Whatever you think of him, James Bond persists as a force in our culture. In honor of this iconic fictional character, Christie’s presents 50 Years of James Bond—The Auction.

Since our focus here on Longitude is watches, I’m pleased to announce that two models, actually worn by actor Daniel Craig as Agent 007 in the movies, will be included among the lots offered. And one of those definitively answers the question, “What will James Bond wear in Skyfall?”

Lot 45 (Traditional Sale): Daniel Craig wore this exact Omega Seamaster Professional Planet Ocean wristwatch in Skyfall, a unique piece made in 42mm titanium for Craig’s action scenes. It features a circular black dial with Arabic quarters, luminous tapered baton, dot hour markers and luminous hands, with a date indication. The co-axial escapement is on view through the glazed caseback.

Craig’s Bond seem to be establishing a preference for watches with this profile. Last time out, in Quantum of Solace, he wore the Omega reference 2201.50 Seamaster Planet Ocean in stainless steel.

Lot 37 (Online Sale): Daniel Craig wore this Omega Seamaster Professional Planet Ocean in the movie Quantum of Solace. In a 42mm stainless steel case with bracelet, it features a black dial with Arabic quarters, luminous baton hour markers and luminous hands. It also has a date indication, helium escape valve and engraved case back. Inside ticks the George Daniels’ invention, the co-axial escapement.

“Christie’s Presents 50 Years of James Bond – The Auction,” will be conducted in 2 phases, totaling 50 lots. Both will feature memorabilia from EON Productions, the Bond movies’ producer. Thus, authenticity is, as 007 might say, “bullet-proof.” Provenance adds to inherent commercial value – based on both overall popularity of the James Bond character and Daniel Craig’s portrayal of the world’s most famous gentleman agent.

The first 40 lots will be offered by online-only auction, without reserve. You read that right: No reserve!

An additional 10 lots will by invitation-only in a traditional auction at Christie’s South Kensington, celebrating Global James Bond Day. These are numbered lots 41-50.

Since his debut in Ian Fleming’s book Casino Royale in 1953, the not-so-secret, secret agent James Bond has had an impact on everything from cars, clothing and bon mots, to watches.

So it’s likely no surprise that the star of this auction is a 2008 Aston Martin 6 Litre 12 DBDS 2-Door Coupe driven by Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace.

Other items included are a first edition book of Fleming’s Dr. No, a belt with gold buckle worn by Christopher Lee as Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun and a La Perla bathing suit worn by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. Yep, the auction includes swimwear.

All proceeds from the auctions will benefit 12 charities including UNICEF (Roger Moore is an ambassador), Art Fund, ORBIS (Omega and Daniel Craig are ambassadors), and ChildLine. If you’re near Christie’s South Kensington from September 29^th-October 4^th, all the lots will be on view. Admittance is free.

Online auction: Friday, September 28th—Monday, October 8th. Traditional Auction: Friday, October 5th at 8:30pm.

Now discover 11 facts about the world's changing appetite for luxury watches >

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Actress-slash-professional party girl Lindsay Lohan is offering her two cents after President Obama's recent speech at the Democratic National Convention and his subsequent tweets.

After Obama tweeted the below ...

Lohan responded with this head-scratcher:

We're not exactly sure what Lohan is trying to say here, but Obama has yet to respond to her plea for tax cuts for celebrity millionaires.

Although we're not sure what all the fuss is about in the first place, considering the actress did reportedly pull in over $2 million this year alone between a Playboy spread and roles in "Liz and Dick" and "The Canyons."

Now about that $50K Chateau Marmot hotel bill...

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There are good ads, and then there are ads that change the world. Many ads change a brand, few change society or its culture.

Some were highly successful, Such as Benetton's HIV campaign in the early 1990s which humanized people with AIDS.

Others went largely unnoticed at the time, but entered the vernacular decades later ("Keep Calm and Carry On").

They all have one thing in common — they changed the way we think.

Lord Kitchener Wants You (1914). This British WWI recruiting poster spawned a lot of famous recruitment posters.

The "Lord Kitchener Wants You" poster debuted in England in 1914 at the start of World War I. It made its first appearance on the cover of the London Opinion and resulted in massive recruitment success. Its most notable legacy went beyond WWI as it would inspire a handful of other notable campaigns.

Uncle Sam Wants You (1917). Inspired by Kitchener, James Montgomery Flagg's work is now the iconic image of Uncle Sam.

Often a Bridesmaid, But Never A Bride (1924). This popular saying is only popular because of a Listerine campaign.

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Kanye West, Justin Bieber, and Jay-Z may have left the MTV Video Music Awards without moonmen; however, no one went home empty handed.  

Every nominee, presenter, and performer gets dibs on the envious VMA gift bag with items from brands ranging from Covergirl and Calvin Klein to Apple and Monster. 

From headphones to customized iPods, see the most expensive items celebrities took home Thursday night.

Robbie French vintage belt: $40-$137

Timbuk2 Classic Messenger: $54-$119

Customized iPod with Snoop Dogg (Lion's) latest tunes: $49-$249

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North Korea apparently just payed homage to its cultural and political rival south of the 38th parallel, releasing a "Gangnam fever" style video on the official government website Uriminzokkiri.

"Gangnam Style" is a highly successful pop video by the South Korean rapper PSY. It's become a huge international hit, even though it was designed to mock the stylings of residents of Gangnam, a wealthy district of Seoul.

North Korea's parody of "Gangnam Style" appears to have a different target, however, aiming at South Korean politician rather than Seoul street style. For those of you who don't speak Korean, here's how CNN's K.J. Kwon and Jethro Mullen describe the video:

The North Korean video starts with a picture showing a person apparently in the midst of performing the world famous horse dance from "Gangnam Style." The face stuck on the dancing figure is that of Park Geun-hye, the candidate for the governing Saenuri Party in the upcoming South Korean presidential election.

The video goes on to mockingly evoke Park's support for the past actions of her father, Park Jung-hee, South Korea's former dictator whose legacy still divides the nation.

While the video is (strangely) not available on North Korea's official YouTube account yet, we found another rip of the video which is embedded below.

WATCH:

13 Of The Strangest Videos Uploaded To North Korea's Official YouTube Account >

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Faded reality star Paris Hilton was recorded calling gay men "disgusting" and saying that "most have AIDS."

Hilton made the remarks to a friend during a Sept. 7 cab ride, and, unbeknownst to her, the remarks were recorded by her driver. Hilton and her friend were discussing the gay hook-up site Grindr.

"On the audio Paris says at one point: "Gay guys are the horniest people in the world. They're disgusting. Dude, most of them probably have AIDS," Radar reported Hilton as saying.

Radar Online has the full, graphic audio here.

Hilton's camp has responded and acknowledged that the video was Hilton.

But, she had good intentions, they claim:

"Paris Hilton’s comments were to express that it is dangerous for anyone to have unprotected sex that could lead to a life threatening disease. The conversation became heated, after a close gay friend told her in a cab ride, a story about a gay man who has AIDS and is knowingly having unprotected sex. He also discussed a website that encourages random sex by gay men with strangers. As she was being shown the website her comments were in reference to those people promoting themselves on the site. The cab driver who recorded this, only provided a portion of the conversation. It was not her intent to make any derogatory comments about all gays. Paris Hilton is a huge supporter of the gay community and would never purposefully make any negative statements about anyone’s sexual orientation.”

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Add another large donation to Jeffrey Katzenberg's Motion Picture and Television Fund campaign.  

The MPTF announced producer Steve Bing will contribute $30 million to the fundraiser. 

The "Marley" producer joins a long list of donors including Barry Diller, Rupert Murdoch, Tom Cruise, and Kurt and Michael Douglas.  

With Bing's latest donation, the MPTF will reach two thirds of its $350 million goal set by Katzenberg.  

The contributions are expected to provide for the future retiring industry members, according to Ken Scherer, CEO of the MPTF Foundation.  

You can read the entire press release HERE.

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Korean pop sensation Psy has exploded in the US thanks to his viral hit, "Gangnam Style." The music video has so far garnered over 221.5 million hits on YouTube, and Psy has been featured on a number of American television programs, including "Today," "Good Morning America," and "Ellen."

The video mocks the opulence and showiness of Gangnam-gu, a wealthy Seoul neighborhood that's known for its materialism and superficiality, as well as nightlife, cafes, and shopping.

But apart from the silly choreography and catchy chorus, the dance hit also supposedly contains a subversive message about class and wealth in Korea, posits The Atlantic's Max Fisher.

More than anything, Gangnam is a haven of wealth. It's home to around 1% of Seoul's total population.

Source: AP

Here is an aerial view of Gangnam-gu in South Korea. "Gangnam" literally means "South of the river." The district is about half the size of Manhattan.

Source: AP

Gangnam-gu is considered to be the most affluent district in all of South Korea. The average apartment there costs about $716,000, an amount that would take an average South Korean household 18 years to earn, according to the AP

Source: AP

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When Beauty and the Beast's French-themed restaurant opens in Walt Disney World come November, it may want to ask Oprah to be its first guest.  

Last week, Walt Disney Company CFO Jay Rasulo revealed the near-completed Enchanted Forest area may have never come to fruition without an indirect nudge from the ABC veteran. 

During a question-and-answer session at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Media, Communications and Entertainment Conference Rasulo said the idea for Fantasyland upgrades were triggered by a nugget in "O Magazine" that suggested overcrowding in the park's current area: 

"I am not a regular reader of O Magazine, but I have seen it from time to time because, remember, mothers are our customer in parks and resorts. They make a lot of the vacation decisions. And O Magazine said I don't know 10 years ago now maybe eight years ago that 66% of their readers thought Walt Disney World was the toughest place to be in the middle of the summer because of overcrowding. And I kinda ripped the page out and I called the folks that were running our business at that time and said I really want to look into this." 

After research, they found this to be exactly true.  

"It turned out that when we studied day after day, something they knew, but informed me
of in a very statistical way that there are many days that Fantasyland was an uncomfortable place to be."

In response, the decision was made to expand and add more content to the Magic Kingdom for the first time since 1972. 

According to Rasulo, the Magic Kingdom is the most visited park in the world, and the park's Fantasyland is the most visited of any in the location. 

Though the "Beauty and the Beast"-themed restaurant will open in November, the rest of the Enchanted Forest complete with a "Little Mermaid" area is slated to open December 6.

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Matt Bissonnette doubled down on his recent releases by advising on a soon-to-be pressed video game called "Medal Of Honor Warfighter."

And he's not the only one: Navy SEALs Tyler Grey, Nate Brown and Kevin Vance all advised on the game as well. The new release claims to put players into the shoes of high-speed military operators while they embark on true-to-life historical special operations.

Steven Fries of Politico points out that "The “Medal of Honor” games typically sell more than 6 million copies and cost more than $60 million to produce, making it a far more lucrative and widely consumed entertainment than a book and even many major Hollywood films."

Maybe it was the money, or maybe it's just Bissonnette's new business, dreams of which a few others claim the SEALs pushed him out of the Navy for having. Bissonnette wanted to start a consulting firm called "Silent R."

The game is due out October 23, and advertises heavily its use of recent special operations.

Now: Check out these 18 things that Navy SEALs never leave the wire without >

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Michael Weiner, CEO and co-founder of one of America's largest providers of pay-per-view TV pornography, was just terminated from the company he built, according to Deadline, largely without explanation.

Here are the five most important factors leading up to his dismissal:

1. If the company hasn't sold by Dec.31, a representative from Longkloof—which owns 15.9 percent of the programmer’s shares—will join the New Frontier board.
2. Longkloof agreed to drop a lawsuit and proxy contest when New Frontier agreed to review Longkloof's proposal as part of its process.
3. The company is chronically unprofitable: It lost $3.5 million in FY 2012 on revenues of $41 million; sales were down from $49 million the year before.
4. New Frontier's stock lost more than 78 percent of its value through the past five years — mainly due to increased competition from the internet.
5. Ken Boenish resigned as president of New Frontier last August.

Boenish never gave a reason for his departure, but did walk away with a compensation package up to $948,700, according to BizJournal, and $30,000 a month to consult for the company and a promise "not to reveal trade secrets, compete against New Frontier Media or solicit its employees to leave the company."

The board is paying an even heftier price to terminate Weiner: According to company documents, Weiner will get at least $2.4 million if he is terminated without cause.

In Weiner's absence at New Frontier, the top job is being shared by New Frontier's CFO, Chief Legal Officer, and Chief Technology Officer. Alan Isaacman, a longtime director, replaced Weiner as chairman.

But with share prices up 33 percent so far in 2012, investors are hoping for a sale. New Frontier has already received bids from Longkloof as well as from Luxembourg-based Manwin, which purchased Playboy TV late last year.

Put that all together, and a cynic could be forgiven for speculating that the New Frontier board, sick of the company's financial decline, wanted to sell for a premium on NOOF stock, but that Weiner didn't want to give up the company he built to strangers.

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• TLC admits their new reality show "Breaking Amish"—which chronicles five adults ages 20-32 as they leave behind their isolated community for the big city—bends the truth and is not quite what it appears to be.
• After a year of legal troubles and erratic behavior, Amanda Bynes' agent, publicist AND lawyer have all dropped the actress as a client in the past few weeks.

• Music publisher hit with $500K jury verdict over '70s hit "Fallin' in Love"—the family of late songwriter Dan Hamilton prevailed against industry vet Henry Marx in battle over publishing revenue.

• The Baz Luhrmann-directed "The Great Gatsby" gets a release date of May 10, 2013—right in between "Iron Man 3" and the "Star Trek" sequel.

• "Hamlet" is getting a modern day TV remake on Fox about "When a beloved presidential hopeful dies in a tragic car wreck, a renegade JFK Jr. type returns home to D.C. to discover his father’s death was no accident."

• Lady Gaga blames her 35-lb weight gain on her restauranteur dad's delicious "pasta and pizza."

• Paris Hilton apologizes for saying gays are "disgusting" and "probably have AIDS."

• Lindsay Lohan was arrested in New York early Wednesday after she allegedly hit a pedestrian with her Porsche. Lilo, however, maintains that the claims “will be proven untrue.” Check out the grainy surveillance video below and judge for yourselves:

• Watch Britney Spears' startled, expletive-filled reaction to a thunderboom right before a rejected "X Factor" reject has a meltdown:

SEE ALSO: 5 factors explain mysterious dismissal of pay-per-view porn CEO >

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Vivid Entertainment CEO Steve Hirsch has a monopoly on celebrity sex tapes.

His most successful tape of all, featuring Kim Kardashian and Ray-J, came at a heavy price.

"Kim really didn't want the tape to be released and made public," Hirsch told us over the phone. "But as the tape began leaking onto the internet in small pieces, she decided to come around."

"It makes sense that she would want to share in the revenue from the tape," Hirsch told us.

Vivid paid Kardashian a sum of "several million dollars" in order to release the tape.

But the price was well worth it, Hirsch said.

"It's our most successful tape ever," he said."If you wanna see Kim, no video on the internet is going to be able to replace that."

"It's really invaluable to us because it's so exclusive," he said.

While the tape put Kim on the map, her success today can totally be attributed to her "hard work," Hirsch said.

"She should receive full credit for everything she has today because she's worked so hard," Hirsch told us. "She's an entrepreneur and 100 percent is responsible for how successful she is today."

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The Weinstein Company failed to get a million dollar lawsuit against it thrown out of court alleging the studio failed to pay "The Reader" author for profits from its 2008 Oscar-nominated film. 

Yesterday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark V. Mooney ruled "Reader" author Bernard Schlink sufficiently proved his claim the Weinstein Company was in breach of a contract from more than a decade ago potentially granting him at least $1 million. 

In January, Schlink sued the Weinstein Company claiming he was never paid for profits from the Oscar winning film.  

"The Reader" stars Kate Winslet, who took home the Oscar for Best Actress that year, as a woman convicted of war crimes in a Nazi concentration camp. To date, the film has grossed more than $108.9 million worldwide.

Schlink claimed he was entitled to an amount between 2.5 and five percent of gross receipts from the film due to a $1.5 million adaptation deal he made with the Weinstein's former company Miramax in 1998. 

However, the Weinstein Company claims no such deal was ever made to pay Schlink film profits after signing over rights to the film.  

In 2005, Bob and Harvey Weinstein founded the Weinstein Company and instead of paying him, Schlink claims in the January suit he was sent a profit participation statement saying the studio didn't owe him anything.  

Weinstein Co. attempted to refute Schlink's claims saying the author was already paid his dues:  

"Had Plantiffs bothered to ask questions first rather than "shoot first, ask later," they would have confirmed that no back-end payment is due because the participation statements correctly reflect the Picture's revenues and expenses, properly account for the payments advanced to Plantiffs." 

Weinstein Company's attorney Harrison Dossick is demanding an audit of the accounting statements for "The Reader" to show what, if any, money owed to Schlink. 

Mooney did dismiss a claim that alleged the studio committed fraud by allegedly breaching the contract. saying the suit lacked "sufficient allegations that there is some sort of fraud going on here." 

View the written response to Weinstein's complaint HERE.

SEE ALSO: The 5 factors that explain the mysterious dismissal of pay-per-view's porn CEO >

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Appearing in a short film published to YouTube on Thursday, comedian Sarah Silverman attempts to explain why 12 states have passed laws that require voters present photo identification before casting a ballot.

In short, she said that “lawmakers are trying to [screw] you” -- although she used the F-word to make her point -- and ended up recommending everyone buy guns, because states like Texas and Tennessee have passed laws that say gun permits work as voter IDs, but Social Security cards and student IDs do not.

It’s not the first time Silverman has dipped a toe into politics, even this election season. She also appeared in a spot produced by the same group last July, offering to “scissor” billionaire Mitt Romney supporter Sheldon Adelson if he donates to President Barack Obama.

He didn’t take the offer.

This video was created by the Jewish Council for Education & Research, a super PAC supporting President Obama, published to YouTube on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012.

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Model Maggie Rizer has been the face of Gap, Louis Vuitton, Versace and Calvin Klein—but now the 34-year-old is speaking out on behalf of a much less glamorous cause: pet safety during air travel.

On Thursday, Rizer published a passionate blog post titled "United Airlines Killed Our Golden Retriever, Bea."

Two weeks ago, on our way back to San Francisco after a great summer vacation on the east coast, Beatrice lost her life due to the negligence of United Airlines.  I’m writing this with my anger aside, in the hopes that someone looking for advice will read this and not make the mistake of trusting United with their pets as we did.

Beatrice had a perfect health record. She received a full examination and a health certificate four days before the flight, as is required by the Pet Safe program. This program is United’s branded on-board pet safety program. In addition to Pet Safe’s stringent requirements, we took every extra precaution we could think of.  Both the dog’s kennels were labeled front to back with emergency numbers, flight information and warnings.  Their kennels were purchased specifically for the measurements and design specified by Pet Safe.  We purchased special water bowls which we filled with ice to ensure that the water wouldn’t spill and that it would last longer. We drove the six hours to New York City from our house in Northern New York State, so the dogs wouldn’t have to make a connecting flight.  We paid United Airlines $1800.00, in addition to our plane tickets, to ensure the safety of our pets.

When we arrived in San Francisco to pick up our dogs we drove to the dark cargo terminal and on arrival in the hanger were told simply, “one of them is dead” by the emotionless worker who seemed more interested in his text messages.  It took thirty minutes for a supervisor to come to tell us, “it was the two year old.”  Subsequently we requested that our dog be returned to us and were told that she had been delivered to a local vet for an autopsy. Whatever thread of trust remained between us and United broke and we then insisted that she be returned to us for our own autopsy by our trusted veterinarian, Shann Ikezawa, DVM from Bishop Ranch Veterinary Center. Over the next two hours the supervisor’s lie unraveled as it became clear that Bea was right behind a closed door the whole time and he had been discussing how to handle the potential liability with his boss who had left and sticking to the divert and stall tactic that they had been taught. Eventually Bea was returned and we drove her to the vet at midnight.

William Spangler DVM, PhD performed Beatrice’s necropsy (a dog autopsy).  From the findings, it is Dr. Spangler’s opinion that Beatrice’s death was from  heatstroke.  Our little Beatrice died in pain, scared and alone.

To read the rest of the heartbreaking blog post, click here.

But United Airlines claim they followed protocol and did nothing wrong.

In a statement to People magazine, the airline says:

We understand that the loss of a beloved pet is difficult and express our condolences to Ms. Rizer and her family for their loss. After careful review, we found there were no mechanical operational issues with Bea's flight and also determined she was in a temperature-controlled environment for her entire journey. We would like [to] finalize the review but are unable until we receive a copy of the necropsy.

Rizer considered filing a lawsuit but instead hopes that by speaking out about her experience, she will help inform people about the risks of traveling with a pet in cargo.

Please don’t make the mistake I made that cost our dog her life. Please, don’t trust that an airline will truly care and provide safety to your beloved pet ... I will miss her forever.

To see more adorable photos of Bea, Maggie and her family, click here.

SEE ALSO: 7 celebrities who inspired new laws >

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The video for “Gangnam Style,” a pop song by Korean rap star Psy (short for Psycho), has been raging across the world.

It has racked up 221 million YouTube views as of this writing and is the number one song downloaded on iTunes. Psy himself has been on a media tear in the United States and has appeared on the MTV Video Music Awards, Ellen (twice), The Today Show and Saturday Night Live.

And if you haven’t yet seen him, his addictive video or any of the many parodies it has spawned (by the Oregon Duck mascot, Naval Academy cadets, a wedding party, lifeguards and more), get ready to see more of him, because he has signed with Scooter Braun, the man who made stars of Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen.

But there’s no reason for a personal finance site to be writing about a silly song known for its horse-riding dance, right? Well, actually, it turns out this addictively catchy song and its accompanying video relay a lesson that could help you with your own spending habits.

What Gangnam Style Is All About

The words “gang” and “nam” literally mean “south of the river,” but Gangnam with a capital G is an upscale neighborhood of Seoul (you guessed it) on the south side of the river. As the Beverly Hills of South Korea’s biggest city, it also occupies a psychic place in the minds of Korea’s 99% and represents the luxurious life for which they strive.

The neighborhood is just seven square miles but holds 7% of Korea’s GDP. For comparison, New York state, which is 3,000 times the size of Gangnam holds 7% of U.S. GDP. Forty-one percent of students at the nation’s most prestigious college, Seoul University, come from Gangnam, which in the U.S., would be like having 41% of Harvard students come from Manhattan.

The neighborhood is full of high-rise apartment buildings, high-end department stores, the city’s trendiest boutiques and hottest clubs, and a lot of plastic surgery clinics. As U.S.-based Korean blogger Jae Kim says in her analysis of the song, “In short, it’s like the U.S. Upper East Side plus Beverly Hills minus tradition; or I’d rather say it’s more like ‘Dubai’”–and here, she refers to the area’s recent development–”built on Korean cabbage and Korean pear fields.”

What ‘Gangnam Style’ The Song Is About

But Psy’s rendering of “Gangnam Style” highlights the superficiality of this dream. In the opening scene, Psy is lounging on a beach, dreaming he is being fanned by a beautiful girl. As the camera pans out, you realize he is actually lying on a chair in a sandy children’s playground.

Then you see him in a tux with a girl on each arm, strutting as though down a red carpet, except they appear to be in an underground parking lot, and instead of confetti fluttering down upon them, trash is flying at them with blizzard-like force.

In another scene, he parties like a rock star in a bus outfitted with disco balls, but his fellow partygoers are retirees wearing sun visors.

Meanwhile, in all these scenes, he’s dancing as though he’s riding an invisible horse, almost as though he’s the knight of his own imaginary Camelot.

The Truth Behind This Lifestyle

While the video is hilarious and seems to offer a sharp critique of the Gangnam lifestyle, it is also based on some hard facts of the personal finances of South Koreans, as The Atlantic points out.

Many families appear to be pursuing the Gangnam lifestyle whether or not it fits within their budget. For instance, Psy states his ability to drink coffee in one gulp and expresses a desire for a woman who drinks coffee too. What is so special about coffee, which is cheap? Well it turns out that in Korea, there’s a popular joke about women who eat $2 ramen for lunch in order to afford a $6 coffee at Starbucks, mocking women who spend more than they can afford.

And indeed, spending more than you can afford seems to be the trend in Korea. The Financial Times reports that household debt in South Korea has reached a perilous high: 155% of disposable income, which is higher than the U.S. figure before the subprime mortgage crisis (138%).

The country’s obsession with achievement drives people to buy luxury handbags and cars and pay for expensive tutors that will get their children into the top universities, according to The Washington Post. Sadly, these aspirations outweigh any lessons that Koreans might have learned from the credit crisis the country endured in 2002, when Koreans had an average of almost five cards per person, and the government had to step in to bail out the country’s largest credit-card issuer.

While credit card ownership dropped to an average of about three per person afterward, it is back up to almost five again. A little over a year ago, the South Korean government and economists rolled out several policies to get Korean consumers to be more cautious about their spending before a crisis does it for them.

What You Can Learn From ‘Gangnam Style’

So, now that you know the price Koreans pay for pursuing the Gangnam lifestyle, here’s what you can learn from this silly song:

• Don’t live beyond your means. If you want to buy something out of your reach, remember that studies show that while we often think that buying or owning something will make us happier, what actually happens is that after an initial spike, our happiness level reverts to what it was before the purchase. Also, when you feel tempted to buy something you can’t afford, ask yourself whether the joy you’ll get from this object is really worth the pain and stress of paying off the debt. And if your spending problem is simply not knowing where your money is going, then set up a budget in LearnVest's Money Center and start tracking your expenses.
• Don’t try to keep up with the Joneses. Remember that everyone has a different life path and circumstances are constantly changing. You may envy your friend’s lifestyle now, but in a year, the tables may be turned. Besides, you never know: Your friend’s fabulous lifestyle may not be funded by cash, but by debt.
• Don’t get into credit card debt. While debt is debt, there are some kinds that are worse than others. Credit card debt is one of them because the interest compounds, meaning that with every day you don’t pay it off, it grows bigger. And unlike a student loan, a mortgage or a business loan, what you get out of it doesn’t appreciate in value or increase your earning power. (If you’re working your way out, try LearnVest's Get Out of Debt Bootcamp.)
• Finally, remember that there are so many ways you can enrich your life for free. For instance, you can underindulge, because the less you have of something, the more you enjoy it; savor so you fully enjoy each experience; and regularly express gratitude, so you remember how much you already have.

As Psy shows as he traipses around Gangnam, the more we try to live lives outside of our means, the more ridiculous we look–while also probably feeling worse about ourselves: Psy himself said of his experience filming the ridiculous scenes in “Gangnam Style,” “Human society is so hollow, and even while filming I felt pathetic. Each frame by frame was hollow.”

So, enjoy doing the horse-riding dance, but don’t forget the price of having Gangnam Style.

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A woman who allegedly filmed a sex tape with rapper Kanye West earlier this year is shopping the film around to distributors, according to a recent report by RadarOnline. 

The woman in the video is allegedly a dead ringer for West's girlfriend, Kim Kardashian. 

Radar claims its staff has seen the tape in full and published a screengrab of West. 

Radar reports: 

'"The sex tape is being shopped right now and there's a lot of interest, but Kanye is freaking out!" the insider revealed.

"He doesn't want this tape out and will do anything to make sure it stays private."

Ironically, West references Kim's 2007 tape with then-boyfriend Ray-J in his new song, "Clique."

"Eat breakfast at Gucci/My girl a superstar all from a home movie," he raps. 

The tape launched Kardashian to superstardom. 

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Carl Higbie served twice in Iraq, once in 2007 under Bush, and then again in 2009 under Obama.

Recently he wrote a book, “Battle on the Homefront: A Navy SEAL’s Mission to Save the American Dream,” and then got on WND News Radio to publicize its release.

Oh, and also to lambast everyone in sight.

Apparently, to Higbie, we started losing the war the day Obama was inaugurated. He says there was a "night and day difference" between how the administrations ran the war.

"In 2007, we were doing kill and capture missions ... in 2009, it was winning hearts and minds, go out and hold hands and play games with these guys, so during the Obama administration it was quite softhanded."

Nevermind that the "hearts and minds" mission started under Bush in 2008 (I can tell you, because I was there). Higbie goes further by lambasting general officers, calling General Martin Dempsey a "moron" and foreign counterparts (Iraqi soldiers) "stupid."

“It was unfathomable how dumb the people were over there,” Higbie told WND. “It’s difficult to get them to do basic tasks such as reading a map or doing jumping jacks. And we’re giving them guns!”

He tells the WND Radio host a story about an Iraqi trading a U.S. issued pistol for a goat.

Then Higbie repeats a few debunked claims that U.S. Marine FAST teams deployed to Libya and Cairo with either no bullets or "rubber" bullets. About the only claim he makes that has any evidence behind it  is that some of these rural, Middle Eastern people had never heard of 9/11. He also says something about Marines in Iraq guarding posts without having bullets, which doesn't even deserve comment (flagrantly false).

You can listen to the whole interview here > 

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In between getting in trouble this summer, Lindsay Lohan somehow managed to finish shooting "Liz & Dick"—a made-for-TV Lifetime movie.

The film, starring Lohan as Elizabeth Taylor, focuses on the legendary screen icon's marriage to Richard Burton, as played by TV actor Grant Bowler.

The film will premiere in November.

Watch Lohan express a rollercoaster of emotions in the film's first trailer below:

SEE ALSO: Watch footage of LiLo's latest hit-and-run >

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