By MARIA SCIULLO, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A-R-G-H. Nothing but V-O-W-E-L-S.

Welcome to the fun, and frustration, of Words With Friends.

Think Scrabble for the social-media age. Words With Friends is a highly addictive puzzle of a game that can be played on your computer, via Facebook, or smartphone or tablet.

In the days following Sept. 11, 2001, funeral after funeral became part of the grim scene for many New York firefighters and their families.

Ten years later, it's happening again.

"It's been tough, I have to say. We lost two firefighters this year, between two weeks of each other, to cancer from the dust they breathed in," said filmmaker Jules Naudet.

Linda Ellerbee is the calming voice of history in the "Nick News Report on 9/11," airing Thursday at 9 p.m. EDT on Nickelodeon.

Sometimes it takes a diva to play one. And Kim Zimmer, who inhabited the larger-than-life personality of Reva Shayne on the CBS soap "Guiding Light" for more than two decades, is more than up to the challenge.

Hours after winning "Dancing With the Stars" with partner Kym Johnson Tuesday night, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward began a parade of television appearances, starting with jokes on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in Hollywood.

Sam Witwer was enjoying a friend's birthday dinner at a Los Angeles restaurant when he felt a tap on the shoulder.

"This man says, 'Hey, sorry to bother you, but I'm a big fan. I really look forward to seeing your show every week.' It was Alice Cooper!"

From Rose to Rihanna, Andrew to Atticus, parents often go one of two ways with middle names: plain and simple, or what might generously be called "creative."

"The middle name now is doing a lot of the heavy lifting," said Laura Wattenberg, author of "The Baby Name Wizard" and creator of the fun-to-browse www.babynamewizard.com.

The patient slouched in a chair, her gaze fixed on the floor. When she chose to respond to the medical student's questions, she delivered sullen, one-word answers.

This medical interview was going nowhere, but that was precisely the point of the exercise.

The idea of saying his own name has, on occasion, left Alan Reznik speechless.

"We're at a banquet, a party, and I am waiting to introduce myself. That is the absolute worst," said Reznik, a retired professor of chemical and petroleum engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.

Paul David Nussbaum has nothing against Valentine's Day, but he'd like to emphasize that it's the brain, not the heart, where love dwells.

"Our identity, our hopes, our emotions, everything we love comes from this amazing organ that weighs between 2 and 4 pounds, the greatest miracle ever designed," said Nussbaum.

"The brain -- it's who we are. It's very personal."