See you next year

  I'm taking off for a couple of weeks and will only blog if a miracle should happen and I finally get a pony for Christmas. (However, this Sunday's Stargazing pages will appear as usual and the week after that, you can check the year-end Stargazing round-up thing.)

Here is Santa Guinea Pig saying Happy Holidays. He's super-tired already from just thinking of all the gifts he has to carry in his tiny, little paws. It's cruel, really. Also, he totally needs one of those great lint remover roller things for his hat. KAREL NAVARRO/AP PHOTO

Afternoon delights

Movies to hate this weekend It's not looking so good for the big movies opening this weekend. As of right now, Will Smith's Seven Pounds scores 29 per cent fresh at Rotten Tomatoes, The Tale of Despereaux gets 36 and Jim Carrey's Yes Man gets just 43 per cent fresh. Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino is opening here a week late. It got a very respectable 78 per cent fresh. That's particularly grivous for Seven Pounds, especially when you can see what a nice guy Will Smith is. He actually invited Alfonso Ribeiro to the premiere. MATT SAYLES/AP PHOTO

Right now Tommy Cruise is stomping his little feet in anger Fox, for some reason, has published a Top Ten Couples of the Year list. They are: 1. Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens 2. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie 3. Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry 4. Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale 5. Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts 6. Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi 7. Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon 8. Carla Bruni and Nicolas Sarkozy 9. Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z 10. Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel.

If you have nothing else to do with yourself the first week of January you may want to participate in the "24/7 Ultimate Fan Marathon." Starting Jan. 6 at Yorkdale Mall an attempt will be made, perhaps by you, to watch all six seasons of 24 in one continuous sitting. There's prize money and everything. You can learn more at GlobalTV.com.

Screen Actors Guild nominations

Boston Legal? Really? Tony Shalhoub? Really? And I see that my nemesis, Philip Seymour Hoffman has been nominated again. His film, Doubt, got the most noms. That's great. I hear it's a really cheerful movie.

FILM
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Richard Jenkins, The Visitor  Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon Sean Penn, Milk Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married Angelina Jolie, Changeling Melissa Leo, Frozen River Meryl Streep, Doubt Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Josh Brolin, Milk Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Amy Adams, Doubt Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona Viola Davis, Doubt Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Kate Winslet, The Reader
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Doubt Frost/Nixon Milk Slumdog Millionaire The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

TV
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries Ralph Fiennes, Bernard and Doris Paul Giamatti, John Adams Kevin Spacey, Recount Kiefer Sutherland, 24: Redemption Tom Wilkinson, John Adams
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries Laura Dern, Recount Laura Linney, John Adams Shirley MacLaine, Coco Chanel Phylicia Rashad, A Raisin in the Sun Susan Sarandon, Bernard and Doris
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Michael C. Hall, Dexter Jon Hamm, Mad Men Hugh Laurie, House William Shatner, Boston Legal James Spader, Boston Legal
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Holly Hunter, Saving Grace Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock Steve Carell, The Office David Duchovny, Californication Jeremy Piven, Entourage Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Christina Applegate, Samantha Who? America Ferrera, Ugly Betty Tina Fey, 30 Rock Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds Tracey Ullman, Tracey Ullman's State of the Union
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Boston Legal Dexter House Mad Men The Closer
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Desperate Housewives Entourage The Office Weeds

SAG HONORS FOR STUNT ENSEMBLES
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture The Dark Knight Hellboy II: The Golden Army Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Iron Man Wanted
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series Friday Night Lights Heroes Prison Break The Unit The Closer

100 per cent real Scarlett snot for sale on eBay

Scarlett Johansson, last night on The Tonight Show, blew her nose and put the snot up for sale to benefit charity. Right now it's sitting at $2,050.00 on eBay. That may seem like a lot, but it's extra-valuable snot because Scarlett caught the cold from Samuel L. Jackson. You have until Monday to get in your bid.

Jennifer shows off great legs, talks to Letterman

Glitzy premieres

  So, last night was premiere night for The Spirit and Yes Man. After what seems like months of promotions for The Spirit by the female stars and Samuel L. Jackson, we finally got to see the dude who actually plays The Spirit. That's Gabriel Macht in the photo with Scarlett Johansson. At the Yes Man premiere, Jim Carrey arrived in big balloon ball/hamster ball/I'm-scared-of-germs-ball.

MATT SAYLES/AP PHOTO

CHRIS PIZZELLO/AP PHOTO

While you were sleeping

You can all relax - J.Lo's marriage is okay People Mag does what it does best and reports that, despite recent reports, J.Lo and her skeletal husband are super-happy and went on the most romantic date ever in the history of dates. "The couple – the subject of recent rumors about their state of their marriage – snuggled together in a booth, feeding one another Kobe meatballs and enjoying tamarind-glazed ribs, as well as each other's company, if their kisses were any indication. Lopez, sipping an apple martini, and Anthony, drinking beer, 'looked genuinely in love,' observed one diner." I have no doubt J.Lo dictated that story herself, making sure to spell out "tamarind-glazed."

He only agreed to do it if they'd let him wear a fat suit The Sun claims to know that Eddie Murphy has been cast as the Riddler in the next Batman movie. I think we'll just wait for official confirmation on that one.

Jeremy Piven says he's full of mercury Variety reports that The Entourage actor, who left the Broadway production of David Mamet's Speed the Plow this week, "has informed the producers that he hasn’t been feeling well and that the condition is attributable to a high mercury count." Mamet told Variety, “I talked to Jeremy on the phone, and he told me that he discovered that he had a very high level of mercury. So my understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer.” Way to go with the compassion.

I'm so there Entertainment Weekly says it's "Answer the phone like Buddy the Elf Day." Don't remember/know what that means? Check below.

You're so old that ...

... you can’t expect us to believe you aren't hoping for the gift of free will, a time machine and a mind wipe. Katie Holmes turns 30 today. Other birthdays include actor Roger Smith (76), guitarist Lonnie Brooks (75), Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones (65), director Steven Spielberg (62), movie critic Leonard Maltin (58), Elliot Easton of The Cars (55), actor Ray Liotta (53), actor Brad Pitt (45), actress Rachel Griffiths (40), singer Cowboy Troy (38), Rapper DMX (38), DJ Lethal of Limp Bizkit (36) and singer Christina Aguilera (28).

The Price is Right Christmas miracle

Man Guesses EXACT Price in Showcase Showdown! @ Yahoo! Video

Exciting photos from the set of Lost

I have three brand-new photos of Elizabeth Mitchell, Naveen Andrews, Josh Holloway and Evangeline Lilly on the Hawaii set of Lost. Now, I got grief on Monday for "spoiling" Survivor for someone who hadn't seen the finale Sunday night. Just to make it absolutely clear: anything that has already aired and is being talked about on the radio and written about in the paper and blogged about elsewhere is, for my purposes here, fair game. That being said, these photos could be considered spoilerish because of what the actors are wearing. And the kind of car that's in the photo. So, if you want to see, click below. But don't come crying to me afterwards.