'Dance Moms' Recap: Broadway Baby Passes, Black Patsy Returns, Christi and Kelly Make Up

Dance Moms Kelly and Christi are friends again

By GLAMOROSI

This week on season 3, episode 9 of Dance Moms titled "Bye Bye Baby", studio owner Abby Lee Miller deals with the loss of her beloved dog, Broadway Baby, and her grief leads to a rivalry when star pupil Maddie’s tribute performance for the poodle is welcomed, but dedications by others from the Abby Lee Dance Company (ALDC) are spurned. Also in this episode the team competes in St. Louis, Missouri, and runs into Kaya Wiley; viewers will remember her as the high-drama-mama who nicknamed herself "Black Patsy" (after Patsy Ramsey, Jon Benet’s mother) and brought her daughter Nicaya to audition for ALDC in season 2. Patsy’s bad behavior inspires Christi and Kelly to resolve their 3-week long fight.
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David Bowie Releases New Single 'The Stars (Are Out Tonight)', Video Features Tilda Swinton

David Bowie in the studio

By A.D. AMOROSI

David Bowie’s first album in a decade, The Next Day, comes out on March 12. You knew that already because we’ve written about this release zealously. Today, Bowie not only drops his second single, “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” from that album, but its accompanying video featuring Tilda Swinton. It’s a doozy.
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Seth MacFarlane Hosts Highly Rated but Boring Oscar Telecast

Argo won Best Picture at the 85th Annual Academy Awards

By A.D. AMOROSI

Sunday night’s 85th Annual Academy Awards show may have been the most highly rated Oscar telecast since 2007, but make no mistake – Seth MacFarlane didn’t do anyone any favors with a retinue of lame jokes, nervous cue-card readings and schmaltzy songs. He wasn’t the worst aspect of the televised ceremony, by any means. He was clumsily charming when he wasn’t working overtime to offend Jews, women, gays, African-Americans, Ben Affleck’s time in Gigli and President Lincoln’s head-wound. Everything seemed off about the Oscars: from the slow-motion pace of the overall production (there’s a reason you don’t hire theatrical people for a television gig) to the wearily long introduction to Adele’s creaky rendition of "Skyfall" to Jack Nicholson’s ill- fitting tux.
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Philadelphia Dishcrawl Introduces Diners to East Passyunk Avenue Eateries

A selection of pizzas at Birra on East Passyunk Avenue in Philadelphia

By GLAMOROSI

This past Tuesday Philly food fans participated in Dishcrawl, a mobile feast that takes place in cities across the country with patrons meeting at a pre-determined location, then visiting restaurants that are kept secret until the last minute. The sold-out Philly Dishcrawl was hosted by Ali Waks, and took us to four eateries on trendy East Passyunk Avenue in South Philadelphia: Sophia’s, Birra, Noir and Ms. Goody Cupcake.
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Yoko Ono Still an Inspiration at Age 80

Yoko Ono will re-issue her album catalog this year

By A.D. AMOROSI

This week, Yoko Ono celebrated her eightieth birthday, but there’s no slowing down for this avant-garde artist we first got to know during the Fluxus movement in the early 1960s. Instead, the Japanese primal scream-singer and poet seems as ceaseless as she is restless and forward thinking. “I work fast,” Ono told me during a 2009 interview for Blurt Magazine. “I let myself happen.”
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'Dance Moms' Recap - You’ve Been Unfriended: Chloe and Christi Return

Dance Moms Kelly and Christi

By GLAMOROSI

On the last episode of Dance Moms we learned that Chloe was suspended over a problem between her mother Christi and dance teacher Abby Lee Miller; one of the Dance Dads from the rival Candy Apples studio yelled in Abby’s face; Cathy Nesbitt-Stein, the Candy Apple coach, started a fight with Abby and hit her with a purse, and then everyone threw water on each other. This week on season 3, episode 8, Chloe and Christi return to the Abby Lee Dance Company, but all is not well: Christi gets the silent treatment from Abby and the cold shoulder from Kelly.
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'Sing Off' Winners Pentatonix Thrill Fans on New Tour

The a cappella group Pentatonix is currently on their 2013 tour

By A.D. AMOROSI

When Pentatonix hits the stage on its current tour, the quintet won’t tote along a large band or background vocalists. That's because Pentatonix is the a cappella group who won The Sing Off vocal competition in 2011; they practice the art of crooning without benefit of a band or backing music.
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Review - The New Jewish Table: Modern Seasonal Recipes for Traditional Dishes

The New Jewish Table will be released in March 2013

By GLAMOROSI

The New Jewish Table: Modern Seasonal Recipes for Traditional Dishes is a cookbook by Chef Todd Gray and Ellen Kassoff Gray, the married duo behind Equinox, a popular restaurant in Washington, DC, that has become widely known as a spot favored by President and Mrs. Obama. It’s no wonder America’s first couple enjoys the restaurant; the recipes and concepts put forth in this book are outstanding.
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Link Roundup - Jazz Edition: President Obama, Prince, Chris' Jazz Café, Rufus Harley, Alan Segal, Jef Lee Johnson, Donald Byrd

By A.D. AMOROSI

Jazz comes in all shapes: hot, cool, noisy, serene. As America’s indigenous brand of classical music, jazz is an exceptional, unique sound in which to honor Presidents’ Day. For this special holiday roundup we celebrate Rufus Harley, Alan Segal, Chris' Jazz Café, Prince and the Montreux Jazz Festival, Jef Lee Johnson, Thomas Chapin and Donald Byrd. We're also highlighting an archival link featuring Presidents with jazz cats - photos include Richard Nixon with Duke Ellington, and Barack Obama with Sonny Rollins.
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Link Roundup - 'Downton Abbey': Dame Maggie Smith, Highclere Castle, Season 3 Finale Spoilers

The cast of Downton Abbey

By GLAMOROSI

Like many of you, we are absolutely obsessed with Downton Abbey, the British period drama that follows the lives of the fictional Earl of Grantham, his family and their servants. For three seasons we’ve watched the characters go through personal events – courtship, marriage, childbirth and death – and survive and adapt to world events such as the sinking of the Titanic, World War I, and the Spanish Influenza pandemic.

Tonight, American viewers will tune into PBS for Downton Abbey's season 3 finale (Sun. Feb 17, 9 p.m. ET/PT). UK viewers and others (including us) have already watched the episode on ITV or through iTunes, so we have a mini recap with major spoilers, but not to worry – if you don’t want to see them, just don’t scroll beyond the photo of Mrs. Patmore and staff members at the table. It's at the end of this article after the links – we’ll warn you again before you get there. For the rest of you, we have non-spoiler news about Dame Maggie Smith, Joanne Froggett, Highclere Castle and more.
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'Cabaret' 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Released

The book from the Cabaret 40th anniversary Blu-ray release

By A.D. AMOROSI

Cabaret, director Bob Fosse’s Oscar Award-winning 1972 film musical, finally got its Blu-ray re-release last week. This is crucial because it is only though the rich and lustrous clarity of Blu-ray technology that audiences can see and feel Fosse’s deep red and black palette. It is with Blu-ray that Liza Minnelli’s eyes seem to pop like never before. The gorgeously dirty decadence that was Berlin, circa 1931, oozes from every frame of this 40th anniversary re-issue.
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'Dance Moms' Recap: Rotten to the Core - Chloe Suspended, Abby and Cathy Have a Showdown

Abby Lee Miller (in black) watches a performance on Dance Moms

By GLAMOROSI

The official description for Dance Moms season 3, episode 7 titled “Rotten to the Core” is, “Abby suspends Christi and Chloe, keeping Chloe from competing against Cathy's new all-boy team; Nia and Holly must deal with a painful medical condition; Sophia returns.” What this fails to mention is the scene the internet has been buzzing about since the previews were shown last week: the big fight between Abby and Candy Apple Cathy in which water is thrown, a purse is wielded, and Dance Mom Jill yells the line at Cathy we’ve all been waiting to hear: “Get lost bitch!”
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Cinderella’s Tom Keifer Scores a Solo Album Triumph with 'The Way Life Goes'

Cinderella's Tom Keifer has a new solo album, The Way Life Goes

By A.D. AMOROSI

For some, Tom Keifer will forever be known as the guitar-slinging front man and songwriter for Cinderella, the Philly-based blues metal band that scored massive hit singles (e.g. “Nobody’s Fool”, and “Coming Home”) and platinum selling albums throughout the late 80s. Keifer is cool with that legacy, yet his soon-to-be-released debut solo album The Way Life Goes (Merovee Records) – a record he’s worked on for 20 years – proves to be so much more.
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Grammy Awards: Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z Perform, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood Impress, Prince Makes Rare Appearance

Kelly Clarkson, Prince, and Rihanna at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards

By A.D. AMOROSI

Last night’s 55th Annual Grammy Awards on CBS may have lacked the sparkle of past live performances, seemed to have gone on forever (oh it did: three and a half hours), and awarded so many of the wrong people. Still, where else could you see Prince presenting an award, the band fun. getting rained on, Jack White playing with both of his bands, American Idol winners Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood belting their brains out, and so much of Jennifer Lopez’s right leg?
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'Do No Harm' Medical Drama Series Cancelled After Two Episodes

'Do No Harm' television series was cancelled after two episodes aired

By A.D. AMOROSI

Last night NBC pulled the plug on Do No Harm; the Jekyll and Hyde-themed medical drama series set and filmed in Philadelphia, PA, was cancelled after only two episodes.
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New Film 'Lust for Life' to Explore David Bowie's Berlin Period with Iggy Pop

New film Lust for Life will cover David Bowie's Berlin period with Iggy Pop

By A.D. AMOROSI

For the third time in as many weeks comes an announcement of a new David Bowie project – this time it’s the development of a dramatic narrative film based on Bowie’s Berlin period. The film, titled Lust for Life, will explore the span between 1976 and 1979 when he wrote and produced songs for Iggy Pop and created his own legendary electronic-based masterpieces, Low and Heroes.
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New Horror Film ‘Bath Salt Zombies’ Released by Philadelphia-based MVD Entertainment Group

A scene from the new horror film Bath Salt Zombies

By A.D. AMOROSI

MVD, a Philadelphia-based film and music entertainment group, released Bath Salt Zombies, its first-ever self-made, written and produced film with a mega-celebration and screening last night at the Trocadero. Philly's Combat Crisis, a hardcore act whose music is featured in the new flick, played immediately after the screening to a packed house.
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'Dance Moms' Recap: Boys Are Cuties, Girls Have Cooties - How Do You Like Them Apples

Abby Lee Miller on Dance Moms

By GLAMOROSI

On season 3, episode 6 of Dance Moms titled "Boys Are Cuties, Girls Have Cooties", Abby's arch-nemesis Cathy Nesbitt-Stein, owner of the Candy Apple’s Dance Center, is back to compete against the Abby Lee Dance Company. This time Cathy has a gimmick: her new team is all boys and includes talented teen Zack Torres, previously seen as a contestant on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition. How do you like them apples? Abby knows judges favor boy dancers and this puts her in a foul mood, much to the dismay of the Dance Moms, especially Jill, who is hoping to replace Melissa as Abby’s favorite, and Christi, who has just about had it with all of the drama.
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Beyoncé Announces ‘Mrs. Carter Show' World Tour Dates in Europe and North America

Beyoncé announced The Mrs. Carter Show world tour this week

By A.D. AMOROSI

Monday morning quarterbacks, rejoice, it is pretty much unanimous:  Super Bowl XLVII will go down in pop cultural history as the Beyoncé Bowl.  Although football fans will remember the Baltimore Ravens won (34-31), QB Joe Flacco was MVP, and there was a stadium blackout due to a blown transformer, Beyoncé was the game’s true star. At 13 minutes total, Beyoncé’s glittering halftime performance wasn’t nearly long enough, so it was perfect that she announced The Mrs. Carter Show world tour – named in honor of her husband, Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter – following her Super Bowl triumph.
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You have read this article Atlantic City NJ / Beyoncé / Blue Ivy / Boardwalk Hall / concert / Destiny’s Child / film / film and tv / Jay-Z / Life is But a Dream / Mrs. Carter Show / music / Philadelphia PA / sports / Super Bowl / tour / Wells Fargo Center with the title February 2013. You can bookmark this page URL https://greatwall0.blogspot.com/2013/02/beyonce-announces-mrs-carter-show-world.html. Thanks!

Link Roundup - Old School Edition: Oprah, Liza, Dick Van Dyke, Betty White, Jim Nabors

By GLAMOROSI

This week in our link roundup we're kicking it old school with news about celebs who have spent decades in the public eye: Oprah, Liza, Joel Gray, Robert Osborne, Betty White, Dick Van Dyke, Shirley Temple, Barbara Walters and Jim Nabors. We are also listening to the late, great guitarist Jef Lee Johnson. These stars made it to the top the old fashioned way, with talent, brains, hard work and moxie.
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Review: Series Premiere of 'Do No Harm' Medical Drama Flatlines

Steven Pasquale plays dual roles on Do Name Harm

By A.D. AMOROSI

Do No Harm broadcast its series premiere on NBC this week. Since it’s a medical drama we need a prognosis: the good news is that Philadelphia, PA, where the series was filmed, looks great throughout. The bad news? Everything else.
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Duncan Jones Named as Director of 'World of Warcraft' Film

Director Duncan Jones (left) and journalist A.D. Amorosi

By A.D. AMOROSI

Between David and his son Duncan (Jones), you can't keep the Bowie family out of the news. Just three weeks after David Bowie's surprise announcement of his first new album in a decade, The Next Day, came word that Duncan Jones – Zowie Bowie to longtime fans – would direct a live-action film based on the wildly popular video game, World of Warcraft.
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