What's up with the new Mindsay?  Not so sure if I like it.  I had a sweet layout, and now I gotta figure out how to do it again.  Damn!

Ok, I guess I gotta go mess around with this now.

Why oh why do I have to have classes this early in the morning?  Why do I do this to myself?  I didn't want to get out of bed this morning.   Hell, I don't want to get out of bed any morning!

I don't know...something about beautiful naked women with paint on them is just so appealing. 

Who's with me on this?

Janet Leigh made showers scary.

The steely blonde actress infamously assaulted in the act of washing in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho died Sunday of a blood disorder. She was 77.

Leigh had suffered from vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels, for about a year, a spokeswoman for Jamie Lee Curtis, her daughter, told the Associated Press.

"She died peacefully at home," Heidi Schaeffer told the wire service. Lee, her sister and Leigh's husband, Robert Brandt, were at her side.

Leigh earned a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for Psycho as Marion Crane, the woman gone wrong who is done wrong at the knife of motel-hell owner Norman Bates, played with beady-eyed intensity by Anthony Perkins.

In director Hitchcock's most famed thriller twist, Leigh's undoing in the shower occurs early in the 1960 movie--he killed off his star with more than half the story to go.

If the violent sequence--taking up less than a minute of screen time--was enough to give moviegoers second thoughts about running water, think what it did to the actress.

"The shooting was stretched out over seven days and with all the water I was a prune," Leigh once told DVDFile.com. "But the full impact did not hit me until I saw it [on screen]."

In 1995, Leigh told People that after Psycho she showered only as a last resort--when a bath was unavailable. And even then, she took precautions. "I make sure all the doors and windows in the house are locked, and I leave the bathroom door and shower curtain open so I have a perfect, clear view," she said in the magazine.

If Leigh was best known for Psycho, she was not only known for Psycho, a la King Kong's Fay Wray.

She starred in more than 50 films, including Touch of Evil and the original Manchurian Candidate, costarred in a high-profile Hollywood marriage with Tony Curtis, and, with Curtis, produced modern-day movie star Jamie Lee Curtis.

Born Jeanette Helen Morrison on July 6, 1927, in Merced, California, Leigh's Hollywood career began the Hollywood way: She was discovered.

In 1945, former MGM diva Norma Shearer was vacationing at the California ski resort where her parents worked. Shearer spotted a picture of the teenaged Morrison, showed it to power agent Lew Wasserman and--voila!--Janet Leigh was born.

In 2003, Leigh told the Associated Press that not even MGM's own head of publicity believed the story.

"But it's absolutely true," Leigh said to the wire service.

Leigh's first film was 1947's The Romance of Rosy Ridge, a Civil War-era drama; her last, the horror spoof, A Fate Totally Worse Than Death, as-yet unreleased.

In between, was memorable stuff such as 1953's The Naked Spur, the James Stewart Western/adventure; 1953's Houdini, a biopic on magician Harry Houdini, costarring then-husband Curtis; 1958's Touch of Evil, the now-acclaimed Orson Welles noir classic; 1962's The Manchurian Candidate with Frank Sinatra; 1963's Bye Bye Birdie, the Technicolor musical; and, 1966's Harper, the Paul Newman detective drama.

Leigh worked mainly in TV from the 1970s on, though she did endear herself to cult-movie fans with 1972's Night of the Lepus, a cautionary tale about gigantic bunny rabbits.

In all, four of Leigh's films--Psycho, The Manchurian Candidate, A Touch of Evil and The Naked Spur--have been designated preservation-worthy works by the National Film Registry.

"That's really gratifying. I'm in such good company. There are very few others who have four or more of their films in there. I'm very proud," Leigh said of the film registry designations to DVDFile.com.

Leigh's personal life became the stuff of tabloids with her 1951 marriage to Tony Curtis. It was her third marriage after two short-lived ones in the 1940s.

With Curtis, she had two daughters. Her youngest, Jamie Lee Curtis, born in 1958, would go on to echo her mother's Psycho screams starting with the 1978 horror flick Halloween.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Leigh appeared together on screen in 1979's The Fog and 1998's Halloween H20.

Leigh and Curtis divorced in 1962. That same year, she wed stockbroker Robert Brandt.

In later years, Leigh penned novels (The Dream Factory, House of Destiny), her autobiography (There Really Was a Hollywood) and an account of the shower scene seen around the world (Psycho: Behind the Scenes of the Classic Thriller, written with Christopher Nickens).

While Psycho loomed large in her career, Leigh never begrudged its place in her life.

"How can anyone not be grateful for that kind of opportunity?" she told the A.P. in 2003. "...That's what the [movie] business is all about: Creating images."

These shoes are sweet, but they're making me feel ghetto.  I think I want them though.  I need some new shoes. 

I was just browsing, and I came across this rabbit.  I want it!  I don't think I'd trust myself to care for a pet all by myself, though.  I mean, lets be realistic here.

Classes were actually pretty cool today.  Got out 20 minutes early in one of my classes, which is always appreciated greatly!  That totally made my day!

This is such a sweet picture of Phil!

I really want some pumpkin pie with lots of whipped cream.  MMMMM.  That would totally hit the spot.

This is a cool picture.

Man, now I feel like playing basketball!  I think I'll see if anyone wants to go play.

Went to NFL zone from 12-2 today.  Tomorrow I have my Chronicle meeting from 6-7 pm.  Don't really feel like going to it, but hopefully I'll change my mind by tomorrow. :)

Went to Bucktown last night with Grant, Brad, Dan and Mike, and somehow, after a few too many beers, we ended up doing karaoke.  We kicked ass!  Yeah, we brought the place down, for sure. :)

 I never thought I'd sing karaoke in front of a bunch of strangers, but I actually really got into it.  Crazy.  :)

I know this is illegal and immoral, but these kids had a damn good idea!  Why didn't I ever think of this before?

By Jack Kim and Moon Hae-won

SEOUL (Reuters) - Police questioned 350 South Korean students Friday and more were under suspicion in a widening probe into cheating that has uncovered a link between two national obsessions -- education and mobile phones.

Cheating is not unprecedented in the one-day university examination, a test that many South Koreans are convinced is the single most important event that decides a young person's future.

But the test on Nov. 17 this year was marred by what appears to have been a sophisticated and widespread scheme to provide students the answers by mobile phone. Hundreds of the 600,000 who took part may be involved.

Others are being questioned for paying college students to take the exam in their place using forged identification.

"It is mainly due to pressure to do well in a test that will decide their lives forever," said Jung Bong-mun, an Education Ministry official who works on college admission policy.

He said the pressure to perform well, and thus to cheat, had been there in previous years. Yet this was the first year cases of premeditated cheating using mobile phones were uncovered.

Under the scheme, "a player" -- a better-performing student taking the exam or a college student monitoring the test from outside by mobile telephone -- would transmit the answers to mostly multiple-choice questions to pre-arranged receivers.

A nationwide police investigation is in place and some cram school teachers are being questioned. The money said to be involved -- up to one million won ($960) per student according to some media reports -- means parents are also suspected.

The number of students who took advantage is growing by the day as those hoping to escape harsh punishment turn themselves in.

The jury in Scott Peterson's case recommended that he be put to death.  Formal sentencing is February 25th, where the judge has the option of reducing the sentence to life in prison without parole.  If the judge decides to uphold the recommendation, however, then Peterson is off to death row.  Peterson's attorneys will appeal the decision, and appeals can take a long time. 

It could be years before even the first phase of the appeals process begins. The sentence might not be carried out for decades, if ever.

California's death row has grown to house about 650 condemned men and women since the state restored capital punishment in 1978, according to the AP.

Only 10 executions have been carried out since then. The last one was in 2002 -- for a murder that happened 22 years earlier.

I forgot I had this picture :)

By Alison McCook

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who are distraught after breaking up with a romantic partner show brain changes that are not seen in women less upset by a romantic rift, researchers report.

Specifically, women who said they were particularly upset about the breakup showed greater decreases in brain activity in brain regions associated with emotion, motivation and attention while thinking sad thoughts about their former partners.

Emotion, motivation and attention are "all factors that go awry in depression and now, it appears grief as well," Dr. Jeffrey P. Lorberbaum told Reuters Health.

"We speculate that brain regions involved in emotion, motivation and attention regions are impaired with severe grief," said Lorberbaum, at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

These findings may provide clues to how the brain processes extreme sadness, and how that sadness can sometimes lead to depression, he added. "If we can first understand the brain basis of grief then we eventually might be able to help those who are disabled by grief, as well as understand how depression gets triggered."

In the American Journal of Psychiatry, Lorberbaum and his colleagues suggest that depression may sometimes occur when the brain becomes unable to properly handle sadness, separation or grief.

To investigate further how the brain responds to grief, the investigators performed brain scans on nine women dealing with feelings surrounding a breakup that occurred within the previous 4 months, involving a romantic relationship that lasted at least 6 months.

All of the participants were having trouble getting over the relationship, the authors note -- perhaps feeling as if they can't get the person out of their head, or still feeling sad.

During the study, the researchers noted women's brain activity when they thought sad thoughts about their former partner and compared it to the activity seen when they thought neutral thoughts about a person they had known for the same amount of time.

Immediately after the breakup, all women said they had experienced some symptoms of depression, although most added that the symptoms had started to fade after 2 weeks. At the time of the study, only one person was suffering full-blown depression.

Lorberbaum and his colleagues found that women who were grieving the most from the breakup showed the greatest decreases in brain activity in brain regions associated with emotion, motivation and attention while thinking sad thoughts about the ex-partner.

Additional research is needed to shed light on how normal sadness, grief and depression are related, the authors note.

SOURCE: American Journal of Psychiatry, December 2004.

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos who walk in the street or cross the road illegally will no longer get a slap on the wrist. Instead, they risk a smack with a wet blanket.

“We’ve tried talking to pedestrians, asking them to walk on the sidewalks, but it wasn’t effective,” said Richard Apodarado, a traffic enforcement commander in Manila, the congested capital of 12 million people and seemingly as many vehicles.

Under the new campaign, about 20 trucks patrol the city with wooden poles attached to damp blankets emblazoned with the warning: “No walking or standing in the streets.” People who don’t step back onto the curb are in for a rude shock.

In the past, offenders who blocked the road while waiting for public transport were fined, jailed, told to do community service or made to sing the national anthem in public.

“We lack respect for the government and government does not have moral authority like it does in other Asian nations,” said Arni Trinidad, a sociology professor at the University of the Philippines. “I think government has to engage in Machiavellian ways.”

But not everyone is happy with how the soggy clampdown is being carried out.

“It seems that they don’t know what they’re doing,” said street vendor Bobot Flores. “They do not treat us like humans.”

I don't really agree with this, but whatever.  Maybe there's more too my blogs than I think.  :)

You Are a Snarky Blogger!

You've got a razor sharp wit that bloggers are secretly scared of. And that's why they read your posts as often as they can!

A young man goes into a drug store to buy condoms. The pharmacist says the condoms come in packs of 3, 9 or 12 and asks which the young man wants. "Well", he said, "I've been seeing this girl for a while and she's really hot. I want the condoms because I think tonight's THE night. We're having dinner with her parents, and then we're going out. Once she's had me, she'll want me all the time, so you'd better give me the 12 pack". The young man makes his purchase and leaves.

Later that evening, he sits down to dinner with his girlfriend and her parents. He asks if he might give the blessing, and they agree. He begins the prayer, but continues praying for several minutes. The girl leans over and says, "You never told me that you were such a religious person". He leans over to her and says, "You never told me that your father is a pharmacist".

Haha!  :)

This is great!  A 17 year old student in Wisconsin is suing the school because he received too much homework over summer vacation!

Why didn't I ever think of this when I was in high school?

What surprises me the most is that someone would actually sue over this!  It never ceases to amaze me how many people will sue over just about anything.

I was sprayed by a skunk.

I tripped over my dog and was knocked unconscious.

My bus broke down and was held up by robbers.

I was arrested as a result of mistaken identity.

I forgot to come back to work after lunch.

I couldn't find my shoes.

I hurt myself bowling.

I was spit on by a venomous snake.

I totaled my wife's jeep in a collision with a cow.

A hitman was looking for me.

My curlers burned my hair and I had to go to the hairdresser.

I eloped.

My brain went to sleep and I couldn't wake it up.

My cat unplugged my alarm clock.

I had to be there for my husband's grand jury trial.

I had to ship my grandmother's bones to India.

I forgot what day of the week it was.

Someone slipped drugs in my drink last night.

A tree fell on my car.

My monkey died.

Ok, so I took this back in December when I was home, but I never got a chance to develop it. I think I'm turning into Dean! We're meshing together! Anyway, I just really like the picture. One of the better ones I've taken.

I am so jealous. Adam has the coolest car in the whole world. Look at those wheels!

Last entry, I showed you a really cool car.  So this entry, it only makes sense to now show you my car.  A '96 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

WATERVILLE, Maine - Josh Kahn swirls the ruby-red wine in his wineglass, puts it up to his nose and breathes in deeply. He watches how the 2002 Fairview shiraz from South Africa clings to the inside of the glass, then takes a sip.

This is not a tasting at a wine shop. This is Colby College, a private liberal arts school where students 21 and older get together on Friday nights in a school cafeteria to learn about and drink beer and wine.

The get-togethers are intended to teach students how to imbibe well and in moderation. The emphasis is on savoring, not swilling.

Seated next to Kahn on a recent night was fellow student Maureen Sherry of Massachusetts, who was drinking a sauvignon blanc. The gatherings have taught her to not be intimidated by wine.

“I always thought I hated wine. But now I realize that what I hated were the $3 bottles of wine I bought at the grocery store,” she said.

The drinks-with-supper soirees on the 1,800-student campus have met with disapproval from some experts at a time when colleges around the country are trying to stop problem drinking among students.

'Ironic'?
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says drinking by college students contributes to about 1,400 student deaths each year, along with 500,000 injuries and 70,000 cases of sexual assault.

At Colby, Waterville police this month issued summonses to 14 students for underage possession of alcohol or displaying a fake ID. And three students were taken to a hospital after drinking too much.

Henry Wechsler, director of College Alcohol Studies at the Harvard School of Public Health, said colleges should not be in the business of providing alcohol to students, who already have plenty of drinking opportunities at fraternities, bars and parties.

“This free flow of alcohol is one of the problems around binge drinking,” Wechsler said. “It’s ironic that giving more alcohol should solve the problem.”

Colby officials say the program is just one component of the college’s alcohol education efforts. “There are some who say the college should take a just-say-no approach, but I don’t think that’s realistic,” said Janice Kassman, dean of students.

It was the notion that college life seemed to include just two types of alcohol consumption — too much or none at all — that prompted Catherine Welch, the student government president, to suggest the get-togethers. College administrators gave the OK.

In a room off a dining hall, an average of 30 to 50 students come and go from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on select Fridays. It is a tasteful affair, with white tablecloths and $1 drinks served by a bartender in a tuxedo shirt and black pants.

Learning the details
The students can learn about the beer and wines by reading handouts or talking to wine distributors and brewery owners who may show up. Featured wines have come from Argentina, Chile, California, Oregon, Australia, New Zealand, Sicily and South Africa. Beers have included ales, porters, stouts and Belgian-style varieties from breweries in Maine, Vermont, New York and California.

On a recent night, most of the students came simply to enjoy a drink with friends over dinner. Some said they now feel more informed.

Katie Lucas, a junior from Milwaukee, said knowing a chardonnay from a pinot grigio from a sauvignon blanc will help at business dinners for her summer job at an investment firm. “It’s good to know your preferences so you can sound confident,” she said.

Cornell University has a for-credit course on wine, and the University of California-Davis has a department that focuses on vineyards and winemaking. But the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators said it was not aware of any other programs like Colby’s.

Ralph Hingsen, a Boston University professor who works at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said he does not know of any scientific research on the effect such undertakings might have on students’ drinking habits.

Kahn, a senior from St. Louis, said it is no big deal having a drink with dinner. He drank wine with meals with the family he lived with last year while studying in Chile, where it was viewed as a complement to a meal, not as a way to get drunk.

As for Colby’s drinks-with-supper experiment, “it was nice to come back and have an option,” he said.

The national price for regular unleaded gasoline rose 6.3 cents over the past week and is up 49 cents from a year ago, according to a weekly survey of service stations by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Pump prices are forecast to go even higher and reach a monthly peak of $2.35 a gallon in May, according to the Energy Department's analytical arm. When adjusted for inflation, gasoline cost the most in March 1981 at $3.12 a gallon, the EIA said.

Gasoline prices are much higher in Europe, where drivers pay $5 to $6 a gallon to fill-up.

Nonetheless, high U.S. fuel prices have made consumers turn away from gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles in favor of more fuel efficient cars.

No. 2 U.S. automaker Ford Motor (F) has cut its 2005 earnings forecast due in part to rising gasoline prices, which it said were hurting sales of its high-margin SUVs.

The West Coast had the most expensive regular unleaded gasoline, with the price up 13 cents to $2.53 a gallon. San Francisco was at the top of the EIA's survey of cities, with the price of gasoline up 13.9 cents to $2.63 a gallon.

The Gulf Coast states had the cheapest fuel, with the price up 4.3 cents to $2.18 a gallon. Among major cities, Houston again had the lowest pump price, with fuel up 4.3 cents to $2.13 a gallon.

The weekly EIA report also showed gasoline prices were up 12.7 cents to $2.60 in Los Angeles; up 14.7 cents to $2.45 in Seattle; up 7 cents to $2.37 in Miami; up 5.6 cents to $2.33 in Chicago; up 7.7 cents to $2.26 in Denver; up 3.5 cents to $2.24 in Cleveland; up 6.3 cents to $2.20 in New York City and up 5.7 cents to $2.17 in Boston.

Truckers also continue to suffer at the pump, as the price for diesel fuel rose 1.3 cents to a record $2.32 a gallon, up 64 cents from a year ago, the EIA said.

Truckers on the West Coast paid the most for diesel at $2.59 a gallon, up 4.4 cents from last week. The lower Atlantic states along the East Coast had the cheapest diesel at $2.24 a gallon, up about half a penny.

I went into my proctologist's office for my first rectal exam. His new nurse, Elaine, took me to an examining room and told me to get undressed and have a seat until the doctor could see me. She said that he would only be a few minutes.

After putting on the gown that she gave me I sat down. While waiting I observed that there were three items on a stand next to the exam table: a tube of K-Y jelly, a rubber glove, and a beer.

When the doctor finally came in I said, "Look Doc, I'm a little confused. This is my first exam. I know what the K-Y is for, and I know what the glove is for, but can you tell me what the BEER is for?" At that Doctor Paul became noticeably outraged and stormed over to the door. He flung the door open and yelled to his nurse.......

"Darn it ELAINE!!!!!!!!!!! I said a BUTT LIGHT"

Yes, we know how to have fun.

By Ed Frauenheim
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

If you're working for a U.S. company, there's a good chance you're being watched--and you may get fired for how you use your computer or office phone.

That's the gist of a study on electronic monitoring and surveillance released Wednesday by the American Management Association and the ePolicy Institute.

The report found that companies increasingly are "putting teeth in technology policies." About a quarter of employers have fired workers for misusing the Internet; another 25 percent have terminated employees for e-mail misuse; and 6 percent have fired employees for misusing office telephones, according to the report.

"Concern over litigation and the role electronic evidence plays in lawsuits and regulatory investigations has spurred more employers to implement electronic technology policies," Nancy Flynn, executive director of the ePolicy Institute, said in a statement.

Although liability and regulatory issues may be convincing companies to peek in on their employees, such surveillance raises privacy concerns. Employers can monitor workers to a greater degree these days, thanks to newer technologies such as keystroke-logging software and satellite global positioning systems that can track a cell phone user's whereabouts.

The survey, which involved 526 U.S. companies, found that 5 percent use GPS technology to monitor cell phones and 8 percent use GPS to track company vehicles. About 75 percent of companies monitor workers' Web site connections, and 65 percent use software to block connections to inappropriate Web sites.

Computer monitoring takes various forms, according to the study, with 36 percent of employers tracking "content, keystrokes and time spent at the keyboard." Another 50 percent of companies store and review employees' computer files, according to the report. "Companies also keep an eye on e-mail, with 55 percent retaining and reviewing messages," the report said.

The number of employers who monitor the amount of time employees spend on the phone and track the numbers called has jumped to 51 percent, up from 9 percent in 2001, the report said.

Fifty-one percent of the companies surveyed use video monitoring to counter theft, violence and sabotage, up from 33 percent in 2001. "The number of companies that use video surveillance to track employees' on-the-job performance has also increased," the report said, "with 10 percent now videotaping selected job categories and 6 percent videotaping all employees."

Of those organizations that engage in monitoring and surveillance activities, 80 percent inform workers that the company is monitoring content, keystrokes and time spent at the keyboard; 82 percent let employees know the company stores and reviews computer files; 86 percent alert employees to e-mail monitoring; and 89 percent notify employees that their Web usage is being tracked, according to the report. Among companies that videotape workers, 85 percent notify employees of the practice, the report said.

By Sarah Hall

Though Katie Holmes may claim that her love for Tom Cruise is the real deal, skeptics continue to insist that the relationship is nothing but a made-for-Hollywood sham.

Case in point: FreeKatie.net, a Website that proclaims itself dedicated to "the movement to liberate Katie, a young, gifted, actress held captive by forces we may never understand. Even one summer of captivity is too long for one so bright!"

In an effort to perpetuate the tongue-in-cheek movement, the site is selling T-shirts, trucker hats, stickers and coffee mugs bearing the message "Free Katie."

Sheila Cameron, creator of FreeKatie.net, said she originally put up the site after watching Cruise's now infamous appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show last month. She said she was surprised by the amount of attention it has since attracted.

"We just thought it would be funny to make a few shirts and send the link around to friends. I never thought it would get the response it has," Cameron told E! Online via email.

"I just wanted to make a funny comment on a poorly handled media storm. No one can deny that there is a feeling of unease about many of the couple's public appearances and I'm happy to create a place where people can vent on the issue from whatever side they like."

However, according to Holmes, freedom from Cruise is the last thing she wants.

"I feel like he's made my life. He's amazing. He's kind, he's generous, he's smart, he's Tom Cruise," Holmes gushed to the Boston Herald. "He's the most artistic man I've ever met, he's a joy, he makes me laugh like I've never laughed. He's the most wonderful being.''

Holmes has claimed that she begins to miss the Top Gun star after "like one hour" away from him.

"I'm more and more in love every day. It's like, wow," Holmes told Access Hollywood.

One thing's for sure--the erstwhile Joey Potter seems to be falling more and more into Cruise control--even taking a newfound interest in the Church of Scientology.

"I have looked into it myself and I really like it and I think it's really wonderful," Holmes told Access Hollywood, when asked if she was becoming a Scientologist.

Cruise has been increasingly vocal about his own devotion to the religion of late and reportedly even took Holmes' parents on a tour of the Scientology Celebrity Center last weekend, according to the New York Post.

Holmes has also been making some changes in her professional life. Last week, Holmes axed her CAA agent, Brandt Joel, replacing him with Cruise's people at the same agency, Rick Nicita and Kevin Huvane, per the New York Post. This week, she parted ways with her longtime manager, John Carrabino, her rep, Leslie Sloane, confirmed to E!

While Cruise has not been shy about professing his love for Holmes, he proved to be capable of laughing at himself during an appearance on The Tonight Show Wednesday night.

Mocking his Oprah appearance, Cruise leaped onto Jay Leno's couch and began pumping his arms in the air to the delight of the crowd.

"When I start to think about her, things happen," he told Leno. "So, cease talking."

Cruise also said he was looking forward to "spending the rest of my life" with Holmes.

"I'm just really happy. She's a terrific lady, she's a great lady," the high-octane thesp said.

Holmes has her chance to return the compliments Thursday night, when she appears on Late Night with David Letterman.

Both stars are in the midst of promoting their summer releases. Holmes' Batman Begins opens Friday, while Cruise's War of the Worlds hits theaters July 29.

This is all well and good, but don't you think he should have come to this conclusion a long time ago?

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Michael Jackson's lawyer said Tuesday he is convinced that the pop star "has never molested any child," but he said Jackson would no longer let children or their families sleep in his room.

"He's not going to do that because it makes him vulnerable to false charges," attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. told The Associated Press in a wide-ranging interview.

Mesereau said he believes that Jackson will continue to be "a convenient target for people who want to extract money or build careers at his expense." As a result, the attorney said, Jackson will have to change his lifestyle and "not easily allow people to enter his life."

Mesereau and his colleague, Susan Yu, spoke to the AP the morning after Jackson's acquittal on charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at his Neverland ranch.

Both attorneys described Jackson as the most vulnerable person they have ever met. They said he is physically depleted from the four-month trial and will need time to rest before he again ventures into the public.

Jurors said the accusations of a young boy and his family were not credible — a legal victory that triggered jubilation among the pop star's fans and embarrassment for the district attorney's office.

The Jackson Web site mjjsource.com trumpeted the acquittal with graphics declaring "Innocent" and showing a hand giving a victory sign as a fanfare plays. A scrolling calendar highlights historic events such as "Martin Luther King is born," "The Berlin Wall falls," "Nelson Mandela is freed," and finally, "June 13, 2005, Remember this date for it is a part of HIStory." The reference was to Jackson's 1995 album "HIStory: Past, Present, and Future Book I."

A raucous welcome greeted Jackson as he returned to his Neverland Ranch on Monday afternoon. As a convoy of black SUVs carrying him and his entourage pulled through the gates, his sister LaToya rolled down a window, smiled widely and waved. The crowd responded with a euphoric cheer.

"All of us here and millions around the world love and support you," proclaimed a banner strung across a fence by the compound in Los Olivos that Jackson said he created to provide himself with the childhood he never enjoyed.

"It's victory," said Tracee Raynaud, 39. "God is alive and well."

Aside from the Web site message and lawyer comments, there was no statement from Jackson or his family Tuesday morning. He has no media representative since Raymone K. Bain was dismissed last week.

The acquittals marked a stinging defeat for Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon, who displayed open hostility for Jackson and had pursued him for more than a decade, trying to prove the rumors that swirled around Jackson about his fondness for children.

Sneddon sat with his head in his hands after the verdicts were read.

"We don't select victims of crimes and we don't select the family. We try to make a conscientious decision and go forward," Sneddon said afterward, adding "I'm not going to look back and apologize for anything that we've done."

Not all the jurors were convinced the King of Pop had never molested a child.

"He's just not guilty of the crimes he's been charged with," said juror Ray Hultman. He told The Associated Press he was one of three people on the 12-person panel who voted to acquit only after the other nine persuaded them there was reasonable doubt about guilt in this particular case.

Prosecutors presented testimony about Jackson's allegedly improper relationships with several boys in the early 1990s, including the son of a maid who testified that Jackson molested him during tickling session between 1987 and 1990. Another, Brett Barnes, took the stand to deny that he was molested during sleepovers at Neverland.

But Hultman said he believed it was likely that both boys had been molested. He said he voted to acquit Jackson in the current case because he had doubts about his current accuser's credibility.

"That's not to say he's an innocent man," Hultman, 62, said of Jackson. Some jurors noted they were troubled by Jackson's admission that he allowed boys into his bed for what he characterized as innocent sleepovers.

"We would hope first of all that he doesn't sleep with children anymore and that he learns that they have to stay with their families or stay in the guest rooms or the houses or whatever they're called down there," jury foreman Paul Rodriguez said. "And he just has to be careful how he conducts himself around children."

Some jurors acknowledged they flatly disliked the accuser's mother, portrayed by the defense as a welfare cheat who brought a trumped-up lawsuit against J.C. Penney, accusing store guards of roughing her and her family up.

One juror said she felt sorry for the accuser and his siblings, believing they had been trained by their mother to lie. "As a mother, the values she has taught them, it's hard for me to comprehend," she said. "I wouldn't want any of my children to lie for their own gain."

The verdict means Jackson will be free to try to rebuild his blighted musical career. But his legal victory came at a terrible price to his image.

Prosecutors branded him a deviant who used his playland as the ultimate pervert's lair, plying boys with booze and porn. Prosecution witnesses described other bizarre behavior by Jackson: They said he licked his accuser's head, simulated a sex act with a mannequin and kept dolls in bondage outfits on his desk.

Defense lawyers described Jackson as a humanitarian who wanted to protect kids and give them the life he never had while growing up as a child star.

The defense said the family exploited the boy's battle with cancer to shake down celebrities, then concocted the charges after realizing Jackson was cutting them off from a jet-set lifestyle.

Jackson was cleared of 10 charges in all, including four counts that he molested the boy in early 2003. Jackson also was charged with providing the boy with wine — "Jesus juice," the pop star called it — and conspiring with members of his inner circle to hold the accuser and his family captive to get them to rebut a damaging documentary.

Jurors also had to consider four lesser charges related to the alcohol counts, forcing them to render 14 verdicts in all.

The case was set in motion by the 2003 broadcast of the British TV documentary "Living With Michael Jackson" that Jackson had hoped would actually improve his image. In the program, Jackson held hands with the boy who would later accuse him, and he acknowledged sharing his bed with children, a practice he described as sweet and not at all sexual.

After the verdict, a weary Jackson retreated to Neverland where, according to his family, he went straight to bed. The entertainer, who appeared exhausted as he shuffled out of court, is "trying to get back his strength," said his father, Joe Jackson.

Emily Smith, 24, of London, one of the few fans who got courtroom passes to hear the reading of the verdicts, said: "I believe justice has been done today. I can't tell you how good it feels."

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- Canadian singer Avril Lavigne is reportedly marrying a fellow songsmith.

Us Weekly says the 20-year-old is engaged to marry Deryck Whibley, the frontman for the punk-pop group Sum 41.

Lavigne, 20, began dating the 25-year-old musician in early 2004. They had been friends for several years before that, the magazine said.

Whibley and Lavigne both hail from the same province in Canada — Ontario — and reportedly bought a home together in Los Angeles last year.

Us Weekly reported that Whibley proposed over the weekend while Lavigne was finishing up the European leg of her tour. Publicists for both musicians confirmed the engagement to the magazine.

I'm watching "Made" on MTV.  This geeky guy is trying to become a ladies' man.  He's trying to hard; he's just repelling the women.  He's getting a little better now though.  At least he got a haircut and started dressing differently.

That kid can definitely not dance though.  I can't either, but at least I know I can't.  He can't, but he thinks he can.  That's the worst.

Went over to my friend's house last night and watched American Pie 2.  Great movie!  Eugene Levy is such a great actor...his character's always crack me up! :)

I think I might hang out here at the house tonight and watch a movie with my sister.

The 6-foot-6, 290-pound defensive tackle from Southern California - the only pick in this month's supplemental draft - broke down during an on-field workout session.

Dolphins coach Nick Saban appeared to be shouting, or at least talking very sternly, to Wright, who was later seen walking off the field, escorted by a member of the team's staff, and lifting the front of his shirt to wipe away tears.

Exactly what Saban said that upset Wright was unclear. Team policy does not allow reporters access to players following a midday interview period.

"As you well know, young players need to develop the kind of mental toughness and attitude that they need to be professionals," Saban said. "So we are trying to help him with that, too, which may be why we need to get on him a little at times."

Wright was eligible for the supplemental draft because he is three years out of high school. As a sophomore at USC last season, he had 23 tackles, including six for losses, and recovered two fumbles.

Saban said the rookie has struggled a bit so far with muscle soreness and other issues, and believes Wright is "probably not in as good of shape as he needs to be in."

"I got on him about what we wanted him to try to do at least today, to try and work himself through it, and he responded well to it," Saban said.

Seduced into scams: Online lovers often duped

Dating sites, singles chat rooms latest target of Nigerian scams

If you haven't been watching The Real World: Austin, here's a good reason to start!

Ok people...tell me what movie this is from, and you get a kiss. :)

"I don't like black people? I am mister black people."

Ok, so what movie is this quote from?

"That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it."

The 70s House tv show on MTV has got to be one of the stupidest shows ever created.

That's the final verdict for those people still in New Orleans.  Due to contamination, there is now a mandatory evacuation.  Those who don't leave willingly will be forcibly removed.

It's estimated that 10,000 people could still be in the city.

The average nationwide retail gasoline price Monday fell to $2.967 a gallon for regular unleaded from $3.018 the day before, according to AAA.

Gasoline futures prices have dropped by about a third since the end of August.

Crude oil prices dropped to $63.34 a barrel, down 9% from the record close of $69.81 in late August.

Natural gas futures were down more than 23 cents in New York trading, to $11.03 per million British thermal units, compared with a record $11.76 on Sept. 1.

Still, energy experts say consumers will feel the impact of Katrina for months. Natural gas prices will be a big challenge this winter.

The federal Energy Information Administration recently forecast that natural gas prices could rise 71% in the Midwest this winter.

Forecaster Global Insight expects natural gas prices to average $12 per million Btu through the winter, says Mary Novak, managing director for energy services. Consumers saw an average of $7.50 last winter.

"It's astronomical compared to what people were paying for the previous 20 years," Novak says.

George Coling, executive director of the National Fuel Funds Network, says Katrina will be a "disaster" for less-affluent households.

The Network represents non-profit groups that supplement assistance from the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Some members of Congress want to increase the annual budget for LIHEAP, which helps consumers who meet certain income requirements pay heating and cooling bills.

The program serves more than 5 million households a year.

"Increasing LIHEAP is one thing, and probably the only effective thing, that Congress can do immediately to relieve the home energy situation" Coling says.

The U.S. Minerals Management Service Monday said about 38% of natural gas production in the gulf remains shuttered.

"It's too early to start relaxing but also no cause yet for panic. We're not hearing from our utility customers that they are going to have a problem meeting customer demand," says Mark Stultz, spokesman for the National Gas Supply Association.

Crude-oil prices were down 4 cents to $63.30 a barrel in afternoon trading Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after dropping 74 cents on Monday. Prices are more than $7 below record highs hit two weeks ago.

Natural gas fell for the sixth session in seven. Gas for October delivery was down 33.1 cents, to $10.70 per million British thermal units, after dropping 23 cents on Monday. Prices are still 9% higher than before Hurricane Katrina struck.

If you're in the Chicago area, do something good by going to the bar on September 22nd.

This one-night event has Chicago-area bars donating a portion of their receipts to those affected by HIV/AIDS.

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German flasher's lewd antics backfired when he leaped naked out of a bush and exposed himself to a woman, only for the off-duty police officer to call for back-up and send him scrambling back into his clothes.

"He'd expected her to go 'Ooh, ooh!' when he jumped out -- not that she would calmly call officers for assistance," said a police spokesman in the western town of Mettmann on Thursday. "He got a big surprise -- he really picked the wrong person."

The 52-year-old man managed to flee in panic from where he had attempted to shock the police woman as she walked her dogs, but was soon apprehended at his home by her colleagues.

Guys, I've got bad news for you.  You're going to be so upset after hearing this.  Paris Hilton and her fiance Paris Latsis are not getting married anymore.  The female Paris called off the engagement.

I'm just kidding.  No, the wedding is off.  That part was true.  But the part about it being big horrible upsetting news?  Yeah, that's a joke.

Book an American Airlines flight along with a stay of three or more nights at any hotel by Oct. 10, 2005, and you’ll get a FREE MP3 player worth more than $140* from Expedia.com and American Airlines and 100 free downloads from eMusic.

See for yourself by clicking here.

Means accepted bid.

ROSE BOWL
Pasadena, California
January 4, 2006, at 8 p.m. ET ABC
Rose Bowl: 89,063
BCS No. 1 vs. BCS No. 2
CFN Projection: USC vs. Texas
Also considered: LSU, Penn State

FEDEX ORANGE BOWL
Miami, Florida
January 3, 2006, at 8 p.m. ET ABC
Pro Player Stadium 72,230
BCS vs. BCS
CFN Projection: Virginia Tech vs. Penn State
Also considered: Florida State, Ohio State, West Virginia, Notre Dame

NOKIA SUGAR BOWL
Atlanta, Georgia
January 2, 2006, at 8:30 p.m. ET ABC
BCS (SEC Champion if not in national title) vs. BCS
CFN Projection: LSU vs. West Virginia
Also considered: Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, South Florida

TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL
Tempe, Arizona
January 2, 2006, at 4:30 p.m. ET ABC
Sun Devil Stadium: 73,471
BCS vs. BCS
CFN Projection: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State
Also considered: West Virginia, Oregon, Penn State

WYNDHAM NEW ORLEANS BOWL
Lafayette, Louisiana
December 20, 2005 ESPN
Cajun Field, 30,000
Sun Belt No. 1 vs. C-USA
CFN Projection: UL Lafayette vs. Southern Miss
Also considered: Memphis, Houston, Memphis, Arkansas State, UL Monroe

POINSETTIA BOWL
San Diego, California
December 22, 2005 ESPN2
Qualcomm Stadium 70,000
MWC vs. At-large
CFN Projection: Colorado State vs. Navy
Also considered: BYU, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada

GMAC BOWL
Mobile, Alabama
December 21, 2005, at 8 p.m. ET : ESPN
Ladd Peebles Stadium: 40,646
C-USA No. 2 vs. MAC or WAC
CFN Projection: UCF vs. Bowling Green
Also considered: UTEP, Tulsa, Boise State, Nevada, Northern Illinois

PIONEER PURE VISION LAS VEGAS BOWL
Las Vegas, Nevada
December 22, 2005, at 8 p.m. ET : ESPN
Sam Boyd Stadium: 40,000
MWC No. 1 or 2 vs. Pac-10 No. 5
CFN Projection: BYU vs. Arizona State
Also considered: California

FORT WORTH BOWL
Fort Worth, Texas
December 23, 2005, at 8 p.m. ET ESPN
Amon G. Carter Stadium: 44,003
C-USA No. 4 vs. Big 12 No. 8
CFN Projection: Houston vs. New Mexico*
Also considered: Tulsa, Memphis, Kansas
* No Big 12 team projected available

SHERATON HAWAII BOWL
Honolulu, Hawaii
December 24, 2005, at 8:30 p.m. ET ESPN
Aloha Stadium: 50,000
C-USA No. 3 vs. WAC
CFN Projection: Tulsa vs. Nevada
Also considered: UTEP, UCF, Southern Miss, Memphis, Louisiana Tech, Boise State

MOTOR CITY BOWL
Detroit, Michigan
December 26, 2005, at 5:30 p.m. ET ESPN
Ford Field: 65,000
MAC No. 1 or 2 vs. Big Ten No. 7
CFN Projection: Northern Illinois vs. Memphis*
Also considered: Bowling Green, Toledo
* No Big Ten team projected available

CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL
Orlando, Florida
December 27, 2005 ESPN
Florida Citrus Bowl: 65,438
ACC No. 4 or 5 vs. Big 12 No. 7
CFN Projection: Florida State vs. Nebraska
Also considered: Maryland, NC State, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Missouri

INSIGHT BOWL
Phoenix, Arizona
December 27, 2005, ESPN
Bank One Ballpark: 42,915
Pac-10 No. 4 vs. Big East No. 2 or 3
CFN Projection: California vs. Rutgers
Also considered: Arizona State, Louisville, South Florida, West Virginia

MPC COMPUTERS BOWL
Boise, Idaho
December 28, 2005 ESPN
Bronco Stadium: 30,000
WAC No. 1, 2 or 3 vs. ACC No. 6
CFN Projection: Boise State vs. Boston College
Also considered: Louisiana Tech, Fresno State, NC State, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Maryland

MASTERCARD ALAMO BOWL
San Antonio, Texas
December 28, 2005, at 8 p.m. ET ESPN
Alamodome 65,000
Big 12 No. 4 vs. Big Ten No. 4
CFN Projection: Oklahoma vs. Iowa
Also considered: Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Wisconsin

EMERALD BOWL
San Francisco, California
December 29, 2005, at 4:30 p.m. ET ESPN
SBC Park: 38,084
MWC No. 2 vs. No. 3 vs. Pac-10 No. 6
CFN Projection: Utah vs. NC State/Maryland winner*
Also considered: New Mexico, BYU, Colorado State, Arizona State
* No Pac 10 team projected available

PACIFIC LIFE HOLIDAY BOWL
San Diego, California
December 29, 2005, at 8 p.m. ET ESPN
Qualcomm Stadium : 70,000
Pac-10 No. 2 vs. Big 12 No. 3
CFN Projection: Oregon vs. Colorado
Also considered: UCLA, Iowa State, Texas Tech

GAYLORD HOTELS MUSIC CITY BOWL
Nashville, Tennessee
December 30, 2005, at Noon ET ESPN
The Coliseum : 67,000
SEC No. 6 vs. Big Ten No. 6
CFN Projection: Northwestern vs. Virginia*
Also considered: South Carolina, Florida, Minnesota, Iowa
* No SEC team projected available

VITALIS SUN BOWL
El Paso, Texas
December 30, 2005, at Noon ET CBS
Sun Bowl Stadium 50,426
Big Ten No. 5 vs. Pac-10 No. 3
CFN Projection: Minnesota vs. UCLA
Also considered: Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin

INDEPENDENCE BOWL
Shreveport, Louisiana
December 30, 2005, at 3:30 p.m. ET ESPN
Independence Stadium : 50,015
Big 12 No. 5 vs. SEC No. 6 or 7
CFN Projection: Missouri vs. Florida
Also considered: Iowa State, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Carolina, Florida

CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL
Atlanta, Georgia
December 30, 2005, at 7:30 p.m. ET ESPN
Georgia Dome 71,250
ACC No. 3 vs. SEC
CFN Projection: Georgia Tech vs. South Carolina
Also considered: Miami, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Boston College, Florida

MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL
Charlotte, North Carolina
December 31, 2005, at 11 a.m. ET ESPN2
Bank of America Stadium: 73,367
ACC vs. Big East
CFN Projection: Clemson vs. South Florida
Also considered: Maryland, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Virginia, NC State, Louisville, Rutgers

AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL
Memphis, Tennessee
December 31, 2005, at 1 p.m. ET ESPN
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 62,338
C-USA No. 1 vs. TBD
CFN Projection: UTEP vs. Fresno State
Also considered: UCF, TCU, Virginia, Memphis

EV1. NET HOUSTON BOWL
Houston, Texas
December 31, 2005, at 2:30 p.m. ET ESPN2
Reliant Stadium: 69,500
Big 12 No. 5 or 6 vs. SEC West
CFN Projection: Iowa State vs. TCU*
Also considered: Nebraska
*no SEC teams projected available

OUTBACK BOWL
Tampa, Florida
January 2, 2006, at 11 a.m. ET ESPN
Raymond James Stadium: 65,000
Big Ten 3rd vs. SEC 3rd, Eastern Division
CFN Projection: Michigan vs. Georgia
Also considered: Wisconsin, Iowa, South Carolina, Florida

SBC COTTON BOWL CLASSIC
Dallas, Texas
January 2, 2006, at 11 a.m. ET Fox
Cotton Bowl Stadium: 68,252
Big 12 No. 2 vs. SEC
CFN Projection: Texas Tech vs. Alabama
Also considered: Colorado, Iowa State, Florida, Georgia, Auburn, Florida, LSU

TOYOTA GATOR BOWL
Jacksonville, Florida
January 2, 2006, at 12:30 p.m. ET NBC
Alltel Stadium: 77,228
ACC No. 2 vs. Big East No. 2 or Notre Dame
CFN Projection: Miami vs. Louisville
Also considered: Virginia Tech, Boston College, Florida State, South Florida, West Virginia

CAPITAL ONE BOWL
Orlando, Florida
January 2, 2006, at 1 p.m. ET ABC
Florida Citrus Bowl: 65,438
Big Ten No. 2 vs. SEC No. 2
CFN Projection: Wisconsin vs. Auburn
Also considered: Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa, Georgia, Alabama, LSU

TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL
Tempe, Arizona
January 2, 2006, at 4:30 p.m. ET ABC
Sun Devil Stadium: 73,471
BCS vs. BCS
CFN Projection: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State
Also considered: West Virginia, Oregon, Penn State

There's going to be some exciting football on tomorrow!  An 8-2 Denver Broncos team against a 7-3 Dallas Cowboys team.  That's a great matchup!

Monday night's Steelers vs. Colts game is going to be awesome too....as long as Ben Roethlisberger is back.

I really try not to be one of those people who get sucked into the whole celebrity culture, but ever since that Newlyweds show started, I gotta admit that I got kinda hooked on the whole Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey romance.

And now they're officially separating.  I feel kinda sad.

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- He works at a Wendy's, and his name is Ronald MacDonald -- but now he may be known as the Hamburglar.

Two workers at a Wendy's in Manchester have been charged with taking money from the safe. One of the suspects is Ronald MacDonald.

Police said the restaurant's manager called them early Monday morning after he saw MacDonald and the other man taking cash out of the restaurant's safe.

“George [Clooney] grabs my ass every day, at least once a day.  That’s why I’ve done three movies with him.”

-- Matt Damon

Hawley said the change will take effect Dec. 22 and is part of a broader effort aimed at having screeners spend more of their time searching for explosives rather than small, sharp objects that don't pose as great a risk. The small implements were banned after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Under the new plan, more passengers will likely be subjected to secondary screening and pat-downs will include the arms and legs as well as the torso. More canine teams will patrol airports. Passengers also can expect more randomness at security gates so would-be terrorists won't know for sure what they might see.

For example, an airport might require all passengers to remove their shoes one day but not the next. Some passengers may have to show their identification an extra time or have their carry-on bag hand-searched.

"By incorporating unpredictability into our procedures and eliminating low-threat items, we can better focus our efforts on stopping individuals who wish to do us harm," Hawley said.

Among the items no longer prohibited from airliner cabins: scissors with blades of 4 inches or less, and tools such as screwdrivers, wrenches and pliers that are smaller than 7 inches. Box-cutters and small knives will remain on the list of banned items.

The White House approved the plan, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said. "We support the decision that they have come to," he said.

But flight attendants and some lawmakers say the changes undermine security.

"I have not spoken to a flight attendant at any airline that isn't outraged by this," said Thom McDaniel, president of Southwest Airlines flight attendants' union, Transport Workers Local 556. "They want to focus more on explosives, but they're not even mentioning that the biggest threat to commercial aviation right now is still the fact that most cargo is not screened."

Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., said Thursday they intend to introduce a bill to preserve the current list of items barred from the cabin.

"The Bush administration proposal is just asking the next Mohamed Atta to move from box cutters to scissors as the weapon that's used in the passenger cabin of planes," Markey said, referring to the leader of the Sept. 11 hijackers.

Justin Green is an attorney for the families of three flight attendants who died aboard American Airlines Flight 11, which hijackers crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11. Two of the flight attendants, Bobbi Arestegui and Karen Martin, were stabbed by the terrorists. The third, Betty Ong, reported what was happening during the hijacking in a telephone call to authorities on the ground.

"The families are outraged that the TSA is planning on letting weapons back on board," Green said.

Airlines generally support Hawley's plan. So does the pilots' largest union, the Air Line Pilots Association.

Bob Hesselbein, the union's national security committee chairman, said pilots think it's more important to focus on passengers' intent rather than what they're carrying.

"A Swiss army knife in the briefcase of a frequent flyer we know very well is a tool," Hesselbein said. "A ballpoint pen in the hands of a terrorist is a weapon."

TSA screeners this year alone have confiscated 12.6 million prohibited items, including 3 million sharp objects, according to the Homeland Security Department.

They've also taken away 8.1 million lighters, the only item prohibited by law. Congress, concerned that terrorists would have an easier time igniting a bomb with a lighter than with matches, enacted the ban. It took effect April 14.

Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House Transportation Committee's aviation panel, agrees with Hawley that screeners should be looking for explosives rather than small, sharp objects that could be used as weapons.

"You have a huge army of pilots that are now armed, you have significant numbers of federal air marshals, you have secure cockpit doors, you have an alert public," Mica said. "Terrorists aren't dumb, they can see what the weakness in the system is."

More than 18,000 screeners have been trained on advanced explosives detection techniques, Mica said.

But Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee's aviation panel, objected to the policy shift. In a letter to Hawley, she wrote that the change "could undermine the progress we have made in securing our skies since the 9/11 attacks. Security demands vigilance; we cannot become complacent."

Britney Spears' husband Kevin Federline has reportedly jetted to Las Vegas to beg the singer to give him another chance. And $20. He's hungry.

Damn winter.  I totally miss playing baseball.

• Madonna Takes It Off
  Madonna was well on her way to establishing herself as a sexual provocateur by the summer of 1985, but that image got an unexpected boost when both Playboy and Penthouse published nude photos of the Material Girl. The hoopla surrounding the pictures -- taken in 1979 when Madonna did some figure modeling to subsidize her nascent dance career -- did as much to transform her into an international celebrity as her music and media savvy. The implicit lesson wasn't wasted on Madonna either; in 1992 she released Sex, her own book of explicit softcore photos, which, despite scores of negative publicity, helped her sell more than two million copies of her subpar album Erotica.
  
• Crosby's The Daddy
  For years, rumors circulated about the paternity of openly gay rocker Melissa Etheridge's two children with her partner Julie Cypher. Everyone from Brad Pitt to Bruce Springsteen was suspected as the culprit. But no amount of speculation prepared the public for the truth: The mysterious sperm donor was none other than David Crosby. When Etheridge and Cypher revealed their long-kept secret in a January 10, 2000 story in Rolling Stone -- complete with a family photo on the cover -- the world uttered a collective "Huh?" After all, "sixty-ish," "balding," "overweight" and "history of excessive drug use" aren't exactly traits most women would look for in a donor profile. "He's musical, which means a lot to me," Etheridge explained at the time. Unfortunately, the proud parents' startling revelation was surpassed by another surprise just seven months later, when Etheridge and Cypher split up.
  
• Bowie Proclaims He's Gay
  David Bowie raised a few eyebrows when he posed in a dress on the cover of his 1970 album, The Man Who Sold the World. But the question on everyone's mind wasn't explicitly answered until a January 1972 issue of Melody Maker, in which Bowie told a reporter, "Yes, of course I'm gay, and always have been." In Seventies Britain, that was more than enough to fan the flames of controversy into a five-alarm blaze. Of course, it was also a good way to sell a few albums, particularly if said record was a conceptual work about a sexually ambiguous alien messiah. When The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was released six months later, it turned Bowie into an international superstar. Bowie -- now married to model Iman (yes, a woman) -- clearly wasn't surprised, later saying that, strategically speaking, his coming-out comment was "probably the best thing I've ever said."
  
• Nirvana Overthrows The King Of Pop
  By 1992, Michael Jackson had reigned over the pop music world for a decade, so when Nirvana's Nevermind toppled his long-awaited comeback album, Dangerous, from the No. 1 spot, it was heavy with symbolism. Prior to Nirvana's chart coup, "alternative" music was just that -- a variety of edgy styles and bands that functioned completely outside of major-label conventions and provided an alternative to the kind of vapid, commercially driven pop Michael Jackson represented. Alternative music proliferated throughout the Eighties through 'zines, college radio stations and word of mouth, but it rarely dented the pop charts. When Nirvana unseated the King of Pop, it signaled the arrival of a new zeitgeist and forever changed -- for better or worse -- what could be considered "mainstream."
  
• Jackson Beats McCartney
  On their two hit duets -- 1982's "The Girl Is Mine" and 1983's chart-topping "Say, Say, Say" -- Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney seemed the best of buddies. It came as some shock, then -- particularly to McCartney -- when Jackson bought the Beatles catalog out from under him.

  Twenty years earlier, the Fabs had taken their publishing company Northern Songs public to shelter themselves from England's unforgiving income tax rate. But during the group's tumultuous business dealings in 1969, Lennon and McCartney lost a buyout bid when the majority shareholders sold Northern Songs to the Associated Television Corporation (ATV). When ATV offered its song catalog up for sale in 1985, Jackson paid a reported $47.5 million for somewhere between 160 and 260 Beatles classics, including "Yesterday" and "Let It Be." Ironically, it was McCartney -- who owns the rights to all of Buddy Holly's songs -- who first educated Jackson on the financial rewards of song ownership. Jackson's investment earned him millions in royalties, but it cost him his friendship with one former Beatle.
  

• Simon And Garfunkel Find Harmony
  If Benjamin Franklin were alive today, he'd have to admit that there are actually three certainties in life: death, taxes and reunion tours. It has become as predictable as the sunrise that no matter how acrimonious a band's breakup, nostalgia and commerce will conspire to bring it out of retirement for one last curtain call. After all, it wasn't the implied cataclysm that launched the Eagles on their 1994 Hell Freezes Over Tour, and Frank Black's flaccid solo career had more than a little to do with the Pixies taking the stage again last year.

  Times weren't always so cynical, though. In 1981, Simon and Garfunkel, perhaps the most contentious duo in pop history, put aside their differences to play a free concert in New York's Central Park for 500,000 fans. The duo performed with such warm camaraderie that a permanent reconciliation seemed imminent. But old grudges die hard, and, partway through the recording of a reunion album, Simon allegedly erased all Garfunkel's vocals, eventually releasing the work as his 1983 solo album, Hearts and Bones.
  

• Ozzy Becomes Cuddly
  He bit the head off a live bat. He was accused of subliminally encouraging teens to kill themselves. He pissed on the Alamo. But the most shocking thing Ozzy Osbourne ever did was allow TV cameras into his home. MTV's reality sitcom The Osbournes revealed that every parent's nightmare was himself a hapless husband and father with more than his share of domestic dramas. No Fred MacMurray, the mumbling, bumbling Ozzy always seemed to be in the eye of a surreal storm, whether faced with daughter Kelly's rebellions, son Jack's gleeful tormenting of trespassers or wife Sharon's pack of un-housebroken dogs.

  Ozzy's family matters weren't all comical: during the show's four seasons, the Osbournes experienced an array of life-altering events both onscreen (Sharon's colon cancer, Ozzy's recovery from an ATV accident) and off (Jack's substance abuse and rehab). But behind the foul mouths and celebrity trappings, the Prince of Darkness' family was a lot like most of ours: dysfunctional, maddening and fiercely devoted to each other.
  

• Dylan Goes Christian
  With his uncanny ability to repeatedly transform himself -- from socially conscious folkie to electrified hipster to rural troubadour to concert showman and so on -- Bob Dylan has always kept his fans guessing. Still, no one was ready when he proclaimed himself a born-again Christian in 1978. He embraced his new faith on 1979's Slow Train Coming in brimstone-fueled devotionals such as "Gotta Serve Somebody," "When You Gonna Wake Up?" and "When He Returns." In concert, he refused to perform any of his secular work and gave between-song sermons, introducing one show at San Francisco's Warfield Theater saying, "We're presenting the show tonight under the authority of Jesus Christ." After two more Christian-themed albums, Saved and Shot of Love, Dylan returned to Judaism with 1983's Infidels . . . and even journeyed to Jerusalem to bar mitzvah his son Jesse.
  

• Britney Loves Two Times
  Given Britney Spears' carefully cultivated image, doing something as reckless as eloping seemed about as likely as her warming up the crowd at the next Democratic National Convention. But in January 2004, she deviated from the pop-princess script big time when she married a childhood friend in a quickie ceremony on the Las Vegas strip. But before the tabloids even hit the supermarket racks, she filed for an annulment: "Plaintiff Spears lacked understanding of her actions to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to the marriage."

  Just eight months later, Britney became a blushing bride for the second time when she married Kevin Federline, a former backup dancer for her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake. But instead of a ring (the pop star had to buy her own five-carat diamond), Federline gave her two stepkids: his two young daughters by Moesha actress Shar Jackson. People could be forgiven for wondering if Britney's much-publicized pressures finally pushed her off the deep end, but she made it clear where she stood with her next single, a cover of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative."
  

• Elvis Presley Gets The G.I. Blues
  Elvis' induction into the Army was a sucker punch for the first generation of rock & roll fans. The King was twenty-four years old and at the peak of his success when he was drafted in December 1957 (he would get a deferment until March 1958 so he could complete the filming of King Creole), and he was justifiably concerned that his stint in the military would ruin his career, as the public saw him transform from a pompadoured rocker to a crew-cut G.I. But what Presley and his fans viewed as a potential tragedy, his manager Colonel Tom Parker saw as a PR opportunity. He reasoned Elvis' service as a proud, patriotic young man would be a boon to his public image. With plenty of recorded material in the can, releases were paced to keep Presley in the public eye for the duration of his Army stint. Parker's ploy worked: with his popularity as strong as ever, Presley was discharged two years later to resume his reign as the King of Rock & Roll.

During Monday's Elton John concert on NBC, Pamela Anderson was supposed to pole dance.  Nice, right?  Well, unfortunately for us, NBC decided to cut the footage after deeming it "too racy for prime time."

So, how racy was it?

Well, lets just say that even Elton John was turned on.

As you may have heard, singer Ashley Simpson spent the weekend in the hospital after collapsing on Friday, apparently due to exhaustion.

I guess she's found out that actual singing is much harder than lip-synching.

NEW YORK (AP) - Weezer lead singer Rivers Cuomo is continuing his celibacy past his self-declared deadline.

The 35-year-old frontman earlier vowed to remain celibate for two years. Although that deadline expired six months ago, Cuomo still doesn't expect to jump back in the sack anytime soon.

"It's been two and a-half years now, actually," Cuomo tells Blender magazine in its new issue, on newsstands Tuesday. "The vow is over, but I wanted to keep cruising."

Though he's a lead singer for a popular rock band, the bespectacled Cuomo says it's not difficult to manage restraint.

"Abstinence doesn't require as much self-discipline anymore," he says. "We never had any serious groupies, anyway. Our generation got screwed."

Cuomo's vow makes Weezer's 2005 music video for "Beverly Hills" somewhat unusual; it was filmed at the Playboy mansion with dozens of Playboy models and Weezer fans.

Earlier this year, Weezer released their fifth album, "Make Believe."

Cuomo is also pursuing a degree in English literature from Harvard University, for which he has one semester left.

To Whom It May Concern (Dear Oscar),

As you and I are both well aware, the Acadamy Awards are just 10 weeks away and you have no one to host the ceremony.  Both Chris Rock and Billy Crystal have turned you down.

You must have lost my contact information, because I have yet to receive your call, inviting me to host your prestigious awards show.

I am sure you will be very greatful to know that I am willing to rearrange my busy schedule to allow me time to be your host.  I'm sure I will here from you soon.

Your faithful funnyman,

ccstud

Keep tabs on Santa.

http://www.noradsanta.org/en/default.php

Britney Spears reportedly wants to have another child with husband Kevin Federline, and hopes to start the process as soon as possible.  Britney was advised to wait at least three months after her baby’s birth before trying to get pregnant again.  Now that that’s passed, she wants to try right away.

Spears reportedly is hoping for a girl this time around, and is actually thinking that another baby will help smooth out her rocky relationship with Federline.

Funny, didn't K-Fed start acting bad right after Britney gave birth to her son?  Why does she suddenly think that he'd get better with baby number two?

By Josh Grossberg

You're our boy, Blue, and we'll miss you.

Patrick Cranshaw, a veteran character who racked up five decades worth of credits but none more indelible than his turn as elderly frat boy Joseph "Blue" Palasky in the 2003 comedy hit Old School, has died. He was 86.

He died at his home in Fort Worth, Texas, of natural causes last Wednesday, his personal manager, Jeff Ross, told the Los Angeles Times.

Eagle-eyed moviegoers have spotted the thespian's distinct mustachioed mug popping up in dozens of high profile pictures and TV series over the years.

He played the bank teller in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde; the hobo in 1985's Pee-Wee's Big Adventure; the ancient mail sorter in 1994's The Hudsucker Proxy; the grandpa in 1996's Everyone Says I Love You; the millionaire dog owner in 2000's Best in Show and the demolition derby owner in last summer's Herbie: Fully Loaded. He also appeared as a regular for two years on Alice and had guest stints on such shows as The Dukes of Hazzard, Mork & Mindy, ER, The Drew Carey Show, 7th Heaven, Just Shoot Me and Monk.

But it was Cranshaw's hilarious performance as the decrepit frat brother in Old School opposite Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn that made him a cult icon.

In the film, Blue's most memorable moment comes as he's about to wrestle two topless women. As he glimpses the buxom beauties, he gets so excited he dies of a heart attack. Ferrell's character, emotionally devastated by the loss, later delivers a stirring eulogy at his fallen housemate's funeral, crooning "Dust in the Wind" and crying out dolefully, "You're my Boy, Blue!"

That line became immortalized by Old School aficionados, who created Website shrines dedicated to Cranshaw and would shout out the phrase whenever they spotted him in public, capped by a stadium full of baseball fans chanting the line when the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels invited him to a game.

"It was a great experience and an acknowledgment for him," Ross told the Times. "He loved the recognition and would turn back and say, 'I'm your boy Blue.'"

Born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, on June 17, 1919, Cranshaw embarked on an acting career after entertaining the troops with the Army Air Forces before World War II. His big-screen résumé also included parts in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band (1978), Private Eyes (1981), Moving (1988), and Bubble Boy (2001). His final film appearance will come in Air Buddies, a comedy due out later this year.

Cranshaw is survived by three children, Jan Ragland, Joe Cranshaw and Beverly Trautschold; his sister, Billy Vi Gillespie; six grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

By Ernesto Londoo, The Washington Post

WASHINGTON - Acquitting a Germantown man who exposed his buttocks during an argument with a neighbor, a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge ruled yesterday that mooning, while distasteful, is not illegal in Maryland.

"If exposure of half of the buttock constituted indecent exposure, any woman wearing a thong at the beach at Ocean City would be guilty," Judge John W. Debelius III said after the bench trial, reversing the ruling of a District Court judge.

Debelius made clear his disdain for the defendant, calling the alleged act "disgusting" and "demeaning." The outcome could have been different, he suggested, if the man had been on trial for "being a jerk."

The case arose from a June 7 argument between the defendant, Raymond Hugh McNealy, 44, and a neighbor, Nanette Vonfeldt. Vonfeldt pressed charges against McNealy after he allegedly yelled and, according to Vonfeldt, threatened to "blow up my building" as she and her 8-year-old daughter walked out of their apartment, in the 20200 block of Shipley Terrace in Germantown.

"Then, for whatever reason, in full view of my daughter, he mooned us," Vonfeldt wrote in a court document. The two had a long-standing feud over issues before their homeowners association, which held a heated meeting the night before, McNealy's attorneys said. McNealy wanted Vonfeldt off the association's board, his attorneys said.

The case went to trial Sept. 12 before Montgomery District Court Judge Eugene Wolfe, who ruled against the defendant. Indecent exposure in Maryland is punishable by as much as three years in prison and a $1,000 fine.

Victory for 'beachgoers and plumbers'
McNealy's attorneys appealed the verdict, arguing that indecent exposure in Maryland constitutes the willful public display of a person's "private parts" -- which, they argued, do not include a person's buttocks.

Senior Assistant State's Attorney Dan Barnett said the indecent exposure law in Maryland is ambiguous.

"In our minds, this was not a bathing suit scenario," said Barnett, who supervises Montgomery County prosecutors who handle cases in District Court. "This was a grown man exposing himself to an 8-year-old girl."

Defense attorneys cited a 1983 case of a woman who was arrested after protesting in front of the U.S.

Supreme Court wearing nothing but a cardboard sign that covered the front of her body. The D.C. Court of Appeals ruled in 1986 that indecent exposure is limited to a person's genitals.

James Maxwell, one of McNealy's attorneys, said yesterday's ruling should "bring comfort to all beachgoers and plumbers" in the state.

TARZANA, California — After the made-for-TV boy band O-Town disbanded in 2003, blond pretty-boy Ashley Parker Angel cashed his profits and immediately moved to Los Angeles to launch a solo career.

Eighteen months later he was broke, living on his girlfriend's mother's couch.

"One of the downsides of being in O-Town was that we had to sign very binding contracts," Angel explained recently. "Everybody around us was taking a piece of the pie so that when it came down to the guys in the group, there was almost nothing left. I wanna be really clear: I didn't frivolously spend the money I made. I made good money for my age and I was really smart with it, but it really only allowed me to live a year and a half in L.A. before I had to go, 'All right, what am I gonna do, because I've got rent to pay.' "

Even more frustrating for Angel was that he was feeling artistically broke as well.

"I came away from O-Town feeling like I had a lot to prove still because of the way that we came together, it was extremely contrived ... it was a total media creation and we really didn't gain a lot of respect or credibility," he confessed. "I grew up in a very musical environment. My mom was a piano teacher, so I started learning how to play piano like almost as soon as I started talking. And my dad was a drummer in a band and he encouraged me to start learning guitar when I was 13. And I always had a knack for songwriting that I really felt I didn't get a chance to showcase being part of O-Town."

So as Angel went around Hollywood from meeting to meeting, he brought a guitar with him, playing his own tunes for executives.

"There is a certain impression and a certain stereotype that comes from being in a boy band," he said. "It was a challenge for me to get in the room with these people and really convey to them that I was so much more than that spiky blond-haired guy that they probably remembered me as."

Angel, who now sports Kurt Cobain-esque hair, eventually found a taker in Blackground Records, Aaliyah's former label and home of JoJo and Toni Braxton. Around that same time last year, MTV also tracked Angel down and, compelled by his riches-to-rags story, began following him with cameras.

The result is "There and Back," a reality series debuting Monday that follows Angel's continued struggle to reinvent himself.

"My only reservation at first was like I'm coming from a reality TV show and I don't want to be looked at as a one-trick pony," Angel said. "I want people to know that I'm the real deal and I was able to go out and get a solo record deal without the power of a television show ... and one of the things that [the show's executive producer, Rod Aissa] said that really made sense to me and is, 'What better way to show people how much you've grown and how different you are now as an artist and personally than to do a show like this?' And ultimately I completely agreed with him."

Like the first season of that other Ashlee's reality show on MTV, "There and Back" chronicles the making of Angel's first album (see "O-Town's Angel Ready To Spread His Wings With Solo LP"). He co-wrote all the tracks, working alongside top producers like Clif Magness, Soulshock & Karlin, Max Martin and the Matrix.

"We took a meeting with Ashley and at the meeting he picked up a guitar and played and sung and it was all there," the Matrix's Graham Edwards said. "I loved it because it was a little bit Oasis and a little bit Coldplay, even though he is an American artist, and I love those bands. It smacked of that for me and I got really excited."

"I think it's been surprising for producers to hear my sound," Angel added. "That was one of the things MTV said when I initially met with them was like, 'We expected the guy from O-Town to sound a certain way. Don't take that offensively, but your music is really a complete departure.' "

Along with following Angel from studio to studio, "There and Back" goes home with the singer, getting up close and personal with his pregnant girlfriend, Tiffany.

"One of the things I learned about doing reality TV is that the times when you don't want to the cameras to be there, the like most private, embarrassing moments, that's the times when they gotta be there. 'Cause that's you, and if you try to hide from the cameras or you try to censor yourself, ultimately you get this very wishy-washy kind of version of who you are and I didn't want that to happen," Angel said.

"I won't lie: When I found out I was gonna be a dad I was so scared," he added. "It was at a time when there was like so many unknowns ... but I embraced it and I'm so glad that I did because it's a miracle. And everyone says that, but people will get a chance to see on 'There and Back' my baby be born. We were open and honest. We let the cameras into every aspect of our lives. They're in the delivery room with us. And I'm pretty sure this is the very first baby actually born on MTV."

— Corey Moss

Let these facts and figures give you some great lucky-in-love ideas—including where to go to meet people and how to wow them.

Have you ever looked at the person you love and wondered, "What were the odds of us meeting and winding up head over heels?" I did the other day, and because I wondered it out loud—and because the person I love is a social scientist—he immediately looked it up in a book called Sex in America: A Definitive Survey. The odds were actually pretty good, he informed me. Sixty-three percent of married couples meet the way we did, through a network of friends.

To me, this 63 percent figure was a revelation. I always knew dating was a numbers game, but I'd never thought to take that saying literally. But as I continued browsing through my guy's extensive, factoid-heavy book collection, I realized that there were statistics confirming just about every dating phenomenon I'd ever experienced. So why not let the statistics guide you in your search for a lasting love? With that in mind, I put together a list of 10 factoids every single person should know:

1. 44 percent of adult Americans are single, according to U.S. Census figures. This means there are over 100 million unattached folks out there. So, if you've ever worried, "There's nobody out there for me," know that there's hope!

2. Statistically, the find-someone odds favor guys: There are 86 unmarried men for every 100 unmarried women, although in some regions the gender ratio favors women, especially out west. Paradise, Nevada, a suburb 10 miles from Las Vegas, has 118 unmarried men for every 100 unmarried women. Other cities where gals got it good include Austin, Texas; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Tempe, Arizona; and Sunnyvale and Santa Ana, California. A coincidental bonus for women thinking of relocating: All of these cities are sunny and warm.

3. The best place for single people on the prowl is New York, where 50 percent of state residents are unmarried, and Washington, D.C., where a whopping 70 percent of the population is single. The worst places are Idaho, where 60 percent of people are married; and Utah, where 59 percent of people are married.

4. Think you'll find love while perched on a barstool? Think again. Only 9 percent of women and 2 percent of men say they've found a relationship at a bar or club—blame it on the beer goggles. So if you're lonely and looking, you're better off hitting on cuties at Starbucks.

5. Got someone hot in your sights and want to reveal your interest? Fifty-one percent of people use flattery, according to the book Are You Normal About Sex, Love, and Relationships? Or, try touching them, a tactic used by 25 percent of single folk. Still another 23 percent utilize the schoolyard approach and send the word out through a friend.

6. If you're into online dating, you're hardly alone: 40 million Americans use online dating services; that's about 40 percent of our entire U.S. single-people pool. So if you haven't tried it yet, maybe it's time to dive in!

7. Profiles and photos go together great. Online, being bashful will get you nowhere. Women and men who post their photos receive more than twice as many emails as those without photos, according to a study published by economists at MIT and University of Chicago. And a Match.com survey revealed that profiles with photos had 15 times the response rate as those without. Some numbers!

8. On a date, first impressions do count: Men take only 15 minutes to decide if a woman is worth a second date. For women, the clock isn't ticking quite so fast—they ponder whether to get together again for an hour or so.

9. The number one problem for couples in America? Disagreements about money, according to a poll by the University of Denver. So, don't write off a date just because you two bickered over the dinner bill; everyone clashes over cash.

10. If you're feeling like your relationship is hitting the skids and want to bail, the painful face-to-face approach might not be necessary: An estimated 48 percent of online daters report that their breakups have happened over email. Call it rude or just plain convenient, but it happens a lot.

By Meredith Broussard

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (you ever wonder if Ashley gets pissed at always being mentioned second?) have recently announced plans to bring their peculiar style of dumpster diving haute couture to high-end retailers across the country. 

This means that soon you - yes, you! - can also look like a recovering addict who got hosed down with sewer water on your way to the methadone clinic.  Provided you're rich enough to afford to look poor, of course.

So you're a celebrity.  And so you've very publicly done something dumb and/or embarrassing, and you're getting endlessly railed on every time you open a magazine or turn on the television.  Something must be done to reverse this potentially career-damaging negative press - and fast!  Thank goodness for a little program called Saturday Night Live.

You see, ever since Lorne Michaels' seminal late night comedy program decided to stop being funny and start being Access Hollywood, celebrities have been given the wonderful opportunity to appear on the show, lightly parody themselves and their latest hi jinx, then be absolved of any sort of wrongdoing or scandal in the public eye.  It's a strategy that works, over and over again. 

1.  Drew Barrymore - After appearing bra-less on the Golden Globes (the "least supported actress", as it were), Drew Barrymore knew that she was facing a lot more than the catty comments of viewers who caught her performance on the show.  What better way to combat the endless "worst dressed" lists and tabloid criticism than by taking the offensive and inexplicably showing up in the middle of Weekend Update with big, floppy boobs as if to say, "Yes, I realize I should stop being such a hippie and start using a bra next time I'm going to be broadcast to millions of viewers.  Leave me alone." 

2.  Mike Meyers - When Kanye West abruptly shared his opinion of President Bush with the world during a live telethon for Hurricane Katrina, a genuinely shocked Meyers stood silently, wearing an expression of sheer helplessness and confusion.  People talked about his lame reaction almost as much as they talked about West's bold statement, so in order to make up for his surprising lack of humor, Meyers showed up at SNL a few weeks later when Kanye was on the show to re-live the moment once again. 

3.  Paris Hilton - At the height of her sex tape scandal, Hilton appeared on Weekend Update to do a bit where Jimmy Fallon ostensibly calls her a slut.  Actually, this didn't do much to repair her reputation, she just likes being on TV. 

4.  Paula Abdul - After being accused of having a "conflicting interest" (that means they were doing it) with an American Idol contestant, Abdul showed up on Weekend Update to make fun of herself.  The scandal was subsequently forgotten, and millions of people continue to tune in every week to watch the "fair judging of legitimately talented performers". 

5.  Lindsay Lohan - With seemingly endless tabloid reports of her hard-partying, anti-eating ways, LiLo showed up to do a "Teen Mentoring" segment with Amy and Tina on Weekend Update.  By the end of the bit, she's managed to convince the audience that she's actually a virginal health-nut who enjoys quiet nights at home reading before her 9pm bedtime.

And these are just a few examples of how SNL isn't a comedy show so much as it is a Celebrity Public Image Repair Shop.  Coming soon: Tom Cruise's appears on Weekend Update and has a threesome with Amy and Tina. 

Food makers may not want to dwell on it, but the ingredient that gives Dannon Boysenberry yogurt and Tropicana Ruby Red Grapefruit juice their distinctive colors comes from crushed female cochineal beetles.

Read all about it in the Wall Street Journal.

Congratulations to the students at Yale University, whose dormitory bathrooms are now supplied with soap after a decade of student lobbying.

At a school where students have demanded and won financial aid reform and divestment from oppressive countries, calls for liquid soap dispensers went unanswered for years. Even after Yale agreed to stock two-ply toilet paper in the mid-1990s, administrators wouldn’t budge on the soap issue.

Mainly they cited the cost of keeping the dispensers stocked — more than $100,000 a year.

Here's an image you're not likely to see again anytime soon...or ever.

Sheryl Crow and her fiance, seven-time Tour de France champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, announced their split on Friday.

"After much thought and consideration, we have made a very tough decision to split up," the couple said in a joint statement. "We both have a deep love and respect for each other, and we ask that everyone respect our privacy during this very difficult time."

The two met at a charity event in October of 2003, and Armstrong proposed to Crow last August, while the couple was in Sun Valley, Idaho. It would have been Crow's first marriage and Armstrong's second. The cyclist has three children from a previous marriage.

Crow said last summer that the title track off her fifth studio album, Wildflower, was inspired by Armstrong and his kids. "It's kind of a reminder, particularly when you look at his young children, how they gravitate to goodness and to light," she said. "The idea of the song is that no matter how chaotic it is, wildflowers will still spring up in the middle of nowhere."

The rocker will continue her tour in support of Wildflower on February 28th in Austin, Texas.

Nick Lachey speaks out against criticism that his new single "What's Left of Me" is a cynical attempt to cash in on his highly-publicized split from ex-wife Jessica Simpson.  Lachey insists that the song just "sounded classier" than his other idea, "I f#cked Jessica Simpson and All I Got Was This Stupid Former Miss Kentucky".  ;)

Britney Spears is up to her shoulder restraint in controversy.

A photo of the pop star behind the wheel of a black SUV with infant son Sean Preston in her lap has caught the eye of Los Angeles child welfare officials.

A Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy was dispatched to Spears' Malibu home Tuesday afternoon at the behest of the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services.

But sheriff's Deputy Luis Castro said his department is not investigating the singer, who became a first-time mother last September. He said children and family services merely asked the sheriff's department "to obtain her contact information."

Further questions were referred to the child welfare department, which itself couldn't comment on whether an investigation had been opened, Children and Family Services spokesman Stuart Riskin said.

The incident in question occurred Monday in Malibu.

In a statement, Spears, 24, didn't expressly address the matter of the apparently unrestrained baby in her lap. Instead, she lashed out at Hollywood's public enemy number one, the paparazzi.

"Today, I had a horrifying, frightful encounter with the paparazzi while I was with my baby," Spears said. "...I was terrified that this time the physically aggressive paparazzi would put both me and my baby in danger. I instinctively took measures to get my baby and me out of harm's way."

"I love my child and would do anything to protect him."

X17, the photo agency representing the shutterbugs who aimed their lenses at Spears' SUV, had a different take. It said the pictures were taken "in a very peaceful context, in which photographers exhibited no aggressive behavior."

According to an account at People.com, Spears' well-documented day started with a drive to the local Starbucks for her, her bodyguard and her baby. When the bodyguard, who was in the front passenger seat, left the truck to go inside the store, Spears, who was in the driver's seat, removed her son from his child safety seat in the rear.

While Spears was holding her baby, pushy photographers descended, a source told People.com. Spears waited for her bodyguard to return, then drove away, still holding the child.

If that was indeed the getaway method, it's not one recommended by law enforcement.

"In general, putting a baby on the seat, in the lap, is extremely dangerous to the child," California Highway Patrol Office Joe Zizi said. "You need to have that child in a seat, in the back."

Since 2002, California law has required that all children younger than 6 or weighing fewer than 60 pounds be secured in cars by either safety seats or booster seats.

And even if one is trying to dash away from danger and/or a prying photojournalist?

"It's something you have to take the time to do," Zizi said. "Just as putting on the seat belt yourself."

-- Joal Ryan

Album of the Year: "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," U2.

Record of the Year: "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," Green Day.

New Artist: John Legend.

Male R&B Vocal Performance: "Ordinary People," John Legend.

Pop Vocal Album: "Breakaway," Kelly Clarkson.

Rap/Sung Collaboration: "Numb/Encore," Jay-Z featuring Linkin Park.

Song of the Year: "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," U2.

Female Pop Vocal Performance: "Since U Been Gone," Kelly Clarkson.

Country Album: "Lonely Runs Both Ways," Alison Krauss and Union Station.

Rap Album: "Late Registration," Kanye West.

Rock Album: "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," U2.

Rap Solo Performance: "Gold Digger," Kanye West.

Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: "Don't Phunk With My Heart," Black Eyed Peas.

Rap Song: "Diamonds From Sierra Leone," D. Harris and Kanye West.

Solo Rock Vocal Performance: "Devils & Dust," Bruce Springsteen.

Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal: "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," U2.

Hard Rock Performance: "B.Y.O.B.," System of a Down.

Metal Performance: "Before I Forget," Slipknot.

Rock Instrumental Performance: "69 Freedom Special," Les Paul and Friends.

Rock Song: "City of Blinding Lights," U2, (U2).

Alternative Music Album: "Get Behind Me Satan," the White Stripes.

Female R&B Vocal Performance: "We Belong Together," Mariah Carey.

R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: "So Amazing," Beyoncé and Stevie Wonder.

Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: "A House Is Not a Home," Aretha Franklin.

Urban/Alternative Performance: "Welcome to Jamrock," Damian Marley.

R&B Song: "We Belong Together," J. Austin, M. Carey, J. Dupri & M. Seal, (D. Bristol, K. Edmonds, S. Johnson, P. Moten, S. Sully & B. Womack (Mariah Carey).

R&B Album: "Get Lifted," John Legend.

Contemporary R&B Album: "The Emancipation of Mimi," Mariah Carey.

Male Pop Vocal Performance: "From the Bottom of My Heart," Stevie Wonder.

Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal: "This Love," Maroon 5.

Pop Collaboration With Vocals: "Feel Good Inc.," Gorillaz Featuring De La Soul.

Pop Instrumental Performance: "Caravan," Les Paul.

Pop Instrumental Album: "At This Time," Burt Bacharach.

Traditional Pop Vocal Album: "The Art of Romance," Tony Bennett.

Female Country Vocal Performance: "The Connection," Emmylou Harris.

Male Country Vocal Performance: "You'll Think of Me," Keith Urban.

Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal: "Restless," Alison Krauss and Union Station.

Country Collaboration With Vocals: "Like We Never Loved at All," Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.

Country Instrumental Performance: "Unionhouse Branch," Alison Krauss and Union Station.

Country Song: "Bless the Broken Road," Bobby Boyd, Jeff Hanna and Marcus Hummon, (Rascal Flatts).

Latin Pop Album: "Escucha," Laura Pausini.

Latin Rock/Alternative Album: "Fijación Oral Volumen 1," Shakira.

Traditional Tropical Latin Album: "Bebo De Cuba," Bebo Valdes.

Salsa/Merengue Album: "Son Del Alma," Willy Chirino.

Mexican/Mexican-American Album: "Mexico En La Piel," Luis Miguel.

Tejano Album: "Chicanisimo," Little Joe Y La Familia.

Engineered Album, Classical: "Mendelssohn: The Complete String Quartets," Da-Hong Seetoo, engineer (Emerson String Quartet).

Producer of the Year, Classical: Tim Handley.

Classical Album: "Bolcom: Songs of Innocence and of Experience," Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Christine Brewer and Joan Morris, University of Michigan School of Music Symphony Orchestra).

Orchestral Performance: "Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13," Mariss Jansons, conductor (Sergei Aleksashkin, Chor Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks).

Opera Recording: "Verdi: Falstaff," Sir Colin Davis, conductor (London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra).

Choral Performance: "Bolcom: Songs of Innocence and of Experience," Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Christine Brewer, Measha Brueggergosman, Ilana Davidson, Nmon Ford, Linda Hohenfeld, Joan Morris, Carmen Pelton, Marietta Simpson and Thomas Young, Michigan State University Children's Choir, University of Michigan Chamber Choir, University of Michigan Orpheus Singers, University of Michigan University Choir and University Musical Society Choral Union, University of Michigan School of Music Symphony Orchestra).

Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra): "Beethoven: Piano Cons. Nos. 2 & 3," Claudio Abbado, conductor; Martha Argerich (Mahler Chamber Orchestra).

Instrumental Soloist Performance (without Orchestra): "Scriabin, Medtner, Stravinsky," Evgeny Kissin.

Chamber Music Performance: "Mendelssohn: The Complete String Quartets," Emerson String Quartet.

Small Ensemble Performance: "Boulez: Le Marteau Sans Maitre, Derive 1 & 2," Pierre Boulez, conductor, Hilary Summers, Ensemble Intercontemporain.

Classical Vocal Performance: "Bach: Cantatas," Thomas Quasthoff (Rainer Kussmaul, Members of the RIAS Chamber Choir, Berlin Baroque Soloists).

Classical Contemporary Composition: "Bolcom: Songs of Innocence and of Experience," William Bolcom (Leonard Slatkin).

Classical Crossover Album: "4 plus Four," Turtle Island String Quartet and Ying Quartet.

Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: "Ray," Ray Charles.

Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: "Ray," Craig Armstrong, composer.

Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: "Believe," Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri, songwriters, from "The Polar Express."

Instrumental Composition: "Into the Light," Billy Childs, composer.

Instrumental Arrangement: "The Incredits," Gordon Goodwin, arranger (Various Artists).

Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s): "What Are You Doing for the Rest of Your Life?" Billy Childs, Gil Goldstein and Heitor Pereira, arrangers (Chris Botti and Sting).

Traditional Blues Album: "80," B.B. King and Friends.

Traditional Folk Album: "Fiddler's Green," Tim O'Brien.

Contemporary Folk Album: "Fair & Square," John Prine.

Native American Music Album: "Sacred Ground -- A Tribute to Mother Earth," Various Artists.

Hawaiian Music Album: "Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar -- Vol. 1," Various Artists.

Reggae Album: "Welcome to Jamrock," Damian Marley.

Traditional World Music Album: "In the Heart of the Moon," Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate.

Contemporary World Music Album: "Eletracustico," Gilberto Gil.

Polka Album: "Shake, Rattle and Polka!" Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra.

Musical Album for Children: "Songs From the Neighborhood -- The Music of Mister Rogers," Various Artists.

Spoken Word Album for Children: "Marlo Thomas & Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long," Various Artists.

Spoken Word Album: "Dreams From My Father," Sen. Barack Obama.

Comedy Album: "Never Scared," Chris Rock.

Musical Show Album: "Monty Python's Spamalot."

Gospel Performance: "Pray," CeCe Winans.

Rock Gospel Song: "Be Blessed," Yolanda Adams, James Harris III, Terry Lewis and James Q. Wright, (Yolanda Adams).

Rock Gospel Album: "Until My Heart Caves In," Audio Adrenaline.

Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album: "Lifesong," Casting Crowns.

Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Album: "Rock of Ages ... Hymns & Faith," Amy Grant.

Contemporary Soul Gospel Album: "Purified," CeCe Winans.

Gospel Choir or Gospel Chorus: "One Voice," Gladys Knight, choir director.

New Age Album: "Silver Solstice," Paul Winter Consort.

Jazz Vocal Album: "Good Night, and Good Luck," Dianne Reeves.

Jazz Instrumental Solo: "Why Was I Born?" Sonny Rollins.

Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group: "Beyond the Sound Barrier," Wayne Shorter Quartet.

Contemporary Jazz Album: "The Way Up," Pat Metheny Group.

Large Jazz Ensemble Album: "Overtime," Dave Holland Big Band.

Latin Jazz Album: "Listen Here!" Eddie Palmieri.

Traditional Soul Gospel Album: "Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs," Donnie McClurkin.

Dance Recording: "Galvanize," The Chemical Brothers featuring Q-Tip.

Electronic/Dance Album: "Push the Button," The Chemical Brothers.

Bluegrass Album: "The Company We Keep," The Del McCoury Band.

Contemporary Blues Album: "Cost of Living," Delbert McClinton.

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Steve Lillywhite.

Short Form Music Video: "Control," Missy Elliott Featuring Ciara and Fat Man Scoop.

Best Long Form Music Video: "No Direction Home" (Bob Dylan).

Recording Package: "The Forgotten Arm," Aimee Mann and Gail Marowitz, art directors (Aimee Mann).

Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package: "The Legend," Ian Cuttler, art director (Johnny Cash).

Album Notes: "The Complete Library of Congress Recordings by Alan Lomax," John Szwed, album notes writer (Jelly Roll Morton).

Historical Album: "The Complete Library of Congress Recordings by Alan Lomax," Jeffrey Greenberg and Anna Lomax Wood, compilation producers (Jelly Roll Morton).

Engineered Album, Non-Classical: "Back Home," Alan Douglas and Mick Guzauski, engineers (Eric Clapton).

Remixed Recording, Non-Classical: "Superfly (Louie Vega EOL Mix)," Louie Vega, remixer (Curtis Mayfield).

Surround Sound Album: "Brothers in Arms -- 20th Anniversary Edition," Chuck Ainlay, Bob Ludwig, Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits).

Forbes.com has again compiled our annual list of Top Topless Beaches. To make the list, we imposed a set of general criteria: a recognized consensus to go topless, consistently sunny weather (rain or cold tend to encourage people to keep covered up), beautiful scenery, a young, fun crowd and easily accessible bars, restaurants and boutiques.

1. South Beach, Miami, Florida
2. Black's Beach, San Diego, California
3. Clifton Beach, Cape Town, South Africa
4. Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
5. Illetes, Formentera, Spain
6. La Voile Rouge, St. Tropez, France
7. Las Salinas, Ibiza, Spain
8. Manly Beach, Sydney, Australia
9. Nikki Beach, St. Tropez, France
10. Paradise Beach, Mykonos, Greece
11. Plage de Pampelonne, St. Tropez, France
12. Santa Maria, Forte Dei Marmi, Italy
13. South Beach, Miami, Florida

Britney Spears has gone into the bathroom at a Mobil Gas Station three times -- each time she was barefoot.

Jessica Alba sometimes parks in hadicapped spots.

Ben Affleck retrieves the morning newspaper in his underwear.

Lindsay Lohan was caught picking her nose for several minutes straight.

Pam Anderson bakes casseroles for her kid's classmates. She's an awsome mom, picking her kids up everyday and, much to their chagrin, kissing them in public.

Cameron Diaz swears like there's no tomorrow. She clearly wears the pants in the relationship, constantly interrupting Justin.

J.Lo shops for hours on Robertson Blvd, a favorite paparazzi hangout, but almost never buys anything.

Mel Gibson plays cat and mouse games with paparazzi, hiding behind cars and startling them.

Madonna takes the cake for most clever. She often rides her bike in the exact same clothing, minimizing the number of photos the paparazzi can sell.

There's more trouble on the horizon for newlywed and Creed frontman Scott Stapp, 32. Us Weekly has learned exclusively that a sex tape involving the singer and fellow musician Kid Rock, 35, is set to be released.

The tape shows both stars involved in explicit sex acts on a tour bus while touring together six years ago. The two don't engage in any sex acts together, but are seen and heard talking to one another during the acts.

Footage was acquired by the Red Light District, the same company that distributed Paris Hilton's infamous sex tape One Night in Paris.

"We acquired the tape from a third party" says Red Light's president David Joseph. "We haven't decided exactly what we are doing with it but our goal is to release it towards the middle or end of this year."

Representatives for Kid Rock and Stapp could not be reached. Stapp wed former Miss New York Jaclyn Nesheiwat, 25, on February 10 in Miami. He was arrested for public drunkeness the following day at LAX airport while enroute to his honeymoon in Hawaii. Stapp was treated for substance abuse in December 2004.

• Britney Spears is worried she'll die the same way Princess Diana did: Married to Prince Charles.
• Heath Ledger wants to play George W. Bush on the big screen. He just can't get enough of those gay cowboy movies.
• A recent study shows that ugly people are more likely to commit crimes. And more likely to own Metallica T-Shirts.
• Simon Cowell says he doesn't keep in touch with past American Idol winners. Meanwhile, Paula Abdul continues to insist that she doesn't have sex with past American Idol losers.
• The British act Elbow will perform a show with 100 children later this month. Michael Jackson wonders out loud, "Why didn't I ever think of that?"

Thank you very much!

It's about time one of the other U.S. skiiers spoke out about Bode Miller.  This guy irkes me, and I'm sure I'm not helping things by continuing to give him coverage, but I just have to get it off my chest.

Bode Miller needs to take the olympics more seriously, and he needs to take his sport more seriously as well.

If he doesn't really care about it, then he shouldn't make a living off of it.  Take a vacation and hit the slopes, and you can drink yourself silly.  But don't make a living off of it.  That's just offense.

That's why I'm so pleased with fellow U.S. skiier Daron Rahlves, who is also fed up with Bode.

"For him to go out and party, that's nothing new. He does that all the time," Rahlves told the Reno Gazette-Journal.  "He doesn't just do it at the Olympics, he does it all year."

And my favorite:  "I have way more than Bode has as far as a life, I think. He just goes around trying to look for girls all the time. That's his biggest thing."

I can't believe they actually have this!  I might just have to get it.

OSLO, Norway - A woman thought she was in heaven when beer instead of water flowed from the faucets in her apartment in west Norway.

“I turned on the tap to clean some knives and forks and beer came out,” Haldis Gundersen told Reuters from her home in Kristiansund, in west Norway. “We thought we were in heaven.”

Beer in Norway is among the most expensive in the world with a 0.7 pint costing about $7.48 in a bar.

Gundersen said she tried the beer but that it tasted a bit odd and was flat.

It turned out that a worker in a bar two floors below had mixed up the pipes on Saturday evening, wrongly connecting a new barrel to a water pipe leading to Gundersen’s apartment. The bar got water in its beer taps.

“If it happens again I’m going to order Baileys (liqueur),” she said.

With a career as well-established as hers, you’d think Salma Hayek had gotten over the sex scene jitters by now. Still, as we can only imagine, it’s pretty hard to get naked with someone you barely know. Especially if that someone is infamous bad boy, Colin Farrell.

Hayek recently revealed that Farrell, her co-star in the upcoming film, Ask the Dust, helped to reduce her tension about their love scenes in a very unusual way: he danced naked for her. Hayek told the London Mirror, "I finally came out of the dressing room, all covered up and Colin's completely naked, jumping around in the sand doing ballet dances. I started laughing and it relaxed me."

Besides being a joker, Salma revealed that Colin is quite a gentleman. "When we were naked he never looked down one time at my naked body - he looked me in my eyes," she said.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are starting a new advice column on their website, where their teenage girl fans can get answers to important questions like, "What's the best way to induce vomiting?" and "Which dealers don't mind delivering?"

Former 98 Degrees singer and ABC`s 'Dancing With the Stars' champion, Drew Lachey and his wife Lea, are parents of a baby girl in Los Angeles.

Jennifer Lopez has put herself on a strict spinach diet because she wants to become pregnant. Sounds like somebody needs the birds and bees talk. :)

According to Christopher Anderson's Barbra: The Way She Is, Barbra Streisand was intimate with Warren Beatty, Ryan O'Neal, Steve McQueen, Kris Kristofferson, Don Johnson, Jon Voight, Elliott Gould, Andre Agassi, Richard Gere, Omar Sharif, Liam Neeson, Peter Jennings, Tommy Smothers, and Peter Weller. Strangely, her husband, James Brolin, is not on the list. ;)

Just when you though Tom Cruise couldn’t get any weirder… The actor and Scientology devotee is preparing for the birth of his first biological child with fiancée, Katie Holmes. Holmes is due to give birth any day now and Cruise wants his child to have everything his or her heart desires. Thus, Tom is currently in discussions with the Church of Scientology to purchase Michael Jackson’s kiddie paradise, Neverland Ranch.

According to the National Enquirer, Tom has advised the Church to look into buying the estate/theme park. He “thinks [it] would make an ideal Scientology retreat,” reports the tabloid. Owning Neverland would also assure Tom that and his children would never have to deal with the public in order to ride a few rides. Going to Disneyland is such a hassle.

Jessica Simpson's publicist has confirmed that she is considering adopting a child. Wouldn't it be great if she adopted TomKat's baby?

Speaking of which, Katie Holmes' Catholic parents are pleading with Tom Cruise to allow the baby to be baptized. That way the baby can have the perfect blend of Catholic guilt and Scientologist kookiness.

According to Star, Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie is pregnant with Josh Duhamel's baby. The tabloid claims she's been pregnant for 8 weeks now and the couple are deciding on when to tie the knot.

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard are engaged and also expecting a baby.

Tom & Katie's baby will be raised a Scientologist. But only because Jews, Christians and Muslims said "no thanks."

The superstar dad-to-be also confirms that Katie, in the final stages of her pregnancy with the couple's first child, will adhere to Scientology's practice of quiet birth. Cruise explains that "quiet birth," which aims to minimize talk and other noise inside the delivery room," is "basically just respecting the mother."

"She does what she's gotta do," he explains, addressing speculation that such a practice would somehow muffle Holmes completely and deny her pain medication. "If she needs medicine, she needs medicine."

And just exactly how does she expect to stay completely silent while giving birth?

The baseball league that I'm in is starting up, and I'm so excited.  So far the team's looking pretty good.  It feels so good to be outside playing ball.

Katie Holmes can break out the noisemakers: She and Tom Cruise are parents.

Cruise and Holmes "joyously welcomed" a baby girl, named Suri, on Tuesday, a statement from the couple's publicist said. Mother and daughter are said to be "doing well." Father is presumably couch-hopping happy.  ;)

Matthew McConaughey's rape case has been thrown out, just in time for the public to find out about it. Apparently Ashley Moye accused the Failure to Launchactor of drugging, raping and trying to kill her. "In legal papers, Moye claimed she and McConaughey were lovers when they were teenagers but they fell out when she dumped him for another guy," claims Female First. "She alleged they met years later while they were both studying Scientology in Hollywood, where he raped her after she refused to marry him."

How dare this deranged woman try to ruin Matt's career by accusing him of being a Scientologist.

I wouldn't have believed it had I not read the article, but a woman at Tufts has written an opera involving Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding.

Oh my.

A politician in California has drafted the "Tom Cruise bill."  The bill, which passed the Assembly on Thursday by a vote of 55 to 7 and is now headed to the State Senate, would ban the sale or distribution of ultrasound machines to anyone other than a licensed medical professional. The measure is intended to block parents-to-be from using the devices to create home sonograms and, in the process, possibly harming the development of the fetus.

According to Newsweek, 20 percent of married couples have sex fewer than 10 times a year.  Wow, that sucks.

Questions to ask your partner before you get married:

Work Questions

1. Are you working in your chosen profession?
2. How many hours a week do you work?
3. What is your dream job?
4. What is your retirement plan? What do you plan to do when you stop working?
5. What does your job entail? (For example: Do you often travel for business, work at home or perform dangerous tasks?)

Money Questions

1. What is your annual income?
2. Should individuals within a marriage have separate bank accounts in addition to joint accounts?
3. Do you have significant debts?
4. Do you believe in establishing a family budget?
5. How important is it for you to make a lot of money?

Sex Questions

1. What sexual activities do you enjoy most? Are there specific sexual acts that make you uncomfortable? Be specific!
2. Do you feel comfortable initiating sex? If yes, why? If no, why?
3. What do you need in order to be in the mood for sex?
4. How often do you need or expect sex?
5. Is sexual fidelity an absolute necessity in a good marriage?

Parenthood Questions

1. Do you want children? When? How many? Are you unable to have children?
2. Do you believe that children should be raised with some religious or spiritual foundation?
3. How important is it to you that your children are raised near your extended family?
4. Do you believe in spanking a child? What type of discipline do you believe in (time outs, standing in the corner, taking away privileges, etc.)?
5. Should boys be treated the same as girls? Should they have the same rules for conduct? Should you have the same expectations for their sexual behavior?

1. Do you believe in God? What does that mean to you?
2. Do you have a current religious affiliation? Is it a big part of your life?
3. Does your religion impose any behavioral restrictions (dietary, social, familial, sexual) that would affect your partner?
4. How important is it to you for your partner to share your religious beliefs?
5. How important is it to you for your children to be raised in your religion?

Spent some time at my parents' house tonight, since it was my sister's senior prom tonight and I wanted to see her before she left.  She looked good, I gotta say it.  All grown up.  Her date better not try anything.  :)

Played ball today, which is always fun.  How about this weather?  Beautiful!

Ballgame:

Jamie Foxx has sex every day for 30 minutes to keep in shape.

The 'Ray' star revealed that daily love making is the best way to stay slim.

He said: "We should all do something for 30 minutes every day to get the heart pumping. I make love to stay in shape."

Foxx, who stars in new movie 'Miami Vice' with Hollywood hellraiser Colin Farrell, insists his biggest turn on is someone who he can have a good conversation with - as long as she has a big butt too.

He told America's New York Daily News newspaper: "I love a beautiful girl that I can have a conversation with. And a good ass - big and round."

So, who wants to help me stay in shape?

The Grateful Dead's longtime spokesman doesn't believe in curses. But even he can't explain the matter of the band's keyboard players.

Vince Welnick, who played keyboards for the tie-dyed outfit from 1990-95, died Friday at age 55. He is the fourth Dead piano man to pass away. On average, a Dead keyboard player has died every 8.25 years since 1973.

"I find it stunning, and I just don't know where it comes from," band publicist Dennis McNally said Monday.

"They chose four times keyboard players...[who] one way or the other found it hard to keep on."

"I don't know why it happens, but it's very sad."

Welnick died "after a decade of battling tragedy while creating music, beauty and light around him," his official Website said. The San Francisco Chronicle was more specific with regards to cause of death, reporting it as an apparent suicide.

"His service to and love for the Grateful Dead were heartfelt and essential," a statement on the Dead's official Website said. "He had a loving soul and a joy in music that we were lucky to share."

Getting out of work in about 45 minutes.  Can't wait.  My eyes hurt from all the reading I've been doing today.  I keep this up and I'm going to need glasses.  Can't have that, cuz then I'll look like a tool.  :)

Got new tires on my Jeep yesterday.  I can feel a difference, and hopefully I'll get better gas mileage now.  At least I won't have to worry about when the tires are gonna blow. 

I'm going to the Madonna concert on Wednesday...one week from today.  I'm not a huge Madonna fan, but I like some of her stuff quite a bit. But the real reason I want to go to the concert is because she always puts on such a show.  Some people, it doesn't really make a difference if you see them live or just listen to their cd, but Madonna makes sure you get your money's worth when you see her.  Gotta love the Material Girl.  I'm going with my sister....it's her graduation present.  I can't believe she'll be in college next year.  Where does the time go?

Definitely miss playing ball with the guys from school.  We had a great group.

Ok, it's pretty obvious.  Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have created a very beautiful baby.

Congrats to Jack Black and Matt Damon, whose wives had babies recently.

Actor Jack Black and his wife Tanya Haden welcomed their first child Saturday June 10. The baby boy was born at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
 
“It feels good,” says Black. “I’m going to be the best daddy on the planet and I’m going to enter the best daddy competition. And I’m going to win it.
 
“I’m already having headaches and am going, ‘Where is he going to pre-school? Am I going to put cameras in every room of my house to spy on babysitters to make sure they don’t shake the baby?’ ” He joked, “I love videogames but the other day I was reading about how they can be addictive. And I’m thinking, ‘Am I going to be the parent who tells them no videogames?’ ”

Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana Bozan, welcomed their first child together on Sunday, a baby girl they named Isabella, the actor's rep confirmed to E! News.

The baby weighed in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces, People magazine reported. Both mother and child were said to be doing well.

Isabella is the first child for Damon, who said last year that he "longed for" fatherhood, and the second child for Bozan, who has a daughter from a previous relationship.

Deputy Environment and Tourism Minister Leon Jooste said officials have received an inquiry on behalf of the 24-year-old pop star, who has a 9-month-old son, Sean Preston, with husband Kevin Federline.

"She has shown interest to come over to Namibia," Jooste said by telephone from a conference in neighboring South Africa. "Nothing has been confirmed yet, but there is a definite possibility of that happening."

He declined to provide further details, saying: "She wants to come in very low profile and have some privacy. She might change her mind if we reveal too much now."

There was no immediate response from Spears' New York-based representative, Leslie Sloane Zelnik, to requests by The Associated Press seeking comment.

Spears, who recently announced she is expecting a second child, has taken a beating in the tabloids, which have questioned her parenting skills. She has been photographed driving with Sean Preston in her lap, and nearly dropped him when she tripped outside a New York City hotel.

Spears would probably appreciate some of the peace and privacy that Pitt and Jolie enjoyed when their daughter, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, was born last month in the sleepy southwest African nation.

The Namibian government shielded the Hollywood couple from the paparazzi, insisting that visiting journalists obtain permission in writing to cover them.

5 Things in my fridge:

1. orange juice
2. Budweiser

3. salami

4. chocolate milk
5. ground beef

5 Things in my closet:

1. shirts
2. pants
3. ties
4. shoes

5. jerseys

5 Things in my car:

1. cell phone charger
2. cds

3. snow scraper

4. wiper fluid
5. sunglasses

Britney Spears has revealed her son likes her to perform sexy dance routines for him.

The singer, famed for her raunchy dance moves in her videos, says nine-month-old Sean Preston goes ga-ga when she struts her stuff in front of him.

She said: "When my son sees me dance, he lights up."

2007 recipients for the Hollywood Walk of Fame were announced Friday:

Sean "Diddy" Combs
Rock disc jockey Rodney Bingenheimer

Barbara Walters

Michael Caine

Matt Damon

Lauren Shuler Donner

Jamie Foxx

John Goodman

Michelle Pfeiffer

Robert Altman

Erik Estrada

Kiefer Sutherland

Jerry Stiller

Dick Wolf

Mariah Carey

The Doors

Crystal Gayle

Tim McGraw

LeAnn Rimes

Shania Twain

Tim Rice

Lily Tomlin

Stu Nahan

Brit v. Christina: Round 1

Brit v. Christina: Round 2

Brit v. Christina: Round 3

Checked out the Taste of Chicago today and had some chocolate-dipped cheesecake...simply delicious!  I could've easily had another piece.  :)

It's such a great atmosphere down there...I love it.  What a great city we have!

First off, I want to say that I don't condone adult relationships with minors.  Even if the child seems to be consenting, it's just not right.  Nonetheless, I'm not exactly sure what to think about this story:

An Australian who propositioned a 16-year-old Virginia girl over the Internet was sentenced to one year in jail, despite his attorney's argument that the incident was not a crime in the man's homeland.

Lucas Andrew McKay, who lives in Brisbane in the eastern state of Queensland, was sentenced Wednesday in Stafford County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to using a computer to solicit sex with a minor.

McKay, 32, testified that he had about a six-week Internet relationship last year with the girl. Defense attorney Patricia Kelly said that under Queensland law, minors become consenting adults at age 16. The age of consent in Virginia is 18.

"This man has paid a significant price for doing something that was legal in his country," Kelly said.

Kelly also said that in Virginia, it's a felony to solicit sex from a minor over the Internet, but it's only a misdemeanor for an adult to actually have sex with someone age 15, 16 or 17.

Nevertheless, prosecutor Erick Olsen urged Judge J. Martin Bass to send a message that online sexual solicitation of minors won't be tolerated.

"It's a serious crime, and there should be a serious deterrent," Olsen said.

Part of me feels glad that they were able to bust the guy, but he was in Australia, where he legally wasn't doing anything wrong.  So sentencing him to a year in prison seems a bit unfair.

That had to be some really awful cafeteria food to cause flatulance that bad.  :)

But actually, all joking aside, it is a serious issue.  Carbon monoxide leaked into a college dormitory early Friday, killing a man and sickening more than 100 teenagers and adults attending summer programs at Roanoke College.

Paris Hilton is determined to become a Hollywood legend.

Hilton says she has enough talent and determination to be one of the most successful movie actresses of all time.

She told Britain's New magazine: "I'm serious about acting and I have a bunch of movies lined up. I think I can become a good actress. It's something I want to prove to myself and to other people. I feel I'm getting better and feeling more confident about what I can do as an actress."

The blonde star has previously claimed she is as good an actress as Oscar-winner Charlize Theron.

She said: "My acting coach told me I have a similar style of acting to Charlize so we may end up vying for the same parts."  :)

God, what a joke!  The things that come out of this girl's mouth are just so easy to make fun of.  Somehow I think Charlize Theron won't have to worry about Paris.

Colin Farrell was surprisingly confronted on stage as he appeared on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" by a woman who sued him for harassment.

Dessarae Bradford, alleged in a small-claims lawsuit that Farrell stalked her with inappropriate calls and text messages, but her lawsuit against Farrell was dismissed.

On Thursday, Bradford was a studio audience guest at "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and surprisingly confronted him walking up to him on the stage. According to other audience members, Bradford left a copy of her self-published book, "Colin Farrell: A Dark Twisted Puppy," on Leno's desk.

According to a studio audience guest, Farrell calmly walked Bradford off stage and then, as she was escorted off the set, she shouted, "I'll see you in court" and Farrell retorted, "You're insane."

When asked about the incident by Access Hollywood's Billy Bush at this evening's Los Angeles "Miami Vice" premiere, Farrell replied, "I don't know. I don't know."

Sergeant Gunn of the Burbank Police Department told Access, she was "identified" and advised not to return to NBC property. Gunn added that she was detained by the police, but not officially taken into custody.

Wages are getting tighter, and college grads are feeling the pinch. Workers with college degrees are facing the largest wage slump in thirty years. Some blame President Bush for mismanaging the economy, some blame the glut of college-educated workers entering the career force, and some don't know where to place blame. But one thing is for sure: although a bachelor's degree greatly increases earning potential, it certainly doesn't guarantee a lavish salary.

Wage stagnation, long the bane of blue-collar workers, is now hitting people with bachelor's degrees for the first time in 30 years. Earnings for workers with four-year degrees fell 5.2 percent between 2000 and 2004 when adjusted for inflation, according to White House economists.

When wages for people with bachelor's degrees declined in the 1970s, the cause was a flood of baby boomers entering the job market. This time, economists say, much of the blame goes to trends familiar to workers with less education.

Off-shoring, which has shifted manufacturing and call-center jobs to Mexico and India, is increasingly affecting the white-collar sectors of engineering and software design. Companies have continued their long effort to replace salaried positions with low-paid, nonsalaried jobs, including part-time and freelance positions without benefits.

A small study suggests that teens start having sex sooner if their preferred music has sexually degrading lyrics.

What a load of crap.  Kids don't have sex because of the music they listen to or the things they watch on tv.  They have sex because they're horny.  And they don't have sex because of the environment in which they are raised. 

But here's the article, for you to read:

Sexy Music Lyrics Prompt Teens To Have Sex

10. "What's it about?"

9. "So I can't bring a bottle of water on a plane but snakes are OK?"

8. "Hi, two adults and one snake, please"

7. "I didn't care for the 'Snakes in the Theater' promotion"

6. "Maybe we should just go to Times Square and see 'Snakes In My Pants'"

5. "It's still better than sitting next to Regis"

4. "Exact same thing happened to me last time I flew Delta"

3. "I haven't seen a snake that big since the Pamela Anderson/Tommy Lee video"

2. "That guy sitting behind me? Jackass on a cellphone"

1. "No, Mr. Gibson, I'm not Jewish"

1- Her nipples harden
While it's possible that she's cold or nervous -- after all, I'm sure you've seen women walking around in public with nipplitis at some point -- hardened nipples, coupled with a few other signs such as panting, squirting and yelling the words, "Yes! Yes! I'm coming!" may indicate that your woman is, indeed, satisfied.

2- She gets emotional
My friends looked at me like I was mildly retarded when I told them that my girlfriend sometimes cries after we make love. But according to her, her orgasm sometimes brings on such a wave of emotion that she ends up crying. Now that's pat on the back worthy.

If your woman collapses after reaching orgasm or begins crying like a girl (which would make sense), don't worry; it's because she's feeling good and oh-so satisfied.

3- She falls asleep
A trait usually attributed to men, there are women out there who are so incredibly drained via their orgasms that they simply need to take a nap and recuperate from the damage you've done.

If she turns over and begins to snooze, don't get insulted -- that, dude, would make you a woman. No, just wrap your arms around her and do as.

4- She needs to snuggle intimately
While it does not guarantee that she orgasmed per se, her need to hold you tight and feel your arms around her may be a sign that she just finished enjoying a "moving" experience. What that means, I'm not sure, but I think that if she wants to hug you tight after you finish doing your thing, then she likes you nevertheless.

5- She can't walk
She wants to get up to fix you that after-sex snack you love so much, but she simply can't walk because her legs are quivering. Shaky legs are a sure-fire sign that you have done your duty as a man, man.

If she needs a few minutes before she can go to the bathroom to clean up and make you that big ass sandwich, then you can rest assured that you gave it to her good.

6- She can't stop talking about it
If, after you're done getting your bang on, she can't stop talking about the positions you had her in, the sensations she felt, or better yet, she simply keeps mumbling the same word over and over again (e.g. "amazing pant, pant , amazing pant , that was pant , amazing, amazing, you're pant , amazing..."), chances are she is stupefied by your penile goodness.

7- She's smiling like a freak
Come on, you've been there so you know exactly what I'm referring to. There will be days when your woman simply won't be able to wipe that smirk off her face and it will be all thanks to you. Pat yourself lightly on the back and kiss her for no reason.

Now not only will she be dying for more, but chances are she'll tell all her friends what a stallion you are. And you what that means; should things not work out between you and her, you have an entire stable to choose from.

(from AskMen.com)

Forbes.com has named America's Drunkest Cities:

1. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
2. Minneapolis, Minnesota
3. Columbus, Ohio
4. Boston, Massachusetts
5. Austin, Texas
6. Chicago, Illinois
7. Cleveland, Ohio
8. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
9. Providence, Rhode Island (tie)
10. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (tie)

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is being made to watch his appearance in cult cartoon South Park while he is behind bars.

The deposed leader on trial in Iraq was featured in the movie spin-off as the lover of the devil. South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut featured Hussein and Satan attempting to take over the world together.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone said US Marines guarding the former dictator during his trial for genocide were making him watch the movie "repeatedly".

"I have it on pretty good information from the Marines on detail in Iraq that they showed him the movie last year. That's really adding insult to injury. I bet that made him really happy," Stone said.

An Air Canada Jazz pilot who left the cockpit of his passenger jet to use the bathroom soon before landing found himself locked out upon his return.  Ooops.  Somehow the door had gotten stuck, and the first officer was unable to open the door from the other side.  The crew had to take the door off of its hinges before the pilot could get back into the cockpit, and of course all of this happened only half an hour before landing.

The first officer could've landed the plane if he needed to, but it's still freaky to think that a pilot could be locked out of the cockpit.  I know I wouldn't feel very safe.

Paris Hilton was arrested early yesterday morning.  Am I surprised?  No, not really.  It was just a matter of time before she did something stupid.  She was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence but claimed that she only had one drink and had an empty stomach because she hadn't eaten all day (no duh, have you seen her lately?  She hasn't eaten all month.) 

Ok Paris, we believe you.

Yeah right.

Three women are about to be executed. One's a brunette, one's a redhead, and one's a blonde. The guard brings the brunette forward and the executioner asks if she has any last requests. She says no, and the executioner shouts, "Ready! Aim?"

Suddenly the brunette yells, "EARTHQUAKE!!!"

Everyone is startled and throws themselves on the ground while she escapes.

The guard brings the redhead forward and the executioner asks if she has any last requests. She say no, and the executioner shouts, "Ready! Aim?"

Suddenly the redhead yells, "TORNADO!!!"

Everyone is startled and looks around for cover while she escapes.

By now the blonde has it all figured out. The guard brings her forward and the executioner asks if she has any last requests. She says no, and the executioner shouts, "Ready! Aim?"

And the blonde yells, "FIRE!!!"

Oh my my, Oregon State upset Southern California?  What a crazy day.

In a city where you can get just about anything delivered to your door - groceries, dry cleaning, Chinese food - pot smokers are increasingly ordering takeout marijuana from drug rings that operate with remarkable corporate-style attention to customer satisfaction.

An untold number of otherwise law-abiding professionals in New York are having their pot delivered to their homes instead of visiting drug dens or hanging out on street corners.

Among the legions of home delivery customers is Chris, a 37-year-old salesman in Manhattan. He dials a pager number and gets a return call from a cheery dispatcher who takes his order for potent strains of marijuana.

Within a couple of hours, a well-groomed delivery man - sometimes a moonlighting actor or chef - arrives at the doorstep of his Manhattan apartment carrying weed neatly packaged in small plastic containers.

"These are very nice, discreet people," said Chris, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition only his first name be used. "There's an unspoken trust. It's better than going to some street corner and getting ripped off or killed."

The phenomenon isn't new. It has long been the case around the country that those with enough money and the right connections could get cocaine or other drugs discreetly delivered to their homes and places of business.

But experts say home delivery has been growing in popularity, thanks to a shrewder, corporate style of dealing designed to put customers at ease and avoid the messy turf wars associated with other drugs.

"It's certainly been the trend in the past 10 years in urban areas that are becoming gentrified," said Ric Curtis, an anthropology professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who specializes in the drug culture.

As much as I dislike Terrell Owens, I've got to say that the Dallas Cowboys would not be as good were he not on the team.

He may act like a jerk, but he's got talent.

Jeered lustily as he headed to the locker room tunnel after the 31-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints, the Atlanta Falcons' fourth consecutive defeat, quarterback Michael Vick reacted by lifting the middle finger of his left hand, and then his right hand, to the fans. The image was captured by network television cameras and replayed several times Sunday night. It very quickly became the preponderant subject on Atlanta talk radio Sunday evening.

Vick issued a statement through the team Sunday night, saying, "First and foremost, I would like to apologize for my inappropriate actions with fans today. I was frustrated and upset at how the game was going for my team, and that frustration came out the wrong way. That's not what I'm about. That's not what the Atlanta Falcons are about. I simply lost my cool in the heat of the moment. I apologize and look forward to putting this incident behind me."

Hmmm, maybe Drew Brees can teach him a thing or two about keeping his composure...and winning.

In rather sad news, today was the day I gave up on my dream of getting with Eva Longoria.

I guess Tony Parker has a pretty good claim on her now, with their announced engagement and everything.

Aw shucks.

An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing Monday morning after a passenger lit a match to disguise the scent of flatulence, authorities said.

The Dallas-bound flight was diverted to Nashville after several passengers reported smelling burning sulfur from the matches, said Lynne Lowrance, spokeswoman for the Nashville International Airport Authority. All 99 passengers and five crew members were taken off and screened while the plane was searched and luggage was screened.

The FBI questioned a passenger who admitted she struck the matches in an attempt to conceal a ''body odor,'' Lowrance said. She had an unspecified medical condition, authorities said.

''It's humorous in a way but you feel sorry for the individual, as well,'' she said. ''It's unusual that someone would go to those measures to cover it up.''

The flight took off again, but the woman was not allowed back on the plane. The woman, who was not identified, was not charged in the incident.

Ok, prepare to be grossed out.  A high school kid at Wheaton North High School ejaculated into a bottle of Ranch dressing...and people may have injested in.

Went to a party last night at Nathan's and watched a whole lot of football.  Fun stuff.

Rule No. 1
Know the Real You

Don't let others make you into someone you're not. Be true to yourself! If you're not, how can you expect others to be comfortable around you? When you're more like yourself, you're more likely to find that real match.

Rule No. 2
Identify What You Really Want From Love

Everybody's got a list of ''mate must-haves.'' Those are the things that you absolutely, positively, MUST HAVE in order to even give a guy or girl the time of day. Write it all down so you'll know the minute you've come across a candidate, otherwise, you'll be shooting in the dark.

Rule No. 3
Recognize Your Imperfections And Work With Them

Look, no one wants to admit they have any fatal flaws, but there's a very good chance you do. Acknowledge your imperfections, since you probably aren't likely to eliminate them at this point in your life, and learn to work with them. You're only human and it's really the perfect person you need to watch out for.

Rule No. 4
If You Think You're Not Over It, Then You're Probably Not Over It

Maybe you think you're ready to date, but you're not quite done mourning the last relationship that didn't work. If that's true, take the time to get over him or her. Otherwise, you're just wasting your time and your dates. The flip side is that dating can be therapeutic so be honest with your date if you're rebounding.

Rule No. 5
Don't Talk Yourself Into Repeating Past Mistakes

Dating is an opportunity to get to know what we definitely don't want in a partner, but we generally forget what we've learned once the next love comes along. As much as it feels right, it probably isn't if it's what broke up your previous relationship.

This is what I got from watching the Sugar Bowl last night: JaMarcus Russell has a VERY strong arm!  What did the commentators say?  He can throw 80 yards standing up, 60 yards from his knees, and 40 yards from his butt?  I think I could probably throw about 2 yards if I were seated.

MONUMENT, Colo. -- A former high school basketball coach faces 39 charges for allegedly hitting male students in the groin, showing them pornography and pouring water on his players then driving them to games in the winter with the windows rolled down.

Gregory Lynn Burr, 28, face charges ranging from sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust to child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury, according to court documents reviewed by The Gazette of Colorado Springs. One of the students claims to have had scrotal surgery because of Burr's alleged assault.

A student in documents said Burr would ask them, "What is the capital of Thailand?" When they would answer "Bangkok," he would hit them in the groin.

The incidents allegedly took place from September 2005 to March 2006 at The Monument Academy.

Burr's phone number in Colorado Springs was not listed. Burr attorney Phil Dubois told The Gazette Monday that the charges are unwarranted, adding, "Mr. Burr is not a sex offender or anything close to it."

Burr, who was arrested, posted $10,000 bail on Dec. 14, court records show.

Burr is no longer is employed at the charter school, which is part of the Lewis-Palmer School District 38, said Ted Belteau, the district's executive director of personnel and student services.

Burr's wife, Sharalee, was athletic director, coach of the girl's basketball team last season and a teacher at the school told the newspaper that she was fired.

In arrest records, some of the victims portrayed the incidents as Burr's misguided attempts at humor but said they kept quite for fear of getting kicked off the team. One student estimated some of the players were hit in the groin 30-40 times.

Another said the blows occurred at every practice, with the coach hitting them with his hand, basketballs and tennis balls.

I caught some of Saturday Night Live last night.  Darrell Hammond rocks as Donald Trump!  He did a little skit making fun of the whole feud between the Donald and Rosie O'Donnell.  It was great.

I am so psyched for tonight's episode of Scrubs.  They're doing a musical episode, which I think will either be really awesome or not too good.  But I'm hoping it will be awesome.

It sounds good:

Working with one of the series’s medical advisers, Dr. John Doris, Ms. Fordham built a story around a patient who is found to have an aneurysm that causes her to hear music...

In total, 19 of the show’s 23 minutes are musical, and the musical styles have been made to fit each character, from the Gilbert-and-Sullivan-like patter sung by John C. McGinley, who plays Dr. Perry Cox, to the heartwarming “Guy Love,” sung by Zach Braff and Donald Faison, whose characters, J. D. and Turk, are the best-friend physicians at the center of the show.

And it looks good: