Living, on a whim

I must be going crazy

2011-01-05T23:32:00.022-05:00

Because now Harry Styles' older sister Gemma is beginning to look similar to Justin Bieber's ex-girlfriend Caitlin Beadles to me. Even though they really don't look much alike at all. And both are only really famous-by-association, so is this entire discussion null and void?

L: Caitlin Beadles, R: Gemma Styles

[Photos: a non-legitimate-looking Caitlin Beadles blog and Gemma Styles' Twitter account. Very official, I know]

I think the two girls have really different looks, actually. Gemma has a more classic look to her, while Caitlin is just more American looking. Obviously.

And since we're doing side-by-side shots of "look-a-likes", I might as well back up my previous claim by posting some pics of The X Factor contestant (and member of boy band One Direction) Harry Styles (little brother to Gemma Styles, above) and Adam Brody (from The O.C., lest we have already forgotten who he is in the 4 years since The O.C. has gone off the air).

L: Harry Styles, R: Adam Brody

[Photos: Gemma Styles' Twitter and TeamSugar.com]

L: Adam Brody, R: Harry Styles

[Photos: JustJared.com and CoolSpotters.com]

Mmm. I hadn't forgotten who Adam Brody is, but I'd forgotten how good looking he is. If Harry Styles looks like Adam Brody when he hits 22, I'd consider him blessed. Not that he isn't already, in his own way. They really don't look much alike either, but they do have the same general look.

I don't hate it.

Here especially, Harry Styles (L) and Gemma Styles (R) look like the respective people mentioned.

[Photo: many Harry Styles fan Tumblrs]

Stay tuned for more celeb gossip to come! Maxine is back.

Breaking my silence

2010-12-27T13:31:00.005-05:00

Just to say:

Am I the only one in the world who thinks Harry Styles and Adam Brody have major similarities? But mainly their smiles?

Or am I crazy?

Could it be?

2009-07-02T19:00:00.004-04:00

Noooo, not JStroup too! She's my favorite broadcast television brunette. But not enough that I watch 90210.

Anyway, is it just me or does something about her look totally OFF? For example, in this first photo, she looks like a young Kate Walsh and not Jessica Stroup at all ...

Okay, if that's not good enough to make you say "Whoa", check these out (click for larger photo):

And this (click for larger):

I don't know, but something's definitely off. Looks like she may have gained a few needed pounds, but even so, her pre-weight loss nose looked nothing like this one. I still love her, though. The hair especially.

[Photos: Introducing Jessica Stroup and Jessica Stroup Fan]

TRAINWRECK

2009-06-28T23:22:00.003-04:00

My new favorite laughter-inducing photo:

Funny comments ensue.

Oh David

2009-06-10T22:07:00.005-04:00

American Idol's David Archuleta has been making the charity rounds lately. Last night, it was the "Children Uniting Nations Gala" in Washington D.C. Reporters cornered him and asked him the gasp -- unthinkable: do you think this was the right time for Adam Lambert to come out of the closet?

[Thanks to LACelebs on YouTube]

Way to sidestep the question, DArch! This wins in my book of Most Uncomfortable DArchuleta Interviews Ever. I was dying for someone to ask him about something touchy like Proposition 8 because he's such a conservative little Mormon boy yet so darn agreeable I couldn't see him ever denying somebody the right to marry. Ah well, this was close enough. Looks like we may never get a straight answer out of him ... but that's just what makes him the incomparable David Archuleta.

Almost equally entertaining, USA Today asked him whether he had a romantic interest in any of the Disney gals. "No ... if they are younger than me, then it would technically be illegal. I wouldn't mind going on a fun date."

Hmm, something here makes me think David's definition of "date" is a little different from mine. As is his interpretation of the law.

A walk down 'Idol' lane

2009-05-22T20:33:00.003-04:00

[Photo courtesy of L.A. Times]
I vowed not to watch another season of American Idol, but here I am, the end of May, having plowed through another season. I wasn’t planning to watch this year, but as the weeks went on, I figured I needed something to compare Season Seven to, so I began to dutifully watch Season Eight.

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I was and am a David Archuleta fan through and through. And everyone knows he “lost” last year.

This year, Kris Allen, who, everyone knows, “won” this year, caught my eye. But not in the way that Archuleta had.

I had and have very little emotional attachment to Kris Allen. I did not vote for most of the season, but threw in twelve votes in the final round. Because I did not want his loss to be a landslide as it had been when Archuleta lost to Cook last year.

This is all to say that I qualify as “one of those blind, deaf people who voted for Kris.” (And the many more biting comments that have been made about Kris fans.)

But hear my story before you judge. I am very, very, very tired of being marginalized as a conservative Christian, likely from the South, with no taste in music.

First things first: I prefer pop music. I like Jason Mrazy type stuff, and Kris Allen immediately pinged in my ear as Jason Mrazy. This must not come as a surprise, as I preferred David Archuleta to David Cook. This should also not come as a surprise, as I watch the show American Idol. That said, I have nothing against Adam Lambert, not in the least bit (okay, the tongue thing was a little weird). He was, by all counts, much more attractive, much more vocally talented and had much more stage presence. But his musical style just wasn’t my cup of tea.

The reasons I voted for Kris and not Adam had nothing to do with his sexuality. I am a liberal, for the most part an atheist, born-and-raised New York (City)er who just prefers a more laidback sound. I went to an all-girls college and hung out with the lesbian crowd for a good part of my senior year. (That might explain my penchant for a more folksy style of music, eh?)

Entertainment Weekly journalist Whitney Pastorek says it best:

"Adam Lambert was never going to win this show, but I don't think it had anything to do with platform boots or flaming bombast or some vast red state/Mormon/hillbilly/Miss California conspiracy. I think it had more to do with the fact that the sort of people who would be inclined to like Adam Lambert are not as inclined to watch this show as the sort of people who would be inclined to like Kris Allen."

Now, being a David Archuleta fan, the Season Eight finale was particularly strange for me. There I was, fully expecting Adam to win, and there I was, mouth wide-open, wondering how the hell it was Kris who had won. The victory didn’t feel so good. Especially after I started reading message boards and all the hateful messages towards those who voted for Kris. I was made to feel almost guilty for having voted for Kris because, apparently, I was making a statement about my views on homosexuality.

No.

I truly believed Adam Lambert was going to win. I think Adam Lambert should have won. Vocally, he is more talented. He, again, has more stage presence. He has “it”.

My co-worker, an Adam fan, was “pissed” at Kris’ stunned reaction. “He didn’t act like he wanted to win, or believed he would. If you don’t believe in yourself, you don’t deserve to win.”

What?

I love my co-worker, but ... did anyone think Kris would truly win?

I was so, so disappointed David Archuleta lost last year, but here I found myself a year later, on the opposite side of the fence. But the fence didn’t seem so high or wide as it had a year before. It was completely apparent to me that Adam would go on to sell many more records than Kris would, and that Kris’ victory was little more than a coronation -- a going through of motions -- with very little true meaning behind it.

So I guess I succeeded, when I began watching Season Eight, in finding something to compare Season Seven to. I now know what it is like to stand on either side of the fence, and frankly, the view really isn’t all that different.

I know I can’t speak for all Kris Allen fans (or even most of them), but that's my story. Angry Adam Lambert fans, please consider the fact that not every person who voted for Kris is homophobic. And in the end, as I have learned from past "losses", it really doesn’t matter. It’s just an imaginary crown, a stupid coronation song. The true winner(s) will prove himself in his success after American Idol.

P.S. David Cook sounded the best he's ever sounded on Wednesday night. I'm buying the performance from iTunes.

Youth is wasted on the young.

2009-02-08T21:00:00.004-05:00

WTF has Audrina Patridge done to her beautiful face?

[Photos courtesy of Audrina's Official Site and Getty Images]

Happy Birthday

2008-12-28T23:28:00.008-05:00

[Courtesy of B96Chicago]
David Archuleta's birthday is being met today with great pleasure and great grief. Not only are thousands of jailbait-ed hearts awaiting the day they, too, will be freed, but thousands of twenty-somethings (and beyond, but we'll pretend they don't exist) Archies and Arch Angels for whom the age barrier defined (by law) the kind of relationship they had to the singer now have to face the truth. And for them, there is the irrational fear of non-legal DArchuleta sprouting wings and flying off into adult and manhood.

Well, whatever the case may be, there was nothing any of us could do to stop it. Not even his father, the infamous Dadchuleta.

DArchuleta is now legal to marry in all 50 states, ladies. And gentlemen.

Welcome to the other side, little David, and may this boy live on:

[Courtesy of YouTube user "Caliiniiqka18"]

Davey Baby's growing up!

2008-12-16T22:57:00.004-05:00

The music video for DArchuleta's "A Little Too Not Over You" is up, and of much higher quality than the video for "Crush". This is much more like the Jive I've come to know and love ...

My mom and I laughed for a good five minutes over this face:

He's supposed to be melancholic, not looking like he wants to kill me. Right?

I mean, just look:

[Both photos courtesy of my Print Screen function; a) "A Little Too Not Over You" music video, b) The Bonnie Hunt Show]

Religion makes bank

2008-12-14T22:56:00.004-05:00

Came across this fascinating article in the Sunday NY Times today.

This about sums it up:
“It’s a wonderful time, a great evangelistic opportunity for us,” said the Rev. A. R. Bernard, founder and senior pastor of the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, New York’s largest evangelical congregation, where regulars are arriving earlier to get a seat. “When people are shaken to the core, it can open doors.”

So maybe it's not all that fascinating, but a little expected. Churches, career placement centers, fast food restaurants and Wal-Mart may be the only ones doing well in our economy. Explains why FOX News has been running so many religious ads and why I've been seeing random church ads in the subway system and on random cable networks.

Song of the Moment: Silent Night, David Archuleta
* It may be DArchuleta songs until the holidays are through; his renditions of Christmas songs are incredible.

Back from the grave ...

2008-12-11T23:54:00.007-05:00

... and prepping for the new year. Which means making some changes. First things first: "a little more personal (raw)", I think I'm going to take the focus off of Hollywood celebrities and turn it to a more general culture blog.

I thought I would start our holiday engines off with a little holiday cheer. Says NY Mag:
[Richard Hayne, CEO of Urban Outfitters] is a notably right-wing Republican who supports senators who vote for legislation against gay marriage. In fact, last May the British Website ThisIsMoney.co.uk wrote, "Hayne must be the only retailer whose expansion plans depend on no one finding out who he really is." Interesting where your money goes, isn't it? When a right-wing Republican is the one concocting your anti-Establishment image, you start to wonder if the entire hipster movement has been duped into becoming puppets of Hayne's billionaire income.

NY Mag got a response from the UO team today and their thoughts?
Glen Senk, the CEO of the parent company, Urban Outfitters, Inc., is an openly gay man who has been in a committed relationship for over 30 years. However, Richard Hayne is still the founder and current chairman and does indeed have a record for supporting right-wing Republicans who are against abortion and gay rights.

Yes. Exactly. I will now reconsider ever making a purchase at Urban Outfitters again. Not that I ever did ... not unless the merchandise was 90% off, anyway.

While we're on the topic of homosexuality, how 'bout that Newsweek cover story, huh? The readback caused so much of stir that the comments were completely disabled. I think Lisa Miller makes some unsubstantiated points, but some readers were so inflamed they ceased to make sense. I wish you could read the comments from "Caroline from MA," who repeatedly compared "choosing" to be gay to being addicted to cigarettes. Once you pop, you can't stop. (I hear this is true of tattoos, too?) And how gay porn should be made illegal, just as cigarette ads should, as they pander to our impressionable innocents.

I'm comin' out, I want the world to know

2008-09-23T21:50:00.005-04:00

A number of revelations today, of the non-revelatory sort: Lindsay Lohan finally admitted -- to "Loveline", no less -- that she has been dating Samantha Ronson for a "very long time." That certainly clears up any questions we may have had, but I still don't much trust Lilo's judgment. What exactly constitutes a long time?

[Photo courtesy of NY Daily News]
Also coming out this week ... American Idol's Clay Aiken. Um, yeah. People didn't need to shell out the big (or perhaps little in Mr Spamalot's case) bucks for this story. Again, not exactly a revelation.

Elsewhere, E! seems to have some sources telling them that The Hills' Whitney Port is in fact filming an East Coast spinoff to The Hills, aptly titled The City. I can't say I hate the idea. I'm not sure how fond I am of the idea of Los Angeles turning into New York, but I have to admit that I didn't totally love the idea of it being the last season of the show and wasn't yet ready to say goodbye to Whitney and Audrina Patridge.

Now, the best of both worlds. If Miley Cyrus would just go away.

David Cook has apparently had enough of magic rainbows and is truly to recoup any dignity lost with a new single, "Light On". Perhaps not strangely at all, I liked the general sound of "Time of My Life" better, however, the lyrics of "Light On" are infinitely better. I think it may be a bit of hard sell with pop radio, but he's attractive enough to pull it off.

[Photo courtesy of Amazon.com]
David Archuleta's alleged album cover has been released. Also not a huge fan of the pic. Although it does make him look his age, mysterious and potentially mysterious enough to be sexy without giving up any bit of his Mormon-ness, he ... well, there's no other way to put it: he looks like he's dead.

Other than the lack of color in his face, not too bad. They have the right idea going for them there.

David Cook's album, rumored to be called "Out of My Head", will drop on November 18th. David Archuleta's album will likely be titled "David Archuleta" and will hit stores on November 11th. David Archuleta. Dull, but reliable.

P.S. Must see television recap of the day: Cloris Leachman on Dancing With The Stars. Enjoy!

[Courtesy of YouTube user "rihannamusicfan"]

"Crush" music video leak

2008-09-07T21:31:00.005-04:00

[Courtesy of YouTube user "5an1ty"]
Eeeeee! was my first reaction. And then "A Sunday premiere?!" And then "I'm so nervous ... I don't want this video to besmirch my image of David Archuleta. I could do without watching it, forever." And then I watched it.

Reactions: Hmm. I am pretty well-acquainted with Jive Records' teen pop ways, having been a loyal fan of some of their artists for upwards of ten years and all. I was expecting longing gazes off into the distance, wind machines blowing everyone's hair (but particularly his) to create drama, and some sort of romantic closure at the end of the video (e.g. a kiss, or something akin to that in DArchuleta's world).

Well, my initial reaction was "Wow, what shoddy quality." I have since learned that this is a leaked video, so that may have something to do with it. Aside from the technical flaws (skipping in parts), the editing is pretty choppy and nonsensical. The composition of some of the shots is pretty terrible. The angles at which they placed the camera in relation to David's face in the close-ups are little better. Yes, I would even venture to say that I would have done a better job with whatever budget they had. I think the very first shot of the video may have been the best; the sepia one of him playing at the piano at the end of a dock hovering over some swampland (WTF, right?). Oh, Jive and its necessity to embroil nature into everything it does (see: Backstreet Boys).

Anyway, it's not the worst video on the planet (for that you would have to look up "Heidi Montag"), and probably nowhere near it, but this being David's first chance to make a big impression on people who didn't watch him on American Idol, they kind of blew it. I'm being extra-critical because I really want him to do well, but I don't know how much I would've enjoyed it as a neutral bystander either. Sort of like how I really wanted to like all of Colbie Caillat's music videos because I love her songs, but I find them dull as sawdust and feel no desire to rewatch any of the videos ever again. The song "Crush" has a somewhat dark tone to it, and the whole premise of the video was really chirpy and bright. And sort of reminiscent of "Beautiful Soul" by Jesse McCartney.

And to answer to any qualms any of us may have had about our Fun-Sized David, we needn't have worried. Because NOTHING HAPPENS. And nothing will happen if David continues to gaze longingly (albeit not as much as I'd expected) at his love interest. Phew.

ETA: On second watch, why did the director place him in the direct path of the sun? There's no need for David to perpetuate his squinty nicknames ... he has beautiful eyes, to boot. And what is up with the random blurry close-ups? Are we supposed to be made to feel as if we're watching "MTV Diary" interspersed with "Bug Juice"? These people don't know what they're doing!

Mindset List: 1990

2008-08-19T20:20:00.007-04:00

Apparently Beloit College put itself on the map by creating an annual list called the "Mindset List," which helps college professors stay in touch with their students. This year's entering class was generally born in the year 1990 (read: Year of the DArchuleta).

[Not sure where I found this photo. If it's yours, I'll give you credit. Just another excuse to post an archudorable photo of DArchuleta, not gonna lie.]
Here is their list, in full. I have taken the liberty of bolding those I cannot say is true of me.

1. Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
2. Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.
3. They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego. [Well in theory, yes, but I stopped when I turned 8.]
4. GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available. [I didn't know what a GPS was until I was like 15 ...]
5. Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
6. Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
7. Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
8. Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce "tax revenue increases." [This is possibly the stupidest one on the list.]
9. Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option. [I'm guessing this wasn't true when I was five, I dunno.]
10. Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
11. All have had a relative — or known about a friend's relative — who died comfortably at home with hospice.
12. As a precursor to "whatever," they have recognized that some people "just don't get it." [WTF!?]
13. Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.
14. Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.
15. Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.
16. Haagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.
17. Club Med resorts have always been places to take the whole family.
18. WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.
19. Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
20. The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.
21. Students have always been "Rocking the Vote." [I think I just don't know what this means.]
22. Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.
23. Schools have always been concerned about multiculturalism.
24. We have always known that "All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." [Well since I could read, yes.]
25. There have always been gay rabbis.
26. Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.
27. College grads have always been able to Teach for America.
28. IBM has never made typewriters.
29. Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the National Anthem again.
30. McDonald's and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.
31. They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola. [I think.]
32. There has always been Pearl Jam.
33. The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.
34. Pee-Wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.
35. They never tasted Benefit Cereal with psyllium. [I don't think many 18 year olds have eaten Benefit, ever.]
36. They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.
37. Authorities have always been building a wall across the Mexican border.
38. Lenin's name has never been on a major city in Russia.
39. Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.
40. Balsamic vinegar has always been available in the U.S.
41. Macaulay Culkin has always been "Home Alone."
42. Their parents may have watched "The American Gladiators" on TV the day they were born.
43. Personal privacy has always been threatened.
44. Caller ID has always been available on phones.
45. Living wills have always been asked for at hospital check-ins.
46. The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.
47. They never heard an attendant ask "Want me to check under the hood?"
48. Iced tea has always come in cans and bottles.
49. Soft drink refills have always been free.
50. They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about "nothing."
51. The Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
52. Moscow residents have always been able to buy Big Macs.
53. The Royal New Zealand Navy has never been permitted a daily ration of rum.
54. The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.
55. 98.6 F or otherwise has always been confirmed in the ear. [May be because I'm Asian.]
56. Michael Milken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.
57. Offshore oil drilling in the United States has always been prohibited.
58. Radio stations have never been required to present both sides of public issues.
59. There have always been charter schools.
60. Students always had Goosebumps.

... my point is why the hell are they referencing things that happened in 1990!? No 0 year old baby is going to remember anything. Clearly, I was four-going-on-five at the turn of that decade and I barely remember any of these things. And how many 0 year olds are going to give a crap about New Zealand or Russia!? I didn't know what half of the things on this list were until I was thirteen or older.

Lastly, the one that annoys me the most: the Pearl Jam reference. Why do "old people" think Pearl Jam is still a viable pop culture reference with young people?? What percentage of teenagers listen to Pearl Jam on a regular basis?! I remember when Julia Roberts' character said that to Jena Malone's character in Stepmom (in 1997, no less!) and even then I scoffed, because really, who the hell listens to Pearl Jam anymore!?

Frankie Says, "Date me, Lauren!"

2008-08-19T20:18:00.002-04:00

I watched The Hills last night, immediately after it went online, and I watched it again this evening to make sure I hadn’t missed anything the first time around. I had. And I’m sure I still have.

But general observations: this is going to be one dull season. I think, at this point, maybe Heidi and Spencer are the only ones who want this show to go on. I only saw Stephanie Pratt’s face for three seconds in the season preview, but I’m already sick of her. Why does she look like a toasted marshmallow? (And where the hell did she go when she accompanied her brother on that escapade to win Heidi back in Vegas?! Last we saw her, she was sitting in the car outside the hotel lobby, possibly flirting with the bell boy.)

I’m so sick of Lauren getting so mopey about not being out on the dating scene and then calling out the guy she’s seeing on all the things that make him a guy. Which, apparently, is going to happen to her next victim, Doug Reinhardt as well. Hope she’s not playing the same games on Kyle “Bobby” Howard ...

The only interesting storyline is the one between Audrina and Lo. As bitchy as Lo has always seemed, she does bring a different perspective to the table. And another side out of Audrina. But honestly, how would you respond if someone walked into your lair and started demanding that you reciprocate things that you haven’t necessarily felt she’s done? Lo’s really great at talking, and terrible at listening. And Audrina’s not the most tactful person. Two wrongs don’t make a right ... since we know through living life that the three of them are still, in fact, living under the same roof (so to speak), I’m curious to see how this all adds up. And how the show wraps up. Maybe we’ll get a big “gotcha!” a la Ghostwriter.

It’s 8:13pm and Jason Castro’s Date Night vlog is nowhere to be seen. He promised. He even has the day off!

David Archuleta was not so lucky. He spent his “day off” filming his music video for “Crush” in Atlanta. Can’t wait to see what skinny, tall model they pair him with, seeing as he’s 5’7’’ and all.

[Photo courtesy of Jive? FanBlast? David Archuleta? It’s actually not a courtesy at all, it’s offensive! Looks like they couldn’t afford Photoshop so they went ahead with Paint.]

Another season of wondering why Speidi goes on

2008-08-18T20:17:00.002-04:00

[Photo courtesy of Blizzard Galleries]
Not only is Lindsay Lohan back to red, but she and Samantha Ronson shared a seriously “aww” moment in Los Angeles.

Not so “aww”? Lauren Conrad and sometime-boy Kyle Howard out this past Friday. I have a feeling this one’s not going too far ...

[Photo courtesy of PopSugar]
Tonight, Season Four of The Hills premieres on MTV. I will have reactions as soon I get to watching it on my laptop. Because I’ve gots no cable.

Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt announced that they plan to get married live on television. When asked whether she had any plans to leave The Hills, she rightly responded: “No, where would I go?” Even Spencer’s all for it: “Sometimes the narrator has to throw their hate up on the wall and pass the mic. It’s my favorite show. I love it. The Hills season 10 is what I’m going for.” Too bad it’s not your show.

Speidi also apparently called into Ryan Seacrest this morning, to whom they divulged several secrets: she is going to record a Christian record because she wants to fill the world with the spirit of the Lord. They’re also no longer engaged, which means only one thing: they’re doing this for pay. I’m still waiting for the paparazzi photos of Heidi leaving some mystery guy’s house at 4 in the am.

But it gets worse. I now truly and truly believe she is delusional. I credited Heidi Montag with some sort of warped Paris Hilton brand of media savvy, but now I just think she’s brainwashed or something. Because she tried to sell the fact that she’s a virgin and saving herself for marriage!? Did she forget that she thought for two minutes that she had been impregnated by a squirmy Spencer? Or was that a fake storyline too?

... now the only question left is: how will this affect McCain’s chances?

[Courtesy of Us Weekly]
One more reminder that some things are still right in the world ...

[Photo courtesy of Blizzard Galleries]

DArchuleta redeems himself

2008-08-17T17:39:00.003-04:00

Of course, the minute I finish blogging, David Archuleta puts up a blog. Not sure why it's taken so long to appear on his MySpace, as I did make sure to check it before I made that post about forty minutes ago. His MySpace is saying the blog was posted a little after 10 in the morning today:

Hi all. Today we're in North Carolina, and I'm about to go outside since we have free time right now. So just wants to give an update on done stuff. Friday we had a day off, so I went to New York for a photoshoot for the album! It was a lot of fun even though I was dead tired from the lack of sleep haha. But I'm caught up on that now. The photographer was great! He also had really good taste in music, which he played during the shoot. I can't wait to see the final shots. This upcoming week my family will be coming out to see the show, and it'll be awesome to see them. We'll also be shooting the music video for 'Crush'! Which I'm nervous but excited about haha. Anyway I better get outside to say hey to who's out there. That's all for now!

The first two sentences reflect his lack of sleep, but as we so often do around here, we forgive him.

Word on the street is the casting call for the "Crush" video didn't go so well. The casting agency was in Atlanta looking for a love interest and friends for David, and a reported 100 or so people showed up. He may be excited, but I'm thinking he should be nervous about this. Does he know the premise of his video yet?

Fingers crossed it doesn't involve too many wind machines and longing stares off into the distance ...

Blush and bubbly

2008-08-17T17:05:00.002-04:00

Jason Castro finally got around to uploading his belated video blog on Thursday, and it appeared Friday:

[Courtesy of Jason Castro]
However, he is forgiven because this is the zaniest, most random, most JASON video blog ever. AND, despite his saying that he’s supposed to be out of the hotel room in a minute’s time, he appears to be lounging in a fluffy, white robe. Oh, Jason and his robes. He stayed up all night to finish The Kite Runner. I think Jason fans should keep those books coming.

Now it’s David Archuleta’s turn to catch up: he hasn’t video blogged in nearly twenty days, and he hasn’t even done a “lame, written” blog in eight days – when he diplomatically complained about the presents and letters his fans were giving him. Oh little Davy, have we lost you?

[Photo courtesy of Just Jared]
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi tied the knot this weekend! The blushing brides wore a similarly blushing shade of pink, it appears.

Lindsay Lohan has been transmitting messages to Michael Phelps over the past four years through Billy Bush of Access Hollywood. Well, Michael started it when saying that the celebrity he most wanted to meet was Lindsay because he deemed her hot. At the beginning of this week, she sent him a message via Access Hollywood, a simple “good luck”. Now that he has broken pretty much every world record in the world, she had this to say to Billy-Michael: “Tell him he’s (expletive) amazing and I want to meet him.”

Hmm ...

There are rumors circulating that Lindsay once had a thing for Courtenay Semel and apparently they got together, secretly, for a while. I’m loathe to believe this, as I think even Lindsay wouldn’t touch Semel.

[Photo courtesy of News of the World]

Namedropper, maneater, burgeoning cheater

2008-08-14T21:12:00.002-04:00

I think Lindsay Lohan pretty much outed her and Samantha Ronson in her latest MySpace blog post:
... so, here's the visual... me and my friend Patrick walking into a store, and two paparazzi come up out of nowhere (like usual) and start throwing questions at me... one of them being, "Hey Lindsay, what do you have to say about people commenting on your sisters implants?"  WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  my response simply was, "Did you really just ask me that? She is a 14 year old girl, and you are a pedophile!" i was caught out of nowhere so i didn't really come up with the proper response at the time ... in a more positive light... i got some great clothes from alexander wang and i miss samantha cuz she's out of town :( have a wonderful day everyone~ til next time.. xx LL

Remember when she used to check in like three times a week and namedrop celebs like Usher and Chris Trousdale!? Yeah, I don’t miss those days. I’m surprised she hasn’t deleted it all out of embarrassment yet.

Our future husband, by default, Jason Castro still hasn’t posted a vlog, but checked in on Tuesday night, apparently, to make excuses. I don’t like where this relationship is going. Is he cheating? Anyway, he claims that he’ll have one up by the end of the night today. We’ll see. To hold us over, snippets of a Jason interview, interrupted by a crawling/hiding David Archuleta. That boy is QUICK.

[Courtesy of YouTube user “frogcooke”]
In an interview today, DArchuleta updated journalists and fans on the progress of his album: “There isn’t time to really focus on what will really represent me – that takes time. So I’m just experimenting a lot. I won’t limit myself.” He mentioned that his mom and dad will probably swap when the tour hits Florida. The tour is on its last leg already so what’s the point? Of Jason: “I’m stuck with that guy ... I do get along with him – as weird as he is!” He visited the Washington Monument earlier today, called Brooke White the most “motherly” of the bunch, but added that Carly Smithson is “like my mom in that she’s bossy ... but in a good way!”

Wow, mean-ish words coming out of David Archuleta’s mouth? I think Michael Johns is succeeding in getting him “out on the rooooooad”.

Audrina Patridge is getting work in non-reality television. This leads me to think that an insider’s “mistake” of calling Audrina an “intern” at Sony/Epic may have been accurate after all. According to Audrina, she’ll be filming a guest spot on Do Not Disturb next week. What do you think of her acting chops here?

[Photo courtesy of ... AudrinaXO ...?]

Montage catastrophe! (pronounced cat-ee-stuhroff)

2008-08-13T19:46:00.007-04:00

Looks like Australian (and Transformers 2) actress Isabel Lucas and Adrian Grenier have called it splits. According to People, her involvement in Shia LaBeouf car crash had something to do with it: “Adrian saw her with Shia and that was kind of it – the crash, their hanging out. He obviously didn’t appreciate it.” NO. Get your paws off of my man#32!

I know you’ve been holding your breath, so here it all is:

[Courtesy of Aaron Carter, I suppose]
Hey, if you cover the bottom half of his face, he almost looks like he never did drugs! I remember when boy bands and random pop stars would gather once or twice a year to play charity basketball events. It’s just sad that Aaron Carter is still doing it, as he is neither, and nearly 21.

[Photo courtesy of People.com]
No, Cynthia Nixon didn’t go back to red: that’s Clay Aiken and his (un)love child, Parker Foster Aiken.

Yes, my mother had the same reaction.

[Photo courtesy of Getty Images]
Yes sir (and I do mean “sir”), that’s Jena Malone on the left. And quite possibly her girlfriend (or just co-star Laura Ramsey) on the right? Is it wrong for me to wish for that?

[Photo courtesy of The YBF]
Okay, I never told you, but I dreamt (or should I say “nightmared”) of Raven Symone once. I was a journalist covering the High School Musical 3, American Idol and Raven Symone Project Number 917 rehearsals. Let me just tell you, she was sweaty as ... no other in my dream, decked in mismatched sweats, but still looked better than this. That can, in no way, be good.

[Photo courtesy WENN]
Not sure where Ed Westwick got his snappy ‘tude, but it sure doesn’t fit his character Chuck well. Chuck would never be caught dead eating a $1.25 croissant (pronounced kwa-sonn) from a NYC street vendor. Hellssss naw.

Jason Castro has failed us. Teardrops and tear stains on my guitar tonight ... and forever.

[Photo courtesy of Just Jared]

Peaches and Clotted Cream

2008-08-12T20:32:00.001-04:00

[Photo courtesy of Heat World]
Nineteen-year-old Peaches Geldof, socialite daughter of Bob Geldof, upped and got married – in Vegas no less! She scored herself a pretty big fish, though: twenty-three year oldMax Drummey Harvard anthropology grad (hey, I might’ve met him at the Oh Canada party a few years back ...), a signed musician (a drummer, perhaps?). So why the Little White Chapel wedding?

Samantha Ronson, on the record to Harper’s Bazaar about Lindsay Lohan: “She’s great. She’s also 22 years old. I think people forget that” – or maybe she’s too busy acting too old for her own good. Well, until she met you, that is. “With the Internet the way it is, one second we’re enemies, one second we’re best friends, one second we’re lovers, and then we’re broken up ...” Obviously, Harper’s is too stuffy to spell internet with a lowercased “i”? And mmm, no, I don’t think the internet thinks you’ve broken up yet. “Even the airport security guy in Canada asked me, ‘So is it true?’ It’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m telling you.’”

SamRo’s mother (Ann Dexter-Jones) says she was a “renaissance child” (no doubt pronounced re-nay-sonce) who “had a tremendous curiosity and intensity”.

It is Tuesday, but alas, it is not a Special one because it’s 20:15 EST and Mr. Jason Castro has not yet vlogged. The reason for the teardrops on my guitar tonight. Well, at least David Archuleta’s “Crush” is at last on sale at iTunes. By some miracle (or act of fanaticism), “Crush” has taken the top spot on the iTunes and Amazon singles charts.

Wow, there is an overload of tremendously good photos and media today. But there is also a bevy of fascinating news, so I will save the montage catastrophe! for tomorrow. And if Jason’s still good husband material, a vlog will follow.

"You went down a really bad path."

2008-08-11T21:30:00.002-04:00

People magazine basically confirmed that Lauren Conrad and My Boys’ Kyle Howard are a couple. Apparently the two were hanging out at Teddy’s over the weekend, and she was seen draping herself over him, “sharing pecks on the lips and looking ‘so happy’”. Wow, Teddy’s is really, really three years ago. I love Kyle as Bobby, but even I know that there’s no getting him into Coco de Ville or whichever hotspot is at the peak of its fifteen minutes right now.

Hayden Panettiere’s father got himself in trouble for abusing his wife. This does not in the least bit surprise me; as bubbly and wholesome as Hayden (etc) comes across, there’s still some stigma attached to her by the mere virtue of her having come from Rockland County-Westchester, New York.

One week till Season Four of The Hills. I’m actually not that excited about it, as I think the Lauren-Heidi storyline has been maxed out, I don’t think Speidi could get much worse, I’m tired of watching Lauren “date” guys, and I’m already sick of Stephanie Pratt’s face. Not particularly interested in Audrina move beyond Justin Bobby, but I’m surprisingly curious about what Whitney’s love life has in store for her.

In an ideal world, Audrina would grow some balls and do something really wild that doesn’t involve her taking off her shirt. Lauren would trip over her Louboutins, requiring reconstructive surgery and a huge blow to her ego so she can finally get over herself. Speidi would marry and would turn into a Stepford couple, albeit a relatively normal one, and Whitney would become the star of the show and show them twenty-something girls how to balance it all and look great while doing so!

Alas, all we have is this:

[Courtesy of YouTube user “B0NZENMiKE”]
The music isn't even worthy. C'mon, MTV.

Rant: SLOW (and depressing) weekend

2008-08-10T18:59:00.007-04:00

It's been a slow and depressing weekend: Bernie Mac and Issac Hayes, both linked to the film Soul Men, passed away this weekend. RIP.

In other news, the Church of Scientology's Celebrity Centre had a gala, and Leah Remini, Kelly Preston, Elisabeth Moss, Marisol Nichols and Erika Christensen showed. Is there anything about this that sounds right? Are churches supposed to have fundraising galas? Are they supposed to be predominantly female? I suppose this isn't unusual for an organized religion, to fundraise ... it's just a little more overt (and careless, perhaps) in its fundraising activities than others.

[Photo courtesy of Contact Music]
So Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt were joined by Heidi's mother and sister during their usual outings this weekend -- and Joe Francis, of all people. What I would like to know is what in the name of Lauren Conrad's sex tape is going on here!? Why is Mrs. Montag holding Joe Incarcerated's hand? Eight days till Season Four of The Hills falls upon us again.

Really, really slow weekend, and David Archuleta's latest blog is little more than him asking fans to tone down the gifting because he is running out of sleeping space (I kid you not). So I will let him and his stuffed toys be and leave you with Selena Gomez's newest video blog, which I haven't fully watched myself:

[Courtesy of Selena Gomez]
Both she and the Jonas Brothers' Nick Jonas inadvertently (and indirectly) let slip that they are indeed seeing each other. So new Tween It Couple. Hark back to the days of Hilary and Aaron. The JoBros have been invading my existence; they are EVERYWHERE these days.

Well, at least the US Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte has been easy on the eyes ... reminds me a little of Michael Cassidy, who we will be seeing for -- oh, probably 3 weeks before his new show Privileged gets canceled. It's a pity Michael's been around this privileged high school block for so long and still can't get a ride.

Our Nation's Problem ... Paris Hilton

2008-08-08T21:31:00.004-04:00

Lindsay Lohan is mad. Apparently a Los Angeles police chief said the paparazzi problem in Los Angeles had improved since “Britney started behaving, Paris is out of town and Lindsay has gone gay.” Lindsay, the leader of appropriate, said that “Police chiefs shouldn’t get involved in everyone else’s personal life – it’s inappropriate.”

The weirdest story of the day – and for the past while – is this Clay Aiken daddy story. I know that he donated his sperm to his good friend Jaymes Foster and all, that I’m okay with. What I’m not understanding is now that the baby is alive and kicking, the child has taken Clay’s last name? And is going to help her raise the child. I guess she really took to heart that Atlantic article on settling!

John Edwards admitted to having cheated on his wife Elizabeth. Gawker puts it in a way no one else could: John Edwards has admitted to having an affair with his former campaign staffer Rielle Hunter ... Edwards also claims he's not the father of Hunter's baby. And he didn't love her. So it's not cheating! Edwards claims his wife Elizabeth's cancer was in remission when he began the affair, so it's TOTALLY not cheating, at all.

Yup. Yup.

And this will get old ... just not yet:

[Courtesy of Paris Hilton]
Where's my Intuition "Paris for President" shirt from 2004? Never know when that one might come in handy ...

Just like a tattoo, I'll always have you

2008-08-07T19:48:00.004-04:00

Happy HooHa 31st birthday to Samantha Ronson! To celebrate, Lindsay Lohan has taken to combat boots – that’s one step closer to coming out of the closet! Few people are focusing on the boots, though – they are taking the matching black heart tattoos much more seriously.

Apparently Lindsay had her tattoo outlined in black to match Sam’s.

Anyway, thanks to D-Listed, I provide you a scan of SamRo’s senior page, with plenty of choice photographs to light the way down memory lane. Click to expand.

[Photo courtesy of D-Listed]
I wish I could devote the entire post to Rondsay, but they simply have not been racy enough to keep up with the Joneses. Or do I mean Jonases (har har): in a new Seventeen magazine article, Miley Cyrus finally comes clean with her (apparently) two-year long relationship with the band’s youngest member, Nick Jonas: "We became boyfriend and girlfriend the day we met ... He was on a quest to meet me, and he was like, 'I think you're beautiful and I really like you.' And I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, I like you so much.'"

She adds that at just – I’m throwing out a ballpark figure here – twelve through fourteen-and-a-half, she fell in love: "Nick and I loved each other ... We still do, but we were in love with each other. For two years he was basically my 24/7. But it was really hard to keep it from people. We were arguing a lot, and it really wasn't fun."

Then she adds some stuff about how Nick wanted her to do this and Nick wanted her to do that, so she did. And then she was like WTF! after they broke up and decided to turn into a hard-core goth, because that was the complete opposite of what Nick would’ve wanted. "Since [the breakup], I've realized that I've met so many great guys, but I like being the girl nobody can have ... No one can touch me, no one's mine. I'm myself. I think it's sexy to do your own thing."

Well, unless Nick Jonas comes knocking on her door again: "Maybe he'll be my best friend for the rest of my life or maybe I'll end up marrying Nick Jonas!"

She’s untouchable, folks. But if you’re David Archuleta, start running now. And don’t look back.

American Idol Weekly

2008-08-06T23:17:00.004-04:00

I'm going to try to keep my mass-Idol posts to a minimum of one per week for the rest of the tour, unless there is breaking news about any individual artist from Season Seven, as they have taken up so much of this blog over the past 4 or 5 months. Then again, so have Rondsay/Rohan (seems like most people think Rohan is the proper celebrity couple name, but I will continue to label them Rondsay, though it doesn't make much logical sense).

Yesterday was Tuesday, meaning Jason Castro Date Night! Best video blog to date, to be sure. It featured a lounging Jason Castro, who, about halfway through the video, fully laid down in his tremendously laid back ways. Always sexy.

[Courtesy of Jason Castro]
I'm not gonna lie -- I wish I had run into him in Central Park, girlfriend or no.

David Archuleta also blogged yesterday from the bus:
Heeey everyone! Just wanted to say thanks to all of you for voting on Teen Choice Awards for both Cook and me! It was a lot of fun even though we were both pretty tired haha, but that's my first award for an award show! And it's all thanks to you guys! So now I guess I'm getting my first surfboard huh? lol crazy. Anyway I just wanted to thank you guys for an exciting time at the TCA's! You guys have been awesome fans, and you definitely showed it to everyone else that night! After traveling back and forth, coast to coast with a delayed flight haha, we're back in New York and have another show in Long Island tonight. That's all for now though. Talk to you guys later.

I swear it's the lack of sleep that keeps him so stunted. He has a habit of sleeping at 2:30am or later and rising relatively early. Poor, poor kid.

And since we're on the subject of American Idol, I may as well give you an overview of how I thought the concert went:
Chikezie Eze: fantastic job. Chikezie was actually one of my favorites on the show, and I've always thought he was prematurely voted off. He does have an incredibly smooth voice and a great ability to rev a crowd up.

Ramiele Malubay: I'd heard not great things about her set. I stayed for her first number, "I Want You Back" (Jackson 5) and proceeded to spend the rest of her set standing in line for the toilet, as I'd made it into the seats only minutes before Chikezie's set. Someone had to be the martyr, and that was the relatively weak Ramiele, unfortunately. It's not that she's not good -- it's that her voice is soft and pretty, but not rich and full enough to fill such a large arena (which wasn't nearly as large as I remember it being back in 2001!). She lacked energy in her dancing as well, but that can be fixed.

Michael Johns: great. I wasn't really a fan of the "We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You" mash-up, but I loved his rendition of "It's So Wrong, But It's So Right". I'd like to hear more of him doing blues numbers. When he made chatter, he sounded a little worn out, as so many of them did.

Kristy Lee Cook: not bad. She got her set off to a great start with a fun, upbeat number. And then she killed her momentum by singing "God Bless the USA," at least in my opinion. Apparently I'm not the only New Yorker who thought so. It's a kind of touchy subject in the area, but oh well. She did much better than she did on American Idol, but unfortunately, her set did little to make a fan out of me.

Carly Smithson: fantastic. She is so beautiful in person, let's get that out of the way. She really is. Her husband stood in my area throughout the show and was bombarded by fans throughout. I thought she got to show her range far better than she did on the show, from the soft and tender to the screamy. I'm not typically a fan of Evanescence, but she did a phenomenal job on all songs and I left an even bigger fan of hers. Her speaking voice, too, was sandy. I hope they're all taking care of their voices!

Brooke White: funny! Brooke was a lot more personable and funny than I thought she'd be! Her mic stand misbehaved during "1,2,3,4" so she had to stand in a very unnatural position (and stop playing the guitar) to sing into it, but smiled throughout. Afterwards, she made a funny comment about the stand and its issues. I wasn't a fan of her album version of "Yellow", but in person -- with the help of those fuzzy projected stars -- it was touching. Her husband, too, roamed around the sound "booth" section.

Jason Castro: reliable :). He sounded as expected, very laid back. His personality really came through in the chatter. He said that, "People say there are good audiences and bad audiences, but hey, everyone's here for a good time, so there are no bad audiences." (Or some such.) He then introduced "Daydream" with, "Everyone should daydream, because daydreaming is good." I couldn't help but smile.

Syesha Mercado: flawless. Her voice is absolutely flawless. She was indubitably the best voice of the season, but her personality was her downfall. She wasn't particularly personable in concert, but showed off her performance skills like no other. I didn't feel very good about the ice-skating costume of a dress and shoes, but if we're going to stick to talking about her voice, phenomenal.

David Archuleta: soaring. His stage skills could use a little help -- especially with the scripted chatter, but I have nothing bad to say about his actual performances. He was extra cute bouncing extra hard (I think he even bounced himself off his piano bench at one point) on "Angels" and unconsciously made some near-sexy faces while he concentrated on playing the piano. His voice was clear as a bell and beautiful on "When You Say You Love Me." Nothing unexpected.

David Cook: made for the stage. Cook, more than anyone else, had the chance to show off his ability to sell it to a crowd, and he really, really did. His chatter was natural, his performances fun and engaging. Not usually a fan of "My Hero"-type music, but the way he broke the song down made it much more bearable and dare I say fun for the audience. He is definitely a gentleman, pointing out that everyone present was missing out on the Teen Choice Awards, and acknowledged DArchuleta's fans for winning little David the Most Fanatic Fans surfboard. He also looked really good, guyliner and all. One complaint: the mic made his speaking voice unnaturally high (higher than it was on the show and in person when I met him). Distracting, but his singing was still great -- neither Davids' voices were compromised by their day trip to Los Angeles, thank goodness.

I have one thing and one thing only to say about the finale number: get DArchuleta out of that Mormon missionary outfit!

Livin' la vida Lohan

2008-08-05T21:37:00.001-04:00

Everyone is talking about Anderson Cooper’s “hit” at the Lohan family this morning on Regis and Kelly. I was watching and didn’t think it was that bad – though Kelly Ripa was quite obviously trying to make amends for Anderson, but then again, I didn’t think saying Michael Johns’ hair looked greasy and that he seemed a little grouchy was all that bad either. (To my defense, he probably was not in the best of the moods, as I heard later on that he was feeling under the weather that day.)

Anyway, back to the livin’ Lohans: apparently Anderson Cooper watches trash television just like the rest of us, and apparently he thinks it is just as trashy as the rest of us.

[Courtesy of, I think, Kelly Ripa. She’s so industrious.]
He makes a number of valid points: the rest of the Lohans are “atrocious” namedroppers, and I don’t think anyone can say – with a straight face – that Ali looks a day younger than 33.

On that other, invisible Lohan: my mother asked me today, “I heard Lindsay’s getting ... married!?”
“Yup, so they say.”
“To who?”
“Samantha Ronson, her girlfriend.”
“Really? Is she a lesbian?”
[Me, who avoids labels when it comes to these sorts of things:] “I don’t know ...”
“I think she’s a bisexual.”

Okay, mom.

I was present at last night’s American Idol tour stop in Long Island, New York, but will save that for a slower news day.

TCA, continued

2008-08-04T12:08:00.001-04:00

So while I was perusing the photo agency sites for Teen Choice Awards photos, it came to my attention that the show is ten years old. That means that I was there for the very first awards show, a freshly-minted teen. That means that it should be kind of strange that I am still familiar with more than half of the TCA attendees. Did I watch last year? I can’t remember. The last TCA I remember clearly is the 2003 show, though I’m more than positive that I’ve watched since.

So I’m old. Moving on.

One Tree Hill’s Chad Michael Murray attended last night’s teen shin-dig with his fiancé, Kenzie Dalton. It’s good to see that he hasn’t cheated on her yet, or at the very least hasn’t been caught doing it. At least he’s learned a lesson or two since Sophia Bush. But with her current hairstyle, it has become blaringly apparent that she is a practical clone of Kate Bosworth, am I right or am I right?

Protruding bones aside, Kate Bosworth wins.

Shia LaBeouf, broken hand and all, was either a no-show or avoided photogs and cameras completely.

Lauren Conrad seemed utterly out of place at the awards show, not only in age but in dress. She wore a long, seemingly batik-inspired strapless gown that she herself designed. And she asks why her line didn’t sell? The dress isn’t bad, it’s just ill-fitting for this sort of young and hip event. Well, whatever.

She’s rumored to be seeing My Boys (anything for a My Boys shoutout!) cast member Kyle Howard, who is not only 8 years her senior, but probably not nearly tall enough for her. You might remember him from Disney Channel’s The Paper Brigade -- I know I do. As much as I think Lauren looks like a man, I think she could do better, looks-wise. Good luck with that.

[Photos courtesy of Just Jared and Yahoo!]

Hormones and rainbows rampant at TCAs

2008-08-03T21:12:00.007-04:00

I've been too busy indulging in my own vices that I haven't been paying much attention to Young Hollywood. As far as I'm aware, the real world has been thus: a crazy man beheaded a sleeping, innocent bystander on a Greyhound bus in Canada, a very dead, very unidentifiable creature was found on the shore of Montauk in Long Island, and the collective New York mentality is to joke about it and move on, because no one is curious enough to figure out what the hell it is. And would rather accept that it is some Hollywood-type of movie promotion hoax. Christina Applegate has been diagnosed with breast cancer, there are rumors that Samantha Ronson and Lindsay Lohan may be tying the knot later this year (guffaw), and the Teen Choice Awards are being taped tonight in Universal City, CA as we speak.

Thusly:

[Photo courtesy of WireImage]
Are they beaming because they are attracted to one another, or is it because they know full and well that they are fulfilling every fangirl's fantasy? (Next to falling head-over-heels over said girl.) Who knows, but it's nice to see that Zac Efron can afford a smile every once in a while, even if not for Vanessa Hudgens.

While we're on the topic of ZEfron, it's been a long while since I have poked fun at how similar I think/thought he and David Archuleta looked. I still think they do, and am surprised the time-space continuum has not imploded, though I realize that since High School Musical was partially filmed at Murray High School, David's high school, this would have already happened. Or perhaps they missed one another by a few months.

DArchuleta posted a new blog yesterday, enthusiastically thanking his fans for their generally positive response to "Crush". Very endearing.
Hey everyone!! So you might know that "Crush" premiered for the first time on Z100 yesterday! I was SOOOO excited/nervous/anxious for everyone to hear it, and I just can't believe that it was on the radio! It was such an unbelievable moment, and it was like... watching a dream pop out of my mind into reality lol. It's just shocking when I step back and just realize what's really happening, and the possibilities that could be coming. It was so good to hear the comments from the few phone calls that came in right after the song played too, and to know that it wasn't just the teens who were able to relate to it haha. I've been looking at comments and listening to some of the messages people leave and I just wanna thank everyone A TON for leaving your comments and knowing that you like the song. It means so incredibly much to me I don't think you have any idea. Thank you thank you thank you thank you! lol. I was nervous about how it might be a song that would only relate to everyone around my age, but I realized EVERYONE has crushes or have had them. haha. But ah! I'm so excited to know you guys like it :).

I'm just here on the bus on our way to the Atlantic City show in New Jersey. So that's what we have for today. Then tomorrow Cook and I are headed to the Teen Choice Awards and will be presenting an award. It'll be pretty crazy doing all the travelling and getting up early and getting back late, but it'll also be a lot of fun! haha. Anyway that's it for now. Thanks so much everyone again for everything!

I punctuate this entry with this unfortunate "magic rainbow":

[Photo courtesy of WireImage]

David Archuleta, "Crush"

2008-08-01T08:35:00.010-04:00

[Photo courtesy of Z100.com]
So David Archuleta was just in-studio at New York City's Z100, where he premiered his first single, "Crush". Apparently the studio technicians were mixing it till late last night and David had never heard the new version himself.

The non-final mix is up at Elvis Duran's site at Z100.com.

Initial reaction: it's definitely not what I expected, given its bubblegummy name. Despite being a huge fan of DArchuleta, I was fully expecting a really upbeat, poppy song, but this has R&B inflections and the lyrics aren't nearly as immature as I thought they could've been. I like it a lot, especially the first verse, as the lyrics get a little redundant later on in the song. My only real quip with the song is its pop song formula of ABCBD(or in this case A+)BB which, though I knew it would be a pop song, doesn't quite resonate with my impressions of him. Meaning: I'm not sure ending the song with the chorus twice in concert would be very engaging, but since DArchuleta is known to switch things up, I'm not too worried.

Here are the lyrics, which had misspellings on the Z100 website that I corrected:

Crush

I hung up the phone tonight, something happened for the first time
Deep inside it was a rush, what a rush
Cause the possibility that you would ever feel the same way
About me, it's just too much, just too much
Why do I keep running from the truth, all I ever think about is you
You got me hypnotized, so mesmerized, and I just got to know

Chorus
Do you ever think, when you're all alone
All that we can be, where this thing can go
Am I crazy or falling in love, is it real or just another crush
Do you catch your breath when I look at you
Are you holding back like the way I do
Cause I'm tryin', tryin' to walk away
But I know this crush ain't goin' away, goin' away

Has it ever crossed your mind when we're hangin'
Spending time girl, are we just friends
Is there more, is there more
See it's a chance we've gotta take cause I believe that we can make this into
Something that will last, last forever, forever

Bridge
Why do I keep running from the truth (why do I keep running), all I ever think about is you (all I ever think about)
You got me hypnotized, so mesmerized, and I just got to know

Chorus 2Xs

Lastly, I've been listening to Z100 since I was twelve and that was probably the least circumspect and calculated interview I've ever heard on the station. He called his Spanish "broken" and said that he'd been "jittery" since after last night's concert in Newark over the premiere. He was surrounded, apparently, by a gospel choir at the San Diego American Idol auditions last summer. His favorite song to play on Guitar Hero was "YYZ", and he played, of course, on Expert level. Of note, when asked "How long did you stand on line" when auditioning for American Idol, he asked, "How long did I stand in line?" Ah, the regional nuances at play.

He will join the rest of the Idols at the Nasdaq MarketSite's closing bell today at 4pm, which you can watch online.

Encounter: American Idols 2008

2008-07-30T19:45:00.016-04:00

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.

Pinched noses and paper roses

2008-07-29T22:26:00.002-04:00

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!

Fall "It Girl" Predictions

2008-07-28T14:20:00.011-04:00

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.

Downgrades

2008-07-27T21:24:00.001-04:00

[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!

Belly Farts and Magic Rainbows

2008-07-25T22:14:00.002-04:00

[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?

Terrible Twos

2008-07-24T23:59:00.003-04:00

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".

My mama told me to look away

2008-07-23T21:45:00.003-04:00

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

2008-07-23T21:21:00.001-04:00

[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.

Vanessa Hudgens' greatest role to date

2008-07-20T21:01:00.001-04:00

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

2008-07-20T17:24:00.003-04:00

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

2008-07-20T16:00:00.000-04:00

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]

Mini-rant of the week

2008-07-17T22:44:00.005-04:00

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]

Paws out for a catfight!

2008-07-16T23:40:00.003-04:00

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

2008-07-16T23:20:00.007-04:00

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.

Uncovering Gems

2008-07-15T21:58:00.003-04:00

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]

Live-Blogging My FOX Utah

2008-07-14T08:48:00.075-04:00

[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.

"Crazy", Gnarls Barkley
by greateggs

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.

"Waiting on the World to Change"
by greateggs

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.

David Archuleta, Weather Boy
by greateggs

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.

All About Archuleta

2008-07-13T22:20:00.001-04:00

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

2008-07-13T18:15:00.006-04:00

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

2008-07-13T17:54:00.002-04:00

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

2008-07-13T00:12:00.002-04:00

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

Food: Georgia Diner

2008-07-12T23:24:00.004-04:00

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]

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

2008-07-11T23:57:00.006-04:00

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]

Is it Tuesday yet?

2008-07-08T12:21:00.001-04:00

[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 ...

A couple that eatsshopssleeps together stays together

2008-07-07T17:40:00.003-04:00

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]

Pretty in Pink

2008-07-03T21:14:00.011-04:00

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

2008-07-03T09:40:00.004-04:00

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]

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

2008-07-02T20:58:00.003-04:00

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!

“Stream of consciousness” reactions to “Secret Life” because I don’t have anything better to do.

2008-07-02T15:03:00.002-04:00

The Secret Life of the American Teenager
Tuesdays 8/7 Central, ABC Family

[Photos courtesy of shailene.sweetgiggles.net
Is it weird for me to say that I actually think Mischa looks better now?]
Shailene Woodley stars in this show. She used to be on The O.C. as Kaitlin Cooper. Good thing Willa Holland took over. Willa was a casting match made in heaven. Thoughts on Molly Ringwald: she still sounds and talks like a teenager!

This show is produced by Brenda Hampton, aka the mastermind behind Seventh Heaven. This is immediately apparent – did the use the same high school? The font that shows up across the bottom of the screen during the opening scenes looks identical to that of Seventh Heaven.

WHOA, WTF happened to Renee Olstead!? She looks like she’s 19-going-on-34. She looked so much better on Still Standing. Why is she still wasting her time on trying to get her acting career going? Why isn’t she a jazz prodigy? Her voice is amazing!

Diversity overload – my head is hurting.

It’s been a while since I’ve been a teenager, but I don’t think anything about this show is true to the secret life of the American teenager.

If I recall correctly, any Sharpay v3 in high school was not religious and was always frowning, not smiling. What jock would want to date such a talkative and chirpy chick? Maybe it’s because I grew up in New York City. Holy crap the guy wearing the sweater with the purple ... umbrellas? is a horrible actor. Horrendous.

Why does the Asian girl have pigtails? Is there a memo I missed on Asians and pigtails? The only time the Asian girls I went to high school with wore pigtails, it was during a field trip or some sort of weird school outing. Not every Asian character on TV should follow the Lane Kim scheme.

At least Kaitlin “Amy” Cooper’s friends aren’t dumb. That sort of girl wouldn’t put up with dumb girls. She probably reads Nabokov in her free time and is a ballet dancer. And watches Charlie Rose religiously.

Okay, I take the comment about Sharpay v3 (Grace)’s “jock” boyfriend back. She would totally be with that guy. He has a mushroom cut, almost. And they’re wearing complementary shades of baby pink and blue.

She is not fifteen. Nineteen at the very least. IMDB says: 21. And Canadian!

Yikes, Shailene Woodley is a bad actress. She’s such a Plain Jane, it’s incredible they ever hired her to play the snobby Kaitlin Cooper. I mean, I know the point of this show is to drive in the message that anyone could become pregnant, even a band camp nerd. But at least have one who can play the part! Then again ... The O.C. hired Mischa Barton ... I’ll bet Renee Olstead tried out for the part but gained too much weight during the Writer’s Strike so they created the other role for her.

John Mayer’s “Daughters” seems wildly inappropriate in this context.

Oh geez – the exterior shot of the house brought back Seventh Heaven flashbacks.

Amy’s sister is thirteen years old? Are you serious? Okay, maybe now I’m understanding why they played “Daughters”. This father is insane. Michael Lohan insane. Awkward dinner conversation ...

The only reason I can think of for the show focusing so much time on Sharpay v3 is that she is going to end up being cheated on and then using sex to get him back.
Grace’s dad is sleazy as hell. NOT believable, for someone who’s raised someone as religious as Gracey.

Why don’t the Asian kids have their own storyline?

... I think I’ll watch next week’s episode, so however horrible and unbelievable it was, it was interesting enough. Anyway, we all know that the more fantastical a show, the more addictive it is. See: Gossip Girl.

American Idol Song Roster

2008-07-02T10:08:00.009-04:00

Still no word from Jason Castro on how he thought opening night of the American Idol tour went, but everyone else has had things to say. I’ve never been to an American Idol concert and never plan on going again after this year, but apparently the format has changed dramatically this year – rather than many group numbers or even duets between finalists, the concert is made up of ten different sets, with a group number featuring finalists ten through six, and a nightcap of a final performance number by the whole gang. The entire shebang rounded out to just over three hours, including the intermission.

Song "Spoilers":
Chikezie Eze: “I Believe to My Soul”, “Caught Up”, “So High”
Ramiele Malubay: “I Want You Back”, “Love Will Lead You Back”, “If I Never See Your Face Again”
Michael Johns: “We Will Rock You”, “It’s All Wrong, But It's All Right”, “Dream On”
Kristy Lee Cook: "Squeezin' the Love Out of You”, “God Bless the USA”, “Cowgirls”
Carly Smithson: “Bring Me to Life”, “Crazy on You”, “I Drove All Night”
Brooke White: “Let it Be”, “1234”, “Yellow”
Jason Castro: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, “Crazy”, “Daydream”
Syesha Mercado: “Umbrella”, “If I Ain’t Got You”, “Listen”
David Archuleta: “Angels”, “Apologize”, “Stand By Me”, “When You Say You Love Me”
David Cook: “Hello”, “Time of My Life”, “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”, “My Hero”, “Billie Jean”

I unearthed a somewhat old video (a week old?) of the finalists talking about what they planned on bringing with them on tour: watch Castro’s face as Syesha Mercado lists the ten thousand necessities she’s lugging along. Gotta love that kid, he certainly wears his heart on his sleeve. Also funny is David Archuleta’s response when “mama” Carly Smithson helps him create a list that includes his phone, his toothbrush (and toothpaste), his books:
“... it’s summer though.”
“Oh, it’s summer?”
“Yeah.” (No kidding, Carly. It’s even summer in Ireland!)
“You don’t have to go to school while you’re on the bus?”
“I probably should.”

[Photo courtesy of The Insider]
DArchuleta also mentioned backstage, to USA Today, that he is aiming for a November release of his debut album.

Those Crazy Lohans

2008-07-01T18:00:00.002-04:00

... the photo we’ve all been waiting for has surfaced (or In Touch bought it). Meet Ashley Kaufmann, the 13-year-old who is possibly the half-sister of the infamous Lohan clan:

[Photo courtesty of In Touch Weekly]
Let the judging begin! I, for one, can see the resemblance between her and Michael Lohan, but can’t say for sure. I think I can even see a little bit of Lindsay and Dakota (Cody) in her, but like I said earlier, those Sullivan family genes are stronger than Maker’s Mark.

(By the way, did you know that Dina’s birth name is DONATA!? Yikes.)

So it’ll be another few days, after Michael Lohan’s DNA test has been processed, until we find out whether Ali will have someone her own age in her own family to pick on.

In the meantime, a three-month old voicemail media whore (Michael, that is) left for daughter Lindsay was leaked. It’s full of empty promises, but that’s no surprise.

Better late than never: a video of Lilo and Samantha Ronson on the set of Labor Pains on Friday. When asked to comment on her father’s other daughter, she points to SamRo and says quite succinctly (using a “publicity stunt” to throw another one), “Didn’t you hear? We’re expecting.”

For general SamRo quirkiness, see if you have the patience to sit through all 7.5 minutes of this video for the good bits.

American Idol's Jason Castro has dutifully reported the behind-the-scenes actions of the tour to us, as promised. He’d make an excellent husband – very consistent and reliable. Anyway. He apologized in a MySpace bulletin for skipping out on his weekly date with his fans (Dreadheads?) because the American Idol moguls have tightened their iron fist around the finalists and there are rules against posting photos and videos. Tear. But a very enthusiastic “Jasonnn.” quips: “i cant wait to let yall know how the first show goes!!! ttyl!” We can’t wait to hear all about it.

Start your engines, it's July

2008-07-01T16:26:00.003-04:00

American Idol tour starts tonight! David Archuleta said he was “a little nervous, but I’m way excited at the same time” in his blog yesterday. Nothing particularly interesting, because this is DArchuleta we’re talking about. The same 17-year-old who’s never been kissed, disclosed that the last thing he “bought” was an overweight fee for his luggage ... I’m waiting for Jason Castro to give us the dirt.

And to give the women of the Top Ten some credit, The Los Angeles Times sat down with them recently and asked them what it was like being a female in a season when the guys dominated. Syesha Mercado said that “By the Top 3, I said, ‘Now people will like me more. I’ll get more fans.’ But no, at the most, I got like six letters. That’s at the most, six letters a week.”

Cracking me up: The French media is reporting (yet again) that Angelina Jolie has given birth to her twins. No one knows whether or not to trust them and is paying her half-assed wishes, in case they’re being punk’d. The woman’s gotta pop at some point or another, though. Isn’t she practically overdue?

[Photo courtesy of VanityFair.com]
The annual Young Hollywood issue of Vanity Fair has hit newsstands. No one particularly surprising or of note. However, I have noticed how hot Amanda Seyfried has gotten over the past year or so ... and had to check out her “interview”.
Jimmy Choo or Christian Louboutin? “Prada. I don’t have any, but they make a woman’s leg look fantastic.”
Favorite designer? “Miu Miu. I can’t afford it, but I love it.”

Love her already.

In the same issue, Kristen Stewart disappoints admirers across the rainbow spectrum:
Boy crush? “My boyfriend, Michael Angarano!”
What, she’s not gay!? Good news, ladies: she’s young yet! Gentlemen: give up the fight.

Caught in a Speidiweb of lies

2008-07-01T12:24:00.001-04:00

[Photo courtesy of Just Jared]
Speidi has now become synonymous with the word “ridiculous”. And I can’t really think of Heidi Montag as a separate entity from the driving force of Spencer Pratt. Anyway, the word on the street is that Heidi now wants to record a Christian album. USA Today was lucky enough to get an “exclusive” interview with the budding Christian artist: “I have been the most religious person since I was 2 years old. I always felt this crazy connection to God.”

She told the magazine that she and Spencer are planning a trip to Africa in August to “feed children and help build things”. Apparently, she even planned to devote her life as a missionary in Africa at one point. Is it abnormal that I’m visualizing Heidi and Spencer sprinkling bread crumbs at starving child?

And, of course, paying homage to Lauren Conrad, the person who helped her pave her path to fame and fortune: “There were rumors about a sex tape, but I had nothing to do with that. God knows the truth in all of this, and at the end of the day, that is the only that matters. Jesus was persecuted, and I’m going to get persecuted, ya know?”

Heidi, darling, namedropping God is not the way to go.

Mondays always sucked.

2008-06-30T21:15:00.009-04:00

[Photo courtesy of Fisherwy at Blogspot;
Mustache courtesy of her cow’s milk]
Shocker! American Idol’s Kristy Lee Cook, eliminated at seventh place this year, is the first finalist since the two Davids to announce a record deal. She has reportedly signed with 19 Recording’s Nashville sector, Arista Nashville, which she was signed to as a teenager! What is even more shocking is that her single, “15 Minutes of Shame” will hit airwaves on August 11th – possibly before runner up David Archuleta’s first single.

Something about that just ain’t right. Aside from the fact that she was my least favorite of the top ten, why isn’t the spotlight going to Carly Smithson, Brooke White or, hell, even Jason Castro? I foresee Arista Nashville giving her the boot in the near future, just as they did all those years ago.

Model Ruslana Korshunova’s death on Saturday is bothering me in a way similar to the way Heath Ledger’s death bothered me. Her death has been ruled “an apparent suicide”, but nothing has been said that would substantiate this claim, which of course, leaves the masses to poke and prod at the girl’s life. Most of the reports cite her MYSPACE as examples of a so-called downwards spiral her life took. Are we seriously this starved for “news”? And Geraldo Rivera showed clips of her uncovered body at the scene on Fox News. Disgusting.

In real fake news, Lindsay Lohan seems to have convinced Samantha Ronson to hold hands with her on Friday -- in broad daylight, for no reason than out of affection. Last weekend, Lilo seemed to have a little difficulty convincing SamRo to give into the baby PDA while leaving Hamburger Central. What a difference a few days make!

Day of Rest does not compute.

2008-06-29T21:06:00.009-04:00

Blake Lively is virtually unrecognizable when her smile is turned upside down! Rumor has it that Blake and her Gossip Girl co-star Penn Badgley had a big argument on set and may be on the outs! That’s okay; Penn can make a triangle out of the Chace-Ed pairing.

Question: why are B-to-D-list celebrities’ blogs making People.com headlines? First it was the whole hoo-ha over David Archuleta’s video blog and written blog on People magazine’s website, and now it’s Samantha Ronson’s latest blog on her (admirable) love for the sewer that is New York City during the summer. I guess there can’t be any lawsuits if it’s coming straight from the horse’s mouth ...

This past week, the latest findings from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life in the United States was released, and they were interesting. Basically, Americans are delusional, don’t follow logic, and love everyone.

The confusing and illogical results follow:

92% of adults believe in God, even if they don’t practice a religion.
58% say they pray at least once a day.
78% say that there are “absolute standards of right and wrong” but
only 29% rely on religion to define the standards.
74% believe there’s a heaven while 59% believe in a hell.
70%, including major Christian and non-Christian groups (minus the poor Mormons) say “many religions can lead to eternal life.”
68% say “there’s more than one true way to interpret the teachings of my religion”

La la la.

50% say “homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society”.

Most surprising to me was the mere 28% of evangelicals who claimed that religion was their “main influence in their political thinking”.

So ... Obama, McCain, those evangelicals are up for grabs! And I guess we’ll just have to wait for the next president to legalize gay marriage for all citizens of the United States. For now, thank your chosen god for MACACAMA. Or Mormon Mitt Romney, sort of. I love you too!

[Photo courtesy of Flynet Online]

Waiting on the world to change

2008-06-29T13:51:00.004-04:00

[Photo courtesy of Just Jared]
For all those who just couldn't understand my inability to watch John Mayer perform. Truly a guy whose intellect I value over his looks.

Conservatively Girl Crushin'

2008-06-29T11:06:00.006-04:00

[Photos courtesy of, L-R: JAMD.com and DavidCookWeb.com]
Also in my copy of the August 2008 Teen Vogue (don’t worry, I’ve recently canceled my subscription) is a completely useless article on girl crushes. It fails in trying to make lucid the difference between admiration and the possibility of the never-talked-about bisexuality or lesbianism, and generally makes a big to-do about nothing. There was a slightly more enlightening article on girl crushes a few years ago in The New York Times.

Teen Vogue quotes several victims of girl crushes, and as teens, they were expectedly ineloquent about their admiration. Ashlee is the best example of girl crushing gone wrong: When Ashlee split with her former friend, she found a new passion that her girl crush wasn’t into: literature. “She hated reading ... But books are my escape.” Yikes. Sounds like Ashlee has a few issues, but we’ll leave that to her therapist to work out.

The twenty- and thirty-somethings quoted in the New York Times article are slightly more comfortable and forthcoming with the details. Jane Weeks (actually in her forties) apparently was the object of many-a-woman’s affection – “At first, it’s flattering you’re inspiring them. When they parrot back parts of yourself, it’s extremely uncomfortable ... When you’re on a pedestal, there’s no way but down. And it’s lonely up there. You can’t share your weaknesses.” She, as of 2005, was “an outdoorswoman who has hiked through the Andes from Argentina to Chile” and believed that she represented “some National Geographic chick”. Hmm. Could it be that those who “girl crushed” on her mistook her for something else?

Teen Vogue cites Blake Lively, Natalie Portman, Ellen Page and model Agyness Deyn as the top celebs being crushed on. And now that Lindsay Lohan is with Samantha Ronson, SamRo has been thrust into the limelight in a whole new way – for both girls who like girls and girls who like boys. As Teen Vogue would say: Does she inspire you to want to learn to DJ? Girl crush. To stay calm in times of great strife? Girl crush. To want to cozy up to Lilo? No comment.

... and after thinking a little more deeply about this, the great waves of inspiration one David Archuleta has created with American Idol fans is very, very curious. For those who haven’t considered their admiration to be anything but a crush, fine. But I’ve come to the conclusion that the strange parasocial relationship I have with DArchuleta might just be a girl crush.

Backstreet's not back -- they were never gone, but they're going.

2008-06-28T18:36:00.007-04:00

[Photo courtesy of MSN]
MSN Music is currently featuring a pre-taped screening of the Backstreet Boys in concert. Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I am a huge Backstreet Boys fan, but there’s something very wrong with seeing four grown men dressed in boxing robes doing nine-year-old choreography to “Larger Than Life.”

What is up with the boxing gimmick? I’m pretty sure the Backstreet Boys concert was taped before the American Idol finale script was even an embryo of a thought, but what is the appeal of introducing male more-or-less pop singers to the audience through a WWF-esque medium? I’d be more interested in seeing Syesha Mercado duke it out with David Cook or Nick Carter, but seeing as female pop singers just don’t look sexy in boxing robes, I don’t think that’ll ever happen. I’m also pretty sure everyone who is willing to shell out the price of a Backstreet Boys ticket either already knows where their favorite “boxers” hail from or does not want to watch them humiliate themselves as such. I mean, what happened to marketing them as sexy? What happened to letting AJ McLean hump the stage in 1997?

To catch everyone up on Backstreet Boys news, apparently they released a second single from their 2007 album “Unbreakable”. It’s a lot of the same ole same ole: Boys placed against a natural backdrop, with an unattainable model-cum-porn star sulkingly representing the one true love of all four of their lives.

At some point, Howie Dorough, the one we all assumed was gay, got married to a woman. And then just recently, his father died. Former BSB member Kevin Richardson and wife Kristin had a child. I think. I hope I’m not making that up. Nick is now, apparently, sober. I didn’t realize he was, at some point, not sober. In the rock star sense of the word, of course.

Everything else remains constant in the backstreet. Brian Littrell is still injecting Backstreet Boys lyrics with the random “Hello” while still managing to keep up with the dance moves, which are more advanced than ever -- surprising, as none of us are getting any younger. I didn’t realize Nick was that flexible.

And as big of a fan I was and am of his, no mention of Nickolas Gene Carter should go without this brilliant clip:
[Courtesy of YouTube user “maahcarter”]
This may be the final tour for the Backstreet Boys – their American wing of the tour is sorely lacking in stops. The closest show to New York City is in Atlantic City, at a House of Blues. But watching this London taping of the concert, I’m kind of glad.

Holla at the Cheap Hipsters ... CHipsters, if you will.

2008-06-28T16:32:00.007-04:00

I got my Teen Vogue in the mail today and realized (I haven’t been keeping up) that Richard Chai was announced as the next Target Go International designer, to debut in stores in August. Teen Vogue is spectacular at making typically un-spectacular clothes look like they’re worth the 60,000 pennies they cost, but it managed to make the line look like a rainbow of potato sacks.

[Photo courtesy of Nylonmag.com]
Fortunately, Nylon magazine brought a more detailed look at the line, modeled on real models rather than thrown against a flat surface. And the line manages to revive the Go International line just a little, by combining fun with trendy and practicality. With any luck, the clothes -- in person -- will not disappoint.

In other fashion news, here’s a fashion NEVER:
[Photo courtesy of Celebrity-Gossip.net]
KFed says hello while living the good life off of Britney’s alimony and eating more bags of Cheetos than his metabolism can afford.

Week End Drama

2008-06-28T11:10:00.007-04:00

Loads of ridiculousness! Loads!

Lindsay Lohan’s father Michael reportedly had a kid with another woman while still married to Dina. There is another child out there who, if Dina ever got a hold of, would be put through the Lohan-family-grind to stardom. Too bad the 13-year-old daughter (and I say this with 100% confidence) looks nothing like the Lohan clan. Dina’s genes are the dominant ones – just look at their noses. And eyes. And bitchiness.

Some conspirator at Fashion.ie claims to have received tips from both The New York Post and The Daily News about Gossip Girl’s Chace Crawford and Ed Westwick having an on-set fling:
Seems like on-set sources, which the pubs tell us are reliable, have told each paper that Chace Crawford and Gossip Girl co-star and real-life roommate Ed Westwick are in a relationship and not trying to hide it, at least on set.
BOTH NY papers tell us that Chace and Ed were recently seen kissing, open-mouthed on set.
Very interesting!
The Post and Daily News both declined to publish this item because they don't like to "out" people.
I don’t normally buy into unnamed sources who say things that don’t seem to make sense, but maybe this time I just want to!

[Photo courtesy of TMZ.com]
I love Samantha Ronson more with each passing day: Here she is acknowledging a really annoying drunk girl who pretends she’s a paparazzo carrying around a bright pink camera phone. SamRo the new DArchuleta? Not quite, not quite yet.

All Things American, sort of

2008-06-26T21:32:00.011-04:00

Not sure when Demi Lovato became bonafide fodder, but here we are. She told one particular teenybopper magazine that she gets loud and obnoxious (not in so many words) around guys. And journalists, apparently. Ah, to be fifteen and pugnacious – in a completely sugary and pink (or black, since emo is the new bubblegum) way.

3 out of 4 Americans blame Bush. For everything. The economy, the natural disasters, the food recalls (the world is ending, no joke there), the mishandling of disaster zones, probably even for convincing them to vote for him a second time: The LA Times quoted a deeply sorry individual as saying, “I’m what I call middle-class poor ... It seems like [Bush] is not in touch with the American people ... I voted for him both elections, but I wouldn’t vote for him again.” Can’t blame ‘em. What we need is change we can believe in, no? (Is that trademarked? Was I supposed to put a copyright sign above it?)

David Cook and Audrina Patridge at some Glamour magazine party. Not sure what they were doing there, as neither appear to be of Glamour's, what, mid 20s-to-early 30s female demographic ... And not quite the ideal collision between two of my most talked about reality shows, but I’ll take what I can get. Damn, Cook looks like a man who got lucky. Well, he knows that we know he knows he is. Because he did. And you know I would’ve chosen Whitney Port and David Archuleta, though that would’ve been ... awkward at best. Perhaps Lo Bosworth would’ve fit snuggly near-ish DArchuleta’s chin ... or ... upper ear.

[Photo courtesy of Rock It Til You Drop It]

The State of Television

2008-06-26T20:57:00.002-04:00

Wow, maybe I haven’t been paying attention, or maybe the media is making too much out of nothing: a possible Actors’ Strike?

“I don’t think the writers’ strike was good for anybody,” Teri Weinberg of NBC Entertainment told The New York Times. No, but it did allow crap like quarterlife and I Survived A Japanese Game Show! to get airtime ...

Even Boston Herald chimed in with an ace headline as, “Actors’ strikecould hurt Mass[achusetts] movie biz”: someone with the unfortunate surname of Paleologos was quotes as having said, “I honestly believe that even if there is a [strike], that we’re still going to be in business this summer with at least two pictures ... And I don’t think anyone, even the most pessimistic people, feel that if the actors’ strike happens, that it’ll be for a long time.” It’s sprinkled with other gems which Google uses as a pulled quote to attract eyes: “But Chris O’Donnell, business manager of Local 481 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts ...” That’s enough. We get it. Boston would feel the brunt of this strike, duh.

Going back to I Survived A Japanese Game Show, I was returning to work from lunch when I saw the promo on the huge billboard in Times Square. I thought it was a failsafe fail from the moment I set my eyes on it. How do I feel about it now, after a whole, oh five minutes, of cringing? Not good, my friend, not good. What has our world come to? Are we not stooping as low as our Japanese television executive comrades are in sending our patriotic ones over to represent our country in a battle of scrambled eggs and ? And what spin did ABC put on this to get it past its unspoken “educational television” moniker? Cultural awakening? Breaking down racial barriers? It’s not just a Japanese thing, either, it’s an Asian thing.

By the way, I beg to differ – many Americans have “gone there” before. See: blonde teen pop idols who the Asian teen girls adore. (E.g. Jesse McCartney in Taiwan, at a “game show")

[Photo courtesy of YouTube user "jwwf11"]
Kawaii, no?

P.S. ABC, the ridiculous sound effects can be construed as propagating racial stereotypes, doncha know? And nice touch with the guy who thought Japanese looked like hieroglyphics. I feel ya, guy. Two years of college-level Mandarin classes. I feel ya.

Rant of the Week

2008-06-25T23:41:00.003-04:00

I have gone through some sort of mind-bogglery tonight. Or something.

I was prepared to spit out all this great gossip – something about Anne Hathaway’s scumbag (barely) ex-boyfriend, something about Olivia Thirlby ... Then the Bloomingdale’s free shipping promotion took over my life.

So I’ve had my eye on both the Terra Cotta and Royal Blue Longchamp Le Pliage tote bag for some while now. I’ve visited Saks, Bloomie’s and countless other retailers and have not been able to locate either color for some time. Bloomie’s remains the only trustworthy online retailer which carries both colors (idiot that I am, I missed the official Longchamp sale by a hair ... a hair!). The free shipping (usually $13 for a bag as the one I was hungry for) was for purchases of $150 and over. The bag in question is $135.

What to get for $15, what to get for $15? NOTHING. This is Bloomingdale’s we’re talking about, and nothing – save for mesh panties and winter sock-shoes, are anywhere close to $15. So I turned to the relatively standard category of beauty products.

After over an hour of pleading with my mother to please restock her moisturizer early (and failing), I realized that Beauty was not included in free shipping.

Bastards.

Wanting not to go the way of Spanx or mesh undies (seriously!?), I finally decided to order two Longchamp bags: one in Terra Cotta and one in Royal Blue in case either one is unsatisfactory, and to return the other when I’ve decided.

Here’s to hoping I’ll be able to part with one of them.

Not to let the night go completely to waste, I did salvage one bit of celebrity gossip – mumblemumblemumble Guitar Hero mumblemumble rockumentary mumble 70s. I have no idea why the American Idols are dressed up this way – it has something to do with a rockumentary promotion for Guitar Hero that will air someplace, sometime during the tour this summer, but I thought the photograph was priceless:

[Photo courtesy of MJs Big Blog]
Naturally, the two Davids just so happen to look the worst of the bunch, with David Cook looking like a gigolo or pimp or retired porn star, and David Archuleta ... Fez? My real question is why are Jason Castro and DArchuleta wearing girls’ clothes!?

Deluded or in denial

2008-06-24T21:27:00.000-04:00

Plenty to report today. Let’s start with the deluded team that is Speidi. Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt are getting together to form ... get ready for it ... SPEIDIWEB, a social networking site that Spencer claims will “be bigger than MySpace, bigger than Facebook.”

... you think that’s deluded?

Heidi thinks The Beckhams are “great with their branding, but Speidi is going to take it to another level ... I mean, I definitely want to surpass both of them.”

A UK Heinz commercial was pulled because 200 viewers felt uncomfortable with the two males kissing. I can’t even call it a homosexual kiss; it is completely devoid of feeling and is supposed to be humorous. I don’t know what to say but “I’m offended.”

And to leave on a light note, video of Shia LaBeouf on the set of Transformers 2, being the funny guy that he is. I love a guy who isn’t afraid of making a fool of himself in public.

[Courtesy of YouTube user “PhillyFilmGirl”]

Killing two stars with one post

2008-06-23T21:26:00.001-04:00

[Photo courtesy of LindsayImages.org]
The proof is in the pudding.

Not much by way of celebrity news tonight:
- Courtney Love now looks like the Joker come to life
- DArchuleta used to wake up at 4:45am to run, likely before seminary, and wants to know what you’re doing this summer
- Jason Castro is much more awkward than I remembered

Press play if you wanna hear Heidi Montag sound like Uffie and the 80s’ bastard child. Spencer claims it’s the “best song of my life!” And I can totally hear him saying that. Dumbass.

Sorry I don’t have much to offer. Maybe the world will be more cooperative tomorrow and Sam Ronson and Lindsay Lohan will, god forbid, hold hands in public.

We're all ears!

2008-06-22T13:31:00.011-04:00

Sunday, Teenybopper edition!

[Photo courtesy of WireImage.com]
Plans were cancelled last night and I found myself watching Camp Rock on ABC. Yes, you heard it here first – not only did I watch a Wonderful World of Disney presentation, but I am admitting it here: I do not have cable and was subjected to low-grade Disney.

But nevermind. The three-hour long exposure to The Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato spurred me to catch up on what goes on in tweeny and teeny land. Let’s start with a paragraph-long “review” of Camp Rock:
The hottest male teen sensation plus the inexplicable High School Musical formula do not a success make. The acting was superbly terrible, as is expected of Disney Channel productions these days. I’m beginning to think that the director probably shouts “bigger, bigger, overact!” through his or her proverbial megaphone so the tweenies will “get it”. Because Zac Efron has acting chops, but HSM 1, 2 and likely 3 give little indication of that. Anyway, the hype surrounding Camp Rock has built up enough to propel Demi Lovato into superstardom in the Radio Disney realm – plus, she’s cute enough and has a good enough voice. Most atrocious was Meaghan Jette Martin’s performance which, unlike Ashley Tisdale’s Sharpay Evans, was one-dimensional and lacked vulnerability in parts that desperately needed it. Joe Jonas’s star, unfortunately, will not be hurt by his terrible acting job (or by his terribly squeaky voice, while we’re at it) and Disney will continue to believe that as long as a cute male teen idol is involved, any Cinderella formulaed-production will work.

Moving on. Why is it that Disney dominates the teen scene so much more than it did when I was a teen? This monopolization of pop culture frightens me. Did Nickelodeon go down with Jamie-Lynn Spears? Vanessa Hudgens defended boyfriend Zac Efron in Newsweek magazine against the rumors that Zac showers sparingly. ZEfron, according to STV.tv, likes curvy girls: “I don’t know the exact measurements but I like curvy girls – girls with hips. I’m also huge on legs. I love girls with nice, long, sexy legs.” Not good enough to explain why he’s “with” Vanessa.

David Archuleta attended last night’s premiere of Pixar’s Wall-e, sporting a trendy-borderline-grandfatherly hat – probably to hide the fact that he is in dire need of a haircut. That’s news, if his being homeschooled and his MySpace blogs make headlines. Also there was a newly-brunette Katie Cassidy (maybe it’s not new, but I haven’t been paying much attention since she and Jesse McCartney called it quits). What is she up to these days, aside from aging quite rapidly?

The New York Times hits a new low

2008-06-20T00:00:00.007-04:00

Are they trying, just to keep up with the Joneses, to appeal to the younger generation? What, and lose the Mid-Atlantic-WASPy tone I imagine every one of their articles is injected with?

Your Money: A Primer for Young People Starting Their First Job
To the employers who are about to put them to work, however, I urge you to take another look at the pile of employee manuals that detail all your fabulous benefits. They’re boring. They’re confusing. And they start in the middle instead of defining things from the beginning ...

Health insurance is expensive. Employers generally pay for some or most of it, but usually not all. You’ll probably pay your share of the cost in at least two ways.

First, your employer will probably take some money out of your paycheck regularly. This is called the premium. Then, there’s something called a deductible, where each year you have to pay at least the first couple of hundred dollars toward many kinds of medical expenses, like prescription drugs or doctor fees or payments to mental health practitioners. Finally, there’s the co-payment, a $15 (or $50 or $100) fee you pay for every doctor visit or prescription.

No shiz, Ron Lieber. I'm not just starting my first job, but even if I were, I'd know all this, what with my $120,000 college degree!

Thnks fr th dvc.

NEWSFLASH: DArchuleta works out, has goldfish named "Conditioner"

2008-06-18T23:33:00.009-04:00

[Courtesy of David Archuleta and Team David]
It's a freakin' slow news day. The most exciting thing that I read today is that David Archuleta used to work out before Idol, has a goldfish (the size of his hand!) named "Conditioner" and his first language was Spanish. He thinks he's gotten "flabby". Seventeen and flabby. Wait till he sees his body transform into Dadchuleta's.

Oldies but goodies:

Samantha Ronson in her "femme"-r days:
[Courtesy of YouTube user "villiamq"]
Okay, that's kinda hot.

Girlfriend Lindsay Lohan poking fun of herself on TMZ:

[Courtesy of YouTube user "AtomicSpike"]

Rant of the Week

2008-06-17T23:33:00.010-04:00

Aside from my disapproval of Mark Ronson's affected Mid-Atlantic (but mostly British) accent and the scientifically inaccurate lyrics of OneRepublic's "Apologize" ("I loved you with a fire red, now it's turning blue" -- blue fire is commonly known to be hotter than red fire, Ryan Tedder) -- both of which are not news, I am appalled at the new fashion or just dumb celebrity trend of bright, like CARIBBEAN blue nail polish.

The people over at Fashionista.com spoke to Lauren Conrad about her oh-so-fascinating nails:
Well, that's weird [that people are obsessed with her nails] ... yeah, I stopped doing black, and now I'm getting really playful. I just got this electric blue color, and also these metallic foils from Sephora that are kind of crazy. You push them down onto your nails and they stay there, like instead of polish. Oh, and I like going to party supply stores because they sell glitter nail polish that's really intense. When you paint it on your nails, they look like disco balls.

Why oh why is this trend back? I wore several shades of blue polish back in the day (when I was twelve, and I'm being literal here) and when I caught a photo of myself wearing a bright red wool sweater with baby blue nails, I swore never to wear light blue polish again. So even though the girls of The Hills and a couple of other key players in Hollywood (and people who should know better -- Heidi Klum?) have jumped back on the bandwagon, I am passing on this one. Can someone tell them that it's not flattering in the least?

Dior said NAVY BLUE nail polish was in, not "electric blue"! Stay in fashion school for one more year, Lauren!

[Photo courtesy of Egotastic]
*You can't really tell, but in that photo of Whitney Port's unfortunate nip slip, she is in fact wearing light blue nail polish. I know that's what you're all focusing on in this photo.

The Friday Five: 6/13/08

2008-06-13T23:59:00.010-04:00

Things that made me crack up this week:

- According to Mavrix Online, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt are some savvy minxes: they hit the red carpet of Trent Vanegas’ Pink Is The New Blog relaunch, only to scoot back into their car once they got their money shots – and never attended the actual event!

- Lily Allen’s visit to the United States, and her incredible documentation of it on her MySpace blog. BEST PHOTO OF THE WEEK.

- While watching Nashville Star for the very first time, I realized that Jewel now displays a Southern accent. Since when was Alaska part of the deep South? I know she’s going country now, but even Pennsylvania native Taylor Swift knows better than to put on an affectation like that.

- I know that even Shia LaBeouf hates himself a little more for using offensive slurs (I suppose it could be called that) to get his friend to slap him, but somehow the offensive Shia of yesteryear endears me yet more to him. I suppose, like David Archuleta, Shia LaBeouf can do no wrong in my eyes. And Shia is right – tequila would not have helped. Happy Belated Birthday, dude.

- No one in the United States is eating tomatoes. Silently, Taco Bell, McDonald’s and In N Out weep. And Heinz celebrates.

RIP Tim Russert.

[Photo courtesy of Lily Allen's MySpace]

Girlfights and two lame chicks

2008-06-12T23:50:00.007-04:00

I caught up with Living Lohan for the first time today, mostly because I was curious about how big of a twat Ali Lohan really is. A huge one, I've concluded. But Dina Lohan is really to blame -- she is one tough cookie and completely on the defensive, combative. Except when she gave that Jeremy Greene dude credit when he didn't deserve it -- but I think maybe it's because she (and her daughter) had a thing for him and probably didn't want him selling more lies if they'd kicked him to the curb.

Would someone tell Ali to do something about her bangs? They seriously make her look like an Italian Mama. And maybe just lay off on the heavy liner and LIPliner while she's at it? Someone needs to let girlfriend know that it ain't 1996 anymore.

Things seem to be back to normal -- maybe -- for Lauren Conrad and Audrina Patridge of The Hills. Just yesterday, OK! magazine reported that Lauren became enraged when she walked in on Audrina doing a photoshoot in their shared yard, and Audrina was quoted as having said: “She was very, very, very mad ... She said it’s her house. But this is my room. I said, ‘We’re not taking pictures of your house — don’t be rude.’ It just adds to the tension. Now she thinks I’m sneaky and shady for doing this photo shoot, yet she and her team knew about it. She won’t let it go.”

But then last night, the girls were spotted in relatively light moods, holding hands while leaving Crown Bar in Los Angeles.

Alcohol the social lubricant that also makes you forget your grudges? Send Lauren two boites of Grey Goose so she and Heidi Montag can move on with their lives, stat.

The New York Times thinks Samantha Ronson and Lindsay Lohan are together too (among other things). For now, anyway.

The season premiere of My Boys was boring. We've been waiting a year for this premiere, folks, give us more juice! And c'mon, if PJ could have him (and we know she could), she'd choose Brando in a New York second!

[Photo courtesy of The Gossip Girls]

Playing catch-up

2008-06-11T23:40:00.010-04:00

I have been behind, and for that, I truly apologize. I did a lot of reading of random things online today, and I would like to share with you my favorite tidbits:

- How to judge a dude by his food

Offensive? Having graduated from an all-girls college, I think so. But apparently I’m not the only one offended by this “article”. I think judgments made from food choices on dates have been heralded and spread by women. That said, however, this is not a male/female issue. It’s a people issue. If I’m going to judge a man by what he eats, I’m going to judge a female by what she eats just as much. Boring is boring and exotic is exotic. And I guess I never got the memo on turkey ...

- According to The Envelope, Katherine Heigl has pulled out as a nominee for the most Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Emmy:

“I am truly grateful for the honor that the Academy bestowed upon me last year. I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the Academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention. In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials.”

WOW, does she hate her job that much!? Way to get yourself fired!

- It’s been a scorching hot (or more like sauna hot) week on the East Coast, and NYMag.com has made a call for the best description (to those who don’t know any better) of what summer is truly like in the New York City. Here are some choice responses:

I season my drawers with a healthy dose of gold bond powder before walking out into the world. The best prevention I've found for the dreaded fire swamp. - LEGGOEGGO
I used to sleep in a cami and underwear, with a fan set up at the end of my bed and my feet in the gyno-stirrup position. Inelegant, but effective. - OMAHA
When I was a young professional liing on the fourth floor of a tenement in Astoria (right under the el tracks), I used to spend each and every evening soaking in a bathtub of cool water, a wet towel on my head and a volume of Dickens in my hand, all the windows open and a fan playing a safe distance away from the tub. Then, instead of sheets, I slept on an old bath towel. - ANEWMAN102

What a douche. Who reads Dickens in the tub, on a 100* day anyway? Just keeping a “volume” of his paid-by-the-word novels from falling into the bathwater will work up a sweat. I’d rather sit in a sweltering E train and ride it up and down until I’m ten pounds lighter and dehydrated like only Lindsay Lohan could know.

In other news, Jessica Alba should’ve known better and added an “é” to the end of her baby daughter’s name so at least she can have a good backstory and tell everyone she named her after the biggest fashion block in Paris, after Yves Saint-Laurent’s death. David Archuleta is still invoking the desire to blow belly farts across his tummy, a new line of Archie Pockets, and visions of newborn puppies eating candy and dancing, despite being desperately boring in his first official video blog. David Cook, too, did no better than Joe Schmoe in Joe Schmoe’s Pub in singing the national anthem at last night’s Lakers-Celtics game.
Looks like only time will tell which David really won.

... and last but not least, my practically-daily Lindsay/Ronson update: if they’re not dating, I don’t know why Samantha Ronson, Lindsay Lohan’s roommate (or is this a rumor, despite multiple grocery trips together?), would be paying her daily or near-daily visits on set of Lohan’s new flick, Labor Pains. Both Mark Ronson and Michael Lohan have possibly outed the couple already – what other proof do we really need? None for me, thanks, I’m on Diddy’s yacht cruising with the couple.

[Photo courtesy of GossipGirls.com]

Sweet Caroline, good times never seemed so good!

2008-06-04T20:48:00.004-04:00

[Photo courtesy of Huffington Post]
So the race for the Democratic ticket is ovaaaaaa.

The Washington Post article “Democratic Primary Boosts U.S. Image Around the World” offered some choice quotes:

"This is close to a miracle. I was certain that some things will not happen in my lifetime," said Sunila Patel, 62, a widow encountered on the streets of New Delhi. "A black president of the U.S. will mean that there will be more American tolerance for people around the world who are different."
The primary elections generated unprecedented interest around the world, as people in distant parliament buildings and thatched-roof huts followed the political ups and downs as if they were watching a Hollywood thriller.

Hollywood thriller it most certainly has been. Hillary Clinton has put up a tough fight, and news outlets are reporting that she is rumored to cede the nomination by Friday. How she thinks she has any chance in hell of getting on Obama’s ticket is beyond me. Caroline Kennedy FTW.

And most inspiring and uplifting quote of all: "The primaries showed that the U.S. is actually the nation we had believed it to be, a place that is open-minded enough to have a woman or an African American as its president," said Minoru Morita, a Tokyo political analyst.

Maybe this Minoru Morita should think about working for Obama.

Look, my favorite 2008 Idol (Mormon) contestant came in second. My favorite Presidential candidate (not by the merit of his political beliefs; also Mormon) came in second in the Republican race (okay, in my heart). Things are looking pretty good for Obama.

Except now that the tides have turned and there are two clear frontrunners, Obama is lookin' more and more like DArchuleta and McCain like David Cook. The good news here is that we're allowed only one vote each and polls close well before anyone's bedtime.

Happy Pairings

2008-06-03T21:28:00.006-04:00

To ease the tension as we await Hillary Clinton’s concession tonight:

[YouTube user “hollywoodtv”]

As if I didn’t already like Samantha Ronson, I now love her for staying so calm. I don’t know what she’s doing with Lindsay Lohan, but it’s sweet to see Lindsay act so maternal. Can they come out already?

Another coupling I don’t quite understand: Jesse McCartney and Danity Kane’s Aubrey O’Day. She’s three years his senior, but that’s never stopped JMac. Neither, apparently, do flubber lips, popping cleavage, Mystic tans or wonky eyes. Katie Cassidy to this!? DOWNGRADE.

... and now we wait with bated breath. Except not, because we know Hillary’s boat has sunk.

[Photo courtesy of JustJared.com]

Catching up

2008-06-01T23:49:00.005-04:00

So I did not expect last week to be as crazy as it was. Let’s just say the Davids of American Idol lore descended upon New York City and everything else was a lost cause. I can tell you one thing: twenty-three is not a nimble and energetic seventeen, and my stalking skillz are more than a little rusty. However, I can confirm that David Archuleta sounds better singing in person than he does through cathode-ray tube projections. David Cook doesn’t sound too bad either, and how he continues to sing “Time of My Life” without cracking up continues to amaze me.

Anyway. With the Davids tucked into obscurity (at least until the tour begins), I can focus on the important things at hand. Like how interesting it is that no one seems particularly shocked or interested in the fact that Ashlee Simpson is pregnant. Or why most people are downplaying the Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson rumors. It would make me like her better, and I couldn’t even tell you why. (Okay, it’s because I’ve always liked Samantha Ronson more than I liked Lindsay, but that really doesn’t say much.) If it’s all true, I can’t wait for Lindsay to come out of the closet, followed closely by Dina and little sister Ali coming out of their own Long Island JAP closets (yes, I realize they’re not Jewish) and owning up to Lindsay’s “alternative lifestyle choices”.

The other thing that has been hovering in my line of vision is Christina Aguilera’s permanent frown. It’s extra creepy when filled in with hot pink lipstick, but my post-partum depression radar is pinging like crazy. At least she flashed a few smiles last night at LAX in Vegas. Is she still upset that Max popped out ugly? Was that a surprise?

[Photo courtesy of WENN]

Challenge Complete

2008-05-24T21:18:00.006-04:00

[Photo courtesy of ArchuletaFans.com]
The dust of David Archuleta’s “loss” on season seven of American Idol has settled, and my life is slowly returning to the way it was. I can’t say I wasn’t expecting a David Cook victory – in fact, I had not only called it at least six weeks earlier, but I had envisioned the confetti and the crying and the broad smiles had by Archuleta. Except my confetti was colorful – something the American Idol crew might want to look into next year.

This the first season I consistently watched American Idol, and it’s pretty safe to say that it’ll be my last. From my research, I’ve gathered that even for many veteran American Idol viewers, this season has been an especially emotional one. The emotional attachment to many of the contestants (I even felt a twinge in my heart when Brooke White was voted off, for crying out loud), in combination with my hunger to keep up with spoilers, news and behind-the-scenes interviews has gotten to be too much to take. I think I was as relieved as both Davids when the imminent David-squared finale drew a winner.

Alas, my American Idol challenge is complete; I will forgive myself for missing three episodes while on vacation mid-March. Here is what I learned:

There is a whole rabbit hole of traditions, conspiracy theories and terms out there for American Idol fanatics. I picked up a few – a pity, since I won’t be using them ever again: “TCO” (The Chosen One), “TPTB” (The Powers That Be, aka Randy, Paula and Simon and occasionally the evil producers such as Nigel Lythgoe), that contestants are often “thrown under the bus”, and “TMTH” (too much to handle), thanks to one Danny Noriega.

In addition to these foreign terms, I’ve learned to decipher Randy Jackson and swallow the overuse of words as “phonebook”, “baby”, “dawg” (this one I got over way back in Season One, when the press made fun of him for it) and “hot, hot, molten hot.” I have learned that fans of American Idol enjoy turning every mini-scandal into a “-gate” (see: “Paulagate”, “Promgate”, “Dadgate” or “Dadchuletagate”).

I have also learned that reading too much into the conspiracy theories is way trippy and only serves to hurt my brain, even if I am convinced something fishy’s going on.

That said, let’s celebrate the best moments of this season (from my very inexperienced American Idol perspective):
1. “I was thinking ... Bob Marley!”
Jason Castro was the best personality on this show. From his yawning to his happy-go-lucky attitude towards life, he was the source of stability and ... reality on an otherwise fantastical show.

2. The Top 2 Performances
I thought David Cook had it in the bag when he sang “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, but then DArchuleta upped him a notch (or four) with “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me”. And on and on ...

3. Chikezie Eze
The cutest contestant all season – I’ll never forget him bouncing around on stage following his performance of “She’s A Woman”. Or his mom. Or the horrific sight of Ryan Seacrest bouncing. [Photo courtesy of AmericanIdol.com]

4. “It’s just ... gosh!”
David Archuleta, Utah, homecoming, tears, gosh.

5. “I Am ... I Said”
Brooke White’s over-vulnerability got on my nerves as the weeks wore on, but this girl can sing folk like the best of them when she’s not stopping and restarting.

Five Things I’ll Never Understand:
1. The appeal of Kristy Lee
2. “Always Be My Baby”
3. Why David Archuleta left his personality behind the stage curtains
4. The Themes
5. Why Ryan Seacrest hasn’t been replaced

And so concludes my foray into the world of American Idol. It’s made a buck or two off of me and monopolized not a few of my hours with watching (and occasionally voting). And I’ll be going to the August 4th show. Good luck to all; I have no doubt the two Davids will prosper.

... and we will return to our regularly scheduled programming following the Memorial Day weekend. Have a good one.

Losing David

2008-05-13T19:54:00.005-04:00

[Photo courtesy of david-hq.org]
Last Friday, the remaining Idols were introduced to the world as standalone artists. As much as this was an awakening, a birth of the Idols from private to public, so it is for us television viewing fans. Before, they felt like our own – even if we were aware of the fact that there were others who “knew” and were “in” on the secret.

I’m not thirteen anymore, so I’ve seen many of my favorite celebrities come and go – rise to fame and lose it. It always starts out the same, and it’s always a painful process: raw talent, often combined with good-enough looks or a unique personality eventually snowballs into The Next Big Thing.

Maybe I’m not a typical fan, but this sudden thrust of my favorite entertainer is met with mixed feelings: do I want them to enjoy the fruits of their labor and run the risk of sex and drugs to go with their rock and roll, or do I want them to stay “my little secret”?

This has been the case from Day One with DArchuleta. Granted, things are a little different: he’s a contestant on one of the most-watched talent competitions on television, which would make him a celebrity regardless of his talent. I’m new to this “American Idol” sudden fame thing, but I am by no means new to the parasocial psychology behind television viewing.

The intimacy of our television sets is deceiving. Psychology has told us that we are prone to forging relationships with actors who appear regularly before us in the tube because we have, essentially, invited them into our homes. While we recognize that we share our likes with other people out there -- typically in cyberspace -- these people are nameless and faceless and do not exist in the realm of all things real.

However, it was the internet which gave us insight into our relationship with the "actors" last Friday. I don’t know how media outlets have approached past Homecomings, but this year, we were able to follow the Idols practically step-by-step for the whole of the trip home, which was exciting and completely disconcerting all at once. We were, in nearly every instance, allowed to watch as each of the Idols was made aware of how big their star has become – and concurrently, watch as they realized just as we were made to realize that they no longer belonged to themselves as much as they no longer belonged to just us. It’s a terrible Catch 22, really: the fans lost them to … the fans.

In the case of DArchuleta, this was ever the more apparent because of his seemingly inherent humility and innocence. In one day, from the 100 fans at the television station to his emotional reaction to the fans at The Gateway to, at last, the thousands upon thousands at both the Murray event and the Jazz and Lakers game, the sheer expedited growth in audience from place to place represented and reflected the compacted impact of the microcosmic “American Idol” stage. But as David broke down in tears and toughened up to the media and fame and pressure that comes with it, we felt him slip away – a little closer to the top and a little further away from us.

It was a sad moment, as this inevitable realization always is. He’s not “my” David anymore. He’s not even “our” David. He’s David Archuleta – in all its formal and impersonal glory. He belongs to the world now, and again.

For a "stoner", he sure is classy ...

2008-05-08T22:28:00.005-04:00

[Courtesy of YouTube user "jasoncastroonline"]
In the Entertainment Weekly Exit Interview with Jessica Shaw, Jason Castro has some good words for everyone:

For journalists:
Jason, I hear you're upset that I printed the quote you gave to me about wanting to go home. Do we need to make peace?
I'm not upset about it. It's cool. I said it.

For Simon:
Let's talk about Tuesday night. When Simon said no one should ever cover ''I Shot the Sheriff,'' did you think of reminding him that Eric Clapton did a great cover of the song?
You know, sometimes he says things that are obviously wrong. But no, I wouldn't have said that to him. My mom taught me never to make a person look wrong. I am just respectful. It's my place to sing a song and his place to judge.

For Andrew Lloyd Webber:
Did you want to kill Andrew Lloyd Webber for dissing you on stage?
No. I thought it was humorous. He was really very kind, but we're just different people. I don't think he gets me. I saw a lot of passion in him, but he couldn't pick up on my passion.

For Paula:
When Paula prejudged your second song, what was going through your head?
I didn't know what was going on. I was so confused. I was standing next to David and I wanted to turn to him and say, ''What?'' I thought the second song was good. I was just confused. It was too funny. But it was an honest mistake.

For Bob Marley:
Last night when you were singing ''I Shot the Sheriff'' again, you looked downright giddy to be singing for the last time on the Idol stage.
I was just so excited. As much as I wanted to be in it, I don't know. It was the realization of, Man, I don't have to deal with song pressure anymore. I was just so happy. That, and I love Bob Marley and reggae music.

For humankind:
You always seemed so mellow even when the judges were slamming you. How do you do that?
Well, it's just my mentality. They're just people. We're all just people.

Gentle soul. Wish you'd stayed a little longer.

Rock and Roll Does David Cook Wrong?

2008-05-06T23:22:00.004-04:00

Thoughts on tonight's show:

DArchuleta's back in the game. Predictable yet somewhat odd song choices, but he did a phenomenal job -- best since "Imagine". And he debuted a new palm-down move -- take that nit-pickers!

David Cook seemed distracted. He could've done so much with "Hungry Like The Wolf", but it came across as just average for him. Not his best, but he shouldn't beat himself up too much about it.

Syesha is hanging by a thread. She pulled out the sexy and the tears -- all the plugs. She needs it, though neither made me like her any bit more. I thought her first song was campy, her second song was horrendous. What Kool-Aid was Simon drinking during that second song? I want some.

Jason's already bumming on the beach. First song -- weak. Not sure what he was doing with his dreadlocks, but y'know, to each his own. Never a good sign when the music is louder than your voice, though. Second song -- UH OH UH OH UH OHHHHH my mom and I yelled when he blanked on the lyrics. I'm surprised this was his first time, though. Still charming as ever, though boy looks like he needs a little sleep. I think his fan base will pull overtime tonight to make sure he makes it into the top three, no matter how much he deserves to go home and how much he probably wants to be home.

Who do I think will ultimately go home tomorrow?

Syesha.

P.S. How much am I a fan of David Archuleta's to know that his best friend Adam was in the audience and was wearing a pineapple t-shirt for DArchuleta's fans? Adam called himself a "fruit" (hmmm) last night in a chat and did a terrible job trying to cover it up (calling it a "Utah thing" or some such). Anyone from Utah care to explain how this is not just a derogatory term for "homosexual"? Thanks. I'll go back to being a 23-year-old when the season's over.

BEST EPISODE EVER.

2008-04-30T22:02:00.002-04:00

Brooke White breaking down for the last time.
DArchuleta hiding behind Syesha because he became emotional for the second time.
Natasha Bedingfield attacking DArchuleta with her lips.
Most appropriate sing out since Alexandrea Lushington.
Simon Cowell's first crush and first kiss calling in.

The only thing that could've made that episode better is if Paula Abdul had owned up to her mistake last night.

Man oh man ...

About damn time

2008-04-17T00:03:00.005-04:00

[Photo courtesy of ecanadanow.com]
Although I thought it was between Brooke White and Carly "Hennessey" Smithson to go home tonight, somehow my long-forgotten prayers were answered and Kristy Lee Cook got the boot. This has been at least a month coming, since the only person I liked less than Kristy Lee got kicked off: eyebrow man David Hernandez.

[Photo courtesy of ArchuletaFans.com]
But since this is the DArchuleta show, how much did the puppeted David Archuleta look like Hairspray ZEfron tonight? See? The Mormon look works on these clean-cut Disney-esque stars.

But my question is: leather pants ... Mormon no more?

This is the David Archuleta Show

2008-04-15T20:13:00.004-04:00

Sorry. Yes, it has come to this.

You may not want to read this if you live on the West Coast. But David Archuleta has become a parody in and of himself, and somehow, I still like him.

[Courtesy of YouTube user "wannnacruise"]
Let's take a look at the list:
[x] sappy, inspirational song that we ALL saw coming
[x] "the sign" (that I know that is beyond pathetic for a newly-christened 23-year-old)
[x] LEATHER PANTS

... at least he finally got a haircut.

I think he'll win a few votes BECAUSE HE WORE LEATHER PANTS.

I'm going to laugh myself to sleep tonight.

The Decline of David Archuleta

2008-04-07T20:55:00.008-04:00

What happened to this kid?

[Courtesy of YouTube user "1DavidArchuleta" (very creative)]

If I hadn't stumbled upon it again, I would've forgotten that this kid:

[Photo courtesy, clearly, of ArchuletaFans.com]
used to have a personality, used to be capable of socializing like a relatively normal 17-year-old (well, 16 at the time, if you're keeping count), used to be able to take a compliment without looking like he was going to pee his pants, used to smile when he sang, and used to enjoy being on stage.

Get him outta there and get him his confidence back, stat!

Is it possible?

2008-04-01T20:32:00.004-04:00

Here I am jumping back on The Hills’ bandwagon … season 3 and 3/4ths has been dull dull dull. Maybe this is the show MTV had promised those Laguna Beach parents from the get-go: a reality show that tracks the careers and academic lives of their children. The show has become such mindless drivel that the addition of Stephanie Pratt to the cast is a welcome change (and maybe the only change).

One has to wonder why Lauren Conrad is being so open to the idea of letting “She-Pratt” into her life when she is so welcome to the idea of pushing Brody Jenner out of it. Let’s face it – in the 3.5 years we have watched LC cat-fight across our screens, she has been nothing but critical, stubborn, and often times merciless in her ways. Just look at the people who have fallen victim to her inability to forgive and forget: Kristin Cavallari, Jessica Smith, Heidi Montag, Jen Bunney, Spencer Pratt … and you can, until further notice, add Brody Jenner to that list. That’s a lot of people.

Is it just that Lauren is completely unwilling to be the first to open her mouth? Will it take an apology on the enemy’s part to make things right? Maybe. That’s all she seems to be looking for from Heidi, at the very least.

On Heidi: wow. I cannot look at her anymore and think anything but “alien woman”. Her hair is far too bleached, making her hairline nearly invisible. And her hair is abnormally flat – perhaps she should think about investing in some bangs. In addition to sucking that collagen out of her lips. Yuck, yuck, yuck. This girl needs some color, stat.
She should take a hint from her sometime lover’s sister.

I am loving Whitney Port, as always. That girl can do no wrong, because she is consistently normal (or boring, depending on how you look at it). I’m just waiting for Audrina’s storyline to pick up, because this season, I am Team Tier Two all the way.

[Photo courtesy of Us Weekly]

Who will be the next American Idol?

2008-03-31T20:26:00.003-04:00

Friends, it has been too long. Let’s just say the Italian sun did me no favors, and neither did their “legendary cuisine”. I am sad to report – after giving the country from which pizza originated – that New York wins, hands down.

As expected, I have much to catch up on in terms of celebrity gossip, but I have been keeping American Idol safely by my side. Since I last wrote, one of my personal favorites, Danny Noriega, was kicked off. But so was the annoying, eyebrow-swiggling David Hernandez.

While Danny Noriega did not perform to his fullest potential, I truly do believe he sacrificed the popular vote for self-expression. Kudos to that much. I hear he’s going to be working for Rosie O’Donnell?

And the David Archuleta pendulum continues to swing back and forth: I love him more than ever now, but am – with bated and forlorn breath – counting the weeks till he is booted off. I think it’s pretty inevitable – the hype has grown beyond his 5’5’’/5’6’’ frame and people are quickly tiring of him. With the advantage of having heard the studio versions of his last few performances, I can say that the botched performance of “We Can Work It Out” could have easily matched or surpassed his performance of “Shop Around” – if he hadn’t forgotten the lyrics with a panicked smile. I’m not sure what, at this point, he can do to make himself more interesting or gain more fans, as even his best will be mediocre in comparison to “Imagine”. That’s just the downside of peaking early.

The teen/sympathy vote will keep him going for a few more weeks, but like the presidential election, a lot of the fading contenders’ (Jason Castro, Ramiele Malubay) votes will go to fight “the lesser of two evils”. I’m still questioning whether his trip-ups are genuine or just a ploy to gain sympathy and make him appear more flawed. And for the record, the evil stage-dad rumors – publicity at any cost – seem neither to help nor hurt him.

Anyway, he’s got it made. He’s going to sign a recording contract when this is all over, American Idol or no.

[Photo courtesy of JustJared.com]
The other Mormon on the show, the 24-year-old married Brooke White is quickly losing her appeal. She continues to sing songs in the same style, with that same vulnerable, pitiful Corinne Bailey Rae chirpy rasp, and give the camera that sad smile. I’m not buying it anymore, and frankly, if it weren’t for her all-American pretty-good-looks, I would probably dislike her as much as I dislike Kristy Lee Cook (who needs to be booted off, STAT). Stop giving us your heartbroken smiles and playing the good-girl card. We know you’re a good girl; we know you’re LDS. Now try something new, or go back to Mesa and start making babies. Your clock is ticking, my dear.

And can someone explain to me the draw of David Cook? He’s good – I’ll give him that much (and the potential to be more attractive than most of the other male contestants). Maybe I just can’t see the big picture, but like Brooke White, I feel as if he’s pigeon-holed himself into a category that can only take him so far. If the history of American Idol is any indication, it’s pretty apparent that the winner will be, foremost, a pop star. Even success story Daughtry didn’t win.

Well, this week could be disastrous for some of our favorite Idols: it’s Dolly Parton week. Bless the Idols’ little souls, and bless our ears.

Comeback Rehabbers

2008-03-11T18:21:00.003-04:00

SPITZERSPITZERSPITZERSPITZERSPITZERSPITZERSPITZER.

Okay, I don’t care. Even if he is the guv’nah of New York. Politicians are dirty, and that’s a given.

But so are celebrities …

A step in the right direction for Britney Spears? She is slated to guest star in the March 24th episode of How I Met Your Mother. Things are looking up. She looked halfway decent last night when she went out for sushi.

[Photo courtesy of Celebrity-Gossip.net]
When did Lindsay Lohan become the happy sister and Ali Lohan the pissed one? Ali’s looking okay, though. Not like she’s 13-going-on-40 or a member of an Italian gangster family. I take that second part back. I wonder what she’ll look like when she hits nineteen or twenty. The sameish, or do you think she’ll end up down Lilo’s path with a perpetual baby bump and thunder thighs? She’s definitely got better facial bone structure than her older sis. I feel weird picking her apart like this, but the Lohans are totally asking for it. Especially Dina.

A Bunch of Nobodies

2008-03-10T20:15:00.004-04:00

The Esquire fictional account of Heath Ledger’s last days makes my heart hurt and my stomach churn. I read the first half-page and couldn’t bring myself to read on, though Lisa Taddeo’s tone seems to become less aggressive as the piece moves forward. I think what really bothers me is the necessity of two prefaces: one by the editor and one by “Heath Ledger”. The strong opening line of the piece becomes, then, farcical. The line that makes me inexplicably uncomfortable is: “But first things first: It was an accident.”

The Hills' stars Lauren Conrad and Lo Bosworth have been popping up on celeb gossip sites a lot lately, probably because there is little else to dote on and because the Season 3 3/4 of The Hills begins on March 24th. Here is the trailer:

[Courtesy of B0NZENMiKE on YouTube]
Get excited: it looks like Lauren Conrad will lose yet more friends. This is Audrina Patridge and Whitney Port’s season to shine! And Stephanie Pratt to look like Evan Rachel Wood? New faces, same dramas.

Lastly, this is too good not to share. Jesse McCartney at his finest, in his new video "Leavin'":

There are so many things wrong with this video.
1. The 90s called and it wants its wangsta bling and unbuttoned shirt back.
2. Uncomfortable much?
3. He looks like he did in Dreamstreet, which was nearly ten years ago.
4. Why are there no sheets on the mattress?
5. What was the budget for this video? I think the mattress was the most expensive rental of all – more than the third grade substitute teacher they plucked off the streets of Van Nuys.
6. Why does this boy from Westchester County think he’s anything but upper-middle class White?
7. Couldn’t they afford a more enticing third grade substitute teacher? I mean, it’s Los Angeles. Everyone and their mother has had plastic surgery and wants to be an actress.

Oh, Jesse. Don’t you realize that no one is ever going to respect you?

AL in more than one way

2008-03-06T20:34:00.016-05:00

This first Thursday of March is crawling with depressing news: Patrick Swayze is battling pancreatic cancer, US mortgage foreclosures hit an all-time high, the student-body president of UNC at Chapel Hill was fatally shot, a UC Davis student had explosive materials in his dorm room, reporters and photographers are being packed like sardines in a can on the little island in Times Square that used to be the pigeons’ haven and my shortcut to work because of a pipe bomb that went off overnight … (Read amusing comments about that here.)

I’m okay with sharing my shortcut (today) with the underpaid journalists of the world, because I ran into Annie Leibovitz at lunch!!! I’m not going to lie and say that I am impenetrable to star-struckness, but I am also the girl who basically told Jesse McCartney, following an interview, that I thought he sucked in concert. So I’m walking along, in a rush to get to my lunch meeting, when I see someone facing me – looking at me. Someone who has that big poufy but long Annie Leibovitz hair. As I approach with my less-than-stellar vision, I realize it is Annie. When the girl walking just ahead of me realized it too, she turned back, which is when Annie scooted out of the way, towards the curb.

As I walked away, all these random thoughts ran through my head: wasn’t I just thinking about her this morning? (I was.) What was I thinking about? (Something creepy, you don’t want to know.) Oh, and yeah, she was on that ABC special on the British monarchy on Sunday – no, Monday night. It just so happened that I managed to watch at just the right moments to catch the only parts I really wanted to see – the Leibovitz parts. She called the Queen “your majesty” half-mockingly and a little apprehensively, as if she were a real Brit and believed in that sort of thing.

And now, writing this, I am remembering that I not only thought about Annie once this morning, but again when I was reading mail at work about the Corcoran Gallery in D.C., and how bummed I was to have missed Annie’s photo exhibition there in January.

I’ve never been as pleasantly flummoxed by someone so very much out of Young Hollywood, but come on you guys, I witnessed a piece of living American history (and my exchange with Mayor Giuliani does not count, no matter how much he did to clear Times Square of the prostitutes who would’ve inevitably been hurt taking my shortcut home from work last night). No, Annie deserves better than to be put in a category with him. She’s an American legend.

[Photo courtesy of ScandinavianDesign.com]

The search continues for the next American fill-in-the-blank

2008-03-05T19:49:00.006-05:00

Surprise, surprise. Hillary Clinton is still in the game, and still keeping things precarious for the Democratic party. I’m not placing all the blame on her, but the closer we’ve come to November, the more apparent it’s become that the Democrats need Barack Obama on their ticket if they want to beat John McCain.

Props to Mike Huckabee for finally coming to his senses. What a waste of time and money.

The playing field on American Idol evened out a little bit last night, as favorite David Archuleta gave an inevitable but potentially strategized average performance of Phil Collins’ “Another Day in Paradise” and formerly average performers David Cook and Michael Johns rose to the challenge.

Last night was the first time I did not think Simon Cowell’s criticisms were dead on. I thought Chikezie did a fine job of Luther Vandross’ “All the Woman I Need” and that pretty boy Jason Castro’s rendition of Leonard Cohen and Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah” was really nothing special.

Luke Menard has been in this competition three weeks too long and needs to be booted on Thursday and Danny Noriega continues to try to shock audiences while doing a poor job of it, though he definitely has star quality. In fact, I’m beginning to see his oft-noted resemblance to Miley Cyrus.

And I’m waiting for David Hernandez to be booted off, if for no reason other than the supposedly-scandalous photos (I haven’t seen; don’t care enough) and his skeevy past as a male exotic dancer. He’s a good enough singer to stay in for now, but the use of his face to seduce the audience (namely with his eyebrows) is a huge turnoff. Somebody tell him to stop.

There’s probably a good reason I’ve never been able to make it through an entire season of American Idol: when everyone can sang, it’ll come down to differentiating talents by their increasingly annoying quirks. David Hernandez and his eyebrows, DArchuleta and his flappy lips … as for Danny Noriega, he is himself a quirk, so he can only run the risk of being madly loved or wildly hated.

[Photo courtesy of AmericanIdol.com]

When does gender come in?

2008-03-04T19:47:00.002-05:00

[Photo courtesy of Miramax Films]
There has been much discussion about single-sex education in the major papers in the past week, which has inevitably led to prickly discussions about gender and gender politics.

While these articles have focused on the adolescent mind and how a single-sex education can shape it, I can offer you a different perspective: that of a female who attended co-ed schools throughout her formative years and found herself in a single-sex environment for “higher education”.

Straight off the bat, I can tell you that unless you are a lesbian or bisexual or contemplating testing the waters, the social life at a women’s college is going to suck. The options are limited, particularly since most of the remaining women’s colleges are nestled in tree-filled forests and often a lengthy bus ride away from civilization and/or the opposite sex.

Sure, there are parties (or mixers, which some of the more traditional parties are called) on campus to which males from the East Coast over flock towards. But again, anyone willing to squeeze 16 to a station wagon from Princeton, New Jersey to middle-of-nowhere Massachusetts is something most people would call “desperate”. Alas, whether they are desperate or not, they are labeled as such and most girls and boys wind up going home alone, however far away it is.

Now that we’ve established that fact, let’s take a look at the reason most people go to college and the reason your parents are thunking down 160 thou or more. It’s true, academic life without the opposite sex is sweet. But probably not for the reasons you may expect: if you wish to become less timid in the classroom, chances are you would have already developed as such in middle or high school. The timid ones stay timid, unfortunately, and the contrast may be even more drastic at a women’s college, because students who opt to attend such a school are self-selecting. What you have, then, is a stigma placed around “that girl”, which often number more than just one per class and often reach nearly 50% of the class total, depending upon discipline. Which, from an optimistic standpoint, is good: you are competing against the cream of the crop. If you’re in the competition at all.

What a women’s college offers you that cannot be said for most other colleges, is the lay of the land when it comes to extracurricular activities. Because so few women wish to attend a women’s college, the top rungs of each extracurricular ladder is easier to reach. But beware of the politics upon ascension, and above all, watch what you say.

Those are the basic answers to the basic questions everyone seems to have if they are thinking of attending a women’s college. I’ve been out now for 9 months and I’m adjusting (which is a whole other story for another time). In skimming the articles and comments readers made on single-sex education, these are my thoughts on single-sex primary and secondary education: it is ideal.

More than at college or university, gender roles and politics really come into play in primary and second education. (Sensitivity to gender and gender politics is another blessing of going to an all-women’s liberal arts college.) Do you want to send your child to a school where they will pretty much be taught in accordance with either sexist or feminist ideals? Most public schools subscribe to the gender roles society seems to have predetermined for us. Those who have gone to single-sex primary and secondary schools say that they were offered much more of an opportunity to explore the arts and theatre, things that boys would likely have shied away from in a co-ed environment. Of course, if you are afraid of loosening gender roles too much, single-sex environments may not be the best for your child.

But for educational purposes, and to “make” your child more worldly, a single-sex education is ideal. Boys and girls are “made” differently, though this in and of itself could be a cause and an effect of the patriarchal society we live in, and should be catered to accordingly. But ultimately, if we’re going to undo any of the society-instilled gender roles that we have been born into, a single-sex education is the best way to go about it. Never mind being deprived of socializing with the opposite sex: he or she can make up for it when they reach college. Who cares if single-sex educated girls are particularly promiscuous in college? There’s no better time than college to live life on the edge, that's what I’ve learned.

We are not afraid, someday

2008-03-03T20:47:00.001-05:00

What a lame day in news. Seems like everyone spent the weekend watching the Little People, Big World marathon on TLC as I did.

In fact, it seems as if Marion Cotillard, who was fast becoming American’s next foreign sweetheart, was so bored with the lack of news that she went out and stirred up some controversy. Well, actually, the writing was written on the wall late last year, but it took a while for Americans to care enough about her to find it.

If you haven’t already heard, she spoke out on the September 11th attacks and said that "I think we're lied to about a number of things …” and that the attacks were committed because “ by 1973, and to recable all that, to bring up-to-date all the technology and everything, it was a lot more expensive, that work, than destroying them.” To bring offense beyond just the Americans, she continued on, "I saw plenty of documentaries on [man landing on the moon], and I really wondered. And in any case I don't believe all they tell me, that's for sure."

Are there any Scientologists in France?

In other news, Aaron Carter was arrested for marijuana possession nearly two weeks ago in Texas, and no one cares. Rumors have been swirling that Mischa Barton will soon join the cast of Gossip Girl, but I think that’s too campy, even for Josh Schwartz. Lastly, many are looking at Hillary Clinton to drop out of the Democratic race tomorrow. We shall see, and then overcome.

[Photo courtesy of JunctionEagle.com]