People descibed the 46-year-old (I know, wow) actor as “the king of cool with killer cheekbones.”

Depp last won the honor in 2003, and this year, he joins the likes of Brad Pitt and George Clooney in winning twice. After Depp, the rest of the top five are Ryan Reynolds at number two, Jake Gyllanhaal at number three, Bradley Cooper at number four, and Robert Downey Jr. at number five.

Rabid Twilight fans might be disappointed to know that Robert Pattinson ranked 15th, but the rest of us will wonder how he ranked so high.

Pick up People magazine to check out the full list.

The Autonomous Audi TTS is a car that can safely operate without direct input from the driver though not aimed at removing the thrill of driving but to offer new possibilities of both today and future drivers. Burkhard Huhnke, executive director of the Electronics Research Laboratory, has noted that the technology found in the Autonomous Audi TTS could help drastically reduce the number of fatalities worldwide. The Autonomous Audi TTS will help ease road congestion and help the driver respond more effectively to safety hazards. Huhnke also noted that car would be able to return time to owners by performing routine chores such as parking itself in an assigned spot.

No release date as this is still clearly in testing stages but it doesn’t seem that too far off to think this will be considered the norm way before 2035.

The Associated Press reported that Richie successfully obtained a restrainging order against two photographers she blames for her car accident last month in Beverly Hills. The photographers have also trespassed at Richie’s home. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carol Boas Goodson granted Richie’s request and order the photographers, Eduardo Arrivabene and Ivon Emilio Melo Miguel, to remain 50 yard away from Richie and her two young children.

Judge Goodson expressed concerns about violating the First Amendment rights of Arrivabene and Miguel, but the pair said they would follow the restraining order. Miguel even apologized to Richie on the stand and said he wouldn’t take any more pictures of her, boyfriend Joel Madden or their children. Obviously, Madden and Richie responded that they no longer wanted their picture taken.

Meanwhile, Tila Tequila is suing Shawn Merriman over the assault accusations she had him arrested on in September, ESPN.com reported. Merriman had been arrested after Tila accused him of battery and false imprisonment, but after reviewing police reports, San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis did not charge him.

Tila claims she was choked and thrown to the ground, while Merriman maintains he was trying to her from leaving the house while extremely drunk. Dumanis decided there was not enough evidence to charge Merriman, but it seems Tila is strongly convinced otherwise.

I’m very proud to be a citizen of both Canada and the United States. I’m even prouder to call myself an American, even though I haven’t lived there in years. I’ll be back in the States in less then two years and I’m very excited.

But sometimes certain factions of the American population really anger me.

This time, unsurprisingly, it’s a few of the more conservative “pundits” and those who share their views.

Here’s why: Obama took some flack today from those conservative voices for bowing to the Emperor of Japan. Seriously.

He bowed to an EMPEROR. Apparently that’s a problem. Here’s a quote from a conservative who spoke on Fox News: “..it’s not appropriate for an American president to bow to a foreign one.”

Now, a conservative voice on CNN: “It’s ugly. I don’t want to see it…We don’t defer to emperors. We don’t defer to kings or emperors. The president of the United States — this coupled with so many apologies from the United States — is just another thing.” Apparently the U.S. president is King of the WORLD.

We actually still owe Japan an apology for nuking them. That deserves an apology. We’re assholes for doing that. No excuses for nuking.

Conservatives are comparing Obama’s bow to the last U.S. visit to Japan. Cheney was the last to go and he didn’t bow, he just shook Emperor Akihito’s hand.

First of all, how conservatives think using Cheney as an example of what TO do makes no sense. The man is the embodiment of Satan.

Second, how arrogant can you be? How can anyone think it wrong to adapt to a people’s reasonable customs? It was a sign of RESPECT. It does NOT symbolize apathy or a flaky attitude. It does NOT symbolize the U.S. being weak or too apologetic.

The only negative of Obama bowing is the reaction it got. And that’s not Obama’s fault. It’s not his fault that some of his countrymen are idiotic and arrogant.

I sincerely believe the majority of Americans are humble and not arrogant. So, World, don’t think us as such.

I’m glad Obama bowed and I hope he does it whenever appropriate.

The Diva had her first and only speeding ticket 11 years ago and does not condone (excessive) speeding.

Cannibals

Russian police recently arrested three homeless guys suspected of killing a man, eating part of his body, then selling the rest of the meat to a kebab vendor, BBC reports.

According to police, it is unclear when the incident occurred however the three men have been charged with murder. They are being held in Perm, about 870 miles east of Moscow.

The men attacked and killed the victim with hammers and knives. They then ate pieces of his body and sold the rest to a shop that sells kebabs and pies, a statement by the three men claims.

BBC reports it’s unclear whether any customers were served the human meat.

Meanwhile back in America…

A 25-year-old woman from Texas faked breast cancer just to get her breasts enlarged.

Trista Joy Lathern successfully fooled her husband and community by shaving her head to fake chemotherapy. She then hosted a fundraiser in which 100 people donated almost $10,000.

Lathern took the 10 grand and bought a brand new pair of $6,800 double D’s.

Apparently she needed them to save her seven-month old marriage.

On a related note…

Need a pick-me-up before a date? Two chefs in Columbia recently invented a dessert that combines passionfruit with an active ingredient found in….Viagra.

The pudding-like dessert, Canoe reports, is topped with whipped cream and chocolate and served in a parfait glass. One of the creators said they invented the dish in an effort to reinvent Viagra as a new kind of aphrodisiac, according to Canoe.

Of course, they can’t sell the dessert since Viagra is a prescription drug, but it doesn’t stop those in need from making it in their own homes. Or you can just pop the pill.

This is our first year with one of these, and it’s pretty comprehensive. We’ve broken the guide into multiple categories: Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, Xbox 360, and then multiplatform titles. There’s a solid number of titles on each list, though the PS3 and 360 lists are somewhat shorter due to the long multiplatform page–don’t miss that page, since there’s a lot to it. Exclusives are the only thing you will find on the system pages. There’s also a Kids and Family guide, with a few of the games we reviewed for the younger crowd that we actually enjoyed.

As of right now, games we have reviewed (or games that in the review pipeline) are on the list–a few more holiday titles may be added assuming they stand up to our scrutiny. There may also be a few that we have not reviewed, but one of our writers at one point or another played through it and vouched for its awesomeness, so we decided to pass their opinion on to you through this guide.

Nintendo Wii Gift Guide

Nintendo DS Gift Guide

Playstation 3 Gift Guide

Playstation Portable Gift Guide

Xbox 360 Gift Guide

Multiplatform Gift Guide

Kids & Family Gift Guide

In the 2008 conversation between parents Michael and Dina Lohan, the magazine reports that Michael tells Dina that he represents the bad things in Lindsay’s life but his ex-wife interrupts him to say, “her cutting herself and hurting herself? Yeah, it’s bad Michael, it’s bad.”

It’s been a quick road downhill since “The Parent Trap.” Lindsay is the stereotype of a hot mess, and she doesn’t have the popularity of a “Britney” to dig herself out of it. Britney Spears was/is a hot mess, but all she has to do is make another song every time she needs to solve her problems — and it can be any song. She can belch into the microphone and it will to platinum.

Little Miss Values, 22, ousted from the Miss USA pageant after coming out against gay marriage, has penned a book called “Still Standing,” which has been a flop so far. Even the well-timed “scandalous” and “malicious” release of a Prejean sex tape that reportedly shows the fallen blonde beauty queen pleasuring herself hasn’t spurred her publicity.

You can’t market Carrie Prejean — not unless you get her, Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter and 9 other women together with bearskin rugs and rifles, and make a calendar.

She claimed that she made the tape for a boyfriend — because she was in a proper male-female relationship and “cared about” the guy the tape was “for.”

Prejean also went on Sean Hannity, because if anyone’s going to defend her, it’s Fox News.

Let’s be clear: This tape is no accident, and the topless photo of Prejean (right) was no accident either.

But there was plenty of backfire. The sex tape ruined Prejean’s lawsuit against Miss USA, and it’s not helping her book sales.

You can’t shine shit. No matter how hard you, uh, rub.

Blast takes time to remember Veteran’s Day — or Remembrance Day as it’s called in Sachin Seth’s home country Canada.

The Terra Blog reporter remembers the Christmas Eve truce during WWI. It’s a story that should be told as often as possible.

According to MTV.com, Rihanna said her relationship with Chris was just too intense. They started out as close friends, and their love bordered on obsession. Rihanna also admitted to feeling guilty for reconciling so quickly with Chris because of the message it sent about domestic violence victims. But now, she says, it’s really over.

“I went through … a host of emotions,” she told Sawyer. “It was confusing for me. I was still attached by love. But I wasn’t thinking about … the reality of the situation. You start lying to yourself. … This is a memory you don’t want to have ever again. … The physical wounds go away, you put it in the back of your head and you start lying to yourself subconsciously.”

Long interview short – she still loves and cares about Chris, but doesn’t think they’ll ever get back together. She hated him for a while, yet felt bad that he was facing so much hatred. Now, she just wants to move on.

“I don’t want that five years from now — every time they see Rihanna, they think of Chris Brown beating me,” she said. “That’s not who I am. It’s just one thing that happened to me.”

You can tune in to MTV tonight at 6:00 to here Chris’ side.

The Nordstrom Holiday catalog showcases these beautiful rosette-adorned pumps in all of their special-occasion glory. I love their curves and the details. Designed by Steve Madden, they only cost $99.95. They haven’t hit the Nordstrom (or Steve Madden) website yet, but I’ll keep you posted.

I’m loving Essie’s “Lollipop” shade in their Winter 2009 collection. The bright red shade just made me smile the entire time it adorned my fingertips.

I’m usually a white wine kind of gal, but lately I’ve been a bit embarrassed ordering a Pinot Grigio with my filet mignon. When Charles Street Liquors had a wine-tasting a few weeks ago, I fell head over heals for this Argentinian wine, a Malbec. The taste is light and sweet, but doesn’t stay on your palet as long as say, a pinot noir. There are hints of black raspberry, and it’s just wonderful by itself or with dinner.

I was a lipgloss only kind of girl until about a month ago, at the urge of one of my daily reads, The Glamour Girls in the Beauty Department blog. Beginning my habit slowly, I found a few good drugstore colors, and started to experiment. Walking through Macy’s on my lunchbreak yesterday, I tried on shade #28 of Chanel’s Rouge Allure lipstick, and I fell in love. Called, “Romantic,” the shade is a rich raspberry tone that I swear would look good on anyone. The lipstick softens your lips and stays much longer than anything else I’ve tried. Not to mention how cute and slick the case is; I’ll whip it out anywhere!!

]]> http://blastmagazine.com/the-blogs/2009/11/lady-in-red/feed/ 0 http://blastmagazine.com/the-blogs/2009/11/chris-brown-tells-all-on-mtv/ http://blastmagazine.com/the-blogs/2009/11/chris-brown-tells-all-on-mtv/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:00:36 +0000 Ashley Dean http://blastmagazine.com/?p=32675 MTV will air a tell-all interview with Chris Brown this Friday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. ET/PT.

According to MTV.com, Brown will answer questions about his fight with Rihanna, including “What caused the singer to lash out against his former girlfriend in the first place? Why has he tweeted old photos of the two of them and released music inspired by her? What does he think about, nine months later, when he recalls that fateful night?”

Brown told MTV that he has been using therapy to deal with his anger and understand his behavior. He also said, “My thoughts [when I look back on it now] is like, why did it happen? Like, what was I thinking? What is wrong with you? That’s what I’m thinking with myself. That’s what my thoughts are, basically, now.”

Tune in Friday for the full, hour-long interview.

TORONTO — Here is the third edition of the Terra Podcast, where Blast’s world news reporter Sachin Seth visits a food bank and learns about the people who work and are served there.

Many Food Banks around North America are in dire straits. Since the recession set in, many are finding it harder and harder to secure donations from those hit hard by the global economic downturn.

In major cities like Toronto, food banks have seen close to a 30 per cent increase in clients, but no major increase in donations. Those in need of food are turned away near closing time because supplies run out.

William Shane, a board member at Fort York Food Bank, one of the largest in Toronto, says he’s seen an almost 200 per cent increase in food hampers requested in just five years. The majority of that increase has come since 2007 – the beginning of the recession.

Fort York is by no means a spacious food bank. It’s one of the largest in Toronto in terms of population served, however not in terms of space. Still, Shane tells me it costs more than $90,000 just to keep the lights and heat running. That money comes primarily from donations, save for a small stipend from their mother company that amounts to just a few thousand per year.

Almost one third of Toronto’s entire population visits a food bank every year, an astonishingly large number for a developed North American metropolis. But if you look around, numbers in other major cities across Canada and the U.S. aren’t far off.

I went to Fort York with many questions in an effort to find out how the food bank copes with such large demand. But instead of coming away with answers, I quickly fell in love with the men and women who work there. Their pasts, in some cases heartbreaking, and their ambition, in some cases inspiring.

This is the story of three of the selfless women I met who turned their lives around to give back to the community.

This is the story of Trudy, Janice and Liz.

Did anyone else notice how many spreads of the White House Black Market catalog had this model with crimped hair? I know that some of the trends from the 80s have started to trend again — velvet, lace, leggings and even some neon colors — but this is the first time I’ve noticed crimped hair in any fashion or beauty marketing.

The spread above is from the latest Brooks Brothers catalog. Call me traditional, but I’ve always been a big follower of the black-brown exclusivity rule. Brown shoes should not be worn with black tights, and vice versa. While I have become begrudgingly accostomed to seeing fashionistas on the streets and in magazine spreads with black tights and brown riding boots, I’ve always relied on my fellow conservatives at Brooks Brothers to enforce the rules. Needless to say, the above picture is a sign of the changing times… and since Brooks Brothers thinks it’s okay, maybe it’s time for me to start wearing my brown Longchamp with black pants…

Please forgive my amateur photography skills in the J.Crew spread above. The folks at J.Crew may be obsessed with Italian cashmere, but I’m loving everything about this outfit… the rich color and textures (wool skirt, cashmere sweater, suede (?) flats… swoon)… and the anklets. I have made up my mind on this fall-winter trend, and I am heading out to buy some warm ankle socks tomorrow.

]]> http://blastmagazine.com/the-blogs/2009/11/catalog-clippings/feed/ 0 http://blastmagazine.com/the-blogs/the-diva-of-driving/2009/11/how-do-we-get-there/ http://blastmagazine.com/the-blogs/the-diva-of-driving/2009/11/how-do-we-get-there/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:41:24 +0000 Sarah Mullins http://blastmagazine.com/?p=32556 How do a majority of us end up with the vehicles we drive every day? We look at practicality, affordability and then the logical need to have some form of transportation. All of which translate into mundane reasons. Then there is status, trend and a reflection of who we are. I somehow missed out on the last 3 and now I am having serious buyer’s remorse.

This past July I needed a car after my divorce. I had been a loyal Chevrolet owner for the past eight years with 5 vehicles for proof. That loyalty soon went out the window after some shenanigans at a local dealer. I have absolutely no animosity towards General Motors , none. Especially after I received a letter from GMAC offering zero percent interest a month after the fact. Well, maybe not today but that day I saw red. Instead of going to another domestic dealer, I traveled up the road to Nissan with my dear old Dad.

What I went there for was not what I bought. Funny how that works, right? But a difference in a $100 a month says a lot for a car payment. Regardless of that savings I still curl my lip when I bill pay Nissan on the 15th of each month. Especially when the thought of the same car payment could be on a leftover Pontiac G8 GT found a short distance away that is begging for me to take her home. What was once going to be a $16,500 car turned into $21,000 after all the crap that gets added. The extended warranty, battery fee, tire fee, blah blah blah fee, dealer fee, state fee, and my favorite you’re going to walk out of here just happy that you only spent 4 hours at our dealership instead of 9 fee. The G8 can be bought for under $26k. What’s 5 grand more with zero percent anyways?

So what is it that I drive myself around in every day? A Sentra SE-R Spec V. La de dah! Don’t get me wrong, she is a fun car to drive. She is cute to look at and surprises me with her zip but I’m past owning the fun car and I just don’t want her. At all. Ten years ago, this car would have screamed me all over it but that was high school and I had a cool car in the same category back then. I know I should be grateful to own a brand new car but if it’s not something I want and I’m obligated to pay for it for the next X years; my feelings are completely valid. Not to mention the fact that I get approached at every red light by some punk in a riced out Civic with a fart pipe to race which lessens the enthusiasm to go anywhere. Add to the mix I’ve been to dealer for service 3 times since I bought it and my disgruntled customer attitude starts to seep out.

Oh G8, how I long for thee.

The Diva refers to all of the cars she has owned as “Her.”

1956 Ford Thunderbird VIN #5 — first released to public sold for $600,000

1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda so clean you could eat off the under carriage of the car $125,000

1996 Buick Custom with a Stage 1 that runs in the 13’s- $475,000

Which got me thinking about past car related things that made me throw up a little in my mouth.

2003 Enzo Ferrari requires Shell Helix10W-60 synthetic oil, which costs around $60 a quart making $700 oil change.

A brake job for an Aston Martin 17, brake pads and rotors, $27,000

But my all time favorite is the cost of the first scheduled service on a Bugatti Veyron at a whopping $22,322, with the price going up each time thereafter. Tires need to be replaced approximately every 2,500 miles for $10,347 a set, and oh by the way, they can only be fitted by Bugatti.

I get upset over the fact my car requires premium gas and the idea of forking out the money to replace low profile tires sooner than expected due to the ridiculous miles I seem to be putting on my car (because I live in fucking nowhere!) makes me want to cry because it takes money out of my shoe allowance and that my friends is a scary thought. Granted, I’ve never once bought tires for a car because by that time I just trade it in. That’s not the point.

At what point is spending money on a car as an enthusiast is too much? At what point is the required maintenance over time ridiculous? Oh I forgot that if I had the money to buy any of those cars then I probably wouldn’t give a shit how much it cost. Silly me!

Not to say if I could own whatever I wanted that I still wouldn’t flinch just a little when it came time to pay those bills.

Just a little.

According to TMZ.com, Minnesota provided extra security for Farve, including a special security team specifically asigned to him. A Viking’s spokesperson told TMZ,”I can confirm that we did have extra security in place throughout the trip, including at the hotel Saturday night and at the stadium yesterday. Taking the necessary precautions to protect our players on any road trip is always a priority of the team, and this situation was no exception.”

What a very pleasent way to say he’s a traitor of the worst kind to Packers fans and they’d most likely stomp him given the opportunity. No exception? Doubt it.

Who has the right-of-way in Florida? The answer is no one! The law only says who must yield (give up) the right-of-way. Every driver, motorcyclist, moped rider, bicyclist and pedestrian must do everything possible to avoid a crash. This translates into rotation everyone! Whoever gets to the stop first gets to go first! “After a complete stop, you must yield the right-of-way to all other traffic and pedestrians at stop signs. Move forward only when the road is clear” is according to this online traffic school.

Please think of other 12,905,813 drivers in the state of Florida the next time you pull up to a four way stop and don’t fuck it up.

The Diva has always wanted to own a 1965 Cadillac Coupe Deville to purposely run into others who make bad driving decisions.

Always a fan of flats, I’m loving the zebra print and studs.

And the edgier all season studded sandals to die for…

I think the zebra print flats are the only reasonable things I could wear to work, but everything else will be fun to peruse.

Will you be lining up at your favorite H&M to snag the first pieces of the collection?

J.Crew sells the ankle socks in packs of three. This is my favorite look they show, but I’m loving the pink ones:

What do you think about ankle socks? Do they make you too reminiscent of being a little girl in the 80s? What shoes would you wear to pull this off?

Today Blast’s Sachin Seth talks about Israel denying water to Palestinians.

Your thoughts? Share them with us in the comments section below!

InStyle’s website picked Kristin Cavallari’s plaid look as yesterday’s “Look of the Day,” but when I put on my black and blue plaid tunic over gray jeans this morning, I couldn’t help feeling the look had passed, gone the way of the Ugg — a comfy throwback, but no fashion statement what-so-ever.

What are your thoughts on plaid? Do you still grab your plaid shirts when you dress for Saturday shopping? Let us know!

Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai apparently has no balls. Dr. Abdullah Abdullah called on Karzai to fire the head of the election commission for his inability to ensure a fair democratic election in August’s vote. Karzai rejected the call by Abdullah, obviously, because they are rivals.

But why did it even have to be demanded? Ideally, the man would have been sacked just after the U.N.-backed panel discovered and exposed widespread electoral fraud and ballot box stuffing. The whole Independent Election Commission in Afghanistan should see a major overhaul, but Karzai claims doing this just before a run-off would upset the order of things.

“The changes would not be helpful to the elections and the country,” he said, BBC reports.

Abdullah claims the IEC is full of rampant Karzai supporters. While that may be true, so is the rest of the world. Obama, Sarkozy, Brown, Kerry and even Ban ki-Moon have praised Karzai for accepting a run-off election. For doing basically what is required of a democratic president. That praise is not really necessary and just reinforces the fact that Karzai is a western-backed leader of a nation whose own people consistently questioning his governing ability.

Both leaders have also denounced the possibility of a joint government. I saw that reported as a possibility in some places and I couldn’t believe some saw it as a viable option.

The run-off is set to take place on November 7. I think we can predict the outcome.

Check back tomorrow for the second episode of Blast’s new podcast Your World in Focus, narrated by me. Also, take a listen to the first if you missed it. It’s about this very election.

I will say, in favor of Essie, I also just purchased their cuticle pen, and I am in love. The Cuticle Pen is a softener and moisturizer that makes my nail beds, already affected by the cold, dry New England fall weather, heavenly! And I love the smell! I’ve even been trying to use it on the boy’s dry cuticles, to no avail.

And, while we’re talking about Essie, if you haven’t yet, you NEED to check out their winter collection that just debuted. I think I’m in love: http://www.essie.com/seasonal/

What is your favorite fall nail trend? Let us know!

In her new autobiography titled “unSweetined,” 27-year-old Jodie says she used the money from the college appearances to fund a $700 per week drug habit that included coke, meth and Ecstasy. The lowest point of all, she said, was driving drunk with her infant daughter in the car.

The book won’t be out until Nov. 3, but an excerpt is available on Amazon.com.

“I did a few key bumps and headed to the lecture hall, where a sold-out crowd waited to hear me speak,” Jodie wrote. “I thought for sure that one of the professors would take one look at me and kick me out. But none did. They wanted to hear about the trials and tribulations of Jodie Sweetin, or at least the Jodie Sweetin I had created.”

As Stephanie might say, ‘How rude!’

I admit to being overwhelmed with facts and what sometimes seemed trivial information as to how much horsepower a certain car produced or what a zero-to-sixty time was but somehow those facts were burned into my memory. Now those random facts flow in the most startling conversations I have with the male population to just to make them walk away scratching their heads.

Often referred to as the son my father never had, I can proudly say that when the hood is open I know exactly what everything is and what purpose it serves. I’ve changed my own oil, fixed my radiator, replaced hoses, I even helped put a center stand on a Honda CBX( my mother loves to refer to it as giving birth to a double breasted Yamaha), replaced sensors, and I’m sure other random maintenance that most people pay for. I like knowing that I can do it. Doesn’t mean I don’t pay someone to do it for me now though.

I am not limited to cars. I love big trucks with souped up Duramax Diesels, Semi’s with ridiculous Detroit Diesels, motorcycles, airplanes – if it can get me to where I am going then I am pretty sure I know enough about it.

It’s an appreciation and I owe this to my Dad who delightfully instilled this fascination with all things performance and of course the inability own to a car for more than two years.

A 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge and a 1971 Plymouth Barracuda are the favorite muscle cars of the Diva of Driving.

According to the affadavit, Jasinski agreed to sell 2,000 oxycodone pills to a cooperating government witness. He flew in Logan International Airport from his home in Florida, where he met the witness and drove to a strip mall in North Reading. When they were confronted by DEA agents, Jasinski struggle and threw a sock full of the pills under a parked car.He then gave up his Miranda Rights and told the agents “that for the past several months he had been obtaining thousands of pills of oxycodone and reselling them to customers all along the east coast.”

As you’ve probably already guessed, he was using his $500,000 ‘Big Brother’ prize to by copious amounts of pills.

He made his inital court appearence on Monday and has a detention hearing on Thursday. In the meantime, he is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals.

Blast’s news department is starting up a weekly world news podcast to augment our Terra blog.

Our own Sachin Seth will be narrating the episodes, so don’t miss out!

According to LAPD records, the 23-year-old was pulled over and arrested at 3:45 a.m., booked in Van Nuys jail, and released on $5,000 bail at 10:30 a.m.

“It was your basic DUI. Our traffic officers driving down the street spotted her and pulled her over,” Sgt. Sal Ogaz told People. “She was cooperative and there were no issues with her arrest.”

Pratt, who was officially charged with a misdemeanor, had been at Holly Montag’s birthday party at the LA club Empire earlier that night.

“its my sissy @hollymontags bday party!” she Tweeted around 11 p.m. “just finished dinner and going to Empire but im pretty tired aka yes i am the party pooper ”

And so, another starlet (if you can give a reality TV star that title) adds drunk driving to her list of non-talents. Remind me never to drive in Hollywood.

The New York Daily News reported that Lindsay is working to file a restraining order against her father, Michael. He recently told X17 he plans to see a judge about helping Lindsay this week.

“If I can’t get a conservatorship, then I’m going to take her to an undisclosed location and get her straight,” he said. “But I know I’m gonna get charged [with] kidnapping.”

Michael was also on the Maury Povich Show to publicly commincate with his daughter. He looked into the camera and said, “I’m gonna do anything and everything I have to save your life, whether mom likes it, the public likes it, or anyone.”

Mama Lohan, on the other hand, just wants him to shut up, particularly since he told reporters Lindsay is addicted to prescription pills.

“Michael Lohan needs to focus on being a parent, paying child support, of which he is six months behind, and making up for all the years he was an absentee dad,” Dina told People magazine. “And stop going on national television talking about his children publicly.”

And so, LiLo is trying to protect herself. A source told People “Lindsay is actively getting a restraining order, her lawyers have already been contacted. She’s scared. This is really serious.”

Meghan's Twiiter pic.

In either a desperate bid for attention or just a stupid mistake, Meghan McCain posted a provocative picture of herself on her Twitter account, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In response to the negative press, Meghan had this to say:

“Could it be it’s because I have breasts? Because for those of you who didn’t know, I have two. They’re larger than some women’s and not as big as others. I don’t usually show off my cleavage — as I did in the photos I posted — which I will admit is not the smartest thing I have ever done.”

The ‘every woman has them, what’s the big deal’ approach – a favorite of scantily clad women everywhere. But she went on.

“For years I have struggled to accept the fact that the way I look in a tank top comes off more ’sexual’ than a flat-chested woman. And once again I was reassured by the media that someone with my cup size should always be covered up. Or what, I’ll be seen as a slut?”

The ‘woe is me, I’m attrative’ approach – even more annoying.

Although she seems to be denying any real wrongdoing, she said she has learned a valuable lesson about the line between public and private use of social media. Then she wrapped the whole mess up with this gem:

“I just wanted to get that off my chest.”

Zing!

Diwali’s roots vary throughout India. As one traverses India’s gorgeous landscape, one can uncover a plethora of different mythological tales to explain Diwali’s origins.

Many see it as a day to celebrate Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, by adorning her alter at the temple with money or pictures of material goods. Some gamble on Diwali too, because, as the legend goes, the goddess Parvati played dice with her husband on Diwali and declared anyone who gambled on the same day would fair extremely well.

The most popular tale

The most widely told Diwali tale goes like this:

Prince Rama was chosen by his father to become the new king of Ayodhya. The Queen Kaikeyi however, though initially ecstatic, is poisoned by her servant and begins to fear for the future of Rama’s brother, Bharata. The servant leads her to beleive Rama will do terrible things to Bharata to keep power in the kingdom. Because Kaikeyi saved her husband’s life earlier, the king promises to comply with her wish that he banish Rama from Ayodhya.

Rama obeys and, along with his wife Sita, descends into the dark, gloomy and ominous forest. While there his wife is kidnapped by the demon Ravan, the ten-armed, ten-headed king from Sri Lanka. Rama, devastated and depressed, sets out on a mission to find his lost wife. When he eventually does, after conquering several emotional and physical obstacles over the course of years, he kills Ravan and retrieves his wife. Rama and Sita then journey back towards Ayodhya.

As the two near their kingdom, it is pitch black out. No moon and, of course, no street lights. Villagers hear of their approach and, to help them find their way, light candles outside their homes so they could safely find their way home.

When the two finally find their way back, with the help of kind villagers, Rama is crowned as king.

And thus began the celebration of Diwali; the festival of lights.

I’m off to celebrate. Happy Diwali!

After LiLo showed up an hour and a half late, Judge Marsha M. Revel told her, “I ordered you into court today because I wanted to speak to you directly. I don’t want to get any more notices again [that you might be in violation of probation], no warrants … where you’re thumbing your nose at the court.”

Apparently Lohan had been missing alcohol education classes while working out of the country and had a warrent for her arrest earlier this year, which was later dismissed as a misunderstanding. Judge Revel ordered Lohan to seek approval from the court before leaving the country for work again.

On a compassionate note, she also added, “I’m rooting for you to successfully complete probation.”

Lohan, on the other hand, had almost nothing to say. She simply replied “yes” when asked if she understood the proceedings. Hopefully she does, because it seems like we’ve all been “rooting” for her to succeed for a while and it still hasn’t happened.

The hearing was held to determine if the three will “stand trial for conspiring to illegally provide Smith with controlled substances,” the AP reported. Brighthaupt said, “This whole situation — I just have to say something and get it out of me or I’m going to die.”

He testified that he witnessed Stern – Smith’s boyfriend and lawyer – inject were with a sedative after she begged for a sleep aid. Brighthaupt also said he saw Smith inject herself twice and Eroshevich – her psychiatrist -  inject her once, but he did not know what the injections contained.

The bodyguard also said that Eroshevich provided Smith with a bottle of chloral hydrate to help her sleep when her son died in 2006, and that he also saw Eroshevich bring Smith a bottle of liquid that she started to drink by spoon, but then it was “straight bottle to the mouth, a gulp.” Chloral hydrate was indentified during the autopsy as the primary cause of Smith’s death.

Brighthaupt has also that Stern repeatedly injected Smith, and told of one particular instance when he found Stern melting Valium pills with a ligher and spoon, then draw it up in a syringe and inject it into Smith.

Stern’s lawyer told the AP he believes Brighthaupt has reason to lie, but did not explain. Like many people in Smith’s life, he’s wrapped tightly in the legal battle and was involved in the fight for her estate.

Meanwhile, Larry Birkhead also testified on Wednesday and proved through DNA evidence that he is the father of Smith’s daughter.

The hearings have continued today.

Between friends’ houses and arcades, I played everything growing up, but what I had at my house was different. I owned an NES, but a Genesis instead of SNES. I owned a Dreamcast and a PlayStation but an Xbox instead of PlayStation 2. Now I focus on PlayStation 3 instead of 360, but occasionally play Wii.

Though I admit I mostly play Wii for Virtual Console lately. And I recently bought the retro video game player on Think Geek.

And all along, I always loved PC games. It was a victory to figure out the perfect Autoexec.bat and Config.sys file so that I could get most of the games to run on my old 486SX PC that ran Windows 3.1 – it came with 4MB of RAM, but we upgraded it to a whopping 8MB and added a CD-ROM drive.

One thing I did miss out on: I didn’t play the Final Fantasy series growing up.

There have been some amazing games made lately, but nothing has ever sucked me into a virtual world like some of the games I played when I was young. Even with the realistic sounds and graphics of today’s games, it was the nuances of childhood games that stuck.

Here is my list of the 10 games I played the most.

10. The “Strike” franchise (Genesis)

Jungle Strike, Urban Strike and Desert Strike. Three buttons, three weapons. You move, shoot, reload and hope for an armor crate eventually.

The games are the purest example of simplicity. There’s some story mixed in, but really these are arcade games. They’re fun, challenging, addictive, and satisfying.

9. Contra (Genesis)

Up up, down down, left right, left right, B-A-B-A, Start. That got you 30 lives, instead of the impossible three that you started with.

Though, I beat the game on 4 lives on the Think Geek retro player recently. It’s like riding a bike. Just get that first “Spread” weapon and never lose it.

Contra is a shooting-based platformer with sequels that range from impossibly difficult to absurdly bad. But the original stands as one of the best games ever made, and it was one of the first multiplayer action games that felt rewarding enough to repeat.

Because everyone wants to relive that ride home in a helicopter.

8. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)

Do I really need to explain much here? The platformer genre never got any better after this. The Mario Bros. were in their golden age here.

Mushroom houses, whistles, hammer brothers, sand, water, fire and floating gunships combine to send you on a trip you’ll not soon forget.

This was also a big game to hit with Game Genie codes, especially in — I think it was — World 4 with all the sky levels.

7. Shining Force II (Genesis)

Shining Force will make the list twice. Remember, this is a list of games I dedicated the most time to. Shining Force II was a lot harder than the original Shining Force. It wasn’t as intuitive, and though I played the original a lot more often, it was the sequel that eluded me for a long time, especially after the Sega Channel dropped the game from its list.

For the longest time, I couldn’t get past a certain point where I had to interact with a hollow oak tree to obtain an ancient caravan that would let me progress further in the game. It was a shock when I finally figured it out.

6. Fighters Anthology (PC/DOS)

The entire PC combat flight simulation genre came to an apex here. Jane’s and Electronic Arts had success with both Navy Fighters and Advanced Tactical Fighter. So when they combined the games into one title and added several more campaigns, the result was a three-inch thick box with an (unnecessary) novel-sized manual and two CD-ROMs.

The game was sick. You could spend days flying around Vietnam, Russia, Ukraine, China and even Cuba. You career spanned some 50 years, from F-4’s in Nam to F-14s in a 1998 Russian invasion of Ukraine to F-22’s and X-31’s in Egypt in the early 21st century.

The game also had a rich following from third parties who developed an assortment of modifications, including new plans, weapons, buildings and even nukes.

5. Shining Force (Genesis)

This game, too, disappeared from Sega Channel. It disappeared before I could beat it. Years later, I would trade in some then worthless Dreamcast games for the Shining Force cartridge.

It was actually emotional to beat this game. The strategy, the sacrifice. The game told a story and forced the imagination into overdrive.

4. Doom and Doom 2(PC/DOS)

I still play these next four games whenever I can. Doom started it all for me. It was the first game I ever installed from a CD-ROM.

I played the shareware first episode of Doom for months. It was only nine levels (I forget if the bonus level was in the shareware), but there was something about shooting imps and shotgun-toting former human sergeants that’s still addicting.

We didn’t get The Ultimate Doom, which included the three original Doom episodes and a fourth called “Thy Flesh Consumed,” until years after we bought Doom 2.

Enter Doom 2. Now there’s 32 levels.

The levels were better, the enemies were more plentiful and there were two new weapons. I’d brag — I have gone through the entire game without cheats on Nightmare. I probably can’t do it anymore.

The only way we ever improved on Doom 2 was by playing Doom 2 for Windows 95 over our home network, without lag.

Be thankful kids, Doom’s deathmatch paved a blood-stained road that leads right to your Slayer matches in Halo 3.

3. Phantasy Star IV

There’s a healthy mix of action and RPG in this mix of games, but nothing (except maybe the next title) can possibly match the depth I found in Phantasy Star IV.

Not only was the game a graphical wonder with depth of character development and attack technique, but it was a wicked long game to beat. The game goes on forever, and you can’t just skip through it. You have to fight every battle and gain every character level to even have a chance at taking on the final boss.

Phantasy Star IV is also in this sort of cyberpunk post-modern fantasy world with remnants of ancient, advanced technology despite the primitive, agrarian lifestyle of the characters. That makes more sense if you played Phantasy Star I-III, but the fourth installment was the best.

It was such a perfectly made game. It was stylized but not over the top. It had dialog you could understand. It had character development. I dare you not to shed a tear when Alys dies.

2. Shadowrun (Genesis)

Karma is something you earn.

I still wish there was a 16-bit sequel to Shadowrun. I didn’t like the popular SNES Shadowrun RPG. It was the totally different Genesis game that owned me.

It’s all about depth. Character development, conversations and interactions, weapons, magic, guns, computers, dragons, elves, trolls and evil mega corporations in 21st century Seattle result in one of my favorite games and #2 on my most played list. You could even ignore the plot and become a mercenary or freelance computer hacker.

This was Shadowrun. There was as much reading as there was shooting. Don’t even talk to me about the newer Xbox 360/PC game that happens to be called Shadowrun. It’s a disgrace. It’s pitiful. It’s sacrilegious.

1. Tie Fighter Collector’s Edition (PC/DOS)

The hair on the back of my neck stood up and a fight or flight response triggered the first time Admiral Harkov betrayed me to die in a Rebel minefield while flying Tie Interceptor Alpha 1.

I was doomed. The Victory Class Star Destroyer Protector was firing on me and a Rebel cruiser dropped out of hyperspace to back up the traitors. I, a loyal Imperial naval aviator, was singled out for a creative extermination.

Then the cavalry came. The Modified Frigate Osprey, carrying shielded Tie Interceptors from Theta group arrived to pick me up from the clutches of certain death.

I was born after the original Star Wars trilogy and way before Episodes I-III. I didn’t read the books growing up. It was this game, which still ranks as one of the best computer games ever released, that gave me my Star Wars education and left me rooting for the Empire from then onward.

Tie Fighter Collector’s CD puts you in the cockpit of the Empire and immerses the player in a world of intrigue, open war and piracy. The full voice acting (one of the first games to do it) and sound effects are forever burned into my mind. And when the throngs of dementia take me later in life and I end up spouting off “Die Rebel Scum” and “Peace between the Dimok and Ripoblus!” in my nursing home, you’ll know why.

The Palestinian Authority is urging the UN to reprimand Israel for the grave violations of international and human rights law it committed during the Gaza war in the winter of 2008. The Palestinians previously, by influence of the U.S., decided to defer action on the UN report that incriminated them as well.

Israel has publicly rejected the report as falsified and biased. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki however stands by the investigation as an accurate depiction of war crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza region.

“The world has for too long witnessed Israel’s impunity, knowing well that this has been repeatedly fuelled by the lack of punishment and accountability…we must break this obscene cycle” he said during a debate on Wednesday, the BBC reports.

Palestinian authorities had previously agreed, by way of U.S. pressure (no surprise), to defer action on the UN report. This led to, according to BBC correspondent Barbara Plett, a “public outcry.”

Gabriela Shalev, Israel’s envoy to the UN, stands by Israel’s claims that the report was heavily biased towards Palestinians and that Israel had a right to defend itself from repeated Hamas rocket fire last winter. “I regret to say that the Goldstone report is one-sided, biased and therefore wrong – just as the forum and mandate that established its mission,” she said, Al-Jazeera reports.

U.S. authorities, according to the BBC, also believe the report was biased, claiming blame was placed too heavily on Israel. That is why they urged the Palestinian Authority to defer action.

Grave violations

The 2009 report found that Israel had used unnecessary force and failed to protect civilians during the 22-day conflict in the Gaza strip last winter.

Hamas is also incriminated in the report for allegedly firing rockets at Israeli civilians, which is why Israel claims it went on the offensive – self-defense.

According to human rights groups, nearly 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed during the conflict. You can see the numbers there.

Judge for yourselves! I think some sort of UN action must be taken against Israel for this complete disregard of the well-being of a collective group of peoples. The U.S. needs to recognize that, too.

The acting and writing duo from Cambridge share a 10th grandfather on their fathers’ sides, William Knowlton of Ipswich, making them 10th cousins once removed.

“We suspected they might be related since both of them had ancestry going back to colonial New England,” said geneologist Chris Child.

Rhonda McClure, another geneologist involved in the research, told the Herald she saw Affleck filming in Copley Square recently and just decided to look into it. McClure and Child also discovered that Affleck is related to Princess Diana and 16 U.S. presidents, including Obama. Similarly, Damon is related to “six or seven” presidents.

While interesting, this doesn’t really mean much. Anyone with colonial ancestry is likely to be distantly related to a lot people. Damon and Affleck’s friendship is certainly a lot stronger than their blood connection. Still, it’s rather nifty.

I thought it was an odd decision. Definitely. Especially given the other nominees which include the Cluster Munition Coalition, a group that strives to clean up cluster bombs and decrease accidental civilian war deaths and Dr. Denis Mukwege, an inspired young Conoglese physician who opened a hospital to treat female victims of sexual abuse.

Inspiring, to say the least. Deserving candidates, no doubt.

And then there’s the victor, Barack Obama, a Harvard law school graduate, community organizer, civil rights lawyer, law professor, junior senator and president of the most “powerful” country in the world. A stunning resume, but where are the accomplishments? The peace work, the advocacy, the results?

That’s what so many are asking. What so many are wondering. And while I, a supporter of Obama, do not think he deserved the award based solely on his accomplishments to date, I do believe the award was given for a reason, and a just, sane reason at that.

Innovative decision to award Obama prize

Now hear me out. Obama won the prize not just for what he has achieved in less than 10 months (which is quite a bit if you look at it with an open mind) but for how he changed the game and reshaped the face of a nation so hated and demonized for so many years. For the potential of peace on a plethora of fronts.

Obama is in the process of sewing together the gaping wound that is America’s international reputation; not an easy feat. It’s something that no other modern Democratic or Republican candidate could do in two terms, let alone a quarter of one.

The fact that the Norway-based committee stressed it made the prize decision based on Obama’s efforts to date was a little strange. I don’t really believe that to be the case, nor does anyone else, even the hardest and strongest Obama supporters. Obama doesn’t believe it either, rightfully so.

Strengthening the international reputation of the most “powerful”nation in the world contributes to peace in many ways. His efforts toward nuclear disarmament are commendable. His decision to end the missile-defense system in Poland led to strengthened ties with Russia, a nuclear powerhouse. His administration has striven for peace with India, another nuclear nation.

His efforts to strengthen relationships and mend ties between Americans and Muslims was politically risky, but so right and groundbreaking morally.

His confusion on Afghanistan is warranted, no one knows what the hell is needed there, and the answer given (”more troops”) isn’t a surprising one. But he’s taking his time and not rushing.

Some view him as the “do-nothing” president or the president of “inaction.” I view him thoughtful and rational, and I’d rather he take weeks to decide the fate of thousands of American soldiers than make a quick decision (like the last guy) and put so many soldiers in harm’s way just because of political pressure from both sides of the spectrum, without thinking it through and weighing the options. That’s called reasoning.

His no-nonsense discussions with Iran, without preconditions, a proposition he was so ridiculed for during his campaign, showed the world he is committed to nuclear disarmament and a more peaceful Mid-East.

His speech in Cairo, though predictable, reaffirmed that idea. His quoting the Qu’ran was a great way to connect with an overwhelmingly large global group so alienated by American ideological extremists.

We elected him for that reason. Because he’s intelligent, thoughtful, peaceful, multi-racial and ambitious. It’s been less than 10 months. How many ambitions are achieved in 10 months? None. But the path to realizing those ambitions has been laid.

Oz

Let me make it a bit clearer by using a crude but wonderfully applicable analogy.

Think of Obama as Dorothy and his path to peace as the yellow brick road. When Obama crash landed in the White House after a whirlwind electoral campaign, he was ambitious, excited and ready to overhaul the system. Soon he realized that that’s not possible, at least not as quick as he thought. There are hundreds, if not thousands of people to please and political and social hurdles to vault.

Just as the Afghanistan war became more brutal and a reassessing of the plan was needed (just as Dorothy tried to find out from the munchkins how she could get back to Kansas), Obama was given hope, something he’d given, in abundance, to millions around the world.

The Peace Prize committee are the munchkins, they are Glinda (the good witch). They gave Obama direction, thanked him for his bravery and pushed him, inspired him (as he inspired us) to continue his work. To keep on going. After all, he doesn’t want to be the guy who won the prize and did nothing to deserve it. And no, he’s not already that guy.

There will be obstacles (the wicked witch, the fake Wizard of Oz) however Obama/Dorothy prevail in the end, defeating the evils that stand in their ways. Yes you can think he was awarded prematurely, but only if you view the award as something given only for hard results. More results will come, the award is faith in that.

In fact, the award was given because he’s changed the world’s mood. He’s made global citizens happier and more tolerant in times of economic uncertainty, global racially charged fear, terrorism and war.

Uninspired criticism

Today I came across an article on the British website timesonline.co.uk written by broadcaster/writer Minette Marrin. She claims, wrongly in my opinion, that Obama should never have accepted the peace prize. That he is undeserving, and she compares his victory to that of Henry Kissenger’s in 1973.

Ms. Marrin, that’s cold. It’s unfortunate that you can’t see past the present day.

Marrin ventures another guess as to why Obama accepted the prize, a very odd one. She ventures that the president accepted the prize just because two fellow Democrats, Al Gore and Jimmy Carter, also boast the prestigious medal in their respective trophy libraries.

As if the award were some piece of trivial memorabilia, some baseball card, that an 11-year-old pines for just because his best buddies have the same one. She then quotes an “American commentator” who said “it is like accepting an Oscar now for being likely to make an Oscar-winning movie next year.” A degradation of the award that is insulting to past winners and childish, to say the least.

Marrin goes on to ask “Can it be that Obama is already intoxicated with the exuberance of his own celebrity? For that is all he is so far — a well-meaning super-celebrity.” Well-meaning? See the second section of this piece.

However there are many who wonder if Obama’s ego has been so inflated that he believes himself the savior of America and the world.

But to those of you who ask that, I ask why is he so “humbled” by the award? Why is it the man, the president, started off his acceptance and justification speech by talking about his two children? Yes, he has speech writers, but only he heard what his kids said that morning. And he remembered.

Yes Obama is a little egotistical, he is, after all, the president. But don’t forget, we gave him that ego (see: road to ‘08 election).

Finally, for those who believe Obama didn’t deserve this prize, you hold a valid view. I too believe Dr. Mukwege or the Cluster Munition Coalition deserve an award of recognition for peace work.

My argument is that Obama’s victory isn’t unwarranted or undeserving. His accomplishments to date are impressive, his future is full of possibilities and the peace prize was awarded to him by a panel “instructed to encourage international co-operation, arms reduction and acts of engagement” for his initiative and to ensure he keeps working towards his, and our, ultimate goal.

Peace.

The famed Louvre museum quickly resolved its quarrel with Egypt yesterday by agreeing to return the steles Egyptian antiquities chief Zahi Hawass accused them of purchasing on the black market, the New York Times reports.

French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand organized a special meeting to make a final decision on the fate of the five relics. The committee came to the conclusion that Egypt had provided sufficient evidence to prove the pieces were stolen and thus, made a unanimous decision to return them in good faith.

Mitterrand had previously told media that he was in favor of returning the pieces as long as proof that they were stolen was provided by Egypt.

Mitterrand also told media that the relics were not purchased on the black market. In fact, he said, four of the pieces were purchased from the Maspero gallery in France in 2000 and the other from an auction in Paris three years later.

The five estranged frescoes are believed to be from the tomb of Tetaki, a 3,200-year-old cleric who was laid to rest in the Valley of Kings near Luxor.

Egypt says it will resume relations with the museum after the relics are returned home. The French culture ministry is optimistic that the whole ordeal will be resolved in a matter of weeks.