Pop Culture Checklist

Happy Thursday, and welcome to the weekly buzz! It appears every Thursday and includes local and regional happenings, as well as recent music, DVD, movie, and TV news.

MUSIC NEWS

–The BET Hip Hop Awards will be held Saturday, and will premiere at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17. Among performers are Kanye West, Common and Nelly.

–After a three-year wait, Lenny Kravitz is finally coming out with his 8th studio album. It goes on sale on Feb. 5, 2008, and will be called “It Is Time For A Love Revolution.”

–For the first time in 30 years, Johnny Cash TV specials will be released on DVD on Nov. 13. Shout! Factory is releasing “The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1976″ and “The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1977.”

–Wu-Tang recently announced that they have the first-ever official license for a Beatle tune. According to Spin, their interpretation of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” will feature contributions from the son’s late Beatle Dhani Harrison, Erykah Badu, and Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante. Their album, “8 Diagrams,” is due out Dec. 4.

–Counting Crows are pushing back the release of its next album. Originally due out Nov. 6, the album “Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings” is now pushed back to January.

In his blog, frontman Adam Duritz said the band just ran out of time with touring and traveling and putting the album together.

–If you care, you will be able to get Britney Spears’ new CD sooner than you thought. Jive Records is moving up the release date to prevent any online leaks. “Blackout” will be out on shelves on Oct. 30.

  Here is a list of some albums making its debut on Tuesday, Oct. 16:

-R.E.M., “R.E.M. Live” (CD/DVD)

-Jimmy Eat World, “Chase the Light”

-Baby Bash, “Cyclone”

-Avenged Sevenfold, “Avenged Sevenfold”

-Dan Wilson, “Free Life”

DVD NEWS

–Transformers will be released on DVD on Tuesday. It’s a great movie - rent it! Anyway, it includes commentary by director Michael Bay, and a two-disc special edition and HD-DVD version that has bonus features.

Other DVDs coming out on Tuesday, Oct. 16, are…

–Return to House on Haunted Hill

–A Mighty Heart

–The Invisible

–Micheal Moore Hates America

–Absolutely Fabulous: White Box

–Icons of Horror Collection: Sam Katzman

–Planet Terror

–Believers

–Amityville Collection Triple Feature

MOVIE NEWS

Movies coming to the big screen on Friday, Oct. 12:

-Elizabeth: The Golden Age

-The Final Season

-We Owe the Night

-Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?

TV NEWS

–Drew Carey will make his debut as the new The Price Is Right host at 11 a.m. Monday on CBS.

–”Live with Regis and Kelly” will be doing a 3-D episode — a first in daytime TV history. They are doing their Halloween show in 3-D, with special guests Dr. Phil McGraw and the Backstreet Boys.

 Five million sets of 3-D glasses will be available at nearly 6,000 Walgreens locations so you can view Regis and Kelly’s crazy Halloween costumes.

Speaking of Regis, he accepted a TV show host gig of the “Password” remake. It will be called “Million Dollar Password.” Six hour-long episodes will air later this year on CBS. Password originally aired from 1961-1967 with Allen Ludden as host.

More TV premieres are coming this week, but not many. Here they are:

FRIDAY, Oct. 12

8 p.m. —  20/20 (ABC)

9 p.m. — Women’s Murder Club (ABC)

10 p.m. — Men In Trees (ABC)

MONDAY, Oct. 15

9:30 p.m. — Samantha Who? (ABC)

THURSDAY, Oct. 18

10 p.m. — Viva Laughlin preview (CBS)  

LOCAL EVENTS

–The 23rd annual Monroe Crop Hunger walk is Sunay. It begins and ends at St. Mary’s Church Life Center, 151 N. Monroe St. Registration is at 1 p.m., and the walk is at 2 p.m.

–The Monroe Center is holding an Octoberfeset at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The event will feature authentic German foods, accordian andd tuba polka music, and more. The center is located at 15275 S. Dixie Hwy.

–A Fair Trade Fall Festival is being hosted by the Monroe Vicariate Peace and Justice Committee. It will be held Saturday at St. Mary’s Parish Life Center, 151 N. Monroe St. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., followed by the program at 6 p.m. The educational event includes dinner, interactive games, and the chance to buy fair trade products.

–The Ottawa Lake Music Jam - featuring acoustic instruments — will be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Zion Lutheran Church, 8307 Memorial Hwy., Ottawa Lake.

–A Rockwood Police and Fire Departments exhibit, from 1927 to 2007, will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Sundays and Tuesdays, or by appointment.

REGIONAL EVENTS

–A “Fall Family Festival” will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at Toledo Botanical Garden, 5403 Elmer Dr., Toledo. Numerous events will be held, such as a scarecrow contest, hands-on activities for kids, fall decorating ideas and clinics, garden tours and more.

–Tecumseh will host an ”Appleumpkin — Apple Festival” on Saturday and Sunday. Events include an antique street fair, arts and crafts booths, midway rides, children’s activities, food, live entertainment, and more. For more info, call (517) 424-6003.

–An Applebutter Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday in the downtown area of Grand Rapids, OHIO. Farm exhibits, military re-enactments, pioneer demonstrations, crafts, food, and applebutter making will be held.

–”Menopause the Musical” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Stranahan Theater, Toledo.    

–Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak, has a ton of cool shows coming up. For a complete schedule, times, cost, and ticket information, check out www.royaloakmusictheatre.com.

Here’s a lst of some of the shows coming up:

-D. L. Hughley on Friday

-Revolucha 4 on Sunday

-Detroit’s own Vairon with special guest Bedford Drive, Radio Pirate DJ and the Jacets. The show is on Wednesday, Oct. 17.

-Morrissey on Friday, Oct. 19

Okay, I officially feel old. Barney, the lovable purple dinosaur, is celebrating his 20th birthday.  He is celebrating by going on a 20-city “Big Purple Bus Tour.”

He will make two stops in Michigan on Saturday and Sunday. Here are the details:

–The first bus stop will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Toys “R” Us at 13801 Lakeside Circle, Sterling Heights. The meet and greets are set for 10-10:40 a.m., 11-11:40 a.m., and noon-12:40 p.m. For more information, call the store at (586) 247-1443.

–The second bus stop will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Toys “R” Us, located at 43460 West Oaks Dr., Novi. The meet and greets are set for 1-1:40 p.m., 2-2:40 p.m., and 3-3:40 p.m. For more information, call the store at (248) 344-1300.

For one night, two of the most famous “Star Trek: The Original Series” episodes will be making it to the big screen!

Season 1 episodes “The Menagerie, parts 1 and 2″ have been re-mastered in High-Def and Cinema Surround Sound to be shown in movie theaters on Nov. 13.

Also included will be an introduction from creator Gene Roddenberry’s son and behind-the-scenes look at how the episodes were digitally re-mastered.

For all the details, go to www.fathomevents.com.

Finally, the worst dancer is off “Dancing with the Stars.” Wayne Newton was booted off last night, while boxer Floyd Mayweather joined him in the bottom two.  

Also saying goodbye was Drew Lachey, who filled in for Samantha Harris while she was on maternity leave. She’ll be back to her co-hosting duties next week.

I think Mark Cuban is the next dancer who deserves to be voted off…what do you think?

For the first time ever, the American Music Award winners will be decided by the public. You can do so by voting online at www.ama.abc.com through Nov. 1. Before, winners were decided by a poll of 20,000 music buyers.

 Beyonce, Linkin Park, Daughtry and Justin Timberlake led the nominations with three each. The 35^th annual American Music Awards will air Nov. 18.  Jimmy Kimmel is the host of the show.

Good morning! I had a couple days off, but I’m back now. There’s been a lot going on in the pop culture world, but here are a few headlines from the past few days – in case you missed it.

Here we go: 

 –In case you haven’t noticed, Kid Rock is everywhere promoting his new album, “Rock N Roll Jesus,” which comes out today. From what I read so far, it’s getting good reviews. One of his stops was at David Letterman last night. They discussed Pam Anderson’s marriage over the weekend to Rick Salomon.

 This is what Kid Rock said about it: “Over the weekend, your ex-wife Pamela Anderson got married,” Letterman said. “I wish somebody would have given me the advice that I’d like to give her husband,” Kid Rock said. “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?” Ouch! Good for you Kid Rock!!!! Now, go buy his album!  

  –What in the world was Wayne Newton wearing last night on Dancing with the Stars? Is he not the scariest person to look at? I can’t believe they booted off the hot model last week over Wayne!  Anyway, the results show is at 9 p.m. tonight on ABC. 

   –Over the weekend, the Rock led the way again with his movie “The Game Plan” by raking in $16.6 million. It’s the second week in a row at the top. He surprisingly beat out “The Heartbreak Kid” starring Ben Stiller. It made $14 million. Rounding out the top five was The Kingdom, Residential Evil: Extinction, and The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising. 

  –Did you see the movie “Thank You for Smoking?” It’s a really good movie, so check it out if you haven’t already. Well, the USA Network apparently liked it, too. They are making a ‘Smoking’ TV spinoff. No word when filming will begin or when it will premiere. 

 –Have you been watching any of the new fall TV shows? Some of them already are in danger of being canceled. Fox already nixed “Nashville” but there are others in danger. According to www.yahoo.com, the new shows on the verge of getting the boot are Cavemen, K-Ville, Journeyman, and Big Shots. Check out yahoo.com as to why they think those are the next shows to go off the air.

Welcome to the weekly buzz, a segment that offers listings of upcoming shows, movies and local and regional events. It appears every Thursday. Please add any pop culture information if you don’t see it here. 

  LOCAL EVENTS

–Custer Week continues through Sunday with numerous events still going on this weekend. Check the Monroe Evening News for a complete schedule of events. 

 –It’s that time of year again for Haunted Houses. They are beginning to pop up all over the county. Airport High School is holding a Haunted

Forest all month long. Also, Brock’s Haunted House will be open Friday, Saturday, Oct. 12, Oct. 13, Oct. 19, Oct. 20, and Oct. 26 through Oct. 31, beginning at 8 p.m. It’s located at 2925 Smith Rd., Lambertville. Call 856-3313 for details.

 –Corn Mazes are now opening as well. The Webb Farm Corn Maze is available now through Nov. 4. Hayrides, pumpkins, games, snacks, and farm animals also will be on hand. It’s located at the J. Webb Farm, 4262 Post Rd., Newport. Call 586-7605 or 755-3748 for details.

 –The 13^th annual Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Harnica Kids’ Pumpkin Farm, 12406 Bigelow Rd.,Dundee. 

 –St. Mary Catholic Central High School, 108 W. Elm Ave., is holding a rummage sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday.  

 –Rockwood Historical Society is hosting a “Grave Yard Walk” from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at Riverside Cemetery in S. Rockwood. Information will be given about the history of Brownstown  Township, Rockwood and S. Rockwood. Parking and shuttle services will be available from the museum, 32787 Wood St., Rockwood.   –The 28^th annual Huron Township Applefest will be held Saturday and Sunday along Huron River Dr. in downtown New Boston.   –A Louis Armstrong Tribute, starring Marcus Belgrave, will be at 8 p.m. Saturday at River Raisin Centre for the Arts, 114 S. Monroe St. 

 –The 66^th semi-annual antique and flea market will be from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Flat Rock Speedway, located on Telegraph Rd. Over 200 dealers will be on hand.

 –Northbrook Church will hold its 4^th annual Chili Cookoff from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the church, 12000 Jones Rd., Carleton. Over 30 chilis will be competing. 

 –Ash Township Fire Department is holding an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at fire station 2, located at 1677 Ready Rd., Carleton. A medical helicopter will land at 2 p.m., followed by a demonstration at 3 p.m.  

 REGIONAL EVENTS 

 –“Cirque Dreams – Jungle Fantasy” is performing tonight through Sunday in Toledo. Performances are 8 tonight; 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday at the Stranahan Theater, 4645 Heatherdowns Blvd., Toledo. Get your tickets at TicketMaster by calling (419) 474-1333. 

 –The Trenton Scarecrow Festival will be held Friday through Sunday in Trenton. Events include a dog costume contest, parade, a singing competition, and a scarecrow-making contest. Call (734) 675-7325 for details. 

 –“Scream Park,” a Halloween happening, is being held through Oct. 31 in Niles. It was ranked as one of the top 20 in the country by MSNBC. Events are held on weekends only. It is located off the U.S. 31 Expressway at Exit 5. Six major attractions are featured, including a haunted house, a haunted hayride, field of screams,  BloodmoreCastle, The Asylum, and Dr. Kill

Joy’s Experiments in Death! For more information, visit www.haunted.org.

 –A Firehouse Chili Cookoff event will be held at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Saline. About 50 cooks will take part, as well as 20 restaurants. Visit www.firehousechilicookoff.org. 

 –The 11^th annual Black Swamp Blues Battle will be at 7 p.m. Sunday at Manhattan’s Restaurant, Toledo. –The first ever Maumee Valley Food and Wine Festival will be from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday at Erie Street Market in Toledo.  

 TV NEWS  

 –For the 12^th year in a row, Jay Leno beat out David Letterman. According to the Nielson’s, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno topped The Late Show, and Late Night  with Conan O’Brien won again in its time slot for the 13^th straight year. The TV season officially ended a couple weeks ago. 

  –Oh boy, not another talk show! This time around, Bonnie Hunt is giving it a try. NBC picked up a TV talk show with the actress/comedian as the host. It will debut in fall, 2008. 

 –Could the Hoff be back? NBC has ordered up a “re-working” of Knight Rider, thanks to the success of the Transformers movie. They haven’t yet announced if David Hasselhoff will be back driving the car. 

   –Singer and music producer Timbaland will appear on ABC’s “One Life to Live” on Tuesday. He and Keri Hilson will perform “The Way I Are” from his new album, “Timbaland Presents Shock Value.”

  –Dancing with the Stars has a pretty good lineup of guest stars in the next few weeks. Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter, Miley Cyrus, of “Hannah

Montana” will perform “Ready, Set, Don’t Go” next Tuesday during its results show. Gloria Estefan will perform on Oct. 16, and Avril Lavigne will perform on Nov. 20.   –Hulk Hogan has been chosen to host the NBC reality competition American Gladiators. 

  Are your eyes still glazed over from all the TV premieres last week? It’s time to refocus, because there are a few more.

Here’s the remaining fall TV premiere schedule:  

 Tonight (Thursday) 
 8:30 p.m. – 30 Rock (NBC) 

 9 p.m. – Supernatural (CW) 

 Friday, Oct. 5   

9 p.m. – Friday Night Lights (NBC)  

  Sunday, Oct. 7   7 p.m. – America’s Funniest Home Videos (ABC)

8 p.m. – Life is Wild (CW) 

  MOVIES 

–Who loved ‘The Karate Kid’ back in the 1980’s? Well, like it or not, it’s coming back in a remake. I personally don’t like when they mess with films like this, and this news does not encourage me. Especially since Will Smith’s son, Jaden, will play Daniel LaRusso. Yes, it’s true. The 9-year-old boy will be mentored by Mr. Miyagi, to be played by Jackie Chan in the remake. In case you didn’t watch the original 1984 film, Karate Kid is about a boy who learns karate to cope with school bullies. The original starred Ralph Macchio as Daniel and the late Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi. 

 Here is a list of movies coming out on Friday:   

–Feel the Noise 

–The Heartbreak Kid  

–The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (Michael Clayton is limited; opens wide on Oct. 12) 

  DVDs    –Good news, Lost fans. The third season of Lost will be out on DVD on Dec. 11. It will be available on Blu-ray High-Def.  “Lost: The Complete Third Season, The Unexplored Experience” features all 23 episodes and a ton of cool features. It has over six hours of bonus features, such as never-before-seen ‘Lost flashbacks,’ interviews with cast and crew about the island’s mysterious inhabitnts, a behind-the-scenes look at 10 episodes with ‘Lost’ on locations, deleted scenes, bloopers and more. 

  –Matthew Reeve, the son of the late Christopher Reeve, made a documentary called “Hope in Motion.” It chronicles his dad’s struggle to live after the 1995 horse-riding accident that paralyzed him from the neck down. It features interviews with the Superman star and footage of his rehab sessions up to his death in 2004. The DVD will be out in November. 

 –The final nine episodes of The Sopranos will be available on DVD on Oct. 23. It’s included in the Sopranos: Season 6, Part II” DVD. 

  –My So-Called Life: The Complete Series goes on sale Oct. 30. Yeah! 

  –Apple Corps Ltd. is releasing a digitally restored version DVD of The Beatles film “Help!” on Oct. 30. The 2-disc set will feature a newly created 5.1 soundtrack and an hour of extra features. 

 The following is a list of some DVDs to be released on Tuesday, Oct. 9:  

  –Evan Almighty  

   –28 Weeks Later   –Reign Over Me  

 –Rise: Blood Hunter  

 –Surf’s Up  –Hannah Montana: Life’s What You Make It 

 –Black Sheep (Unrated) 

 –Family Ties: The Second Season 

–Poltergeist (25^th Anniversary Edition) 

 –Roots: The Complete Collection   

 MUSIC NEWS 

–Kid Rock is doing a major marketing blitz in anticipation of his new album release on Tuesday. The album is called “Rock N Roll Jesus.” He’s booked, so far, on Larry King Live on Friday; David Letterman on Monday, Ellen Degeneres Show on Oct. 25, and Jimmy Kimmel on Oct. 26. He’s also performing at the CMT Giants tribute honoring Hank Williams Jr. on Oct. 25. 

  –The VH1 Hip Hop Honors will air on Monday. Tracy Morgan is hosting the show, which is being taped tonight. Those participating in the show include Timbaland, Nick Cannon, Pharrell Williams, Ciara, Eve, and Chris Rock. 

 –On Tuesday, Yoko One will be in Iceland to unveil the Imagine Peace Tower on what would have beenJohn Lennon’s 67^th birthday. A beam of light will emanate from a wishing well that says “Imagine Peace” in 24 languages. 

 –Van Halen is currently on its tour after 22 years. They already added some dates. They will be in Michigan on Oct. 20 at the

Joe Louis Arena in

Detroit and will play again on Oct. 22 at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

 The following is a list of some CDs that go on sale on Tuesday, Oct. 9:  -Kid Rock, “Rock And Roll Jesus”  -Puddle of Mudd, “Famous” 

 -LeAnn Rimes, “Family” 

 -Jennifer Lopez, “Brave” 

-Vanessa Carlton, “Heroes and Thieves”  -Josh Groban, “Noel”

-Deborah Harry, “Necessary Evil” 

 -George Lopez, “America’s Mexican” 

 -Eric Clapton, “Complete Clapton (2-CD set) 

 -Smithereens, “Christmas with the Smithereens”

MOVIE NEWS

–Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are in talks for “The Fast and the Furious 4.” Shooting is expected to begin in spring in Los Angeles, Mexico and

Dominican Republic.

–Natalie Portman will team up with Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire in “Brothers.” The movie is about a love triangle. It focuses on two brothers – played by Maguire and Gyllenhaal – one is sent to war while the other brother cares for his brother’s wife and son.

–Bradley Cooper will join Jim Carrey in “Yes Man” that begins shooting this month. The movie is an adaptation of the memoir by Danny Wallace who said “yes” to everything. For those of you who don’t know, Cooper was Jennifer Garner’s friend in “Alias.”

–Kevin Dillon landed a role in “National Lampoon’s 301: The Legend of Awesomest Maximus Wallace Leonidas.” The movie spoofs all the major war epics, such as 300, Troy, Gladiator, and Braveheart.

 –HBO recently acquired the rights of the book “Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case.” The book is about the three Duke lacrosse players who were charged with gang rape of a stripper. They were eventually found innocent. A movie is being developed about the case.

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It’s a new and easy way to learn how to play guitar. It features popular artists and all their hit tunes, and offers anyone how to jam using a basic teaching style — no matter the skill level.

Check it out, and rock on!

Okay, I am so bummed out this morning! I can’t believe model Albert Reed got the boot last night on Dancing with the Stars. Why do they kick off the hottest guy, but keep Wayne Newton in the competition? This may call for a boycott!