Sunday marks the start of the Chinese New Year and it's a lucky one for those starting out in life. But the rest of us are in for a rough ride. Expect epidemics, disasters and violence in much of the world. "The Year of the Pig will not be very peaceful," said Hong Kong feng shui master Raymond Lo. Feng shui is the ancient Chinese practice of trying to achieve health, harmony and prosperity by using specific dates, numbers, building design and the placement of objects.

The pig is one of 12 animals (or mythical animals in the case of the dragon) on the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac, which follows the lunar calendar. According to Chinese astrology, people born in pig years are polite, honest, hardworking and loyal. They are also lucky, which is why many Chinese like to have babies in a pig year. "Any children born in The Year of Pig will receive help from others throughout their lives," Lo said. Ronald Reagan was a pig. So are Arnold Schwarzenegger, Woody Allen and Elton John. Not to mention Hillary Rodham Clinton.

But a word of caution to the presidential candidate. The pig finished last in the race that determined the zodiac's order, behind the dog. Other animals in the zodiac are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey and rooster. The zodiac runs on a 12-year cycle, and each year is associated with the five elements that Chinese mystics make up the universe: metal, water, wood, fire and earth. Therein lies the trouble. Pig years can be turbulent because they are dominated by fire and water, conflicting elements that tend to cause havoc, Lo said.

"Fire sitting on water is a symbol of conflict and skirmish," he said. "We'll also see more fire disasters and bombings." He noted that the Russian AK-47 rifle, a weapon of choice among insurgents around the world, was invented during a pig year. "So it will not be surprising to see more gunbattles, murder with guns and bombing attacks in 2007," he said. Malaysian feng shui master Lillian Too agreed. "I wish I could say that there won't be natural disasters, but I am afraid it could be as bad as last year," she said.

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Britney Spears Shaves Her Head

Britney Spears is sporting a shocking new look. She's now totally bald. Britney was seen at a tattoo shop in Sherman Oaks called Body and Soul. ABC7.com reports that inside the tattoo parlor she has a new tattoo on her wrist of a a "pair of red and pink lips."

Brinty wore a hooded sweatshirt when she entered and exited the parlor but video was shot of her inside the parlor without her hood and her new baldness fully visible. You can watch the video here on ABC7.com.

We know Britney was probably very depressed about not getting one of those Puma Lydia Bags by Heatherette but shaving your head is a little extreme. Britney has gone from Midnight Fantasy to Sinéad O'Connor in just three days. ABC7.com also interviewed some fans outside Body and Soul who were not impressed with Brit's new look. Fox News also quotes a displeased fan.

Angelique Uram, a Spears fan who stood on the tattoo parlor's sidewalk for Friday night's spectacle, was aghast at the singer's new look.

"We could see her in the mirror, and her head is completely shaved," she told KABC. "It looks terrible."

These fans do know that Britney's hair will grow back, right? X17 also has some photos of Britney's shaved head. In a few of these photographs her hair is not yet completely shaved in the back like it is in the video from ABC7.com.

People Magazine has a news story and a couple pictures of bald Britney. People also reports that Britney wrote a note to her fans on her website about being "far from perfect." The message ends with: "f I were you I'd be unhappy too if I had to read what I've been reading every day. But trust me, I get it. I know I've been far from perfect and the media has had a lot of fun exaggerating my every move, but I want you all to know that I love my fans so much, and I appreciate everything you have done for me, so Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!"

You can't read Britney's note to her fans on her website right now because the website is empty except for a message that says, "Stay tuned! Britney's new website is in the works." It sounds like Britney's website is getting a new look too.

Posted on February 17, 2007
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Office Desks Are Bacteria-Laden Cesspools

The average desktop has four hundred times more bacteria than your avergae office toilet seat, says a new study. And women's desks are germier than men's, because they have more interactions with small children, wear makeup and have more food in their desks. But men's palm pilots are the grossest of all.

Women have three to four times the number of bacteria in, on and around their desks, phones, computers, keyboards, drawers and personal items as men do, the study by University of Arizona professor Charles Gerba showed. Gerba, a professor of soil, water and environmental sciences, tested more than 100 offices on the UA campus and in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oregon and Washington, D.C. The $40,000 study was commissioned by the Clorox Co. "I thought for sure men would be germier," Gerba said. "But women have more interactions with small children and keep food in their desks. The other problem is makeup."

Don't get Gerba wrong: Women's desks typically looked cleaner. But the knickknacks are more abundant, and cosmetics and hand lotions make prime germ-transfer agents, Gerba said. Makeup cases also make for fine germ homes, along with phones, purses and desk drawers. Food in desk drawers also harbors lots of microorganisms, and it is more abundant among female office workers. Gerba found 75 percent of women had munchies in their desks. "I was really surprised how much food there was in a woman's desk," he said. "If there's ever a famine, that's the first place I'll look for food."

The news isn't all negative for the fairer sex. Gerba found the worst overall office germ offender is men's wallets. "It's in your back pocket where it's nice and warm, it's a great incubator for bacteria," Gerba said.

Another hot spot for bacteria in men's offices: the personal digital assistant. "Men tend to play with their Palm Pilots more," Gerba said. "I think they're playing video games or something." The average office desktop has 400 times more bacteria than the average office toilet seat, Gerba said. ly need to be disinfected once in a while," he said.

Now where did we put those antibacterial wipes and that pocket hand sanitizer?

Posted on February 15, 2007
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Britney Spears Will Call You With a Midnight Fantasy

Have you ever wanted to get a late night call from Britney Spears? Now's your big chance. As a promotion for her new fragrance, you can go to a special website to create a personalized message from Britney to send to your friends. Fans nationwide will start receiving calls from Britney Spears today as part of a new promotion from Elizabeth Arden that uses Interactive Voice Recording (IVR) technology to send customized phone call recordings from the pop star to her fans across the country. The promotion is being offered in conjunction with Britney Spears' latest fragrance, Midnight fantasy, which launched in December 2006.

Senders provide the receiver's name and personality to create a personalized "Midnight fantasy" message from Britney selected just for them. Messages will be sent from the site MidnightFantasyBritneySpears.com. The Britney Spears personal voice message will be heard as soon as the lucky recipient picks up the phone.

"It's so cool to personally reach out to my fans this way!," said Britney Spears. "I am really excited for people to get the calls and send 'midnight fantasy' messages to their friends from me. I absolutely love this new fragrance, and hope everyone is encouraged to try it."

We created some absolutely amazing messages with the service. Britney's voice sounds really wonderful: she needs to stop hitting the nightclub scene and get herself down to the recording studio Pronto. We were not impressed by her recent bikini-clad antics in New York and want them stop immediately. At least her fragrance line is doing great.

Posted on February 14, 2007
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Beyonce is a Sports Illustrated Cover Girl



Beyonce Knowles landed the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. She looks fabulous! The issue hits newsstands tomorrow, just in time for Valentne's Day.

Posted on February 13, 2007
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Howard K. Stern's Return to the Bahamas

Mark Steines of Entertainment Tonight details his trip with Howard K. Stern to the Bahamas to be reunited with Danneilynn.

The next time I was supposed to see HOWARD K. STERN was at his wedding to ANNA NICOLE SMITH in two weeks -- a celebration. Instead, I find myself with him sharing one of the darkest moments of his life. On our flight from Florida -- where Anna still lies in a cold medical examiner's office -- to the Bahamas, our thoughts are on Anna and little baby DANNIELYNN, who we are rushing to see for the first time since her mother's sudden and shocking death on Thursday.

Howard, in tears, at times unable to speak, shares with me that Dannielynn is the light helping him go on. As the plane lifts above the clouds, Howard thinks of those his precious Anna Nicole left behind. In a voice barely heard above the din of the jet engines he tells me, "I want her friends to pray that Anna Nicole is safe, happy and with Daniel."

It was hard to leave Anna's body behind, but he had to get back to that baby girl. Others are already traveling to the Bahamas with an eye on Dannielynn. One of them is VIRGIE ARTHUR, Anna's biological mother, who she detested. Anna told me in October, "She's not my mother, she's my birth mother."

She is not a welcome guest. Howard begins to bristle at the mention of her name. He says, "As long as I have a breath in my body, that woman will not see Dannielynn."

I ask about Virgie's quest to assume custody of the five-month-old baby, who takes Howard's last name on her birth certificate. He answers, not as an attorney, but as someone who cares deeply for Dannielynn. "She has no right. She can't take Anna's baby."

After the plane touches down in the Bahamas, watching Howard hold Dannielynn for the first time since her mother's death is heart-wrenching. With tears rolling down his face he reveals the depth of his pain: "I wouldn't be here now, but I had to get back to Dannielynn. I held her in my arms and couldn't believe her mom is gone. I know Anna loved her more than anything in the world."

ET will air this interview, as well as video of Anna Nicole's last moments with Dannielynn, on ET tonight and throughout the week. Oh Please, you know you're going to watch.

Meanwhile, it appears that someone broke into Anna's house and stole photos, videos, letters and legal documents while Anna Nicole and Howard were in Florida. We're thinking it was that developer guy who is trying to take the house back after giving it to Anna Nicole. What a slime. Howard was interviewed by the Bahamian police today about the theft and about the death of Daniel, Anna Nicole's son.

TMZ.com claims that Anna Nicole's fridge contained only Slim-Fast, Methadone and some I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. But other news sources said the photos can't be verified: those photos could be of anyone's fridge, right? We know ours looks just like that.

Posted on February 12, 2007
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Anna Nicole Smith Autopsy Inconclusive

The autopsy of Anna Nicole Smith was completed and was inconclusive as to the method of her death, although there is no evidence that a crime was committed.

Prescription drugs were found in Anna Nicole Smith's hotel room, but there were no pills in her stomach, and investigators said Friday they are awaiting tests that could tell whether the former centerfold died of an overdose, as some close to her suspect. At the same time, a judge in Los Angeles ordered that the model's body be preserved for at least 10 days for a possible DNA test related to a paternity dispute. The ruling could interfere with plans for a funeral.

Dr. Joshua Perper, the Broward County medical examiner who did the autopsy, said no illegal drugs were discovered in Smith's room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood after the 39-year-old pinup collapsed there on Thursday. He would not identify the prescription drugs. But CNN quoted an unidentified law enforcement source as saying there were large amounts of prescription drugs, including Valium and antibiotics, as well as over-the-counter cold and flu medication.

Perper said there were no pills in Smith's stomach and no other immediate signs of an overdose, but officials "do not exclude any kind of contribution of medication to the death". He reported signs of inflammation in Smith's heart – "Something which looks a little bit unusual" – but added, "It may be nothing." He said it would take three to five weeks to conclude the investigation. Authorities also planned to interview a nurse and others and examine medical records before settling on a cause of death.

Seminole Police Chief Charlie Tiger said there was no indication the voluptuous blonde was the victim of a crime, and Perper said the autopsy was able to exclude any kind of physical injury such as blows to the body or asphyxiation. "There are a number of possibilities" as to the cause of death, Perper said, including natural causes, a drug reaction or some combination of the two.

The paternity lawsuit just got a lot weirder. Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband, Prince Frederick von Anhalt, today claimed that he had a ten year affair with Smith and that he may be the baby's father. Which is just too bizarre for words. Anhalt said all kinds of uncomplimentary things about Anna, such as there could be 20 men who could be the father. Anhalt's wife Zsa Zsa (who is at least 88) is recovering from a stroke and is likely horrified by her husband's paternity claim. Other reports claim that Anhalt is the son of a policman who purchased the rights to the title "prince" from the Princess von Anhalt, who was hard up for money at the time. In any event, he is seriously creepy.

Posted on February 9, 2007
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Anna Nicole Smith Dead at 39

Anna Nicole Smith is dead at the age of 39, according to CNN.

Reality TV star and former model Anna Nicole Smith was pronounced dead Thursday after being taken to a Florida hospital, a law enforcement source told CNN. Smith, 39, collapsed at a south Florida hotel, according to news reports. "I can confirm that she is deceased. It's as shocking to me as to you guys," Smith's attorney, Ronald Rale, told Reuters. "I don't know anything further. [Her lawyer and husband] Howard [K. Stern], obviously, is speechless and grieving."

Smith's nurse called Seminole Hard Rock Hotel workers at 1:38 p.m. and security went to the room, hotel officials said. Fire rescue workers from both the Seminole Indian tribe and from Hollywood Fire-Rescue arrived minutes later and Smith was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood at 2:10 p.m. Smith was involved in a paternity suit regarding the parentage of her daughter, Danielynn, as well as other disputes, including some regarding a house she stayed at in the Bahamas around the time she gave birth.

Earlier this week, Smith was included in a class-action lawsuit against a company, TrimSpa, for which she had worked as a spokesperson. TrimSpa makes a product it claims leads to substantial weight loss. The lawsuit alleges the marketing of the product, TrimSpa X32, was false or misleading. Smith's son, Daniel Wayne Smith, died at age 20 just days after the birth of Smith's daughter. Pathologist Cyril Wecht said a lethal dose of methadone and antidepressants caused cardiac dysrhythmia, leading to his death.

What an absolute tragedy, especially for poor little Danielynn, Anna Nicole's five month old daughter. There is going to be a knock down drag out paternity fight coming, no doubt. Danielynn deserves a family who loves her -- let's hope they get the paternity suit settled quickly.

Rest In Peace, Anna Nicole.

Posted on February 8, 2007
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Jessica Simpson Cites The Notebook as Cause for Divorce

Jessica Simpson knew she had to divorce Nick Lachey after she saw the movie The Notebook starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams.

Jessica Simpson says she was stung when ex-husband Nick Lachey jumped back into dating after their high-profile breakup. "Oh, it hurt me," the 26-year-old singer-actress says in an interview in the March issue of Elle magazine, on newsstands Feb. 13. "Two or three weeks later? Yeah, I'd say it kind of hurt me."

Simpson and Lachey, 33, starred in the MTV reality show, "Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica." She filed for divorce in December 2005, after three years of marriage. She made that decision, she says, after watching the 2004 romance "The Notebook" on a plane ride home to Texas. "I just figured out the statement," she says of the movie, starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as star-crossed lovers. "It was about that moment of desperation. I needed to breathe."

Does she still keep in touch with the singer, who is dating MTV's Vanessa Minnillo? "Mm-hmmm," she tells the magazine. "He's so much a part of my life, how could I not be? Any guy that's going to be with me from this day forward has to understand that. You want to help me find a guy?"

(It appears that's not necessary. Simpson has been photographed recently with singer-songwriter John Mayer, and in her profile in Elle, the writer noted that he spotted e-mails from Mayer on her computer.) She says she "is so happy right now," but declined to discuss her love life. "I want to tell you everything, but I have to sew my lips together," she says. Asked whether she's in love, a grinning Simpson plays coy: "I didn't say yes."

We have absolutely no idea what she is talking about. And we're fairly sure that she doesn't either.

Posted on February 6, 2007
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The Psychological Toll of Spam

Spam is one of life's annoyances to most of us. But to many people spam actually causes psychological damage. With the new privacy-invasion techniques, spammers can target specific groups of people, such as those that visit a chat room for diabetics sufferers. Then they email all the diabetics with quack cures that will probably kill them. Then there are all those male enhancement ads -- apparently many men feel personally targeted by those.

The spewing of spam over the digital transom has long been derided as an annoyance and provoked concerns about the insecurity of computer networks. But now some e-mailers and experts on psychology and technology worry that it is also having a more pernicious effect: insecurity for the recipient.

With worldwide volumes having doubled in the past year, and ever-more sophisticated spammers singling out computer users with particular interests or problems, it can serve as a constant reminder of what is lacking for those with fragile egos — whether a sinuous body or an eight-cylinder sex drive.

"How do they know I need to (fill in the blank)?" the recipient wonders. Delete, delete, delete. "It can affect your emotions and your level of stress," said Jeffrey T. Parsons, a psychology professor at Hunter College, who has conducted research on sexuality and the Internet. "Once you get in a spam loop, you can get bombarded with these things four or five times a day, and that can definitely trigger insecurities and exacerbate ones that already exist."

Pam Fitzgerald, managing partner of a marketing company in Virginia who struggles with her weight, bristles at the diet-plan spam, wondering "who knows how much I weigh." And her heart aches for one of her young employees, the only one in the small firm not to have finished college, who seems to be a magnet for spam pushing Johnny-come-lately bachelor's degree programs. "It's rubbing him raw day in and day out," she said. Worsening the psychic toll is the increasingly focused tailoring of spam of all stripes.

Legitimate retailers buy contact lists of e-mail addresses, while underground computer hacks trade — or steal — them. Spammers often steal e-mail addresses from topic-oriented and corporate Web sites with scores of registered users, and also corral highjacked networks of personal computers called botnets to glean specific information from other computers' hard drives, like e-mail address books.

Ok, news flash: everyone on the planet gets the weight loss and male enhancement spam emails. The only thing we can figure out from our spam is that someone has decided we are absolute idiots who will turn over our bank account information to some deposed Nigerian count who has $50,000,000 he needs to get out of the country ASAP. And apparently we're just the fools to help him do it.

Posted on February 1, 2007
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