Before she was "the cheerleader" on the hit show Heroes... before she was releasing music videos, I interviewed Hayden Panettiere and we had a conversation about celebrities as mentors- the way celebrities dress and behave themselves. At the time she told me that she'd like to stay away from being known as a "sex vixon," instead being known as "classy."

I think her new music video just exited "classy" and took the "sex vixon" onramp. (what the heck was the whole "pulling up her jeans" thing at :58 seconds??? Note the lyrics shortly after.)

 Here's a peice of my October 19, 2004 conversation with Hayden.

JONATHAN: ...Now tell me something. As you see other teen actors or musicians… Hillary Duff, the Olsen twins, Lindsey Lohan ... Some of these girls are turning 18. There is an image that goes along with them; we've seen some of the same trends. What makes you different from these people?

HAYDEN: I think that they've got to do their own thing and I got to do mine. I want to be Hayden. I don't want to be them. I don't want people to think that I look like them, that I act like them, or that I dress like them. I am me and they're them. I want to be separate. I have met them and they have always been nothing but sweet to me and I adore them ... but I want to be myself. I want to do things differently.

JONATHAN: That's neat. Now, I study the trends that kids follow and one of the biggest influence on kid's lives these days is the media. Kids are looking at teen magazines and seeing celebrities like the ones you mentioned: The Olsons, Lindsey, Hilary ... to see what they are doing. We have noticed, that as these celebrities grow up, some of them often change from "Mickey Mouse Club" to "sex vixon" ...

HAYDEN: I definitely want to stay away from that. I don't think that I would ever be the type of person that would go to a premier with tight tiny, tiny mini skirt and like a bikini top.

JONATHAN: Let's talk about dressing for premiers for a second. For example you've got Anne Hathaway (Princess Diaries I and II, Ella Enchanted) ... when she showed up to the School of Rock premier, she's got this see through top on. I mean she might as well not even wear a top. Now, my daughters are 7 and 9 and they loved her in her films. And I'm thankful that they never saw the pictures from that premiere. Where do you ...

HAYDEN: Personally, I am too shy. I don't think that I could ever do that. But I think I might, you know, wear like a little belly shirt once and a while or something like that. You know, if you have the stomach for it. I wouldn't at my age.

JONATHAN: Some other actresses and musicians have shown up on the cover of Rolling Stone wearing very little or at movie premiers with dresses that ‘shock.' Some are highly critical of this kind of thing, others defend it. I would think that there's a line that exists somewhere of ‘what you do and don't do.' Where do you draw that line?

HAYDEN: I think everyone has the freedom to wear what they want and do what they want to do. But I think they should consider what everyone else will think. Rolling Stone can be a "sexy magazine." Personally, I wouldn't do anything like that. I do draw the line at certain things like, ‘that skirts getting a little too short' or ‘that top's getting a little too tiny ...'

JONATHAN: Sure.

HAYDEN: ... and the clothes get less and less and when you wear certain things ... I don't want to judge anyone—they can wear what they want to wear, but I'm going to wear more conservative clothes or something a little more classy.

JONATHAN: I guess the bottom line is this: As you get, older, more popular and get even more roles, and if you know that your poster is going to be on the walls of little 8 year old girls across the country ... would that make you think? Is there a responsibility that comes with this? Are you now a mentor?

HAYDEN: Personally, I think so. But for me- dressing raunchy is just not who I am. I am a little scared to say that's not who I am, because I definitely have a rebellious side along with my more conservative side, but I would never show that through the way I dress. I can be rebellious through other ways than ‘wearing less clothes.' It doesn't prove that I'm more rebellious just because I wear less clothes and feel the need to walk around like that.

JONATHAN: What do you want to be known for?

HAYDEN: I'd like to be known as classy.

JONATHAN: What do you NOT want to be known for?

HAYDEN: I don't want to be known as a party animal, or dressing trashy or ...

JONATHAN: You want to be remembered for your talents and abilities rather than, "Hey, she's the one that got caught on video doing ... whatever!"

HAYDEN: Absolutely.

Sigh.

Here's my entire 2004 interview with her.

Okay… this is trippy.

For years I’ve used a short talk where I tell a modern day version of “The House on the Rock” story from Matthew chapter seven. I talk about two guys building a house off the coast of Florida, soon to be visited by a hurricane… and the aftereffects. This story was one of the talks I included in my new book 10-Minute Talks.

I wrote that story about two years ago, turning in the draft of this entire book to my editor about a year and a half ago. The book finally printed last month and I just received a shipment of copies fresh off the printer- so my people who pre-ordered the books priority mail will be seeing their copies in the next week.

So what’s so bizarre? I was just speaking on the New Jersey coast and we heard warning that the effects of Hurricane Bertha might move up there later this week. When I first heard this… I stopped dead in my tracks. “Hurricane who?!!”

Turn with me in your copies of 10-Minute Talks to page 164 (I'm sure you'll be keeping it right next to your Bible). :)

Yeah… I wrote that two years ago. And people will be getting their copies in the next week!

LOL.

Don’t worry… I’m not going to get weird on ya and try to start predicting catastrophic events now. I just think that was a pretty funny coincidence. The timing of this whole thing was uncanny!

I always like to keep my eye on what teenagers are watching. And right now the show creating the most buzz is "The Secret Life of the American Teenager.”

Yesterday I just saw a poster (with the image to the right) for the show all over the mall by my Virginia hotel. The timing can't be better for this "Juno-esque" marketed program hitting the ABC Family channel. It's launch was a raging success. Media-Life Magazine detailed its success:

ABC Family’s “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” Tuesday 8 p.m. The series premiere averaged 2.8 million total viewers, making it the most-watched original series premiere in network history. It was also the highest-rated original series telecast in network history in households, adults 18-34, 18-49s and 12-34s.

Curious about the content of the show? Check out our own David R. Smith's incitefull new Youth Culture Window article giving us a glimpse into the porthole of this "Secret Life..."

No wonder people think Christians are weird!

A "snake-handling" pastor in Kentucky was one of 10 people arrested in a crackdown on the venomous snake trade. CNN reports...

More than 100 snakes, many of them deadly, were confiscated in the undercover sting after Thursday's arrests, said Col. Bob Milligan, director of law enforcement for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife.

Most were taken from the Middlesboro home of Gregory James Coots, including 42 copperheads, 11 timber rattlesnakes, three cottonmouth water moccasins, a western diamondback rattlesnake, two cobras and a puff adder.

Sigh.

Click here for the entire article.

I'm traveling with my family this week and we've opened up a hide-a-bed almost every night of our trip so far. My kids will attest to the fact that I've been known to fold up the bed while they're still in it! (Yes, I'm careful... my 10 year old loves it!) So I found this story particularly funny... uh... disturbing... er... I don't know. But classic!

A Russian woman in St Petersburg killed her drunk husband with a folding couch, Russian media reported on Wednesday.

St Petersburg's Channel Five said the man's wife, upset with her husband for being drunk and refusing to get up, kicked a handle after an argument, activating a mechanism that folds the couch up against a wall.

The couch, which doubles as a bed, folds up automatically in order to save space. The man fell between the mattress and the back of the couch, Channel Five quoted emergency workers as saying.

The woman then walked out of the room and returned three hours later to check on what she thought was an unusually quiet sleeping husband.

Police refused to comment.  (Reuters)

So will I.  :)