This baby’s got moves!
I hope my baby's this cool!
Vote for your top dog
From Frasier’s Eddie and The Little Rascals’ Petie to The Brady Bunch’s Tiger and Blue from Blues Clues, dogs have always had a profound impact on television. But who is the most famous of them all?
This week, the American Kennel Club (AKC) and AOL’s PawNation.com ask America to weigh in on their favorite TV dog. This week’s nominees are:
Eddie – Frasier – Kelsey Grammer’s Parson Russell Terrier from the NBC sitcom Frasier.
Jack – Little House on the Prairie – a French Bulldog in the books but a mixed breed in the TV show.
Blue – Blues Clues – The star of Nickelodeon’s popular TV show for preschool aged children.
Petie – The Little Rascals – The American Staffordshire Terrier who played the mascot to the children of Our Gang.
Flash – The Dukes of Hazard – Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane’s Basset Hound in the CBS series.
Reckless – The Waltons – The family’s hound from the popular CBS TV show.
Huckleberry Hound – The Huckleberry Hound Show – The star of the first Emmy Award winning animated series.
Tiger – The Brady Bunch – The Brady family’s faithful dog.
Comet – Full House – The family’s pet Golden Retriever on the ABC series.
Brian Griffin – Family Guy – The Griffin family’s cynical, substance-abusing, talking dog on the FOX animated series.
Which TV pooch will be top dog? Visit
http://www.pawnation.com/category/akc-top-125-dogs to cast your vote and make your bark heard.
Underscoring America’s love affair with dogs and celebrating its 125th Anniversary, the American Kennel Club (AKC) collaborated with AOL’s PawNation.com to compile a list of the Top 125 Dogs in Popular Culture. The list brings together canines from diverse backgrounds for a candid look at how dogs have been woven into the fabric of America. From movies and music, mascots and literature, to cartoons and TV characters, each week a new poll allows Americans to review the list, debate it with their friends and colleagues, and pick their favorites. Dog lovers can return each week to vote and have a final say to end the doggie debate and find who it the top dog. The AKC will tabulate results and unveil the final list of America’s Top 125 Dogs in Pop Culture on December 7, 2009.
Michael Jackson’s Ferris wheel spins into new life
MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. (AP) — From the top of the Ferris wheel, one could once see acres of Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch, the ride’s 5,000 lights aglow in a carnival-like frenzy fit for a performer who never quite grew up.
At the bottom of the wheel rest allegations of child sex abuse, bankruptcy and ultimately a drug-induced death for the 50-year-old King of Pop.
A liquidation sale scattered many of Jackson’s rides from his ranch in the oak-studded hills 120 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Now the Ferris wheel that offered glimpses of Jackson’s incredible wealth is quietly touring the Midwest in the hands of a Missouri amusement company that bought it only because it needed another one for its stable of rides.
“We ourselves really didn’t advertise it,” said Theresa Noerper, co-owner of Archway Amusements Corp. “When he died, it kind of blew up. There’s no keeping secrets then.”
The ride offers no reference of Jackson to casual passers-by; a metal stamp shows it was made by the Eli Bridge Co. of Jacksonville, Ill. However, metal molding around the seats remains a very specific color, supposedly specified by Jackson when he ordered it from the manufacturer — pinot noir red.
Archway Amusements doesn’t go out of its way to publicize the Ferris wheel’s ties to Jackson; it leaves it up to local fair organizers to decide whether to make them known. But word of mouth has gotten to some hardcore Jackson fans.
Jackson reportedly purchased the Ferris wheel for $215,000 in 1990 and took the first ride on it when workers installed it at Neverland. It stayed there as Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor at the ranch in 2003. He was acquitted two years later, but the scandal drove him from Neverland forever. Over the next four years, the property fell into disrepair, and at one point it was weeks from being sold at a public auction.
Noerper said Archway Amusements bought the 65-foot-tall Ferris wheel last year. The company repainted its supporting arms green and began taking it on the company’s seasonal fair and carnival circuit. Then Jackson died June 25, raising concerns among local police that the ride might be mobbed by mourners.
That didn’t happen.
“They come to take pictures, a couple tears and everybody likes to ride it,” Noerper said.
The Ferris wheel made an appearance last week at the annual Baxter County Fair. It will move on to the Northeast Arkansas District Fair in Jonesboro this week, competing against stomach-churning rides like Pharaoh’s Revenge, the Sizzler and the Hot Shot.
Alaina Dyce, 13, of Mountain Home, said she looked forward to the spinning “squirrel cages” rather than the staid Ferris wheel. Michael Jackson’s name didn’t add much for the Led Zeppelin T-shirted teen.
Still, something draws riders to the wheel, making them willing to hand over three tickets worth $4.50.
“They’re not big moneymakers anymore, because they’re so slow and you have to load them,” Noerper said of Ferris wheels. “It’s more of a nostalgia piece than anything.”
First Lady’s shorts spark reader responses
In a recent you! section of The Oklahoman, I asked readers if they thought it was appropriate for First Lady Michelle Obama to wear shorts in public. The question was in response to the following story from the Associated Press:
By now, Michelle Obama has firmly established her sartorial right to bare arms. But baring thighs may be another matter.
Photographs of the first lady descending the steps of Air Force One in shorts have the media in a sweat. Some are saying Mrs. Obama — on her way to the Grand Canyon for a family vacation — may have revealed too much skin.
Mrs. Obama is no stranger to public scrutiny over her fashion decisions, including exposing her bare arms or wearing expensive sneakers to a soup kitchen.
The Huffington Post posted a poll for readers to explain what they thought: Most were in favor of the outfit, but others thought the shorts were inappropriate or too short.
NBC’s “Today” show poll had similar results with a whopping 300,000 people responding to the vote. The blog post was the show’s most commented-on of 2009, said Dee Dee Thomas, a “Today” senior producer.
What does this show?
“That people love talking about Michelle Obama,” Thomas said. “She’s pushing the envelope on how we see the first lady.”
Here are a few of our readers’ responses, exactly as they were sent to me.
“Shorts are fine ! She is on vacation.” –Wanda
“As the first lady of this nation it only polite thing to do and that is to dress like a woman of respect and to dress like the woman she was is a disgrace to the White House and shows she is indepent of what others think and to do as she wants! Wear shorts in private that is her business BUT NOT OUT IN PUBLIC.” — Luther Newman, Clinton
“I feel her short were ok. She’s on vacation and should be allowed to relax and dress comfortable. What do you’ll want her to wear dressy dress and peal’s all the time. Leave her alone and let her enjoy her vacation.”– Sandra Rogers
“Michelle Obama bares too much, ALL the time! She does not carry herself with the dignity of the office!”– annonymous
My thoughts? Michelle Obama looks great and I agree with Sandra and Wanda: she’s on vacation! I think Michelle not only dresses appropriately for most occasions, but she is a good role model for women because she doesn’t dress as if the clothes make the woman. I think that many women today are far too competitive in the way they dress. Dressing to the nines doesn’t make you a better person or more worthy of public admiration. We should value women for their intellect and their contributions to society and not for how sexy, well-dressed or in-shape they are.
