The past couple weeks have been rough in the world of celebrities. Between the deaths of Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays and others, there has been much to mourn.
    
Yet the Internet has caused even more grief for celebrities that have not yet met their maker. Rumors were shot down this week of the reported demises of actors Jeff Goldblum, Harrison Ford, Natalie Portman and singer Rick Astley. As a public service, this week's Fanboy column will be dedicated to alerting readers of a few other celebrities who, despite what you might have thought, are still alive.

Former "Charlie's Angels" star Farrah Fawcett died today at the age of 62 after a long battle with cancer.

I'm going to stray a little off topic here for a minute but not that far. This has been a pretty strange week in the world.
 
First up, Perez Hilton. If you haven't heard, the uber-blogger got himself in a bit of a scuffle this week in Canada with Will.i.Am of the Black Eyed Peas.
 
Quick recap: Hilton was apparently ripping Will on his Web site. The Black Eyed Pea was none too thrilled and confronted Hilton. Hilton, in retaliation said some nasty things including a certain homosexual slur. Mayhem broke out and Hilton was punched.
 
Here is where it gets interesting. Hilton claims he got the black eye from the Pea. Will.i.Am says it was a random person that hit him. The band's manager, Polo Molina, has since been charged in the attack.
     
And while Hilton might have had a legitimate beef, it was his tactics to obtain justice that draw his character into question.
     
Instead of calling the police, Hilton took to Twitter. "I was assaulted by Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas and his security guards," Hilton tweeted. "I am bleeding. Please, I need to file a police report. No joke."
     
Yup, instead of dialing 911, the blogger decided it was a much better idea to pull out his cell phone -- the same cell phone he could have dialed 911 from -- and tweet.
     
Regardless of which side you take here, this is a prime example of Internet abuse. For Hilton, who has over a million followers, a Twitter call for help resulted in hundreds of calls to local police asking them to help. Not to mention the fact that all signs point to Hilton's instigation of the incident. If I go to a bar and begin insulting another patron, I can expect that some fisticuffs might ensue.
     
But I guess you wouldn't expect someone who draws dirty things on AP photos for a living to get that.
 
   

As many of you already know, the new iPhone 3G comes out today and as in iPhone releases past, many of you who were in line this morning did not get one.
    
To those of you who did, congratulations. You now own one of the most sophisticated hand-held devices on the planet. To those of you who didn't, never fear, you can still hold one of the most sophisticated devices on the planet and save yourself a couple hundred bucks or so.
     
How, you ask? By purchasing the old 3G, which is now available for $99 for the 8GB model. But, but, this one is new, you say. Yes, it's new. But does new always mean better?
     
Let's look at what the new phone really offers:
     
Improved speed: It's a little faster. And we mean a little faster. And many areas don't even have 3G capability yet so Fanboy is not impressed.
     
Better battery life: OK, this is a plus.
     
Video recording: Certain apps that are currently available already allow for video recording.
     
The biggest upgrade to the system isn't the hardware, it's the new 3.0 operating system -- and guess what 3G owners -- we got that for free Wednesday. MMS? Cut, copy and paste? Landscape keyboard? Spotlight search? Voice recording? It's in the software. So if you want some advice from this Apple-phile, save yourself some money and wait for the next phone.

IPhone users...Apple has just released 3.0 over at iTunes. Go crazy!

You see it more and more. Someone insanely concentrating on the screen of their cell phone, furiously pounding away on it with both thumbs, as they text the day and night away. Harmless fun, a way to keep tabs on family and friends instantly, or a vain exercise designed to detach ourselves more and more from each other? Once again, News-Journal staffers Tom Iacuzio and Dave Wersinger offer up their takes on texting. Who do you agree with? Go now to news-journalonline.com to vote.
 

Here's one more reason to get yourself to the movies this week..."What Do Tigers Dream Of?"