Entertainment

History is full of what-if moments.
What if D-Day had failed? What if 9/11 had been prevented? What if Tom Cruise had never jumped on Oprah's couch?
For Toledoans, especially on the eve of the Ohio State-Michigan football game, there is an even bigger question: What if the University of Michigan had been located here?
It could have happened.
The proof is in plain sight, written on a freestanding plaque along Huron Street in downtown Toledo, between Washington and Lafayette streets near Grumpy's restaurant. It reads, in part:
"One of Toledo's oldest neighborhoods and originally in Michigan, Huron St. Village was considered as the site of the University of Michigan. After the outcome of the Michigan-Toledo War of 1835 the area was permanently established in Ohio and averted the proposed location of the University from here."
My eyes practically popped out of my head when I read that, but it's all true.
Here's what happened. Back in the early 1800s when Michigan was still a territory, the precise border with Ohio remained murky. By some maps, the region that would become Toledo was considered part of Michigan.
After Native Americans relinquished their claims to land in this area, a portion of it went to support higher education in Michigan in compliance with the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. The land selected ended up being about 1,000 acres of prime waterfront property in and to the south of what is now downtown Toledo, according to Andrew Ten Brook in his 1875 book American State Universities: Their Origins and Progress.
Which means that instead of watching ball games at Fifth Third Field, we could have had Michigan Stadium. We could have had Michael Phelps training here. Who knows, maybe we'd even have a Trader Joe's.
But you know how this story ends, and that has Buckeye fans breathing a sigh of relief. Any chance the Glass City had of becoming ground zero for Wolverine Nation ended with the so-called Toledo War.
Ohio claimed the town as its own. So did Michigan. Militias were called out and everyone got a little testy. In the end, the federal government sided with the Buckeye State and Michigan got the Upper Peninsula and statehood as a consolation prize in 1837.
It was around this time that the University of Michigan started selling its land in Toledo - for peanuts. Ten Brook laments, "The Toledo lands, which might have brought the university some millions altogether, brought about $17,000."
The biggest winner in all of this may have been Ann Arbor, which became home to the university in 1837 after it offered 40 acres of free land. If Toledo had remained part of the state, it's easy to imagine how tempting a site it would have been for a school that already owned so much property there.
"It would have made one beautiful campus," said Glenn Fitkin, Jr., a local history buff from Ottawa Hills who wrote a paper at the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library on the university's connection to Toledo. "They might have been better off than the Ann Arbor campus."
But would we?
It's easy to dream about what such a parallel world would mean to today's Toledoans. Picture the city with a stately riverfront campus filling a large stretch between downtown and the Toledo Zoo. Think of all the culinary and cultural offerings that would sprout up around it. Consider the national spotlight it would bring to this community, even when it's not time to elect a president or play football.
It sounds breathtaking. And yet, despite all this, I find myself smiling that history worked out the way it did. Maybe it has to do with concerns about changing Toledo's personality or how a blue-collar town would mix with the University of Michigan's ivory towers.
Or maybe it has something to do with something else - like the scarlet and gray T-shirt I'll be wearing tomorrow.
Contact Ryan E. Smith at: ryansmith@theblade.com or 419-724-6103

In many ways, Modest Mussorgsky, the Russian composer, was an artistic cousin of American writer Edgar Allan Poe. In music and in literature, they explored and expressed the grotesque, establishing a dark and somewhat twisted style of expression that continues to influence every art form in the United States and abroad.
Born in 1839, Mussorgsky died in 1881, at the age of 42. Poe, the American poet and writer born in 1809, died at age 40, when the Russian was a mere decade into his short life.
Did they know of each other? Very doubtful.
Yet despite differences in birth - Poe was orphaned early; Mussorgsky was part of a wealthy pre-Revolutionary family - both were serious Romantics in their work and in their self-destructive yet highly creative lifestyles. Military dropouts alike, they struggled to propel new and controversial ideas in their respective art forms.
No doubt, if they were alive in 2008, both would have been sent to rehab, repeatedly.
Well, no one has ever claimed that genius comes with anything but a high, high price.
Poe favored short stories and literally invented the detective fiction genre. (One of the highest honors a mystery writer can win today is the Edgar award.) Mussorgsky found a way to create memorable music that helped reshape Russian thinking about composition.
This weekend the Toledo Symphony will perform Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," perhaps the most famous and beloved work by the Russian, in the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle. Stefan Sanderling will conduct the orchestra in Classics concerts tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m., and in a Lifestyles concert at 3 p.m. Sunday.
The work was literally inspired by paintings and drawings by Viktor Hartmann (1834-1873) an artist and architect with whom Mussorgsky felt artistic and personal kinship. Hartmann's work also expressed a grotesque take on the world.
After Hartmann's sudden death of an aneurysm at age 39, Mussorgsky expressed grief in writing: "Why should a dog, a horse, a rat live on and creatures like Hartmann must die?"
Still, he wasted little time in turning his mourning into a new musical work.
Inspired by a memorial exhibition of 400 Hartmann works - drawings, watercolors, and costume designs - Mussorgsky wrote a suite of 10 piano pieces dedicated to his late friend.
Interestingly, Mussorgsky's tendency to leave most of his major works unfinished did not apply to "Pictures." He completed it in 20 days in June, 1874, shortly after nearly finishing his masterpiece, the opera "Boris Godunov."
The composer's original title for the tribute was straightforward - Hartmann - and he apparently wrote it in a frenzy worthy of a Poe work. "Hartmann is seething as Boris was," Mussorgsky wrote to a friend that June. "Sounds and ideas float in the air and my scribbling can hardly keep pace with them."
The work comprises sections inspired by paintings, including "Gnomus," from a Hartmann painting of a deformed and dangerous gnome; "Ballet of Chicks in their Shells," "The Hut on Fowl's Legs," from a Russian folktale about the witch, Baba Yaga, and "Catacombs," a musical play on ancient burial sites.
A series of what Mussorgsky called "Promenades" link the images, leaving a seamless piece of music that winds up with the beloved "Great Gate of Kiev," again a reaction to Hartmann's drawing of a proposed redesign of the landmark.
Mussorgsky never heard "Pictures at an Exhibition" performed in public; it wasn't published until five years after his death.
But so taken was the international musical world with the colors and textures of his piano score that many composers have transcribed it for orchestra. The most commonly played arrangement was completed in 1922 by Maurice Ravel on a commission from Serge Koussevitsky.
For Sanderling, the preferred arrangement to be performed this weekend is a 1982 version by Russian pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy.
"Pictures" isn't the only major work on this program, however.
With Russian pianist Kirill Gerstein, the symphony and Sanderling will perform Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, and a local premiere of Samuel Adler's Lux Perpetua (Perpetual Light).
Gerstein, born in 1979, won his first performing contest at age 11 - the International Bach Competition in Poland. Drawn to jazz early on, he studied at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, as well as the Boston University classical program at Tanglewood Music Center in the Berkshires. In 2001 he won first prize in the Artur Rubinstein Piano Competition in Tel Aviv, and has performed with major orchestras around the world.
On Sunday, Toledo native Samantha Biniker also will perform in the Lifestyles concert, playing selections from the original Mussorgsky piano score while Sanderling provides narrative. After the orchestra performs the entire "Pictures," Gerstein will return to perform the finale of the Rachmaninoff.
The Toledo Symphony Classics concerts will be at 8 p.m. today and Saturday; the Lifestyles concert is at 3 p.m. Sunday - all three in the Peristyle. Tickets are $5 to $47 for the Classics concerts and $5-35 for the Lifestyles performance. Tickets and information are available at 419-246-8000 or www.toledosymphony.com.
Contact Sally Vallongo at svallongo@theblade.com.

"...as human beings we are capable of making sense of situations based on the thinnest slice of experience."
— Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and The Tipping Point.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21

WOLVERINE WINS: Hugh Jackman, who we remember as Wolverine from the X-Men, was just picked as the sexiest man alive. His wife seconded the opinion and Nicole Kidman said women's "jaws drop" when the burly Aussie walks in a room. Oy, oy, oy! (RL) BLOOD SUCKERS: For your consideration, for our DVD pick of the week. Near Dark. With today's opening of the teen vampire love story Twilight, check out 1987's overlooked vampire romance, Near Dark. Adrian Pasdar of Heroes stars as Caleb Colton, a young man in small-town Oklahoma whose romantic interests in a female stranger, Mae (Jenny Wright), results in his transformation into a vampire. But Mae's nomadic vampire family, which includes Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen, doesn't trust Caleb, and wants to kill him. Directed and co-written by Kathryn Bigelow, Near Dark is a cult classic that adds a unique Southern twist to the well-worn genre of Gothic bloodsuckers. (KB) THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20

ODD COUPLE: Paris Hilton and Prince WIlliam? A British blue blood and American hotel heiress? Not so strange to us on the Thin Slices staff. And imagine the reality show that these two could come up with. (RL) ROOTS MUSIC: Talk about organic sounds. The folks at the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra can make some pretty avant garde noise with a handful carrots, a few leeks, and a head of cabbage. (SV) WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19

YEAH, RIGHT!: Just so you know, it is your "constitutional right" to remain at the bar as long you want, according to The Bachelor season six winner, Mary Delgado. Overruled say Del Rio, Texas cops. (KC) TREKIE CONVENTIONS TO RESUME: This is not your father's Star Trek. Mr. Spock throwing a punch? You will never watch William Shatner again without thinking about the contrast with the new Captain James T. Kirk. (KC) TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18

THEY WANT YOUR BLOOD: Vampires are back in the bright lights of Hollywood -- somebody better tell them that's not a good thing -- with the release of the highly-anticipated Twilight this week. (Look for Kirk Baird's review in Thursday's Blade), but not all blood suckers are created equal when it comes to sex appeal. (RL) LET THE TRASH TALK BEGIN: TV sports talking heads, and former Ohio State University Buckeye football players, Chris Spielman and Kirk Herbstreit don't give Michigan much of a chance in this Saturday's rivalry game. In fact, they give them NO chance, but that "dead men walking" comment might be a bit strident. But then again, nah. (Full disclosure: this Thin Slice staffer is an OSU graduate.) (RL) MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17

CELEBRITY BAND: Kevin Costner, 53, and his band, Modern West, released their debut CD, "Untold Truths," last week. The sound is roots-rock with elements of country. Hold your hard-earned. Kevin says: "I grew up with Motown because I was born in Compton, but every time I do a song it sounds like something in Oklahoma." (KC) THROWS LIKE A GIRL: Oh yeah? Will try hitting it. Eri Yoshida is a 16-year-old schoolgirl with a mean knuckleball, and she has been selected as the first woman ever to play alongside the men in Japanese professional baseball. Yoshida (5 foot, 114 pounds), says she wants to follow in the footsteps of Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. (KC) TALL AND UGLY: When we find a photo gallery of the world's 10 ugliest buildings we expect to see North Korea represented. But Cleveland? (KC) THIN SLICES OF TURKEY MULTIMEDIA: Check out Holiday Turkey Tips
THIN SLICES Rod Lockwood
Kevin Cesarz
PAST THIN SLICES Week 1 Slices, Week 2 Slices, Week 3 Slices, Week 4 Slices, Week 5 Slices, Week 6 Slices, Week 7 Slices, Week 8 Slices, Week 9 Slices, Week 10 Slices, Week 11 Slices, Week 12, Week 13, Week 14, Week 15, Week 16

LOS ANGELES — Jennifer Garner has won a restraining order from a man she says has been stalking her for years.
An attorney for Garner appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom Thursday morning and won three years of protection for Garner, husband Ben Affleck and their daughter, Violet. As first reported by TMZ, Garner petitioned for protection earlier this month from 36-year-old Steven R. Burky, who she says has been harassing her since 2002.
Garner wrote in a sworn statement that she believed Burky's "obsessive, threatening and stalking behavior" posed a threat to her and her family. The former star of the television series "Alias," Garner has also appeared in recent films such as "Juno" and "The Kingdom."

"...as human beings we are capable of making sense of situations based on the thinnest slice of experience."
— Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and The Tipping Point.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20

ODD COUPLE: Paris Hilton and Prince WIlliam? A British blue blood and American hotel heiress? Not so strange to us on the Thin Slices staff. And imagine the reality show that these two could come up with. (RL) ROOTS MUSIC: Talk about organic sounds. The folks at the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra can make some pretty avant garde noise with a handful carrots, a few leeks, and a head of cabbage. (SV) WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19

YEAH, RIGHT!: Just so you know, it is your "constitutional right" to remain at the bar as long you want, according to The Bachelor season six winner, Mary Delgado. Overruled say Del Rio, Texas cops. (KC) TREKIE CONVENTIONS TO RESUME: This is not your father's Star Trek. Mr. Spock throwing a punch? You will never watch William Shatner again without thinking about the contrast with the new Captain James T. Kirk. (KC) TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18

THEY WANT YOUR BLOOD: Vampires are back in the bright lights of Hollywood -- somebody better tell them that's not a good thing -- with the release of the highly-anticipated Twilight this week. (Look for Kirk Baird's review in Thursday's Blade), but not all blood suckers are created equal when it comes to sex appeal. (RL) LET THE TRASH TALK BEGIN: TV sports talking heads, and former Ohio State University Buckeye football players, Chris Spielman and Kirk Herbstreit don't give Michigan much of a chance in this Saturday's rivalry game. In fact, they give them NO chance, but that "dead men walking" comment might be a bit strident. But then again, nah. (Full disclosure: this Thin Slice staffer is an OSU graduate.) (RL) MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17

CELEBRITY BAND: Kevin Costner, 53, and his band, Modern West, released their debut CD, "Untold Truths," last week. The sound is roots-rock with elements of country. Hold your hard-earned. Kevin says: "I grew up with Motown because I was born in Compton, but every time I do a song it sounds like something in Oklahoma." (KC) THROWS LIKE A GIRL: Oh yeah? Will try hitting it. Eri Yoshida is a 16-year-old schoolgirl with a mean knuckleball, and she has been selected as the first woman ever to play alongside the men in Japanese professional baseball. Yoshida (5 foot, 114 pounds), says she wants to follow in the footsteps of Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. (KC) TALL AND UGLY: When we find a photo gallery of the world's 10 ugliest buildings we expect to see North Korea represented. But Cleveland? (KC) THIN SLICES OF TURKEY MULTIMEDIA: Check out Holiday Turkey Tips
THIN SLICES Rod Lockwood
Kevin Cesarz
PAST THIN SLICES Week 1 Slices, Week 2 Slices, Week 3 Slices, Week 4 Slices, Week 5 Slices, Week 6 Slices, Week 7 Slices, Week 8 Slices, Week 9 Slices, Week 10 Slices, Week 11 Slices, Week 12, Week 13, Week 14, Week 15, Week 16

Twilight fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Their beloved book of dark romance and teen angst has successfully made the transition to film.
Those who have read the novel and series by Stephenie Meyer about two teenagers in love, one of whom happens to be a vampire, will inevitably say what they see on screen isn’t as good as what they imagined, and that many moments in the novel were left out. Harry Potter fans certainly can empathize. What is there often has the feel of a Harlequin romance novel for tweens, teens, and 20somethings, with multiple lingering moments of eye-gazing between the young lovers, often prefaced by clunky romantic dialogue that never rings true. Then again, this is a story about a clan of vampires. For those not familiar with the story, the premise is that Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is a high school junior who falls hard for one of her classmates, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a vampire. Bella is a Forks, Wash., transplant by way of Phoenix, who has moved in with her dad while her mother and baseball-playing stepfather relocate to Florida for spring training. Bella is attractive and aloof, so naturally she catches the eye of many of her new male classmates, with the exception of Edward, who shuns her. But the more Edward pushes Bella away, the more she is drawn to him and his mysterious persona. And after Edward saves her life in a show of superhuman strength and speed, Bella suspects that he’s not just an enigma. Edward eventually confesses his vampirism to her, telling Bella of his attraction to her as well as his desire to feast on her blood. However, Edward is a “vegetarian,” along with the rest of his vampire family, Clan Cullen, meaning they drink the blood of animals but not humans. But Clan Cullen is the exception to the vampire rule, as a trio of bloodthirsty vampires show up in Forks and begins dining on the locals. It isn’t long before they target Bella as their next meal, forcing Edward and his family to fight against their own kind. Twilight doesn’t break new ground with its plot. But judging by the cries of “he’s hot!” by teenage girls in the audience when Pattinson came on screen, does the plot really matter?
Pattinson, who seems to be channeling a modern James Dean in appearance and bad-boy attitude, broods through most of the film, while Stewart essentially plays the role of a teenager with a bad case of schoolgirl crush. While the screen certainly doesn’t smolder when they embrace, the chemistry between Pattinson and Stewart seems genuine enough and makes their romance a little more believable. Meanwhile, director Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen) is in an awkward situation. Are you a slave to the material, as was Christopher Columbus with his first Harry Potter film? Or do you offer your own interpretation of the film and risk the ire of fans of the book? Hardwicke seems to have played it down the middle, giving fans what they want, but creating a film that stands on its own. Twilight isn’t great. But no one’s accused Meyer’s books of being literary masterpieces, either. They’re smartly conceived novels with a target audience who helped push Twilight to the No. 1 spot on the New York Time’s bestsellers list. And these will be the fans who will push this movie to No. 1 at the box office this weekend, no matter what critics say. Those not familiar with the book will probably enjoy the movie too, and then will wonder what all the fuss is about. Contact Kirk Baird at:kbaird@theblade.comor 419-724-6734.

If you don’t know the name, you probably know the tune.
Ingrid Michaelson emerged from musical obscurity last year after her playful, acoustic declaration of love, “The Way I Am,” was featured in the ABC television show Grey’s Anatomy. An agent who pitches music for the prime time drama propelled Michaelson’s rise after discovering her Myspace.com page in late 2006. There were other network shows, a Chevrolet commercial. But the cutesy tune wasn’t truly recognizable until Old Navy picked it up as the soundtrack of their holiday sweater campaign last year. Try to hear it: “If you are chilly, here take my sweater ... Cause I [clap clap] love the way you call me baby. And you [clap clap] take me the way I am.” After several more of her tunes landed on Grey’s, her self-produced album, “Girls and Boys,” started to move. However one may measure musical success in the digital age — selling more than 700,000 single downloads, climbing to No. 53 on iTunes charts, making the Billboard Top 200 — Michaelson had it covered. She showed up on Good Morning America in February and shared several summer stage dates with the Dave Matthews Band. But if you want to make nice with this bespectacled indie rock heroine, don’t use the f-word. “I’m not famous,” she told The Blade in a recent phone interview, in anticipation of her sold-out show at The Ark in Ann Arbor tonight. “I have not made it. It’s so fleeting, believe me. It’s depressing but it’s true.” She tried to demonstrate the point during a trip to the Mall of America last December, when her songs were just short of a constant on Grey’s and her sweater ad was everywhere. In a “social experiment” captured on video and posted to Youtube.com by her backup singer, Allie Moss, Michaelson approached shoppers and sang a few bars of the chorus of “The Way I Am,” complete with hand claps. MALL OF AMERICA SOCIAL EXPERIMENT
In response to shrugs or heads shaking, she gleefully proclaimed: “Not famous.” She dished out a few hugs to those that nodded.
Music was a hobby since she first took piano lessons at age 5. Michaelson was living with her parents in her native Staten Island, N.Y., working as a theater director for a children’s group and making extra cash with occasional weekend concerts at Greenwich Village basement clubs when the agent first spotted her Myspace page. “It seemed a bit hopeless. Not that I was hopeless,” she said of her then-unrealized dream to pursue music full-time. “The Internet has opened up a whole new door. I was able to get TV placement and bypass the whole record label thing.” She built success without the traditional corporate support of a record label. Since her mainstream debut, Michaelson has assembled “Frankenstein label,” a publicity machine built of independent publicists, booking agents, and distributors. She’s leery of the establishment and wouldn’t “change my music, change my appearance for other people,” she said. “I’ll do it for myself if I feel like I need to. I wouldn’t put on a mini skirt and lose 15 pounds.” That also means keeping her trademark thick-rimmed glasses. “They’re just me, just who I am. And contacts hurt my eyes,” she said. “It’s become more of a thing that I wear glasses, in a little box, like, ‘She’s the one that wears glasses like Lisa Loeb.’ ” Her latest album, “Be OK,” is the centerpiece of her headlining tour, which has sold out shows in New York City and Boston. Michaelson’s live shows don’t lean entirely on her recorded standards, however. When she tires of her obligatory single, she borrows the lyrics of various hip-hop hits — delivered with a dash of irony, that is — to launch the song. Since a visit to San Fransciso earlier this year inspired her and her constant co-pilot, Allie Moss, to hunt for the house from the late 1980s sit-com Full House (also filmed for Youtube.com), Michaelson sometimes leads audiences in a sing-along of the theme song. Even while snapping as a roomful of fans croon — “what ever happened to predictability, the milk man, the paper boy, evening TV” — Michaelson never allows herself to believe something like this could be permanent. Then again, maybe the silly exercise shows that Michaelson has managed to keep her feet on the ground as her tunes soared. “Everything comes and goes in waves,” she said. “I still think that it’s going to end in a few years, and I’m happy to go back to teaching theater to kids.” Though tickets are gone for her show with opener David Ford at The Ark tonight, Michaelson will perform live at the Borders, 612 Liberty St. in Ann Arbor, at 12:30 p.m. today for WQKL-FM. There is no cost for the bookstore performance, though seating may be limited. Contact Bridget Tharp at:btharp@theblade.comor 419-724-6061

Get a bunch of longhairs together, throw out the names of a few heavy bands, and you’ll have yourself a vigorous debate on what constitutes real, bona fide “hard rock.”
For some diehards, Puddle of Mudd — who are playing the Toledo Civic Theatre tomorrow — wouldn’t quite make the tough guy, hard rock grade. But that’s OK. Everyone’s entitled to an opinion — and lead singer Wes Scantlin has a couple of his own. “When I was growing up, I wanted to be a punk rocker. But if you want to sell records, I guess you have to keep everything catchy, hooky, and light-heartedly stated on the lyrical content as well as the musical content,” he said. “Puddle of Mudd used to be a lot heavier years ago, and it’s been lightened somehow. I try to direct the sound more towards something commercial.” Going commercial doesn’t mean Puddle of Mudd sells out with cookie cutter, mass appeal songs. Tracks come from Scantlin’s heart. “Writing songs is very therapeutic for me,” he said. “I write about stuff that happens in my life, and I think it relates directly to the public. “Everybody’s not always in a great place. Somebody might miss somebody; somebody else might have lost someone they love. This music comes from all kinds of different emotions in my life, and it definitely helps me get through hard times.” Puddle of Mudd got its start in Kansas City, Mo., and hit rock radio with the ballad “Blurry” in the early 2000s. Next came multi-platinum-selling albums; and then more hits such as “She Hates Me” and “Drift & Die.” The band sticks with a blue-collar brand of modern rock. It gives nods to Alice in Chains and Nirvana with grungy, over-driven guitars and Scantlin’s full-throated style of singing. Listen closely and you might hear raw shades of Kurt Cobain in the vocals. Even today, the group — which includes Scantlin, Douglas Ardito (bass), Christian Stone (lead guitar), and Ryan Yerdon (drums) — is on the rock charts with the songs “Psycho,” “Famous,” and “Livin’ on Borrowed Time.” And to think Puddle of Mudd almost didn’t happen. There was a time when Scantlin was ready to quit. “I have a son and I was trying to take care of him and pay for his well-being, and music wasn’t paying the bills,” he said. Fortunately, Scantlin didn’t give up. In a last-ditch effort, Scantlin went to a Limp Bizkit concert and smuggled a tape to frontman Fred Durst’s security guard.
“Luckily, I got a phone call back from him. Then all of this started happening and everything turned around for the better,” said Scantlin. “He opened a lot of doors for me and I really take off my hat to him. He’s actually a really helpful guy.” For evidence that Puddle of Mudd uses its success for good, just look to the band’s efforts with U.S. troops overseas. Twice now, the band has visited military bases in Iraq and Kuwait. “Men and women over there are doing their jobs right,” Scantlin said. “There’s a lot of heartache and a lot of crazy stuff that happens in those kinds of countries. “I wish it wasn’t happening, but I just try to reach out to as many people as I can and try to be the nicest person I can while I’m on this planet. And you also need to know that God is watching you and all your actions. You can’t be good and bad at the same time, so just treat everybody with respect and try to have a smile on your face.” Side note: If you recall, Puddle of Mudd played a rather, er, messy show in Toledo back in 2004. Scantlin showed up a tad intoxicated and eventually was in police custody for disorderly conduct. Well, rest assured, Scantlin is nothing but apologetic for his past actions and eager make amends. “I had a couple of bad things happen at that show which I feel really, really bad about,” he said. “I was going through a problem in my life with a relationship at the time, so I was massively depressed. “So I hope everyone can forgive me. I’m really sorry about what happened, and I’m so happy we’re finally going to be able to go back to Toledo and play a show. Please tell everyone that I’m totally excited to come back to Toledo.” Puddle of Mudd, RED, Safety Suit, and Tempered Cast will play at the Toledo Civic Theatre at the Erie Street Market in downtown tomorrow. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 at the door and $20 in advance at all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 419-474-1333, www.ticketmaster.com, and Culture Clash and Ramalama Records. The Toledo Civic Theatre is at 237 South Erie St. Information: 419-693-5300.

The show-business marriage that began in a Scottish castle came to an end in a drab London courtroom Friday as Madonna and Guy Ritchie were granted a preliminary decree of divorce.

Web slinger Tobey Maguire and his wife, Jennifer Meyer, are expecting their second child, reports Usmagazine.com. "Tobey and Jen are thrilled," a source close to the 33-year-old 'Spider-Man' star and his 31-year-old jewelry designer mate tells the site. "They can't wait to expand their family with another little one." The star couple, who married in Hawaii last year after first meeting in 2003, have a two-year-old little girl, Ruby Sweetheart. Related stories: Paris Hilton on Benji Madden: 'I'm Still in Love With Him'  A Very Osmond Christmas! 

"Scrubs" returns with fresh episodes next January, and ET has new details about guest star Courteney Cox's shady character on the quirky medical comedy! Courteney will play a beautiful but unethical doctor who could prove troublesome to J.D. (Zach Braff) and the rest of the gang at Sacred Heart Hospital. Also on the premiere episode, J.D. struggles to keep a new crop of bumbling interns in line, and Carla (Judy Reyes) helps Elliott (Sarah Chalke) keep her ego in check! Catch Courteney on back-to-back episodes of "Scrubs"' eighth season, premiering Tuesday, January 6 on ABC. Related stories: Who's Been Snooping Through Barack Obama's Records?  Just In: Madonna and Guy Ritchie Divorce Update 

"Scrubs" returns with fresh episodes next January, and ET has new details about Courteney Cox's guest-starring role in three episodes of the quirky medical comedy! Courteney will play a beautiful but unethical doctor who could prove troublesome to J.D. (Zach Braff) and the rest of the gang at Sacred Heart Hospital. Catch Courteney on back-to-back episodes of "Scrubs"' eighth season, premiering Tuesday, January 6 on ABC. Related stories: A Very Osmond Christmas!  Just In: Madonna and Guy Ritchie Divorce Update 

When the new season of "Scrubs" premieres next January with back-to-back episodes, a big-name guest star is set to shake things up at Sacred Heart Hospital. Courteney Cox will guest as a beautiful but unethical doctor who could prove troublesome to J.D. (Zach Braff) and the rest of the gang! Courteney is also teaming up with "Scrubs" creator Bill Lawrence for a new sitcom. The first two episodes of "Scrubs"' eighth season air Tuesday, January 6 on ABC. Related stories: A Very Osmond Christmas!  Just In: Madonna and Guy Ritchie Divorce Update 

Jodie Sweetin files for separation with her hubby.Grown-up sitcom star Jodie Sweetin, famous for playing Stephanie Tanner on "Full House," is separating from her husband. Sweetin, 26, filed papers for legal separation from hubby Cody Herpin, 31, on Thursday, says People magazine. The couple married last summer and have a baby daughter together. Sweetin once credited Herpin as helping her get her life back on track after years of methamphetamine addiction, says the mag, adding that the two were planning a reality show together. Related stories: Carrie Ann Inaba and Drea's Dream  Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and Pete Wentz Welcome First Baby! 

Entertainment Tonight has the latest... 'Twilight' hunk Robert Pattinson may have the hearts of many young ladies out there, but he's lending his lips to just one woman -- Tyra Banks! ET has your exclusive look at the November 28 episode of "The Tyra Banks Show," where Pattinson takes up the supermodel-turned-mogul's offer to nip at her neck! Check out the all-new video for the wild reaction -- including from Pattinson's co-star Taylor Lautner, who also appears on the show! 'Twilight' is in theaters today!Related stories: 'Twilight' Secrets from Director Catherine Hardwicke  Clint Eastwood: Modern Master 

Veteran star Clint Eastwood will receive the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s highest honor, The Modern Master Award, with a tribute scheduled to take place on January 29 at the historic Arlington Theatre in the Southern California city. Created to honor an individual who has enriched our culture through his or her accomplishments in the motion picture industry, Clint joins such esteemed past winners as George Clooney, Will Smith, Jodie Foster, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sean Penn, Diane Keaton and Michael Douglas. In addition to directing the critically acclaimed 'Changeling' starring Angelina Jolie, Clint returns to acting for the first time since 'Million Dollar Baby' as a Korean War vet struggling to adjust to changing times in the upcoming 'Gran Torino,' which he also directed. Continue reading...Related stories: 'Twilight' Film Gains Celebrity Fan Base!  Robert Pattinson Proposes to 'Twilight' Co-Star? 

Watch as HTV cameras spot Miley Cyrus and her rumored boyfriend Justin Gaston as they happily pedal their bikes around town in L.A. A serious-looking Paris Hilton was spotted with her sister Nicky as they headed into Beverly Hills eatery Mr. Chow. Meanwhile, Heidi Klum appeared to motor around town with the top down and a furry friend in the passenger seat -- but it was all for show -- she was actually being towed since she was filming a commercial!Continue reading...Related stories: Miley Cyrus' Red Carpet Arrival!  Miley Talks Rumors and Romance with Ellen 

"Dancing with the Stars" judge Carrie Ann Inaba has a special program that she's involved in, and she's telling all about it in our brand-new video! In the vid, Carrie Ann is meeting some special friends at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA as part of a program called Drea's Dream. The organization brings dance therapy to cancer patients. Watch the video to see some hospital dance footage!Related stories: Who's Been Snooping Through Barack Obama's Records?  Charlize Theron and Robert De Niro Dine In Dubai