Pop Culture

Tis more serious than the fashion police! Fashion designers Dolce and Gabbana have just been found guilty of tax evasion by an Italian court and sentenced to more than a year in jail:Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were accused of having transferred control of their brands to a shell company in Luxembourg in 2004 and 2005 to avoid paying Italian taxes.Prosecutors had argued that setting up the Luxembourg company Gado -- an acronym of the surnames of the two designers -- while the company was operating out of Italy was a bid to defraud the state.In her closing speech, prosecutor Laura Pedio said there was "rock-solid proof" that the duo had committed "sophisticated tax fraud".Well, perhaps they'll come up with a new and chic line of prisonwear: Link

Actor James Gandolfini, 51, has died of what early reports say was a massive heart attack. He was in Italy at the time. From an obituary at Comic Book Resources blog: While he may be most recognizable as Tony Soprano by fans, Gandolfini had a number of different roles in Hollywood, including “True Romance,” “Terminal Velocity,” “Get Shorty,” “The Juror,” “The Taking of Pelham 123? and more. Early in his career during 1992, he appeared in a Broadway production of “On the Waterfront.” He most recently was set to appear in “Animal Rescue” alongside Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace, which is slated for a 2014 release. Behind the camera, Gandolfini produced two documentaries with HBO: “Alive Day: Home from Iraq,” which focused on injured Iraq War veterans and the physical and emotional toll of reintegrating back into society; and “Wartorn: 1861-2010,” which explored and allayed the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder through American history. He also produced “Hemingway & Gelhorn,” the HBO miniseries about author Ernest Hemingway and the writer’s relationship with Martha Gelhorn. Gandolfini was a huge supporter of The Octoberwoman Foundation for Breast Cancer Research in his hometown of Park Ridge, and appeared often in the foundation’s annual October banquet. Gandolfini is survived by his wife, Deborah Lin, and his son Michael.

She says the unity between women in Hip-Hop needs to improve big time and Nicki should be at the forefront of that. Do you agree?

Click here to unzip more of my MEN IN JEANS

I've always loathed her. Now you can too, based on what the press has dug up in a court deposition just now made public. I grew up in the South, and I know all about "not racist" white people who use that racist slur against black people, but "only the bad ones." Guess what. Those white people are racists. Some pretty great Twitter jokes coming out of this one, though. And American shitrag National Enquirer says they have video. Here's the court transcript. And HuffPo picked out the awful bits and served them up on top of an SEO-optimized plate of warm grits and butter. Enjoy, y'all!

This is what it looks like when you learn that you probably shouldn’t have done that. Whatever “that” may be. In this case it’s only a toy helicopter. Sometimes it’s driving a golf cart into a portapotty occupied by an elderly gentleman.

He can also drive a car, shoot an automatic rifle, and play tennis.

Alyssa Rosenberg at Slate's XX blog explores the ethics dilemma surrounding a Kickstarter for a "how to get chicks" guide for men that included what sounded to her, and me, and a lot of other women and non-stupid men, like a HOWTO sexual assault explainer.

Volume Control Chill PacifierWho says baby accessories have to be boring? Turn up the fun with the Volume Control Chill Pacifier from the NeatoShop. This hilarious silicone pacifier features a "volume knob" design. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Baby & Tot items. Link

(YouTube link)How many times have you moved house and used the "friend with a pickup" method instead of hiring professionals? I've done that, and now that I have a husband with a truck, it's payback time. Owen Weber produced this video disguised as a truck ad that's really a commentary on the process. -Thanks, Owen!