OMG Brad Pitt!! Why do I care?

Rumors, rumors, rumors. Talk about celebrity gossip. We had quite the rumor floating around the University of Missouri Thursday. It somehow got started that Brad Pitt was on campus. Which may seem completely illogical, but he actually went to Mizzou (diploma free), so it kind of makes sense that he would be here. Kind of.

It all started with one little tweet. I got on twitter during class (oops) and saw something that said, "rumor has it Brad Pitt's on campus." Then it went viral and every was asking where he was and claiming they saw him. I don't know why, but I knew it wasn't true. I texted my roommate and said "if anyone in Columbia is going to be excited about him being here, it would be me. And I'm not." Finally someone posted something from a celebrity gossip site (not me...I was in class, remember?) with a picture of him in L.A. smoking.

It was unbelievable how obsessed everyone became and how quickly that rumor spread. I wonder how celebrity bloggers post lies...this is how it starts. Once you see something on the internet, you want to find out if it's true, so you start asking questions and you get sucked into the giant black hole. I think there's a little difference between being a student and posting a tweet and posting something to a gossip site, but I see how it happens.

And even though I knew it wasn't true, I still got sucked in. I became addicted (I know, imagine that) to seeing what everyone was saying. I just sat there and continued to read all of the tweets coming in. I don't know why I did it, but I did. Which brings me to my next point.

I produce three newscasts during the week at KOMU in Columbia. One of them is the 4:30 am newscast, so I'm there the entire night. This past Thursday morning (like, 2 am) I revealed by celebrity addiction to my executive producer. He asked me something I've never asked myself before and I don't have an answer to. Why do you think you care so much?

I have no idea. And why have I never thought about this before? Why in the world do I care that Britney Spears is getting a drink from Starbucks in California? Why does it matter that Jennifer Aniston is on vacation? It absolutely doesn't. It doesn't effect my life, so why do I spend God only knows how many hours a day reading this?

I wish I had an answer. Maybe it's because they're lives are so much more interesting than mine that I want to know what they're doing to be so interesting. Maybe it's because I get bored in class and it's the first thing I think of doing. Maybe it's just a distraction from real life and a way to escape from everything going on around me.

I don't have a solid answer. And this is a new revelation. And it obviously hasn't stopped be, because I've been checking websites just as frequently, if not more this week. I don't think I'll ever stop reading and researching celebrities. But it is a question that got me thinking.

Celeb Mysteries: The Addiction Continues

So, the snow has been cleared off the roads for the most part, and our mail has been coming regularly. However, I still didn't get my OK! Magazine until Wednesday. I have a problem with this. It just makes it that much harder to not buy it, or any other gossip magazines at the store. I haven’t bought any, mostly because I know my roommate would be mad that I’m “wasting my money” on them. They’re definitely not a waste of money.

As much as I love my gossip magazines and celebrity gossip blogs and tweets and everything, they confuse me. There are so many stories out there about celebrities, and a lot of them are conflicting. One week Khloe Kardashian is pregnant and the next week she’s not. I know pregnancy rumors are as common as journalists in Columbia, MO, but I don’t understand how magazines get away with printing it one week and then saying a star isn’t pregnant the next week. Someone sees a star in baggy clothes, or the star gains five pounds and, BAM they’re pregnant. Just get the facts right before you announce someone’s pregnant, because I totally freak out when I see a Hollywood pregnancy. Hard to believe, I know. I have read that Khloe and her husband Lamar Odom are getting their own reality show, and it will follow the couple through their pregnancy. Guess we'll find out when we see the commercials on E!

There are a lot of celebrity stories out there I just don’t know the answers to, which is extremely frustrating to me. I read one thing online, and then a magazine says the complete opposite. Let’s call these stories: Celeb Mysteries.

One of my guiltiest pleasures when it comes to Celeb Mysteries is the Selena Gomez/Justin Bieber phenomenon. First of all, I think if and when it finally comes out that they are officially dating, the microcosm that is tweens will explode and life will never be the same as we know it. Selena Gomez has already gotten death threats via twitter from Bielbers. And Selena Gomez is one of the most likeable celebs out there. People are crazy. And I recognize that I fit into the crazy category, but not to the extent of some people out there. They haven’t said they’re dating, I think because she’s 18 and he’s 16, but the pictures speak for themselves.

Another couple that I don’t understand is Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal. I know they dated and then broke up, and she was devastated and will hopefully write a song about that describes my feelings towards men. Okay, let’s get back on track…after they broke up, Jake took someone else to the Golden Globes, and reportedly got cozy with numerous females that night. Then shortly after the Globes, there’s a report saying he and Taylor Swift were spotted together and they were getting back together. Then, you hear nothing about either of them for a week and he’s dating Carey Mulligan and it seems as though Taylor Swift has fallen off the face of the earth. Are they? Aren’t they? Where did Carey Mulligan come from? Where is Taylor Swift? These are the small details that I’m dying to know.

These are just a few of the many Celeb Mysteries I don’t understand and want the answers to. I know rumors are the same in high school and Hollywood. They come from nowhere without any explanation and suddenly the entire world knows. I just wish people knew all of the facts before reporting something, so they don’t contradict themselves the next day or the next week. I guess that’s just the journalist in me!

Update on Some Obsessions

I was hooked on orange juice for a while. Seriously. Luckily the great blizzard of 2011 came and made it impossible for me to get to the store. Cannot buy anymore orange juice.

This blizzard became an obsession of everyone's in Columbia. At the TV station I work at, there were people who slept there for a night or two, just so everything was covered. It was pretty nuts. And, if I do say so myself, KOMU did a fantastic job of covering the storm. Similar to most things in my life, I became addicted to the newscasts and watched all of the updates. I was also completely snowed in, so it worked out well.

The snow also forced me to be upset with the plowing system in Columbia. I'm now plowed into my street where I park (because my driveway is seriously a mountain) and I have to get out of my car at least five times to shovel the snow whenever I leave or park. It's ridiculous. I just wish I could drive down my street and easily park. That's not going to happen until spring when these 17 inches of snow melt. And we're supposed to get more snow the next two days. There's no hope!

The blizzard also delayed on of my favorite things...my issue of OK! Magazine. It usually comes on Monday's, but it didn't get here until Saturday this week. How am I supposed to know that stars are wearing citrus colors? Or that 55% of people prefer Paula and Simon on American Idol over Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez? Well, that one I probably could have guessed on my own, but now I have a statistic.

Hopefully next week brings less snow, magazines on time and no orange juice.

My Name is Ally Bird...and I Have a Problem

It's true. I have a problem and I recognize it. It's a difficult problem to explain though. I'm an addict. I'm addicted to being addicted. Seems confusing, right? I'll try to explain.

I can't do anything at on a small scale. It all has to be big and over the top. No matter what it is. I can't just watch a T.V. show and be satisfied. I get completely immersed and obsessed with the show. If for some reason I miss one of my two favorite and only shows I watch during the week, my life is over.

I also check my facebook and twitter constantly. I have both of them on my phone and feel obligated to look and know what's going on with everyone. I think this obsession is why I enjoy working the desk shift at KOMU. It's my job to re-tweet what reporters say about their stories, and post stories and questions on facebook. And after I do that, I become obsessed with constantly checking comments and re-tweets to see what viewers have to say.

I remember one point during my sophomore year of college I was addicted to drinking orange juice. That one's a little weird. I don't know why or how it happened, but I constantly had a glass of orange juice in my hand. It's over now, though, which is probably for the best.

I'm hoping that my obsession transfers over to the world of blogging. I've tried it a couple times before and it didn't work out too well. Hopefully things will change and I feel the need to blog constantly. So it's time to close my eyes, cross my fingers and jump into the blogosphere. And stop talking about orange juice.

While most of these obsessions are all very real and current, none of them compare to my biggest addiction. I am completely, 100%, totally captivated by the world of celebrity gossip. Now, you can laugh and say it's silly, but it's not going to stop me. I can't stop. I need to know what's going on in every celebrity's life. I don't know why or where or how long I've been obsessed, but I am and it's not going away anytime soon.

I wrote the first sentence of the previous paragraph and checked a celebrity gossip site and my twitter to see what's happening with them. And, it's a weekend so no one is really even posting but I had to look.

Whenever my friends want to know anything about celebrities, they come to me. And when they say things like, "Oh, did you know Reese Witherspoon is engaged?" I don't only say yes, but go into details on the proposal, or the ring.

I probably follow about 15 celebrity gossip people on twitter. It's a constant feed of celeb information. And I usually already know what they're tweeting about, but I still take time out of my day to reread it and look for something new. I check celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton's website a minimum of ten times a day. I just can't stop myself.

You can tell me I'm crazy, or weird or whatever you want, but you won't stop me. I have to check my websites about celebs. My friends used to make fun of me for it. They'd see me on my phone and ask who I was texting and my response was "No one, I'm on Perez." They've finally come to terms with my addiction and encourage it. For Christmas, my roommate bought be a subscription to OK! Magazine. She told me I need to stop wasting money on gossip magazines at the store, so now they come to my house. And every Monday when that magazine is in my mailbox, a giant wave of joy comes over my body and I sit in my bed and catch up on everything I might have missed on a website.

Say what you want, I can't and won't kick the habit. And anytime you have a question about the life of a celebrity, feel free to ask! @AllysonBird on twitter. I promise I'll know the answer, and if I don't, I won't stop until I find out!

(P.S. I checked twitter and Perez Hilton four times during this post.)