Who Is Sandy McMillin?

Sandy McMillin 51, made national news when she was tossed out of a Eugene, Oregon Wal-Mart in what appeared to be outrageous dress and a shaved head. But, there's an interesting life story behind this woman as KVAL noted. She was a former motorcycle racer who would race three wheeled motorcycles who suffered two serious life-threatening crashes in 1999 and 2008. In 1999 crash, she suffered serious head injuries that left her in a coma for three and a half months. Her head injuries were so serious she has continued to shave her head since the accident. She also wears a leg brace due to permanent damage to one leg as well. She's been permanently disabled since the two accidents. She lost her husband, Jimmy, in a 2006 motorcycle crash. That's been the biggest heartbreak of her life. Her husband was also her race crew chief as well. It was their common love of motorcycles and hot rods that brought the couple together.

KVAL, channel 13 Eugene, Oregon was a little dismayed that her appearance drew so many rude comments from viewers. Indeed, I admit to even tossing out some cheap jokes about her appearance. That was very wrong of me. She's a fellow motorcycle rider, and a real hero who was brave enough to rip roar down a racetrack in the dangerous world of motorcycle drag racing, and she deserves a great deal of respect as a great sports figure. Maybe the bikini top was a bad idea, but I think that Wal-Mart owed her a lot more respect than she received. I bet few Wal-Mart employees would have the balls to do what this lady has done with her life so far.

Celebrity Skin: Markie Post

Markie Post who just turned 60(and still a major league babe!) this year is probably best known as public defender Christine Sullivan on NIGHT COURT, the very popular comedy that once was the highlight of Wednesday nights on NBC. Currently she voices the character June Darby in TRANSFORMERS PRIME. And despite a long career in TV and movies, this beautiful actress has just two nude scenes to her credit. In 1988, while NIGHT COURT was still in production, Markie Post played call girl Marla in TRICKS OF THE TRADE, a made-for-TV movie. However, the home video version of the movie features some rare nudity from the actress including a topless scene and a nude swim scene not featured in the edited TV version of the movie. Fans of NIGHT COURT certainly got to see a lot more of the actress than they normally do.

The last known partially nude scene filmed by the actress was in the 1996 made-for-TV science fiction space alien film, VISITORS OF THE NIGHT, where some horny space alien beams Markie Post aboard their ship for a little alien probing, all done in the name of science, huh?

Despite her great beauty, nudes of Markie Post are exceedingly rare, where a number of fake nudes flourish on the Internet, photo-shopped by fans of the actress, who can only wish to see more of her in her birthday suit. But, the brainy daughter of a distinguished nuclear scientist, Richard F. Post, was rare to appear nude during her career, making TRICKS OF THE TRADE her most daring film of them all.

CONAN Falls To Fourth Place Among Cable Talk Shows

Conan O'Brien, remember him? He has a cable talk show on TBS, remember? Well, you're not alone if you forgot all about that show. It seems like a lot of folks have as well. During June, CONAN fell to fourth place place among the cable TV talk show also-rans, coming up just behind Chelsea Handler's CHELSEA LATELY. CHELSEA LATELY drew 808,000 average viewers vs. CONAN's lowly 743,000 viewers. Even worse, O'Brien is even losing the coveted 18-49 age bracket that advertisers love to CHELSEA LATELY by a 503,000-559,000 margin. THE DAILY SHOW with Jon Stewart and THE COLBERT REPORT top the cable TV talk show ratings race, leaving CONAN looking like the very last runner in a race.

Yet, despite all his ratings woes, Conan O'Brien still commands a fairly decent sized loyal fan base and critics gave high praise to CONAN O"BRIEN CAN'T STOP, a very good documentary film from Rodman Flender, which documented the months in which the comic wasn't able to legally perform on TV due to his NBC exit contract.

Going to cable TV was widely viewed as being a major mistake by many critics for Conan O'Brien as NBC sought to correct their mistake when they moved Conan O'Brien into the 11:30 TONIGHT SHOW slot where the show became a quick ratings failure. NBC had also hoped to cut TV production costs by creating a cheaply produced 10pm prime time show for Jay Leno, which certainly cost considerably less to produce than a decent TV program like a LAW & ORDER or ER would have cost. But, audiences quickly rejected that prime time version of a Jay Leno talk show. When NBC proposed moving Leno back into the 11:30 slot, and moving the TONIGHT SHOW with Conan O'Brien after midnight, O'Brien was upset and sought to leave NBC. Former SNL cast member Jimmy Fallon took over Conan O'Brien's old 12:30 show and has made it into a decent hit with strong ratings that run neck and neck with THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON. Both of these guys have proven to be great talents, as both created excellent shows for as late as they appear on TV. Both entertainers and their shows are much better than their late night time slots would suggest. Either could easily handle the call to do a show at at 11:30 if the call comes someday. Jimmy Fallon probably ended up the biggest winner of the NBC shakeup disaster with Conan O'Brien ultimately the biggest loser, largely due to his inability to maintain strong enough TONIGHT SHOW ratings for a variety of reasons and his decision to leave network TV for lowly rated cable TV.

So where does this all leave Conan O'Brien? Maybe, do his cable TV show for a few more seasons until his contract runs out at TBS,, then call it quits to produce TV shows. Hopefully, much better than the ill-fated OUTLAW, though. Conan O'Brien remains a very talented writer and entertainer, but not always the best career manager.

While CONAN is certainly entertaining, the fact is that fewer and fewer people are even bothering to watch. Compared to building an audience of new viewers, that's a very troubling trend. But, if that trend is good enough for TBS or for Conan O'Brien to accept, then it can go on for a while until it just doesn't make good economic sense to continue.

Celebrity Skin: Larry Flynt Offers Casey Anthony $500,000 To Pose Nude

Larry Flynt has offered acquitted child killer Casey Anthony $500,000 to pose nude in HUSTLER along with 10% of all profit, making the offer very lucrative. In 1975, HUSTLER made $20 million dollars off of some nude photos of Jackie Onassis. However, Larry Flynt apparently hasn't heard about the negative reaction that Vivid received after they made a huge offer to Casey Anthony to do an adult DVD for the company. CEO Steven Hirsch was quickly forced to withdraw the offer after fans of the company's films as well influential persons in the adult entertainment industry condemned the offer as a terrible bad publicity for an industry that makes every attempt to operate as a legal and legitimate industry.

Hugh Hefner also was quick to reject a PLAYBOY offer to Casey Anthony as well. On CNN's PIERS MORGAN show he told Morgan that PLAYBOY refused to "reward" someone accused of such a horrible crime, although she was acquitted.

It appears however, that the lawyer for Casey Anthony is still attempting to line up a $1.5 million exclusive contract deal for her to do an interview with a major TV network. However, the networks are all refusing to compensate Anthony for an interview as of this time. Some syndicated talk show has already made a $250,000 offer to Anthony's parents to appear on a show though.

Casey might need to take up some outrageous offer at some point since prosecutors in Florida are beginning actions to require her to pay back at least part of their $140,000 in prosecution costs in addition to other Florida law enforcement agency costs since she cost them so much money by lying to law enforcement to impede the investigation of the suspected murder.

House Committee Passes Controversial ISP Data Retention Bill

Despite concerns from 30 civil liberties groups as well the author of the Patriot Act, James Sensenbrenner(R-W), the House Judiciary Committee has passed a very controversial ISP data retention bill that requires Internet service providers to retain data for 18 months on what web-surfing activity individuals do. The legislation is supposed to be aimed at protecting children from Online predators, however the legislation raises very serious civil liberties concerns if government is allowed to see what websites all individuals visit or post Online without a search warrant. Far beyond a concern for making the Internet a safer place, the new legislation is very similar to what Communist China does in using Internet surfing data to track down pro-democracy individuals.

The legislation opens serious new concerns that all ISP users will be targeted with "fishing expeditions" by police agencies, having to explain their activities Online even if they are completely innocent of any sort of illegal activity or interests. Further, the new legislation further erodes the rule of law where individuals must first be at least suspected of some crime before police may seek a search warrant to see if evidence exists of that crime.

In the Senate, Orrin Hatch(R-UT) has introduced a version of the new legislation as well. Orrin Hatch has long history of supporting legislation that oversteps the rule of law. He was disappointed to not have been nominated as a Supreme Court justice by past presidents. However, he has shown exceptional ignorance when it comes to understanding the rule of law.

Earlier this week, Wizbang Pop reported how Hatch was among 42 U.S. senators who called upon U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate and prosecute constitutionally protected non-obscene adult entertainment businesses even if they didn't commit any crime.

Legislators are showing an increasing tendency to deliberately pass or support clearly unconstitutional legislation, chipping away at civil liberties until some court restrains their actions. The ISP data retention bill will certainly be challenged in court as some ISPs still believe in the doctrine of some semblance of privacy for their users who haven't been suspected of any crime. Further, many search engines such as Google do a good job making the Web safer by removing listings they believe may promote illegal activity. But, many legislators aren't satisfied at the careful and legal rule of law approach to policing the Internet, and instead sometimes want legal shortcut legislation that throws out a wide net instead. However, this wide net approach to law enforcement by investigating all ISP Web surfing activity makes all Americans a suspect of some illegal activity by government until proven innocent. That's too wide of a net to cast out.

Denise Richards Reveals Lesbian Fling On HOWARD STERN

Charlie Sheen's former wife, Denise Richards, made a little news of her own on HOWARD STERN when she revealed that she had a lesbian fling with a famous Hollywood actress. The actress was appearing to support her new book, THE REAL GIRL NEXT DOOR. You can expect the radio segment's video portion to also be broadcast on HOWARDTV, Stern's cable TV version of his program soon as well. So you might consider subscribing to HOWARDTV to catch this and other newsworthy interviews.

Denise Richards described the girl in her fling as a real "girly girl" and very beautiful. Denise claims that both her and her girlfriend were "curious". Curiosity satisfied, Denise?

The Very Worst Conflict Of Interest Story Ever Told

It seems that the alternative weekly news magazine, SEATTLE WEEKLY ran what seemed like an investigative journalism piece about crime story author Ann Rule. The piece seemed to a damning indictment of Rule's new book about accused murderer Liysa Northon, claiming that Rule ignored a lot of evidence that Northon didn't murder her husband. The piece seemed impressive enough on the surface. However, a huge disclosure from the author of the piece, Rick Swart was missing. It appears that Swart has a romantic relationship with the accused murderer and used the feature to paint his own version of the case facts. That's a pretty big nondisclosure.

As bad as this conflict of interest gets, it now gets even worst as it nows also appears that Swart is now engaged to the accused murderer. The editor of SEATTLE WEEKLY couldn't be more proud of how he was duped into running an apology piece for a major crime story in Washington state. It had to be one of his proudest moments of his whole life.

Print journalism has suffered many blows as far as readership goes the last few years as declining advertising revenues have hard hit many newspapers and magazines. Now, a widely read local news source has been embarrassed by a major scandal of credibility for the news it runs.

All of this means that the public is beginning to learn what many advertisers have already learned, that some journalism just isn't worth the paper it's printed on after all. And that's deeply sad.

Victor Mousetraps' Made In The USA Sweepstakes

Some stories just want to make my heart all swell up with pride. No country in the whole darn world has better perfected mounting a spring on a block of wood than the U.S. The Chinese can't take this high tech product from us. And Victor Mousetraps wants you to feel pride as well for their American made mousetraps that they've been building since 1890. Victor is running a "Made In America" sweepstakes on their website where six lucky winners can walk off with $500. Wow, I say!

Starting out in the wood block and spring business in Oneida, NY, Victor moved to a new manufacturing location in Lititz, PA in 1902, continuing their operations to this day. Besides the classic wood block and spring traps, Victor actually has a line of more modern rodent catchers, although for sheer simplicity, the tried and true wood block and spring traps work great.

During WWII, Victor helped to produce products for the war effort that included army cots, fuse plugs as well as wire devices for parachutes. Victor still produces products in Lititz, PA, as well as Knoxville, TN and Ellendale, MN.

Victor takes pride in keeping American families safe from rodents while keeping jobs in the United States building the proven wood block and spring devices. Victor spokesman, Julien Godbarge, proudly proclaims that "Our Made In America Campaign is a reflection of Victor's loyalty to our American roots. We want to keep domestic manufacturing jobs across the country and continue our products' standard of excellence with American consumers". Well, there's a company that's mighty proud of their wood blocks with a spring on them right there. Take note, the rest of the world. When it all comes down to who builds the best wood blocks with a spring on them in the world, the U.S. has that take no prisoners, can do attitude when it comes to mousetraps. How can a country that determined to build the best wood blocks with springs mounted on them ever fail? That's determination!

In future days, you can look forward to more pride in the USA features such as Made In The USA matches, a high tech industry that actually puts a bit of sulfur on a cardboard stick. Wow!

Dan Peek From 1970's Top 40 Act, America, Dead

Dan Peek, who provided much of the vocal work for the 1970's soft rock group, America, has died at the age of 60. Strangely, he was also found dead in his bed like Amy Winehouse was earlier this week. His lifeless body was found by his wife.

During the early part of the 1970's, America had a big string of top ten hits with songs like the haunting "Horse With No Name", "Tin Man", "Ventura Highway", "Sister Golden Hair", "I Need You" and more. Despite the success of the band, Peek decided to leave the act in 1977 and became a contemporary Christian music artist, although as a solo act he never achieved the level of success of his former band.

The band was formed from three sons of American military fathers married to British mothers stationed on U.S. Army bases in the UK. George Martin who produced some of the biggest hit recordings for The Beatles was so impressed with the act that he produced their recordings for years.

If you grew up in the early 70's and listened a lot to radio, America no doubt became a part of your life and your record collection. They were a very good top 40 soft rock act, sort of comparable to a top 40 version of C,S,N&Y in some ways, except with nonpolitical songs. Peek's death is deeply sad. There was no news of any illness or health condition he suffered from.

Big Time Sissyass Stuff: Never Mind Government Shutdowns, Senators Want Millions For Porn Crackdown

Uncle Sam wants to spend your hard earned tax dollars once again for yet another war on porn and masturbation, just at same time that this country looms on economic crisis. This time it's a bunch of those "Tea Party " favorite sons behind the effort(you know the type, those same old big government spending nannystate/police state type conservatives who claim to hate taxes while at the same time spending your tax dollars for every pet project imaginable!). 42 U.S. senators, mostly conservative Republicans and a few shit-for-brains Democrats, like Dianne Feinstein, sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder urging investigations and prosecutions of every major producer of adult films in the United States. Wait a minute. Most major adult film companies produce content that merely depicts nudity or sexual intercourse among consenting adults, which is perfectly legal in most American communities. So why spend good money after bad to investigate perfectly legal businesses producing perfectly legal materials.

It's just as crazy as the old Sam Brownback committee days of 2005 when the senate held hearings to attack masturbation & porn. WTF? Creepy old Brownback filled the docket with a bunch of claimed masturbation and porn experts. It was an outrageous display of government out of control and proof positive that neither political party is capable of managing the country.

Some senators like Orrin Hatch(R-UT) seem to act like experts on the masturbation issue, always quick to come up with some new line of nonsense to libel the adult entertainment industry with some false accusations of harm. A guy that lies this good should have been a natural born used car dealer, you think? This Mormon-idiot even compared porn to things like "second hand smoke", as a pathetic attempt to falsely claim that looking at depictions of nudity or sex can somehow can be compared to cancer, ear infections, respiratory failure or other serious conditions that are directly caused by second hand smoke. How in Hell does some idiot like this even make some comparison between nudity or even sex in films or books and known health damaging substances in cigarette smoke? Viewing nudity in a film doesn't put any harmful or deadly substances into the body. But, this is just one example of the type of idiots that the American public elects to office, over and over again. One such idiot, Representative David Wu(D-OR) had to resign just today after an allegation that he sexually assaulted a girl fresh out of high school. Yet, the public continues to re-elect sex weirdos to government, including masturbation-obsessed weird personalities like Orrin Hatch. Why? For God sakes, why?

So kids, we have a government that can't even manage the economy, but it wants to manage what sort of entertainment that you are allowed to view. It's a real blow back to days when comic Lenny Bruce wasn't even allowed to perform his act in New York nightclubs without police sitting in the audience to record his act to prosecute him for obscenity. That's what Democrats like Dianne Feinstein and also Tea Party conservative types want, a return to a police state America where the FBI watches the people and arrests them for absurd obscenity-type crimes.

Dianne Feinstein even claimed that psychiatrists recognize pornography as a problem. No, they don't. Claimed "pornography addiction" isn't a recognized condition by the American Psychiatric Association. Why does she make this stuff up? That's part of the problem when any discussion of porn comes up. Some people make up outright lies about the subject, where any discussion of the topic isn't an honest one. But, the fact of the matter is that about 70% of young men 35 and under sometimes surf for porn on the Internet. 70% is a pretty good percentage.

The country is woefully mismanaged by two inept and corrupt political parties who can't hardly even manage to avoid a near government shutdown and other cash crisis's because they are such piss-poor managers. And now they want to overstep that ineptness by leap year miles by cracking down on the legal adult entertainment industry. Screw these self-righteous bastards. Don't vote for them. It only encourages them. About the only defense the public has against these out-of-control politicians is to shine light on their slimy self-righteous ways and write about them, tearing chunks out of their slithering reputations. They aren't public servants. They're just out-of control idiots who are such shitty mean spirited people that they think someone should go to jail if they are having a little fun. That's completely messed up.

Gilbert Gottfried's Facebook Page Filled With Amy Winehouse Death Jokes

While Gilbert Gottfried himself avoiding telling any Amy Winehouse death jokes, his fans on Facebook have filled up Gilbert's page with a motherload of jokes about the singer's death. During the tragic tsunami that hit Japan, Gilbert Gottfried lost his contract as the Aflac duck after telling some tsunami jokes on his Realgilbert Twitter account site. Part of Gilbert Gottfried's shtick has been to tell inappropriate jokes way too soon, including celebrity death jokes. However, in this latest case, it's the fans of the comic that have pushed the envelop and carried the load for the comic by posting one inappropriate Amy Winehouse death joke after another. Some examples are:

Michael M. wrote that: "Breaking: When police found Amy Winehouse, she had a stack of sheet music and a big eraser. She had been decomposing". And also, "Lenny was the last Jew to die of an overdose. Pretty good track record".

Tyler I. wrote, "RIP Amy Winehouse.....the first woman to have a surname to match her liver".

And Mo G. wrote, "What? No Amy Winehouse jokes???? I hope Gilbert is still alive!".

Duke Richards wrote, "They tried to make her go to the rehab, and she said, "No! No! No!". Now she was found in her apartment lying dead on the Floor! Floor! Floor! While Art B commented that, "Somebody must have smoked all her weed, so she went to the harder stuff?".

I bet Gilbert Gottfried is mighty grateful that he didn't have to go where some of his fans went, Probably, biting his lip grateful.....

Amy Winehouse Joins List Of Talented Musicians Who Died At Age 27

Amy Winehouse becomes the latest talented musician to pass away at the young age of 27. She joins the likes of Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin among others who checked out at that young age, leaving behind a future of great songs they might have produced if only they had lived longer.

Kurt Cobain of Nirvana was also another very talented musician who passed away at the age of 27 as well. He helped to forge that distinctive Seattle grunge sound.

Pete Ham of Badfinger, the Welsh band that had a clearly Beatlesque sound that were on Apple Records, hanged himself three days before he was to turn 28 after he was left broke by a bad manager. The manager broke a lucrative contract the band had with Apple Records, leaving the band financially strapped and Pete Ham was depressed that he was unable to support his pregnant girlfriend.

Brian Jones was one of the founding members of the Rolling Stones, but died at the age of 27 when he was discovered drowned in his swimming pool under mysterious circumstances.

Pigpen of the Grateful Dead, also passed away at the young age of 27 among many other musicians. And a few others, such Marc Bolan of T.Rex died just short of his 30th birthday in a car crash. There must be something about the rock and roll lifestyle that's so fatal to young musicians or maybe it's that eccentric lifestyle that some artists lead.

Move Over Anthony Weiner, There's A New Dog In Town!

Holy crap! You might have thought that Anthony Weiner is as bad as congress gets for being a place to house the mentally disturbed. Well, not by a half shot, partner. Move over Anthony Weiner, there's a new dog in town. And his name is David Wu, Democratic congressman from Oregon. Wu survived a political scandal a few years ago when an old news story broke about him having sexually assaulted a former girlfriend while a student at Stanford. And a fresh scandal broke when Wu's most re-election campaign was plagued by problems caused by erratic and mentally ill behavior on his part. Several staff members quit.

But, that's not the half it it, Jose. There was another scandal in which Wu received prescription drugs from a campaign donor. Wu denies that it was Oxycodone as some reports suggest, claiming that it was only a prescription dose of ibuprofen. And then there was the bizarre tiger suit photos that emerged from Halloween. But, now Wu has topped all of this with a fresh scandal in which a young woman who just graduated high school has accused him of sexually assaulting her. Wu claims the sexual encounter happened, but claims the sex was consensual. Ok. Lightning, doesn't strike twice, huh congressman? No word on whether this latest sexual misconduct from a member of congress will make Wu resign or not. Wu has unfortunately learned that he's able to survive all of his past scandals. However, if he's arrested for some crime such as sexual assault, that could sure change things.

None of this news is very good for the first Chinese-American to be elected to congress in the United States. Overall, those that live in Wu's district consider him an effective congressman in tune with their views. Replacing him with someone as good will be difficult. It's just that personal life thing with him. He just can't seem to stop acting crazy. Real crazy.

Much of the public doesn't think too much of congress right now. And deservedly so. Not only is congress unable to smoothly keep the government running, pay the bills, or manage the overall economy, despite always having their hands in everyone's pockets. Now, congress is having trouble keeping their hands out of everyone's pants as well.

FINAL DESTINATION News

There's big news for fans of the FINAL DESTINATION series. FINAL DESTINATION 5 will hit theaters on August 12 in Live 3D. And FINAL DESTINATION 6 and 7 will be filmed together if FINAL DESTINATION 5 is a box office success, which it should probably be considering the cult strength of the series among fans. So far for the $114 million spent on the first four films in the series, the franchise has grossed more than $497 million worldwide.

While the series has become something of a revolving door for directors, audiences have been pleased enough with the franchise that each film has had a bigger budget than the last film and grossed more money than the last. Some directors like James Wong were also known for his role directing the excellent TV cult series MILLENNIUM. The last film in the series might have gotten the weakest critical reviews of the four films, but it did include that great race track scene with flying cars and tires that's simply breathtaking, especially with the 3D Bluray version of the film.

Warner Bros. has recently repacked the first four films as a DVD box set for just about $12.99 retail for supermarkets and video store sell through. It's a terrific deal for the original four films each on a separate DVD. None of that packing four films onto one disc here. And with FINAL DESTINATION 3 you also get the chance to play God and decide who lives or dies with a choice option of heads or tails. It's an outrageous special feature. And you know the guys are going to have a little fun deciding the fate with those naked suntan booth bimbos, which rates as one of the most memorable scenes in the whole series besides the opening frightening roller coaster accident scene. FINAL DESTINATION 2 and 3 were the two best reviewed films in the series.

Based on the success of this franchise, you can expect that FINAL DESTINATION 6 & 7 will be made and should be big hits. And in the Live 3D format, the series is a pure visual treat with incredible 3D shtick gimmicks galore. What a great fun franchise. Long may it continue.

Jane Fonda's Appearance On QVC Canceled After Complaints

Jane Fonda was supposed to appear on QVC to promote her new book, PRIME TIME, but a number of protests from viewers still angry about her antiwar pro-North Vietnam actions back in 1972, forced QVC to cancel her appearance. About 40 years ago the actress angered many Americans when she toured North Vietnam and even sat in an NVA anti-aircraft gun and laughed and smiled. This and her outrageous statements calling the U.S. "imperialist" as well as referring to American soldiers as "enemy soldiers" still anger many. Back in 1970, Jane Fonda even claimed to be a "socialist" who believed that we "should strive to a socialist society, all the way to communism". Not wanting any of this controversy, QVC thought it much better to cancel her appearance on the program and offer up something less controversial.

Fonda's actions during the war went far beyond most of the opposition to the war among the public, and had earned her the nickname, "Hanoi Jane" among many. Some American pilots such as John McCain were shot down by North Vietnamese antiaircraft guns such as the one that Jane Fonda sat in. Likely, Jane Fonda's career always suffered some permanent damage because of her actions during the war.

Real Items On Ebay: Casey Anthony Barbie Doll

Holy crap! One outrageous custom Barbie doll listing on Ebay included this replica of the Casey Anthony party photo where nude Casey wrapped herself in the American flag. What better way to commemorate that great moment of America's greatest mom than this great custom Barbie that would make a proud addition to any Barbie doll collection? Simply unbelievable!

Catherine Zeta Jones Channels Michele Bachmann In New Film

Catherine Zeta-Jones appears to be channeling her very best Michele Bachmann impression as she she portrays a conservative mayor's wife in the upcoming film, ROCK OF AGES, based on the highly successful stage musical. Jones' character is anti-rock music and seeks to ban rock music from the city of Los Angeles in the film which features music by Pat Benator, Journey, Quarterflash, Twisted Sister and many other popular late 70's -80's rock acts. The film version of the musical is currently in production and is scheduled for a tentative June 2012 release date.

Russell Brand, Tom Cruise, Paul Giamatti and Mary J. Blige also co-star in this upcoming film as well. It was just announced that Will Forte from SNL will also join the cast as well.

The film should be highly anticipated and a major release with a soundtrack album and other marketing.

DVD Review: BLOODRAYNE: THE THIRD REICH

Based off the popular video game is the third film in the BLOODRAYNE series, comes this $10 million direct to DVD release. Long delayed from a scheduled filming in Croatia back in 2008, the film was finally shot in 2010 and wrapped up. While hardly a masterpiece by any means, the film is still an enjoyable popcorn genre film. Strangely, Clint Howard(the former child actor from GENTLE BEN) makes a weird cameo in this film as a Nazi doctor involved in grisly human experiments. It's Clint Howard at his most unsettling role ever.

In terms of weird WWII movies, this is one of the stranger ones ever made. And even for the small $10 million dollar budget, this film provides a little enjoyment. BLOODRAYNE: THE THIRD REICH is outrageous, violent and sexy. BLOODRAYNE tries to be many things, partially an action film, partially a horror film, partially a sexy girl show. It may be master of none of these things, yet it provides enough entertainment to be acceptably good fun.

The Bottom Line: While hardly some seat of your pants action thrill ride much like the video-game can provide, this low budget action-horror film niche genre film isn't entirely bad to enjoy for a viewing. ++1/2 Stars(a little bit better than fair, but not quite a good film. Rent, but don't spend your money buying a DVD of this).

High School Photos Of The Stars: Frank Zappa And Don Van Vliet

Lots of folks don't realize it, but both Frank Zappa and Don Van Vliet(Captain Beefheart) attended Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster, Ca. back in 1958. While Frank graduated, Don Van Vliet actually dropped out during the year, yet had this photo included with a cap and gown as though he was among the graduates. Who'd ever think that Don Van Vliet would like to mess a little with people?

Bet you didn't know that the two late great avant garde rock stars were former classmates. There must have been something real good in the water at that high school, you think?

Don Rickles Opens New Twitter Account

Master insult comic Don Rickles just opened a new Twitter account that you can sign up for at Donmailto:DonRickles@DonRickles. The 85 year old comic legend posted his first two Tweets including a self-deprecating joke to watch him on Jay Leno's show last night, and warned his fans, "Don't worry, he'll be funny". Rickles continues a busy schedule of appearances even at his advanced age often playing gigs at casinos, theaters and other venues. Sites like Eventful can keep you posted by Email with an alert when Don Rickles will play in your area.

Always a master of the quick wit and great timing, Don Rickles has the ability to quickly come up with an insult joke in an instant, inspired by those in the audience. It's that funny audience participation feature that makes him among the most durable of the insult comics of all time. Rickles began his long career in Las Vegas in 1959, and became a legend over the years.

Don't expect Don Rickles to slow down anytime soon. This guy's got plenty more laughs in him. And we're real glad for it. Underneath that tough exterior is a very kind and decent man who has selflessly helped to support children's health charity work. God bless him(if no one else will).

Rupert Murdoch's Scandal Holds Unforeseen Consequences

Rupert Murdoch has created an entertainment and news giant empire for FOX and News Corp, but how much that huge empire will be hurt by his phone hacking scandal remains to be seen. U.S. Representative Peter King(R-NY) has been urging the FBI to investigate the scandal in which Murdoch sought to have the phones of 9/11 hacked. Whether or not the scandal hurts the credibility of both FOX and News Corp as a news source remains to be seen, but the news isn't good for Murdoch. Parliament in England also wants Murdoch to answer some questions.

Beyond the 9/11 victims, it appears that former Prime Minister Gordon Brown was also a victim of the phone hacking attempts, which has prompted the Parliament in the UK to act. Murder victim Milly Dowler was also a victim of Murdoch's phone hacking scandal. In this case, the phone hacking actually impeded the police investigation into the crime.

In the UK, the scandal has helped to sink the NEWS OF THE WORLD newspaper owned by Murdoch, and could spell serious problems for his New York based News Corp as well as FOX, which could both be measurably hurt by the scandal. Rupert Murdoch might be best known for his support of conservative leaning politics, but that makes no difference to many conservative leaning legislators in both the UK and the US who are joining together with more liberal legislators in efforts to investigate this scandal.

Robert Downey Jr.Looks Positively Beastly In Drag

Sometimes life's a real drag. Especially so for Robert Downey Jr. , who dons the unmanly and dreaded women's wear for a scene in the new upcoming Sherlock Holmes film that is soon to be released. The result isn't too becoming, me thinks. Better stick to guy clothes, Robert Downey. You look far better that way! Not a good look!

Foreclosures Of The Stars: Carnie Wilson

Carnie Wilson, the daughter of Brian Wilson, best known for her role in the girl group Wilson Phillips, is facing foreclosure of her $1.6 million dollar home after failing to keep up with her mortgage payments. Wilson has just until July 21 before the bank that owns the mortgage on her home forces foreclosure on the property. The beautiful home is located near Los Angeles.

Carnie Wilson recently did a cameo role in the highly acclaimed film, BRIDESMAIDS. In the movie, the Wilson Phillips group performed a song. Before they broke up as an act in 1993, the group had sold over 10 million recordings during their career.

The Tarzana home is 4,500 square feet and features a beautiful backyard area perfect for entertaining. Wilson and her husband purchased the home back in 2004, but apparently hit some rough times recently and just couldn't keep up their payments and the bank sent them notice of possible foreclosure.

Motorcycle Club Members Known For Charity Work Busted By Feds

In a shocking turn of events, a Philadelphia based African American motorcycle club that has been known for charity work for homeless children and other good works was targeted by federal agents with 18 club members indicted for various crimes that include murder, racketeering, kidnapping and other acts of violence, as well as drug sales. Club members in 7 states were sought for arrest, with only four still not captured according to the latest report by an NBC affiliate.

According to one national news report, a 2009 incident involving a member of another motorcycle club and a leader of Wheels Of Soul created a rivalry between the two club members and resulted in a series of incidents.

Previously, Wheels Of Soul members sold tickets to a Halloween event to other motorcycle club members where the funds helped to support a skating party for homeless children and their mothers. The proceeds helped out a 210 bed emergency center in Philadelphia, that provided emergency housing in the cold winter season.

Some African American motorcycle clubs such as God's Wheels are known as a Christian club, where food is collected to help the hungry. Wheels Of Soul members were also strong supporters at ride events to help with autistic children as well. Many motorcycle club members work hard to establish good reputations for the biker community for sponsoring charity ride events.

Ted Danson Takes Over Lead Role On CSI

You can rest easy folks. There will be a big name actor taking over at CSI.....It's Ted Danson! Wow! What a big name to add to the cast. Ted Danson is also a very familiar face over at CBS as well, where he expertly played the cranky Dr. Becker on the comedy BECKER for a few seasons. The show was also one of the best comedies the network had ever aired, which begs the question whether Ted Danson can play a serious role real well. Well, here's the evidence....

Ted Danson is a great actor with endless ability. He's proven very versatile at anything that he does. And he's just quirky enough that he should be able to play the lead role with a little dry humor as well, just like he did on BECKER. Ted Danson seems expert at dry comedy. And he's deeply intellectual, which should make him a perfect fit for the role once led by the Gus Grissom character.

So CBS has big star power at the helm of CSI as well as Ashton Kutcher taking over for at least one season over at TWO AND A HALF MEN. That sounds like another winning ratings season over the network? You think?

Classic TV: THE RIFLEMAN 1958-1963

When THE RIFLEMAN debuted in 1958, it became an instant hit Western back in the heyday years of the great Westerns such as GUNSMOKE and WAGON TRAIN. THE RIFLEMAN was also a creation of the great director Sam Peckinpah, noted for his great Westerns such as THE WILD BUNCH with gritty characters and violence both.

Chuck Conners, a 6 foot 5inch, 190 lbs. former ABA basketball player as well as a former professional baseball player made an interesting choice as lead actor in the series. His huge large intimidating presence was especially good in not only in THE RIFLEMAN, but in professional basketball where he became the first player in history to twice break backboards, which predated Shaq by a lot of years since this was in the '50 and '51 seasons. Chuck Conners beat out 40 other actors to land the lead role, but nearly turned it down until a better deal was made that gave him a 5% ownership of the show. Conners was perfect for the role.

Conners wielded a customized Winchester rifle in every episode, solving his problems by rapidly cranking his custom rifle. It was such a contrast to the more reasonable other Western lead actor roles, giving THE RIFLEMAN a lot of action in every episode. For being the single father of a young boy, the Lucas McCain role was groundbreaking. Johnny Crawford, who played McCain's young boy became a lifetime friend of Conners.

Chuck Conners proved to have an interesting life following THE RIFLEMAN. ABC would have gladly renewed the series for many more seasons, but Conners wanted to try his hand at other projects.

By the 1970's he became a big name Republican Party fundraiser and good friend of President Richard Nixon. THE RIFLEMAN strangely became very good for U.S. Soviet relations since it was only one of very few U.S. television shows that aired in the old Soviet Union. This was largely because the show was a big personal favorite of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev who hugged the actor went President Nixon arranged for Conners and him to meet during a state visit. Brezhnev invited Conners to visit the Soviet Union as well. The warmness of the two was certainly good for relations for the two rival countries. Conners wanted to attend the funeral of Brezhnev in 1982, but the U.S. government didn't have room for him among the official delegation. It was a strange friendship between the conservative California Republican and the Communist leader of the Soviet Union.

But, one big problem for Conners was that he was a very heavy smoker. And he died at the age of 1971 back in November 1992. It was quite a ride for Conners, who will forever be remembered as Lucus McCain for many fans of the classic TV Western.

Yellowstone Has First Fatal Bear Attack Since 1986

A male hiker who wandered off the beaten path and walked into an area where a female bear just had cubs became the first person since 1866 to be killed by bears in Yellowstone Park. Most persons follow the safety rules established by the park which involve no feeding the bears and other safety rules, limiting the number of serious incidents between bears and humans to very few per decade.

However, there were two other mauling incidents of persons by bears this year at Yellowstone Park, as the number of visitors increases and a growing grizzly bear population seem to be competing for park space.

Here's a police sketch of the suspect bear. If you see this bear on the loose, beware! They are also known for stealing picnic baskets as well. Ranger Smith wants you to be safe.

DVD Review: SUCKER PUNCH

SUCKER PUNCH is one of the most visually stunning, yet convoluted mess of a movie that you will ever see. The storyline is simply all over the place and just plain downright bizarre. And this is such a shame because this film has a few fantastic sequences that are simply awesome.

Supposedly, a young woman finds herself captive in an asylum as a consequence of having to endure an abusive relationship with her stepfather. While facing a lobotomy, she retreats into a fantasy world in which she and her fellow inmate friends are on a quest for several items to escape. That's the supposed plot. But, what actually happens almost requires a tour guide to figure out. So much of the scenes take place in what looks like a ballet school rather than an asylum. And that's largely what's wrong with this movie. Just what in heck are we watching here, anyway?

But, let's focus on what's right with this movie instead. The casting is excellent with some of the most surreal characters that you're ever see in a film that plays outside of an arthouse. And the fantasy segments are simply stunning. A segment where Baby Doll battles neoWWI German undead soldiers complete with zeppelins and trench warfare is simply awesome. Other segments where the girls battle a dragon and other segments are simply awesome as well. SUCKER PUNCH should have been just this movie. A great epic action film. Instead, what we have here is a strange mix between a pseudo-arthouse film with surreal personalities combined with a few of the greatest visual action scenes I've ever seen. The result is an uneven brew that's just not nearly as satisfying as it could have been. SUCKER PUNCH had such great potential, but simply fell miles short in the end. And that's really deeply sad. It's so good at moments.

The Bottom Line: What a disappointment this film is. It's so great one moment, but utterly confusing the very next moment. It's such a mix of uneven elements that it takes the patience of a saint to tolerate it at times. SUCKER PUNCH could have been a classic. Instead it ended up strange and a major league letdown. ++1/2(Two and half stars. Certainly less than good overall, yet the film has some excellent moments worth enjoying that are visually some of the most amazing I've seen. Too uneven to fully enjoy. Yet, so good at times).

Casey Anthony Gets A $1 Million Porn Offer

Holy Christ! Here's a story straight out of the bowels of Hell itself! After being acquitted of the murder of her two year old daughter, Casey Anthony has been offered $1 million to do porn by CEO Steven Hirsch of Vivid Entertainment. However, as outrageous as this story is, it appears that Casey Anthony may make herself a millionaire without having to take her clothes off. Anthony will likely sign deals to sell her story to the press for a high price. Right now, her attorney, Jose Baez, appears to be her contact for job offers for the acquitted accused killer.

According to evidence introduced at trial, the body of the Casey Anthony's 2 year old daughter, Caylee, probably decomposed for days in the trunk of a car, while Anthony lied to police giving them false information meant to stall the murder investigation. While the jury didn't find this evidence compelling enough to convict on one hand, Vivid's CEO Hirsch found this notoriety enough to make Anthony the huge porn offer. Gez.

Welcome to crime news story Hell!

Gilbert Gottfried Tweets Some Choice Casey Anthony Jabs

On his way to play a tour at Portland Oregon's Helium Comedy Club, Gilbert Gottfried Tweeted some funny and outrageous jabs at Casey Anthony. Gilbert Tweeted that, "I just proposed to Casey Anthony. I figure she knows how to keep kids quiet". Gilbert also joked that, "Upon hearing the not guilty verdict, Casey Anthony left the court room and yelled, "Oh by the way, I killed Nicole Simpson".

Gilbert Gottfried's jabs at probably the most hated woman in America right now, likely expresses part of frustration that many feel right now in the face of the outrageous verdict. Gilbert Gottfried often uses his Real Gilbert Twttter account to post some funny and outrageous topical humor jokes. You need to add this to your favorites and check in each day on this master comic's latest take on the news.

Caution: AMERICA'S GOT TALENT MAY BE DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH!

No, it's not a new Surgeon General warning. But, NBC's big hit Summer program, AMERICA'S GOT TALENT is leading to a few injuries to performers who pull out all the stops to offer the best performance of their lives. In one case, the lead performer of a top notch dance group injured her ankle before a performance, but performed with wrap on the ankle to offer support. In another more serious accident, another group of dancers form a pyramid during their performance. However, one performer fell and was injured in a bloody accident breaking her nose tip and a busted lip. She was sent to the hospital.

While the injuries are shocking, they are also signs about how hard some acts are competing to put on the very best performance of their lives. It's a sure sign that AMERICA'S GOT TALENT is great TV! Catch this great program each Tuesday night over at NBC!

Metal Singer Victor Villareal Killed In Motorcycle Crash

In an eerie coincidence, metal music singer Victor Villareal was killed in a motorcycle crash almost one year to the day that his wife a was killed in a July motorcycle crash on her birthday. Victor Villareal was 41 and lead singer of One Of Sixx. Villareal was killed Saturday night when a horse trailer being pulled by a pickup truck struck his motorcycle in an intersection in San Antonio's Bexar County.

The twin accidents leave the Villareal children without either parent. The couple had a boy 17, and a girl,11. Family members and close relatives are trying to do what they can to give the children some comfort at this time.

The Villareal children could sure use your prayers right now. That's so tough to deal with. No child should lose both parents.

The Miracle Of Technology Day: Joe Biden Sends His First Tweet

You may not realize it, but today represents a great landmark in history. Vice President Joe Biden has just sent his first Tweet. Wow! - The message was a warm wishes to our soldiers sent by the Vice President and his wife.

Congrats, Joe. As long as you don't claim that you invented Tweets, you're just fine. Welcome to the future(or actually present day, I guess?).

Former CSI Star, Gary Dourdan Arrested Again

Working on CSI was the best therapy for Gary Dourdan. It seemed like it kept him out of trouble and off drugs. But, he wanted off the show. Season 9 opened with Dourdan's character dying in the arms of his friend Gus Grissom. Since CSI, Dourdan faced a Palm Springs arrest for heroin and cocaine possession in 2008. And now, Dourdan's been arrested again, this time for possession of ecstasy after a 3:30 a.m. crash of his SUV into a parked Ford pickup truck.

It's one heck of a decline for an actor voted the most sexy CSI cast member ever by fans of the show.

What can you say, Gary Dourdan......coming to a parked car near you!

Michelle Yeoh Deported By Burma For Playing Democracy Activist In THE LADY

Beautiful Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, who is best known in the United States for her roles in CROUCHING TIGER and also the James Bond action film, TOMORROW NEVER DIES, has been deported from Burma for her portrayal of human rights activist Aung Sang Suu Kyl. Michelle Yeoh is one of the most successful Asian actresses to have many breakthrough roles in films that receive wide American distribution compared to so many Hong Kong based actors who never receive all that much fame in the States.

In the film, THE LADY, Yeoh expertly portrays the life of Kyl who spent more than a decade under house arrest in Burma. The French-English film is directly by Luc Besson, who often directs films where the subject is a heroic female. And Michelle is a very strong actress with excellent credentials to cast as a lead.

You can probably expect THE LADY to get a lot of buzz for awards honors.

Gilbert Gottfried Doing Sold Out Gigs And Has A New HUSTLER Interview

Fans of Gilbert Gottfried have been real loyal to him, where he just got done playing two sold out shows in Detroit and moved on to a big show at Caroline's Comedy Club in New York. Showtime Family Channel is airing his version of JACK AND THE BEANSTALK this weekend. He did an interview on radio station WRIF and the new issue of HUSTLER also has a major new interview with the comic. Gilbert Gottfried's career appears to be moving on nicely, with little impact from flap with AFLAC a few months ago when he Tweeted some jokes in the wake of the Japan earthquake. This is important. It proves that most folks realized that a joke is a joke, and that Gilbert meant no harm with milking a few laughs from any opportunity for a joke.

The HUSTLER interview is a big piece for Gilbert, and a must read for any of his fans. It gives Gilbert a great forum to be funny as well as candid, and is one of his best interviews ever. The comic genius is no doubt glad to see so much fan support and real lasting impact from the bad news fallout from a few months ago.

Former Utah Jazz Player Arrested In Major Drug Bust

Former NBA Utah Jazz player Jose Ortiz was arrested in San Juan, Puerto Rico in a major drug bust by federal agents where 218 marijuana plants and 40 rounds of assault weapon ammunition were seized as evidence. Ortiz now faces a minimum sentence of at least five years in a federal prison if convicted of intent to distribute illegal drugs.

Ortiz ranks as one of the greatest players ever to hail from Puerto Rico. He was a great player for the Utah Jazz, with impressive skills. But, apparently Ortiz's defense for the charges stems from some drug problems of his own as he has agreed to enter a drug rehab program and remain there until his appearance for trial on the serious drug charges.

Some former NBA players have fallen hard since their days in the sports league. Ortiz now apparently joins that dubious hall of shame.