John Denver: A Rocky Mountain High Concert Celebration

A heartfelt tribute to John Denver: the man, the myth and the music at the First Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado.

Hosted by Olivia Newton John with performances by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John Oates, Lee Ann Womack, the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra and many more.

HDNet Concerts is pleased to present John Denver: A Rocky Mountain High Concert Celebration on November 27th, 2011, only on HDNet.

Black Friday 2011 sales hit record

Retail sales on Black Friday climbed 6.6% this year to an estimated $11.4 billion, according to ShopperTrak, which counts foot traffic at malls and stores. Last year, sales climbed just 0.3% to $10.7 billion, which was a record one-day sales amount at the time, according to the company.

“This is the largest year-over-year gain in ShopperTrak’s National Retail Sales Estimate for Black Friday since the 8.3 percent increase we saw between 2007 and 2006,” said ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin. “Still, it’s just one day. It remains to be seen whether consumers will sustain this behavior through the holiday shopping season.”

However, sales have been strong throughout the entire month of November with retailers rolling out holiday deals earlier than ever. In the two weeks leading up to the week of Black Friday, retail sales were up 3.6% and 3.8%, respectively, ShopperTrak reported.

Online sales have also proven to be strong, with many big-box retailers and department stores offering deals online earlier this year.

More at CNN.

Walmart “pepper spray” customer turns herself in

A southern California woman turned herself in to authorities as the person who pepper sprayed video-game shoppers in a Walmart during Black Friday’s shopping frenzy, Los Angeles police said Saturday.

The woman has not been charged because detectives are continuing their investigation into the incident that required firefighters to treat 10 people for exposure to pepper spray, authorities said.

“We have her identity and we know who she is and where she is at. When appropriate action needs to be taken, we know where to find her,” said Officer Bruce Borihanh, a police spokesman. “She’s a suspect, but she’s not booked or anything, so we’re not releasing her name.

The pepper-spraying incident, which occurred in a Walmart in the nearby Los Angeles neighborhood of Porter Ranch, occurred Thursday night.

Black Friday shopping was marked by violence in at least seven states, including California.

At the Walmart in Porter Ranch, the pepper-spraying incident occurred when a woman doused fellow shoppers with the spray as people were grabbing for Xbox video game consoles, police said.

The suspect was able to pay for her purchases and leave the store before police arrived, authorities said.

One witness to the incident, Juan Castro, said he and other shoppers were hunting for “deals,” when a woman began using pepper spray. He was trying to buy a Wii video game at $20, marked down from a typical $60, he said.

“I don’t know if she felt threatened or she felt she had to do that to get what she wanted,” Castro told CNN on Friday.

Violent incidents also occurred in South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, New York, Alabama and Connecticut, with most of the reported incidents happening at or near Walmart stores.

David Drake in “A Very Tawny Christmas”

Just in time for the holidays, Obie Award winning actor/writer/director David Drake announces his latest theatrical creation!

“Tawny Heatherton” will make her cabaret debut on December 23rd at the Crown & Anchor in Provincetown. Spread the word! We’re gonna have a BLAST! — with John Thomas and Tawny Heatherton.

This is a “not to be missed” event! Make sure you attend! You’ll be able to say “I was there when…”

And please remember I told you so.

🙂

George Michael’s condition apparently worsens

George Michael was transported from his hotel in Vienna to Vienna AKH general hospital last night. The AKH is the largest hospital in Europe.

He is reportedly in intensive care as a result of heart problems believed to be caused by the shortage of oxygen caused by his pneumonia.

Head doctor from the nearby Otto Wagner Hospital, Norbert Vetter, said that the reason a person with a lung problem was being treated in the cardiac unit probably lay in the fact that if there was a lung problem – and not enough oxygen being taken into the body – then that could affect the heart especially if the heart had already been damaged in some way. He added in the worst case the heart could cease to function.

A spokesman from his management would only confirm that his condition is “bad.”

UPDATE 11/27/11: George Michael’s partner, Fadi Fawaz, who is keeping a bedside vigil, said George is not going to die and is getting better by the day.  “He is improving every day.”

Fadi spoke Sunday from Vienna, Austria.

“There is nothing to be concerned about. He is doing fine. We are very happy. He is doing extremely well and coming back from everything. We are very pleased.  All I can say is he is really improving, everything is going right. He is doing very well.”