andPOP » parents

Lady Gaga Claims She Went ‘Bankrupt’ During Monster Ball Tour

Christian Allaire — Tue, 31 May 2011 14:44:31 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

Lady Gaga claims she went bankrupt during her ‘Monster Ball’ world tour, reports CTV.

With her tour earning an estimated $125 million and sold out tickets being the norm at every show, one would think Gaga was racking in the dough, right? Wrong.

Despite the success of the tour, Gaga claims the production of the show, from her couture costumes to many backup dancers and set design, caused her to actually spend more money than she was earning.

She told the ‘Financial Times’ newspaper: “I put everything in the show, and I actually went bankrupt after the first extension of the ‘Monster Ball’. And it was funny because I didn’t know! And I remember I called everybody and said, ‘Why is everyone saying I have no money? This is ridiculous, I have five number one singles’ — and they said, ‘Well, you’re $3 million in debt.’ ”

That’s too funny, but props to her for not compromising on the integrity of her show. If Gaga wants something, she’ll get it.

Gaga does admit to spending her hard earned cash, though, but not on who you think. The ‘Born This Way’ hit maker claims the only real riches she’s spent is for her parents.

“The only big things I’ve purchased are my dad’s heart valve and a Rolls-Royce for my parents, for their anniversary. And that was only because my dad had a Lady Gaga licence plate on our old car and it was making me crazy because he was getting followed everywhere, so I bought him a new car.”

I would really love to meet her parents, I think that would be an interesting interview. I couldn’t even imagine saying ‘yep, Lady Gaga is my daughter.’ But if she bought me a Rolls-Royce, I’m sure that wouldn’t be too difficult.

Gary Coleman’s Parents Want To Know What Happened

andPOP Staff — Sun, 30 May 2010 16:01:52 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

Gary Coleman hasn’t spoken with his parents for over 10 years, but now they want answers as to what caused their son’s death.

“We would’ve loved to have been there by his side at the hospital, to let him know we love him before he passed away,” Sue Coleman, 67, tells PEOPLE. “This is a shock to us. We loved Gary very much. We’re going to miss him.”

“We’re not angry. We’re just concerned. Did our son fall down the stairs? Did he fall in the bathtub? We need to have some closure on our son’s life,” Sue continues.

Coleman’s parents have tried speaking with Gary’s wife Shannon Price, however she has not returned their messages.

“When we found out he got married, we thought, ‘Well, at least he has someone in his life who he cares about and who cares about him.’ We were happy about that. But it’s frustrating that we haven’t heard from the Price family. But it’s possible they didn’t even know we existed. Gary may have told her that he didn’t have any family.”

Katy Perry and Russel Brand get serious

Emma Renda — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:05:38 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

Well, it’s official: Katy Perry and Russel Brand are serious.

The two were sighted looking very cozy (ie: making out and cuddling) at a party at the home of pals’ Paul McKenna and Randy Jackson this weekend.

And apparently Katy already wants her new boy toy to meet her parents, according to Perez Hilton. Meeting the family would would be a big step for Brand - who has most recently made himself famous by quite vividly sexing up Kristin Bell in Forgetting Sarah Marshall – considering Perry’s parents are serious Evangelical Christians.

Keith and Mary Hudson are pastors in Temecula, CA, even so far as having the legal right to marry couples.

Perry and Brand have been sighted all over lately - unbeknownst to me – making a particular splash in some outlandish outfits at Paris Fashion Week. Perry is set to host the MTV Europe Music Awards next month, which will be a big night for the new couple’s public image.

According to The Sun UK, Brand says he is in love with Perry, after being somewhat obsessed with her following her hit single, “I Kissed a Girl”.

The only difference between Brand and every other adult male in the world? Brand has Perry’s email address to send her love poems, and then gets to see snapshots of her boobs in response, according to The Sun. Lucky guy.

Gamer’s Mind Blog: Infinite Ammo

Brett Caron — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:19:13 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

Parent’s Just Don’t Understand… Yet?

Hey Ethel! I killed those Nazi zombies with my, uhh... I killed those Nazis!

Our parents are great, for the most part. When we are too small to defend or feed ourselves, they take care of us. As we grow and mature, they guide and nurture us so that we can become fully functional human beings, and not the equivalent of lower primates, sitting in trees flinging our own crap at each other (thank you Red Forman). But one area where most parents don’t quite have the ability to be the all-knowing influence they would like to be: video games.

When I was growing up playing tag and hide-and-seek, my parents totally understood. They would ask how the game went, where I was hiding, what kind of tag rules I played with – they were very involved, because they could relate my experience to their own. However, when I picked up my first Genesis game, they watched Sonic the Hedgehog like he was an alien from outer space (wait, was he?), shook their heads, and left the room. Thus ended my parent’s ability to fully understand me – from that day forward, there would always be that barrier between us – the invisible yet impassable wall made of 1-ups and gold coins.

But will it always be this way? Should I ever be unfortunate enough to have a pack of small versions of me running around underfoot, will I end up leaving them to their own devices when it comes to electronic entertainment? Or will I be able to enjoy a visit with them to our very own holodeck (wishful thinking, I know) once in a while?

Mastering DDR will never make your kids think you're cool. It may actually hurt that cause.

We know that most parents of the young (18 and under) gaming demographic right now, as well as the parents of my generation, the old guard of gaming (22-30 as of 2009) are lost when it comes to games. This is mostly because games they played when they were young were not video games. Board games and outdoor games were the pastimes of the day. If kids today suddenly picked up jacks or kick the can, their grandparents would be all over it. Any video games that these parents played were arcade games at best – a far cry from the Super Nintendo.

The difference there is that when my generation starts having kids (and some unlucky and/or stupid members already have), what kind of tech-savvy parents will we be? I’m sure that there will be the parents who just don’t get it, and that’s fine. But consider that our generation was the first real generation to have the bridge between adult’s childhood games and their children’s games blown to pieces by the advent of console gaming, leaving them to stare across the gap at their offspring playing games they could barely understand. Believe me when I tell you tag has been around forever. Your parents and their parents never reached an impasse because Grandpa couldn’t understand what was going on in hide-and-seek. So is it so revolutionary that we may be able to relate better to the next generation than our parents could with us? Or were Mom and Dad the exception to the rule?

I think it will be interesting to see whether or not the developing demographic of casual gamers rises to the challenge to understand and appreciate their kids’ new games. It might be depressing and embarrassing to be the guy who has to say to his kid “In my day, we had to play video games with controllers! On TV screens! That’s television, son! And we were thankful!” However, if you sit with the kid after your rant, and see what the new game is for the PS4000, you might just earn his respect. At least until you slip gradually into senility and start cursing at the child while making obscene gestures every time you lose (although a symptom of senility, this is also a symptom of FAIL).

Hey Timmy, are you playing the new Poke-a-man? Sure, Mom.

The last time I talked to my mom about video games was actually not that long ago. I asked her (with this article in mind) the last video game she had played besides the ill fated night she tried to play GoldenEye on the N64 with my brothers and I (good night, by the way – she spent 5 straight minutes trying to shoot out a camera with dual RCP90′s – and infinite ammo). She then told me that I should be proud to have a mother who could beat my father at Donkey Kong Jr. at the arcade when they were young lovers. I was blown away! Could this veneer of kindness, smiles and silly voices hide an inner core of gaming prowess that I simply never noticed before? Time for a follow-up question. Say Mom, you played Donkey Kong Jr., so you must remember Pac-Man, right?

“Oh yeah. He eats things, and…”

Yeah, I know. I laughed too.

If you have any hilarious stories about your parents/kids and video gaming, or the opposite event of a parent stomping you in Halo or Mario Kart, let me know below. This might even lead to a Top 5 List!

Cheers.

*disclaimer: I am fully aware that Sonic the hedgehog is an alien, since he is indigenous to the planet Mobius, and not Earth. Don’t challenge my nerddom!*

Clay Aiken Becomes a Daddy

Irene Ogrodnik — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:17:04 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

Clay Aiken is “smiling from ear-to-ear” after the birth of his son.

According to E! News, the former “American Idol” contestant and his platonic baby-making partner Jaymes Foster welcomed their first child together Friday.
Parker Foster Aiken tipped the scales at 6 pounds, 2 ounces and measured in at 19 inches.

Back in May, Foster’s brother David Foster confirmed that the pair conceived the child through artificial insemination. Aiken, 29, and Jaymes Foster – who is believed to be around 50 – have been best friends for years.

The best buddies plan on raising the child together – even though the two are not “a couple.”