Pete's Hit and Run Notes

9 May..... I wish all mom's a great Mother's Day on Sunday....Please God...no rain !

Here's what I know so far today..... 

The gong show is coming back, though many of us may not get chance to see it.  Comedy Central is reviving the Chuck Barris show which , for those too young to remember, was a poor man's version of "America's got Talent" where performers don't always make it thru their performance before a gong is hit by one of the judges meaning "get off the stage, you're done". It will premier July 17 on Comedy Central.

Get ready for another jump at the pump....Price of oil is now clearing $125 a barrel, partly because of the weakening U.S. Dollar.  This doesn't bode well for the price of gasoline for those of us planning to do some driving this Summer.

Lancome is countersuing Uma Thurman trying to ward off her claim of a million dollars in damages for using her image in foreign ads after her contract expired 3 years ago.  She was their spokesmodel from year 2000, but then her pics showed up on Asian websites and a Canadian billboard after her contract deadline had passed. Those who once did business, now do battle.

CSI star Gary Dourdan has been formally charged with felony drug possession after finding him asleep in his car in Palm Springs 28 April . He allegedly parked on the wrong side of the street and had left the dome light on. Cops searched the car and supposedly found ecstacy, heroin and cocaine. He'll appear in court 28 May in Indio California east of Los Angeles.

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon are telling wedding stories to People Magazine, and one of the revelations is they both got tattoos prior to tying the knot. Mariah's says "Mrs. Cannon" and as Nick says they mean more than rings because they are "forever and ever". Nick says they laugh at the same things, and have a lot in common spiritually. Let's hope so, going from whirlwind romance to marriage is a big leap of faith.

Liv Tyler and her husband Royston Langdon have called it quits. The split was confirmed by her reps, with the usual "they remain friends" statement. They were married in 2003 and have one son, Milo, who is 4 years old.

A new Buy Local, Eat Local map and directory brochure is being released for you to check out the vendors in Hamilton who sell locally produced food. The initiative synchronizes with the efforts to have people buy food that hasn't been trucked hundreds of miles to show up at market, thereby cutting down on air pollution and fuel costs. Look for the brochure at local farmers' markets, tourism kiosks and at environmenthamilton.org .

Most mom's pay scale would be around $126,000 according to a top wage and employment expert. The services mom provides concerning laundry, cooking, shopping, healthcare and finance management and often acting as CEO of the family has been given that value as a reminder of the greatness of mom's leading up to Mother's Day.

Star Jones is chiming in about Barbara Walters' new book "Audition" saying it's a sad day for Barbara when she has to brand herself an adulterer, humiliate an innocent family in the process and speak negatively about Star for the sake of selling books. The book claims Star refused to disclose on the show how she lost 160 pounds through surgery forcing the rest of the cast to lie along with her about her supposed "diet" regimen they knew to be false.

Drivers all over North America are having a tough time to unload their gas guzzling SUVs, Pickup Trucks and fuel hungry cars as they downsize to smaller, more efficient vehicles.  The obsession with power, size and status is losing it's luster as motorists realize they have to pay $80 to $130 now to fill their tanks sometimes more than once a week.