Ticking News

At 19 years old, Fantasia Barrino was chosen “American Idol ” for 2004 on the Fox Network reality TV show. [1]

Fantasia Barrino (born June 30, 1984) commonly known as Fantasia, is an American R&B singer, Broadway and television actress who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the television series American Idol in 2004. [2]

RuPaul is joined by extra special guest judges American Idol Fantasia Barrino & comedian-TV host Wayne Brady. [3]

Fantasia returns to the American Idol stage tomorrow, March 31st performing her new single “Collard Greens & Cornbread.” [4]

Most of her fans only know her as Fantasia however her loved ones including her parents and siblings know her as Fantasia Monique Barrino who is a modern day super hero when it comes to R&B soulful music and her great singing voice. [...] Fantasia was the third winner of the American Idol competition back in 2004 which was the biggest boost to becoming a star that you could ask for. [5]

If you like what you hear, pick up a copy of Fantasia’s album, Back To Me. [4]

After a summer tour across the United States, she released her debut album, Free Yourself, in November of 2004. [1]

Her second self titled album Fantasia was also a big hit in America as well as other countries around the world where record sales and promotions where helping to boost her celebrity status. [...] Free Yourself was her first album which did just as well for her as her first hit song did selling more than a million copies in America alone. [5]

Fantasia Barrino says her recent overdose on aspirin and a sleep aid was not an accident. [3]

Barrino went on write her memoirs Life is Not a Fairy Tale, which became a New York Times Bestseller; she played herself in a TV film based on her story. [1]

Fantasia’s Number One hit song, I Believe, was co-written by another American Idol contestant, Tamyra Gray from Season 1, who also contributed background vocals to I Believe. [6]

Barrino in The American Idol Experience motorcade at Walt Disney World. [2]

Fantasia has been nominated for more than 8 Grammy Awards for her work which is enough of a compliment on its own. [5]

Sources:
[1] Fantasia Barrino: Biography from Answers.com
[2] Fantasia Barrino - Wikipedia
[3] Fantasia Barrino News, Fantasia Barrino Bio and Photos …
[4] Fantasia
[5] Fantasia Barrino
[6] Fantasia Barrino - Biography

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Giants closer Brian Wilson will begin this season on the disabled list for the World Series champions. [1]

The first baseman made it clear entering the winter that he wanted to come back to the Giants — and his wish was for the San Francisco brass to bring back as many of his teammates as possible for the chance at another playoff run in 2011. [2]

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division. [3]

Good news for San Francisco fans was bad news for followers of the Fresno Grizzlies, as the Giants announced after winning their spring finale that rookie first baseman Brandon Belt had made the team. [4]

Promising prospect Brandon Belt made the 25-man roster and will start at first base for the Giants when they open at the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. [1]

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions. [5]

This group was able to do something the other great Giants teams hadn’t in the Bay Area — not Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal and Orlando Cepeda, or home run king Barry Bonds. [2]

MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved. [6]

Watch every out-of-market regular season game live for the same low price as last season, with HD quality, portability to multiple devices and more. [5]

The game was a replay of a tied game that resulted from the Merkle Boner. [3]

San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said there was no reason to rush his injured closer back for Opening Day. [1]

“He’s earned this, and it makes us a better club,” manager Bruce Bochy said. [4]

Brandon Belt teared up Wednesday after Bruce Bochy told the first baseman he had made the Majors. [5]

Belt was called into Bochy’s office shortly after the game and said he cried when Bochy told him he had made the club. [4]

Marc Kroon threw a perfect ninth inning in Wednesday’s 2-1 comeback win over the A’s to earn his second win and lower his spring ERA to 1.69, but the Giants sent the 37-year-old reliever to Triple-A Fresno. [7]

Sources:
[1] San Francisco Giants place closer Brian Wilson on DL - MLB …
[2] Giants Ready For Another Playoff Run - Sports News Story …
[3] San Francisco Giants - Wikipedia
[4] Belt makes Giants‘ roster - Fresno Grizzlies - fresnobee.com
[5] San Francisco Giants
[6] MLB News | SFGiants.com: News
[7] SF Giants baseball news, March 31

Conservation status: Texas ocelot Leopardus pardalis albescens is endangered. [1]

The ocelot is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List (1) and listed on Appendix I of CITES (5). [2]

Ocelot kittens are highly reliant upon their mother for survival, and the mother cares for her young alone. [3]

The ocelot is a neotropical felid that once inhabited the dense, almost impenetrable chaparral thickets of South Texas, the Gulf coast, and the Big Thicket of eastern Texas. [4]

The fur of the Ocelot, with its dark brown irregular shaped spots and stripes, edged with black on a yellow/tawny background give this lithe, medium size cat a most distinctive appearance. [5]

The ocelot has dappled fur that serves as camouflage in the jungles of South and Central America. [6]

Once ranged over southern part of Texas with occasional records from north and central Texas; now restricted to several isolated patches of suitable habitat in three or four counties of Rio Grande Plains. [4]

The bodies of all cats (except some breeds of domestic cat) are covered with thick fur. [7]

The ocelot is similar in appearance to a domestic cat. [8]

Other cats remove feathers and fur from their prey as they eat it, but ocelots pluck off all the feathers and fur from animals that they catch before they eat them! [...] When you see an ocelot, you may wish that you had one at home, but wild cats do not make good pets. [1]

The largest of the small spotted cats (3), the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is one of the best known and most common cat species in its range (1) (4) (10), and also arguably one of the most beautiful. [...] Despite these threats, the ocelot remains the most abundant cat species in much of its range, reaching higher densities than smaller species such as the margay, and is even thought to negatively impact its smaller competitors (the ‘ocelot effect’) (10). [2]

A medium-sized, spotted and blotched cat with a moderately long tail; about the size of a bobcat but spots much larger, tail much longer, and pelage shorter; differs from the jaguar in much smaller size and in presence of parallel black stripes on nape and oblique stripes near shoulder; upperparts grayish or buffy, heavily marked with blackish spots, small rings, blotches, and short bars; underparts white, spotted with black; tail spotted, and ringed with black; both sexes colored alike. [4]

These largely nocturnal cats use keen sight and hearing to hunt rabbits, rodents, iguanas, fish, and frogs. [6]

Sources:
[1] San Diego Zoo’s Animal Bytes: Ocelot
[2] ARKive - Ocelot videos, photos and facts - Leopardus pardalis
[3] Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, WA - Ocelot Fact Sheet
[4] Ocelot (Felis pardalis)
[5] Ocelot: Leopardus pardalis
[6] Ocelots, Ocelot Pictures, Ocelot Facts - National Geographic
[7] Ocelot - New World Encyclopedia
[8] Ocelot - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

While there are a few groups who still carry on the practice, Improv Everywhere being the notable example, a high profile flash mob event is likely to have corporate backing, as companies jump on the bandwagon as part of viral marketing campaigns. [1]

Students and staff at Ohio State University recently uploaded the latest flash mob clip to YouTube and it has inspired us to share some of our favorite flash mob videos with you. [2]

Cool riff on this super famous flash mob. [3]

Perhaps inspired by a much earlier silent rave held at the Liverpool Street Station in London, mobile carrier T-Mobile organized this 350-person strong flash mob dance to promote its “Life’s for Sharing” campaign. [1]

The crowd dissipated after precisely 10 minutes. [4]

Cultural and political theorist Hans Magnus Enzensberger outlined an early gathering that took advantage of a glitch in the Swedish public telephone service. [5]

Supposedly it was the last flash mob in New York to be organized by “Bill,” the mysterious inventor of flash mobs. [6]

A year ago, T-Mobile jumped on the flash mob bandwagon and rocked Liverpool Street Station in the clip ‘The T-Mobile Dance’. [...] NBTY is looking for a Social Media Coordinator. [2]

The term is generally not applied to events and performances organized for the purposes of politics (such as protests), commercial advertisement, publicity stunts, that involve public relation firms, or paid professionals. [...] At various London Underground stations, people gathered with their portable music devices, and at a set time began dancing to their music. [5]

Social media has greatly aided the organization of such events, and proof of their existence has been caught on camera only to go viral online via sites like YouTube. [1]

The first is flash crowd, which I define as a sharp and often overwhelming increase in the number of users attempting to access a Web site simultaneously, usually in response to some event or announcement (see the Word Spy entry for this term to get a bit of background about its origins); the second is smart mob, the leaderless gathering and moving of like-minded people who are organized using technologies such as cell phones, e-mail, and the Web. [4]

Staying with the King of Pop theme, there’s a ton of flash mobs tribute videos on YouTube as fans mourned his passing, and celebrated his music with a series of flash mobs around the globe. [1]

Together, we have permanently altered the English language. [6]

Sources:
[1] 15 Fab Flash Mob Videos on YouTube
[2] Top 7 Flash Mobs Of All Time
[3] Flash Mobs
[4] The Word Spy: Flash Mob
[5] Flash mob - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[6] cheesebikini?: flash mobs Archives

At 19 years old, Fantasia Barrino was chosen “American Idol ” for 2004 on the Fox Network reality TV show. [1]

‘Fantasia won big last night at The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. [2]

Fantasia returns to the American Idol stage tomorrow, March 31st performing her new single “Collard Greens & Cornbread.” [3]

Fantasia Barrino (born June 30, 1984) commonly known as Fantasia, is an American R&B singer, Broadway and television actress who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the television series American Idol in 2004. [4]

The former American Idol champ has endured tough times of late. [5]

So when the 26-year-old, eight-time Grammy nominee titled her third album Back to Me, she was making her current goals, both creative and personal, crystal clear. [2]

If you like what you hear, pick up a copy of Fantasia’s album, Back To Me. [3]

‘When I was on American Idol,’ she says, ‘people fell in love with the young lady who took her shoes off to come onstage, who spoke her mind and didn’t hold anything back. [2]

After a summer tour across the United States, she released her debut album, Free Yourself, in November of 2004. [1]

Barrino in The American Idol Experience motorcade at Walt Disney World. [4]

Following her triumph in the 2004 edition of American Idol, the song ‘I Believe’ made her the first recording artist in history to debut at 1 on the Billboard charts with a debut single. [2]

Barrino went on write her memoirs Life is Not a Fairy Tale, which became a New York Times Bestseller; she played herself in a TV film based on her story. [1]

She published her controversial memoir, Life is Not a Fairy Tale and starred as herself in the Lifetime Network adaptation of the New York Times bestseller. [2]

Fantasia is the latest star to get her life turned into a reality show. [5]

What makes us special as artists is when we do us. [2]

Sources:
[1] Fantasia Barrino: Biography from Answers.com
[2] Fantasia | Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos
[3] Fantasia
[4] Fantasia Barrino - Wikipedia
[5] Fantasia on Yahoo! Music