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.

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:

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?

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.

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

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:

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.

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.

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!"

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!”.