Happy New Year!

Nothing says ring in the New Year like Lionel Richie. Wait. What?


Let's try this again. Nothing says Happy New Year like beauty products listed on big puffy hats. Oy.



Happy 2009!
Picture from London.

Kennedy Center Honors

I don't watch every year, but this year had tolerable people and lets face it- there's nothing else on. The audience is a who's who (Queen Latifah) and who's not of celebrities (Lynn Redgrave? Michael York?) It's like the producers found a rolodex from 30 years ago.

The show had me at black musicians. After Morgan Freeman's montage of movie roles, delta blues singers gave a performance that even the stoic Freeman was singing along to.

Twyla Tharp looked pissed which makes me like her even more. Her dance style gives me a headache sometimes, but I gotta know whatsamatter with her.

Roger Daltry was giddy throughout, Pete Townshend looked unphased. When Joss Stone sang one of the Who's songs I thought "at least it's not Beyonce". Spoke too soon. She shows up later for Babs. That Beyonce is everywhere.

Some country singer is honored and that's when I hit the mute button.

Queen Latifah talks about Babs, Idina what's her name sang a very blah rendition of Don't Rain on My Parade and Beyonce rises from the floor for Memories. Damn that Beyonce. I'm pretty sure she was reading the lyrics off the floor. She kept looking down.

Babs was in good spirits despite being a few feet away from W. I like that Babs doesn't have the plastic face. And she scored herself a silver fox with the Brolin guy (who is dad to W portrayer Josh Brolin). Ah, the Kennedy Center people have a great sense of humor.

Babs had a gold sweater/scarf thing that she let drape over the rainbow ribbon the honorees wear (although she's wearing something different in the photo below). She has balls. Love her. Black choir singers come out to join in Somewhere, and it looks like Babs is near tears.

W. sat in the audience and looked confused, bored, or in deep pensive thought of what country he can bomb before he leaves office.

Only Twenty More Days









Illinois Governor Appoints Obama's Senate Replacement

Blago cracks me up. Just oblivious. Clueless tool with crazy hair and voice.

Blago appointed Obama's senate seat to Roland Burris. No word on what Blago got for the seat...maybe a free sub sandwich.

Blago, the clueless tool


The new guy




Photo: AFP

Valkyrie Doesn't Flop


The Tom Cruise WWII thriller earned $21.5 million over the weekend, with a four-day haul of $30 million since it opened on Christmas Day.

That was a solid and better than expected box-office draw for "Valkyrie," which cost a reported $90 million to produce (director Bryan Singer has pegged it at closer to $75 million) and perhaps more than half that to market it.

"This totally robs the nay-sayers of their ability to deem it a flop, because it's not," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "It does show the renewed star power of Tom Cruise."



Source

Awww...





Photo: AP

This N That

Johnny Cakes from the Sopranos, dies of apparent suicide.

New Christmas Day box office record. Are these dog lovers or Jennifer Aniston fans? Or people with power outages, bored without their tv.

TV Premieres for Winter. Jan. 7- Damages. Jan. 11- 24. Jan. 21- Lost.

Reporters Happy They Get Hawaii Over Crawford

News reports are happy that the president-elect is from Hawaii- this means the reporters get to hang out in Hawaii while trailing him on vacation. In the past, they've got to hang out with the brush in Crawford, Texas.

Obama and family are currently on a 12 day vacation in Hawaii.

He wears hats!


And buys shaved ice!




And uses the garbage!


And visits Marines on Christmas

Eartha Kitt Dies

Famous for singing Santa Baby, Eartha dies on Christmas at age 81. She was one of several actresses who played Catwoman on the Batman tv show.

Photo is from two years ago. Meow!




Photo: Reuters

Singing Ewoks?

Does Lucas not have anyone in his life who can tell him no?

George Lucas has signed off on Star Wars: A Musical Journey, a two-hour live musical event featuring a Stormtrooper kick line and singing Wookiees John Williams' Oscar-winning score.

Bus Dangles Over Seattle Freeway


Poor communication of street conditions caused two charter buses to go down slippery roads, ending up over I-5. The buses were carrying students, on their way home from an Eastern Washington job training program.


Photo, Source: Seattle Times

Barney's Last Video

Remember when the Bush daughters were falling down drunk at Georgetown bars? Then they disappeared and now they are in a cheesy video. Nothing gets children to straighten up like an inheritance (and I predict it was Grandma Babs that did the talking).



While looking for the current Barnie cam holiday greeting, I stumbled upon this one. I think it is from 2006. At first I thought it was this year's video, but then I saw Tony Snow (who died this year).

Anyways- Secretary Paulson tells Barney "we are out of money". Interesting that this was mentioned in this video as a joke. And now it's a reality.


I figured out this one, with Barney having a scottish accent, was a spoof when he calls Mrs. Beazley his bitch.


These have the production value of my college tv show, but I suppose if they were more polished I'd be ticked that they were wasting tax dollars.

Shoe Montages

The way Bush ducked, it's almost as if he was prepared that someday someone would throw something at him.

Fool Me Once, Shame On You...If You Fool Me You Can't Get Fooled Again

Some bloopers of W.

Did Madonna Keep the Accent in the Divorce?

The pop star will pay her ex between $76 million and $92 million, her spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg tells the Associated Press.

Rosenberg says the figure includes the value of their country home Ashcombe, in western England, as well as the couple's London pub, the Punchbowl.

"I'd assume it's one of the largest payouts ever in a divorce settlement," Rosenberg told the AP.



Source

Shoes Thrown At Bush

On an Iraq trip shrouded in secrecy and marred by dissent, President George W. Bush on Sunday hailed progress in the war that defines his presidency and got a size-10 reminder of his unpopularity when a man hurled two shoes at him during a news conference.

"This is the end!" shouted the protester, later identified as Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, an Iraqi-owned station based in Cairo, Egypt.

Bush ducked both shoes as they whizzed past his head and landed with a thud against the wall behind him.





Photo, source: AP

No Golden Globe Love for Milk or Batman

I still think Hollywood will give Milk an Oscar Best Pic nod. A Prop 8 statement. And, it's a good movie. It's not amazing, but it's good.

The noms and my comments (lucky you!)
Keep in mind that the Golden Globes are voted on by about 70 foreign journalists.

BEST PICTURE- DRAMA
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon- The only one of the five I have seen.
The Reader- I actually read this book. (I'm assuming this is the jewish/nazi book)
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST PICTURE- COMEDY/MUSICAL
Burn After Reading- I liked the movie, but I wouldn't say it was the best.
Happy-go-lucky- Not sure what this one is.
In Bruges- Funny movie...surprised it is receiving attention.
Mamma Mia- I just can't bring myself to watch Meryl skipping around in overalls.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona- Didn't see it.

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon- I didn't know he was the director when I watched it. Opie done good!
Sam Mendes, Revolutionary Road

BEST ACTOR- DRAMA
Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon- I thought he sounded more like Sean Connery than Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk- He does good, sometimes he seems a little cartoonish (I think it's his face...he has large features) but there are many great scenes
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler- WHAT?!?!

BEST ACTRESS- DRAMA
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kristin Scott Thomas, I've Loved You So Long- Where has she been?
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

BEST ACTOR- Comedy/musical
Javier Bardem, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Colin Farrell, In Bruges
James Franco, Pineapple Express- Didn't see it, yet I still feel like my comment is appropriate: Um, what?!
Brendan Gleeseon, In Bruges- Does this mean Ralph Fiennes will get a supporting nod? The GG's obviously love this film
Dustin Hoffman, Last Chance Harvey- More like Last Chance Hoffman. ha ha

BEST ACTRESS- Comedy/musical
Rebecca Hall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Sally Hawkins, Happy-go-lucky
Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading- NOOO!!! She was annoying, the way she lets her lower mouth drop (anyone know what I'm talking about?)
Meryl Streep, Mamma Mia- She could film herself pooping and they'd nominate her
Emma Thompson, Last Chance Harvey- What in the hey-whoo movie is this?

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Tom Cruise, Tropic Thunder- huh.
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Ralph Fiennes, The Duchess
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger,The Dark Knight- Wonder who is going to accept for him?
Where's the guy who played Frost?

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barecelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler- Awards shows love when actors play strippers
Kate Winslet, The Reader

Candidate #5

Is this like the Watergate of our time?

Jesse Jackson Jr. is candidate #5 from the wire taps of Governor Blagojevich.


Allegedly someone speaking to the governor for #5 offered half a mil plus a million in fundraising (Jackson has denied the allegations). Makes you wonder why someone would pay $500,000 for a senate seat. The annual salary of a senator is $169,300.

This N That

Shady Governor. Is there any politician fighting for the little guy?

Oprah admits she's obese.

No wonder some athletes carry a gun in their sweatpants without a holster. This ought to hold it up!
(nsfw...mom that means not safe for work!)

Although, he isn't the football player that had the gun in the sweatpants and shot himself. That was this guy:

Puppies Keep Missing Boy Warm

A toddler wandered away from home. His puppies snuggled up to him, perhaps saving his life by keeping him warm. Awww.

Officials said the lost little boy and the two family puppies wandered up to a mile in the dark, even across a highway, but it wasn't until Saturday afternoon that members of the search team found him sitting by a tree, the two puppies nestled against him.

The little boy didn't say anything, according to rescue team member
Jerry Gentry, but instead "just opened his arms up like, 'I'm ready to go.'" "When I first saw him, he was like, 'Momma, I got cold. I slept in the woods last night. The puppies kept me warm.' He told me that ... the dogs slept up against him. And I'm sure the body heat kept him warm," said his mother, Sarah Ingram. Billie Jo Roach, another member of the search party that found the boy, said the puppies refused to leave his side.






Source

When Babs Met Bush

Barbra Streisand, well known non-fan (I can't think of another word!) of George Bush, was one of the Kennedy Center Honor receipients. That meant Babs shook hands with Bush on stage, and Bush gave her a kiss on the cheek. I hope she had her Purell with her.

Recipients: Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Twyla Tharp, Morgan Freeman, Barbara Streisand, George Jones.


Babs loves the choker.


Other recipients Twyla Tharp and Morgan Freeman.

Sunny Von Bulow Dies

After 28 years in a coma, Sunny Von Bulow died. The film Reversal of Fortune was about her husband's trial as he was accused of injecting her with insulin to lower her blood sugar (and causing a coma). He was convicted, but later acquitted.





Photo, source: People

What Do We Say About Payback?

How about up to 17 years?
(yeah, I know he'll serve way less, but still)

Paraphrasing Chris Rock- if everyone thinks you got away with murder, you might not want to get in front of a jury again.








Photo: People

RIP Bentley

Paul Benedict, Bentley from The Jeffersons, passed away. He was 70.



He was also the Mad Painter on Sesame Street. I tried to find the clip of him painting with mustard, just because it sticks out in my memory. Recognize the lady in the elevator?

The Lamest of Lame Ducks

Do We Really Need This?

She's back.

Britney was on Good Morning America today promoting her new album. I listened to it on iTunes, so in 30 second snippets. Basically anyone can be a singer if you affect their voice like that. The music sounds like the Casio keyboard my family got for Christmas one year. And I find our rendition of "Up On the Rooftop" better than anything on Brit's CD. That's right, I said it.

There's a song called "Mmm Papi". Is that for her dad? Seems odd. Also, the song "Radar" is on this album as well as the one she released last year.

And it's Britney Spears week on iTunes. Blah. How about a Cat Power or Eva Cassidy week?