Julia Roberts vs. Paparazzi

The other day, Julia Roberts got a paparazzi to pull over and stop taping her.

Based on what's on film, she seemed to handle it well. And I'm thinking the guy taping her probably needed an underwear change after this encounter.

See the video here.

Toy Recall List

As you hit the stores searching for that perfect gift, here's a list that will definitely come in handy. It's a website that details all the toy recalls that have been happening lately.

The one that's drawn the most attention is Aqua Dots, a toy that was #1 on a lot of kids' Christmas wish lists. But that's far from the only toy being recalled.

Go through all the recalls at toyinfo.org and make sure none of the toys you've purchased or are about to purchase are listed. I was surprised at some of the stuff on there (especially the Baby Einstein one).

Centralia, Pennsylvania (again)...

Back in July, I posted a road trip idea about Centralia, Pennsylvania.

Annie, who listens to Star 102.5 all the time, was intrigued. Her and her husband Dean actually went out of their way to see the place. They had a blast just hiking around the town and she says the only disappointment was that they didn't get to spend a longer time there.

See a slideshow of their pictures on her October 13th blog entry.

Rising Star Concert Series

It's rare when a musician actually comes out to meet the crowd before or after a concert. And if they do, it's usually just for a brief two or three seconds while they quickly sign something and then continue through the line.

That definitely wasn't the case Saturday night. In fact, that's rarely the case when we do these intimate concerts. In addition to the amazing performances, the artists were so cool with meeting and talking to everyone.

Emerson Hart was just an all around nice guy, hanging out with everyone at the party before the show and posing for pictures. Not just for ten minutes either - he was there for over a half hour. And then on stage, as expected, he's a pro.

The same can be said for Ingrid Michaelson. Her performance was incredible - not just the singing, but also the banter between songs. You can tell she feels right at home on stage.

After that, she was out in the hallway where they were selling her CD's. At one point, there was a kid on her shoulders getting his picture taken with her. She was more than happy to meet and talk with anybody who came up to her.

If you liked her performance, visit her website and buy the CD or a T-shirt or something. She's an unsigned artist (not affiliated with any music label) and that's the best way you can show your support for her.

And I'm sure Emerson Hart would be happy if you bought his CD too. I'm already looking forward to playing the next single (after the Christmas music is done for the year of course).

So in addition to the amazing concert, Saturday night proved that both Emerson Hart and Ingrid Michaelson are exactly what all stars should be like - both on and off stage.

See pictures from the concert here. And if you weren't there, another Rising Star Concert Series event isn't too far off. Hope to see you at the next one.

Writers' Strike - Day 5

As the Writers' Strike continues on, another website has come up with a list of shows and how many episodes have been produced. This one contains just about every show you can imagine. See it here.

And if you're a fan of The Office, check out this YouTube video. The writers of the show want people to see what's happening on the picket lines. After watching, I'm sure you'll agree that the writers need some writers themselves to make this a little more entertaining.

But I do think the video accomplishes what it was meant to - show the mood of the picket lines and show that the writers are not going to back down.

Countdown to TV reruns...

Due to the writers' strike, the season finales for a bunch of network shows will happen a lot sooner than usual.

A recent L.A. Times article details how many episodes each series has ready to air. Considering that five or six have already been shown for most shows, there's not many left.

Not mentioned in the article is the effect of the strike on Lost. According to TV Guide, the fourth season of Lost could be postponed until 2009!

Only eight of the fourth season's episodes have been produced so far. People were furious when Lost aired a split third season, so ABC is considering holding the eight episodes and running them with the fifth season. That would mean 24 new episodes back-to-back, starting in January 2009.

Hopefully, all of this will mean nothing in a few days. The writers deserve the extra money for their shows being put on DVD and online. With luck, the Hollywood studio big shots will realize this soon and come to a compromise with the Writers Guild so the strike could end.


** "LOST" UPDATE ** - ABC must have been bombarded with complaints after this story got out earlier. According to Broadcasting & Cable, an ABC spokesperson says they now plan to air the eight episodes of Lost that have been produced. The fourth season was scheduled to start in early February, so we'll see in three months which story is true.

On a related note, Fox has decided NOT to run a partial season of "24". Read the article for a few more details on this.

Black Friday ads

It's only 2-1/2 weeks away. Are you ready?

This might help. A bunch of websites have been leaking the Black Friday ads. Some of the stores are extremely unhappy about this, but it is nice to be able to plan what store you want to be waiting at when the doors open that Friday.

Here's the websites I've found so far...

http://bfads.net/

http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/

www.blackfriday.info/ads/

www.bargainshare.com/