5 posts and columns on Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul Adds Web Entrepreneur To Hollywood Hats

in News on November 22, 2010 at 4:58 pm PT

Very few entertainers have a better understanding of the grueling and sometimes ruthless nature of the audition process than Paula Abdul. During the early part of her career in the 1980s she shuttled from one unsuccessful casting call to the next, often waiting hours in line like she did in her first audition with “The Gong Show,” only to get rejected for being too short.

Here Are Some Tasty Reader Submissions for the BoomTown Apple Tablet-Naming Contest

in News on August 10, 2009 at 9:50 am PT

BoomTown has already gotten some very good submissions from readers for a contest to come up with a good moniker for the tablet device Apple is allegedly working on. In a post earlier today, some of my ideas included: iTablet, iPad, iAmnotanetbook and iAmakindlekiller. And here are some of the user-generated ideas, via Twitter mostly, and my Paula Abdul-inspired comments in reaction to them.
appletablet

The Agony and Ecstasy of Paula & Simon (Plus: When Abdul Did D6)

in News on August 5, 2009 at 10:44 am PT

BoomTown is wearing all-black today, in profound mourning for the prospect of no Paula Abdul on “American Idol” next season. “With sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return,” tweeted Abdul yesterday, bidding goodbye, natch, on Twitter. Here is a cool video look at her and co-judge Simon Cowell and one of her appearance at the D: All Things Digital conference. (I kid you not!)
idol

The Three Caballeros?–Bostock, Ballmer and…Bewkes?

in News on January 18, 2009 at 1:07 am PT

It wasn’t just Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer meeting in New York last week. According to several sources close to the situation, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes rounded out the trio of chit-chatting execs, presumably gathered to discuss possible partnerships and other deals between and amongst the companies whose digital assets are among the largest on the Web. Although the possibilities are numerous, exactly what Bostock, Ballmer and Bewkes–let’s call them the Busy B’s from here on out–were cooking up is unclear.

The Entire D6 Interview With Activision's Bobby Kotick (3 of 3)

in News on September 17, 2008 at 12:36 am PT

We’re posting all the interviews from the sixth D: All Things Digital conference that took place in late May. Here’s an interview I did with Activision Chairman and CEO Bobby Kotick about the state of the gaming business. It’s a good week to focus on the gaming industry since Electronic Arts abandoned its hostile acquisition bid for Take-Two Interactive over the weekend. The move was–in part–in answer to Activision’s recent merger with Vivendi Games, which includes Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft, one the most popular multi-player games. This has made Activision one of the gaming industry’s largest companies, due to some of its well-known franchises, especially its hugely popular Guitar Hero, which debuted version IV at D6. In this third video, Kotick publicly demos “Guitar Hero IV” for the first time, with the help of special guest stars Paula Abdul of “American Idol” and skateboarding star Tony Hawk.