justin bieber

The price of being retweeted by Bieber: Death wishes

Should you have long imagined that the world has recently become marginally more insane, but couldn't put your finger on why, please prepare your finger.

For this is the story of a nonfan who paid a star a compliment and received hate for her troubles.

No, Justin Bieber didn't threaten to kill 15-year-old Courtney Barrasford because she isn't, as the moniker goes, a Belieber.

He was actually quite flattered by her tweeted flattery that read: "Not really a fan of Justin Bieber but his acoustic album is really good!"

Canada's most refined export was … Read more

The 404 1,204: Where we're BioShocked by space rocks (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Clouds and strife: Building the world of BioShock Infinite.

- The bootleg games of Nairobi's Diamond Plaza.

- Leaked video appears to reveal Google's touch Chromebook.

- Someone forgot to pay their bill at MichelinGuides.com, now Michel in Guides.

- The FBI's official tips to avoid being sexually extorted online.… Read more

Bieber squeaks past Gaga with most Twitter followers

Justin Bieber has wowed his way to the top of the Twitter ranks.

The teen singer now has the highest number of followers in the Twittersphere, according to data from Web site Twitter Counter. Wooing 33.38 million fans to follow his every tweet, Bieber has shot past fellow singer Lady Gaga with 33.36 million followers.

Gaga's reign as the queen of Twitter lasted two and a half years, a spokesman for Twitter Counter told Reuters yesterday.

Bieber is also high on the list for the sheer number of tweets posted at 20,545 so far, an average … Read more

Filipino threat: No Bieber in Bataan after Instagram mockery

The Philippines is the most emotional country in the world. No, this is not merely based on my own blissful, painful experience.

It has been proved by Gallup researchers who, no doubt, dedicated themselves fully to the local nuances of exalted love and frayed tempers.

The latest to feel the severe winds of the latter is Justin Bieber. Yes, the rapidly baritoning Canadian singer has attracted the gaping wrath of the Philippines. High-falutin' dignitaries want him banned from the country.

No, it is not for some racy song that mentions fondling, nor for gratuitous crotch-grabbing. It is for trying to … Read more

'Gangnam Style' slays Bieber, becomes most-watched vid

It's official: Justin Bieber has finally been out-Biebered... or perhaps more accurately, the Tween was outdone by the Korean.

As of today, Psy's "Gangnam Style" surpassed Bieber's "Baby" to become the most-watched video on YouTube. While Bieber's top video has been around since 2010, the "Gangnam Style" stratospheric global star has risen so quickly that Psy's dance sensation racked up more than 805 million views to pass Bieber in less than 5 months. That's more galloping in place than I ever thought this world could endure.… Read more

Bieber tweets most of phone number, real people driven mad

It makes us feel better when famous people make mistakes.

It's not that we're cruel. It's that we want to believe that they are as incompetent and wayward as we are.

Yet sometimes, the mistakes of the famous can be visited on the anonymous. A couple of days ago, for example, Justin Bieber tweeted a Dallas phone number, so that someone could call him "right now." He omitted the last digit, which some might find peculiar.

Perhaps this was a tease. (Well, he is 18 now.) Probably--at least according to CBS Dallas/Fort WorthRead more

Justin Bieber sued by Joustin' Beaver app maker

In any cultural argument, I will defend Justin Bieber.

He has injected more sunniness into the world than hundreds of orange juice producers, a thousand politicians, and a million reality shows.

However, I find myself tortured on hearing he is being sued by RC3, the app maker.

The ever-sunny Hollywood Reporter tells me that the greatest living Canadian (sorry, Avril) is undergoing this lawsuit because of a game called Joustin' Beaver.

No, Bieber didn't invent this game in his sleep and show the app makers how it's done. Instead, it was RC3 that unleashed this game on unprepared … Read more

Beats to Monster: We're just not that into you

LAS VEGAS--The Beats and Monster brands are so synonymous that it's hard to believe the relationship is over. After a five-year lovefest that spawned dozens of headphones including the eponymous Beats by Dr. Dre and Lady Gaga's own Heartbeats, Beats is cutting ties and refusing to renew the partnership contract.

According to a report from Businessweek, two anonymous sources confirmed that Noel Lee's Monster Brand and Jimmy Iovine's Beats label severed ties after an irreconcilable dispute over who should get more credit for last year's 53 percent headphone marketshare.

Dre and Iovine remain adamant about their aim to educate young listeners on the value of accurate sound reproduction seemingly lost in this era of awful-sounding Apple ibuds, and they even brought names like Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and Miles Davis into the fold to help drive sales with cameos in music videos and live DJ sets.… Read more

The 404 at CES 2012: Where it doesn't get any better than this (podcast)

LAS VEGAS--It's a big day for The 404 as we welcome two big Hollywood names to the CES stage--Eliza Dushku and Wayne Brady drop by for a chat about video games, robots, gadgets, and more!

It's not every day that The 404 is lucky enough to have one big name celebrity guest on the show, much less two in one episode! We've been waiting all week to chat with Eliza Dushku about her official duties as the official Entertainment Matters Ambassador for CES 2012, which sounds like a fun job!

She's been here hosting parties and covering the show all week, so we'll talk to her about the next wave of 3D televisions and her voice acting work in games like Fight Night Champion and WET, but we'd be doing our listeners and nerds everywhere a disservice if we didn't ask her about her involvement in role in Ghostbusters 3!… Read more

Tosy robots dance, draw better than you

LAS VEGAS--OK, maybe they dance and draw better than I do, but the SketRobo and DiscoRobo are some seriously skilled robots.

Showcased at the Digital Experience press event on Monday, the pair of bots are from Vietnamese robotics company Tosy. The SketRobo was the more impressive of the two. Just give the humanoid a piece of paper and a pen, and it will start drawing intricate images right before your eyes.

Tosy representatives told me that the SketRobo is currently limited to sketching objects that are already programmed into its systems. However, the plan is to equip the robot with … Read more