Hello, everybody. "The Dark Knight" may have surpassed "Spider-Man 3" to have the all-time opening weekend gross with $158 million, but the big story that stemmed from it was that star Christian Bale was arrested but not charged for assault on his mother and sister in London where the film had its premiere. A statement from lawyer Simon Smith says, "Christian Bale attended a London police station today, on a voluntary basis, in order to assist with an allegation that had been made against him to the police by his mother and sister. Mr. Bale who denies the allegation, co-operated throughout, gave his account in full of the events in question, and has left the station without any charge being made against him by the police. At this time, there will be no further comment by Mr. Bale." Bale was out on bail and will be at the Barcelona "Dark Knight" premiere on Wednesday.

As I said, "Dark Knight" opened big with a record $158 million, easily enough to overtake "Spider-Man 3's" $151 million haul two weeks ago. The first "Spider-Man" in 2002 earned $114 in its opening weekend, and in the May 18-19, 2002 "Plain Truth", I gloated about it in yet another gem from the archives as the tenth anniversary of The Allen Report/AllenBlog continues:

Now, to a certain film by George Lucas with one of the most famous movie themes of all time: "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones". It opened on Thursday with midnight screenings across the country and yes, eager fans (most who probably don't have a job) have lined up for days, even weeks anticipating the release.

But yes, it does have some mega competition with "Spider-Man". We already know about its huge $114 million take opening weekend (easily beating "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone's" $93 million), and the over $200 million they raked in in one week. And of course, the receipts will continue to trickle in on the international side; it's well on its way to make the all-time Top Ten. To make things better, sales of the action figures from the film have grossed over $1 billion. That's right -- $1 BILLION!!! Not since the "Superman" or "Batman" series of films (save the Adam West/Burt Ward one) or even "X-Men" -- also from Spidey's creator Stan Lee -- have we ever seen so much money accumulated from a movie based on a popular comic book character, and that may continue next year with "The Hulk" and "X-Men 2".

Oh, speaking of "Batman", I remember seeing a throng of people with Batman shirts coming out of a previous showing when it came out in 1989 after buying my ticket for the next one. This was at the old Goldstream Theaters, by the way.

It was simple: Many of us have been familiar with Spider-Man for decades from the comics and the old cartoon series, and the long, long wait was indeed worth it for the movie to come out. And speaking of the movie, those fans didn't need to line up outside the multiplex for weeks. All they did was stand in line for minutes to buy their tickets right up front (or on the Internet in advance if they wanted to), get their munchies, take their seats, bore themselves with 15 minutes of trailers, and on with the show!

By the way, the sequel has already been planned; filming starts early next year and May 4, 2004 is the date you might want to mark on your calendar. That's when it's guaranteed to be released.

As to whether or not "Attack of the Clones" will beat "Spider-Man's" opening weekend record? According to George Lucas, not by a longshot. His film is shown in 1,500 less screens than the web slinger's, so even though those loser geeks have stood in line for God knows how long does not mean it will topple over $114 million this weekend. But it has made over $30 million in its first day.

"Spider-Man" would hold on to that $114 million record for two years, until "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" collected a whole lot more booty: $135.6 million worth, followed by the aforementioned "Spider-Man 3."

Of course the huge contribution to "Dark Knight's" record-breaking success is Heath Ledger's posthumous performance of the Joker, which puts all others to shame (I'm talking to you, Jack Nicholson and the late Cesar Romero). And already, the early Oscar buzz for him has already begun.

The four-year indecency drama known as "Nipplegate" is officially buried, and Justin Timberlake poking fun at it on the ESPY Awards may have been the final chapter. On Monday, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the Federal Communications Commission's original $550,000 fine against CBS for Timberlake exposing Janet Jackson's breast and pierced nipple at the very end of the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show.

When the whole thing blew into proportions four years ago, I made the indecency debate the subject of "Safe Route, Sleazy Route 2", a special commentary I did sometime in spring 2004. And once again from our archives, here it is in an abbreviated version:

Indecency (n.) Shamelessness, shamefulness, offensiveness, outrageousness.

For decades, that word has appeared on and off the television and radio airwaves. On broadcast television, however, the networks and stations have done everything in their power not to cross that boundary, except of course if you're Jerry Springer. And with the exception of Howard Stern, radio personalities have always kept their content in good taste, especially if there's children listening to them.

But on Sunday, February 1, 2004, in front of sports' biggest stage, everything changed forever.

Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake heated things up during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show with Timberlake performing "Rock Your Body." Right at the very end when Timberlake sang the line "I'm gonna have you naked by the end of this song", he ripped off Janet's top showing off more than she wasn't expected. A portion of her red lace bra was supposed to be revealed, but instead, her right breast and a pierced nipple ring were exposed to a worldwide television audience. The two in shock and awe mode left the stage in disbelief, while across the country, telephone lines immediately jammed up CBS' switchboards. Later, the apologies started to flow.

The next day, the madness began. Network and cable news programs as well as "Entertainment Tonight" and other similar shows around the world were all over the incident with reactions and discussions, while foreign papers showed photographic proof. And of course, the late night jokesters wasted no time running Janet and Justin into the ground. The Federal Communications Commission, however, wasn't laughing. At the end of the week a record 200,000 letters of complaint were received, compared to the 60,000 over Nicole Richie mouthing off at the Billboard Music Awards in December.

The FCC began investigating into all this, and decided to up the indecency fines ranging from $27,500 to $275,000. As a result, CBS and ABC had to put five-minute and five-second delays on their respective Grammy and Academy Awards telecasts in case what happened at the Super Bowl would never, ever do so again.

Now, the debate of how far is too far on TV has been waging for decades, going all the way back to the Golden Age. The word "pregnant" was very obsecne for 1953, when "I Love Lucy" did an episode in which Lucy gives birth (the "P" word was never uttered, by the way). Flash forward to the mid-'60s, with "Peyton Place" as the first primetime soap opera to include sexual dialogues to their storylines. The boundary-pushing "All In The Family" and "Charlie's Angels" with their pre-cable term "Jiggle TV" would later follow in the '70s. And in the '90s, with Fox already on the air and UPN and The WB to be next, syndication's "The Jerry Springer Show" and ABC's "NYPD Blue" were next to push the envelope even further.

As for cable and satellite? Well, almost all the rules have been broken there with WWE wrestling, MTV, HBO, pay-per-view, and soft-core porn movies on Cinemax and Showtime late at night.

Unless if you happen to live in a medium-sized market like Anchorage or a small one like Fairbanks, you know the morning and afternoon radio personalities have always kept their act together, especially with young children listening. But if you happen to be in say, New York, it's a completely different story.

In an August 2002 "Plain Truth", I began with the phrase "Sleaze ya later!", referring to New York afternoon DJs Opie and Anthony being fired from their station for broadcasting a Virginia couple having sex from St. Patrick's Cathedral. I said the two have been at the bottom of the radio food chain for years; even Clear Channel wouldn't hire them if their lives depended on it.

One person who has really felt the wrath of the FCC for years has been Howard Stern, whose debauchery have collected millions of dollars in fines and the other month cost key stations owned by -- who else? -- Clear Channel. The latter happened in the wake of Janet and Justin; the previous day, Florida area DJ Bubba the Love Sponge (formerly Todd Clem) was fired by Clear Channel. The crude acts on his show, by the way, led to a fine totaling $750,000.

As for Stern, it didn't stop there. Clear Channel have recently pulled the plug on him permanently, even though the Infinity stations will keep him on the air for who knows when.

But several "clean" radio personalities including Ryan Seacrest have always stayed far away from the "shock jock" antics the other guys have been doing just for one thing: Ratings. That's because they have them.

After all, it's been never like this 30 or 40 years ago with the AM stations before the Top 40, urban, and rock formats migrated to FM in the late '70s and early '80s.

Back to television now. About those hot and steamy love scenes on daytime soap operas? Well, unless you watch those "telenovelas" on Univision, they might have to be cooled down quite much.

And as for Springer? It's his daily (or nightly) rauchiness that made his show become the Worst TV Show of All-Time according to "TV Guide." Like many of us, I was hooked on that show as it was well on its way to becoming the #1 talk show, beating Oprah Winfrey. Of course I liked its early years when it tackled serious topics like the "mole people" or a family living in a car. But sometime later Oprah got the ratings back, while the brawls that made Jerry's show famous were toned down thanks to beefed-up security.

To make things even worse, the jazzy theme music and talk show style were out and the WWE attitude was in. And then, it became more idiotic. Besides the usual "Jerry! Jerry!" chants, there was "Fight Naked!", "Go to Oprah!" (if somebody from the audience said something serious to the guests), "Sit down loser!", "You suck!", etc., not to mention the constant sound effects like a cow mooing or the boxing bell whenever the guests start to get it on. There's also that stupid hillbilly music which has the audience in a brief hoedown; a girl named Angie (or somebody else) as their pole dancer; and the next-to-last segment which is half-insults, half-"Girls Gone Wild" with the females flashing for "Jerry beads." On one episode, a woman in her mid-60's -- that's right, her mid-60's!! -- did just that! Oh well, at least the "Final Thought" has always remained since day one.

Just like "Access Hollywood" (which I explained about in "Safe Route, Sleazy Route I"), "Jerry Springer" is becoming more and more and more like a comedy and freak show than a talk show. I wouldn't be surprised if their current season is their last.

By the way, a couple years ago Bill O'Reilly did a primetime special called "The Corruption of the American Child." During the TV segment, no clips of Springer were shown, not even a mention of the show itself. Maybe he was too chicken or something.

The special didn't even bring up video games, which are a part of television. Sure, Pac-Man, Mario, Zelda, Mega Man, and "Final Fantasy" have challenged and amazed us over the years, but "Resident Evil" and "Grand Theft Auto" had pre-teens coming back for more...more and more violence, that is.

Decades ago, everything we watched on TV or listened to the radio seemed very wholesome for almost all ages. But as trends changed over the years we had to follow suit as we were trying to break away from the same old rut.

So, as far as the "I" word -- indecency -- is concerned, Janet and Justin may have started the war, but this is going to be one battle that'll continue to be waged for a long time...or until John Kerry is elected President in November, whichever comes first.

Indecency is one of the many exits in the Safe Routes and Sleazy Routes of pop culture we've been taking regularly; who knows when there'll be a U-turn in sight.

That summer, Howard Stern announced he would be moving his radio antics to Sirius Satellite Radio effective 2007.

And last but not least...summertime is grilling time all over America, from ribs to steaks to hot dogs and burgers. And speaking of burgers, a huge battle is being waged as to who has the most expensive burger in the world.

A Burger King in London has The Burger, which would set you back $185 U.S., while the FleurBurger 5000 at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino is a mere $75. But the most expensive burger meal belongs to the Palms Casino on the other side of the Vegas strip, with a Carl's Jr. six-dollar burger and a 24-year-old bottle of French Bordeaux to wash it down with. The price tag: A mouth-watering $6,000!!!

I dunno about you, but with the economy still on life support largely thanks to the shutdown of Indymac Bank, I can create a burger that won't bust your budget. The meat would beef, turkey, and lamb all mixed together with herbs and spices, topped off with romaine lettuce, sun-dried Roma tomatoes, French-fried onions, and of course the usual condiments all on a nice potato bun. Jalapeno peppers? Forget it!

It'll be called the Allen Burger, and I may demonstrate it at my 30th birthday party this fall. And the price? Absolutely nothing, but tasting it would feel like you bit into a $100-plus burger. With that said, so long and stay strong.

Hello everybody, as we Americans are about to light up 232 candles on our birthday cake on Friday. But before you blow them out, there's always tons of territory to cover.

First up...two signs that our economy continues to be in life support thanks to those damn rising gas prices: The big three U.S. automakers and Toyota have reported major drops in vehicle sales for June. General Motors' fell 18 percent; Ford, 28%; Chrysler, 36%; and Toyota among the Japanese companies? 21%.

Another is one that hits home: The Top of the World Classic, the four-day college basketball tournament in November that annually draws seven teams from across the country to play the Alaska Nanooks, is no more thanks to a 2006 rule change imposed by the NCAA that increased the number of pre-season tournaments. Prior to that change, there were ten of those; now, it's 45.

Now that the Carlson Center is without a major sports event, the only way now to get your Division I men's college basketball fix here in Alaska is the Great Alaska Shootout over in Anchorage.

But from those 11 years, the one memorable moment from the Classic that stood out for me was when the Nanooks (under the direction of then-coach Al Sokatis) won the tournament. And of course, I had a little something to say about that on the November 30-December 1, 2002 "Plain Truth" which I dug yet again from my archives as the ten-year anniversary of The Allen Report/AllenBlog continues:

We start, of course, with last weekend and the Top of the World Classic. And what an historic one it was. No other NCAA Division II basketball team has ever won a Division I tournament until last Sunday, when our UAF Nanooks clobbered UW Green Bay, Nebraska (by three points), and later Weber State (77-65) to win the seven-year-old tourney...and they did it in our own backyard. Sophomore Brad Oleson was the tournament MVP.

Additional tickets for the championship game between UAF-Weber State immediately went on sale at the Carlson Center box office after they beat Nebraska. And you know the old saying about not wearing white after Labor Day? Well, many diehard Nanook fans ignored it and did so to create another indoor blizzard...or make that flurries.

For those who didn't have white sweatshirts like myself (okay, so I have an Oklahoma Sooners sweatshirt), they brought in white face towels from home. 800 of those rally towels the fans got during Saturday night's semifinals ran out, and they couldn't make any more on the fly for Sunday. To my estimation, about 45% of the packed crowd on Sunday wore white, which was largely compared to mid-March when the college hockey playoffs came to us for the first time.

Now, unlike that carnage in Ohio State, we celebrated our win very peacefully. And why not? It all continued with a brief victory parade through downtown on Tuesday night followed thereafter by a public reception at the Westmark Hotel. The team and its coach Al Sokatis got a proclamation from the three mayors (Borough Mayor Rhonda Boyles, Fairbanks Mayor Steve Thompson, North Pole Mayor Jeff Jacobson).

So yes, thanks to UAF history was made here twice this year, with both the college hockey playoffs being played in Alaska and of course the Nanooks being the first Division II team to win a Division I tournament. Could the UAA Seawolves be next with the Great Alaska Shootout now underway? We'll find out.

The University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves have played in every Great Alaska Shootout since its first one in 1978 (they moved from the Buckner Fieldhouse on Fort Richardson to the new Sullivan Arena in 1983) and have yet to win that tourney.

And last but not least...YouTube is of course home to billions of videos from around the world including game shows from the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe...and even Japan. That's right, Japan!

The Land of the Rising Sun have one-upped the Westerners over the decades when it comes to producing the most outrageous game shows in the world, and if you've been watching the summer reality series "I Survived A Japanese Game Show" on ABC lately, you know what I'm talking about.

The show pits ten Americans who are selected to take part in a reality competition show similar to "Survivor" or "Big Brother", but what they didn't know is that they were going to be on a Japanese game show called "Majide" ("Seriously?") and that they'd be split into two teams (Green Monkeys and Yellow Penguins). The winning team gets a nice reward like a helicopter tour of Tokyo or Japanese spa treatments, while the losers' punishment is pulling rickshaws or something as well as picking two of their members for a second game head-to-head. And since it is Japan, the losing contestant is given its final words to go along with "The tribe has spoken" and "You're fired" in the long list of parting lines: "Sayonara!"

Americans poking fun at Japanese game shows is not new. There was a "Saturday Night Live" skit from 1994 that had Chris Farley as an American tourist from Wisconsin being a contestant on one of those shows, but with only one problem: He doesn't understand Japanese! It's on the "Best of Chris Farley" DVD if you want to see the whole deal.

And on the "Simpsons" episode "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo", the family took a trip to Japan until Homer used his last million yen to make an origami crane for Lisa...only to lose it in the wind. The only resort was to go on a Japanese game show to win plane tickets home.

So far, I'm liking "I Survived a Japanese Game Show", but trust me...I'm better off surviving an American game show instead! So long, stay strong, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!!!

Hello, everybody. As always, lots of stuff to get to, so here we go.

First up...I ran my second Midnight Sun Run on Saturday night, and even though my goal was to finish one minute less than last time (56 minutes, 40.8 seconds in case you're wondering), I didn't do that bad second time around: 1 hour, 9 minutes; how many seconds? We'll find out when the official results will be out next weekend. As always, I had a nice clean start weaving past the other runners, but my legs would immediately start to get sore and I alternated between walking and running to keep my pace.

But who really kept theirs better? For the men, it was Sam Bedell at 33 minutes, 55.8 seconds; Crystal Pitney once again dominated the women's field at 38:51.6. And for the non-serious runners like myself, it was more like a Fun Run than a Sun Run, especially the costumes. Some I saw include Energizer Bunnies, a couple who were "Running With The Stars", the Phantom of the Opera, Danica Patrick, Marge Simpson, and the Jolly Green Giant. Unfortunately, Sean Purucker couldn't think of any blowout costume to outdo his previous ones, so he chickened out this year. I was hoping at the last minute he would go as Amy Winehouse.

So even though I fell way short of still finishing by under an hour, Fairbanks' amazing race that is the Midnight Sun Run was still amazing for me to be a part of. Next year I'll try to do a little better thanks to one of those 5-hour energy drinks.

Last weekend, we learned of the sudden death of comedian George Carlin at age 71. Carlin literally broke all the rules when it comes to edgy comedy, especially that "Seven Words You Can't Say on Television" routine that got him into trouble...all the way up to the Supreme Court.

Now this was in the 1970's, decades before the one true incident that completely turned the entertainment world upside down: Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson getting nasty during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show! Life has really moved on for the two (especially Timberlake, whose "The Love Guru" with Mike Myers tanked in the box office), but the wardrobe malfunction that led to the FCC cleaning house in 2004 had everyone in the world talking -- including yours truly.

In a "Plain Truth Extra" on the February 3, 2004 "NewsBeat", I had something to say about all this. Here it is again as we celebrate ten years of The Allen Report/AllenBlog this summer:

The Super Bowl is the most-watched television event of the year followed by the Academy Awards. While all of the on-field action and drama of the game -- as well as the commercials -- were rated PG, one moment from Super Bowl XXXVIII on Sunday thanks to Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake was rated R.

Right at the end of the halftime show as Timberlake ended "Rock Your Body" with the line "I'm gonna have you naked by the end of this song", he ripped off Jackson's top exposing her right breast and a pierced nipple ring. Immediately afterwards, the two stormed off the field, but that was just the beginning. Telephone lines at CBS (who broadcast that along with the game) were jammed with complaints, and apologies from that network, sibling company MTV (who produced the show), the NFL, Timberlake, and yesterday Jackson herself began to flow.

On the Internet, it was a whole different story as video stills, assorted clips, and higher-quality wire photos began to pop up just moments later. Even TiVo set a record for the most instant replays on their DVR recorders due to the pop-out.

But still, there are many unanswered questions about the incident: Was it unintentional? Accidental? A publicity stunt for Janet as her upcoming CD drops next month? Or did Timberlake do it on purpose to get back at Britney Spears after her kiss with Madonna at the Video Music Awards and that short-lived marriage? With February sweeps in full swing, Justin must've been thinking to himself, "Hey, this is sweeps; this the Super Bowl; and this is my revenge at Britney right HERE!" as Janet gave her peek-a-boo performance. By the way, before the second half kickoff a streaker came on the field, but it got little news.

After seeing all the stories about this as well as reading lots of comments left and right, I think it was time for Janet to be in the spotlight again now that her brother Michael is in trouble, and the Super Bowl was the right place to do it. But exposing a breast in front of almost a billion people watching around the world? Well, she is part of the Jackson family; they're notorious for making headlines.

As for Timberlake? Last year at a music awards show prior to the Grammys, he felt up Kylie Minogue's butt during their performance; now, it was the Super Bowl and Janet. Put his gasp at Britney/Madonna as the meat in between those two slices of bread, and you've got one hot sandwich worth biting into.

Oh, and that Super Bowl moment that'll be forever burned in our memories despite the "We're sorrys" and utter complaints? Miss Jackson may be too nasty for her own good that night, but as one of her songs stated, she was definitely in "Control."

Of course, several other wardrobe malfunctions have happened after Janet, from Tara Reid to Lindsay Lohan. And like I said, there were assorted videos of that infamous crime being all over the Internet, though YouTube was only two or so years away.

And last but not least...while shopping at a Fred Meyer the other week, I spotted the soundtrack album to "Juno" headline the shelves. After taking a more advanced glance, I found out it was indeed an album! Believe it or not, if you thought they were dead and gone forever in the wake of CDs and iPod's...VINYL LIVES AGAIN!!!!!!!!!

Okay, the true story according to a "News-Miner" feature was that the shipments for those vinyl records to Fred Meyer were somewhat of an accident. And according to Nielsen (the same folks behind the TV ratings), vinyl sales were up 70% over 2007 numbers for the first three months of 2008.

Now I came to this world 30 years ago this fall, when vinyl and cassette tapes were still king while 8-tracks were on the way out. I have no idea in my old age that there's still some demand for vinyl even in 2008. What's next...LaserDisc coming back in an attempt to reclaim all the glory left behind by DVD and Blu-Ray? Yeah, and pretty soon you'll be seeing this blog in newsletter form. You wish! So long and stay strong.

Hillary to be out, but "Vanity Fair" puts Bill back in the news!

Hello, everybody. Just 24 hours after Barack Obama clinched the Democratic Presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton announced that she's finally throwing in the towel this weekend in favor of endorsing Obama. And now there's rumors that the words "running mate" may be in her vocabulary.

It has been quite an epic battle in the race for 2,118 delegates over the last five months, but in the end, Obama after the last primaries on Tuesday scored enough delegates to reach above the target number. The final score: Obama 2,158, Clinton 1,956.

So, what now? When the presidential campaign started last year, the one issue in the minds of voters was an immediate end to the war in Iraq. But with the troubled economy making headlines every day (especially with news about General Motors closing four truck/SUV plants as well as the possibility of discontinuing their Hummer brand, and also that Ed McMahon may be homeless as the mortgage crisis has hit him), that became the primary focus. The Iditarod is also hit by the economy, as rising fuel costs have forced them to up the entry fee to $4,000 for next year's big race. But the big question is: Will we still see $2,000 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend checks or not?

Anyway, this may shape up to be quite a clash for the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as Barack Obama may be making history. As for John McCain? He was history!

Now...the news of Hillary Clinton suspending her presidential bid is nothing compared to husband Bill as of late, as he is making news himself thanks to an article in probably the most dangerous publication in the world.

In the July issue of "Vanity Fair" out soon, writer Todd Purdum scribbled that the former President has had affairs with a few other women behind Hillary's back; one of them is actress Gina Gershon of "Showgirls" fame...and boy, is she steaming mad! Gershon's lawyers have now released a letter saying those allegations are false and demands a retraction and correction from the magazine.

Well, that's "Vanity Fair" for you...the very same magazine who last issue brought us Annie Leibovitz' photo of a backless Miley Cyrus, and that too made worldwide headlines -- not to mention criticism. But over the years, the publication has made all sorts of headlines over their pictorials and articles.

The identity of "Deep Throat" was a mystery even after the Watergate scandal, until the May 2005 revelation that it was W. Mark Felt. And other than Cyrus, it was the pictures themselves that told the story, from a nude and pregnant Demi Moore on the cover in August 1991 to one of Mike Myers dressed as a Hindu in 1999; the magazine and photographer David LaChapelle apologized for that after all the flack surrounding it. By the way, Myers' new movie "The Love Guru" -- in which, ironically, he plays a Hindu-like character -- comes out on June 20.

Any press is good or bad press for "Vanity Fair", and that has been the case since Conde Nast Publications brought it back in 1983 after a 47-year hiatus (it was first published from 1913 to 1936). But when it comes to running the most provocative pictures and articles that would make Hugh Hefner cry uncle, a more appropriate title would be "Vanity Un-Fair." So long and stay strong!

Hello, everybody. The biggest entertainment story of this week was not the release of the highly-anticipated "Sex and the City" movie or the denial of Angelina Jolie giving birth to twins in France, but of this man.

For the last 72 hours, the attention of Alaska was focused on Sir Elton John, who played this state as only he could with sold-out shows in Anchorage on Wednesday and Friday and here in Fairbanks on Thursday. And even though I failed in trying to get a ticket to the Fairbanks concert (I already told you about that last time), I'm pretty sure the crowds at both the Carlson Center here and the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage weren't sorely disappointed.

As far as the Fairbanks show went? Well, from what I've learned, parking at the Carlson Center was so full it stretched to as far as Pioneer Park right next door. Also, Elton drew the largest attendance in the venue's 18-year history (it opened in 1990; but was new to me when I returned in '92) largely thanks to an additional 100 or so floor seats being up for grabs on Tuesday, giving us one more chance for tickets. One local TV station did cover the concert...only to have their tapes confiscated by security! But as expected, somebody did manage to get "Rocket Man" and a portion of"Benny & The Jets" and put it on good ol' YouTube; most of the other stuff were from the first Anchorage show.

(UPDATE (6/4): It appears that all the videos from Elton's Anchorage and Fairbanks shows were removed from YouTube)

Like I said, even though I missed out on all this, I'm sure the rest of Fairbanks had the time of their lives on Thursday night. We had the brief meeting of Pope John Paul II and President Reagan in 1984, the 2003 Iditarod restart, and John Leguizamo at the Ice Park in 2006...but Elton John setting foot here on May 29, 2008 is yet another chapter written in the Fairbanks history books. And to quote a line from "Rocket Man"...the wait for a mega-star act in the Golden Heart City was indeed a long, long time. So long and stay strong!

Hello, everybody. As always, lots of ground to dig up, so let's get on with it!

First up...WHEN WILL HILLARY THROW IN THE TOWEL?!?!?!? She may have clinched the West Virginia primary last week, but with Oregon and Kentucky this week she has lost lots of steam as Barack Obama still leads the delegation count with 1,904 to Hillary's 1,717. Obama's now 221 away from the target number of 2,025 and it looks like he may be hitting it. But of course, anything could happen between now and August, when the superdelegates convene in Denver.

Oh yeah, in case you're wondering...I decided to throw in the towel as far as Elton John is concerned. I was hoping for any good seats left for his Fairbanks show on the 29th, but in the words of Jim McKay, they're all gone. But I'm sure a much better act than Elton will play the Carlson Center pretty soon and that this time, I'll have the golden ticket...Kelly Clarkson or Leona Lewis, are you reading this? By the way, the second Anchorage show sold out in over an hour.

Now...We make all kinds of blow-ups from time to time, whether it's financial (and that is the case for most of us), physical, or mental. But if you happen to make a verbal blow-up and the cameras are unexpectedly on you...you know the whole world will take notice! And for two television personalities last week, that was the case.

Sue Simmons, a longtime anchor at New York's WNBC, accidentally dropped the F-bomb live on the air while doing a bumper for the 11:00 news. Moments after realizing her mistake, she apologized for the gaffe.

But perhaps one blow-up that made more news than Simmons' belonged to Bill O'Reilly. A video of Bill from his "Inside Edition" days in the early '90s mouthing off like there was no tomorrow made the YouTube rounds, and everybody including Keith Olbermann of course had quite a field day with it; some even made remixes. I tell you, no wonder why Irish people are known to have tempers!

Simmons and O'Reilly have now joined a long line of people who've made some on-air meltdowns over the years. Former Detroit news anchor Bill Bonds started all this in the early '80s when he went into some R-rated tirades while doing a promo for the 5:00 news (maybe Will Ferrell was taking notes for his Ron Burgundy character), while Alex Trebek was in a cussing spree and drinking a beer (Molson? He's Canadian after all) in between doing "Phone Jeopardy!" promos. Other inductees into the On-Camera Blow-Ups Hall of Fame include Sam Donaldson, Jessica Savitch, Chris Berman, and Bill Plante.

And then of course there's the king of angry on-air blow-ups: Casey Kasem. One time while segueing from an up-tempo song to a "dead dog" dedication on "American Top 40", Casey streamed a river of profanities which he, like Miley Cyrus and that infamous "Vanity Fair" photo, is still embarrassed over that to this day. And way before my time, it was Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis who had fun doing radio spots for their movie "The Caddy" by launching some very raunchy remarks of their own...and this was in 1953!!

Whether you're an anchor, a game show host, or a DJ and you happen to suffer a verbal malfunction on the air, forget about getting your mouth washed out with soap; Clorox seems to be more apt these days! And with that, so long and stay strong.

Elton John tickets sold out...or are they?

Hello, everybody. Last week after my comments about the Miley Cyrus "Vanity Fair" photo scandal (which I'll get to in a bit), I broke the news here about Elton John coming to Alaska with shows in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Well, guess what? Tickets for the May 28 show at Anchorage's Sullivan Arena were sold out in record time -- 58 MINUTES!!!!! As a result, a second show was added for May 30, giving everybody a second chance.

Meanwhile, the Carlson Center here in Fairbanks broke a sales record as well when tickets for May 29 were sold out in three hours. Many fans even camped out all night outside the venue waiting for the clock to strike 10:00 am on Saturday hoping to get the first seats available.

Now for many of us including yours truly, that's the bad news. The good news? The tickets that were sold out were for the front row, which are the costly $118 ones ($116 plus an additional $2 donation to the Elton John Aids Foundation). That means that the mezzanine and balcony (ugh!) seats are still up for grabs...at least for now.

Why "for now"? I'm still fearing for the worst because those tickets may be or have been gone as well. And if they are...well, the odds of seeing Elton John in your area may or may not be against you, but when another top act like him comes to Fairbanks next, better be quick as a flash to grab the first seats possible. If not...good luck!

Now...days after the backless shot of her in "Vanity Fair" caused firestorms around the world, Miley Cyrus' reputation as a teen queen was put to the ultimate test over the weekend when she performed at the Disney Channel's DC Games in Orlando; which will air in July. The end result? Her fanbase was behind her 100%.

At least Miley's wasn't tarnished unlike Sinead O'Connor, who two weeks after tearing up a photo of Pope John Paul II to pieces and saying "Fight the real enemy!" on "Saturday Night Live", she got a smattering chorus of boos at Bob Dylan's 30th anniversary tribute concert at Madison Square Garden. Miley was just a newborn when all that happened by the way (this was in 1992).

By the way..."Hannah Montana" had its first all-new episode since the scandal on Sunday, and it will be later this week when we find out the ultimate verdict as far as the ratings are concerned. I'm pretty certain it may have beat out the NBA playoffs and of course "WWE Raw" to become the week's top show.

In the end, it appears that this whole matter is almost over. I wouldn't be surprised if Miley Cyrus sits down with Larry King or "60 Minutes" or posts a video on YouTube on her Miley and Mandy channel and buries the hatchet altogether. Oh yeah, if she does the latter, I bet it will make us all forget about that whiny obnoxious divorcee and her videos! And she can prove a point that Miley Cyrus is still Miley Cyrus (I really need to make a T-shirt out of this)!

With all that said...so long and stay strong!

Hello, everybody. Well, all the flak surrounding it may have died down slowly, but I'm sure the world have waited a day or two now for my complete take on Miley Cyrus and the photo you see on your left not only raising eyebrows, but drawing firestorms as well.

Photographer Annie Leibovitz took this shot of the "Hannah Montana" star posing in nothing but a sheet for an article on her in the June issue of "Vanity Fair" magazine, out this week. At first she liked it ("I think it's really artsy...and you can't say no to Annie"), but now Miley took it back saying, "I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic' and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed."

Meanwhile, the Disney Channel ("Hannah Montana's" network) didn't like what they saw either, quoting "Unfortunately, as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines." But as you can see in this video from the shoot, Miley and father Billy Ray were on hand for it, and only her grandmother and teacher were present for this last shot. And don't fret, folks: she was fully clothed wearing jeans.

Leibovitz has now said she's sorry that the portrait was "misinterpreted" and thought it was "very beautiful'; Cyrus issued an apology, stating "I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about." And right now, Miley and her family are at home in Nashville, where the teen star is doing pre-production work for her upcoming "Hannah Montana" movie.

Now that I have refreshed your memory...what do I make of all this???? Well, Miley is the mastermind behind the "Hannah Montana" craze, which along with "High School Musical" are huge cash cows for the Disney Channel; the show on occasion usually beats "WWE Raw" in the cable ratings and sales of merchandise has topped over $1 billion. All this brouhaha surrounding this one photo is not really going to hurt the franchise, but is going to help it a bit. And as far as the pic is concerned? Don't expect Chris Hansen to jump on me, but I see nothing wrong with it whatsoever and find it not only classy, but a bit sexy as well.

After all, Leibovitz shot a nude and pregnant Demi Moore for the cover of that very same magazine years ago, and it was artsy. And last week, the cast of the CW's hot "Gossip Girl" posed provocatively for the cover of "New York" magazine...the very same publication who two months ago made headlines around the world over Lindsay Lohan's re-creation of Marilyn Monroe's "The Last Sitting." Its website received over 60 million hits from those photos being on there; "Vanity Fair's" site got only 4 million over those Miley shots.

Just like "High School Musical" star Vanessa Hudgens after some very personal shots of her were leaked onto the Internet last summer, Miley Cyrus will no doubt come out of this scandal unscathed. It's just that Annie Leibovitz might have went a bit too far into tricking Miley out of her clothes.

Now moving on to other matters...Cyrus' "Hannah Montana" tour packed venues all across America last year, and getting tickets for them was a huge challenge. And speaking of packing venues, one superstar will be doing just that in Alaska in late May, not only in Anchorage...but right here in Fairbanks as well!!!!

That's right! The AllenBlog learned yesterday that Elton John will be coming to Alaska during his latest tour with two shows here: May 28 at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, followed by the Carlson Center here in Fairbanks on the 29th!!!!! And you can damn well bet that with tickets costing up to $115 (ouch!), all of Alaska from the Interior to Juneau, Ketchikan, Kodiak, and Valdez, to the North Slope in Barrow to even the rural areas in Bethel, Kotzebue, and Nome...we're all going to be awaiting the Rocket Man's arrival.

For Fairbanks? They can forget all about John Leguizamo from two years ago. And me? Well, I've been to superstar concerts starring Britney Spears (in New Orleans and Los Angeles, both in 2000) and B.B. King; the latter was here in 2001 but Elton John setting foot in the Golden Heart City? I'm sure I'll be spending my hard-earned money to watch him shake the Carlson Center to its foundations on May 29 as only he can; and with that note, so long and stay strong!

Hello, everybody. It has been quite a while, but there's a whole lot of territory to cover as always so here we go!

First up...last week with the economy continuing to be in trouble, American Airlines grounded thousands of MD-80s in their fleet for inspections and canceling thousands of flights as a result; this comes just after Frontier Airlines and ATA both went under. Meanwhile, Delta, Midwest, and Alaska Airlines canceled their flights as well, but in way smaller numbers than American.

And now, with increasing gas prices putting serious crimps on the airline industry as we inch closer to summer, there is word that merger talks between Delta and Northwest have picked up again with an announcement to come this week. Around 2 1/2 years ago, both airlines -- which provide seasonal service to Fairbanks; Northwest took over from Pan Am in 1978 -- filed for bankruptcy protection; and now, things may come ahead for these two as the merger may or may not become a done deal.

Another major story from last week: the Olympic torch relays marred by protests aplenty, and for those who were expecting to see the torch in person on Tuesday when it made its way to San Francisco in its only North American stop, they were ultimately disappointed. With the games now four months away, it is unknown whether or not it could be like 1980 and Moscow all over again when numbers of countries including the United States boycotted those games.

Also last week, there were rumors swirling around Katie Couric, as a "Wall Street Journal" article reported that she may be out as "CBS Evening News" anchor because she was not pulling in the ratings as expected. But in true fashion, CBS and Couric herself downplayed those rumors saying that despite the slump, she's still doing her job. And even though I rarely watch the network news (CBS' and NBC's news come on at 6:30 opposite "Wheel of Fortune" here in Fairbanks), I do agree.

Now this reminds me of Walter Cronkite, when after he was sacked from the 1964 Democratic Convention for CBS (Robert Trout and Roger Mudd were in his place), there were rumors that he was heading to NBC, where Chet Huntley and David Brinkley had the dominant newscast on television. In the end, those rumors were denied, Trout and Mudd were a disaster, and Cronkite reclaimed his position at the anchor desk.

And last but not least...once upon a time, there was the paparazzi taking snaps of celebrities out and about, staked out in their own vehicles in the heat or in a nearby building waiting for the money shots. In the mid-'90s with the new generation of entertainment news shows like "Extra" and "Access Hollywood" as well as a fledging new medium called the Internet, video camcorders were added to the paparazzi's arsenal. And now with the explosion of YouTube, the demand for video footage of celebrities is greater than ever.

The two major players in the videorazzi game right now are TMZ and Hollywood.tv. TMZ started out as a website and doubles as a TV show; Hollywood.tv is already becoming the fastest-growing source for celebrity videos with not only a standalone site, but an additional home on YouTube as well.

But for the last few months I've been comparing the two, and make no mistake...they have different styles when it comes to covering the stars. TMZ, run by Harvey Levin, has a brashier attitude compared to the always tame Hollywood.tv...except that the latter's content are seen by major outlets like CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Associated Press, and BBC; print media including "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post"; all three U.S. morning news shows; and the big dog of entertainment news shows: "Entertainment Tonight."

It has been 4 1/2 years since my special "Safe Route, Sleazy Route" commentary, but when it comes to the videorazzi, Hollywood.tv seems to take the "Safe Route" while TMZ goes the "Sleazy Route" path. For example: the TMZ TV show usually calls Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband Freddy von Anhalt "Von A-Hole", while Hollywood.tv's video let it speak for itself with no narration or editing effects like TMZ's ruining the fun.

Of course, I've had my share of capturing celebrities twice; John O'Hurley at the 2002 Iditarod start in Anchorage and John Leguizamo here in Fairbanks four years later. But when it comes to doing the very same thing in Hollywood, it's more prudent to leave that job to the pros...unless of course you feel like putting up your video on YouTube.

And with all that said...so long and stay strong!

BREAKING NEWS:
Lance Mackey Repeats!!

After spending 9 days, 11 hours, 46 minutes, and 48 seconds on the trail, Lance Mackey has just won back-to-back Iditarod titles early this morning in Nome. And his rewards are the same as last year: A check for $69,000 and the keys to his second straight Dodge truck.

Now that many of you are starting to wake up to this news, Jeff King right now is coming his way to Nome next, this time in second. Ramey Smyth, Ken Anderson, and Martin Buser all follow him next, and they will be approaching Front Street in the next several hours. Till then, so long and stay strong.

Update on imminent Iditarod finish

Lance Mackey and Jeff King are right now in the middle of their mandatory eight-hour layover in White Mountain as both of them are about to make the final sprint to Nome, and I've learned that the big finish is expected to happen between 2:00-6:00 am Alaska Time (6:00-10:00 am Eastern, 3:00-7:00 am in the West) meaning that yes, I'll be pulling in an all-nighter for it.

And of course, I'll update this blog the second we have a winner, so so long, stay strong, and yes...try to stay up!

Hello, everybody. As the 2008 Iditarod reaches the homestretch, things are really scorching as far as Lance Mackey and Jeff King are concerned. More on that later, but first up...

ANOTHER POLITICAL SCANDAL!!!!! And this time, it involves the man who's holding New York's top job...at least for now. New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was linked to a Brooklyn-based prostitution ring called Emperors Club VIP, which arranged sex between wealthy men and more than 50 prostitutes in some U.S. and European cities, with clients paying $1,000-$5,500 an hour. Four people involved with running the ring were arrested and charged last week, putting Spitzer's political future in question.

A federal wiretap caught Spitzer identifying himself as "Client 9", aka "George Fox"; according to online reports, he may have wanted unprotected sex with a prostitute named "Kristen." The transcript also said that "Client 9" wanted to know the stats of "Kristen" and that she should go to a Washington hotel room to make an offer for sex. The offer: $4,300 in cash.

When he found out about the scandal thanks to an article posted on the "New York Times" website, the 48-year-old married father of three and one-time "Sheriff of Wall Street" as New York's Attorney General faced the cameras and apologized to his family and his state.

Resignation is imminent, and we have learned that Lieutenant Governor David Paterson is expected to take the reins as also the state's first black governor.

This latest political scandal reminds me of one we had here in Alaska involving State Senator George Jacko of Pedro Bay. And if I can rack my brain about all this, since this was in 1993...his involved sexual harassment with a legislative aide, and Jacko was stripped of his committee chairmanships. The damage would be done the following year when he was voted out. And by the day...isn't it ironic that his last name is "Jacko", though we would be nicknaming Michael Jackson that much later when his sex scandal broke?

Back to the latest mess and Spitzer: If I was him, I would resign immediately.

Now...the very latest on the Iditarod, and for Lance Mackey and Jeff King, we could be seeing a re-creation of 1978 just like we saw Lindsay Lohan re-creating Marilyn Monroe weeks ago. The two exited Koyuk at 5:41 and 5:57 pm Alaska Time respectively on Monday, and the remaining 150 miles to go as they head to the coast proves to be nail-biting with every checkpoint. By the way -- after only a few days in the ranking, Rick Swenson fell out of the top ten.

But in the words of horse racing announcer Dave Johnson, DOWN the stretch they really come as Mackey and King may be nearing a photo finish. And if my instincts tell me, we may see one of both teams approach the Burled Arch in Nome around Tuesday night or even early Wednesday morning. If it's the latter, the East Coast may be waking up to either Mackey repeating as Iditarod champion or King joining the Five-Timers Club. We'll find out then, so so long and stay strong.

Hillary back on the move...so is Lance Mackey

Hello, everybody. As always, there is plenty of scoop to dig up this blog, so here we go!

First up...as expected, Hillary Clinton did manage to make quite a comeback on Tuesday winning Texas, Ohio, and Rhode Island to stay ahead in the race for the Democratic nomination; Barack Obama's only victory was in Vermont. But on the Republican side...John McCain went past the 1,191 delegate mark at 1,207 which is enough to give him the presidential nod with Mike Huckabee having no choice but to throw in the towel.

But right now, it's all about Clinton vs. Obama again as one of them has yet to reach the all-important number of 2,025. Barack still has the lead with 1,520 with Hillary not far behind at 1,424. There's 106 delegates separating those two, and anything could still happen between now and Denver and the "super delegates."

A day or so after Hillary's much-needed victories in Texas and Ohio came the shocking news that actor Patrick Swayze has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer...the same kind of cancer that took Michael Landon's life in 1991.

The 55-year-old best known for "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost" is responding very well to his treatment according to his publicist, despite tabloid reports that he only has a few weeks to live. However, despite his cancer, he will continue with his usual life; he recently shot a pilot for A&E's "The Beast" and if gets picked up he'll be in it. Lets hope it won't be his last work, and our prayers are with him as we hope Patrick will be cancer-free.

And last but not least...the Iditarod, and with unexpected warmth all over Alaska this week Lance Mackey didn't mind that one bit. He became the first musher to reach the Yukon River today arriving in Ruby at 7:32 am Friday morning. His prize for that? A seven course meal compliments of the Millennium Alaska Hotel, with Chicken and Wild Mushroom Terrine and Yukon Potato Bisque with Shrimp Ravioli to start with, followed by Halibut Flowers on a bed of Peach Chutney and Fillet of Beef stuffed with Alaskan King Crab along with Brie en Cruet as the main course; and for dessert, raspberry crepes served with bittersweet chocolate sauce. Now that's what I call the ultimate gourmet breakfast!

Of course, things will really start to get busy over the weekend, so will Lance hold on to his lead or will Jeff King take it from him? And believe it or not, five-time champion Rick Swenson is back in the top 10 for the first time in eons, and we may see a repeat of 1978 when he and Lance's father Dick were paw-to-paw to the finish. Anything could happen when the 2008 Iditarod reaches its climax in the next few days, so stay tuned, so long, and stay strong!

Hello, everybody. Lots of ground to cover as always on this Leap Day, so on with the show!

First up...the cover has been blown wide open. Britain's Prince Harry after ten weeks of deployment on the front lines in Afghanistan is coming back home, and it's partly thanks to the same website that broke the news of President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky to the world ten years ago.

The prince, third in line to the throne, was deployed to the Afghan region in secrecy in December; it was subject to a news blackout deal struck between the British Ministry of Defense (equivalent to the U.S. Department of Defense) and the British and foreign media. But it wouldn't be until January when the Australian women's magazine "New Idea", German magazine "Bild", and the Drudge Report website here in the United States -- in which the "Allen Report" was based on -- all formed an alliance to break the embargo. And just a couple days prior to his withdrawal, some media crews were granted access to Harry for interviews.

By the way, it was the Drudge Report that out-scooped the traditional media in 1998 with the news of President Bill Clinton's sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky...which happened while our news anchors were covering Pope John Paul II's first and only trip to Cuba! But when the scandal broke, it was a red-eye flight to Washington for the first few days of the year's biggest story/real-life soap opera.

Why would they do such a thing about not keeping Prince Harry in Afghanistan under wraps? If I was "New Idea", "Bild", or Matt Drudge, I would keep my mouth shut about all this, because we could be fearing for the worst, i.e. getting killed without warning.

But even for a royal, I felt Harry served his country very well during those ten weeks. It's just that the foreign media put an end to it before things started to get a bit serious over there.

Well...basking in the glow of the headline-making "New York" magazine spread from two weeks ago, our favorite Marilyn Monroe wannabe Lindsay Lohan was back in the States this week after spending part of last week in Milan, Italy once again for its Fashion Week.

And even though the buzz already died down in time for the Oscars, some after-effects are still being felt. According to "Forbes" magazine, "New York" made over $500,000 in the first two days over the pics being on their website. I already reported on Monday about how its web traffic was up 2000% from last year, but what did Lindsay get for doing those poses although photographer Bert Stern was paid a fee for taking those shots? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!

That's the bad news. The good news: For the week ending February 23, web searches for Lohan as a result of those photos shot up 700 percent, topping the Lycos 50 followed by "Juno" at #2 with 475%. And now, Mr. "Playboy" Hugh Hefner wants Lindsay again as Marilyn in his magazine, this time re-creating the nude swim from the unfinished film "Something's Got to Give." I say one re-creation is good enough for us, unless of course Lindsay wears a flesh-colored thong to appear as if she's really naked.

Which reminds me...one time on the old "WWE (WWF for you old schoolers) Superstars of Wrestling" show, there was a feud between "Ravishing" Rick Rude and Jake "The Snake" Roberts with Jake's real-wife wife Cheryl participating in the storyline. One time after quickly defeating an opponent in the ring, Rude took off his red tights to reveal another that had an illustration of Cheryl on his crotch. A pissed-off Roberts surged to the ring and stripped Rude clean off his body. Even though they censored it for television with a big black dot and the word "CENSORED" underlined in red on the upper left of the screen to appear as if he was stripped naked, those in the arena actually saw him stripped to a thong. This was pretty much the WWE's answer to Yolanda Bowersley's wardrobe malfunction on "The Price Is Right" eleven years earlier, when "she came on down and they came on out", censoring her breasts with a big blue bar.

Anyway, last but not least...last week, we had the Super Bowl of entertainment; this weekend, it's the Super Bowl of dog mushing, the 36th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. This year, a total of 96 of that sport's finest from around the world including defending champion Lance Mackey take on the always challenge 1,150 mile venture to Nome where anything along the trail could happen, from gale-force winds to bone-chilling temperatures up to -50 degrees to even unexpected twists and turns.

And this year, 15 of those 96 mushers will using GPS tracking devices for the first time in Iditarod history. If it becomes successful, then all mushers will have them next year. Of course, a fat check for $69,000 and the keys to a new $45,000 Dodge truck will be awaiting who crosses under the burled arch on Nome's Front Street first; so will Mackey shoot for back-to-back just like he did with the Yukon Quest this year? Or will Jeff King or Martin Buser tie with Rick Swenson for five...and speaking of Swenson, does he still have what it takes to make it six (since he almost repeated 30 years ago but Lance's father Dick stopped him by a hair)? Or will someone from out of the blue manage to pull of the upset of the century? Find out as "The Last Great Race" gets underway this weekend, so long long and stay strong!

Coens and Europeans grab Oscar Gold!

Hello, everybody. Two weeks after the writers strike ended, producer Gil Cates and his staff were working round the clock to make sure the 80th Annual Academy Awards would proceed as planned. And last night for 3 hours and 21 minutes, they did that with host Jon Stewart keeping things in order again.

Joel and Ethan Coen's "No Country for Old Men" as expected walked out of the Kodak Theatre victorious with four Oscars including Directing and Adapted Screenplay for the duo, Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem, and Best Picture of 2007. But the big story was that Europe has all the acting gold: The aforementioned Bardem from Spain; Ireland's Daniel Day-Lewis, his second Best Actor ("There Will Be Blood"); England's Tilda Swinton, Supporting Actress ("Michael Clayton"); and 11 years after Juliette Binoche's upset win over Lauren Bacall for Supporting Actress, it was fellow French Marion Cotillard's turn swiping Best Actress away from heavily favored Julie Christie for "La Vie en Rose." By the way...just like last year, I was 4-6 in my picks missing the mark on female acting.

"Ratatouille" took Animated Feature; "Taxi to the Dark Side" beat out Michael Moore's "Sicko" for Documentary Feature; Original Song went to "Falling Slowly" from "Once"; dancer-turned-writer Diablo Cody picks up Original Screenplay for "Juno"; and for poor Kevin O'Connell...his Sound Mixing loss to "The Bourne Ultimatum" has extended his win-loss record to 0-20.

Despite the rain over the weekend, the red carpet shone as always with Cameron Diaz in Dior; double winner Hilary Swank in Versace; Anne Hathaway looking much better in red than last year (as were Helen Mirren and Heidi Klum); Jessica Alba, Cate Blanchett, and Nicole Kidman really showing their baby bumps; and Miss "Hannah Montana" herself Miley Cyrus in Valentino.

So who gets the best-dressed honors? I'll have to say Katherine Heigl once again (yes, I've stuck with her at the Emmys and I'm sticking with her at the Oscars). Her new husband may be away for a while, but we wish her red Escada gown stopped the drizzle above the covered red carpet. As for worst-dressed? Definitely Tilda Swinton; she may have picked up Oscar gold, but her one-arm dress looked like it was crumpled up and bought at a thrift store for $72.98!

And now, as always, to the stories behind the wins: The last time the Coen brothers went on stage, it was for Original Screenplay for "Fargo." Eleven years and several films later, they've reaped their rewards once again claiming the top prize for "No Country for Old Men." As for Marion Cotillard? This is one name we're going to be hearing a lot about for years to come, and her surprise Best Actress win is only the beginning for this lovely French pastry.

By the way...the only major post-Oscar party to hit to after the Governor's Ball was by Elton John's AIDS Foundation, as the writers strike cost us the big one that was "Vanity Fair's" bash. And for the nominees, winners, and other big names hoping to show up for that? Well, they'll have to wait till next year.

Even though everything had to be in place after those tumultuous three months, the 80th Annual Academy Awards still had a show after all. And I'm certain Oscar's next 80 years will provide us with more memorable moments aplenty.

Now that it's out of the way for another year, some other ground to cover...

Before the Oscars on Sunday, there was the Independent Spirit Awards where the big news coming out from it was...yes, it's official: Angelina Jolie does have another bun in the oven! And just a few days ago, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony gave birth to twins. I'm telling you; with that, Christina Aguilera's baby boy, and Angelina, Kidman, Halle, and Alba all coming soon, 2008 before this year is over will be all about the Hollywood baby boom!

Now the other big entertainment story of last week to go along with final preparations for Sunday's Oscars and J-Lo's birth and Angelina's latest pregnancy belonged to Lindsay Lohan, whose recreation of Marilyn Monroe's "The Last Sitting" by photographer Bert Stern for "New York" magazine was not only worldwide news...but masturbation heaven for guys everywhere!

Over that week, "New York's" website which contained those ultra-steamy photos and additional outtakes crashed numerous times, receiving over 60 million hits and its traffic increased by a staggering 2000 percent (yes, 2000 PERCENT!!!) from last year. But right now it's all quiet on the magazine's front, as the cover story this week is about Chelsea Clinton finally speaking during mother Hillary's prematurely doomed presidential campaign trail.

But yeah, reaction was indeed mixed over those photos, especially as far as Lindsay's parents were concerned. Mother Dina said they were "very tastefully done", but estranged father Michael disagrees. And of course, the media and Internet community wasted no time weighing in; many of them saying the shoot could be Lindsay's way of getting her groove back after a trying two years marred by rehab and box office flops. Speaking of which, "I Know Who Killed Me" was the big "winner" at the Razzies taking eight dis-honors including Worst Actress and Picture.

I'll admit it...I've rubbed one out to better-quality versions of those photos, and I think that even for a prestigious publication like "New York" magazine, it was done in exquisite good taste by the same man behind Marilyn's last shoot. Four years will have passed this spring since "Mean Girls" put her on the map, but her not-that-excessive partying and nobody seeing her films took her off the radar for some time. She has indeed learned from her mistakes and accepted them, but you better believe that the new Lindsay Lohan in 2008 will be more bold, energetic, and yes, sexier than the old.

With my complete takes on the Oscars, pregnancies, and Lohan...so long and stay strong!

RATINGS UPDATE (2/26): Maybe it had something to do with either the aftermath of the writers' strike or Europe taking all the acting honors, but Sunday's Oscar show with 32 million viewers and an 18.7 rating was the lowest-rated ever.

Hello, everybody. It's almost all systems go for Sunday night and the 80th Annual Academy Awards, and Oscar Preview Week concludes with a look at who's up for Best Picture of 2007:

Best Picture
(producers' names are in parentheses)

"Atonement" (Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Paul Webster): On a summer's day in 1935, a series of events and the ways in which they are misinterpreted change the lives of sisters Briony and Cecilia Tallis and their housekeeper's son, Robbie. An overseen interchange between Cecilia and Robbie, a careless mistake, and an act of violence provoke an escalating tragedy of misunderstandings that center on thirteen-year-old Briony and her imperfect grasp of the adult world.
"Juno" (Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick, and Russell Smith): When Juno, a smart, outspoken sixteen-year-old, finds herself pregnant, she decides to give the baby up for adoption. As her pregnancy progresses, she spends time with the baby's prospective adoptive parents, Mark and Vanessa Loring, until her growing bond with Mark begins to take a turn that could throw everyone's plans into chaos.
"Michael Clayton" (Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox, and Kerry Orent): When one of the star attorneys at a powerful corporate law firm suffers a guilt-fueled breakdown that threatens to derail a planned merger, the firm's fixer, Michael Clayton, is called in to take care of the situation. As he delves into the facts behind the multimillion dollar lawsuit at the center of the conflict, Michael finds himself making moral and ethical decisions that will place his life in danger. Pollack previously took Director and Best Picture honors in 1986 for "Out of Africa."
"No Country for Old Men" (Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, and Joel Coen): When Llewellyn Moss comes upon a corpse-strewn drug-deal-gone-wrong in the middle of the barren West Texas range, he takes the bag of cash he finds at the scene and soon draws the attention of the county sheriff investigating the crime. Sheriff Bell will become Llewellyn's best hope for survival, however, when he finds himself the object of a relentless pursuit by hired killer Anton Chigurh, a murderous sociopath.
"There Will Be Blood" (JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Daniel Lupi): In his ruthless pursuit of wealth, misanthropic oilman Daniel Plainview tricks a local farmer into signing away his valuable drilling rights and rejects his own son, H.W., when the boy loses his hearing in an accident. As he becomes increasingly isolated and unstable, Daniel places his trust in a vagrant claiming to be his half-brother, and finds his position unsettled by H.W.'s return and the growing popularity of the farmer's son, now an evangelical preacher.

My Predictions

Now that you're all set, there's only one more bit of business to take care of: Who do I think will exit stage left of the Kodak Theatre with the biggest prize in all of entertainment: Last year I got four out of six (missed the mark on Supporting Actor and Best Picture), here are my picks:

Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem
Supporting Actress: Ruby Dee
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Actress: Julie Christie
Director: Joel and Ethan Coen ("No Country for Old Men")
Best Picture: Well, "Atonement" took top honors at the Golden Globes (Motion Picture-Drama) and BAFTA awards, while "No Country for Old Men" picked up the Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture...the very same award that led to "Crash" taking Best Picture two years ago! Of those two, when the dust is settled, it will be "No Country" that will rule Oscar night.

We'll see what happens when the Academy Awards will be handed out for the 80th time with Jon Stewart at host this Sunday night; and even though it'll be live at 5:00 on the West Coast, that doesn't pertain to Alaska as the big show will still be on good ol' tape delay at 7:00 (6:00 if you're in Hawaii), meaning we'll find out who already won while watching the awards.

And of course, I'll have my complete recap on Monday, so so long and stay strong!

Hello, everybody. We continue Oscar Preview Week tonight with the field for Director and Foreign Language and Animated Feature Films. First, Director.

Best Director
(names are in parentheses)

"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Julian Schnabel): When fashion editor Jean-Dominique Bauby suffers a stroke at the age of forty-five, he is left almost completely paralyzed. As he attempts to reconcile himself to his devastating condition, Bauby draws on his imagination to create a vivid inner world without limitations, and--able to communicate only by blinking his left eye--begins the daunting task of dictating a book.
"Juno" (Jason Reitman)
"Michael Clayton" (Tony Gilroy; he's also up for Original Screenplay)
"No Country for Old Men" (Ethan and Joel Coen; the brothers are also up for Adapted Screenplay and Film Editing and already have Original Screenplay for "Fargo)
"There Will Be Blood" (Paul Thomas Anderson; also up for Adapted Screenplay)

Foreign Language Film

"Beaufort" (Israel): In the days leading up to Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, the soldiers stationed at the mountaintop outpost of Beaufort live under a barrage of constant attacks. Frustrated by the knowledge that they are risking--and often losing--their lives in defense of a fortress that will soon be abandoned, the men struggle to do their duty while grieving for their dead comrades and preparing for the evacuation.
"The Counterfeiters" (Austria): In the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, a group of prisoners with skills ranging from finance to forgery are put to work under the direction of a master counterfeiter manufacturing perfect replicas of foreign bank notes. As the Nazis plot to cause the collapse of the U.S. and British economies by flooding their markets with false bills, some of the prisoners use delaying tactics to forestall the plan.
"Katyn" (Poland): This account of the events surrounding the 1940 massacre of captured Polish army officers in the Katyn Forest focuses on the story of a captain and his wife, who refuses to believe he is dead. A gesture of friendship within the harsh confines of the prison camp where Andrzej and his fellow officers are held will result in the mistaken identification that helps keep his wife's hopes alive.
"Mongol" (Kazakhstan): In twelfth-century Mongolia, nine-year-old Temudgin, who will grow up to become the warrior known as Genghis Khan, must flee his home shortly after choosing the spirited Borte as his bride when his father is murdered and a rival seizes power. With the help of his blood brother, tribal prince Jamukha, the adult Temudgin battles his rivals and works to unite the region's warring clans under his authority.
"12" (Russia): Twelve Russian jurors deciding the fate of a young Chechen accused of murdering his adoptive Russian father go over the details of the case in the school gymnasium that is serving as their jury room. As they argue with each other while struggling to reach a verdict, illustrating their views with stories from their own lives, the case itself becomes a metaphor for the problems plaguing modern Russian society. Russia's fifth Foreign Language nomination with one win in 1995 ("Burnt By the Sun"), though when they were part of the Soviet Union they had nine nominations with three wins in 1969, 1976, and 1981.

Animated Feature Film

"Persepolis": For young Marjane and her family, the overthrow of the Shah of Iran at first seems to be the longed-for beginning of a free and democratic future for their country. With the election of a conservative Islamic government, however, the little girl finds her life changed dramatically as increasing political repression and the restriction of women's freedom lead her parents to the decision to send Marjane to Austria to complete her education.
"Ratatouille": Remy the rat longs to exercise his talents as a gourmet chef and gets the chance when he finds himself in a famous Parisian restaurant after becoming separated from his family during an escape through the sewers. When his secret improvements to the restaurant's food are mistakenly attributed to Linguini, the garbage boy, the two team up to form an unlikely culinary partnership that will benefit them both. Producer Brad Bird's last Animated Feature win was in 2005 for "The Incredibles."
"Surf's Up": As surfing penguins converge on the tropical isle of Pen Gu for a contest among the world's top competitors, television coverage of the event profiles the contestants and provides a history of the sport. For young Cody Maverick, who is preparing to take on his rival, Tank, the competition offers a chance to learn some valuable lessons about riding the waves from surfing legend, Big Z. The Academy must love penguins for some reason; they gave out Documentary Feature for "March of the Penguins" in 2006 followed by "Happy Feet" taking Animated Feature the following year.

Tomorrow night, Oscar Preview Week concludes with Best Picture and my predictions on who will take Oscar home. So long and stay strong!

Hello, everybody. As you all know by now, Cuban President Fidel Castro announced yesterday that he's finally stepping down after nearly 50 years of rule, and that his 76-year-old brother Raul may take the reins again next week, only this time it's permanent.

What does this mean to Cuba? Until Castro went to power in 1959, it used to be a haven for tourists alike just 90 minutes from Miami. But now, it's anything but. It'll be almost 20 years next year when the whole world watched the tearing down of the Berlin Wall on live television, and I have an instinct that within the next few years, there'll be a whole new revolution in Cuba and that the third-world country could become first-world once again. It ain't going to be easy, but it will happen.

Now...the final scene in Michael Moore's documentary "Sicko" had 9/11 workers getting quality healthcare in Havana. "Sicko" is up for an Oscar this year for Documentary Feature, and tonight as "Oscar Preview Week" continues, we take a look at the nominees for Best Actor/Actress.

Best Actor

The Best Actor field includes three winners, one of them a three-time Sexiest Man of the Year winner plus one of 2006's co-winners. Add in a veteran famous for the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy in the mix and it's going to be a great battle for the prize:

George Clooney, "Michael Clayton": As Michael Clayton, George Clooney portrays a fixer at a powerful law firm who finds himself in danger when he investigates his colleagues' actions in a controversial lawsuit. Two years ago, Clooney had three chances to take Oscar home; in the end, he took Supporting Actor. And, he was voted Sexiest Man of the Year in 2001, 2006, and last year.
Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood": As Daniel Plainview, Daniel Day-Lewis plays a ruthless California oilman who will stop at nothing to achieve wealth and power. His fourth nomination, but he has won Best Actor before in 1990 for "My Left Foot."
Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd (the Demon Barber of Fleet Street)": Johnny Depp plays Sweeney Todd, a barber in Victorian London who embarks on a murderous plan of revenge against the corrupt judge who ruined his life. Synopsis, since its other nods include Art Direction and Costume Design: In nineteenth-century London, barber Sweeney Todd seeks revenge on the corrupt judge who had him falsely arrested and sent to Australia in an attempt to steal Sweeney's wife. When his plan to kill the judge goes awry, Sweeney begins to murder his clients indiscriminately, with the help of his neighbor, Mrs. Lovett, who disposes of his victims by baking them into meat pies. A co-Sexiest Man of 2006 winner along with Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Depp's "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy co-star Orlando Bloom, this is his third chance at Oscar glory.
Tommy Lee Jones, "in the Valley of Elah": Tommy Lee Jones plays Hank Deerfield, a Vietnam veteran who searches for his missing son in the wake of the young man's return from a tour of duty in Iraq. Synopsis, since this is its only nomination and Charlize Theron was denied a Best Actress nod: Vietnam vet Hank Deerfield learns that his son, Mike, is missing from his army unit, recently returned from Iraq. When he travels to the unit's New Mexico base, however, he finds his son's fellow soldiers unwilling to answer his questions and the local police--with the exception of Detective Emily Sanders--uninterested in pursuing the case. After two Supporting Actor nods (he won for "The Fugitive" in his second try), this is Jones' first Best Actor nod.
Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises": As Nikolai, Viggo Mortensen plays the ambitious driver and henchman of a Russian mobster, who favors him over his own son. Synopsis: Anna, a midwife at a London hospital, finds herself entangled in the dangerous world of the Russian mafia when she attempts to translate the diary of a young girl who has died in childbirth. At the center of the violent organization is Semyon, an older man of deceptive warmth and charm, Kirill, his unstable son, and Nikolai, Semyon's capable and self-assured driver who seems certain to rise within the gang's ranks. The last time we saw him at the Oscars, it was in support for "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", which literally swept the 2004 awards winning every one of the eleven they were up for including Best Picture of 2003.

Best Actress

In Best Actress, you have the usual international cast of characters: An Australian with a past win, a Briton also with a past win, an American with a past nomination, and a French and a Canadian both first-timers:

Cate Blanchett, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age": As Queen Elizabeth I, Cate Blanchett portrays the English monarch during the crucial years of her long reign. Synopsis, since its other nomination includes Costume Design and I already covered Blanchett's field last night: In late sixteenth-century England, Queen Elizabeth I, now a monarch at the height of her power, finds herself drawn to the dashing Sir Walter Raleigh, recently returned from his voyage to the New World. Closer to home, Elizabeth also faces challenges to her reign from King Philip II of Spain and Catholic plotters who hope to place her cousin, Mary Stuart, on the throne.
Julie Christie, "Away From Her": As Fiona, Julie Christie plays a woman suffering from Alzheimer's disease who begins to slip farther and farther away from the husband who loves her. Synopsis: As Fiona Anderson suffers the progressive effects of Alzheimer's, her husband Grant fights to maintain their relationship in spite of Fiona's increasing emotional distance. A month-long "no visitors" stay at a rest home leaves Fiona uncertain and confused in Grant's company, and he is dismayed to learn that she has formed a close bond with another man who is also a patient at the facility. 43 years after receiving her first Oscar in her first try for "Darling" (though two other Best Actress nods would follow), it's a good chance that Britain with the help of Christie will get back-to-back wins after Helen Mirren last year.
Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose": Marion Cotillard plays Edith Piaf, the legendary French singer who rose to international fame from her beginnings on the streets of Paris. Synopsis: In a life marked by personal tragedy and artistic triumph, Edith Piaf grows from a child born in poverty to an internationally acclaimed singer. Raised primarily by her grandmother, a brothel keeper, young Edith is discovered singing on the streets of Paris and begins a remarkable career that cannot save her from a life haunted by drugs, alcohol, and a succession of unhappy love affairs.
Laura Linney, "The Savages": Laura Linney portrays Wendy Savage, a struggling playwright whose uneasy relationship with her brother erupts into anger when they must care for their elderly father. Synopsis: When encroaching dementia makes it impossible for Lenny Savage to live independently, his children, Wendy and John, move him from Arizona to Buffalo, where John is a writer and college professor. As Wendy begins to criticize the nursing home John has chosen, the stress of dealing with their elderly father wears on the already tentative relationship between brother and sister. Linney's third nomination.
Ellen Page, "Juno": As Juno MacGuff, Ellen Page plays a teenage girl who decides to proceed with her unplanned pregnancy and begins a search for a suitable couple to adopt the baby. Page turns 21 tomorrow, and if she wins in an upset on Sunday, it would not only be the best birthday present she'll ever get, but she'll also be the youngest ever Best Actress winner surpassing Marlee Matlin who got hers in 1986 at 21 years, seven months! Oh yeah, speaking of Matlin, she's joining the new season of "Dancing with the Stars" which will start in March.

Tomorrow, it's Director, Foreign Language Film, and Animated Feature as "Oscar Preview Week" continues. So long and stay strong!