Katrina victims

If you need more proof that the economic collapse is the real thing -- you know, other than your shrinking salary, skyrocketing medical insurance premiums, inability to pay off your credit cards -- here's a major sign. Oprah Winfrey's decided not to do her annual Favorite Things show for the holiday season. That's right, after seven years of largesse, The Oprah Winfrey Show has canceled the funfest of goodies.

Huffington Post has learned exclusively that Favorite Things was scrapped. It used to be a Thanksgiving week staple. The reasons are unclear, but it would seem incongruous to celebrate expensive robes, top of the line chocolates, camcorders and the like when so many people are out of work and in financial straits.

Lawrence Tero (that's Mr. T to you and me) told the critics gathered at the TCA press tour yesterday that he's decided not to wear his signature gold chains anymore. He just felt that, after seeing what the victims of Hurricane Katrina have gone through, his conscience wouldn't let him wear the gold again.

"As a spiritual man, I felt it would be a sin against my God for me to wear all that gold again because I spent a lot of time with the less fortunate," he told the critics gathered in Pasedena as he promoted his new TV Land show I Pity the Fool.

How very thoughtful of T. Of course, he's also 54 years old and has gone through numerous health problems over the last decade or so, so he could also just be... let's say the chains might have been wearing the poor guy down. Just take a look at the picture that accompanied this article in most markets, which was shot four years ago. He's carrying a gold-plated frying pan around his neck! How much must that thing weigh? I'm sure his chiropractor had as much to do with this decision as a sense philanthropy. Good for him either way; the eighties have been over for quite a long time.

[via Bloglines]