Hello, everybody. Friday night was the "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon to benefit the earthquake relief effort, broadcast on various networks around the world. This was George Clooney's fourth multi-network telethon after "America: A Tribute to Heroes" following 9/11, "Tsunami Aid" (which was only on the NBC Universal networks), and "Shelter from the Storm" after Hurricane Katrina. The broadcast originated from Los Angeles, New York, and London.

Armed with performances by Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Beyonce, and Justin Timberlake among others, 100 celebrities such as Penelope Cruz, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Mel Gibson, Reese Witherspoon, Taylor Lautner, the Jonas Brothers, Alec Baldwin, Dwayne Johnson, Alyssa Milano, Ray Romano, Tyler Perry, Drew Carey, the original cast of "High School Musical" (Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale), "American Idol" runners-up David Archuleta and Katharine McPhee, Marisa Tomei, Selena Gomez, and dozens others manned the phone bank in L.A. taking donations and engaging in a little chit-chat with them. Of course many of us took the alternate method of giving by texting GIVE to 50555 ($10 would be added to mobile bill) or by heading to hopeforhaitinow.org. Me? I did the latter and donated $35, because I would be caught dead calling or texting in my donation.

Oh yeah, there were also appearances by Halle Berry, Leonardo DiCaprio, Julia Roberts, Chris Rock, Sexiest Woman of 2001 winner Nicole Kidman, Denzel Washington, President Bill Clinton, Tom Hanks (fresh off on Conan O'Brien's last "Tonight Show", which I'll get to later) and more including CNN's Anderson Cooper in Haiti and Wyclef Jean in New York.

The telethon benefited Oxfam America, the Red Cross, UNICEF, Partners in Health, United Nations World Food Programme, Jean's Yele Haiti Foundation, and the Clinton Bush Haiti Foundation; 100% of the proceeds would be split among those organizations.

While we were Tweeting what's been going on on the broadcast so far, we've noticed some no-shows on the star-studded phone bank. Among them: Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, anybody from "Glee", Courteney Cox, Lucy Liu (who is a UNICEF ambassador), and Kate Walsh. I guess they were all busy or there was only 100 slots to fill. And while Lautner was on the phones in L.A. and Robert Pattinson appeared from London, their fellow "Twilight" co-star Kristen Stewart is at the Sundance Film Festival. Fergie was also in "Nine" with Kidman and Cruz, but she and the rest of the Black Eyed Peas are in Europe. Oh yeah...where are Mr. and Mrs. Twitter (aka Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore)? I guess they stayed home as well.

So far, over $57 million was raised after Friday, and the number may increase to $100 million within the next few days.

By the way...in Canada prior to this, they had a one-hour "Canada for Haiti" telethon featuring famous Canuck celebs like William Shatner, Rachel McAdams, James Cameron, Wayne Gretzky, Pamela Anderson, Alex Trebek, Barenaked Ladies, Sarah MacLachlan and many others including who is probably the most popular Canadian at the moment...Justin Bieber. Sorry, no sign of Avril Lavigne, Elisha Cuthbert, Shenae Grimes, Neve Campbell, or even Bret "Hitman" Hart there.

Now like I said, the Haiti telethon is the brainchild of Clooney and it is happening closer to the 25th anniversary of "We Are The World"; Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie are planning a remake to benefit Haiti.

But in my lifetime, this is the fifth multi-network television event I've been watching. Almost 20 years ago in April 1990, the major broadcast and cable networks aired "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue" with Bugs Bunny, the Muppet Babies, the Smurfs, and other Saturday morning cartoon stars to raise awareness about drug prevention. And looking back at it being on all those channels, this was a very big deal.

As I said a few paragraphs before, Hanks appeared at the telethon just shortly after doing the last "Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" across town. Conan also on Friday wrapped up his tumultuous seven-month run as host of NBC's late night flagship after receiving a lot of hush money to get out of dodge: around $30 million.

I pretty much knew all along that Conan's brand of humor that worked at 12:30 wouldn't work at 11:30, though in the last few days, ratings for his show were up 50% over David Letterman. Now comes a couple weeks of reruns and then the Winter Olympics before Jay Leno returns back home to 11:30 and it'll once again be "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" with possibly the old logo and theme music returning.

And last but not least...if you look back at Julianna Margulies' Golden Globe speech, she thanked CBS "for believing in the 10:00 drama." Of course comedy at 10:00 with Leno didn't work, but drama and in most areas news at 10:00 have worked.

Just ask ITV (and the BBC) in Britain, the CBC in Canada with "The National", and dozens of Fox, CW, and independent stations. Their 10:00 newscasts, whether they are a half-hour or an hour, have been pulling in impressive ratings opposite the network dramas for many, many years. The reasons are simple: one, they have been cash cows for the stations and two, the public -- especially schoolchildren -- wanted their news in primetime before calling it a night.

I don't watch much TV as opposed to 10 or 20 years ago (thanks, "Jersey Shore" and other reality shows out there!), but I prefer my late news at 10:00 myself. It's just that KATN is the only place here in Fairbanks for it once again now that Leno will be done at 10:00 before heading back where he belongs on March 1. So long and stay strong.

Hello, everybody. Tonight was the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills hosted by Ricky Gervais, and for the film winners, the road to Oscar begins right there.

James Cameron's "Avatar" (which has now surpassed "Star Wars" to become the third top-grossing film of all time) took the Motion Picture-Drama honors, while "The Hangover" beat out "Nine" for the Comedy or Musical prize. And speaking of hangovers...is it just me or did the cameramen had one too many before the show??

Anyway, Sandra Bullock picked up Motion Picture-Drama Actress for "The Blind Side"; Jeff Bridges, Drama Actor for "Crazy Heart". On the Comedy/Musical side, Meryl Streep ("Julie & Julia") and Robert Downey Jr. ("Sherlock Holmes") won as well. The Supporting Acting globes went to Christoph Waltz ("Inglourious Basterds") and Mo'Nique ("Precious").

On the television front, "Mad Men" and "Glee" received Drama and Comedy/Musical Series respectively, while the acting rewards went to Julianna Margulies ("The Good Wife"), Toni Collette ("United States of Tara"), Michael C. Hall ("Dexter"), and Alec Baldwin ("30 Rock").

Of course, the recent Haiti earthquake was on the minds of everybody at the awards, which explains the ribbon the stars adorned on their wardrobes.

But perhaps the most popular accessory on the red carpet was the umbrella, as there were many of them being sported because it was drizzling wet in Los Angeles. Under those umbrellas of course, we saw Sandra Bullock in Bottega Veneta, as well as Sexiest Woman of 2009 winner Lisa Edelstein (George Chakara), 2005 winner Lauren Graham, "Glee's" Lea Michele (Oscar de la Renta), Christina Hendricks (Christian Siriano), and Marion Cotillard (Christian Dior) among others. Even Mariah Carey and Halle Berry went the "if you've got it, flaunt it!" route, while Amy Adams displayed her growing baby bump in Carolina Herrera.

So...who outshone them all despite the downpour? Drew Barrymore was a winner tonight for "Grey Gardens", and she is a winner again in her Atelier Versace gown. As for Anna Paquin and Jennifer Morrison? Here's hoping dark clouds come their way.

Now...the Golden Globes for many decades are being called "the party of the year" for a reason: Just like those cameramen covering the show, they love to get wasted! And if you saw the scene inside the International Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton, some of the stars were brandishing their Blackberrys or iPhones covering the atmosphere as it was happening.

One of the trends I touched on on this blog and in the "2009 Year in Review" is that a growing number of celebrities are jumping on the social networking bandwagon like never before, especially on Twitter. Some stars have Twitter accounts, whether they are verified or not, but we're hungry for more to be followed. Without further ado (and this is something I've been working on for months), let me present to you...

Jonathan Allen's Celebrity Twitter Wish List

Here, in no particular order, are some of the celebs I want to see tweeting soon:

• Sandra Bullock (Let's face it: She's already on top of the world again and may be Oscar's only hope of bringing the Best Actress prize home to America)
• Cameron Diaz (She had a Twitter account once, but for reasons unbeknownst to us, she deleted it. We'd love to re-follow her)
• George Clooney (we also saw him at the Globes tonight; imagine if he opens his Twitter, gets it verified, and watch the number of followers shoot sky-high! That is, after he organizes his Haiti relief telethon on Friday)
• Julia Roberts (Come on; the woman's hardly doing anything right now...well, sort of. But she can give Demi Moore a run for the Twitter money)
• Dwayne Johnson ('cause we all love to read what The Rock is tweetin')
• Lisa Edelstein (did I mention she was voted Sexiest Woman of 2009?)
• Dana Delany (she said a while back on her official site that she has no intentions of being on Twitter and/or Facebook anytime soon. But...you may never know; she might change her mind!)

And that's it...for now; I may think up more in the weeks to come. But like I said before...not all celebrity Twitters are created equal, so we have to watch ourselves to see if some of them are the real deal and some are posers trying to trick us. So long and stay strong!

Hello, everybody. Like most of you, I have been following the latest developments coming out of that devastating 7.0 earthquake in Haiti that has left Port-au-Prince in ruins. In the last few days now, relief organizations from all over the world have descended on the country to help pick up the rubble and the bodies in which the estimated death toll could run up to hundreds of thousands. Not since 9/11 or even Hurricane Katrina have we ever seen such outpouring over a natural disaster in the Americas.

However, the worldwide outpouring was sorely needed, as Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The facts are staggering: 80% of the population lives below the poverty line; 54% lives in abject poverty; and Internet usage is sparse with only 1 million. That's because now more than ever, we've been reaching into our wallets -- or into our mobile phones -- to help out in any way.

In the last few days now, over $8 million was donated to the Red Cross from those who texted HAITI to 90999 ($10 would be added to their bill), while Wyclef Jean's Yele organization raised more than $2 million from texting "Yele" to 501501 ($5 added to the bill). The social networking universe also played their part in the effort, as "Help Haiti" was among the top trending topics on Twitter.

And then of course there was the traditional method of giving, as grocery chains all over the U.S. and Canada have set up Haiti donation canisters at checkout counters. In-person donations were made out to local Red Cross chapters as well.

We have also learned that George Clooney is teaming up with MTV to help organize a two-hour, multi-network "Hope For Haiti" telethon that will air next Friday.

Just like Katrina, this is a story that won't go away for quite a while, because it's going to be a long time before Haiti gets back on its feet again.

Now the earthquake will be in the thoughts of the celebrities coming to Sunday's Golden Globe Awards (and yes, I'll have a recap on it Monday)...as will the NBC late night drama, which appears to have come to an end.

It was all about whose side are you on: Team Conan or Team Leno? And apparently, Team Leno has won as there is word that in light of his 10:00 experiment a flop, "The Jay Leno Show" will become "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" once again and that Jay will be heading back to 11:35 where he belongs. Conan O'Brien, on the other hand? His "Tonight Show" has been called, according to longtime NBC executive Dick Ebersol, "an astounding failure" and it'll be off the air next week. The next move will belong to Conan, and Fox may be opening their doors to welcome him with open arms.

The whole turmoil definitely made great television for the entire late night landscape, as Jimmy Kimmel on his show scathingly poked fun at Leno, chin and all. David Letterman has also taken cheap shots at NBC as well, as his ratings continued to rise in the wake; the same can be said for George Lopez on the cable side. And of course, coverage of the earthquake in Haiti have drawn the serious viewers to "Nightline."

In the end, this is somewhat reminiscent of the infamous Montreal Screwjob, in which to paraphrase Vince McMahon, "Conan O'Brien screwed Conan O'Brien." Let's face it: He's a great guy, but we pretty much knew all along that his brand of humor would not work on the flagship "Tonight Show" format. In other words, Team Coco and his followers are the real losers in this battle. Let's hope that if he does go to Fox, he'll last longer than Chevy Chase. So long and stay strong.

Hello everybody, and welcome to my first blog of 2010!

We begin up front with what is already the new year's first biggest entertainment story. No, not James Cameron well on his way to beating his own box office record with "Avatar" now at the $1 billion mark, but the biggest shakeup in late night TV since Johnny Carson leaving "The Tonight Show."

After only a few months, it looks like Jay Leno's 10:00 show appears to be dead and that Leno may be going back to 11:35 with Conan O'Brien being bumped by a half-hour. The reason is simple: Low ratings, which has also rolled over to the late news. Many NBC affiliates have relied on Leno to help reclaim the ratings luster their late news have lost, but it wasn't the case.

(UPDATE: NBC made it official on Sunday: Leno is going back to 11:30 after the Olympics, putting Conan's future now in question)

Now that the 10:00 slot is open again, I have an open message for new mom and four-time Sexiest Woman of the Year winner Sarah Michelle Gellar:

Remember "The Wonderful Maladys" pilot you shot last spring for HBO in the hopes they would pick it up, but didn't? Well, both your career and NBC's ratings have went south in recent years, so why not have NBC take a look at the pilot and see if they would greenlight it. I know it would call for re-shoots and a possible re-naming, but it's damn well worth it. If "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" sure saved ABC from extinction, then you, just like "The Cosby Show" in the '80s, can do the same thing for NBC!

Anyway, on to other matters...On Monday for one night only, the fledging Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and the WWE went toe-to-toe as both "Impact" and "Raw" pulled out all the stops. TNA not only had the much-anticipated return of Hulk Hogan, but Ric Flair and a few other special guests as well; WWE's big highlight? Bret "Hitman" Hart stepping into their ring for the first time since the fabled Montreal Screwjob.

The end result? "Impact" posted its highest ever ratings with a 1.5 while it was business as usual for "Raw" with a 3.6. And 3.6 is a far cry from when they used to have monster ratings in the 6's and 7's a decade ago against "WCW Monday Nitro."

Now when WCW would be acquired by WWE in the spring of 2001, one of its talents whose contract would be rolled over to the new company was Stacy Keibler. At WCW, Keibler started out as one of the "Nitro Girls" before they gave her the persona of Miss Hancock and later as herself. But at WWE, she would kick up the hotness factor by several notches, appearing in nearly the skimpiest clothing we've ever seen in the ring. Of course after leaving wrestling, she enhanced her career even further thanks to "Dancing With The Stars."

Okay, why am I bringing her up? Because on New Year's Eve, Stacy ended her 2009 as only she could: showcasing her legs and the rest of her svelte body on the beach in Miami in a pink bikini with paparazzi capturing it all for the entire world! I guess that is considered early promotion for her guest starring appearance on the 100th episode of "How I Met Your Mother" this Monday on CBS. I promise to keep my hands to myself while watching her.

That's all I wrote, so so long and stay strong!

It's getting to be the tail end of the year, so enough fooling around and let's get on to my annual tradition since 1991 (and 1998 online)...
The Top 20 Things That Had the Whole World Talking in 2009

20. Cheryl Cole (okay, outside of Britain...who the hell is she?!?!?)

19. MTV's "Jersey Shore" (since a guy punched Snookie in the face, why not a girl punching The Situation -- whoever he is -- right in the abs?)

18. Lance Armstrong coming out of retirement to race in the Tour de France again (eat that, Brett Favre!)

17. Joe Wilson telling "You lie" to President Obama (if this was the "Maury" show, he should've heckled "You ARE the father!")

16. AT&T waging war against Verizon over better 3G coverage (Sprint better get Luke Wilson; it'll be like Cain and Abel)

15. The end of analog television broadcasting in the U.S. (with more countries to come in the coming years)

14 (and in her 11th straight appearance). Britney Spears (Let's face it: Year after year after year she always makes news)

13. TIE: Octomom/Jon and Kate Gosselin (Please...go away.)

12. Sandra Bullock (did I mention last time that Jesse James isn't a dead man after all?)

11. "Glee" (okay, I don't watch the show, but I had no idea that the cheerleader who's Christian is actually played by a Jew!)

10. Celebrities on Twitter and Facebook (the "bad old days" of celebrities with their 1-900 numbers? They were long gone 20 years ago!)

9. Paula Abdul leaving "American Idol" over money (okay, sort of newsworthy, but as big as...)

8. Adam Lambert locking lips with a male drummer at the American Music Awards (now THAT was hot!)

7. Lady Gaga (okay...now who the hell is she?!?!?!)

6. TIE: Sarah Palin and Levi Johnston (one's our former governor, the other...no comment)

5. TIE: Health care reform/The economy (no comment on those either)

4. Balloon Boy (full of hot air if you ask me)

3. Taylor Swift (I'm sorry, but Dolly Parton is the greatest country singer of all time...just kidding!)

2. The Tiger Woods scandal (FORE!...play)

And there's no need to argue about what was the #1 thing that had the whole world talking in 2009, though his legacy will continued to be talked about for generations to come...

1. Michael Jackson
(Elvis was the King of Rock n' Roll, but Jack will always and forever be the King of Pop)

And with that, that's the AllenBlog's 2009 Year In Review. From me to you...so long, stay strong, Happy New Year, and HAPPY NEW DECADE!!!!

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The AllenBlog's

It was the year when change for America would slowly begin with a brewski summit and then trying to play health care catch-up.

The year when everybody was all a-Twitterin' while trying to find out what Mafia Wars on Facebook is.

The year when a major outbreak put Porky Pig, Miss Piggy, and the pig from "Green Acres" on edge.

The year when "Twilight: New Moon", "Paranormal Activity", and "The Hangover" had audiences going "OMG!", while "Jennifer's Body" and "Imagine That" were saying, "WTF?"

The year when an "American Idol" contestant sucked face with a guy at an awards show while a guy punched Snookie's face at a bar.

The year when the continuing recession and its side effects had America tightening its belts...and trimming their wallets.

The year when one family's homemade balloon that went awry turned out to be the longest commercial for Jiffy Pop we've ever seen.

The year when one woman stepped down as Alaska's governor, while her daughter's baby daddy stripped down to his sweet nothings.

The year when one young woman was Taylor-made for success...that is, until she got a Swift and verbal lashing.

The year when a politician almost turned a joint session of Congress speech into the "Maury Show."

The year when everybody went Gaga for "Glee."

And yes, it was the year when we said goodbye to an Angel, the King of Pop, the Most Trusted Man in America, and an actress who was once known for saying "I'll Never Tell."

That year was 2009.
Join the AllenBlog as we look back at another tumultuous year.

From a growing recession too impossible to control, to health care reform and Afghanistan taking center stage in the first months of the Obama administration, from the swine flu virus terrifying the world, to the social networking universe exploding like never before...forget Jon and Kate, Octomom, and Balloon Boy; there was a lot of real-life drama all throughout 2009 than those combined!

We began the year with, of course, the inauguration of Barack Obama as America's 44th President, and something that was worth waiting for for generations. The administration wasted no time going to work, with health care reform priority one and trying to pick up where Hillary Clinton left off. More about that later.

The H1NI outbreak, otherwise known as the Swine Flu Virus, was front page news worldwide this year. Beginning with Mexico, the virus would be quickly spread to the rest of the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East, making it a global pandemic. It has happened here before in 1976, but this time, it was a very serious matter as we began to cough with our sleeves and sales of hand sanitizers going through the roof.

Australia experienced the deadliest bushfires in its history in February, killing 173 and destroying 1.1 million acres. And here in the States, a series of wildfires near Los Angeles even threatened Mount Wilson, home to all of the area's main broadcasting transmitters. Other natural disasters topping the news include: a 6.3 earthquake killing 300 in Italy, a couple more earthquakes followed by a tsunami claiming thousands more lives in the South Pacific, a series of tornadoes wreaking havoc in the Midwest in May leaving many areas in ruins, and Mount Redoubt here in Alaska spewing tons of ash into the Anchorage skies.

Iran went to the polls in June, but when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected as their president, the opponents knew something was up and all hell began to break loose. In aviation, all 228 people aboard Air France flight 447 were killed; Boeing's much-anticipated (and hyped) 787 took to the skies for the first time; and what was perhaps one of most miraculous stories at the beginning of the year...everybody on board US Airways Flight 1549, thanks to the heroic efforts of captain Chelsie "Sully" Sullenberger, survived the crash on the Hudson River.

The sports world was chock full of headlines during '09. We had Brett Favre coming out of retirement (again!) and into the Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh briefly becoming the sports capital of the U.S. with the Steelers clinching their sixth Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl XLIII and the Penguins possessing the Stanley Cup, Helio Castroneves coming back from the dead -- the "dead" being near jailtime for tax evasion -- to win the Indianapolis 500 with Danica Patrick taking third, the Los Angeles Lakers' 15th NBA title, North Carolina and Connecticut on top of the college basketball world, Lance Mackey three-peating the Iditarod, Rio De Janeiro being awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics despite Oprah Winfrey and President Obama stumping for Chicago, and for the unprecedented 27th time and in their new home...the New York Yankees as World Series champions! Oh yeah, and the Detroit Lions finally won a game or two, while the Chicago Cubs went entered their 101st year without a World Series trophy by filing for bankruptcy.

The social networking revolution spread like wildfire this year, with Twitter and Facebook becoming the hotspots for instant interaction and reaction while MySpace was still clinging on for dear life.

The "Beer Summit" at the White House pretty much earned President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize in October. And in November, a mass shooting at Fort Hood claimed 12 lives and wounding a dozen more victims.

In other political headlines: Rod Blagojevich became the first Illinois governor to be impeached; Al Franken would be admitted to the U.S. Senate representing Minnesota after and eight-month battle between him and Norm Coleman; South Carolina congressman Joe Wilson heckled "You lie!" to President Obama during his joint session of Congress speech while their governor Mark Sanford got burned for frolicking with some Argentine mistress; and on the opposite side of the Atlantic, British political leader Nick Griffin dodged thousands of protestors to appear on the BBC's debate program "Question Time."

Prior to the Fourth of July holiday, we were treated to some unexpected fireworks as Sarah Palin announced she's stepping down as Alaska's Governor. Sean Parnell would take the reins, while Palin went to war against David Letterman over some low-brow remarks he made about daughter Bristol while even lashing out against Levi Johnston. Johnston returned the favor as only he can: by going nearly naked in "Playgirl."

The two stories that dominated much of 2009 were health care reform and the recession that rolled over into the Obama administration.

First, back to health care: All during the summer recess, our lawmakers have pushed the plan very hard at various town hall meetings...but not before they were faced with protests throughout with extra security stepping in. In November, the bill narrowly passed the House; by the time this blog gets published, it will have passed the Senate as well.

And then there was the economy, as the recession cost General Motors the Pontiac brand after 83 years, not to mention selling off Hummer and Saab plus the government buying them out. The silver linings came when the Dow Jones went back to the 10,000 mark for the first time in quite a while. In the meantime, Bernie Madoff would be sentenced to 150 years in prison for his Ponzi scheme that has took millions out of people's bank accounts.

But along with Michael Jackson (who I'll save for the "Year in Entertainment"), there have been other greats we've said goodbye to in 2009; greats like: Walter Cronkite, Farrah Fawcett, evangelist Oral Roberts, Bea Arthur, Ricardo Montablan, Ed McMahon, game show host Ken Ober, Patrick Swayze, former Alaska politicians George Sullivan and Juanita Helms, David Carradine, economist Paul Samuelson, Senator Edward Kennedy, film director John Hughes, Les Paul, Karl Malden, Dom DeLuise, John Updike, political columnist Robert Novak, Natasha Richardson, radio personality Paul Harvey, Dominick Dunne, Mary Travers (1/3 of Peter, Paul and Mary), "60 Minutes" creator Don Hewitt, infomercial pitchman Billy Mays, Army Archerd, Cincinnati Bengals player Chris Henry, and (as of publish time) Brittany Murphy. We've had more key deaths this year than any other in the 2000's.

So...what will 2010 bring to the table as we head into a new decade? Britain is expected to go to the polls, and so will us with the mid-terms and the Republicans hoping to make a comeback. The Winter Olympics return to North America with the games in Vancouver and Apolo Anton Ohno and Sasha Cohen about to take center stage once again; for Cohen, this will be her second chance at gold. The possibilities are endless; who knows what's going to happen when the ball drops at midnight on January 1.

Next time when the "Year In Review" continues...2009's biggest entertainment/celebrity stories and scandals! So long and stay strong.

Brittany Murphy: 1977-2009

Hello, everybody. I know I'm still hard at work on the "Year in Review" which you'll see next week, but as you already know, there is some sad news up front.

Brittany Murphy, the actress whose credits include "Clueless" (with Alicia Silverstone), "Uptown Girls" (with Dakota Fanning), "Girl, Interrupted", "Don't Say A Word", "8 Mile" (with Eminem), and "Sin City" among others as well as the voice of Luanne Platter on "King Of The Hill", died Sunday morning at age 32. Murphy appeared to have died of natural causes after collapsing in the bathroom of her Los Angeles home, although early reports say it was cardiac arrest.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Murphy's career started on television of course with roles on "Drexell's Class" and "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" before segueing to the big screen. Brittany also tried her hand at singing when she did "Faster Kill Pussycat" with Paul Oakenfold.

Her family released this statement: "The sudden loss of our beloved Brittany is a terrible tragedy. She was our daughter, our wife, our love and a shining star. We ask you to respect our privacy at this time." On Twitter, Ashton Kutcher (Brittany's "Just Married" co-star; they were also a couple at one time) said, "2day the world lost a little piece of sunshine. My deepest condolences go out 2 Brittany's family, her husband, & her amazing mother Sharon... see you on the other side kid." Since 2007, Murphy was married to screenwriter Simon Monjack; her last public appearance was at the premiere of "Across The Hall" earlier this month.

To go along with Michael Jackson, Walter Cronkite, Farrah Fawcett, and others including Chris Henry of the Cincinnati Bengals just recently, Brittany Murphy's sudden passing capped off a heavy year of celebrity deaths. It's too bad that with all this talent behind her belt, she would be gone just too soon. So long, stay strong, and happy holidays.

Hello, everybody. There's a whole lot of territory to cover as always, so let's go!

First up...what else? Week 2 of the Tiger Woods scandal as there were more fresh developments and more ladies stepping forward to tell the world they've spent some Tiger time themselves. And now comes breaking news that the billion-dollar golfer is taking some time off from the sport indefinitely.

One of the alleged mistresses in the cast of characters, Jamie Jungers, told "Dateline NBC" that she first met Woods in 2005 after marrying wife Elin, and that the affair lasted 18 months.

Meanwhile, Tiger's latest announcement continued to shock the golfing world. PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Fincher said in a statement, "We fully support Tiger's decision to step away from competitive golf to focus on his family. His priorities are where they need to be, and we will continue to respect and honor his family's request for privacy. We look forward to Tiger's return to the PGA Tour when he determines the time is right for him."

As for the sponsors? Gatorade and Gillette may have stepped back from him for now, but Nike continues to stand up for Tiger; according to a company rep: "Tiger has been part of Nike for more than a decade. He is the best golfer in the world and one of the greatest athletes of his era. We look forward to his return to golf. He and his family have Nike's full support." However, as of Sunday, Accucenture was the first to want out.

Now we are still in the middle of the holiday season with less than three weeks till Christmas. Tiger Woods may be no Ebenezer Scrooge, but he has known the true meaning of Christmas. It's just that right now, the only ghost he may be visiting may be the Ghost of Golf Future.

In non-Tiger news: After 53 years, CBS announced this week they're pulling the plug on "As The World Turns". This news came a few months after "Guiding Light" ended after 72 years on radio and later television.

"As The World Turns" not only introduced Meg Ryan, Dana Delany, Julianne Moore, and Martin Sheen to the world, but it also has a footnote in American history as well.

It was November 22, 1963; the show was live at 1:30 Eastern Time and things started to go smoothly as planned. But immediately after Helen Wagner (as flagship character Nancy Hughes) said her line, "And I gave it a great deal of thought, Grandpa..." just a minute or so into the broadcast, the CBS News Bulletin slide popped up with Walter Cronkite telling the world that President Kennedy has been shot in Dallas. He broke the news from an audio booth because the studio cameras and lights at the time took a lot of time to be turned on, warmed up, and be in place, as opposed to today's modern equipment which can be turned on and on the air within seconds.

Meanwhile, the program soldered on as usual, not realizing what has just transpired in Dallas. After that, there would be no more regular programming for four days straight, as the JFK assassination and its aftermath were the only thing on all three networks. It would be the same case almost 38 years later, with coverage of the September 11 attacks blanketing all programming for five days.

With "As The World Turns" about to be gone next September, that will leave "One Life To Live" as the only soap left in New York; all others -- "The Young and the Restless", "Days Of Our Lives", "The Bold and the Beautiful", "General Hospital", and soon "All My Children" -- originate in Los Angeles, which is becoming the new soap opera capital of the world.

But there was a time generations ago when soap operas were appointment TV for women all alone at home while the husband was at the office and the children at school. Cable would arrive in the early 1980's; more women would get out of the house and get jobs themselves; and that would be followed by alternate programming like talk and courtroom shows to come in later years.

The biggest test would come with the O.J. Simpson trial in 1995, and its true, unscripted drama would draw millions away from the soaps. After it was all over, the long healing process began. The good old days of soap operas with sappy storylines set to organ music may have been long gone, but they are still a break from the talk and courtroom shows filtrating the airwaves. At least the men tune in to see what female characters strip to their lingerie. Now that's sudsy action!

And last but not least...unless breaking news warrants, this is the last regular blog of 2009, as all next week I'll be working on my special series of blogs recapping the year. It's been an annual staple since 1998, when we look back at the biggest newsmakers and newsbreakers, as well as my Top 20 list. Come around Christmas weekend, watch for the AllenBlog's 2009 Year in Review; till then, so long, stay strong, and happy holidays!!!

Hello, everybody.

There's a lot to get to as we've got a few weeks left of 2009, so we begin with, you guessed it...Tiger Woods!

The world's #1 golfer had a bit of a fender bender last weekend outside his Florida home...or so we thought. It turns out that Tiger was secretly on the prowl behind wife Elin Nordegren's back, having an alleged affair with not one, or two, but three women!

One was nightclub owner Rachel Uchitel, according to the "National Enquirer" (she denied that claim); another was San Diego cocktail waitress Jamiee Grubbs who had been "sexting" Woods for the last 2 1/2 years; and there was a third mistress involved, though the details on that weren't available by publish time. We've also learned that Grubbs in 2004 pleaded guilty to misdemeanor grand theft for stealing $400 worth of merchandise at a San Diego Nordstrom store.

As far as the accident was concerned, the Florida Highway Patrol closed the case on the investigation and cited Woods for careless driving; the fine? A measly $164.

Now back to the scandals: Woods on Wednesday released a statement in response, stating "I have let my family down" and expressing regret for "transgressions."

Meanwhile, a slew of his sponsors including the key ones being Nike, Gatorade, and Gillette, are standing by Tiger 100%. But...has the Tiger been tamed?

As we have seen and heard over the last two decades, from Kobe Bryant to Bill Clinton to (most recently) David Letterman all the way back to Jimmy Swaggart, you can shrug it off and move on with your life. And Tiger Woods, with over a billion dollars in his bank account and tons of Grand Slam trophies in his trophy case including four Masters green jackets, will pretend nothing like this ever happened. It ain't going to occur overnight, you know.

On to serious news: Tuesday, President Obama in a primetime address from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York said he's going to deploy 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan and that withdrawal would begin in 18 months. But that story was nothing compared to the Obama's first White House state dinner the previous week (honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh), as there were two uninvited guests to the party we have never heard of.

So who were they? Tariq and Michaele Salahi, a couple from Virginia, part of the cast of an upcoming reality show called "The Real Housewives of D.C.", and are polo players. They were not on the guest list and happened to skirt their way to the dinner with a little outside help, and photographic proof on Michaele's Facebook page shows her with Vice President Joe Biden and other dignitaries.

Can you say "breach of security?" Probably, yes, as the Secret Service has been looking into this themselves and finding out, "How the hell did we let those nobodies in?" Apparently, the Salahis did went through the usual security procedures like the other confirmed guests. This reminds me of yours truly slinking past security at the 2003 Iditarod re-start here in Fairbanks without credentials to talk to the mushers as they were finalizing everything in their race to be the first to Nome; of course, I covered that on the old "Allen Report."

But let's hope in the case of the Salahis, the post-Oscar parties will be on their guard when security will remind them, "Sorry, you're not on the list."

And last but not least...Last time, I said that Verizon came out with the Motorola Droid in a bid to take down Apple's iPhone from AT&T; prior to that, they showed their 3G coverage map in comparison to AT&T's and saying they have more penetration.

Well, it didn't take long for AT&T to fight back against Verizon's claims, and they relied on actor Luke Wilson for help (guess Cliff Robertson was too old to be brought back). One ad featured Luke standing on a huge map showing AT&T's 3G coverage while reading postcards from those areas (it was split into two parts); another had him with a checklist and when he tried to put an "X" on Verizon in the "Name that starts with the letter 'V'", it wouldn't stick.

Apple recently put out two new ads defending the iPhone as well, with the announcer ending each one with "Can your phone -- and your network -- do that?"

To sum things up, kudos to AT&T sticking it to Verizon. I guess it won't be long till Verizon responds with that "Can you hear me now?" guy...only this time he couldn't be heard with his Droid! So long and stay strong!

Hello, everybody. So much to get to as always, so on with the show!

First up...the announcement heard 'round the world, as Oprah Winfrey on Friday told her audience that she's ending her show in 2011 after 25 years. This comes just a few days after her one-on-one with Sarah Palin (who'll I get to in a moment) aired, and Winfrey actually broke the news to her Harpo staff a day before she went public with it.

It's no secret that ratings for her show have declined a bit in recent years, but Oprah does want to move on to other ventures like launching her Oprah Winfrey Network. A couple of months ago, she shut down Chicago's Michigan Avenue for her 24th season premiere, and her push to bring the 2016 Summer Olympics to the Windy City flopped with Rio de Janeiro being awarded the rights in the end.

But I'm sure Oprah will be pulling out all the stops for her farewell season; she has had the #1 daytime talk show since going national in 1986 and she'll end her reign still at #1. And unlike Johnny Carson, she will be irreplaceable.

Now...Sarah Palin as she's on the road -- and the airwaves -- as her new book, "Going Rogue", is out. On Tuesday, the former Alaska Governor kicked off her tour in Grand Rapids, Michigan as well as getting grilled by Bill O'Reilly and Barbara Walters in new interviews.

However, the precautions for those book signings are far different than the others. One, mobile phones had to be turned off and you had to have an armband to be admitted. Two, no photo-ops with Palin; and three, media is off limits.

With the holiday shopping season drawing near, don't expect "Going Rogue" to be a stocking stuffer. My guess for the hottest gifts this year will be Blu-Ray players and tapeless video cameras, as they've been going down in price this year.

"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" opened very, very big last week, and over the weekend grossed $140 million...the third highest opening ever. And at the American Music Awards on Sunday, there were spills and thrills aplenty, from Jennifer Lopez's fall (which was edited out for the West Coast) to Adam Lambert getting a little out there during his performance. Of course, the big winners were Taylor Swift and the late Michael Jackson, whose sister Janet opened the show with a hot medley.

And last but not least...the latest iPhone ad is now playing, and the app count is now at 100,000. But they must've produced it in one hell of a hurry because rival mobile provider Verizon just put out the Motorola Droid in an attempt to out-iPhone the iPhone.

Well, to cut a long story short, iDon't care. By the way, there were those rumors earlier this year about the latest generation iPod Touch to include the same capabilities as the iPhone like a camera and microphone, but Apple squashed them though there are actually microphones for the iPod.

Wait a minute...doesn't the latest iPod Nano shoot video as well? But then again, I said last time about the hundreds of cameras of all sizes at concerts, and that's no big deal. But if they're going to add a camera to an iPod Touch, they'll have to go to great lengths to increase the storage capacity; in other words, increase the price. Then again, it's thinner compared to the iPhone, so no dice. Oh well, at least it's better off as a pocket rocker/computer/game machine than a camera, and that ain't bad. So long, stay strong, and enjoy your Thanksgiving turkey (or duck or goose or cornish game hen or whatever else you're having)!

First up (oh, and hello everybody; there has been so much going on this week -- and for the case of one newsmaker, it was one to remember -- that I really wanted to get to this blog rather quickly, so my apologies)...we never saw this coming. On Wednesday, CNN's Lou Dobbs announced to his viewers that after nearly 30 years, he's leaving the cable news channel to focus on his radio show.

Dobbs has been with CNN since it launched in 1980, and many of us remember watching him on "Moneyline." But a few years ago, his show changed formats and Lou began speaking out about anti-immigration policies, and that seemed to be more opinionated that newsworthy. He was one of the last senior faces of CNN; longtime anchor Bernard Shaw (who was also around from day one) retired after the 2000 election. At least we still have Larry King; even if ratings and viewership have slipped in recent years due to the weight of Fox Noise Channel and MSNBC, CNN is still the place to be for straightforward news with little opinion.

And speaking of Larry King...did you see disgraced former Miss USA contestant Carrie Prejean nearly storming out of her show, taking off her microphone while Larry was trying to ask her some legal question? This comes in light of a sex tape featuring Prejean apparently being leaked out on the Internet, but rumors abound whether or not Carrie staged the walkout. Legal questions are somewhat sensitive issues to discuss, so I don't think it was planned and I think Larry was just doing his job.

As for Dobbs? I never saw this coming myself, but like or hate him, we wish him the best.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin sat down with Oprah Winfrey for Monday's show; the next day, her new memoir "Going Rogue: An American Life" comes out. Except for a recent appearance here in Fairbanks at the Strykers redeployment ceremony, she has kept a low profile since handing the reins to Sean Parnell in July, focusing solely on writing her book and getting it to press.

On Oprah, Palin regretted her infamous Katie Couric interview, saying her performance was very bad. With the holiday shopping season now getting closer by the day, will I plunk my money on the book? Absolutely, positively, 100% HELL NO!!! Of course Levi Johnston -- Bristol Palin's baby daddy -- will be showing his johnson in an upcoming issue of "Playgirl"; for the ladies, that will heat up those cold Alaskan nights!

Now...when I do my annual "Year In Review" around Christmas next month, there'll no doubt be two paragraphs in the entertainment recap devoted to Taylor Swift, and what one hell of a week she had!

It all started with her pulling double duty as host and musical guest on "Saturday Night Live", killing it with a musical monologue that poked fun at Kanye West and her rumored fling with "Twilight" hunk Taylor Lautner. It resulted in the show's best ratings so far this season.

But that was nothing compared to Wednesday night at the 43rd CMA Awards. Perhaps a better name for it was "The Taylor Swift Show" as she literally cleaned house with all four of the awards she was up for including Entertainer of the Year. Oh yeah, the other person making history that night was former Hootie and the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker; he is the CMA's first black Best New Artist winner.

Next up for Taylor will be the American Music Awards followed by two shows in London and Manchester, England on November 23 and 24 respectively; I'm sure they've been sold out for months. That will be followed by a whole lot of R&R...or make that R&R&R: rest, relaxation, and reflection on 2009 being what was a banner year for Taylor Swift.

And last but not least...Swift's "Fearless" tour has packed venues around the world this year, with shows being sold out within minutes. However, many of those fans have been bringing their digital cameras to capture those moments for all times...or in that case, for YouTube.

It was never like this in the old days; if you smuggle a camcorder inside, you're kicked out of the building. Early digital cameras a decade or so ago would shoot only video, but no sound. That would change as the years -- and sizes and megapixels and memory card capacities -- went by.

There was no major outlet to show these amateur concert videos to the world...that is, until YouTube came along! Now more than ever, digital photo, mobile phone, and pocket video cameras have been making a presence at concerts worldwide, and despite the tickets being said "no camera/audio/video", there's nothing being done about it. They just want to document visual reminders for all posterity that they were there...and in the case of those unfortunate souls who weren't quick enough to get tickets, wish they were there. So long and stay strong!

Hello, everybody.

Like the rest of you on Thursday, I sat glued to my TV during the drama that was "Balloon Boy." For those not yet in the know, a homemade balloon with what we thought to be a six-year-old boy inside apparently set loose high into the skies of Colorado with the entire world holding their breaths every moment for two hours. After the balloon -- which was in the shape of a Jiffy Pop -- descended to the ground, we would learn all along that nobody was even inside it.

So, what's the story behind all this? Well, it was all brought to us by the Heene family from Fort Collins outside Denver. Falcon, the six-year-old at the epicenter, went inside the balloon for a short while before he untethered it and then flew out of the house. After that, Falcon rushed into the attic and hid in a cardboard box the whole time. Everybody thought he was inside the balloon, but it wasn't the case as home video and later a 911 call were released.

Now this is not new to them; the Heenes recently appeared on ABC's "Wife Swap" and the father, Richard, was a retired weatherman himself. But in the last couple of days now, we've learned new details as well as asking the burning question: Was this whole thing staged for the cameras on what was a slow news day?

Authorities and the Heenes are denying any claims about Balloon Boy being a hoax, as the family wasted no time hitting "Larry King" and the morning shows after the unexpected incident. Whether or not we're buying what Richard Heene's saying, one thing's for certain: it sure knocked Jon & Kate off the headlines!

In other news...Rush Limbaugh's bid to own the St. Louis Rams was thankfully declined by the NFL players' union as the controversial radio personality in the past lashed out against the team making some racial remarks.

But perhaps some better news coming out of this is that Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas may be considering part ownership of the Miami Dolphins. Does this mean we could be hearing "My Humps" being blared whenever they score a touchdown?

And last but not least...A few weeks ago, Sarah Michelle (Gellar) Prinze gave birth to baby girl Charlotte Grace. Months prior, she was in New York shooting the pilot for "The Wonderful Maladys" in the hopes HBO would greenlight it. Well, according to sources though not yet confirmed, HBO has said no to Sarah Michelle's return to television.

That's the bad news. The good news: The pilot's already been in the can for a while and there's a good chance it may be shopped to Showtime and AMC to see which one will pick it up. Both channels have been after HBO's blood (even if they have the hot "True Blood") in the last couple of years; Showtime with "Weeds", "Dexter", "Californication", and of course "Inside The NFL"; AMC has the Emmy-winning "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad."

And if not Showtime or AMC, maybe they could try FX, TNT, maybe ABC Family, maybe USA Network! Which one do you think will try their luck? Vote in my QuikPoll or comment on my Twitter page; I'll have your opinions next time.

Besides, even with her new baby, we'd still rather see Sarah Michelle Gellar back on our screens instead of boring ourselves with Sarah Palin's upcoming book! So long and stay strong.

Hello, everybody.

Well, President Obama may have failed in bringing the Olympics back to America and in Chicago, but at least he got an unexpected consolation prize: The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. He is the third sitting U.S. President after Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson and fourth in general after Jimmy Carter to be awarded humanitarian's highest honor.

According to the Norweigan Nobel Committee, Obama was honored for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples" (maybe they were referring to that beer summit at the White House the other month); they also stated that "only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future." Obama himself said that he was "surprised and deeply humbled" by the committee's unanimous decision.

But of course, not everybody is taking this with a grain of salt...especially the right-wingers like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, who have never done enough homework about what the Nobel Peace Prize is all about. I do not want to go into detail into what they were spewing about, because it's not my thing and I want to move on with the rest of this blog.

Obama will be donating his $1.4 million prize to charity and he'll be invited to the annual Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo, Norway next month. Whether you agree with me or not, it is something well worth deserving.

Now I want to bypass all the David Letterman and Jon and Kate gobbledygook (because I don't feel like bringing those up) and zoom forward to shocking news in the Twitterverse, as Miley Cyrus for reasons unbeknownst to us, has bailed out (she explained it all in rap form). Also following her lead are Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore, but thankfully their fellow "Charlie's Angels" co-star Lucy Liu is still there; they all have home on MySpace as well.

A few blogs ago, I brought up the fact that thanks to Ashton Kutcher, a slew of celebrities have been getting on the Twitter bandwagon, tweeting their latest happenings from not just their computers, but mobile phones, Blackberrys, and iPhones as well. And it's all without the aid of any publicists.

But of course, those celebs have lives away from Twitter as well, and they don't tweet often...that is, unless if you're Ashton or Lucy, who won't alienate their growing number of followers.

And last but not least...if you haven't been watching "WWE Raw" in the last few months, then congratulations. In a desperate attempt to boost their slumping ratings, they've been relying on Hollywood power as celebrities such as Shaquille O'Neal, Bob Barker, Jeremy Piven, and Rev. Al Sharpton have been invited to guest host the show. This Monday, it'll be Nancy O'Dell and Maria Menounos from "Access Hollywood." Why them, I don't know; maybe Mary Hart didn't return their calls.

I don't watch it anymore, but please: Make this gimmick stop! So long and stay strong.

Hello, everybody. That number you see at the top is the amount of this year's Permanent Fund Dividend, as Governor Sean Parnell announced it to all of Alaska Wednesday night; as promised, I broke it to you on Twitter within seconds.

The $1,305 payout is $764 less than last year's record $2,069 (not counting the one-time $1,200 energy bonus). Those who requested their checks to be direct deposited will see it on their bank accounts October 8; otherwise, start checking your mailboxes on the 22nd.

Once again, $1,305 is how much the 2009 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend will be worth. So long, stay strong, and spend it wisely.

Hello, everybody. At the 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, it was deja vu for "30 Rock" and "Mad Men" as both shows repeated their respective Comedy and Drama Series wins.

But in the case of individuals...Alec Baldwin repeated his crown, but not Tina Fey; Toni Collette ("United States of Tara") took Outstanding Actress-Comedy. On the drama side, Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") and Glenn Close ("Damages") were both repeaters.

Other winners include: Jon Cryer (Supporting Actor-Comedy, "Two and a Half Men"), Kristin Chenoweth (Supporting Actress-Comedy, "Pushing Daisies"; she suffered a migraine and was later attended to paramedics but is doing fine), Michael Emerson (Supp. Actor-Drama, "Lost"), Cherry Jones (Supp. Actress-Drama, "24"), Jessica Lange (Actress-Miniseries/Movie, "Grey Gardens"; it also took Miniseries/Movie honors), Jeff Probst for the second straight time (Reality-Competiton Host, "Survivor"); and for the seventh straight time in a row...both "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (Variety, Music, or Comedy Series) and "The Amazing Race" (Reality-Competition Program).

Things were hot both temperature-wise (100 degrees under the shade) and fashion-wise prior to host Neil Patrick Harris kicking off the festivities inside the very air-conditioned Nokia Theatre. On the red carpet, we saw Debra Messing ravishing in Michael Kors red, Jennifer Love Hewitt feeling like sunshine in Max Azaria, curvy Kim Kardashian in Ini Soltani, Jamie-Lynn Sigler drizzling in Donna Karan, Carolina Herrera dressing Mariska Hargitay pretty well, and Chenoweth being the only leggy delight.

So, who were the standouts? Have to be Drew Barrymore (Monique Lhullier), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Vera Wang), and an extremely pregnant Heidi Klum (Marchesa). And even if we had wildfires that threatened Los Angeles a month ago, I hope somebody set Kyra Sedgwick's, Kristen Wiig's, Phoebe Price's and Sarah Silverman's gowns on fire so that they won't be worn again!

In a span of a week, we have went from one award show headlined by Kanye West's verbal lashing on Taylor Swift to another headlined by the usual suspects winning and then some. But I have a feeling that even though they were snubbed this time around, next year "True Blood" may "Damage" those "Mad Men."

Now that television's best have been handed out Emmys, on Wednesday we'll find out how much free money Alaskans will be handed out as Gov. Sean Parnell will announce the amount of this year's Permanent Fund Dividend. Last year's check was a record $2,069 (minus the one-time $1,200 bonus); but with the wounded economy, it may be expected to go back to around $1,300-$1,400.

My guess will be $1,372.04, but we won't know the official number until Wednesday evening at around 5:00 Alaska Time (9:00 Eastern/6:00 Pacific). And yes...I will have it on Twitter (twitter.com/jonathanallen) the second it's announced with full details on the blog shortly thereafter!

And last but not least...A full-page ad in the "Washington Post" put out by Fox News Channel about the lack of other news outlets not covering the tea party rally in Washington the other week has been drawing fire from...those other news outlets who claim they covered it!

CNN's Rick Sanchez fired the opening shot on Friday, not only showing the ad, but visual proof of their rally coverage from CNN themselves. He then went on a tirade about Fox News and even going Joe Wilson on them. (By the way, C-SPAN had top-to-bottom coverage of the rally)

With Glenn Beck on their channel and as this generation's Rush Limbaugh, and their continuing bogus claims that they've had higher ratings than CNN and others (actually, it's CNN that has the advantage if you read the fine print in their promos), it's safe to say that Fox News has always taken the "Sleazy Route" of cable news. CNN of course, has remained in the "Safe Route" for almost 30 years. And with that...so long and stay strong!

Hello, everybody.

As I broke it on my Twitter page Monday afternoon, Patrick Swayze, best known for his work in "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost", died at age 57 after a year-long bout with pancreatic cancer.

Though his co-stars were Jennifer Grey and Demi Moore respectively, Patrick's co-star for life was always his wife of 34 years, Lisa Niemi. But till the end, he's been working on the A&E drama series "The Beast", though the last time he did television was that memorable Chippendales skit on "Saturday Night Live" with Chris Farley (his last TV interview was early this year with Barbara Walters). Now the two are reunited in heaven and Swayze will be missed.

And the celebrity deaths keep on coming, as actor Henry Gibson ("Laugh-In", "Innerspace", "The Burbs", and "Wedding Crashers") has died on Wednesday at 73, as did Mary Travers, 1/3 of the folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary; she was 72.

But news of Patrick Swayze's passing sure knocked one big entertainment story off the headlines: The Kanye West/Taylor Swift VMA smackdown.

To refresh your memory, Swift went on stage to accept Female Video at Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards, until from out of nowhere, Kanye crashed the party saying that Beyonce Knowles had the best video with "Single Ladies." It got massive boos from the audience and Kanye was later kicked out of the show. When Beyonce won Video of the Year, she re-invited Taylor back to the stage and let bygones be bygones minus Kanye.

Almost immediately, there were non-stop tweets about it all over Twitter; even President Obama weighed in, secretly calling Kanye "a jackass" for interrupting Taylor. Donald Trump also had something to say; he even called for a Kanye boycott.

The next night on the premiere of "The Jay Leno Show" (which debuted big with 17.7 million viewers), Kanye just before his performance spent a few minutes explaining his side of the story; the next morning, it was Taylor's turn in front of the ladies of "The View." After her appearance, West called up Swift to apologize for Sunday.

Now this is not new to Kanye. Remember his "George Bush doesn't care about black people" remark during a Hurricane Katrina relief effort telethon, parodied by Chris Rock with his "George Bush hates midgets" on another? That set off racial firestorms about the Bush administration not using enough resources to help out the hurricane victims as non-government agencies stepped in in their wake.

But what do I make of all of this? Well, Taylor Swift at 19 is on top of the country music world right now, and Kanye West tarnishing her moment in the sun as becoming that genre's first moonman winner was purely a slap in the face. But then again, this was the MTV Video Music Awards, where they stand by its motto: "Expect the unexpected." So long and stay strong.

Hello, everybody; let's get on with the show!

First up...on Wednesday shortly after the House and Senate returned to work after the August recess, President Obama in another joint session address laid out the blueprint for health care reform. This comes after a month of turmoil at various health care town hall meetings all over the country.

However, one person really had something to say during the address, when Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina heckled the president saying "You lie!" Hey, this ain't the House of Commons in London; this is Capitol Hill; and Wilson had no right to interrupt the boss of bosses! Anyway, Wilson realized his mistake, and apologized to Obama.

But what is up with South Carolina politics? First their governor had a secret rendezvous with some gal in Argentina; now one of their Congressmen has mouthed out. Perhaps at Obama's first State of the Union address next year, we'll have the duct tape ready to shut up Wilson's mouth with.

Friday was of course the eighth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and of course I covered it on the old "Allen Report" site. But where was I on that day?

I was working as a dishwasher at the (now-defunct) Captain Bartlett Inn here in Fairbanks, and hours earlier, nobody called me very early in the morning to turn on the TV to CNN or someplace about what was going on in New York. When I woke up at the usual time of 6:00 am, one of the towers in the World Trade Center was already gone. By the time I came to work at close to 8:00, the radio in the kitchen was already tuned to coverage of the attacks and then I gave a brief word of commentary of what just transpired. Then, things started to get really hectic when the kitchen and hotel staffs banded together on the fly to accommodate the passengers whose planes were grounded (e.g., cooks vacuuming the restaurant carpet, bell hoppers setting up tables, etc.). That was pretty much the same case at other hotels all over town. Back in my work area, I teared up knowing that over 2,000 lives were lost on one single day, all made possible by Osama Bin Laden. And no need to argue: it was an outside job. What happened in Oklahoma City six years earlier thanks to Timothy McVeigh was made in the USA.

Except for breaks for local news and minimal programming, television coverage of the attacks and its aftermath ran non-stop on all four networks for almost a week, delaying the start of the fall season. Even the Primetime Emmy Awards felt the effect, delaying it to October and then finally November opposite the seventh and deciding game of the World Series, won by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The new World Trade Center is set to be finished in time for the tenth anniversary of the attacks in 2011. It won't be exactly the same as the old WTC, but will be a lasting reminder of the unforgettable heinous attack ever had on American soil.

Out with Paula Abdul...in with Ellen DeGeneres! That's right; Ellen replaces Paula as the fourth permanent judge on "American Idol." If it's not a way to boost "Idol's" sagging ratings, I don't know what is.

And last but not least... Sunday night was the MTV Video Music Awards, back at Radio City Music Hall in New York after stops in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The show began with a memorable tribute to Michael Jackson, preceded by a surprise appearance by Madonna and capped off by sister Janet's own farewell with "Scream."

In between performances by Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, and Green Day, there were moonmen to be handed out as always. Swift took Best Female Video, only to be upstaged by Kanye West who stormed the stage saying that Beyonce Knowles had the best video. Well apparently, Beyonce did win Video of the Year for "Single Ladies", and invited Swift back on stage in a show of gratitude. Other winners include Green Day (Rock Video, "21 Guns"), Britney Spears (Pop Video, "Womanizer"), Eminem (Hip-Hop Video, "We Made You"), T.I. featuring Rihanna (Male Video, "Live Your Life"), and Lady Gaga (Best New Artist).

Kanye on the other hand? Just like last year and the year before, a sore loser. Another sore loser -- okay, not that sore, but she'll get her due next year -- was Katy Perry. But hey, at least she got nominated and I thought she was a leggy treat. Lady Gaga? Even with Kermit the Frog -- that's right, Kermit the Frog! -- as her date for the night, she's always a trick.

But the VMAs were only a warm-up to the 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards happening next Sunday. And at the Creative Arts ceremonies on Saturday, Tina Fey's dead-on Sarah Palin on "Saturday Night Live" earned her Emmy gold for Guest Actress in a Comedy. Will she make it two for two with another win for "30 Rock?" We'll find out; so long and stay strong.

Hello, everybody. A lot has happened as we're into Labor Day weekend, so let's get to it!

First up...California is in flames once again as a wildfire has threatened Los Angeles, especially Mount Wilson where all the broadcasting transmitters reside. At last report, over 150 fire crews were dispatched to that area to keep the fire at bay. And Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger even helped out the firefighters by feeding them bowls of Cream of Wheat so that they can be "pumped up" by fighting those flames. Also, it is been believed that arson may have played a key role in igniting the blaze which have claimed two firefighters and burned nearly 242 square miles (154,655 acres). Schwarzenegger offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of who was responsible.

Right now, it is nearly halfway contained at 49 percent and the fires are no longer a threat to L.A. Full containment is expected to be after Labor Day.

Well...are you ready for "The Fantastic Four meets the Jonas Brothers?" That's one of the many possibilities as Marvel Comics was acquired by Disney for $4 billion. With that, they'll be the second comic book company owned by a media conglomerate; Time Warner already owns Marvel's longtime rival DC Comics.

Jokes about that deal were all over Twitter, including some about Wolverine from X-Men singing, Wonder Woman teaming up with Hannah Montana, Huey, Louie, and Dewey cast in the upcoming "High School Musical" movie, Donald Duck vs. Howard The Duck (and who remembers that shitty movie?), and Captain America joining "Dancing With The Stars."

And since they're another Disney property, I'm now looking forward to when ESPN's Chris Berman gets real angry during NFL highlights and turns into the Incredible Hulk.

And last but not least...2 1/2 months after his death, Michael Jackson was finally laid to rest Thursday night at Forest Lawn Mortuary in Glendale; the final official farewell was attended by Rev. Al Sharpton, Jackson's friends Elizabeth Taylor and Macaulay Culkin (with girlfriend Mila Kunis, whose latest movie "Extract" is now out), ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley, and others. Unlike the public memorial held in July, it was a very private affair that started and ended late instead of on schedule.

Nonetheless, and one year now after the passing of my grandmother Mildred, it was a fitting goodbye to the King of Pop. That's all I have to say; enjoy the rest of your Labor Day weekend and so long and stay strong.

Hello, everybody. On Thursday as I broke it to you on Twitter, we've lost the last of the Kennedy brothers as Edward "Ted" Kennedy, the third longest-serving senator in U.S. history who represented Massachusetts for 46 years, died at age 77 after a year-long bout with brain cancer. A funeral mass for him was held in Boston this morning with President Obama and the other living presidents except for George H.W. Bush in attendance. His flag-draped casket laid in repose at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston on Thursday; the lines were so long that they even extended the closing time to 2:00 am. That would be followed by a memorial service at the library on Friday, with "Irish Eyes Are Smiling" as the closer to a hearty goodbye.

Ted is now laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery next to brother Robert, but hundreds of yards away from JFK's graves.

Kennedy leaves behind of course a great legacy, though it hasn't come without notoriety. Ted was elected to the Senate in 1962 to fill the void left behind by brother Robert, who became Attorney General under JFK. Both would be hit by assassins' bullets within five years of each other, and Ted decided to set his sights on the biggest prize of all, the White House. But it was Chappaquiddick that would put a permanent crimp on his fledgling political career in 1969, when his Oldsmobile crashed off a bridge into the water with him escaping the scene and former Robert Kennedy campaign worker Mary Jo Kopechne drowning to her death. Ted went on national television to explain his side of the story in an attempt to save his bacon, but the damage was already done.

That didn't stop his hopes on becoming President, and he would get his one and only chance in 1980 in the Democratic primary, losing to incumbent Jimmy Carter (who of course would later lose to Ronald Reagan). After that, he realized that the Senate was the place to be.

During his time on Capitol Hill, Kennedy helped pass numerous bills including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Civil Rights Act, No Child Left Behind, the National Cancer Act, and others. And with health care reform still being the prime issue, with Ted gone it will now be a struggle to get that passed.

In May 2008, Ted was diagnosed with brain cancer, and he made a surprise appearance at the Democratic National Convention. Though the cancer would spread to his body, his mind was still sharp till the end.

Now that Sen. Edward Kennedy is reunited with his brothers in heaven, the days of Camelot are now long gone. And the lion that roared throughout the Senate chamber for decades like a Kennedy would is roaring no more.

With that out of the way, on to a lighter change of pace...

Once upon a time, there was Twitter. It pretty much had no use whatsoever except for rapid blogging within a 140-character limit. But then from out of the blue came some guy named Ashton Kutcher who, along with his wife Demi Moore, were looking for a way to inform the world in real-time about their latest happenings without the aid of PR people. They turned to Twitter, and the rest as they say was history. The two pages combined now have a total of over 5.2 million followers and growing every day!

Now more than ever, even with Facebook and MySpace around (I have pages on those, by the way), the entire world is jumping on the Twitter bandwagon...even the growing number of celebrities who are following Ashton and Demi's lead. Some of our politicians are getting into it as well, including the White House.

However, not all celebrity Twitter pages are created equal. There are handfuls of them that claim to be real, and the only way to find out is to check the "Verified account" symbol at the top. When I found what appeared to be Sarah Michelle Gellar's Twitter as sarahMGprinze, I alerted it to the world right away...only to realize that it wasn't her. The official one, SarahMGellar, proves to be legitimate; she's actually had it since late spring and has over 2,200 followers. And I'm sure that when she gives birth to her first baby in a matter of weeks, the number will double upon that news. No need waiting for the entertainment news shows; with the power of Twitter, we would get the official word from Sarah Michelle herself!

Besides, with constant photographic coverage of her growing baby bump in the last few weeks, this is one Sarah worth following right now. Sarah Palin? Who cares!!! So long and stay strong.