THE WEEK Nov 16: US military or reality TV?

Thanks for the song. Not!

The 2012 version of Rebecca Black has released her first hit online. Nicole Westbrook released her song, "It's Thanksgiving", and haters are already hating. The song, produced and written by the same guy who did Black's "Friday", Patrice Wilson of Ark Music Factory, is just as bad as one might expect. I respect Wilson's effort to help kids realize their dreams of becoming pop stars, but at this point, he's just accepting money by creating videos that teenagers are going to be embarrassed about for many years to come.

US military or reality TV?

The world has grown seemingly obsessed with the story of General David Patraeus having an affair with the woman who wrote his biography. Patraeus stepped down from his role as director of the CIA and has since been torn apart in the media. Granted, the guy made a stupid choice, and he got humiliated. But now that the story is out there and he's out of his role, why do people still care so much? If you want drama, go watch reality TV. I guarantee it's more exciting.

"Twilight"controls lives

Thousands of people in LA began camping out in tents a week before the newest movie of the "Twilight" series is set to open in theaters. One fan interviewed at the scene spoke of how her life - have a husband and kids - is just like the characters' lives in the movie. One problem: The characters are vampires and werewolves. That's like me saying I'm single and work for a newspaper, so my life is just like Superman's. (Fair warning: This is a rant.)

This wacky world!

One of Hollywood's hottest couples has called it quits. Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez broke up this week, and rumor has it that Bieber's dating an underwear model.

In light of Obama's reelection, many Americans have signed petitions to request their states be separated from the rest of the country. If it were up to me, I'd find a safe, non-violent way to give them a portion of Texas and let them all move there.

The Pepsi company has released a new drink in Japan that claims to prevent weight gain.

The man who does the voice of Elmo was accused of having a sexual relationship with a teenage boy seven years ago. The kid later admitted he was lying.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）