DOES SHOPPING AT AN "OUTLET MALL" MEAN THAT YOU ARE GETTING A BETTER DEAL?

Not so fast. Shopping at an Outlet Mall might not be all it's cracked up to be.

About 55 million Americans shop in at least one of the nation's roughly three hundred outlet centers every year. Stretched over five years, that number adds up to nearly every man, woman, and child in the country. Even more astonishing is the number of miles chalked up in this annual pilgrimage. The total distance that Americans travel to outlet malls each year equals 440,000 circumnavigations of the globe. If that number seems a little abstract, consider this: The distance to the moon is roughly equal to 10 trips around the globe. That is, we make 44,000 moon launches' worth of outlet visits each year.

Are America's 55 million outlet shoppers scoring great deals on expensive brandname products, or getting less than they're bargaining for? To find out more go to the following link and read the article "How Outlet Malls Have Convinced Shoppers into Thinking They're Getting a Sweet Deal." http://www.alternet.org/workplace/141858

Nissan pokes fun at Volt, claims 367 mpg equivalent for Leaf EV

Not content to let General Motors grab all the shiny happy tree-huggy headlines today with its 230 mpg claim for the Chevy Volt in city operation, the gang manning the NissanEVs Twitter account needled GM's range-extended EV messiah, tweeting:

Nissan Leaf = 367 mpg, no tailpipe, and no gas required. Oh yeah, and it'll be affordable too!

Given that the methodology of how the feds will ultimately arrive at the official mileage numbers (or mileage equivalents) for many of these next-gen greenmobiles is not yet finalized, we'll take all the hype and scoreboard pointing with a grain of salt until we see actual, final numbers posted at FuelEconomy.gov. (Nissan says its 367 mpg figure was derived by using the Department of Energy formula.)

In any case, a Twitter spitball fight between GMBlogs and NissanEVs over this stuff would be kind of entertaining to watch. Sorta like the nerdy opposite of the ZR1 vs. GT-R debate.

Supernatural: The Apocalypse is Paris Hilton

The air-headed heiress will guest-star on CW's cult hit. Yes, you read that right.

Don't shoot the messenger! The CW's Supernatural, its hidden gem among a pile of rubbish, isn't known to stoop so low as to resort to stunt casting. But according to an online report, things are about to change ... in a BIG way.

Supernatural fans, you may want to sit down before you read this. E! Online is reporting that the horror-drama will be welcoming a special guest star in episode five of the upcoming season. That guest? The Dutchess of douchery herself, Paris Hilton.

E!'s source on the matter says fans shouldn't sharpen their pitchforks yet. "The fans should trust Eric Kripke," claims the source, referring to Supernatural's creator and showrunner.

And the source may have a point. Season five is all about the apocalypse, and at Comic-Con, Kripke gave an example of what the end of the world might include: "Sarah Palin is president," he said. With that kind of tongue-in-cheek view of the end of the world, Hilton's involvement in the show becomes a little clearer.

And Hilton, as much flak as she takes for being whatever it is she is, isn't above lampooning herself for a little exposure. She made fun of herself in a guest stint on My Name is Earl, and how else would you explain her participation in Repo! The Genetic Opera?

Supernatural has made some risky decisions before -- the third Winchester brother, the black-and-white "Monster Movie" (hey, I liked it) -- and the results always put our fears to rest. This (crosses fingers) should be no different.

Season five of Supernatural begins on September 10.

Heroes: Will Budget Cuts Save the Show?

NBC has slashed the Heroes budget by $300,000 an episode. But for a show that's been losing momentum and viewers, less may turn out to be more.

NBC has cut $300,000 from Heroes's $800,000 per episode budget, according to the New York Times. Sure, that's more than most American's make in a year. But for a show that depends on special effects and lots of on-location shooting, it's a pretty drastic cut -- one that may affect the plot of the show.

Will the writers have to kill off characters with cool powers because their scenes are expensive to film? Will they decide that the world's biggest threat isn't nuclear explosions (which aren't cheap to fake), but a less costly killer -- accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, anyone?

At first glance, cutting the budget (and inevitably the special effects) seems like the wrong thing to do; Heroes has been losing viewers for the last two seasons. But that's because fans complained the show was losing touch with its original characters and getting lost in overcomplicated plot lines. Simplification may be a good thing, even if it's triggered by concerns about cash flow. After all, who really needs to see Claire throw herself off bridge or get shot, yet again?

Fox Staying out of Dollhouse, Whedon's Kitchens

Network will let Joss do what he does best with season two of rejuvenated show.

Let's recap Dollhouse's turbulent first season: The show gets announced with Eliza Dushku and Joss Whedon reuniting, fans hail it as the next big thing. Word leaks that there is trouble on set, the original pilot is scrapped, fans begin to worry. Studio executives ask for some retooling, which includes going in a more standalone episode direction, fans worry more. The first episodes come out, critics groan, fans suffer.

But then a funny thing happens: the show becomes much more watchable in its second half, and is somewhat miraculously renewed for a second season. A 13th episode -- "Epitaph One," which never airs on TV -- is included in the DVD set and is considered one of the series' best.

At Comic-Con this year, Joss Whedon told TV.com that Dollhouse was by far the hardest show he's ever done, and it's easy to see why -- too many cooks in the kitchen, too much control in the hands of the studio executives. But the tug-of-war that plagued the first half of Dollhouse's debut season won't happen this year, and that's a good thing.

"Joss will keep doing what he's doing," Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly announced at the TCAs, according to IFMagazine. "That's the beauty of Joss. Joss was pretty open about the hiccups. He started finding the show in the second half of the year. The fact that he found that, it's going to be much smoother sailing this year."

Translation: "We won't be f***ing with his show this year."

"I don't think he was having any fun and we were a big part of that, and ultimately once he hit his stride, I don't think we spoke," Reilly said.

With Fox out of the way, Whedon can continue with his vision, which sees Echo (Dushku) becoming more aware of what's going on and -- thankfully -- more active instead of emotionlessly passive (that was a big problem in the early episodes). And in the vein of the un-aired flash-forwarding "Epitaph One" episode, there will also be some glimpses into the future during season two.

The second season of Dollhouse was given the nod over a third season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Did Fox make the right choice?

GUIDING LIGHT, Flickers out.

The cast and crew of "Guiding Light" — TV's longest-running soap opera — have finished shooting their final scenes in a northern New Jersey town.

Afterward, they gathered at Peapack Reformed Church for a service to remember the show. The church has served as the site for weddings and funerals in "Guiding Light's" fictional town of Springfield.

The Rev. Kathryn Henry recalled that the show's title referred to a lamp put in a church window by the fictional Rev. Rutledge to welcome parishioners seeking guidance.

CBS has canceled the program after a 72-year run that predates television. "Guiding Light," produced by Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co., will air its last episode on Sept. 18.

Yvonna Wright, who plays Mel Boudreau Bauer, says Tuesday's service offered some closure.

Man Convicted of Groping Minnie Mouse

A 60-year-old man has been convicted of groping a woman in a Minnie Mouse costume at Walt Disney World.

John William Moyer of Cressona, Pa., told the judge he is innocent. His son said before sentencing that his father would never inappropriately touch a woman.

He was convicted Tuesday of misdemeanor battery and sentenced to write the victim an apology, serve 180 days probation and complete 50 hours of community service. Moyer must also pay $1,000 in court costs and possibly undergo a mental evaluation.

The victim says she had to do everything possible to keep Moyer's hands off her breasts. I tell yah where is Mickey when Minnie really needs him?? I think she should just dump him and take up with Donald!