Mike Seeger

Mike Seeger, whose love for traditional songs and tunes inspired many other musicians — including Bob Dylan — to look for the rural roots of American music, died of cancer Friday night at his home in Lexington, Va. He was 75. Seeger was a highly respected performer and collector of traditional music and a major force in giving rural southern musicians a wider audience.

Mike Seeger quickly came to love traditional music, and began playing in earnest in his late teens. He developed major talent on banjo, guitar, fiddle, autoharp dulcimer, harmonica and several other instruments large and small. He sought out, learned from and recorded traditional musicians, starting in the Washington, D.C., area where he was raised, and ultimately traveling all over the south to find artists long forgotten or undiscovered.

He co-founded the New Lost City Ramblers with John Cohen and Tom Paley in the late 1950's. This trailblazing three-person string band combined the urban roots of its own members with a deep regard for music of the countryside and small towns. The Ramblers mined old 78 RPM recordings and visited with senior players, bringing largely forgotten music to life with new, yet traditional arrangements altogether more gutsy and respectful than those of most of the pop-folk groups active at the time.

Lady Gaga hermaphrodite picture

The “Lady Gaga hermaphrodite picture” above shows something between Lady Gaga’s legs that wouldn’t naturally be there if she was female alone. The picture was taken from video shot at the Glastonbury festival in England, and the original video confirms that the picture has not been doctored. There is one unconfirmed report we’ve found that claims Lady Gaga admitted that she was indeed a hermaphrodite.

As speculated later this week by Starrtrash, Lady Ga-Ga has confirmed that she indeed is a hermaphrodite. Pictures of her vagina, which shows a bulge resembling a tiny penis were released last week that started the rumours about her gender identity. Starrtrash confirmed the story with her blog entry earlier this morning.

Its not something that I’m ashamed of, just isn’t something that i go around telling everyone. Yes. I have both male and female genitalia, but i consider myself a female. Its just a little bit of a penis and really doesnt interfere much with my life. the reason I haven’t talked about it is that its not a big deal to me. like come on. its not like we all go around talking about our vags. I think this is a great opportunity to make other multiple gendered people feel more comfortable with their bodies. I’m sexy, I’m hot. i have both a poon and a peener.

Tax Free Weekend Nc

Nothing says "back to school" in North Carolina more than the traditional "tax-free weekend" in August. The state sales tax will be suspended for many retail purchases beginning Friday, until 11:59 p.m. Sunday. The tax-free weekend has become a shopping bonanza in the state since its inception in 2001. North Carolina is one of 16 states to suspend the sales tax to facilitate retail commerce, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators. It is especially popular before the traditional start of school and at the beginning of Christmas shopping season.

Exempt are clothing, footwear and school supplies of $100 or less per item; school instructional materials of $300 or less per item; sports and recreation equipment of $50 or less per item; computers of $3,500 or less per item; and computer supplies of $250 or less per item. Other items popular with back to school shoppers, such as clothing accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, protective equipment, wallets and furniture and "items used in trade or business" are not exempt, according to the state Department of Revenue. Normal sales tax on these items will apply.

Again this year, and for the 11th year running, local philanthropist Sandra Walker will be in her traditional spot Saturday in the Wal-Mart parking lot, encouraging folks to support Operation Backpack. The McDowell County Schools will have a school bus on site, and shoppers are asked to buy a few more school supplies than their own children may need, in order to fill that bus with supplies for the county's neediest children.

Steven Tyler Dead

Steven Tyler's the latest celebrity to be chased by a rumor that he has died. It has to be said that, despite the pictorial evidence to the right there of him just before his most recent concert, Steven Tyler is not dead yet. The rumor comes from two different sources: the first that there's simply been a series of such rumors that this or that famous person as died.

The second source is that while performing at a concert in South Dakota Steve Tyler did fall offstage. But far from this causing Steven Tyler's death it left him with head, neck and shoulder injuries. He required stitches to his head and has a broken shoulder blade which, while painful is very rarely fatal. He is now back home being treated by his own doctor.

Here's the video recorded by a fan at the concert and which is, partly, the source for the story that Steven Tyler has died. This here internet allows such rumors to thrive and spin around the globe at the speed of light (which is what electrons move at) and given that several famous people did indeed die recently, there's a certain believability about another one doing so.

So You Think You Can Dance Winner 2009

'So You Think You Can Dance' finale 2009: A winner is chosen Jeanine, 18, managed to overcome a less-than-versatile partner (the talented popper Phillip Chbeeb) and an almost crippling Russian folk dance routine a few weeks back. She really came to the fore the week she partnered with Jason Glover in the thrilling heart locket routine choreographed by season two second-place finisher Travis Wall.

"So You Think You Can Dance" fans crowned Jeanine Mason, the under-the-radar (until recently) contemporary dancer from Florida, as "America's favorite dancer" for season five. She beat out second-place finisher Brandon Bryant, 20, a technically flawless (and inhumanly strong) contemporary dancer whose personality didn't seem to pop as much.

She gets $250,000 (whoo-hoo!) and the cover of "Dance Spirit" magazine (whoo ... hoo). Before a huge crowd at Los Angeles' Kodak Theater, a clearly overcome Jeanine said, "I've spent my whole life looking up to amazing dancers and amazing people, and I always wanted to be a role model. ... I never thought I would be giving an acceptance speech in the Kodak, but thank you Academy!"

Heidi Montag Playboy Pics

Heidi Montag’s Playboy issue will hit newsstands soon and we have a sneak peek at some of her pictures here along with video! Heidi Montag posed for Playboy and the Hills princess has posted a picture of herself holding the cover. You can check out the picture here, but it looks like Heidi stood true to her word and didn’t pose nude. She graces the cover in a white bikini, all covered in mud of course. And I’m not saying she doesn’t rock a bikini, but we have seen tons of photos of Heidi in a bikini.

Though Heidi says she will be featured on two Playboy covers, there is no real nudity. So for all of you hoping to see Heidi Montag nude, think again. You will just have to get by with those bikini pics! Or her Stuff magazine, or Maxim photos. A source says, “There is nudity. It’s tasteful – she had a lot of fun with it.” And her husband, Spencer Pratt definitely approves. Duh! He probably set it all up!

Heidi is featured in the September issue of Playboy and it hits newsstands here. What are your thoughts on the cover? We will have the rest of the pictures as soon as they hit the net! "She will kill it," Holly said. "I know she will give the best performance ever. She's a phenomenal performer and dancer. That's what she's born to do. I think when she's stepping into her own in singing and concerts, people will see that that's where she really shines."

Vanessa Hudgens leaked photos

Vanessa Hudgens leaked photos are indeed real, they are of the High School Musical star poppet herself. This isn't the first time we've had leaked photos of Vanessa Hudgens either: back in 2007 full frontal pics were allegedly released by her then boyfriend, Zac Efron. Vanessa Hudgens lawyers have confirmed that the new set of photographs which have leaked are indeed of her.

Which brings us to our major problem about the Vanessa Hudgens leaked photos: we can't show them to you. For she was underage when they were taken. That means that it would not only be an offence for us to show them to you, it would in fact be an offence for you to look at them. Thus probably better that we don't all start breaking the law by trying to post them.

It also has to be said that the timing of this leak of racy photos of Ms. Hudgens seems a little convenient, as my colleague points out. Vanessa Hudgens is one of the leads in a movie opening next week called "Bandslam". Sex has, after all, been known to sell things in the past. Just think of the way that nudy photos of Megan Fox started popping up all over the internet a week or two before the latest Transformers movie came out. It couldn't be that Hollywood PR types are on the case, could it?