Roy Disney Dead At 79

Disney boss Roy Disney has died from cancer, aged 79. The nephew of studio founder Walt Disney, Roy began working for the film company as an assistant director. He also produced True-Life Adventure films in the mid-1950s. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the company in 1957. Roy Disney resigned as an executive in 1977 due to disagreements with other corporate bigwigs and he resigned from the board in 1984 during a corporate takeover battle. Disney later returned to the company as vice-chairman of the board of directors and head of the animation department. He was a consultant and shareholder until his death on Wednesday. He is survived by ex-wife Patty, daughters Abigail and Susan, sons Roy and Timothy and 16 grandchildren. »

'Iron Man 2' trailer: Watch it here and tell us what you think!

Iron Man 2 will undoubtedly be one of Hollywood’s biggest hits next year, and that the movie’s first trailer is a superb example of how to whet fans’ appetites without giving too much away. So please, by all means, watch the trailer below and share your thoughts! What do you think of our first footage of Black Widow, War Machine, and Whiplash?

President Obama to appear on the WWE

Now I've heard it all - can't we just get a rest from all this Obama-mania? I mean come on he's just a man. Not the second coming. And couldn't he be focusing his energy at lets say stabilizing the economy and creating immediate jobs or something?

by Brad Trechak

President Obama will be appearing on the NBC special WWE Tribute to the Troops on December 19th. Granted, it will be a pre-taped message for the soldiers, but that still counts, right?

It won't even be Obama's first WWE appearance. There were pre-taped messages on one of the WWE broadcasts during the last presidential election by John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (this was before Clinton ceded to Obama). The upcoming event is, to the best of my knowledge, the first WWE taping he has done as President of the United States.

Of course, in my imagination President Obama appears live at the event and steps into the ring. He then calls out WWE Champion Sheamus to a title match. He almost gets the pin until Captain Lou Albano comes back from the dead, runs into the ring with a steel chair and causes a disqualification on the whole match. This sort of thing is probably why my therapy bills are so high.

Facebook Encourages Users to Lie as a New Privacy Measure

Facebook's new privacy controls, which we'vecovered in detail, have predictably come under fire. Both TechCrunch and ReadWriteWeb have argued that the new controls are actually just a thinly veiled push to get members to share more information publicly. The new privacy policy involved the debut of "everyone" updates which are viewable to the Web browsing public at large -- if privacy settings aren't tinkered with. These new universal updates could then be leveraged by Google and Bing as part of real-time search results. As part of this update, some information, formerly set to private by default, was opened to the public, including friends lists, hometowns, and profile pictures. When asked about the new default settings, Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt told the Wall Street Journal that users are free to lie about their hometown, take down their profile photo, and now have the option to hide their friend list. The problem is, of course, lying about where you live is a clear violation of Facebook's terms of service, which states, "Facebook users provide their real names and information, and we need your help to keep it that way."

TechCrunch contacted Schnitt, who said the Journal was paraphrasing and that what he was implying is that a "profile picture and current city are optional." Though he did go on to say, "you can indicate that your current city is 'Atlantis,' 'Valhalla' or, again, anything you like." Of course, as TechCrunch points out, Facebook has built its reputation on having users list real information -- no aliases, cheesy camel-case handles, or 16-year-olds listing themselves as being 99. Yet, if we were Facebook we would start backpedaling. Quickly.

Deal to Save Playboy Collapses as Buyer Backs Out

Time may be running out for Playboy Enterprises (PLA). A deal has fallen apart to sell the publisher of the iconic men's magazine to Iconix Brand Group, owner of London Fog and Danskin. Iconix determined that "it would be too complicated to separate the Playboy brand from the company's other assets," according toBloomberg News.

Iconix, which licenses brands to others, would have had to find partners to run the smut-generating parts of Playboy. That includes Playboy magazine, which has been hemorrhaging advertisers for years, and the Spice Channel, which has more competition from free Internet providers of porn by the hour.

Ultimately, Iconix wasn't willing to venture into a business it knew little about and would likely create more headaches than it was worth. Licensing, a strength for Iconix, is a small business for Playboy, accounting for only $8.7 million of its $56 million in revenue in the quarter ended Sept. 30.

A Sinking Ship

To its credit, Playboy isn't oblivious to its problems. Newly appointed CEO Scott Flanders, who replaced founder Hugh Hefner's daughter Christine in June, is working quickly to try to save the sinking ship. In November, the Chicago-based company said it would outsource the magazine's non-editorial functions to American Media, publisher of the National Enquirer and Men's Fitness. Playboy says the move will enable it to generate profits in 2011 from its magazine operation, which is expected to lose $8 million this year.

This all may be too little too late, because Playboy's financial situation is dismal. Despite third-quarter results that were better than last year's, analysts expect the company will post significant losses by the time 2009 is over.

Could Larry Flynt Save the Day?

Nonetheless, shares of Playboy have gained almost 80 percent this year on expectations that someone -- anyone -- would rescue Hefner's empire. But investors are clearly getting skeptical. And as the news of Iconix's withdrawal spread Wednesday, the company's shares fell almost 13 percent.

Few logical buyers remain. Among the possibilities are Vivid Entertainment Group, the biggest porn producer, and Hefner's longtime nemesis Larry Flynt, who earlier this year asked for a federal bailout of the porn industry. The other main porn producers are probably too small to afford the deal.

"I've heard there are a couple of suitors, but no details," says Paul Fishbein of Adult Video News. Judging from the state of the adult entertainment industry, under assault from piracy and free content, buying Playboy probably doesn't top anyone's Christmas list.

Are You Drinking Blubber? New Video Rallies Against Sugary Drinks

According to the New York City Health Department, just one daily soda can pour 10 pounds of fat onto your frame in a single year. New Yorkers may already know this thanks to subway posters and educational brochures that appeared around the Big Apple this summer. But now, the New York City Health Department has taken the message to the next level -- video. This stomach-churning ad makes the link between sugary drinks and fatabundantly clear by showing a man chugging blubber from a can.

"Sugary drinks shouldn't be a part of our everyday diets," Dr. Thomas Farley, New York City Health Commissioner, said in a press release. The Health Department reports that Americans are consuming, on average, 200 to 300 more calories per day now than they were 30 years ago.

"Half or more of those calories come from sugar-sweetened drinks," Cathy Nonas, director of the New York City Health Department's Physical Activity and Nutrition program, told That's Fit, saying that sugar-sweetened drinks include things like soda, of course, but also sweetened teas and sports drinks.

"We wanted a hard campaign for what we believe is a very big problem," Nonas said. "The Health Department is doing a lot to reduce obesity, including our calorie posting and access to healthy foods in under-served areas. We're working to consistently make the healthiest choice the easiest choice for New Yorkers."

While opting for drinks like water or tea is the best option, consider cutting your soda habit by drinking smaller amounts at first. One soda company is even making it a little easier to sip less. It's still not good for you, but it's better than drinking twice as much!

Sarah Jessica Parker Says Surgery Led to 'Molegate'

Sarah Jessica Parker appeared on 'The Late Show With David Letterman' and the topic got around to her trademark mole, which she had removed.

"I had a mole removed, which is far more invasive than hip replacement surgery, I assure you ... and far more disruptive to your life," she began.

"I just didn't care for it," she said of her decision. "I thought, you know I have about six free days where I can be bloody and stabbed and no one would care and honestly I didn't think a thing about it and then apparently it turned into molegate," she continued.

"A woman came up to me on the beach, really upset, and she said, 'I'm so sorry, I don't know why you did that, that was your signature.' And I said ... well in my head I was like, 'My mole was my signature? Isn't my brain my signature?" Parker explained.

"Exactly, aren't you your signature?" Dave responded.

"Then for about the next 15 minutes I couldn't even hear anything anyone was saying to me because all I think, 'well, I made a terrible mistake ... can you put it back on?'" she added.