by Mike Krumboltz James Bond has nothing on Kate Middleton . The future princess successfully pulled off a top-secret bachelorette party )aka "hen party"( last week, and details are shockingly scant. St. James's Palace confirmed the general news but little else. It is believed that Pippa Middleton , the bride's sister, organized the event and held it at the home of a friend. The party sounds similar to William's bachelor party,

by Claudine Zap Americans know it as the "royal wave." It is a greeting perfected by the old guard royal family, especially Queen Elizabeth II. But it is falling away with the modern monarchy. So, what's the meaning behind the classically iconic hand gesture? The Urban Dictionary defines the "royal wave" as "[s]imilar to a parade wave but with even less effort required, since everyone is already looking at royalty, there's no need to get their attention with large gesture.

by Mike Krumboltz Lady Gaga is a quarter of a century old today. No doubt she'll celebrate in a Gaga-ian fashion, but for now her fans )aka "Little Monsters"( are most interested in knowing her real name. Over the past 24 hours, Web searches for "lady gaga real name" and "what is lady gaga's real name" have both spiked into the stratosphere. For the record, her given name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.

by Mike Krumboltz According to Us Magazine and a variety of other sources, Prince William's bachelor party took place this past weekend. An anonymous source told the magazine that the guys-only party would feature "legendary activities." Read into that what you will. As is the case with bachelor parties )even for those who don't involve a member of the royal family( details of the shindig's aftermath are scant. We can only assume that everyone was sworn to secrecy.

by Mike Krumboltz Trey Parker and Matt Stone , co-creators of " South Park ," have made a career out of pushing the envelope on TV and in movies. Now the duo are taking on Broadway with " The Book of Mormon ." Sacred cows beware. The song and dance extravaganza, which opened on Thursday night at the Eugene O'Neil Theater in Manhattan, is drawing huge interest on the web.

by Vera H-C Chan Here's one level of suspense that ends this week: Whoever survives on " American Idol " makes the tour, and gets a guaranteed paycheck for a few more months. The decision though may not be easy: Hopefuls took on the Motown theme and surprised viewers with uniformly not-so-bad to great performances. Standouts clearly excelled )James Durbin, Jacob Lusk who got a spontaneous hug from judge Steven Tyler(, borderline acts got a grip on themselves )Naomi Adedapo,

by Vera H-C Chan In death, as in life, it is her eyes that haunt. After Hollywood's grande dame Elizabeth Taylor passed away, people paid their online respects, searching out her biography, baby pictures, good works )AIDS foundation(, her relationships both familial )children, Richard Burton( and famous )Michael Jackson, Andy Warhol(. Yet most unique were those eyes, and people wanted another look into them as they sought out " elizabeth taylor eyes ,

by Claudine Zap What is it about spring that makes us want to re-do our 'do? Maybe it's the season for renewal. And this time around, at least according to searches on Yahoo!, many are looking to chop off their coifs. Get out your scissors: In the last month, searches on " short hairstyles " grew a whopping 769%. Maybe that's not a surprise when celebs known for their lovely locks have shortened their looks. Jennifer Aniston made headlines with her shorter haircut,

by Mike Krumboltz A ten-year-old survivor of the recent Queensland flood in Australia has landed an invitation to the wedding of the year. Zander Locke met Prince William when the soon-to-be wed prince visited the flooded region. William was apparently charmed by young Zander, who upon shaking hands with the prince, declared the he would never wash his hand again. It remains to be seen if Zander and his family will actually attend the big event on April 29.

by Claudine Zap One question that the royal couple must address post-wedding: Where to settle down? For now, Prince William and princess-to-be Kate Middleton are cozy at William's rented cottage at Anglesey for the prince's Royal Air Force stint in North Wales through 2013. But that still leaves the matter of where to stay when William and Kate want to be back in London. The two are eyeing Kensington Palace , the royal residence where Princess Diana lived.

by Claudine Zap Charles Spencer has been busy. Not only is the brother of Princess Diana planning his own wedding on June 18, but the Earl is planning to open his house to paying guests the week before the royal wedding. For a wildly expensive fee, 'natch. The Earl has teamed up with the Mandarin Oriental London Hotel Royal for what the press release promises will be a "suitably regal itinerary to commemorate this momentous occasion.

by Mike Krumboltz Happy birthday to William Shatner . The man behind Captain Kirk, T.J. Hooker, and about a zillion other TV and film roles is 80 years old today. Web lookups for " william shatner " and " william shatner quotes " are higher than you might expect. Over the past 24 hours, online interest in the delightfully hammy thespian is up over 96%. Related lookups for " william shatner biography " and " william shatner novels " )yes, he is a writer(,

by Mike Krumboltz The recent earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent fears over nuclear radiation have prompted many to turn to the Web for advice on disaster preparedness. In short, folks are wondering, what they should have in their kit? Opinions vary depending on what sort of disaster you happen to preparing for. However, most experts, like FEMA and the Red Cross, agree that the following items are essential. Water This is a big one. FEMA ,

by Mike Krumboltz Prince William, being a prince, enjoyed a rather lavish lifestyle as a kid. But now that he's an adult about to be married, some may wonder how that will change. How does he earn money, what does he pay in rent, what sort of cars do he and Kate Middleton drive? You know, all those tacky questions you wouldn't ask people you know, but figure it's OK to wonder about a royal. Well, wonder no more. Where will they live?

by Mike Krumboltz Nintendo has put Mario in just about every type of game possible. Platformer, sports, party, RPG, fighting, and the list goes on. But never has the Big N thought to put its super star in a first person shooter. Fortunately, we don't have to wait to see what this will look like. The people at Facerocker animated a short film of Mario in a FPS. It's bizarre, a little disorienting, and undeniably cool. Check it out below.

by Claudine Zap The 12th season of " Dancing With the Stars " has named its cast to, let's say, an underwhelmed public . But in its defense, any cast would fall a little flat after last season's Jennifer Grey and Bristol Palin dance-off. Still, this season is getting its share of searches from "DWTS" followers. Fans who can't wait for the two-hour premiere on Monday, March 21, are hitting the Web to seek out their favorite new contestants - or, at the very least,

by Vera H-C Chan " American Idol" centered on music from the contestants' birth years )along with the requisite baby pics and bios(. Given the contestants' ages, the musical theme might as well have been '80s week, full of schmaltz and circumstance. But one hopeful, Stefano Langone, mocked his 1989 musical options " Milli Vanilli, New Kids on the Block,

by Claudine Zap Recently released childhood photos of Kate Middleton also raised curiosity about the two royal princes. What were they like as children? As the sons born of extreme privilege, Prince William and Prince Harry have also weathered extreme tragedy. At ages 15 and 12, the two suffered the loss of their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales , in a car crash. Interest in the young monarch and their mum have spurred searches on the Web.

by Claudine Zap Kate Middleton has caused a flurry of sales over her Burberry coat , a frenzy of copies of her engagement ring , and now, Kate clones must have her hair. The genetically blessed and tressed Middleton has long, brown locks that the future princess wears in a loose, windswept blowout. The wizard behind her easy, chic look: London hair guru Richard Ward : Fans of Kate's look have been coming into Richard Ward's salon and requesting " the Kate .

by Mike Krumboltz Everyone knows Kate Middleton is marrying Prince William. Well, almost everyone. The people behind a souvenir mug that commemorates the royal wedding didn't get the memo and made a pretty big gaffe. They got the picture of Kate Middleton correct, but instead of William, the mug features an image of his younger brother, Harry. Ruh ro. According to the UK's Telegraph , the mug was supposedly designed by Guandong Enterprises, a Chinese firm.