, feel free to just ignore that potential $620,000 salary.”

From a fan perspective, the UFL is probably the best thing. It would be exciting to see Vick on Sundays, but we probably wouldn’t see him as a full-time quarterback. Realistically, he’s probably looking at seeing action in just a few plays a game and spending most of his time riding pine.

In the UFL, though, he’d be the star attraction. Vick would almost certainly be running someone’s team, he’d be out there for every offensive play, we’d see the full range of his skills as a quarterback and he’d provide a reason to watch the new league.

From Vick’s perspective, though, it might not be the best idea. With each day that passes, though, it seems like it gets closer and closer to being his reality.

POP CULTURE: PARENTS & ALLOWANCES

POP CULTURE: PRESIDENT OBAMA TO PUMP $2 BILLION INTO COMMUNITY COLLEGES NATIONWIDE

GOOD NEWS FOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADS, AMBITIOUS WORKERS, THOSE LOOKING TO SHIFT CAREERS, & ANYONE LOOKING TO FURTHER THEIR EDUCATION. PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS UNVEILED A NEW PLAN TO FUND COMMUNITY COLLEGES OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS. READ BELOW FOR DETAILS, AND TAKE YA A$$E$ TO STAPLES & GRAB SOME SCHOOL SUPPLIES. CHEERS, & NOW IT’S TIME TO LEARN SOMETHING. TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE

the Los Angeles Times

Obama unveils plan to invest in community colleges

The president says he intends to inject $12 billion into the nation's two-year schools over the next 10 years to help struggling workers prepare for new careers.

By Peter Nicholas

Reporting from Warren, Mich. — With unemployment continuing to climb, President Obama on Tuesday unveiled a plan to pump $12 billion into the nation's community colleges over the next 10 years to help struggling workers prepare for new careers, saying a better-educated workforce was crucial to long-term prosperity.

"Time and again, when we have placed our bet for the future on education, we have prospered as a result -- by tapping the incredible innovative and generative potential of a skilled American workforce," Obama said.

In his appearance here at Macomb Community College and earlier in the day in Washington, Obama sought to draw a direct connection between recovery from the economic crisis and a broad array of administration initiatives, including education, the stimulus package and overhauling the healthcare system.

Before flying to Michigan, Obama acknowledged that unemployment might "tick up for several months," but he said his prescriptions, taken together, offered the best hope for creating jobs.

And here, in a state where the jobless rate tops 14% compared with the national average of 9.5%, the president pointed to the healthcare debate raging in Congress and said stabilizing medical costs was crucial to restoring prosperity.

"Now is the time to build a firmer, stronger foundation for growth that will not only withstand future economic storms, but that will help us thrive," he said on the Macomb campus. "To build that foundation, we have to slow the growth of healthcare costs that are driving us into debt."

He took a barely veiled shot at Republicans, who were in power when the recession began but who have relentlessly attacked his recovery plans.

"I love these folks who helped get us in this mess and then suddenly say, well, this is Obama's economy. That's fine. Give it to me," the president said. "My job is to solve problems, not to stand on the sidelines and harp and gripe."

Obama added: "The hard truth is that some of the jobs that have been lost in the auto industry and elsewhere won't be coming back. They are casualties of a changing economy."

He argued that community colleges could play an important role in helping displaced workers build new careers, but that they needed more resources at a time when state and local budget problems could lead to capped enrollments and fewer course offerings.

Obama's education plan would provide funds for new construction, online education and competitive grants.

About 6 million people are enrolled in community colleges in the U.S., but nearly half fail to complete degree and certificate programs, according to government figures.

The administration seeks to boost the number of graduates by 5 million over the next decade.

Obama, apparently mindful of polls showing many Americans are worried about the steep rise in government spending to combat the recession, noted that the school aid "isn't adding to the deficit."

Rather, he said, the money will come from ending subsidies to banks and private student loan companies.

Obama's appearance here came as Republicans pounded the argument that his economic policies were faltering. Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) held a news conference Tuesday timed with the president's visit to criticize his performance.

"Look, the stimulus bill hasn't worked, and it was sold as something that had to be done immediately, that would create jobs immediately, that it would have an immediate effect," Camp said.

Fighting back, the Democratic National Committee alerted reporters to a news release issued by the congressman's office in April touting a $12.7-million grant for a local airport -- money that was part of the stimulus program. In the release, Camp said the project would "stimulate the area's economy, help create new long-term job growth for the region and improve the airport experience for area travelers."

After leaving Michigan, Obama flew to St. Louis to throw out the first pitch at Major League Baseball's All-Star game.

POP CULTURE: MICROSOFT PRESENTS BING

I’VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT THIS NEW SEARCH ENGINE, COURTESY OF MR. GATE’S BRAINCHILD, MICROSOFT, CALLED BING. CURRENTLY I’M A GOOGLER, I WOULD SAY BY DEFAULT. I HAVE TRIED YAHOO, BUT I DON’T PARTICULARLY CARE FOR IT. I’LL TRY BING OUT & SEE WHAT HAPPENS THEREAFTER. I SUGGEST YOU DO THE SAME, AFTER YOU READ THIS ARTICLE, OF COURSE. CHEERS, & ENJOY.

Copyright 2009 by Virgo Publishing.

http://www.professionaldoordealer.com/

If you’ve been hearing a lot about something called “Bing” lately, it’s because the rebranded search engine is expected to (finally) give search king Google a run for its money.

Bing search service was unveiled last week, and its beta version is available now (officially launches June 3). The re-tooled Microsoft Live (also known as Kumo) has so far received favorable reviews from the tech community. So, why is Bing different than Google? That’s the big question.

First, Microsoft is marketing Bing as a “decision engine,” stating that the search functions bring more relevant results and organizes them in a more meaningful way. Bing offers tabs for different kinds of searches similar to Google and including “images,” “videos,” “maps” and “shopping.”

Aesthetically, Bing’s home page has been called “prettier” than Google’s, often featuring landscapes and other stunning photography, and is set to change daily.

According to Microsoft, Bing isn’t expected to be a “Google killer,” but merely a start to more improvements on their search engine that are to come; so if it doesn’t quite tickle your fancy yet, come back again soon.

TV NEWS: TBS ORDERS 'ARE WE THERE YET' FROM CREATOR ICE CUBE

MY BIG HOMEY, DARK BUFF BAGWELL MYSELF, TERRY CREWS IS BACK ON THE TUBE IN A MOVIE TURNED SITCOM, FROM MY OTHER BIG HOMEY, MR YEAH-E-YEAH, AKA ‘TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY’, AKA CRAIG, AKA DOUGH BOY, ICE CUBE. I THINK THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL, IF DONE RIGHT, TO ACTUALLY HAVE A LIFE ON TBS. LET’S HOPE IT DOES. I ROCK WIT TERRY & CUBE. CHECK IT OUT, & ENJOY

'Are We There Yet?' Becomes a Sitcom

TBS orders 10 episodes of the new comedy, starring Terry Crews and Ice Cube, that is based upon the hit movie of the same name, for 2010.

SANTA MONICA Calif. and VANCOUVER British Columbia, July 15 — Using the unique model created by Debmar-Mercury for Tyler Perry's "House of Payne" and "Meet the Browns," TBS is teaming with Joe Roth and Ice Cube for "Are We There Yet?," a sitcom starring Terry Crews ("Everybody Hates Chris") and based on the hit Revolution Studios film of the same name. TBS has ordered 10 episodes of the new sitcom, slated to premiere in June 2010, with the option for an additional 90 episodes. The series is produced by Cube Vision and distributed by Debmar-Mercury, with Revolution's Joe Roth and Cube Vision's Ice Cube and Matt Alvarez serving as executive producers, along with multiple Emmy-winning show-runner Ali LeRoi ("Everybody Hates Chris"). In addition to executive-producing, Ice Cube will have a recurring role.

This is the fourth television series for which Debmar-Mercury has utilized its groundbreaking approach to launching shows into distribution and syndication, following in the footsteps of Tyler Perry's two hit sitcoms, "House of Payne" and "Meet The Browns," which also air on TBS, and the new Jon Heder sitcom from writer-producers Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy ordered by Comedy Central last week.

The movie "Are We There Yet?," a breakout 2005 hit, told the story of Nick (Ice Cube), a smooth operator who is trying to land a date with Suzanne, a divorcee stuck working out of town over New Year's and miserable because she misses her kids. Nick gallantly offers to make her New Year's wish come true - and his own in the process - by driving her two children to be reunited with their mom. What Nick doesn't know is that Suzanne's children, whom he's never met, hate every man their mom dates on sight. The movie grossed more than $82 million at the box office and was followed in 2007 by a sequel, "Are We Done Yet?"

In the sitcom "Are We There Yet?," Crews will star as Nick, the character Ice Cube played in the film.

Debmar-Mercury's association with TBS began in 2006, when the company devised a groundbreaking distribution strategy for Tyler Perry's "House of Payne." Debmar-Mercury offered a 10-episode experiment in select markets that produced strong ratings, leading TBS to order a full-fledged series with an unprecedented 100 episodes. In January 2009, TBS premiered 10 episodes of Tyler Perry's "Meet the Browns" to strong ratings, leading the network to order additional episodes for a total of 80. So far this year, the two series have ranked as the top television programs in delivery of African-American viewers.

"When we set out to expand on the television comedy model that the amazing Tyler Perry has turned into a runaway success at TBS, we knew we had to be in business with Ice Cube, a cultural icon who can do it all: an acclaimed hip-hop artist, film phenomenon, actor, writer, director and producer," Debmar-Mercury co-president Mort Marcus said.

Debmar-Mercury co-president Ira Bernstein added, "To be back with TBS again and have a dream team of creative partners like Ice Cube, Joe Roth, Matt Alvarez and Ali LeRoi attached to this project, plus a breakout star in Terry Crews, this show has all the elements to be a major hit."

CELEBRITY INTERVIEW: THE DREAM

Napoleon Dynamite to Star in Sitcom

Comedy Central has ordered 10 episodes of a groundbreaking series, starring Jon Heder as an out of work computer IT specialist, to be co-written by Will Ferrell.

NEW YORK, NY —Comedy Central has ordered an initial run of 10 episodes of a new, untitled sitcom starring Jon Heder ("Napoleon Dynamite," "Blades of Glory") from Gary Sanchez Productions and Debmar-Mercury, it was announced today by Gary Sanchez Productions, Comedy Central and Debmar-Mercury.

Produced by Gary Sanchez Productions, the production company led by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy, distributed by Debmar-Mercury, the untitled, multi-camera sitcom for Comedy Central will star Jon Heder as an out of work computer IT specialist who leaves the big city and returns to his small home town, where he moves back in with his parents and younger brother. Ferrell, McKay and Henchy will write and produce the series.

Modeled after previous successful groundbreaking Tyler Perry sitcom ventures from Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein, Comedy Central has initially ordered 10 episodes of the Heder sitcom and will then have the option to order an additional 90 episodes upon a successful first-season run. Debmar-Mercury would retain the rights to take the series into syndication after its run on Comedy Central. Prior to this deal, Debmar-Mercury had partnered with Comedy Central in 2003 to distribute the broadcast syndication rights to the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series "South Park."

"Combining the creative genius of the Gary Sanchez gang with the brilliant business model established by Mort and Ira at Debmar-Mercury should ensure many, many great laughs in the years to come on Comedy Central says Michele Ganeless, president, Comedy Central. "With a proven track record featuring some of the most memorable comedy films ever made, we are so excited to be in business with Will, Adam, Chris and Jon," says Lauren Corrao, president, original programming and development, Comedy Central.

"We've always been fans of Jon's," McKay comments. "This deal gives us a chance to take some big creative swings without the risk of testing and focus grouping the show to death."

"We immediately jumped at the opportunity to be in business with this elite team of A-list comedy talents, who are among a handful of people in Hollywood capable of pulling off a project of this magnitude," notes Marcus. Adds Bernstein, "As we expand on a proven business model, we could not be more pleased that Comedy Central chose this concept to serve as its first full-fledged, live-action original sitcom."

David Bernath, Comedy Central's senior vice president, programming, negotiated the deal with Debmar-Mercury's Marcus and Bernstein.

Heder, 31, who came to fame starring as the title character in "Napoleon Dynamite," studied animation at Brigham Young University in Utah and appeared in student-produced short films, including a comedy, "Peluca." It was later expanded into the feature-length "Napoleon Dynamite." Its surprise hit status coming out of the Sundance Film Festival led the film into national distribution and, by the end of 2004, Heder's portrayal of the hapless Napoleon was widely imitated as the movie went on to gross more than a hundred times what it cost to make. Heder's acting career took off. He next appeared in the Reese Witherspoon romantic comedy "Just Like Heaven" (2005) and landed roles in other comedies, including the animated feature "Monster House" (2006) with Maggie Gyllenhaal and the ice-skating farce "Blades of Glory" (2007) with Ferrell.

SOURCE: POP TOWER