Middle-earth mayhem

Gorgeous and Green, the annual fundraiser for Global Green, takes place at the Bently Reserve on December 11, 2012.

Faconnable recently opened its doors for supporters of Children of Shelters. Their annual fundraiser “Jingle & Mingle” takes place December 6, 2012.

Located at 2724 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, this beautiful 1894 Queen Anne mansion has gone on the market with an asking price of $30 million.

San Francisco Parks Alliance and the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department recently hosted Party for the Parks at the Anglers Lodge in Golden Gate Park.

Lucas Cross-Back End Table, Black

The classic X-base design adds an airiness to this end table that’s especially welcome in smaller rooms. Launched in 1914 …

Laragh Rug, Red/Natural

With rich, luscious detailing and a vibrant feel, this rug enlivens any space. Hand-tufted of pure wool with strong cotton backing, the traditional …

Laragh Rug, Red/Natural

With rich, luscious detailing and a vibrant feel, this rug enlivens any space. Hand-tufted of pure wool with strong cotton backing, the traditional …

Laragh Rug, Red/Natural

With rich, luscious detailing and a vibrant feel, this rug enlivens any space. Hand-tufted of pure wool with strong cotton backing, the traditional …

It’s like looking a lot at some tug-o-war. While many still pick on the supposed end of the world on December 21, 2012, still others take round the clock efforts to debunk the Mayan doomsday myth. While the Mayan calendar indeed ends of that date, it actually heralds the start of new beginnings for Earth and its people. “People have drawn a doomsday conclusion from the Mayan calendar, when there isn’t one,” Louix Dor Dempriey, a spiritual master who started the Louix Dor Dempriey Foundation, said in a statement. “The world is not going to come to an end on December 21st, and that’s not what the Mayan calendar predicted to begin with.” “Every so often, someone calls for a doomsday or some other major event that they state is going to happen,” Dor Dempriey added

A fourth accuser has come forward in the underage sex case of former Elmo actor Kevin Cash . A fourth man has filed suit against Clash — using the name John Doe — via attorney Jeff Herman, who also represents two other men who have accused Clash of sexual abuse. NBC News first reported the Monday filing. STORY: Kevin Clash ‘Deeply Sorry’ to Leave Sesame Street The lawsuit filed in Miami claims that Clash befriended Doe in late 1995 or early 1996, when Doe was 16 or 17. In 1996, the accuser says that Clash paid to fly him from Miami to New York. It was during Doe’s trip to New York that the abuse allegedly occurred. Herman said in a statement: “According to our lawsuit, Kevin Clash knowingly paid to transport a minor across state lines for the purpose of satisfying his sexual interests.” STORY: PBS’ Paula Kerger on Fred Willard’s Arrest, Big Bird and the Elmo Sex Scandal News of the scandal broke in early November when 24-year-old Sheldon Stephens claimed to have had a sexual relationship with Clash when he was 16

British Member of Parliament Keith Vaz stated that the devastated family of Nurse Jacintha Saldanha should also receive the same intensive counseling offered to the two Australia n radio hosts who made the royal prank call. The British MP first met the Saldanha family at their Briston home then welcomed them with a warm hug at the Parliament on Monday. “I would hope very much that trained psychologists and others will be helping this family because they are obviously grief-stricken. They simply cannot cope or understand what is happening. I am not sure that they are getting the kind of support that, for example, the DJs in Australia appear to be getting,” MP Vaz stated. “This is a small, loving family. When I was there they were having prayers for her and they will continue to love her and to cherish her until they take her to India where they wish to bury her, after they have reclaimed the body,” he further added. MP Keith Vaz also confirmed the police had been supportive to the family as well as the King Edward VII Hospital where Jacintha Saldanha worked.

British actor Robert Pattinson received an offer from “Girls Gone Wild” creator Joe Francis to be a guest star in the show. In of his many interviews for the promo tour of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2″, the actor joked about turning the “Twilight Saga” into a porn film and combining “Twilight” cast members and “Girls Gone Wild.” This joke prompted an offer from the creator of the show to help Robert in his debut in the porn industry. “Girls Gone Wild” creator Joe Francis followed the story by offering Pattinson $100,000 to star in one of their shows. Francis made the offer through a letter sent to Hollywood Life. The letter suggested that Pattinson would be paid to film girls during a three-day, Spring Break period. Pattinson would be allowed to choose the spot for the film and could either keep the money or donate it to charity.

“Fifty Shades of Grey” movie still has a long way to go before it hits the theaters near you. Fans keep casting their favorite actor and actress to play Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. And reports keep surfacing on who’s in and who’s out. Recently, Matt Bomer, a popular poll choice, has been rumored to be out of the Fifty Shades game.

Google has good things going for its Nexus gadget lines, which mostly led to stock outs since their debut, but glitches in the Android system appears to be hampering the products’ total commercial breakout. The Nexus 4 is a hit but Google seems to eternally grapple on meeting heavy demands for the product. And the problems do not disappear even after consumers successfully purchased any of the Nexus devices. One glaring issue is the Android deployment in the Nexus 7 tablet, which is fraught with too many issues because the mobile platform “started as an immature mobile platform designed to handle smartphones,” James Kendrick of ZDNet said in a report. Mr Kendrick echoed experts’ sentiments that Android remains an OS not fully-optimised for tablet use, which Google claims has been dealt with in the latest JellyBean version.

Straying outside Yellowstone National Park turned out to be a fatal mistake for one animal as it was announced Sunday that a famous wolf was shot and killed after it wandered outside park boundaries. The wolf, named simply 832F, was a favorite among scientists and tourists for her high visibility as a member of the Lamar Canyon pack. The New York Times reported “the most famous wolf in the world” was an alpha female and was killed legally by a rancher after venturing out of the park’s territory. Described as a “rock star” by tourists, the wolf was recently implanted with a $2,000 GPS tracking system under her fur that showed the Lamar Canyon wolf pack rarely left Yellowstone and, when it did, returned after a brief time. More than 1 million visitors were estimated to have seen 832F since she was born in 2006. John Hayes, operator of photography and wildlife blog Oops John , wrote that there was something special about watching the wolf pack, led by its famous leader, in its natural habitat. “Alpha Female 832F, despite her age, or maybe because of it, is a consummate professional at what she does – which is to protect and guide the Lamar Canyon Pack from one generation to the next in a land wild and unforgiving,” Hayes wrote.

Ten days to be exact from today and the planet Earth will witness its final, chilling end on December 21, or at least that’s what Mayan doomsday cultists say. The world’s getting fidgety. France’s Bugarach Mountain, said to be a refuge from the impending end-of-day scenario, is slowly gearing up to seal off its environment from the outside world. In lieu of that, focus has now been turned towards Serbia’s Mount Rtanj which according to cultists could be a second sanctuary from the onslaught. The pyramid-shaped Mount Rtanj is now hogging its own share of the limelight in the Mayan doomsday countdown after owners of hotels surrounding the mountain, located in the east of the Balkan country, reported receiving an unusual influx of guest bookings during the past few days.