Email Author MICHELLE WOO

2011 Stories by MICHELLE WOO

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  FEATURED STORY

  Awkward Backup Dancer In 'Friday' Video Speaks Out

  published Mar 21, 2011

  The Internet is weird. The fact that you can achieve even a miniscule notch of pseudo-Internet-fame simply for being a backup dancer on what's been pegged as the Worst Music Video Ever blows my mind. ... More >>

• Long Beach Man Fatally Shot for Holding a Water Nozzle Had His Arms Outstretched As Though Pointing a Gun, Police Chief Says

  published Mar 18, 2011

  Last December, 35-year-old LBC resident Douglas Zerby was shot and killed by police while holding a "weapon" that turned out to be a garden-hose nozzle.Because there's been so much interest in the cas... More >>

• FOX's Kitchen Nightmares Looking for OC Restaurants That Need Gordon Ramsay's Tough Love

  published Mar 17, 2011

  If you know of an OC restaurant that needs a big kick in the pots, FOX wants to hear from you. In his reality show Kitchen Nightmares, Gordon Ramsay spends a week at sinking restaurants, trying to whi... More >>

• Black Eyed Peas, Blink-182, Simon Cowell and More Host Benefits for Japan Via Shows, T-Shirts, Albums, Vids, Tweets

  published Mar 17, 2011

  In the wake of the unfathomable disaster in Japan, musicians are showing their support through benefit shows, merch and other creative endeavors, rallying fans to help the country. Their efforts can m... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Bravo's Andy Cohen Says They're Done Expanding the Real Housewives Series

  published Mar 16, 2011

  About time! According to OK!, Bravo exec Andy Cohen confirmed that Miami has gotten the last gaggle of Real Housewives. "I really feel like we're done," he told the magazine, indicating the franchise ... More >>

• Lady Gaga Designs Japan Relief Bracelet, Raises $250,000 So Far

  published Mar 15, 2011

  Using her star power and fashion prowess for good, Lady Gaga has designed a "We Pray for Japan" wristband, sold on her site for $5, with all proceeds going toward Japan earthquake/tsunami relief effor... More >>

• Wienerschnitzel Makes Bacon-Wrapped Street Dogs

  published Mar 15, 2011

  It had to happen.The bacon-wrapped hot dog, the messy, mouthwatering treat that awaits after stumbling out of a Hollywood club at 2 a.m., has been smothered with a logo-ed wrapper and made into a limi... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED] Sentencing for Distracted Driver Includes Working 300 Hours As a School Crossing Guard

  published Mar 15, 2011

  UPDATED, MARCH 15, 2011, 12:05 P.M.: Claims against the city of Huntington Beach have now surfaced in the deadly accident, The Orange County Register reports. On Sept. 7, 2010, at the crosswalk of Spr... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  'I Love Poke' Hawaiian Food Festival and Competition On April 12

  published Mar 15, 2011

  Bad poke can be really, really bad. But good poke, made with freshly caught fish and a careful infusion of seasonings--divine.   A staple in Hawaii, poke (pronounced poh-keh) is a refreshing... More >>

• The Miracle Berry: A Solution to World Hungerr

  published Mar 11, 2011

  A few years ago, we heard about the miracle berry, a cranberry-like fruit discovered in West Africa that tricks your mind into thinking sour and bitter foods are sweet. The berry, which comes from the... More >>

• Mission Viejo Man Threatens to Kill His Family With a Samurai Sword

  published Mar 11, 2011

  A man in Mission Viejo was arrested last week on suspicion of threatening to kill his family. His weapon of choice: a samurai sword.   According to The Orange County Register, a woman and her son... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Lawsuit Demands a Refund For Every Person Who Purchased a Four Loko

  published Mar 10, 2011

  Poor Four Loko. All it ever wanted was to get us sloshed and hyper with a single can. Now, not only has it been stripped from shelves and replaced with a decaf version that's totally lame, but the com... More >>

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  COVER STORY

  Soka University of America Is a School On a Hill

  published March 10, 2011

  * This article was altered on March 12. More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Jennifer Aniston's SmartWater 'Sex Tape' Has Puppies, Dancing Babies and a Double Rainbow

  published Mar 09, 2011

  In this new ad, Jennifer Aniston can't just tell us why she loves SmartWater. "I have to make a video, apparently, that turns into a virus," she says. That is, a video that goes viral. Expect puppies... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Tamra Barney and Peggy Tanous, OC Housewives, 'Roofied' at NYC Bar

  published Mar 09, 2011

  Bad things happen when you leave the OC mansions. While at a bar in the Big Apple, Real Housewives Tamra Barney and new gal Peggy Tanous were "roofied"--as in given the drug Rohypnol. Their New York f... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  A Skype Wedding: Groom Marries His Bride From a Hospital Bed at UCI Medical Center

  published Mar 09, 2011

  Nothing was going to stop Helen Oh from getting married this past Saturday, not even the fact that her hubby-to-be, Samuel Kim, had come down with a lung infection that landed him in the isolation war... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  California Proposes to Ban Shark's Fin Soup--Is it Anti-Chineser

  published Mar 09, 2011

  A bill recently introduced in the California Legislature may strip shark's fin soup from Chinese-restaurant menus for good. The move shouldn't come as a shock. Environmentalists have long fought for a... More >>

• Get Everything On In-N-Out's Secret Menu--As Your Desktop Wallpaper!

  published Mar 08, 2011

  In case you needed another reason to love In-N-Out . . .Putting customer service to the ultimate test, Serious Eats writer J. Kenji Lopez-Alt decided to order everything on the chain's secret menu in ... More >>

• OC Animal Care Seizes 110 Cats From Fountain Valley Rescuer Who Was "In Over Her Head"

  published Mar 07, 2011

  In mid-February, OC Animal Care seized 110 cats from the home of 22-year-old Courtney Howe, former president of the Fountain Valley-based no-kill rescue agency Cat Connection Rescue Network (CCRN).&nb... More >>

• Blonde, Botox'd and BACK! The Real Housewives of Orange County returns this Sunday

  published Mar 04, 2011

  Because there just aren't enough cat fights, Brazilian lesbians and talks of "vaginal rejuvenation" in regular life, The Real Housewives of Orange County are back--this Sunday at 10 p.m. on Bravo.&nbs... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Web Extras: Sundown for Sunset Beachr A Closer Look at the Place Residents are Fighting to Save

  published Mar 03, 2011

  Turc's. The water tower. Mother's Tavern. Harbor House Cafe. Peckerwoods. Harpoon Harry's. Bruce Jones Surfboards. The post office.  These are just some of the colorful spots that make up Sunset ... More >>

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  COVER STORY

  Sundown for Sunset Beach?

  published March 3, 2011

  * This article was altered on March 6, 2011. Entering Sunset Beach—a mile-long, blink-and-you'll-miss-it enclave along... More >>

• Decision on Sunset Beach Annexation Stalled (Again)

  published Mar 02, 2011

  Sunset Beach remains Sunset Beach--at least a little while longer, as more legal wrangling has stalled the annexation decision once again. The eclectic, 85-acre coastal community of about 1,300 was to... More >>

• 'World-Shaping Minds' Convene in Long Beach for Annual TED Conference

  published Feb 28, 2011

  Invading the Long Beach Convention Center (and our Twitter streams) today is the Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) Conference, the invite-only gathering of "world-shaping minds," a.k.a. Woods... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Roseanne Barr Defends Disneyland Hotel Workers in Video That Compares Disney to Osama bin Laden

  published Feb 25, 2011

  In their bitter fight to bring down the Mouse, Disneyland Resort hotel workers have gotten a new loud-mouthed champion: Roseanne Barr. The comedian/national-anthem-destroyer stars in a video produced ... More >>