I watched the Super Bowl halftime show mostly to see what Madonna was going to do to shock her way back into the public consciousness via the biggest game of the year. The answer: Not much to shock, other than still look so frigging awesome in her 50s. The thing that I noticed the most was that when Madge was on stage, even in her obvious nervousness, that I couldn’t take my eyes off of her, no matter which of her special co-stars – from Nicki Minaj to M.I.A. to even high priest of funky crazy Cee Lo Green – showed up.

So it wasn’t until after the Super Bowl was over and I was fighting with my DVR over what it did with my recording of ”The Voice” (curses!)  that I found out that rapper M.I.A. had flipped the bird, presumably to corporate America, traditional ideals, traditional American, corporate ideals and your sweet grandmother. And while NBC and the NFL point fingers trying to blame the foul-up on each other, I say that she who bore the finger bears the blame.

And to her I say: Oh, stop. Really. You’re embarrassing yourself.

I know that it helps one’s cred to be the person that tells the Man what they can do with their corporate acceptance and what not, and that appearing on one of the most American of Americana events hasn’t changed you. I mean, Clint Eastwood did a commercial during it about the American spirit. That’s some traditional stuff right there. And I can see that if you were an artist who built their reputation on being raw, rude and outspoken, then you might want to stand up in front of the largest audience you’re probably ever gonna have and say “I bow to no one, suckers! I am my own voice, and I will use your big corporate American dealie-do to spread that to the masses!”
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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say Heather Locklear was taken to a Southern California hospital for precautionary reasons after an emergency call was made from her home.

Paramedics and sheriff’s deputies responded Thursday afternoon to Locklear’s home in Westlake Village, which is 35 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

Ventura County sheriff’s Capt. Mike Aranda says he did not know Locklear’s condition but deputies are not investigating.

Locklear has been hospitalized several times over the years. In 2009, she pleaded no contest to reckless driving after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of prescription medication.

The 50-year-old actress’s publicists did not return messages seeking comment.

Locklear and “Melrose Place” co-star Jack Wagner recently ended their engagement. She was previously married to Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, and they have a daughter together.

The publicist for a lesbian actress and musician who says she was escorted off a flight for “one modest kiss” of her partner says the encounter was not a stunt for her band’s upcoming breast cancer awareness tour.

Leisha Hailey, best known for playing Alice Pieszecki in the now defunct Showtime lesbian life drama “The L Word,” asked her Twitter followers to boycott Southwest Airlines after the encounter Monday.

The airline responded that Hailey’s display of affection was excessive and drew customer complaints.

The actress and her partner, Camila Grey, denied in a statement released Tuesday that the affection they showed toward each other was inappropriate.

“We want to make it clear we were not making out or creating any kind of spectacle of ourselves, it was one modest kiss,” the written statement said. “We are responsible adult women who walk through the world with dignity. We were simply being affectionate like any normal couple.”

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Image by Live at J&R via Flickr

By PERRY STEIN

The Miami Beach Police Department confirmed Monday that it was investigating allegations that an officer pulled a weapon on Solange Knowles, the younger sister of pop-superstar Beyonce Knowles.

The incident, according to police, transpired after Knowles became hostile after she was not let into a Miami Beach club with a five-foot tall inflatable banana.

It is unclear whether a weapon was actually drawn, but Juan Sanchez, spokesman for the Miami Beach Police Department, described the event as “really outrageous.”

The younger Knowles took to Twitter on Sunday to express her anger over the incident, which she claimed was the result of “discrimination.”

“I have literally had my last leg with discriminating police! Miami police department will be notified,” she first tweeted. “A police officer just pulled a weapon on me…. I have done NOTHING illegal, against the law, or anything of the sort.”
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