STARTING TODAY
• Today is Whiskey Wednesday at Billy Reid. Get 25 percent off the new spring 2009 collection while you enjoy food and live music. Today only. 54 Bond St., nr. Bowery (212-598-9355); 6–9.
• Vivienne Tam's fall, summer, resort, and pre-spring 2008 collections are up to 75 percent off. Through 5/1. 260 W. 39th St., nr. Seventh Ave. (212-840-6470); W (9–8), Th (10–7), F (10–6).
• The Aeffe sale is always a bit of a madhouse, but shoppers usually leave with bags of goods. Men's and women's Alberta Ferretti, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Moschino are 70 to 80 percent off. Through 5/2. 30 W. 56th St., nr. Fifth Ave. (212-632-9383); Th, F, S (10–6), S (11–5).
• Slane & Slane jewelry, including Chinese freshwater oval pearls and sterling-silver pieces, is up to 60 percent off. A pearl necklace was $330 and is now $165, and an eighteen-karat yellow-gold cuff bracelet is $1,000 (originally $2,175). Through 5/1. 48 W. 25th St., nr. Sixth Ave., eleventh fl. (212-691-5820); W (2–6), Th (10–8), F (10–6).
ENDING TODAY
• Apparel from Donna Morgan and Ali Ro is 50 to 70 percent off. 530 Seventh Ave., nr. 39th St.; T (8:30–7), W (8:30–5:30).
• Alicia Bell's spring collection is up to 75 percent off — shirts that were $198 are now $50 to $75. Lilla P.'s casual collection of dresses, tees, and cardigans is up to 80 percent off — a knit dress that was $158 is now $40, and tees that were $40 to $80 are now $10 to $20. And Melly M. is also 80 percent off — pencil skirts that were $148 are now $55 and silk printed dresses that were $278 are now $99. Through 4/29. 420 W. 14th St., nr. Ninth Ave., third fl., Ste. 8; daily (9–6).
• Dresses, suits, swimwear, and accessories by MaxMara, Sportmax, Marina Rinaldi, and more are up to 70 percent off. The MaxMara black double-breasted long raincoat is $379 (orig. $1,262.40), and a Max&Co. dress is $53 (orig. $175.26). Through 4/29. Metropolitan Pavilion, 123 W. 18th St., nr. Sixth Ave.; S (12–5), M (10–8), T (10–7), W (9–4).
STARTING TOMORROW
• Bags start at $150 and shoes start at $75 at the Jimmy Choo sample sale. One day only. Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St., nr. Sixth Ave., fourth fl; 1–7.
• Ted Rossi jewelry is up to 75 percent off. Bangles start at $20 and leather clutches start at $80. Through 5/1. 15 E. 30th St., nr. Madison Ave., Ste. 200 (212-683-1726); Th, F (10–7).
• Get up to 80 percent off True Religion, Marc Jacobs, Diane Von Furstenberg, and more at the Sassy City Chicks Fashion Bash. Tickets are $5 at the door. One day only. Touch, 240 W. 52nd St., nr. Broadway (310-318-1731); 5–10.
• The first-ever Spurr sample sale features men's denim, shirts, suits, and knitwear for up to 65 percent off retail prices. Through 5/2. Starworks, 5 Crosby St., nr. Grand St., Ste. 3D (646-336-5920); Th, F (noon–7), S, Su (noon–5).
• Clothing and accessories by Diesel, List, Javier Simorra, and more are under $35. Through 5/1. Precision Photo, 260 W. 36th St., nr. Eighth Ave., third fl.; Th (9:30–7), F (9:30–6).
ENDING TOMORROW
• Men's and women's yachting clothes by Italian brand Paul & Shark are up to 70 percent off. Polos, jeans, swimwear, and sweaters will all be on sale. 79 Madison Ave., at 28th St., Ste. 1206; T, W (8:30–6), Th (9–5).
• Hickey Freeman's classic suits are marked down to $600 (originally $3,295) and sport coats start at $300 (originally $995). Bobby Jones golf shirts will be at the same sale for $65 (originally $150 and up). Through 4/30. Soiffer Haskin, 317 W. 33rd St., nr. Eighth Ave. (718-747-1656); Su (9–6), M–W (9–6:30), Th (9–5).
• Get 20 percent off all new womenswear at the Kisan Concept Store. Labels includes Isabel Marant, Sonia Rykiel, Orla Kiely, and more. Through 4/30. 125 Greene St., nr. Prince St. (212-475-2470); M–S (11–7), Su (noon–6).
• In celebration of Earth Day, ION Studio offers 20 percent off all blow-dry services during the month of April for whoever mentions nymag.com. Through 4/30. ION Studio, 41 Wooster St., nr. Grand St. (212-343-9060); call for appointment.
ONGOING
• The 2008 resort collection by 3.1 phillip lim is up to 40 percent off while supplies last. Ongoing. 115 Mercer St., nr. Prince St. (212-334-1160); M–S (11–7), Su (noon–6).
It's widely recognized in the media that the "First 100 Days" system of measuring the success of a new President is an overrated, largely meaningless metric. But if there's anything more cliched than the stories about this brief time period, it's stories about how said stories are meaningless. So instead of trying to make sense of all of this madness (and it is, if you wade into it, madness), we've picked our favorite highlights from the rushing tidal wave of First 100 Days stories. Who was most skeptical? Who was most enthusiastic? And what did Al Jazeera think?
Earliest Coverage: The big papers and magazines started close to the 90-day mark this year, but we still thought this award would go to Barack Obama himself, as his office has been blogging the first 100 days since Day One. But the New York Times's 100 Days blog actually startedbefore Obama was even president. Tricky!
Most Giddy: "No other American president in modern memory has faced a learning curve as steep as the one Barack Obama has encountered," Fareed Zakaria gushes in his Newsweek column, "The Secret Of His Success." "In almost every arena, he has pushed the envelope to change policy, not worrying about the inevitable opposition from the right, yet always in a sober and calculating manner."
Most Skeptical: Al Jazeera, which referred to Obama's stem-cell and equal-pay initiatives as "low-hanging fruit."
Most Disdainful American Coverage:The Washington Examiner's Gene Healy likens our beanpole-in-chief to Napoleon, throws a latte jab, and refers to Obama's presidency itself as a "power grab."
Most Disdainful Foreign Coverage:The Telegraph. Sure, go ahead and call us little Americans "besotted" with our president, but don't claim that his "hope" and "change" campaign was nothing more than a bait-and-switch for overhauling capitalism.
Most Puritan: TheAtlantic.com, whose first 100 days coverage includes thinkpieces, a forum, metrics, and even Twitter — but not one picture of a private moment or puppy.
Most Chilling Alternate 100 Days: Walter Shapiro's speculative account of the first 100 days of a McCain administration — which starts with a goodwill visit to Vietnam, and goes downhill from there.
Curmudgeon David Axelrod may feel that the president's first 100 days in office is an arbitrary, media-fabricated "Hallmark holiday," as he put it recently, but it actually serves a useful purpose. Obama's presidency has moved at a breakneck pace, taking on big, important issues like the economic collapse and international diplomacy, while simultaneously producing irrelevant but entertaining distractions, like puppies and swing sets. And in between there were plenty of unforeseen events, like pirates and tax scandals and taboo Queen-touching — all of which we'd be liable to forget if we didn't pause every so often and remind ourselves of their existence. And what better way to recall a series of memorable moments than a slideshow!
AP - Rolando Villazon's concert organizer in Germany says the Mexican tenor needs surgery to remove a cyst on his larynx and has canceled two performances in the country.
Rolando Villazon's concert organizer in Germany says the Mexican tenor needs surgery to remove a cyst on his larynx and has canceled two performances in the country. Deutsche... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 29 Apr 2009 | 12:02 pm
'Maybe this will inspire people to do something and intervene on loved ones,' the 'Jackass' star says of his MTV documentary.By Eric Ditzian, with reporting by Matt Elias Steve-O Photo: MTV News... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 29 Apr 2009 | 11:50 am
Jared Leto and company are plugging away at an album we might never hear, in Bigger Than the Sound.By James Montgomery 30 Seconds to Mars Photo: MTV News Here is one thing you probably do not... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 29 Apr 2009 | 11:50 am
Kenny Chesney will tape an episode of public television's popular show "Austin City Limits" to air sometime in the fall. A spokesman for Chesney says the 41-year-old country singer will... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 29 Apr 2009 | 11:46 am
AFP - US pop star Beyonce has angered a high-brow art museum in Vienna by sending a look-a-like to her own special personal tour of the museum, while she went shopping, according to newspaper reports here Wednesday.
Chuck Wicks is leaving the "Dancing With the Stars" ballroom. The country singer and his professional dance partner (and real-life girlfriend) Julianne Hough were eliminated from the ABC... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 29 Apr 2009 | 11:14 am
Two French movies focusing on the plight of immigrants in foreign lands have received top awards at a Los Angeles French film festival, organizers said Sunday. "Eden a l'Ouest," the... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 29 Apr 2009 | 11:01 am
NEW YORK, April 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Jones Apparel Group, Inc. (NYSE: JNY) today reported results for the first quarter ended April 4, 2009. Revenues for the first quarter... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 29 Apr 2009 | 11:00 am
Latin Music's Hottest Night to Air Live on the Univision Network from the Mandalay Bay Events Center MIAMI, April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The Latin Recording... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 29 Apr 2009 | 11:00 am
NEW YORK, April 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Lama Ole Nydahl, Danish-born Buddhist master, author, and founder of Diamond Way... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 29 Apr 2009 | 11:00 am
Festival to Debut Merge Creative Media's Hand-Crafted Workflow Process to Promote Efficiency and Productivity in Today's Economy NEW YORK, April 29... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 29 Apr 2009 | 11:00 am
AP - An ambulance driver and a former senator have pleaded not guilty to charges that they tried to extort $25 million from actor John Travolta following the death of his teenage son in the Bahamas. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 29 Apr 2009 | 10:34 am
AP - Jackie Chan has celebrated a milestone with the announcement of his 100th movie project a collaboration with "Rumble in the Bronx" director Stanley Tong. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 29 Apr 2009 | 10:30 am
Lane Garrison is a free man.
E! News has learned exclusively that the 28-year-old actor was released early Wednesday morning from California Correctional Institute in rural Tehachapi,...
(Reuters) Reuters - Australia's fashion week was thinner this year as the global economic crisis crimped designers and buyers' participation, but the catwalk remained an explosion of colors amid optimism that spending will pick up. Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 29 Apr 2009 | 5:12 am
Talk about your nagging injury.
Bachelor ex Melissa Rycroft's fractured rib only served to remind Chuck Wicks how many fans she has—because he was the one who scored a 26 and...
The theater was alive with the sounds of Vegas circa 1965.
We didn't get a look at any ol' blue eyes, but American Idol's Top Five exceeded expectations on Rat Pack night, a...
(Reuters) Reuters - Anheuser-Busch InBev NV has told General Electric Co's NBC that it will spend only about half as much on its coming Olympic advertising package as it did on the previous one, the Wall Street Journal said. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 29 Apr 2009 | 2:52 am
Front Page: Chris Noth signs on for New Line sequel -- In a seven-figure deal, Chris Noth has committed to "Sex and the City 2," the sequel to be directed by Michael Patrick King for New Line Cinema.
Front Page: Illumination to create 3-D animated feature -- Universal-based Illumination Entertainment will create a 3-D animated feature based on "Flanimals," a children's book series by Ricky Gervais.
AP - You will be shocked shocked! to learn that in "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," Matthew McConaughey plays an arrogant womanizer who coasts on his looks and charm but eventually realizes that love does matter after all.
Reuters - Steven Soderbergh brought his experimental "The Girlfriend Experience" to Sundance this year as a "work in progress," but the only real difference between that version and the one debuting at the Tribeca Film Festival are the end credits and some needed color correction. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 29 Apr 2009 | 1:14 am
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that federal regulators have the authority to clamp down on broadcast TV networks that air isolated cases of profanity, known as "fleeting expletives."
There was only one dissenter wandering the field in front of the State House in Albany today, as over 2,000 people rallied for LGBT civil rights for the Empire State Pride Agenda's Equality and Justice Day. The anti-protester, who intoned passages from the Bible as he railed against the "abominations" around him, was quickly chased off by a group of high-school kids wearing Goth makeup and rainbow tights.
During the rally, at which Alan Cumming served as the cheery emcee, bishop Prince Singh of the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester and rabbi Marcelo Bronstein of Congregation B'nai Jeshurun gave benedictions. P-FLAG representative Kate Hathaway read a letter from her daughter, the actress Anne, who was at her first rehearsal for 12th Night at Shakespeare in the Park today. Republican State Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward remarked: "I don't understand why we don't have more Republicans out here. [Marriage equality] is a conservative issue."
The crowd included transgendered parents and their children, teens from the Hettrick Martin Institute and the Harvey Milk School, and elderly couples carrying placards saying how long they'd been partnered up. (Our favorite sign was carried by a lesbian and read: "Shouldn't we all have the right to marry Rachel Maddow?")
They spent the day meeting with state legislators talking about marriage equality, a bullying-in-schools bill (Dignity for All Students), and the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act.
Intel editor Chris sat down with new State Senator Daniel Squadron and State Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh — both of whom support all three issues. But other rallygoers who met with undecided state representatives reported that at least a few seemed to be open to their arguments. Currently, advocates from Marriage Equality New York estimate that there are 22 to 24 senators fully onboard for marriage equality, which was recently introduced in a bill by Governor Paterson and is expected to be passed in the Assembly in the coming weeks. Supporters hope to earn 35 votes, though only 32 are needed for it to pass. To achieve this number, they'll need to win over a handful of Republicans. They have until the legislative session ends on June 20 to pull it off.
Celebs get married like normal people, but why do they need to have several weddings to the same person in order to celebrate?
—N.M.
First of all, no. Oh dear God, no....
Anyway! Moving on.
Along with the aforementioned killed magazine and two others that you may not have heard of in the first place, today’s media world saw a resurrection! Of the Sun’s op-eds. Online. Meanwhile, the Times tries to save money.
• Atlanta Woman magazine is no more. The seven-year-old title reportedly folded owing to “lack of sufficient marketing revenue from the Atlanta business community.” [Atlanta Business Journal via FishbowlNY/Mediabistro]
Have you ever met a celebrity and had all of your thoughts about them evaporate because you realized they don't come across in real life like they do in their acting pursuits? Well, we've never met Elizabeth Banks, but we'll confess to harboring a crush on her ever since we first saw her in Wet Hot American Summer. But after reading her passionate yet incredibly weird defense of 17 Again on the Huffington Post a few minutes ago, we're fairly certain we don't ever need to. For someone who comes across as such as witty and intelligent presence onscreen and in interviews, her prose leaves more than a little something to be desired. We're not sure if it was her comment that Zac Efron "looks great with his shirt off" or her outrage that Hunter Parrish didn't pop his top in the movie that threw us more, but either way, we haven't read anything quite this bizarre since Vulture hero Jeffrey Wells sent 3:10 to Yuma director James Mangold an e-mail begging him for nudie pics of Vinessa Shaw. At this point, our only salvation would be to learn that she had a ghost Twitterer write this piece for her.
Front Page: CEO and co-founder renews contract -- DreamWorks Animation said CEO and co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg has renewed his contract through 2013, as the company's profits surged last quarter to more than double those of a year ago.
Admit it — the swine flu is completely freaking you out. You lie in bed at night with visions of Outbreak playing in your head. You fear the day you'll have to wear a space suit out-of-doors to protect yourself from the disease of the pigs that is sweeping the globe. Okay, okay, we'll stop. Remember, health officials say the flu is no cause for alarm. Just concern. Well, we noticed a few folks in this city who were so concerned they strapped masks over their faces for their morning commute. The generic kind you might see a doctor wear. But you extra-cautious folk need not be unfashionable in your attempts to shield yourselves from pig flu. The Japanese do some amazing things with face masks. And labels like John Galliano and Junya Watanabe have shown coverings for the face on the runway. We compiled a selection of fashionable (and fun!) ways to guard against swine flu in the slideshow.
Front Page: Ruling has little import as nets fade -- In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court half-heartedly prolonged the futile game of "whack-a-mole" that the federal government continues to play in policing indecency -- a process best defined by Justice Potter Stewart's famous 1964 pronouncement on "hardcore" pornography: "I know it when I see it."
The Gossip’s new album, Music for Men (ha!), is out June 22, and here's the first single, “Heavy Cross.” And by “single” we mean “single,” and not just “song that great-but-obscure indie band has chosen to release first” — if you haven’t heard, Columbia is cutting the Gossip’s checks nowadays, meaning stakes are high. (Also notable: Rick Rubin produced the album, meaning Rick Rubin has once again worked with an artist on the label he runs.) So how does it sound? Pretty great! Beth Ditto swaggers and stomps her way all over the stuttering guitar line like she’s channeling 1977-era Stevie Nicks, which we’ve got a feeling will come off even better live. But is it a hit? We have no idea, and, right now, we don’t really care.
Kim Kardashian appears on the cover of Life & Style, coming out tomorrow, un-Photoshopped, in a bikini. She went on The View to talk about it. "You know what, I have cellulite. Who doesn't? Who cares?" So being famous these days is as simple as possessing normal bodily flaws. Never mind the fact that Kim doesn't do anything else to warrant our attention. She has cellulite. Way to go, Kim. [Jezebel]
How close is Simon Cowell to exiting American Idol? What's the difference between Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien? And what would make Tyra Banks' head explode (with...
Martha Stark, the city finance chief who has recently come under scrutiny for a whole slew of things, notably letting an employee bill for hours he wasn't actually working, employing her own relatives, dating a former subordinate, and moonlighting for a real-estate company, has resigned. [City Room/NYT]
From this point on, this will be a Sam Lutfi-free decade for Britney Spears.
A judge on Tuesday granted the singer's request for permanent restraining orders against Lutfi and Jon...
Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay seem unable to name more than one twentysomething actor between them, so we're not sure why we expected any better from Oliver Stone. And now the director of Wall Street is in talks with Shia LaBeouf to star in the sequel, says Variety! Apparently there is truly only one 22-year-old guy in Hollywood capable of toplining an ill-advised sequel. Anyway, LaBeouf would reportedly be cast opposite a returning Michael Douglas's Gordon Gekko in a young-trader role similar to the one Charlie Sheen played in 1987. But will LaBeouf's crazy, real-life carnie father play his movie dad, like Martin Sheen in the first Wall Street?
AP - MTV has been without a show that has defined pop culture since the demise of "Total Request Live" and is betting on a 25-year-old British model who dates a rock star to help fill that void.
AP - In Craig Lucas' frenetic and entertaining drama "The Singing Forest," time seems to stand still for a moment when Olympia Dukakis, exhausted and desperate, shouts a resounding question: "Who are you?"
John Travolta can hardly be over the hell of losing his son, Jett. Now he's being asked to relive it.
Bahamian prosecutors announced today that they still intend to call...
Sex and the City just received a couple of more shots of testosterone.
Fresh off the news that Chris Noth will be back as Mr. Big for the SATC sequel, I can exclusively reveal that...
We were surprised when we came across New Yorker film critic and Snark author David Denby's description of Russell Crowe in his recent review of State of Play.
Russell Crowe’s body is shapeless now, his complexion pasty, his hair long and lank; he looks like a dumpling in a wig.
A dumpling in a wig! we said to ourselves. That's a harsh, not to mention snarky thing for the General in the War Against Snark to say. So of course we got all ready to rip the old codger a new one on our Internet blog for being such a hypocrite. But then, at the last minute, we realized: Rather than act like reflexively mean-spirited, bottom-feeding bloggers, as is our wont, maybe we should make like the old school and do some reporting. Quickly, we had resident Photoshop genius Everett Bogue whip up a picture of a dumpling wearing a wig, which we took into the Daily Intel Situation Room for careful study and observation.
There, our suspicions were confirmed: Russell Crowe does, in fact, resemble a dumpling in a wig. More specifically, a pork bun — but overall we have to concede defeat. We should have known. Nothing gets by those New Yorker fact-checkers. They probably did the exact same thing.
EVEN WE USE NETFLIX: Hey, if you still want to drive to a video store, hand over your laminated card, then exchange monetary notes for a physical disc of a movie that you can then drive home and watch before driving back to the store again to return it, you're in luck, because they're still in business for an hour a day. (Consumerist)
AMERICAN IDLE: Fox will not air President Obama's speech Wednesday night for fear that it might run long and cut into the American Idol results show. Which means we'll only have about seven networks to play the "Which Feed Is Farthest Ahead And Loudest? President-speech game. (Warming Glow)
I DIDN'T MEAN THAT O.J.:Linda Hogan is requesting a much bigger sum of money from Hulk after his interesting "I understand O.J. speech." She's apparently requesting exactly the cost of having a giant knife-resistant protective bubble around herself. (Dlisted)
NAKED COWBOYS: Here's a video of Matt & Kim running around Times Square naked. I hope this is a music video and not some truly unfortunate Dateline episode. (The Fab Life)
CAR WARS: Here's a list of the 12 Most Famous Cars of All Time. Wait, that doesn't sound very internetty -- are you sure you don't mean, The 12 Most Famous Cars of All Time Driven By Alf? (Wonderwall)
• Hugh Hefner said he'd like Holly Madison to move back into the mansion because she's still the "love of his life." Meanwhile, Holly's all, "No thanks, I'm...
Pete Wentz left his hotel in midtown Manhattan today wearing a zip-up sweatshirt, jeans, and a beanie. Let us remind you that it reached 89 degrees today.
Will Christian Bale do a third Batman? He tells Total Film: "The fact is, I have to! I've signed up! Chris [Nolan] doesn't. So I'm in a bit of a fix if he says he doesn't want to!" [Total Film via /Film]
Last night Tom Hanks was honored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center for his prolific career, and when we caught up with him at the gala at Alice Tully Hall, we had to ask him about his secret to success. "Movies are like this," he said. "If it’s cold, you gotta pretend you’re hot, and if it’s hot, you gotta pretend you’re cold." We can totally do that! Get in touch, Spielberg. The rest of you can view our Party Lines slideshow for more musings from Tom's inner circle.
Pop quiz, asshole: What is the most-watched show on television for both children (ages 2 to 11) and tweens (ages 9 to 14)? If you would've posed this question to us this morning, before we had read today's Los Angeles Times, we likely would've blurted out something like Hannah Montana, American Idol, or SpongeBob SquarePants. However, thanks to Denise Martin's piece, we learned that Nickelodeon's iCarly, created and produced by noted zeitgeist-pulse-taker Dan Schneider (whom you may remember as Dennis Blunden from Head of the Class), trumps all of these shows in the ratings for those specific demographic groups. Which pretty much puts 15-year-old Miranda Cosgrove in the driver's seat to become the next gazillionaire tween star. So let's see what we're dealing with here, shall we?
Well, for starters, it's important to note that Miranda Cosgrove is a double threat (read: someone who can act AND sing), just like Miley and Hilary Duff before her. However, unlike Cyrus and Duff, she does not have the vaunted Disney marketing machine backing her every step of the way; unfortunately for her, she's stuck living inside the Viacom universe for the foreseeable future. But she does have one significant ally on her side, that being the aforementioned Dan Schneider.
You see, Cosgrove caught her first break when she was 10 years old and was picked to star alongside Jack Black in School of Rock (she was the precocious band manager). She caught her second break when she met with Dan Schneider, a prominent development executive who helped launch the careers of future stars like Amanda Bynes (The Amanda Show), Kenan Thompson (Kenan & Kel), and Josh Peck (Drake & Josh). He subsequently cast her as the star of iCarly, his latest in a long line of incredibly successful projects for Nickelodeon.
And in the two years the show has been on the air, Schneider and Cosgrove have turned the product into a ratings behemoth for Nickelodeon, a network that was under significant pressure to replicate the kinds of successes that Disney had with the High School Musical franchise. Thanks to those successes, Cosgrove is being rewarded with a starring role in a Paramount film that's being developed specifically for her, a comedy called How Could You Do This to Me?, which is about a teen who tries to keep her divorced parents from reuniting. So get used to her face, because if Sumner Redstone has anything to do with it, we'll be seeing it for a number of years to come.
Everyone, pay very close attention. The greatest movie straight to DVD movie of our time, One-Eyed Monster, has been officially released. According to IMDB, the movie's plot is as follows: "A hostile alien wreaks havoc on the cast and crew of an adult movie. Amber Benson, Charles Napier, and Ron Jeremy star in an homage to "Alien", "The Thing", and porn." Curious as to how low budget this movie is?? Good news -- there's a trailer online!
And like any fabulously low-budget alien horror film, the stars of the movie all came out to celebrate its launch last night. Which is where we discovered that porn stars look like complete maniacs in the light of day. Here's Mary Carey and Ron Jeremy, who look like two dead gypsies found in the Romanian woods:
And who can forget Lorielle New, who we're assuming plays the monster that eventually rips Ron Jeremy's D off:
Still looking good though? Actor Caleb Mayo. Yes, Caleb Mayo:
WHAT A HUNK!
I wouldn't mind being the bologna in this Mayo sandwich. Wait, what? No, um... I wouldn't mind spreading this Mayo all over my bread slices. Better... Source: Best Week Ever | 28 Apr 2009 | 9:27 pm
HAIR
• Model Amaris Brown of Detroit and stylist Kevin Carter of Farmington Hills, Michigan, won the International Fantasy Hair Competition for their Proud Peacock entry, a creation featuring a plume of feathers mixed with hair styled to look like the actual bird. Good luck making friends on the subway with that. [Yahoo]
• Oprah Winfrey does not wear a weave. She revealed a picture of herself pre-press and pre-curled (and without makeup) on her show to prove it. It's all real, baby. [Flypaper/Bluefly]
• The fade hair crop is back for summer. These guys look kinda good with it, but they are probably two of the only people who can pull it off without looking like Will Smith circa The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. [Imagist]
• Also coming back: sideburns, Luke Perry–style. Zac Efron and Matthew Broderick are sporting them. [NYDN]
• Celebrity hairstylist Sally Hershberger confirms that eighties hair is back for fall. [Beauty Counter/Style.com]
Apparently, Creed was waiting for a week where their reunion announcement wouldn't be the most depressing story on the internet to announce that they're reuniting -- sorry, God, but prepare to have your name attached to more disposable high school poetry on Creed's upcoming album and summer tour, kicking off on August 6th in (sigh) Pittsburgh.
Hopefully after five years apart from the band, Scott Stapp has matured past the point where every word out of his mouth sounds like a Christopher Guest character's artistic delusion mixed with equal parts faux-religiousness and pure hilarity?
"I wouldn't call it a reunion," the lead singer said. "It's a renewing and a rebirth. I missed my boys and wanted to create music with them again. We're all thrilled to have a second chance to make a first impression."
So much for that. Go on.
"We want to put ourselves around the best and have them bring out the best in us and challenge us as artists," he said. "This band is my first love and a first love that's stood the test of time."
That quote was actually translated into Japanese on Babelfish and translated back. What else do you have in store, Scott?
"And nine Jesus poses per video? You bet yer sweet ass!" he added, winking.
I may have made this sentence up, but barely. Source: Best Week Ever | 28 Apr 2009 | 9:19 pm
In the beginning of The New Yorker's profile of Peter Orszag, Obama's youthful, egghead-y budget director pays a visit to Jon Stewart at The Daily Show, and in the green room, ends up saying something kind of awkward when the host asks him why, instead of bailing out banks, the government doesn't bail out borrowers.
“The problem is, if you just focussed on the people who defaulted you create this huge incentive to default,” Orszag replied. Stewart looked at Orszag with an astonished grin. Before Stewart could finish pointing out that the government is creating an equally huge incentive by bailing out the financial firms Orszag realized that he had been backed into a corner: “Yeah, none of this is perfect!”
Fortunately, he didn't say that on the television, just in The New Yorker, which, sad to say, has a much smaller audience. Further down in Ryan Lizza's profile, the budget director lets slip a few other mildly embarrassing tidbits.
We came away with at least five insights about Obama's economic brain trust.
1. Tim Geithner: Kind of a Girl About His Title
While visiting Jon Stewart, Orszag defers questions about the bailout to the Treasury secretary. "He's the bailout guy?" Stewart says. "He's the bailout guy," Orszag says with a smile. "He gets sensitive about that."
2. That Uncomfortable Feeling That Congress Has, in Which They Suspect Everyone in the Administration Thinks They're Stupid? Totally Not in Their Heads
"At Princeton, Orszag wrote his senior thesis on the relationship between the Federal Reserve and Congress. One of his conclusions was that "it is clear that Congress suffers from a lack of understanding of even the most rudimentary economics." Side point: All economists have contempt for Congress: "Orszag's paper won an award for the best thesis that year in international economics or politics."
3. Economists Can Be Kind of Undermine-y
Here's Orszag on his mentor, Nobel-laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz, in The New Yorker: He's "more of a thinker and an academic than an implementer." (Another way of saying this might have been: "You know, in life, there are some people who do things, and some people who just sit on the sidelines and watch other people do things.")
Here's Stiglitz on Geithner, in the Times yesterday: “I don’t think that Tim Geithner was motivated by anything other than concern to get the financial system working again. But I think that mindsets can be shaped by people you associate with, and you come to think that what’s good for Wall Street is good for America.” (He might as well have added: "If you are weak-willed and foolish.")
4. Except for Larry Summers, Who Is Just Incorrigibly Irascible, All the Time
“There’s a little turbulence between Larry and everybody,” Orszag says, “because that’s just the way he is.” This actually just makes us love him.
5. In the End, You Can Never Really Trust Economists
Good old Stanley Bing wrote yesterday that while economists like to think they're practicing a science, it's more of "a craft, like pottery," and you never really know what's going to happen once that clay they've molded gets in the hot, hot kiln. For instance? That prize-winning thesis Orszag wrote back at Princeton? "The crucial formula that he had used," Lizza writes, "the one that had won him the prize, was incorrect. 'It was so innovative,' he said, 'that it was wrong.'" Oh, is that why it was wrong.
There are only 3 weeks left of American Idol. Do you know what that means? That means there are only 3 weeks left for me to have a reason to live. American Idol 8 is the first season of the show that I have sat through every episode, from the beginning (thank you, new DVR!), meaning my heart is now enmeshed with the stories of each and every remaining contestant (with the exception of Danny Gokey, because I've forgotten how to feel for him.)
So you would think that with only 3 weeks of the show remaining, Idol producers would pull out all the stops, choosing some kick ass themes to rouse (and arouse) the masses in the final push. This week's theme? The Rat Pack.
OK, you know what? I love Frank Sinatra, DD Marty, all the guys from the 'Pack (even you, Joey Bishop!) And who do you think will be mentoring these young, aimless souls through their quest to becoming America's Idol? Michael Buble? The Grobez? The bones of JFK?
No. It's this guy:
Jamie Foxx will be the "mentor" for the remaining contestants. Things he'll probably teach them? You know, the important stuff... like "How to sing like a robot" and "How to be blind" and "How to blame it on the henny." Also, how to make a hilarious horse face. You know... "the standards".
PS: If the rumor that D-Gokez is singing "That's Amore" is true, I might have to forego a recap because I will have possibly have flung myself over my fire escape railing. Source: Best Week Ever | 28 Apr 2009 | 8:53 pm
MObama wore a striped shirtdress by Sophie Theallet today to unveil a brand-new bust of abolitionist and women's-rights activist Sojourner Truth in Emancipation Hall with the help of secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Mrs. O located the dress on eluxury.com. So we can all can buy it and look just like Michelle! Er, those of us who have $1,925 to blow on it, that is. See the full look in the Michelle Obama Look Book. [Mrs. O]
As you are no doubt aware, pretty much everyone is on Twitter, from Lance Armstrong to Katie Couric to Ashton and Demi. But when it's down to thinking 140 characters at a time, what separates the Howard Wolfsons from the Diddys? We thus present the Twitter Approval Matrix, our deliberately oversimplified guide to whose tweets are worth following. [NYM]
As we come to the close of the seventh season of 24 — only four episodes left until Jack takes on our fine city — the show comes full circle: Once again, Jack has brought back Chloe and the Counter-Terrorism Database to track down a conspiracy. Of course, this time he’s going after old pal Tony Almeida and doesn’t even quite know what he’s scanning his old files for — the show gives us an amusing shot of diligent FBI workers installing pipes from their computers to “CTU servers” — but hey, at least we got to see that old CTU logo again. It’s as impressively Orwellian as we remember. To the Absurd-o-Meter!
3. Jack recovers even more quickly than usual. Even though Tony left Jack for dead at the end of the last episode, all it takes is one little shot to get Jack back to insane speed. (Actually, he’s operating at a whole new insane level, but we’ll come back to that.) It took about 25 seconds. Fortunately, this allows Jack to quickly tell Agent Walker — who, it was just confirmed, will return to the show next year, so expect a violent love scene at some point — that Tony’s the bad guy, that he killed her boyfriend, that he was working against them all along. She doesn’t look like she believes it could possibly be true, which makes sense, because we don’t believe it, either. Though the three people Tony kills in the first five minutes are persuasive … Absurdity Factor: 4
2. Love triangles among terrorists. Tony kills the Starkwood contractor he had been teaming with and steals his bioweapon canister — occupational hazard, one presumes. Tony then meets up with Mysterious Domestic-Terrorist Femme Fatale, with whom he convinces the shady Group of Private Military Firms even larger than Starkwood to set up another attack later in the day. (In the next four hours, we’re guessing.) How does she push them over the top? She sends a potentially racy instant message to the group’s leader (played by perpetual shady baddie Will Patton), saying “Do it for me.” He votes to attack now and convinces everyone else; meanwhile, one minute later, she’s making out with Tony. Love triangles and biochemical weapons: The makings of great soap opera. Is this why Guiding Light is being canceled? Absurdity Factor: 6
1. Jack’s really losing his shit. At the end, once they’ve tapped into all the CTU servers, Chloe’s being her usually snotty self, but For All That Is Good and American, while Janeane Garofalo snots her right back, except For All That Wants to Help the Terrorists and Hurt America. (This is something of an oversimplification.) All fine and good; you’d think Garofalo insisted on the “token person who points out that torture and unlawful surveillance are bad” speech. But then Jack, who’s still suffering from the after effects of the disease that’s going to “kill” him, flips out and starts screaming in Garofalo’s face, spitting and ranting and confusing which president he’s working for. His mind is starting to go, and even Chloe has noticed. Though if you think this whole scene was just written so 24 could show Jack Bauer screaming in a liberal icon’s face … well, we’d be hard-pressed to disagree with you. Absurdity Factor: 8
Here's your afternoon don't-freak-out-but-the-swine-flu-is-spreading update: City authorities are now saying that the disease may have expanded outside of St. Francis Prep and into two additional schools. Twelve autistic students from P.S. 177 in Queens are being treated for high fevers, though nobody has tested positive for swine flu so far. Same story for six students at the Ascension School on the Upper West Side — high fevers, no confirmed cases. But like yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg and health commissioner Thomas Friedan are urging calm, pointing out that tens of thousands of New Yorkers get the flu every year. Still, this quote from Friedan sounds like something out of a bad zombie movie: "Yes, it is here and it is spreading. We do not know that it will continue to spread, and we don’t know whether it’s worse." [City Room/NYT]
People Magazine just released an 80-page Special Edition devoted entirely to the Sprouse Twins, which I can honestly say without exaggeration is probably the greatest article of literature our world has ever produced:
That's right, the magazine is EIGHTY PAGES LONG. Eighty. As in eight times ten pages long. Or eighty times one. Eighty pages of nothing but the Sprouse Twins. A magazine devoted to the lives of these Disney kids (plus shopping with Brenda and games & puzzles) is ten times longer than Thomas Paine'sCommon Sense, and about fifty times as important.
People Magazine's Brenda Song Encyclopedia Set is due out in May. Source: Best Week Ever | 28 Apr 2009 | 8:15 pm
It might interest you to know that, earlier this week, André Leon Talley, an integral fiber in the fabric of the A-list, was riding in Diane Von Furstenberg's shamrock-green Bentley on the way to the Tribeca Film Festival opening-night party. But that's beside the point. He blogs about the car ride, during which he managed to take a break from being fabulous to confab with Marisa Tomei via cell phone to discuss what she should wear to the Met gala on Monday. This raises eyebrows, because André has made some questionable styling decisions for his celeb gal pals, and Jennifer Hudson's regrettable bolero at the 2007 Oscars is just the beginning. Remember what Kimora Lee Simmons wore at his behest to the gala last year? Anyhoo, André is firmly ensconced on Marisa's style-advisory board. He loved what she wore to the Golden Globes:
[S]he was, in my mind’s eye, without question the most elegant and best-dressed of any actress in the room. Wearing a white lace-trimmed blouse and a long black skirt from Oscar de la Renta, she set a recession-appropriate tone of quietude and made it look cool with hair tossed back in a soft queue de cheval and several strands of necklaces.
This worries us because, while Oscar de la Renta is an amazing designer, nothing about this outfit stands out to us. It's not his best work, nor Marisa's best outfit. (Also, since when does André champion "quietude" in dressing?) For the Costume Institute Gala, Marisa chose a "brilliant lemongrass Madame Grès toga-like sixties gown." Talley blogs:
My suggestion was to belt the dress with a wide gold leather Alaïa belt, the way Michelle Obama loves to define her waist; [boutique owner] Rita had an even better idea of a vintage Cartier gold metal belt. Without cinching, the iconic dress could get a little dour on such a sexy woman with a great body. Actually, she was going to wear it to the Oscars this year, but at the last minute, she went with an over-the-top white Atelier Versace that, in the end, wore Marisa, not the other way around.
So the dress Marisa's planning to wear, which Talley helped her select, is her Oscar reject dress. No wonder Talley disapproves of the Versace (which we adored). Will Marisa pull another switcheroo on Talley? Hopefully, if only for another taste of his subtly acrid blogging.
The reviews for Bob Dylan's new album (out today!) are in — and they're unexceptional! "Very little on Together Through Life seems destined for his repertory's long haul," complains the Times' Ben Ratliff. "A toss-off from an artist who has done better work in the past," whines the Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot. These are a long way from the boomer-critic hosannas who greeted 2006's Modern Times or 2001's Love and Theft! Worst of all? Rolling Stone's David Fricke (DavidFricke!) gives the album an abysmal four out of five stars! Cripes, how terrible is this thing?
Actually, it's strange — Together Through Life hews pretty close to the template of Modern Times and Love and Theft. Practically all of it is comprised of what made up 90 percent of its two five-star predecessors: rockabilly-ish upbeat tracks, a couple of pedal-steel-y ballads, some old-timey one-liners, and a bunch of funny pickup lines. Really, our favorite songs on TTL (listen here, here, and here) are at least as good as our favorite ones on Times and Theft. Most of them have a slight south-of-the-border feel (plus accordion, which may not be your thing), but after a week of pretty careful listening to Together, we fail to see a vast difference in quality between its first nine songs and the first nine songs on those other albums.
To our ears, the one thing obviously missing from Together Through Life is the now-standard, ten-minute, Dylanologist-appeasing bummer closing track in which he makes oblique references to his history, mythology, and mortality (think LaT's "Sugar Baby", MT's "Ain't Talkin'," or Time Out of Mind's "Highlands"). Instead, we get "All Good" (hear it below), which is just sort of a throwaway.
And sure, a dark, brooding, extended meditation on Dylan's oldness probably would've made this whole record feel weightier, just like their last tracks probably made LaT and MT feel — but to us, one song's omission hardly makes the difference between Annie Hall and Mighty Aphrodite, or anything. Even so, to hear most critics tell it, Together Through Life is "minor Dylan,""a mixed bag," and a "letdown". And while we haven't found one review that specifically cites "All Good" as Together's main problem, we really suspect it might be, at least so far as critics seem to have a problem with the album.
At this point, for Bob Dylan, don't bleak songs like "Ain't Talkin'" pretty much come easy? And surely by now he knows exactly which buttons to press to make Rolling Stone critics flip their shit, right? One gets the feeling that he didn't want that extra star from David Fricke, anyway.
Below is Together Through Life's closer, "All Good," which, admittedly, isn't great. But we'd probably have only docked him half a star for it.
Looks like all the housewives on The View who put their hands in the air for Lil Wayne are going to have to wait another week to buy his new CD. According to reports, the record's release has been pushed back from June 16 to June 23, since it would've had to square off against Ashley Tisdale's Guilty Pleasure. Guess the streets can wait, after all. [Ace Showbiz]
Following her success as the designer of Biba in London, Barbara Hulanicki became an icon of sixties British fashion with her short skirts and mod styles sold at affordable prices. In days post-Biba, Hulanicki has been living in Miami designing interiors for several hotels in the area. At an exhibition of fashion illustrations last year, Topshop brass approached her about doing a special line for them. The result is a capsule collection of animal-inspired prints and brightly colored flowy dresses, along with graphic tees, head scarves, hats, and bathing suits. We talked to Hulanicki about the line, which launches today, as well as Biba, her love of Miami, and her great dislike of baby-doll dresses.
What was the inspiration for this collection with Topshop?
It became a good girl/bad girl look. Some pieces are very naughty, such as the hand-over-the-breast dress. But there’s a floaty chiffon top for the good girl. The fashion illustrations and prints were developed first. Once Topshop selected their favorites, the designs were selected to suit the image I had made. The swimsuits are definitely forties-inspired, with large brimmed summer hats and stretchy jersey dresses.
Does the line have a similar feel to your original collection for Biba?
I was asked to do a collection that was representative of me now, something that wasn’t Biba. But somehow there is no way to get away from that name or the spirit.
A look for the capsule collection.Photo:Sketch by Barbara Hulanicki for Topshop.
Is this collection for a different audience?
They are both very similar. The customers are young working girls with great individualist style who love fashion.
Are you planning on doing accessories with Topshop?
Not at the moment.
How does it feel to be designing again?
I am loving it!
You’ve become quite a fashion icon; how does that feel?
Quite scary.
You’re based in Miami now. Has that changed your fashion sense, or do you still associate with British fashion?
I am a chameleon. In the early nineties, Ronnie Wood asked me to design a nightclub for him in Miami Beach. I immediately fell in love with the city, its dilapidated Art Deco hotels and the beautiful weather. Miami has incredibly bright colors and it’s very sunny, so my interior work definitely reflects that. I think it’s a bonus that I am starting with a summer collection for Topshop, as I am expert at dressing in the heat.
Barbara Hulanicki for Topshop dress, $110.Photo: Courtesy of Topshop
Who are your favorite designers? Alexander Wang is fantastic! I am also a big fan of Rick Owens.
What was the first designer item you ever bought (or wore)?
My mother’s homemade dresses. Under my supervision, of course.
Where do you like to shop?
Topshop in London, of course, and now, thankfully, in New York! I love Barneys in New York, as well.
What trends are you liking this season?
The new structure of shoulder pads.
And what trends do you wish would go away?
Barbie Doll, puffed sleeves, and baby-doll dresses.
Any item you’re coveting right now?
Anything black: shoes, jackets, narrow pants, and messenger bags.
What’s something every woman should have in her closet?
Lots of T-shirts. Basics.
Finish this sentence. I never leave the house without …
My key.
The collection is available at Topshop, 478 Broadway, nr. Broome St.; 212-966-9555.
Early raves for Funny People notwithstanding, most people would concur that the characters who populate Judd Apatow's universe live in an alternate reality to our own. It's a place where a stoner schlub like Seth Rogen can score a certified babe like Katherine Heigl and a socially challenged virgin like Steve Carell encounters very few obstacles before walking off into the sunset with the luminous Catherine Keener. While this is hardly a novel observation, the kids over at College Humor just upped the ante by taking this oft-leveled critique and turning it into a video called "In an Apatow World." The witty little ditty is sung by Streeter Seidell and Sarah Schneider, two of the stars of MTV's The College Humor Show; it won us over with the line, "You're not out of my league; stoner is the new stud / Because losers become winners in this world of Judd."
As part of Vogue's hard-hitting reporting on models for the May issue, they stuffed the industry's hottest veteran and new faces into a table at Minetta Tavern for a roundtable discussion on the state of modeling today. Ladies in attendance included Naomi Campbell, Iman, Paulina Porizkova, Hilary Rhoda, Karlie Kloss, Caroline Trentini, and Lauren Hutton. They didn't talk about eating issues, if you can believe that, but the awesome Lauren Hutton, whose career began in 1964, is always amazing to watch. Also of note is the part where Paulina, looking at 16-year-old Karlie Kloss, says, "If models were no longer 15 or 16 — if there was an age prohibit — that would be a really great thing.” Sweet of her! [Style.com]
A general view a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Doha. The creator of the Faith Fighter online game allowing players to stage fights involving Jesus, Mohammed and other prophets... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 28 Apr 2009 | 6:56 pm
Florida Governor Charlie Crist approved a new state vanity license plate depicting Jesus on the cross:
The new plate has already started the requisite "Church vs. State" and free speech arguments in the Florida legislature, but people are missing the point here; these are vanity license plates we're talking about -- lightning rods for subtle profanity and boundary-pushing abbreviated innuendo -- and religious people want to put Jesus' likeness behind peoples' attempts at creative swearing? This isn't going to end well.
By all means, purchase the license plate if you legitimately want to show your Jesus-support, but I think we all know where this is headed (after the jump)...
Last night’s episode of The Hills managed to further solidify the gang's incestuous ways, and we're not sure how we feel about it. This week, the girls go to Hawaii to "surprise" Brody, Frankie, Doug (a.k.a. Paris Hilton's boyfriend), and someone called Sleazy T, all of whom have gone to Oahu for a boys' weekend. Brody has obviously refused point-blank to look surprised (much to the producers' chagrin, we suspect), and when the girls show up, drinks in hand, shouting, "Surprise!" he simply rolls his eyes slightly. It’s almost like he knew his boys' weekend did not warrant the whole camera crew following them to Hawaii. He loosens up when they suggest shots. Also — was that a Coronita Brody was drinking, or does he have the biggest hands we’ve ever seen?
They hit the beach. Giving her standard vacant smile, Audrina says that Justin Bobby texted her earlier. “It’s like a hate-and-love relationship. It’s not even a relationship, I don’t know what it is,” she says. Bless her: She means a love-hate relationship, but we know Audrina’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer — and catching her bad grammar and misquoted expressions has sort of become our "Where’s Waldo?" for every episode. Then it's Jacuzzi time, duh. Brody tells Audrina that she is wearing “one of the sexiest one-pieces” he’s ever seen. What we see: When Audrina bends a certain way, her boobs go a bit Tori Spelling–ish. Brody apparently doesn’t notice, or care.
(Also, on the matter of permanent tagalong Stephanie Pratt: God, someone (a) give that girl a shower — she looks filthy half the time and (b) suck the collagen and Botox out of her. What has she done to her face?)
Later, Audrina and Brody engage in mild flirting at dinner. She’s a little tipsy. Frankie tells them to “get a room already.” Fueled by liquor, Audrina admits to the entire table that she’s always had a crush on Brody. He looks at her, as one is wont to do on this show. After dinner it's time for a party in the boys' room, which is edited so that lingering, lingering glances are flying back and forth between Brody and Audrina. She goes to his room and hangs out alone. We’re ashamed to admit to having done that same thing in the past. You need to “make a call” or “have a rest,” and before you know it he’s followed you in. Obvious, but it works. Brody follows Audrina in. He calls her a loner, then tells her he likes being her friend and suggests that they might succumb to their mutual attraction some other time when there are not so many people around. And so Audrina spends the night in his room. Um, what about his girlfriend, Jayde?
Meanwhile, Speidi are back in L.A., finding religion. Loitering in the Spirituality & Enlightenment section at Barnes & Noble, Heidi tells Bum-fluff Beard that Colby, her high-school boyfriend, is coming to town, and that they are all to meet up. Knowing that Colby is a Bible-toting mommy’s boy, Spencer visibly has to make an effort to appear jealous. At the double-date dinner, Colby's girlfriend tells Heidi, "You look different. Colby’s mom showed me pictures. You don’t even look like the same person!" Yes, well, that’s because Heidi has a new face and looks like she’s borrowed a wig from Kim Zolciak of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Ashley and Colby reveal to Spencer that they don’t drink, don’t dance, they have separate hotel rooms, and follow the Lord’s path. Naturally, Spencer’s mind explodes just trying to process it.
Then things get weird: Ashley and Colby come to Heidi and Spencer’s apartment for a Bible-study session. Ashley pulls an Audrina and says that sex in the Bible is referred to as "fornification." Colby quickly corrects her. Later, Heidi and Spencer have coffee and discuss Colby’s values. Heidi appeals to Spencer to get on better with her mom and sister. It’s really boring.
Anyhow, just as an aside: Why is Lauren still the central character? She does nothing and she says around three lines per episode. Not that Lauren was ever that interesting anyway, but she used to have at least a pouty-face plotline.
And now, the famous Hills Reality Index:
As real as the fact that Steph had some work done over the break:
• Audrina being shitfaced 24/7 — that’s what drinks with umbrellas do! And we should know.
• Audrina's "wander into the bedroom" move.
• Heidi and Spencer at the Grove. It’s totally in their neighborhood.
As fake as Audrina’s watermelons-on-a-Popsicle-stick boobs:
• Audrina and Brody. Period.
• Steph being friends with any of them. We don’t buy it. She’s weird.
• Bible studying at Spencer and Heidi's. That’s just insulting.
AP - "The Garden" focuses on one of the most fundamental functions of human existence: the process of working the earth to grow healthy fruits and vegetables.
Do you not see it? Maybe a little Sheeppig photoshopping will help...
The f*ck me heels, the long, shapely legs, the luxurious bounce to his sheep curl... Admit it, Sheeppig is kind of hot:
Admit it -- This Sheeppig gives you a case of the ol' Swine Flus... of the crotch. (No? Sorry.)
The real travesty here is that she sold for under $400, which seems like a regular damn bargain if you ask me:
By the way, she has a name.... it's Elizabeth. But according to Stephen over at Urlesque, she looks less like an Elizabeth and more like a Scott:
Here's the pitch -- there's a talking mule, voiced by Ice-T...
STOP RIGHT THERE! Start shooting tomorrow.
We don't have a script or a title or any reason to...
DOESN'T MATTER. Just get it done. And make sure you say the word "mule" ninety thousand times in the trailer, so the people know it's about a mule. And make the mule "cool." These kids today, they loves the mules.
Yes sir!
Fashion Wire Daily - Matthew McConaughey made it a family affair on Monday, April 27, as he hit the premiere of his latest romantic comedy with his mother, brother, and main squeeze, Brazilian supermodel Camila Alves.
MTV reports that Matthew McConaughey is considering the role of Captain America in the yet-uncast Avengers movie, though the article fails to mention who in their right mind is considering McConaughey for the role (is this movie executive produced by The Year 1997??)
Late last year, McConaughey didn’t seem to know who “Captain America” was, much less have an interest in playing him, but repeated mentions of his name with that of the patriotic leader of The Avengers may have sent the “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” star to the back-issue bin.
“It sounds fun,” McConaughey told MTV News, admitting that, so far, no script has come his way.
McConaughey has long been a fan-favorite choice for the role and his name is now being tossed around with other rumored-contenders Channing Tatum and John Cena.
Granted, Captain America is a shirtless southern-accented stoner, so McConaughey has all of that going for him, but can he hold a shield? I'm skeptical.
Just to give you an idea of what this impending disaster would look like, here's an unexaggerated mock-up:
America was a much different place last week: there was no swine flu panic and we still had three of The Golden Girls with us. Take a trip back to a simpler time with PFT, Mike Britt, Melissa Rauch, Paul Scheer, and Chuck Nice on Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins:
Part 1
After a eight-year hiatus, R&B singer Maxwell is returning with his long-awaited, oft-delayed fourth studio album, "BLACKsummer'snight," slated for a July 7th release on Columbia Records. The album's first single, "Pretty Wings," debuted today (April 28), with the accompanying video premiering on BET's "106 & Park" this afternoon.
It's been months since the Playboy mogul and then pinup split, but Hef says he'd welcome 'the love of his life' back with open arms Source: FOXNews.com | 28 Apr 2009 | 4:02 pm
In Hollywood, there are two kinds of people: those who have been nipped and tucked, and those who go au natural. Source: FOXNews.com | 28 Apr 2009 | 3:54 pm
America's greatest songwriter talks about building the perfect
sound, bootlegs and his chat with France's president
In the current Rolling Stone on stands now, Bob Dylan discusses his new album Together Through Life and American icons from Chuck Berry to Walt Whitman to Elvis Presley. Here David Brinkley shares more of his conversations with America's greatest songwriter.
AP - Nintendo has owned the portable video-game market first with the Game Boy, now with the DS for so long that most of us gave up hope of ever seeing a viable competitor. But it's become impossible to ignore the new kid on the block: Apple's iPhone, whose game library has quickly overwhelmed Nintendo's.
Lilith Fair, the successful summer North American female-oriented festival created by Sarah McLachlan which ran from 1997 to 1999, will make its return next year, Nettwerk founder Terry McBride has confirmed to Billboard.com.
Front Page: No pop for NBC finales of 'Chuck,' 'Heroes' -- Ratings may have drifted downward this season for nearly every scripted skein, but reality programs continue to keep the broadcasters from sagging even more.
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick are expecting twin girls via a surrogate, Entertainment Weekly reports. Source: FOXNews.com | 28 Apr 2009 | 2:52 pm
Ted Dekker spent his formative years living with cannibals. It's a helpful background for an author who writes novels about serial killers. His new book, "BoneMan's Daughters," came out recently.
Despite reports the recently reconciled couple are planning a lavish wedding to renew their vows, the singer insists she and Carey are happy to just "be together".
She said: "I don't know where the remarriage thing came from. That kind of came out of the air. We are definitely back together.
"We never really legally got divorced. Paperwork for both of us is really annoying. So we're choosing to be together. Our role models are Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon and Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn - people who just choose to be together every day because they want to be there. And labels have never been our thing."
The couple separated last February and Pink - real name Alecia Moore - insists their split didn't help as much as she expected.
She added: "We try to protect ourselves from being fully in love and fully open and fully vulnerable, and really all we're doing is protecting ourselves from love and real love and the opportunity to really learn and grow with another person, so it's actually really detrimental, and you think it's helping."
The 'So What' star's most recent album, 'Funhouse', dealt with the demise of her marriage but Pink insists she will have no problems performing any of the tracks on her forthcoming tour, despite her change in personal circumstances.
She explained to website AZCentral.com: "Aside from a few songs that are completely vulnerable for me, when I'm writing even my angry kind of songs, like 'So What', for me, every emotion is involved - I'm being sarcastic, I'm being silly, I'm being angry, I'm all of these emotions, all at the same time, so I include them in my songs.
"So it's still silly, it's still funny, I still have anger. It's really easy to just be right back there. I don't have a hard time transplanting myself straight back to that moment."
Pink first met motocross racer Carey at the 2001 X Games. They split for a short period in 2003, but got back together and tied the knot in Costa Rica in January 2006 before their second separation. Source
The 38-year-old beauty - who is dating Russian billionaire Vladislav Doronin - is ready to retire from the fashion industry so she can start a family, and will only grace the catwalk for charity shows.
She said: "It'll be 25 years next year. In terms of fashion shows, I don't really see myself doing every show everywhere.
"I'm a woman and I'd like to be a mother one day."
The London-born supermodel is currently staying in Moscow with Vladislav, and despite being blissfully happy she admits she is missing her home comforts.
It'll be 25 years next year. In terms of fashion shows, I don't really see myself doing every show everywhere. I'm a woman and I'd like to be a mother one day. She added to Hello! magazine: "I miss Marks and Spencer - I have to be honest. I just don't like the chocolate as much in America or other places. Britain has the best chocolate."
Naomi and Vladislav - who is nicknamed the 'Donald Trump of Russia' in his home country - began dating last year.
Last August, it was reported the businessman was so smitten with Naomi he splashed out $18.5 million on a penthouse apartment for her in Brazil.
A source said at the time: "Naomi told Vladislav how much she loved Brazil and that she really wanted to settle down there. So he bought her the apartment as a gift. They will use it as their base when they are in Brazil together." Source
The singer-and-actress - who has 14-month-old twins Max and Emme with husband Marc Anthony - likes nothing better than snuggling up with her man for a quiet night in, despite her glamorous lifestyle.
She said: "People will probably be surprised to discover that I find it sexy to stay home - to me that's the best place to be. I find it really cosy and yummy being with a man who loves to stay in."
The 39-year-old beauty also says she felt a great deal of sympathy for Britney Spears when she went through her breakdown last year and is glad she no longer has the paparazzi following her every move.
She said in an interview with Britain's OK! magazine: "It was painful to watch Britney. I understood everything she was going through, having been through divorce and been a big pop star. Having fame, having money, having people depend on you, having kids - it's tough. Understanding what it's like to be chased by paparazzi 24 hours a day. My life is not like that anymore, but by choice. I won't live that way because it will destroy you." Source
Actress Jessica Alba was pulled over by police in California on Friday (24Apr09) for driving in the wrong direction down a one-way street.
The Fantastic Four actress was approached by a cop after she was spotted driving in the opposite way to the traffic flow in Santa Monica.
So if I want to fight it (contest the ticket), do you have to show up in court? Wouldn't that be your lucky day?
Alba reportedly tried to talk her way out of being reprimanded for the blunder - but police still issued her with a ticket.
Before she drove away, paparazzi filmed the star joking with the officer, giggling and asking him, "So if I want to fight it (contest the ticket), do you have to show up in court? Wouldn't that be your lucky day?"
Front Page: Government can threaten networks with fines -- Tuesday's Supreme Court decision on broadcast indecency sets the stage for a renewed court battle on the First Amendment issues raised by the FCC's indecency enforcement policies.
The first acts confirmed for London's Meltdown Festival, which runs June 13 to June 21 at the Southbank Centre, include Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band, Sean Lennon, Cornelius, Patti Smith, Robert Wyatt, Yo La Tengo, Baaba Maal and Moby. The Roots will open the event at the Royal Festival Hall on June 13.
The ruling UMP party, which faced the threat of a lawsuit, has agreed to pay a financial compensation to the band, MGMT's French lawyer said on Tuesday.
The Capitol Hill Block Party will return once again this summer in downtown Seattle on the weekend of July 24-25. Sonic Youth, the Jesus Lizard, the Gossip, Deerhunter, The Black Lips and The Pains of Being Pure At Heart anchor this year's lineup, which will feature over 40 acts.
Lane Garrison is a free man.
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—N.M.
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