American Idol Goes Underground
Think you can belt like Carrie or rock like Bo? Or maybe you've got the skills to be the first rap idol. Aspiring musicians, you're in luck. American Idol is about to hit Internet radio. American Idol Underground, a Web-based program, is looking for undiscovered talent in pop, rock, hip-hop/rap, R&B and country. AI Underground listeners will be able to rate each track played, and every six months a celebrity panel will judge the top songs in each category. The good news is that after you enter, your song is guaranteed to be played 200 times. The bad news? It costs 50 bucks to register and, unfortunately, the grand prize, while music-related, won't be nearly as significant as a record deal and millions of adoring fans. But if you don't want to wait in line for three days to perform in front of Simon at the next American Idol auditions, maybe American Idol Underground will be your lucky break. The contest is scheduled to launch in October, the same time tryouts begin for the fifth season of American Idol. Get those demos ready!
Getting Schooled on Relationship Abuse
A recent survey by the group Teenage Research Unlimited shows that an alarming percentage of girls (13% of those questioned) admit to having suffered physical violence by someone they were dating. In addition to that sobering statistic, one-third of teenage boys and girls would not know what to do if a friend asked for help with an abusive situation. Researchers fear that parents are neglecting to discuss relationships and violence with teens, instead focusing on drugs and sex, which they may consider more critical. The people at Liz Claiborne want to start a dialogue with teens to make them aware of the dangers of domestic violence. The company is offering to sponsor a "Love Is Not Abuse" curriculum in schools to promote safe and healthy relationships. The hope is that it will help prevent the growing incidence of physical, verbal and sexual pressure in young relationships, and offer support to those already dealing with violent relationships. For more information on the program, go to loveisnotabuse.com.
Thumbs-Up to Research
What causes redness, tingling and blisters? No, it's not some icky communicable disease. It's PlayStation Thumb! A report on the new condition has made it into Index Medicus, a medical journal in South Africa. But what's more surprising than the video game–related injury is the person who wrote it. After researching the physical effects of playing video games for a school science project, 13-year-old Safura Abdool Karim became the youngest author ever published in the journal. She interviewed 120 of her classmates and discovered that many of those who regularly played video games had symptoms of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), a problem usually found in adults who work at computers. RSI is so uncommon among young people that Safura concluded the condition was a result of frequent game play and named it PlayStation Thumb. After all her research, you won't find Safura playing Tony Hawk Underground, but not because of her thumb. She thinks video games are "a waste of time."
