Dangerfield In Intensive Care As reported two weeks back, Rodney Dangerfield underwent heart valve surgery as of August 25th. This week, the 82 year old comedian is expected to make a full recovery, but for now remains in intensive care at the University of California-Los Angeles Medical Center. Things look good, however, with publicist Kevin Sasaki saying that Dangerfield is making progress. Our best wishes go out to Rodney, for a speedy and full recovery.

Was 60 Minutes Scammed? Few people would dare think that a reputable, long-running news program like "60 Minutes" could be, as many internet posters refer to it, "punk'd." 60 Minutes revealed various documents recently alleging misconduct of George W. Bush when he served in the Texas Air National Guard. However, even some very stouthearted Democratic circles are beginning to debate whether the documents are, in fact, complete forgeries. The son of the late Lt. Col. Jerry Killian --the man who allegedly wrote the reports-- debunked the concept that the documents weren't seen all these years because they were kept secret, insisting that "It just wouldn't happen." Furthermore, Lt. Killian's widow Marjorie Connell told the media that Killian didn't even type. Some document analysts have even found discrepancies in the documents styling compared to authentic documents from the 1970's. For example: the documents are typed with character spacing that has been "kerned", which is something a 1970's typewriter could not do. CBS at first insisted that the documents were indeed valid, only to deliver a latter comment, that the documents at the very least "reflect [Killian's] opinions." Dan Rather, on the CBS evening news tonight (Friday) would only editorialize that people seemed more interested in the document's validity than the importance of the allegations they convey. Online chat boards did not seem to be swayed by any of the above CBS rebuttals. One message board patron put it this way: "To say 'we're not taking the accusations seriously' is bogus. You can't take a faked photo of Bigfoot, then have someone prove it's fake , only to say back at them, 'You're not taking the legend of Bigfoot seriously.' The documents are forgeries. Why take seriously the faked accusations of faked documents?'"

Paris' Prized Pooch's Posters Posted on eBay. Paris Hilton is said to be shocked this week, that wanted posters she had placed around town of then-lost Chihuahua Tinkerbell, are now for sale on eBay. Apparently, people posting these posters for auction felt that Paris had little need for the posters anymore, with Tinkerbell found and back at home, safe and sound. The lost Chihuahua was in fact found just a week after Paris placed posters all across town, promising a $5,000 reward for the safe return of her pet. Yet even though taking down the now-dated wanted posters was inevitable, Paris is hardly amused that said posters are now an online auction item. Said Paris: "They took them all down. I saw it on eBay. That was so mean!" Coincidentally, this is also the week Paris released her autobiography, Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose.

Wanted: Two "Batemans" For Arrested Development. Jason Bateman's sitcom Arrested Development has received surprisingly hearty praise from critics, but has yet to get very high ratings; so much so, the show has had cancellation rumors looming over it for months. In an attempt to get those ratings up, Jason is suggesting the perfect new guest star: his Family Ties sister, Justine. The catch is that the show has already established Jason's "family" in the series, which would mean Justine would be playing a love interest of Jason's...real-life "family ties" notwithstanding. Jason says that she is "into it," adding that "We would make her some sort of religious zealot that makes it taboo to kiss, touch, do anything before you're married so that's the way we'd get around anything unseemly."

What if "Shirley Feeney" Was Princess Leia? To entice pre-orders even more, this week marked the release of additional news about the Star Wars Trilogy DVD set, which includes the first three films --A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi-- with a fourth disc of extras. These extras, in addition to a two-and-a-half hour documentary, will also include screen tests of stars that were screened for the now infamous roles of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo, yet in what would be cinematic decision-making history, never received the role. Such screen tests include those by Kurt Russell and William Katt, though the most interesting test would probably be Laverne & Shirley's own "Shirley Feeney," Cindy Williams, testing for the role of Princess Leia. The news about the upcoming DVD set also confirmed rumors heard around the 'net, that the original films have been re-edited to include cameos from members of the cast of the new films. However, what sort of cameos these will be remain privy only to the rumors heard here and there, including, among other theories: a cameo of "Senator" Jar-Jar Binks being wiped out by the Emperor in A New Hope, a re-tooled and more Palpatine-worthy shot of the holographic "Monkey Emperor" in Empire Strikes Back, and an allegedly already-leaked shot of Darth Vader's visage in the finale, which now looks like a young Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen). Whatsoever they altered can be confirmed by purchasers of the DVD set, when it hits all store shelves on September 21. We'll be there.

John Ritter's Surviving Family Will Sue Hospital. Could John Ritter's death have been prevented? That's the subject of a lawsuit filed by Ritter's wife, Amy Yasbeck, and their children, against the St Joseph's Medical Center in Burbank, California, which handled Ritter's treatment prior to his death. The suit claims, in quote, that "If the proper procedures had been followed to diagnose and treat Mr. Ritter's symptoms, he would be alive and well today." Ritter fell ill on the set of his show, "8 Simple Rules," roughly one year ago, when filming what would've been the second season of his hit sitcom. He died later in the hospital, from what was later publicly reported as an aortic aneurysm.

Bacall Balks at Kidman's "Legend." Listeners of the British TV show GMTV this week had a surprising revelation from legendary actress Lauren Bacall, when she was asked what it was like working with a "legend" like Nicole Kidman. The question was in relation to an upcoming controversial film, Birth, which stars both actresses, and involves a widow (Kidman) believing that a ten year old boy is the reincarnation of her beloved late husband. When interviewer Jenni Falconer referred to the 37 year old Kidman as a "legend," the 79 year old Bacall corrected him in mid-sentence, calling her a "beginner" instead. Explained Bacall, "What is this 'legend'? She can't be a legend at whatever age she is. She can't be a legend, you have to be older." Although this sounds like sour grapes between the two actresses, Bacall insists there is no animosity between them. "I love working with a young actress. Nicole and I worked together on Dogville and we were friends when we started this. That laid the groundwork for our fabulous relationship on screen and off." 

Eisner Agrees to Quit...in 2006. Michael Eisner, the longtime scapegoat of every Disney Corporation ill recently, made news again this week. According to the Wall Street Journal, Eisner will indeed step down as chief executive of the Disney corporation...in 2006. Apparently, that's when his current contract expires. The letter Eisner wrote explaining this decision to step down in 2006 is actually surprisingly optimistic, with Eisner even concluding the letter by saying, "I can only conclude by telling you what I am doing next 'I'm going to Disneyland!'"

...and in Sadder Disney News: Frank Thomas Passes Away at 92. Forget if and when Eisner quits; another great animator in the legacy of original Disney animators has passed away this week. Frank Thomas was in fact one of Disney's famed "Nine Old Men," who worked on the original Disney animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and worked on numerous other projects up until The Rescuers in 1977.

Video Game Heroines Pose for Playboy. It sounds bizarre, but it's meant as an art portfolio of sorts, to show how far video game characters have come from the days of vector-graphics asteroids and round circles named Pac-man. To that end: Playboy magazine's October issue has a four page art portfolio showcasing how realistic game heroines look these days. Although two of the characters chosen are from such obvious choices  as Playboy Mansion and Leisure Suit Larry, the most noteworthy inclusion is none other than the newest cult-favorite heroine in action gaming, Bloodrayne; the latest video game character to get both a movie tie-in deal next year, and a "sequel" game next month. Sorry, guys: Lara Croft is not present --as are many other gaming femme fatales-- whose game designers are wary of what kind of "publicity" this will garner for these characters. We'll all just have to see.

Myst 4 Revelation Goes Gold. This month will mark the continuation of the original Myst storyline, when Myst 4 Revelation hits stores September 28th. Ubisoft released word this week that the game has gone gold; the last, best sign that a game will be released on schedule, if not very soon. The game will be sold in DVD format --not the now-dated CD-ROM discs-- and will be both PC and Mac compatible. More news, and a thorough review, when the game hits shelves.

Atari Plans New "Classic" Console. Atari announced this week a plan to release the Flashback Classic Game Console. The console will sell for roughly $44.95 and will come with multiple game titles. What sets this apart from the other AA-powered Atari games you've probably seen here and there, is that this console is actually a hybrid of both Atari's original 2600 and 7800 game systems. The console itself, in fact, looks like a smaller 7800. Furthermore, unlike the Atari classic multi-game players that play 4 or even 10 titles; Flashback will come with no less than 20 games, ranging from the obligatory first adventure game, Adventure, to popular Atari 2600 classics like Yar's Revenge, and even less-heard-of titles like Haunted House. The system should reach stores sometime in November.

Freedom Force Vs. Third Reich News. By now you may (or may not) know that the upcoming sequel to Freedom Force is eminent, tentatively titled as Freedom Force Vs. the Third Reich. The original Freedom Force was a fantastic comic-book style superhero RPG where you could choose among various super heroes --each with their own strengths and weaknesses-- as you went on a wild variety of comic-book style missions. The sequel is said to involve the superhero team going back in time to defeat Blitzkrieg, a super-villain who, among other things, wants to change history for the worse. The game is said to be more than just "super heroes against Nazis," though, with various morality issues which to this gamer sounds a lot like Star Trek's infamous episode, City on the Edge of Forever; in other words, not all choices in the game are simple to decide. The game is slated for release on PC computers in the first quarter of next year.

"Pistol Mouse" Released. As reported some weeks back, a company of apparently diehard fans of the First Person Shooter genre intended to release a "Pistol Mouse," which connects to the computer's USB slot and has all the functions not unlike a real mouse, including dual "triggers" for the right and left mouse buttons. The Pistol Mouse is said to now be available, for a price of $69.95. More news can be found at the device's official web site. 

Playstation Gets Five New Greatest Hits. Sony has announced five new titles to their "Greatest Hits" line of games for the Sony Playstation line of game consoles. Greatest Hits are economically priced games (often sold for around $19.99) which have each sold at least 400,000 copies when first released. The five new game titles include ATV Offroad Fury 2, Jak 2, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, Rise to Honor, and SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs. 

Ritual Entertainment Recruiting. Ritual Entertainment --a game design studio known for a wide range of titles, from Star Trek Elite Force to Black Hawn Down-- is recruiting new employees. More news for those hoping to be part of a real game design team can check out Ritual's Wanted page. At the time of this news byte's posting, the positions available include multi-platform programming and various art related positions. Check it out.

Doom 3 Mod News. This week is seen by some Doom 3 fans as the eye of the storm; too late for all the early-bird mods that wanted to be "first" out the starting gate, but too early for the larger mods, that will obviously take more time to build. We'll keep you up to date on what are the latest and greatest mods for this game, presuming that this "eye" doesn't last for too very long.

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