Water Cooler Talk

• Isaac Hayes, whose "Theme From Shaft" won Academy and Grammy awards, died Sunday. He was 65.
• Comedian Bernie Mac died Saturday from complications from pneumonia. He was 50.
• "The Dark Knight" is now number 3 on the all-time domestic box-office charts with $441.5 million, behind only "Titanic" ($600.8 million) and the original "Star Wars" ($461 million).
• Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest will once again welcome the New Year at Times' Square this year on ABC.
• Exercising for 30 minutes a day will not only strengthen your heart and muscles, but also strengthen your brain. If you work up a sweat for just a half an hour and you will be able to learn faster, remember more, think more clearly and recover more quickly from brain injuries.
• Charlie Robison listed a "conflict of personalities" when he gave the reason for wanting a divorce from Dixie Chick, Emily Robison, back in January. The paperwork was finalized last week.
• Kristen Hall, co-founder of the country band Sugarland, is suing the two current members for $1.5 million in unpaid royalties.
• Jewel eloped with her rodeo-star boyfriend in the Bahamas on Thursday, People magazine reports. The 34-year-old singer married Ty Murray, 38, during a private ceremony and were heading to the Caribbean islands for six days with two friends.
• While only 8% of American women have an hourglass figure, wherein the waist measures at least 9 inches less than the bust, most new clothes are designed to fit that shape.