UPDATE: Winning speeches were selected on February 22, 2007. …so many worthy entries that picking just one winner seemed as churlish as Judi Dench’s role in Notes on a Scandal. So the staff at NPR.org picked five winners, along with a few runners-up, and recorded them reading their entries. … winners captured the spirit of the nominees’ characters, if not always their accents. The speeches were limited to 200 words, about the length of an Oscar speech. But we didn’t cut them off with an orchestra… … the Oscars for Best Fake Oscar Speech go to… original... 

This has to be the funniest “pot calling the kettle black”* story I’ve seen in a while. According to MSNBC, Star Magazine is reporting that Kevin Federline wants Britney Spears to go to rehab – for the sake of the kids. Uhhhh……..where does K-Fed get off telling Britney to shape up? Let’s ponder the ridiculousness of that for a moment. In the magazine’s report, Kevin Federline states that he has tried “every possible angle” to get Britney Spears to “chill out” and “get some help.” He threatened to take the kids away (Ha! I’d like to see the judge... 

My dear friend Nora is a bit of a hero. She is full of passion and compassion, determination and drive, spirit and soul. She does things that most of us probably could, and would, never do ourselves. She is in love with a great guy and they have an awesome daughter. Which makes sense since Nora totally kicks ass. And now, you too can get to know this wonderful human. View her photos and read her blogs as she travels through war-torn Palestine. Twice a year, this dynamic radio producer of KPFA’s Flashpoints (a daily investigative newsmagazine) travels to the occupied West Bank... 

– Leonardo DeCaprio, Best Actor for Blood Diamond “I’m honored to receive this nomination from the Academy – especially in a year full of such worthy nominees. … I am also thrilled for Djimon [Hounsou], Mark [Wahlberg] and Marty [Scorsese] who are all so deserving of this recognition.” – Peter O’Toole, Best Actor for Venus “If you fail the first time, try try try try try try try again.” (Peter has been nominated for multiple Oscars in the past.) – Will Smith, Best Actor for The Pursuit of Happyness (in a statement) “Congratulations to... 

The nominations are in. Here is a short list of the “big ones”. Noticeably absent from Best Picture is Dreamgirls, which many “in the know” thought would be nominated for sure. Looks like they’re not as “in” as they thought. Best Picture: –Babel –Letters From Iwo Jima –Little Miss Sunshine –The Departed –The Queen Best Actor: -Leonardo DeCaprio for Blood Diamond -Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson -Peter O’Toole for Venus -Will Smith for The Pursuit of Happyness -Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland Best Actress: -Penelope... 

Here’s a cool new contest from CBS. If you had 15 seconds to tell the world whatever you wanted to, what would you say? Limited time only. Winners will be announced Super Bowl Sunday, so hurry! Registration for the 15 Seconds contest is free. Would-be hopeful are being asked to submit 15-second videos to YouTube.com through the CBS.com website – or on YouTube.com directly, as long as participants read, accept and follow the complete rules. The 15 Seconds contest officials began accepting videos on Friday, December 29, 2006. Every two weeks, CBS Interactive will... 

These may be valid only in California, but I thought they were worth sharing anyway. I don’t know why new traffic laws aren’t advertised more, but they’re not. Probably so the government can make more money on tickets. But that’s just my theory. 1. Unlawful use of the carpool lane – the 1st time is $1068.50 (NOT the $271, currently posted on most highways). The 2nd time is double that at $2137.00. The 3rd time it’s tripled, and the 4th time means your license will be suspended. 2. Incorrect lane change – $380. Don’t cross solid...