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Does it work? Test team returns to try out new products advertised on television
Tragedy to hope: Family creates foundation for bereavement therapy
Here are some tips for those grieving for a loved one during holidays
'The Lacuna' is well worth 10-year wait
Feast your eyes on essays from Times food writer
'Twilight' legends alter community
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Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
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Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
Browns' roster nearly devoid of consistent players
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your Saturday entertainment …
Akron Zips:
Hitchens leads Zips in second-half comeback
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Holmgren expresses interest in Browns position
Kent State Sports:
Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 47-13
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
Headed For Disaster
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (68) Democrats Secure 60 Votes for Cloture
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
By Rich Heldenfels
Beacon Journal popular culture writer
Published on Sunday, Jul 06, 2008
ABBA Together. The four members of ABBA appeared together in public for the first time for more than 20 years to help promote the musical movie Mamma Mia!
Like the stage show of the same name, the movie is built around ABBA songs written by the group's leaders, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. The other two members of the group were Anni-Frid Lyngstad — known as Frida — and Agnetha Faltskog.
According to Reuters, they gathered for the Swedish premiere of the movie, which stars Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Amanda Seyfried. It opens locally on July 18. All four walked down the red carpet; Lyngstad and Faltskog also danced in a circle with Streep.
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More ABBA. Reuters said it was their first appearance together in public since 1986, although they reportedly were together for a private party in 1999. They have reportedly been offered as much as $1 billion for a concert reunion tour, but it hasn't happened so far.
Faltskog has reportedly been a stumbling block, says England's Daily Mail, with a ''reclusive lifestyle.''
But England's Telegraph newspaper has Ulvaeus and Andersson saying the band will never reunite.
''There is simply no motivation to regroup,'' Ulvaeus said. ''Money is not a factor and we would like people to remember us as we were. Young, exuberant, full of energy and ambition. I remember Robert Plant saying Led Zeppelin were a cover band now because they cover all their own stuff. I think that hit the nail on the head.''
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Dressed To . . . Well, I'm Not Sure What. Actor Jim Carrey maintained his reputation for eccentricity recently when he and girlfriend Jenny McCarthy took to the beach on Friday. After getting snapped in their swimwear, they disappeared, only to return with Carrey wearing McCarthy's halter-topped suit.
It looked better on her.
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Carter Battled Bottle. Lynda Carter has told TV's The Insider that she is an alcoholic — albeit one who is now 10 years sober.
Best known as TV's Wonder Woman, Carter was drinking during her TV success and after. She didn't stop until her attorney Robert Altman (not the movie director), her husband since 1984, begged her to do so for the sake of him and their two children.
Carter told The Insider that Altman's request made her feel small, so she begged God for help and later entered a treatment center.
You can find the full report at http://www.theinsider.com.
/> •
Winehouse ''House Arrest.'' Since Amy Winehouse winds up on this page way too often because of her behavior, could we take a moment to remember that she is a fabulous singer? OK? Back to the bad stuff.
Winehouse is reportedly being watched constantly after a Rolling Stone interview where she said, ''I've never been to rehab, I mean, done it properly'' — indicating that she has not gotten clean.
Indeed, one of the photographers camped at her home told Rolling Stone's Claire Hoffman that ''she's on loads of crack.''
And Hoffman described Winehouse's home fill of ''discarded bags of potato chips, crumpled nuggets of tinfoil, beer bottles, lingerie boxes and scattered old credit cards tell of a long night that hasn't ended in weeks, maybe months.''
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Trivia Time. With The Dark Knight, a new Batman movie, less than two weeks away, recall that the above-mentioned Jim Carrey was a villain in the film Batman Forever. Now tell me which villain he played.
E-mail your answer to rheldenfels@
thebeaconjournal.com by noon Monday. One correct answer chosen at random will receive a prize from the Archive of Leftover DVDs and Ridiculous Promotional Items. Please do not phone in answers.
Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and in the HeldenFiles Online blog at http://www.ohio.com. He can be reached at 330-996-3582 and rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.
ABBA Together. The four members of ABBA appeared together in public for the first time for more than 20 years to help promote the musical movie Mamma Mia!
Get the full article here.
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