The nice folks over at Huffington Post pointed out that Apple now has a windfall of cash after yet another profitable year – and tried to point out the things that cash could theoretically purchase.

We’ve heard a lot of chatter as a result of that, with inexperienced pundits and passionate fanboys and equally devoted doubters all coming up with their own ‘Apple will TOTALLY buy’ situations. Rival companies? Sure. Environmental initiatives? Probably in our dreams. But what if Apple did use their piggy bank on something major, something ‘magical’? Here’s our favorite highly speculative scenarios that people have told us, and our two cents about them…

Apple buys Sony

People look at Sony as this aging giant, a once-great company that was innovative and inventive, that has now fallen behind the times. In the simplest explanation possible, it’s just a company that has grown too big, and has too many fingers in too many industries to be the ‘boutique’ or ’underdog’ that we prefer these days. What would happen if Apple bought Sony? It would end up having just as much difficulty keeping the music division, film studio, computer division, PlayStation division, etc. etc., working with each together, and as a result dilute the Apple brand.  Apple is simply too smart to do something like that.

Apple buys Spotify

Spotify may be the biggest threat that iTunes has, as it delivers unlimited music for free, and even more benefits for a low monthly price.  Many people have realized that the songs they buy on their aging iTunes platform (although Apple is trying to breathe some life into it with its ‘match’ function) often just sit around in their computer, taking up space, and as an alternative are investing in the ability to hear endless new music without committing to buy anything.  But is it really competition, or just an entirely different business model? We don’t think Apple needs to buy Spotify, and – even more importantly – don’t see any reason why Spotify should sell to Apple. Both have great products that will do just fine on their own.

Apple buys Android

Such wishful thinking! Yes, Android was the bane of Steve Job’s existence, and he often publicly talked about how he thought it stole from Apple’s innovative iOS platform. Fervent Apple supporters would love to see Apple make Android disappear, and buying it from Google would be one way to do it. But we all know it’s impractical, and why should Apple allow Google to profit even further by paying for Android? But anyway, no money is going to make Android go away. Apple’s going to just have to keep their lawyers at it.

Apple Buys Foxconn

So unless you only play Angry Birds and don’t read any news on your iPad, you must have heard about the poor quality of conditions and subsequent accidents in the manufacturing plant in China that is responsible for building said iPad.  More and more, Apple’s reputation is being tarnished for being unable to change factory policies, or improving the standards for all workers there – but if they outright purchased the factory, couldn’t they bring their attention to detail and passion for perfection to the site? We think this is highly unlikely, but the little child laborer in us can dream, right?

Apple buys Let it Flow

Just had to throw that one in there for fun.

Chelsea have completed the signing of Gary Cahill from Bolton Wanderers for a fee of around £7 million.

According to the BBC, the 26-year-old centre-half passed a medical last Saturday, before attending Chelsea’s 1-0 Premier League win over Sunderland at Stamford Bridge.

“Chelsea is a massive club that looks to win trophies season in, season out,” Cahill said.

“It is a big opportunity for me to be a part of that. Opportunities like this you can’t turn down.

“This is the right move for me at the right time.

“I would like to thank everybody at Bolton because I have had a great four years at the football club.

“My spell with Wanderers has enabled me to break into the England squad.

“I would particularly like to thank the fans for their support along the way.”

Chelsea and Bolton agreed the £7 million fee at the end of last month, but Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas revealed that club and player were “miles apart” over personal terms.

Reports had suggested Manchester United were also interested in signing Cahill, whose contract with Bolton would have expired in the summer.

Current Blues centre-back Alex is set to leave Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea in discussions with QPR over a fee for the Brazilian.

BBC Sport reported that Bolton will reinvest all of Cahill’s fee into new players as the club tries to avoid relegation.

Bolton boss Owen Coyle has been linked with signing 24-year-old USA international defender Tim Ream, who recently trained with the club, as Cahill’s replacement.

Cahill, who joined Bolton in a £5 million transfer deal from Aston Villa in January 2008, made 147 appearances for Bolton during his time with the club, scoring 15 goals.

He has won seven England caps and made his first England start against Ghana in March 2011, scoring his first international goal in the 3-0 victory over Bulgaria in September.

Italian Serie A club Inter Milan have made a €25 million euro bid for Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez, but reports claim the offer is unlikely to meet City’s valuation for the Argentine striker.

“Our offer is 25m euros – now it depends on them whether they accept,” said Inter president Massimo Moratti after their 1-0 win over AC Milan, according to the BBC.

“The offer is there. Now we are free to decide whether to go ahead or not.”

AC Milan withdrew from negotiations to sign 27-year-old Tevez on Thursday after Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato refused to join Paris St Germain.

Milan had reportedly already agreed personal terms for Tevez, but were forced to pull out of negotiations with City.

PSG have also expressed interest in Tevez, and Moratti claimed clubs in England were also aiming to secure a contract with the player.

“I believe there are still other teams involved for the striker,” he added. “There are clubs in England as well as PSG. In football there are no secrets.

“Do we need Tevez? At this moment, it seems not, but football gives different answers every day.”

After Sunday’s Milan derby, Inter coach Claudio Ranieri was secretive over his side’s plans to strike a deal with Tevez, telling Sky Sport Italia: “You never know. Do we really need him? You journalists certainly do.”

Talking to Rai Sport, Ranieri said: “If he joins he’ll be very welcome.”

During his post-match press conference, he said, according to the club’s official website: “Tevez? If the president wants to give the city of Milan a present. I’m used to working with what I’ve got.”

Tevez has not played for City since they beat Birmingham on September 21.

City boss Roberto Mancini alleged Tevez refused to come off the substitutes’ bench in September’s Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich, while Tevez maintained there had been a misunderstanding.

An internal club investigation concluded that Tevez, who joined City in July 2009, was guilty of five breaches of his contract and he was fined four weeks’ wages, which was reduced to two weeks’ wages following intervention from the Professional Footballers’ Association.

2011 has had more history changing events than almost any other year since WW2. Revolutions have swept across the globe, wars has been fought and mother nature has once again shown its wrath. The world has literally been transformed right in front of our eyes.

With that said, we would like to take a couple of minutes of your time to focus on the smaller, more everyday type of things. So without further ado, here is our list with the best of 2011.

Best Movie:

The Artist is the bravest movie of the year. Yet it doesn’t deal with a horrific subject matter, or expounds a political agenda, or even tried a whole new technology like 6D. It goes back to the beginnings of Hollywood’s sound era, shows you a world in black and white, and takes away Dolby-this-and-THX-that-sound for a few hours.  Bravo.

Best Restaurant:

Why is El Bulli the best? Well because it was, and because it is no more. It is the reservation you won’t get, not matter how wealthy you are. It is the food that other lucky people have deemed legendary, and now you will just have to be satisfied by articles and blogs. If you don’t believe us, Google it.

Best Album:

We should not think of it as filling the void that Amy Winehouse left, but Adele has swept in to take the mantle for all imperfect, talented souls. And perhaps that is what makes her rise above the other so-called musicians out there – she’s still good enough to sound raw, to rise above the marketing and connect with our hearts.

Best Television:

Amazing Race, in all countries, will prove to be one of the reality shows that lasts, or spawns, a type of TV that lasts forever. Not only does it get intimate – throwing friends, lovers, parents and children into a race – but also shows them and their audience a world outside their own. It’s a vacation, a competition, and a primer for understanding other cultures.

Best Book:

Sorry Steve Jobs fanboys. While his biography is a fascinating read, it is not in any sense of the word a ‘literary classic’. This year, we picked Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84, because what he does is skew, just a little bit, your perception and handle on reality. And reading this one will surely inspire you to read the rest of his work.

Best Airline:

So Japan gets two things up on this list. Now we admit no flight on ANY airline is perfect, but ANA (All Nippon Airways) gets the top spot this year because it’s the first to launch the new Boeing Dreamliner – the most fuel efficient and spacious commercial jet to date. Yes, you can only fly to Japan with it. What’s so wrong about that?

Best Computer:

The Apple MacBook Pro, 15-inch is hands down our winner this year. It doesn’t have Blu-ray, the processor is not the best, and it’s not that customizable, but the aluminum build quality really puts most manufacturers to shame.  And what do you do with your computer aside from looking cool at the coffee shop? So might as well get this one.

Best Streaming Music Service:

Spotify has arrived. Well, Europe’s had it for a while, but now that it’s out in America, it has reached a new level of popularity on par with that of Angry Birds. Shell out just a few bills for the premium service, and you can listen, explore, revisit and discover for as much as you want. When it’s missing stuff, it sucks, but they have the best shot out of all the services right now.

Best Luxury Car:

We figure you’ll want to fight over this one, but the 2012 Jaguar XF really brought ‘it’ this year, and is turning heads of loyal Mercedes, Audi, Lexus and Infiniti and BMW drivers allover the world. It offers great power, handling, form factor and – most importantly – the ability to make the next guy jealous.

Best Waste of Money:

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Oh, to be rich, full of life and own an excellent insurance plan.  We focused on this water power jet pack in a previous post, but it wasn’t until we saw this video clip that we decided that it was not only ridiculously expensive for what it is, but also a complete waste of money. Best waste of money, sorry!

On that note, enjoy the rest of 2011! See you in 2012!

It is an essential activity for the celebrity and entertainment machine to talk up their accomplishments at the end of the year, and that is why we see so many Top Lists congratulating how beautiful, talented and influential their most popular representatives are.

And while there is certainly merit to pointing out the best actors, singers, thinkers and more, there is also a bunch of people who many of you love to hate, or just plainly hate. Who are at the top of our Un-hottest list? Find out here.

Kim Kardashian

While people may vote for Jersey Shore’s Snooki, we think the real evil queen of the entertainment industry is Kim Kardashian. Somehow she has parlayed a ‘stolen’ sextape into a multi-million dollar career based on a reality show, club and event appearances, useless books and lots of – for a lack of a better term – junk. And without the ability to sing, dance, act, or say anything of intelligence, we just don’t know why people are so fascinated with her. But hopefully her bad behavior with her sham wedding will open some people’s eyes to her utter worthlessness.

Brett Ratner

We often revere our most visionary directors, and sometimes even forgive their dictatorial ways in order to enjoy their flawless movies. But then there are directors like this guy – Brett Rater – who makes millions of dollars making mediocre films while also acting like a total scumbag. After mentioning an actress / former girlfriend Olivia Munn in an unflattering way in public, she retaliated with a story that would make you never look at Shrimp Cocktail in the same way again. You may not have thought twice about him before, but there’s no way you can’t look at him now and not want to roll your eyes.

Charlie Sheen

Sorry Charlie, though you may be full of magical panther elixir or coconut blood (or whatever you said), you are on this list for continuing your rapid descent into inanity (though not insanity quite yet) and obscurity.  We are especially ashamed because you actually are such a great actor, and your overall intelligence does shine through more often than not. But it seems the Hollywood serpent, and its fast lifestyle, easy women and cavalcade of drugs, has taken hold forever.  At this point, we’re just hoping you don’t die in the next few years.

Lindsay Lohan

As Charlie Sheen’s female counterpart, Lindsay has done a whole ‘slow burn’ implosion that is finally beginning to overshadow Britney Spears style breakdowns and Sienna Miller-esque scandals. She had so much promise when she was a kid, and maybe it was all the pampering and partying when she was younger that did her in. Now she’s more famous for her court appearances, stints in rehab, and she even topped off this year with a pictorial in Playboy. Once a bright star, she’s now cementing her reputation as a cautionary tale.

Oprah Winfrey

She was a legend. People fell at her feet. Crowds burst into tears when she gave out expensive ‘gifts’. But now that her show has ended, her eponymous cable channel is not pulling in the ratings numbers it promised, her magazine is unreadable, and she is off the daily radar, boy is she Un-Hot.  In fact, of all the people in the list, she has probably gotten the coldest, almost as though she was at the top of her game and just suddenly decided to retire to a cabin the middle of nowhere. Actually, that’s a good idea – Ms. Oprah, we hear Siberia is pretty nice this time of the year.

Who else do you think is Un-Hot? Let us know in the comments!

If you’re like some of us, there is simply not enough time to consume all of the entertainment out there – television, music, Netflix, Angry Birds, blogs, online poker – you name it. Podcasts are among the first casualties, as they do require you paying attention and listening, which are skills that are quickly going away it seems. But now with winter upon us, and with more time on our hands, we’re ready to catch up on some much needed aural pleasure. What are we listening to? Here we go:

The Moth

The Moth is unique because it’s basically an ‘open mic’ night for storytellers of all levels. Recorded live, there is definitely an energy and excitement that makes you feel like you’re right there, and as all of the stories told are not over-rehearsed, there is an air of spontaneity that is a pleasure to listen to.  Often enough, you’ll hear seasoned writers and performers who have wonderful tales to tell, but now and again you’ll have to listen to an amateur ramble on (though bravely!) about some nonsense. But that’s a small price to pay for reconnecting to one of man’s oldest traditions, and reflecting on the many gems you’ll hear and replay throughout the colder months. www.themoth.org

The Leviathan Chronicles

We stumbled on this thrilling action/romance/adventure epic a bit late, but were bowled over by its quality. Presented in an hour-long serial format, incorporating professionally produced sound effects, and voiced by dozens of professional actors from around the globe, this 25 episode series isolates the incredible soundscape of Hollywood movies and lets your imagination fill in the rest. Getting into a pure audio drama may take some getting used to, but by episode 3, we’re sure you’ll be locked in for this roller coaster ride. And with Season 2 being released soon, it is the right time to catch up on this free series right now. www.leviathanchronicles.com

Ricky Gervais Podcast

If you haven’t heard this, then you have definitely been living in a hole in the ground.  Little Ricky Gervais, the creator of, oh, shows such as ‘The Office’ and ‘An Idiot Abroad’ brings his loony compatriots, Stephen Merchant, Karl Pilkington among others, along for a variety of hour-long podcasts dating back almost 6 years.  You’ll find special edition podcasts here and there, many episodes for free, and many others for sale. No matter what you choose, you can be sure to be sharing some belly laughs with people who will in turn stare at you wondering what crazy stuff you’re piping into your brain via your headphones.  www.rickygervais.com

WTF with Marc Maron

If special guests – from Anthony Bourdain to Sandra Bernhard and Ben Stiller – are your jam (as they say), then you’ll want to check out WTF. Hosted by comedian Marc Maron and offering up a different talking head every week, this is a surprisingly insightful, fast paced and (most importantly) funny show that brings out the best of people you love, hate, or just plain haven’t heard of. Definitely worth the membership, and if you’re an iOS user you can also pick up one of those app-thingies. www.wtfpod.com

Radiolab

Every wanted to have a better grip on science and philosophy, and was hoping for someone else to explain them to you by applying abstract principles and concepts to real-world situations? That’s what the hosts of Radiolab – Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich – do all the time, making us more knowledgeable (or perhaps it’s better to say less ignorant) about life’s complexities and doing it in a way that makes you stay curious and laugh and go ‘ah, ha!’. We don’t care who you are or how you fancy yourself, but this one is required listening before 2011 is finished. Enjoy! www.radiolab.org

Santa Claus has been portrayed on films so many times, it doesn’t matter if you believe in him or not. He’s now simply a mythical character, associated with the idea of exchanging presents in December, as well as the symbol one of the most expensive – and profitable – holidays in the world.

So it’s always fun to see the iconic red suit and jolly demeanor taken for a spin in a Hollywood movie. Which are our favorites to see during the season?

Trading Places

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This is at the top of our list this year, as we were – yet again – forced to endure the mess that is being created by some greedy banker types (also known these days as the 1% by ‘Occupy’ protesters). So watching Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy take down some old rich people ends up being quite satisfying.  At one point, Aykroyd, dressed as Santa, crashes a Christmas Party in order to frame Murphy, only to fail, get drunk, and hide a ham in his beard as a snack.  Just watch it. IMDb

Gremlins

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Ok, so it’s not really a Santa movie at all, but it does take place during Christmas and includes an appearance by a man dressed as Santa who gets attacked by a Gremlin as horrified police officers watch. But instead of showing you that clip, we’ve embedded a monologue by the lead actress Phoebe Cates, who possibly tells the most gruesome Santa tale ever. What you end up imagining, instead of watching, sticks with you more than anything else in the movie. IMDb

Bad Santa

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This one is an easy choice, perhaps even too obvious a choice, but we’ve put it here anyway.  With the alcoholic, generally messed up Billy Bob Thornton (we do, in this case, mean the character he plays) as a shopping mall Santa with his eyes set on robbery, you know you are going to see some funny things happen when he’s forced to take an antisocial, overweight kid under his wing. We’ve put in the Japanese version of the trailer because it includes all of the swearing from the movie, but somehow lost in translation / uncensored for Japanese television. IMDb

Miracle on 34^th Street

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You don’t think we’re only filled with disdain for this holiday, do you? Well, let us prove you wrong with the inclusion of one of the most iconic Santa movies of all time – Miracle on 34^th Street.  This one can melt even the most cynical of moviegoers, and proves it by playing into our skepticisms, and then dashing them with a good-natured approach that never feels too syrupy sweet.  Watch here how Santa – who may or may not be a mental patient – speaks to a little (although suspiciously American) Dutch girl. IMDb

A Christmas Story

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We fear that this film may end up in the ‘long forgotten’ list, so we try to bring it up as much as we can in order to keep it in the public consciousness.  This is a real time capsule of a bygone era, but beautifully captures the workings of a typical / dysfunctional family, the unstoppable desire / obsession for a particular toy, and how scary it actually is to be a kid around Christmas time. Watch it once – you may recognize many iconic scenes that will ring true no matter how old you are, or where / when you grew up. IMDb

Got any Santa appearances you want to mention? Talk back to us in the comments!

A common misconception is that A-list movie stars are simply ‘discovered’ overnight.  In reality, these guys and gals usually toil for years, auditioning for terrible bit parts and taking any shameless gig to pay the bills.

You’d be surprised about how many of the Hollywood elite appeared in commercials prior to getting their big break. And then we wonder what is must have been like for the advertisers, producers, directors and crew to watch these nobodies become some of the biggest stars in the world. Check out some of our favorite commercials.

Keanu Reeves

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Before ‘woah’, there was… oh, who are we kidding. Keanu is all about the ‘woah’. Just watch him in this commercial for Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, where he is setting a table for what seems to be a few dozen people for a massive cereal feast. There’s some debate whether it takes place in Hogwarts, and the basic premise is indeed ridiculous, but the look on his place as he surreptitiously takes a bite is truly worth the 30-second journey. Nom nom nom.

Benicio del Toro (and bonus)

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Benicio del Toro is one tough guy, and he has done very little in his career to negate that image. That is, unless you see this Calvin Klein ad where he blends in beautifully with all of the over-the-top sensuality associated with the ‘Obsession’ brand. The bonus? Well, if you don’t recognize the girl, Heather Graham, then you should feel ashamed. But the real bonus is that the director of this commercial was David Lynch. Makes being in a commercial like this less embarrassing, no?

Jodie Foster

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A lot of people already know that Jodie’s been acting since she was a little kid, and perhaps even know that her first appearance ever was in this Coppertone commercial. After a couple of decades of being a professional, it’s no wonder that she seems to be able to sip into roles with relative ease, and have two Oscars to show for it too. This is one of those classic ads that remind us how a famous person can be part of our public conscious for such a long time.

John Travolta

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OK, so this clip is a mash up of two commercials that Mr. Grease did early on in his career – one for Band-Aid and the for Safe Guard soap. But the fact that they both take place in a shower is hilarious, and we wonder how it informs the actor’s trajectory as well as all of the ‘rumors’ we tend to hear about his favorite personal pastimes.  At the very least, it’s nice to see some old-fashioned singing and complete lack of respect for reality.

Bruce Willis

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Another star who has never hidden his love of singing is good ol’ Bruce. And this is not a bad debut for someone who fancies himself as the musical sort, which he continued to try to show off in the box office failures like ‘Hudson Hawk’. Filmed before he was even a major actor in TV, it is amazing to see advertisers put so much faith put into his charisma and performance. Then again, Seagram’s Golden Wine Coolers don’t exist anymore, do they?

Michael J. Fox

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Remember when commercials told a story instead of listed all of the possible, life threatening side effects? We don’t either. That’s why finding this old McDonalds ad with Michael J. Fox is such a treat. It’s a sappy, sentimental ad, but demands you to watch the scene between pubescent teens unfold like some important life-changing event. It’s hard to deny Fox’s likability here though.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

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OK, so this one is kind of a cheat, but we had to include it for kicks. While Arnold wasn’t in commercials prior to becoming an actor, he was not shy about appearing in Japanese commercials for big wads of cash after his career was at its peak. We can’t explain what is going on in this one, but isn’t it refreshing to experience an ad in this way? Watch, enjoy, and try to interpret it for yourself!

A rare copy of the first issue of Action Comics, made famous for the first appearance of superhero Superman, has been sold for a record $2.16 million.

The auction for the special issue, graded at 9.0, began online on November 11 at ComicConnect.com. The starting bid was just $1, with a reserve price of $900,000. Neither the name of the buyer nor seller was disclosed.

The record sale marked the first time in history a comic book has broken the $2 million barrier. The issue was published in 1938 and cost just 10 cents at the time.

“When we broke the record in 2010 by selling the Action Comics No. 1, graded at 8.5, for $1.5 million, I truly believed that this was a record that would stand for many years to come,” said Stephen Fishler, CEO of ComicConnect.com and Metropolis Collectibles.

The previous world record, set in March 2010, was followed by the sale of another copy of the issue for $1 million. But neither of those issues was in as good a condition as the issue sold most recently. Twice before, the issue set the world record for the most expensive book ever, selling for $86,000 in 1992 and $150,000 in 1997.

But in 2000, it was stolen and thought lost until it was found in a storage shed in California in April this year.

Around 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 are believed to be in existence, with just a few of those in good condition.

After the record-breaking issue was stolen, Fishler said, collectors assumed it would never be found or would be destroyed.

“Clearly, I was wrong. Not in my wildest imagination could I have predicted that this legendary, stolen Action Comics No. 1 would be found, graded at 9.0 and break the record a year and a half later,” he said.

Former world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier has died aged 67 after a brief battle with liver cancer.

Also known as Smokin’ Joe, Frazier is best-known as being the first man to beat Muhammad Ali in 1971.

He held the world heavyweight title between 1970 and 1973.

Frazier also won a gold medal at the Olympics in 1964 after going to the Games as a replacement for fellow boxer Buster Mathis, who had beaten him in the trials but could not go to the Games because of an injury.

He won the heavyweight title in 1970 after defeating Jimmy Ellis in New York. Ali had been stripped of the championship title in 1967 for refusing to fight in the Vietnam War.

In 1973, Frazier lost the world heavyweight title to George Foreman.

Frazier is arguably best-known for three major fights with Ali, including the legendary “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975.

Frazier and Ali had a rocky relationship since Ali taunted Frazier in the build-up to their famous bouts.

But in recent years, they were reported to be on better terms.

“The world has lost a great champion. I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration,” Ali, 69, said after Frazier’s death.

“My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones.”

Frazier retired from boxing in 1976 after being beaten again by Foreman. He made an unsuccessful comeback in 1981, fighting only once before ending his career for good.

“Goodnight Joe Frazier. I love you dear friend,” Foreman said on Twitter.