Lachey on 'Charmed'

Lachey on 'Charmed'
Solo recording artist and star of MTV's "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica," Nick Lachey joins the cast of "Charmed" for a six-episode arc, The WB network announced. Lachey will play the role of a columnist hired to take over Phoebe's (Alyssa Milano) advice column while she is on leave. His presence evolves into a romantic entanglement with Phoebe, as the show -- which has set ratings records in every time slot in which it has aired -- begins production soon on its seventh season.
Known to millions as part of the multiplatinum band "98 & deg;," Lachey's appearance on "Charmed" will mark his first major acting role. Other notable guest-star appearances have been on "I'm with Her" and "American Dreams."
This past year, Lachey, along with wife, pop sensation Jessica Simpson, headlined "The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour." Recently, Lachey released his first solo album titled "SoulO."
Area rock shows
Shattered Souls will perform tonight at Section 8 skate park in Hubbard. Doors open at 7 p.m., and admission is $5.
On Wednesday, four bands will play at Gravity House skate park, Wedgewood Plaza, Austintown. Doors will open at 6 p.m. for Another Local Band, Illicit Dreams, Ten Count Fall and Unsung Autumn. Admission is $5.
Why do we care?
Anyone looking for an excuse to explain the need to follow Britney Spears' every move, to search high and low for photos of J. Lo's wedding or just simply to ogle Brad Pitt's pecs need only turn to the August issue of Psychology Today.
In the magazine, we learn that our obsession with celebrity gossip and culture may be part of our genetic code: "We're born to dish dirt, evolutionary psychologists agree. It's the most efficient way to navigate society and to determine who is trustworthy," reports mag scribe Carlin Flora.
One researcher even suggests that celebrity culture is replacing religion for some people, with it rituals (red-carpet walks, cement imprints of celebs' hands and feet) and immortalization of stars bordering on sainthood.
The upside, though, is that celeb-watching also can inspire folks to deal with their own problems. "Celebrities motivate us to make it," anthropologist Helen Fisher told the magazine.
Ushering in The Truth
NEW YORK -- Usher spilled all the beans about his love life on "Confessions," his fourth and latest album, so -- no surprise -- he's calling the U.S. leg of his upcoming tour "The Truth."
The singer has announced a series of arena and coliseum concerts kicking off Aug. 5 in Virginia and stopping Aug. 21 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J.
The Truth tour is presented by MTV and features hip-hop producer Kanye West as opening act.
Fantastic fiction
The British invasion continues with "The Edge Chronicles," a new fiction series that is sure to please the Harry Potter fans. The first two books, "Beyond the Deepwoods" and "Stormchaser" (Random House, $14.99 each), are fabulous and in stores now. Author Paul Stewart and illustrator Chris Riddell have created a rich fantasy, with a likable hero, Twig, and a forest full of amazing creatures. Random House is already set for the publication of the third book, "Midnight over Sanctaphrax," in September. There's also a detailed and fun Web site, www.edgechronicles.com, where readers can get the lowdown on the creatures and the kingdom in this rich and clever adventure series.
Quote/Unquote
"People perceive me to be angry and intense. But there's a big difference between what people heard on my songs and meeting me in person." -- Musician Alanis Morissette, in People.
"I hated getting up so early. Why couldn't everybody just start a little later? We should do a benefit show for that. 'Just a Little Later' -- that'll be our slogan." -- Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys, on what he hated about high school, in Teen People.
"My father's a cook, and my grandmother taught culinary arts, and I love cooking, so I was going to take home economics. But my mother gave me $100 to take drama. At the time it was a gigantic sum of money. So I took drama." -- Tobey Maguire, on how he got into acting, in J-14 magazine.