Some Cakery Buzz

Jessa, my dear friend and owner of Yum Bunnies Cakery just e-mailed me this fantabulous article about her and my mom's (the head designer) celebrity cake-making skills. Their confectionary delights will be featured in two movies: Pink Panther 2 and The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past starring Matthew McConnaughey. I can't tell you how proud I am. I'm glad they are getting the exposure and raves they deserve. If you're ever in the Boston area, check out their wonderfully imaginative and fun display window. Yum Bunnies Cakery is located at 241 Belmont Street, Belmont, MA. (617)484-3300

Sweet and Sassy

Johnny Cupcakes, the t-shirt boutique named after the moniker of its owner and famous for its cupcake-themed shirts has just come out with its new summer line. I am lucky to live a couple blocks away from their flagship store in Boston, so I drop by every now and again. The t-shirts are adorable and very well made. This is not your run of the mill t-shirt. I own a couple, and I absolutely love them.

I'll Take the T-Shirt and a Vibrator, Please

American Apparel, the clothing store notorious for it's sleazy advertising and an oversexed CEO named Dov Charney who looks like a 1970's porn star, is in the news again. They've always been known to sell sex with their salacious ad campaigns featuring young women in exploitative poses, but now they are selling a different kind of sex - the kind a woman experiences with herself. Believe it or not, they are selling vibrators. And, not just any vibrator, but the Ferrari of erotic massagers - the Hitachi Magic Wand, a "back massager" that can be used in (cough)...other ways.
(Via The Frisky)

Has American Apparel gone too far? Should sex toys be available in mainstream clothing stores? What do you think?

New York City Waterfalls: An Installation

Not since Christo and Jeanne-Claude draped Central Park with blood orange fabric for "The Gates" has there been a larger public art installation as four "New York City Waterfalls", created by Danish-Icelandic artist, Olafur Eliasson. This project took over two years to execute and cost over $15.5 million. "It's about time and experiencing space," Eliasson commented.

"Water has great potential to be both physical and very elusive, it can be many different things for many different people." (Via AFP)

Is this grand environmental art installation worth the money? Comments?

Unique Trays

Check out these gorgeous trays designed by the French artists at ibride. They're absolutely beautiful. The colors are so vivid and bright. They're perfect for a bird lover with an eye for art. (Boing Boing)

Photographer of the Day: Nikola Tamindzic

I love how his camera captures the electricity and chaos of the NYC club scene. The building photo is beautifully serene, as if he has magically frozen a New York morning in time. The last one reminds me of the time I went to an afterhours club in Providence with a bunch of my guy friends and one of their weirdo chick friends. She was so gross. At one point, I looked and she was dancing with just her bra on. She spent the rest of the night making out with a couple of the guys. She was a class act.

(Via Home of the Vain)

So You Think You Can Dance: The Couple of the Night

I ended up staying up until 12:30 last night because I had to watch So You Think You Can Dance. What can I say? J ended up going to bed later than usual, and he refuses to watch it with me. I have to wait until he goes to bed to watch it. It was so good last night!! Mark and Chelsie were AMAZING! Once again, their performance was a powerhouse. They are my favorite couple, with Twitch and Kherrington a close second. This routine was so emotional. Each dance move was in synch with each other, and for a brief moment, I had to remind myself that they were just acting. I loved every minute of it. As Mary Murphy would say, "These two get two tickets on the HOT TAMALE train!!" Who would've thought this couple would dance so well together!!? They have phenomenal chemistry, and they are both incredible performers. Not many dancers can do what they can. And can I just say: Napoleon and Tabitha are really bringing it with their choreography. I absolutely adore everything they do.

Mark and Chelsie Hip-Hop Routine

Who was your favorite couple this week? Who was your least favorite?

Weird and Wild Stuff

Sir Ben Kingsley, best known for portraying Gandhi, and Mary-Kate Olsen make out in their new movie, The Wackness. That made me cringe just writing that statement. I know she's an adult woman, but there's something really wrong about the whole thing. It could have something to do with him being 64 years old, and she's only 22!! (Via People)

Sports Illustrated swimsuit models are being duped into thinking the men who are applying body paint to their butts and breasts are 'mos - when in fact they're very much straight. Straight guys everywhere high five each other. (Via Page Six)

And, in news that will make you puke and then curl up into the fetal position, Verne Troyer, the hard-drinking, carpet-pissing little person aka Mini-Me has a...SEX TAPE. I will spare you the clip. I want to know what happened to this woman in her life that got her to this bleak point where she's having sex with Verne Troyer. Yikes. (411 Mania via TMZ)

VH1's I Love Money, the retarded love child of Flavor of Love and I Love New York, has just revealed its full cast of characters. They include: the bromance that is 12Pack and Heat, Rock of Love's baby-voiced Brandi C., The Entertainer, Hoopz, Midget Mac, the wonderfully awkward Mr. Boston, and several more VH1 reality castaways. It's sad to say, but I will be watching. VH1 reality shows are like crack to me. I have a problem. (Via VH1)

So You Think You Can Dance

The new episode of So You Think You Can Dance is on Fox tonight. I absolutely love the show. I DVR it and then wait for J to fall asleep, so I can watch it. He's not really a fan of SYTYCD; he's more of a Step It Up and Dance kinda guy. My favorite couples right now are Kherrington and Twitch, Joshua and Katee, and Mark and Chelsie. What's up with the spelling of everybody's name on this show??!! There are i's where there shouldn't be i's and silent h's. Who names their kid Thayne or Kourtni!?? Kherrington and Twitch were absolutely breathtaking as they danced the Viennese Waltz, a routine specially made as a gift to the choreographers' physically disabled daughter. Joshua and Katee were energetic and fun in their Broadway routine. And Mark and Chelsie tore up the stage as they danced a steamy and sensual Argentine tango. I'm curious to see how the couples do tonight.

Mark and Chelsie Argentine Tango:

100 New Movie Classics: The Top 25

Entertainment Weekly lists off the top 25 new movie classics. It's a great list. Makes you want to watch them again. One of my favorites is at #16, Boogie Nights. I could watch that movie 100 times and never get sick of the dialogue, the characters, and the world in which they all exist - the porn industry of the 70's. The list also includes some cult favorites, some epic films of our generation, and a few movies I wouldn't have expected.

Photo of the Day: Chad from A Shot at Love 2 with Tila Tequila

Sometimes I find things on the Internet that are so bizarre and hilarious that it's like I have been blessed by the pop culture gods. This is one of those photos. This is Chad aka The Wangbone Guy from A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila. I found this "artsy" photo of him on his MySpace page. I'm speechless...

My Cat Child

This is Peter, and he is my cat child. Some of us have real children, and some of us have furry ones. Peter is cool. He likes to stare J and I down for uncomfortable lengths of time. I have no idea what he's thinking, but he's always watching us. I think he's a spy in kitty clothing. Once in a while, I catch him watching TV. I'm still trying to figure out which shows are his favorite.

Love this Film: King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

My boyfriend, J and I recently signed up for Netflix again. I'm so glad to have it back. We made an agreement that we would take turns choosing the movie - that way one person doesn't feel screwed. Since I had chosen There Will Be Blood last time, J chose King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, a documentary about the current holder of the world's highest score in Donkey Kong and the man who is out to beat him. The Donkey Kong champion is Billy Mitchell, the USA-loving, mullet-wearing video game pro who struts around like he is the best thing since sliced bread. He's arrogant, narcissistic, and he hates to lose. Steve Wiebe is his greatest competitor. He's a family man from the Northwest who plays his Donkey Kong arcade machine in his garage as a hobby. Steve has never excelled at anything, although he has always come close. After getting laid off, he takes Donkey Kong up as a fun pasttime but soon discovers he has what it takes to be the best. The film follows Steve Wiebe's journey to beat Billy Mitchell's high score and prove to himself and his family that he can be the best at something. This is a story about good vs. evil. It's like watching a showdown at the O.K. Corral, that is if the O.K. Corral was an arcade.

Love This Song: Daydreamin' - Lupe Fiasco with Jill Scott

Tweenage Wasteland

"I can see your dirty pillows!"

As I was perusing the Slate archives, I came across an article from last August. Normally, I don't post anything this old, but I had to share this. Slate has one of the most out of touch articles I've ever read regarding the author's pre-teen or "tween" daughter shopping for clothes. After reading it, I had to thank the good lord my mother was pretty open to different styles I wore, and she wasn't a total prissbag like this woman comes across in her article.

"Hypersexualized clothing is not necessarily skimpy. Macy's sells the line by Kimora Lee Simmons, the ex of hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons, called Baby Phat. "This is gross," my daughter said, holding up a T-shirt. There was nothing provocative about the cut of the shirt, but embroidered in pink across the chest were the words "Baby Phat" under the large, stylized logo of a cat. My daughter doesn't understand the references this logo is clearly meant to evoke, but she instinctively knew wearing this shirt would be so wrong."

Okay, first of all, I don't consider Baby Phat's logo of a sleek looking Egyptian style cat offensive or sexually suggestive in any way. In fact, Baby Phat based its logo on the Egyptian lioness goddess, Bastet. Then, the author goes on to make an asinine comment how she "tried to avert her [daughter]eyes from the Victoria's Secret window, where their clothing was emblazoned with the words 'University of Pink'." Is it just me or this woman really looking for the filthiness within the brands? It's as if she read too many articles on subliminal seduction in the media, so now when she looks at a glass of Coke in a magazine ad, she gets suspicious. Baby Phat and Victoria Secret are not trying to corrupt your virginal pre-pubescent daughters. So, just relax. If you look hard enough, you can find a sexual meaning in just about everything. Pink is a color which is most associated with young girls. It is also a rather crass term to describe female genitalia. Who does she think is running the marketing campaign for Victoria Secret, then! Larry Flynt??!! It wouldn't surprise me if this woman refuses to shop at The Gap because it's a vulgar name.

Quote of the Day: George Carlin

“The most unfair thing about life is the way it ends. I mean, life is tough. It takes up a lot of your time. What do you get at the end of it? A Death! What's that, a bonus? I think the life cycle is all backwards. You should die first, get it out of the way. Then you live in an old age home. You get kicked out when you're too young, you get a gold watch, you go to work. You work forty years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement. You do drugs, alcohol, you party, you get ready for high school. You go to grade school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities, you become a little baby, you go back into the womb, you spend your last nine months floating...

...and you finish off as an orgasm.”

George Carlin, you will be missed.

Looks Like Somebody Has a Case of the Mondays

Thank God for coffee! That's all I have to say. I stayed up way too late last night watching some fascinating documentary on the National Geographic channel. Shocking, I know. However, I do enjoy educational and thought-provoking shows as much as the trashy ones. It was called, The Girl Who Was Born with Eight Limbs, and it is the documented account of a two year-old girl in India named Lakshmi, after the the four-armed Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity, who was born with a parasitic conjoined twin. They were joined at the pelvis, and the twin was full formed, except it was missing a head. She was born to a couple of villagers. The girl was worshipped by some who thought she was a reincarnation of the godddess herself. The documentary is about the little girl, her parents, and their amazing, but frightening journey to have the girl's parasitic twin removed. The parents are presented with quite a decision. Do you allow your beloved child to undergo a surgery that could possibly end her life, or do you let her live the rest of her life as a deformed creature?

Retro Babe of the Day: Barbarella

Barbarella
She had the best outfits and BOOTS! If I had an outfit like this, I would wear it around the house. It's sexy and yet practical. I bet it would be perfect for vacuuming or doing laundry.

This Season of Top Chef: Television's Ambien

Ugh! What's happened to Top Chef?? It used to be such a a great show, but this last season was boring as shit. My boyfriend and I would get all excited every Wednesday night to watch it, and then shortly after would be bored to tears. He would usually fall asleep, and I would end up watching some grisly show about serial killers on TruTV. This show has become a worn out version of its original self. I mean how many times can you watch Rocco DiSpirito and Anthony Bourdain make snarky, albeit witty remarks about the contestants' dishes? It's the same season over and over, a perpetual photocopy with the same challenges, e.g., the restaurant wars; and the same celebrity judges being trotted out like show horses.

What made the first two seasons of Top Chef so great was the contestants were interesting, and they had personalities. Who didn't love Dave from Season One! He was a mental case who was constantly breaking down into tears, but he was passionate and it showed. He had a quirky personality. He was mentally unbalanced, but he knew it, and it made him a great character to watch. Tiffany was fascinating because she came across as such a bitch that you didn't know if it was real or just an act she put on for the cameras. Then, there was - Stephen. Stephen was pretentious, awkward, and as much as you wanted him to leave, you wanted him to stay even more. These people made this show great. So, when Season Two arrived, everybody continued to watch. Season Two was another great season with the villainous Marcel, Ilan the underdog, Sam the heartthrob, and Cliff as a top competitor who made a very poor decision.

So, then where did it go wrong? I think with anything, if you take something wonderfully original and duplicate it over and over, then you slowly lose the integrity of once was. Top Chef isn't interesting anymore because it's now become a template. There is no originality added, and the producers don't seem to care if the contestants are likeable or not. I found myself watching this last season thinking, "I don't care who wins or loses. I'd rather watch paint dry than watch these people compete with each other." Bring back the villains and the fights. Villains are what made the show. Every great competition needs a good guy and a bad guy, and if you don't have that, then what's the point of watching? Every Rocky needs his Ivan Drago. Every Daniel Laruso needs his Johnny Lawrence. And, every Ilan Hall needs his Marcel Vigneron.

Get It! It's Funny Because She's Fat

Beer ads have just sunk to a new low. Cooper's Beer, I've never heard of it either, has just won an award at some ad festival for their unfunny as well as misogynistic ad featuring a badly Photoshopped woman who's...GASP fat. Get it, guys?! She's an overweight woman, and you wouldn't want to go home with her because of it. So, drink this shitty beer with 2.9% alcohol, and you won't get so drunk that you bring home a fat girl! Great message. Then, people wonder why over 15% of young women have unhealthy attitudes toward food. Okay, first of all, why would you want to drink a beer with so little alcohol content? Isn't the whole point of drinking a beer is to ultimately get drunk? And, say you did want to get drunk, would you then have to drink twice the amount of regular beers? Sounds great! Get less drunk and spend more! Sign me up. I'm beyond perplexed with this one.

The second ad is pretty bad too. Chicks with glasses and freckles are ugly. Who made up this ad campaign?! A group of 10 year-old boys?? I'm surprised there's not a third one that says, "Girls have cooties. Drink this beer."

Artist of the Day: James Rosenquist

"Pearls Before Swine, Flowers Before Flames"

Up the Creek Without a Paddle

"Believe it or not - I've been able to convince people to add more money."
An e-mail sent by former hedge fund manager, Matthew Tannin regarding the shaky conditions of the funds

Today, The NY Times features a fascinating article about the Bear Stearns indictment. Two former hedge fund managers at Bear Stearns have been indicted, charged with nine counts of securities, mail and wire fraud. These men are being accused of lying to investors about two hedge funds that were falling in value daily due to securities backed by subprime mortgages and insisting the funds were performing well. "In late April, investors were becoming concerned. One investor tried to pull $57 million. Mr. Cioffi, in a bid to keep the investor in the fund, said that he himself had $8 million invested. The indictment says that was a lie."

How did they think they were going to get away with this?!! It is noted that at one point one of the fund's managers, Ralph Cioffi transferred $2 million of his own money out of one of the plummeting hedge funds. Wow, this sounds a lot like the Enron scandal, and we all know how well that turned out.

Ten Reasons Why Advertising is Like Porn - "Only the people who create it are delusional enough to call it art". (Via Adrants)

It's a sad day for single women everywhere when Sex and the City jumps the shark. Methinks they should've just left things off with the season finale. The movie seems like a desperate attempt to make some money before the women get too old or nobody gives a shit anymore. You know it's going to be a bad review when the first sentence is a rant about the wart on Sarah Jessica Parker's chin. (Via The Observer)

The Godspell soundtrack made a comeback on So You Think You Can Dance last night. This routine was one of my faves. They looked like they were having a lot of fun, despite dancing to music from a 1970's musical based on the Gospel. Only in the 70's.

Quote of the Day: David Bianculli

"If you lose on 'The Bachelor,' you become The Bachelorette," he continued. "It's like a hydra — you cut off one head and two more take its place."

- David Bianculli, TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air and tvworthwatching.com commenting on reality TV today.

You Can't Handle the Truth

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of reality TV. I DVR all the Bravo shows, Real Housewives of Orange County, Real Housewives of NY, Top Chef, Flipping Out, Project Runway, Work Out, hell I've even watched Top Design with the snarky interior designer, Jonathan Adler. I love these shows. I consider these type of shows as the thinking man's reality TV. The characters are interesting, somewhat intelligent, and the drama doesn't seem as staged as most of the ridiculous shows out there like, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, Rock of Love, Flavor of Love, and the most outlandish one of all, I Love New York. I mean have you ever seen A Shot at Love?! Everybody on that bottom of the barrel show seems as if they're all struggling actors who are following some sort of wacked out script, e.g.,The Joe Schmo Show. For all of you who are not familiar with the show, The Joe Schmo Show was a parody of a reality TV show filled with characters played by real actors, except for one gullible contestant. What made the show so great was the real guy was such a genuinely nice guy. When he discovered that the show had been one elaborate practical joke on him, even though he was stunned, he still wanted to think that "his friend" on the show wasn't an actor, but a real guy. It was as if he didn't want the friendship to be fake as well. It was sweet, but also kind of sad. You really felt for the guy.

In my book, there's a good reality TV, bad reality TV, and god awful reality TV, and the latter category is where the new Fox show, The Moment of Truth falls under. It's beyond bad. This show brings me back to when I first saw The Running Man , the 1980's movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger about a futuristic game show where runners must run for their lives as they are hunted by professional killers. It features several fake commercials, one of them for a game show called Climbing for Dollars which shows a man climbing a rope, desperately grabbing dollar bills as a pack of ravenous Dobermans jump to maul and kill him. When I saw that movie as a young girl, I remember thinking how ridiculous that commerical was, but now I wouldn't be surprised if a show like that is in the pipeline at Fox. Because if they can develop a show like The Moment of Truth, then Climbing for Dollars is not too far fetched.

The Moment of Truth is a show where contestants are asked very personal questions - the type of questions that should never be asked, nevermind answered. And yet, there are a parade of morally corrupt individuals who go on this show to win money as they reveal their inner most secrets. Okay, I've watched this show a few times because I've been trying to wrap a brain around it. My boyfriend and I seem to think it's staged in some way. I'm not sure if the contestants are played by actors or these "truths" are actually part of the script the contestants must follow. I saw one episode where a woman was asked if she had cheated on her husband, and she said YES. She didn't even hesitate; she just blurted it out as if she had been asked if she wanted pickles on her sandwich. It was completely bizarre, especially since her husband was sitting only a few feet away from her, looking completely horrified.

My boyfriend came up with the conclusion that the people who were going on this show were already broken up or were in the process of breaking up with their significant others, so it didn't matter. I really don't know. What I do know is the masterminds at Fox who thought up this despicable show have really sunk to a new low. I'm not sure where reality TV goes from here. It's a sad state of affairs when you're sitting on your couch, eating popcorn while you watch people destroy their marriages and relationships. What's next? It's frightening to think...

Quote of the Day: Conan O' Brien

Gay marriage is now legal in California and yesterday, a lesbian couple who are 83 and 87 years old got married. Witnesses are describing the ceremony as “beautiful” — and the honeymoon as “horrifying.”

He's Just Not That Into You: The Movie

He’s Just Not That Into You, the novel and dating bible of the 21st century, is now a feature film starring Jennifer Connelly, Jennifer Aniston, and Ginnifer Goodwin. I really enjoyed the book. Like every 20 and 30-something woman out there, I read it when I was single and dating every loser on the planet. My mom bought it for me after one of my many break-ups. She dropped it down in front of me as if to say, “Here’s a hint for you. Stop wasting your time with guys who don’t want to give you the time of day.” I think I read it a few times. I carried it with me everywhere I went as if it were some talisman to ward off bad dates.

I’m confused how you can make a movie out of a dating guide, but I will be curious to see how they do it. I'm sure romantic hijinks will ensue. The yentas who wrote The Rules must be pissed.

Flip-Flops May Cause Foot Pain

Researchers are finding evidence that summer flip-flops may cause foot pain. Personally, I've never been a fan of flip-flops. I do have a pair, but I only wear them when it's really hot, and I'm hanging out at the beach or a pool. Flip-flops are not that comfortable, and the thong in the middle usually tears apart the sensitive skin between my toes. OUCH! I remember my mom had brought a cute pair of flip-flops with her during a trip to Vegas and wore them one day to go shopping. An hour into our shopping excursion, she was walking around with serious toe issues. She had to stop at a shoe store and pick up some sneakers just so she could walk back to the casino without her toes bleeding. She came back to the hotel and bandaged up her toes. Who would've thought those stupid flip-flops would've caused such damage?

Also, why do I see people wearing flip-flops in late fall walking to work?? If you are wearing a coat, then you should not be exposing your feet in a pair of flimsy flip-flops. That should be the rule. It drives me crazy seeing men and women sporting sandals when it's freezing outside. Flip-flops should be worn in the summer only.

Flip-Flop Study

Anish Kapoor: Past, Present, Future

I went to see the new exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston called "Anish Kapoor: Past, Present, Future". It was interesting, but not really my thing. I don't know if I'm not cultured or intelligent enough to grasp this type of artwork, or it's just that most modern art doesn't really move me. I walked into a huge room filled with ginormous sculptures: bumps, mountains of red wax, and a piece that looked like a deconstructed disco ball. I think if I had seen one sculpture in a park or in front of a building, I would have appreciated it more.

Click Slideshow

Cartoon of the Day

I've seen this baby walking down the street, listening to his iPod with a BlackBerry in hand, drinking a baby bottle filled with Starbucks and carrying the new Macbook. Or at least, I thought he was a baby...hmmm.

Sad Day

Our family dog, a Shih-a-Pooh named Rover was put to sleep last night. He lived to the incredible old age of sixteen years old. The poor guy had pancreatitis and his kidneys were slowly failing. He was too old to make it. He hadn’t eaten in 9 days, and my mom couldn’t see him suffer any longer. My boyfriend and I saw him this past weekend, and he was just lying in the living room underneath a blanket; he couldn’t stand. My mom and stepfather had to carry him because he was too weak.

It’s a very sad day. I'm taking it a lot harder than I thought I would have. He's been around since I was sixteen years old. He was part of the family, and we loved him dearly. I will miss him running around and wagging his tail when I walk in the door, barking for snacks because he loved to eat, but most of all I will miss seeing how happy he was because he was so loved and cared for. I will miss the joy he brought to our family.

My wonderful boyfriend is going up there today after work to help my stepfather bury him. My brother had built a beautiful wooden coffin years ago for him per my mom's request. She wanted him to be buried with dignity. He will be put to rest in the backyard next to Mr. Jones, the cat, and Ollie, the bird.

It’s a sad day for the family.

We love you, and you will be greatly missed. You were the best dog a family could ever hope to have.

RIP Rover.

Winner of Best Musical 2008: In the Heights

If I could see any musical right now, it would be this one. The show looks electrifying. I might get the soundtrack. I saw one number performed, and it made me want to get up and dance.

Movies with a Twist

Entertainment Weekly just came out with a list of classic movies with twist endings, "You Got Swerved. 22 Twist Endings". If you are a big movie buff like I am, then you will dig this. They even let you click on the spoilers, but only if you want to see them. My favorites are The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects, and Fight Club. Who would've thought the phrase, "I see dead people." would mean so much?

Celebrity Rehab 2 with Dr. Drew

The trainwreck known as VH1's Celebrity Rehab is BACK!!! The second season is slated to premiere in October. Now, if you weren't fortunate to have seen Celebrity Rehab, the first season, please make sure you see this one. It's like watching a car accident when all of a sudden, 20 midgets on fire dressed like clowns jump out of the wreckage. You want to look away, but you can't because it's too entertaining. Jeff Conaway, famous for his roles in Taxi and Grease, is back with a cast of D list hot mess celebrities.

The list includes:
Sean Stewart - Rod Stewart's son. I watched some of Sons of Hollywood, and I'm pretty sure he's retarded. If he's not retarded, then he has the maturity level of a ten year-old boy.
Amber Smith - Who?
Tawny Kitaen - She's the chick who slithered around on the hood of a car in those awful Whitesnake videos. She was also married to some major league baseball pitcher and beat the shit out of him. She's going to be a good addition.
Rodney King - Random choice.
Nikki McKibbon - Another American Idol castaway. She's the poor man's Jessica Sierra.
Steven Adler - some Guns N'Roses guy
Gary Busey - He and Jeff Conaway will be competing for the "Craziest Has Been" Award. (Correction: Gary Busey is confirmed to appear on the show but only as a mentor.)

Hallmark Needs to Get a Clue

I was searching for Father's Day cards yesterday, trying to find one for my father and one for my stepfather. I came across a cute card with a set of tools on it for my father, and I thought it would be a nice card because he is a carpenter. I thought it was funny and fit the situation perfectly. Then, I tried to find a Father's Day card for my stepfather. All I could find was cards that said, "You're like a father to me." or some other ridiculously sappy statement. Now, I love my stepfather, but I do not ever say that he is "like a father to me" because I already have a father. He is a great stepfather. I have a good relationship with him.

I'm sure there are few people who can actually say they do get along with their stepfathers. So, then why does Hallmark print these overly sentimental and sickeningly sweet cards for stepfathers? Shouldn't they come out with a line of cards more appropriate for people who want to give a card, but may not have the best relationship. Not many people can really say that their stepfather is like a father. This is a society where the majority of marriages end in divorce. Most people's parents are divorced and remarried. If that's so, then why are there only three stepfather cards amongst a ton of cards for your father?

I realize it's called "Father's Day" for a reason, but I think the greeting cards companies should get together and start developing lines of cards for the step parents. How about cards that say, "You're a great guy and you treat my mom well, so have a happy Father's Day." Or, "Thanks for not beating me when I was younger. Happy Father's Day." Or even, "Sorry I called you an asshole when I was eight. Happy Father's Day." I think these are much better choices than what's out there now. I have no idea who's buying the "I love you like a father" cards. I guess they're the same ones buying the "I love you like a mother" stepmother cards.

This is the adorable cake Yum Bunnies Cakery made for the woman who writes for www.askdoglady.com. This delicious dessert is a banana cake topped with caramel buttercream. The dogs featured are a Yorkie, a West Highland Terrier, and Labradoodle. I love the pawprints design on the side of the cake.

New Movie Being Filmed in My Neighborhood

They are filming a new movie The Surrogates, a futuristic sci-fi thriller with Bruce Willis, literally a block away from my apartment. I haven't seen Bruce Willis yet, but this is a picture of him on the set. He looks ridiculous in that blond wig.

Cure for the Marital Headache?

NY Times Article

Today's New York Times features an article about two couples who decided to cure their waning sex lives with a radical solution: having sex every night. They also decided to write about their marital rendezvous in their new books called, "Just Do It" and "365 Nights". These seem to be one of the many books in a new genre of self-help literature geared toward couples whose marital sex lives are less than perfect.

"To many spouses, “married sex” may sound like an oxymoron. And “married-with-children sex” may sound like that elusive antimatter. Indeed, reigniting a couple’s desire for each other has fueled an entire therapeutic industry — from Kinsey to Dr. Ruth to Redbook. According to a 2004 study, “American Sexual Behavior,” by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, married couples have intercourse about 66 times a year. But that number is skewed by young marrieds, as young as 18, who couple, on average, 109 times a year.

Either way, those statistics put the Mullers and Browns in Olympic-record territory. That they thought a sex marathon would reinvigorate their marriages might say as much about the American penchant for exercise and goal-setting as it does about the state of romance.

But the couples may also be on to something. “There’s a strong relationship between rating your marriage as happy and frequency of intercourse,” said Tom W. Smith, who conducted the “American Sexual Behavior” study. “What we can’t tell you is what the causal relationship is between the two. We don’t know whether people who are happy in their marriage have sex more, or whether people who have sex more become happy in their marriages, or a combination of those two.”

Gregory Crewdson

Gregory Crewdson is best known for his conceptual photography of small New England towns, using elaborate set ups and lighting as if he were filming a movie. His photographs are haunting and surreal. Each character seems frozen in time as if some significant event has taken place.

"Girls Gone Skank"

In today's issue of BU Today, there's an interesting article featuring the author and Assistant Professor of Communications Patrice Oppliger, of a new book titled, "Girls Gone Skank". Great title if you ask me. She discusses the prevalence of sexuality amongst the young girls of the "Girls Gone Wild" generation.

"Patrice Oppliger has three words to describe the trend of marketing makeup, sexy lingerie, and spa days for the prepubescent set: girls gone skank. It’s the title of the College of Communication assistant professor of communication’s new book, which explores what Oppliger calls the “self–sexual exploitation” of women.

She spent several years looking at the ways women were portrayed in the media — and the ways they choose to portray themselves, or their children, on the Web or in beauty pageants. Her conclusion? Even as women experience unprecedented social and professional empowerment, there is more sexual exploitation, and it begins at progressively younger ages. She speaks about Girls Gone Skank with BU Today.

BU Today: How did you become interested in this topic?
Oppliger: I saw this tiny little girl, about nine, with those Juicy Couture sweatpants on, with the Juicy logo across her behind. I just wanted to stop her parents and say, “What are you thinking? Attention pedophiles, come look at my daughter’s ass.” Then I drove by a Hooters and saw this sign for kids eat free night. And I started thinking about girls and women and sexuality.

Then I started looking at a phenomenon like Girls Gone Wild and what’s happening to our culture: the feminist movement worked so hard to get us equal rights and advancement for women, and then these young women with so many opportunities are showing their breasts to get attention. It used to be men who were exploiting women, but now it’s women who are exploiting themselves. We’ve built this culture of getting attention any way we can — even if it’s negative attention.

How did it start?
There are several hypotheses. One is that it’s marketing — the fashion industry. For the older generation, dressing sexy was a way of rebelling against their parents, but now the marketers are selling the sexualized clothes to the children and to the parents, and obviously somebody’s buying them. I’ve talked to parents who say it’s hard to buy decent clothes, because so many of the options are booty shorts and crop tops. There’s a real pressure there for everybody to conform.

It also might be the millennial generation; there’s become an emphasis on kids and making them happy. So parents became more indulgent. There’s this idea of, “I want to give my children everything I didn’t get.” So if parents wanted to dress sexier younger and their parents didn’t let them, they let their kids do it.

You interviewed young women who’ve participated in Girls Gone Wild–style videos, mothers who let their daughters dress provocatively, and people at strip clubs. How do they characterize their behavior?
There was quite a bit of defensiveness in some women I talked to, who said, “It’s not that bad; we know what we’re doing.” Their justification is, “I’m just showing how liberated I am; this is my sexuality and I want to flaunt it.” I think it’s male attention. Things like the MTV spring break shows have generated this atmosphere that this is what girls should be doing.

But a lot of the attitude was, “Our generation’s OK, but it’s my younger brother or younger sister I’m worried about.” We also discussed MySpace pages — they’re really outrageous in a certain age group, 13 and 14, but when they’re 17 and 18 it’s not that bad any more. The older ones look at that behavior as something they did in high school.

Do you think that means they’ll get past this aggressively sexualized phase earlier?
I don’t know if they’re truly past it — I wonder what form it will take as this generation gets older. I think there’s always been a pendulum swinging back and forth — if you look at the 1960s, women weren’t wearing bras, and in the ’70s there was this sexuality of the disco era. But I think now the marketers are involved. In the past, it was coming from the women themselves, saying, “I don’t want to be put down by this patriarchal system.” But now there’s such a dictate from the fashion industry that it’s not even a rebellion. Wearing sexy clothes is not rebelliousness today.

And the manufacturers don’t really care — their attitude is, “What’s the next thing we can push on them?”

So is there any hope of turning the tide, or will the girls gone skank trend progress?
It’s interesting, because the research shows there hasn’t been a really big spike in teenage sexual activity, and teen pregnancy is actually down. Cheerleading outfits are getting sexier and female athletes’ uniforms are getting sexier; it’s so pervasive in all these different areas — but it’s going on at a time when women are dominating college admissions.

I’m also wondering what Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign will mean in juxtaposition to this trend. This is a time in our history when we had the first serious woman presidential candidate, and lots of people were coming out of the woodwork to talk about the sexist attitudes that linger in this country — it was sort of an island in the midst of all this sexualization.

So these young women expect to get ahead, but at the same time, they’re using their sexuality to get attention in their social lives. I wonder if they will be able to separate the ideas that “this is me in my school, or workplace” and “this is me in my life.”

Great article. I especially like this quote, "I’ve talked to parents who say it’s hard to buy decent clothes, because so many of the options are booty shorts and crop tops." Where are these parents shopping for their children?!! I have never walked into a store and couldn't find anything to wear because all they sold were booty shorts. It doesn't happen. Maybe if you frequent Strippers R' Us, but most stores that sell girls' clothing do not even have booty shorts. It's a ridiculous statement, and it just shows that these parents aren't really even going to the store to buy clothes; they're giving their daughters' money and telling them to pick something up.

This is just one part of the bigger problem. Girls dress in a sexual manner to get attention. Most of today's young girls are from divorced families, broken homes, or live with parents who are too busy for them because of their careers. They are desperately searching for love and positive reinforcement. Parents are out of touch with their young daughters because they choose to be. If you don't want your thirteen year-old dressing like a porn star, then take away the booty shorts and the low rise jeans. You're the parent, so act like one. Start by telling your daughters how smart they are, how pretty they look, but most importantly tell them how proud you are of them.

Choke: The Movie

Choke, the cult classic by Chuck Palahniuk is now a film by Fox Searchlight, slated for release in September, directed by Clark Gregg and starring Sam Rockwell as Victor, the sex addict who every night scams restaurants patrons by pretending to choke. I loved the book, but it's definitely not for the faint of heart. It's a pervert's wet dream. There's a ton of sex and perverse language, but it's also very funny and extremely entertaining. Victor is a great character because as much as you want to hate him for the horrible things he does, you can't. I'm excited they made this crazy book into a film. I'm also curious to see how it compares to Palahniuk's book.

The poster features Victor choking on the figure of a miniature woman. It's very James Bond actually. Interesting marketing. Also, apparently the studio is promoting this film with anal beads, which appear in a pivotal scene in the book. Whatever happened to keychains and t-shirts to promote a film? I actually think this is a great marketing ploy. The people who are familiar with this book or who will enjoy this movie will get the joke. It's slightly perverted, but it's also a funny gimmick.

Check out the movie trailer:

Who Were the Ad Wizards Who Came Up with This One??

Isn't that why they make herbal tea? Who is going to buy this product? This product is said to be geared towards the hip hop community. I think if a hip hop artist wants to "slow their roll", they'll roll a big joint, right?

You Know You're An Idiot When

From: www.wyff4.com

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Police have charged an Asheville woman with trying to claim $1 million with an altered lottery ticket.

Michelle Ryans, 39, was arrested Tuesday night. She is charged with obtaining property by false pretense.

According to the arrest warrant, Ryans used an altered Cash Spectacular lottery ticket to try to claim more than $1 million from the North Carolina Lottery on April 4.

Officials said Ryans cut and pasted numbers from non-winning tickets to match the winning number.

Lottery officials said that the process for validating tickets is automatic and is based on barcodes, so the fraud was discovered immediately.

Ryans is being held on a $5,000 bond at the Buncombe County jail.