Last year, I was right on Pope John Paul II passing away, but half-right on another cursed team becoming the next to win the World Series; it would be the Chicago White Sox. Here's what I'm hoping will happen in 2006...which, by the way, has already started in Australia:

• The Seattle Seahawks, who've been red-hot in the NFL as of late, will win Super Bowl XL giving Mike Holmgrem the lifelong chance to raise the Vince Lombardi Trophy in the air
• Target will finally get its first store in Alaska -- and it will be here in Fairbanks at the old Fred Meyer
• The Democrats will take back Capitol Hill from the troubled Republicans in the mid-term elections, while Stephen Harper will be elected Canada's next Prime Minister
• XM and Sirius Satellite Radio will finally expand to all 50 states, now that Howard Stern will be heading to the latter at the beginning of the year
• Billy Graham will be the next to go after John Paul II
• Michelle Kwan will finally get Olympic gold at the Winter games in Italy after her previous silver and bronze finishes in Nagano and Salt Lake City respectively
• And with the Chicago White Sox's World Series curse has been lifted, the Cubs will be next after 98 years

We'll see if any of those come true. And from me to you...
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

From October to December, thousands of you voted in my seventh annual polls for the Sexiest Man and Woman of 2005; the latter one was of course the most controversial ever! Here were the final results:

SEXIEST MAN:
Matthew McConaughey--23%
Josh Holloway--18%
Jesse Metcalfe--16%
George Clooney--11%
Ty Pennington--10%
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson/Clive Owen--5%
Phil Keoghan/Usher--4%
Jamie Foxx--3%
TOTAL VOTES: 73 (17 for McConaughey)

SEXIEST WOMAN (FINAL ROUND):
Lauren Graham--28%
Jennifer Garner--20%
Jennifer Aniston--12%
Rachel Bilson--9%
Angelina Jolie--8%
Kelly Clarkson/Sarah Michelle Gellar--5%
Jessica Alba/Kristen Bell--4%
Mischa Barton--3%
Toni Braxton--1%
TOTAL VOTES: 2,281 (Round 1 preliminaries) +
5,972 (Round 2) + 6,076 (Round 3) + 2,147 (main poll; 607 for Graham) =
16,476

GRAND TOTAL FROM ALL POLLS:
16,549 VOTES!!!!!

Congratulations to Matthew McConaughey and Lauren Graham, the Sexiest Man and Woman of 2005! Will one or both of them repeat their victories? Find out next year; and thanks for your votes as always!

Tomorrow...my predictions for 2006 as we conclude our week-long "2005 Year in Reivew"!

Since 1991 (and 1998 online), I've been doing this list that covers who or what has been hot this year. Without any further ado, here for the 15th year are the...

20 (in her SEVENTH STRAIGHT APPEARANCE). Britney Spears and Kevin Federline (Nobody cared about their UPN show, but we did care about their new baby boy)

19. Carrie Underwood (aka Kelly Clarkson gone country)

18. The "Dukes of Hazzard" movie (Which became nothing but a masturbation fest for Jessica Simpson in her Daisy Dukes and bikini)

17. California voters "Terminating" all four of Governor Schwarzenegger's ballot propositions (Suddenly, Warren Beatty seemed very happy)

16. Steve Carell yelling out Kelly Clarkson's name in vain in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" (It would've been more funnier if "Kelly Clarkson" was subsituted with "Clay Aiken")

15. "Dancing With the Stars" (Cha-Cha-Cha!)

14. "Mad Money with Jim Cramer" (Louis Rukeyser meets Jerry Lewis with sound effects, though he's much more humble on the radio show)

13. "Grey's Anatomy" ("ER" with sex appeal...only that they're on after "Desperate Housewives")

12. Jamie Foxx winning the Best Actor Oscar...and then releasing a music CD just recently (Somebody call Cher!!!)

11. Paris Hilton's too racy Carl's Jr. commercial (That's hot! And wet! And sudsy!)

10. Pat O'Brien's adventures of sex, drugs, and booze (That's so f-ing hot!)

9. Oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge rejected by the Senate (Ted Stevens says it was the saddest day in his life; I say it was the happiest day in the environmentalists' lives)

8. NBC still in fourth place despite "My Name is Earl" being a hit (I'll leave Jaime Pressly alone)

7. Lance Armstrong calling it a career after his seventh and last Tour de France victory (He wanted to retire just so he can bang Sheryl Crow round the clock)

6. My two-week vacation in the South (Okay, I had to put it in there)

5. Martha Stewart's full-fledged comeback with her new daytime show and her first -- and last -- version of "The Apprentice" (a very good thing, I should say)

4. The Chicago White Sox winning the World Series (And in Northside Chicago, the Cubs fans are chanting "Wait till next year!")

3. Hollywood helping out after Hurricane Katrina (Maybe Chris Rock could take back his "George Bush hates midgets" remark)

2. The beginnings and/or ends of celebrity couples (Too many to name; see "Year in Entertainment")

And the #1 thing that had the whole world talking in 2005 that'll slop over into 2006...

#1. The Bush administration in trouble
(Harriet Miers, not responding quickly after Katrina, the CIA leak, and now admittance to wiretapping...Forget Watergate and Lewinsky, they churn out one scandal after another!)

Tomorrow as the "2005 Year In Review" continues...the final results of the Sexiest Man and Woman polls.

From "Everybody Loves Raymond" closing out on a huge note, to TomKat, Brangelina, and Bennifer II, to a very weak box office that had many moviegoers beefing up their DVD libraries, to a "Mad"-man helping us beat the street (Wall Street, that is), to Mariah Carey scoring a John Travolta-like comeback, 2005 entertainment-wise had us either on the edge of our seats or jumping out of them.

Chris Rock rocked the 77th Annual Academy Awards with his edgy self; but there had to be some recognition handed out in between them. Jamie Foxx's portrayal of Ray Charles sang his way to Best Actor, while Cate Blanchett's Supporting Actress helped "The Aviator" pick up the most bounty with five Oscars. But in the end, it was "Million Dollar Baby" that had the TKO with Actress (Hilary Swank), Supporting Actress (Morgan Freeman, who just recently lashed out about Black History Month on "60 Minutes"), Director (Clint Eastwood, who extended usual heavy favorite Martin Scorsese's losing streak to 0-6), and Best Picture of 2004.

Ten seasons were enough for "Everybody Loves Raymond", though the series finale was only a standard half-hour but still managed to get high numbers nonetheless -- as well as a Best Comedy Emmy beating out "Desperate Housewives"...which, by the way, earned Felicity Huffman the Best Comedy Actress prize. "The Daily Show" and "The Amazing Race" were 3-0 in their respective categories, while the Donald Trump/Megan Mullally collaboration of "Green Acres" brought the house down...with laughter!

CBS was of course still the dominant network, while NBC was at the same rut ABC was last year until "Housewives" and Best Drama "Lost" came along: DEAD SOLID FOURTH PLACE!!! But that could change in 2006 thanks to the Winter Olympics and now Sunday Night Football.

On the Fox side of things, they were red-hot thanks to new hit "House" and of course, "American Idol", in which Carrie Underwood was the latest winner. And the first couple of reality TV, "Boston Rob" Mariano and Amber Brkich, helped "Amazing Race" score huge ratings (well, in Canada); but in the end, it would be Uchenna and Joyce Agu at the finish line.

But one of the biggest TV hits of 2005 happened to be "Grey's Anatomy" on ABC. Premiered during mid-season following "Housewives", it quickly rose to the top of the Sunday night ratings and putting that other medical drama ("ER") on life support. "Ghost Whisperer" (CBS), "Commander in Chief" (ABC), "My Name is Earl" (NBC), and "Mad Money with Jim Cramer" (CNBC) on the cable side also had viewers tuning in in droves.

2005 would also be the comeback year for both Martha Stewart and Mariah Carey. Stewart with her new daytime show and her own installment of "The Apprentice" (the latter show flopped), and Carey with "The Emancipation of Mimi" after her last two efforts -- "Glitter" and "Charmbracelet" -- did modest to poor success.

At the box office...well, despite a lot of hits and misses like "Wedding Crashers", "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", and Peter Jackson's "King Kong", many moviegoers would rather build up their DVD collections instead of spending a day or night at the movies.

Shortly after both the Asian tsunamis and later Hurricane Katrina, the entertainment community once again took time to help those whose lives and/or belongings were lost to the tragedies with a series of telethons. I already brought up Kanye West's comments in the "Year in News", but Chris Rock parodied it on the multi-network "Shelter from the Storm" telethon with "George Bush hates midgets."

Other major stories of the year included: Michael Jackson's acquittal in the child molestation trial, Lindsay Lohan's car crash in front of a stream of paparazzi, Russell Crowe not knowing how to call Australia from the U.S. and throwing a hotel room telephone, Kate Moss' reputation shattered after a British tabloid ran pics of her snorting cocaine, Pat O'Brien's sex 'n drugs 'n booze scandal with X-rated phone messages in between them, and former "American Idol" contestant Corey Clark admitting that there was something really going on between him and Paula Abdul.

So...what was indeed the year's biggest entertainment story? It's all about the makeups and breakups, starting with Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston and their sudden split which later became a divorce. And then, Angelina Jolie was added to the fray. Whether or not Jolie and Pitt really do have something going on between them will remain a mystery...that is, until they surprisingly wed.

Then, there was Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson. When the two got hitched years ago, it was when Nick was the bigger star. But Jessica thanks to the "Dukes of Hazzard" movie has taken much of the spotlight from him, and rumors began to flow about the couple's future. Well, in December, the speculation finally ended when the two split and later divorced.

Renee Zellweger married Kenny Chesney, but that didn't last long. After only four months, Zellweger had that annulled.

But perhaps the one couple that had the whole world abuzz throughout 2005 happened to be Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Cruise just came off from a brief fling with Sofia Vergara; Holmes was single again after she and Chris Klein called off their engagement. But when they first locked lips in Rome in late April and Cruise jumping for joy in front of Oprah Winfrey, they would never let go ever since.

And there were plenty of legit makeups as well: Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman, Donald Trump and Melania Knauss, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner (their baby girl Violet would be born months later), Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, Heidi Klum and Seal, the aforementioned Rob and Amber, Sandra Bullock and Jesse James, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles; and in a "civil union" at that very same place of Charles and Camilla's nuptials, Elton John and David Furniss. Oh yeah, and Britney Spears and Kevin Federline introduced the world to baby boy Sean Preston.

Now, all sights are set on 2006; and with awards season already underway, it'll be quite an Oscar showdown as far as "Good Night and Good Luck" and "Brokeback Mountain" are concerned. Will Brad and Angelina finally end all the speculation that they are a couple, and who will be the first one to be no more? And, who will also score a major comeback after Martha and Mariah? Come the new year, there'll be 365 questions and 365 answers to find out.

Tomorrow, my "Year in Review" continues with the Top 20 Things That Had the Whole World Talking in 2005.

Looking back at 2005, it was when George W. Bush's next four years in office would be met with more casulties in Iraq and his government dropping the ball on Hurricane Katrina, while Iraqis would make a (finger) mark in history with their first free elections in over four decades...and not even Saddam can't stop it.

But we began the year with the aftermath of 2004's last big story, the tsunamis in Southeast Asia. While the death toll continued to mount, relief organizations from all over started to pitch in. Even the entertainment community, powered by Sandra Bullock's $1 million donation to the American Red Cross, helped.

At Super Bowl XXXIX, one year after everything blew up in proportions over the Janet/Justin debacle, the focus this time was on the game (and Paul McCartney at halftime) as the New England Patriots easily held off the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21, thanks to -- you guessed it -- another game-winning field goal by Adam Vinatieri. Deion Branch was the game's MVP. And on the college football side, Matt Leinart and his USC team were, to quote one of ABC's slogans from back in the day, "Still The One."

In Washington, Alberto Gonzales became the newest and first Hispanic Attorney General, while 64 people were killed in a series of floods and mudslides in Colombia and Venezuela. Meanwhile, the remainder of the NHL season was canceled, only to see the long lockout finally end later in the year and with the league undergoing an extreme makeover to win fans back.

As they continued to pick up the pieces, former Presidents Bush and Clinton toured the devastated areas in Asia after the tsunamis. And after spending over a decade of terrorizing Wichita, Kansas from the '70s to early '90s, Dennis Rader -- otherwise known as the "BTK Killer" -- was identified and apprehended; he would later be served 10 consecutive life sentences for his crimes.

In early March, Martha Stewart ended her time at "Camp Cupcake" but would be placed under house arrest for five more months; see "Year in Entertainment" for her huge comeback. Also, almost 25 years after ash was spewed all over the Northwest, Mount St. Helens was back shooting a plume as far away as Portland. And the 2005 Iditarod was once again "The Robert Sorlie Show" where, despite losing his lead one time to Paul Gephardt, it was sleep deprivation that became the key to his second win.

Illinois' chances for a clean sweep in the NCAA Final Four were swept away by North Carolina, winning the men's title 75-70; Baylor took the women's crown over Michigan State. And the battle for Terri Schiavo's life did hang in the balance; in the end, her feeding tube would be cut off permanently and she would later die.

In what was one of the most memorable plays of the year in the 16th hole (I wonder how many of you checked your watches before the ball started to plop down), Tiger Woods dethroned David Toms at the Masters in sudden death. Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles tied the knot after the world said their final goodbyes to Pope John Paul II (which I'll get to later), while Joseph Ratzinger would be elected Pope Benedict XVI.

In Britain, Tony Blair was easily re-elected as their Prime Minister, but that celebration would be short lived as two bombs exploded outside the British Consulate in New York. In the Russian state of Georgia, a live hand grenade landed 100 feet of President Bush while speaking. It didn't detonate. And during the Memorial Day holiday, the decades-old mystery as to who "Deep Throat" was was finally solved: It was W. Mark Felt.

The Indianapolis 500 was more like the Danica Patrick 500 as she became the first woman to lead in the race. But her chances at becoming the first female winner came up short, as low fuel led to Dan Wheldon picking up the checkered flag. Also in June, the San Antonio Spurs claimed their third NBA title over defending champion Detroit Pistons. Maybe they won just to make Eva Longoria happy.

Here in Fairbanks, Eielson Air Force Base was one of several military installments threatened to close down forever; in the end after public support from all over fueled by a public hearing, the base was saved. At least I still have my "Save Eielson!" T-shirt and wear it on occasion.

24 hours after London was awarded the 2012 Olympics, a series of explosions occurred at public transportation areas in what was called Britain's 9/11; 56 people were killed. And my two-week summer vacation in the South didn't stop me from following other news like John G. Roberts' appointment to the Supreme Court, Hurricane Dennis wreaking a little havoc in Florida, another terrorist attack on London (only this time, the bombs failed to explode) with only a single injury, NASA's return to space after the Columbia disentragation, and of course, the Tour de France becoming the Tour de Lance (Armstrong) for the seventh and last time.

Everybody survived after an Air Canada flight crashed outside Toronto's Pearson Airport, while settlers would be forced out of the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Pat Robertson's televised remarks about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez needing to be assassinated put him in the news again. In late September, after the passing of William Rehnquist, John Roberts would be given the Chief Justice job; and in early October 25, people were killed in a series of bombings in Bali. And at the World Series, one Chicago team managed to lift a decades-old curse to clinch the title: The Chicago White Sox.

Election Day 2005 was a good one for the Democrats when Jon Corzine took New Jersey's gubernatorial seat away from Doug Forrester, and Tim Kaine over Jerry Kilgore in Virginia; Michael Bloomberg earned another four years as New York's mayor. But it was an even worse night for Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose four ballot propositions all went down in defeat in California. That to go along with the victories in New Jersey and Virginia are expected to set the stage for the Democrats taking back Capitol Hill from the Republicans in next year's mid-terms and in 2008.

Meanwhile in Canada, Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberal government was rocked by scandal, and one day after a no-confidence vote brought it down, a general election was set for January 23. And New York was hit with a transit strike with Christmas a few days away, causing commuters everywhere looking for alternatives to get around the Big Apple. After a scary three days, the subways and buses were back in service.

All throughout 2005, we said our final goodbyes to Peter Jennings, Eugene McCarthy, Richard Pryor, Nipsey Russell, TV producer and personality Ralph Edwards, former British soccer star George Best, pro wrestler Eddie Guerrero, Canadian newscaster Earl Cameron (whose Eugene Levy's Earl Camembert on "SCTV" was based on), John Spencer, Arthur Miller, Charles Rocket (best known for dropping the F-bomb during "Saturday Night Live's" disastrous 1980-81 season), Don Adams, Bob Denver, Chris Schenkel, Simon Wiesenthal, Barbara Bel Geddes, Rosa Parks, James "Scotty" Doohan, Shirley Chisolm (the first ever black U.S. Congresswoman), Sandra Dee, Hunter S. Thompson, Pat Morita, Eddie Albert, Luther Vandross, Johnny Carson, Anne Bancroft, explorer Norman Vaughan, and in April, Pope John Paul II...who made a couple of brief visits to Alaska in the '80s.

But of course, the biggest story of 2005 has to be Hurricane Katrina, which completely left much of New Orleans and the Mississippi coast in ruins. And knowing that I lived in Mississippi in the late '80s/early '90s as well as vacationing there four times including just this past summer, it has hit me personally. Thankfully, the storm missed many spots -- including my aunt's house in Gulfport, which remained intact. Katrina would of course be followed by Rita and later Wilma weeks later, making 2005 a record year for hurricanes.

However, the biggest question as far as the aftermath was concerned was: Where was the help? Fingers throughout were pointed at FEMA dropping the ball, and the lateness of federal aid led to humanitarian organizations from around the world piping in almost immediately. Even New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin and rapper Kanye West with his "George Bush doesn't care about black people" remark set off fireworks on whether or not the race issue was to blame.

Many people will still pick up from the mess left over by Katrina as 2006 starts; also, with the Bush administration continuing to be in trouble, will it be a big break for the Democrats come the mid-terms and will Hillary Clinton be in or out as far as 2008 is concerned? Now that one Chicago baseball team (White Sox) won the World Series, will that other one -- the Cubs -- finally be next after close to a century? And now that John Paul II is gone, will Billy Graham be next, saying that he's looking forward to dying "with great anticipation?" Come 2006, these questions and more will be answered.

Tomorrow as my "2005 Year in Review" continues...The year in entertainment, headlined by TomKat, Brangelina, a poor box office, the returns of Mariah and Martha, and television's hits and misses.

MERRY...HOLIDAYS??

Hello, everybody. Well, we're now one week away till Christmas 2005, but as you've heard in recent weeks there's been lots and lots of battles about whether or not we greet everyone a "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays."


Remember this from the old Allen Report site? Yes, I used it from 2000 to 2003 and I wished everyone a Happy Holidays. I've always celebrated Christmas from day one, though I did try my hand at Kwanzaa once in 2003; that was a disaster.

Anyway, with just seven days to go, malls and stores everywhere are already going to colossal overdrive to serve the last-minute shoppers -- especially as far as trying to get that elusive XBox 360 is concerned. If you thought the latest iPod with video (which I'm hoping to get this year) is the must-have item this Christmas, that's nothing compared to Microsoft's latest non-Windows creation.

The price may be $400, but in classified ad among classified ad in the papers, many are going for higher than that...maybe $500, $800, even $1,200 higher!! That reminds me of all those Tickle Me Elmo ads from 1996, when people had to pay hundreds of dollars for that and I would remember counting the ads they appeared in the paper every day; this was when newspapers were starting to be online.

On the iPod side of things...well, there haven't been any ads for that because of the steep prices for the XBox 360, simply because some of you have already paid your $300 for them and also, new shipments to the stores may be coming after Christmas!

If I do happen to get the iPod this year, it will go along with the other big-ticket gifts from previous Christmases like the computers (1986, '89, and '96 with the current one), Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990), the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (1991), and last year's triple threat with the Ronco Showtime rotisserie/accessory kit, "The Simpsons" Season 4 DVDs, and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Season 7 DVD. We'll see what happens next Sunday, especially if it's the last minute.

Right now, I'm hard at work on my series of pre-prepared blogs looking back at 2005 which you'll be seeing here after Christmas. And as you longtimers know from the old website, it's my own take on the year's big stories (especially Hurricane Katrina) as well as my "Top 20 Things that were Hot" list and the final results of the Sexiest of 2005 polls. That's my "2005 Year in Review", all next week.

See you then, and, uh...Merry Holidays!

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN 2006? DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!

Good evening. Well, for our friends in Canada who have or haven't bought a 2006 calendar yet, I hope January 23 is marked on them. That's the date when they'll be heading to the polls.

This morning Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, whose Liberal government went down in tatters in a no-confidence vote the previous night, called for a federal election to be held on January 23. The campaigning is already underway, and for the next eight weeks while the temperatures will get colder, things will be heating up well into the new year. And instead of Christmas carolers knocking on Canadian homes' doors this holiday season, it'll be the politicians belting out their own versions of "Jingle Bells."

Talk of an election was triggered by how corrupt the Liberals were because of the sponsorship scandal. Martin originally promised to call for an election in the spring, but the opposition parties threw a curve ball and forced the no-confidence vote.

Now here in the States, we have no such thing as a no confidence vote. But many of us don't have any confidence at all in President Bush's government and how they've been running things. 2006 is also when we'll head to the polls ourselves in the mid-term elections in which many seats on Capitol Hill as well as state races and ballot measures (including ours here in Alaska and whether or not Frank Murkowski will still have a job as Governor) will be decided.

But what if we happen to follow Canada's lead? What if the 2006 mid-terms also happen to be an impromptu recall election to boot Bush out of office and put somebody else in the White House without waiting till 2008? Well, unlike Canada or the recent British election last May when Tony Blair was easily awarded a third term as their Prime Minister...DON'T BET ON IT!

There's no way a quickie election can be called that immediately here, and if it does, it'll be quite a major headache. You've got plenty of names wanting to be put in the hat, the primaries and caucases, the political conventions, the debates, and then Election Day/Night itself with the networks always going all out with the most flashiest sets and eye-popping graphics they spend millions of dollars on. If you try to cram all these in eight weeks like the Canadians are doing with their January 23 election, we're going to be completely burned out before we even head to the polls!!

That's why we have the fixed dates on those U.S. elections, like it or not. Hard to believe that the mid-terms happen on the years when the Winter Olympics are held, while the Presidential ones are also when we have the Summer Olympics.

Just like the Canadians with the corrupt Liberal government now dissolved, we have only two chances to dissolve Bush's already corrupt -- and clueless -- Republican government. Those two chances are on November 7, 2006 and November 4, 2008.

With that said...have a good night.

TURKEY DAY IN AMERICA!

Well, it's Thanksgiving Day 2005...at least here in the United States; Canada already had theirs sometime last month.

As you know, the reason why I haven't posted in weeks was because I've been trying, TRYING to restore some civility in my Sexiest Woman of 2005 poll as far as Round 3 is concerned. Round 1 with the preliminaries turned out to be clean; Jennifer Garner --whose "Alias" will be ending its five-season run after this one -- ruled Round 2 (with 19 other ladies advancing); and we're still at Round 3 where things were pretty much nasty.

Why? Here's why: Excessive voting for Garner and Lauren Graham had me trimming the vote totals by several hundred while still maintaining their leads. That angered a bunch of their fans but I had to do it.

So here's where we stand as we start to head to the final round: Graham is leading hugely over Garner, followed by Mischa Barton, Kelly Clarkson, and Sarah Michelle Gellar rounding out the top five. The bottom five has Jessica Alba, Rachel Bilson, Kristen Bell, Toni Braxton, and Angelina Jolie.

But that doesn't mean we won't be going to the main poll, at least not year. There's one more week to go before we do so, and anything can still happen; so VOTE NOW if you haven't done so!

Guess I have nothing else to say except...BRING ON THE TURKEY!!! Happy Thanksgiving!

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS 2005: SNORE!

Good evening. Well, yesterday we had our municipal elections here in the Fairbanks area; and even though I had to do my duty as a citizen and vote; there was absolutely nothing exciting coming out of them...except, of course, for how fast the results come in.

When I babbled about the 2003 election on the old "Allen Report" site, I said the first numbers came in about ten minutes after the polls closed at 8:00 pm, and the final tallies at close to 9:20. This time, the first returns arrived at around 8:20 and the last ones with 97% in at a few minutes to 9:00pm!!!!! It's all about Accu-Vote, which since 1998 has been churning out the results faster than, oh, that satellite broadband Internet connection the Swain family has at their home in Rocky Mount, Virginia (see July 21 blog)! Besides, we've sure come a long way from voting on punch cards and waiting till like 1:00 am for the final vote to be counted.

By the way, knowing that Tuesday night was "Amazing Race" night, I checked the results on the Fairbanks North Star Borough website. It's just that the TV stations were just slow-pokes in trying to relay the returns during a station break or two, and the Internet of course had them beat.

Anyway...as you already know, I've started my year-end Sexiest Woman of 2005 poll much early with the month-long preliminary round; there are eight groups with 80 ladies on the hunt for the title. Enough wasting time; here are the latest results along with the links to the polls:

GROUP A:
Jennifer Love Hewitt--31%
Eva Longoria--22%
Kristen Bell--13%
Denise Richards--9%
Kelly Clarkson--7%
Hilary Duff/Carmen Electra--6% each
Alicia Keys/Vanessa Minnillo/Lauren Sanchez--2%

GROUP B:
Angelina Jolie--25%
Katherine Heigl--21%
Maria Sharapova--11%
Mischa Barton/Kelly Monaco--8%
Christina Milian--8%
Teri Hatcher--7%
Mariah Carey--6%
Tyra Banks--3%
Paulina Rubio--1%

GROUP C:
Jessica Alba--60%
Jennifer Aniston--12%
Maggie Grace--6%
Maria Menounos--5%
Marcia Cross--4%
Brooke Burke/Lindsay Lohan (who was recently involved in some paparazzi-related car crash yesterday)/Amber Tamblyn--3%
Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson/Danica Patrick--1%

GROUP D:
Halle Berry--20%
Jessica Simpson, whose marriage to Nick Lachey is not in jeopardy despite the huge "SPLIT" cover in "Us Weekly"--18%
Anne Hathaway--16%
Rachels Bilson and McAdams--13%
Beyonce Knowles--8%
Nicollette Sheridan--5%
Kaley Cuoco--4%
Hilary Swank--3%
Ashanti--1%

GROUP E:
Evangeline Lilly--22%
Scarlett Johansson--13%
Stacy Keibler/Eva Mendes--10%
Vanessa Marcil/Brittany Murphy--9%
Diane Lane--8%
Heidi Klum--7%
Kelly Ripa/Gwen Stefani--6%

GROUP F:
Keira Knightley--40%
Reese Witherspoon--15%
Jennifer Garner--14%
Lauren Graham/Shakira--11%
Charlotte Church--8%
Shannon Elizabeth--6%
Uma Thurman--5%
Gabrielle Union--4%
Jodie Foster--3%

GROUP G:
Toni Braxton--31%
Lacey Chabert--16%
Alexis Bledel--14%
Jennifer Lopez--10%
Elizabeth Hurley--8%
Jenny McCarthy--7%
Brooke Burns/Cindy Crawford--4%
Aishwarya Rai/Evan Rachel Wood--3%

GROUP H:
Sarah Michelle Gellar--58%
Rebecca Romijn--10%
Joss Stone/Sofia Vergara--6%
Sandra Bullock/Cameron Diaz--5%
Michelle Rodriguez--4%
Paula Abdul/Emily Procter/Brittany Snow--2%

Remember, there is still time for you to vote for your favorites. The top 40 ladies after the prelims will advance to Round 2; after that, 20 will move on to Round 3, AFTER THAT, only the top ten votegetters go on to the big Sexiest Woman of 2005 poll itself. We're talking about 1 1/2 to two straight months here, and anything could happen between now and the time we get to the main event which'll be in late November-early December. I'll be posting the latest results on various newsgroups, so be watching!

With all that said...good night!!

GETTING OUT OF RITA'S WAY...ON MY BIRTHDAY WEEKEND!

Hello, everybody. Well, as I celebrate both my 27th birthday and the season premiere of "Desperate Housewives" this weekend, Galveston and Houston, Texas are getting out as far as they can -- well, maybe to Dallas -- to escape the imminent wrath of Hurricane Rita as the Category 3 storm makes her way to the Texas-Louisiana coast with winds of 120 miles per hour. Landfall is expected to be early Saturday morning.

But Rita has caused new flooding in Katrina-ravaged New Orleans, as the rain and wind sent water gushing through a patched levee on the Industrial Canal. Meanwhile, the Mississippi coast will also see some rain and flooding as well.

Of course, we'll be keeping ourselves informed on whether or not Rita will be like 1900 all over again, when a hurricane (long before they started naming them) nearly destroyed Galveston.

Now, I'm sorry I forgot to break the news to you on Tuesday night, but the amount for the 2005 Alaska Permanent Fund dividend is $845.76, down $74.08 from last year's payout of $919.86, but only $18.83 more from the $826.93 check in 1988. This is going to be the last year we'll be seeing low checks like these; the amounts are expected to go up again slowly starting next year. Many including myself who asked for their dividends to be direct deposited will be in their accounts on October 12; others will have to wait till near the end of the month to see if their check's in the mail.

Well, that's it from yours truly. Now please let me celebrate my birthday in peace, thank you.

EMMY LOVES "RAYMOND" ONE MORE TIME

Hello, everybody. Well, Sunday night about 18.6 million of you tuned in to the 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, where "Everybody Loves Raymond" capped off their nine seasons in true fashion with Best Comedy and Supporting Acting wins for Brad Garrett and Doris Roberts. Heavy favorite "Desperate Housewives" on the other hand took only one major honor: Felicity Huffman beating out fellow co-stars Marcia Cross and Teri Hatcher for the Comedy Lead Actress prize; Actor went to Tony Shalhoub for the second time.

On the drama side, "Lost" found Emmy gold with their Best Drama win, while James Spader claimed his second straight Lead Actor statuette and co-star William Shatner, Supporting. And "The Daily Show" and "The Amazing Race" are both 3-0 in Variety Series and Reality Competition Series respectively.

Other than host and New Orleans native Ellen DeGeneres handling things, there were two standout moments for me: S. Epatha Merkerson forgotting her acceptance speech for Miniseries/Movie Actress in the Halle Berry-produced "Lackawanna Blues" -- IT ENDED UP IN HER LOWER CHEST AREA!!!! Why couldn't she stuck it in her shoe?

Then there was the tribute to Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, and the late Peter Jennings, with the former two on stage in a standing ovation. David Letterman in a rare appearance paid tribute to Johnny Carson, while there was "Emmy Idol" in which Donald Trump's and Megan Mullally's rendition of "Green Acres" (and Mullally omitting "Times Square" for "Trump Towers") outperformed them all...including William Shatner and some opera singer belting out the "Star Trek" theme which had us...well, you know.

Of course it all began on the red carpet, where Eva Longoria's, Hatcher's, Cross', and Nicollette Sheridan's fashions weren't desperate to gawk at. Halle Berry bloomed in blue, while Heidi Klum popped out just days after giving birth (take that, Britney!) as does Jennifer Garner, who's months away from her baby being popped out.

In the end, it was Berry and fellow Oscar winner Charlize Theron as my best-dressed. And writer Tess Smith in her barely there dress gets the Emmy for "Most Likely to Look in the Mirror before Heading Out the Door", aka worst-dressed.

To sum it up...even though we thought this year's show would be like 2001 all over again in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, the 57th Annual Emmys did go on as planned. And Ellen did blow us away like four years ago.

Now that it's over, here in Alaska the attention now turns from Emmy Night to Dividend Night. Tomorrow, we'll know how much -- or make that, how low -- our 2005 Permanent Fund Dividend will be when Gov. Frank Murkowski makes the big announcement in Juneau. I'm predicting the check will be somewhere between $830.71 and $857.03. Of course, I will break the news of the amount to the world tomorrow night, so be watching.

And last but not least...As you know, I flew on Northwest Airlines to the South for my two weeks of R&R this past summer. Five years ago, it was Delta for my own "spring break". But last week, the aftereffects of Katrina landed those two air carriers in bankruptcy court. What does this mean to aviation atmosphere here in Fairbanks, in which Delta and Northwest serve us on a seasonal basis? Absolutely nothing.

Northwest started flying to and from Fairbanks in 1978 after Pan Am got the boot, while Delta's acquisition of Western Airlines had them serving us in 1987; the latter ended regular service in October 2001 though they've made that announcement a month before 9/11. And what's even scary is that the two airlines codeshare with Alaska Airlines along with dominant carrier American! The new season of A&E's "Airline" has already taken off; why shouldn't their cameras focus on Alaska instead of being it all Southwest, all the time?! Oh yeah, Alaska is a regional carrier, though they've recently started serving Dallas/Fort Worth. With that, Chicago, Miami, Orlando, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Newark (technically New York) to go along with the other Alaska/West Coast cities, perhaps a good name for Alaska Airlines should be "Southwest Airlines II."

All right, I've talked too much; check back here tomorrow for the number to this year's dividend. So long!

NEW LOOK FOR FALL...PLUS BELATED KATRINA RAMBLINGS

Hello again. Well, you can really tall it's beginning to look a lot like autumn in America: School is back in sesson; the falling leaves having us break out our rakes a few more times before the snow flies; the NFL is back and raring to go; a new crop of shows to go along with the old favorites will be busting right through our TVs; and as you've already noticed...the Allen Blog has a whole new look.

But of course, even though they overestimated the death toll by about tens of thousands, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina still remains the hot topic. And for the last week, everybody's been helping from celebrities to the American Red Cross to various other relief organizations around the world...while at the same time, bitching about the lack of federal aid and whether or not the Bush administration and FEMA dropped the ball.

Rapper Kanye West fired the ultimate salvo during NBC's hurricane benefit telethon the other day, saying that "George Bush doesn't care about black people." Those seven words immediately set off heated debates about the race factor playing a big part in the disaster.

New Orleans remained Katrina's Ground Zero, while the Mississippi coast is slowly but surely starting to get back on its feet. But not everything was all gone; the neighborhood in Gulfport where Aunt Bobbie resides received minimal if not some damage. Looking at the digital photos Cousin Anthony took, her house and several others barely survived the brunt of the storm. Boy, they sure are lucky souls alright.

As we saw on Friday, all the major broadcast networks as well as TNT, Superstation WGN, Lifetime, FX, Game Show Network, Speed Channel, Bravo, Showtime, CNBC, anc MSNBC on the cable side plus CTV and CBC in Canada and Sky One in Britain ran the hour-long "Shelter from the Storm" telethon to raise even more funds for the Katrina victims.

And just like we saw on the last two telethons after 9/11 and the Asian tsunamis, some of entertainment's biggest names were on hand; among them Jennifer Aniston, newlyweds Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, Jack Nicholson, Julia Roberts, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, James Woods, Danny DeVito, Ray Romano, Ellen DeGeneres, and my girl (and two-time Sexiest Woman winner) Sarah Michelle Gellar...who always looks great even in brunette. Even though it was only for a hour it seemed hard recognizing those people on the phone bank. That's why we have TiVos and good ol' VCRs.

Anyway, that's my playing catch-up on all the post-Katrina happenings. Till next time, stay strong.

NEW ORLEANS GETS OUT OF KATRINA'S WAY WHILE THE VMAs ROCK MIAMI

Hello, everybody. Well, there were two major stories happening at the same time on Sunday: New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast evading themselves from the imminent wrath of Hurricane Katrina while Miami played host to the MTV Video Music Awards for the second time. I'll get to Katrina in a bit, but first the VMAs.

Diddy (alias Sean Combs, alias Puff Daddy, alias P. Diddy) played host to the three-hour plus event from Miami...which, just a few days prior, got minimal damage from Katrina. But with water as the theme it looks like they brought their own remnants of the hurricane to the show. Green Day were the big winners of the night with six awards including Best Video for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", followed by Kelly Clarkson (who looked great when wet during her performance, by the way) who garnered Best Female and Pop video honors for "Since U Been Gone." Kanye West's "Jesus Walks" got him the Male video moonman.

But there weren't any raindrops falling on our heads as far as the overall execution went. I didn't even care about R. Kelly's latest chapter; I was vacuuming my room during that. Mariah Carey put out an always stellar performance as did Coldplay, but those from West and Jamie Foxx (his first awards show appearance since his Oscar win), 50 Cent, and comedy from Dane Cook had viewers flipping to the hurricane coverage. Oh yeah, there was also MC Hammer's surprise appearance as well as the return of Beavis and Butt-Head. As for the fashions? Clarkson looked nice in light gold, while Jessica Simpson was a total muck-up.

Since the Video Music Awards is MTV's biggest event of the year, the ratings might be down because most of the Gulf Coast who evacuated from Katrina were either watching from their hotel rooms or going to read about it in this morning's papers or on the Internet. Aunt Bobbie and her family in Gulfport, Miss. -- whom I visited of course during my trip last month -- went as far away as Atlanta and Cousin Anthony's house to get away from the Category 4 hurricane as it's about to make its way to New Orleans.

But as far as Mississippi is concerned...could it be another 1969, when Camille swallowed the coast whole? Let's hope and pray that Aunt Bobbie and the gang doesn't lose everything in their house thanks to Katrina when they come back from Atlanta. And for those of you in the area who are toughing it all out, our prayers are with you as you stay for the long haul.

PAT ROBERTSON: "THOU SHALT KILL!"

Hello, everybody. Well, you know of the phrase "What Would Jesus Do?" How about, "What Would Jesus Do if Jesus was Pat Robertson?" Well, if you said murder a South American leader, that what's you would do.

On "The 700 Club" Monday, the televangelist and former Presidential candidate said that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez should be assassinated because he is a "terrific danger" to the United States. Robertson said that under Chavez, Venezuela -- a Catholic country -- is becoming "a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism."

If you've been watching or criticizing his show for many years, this is not the first time Pat has went way out of hand. A couple of years ago, he launched a month-long campaign to pray three U.S. Supreme Court justices to resignation; the end result was Sandra Day O'Connor turning her papers in. Another time, he also stated that feminism "encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."

Now I know many of my fellow bloggers had tons to say on all this, but thanks to his latest remarks, I think Pat Robertson has really lost his cool. But does this mean a number of stations will take "The 700 Club" off the air as a result? We won't know.

And since this is quite a big story on a slow news week so far, that's it for me...for now. Good night.

DEATH OF A GREAT NEWSMAN

As you already know, it's a sad time in television news and a sad time in journalism.

ABC anchorman Peter Jennings, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer four months ago, lost his battle on Sunday at age 67. Jennings had anchored "World News Tonight" on ABC since 1983 when he took solo position following the passing of Frank Reynolds. During his over two decades at the desk, Jennings' style of reporting helped make him the top network newscast until the mid-'90s; and unlike rival Dan Rather, he didn't go into any one-liners that annoyed the viewers or faked any documents. He just did what he had to do for 30 minutes every weeknight: Report the happenings as they were happening.

Born in Toronto, Canada in 1938, Jennings started his career at a very young age: Nine years old, doing a show called "Peter's People" on CBC radio; his father, Charles, was himself a newsman. A high school dropout, he decided to continue with his radio career while doing musical theatre -- and a dance show similar to "American Bandstand" -- on the side. In the early '60s, he went to the fledging CTV network to anchor its late evening news. His coverage of John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas and the civil rights movement caught the eye of ABC News, who hired him in 1964.

After his first several months as reporter, he would become the youngest ever network anchor in 1965 with "Peter Jennings and the News." But viewers were better off watching Chet Huntley and David Brinkley on NBC or Walter Cronkite on CBS, and he was back to the reporting beat after only three years. Assignments in the Middle East and the 1972 massacre in Munich would later follow, until 1978 when Jennings was part of a three-anchor team on "World News Tonight." He would be based in London while Frank Reynolds and Max Robinson held forts in Washington and Chicago respectively.

Finally, in 1983, Reynolds' untimely passing would award Jennings the sole anchor position, though he didn't earn it that easy. His future rival at NBC Tom Brokaw was considered, but he turned it down. Over the years Jennings, Brokaw, and Rather battled for ratings supremacy starting in the mid-'80s. The high points in his career came on New Year's Eve 1999, when 175 million viewers watched a portion of his millennium coverage, and on September 11, 2001 with the terrorist attacks. He became a U.S. citizen in 2003.

In April 2005, he announced to his viewers that he was diagnosed with lung cancer -- the same disease that killed another journalism great, Edward R. Murrow, in 1965. He started smoking in his teens until the late '80s, but resumed after 9/11. Peter did say that he would return to the anchor chair sometime soon...only there would never be a sometime soon; his lung cancer announcement would be his last ever broadcast.

Jennings leaves behind his fourth wife Kayce Freed and two children from his previous marriage to Kati Marton. His reporting earned him 14 Emmys and two Peabody awards.

With Brian Williams already picking up where Brokaw left off, Bob Schieffer taking Rather's chair at CBS temporarily, and now Jennings gone to that great newsroom in the sky, the big question now is...Is network news starting to die a slow death thanks to the cable news channels and the Internet? Not really. Even though viewership numbers have dwindled in recent years, they are still much larger than those of the cable news channels'. For the previous week (Jul. 25-31), "NBC Nightly News" was still tops among the newscasts with 8.3 million viewers, followed by "World News Tonight" at 7.6 million and "CBS Evening News," 6.6 million. Even though the "Big Three" newscasters are done doesn't mean the network evening news is.

Back to Jennings for a bit: Tributes from all over, from those on the ABCNews.com message boards to even President Bush, continued to pour in. A woman said that Peter was "my generation's Walter Cronkite", while another viewer stated that "you were immediately captured by his smart, soothing and yet personal voice." It was his Canadian drawl that sucked viewers into his newscast until the end, and Peter Jennings will be sorely missed by millions. A great newsman is now in heaven; will there be anyone like him? Only time will tell.

A MIRACOLOUS LANDING IN TORONTO AND THE LOSS OF AN EX-GOVERNOR IN ALASKA

Good evening. Well, there were two major stories in the news today. First, Air France Flight 308 from Paris -- an Airbus A340 -- skidded off the runway at Toronto's Pearson Airport late afternoon as thunderstorms crashed into Canada's largest city. But here's the big part: All 309 people survived the crash landing, with only 43 suffering minor injuries. Ironically, this came excatly 20 years after a Delta Airlines plane crashed at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport in which over 130 lives were lost.

The comparison between the two crash landings was purely different. Since the deadly 1985 crash, wind shear detectors were installed at all major U.S. airports. But as far as the Air France one was concerned, it's a miracle that it wasn't fatal.

Another major story is the loss of a great Alaskan. Jay Hammond, who served our state as Governor from 1974 to 1982 and was the architect of the Permanent Fund, died peacefully at the age of 83 this morning.

Without him, we wouldn't be receiving free money from the state every fall with our dividend, which started at $1,000 in 1982 with last year's payout being $919. Without him, Alaska would just be a boring state to live and work in if it wasn't for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Without him, nobody would come to visit Alaska if it wasn't for the tourism industry booming under his watch. And without him...well, I wouldn't be born here in 1978.

The last time I remember seeing Hammond was during the three-day Conference of Alaskans last year here in Fairbanks, where he decided to forgo his planned Hawaii vacation just to spectate. Even though his stamina and posture began to deteiorate a couple years before (which explained his customized cane; he was also a bush pilot), his mind was still as sharp till the end.

Alaska and U.S. flags are now at half mast and a private funeral service is set for tomorrow; public services are yet pending. But Jay Hammond will be remembered as not just one of the greatest governors we've ever had, but as just your basic Alaskan who helped shaped every life we lived during his eight-year term in this fine state.

BACK IN ALASKA AT LAST!!

That's right! After spending two weeks visiting family and beating the heat in the Deep South, it's so great to be back in Fairbanks! I returned home Friday night to...smoky skies?? That didn't seem right.

Anyway, during my vacation I briefly went to another place to go along with the aforementioned Winston-Salem, N.C., Rocky Mount, Virginia, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast: Jackson, Mississippi. There, we sent off Aunt Bobbie's son Larry Frye Jr. to tiny Belhaven College. During my time, I had to call up Charles Fedullo back in Fairbanks about how the Golden Days parade went. It was just like how "The Island" and just over the weekend "Stealth" did in the box office: BORING!!! He said there weren't anything interesting despite the 70-plus degree temperatures, and everything was poorly executed. Maybe it was because of my absence that this year's parade bombed.

Like I said, my time was about beating the heat, with temperatures rising above 90 degrees (or 30 degrees Celsius). But in the last few days, the rains on the coast helped cool things down to a more modest 80 degrees...which is good, because I've been used to very high climates before. Here in Alaska, the highest we can go during the summer months is in the 80s; anything above this is considered a "heatwave" for us.

In the second week, I did hit two casinos: The Treasure Bay in Biloxi and the Grand Casino in Gulfport, where we also dined for dinner and the lunch buffet respectively. The buffet at the Grand Casino had such a wider variety of food than any buffet you've eaten in your lifetime...except for sushi, which has its own bar across the building! Oh well, there's always next time, since I love sushi. I also tried my luck at the slot machines attempting for quick extra spending money for the airports, but failed. I'll probably be better off next time finally trying my hand at poker.

But here's a shocking side of the South you've never seen: It may be called the Bible Belt, but after some amateur investigating, it's becoming more like the Bootleg Belt! At almost every place I went, I saw pirated DVDs of recent films like "War of the Worlds", "Batman Begins", "Dark Water", and others. Some guy at the Jackson McDonald's tried to sell me a few bootleged discs. I told him, "I'm visiting here from Alaska, and we Alaskans don't buy bootlegs!" or something like that. But I didn't report this to the police because I never even thought of it. If this was in the West Coast, the sellers would be thrown in jail for this crime. If you want to buy a DVD of a more recent movie, wait till it's officially out in a few months instead of wasting your money on a bootleg that immediately!

On the last day of my trip Friday, I almost missed the flight home from Minneapolis (I flew on Northwest, and this was their hub). That's because I had to head to McDonald's a couple concourses down to grab me something to eat, then race back moments before the final boarding call. The lady at the gate to me it was "perfect timing" that I came just in time before they started closing...which would be about 10 minutes after I boarded.

I'll offer my final thoughts on all this tomorrow, but that's an abbreviated look at the second week of my Southern journey. Thank God I'm back!

FINALLY, A TRIP REPORT!!

Good evening from a quaint place called Rocky Mount, Virginia; population, who cares? Anyway, thanks to my mother's friend's computer with a very high-speed Internet connection, I'm finally doing a report so far on my two weeks here in the South while Golden Days has already kicked off back in Fairbanks. And knowing that I would miss out on all the fun including the parade tomorrow, I took a bit of Golden Days with me with a button I bought on Sunday before I would leave.

But the weather here throughout wasn't anything but golden. On the first full day of my vacation Tuesday (I arrived at Piedmont-Triad International Airport in Greensboro late Monday night, despite leaving my boarding passes on the plane after landing though I did ask the baggage claim office to print out my itinerary), the temperatures were hovering between 90 and 95 degrees! As a certain skanky mega-socialite would say, "That's really hot!"

My grandmother lives in one of those apartment buildings for seniors in Winston-Salem, and yes, she does have cable...analog cable. Come on; she's in her eighties and she doesn't have the money for an upgrade to digital -- which my cousin does have (as well as video-on-demand) and she's across town.

On Wednesday, we dined at Red Lobster for the first time in our lives. The occasion was capped off with those lobster beads the waiter gave to us after finishing our meals. Lobster beads, huh? Sure beats one of those "Jerry Beads" the female audience members flash their breasts for on "Jerry Springer!"

And last night, before heading to Virginia, I had lunch at O'Charley's restaurant across from the Hanes Mall, Winston-Salem's main shopping center. The Red Lobster bill was $86, but since O'Charley's was a regional chain the lunch total there was over $60, which is good.

What's also good about O'Charley's is at the bar section, they have two tabletop Megatouch touch-screen game machines. They're not gambling, but the games range from cards (including poker), quizzes, word, puzzle, and more. One of the games, "Mystery Phraze", has a very popular game show I won't even bring up (alright, its initials are WOF) cry out "RIPOFF!!!" Anyway, I hope some of the Fairbanks area restaurants/bars will get ahold of those Megatouch machines anytime soon; I'm sure that'll equal more customers.

Of course, I've been keeping an eye on the major happenings while down here. So far this week, three stories have dominated the headlines: Hurricane Emily tearing through Mexico but leaving Texas with nothing but winds, the nomination of John Roberts to pick up where Sandra Day O'Connor left off; and another series of explosions in London on Thursday morning. And I have an open message to the Tour de France people: JUST END THE RACE NOW; THERE'S NO WAY SOMEBODY WILL STOP LANCE ARMSTRONG!!!!!!!

Anyway, that's an abbreviated look back so far. After a shopping spree back in Winston-Salem for hard-to-find DVDs (there are those that we would never buy in Alaska except for online), it's off to Atlanta to spend the weekend there, followed by the second half of my Southern tour in the Mississippi coast. Barring any chance of another hurricane about to threaten to coast, will week #2 be more fun-filled than week #1? We'll find out on Monday. Until then, bye y'all from Virginia!!

IT'S ALL SET NOW!!!

That's right!!! After all those months of planning and booking (all right, more like five months), everything's now ready, set, go for my two weeks in the Deep South. More on that later, but first...

As a suicide bombing killed 22 people in Baghdad over the weekend, the stage is now set for the real trial of the century (sorry, Michael Jackson): Saddam Hussein. The former Iraqi dictator will be facing trial for a massacre of over 150 Shiites he orchestrated back in 1982. Since this one won't be like Jackson's, it's going to be quite more interesting as it moves along. Then again, it's Saddam, so who cares?

Meanwhile, Sandra Bullock has married that tattooed biker from "Monster Garage", Jesse James on Saturday. Give it two months for that to last.

Now, on to a preview of what I could be expecting during my two-week vacation....

Week #1: This may be the last time I could be seeing my grandmother Mildred in North Carolina; she's in her eighties, but with diabetes and a stroke you know she ain't going to live on much longer. I'll be sharing with her some videos of the events I've filmed, including the 2003 Iditarod restart here in Fairbanks (I'll get to Golden Days in a bit). I'll also be visiting other relatives during the three to four days I'll be down there, and since New York is scrapped, there could be a chance I may hit Washington D.C.!

After spending the weekend in Atlanta for some family reunion, it's on to:

Week #2: My fifth time to the Mississippi Gulf Coast; the last four were in 1985, 1989-91 (when I lived there), 1992, and 2000. I know the first week will be more humble, but during the second week...who knows what's going to transpire! The coast has become more like Las Vegas South with casinos aplenty, and with poker becoming big, there could be a chance for me to either hold 'em or fold 'em? Will I go "all in" while trying to learn this? And who occupies our old home in Gulfport now? Find out during the second half of the trip!

Now while I'll be enjoying some southern comfort (no, I won't be drinking any Southern Comfort), back here in Fairbanks we've got the annual Golden Days festivities that'll be capped off with the big parade on Saturday. But don't worry; thanks to one of those buttons -- which usually prevents anyone without them from going to "jail" -- I'll be bringing a bit of Golden Days with me.

It's going to be a very exciting two weeks down there, so with that in mind...

SEE YOU IN THE SOUTH!!!

WHO'S IN -- AND OUT OF -- THE EMMY RACE!

Well, the nominations for the 57th Annual Emmy Awards were out early this morning, and surprise surprise, the "Desperate Housewives" lead the pack with 15 nods. But as for the cast, only Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, and Felicity Huffman are up for Comedy Actress, while Eva Longoria and Nicollette Sheridan were out of the running. In Comedy Series, "Housewives" will have to battle with "Scrubs", "Everybody Loves Raymond", "Will and Grace", and last year's winner "Arrested Development" for that prize.

Another ABC savior, "Lost", scooped up a Drama Series nod, as well as HBO's "Deadwood and "Six Feet Under", Fox's "24", and NBC's "The West Wing." On the reality competition side, will it be a three-peat for "The Amazing Race", or will "American Idol" sing and scheme their way to Emmy gold? By the way, "Project Runway", "The Apprentice", and "Survivor" are also in too. Meanwhile, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" may need more than a miracle to grab the Reality Program trophy with "Antiques Roadshow", "Penn and Teller: BS!", and Bravo's "Project Greenlight" and "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" standing in their way.

And Alan Alda has scored a triple threat: A supporting drama actor nomination for "West Wing" to go along with his Oscar ("The Aviator") and Tony ("Glengary Glen Ross") nods this year.

Then there were those whose bubbles were burst by Emmy; among them, Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls) and Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars). Sure, the critics and viewers loved their work, but not in the eyes of the Emmy voters.

In the end, HBO as always leads with 93 nominations, followed by CBS with 59; NBC, 54; and Fox, 49.

We'll find out if Lady Emmy doesn't seem "Lost" or "Desperate" after all when the 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be handed out September 18 on CBS.

Tomorrow...the progress of my last (and extremely important, because I'm broke) garage sale so far. Good night!!

IT'S ALL SET BUT THE SPENDING MONEY (or what's left of it)!

Hello again...at last. Since February when I booked the plane tickets, I've been counting down the days,weeks, and months till my two-week vacation in the South that'll start on Monday. The first week will be spent in North Carolina, where my grandmother Mildred still lives. Despite her diabetes, she's still in good health in her early eighties. Then that weekend, it will be Atlanta for some family reunion. After that, week #2 will be one of my old stomping grounds, the Mississippi gulf coast. And yes, LOTS have changed there since I moved out in 1991 after living there for two years. The casino industry helped make Gulfport the state's second largest city.

Alright, so the last time I visited there was in April 2000, but for a regrettable reason: That being seeing the then-red-hot Britney Spears in the first of her two concerts I attended that year (the second one being later that summer in Los Angeles). I explained it all in full detail on the old "Allen Report" website -- that is, if any of you remember it well. But this time five years later, it's going to be just your usual summer vacation...hoping that it won't cut short if any hurricane comes Mississippi's way!

Because I'll be gone for two weeks, that also means I'll be missing out on the annual Golden Days festivities (as well as the Grande Parade) back here in Fairbanks. I'm certain they'll try to outdo last year's parade as they always have.

Everything's all set, except for the spending money...or what's left of it, since I've spent some on garage sale signs, newspaper ads (for the second sale), and other necessities. For the last two weekends, I've been holding a series of garage sales at my house to raise me some spending money for the trip. Because of the weather, things have been moving kinda slowly (except for the first sale on July 2 which was very successful), and for the third and final sale on Friday and Saturday, I'm pulling out all the stops.

Almost all the videos I bought until 2001 -- when I got a DVD player -- still need to go fast, and they as well as a few DVDs and CDs/CD-ROMs -- will go at $1 a pop. Many clothes have yet to move out quickly, and I've ranged the prices on them from 50 cents to $1.50 to make sure every piece goes during those two days. Prices on all other items will be lowered to make sure all or some of them won't be making their way to the thrift store. Just like a "winner take all" Game 7 in the NBA Finals or World Series, this equivalent is EVERYTHING MUST GO before we go!!!


Will this one pay off big time with just a few days to go? I'll let you know on Sunday, the eve of my trip.

Tomorrow...my instant take on the Emmy nominations. Will all or some or none of the "Desperate Housewives" be in or out? See you then.

I'M BAAAAAACKKKK!!!!!

That's right!!! After almost a year of closing down the old "Allen Report" site on Geocities, I am indeed back and better than ever! My new blog -- the AllenBlog, as I call it -- will integrate two of the most popular features from my old site ("NewsBeat" and "The Plain Truth") into one. Yes, almost every day instead of every week I'll continue to offer my take on the biggest news and entertainment stories as only I can. So bookmark this site and make sure you head to it for the most unabashed, delightful, and interesting commentary you'll ever find on the Internet!