Steve Martin & Alec Baldwin Will Co-host Oscars

The 82nd Oscars will look a little different this year as both Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin have been chosen to co-host the largest movie award event. Both men are known to be very funny, and both should provide more than a few choice memorable moments.

Alec Baldwin was quick to joke that he doesn't play "banjo" like Steve Martin, yet was "thrilled" to be chosen by the show's producers. Baldwin is fresh from his second straight Emmy win as a comedy actor in 30 ROCK. On the other hand, veteran comic Steve Martin is well known for his numerous comedy films including his recent PINK PANTHER films.

The awards show will air on March 7 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood to many nations. The Academy Awards are a major television event in much of the world.

Miss California's Sex Tape Sinks Her Lawsuit

Dethroned Miss California, Carrie Prejean is back in the news again. She attempted to sue the Miss California USA Pageant for $1 million, claiming that she was fired largely because of her fundamentalist Christian views. Now, pageant officials have shot back with a solo sex tape featuring Prejean. It was a violation of Pageant rules for any contestant to star in a sex tape.

Prejean had also been scheduled to appear on the TODAY show to promote a new book that she's selling where she attempted to paint herself as some sort of innocent victim, ignoring the fact that her own outrageous behavior had cost her her role as Miss California. TODAY wants to reschedule, but wants information from TMZ about the sex tape discovery.

Well, Carrie Prejean may not be perfect. But she does make a lovely orgasm face though it seems. But this is just the latest silly chapter in her saga.

Sometimes Nicole Kidman Likes It A Little Kinky

Actress Nicole Kidman revealed in a new DAILY MAIL piece that she sometimes explored the kinky side in her love life. This should hardly be a total surprise from this 42 year old actress who once starred in the controversial last Stanley Kubrick film, EYES WIDE SHUT. According to the Australian actress, "...I've explored strange fetish stuff".

Nicole Kidman also opened up a little about her 10 year marriage to actor Tom Cruise. Normally, she is very quiet about that period in her life. However, she stills holds tight on most details of that failed marriage which probably left some deep wounds and hurt feelings.

Nicole Kidman appears very happy in her current marriage to country star Keith Urban. Compared to the more "mundane" relationships in her life, Kidman calls this current marriage "exciting". It might the best match for her yet. Maybe her past relationships lacked that magic spark that she really longed for.

Hey Girls! Get Your Own Sugar Daddy Ken Doll From Mattel

Mattel Toys will soon roll out an interesting new Ken doll out for any of you girls interested in landing your own future sugar daddy. Palm Beach Sugar Daddy Ken looks like a real prize to any young woman looking to exchange a little companionship and sex in exchange for rent and spending money. What young girl doesn't dream of that good life?

Palm Beach Sugar Daddy Ken sure looks like the dream sugar daddy of any girl with his grey hair, expensive overpriced clothes and little purebred dog(probably named Precious).

Hey girls, why dream about marriage or family when some old fart will shower you with money to be his mistress? It has to be a dream come true for many a girl. What little girl doesn't dream of growing up to be a gold-digger?

Hey Comrade! Soviet Pedal Cars

During the days of the old Soviet Union, that nation actually produced more than a few pretty good pedal cars. Oh, sure that country never became the promised "worker's paradise", but these cool pedal cars still look like tons of fun. Many a future Young Pioneer had a grand old time in one of these as a child. Even Josef Stalin couldn't erase the smile that these little pedal cars once made(except for that one kid!).

Weekend Box Office Top Ten

Not all of the figures are in yet, but based on the early reports, in death Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT has managed to top the charts with at least $21.3 million in sales. #2 was the super scary thriller, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. That film had the audience jumping out of their seats with thrills.

#3 was LAW ABIDING CITIZEN with $7.3 million despite some poor critical reviews. #4 was COUPLES RETREAT which had even worse critical reviews than LAW ABIDING CITIZEN by far. That film took in $6.1 million. SAW VI, the continuing gory saga took in $5.6 million. The highly rated WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE came in at #6 with $5.1 million.

At #7 was the poorly rated film, THE STEPFATHER, which is like a fictionalized AMERICA'S MOST WANTED story with a lowly $3.4 million haul. #8 was ASTROBOY, which did a little worse at $3 million. #9, was AMELIA, also with about $3 million, despite a few dreadful critical reviews. And #10 was the horror oriented, CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT with about $2.8 million.

Overall, the Halloween box office figures look a little bit low. But with few great films to choose from, Michael Jackson's film looked good by comparison.

Great Car Wars: The Czech Tatra T97 & The Volkswagen

Few people know how the 1936 Czech Tatra T97 was actually the basis the famous first Volkswagen cars. In Germany, Porsche was under great pressure from Hitler to quickly design an automobile for the masses by the Hitler government. It was one of the promises of the Hitler regime to promise an affordable car to every family as this 1939 Nazi propaganda poster illustrates. Essentially it says that for "5 marks a week a worker could have their car to ride in".

However, Porsche lifted too much of the design of the T97 to suit Czech automaker Tatra, and the company sued Porsche for infringement of the design. When Porsche was willing to settle with Tatra, Hitler intervened and settled the matter by invading Czechoslovakia. Further complicating the matter was the Soviet invasion of the East at the end of the war. However, in 1961 Porsche managed to settle the legal matter with Tatra by paying the company a settlement sum of 3 million marks and the drawn-out legal matter finally settled.

Interestingly, the Communist government that took over Czechoslovakia after the war quickly ended the T97 in favor of some cars that looked decidedly more "Communistic" in design. However, with the fall of the Iron Curtain Tatra continued to produced the very best cars of any former Eastern Bloc nation. Sadly, in 1999 Tatra stopped building automobiles, but continues to build trucks and four wheel drive type vehicles.

Few understand how Tatra was such a great brand that even Germany once ripped-off their designs. Czechoslovakia has always had cutting edge technology, despite serious political problems due to the war or the Russian invasion.