Despite setbacks, Stewart continues to forge ahead

Despite setbacks, Stewartcontinues to forge ahead
Martha Stewart, bless her heart, sure has taken a beating. Since she was sprung, her company's stock has been slipping and her television shows are about as popular as "Little House on the Prairie" reruns.
But Stewart is not one to accept defeat and retreat.
She's buoying her spirit with the release of a new CD of traditional holiday songs. (And no, she's not singing them.) She's chosen them so she can share "a comforting reminder of the communal spirit that fills us every Christmas."
Furthermore, she's putting out some how-to DVDs and launching a show on Sirius Satellite Radio.
On top of that, she has entered into a deal with KB Home, one of the country's largest developers, to build pretty houses.
"Let's face it," she told a New York Times reporter. "Everybody wants to live in one of my homes. ... You see one of them, and you don't want to leave."
Stewart, 64, wants to give back to the community. So she'll be sharing her knack for creating the perfect home environment by working with the developers to create 650 lovely homes in Cary, N.C., inspired by her small but distinctive collection of personal residences (one in Bedford, N.Y.; one in East Hampton, N.Y.; and a third in Seal Harbor, Maine).
The Cary community will include single-family homes of 1,500 to 4,100 square feet with prices from $200,000 to $500,000.
The place will be called "KB Home Twin Lakes: Homes Created With Martha Stewart."
Penn & amp; Teller preparefor their NBC special
NEW YORK -- Penn & amp; Teller will go "Off the Deep End" in an NBC special that will air Nov. 13.
The two-hour show will be the first magic special performed entirely underwater, the network said. It was filmed in the Caribbean, off the coast of Grand Cayman and the Atlantis, Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas.
Penn & amp; Teller will make a submarine "disappear," do tricks with sharks and "psychic" dolphins and perform a new "superillusion" in which they walk on water.
As with their Las Vegas stage act, they will reveal how they pull off their illusions.
"We've been living in the Las Vegas desert for years. Nothing but cactus, sand, scorpions and Wayne Newton," Penn Jillette, the vocal half of the duo, said. "And we realized it was time to do a show underwater. Magic needs a good head-soaking."
I smoked medicinal pot,singer Etheridge admits
NEW YORK -- Melissa Etheridge says she smoked medicinal marijuana to help with the side effects of chemotherapy during her treatment for breast cancer.
The 44-year-old singer, who was diagnosed over a year ago, is cancer-free.
"Instead of taking five or six of the prescriptions, I decided to go a natural route and smoke marijuana," Etheridge says in an interview to air tonight at 7 on "Dateline NBC."
When asked how her doctors reacted, Etheridge says, "Every single one was, 'Oh, yeah. That's the best help for the effects of chemotherapy."'
The singer said she smoked marijuana every day for her pain and symptoms and "the minute I didn't feel it, I stopped."
The use of marijuana with a doctor's recommendation is legal in California and nine other states, but is against federal law.
Asked if she was concerned about federal prosecution, Etheridge replied, "No, I didn't worry. But it was worth it."
She recently released a new greatest hits album, "The Road Less Traveled," including the new song "I Run for Life," which is dedicated to the fight against breast cancer.
Sen. Clinton offers tourof NYC to DeGeneres
BURBANK, Calif. -- Ellen DeGeneres will get a fancy tour guide when she takes her talk show to New York City next month.
New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton agreed to show DeGeneres around town during the comedian's Thanksgiving Week visit.
"We'll go see some theater, and we'll hang out and do some stuff there. We'll go to clubs," DeGeneres said during a recent taping of the "Ellen DeGeneres Show."
"You'll go to the clubs," Clinton replied.
DeGeneres also congratulated Clinton on her 30-year marriage to former President Bill Clinton.
"He's the kind of person you really want to be married to for 30 years because he washes dishes," Clinton said.
She added that her husband is feeling much better since his heart bypass surgery and is working hard on his foundation and other international efforts.
Today's birthdays
Actress Angela Lansbury is 80. Former presidential adviser Charles W. Colson is 74. Actor-producer Tony Anthony is 68. Actor Barry Corbin is 65. Rock musician C.F. Turner (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) is 62. Actress Suzanne Somers is 59. Rock singer-musician Bob Weir (The Dead) is 58. Producer-director David Zucker is 58. Record company executive Jim Ed Norman is 57. Actor Daniel Gerroll is 54. Actor-director Tim Robbins is 47. Actor-musician Gary Kemp is 46. Singer-musician Bob Mould is 45. Actor Randy Vasquez is 44. Rock musician Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 43. Jazz musician Roy Hargrove is 36. Actress Terri J. Vaughn is 36. Singer Wendy Wilson (Wilson Phillips) is 36. Rapper B-Rock (B-Rock and the Bizz) is 34. Actress Kellie Martin is 30. Singer John Mayer is 28. Actor Jeremy Jackson is 25.