The Targets - September 29, 2006

Extreme Measures - "Drastic thinness has become the beauty ideal – and it's having an alarming effect on girls everywhere."

'Super-Skinny Me' Documentary Aims to Expose Risks of Over-Dieting - "A British television station plans to screen a documentary featuring women who volunteer to slim to ultrathin sizes to expose the health dangers of excessive dieting, it said on Thursday."

The Ten Most Trustworthy Celebrities - "Satoshi Kanazawa, an evolutionary psychologist at the London School of Economics, offers another evolutionary explanation. He claims that modern man--or at least, the brain of modern man-- hasn't adapted to, and thus can't fully comprehend, the concept of mass media. Instead, "our brain assumes that we are still living in the small hunter-gather bands we lived in more than 10,000 years ago," he says. "As a result, we assume any realistic images of human beings that we see repeatedly are real human beings. Our brain doesn't understand that these are actors playing roles on a drama or sitcoms, and we act as if they are trusted friends." Neuroscientists offer yet another rationale, commonly referred to as the "mere exposure effect": the more we're exposed to something or someone, the more we like and trust it. When a media mogul like Oprah Winfrey constantly assaults our senses, appearing everywhere from live television to Broadway to the silver screen, her image begins to wear a neurochemical groove on our brain. Over time, repeated exposure to Oprah's image triggers a sense of comfort and trust when we see it. The more we see Oprah, the more we like Oprah--which explains why she ranks fourth on the Celebrity Trust Index." -- Check out the list.

Paris Hilton And Nicole Richie Are Friends Again! - "Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are reportedly making the first movements to becoming friends once again." -- Now I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Porn star's name may ring a 'Bell' - "He may have played nerdy eighth-grader Samuel (Screech) Powers in the sitcom "Saved by the Bell." But former TV geek Dustin Diamond can now take his place with Colin Farrell, Tommy Lee and Kid Rock as the star of his very own sex tape. ... We can't get too graphic here, but word is that the action includes some bodily functions and an act known as a "Dirty Sanchez." ... "Just when you think you have seen everything in this business," he tells us, "mankind has raised the bar another notch. Or lowered it.""

Screech squawks: An update, with a clarification - "The sex tape got out because Diamond and some buddies have a "monthly gathering" wherein they exchange such tapes (emphasis mine) which earn points based on "what [we're] able to accomplish" on the tapes: "We do it almost like poker. [The tape] could have been left out in anybody's home, machine, computer."" -- That's an interesting party game.

Madonna breaks earnings record - "The star, famous for constantly re-inventing her image, knocked singer Britney Spears from the top spot she had held since 2001." -- How did Madonna have to catch up to Britney? And who gives a crap?

'Survivor' ends segregation game - "All the hubbub about the "Survivor" ethnic experiment turned out to be pretty worthless. After only two episodes, producers merged the black, white, Asian and Latino tribes into two mixed-race gangs on the CBS reality show Thursday night. No explanation was given for the quick abandonment of segregation; it seemed to pass by so quickly as to mean nothing." -- Of course, they did get some free publicity with all the hubbub.

Outrage as US baby wig craze hits Britain - "Celebrity wigs designed for babies up to nine months old and are set to hit the market, to the outrage of children's charities."

'Lost Boys' Found: A&E Reunites The Coreys - "In the '80s, Corey Haim and Corey Feldman were the biggest stars in the land. They're not anymore, which is why they're now the stars of a new A&E reality series." -- Oh, this is needed.

The Sexiest Woman Alive - "Who is she? A mystery in six parts." -- Gotta guess?

10 Songs You Were Probably Conceived To - "As if picturing your folks having sex wasn't cringe-worthy enough, setting the scene to music borders on the sadistic. Here, we propose the parental playlist that wafted from the 8-track when skateboards had fat wheels, Homer Simpson had flowing brown hair and your folks were easing out of halter tops and bell-bottom jeans. Remember: If the master bedroom is rockin', for the love of God, DON'T COME KNOCKIN'! "

Sex film "Shortbus" steers clear of controversy - "It's got sex, lots of sex. In fact, the whole movie is about sex and, from the start, was conceived to test boundaries."

Free Movies, Documentaries, Cartoons, TV-Shows, Music & Comedy - "100% handpicked content chosen to inform, educate, shock and entertain you." -- Public domain movies.

IT’SUGAR - the first department store of candy - "IT’SUGAR is a brand new 6,000 square foot department store that recently opened in Atlantic City. Let me repeat - SIX THOUSAND SQUARE FEET OF CANDY. They have over 5,000 types of candy and 250 types of ice cream. They have a “Make-Your-Own Candy Bar” facility where you can even pick your own fillings and they have the largest selection of Jelly Belly jellybeans and M&Ms in the world."

DaysAgo Counts the Days For You - "DaysAgo is a little digital date counter that attaches to anything with its magnetic or suction backing, and tells you how long it's been since, well, whatever. Put it on those leftovers so you'll know how long they've been sitting in the refrigerator, or slap it on a plant pot to let you know when the last time you watered the poor thing. You can even stick one on your armpit so you'll know when was the last time you took a shower. Scratch that last one, your nose knows."