I hesitated whether to post this one, but figured, why not.

Paris Hilton has made an actually pretty funny video for Funny or Die in response to a McCain campaign ad that compared her to Barack Obama. Or Barack Obama to her. Whatever.

For some reason I can’t embed non-YouTube videos using Wordpress, so view the video here.

She already has celebrity status, an energy policy, good looks and that girl power quality. Plus, she’s up to her ears in the biggest campaign factor: MONEY.

AND, she can sing! Well, sort of.

So… loves it?

By now, you’ve probably heard the Oscar buzz about “Dark Knight” star Heath Ledger, who died in January at the age of 28 after an apparent pill overdose.

“Dark Knight” was one of the best things I’ve seen all year, and Ledger’s performance as the demented Joker no doubt was a huge part of the film’s success.

But was his portrayal really Oscar-worthy — or is it being driven by fans of the fallen star who simply want to honor his memory with an Academy Award?

The latter is what Eric Lucas argues in today’s LA Times.

“It’s time to stop the canonization of Heath Ledger,” he writes:

He’s not a tragic hero. He’s not a beautiful martyr. He’s just a pretty good actor who did away with himself and broke the hearts of his family and friends, and he shouldn’t get an Academy Award to memorialize his death.

Ledger’s brief career culminated in his portrayal of the Joker in “The Dark Knight,” a role that at first seems compelling (”mesmerizing,” critics have fawned) but ultimately devolves into a can-can dance of snuffling pseudo-psychopathia. It has all the subtlety of a hangover — exactly what I’d expect from someone who headed home every night to a pill party.

Lucas doesn’t just stop at Ledger, however. Dylan Thomas, Hank Williams, Jackson Pollock, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, John Belushi, Janis Joplin — all of these celebrities are “transformed into posthumous glory,” Lucas writes.

“[S]uch adulation begets a mass social hysteria that continues the cycle,” he adds.

When Lindsay Lohan parties too hard or Paris Hilton gets arrested for DUI, we all cringe and shield the eyes of our daughters or other young females who aspire to be like these out-of-control celebrities.

Somehow, though, it’s different when a young star dies tragically — whether it’s their own fault or not. Often these individuals rise to even higher stardom if their deaths are of their own doing.

The circumstances surrounding Ledger’s death are still cloudy. Regardless, does he deserve an Oscar?

photo: reuters.com

Half an hour since “Grand Theft Auto IV” went on sale at midnight, and you can bet hundreds of gamers and fans across the state are already playing the much-anticipated video game that has drawn criticism for its violent nature and criminal subject matter.

I caught a friend on the phone just minutes after he walked out of GameStop in Kailua clutching the $60 game in his hands. He arrived at about 11:30 p.m. and was 40th in line. By the time the clock struck midnight, there was a queue of about 70 on the sidewalk — “a weird mix of people,” about half of them high school students with some college and military types thrown into the mix. The crowd, he said, was about 90 percent male.

Why the big buzz over a video game?

“Never before have people had such enthusiasm for a video game,” he said. “(It’s) a revolutionary medium … an open world where you can go anywhere and do anything.”

“What was the general mood in line?” I asked.

He replied: “Dork.”

Then he apologized, and said he had to go. I probably won’t hear from him for at least a month.

The fourth installment of the popular video game, which again sees a hero-type character rising through the ranks of the criminal underworld, is one of the most anticipated and controversial entertainment releases this year.

A New York Times review called the game “a violent, intelligent, profane, endearing, obnoxious, sly, richly textured and thoroughly compelling work of cultural satire disguised as fun.” Players are cast as a former soldier/human trafficker from Eastern Europe who takes on assignments from the mob to save a relative in “Liberty City,” which according to reviewers is a spot-on take on New York City.

Previous versions of “Grand Theft Auto” feature various kinds of role-playing, driving, racing, shooting at cops and even a sex minigame that was cut from the game. As “Niko” in GTA-IV, players can go on dates, buy clothing and weapons, fly helicopters, take out drug dealers and cops, and — of course as the title suggests — steal cars.

Parents and even police have criticized the game for its violent nature, sexual themes and partial nudity, and its emphasis on committing crimes to get ahead. But, if anything, the controversy has only added to the hype: The game’s first-week sales forecast is expected to be upwards of $360 million, surpassing the $300 million by Microsoft Corp.’s “Halo 3″ in September, according to Bloomberg.

Ladies, the next few weeks (or months) might be a good time to schedule that girls’ night out…

photo: AP, via www.CNN.com