SO, THIS IS WHAT ALL THE CELEBRITIES WERE DOING DURING THE WRITER'S STRIKE!!!
THE BACK PAGE -- 1/30/08
Wednesday, January 30, 2008, 02:40 AM MST [THE BACK PAGE]
MOVIE NEWS
The Oscar-winning movie “Crash” is going to be a television series for the cable network Starz. [Variety]
DISCOUNT SUPERBOWL
Wal-Mart announced it’s taking a “Black Friday approach” to Super Bowl weekend, cutting prices on groceries, TVs and other game-worthy products by 10% to 30%, this week only. [MSNBC]
FLU VACCINE FOR KIDDOS
Take heart, those of you with needle phobia. A new flu vaccine may be on the horizon – one you put under your tongue instead of inject. [AP]
THAT DIRTY EBAY HABIT
…isn’t so dirty after all. A study shows that eBay saves buyers $7 billion that they might otherwise have been ready to pay. [MSNBC]
EBAY PART DEUX
A
DER NAKED
“Fly naked on
42
Brazilian model Angela Bismarchi eyes her 42nd plastic surgery procedure prior to Carnival. The Guinness World record of 47 surgical procedures is held by 52-year-old American Cindy Jackson, who calls herself a “Living Doll” and now promotes her own skincare line. [AP]
COMING TO AMERICA
Late-night talk show host Craig Ferguson is officially an American citizen. The Scot got a perfect score on his citizenship test in LA on Friday. [People]
By the Numbers
A Near Miss
Did you hear about the asteroid that passed spookily close to Earth yesterday? Well, here are the numbers to put it in perspective: [Fox]
800 feet
The diameter of 2007 TU24, the asteroid that swung by Earth early Tuesday morning
334,000 miles
The distance from the Earth at its closest point, at 3:33 a.m. Eastern time Jan. 29
239,228 miles
The average distance of the moon from the Earth
TV
TiVo
Martha: Martha Stewart Living’s Lucinda Scala Quinn, designer Oak
Atkinson
Ellen: Niki Taylor, Sara Bareilles
The View: Singer/dancer Sarah Brightman, actor Jonny Lee Miller
Regis & Kelly: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Susan Lucci, Chef Tyler Florence
The Oprah: World Record Holders
Stay Up Late
Letterman: Dr. Phil McGraw, country musician Gary Allan
Ferguson: Jessica Alba, Adam Arkin
Carson: Supermodel Niki Taylor, singer Quincy Coleman
THE BACK PAGE -- 1/29/08
Tuesday, January 29, 2008, 02:41 AM MST [THE BACK PAGE]
$4,300
Average price for a Super Bowl ticket this year. And you don’t even get to see the commercials. [AP]
TRIM YOUR STRIKE BEARD
The Writers’ Guild says writers are allowed to work on next month’s Grammy Awards ceremony. [MSNBC]
POT MACHINES
Only in
HERO
You’ve gotta love a
YOU SAY GOODBYE, BUT I SAY SHALOM
After 43 years,
ADULT CANDY
Hershey will stop producing “Ice Breakers Pacs,” due to their striking resemblance to packets of cocaine. This is just like that whole candy cigarette thing. [THE BLOTTER]
SAFER SKIES?
A TSA test manages to slip a mock bomb past airport security. Your 3 oz. bottle of Axe Body Spray, however, will need to be put in a clear plastic bag. [CNN]
LEDGER-GATE
NYPD detectives say that Mary-Kate Olsen will not be questioned about actor Heath Leger’s death. Instead, she’ll be given a cheeseburger. [AP]
MEET RONALD MCDONALD THE TEACHER
The British government is allowing a “basic shift manager” course for high school students working at McDonald’s to count for high school credit. My only question: does the History section of the syllabus cover the McDLT and McRib? [CNN]
Craigslist: The Perfect Place
Ah, Craigslist. The Internet’s cyber-marketplace where surfers can search for discarded bed frames, lost love, and everything in between. And the best part is, it’s allllll anonymous. Right? [Huffington Post]
Not exactly. Last October, an online, Craigslist exchange between a woman looking for a husband who earns more than $500,000 a year and a mystery Wall Street banker, who assessed her potential for romance as a business deal, caused quite an Internet stir while making its way into inboxes across the country. [Reuters]
Lucky for the aforementioned lady, this week’s Craigslist scandal makes her out to seem entirely reasonable.
See, Ann Marie Linscott, 49, posted an ad in November for a “freelance” assassin to kill the wife of a man with whom she’d had an affair.
Originally, the post advertised a generic request for somebody to perform a “freelance” job, court document said. Her true intention was only communicated to those who e-mailed her seeking additional information about the job, the Craigslist CEO said.
Linscott offered $5,000 for the hit, had the name and work address of the woman she wanted dead and she described successful candidates as “silent assassins,” according to agents and court documents.
$5,000? That’s IT?!
Celebrities: Unfiltered
“His plan had a low probability of success.”
— FBI spokesman George Bold, on a 16-year-old’s plan to hijack a small plane and crash it into a Hannah Montana concert. [Yeeeah!]
By the Numbers
The Hamburger Phone’s Juno Bump
After being featured prominently in the Oscar-nominated pregnancy quirk-fest “Juno,” hamburger phones are selling like, well, hot cakes. Here are the numbers: [USA Today]
759%
The increase in the number of hamburger phones sold on eBay since Juno was released
773
The total number of phones sold
$10.45
The average price per phone
70
Number of hits a search for “hamburger phone” currently yields on eBay [eBay]
TV
Tivo
The View: S. Epatha Merkerson, chili chef Cindy Reed Wilkins
Ellen: Reality TV star Trista Sutter, the Scotto family, R&B singer
Alice Smith
Regis & Kelly: Jessica Alba and Carmen Electra
Martha: Baker Lori Sandler, beauty expert Eva Scrivo
The Oprah: How the Gift of Fear Can Save Your Life
Stay Up Late
Letterman: Bill Cosby,
Carson: Dancing with the Stars’ Carrie Ann Inaba, Say Anything
THE BACK PAGE -- 1/25/08
Friday, January 25, 2008, 03:39 AM MST [THE BACK PAGE]
HEATH LEDGER UPDATE
Call me crazy, but if someone found Heath Ledger unconscious and without a pulse, their first instinct would not be to get Mary-Kate Olsen on the phone. [AP]
007
The new James Bond movie will be called “Quantum of Solace.” Let's get Scarlett Johansson as the Bond girl in this one, PLEASE!!! [CNN]
THE INTERNET IS FOR PORN
Nine DC government employees were fired for checking out porn at work, but
that’s not the part of the story that caught my eye. No, I was bored until I
read some of them were visiting porn on their work computers more than 200
times a day, or 39,000 sites apiece last year. [
DIE YOUNG AND LEAVE A GOOD-LOOKIN’ CORPSE
They told you: Botox is killing people. Get rid of wrinkles and your life! [Reuters]
SMOKE AND WORK DON’T MIX
A California Court ruled yesterday that, even if you’re smokin’ weed for medical reasons, that’s not an excuse to go to work totally high. [ABC News]
SCIENTOLOGY
Hopefully Tom Cruise has some computer skills, because the
THIS WILL NOT END WELL
“Rocket at museum found to be live” [AP]
WHY WAIT?
Snickers, the candy bar, announces that its latest incarnation will not only contain peanuts, but also contains caffeine, along with taurine and B-vitamins. [NBC]
Celebrities: Unfiltered
“F*** Notre Dame.”
“F*** Touchdown Jesus.”
“F*** Jesus.”
— Just a few of ESPN commentator Dana Jacobson’s on-air slip-ups at a Jan. 11 roast for ESPN Radio personalities Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic at Atlantic City, N.J. Oops. [Huffington Post]
TV
TiVo
The Oprah: Adult Children of Divorce Confront Parents
Martha: Chef Shannon Bennett
Ellen: Ryan Seacrest and Ellen’s 50!
The View: “The View” on Dieting
Regis & Kelly: 2007 Mom’s Dream Come True Special
Stay Up Late
Letterman:
Ferguson:
Conan: Presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, indie rock band Wilco