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The "reality" show megahit "Jersey Shore" returns to the airwaves Thursday evening and the media hype machine is in full swing. As part of the promotional buildup, the cast of the show rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange this morning and they drew the biggest trading floor crowd since Abbie Hoffman rained dollar bills down from the visitor's gallery in 1967. This season the cast members, almost exclusively comprised of New Yorkers (only Sammi Sweetheart actually hails from the Garden State), will be shown adjusting to a new scene while they spend an extended sojourn in

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Today marks the 150^th birthday of Lizzie Borden, the Massachusetts spinster who was accused of brutally murdering her father and stepmother with a hatchet on August 4, 1892. Lizzie's fame soared during the nationally publicized courtroom drama, the O.J. Simpson trial of its day. Despite incriminating circumstances and inconsistent testimony from the accused, the prosecutors were hampered by their failure to incontrovertibly produce a murder weapon or blood evidence tying Lizzie to the crime, and she was acquitted after only an hour and a half of jury deliberations.  Amid widespread

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After a quarter in which investors appeared to be having a bad romance with stocks, the market has been reeling off hits at a pace that would make even Lady Gaga envious. Now threatening to conclude its seventh consecutive winning session, the market appears to be shrugging off investor's fears of a double-dip recession, instead focusing on the growing number of indications that economic activity is continuing to expand. Intel's report that business spending on PCs is strengthening has fueled early buying this morning, although weakening retail sales and deflationary worries may pose a

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This week marks the 35^th anniversary of the release of "Jaws", the smash hit film that dramatically altered America's movie and beach going habits. Recognized as the original summer blockbuster, "Jaws" was the first film that opened in wide release and its stunning success ended the traditional staged-release practices that had previously predominated. After "Jaws", big summer films would henceforth be opened upon a thousand or more screens simultaneously. So in case you were wondering, you can thank "Jaws" for providing you with the opportunity to view "Toy Story 3" on 10 screens at 5

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In Stanley Kramer's hit ensemble comedy "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", a troupe of early 1960s mid-level comedy stars are sent racing across the Mojave Desert after learning of buried treasure from a dying roadside accident victim. That victim, played by Jimmy Durante, told the assembled group that a fortune lay buried beneath a "big W" on a San Diego beach just before he literally kicked the bucket. The ensuing scramble to be the first to locate the treasure provided the plot vehicle that permitted the director to wreck airplanes, service stations and cars aplenty in an epic comedic

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At the beginning of "National Lampoon's European Vacation" the Griswold family appeared on a game show called "Pig in a Poke" standing cheek by jowl in matching pink pig costumes as Chevy Chase, portraying the clueless family head Clark Griswold, brashly decided to risk the family's winnings by playing for the grand prize. Unexpectedly pitted against the show's all-time winningest family, things looked bleak for the Griswolds when they were asked to name the lieutenant who led the famous expedition to the Pacific Northwest in 1804. Completely stumped when asked for the final answer, Ellen

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Like millions of Americans, I woke up pretty grumpy this morning, remembering that it was April 15^th and that not only would I be paying my taxes today, but that I would also be inundated by unavoidable media coverage employing the most hackneyed of clichés. Still irritable as I drove to the post office, I found myself trying to come up with ways in which I might lower next year's bill when I came up with the realization that less income would most likely equal less income taxes. That didn't seem like such a good plan, but the thought cheered me a bit when I reflected upon the millions of

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After what was quite literally a "witch hunt", the Saudi Arabian Committee for Virtue and Prevention of Vice arrested a man named Ali Sabat, the popular host of a Lebanese television show called "Scheherazade" during a religious pilgrimage in 2008 and sentenced him to death for making predictions and offering advice on television. Officially convicted of sorcery, the unfortunate victim was scheduled to be beheaded last Friday morning before an international outcry convinced Saudi officials to delay the execution.  The fate of Mr. Sabat is uncertain as of this writing, but his predicament

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