Joni Mitchell has a couple of things in common with Bob Dylan.

Both are folk rock icons. Both, too, have stage names. Mitchell used to be known as Roberta Joan Anderson, while Dylan’s given name was Robert Zimmerman.

Interestingly, Joni was being interviewed by the Los Angeles Times when the name change comparison was brought up. She responded by labeling Dylan a “fake” and a “plagiarist.”

“Bob is not authentic at all,” Mitchell said. “He’s a plagiarist, and his name and voice are fake. Everything about Bob is a deception.”

She insists that she is nothing like the minstrel of Malibu. “We are like night and day, he and I,” Joni said.

She chalked up the difference between her original surname and the stage version to her marriage.

“As for my name, my parents wanted a boy, so they called me Robert John; when I came out a girl, they just added two letter ‘A’s to that. Then I married Chuck Mitchell; I wanted to keep my maiden name – I had a bit of a following as Joni Anderson – but he wouldn’t let me,” Mitchell said.

Wasn’t there another famous person whose original name was Barry Soetoro?

Conan O’Brien has explicitly rejected NBC’s planned move of ”The Tonight Show” to a 12:05 am start so that Jay Leno could have his 11:35 pm slot back.

O’Brien issued a statement pointing out that NBC only allowed seven months for the red-headed comedian to get his version of the show off the ground.

His statement began:

“People of Earth:

In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision. …”

Conan’s statement went on to say that “for 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news,” and that delaying the show “into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting.” …

“So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Yours,

Conan”

The Fox network is apparently pouring cold water on NBC’s plans to keep Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon on its late night slate.

Fox execs have leaked to media sources that the network would be interested in a Conan-led late night franchise.

A Fox source indicated that there was interest in O’Brien but acknowledged a legal impediment, that being O’Brien’s contract with NBC.

NBC and O’Brien continue in their efforts to, in essence, renegotiate O’Brien’s deal.

And entertainment contracts are notorious for not necessarily being ironclad.

A major late night offering would make sense for Fox. Excerpt CLICK HERE for more…

A man identified as Jasper Schuringa, heroically risked his life to save his fellow passengers from the plans of suspected terrorist Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab on Northwest Airlines Flight 253. Are you paying attention Oliver Stone?

Excerpt: for more, CLICK HERE.

Angelina Jolie is apparently among those Americans becoming disillusioned with President Obama.

The actress wrote a message to the president that appeared in Newsweek, which questions the lack of action taken by the Obama administration with respect to the horror occurring in the Darfur region. Excerpt, for more CLICK HERE.

Tiger Woods has been in the public eye since he was a child.

His image has been so squeaky clean that it was the subject of jokes and derision.

The car crash outside his Florida home and his subsequent silence has resulted in a parade of women claiming to have had affairs with the PGA legend.

The media has treated Tiger differently than other public figures who have had similar kinds of news stories.

Recently actor Sean Penn found himself in a similar situation as did singer LeAnn Rimes, yet the media did not engage in the same kind of feeding frenzy that has accompanied the Woods story.

Woods broke no laws, caused no physical harm to another and has led attempted in a noble way to protect his family and preserve his marriage. Excerpt for more, CLICK HERE.

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A not-so-subtle message was sent to a large viewing audience.

The targets of the TV communiqué were Democrats in power. If you can believe it, the Obama administration, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and the Democrats in Congress were smacked by Hollywood on a major television broadcast.

Rather than use the tired old clichés of villainous conservatives, Christians, gun owners or Republicans, the new show “V” went after the current D.C. free-enterprise-destroying agenda, and did so with an interplanetary vengeance.

Sci-fi tales are known as the repository for parables that describe current circumstances in society. Orwell, Huxley, and H.G. Wells wrote social commentary in the form of narrative fantasy. “1984″ was a warning about totalitarianism, “Brave New World” showed the consequences of science without moral limitations, and “War of the Worlds” displayed the danger of complacency.

EXCERPT, FOR MORE CLICK HERE

Lindsay Lohan at a screening of “Inglourious Basterds” in New York.
(AP Photo/Peter Kramer, file)

Michael Lohan, father of troubled actress, Lindsay Lohan plans to meet with a judge to seek a conservatorship over his daughter. For the court to make Michael a conservator, he would have to establish that Lindsay is no longer able to handle her own affairs. Her father would then be in charge of her finances. But People magazine reports that Lindsay is looking to the courts to protect her from Michael. Linsay plans to obtain a restraining order against her father.

Excerpt – CLICK HERE FOR MORE