Elizabeth Taylor's humorous final request

 

In a private ceremony, the screen legend is laid to rest in her own, unique way.

UPDATED: Elizabeth Taylor Laid To Rest Near Michael Jackson At Forest Lawn Cemetary In Glendale

 

 Dame Elizabeth Taylor has been laid to rest.

The Oscar winner, Hollywood legend and AIDS activist's funeral took place on Thursday afternoon at Forest Lawn Memorial Parks & Mortuaries in Glendale, Calif.

PLAY IT NOW: A Look Back: Elizabeth Taylor & Michael Jackson's Unlikely Friendship

Elimination night drama on 'Idol'

 

In a shocking turn, a former front-runner must sing for his life while the judges debate his fate.

Top 11 'Idol' Results: Most. Dramatic. Elimination. Episode. Ever.

You know how writers like me tend to lapse into hyperbole, and use that hackneyed old phrase "Best ______ Ever"? Well, believe it this time. This ain't hyperbole here. Thursday's "American Idol" top 11 results show was in fact The. Most. Dramatic. Ever.

EVER!

The show started out innocently enough, with a Motown-soundtracked birthday celebration for 63-years-young judge Steven Tyler (who doesn't look a day over fabulous), complete with a cake the size of J.Lo's dressing room and a surprise "Happy Birthday" serenade by Motown legend Stevie Wonder. Good times, good times. But I couldn't quite enjoy the spectacle, because at the back of my mind was Ryan Seacrest's ominous announcement from the top of the show: "Tonight's result might shock you." And with this being one of the highest-staked elimination episodes of the season--the one that determined which contestants get to go on the Idols Live Tour this summer--that didn't sound like cause for celebration at all. What a party pooper that Seacrest is.

Then Ryan, evil man that he is, nearly gave me my biggest "Idol" scare since that horrible night Adam Lambert was in the bottom two, when he told two of my favorites, Paul McDonald and James Durbin, that they were "not safe." But this was, thankfully, just an elaborate setup for a gag starring one of wrestling fan James's idols, Hulk Hogan, who crashed the stage to tell the boys that they'd actually made the top 10. Not cool, Ryan. I got my revenge when Hulk body-slammed Ryan into the crowd after that, but I didn't think that was punishment enough for such cruel fakery.

Why hoops star needs such dark goggles

 

Baylor's Melissa Jones was running down the court recently when something scary happened.

The Blind Leading: Baylor Player Fights Through Freak Injury

Fear was not in the falling. That felt normal, just a typical tumble in a typical basketball game. Nor did Baylor forward Melissa Jones worry much about the crash of a player on top of her, or the thumping of her head upon the floor. These things happened all the time. She stood up afterward and ran down the court. No, panic wouldn’t come for several more minutes when the vision in her right eye clouded, then slowly faded away..
Until there was only darkness.
That’s when she knew something was very, very wrong.
This was just two weeks ago, at a game at Oklahoma, right before the end of the regular season. As a senior she was already facing the final month of her college career. And standing there that night on the court in Norman, she was filled with a flood of dread.

Was she going blind?
Was this something more?
What about basketball? What about her career?
Then nothing seemed normal anymore.
It would take more than a day before doctors told her this was the result of swelling around the optic nerve. And once she learned that this was not serious, that it would indeed go away and that someday the vision would return, she did what any basketball player would do with the last postseason of her career coming fast.