She Thinks She's Ready. Talk To The Guys Reconfiguring Their Porn Trollers.

from IMDb

Portman Ready for Nude Internet Coverage
Actress Natalie Portman is comfortable with the inevitable prospect of seeing her naked body splashed across the internet, after her new movie Closer hits cinemas. The sexy screen star plays a stripper in the raunchy film - in which she appears alongside Julia Roberts - and she's prepared for the fact stills grabbed from her nude scenes will soon dominate celebrity websites. She says, "Yeah, it'll be nude celebrities dotcom. But that's fine. I'm not scared. I'm brave. I feel like I've got to a point in my life where everything I do is active rather than reactive." However, Portman laughs off theories she agreed to the steamy role in an intentional effort to abolish her former child star reputation. She adds, "I'm not doing things to prove anything. That makes me comfortable with whatever people walk away with. I can still carry on my own life without being hurt."

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I wish more actresses would be brave like this. Scarlett Johansson, I'm looking at you...

10-1

Randle El comes up with some big returns in the slop and the Steelers pull out another win. Ben looked a little lost without Plex but he should have him back for Sunday night. Not sure what's going on with Ward dropping balls these last two weeks, but I know he's all about the film room today.

Letterman And Charity For Men Of Steel

Big Ben Does Late Night

Steelers Help Out On Thanksgiving

9-1

Respect the Fullback.

Good teams find ways to win ugly games. Great teams find ways to do it on the road. That game was every bit what I expected it to be Sunday. Cincy made some plays, but the Steelers' D came up big when it counted, and a brilliant 3rd and short call in the redzone gave Pittsburgh a key divisional win. But not without a handful of notable injuries to add to their growing list of wounded. Nothing that should cost them against Washington. But they'll need to get healthy in time for Jacksonville.

Congratulations to Jerome Bettis and former Pitt Panther Curtis Martin, who both passed another old Pitt RB, Tony Dorsett, for 5th and 6th place on the all-time rushing yards list on Sunday. Eric Dickerson is still in reach of both players before they hang it up, but after that, I don't know. The Bus is going back to short yardage once Duce is healthy, so just getting the 400 will be tough. Maybe Martin catches Sanders if he can stay healthy and finds a coach to give him 30 carries a game for 2 more seasons, but I don't think he'll quite get there. The Top 10 are listed below:

RUSHING LEADERS
RK - NAME - YARDS
1 - Emmitt Smith - 18,076
2 - Walter Payton - 16,726
3 - Barry Sanders - 15,269
4 - Eric Dickerson - 13,259
5 - Jerome Bettis - 12,863
6 - Curtis Martin - 12,741
7 - Tony Dorsett - 12,739
8 - Jim Brown - 12,312
9 - Marcus Allen - 12,243
10 - Franco Harris - 12,120

We Don't Know This Song! Play "Spies Like Us"!

Follow the link for the full story.

Legendary rocker Paul McCartney will perform in the Ameriquest Mortgage Super Bowl XXXIX Halftime Show on FOX at ALLTEL Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., on Sunday, Feb. 6.

After CBS got a black eye on their brown eye last year for 15 frames of nipple, FOX has opted for the Oscar’s equivalent of Billy Crystal – former talent Paul McCartney. Sir Paul played the Super Bowl two years ago. Remember? No. No, you don’t. Look, not that I’m sad there will be no Jessica Simpson/Usher duet, but still, isn’t there anybody else of relevance that can promise not to disrobe.

Honestly, I guess I really don’t care. I’m more about the game than the commercials and Halftime show anyway. Bring back Up With People, for all I care. It just smacks of lazy producing, and for that, I give you, Don Mischer, the finger…of shame.

Comic Book Pick Of The Week

Birds Of Prey #76

Written by: Gail Simone
Art by: Ed Benes
Format: Monthly
Price: $2.50
Publisher: DC
Synopsis: "Hero Hunters" begins as the Birds hit the road to round up deadly vigilantes. First up - a teenager with a suspiciously familiar magic touch.

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I followed Gail Simone to DC after her great run on Deadpool/Agent X at Marvel. Those that know me, know my comic book history and taste runs mostly Marvel. But there are certain writers that are worth having to wade through character mythology that you may not otherwise be familiar with. Such as the case with Gail's Birds Of Prey. For those unfamiliar with her work, her mix of comedy, action and drama compare most closely to Joss Whedon in both style and substance. I've enjoyed her run, but I must admit last issue took me a bit off guard. Up until #74, her run has been self contained, with a few references to an Oracle/Huntress/Nightwing situation that was pretty easy to fill in the blanks. But issue #75 took place post "War Games" storyline in the Batman titles, which I had no clue about. The story still made sense, but the impact to the status quo was massive. Their base of operations was destroyed and Gotham City was no longer a viable location to work. (I'm going to have to look this storyline up on-line.) So it was off to Dayton, Ohio. Fair enough. I'm not sure where they plan to go with this (other than Metropolis, based on future solicits) but as long as Gail's writing the story, it'll be worth the read.

8-1

Just when you thought Baltimore had replaced Cleveland as Pittsburgh's most hated rival, a hockey game breaks out. Props to James Harrison (who stepped in for the ejected Joey Porter) for coming up big with 6 tackles and a sack.

Look It's Me!

In honor of The Hairy Eyeball's link to me, I've posted my Rick Rubinist like pose as my profile pic (with a little help from a very funny guy). To answer a few questions you may have about it:

Yes.
No.
Because it was on the picnic table.
Wisconsin.
No.
Twice.
So I could ride the water slides.

If It's THAT Cold Put On Some Sleeves

Here's a rare shot of Tara Reid with a shirt on. For those that have seen photos or video of her recent public boob slip at P. Diddy's birthday bash, you know that:

A) She drinks
B) Her plastic surgeon completely botched her boob job
C) She is dumb

Comic Book Pick Of The Week

The Ballad Of Sleeping Beauty #5

Written by: Gabriel Benson
Art by: Mike Hawthorne & Mike Atiyeh
Format: Monthly
Price: $1.99
Publisher: Beckett
Synopsis: The mystery deepens as Cole's enemies close in for the kill. Cole knows why Drake is after him, but what is Drake's connection to Red and the Sleeping Beauty? In this issue, Cole, Red and Will jump on a train hoping to put some distance between themselves and Drake. But Drake is one step ahead of Cole, and puts him in a situation where has to choose between saving his friends, or taking his revenge.

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Issue #1 was the highlight of Free Comic Day this year. It also marked one of the smartest strategies by a comic publisher in the last 20 years. Give away issue #1 and hope you hook enough people to come back for issue #2. Considering the low success rate of typical small press books, why not try something like this? And with the company's trading card division being as profitable as it is, they had enough cash to make the gamble feasible. It certainly worked on me, and a lot of other readers too. If they don't pull the trigger on this concept, I guarantee they'd be looking at about a ¼ of the sales numbers they currently have on this book. Which would be a shame, because the other key to this strategy - a solid story - is most assuredly in place. Think Unforgiven with the titular fairly tale's plot and you have the basic concept. The pacing definitely differs from what most readers will be used to, but after a few issues you get used to it. The entire first issue (and previews of #2 - #4) are available on-line here.

7-1

A few interesting notes pulled from various wire sources:

- After its third drive of the game, Pittsburgh led 21-0 and held a 17:46 to 2:43 advantage in time of possession, with a 15-0 cushion in first downs. The Steelers had rolled up 206 yards of offense at that point, while the Eagles had punted twice and amassed a total of three yards.

- In its first seven games this season, Philadelphia averaged 374 yards of offense and 26 points per outing. Against Pittsburgh, the Eagles totaled 113 yards of offense and three points.

- The Steelers finished with large margins in first downs (25-7), third-down efficiency (8 of 15 for 53 percent, to 0 of 8 for 0 percent), rushing yardage (252-23), total yards (420-113), and possession time (41:49 to 18:11). Pittsburgh never punted in the game, and took a knee on four consecutive plays at the Eagles 7 with 2:48 remaining.

- Jerome Bettis recorded his 55th 100-yard rushing day and his 44th as a member of the Steelers. His 149 yards were 20 more than his seven-game total before the game. He was only 15 yards ahead of the Jets' Curtis Martin on the NFL's all-time rushing list, but he increased that lead to 97. Bettis is sixth with 12,631, 108 behind Tony Dorsett.

All Your Ass Are Belong To Us

XBOX owners all around the nation are preparing their sick leave accuses as Halo 2 is set to own them. (Hmmm. This fishy flu shot shortage is starting to fit into place.)

Over 7,000 retailers will open at 12:01 tonight to sell this game. And if you aren’t on pre-order you are f’d in the a for real. (Even if you are on pre-order, you’re probably facing a tushy beating.) But in case you want to try, here’s a store locator.

Me, I’m hoping it's somehow on the gratuity list at my playtest tonight. A man can dream.

Comic Book Pick Of The Week

Punisher #13

Written by: Garth Ennis
Art by: Doug Braithwaite
Format: Monthly
Price: $2.99
Synopsis: "MOTHER RUSSIA" PART 1 (OF 6) Nicky Fury’s got a job that needs doing – in Russia. The kind of suicide mission any sane man wouldn’t ponder for a second. And that’s exactly why he needs Frank Castle.

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Yes there are some awesome, big gun titles out this week. But trust me, you don’t want to miss this read. There has rarely been a better fit of character, artist and writer. Doug Braithwaite’s Punisher shows the toll of his lifestyle, and the character actually scars and ages with each new arc. As for Garth Ennis, he’s side by side with Frank Miller in my eyes as top scribes of gritty characters and dialogue. And thanks to Marvel’s adult MAX imprint, this dialogue holds nothing back. When Marvel’s two most grizzled vets sit down in a bar for a talk, I expect the language to get a little blue. And Ennis delivers. His Nick Fury is so spot on. I like him much better here than in the Fury limited series Ennis wrote awhile back. I also like the twist at the end. That’s the one element Ennis has been missing from this book. I love seeing a title find its feet and then burst into stride. You can mark issue 13 as that moment of this run.

More Pop Culture Goodness From Video Hits One

According to VH1.com, former WWE Superstar Chyna, (posted on the website as Chyna Doll) will be part of the cast for the fourth season of the reality series The Surreal Life. She will be joined by America's Next Top Model Adrianne Curry, Rap star Da Brat, model Marcus Schenkenberg, Jane Wiedlin from The Go-Go's, Christopher Knight (aka Peter Brady), and Verne Troyer (aka Mini-Me). VH1 has a photo gallery put up of the new cast, which can be seen here: Cast Photos

6-1

Most complete game of the season on both sides of the ball:

Offense:
Committed zero turnovers and allowed zero sacks
Controlled the ball 42:58 of a possible 60 minutes
Ran for 221 yards, averaging 4.5 yards a carry
Ben Roethlisberger completed 75% of his passes

Defense:
Forced 4 turnovers, leading to 24 points (including an INT return for a TD)
Sacked Tom Brady 4 times
Held New England to a total of 5 yards rushing

Up next, the 7-0 Philadelphia Eagles in a game that goes a bit beyond simple state bragging rights.