Slim-Fast? No. Jenny Craig? Partly. It was mostly physical training. Detroit Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin will be honored Friday as Person of the Year for MusiCares, a Recording Academy charity supporting music education. She's also up for her 18th Grammy on Sunday, nominated for best gospel performance for a duet with Mary J. Blige. (Blige's "Growing Pains" album is No. 1 on this week's Detroit Nielsen SoundScan sales chart.) Franklin's physical appearance is also making news. She looked slimmer for an Associated Press interview in a lavender sweater and dark pants. "I've got a new trainer, and she's giving me a lot of good things, really educating me about nutrition and weight loss and how to do it, and cooking stuff for you," the 65-year-old singer said. "I'm not on a diet. It's a lifestyle change.

Las Bugambilias

Back when Michelle Zimmerman and Carlos Molina were falling love in the kitchen of Tequila's, where he was chef and she washed dishes, the local Mexican landscape was as barren as the Sonoran Desert.

Fifteen years later, and just a few months into the launch of Las Bugambilias, their own cozy South Street cantina, the city's Mexican options are considerably more bountiful.

Just a few feet across Second Street, meanwhile, you can discover modern Mexican at sophisticated Xochitl, where ex-Vetri sous-chef Dionicio Jimenez riffs on his native flavors in stunning contemporary ways, from tasting menus of different moles to truffled gordita masa pockets bursting with huitlacoche.

Diddy and His Costars Bring Their Raisin Into The Sun

I owe Diddy an apology. I've been giving him some flack over the past couple of days that he is only at Sundance to promote his vodka, though he is in fact in town to premiere a pretty big film at the festival, the newest version of A Raisin in the Sun, alongside Phylicia Rashad, John Stamos, and Audra McDonald. To be fair, he did spend a good amount of time with that vodka of his. Heh. While at the festival, he talked about being involved in such an important project. He said:

Dave Bohman, Reporter

Dave Bohman has been a reporter at Tampa Bays 10 for seven years, where he's won several broadcasting awards, and covered some of the key news events since 1998.

Dave's passion is investigative and consumer reporting for which he has won five broadcast awards in the last three years. His work included: an eye opening report on blind-spots behind SUV's that have led to "back-over" accidents; a look at the replacement of beach hotels with condos in the Bay Area that threatens the tourist industry; an investigation into stolen tractor trailers that authorities considered a potential terror threat; a report on how wireless "nanny-cams," and how anyone with a receiver can tap into pictures in people's nurseries and living rooms.

Pleasure Island is awash in purple, gold and green

At 4 p.m. Saturday, Villagio on Perdido Key presents the first Perdido Key Mardi Gras Street Party. The event, which has been months in the making, was spearheaded by Marcus Reno Story, co-owner of the popular martini spot, Jellyfish Bar.Story said Saturday's event will be a traditional New Orleans style Mardi Gras bash featuring Mardi Gras-inspired cuisine, live entertainment and a children's play area. Revelers garbed in purple and gold will toss beads and other items from the Villagio balcony to festival-goers along the parking lot. Lost Key Java will provide genuine muffulettas and gumbo. Cub's Crawfish on Lillian Highway will be on hand serving baskets of fresh, spicy crawfish, corn and sausage. And upstairs, the Jellyfish will roll its super sushi, courtesy of Joe Tillery. And yes, there will be enough red beans and rice to feed a small army.So forget making dinner, because this bash promises to delight the palette, Mardi Gras style.The Perdido Key Mardi Gras Street Party will feature a live Zydeco band on the square, and upstairs at the Jellyfish, Damien Louviere will entertain the crowd with his brand of acoustic music.This event is an effort to raise money for the Perdido Bay Youth Sports Association, but it's also a free event for the community of Perdido Key.

MythBusters: 7 Tech Headaches—and How to Fix Them

That's why, as machines become more complicated, good interface design becomes more essential—you can't just keep adding buttons and menus. The iPhone is a good example. To combine several machines into a pocket-size device, Apple did away with almost all the buttons in favor of a touchscreen that can be reconfigured for each new application. Personally, I have no use for anything fancier than a basic cellphone, but the iPhone is smart technology. Here are some prime examples of technology that's not smart. Instead, it ranges from mildly annoying to knuckle-gnawing infuriating. But since our show, like Popular Mechanics magazine, is about problem solving, we've included the MythBusters fix for some of this misguided machinery. .

The Teeth

There was no lustin, no lovin and no discoverin. Mazie was gone! Perley, too proud to go to the house and have his parents know the details of the miserable event, lay curled up alone on the makeshift bed for the rest of the night. The next day, talk was all over town about the weddin that didn't take and the quick departure of the bride. His parents, shocked and ashamed of their son for the very first time in their life, didn't know quite what to make of it.

A bewildered Perley, ashamed and angry, fled back to the woods like a man being chased by a demon. He took his hurt and anger out on the trees. He sawed, limbed and cut with a vengeance. The other men, after hearing his story, left him pretty much to himself. He'll come around in time, they said to one another. It wasn't the first time that a man had been made a fool of by a friggin woman and it damn sure wouldn't be the last.

Serenade your love with scallops, chocolate and pears

Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate with those you love. Why put added pressure on yourself by preparing an overly elaborate meal when a few special dishes can win your valentine's heart?

Here are two dishes, an appetizer of scallops and a chocolate-coated pear for dessert. Both recipes can be made in advance allowing you time to relax and enjoy your valentine.

There is something seductive about scallops. In the following recipe the delicate flavor of the scallop contrasts with the sharp bite of the parmesan-reggiano crust.

Also, nothing is more romantic than fruit and chocolate, especially when they are combined into one dessert. Here is a slight twist on one of our most popular desserts at Z Bistro. We take a simple pear, poach it and then cover it in chocolate - a perfect way to end a meal.

The dieter's to-do list

Unlike dinner at home, most restaurants serve larger portions than what you're supposed to be eating, says Bedford clinical psychologist and dietitian Christopher Mosunic. And when food is sitting in front of you, even if you're full and satisfied, you'll continue eating. "A serving of meat or carbs should be the size of your hand," he says, "but most portions are three to four times that." That doesn't mean you should avoid eating out; just compensate in other ways. Mosunic's advice? Don't overindulge in alcohol. "When people go out, they tend to start with a mixed drink-something heavy-then lose their inhibitions from the start." Instead, order Pellegrino-something you wouldn't have at home, so it still feels like an indulgence. And instead of throwing in the napkin after you've had too much, ask your server to pack half of your meal before it gets to the table.