NASA challenged the pros on the reality show ”Top Chefs” to come up with a tasty dish that could be freeze-dried and sent into space for the astronauts to enjoy. The popular Bravo TV show  “Cheftestants” for this seventh season took up the challenge in the Wednesday, September first episode.

Angelo Sosa won the cook-off with his ginger lacquered short ribs with pea puree, pickled mushrooms and horseradish crème fraiche. In a news feature on the NASA website, officials explained why they consider food a top priority in the space program: “Crew members continually say that when they’re in such an unfamiliar environment so far away, food is one of the main things that reminds them of home.”

Following nutritional guidelines set up by NASA scientists, the menu for the space crews has 180 food and beverage items including beef tips with mushrooms, chicken fajitas, shrimp cocktails, coffee, orange juice and lemonade.

The NASA cooks will soon be whipping up Sosa’s dish and adding it to that menu. Oh, for winning the challenge Sosa gets a brand new Toyota Avalon and a chance to attend one of the final two space launches from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.   

Meanwhile, preparations are underway for the last voyage of the Space Shuttle Discovery set for November first, 2010. A few months later, the final flight of Endeavour on February 26, 2011.

NASA is offering the public some opportunities to take part in these historic space missions. One is the “Fly Your Face in Space” or you can send just your name into orbit program. Check out the details. here. The second, is a chance to either vote on or submit an original composition for a wake song for the astronauts on the final missions. For contest information  click over to the really cool  NASA Space Rock website.

The Discovery Channel is dealing with a real crime scene at its headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. Earlier today suspected gunman, Radical Environmentalist, James J. Lee, reportedly took three hostages at the network’s building. The standoff ended when Lee was apparently shot and killed by SWAT snipers and the hostages freed.

Previously, Lee reportedly shopped a reality TV project to Discovery, according to The Wrap.  Also, the site has quite a bit of background on Lee and his bizarre brand of social activism.

This evening, the Discovery Channel corporate office released the following statement about the hostage drama:

David Leavy, Discovery Communications Executive Vice President Global Communications and Corporate Affairs stated:

“First and foremost, Discovery Communications wants to express how relieved and grateful we are that all employees and the children from the Discovery Kids Place daycare center are safe. Employees in Silver Spring demonstrated courage, compassion and cooperation throughout the situation, which aided law enforcement efforts — for which we are thankful and proud.

In coordination with Montgomery County, Md., Police, an evacuation procedure was executed for all persons in the building. The evacuation procedures were handled with professionalism and with safety as Discovery’s primary concern. Discovery thanks the Montgomery County Police and Fire & Rescue and other state and federal safety personnel whose quick thinking and fast action ensured the safety of the employees and children in the building as well as the Silver Spring, Md., community.

The events of today showed the strong heart of the Discovery family.”

The statement was released through PR Newswire.

“Takers” beat the competition at the Box Office

The bank robbery thriller “Takers” has surprised many with its take at the domestic Box Office. “Takers” debuted as the number one film in the country last weekend with a haul of $20.5 million, beating close rival “The Last Exorcism” by a couple of hundred thousand dollars or so.

“Takers” proved its weekend victory was not fluke by holding onto the lead on Monday and Tuesday. “Takers” is about a group of skilled bank robbers who bump up against a tough detective and his partner during a final heist. Matt Dillion, Hayden Christensen, Pop Singer Rihanna’s ex-boyfriend, Chris Brown, and Rapper, T.I., are  in the ensemble cast.

Despite a number of bad reviews, “The Last Exorcism,” managed to find an audience. The new horror mockumentary, scared up $20.3 million, to finish in second place. The movie is about a disillusioned minister who agrees to the exorcism of a farmer’s daughter and a documentary crew goes along to film it all. Patrick Fabian, Iris Bahr and Louis Herthum star.

The action flick, “The Expendables” came in third with $9.5 million, bringing its three week total to around $82 million. Rounding out the top five,  romance drama, “Eat Pray Love” with $6.8 million and the buddy-cop comedy, “The Other Guys” with $6.2 million.

Photo: Pete Souza/White House -- President Obama shares a moment with a soldier at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, August 31, 2010

 Before speaking to the nation tonight, President Barack Obama flew to Texas to visit the soldiers at Fort Bliss in El Paso. Troops at Fort Bliss have participated in every phase of the seven-and-a-year war in Iraq and continue to service in the new support role. The President went there to say “thank you” from a grateful nation. Later from the Oval Office, President Obama kept a campaign promise and ended the controversial war

“I know this historic moment comes at a time of great uncertainty for many Americans.  We’ve now been through nearly a decade of war.  We’ve endured a long and painful recession.  And sometimes in the midst of these storms, the future that we’re trying to build for our nation — a future of lasting peace and long-term prosperity — may seem beyond our reach.

But this milestone should serve as a reminder to all Americans that the future is ours to shape if we move forward with confidence and commitment.  It should also serve as a message to the world that the United States of America intends to sustain and strengthen our leadership in this young century.”

The full text of President Obama’s address to the nation on the White House Blog.

Photo: Jill Weisleder/Los Angeles Dodgers --Manny Ramirez hits a home run in a game against the San Diego Padres back on April 30, 2009

It’s official, Manny Ramirez is no longer wearing Dodger blue. In a curt press release today that amounted to about 7 lines, the Dodger organization finally put the seal of truth on all those rumors about Ramirez heading to the Windy City: “The Los Angeles Dodgers announced today that outfielder Manny Ramirez was assigned on a waiver claim to the Chicago White Sox and right-handed pitcher Ramon Troncoso was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to take his spot on the active roster.”

After all the hoopla about Mannywood, those Manny Bobbleheads, and just last month, the P.R. splash from the Dodgers about the slugger donating his red Porsche to charity, it comes down to this. So much for building a relationship between Ramirez and the Dodger fans.

The news of Manny’s departure came on the same day as team owners,  Frank and Jamie McCourt, went to court in their bitter divorce and fight over the Dodgers. Maybe by getting rid of Manny, who has been struggling this season, they now have more money to spend on divorce lawyers. He walked into a Los Angeles court with six; she arrived with five. Oh yeah, this divorce and legal battle over the team is costing millions. They reportedly saved $3.8 million by unloading Ramirez at this time.

The McCourts court battle will be great fodder for the media, but how much damage will it do to the  team, the players, and the fan base? If Ramirez has lost his batting mojo then perhaps getting rid of him before the end of the season will be viewed later as a skillful bit of management. However, if  the slugger gets a second wind and begins to hit home runs for his new team, a whole lot of Dodger fans are going to be very unhappy with this decision.

It’s been a really hot summer for Los Angeles and I’m not referring to the weather. The largest online dating site, Match.com, reports its figures show more singles than ever used its dating services to find love this summer, according to a PR Newswire press release. A pioneer in online dating, Match.com launched in 1995 and now has dating sites in 25 countries.

Match.com says the number of its clients actively involved, from June -August,  in the dating scene was up 33.5% over 2009. Also, the company released its top 10  hottest U.S. cities for online dating this summer and L.A. was number three!

1. Miami, FL
2. New York, NY
3. Los Angeles, CA
4. Chicago, IL
5. Washington, DC
6. Dallas, TX
7. San Diego, CA
8. Phoenix, AZ
9. Boston, MA
10. Houston, TX

Additional cities where Match.com says singles are actively turning to the Internet for help in finding a date are Providence RI, Philadelphia, PA, Minneapolis, MN, Pittsburgh, PA, and San Jose, CA.

Oh, if you having found the right hook-up yet, Match.com suggests you take advantage of Labor Day, which it says is historically one of the most active online dating days.

Photo: People.com/Frazer Harrison/Getty--"Desperate Housewives" Actress Eva Longoria Parker on the 2010 Primetime Emmy Awards red carpet

Actress Eva Longoria Parker joined the star parade on the red carpet for the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony at the Nokia Theater in Downtown Los Angeles this evening.  The “Desperate Housewives” star gets my vote for being very glam in a Robert Rodriquez gown and one of the best dressed celebs on the red carpet.

People magazine website has more photos of the star parade as well as a report on the night’s big winners including “Modern Family” Best Comedy series and Jim Parson, Best Actor in a comedy series for “The Big Bang Theory.”

What a difference a few days can make.  This time last week, temperatures were rising along with the humidity here in Media City and throughout SoCal. Triple digits are normal for the Southland in August, but we’ve had such a mild summer that last week’s heat wave was a shock to the system.

It was delight to be greeted by a cool breeze and temperatures in the 60′s rather than the 80s this morning, in the Burbank hills. Sure makes it easier to do those yard chores like raking leave and trimming shrubs. 

The high today in B-town is expected to be around 70, however, the forecast is for warmer temperatures thorough the week. By Thursday and Friday, we should be in the upper 80s and low 90s — just in time for the long Labor Day weekend.

California continues to have the golden touch when it comes to winning lottery bucks. Someone in Morro Bay bought a Mega Millions lottery ticket for yesterday’s game that is now worth $133 million!  The ticket was purchased at Bottle Liquor  999 Main Street.

The winning numbers: 4, 10, 26, 32, 41, and Mega Ball 31. Another ticket bought in the Golden State had all but the Mega Ball — it’s worth $506,242.

The next Mega Millions draw is Tuesday, August 31.

Photo: Pete Souza/White House -- President Barack Obama gave a pep talk to some aspiring tennis stars at the White House, August 3, 2010

Catching up on a photo of interest.  The South Lawn of the White House was the scene of a “Let’s Move” tennis clinic on August 3, 2010. President Barack Obama delivered some encouraging words to some possible tennis stars of tomorrow. 

 Developing a good backhand swing is a bonus  –  getting  kids to exercise and eat healthy are the main goals of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign against childhood obesity.

Today a Beverly Hills judge ordered Actress Lindsay Lohan to do 67-days of supervised probation at home. Lohan was released from in-patient treatment at UCLA yesterday afternoon. This is the newest twist in Lohan latest troubles with the law, which include a 90-day jail sentence and 90-day rehab stint for a probation violation. Lohan served only a fraction of that time in both places. Details on The Wrap.  

Actress wins guest appearance on daytime TV soap

Photo: PRNewsFoto/ Procter and Gamble/ George Desota -- Aspiring Actress Jennifer Jean wins guest appearance on "As The World Turns"

 Jennifer Jean’s star is rising. The actress is the new “Brighten Bay Idol,” after winning an online talent search sponsored by Cheer/Procter & Gamble.  The contest kicked off last January with a call for audition tapes from talented thespians  on the Brighten Bay website.

Jean, a California native and former school teacher, has appeared in TV commercials, an independent film, numerous improv and sketch shows, according to a PR Newswire press release. 

Jean appears as Nurse Greta in the August 30th episode of the long running soap. It’s her first big break: “Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that my favorite detergent brand, Cheer, would help catapult my acting career,” said Jean in the press release. “But starring in one of the final episodes of ‘As the World Turns’ is definitely going to be a turning point for me. I’m so grateful to all of the voters who chose my audition tape and can’t thank Cheer and ‘Brighten Bay Idol’ enough!”

 ”We were all blown away by Jennifer’s performance and are excited to help develop her acting career,” said Tara Murphy, Cheer brand manager.

Last December, CBS canceled “As The World Turns.”  So after 54 years and 13, 858 episodes,  the final installment of the daytime soap opera airs on September 17, 2010.

 ”The Expendables” still beating the competition at the Box Office

“The Expendables,” still packing them in at movie theaters this week. . The Sylvester Stallone project won the box office shoot-out for the second week in a row with a take of  $17 million.  The action flick continued to out pace the competition on Monday and and Tuesday picking up  an additional $4 million or so, to bring it’s 11-day domestic total to $69.3 million.

In second the new vampire movies spoof, “Vampires Suck,” with $12.2 million. Jenn Proske and Matt Lanter star in the horror comedy about a teenaged girl who falls for a mysterious guy at school who happens to be a vampire.

Julia Robert’s “Eat, Pray, Love”  landed in third with $12 million,. Fourth went to the new urban comedy, “Lottery Ticket,” which picked up $10.6 million  weekend. Bow Wow and Ice Cube star in this film about a young man living in the projects who wins a lottery and has to safe guard  his winning ticket from predators over a holiday weekend.

Rounding out the top five, the comedy action film, “The Other Guys” with $10 million.