Local Music Scene

Hey kids, this here is Laura Cheadle:

I stumbled across her music recently, and I have to say I'm very impressed. Today she announced that she will be at Philly's Tin Angel on Saturday, May 27th. It is my niece's 13th birthday that day, but I am still going to make every effort to get there to see her. If you're in the area, check her out!


(Photo courtesy of Hillary Esquina).

Oh dear, sweet lord...

It's like watching a train wreck, is it not?


Britney Spears is pregnant again... for real. Didn't she learn her lesson yet? Is Kevin Federline really this attractive? And why in God's name is he so fertile??? Do we seriously need 4 spawns of Federline???

Oh, Britney. I used to love you so much. Now you are careening out of control... I beg of you -- come back from the dark side!!

A picture is truly worth a thousand words...

... and none of them are good ones.


I'm not really sure who this Gunther person is (aside from being the self-described Pleasureman), but according to amazon.com, he is looking to "sexualize the world." Perhaps most amazing, though, is Gunther's accomplishment of earning three #1 hits in Sweden. I'll tell ya, those crazy Swedes and their Ding-Dong songs...

Just so we're clear, this might be one of the most unintentionally funny things I've ever seen.

First Daughter

Behold! The spawn of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes has been born today -- a little girl named Suri.

I'm actually surprised there was only one kid in there. Have you seen these pictures of Katie Holmes from just a week or so ago?? That stomach was disturbing, to say the least.

But I digress. Welcome to the world, little Suri. May your Scientology lessons be fruitful, your soccer games well-attended, your veneers shiny and bright, your couch-jumping plentiful, and your lip-biting activity ever-present. God -- er, L. Ron Hubbard -- bless.

PS -- An ironic twist of fate: Brooke Shields had her second baby girl today, named Grier Hammond. Good luck with that post-partum, girls. Especially you, Katie!

File under: Huh?

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard announced today that they are engaged, and are expecting a baby. I don't know why that's strange to me, but it is. I know they've been together a long time and all, but they've always been such a private couple... so I guess I was surprised to see their very public announcement today. But that's cool. Get your baby on, kids. And your shotgun wedding. Congrats!

"I have a very fulfilling life!"

The boyfriend and I went to Borders yesterday to look for some CDs... instead of finding what I was looking for, I found the 40-Year-Old Virgin in the flesh... and trying to pick me up.

Virgin: Can I ask your opinion on something?
me: (looking over his shoulder to see if the boyfriend is in sight) Ummm... I guess...
Virgin: I'm looking for a CD for my brother for his birthday, and he used to be into the Dead. Any suggestions for something more modern?
me: Well... I would go with Phish.
Virgin: He doesn't like Phish. He thinks they ripped off the Dead. Now he likes Tony Bennett, if you can believe that.
me: Hmm... yeah, I don't know. I can't think of anything for a Dead/Tony Bennett transition.
Virgin: Are you a musician?
me: Me? No.
Virgin: Well, you could've fooled me. You look like one.
me: Oh. Thanks.
Virgin: I'm a musician. I compose some things for the local theater shows.
me: Oh, cool.
Virgin: What music are you looking for?
me: Oh, just a CD that they don't have.
Virgin: Well, what music do you listen to? Maybe I could get that for my brother.
me: Listen... my boyfriend is a big Dead fan... why don't I ask him for his opinion?
Virgin: Oh... uh, OK. Well, I'll be in the cafe if you want to meet me there.
me: Right.

Then he actually winked at me as he was walking away!!! Oh, my god, I get skeeved out just thinking about it. So I ran over to the boyfriend to relay all this to him. His response? "Do you want me to beat him up?" Um, no. Sweet, but no. I explained his uncanny likeness to the 40-Year-Old Virgin, and the boyfriend started laughing.

Do you think that actually works for this guy? I was so weirded out, I just wanted to run away!

The Sultan of Spin

"Michael Jordan plays ball. Charlie Manson kills people. I talk."

The boyfriend and I went to see "Thank You for Smoking" last night. I had heard a lot of good things about it, but I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did. It's been a long time since I've seen satire done so well. And Aaron Eckhart... well, I've loved his acting since "In The Company of Men" -- and he's easy on the eyes, so that works too. See it.

New stuff!

I went on a little bit of a shopping bender yesterday, but I got some great things... check it out:

Sia, Colour The Small One: I didn't even know that Sia had released a full-length CD. I had looked awhile back when she did the song "Breathe Me" that was featured in the series finale of "Six Feet Under," but honestly, I never thought to check again. When I saw it in Best Buy yesterday, I picked it up right away. It's very good -- very mellow, but I like it a lot. "Breathe Me" is still a favorite, but so is "Sweet Potato" and "Broken Biscuits." She's got a thing for food, apparently.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: I've been hearing a lot of buzz about this band in recent months. They're not quite that mainstream yet, but they're starting to gain much more popularity. They were on Conan back in December, and on Letterman a few nights ago (I'm bummed I missed it). But even more disappointing: they're going to be in Philly at the TLA on Friday night, but the show is sold out!! So if anyone out there has a couple extra tickets, give them to me. I will be your friend. As for the CD, I am in love. It hasn't been out of my CD player for 2 days straight. It's very catchy and fun. Some of my favorite songs are: "Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away" and "Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood." I highly recommend this one.

Ghostbusters: I know, I know, kind of an old one (22 years old to be exact), but I love this movie, and it's still hilarious. It's a must for the DVD library. I'm surprised it took me this long.

Grey's Anatomy, Season 1: I. Love. This. Show. I'm not kidding. I bought this on Monday, and I have watched 7 out of the 9 episodes on this DVD already. If you don't watch this show (Bree), then you need to get yourself to Blockbuster and rent this and watch from the beginning. You'll be hooked, but you'll thank me later.

David Bowie, Aladdin Sane: I went to listen to this CD the other day, not remembering that my original copy was thought to be stolen back in college. Damn those young, drunken thieves! Anyway, it's one of the best Bowie albums ever, so I needed to replace it. And so it is.

The Boy Who Fell Out of the Sky, by Ken Dornstein: I really can't tell you much about this one yet, as I haven't read it yet. (Busy watching Grey's Anatomy, people. I can only do so much). But it's gotten great professional reviews, and it's also gotten excellent customer reviews, so I have high hopes. True story, too, so that always makes things more interesting.

Next up to be purchased: TV on the Radio, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes: This CD was actually released in March of 2004, but they're just finally getting some recognition now that David Bowie has dubbed them his new favorite band, according to the most recent Rolling Stone magazine. So I'm jumping on that bandwagon. They're very different, but in a good way. I like 'em.

I heard third time's the charm, anyway.

It feels so empty without me...


Eminem has filed for divorce from Kim Mathers... again. You might recall that they reconciled about a year ago, and remarried not even three months ago. Take THAT, Renee Zellweger!

UPDATE: For the life of me, I cannot get "Without Me" out of my head since I posted this hours ago. That's what I get for mocking other people's pain.

Go get you some!

Run, do not walk, to your nearest Benefit counter and pick up their Dallas blush*. I've been seeing it turn up in more and more fashion magazines as of late, so I caved to peer pressure and bought some yesterday. It is beautiful!! It's a great shade that I really believe anyone could wear.

*Unless you live on the East Coast. It's 10:30 here, and the malls are closed. Go tomorrow, though. First thing.

Donna Martin graduates!

I hate to even admit this. It goes against everything I have ever stood for in my life, but yet it cannot be denied: I like Tori Spelling's new show on VH1.


Against my better judgment, I tuned in for the first two episodes of "So NoTORIous" last night, and found it smart and funny and I found (sweet lord almighty) Tori Spelling to be somewhat adorable. Sure, it has some cheesy writing. But I thought for the first couple of episodes, it had a lot of potential. It's possible I may be hooked. I might have to go get TiVo so I can watch both that AND Grey's Anatomy on Sunday nights.

Speaking of which, I was a little disappointed in Grey's Anatomy last night, if we're going to be honest. I actually thought Alex had one of the best storylines of the night, which he too often doesn't. And Laurie Metcalf as his dying patient was indescribably good. She made me cry. I thought the storyline about Meredith and her father was kind of... far-fetched and straining for emotion. But I thought that what George said to her father about her was so sweet and so real. And George's story ended up having a great ending to it, when he made a move with Cally. And Cristina kicked ASS at the end of the episode, walking around naked to get George out of the apartment. Brilliant! I absolutely am in girl-love with her character. So I guess, in retrospect, it wasn't a bad episode. But definitely not one of the best. However, if I continue to find such joy in "So NoTORIous," I may have some scheduling conflicts. What to do, what to do...

This is why I use FedEx.

Poor Dusty. UPS screwed him, and screwed him good. But if nothing else, the greatest complaint letter of all time came out of it, so he's got that going for him. Which is nice.