Trending This Mornin'

Another chilly morning.  Mostly sunny.  Hi 53 today.  Then look out.  Friday - Sunday. Mostly sunny.  Hi around 60.  Monday and Tuesday, Partly sunny.  Highs around 66. Rain chance and cooler Wednesday.  Hi mid 50s.

 

Powerball officials say tickets sold in Arizona and Missouri matched all six numbers to win the record $580M million jackpot.   The winning numbers were: 05, 16, 22, 23, 29, and a Powerball of 6.

 

(Photo:AP, Kathy Willens)

 

New Jersey and New Yorkers needed a little Christmas and Mayor Bloomberg and a number of celebrities delivered last night as they lit the Rockefeller Center tree.  It's an 80-foot Norway spruce that made it through Superstorm Sandy,  illuminated with more than 30,000 lights and topped by a Swarovski star.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte  is the new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.  Goodlatte replaces Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, atop the Judiciary Committee.

President Obama and former rival Mitt Romney will meet Thursday for their first get-together since the November 6 election. 

Students from Jefferson Forest High School will compete in the Virginia High School League State Theatre Festival this weekend in Charlottesville.  Break a leg.

 

Lookin' Back

Today is Electronic Greetings Day and Square Dance Day.  25 days until Christmas. 32 to New Year's.

1775, Invisible ink was used for the first time ..

1963, The Beatles released "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

1975, The name "Micro-soft" (for "microcomputer software") was used for the first time in a letter Bill Gates sent to Paul Allen ..

1981, Natalie Wood drowned in a boating accident off Santa Catalina Island, California. .. she was 43 .

1986, Cary Grant died at age 82

2001, George Harrison died of cancer

 

Cuttin' Cake Today

Gena Lee Nolin 41; Howard K. Stern 44; Jonathon Knight (New Kids on the Block) 44; Don Cheadle 48; Kim Delaney 51; Rebecca De Mornay 53; Howie Mandel 57; Garry Shandling 63; Vin Scully 85

 

Joke of the Day

How do sheep in Mexico say Merry Christmas?  ans - Fleece Navidad

  

Smarter Than Question

If it takes you longer than 8 minutes to do this, you're taking too long...what  is it?   Congrats to Sally and Carol Lou, they both got it.  The answer is "falling asleep". 

 

Entertainment Buzz

Here's a shocker...Lindsay Lohan was arrested early this morning, this time after a fight at a nightclub in the Chelsea section of New York City.  Assault charges are pending for the 26-year-old actress following the fight at Club Avenue on 10th Avenue and 17 th street at around 4 a.m. She was taken to New York's 10 th precinct where she was being questioned and processed by police.
 
The Top 8 sang on X-Factor last night and Britney Spears debuted her new video, Scream and Shout".  The standout?  Carly Rose Sonsenclar, who was No. 1 last week with her stirring rendition of Over the Rainbow, went for another big song this week, singing Adele's Rolling in The Deep.  L.A. Reid called her "insanely talented".  Indeed.  She's 13.   

Tate Stevens covered Keith Urban's Somebody Like You.  Britney said she was sure we'd be seeing him accept a country award someday.  The final performance of the night had the girls screaming.  Emblem3 sang I'm a Believer.  L.A. Reid said, "...I would sign you."    Most likely to go home, based on judges' remarks: Cece Frey and Vino Alan.
Survivor Spoiler:   Penner is the next person to join the jury
Brad Pitt may tie the knot for the second time soon. The actor hinted in an interview with People that he will marry long-time partner and mother of his children, Angelina Jolie, quite “soon.” Years of dating and six children later, Pitt proposed to Jolie earlier this year.

US Weekly says Jessica Simpson is pregnant again!! And it’s only been seven months since she gave birth to daughter Maxwell Drew Johnson! Jessica has been engaged to formal NFL pro Eric Johnson for over 2 years now. 

Seems Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of Whitney Houston, walked away from a single-car wreck Wednesday in Georgia without injury to anything but her driving record — and her once-shiny Chevy Camaro.  The car's front end was pretty badly munched up in the accident.   She was ticketed for failure to maintain her lane.   It gets better,  UsMagazine.com is reporting Bobbi Kristina and Nick Gordon, who confirmed their engagement last month on their reality show, have broken up.

Just searchin'...Kim Kardashian is once again the “Most Searched Person” on the internet. Bing has released its report for 2012, and Kim has taken back her #1 spot from Justin Bieber – who won the title last year. A few of high finishers in 2011 (like Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears and Lady Gaga) didn’t even make the Top 10 this year. Peyton Manning was the most-searched-for Sports Star of the year and Justin Bieber was the #1 Musician (beating Whitney Houston!)
 
OBIT:  Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar has died in Texas.  He was 86 and a master of words.

 

primetime thursday

abc: all new shows tonight including Last Resort, Grey's Anatomy, and Scandal
cbs: The Big Bang Theory is new followed by new episodes of Two and a Half Men, Person of Interest, and Elementary
nbc: 30 Rock, Up All night, The Office, Parks and Rec, and Rock Ctr with Brian Williams are all new tonight 
fox: The X Factor is live followed by a new Glee
cw: The Vampire Diaries and Beauty and the Beast are both new 

 

Christmas Specials:  Thursday (11/29)

Mickey's Christmas Carol (6pm, ABC Family) 
The Christmas List (midnight, ABC Family)

 

News from Nashville

How's this for a tease from Carrie Underwood?  It's a snippet of her video for "Two Black Cadillacs.

Brad's wife  Kimberly Williams-Paisley,  has signed on for at least three of the final nine episodes of "Nashville" playing the devious Peggy Samper. 

It’s only been out a month, but Taylor Swift’s “Red” album has already sold almost 3 million copies worldwide! The 16 track collection has also topped the charts in 42 countries.

Vegas, hope you're ready for some country?  Shania: Still the One, begins a two-year concert residency at Caesars Palace starting Saturday. Twain will perform approximately 60 shows a year with one run now through Dec. 15 and another in March and April.  The remaining dates are still to be scheduled; prices range from $55 to $250. 

TMZ is reporting, after a series of embarrassing public incidents involving alcohol, country star Randy Travis has given up drinking. 
 
19 year old Scotty McCreery was 'Rockin' New York Around The Christmas Tree last night at the tree lighting in Rockefeller Center.  BTW:   His holiday album is selling like hot cakes.   The album is nearing gold certification, with almost 200,000 copies sold (500,000 shipped) in the month since its release.
 
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood recently joined nearly 600 other volunteers for a Habitat for Humanity work project in Haiti.

Could the Grammy Awards be coming to Nashville soon? Music City is already hosting the Grammy Nominations Concert Live! on CBS December 5.  The Hollywood Reporter says Nashville is making a play to become the new home of the big show.  As for the Grammy Nominations Concert Live!, Taylor Swift is set to co-host the show with L.L. Cool J. The Band Perry and Dierks Bentley are also rumored to be taking part in a tribute to the late Johnny Cash on the program.

ACC FanFest - Saturday in Charlotte.  If you're going to the ACC Championship game, get there early for Lee Brice at 3:30 and Little Big Town at 5:30.

 

 

Lar's This & That

How Much Can You Save By Regifting? 

A new holiday survey finds, 92% of Americans now say it's totally  acceptable to regift.  The average regifter says they'll save  about $150 on presents.  (PR  Newswire)

 

Best Time To Do Just About Anything 

Here are some of the best times of the day to do different things. Experts say planning your day is essential to success.

Take Vitamins: with breakfast

Go to Doctor: 8am-9am or 1pm-2pm

Take a nap: 1pm-2:30pm

Walk the Dog: 8pm-9pm

Do Cardio Work Out: 5pm-6pm

Ask for a Raise: 5pm

Return Merchandise: 10am

Send Mail at Post Office: 7:30am-10am

Get a haircut: 8am-9am

Depart a Flight (on-time): 6am-7am

House Cleaning: 4pm

Read and Retain Information: 8am or 10pm


Read more:

 

 

Employee Raises Will Pay For Themselves

A study by a think tank  found that when companies give people raises, they earn MORE than the cost of  the raises back from extra productivity. 

The survey also found that folks who get raises stimulate the economy enough to create tens of thousands of new  jobs.

 

 

Shhhhhhh!   It's Too Early For Words

According to a new survey, the average person wakes up at 6:49 A.M., but doesn't want to talk to anyone for the first hour and 15 minutes they're awake. **Glenna calls it "too many words".

43% of people avoid talking to their significant other in the a.m.. One in three try to avoid coworkers . . . and one in five don't want to talk to their children. (Daily Mail)

 

Romantic gift ideas...   

Looking for something for that special someone in your life? Yahoo! has a few suggestions... pretty basic, but still good to keep in mind for the romantically challenged.

  • Couples massage
  • Silk boxers
  • Hotel getaway
  • Love dice
  • Body icing
  • Romantic dinner for two

 

 Wrap 'em up.

 

Top Reasons You Make The Naughty List 

 

 

Top Ways To Make The Nice List 

 

 

Consumer  Reports has come out with their annual "Naughty and Nice" list. The  "Naughty List" was made up from companies who have hidden fees, fine print and  unfriendly practices, while the "Nice List" were companies who were generous and  had outstanding customer service.

 

Key To A Succesful Marriage

A new study out of Michigan has found that a huge key to a successful  marriage is . . . whether the man gets along with his in-laws. 

The 26 year old study found that if a man  likes his wife's parents, there's a 20% lower risk of divorce.  The  reason:  His wife sees that as a sign he's truly invested in her for  the long term.

(Source: WSJ)

 

Most Annoying Airport Security Checkpoints

Traveling over the holidays can challenge your patience. Add luggage, a car seat, two strollers and kids, and you're challenging your sanity. The last thing you need is an extremely long wait getting through airport security. 

Well just thank goodness you're not going through one of these airports this month (or are you???)... Travel and Leisure ranked the top five MOST annoying airports for security delays...

  1. Los Angeles (LAX) Why? Celebrities! Celebs always think they can bend the rules... The Pitt-Jolie clan can cause huge delays. Not only celebs, but people smuggling contraband through is a huge problem, as well. One guy tried to get by with 40-thousand live snakes down his pants.
  2. New York (LGA) The problem is that LaGuardia was not designed to accommodate a sprawling 21st century security apparatus.
  3. Neward (EWR) Earlier this year, TSA agents at this airport were canned for sleeping on the job. Later in the year 25 others were canned for breaking rules when it comes to screening baggage. Ya get the problem here?
  4. Philly (PHL) Again, they've had a tough time with power-hungry agents.
  5. New York (JFK) The volume of international passengers slows the process to a crawl at this airport. The good news is they've demolished the slowest terminal and are looking to replace it with something that can handle the traffic. Until then, though... 

See the rest of the list here

 

 

Meow!!!!!

According to Yahoo, the most-popular name for female kittens is Bella.  As  in, Kristen Stewart's character from "Twilight".  Lucy was the second most-popular name, and Kitty was third. 

For boy kittens, the  top three names are Max, Oliver, and Charlie.  

**What? No Michael?  Our middle son sends Christmas greetings to all his kitty buddies.  He really loves the holidays.  Really.  You can see it on his face.

more

 

Weird, But True News

The so-called Cleaning Fairy who broke into an Ohio house, cleaned up and left a bill, was this week sentenced to one year of probation + community service. Susan Warren broke into a home May 22, cleaned up and left a bill for her services.  **I only hope she dusted under the pictures and not around them.

 

 

Staying Healthy Today 

Yahoo says weak muscles are prone to injury, and  a broken bone, injured joint or pulled muscle can lead to a lengthy recovery  time. If you're frequently plagued with neck pain, low back pain or sprained  ankles, a weak group of muscles may be to blame.

Read on to learn how weakened  muscles can cause injury, as well as what exercises to practice to strengthen  these muscle groups

 

 

Good News Story

A New York couple say they recently received a postcard that was placed in the mail in 1943. The postcard was addressed to Pauline and Theresa Leisenring and was sent out on July 4, 1943, from Rockford, Illinois. It was sent by their parents, who were visiting their brother at the Medical Center Barracks at Camp Grant. However, it just arrived last week at the home of Adam and Laura Rundell. “It was delivered in mint condition.

Laura called it "a treasure in the mailbox."  Theresa died in 1954, Pauline in 1962. The Rundells found some relatives of the late Leisenrings and offered the postcard to them.

 

Lar's Thought of the Day 

"If you dream it, then you can achieve it.  You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want."     Zig Ziglar