MS releases first lot of 360 Avatar clothing
The first lot of avatar clothing has just been released and it’s free. If you like snowboarding, then you're probably going to love this set, given its a snow coat, gloves, boots and hat.

Microsoft has said they will release avatar clothing updates fairly regularly. We would expect some form of "holiday season" outfits to be released in the coming weeks, though nothing has been officially announced.

Activision releases some choice titles for 2009
Games journalists have been at it this week talking up some of the titles Activision will release in 2009 and one of them sounds pretty interesting. Activision has yet to confirm these, but rumor has it we'll see more "Guitar Hero," "Call of Duty," "James Bond" and "Tony Hawk" next year.

It's the "Tony Hawk" title that has us interested. An Activision exec said, "You're not going to be playing this game with a controller in your hands." We would therefore assume we can expect a bespoke skateboard controller for the game when it releases on Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii late next year. Not sure if it's related, but Q-Motions was working on a skateboard controller earlier in the year, but all has gone quiet. … continue reading

Sandra Bernhard, don you now your gay apparel.

That's right, the holiday season is once again upon us. And you know what that means: advertisers helping you decide how to overdraw your checking accounts and max-out your credit cards! And there is none so powerful at taking your holiday money as Gap.

I am a big believer in the "Christmas is not your birthday" school of thought when it comes to the holidays, but every year these darn Gap commercials have me singing carols and taking eggnog to my neighbors and putting up a tree just so my cat can destroy it. This year, it's going to be worse. I even feel plastic reindeer coming on, because this year's Gap campaign is the best ever. … continue reading

Don't you hate it when your breasts get in the way of your career? I know I do. Just the other day, I was minding my own business, planning my North American concert tour, when the strain of carrying my breasts around caused me to postpone the tour at the advice of my doctor. Sigh.

Oh, wait; that wasn't me. That was Dolly Parton. And I'm not making this up. Earlier this week, she announced that she would be postponing her upcoming tour due to back problems that stem from carrying her large breasts on her small frame. More specifically, she said, “Hey, you try wagging these puppies around a while and see if you don't have back problems."

She certainly does have a pair, doesn't she?

The tour was planned to support her upcoming album, Backwoods Barbie, her first mainstream country album in 17 years.

It's kind of cheap and easy to make Dolly Parton breast jokes. But part of what I love about her is that she's the first one to make them.

“I was the first woman to burn my bra — it took the fire department four days to put it out.”

And recently, she commented that she envisions fans trekking to see her iconic breasts after her death: … continue reading

Grey’s Anatomy actress Sara Ramirez is the latest celebrity to don a milk mustache. The curvaceous star’s new “got milk?” ad features the tagline “Great anatomy.” Right on! What a nice antidote to the bitter poison pill we had to swallow recently from those infuriating light yogurt ads. I’ve already switched my allegiances to cottage cheese.

Now, I’m no big milk drinker (lactose and I aren’t on speaking terms). Nor can I vouch for all the glowing health claims attributed to the white stuff. But you have to admire the persistence of this long-running campaign, which has been going strong since 1993. Over the years, these ads have featured an assortment of cool, kick-ass and questionable folks asking one of the most-repeated rhetorical questions of our time: “got milk?”

Some of the coolest (Buffy Sarah Michelle Gellar, Dixie Chicks, Tracey Ullman): … continue reading

Summer is almost upon us, and you know what that means. Well, if you're me, it means a jacked electric bill because of my incessant need for air conditioning.

But summer also means summer concerts. In the coming months, you can catch Queen Latifah, Nelly Furtado, Norah Jones, Cyndi Lauper's True Colors tour, Bjork, India.Arie, and, of course, the Indigo Girls.

Every time a performer hits the road, a contract is written between the artist and the venue. The best parts of these contracts are the riders: the list of performers' demands to make the road seem less hellish. Whether it be fresh flowers, obscure beer or clean socks, you'd better believe they get what they want.

Courtesy of the Smoking Gun, here are a few highlights from some female artists' tour riders. (For clearer images and full riders, click the artist's name or the rider excerpt to go to the Smoking Gun site.) … continue reading