Breaking News: 2007 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend announced!!!

Just moments ago, Governor Sarah Palin announced the amount of this year's Permanent Fund Dividend check; and ladies and gentlemen, here it is:

$1,654.00

That's $547.04 more from last year's payout of $1,106.96, and $113.12 more than the closest amount which was $1,540.88 in 1998. Those who've applied early will see their checks in their bank accounts on October 3 while direct deposits will be on October 17. Some who want their checks in the mail will have to wait a little longer starting on November 17.

Once again...$1,654.00 is the official amount of the 2007 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend. So long, stay strong, and let the spending plans begin!

Going out with a Bada-Bang at the Emmys!

Hello, everybody. Just like "Everybody Loves Raymond" when it picked up its final awards shortly after the series ended, "The Sopranos" at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday picked up its last award for Best Drama just a few months after they ended. Tina Fey's "30 Rock" picked up Best Comedy honors.

On the acting side, Sally Field may have won Lead Actress-Drama for "Brothers and Sisters", but it was her anti-war remark during her speech that had the Fox censors in blackout mode. The same thing happened earlier in the show when Supporting Actress-Drama winner Katherine Heigl ("Grey's Anatomy") uttered "shit" when realizing she won. Other winners include America Ferrera (Lead Actress-Comedy), Jaime Pressly (Supporting Actesss-Comedy), James Spader (Lead Actress-Drama), Robert Duvall (Lead Actor-Miniseries/Movie), and the absent Ricky Gervais (Lead Actor-Comedy...in which "The Office's" Steve Carell accepted on his behalf in a mini-reunion with his old "Daily Show" buddies Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert!

Speaking of "TDS"...both that and "The Amazing Race" CANNOT BE STOPPED!!!! 5-0 now in their respective Variety/Music and Reality-Competition categories!!! But it was Tony Bennett who took the most haul with seven Emmys for his "An American Classic" special, and his duet with Christina Aguilera (who I think may be showing some kind of baby bump) was dynamite -- as was the "Sopranos" tribute with the entire cast in a final bow as well as the cast of "Roots" reuniting 30 years after the epic miniseries had all of America not moving a muscle for eight nights. And one person omitted from the "In Memoriam" montage was Augie Hiebert, who brought television to Alaska in the 1950's with its first stations in Anchorage and Fairbanks; he died last week at the age of 90.

However, the one real buzz on the red carpet prior to the show was the arrest of O.J. Simpson in Las Vegas for armed robbery. You can sure bet that it's worth a million more jokes to the late nighters, especially Conan O'Brien whose "Late Night" finally won the Variety Series Writing award! Oh yeah, there were the fashions, brought to us by Ferrera, Heidi Klum, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Narcisco Rodriguez), Eva Longoria (Kaufman Franco), and Kristen Bell.

As for who dressed best? Well, she may have she also starred in "Knocked Up," but Katherine Heigl was a knockout in her white Zac Posen. The worst-dressed? I thought Hayden Panettiere was going to go all out, but she looked pregnant in her gown. But all the talk was about Heigl's "Grey's" co-star Ellen Pompeo's hair-do. Is she channeling her Amy Winehouse or something?

So the final scoreboard: HBO as usual took the most bounty with 21 awards, followed by NBC (19), ABC and CBS (10 apiece), PBS (9), and Fox (7).

Oh, a note to the Emmy producers: Even though he did great, don't make Ryan Seacrest host ever again! And bring back the traditional stage setup next year for your 60th show; this ain't the MTV awards!

Now that "Who's gonna win the Emmy?" has already been answered for the 59th time, the question is now, "How much free money will Alaska get this year?" On Wednesday afternoon at around 2:00 pm Alaska Time (all other time zones, you do the math), we will all find out as Governor Sarah Palin will announce the amount of the 2007 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend to the world. Last year's check was $1,106.96, and I'm predicting this year's will be between $1,232.84 and $1,391.01. And just like last year, I will have the amount here on this blog the second it's official, so be watching.

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

Britney Spears' career: 1999-2007

Hello, everybody. On Sunday, as the new NFL season got underway, we mourned the loss of a once popular career who died after her much anticipated "comeback performance". A career who once sold millions of albums and packed venues around the world and was on the minds of horny young boys long before Hayden Panettiere and the girls of "High School Musical" (especially Vanessa Hudgens after that nude photo scandal). And a career who hit the skids after marrying some loser who knocked her up not once, but twice. Sunday, we mourned the death of the career of Britney Jean Spears.

Yes, at Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas, Britney opened the show with her performance of her new single "Gimme More." Well, it was more like "Gimme the Remote", because it was more like a trainwreck than a comeback. Right from the first few seconds, everything fell out of place. Looking out of shape and out of practice, Britney stumbled several times; she even forgot the lip-sync. The audience at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas -- where the awards were held -- were stonefaced at what has transpired.

Now this was a far cry from 2000, when her performance in a flesh-colored suit literally had the whole world talking (including yours truly in a "Plain Truth" on the old Allen Report)...or was I thinking of her liplock with Madonna three years later?

But Britney's disaster wasn't the only bad thing coming out of the VMA's. Pamela Anderson's exes, Tommy Lee and Kid Rock, exchanged fisticuffs off-camera while Alicia Keys performed; that video is on MTV.com.

But aside from the overall mess...it is an awards show, and there were moonmen to be handed out. Justin Timberlake collected the most with four including Male Artist of the Year (to go along with an Emmy he won at the Creative Arts awards for "Penis In A Box"; can't say the real title), while Video of the Year honors went to Rihanna's "Umbrella." And the only sensible performances of the night belonged to Alicia Keys and Chris Brown, who channeled his Michael Jackson.

Back in the day, it was the Video Music Awards that served as home to the most outrageous and once-in-a-lifetime moments you won't see on other awards shows. But in the last few years, ratings for the show (and MTV in general) have been dropping, and this year's was cut back from the usual three hours to two. It was way better when everything was all on one stage, but after what we've seen on Sunday, I've completely given up on the VMAs as I'm pushing 30. Let's hope that the Emmys next Sunday, even with Ryan Suckrest -- I mean, Seacrest -- as host, won't meet the same fate.

As for Britney now, whose much-anticipated return album drops in November? After what we've seen lately, this is one CD that won't be in my iPod (even if I decide to replace my current one with the 160-gig Classic that's now out) anytime soon! Is her career dead on arrival? Find out on November 13. I know I won't. So long and stay strong!

RATINGS UPDATE (9/12): Despite Britney's sluggish performance as well as the overall poor execution of the show, Sunday's VMAs drew 7.1 million viewers -- a 23% increase from last year. It was also the highest-rated cable program of the year in the 12-34 age group.