Friday, July 31, 2009

Official Book Club Selection



I think I'm gonna have to pre-order this....

Kathy Griffin's new book "Official Book Club Selection" (great title...like her CD "For Your Consideration") comes out in September.

I usually enjoy reading books by funny people and Kathy always makes me laugh. I loved Chelsea Handler's "Hello Vodka, It's Me, Chelsea" book. Which reminds me...I need to get her previous book that focused on her whoring days.

If Kathy's book is anywhere near as funny as her standup or her TV show, then I'm sure it'll be a great read. Here is what she has to say about it:



It will be interesting to see what her idea of "pathos" is...

You can pre-order it on Amazon now for $15 (discounted from $25).

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Red alert

Two lovely auburn-haired actresses are stepping in to fill some important entertainment shoes.



Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron Howard's daughter) is taking over the role of Victoria (the fur coat wearing vampire gal whose vampire boyfriend was killed at the end of "Twilight") for the third film in the Twilight series, "Eclipse".

Rachelle Lefevre originated the role in "Twilight" and appears in the upcoming sequel "New Moon," but Summit says scheduling conflicts forced her to leave the picture.

I'm sure that "Twilight" fans will be quite bunched up with this Darren Stevens switcheroo, but they'll eventually deal and move on.

UPDATE: Seems that the fans and the original actress are not happy about the decision and, because of that, the studio decided to set the record straight.

Should be interesting to see how it all plays out...



Also, my friend Kerry O'Malley is stepping into the role of the mother in the Broadway musical "Billy Elliot".

Billy Elliot has a new Mum. Actress Kerry O'Malley began performances in the Tony-winning musical for a limited engagement on July 28 at the Imperial Theatre.

O'Malley, who has appeared on Broadway in the revivals of Into the Woods, Annie Get Your Gun, as well as White Christmas and the world premiere of The Gershwins' An American in Paris, will remain with the Broadway production of Billy Elliot for a six-week engagement through Sept. 6.


I'm very excited for her and wish I could be there to see it.

If you're in the New York area, you should check it out. She's a great actress with an amazing voice who also has an almost stalker-esque obsession with the Boston Red Sox.

That's a baseball team, right?

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Bridal Boogie

Someone sent me this fun wedding clip last week and then, today, CNN did a story on how popular Kevin and Jill's wedding video has become since they posted it.



I can't wait to see what they do for the inevitable delivery room footage down the road.

I'm thinking "Baby Got Back" might be a good choice for the music...

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Let us eat cake

Well, it seems that today I share a birthday with quite an eclectic group of people...



Tv's Sally Struthers ("All in the Family")



Rapper Soulja Boy



Author Beatrix Potter (Tales of Peter Rabbit)



"Showgirls" Elizabeth Berkley



And Jackie O.

Can you imagine all of the awkward conversation that would occur if we all got together at Ms. Potter's house for a birthday dinner?

Enjoyable.

Monday, July 27, 2009

The NO Way



Kathy Griffin and her team are the latest supporters to join photographer Adam Bouska's NO H8 Campaign for marriage equality.

He's really managed to get an impressive variety of celebrities involved over the past year.



Although Tom still appears to have few eyelashes (he obsessively pulls them out), he certainly looks better than he usually does on the show.



Tiffany has really lost a lot of weight since last season and looks amazing. Although I miss Jessica on the team, I have always enjoyed Tiffany with her infectious laugh and gregarious personality.



Of course, my favorite is Kathy's mom, Maggie, clutching her ever-present glass of box wine. That woman never ceases to make me smile when she appears on camera.

A new episode of "My Life on the D-List" airs tonight. Coincidently, it focuses on Kathy's speech at a "No on Prop 8" rally.

via Towleroad

Friday, July 24, 2009

Serenity now

Watching this video of the sea life swimming about in the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (the second largest aquarium in the world, next to the one in Atlanta that I got to visit last year) is SO relaxing.

Hit the "full screen" icon on the lower right (the button that looks like the American Flag) to enjoy the full visual experience.



I wish I was there now (outside the tank, rather than as one of those crazy divers milling about inside).

The song is called "Please Don't Go" by Barcelona.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Calendar Boys

The 2010 New York City Firefighters Calendar had its release party this week.







I have a feeling that the Big Apple's station house may notice a peculiar increase in alarms sounding throughout the next year.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Paging Dr. Cherish



If you love Lisa Kudrow, as I do, then you really should check out her online series "Web Therapy". She plays Fiona Wallace, an online therapist, and each 3-4 minute episode (or series of episodes) has a guest star who comes on as a client.

This episode (the second in a series of three) features Courtney Cox and is called "Psychic Friends" (get it...friends...they were both on the TV show "Friends"...but this is a new show where they're really not friends..it's a very vague reference).

The episodes sometimes need a few extra seconds to load...but it's worth the wait.



This is the second season of the series, so there are many short episodes to watch if you ever need a quick laughter break.

She rarely disappoints.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Fat Bastards



Meet the new Green Lantern.

Warner Bros. has finally cast Ryan Reynolds in the title role for their upcoming movie, after months of speculation.



I think Ryan will be a good fit as long as he agrees to work out a bit.

I mean, who wants a superhero with all of that body fat on them?



Speaking of body fat, the first promo poster for Jake Gyllenhaal's upcoming "Prince of Persia" movie was also released this week. It doesn't come out until next year, but the studio knows that the sooner you release tidbits about the plot...people start to decide whether they want to see the movie or not.

The only bits they've released so far have just been a few subtle visual images like this...



I don't know what they're trying to say about the movie with this image, but I have a feeling that some people already have their tickets.

If you want to see a few more of these earlier "visual clues"...click here.

And finally, the OneRing.Net has revealed that landscaping has finally begun on the New Zealand Hobbiton location for the two upcoming "Hobbit" movies that are being made over the next couple of years.







As some of your remember, I paid a visit to Hobbiton last year and had a really great time.



It would be cool to be able to go back when the location is all ready for shooting and see the transformation. However, I'm sure they close the set to visitors once things are in production.

Perhaps if I bring the Prince of Persia and Green Lantern, they'll allow me and my two fat friends in for a quick peek.

It would be rude not to...

Monday, July 20, 2009

My last nerve...



I've spent the past 5 hours on the phone or online with various technicians and computer-savvy people trying to figure out where my folder of 1500 images from Berlin might be on my laptop.

So far...no one seems to be able to find them.

Grrrr....

Friday, July 17, 2009

District 9



This movie looks really interesting. It's produced by Peter Jackson (he of "Lord of the Rings"), so that's a good sign.

Plus, there are aliens...enjoyable.


Thursday, July 16, 2009

Berlin, Germany



For a city that has a very dark and turbulant history, Berlin really has a lot of beautiful art, rich culture and friendly people around to make any trip well worth the effort.







The architecture is an interesting mix of old and new. After the city was practically destroyed many years ago, people began designing a lot of very modern structures amidst the existing historical buildings.











The city is also remarkably green and clean, with countless small parks and restaurants scattered throughout the city almost every couple of blocks. It really makes walking around quite relaxing and encourages you to keep going or just to sit on a bench for a few minutes to sip a tasty beverage and admire the greenery.











But, one of the best parts of the city are the many historical buildings, statues, and art that you encounter along the way. It really is amazing how much detailed craftsmanship went into every structure that was created so many years ago.





















And, as much as I prefer old architecture to modern, there really are some very nice newer creations out there that catch the eye.



















Overall, it's a surprisingly beautiful and walkable city filled with great food, museums and courteous (and suprisingly reserved) people with a lot to offer. There is no shortage of sights to see or fun to be had.













You might even find, like I did, that a new bar will be opened in your honor while you're there.



I would have been happy with a free snack, but I appreciated their gesture none the less.

After staying out far later than we had planned, having to pack early in the morning and, during all of this, discovering that I had somehow deleted or lost my entire folder of photos from Berlin on my laptop (thankfully I had just uploaded these in the morning before we headed out), our flight back to Los Angeles yesterday went well.









Not sure what happened to my photos, but I plan to pay a little visit to the Geek Squad at Best Buy soon to see if they can locate them somewhere in the bowels of my Berlin-eating computer.

My laptop doesn't realize just how close it came to taking its own early morning flight right over our balcony...



For now, I'm just going to settle back into life in LA and catch up on stuff here at home.

Be it ever so humble...