"The Good Wife" (Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on CBS) has become known for attracting a high caliber of guest stars. Season 4 has seen Maura Tierney, Kristin Chenoweth and Nathan Lane stop by and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

On the November 25 episode, "The West Wing" star Stockard Channing will guest star as Veronica, Alicia's mom. "Stockard is someone I've always admired," series star Julianna Margulies says in the video below.

Margulies describes Alicia's relationship with her mother as cordial ... until the wine comes out. "You get to understand a little bit more why she's so reserved and buttoned-up and not living the life she maybe wants fully," she says.

Tierney has a recurring role on "The Good Wife" this season as Maddie Hayward, a billionaire CEO who befriends Alicia and backs Peter as the gubernatorial candidate ... until she decided to run for office herself. "I think that was a little bit heartbreaking for Alicia because she really thought Maddie could be a friend to her," Margulies says.

"The Good Wife" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on CBS.

"WELL, I'D rather my man would hit me/Than for him to jump up and quit me, ain't nobody's business if I do."

So sang Billie Holiday, back when it was considered "okay" to knock a woman around, and for the woman to accept it. (Why, just the other evening, I found myself a bit shocked hearing Clark Gable describe Claudette Colbert in 1934's It Happened One Night as a woman who deserved to be "socked daily whether she needed it or not.")

But that was then. Romantic comedies don't treat beating women as funny anymore. And women don't sing about how they'd rather be hit than abandoned.

That is, unless you are Rihanna. The singer's new album is titled Unapologetic. The most controversial song on it is a duet with her ex, Chris Brown, titled "Nobody's Business." (Brown plead guilty to battering Rihanna three years ago. Who could forget the photos of her bruised and swollen face?)

But almost immediately, it seemed that Rihanna wasn't as upset about the incident as was the media. It appeared she took to heart the cries from women's groups that if she "forgave" Chris Brown it would send a bad message to her young fans. She was only 21 at the time. Or was it that she took to heart advice from her PR people?

In any case, Brown has never really been out of her life. She was always running into him. She has wept over the beating (with Oprah, naturally) but the suggestion lingered that as traumatized as she had been, she wasn't ready to cast him off. Indeed, that she might even have encouraged or enjoyed or felt she deserved this kind of "attention." She has given out signals that she doesn't mind "danger" in relationships.

This is a far cry from the S&M posturing of Madonna in her heyday. Everybody knew The Big M was just looking for new ways to shock. Rihanna has also shocked. But there is a disturbing feeling she's not posing or kidding.

Rihanna is the token hot woman on one of the current GQ "Men of the Year" covers. (Channing Tatum is another cover, named as "Movie Star of the Year.") She is half-naked, of course.

Whatever. As Billie Holiday exuberantly sang, and now Rihanna boldly declares -- it's "nobody's business." I suppose that's true. But we can't help worrying.

And this CD "reconciliation" whether personal or merely professional, doesn't send a good message to young women or young men. Don't ever go back to men who hit you. And don't ever hit a woman. Period.

• EVEN ROGER Moore says that Daniel Craig is the "best Bond ever!" Roger had the role of 007 from 1973-85. He was the most laid-back of all the Bonds, probably the least like Ian Fleming's character. But he was charm personified, much more convincing sexing up various Bond girls than in the killing or fighting. Roger always seemed quite amused that he was James Bond.

  Daniel Craig's Skyfall is still doing great at the box office, though it had to take second place to the latest Twilight tale. I don't get the Twilight movies or the "charm" of the two famous stars -- Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart -- but maybe I should ask Ann and Mitt Romney? Supposedly the couple caught the movie a few days ago. Well, the Twilight films are supposed to be chock full of Mormon agenda, dressed up as twinkly vampires. So the Romneys are keeping the faith -- with fangs.

• NEVER LET it be said that director Oliver Stone is ever apologetic. He is like Rihanna, without the tattoos. Stone is a confirmed conspiracy theorist and revisionist historian. Stone's latest endeavors are a book, Untold History of the United States and a concurrent TV series on Showtime. Both the book and the series are fascinating, but don't expect Stone to be slotted on FOX to promote it. The JFK director doesn't wallow in jingoistic chat. I did catch him with Piers Morgan on CNN. Oliver did most of the talking.

  Stone's history lessons might make some people uncomfortable. His take on World War II is a three-sided perspective -- America, Britain and what was once Soviet Russia; how each great power approached or did not approach world conflict...who was pushed into war... who really "won" it... who helped the Jews. (I won't give you all the answers, but as to the Jews -- very few really helped them. And that explains a lot, including current mid-east matters.)

  Stone warns of the "empire-building" of the U.S. and our massive military spending, citing the example of ancient Rome and the eventual power of the praetorian guards, who were the true leaders, as Rome declined. They chose and disposed of Emperors at will -- military power and extremism at its most destructive. I don't agree with Oliver that we shouldn't have dropped the atom bomb. But disagreement makes the world go around. (Dropping it created mutual deterrence for years.)

  And when Piers asked about the David Patreaus scandal (Morgan seems simply obsessed with it), Oliver Stone said, "The American media has come up with this narrative that he's the American hero who [was] betrayed by the woman. But it's not true. I see no evidence of his heroism."

  Stone believes the media "needs" heroes and Patreus was mythologized beyond all reality, more so now, in his disgrace.

  Oh, and before I start getting hate mail. These are Oliver Stone's opinions. Just as Rihanna writes her own songs and lives her own life. I'm just here to report.

  I don't know Rihanna. But I do know Oliver. And I like him. If you want to hate me for that, go right ahead.

Even before watching "Liz and Dick" (Sun., Nov. 25 at 9 p.m. EST on Lifetime), it's easy to come up with a list of a few things a movie about Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton should do.

1. It should establish Burton and Taylor as charismatic, complex people. Taylor was an intoxicating combination of devil-may-care bawdiness and classic glamour; she liked to belt back drinks and tell it like it was, and she was an old-school Movie Star who effortlessly commanded every room she entered. As for Burton, he was passionate, smart and rough around the edges; any portrayal of him would have to capture both his brooding outsider qualities and his sly, knowing wit. They weren't just actors on the make, they were fascinating personalities with very divergent histories, and any film about them would need to reflect their vast differences and intriguing backstories.
2. It should make the electricity of their relationship apparent. The anticipation for their first kiss should be unbearable; the depiction of their affair should be deliciously hot. They were one of the 20th Century's most iconic couples, and their bond lasted until their deaths. The depth and combustibility of that bond should be the film's main selling point.
3. It should be a treat for the eyes. Their affair began on the set of "Cleopatra," caught fire in paparazzi-infested Rome and then took them to Switzerland and London and beyond; all those locations should be shown in expensive, expansive period-specific detail. This was the era of "Mad Men" but on a much more lush and living-large scale; why not have some fun with that?
4. It should take its time. You'd be hard-pressed to find a sentient adult that does not know the basic contours of their relationship: a turbulent affair followed by two well-chronicled marriages. If we already know the destination, the smart filmmaker would make the journey of Liz and Dick as smart, diverting and entertaining as possible.
5. It should be well cast. Telling this story wouldn't be easy, given how well known its two protagonists are, but there have to be actors who could give the collision of these titanic personalities dramatic heft. You wouldn't want mere look-alikes -- you'd want terrific actors able to convey the pain and the pleasure of this calamitous, enjoyable relationship in very specific and compelling ways.

"Liz and Dick" does absolutely none of these things.

All it really does is make you sad about what's become of Lindsay Lohan, and wonder at the motivations of the filmmakers who put her in this cheap-looking, exploitative movie.

Exploitation really is the name of the game here; the whole point of casting Lohan was to draft off her status as a formerly promising actress who some time ago became a tabloid fodder thanks to her career-destroying antics. The casting of Lohan would ensure coverage of the production itself, and then more "Can she manage a comeback" chatter once the movie's air date approached. It's one way to get attention for a project, I guess.

Another way is to create something of quality, but that would take time and effort, and expenditure of labor clearly wasn't the point here.

Lohan might actually be able to manage a comeback someday, but she's woefully miscast in this. In "Mean Girls" and other pre-trainwreck vehicles, she displayed a sweet freshness and a vulnerability that made her a pleasure to watch. Whatever she has been doing the last few years, it doesn't look as though she's been working on her craft.

In "Liz and Dick," she delivers Taylor's clunky lines with a flat Valley Girl tone and flounces around the production's ticky-tacky sets with lazy brattiness, not grand hauteur. Grant Bowler (best known as the werewolf Cooter on "True Blood") does what he can, but, well, he's not Richard Burton, and the script and direction are no help to any actor (not even Creed Bratton from "The Office," who has a small role as a movie mogul).

I'd like to say that it's not apparent that "Liz and Dick's" director also helmed not one but two Mitch Albom-based movies, but it really, really is apparent. "Liz and Dick" is badly paced, cheap-looking and encrusted with a tinkly, preposterous soundtrack that is designed to make viewers go insane. It's also littered with exposition-heavy segments in which Liz and Dick reminisce about their past, perhaps from beyond the grave. In those segements, they wear matching black ensembles and essentially narrate their own lives, much to their own amusement. In doing so, they make these rich and eventful lives sound a lot less interesting than they actually were.

There is drinking game fun to be had here, but that's all "Liz and Dick" really offers. Please, don't drink every time one half of the lead duo downs some vodka or every time Lohan provides an absolutely affectless line delivery -- I don't want to be responsible for any deaths by alcohol poisoning.

But here are a few suggestions on that front:

• Take a drink every time you think a set looks cheesy


• Take a drink every time you think of better casting for the leads


• Take a drink every time you think you've spotted Bowler wondering if his check cleared


• Take a drink every time you spot Creed from "The Office," because WTF?


• Take a drink every time you think of a colorful way that the actual Liz Taylor would have described this movie (and be creative; she was a salty dame)

Jay Leno got to see Kris Jenner during her appearance on "The Tonight Show," and it was a lot more than he sees most of his guests. Sure, there's the interview segment on the couch, and even the backstage visit before the guest comes on. But how many times is the guest half-naked?

It turns out that when Leno dropped by to visit Jenner before the show in her dressing room, she wasn't wearing any pants. In fact, she had only a towel wrapped around her.

"Jay walked into my dressing room and I stood up and I forgot I just had a towel on and it completely fell off," Jenner said.

Leno laughed, saying he thought the whole thing was suspicious. Like her towel just happened to fall off? Jenner put a picture online of the encounter, though thankfully the towel was firmly in place for the shot.

Check out "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" every weeknight at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC.

TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.

Last week on "Survivor: Philippines," Skupin flipped on his original tribe, pushing them from the top of the pecking order to the bottom. This week, he convinced Lisa to join him in a new alliance of six, leaving Abi and Pete alone on the other side. Abi, who was described this episode as having the social graces of a mack truck, didn't take it too well.

After winning a reward challenge, she gloated to excess, and then declared that she was done cooking. Oh, and she would not stop talking. She interrupted everyone, though this is nothing new. So the alliance of six decided target her and Pete. In hopes of flushing out her Immunity Idol, they split their vote.

Pete talked with Skupin about trying to flip back and vote Malcolm -- who also had an Immunity Idol -- out and Skupin considered it. In the end, he stayed loyal, which was a good thing as Malcolm did not play his Idol.

Everyone ripped into Abi, telling her hard truths about her behavior and attitude, reducing her to tears. Of course, she played her Idol, thus sending Pete out of the game.

See who gets voted out next on "Survivor: Phillippines," Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.

There was tension in the family on "The Houstons: On Our Own." Grandma Cissy Houston was trying to come see her grandchildren, but Bobbi Kristina was avoiding her.

"I don't know why she don't like me," Cissy said, but Bobbi Kristina explained it for the cameras. She was uncomfortable with the tell-all book Cissy had agreed to write about her daughter Whitney -- Bobbi Kristina's mother. It was an understandable concern, but she could have approached her grandmother with her fears and talked about it.

Instead, it was Bobbi Kristina's uncle who sought her out and assured her that the book wasn't going to get ugly about Whitney Houston or her life. Reports have the book set to be published in June 2013.

As for Bobbi Kristina and Cissy, they did finally spend time together, even ending the visit with a hug.

Tune in for more family drama on "The Houstons: On Our Own," Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Lifetime.

TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.

Amy Poehler dropped by to talk to her old "Saturday Night Live" castmate Jimmy Fallon on "Late Night." Fallon was excited about Poehler hosting the Golden Globes with fellow "SNL" alum Tina Fey. The two even did a fun bit where Fallon sang about how great it was going to be.

"Lower your expectations," Poehler sang.

People do have high expectations of the funny lady, though. She and Fey have proven themselves over the years as comedically brilliant, and they established their chemistry behind the "Weekend Update" newsdesk.

As for what to expect from the big show, Zap2It reports that Poehler said they'll start planning things closer to the January 13 show date. They're used to last-minute planning from all those late Saturday nights at work.

In the meantime, check out Amy Poehler every Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC's "Parks & Recreation," while "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" airs every weeknight at 11:35 p.m. ET.

TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.

A lot of people have speculated that Courtney Stodden and Doug Hutchison decided to participate in "Couples Therapy" to try and further the teen bride's "career." This was perhaps proven when the two started talking about trying to associate Courtney with their fellow castmate, Too Short.

"She’s a killer actress, she’s a killer musician, she’s a comedian, she’s a writer, she’s a poet. An artist," Doug said. "It could be gold, not just for Courtney but for Too Short as well."

But the rapper's stance was pretty clear. "Not gonna happen, man." In fact, he said the only role he could see Courtney playing in his creative future was as "the good Christian hooker in my music video."

That would actually fit perfectly well with her real-life persona. And she wouldn't even need any help in the wardrobe department.

Keep up with all the antics of Courtney Stodden and Doug Hutchison on "Couples Therapy," Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on VH1.

TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.

Happy Thanksgiving, indeed.

Hunger Games beauty Jennifer Lawrence showed off her killer bikini bod Tuesday afternoon in Maui, where she was spotted rocking a light-blue top, printed skirt and, of all things, a trucker hat.

As Ang Lee's ''Life of Pi'' opens, we salute films that use the third dimension as more than a gimmick.

Don't let "Killing Them Softly" get lost in the throng of year-end prestige releases. The new film, from year-end specialists The Weinstein Company, is out on Nov. 30 and has received strong reviews since its bow at the Cannes Film Festival in May. It also stars Brad Pitt and at least three former cast members from "The Sopranos."

Based on the 1974 crime novel "Cogan's Trade" by George V. Higgins, "Killing Them Softly" focuses on a hitman (Pitt) hired to dispose of a few small-time crooks after they rob a local poker game. James Gandolfini plays one of Pitt's onscreen associates, while Vincent Curatola -- better known to "Sopranos" fans as Johnny Sack -- appears in the film (and this new trailer) as well. A third former "Sopranos" co-star, Max Casella, is listed on the "Killing Them Softly" IMDb page.

Despite the fact that Higgins' novel takes place in the '70s, director Andrew Dominik ("The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford") has updated the proceedings to modern times. As previously reported by Indiewire's blog The Playlist, the film begins with an excerpt from Barack Obama's 2008 Democratic Convention speech: "What is that American promise? It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have obligations to treat each other with dignity and respect."

As such, "Killing Them Softly" is about more than just your average, run-of-the-mill mafioso; as Pitt says to Richard Jenkins at the end of the clip, "I'm living in America. America's not a country, it's just a business."

"Killing Them Softly" was originally set for release in September and then October. The Weinstein Company finally settled on Nov. 30 to spring the Pitt film on audiences, hoping to take advantage of the post-Thanksgiving lull on the release calendar.

The holidays are a great time to reflect back on all the wonderful gifts we have been given in our lives. I have the most precious gift of family and friends. Every dog in our life is also a great gift. And every dog in my pack is a blessing to me.

Christmas is also a very special time of year for me. I left my home in Mexico on December 23, 1990 to come to the United States. When I told my mother it was time to go, she just looked at me and said, "but Cesar it's Christmas time." I didn't have papers and I only had $100 that my Dad gave me as a going away gift. In hindsight, this money was the greatest gift of all because it allowed me to pay a coyote to help me cross the border. I had tried crossing on my own but failed three times. My Dad's gift was his way of saying "I believe in you and I believe you can make it." It was all the money he had!

I had a gift too. My gift wasn't a physical thing like a toy or car or money. My gift was a dream of what I wanted to do and a clear belief in my purpose to become the best dog trainer in the world. I eventually made it to Los Angeles, California and found a job washing limos in South Central, but on the streets all around me I saw dogs who had been abused and abandoned by their owners. There was a lot of gang violence at that time in South Central and people were buying large dogs for protection. However, once they got these large dogs, they couldn't control them.

I wanted to help. I didn't have much money, but I did have a gift for understanding and training dogs. So, I started rescuing the abandoned dogs one at a time and training them. It didn't take long before I was walking a pack of 60 dogs! Finally, the owner of the limo service that I worked for came to me one day and said, "you have a real gift for training dogs. I am going to fire you so that you can pursue this gift because otherwise, you will never leave here!" Wow, I thought to myself, that's the first time a gift caused me to get fired. But he was right.

Once I had my pack, I needed to figure out a way to feed them. I believe that sometimes when you have nothing or very little, you have more because you have to trust in faith to make things happen for you. Over the years of hardship, I had developed a gift for making something from nothing. I was able to work out agreements with the shop owners in South Central to keep the dogs in their shops as guard dogs during the night in exchange for money to feed the dogs. This was an amazing thing because it took the dogs off the street and gave them a purpose and the store owners got protection of their shops.

Most people see their dogs as "students" and the human as the "teacher." But to me the dogs are the real teachers. They're totally unselfish and put the welfare of their pack -- both canine and human -- ahead of their own well-being. Dogs can teach us how to be more humane. Dogs can teach us how to live in harmony with family and community. And dogs can definitely teach us about love and service.

This holiday season, the first question we should ask ourselves is, "how can I help?" It's not "What's in it for me?" and it's not about the rewards and recognition we might receive for doing good. We should help because we can. I always look to dogs for inspiration and I realize that dogs are grateful to you, in poverty and in abundance. A dog won't love you if you're rich and he won't love you less if you're poor. The other thing about a dog is that if he could make a wish, it wouldn't be for himself, it would be for his family.

Giving the greatest gift of all. My father gave to me and I am giving to my sons Andre and Calvin. Once you start giving, you begin to see the world very differently. You see needs being met, you see families reunited and you see dreams realized.

I have travelled to over 10 countries this year. I know first hand how depressed people are about the economy. In Spain, I met with people who have undergone great hardship and sacrifice to fix their economy. Throughout Europe there is great uncertainty about what will happen to the European Union and their currency. In my home country of Mexico there is fear about immigration and jobs. This is the time when we need to raise our eyes beyond our own concerns and say, "how can I help?"

The desire to help others was one of the reasons why I created the Cesar Millan Foundation. This is a nonprofit organization dedicated to animal rescue and rehabilitation and educating humans about animals. The foundation has done many wonderful things to save dogs around the world, as well as, educate over one million elementary school children about humane treatment of animals and the need to adopt abandoned dogs. Since I did not have a college education, I wanted to give the gift of education to some of the poorest schools in America. The school curriculum that I developed in conjunction with Yale University, School of the 21st Century is made available to needy schools for free. My youngest son Calvin is working with a T.V. production company to create a television show around the principles of this curriculum which is called mutt-i-grees. For more information you can go to MillanFoundation.org or visit education.muttigrees.org.

When I was growing up poor in Mexico. I didn't get a lot of physical gifts but I did get love and support, and I learned how to create something from nothing. For me, Christmas meant Los Posados, the nine days before Christmas ending on Christmas Eve, when people enjoy the comfort of friends and family. As a father to two boys, I have tried to pass along this learning and tradition along to them... to teach them that physical gifts come and go but the greatest gift of all is giving.

Read more at www.cesarsway.com and join me behind-the-scenes on Sunday, November 25th at 9 pm ET/PT on Nat Geo WILD, as I tell my story for the first time in my biopic, Cesar Millan: The Real Story.

Power Rankings have been rating sports teams throughout their seasons for years based on statistical analysis, momentum and gut feelings. Those folks shouldn't have all the fun.

Using our, er, proprietary technology -- based on sales and airplay charts, magazine covers, twitter trends, and, of course, gut feelings -- we bring you HuffPost's Pop Power Rankings, our weekly roundup of who's on top (and who has fallen off) in the pop game.

PREVIOUS POP POWER RANKINGS

GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Organizers say American R&B star Chris Brown has canceled a stadium concert in Guyana after local protests over his 2009 beating of then-girlfriend Rihanna.

Brown was billed to headline a Dec. 26 show. But he drew the ire of women's rights groups and opposition lawmakers who said Brown would not be welcome in Guyana three years after his assault of Barbadian superstar Rihanna.

Concert promoter Hits & Jams Entertainment said Thursday that Brown backed out, citing discomfort with the protests.

In 2009, Brown hit, choked and bit Rihanna during an argument in Los Angeles. He later pleaded guilty to assault.

Since then, Brown has worked to repair his image, undergoing violence counseling and putting out a new album. He has a duet with Rihanna on her recently released record.

These days, our knowledge of celebrities too often originates with paparazzi images and snarky quotes by anonymous "insiders." After a while, it's easy to forget that stars are real people. That's why HuffPost Celebrity decided to launch its all-new #nofilter quick-fire question and answer series. Because how well do you know someone until they've shared their guiltiest pleasures?

Vinny Guadagnino might be saying goodbye to "Jersey Shore," but he's saying hello to his own spinoff show. That's right -- Vinny's solo TV spot, "The Show With Vinny," will give the party boy a chance to leave behind "GTL" and embrace "another side of my personality that likes to act, do improv and host." He tells HuffPost, "It’s probably the biggest thing that’s happened in my life. I'm really excited." And Vinny was more than excited to take on our #nofilter challenge, revealing his guilty pleasure, dream job and DVR lineup.

HuffPost Celebrity: What's your guiltiest pleasure?
Vinny Guadagnino: Can I go to the past and what used to be my guilty pleasure at one point in my life? I was a huge Spice Girls fan when I was a kid. When I was younger I had a Spice Girls poster on my wall and I watched the movie.

If you were on death row, what would your last meal be?
Probably my mom's chicken cutlets.

How did you get on death row?
Do I have to kill somebody for that?

What shows are always on your DVR?
"Homeland," "Breaking Bad," "Dexter," The Knicks and "True Blood."

What's one thing you do when you're alone that you wouldn't do in front of someone else?
Fart. I don’t really do that around anyone else!

If failure weren't an option, what's one thing you would do?
Probably be in the NBA. I think that’s like the coolest job ever.

What's on your nightstand?
A box of tissues. [Pause] Oh God!

What would people be surprised to know you've never done?
Well, what about what I have done? Horseback riding. Yep, I used to take horseback riding lessons.

What happens in your recurring dream?
I get chased a lot. I’m like running in my sleep. Every time.

If you could ask Kim Kardashian any question, what would it be?
What was the real cause of your divorce? Kris Humphries is a friend of mine, so I want to get down to the bottom of it.

As we all descended upon my oldest child's home in Baltimore this week; I fast and furiously began planning each second of the upcoming days. Get turkey and dressing from this place, get green bean casserole from that store(remember I DON'T cook)... whew... I was exhausted and the reheating was still a day away! So, I sat for five minutes while some eggs were boiling and quickly began to check my emails. I opened one that requested I write a 500-1000 word blog about Thanksgiving for The Huffington Post. I sighed deeply and all three kids looked up from their card game and said what's wrong? I said, "Oh, The Huffington Post has asked me to write a blog about Thanksgiving and what it means to me. I love those guys, really I do, but I just don't think I can squeeze anything else into this insane schedule!" Then what to my wandering eyes should appear... No one other than SJ! What were you expecting Santa Claus? I hear this, "I'll do it, Mom"; he is a freshman journalism major at Loyola of Maryland, today anyway! I said, "SJ, you think you can write something that when people read it they will be compelled to get up, get out and make a difference?" He said, "I do Mom." I initially had thought he was kidding, and I realized he was anything but kidding. He worked for sometime as the hustle and bustle continued around him.

Then as I was unloading the last of the food out of the car he said, "Here, read this"... Yes, this is the little kid from The Blind Side who we watered and fed and much to my surprise, he wrote a beautiful piece. I'm not sure why this took me by surprise, but I feel fairly certain his words will compel you to dig deep the next couple of weeks and finish this year doing things that aren't so frenzied and frustrating but are life changing. Think hard about what really matters and make someone else's holiday season merry and bright! Without any further intro from a proud Mom... Here's SJ...

While it is accurate that Thanksgiving only comes once a year, I think Thanksgiving is more of an attitude that we should live by than a holiday. Thanksgiving promotes an attitude of gratitude; I apologize on the front end for the rhyme, merely a coincidence. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "For every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness." If you have the freedom to read this little article, you have much to be thankful for.

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln declared that the last Thursday of every November be celebrated with a national holiday known as "Thanksgiving Day" to honor those colonists and Wampanoag Indians who sat down and shared a feast one Autumn day in 1621. William Bradford, the "governor" of Plymouth and the first colonists who arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 arranged this meal. The point of my telling you this is not to bore you with history. My point is that the original settlers sat down and were thankful for a meal even though about half of the original 102 colonists who traveled over on the Mayflower perished during the first winter.

Abraham Lincoln created the holiday in the middle of the Civil War. He had time to be thankful even though he was the leader of our nation during the biggest turmoil our country has ever had to go through. I'd be curious to see what Lincoln would think of the country he once led today. He might think it humorous how our perceptions of words like Thanksgiving, blessing, giving, etc. have changed.

Recently, our nation had the privilege of voting for our president. Instead of being thankful for the fact that we were able to watch two men debate on our television or read about it on our computers, our tablets, or in newspapers, we complain that the candidate we wanted or didn't want to win did not. I bet people in China and North Korea sure would have enjoyed their voices being heard.

If you are reading this on an electronic device, it is estimated that less than 1 percent of the world owns a computer. How is that for something that we overlook? About 151,600 people die every day, which equates to about 2 people per second; Life is a gift. I had a friend open the fridge the other day and jokingly mumbled how there was nothing good to eat. I thought about this for a second and wondered how many people open their refrigerators and have nothing. Take that a step further; think how many people are not afforded the luxury of even owning a refrigerator. I know this message is very cliché and pounded in our heads from such a young age, but we truly do have so much that we are blessed with.

So as my dad says,"What is the rub?" The rub is that the holiday is not "Thanks-getting." This day was not designed just for us to sit around a table and be thankful for blessings. As aforementioned, Thanksgiving is an attitude. The cheesy definition of "gratitude" is: "The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness." So as you sit around a table, thankful for blessings remember the key word in the definition is: show.

It is not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them. Sure, it may be easy for me to say; my parents are still together and as of now are not included in the 8 percent of American population who are not holding jobs. So yes, it is easy to sit around a table with friends, family or send a tweet out or however you will be communicating on this holiday about counting our blessings, but counting only gets you so far. Living thankfully, showing, not telling, is a true measure of our Thanksgiving.

What better way to spend the night before Thanksgiving ... than planting a big wet kiss on your man in front of an army of leering photogs -- and that's exactly what Kim Kardashian did last night with BF Kanye West.

When Katie Holmes left New York’s LaGuardia airport early Thursday, heading to Ohio to spend Thanksgiving with her parents, daughter Suri was already in England, spending the holiday with her dad, Tom Cruise.

“Suri left Tuesday and will return Sunday to return to school on Monday,” a source close to Holmes tells The Huffington Post. “Tom and Katie agreed to this weeks ago.”

Six-year-old Suri will join her dad, who is currently shooting a film in the UK, and Tom’s two other children, Conner and Isabella Cruise. Suri is currently living with her mom in NYC, where she is in previews for her return to Broadway in the new play "Dead Accounts," which opens November 29.

"We have Thursday off, so I’m going to have a chance to go home with my family," Holmes told Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan a few days ago. "My sister makes a really good sausage stuffing and my mom makes a great turkey."

It's a girl! Country singer Jake Owen and wife Lacey Buchanan welcomed their first child, Olive Pearl Owen, on Thanksgiving day in Nashville, Tenn. She is named after Owen's grandmother.

Owen shared a photo of the newest addition to the family on Twitter. He also confirmed the news to multiple publications. "Lacey and I are so excited to start our own family," Owen told People magazine. "We are looking forward to teaching Pearl everything we learned from our parents and also learning from her."

Owen, 30, and Buchanan, 22, married in May 2012 in Florida.

Today is the greatest day of my life. Welcome Olive Pearl Owen. 6lbs 3 ozTurkey Baby!!! Happy Thanksgiving twitter.com/jakeowen/statu…

— Jake Owen (@jakeowen) November 23, 2012

LOS ANGELES — Deborah Raffin, an actress who ran a successful audiobook company with the help of her celebrity friends, has died. She was 59.

Raffin died Wednesday of leukemia at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, her brother, William, told the Los Angeles Times ( ). She was diagnosed with the blood cancer about a year ago. http://lat.ms/R0q9NM

Raffin, the daughter of 20th Century Fox contract player Trudy Marshall, had roles in movies such as "Forty Carats" and "Once Is Not Enough." She also starred in television miniseries, most notably playing actress Brooke Hayward in "Haywire" and a businesswoman in "Noble House," based on the James Clavell saga set in Hong Kong.

She and her then-husband, music producer Michael Viner, launched Dove Books-on-Tape in the mid-1980s, which blossomed into a multimillion-dollar business. The company's first best-seller was Stephen Hawking's opus on the cosmos entitled "A Brief History of Time."

Raffin's job was getting celebrities to provide voices for some of the books. Among them were the nonfiction bestsellers "Anatomy of an Illness" and "The Healing Heart," both by Norman Cousins and read by Jason Robards Jr. and William Conrad, respectively.

Raffin also compiled celebrities' Christmas anecdotes for a 1990 book, "Sharing Christmas," which raised money for groups serving the homeless. It included stories from Margaret Thatcher, Kermit the Frog and Mother Teresa.

Raffin and Viner sold the company in 1997 and the couple divorced eight years later. Viner died of cancer in 2009.

Raffin is survived by her two siblings, William and Judy Holston; and a daughter, Taylor Rose Viner.

Services are set for Sunday in Culver City.