Thursday, May 29, 2008
Plan B
Photo credit: Wireimage
... could it be that some of the Hollywood elite are securing jobs on the side just in case the whole celeb thing doesn't work out? Just wondering. [Source]
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Constant Craving
Photo credit: Splash News
To be clear ... the unflattery has everything to do with the hot dogs and nothing else but the hot dogs. It's really very hard to make hot dogs sexy, you know? I kinda have to admit that I'm kinda intrigued to see how she will manage stepping into Donna Martin's shoes on 90210 again ... as long as she leaves the hot dogs at home. [Source]
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You Don't Mess With The Zohan Premieres
Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin
First things first ... I have been anxiously awaiting the release of this movie since the first time I saw the trailer in movie theaters. Adam Sandler films are generally hit or miss (usually miss) but everything that I've seen from this movie thus far looks outrageously funny. Second, I am geeked beyond belief that Charlotte Rae (Mrs. Garrett on Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life) is featured in the film as Mrs. Greenhouse. Now, I have no idea how much of the movie she will appear in but I'd happily pay the $12 bucks just to catch a glimpse of her. Clearly, this movie has got it all ... what more could you ask for? Zohan opens in theaters on June 6. [Source]
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The TV Guide: Darion Gets Old(er)
I kinda fell in love with the rock shrimp tempura roll (quote of the night goes to Jordan who, after popping one of the delish pieces of rock shrimp into his mouth, uttered: "Oh. It just gave me a boner!"). Yeah we pretty much ate our faces off ... we kinda stuffed ourselves so much that we weren't in the mood for much else afterwards. Part deux of Darion's birthday celebration picks up again this Saturday night with drinking and dancing to come.
Tonight, I'm going to a special screening of the Sex and the City Movie which is sponsored by SKYY Vodka and will be hosted by Kristin Davis. I'm very anxious to finally see this movie!!!!!!!!!!! But in the meantime, I have a lot of cleaning to do. I'm kinda over living in squalor so I'm gonna start pitching, donating and putting things away. Fun.
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Les News: Clay Aiken Spawns, Brit Wants Her Own Show, Manson Comes To TV
- Clay Aiken is going to be a father. I have no other words.
- George Clooney and Sarah Larson are dunzo.
- The woman that Mutt Lange allegedly cheated with speaks out, says she is not the cause of the Twain/Lange split.
- Is Britney Spears looking for a TV show of her own?
- Rachael Ray is too risqué for Dunkin Donuts?
- Shirley Manson of Garbage signs on to appear in the second season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
- The supply could not meet the demand for the SaTC NYC premiere.
- Does THIS mean I may not want to get that Buffy the Vampire Slayer tattoo that I have been contemplating?
- Who knew that the weasel could actually tell the truth.
- Um, no.
- Speidi go back to the beach.
- Yesterday we saw the pics, today we get to see the video.
- Ben Affleck finally realizes that his younger brother Casey is the more talented of the two.
- Naomi Campbell gets charged for her latest attack on innocent bystanders.
- Melanie Brown of the Spice Girls is 33, Lisa Whelchel (The Facts of Life) is 45, LaToya Jackson is 52 and Danny Elfman is 55 years old today. Click HERE to see who else is celebrating a birthday today.
- Sharon Stone apologizes for saying stupid things.
- Half Pint becomes Ma Ingalls in the musical version of Little House on the Prairie.
- TomCruise.com goes online.
- Don't forget: the 2-hour season finale of Lost airs tonight.
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Vicki B: The Model Strikes Again
I think these photos would have worked better in the context of the earlier photos had they been released around the same time. At this point, the pics don't look avant garde or even all that interesting anymore. OOOH, VB is wearing a freaky dress and she's still got that thing on her head. I'm kinda over it. Isn't it time for Marc Jacobs to release a new ridic campaign to pimp his wares? [Source]
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Potter Fans, Rejoice! A Sorta Prequel Is On The Way
Thursday 29 May 2008
Waterstones Charity Auction
A few months ago a number of authors were invited to handwrite cards for auction by Waterstones, on June 10, all proceeds to go to English PEN, the writers' association, and the Dyslexia Society.
After playing around with a number of different ideas I decided to write a short (for me!) excerpt from a prequel to the Potter series. It is about 800 words long and the action takes place around 3 years before Harry is born.
Although I did feel a bit like a relapsing addict as I sat down to write - the words poured from my pen with frightening ease - I am NOT working on a prequel. Indeed, I've written that clearly at the bottom of the card itself. I just thought that this was the best way to make money for two extremely worthwhile charities.
The good news for Potter fans who will not be able to bid at the auction is that you will be able to read the short story (along with amazing contributions from Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, Tom Stoppard, Irvine Welsh, Sebastian Faulks, Axel Scheffler, Lauren Child, Nick Hornby, Neil Gaiman, Lisa Appignanesi, Richard Ford, and Michael Rosen) by purchasing a book of facsimiles, which will be available in August. The proceeds from this book, too, will go to the charities.
I'm sure there are a great number of Harry Potter fans salivating at the notion of the release of another 800 words from the pen of JK Rowling. Whether it is presented as a prologue or a prequel to the wildly successful Harry Potter saga, I'm sure it's gonna fly of the shelves as if it were just the latest installment. The woman can basically print her own money at this point. I'm just happy that kids, once again, have a book to look forward to reading :) I'm even more thrilled that my fave contemporary author Neil Gaiman is included in this collection! [Source, Source]
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Pete To Ashlee: Bee My Bride?
Photo credit: Splash News
This is Pete Wentz's unusual wedding present for his bride Ashlee Simpson - a giant Lego bumblebee. Pete commissioned artist Nathan Sawaya to make the "Lego Bee" which measures 26ins by 47ins by 36ins and is made from about 18,000 standard Lego bricks. New York based Nathan said: "I was commissioned to create a bee. Why a bee? Because it is romantic of course. In Hindu myth, Kama, the god of love, has a bow and arrows, and the bow string is made up of bees. In the ancient Greek world the bee symbolized the soul because they migrated in swarms. And the Roman god of love, Cupid, is often pictured with bees or being stung. I made this bee for a boy who wanted to give his girl a special wedding gift. They are a fun couple as evidenced by their Alice in Wonderland themed wedding." For more information on Sawaya and his work, visit www.brickartist.com
I can only imagine what Ashlee's face looked like when she opened her gift, "Oh! A bee?" I can only imagine what Pete's face looked like when he heard that the guy who created his private wedding gift is blabbing to the media, "Oh! An a-hole!" [Source]
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The Jackson 3
They appear to be absolutely normal, and utterly unremarkable. There is nothing about the girl, with her flowing brown hair and fine, pretty features, or her two handsome brothers which would merit a second glance. But, on closer inspection, there is perhaps just something in the way which the older of the two boys is looking, in eager glee at his surroundings which lets you know that he is enjoying a moment of rare freedom. For these are the rarely seen children of Michael Jackson ... Last week ... Prince, Paris and Prince Michael were pictured visiting a Las Vegas bookstore. They browsed through children's books, while their father stayed in the music section. He was, as usual, covered up with a scarf and hood. The resemblance between Prince and Paris, the older two, is striking - both have the same colouring and delicate bone structure. Six-year-old Prince Michael - known as "Blanket" - is much darker than his two older siblings. It was Blanket, or course, who was dangled off a hotel balcony as a newborn by his father, who later said: "He enjoyed it. He started to respond by going 'eeee'." So what of these three motherless children? What is the truth about their extraordinary lives? And what kind of a father is Michael Jackson - if he is indeed their father at all? Those close to Jackson say he started a family in an effort to banish the demons of his own childhood ... Others ... insist that the children are very happy. Bryan Monroe, of Ebony magazine, met Jackson and his youngest child last year, and said: "Blanket was not masked - he just walked into the hotel room and shook hands. He sat down and watched cartoons. I was struck by the father-son relationship that appeared to be very authentic." Is Jackson, though, their biological father? He has always insisted that he is, even though Rowe has remarked: "Michael knows the truth. He has to come clean." Their fair skins would seem to back her up, but Professor Steve Jones, an expert in genetics from UCL, says it is possible that they are indeed his biological offspring. He said: "If Michael Jackson had, say 500 children with Debbie Rowe, you would expect some of them to be very white and some to be very dark. On average, they should be somewhere in between, and that is what you have here." Whatever the truth, the three of them are his life.
It is hard to determine if Jacko really is the father of these children ... they don't really look like him ... at all. Had they been born with penciled in eyebrows and plastic noses I think it would be much easier to believe his paternity. Well, no matter where these kiddies came from, they are in his care now and one can only hope that they can manage to live happy lives ... at least they're allowed to go out in public without having to wear masks, that's progress. [Source]
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Still Rockin' The Vote
Remember when Madonna, draped in the American flag, appeared in a vamping public service announcement for a nascent organization called Rock the Vote? Now, almost two decades later, Christina Aguilera is kicking off the new campaign for the group, but the one wearing the flag is her infant son, Max Liron Bratman. In the new broadcast ad, set to debut later this summer, Aguilera sings a lullaby of "America the Beautiful" to her son, who was born in January. The Grammy winner said she didn't think twice about putting her son in the spot because it's "inevitable that he will be subjected to some amount of press," so it might as well be channeled into a good cause. "This election in particular is such an exciting and historical one, and so I was proud to have my son and I stand together for such a powerful moment and message in time," the 27-year-old star said. Rock the Vote turns 18 this year. Its executive director, Heather Smith, said that more than 850,000 users had downloaded voter registration forms from the group's website this year.
Ahh memories. Can you even believe that the Madonna that we know today is the same controversial figure that we knew back then? But anyways, kudos to Xtina for stepping up and responsibly taking part in such an important campaign. This country would be so much different if young people actually realized the power that they could wield if they actually took the time to vote. I'm convinced that we would've been spared the last 8 years of GWBullshizz if young voters had just bothered to vote in the 2000 and 2004 elections. But that is water under the bridge, we must now look forward to the Presidential election later on this year and work towards getting 18-24 year olds to help ensure that we elect the right person as President of our country. Madonna and Xtina may have different tactics for inspiring young people to get out and vote but I applaud them (and all the other Rock the Vote supporters) for actively trying to make a difference. [Source]
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The State Of New York Plans To Recognize Same-Sex Marriage
In a directive issued on May 14, the governor's legal counsel, David Nocenti, instructed the agencies that gay couples married elsewhere "should be afforded the same recognition as any other legally performed union." The revisions are most likely to involve as many as 1,300 statutes and regulations in New York governing everything from joint filing of income tax returns to transferring fishing licenses between spouses. In a videotaped message given to gay community leaders at a dinner on May 17, Mr. Paterson described the move as "a strong step toward marriage equality." And people on both sides of the issue said it moved the state closer to fully legalizing same-sex unions in this state. "Very shortly, there will be hundreds and hundreds and hundreds, and probably thousands and thousands and thousands of gay people who have their marriages recognized by the state," said Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell, a Democrat who represents the Upper West Side and has pushed for legalization of gay unions. Massachusetts and California are the only states that have legalized gay marriage, while others, including New Jersey and Vermont, allow civil unions. Forty-one states have laws limiting marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Legal experts said Mr. Paterson's decision would make New York the only state that did not itself allow gay marriage but fully recognized same-sex unions entered into elsewhere. The directive is the strongest signal yet that Mr. Paterson, who developed strong ties to the gay community as a legislator, plans to push aggressively to legalize same-sex unions as governor. His predecessor, Eliot Spitzer, introduced a bill last year that would have legalized gay marriage, but even as he submitted it, doubted that it would pass. The Democratic-dominated Assembly passed the measure, but the Republican-led Senate has refused to call a vote on it. Short of an act by the Legislature, the directive ordered by Mr. Paterson is the one of the strongest statements a state can make in favor of gay unions. "Basically we've done everything we can do on marriage legislatively at this point," said Sean Patrick Maloney, a senior adviser to Mr. Paterson. "But there are tools in our tool kit on the executive side, and this is one." ... Gay rights advocates ... applauded Mr. Paterson, saying the broad directive would make it clear that gay couples wed in other states were entitled to all of the benefits of marriage in New York and relieve them of the burden of challenging or suing individual agencies. "He saw no reason to stand in the way of making sure these couples benefit from the rights and protections that come with marriage," said Susan Sommer, senior counsel for Lambda Legal, a group that advocates for gay rights. "It shouldn't be the burden of each lesbian or gay couple to have to advocate before an agency every time a new issue comes up."
Woot! Absent the fact that this directive should be the policy of every single state in the US, I applaud the Governor of New York for taking a bold stance on, what is essentially, common sense. Of course a couple that is legally married in one state should be fully recognized in every other state. Our country is built on the principles of equality and justice and this latest effort on New York's part is merely a reflection of those principles. If you think about it, all the gays have to do is get married in California and then split their time in New York to live out completely fulfilling lives ... at least to start. I'm convinced that the rest of the country will eventually come to realize that discrimination is wrong and that all US citizens should be afforded the same rights to marry. But, in the meantime, California and New York will do just fine in carrying on the traditions that this country is supposed to stand for. [Source]
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Cap In A Box
Superstar footballer David Beckham is no stranger to cameras. But he clearly wasn't ready for his close-up. Before his appearance for England at Wembley in a friendly international against the USA game he was presented with a boxed memento of his landmark 100th appearance for England before the game - a gold cap. Beckham was clearly delighted at his achievement, but as the player stood still for his close-up, he held the elaborate presentation case, complete with engraved plaque, the wrong way round. Instead of displaying the lovingly crafted mahogany presentation box, and the embroidered cap to the snappers, a dozy Beckham kept it facing his chest, ensuring that no one could actually see it. Clearly he was caught up in the moment, as he paraded the trophy presented to him by former Manchester United great Sir Bobby Charlton ... The landmark 100th appearance took place against France last March - before the game. In March, the footballer told of his joy at reaching his footballing milestone. He said: "To go over the 100 mark is a proud moment. To be up there with Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, Billy Wright and Peter Shilton, I'm honoured to be in that company." Beckham later took to the field wearing a pair of commemorative pair of his Adidas Predator football boots. They were embroidered with the England and USA flags to mark his 101st appearance for his country. He played a pivotal part in England's 2-0 win over the USA ...
Awww ... what a nice trophy-thing ... I'm sure it'll look very nice on the Beckham mantle. [Source]
While the trophy presentation was the crux of the pre-game entertainment in this England vs. USA friendly, I find that the pre-game warm-up session was much more entertaining. Pink reader Shannon was in the hiz for this match and she sends in a few pics of Becksie stretched into all sorts of warm-up positions:
Le Sigh. Le Yum! Who needs a trophy presentation (or an entire soccer game, for that matter) when we could just enjoy 90 minutes of David Beckham doing warm-up stretches? [thanks Shannon]
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