Gimme Never Gets

2011-03-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

SANDRA BULLOCK DONATES
$1 MILLION TO JAPAN

Thereby demonstrating MASS Congeniality

Yesterday Sandra Bullock was photographed on the streets of Manhattan enjoying the first day of spring with her young son Louis, who is downright adorable to the max.

Photo by Marcel Thomas, FilmMagic

But before that - while we were all sleeping last week - Sandra Bullock went and did something amazing and heartfelt... she donated $1 million to Japan disaster relief! Here's the story as reported in the New York Daily News:

Sandra Bullock isn't turning a blind side to those in need in Japan.
The Oscar-winning actress donated $1 million to the American Red Cross to help victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami last week, her rep told the Daily News.
"The American Red Cross is extremely grateful for this generous support from Sandra Bullock and her family," the organization said in a statement Thursday. "This contribution is vitally important as the Red Cross works to provide critical assistance and essential relief items in this time of urgent need for so many people in Japan."
Bullock's hefty contribution is the largest known donation to the Red Cross since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake rattled Japan, which consequently triggered a horrifying tsunami and nuclear crisis.
This isn't the first time Bullock has made a generous donation. The actress, 46, gave $1 million to Doctors without Borders to aid earthquake victims in Haiti last year, and donated tens of thousands of dollars to a public school in New Orleans that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Isn't that just the best? I mean, I've done the text donation thing myself to try to help out Japan, but I don't got no one million dollars like Miss Congeniality over there. And to learn that this is not the first time she's been so giving, well, that just warms the cockles, n'est-ce pas?

I wonder if other rich 'n famous types have made donations to Japan, but we just don't know about it yet? I can think of ALOT of well-known others who appear to be in a financial position to be generous with Japan... that's right, Oprah, I'm looking at you. You too, Bill Gates.

2010-11-24T13:26:00.000-08:00

DRASTIC PLASTIC

Pete Burns in "Celebrity Plastic Surgery Gone Too Far?"

It's Thanksgiving in the good ol' USA and while Americans carve up the turkey, ABC News brings us celebrities who carve up their faces. And it ain't pretty.

ABC's Cynthia McFadden hosts "Primetime: Celebrity Plastic Surgery Gone Too Far?" and talks to Pete Burns the lead singer for Dead or Alive who hit fame in the mid-80's with the dance club classic "You Spin Me Round".

Burns is also well-known for changing his face over and over and over. Behold a few examples:

Of Pete's ever-changing face, he says, "People redecorate their homes every few years and I see this as no different. Changing my face is like buying a new sofa."

But those photos are quite a sight, n'est-ce pas?

Not sure why, but I am endlessly fascinated by Pete Burns. Something about his unique, ever-changing androgyny has just always totally captivated me. Plus, he's smart, has a powerful singing voice and produces great dance/pop music.

There have been some problems with Pete Burn's penchant for plastic surgery. He recently won a lucrative lawsuit against a London surgeon for botched procedures which left Pete with serious lip trauma...

Pete also says his doctors told him he'd have to have his lips amputated!

I do love Pete Burns, but it's safe to say that his formerly intriguing visage and image, pictured here...

...has become something difficult to understand or appreciate:

In 1989, Dead or Alive had a song called "Baby Don't Say Goodbye" which hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart.

Pete Burns wrote the song with lyrics that perhaps foreshadow his plastic surgery path.

The song goes, "I guess you couldn't face the heavy responsibility of looking at my face".

Was Pete Burns singing it to himself?!

In addition to Pete Burns, tonight's show also features interviews with Heidi Montag and the insufferable Janice Dickenson.

And ya just gotta know that somewhere along the way this show will just HAVE to mention and show pictures of the unbelievable Jocelyn Wildenstein.

Celebrity Plastic Surgery Gone Too Far? airs tonight on ABC in Canada and the USA at 10pm ET. Here's the ABC News press release:

With candid and shocking revelations from some of America’s most famous celebrities, ABC News will air an hour-long special anchored by ABC News’ Cynthia McFadden, “Primetime: Celebrity Plastic Surgery Gone Too Far?” on Wednesday, November 24 (10:00 – 11:00 p.m. ET.) on ABC. The program tells the inside story of how plastic surgery changed the world of celebrity forever -- and the price some of these stars have paid -- including the procedures, do’s and don’ts, and the real scoop of who has had what done to their bodies.

On “Primetime: Celebrity Plastic Surgery Gone Too Far?”:

    * “Nightline” Anchor Cynthia McFadden sits down with starlet Heidi Montag and reveals all on her radical revision last year, where she underwent at least 10 cosmetic procedures in a single day.

    * ABC News Correspondent Nick Watt speaks to Pete Burns, an electro-pop rockstar of the 1980’s and the striking, androgynous front man of British band Dead or Alive, who sees plastic surgery as an art form – and himself as the clay.

    * ABC News Correspondent Neal Karlinsky talks to Janice Dickinson, the knockout cover girl with just about every enhancement known to man who says “Everything about me is fake... and I’m perfect.”

    * ABC News Correspondent Chris Connelly looks at “redos” or revision operations where patients again turn to plastic surgery to correct botched jobs.

    * “Nightline’ Contributor Lisa Ling reports on the rising trend of teenagers getting plastic surgery. How young is too young?

Should be very interesting. Are you gonna wait til you're finished eating before you tune in?

All I know is the next TV show I wanna see is, "Celebrity Plastic Surgery Rehab".

Here are some resources to look at if you or someone you know suffers from Body Dysmorphic Disorder:

http://www.ementalhealth.ca/site/ottawa/index.php?m=12&ID=39

http://www.aboutourkids.org/families/disorders_treatments/az_disorder_guide/body_dysmorphic_disorder/support_resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_dysmorphic_disorder

2010-11-23T19:04:00.000-08:00

OPRAH'S FAVOURITE THINGS
Blood-chilling annual celebration of gluttony

Much ado lately about Oprah's favourite things, but do you know the sinister truth behind it?

2010-11-19T16:02:00.000-08:00

ANNIE LENNOX SAYS GOOD MORNING, AMERICA
Here Comes The SING, Again

This morning on Good Morning America, the divine Annie Lennox returned to North American television screens to grace us with her angelic voice and to continue her admirable commitment to raising awareness of HIV and AIDS through her charity work.

Annie Lennox has long been involved in awareness-raising efforts around HIV/AIDS. In her own words, here’s why: “Several years ago I personally witnessed Nelson Mandela, standing in front of his former prison cell on Robben Island, addressing the world’s press. His message was that the pandemic of HIV/AIDS in Africa was in fact, a genocide. Since that time I resolved to as much as I can to bring attention to the HIV/AIDS crisis."

Her appearance on GMA today included a short chat before she sang “Universal Child” which is a new composition she released last month on October 12.

She also talked about her brand new Christmas album called “A Christmas Cornucopia” released this week on November 15. Her inspiration behind it came from her time spent as a child when she sang in choirs and learned Christmas music at a very young age. This new album includes Annie’s very favourite songs from that time.

“I’ve known these songs, these carols all my life, I’ve sung them since I was little,” says the songwriter and singer of The Holly And The Ivy, Silent Night, The First Noel and other, less-widely-known songs such as Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant, and Lullay Lullay. “ They’re just in me. They’re a huge part of my life. So it’s not an arbitrary selection. Those relationships with those pieces of music were there intrinsically before I approached the recording.”

Annie also talked about a recent trip to Cape Town, South Africa to record with the African Children’s Choir which is featured on her Christmas album.

Annie’s short chat was followed by a beautiful live performance of “Universal Child”. I’m just amazed by her voice. I always have been actually. Sister sings like an angel! And 'Universal Child' is a gorgeous song, too.

Annie Lennox still looks friggin' amazing!. She’s aging very well and very gracefully. What else would we expect from Ms. Lennox? You can see that she is not “investing” in botox or anything like that. And guess what, everybody? She looks great!

Annie made a point of mentioning that all the income she earns from sales of “Universal Child” are paid to her charity, the Annie Lennox Foundation which raises money for projects supporting and educating women and children in Africa with HIV/AIDS. Now THAT’S the Christmas spirit, right?!

In 2007, Annie Lennox’s work was consolidated into the SING campaign. From the SING campaign website:The money raised by SING helps prevent the spread of HIV in South Africa. But the awareness that SING raises in countries all around the world is just as important. One of SING’s aims is to increase global action to support infected and affected women and children, especially in the UK.

Annie lobbies politicians, gives performances and interviews, and speaks at international events about HIV. She uses her unique voice to fight stigma and bring about change.

In 2010, Annie became an official UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador, as well as an HIV Ambassador for London and a special envoy for CPA Scotland on HIV.

WHY IS IT CALLED ‘SING’?

When people get together to sing, they become encouraged and inspired. In the words of Nelson Mandela: “Let us use the universal language of music, to sing out our message around the world”. As one of the world’s most renowned singer songwriters, Annie Lennox decided to write an anthem that could be used as a symbol of unity and empowerment, and help spread the message to the world.

In the spring of 2007, she invited 23 of the most internationally acclaimed female artists to record their voices on “SING”. Watch the SING video:

2010-11-14T12:23:00.000-08:00

THE 2010 GEMINI AWARDS
Gemini 25 gala hosted by Glee's Cory Monteith

Last night in Toronto, all the movers and shakers (and shmoozers & fakers?) of the Canadian television industry converged upon the Winter Garden Theatre for the 25th annual Gemini Awards (Gemini 25) celebrating the best of the past year in Canadian television.

As attendees arrived, it’s rather hilarious to note that “dozens of fans” lined the red carpet too. Ok, seriously… “dozens” of fans? Yup, that’s what the Canadian Press reported.

It’s just so funny to me, but I guess that’s Canada for ya. If this were an entertainment awards ceremony in LA, London or Mumbai I’m pretty sure there would be hundreds if not thousands of fans that would turn out for an event like this. But at least the fans at the Gemini's looked like they had fun interacting with Cory Monteith:

Then again, most of the programming on at least two of Canada’s three national TV networks offer American shows in the vast majority of time slots. Yes, I’m looking at you Global and CTV. The CBC isn't guiltless either thanks to their abundance of Ghost Whisperer reruns lately.

So, really then, why should there be any more than “dozens” of fans who show up to see Canadian TV talent that doesn’t get nearly the push and publicity that goes on in other international TV markets.

Gemini 25 was hosted by Cory Monteith, star of ‘Glee’, who was born in Calgary and raised on the west coast in Vancouver. As host, he had a relaxed, easy-going and fun, self-deprecating take on his being chosen to host the Gemini’s.

SIDEBAR: Global TV has a good chat session on their blog with Cory Monteith where he discusses his role as host of Canada’s Gemini Awards.

The first award of the night was for Best Host in a Sports Program. It went to Brian Williams for his coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. I have to agree, he was solid as always.

His win reminded me of a great bit he did on air with NBC’s Brian Williams during the 2010 Olympics which centred on the two national broadcasters from different countries who share the same name. It’s on YouTube, here.

Rick Mercer handed out the award for Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy to the cast of 22 Minutes. Mercer's segment included fun, clever references to the theme from that old Canadian TV stinker from the 80s, The Littlest Hobo.

Shall I digress for but a moment? Alrighty then, if you insist. Mercer's talk of The Littlest Hobo reminded me how in elementary school I lied to my friend Heather and told her my Dad was the executive producer of The Littlest Hobo. Ha! The reason I did it was because she showed me a photo of what she claimed was a secret room in her house. I guess I felt like I needed to measure up with something equally cool. Goddess knows why I thought “The Littlest Hobo” brought the cool factor. In the end, we both admitted our little white lies.

Back to the Gemini Awards, the trophies for supporting actors in a dramatic series went to Catherine Disher for The Border and to Cle Bennett for his role as a gangster on The Line. During his acceptance speech, Bennett spoke out to real-world gangsters and told his ‘gangsta brothers to put down the guns, take an acting class.’

The Gemini’s for leading actors in a dramatic role went to Caroline Cave for Cra$h & Burn and to Robert Carlyle for Stargate Universe who gave thanks to a fantastic production team and crew in Vancouver. I guess his win proves that you don’t have to be Canadian to win a Gemini, eh. Oddly it took me a second to realize where I know him from, since I don’t watch Stargate Universe. But of course we do all know Carlyle from the Trainspotting and The Full Monty movies to name just a couple of his previous well-known works.

The featured live performance of the night was given by Elvis Costello featuring Feist and Ron Sexsmith. I don't even know what song they did. It was boring.

Nina Dobrev, former star of Degrassi and current co-star on Vampire Diaries appeared at Gemini 25 – looking tres gorge, I might add – to present the Academy’s tribute to Degrassi for its amazing 30 years of storytelling.

There was a terrific video retrospective of Degrassi featuring ancient and recent footage from the show and interview clips with former cast members including Amanda Stepto who played Spike in the 80’s. Spike ruled, and her teenage pregnancy storyline was so ground-breaking at the time.

Somebody put the tribute up on YouTube. The audio quality ain’t the best, but it’s totally worth watching in case you didn’t catch it last night during the telecast awards ;-)

It struck me as kinda weird that Degrassi creator, Linda Schuyler, wasn’t invited up to the stage to receive their achievement award. It would’ve been nice to hear what she had to say about Degrassi.

Somewhere along the way, Grace Park showed up to present an award. She used to act regularly in Canada in such shows as The Border and Battlestar Galactica though is now on the American TV revival of "Hawaii Five-O", which of course co-stars the devastatingly yummy Scott Caan. The fact that she gets to see Scott Caan everyday automatically makes her a bitch ;-)

I kid, I kid. But do I wonder if she was sending a Carol Burnett-inspired message to her Mom by tugging on her ear like that!

CBC's Dragon’s Den was nominated last night and was also the focus of a pre-taped comedy bit featuring hosts of a slew of Canadian TV shows pitching their new business ideas to the Dragon's Den panel.

The bit featured hosts like Hana Gartner from the Fifth Estate; Jessi Cruickshank and Dan Levy from MTV’s The After Show, and Cheryl Hickey from Entertainment Tonight Canada. Among all their "ideas", there was one fun idea, labelled as the GAYHL (Gay Hockey League). It was of course pitched by Trevor Boris who I always thought was so funny on MuchMusic’s Video on Trial.

Speaking of comedy, the Gemini for Best Writing in a Comedy Series went to Less Than Kind which of course airs on HBO Canada. The show also won for Best Comedy Series.

Geri Hall from 22 Minutes appeared as a presenter. I’m sure she’s a lovely person, but can I just say that she has got to have the MOST annoying voice in the history of Canadian television. It’s worse than Casey from Mr. Dressup. In fact, Geri Hall’s voice even makes Kathy Griffin’s voice sound like angels playing harps beside gentle ocean surf while purring kittens make babies laugh softly.

The Gemini for Best Talk Series went to Spectacle: Elvis Costello With… I’m not surprised his show won. While accepting the award, Costello said he feels “quite Canadian”. He said when he goes out to “the shops” in Vancouver people of all ages tell him they like the show. David Furnish - who is Costello’s executive producer and Elton John’s husband - accepted the award on stage with Costello.

The Gemini Award winner for Best Dramatic Series was… The Tudors! Technically, it won for Season 3 although Season 4 is currently airing on the CBC.

As with all televised Canadian awards shows, when the camera pans the audience, I inevitably wonder, "who are all those people?" Behold...

There is a slew of "after-party" pics on the Gemini's facebook, like the one below, if you feel like gawking ;-)

My fave part of the Gemini's was the Top 25 Canadian TV Shows list over the past 25 years. It's on the web or you can just read it next:

Top 25 FAVE CANADIAN TV SHOW COUNTDOWN

25 The Newsroom

24 The New Music

23 Traders

22 The Nature of Things

21 Cod Co

20 DaVinci’s Inquest

19 Slings & Arrows

18 Made in Canada

17 Wayne and Shuster

16 This Hour Has 22 Minutes

15 North of 60

14 Rick Mercer Report

13 Kids In The Hall

12 Trailer Park Boys

11 Beachcombers

10 The Friendly Giant

9 Corner Gas

8 Being Erica

7 Due South

6 Holmes on Homes

5 Durham County

4 Anne of Green Gables (Megan Follows FTW!)

3 Mr. Dressup (Casey and Finnigan FTW! but I now think Casey looks really creepy with his orange yarn hair and huge red dots on his cheeks - kind of like Stuart on Mad TV)

2 Flashpoint

and the Number 1 fave TV show is...

1 Degrassi

I think Gemini 25 was best summed up by THIS prop and gesture from 22 Minutes' Shaun Majumder:

2010-11-12T13:39:00.000-08:00

Here’s the story, Morning Glory
Nominee: Best Overacting in a Rom-Com

Me and my friend Sooz went to see the new Rachel McAdams movie, “Morning Glory”.

After seeing the trailer - and after having already seen almost every other major release currently in theatres - I thought 'Morning Glory' would be a fairly solid choice for spending a couple hours in the dark.

“Morning Glory” is the story of Becky Fuller, (over)played by Rachel McAdams. Becky is a TV Morning Show producer in New Jersey shooting for stars.

And by "stars", this movie means "The Today Show" since ‘Today’ is widely recognized as the top dog in American network morning shows.

As a matter of fact, 'Today’ is mentioned so often in “Morning Glory” that by the end of the film I was wondering if I was watching a Universal Pictures release since there was such unabashed cross-promotion in the script. (Turns out ‘Morning Glory’ is a Paramount Picture which, I think, is more closely associated with CBS TV properties).

In ‘Morning Glory’, Becky experiences an unexpected career change which places her in New York’s morning TV market. But it's not a change that gets her the ‘Today’ show. Instead, she joins the fictional IBS Network and its morning show, Daybreak.

As I watched, I wondered if the film's writers are aware that “IBS” stands for Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

‘Daybreak’ is suffering terribly in the ratings and is on the verge of cancellation by the network. Enter plucky new-producer Becky, who offers more spunk than a Bel Ami on-location shoot in a Budapest back alley.

Becky turfs one of the two 'Daytime' anchors, both played very well by Diane Keaton and Modern Family’s Ty Burrell. I don’t wanna give *every*thing away, but suffice to say the anchor who gets fired conveniently makes room for Harrison Ford’s character, Mike Pomeroy, to fill the vacancy.

As you might expect, Becky is very challenged in her tough new position in the big city, especially by having to mediate an ego-war waged by Pomeroy and Keaton’s character, Colleen Peck.

Now, normally I really love Rachel McAdams. But I did not love Rachel McAdams in ‘Morning Glory’. Not saying I hated her, but I think she really overplayed Becky Fuller. To the point of charicature.

Think big smiles and an “aww shucks / can-do” attitude. Think bangs that CONSTANTLY fall over the eyes, get stuck in lipstick, and need to be blown up and out of the way while she looks up with an eye roll and a heavy sigh. Think continuous contrived clumsiness that only once actually feels spontaneous and makes you laugh.

Then there’s Harrison Ford. I’ve had a hard time liking him lately because anytime I happen to catch him getting interviewed on Letterman or something like that, he is seriously THEE MOST boring person ever.

But in ‘Morning Glory’ he also unfortunately overplays his character. Ford is Mike Pomeroy, a veteran journalist who is a scathing curmudgeon and just wants to be retired. He has zero patience for the admittedly light news format of network morning shows.

And boy-oh-boy when Mike Pomeroy shows his disdain, does he ever growl like a bear, or a dog, or a mafia don, or like whatever... every single time he recites a line. It’s just too much growling. Way too much growling. It's not acting, it’s just growling.

Diane Keaton on the other hand is quite a delight in the movie. Her character’s quirks are much more nuanced and believable, and often downright funny as in her scene as a sumo wrestler in a ratings stunt.

‘Morning Glory’ also co-stars Jeff Goldblum, John Pankow (who Sooz recognized from ‘Mad About You’) and the very yummy Patrick Wilson as Becky’s love interest.

Interestingly, 'Morning Glory' is produced by JJ Abrams (Alias, Cloverfield, Lost, Star Trek, etc.) which really freaks me out. Mind you, Rachel McAdams and Jennifer Garner are kinda doppelgangers so that explains that.

With 'Morning Glory' I guess I got what I paid for. A predictable romp through cookie-cutter romantic-comedy territory. That’s what Hollywood does – quite often – and often it’s done well, but only marginally well in this particular case.

'Morning Glory’ is a saccharine slice of Hollywood and that’s fine. I just wish the acting had not bothered me like a mosquito buzzing near my ear.

On the soundtrack side of things, the closing credits include a new Natasha Bedingfield song that sounded good. It’s called “Strip Me”.

The trailer for 'Morning Glory' is on YouTube

2010-11-09T12:44:00.000-08:00

Madonna does Ellen

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Today’s Ellen Show featured a live interview via satellite with Madonna seated on a chair somewhere in New York City.

Once Ellen recovered from her own rather apparent shock and aww over how pop music's Botox Fox is lookin' these days...

...Madonna set an unusual tone for their chat by letting Ellen and the rest of us know that head lice are running rampant in Madge's home...

That's right. Head lice. Nice.

That aside, the main reason Madonna appeared on Ellen today was to talk about about bullying and teen suicide which seems to be occurring with frightening frequency lately in the U.S.

Many of the recent high-profile suicides have been committed by teenagers who were bullied for being gay.

Madonna spoke about her own feelings as a misfit while growing up. “I can totally relate to the idea of feeling isolated and alienated. I was incredibly, um, lonely as a child, as a teenager and I have to say I never felt like I fit in at school.”

These recent tragic suicides have brought Madonna around once again to acknowledging where much of her public support comes from. “The gay community has been incredibly supportive of me,” she said to Ellen. “I wouldn’t have a career if it weren’t for the gay community.”

She told of how her gay ballet teacher took her under her wing and in doing so told her it was good and okay to be different.

Two of Madonna’s children – Lourdes, 14, and Rocco, 10 – have been part of recent conversations in the singer’s home regarding bullying.

"I also have a teenage daughter and I have ongoing discussions with her about this topic,” Madonna said.

Good to hear that Madonna believes she’s in a role that can make a difference with how kids feel about themselves and how kids treat other kids while growing up. “It starts in the home with parents and their relationship with children.”

I agree with Madonna’s opinion on what may bring out the bully in people. She said, “Usually when people are bullying somebody, they’re afraid of something. They’re afraid of the unknown, they’re afraid of something unfamiliar to them.”

Madonna also said something that I think the vast majority of gay people have known forever: “The concept that we are torturing teenagers because they’re gay is … like lynching black people or Hitler exterminating Jews.”

At the risk of being trite, she really bottom lined the best course of action for us all: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Near the end of their chat, Ellen asked Madonna what she’s working on these days. Her response was she’s now directing her second film (despite her unwavering tendency toward producing deadly box office poison) and is “editing it right now.”

As soon as that job is done, Madonna said “I gotta get my butt in the studio and make some more music."

Halle-Berry-Lujah! And while you’re at it, Madge, make another “Ray of Light” wouldya? That one is definitely worth repeating :)

As you'll see in the next pic, to close the interview Madonna announced her intention to revive Voguing and forced Ellen to learn it via satellite ;-)

After Madonna’s appearance, Ellen’s next guest was Kate Walsh from Private Practice. I have no interest in her or that show OR the fact that’s she’s now hawking a new fragrance called “Boyfriend”. I mean really, WhoTF cares that Kate Walsh has a fragrance? What's up with that, Kate? You're neither Sarah Jessica Parker nor Britney, bitch.

But what did interest me with Kate Walsh's appearance was that Ellen brought out four HOT topless dudes to help us viewers believe that this fragrance matters.

Each guy was scented differently - one with Kate's “Boyfriend”, the others with Ben-Gay and Jack Daniels and gross-smelling stuff like that - and Ellen had to sniff each guy to figure out which one was wearing the fragrance.

Cute fun ensued. Purely gratuitous, not to mention filled with hotness. Hope you enjoy these pics of pecs and such...

I wonder if the model in the next photo ever got bullied in school?

Weeeee :-) So anyway, the real point here is that I'm glad to see my Madge and my Ellen taking on a vitally important issue such as the awareness raising and prevention of bullying.

It is important that people with profile use it get people thinking about things that matter. This is literally life and death, so let's all do whatever can to help out the kids.

For resources on bullying and suicide, take a look at:

http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/res/cp/res/bully-eng.aspx

http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/kids

http://www.dontfeedthebully.com

WATCH Madonna's conversation with Ellen

2010-04-13T22:50:00.001-07:00

GLEE DOES VOGUE
The Power of Madonna

There are not enough superlatives in the world... behold Glee does Vogue:

"Somewhere in the English countryside, in a stately manor home, Madonna is WEEPING!"

2010-04-11T22:54:00.000-07:00

DIXIE CARTER PASSES AWAY
Age 70

Dixie Carter has died and it is heartbreaking news for her fans, of which I am most certainly one. Her character, Julia Sugarbaker, on tv's Designing Women, is one of my favourite tv characters of all time. I find the news of her death incredibly saddening and I'd like to show my respect simply with this clip which is my favourite Dixie Carter performance:

Rest in peace, Dixie. You will be missed.

2010-03-29T20:07:00.000-07:00

REVIEW: KIRSTIE ALLEY'S BIG LIFE
Surreality TV's Next Big Hit?

Kirstie Alley's new tv series "Big Life" has premiered on A&E:

I watched it. The show was somewhat inneresting, mildly amusing, occasionally smirk-worthy... but really, the only thing I came away with after watching it was one important question...

In light of what I'll assume is a consistently hefty grocery budget, how on earth does a sporadically working actress have any money left over to pay for an assistant, a stylist and a handyman? And an apprentice assistant?

That's right, Kirstie Alley has an entire team behind her considerable behind. Meet them all here if you dare (care?)

It really does floor me that she has so many minions. Whatever. I do like to see people do well. So, let's consider this next photo of Kirstie Alley as the "before and after" photo to accompany her new TV show... left side represents premiere episode, right side equals finale.

Good luck, Kirstie - and may your new series be a lesson to everyone that it is never good to have something called "Fat Actress" as the most recognizable recent accomplishment on your resume. Or as the most recognizable recent reference point for those who remember your work before your weight issues outweighed your work.

P.S. Is it just me or is it weird that IMDb doesn't list "Big Life" as one of Kirstie Alley's projects?

2010-01-02T15:40:00.000-08:00

MY TOP 10 POP SINGLES OF 2009
Confessions of a pop music junkie

Here's a list of my 2009 Top 10 pop songs - they’re club-ready and remix-friendly and just generally fantastic. Except for #6, this list of songs is comprised exclusively of female vocalists proving that the ladies sang some great tunes in 2009. Away we go:

10. Already Gone – Kelly Clarkson
STANDOUT LYRIC: “You can’t make it feel right when you know that it’s wrong”

Finally, a Kelly song I love again. This one brings me back to the good ol’ days (ie: 2004/2005) when singles from “Breakaway” were EVERYWHERE and for good reason… they were amazing. This single has allowed me to re-fall in love with Ms. Clarkson.

9. Yeah Yeah Yeah’s – Zero
STANDOUT LYRIC: “Try and hit the spot, get to know it in the dark”

If Chrissie Hynde and Tori Amos had a love child, she would be Karen O, the singer in Yeah Yeah Yeah’s who kicks a helluva lot of ass. The first time I heard this song I was driving and turned up the radio nearly as loud as it would go.

8. Metric – Help I’m Alive
STANDOUT LYRIC: If you're still alive My regrets are few If my life is mine What shouldn't I do?

Hands down (mine) this is the best single by a Canadian act to make an impact in 2009. I realize it was released in the last week of December of 2008, but its impression was made through 2009 and that’s also when I heard it.
Something about this tune (if not the entire band) reminds me so much of Curve, a band I loved dearly back in the day (early 90’s).
Help I’m Alive contains moments of pop perfection and has balls the same size as any other rock song you put next to it.

7. Halo – Beyonce
STANDOUT LYRIC: Remember those walls I built / Well baby they’re tumbling down / And they didn’t even put up a fight / They didn’t even make a sound

In keeping with how much I was into remixes this year, I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it… which was one of the zillions of club remixes of it. Of course, I’ve also heard the regular album version and love it as well.
Halo is one of those songs that works very well with a beat or without because ultimately it’s all about the song itself and this song has goodness in spades – strong vocal arrangements, solid writing, perfect pop production, so much passion is embedded in every element of the song. To me it sounds like everyone who worked on it was equally in love with it.

6. I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas
STANDOUT LYRIC: Jump off that sofa let’s get get UP

Now here’s a pop song that just couldn’t be any more ripe for a remix. But for me, none of the remixes I heard measured up to the album cut – that’s the best version of the song in my book.

This song is about nothing other than going out and having a great time, and sometimes we just need to sing along and dance our asses off to a catchy tune and forget the rest.

SIDEBAR: I also really got my groove on with BEP’s previous single, ‘Boom Boom Pow’ (which was made all the more enjoyable when you realize how huge that song was when POO-rez ST-ilton got his face boom-boom-pow'd by BEP’s manager… ah, good times).

Back to ‘I Gotta Feeling’, it was #1 for 14 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 – that’s amazing! That’s the 2nd longest period of time that a single has been #1 on the Hot 100. To be clear, there are other songs that have also been #1 for 14 weeks.

Incidentally, the first longest window of time for a song to be #1 on the Hot 100 is 16 weeks and that record is held by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men for ‘One Sweet Day’ (which I still, to this day, cannot believe was such a gigantic hit).

And believe it or not, ‘I Gotta Feeling’ is *still* hanging around on the Canadian Hot 100 pop music chart. It’s number 9 and if you tend to disbelieve that, as I do, the proof is right here

What say we relive that crazy but fun Oprah flashmob episode featuring BEP doing I Gotta Feeling:

5. Therapy – India.Arie
STANDOUT LYRIC: He puts his hand on my lower back / his face in my neck and says something to make me laugh / Makes me forget I was mad

While ‘Therapy’ as a song title pales next to India.Arie’s BEST song title EVER, “I Am Not My Hair”, ‘Therapy’ is a truly fabulous song and I believe this song is what sunshine sounds like. It’s a beautiful gem that deserves to get passed along for generations to come. 'Therapy' comes with a wonderful video:

4. Bad Romance – Lady Gaga
STANDOUT LYRIC: I want your love

No doubt, 2009 was the year of the Gaga. I do dig the Gaga quite a lot. But I have to get something off my implants: the truth is, I loathe this artist’s stage name. I just think it’s utterly and absolutely ridiculous. BUT… and that’s a big ‘but’, I’m very willing to overlook the name because her music, persona and politics are all damn hot.

And (most of) Gaga’s performances are smokin’ hot, too. While there’s been a couple of televised live performances which have left me wondering “wtf?” - such as the MTV Video Music Awards and the American Music Awards - there are a couple of others that have been fantastic like her performance of ‘Poker Face’ on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and her live appearance on the MuchMusic Video Awards.

And aside from all of those, I did see Gaga live in concert in December 2009 and was stunned by how good she is and how fun she is to watch in concert – her live singing voice is strong and never falters, her costumes are epic and her obvious affection for her fans is plainly evident in her desire to talk to the audience at length during the show.

For me, any artist’s willingness to chat with the crowd goes a long way toward me loving the live concert experience. It’s precisely that reason which made me not have as much fun as I’d hoped at Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet Tour because while she was slick, she performed like a well-programmed robot without much regard for the 60,000 actual people who paid handsomely to see her first ever show in Vancouver.

Back to Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance, this song just rules. It’s great pop material, it’s ridiculously danceable and sing-along-to'able, and I love the octave in which she sings the verses.

Not only that, but the Bad Romance video will surely go down as one of the most innovative of the 00’s:

3. Battlefield – Jordin Sparks
STANDOUT LYRIC: Better go and get your armour

One of the main reasons I love this song is perfectly stated by Jordin Sparks herself in an interview: "What grabbed me at first actually was the fact it was so big. The melody starts off very soft but then it gets massive and kinda angsty.” You can read the rest of that particular interview here: http://www.digitalspy.com/music/interviews/a157414/jordin-sparks.html

The other reason I love this song is pretty much the same reason I’ve loved other Jordin Sparks singles. It’s her voice. Plain and simple. When Jordin belts it out, I’ve no doubt the Richter scale registers a result. Oh and btw, the Bimbo Jones remix of ‘Battlefield’ is ridiculously excellent and puts exactly the appropriate energy behind Sparks’s vocal. Voila la vid:

2. Bulletproof – La Roux
STANDOUT LYRIC: Tick tick tick tick on the watch and life's too short for me to stop, oh baby, your time is running out.

Anyone who knows me knows that sometimes it seems like I think we're all still living the 80s. And songs like this are the reason why. ‘Bulletproof’ pays an authentic kind of genre homage that you don’t hear very often – it’s true, accurate and just so fun. If you’ve ever liked the sound of Yaz, early Depeche Mode, or Erasure, then you’ll love La Roux.

Bulletproof debuted at #1 in the UK singles chart and, imho, is the best song on their debut album. Can’t figure out why it didn’t climb higher than 45 on the Canadian Hot 100, though. If you’re looking for the right remix of ‘Bulletproof’, without question it is the Tiborg Club Remix
Lastly, I love Eleanor Jackson’s androgyny which is on fine display in the ‘Bulletproof’ video:

1. When Love Takes Over – David Guetta featuring Kelly Rowland
STANDOUT LYRIC: Cause I can feel it coming over me, I wouldn’t stop it if I could

The first time I heard this song was late one night in the Spring of 2009... I was laying in bed, trying to get to sleep. I fell fast in love with it. It gave me butterflies in my stomach!

Kelly Rowland’s vocal performance surely must be the very best of the year from any pop artist and she and David Guetta deserve a Grammy award for this amazing single.

Who knew how amazing Rowland’s voice all those years ago in Destiny’s Child or even in her previous solo work? Her ability to transform the words “Yeah”, “I’ll” and “Tonight” is just astonishing to me. She absolutely has the voice of an angel.

Me and my peeps pronounced When Love Takes Over as "The Song of the Summer"... and because I cannot *ever* seem get enough of it, it is also the song of the year for me.

The opening piano melody sounds A LOT like Coldplay’s ‘Clocks’, but it ain’t actually taken from that song.

As for remixes, when you consider it comes from David Guetta who is one of the top DJ’s working right now, I’m truly stunned that there isn’t a knock-‘em-dead remix of this song. It is a CLUB. EFFING. ANTHEM. Weird, eh? It’s also too bad the video isn’t as stellar as the recording itself, but it’ll have to do:

P.S. WhenTF did Kelly Rowland start looking like a young Donna Summer?

A FEW ADDED NOTES:
Of all these 10 artists, I got to see two of them live in 2009. Namely, Metric and Lady Gaga. I do wish I’d seen Beyonce and La Roux when they came to Vancouver, but La Roux was sold right the fuck out by the time I heard about it and I couldn’t get tickets no matter how hard I tried. As for Beyonce, I just totally missed the boat on that one.

2009 FAVE LONG-LOST REDISCOVERY: Mory Kante – Yeke Yeke (Afro Acid Remix)

2009 Special Mentions:
Kurd Maverick & Sam Obernik – Love Emergency
Jason DeRulo – Whatcha Say
Glee - for making me love two songs I previously disliked:
My Life Would Suck Without You – Kelly Clarkson
Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey
Alicia Keys
Imogen Heap
And lastly, the music of MJ – I re-loved all his music this year.

2009-12-26T15:18:00.001-08:00

IT'S COMPLICATED
Yet it isn't... go see this movie!

Christmas Day 2009 is no different than any other year in terms having lots of tantalizing new movies on offer... the cinema beckons us as does ostentatiousness beckon the Haus of Gaga.

Equally, last night me and muh fam damily couldn’t resist the appeal of going out to see It’s Complicated the new film starring Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin. The first thing I’ll say is I love, love, LOVED this movie. It’s really terrific.

It’s a comedy and a love story with a lot of heart, not to mention an objective to show how hearts and minds work, specifically the hearts and minds of those who are divorced.

It’s Complicated is the story of Jane and Jake Adler (Meryl Streep and Alex Baldwin, respectively) who have been divorced for 10 years after having been married for 19. They share two daughters and a son. Jane is single while Jake is married to Agnes, the much younger woman with whom he had an affair and for whom he left Kate.

The Adler family is brought together in New York City for Jane and Jake’s sons graduation from college. After bumping into each other in their hotel lounge, Jane and Jake get to talking, get to drinking and dancing, and - before anyone knows it - get to jumping into the sack together and embarking on an affair.

The family returns to their home town (a beautifully portrayed Santa Barbara, California) and thus begins the “complicated” path Jane and Jake find themselves on. Jake has realized he never fell out of love with his ex-wife and wants her back, while Jane is enjoying their revisit but isn’t so sure what it all means.

Meanwhile, an architect named Adam (played by Steve Martin who does well here with a fairly bland character), who is working on Jane’s home renovation project, takes a shine to her and they pursue some extra-curricular “activities” together, further complicating Jane's situation with Jake.

The performances in It’s Complicated are absolutely excellent. As always, Meryl Streep hits nothing but perfect notes as Kate.

Remember, this movie is a comedy and as Streep has proven time and time again (The Devil Wears Prada, Postcards From The Edge, Julie & Julia) she is as much a master of comedy performance as she is of serious drama (Kramer vs. Kramer, Doubt, Silkwood).

Not to mention that Meryl Streep can accurately and believably portray pretty much any accent she tries… one day I’d like to hear her do a thick Scottish brogue. I digress… Meryl Streep can do no wrong as an actor, in my eyes. And doesn’t it just seem like she’s been in about a zillion movies lately? A very prolific actor she is.

Her performance in It's Complicated as Jane Adler is the kind that is just a pure pleasure to watch. There’s nothing to prevent you from wanting to climb inside Jane’s life and experience it with her – the second guessing of the end of her marriage, the joy she derives from her post-divorce entrepreneurial success, the devotion to her kids, the authentic laughing fits among she and her gal pals… it’s all good because Meryl Streep is just such a natural performer and truly a pleasure to watch on the screen.

Alec Baldwin is also very fun in his role. Although his character Jake is a self-centred adulterer, he’s also an open book and totally willing to show his own genuine surprise, an authentic caught-off-guard quality about wanting his ex-wife back. Jake is flirtatious, mischievous and charming.

And together, dare I say it, Baldwin and Streep are sexy. It’s not often in Hollywood a woman who has just turned 60 is given a role where she can be as sexy as all get out, but like everything, Streep pulls it off without flaw.

All in all, I really loved It’s Complicated. I must admit, it was an interesting feeling to watch this movie – about a divorced woman and mother of three – with two of my siblings and our mother because our family too is the “product” of my parents divorce when us kids were very young. It was not at all uncomfortable for me to see this particular story play out on the movie screen. Mayhaps it just goes to show how easy it is for anyone to relate to and enjoy It’s Complicated. The movie is just plain great storytelling.

And on a related note, the movie made me recall how beautiful some parts of California are - such as Santa Barbara where this film’s story is situated. Kinda makes me wanna go back for a loooooong visit :)

The sole unfortunate quality of it though is that it shares the name of that horrible Denise Richards’ reality tv show “It’s Complicated” which inexplicably found a home on E! for two seasons. Thankfully it’s no longer airing here in the Great White North.

Last thing I wanna say about It's Complicated (the *film*) is that while I was watching it my mind occasionally flashed to another film, Something’s Gotta Give, because I kept noticing strong reminders of the storyline from that film – another one which I love and have seen several times.

Turns out that familiarity occurred for a reason which somehow escaped me in the marketing of It’s Complicated… it’s written and directed by Nancy Myers (also 60 years old) who not only is responsible for Something's Gotta Give (2003) but also other great films about likeable women and their relationships such as Private Benjamin (1980) and Baby Boom (1987).

It’s Complicated is actually very simple after all, simple to enjoy and simple to recommend as a must-see for this holiday season and beyond.

Here's the trailer to whet your appetite:

2009-12-20T11:17:00.000-08:00

BRITTANY MURPHY DIES AT 32
Cardiac arrest is cause of death

A shock this morning as reports circulate of the death of actress Brittany Murphy, 32. TMZ has the still developing story of Murphy's early morning death today:

Brittany Murphy died early this morning after she went into full cardiac arrest and could not be revived, multiple sources tell TMZ. She was 32. A 911 call was made at 8:00 AM from a home in Los Angeles that is listed as belonging to her husband, Simon Monjack, the Los Angeles City Fire Department tells TMZ. We're told Murphy was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where she was pronounced dead on arrival. Murphy starred in such films as "Clueless," "8 Mile," and "Don't Say a Word." (tmz)

This is just really sad news today, and it certainly reinforces 2009 in my mind as a particularly notable year for entertainers who have lost their lives.

First time I saw Brittany Murphy was in the 90s classic "Clueless", but my favourite role she played was Alex in 8 Mile.

Aside from acting though, I friggin' LOVED "Faster Kill Pussycat", the club single she released a few years ago (2006, I think?) with Paul Oakenfold. Damn we used to rawk out to this one on the dancefloor... good times :)

This video clip of the song features clips from one of my all-time fave cult-films "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" directed by the great Russ Meyers.

Thank you Brittany for leaving behind something everyone can enjoy forever!

My heart goes out to her family and friends and loved ones... may Brittany Murphy be in peace.

2009-09-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

'Extract' some Hollywood goodness
Unless you hate good times, go see this movie

Somehow, I hadn't heard too much about the new movie EXTRACT until Jason Bateman was on Late Show with David Letterman last week.

He's the star of the movie and certainly was on Letterman's show to promote his latest film (release date: Fri Sept 4). Bateman is totally classic story-teller. See for yourself:

Back to EXTRACT, we went to see it on Labour Day and can I just start by saying that if you hate laughing, skip this movie.

Directed by Mike Judge (Beavis & Butthead, Office Space), EXTRACT is great big 'ol slice of fun at the movies the movies with countless laugh-your-head-off moments thanks to a script that practically sparkles with hilariously everyday dialogue enlivened by a nearly perfect cast of actors who all possess the ability to fire off their lines with just the right amount of bang.

Jason Bateman is Joel, owner of "Reynolds Extract" who is thirsty for relief of his sexual drought shared with his wife Suzie, played by the understated and still-underappreciated (she should be a household name by now) Kristen Wiig (currently of Saturday Night Live).

To make matters worse, a hot new temp (Family Guy's Mila Kunis) at Joel's office has him realizing he's starting to get a wandering eye.

Joel complains to his bartender-buddy Dean - played by Ben Affleck with longer, wavy-ish hair and a full-beard making him semi-unrecognizable - about his sexless marriage.

Dean concocts a ridiculous scheme to hire a gigolo he knows named Brad played perfectly by Vancouver's Dustin Milligan.

Brad's "V8-slap-to-the-forehead" dumbass-ness is a far cry from Milligan's 'Ethan' character on last year's first season of 90210.

And Milligan best be careful because his adroit pursuit of portraying an utter moron with convincing hilarity could pigeon hole him as the hot himbo going into the next decade. But I have a feeling he's too bright to let that happen (a recent article helped me draw that conclusion - to read it, go here).

Dean's scheme calls for Joel to "hire" Brad as the new pool cleaner, but actually he'll attempt to seduce Suzie. If he succeeds, and Suzie has an affair, then according to Dean, Joel will be in the perfect position to have his own affair with Cindy the hot temp. Thanks to a semi-unitentional ingestion of horse tranquilizer, Joel finds himself agreeing to go ahead with the scheme.

EXTRACT is very, very funny as it follows both the painful reality of a tanking marriage and is quite keenly balanced by a secondary story line involving Joel's company with its yappy employees who become disgruntled upon learing of Joel's plans to possibly sell his company.

If you haven't seen it yet, here's the EXTRACT trailer:

Even though I regularly watch Family Guy, I need to give myself a bit of a "V8 slap-to-the-forehead" because somehow... somehow... I just didn't realize until the end of the film that the gorgeous actress playing the hot temp Cindy was Mila Kunis who voices Meg Griffin on Family Guy.

It's just so hilarious to me that a character like Meg is voiced by such a lovely young lady. She's a great choice for EXTRACT.

Here she was, on the set of EXTRACT... love her T-shirt:

Jason Bateman continues his adroit ascent to becoming one of Hollywood's funniest leading men. From Arrested Development to State of Play to Extract, even just the past few years or so of his work shows us he is one damn funny guy.

And he's been consistently working with superb material to showcase his talent.

Looking back to Bateman's role as Derek on TV's Silver Spoons in the 80's, I do think now (and I thought it then) that he had an edge and a certain "Je ne SASS quoi" that has allowed him to appeal on TV and movie screens for quite a long time now. Tu d'accord?

2009-09-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

PLEASE DO(n't) STOP THE MUSIC
Charo Say, Charo Saw, Charo Ma Coo Sa

It figures that the ONE year I would skip watching homophobe Jerry Lewis’ annual telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association would be the same year Charo appears to let us see her do her own special brand of justice to a great Rhianna song (which itself was made great by borrowing from one of Michael Jackson's greatest songs).

Have y’all seen this yet? I have no words…

Kootchy-kootchy-koo!!!

2009-06-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

HOCKEY IS #1 WITH CANADIANS
Summer's here, but ice is the focus

It makes no nevermind that a heat wave has been felt right across the land, and that very warm summer-style weather has been enjoyed a little earlier than usual this year. Nope, makes no difference at all because Canadians are still All. About. The. Hockey.

From the Canadian Press, here's the latest Top 10 TV ratings and, natch, the Stanley Cup finals top the list.

Here are the top 10 English television programs in Canada, with viewer numbers, for the week of May 25-31 according to BBM Nielsen Media Research:

1 Stanley Cup Finals (CBC, Saturday-Sunday)—1,803,000

2 So You Think You Can Dance 5 (CTV, Wednesday)—1,544,000

3 NHL Playoffs (CBC, Tuesday-Wednesday)—1,398,000

4 So You Think You Can Dance 5 (CTV, Thursday)—1,374,000

5 The Mentalist (CTV, Tuesday)—1,182,000

6 Bones (Global, Monday)—1,178,000

7 NCIS (Global, Tuesday)—1,127,000

8 Two and a Half Men (CTV, Monday)—1,122,000

9 Criminal Minds (CTV, Wednesday)—1,107,000

10 CTV Evening News (CTV, Monday-Friday)—1,097,000

As the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins prepare for a death battle today in the NHL, I'm sure the next time we see the Top 10 shows in Canada there will be ZERO change in what's on top.

2009-06-08T23:56:00.000-07:00

HAPPY WORLD OCEANS DAY
Wave of jubilation

As declared earlier this year by the United Nations, June 8 is World Oceans Day.

What are you doing to help keep oceans clean? If you litter, just knock it off. And don't butt out your cigarettes ANYWHERE other than an ashtray (or better yet, just don't smoke). Cigarette butts are the #1 most common litter item found on Canadian shorelines (followed by plastic bags and food wrappers).

If you use chemical cleaning products at home or work, stop it! Because when those products go down your drain, they go straight into the ocean and poison fragile marine environments and ecosystems. Human life depends on healthy oceans so do what you can to preserve ocean health.

I'm kinda thrilled that Canadians thought up the whole World Oceans Day thing. Here's what it's all about, from The Ocean Project:

The concept for World Oceans Day was proposed in 1992 by the Government of Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and it had been unofficially celebrated every year since then. Official designation by the U.N. is a significant step in conserving and protecting our world's ocean.

World Oceans Day provides an opportunity each year to celebrate our world ocean and our personal connection to the sea. The world's oceans:

*Generate most of the oxygen we breathe

*Help feed us

*Regulate our climate

*Clean the water we drink

*Offer us a pharmacopoeia of potential medicines

*Provides limitless inspiration!

Yet for too long, human society has taken the world's ocean for granted. It's up to each one of us to help ensure that our ocean is protected and conserved for future generations. World Oceans Day allows us to:

Change perspective - encourage individuals to think about what the ocean means to them and what it has to offer all of us with hopes of conserving it for present and the future generations.

Learn - discover the wealth of diverse and beautiful ocean creatures and habitats, how our daily actions affect them, and how we are all interconnected.

Change our ways - we are all connected to the ocean! By taking care of your backyard, you are acting as a caretaker of our ocean. Making small modifications to your everyday habits will greatly benefit our blue planet.

Celebrate - whether you live inland or on the coast we are all connected to the ocean; take the time to think about how the ocean affects you, and how you affect the ocean, and then organize or participate in activities that celebrate our world ocean.

Random Ocean Item: off the top of my head, the only song from the 80's I can think of that mentions the ocean is Ocean Blue by ABC. Go here to relive the joy that is ABC: Ocean Blue

Wondering what celebrities are up to help promote World Oceans Day? GO HERE for sexy evidence!

2009-04-13T21:53:00.000-07:00

PRISON BREAK RETURNS (AGAIN? STILL?)
Is Wentworth Miller reason enough to tune in?

For anyone who is still a fan of Prison Break, TGIF is about to take on a whole new meaning.

Prison Break comes back to TV for a new season this Friday night (April 17) and will show on that night thereafter.

I'm hangin' in there, but just barely. After the extremely intriguing early days of this series, it all got to be a bit much when the focus turned to Panama.

Since then, I'm watching it mostly only because it's a case of "I've watched it this long, I may as well see how it ends".

And also because Wentworth Miller is, quite simply, a whole wide world of deee-lish!

That said, it's entirely possible that the following video is way more entertaining than Prison Break will be on Friday night:

2009-04-12T01:30:00.000-07:00

WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO DESERVE THIS?
Pet Shop Boys receive odd request from PETA

There's quite a hilarious story coming from the Pet Shop Boys today.

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) sent a letter to Neil Tennant & Chris Lowe of Pet Shop Boys with a request they officially change their name to Rescue Shelter Boys.

Sounds like yet another in a long list of creative, guerilla tactics employed by PETA to get folks rethinking the ways humans interact with our friends from kingdom animalia.

But despite the urgency and significance of the PETA request, Pet Shop Boys didn't take long to ponder the unusual suggestion.

Check this out, it's from the BBC

Pop group Pet Shop Boys have revealed they have turned down a request by animal rights group Peta to rename themselves the Rescue Shelter Boys.

"Peta Europe has written to Pet Shop Boys with a request they are unable to agree to," reads a post on the band's official website.

But the band admits the request "raises an issue worth thinking about".

Peta's letter requests the name change because of the cruelty it alleges takes place in the pet trade.

If the band were to agree to the name change, it continues, it would "encourage your millions of fans to consider giving a home to an abandoned or unwanted animal from an animal shelter".

In her letter, Peta's special projects manager Yvonne Taylor admits that her request "may at first seem bizarre".

It goes on to list a series of criticisms against the way pet shops obtain, maintain and house their animals.

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe were inspired to call themselves the Pet Shop Boys by friends who worked in a pet shop in west London.

Originally named West End, the electronic pop duo won a Brit award for their outstanding contribution to music earlier this year.

The group - whose hits include West End Girls, Heart and It's A Sin - released Yes, their 10th studio album, last month.

HA! Love it. PETA has a very unique way of getting attention. And I appreciate Pet Shop Boys decency in acknowledging the issue raised by PETA's query.

It'll never ever happen, but you gotta give props to PETA for having the cajones.

Bee-tee-double-u, have you heard/seen the new Pet Shop Boys single, Love Etc.? It's from their new album "Yes" and ya know, it's not too shabby at all.

2009-04-11T00:15:00.000-07:00

U-F-Ok
Monsters vs. Aliens = Good vs. Times

What better way to spend Thank Goddess It’s GOOD Friday than a matinee of Monsters vs. Aliens 3D.

I’ve been kinda dying to see this movie since it came out a couple weeks ago, so this afternoon Me and M-dub went down to the old Paramount to check it oot.

The film has a great cast which had me looking forward to the voice work; Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett & Hugh Laurie voice the four main characters. But it wasn’t until after the film that I also realized my lover Paul Rudd is in it, too! He voices Derek, a self-absorbed TV anchorman wedded to Susan at the film’s opening.

Monsters vs. Aliens follows the classic good vs. evil theme and is teeming with imaginative animated effects and clever dialogue. There’s quite a good amount of LOL-worthy scenes, especially Stephen Colbert’s synthesizer-playing U.S. president who gets down with his bad self in a hilarious music sequence set to Harold Faltermeyer’s gem Axel F.

Another great, funny scene is with the high school kids on a date, making out in the front seat of a car, the boy portrayed as a jock – a gymnast to be exact – with a personalized license plate which reads GYM-NASTY who would rather sing along to an old Journey tune on the radio than get hot n’ heavy with his girl.

Despite laughs and wit, me and M-dub later agreed that Monsters vs. Aliens is forgettable.

That sentiment doesn't result from a lack of enjoyment in watching this film. The movie is quite good, and it’s a whole lotta fun to watch while it’s on the screen in front of you (playing out in Intel’s gorgeous InTru3D technology).

But as soon as it's over, so is the feeling generated by watching it. Methinx it just kinda lacked some depth, some heart, some relatable elements that let you connect on an emotional level.

Movies like Shrek, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles… all those films live in my memory as among the greatest animated films I’ve ever seen. And it’s not just the pleasure of the creativity of those films I recall, but also the lasting feeling I have from having basically fallen in love with those films when I first watched them.

As for Monsters vs. Aliens, I can definitely say that my favourite character is B.O.B. voiced by Seth Rogen. B.O.B. is just so funny, so cute, so totally dumb... ya can't help but love him. He's described in the film as 'goop that somehow gained consciousness', a description portrayed perfectly hilarious by Seth Rogen.

We were interested to note in the end credits something I’ve never seen before... which was Dreamworks (the studio which produced the film) preferred processor is Intel. I think the credits also included that HP is the preferred hardware or something like that, but I could be wrong on the specifics of that one.

Overall, Monsters vs. Aliens is a good film and well-worth seeing, but for me it’s already come and gone and I’m on to the next one.

Which in this case I think will be “Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”, coming out this Fall. Seriously, this move looks GREAT! Check out the trailer:

2009-04-07T21:57:00.000-07:00

TWEETS & TWITS & TWATS... OH MY!!!
Twitter gets skewered like souvlaki

If you're on Twitter (like I am), or you know someone who's on Twitter, are curious about Twitter, couldn't care less about Twitter, hate that thing called Twitter, hooked on Twitter like a whore on crack or any combination of the above, well then...

This Vid's For You!

L to the O to the L!

Interestingly enough, it was the "Twitter nation" today which informed Madonna's manager Guy O'Seary of the plea from an Italian mayor for Madonna to help the victims of the Italian earthquake with a financial donation.

2009-04-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

MADONNA DONATES $$$ TO ITALIAN EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS
"Rescue me, your love has given me hope"

This'll show the haters who think that Madonna doesn't deserve to be allowed to adopt a child.

Madonna today responded to a call from the mayor of Pacentro, Italy for financial assistance to aid in the recovery efforts after Tuesday's devastating earthquake in Italy.

Here's a photo from BBC of a road near Fasso, Italy clearly showing the effects of the earthquake.

Reports estimate the donation to be in the half a million dollar range which is about 376,480 Euros. Here's more from People Magazine on Madonna's donation:

When a devastating earthquake struck the Abruzzo region of Italy on Monday, the mayor of the hamlet of Pacentro made an appeal for help to the granddaughter of two former townspeople. The following morning, that granddaughter responded in a big way.

Madonna, whose paternal grandparents lived in Pacentro until 1919, made a "substantial donation" for the relief effort following the 6.3 magnitude quake that left more than 200 dead, says her publicist Liz Rosenberg. The rep wouldn't give the amount, but a source says it's about $500,000.

"I am happy to lend a helping hand to the town that my ancestors are from," Madonna tells PEOPLE. "My heart goes out to the families that have lost loved ones or their homes."

I, for one, am impressed by Madonna's responsiveness to the disaster in Italy. I'm not at all surprised that she has offered some financial aid to the Italians in her grandparent's home town.

After all, for a long time now Madonna has demonstrated deep pride in her heritage:

You go, Madge!

In an interesting related story, an Italian geophysicist continues to stir the scientific pot by claiming in media interviews since the earthquake struck that he predicted its occurrence.

There's a story from Reuters about this, check it out...

Earthquakes like the one that killed more than 200 people in Italy this week are still impossible to predict, and a local scientist's claims to have done so should be treated with caution, geophysicists say.

Gioacchino Giuliani is at the center of a debate about the limits of seismology after Italian officials shrugged off his warnings last month that a devastating earthquake in the central Abruzzo region was imminent.

In fact Giuliani, who works at the National Institute of Physics, was even reported to police for spreading panic.

You can read the rest of that story right about here

One last thing... I just came across a photo of Madonna from her most recent trip to Malawi. I hadn't seen this one before.

Not only does her jacket look like a Hefty Hefty Cinch Sack with zippers, but I swear the woman to her left is a dead ringer for Whoopi Goldberg circa The Color Purple.

Keep on reading... here's the link to Madonna's RAISING MALAWI website.

2009-04-03T03:18:00.000-07:00

MADONNA REJECTED! LIKELY FEELS TRULY BLUE
Founder of Raising Malawi gets no Mercy

In a surprising development, the BBC has reported that Madonna has lost her bid to adopt a 4 year old girl named Mercy, in Malawi:

A Malawian court has ruled that US pop star Madonna has failed in her bid to adopt a second child from the country.

"I must have to decline to grant the application to Madonna," judge Esmie Chondo said in a ruling following a closed-door hearing on Friday.

According to reports, the application has been rejected over residency rules.

The 50-year-old singer flew into the southern African state on Sunday and applied to adopt four-year-old Chifundo James the following day.

The Associated Press news agency said Madonna's application had been rejected because of a requirement that prospective parents be resident in the country for 18 to 24 months.

It is not clear if Madonna was in court to hear the ruling or whether she plans to appeal against it.

Had Madonna's application been successful, the 14-month-old baby would have been a sister to David Banda, the first child Madonna adopted from the African country.

Chifundo, whose name translates into English as Mercy, is in the same orphanage that previously housed David, now three years old.

This is really shocking news! Can't wait to hear Madonna go on the record about THIS!

I wonder if this will affect her plans to build a learning academy for children in Malawi... it's a major new project funded by the charity she founded, Raising Malawi

2009-04-03T02:39:00.000-07:00

VANCOUVER'S NEXT GAY TOP MODEL
And The Winner Is... CALAN!!!!!!

Calan is the winner of 2009's Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model!

That's right kids, it's time to give ginger snaps to somebody who I'm thinkin' is the happiest redhead in Vancouver :-)

Here's the look on Calan's face at the very moment his name was announced as the winner (he's in the middle with Joel and Adam on either side of him):

There must be a good reason the old saying, "May the best man win" rings true through the ages. Tonight was proof.

We had a great time at the show and I'll be posting a complete wrap of the event later today. Check back for that... in the meantime if you're interested in getting to know a little more about the winner of Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model 2009, here's a bit about Calan- in his own words - from the official Gay Top Model website

Age: 22
Ethnic roots: Scottish
Height: 6' 2.5
Weight: 175lbs
Shoe Size: 12
Hair Colour: Auburn/Red
Eye Colour: Hazel
Education: Completed High School
Vancouver… is the best city in the world - travelling tought me that!
Favourite place: the view from Grousse Mountain on a crystal clear day, or night.
Favourite quote: "Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose." - Janis Joplin

Not satisfied with that? Need to know more about Calan, winner of Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model 2009? Here's more about the man, again in his own words, but this time from his MySpace page

About me:
Hey I'm Calan, welcome to my page. I like going out with my friends and having an all around good time. If you look up the work "Aquarius" you will find my picture right next to it. I’m usually the one who randomly walks off and then you find me 10 minutes later talking to some random about almost anything. I’m a pretty confident guy but I have my shy moments around people I like, it’s rare but it happends. I’m not afraid to speak my mind when I feel strongly about something or when it comes to defending my friends. Friends and family mean the world to me and I would do pretty much do anything for them. I’m pretty laid back and easy going doing just about anything, bad drivers is the only thing that really gets me going. I feel comfortable in my own skin and in knowing who I am, not everyone will get the chance to find out who they really are so I’m glad I have. I’m nowhere near naive but I always believe the best in people and in second chances, people make mistakes, change and move on. As long as you learn from it that’s all that matters. I’m not into drugs and I’m only a social drinker, meaning once ever month or two and most of my friends are the same. I like to surround myself with people who have the same philosophy on life as I do, we’re only on this Earth for so long and I don’t want to waste anytime on pointless drama or being emo. Life is about enjoying it and being your own personal best, you only have to live up to your own standers and not everyone else’s. Coquitlam is my hometown and I love living here and so close to Vancouver, it’s one of the best places in the world. I'm currently traveling all over Europe for 2 1/2 months but after I will be living in London for about 2 years! Anyway, Peace!

I'm definintely happy for Calan - it's really great for him that he won this contest. Danny and I had the pleasure of meeting him back in January at Score and he is quite the charmer. Let's go back in time a few months, shall we, and remember our first meeting with Calan, the new winner of Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model.

The grand finale at Celebrities was a packed house (at least for most of the night) so I'm hoping that translates into alot of money raised for Friends for Life, the beneficiary of VNGTM.

I look forward to hearing what the numbers are once Mr. Costa's had a chance to get a little shut eye ;-)

Way to go, Calan! You worked hard and totally deserved to win. Besides, it only stands to reason that anything "made in the 80's" will do well ;-)

2009-04-02T20:50:00.000-07:00

WELCOME TO NEW TORI AMOS MUSIC
Yahoo! for Welcome To England video premiere

Aaaaah, that's better ... I can now move slightly back from the the edge of my seat because I've just watched the NEW Tori Amos video for her NEW single "Welcome To England" from her NEW forthcoming album ABNORMALLY ATTRACTED TO SIN (Oh Tori, aren't we all my dear!?)

But I can only move slightly back, because truth be told I'm still all kinds of anxious and a whole wide world of excited for Tori's new disc to drop like manna from heaven.

But that's not until next month....

In the meantime, I'm pretty darn happy with what I've heard - and now seen - so far. So go on ahead and check it out for yourself. Here it is, the new Tori Amos video ... behold the goddess:

YEE to the HAW! Love Love LOVE it! I really like that song a whole lot. It is absolutely classic Tori. Although watching this video for Welcome To England could easily lead one to believe it should perhaps be re-titled as Welcome to London since there are so many great shots of jolly old London town in the video.

Ya just gotta totally dig the old school camera Tori (that would be blonde Tori) is using to take photos in the sequences filmed from inside one of the London Eye modules. Even the way she's holding it, she just drips from another era. But then again, Tori always did do that which is part of why I love her music. She's not only a timeless visionary, but she's also... era-less! (if that's even a word which I'm sure it's not but who cares I like it anyway ;-)

This video and song gets a Grade A from me.

Matter of fact, so does the Tori Amos co-founded RAINN - Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. It's there to help people who need the help, so check 'em out at RAINN.org

2009-03-29T23:09:00.000-07:00

VALERIE BERTINELLI GOES GREEN
Yup that was trendy in the 80s, too

Nothing to see here, folks except the most LOL-worthy photo I've come across in a while:

Image: Steve Harvey/Shooting Star

Best. Photo. Never!

And by Never! I mean I'll betcha anything there's a small part of Valerie Bertinelli - even somewhere deep inside her charming, deprecating self - which kinda wishes this photo was never published.

Not me though, no siree, I am tres glad to see this pic. Not to make fun of her, but only because it's a great way to wrap up a Sunday.

2009-03-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

FERGIE FERG GOES DARK
Bye-bye, Blondie bye-bye

As Fergie Ferg got ready to turn the big THREE-FOUR a couple days ago (March 27), she showed off a new look for a new number, back on March 12, at the March of Dimes Ball in NY.

SEE YA to the blonde... HOW 'DO to the brunette:

Gotta say, I kinda love it. I think she looked great before, but I really think this is a nice improvement for Fergie. Plus, it really sets off her shoes quite nicely, don't you think?

To be (blonde), or not to be (blonde)... that is the question

Or...

To be (brunette), or not to be (brunette)... perhaps THAT is the question.

Either way, the look was captured by the folks over at wireimage.com during the March of Dimes 34th annual Beauty Ball at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City.

March of Dimes is dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

They do good work! Check 'em out, eh? And, while we're at it, one last look at those rockin' shoes:

2009-03-28T23:59:00.000-07:00

ALANIS MORISSETTE'S BIG TURN OFF
She brings the funny/gross for Earth Hour

Whether she's nude yet subtle on a city street, or taking the piss outta Fergie Ferg's lady lumps, Alanis Morissette's innate sense of humour is a big part of her work.

As a spokesperson for EARTH HOUR 2009, she made this great public service announcement to raise awareness of tonight's global effort to reduce climate change:

Love it! Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia is now 'round the globe. Here in Vancouver, BC Hydro will be calculating then publicizing the numbers showing the energy savings accumulated during one simple hour of turning off your lights. It'll be interesting to see how much nrg is saved.

The whole idea is to reduce the carbon footprint and relieve some of the climate change occurring on Earth.

I left my house so that I wouldn't be tempted at all... what did you do?

2009-03-25T23:09:00.000-07:00

MADONNA IS A-
Queen of Pop takes to the Tweet-waves

While I was on Twitter tonight it became apparent that Madonna was online and tweeting with a few folks via her manager Guy O'Seary's Twitter account.

Un-fucking-fortunately for me, I missed it and came a little late to that particular party. Yup, by the time I got there the whole shah-mozz was already a memory for those who were lucky enough to get a chance to tweet back and forth with the amazing, fabulous, brilliant Madge.

So, because I'm a huge fan/geek, and I need a good excuse to avoid doing my taxes, I've managed to track what appears to be all exchanges tonight on Twitter between Madonna and a few other Twitter'ers. Here's the transcript. Keep in mind as you read this that anything under the heading "guyoseary" is Madonna (except for the first two tweets under that heading):

guyoseary
sitting here with madonna.. firstly she wants to say hello to all the iconers out there..
about 4 hours ago from web

guyoseary
madonna wants to thank all of you that took the time to send in their thoughts for g-hits album. we will be online for the next 10 minutes
about 4 hours ago from web

salonspotter
@guyoseary i've been supporting you since 1984 'm'...not going anywhere anytime soon!!! :p
about 4 hours ago from web in reply to guyoseary

@salonspotter supporting me in every way??????????????... –M
about 4 hours ago from web in reply to salonspotter

nickfirth
@guyoseary hello madonna honey am glad you are single again - you made your best music as a single woman! yeehaw!
about 4 hours ago from web in reply to guyoseary

@nickfirth NOT AS GLAD AS I AM! M...............
about 4 hours ago from web in reply to nickfirth

ehoesch
This person has protected their updates.

@ehoesch I'm right here. Tell me yourself::::::::::::::::m
about 4 hours ago from web in reply to ehoesch

FutureModel
@guyoseary OMG!!!!!!! U r really sitting with her rit now?!?! No way!!! Hiiii!!! :) love from Ohio :)
about 4 hours ago from mobile web

@guyoseary tell her I'm a HUGE fan! Even at such a young age. Props to u girl!!! :)
about 4 hours ago from mobile web

Why don't I ever get any love? Anyway I'm tired I got school tomorrow & gotta get up early. Unlike other ppl. Let's go!!!
about 4 hours ago from mobile web

@guyoseary why do u respond to all of the weirdos & not normal people like me?!?! Um I take my time 2 say somethin to u
about 4 hours ago from mobile web

@FutureModel i don't distinguish between normal and weird. stop feeling sorry for yourself. what did you want to tell me??????????????? M.
about 4 hours ago from web in reply to FutureModel

Futuremodel
@guyoseary I'm sorry if I am u mad!!!! I am really! SORRY! I was trying to get u to respond back to me. Is that so hard? I still love u M!
about 4 hours ago from mobile web

@guyoseary I really did not want to make any of u mad. & I'm not sorry for myself. Just trying 2 get some simple attention from Madonna! :)
about 4 hours ago from mobile web

Hahaha Madonna talked to me from @guyoseary. I just um... Died. LOL. Well I'm goin to bed. Tired! Forgot to study 4 science. Oops! Let's go!
about 4 hours ago from mobile web

really going to bed this time. Man I'm glad I stayed up for Madonna 2 talk me! Yeahhhh. Let's go!!!....to sleep. Lol
about 3 hours ago from mobile web

guyoseary
thanks for your love and support.. signing off.. i need my beauty rest.. -love mmmmmmmmmmmm.
about 4 hours ago from web

@perezhilton you obviously love Britney more cause you made an opening film for her show and not mine. i still love you, -going to sleep! –M
about 3 hours ago from web in reply to perezhilton

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

And there you have it... Madonna's March 25th "conversation" on Twitter!

Madonna's ALL CAPS tweet must be proof that she feels free and VERY glad to be single these days.

As for FutureModel, I can't believe Madonna wasted precious time on the Internets tweeting back to the individual responsible for that account. I mean, I get that FutureModel is a fan - so am I - but seriously... just pull yourself together. It's fucking Madonna on Twitter for goddess sake. Have some self-respect. Ah well, don't mind me, I'm probably just a wee tad green with envy that I'm not the one who got to tweet with Madge.

ANYWAY, I'm also somewhat troubled by Madonna's declaration of love for @perezhilton. To me, that's just a whole wide world of wrong. But ah well, to each their own... even Madge.

If you wanna know more about what Madonna is up to these days, check out the Raising Malawi website - big up to Madge for putting her heart (and cash) in the right place. A cool letter which she wrote is posted on that site. You can see it here.

2009-03-23T19:44:00.001-07:00

JOEL & BENJI MADDEN'S 'TAP' DANCE
Good Charlotte twins promote World Water Week on Larry King Live

I never really paid much attention to Good Charlotte until they released their second album, The Young and the Hopeless.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a hopeless addict of The Young and the Restless so the fact that Good Charlotte riffed on the title of my fave daytime drama for their own album title made me take notice of the band.

Musically, however, they're not muh thang. Not that there's anything wrong with them, they're just not for me is all.

Anyhoo, tonight Joel (significant other to Nicole Richie) & Benji Madden from Good Charlotte made showed up on CNN (Celebrity News Network) for an appearance on Larry King Live.

As a result, Joel and Benji have now elevated themselves in my eyes from 'rock stars' (as identified on-screen during their interview) to 'human stars'.

They were on the show to talk about World Water Week, March 22-29 and Joel, specifically, as spokesmen for the TAP Project.

The TAP Project: "In 2007, the Tap Project was born in New York City based on a simple concept: restaurants would ask their patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free, and all funds raised would support UNICEF’s efforts to bring clean and accessible water to millions of children around the world." [where that came from]

So it mighta been born in New York, but it's now in Canada too.

During World Water Week, you can make your "One Doll Hair" (aka, $1) donation at these Keg Steakhouse & Bar restaurants (omg, I HEART The Keg - my favourite one is on Granville Island. Others here in Vancouver can also donate a loonie at Elixir in the Opus Hotel or at any of these other restaurants all across the Great White North.

Back to those cute Madden boys (and they R looking extra cute these days, n'est-ce pas?), they cited Green Day and U2 as bands they "look up to", which I think is pretty cool. Props to Green Day for surprising longevity, and lotsa props to U2 for not only longevity, but also relentlessly admirable philanthropy.

When Larry King asked Benji about dating Paris Hilton, Benji confirmed what we all knew is true... yes, they were recently an item. When Larry King asked Benji if Paris is a 'good girl' or something like that, Benji replied with a curt "yeah". It was a clear signal to Larry King to change the subject which, thankfully, he did.

But it kinda left me thinking that I think Paris musta really broken poor Benji's heart. I don't hate Paris Hilton the way many others seem to, but in this case it seems like Benji is the one who got effed over. Ah well, better luck to him next time.

Benji Madden said he's "married to (his) music", and is working out to get ready for Good Charlotte's 5th album coming soon (and a tour, perhaps?) so I'll bet there's a ton o' ladies virtually or literally lining up to get a piece of him.

Back to their TAP Project for a sec, check out this vid, it's cool:

Pretty inspiring, right? If the UNICEF figures are accurate - and 900 million people really don't have access to safe water - then that's just unacceptable.

Funny to think that by being enabled to enjoy the luxury of dining out, we are also enabled to think about what we can do for those who likely do not enjoy the same luxury.

The good kids over at Look to the Stars also have the story today, along with these fine words from Joel Madden:

“I’m going to be spreading the word throughout World Water Week on Larry King Live, People Magazine, E! News and more to let everyone know why the Tap Project is such an important lifesaving campaign. Just $1 provides a child with safe drinking water for 40 days! All you have to do is find a participating restaurant online at tapproject.org, dine out during World Water Week, and pay $1 or more for the tap water you usually enjoy for free. Every single dollar raised supports UNICEF water, sanitation and hygiene programs. Even if you can’t dine out, you can still donate online at tapproject.org or text the word TAP to 864233 (UNICEF) to make a $5 donation.”

So, remember, drink your 8 glasses of water a day... and think about those who maybe can't.

Follow Tap Project on Twitter, here

Get more here on the TAP Project

Get more here on the Larry King Cardiac Foundation

2009-03-04T23:10:00.000-08:00

DON'T WANNA WEAR MY GLASSES,
I HAVE TO WEAR MY GLASSES
Is Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon the new Carrie Bradshaw?

Came across a really great little story today on People's Style Watch page. Behold:

Don'tcha just love that pic?! Here's the blurb ... I just love this.

At 12, Madonna’s daughter Lourdes Ciccone Leon is already a budding fashionista. Like her mother, the tween has shown a flair for eye-catching ensembles — and loves a vintage look. Spotted in the Big Apple just last month the teen was sporting these familiar oversized glasses. Lourdes’ ensemble seemed to us like a true blast from the — televised — past: Doesn’t she resemble Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Patty Greene from 1982’s shortlived series Square Pegs? Call it geek chic, or just plain cool, but could Madonna’s daughter be inspired by one of fashion’s most playful characters, SJP herself? — By: Liz McNeil

Personally, I don't think the comparisons end with Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Especially since I think the comparisons in fact BEGAN with Lourdes' mother... Madonna! Yup, Madonna and SJP. Again, behold the similarities:

While Madonna's steadfast rep Liz Rosenberg wasn't able to respond by deadline, a reaction by Sarah Jessica Parker was, however, captured:

2009-03-02T23:51:00.000-08:00

IF YOU HATE LAUGHING...
Do Not Look At This Picture

Now THAT'S what I'M talkinbout! Best. Caption. Ever. That photo was on one of yesterday's posts on Pink Is The New Blog.com. You can check out the full post right about here.

That's it, I got nothing else today. Just sharin' the laughs is all, all y'all.

2009-02-26T13:01:00.000-08:00

CAN'T GET YOU OUTTA MY HEAD
This jingle goes right round baby right round

Yet another Starbucks location is coming to the one city in the world already with the highest number of Starbucks locations in the world.

Vancouver soon gets another SB location at the corner of Robson and Denman streets.

At my count, which may or may not be accurate, that marks the 8th or 9th Starbucks on Robson Street (including the two kitty-corner to each other at Robson and Thurlow).

I bite my nails from growing fear that this coffee retailer has become the single most identifiable cultural landmark in Vancouver. The only thing we have more of here is umbrellas.

That said, I'm really liking Starbucks' latest television campaign encouraging Americans to get involved in volunteerism by donating 5 hours of time.

The ad is a strong convergence of creative marketing and the public messaging coming out of Barack Obama's office lately which encourages everyone to volunteer in your own community.

Plus, the jingle in the ad is as catchy as VD. Take a look, and a listen...

Stuck in your head now, right? I'm not trying to promote Starbucks, but I gotta give 'em props (or their ad agency) for developing a TV commercial that I like to look at and comes with a jingle more easily ingrained in my brain than that other one airing on TV these days for Mini Wheats breakfast cereal.

The golden era of TV and radio jingles is long gone, but I sure don't mind if they come back.

At the end of the day, it's the core message about volunteering that got to me, and that means they did their job well. They now have me - and maybe you? - thinking about how to give back a bit.

The whole thing just kinda makes you wanna buy the world a Coke.

Or not.

2009-02-19T23:06:00.000-08:00

OBAMA + CANADA = OBAMA-DA
U.S. President visits Great(ful) White North

Barack Obama made his first trip as President outside the USA today when he visited our great nation's capital for a much-needed sit-down with Stephen Harper.

On a personal note, I cannot even find the words to say how right it is that Obama made Canada his first destination on official foreign relations business.

Canadian parliamentary insiders say their private meeting included conversation about their kids and the pressures of their jobs. And how!

It is quite hilarious, yet not at all surprising, that Obama's visit to Ottawa was ALL OVER Canadian media outlets for several days leading up to today (newspapers, TV, Inter-dubya, radio) yet nary a mention - at least not that I'm aware of - in U.S. media until sometime late this morning or early afternoon, at which point I finally spotted a headline on CNN's RSS feed.

But this story is already long gone from that feed, replaced by something about a chimpanzee attack or Slumdog Millionaire's chances of winning a Best Picture Oscar. (my money's on Slumdog ... FTW MOTHER-EFFERS!)

Back to Obama, one of the most engaging things about his visit was his impromptu stop at a bakery where he bought a couple of cute & delicious looking cookies, in the shape of the maple leaf, for his daughters.

Take a peek here for some really quite good photos of the rock star's ... er, U.S. president's ... day trip to Canada. And I gotta say, it was a real love fest.

While in Ottawa today, Barack Obama committed to continuing strong bilateral partnership with the Canadian federal government and he also made a point of making two very cool statements:

"I'm looking forward to coming back to Canada... when it warms up".

...and...

"I love Canada".

Glad you dropped by, Barack -- y'all come back soon now, ya hear?!

*UPDATE* The Canadian Press has a superb wrap of U.S. media coverage of Obama's first foreign trip as the U.S. president. This is good times, check it out, especially the quoted comments from two CNN anchors and I like the quip from Jay Leno, at the end, too.

U.S. media struggles through coverage of Obama's Canada visit

3 hours ago

WASHINGTON — One CNN anchor had apparently never seen the Mounties before, and those who recognized one of Canada's most iconic national symbols noted the absence of their horses.

Others seemed enthralled by how wintry Ottawa was, while some on-air personalities struggled mightily to pronounce "Michaelle Jean" and "charge d'affaires."

American news channels, bloggers and others who watched live on Thursday as President Barack Obama visited Ottawa were largely complimentary and admiring of Canada, even if they were somewhat unfamiliar with what they seemed to consider their quaint neighbour to the north.

"We love those Canadians; they're good people," CNN anchor Kyra Phillips said at one point during the cable news network's coverage of Obama's first foreign trip as president.

Later, however, Phillips said: "All eyes are on Ottawa right now - you don't hear that every day."

Her colleague, Fredricka Whitfield, was stumped earlier in the day when Air Force One first landed in Ottawa and a line of Mounties - clad in their traditional red serge jackets and Stetsons - marched out to greet the president on the airport tarmac.

Pausing as she attempted to describe the scene to viewers, Whitfield apparently took a wild guess and referred to them as "troops."

The Associated Press, meantime, briefly referred to the prime minister as "Premier Stephen Harper" before correcting his title.

Over at Fox News, anchor Megyn Kelly gamely tried to pronounce "charge d'affaires," explaining to viewers: "It's French." Later, as Obama and Harper held court during a Parliament Hill news conference, the channel flashed fact boxes at the bottom of the screen - nuggets that are pretty much common knowledge in Canada.

Among them: "Canada is the U.S.'s largest, most secure supplier of oil," and "Canada is the U.S.'s largest trading partner."

White House blogger Jason Djang travelled ahead of Air Force One and wrote about what he saw upon his arrival in Ottawa.

"Ottawa is white, and the snow's still coming down ... police are on snowmobiles," Djang wrote. "Canal Rideau is frozen over, and there are people ice skating on it."

But lest Canadians feel smug and superior in the wake of American wonderment about their country, some U.S. observers also poked some good-natured fun Thursday at the breathless nature of Canada's coverage of Obama's visit.

The deliciously snarky Wonkette.com, the blog that dishes on D.C., directed its barbs at Macleans magazine's "liveblogging" of the event - particularly its author's preoccupation with Obama's lack of warm winter headgear as he emerged from Air Force One.

Under the headline: "Cute Canadian Liveblog of Historic Obama Visit," Wonkette wrote: "Get the blow-by-blow of the most exciting thing to ever happen in Canada in the history of history. Sample: '10:34:43 AM. Why is the president not wearing his hat? Or a hat, at least?"

The Macleans blog, written by Kady O'Malley, was described as "hilarious" by a fellow American blogger, who pointed to her 10:26 a.m. entry: "He's here! He's here! Well, the plane is here, or so it appears from the Newsworld feed. It's big and impressive and just like in the movies."

Meantime, Jay Leno threw a line in his "Tonight Show" monologue about Obama's meeting with Harper.

"President Obama took his first foreign trip as president today up to Canada," Leno said as several, presumably Canadian members of the audience cheered. "He met with the prime minister to discuss one of the greatest threats facing our nation today - Canadian geese!"

2009-02-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

VANCOUVER’S NEXT GAY TOP MODEL
IT’S GOSSIP, GIRL

Our winter tour of all-things Gay Top Model continued at Gossip Night over at the ol’ 1181 in the wee gay Davie Village.

Danny and I had dinner in front of the fireplace at Moxie’s where I found the wait staff to be extremely nice and friendly. Yeesh, I sure wish more food and beverage establishments in this town would adopt such an attitude … because sometimes, truth be told, there is enough attitude from barista’s and bank clerks to wilt a Valentine’s Day bouquet of roses.

We paid the bill and popped over the road to 1181 where we thought we’d be walking in late for the Gossip Night event, but oh no … in true Gay Standard Time style, our very late arrival time was still – luckily for us – well ahead of the official start of any festivities.

Like a complete tool, I forgot my camera at home. So much to my chagrin, I have none of my own photos to endlessly review under the covers late at night... every night. And of course that also means I have none to share here with you.

So in the interest of showing you some good pics from Gossip Night, I’ll take the liberty of including some of David Sandford’s photos of Vancouver’s Next Gay Top Model’s Gossip Night (thx to David via Mirateca).

While I was looking forward to this event, and enjoyed myself while I was there, I have to say that I find 1181 to be a very awkward space. Not because of the decor... that I like. Spending time in there makes me feel like the design sensibilities of Oslo and Manhattan are competing for my attention. And that's a good thing :)

But what I find awkward about it is that it’s a very long and skinny corridor of a night spot… which makes it a somewhat difficult venue, especially for an event like VNGTM.

You walk in the place and there’s a cool space for lounging and chillin’ and having a drink with your peeps. Then in the elongated centre-portion of the place there’s the bar. And then, at the back of 1181, you find another sittin/chillin space with comfy seats, tables, and well-selected videos playing on the back wall. Par example, last time Danny and I were there we had way too much fun watching The Brady Bunch and Wonder Woman classic episodes.

So, with the entrance and back-end of the place so distinctly separated from each other, I find 1181 to really be one of those “liquor in the front, poker in the rear” kind of party places ;-)

Here’s a pic of the crowd crowded in front of the bar (there’s only, like, 5 or 6 feet between the edge of the bar and the wall opposite the bar) watching all those fabulously excellent Gay Top Model wannabe’s tell their “stories”.

Yes, it was story time for the VNGTM contestants whereby 2 minutes was allotted to each dude to tell a story about himself to the excited, interested, gathered masses. The task given to the crowd, on the other hand, was to indicate by way of general loudness whether we felt the “story” we heard was truth or gossip.

A fun idea, for sure. But unfortunately I don’t think it came off as well as it could have and by all means should have. That’s because the guys didn’t keep to their 2 minute story-telling time limit.

Don’t get me wrong, I know how easy it is when you’re excited and trying to put your best foot forward to prattle on and on a bit… especially with a microphone pointed at your mouth. But again, unfortunately, the crowd didn’t really stick with it and completely tuned out the vast majority of each contestant’s story. Including me. From what I could tell, the stories just went on for too long. Simple as that. I’m sure it’ll be a good lesson for these guys that “short n’ sweet” really can be a virtue.

But all that aside, here's some fun pics of the contestants starting with Calan. He continues to exhibit his penchant for eye-catching T-shirts. While I do like this one, it's really the one he wore at Score that completely rocked my world

GTM contestant Adam was rockin' a look which I thought evoked a boy-version of Britney's Baby One More Time video. And it looked great:

Cutie-patootie Reese (Reece?) did his best imitation of Kevin Spacey at the 1996 OSCAR AWARDS by bringing his Mom to the show. And that, my friends, makes me think he's one step closer to quite possibly becoming the winner of Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model:

And, here we have GTM contestant Stephen (left) with Gossip host Ryan Steele (who is clearly after my own heart due to the fact that he reads Entertainment Weekly, according to his MySpace page)

Did you know that Stephen's shoe size is 13.5? That's pretty big! And you know what they say about big feet...

... BIG SOCKS :)

In the end, everyone waved a fond farewell to Joel G who was eliminated from Vancouver’s Next Gay Top Model.

I couldn’t help but notice him make a beeline for the exit within minutes of his elimination. I don’t blame the dude, I would have done the exact same thing – but I definitely applaud his intestinal fortitude for entering the competition in the first place.

Same goes for all the guys, including not only those who remain in the competition but also those who were in it from the get-go. In tribute to them all, here’s a pic taken at the early auditions back in January. My how a month can change things, n’est-ce pas?

A fun-loving pair (or was it a trio) of guys were collecting $5 votes from the party-goers to vote on your favourite contestant in hopes of getting him further along in the quest to become 2009’s Vancouver’s Next Gay Top Model.

All the proceeds from these events benefit those good people over at Friends for Life. That’s a very large part of why I’m particularly interested in supporting VNGTM 2009.

Plus, as the lyrics go from the theme to The Flintstones, “We’ll have a gay ol’ time!”.

2009-02-17T14:32:00.001-08:00

TORI AMOS: NEW ALBUM SPRING '09
And my little fascist panties are in a very happy knot!

There is some truly F*A*B news coming out of music land today. Tori Amos is set to release her 10th studio album a bit later this year. And, in true Tori style, the album title is the perfect hook to get you hooked.

It's to be called "Abnormally Attracted To Sin" and once again I realize that Tori has turned yet another phrase that speaks the very complicated language of my soul. I kid, I kid (but not really).

I read the press release just issued by Tori's new label, Universal Republic, on Pink is the New Blog. Here's the full release for your full enjoyment, too ;-]

Tori Amos to Headline Universal Republic Showcase at South by Southwest Music Conference on March 19, 2009

New CD, ABNORMALLY ATTRACTED TO SIN, Due Spring 2009

There will be thousands of artists and tens of thousands of music fans gathering at over 60 venues for this year’s South By Southwest Music Conference in Austin, TX, but all eyes will be on groundbreaking star Tori Amos, headlining one of the most anticipated events in the conference’s two decade-plus history, on Thursday, March 19, at historic Austin club, La Zona Rosa.

The Grammy nominated singer/songwriter is headlining a star-studded Universal Republic Records showcase at the popular venue, sure to be looked on as one of the must-see events of the four day festival. Tori will be performing new songs from her upcoming Universal Republic debut album, ABNORMALLY ATTRACTED TO SIN, scheduled to hit stores and the digital domain this spring, as well as other classics from her influential repertoire.

Tori’s recent signing with Universal Republic is in keeping with the inventive star’s unconventional approach to the artist/record company relationship. Universal Republic will distribute Tori’s new album, as well as correlate other ventures in tandem with Tori’s prolific creative output. ABNORMALLY ATTRACTED TO SIN, her tenth studio album, is another innovative chapter in the artist’s trailblazing story. Every track on the album will be accompanied by a corresponding ‘visualette,’ featuring footage that has been captured over the past year. Shot in HD and Super 8, the visualettes will incorporate a documentary style.

Tori’s most recent album, AMERICAN DOLL POSSE, which has been hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as ‘her best album in years,’ was released in 2007 to a chorus of rave reviews. The captivating album, like many of her previous efforts, adhered to a strong conceptual theme, with Tori inhabiting multiple archetypal female personae, a testament to her willingness to continue to push the boundaries of the female singer/songwriter.

Regarded as one of the most emotionally fearless live artists in music today, her most recent world tour, launched in the summer of 2007, saw her soar with her first full-fledged rock band in nearly a decade. Media platforms such as the BBC lauded both her live show and album as ‘returning Tori Amos back to the forefront of a genre she defined…still pushing her own boundaries.

*AND, we're back...

I'm really surprised that it's already time for a new Tori album, and I also think it's amazing that this is going to be 10th studio album. A LOT of time has passed since I first heard her first album Little Earthquakes back in good ol' '92.

I've managed to see Tori Amos live in concert 7 times over the years, and I sure hope a 'SINful' tour for her new album comes to Vancouver so that I can make it 8!

The approach of 'Abnormally Attracted To Sin' is great news and is also a great reason to remind us that one of Tori Amos' greatest achievements is RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

And for old time's sake, here's the tune that truly reflects what inspired Tori Amos to create RAINN:

2009-02-12T00:32:00.000-08:00

JOAQUIN AFTER MIDNIGHT
Would the real Joaquin Phoenix please stand up?

There are almost no words to describe Joaquin Phoenix's appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight (last night). And it looks like I'm not the only one picking up my jaw off the floor after watching this interview because, lo and behold, it's already on the YouTube. (Of course it is!)

I've never seen anything *quite like this* on live TV, but thank God it happened on Letterman because this is for sure going to go down as an all-time classic.

2009-02-01T12:38:00.000-08:00

VANCOUVER'S NEXT GAY TOP MODEL
"Score" another one for local beauty contest

We’ve had another gander at those bad boys from the second cycle of Vancouver’s Next Gay Top Model. Thursday night at Score on Davie was another event in a series of many for the now-annual charity event.

Not only did we get to see all the contestants again, but the evening also allowed some public exposure for Danny’s burgeoning career as a hand model (despite his subversive choice to use a certain finger for this pic):

The event at Score was also time for the 2009 contestants to get all gussied up in the sporting gear of their choice.

Presumably, the boys were representing a sport they actually play or do. But, if it was me up there as a contestant – and since the word “sport” may as well be Swahili to my ears – my choice of sport gear would be purely based on athletes who look the hottest in or out of their gear … and for me, that sport would be rugby:

http://french-rugby-team.com

After all, I think Principal McGee said it best when she said, "If you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter!"

Once again, as always, I digress. Back to the parade of half-nekkid contestants at Score. Check ‘em out for yourself:

It seems as though I’ve developed a bit of a soft spot for this next contestant. His name’s Reese (sp?).

He’s got a great attitude toward himself and to this competition. He comes across as very casual and not at all invested in any kind of ego trip which could easily accompany someone on such a public ride like Vancouver’s Next Gay Top Model. He's got a great smile, I like him, and I think he'll do quite well in this competition, if not perhaps become the winner at the finale event on April 2nd.

Also, and this gonna sound weird, I’m strangely entranced by the way he walks. Light, short steps. I have no idea why that appeals to me … I guess you’re just gonna hafta see it for yourself and then you can decide if I’m crazy or not.

Ok, let's carry on with the other contestants, shall we?

The host of the night was Aaron Ursacki, winner of 2008’s VNGTM. Seriously, all this guy has to do is throw on a baseball shirt and a cap and I’m sold.

Not only is he yummy, imho, but he’s also down-to-earth. He totally deserved to win last year.

Here’s some pics of Aaron interviewing the ’09 Collection:

Here’s a couple more pics of Reese (Reece?)... just ‘cause I like him:

And then, when all the parading and chatting and posing and strutting was complete, VNGTM honcho Terry Costa gathered the lads for the inevitable elimination.

I wonder if Terry’s been watching American Idol for tips on how to eliminate because he kind of toys with these boys when it comes to telling them it’s time to stay or go. You know what I mean, he’ll look someone in the eye and through careful choice of words that person will be left for a few moments completely unsure if they’re getting the boot or not.

Meanwhile, the ladies in the crowd washed down their growing anxiety:

And in the blink of a false eyelash, it became clear that all contestants were staying... except for these two:

Congrats to those guys for having the guts to put themselves on the line for Gay Top Model honours and for Friends for Life, the charity of choice for VNGTM.

*NOTE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE* The $5 voting fee at Score on Thursday night went to Friends for Life. In fact, whenever you see a cover charge or something like that for one of the Vancouver’s Next Gay Top Model events, that is how this event continues to raise funds for Friends for Life. So hopefully that encourages you to get out there and partake in the good times ;-)

We got to meet contestant Calan - he’s the one who turned 22 at last Sunday’s Gay Top Model event down the street at (Anything With A) Pulse. I couldn’t resist getting the scoop behind his choice of shirt for the night:

That is the raddest shirt ever. LOVE IT. Calan said he picked it up in London. Since he’s 22, he’s totally allowed to wear it. As for myself, I may not have been made in the 80’s, but the 80’s definitely made me! So I gotta give props where props are due.

Danny and I took off and went over to 1181 to hang out for awhile before calling it a night. Speaking of the 80's, the DJ at 1181 played (Keep Feeling) Fascination by Human League ... singing along was clearly in order:

On the way home, the sandwich board in front of Ho Ho’s caught my eye. They have a particularly catchy slogan: Oriental Yummy Food. But unfortunately, something not-at-all-yummy was obviously delivered from above and slid its way right down the sign, right across the word ‘yummy’. Ewww.

if you wanna get REALLY grossed out, make sure you click on the image so that you can view a nice, big, hi-res version of it

2009-01-26T21:53:00.000-08:00

VANCOUVER'S NEXT GAY TOP MODEL
Come on down, you're the next contestant on...

So last night was pretty fun, after all. Turns out that Danny didn't bail on me, so off we went to Pulse - from this point on to be known as (Anything With A) Pulse - in the good 'ol Davie Village for Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model "Winter Wonderland" event, in support of the Vancouver Friends for Life Society.

First of all, the venue. As you may or may not know, the real estate at 1138 Davie Street in Vancouver has undergone a few changes in recent times. After a decades-long stint as a 24-hour cafeteria-style eatery (the name of which escapes me at the moment) with totally groovy half-moon shaped booths, the location experienced an impressive metamorphosis in 2007 an became The Majestic lounge, managed by Joan E. The Majestic was for a time the home of live comedy, cabaret, rollicking drag shows and a really fun Sunday brunch. Alas, it didn't last... and soon the Vancouver gays became once again on the receiving end of a new venture in our community. This winter, The Majestic has relinquished its short-lived stateliness for a somewhat redesigned and generally better-looking, (Anything With A) Pulse.

Without all the dinner tables and chairs, the place actually seemed a bit smaller to us for some inexplicable reason. But it looks good and I hope it does well. Davie needs another night spot for the Vancouver gays to hangout in. I think it'll do a better job of catering to its certain niche in the market than The Odyssey (also known as The Audacity) will do if it relocates to Denman Street. To me, that plan deserves a vomit smoothie. I just don't agree that the Denman neighbourhood is a good match for a place like The Audacity. But, time will tell and we'll see what happens with that. I digress.

Pulse was where we were last night for Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model and I took some pics of how it went down. Like most events in the Davie Village, the 10pm start time was subject to Gay Standard Time, which means it started about a half-hour late. No worries though, Absolut patience sustained me through the wait time.

When things got rolling, our appetites were whetted by a solo performance by, I think, Starlen Gold. I hope I have the performer's name correct, but it was hard to hear the announcements on the club's public address system. At any rate, here's a pic of him:

I'm not feelin' the footwear and I prefer stronger choreography, but he was clearly enjoying himself as Britney's "Kill The Lights" provided the soundtrack to his move bustin'.

After we got to see the go-go boy strut his stuff, then we got to see the contestants for Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model. Last night's event, Winter Wonderland, encouraged all to celebrate winter by wearing white. Personally I think it's a great idea in theory, but in my typically self-contradictory nature I'd rather deny winter (as a Canadian nonetheless) and focus instead on remembering year-round what sand between the toes feels like (not to mention sand in your scalp and under your fingernails). So with that in mind I totally didn't wear white at all. But all the contestants did - and that's what *really* counts.

Here's some more pics of some of last night's Gay Top Model hopefuls:

It's unclear how many West Highland White Terriers died for the footwear in the next photo:

I understand Bo Derek is honoured to learn her '10' do is making a comeback:

This contestant (Brett? Brent?) had the best shoes of the night:

And here are a few more pics for you. The contestant wearing the hoodie had a great, casual attitude toward the whole thing and the other contestant in the white oxford and black belt presented himself well (and if I'm not mistaken, last night was also his 22nd birthday):

Well done to all the contestants. It definitely takes alot of guts to get up there in front of a bunch of strangers in a dimly-lit club and expose your body, personality, hopes, dreams, failures, disappointments and aspirations all at once. I could never do it so for that reason alone they get my respect.

And since it's all for charity, the very idea of Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model also gets my respect. It's not too often we get these ingredients - a solid idea, fun-lovin' contestants, selfless volunteers, a bit of naughtiness & hotness - all wrapped up in a charitable effort. That makes Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model the next best thing in Vancouver as our fair city educates itself on how to put on a good show.

The two guys on the stage in that photo - the one on the left who had already changed out of his outfit and the one in the middle - are on the stage together there because unfortunately they were cut at the end of the night. Too bad really, but kudos to them both for having the balls in the first place. The guy on the right (Brett? Brent?) was rockin' some seriously fun & fine footwear and I have a feeling we would have seen more of that if he had stayed in the competition. But in the end, we bid them both a fond farewell.

The next public event for Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model is Thursday night at Score. Once again, the ads claim that the event'll be hosted by Aaron Ursacki, but that's also what the Winter Wonderland ads had claimed. Although I didn't see hide nor hair of him. Not sure why, though - I don't think his absence was addressed to the gathered masses. At least not that I heard anyway. Hopefully the hottie is alright and not sick or anything. Lawdy knows there's lots of bugs going around again this winter!

Make sure you get out and support Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model because not only will have yourself a bit of fun but you'll also be supporting Friends for Life.

2009-01-25T19:39:00.000-08:00

VANCOUVER'S NEXT GAY TOP MODEL
Winter Wonderland Revisits Our City

As I watch the red-carpet coverage on E! for this evening's Screen Actors Guild awards and wonder to myself if Angelina Jolie could possibly become any more beautiful (and as I also wonder why Mickey Rourke has his left hand partially down his pants as he's interviewed), I'm getting excited to head out to Pulse later on to check out Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model's WINTER WONDERLAND show.

Tonight's Winter Wonderland show is going to be the first chance I've had to try to see or do anything related to 2009's hotly-anticipated run of last year's funnest event in Vancouver's gay community, the Gay Top Model competition in support of the Friends for Life society.

I don't think I've ever actually seen Miss Cotton live, so I'm kinda looking forward to that part of the show, too. But most of all I just really wanna lay my eyes on all the dudes that have been selected as contestants for this year's VNGTM contest.

The show's going to be hosted by the 2008 winner Aaron Ursacki. He's rather yummy and he had a great story leading up to his win last year, as someone who overcame obesity to achieve not only healthy physical conditioning, but also his own fair share of hotness.

I actually bumped into Aaron last summer at the Aquarium and couldn't resist saying hi and introducing myself to him. Not something I normally do since I'm a bit shy around boys, but he was really sweet and left me with the distinct impression that he totally deserved to win.

There's a series of public events leading up to the crowning finale in early April, so that means there's lotsa fun to come. As you consider checking out these events PLEASE keep in mind that the proceeds from the cover charges, etc. for the events or shows you might go to are going straight to Vancouver's Friends for Life Society which, according to their mission statement: serves as a catalyst to enhance the wellness of individuals living with a life threatening illness by providing complementary and alternative health and support services.

Chances are we all have someone in our lives who has had their life touched by something that means one day they - or you - might need to call on an organization like Friends for Life for a bit of support or assistance. Think about it...

Meantime, my fingers are crossed that Danny doesn't bail on me tonight to come with me to Winter Wonderland, and that we get to have a great time.

See ya there, eh! And good luck to all of the Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model contestants tonight and throughout the competition ;-)

2008-12-31T18:32:00.000-08:00

OPRAH'S INVESTS IN GETTING SMART
Bazillionaire donates lotsa cash to Atlanta kids school

Just when I think Oprah's gone and gotten on my tits again, she goes and does something amazing.

I caught Oprah's TV show today - it was entitled, "Resilient Spirits" (originally aired March 1, 2007) and told stories of people who experienced some pretty major adversity and bounced back to also achieve some pretty major success in their lives.

One of the people she profiled was NFL player Isaiah Kacyvenski of the Seattle Seahawks who grew up in poverty and abuse only to get a football scholarship to Harvard and gain a place on the team in Seattle which went to Super Bowl XL.

By the way, as a Canadian and as a non-fan of football (in any country) - until I looked it up - I was seriously wondering if XL was a reference to a Super Bowl of the "Extra Large" variety.

As for Oprah getting on my tits, I guess like any of us she just can't help but be herself - but DAMN is she ever irritating to watch sometimes. She kept Oprah-fying her pronunciation of the word "Harvard" as she interviewed Kacyvenski. And by 'Oprah-fying' I mean bastardizing and annoying the hell out of viewers like me. I guess she thinks she's being folksy or something when she does that, but in the end it simply gives me a headache like the kind you get from drinking a Slurpee too fast.

No doubt she's a kind and wise soul, but clearly there's a good reason that she is regularly parodied by sharp comedians like Debra Wilson on Mad TV. Talk about easy targets!

But today there's news in Us Magazine of the self-mitigation of all her nerdiness with some really amazing generosity:

Oprah Winfrey sent a surprise Christmas present to an inner-city Atlanta school: a $365,000 check!

An educator named Ron Clark almost didn't notice the whopping check, which was included in a letter from the talk show host. Clark opened the private academy in 2007 in one of the poorest neighborhoods of South Atlanta. Most students rely on private donations to pay the $14,000-per-year tuition.

"We teach school all day and fundraise at night," Clark told the Associated Press. "To have an unsolicited gift come like that is incredible."

Clark says the donation will pay for 26 students to attend the 80-student middle school for one year.

In her letter, Winfrey calls Clark a role model and says he's making a "profound difference...[with] your passion for teaching."

The check came from the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, which handed out $4 million to educational programs in 2008.

Meanwhile, Winfrey is gearing up for Barack Obama's January 20 Inauguration.

"Oprah is doing her show live from the Kennedy Center that week and flying her staff in for it. It's going to be a huge production," an insider tells the New York Post.

The big-time supporter also plans to co-host a party with BFF Gayle King after Obama is sworn in, the paper reports.

Wow. Kinda makes me wish for a moment I was an employee of Harpo Productions! It'd be rather swell to get to go to the Obama Inauguration, wouldn't it? What an unbelieveable moment in history that ceremony will become for not only those who are actually in attendance, but for the USA and the whole world ultimately.

$365,000 is quite a whopping sum! Over the course of a year, that's a grand a day for kids to go to school. Not too shabby there, Oprah. Not too shabby at all.

I have to wonder why a private academy was considered viable in a poor urban neighbourhood, but whatever the reason it's become a success so there you have it.

I also have to wonder why Steadman seems to never be mentioned in the press anymore. I mean, she's throwing a party with Gayle, but where's the Stead-meister in all of this?

Lastly, if you wanna see a pretty cool photo of how some people reacted today to Oprah Winfrey's gift to the school, check out this page on BlackVoices.com (which also has a little blurb on what I think is Oprah and Steadman's most recent public appearance together back in September in case you're interested in a little bit of celebrity romance at the moment).

I think this story is a great way to wrap up 2008 on Gimme Never Gets and look forward to 2009. Wherever you are, whoever you are ... have a healthy, happy New Year!

2008-11-22T16:02:00.000-08:00

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL MEETS 90210
Disney star in Beverly Hills for Make-a-Wish Foundation

Last night in the what's-old-is-new-again zipcode, Ashley Tisdale showed up lookin' all glam with boyfriend Jared Murillo at Wish Night Gala 2008, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles' annual charity dinner.

image: jordan strauss/wireimage.com

I gotta admit that I hadn't heard about this dude until now, but apparently Ashley's boyfriend is in a new boy band V Factory. Go ahead and check out their MySpace page.

Also apparently he's not one to shy away from selling his name for product promotion, or from maybe trying to get all the cool kids over at Disney/High School Musical hooked on the alleged benefits of Goyin. See for yourself...

Here's a bit more on Wish Night Gala 2008 from the organization's website:

In addition to high-profile honorees, there is always great entertainment, like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Micky Dolenz of The Monkees, and fun auction items.

Wow, I haven't thought about Big Bad Voodoo Daddy since some time around Clinton's first term in office.

There were a couple other people at last night's party whom I like, so let's take a look at their pics taken on the red carpet.

Carmen Electra posed with Guiliana Rancic from E! I totally love Guiliana and always get a kick out of watching her own red carpet coverage on E! for shows like the Emmy Awards. Her style is just so inviting and she's a hip gal with lots to say and lotsa love for what she does. She certainly must have the most unlikely name for a TV broadcaster. Her name turns generic names like "Karen Taylor" or "Jim Hodge" right on their ears! Guiliana totally gets thumbs up from me.

credit:wireimage.com

Then there's Carmen Electra. While I do generally get a kick out of her, I just have to LOL at this 'over the shoulder' pose. It's just so... contrived. She does look good in yellow, though.

credit: wireimage.com

It obviously makes sense for Disney to stay aligned with an organization like the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I hope a sizable portion of Disney's corporate donations are directed towards bringing a little light to the life of sick kids.

It's easy to feel a bit inspired by their mission:
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation is the nation's largest wish-granting organization. It has fulfilled the wishes of more than 161,000 children in the United States and its territories since 1980. Based in Phoenix, the Make-A-Wish Foundation serves every community in the United States, Guam and Puerto Rico through its 67 chapters.

Good work they're doing! Despite the current economic crisis, maybe you're able to figure out a way to help out the Make-A-Wish Foundation?

2008-11-15T00:48:00.000-08:00

MADONNA TO BUILD GIRL'S SCHOOL IN AFRICA
Singer clearly fit enough to assume all construction work

I've been on a fairly insane Madonna kick for the past 2 or 3 weeks, ever since I was able to attend her FIRST EVER concert here in Vancouver back on October 30th.

I've been *continuously* playing a shite-load of so much Madonna music that my neighbours probably think there's a Paula Goodspeed/Paula Abdul situation happening in my apartment.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not poking fun at that tragedy, but I'm simply aware that my current Madonna obsession will soon be topping the "bit-too-much-o-meter".

One of the reasons I loves me some Madonna so much is that for as long as I can remember, she's been kickin' ass and takin' names and doing it all her own way. No question she's a trendsetter.

But that all started to change a bit - in my mind, at least - when she went off to Africa and adopted David Banda in Malawi.

Some might say she's gone off and done the same thing that someone like Angelina Jolie has already done. But that doesn't bother me on bit. The main thing to remember is that Madge is doing some real good and really trying to help her little boy's home land, through her organization Raising Malawi.

But now, with all the drama surrounding her impending divorce from Guy Ritchie and as her Sticky & Sweet Tour gets set to wind up its North American leg, Madonna has made a very smart move.

She has begun to publicize her latest and bravest endeavour in Africa which looks and sounds *alot* like something we've seen done by another one-named famous lady.

And I don't mean Charo (unless she's now the black host of a daytime talk show based in Chicago - and if that's was true, Love Boat re-runs would be even more confusing to watch than they already are).

Back to Madonna - let's pick up the story now running on US Magazine's website:

Madonna wants to follow in the footsteps of Oprah.

The singer has released a video on her Web site asking fans for donations to a girls' school in Malawi.

"There are very few girls in Africa in general who are encouraged or allowed to go to secondary school so after spending a lot of time there I realized that one of the ways I could help was to build a girls' school," she said.

She continued: "I would really be grateful if you would get involved and help me in any way that you can with donations, spreading the word, visiting my website, reading about the progress that we've made so far.... I would appreciate any help you could give us."

Wow, eh?! Let's pause for a moment to read Madonna's letter just posted on her website, and there's also a link below to watch Madonna make her request for help from you:

To All My Friends,

I am really excited to share with you a new video message about a project that you can be a big part of: The Raising Malawi Academy for Girls.

WATCH VIDEO HERE

After witnessing the potential of Malawi's girls firsthand, I made it my mission to give them an opportunity to become their personal best.

I hope you will share my urgency and make a donation today. Every donation counts toward helping impoverished girls to reach their full potential. And every dollar will make a difference.

Visit: http://www.raisingmalawi.org/rm_girlsacademy.php

Thank you for helping me to bring education and opportunity to the girls of Malawi. They are deeply grateful to you for your support, and so am I.

With Love, Madonna

Totally, totally cool. I love it! Although one has to wonder how someone reportedly worth approximately half a billion dollars finds it necessary to go on the Internet and ask her fans to help donate to her project. Sure, I get it, it's a way to get people engaged in helping others, but really Madge ... open your heart and your wallet ;-)

Here's the rest of the Us article...

Madonna has made regular visits to Malawi since adopting her youngest son David, 3.

Madonna found David at an orphanage through her Raising Malawi charity and was later granted temporary custody. The High Court in the capital of Lilongwe approved the adoption this past May after a two-year battle.

Oprah Winfrey opened a school for promising girls from deprived backgrounds in South Africa in January 2007. "The school is a symbol of leadership, it stands for what is possible for African children," Winfrey said at the opening.

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, is located in the small town of Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg.

So there we have it. Madge has gone and impressed me all over again. I have to say, it was amazing to finally be able to see her live in concert a few weeks ago on the Sticky & Sweet Tour. And today, I'm also really jazzed for her latest venture for the girls of Malawi.

She just never stops! And frankly I hope she never does. If you wanna know more about Raising Malawi, here is its website.

2008-11-09T15:39:00.000-08:00

THE PRICE OF ADMISSION
"He could play the guitar just like ringing a bell"

This has got to be thee-most surprising quote ever made by a celebrity living with a disease ... here are the words of Michael J. Fox in response to performing on stage last Wednesday with The Who:

"This is almost worth getting Parkinson's for!" Michael J. Fox declared as he took the stage to play guitar with The Who in New York City Wednesday night.

image: people.com

Wow - I gotta say, I love the guy's sense of humour. Big props to him for that.

It's kind of amazing to realize that no matter who you are or what you might be facing, we can all still go a little ga-ga for our favourite bands (or movie stars or whatever). Here's more of the story from People:

The actor – who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991 – rocked out to the legendary band's "Magic Bus," trading licks and windmill guitar riffs with Pete Townshend.

The once-in-a-lifetime performance was the grand finale of Fox's annual A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Cure Parkinson's.

Ryan Reynolds – who recently ran the New York City Marathon in honor of his father, who suffers from Parkinson's – also attended the star-studded event, along with his new wife Scarlett Johansson. Also on the guest list: Rachael Ray, Julianne Moore, Ben Stiller and New York Yankee Derek Jeter.

Mmmm.... Ryan Reynolds. Can we just stop this blog for a moment to let our mouths fall agape and enjoy the hotness that is Ryan at a marathon?

image: Splash

AND... we're back.

The event was even more celebratory than usual, thanks to Barack Obama's presidential win the night before.

"I'm positive that one of the first things that [Obama] is going to do ... is revisit the [George W. Bush's] ban on stem cell research ...," Fox told PEOPLE at the event, which he attended along with wife Tracy Pollan and daughters, Schuyler and Aquinnah. "I'm really excited."

I gotta say, I also hope to see the same thing come from President-elect Obama. We ALL would benefit from exploring the possibilities inherent with stem cell research. LIFT THE BAN, indeed!

As for Michael J. Fox, while not a rabid fan of all of his work I do absolutely acknowledge his acting talent and his perseverance in life especially since is diagnosis way back in '91. I also feel a bit of - oh, I don't know - a 'connection' with him because I was born at the same hospital as he ... the Royal Alexandra Hospital to be exact.

That pic of him on stage with The Who reminds of that fun scene from Back to the Future where his character, Marty McFly, takes to the stage at the high school dance to perform Johnny B Goode and ends up rocking out so hard on his electric guitar - way before the actual days of real rock n' roll - that he completely freaks out not only his backup band but also all the kids at the dance. Watch it again with me, won't you? The BEST part is at :52 seconds into the clip!

2008-11-04T23:17:00.000-08:00

CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA!!!
Ya did yourselves (and your Canadian neighbours) proud

CANADA LOVES OBAMA

OBAMA + CANADA = OBAMA-DA!

image credit: cnn.com

image credit: AP

image credit: Getty

OBAMA + CANADA = OBAMA-DA!!!!!!!!!

2008-10-31T13:30:00.000-07:00

Spotted: Madonna in Vancouver
Madonna + Canada = Madonna-da!

Yup, I spotted her alright... and so did 60,000 other fans who sold out BC Place Stadium for Madonna's FIRST EVER Vancouver concert. The Sticky and Sweet Tour finally came to town 5 months after tickets first went on sale near the end of last May.

All I can say is... HOLY MOTHER-EFFING EVERYTHING!

I’ve waited years ... decades, really ... to see a Madonna concert and WOW was it ever fantastic, amazing, fun and just so totally good and great. And hot to boot!

Seriously, I’ve been SO geeked about this concert for such a long time now ... I felt like a dog with a full bladder who's been teased with a leash and the promise of 'walkeez'. The actual coming to fruition of something so desperately anticipated was nearly overwhelming!

My excitement grew even more once Danny and I were in our seats, waiting for the show to start. I actually started to believe that my bladder really was full.

I knew it was just nerves, but what did I do anyway? I went to the men’s room and to my surprise found a line up of women waiting to get in!

Turns out, there were so many ladies in the hiz last night, and their washrooms were so busy, that they just threw out all conventions and - in behaviour I have no doubt was inspired by Madonna’s eternal gender-fuck attitude - lined up to do their thang in the men’s room.

Ha! I love it! In fact I loved it so much that I took a photo. The lovely ladies didn’t seem to mind one bit (neither did the guy doing up his fly at the left of the image).

I got back to my seat and waved at my sister, brother and Mom in their seats about five sections away from where I was seated.

Actually, there were tons of people I know also seated very close to me including former co-workers, current co-workers, a former house mate, and even Danny's gorgeous cousins happened to be only four rows in front of us. That was really quite surprising to be surrounded by so many familiar faces in our immediate area.

As for some of the other faces in the crowd, I've now heard on local news reports that some folks with floor seats paid up to $2700 for a ticket! Hmmm... we really are living in a material world, aren't we?

FINALLY, at 9:25pm the lights went down and Madonna came out! Sister was REALLY late starting her show, but... I forgive.

The show opened with Candy Shop - when I looked at the ginormous video screen beside the stage and took note of Madge’s thighs and ass, I was amazed at how ridiculously fit she is! Dare I say that I was thisclose to being turned on by her musculature ... haha.

I also loved all the candy imagery on screens behind the dancers and musicians, especially the huge spinning candy corns which is one of my all-time favourite candies.

In 'Candy Shop', there was something special about the conviction she lent to singing the line “my sugar is raw” - it was like, "MY sugar is RAW!"

Early in the show Madonna ventured out to the runway portion of her massive stage and upon arrival there she likely became aware of the presence of tobacco or marijuana because on microphone she said 'please don't smoke around the stage, thank you'.

Since it's now rare in Vancouver to come across cigarette smokers in action outside their own homes or cars, I'm guessing she was picking up some second-hand smoke from some B.C. bud - little might she know that shit is known to be so strong that by the time she may have inhaled any smoke from someone else, she was probably already higher than her own red stiletto heels.

The first set also included a couple of ol’ faves - ‘Human Nature’ which as you might know is the portion of the show including a Britney Spears video 'appearance'. In the video she wears a hoodie in an elevator and mouths the 'Human Nature' lyrics “express yourself, don’t repress yourself”.

Back to Madonna, she also played quite an interesting version of 'Vogue' which incorporated music elements of ‘4 Minutes’. Honestly, I would have preferred a more traditional performance of Vogue simply because it is such a classic with it's bouncy piano and familiar house-y drum beat. But we all know that Madge is quite literally the queen of reinvention, so that in itself makes it fascinating to be exposed to her latest take on older material.

I felt kind of the same way with ‘Into the Groove’ which was presented with a complete restructure of the original recording. But soon after that she freaking rocked out on a totally-guitared-to-the-max rendition of ‘Borderline’. The moment she began playing it, and as it played out note by note, I just thought it was brilliant and a terrific and fresh sound on a quarter-century old song.

‘She’s Not Me’ was pure megalomaniacal fun – as Madonna dedicated the tune to all the ladies in the house, she performed it surrounded by four ‘versions’ of her ‘self’ on stage with her.

Four dancers were costumed as: the bridal Boy Toy of yore from ‘Like a Virgin’, the insert-a-coin-and-watch-me-dance Madonna from the ‘Open Your Heart’ video, the cone-bra wonder of the early ‘90s and the pink-gowned Marilyn Monroe tribute from ‘Material Girl’.

While self-promoting, it was also a somewhat self-deprecating interpretation. Not to mention just plain fun to watch. Here's a pic from the start of Madonna's performance of "She's Not Me":

‘Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You’ was a beautiful performance with Madge somewhere within a roomy black cloak as she sang the song off the top surface of a piano, all of which was inside a rounded transparent screen featuring layered video imagery of water droplets and other natural elements in a slow moving kind of serenity.

Here is what the round screen looked like. And the second pic below shows the transparency of the screen with Madonna visible inside:

After this set, we saw the brilliant ‘Get Stupid’ video interlude featuring the likes of Obama, Oprah and the Dalai Lama. Very political, very timely, very important to say the least.

Next, she cracked open a bit of spontaneity and took a request from some lucky girls in the front row. Of course, the request was for ‘Like a Virgin’. With that, Madonna got 60,000 fans in Vancouver to sing the entire song at her prompting. It was really quite cool and toooooooootally fun. Here's my short video of that sing along.

'Like A Virgin' was soon followed by ‘Like A Prayer’ which certainly brought the house right down.

So did ‘Hung Up’. Here's a video of that:

I think Madonna said it best on her latest album when she said, "See my booty get down!" And that, my friends, is exactly what I was doing.

She also played (and I thank goddess for this) one of my personal faves, ‘Ray of Light’ which again had Madge displaying her bony and witchy-looking fingers across the strings of her electric-guitar. Good times, indeed!

Madonna didn't engage herself in too much chit-chat with us, but nearing the end of the show she mentioned the enormous digital clock inside the stadium, way up high near the roof, positioned directly opposite her stage. She must have finally had enough of watching the clock because between songs she gave us a 'time check' (it was 11:02pm) and mentioned 'that fucking clock has been staring back at me all night'. If anything, it got a decent chuckle out of most of the concert-goers.

I bought a tour shirt with a pic of Madonna on the chest. To me, this particular image is very reminiscent of Liz Phair on the cover of Exile in Guyville. Seriously!

Okay, here's an image of the Madonna T-shirt I bought (except this one is the baby-tee for the girls... mine is NOT a baby-tee, but the image of her face is identical)

And now here is the cover of Liz Phair's 'Exile in Guyville' album ... to me, the two are very similar!

Anyhoo, luckily Danny and I managed to get our picture taken with Madonna last night. She's the slightly smaller figure in the background:

And to round out today's Madge-errific post, here's a couple more concert pics:

2008-09-03T23:59:00.000-07:00

LETTERMAN IS THE BETTERMAN
Late Show host makes rare appearance in the headlines

One of my favourite guys of all time is suddenly everywhere today.

David Letterman is about to appear on the cover of the Rolling Stone this Friday, and has hit the headlines in the lead up to the magazine's publication date.

In all the time I've been a fan of Letterman, today is the very first time I've seen his name everywhere. Have you noticed that too? It looks like "everybody" has picked up on the story out earlier today from the Associated Press.

CNN is running several quotes of his opinion of the impending late night departure of Jay Leno and re-shuffle of Conan O'Brien.

CTV's eTalk has also included David Letterman in their coverage today, along with the cover from the upcoming Rolling Stone which also happens to include the fabulously & brilliantly hilarious Tina Fey AND Chris Rock ... I love it! 3 of my faves all together. I think this is just a great photograph:

Luckily, it looks like the folks over at Rolling Stone also released some additional tidbits to Reuters and, as a result, we get some more comments from Dave Letterman on how he actually feels a bit bad about poking fun at U.S. Presidential candidate John McCain:

"John McCain looks like the kinda guy who brags that his new denture adhesive allows him to eat corn on the cob," Letterman once said on his CBS talk show.

LOL! Love that. There's more of his McCain-related words on the MSNBC website.

Ah, Letterman. I do fret a bit at the thought of him leaving the airwaves sometime after 2010. That's just too soon, even though I've been watching his show since his early days on NBC.

The only thing I can think of that would be a *good* result of Letterman's departure is that it seems likely that Craig Ferguson, host of the Letterman-produced "Late Late Show", would fill the post. And that would be T-riffic - sometimes I laugh more at the bizarrely-hilarious Ferguson than I do at the self-deprecating and folksy Letterman. But, no question, Dave is still the man. The man for me, tee hee hee.

So, yeah ... it's good to see David Letterman in the headlines today. I'm definitely looking forward to reading his full interview in the new issue of Rolling Stone.

What say we harken back to a classic Letterman episode, "co-starring" another of my all-time faves... Madonna (who I FINALLY will get to see live here in Vancouver on October 30!):

2008-09-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

JUDE LAW'S ROAD TO PEACE
British actor promotes peace in Afghanistan

With so much political focus in North America on the Republican National Convention (now delayed by Hurricane Gustav ) and on the seemingly inevitable Canadian federal election, there's one guy out there who is still trying to bring some additional focus to Afghanistan.

And that guy is Jude Law. Today he met reporters in the city of Kabul to promote the upcoming annual Peace Day (September 21) in support of non-violence and a global cease-fire. Here's the details from the Associated Press:

(Getty Images)

KABUL, Afghanistan - Jude Law is visiting Afghanistan to promote peace in the war-ravaged country.

Together with director Jeremy Gilley, the Oscar-nominated Law has returned to Afghanistan to help maintain momentum for Peace Day — an annual day on Sept. 21 urging a global cease-fire and nonviolence.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted Peace Day in 2001, following a lobbying campaign by Gilley which he documented in the film “Peace One Day.”

“When I left Kabul last year, I was hugely moved not by the conflict that I have read so much about, but by the people’s courage and the people’s sense of hope,” Law told reporters in Kabul on Monday.

“It seemed that they really want to make this day, the Peace Day, work. And they did,” Law said. “People recognize the day, because they recognize that lives could be saved.”

Noted for his roles in movies such as “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Cold Mountain,” Law helped Gilley produce his second documentary film, called “The Day After Peace.”

The documentary, which also features former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, the Dalai Lama, Angelina Jolie, Annie Lennox and Jonny Lee Miller, charts the way Peace Day can be used as a focus for lifesaving activity, Gilley said.

Law said the movie “was the most important film I have been part of.”

Law and Gilley, who arrived in Kabul on Sunday, are to meet President Hamid Karzai, top NATO and U.N. officials, and members of the aid community.

Last year, they traveled and filmed in treacherous areas of eastern Afghanistan to help promote the day, on which they hope weapons will fall silent, allowing help to reach those most in need.

Gilley said in Afghanistan over 1.4 million children were able to be vaccinated against polio on Peace Day as a result.

“The world celebrates so many days that often separate and segregate us ... and yet there is none that ties us all together,” Law said.

He said ordinary Afghans, who marched and prayed as they marked Peace Day last year, are among the film’s stars.

“It is Peace Day’s commitment to take this film as a message from people of Afghanistan to the rest of the world,” he said.

The visit coincides with one of Afghanistan’s most violent periods since the ouster of the Taliban from power in 2001. More than 3,700 people — mostly militants — have died as a result of the war this year.

Law said that even as Kabul has become more dangerous, hope among its people has remained surprisingly high.

If “it is possible here, it is possible everywhere,” Gilley said.

And how... those seem like pretty good words to hear on this Labour Day, n'est-ce pas?

93 Canadian soldiers have died since the 2002 start of Canada's Afghan mission.

You can get in touch with the Canadian troops on the national defence department's website.

2008-08-31T16:18:00.000-07:00

PHELPS HELPS
8 Gold medals and a heart of gold, too?

The 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing have been over for a week now and the 2008 Paralympic Games are open, but Michael Phelps keeps on bringin' the goodness.

This time, bringing it to some New York kids with his visit to the Manhattan YMCA on Thursday.

Just below this unforgettable image of Phelps during the Beijing games, here's the scoop on his YMCA visit from People magazine:

Michael Phelps faced his toughest competition yet this week in New York City: a group of 6-to-12-year-olds!

The eight-time Olympic gold medalist visited the McBurney YMCA in Manhattan on Thursday to hand over a $20,000 check on behalf of Visa as part of the Play Every Day partnership. Phelps, not surprisingly, spent most of his time in the water, running drills, racing, and slapping high fives with the kids.

"He was very gracious and spent a lot of time with the kids in the water," Mike Spezzano, vice president of programs and membership for the YMCA of greater New York, told PEOPLE Friday. "They swam against Phelps, which is something they'll be saying for the rest of their lives."

Phelps partnered with Visa and Play Every Day, which aims to get kids more physically active. The money donated to the YMCA will give 185 inner city second graders the opportunity to attend the YMCA for swimming lessons. Other funds will go to purchasing new equipment and expanding the organizations aquatic facilities.

"The spotlight is on him after all he's accomplished," Spezzano said. "Meeting with community organizations and kids when he could probably be doing a lot of other things says a lot about him as a person."

Yup, I would hafta agree with that. Right now Phelps could be all over billboards for Speedo, or remaining scantily clad for a celebrity fragrance campaign, but instead it's great to see that he's on track to keep kids interested in the sport of swimming and encouraging their involvement in physical activity. Now if only I would get off the couch and follow his lead...

What say we take a few mins to enjoy some lovely pics of Phelps - in this first one, I think it's really very nice to see him and his U.S. teammates unabashedly enjoying each other's half-naked company:

In this next photo from Michael Phelp's previous appearance on MTV's TRL, I think it is fairly safe and certainly necessary to say that host Vanessa Minillo is, quite simply, a bitch.

And, in one of the cooler photo sessions of the year, famed photographer Annie Liebowitz snapped beautiful, artistic images of well-known folks in Disney-inspired themes. For that project, Michael Phelps signed on as part of the Little Mermaid session. Here he is getting ready for his close-up:

Such a cutie. Next up is the final image Liebowitz created featuring not only Merman Phelps, but also, as Ariel herself, the lovely and beautiful (and one of my all-time favourite actresses) Julianne Moore. This picture is really, really somethin' alright (make sure you click on the pic itself to open up a hi-res version... it's really worth a close look)

So thanks to Phelps and his good deed down at the YMCA for inspiring us today. If you want to know more about how to get involved, check out your own local YMCA or YWCA.

2008-07-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

NOT A GIRL, BUT IS SHE YET A WOMAN?
Britney Spears plays with the grown ups

I kinda hafta admit that I really didn't think I'd ever have a reason to report on the activities of Britney Spears on Gimme Never Gets. Her tendency toward confusing and self-centered behaviour doesn't exactly position her as an individual working toward the greater good, IMHO.

But maybe there's a change in the wind with Ms. Spears because last night she attended a fundraiser hosted by Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy for Generation Rescue, an amazing organization dedicated to researching autism under the belief the condition can be reversed!

People magazine's Good Deeds has the good deets:

With her divorce settlement behind her, Britney Spears took time out on Saturday night to do something for the kids, adding star wattage to Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey's fundraiser for Generation Rescue, an organization dedicated to researching autism.

"She looked great and seemed really happy," says a partygoer of the Snow Queen Vodka-sponsored shindig at the couple's home in Brentwood. Though she kept close to her assistant Brett and didn't speak to other guests, "She smiled and clapped during the video about autism. She was very into the information and watched a little bit of the dancers from Dancing with the Stars, sneaking out during one of the performances."

Also at the bash were newlyweds Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller ("The honeymoon isn't over!" remarked one guest), a "lovey-dovey" Robert Rodriguez and Rose McGowan, who kissed and danced all night, and of course the host couple.

"Jenny and Jim were adorable," says the guest, "She kept saying, 'I love you honey' to him when she thanked him from the stage." Carrey, not to be outdone by the DWTS folks, soon took to the dance floor, even challenging another guest to a playful dance-off.

Says the guest, "Jim was hilarious."

Photo Credit: WireImage

Hmmm... I do realize that smiling and clapping during an autism video isn't a bad thing, but I'm left wondering how deeply Britney Spears wishes to bring about change for autistic kids if she wasn't even engaging in conversation about the condition, about Generation Rescue, or about anything at all for that matter. But at least she was there and I guess that's a good thing, especially since she has two little boys of her own. Her involvement with these people may help her learn about possible ways to keep her own kids healthy.

And what about that Rose McGowan, eh? I had pretty much totally forgotten about her except for the fact that reading this article makes me think about Charmed which makes me think about her co-star on that show, Shannon Doherty, which makes me think about the fact that it's now been confirmed that Doherty will be part of the cast on this fall's 90210.

Yee-Haw for that news! Can. Not. Wait. to check out that show. Not just for old time's sake, but also to hopefully have another fun and fairly mindless teen drama to get all wrapped up in after the summer. I don't why I watch these shows (I'm also a Gossip Girl addict) because they certainly bring up reminders of just how painful being a teenager can be. Not to get all heavy about it, but it's good to know that the teenage years are not necessarily the *best* years of one's life. Things DO get better if you want them to :-)

Note to self: thinking about Rose McGowan also reminds me that I STILL haven't seen Grindhouse which I gotta get around to at some point ;-)

Back to Generation Rescue, I find this organization to be exciting because it is focused on the idea that autism is preventable and reversible. Their thinking is...

Our children are experiencing epidemics of ADD/ADHD, Asperger's, PDD-NOS, and Autism.

We believe these neurological disorders ("NDs") are environmental illnesses caused by an overload of heavy metals, live viruses, and bacteria. Proper treatment of our children, known as "biomedical intervention", is leading to recovery for thousands.

The cause of this epidemic of NDs is extremely controversial. We believe the cause includes the tripling of vaccines given to children in the last 15 years (with unstudied ingredients like mercury, aluminum and live viruses); growing evidence also suggests that maternal toxic load and prenatal vaccines, heavy metals like mercury in our air, toxic ingredients in our water, pesticides; and the overuse of antibiotics are also implicated. Generation Rescue's mission is to support continued research on causative factors and treatment approaches for NDs.

These are bold ideas which totally deserve research, funding and development. I wish the best for the parents involved in the organization because they are the ones who will get to true bottom of the issues and finally learn how to help their kids and, as a result, generations of kids to come. Check out the Generation Rescue website because it really is very interesting.

Woulda been fun to have seen Jim Carrey doin' his thang for his house guests. His work with Jenny McCarthy on autism calls to mind his earlier professional career, when he was already aware of using comedy as a powerful tool for promoting important issues ... check out his hilarious Environmental Guy from In Living Color:

2008-07-17T23:25:00.000-07:00

LET'S ALL (BAY)WATCH PAMELA ANDERSON'S NEW SHOW
Pam: Girl on the Loose! to premiere on E! Aug 3rd

Maybe playing with Barbie dolls or Fashion Plates as a young lad had something to do with my long-standing love and affection for Pamela Anderson.

I don't want to pander to obvious and superficial popular conclusions based on image, but really it's kinda hard not to do so. Howevs, there's much more to lovely Pamela than blonde hair, ginormous boobies, a tiny waist and youthful speech patterns.

She does Canada proud (born on the country's birthday - July 1st - in 1967) by advancing the cause of PETA and placing a recognizable face on a profound movement to change the way people think.

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and Pamela work together - particularly against cruelty to poultry allegedly sponsored by KFC. The PETA campaign has been known as KFC or, Kentucky Fried Cruelty.

Recently, PETA was finally able to end its boycott of KFC Canada thanks to the company's agreement to amend its slaughter practices. You can read about this long overdue development, and in addition here's a quick list of some changes made by KFC Canada:

* Phase in purchases of 100 percent of its chickens from suppliers that use CAK, standing for "controlled-atmosphere killing", the least cruel form of poultry slaughter ever developed. KFC Canada is the first major restaurant chain to commit to phasing in the exclusive purchasing of chicken meat from CAK slaughterhouses.

* Add a vegan faux-chicken item to the menu of all 461 Priszm-owned KFC restaurants (more than half of all the KFCs in Canada).

* Improve its animal welfare audit criteria to reduce the number of broken bones and other injuries suffered by birds.

* Urge its suppliers to adopt better practices, including improved lighting, lower stocking density and ammonia levels, and a phaseout of growth-promoting drugs and breeding practices that painfully cripple chickens.

* Form an animal welfare advisory panel to monitor the changes and recommend further advancements.

So, positive steps have definitely been taken. But, if you actually think for a few moments about why this boycott occurred in the first place, and then actually think for a few moments about having a chicken burger... well, you tend to lose your appetite a wee bit, n'est-ce pas?

Lucky for Pam and her fans, her star will continue to shine even brighter very soon which should mean that she can remain in a strong position to influence the effectiveness of PETA's initiatives all over world.

That's because August 3rd at 10pm is the E! premiere of Pam: Girl on the Loose! It's kind of a docu-series on the cable channel already rife with celebreality shows, but I think Pam's will stand out from the pack. Here's a bit about Pam's new show as reported by zap2it.com

E!'s not-really-a-reality-show reality show starring Pamela Anderson will be making its way to your TV screen in August.

"Pam: Girl on the Loose" is scheduled to premiere at 10 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3. The show promises a "truly personal and in-depth glimpse" into Anderson's life as a mother, working actress and animal-rights activist.

Episodes will feature the former "Baywatch" and "Stacked" star holding a massive yard sale, taking meetings for various business endeavors and tending to her kids without the help of a maid or a nanny.

Anderson is among the executive producers of "Girl on the Loose," along with Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato ("The Eyes of Tammy Faye," "Showbiz Moms & Dads"), Tom Campbell and Jeff Pollack.

TIT-illated? Me too. Here's a preview:

Yeah, so it's gonna be fun to watch at the very least and at best it'll help to educate another demographic about some of the truly important work this woman does.

I do love me some Pam Anderson, indeed. Here she is on recent appearance on Larry King Live with Dan Mathews, her PETA cohort, talking up the good talk. I love what this guy has to say:

Before we wrap up our little trip down Pamela lane, let's have a moment for Fashion Plates:

Fashion Plates, as described on InThe80's, was 'an "artsy" toy from the eighties. By using several thin plates (aligned on a board and colored/traced over with colored pencils), you could create a woman with interchangeable fashionable outfits.'

Ah, such good times - it all flashes me back to grade four with one of the most non-judgmental gal pals of my youth, Tammy T.

I remember creating stunning designs using her Fashion Plates set, and I was inspired by her early acknowledgment of pop culture evidenced by her wearing of a "Who Shot J.R.?" t-shirt.

And... since we're now talking about that ancient reference too..., here's the classic scene from Dallas for anyone else who is as ridiculously reminiscent of the 80's as I am: