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Melissa McCarthy has reportedly fired an extra from the set of her latest film, “Tammy”, because the woman was abusing her child. The woman brought her child to the outdoor shoot in Wilmington, North Carolina and reportedly had trouble disciplining him all day. Witnesses say he disrupted the set and his mother couldn’t control him, and at one point she reached down, grabbed his arm, and picked him up by the wrist. McCarthy allegedly fired the woman and told her that abuse of any kind would not be tolerated. McCarthy is co-directing the film with her husband as well as starring in it as Tammy, a woman who gets fired from her job only to come home and catch her husband cheating on her. The film is a passion project for McCarthy, who also co-wrote the screenplay. She spoke a little about the movie and her scenes with Susan Sarandon, who plays her character’s grandmother and road-trip buddy. “They both have their issues they’re not acknowledging and they’re leaving town without knowing where they’re going,” McCarthy said. “I love that there’s something that happens in a car with people where all bets off. You’re off your rhythm, off your schedule, you’re forced to be completely adaptable or die.” So far, McCarthy has had no comment about the extra’s termination.

Catherine Zeta-Jones announced last month that she would be entering treatment for bipolar disorder, and now the 43-year old actress is about to be released from a health care facility. Zeta-Jones has sought treatment before a couple of years ago, which prompted her to go public with her struggle despite the potential negative affect it could have had on her career. “This is a disorder that affects millions of people, and I am one of them,” she said. “If my revelation of having bipolar II has encouraged one person to seek help, then it is worth it…There is no need to suffer silently and there is no shame in seeking help.” The actress was praised by husband Michael Douglas recently, who spoke about her while promoting a film at Cannes. “She comes home tomorrow,” Douglas said. “She’s doing a really good job of getting balanced. I’m proud of her.” Zeta-Jones spoke candidly about the disorder to InStyle Magazine last December, saying she hopes to remove the stigma attached to the word. “It’s not easy. I’m not the kind of person who likes to shout out my personal issues from the rooftops, but with my bipolar becoming public, I hope fellow sufferers will know it’s completely controllable,” she said. “I hope I can help remove any stigma attached to it, and that those who don’t have it under control will seek help with all that is available to treat it.”

Darius Rucker, formerly of Hootie And The Blowfish, has found a hit in his version of the old Dylan song “Wagon Wheel”. But some aren’t impressed with his rendition, apparently, and one naysayer took to Twitter to call him out on his move to country in a pretty despicable way. User PQKullman wrote, “Leave country to the white folk,” to which Rucker replied, “WOW… is this 2013 or 1913? Ill take my grand ole Opry membership and leave your racism. Wow.” It’s unfortunate that Rucker had to be on the receiving end of such a negative country fan, but he appears to be taking it all in stride. He later tweeted: Gotta go to bed this has been hilarious tonight. If any hater thinks I care what u think. I don’t make music for u. So don’t listen. — Darius Rucker (@dariusrucker) May 20, 2013 When one of Rucker’s followers commented, “Bet he wouldn’t say that to Nelly’s face,” Rucker shot back, “?Wouldn’t say it to mine, either.” And he makes a good point; social media sites, while good places to connect with people, are also havens for those who know they can hide behind a screen name. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as though cyber-bullies will be going away anytime soon.

There have been a lot of incredible videos to come out of Monday’s massive tornado that hit the Moore, Oklahoma area. This fits the bill, but it comes with a twist. This guy filmed the tornado as it passed above his shelter. Crazy, right? I can’t even fault him for his vertical video – I mean, he’s filming a massive tornado. Only in the YouTube age, folks. [Charles Gafford via reddit]

Google gave a presentation about Google+ and Search at Google I/O last week. With Google’s “social layer” becoming a bigger part of search and the larger Google ecosystem, this is probably one marketers will want to check out. “In this session we’ll walk you through a series of techniques you can use to make your app and content shine on Google,” Google says in session description. “Using these techniques you can connect more directly with new and existing users on Google Search.”

On May 8, Jodi Arias was found guilty of murdering her former boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in 2008. Alexander was found in his shower with his throat slit, his head shot, nearly 30 stab wounds. Now, a jury is deciding whether Arias will receive the death penalty or life in prison. After being delayed for a bomb threat, the sentencing phase of Arias’ trial began last week. The jury has already heard emotional testimony from Alexander’s family, who stated that the murder had affected their health and brought on nightmares. Today, jurors heard from Arias herself. According to an Associated Press report, Arias testified on her own behalf Tuesday morning. Though just after she was found guilty Arias had stated she would prefer the death penalty, she pleaded with the jury today to spare her life and sentence her to life in prison. “My nieces are the closest I’ll ever come to motherhood, because I’m not going to have children of my own,” said Arias. “I’m not going to become a mother. Because of my own terrible choices, I’ve had to lay that dream to rest.”

Pot-eating pigs are the reality for some pork farmers in Washington state after the state legalized marijuana use late last year. You’re not going to get high from these bovine, but these pot-eating pigs are apparently delicious. Reuters reports that Susannah Gross, a farmer outside of Seattle, has been feeding her pigs the leftovers of the marijuana plant. It’s an experiment that few farmers are participating in, but the results so far are encouraging. Much like humans, pigs under the influence of marijuana eat far more food. This leads to pigs being 20 to 30 pounds heavier than usual. It also leads to the pigs being tastier than usual, at least to those who partook in a local “Pot Pig Gig” that saw the pork resulting from the pot-eating pigs being served as part of a meal. The success of this initial program now has pot growers and farmers in Washington excited over the idea of raising chickens and cows on the leftovers of the pot plants. Oh, and for those wondering, you’re probably not going to get high from eating animals fed weed waste. No studies so far have yet to find a link, but there’s not a lot of data out there to begin with. There will obviously be more studies once the use of weed waste as animal food enters the mainstream.

In what may be one of the most non-surprising “news” of the year, members of the Westboro Baptist Church, professional life trolls that they are, have blamed the Oklahoma tornado tragedy on Kevin Durant, among other things. Well, of course they did. I mean, why else would destructive weather carve up the Midwest of the United States, if not for Durant’s support of Jason Collins? Had the Oklahoma City Thunder’s star kept his mouth shut about “glorifying gays” or something, the tornado cells that plagued the middle of the country would not have even happened. At least, that’s the gospel according to Fred Phelps, Jr, son of Pastor Fred Phelps, as you can probably guess. I’ll let his Twitter post fill in whatever blanks you may have: OK Thunder’s Durant flips God by praising fag Collins.God smashes OK. You do the math.#GodH8sFags #FagsDoomNations #FearGod #GodH8sU — Fred Phelps, Jr. (@WBCFredJr) May 21, 2013 God’s wonderful wrath in Oklahoma reminds me:#GodCursesUForFagMarriage #GodIsYourTerrorist #GodWillRepay #GodAvengesHisPeople #GodH8sU — Fred Phelps, Jr. (@WBCFredJr) May 21, 2013 If these bastions of dignity decide to picket any of the upcoming memorial services related to the tornadoes, would anyone really be surprised? In other news, how insecure does one have to be to go to such extremes just to stay relevant? By now, it’s obvious this pleasant group does not care about perception. They only want the attention that follows their pathetic trolling attempts. Instead of getting upset by them, it’s also clear the best way to deal with such nonsense is to mercilessly mock it, much like the guy in the lead image is doing. If you’re a hacker, or know how to use hacker tools, I guess the Anonymous communication strategy, at least when it comes to entities they don’t like, is an option as well. Not that we would condone anything like that.

When I try and explain what I do to friends who work outside of ecommerce, I am made acutely aware of my knowledge and perspective of the shopping channels. Here is a look at comparison shopping from one of CPC Strategies newest employees, which provides fresh insight into how people outside of comparison shopping view [...]

How to use short-form video to deliver a personalized message for products and services a consumer has expressed interest in before. With an interactive video strategy, a marketing pitch can turn into a two-way conversation on any device.