Oprah’s Final “Favorite Things” Giveaway List Is Unbelievable! [SNEAK PEEK]

Oprah’s annual – and final – “Favorite Things” episode aired live in her hometown of Chicago today, Friday, November 18.
The talk show host made audience members jump to their feet and scream when she announced the gifts she’d be giving away this year.
And how did she select the lucky winners? Oprah said they are deserving people she considers “heroes.”

Jay-Z Will Join Oprah Winfrey In December's Australia Appearance

UPDATE: Oprah gives her Friday live studio audience each a copy of Jay-Z's "Decoded," as one of her favorites.

Final preparations are being made for television host icon and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey to go down under next month. The Chicago, Illinois-based Oprah is planning for the December 14, 2010 taping at Sydney's Opera House Forecourt. Producers for the CBS show are presently planning locations and local activities for Oprah, while a who's who of celebrity guests are being confirmed.
The Ararat Advertiser reports that in addition to Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett, that Jay-Z will perform for the show.

Jay-Z Opens Up About His Personal Life and His Rise to Fame in “Decoded”

Jay-Z has always been pretty private when it came to his personal life. But the rapper is opening up in a big way with his new book “Decoded,” a first-person memoir (over 336 pages) that includes a rundown his life from his childhood in Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects to his years as a drug dealer to becoming a world-famous hip-hop superstar.
The NY Post was able to snag a few excerpts from the book, where Jay-Z talks about dealing crack for 60 hours straight, getting high with Biggie, his relationship with his father, meeting Oprah, making friends with President Obama, and much more. Hov even touches on a 1999 incident when he “blacked out” and stabbed someone out of anger. Check out a few of the revealing excerpts below:

Dealing crack as a teenager and getting arrested for the first time:

UPDATE: Tyler Perry Cries On Oprah

Tyler Perry appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show today and cried after sharing the details of his horrific childhood and abusive father.
In addition to being beaten by his father (once, so badly that he blacked out for three days), Tyler Perry was also sexually abused by four different adults when he was a child.
Perry details his traumatic childhood, saying, “[It was] a living hell,” adding, “I feel like I died as a child.”
Tyler Perry Opens Up To Oprah About Child Abuse
He spoke about using his imagination to escape the pain: