UK TV comedian Harry Enfield was interviewed on This Morning recently and spoke about work on his TV show Ruddy Hell it's Harry and Paul - on which he has done sketches about The Ritchies.
Harry recently went into a gym in London and met Guy Ritchie. Guy asked him 'Are you making a new series?', Harry replied 'Yes', to which Guy said 'Am I in it again?'....Guy's last words to Harry were, You've done a good job on the wife though! You can view one of Harry and Paul's Guy and Madonna sketches here:

Madonna, Angelina Jolie and Cher are among the celebrities designing kites for charity.
The high-flyers will auction off their authentic Afghan kites on eBay next month (Wednesday 05 December) as part of the launch of Participant Productions, a social action campaign which will coincide with the delayed release of new Afghan movie The Kite Runner.
Proceeds from the kite auction will benefit the Afghanistan Relief Organization (AFO), which helps raise cash for the training of teachers and the construction of rural libraries in Afghanistan.

Madonna's new record company Live Nation have sent out an email to some of it's subscribers asking them to take part in a survey as they are 'developing next year's Madonna Tour'. The survey asks such questions as what merchandise would you buy, advertising, how much would you pay for a ticket, where you want to sit, who you go with to the shows.

Madonna and Guy flew into Los Angeles on Tuesday night, ahead of the New York screening of Guy's film Revolver on Sunday.

The official website for Madonna's Malawi documentary I Am Because We Are has been updated with a new splash page informing fans that the film will be released in 2008. Visit the site at www.iambecauseweare.com

Madonna is to attend the premiere of Guy's film Revolver in New York City this weekend, reports both the New York Daily News and Variety:

From New York Daily News:
Madonna is hoping to sprinkle a little stardust on hubbie Guy Ritchie’s latest gangster flick, which has been retooled for its delayed U.S. release.
The couple will co-host a VIP preview of 'Revolver' with Piaget on Sunday for invited tastemakers including Howard Stern, Lauren Bacall, Helena Christensen, Patricia Clarkson and Ivanka Trump.
Madonna’s star power can only help a film that stumbled after premiering at the Toronto Film Festival in 2005 and was slammed by critics when released in the U.K.
The film, due in cinemas Dec. 7, has been recut for its U.S. release.

From Variety:
The Cinema Society, which always puts on those deliciously intimate NYC screenings, is really aflutter, anticipating Madonna, who will accompany husband Guy Ritchie to the premiere of his compelling thriller, 'Revolver' on Sunday. Andrew Saffir, the big man behind these events, says, 'The word is out. Everybody in the world wants in!'

Support Guy in an online poll by Hello! magazine to find out who the most attractive male celebrity is this month - to vote for Guy visit www.hellomagazine.com/vote

Madonna was featured on the cover of free magazine The Knowledge that came with The Times on Saturday. The article inside the magazine looked at the New York underground scene from 1978-1988.

In the late 1970s and 1980s, New York sizzled. The economically ravaged city became an affordable refuge for a wave of artists, performers and impresarios. Creative envelopes were pushed, clubs descended into debauchery and the DIY ethos of punk prevailed.
Recording it was Paula Court, resident photographer at the Kitchen Centre, a performance space that nurtured America’s avant-garde and numbered Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson among its prime movers.
Court’s book New York Noise features more than 400 shots of the era’s leading lights including Madonna, Andy Warhol, Patti Smith and William Burroughs. She prefers to let her pictures do the talking.

UK newspaper the Sunday Mirror published this picture of Madonna with Lourdes' lunch bag in their supplement magazine today. Click on the article to enlarge.

Australian newspaper the Daily Telegraph have published an article entitled: Kylie and Madonna strut a similar stage, but are they poles apart?. The article focuses on the two pop stars career and how each have progressed.

Kylie herself says: Madonna's the Queen of Pop, I'm the princess. I'm quite happy with that. The article also talks about Madonna latest musical collaborators, Timbaland and Timberlake, and mentions their first song together called La La.

To read the full article visit www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph

Madonna only needs to cough and the tabloid press will make an article about it! Stars and their seasonal sniffles is featured in the current edition of German magazine VIP Click (22 November issue) and a picture of Madonna on her recent trip to New York City is featured. Click on the article to enlarge.

You can view the latest upload of 96 pictures to the galleries here.

When Madonna performed her hit 1984 single 'Like A Virgin' on the Top of the Pops show, she caused quite a stir among some men with all that writhing on the floor in fishnet tights.
However, the singer made the then show host Steve Wright all hot and bothered for very different reasons.
'Madonna kept doing take after take and I wanted to get home because my mum was making a shepherd's pie,' Daily Express quoted the Radio 2 DJ as recalling.
'I went over to Madonna and said: 'Look love, my mum's doing me a shepherd's pie, could you please hurry up?'
'She looked at me as if I was insane and has never spoken to me since,' he added.

The Malawi government on Tuesday applauded Madonna's efforts to put the plight of the country's AIDS orphans on the global stage and raising money to support them.
The American singer said last week she would work with luxury goods maker Gucci to raise at least $2 million for Malawi's one million orphans.
Madonna and the Italian firm will host a fundraising event with dinner, musical performance and a party on February 6 next year to mark the opening of Gucci's largest store in the world, on New York's Fifth Avenue.
'What she is doing for orphans of this country very few super stars like her can do that, she has managed to put their plight on the world stage,' government spokesperson and Information Minister Patricia Kaliati told Reuters.
'Madonna has built clinics in rural areas where government has failed to reach and because of that she has saved many lives of pregnant mothers who could have died,' she said.
The pop star and her husband Guy Ritchie's bid to adopt David Banda from Malawi has hit several snags since they took the 13-month-old boy from the African country last year to their home in London.
The boy had been placed in an orphanage by his father after the death of his mother. Madonna is due to return to Malawi next April for a hearing before she can permanently adopt the child.
Madonna said the charity event would benefit UNICEF and the charity she co-founded in 2006, Raising Malawi, which focuses on trying to help Malawi's orphans, many of whose parents have died of AIDS.

Famous images from the pages of Vanity Fair magazine are to go on display at the National Portrait Gallery.
From Virginia Woolf to a naked and heavily pregnant Demi Moore, the exhibition's 150 photographs represent 'an essential who's who of the past hundred years'.
Vanity Fair was first published from 1913-1936 and then folded, a victim of the Great Depression. It was revived in 1983 and continues today.
The exhibition includes photographs from both periods.
The early years are represented by leading figures of the Jazz Age - among them Louis Armstrong, Josephine Baker, Noel Coward, Jean Harlow and Gloria Swanson.
Stars from the modern era include Sir Mick Jagger and Madonna.
Famous covers will also be on display, including last year's 'Hollywood issue' which featured a naked Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley alongside designer Tom Ford.
The picture was the work of celebrated photographer Annie Leibovitz, a Vanity Fair regular.
Leibovitz, whose photoshoot with the Queen made headlines earlier this year, has 22 pictures in the exhibition.
There are also photographs by Helmut Newton, Nan Goldin, Herb Ritts and Mario Testino.
National Portrait Gallery curators were given access to the Vanity Fair archives.
Some of the pictures, including the 1924 image of Virginia Woolf by photographers Maurice Beck and Helen MacGregor, are previously unseen.
Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter said: 'It's only fitting that the august National Portrait Gallery will present the first exhibition of Vanity Fair's iconic portraits.'
The exhibition is one of the highlights of the gallery's spring 2008 season, and opens in February.

Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008 runs from February 14 - May 26.

Caught on camera: This picture of Mick Jagger, Madonna and Tony Curtis is among the images to go on display.

Guy, Lourdes and Rocco attended the premiere of Fred Claus at the Empire in London's Leicester Square last night.

Guy speaking to the press last night about the Ritchie's family Christmas, said: We cancelled Christmas two years ago in our household. Once we cancelled it we stopped all the presents, and once we stopped all the presents we started enjoying ourselves more.

Below is a scan of the Ritchie's attending the premiere from the Evening Standard:

The video for Annie Lennox's Sing - which features Madonna's vocals on the second verse is now streaming online at entertainment.uk.msn.com/music/features

Stuart Price was interviewed by BBC Radio 1 DJ Pete Tong last week, during which he talks about his work with Madonna. Fans can relisten to the two-part interview by visiting www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/innewmusicwetrust/petetong/

Visit People.com to view a picture of Madonna and Guy were photographed leaving Harry's Bar in London on Thursday evening.

Ever since Live Nation, the giant concert promoter, announced a sweeping 10-year deal with Madonna to handle her albums, tours and merchandize, investors have worried that the company spent too much to lure the superstar away from Warner Music Group. The stock has fallen roughly 30 percent since the news came out last month.
On Thursday, CEO Michael Rapino and his top executives defended the deal before investors and analysts gathered at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza, one of Live Nation's venues.
Judging from the immediate reaction - the stock was off slightly in early trading Friday - the Street isn't yet convinced.
The execs didn't offer up exact figures of the deal - citing a confidentiality agreement with the material girl - but they did estimate it will be valued at roughly $100 million for Madonna.
Live Nation paid Madonna $25 million in stock as an advance. In addition, according to a person familiar with the terms, Madonna received about $25 million in cash, although Rapino wouldn't confirm this. For each dollar that that comes in, Los Angeles-based Live Nation gets a share and Madonna gets a share that counts against her advance.
Michael Cohl, who runs Live Nation's Artist Nation division and helped broker the contract with Madonna, described the deal as pure partnership and said that any money after that is a basic revenue share, although the splits vary depending on the products. The problem, he said, is that people are viewing the deal as if it's a record deal - and everyone knows the record business is suffering.
Instead, he said, investors need to realize that the rights deal will be 'cross collateralized' across dozens of products - ticket sales, DVDs, books, t-shirts, clothing lines, streaming videos, private concerts. 'Anything you can think of we can do,' said Cohl, who runs tours for the Rolling Stones, among other acts.
'Make no mistake,' said Rapino. 'We are not getting into the record business. We are not building a system to sell 6-inch discs.....We're a marketing and distribution company.'
Record labels have big infrastructures around the world to get CDs into stores, but Rapino argues he doesn't need that.
He likes to point to the deal the Eagles just did to sell its 2-disc set exclusively through Wal-Mart, without having to give a cut to a label. They sold 700,000 in the first week. Whether its Wal-Mart or Starbucks or Victoria's Secret, Rapino said plenty of companies are eager to cut deals to distribute albums.
'Corporate America couldn't be more excited about the demise of the record companies,' he said.

madonnalicious had the pleasure of attending the 'press night' of Desperately Seeking Susan in London last night thanks to the shows production team.
We had great seats in the front stalls, which provided a perfect view of the show.
As with most West End premieres, celebrities were in attendance, including Penny Lancaster Stewart, GMTV presenter Penny Smith, Strictly Come Dancing's Arlene Phillips and actress Sarah Parish. Many of the UK's leading theatre critics were also present, notebooks in hand! (Yes, we saw them taking notes all night).
The highlight of the evening though was when Rosanna Arquette, the original 'Roberta Glass' from the movie arrived....and then proceeded to sit in the seat directly infront of madonnalicious with Angus Jackson, the director of the musical. Funnily, Rosanna found herself in a Madonna-fan sandwich, with our fellow fansite Madonnatribe's team sitting directly infront of her!

As has been written in the press, the shows setting has moved from 1985 to 1979, this does not cause any problems. Many of the iconic moments from the film are there (the armpit drying for example) - but some are sadly missing. When you can see how hard the design team and costume department have worked to recreate the looks that featured in the film, from the pyramid jackets, to 'Susan' wearing her boxer shorts by the pool, you have to wonder why one of the most important costumes was so wrong! The boots!
Yes, we all remember those glittery, sparkly black boots that Susan swaps her jacket for - well in this production they have morphed into some metallic green, cheap looking booties that no-one would want to swap anything for! Every Madonna fan we spoke to after the show agreed!
There were some odd changes, for which no reason could be fathomed. Why change the character Jim's name to Jay!? The production of the show is excellent, as is the staging which includes a moving walkway for the chase scenes. The live band are fantastic and the main characters voices work so well with the Blondie soundtrack.

Some fans have said it was a dreadful decision to make this film which is linked so strongly with Madonna, into a musical with Blondie's music but in madonnalicious' opinion this musical version doesn't tarnish the original film. And maybe while it boosts Blondie's back catalogue, it may also interest a whole new set of fans into watching the original film - and becoming Madonna fans.

Fridays edition of London newspaper the Evening Standard featured a large review by Nicholas De Jongh on the opening night of Desperately Seeking Susan.

Desite the rather negative headline, the reviewer seemed to enjoy the show.

madonnalicious attended the press night of the musical based on Madonna's breakthrough movie Desperately Seeking Susan - and sitting directly infront of madonnalicious was Madonna's co-star from the film Rosanna Arquette.
Pictured below is Rosanna with the director of the musical Angus Jackson.

Rosanna even signed madonnalicious' program and sent 'Peace' out to our readers!

Madonna is joining forces with luxury goods maker Gucci to raise funds for orphans in Malawi, from where she has been trying to adopt a child since last year.
The U.S. singer and Gucci will host a fundraising event with dinner, musical performance and a party on February 6 next year to mark the opening of Gucci's largest store in the world, on New York's Fifth Avenue.
Madonna said the event will benefit UNICEF and the charity she co-founded in 2006, Raising Malawi, which focuses on trying to end the poverty and hardship suffered by Malawi's one million orphans, many of whose parents died of AIDS.
'I am grateful that Gucci is joining forces with me to bring attention to a country with millions of children in desperate need of our help,' Madonna said in a statement.
'Raising Malawi has already done tremendous work in helping these children. But we have much more to do and this event will surely bring us closer to our goal.'
The New York event is expected to raise at least $2 million with Madonna joined by a list of celebrity co-chairs in the event including Adrien Brody, Arpad Busson, Salma Hayek and Francois-Henri Pinault, Tea Leoni, Lucy Liu, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Gucci, which is owned by French retailer PPR, has been a UNICEF corporate partner since 2004.
Caryl Stern, president and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, thanked Madonna and Gucci and said AIDS remained one of the most devastating public health problems in recent history.
'Every day, 6,000 children lose a parent to AIDS, and 1,400 children die from AIDS,' Stern said in the statement.

'Desperately Seeking Susan' without Madonna? It's either sacrilege, or a stroke of genius.
Thursday sees the West End opening of a stage musical based on the spiky-but-sweet 1985 movie that brought Madonna's bangles, bows and bad-girl attitude to a huge audience.
The story of a bored New Jersey housewife, played by Rosanna Arquette, and a downtown hipster - Madonna's breakout role - whose lives intersect through a series of wacky coincidences, it has become a cult classic, with a lively rock, rap and soul soundtrack that includes Madonna's 'Into the Groove.'
In the stage version, Susan is more punk than Material Girl and the songs are supplied by new wave icons Blondie, whose distinctive blend of punk, pop, reggae and rap was one of the most distinctive sounds of the late 1970s. The show features Blondie songs including 'Heart of Glass,' 'Atomic,' 'One Way or Another,' 'Dreaming' and 'The Tide Is High,' as well as a new composition by frontwoman Debbie Harry.
'It's surprising the number of people who have said, 'Of course, it was Blondie music in the film, wasn't it? They were the soundtrack,' ' said Emma Williams, the 24-year-old British performer who plays the title role. 'It just fits so well.'
The new show's New York-based writer Peter Michael Marino says the film and Blondie are a natural fit. He discovered this when, as an experiment, he watched the movie to the accompaniment of Blondie's greatest hits.
'The first song was 'Dreaming,' and the opening scene is a woman who's dreaming about meeting this girl whose fantasy life she's been following in the personal ads,' said Marino, whose writing credits include 1950s pulp homage, 'Hollywood Nurses.'
'The next scene was Susan in the hotel room finishing up with her liaison for the night, and the next track on the CD was 'Call Me.' It sort of all fell into place.'
Fans of the movie will be happy that many of their favourite moments are intact - notably the scene in which Susan blow-dries her armpits in a bus-station bathroom.
But there are significant changes. Marino has set the show in 1979, rather than the mid-80s, to capture an edgier New York, before yuppies and gentrification. Musically, it was the era of the Ramones, clubs like CBGBs and Blondie, who wrote most of their hits between 1977 and 1980.
Williams, a rising star whose West End credits include 'Bat Boy' and 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,' says her character pays homage to Madonna but is very much her own woman.
'To me, she's a combination of Debbie Harry, Madonna, Courtney Love, Shirley Manson, Gwen Stefani - the people who are individual,' she said.

A fabulous picture of Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow at the Vanity Fair Academy Awards party earlier this year is used to illustrate an article in the December 2007 issue of UK fashion magazine Glamour. Click on the image to enlarge.

A small piece of album-related news comes from an article on the Santa Cruz Sentinel yesterday about longtime Madonna collaborator Arianne Phillips.

The stylist talks in an interview about her current and upcoming projects, with the article mentioning that 'she'll also be working on Madonna's next album', adding that, as the fans well know, 'she has worked with Madonna for years'.

Singer darren Hayes has published this news on his MySpace blog about seeing Mike 'Spike' Stent in the studio on Friday 09 November:

I visited my friend Spike in the studio today....
He's been working on the new M album and I hadn't seen him for 2 years.
He's another Englishman I adore. He and Willie Williams are mentors to me.
What is it about the English? They seem to dot my path like paper lanterns.

Mike 'Spike' Stent has worked on all of Madonna's studio albums since Music in 2000 as a producer or mixer - suggesting the album is in it's final stages of production!

The travel section of todays edition of UK newspaper the Metro featured a look at Malawi, and the journalist even does a quick poll with locals to find out what they think about Madonna! Click on the article to enlarge.

 

Actress Jessica Alba might end up on Broadway soon in a role made famous by Madonna in 1988.
Alba will work in the play 'Speed-the-Plow', written by David Mamet, intouchweekly.hollywood.com reports. Alba is apparently in talks with producers for the part of the secretary.
Alba, who has topped sexiest women and most beautiful woman polls, has appeared in hits like 'The Fantastic Four'.

Madonna was spotted at the Soho Screening Rooms in London on Saturday afternoon. It is believed she was there for another screening of her Malawian documentary I Am Because We Are.
Designer Tom Ford and Angela Becker were also present at the screening rooms.

Two Russian fashion magazines, Glamour (November 2007 issue) and L'Officiel Rus (October 2007 issue) feature these article on knitted beanies and berets! And both of course include Madonna and her love of them.

The November 2007 issue of Italian magazine Beat features this article about Madonna's Punkyfish skull tshirt - click on the image to enlarge.

Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn insists he didn't really know his ex-wife Madonna when he was married to her, and can't remember having 'a single conversation' with her. Penn, 44, married the superstar in 1985 at the height of her career and divorced her four years later (89), but blames his own vanity and excessive drinking for the relationship's demise.
He says, 'She was a phenomenon, but nothing could have told anybody what would happen next. I describe that marriage as loud. That's how I remember it. I don't recall having a single conversation in four years of marriage. I've talked to her a few times since, and there's a whole person there. I just didn't know it. I was just living in my own head. Who was it that said 'Men are vain, particularly young men'? That was me, and I liked to drink a lot. I'm not saying it was meaningless. I've carried over the lessons to things more applicable now.'

UK daily newspaper the Daily Mirror published this small snippet in the 3am column about Madonna and Stella's night out in London.

Madonna's dreams of expanding her New York apartment home have been dashed by co-op bosses, because they refuse to let her buy a fourth property in the building. The pop superstar has reportedly put in a bid to take over another apartment in the luxury Manhattan block, which she calls home - but complex bigwigs have insisted three homes in the building is more than enough. Residents are already far from happy with their celebrity neighbour - because paparazzi and fans greet them at the entrance whenever the Material Girl is in town.
An insider says, 'By rejecting her offer to purchase yet another apartment, they're hoping she'll sell her other three and buy elsewhere....Madonna just causes too much commotion'. Madonna and her husband, British moviemaker Guy Ritchie, also own homes in the English countryside, Los Angeles and London.

Madonna and pal Stella McCartney, dined out at Scott's restaurant in Mayfair, London last night.

This evenings editions of London newspapers, the London Lite and the Evening Standard both carried stories about the night out. Click to enlarge.

As part of its 'Videos that rocked the world' series, TV channel Fuse will broadcast a Madonna special on November 27. Taking a closer look at the videos that changed the music scene during the past decades, the program will this time concentrate on Madonna's Like A Prayer video and the controversy surrounding its release, back in 1989.
The Madonna devoted episode premieres Tuesday 27 November at 10:00pm EST (repeats at 01:00am). For more information, visit Fuse's website: www.fuse.tv

The Raising Malawi website have published a new letter from Madonna about the charity initative - to read Madonna's letter visit www.raisingmalawi.org/madonna

Marie Claire magazine are asking 'Which of these celebrities and their campaigns / beliefs made you actually do something eco-friendly or ethically responsible?' in an online poll. Madonna's appearence at Live Earth is one of the voting options.

So if after watching Madonna perform at the concert made you do something different then vote at www.marieclaire.co.uk/competitions

After spending several weeks in the US (visiting both Los Angeles and New York City) Madonna returned home to London on Sunday 04 November.

While in the US she spent some time in the recording studio working on mixes for the album and held more screenings of her Malawi documentary I Am Because We Are.

madonnalicious reader *PHOENIX* aka *MADONNA*BOY* had an interesting find recently and wanted to share it with fellow fans:

While Browsing through a vintage record store in Hollywood recently, I came across a very, interesting Madonna tape: The Virgin Tour. Yes. Madonna's first Live Concert from 1985! I'm assuming it's a bootleg, then again I could be wrong; although it's kinda cool I have to admit. It contains all 10 songs from the video release, not in order, as it starts off with 'Material Girl', plus mixed in is the 'Angel (Extended 'LIVE' Remix)', and 'Love Makes The World Go Around' from Live Aid.
They also added 'I'll Give You This Heart' and 'Revolution' by The Thomson Twins. (Why they choose to include those songs I don't know). It's made by 'Team Records' (never heard of them). Maybe you other fans will know more than I do! There is no date anywhere I see on the tape or jacket.

UK fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar has published a list of the UK's Best Dressed Women of 2007 in the December issue - Madonna makes the list at #15.

1 Natalia Vodianova
2 Thandie Newton
3 Agyness Deyn
4 Dame Helen Mirren
5 Lily Allen
6 Emily Blunt
7 JK Rowling
8 Anouck Lepere
9 Irina Lazareanu
10 Kate Moss
11 Naomi Watts
12 Jemima Khan
13 Rosamund Pike
14 Sam Taylor Wood
15 Madonna
16 Naomie Harris
17 Peaches Geldof
18 Sienna Miller
19 Daphne Guinness
20 Lily Donaldson

A fellow fan, madonnajr posted this news on the ICON message board:

I just got back from meeting Rosie O'Donnell at the Borders bookstore here in Miami and it was AMAZING. She is soooo sweet and looks GREAT in person.
I asked her about 'I Am Because We Are' and she said it was fanstastic and confirmed that Madonna is gonna release it at the Sundance film festival
I of course then had to ask about the album and when it is to be released and she said she didnt know but that she had 'heard the WHOLE thing and it is great' and then she said that 'the stuff with Justin Timberlake is awesome'.

Madonna's mother-in-law has described the singer and husband Guy Ritchie as 'loving and wonderful parents'.
Shireen Ritchie was speaking on ITV1's GMTV programme, which is highlighting the thousands of children in the UK who need adoptive homes.
Madonna and her husband were granted temporary custody of toddler David Banda, then 13 months old, last October after his father placed him in an orphanage following the death of his mother.
The singer previously came under fire for allegedly attempting to bypass normal Malawian adoption rules, an allegation she has strenuously denied.
Mrs Ritchie, a Conservative councillor, is stepmother to Madonna's film director husband. She is Cabinet Member for Family and Children's Services for The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and was asked how the situation is going, having probably one of the most famous adopted grandsons in the world.
She said: 'It is working very well. They are wonderful parents - loving and wonderful parents....and he's a very lucky little boy.'
Speaking generally, she said the children hardest to find adoptive parents for were sometimes sibling groups and older children.
Mrs Ritchie was asked about the myth that it is difficult to adopt in Britain, prompting people to look abroad. She said: 'Adoption processes in other countries are different, that's true.'
'I think what we have in Britain today is a very robust system which puts the child at the heart of the adoption system.'
'It is the interests of the child, what is best for the child, that is considered the whole time.'

UK newspaper The People published this story today about the continuing Malawian adoption saga - click on the article to enlarge.

Linda Stein beat cancer, survived the Bowery's seedy punk rock scene and thrived amid the high-stakes world of Manhattan real estate. Her sudden death came in an unexpected way and place: violently, inside her $3 million Fifth Avenue apartment.
The brutal bludgeoning of the 62-year-old Stein, dubbed the 'Realtor to the Stars' in the years after she quit rock 'n' roll for real estate, left behind shaken friends and family as police searched Thursday for her killer. Stein was found face-down two nights earlier in the living room of her apartment.
A team of detectives was interviewing employees at her posh doorman building, and reviewing security videotape in an effort to identify a suspect.
Friends like Madonna and Elton John recalled Stein's indomitable personality, and her triumph against breast cancer.
Madonna was an unknown singer when she signed with Sire Records, owned by Linda's ex-husband Seymour, in the early '80s. Later, with Linda's help, the now international star purchased a pricey Central Park West apartment.
'I had a great visit with Linda and Seymour backstage after my show last year at Madison Square Garden, and we of course reminisced about the good old days,' Madonna said. 'I deeply admired her courage in her battle with breast cancer, as well as her career success.'
John was the godfather to Stein's daughter Mandy.
'Im absolutely shocked and upset,' the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter said. 'Shes been a friend for over 37 years and will be greatly missed. She did so much for breast cancer and was a huge supporter of my AIDS Foundation.'
Other celebrity friends and clients included Sting, Billy Joel, Steven Spielberg and Angelina Jolie. She was among those at the epicenter of punk rock, becoming a fixture at the legendary CBGB and co-managing the influential punk band the Ramones.
'She was quite the character,' said Meg Griffin, a Sirius Satellite Radio disc jockey who knew Stein from the late '70s. 'She was a loud New Yorker, but endearing. She was one of those people who had their finger on the pulse of this music when it was in dingy, small clubs.'
She fared well after changing careers. A real estate agent peddling a hot property to Charlie Sheen's 'Wall Street' movie character was based on Stein.
Stein's body was discovered by Mandy, a documentary filmmaker who did the film 'Too Tough to Die' last year about the late guitarist Johnny Ramone. She had another daughter, Samantha, and a 3-year-old granddaughter.
'She raised two wonderful daughters,' Madonna said. 'That was her best accomplishment of all.'

The new issue of UK fashion magazine Grazia (05 November issue) features this small piece about a handbag all the stars are seen with....including Madonna.

Billboard's Keith Caulfield talks about how Madonna will miss out on charting on the Billboard Hot 100 this year - for the first time since 1983:

Madonna has had a single somewhere on The Billboard Hot 100 every year since 1983 debut with 'Holiday,' except in 2007. Her last single to chart on The Billboard Hot 100, 'Sorry,' spent its last week on the chart on April 16, 2006.
Eagle-eye chart watchers are now wondering 'Wait, how did Madonna have a single on the Hot 100 in 1988 and 2004, when she released no singles?'
Well, here's the answer: 1987's 'Causing a Commotion' spent its last week on the Hot 100 on Jan. 9, 1988 and 2003's 'Me Against the Music' spent its last week on the Hot 100 on Jan. 17, 2004.

So what are you waiting for Warner Brothers? Release a Madonna single before the end of the year to ensure that Madonna does not miss out on hitting the Billboard Hot 100 in 2007!