Greyhound Posts Open Letter To Alec Baldwin Asking Him To Ride With Them Before Criticizing

That silly Alec Baldwin, alienating transportation companies left and right! First he got kicked off an American Airlines flight for refusing to turn off his phone; now he’s brought Greyhound into the mess. In a column for HuffPo this week, he complained about the “post-9/11 paramilitary bearing” of plane travel and power-tripping flight attendants: But there are many now who walk the aisles of an airplane with a whistle around their neck and a clipboard in their hands and they have made flying a Greyhound bus experience.

Now Greyhound’s President and CEO Dave Leach has issued an open letter to the 30 Rock actor, taking exception at the “shitty travel” stereotype the bus company has been lumped under:

I’m the first to admit that Greyhound has had some challenges in the past, so I understand that you probably were basing your comments on that alone. But we’ve made so many changes in recent years to significantly improve the travel experience. My guess is you’ve never traveled with us, but I ask you to give us a try for a number of reasons and see for yourself that we’re really a great way to travel.

[Re: the new buses' free wifi:] I think you especially would find the latter two amenities exciting, because we don’t require our customers to turn off their electronic devices… ever. You could therefore play “Words With Friends” during your entire trip and nobody would give you any grief over it.

I almost didn’t write up this post until I saw that Leach had included the Words with Friends dig, and then I knew I had to. He also invites Baldwin to meet him in New York City (probably at Port Authority) and take a fun, four-hour ride to Boston. Personally, I’d suggest Baldwin take the Greyhound off-shoot Bolt Bus; though Greyhound has definitely improved since I started taking it to Boston in 2008, Bolt is still the best the company has to offer.

So hopefully this’ll teach Alec Baldwin to lay off on criticizing big brands for a little while, til this all blows over.

P.S. He hasn’t come back to Twitter yet.

You can reach this post's author, Natalie Zutter, on twitter or via e-mail at natalie@crushable.com.

Jennifer Aniston Voted Hottest Woman of All Time

[Source: OMG! YAHOO, US Weekly]

Jennifer Anistonbeat every single famous lady (past and present) out there in a recent MensHealth.com poll, which anointed her the Hottest Woman of All Time.

PHOTOS: Jen's amazing bikini body

At the very top of the list of 100 ladies, the 42-year-old Horrible Bosses star bestedRaquel Welch (#2),Marilyn Monroe (#3),Britney Spears (#4) and Madonna (#5). Angelina Jolie -- love to Aniston's ex-husband Brad Pitt -- landed at number 10.

"Funny is sexy, and Jennifer Aniston is funny," explains the site of Aniston's coup. "Her down-to-earth persona makes her seem attainable. . . And her all-too-human love life off screen inspires sympathy that not even a string of bland romantic comedies can diminish. Other sex symbols drift toward one-dimensionality, becoming flat icons in the process, but throughout her career Aniston has remained sexy, funny, and unmistakably real."

PHOTOS: Jen vs. Angelina -- who's hotter?

Aniston spoke with the site about the sexy honor -- and names her own "hottest woman" pick.

"It's a tie between Bridgitte Bardot and Gloria Steinem," Aniston says of the French screen siren and the feminist hero. "But if I had to choose one, I'd say Gloria because, well, she's the full package. That's sexy."

The Friends alum -- who is now hot and heavy with beau Justin Theroux -- also dishes on what she finds sexiest in a man.

PHOTOS: Why Justin and Angelina are similar

"Sexiest thing about a man—other than abs—is if he can make me laugh, has compassion, kindness, and an accurately sized ego.

Kris Humphries Felt Ambushed by Good Morning America Interview

[Source: OMG! YAHOO, TVGuide]

Kris Humphries says he feels ambushed by the rapid-fire line of questioning about his short-lived marriage to Kim Kardashian during his appearance on Good Morning America, TMZ.comreports.

Humphries appeared on the morning show Friday, where anchor Josh Elliot asked him about his separation from Kardashian. "For me, it's just certain things happen in life and you've got to move forward," Humphries said, getting more and more uncomfortable as the questions continued.

Report: Kris Humphries wants an annulment; calls marriage a fraud

TMZ reports that Humphries was aware he'd be asked about the relationship, but didn't expect to be grilled. However, an ABC rep insists, "There were no ground rules."

Do you think Good Morning America was out of line? Watch the video below and tell us in the comments section:

Spike Lee and Eddie Murphy Team for Marion Barry Biopic

[Source: COMINGSOON.NET]


Spike Lee has found a leading man in Eddie Murphy, reports The Washington Post, who say that the Tower Heist actor will play former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry in a biopic based on both Harry Jaffe and Tom Sherwood's 1994 nonfiction book, "Dream City: Race, Power and the Decline of Washington, D.C." and Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer's 2009 documentary The Nine Lives of Marion Barry.


Barry served three straight terms as Mayor of the District of Columbia between 1979 and 1991. Despite being arrested and convicted for crack cocaine use in 1990, Barry ran again and won a fourth term between 1995 and 1999 and, despite no longer being in office, is still referred to with the nickname of D.C.'s "Mayor-for-life".


While there is no announced timeline for the biopic, Murphy is slated to next appear early next year in A Thousand Words and will provide the voice of the title character in Hong Kong Phooey. Lee, meanwhile, will helm the big screen remake of Park Chan-wook's Old Boy.

Read more: Spike Lee and Eddie Murphy Team for Marion Barry Biopic - ComingSoon.net http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=85022#ixzz1gDg2GSV1

The Academy Announces 15 Films Up for VFX Oscars

[Source: COMINGSOON.NET]

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films have been selected for consideration for Achievement in Visual Effects for the 84th Academy Awards

The list includes:

• Captain America: The First Avenger
• Cowboys & Aliens
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
• Hugo
• Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
• Real Steel
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
• Sucker Punch
• Super 8
• Thor
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon
• The Tree of Life
• X-Men: First Class

In early January, the members of the Academy's Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee, who selected the 15 films, will narrow the list to 10.

All members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the 10 shortlisted films on Thursday, January 19.  Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

Read more: The Academy Announces 15 Films Up for VFX Oscars - ComingSoon.net http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=85024#ixzz1gDftj4fB

A New The Dark Knight Rises Teaser One-Sheet Revealed!

[Source: COMINGSOON.NET]

As the excitement builds to a new trailer, Warner Bros has revealed the latest teaser poster for The Dark Knight Rises. Alluding to the possible "breaking of Batman" in this chapter, Bane (Tom Hardy) is front and center in this art, stepping away from a shattered mask. What do you think?

Coming Soon and Superhero Hype! were privy to the prologue playing before Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol - you can read all about that right here.

Click on the image below to see it in hi-res!

Read more: A New The Dark Knight Rises Teaser One-Sheet Revealed! - ComingSoon.net http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=85030#ixzz1gDfgkhS0

Motorola wins injunction against Apple in Germany, again

[Source: GSMARENA]

Apple has been having a lot of legal headaches lately and now there's a new one. Now, it's Motorola that's causing the Cupertino-based company trouble as it won a preliminary injunction against several Apple products in Germany. It's not the first time either.

Anyway, today's injunction affects practically all Apple gadgetswith GPRS connectivity - the iPhone, iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, iPad 3G and iPad 3GS have been named, but the 4S is infringing on Motorola's patent as well (it came out after the suit was filed so it's not mentioned explicitly).

Motorola hasn’t won the case yet, but if they choose they can enforce that injunction in Germany. To do that, they need to provide a €100 million bond. That's a risk for the company that only recently stopped its decline - if they end up losing the suit, the money will have to be paid out to Apple. Also, Apple might appeal this decision and win a stay of the injunction.

It's hard to say how things will go. Motorola's patent is probably vital for GPRS and Apple can't do without it. Motorola might be forced to offer a license to Apple, but for now Moto's lawyers have managed to avoid that, at least until Apple pays for past damages (starting from 2007).

Apple doesn’t want to pay for past damages - that can turn out to be rather pricy - and is seeking to invalidate Motorola's patent and solve its problem (in this particular case) outright.

A second hearing is scheduled for February, we'll see how things progress then. By the way, Apple is sued for that exact same patent in the US, too, but things seem to be going better for the iPhone maker there (that case hasn’t been resolved yet, either).

The world of patents is very complicated and often confusing. You can read FOSS Patent's blog post on the courts ruling if you have a head for such legal matters.

HP to contribute webOS to the open source community

[Source: GSMARENA]

The long silence regarding webOS has been broken but in a different way than what most people expected. Instead of shutting down the project once and for all, HP has announced that they will be contributing webOS to the open source community.

This means that HP will make the underlying source code of the OS available to developers under an open source license. You can take it, customize it and use it for free as long as you give back to the open source community. This is similar to the way Linux and Android operate. HP itself will also be investing and supporting the project, so those with webOS devices right now can breathe easy.

Regarding making webOS device, HP made it clear that they have no intention to get back to the mobilephone segment ever again, but according to The Verge they may look into making webOS based tabletsin the future.

What has happened here is simple. HP realized the potential of webOS and found it too useful to shut it down completely. However, they do not want to invest more into the platform to make it competitive enough to go against established players such as iOS and Android. So they chose the only option that they had: open sourcing it. This way they are hoping that others would step in and help develop the platform so that they don't have to.

In a way, it is a win-win for almost everyone. HP does not have to spend much on webOS, other device manufacturers such as HTC (who once were interested in webOS) don't have to spend a dime to use it and even small-time developers can take it and run it on devices other than what HP/Palm have been selling for now.

Whether this is good for the platform, is something only time will tell.

Louis CK Sells Latest Film, DRM-Free, For $5 Per Download

Following Radiohead into the wild world of micropayments, comedian Louis CK is offering his latest concert film, Live At The Beacon Theatre, as a DRM-free download or stream for $5.

Once payment is tendered, downloaders can both stream and download the movie twice. Once those four chances are used up you have to pay again, although because the MP4 file is DRM-free there is nothing stopping you from watching again and again, projecting it on a building across the street, or making a tiny flip book of Louis CK excerpts. However, Louis does ask that you not “torrent” his film:

To those who might wish to “torrent” this video: look, I don’t really get the whole “torrent” thing. I don’t know enough about it to judge either way. But I’d just like you to consider this: I made this video extremely easy to use against well-informed advice. I was told that it would be easier to torrent the way I made it, but I chose to do it this way anyway, because I want it to be easy for people to watch and enjoy this video in any way they want without “corporate” restrictions.
Please bear in mind that I am not a company or a corporation. I’m just some guy. I paid for the production and posting of this video with my own money. I would like to be able to post more material to the fans in this way, which makes it cheaper for the buyer and more pleasant for me. So, please help me keep this being a good idea. I can’t stop you from torrenting; all I can do is politely ask you to pay your five little dollars, enjoy the video, and let other people find it in the same way.

While I’m sure this is already available on the pirate boards, it’s a bold step for a comedian to break with the traditional models of distribution and it’s a testament to CK’s understanding of his young, plugged-in audience. Given that his eponymous television show is probably the best thing on TV since Freaks & Geeks and that his comedy is top notch, it behooves you to check it out.

A Brief Guide to Conservatives Freaking Out over Newt Gingrich

[SOURCE: GAWKER]

2012

It did not seem possible that Newt Gingrich, star of the biggest political flameout of the 1990s, would find himself weeks away from the 2012 Republican presidential nominating contests and leading by double-digits in both national polls and three of the four early primary states. But thank Allah he is! Go Newt! This is the best thing that's ever happened. Now let's watch some elite conservatives pundits squirm.

Squirm, David Brooks!

As nearly everyone who has ever worked with him knows, he would severely damage conservatism and the Republican Party if nominated

HRH Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal banking pamphlet, with her regular Friday hallucination:

Those who know him fear-or hope-that he will be true to form in one respect: He will continue to lose to his No. 1 longtime foe, Newt Gingrich. He is a human hand grenade who walks around with his hand on the pin, saying, "Watch this!"

What they fear is that he will show just enough discipline over the next few months, just enough focus, to win the nomination. And then, in the fall of 2012, once party leaders have come around and the GOP is fully behind him, he will begin baying at the moon. He will start saying wild things and promising that he may bomb Iran but he may send a special SEAL team in at night to secretly dig Iran up, and fly it to Detroit, where we can keep it under guard, and Detroiters can all get jobs as guards, "solving two problems at once." They're afraid he'll start saying, "John Paul was great, but most of that happened after I explained the Gospels to him," and "Sure, Daniel Kahneman won the Nobel Prize, but only after I explained how people can think fast, slow and at warp speed. He owes me everything."

Ramesh Ponnuru of the National Review, which is more and more "Romney Country" by the day:

"The people who know Gingrich best - the ones who worked for him, or worked with him, or watched him closely as journalists in the 1990s - have almost all concluded that he is a bad fit for the presidency," Ponnuru said in an email. "That judgment is shared by conservative and moderate congressmen, by people who support Romney and people who want an alternative to him. The common denominator is alarm at what Gingrich would do to the Republican party as nominee and to the country as president."

And then George Will and Charles Krauthammer also despise him, since they're just old cranks.

These pundits' collective fears, though, is best represented by the final couple of seconds of this first Romney attack ad on Gingrich. The ad seems to be over, until Gingrich's fat head reappears, with ominous music. This is going to be so fun! You'll need to bring a few sets of pants.

Lindsay Lohan’s Playboy Pictures Are OUT!

[SOURCE: GAWKER]

Lindsay Lohan's much-discussed "boobs, ass, and vag" Playboy photoshoot has leaked online in its entirety (NSFW link) and it's a massive letdown. First, there is no "vag." Second, they photoshopped out her freckles and tattoos, which is a pretty significant change; we aren't looking at Lindsay, but a Lindsay-shaped work of graphic art. Third, this is just the poor man's version of herother nude Marilyn Monroe photoshoot, which appeared in New York in 2008.

In other words, Playboy paid Lindsay Lohan a rumored $1 million for a cheesier, faker version of something she did for free in a mainstream publication three years ago. (New York's version even showed more pubic region! Albeit through transparent scarves.) Yes, she looks beautiful, but check out all the things these photos are missing:

• Rib tattoo: Billy Joel lyrics. Click images for NSFW versions.
• Butt tattoo: "La bella vita."
• Forearm tattoo: Marilyn Monroe quote.
• Assorted hand and wrist tattoos: A star, a heart, "shhh," "breathe."
• Freckles, in some pictures.
• Originality.
• Honesty in butt photoshopping. Should it really be so... pointy?

We're disappointed in you, Hef. Yes, Lindsay looks pretty in these pictures, but we've seen more interesting nudes on Miley Cyrus' MySpace page. America expects better of its professional peddlers of smut. [NSFW Fleshbot, Hypervocal, top image via Getty]