Etc...

From now on, just forget it

For years, there has been an irritant in relations between Belgians and their neighbors to the north in Helsinki, Finland. To wit, the evergreen that was sent as a goodwill gift each Christmas season for display in Brussels' Central Place. It usually was, the recipients griped, too small - and in tough shape from the long trip. So this time, Helsinki administrators said (although not in so many words), "Find your own tree." The folks in Brussels did: a seven-ton spruce from Belgium's famous Ardennes forest. And guess what? When it arrived, it was - yup - in tough shape from the trip. Enough so that 20 smaller trees have been put around it to hide the damage. As for that annual tradition, a Finnish diplomat said, "There's a feeling that [its] time has passed."

Who's afraid of Godzilla? Not so many, survey finds

Before the première of the 28th (and last) Godzilla movie, "Godzilla: Final Wars," last month, the 50-year-old Japanese character was awarded its own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But when experts of the genre voted on the most terrifying headliners for the British film magazine Empire, the fire-breathing creature finished out of the top 10, which was led by King Kong. The scariest, according to the Empire poll and the movie (with year of release) that made each famous:

1. King Kong "King Kong" (1933)

2. Talos "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963)
3. The Alien "Alien" (1979)
4. T-Rex dinosaur "Jurassic Park" (1993)
5. The Thing "The Thing" (1982)
6. Shelob "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003)
7. The Metaluna Mutant "This Island Earth" (1955)
8. Tetsuo "Akira" (1988)
9. The Skinned Werewolf "The Company of Wolves" (1984)
10. The Troll "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" 2001)