Magician and endurance artist David Blaine held his breath for 17 minutes and 4 seconds, breaking the world’s record, live on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

The feat was broadcast live during “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and the studio audience cheered as divers pulled the 35-year-old magician from a water-filled sphere 8 feet in diameter. Less than two years ago, Blaine went into convulsions during a similar attempt.

“A lifelong dream,” a relaxed-looking Blaine told Winfrey immediately after setting the record. “I can’t believe that I did that.”

While still underwater, Blaine worried his heart rate might be too high, saying he “actually started to doubt that I was going to make it” as a result. A lower heart rate helps minimize oxygen consumption.

The previous record was 16 minutes and 32 seconds, set Feb. 10 by Switzerland’s Peter Colat, according to Guinness World Records.

Before he entered the sphere, Blaine inhaled pure oxygen through a mask to saturate his blood with oxygen and flush out carbon dioxide. Guinness says up to 30 minutes of so-called “oxygen hyperventilation” is allowed under its guidelines.

Source: David Blaine breaks world record for holding one’s breath

Here is the video of David Blaine breaking the world’s record on The Oprah Winfrey Show

Here is David Blaine’s video blog in which he discussed his upcoming attempt to break the world’s record.

The independent film,”Tennessee” which stars Mariah Carey in her return to the big screen seven years after box office disappointment, “Glitter,” had its premiere on Saturday, April 26. at the TriBeca Film Festival.

Produced by Lee Daniels and directed by Aaron Woodley, this is a touching tale of two young brothers — Adam Rothenberg and Ethan Peck — trying to re-connect with their father. (Ethan is the grandson of film legend Gregory Peck.) This indie puts Mariah back where she was before “Glitter” pulled her down. Carey had displayed considerable promise in her first film, “Wise Girls” with Mira Sorvino, but the overwrought “Glitter” shoehorned her in a typical high-camp showbiz rise and fall story. In “Tennessee,” Mariah plays against type as a drab waitress with musical aspirations who joins up with the boys on their road trip. She is also escaping an abusive marriage. This is a natural, effortless performance. Nothing grand or showy. I think she just wants to be a good little actress, who can connect emotionally with an audience; to make people love her in a different way.

Source: Mariah Carey is the ‘diva next door’

Many more photos at Newstoob - Mariah Carey Photos from Tennessee Promotion

Via: Wooohah: Video clip of Mariah Carey’s new movie “Tennessee”

Last night on American Idol, Paula Abdul judged two songs when contestant Jason Castro had only sung one. Clearly this one was of the strangest — or most revealing? — moments of the program’s history.

….[Paula Abdul’s] gaffe on Tuesday night’s episode was either the “Kookiest Paula Moment Ever” or a sign of the judges’ apparently not-so-spontaneous evaluations of contestants’ performances.

It was Neil Diamond night, and after each of the show’s five remaining contestants sang their first of two songs for the evening, the judges were asked to comment on their performances.

Randy Jackson quickly rattled off his impressions, and then Abdul launched into a lengthy analysis of contestant Jason Castro’s two performances. Yes, that’s right. Abdul remembered TWO performances. When Castro, and all of the other contestants, had only performed ONCE.

“Oh my God, I thought you sang twice,” a flustered Abdul said when Jackson gently pointed out that Castro had only performed one song so far. She added: “This is hard!”

“You’re seein’ the future baby, you’re seein’ the future!” host Ryan Seacrest said.

Abdul tried to cover for the mistake by saying she had been reading her notes from both Castro’s performance and contestant David Cook’s performances.

The flub was enough to convince some fans that Abdul must have prepared her notes on both songs before the live performance.

Source: “American Idol”: What was UP with Paula?

Reading from her notes, Abdul confidently had this to say about the song she had not heard:

The second song, I felt like your usual charm was missing for me. And the two songs made me feel like you’re not fighting hard enough to get into the top four.” When Seacrest pointed out her mistake, she claimed that she’d been looking at her notes for David Cook — but then told Cook, “You’re fantastic.”

Source: Either ‘American Idol’ Is Fixed or Paula Abdul Is Divinely Omniscient

We have to wonder if this reveals that the program is fixed. It would not be the first time. In the Golden Age of television, in the 1950s, the rigging of the game show “Twenty-One” became a national scandal and led to Congressional hearings and new laws making game show rigging a Federal crime.