MySpace murder?

A 13-year-old Missouri girl hanged herself after a MySpace relationship with a fabricated teenage boy went sour. What is incredibly sick about this story is who was behind the phony account.

Megan Meier's family is seeking justice against a neighborhood family responsible for their daughter's death in October of last year. The mother of one of Megan's former friends created the MySpace account to see what Megan was saying about her daughter.

The mother, her daughter and another adult had access to the account and created a user named Josh who befriended Megan and corresponded with her for more than a month. On Oct. 15, "Josh" told Megan he didn't want to be her friend anymore and bulletin's surfaced saying things like, "Megan Meier is a slut. Megan Meier is fat."

Megan, who suffered from ADD and depression, hanged herself Oct. 16 and died the next day.

This is disgusting to me. First of all, MySpace is ruining the lives of teenagers across the country. This thing is life to them, and in some cases, death. [read about a 17-year-old in California who posted his suicide note on MySpace]. What's worse, though, is that these are adults involved in this. Adults who are so obsessed with what their children are doing online, but didn't think twice about harrassing someone else's child.

Megan's parents want the people involved to be prosecuted and I hope they get their wish. Officials are looking to pass a new ordinance related to child endangerment and Internet harassment, which could come before city leaders on Wednesday.

Thanks Dave!

Sounds like India's got a case of the monkeys

I thought AFP was kidding when I read this article.

Monkeys are terrorizing the people of northeast India. Lawmakers say the animals are stealing cell phones and toothpaste and breaking into homes to steal beverages from refrigerators.

One official said the primates were "even slapping women who try to chase them."

Apparently the monkeys are angry because of shrinking forest cover, and have instead moved into cities to wreak havoc.

But it's not just obscure grocery items they're after. Last week, more than 20 people were hurt after monkeys rampaged through a New Delhi neighborhood, and the evil monkeys went so far as to kill the deputy mayor of Delhi, who fell off his balcony after being attacked by monkeys.

That's not haute

Going back to Nov. 7's record-breaking dessert...


Serendipity 3, New York's acclaimed dessert cafe to the stars, has been temporarily shut down after failing its second consecutive health inspection in one month.

Health officials found a live mouse, mouse droppings in multiple places, flies and dozens of live cockroaches, the Heath Department said.

Let the little guys go; I'm sure they were just trying to get in on that edible gold.

Politics are a girl's best friend

The University of Nevada Las Vegas student who asked Hillary Clinton is she preferred diamonds or pearls during Thursday's CNN/Democratic debate is pissed about the amount of smack she's receiving.

Maria Luisa said she has received a number of e-mails critizing her question and was approached by another UNLV student who said, "You gave our school a bad reputation." She countered on her MySpace page (which has been set to private), saying she had instead prepared a question about the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, but someone from CNN had "forced" her to ask her "frilly" question to close the debate. [watch her ask about Hillary's jewelry preference]

Sam Feist, the executive producer of the debate, said that the student was asked to choose another question because the candidates had already spent at least 10 minutes discussing Yucca Mountain. Luisa chose the diamond/pearl question from her list of pre-approved questions, on which CNN told her to write a lighter question for such instances.

Still, a CNN spokesperson said the girl was not "forced" to ask this question. It was her question and she voluntarily agreed to ask it. CNN selected the question and asked her toward the end of the debate if she wanted to ask it.

This question, among other things, have lead Clinton's opponents to accuse CNN of going easy on the fruntrunner, though she tried to convince voters on Friday that she had put a bad two-week stretch behind her and emerged strong from her debate performance in Las Vegas.

Living the average American dream

With all the DUIs, campaigning, paparazzi and sex tape scandals, sometimes it's nice to sit back and say, "Ahh, it's nice to be a good ole average American."

And if you don't ever think that, read this article from Time. It tells of the average averages of average Americans, and while it may be horrifying to find that you may actually be {gasp} average, it's really not what you think.

It's always baseball season!

Two big big big breaking news story out of MLB tonight:

The grand jury of San Francisco indicted Barry Bonds today, which includes four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice and accuses him of lying when he said he didn't knowingly take steroids given to him by his personal trainer, Greg Anderson.

Anderson was being held in prison in contempt of court and was ironically released from prison today. There is no confirmation yet if the two events are connected.

Bonds' initial court appearance is set for Dec. 7 and he could potentially face 30 years in prison. Love it! Can't wait for his record to get that little star next to it, if not forfeited all together. I believe we've seen the last of Barry Bonds on the diamond.


Also in baseball, Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees have agreed to the outline of a 275 million, 10-year contract, less than a month after he opted out of his former contract. Hi foot in the mouth. You know what? A-Rod is the guy you hate when he's not on your team; so, like thousands of Yankee fans who cursed his championship-killing skills and non-clutch seasons in New York prior to 2007, but will welcome him back with open arms in the spring, I'm quite baffled. But hey, another 54-home run season is fine with me.

"Life's too short to wear a bad outfit"

WARNING: SPOILERS

Yes folks--The fourth season of Bravo's Project Runway premiered last night at 10 p.m.

The cast of designers is large, so it's hard to distinguish some of the 'less colorful' contestants from one another. However, I'm pretty sure that this is the gayest cast yet, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Out of the seven male contestants, at least five of them are gay--not that there's anything wrong with that!--but I'm sure it will make it a bit harder for girls to get their boyfriends to take this show seriously (I know from experience).

The first challenge kicked off in Bryant Park (ahh, memories). Three tents were set up about 100 yards away with thousands of dollars of fabric. Then Heidi and Tim say "GO" and the contestants have to sprint to the tents to pick up their fabric. Did anyone else think this was an evil scheme to make the very large Chris look pathetic 10 minutes into the season?

The contestants' challenge was to create a look that described them as a designer--what a snoozefest of an inaugural challenge! Take fabric and make something? Blah. And talk about boring, how about Ricky's baby doll/lingerie dress. Been there, done that. Step it up, buddy, it's the FOURTH season!

My favorite is Kit "Pistol"--she's rad. Christian seems like a little punk, but will more than likely land in the finale. Jack is the super hot gay guy and that's all I really remember about him. And then there's Elisa...what a wacko. But, I am glad they didn't send her home because her sound effects and fairytale land descriptions are entertaining.

Personalities aside, my favorite garments (or at least the one's I can still remember the day after) were Chris' and Christian's. Still, Rami won the challenge with his swooping Statue of Liberty-looking piece. It kind of bugs me how he's designed for Jessica Alba--what the heck does he need to be on this show for?

Unfortunately for whatshername, oh right, Simone, she was the first to be sent home after she sent a dress that I could have made in 6th grade Home Ec class down the runway.

One down--fourteen to go. Make it work!

Say ahhhhh

A dentist with a love for dance nearly killed a patient in New York.

Dr. George Trusty (hello ironic name), a dentist at Syracuse Community Health Center, was drilling Brandy Fanning's left molar when "Car Wash" came on the radio and he began his toe-tappin'.

Suddenly, the drill bit snapped off and lodged itself in her mouth. The dentist used a metal hook to pull it out, but only pushed it farther up, driving it through the sinus and bone near her eye socket. Trusty told her she'd probably just sneeze it out, but was later told in the emergency that if she had sneezed, she could have been blind in her left eye.

Fanning said she sued Trusty because failed on a promise to pay her medical bills. She said she still suffers facial swelling, nerve damage and chronic infections and the case is pending.

Get your drink on

A Florida man was arrested for shoplifting in a Wal-Mart. His item of choice? No, not electronics. Not even women's underwear.

Two bottles of White Rain Hair Spray...to drink.

Over a few weeks, employees noticed empty bottles of hairspray every time the man came into the store. The store’s loss prevention officer said he had been watching the man drink the hairspray.

On Friday, the man took a bottle into the garden center and another in the toy department and drank them whole before putting them back on the shelf.

He left the store without paying the $1.92 for the hairspray. When confronted, the man appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and admitted drinking the hairspray.

Apparently, he is a self-admitted “a hard-core alcoholic” who drinks hairspray for the alcohol in it. What???

The man had $15 in his pocket at the time. When asked why he didn’t just go to a liquor store and buy a bottle of liquor, he replied, "The temptation was too great."

I mean, $1.92 is a pretty good price to pay for a buzz, right?

Sexy time

Move over SMG, your title of Maxim's Woman of the Year has got nothing on Matt Damon being named sexiest man alive by People magazine.

Matt Damon, 37, said the honor "gave an aging suburban dad the ego boost of a lifetime" in letter published in the magazine, which will be on stands Friday.

I gotta disagree with this decision. Matt Damon is mmm mmm good, but you don't even have to look much further than his Departed co-star, Leo DiCaprio (though Jack Nicholson is a close second).

But I gotta go with David Beckham on this one. Maybe it's because I couldn't find one recent picture of Matt Damon without a shirt on. Or maybe I just can't get over his dimwitted likeness in Team America.

Top television honors

The Associated Press has compiled a list of TV's greatest icons, with Johnny Carson landing the number one spot - um, duhhh.

The list in its entirety will be featured Friday on TV-Land in a 2-hour special beginning at 8 p.m. ET, and also in Entertainment Weekly, on stands Friday.

Other names released from the 50-person list include Regis (27), Henry "The Fonz" Winkler (32), Letterman, Jon Stewart, Milton Berle, Homer Simpson, Jennifer Aniston, Lassie and Kermit.

I'm going with Lucille Ball definitely in top five. Maybe Zach Morris? Ooh, or Carson Daly?!

Buffy re-vamped

2008's Woman of the Year? No it's not Hilary...it's none other than the modern day vampire slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar, according to Maxim magazine, that is.

Yes, that's right. Though she's done nothing since the WB existed, Sarah Michelle Gellar is next year's "it" girl. But have no fear Buffy fans: Not only will you get a smattering of hot SMG pics in next month's issue of Maxim, she's back in theatres with three new movies. Southland Tales, aka "Have a Nice Apocalypse," is out tomorrow (Wednesday); The Air I Breathe, chock-full of celebs like Kevin Costner and Brendan Fraser, will be out Jan. 25; and Possession will be out in February.

Yeah, she was hot then, and she's still hot now, but so is Elizabeth Berkley--Jessie Spano--and you don't see her nominated for Woman of the Year.

Dr. Doom

Updating a previous item: Dr. Jan Adams, the doctor who performed Donda West's fatal cosmetic surgery, has been the target of a blast of backlash today.

For the nitty-gritty details, click on the designated links; I have less of a vested interest in this than other blogs, especially because I've grown to despise Kanye West in the last few weeks, but I think this is a good example of how star power and modern technology can be used to ruin someone's life while simultaneously saving the lives of Dr. Adams' potential clients.

Reports are alleging that Dr. Adams, who is not board certified with the American Board of Plastic Surgery, is an alcoholic who has also previously:

• Been arrested for DUI
• Been sued for sexual assault after getting a patient drunk after surgery and impregnating her
• Left a sponge in a breast augmentation patient
  
• Had a patient nearly bleed to death

Most importantly, reports are showing that Dr. Adams mishandled Ms. West's surgery.

Interesting enough, there is not an inch of damage control on Dr. Adam's Web site. This looks like it could potentially turn into the court case of the year, especially with K-West on the offense.

President of poultry

While Stephen Colbert's U.S. presidential hopes have been squelched, KFC would like to extend an invitation to Colbert to preside over the fried chicken cartel for a day.

KFC sent a letter to the Comedy Central host today, detailing possible presidential duties. Colbert would first be sworn in by placing his hand on the book containing the Colonel's secret recipe, according to KFC President Gregg Dedrick.

"Your first official duty would be to help us sort the "left wings" from the "right wings. We'd also like you to hold a 'State of the Chicken' address with some of America's most dedicated restaurant managers. One of the best things about being KFC president for a day is that you don't have to choose sides. We have plenty of mashed potatoes and gravy, cole slaw and macaroni and cheese to go around, and KFC will allow you the liberty of enjoying all of our sides!"

Colbert hasn't returned word yet on whether or not he'll reign over the KFC White House, but it's apparent that KFC will stop at nothing to whore itself out with celebrities--do we remember the American Idol Sanjaya/bowl-cut stunt?

Nothing ever promised tomorrow today

Kanye West's mother died this weekend after undergoing a "cosmetic procedure."

It is still not clear what sort of surgery Donda West, 58, underwent, what exactly was the cause of death, or if complications arose during or after the surgery. Donda was a big influece in Kayne's music and retired from her job at Chicago State University in 2004 to become his manager.

Prayers for the family, even if Kanye is a whiny punk. More to come as the story develops.

UPDATE: from TMZ.com:
TMZ has learned that just weeks before Donda West died, a plastic surgeon refused to perform procedures on her because of a health condition that could have led to a heart attack.

We've learned Beverly Hills physician, Dr. Andre Aboolian, was set to perform a tummy tuck and breast reduction on Ms. West, but told her she needed to get clearance from an internist whom Dr. Aboolian recommended. We're told West never went to that doctor, and subsequently had the procedures performed -- but not by Dr. Aboolian.

Once upon a time, in the city of New York...

A real-life romantic fairytale came out of New York last week when New Yorkers helped (yes, completely against their nature, they actually helped) a man reunite with a mystery woman he fell in love with at first sight on the subway.

It's almost hard to believe, but Patrick Moberg, 21, constructed a Web site called NYGirlOfMyDreams.com, where he described the encounter both pictorially and literatim--everything from the way her hair was done (fancy braided hair, flower in the back) to her blue shorts with tights underneath. Moherg listed his cell phone number and e-mail address on the Web and encouraged anyone fitting the description to contact him.
On Tuesday, a friend of the girl who had come across the site contacted the modern day romeo and sent a picture of Camille Hayton, an Australia native who interns at BlackBook in NYC.

The two are meeting up and though Moberg is "pulling the shuters on his love life" and declining to update the Web site, we'll just pretend they live happily ever after (and hope for Camille's sake he's not some psycopath cannibal).

Etch-a-Chest

It's that time of the year when even the most metabolically inclined packs on a few pounds. If you'd like to continue eating three times your normal amount during the holidays but still impress people with your six-pack, consider trying out abdominal etching, a plastic surgery procedure in which a doctor uses precision liposuction to make you ripped.

The surgery typically costs $4,000-$7,000 and is really only available to patients who have the perfect amount of fat--approximately 1 to 2 centimeters--for the perfect amount of definition.

You've got to have a serious desire to prance about without a shirt on to get this surgery. In a study conducted by Dr. Aldo Benjamin Guerra's, out of 32 patients, several had post-operative complications: Six had a buildup of fluid known as seroma, which can be drained with a needle; three had scarring serious enough to be given a shot of cortisone; and two needed a second surgical procedure to get the desired results.

Does this even seem like it's going to make that big of a difference? It's not like it's going to make you look chiseled like Mr. Anonymous Abs to the left here. Why not just lay off the second helpings and snickerdoodles?

Jones-ing for some liquid latkes?

The effervescent and mostly accururate-tasting Jones Soda Co. has done it again, recently releasing its holiday pack of sodas, including both Christmas and Hanukkah flavored packs.

The Christmas pack will feature such flavors as Sugar Plum, Christmas Tree, Egg Nog and Christmas Ham.

The Hanukkah pack will have Jelly Doughnut, Apple Sauce, Chocolate Coins and Latkes sodas.

My insatiable curiousity will probably get the best of my common sense if ever given the chance to sample any of these. I mean, I was never allowed to lick my Christmas tree when I was little, so I'd really like to get in on that flavor. But really, where is the dreidel flavor? [click here to see more of Jones' flavors]

Last year, Jones came out with a Thanksgiving pack that included an Antacid flavor. How incredibly convenient!

Gone granny gone

A woman who devoted 30 years to Taco Bell--and took a bullet for it--has lost it all.

Border Foods Inc, the company that owns Minnesota’s Taco Bell restaurants, fired Winnie Shilson, 64, yesterday after three decades at the fast-food store. She was dismissed without any type of benefits or severance--"Not even a taco," her husband said.

Shilson started working at TB in 1977 at $2.85 an hour. She worked 60 hours aweek, and became general manager at the Richfield Taco Bell. But what's most impressive is that Shilson was robbed at gunpoint twice and shot by an impatient robber who fired at the safe and the bullet ricocheted and hit her in knee. Con fuego, baby.

Shilson was making $45,000 a year and believes her firing was unfairly based on cost-cutting measures. Representation from Taco Bell said that Shilson failed her last two performance reviews and their number one concern is their customers.

Maybe the 64-year-old Shilson wasn't grilling the quesadillas as quickly as she was before, but I'm sure there are less competent people working at Taco Bell's across the nation who need the job less than Shilson does.

That's haute

New York's Serendipity 3 is a famous dessert boutique located on the upper east side, known for its famous frozen hot chocolate. Their menu is incredible and everyone from Bill Clinton to Paula Abdul visits the joint.

And then they outdid their $1,000 Golden Opulence Sundae this week by unveiling the the Frrozen Haute Chocolate (a playon the haute couture), their $25,000 dessert drink. They also set the Guinness World Record for most expensive dessert, in the spirit of GWR Day yesterday.

So why is it 25 gs?? Well it's a blend of 28 cocoas, including 14 of the most expensive and exotic from around the globe, BUT--the thing is is infused with 5 grams of edible 23-karat gold and topped with whipped cream covered with more gold and a side of La Madeline au Truffle from Knipschildt Chocolatier, which sells for $2,600 a pound. It's also served in a goblet lined with edible gold, and at the base of the goblet is an 18-karat gold bracelet with 1 carat of white diamonds.

And don't forget to eat your unnecessarily lavish dessert with the golden spoon decorated with white and chocolate-colored diamonds, which can also be taken home.

...Is this serious? You're basically paying to drink out of the Holy Grail and eat your way through chocolate to get a diamond bracelet.

Oh, and be sure to give the staff of Serendipity 3 at least 48 hours notice if you plan on stopping in. This waste of 28 paychecks takes time to craft.