The series is filmed in coordination with Challenge Day, a social program in which trained leaders visit high schools and, in one intensive day, try to break down the cliques and emotional barriers that keep students from getting to know each other. Like a reality version of The Breakfast Club, each episode of If You Really Knew Me takes place at a different high school, and follows five students from different cliques as they go through the life-changing experience of Challenge Day, a one-day program that breaks down the walls between cliques, and completely changes the way students view their school and each other. If You Really Knew Me” is an incredibly authentic and compelling document-series that takes us on a 24 hour journey through a high school’s social transformation. It shows us what happens when kids from various cliques decide to break down the walls that divide them and commit to change,” said Tony DiSanto, President of Programming for MTV. “It’s an intense and dramatic experience, but ultimately uplifting and universally relocatable for all of us who have gone through high school or are about to.” As the series progresses, “If You Really Knew Me” touches on a number of issues [more..]

Don Draper’s a single man and part of a new ad agency. But does this make him a happier man? We find out as the fourth season of the Emmy-winning drama “Mad Men” returns Sunday on AMC. Otherwise, it’s a very quiet week on TV. Burt Reynolds, though looking a bit gaunt after heart surgery, makes a fun guest appearance on USA’s “Burn Notice” Thursday and Starz attempts a historical miniseries Friday. TBS has brought back “My Boys” Sunday despite modest ratings. Comedian Jim Gaffigan has left the show but the spirited bickering among friends remains. And while Jennifer Love Hewitt fans are still mourning the cancellation of “Ghost Whisperer,” they will embrace her in the made-for-Lifetime movie “The Client List” debuting Monday. Monday“The Bachelorette” 8 p.m. ABC — Sure, Roberto is a hottie, but is 25-year-old Ali really going to marry any of these guys?“Behind the Music” 8 p.m. VH1 (second season finale) — Usher talks about his ups and downs, including his divorce.“The Client List” 9 p.m. Lifetime — Jennifer Love Hewitt fans will be thrilled: she plays a pretty wife of three so financially desperate she joins a “massage” parlor to pay the bills.“The Closer” 9 p.m. TNT — Brenda is [more..]

Andrew Breitbart defamed Shirley Sherrod; Brietbart could be in trouble Taking a Comic Con break to look at what else is happening; Google Trends reveals the ugly story of what happened to previously unknown Shirley Sherrod. Conservative hit-blogger Andrew Breitbart's known for his extreme approaches in attacking liberals, but what he did to Shirley Sherrod, a goverment worker who gave a speech to the NAACP this year and regarding a matter that happened 24 years ago, was that he apparently made a new video to claim she was racist, and went way too far. While he says he intended to harm the NAACP, he picked Shirley Sherrod to do it. She did not ask for this. Breitbart altered a video to twist her words. Andrew Breitbart may be a target for the U.S. Department of Justice' Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section ("CCIPS") which is in the Criminal Division. The website, which was forwarded to this blogger by the DOJ on another issue, covers various types of crimes that involve a computer. If Breitbart altered the video of Shirley Sherrod to make it look like she was making a statement he then called [more..]

Thursday, June 24, 2010, 11:00pm CDT | Modified: June 24, 2010, 11:00 PM Wizard101' game breaches 10M users by Christopher Calnan Email Reprints RSS Feeds Share Comments Game developer KingsIsle Entertainment Inc. is making a business out of family-orientated online games at a time when the industry is projecting a slowdown in demand for console games. KingsIsle, which was founded in the Dallas area in 2005 but operates with the bulk of its workers in a development office at the Domain, launched its Wizard101 game in 2008. This month, the company disclosed that it reached 10 million users just nine months after topping 5 million subscribers. The company did not disclose the number of active users. The multiplayer game’s popularity has exceeded its developers’ expectations. “When we started, we never thought we’d last to meet this goal,” creative director Todd Coleman said. “This is so far beyond our wildest dreams. [But] last year, when we hit 5 million we knew we were onto something good.” KingsIsle, which employs about 120 workers, is already trying to convert that success into something bigger. Company developers are in production of a second game [more..]

Unemployment benefits on verge of extension A bill to extend federal unemployment benefits through Nov. 30 cleared a key hurdle in the Senate today, paving the way for its expected passage. Carte Goodwin, D-W.Va, who was sworn in today as the replacement for the late Sen. Robert Byrd, gave Democrats the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican filibuster of the bill. The Senate is expected to approve the bill Wednesday. It then moves to the House, which has promised to approve it, then to Sen. Obama. The bill would provide federal benefits retroactively to June 2, when they expired. The California Employment Development estimates that about 400,000 people in the state have had their federal extended benefits cut short since June 2. If they are still eligible for unemployment, these people generally could begin receiving benefits, including retroactive pay, within a few weeks after the bill is signed, says EDD spokeswoman Loree Levy. EDD has been keeping track of these people and will send most of them claim forms, which need to be returned before benefits can be restored. However, some people will be resintated automatically. These are people who stopped receiving Fed-Ed (the final round of benefits in California) prematurely but [more..]

Defense Travel System (DTS) was provided by Immersion Consulting Group to the Department of Defense. The Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO) awarded the Immersion Consulting Group’s SUBPAC Travel Improvement Team the inaugural Icon Award- Western Region on 10th June in Denver. Defense Travel System (DTS) has expanded across the U.S Navy Submarine Fleet Command (COMSUBCAP). Dan Smalley, CEO of Immersion said that they do accept the collateral recognition for the award, but it was indeed the achievement of the One Office, One Voice program that was created and fostered by COMSUBPAC. Before the adoption of Defense Travel System (DTS), the centrally billed account CBA was unchecked while credit cards billed individually and IBAs were an exception. On the initiation of COMSUBCAP, the Immersion team developed, implemented and revamped the travel program and One Office One Voice saved the Navy 9000 in 2009 by switching over the travelers to the Defense Travel System (DTS) reducing the use of CBAs and increasing the IBAs usage. Defense Travel System (DTS) is the only travel program in any Navel Commands that mandates use of Defense Travel System (DTS) for both ashore and afloat commands. Under Defense Travel System (DTS) the Travel Improvement Team did establish Navy’s first travel [more..]