Saturday, October 31, 2009

Hugh Jackman Prepares to Pass Sexiest Man Alive Crown


As the one-year reign of Hugh Jackman as PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive winds down, it's time to pass the crown to a new deserving hunk. So who does the Australian screen star, Oscar host and current Broadway leading man want to see take the title next?

"Me! I want to be the first to have it back to back, buddy," Jackman, 41, told PEOPLE's reporter on Friday in New York, while attending the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concert (set to air on HBO Nov. 29). "That would be fantastic!"

Though he would like to reclaim the title, the Steady Rain star (who costars in the Broadway drama with Daniel Craig, certainly another SMA possibility) says it's been quite an exciting year as the Sexiest Man Alive, but also one that's been a little demanding.

"I thought there were thousands of other guys that deserved it, but it's been a great year. But now the pressures off," he said good-naturedly. "I can be a slob again."

James Franco on 'General Hospital': Can he help save daytime?

by Lynette Rice

Given all this disturbing talk about pay cuts on The Young and the Restless and the rabid (though apparently, unsubstantiated) speculation about the future of One Life to Live, it’s always nice to hear some good news about the ailing genre: James Franco is finally in the house – or in the medical ward, rather. ABC has confirmed that Oct. 30 was Franco’s first day on General Hospital, a gig we’d like to think he agreed to because he wants to see daytime soaps survive just like the rest of us (though it might have simply occurred because he shares the same manager as GH’s Steve Burton). The Golden Globe-winning actor will play a mystery guy who comes to Port Charles and gets up in the grill of Jason Morgan (Burton). His role will play out over a two-month period that starts airing Nov. 20, but Franco’s only contracted to shoot three days on the sudser’s Los Angeles set. No matter: any kind of star-studded appearance from a star like Franco should do wonders for the soap world. Or can it?

Make no mistake, something has to be done to keep daytime dramas relevant. Viewer averages for soaps on the three broadcast networks have dropped 23 percent versus 10 years ago, and it’s even more dire in the all-important women 18-49 demo, which is down 41 percent during that same period. Going entirely on location with hand-held cameras isn’t the answer – just asking Guiding Light - nor is cutting expensive though immensely popular stars like Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn from Days of Our Lives (though an NBC insider insists that by lowering salaries and by cutting the show’s rich license fee to something south of $1 million per week, it managed to save the sudser). So is it the right idea to lure film stars like Franco? “I suspect if you talk to the network people overseeing these shows, they would say they innovate until the cows come home,” says one veteran TV executive with deep roots in daytime. “Come on… ne Live to Live did a Grey Gardens musical number! The trouble is, these shows no longer have the reach or cultural influence where a stunt or even the return of a character can be heard above the din of regular life. Frankly, the last frontier may be changing the form of five hours a week. That’s going to have to be addressed.”

What? Airing daytime dramas only two or three days a week versus five? That’s not necessarily a bad idea since research seems to show that, except for those stuck-in-bed types, most soap viewers only average about two episodes per week. At the same time, it would seem sacrilege to ask the soap industry to cut back on production when its already operates as the most well-oiled machine in Hollywood (you’ll never see primetime soaps like Desperate Housewives or Brothers and Sisters cranking out episodes for south of $1 million a week). Unfortunately, it may have to come to that since many industry observers are already predicting the demise of yet another soap in the next five years – though we can apparently rule out OLTL. Despite rampant internet rumors about the serial’s demise, a spokeswoman for ABC said the soap is simply moving into the old New York production quarters of All My Children, which is heading west to Los Angeles in December (the new digs will help ABC save money because it’ll allow AMC to accommodate more standing sets). Nevertheless, Madison Avenue recognizes that something’s got to change in daytime, especially when game shows and yakkers like The View do a better job of attracting new viewers. And sadly, analysts don’t seem convinced that appearances by film stars – even those as appealing as Franco – will make a difference.

“Committing to five hour a week is a lot,” says Chris Boothe, president and chief operating officer of Starcom, a media buying firm. “There just hasn’t been a lot of innovation in daytime. Bringing in new characters here and there, or various bands or musical acts to appear in the cliché bar or hospital party, is not going to get someone to say, ‘I’m gonna watch this for five hours.’”

Richard and Mayumi Heene, facing charges in the balloon boy hoax, now want the sheriff charged for violation of privacy.

Juliet Definitely Dead on 'Lost' (Nooooooo!)


Just as poison shook Shakespeare's Juliet off this mortal coil, so too does a nuclear explosion send Dr. Juliet Burke of 'Lost' into the great blue yonder, confirms Entertainment Weekly (via Vulture blog).

The final episode of season 5 featured Juliet declaring her love for Sawyer and making a bomb go "boom," which had fans wondering if the heroic fertility doctor survived the explosion. But apparently not even the writers of 'Lost,' who are certainly capable of making people come back to life when they feel like it, could shield Juliet from such a big bang. So, don't look for the doc in the sixth (and final) season, because she's definitely gone, baby, gone .. though in the great tradition of 'Lost' beyond-the-grave appearances, she may still pop up in an episode or two.

Supposedly, actress Elizabeth Mitchell -- who'll still have a job in the new series 'V' -- cried and drank for a couple of days after being told that Juliet was being killed off. Of course she did. The show shoots in Hawaii -- who would want to lose a gig like that?

Friday, October 30, 2009

5-Year-Old Gymnast a Worldwide Sensation, But at What Price?

At age 5, most kids are reading Dr. Seuss, if they can read at all. The next book Giuliano Stroe cracks open might be the Guinness Book of World Records.



That's because Giuliano is entered in a highly improbable category for a kindergartner: Hand walking. The little guy holds the world record -- 10 meters (or 33 feet) for walking on his hands.

Forgot to mention: With a weight ball between his legs.

That isn't Giuliano's only claim to fame. These days, the Romanian-born gymnastic prodigy is a YouTube sensation with the little guy showing off his washboard abs and an array of scary tricks in more than 60 videos. As of this morning, one of those -- showing Giuliano doing back flips off a kitchen table -- has been watched an astonishing 4.2 million times. So, hurray for Giuliano who obviously packs big talent in that little, muscle-bound body.

But we wanted to hear from a grown-up in that family.


ParentDish reached Giuliano's father and coach, Iulian Stroe to ask why he's training his 5-year-old like a Navy SEAL.

He told us that there isn't anything excessive about his son's workout routine and that people misjudge him and his young son.

"It's not wrong what we do, because I did the same things [when] I was a little boy and I am healthy and strong," Stroe wrote in an e-mail.

He doesn't pay much attention to critics who don't know anything about him or his son.

"They say these things because they are lazy people. They find motivation in not doing sport."

Stroe lives with his family in Italy; he coaches his son five days a week, with sessions lasting three hours. Giuliano has a 3-year-old workout partner, his younger brother, Claudio.

And what does the boys' mother think of her little ones hand-standing and back-flipping around the kitchen?

"She is very proud," according to Stroe.

Sports prodigies are rare, of course. But some parents are working just as hard as the Stroes to turn their little ones into sports champs. Keith O'Dell Jr., a 2-year-old pool shark, chalks up his cue two- to three hours a day.

The world's youngest boxer may be 7-year-old Wayne "Bam Bam" "Pretty Boy" Lawrence, who in addition to ring skills, has his own Web site, a hit single and has been featured in a documentary.
Then there's four-year-old tennis whiz Mia Lines, who already has a career ambition: Win Wimbledon.

Regis & Kelly; Halloween Show - Single Ladies Parody

I'd like to see a bit more dancing...

Regis & Kelly; Halloween Show - Thriller

Ok nobody does it better than MJ and he's gone now so while I like Regis & Kelly this is just too soon for me...

Regis & Kelly; Halloween Show - The Bachelor

OMG! They are so funny!

Regis & Kelly; Halloween Show - Do The Real Housewives of NJ

Regis & Kelly a freakin' hilarious in this one!

Heath Ledger's Final Video Work Hits the Internet

Michael Jackson's not the only fallen star with a posthumous project out this week. (Just the only one competing against unrealistically high expectations.)



Just a few months after Modest Mouse released Heath Ledger's music video directorial debut, his directorial finale made its way online this week, courtesy of London rapper and Ledger childhood friend No Fixed Abode.

According to the rapper, the Oscar winner filmed the three-and-a-half minute opus in his garage in Sydney in the months before his death in January 2008. The video, which features some slightly Joker-esque makeup, was also included in a tribute to Ledger shown during the Rome Film Festival earlier this month.

"The idea was to keep it very artistic, which is what we did," the rapper, who also goes by N'fa, said. "Heath directed really well…and I know that Heath was happy with the work.

"Everyday I count my blessings that I got to have him direct this piece of art. It was a song I was proud to have written, but I never expected to have such an immense video made for it. I'd known Heath since we were very young, and he was always a creative kind of guy and, in many ways, ahead of the curve. When he had the idea about doing this video, I had no question about it.
"Thank you very much Heath for all your help, I wish you were here."

Meanwhile, Ledger's final film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, will open in limited release on Dec. 25.

New Britney Spears Video - "3"

I hate to say it and you all know that I love her to death BUT I could have conceived a better video idea than this and shot it much better too.

I think I'm going to do my own version and post it on youtube just to show you all.

Octomom Nadya Suleman's Pregnant Nun Halloween Costume


Octomom Nadya Suleman is no stranger to controversy. (To say the least.)

This Halloween, the Angelina Jolie-wannabe celebrated by dressing up as -- wait for it -- a pregnant nun!

Even better? She dressed her entire baby brood as devils.

This ridiculous photo captures only 1/3 of the crazy family in action.

Was this a publicity stunt? A cry for attention? Or could she possibly just have thought this was a fun idea?

"Octomom loves the spotlight and knew exactly what she was doing when she chose her costume," says Susan Avery, senior editor of AOL ParentDish.

"A pregnant nun, which is controversial enough, combined with eight devil babies, was bound to get the paparazzi snapping."

What do you think about Octomom's "sister act?" Sound off right here below.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

The Countdown to V...


Ok gang - our countdown is official - 5 days until the premiere of the new (reboot) V.

Mortgage debt waived after bank can't find paperwork


Two weeks ago, a bankruptcy court in suburban New York did the formerly unthinkable: It waived a homeowner's mortgage debt after the bank trying to foreclose on the home couldn't submit any proof that it actually had a claim on the property. According to the New York Times, when lender PHH Mortgage was asked to provide proof that it actually held the deed for the $461,263 mortgage, it couldn't give the judge any records. Operating on the entirely reasonable principal that someone who claims to possess a piece of paper that gives them ownership to a nearly half-million dollar house should actually have that piece of paper, the judge slapped a stiff and possibly game-changing punishment on the disorganized lender. Real estate experts say this is a more common occurrence than many people realize, and the potential implications are huge. During the go-go mortgage boom years, millions of loans were bundled into financial instruments called securities and sold to investors. They, in turn, often turned around and sold those securities to other investors. Making money hand over fist was the priority; keeping good records of who actually owned which mortgage wasn't. The shambles that many banks' mortgage records are in today could cost them big -- and keep potentially thousands upon thousands of people from losing their homes. The idea that banks should have to prove that they actually own the mortgage that gives them the right to foreclose if the homeowner falls behind on their payments isn't new. A group called Consumer Warning Network has been advocating for homeowners who feel railroaded into foreclosure by the lending industry by advising them to ask the lender to "produce the note" in court during foreclosure proceedings. Good Morning America covered this tactic last spring. At the time, though, the advice was just intended to help beleageured homeowners buy some time to get their mortgage modified or find another way to come up with the money they owed. It was assumed that the banks had the proof of their claim buried in a filing cabinet somewhere. Now, though, it's clear that some lenders don't have proof that they have the right to foreclose on a home, and at least one judge has put his foot down and refused to let the lender take the home without that proof. It's a small step so far, but it's one that could have far-reaching implications because of the large number of mortgages that were repackaged and resold many times over earlier this decade. Of course, if a homeowner is in foreclosure, he or she will still lose the house if the bank has all the proper documentation. But if the bank can't produce the documentation, it's comforting to think that a judge won't let them put a family on the street just on that lender's say-so that they have the proof... somewhere.

What NOT to Use On a Job Hunt: A Gun


I don't know what is more shocking on this story. I used to live in Haverstraw, NY and yes the town is filled with some very interesting personalities to tell the truth but this just takes the cake. In these times, people use a lot crazy tactics to try to get a job, and some actually work. Brandishing a gun, however, is not one of them.

According to LoHud.com, a man took the term "Job Hunt" a little too literally. He walked into a Taco Bell in Haverstraw, NY on Monday afternoon, pulled out a gun, demanded money, then continued on to the manager's office.

This time, instead of pointing his gun, he asked the manager for an employment application.

Although the manager did not witness the attempted holdup, he told the suspect no and asked him to leave the restaurant.

The man left -- without the money or the job. Funny thing is I used to live right up the hill from the Taco Bell and used to sneak out late at night and go out my back yard and down the small sloping hill to the Taco Bell and stand at the order box and then walk up along the drive thru and pick up my order. LOL Oh, good times, good times.... and good to see that they are still there!

15 Signs Your Workplace is Dysfunctional


Does your job drive you crazy? Do you sometimes wonder if you are the only sane person in working there? Is your workplace dysfunctional, or is it you? Here's how to find out"

Sign No. 1: Conspicuously posted vision or value statements are filled with vague but important-sounding words like "excellence" and "quality"

These words are seldom defined and the concepts they allude to are never measured.


Sign No. 2: Bringing up a problem is considered more as evidence of a personality defect rather than as an actual observation of reality

In a dysfunctional company, what it looks like is not only more important than what it is, it is what it is. If you don't believe that, you are the problem. A surprising amount of information is classified. Dysfunctional companies have more state secrets than the CIA. Anything that might embarrass the boss turns out to be a national security issue.


Sign No. 3: If by chance there are problems, the usual solution is a motivational seminar

Attitude is everything, especially in places where facts are embarrassing or inconvenient. In a dysfunctional family, there's an elephant -- usually a drunken abusive parent -- in the parlor, but no one ever mentions him. To appear sane, you have to pretend that the elephant is invisible, and that drives you crazy. Businesses are full of invisible elephants, too. Usually they are things that might cause difficulties for people with enough clout to prevent their discussion. The emperor may be naked, but if you have a good attitude, you won't mention it.


Sign No. 4: Double messages are delivered with a straight face

Quality and quantity are both job one. You can do it both cheaper and better, just don't ask how. If you're motivated enough you should know already.


Sign No. 5: History is regularly edited to make executive decisions more correct, and correct decisions more executive than they actually were

Those huge salaries require some justification.


Sign No. 6: People are discouraged from putting things in writing

What is written, especially financial records, is purposely confusing. You can never tell when you might need a little deniability.


Sign No. 7: Directions are ambiguous and often vaguely threatening

Before you respond to a vague threat, remember this: Virtually every corporate scandal begins with someone saying, "Do it; I don't care how." That person is seldom the one who gets indicted.


Sign No. 8: Internal competition is encouraged and rewarded

The word "teamwork" may be batted around like a softball at a company picnic, but in a dysfunctional company the star players are the only ones who get recognition and big bucks.


Sign No. 9: Decisions are made at the highest level possible

Regardless of what it is, you have to check with your boss before doing it. She also has to check with her boss.


Sign No. 10: Delegating means telling somebody to do something, not giving them the power to do it

According to Webster's Dictionary, you delegate authority, not tasks. In dysfunctional companies you may have responsibility, but the authority lives in the office upstairs.


Sign No. 11: Management approaches from the latest bestseller are regularly misunderstood to mean what we're doing already is right on the mark

"Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," "Good to Great" and "Who Moved My Cheese?" all seem to boil down to, "quit griping and do more with less."


Sign No. 12: Resources are tightly controlled

Your department may need upgraded software, but there's been a spending freeze since 2006. Cost control is entry-level management, but in a dysfunctional company anything more sophisticated is considered too touchy-feely. Whatever you propose, the first question you will be asked is if it can be done cheaper.


Sign No. 13: You are expected to feel lucky to have a job and know you could lose it if you don't toe the line

Dysfunctional companies maintain control using the threat of punishment. Most will maintain that they also use positive rewards ... like your paycheck. A few people are actually fired, but most of those who go are driven to quit.


Sign No. 14: Rules are enforced based on who you are rather than what you do

In a dysfunctional company, there are clearly insiders and outsiders and everyone knows who belongs in each group. Accountability has different meanings depending on which group you're in.


Sign No. 15: The company fails the Dilbert Test

Dysfunctional organizations have no sense of humor. People who post unflattering cartoons risk joining the ranks of the disappeared. When an organization loses the ability to laugh at itself, it is headed for big trouble. If you'd get in trouble for printing this article and posting it on the bulletin board at work, maybe it's time to look for another job before this one drives you crazy.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Social networking saviors: Twitter, Facebook used in effort to help save a baby's life


Social networking is helping to save one very tiny baby's life.

Jaeli Brow came into the world last June with an extremely rare condition -- a chromosomal mutation that makes her incapable of tolerating most forms of nutrition, including most formula and breast milk, or to put on weight. For a tiny baby fighting to gain even a few precious ounces (Jaeli weighed just 5 pounds, 4 ounces when she was born), the condition can be life threatening.

Earlier this month, the situation grew even more dire when Jaeli's family found themselves struggling to afford the one type of milk that she can stomach. But thanks to donations from 60 or so perfect strangers who read about her on Facebook and Twitter, Jaeli has received some much-needed meals.

Jaeli's official diagnosis is referred to as unbalanced translocation between short arm of Xp and a duplication of 2q. The condition is so rare -- only three other children have been diagnosed with it -- that it doesn't even have a name yet. "[W]e call it Jaeli's Syndrome," says Angela England, a family friend who is helping Jaeli's family to raise money.

As if the condition isn't hard enough for the youngest of seven kids and her parents, Brandy and Jim, to cope with, Jaeli was also born with a host of health issues including a minor cleft palate and two large holes in her heart. Thanks to a combination of drug therapies, she has narrowly avoided open heart surgery.

But it's Jaeli's inability to tolerate formula, or even most breast milk, that is particularly daunting. Severe reactions to feedings often result in extreme vomiting and bleeding in Jaeli's nose and mouth. One of the only ways Jaeli can eat without such a violent reaction is to consume 24 calorie-per-ounce breast milk that comes from the Human Milk Banking Association of North America. The price tag: $4.25 per ounce. Considering that Jaeli currently needs about 30 ounces a day, it's an an expense that quickly adds up.

Yet, says England, since Jaeli's doctors want to continue to experiment with other, cheaper treatment plans, they refuse to categorize the high-calorie, pre-screened, banked breast milk as a necessity. As a result, the Brow's can't file an insurance claim to help pay for the milk. And since an insurer isn't helping to foot the bill, the hospital refuses to order the milk without "cash in hand."

Earlier this month, Jaeli was down to her final ounces of banked breast milk and losing weight. Desperately hoping to help her friends, England turned to social networking. On her Twitter page and a FaceBook page entitled "Jaeli's Syndrome" she started a campaign to collect donations for Jaeli's milk. "I just knew if other moms knew about the situation, they'd band together and get Jaeli food," she says.

Parents across the country started donating. "In a few hours, we collected over $1,300," she says. The initial effort was enough to keep Jaeli fed for about two weeks. To date, the group has raised more than $3,200 and The Mother's Milk Bank of Ohio has donated an extra box of banked milk, says England.



Last week, Jaeli returned home after a three-week stay in the hospital where she was treated for a urinary tract infection, along with numerous digestive and weight complications. Her parents, siblings and friends are hopeful she's turned a corner (according to her mother, Jaeli now weighs 9 pounds, 2 ounces), but are only cautiously optimistic. They're hoping surgery, growth and time will eventually allow Jaeli to eat solid foods, but her prognosis is uncertain.

For now, "Jaeli's Angels," the growing number of donors, "tweeps" and "friends" willing her to gain weight and thrive, have their sights set on keeping her in pre-screened breast milk until that happens. "I wish I could buy her several days worth myself," says England.

If you'd like to donate, follow Jaeli's progress, or spread the word, log onto Twitter and follow @angengland, @brandybrow and @rarechromobaby. Or, stop by her website.

DVD Review: Battlestar Galactica: The Plan


Leoben, that tricky toaster, was right: All of this has happened before, and all of it is happening again.

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan retells major events from the first two years of the celebrated sci-fi series through the eyes of the Cylons. It weaves together recycled scenes from the series with new footage to reveal a first-hand account of the Cylon agenda, or "plan."

The result is a film that feels incomplete, episodic and disjointed. It plays less like a movie and largely like a disk full of high quality bonus material. Most of what happens here feels irrelevant to the series -- almost like it was tacked on to the BSG mythos to satisfy completists and hardcore fans. Still, it's worth watching to see Dean Stockwell carry the film with a fearless performance as the scheming and duplicitous Brother Cavil. The veteran character actor takes center stage in The Plan, and your enjoyment of the film will rest largely on how much you like, or dislike, Cavil and his major role in the series.

Stockwell's performance isn't the only thing worth recommending here. The Plan fleshes out a few of the series' more compelling stories, and it makes room for a new one involving Simon (Rock Worthy), aka Cylon Number Four. Worthy is terrific as a Four living with a human family and torn between his human life and his duty as a Cylon. Cylons learning to love other humans and to cherish their own humanity is a repeating theme in The Plan.

We also get more insight into Boomer's (Grace Park) headspace from season one, when she was working as a Cylon sleeper agent. It's not necessary to learn the details of her mission or how the Cylons controlled her, but the new scenes between Park and Stockwell are fantastic. In a scene that foreshadows the Cylon civil war, Boomer tells Cavil that she prefers being human – feeling love, friendship, and even heartache – to being a machine. Cavil responds with a nasty rant about the inferiority of humans to machines, echoing his famous "I want to see gamma rays" speech from the series.

Some small loose ends from the series are tied up here (Whatever happened to Shelly Godfrey? Who was Six waiting for on Caprica before the attack?), but these aren't really questions I was dying to have answered. I would have preferred to learn more about Cavil's past with the Final Five or about Leoben and his obsession with Starbuck. The Plan devotes some screen time to Leoben's story, but his scenes feel rushed and underdeveloped, especially when compared to the Simon or Boomer scenes. The Plan is more interested in showing us how Cavil was directly responsible for a lot of the havoc aboard the Galactica, and how his efforts to destroy humanity were doomed from the start.

Also missing is the biting social and political commentary we've come to expect from Battlestar Galactica. Many of the series' major cast members are MIA as well. Great actors like like Katee Sackhoff, Tahmoh Penikett and James Callis only show up in old footage from the series. Even the Admiral himself, director Edward James Olmos, is mostly seen in recycled clips.

Olmos pulls great performances from his cast, and his film offers some very impressive special effects for a straight-to-DVD movie. The Cylon attack on the colonies is shown in vivid detail and is scored by a hybrid Cylon's haunting play-by-play of the devastation.

The Plan DVD does feature some male and female nudity. Olmos and writer Jane Espenson defend this choice on the commentary track by arguing that Colonial society didn't have the same hang-ups that we do about our bodies (or something like that). Still, it feels a little unnecessary, especially one scene in the Galactica's unisex locker room.

I was hoping The Plan would offer more original content and would be able to stand on its own as a film. Instead, it's an imperfect but welcome love letter to the fans, and it was clearly a labor of love for the cast and crew.

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan premieres on DVD Tuesday, Oct. 27.

Janet Jackson recording 'up-tempo dance album'; can she recapture a rhythm nation?

MTV reports today that Janet Jackson’s upcoming 11th studio album, a follow-up to 2008’s Discipline, is focused on uptempo and mid-tempo dance tracks, with a sound “inspired by worldwide influences,” including Brazilian, African and Latin rhythms.

According to producer Rodney Jerkins (Britney Spears, Destiny’s Child, Pussycat Dolls), she’ll also be addressing recent personal events: “You gotta understand, she lost her brother,” he told MTV. “She was in a relationship for seven years that’s over now. There’s things that she told me that I didn’t even realize. You know, certain [things] like self-esteem … I kinda had to persuade her, ‘Let’s just go, let’s talk about that.’ And she’s been doing it, and she’s a pro about it.”

I love me some Janet; I really do. And she’s had what anyone would deem an insanely difficult year. But after the disappointment of Discipline, I’m wondering whether I should just stick with her upcoming greatest-hits collection, Number Ones, due November 17.

Honestly, she still had me hanging on to 1997’s The Velvet Rope (I can take a Joni Mitchell mash-up!), but sort of lost me for good in ‘04 with Damita Jo’s relentlessly same-y sex-me jams. Where is the Janet who took us on an Escapade? That fierce Black Cat in Control who taught us all about the Pleasure Principle? (Requires knee-pads and an empty warehouse, fyi.) And where the Minneapolis are Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis?

If only you would Come Back to Me, Janet! But tell me if I’m wrong, readers. Will love still never do without her?

Andre Agassi: I Used Crystal Meth


Tennis star Andre Agassi serves up a bombshell in his new memoir: In the late '90s he began regularly using crystal meth. "I can't speak to addiction, but a lot of people would say that if you're using anything as an escape, you have a problem," he tells PEOPLE.

Agassi's book, Open, details his descent into drug use, as well as his hair loss, his troubled marriage to Brooke Shields and the love he eventually found with his current wife, Steffi Graf.

Asked how he thought his fans would react if they found out he was using drugs, Agassi, 39, says: "I was worried for a moment, but not for long. ... I wore my heart on my sleeve and my emotions were always written on my face. I was actually excited about telling the world the whole story."

For Agassi's story in his own words – including his ambivalent attitude toward the sport that made him famous – read an excerpt from his book in the new PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday. An excerpt also appears in the new SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

Kate Gosselin Swears Off Dating


Just because she's not wearing her wedding ring much of the time anymore doesn't mean that Kate Gosselin's back on the market. In fact, the reality-show mom says it's not going to happen while she remains the focus of so much media attention.

"I'm not thinking about it, but the thought has crossed my mind at some point [that] it's going to be scrutinized," Gosselin, 34, tells Ellen DeGeneres on an episode of her talk show set to air Wednesday. "Let's not talk about it."

DeGeneres agrees: "Exactly, and some guy is going to have that same concern." Gosselin says she tries to live her life surrounded by cameras – and "the 18 cars that follow me around" – by thinking of her eight children.

"I just know that, on TV or off TV, I've been very much targeted and torn apart," she says. "I'm telling you [from] the root of my heart everything about me: I am a mother first. I will always be a mother and I would die for my kids if need be ... My focus is them. It's not the paparazzi. My focus is not what trip I can go on or what shows I can do as a result of this thing. This is my job. This is my paycheck and so this is what I do."

But the kids, Gosselin says, are getting used to the idea of Kate minus Jon – and a wedding ring.

"At some point, I talked to the kids it came up very naturally and I said I'm not going to be wearing this ring very much longer," she says. "They said, 'Oh, why?' I said, 'Because I'm not going to be married to Daddy anymore,' which, of course, hearing that I don't think was fun for them."

Jon Gosselin And Octomom Set To Date On Reality Show


Kate Gosselin may go back to being a nurse, but her estranged husband's next career move is reportedly to date Octomom Nadya Suleman on television.

In Touch Weekly released the following statement:

According to former Cheaters producer Bobby Goldstein, Jon has agreed to star in a cheesy new reality show in which he'll date Octomom Nadya Suleman, who called Jon "hot" recently. "I heard that Nadya has an insatiable desire to spend time with Jon and to put their families together," Goldstein tells In Touch. "And I had the idea that this could be a very entertaining fiasco." The pilot, to be called Jon - Kate = Jon + Octomom and produced by Goldstein and a former producer of The Jerry Springer Show, will follow Jon "as he contemplates what hooking up with Octomom could really be like," a press release obtained by In Touch states. "He's totally creeped out by the idea that if they got married, they'd have 22 kids." Also creepy is the plotline for Nadya, 33. She will have such an obsession with Jon, 32, that "she's already talking openly about the two of them getting married," the press release explains. "It's so bad that when they finally meet, Octomom's brood may start calling Jon 'Daddy.' If this doesn't make Jon lose it, then Octomom modeling her bikini body for him will."


With Jon's life in a downward spiral, it's shocking that he would sign on for such a sensational project -- especially when he's locked in a nasty divorce with estranged wife Kate, 34, plus involved in a relationship with Hailey Glassman, 23. But Goldstein believes that Jon's quest for fame trumps all. "I think that he wants to remain in the limelight," he tells In Touch. "Notoriety is a component that some humans place a lot of value on." But reps for both Jon and Nadya deny that any show is in the works. Jon may also need money. A divorce court judge ordered him to return $155,000 he drained from a joint bank account he shares with Kate on October 14. With less cash in his pocket, and his bread and butter, Jon & Kate Plus 8, over, Jon is looking desperate and is willing to stoop to just about anything to feed his family. Even Goldstein knows the show is ridiculous -- but hopes it'll get great ratings. "It will be like watching a train wreck," Goldstein adds. "You know you shouldn't look, but you can't turn your head away."

Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009)


Michael Jackson always said that he wished he could live on stage, and in Michael Jackson's This Is It, there isn't a moment when he looks less than comfortably and pleasurably at home there. On the vast, half-empty, often darkened proscenium of the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where we see him in bare-bones videotaped rehearsals for the 50 London concerts that he never lived to perform, Jackson moves lightly and easily, with his herky-jerky demon-marionette grace. On the rare occasions when he's not focused on dance moves and has nothing to do but sing, as in a soaring interlude of ''Human Nature'' or a version of ''I Want You Back'' that he tosses off with affection for his child-superstar pluck, the music pours out of him like sunlight.

This Is It is not in any way ghoulish. It has now been established that when Jackson died, he was, physically speaking, a relatively healthy man. And so we're spared the macabre spectacle of combing the movie for any literal signs that he was knocking at death's door. It should also be said, though, that in This Is It, Jackson shows no telltale signs of a broken spirit, either. From the moment he takes the stage, he's loose, robust, and in control. Maybe a little too in control. In the relative privacy of these rehearsal sessions, which took place from March of this year until his death on June 25, Jackson comes off as his friends have often described him — as a gentle, sweet, but very shrewd soul who was also a painful perfectionist. Coaching his keyboardist and musical director, Michael Bearden, on how to play ''The Way You Make Me Feel'' with the exact right syncopated pull, Jackson says that he wants the song to sound ''like you're dragging yourself out of bed,'' but Bearden can't seem to get it. Though they banter a bit about the word ''booty,'' we get a hint of what a frosty taskmaster Jackson could be. When he's displeased, it stings.

As the last set of images we'll ever have of Michael Jackson, This Is It offers a raw and endearing sketch of a genius at work. The movie was directed, by Kenny Ortega, with enough liveliness to make up for its home-movie scruffiness, and I had a good time reveling in what amounts to a soft-edged vérité scrapbook for Michael-maniacs. By the end, though, This Is It feels like the half-complete experience that it is — a mere diagram of the excitement that Michael, for his comeback, had planned to unleash upon the world.

It's clear from the movie that the London concerts were conceived as a very grand series of onstage music videos, each with a huge, intricate set that at times involved digital projections, and each choreographed as a disco-inferno Broadway showstopper. (''Thriller,'' one of the few songs we watch as it was meant to be, had a full earth-packed graveyard.) The dancers were going to pop out from beneath the stage and crawl over skyscrapers, as Michael shimmied and boogied and got lifted into the air. Watching this without most of the sets, with the gears and pulleys still showing, and from two functional camera angles in front of the stage, we get the flavor of the songs but not the majesty.

And that's not just due to the lack of trappings. Jackson, it's clear, held back in rehearsal. In This Is It, he's singing and dancing, but he's also watching himself sing and dance, stepping out of his performance. What's missing — what the film gives you only a tantalizing glimpse of — is his ferocity. When he does a tamped-down version of his solo whirligig in ''Billie Jean,'' playing air guitar on his crotch (a gesture that elicits a round of cheers from the dancers in the Staples Center), you feel him sketching in the heat without quite committing himself. ''At least we get a feel of it,'' he says.

This Is It is fun, but it's a slightly airless experience. If the movie allows you to bask in Michael Jackson's aura, it also uses his image to foster ''nostalgia'' for a concert epiphany that never quite was. Maybe it was Michael's destiny to leave us all wanting more. Would those concerts have returned him to his magical pedestal? We'll never know the answer, of course. But watching this movie, at least we get a feel of it.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Houston Rockets Air Clutch in Beware of the Bear

A funny little video - LOVE the ending! LOL

Web Addresses to Include Chinese and Arabic Characters


Despite what some might say, it's not often that an opportunity comes along to change the lives of billions of people. But that's just what the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will do by changing the rules of Web addresses, shaking up the Internet like never before.

According to the Daily Mail, the ICANN board will pass a resolution this Friday that will allow entire Web addresses to be written in non-Latin alphabets. Those languages could be anything from Japanese to Arabic, or Hindi to Greek. The change means that many people around the world could more easily navigate the Web, and even create Web sites in their native tongue. Of the 1.6 billion people who use the Internet, about half are native speakers of languages that do not use the Latin alphabet. "This is the biggest change technically to the Internet since it was invented 40 years ago," said ICANN chairman Peter Dengate Thrush at a press conference in Seoul, South Korea yesterday. If approved, the first non-Roman domain names should hit the Web sometime in mid-2010.

But why now? For years, the group has been testing a new translation system to convert multiple scripts into a single address, and it finally feels ready to put the system to use.

We don't want to count our chickens before they hatch, but this is big news, folks. It's akin to the introduction of a three-point line in basketball, or the forward pass in football. This resolution will totally change the game, so you might want to brush up your Arabic or Chinese.

Elizabeth Taylor: Michael Jackson Movie "Most Brilliant Piece of Filmmaking"


Elizabeth Taylor has high praise for the new movie about her late friend Michael Jackson.

The 77-year-old actress said Michael Jackson's This Is It is "the single most brilliant piece of filmmaking" she has ever seen.

Although Taylor said she first saw the documentary last week, she was sworn to secrecy until Monday, and in a series of dozens of Twitter posts, she said that she "wept from pure joy at his God-given gift" and was "honored with the great privilege" of seeing the film.

"It cements forever Michael's genius in every aspect of creativity," she posted. "To say the man is a genius is an understatement. He cradles each note, coaxes the music to depths beyond reality... There will never, ever be the likes of him again. And we have this piece of film to remind us forever and ever that once there was such a man."

She added: "You owe it to yourselves and your loved ones to see this again and again. Memorize it and say to yourselves, 'I saw genius in my lifetime.' I loved genius in my lifetime."

She also commended the film's director, Kenny Ortega, posting that he did a "masterful job" of capturing Jackson's creative process.

"Mr. Ortega catches Michael in his every mood," she posted. "You see in front of your eyes Michael's genius blossoming on this piece of film thanks to Kenny Ortega and his crews. I truly believe this film should be nominated in every category conceivable."

Based on rehearsal footage shot while Jackson -- who died in June at age 50 -- was preparing for his series of comeback concerts in London, the movie opens worldwide Tuesday night.

Target return policy changes and it needs to be more upfront about it

Last month, Target ushered in the busy shopping season with changes in its return policy. The timing couldn't make more sense considering the premonition and speculation about a disastrous holiday season for retailers.

We all know the big discounter can't better rival Walmart on prices, but can it take a shot at them with the new policy and swing away traffic? Maybe not, according toConsumerReports.org

On the face of it, the changes, which are still being rolled out, look awesome. In a year-long period, you can exchange any item or items up to $70 and many times as you want, as compared to the previous cap of $35 and only two returns without receipts.

The changes also allow for using a gift registry as a receipt. If you've reached your $70 limit, Target will still let you have an even exchange without a receipt. Walmart, on the other hand, allows the exchange of three items without receipts in a 45-day cycle.

So, which is a better deal? Well,Walmart wins on clarity and a cleaner policy. The company clearly spells out the details of a receipt-less return on its Web site, unlike Target which says it "allows a limited amount of no receipt refunds or exchanges for guests that don't have a receipt."

When asked why the company hasn't updated the policy changes on its Web site, Sonja Pothen, a Target spokeswoman, said it's because the company focuses on encouraging shoppers to always bring receipts for returns and exchanges.

Really, does anyone have the time to dig for the hidden changes? Target will have to do better than that.

Meanwhile, I think I'll just continue with my tried and tested habit of stashing those receipts in a secret compartment in my wallet.

Some parents who wouldn't dream of striking their children are shouting instead.

Nightclubs for the plus-size begin to weigh in


Ok, I ask you, what has the world come to? Nightclubs for the plus-size? Why not call it what it really is for the most part, Night Clubs for the people who are eating themselves to death and don't give a rats ass that they contribute to the problem of rising healthcare costs! Don't get me wrong, I understand that there are people out there who due to a medical condition cannot help that they are "plus-size" but that is not the case with most of the "plus-size" or "obese people in America.

At the heart of this is the increased amount of fast food restaurants, lack of extra curricular activities for young ones at the school level, a failure of schools throughout the US to fund PE classes so that the students are actually being active, and let us not forget the never ending use of video games that assist our children to sit in one place and consume junk food while they watch or play their favorite games.

When you add all of this together what do you get? Well that young obese child become an even bigger teenager and young adult who now has a "club" to help justify his/her lack of activity and that tells them that it is ok to "embrace" your bigness.

I wonder if it'll be ok when that same person drops dead of a heart attack at a young age of lets say 33!

Below is the article as it reads By JOHN ROGERS, AP

Move over, it's Saturday night at Club Bounce and people are bouncing onto the dance floor in a big, big way.

These are big, big people, all dressed to the nines and many tipping the scales at 250, maybe 300 pounds.

That's because this expansive nightclub a couple blocks from the Pacific Ocean, with its flashing lights, friendly atmosphere and wall-rattling hip-hop sounds, caters specifically to fat people.

That's right, fat people. Not just any fat people, either, but fat people who are proud to call themselves fat people. People who joke that they are part of the new Fat is Phat movement.

"Self-conscious? No! Not at all," laughs Monique Lopez, a curvaceous woman of 23 as she arrives in a tight, black dress and heels. "I was like, 'I'm going to Club Bounce tonight. I'm going to wear my shortest skirt.'" (Which she did.)

The movement for equal rights for plus-sized people is nothing new of course. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, with chapters around the country, was founded 40 years ago. A nonprofit group, it advocates that everyone be treated equally regardless of size, arguing that we don't live in a one-size-fits-all world.

But what has been slower coming, fat advocates say, are places like Club Bounce, where people who might have some trouble getting past the velvet ropes at other night spots because of their size are made to feel like they fit right in.

"When you're not what they consider ideal, you know, and you're out there trying to get your dance on at those other places, you get the looks, the stares. But not here. Everything's accepted here," says Vanessa Gray of Long Beach, an attractive 30-something woman who acknowledges jovially that after giving birth to three children, "I've got a little more meat on my bones."

Such clubs are still a relatively new phenomenon, however, with a handful scattered across California, mainly in coastal cities from San Diego to San Francisco.

"The whole thing really started on the Internet, with clubhouse parties organized online," says Kathleen Divine, who runs another Southern California plus-size club, the Butterfly Lounge. "Now you see a lot more large people out in public, not hiding behind their keyboards anymore."

A Web site for "big beautiful women" (bbwnetwork.com ) sponsors an annual "Vegas Bash," for example, and there are similar gatherings in cities like Atlanta and Seattle.

But veteran fat activist Lynn McAfe of the Council On Size and Weight Discrimination would like to see more clubs.

"It's nice to have a place to go where you can do a little flirting and maybe bring your thin sister or somebody from work who isn't fat, and they'll be in your world for awhile," says McAfe, a pioneer of the fat advocacy movement. "That's an amazing experience for a lot of people who aren't fat, to spend a day or night in a world of fat people."

Not that every large person prefers to be called fat, especially by someone who isn't.

Lisa Marie Garbo, who opened Club Bounce five years ago, says she prefers plus-sized or larger-framed.

"But I don't think fat is a bad word anymore," she adds. "I think a lot of people embrace it now."

Garbo, a vivacious, 40-year-old blonde partial to flamboyant outfits of tight-fitting pants and low-cut tops, said she opened the club for herself and others who were tired of being "the only fat girl at the local nightclub."

The club, with a capacity of 400, attracts relatively equal numbers of men and women, although Garbo says about three-quarters of the women tend to be heavy, while only about a quarter of the men are.

Some club-goers, like Chad Koyanagi, started out big, then slimmed down. Others, like Garbo herself, have seen their weight go up and down over the years. Still others say they're happy the way they are.

Like a lot of heavy people, Koyanagi says he started dropping by the club after a friend he met on a social networking site kept after him to get out of the house. Painfully shy at first, the 30-year-old eventually began to fit in and ended up shedding 50 pounds. Although he's no longer hefty enough to fit the club's BHM profile (Big Handsome Man), he says he's made too many friends to stop coming.

But while not all club-goers are overweight, the very nature of such venues has led some to question whether they are encouraging people to remain fat in a society where, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one-third of adults are already obese.

"I'm not a gain-weight advocate or anything like that," says Garbo, who adds she has struggled with her own weight since doctors put her on steroids as a child to treat her asthma. "My message to people is live your life no matter what size you are."

Although obesity remains a serious problem, with links to diabetes, heart disease and other health issues, says sociologist Karen Sternheimer, creating a place where people can feel good about themselves can build self-esteem, which in turn can prompt people to do something about their weight.

"As the country gets heavier and ultimately unhealthier, in many instances the problem is people feeling bad about themselves, and feeling bad about themselves doesn't motivate people to lose weight," says Sternheimer, author of "Connecting Social Problems and Popular Culture."

What does motivate people, she said, is starting with a positive outlook of accepting who you are, then working from there to change your appearance in whatever way you want.

"Anything that helps people feel better about themselves," she said, "there's something positive to that."

Monday, October 26, 2009

Jon Gosselin Returns Money, Still Claims Kate Hasn't


Jon Gosselin has paid back $230,000 he took from the joint bank account he shares with estranged wife Kate Gosselin, but still says Kate hasn't accounted for $33,000 she spent, Usmagazine.com reports.

"We have all the representation we need. All we need is Kate's participation and Kate to stop crying on TV," Jon's lawyer Mark Heller said outside the courtroom, criticizing Mrs. Gosselin for not attending the hearing.

However, Kate's lawyer claims that she doesn't have to account for that missing money. "It's fully compliant," Cheryl Young said, PEOPLE reports.

For his part, Jon is "optimistic" about the proceedings -- although he's still without an attorney. (Heller is not licensed to practice in Pennsylvania where the hearings are taking place.)

"I'll just get another attorney. I have to," he told PEOPLE after Charlie Meyer resigned again.

The case has now been left to arbitrators and a two-day conference has been scheduled for next month.

After the hearing, Kate's attorneys released a statemen, TMZ reports.

"We are clearly pleased that the monies taken by Mr. Gosselin have been returned to the marital account, and we look forward to recouping additional monies taken by Mr. Gosselin at the time of the parties' private arbitration hearings," it read.

"A total of at least $235,000 was taken by Mr. Gosselin, and despite his initial comments denying responsibility, we have established that Ms. Gosselin needed emergency relief to prevent her economic claims from being compromised."

Tyler Perry Rips Spike Lee on 60 Mins...

Tyler Perry, appearing on 60 Minutes, said he was “insulted” and “pissed off” by Spike Lee’s criticisms of Perry’s hit TV shows and movies. Lee recently called Perry characters such as Madea examples of “coonery” and “buffoonery.”

“I would love to read that [criticism] to my fan base,” Perry told 60 Minutes correspondent Byron Pitts. “All these characters of mine are bait, bait to get people talking about God, love, family, and faith.”

“That pisses me off. It is so insulting,” said Perry, who also spoke movingly about the childhood beatings he said he and his mother suffered at the hands of his father.

The ball is back in your court, Mr. Lee.



'Hero' Pilot Dies After Saving Passengers

Dramatic Final Mayday Call Captures Him Saying 'So Long'

A British pilot who apparently drowned after his plane crashed into the Caribbean Sea is being hailed a hero for saving the lives of all nine passengers aboard, British news outlets reported Sunday.
An engine failure forced Robert Mansell, 32, to ditch his plane off the Caribbean island of Bonaire last Wednesday, Sky News reported.
After he successfully landed the Britten-Norman Islander in the water, all nine passengers were able to escape the aircraft. But Mansell reportedly remained strapped in the pilot's seat as it sank into the ocean. The passengers were later picked up by a passing cargo ship.
"He's a hero," Simon Janzen, who worked with Mansell at the flight company Divi Divi Air, told the Telegraph. "All the passengers survived and he is the only one missing. If he wasn't a good pilot, he couldn't have ditched it so everyone could be saved."
One passenger said Mansell had apparently been knocked unconscious by the impact of the crash. The passenger said he tried to get the pilot out but was forced to forgo the effort as the plane went underwater, news reports said.
Officials on Sunday released Mansell's mayday call to air traffic controllers in which the pilot requested a "priority landing" moments before the crash, the Sun newspaper reported. The dramatic tape ends, "I've lost one of my engines. So long."
Mansell's body has not been recovered.

'My Antonio' Finale Winner Is Brooke Barlow


In his (televised) quest for true love, Antonio Sabato Jr. made his choice -- and it was Brooke Barlow, the 30-year-old nurse from Jackson, MS.

Barlow was named the winner of 'My Antonio' season 1, ousting Miranda Reinfeldt, a makeup artist from New York.

Yet despite Sabato's selection of Barlow in the romantic finale, it appears that the two are not currently together. She told VH1, "I am not in touch with Antonio. We haven't spoken in two, three months."

'My Antonio' is a VH1 reality series in which 14 women competed in Hawaii for a chance at love with model-actor Sabato Jr. Among the women competing was his ex-wife, Tully Jensen, who finished third.

And I hear that they aren't even together and that Brooke hasn't spoken to him in months! He should have just chosen Tully!

Man Busted for Being Naked at Home

A Virginia man was busted for indecent exposure after he was caught in the buff. In his own home. Alone.
Eric Williamson, 29, got up at 5:30 a.m. Monday and went to the kitchen to make some coffee. He was naked, but he was alone in the Springfield house, so he didn't think it mattered.
Wrong.
A woman and a 7-year-old boy were cutting through Williamson's front yard from a nearby path, according to WTTG-TV, Channel 5 in Washington. Through his front window, they saw Williamson having coffee in his birthday suit.
Fairfax County police showed up and arrested him. Williamson said he had no idea anyone could see him, but police said they believed he wanted to be seen by the public, said WTTG, a Fox station.
If convicted, Williamson could face one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. He plans to fight the charge.
"If I stood and seemed comfortable in my kitchen, it's natural. It's my kitchen," he told the station.
Now if you ask me this is all quite stupid and to waste tax payer dollars on it just proves the point that our governmental authorities have nothing better to do than waste waste waste. Clearly the man was in his own home. And WHY wasn't the woman and her 7 year old arrested for trespassing THROUGH his property? Nothing happens to them but a man naked in his own house is arrested because they are passing through another persons property without permission... things that make you go WTF & then hummmmm?

10 Best Halloween Songs

Halloween songs are perennial favorites, many paired with theatrical performances that only enhance the song. You'll find that many of our top Halloween songs -- as rated by AOL listeners – pertain to classic Halloween films, and cover the last 50 years because let's face it, Halloween will never go out of style. Be sure to listen to these Halloween classics.

10) Alice Cooper: 'Welcome To My Nightmare'

This disco-sounding track -- fusing rock with Broadway tunes -- is the opening song to his same titled album that tells the nightmares of a fictional child name Steven. The single – written by Cooper and Dick Wagner -- reached No. 45 on the Billboard Top 100. In 1978, Alice Cooper performed the song on the third season of 'The Muppet Show.'



9) Blue Oyster Cult: '(Don't Fear) The Reaper'

This Halloween song favorite was built around the opening riff by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser. Roeser, who wrote (and sang on) the hit single, says the lyrics are about love, not suicide. In 1976, the single reached No. 12 on the U.S. charts, making it their most successful album.



8) Gerard McMann: 'Cry Little Sister'

'Cry Little Sister' is the theme song for the vampire thriller film, 'The Lost Boys.' The song was originally recorded by Gerard McMahon (who goes by the name Gerard McMann) for the soundtrack and was later covered by Seattle-band Aiden in the sequel.



7) Ray Parker, Jr.: 'Ghostbusters'

Parker had only two days to write the theme song for 'Ghostbusters.' The lyrics came to him while watching a T.V. infomercial. The phone number flashing across the screen gave him the idea for the lyrics 'Who You Gonna Call?' It stayed at No. 1 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.



6) Bobby (Boris) Pickett: 'Monster Mash'

This halloween song derived from Pickett's monologue-rendition of horror film actor Boris Karloff while he and his band were performing a song by The Diamonds. The 'Monster Mash' single reached No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 20, 1962.



5) Rob Zombie: 'Dragula'

'Hellbilly Deluxe' was Zombie's premiere solo album, which also featured his other hit single, 'Living Dead Girl.' Based on the drag racer 'Drag-u-la' in TV sitcom 'The Munsters,' this Halloween song classic reached No. 6 in the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks (in 1998).



4) Richard O'Brien: 'Time Warp'

'Time Warp' is song/dance number featured in the cult flick, 'Rocky Horror Picture Show.' The song has been covered by artists Alvin and the Chipmunks, British pop group Black Lace, Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers, and Sebastian Bach of Skid Row.




3) Buddy Baker and Xavier "X" Atencio: 'Grim Grinning Ghosts'

Sound vaguely familiar? That's because this Halloween song is the theme for the Haunted Mansion ride at Disney theme parks. There are different variations of the song on the ride: a slow cadence version in the entrance foyer, a waltz rendition in the ballroom, and articulated lyrics by Atencio in the graveyard.



2) Michael Jackson: 'Thriller'

Written by Rod Temperton and produced by Quincy Jones, the song reached No.4 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and No. 1 on the Radio & Records singles charts. And what's a Halloween song without an epic 14 minute video? Full of zombie-like jazz moves choreographed by both Michael Peters and Michael Jackson, the video includes actor Vincent Price – known for his distinctive voice in horror films – who was brought in to do a rap solo in the middle of the "short film." The video won a Grammy in 1985 for best video, long form.



1) Danny Elfman: 'This Is Halloween'

Composed by Danny Elfman, the Halloween song was covered by Marilyn Mason in 2006, and was also used in the video game 'Kingdom Hearts.' The soundtrack album from the epic Tim Burton film 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' peaked at No. 98 on the Billboard 200 and was nominated for the for best original score in the 1993 Golden Globes.