Janet's new video

Despite all the hooplah around Michaels's death, Janet has released a new album that she says goes back to the upbeat, danceable, sexy stuff she did before. Watch this video and others in the Related Videos column and decide for yourself.

Battle of the Blades skates to a 2nd season

Battle of the Blades will be back for a second season, CBC Television announced Wednesday.

The series featuring world-class figure skaters coaching former NHL stars on how to figure skate will return in the fall of 2010.

The first 14-episode series was a hit with Canadians, with CBC reporting an audience of more than 1.7 million turning in for the one-hour finale on Monday. Tickets to see the skating live at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto also sold out every week.

Olympic gold medallist Jamie Salé and former Edmonton Oiler Craig Simpson won the first competition, earning $100,000 for their favourite charity, northern Alberta's Spinal Cord Injury Treatment Centre Society.

CLICK HERE to download the song featured in the finale as sung by Barb Underhill's daughter Sam Gaetz and Mark Masri, "Time".

"Syrup-sucking Canadian iceholes"

The city that will play host to long-track speedskating during the 2010 Winter Olympics has waded into a cross-border confrontation, offering satirical talk-show host Stephen Colbert a job for the Games — monitoring the ice time of the U.S. speedskating team.

Colbert, who recently announced he's sponsoring the cash-strapped U.S. speedskating team during the upcoming Vancouver Games, has condemned Canadians, saying they are denying the American squad ice time for training at the Olympic oval in Richmond, B.C.

On his popular TV show The Colbert Report, the comedian recently called Canadians "syrup-sucking Canadian iceholes" and urged his viewers to send in letters demanding the country cease its icehole-ish behaviour.

In response, City of Richmond spokesman Ted Townsend sent a letter of his own to Colbert's studios in New York, offering the former Daily Show correspondent an olive branch.

"We have always welcomed our friends from south of the border with open arms (well, except in 1812). In fact, we've always fondly considered you as our American 'cousins' and politely tolerated you, even when you were in an imperialistic mood."

Townsend wrote in the letter that international skaters have never been barred from the Olympic oval, though they have been asked to follow rules to get on the ice.

To show there are no hard feelings, Townsend, who calls himself "chief syrup sucker," has offered Colbert a position as ombudsman of treatment for U.S. speedskaters during the 2010 Games.

Website offers free online concerts

A new website allows music lovers to watch concerts for free online, choosing from five different camera angles as they watch.

BillboardLive.com says its new concert-viewing website offers visitors different perspectives on performances by Alicia Keys, Usher, David Archuleta, Daughtry and other artists yet to be announced.

Take a picture it will last longer

A buddy of mine has just completed a self-styled project whereby he has taken a self-portrait every day for the last year. He seems to have an endless supply of fun ideas that you will get a taste of by looking through his Flickr photostream.

Congratulations, Luc!!!

The sky is falling!

Heard some of the buzz about Hollywood’s new disaster flick 2012, that is being released today? Scientists are up in arms over the silly science gaffs and fallacies the film is filled with.

The basic premise of the movie revolves around a number of converging themes: the Mayan calendar predicting an end date of Dec.12, 2012, coupled with a rare alignment of our Sun and Earth with the centre of our Milky Way galaxy, and throw in a rogue planet that has its cross hairs on Earth. Makes for a great popcorn, sci-fi movie, but not real science. Surprisingly there are many unsuspecting folks who may actually start considering some these so called doomsday predictions for real.

This page has some links to some great in-depth analysis explaining the REAL science that the movie has managed to distort.

TV Pundit Stephen Colbert's attack on ice access brushed off by Olympic officials

Vancouver Olympic officials are defending themselves after an attack by U.S. comedian Stephen Colbert, who accused Canadians of cheating by preventing U.S. athletes from getting enough ice time on the Richmond, B.C., speedskating oval.

VANOC's Renee Smith-Valade said she gets the jokes, but the American team and all other international teams are being treated fairly.

"He's just trying to push our buttons. I like Stephen Colbert, I think he's funny," said Smith-Valade.

'I'm calling on Saskatche-whiners to unclench their frosty sphincters and let Americans on to their oval.'—U.S. comedian Stephen Colbert

The Colbert Report recently signed on as the sponsor of the U.S. speedskating team after the previous sponsor, Dutch bank DSB, went bankrupt in October.

On Thursday's show, Colbert turned his attention to the team's access to the Canadian ice.

"Those syrup suckers won't let us practice at their Olympic venues.… At the Salt Lake Games, we let the Canadian luge team take 100 practice runs ... and you know how Mormons feel about two men lying down on each other," said the tongue-in-cheek night talk-show host.

Sweat lodge survivor reveals details of tragic incident

It was supposed to be a religious awakening aimed at helping people find a new vision for life. But it wasn't long before the culmination of a $9,000+ per person retreat outside Sedona, Ariz. turned into a terrifying experience.

"People were vomiting in the stifling heat, gasping for air, and lying lifeless on the sand and gravel floor beneath them," according to 43-year-old Texas resident and participant Beverley Bunn. "One man was burned when he crawled into the rocks, seemingly unaware of what he was doing", she said. Ultimately, three people would die.

When participants exhibited weakness, Ray urged them to push past it and chided those who wanted to leave, she said.

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People were not physically forced to stay inside but highly encouraged. "It was all about mind over matter, you're stronger than your body," Bunn said.

James Ray cancels appearances because of sweat lodge deaths.

When dozens of fans and supporters for James Arthur Ray showed up for one of his events in Toronto Wednesday night, they were greeted by a handwritten sign saying the event had been canceled.

At the time no explanation was given, but one of Ray's former mentors, Bob Proctor, apparently convinced Ray to cancel the seminar just hours before it was scheduled to start, ABC News has learned.

In a post on his Web site today, Ray said he is postponing the rest of his events for the year to help "get to the bottom" of the incident in Sedona, Ariz., earlier this month in which three people died after attending one of his seminars in a sweat lodge.

Stop Japan's Dolphin slaughter!

Dolphins being killed en masse at Futo Harbor, Japan. The red is dolphin blood.

BlueVoice Executive Director Hardy Jones is a former journalist with CBS News and UPI. He has been making television documentaries about the oceans and marine mammals in particular for more than 20 years.

"The experience of forcing Japanese fishermen to release hundreds of dolphins simply by pointing a camera at them led to the original concept of BlueVoice.org," says Jones. "The advent of the internet has given us a tool of unprecedented power to end some of the brutalities committed against marine mammals and the oceans."

While on assignment in Japan, Hardy Jones discovered and documented the ritual slaughter of wild dolphins. Watch this painful video, then visit the website to learn what you can do to help.