Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Daily Rounds...

So last night I saw my first EVER Mets game and they freaking won it!!!! I have to say I LOVE sporting events. It’s great to be a part of everyone drinking beer, eating greasy foods and fighting against a common enemy. I sort of get the whole appeal of red states now. Kidding! Anyways, I really did enjoy myself even though it was hella cold out there by the water. This is the last year that Shea Stadium will house Mets games, so my boyfriend and I are making it our business to go to as many games as possible. I got in such a good mood last night, I woke up this morning ready to tackle the day and pay more attention to my little ol’ blog. Stuff has been going down behind the scenes that I chatted about last week and it’s keeping off the Spielster game. And today the daily rounds is chock full of juicy morsels for all you pop culture fanatics out there.


So let's get to the day's daily rounds....

  • PEOPLE magazine has published its annual 100 Most Beautiful People issue and Kate Hudson was the lucky duck chosen to grace the cover. Other “beauties” are Christina Applegate, Eva Parker and her husband, the cast from Gossip Girl, Julianne Moore and Rumer Willis. So apparently, PEOPLE was attempting to be funny with some of the winners. The issue is on newsstands this week.

  • The much gossiped about Beverly Hills 90210 spin off is confirming some of its cast members and it seems that they nabbed one of my favorite drunk WASPS ever. Jessica Walter, mommy dearest from Arrested Development, will be the rich drunk matriarch on the upcoming teen drama, slightly based on the original. They are also promoting one of my fave Degrassi kids, crazy Christian/rape victim Darcy Edwards, to the big time on US television. Shanae will star as Annie Mills in the spinoff as Lori Loughlin’s, from Full House and 80’s B Movie fame, daughter. I am actually getting excited for this show now.

  • Wait for it...Charlie Sheen is still a horny dude. Another madame is coming forward and letting the world know that Mr. Sheen likes sex with prostitutes. And also in, I heard this all about ten years ago, someone is shopping around a video of Angelina Jolie snorting heroin. The footage was taken when she wrapped filming on "Gia". Yeah remember when people didn't care about Jolie? That was sort of nice. Either way, both "shocking celebrity stories" are OLD NEWS.

  • Speaking of Jolie's crazy days, TMZ has publicized Billy Bob Thorton's son statuatory rape case. His son has apparently being dating a 22 year old woman, when he himself is only 14. The main story though is TMZ making a sexual abuse case for a minor public knowledge. JERKS!

  • NKOTB is coming to an arena near you this fall. I am still on the fence if I want to be at the local show here, watch a bunch of women in their 30's throwing clothes at some greased up dudes who haven't been cool or relevant since the early 1990's. Well I am from Long Island, so that's sort of commonplace there. Kidding. The band is ready to take the stage as the five piece that changed the scope of pop music in America late August. And yes, they seem to be "hangin' tough!"

  • This week in Scientology news, important "bible" documents were leaked, they have been using a cruise ship for their ceremonies and parties that is filled with deadly asbestos and Tommy Boy has sent Katie toScientology boot camp. So all in all, not such a good week. Hopefully Tom Cruise's very staged visit to Oprah's will change things around. I am becoming more convinced this chick is making some money off Mr. Hubbard's nonsense.


  • On last night's American Idol Paula Abdul confused the performances of Jason Castro and my favorite David Cook. She was all kinds of confused, but isn't that part of the allure of the show. And finally, Brooke White was kicked off tonight. The "sorry me" routine definitely got OLD! Again, can't we just give this thing to David Cook and start again in the fall?

  • You might have caught this site already, but if not, please waste some time here. This is the home to some of the best Passive Aggressive notes and letters I have ever come across. Personal fave is the dude who breaks stuff and is too lazy to clean up the shattered glass everywhere, but is courteous enough to leave a note for his roommate.


  • This penguin is crazy ass cool in his little suit. The little man has to wear a wet suit because he is losing his protective layer of fur from baldness. The 25 year old penguin is said to be getting his "sea legs" back and is not longer fearful of swimming in the water.

  • Jason Lee is having a baby with his new girlfriend, Ceren. This also brought light to the fact that the longtime Scientologist as apparently divorced from his first wife, Beth, whom he had Pilot Inspektor, his four year old son with.

  • And finally, Senator Hillary Clinton made the brave move and sat down with Bill O'Reilly for Fox News' O'Reilly Factor. The interview touched upon her campaign, her triumphs, messes and the whole process and tonight was the first in the two part interview series. While I am sure you can all guess my feelings on O'Reilly, I think it is quite strong of her to sit down with someone who wants you to fail so badly and all with a smile on her face. She was calm, cool and collected and honestly, looking pretty relaxed. I don't know how this woman sits around with people who would rather spit in her face with such calmness.

    Here is the first part of the interview.


    Thanks everyone for stopping by and let me know what you think about today's Daily Rounds or what songs I should discuss at the weekly round up this Friday! ENJOY!!

  • Come on join the joyride.....

    Not sure if this irony at its best or just plain old America’s charm, but yesterday a story about a seven year old boy from Florida, who stole a car and drove it all over town to “crash it”, was reported on by various media outlets. It was also the same day that “Grand Theft Auto 4 streeted, which is looking to be one of the best grossing video games EVER! I am not saying Rockstar Games planned this, but it is pretty interesting. Here’s the video of this little charmer.


    Ok, so this kid Latarian Milton, from Palm Beach, FL, stole his grandmother’s SUV and grabbed his “cigarette smoking” friend and drove this car ALL OVER town. The two hit parked cars, mailboxes and the joyride came to an end when they crashed into two moving cars. When interviewed as to why Latarian, a seven year old boy, would take his granny’s SUV and ride it all over town, he simply said “I wanted to do hoodrat stuff”. He went on about how cool it is to bad and dangerous things and didn’t even flinch when he was asked if he realized he could have killed someone. His grandmother was then interviewed and she said that she “wish she could have whooped his ass”, but she would probably be ”arrested for it”.

    You have to love America, especially its shinning star in a sea of stars, Florida. The grandmother unfortunately will have to compensate all injured parties for the wreckage her grandson made on the joyride. And since we are chatting about joyrides, let’s check in with Roxette and hear about theirs.

    Monday, April 28, 2008

    It's a great day for the ladies!!!


    So today is definitely a great day for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Their movie ”Baby Mama” hit number one at the box office this past weekend. A lot of entertainment insiders are hoping that this can confirm to executives that women DO like funny comedies that celebrate real life situations and that utilize some of the immensely talented comediennes in the business! Let's make sure this movie stays on top!





    And following up this good news, Amy Poehler and her hubby Will Arnett confirmed that they are pregnant with their first child. The randomly baggy outfit Amy wore to the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of “Baby Mama” had tongues wagging about the possibility of her being pregnant. I am extremely excited for the adorable couple and am sure the kid will be born with ability to make others laugh, like mommy and daddy. Today is a good day for funny ladies!



    Here is the trailer for Baby Mama, in theaters now!

    Thursday, April 24, 2008

    Jane's Addiction Reunion at NME Awards....

    Last night’s Jane’s Addiction performance was an incredibly special moment for me. The band first accepted their “Godlike Genius” award from NME’s editor Conor McNicholas, who said when NME thought about brining the awards bash to the states, Jane’s Addiction was the first band that came to their mind to celebrate. The award has previously gone to the likes of New Order, The band gave quite a nice speech and it was quite amazing to see a group of men, who at one point were able to bring the music world to a grinding halt and then imploded on themselves, get back up there and pal around like they have not missed a beat in the past 17 years. They then went on to play four songs and truly seemed to be enjoying their moment up there. They began their first performance together with the classic Spanish intro to “Ritual de lo Habititual” which of course mean their first song would be Stop and I was excited merely by the fact that Avery was playing the same bass he did in the video way pack in 1990. Here is their performance of Ocean Size.


    See Jane’s Addiction is my favorite band and not to get too cheesy or My So Called Life on y’all, but the band was practically my soundtrack for years. While most of my friends listened to Nirvana and idolized Kurt Cobain, I found myself obsessed with Jane’s and credit them for opening my eyes to some great music like Love and Rockets, The Velvet Underground, The Germs and X. See as an only child, I didn’t really have an older brother or sister to introduce me to music out there beyond what was played on the Top 40 stations in New York. Damn it, I am getting all Angela Chase on this thing. Anyways, I can honestly remember the moment I first heard and saw Jane’s Addiction and I was mesmerized. They were white dudes, with pink dreads and piercings, in crazy clothes and their music blew my very young mind. I had never heard anything even remotely close to the songs on Nothings Shocking. I remember begging my mother to buy me the album and she did so reluctantly and was worried because of the naked women on fire on the cover. I am pretty sure that without Jane’s in my life, I could have ended up a generic Dave Matthews fan from Long Island (no offense friends) who didn’t strive for creativity. I have since listened to various styles of music, but usually they are always on the fringe. I want to personally thank those four dudes in Los Angeles for creating the breeding ground for the chick that I am today.

    So back to last night’s awards, the crowd seemed to eat up the Jane’s performance and I have to say it was more than thrilling to watch these guys perform once again, even if it was through the internets. I am hoping that with the praise they received for the show they put on and the fact that it seemed they were able to put aside their differences now this could lead to a possibility of a full scale reunion. Or at least I can send out that energy and see if it actually happens. Either way, it was incredibly amazing to see the people indirectly responsible for part of who I am today back together and celebrating the great music they put out there for the masses. Here is an interview with the dudes before their performance, courtesy of NME.

    Here is another little ditty from last night, Mountain Song.



    Related Articles/Posts:

  • * Associated Content – Jane’s Addiction Reunion Show
  • * Spielster’s take on Jane’s Addiction reunion
  • * NME’s blog coverage of the awards
  • * Help Wanted – Eric Avery’s new solo record
  • * LA Times reviews the NME Awards
  • * Stereogum’s take on the Jane’s Reunion

  • Wednesday, April 23, 2008

    Wish I was Ocean Size....Jane's Addicition is reuniting!!!!!

    So tonight could be one of the best nights ever and I can’t participate. Tonight, the NME Awards comes to America for the first time and they are honoring JANE’S ADDICTION – my favorite band ever! – with the “Godlike Genuises” nod. This is the first time an American band has been given this honor from the influential magazine. What is truly exciting about this is that this will also be the first time in 17 years the original line up of Jane’s will be together and performing on stage.




    Eric Avery, the original bassist and true melody maker for Jane’s, said he did not have an issue with putting aside some of the bullshit that kept this band separated for so long to perform tonight. Avery said that this is more of a celebration of the past as opposed to a money making opportunity. Eric went on Navarro’s SpreadTV to discuss the band, his decision to play with them and his feelings on those who replaced him in the 17 years following his departure from the band. Also Dave Navarro and Perry Farrell have apparently put their bullshit aside and come together for the show tonight as well. While word on this remains that tonight’s performance is a one time reunion, I can’t help but keep my fingers crossed and hope that they decide to make this reunion into a summer tour. I mean Lollapalooza would be a perfect place, since their last show was during the first year of the ground breaking festival.You can watch it, like I will be doing, on NME’s Myspace Page. The festivities are also honoring Mick Jones, The Lemonheads for their It’s a Shame About Ray album from 1992 and the rest of their nominees for the besties from this year in music.
    Here is a little flashback to 1991, when heroin was everywhere and Jane’s was at the top of their game.


    In other music news that is blowing my mind…

  • * All Tomorrows’ Partes makes its US debut this summer and it’s going be in the upstate New York. (Woohoo!) My Bloody Valentine is bringing their reunion tour there, along with Built to Spill, Meat Puppets, Shellac, Mogwai, and Polvo. And this is just the beginning of the lineup. I can not fucking wait for this. I knew there was a reason I didn’t shuttle my ass to Coachella this weekend on California.
















  • * Tribe Called Quest will reunite this summer to play the reunion friendly Rock the Bells tour. They will be joined by Nas, Mos Def, De La Soul, Spank Rock, Rakim and the reunited Pharcyde. My ass will be attending this as well, since in 1992 all I listened to was TCQ and Jane’s.

  • * Mariah Carey scores another number one with her new album E=MC2.

  • * Even though its only April, Rolling Stone is picking the best of music, rock, etc for this year. My favorite radio station, Indie 103.1 won the top slot for this year.

  • * Get the Nine Inch Nails singe here for free. And apparently Chinese Democracy the beyond long awaited album from Guns N’ Roses is completed and ready for the masses. I can not fucking wait to hear this and I am very much assuming that this band will be reuniting soon to promote this as well.














    Seriously, all I need is Tripping Daisy and Blur to reunite and play NYC and I can die. Today is giving me pretty damn good news about all my favorite bands. This also might force me to get my Jane's tattoo this weekend!!!

    Enjoy!

    And if you check out the NME awards tonight, let me know what you thought! I will update later tonight with pics and news from the event!!!!

  • Saturday, April 19, 2008

    New Rules - Thank you Bill Maher

    After getting all testy on a daily basis on Jezebel's political feature Crappy Hour, I realized that I think Obama was chatting about me when he posed the "bitter" argument last week. I am bitter and I think most of us in America that make under $200,000 a year and can not understand why we are fighting a war that will not benefit us and wonder why we are allowing China to poison us with their lead based products and why we don't care if people have health care can understand what he meant. And apparently, Bill Maher and his writers do too!...On last night's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher discussed the bitter remark in his New Rules segment and I could not have agreed more. Its time that people are bitter that Americans voted two times in a row for a man they would rather drink beer with, but they knew he as INCOMPETENT!

    Here is the clip of the New Rules, where Maher expresses why most of us in America should be bitter. He delivered it so ridiculously well I actually applauded in my own living room.

    Friday, April 18, 2008

    Welcome to Apatown: Population Funny!

    So today "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is hitting theaters and nationwide and seems the media is obsessed with it as I am! Last week, I discussed the movie and the big ass star that Jason Segel is about to become and after all the reviews, I can see this picture possibly coming in the number one spot this weekend. Defamer did an interview with Nicholas Stoller the director of the flick and graduate of Apatow and its HILARIOUS! To add into the "FSM" mania, Moviefone posted an interview the stars did, Kristen Bell and Jason Segel did together.


    I can't wait to see this movie and I would love to hear what you guys thought of it. Woohoo, only a few months until Pineapple Express!

    This weekend, I am going to begin the series on modern Comedy - which will detail the rise of females on SNL, Apatown, Frat Pack and more. This will become a weekly column here, which will coordinate with an upcoming project I am very happy to be working on and you will be learning a lot more about in the near future. So get excited for comedy kids!!!!

    Thank God Its Friday.....

    So I for one am very excited that it is Friday. My little Boston Terrier, Oliver went in this morning to get neutered, so I am a bit of a nervous mommy today. How do people have children and not go certifiably crazy? Anyways, today our Daily Rounds will be political in nature, since I could give two craps if Asshlee Simpson was preggers with that loser’s baby or not… so let's get to it...

  • * The abortion artist from Yale is apparently lying about her project. OH wait...she says she is telling the truth. Well Jezebel agrees with me in thinking that all this nonsense is just creating more media hype for a nobody!
  • * A homeless man in NYC came across the blueprints for the Freedom Tower..IN A GARBAGE CAN!!! You know its pretty smart to throw away publicly the plans for rebuilding the one structure in NYC they keep attacking.
  • *So this polygamist sect gets worse and worse. They are now reporting that girls as young as 13 were being impregnate by their 50+ year old "husbands" and the investigation is now moving into Colorado. HBO better move up efforts for Big Love.
  • * Speaking of abuse in large religions, the Pope met with abuse victims during his trip to the United State to repair the mistake the Catholic Church made by covering up the sexual abuse by priests for years. Nothing like listening to abuse victims to erase the years of abuse. And speaking of the Catholics, they are all up in arms over Bill Maher's commentary on the new Pope on last week's episode of "Real Time". You can view his New Rules segment here where he calls the pope a Nazi and discusses the fact that if any other organization allowed this degree of sexual abuse for this amount of time, the leader of said organization would be in jail forever. Can't say I disagree with the man.
  • *Clinton, Obama and Edwards, Oh my! The big name Democrats in the race to the White House appeared on the Colbert Report last night and got funny. Of course the most charming of the bunch was the dude who is no longer in the race. Ain't it always that way. Here is John Edwards....

  • Thursday, April 17, 2008

    Self Induced Miscarriages Apparently Gets One Into Yale.....


    The buzz all over the internets today is about some chick in the prestigious Yale art department is using self-induced miscarriages and the footage of the actual events as her senior thesis/project. Aliza Shvarts, the student in question, has inseminating and then terminated her resulting pregnancies within the past nine months. The "artist" is taping her miscarriages and using the bloods and fluids from said miscarriages as the art pieces in her senior project. Shvarts has said she is putting forward this type of work "to spark conversation and debate on the relationship between art and the human body". The article, that was published today discussing her project and the outcry from her fellow art majors and has set a firestorm on the internet over is this right or wrong. Well first let's just say it, YUCK! Miscarriages are not a fun or easy experience, so anyone to knowingly put themselves through that obviously has some major issues. And while I am definitely one that allows the boundaries to be pushed within art, I do not believe the true context of this "project" is for the actual exploration of art and the relationship with the human body. I do know that this has brought a shit load of publicity to this completely unknown artist to this point and that it is not her work that will make her famous, but the balls to be so oddly bizarre.

    This event is now be declared fake by various news sources, but the ramifications could be very real. Personally, I think this could open the flood gates in the abortion conversation and lead to very negative things. And I also abhor anyone who would do this type of damage to their body. Shvarts has apparently not seek medical attention to make sure her health, after repeated miscarriages, has been effected and nor does she seem to care what time of ramifications could occur from such damage. I find it fascinating that in this climate and with so many people out there struggling to have children, another person could take it so callously. Here is the crazy loon on a soap box, naturally. Another reason to hate hipster can be found below:

    Wednesday, April 16, 2008

    Square Pegs Square Pegs Square Pegs!!!!!!

    You know how there are just certain things that will ALWAYS make you happy? Like no matter how many times you have seen something it brings back good memories and reminds you of a simpler time…well I just found out one my favorite things Square Pegs, is finally making its way to DVD!!!! Long before bitches from Murray Hill started drinking cosmos and dreaming of being PR chicks, I have been in girl crush heaven with Sarah Jessica Parker, so all those nasties who only love here because of Sex and the City always pissed me off! I fell in love with SJP when I first caught her in Girls Just Want to Have Fun on cable. Remember back in the 80’s when you didn’t have videos or DVDs that were under $100 a pop, so you had to wait and wait for your favorite stuff to finally come on basic cable. I can remember catching Square Pegs on reruns on USA at like 3 in the afternoon on Saturdays when I was a kid.

    So now that it’s being released on DVD on May 20th, I will now have another geeky obsession to cuddle up with on a weekend!!!!!! Square Pegs is in the fine tradition of early '80s teenager humor - geeks being geeks and overcoming the tyrants (or the popular kids) in school. The show starred SJP, Tracy Nelson, Jami Gertz and Amy Linker and was written by Saturday Night Live writer, Anne Beatts. "Pegs" was way before its time and only lasted a season. While it only had one season underneath its belt, it still remains a favorite for many from my generation and marked the beginning of Hollywood embracing the geeky girl as a star. So you can say thanks Cody! Here are the opening credits with the always fun theme song, performed by The Waitresses! Who wants to join me in a marathon on the 20th??????

    Another one bites the dust - G-List Actor on the record about Scientology

    Utto Tommy Boy, here is another detractor. Jason Beghe, an actor best known for an arc on Melrose Place, is coming out publicly against the Church of Scientology and all the money he spent on “getting clear”. In the teaser video below, Beghe goes into detail about what a crock of crapola CSI is and goes into length about the the role of Tom Cruise and John Travolta in the church. But of course, if you are loyal readers of this fine blog, you would have already known this stuff.
    Here is Beghe discussing Cruise, Will Smith and other mishaps propagated by CSI.

    Mariah Carey night on American Idol - Cook continues the reign!

    I took a bit of a break from the madness that is American Idol, but I made sure to check out last night’s show. This week’s “mentor” was Mariah Carey, who is truly on an all out publicity blitz pushing her new album. The chicks bored me to tears, as usual and reminded why people need to be drunk when performing karaoke. But David Cook, once again, hit it out of the park. His arrangement and retelling of Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” was so interesting and it was great to know that Cook was performing for his brother, who is suffering with Cancer. Here is the knock out performance from the only guy who deserves to win this competition.

    Saturday, April 12, 2008

    Freaks ands Geeks - Possibly the best show ever....

    This morning I woek up all hung over and crabby, even though its seriously the prettiest day out since October. So I pulled some of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite shows EVER, Freaks and Geeks.


    Prank Calls to the Gym teacher


    Nick plays "Spirit of the Radio"


    "Jesus is Just Alright" for a party


    Homecoming Dance


    Daniel Russo chats it up with Harris


    The end of the party, with the Dead in the background.

    Rumors are in the air that they are thinking about doing a sequel - sort of like a ten year reunion for this show -which could give a lot of us fans some closure. So let's keep our fingers crossed and hope the Apatow effect works on this show.

    Thursday, April 10, 2008

    Daily Rounds....

    It’s nice as hell here in NYC, so let’s keep the Daily Rounds short and nice…



  • * Insert “bloody hands” joke here, Charlton Heston, died at age 84 this past weekend. The actor was best known for screaming about dirty apes and supporting NRA.


  • * Take a ride on the new Simpsons coaster, as your Simpsons avatar.

  • * Earlier this week you read that Project Runway is headed towards Lifetime Network. Well apparently Lifetime is definitely attempting to hip its image up a bit and they have allowed The Golden Girls, one of the best TV sitcoms EVER!!!, to move to the Hallmark Channel.


  • * Here’s a fun little interview with Claire from this season’s America’s Next Top Model. Tomorrow, we will do our reality recap on the show.

  • * This is my new favorite thing! 23/6 takes a look at the Week in Skeeve and boy was this week bad!!!!

  • * In couple news, Robin Wright Penn and Sean Penn have called off the divorce and are getting back together, Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz are bumming out pop punk girls everywhere with their engagement news and Natalie Portman is now dating Devandra Banhart, the indie rock/folk singer.


    And before I forget people, NBC's Thursday Night lineup is returning tonight with ALL NEW EPISODES. Check out the site for info on tonight's episodes of the Office (I AM SOOOOO EXCITED!!!) and freshen up with the rest of Season 4 here.

    ENJOY!!!!

  • I'm so excited for......Forgetting Sarah Marshall




    First things first, any movie that has the words Judd Apatow attached to it will be viewed by me. Even if the movie looks like a pile of poop, I will go see it. If you add Jason Segel to the mix, then I am there with bells on. I fell in love with both of these people during the Freaks and Geeks first (and only) season on NBC. So I have been hearing about the “Sarah Marshall” flick since Knocked Up hijacked the media last year and began touting Apatow as the next godfather or comedy.




    Over the past two months, they have kicked off a crazy viral marketing campaign that might mirror the intensity of the effort poured into “Cloverfield”. Billboards are all over NYC and I am sure other places, echoing bitter break up comments like” You do look fat in those jeans Sarah Marshall” and various I hate Sarah blogs are sprung up in support of the film. This might be showing us the marketing efforts of the future and how studios are looking to the blogosphere to do their bidding for them. Universal, the studio behind the film, worked directly with MySpace as well to give new content and cast commentary on clips of the film. They are also hosting “break up vlogs” from Peter. I mean my mom asked me “What’s the deal with this Sarah Marshall girl?” the other day.






    Now that we know the smarts of the marketing effort, let’s get to the movie itself, which focuses on the lovelorn Peter, Jason Segel, after his breakup with actress Sarah Marshall, played by Kristen Bell. Peter, to get over his love after sleeping with random girls doesn’t work, flies to Hawaii to a resort recommended by Marshall. Of course, Sarah is there as well, with her new rocker boyfriend and let the hilarity ensue. With costars Mila Kunis, Jonah Hill and Bill Hader, this looks like another quality comedy in the Apatow tradition. And from the early reviews I have read, Segel steals the show and proves his worth as a leading man. Segel to me is the quasi lovechild of Tom Hanks circa ’87-’93 and Judge Reinhold circa ’84-’88.



    Below is the official trailer for the flick. I am super psyched for this movie to come out finally and will be there opening day!!! You can also check out the Yahoo Sarah Marshall page for other clips and commentary from the cast. e movie is opening in theater nationwide next Friday, April 18th.

    Tuesday, April 8, 2008

    Why Does MTV hate me???

    What I would give to be a fly on the wall in a programming/production meeting at MTV nowadays. "Okay so we have this guy, uh, no he's not famous, well he's sort of known. I mean he has a famous, well kind of famous father. Ugh oh forget about it, do we have promotional tie-ins and can we create some interactive audience crap?? Then we got ourselves a new show".
    The above conversation had to have mirrored the exact discussions that took place and created this mess Rock the Cradle. This show has the children of D-List celebrities, like Bobby Brown and Eddie Money competing for star status, a la a very lame version of "American Idol". First, you know these people can't be that talented because if Brooke Hogan can parlay her dad's "status" into multiple albums and national tours, anyone can. It gets worse though, not only are these contestants performing in front a live audience, but their parents are actually sitting on the side lines (I told you they were D-list!) watching the massacre happen. On top of that, the judges that are scoring these losers are Larry Rudolph, you remember him from the remaking of Britney Spears's career, some choreographer Jaime King, whom people are trying to make me care about, some nobody stylist and the unrecognizable Belinda Carlisle. I am not sure who is scarier - Belinda Carlisle and the bad face work she has had or the bad face work on Olivia Newton-John's daughter Chloe Lattanzi. Both of these women look like they were extra muppets in that Genesis video for "Land of Confusion". Not to mention the Chloe girl didn't know if she wanted to be pop star or an opera singer while singing an INXS song to her mom (CREEPY!)













    Anywhos, the part of the show I could handle watching was Lucy Walsh's, daughter of Joe Walsh, and Jesse Blaze Snider, son of Dee Snider, and actually both of these kids have a fighting chance to sell their records for more than 39 cents on the interweb. And honestly Crosby Loggins is cute (What??), but this shows needs to die a quick death so all parties involve retain some dignity.

    Project Runway found a new home with Lifetime Television

    One of the top rated reality shows and one my favorite programs ever, Project Runway is leaving its home Bravo, part of NBC Universal networks for a Lifetime Network gig. Apparently, The Weinstein Company, the production company for “Project Runway” signed a deal with the lady friendly network for five years of PR and exclusive rights to air various new releases, like “The Nanny Diaries” and “Transamerica” in February. And NBC is mighty pissed with The Weinstein Company over the move. They are now suing the production company, since they own first refusal rights on the program. Also, according to the lawsuit, Lifetime is looking to air a new season this fall, yet NBC/Bravo still has one season left with its current contract with TWC. This, according to the suit, would force Bravo to air the next season this summer, causing the contestants to be chosen in a rush and production on the high concept show to be forced.
    I am not sure why anyone would want to take Project Runway away from its home on Bravo and especially bring it to Lifetime Television. I didn’t even think Lifetime had the cash to pull in a program like Project Runway. I hope this all gets settled and doesn’t ruin the next group of designers because last season was just perfect and filled with talent. Ugh, I wonder how much of this had to do with money and how much of this had to do with the changes in regime over at NBC Universal. I mean after the Upfronts, it looked like NBC as a whole was one of the only networks truly looking into the future of “television programming” and understanding the online presence it needs to create to sustain relevance in this changing market. And personally, I don’t see how Lifetime would have the capability to run this program, marketing wise, as well as Bravo has. But who knows, we shall see what is ahead for everyone involved.

    THIS STORY WILL BE UPDATED WITH NEW INFORMATION AS IT BECOMES AVAILABLE.

    Friday, April 4, 2008

    The Real World Awards Bash....


    So I managed to make it through The Real World Awards Bash the other night and words can’t describe my feelings at the end of it. First, my ass was super drunk and staring at people at the party thinking – Who the hell are these fools? Watching cast member after cast member who I had no idea what their names were come up and receive awards like, hottest male and biggest ego or something else even more ridiculous made me realize MTVlost its cache many many years ago. The awards bash was basically a reason to get all the trouble makers in a room, feed them booze and make MTV cash in on viewers watching drunks make fools of themselves once again. The most interesting thing was that Stephen from Seattle, who slapped Irene for calling him gay, was actually gay and marrying his partner. Oh and don’t worry, his ass didn’t apologizing for being an asshole back then. While they filled in with some updates on some of my favorite cast members and relationships that were born on the show, most of the time was filled with pointless comedy from Jeffrey Ross and idiotic chatter between cast members. At one point though, the show took on a serious tone and revisited cast members who had passed away, Frankie from San Diego and of course, Pedro from San Francisco. This is when it hit me that The Real World at one point had validity and creditability and a real importance.

    When I began watching the show, the first season in New York on MTV, I was mesmerized by the “real lives” of young people struggling to find themselves, develop a career and learn to relate to people incredibly different than them. I was very young and while I grew up in a fairly mixed cultural neighborhood in Long Island, I hadn’t seen this kind of grouping of people on TV together before. The charm of the show in the beginning was that no one who participated really knew what to expect out of the process. They were “virgins” to the reality TV genre and were more focused on the sociological experiment going on then TV time. I have to say the Los Angeles cast was similar to that and while there was definitely drama in the house, it wasn’t for TVs sake but just merely an effect of multiple alpha personalities in one house.
    When the show went to San Francisco, I was in junior high. I attended a private parochial school, where the biggest problem I encountered was the back brace I was forced to wear due to early onset scoliosis. I watched 6 people, relative strangers, rallied around a man named Pedro Zamora. Not to get too touchy feely, but Pedro embodied true strength to me. A Cuban immigrant, who was also an out gay male, brought his battle with AIDS not only to his housemates, but to America. Finally there was a face to a disease we were constantly hearing about, but in a very dark way. Pedro battled the disease, but famously said “I am living with my disease, not dying from it”. It was not only his strength that was admirable, but his ability to befriend almost anyone. Zamora passed away a day after the final episode aired and the media coverage was astounding. It almost felt like a close friend had died. This at one time was the power behind MTV’s Real World. The social experiment allowed us to watch others, whom we might never meet in real life, and form an attachment with them. Now, The Real World is known for its girl on girl kisses, meat head dude bros and arrest records for the cast members. Ever since the Chicago and Las Vegas seasons, the audience has wanted more “gone wild” attitudes and the casting directors seem to only find people with fake boobs, low IQs and the love of fist fights. While I have to say I really enjoyed watching the San Diego cast, since they seemed to really like each other and have fun, even when being bad, it wasn’t to grab screen time, but to bond with each other. But for the most part the previous five seasons have been nothing but boring and uncreative fools stealing TV time from each other. I am not sure which came first with this – the chicken or the egg – but I can tell you that MTV’s programming is almost exactly reflective of the change in the Real World.

    When The Real World’s first seasons were on, MTV was at the forefront of youth culture. They were interviewing President Clinton, showcasing underground music acts and introducing America to The State. They were the tastemakers and reflected the changes that occurred in the youth culture. They celebrated the idea of “grunge” and “indie”. They showed teens in the US hip hop and rap artists and people like Tupac and Biggie house hold names. If you look at MTV now and then, its crazy this is the same network. Now, MTV is focused on the sexuality of teenagers. They created Britney, Christina and sadly “The Hills. They are supporting teenagers in the consumerist ideals and pumping the “exploration” of sexual identities.

    They are creating house hold names for people whom have no talent, nor real personalities. They are literally making personalities. Everyone looks the same, with blank stares and vacant eyes. In an election year this charged, I have only seen mere mentions of the fact that we are having a ground breaking presidential race this year. MTV is no longer a tastemaker, but a reactor. It’s a factory of one time cool executives who have lost their footing and appeal to the lowest common denominator. I know I will be sucked into watching something on the channel again and I am current viewer of “Rob & Big”, “Human Giant and occasionally “The Hills”, but this channel isn’t marketed to me. It’s marketed to 15 year olds who have $400 purses and think nothing of it. While it’s sad that the cultural symbols for this generation’s youth are so different than mine, I am very glad I got be a part of the indie generation. Anyways, after watching this many people get drunk and make out with their roommates, I think the social experiment is definitely over and I am not sure if we will like any of the findings.

    Here is a fun little Then and Now photo function to see previous Real World cast members.

    Thursday, April 3, 2008

    DAILY ROUNDS...

    We have got a lot to cover today – things are perking up in this pop culture world – so let’s get to the daily rounds people.

  • * Don’t be cruel Bobby! Bobby Brown is releasing an autobiography some time this year and lets us know it was Whitney that was the bad influence, not him. In a bizarre way, I can totally agree with Bobby here. Brown said that cocaine was introduced to the relationship with Whitney Houston by her and that she married him not for love, but to cover up the lesbian rumors that were constantly around her at height. I am a lover of all entertainment bios, so I can’t wait to read this hot mess.



  • * Yesterday, we found out that Beyonce and Jay-Z got a marriage license in Westchester, NY and Perez Hilton is reporting that the nuptials are scheduled to take place this Friday. I still can’t believe these two are dating, let alone getting married, but congrats. I can’t wait to see the nonsense wedding dress and bridesmaid stuff.

  • * NBC announced at the Upfronts yesterday that they are changing the fundamentals of a TV season and will be creating 65 weeks of new content for their channel. The network has realized the dynamic of television has changed in the past few years and are looking to make sure there is no fall or spring season, but a continuous stream of new and creative programming on the network. They also let us know that there will be much more web content. I will dig a bit deeper into this story for a single post later today.

  • * Lindsay Lohan got into the spirit on April Fool’s Day and stopped by the TMZ press room to chat the “reporters” and yuck it up. Oh how I love this little nutball.

  • * Ugghh. Has politics really come to this? Heidi Montag has thrown her support behind John McCain in the upcoming national election. While I don’t give a crap about who Montag pretends to vote for, I am sure there are a few frat dudes who will let this sway them. The more unfortunate part of this endorsement was the quick response given by John McCain, who was more than pleased to accept the endorsement. And what’s even worse is McCain seemed to think the public would believe him if he told us he doesn’t miss an episode of The Hills. This should prove to anyone that this is definitely NOT a viable candidate to run this country.






  • * In other political news, Barack Obama has reportedly received some top of the line support in the national election. Jimmy Carter and Jane Fonda are reportedly going to make announcements that they are backing the first time candidate. Not sure if this will help or damage the campaign, but according to polls, it might bare more importance than say Heidi Montag.

  • * My girl is coming back to the small screen. Molly Ringwald is starring in an ABC Family pilot.

  • * In music news, MySpace is confirming a deal with three record companies to create a site that rivals iTunes. The social networking site, which has assisted virtually unknown acts to become over night sensations, will create MySpace Music. Word is the site which will offer more than just a store for music, but a community to talk about bands and networking possibilities. No word as of yet which record labels will participate, nor if participation in this site will lead to less participation on iTines.

  • * Mariah Carey has surpassed Elvis Presley and scored her 18th number one hit with her latest single,”Touch My Body”. With this kind of momentum, bitch might actually kick out the Beatles from their top spot as well.

  • * Following that, Live Nation and Jay-Z are set to announce a reported 150 million dollar deal between the music giants. The deal will not only cover the management of Jay-Z’s final solo album, but also the creation of his new label, separate from Def Jam records, Roc Nation. The exact parameters of the deal have not been released yet, but this artist is just another in the long line of musicians signing on with Live Nation for the full representation.

  • * And finally, girls who were 10 in 1991, grab a hold of your seats because 2008 is gonna be reunion central for you. New Kids on the Block are set to appear on the Today Show and word on the street is they will announce their upcoming reunion tour. I have yet to decide if I will participate in the madness of a reunion concert, but these boys at one time were my favorite humans walking the planet and I still have their t-shirts, so it might be worth it just to see ladies in their 30’s lose their shit. Also, is coming to America with his summer tour, the first in the states in 15 years. Shows being in San Diego in June. I will most definitely be there with bells on!

    Later today, we will recap the Real World Bash, Top Chef, the American Idol mess, America's Next Top Model and discuss NBC’s new outlook on TV.

    ENJOY!

  • Wednesday, April 2, 2008

    Real World Reunion - I am so there....

    One thing dear readers you should know about Little Ms. Spielster is that she loves the crap out of MTV's Real World. Well, not for the past few seasons, but up until Chicago and Las Vegas, I was able to give a brief synopsis of episodes, cast and where they went after filming. Some of my favorite quotes, like "Thats what a rapist says David", "Breakout" and more are from the lovable cast members I know I know (hangs my head in shame). So tonight MTV is making me a happy girl and giving me, FINALLY, a Real World Reunion. Yeah, the gauntlets wet my pallet for awhile, but come on, we all want to know what is up with Melissa from Miami, Season 5 and apparently from pics of the night she is wearing that same denim number she rocked almost every day back in Florida.

    MTV has been sort of promoting this show with fan participation online, where you could vote who was the cutest couple, craziest roommate and other awards only MTV could give out to people. I looked through the site and seriously I didn't know who half these people were who showed up on this red carpet. I am bummed that a lot of the older cast members don't come out for these things anymore because it is a celebration of this one time thing that they did and I care way more how Cory, Pam and Judd are doing then anyone from the Philadelphia cast. Speaking of old school, how hot does Eric Nies look in this picture. YUM!After the hot mess, I mean show, I will definitely be online discussing the losers who showed up and the idiots who won. Apparently, Puck gets kicked out, naturally and hoes hook up at the party. OH and Coral's mean and people make fun of Beth. Oh who am I kidding, I love this shit. Check it out at 10PM tonight on MTV .

    Tuesday, April 1, 2008

    Neil Patrick Harris returned to his roots on "How I Met Your Mother".....

    First, can we say how happy we are that How I Met Your Mother is back so quickly after the strike being over? And on top of that, can we all be psyched that this year might be the one we really get to find out the “mother” is? Last night, the writers gave us dorky pop culture fans something we have been waiting for. Barney, played by Neil Patrick Harris is a womanizing jerk, who downloads us on the raunchy details of his exploits on his blog. This isn’t the first time the actor made a computer a supporting role in sitcom. The writers for “Mother” finally reminded us of some very fun theme music and a time in the 80’s when a kid genius could be a doctor and more worried about his friends. This is not as good as breaking the third wall or anything, but for those of us who grew up on Doogie Howser and remember the first blog, this is truly amazing!!!!

    Please check out this great clip below.