Category: News

It’s a sad day for those of us who grew up in the 80s:

Writer-director John Hughes, Hollywood’s youth impresario of the 1980s and ’90s who captured and cornered the teen and preteen market with such favorites as “Home Alone,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” died Thursday, a spokeswoman said. He was 59.

Hughes died of a heart attack during a morning walk in Manhattan, Michelle Bega said. He was in New York to visit family.

via ’80s teen flick director John Hughes dies in NYC – Yahoo! News.

I love America as much as the next guy, but sometimes American corporations make me so mad… I just don’t even know what to do.

Here’s a couple examples:

– Xcel Energy, an energy company in the American Midwest, is hurt and angry that people might have the nerve to use solar power instead of (or in addition to) the company’s electricity. Their solution? Charge people for not using them!

– Did you know that many companies have arrangement with AT&T to provide discounted wireless services to their employees? Well, guess what? To get the discount, you have to pay a $36 activation fee!

This last thing isn’t about an American corporation, but it bothers me nevertheless: you know those American flag lapel pins that Barack Obama got in trouble for not wearing during the campaign? Well, British police officers have been wearing similar (British) ones in support of their troops overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan… until now. Someone found them “offensive”, and now the cops are being ordered to cease wearing them.

What’s with Europeans? I “get” that they think Americans are weird for flying the flag everywhere. And I can even almost see their point. But there are people who live in Britain who find the flag offensive? Really? Really? Sure, America’s got a few neo-Nazis, Communists and Black Panther types that feel the same way, but they’re hardly numerous enough to be taken seriously.

Europeans are weird.

UPDATE: The Metropolitan Police changed its mind; the Union flag lapel pins are now OK.

Dammit! Would people stop dying, please?

Television pitchman Billy Mays — who built his fame by appearing on commercials and infomercials promoting household products and gadgets — died Sunday, FOX News confirms.

Mays was found unresponsive by his wife inside his Tampa, Fla., home at 7:45 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Tampa Police Department.

Police said there were no signs of forced entry to Mays’ residence and foul play is not suspected. Authorities said an autopsy should be complete by Monday afternoon.

via Report: ‘Infomercial King’ Billy Mays Found Dead in Home – FOXNews.com.

So… Perez Hilton got into a scuffle with the Black Eyed Peas’ Will.I.Am and some of his entourage this past weekend.

Hilton then called Will.I.Am a “fucking faggot” (important note: Perez Hilton is gayer than a handbag full of rainbows). This comment got him in trouble with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation; one of their spokespeople called Hilton’s words “vulgar anti-gay slurs that feed a climate of hatred and intolerance toward our community” (another important note: not only is Hilton gay, he once worked for GLADD). He has since apologized, but in his apology he noted that he was not apologizing to GLADD.

So now Hilton announced that he is suing Black Eyed Peas’ manager Polo Molina for various bullshit “pain and suffering” issues. He also announced that he’d be donating any proceeds from the suit to the Matthew Shepard Foundation (note: Matthew Shepard was a gay student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and beaten to death, thus becoming the subject of yet another sanctimonious and preachy HBO movie – The Laramie Project). Only, the Foundation says that they don’t want his money.

How bizarre is this whole story?

Farrah Fawcett, who made the 70s TV show Charlie’s Angels a massive hit and who for many personified the “All-American girl” look, has passed away from cancer. She was 62. Her longtime companion Ryan O’Neal and close friend Alana Stewart were at her side.

Charlie’s Angels debuted in September 1976, and the show became an instant hit for ABC, largely due to the presence of Fawcett (billed as “Farah Fawcett-Majors” due to her then marriage to The Six Million Dollar Man‘s Lee Majors). Fawcett’s image appeared on thousands of lunch boxes, t-shirts, and perhaps the most iconic poster in American history. Her image was used to sell toothpaste, shampoo and wigs… and even a specialty plumbing device called “Farrah’s Faucet”.

She would shock America by quitting Angels after the first season. Fawcett would appear in a bunch of forgettable films, including her first film, Somebody Killed Her Husband, which critics said should have been called Somebody Killed Her Career. Critical acclaim would finally come for her portrayal of an abused wife in the 1984 TV movie The Burning Bed.

Goodbye, Farrah. You will be missed, angel!

The mystery of dozens of crop circles appearing all over Tasmania has been solved… and the culprit appears to be stoned wallabies!

It seems that the wallabies (smaller cousins of the kangaroo) were eating poppies, getting high, then hopping around in circles, causing the mysterious crop circles to form.

Australia apparently produces around 50 percent of the world’s (legitimate) poppy supply for morphine and other opiate-based drugs.

Read more here.

jimcofer.com is officially the last website to report it, but what the hey…  Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson’s sidekick of more than 30 years, passed away at the age of 86. This is probably not much of a surprise to many folks, as McMahon was in poor health for at least the last two years. Still, he will be missed.

Not only was McMahon a regular on The Tonight Show, he also hosted Star Search for several years, co-hosted Bloopers and Practical Jokes with Dick Clark (back when bloopers were unseen by most folks), and was a regular at the annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. McMahon was also a spokesman for American Family Publishers (contrary to all the jokes made at the time, which always mentioned Publisher’s Clearinghouse).

Enjoy this clip of McMahon, who had a wee bit too much to drink before going on that night:

That clip is priceless… not only because it’s funny, but because of the unedited nature of the clip. Had this happened today, you know the producers would cut this scene for not being “professional” enough.

Sweet news for hipster Charlotteans:

The managers of The Penguin haven’t allowed the recession hold them back: They’re opening a second restaurant this fall.

Greg Auten, the minority partner who’s in charge of designing the new menu, said they’ll call the new restaurant “Pinky’s.” It will be located at the corner of Morehead Street and Freedom Drive, a few blocks from Bank of America Stadium near uptown, and he hopes it will open by November.

“We’re really excited about it,” Auten said. “It’s not going to be The Penguin, but it’s going to be a cool place, too.”

Although, to be frank… I’m worried about a restaurant serving fried pickles being so close to Lisa’s work. That could be bad!

via Penguin managers to open 2nd restaurant | CharlotteObserver.com.