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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check
October 21, 2009
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He's dead, Jim:
VIC MIZZY, who wrote the theme songs for "The Addams Family" and "Green Acres," is dead. The New York Times obit says he died Saturday at age 93. Vic had many of his tunes recorded by DEAN MARTIN, DORIS DAY and PERRY COMO in the 1940's and 50's, but he'll always be remembered for the always hip "Addams Family" theme. Vic wrote the lyrics too and sang the original tune heard on the TV show. He overdubbed his voice three times and had the cast do the finger snaps. (Marino)
Halloween's a comin':
Need a Halloween costume? How about a fat suit? The Nightmare Factory has a "Fat Elvis" costume (they call it "Fat Rock Star" obviously because they couldn't get the rights) that's a rip along with a "Phil McCracken" costume that has a large butt crack. Also available:
--Adult Sexy Cheerleader Fatsuit - $53.70
--Adult Atomic Wedgie Nerd Costume - $37.81
--Adult Airwear Sumo Wrestler Costume - $57.40
--Adult Bouncing Booty Juggling Butt Accessory - $17.40
Factoid:
A 2006 survey found that almost half of American households decorate their yards for Halloween (Source: Woman's Day magazine).
Culture Shock:
Ever heard of the "Larry King Effect"?
Ten percent of married people in Arkansas have been married three or more times, a rate five times higher than in New Jersey, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center.
A writer over at the Atlantic magazine parses these and other trends in what he dubs the "Larry King Effect." It turns out that these serial wedders are much more common in working class states, poor states, and religious states, according to the magazine's analysis. That makes King --an agnostic, wealthy New Yorker with eight marriages to seven wives-- quite the outlier. (Maiman)
Collegiate Coinage:
Despite the recession, the cost of a college education is skyrocketing.
The average annual tuition and fees at a four-year public college now exceeds $7-thousand, an increase of 6.5 percent, according to a report by the College Board. The Washington Post says costs increased faster than in the past --annual increases were just 4.9 percent annually over the past decade-- and at a greater pace than for private colleges, which raised their tuition and fees 4.4 percent over last year.
The NY Times notes that price hikes also come during a year in which the Consumer Price Index --a general indicator of overall cost of goods and services-- dropped 2.1 percent.
When you include room and board, the average annual cost for public colleges exceeds $15,200, or 5.9 percent higher than last year. (Maiman)
Looking for love in all the wrong places:
A Wyoming man has been charged with counterfeiting $50 bills to pay an exotic dancer for a "private performance."
The Wyoming Tribune Eagle says 50-year-old RICKEY KEMPTER hired a dancer, then picked her up in a taxi and they went to a hotel. Kempter told the cabbie to hold a roll of $50 bills. That sounded odd to the driver --who tells a stranger to hold a roll of fifties?
It doesn't sound like Kempter was much of a counterfeiter. Checking out the bills, the cabbie noticed that a lot of them had the same serial number and quite a few of them weren't cut evenly. He called his boss, who in turn called police, and before long, the Secret Service were involved.
Kempter, who could get up to 20 years in a federal pen, told investigators he made the money from his home printer but planned to go back there to get real money to pay the dancer her $800.
Editor's note: Oh, SURE, that's what they all say after they get caught. (Maiman)
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