"Someone turns 50 years of age every six seconds." ... Jennifer N. Block

When I was a kid, I loved watching really good television shows, and since television was an infant itself back then, almost everything that came on that black & white box was like going to a birthday party every day. I didn't much pay attention to how old the hosts or TV stars were because all adults seemed to be the same age in my little child's mind (except for "Fred Mertz").

I did some research. Dave Garroway was actually 39 when he began his nine-year stint on the Today Show in 1952. Lucille Ball was 40 when I Love Lucy first hit the airwaves in 1951. Desi Arnaz (Ricky Ricardo) was 34, Vivian Vance (Ethel Mertz) was 42 and William Frawley (Fred Mertz) was 67. At the time, Lucy, Ricky and Ethel were "adults." Fred was old.

It's 2012 and now 67 seems to be just a hair over middle age. I need some people to wallow around with me as I head toward the white light so I try to find my halfway-to-heaven peers on television.

If you don't have the over-50 list, I'm happy to provide some of the names for you:

Today Show

Matt Lauer (54) - He's the 54-year-old brother I wish I had. Oh, wait, I have a 54-year-old brother. Never mind. I just think he would be lots of fun at holiday family dinners. He always seems to be playing with a full deck of cards, and I love his sense of humor. He'd be great to grow older with because you could laugh your way into senility.

Al Roker (57) -- Is he the best?! I cannot look at that man without wanting to hug him. I wish we could be best friends, but I'm guessing he doesn't need me. Would I sound terribly needy if I said I would love to have him as a dear friend? ... OK, needy it is.

Ann Curry (55) -- Here's a TV host who makes the whole world feel warm and fuzzy. She's the kind of person you could tell all your problems to and she would actually listen and comfort you without being judgmental. Next to Dr. Phil, she's the second person in the world I'd love to sit down with for a nice long dinner chat.

Kathie Lee Gifford (58) -- Great sport. I love her feisty attitude and her ability to think fast under glass. I bet she's a loyal friend and is the kind of person who would have your back at all times. She would be an incredibly fun person to gossip with over a glass of anything. (I don't spread gossip, but I do listen to it.)

The CBS Morning News

Charlie Rose (70) - Charlie is a true southern gentleman who has the "Midas touch" when it comes to interviews. We need that sweet southern voice on live TV. I'm from the south so I cling heavily to those southern drawls. God, if you're listening, we need more southern accents on television!

Gayle King (57) - Gayle is a person who is so secure she truly doesn't mind telling people how old she is. Of course not, she looks 45. Hello! I interviewed Gayle almost exactly a year ago to discuss her OWN talk show. I was a bit nervous before she answered the phone for our conversation because, well, she's a pro. I still feel like I just came off of Ted Mack's Amateur Hour when I interview a professional television interviewer. Mercifully, she put me at ease the minute she said hello.

Good Morning America

George Stephanopoulos (51)
Sam Champion (50)
Robin Roberts (51)

OK, what are the odds these three were born within months of each other and would end up on the same morning television show? George does have the best hair in television, Sam is just dreamy, and Robin has one of the best smiles in television not to mention the best costume jewelry! I interviewed both Sam and Robin (separately) about their love of country music. Both were gracious and generous with their time (no one had a stop watch waiting to pull them from me, and they didn't give me the bums rush). I will always have a special place in my heart for them!

Fox & Friends

Steve Doocy (55) -- Disclaimer: I once shared an office with Steve Doocy back in the '80s when he was a local reporter at WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. He made me laugh out loud every day because he and one of our office mates (producer Murray Schweitzer) were always throwing one-liners at each other. Steve gave me a "Doing A Good Job" certificate and signed his name with the title: "Channel 4 News Awards Guy." He is a very pleasant guy under pressure. I fall apart.

The View

Barbara Walters (82) -- Barbara Walters is a hero to everyone. I can't even make a joke about her age. She's ageless. I won't have her sharp mind, but I'm hoping to still be able to roller skate when I'm 82.

Joy Behar (60-something) -- I love her because she hates to tell her age. So do I, so don't be Googling me because they have my age wrong! Very wrong. I have a fake birth certificate to prove it.

Whoppi Goldberg (56) - I identify with her fear of flying. My fantasy is that she and I could do an Oprah/Gayle road trip one day across the United States from east to west coast in a Hyundai. I've been married for 35 years and need a cross-country break. She likes to make people laugh. I like to laugh. Perfect.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Ellen DeGeneres (54) -- Ellen is the funniest 54-year-old female comedienne alive! I love her!!! As a freelance celebrity journalist, I tried to get an interview with her many times but her "people" would have none of it. I bet she would have talked to me if she had just known I had been holding my breath every time I called her offices. Blue is not my best color. Ellen, Jack Nicholson talked to me. He did call security, but so what?

The Talk

Sharon Osbourne (59) -- She's spunky ... also a devoted mother. I interviewed her briefly at an after-party a few years ago following the White House Correspondents' Dinner. She told me how much she loves her children. I asked her how she liked her sudden fame and she admitted she loved it but wished it had happened to her before she turned 50. She's a hugger. I loved her!

Dr. Phil

Dr. Phil McGraw (61) & Robin (60) - The comedian Garry Shandling use to begin his stand-up comedy routine by saying: "I've got a lot of problems, so let's get started." Garry had an audience to hear him out. I want Dr. Phil. He is the one person I would love to sit down to dinner with for a nice long chat -- along with his beautiful wife Robin. I had the pleasure of interviewing Robin a couple of years ago after reading her book Inside My Heart. I sobbed all the way through chapter seven. It's worth the journey to go inside Robin's heart. A great read!

The Tonight Show

Jay Leno (61) - I've been watching Jay Leno forever and he has always made me laugh out loud. I tried for years to interview him, and last year when I was doing a story called: "Not All Hollywood Marriages Go Bad: Success Stories in the Land of Splitsville." I was thrilled that he "talked." I wanted some comments from him on the secret to staying married for 31 years. He was very sentimental about his wife, and shared these words of wisdom: "If you're fighting while you're dating, it doesn't get better. You will not get cuter or handsomer as you get older. So, if it's not working right now, it's not going to work later." Exactly.

Late Show with David Letterman

David Letterman (64) - I actually interviewed Dave many, many years ago for a story I was doing on his director at the time, Hal Gurnee (for Us Weekly). I was totally shocked that Dave even agreed to talk to me, but he did it because he had such high regard for Hal, who was as much of a sidekick to Dave as he was a director. The man is priceless -- one of my Top 10 favorite comedians of all time.

Paul Shaffer (62) -- If you look up the word "cool" in the dictionary, you'll see Paul Shaffer's picture. I interviewed Paul six years ago. He was what we use to call -- way back in the day -- a cool cat. Not every celebrity is an easy interview, but he was not only easy, he seemed excited to be talking to me (the little no-name print journalist). That's as good as it gets.

The Celebrity Apprentice

Donald Trump (65) -- I like him THIS much! I actually worked for him (indirectly) in 1989/90 when I worked part time for the Trump Shuttle. I volunteered to be the editor of the Washington, D.C. shuttle newsletter - The Trumpeteer - and got to go to his grand opening of the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City (where the buffet table had shrimp the size of baseballs). I buy my clothes at Dress Barn and eat Uncle Ben's Rice so that was a kick for me. He's a human magnet ... people love to talk to him. I hope he lives to be 102, and I want to help him blow out his birthday candles.

Dancing With the Stars (I'm obsessed with this show.)

Tom Bergeron (56 ... almost 57) I would love to slow dance with this man. So cute. Tom is way ahead of me when it comes to thinking fast on his feet. He's one of the all-time great ad-libbers. He's always coming up with funny, off-the-cuff remarks on DWTS depending on how feisty judges Len Goodman, 67, and Bruno Tonoili, 56, get. Tom is a role model to every person who turns 56 or 57 this year.

There are more (Diane Sawyer (66), Brian Williams (52), Scott Pelley (54) Randy Jackson (55), Steven Tyler (63), Simon Cowell (52) ... but I'm way over my allotted word count. As Dave Garroway used to say: "Peace." Old hippies still say that.

Yesterday, I contacted Anthem Entertainment and Rush (the band) about Rush Limbaugh's airing of its music on his show, and today I was exclusively informed that the legendary Canadian rock group has formally demanded that the Rush Limbaugh Program stop using its music on the air.

For years now, Rush Limbaugh has been playing Rush music (get it?) as bumpers out of his commercial breaks, including the tracks "Bravado" and "The Spirit of Radio." In fact, when Limbaugh attacked Sandra Fluke and remarked about seeing sex tapes of Fluke in exchange for birth control pills, Limbaugh was playing the popular Rush track "The Spirit of Radio" under his rant.

Thankfully, that ends today.

Here's the official cease & desist letter from Bob Farmer, the head legal affairs for S.R.O. Management Inc., Core Music Publishing and The Anthem Entertainment Group Inc.

The Rush Limbaugh Show 1270 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 RushLimbaugh.com Premiere Radio Networks.

Ladies & Gentlemen:

I am the attorney for Rush, their management company, S.R.O. Management Inc., their music publishing company, Core Music Publishing and their record company, The Anthem Entertainment Group Inc.

According to media reports, Rush Limbaugh, Premiere Radio Networks and The Rush Limbaugh Show have been using Rush's recorded music as part of what is essentially a political broadcast.

The use of Rush's music in this way is an infringement of Rush's copyrights and trademarks. The public performance of Rush's music is not licensed for political purposes and any such use is in breach of public performance licenses and constitutes copyright infringement. There are civil and criminal remedies for copyright infringement, including statutory damages and fines.

(see sections 501-513 of Title 17 of the United States Code http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html)

In addition, the use of Rush's music in this manner implies an endorsement of the views expressed and products advertised on the show, and is in breach of not only copyright and trademark rights, but also, of section 51 of the New York Civil Rights Law (excerpt attached).

Accordingly, we hereby demand that you immediately stop all use of Rush's music and confirm that you will do so.

Yours very truly,
Robert A. Farmer
Director of Legal Affairs
S.R.O. Management Inc.,
Core Music Publishing
The Anthem Entertainment Group Inc.

Here's to more recording artists following Rush's and Peter Gabriel's lead.

Fox debuted its new two hour comedy block this week, featuring the return of "I Hate My Teenage Daughter" (Tue., 9 p.m. EST on Fox) after a very short four episode run at the tail end of 2011. While many showrunners and fans might be concerned that a break after such a short run could hurt a hot show, as we saw with "New Girl" earlier this season, but in the case of this show, it could help.

"Teenage Daughter" was hovering around 6 million viewers in those airings, which in't terrible, but with critics panning the show so vocally at the time, and barely whispering their disdain now, maybe it will encourage "New Girl's" larger audience to give it a try. This week, they'd find Mr. Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos smoldering up the screen as Annie's Spanish teacher.

While the secondary storyline taught the important message that parents should do their children's school projects because their kids are smart enough to manipulate them, the main plot saw Annie and Nikki returning to school. Annie to finally finish up her degree, and Nikki to make sure Annie doesn't make any cool new friends.

While Annie ultimately got thrown out of Consuelos' class for convincing Nikki to help her chat on a test, it may turn out to be a good thing. Consuelos tracked her down at the coffee shop and admitted that he was interested in her. Now that they don't have a teacher-student relationship, he'd like to pursue a more personal one with her.

"I Hate My Teenage Daughter" continues as part of Fox's new comedy block on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on Fox.

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.

Britney Spears has undeniably gone through some major changes since she first stepped into the spotlight as part of "The Mickey Mouse Club" in the '90s.

The pop star might have started out as an innocent school girl with her hit single "Hit Me Baby One More Time," but a few albums and one Kevin Federline later, Britney went through a rough patch that caught a lot of her fans by surprise.

But it was that phase, namely in 2007, that makes this face-morph video all the more entertaining.

YouTube user VJ4rawr compiled dozens of Britney images to create a disturbing compelling video that shows the singer's transformation over the past 30 years.

The clip has garnered nearly 120,000 hits since it was first posted on Feb. 19, and viewers have expressed a mix of shock and awe at the songstress' astonishing transformation. Some are even requesting face-morph videos for other stars like Lindsay Lohan and Christina Aguilera. Yikes.

So, what's Brit up to these days? Last we heard, she and fiance Jason Trawick are enjoying their engagement, while juggling a lawsuit from former manager Sam Lufti.

TORONTO -- Pop star Justin Bieber's mom has inked a book deal to tell the story of the role she played in her son's rise to superstardom.

Pattie Mallette signed a deal with Revell Books to publish, "Nowhere But Up: The Story of Justin Bieber's Mom."

The book's publisher said in a statement Tuesday that Mallette will share details of the trauma, abuse and addiction that plagued her early childhood and young adult years, leading to a suicide attempt when she was 17.

The Stratford, Ontario, native became pregnant at age 18 and gave birth to Bieber in 1994.

The book, written in collaboration with A.J. Gregory, will include a foreward by Bieber. It is slated for release Sept. 18.

Click through to read the comments Chris Brown's girlfriend Karrueche Tran left on her Facebook in response to Rihanna.

You cannot prepare for it. Your expectations may never match the reality. Willem Dafoe has played vampires, monsters, goblins (of the green variety), pervs, psychotherapists, bikers and counterfeiters running wild in Ronald Reagan's America, and even that kinda conflicted Christ guy. Now, in a very big movie about that other J.C. -- John Carter -- he plays Tars Tarkas, a towering green six-limbed martian. But here's the thing about Mr. Dafoe: He's... he's...

He's nice.

I sat down with the man called Willem, and began by reading to him a brief passage from Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars, upon which Disney's John Carter is based:

I saw Tars Tarkas rise to speak, and on his face was such an expression as I had never seen upon the countenance of a green Martian warrior. It bespoke an inward and mighty battle with self, with heredity, with age-old custom, and as he opened his mouth to speak, a look almost of benignity, of kindliness, momentarily lighted up his fierce and terrible countenance.

"Excellent," replies Mr. Dafoe, opening his eyes anew. "That says a lot."

I ask how that description of the Martian "Thark" and eventual "Jeddak" (first published a hundred years ago, in 1912) compares to Mr. Dafoe's experience of playing the character in a very high-tech, alien, yet remarkably human interpretation.

"Well, I hope there's some of that in the movie. It's really good. One of the beautiful things about Tars Tarkas is that conflict: he's kind of damned either way. Because here he is, this leader, but he has this inner feeling that he's leading the people in the wrong direction. And he's supporting a culture that's declining. But if he expresses his concerns, or he tries to assert some of these inner feelings, he probably won't be around much longer!" He laughs. "He sounds like a politician!"

Does Mr. Dafoe have an analogue in his own experience? "Nothing directly. Often, when you're conflicted about something, one of the problems is, how much do you ride it out to survive, to change it later? Or how much is that a certain kind of corruption that you don't wanna buy into, so you make a stand and you don't worry about the consequences? You do what you think is right. This is a recurring theme, I think, for us all."

I bring up his rich rogues gallery of roles, including even his sexual manipulator in Auto Focus, which brings an amused chuckle, as he notes that we're presently in Scottsdale -- where that film's subject, Hogan's Heroes actor Bob Crane (played by Greg Kinnear), died.

"I think that conflicted characters are the best characters," Mr. Dafoe opines in measured tones. "They are the ones that we all relate to, and through them we see ourselves, and it gives us a sense of..." he searches for the word. "Community!" he laughs again.

"And it lets us know that if we tackle these things, it may not kill us," he adds.

When I commend him on this philosophy, he broadens the topic: "All good stories are stories where we can recognize that everybody struggles, and for me those are the inspiring ones, you know? That everybody has a hard time, and where you come together around basic problems, in dealing with ways to survive this life in a pleasant way -- that's what culture's for."

I ask Mr. Dafoe if he approaches a role perceptibly based in reality differently from one based in fantasy (such as Tars Tarkas, which he performed on stilts, and in which he's completely manifested as a digitally-animated character, yet he practically owns the movie). Does his method differ?

"I think you approach them with what you have," he offers, "with the brain you have, with the psychology that's available to you. With the body that's available to you. That's all you have. What you can do, is sometimes you can put your hands into a condition that forces you to go beyond what you have. But the only way you can do that is to find those situations. I occasionally let those happen, and those are, of course, the best ones, because then you're able to do things that you couldn't even imagine."

I attempt a curve-ball (albeit a sincere one): How does a boy from Wisconsin decide to become an actor? (And, eventually, wind up a verdant Martian giant, with tusks.)

"Uh, he doesn't," Mr. Dafoe firmly clarifies. "He doesn't. He goes from situation to situation, and people to people, and he wakes up one day, and he's 56 years-old, and he says, 'You know what? I've been doing this for a while. I guess I'm an actor!'" He laughs again. He has a very kind laugh.

Confession: I have a huge girl-crush on Rachel Weisz. The British brunette just exudes intelligence and effortless style.

With a glossy coif that rivals even Kate Middleton's, it's no surprise that the recently divorced actress didn't stay single for long. Less than a year after announcing that she and filmmaker/producer Darren Aronofsky, her partner of 10 years and father of her son Henry, had ended their 5-year engagement, the fashionable actress married her "Dream House" co-star Daniel Craig (aka the latest James Bond).

How has her new marriage affected her style? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Want more? Be sure to check out Stylelist on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

"New Girl" has had some amazing guest stars in its first season -- from Justin Long to "Party Down" alum Lizzy Caplan to "True Blood" star Ryan Kwanten -- and there are still some big names yet to come, including Dermot Mulroney and Jeanne Tripplehorn.

But who would the cast love to see come play their new love interests? Yes, we all want to see the shameful Cece (Hannah Simone) and Schmidt (Max Greenfield) hookups continue, and we strongly believe that Nick (Jake Johnson) and Jess (Zooey Deschanel) are meant to be together, but we also want this show to be on the air for a long time. So to do that and still keep things fresh, they all need some love from sexy guest stars!

From Oprah Winfrey and Johnny Depp to Kristen Bell ("We love the idea of a 'Veronica Mars' reunion!"), here's who the "New Girl" stars would love to romance onscreen next.

Zooey Deschanel, Jess:
"Johnny Depp! Or Ewan McGregor. I mean ... or both."

Max Greenfield, Schmidt:
"I'm friends with Kristen Bell and it'd be fun to have like a 'Veronica Mars' thing, to have her come on. I love Christina Hendricks. Oh, or how about Lena Dunham? I love my Lena Dunham! Watch 'Girls' in April! Oh my god, my [Gwyneth] Paltrow, too … go to GOOP! [Laughs.] There's too many, I don't know."

Jake Johnson, Nick:
"I'm drawing an absolute blank. I got nothing. Gimme some hints! Who do you think would be a great love interest? Heidi Klum? Yes, Heidi Klum is the answer."

Lamorne Morris, Winston:
"Oh, Meagan Good. Meagan Good! I love her. She's a little busy now, but not busy enough … come over here to 'New Girl,' man. The weather's fine over here. Hmm … or Oprah. If I could get Oprah on the show as my love interest … [Laughs.] Winston starts to date a younger woman!"

Who would you like to see guest star on "New Girl"? Share your own casting suggestions in the comments.

"New Girl" airs Tuesdays, 9 p.m. EST on Fox.

On March 7, Apple announces the highly anticipated iPad 3. With many exciting new features, the device could reinvent how we think about and interact with our world. But it's not all that it could and should be. Watch this new video on the most "insanely great" -- but missing -- iPad feature that consumers who value human rights would like to see included in the next upgrade. Because Apple remains a leader in technical innovation, it can do more to position itself on the leading edge of innovations that address real-world problems. It can help stop a war in Africa by sourcing clean minerals from the Congo. This is very possible for Apple to do.

The Center for American Progress Action Fund, a progressive think tank in Washington, D.C., is calling on Apple to cement its reputation as an industry leader by pushing for even greater reform and accountability. In a new campaign launching today, we will examine how Apple can address and repair this essential element of industry leadership, starting at the source: reform in its mineral supply chain.

Many of the minerals that make up essential components in electronics products like the iPad 3 are found in abundance in the Democratic Republic of Congo, also home to the deadliest conflict since World War II. Since 1996, nearly six million Congolese have lost their lives and hundreds of thousands of women have been raped.

The roots of Congo's conflict are complex; there is no simple fix for peace. However, the ongoing violence against the civilian population is largely fueled by the illicit trade in conflict minerals that are used by electronics companies as well as other industries: gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum. Armed groups use rape as a weapon of war, destabilizing communities while procuring hundreds of millions of dollars per year off the minerals trade.

The Enough Project -- a project of the Center for American Progress that focuses on fighting genocide and crimes against humanity -- has been advocating for electronics companies like Apple to ensure that the minerals they use in their products are being sourced from ethical, conflict-free mines. Apple has taken some good steps in this work, but as an industry leader, can go much further. So far, they have done more than any other company to trace and identify their suppliers that smelt the minerals, a key step in the supply chain. Additionally, they recently required their suppliers to purchase certified conflict-free minerals when they become available on the world market. But Apple should take the next step and ensure that its conflict-free products are not also "Congo-free" by sourcing minerals ethically from the Congo in a way that ensures Congolese communities are benefiting. This ethical sourcing in the Congo is a step that Motorola Solutions, Intel, and HP have already taken.

In technological innovation, Apple remains ahead of the curve when compared with its competitors. But "good enough" has never been Apple's standard. That's why so many of us love their products. After all, the iPad 1 was good enough for many consumers, but Apple has still found ways to make it better, and will no doubt continue to do so. Similarly, Apple should find ways to keep making improvements and innovating when looking at ethical sourcing in their supply chain. By doing so, Apple could satisfy growing consumer demand that it make itself a proactive partner in creating a solution for sustainable peace in eastern Congo.

Apple can seize the opportunity to help change the minerals trade so that it benefits communities and promotes development instead of funding warlords. And since Apple is an industry leader, it should also take this process to the next level by helping governments, industry and civil society create a credible certification system so that all companies can source responsibly from eastern Congo.

We applaud Apple's innovative accomplishments -- both in the world of technological advancements and industry-leading ethical improvements -- but we encourage them to elevate their performance so that other companies will soon follow their example. If the last decade has taught us anything, it's that where Apple goes, the world market will follow. We would like to see that path be one that leads towards building responsible products that enhance the lives of all people of the world -- not just consumers.

Emmanuelle Chriqui (@echriqui) is an actress and advocate for the Enough Project's Raise Hope for Congo campaign. JD Stier (@JDStier) is Manager of the Raise Hope for Congo campaign (@RaiseHope4Congo).

Sigourney Weaver is heading to the small screen. The Oscar nominee has been tapped to star in Greg Berlanti and Laurence Mark's USA Network six-hour original series "Political Animals."

Travis cheating on his homework may well turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to Bobby Cobb on "Cougar Town" (Tue., 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC). Or at least as long as guest star Sarah Chalke feels like hanging out with the cul-de-sac crew. Series creator Bill Lawrence reunited with his "Scrubs" star, putting her in the role of Travis' photography professor.

When Travis was tasked with taking a candid photo of someone working, he discovered that it's nearly impossible to do with the helmet he's now forced to wear for a while. So he cheated and took some pictures of Bobby instead. Only, his professor was more than impressed with the photos, and more particularly the bare-chested man in them.

When Bobby saw her and felt a mutual interest, though, Travis nixed any chance of the two of them meeting because he didn't want his professor to learn that he'd cheated on the assignment. But after a while, he realized he didn't want to stand in the way of his father's potential happiness, and so he coordinated a meeting between them.

When the professor saw Bobby, she was so enamored she barely heard Travis' admission that he'd cheated. In fact, she was barely cognizant of the fact that he was still there.

Watch their courtship unfold in the coming weeks on "Cougar Town" every Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC.

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.

The world first met the iconic frontman known as Meat Loaf back in 1977, when his breakout album, 'Bat Out of Hell' took the world by fire. Blending sparkling, operatic teen angst and epic pop masterpieces such as 'Paradise by the Dashboard Light,' it remains as one of the world's five top-selling records of all time with more than 43 million copies sold to date.

Now, Meat is back with a new studio full-length, 'Hell in a Handbasket,' which comes out March 13 via Legacy. There's no Jim Steinman this time, and this is not connected to the 'Bat' series of albums. Rather, this is a more personal collection from Meat Loaf and features a number of interesting collaborations including appearances from Trace Adkins, Lil Jon and Mark McGrath. The soaring trademark voice, however, is just as stirring and pure as ever.

How did you celebrate Oreo's 100th birthday?

If you happened to be at The Grove Tuesday morning, you were treated to a surprise concert by Grammy-award winning band Lady Antebellum -- but not before enduring a corporate flash mob.

For the Oreo cookie's 100th anniversary, Nabisco staged a Happy Birthday flash mob dance (led by a creepy-looking giant oreo big enough to eat you), and, from the looks of this video, the mob lacked a little flash.

YouTube user FerGiezmOnKey uploaded the video with this pitying caption:

I've seen many flash mobs online and one other live flash mob and this was definitely the sorriest mob i ever saw. it was a great idea, but it didn't seem to have a ton of energy plus they were performing to the cameras and not to the crowd.

But as one of seven national "flash mobs" in celebration of Oreo's 100th birthday, Los Angeles was better off than most. Not only did Lady Antebellum sing "Happy Birthday" to the giant Oreo man, they performed an impromptu concert at The Grove. Lucky shoppers -- Lady Antebellum concert tickets can start at around $80 a pop!

In other flash mobs around the country, Oreo partiers weren't as lucky. Blog site Videogum tweeted, "Is there a more depressing title for a video than 'Oreo Celebrates Its 100th Birthday with a Flash Mob in Pittsburgh'?"

Chicago's Onion A.V. Club wrote, "Red Eye has a good-quality video of the cringe-worthy event streaming over at its site, but let us just say that it’s really a travesty that the dance wasn’t done to Weird Al's 'The White Stuff.' "

Call us out of touch, but we remember the good old days when flash mobs were created to freak companies out, not mark corporate milestones. But don't let our old-timey grousing mar this cookie's 100th birthday. Oreos and milk for all!

Sara Ramirez is perhaps best known for her role as Dr. Callie Torres on "Grey's Anatomy," but playing a small-screen doctor isn't where she got her start.

The actress, who trained at Juilliard, won a 2005 Tony Award for her role in "Monty Python's Spamalot" and ABC executives were so enchanted that they offered her a part on the ABC show of her choice. She wisely signed on with the popular medical drama during its second season.

The 36-year-old actress spoke with The Huffington Post about memorizing medical jargon, the state of reality TV and what it's like to be labeled a Latina actress in Hollywood today.

You've been on "Grey's Anatomy" for quite some time. Do you think you could help out in a hospital if they were short staffed?
(Laughs) No! I could maybe pretend, if I could remember some of the terminology and spew some fancy, long medical jargon. I was literally sitting here trying to remember what I said at work today. I like to Google the stuff I’m talking about so I sort of have a sense of what I’m talking about, and I remember it for the scene and then something happens where your brain puts it in the trash.

It must be great to have job security.
It is. It’s steady. It’s a job, certainly from month to month, that you can count on. I definitely feel a sense of stability and I feel really lucky because it’s rare that a show sticks around for so long.

What’s your guilty pleasure show?
I used to watch "The Bachelor" but it’s lost my interest now. The reality shows are getting worse and worse. They’re out of control and have been for some time.

Don’t you love how every couple of years there’s an article on Latina actresses on the rise? What is your take on that?
Yeah, it’s like they keep lifting the same rock. Look, I want to word this carefully because I don’t want to upset people, because cultural identity is such a sensitive subject in this country. But I’m an American citizen, and yes, I’m Mexican and Irish-American. Does that mean every time they’re going to talk about Irish actresses they’re going to bring my name up? No. But when they talk about Latina actresses, you bet I’m going to be on there.

I’m proud of my heritage -- don’t get me wrong -- but at a certain point it does get a little disappointing … I think we get into patterns of just celebrating people over and over again. I am completely grateful and pleased for the attention and the recognition I’ve received for playing the roles that I’ve played. I’m very proud of my heritage. [But] I feel like we’re losing sight of what should truly be celebrated, that we have such great opportunity in this country and there are so many more people we’re not seeing.

There are plenty of Latina actresses that no one’s ever heard of … Some are really brown, some are light skinned and some look like they’re Caucasian, but it’s like we only want to identify with a certain kind of look and celebrate that under the guise that this is a "Latina actress."

And there's the stereotype surrounding "curvy" Latina actresses.
I think we get a little caught up in these stereotypes. I myself have been part of that. I’ve been a part in celebrating curves. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with celebrating curves. I think the issue is around pigeonholing people to represent only one thing, and once you’re identified with that one thing, you are that one thing forever.

When I’ve lost weight, some fans get very upset because they want me to stay curvy. But my own self worth and wellness regime has to do with my well being and longevity, so if I make the choice to take care of myself and the outcome is losing weight, it’s disappointing that there might be some backlash. It’s like, "Wow, really?"

… But I do understand how there is a teenager somewhere in America who is feeling bad about herself because she has curves. Then she sees a woman who has curves playing a doctor -- an intelligent doctor on TV who is flawed and lovable and going through her life just like everybody else -- and she identifies with her and feels better about herself. There is the positive side to it too.

Fans in L.A. can catch Ramirez, along with other "Grey's Anatomy" cast members at Royce Hall at UCLA March 18 for "Grey's Anatomy: The Songs Beneath the Show."

When I met Rita Moreno in her suite at the Waldorf Towers in New York, I immediately noticed three things: She looks at least 20 years younger than her age. She moves with a lithe grace that bears witness to decades of dancing. And she was wearing pajamas: cherry-red with a floral, Japanese-inspired print.

It was fashion as metaphor: At age 80, Moreno has let go of the need to make a certain impression.

"I was always the darling, please-like-me kid," Moreno said. "It's the immigrant syndrome; it comes from being Puerto Rican, being on the outside. 'Don't make waves, don't make noise' -- my mother was very conscious of that. I was brought up trying to please the world. The greatest lesson I ever learned is that you don't die from not being liked. I wanted to world to like me."

That's a goal Moreno has accomplished in spades. Perhaps best known for her role as Anita in "West Side Story," she is one of just 11 performers to have won an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony and a Grammy. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and on March 5, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Jackie Robinson Foundation.

"When you get something like that it has to do with hanging in there, staying active and persevering, which I think is part and parcel of the character of a performer, particularly a minority performer," she said. "You have to be able to get up and dust yourself off and always be going forward. I think it's in my DNA -- I'm a very positive person, I'm jolly by nature."

And Moreno is having a jolly time playing the Jewish mother of Fran Drescher on the show "Happily Divorced," which has its season premier on TV Land on March 7. "Fran is the best -- she's funny, kind, she loves her cast and the feeling is mutual," said Moreno, adding that she has plenty of energy for the long shooting day. "What's challenging is memorizing the last minute re-writes. That's the baggage that comes with sitcoms -- you rewrite and rewrite and it often happens on the day you're shooting with an audience."

Moreno just finished a run at the Berkeley Rep Theater in California in "Life Without Makeup," a one-woman show, in which she dances, sings and tells the story of her life. "It's about a person who comes from another country and finds out it's not a good thing to be what they are, and tries to change that," she said. "I spent too many years trying to be anything but what I was, and it's really about that journey and how I came to accept myself. It sounds like pure drama but it also had hilarious Hollywood stories in it, from a Hollywood that no longer exists. There are very few of us left around to relate those events."

Rose Dolores Alverio was born on Dec. 11, 1931 in Humacao, Puerto Rico. She came to the U.S. as young girl and lived with her mother in a New York tenement. Her mother worked in a sweatshop and paid for Moreno's dance lessons with odd jobs; Moreno recalls helping make crepe-paper roses to sell to Woolworth's for extra money.

Moreno made her debut at age 6 in a Spanish nightclub in Greenwich Village, dancing with her instructor, Paco Cansino, who was actress Rita Hayworth's uncle. Moreno landed her first role on Broadway at age 13 and her first film role at age 19 as a reform school girl in "So Young, So Bad." She signed as a contract player with MGM and appeared in more than a dozen B films in as many years, landing mostly ethnic roles, including the Burmese slave girl Tuptim in "The King and I" in 1956.

As Moreno noted in her speech at the Robinson Foundation awards: "In those early days in Hollywood ... I played every nationality that had dark skin. I played a Siamese girl, an Arabian girl, an American Indian, a Polynesian. And finally developed what I got to call the universal ethnic accent. Because I didn't know how to speak them, so I just invented my own."

Over time, Moreno felt increasingly marginalized and frustrated with her stereotypical roles, as did her fans. According to a biography of Moreno, a New York Post reporter complained: "Will the powers in (Hollywood) wait patiently until Miss Moreno loses half of her youth, vitality and beauty before they get around to giving her a romantic break?"

During this dark period, Moreno had an on-again, off-again relationship with Marlon Brando. "He really shaped my life and made a huge difference in so many respects, some good and some terrible," said Moreno, who in 1960 attempted suicide with sleeping pills at Brando's home. She conquered her demons through six years in therapy, returning to New York and the stage.

In 1961, Jerome Robbins came calling with the part in "West Side Story." "The story was so very different from what I had done, the only musical to take on such a serious socio-political theme -- and 50 years ago," Moreno marveled. "Jerome was creative beyond belief." Moreno became the first Latina to win an Oscar for best supporting actress and achieved worldwide celebrity.

In 1965, Moreno married cardiologist Leonard Gordon and they had a daughter, Fernanda, an actress who has appeared in television, film and several plays with her mother. Moreno's marriage endured 45 years until Gordon's death in 2010. The stability of the union is amazing not only because Moreno worked in Hollywood, but because she had no role models; her mother married five times.

"We were very different -- he was a nice Jewish doctor who wasn't thrilled when we attended showbiz events, and that was my entire life," she laughed. "But we really complemented each other and understood there was no one else that would suit the other as well. He was the most devoted husband and father, and then grandfather, and the children miss him terribly." Moreno has two grandsons, 13 and 11.

In the 1970s Moreno moved into children's television, performing on "Sesame Street" and "The Electronic Company" on PBS. Moreno loved both the gig and the studio location -- across the street from her apartment on the Upper West Side, giving her more time with her young daughter. She embraced breast-feeding when it wasn't the norm, and tells a hilarious story about forgetting to change her nursing pads before appearing in a two-person play with Alan Alda. Moreno pranced around the stage trying to disguise a milk stain that extended from her breast to the hem of her aquamarine, wool sleeveless dress. "Alan was trying to follow me around on stage and after the show he said, 'What the f**ck were you doing?'" she recalled merrily. "Changing the blocking mid-play was no easy job."

In the subsequent decades, Moreno appeared in dozens of films, stage productions and television shows, garnering new fans in a long-running role as a nun/psychologist in the HBO series "Oz." Moreno obviously has much to celebrate, and I asked her what she considers to be her greatest accomplishment. I expected her to focus on her triumph over racism in Hollywood, or the multiple awards; the long and successful marriage or her adored daughter and grandchildren.

Instead, she names the value that made everything else possible: "Just sticking it out. Just persevering, persevering, persevering. That's not easy and I'm very proud of that."

Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi confirmed her pregnancy to Us Weekly Wednesday, after weeks of speculation that the "Jersey Shore" star was expecting. She also confirmed her engagement to boyfriend Jionni LaValle.

But who exactly is Snooki's fiance and baby daddy?

Snooki has been dating the 24-year-old from East Hanover, New Jersey for a year and a half.

Last year, she told Jay Leno that LaValle was "a wrestling coach for little kids" and that he was going to school to become a gym teacher. She also told People that LaValle is a big Miami Dolphins fan. The couple first met at a Seaside Heights club called Karma in August 2010.

But will there be a show about their newlywed life? It's not likely. "He doesn't give a [expletive] about [celebrities]," Snooki told People last year. She also added that LaValle "freaked out" when he saw a photo of himself and Snooki in a magazine: "He said, 'I don't want to be in that world.'"

Despite his reservations about being in the spotlight, LaValle had no problem letting the world know that he was happy about the couple's pregnancy.

"Thank You everyone!!" he tweeted on Wednesday. "Sorry about that wait but glad everyones happy!! Nicole and I are real excited!! Our baby is going to be #ShortnTan"

He was also protective of his new fiancee. "For All u jealous, disrespectful haters out there, u see what u wana see on tv!" he tweeted. "My fiancé and I n JR are going to be so happy!

According to ABC News, the newly-engaged couple won't be tying the knot for at least another year so that the new baby can be a part of the wedding, and so that the reality TV star can lose weight after her pregnancy.

Oh, it's just another week in the celebrity rumor mill. This week, In Touch magazine ran a cover with a laughing Sandra Bullock and director/notorious playboy Brett Ratner Photoshopped atop her long, luscious mane. "SANDRA'S RISKY NEW ROMANCE," the headline reads, the font enlarged with each line to drive home its point. Then comes the caption: "Two years after her divorce, she's finally opened her heart and learned to trust again. But will dating Hollywood's biggest player end in heartbreak?"

Turns out, the only thing Bullock is doing with Ratner is talking. Both Bullock and Ratner have issued the following statement exclusively to The Huffington Post, deriding the magazine while firmly denying any claims of a romantic connection.

"We think that it's incredibly sad that in these times, this magazine would resort to complete fabrication, solely for financial gain. There is not a shred of accuracy in their story. We have not seen nor spoken to each for over a decade. We both had a great time after the Oscars, just not with each other."

Cover in question:

Check out recent photos of Sandra:

After a week of rumors and speculation, "Jersey Shore" star Snooki confirmed on Wednesday that she was pregnant and engaged to Jionni LaValle. The ladies of "The Talk" (weekdays on CBS) reacted to the surprising news, discussed how it might impact her spinoff reality show and debated whether she was mature enough to handle the new responsibility.

Julie Chen suggested that the presence of reality show cameras could influence Snooki to change her hard-partying ways. "Maybe it's good that she has this reality show, because that's what's going to police her into not drinking, because it's all going to be caught on tape," she speculated.

Sheryl Underwood joked that Snooki might not change her lifestyle after all. "She'll just do it with her baby on her hip like the rest of us do in America," she quipped, before taking a more serious tone. "I kind of look forward to this evolving her."

And while many commentators have compared Snooki's situation to her MTV counterparts on "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom 2," Chen drew another reality parallel. "We all watched Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton when they were on 'The Simple Life,' and [Richie] is a great mom, she really matured, so I'm hopeful."

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We never figured Mitt Romney for a hip-hop connoisseur, but we were still surprised by his incredibly idiotic decision to use K'Naan's 'Wavin' Flag' as a campaign anthem.