This week's theme is Diana Ross. Diana will be mentoring the kids to sing her music. We'll see who's 'Coming Out' to thunderous applause, and who's sense of pitch will be turned 'Upside Down'

A fascinating article on CNN Money last week points out that while Best Buy averages $930 a square foot per year revenue, and Tiffany & Co make $2666, Apple stores rake in a massive $4032, making them one of the US's top retailers. Steve Jobs, ever the showman, made the provocative statement that "Our stores were conceived and built for this moment in time - to roll out iPhone."

Seeing the new ad plastered all over the flagship Apple store in Manhattan today, I'm beginning to think that's more than just bravado.

After some back and forth by Bloomfield Township, it seems that The Sopranos will indeed be allowed to shoot the final scene of the final show in Holsten's restaurant in northern New jersey.

This is of particular interest to me as Holsten's is a local hangout, and I was there only a couple of weeks ago with my family. It's an old-fashioned ice-cream parlor, with candy counters, soda fountain and family booths, and reminds me of nothing so much as a diner that hasn't been updated in 40 years. (See review here)

So - with that in mind, what exactly does that tell us about how The Sopranos will end? My thoughts...

This morning I was reading Mark Newgarden's delightful history of novelty items, Cheap Laffs, when a small piece of information about the inventor of Sea Monkeys jumped out at me. The book claimed he supported some extreme right-wing organizations.

The official Sea Monkeys website has only this to say about their inventor:

The Sea-Monkeys story began in 1960 as the brainchild of inventor and nature-lover Harold von Braunhut, and since have become a part of American culture and a worldwide phenomenon.

Oh, but that's not all. Your childhood memories of Sea Monkeys are about to be shattered...

Today on the veg...laser cats

Today the famous Stardust Hotel and Casino was demolished in Las Vegas, joining other lost icons such as The Sands, The Dunes, and The Hacienda. The Stardust and it's mobster owner Frank Rosenthal, were the basis for Martin Scorsese's Casino.

According to The New York Times, Nicholas Pileggi spent four years there researching the screenplay and said “The Stardust was the Bellagio of its day, the most dazzling casino out there.”

More images and stories after the jump.

The article on Golden Age Porn Stars last week had a terrific response, and plenty of requests to find specific stars. I am working my way through the comments, so if you asked for someone who is not listed here, they are still on the list. But I caught up with another dozen!