Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Encounter: American Idols 2008

Note: Hi everyone who has stumbled across this page looking for juicy stuff on the Idols from the July 30th stop. Like I say in this, my personal encounters with the four Idols were nothing to write home about. I was not prepared to talk to three of four of the Idols that I met, and really, I was there for David Archuleta, Jason Castro, Chikezie and Carly -- three of whom didn't end up coming out. That said, you should understand when reading this that this is a celebrity gossip blog and it's meant to be a little tongue-in-cheek. And yes, I am a fangirl -- as evidenced by my frequent posts on all my favorite pop culture icons. So with that preface, I hope that you can take my half-satirical summary as it is and just enjoy the photos!

Today, I went where I hardly ever go -- and that is on a mission to seek out celebrities. My story is not particularly interesting as I didn't really have any full-on conversations with any of them, but I thought I'd share anyway.

I'll skip all the gory details about finding the line and waiting two hours in the beating near-August sun. The buses seemed to have been kept overnight at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ (I heard the Idols are staying in New York City for the week), and left to pick up the Idols. The buses arrived back with the Idols in tow at 1:30pm -- approximately an hour later than scheduled, and the Idols began trickling out at 2pm.

First to show were Kristy Lee Cook and David Archuleta. I practically missed Kristy Lee as she blended in with the fan demographic quite well (despite my being perched next to an exuberant group of Cook Cougars -- the Original Word Nerds). My initial expectations for her were not high -- that she'd pretty much come across as she did on the show: somewhat calculated, smart and not particularly friendly. But then I read about how sweet, nice and gorgeous she was in person. Well, after meeting her, I'd say maybe it'd be fair to give her the benefit of the doubt. She wasn't really snobbish or anything, but she didn't particularly seem to want to be there. She signed an autograph for me when I asked (I didn't bother taking a photo, though I realized I probably should've afterwards and got her backside) and added a star to her initials. She looks exactly as I imagined she'd look: tall and athletic. At one point I heard her say that she hadn't slept well the night before and that it was hot, though she was grateful it wasn't raining. She complained about how her hair wasn't behaving and took it out of her bun, flipped it and retied it. I think this would have been much more appreciated if there were guys there.

David Archuleta started at the end of the line and sped, sped through. There must've been at least 200 people there, and while the other Idols took a good 40 minutes to make their way down the line, little DArchuleta completed the obstacle in 18. I think maybe he had some press obligations to take care of -- having watched most of the bus videos from the other tour stops, I'd argue that he was the most rushed he's ever been.

Having decided only yesterday afternoon to make the journey out to New Jersey to participate in this less-than-savory activity, I made his "present" in the wee hours of the night, only after not being able to fall asleep. It was a CD mix. Lucky thing I decided to make it for him, otherwise he would've scribbled his name in my book and walked off without saying a thing or giving me a glance. Instead, I got a very croaky (something seemed up with his voice today) "This is for me?" incredulous gaze. (Okay gaze may be overdoing it. Stare?) I responded with an equally high-school "Yeah!" In that moment, it seemed almost ridiculous to me that he would be questioning the present, though cute. In that moment, he seemed very much seventeen to my twenty-three. On another note, some fervent DArchuleta fans have noted his interesting eye color, which is clinically hazel but can be a light, light shade of gray-green at times. Well, today it was definitely hazel. An eerie hazel. I can vouch for that.

He moved swiftly onwards and I didn't have the chance to grab a photo with him, but I snapped plenty of photos of my present practically falling out of one of the gift bags he'd stuffed it in, followed by him rearranging things and deciding to hold my present in his hand for the rest of his 18-T minutes. He spotted a sign down the way that caught his eye and asked a security guard if he could take a photo of it for him. He dug his iPhone out of his pocket, asked the guard if he knew how to use it, and proceeded to show him how to use it. So adorable.

When he reached the end of the line, he asked someone what time it was (2:30) and decided that he had a few minutes to spare. He said, "Well, I guess I can just stand here ... and you can take pictures or something" and laughed. Classic David, but no one seemed to revel in his humor. The largely teeny crowd screamed and immediately got off to clicking. And then he disappeared -- but not before several girls grabbed at him and got hugs out of the kid.

Next was Michael Johns. I had nothing to say to him, really, and he seemed a little grouchy. [ETA: He wasn't grouchy per se -- just lacked the sense of humor one typically expects from him. And I'm not basing this off of my interactions with him, as those were virtually non-existent.] I got a photo of him signing my book instead of attempting to converse with him. His hair looks a little greasy, but I like the length.

And then it was David Cook, who I got plenty of great photos of. Everyone took their time to get through the fans, unlike DArchuleta, so I was able to capture some pretty great photos. The Word Nerds beside me really captured his attention -- one of them gave him a mix CD of some sort that he really and I mean REALLY appreciated. He squeezed her for a good thirty seconds. And then asked her where she was sitting so he'd look for her. I documented his reaction to the album, as well as to the bouquet of flowers another fan gave him -- with which he pretended he was a pageant queen.



I had nothing much to say to David Cook -- I thought about mentioning the fact that he went to the same college as my mom, but I thought that'd be uber lame, so I just thanked him after he'd signed my book. "Thank you so much!" was his response.

While we waited for Brooke White and Ramiele Malubay to make their rounds, they were whisked away by security for press of some sort. Ramiele was ... short and had a ton of eye makeup on (especially for this weather). Brooke had really, really bright blue eyes and really looked like a ray of sunshine.

I was told no one else would come out and left. A little disappointing, as after DArchuleta, I was fully prepared to meet Jason Castro, Chikezie and Carly Smithson, but at least I got a "gaze" out of DArchuleta.

I usually go a little hog-wild over celebrity encounters (eg: Annie Leibovitz), but for some reason, the Idols did very little for me. Probably because I had nothing to say to them on the whole and wasn't at all engaged in real interaction with three of four. They behaved and looked exactly as I expected them to, except for DArchuleta's especial frogginess.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Pinched noses and paper roses

David Archuleta is quickly catching up to Jason Castro in terms of frequency of blogs. In fact, he may have surpassed him, though he is nowhere near as consistent as Mr. Future Fantastic Husband.

DArchuleta blogged twice in a three-day span: first on July 26th, from Toronto, Canada. (Yes, apparently American Idol has fans in Canada, too. It’s a pity Canadian Idol doesn’t have enough of a fan following to have a concert stop in the U.S.!) Filmed shortly after waking, David is adorable as can be and a little slow with the words, though he claims that “I guess I wouldn't make too much more sense if I was awake either.” He then said he’d “try to make another one as soon as possible” – on the next day off.

[Courtesy of David Archuleta]

He may not be as consistent when it comes to the calendar, but he kept his promise and uploaded another video blog in the wee hours of this morning (Jason Castro’s Date Night!) from Pittsburgh (Picksburgh!), Pennsylvania. A terribly insubstantial blog, but cute because he seems to find what he is saying interesting. He and Jason went jogging by the river and kayaking. One wonders why they can’t spend their time together making goofy video blogs.

Well, to be fair, David mentioned that he was disappointed that neither he nor Jason had remembered to bring their video cameras along, because it would have made for a wondiferous vlog. My words, not his. Anyway, on with the show:

[Courtesy of David Archuleta]

... which brings us to the ever reliable Jason Castro. He arranged what was, arguably, the best Date Night since the one he showed up to in his trusty, crusty bathrobe: he had a tableclothed table, flowers, candles and a menu set up and everything! And an actual photo-representation of his date! If that’s not consistency and dedication, I don’t know what is.

[Courtesy of Jason Castro]

Oh Jason, how I’ll miss our Date Nights after the tour ends ...

And since I feel I’ve been neglecting my favorite lovebirds, here is my favorite offensive photo(s) of the day: Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson pinching their noses as a homeless man passes them by on the streets of New York City.

[Photo courtesy of WireImage]

Today, the couple returned to Los Angeles and Sam revealed a new hairstyle. Gone is the bleach blond hair!

Monday, July 28, 2008

Fall "It Girl" Predictions

If you know me, you know I love making lists. It's midday and I'm a little bored by the gossip mill, so here goes nothing. It's pretty standard (aka pointless) as far as lists go:


[Photo courtesy of BuddyTV]

Five "It" Girls to Watch Out For
* You know I only really pay attention to Young Hollywood, so get out of your head any ideas of a balanced list

90210
I have a confession to make. I never watched Beverly Hills 90210 when I was younger. I was five when the show began and never cared to engage in the bitch-slapping that the commercials always featured. I caught maybe one episode (but only because Kids Incorporated star Haylie Johnson guest-starred) and that was that. So I am coming to this fall's 90210 with a blank slate, and let me tell you -- if the dialogue is bitchy, I can put them on mute. The cast is hot enough to watch based on that criterion alone. This is precisely how I feel about One Tree Hill and look, that's still on the air!
Jessica Stroup
I'm keeping my eye on Jessica Stroup. For some reason or another, I keep thinking she's Canadian -- probably because she reminds me slightly of Canadian supermodel Heather Marks. In any case, the girl seems to have shed some pounds before relocating to 90210 and is smokin' now.

Shenae Grimes
Okay, if it weren't for my internship at The N some summers ago, I'd honestly have no idea who this girl was. So it's a good thing that she's "made it" in Primetime America. Because she's possibly one of the most gorgeous faces on television today. That's just my opinion. If people haven't noticed her yet, I think they will this fall ...

Disney
Selena Gomez
Really, she should have really made it big by now. But with Miley Cyrus constantly digging herself into a deeper and deeper hole, Disney will probably try to push Selena to the forefront. At the risk of sounding slightly perverted, Selena really has the entire package: she's got a very appealing face, an incredible sense of fashion for someone her age (guess she has the money), her metabolism is still speeding along, and she can pretty much rival (or surpass) Miley in carrying a tune.

Gossip Girl
So these girls have been on the show for one season already, but I think their celebrity status will only rise as they are given juicier story lines and fame goes to their head:
Taylor Momsen
A lot of people seem to hate her. Or her character Jenny. I think this coming season will gain her a new fan or two, with new plotlines and -- hopefully -- her stepping away from Blair Waldorf's limelight. I'm looking forward to Taylor's escapades as a fifteen-year-old girl in the Big City, too.

Jessica Szohr
I think as the starlight wanes from Blake Lively, the focus will turn a little towards Jessica Szohr. Because, face it, she is drop-dead gorgeous. I'm not sure why people haven't given her the time of day yet. Maybe it has to do with the fact that her character Vanessa is nothing short of annoying. Vanessa's hook-up with Nate (that's what it looks like, right?) will likely polarize audiences, but my hope is it'll give her some much-needed screen time.

Hit-or-Miss
Kristen Stewart
In theory, this should be Kristen Stewart's year: she's starring in the much-awaited Twilight, due out in mid-December. The fame is hers for the taking, but I'm not sure it's what she wants. She may manage to allude the spotlight in the way Natalie Portman, etc. have.

Kat Dennings
In a slew of Michael Cera-led (or -esque) "indie" teen films to hit the big screen this year, Kat Dennings is co-starring with Cera in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. This movie should be a hit with the kids, but I'm not sure what it means for Kat Dennings. She's probably best-known for her role on that awful WB show, "Raising Dad". She's a very beautiful girl -- a white-collar man's Megan Fox, if you will -- and probably has decent acting chops, but sometimes the star machine malfunctions.

Emma Stone
I'm not sure The House Bunny and last year's Superbad are enough to propel her into IT girl territory, but I do have a good feeling about this one. One to keep in the incubator for a little while longer.

Chelsea Straub
If it weren't for the constant speculation on who Joe Jonas has been dating, I would never have heard of this girl. But since, apparently, the Jonas Brothers will have a television show (set to premiere in September), this girl is bound to shoot to at least semi-stardom. That's all I really know about her, really. She's blonde and not hideous, and that's enough these days if you're in the Jonas Brothers' social circle.

Big Deals
I think the film Towelhead/Nothing is Private will score rave reviews this coming fall, but will not produce any brand-spanking new stars. Summer Bishil stars as Jasira, but I fear she will fall into Keisha Castle-Hughes territory -- minus the baby at 16. This is a film based on a novel by Alicia Erian, a former visiting-professor at my college. I interviewed her for the newspaper in 2005 and she seemed keen on Toni Collette as an actress. It's great to see that they nabbed Toni for this film.

Missed the Boat
Some will never achieve the fame to which they aspire. At least not through non-scandalous means:

High School Musical
Zac Efron has taken full advantage of the ride and will likely go on to do bigger and better things before he falls flat at twenty-five and decides to pursue a degree. Glasses-girl Oleysa Rulin might be able to nab herself a role or two before spinning downwards into alcoholism and 24/7 partying. Lucas Grabeel was always destined for more serious roles. And for the rest of the folk, this is the end of the road.
Ashley Tisdale
I see that she was an executive producer on her latest straight-to-DVD film, Picture This. I also see her guest-starring on some decent television shows before hanging her coat up and throwing her efforts towards a Kohl's and/or Kitson fashion line and "producing" some second-rate films.

Vanessa Hudgens
This is really the end of the road for her, much more so than for Ashley Tisdale. Vanessa seems to have spent most of her time on the wild HSM ride securing herself a hot boyfriend (whose handsome looks, by the way, are quickly fading) and not building up her resume. Once ZEfron drops her like a hot potato, she'll have nothing. A couple of Disney appearances, at best. Maybe she'll be smart enough to go back to school.
Demi Lovato
I'm really on the fence about this one. It seems if her star hasn't supernovaed yet, it's not going to. She'll probably hit the tour circuit for another season or two, go back to school, and reemerge a stunning beaut and gain some fame in the indie flick world. It's okay, she's only fifteen. She can always blame her reckless (and embarrassing) behavior for being "only fifteen" later on.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Downgrades


[Photo courtesy of TMZ[

Wow, it’s come to my attention that I have not expressed my love for Shia LaBeouf here. Too bad it has to come on the heels of his second arrest, for a DUI at 2:45am this morning in Hollywood. Even worse, he made an illegal left turn and collided with another car, resulting in an overturned vehicle (his) and a hand injury that requires surgery. The driver of the other car suffered minor injuries as well.

Poor baby. Sadly, I’m thinking “It could’ve been worse.”

Los Angeles needs a better public transportation system so these stars can get as trashed as they want and not have to worry about driving. Imagine the underground system being the place to see and be seen!

Yeah, it’s never happening.

So apparently Miley Cyrus has a crush on Jesse McCartney. Last week (and in months past), we heard that she had a thing for David Archuleta. So she doesn’t seem to have a type, other than PY Disneyesque thangs. Things she can deflower, maybe? Upon hearing the “news”, JMac said, “She needs to be able to drive first before we talk about that” but if Miley were to ask him out, “I’d say, ‘sure, let’s do this.’”

Yikes. I’m not sure if this is a downgrade from Danity Kane’s Aubrey O’Day or not. But both are a significant downgrade from Katie Cassidy. But JMac himself has downgraded, so all this is expected.

And Samantha Ronson half-confirmed her relationship with Lindsay Lohan today on her blog, whilst listening to Lindsay’s song “Rumors”:
ok- so i don't make reference to most of the crap said but every now and then my patience wears a little bit thin----

from page 6 today

ALI Lohan is trying to make it big with her new single, "All the Way Around," but she's not getting any help from her big sister's girlfriend. Samantha Ronson, who's been dating Lindsay Lohan for several months, refuses to play the single during her DJ gigs. When Ronson played the Sephora party at the Angel Orensanz Foundation last week, a spy said, "[Mom] Dina showed up with a copy of the song for Sam to play - but she refused. The song is really bad."


She lists her quips with the blurb, never denying that she and Lindsay are a couple. She justifies her comment, again, but saying: i wouldn't be responding to this one- but i'm afraid that people might actually believe that and that's not fair to Ali. She's 14 years old- high school is bad enough- do tabloids really need to torture teenagers as well?

well then- with that out of the way- I hope you are all well and check out the single on itunes- it's a great f***ing pop song!


Let’s look at it this way: the only reason anyone who isn’t blood would defend the youngest bitch, Ali, is if she’s dating Ali’s older sister!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Belly Farts and Magic Rainbows


[Photo courtesy of Love B. Scott]

Things are swell in Rondsayland! It turns out that Lindsay Lohan was indeed present at Shrine in Ledyard, Connecticut last night – by Samantha Ronson’s side at her DJ gig. According to New York’s Daily News, Lindsay stayed quiet for most of the night, despite stealing a photog’s camera and snapping photos of random clubgoers (she took an especially large batch of photos of the group next to the booth – a potential threat to her relationship, perhaps? – reason being “they look the sketchiest”). She also managed to squeeze a couple of small, but insignificant words in before the night was over. When the party wound down and the crowd chanted SamRo’s name, Lindsay grabbed the mic and yelled, “She’s taken!” She proceeded to leave in a bit of a huff. Seems like Lilo might be back to her jealous ways now that everyone’s onto her lady love.

Lindsay’s friends spoke to People magazine, telling it that they hadn’t “seen Lindsay this truly happy in years” and that Sam and Lindsay would “spend every second of every day together if time allowed ... There are no red flags, no ‘issues.’ They just want to enjoy their life together.” According to another friend, it seems that they aren’t afraid of showing it, either: “They say ’I love you’ all the time – they’ll scream it across a public room ... For Lindsay, it’s not about being gay – it’s about being in love with Samantha. They couldn’t care less what anyone thinks of them as long as they have each other.”

Isn’t that what love always should be?

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Terrible Twos

It’s being reported that Sean “P. Diddy” Combs is engaged to his protégé Cassie!? Cassie, a former Delia*s model and two-hit wonder, is a mere twenty-one years of age (twenty-two in a month) to thirty-eight year-old Diddy. This rumor comes just two weeks after she confirmed that she and Diddy were no longer. I didn’t even realize they were dating, but skeptic that I am, I’m thinking this must be a publicity stunt towards the first single from her new album, scheduled to be released on August 1st.

USA Today has video up of the American Idol tour, behind the scenes a few days ago in Rosemont, Illinois. It’s kind of uncanny, as it is narrated by a booming voice that is obviously neither interested his subjects nor interesting to listen to. He manages to make the Idol tour sound like behind-the-scenes with Brian Williams or something. But it affords several choice moments, including one where Kristy Lee Cook and Brooke White sing Selena’s “Dreaming of You”, with David Archuleta joining in, albeit very briefly. (He’s trying to preserve his heterosexuality, don’t you know? The LDS Church is watching with hawk eyes and marking his every move.) Carly Smithson drives like a maniac, leaving me to wonder whether the little gray spot in the corner is not, in fact, a crumpled Michael Johns suffering in pain after having fallen off the golf cart. But the booming, monotonous voice assures us that life goes on.


[Photo courtesy of Samantha Ronson’s MySpace]

So it seems that Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson are doing a little tour of their own this summer. Just a day after rumors circulated about a possible breakup (so petty I will not rehash the details), it appears that Lindsay will be joining Samantha on a number of DJ gigs on the East Coast and beyond. A fine trade-off, seeing as Sam offered love and support practically every day Lindsay was on the Labor Pains set. Last night, the pair was in Boston, but Lindsay was nowhere to be found at The Estate.

Tonight, they/Sam appears at Shrine in Ledyard, Connecticut. Lindsay is, of course, hovering somewhere nearby.

Sipping on champagne and downing "buckets of green tea".

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

My mama told me to look away

Loads of videos and sleaze to share, but videos first.

The trailer for The Hills, season four is out now:
[Courtesy of MTV]

There are new boys in the mix, including Laguna Beach Casey Reinhardt’s older brother, Doug. The season doesn’t look very promising to me, other than Audrina Patridge finally getting her bitch on and Heidi Montag’s sister making a cameo or two.

As with Season 3 and 3/4s, I’m Team Whitney and Audrina here.

Another extremely random video – this time of an eleven-year-old Angelina Jolie humiliating herself at video karaoke with her pals:

[Courtesy of YouTube user “therealangelah”]

Horrifically embarrassing, and I don’t blush.

Also embarrassing, though in an entertaining way: the new photos of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens vacationing last week in the Turks and Caicos. At times it looks like ZEfron might actually give a damn about Vanessa.

At others, he lets her do her thing. And doesn’t seem to enjoy it very much.


[Photos courtesy of Zac-Pictures.com]

Consistency is good


[Photo courtesy of Jason Castro]

The American Idol Top Ten are making news faster than I can keep up. Yesterday, as expected, was Date Night with Jason Castro. He wore a boutonniere and everything:

[Courtesy of the always reliable Jason Castro]

... speaking of Jason Castro, he seems to have attempted to do a sexy dance of his own at a Meet and Greet recently. Michael Johns also debuted a new sexy dance. Mmm.

[Courtesy of MySpace user Remembering Amber]

We’ve all been waiting at the edge of our seats for Jason and David Archuleta to do a video blog together, especially after both Jason and David reportedly told fans – separately – that they were both up for it and wanted to. But DArchuleta, in his especially chatty blog entry yesterday, admitted he actually wasn’t too “fond” of it, but wanted to do them anyway because he feels “lame” just doing written blogs:

Hey all! We're here at the Indianapolis venue and I just finished signing stuff for everyone who's outside before the show. They were really laid back and organized so it was really nice to sign stuff for them and not hectic haha. Actually the last few cities we've gone to have been like that, so thanks guys for keeping things nice and smooth for us to get to everyone outside! Well at least before the show because I never get to everyone after the show, it's always CRAZY after the show haha. Anyway yesterday we had a big marquis/net jet meet and greet signing yesterday in Columbus Ohio. I've never signed so many pictures in my life haha. We all shortened our names to like 3 letters at certain points because they were just coming so fast. When we got to Indianapolis Brooke, Carly, Kristy, Jason and I had dinner. I got a salad which was really good haha. Then Carly, Kristy, Jason, Michael Johns, Chikezie, some other people from tour and I went to see The Dark Knight. So that Batman movie was pretty much AMAZING. I can't believe how good it was and so well done. It's a movie I would go see again, which is weird for me because I rarely see movies again, but that's one heck of a movie. I can't get over how good it was. Oh and there was a big thunderstorm too, so Kristy and Jason ran through the rain back while the rest of us went through the mall here that is like connected to the hotel. But it was a blast. So I'll try to get another video blog up sometime, but I'm not too fond of them since it took me forever to figure out how to do it last time haha. They also don't load up until like a day late so it's not really up to date when it comes out. But I still like doing them haha. Anyway I'll let you guys know what else is up again. Hasta luego.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Vanessa Hudgens' greatest role to date

A High School Musical fan posted caps from the High School Musical 3 trailer, and it is so full of win. I am obligated to share – even if it stretches this entry out till Tuesday.



Disney doesn’t pay the boys enough for this, I’m sure.


Future Trophy Wives of Bernalillo County (aka Future Childbearing Housewives of Zion)


Yearbook office, after school. Waiting for everyone to clear out so they can get hot and heavy. Not acting, not acting at all.


Vanessa Hudgens’ signature move.


More drama ensues between Gabriella and Troy. Gabriella questions Troy’s sexuality and whether she has it in her to continue bearding for him when they go away to college in liberal California. Hmm, well that’s debatable -- they voted Arnold Schwarzenegger into office.


Troy shows Gabriella a good time at Prom and she decides to pull one for the team. Again, not acting. See: recent Zanessa Turks & Caicos photos.


East High’s Class of 2008 decides that high school was the pinnacle of their lives and sticks around for one last hurrah before hitting the kegs to lament the beginning of The End. Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale hit the bottle particularly hard.


Obligatory rain scene.


Zac Efron teaches Vanessa the tango, and they dance their way to the top, where constellations, animated fireworks and sexually deprived Catholic Priests await them.



[Photos courtesy of Blog de la Tele and AshleyPictures.net]

Catching up with the American Idols

I'm watching the AT&T Blue Room live presentation of the Mile High Music Festival in Denver right now, which I meant to do yesterday afternoon for Jason Mraz but totally forgot. Wow, Colbie Caillat must be a disappointment for her fans: she has less stage presence than David Archuleta had while still on American Idol. Which was, as we all know, not much -- unless you count the potential of projectile vomit, which is always exciting. Her voice is seriously lacking live, which is something I realized very early on when I YouTubed her live performances last summer. Anyway, the point of this post was not to bash Colbie Caillat.

Both David Archuleta and Jason Castro made video blogs while in David's hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah.

This was DArchuleta's first video blog while on tour -- and it wasn't overproduced or directed like the last couple! It seems he "filmed" and uploaded the entire thing on his own, which is cute if you think of him as a twelve-year-old teddy bear:

[Courtesy of David Archuleta]

The content is pretty much boring as hale, but cute and interesting because it's David Archuleta. The highlight of the video is the pretty much the first 3 seconds before he realizes that it's recording.

Jason Castro, as usual, stood by his Tuesday Date Night promise:

[Courtesy of Jason Castro]

Carly Smithson joins him, which makes for a brighter, more chipper Jason. He's lookin' pretty good for someone who's been living out of a suitcase for the past 20 days. Apparently a lucky AI fan's sister just-so-happened to be dining in an Indian restaurant in Salt Lake City when Jason, Carly and Kristy Lee Cook were seated beside her. The wonderful guy leaned over and asked for recommendations, as he'd never had Indian food before. One thing led to another, and Carly got the woman and her sister passes to the next night's afterparty!

Semi-breaking news: Carly Smithson dislocated a hip during the American Idol tour finale song ("Don't Stop the Music", if you were wondering) and is on meds and hopefully won't be missing any shows, as previously rumored. Meds can be great -- so everyone who sees her say HAY and pray she gets you some passes to the afterparty or something. If you're interested.

Helicopter Mothers

FOXNews is reporting that parents (though they use “mothers” in the headline for maximum sensationalizing) are boycotting Miley Cyrus toys in light of her scandalous photos.

This Neil Sean writer writes: Angry parents at the Disney store in London told me that while the kids still want to buy the dolls and toys, the grown-ups are in fact banning them ... I met Miley on her visit to London and let me tell you, she is trouble and I mean trouble in the making. So grown up and so demanding ...

That’s about as substantiated as me saying that I went to a Jonas Brothers concert and approached some accompanying parents who were outraged at the falseness of the JoBros’ claim of chastity, but brought their children anyway because their children LOVE the JoBros. Oh, and that I passed Nick and Joe on the way out, and they were bitches because they didn’t stop to say hello and snap a photo. And let’s not even go there about Kevin ... he must be bitter because he doesn’t get as much attention from the girls.

BS. Who is this Neil Sean!? Why is he employed?

Though I probably wouldn’t condone Miley Cyrus if I were a parent. The difference is, I wouldn’t be in the shop buying them Hannah Montana toys, either.

The Los Angeles Times has a fascinating article on Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson’s relationship, and the media outing gay celebrities in general:

While many celebrities themselves have stopped hiding their same-sex relationships, the media have not until Lohan followed suit. Michael Musto, an openly gay columnist for the Village Voice, who himself has never engaged in that kind of self-censorship, has noticed a change. As Musto sees it, we've reached a moment in which the Lohan-Ronson pairing can simply be reported as a fact because people have, you know, eyes.

"Traditionally, the media has been as interested in closeting celebrities as the celebrities themselves have been," Musto said.


Oh, really? Perhaps The National Enquirer doesn’t count, because I’m pretty sure several celebrities or former child stars have been “forced” to come out before the tabloids did it.

If this is the case, what does make Lindsay’s case different? Is it that we, as consumers, are much more accepting of homosexual relationships than in the past? And we’re genuinely happy that Lilo finally seems to have calmed down a little? Or are we waiting on the edge of our seats for her to break up with Sam and “go back to men”? Or is it for the simple fact that we’ve been following her so very closely from her formative years and are just continuing to do so?

What I find particularly interesting is that the idea of our darling tabloid baby dating a woman is so polarizing – not in the sense that people either love it or hate it, but that people are so black-and-white about the matter. Most people seem to think, now, that she is a lesbian. Few others seem to think that she is “only” bi. Does it really matter? Or maybe what I mean is: does “it” need a label?

But perhaps that’s a question left for another time and day.

Turning back to the infuriating, New York’s Daily News with its sharp spies is reporting that at last Thursday’s Sephora Anniversary party in New York, Dina Lohan was present and hovering over her favorite cash cow. The paper writes: “Couple or not, Lindsay and Sam couldn’t have looked happier and Dina was all smiles, telling partygoers just how cute she thought the pair looked, making sure reporters were never out of earshot.”

Hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, right?

[Photo courtesy of Ramey Pix]

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Mini-rant of the week

I really have nothing of note to say today, but photos of Zac Efron and girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens have been cropping up all over the internet over the past few days ... including racy (for Disney stars) photos of Zanessa on the beach in the Turks and Caicos.

My "rant" is barely that. I just wanted to point out that the 19-year-olds of today look so much younger than 19-year-olds of yesteryear, when I was fourteen or fifteen. And I'm not sure it has anything to do with me being older. I guess the only real example I can dredge up is the celebrity of my affections when I was a teen, Backstreet Boy Nick Carter. When I was fourteen, he was nineteen and had an 18-year-old live-in girlfriend, Amanda Williford (later best known as pop "bad girl" Willa Ford). Mandy did look young for her age, looking back, but perhaps as a result of her taller stature, she was a much more convincing 18n-year-old than Vanessa Hudgens is a 19-year-old or Ashley Tisdale is a 23-year-old. With Vanessa eye for trendy clothing, she unfortunately looks like a kid dressing up.

To ZEfron's credit, he looks his age and does his part in making their relationship seem "adult", as ridiculous as it feels saying that. And as hard as it is for me to believe that Vanessa is much more than his beard.

Maybe the problem is that some of the most popular 22 and unders belong to Disney? Could that be it?

Or maybe the problem is further exacerbated by these 22 and unders' sometimes scandalous behavior, which reads more as a plead for attention and an impatience to grow up than a desire to keep up with what their peers are doing today.

Of course, I have no idea what 15-year-olds are like today. In fact, Miley Cyrus' antics seem less annoying to me than, say, Vanessa Hudgens' perhaps because I attribute her to my general age group and generation.

Truth be told, I think the cut-off for the "MySpace generation" may have fallen upon the kids a year or two younger than me; by the time Facebook made it to the mainstream, I'd moved on past any potential penchant for scandal. And if I had taken it upon myself to pursue scandal, I would've looked like a bonafide Hooters girl and not just a stupid teen. My "generation" was just never given the proper tools for self-bastardization on the web when we were still jailbait.

That would explain a general lack of non-professional scandalous photos (sex tapes aside) of The Hills girls, because you know they would've been dug up by now. Scandalous photos or no, there is tons of drama to be had even with the show currently off-air: it's being said that the guest house in which Audrina Patridge has been living in (Lauren Conrad and Lo Bosworth's leftovers, essentially) is an illegal residence. The City of Los Angeles' Department of Building and Safety is investigating, but rumor has it Daddy Conrad has stepped in to save the day and may have stirred up a bit of trouble with Daddy Patridge.

E! Online reports:
"We got a complaint that the garage was converted into a living quarters," City of L.A. Code Inspector Joe Paradiso told E! News Wednesday. "The owner’s father called and said he wants to get together and make an appointment to go look at the place together."
Papa Conrad told Paradiso, "That's the way we bought it," according to the inspector.
But if the city determines that Patridge has indeed fashioned a bachelorette pad out of a detached garage, it's either back to the main house or the next moving truck that rumbles up the street may not be coming to deliver furniture.
"They will have to convert it back to a garage," Paradiso said.


Bye, bye Audrina. Is that a spin-off we smell?

[Photo courtesy of Just Jared]

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Paws out for a catfight!

Lauren Conrad recently made a trip to New York City (always a joy to know that drama has been injected in the air I breathe) with a bunch of pals on what seemed like a weekend trip to the Hamptons. I was curious, upon seeing the paparazzi photos, as to why she had suddenly decided to up and leave Los Angeles for WASP-central. Apparently she was asked to close a "Paws for Style" charity fashion show in New York by the editor-in-chief of Animal Fair and the Humane Society, who covered her airfare.

Well turns out she didn't walk the fashion show at all and the show closed with Robert Verdi announcing to the crwowd: ""She's on The Hills ... And she's not coming out. You don't want to believe the shit that happens with these girls. Anyway, that was it! Thanks for your support!"

New York magazine claims to have tried to confront her as LC and her posse fled the scene, but she declined to comment: "She's got a bit of an attitude," one PR person working the event whispered to us.

A less-than-happy Wendy Diamond called LC out: "Her publicist didn't tell her it was a fashion show ... That's what she said. I just think it's really rude. [The Humane Society] spent probably $10,000 in bringing her here. If you're going to fly here first-class and get a suite at a hotel for you and your assistant, then that's what you deal with. There's no cats here, so we didn't need any catfights."

Well, Lauren shot back this afternoon on her MySpace (rather than a press statement?):
I would like to address some of the internet rumors regarding what happened at an event I attended in New York on Tuesday. I was invited by "Animal Fair Magazine" to attend a charity event, "Paws For Style" fashion show. I have always been a supporter of animal causes. I own 2 rescue animals and this sounded like a great event. I agreed to pose for the cover of the magazine, host the event, do press at the event and donate clothing, all of which I did. I was not aware of any other commitments. I was not paid to attend the event and my hotel room was donated to the charity. I also made a voluntary donation to the Humane Society for more then the cost of my airfare so there would be no expense to the charity. I have always been responsible and keep my word on all commitments. I am extremely hurt and disappointed that Wendy Diamond would go to the press and attack me with untrue statements. Anyone who knows me, knows this is not the kind of person I am or who my parent's raised me to be. It's just embarrassing that people are saying these things about me. I was trying to do a good thing and help out a charity by doing everything I agreed to do. I continue to support the Humane Society, as it is a wonderful organization.

Mmm ... I'm gonna go with Wendy Diamond and her chichi friends here, though there could've been a misunderstanding. Still, the "Paws for Style" fashion show is an annual event which I'm more than positive Lauren has heard of and knew about. You know, seeing as she's in the fashion industry and all.

[Photo courtesy of Wire Image]

Richard Chai for Target

I’m afraid I’m a little late with this one – I’ve been checking dutifully every couple of days but didn’t notice it until today ... but Target has finally put up images of the Richard Chai collection for Go International, to debut on August 3rd.

I was excited about the collection and didn’t see what the fuss was about the repetitiveness of all the Go International collections, but now I am officially disappointed. Typically, I get really revved up about five to six pieces of each collection and then have my pick (one to two) after having touched and seen them in-store. The quality or cut is often very different from what it appears in the first look book. Well this time around, I am excited about one piece – the bright blue twill blazer, and even that is questionable, since the white denim counterpart is too utilitarian-looking for my taste.

I had my heart set on purchasing one or both of the grandpa cardigans, but at $40 a pop, I think I’ll just head to H&M or American Apparel for these basics.

All of the dresses are flat-out dull, especially the black ones. Nothing that hasn’t been done before by previous Go International designers. There are only so many black dresses we can fit or use in a lifetime.

The zip-skirts are unflattering, even on the pin-thin models, and if we don’t already own skinny pants in white and gray, I don’t think we’re ever going to jump on that bandwagon.


[Photos courtesy of Target]

Fancy satiny-cowl neck draping and hem and decidedly unfancy purple plaid potato sack with pouches to store pebbles in? Horrible.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Uncovering Gems

Someone on ONTD posted this little gem, which I think is one of the best things I’ve seen in quite a long time:


[Courtesy of YouTube user “usnavi”]

It’s a parody/commercial Lin-Manuel Miranda (of Broadway musical “In The Heights” fame) did of Zac Efron and High School Musical 2’s greatest scene: “BET ON IT”!

As a side note, I went to high school with Lin-Manuel. He's now dating the older sister of a guy I had a crush on when I was thirteen. I will probably regret having said that, since she only has one brother. Anyway, Lin-Manuel was a senior and I was a seventh grader. I’m not even sure how I knew of him when I was twelve, but I did. It was a small school and I have warm memories of him, though I can’t pinpoint any thing. Incidentally, he returned my senior year of high school to teach English. Guess that didn’t work out for him.

But anyway, the lyrics (and dancing) are pure brilliance.

This is the next best thing (after Lin-Manuel’s video): a Hollywood incest matrix or something. It’s interactive. If you click on names, new connections will be revealed.

Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson are one step closer to outing themselves: the paps caught (or documented) Lindsay affectionately grabbing Sam and giving her a peck on the neck. You can view the entire narrative through photos here if the tight embrace doesn’t do it for you.

I mean, it’s daylight – certainly she can’t be inebriated. Otherwise, I can’t think of a good reason for Lindsay Lohan to grab onto someone like that.

[Photo courtesy of JFX Online]

Monday, July 14, 2008

Live-Blogging My FOX Utah


[Photo courtesy of MyFOXUtah]

... because it's fun, and I'm up. David Archuleta's local FOX affiliate, FOX 13, is having their hometown "hero" live in studio today, and crazy people (like me) the world over have woken up at (or stayed up till) ungodly hours to catch the teen phenom on the live stream of the show.


10:49am ET: I am mad. It seemed they were being extremely repetitive with the stomach-signing joke until Kerri Cronk said "The time now is 8:36." It is, in fact, 8:49 in Utah. And now my stream (and everyone else's) has gone blank. WTF? They need a better production team there, even if only for the sake of David Archuleta. I'm done here. The day is heating up here in NYC.

10:42am ET: Still no mention of David, with 18 minutes and a break left in the show. Perhaps he was just saying goodbye to the anchors earlier, though the hand-waving was not of that nature.

10:41am ET: Big Buddha looks beat. Good. We want more David.

10:40am ET: Oh geez, it looks like another weather report is just around the corner. They should let David do it again, properly? this time. Although properly wouldn't be funny.

10:38am ET: Ne'rmind. He is still very much in the studio, waving his hands around explaining something to the news anchors. Lots and lots of hand waving.

10:36am ET: Apparently DArchuleta flubbed a lyric in "Waiting on the World to Change", stopped and said "Sorry." I think he's gone; they're talking about him in the past tense.

10:34am ET: No mention of any more DArchuleta. If he's gone, that was kind of anticlimactic, though completely my fault.

10:25am ET: David is looking confused in studio, holding a bottle of Aquafina. Product placement! Maybe it was Dasani. That would be less sacrilegious and make more sense.

10:23am ET: Is he leaving the studio now? I missed the lead-up to the performance. The guitar is packed and the news anchors were standing up, looking anxious. And we're back to not paying attention to David. They're standing up again, or just looking extra-pert in their seats.


10:19am ET: My stream was wacky and when I finally realized that they weren't on some sort of permanent break, I found David in the middle of "Waiting on the World to Change" by John Mayer. He definitely changed the song up quite a bit. It's a lot more melodic than John Mayer's version. Apparently the Archuletas are still quite friendly with Dean Kaelin, as he is playing the guitar (and backup singer) to David.

9:57am ET: They said earlier that David would back later. I'm assuming this means in the last half-hour of the show, since that's what Today does. I'm taking a quick break.

9:56am ET: Oh gawd. I avoid the Food Network during certain hours and avoid The Early Show or the Today Show (I can't remember which one it is) for this precise reason: to avoid Emeril Lagasse. And now he has found his way back into my line of vision, on My FOX Utah, of all places. Go away.


[Photo courtesy of My FOX Utah]

9:53am ET: Break. They've taken the keyboard away, but not the mike. He's remaining seated. Okay, I take that back -- he just got up and is wandering a little aimlessly around while they take apart the seat-and-microphone setup. His father is chatting with the news anchors, and now David has disappeared out of the camera's sight. He's back, standing out of everyone's way. Wandering back to the chair. No one is paying any attention to him, not even the PAs/crew. He just waved for his father to get out of the news desk, and Jeff flew by in front of the camera seconds after the show returned.

9:52am ET: That was nothing short of amazing, especially when he hit the falsetto notes. He looked immensely relieved when he finished, having prefaced his performance with "I haven't practiced this in a while."

9:48am ET: They're building "Crazy" up without naming it. Big fans would know.

9:47am ET: Who's he become closest to on the tour. He's being diplomatic. Jason Castro and Kristy Lee Cook, he says. Carly Smithson. All of them.

9:46am ET: I am so not paying attention to David. This is bad. They're staying put in Utah -- they won't need to move to Los Angeles to record his album, apparently.

9:45am ET: For some reason or another, I definitely don't get a dad-and-son vibe from these two. I get more of a father vibe from Jeff towards David, but David never seems to act like Jeff's his dad. Maybe I'm crazy, or maybe I don't really know all that much about father-and-son relationships, since I'm an only child and not a guy.

9:44am ET: Someone thought DArchuleta was "uppity"? Are you KIDDING me? I never got wind of that, but I would've dismissed that, of course.

9:43am ET: I don't think I've ever said this on the blog, but I've said it probably a million and two times in real life: are we sure David is Jeff's child? And Lupe's, for that matter? He looks nothing like either of 'em! Or his siblings, for that matter.

9:42am ET: Oh my. What a surprise. Jeff Archuleta is sitting beside him. He is quite a sight for 9:43am in the morning.

9:41am ET: Poor Studio 5 KSL. They thought they'd be the first to unravel the mystery. And David didn't even know he was doing "Crazy" when a fan asked about it two days ago. He's sitting at the anchors desk again, swinging a leg.

9:40am ET: Okay, I was too preoccupied with blogging about that to actually realize the immensity of that statement. WE'RE FINALLY GOING TO GET TO HEAR HIM PERFORM THE BURIED AUDITION SONG!!!!

9:39am ET: Yep, he's sitting with a keyboard. He's so doing "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. I hope he got to brush up on it after he got home yesterday ...

9:37am ET: It's not right that they put Big Buddha in these situations. You know they're all laughing at him. More sound effects. This is really uncomfortable; he looks like he's about to give birth, not "stir pots of jelly" (WTF at the metaphor?!).

9:35am ET: More joking about asking David to sign their stomachs. They think they can get the "blonde bombshell" (Kerri Cronk) to convince David to do it. I'm going to the bathroom since I know they're not going to show David for a little while longer.

9:34am ET: I'm really curious about what song David's gonna sing. I have a feeling My FOX Utah is milking this for all it's worth and won't show the singing until much later in the show. They still have an hour and 25 minutes to go.

9:33am ET: More wacky sound effects with the weather guy. What the heck? He made a joke about asking David to sign his stomach.

9:32am ET: Holy moly, the missionary in the white-and-pink "towel" is smokin' hot.

9:31am ET: Actually, that's not that surprising. I think many of the roads immediately surrounding Mormon temples reflect their proximity. And there are plenty of Church Streets in rural Massachusetts. I can vouch for that.

9:30am ET: Parrish Lane, really!?

9:30am ET: Although I shouldn't be complaining, because that's usually the only reason I tune into local news in the morning.

9:28am ET: I think they're going to be doing the weather again after the break. The folks in the Shoutbox were right on the money -- why DOES this station do so very many weather reports? I think I've seen four since I started watching forty minutes ago.

9:27am ET: OH the dude was a RETURNED missionary. Oh, then who cares? He's not really besmirching the mission of the mission, heh. He had his Church membership taken away.

9:27am ET: Big Buddha looks so small from this angle. I can't believe I know this guy's name. I should just go all the way and move to Utah.

9:24am ET: Hahahaha he is so awkward. I wish I had caught that on camera. Or made a screen cap. Is that a keyboard they have in the corner? He looked like he was trying to tug it into the main studio. The news anchors are not paying any attention to him. He looks like a production assistant in the corner. Ah, little David.

9:22am ET: He's going to be singing some songs he did during the auditions!? OMG does that mean we're going to get a taste of "Crazy" before tomorrow's show??? The live webcam they have in studio is showing him awkwardly not knowing where he's supposed to go during the break. It looks like he's about to apply some Chapstick, but I can't be sure. He just sat back down and is playing with ... his Chapstick! Love it.

9:21am ET: Someone asked him to sign their stomach and he said he didn't do it. That's NOTHING David, you just wait. I read yesterday that some girl asked if he wanted her to be his first kiss, if she could have his Chapstick, and if she could have a piece of his hair. He declined politely, of course.

9:20am ET: A question from Amy in California comes up as Katy or someone in Logan, Utah. Fantastic crew they've got there.

9:19am ET: There you go. He just said "giss". And again. He talks so much with his hands. He's not as chirpy as he was last time he was on this show -- the price of fame?

9:18am ET: They all had to ride the girls' bus once!? It was full of candles, apparently. He hasn't driven his new Ford car yet. I wonder if the rumors are true about the green car still being in some garage in LA.

9:17am ET: He says certain words strangely. "Jeedged" for "judged" and "giss" for "guess". This is something I noticed a while back.

9:16am ET: The garbage truck HAD to come by window just now, when David finally sat down to talk. DArchuleta's not sure how many songs he's recorded yet.


9:13am ET: They asked David to do the weather, and it was great. He is a natural. "The rest of the place looks pretty good except over here ... Rain is a good thing, I guess." With plenty of crazy bouncy sound effects. Yeah, the weather guy got him out of there as soon as he could.

9:05am ET: He was wearing a bright white t-shirt with what appeared to be black-and-white graphics or images screen-printed on the front. He looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for 7am.

Those Mormon missionaries-cum-calendar boys ... interesting. I'm not sure how they were even contacted if missionaries can only call home twice a year?! I loved the guy they interviewed on the subject, who was sitting in the grass, obviously picnicking alone, who said the missionaries looked like they belonged in Las Vegas. I'm sure I'm not the only one who would say so (especially if you are reading this), but Mormon boys are hot. Not to imply that I think DArchuleta is hot.

9:03am ET: There he is. "The Real Deal." He just got back up from the anchors' desk, quite awkwardly, but in a typically teenaged-boy way.

8:59am ET: Some back story on DArchuleta's vocal coach Dean Kaelin: his intentions are unclear. He was (and is?) part of the somewhat infamous "Team Archuleta" who not only tried to combat the Dadchuleta rumors, but tried to banish all bad things being said about David. That's fine, but after the show wrapped up, Mr. Kaelin began to sell a 60-paged "behind-the-scenes" book of DArchuleta's time on American Idol -- for a small fee of $5. Or was it $7? And this is for an e-book, so none of that "oh, that barely covers shipping and handling" stuff. Shady?

8:56am ET: International fans are getting yelled at for writing in Korean and Chinese characters. Share the love, people. We know that they know that we know they're not being understood, but love (and music) is universal, my dears.

8:51am ET: It's 6:51am in Salt Lake City right now. 5:51am on the West Coast, where some of the eager beavers in the MyFoxUtah "Shoutbox" are from. There are also some really crazy fans from places like Korea, Denmark and Malaysia. Dean Kaelin, DArchuleta's vocal coach, just came on to give tips on how to stand out at an American Idol audition, since the AI auditions are going to Salt Lake City and Utah for the first time ever. Most interesting news of the morning: it's only 47* in Logan, UT. While it's like 80 or 90*+ in Southern Utah.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

All About Archuleta

Our little cute one, David Archuleta, was on vocal rest leading up to the show in Seattle last night, but thanks to his varied and crazy fans everywhere, we had plenty of video to hold us over (until Monday, when he appears again on My Fox Utah!). I was particularly creeped out by a video where he was apparently asked about his favorite Bible verse ... not because it’s necessarily a strange question to ask, but more so because he (and the other Idols) were asked to sign The Holy Bible. Doesn’t the Bible advise not to idolize humans? And I’m not particularly religious, but doesn’t have an idol (or Idol, even) sign a copy of The Bible seem particularly sacrilegious? If this doesn’t make you cringe, you can watch David browse the fan’s Precious Moments copy for his favorite verse:

[Courtesy of “jgcrz”]

Well, for the record, DArchuleta’s favorite verse is Psalms 101 because “it’s about singing”, but he thinks all of The Psalms is great. I never mix religion with politics, pop culture, or alcohol. Unless, of course, we’re talking about Mitt Romney.

An interview with San Diego Union Tribune was posted in two parts on YouTube earlier this weekend. The most interesting part of the interview was his response to being harassed by “older women”:
I guess it’s kinda weird because I am seventeen and I don’t think they do that to other seventeen-year-olds, but I don’t think it happens too many times. It happens like once every blue moon, really. It’s not like they do it too often.

He let out a manly chuckle/”Oh my gosh” when told that he was spotted in a TV Guide list of cutest kids and “all the other kids were, like, babies and stuff”: That’s weird. I don’t know why ... I mean, I don’t know kids younger than me people wouldn’t treat like ... I guess I don’t seem like a teenager.

Though it was obvious that he’d written it well in advance, his newest blog post did not go up until today. He feels “lame” for “only blogging by typing”, but he’s been having tech issues. Here’s a tip, Archuleta: team up with your new bff Jason Castro and become Miley and Mandy, v3! That would keep me sufficiently amused for a while, even if both of you are relatively laid back. DArchuleta also filled us in on what he and Castro did on their day off: “Jason and I just wandered around downtown haha. We went to the mall, the farmer's market, that huge Powell's bookstore, and took the streetcars to 23rd street to eat. Portland's a great city, and it's been nice weather too haha.” Ah, so young. So girly haha.

The presales of his yet unfinished (nevertheless unnamed) album hit an all-time high of #4 on Amazon.com over the weekend, and settled at #5 earlier today. He was shocked to hear this when a fan relayed the information, “Nuh UH!”

Uh HUH! Believe it, little guy. You’re higher on Granny’s shopping list than a new hip.

The Real World

I feel like I should acknowledge the Celebrity World outside of the American Idol and Rondsay bubble. Don't blink, because it's going to be quick:

Angelina Jolie finally birthed her twins. I don't know why everyone was at the edge of their seats; we all knew she was going to sell her baby photos for a gazillion dollars so the world can continue to worship her because she is not only beautiful, with an equally beautiful man, bisexual, but kind-hearted. Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline. Not as bad as it could've been. I realize that's the second time I've said that in the last two baby-births. Three? I guess after Apple, Moses and Shannyn Sossamon's Audio Science Clayton, it'd take a lot to hit the bottom of the barrel, in my book.

Miley Cyrus. Miley, Miley, Destiny Hope. Never a day goes by without some scandalous photos of her leaking on the internet. She must be paying someone to do this. And providing a steady stream of them to this someone, because seriously ... where are these photos all coming from? Poor Nick Jonas' arrogant-yet-virginal reputation is on the line.

Emily Blunt and long-time boyfriend/fiance Michael Buble have split. Emily celebrated (or drowned in) her newfound freedom in London last night with The Devil Wears Prada co-star Anne Hathaway, a somewhat newly-single woman herself.

And the best for last: the High School Musical 3 trailer.

[Courtesy of YouTube user "HSM3Channel"]

I hate to admit it, but I'm really looking forward to that new ABC reality show, High School Musical: Get in the Picture, which premieres next Sunday.

[Photo courtesy of DigitalGangster.com]

Castro, the non-militant one

Another American Idol update, since, like so many fortunate (unfortunate?) people out there, I have become virtually useless since I first set my ears on David Archuleta. I started out this post as a general American Idol post, but there is too much new “news” on both Jason Castro and DArchuleta to keep it to one post. I will focus here on Jason.

Last night, in Rickey.org’s chatroom and live cellcast of the American Idol tour in Seattle, Washington, Jason Castro’s mother, Betsy Castro was broadcast for all to hear. I missed the first part of the interview, but Betsy revealed how she first met Jason’s father: she was visiting her motherland of Colombia one summer when she met the guy, oh-so-cute in a band (of course!). She was twelve, but he thought she was sixteen. She returned each summer (a pilgrimage of sorts, not entirely for this local rockstar, per se) until she moved back to Colombia (for him, this time) at the age of 17. Betsy admitted that that was when Mr. Castro finally acknowledged her as his girlfriend. They married when she was 19 and he was 23.

Great story, and explains a lot.


[Courtesy of YouTube user “lovempls”]

Since I last spoke of Jason, he has indeed kept to his promise and showed up to Date Night with his fans:

[Courtesy of Jason Castro]

It seems Jason and DArchuleta have gotten a bit closer in the past weeks. They spent their day off in Portland together, “wandering” around the city together. In one video, DArchuleta even tugged on one of Jason’s dreads to get his attention. Cute.

Film: Remember the Daze


While I’m on a roll of personal anecdotes, let’s go with this one: I finally watched Remember the Daze (also known as The Beautiful Ordinary) yesterday. It boasts a mostly all-(B)star cast, with one of its lesser characters played by the now most famous Leighton Meester.

The straight-to-DVD film is about the last day of high school, 1999, in a sleepy town in Anywheresville, USA (portrayed quietly by Dawson’s Creek ... or Wilmington, North Carolina). It follows a spider web of mostly rising seniors over the course of twenty-four hours and unravels, slowly, the complicated simplicities of being seventeen. There’s the overrun character of Julia (somehow named “Lucy” on IMDB), played Amber Heard, who is your every-blonde. She could be Blake Lively in The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants or, um, Amber Heard in Hidden Palms: carefree, careless, overtly sexual, and mostly devoid of personality. There’s the goofy group of African-American guys and their wangsta friend ... admittedly a little out-of-place in the world of popular Californian blondes like Julia (and decidedly not Anywheresville, USA), the underage promiscuous girls, the overachievers, the crazy annoying cheerleader, the emo rock banders, the quiet Asian freak (at least he’s artsy this time around) ... a lot of high school stereotypes wrapped up in one stoner house block party.

But somehow, it isn’t saccharine – it’s kind of just all-out ridiculous. (You can thank Marnette Patterson’s overacted Stacey, the insecure, whiny and high-strung cheerleader.) But believable. Perhaps it is the nostalgic and yearningly cool soundtrack (Sublime, Meredith Brooks, Feeder). Most well-played were the closeted lesbian bff-couple played by Melonie Diaz and Lyndsy Fonseca. Melonie is always on-point in her roles, but Lyndsy was surprisingly refreshing as the jealous girlfriend. Brie Larson, too, in the small role of Julia’s completely irreverent but simplistic younger sister, Angie, is surprising and entertaining.

As the “beginning of the end” draws to an end, the film picks up pace and neatly ties together the haphazard web of transparent emotions in both an aesthetically pleasing and age-appropriate way. It is almost as if the 2007 film had been captured by a production team with the aesthetic vision of a dewey-eyed college freshman and not by someone who has presumably been out of college for an eternity of three years. The resulting message is clear, but not simple; sweet, but not nostalgic.

Two-and-a-half stars (of four)
Remember the Daze (official DVD title)
2007
Jess Manafort
First Look International

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Food: Georgia Diner

So I finally got to try out the much-lauded Georgia Diner in Queens, New York today. I thought, and still do think, that Georgia managed its accolades because Queens is seriously lacking in dinerage. My brunch date was my father, as usual, and typically one of us will order a savoury and the other a sweet to test the waters. However he immediately decided he wanted pancakes and I had to have something sweet, so we ended up with a Pancake Deluxe order and a Challah Bread French Toast.

The French toast was fine – a little above average, but definitely nothing to write home (or blog) about. The pancakes, in my opinion, were little more than atrocious, but a step or two above disgusting. I think they had too much egg in the batter, resulting in a fairly dense, completely inconsistent and even salty pancake. I wouldn’t write Georgia Diner off completely, though: even with its atrocious pancakes and average French toast, it didn’t come close to some of the nearly inedible diner foods I’ve experienced in the plains of Queens. The atmosphere was kid-friendly and oftentimes the din rose to a fighting battle to be heard (and I was sitting windowside!). The coffee was fantastic in comparison to IHOP’s and the service was pretty excellent. The best part: Target is three stone’s throws away.

Two-and-a-half stars (of four)
Georgia Diner
86-55 Queens Boulevard
Elmhurst, NY 11373
Good to know: It’s open 24 hours and apparently their cocktails are a hit.

[Photo courtesy of the Queens Tribune]

Friday, July 11, 2008

We're never gonna survive unless we're a little crazy

It’s been a crazy week and I have been lacking or just slacking with updates. Not much has changed ... the media is still poring over every minor move of Samantha Ronson and Lindsay Lohan. Everyone in the world pointed out that Gawker caught wind of Rondsay’s relationship over a year ago and everyone who missed it is an idiot. David Archuleta is still being his cute, humble self. La di da, la di da.


[Photo courtesy of X17online.com]

In greater detail: SamRo makes Lindsay smile like I’ve never seen her smile. And I think I’ve seen just about the entire rainbow of Lindsay’s smiles, as I’ve been following her since the early, early days when she lived on Long Island and was rude to my friend at the local town fair.

Now for a DArchuleta update, and there is tons of “news”: his first single, supposedly named “Crush” will hit radios on August 11th, with his debut album rumored to drop on Election Day (November 4, 2008). That is all very far off, so in the meantime, he will at long last be revealing his “incredible” take on Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” on a local Utah show on Tuesday, July 15th when the American Idol tour hits his home state.

Lindsay Lohan’s third album is said to release in November of this year as well.

Everyone has probably been holding their breath for High School Musical 3 spoilers. Well, the Disney Channel debuted “Now or Never” from the upcoming big screen feature tonight, and here it is:

[Courtesy of YouTube user “helisonsm”]


And quirky story of the day: another Jesus sighting in someone’s food. Some residents of Salt Lake City claim to be able to see Jesus in this spumoni ice cream. I kid you not.

[Photo courtesy of MyFoxUtah]

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Is it Tuesday yet?


[Jason Castro, a man of his word (apparently), in his robe, courtesy of Jason Castro. The last video blog we have of him, June 24th]

American Idol tour update – it’s been one week for the top ten, and it seems the Idols are getting to know one another better. According to Michael Johns, Jason Castro likes walking around the guys’ tour bus in his underwear. And David Archuleta admits that he is even cuter and more adorable than we already thought he was: “I sleep-talk ... and sleep-sing.” Seriously, if someone could make a DArchuleta doll that could giggle, say “gosh!”, sing and be random, millions would buy it.

The Las Vegas Sun posted an audio file of an interview they did with DArchuleta recently (I’m pretty sure there are versions with the other Idols, but since this is still the David Archuleta Show, I didn’t bother seeking them out, nevertheless transcribing them). He comes across in this interview as extremely realistic about who he is and what he is capable of, which is refreshing, if not a bit unexpected for someone who is meant to be the next American teen heartthrob:

“I didn’t expect [the audience] to be as supportive as they were going to be because I’d heard that the past tours weren’t doing too well so I thought the audience was just going to sit back and let them enjoy ...”

“It’s a lot of fun to see the support that people are willing to come out and see you perform and ... it’s neat because sometimes you feel like ‘Oh,’ you feel like it’s the end of the road for you or something for the support, but it’s still there. It’s neat.”

“Talking to people, you know, that’s a challenge I have. You know, everyone here doesn’t have as big of an issue as I do. But it’s good to work on it, you know, and learn how to do it better. It’s good practice, that’s for sure. But, you know, it’s all your own experience. It’s a matter of going through it and that’s how you learn. Learn through living through it.”

On his week off after the finale:
“I went to Lake Powell with a bunch of my friends. They went for their senior trip but they let me go because it was kind of like I was leaving too, I guess. It was really nice. I didn’t go outside on the water or anything, but I stayed inside and relaxed.”

On the probing about his father ... yes, David Archuleta, too, gets annoyed!:
“I think people have realized ... I think a lot of it had to do with just the show and they needed some dramatic thing, I guess. It was kind of annoying that, it’s like, they didn’t have anything so they had to find another way that they couldn’t disprove just by watching me, I guess. It was really annoying ... I think it was more just trying to find something negative to focus on. Because now that it’s over, people have stopped. And I think that’s really interesting ... It bugged the whole family. I mean, it’s just was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what’s the big deal!?’ I don’t think it mattered as much before, just because there were other parents there. When they got voted off, their kids weren’t there anymore ... it brought more attention to my dad, I guess, and him just being a parent. I don’t know, it’s just weird how that all worked out. I didn’t even realize what was going on until ... I didn’t hear any of it until so ... there was a point where every single interview I did, they were more interested in that than anything else I was doing, even in the competition. It’s like, that’s not even a part of my life. It’s so annoying because it’s not -- like I have to talk about this nonexistent thing in interviews. It was really getting on my nerves, it’s like, ‘Okay that’s the least of my worries right now.’”

On his tour songs and his tactful decision to keep “Imagine” out of it:
“They wanted me to do certain songs that they thought people would want to hear. Some songs I just didn’t want to sing just because I didn’t want to lose the moment that they had on the show. I just wanted to keep that there with some of the songs. There are songs from the show, and there’s one that I didn’t do on the show. It’s fun. So it’s like, there’s songs that they did want me to do. And there’s a song I wanted to do to balance it, because I wanted to do a more emotional song, so there’s that.”

On singing “message songs”:
“Yeah, that’s what I wanted to do, really. I think ... I guess, I don’t know. They always did want, I don’t know, I guess it kind of bugged them. It was kind of funny when Simon did get annoyed by it, and he saw that ... then I sang the Chris Brown song afterwards, he was like, ‘Oh well, that didn’t fit you.’ It’s like, ‘Well, you’re the one complaining last song that ...’”

“You know, even if I’d like to do the radio stuff, I don’t, I guess it just doesn’t really suit me too much, so that’s what’s hard to do. Especially here in the U.S. ‘cuz it’s either you’re a really artisty kind of person or you’re a really radio kind of person. So it’s a matter of finding a combination of that. And I think as I get older, I’ll be able to have more flexibility. But right now, I guess I don’t mind doing the radio stuff because that’s the music I grew up around listening to, so that’s the stuff I listen to.”

On being in Sin City, he’s so funny:
“I spent time with my dad’s aunt who lives here, and just ate, you know. Didn’t do too much. Just kind of laid back. We ate at the Paris Hotel. It was pretty good.”

Any chance Date Night is back on with Jason? It’s Tuesday ...

Monday, July 07, 2008

A couple that eatsshopssleeps together stays together

Much has happened since I last checked in ... Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban finally welcomed daughter Sunday Rose Kidman-Urban into the family early this morning. I have to say that’s not as bad a name as it could’ve been. Sunday is kind of cute. Kind of. And if Rose is always to be tacked on, even better. If it were me, I would’ve gone with Dusty Rose.

Megan Fox just made the best career and life decision she could’ve ever made, short of deflating her collagen-injected lips: she dumped fiancé Brian Austin Green’s ass! Finally! She’s only twenty-two, and there are many, many hotter fish in the sea she can catch with her rising fame.

I think Jude Law is going through some sort of mid-life crisis. Not that cheating on Sienna Miller with his nanny wasn’t an indication, but things have gotten ... weird. He is rumored to be seeing high fashion model Lily Cole. They were photographed at a Radiohead concert – then Lily was seen sneaking out of his flat in the afternoon, after Jude had left for a flight to Los Angeles.


Last, but certainly not least, Rondsay. The media have been having a field day with all the speculation surrounding the radio interview Lindsay Lohan did with Ryan Seacrest last week. Mmmm ... I don’t necessarily think that was her outing her relationship with Samantha Ronson because Lindsay has a taste for playing along with rumors about herself. But it’s so apparent that they are together, just from the fact that Lindsay smiles in paparazzi photos now.

[Photo courtesy of LimeLight]

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Pretty in Pink

To everyone’s surprise, Lindsay Lohan had a relatively low-key prom-themed twenty-second birthday last night at Teddy’s, where there were no drugs and no booze to be had. Just cupcakes, a lot of pink, and Samantha Ronson.

I don’t think I’ve seen Lindsay look so happy since she was promoting The Parent Trap. Good for her!

Lindsay even took the time to call into Ryan Seacrest’s radio show earlier today to talk about her hopes and wishes for her twenty-second year: “I just wanna live a happy, healthy year and continue on the path that I’ve been on ... And um, you know, be with the person that I care about and my family ... I think that’s it.”

Mother Dina Lohan and little sister Ali joined in on the festivities and probably brought the camera along to milk the event for all it was worth. Nevertheless, I hope Lindsay gets everything she wished for this year.

Happy Fourth of July to all!

[Photo courtesy of Faded Youth]

A Shot at Fame

What is Ryan Adams trying to pull? Apparently he released a statement confirming his split from Mandy Moore!? He said, quite cheekily, that “Unfortunately I am allergic to paparazzi” but added that “Mandy is one of those genuinely sweet angelic people you wish to meet your whole life. I am grateful for our friendship and how it allowed us both to grow and learn more.”

If Mandy Moore has any sense left in her, their “friendship” should be no longer after this statement ...

Ashley Kaufmann’s mother is up to no good – MSNBC is reporting that Michael Lohan’s possible daughter has approached several studios about recording an album and a source said that “Ashley has more talent than Lindsay or Ali ... Ashley’s singing ability just proves that the family talent comes from Michael, not Dina Lohan.” I wouldn’t doubt that she has more talent than the other two, but this is not the way to go about it! Oy, they’re probably from Long Island.

I haven’t really been keeping up with her antics, but it seems Tila Tequila has really fossilized herself as a joke. Not only did the girl she choose refuse the key on the season finale of A Shot at Love 2 (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for standing up to her Kristy!), leaving Tila stunned, but immediately following the episode, Tila proceeded to post a blog and bulletin (later removed) on her MySpace about how fake Kristy is and to apologize for “such a disappointing season” ... which, of course, makes way for A Shot at Love 3! Will MTV be stupid enough to renew this show?

[Photo courtesy of OK! Magazine]

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

LL's birthday wish: Dad Michael to drop off the face of the earth

Didn’t think it was going to happen, but now that Barack Obama’s got the Democratic nomination ... he’s gone and spoken (or written) against the ban on gay marriage in California! This is one teeny step, but it’s still one step closer to equality for all.


[Photo courtesy of Flawed Hollywood]

Amy Winehouse continues to be a looney: she escaped from her house, jumped into an innocent passing convertible and proceeded to ride for twenty minutes through London in it before hopping out of the car and into a pub. Her father came to reclaim her shortly afterwards. I hope the girls who were driving the convertible got some juicy stuff out of it! What an icebreaker ...

Rumor has it that OK! magazine is actually paying for Michael Lohan’s DNA test. TMZ reports that Michael shared some secrets about what sort of financial ruins Ashley Kaufmann’s mother might be in, but I didn’t bother trying to figure out what they were. Michael Lohan is not to be trusted.

I didn’t write about it yesterday because it sounded like useless fodder to me, but apparently Star magazine has a larger circle of influence than I’d initially imagined. According to Star’s unnamed source, Samantha Ronson and Lindsay Lohan are “playing house and loving every minute of it ... Lindsay and Sam play certain roles. Sam is the boss, the husband. Lindsay is the passive one, the wife.” That sounds ridiculously ignorant, but this is probably a friend of Lindsay’s, so I’m not surprised.

He or she continues: “... they have great morning sex” and Lindsay “wakes up hapy every day.” That would actually explain a lot about Lindsay’s behavior over the past couple of months.

So would these photos. SamRo continues to maintain calm and do normal-people things even those she was practically born into royalty. There’s nothing like seeing the woman who’s sleeping with Lindsay Lohan sneakily setting her Red Bull can on the edge of a planter.

Well, except for seeing Ryan Gosling trying to amuse himself after setting himself on the edge of a planter.

[Photo courtesy of RyanGoslingOnline.com]

Happy 22nd and 23rd Birthdays to Lindsay Lohan and Ashley Tisdale. Disney bitches are getting OLD!