Stumbled across this Web site featuring photos of drunk athletes. A lot of the pics are remarkably similar to what a lot of us probably have in our photo albums, but they're always funnier when they're not of you, right?
As for local ties, Josh Howard appears to be having fun with a lady friend, and there is a SERIOUSLY disturbing one of Mark Cuban. My favorite drunk athlete has to be my fellow North Carolina grad, Jeff "Skippy" Reed, Pittsburgh's kicker. What is he thinking with that hair?
Listen up, early-risers: Kelly Rowland is scheduled to perform a free concert at AT&T Plaza on Victory Boulevard (near American Airlines Center) on Friday morning as part of CBS' The Early Show's summer concert series. To reserve a spot, e-mail earlyshowindallas@gmail.com.
The nonstop rain in July felt like a lot more than 5.54 inches. That's how much was recorded for the month at the National Weather Sevice gauge at D/FW, as of 5 p.m. today.
Ugg. What are you local musicians doing? Doesn't anybody want to schedule Monday or Tuesday shows anymore? Am I going to have to resort to a touring act?
Sadly, yes. But this touring act is a damn good 'un. I speak of Jesse Sykes at the Palladium's Loft venue. Strangely beautiful voice. The cover's only ten bucks, so it'd be a shame for you to miss it.
UPDATE: And what do you know ... Jesse Sykes' opening act is Dallas' Laura Palmer.
Nicole Richie finally came out to reveal that she and rocker boyfriend Joel Madden are 4 months pregnant to Diane Sawyer and the public.
As for her guilty plea in a DUI case last Friday, she apologizes for her irresponsibility and is taking responsibility for her actions by serving a whole four days in jail, 3 years probation, and must enroll in an alcohol education program and pay a fine of $2,048.
There's another option, reports McClatchy-Tribune, and it's FREE.
It's Google Voice Local Search. Just dial 1-800-GOOG-411. You can search by business name (Bill’s Bait Shop) or category (fishing supplies). Once your number is located, you are connected at no charge and, unlike other free phone directories, you aren’t bombarded with advertisements while you wait. Word of warning: GOOG-411 is still in the testing stages, so be prepared for some hiccups in service.
OK....so over on the Rangers blog, we're reporting that the boys in Arlington are sending closer Eric Gagne to the BoSox, for a pitcher, an outfielder, a minor league outfielder and.....cash. Because there's nothing like a fistful of cash and some minor leaguers to seal a deal.
While the Rangers are so dreadful that it's difficult to care about their fate, I can't help but wonder: Are they going to have enough players left to field a team? And they keep trading pitchers (there was one in yesterday's Mark Texiera deal, for those of you not keeping score). Haven't the Rangers been kinda light on pitching in recent years to begin with?
Hairstyles come and go, but bangs are forever. At least, that's my point of view. As a longtime fan of the fringe, I've been pleased to see more and more other women sporting the look, especially the people who can pull off the super-short ones. But apparently the decision to brandish the shears is one fraught with peril.
Few hairstyles are as packed with emotional triggers as the bluntly cut bangs that have been cropping up on runways and in salons. They can bring back childhood memories and raise deep-seated feelings of longing (for the look) and loathing (for anyone who can pull it off). Some see them as cute and playful. Others think they’re anything but, especially on those over 30.
“To me, they scream: ‘I’m cooler than you, I have a lot of sex, and if you leave your husband with me I’ll devour him.’"
McDonald's is saving its customers a trip to its restaurants.
In 25 cities around the world, McDonald's has started delivering food. No delivery services in the U.S. ... yet.
A student in Cairo said "I'm too lazy to go out and stand in line." Poor guy.
I feel so bad for Starbucks. Apparently execs are concerned about competition, rising dairy costs and flat traffic in stores. So maybe we should all head to our local Starbucks - or the one right around the block from it - and buy a $5 coffee. Or you could head here or here for something just as good, if not better, that doesn't feed the Green Machine.
With so many celebrity marriages on the rocks, it's good to see at least one famous wife who doesn't want her husband's crotch groped by a complete stranger. The wife in question is Faith Hill, whose equally famous husband, Tim McGraw, was accosted by a female fan after a show this weekend in Lafayette, La.
The incident rubbed Hill the wrong way. "Someone needs to teach you some class, my friend," she said. "You don't go grabbing someone else's husband's [private parts]. Very disrespectful!"
Let's come up with a nickname for Jarrod Saltalamacchia, the young Atlanta Braves slugger who was the main "get" in today's reported trade with the Rangers for Mark Teixeira.
Lamacch?
Macch Daddy?
Or perhaps the Rangers could just play that jewelry radio jingle when he comes to bat: "It can only be Jaaaaarrod!!!"
My money's on Salty. But that could get awkward when discussing strikes, and to a greater extent, balls.
Interesting how the words "David" and "Beckham" seem to have vanished from the FC Dallas site. They sure are gonna enjoy that standing-room-only crowd though.
Is it just me or is mighty mouth Stephen A. Smith of ESPN mellowing out some? I've heard him twice in the last week and initially had no idea who I was listening to because he was talking like a normal person. Where has Stephen A. gone?
I always love to see the results of San Jose State University’s Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, which honors bad opening sentences to imaginary novels. AP points us toward this year's winning entry:
“Gerald began — but was interrupted by a piercing whistle which cost him ten percent of his hearing permanently, as it did everyone else in a ten-mile radius of the eruption, not that it mattered much because for them ’permanently’ meant the next ten minutes or so until buried by searing lava or suffocated by choking ash — to pee."
I watched the second episode of The Kill Point with Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo last night on Spike TV. I really like the concept of the show about a bank robbery gone wrong, but the script/writing is pretty awful.
So far I like it better than ABC's The Nine, but the poor writing is getting dangerously close to causing me to give up on the show.
The Mambo Cafe, a new salsa club, opened Saturday in the West End. (What is going on in the WE lately anyway? That place is blowing up.) The Cafe -- which, to my knowledge, is a figurative cafe only, it does not serve food -- is a chain with locations all around Mexico. This the first one in the U.S. They'll have salsa live bands Thurs through Sat., with a DJ playing between breaks. It's where Have a Nice Day Cafe used to be. (Which might be the worst club name ever.)
I didn't go to the opening because I was at a writer's conference, but my friend Marissa went and sent this report:
The club kicked off its party by first showing a clip from the movie The Mambo Kings on a pull-down screen. Once the screen lifted, salsa and merengue band Carabali launched into a high-energy performance against the backdrop of a shimmering silver stage. It didn't take long for people to hit the dance floor, strutting their salsa moves.
The club has a Caribbean-style atmosphere with a tropical color scheme. You didn't feel like you were in Dallas. As my one friend put it, you almost felt like you're in Puerto Rico.
Saw the preview for Horton Hears a Who (out March 14) before The Simpsons Movie this weekend. It's the third attempt to make a Seuss tale into a major motion picture.
1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas: Was actually kinda-sorta-decent when it stuck to the original plot, but the artificial backstory was horrendous, and Jim Carrey was unfortunately more flamboyant Sean Connery than creepy Boris Karloff.
2. The Cat in the Hat: Perhaps one of the worst movies of all time, based on one of the best books of all time.
So no more live-action films for the Seuss estate. Thank goodness. Reports were that Seuss' widow, Audrey Geisel, hated the Cat debacle.
But going the CGI route for Horton could be what Seuss fans need. It helps to get all those bright colors and funky angles just right, and doesn't require major work to achieve Seuss' trademark button nose, which was laughable in the movie Grinch.
Jim Carrey returns to the fold as Horton (no Connery, please!) with Steve Carell as the mayor of Whoville.
File under "Eew" and "What will they think of next?": A Chinese giant panda breeding facility is going to sell souvenirs made from panda poop. The gathered dung -- mostly undigested bamboo -- will be cleaned and turned into things like bookmarks and statues.
Sorry, folks, but it's official: David Beckham isn't coming to Frisco tomorrow for the game against FC Dallas. Guess we'll all have to wait until next season.
A&E is offering a deep discounto n the Dog The Bounty Hunter combo pack. You can order seasons 1, 2 and 3. And if that isn't enough, they are throwing in Dog's book, You Can Run But You Can't Hide, all for the low-low price of $29.95.
Or just catch the new episodes of Dog, Beth and the gang hunting down Hawaii's finest Tuesdays at 8:30.
Yes, it's that time of year again. The Discovery Channel presents the 20th anniversary of its shark-filled programming week aimed at making us never want to go in the ocean again. The site has a ton of bells and whistles to enhance what you'll see on TV, including a video mixer, a shark-tracking game and a map about shark population and attacks. Just make sure to allow pop-ups.
I'm excited about Ocean of Fear, a movie narrated by Jaws' Richard Dreyfuss that details the shark attack sustained by the crew of the USS Indianapolis, which was sunk by Japanese torpedoes in 1945. It debuted last night, but you can catch it again Saturday at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Many lamented the cancellation of Fox's Arrested Development. I didn't realize the show's greatness until seeing the reruns on Spike, but now I'm right there with the creators of an online petition aimed at producer Ron Howard to bring back the Bluth family for a 2009 Christmas special. The site has collected almost 3,000 signatures since it launched last month.
If you go see Homer and the gang on the big screen, stick around for the credits for a few more laughs. Maggie utters her first word, and it's an important one.
As for the actual movie, it's a good representation of the show and definitely worth seeing. A few belly laughs, and lots of clever lines that'll make you smile. But contrary to some reviews, you will not be in actual physical pain from laughing so hard.
Johnny Depp, who's at a point in his career where he's apparently unafraid of being typecast as a pirate or a gonzo journalist, is set to play Hunter S. Thompson again in a movie. In The Rum Diary, he'll play a freelance journalist in 1950s Puerto Rico. He previously channeled Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Now if only he'd combine the late writer's style with his pirate persona and make Fear and Loathing in the Caribbean.
Some comedian types will make 'em laugh at Barley House. Names I know pretty well: Paul Varghese and Dave Little. Name I've heard in passing: Justin Foster.
SHQ in Dentonland has probably the best musical lineup in the area, with Strange Boys (now an Austin band), Golden Boys, Current Leaves and more.
A couple of weeks ago, we were intrigued by the mysterious trailer that played before the Transformers (see it here). Basically, the scene is a hipster party interrupted by thundering noises and the Statue of Liberty's head rolling down a NYC street.
Now there's more info: Looks like the working title is 1.18.08 and according to Wikipedia, it's about a group of people who witness an attack on the city by three monsters.
This guy over at gametrailers.com says the monsters are Biblical. "In Jewish belief, Behemoth is the primal unconquerable monster of the land, as Leviathan is the primal monster of the waters of the sea and Ziz the primordial monster of the sky.
1) The first monster roar is accompanied by an earthquake (Behemoth)
2) The second monster roar is accompanied by a huge fireball (Leviathan, for it can breathe fire)
3) The third monster roar is accompanied by the flying Statue of Liberty head (Ziz).
Official Web site is here. I can't wait to read more.
Still recovering from all the beers I drank at a fantastic Whittenburg-Smile-Salim-Rollins show at Sons of Hermann last night. All the acts were on top of their respective games. J.D.'s new band sounded solid (but looked a li'l nervous). Ryan and Jencey in Smile Smile played a handful of new songs ("The Attic" is a fave). Salim's set was surprisingly upbeat. I drank lots of Red Stripe [pause to take one more chewable Motrin].
Can that great night be rivaled? There are a couple of options in Dallas:
-- One of the Denton bands on the bill at Dan's is RTB2, whose music is a stunning combo of soul, country and rock. It's one of the most underrated acts in the area, if y'ask me.
--Too-cute-for-words touring band Bishop Allenheads up a buzzworthy show at Hailey's.
--And last but not least, you can throw down five bones at Rubba Gloves to see Bob White and the F-Electrics, 2MAI, the Demigs and Record Hop. I keep hearing rumblings of how uh-mazing the Hop's new tracks are. Why isn't there a leetle taste on MySpace? Trying to be patient ...
Quite a few choices this evening, but I'll limit it to three for your and my sanity.
First up, we've got J.D. Whittenburg's big CD release show at Sons of Hermann. Strangely, he goes on first (9 sharp), followed by Johnny Lloyd Rollins, Smile Smile and Salim Nourallah.
Mom will take over the Cavern, with Joy Electric and Sydney Confirm in tow.
And finally, 41 Gorgeous Blocks plays some purty good pop punk at Double Wide. With Werewolf and Brake! Vegas.
Feel free to add in your picks, if you happen to be reading blogs at this late hour.
Zach Galifianakis scores again, this time with an alternate video of Kanye West's "Can't Tell Me Nothing." The comic takes Kanye's words to the farm, and the result is damn funny.
The Associated Press reports that Leonard Nimoy is returning as Dr. Spock. The 76-year-old actor will once again don the pointy Vulcan ears in a new Star Trek film due out Christmas 2008. Nimoy made the announcement at the Comic-Con convention Thursday.
The more I try to get away from David Beckham stories, the more I come across them.
According to the Los Angeles Times, fans can bid on eBay for a chance to walk on the field hand-in-hand with the starters before the Los Angeles Galaxy's game at the New England Revolution on Aug. 12. Proceeds go to charity. The bid for Beckham is more than $2,000 so far.
Ladies, there is a catch: Escorts must be ages 5-14. Sorry.
The 20th anniversary of Shark Week starts Sunday on the Discovery Channel with Ocean of Fear: Worst Shark Attack Ever at 8 p.m. The program tells the story of the USS Indianapolis, which was sunk by Japanese torpedoes in 1945.
When the summer starts heating up, it gets harder to work out outside. My man Jeff Galloway has some tips for running in hot weather. In the tips, he mentions his Web site's clothing thermometer, which details what you should wear when it's 65 degrees and up or when it's 20 below. Because, clearly, running when it's 20 below is everyone's favorite pastime.
I imagine that somewhere out there, a celebrity magazine editor has $10,000 for the person who can provide pictures of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt looking stylish in the sandbox or Maddox throwing a temper tantrum. So this article makes sense. Celebs--even B-level and no-names--are hiring attorneys right and left to craft nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) for everyone from the nanny to the leaf blower. The attorneys are putting a price tag on personal information, saying it has monetary value and that an employee selling pictures of Jennifer Aniston sunbathing or video of Alec Baldwin wigging out is, essentially, stealing. Interesting concept.
I predict that this trend will soon spread from celebrity to simply powerful and we'll see downtown Dallas execs making the plumber sign an NDA before unclogging their toilets.
So the hubby is in SF right now, staying at the W Hotel (damn him), but he partook last night in an interesting beverage -- Fernet Branca, an Italian liqueur. It's apparently very popular in Argentina mixed with Coke. And super popular, for some reason, in San Francisco. Although they just shoot it there.
Anyone out there ever heard of it?
The herbal base reminds me of another herbal liqueur I just heard of, Chartreuse. Although it could be more like Jaegermeister. (In which case, I'll pass.)
This story says the Windmill Lounge stocks it, and that it tastes like medicine. I smell a Drink of the Week.
The Associated Press reports that Apple's profits rose more than 73 percent. It added that Apple sold 270,000 iPhones in the first weekend of sales. With that news, Apple shares rose $12.92 in after hours trading.
Last week, scientists figured out a way to always win at checkers. Their next conquest was poker, in a Man vs. Machine tournament. The tournament pitted pros Ali Eslami and Phil "The Unabomber" Laak, aka Jennifer Tilly's boyfriend, against two computer opponents, Mr. Pink and Agent Orange.
Man came out on top in this one, but Laak said the bots are "closing in." An MSNBC blog has an interesting account of the tournament and how the pros defeated the computer program.
The Ghostbar show was fun last night, but I’ll get to that in a second, because I need to tell you: I met Chris Tucker!
He was hanging out in the Ghostbar VIP last night, dancing in a dark suit. I tapped him on the shoulder and mumbled something lame about how much I was looking forward to his next movie. He smiled and said thank-you. Then I continued mumbling, and he smiled and said thank-you again.
He was so nice. I love Chris Tucker.
Ok, DJ AM. He was good. I liked his set more at the beginning, because he played a lot of old and random stuff that I wasn’t expecting. One of his opening songs was Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam’s “Take You Home.” I looove that song. Too bad no one else cared. My friend and I were the only ones jamming out.
Other highlights: "Let’s Hear It for the Boy" mixed with David Bowie’s “Pressure.” That was a little disjointed, but I adore Let’s Hear it for the Boy, so I didn’t care. Also, Phil Collins “You Can’t Hurry Love.” AM is bringing PC back! Now we just need to hear “Easy Lover” and I’d be a happy lady.
Fort Worth's The Burning Hotels headlines a night of retro cool at the Cavern, also including Gazelles and Austin's Pompeii. I'm kinda likin' the Pompeii.
Club Dada is all Dallas-ed out this evening with The Slack, Here, In Arms and Rose County Fair. You're bound to like one of these acts -- Brent Engel's (Here, In Arms) new material is surprisingly hard-driving, unlike the electro-folk stuff he started out doing.
While I'm here, I'll give you a little J.D. Whittenburgquoteage to get you interested in the piece I'll have on him in tomorrow's paper: “Sometimes a song will pop into my head while I’m mowing the lawn, complete with lyrics. I’ll think to myself, ‘I’ve never heard this before,’ then realize that I’m actually writing it.”
I think this is quite possibly the best description of writing process an artist has ever given me. Whittenburg plays with an all-star lineup Friday at Sons of Hermann.
FC Dallas president and general manager Michael Hitchcock said Tuesday night that fewer than 1,000 tickets are available for David Beckham's July 31 scheduled visit to Pizza Hut Park. The Los Angeles Galaxy will play FCD in a SuperLiga tournament match. Call 1-888-FCD-GOAL.
Once you get your ticket, all you have to do is hope that Beckham, who has an ankle injury, even plays. Good luck. But watching Landon Donovan wouldn't be so bad either.
I almost feel bad about posting this. Beyonce's no Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton, out endangering the lives of innocents with their reckless ways. She's no Britney Spears, the leading anti-mother-of-the-year candidate. No, Beyonce seems like an upstanding celebrity. But in this instance, she wasn't standing up for long.
To see Beyonce fall face-first down some stairs while performing, click here. Sorry, Beyonce.
WordSpace's sixth annual festival starts tonight with readings by four emerging Texas women writers. It starts at 8 at the Undermain Theatre in Deep Ellum.
Cost for the festival is $7 per event ($5 for students), or $30 for a five-day pass. Check out the rest of the schedule.
TV work: Played "Smelly" on The Little Rascals. Briefly starred in soap opera It Never Ends.
Athletic stardom: Moe was known as "Kid Moe" in his boxing career.
Lust in his heart: Moe openly covets Marge Simpson, Maude Flanders (even after she died), and a basketball mascot.
Gullible gag: He's on the receiving end of Bart's prank calls. "I need Amanda Huginkiss!!"
Quotable (in a cover song produced by David Byrne): "Moe, Moe, Moe. How do you like me, how do you like me? Moe, Moe, Moe. Why don't you like me? Nobody likes me."
A couple months ago, LA Times sports columnist Mike Penner announced he was having a sex change and changing his name to Christine Daniels. She hadn't been out to cover any events post-change until last week's presentation of David Beckham to media and Galaxy season-ticket holders. Here's her account.
Matt Leinart last week told People that being a dad "puts things in perspective. ... It's different. You're forced to do all those little things. I love doing it, and I love being with him. I change diapers all the time."
It's a different story from 9-month-old Cole's mom, Brynn Cameron, who this week says "It's been hard when I'm doing all the work, but he gets all the credit."
Hey, it's hard playing in the NFL and hosting celebrity bowling tournaments, and then finding time to change diapers.
Today's secondary-character spotlight falls on the king of white trash, Cletus. As the song goes, most folk'll never lose a toe, and then again, some folk'll. Like Cletus, the slack-jawed yokel.
Wife: Brandine, who is also Cletus' cousin, sister or mother, depending on which episode you believe.
Children: There are many, many offspring. The list includes TIffany, Heather, Cody, Dylan, Dermott, Jordan, Taylor, Britney, Wesley, Rumor, Scout, Cassidy, Zo, Klo, Max, Hunter, Kendall, Caitlyn, Noah, Sasha, Morgan, Ian, Keira, Loren, Q-bert and Phil. Oh, also in another episode we meet Whitney, Chitney, Dubya, Incest, Crystal Meth, International Harvester and Birthday.
On education: To honor a C- grade made by one of the kids, he declares, "Hey Brandine, empty out the tub, we's makin' rum!!"
First of all, I have to say that it's really insane that I'm up this early, especially because I'm going to DJ AM tonight (the secret to partying as an old person: Naps) but this news was too important not to share:
"Poison" by Bell Biv DeVoe is now officially played-out.
I know it’s really fun to sing “It’s driving me outta my mind” at the top of one's lungs, and I know the drum beat at the beginning is fantastic. But this song is seriously played like every single night in Dallas. EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.
Can we move on?
Here are a few suggestions to replace “Poison” in your heart:
1. Boyz II Men's “Motownphilly” — A banger back in the day. Those horns! The endless “go, go, go, go!” The Party played it at Zubar on Friday and everyone went crazy, including me.
2. BBD’s “Do Me” — The rap part is classic. Although, now that I actually read the lyrics (make sure your pop-up blocker is on), it's kind of... disgusting. A second choice pick, arguably better: "I Thought It Was Me."
3. Another Bad Creation’s “Iesha” — Kids rapping about playing Nintendo and falling in love. (sigh.) The nineties.
Can somebody please lock Lindsay Lohan up in permanent rehab?
Girl! Stop drinking and driving. And if you're going to get pulled over, make sure you don't have your cocaine on you. I adore you, kiddo, but your self-destructive behavior is worse than Britney's.
Who wants to be like Victoria Beckham? The Los Angeles Times pointed out the site SeenOn.com, which identifies products that celebs have worn or used and refers people to places where they can purchase the items.
Among the numerous items worn or carried by Beckham:
* Jimmy Choo foldover calfskin clutch, $1,250
* Yves Saint Laurent Tribute Mary Jane Shoes, $660
* Christian Louboutin Yoyo Zeppa Slingbacks, $640
* Dodgers jacket from MLB.com, $109.99
Keeping in shape while on vacation is something most people have trouble doing. Especially people like me, who count "vacation" as going out of town for a night or two and not making time to work out.
I came across a story on MSN about how to stay in running shape while you're on vacation. I'm a little skeptical that running 10-15 minutes a day is all you have to do to maintain basic conditioning, but the article is by Olympic runner Jeff Galloway , so I can't doubt that he knows what he's talking about. However, I don't think Jeff's indulging in the same type of vacation food a lot of us non-Olympians do when we go away!
After weeks of speculation that has brought The Price is Right more publicity than it's had in years, it looks like the show has a new host. Drew Carey is reportedly set to replace the retired Bob Barker. Makes sense; Carey seems like the game-show-hosting type.
How was your weekend? Did you see Jandek? Was it boring? Bobby Patterson kept me awake pretty late on Saturday. Another great soul revue. Shame on you if you missed it.
-- Woody's has 20,000 songs in its karaoke book, and I'm willing to bet that the singers there are serious about their craft-e-oke. Should be entertaining. The singin' starts at 9:45 p.m.
--If you are above karaoke and play your own instruments (thank you very much) you could get in on the acoustic jam at Suede.
Kent on the media: "Journalists used to question the reasons for war, and expose abuse of power. Now, like toothless babies, they suckle on the sugary teat of misinformation and poop it into the diaper we call the 6 o'clock news."
Now this is a reality show I could get behind. Andrew Lloyd Webber has signed with an agent in Hollywood. He'll be in talks this fall to create a series, perhaps based on his own Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and the search to find a cast. I love that musical!
He's had great success in the U.K. with TV revivals of Joseph as well as The Sound of Music. He also claims that last year's American primetime flop You're the One that I Want was a rip-off of his own idea.
As long as I don't have to hear Phantom of the Opera or anything from Cats, I'll be thrilled.
Heard a strange thing while I was out this weekend. Kid Capri, the legendary hip-hop DJ, performed at Clear Ultra Lounge on Thursday -- but strict dress codes and a tight door policy (i.e., if you're not on the list, you can't get in) made for hundreds of folks getting turned away. Apparently he ended up playing for a very small crowd.
Anyone out there among the folks who couldn't make it in?
The hubby and I hit The Party on Friday night, and it was super fun. Maybe it was the shot of Makers, or the shot of Makers combined with New Edition’s “Cool it Now,” but I seriously was jumping in the air for like thirty minutes. Saw peeps from Cultura Fina (who were holding down the back room playing Dirty South hip-hop), and Big J, and Picnic, who was handing out mixtapes. There was also a really cool-looking girl with ratty, mussed-up hair and a tube top and suspenders. And lotsa skinny jeans with peep-toe heels. (On the girls.)
I stumbled upon a strange new MTV series this weekend. I think it's new, anyway. It's an animated version of Friday, the great 1995 weed comedy starring Ice Cube, Chris Tucker and John Witherspoon (above).
Seriously, that's a damn fine funny movie.
The few moments I caught of this new series were pretty unbearable, though. After Next Friday, Friday After Next and now this, it's time to officially retire the franchise.
Remember it, write it down, take a picture, I don't give a [expletive].
... millions if you're certain celebrities. Forbes looked at the priciest celebrity photos, and the winner is.... the first photos of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt. People reportedly paid $4.1 million for the rights to publish the photos. Check out the rest.
You'd think it was the Oscars this weekend with all the celebs in one place Saturday night. But it was just David Beckham's debut with the LA Galaxy.Katie Holmes and daughter Suri were there to support BFF Posh and the rest of the Beckham crew, along with Mary-Kate Olsen, Brooke Shields, Alicia Silverstone and husband Chris Jarecki, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Drew Carey and the Governator.
Beckfest continued Sunday with a "Welcome to America" party hosted by the Cruises and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith.
Remember Stephanie, the middle child of Full House's Tanner family? Well she's all grown up. Actress Jodie Sweetin, whose post-Full House hobby of choice was using meth and went to Promises before pop tarts LiLo and Britney made it famous, was married last Saturday in Vegas, at the Little Church of the West.
Speaking of Lindsay Lohan, yesterday she was formerly booked on DUI charges stemming from the encounter her Mercedes had with a tree in May. She was released on bail, and has an Aug. 24 court date, People reports. Maybe she'll get Paris' cell!
Here's a fun lil' thing on our site today: Our sports braintrust -- Chris Velez and Keith Courson -- got some Quick readers to offer us their own home run broadcast call for Barry Bonds' upcoming record-breaker.
Saturday night, Topaz headlines at the Granada, with Graham Wilkinson and the Underground Township as one of the openers. Graham's an unbelievable songwriter, and the band's setlist usually includes some combination of reggae, folk and Americana. Check it out here.
Tony Parker may be smitten with Eva Longoria, but he's not a big fan of rings (this coming from a guy who has won three of them with the Spurs). Parker told the Associated Press it's been difficult adjusting to wearing a wedding band. And he won't be able to wear it during games. "A lot of my teammates told me they lost it like five or six times. So I'm going to try to lose it only one or two times," he said.
As for the paparazzi: "It's not like Brad Pitt or Britney Spears. It's not that bad. And when we're in San Antonio it's OK,” he said. "It's more for Eva, it's not me. I'm just there holding hands, they take pictures. It's her world."
Brigitte Nielsen, Sylvester Stallone's ex-wife and Flavor Flav's ex whatever, has checked herself into rehab "for treatment of an undisclosed condition", her manager confirmed this evening.
“All I know is it’s something she did on her own free will and we’re proud of her and wish her very well,” Steven Tempone told The Associated Press.
We hope Flavor Flav can leave Deelishis for to be by Brigitte's side.
Best Emmy nomination today: "[Expletive] in a Box" by Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg from Saturday Night Live. It's in the Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics category. Seriously.
In the latest evidence of looming human obsolescence, a computer has solved checkers. Scientists say it has mastered all of the 500 billion billion possible board positions and knows the right move for every situation, and the best us lowly humans can hope for is a draw. It took the computer 18 years to figure it all out, making checkers the most complex game solved yet.
If you want to try to prove the experts wrong and take this stinkin' hunk of metal down, you can play the Chinook computer online here.
This was just a funny interview with Rainn Wilson, who plays Dwight K. Schrute on The Office. He's been nominated for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series, and he seems even funnier as a real person than he plays on the show. Maybe it's just me?... I don't know, but I "lol"-ed.
Kid Capri at Clear Ultra Lounge tonight. Cover prob in the range of $20. Get there early if you wanna pay less.
The Party’s one-year anniversary on Friday at Zúbar. DJ Nature, Sober and Select put it down, for the 13th time…or what I'm guessing is the 13th time. We have a story about this tomorrow, plus an anniversary playlist. Fun stuff!
Prepare for hijinks at Minc on Saturday, with Cazwell (arguably New York's best-known gay MC), James St. James (author of Party Monster, eventually a movie w/ Seth Green and Macaulay Caulkin), She-Dick (local pop trio that dress in drag), Richie Rich and DJ Sammy Jo (the tour DJ for Scissor Sisters). Tix here.
Song to get ready to over the weekend:"Hooked on You" by Sweet Sensation. AWESOME video. Who knew they were hooked on intramural basketball players?
So when do I get my reality show? Seems like they're putting anyone on TV these days. Case in point: The Two Coreys. A&E thought it would be a good idea to put Corey Feldman and Corey Haim (The Lost Boys, License to Drive, Dream a Little Dream) AND Feldman's wife, Susie, under one roof and make a TV show out of it. It premieres July 29 at 9. I think I'll stick with more intelligent TV like Rock of Love and Flavor of Love. Maybe if it had "love" in the title I'd be more interested.
The other day, I blogged about Zodiac Lounge in Uptown, which will occupy the space on Cedar Springs Road that formerly housed Central Park. I thought the lounge might have had its grand opening already, but they put a sign up yesterday announcing that it's tonight. The white-themed party has no cover, and drink specials last until 11 p.m.
Johnny Drama’s finally made it out of his brother’s shadow. Well, his portrayer has anyway. Entourage’s Kevin Dillon scored an Emmy nomination this morning for best supporting actor in a comedy series. (Full list of nominees here.) Dillon, pictured at right, is up against co-star Jeremy Piven who won in the same category last year for his work as agent Ari Gold.
Rachel Griffiths, who should have won 183 times already for her role in the dearly departed Six Feet Under, is up for best supporting actress in a drama for Brothers & Sisters. The Sopranos’James Gandolfini (Tony), Edie Falco (Carmela), Michael Imperioli (Christopher), Aida Turturro (Janice) and Lorraine Bracco (Dr. Melfi) all scored acting nods. And the show’s up for best drama.
I personally don’t know who to root for in the best actress in a drama category. We’ve got Sally Field (Brothers & Sisters), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), last year’s winner Mariska Hargitay (Law and Order: SVU), Particia Arquette (Medium), Minnie Driver (The Riches) and of course Ms. Falco.
Rene Macura/AP
Entourage scored itself a best-comedy nomination, but Desperate Housewives was left out. And on the best-drama-series side of things, Heroes and Grey’s Anatomy (pictured left) made the cut. But popular shows like 24 and Lost didn’t. Speaking of Grey’s, the lead stars were all shut out but many of the show’s supporting actors and even guest stars snagged nods including T.R. Knight (George), Katherine Heigl (Izzie), Chandra Wilson (Dr. Bailey), Sandra Oh (Christine), Kate Burton (Ellis Grey) and Elizabeth Reaser (Jane Doe).
Oh, and for all seven of you Monk fans, yes Tony Shalhoub got nominated for best lead comedy actor. Again.
Paris apparently thinks she and Victoria Beckham may be soul mates. But when that little tidbit of info got to Posh, she squashed it immediately with something to the effect of "over my dead body."
That's the scoop. After all, gossip may "be good for society," a former gossip columnist writes in an LA Times piece.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows is a hit. The New York Times released the first review of the most anticipated book of the year and gave it a glowing one. Comparing Rowling's achievement to greats like Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) and Baum's (Oz), this book is epic. I've never pre-ordered my HP books, but this time I feel like I should. Read the raving review for yourself and I'll bet you feel the same way.
Yay for Amy Sedaris! The Strangers With Candy star and New York Times best-selling author of I Like You: Entertaining Under the Influence has been wooing The Simpsons.
More specifically, she's trying to convince creator Matt Groening to "allow Jerri Blank and the beloved student body and faculty of Strangers With Candy's Flatpoint High to take up temporary residence in Springfield for the 500th episode of the Emmy Award winning animated series, The Simpsons."
As Sedaris explains:
"There is any amount of mischief that Jerri Blank and her gang can cause by moving into Springfield, and here I think we might be talking about plotlines involving baby farms, crystal meth labs, a prostitution ring or two, a food poisoning epidemic caused by the sale of off-brand Girl Scout cookies made illegally in Manchuria... Fun stuff like that, because after 19 years of fandom and adoration, we pretty much know which way Matt Groening likes to roll with his plotlines."
This could potentially be the best Simpsons episode. OF ALL TIME.
"Idol Records has signed The Crash That Took Me which features members from several D/FW bands including [DARYL], Black Tie Dynasty and The Earlies. We are wrapping up production on the debut album Orchestrated Kaleidoscopes which was just mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London by Sean Magee (Coldplay, Paul McCartney, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs). The album will be released later this year."
Good news for those guys, especially on a day when they got mildly dissed by the local alt-weekly (I can't find it online to link to it, so don't ask).
Kind of old news because it happened at 5:50 this morning, but don't read this if you're waiting for the show to air - although it'd be kind of hard to avoid hearing about it for the next month.
Amateur Jerry Yang, a psychologist from Temecula, Calif., won the bracelet and poker's top prize, $8.25 million. Read how it all went down here.
Normally I'm extolling the greatness of the "worldwide leader in sports," but I must say I was rather underwhelmed by a game ESPN.com had on its website today.
Astros great Craig Biggio has to get hit by just three more pitches to become the all-time hit-by-pitch leader in Major League Baseball history. And ESPN.com had the neat idea to put a game on its Web site allowing viewers to plunk Biggio.
Unfortunately, it's a good concept with poor execution. You'd think with all the resources ESPN has it would be able to make a better effort than just a still-photo of Biggio moving back and forth across the screen.
I'm not a Potterhead, but there's something all 9 trillion of you out there need to prepare yourself for. What if Harry dies? Are you prepared to handle the grief? A Boston Globe article today gives parents some advice on how to help their kids deal with the death of one of the characters.
Um, Ryan Gosling's band Dead Man's Bones has a new song on their MySpace page. The fun intro had me thinking I would like it, but no. I was tricked. It kind of stinks. IJS.
Klickitat plays Dada around 9-ish. My only complaint is that there's only one demo song available online. Granted, it's a good demo song (originally recorded for Lindsay Graham's RPM project), but I want more. Also playing is Tonite Tonite, which intrigues me.
I've now heard from a few people that Sandy's, the new club across from the Slip Inn, is pretty dead on Thursday nights. (A far cry from the socialite-haven I saw a few months ago.) DJ Christopher Tracy used to spin that day but he's moved to Knox St. Pub. John Reardon, owner of The Walrus, has stopped promoting Thursday nights there too.
Hope this isn't a sign the place is on its way out...
(Seriously, that title is why I read this article in the first place) Anyway, Britney Spears and her mom have taken their bad blood and turned it physical. Apparently, Lynne Spears came "barging" through Britney's house last month and "demanded" on taking the kids out to spend some private time with them (I don't see why Brit would be so upset about it... I forget she has kids, and I think she does too). "Then she began denigrating Britney’s mothering skills and losing her temper at the same time!” Despite the problems, Lynne cares very much for Brit and believes that Brit is depressed and wants to help her. Feel the love...
Below this article is a short "Timberbiel" report. Man, journalists just come up with the best names EVER!
The boys played all night to settle it, and Jerry Yang is your World Series of Poker winner. He captued the $8.25 million on the 205th hand at the final table. Yang personally knocked out seven of his eight opponents.
Three hours into the final table, six players remain, with Jerry Yang taking a commanding lead at 55 million in chips. He's knocked out three players with an unusually aggressive style of play - Philip Hilm, Lee Childs and my pick, pro Lee Watkinson.
He's made some questionable calls, but you can't dislike the guy - I learned on Andrew Feldman's espn.com blog that if he wins, Yang is splitting 10 percent of the $8.25 million among the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Feed the Children and the Ronald McDonald House.
No real surprise here, but photos of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ending (yes, pictures of the text) are showing up on the Net. (The amusing part of the story is that apparently different versions of the text have been out there. So....are people just making this stuff up?
People: Calm yourselves. Just wait a few more days. This is worse than snooping around your mom's closet looking for your Christmas presents. Am I the only patient one in the world?
And if you are one of those impatient ones, may be too late now. As soon as the publishers see the pilfered pages popping up, they kindly ask for them to be removed. And Gaia complied; it might take court action to get Photobucket to do the same.
On my way to work today I noticed that Central Park on Cedar Springs Road has changed its name to Zodiac Lounge. It was packed last Saturday night, but I'm not sure if that served as a grand opening or a goodbye-to-Central Park type of thing.
Seeing that made me wonder what's going on with the space a couple blocks down that formerly housed Medici. There's a sign proclaiming it the Lift lounge. The word is that the owners of Obar have taken over, and it's supposed to open July 25. The DMN's nightlife guide had Obar's owner lay down some details.
I'm going to say that, generally speaking, I steer well clear of any product with "anal leakage" as a warning on the packaging. That Olestra fat substance in chips--no way! And now after reading this article about Alli diet pills, I wouldn't touch them, either.
I mean, the lede is priceless: "Sometimes, you can’t stop your weight-loss secrets from leaking out." But then keep reading--here are a few snippets from the piece.
The drug’s maker, GlaxoSmithKline, has been up front about the pill’s side effects, suggesting that first timers wear dark pants or bring a change of clothes to work until they get used to the diet pill’s potentially yucky consequences.
Those who haven’t completely followed instructions offer cautionary tales on the drug company’s Web site.
“(I)’ve pooped my pants 3 times today, and sorry to get descriptive but it even leaked onto the couch at one point!” writes one user.
Eww! EEEWWWW! Why would someone take this product!? Isn't life full of enough potential humiliations without having to be anal--pardon the pun--about always carrying around extra underwear and some air freshener? No, thanks.
EA or Electronic Arts, has released Sims Bowling for the iPod. Sorry new iPhone owners, it doesn't work for you guys. EA states that three other titles should be out this year.
I'm on the fence on this one. On the one hand, I don't want to start making loud, beeping noises when I back up and that means I have to watch what I eat. Carefully.
On the other hand, there'd be no quicker way to take the joy out of a big ol' Prime T-bone at Bob's Steak & Chop House than to see that it has enough calories to feed a family of four.
Would you want to see calorie counts on restaurant menus? Would if affect your ordering? Would it kill your pleasure or make you feel good? I'm happy if the information is just online--I can check it if I want and remain happily uninformed if I don't.
Lennon wore the pair during the Beatles' tour of Japan in 1966 and gave them to their translator as a parting gift. Thirty-nine years later, the interest in memorabilia is higher than ever. Says sales director John Warner in the BBC piece, "Our phones have been in meltdown."
The DFW Coming Out Project's annual Fruit Bowl is at USA Bowl (10920 Composite Dr.) on Sunday. Lanes are going fast, so reserve today. So register your team of four. It's $25 per bowler. Lane registration starts at 1 p.m., and the balls get rolling at 2 p.m.
Can't bowl? A prize will go to the worst bowler, in addition to the best bowler and the team with the best Vegas-themed costume. There's also a raffle for $500 in Texas Lottery scratch-offs, plus a big ol' silent auction. The after-party is just up the street at Pugsley's Library, and Fruit Bowl participants get their first drink on the house.
Money raised goes to the Coming Out Project, which does all kinds of National Coming Out Day events. (That's Oct. 11, by the way.)
I caught the rerun of Rock of Love on VH1 last night, and watched Bret Michaels in his quest for love. Some rock stars never change. He gave 20 "lucky" ladies an all-access pass to stick around, and the season is shaping up to be a groupie reunion from the Flesh & Blood tour.
New episodes air Sundays at 8.
The David Beckham debut for the LA Galaxy may not happen this Saturday as scheduled due to an ankle injury. Although it happened early last month while playing for England in a Euro 2008 qualifying game, his ankle remained swollen and sore possibly because of the long flight from the U.K. to L.A. last Thursday. Although coach wants to put him in, he doesn't want to make Beckham's condition long-term.
Harry Potter mania is upon us (as if it ever left). The latest movie is raking in millions. The final book is set for release this week. The Iowa State Fair is sculpting a "Dairy Potter" out of butter. I'm telling you, this boy wizard is popular.
But who wants to wait for the new book alone? It's better to join the throngs of adoring muggles at one of many Harry Potter release parties across the area. Click here to conjure up a big list of them.
I finally got around to watching an episode of America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions on NFL Network. I wish I had started much earlier. I took in the tale of the 1993 Cowboys (the one with the 0-2 start because of Emmitt Smith's holdout, Thanksgiving in the snow and a win over the Bills at the end).
I'm not a Cowboys fan, but it's great stuff. I think what makes the show great are the first-person accounts, players telling their stories directly into the camera.
The 40-part series aims to answer who is the greatest Super Bowl team of all time.
The final table of the World Series of Poker's Main Event starts Tuesday, with nary a high-profile player taking a seat. The only finalists who have won bracelets are Russia's Alex Kravchenko and Washington's Lee Watkinson, who each have one.
Pro Scotty Nguyen was the closest big-name player to have a shot, but a series of bad moves caused him to bust out in 11th place. ESPN.com details his collapse and the nine finalists here.
The most intriguing player at the table might be Watkinson, who is in sixth. Earlier in the tournament, he cleverly raised with a big stack for 10 straight hands. Why? Because the next person knocked out would finish one spot out of the money, so players were overly protective of their chips and willing to let Watkinson steal blinds.
Can't wait a month for ESPN to show you what happens? Catch the final table action live at 2 p.m. on Pay-Per-View for $19.95.
Visited Urban Taco on Sunday — it’s the new trendy, Mexico-City style taqueria at Mockingbird Station. I really liked it. The decor is clean and bright, and they have Telemundo playing on a flat screen TV. Outside, it even smelled like a street in the D.F., all clouds of hot grease and steam. Mmmm.
They have this new deal called “Rehab Sundays,” where they serve pozole and micheladas for under $5 a pop, and a DJ plays ambient house. I’m guessing they’re trying to appeal to all the young, hip Latino kids in Dallas, but we didn’t really see very many of them there. (Only two, to be exact.) Rest of the crowd was quite multicultural though.
I highly recommend the michelada rojo, which is basically like a fizzy bloody mary lite, made with beer and lime juice and Tabasco. (I’ll be writing about it soon in a spread on summer drinks.) And please, for me, you have to get a big, hot helping of chips and guac. The chips are really thick and cut into long, skinny rectangles, and they have this tangy lime salt and peppery spice on them. SOO good. They’re now my favorite chips in Dallas.
Monday's the day when most local musicians catch up on their sleep (or their drinking -- whichever comes first), so I'm forced to recommend the same things again and again. That's not terrible, though, especially when we are talking about a Bad-Ass Jazz night that more than lives up to its name, or an experimental session with Paul Slavens that's more entertaining and creative than what you'll find any Friday at some of the more played-out rawk joints around here. I believe WSJR had the goods on a free Cavern DJ thingie as well. Have fun.
UPDATE: See below for some info on a cool Love Jones-themed event at Spike.
For the new season of The Apprentice, it's celebrity edition. In this season, celebs will be competing and raising money for charity. This is great and all, but what's even better is Trump asked none other than Rosie O'Donnell to be on the show. She declined "with a vengeance" by her rep stating "It will not happen in this lifetime or beyond." Did Trump just want to say "You're fired!" to her? He says no, stating she would be treated "very fairly."
After more than six weeks in rehab, Lindsay Lohan left the Promises rehab facility in Malibu, Calif., and headed straight for Sin City this weekend. LiLo attended a surprise birthday party for her assistant Jenny Munro at the Las Vegas nightclub Pure. She had previously unscheduled her own 21st birthday party there.
Lindsay partied with a posse of 10 or so pals and hydrated herself with Red Bull and water. She also manned the mic at Pure with DJ Hollywood.
She opted to wear an alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet. “She chose to do so that there’s no question of her sobriety when she goes to places where alcohol is served,” said publicist Leslie Sloane Zelnik.
The Philadelphia Phillies reached a dubious milestone tonight: 10,000 losses. No other team, not even the perenially pitcherless Rangers, can match the Phillies' futility. The Braves are next on the list with 9,681 losses.
I don't know how much a plane ticket to Olso, Norway costs, but the last week of July might be a good time for anyone planning on visiting the land of Vikings to go.
No need to book a hotel room though. Just stay at IKEA. From July 23 to July 27, shoppers will be able to spend the night in specially designed rooms at the Olso store. The best part? It's free!
Diddy's making a band ... no, he's making an album ... or wait, he's changing his name. I can't keep up.
This week, he's actually looking for a new assistant, and it could be you. You can upload your video to YouTube, telling him why you would make a good assistant (which probably includes changing the twins' diapers). And you can check out the competition. Hmmm... I smell a new reality show.
Speaking of Sons, you gonna be there on Sunday? Yes, you are. It's for a good cause, and taking the stage will be Voot Cha Index, Handclaps & Harmonies and electro-acoustic duo Mom, about which I wrote this article. Read it, because there'll be a pop quiz on Sunday.
I don't claim to be the smartest critic when it comes to music. The only thing I know about music is that I like to listen to it. (I know. Genius!)
However, I do know a little bit about having fun (with an alcoholic beverage or two thrown in), and one of the more lively smaller acts you'll see is playing at Firewater (10261 Technology Blvd) tonight.
The Velcro Pygmies are an '80s hair band from Louisville, Kentucky. They may not be the most refined musical group you've ever heard, but they always put on an entertaining show.
Cover charge is $8 and the band goes on at 10 p.m. They may have one break between then and 2 a.m. They may not. Sometimes they'll play four hours straight. Either way, you can bet it'll be a party.
I've finally found a TV show to fall in love with: USA's Burn Notice. It's cute (as is Jeffrey Donovan, who plays main character Michael Westen), and I've gotten trapped in the story. Narration feels like another old favorite, Arrested Development. And it's quirky enough to keep my odd taste in humor satisfied.
Totally unlike that Debra Messing miniseries The Starter Wife, which bored the hell out of me.
Some of the goofiness that makes British courts so quaint is going away: No more wigs and gowns for judges and lawyers in civil and family courts. And it makes me sad. Not only is it going to totally kill the powdered horsehair wig industry, but they're just going to look like courts anywhere else. At least we've still got the weekly meeting with the PM and the House of Commons....
I think I've heard this before but it's even funnier in print. James Blunt sold his sister on eBay when she needed to get to southern Ireland for a funeral. Three years ago, he sold her to a guy with a helicopter and this summer they're getting married.
Aaw, how strange. I think we should start a business with that... Anybody need a date this weekend?
You could go and see Eisley open for The Fray at Smirnoff, although I'd advise you to leave before the headliner performs "How to Save a Life," because you've already heard it about a thousand times too many. It kills brain cells, ya know.
Frankie 45, who tells me he got his van with a bunch of equipment stolen today (ouch!), will play a solo show tonight at All Good Cafe. Go see the poor guy, and let him know if you've spotted a 1999 turquiose blue Dodge Grande Caravan around town in recent hours.
Ryan Thomas Becker is part of a loaded bill at Rubba Gloves tonight -- I saw his main project RTB2 the other night at Double Wide, and I sure did enjoy it. Ryan's a soul singer trapped in the body of a skinny indie rocker. And boy can he scream with the best of 'em ...
I'll probably head over to Gezellig after my shift to check out the sounds of Chris Holt's latest project with Eric Neal and others, The Slack. Dudes have a new album coming out next month. They'll play some-o' it tonight.
Rescue Dawn, which opens tomorrow, seems to be getting lots of good reviews. It's based on the true story of German-American fighter pilot Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale), whose plane is shot down during his first Vietnam War mission.
Interesting note: One of the producers is Clippers forward Elton Brand, who is such a movie guy that he started his own production company. Brand discussed the film in this week's SI, which also has a huge spread on Jerry Jones, the ahem, King of Texas.
This is awesome: Some computer smarty man has figured out how to hack Big Mouth Billy Bass using Linux. Be sure to click on "movies" on the left and watch Billy sound like Bill as he proclaims, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."
I don't have an Xbox 360 or a PS3, and for the first time I'm actually a little bummed about that. That's because 2K Sports is coming out with new offering Tuesday that really intrigues me. It's a game called, All-Pro Football 2K8.
2K Sports hasn't had a pro football game in awhile because EA Sports scooped up the NFL's licensing rights a couple years ago. So, it came up with the idea to create a game that used former players. In All-Pro Football you can have a team with Roger Staubach throwing to Jerry Rice playing against a team with Johnny Unitas handing off to Emmitt Smith. Cool concept!
And while it's not quite cool enough for me to rush out and spend $500 on a PS3, I might if 2K Sports would create a baseball title with a similar theme.
Miss New Jersey Amy Polumbo appeared on the Today show this morning to reveal the photos that have been sent to Miss New Jersey and Miss America pageant officials in an alleged attempt to blackmail the beauty queen. The photos show typical twentysomethings having a good time, goofing around. Who didn't pull out a camera during a party when they were in college? I had a blast in college, and we made the most of those moments when no one was studying or working and we could just have fun.
It's sad that these photos fell into the wrong hands and were taken by someone and blown way out of proportion.
Miss America pageant officials will decide if Polumbo has broken a moral clause, but two of the five board members have said they don't consider the photos to be a big problem.
Kaskade at Minc. The San Francisco DJ, with Paul Oakenfold, opened for Madonna at the 2006 Coachella Fest. $10 and $15 at the door; presale tix here.
The Lollie Bombs bring their sassy burlesque act to Zúbar. It’s $10. Doors at 10 p.m.
SATURDAY
Hands Up at the Green Elephant with The Party (Sober, Select, Nature.) The Party year-anniversary is July 20, so ready yourself.
The Akita Group’s Sean Jean Party at Luna De Noche. Keywords: Stylish, classy… monied. The space is pretty nice too. Doors at 10 p.m. Cover somewhere around $15, unless you get there early.
SUNDAY (wee hours of the morning)
DJ Tek-Neek at Eden, doors at 4 a.m. I like this dude! Saw him at Nobu several months back and everything was fun and dancey. Lotsa mash-ups of songs you recognize. Check out his “Beautiful Girls Need” mix on his MySpace… goes from Sean Kingston to Amy Winehouse. Fun stuff.
Song to get ready to over the weekend: Justice, “Let There Be Light." It sounds like Donald Duck is singing underwater, you gotta hear it.
At least one half of your Orientations team will be out happy houring this evening. The venue? Fuse, where Pride Radio is starting up its weekly Thursday night hang-out. Starts at 6 p.m. I'll see you there.
I recently had the chance to see the Dallas Museum of Art's new exhibit From the Ashes of Vesuvius. It's a collection of artifacts and artwork buried by the eruption of the volcano in A.D. 79 in a seaside enclave for the rich and powerful of ancient Rome. Imagine the Park Cities being covered in ash for 2,000 years, and you get the idea. Some of the statues and frescoes are remarkably well-preserved, so it's worth a visit if you're into that sort of thing.
And if you like movies about gladiators, you might enjoy the museum's accompanying Gladiators of Ancient Rome event this Saturday.
After I'm done with the day job, will be hanging out at Brooklyn Jazz Cafe (so sad it's no longer in my hood) and watching Rusty Johnson and crew perform. Show starts at 7:30. I'll be a little late, but say hi if you see me!
I love Grey's Anatomy. I have seasons one and two and am totally excited for season three to come out. This has nothing to do with my post, except for the fact that it also has something to do with Grey's Anatomy.
Chyler Leigh will be joining the show this season as a regular after showing up in the last two episodes of last season, and causing a little tension between Meredith and McDreamy. Leigh plays the character Lexie Grey, Mer's half sister, and is a new intern at Seattle Grace. Just when we all thought it was safe for them to be together, the plot thickens. Yessssss.
Don Vito of MTV’s Viva La Bam is hosting Co-Ed Thursdays at Purgatory this week.
Vito, as you may recall, was arrested last year for groping underage girls at an autograph signing in Colorado.
He hasn't been convicted -- as far as I know, the trial is still going on. But The Smoking Gun has a transcript, which details his not-so-nice behavior during the arrest. Seriously girls, you might want to stick to one side of the dance floor.
If you love silly, nerdy lo-fi pop, Fishboy's your band. After hearing a few MySpace songs from the Denton act's forthcoming rock opera Albatross: How We Failed To Save The Lone Star State With The Power Of Rock and Roll, I didn't think I could wait until its fall release. Luckily, there are more samples available for download at the official Web site. Particularly fine is "Parachute (Using the Ghost of Buddy Holly As A)."
World premiere of the film will be held in a 100-seat theater. Sure, the town sounds right -- wooded small town, a nuclear power plant down the road, blah blah blah.
But from the sound of it, all Springfields everywhere have certain elements that make Homer's home what it is. Springfield, Mass., has the Mayor Quimby accent. Illinois has the Abraham Lincoln thing (think Jebediah Springfield statue). Matt Groening grew up in Oregon.
Man, this movie had better live up to all the hype....
There's a free rock show at the Cavern, but my limited knowledge of the acts (Amy Cooper, Paper Plane Crash, Sad Accordions) comes from a short trip to MySpace Land just now. They all sounded aiight, tho.
I might head over to Dada after work, if I can get off in time to see Denton's Robert Gomez do his thang. He opens for the Veils.
30'Something is a new Dallas nightlife group for thirty-plus-year-olds. They bring the DJ, and visit a new club each month. Past locations have included Pearl (one of my fave local establishments), the Walrus and Obar.
Sounds cool, no?
They'll be back at Obar on July 20. Check out the playlist if you wanna see what's in store -- it's a lot of old-school R&B and neo-soul. And Prince, because, well, you just gotta have Prince.
Personally, I am insanely excited that they played New Edition's "If it Isn't Love." I've been dying to hear that song in a club FOREVER. My husband thinks I'm crazy because I keep talking about it.
By the way, if you have a sec, do watch the video -- it's absolutely bursting with early-nineties goodness.
Stephen Colbert's Tek Jansen No. 1 (of 5): This is based on Stephen Colbert's "critically acclaimed yet unpublished" science-fiction novel, Alpha Squad 7: A Lady Nocturne Adventure.
Clubbing: The third title from Minx, DC's new graphic-novel imprint for teenage girls, is drawn by Arlington's Josh Howard, the creator of Dead@17.
Martha Washington Dies:Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons reunite to put a capper on the story that began in 1990's Give Me Liberty.
Squadron Supreme: Hyperion vs. Nighthawk: This is a collection of the series that TV writer Marc Guggenheim (Brothers & Sisters, CSI: Miami) decided to set in the Darfur region of Sudan.
Battlestar Galactica: Our man Greg Pak, the Hillcrest High grad who's writing World War Hulk, has two trade paperbacks in stores today. This is the first ...
Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka, told Ryan Seacrest yesterday there is zero chance she would fill one of the empty seats on ABC's The View.
He forgot to ask her the most important question, however: Is she interested in being the next Bob Barker?
Whoever came up with this promotion is a genius. Check this out, straight from the PR person's e-mail:
I wanted to let you know that on Friday, July 13th, all Chick-fil-A restaurants will celebrate the third annual Cow Appreciation Day, in honor of the brand’s beloved bovines. On that day any guest who visits a Chick-fil-A fully dressed as a cow will receive a FREE Chick-fil-A Combo Meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) for showing support for the Cow’s request that everyone “Eat Mor Chikin.”
I'm ashamed to admit that I don't, at present time, have a cow costume in my wardrobe. So this might not be a cost-effective way to get chicken nuggets. But I may go pay full price just to see if anyone there actually breaks out the bovine gear.
Homer Simpson, who has a movie to promote, of course, made an appearance on Fox's pregame show for baseball's All-Star Game tonight. He made a funny reference to Detroit's Magglio Ordonez looking a lot like Sideshow Bob. (We think Ordonez is on the left.) And he wisely told Barry Bonds that it doesn't hurt to smile a little.
Our friends over at Merriam-Webster HQ decided to add 100 or so words to their big book, the collegiate dictionary.
There's ginormous, my most favorite word besides "fantabulous" and "peachy." Bollywood (about time, geniuses). Microgreen (yum!). Crunk.
I can hear myself saying it now (the new words are in ital): "Those ginormous IEDs in that Bollywood flick totally put a smackdown on my concentration when I was assembling the microgreen salad. But thankfully I was able to record my telenovela on the DVR.
(A colleague of mine, by the way, is throwing a fit over some of these words -- ginormous and crunk, primarily. I had to remind her: Just because a word's in the dictionary doesn't mean you have to use it in conversation.)
They Might Be Giants are starting a 60-city tour to support their new album The Else (which releases today). Dallas is not on the list. Big surprise.
Yes, they will be playing densely populated urban metropolises like Uncasville, Conn., and Dewey Beach, Del., but will be can't quite make it for the 6 million people living in the DFW area. At least 12 of us are fans, you know. I saw the other 11 at their last concert here about a decade ago.
Oh, well. Catch them on Conan this Friday night playing new song "I'm impressed."
Looking for something to do tonight? Head to Victory Plaza at 7:30 for an outdoor screening of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. If you're hungry and have money to burn, reserve one of Nove or N9NE's patio tables so you can see the screen while you munch. Call 214-720-9903 for Nove or 214-7250-9901 for N9NE.
Today marks the first new Smashing Pumpkins album in seven years, with only Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin left over from the original quartet (D'Arcy and James Iha perhaps know something B&J don't).
There was a day when I'd jump to get a new Pumpkins album on its release date. But after watching them on Live Earth -- especially the excruciating, self-indulgent, way-too-freaking-long guitar-feedback solo from Billy -- I think I can resist the urge. I'll just listen to Siamese Dream instead.
I found a Harry Potter charms and spells quiz! Hooray! I took it and totally rocked it. Which made me feel a little nerdy but, whatever...Here's the time waster. It's just six questions and you and I both know you have the time to do it. Have fun and good luck :).
In Fort Worth? Try Buddy Huffman's songwriter showcase at Woody's. Doug Burr will be there.
There's a sweet show at Denton's J&Js Pizza with two dynamic duos, Mom and Florene.
Know of any more showses? Please add in the comments.
In other news, Salim Nourallah let me know earlier today that his release show for Snowing In My Heart has been changed to Aug. 24 at the Granada, and that the CD will be released in the States Aug. 14. Nice.
Heard recently that the Monkey Bar is under new management, and one of the first changes they've made is to banish hip-hop from the Saturday line-up.
The DJ can play dance and pop. But no rap.
Huh?
When I was there several months ago on a Saturday, the crowd seemed to love the music. Lotsa old-school Tribe, Black Star, Mos Def, and on. A national magazine even noticed, too: The Monkey Bar's Saturdays were mentioned in Spin last year. (A scan of the article is now on the bar's MySpace.)
Not sure why they're making this sudden change -- no one I talked to could pinpoint an answer -- but if anyone knows anything, feel free to holler.
I haven't seen Transformers, but apparently there's a trailer before it that has people scratching their heads. It's for a J.J. Abrams project coming out January 18. There's no title given, and Paramount is denying the movie even exists.
Here's a link to the trailer, but I heard that as soon as Paramount finds it on the Web, they're demanding it be taken down, so don't be surprised if it disappears.
AirTran Airways is giving you a chance to race IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick. A video game on the AirTran Raceway site lets you pick the airport course and vehicle of your choice. If you're fast enough, you just might score a round-trip flight somewhere. And be prepared for some Danica trash-talking: "Maybe you'd go faster if you took those training wheels off."
Here's one of those tidbits of information that you may know, may not know, or may need to know. You can mute (and unmute) your phone (even cellphones) during a call by pressing *6*. I just learned that today. It's great for those instances where you have to sneeze, or cough, or yell at your dog to get off the couch during an important call.
According to a JP Morgan report, Apple Inc. plans to launch Nano-like phone in the fourth quarter. Of course it'll be cheaper. Guess we'll have to wait and see. I'll take a blue one. Hope it has internet access.
Yup, Muriel’s pregnant. Well, at least her portrayer is. The über-talented Toni Collette has announced she’s pregnant with her first child. Colette’s big break came in Muriel’s Wedding, an Australian flick that’s garnered a cult following among gay men.
Of course, she’s best known for her Oscar-nominated turn in The Sixth Sense as Haley Joel Osment’s mom. Last year she starred in indie-fave Little Miss Sunshine.
And, it turns out, she’s got some musical talents. She and hubby Dave Galafassi are members of the Finish, a band that played this weekend in Sydney’s edition of Live Earth.
One good thing all this rain has brought is a delicious crop of enormous peaches, according to a DMN article about area peach tree growers. This Saturday is the Parker County Peach Festival, a celebration of the fuzzy fruit, in Weatherford.
If you want free admission to check out the plethora of peaches, why not try riding in the Peach Pedal on Saturday morning? They have bike rides of various distances - 11-mile, 27-mile, 40-mile and 100K. Then reward yourself with some peach cobbler.
After seeing the throngs of Apple-lovers lined up all day waiting for the iPhone, I think I'm going to try to buy stock in some company that makes lawnchairs.
Oh no! Conde Nast Publications just announced that the August issue of Jane magazine will be the last. They're shutting it down just shy of its tenth anniversary.
Well, crud. Jane was a fun, smart publication that treated young women as intelligent beings, not just T&A or beings born to shop. I'm disappointed.
Forget bottle service. I want a butler when I go out at night.
Right now, if you pay for a VIP suite at 972 on Sundays -- it's the Unique Sundays event, hosted by the folks at Dallas Upscale Events -- you get a personal butler with your cocktail service. No word yet on what this butler does. (Fetch you dinner? Pick the lint off your jacket?) But I'm going to find out.
You might recall that last month, we told you that the Turtle Creek Chorale is getting a new artistic director, to replace Tim Seelig (left), who decided about a year ago to bid farewell to the group he's led for the past 20 years.
Since then, there have been a number of goodbyes, from the "Fabulous Favorites" shows last month, to "A Fond Farewell" last night. Highlights from the concert last night are after the jump.
- Got a message from Fort Worth Southern rock band Ashmore about its big TV debut on the Fuse network's Bodog Battle of the Bands reality show. It's a Bands on the Run-ish thing in which 10 acts travel the country and compete for a meellion-dollar recording contract. You can check out Ashmore's profile and videos from the show here. It premieres Wednesday at 9 on Fuse. The band will be at Dada on Friday.
- While ago, I was shootin' the bull at Good Records when local singer/songwriter Glen Farris came in to drop off some copies of his new CD. You should get over there and grab one ASAP - excellent, beer-alone-on-the-back-porch songs. His last couple of live sets at Double Wide blew me away.
To my friends, family, readers, and bosses,
I'm quitting school and work to move to London. Do you know Harry Potter? Yeah, I kind of envy his life. All the fighting and magic... it's freakin' cool. Sooo, I'm afraid I'll be packing my trunk, casting a spell on my car to make it fly, and heading off to a new life at Hogwarts. Sure, it may seem a little crazy. But have you seen Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? ...Didn't think so. I did. I saw it Thursday. And it changed my life. Yes, Harry Potter has always been a friend of mine and the life he leads has always been a dream, right up there with my life being a musical. The musical thing hasn't really worked out for me yet, so I'm moving on to bigger and better things: Magic.
If y'ain't already there, get your shoes on and go. Not the tennis shoes, the other ones. Yeah, those.
And if you, like me, are in Dallas and don't have time to drive to Denton, here's what you should do: Ask all of your friends what, if anything, is cool to do on Monday nights. Once you have three or four ideas, e-mail them to me at hhauk@quickdfw.com. I'm serious: Either good Monday shows in Dallas just don't exist, or I'm not looking in the right places.
Check back tomorrow for (I hope) Monday show picks, my impressions of St. Vincent's Hailey's gig and so much more.
OK, I'm not a huge celebrity news person, but I'm anxiously awaiting the photos of Eva and Tony's wedding. There are plenty of photos of the Housewives going to the wedding, but I want to see the white dress and big smiles from the bridge and groom. It's been more than 24 hours. What the heck?
It's that whole chick flick thing, Chris, where girls still get teary-eyed over the fairy-tale ending.
The reason I bring this up is because I took one for the team this weekend and saw Evening with my fiancée.
It was terrrrr-ible. (Seriously. Even she hated it.)
I understand the attraction to comedies. They make you laugh. Action movies: They're an escape from reality (and stuff gets blown up. ... Cool!). Romance: Also an escape -- if you're alone. Horror: You get to watch people inflict misery on one another. ... Actually, I don't really get this one either.
But, chick flicks??? Movies about women arguing, crying and contemplating life?
That's not very fun in the real world. So why would anyone pay $18 to spend two hours in a theater watching that?
Just curious if anyone could explain that to me. Thanks in advance.
MSN has a "behind the scenes" poker section for the $10,000 Main Event of the World Series of Poker, which started Friday.
Some highlights: A profile of last year's winner, Jamie Gold, a Players to Watch graphic and photo galleries from the Main Event and a celebrity tournament to benefit Africa.
New York Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury recently gave a bizarre interview where he asserted that he and former teammate Kevin Garnett didn't sleep in the same bed, called his wife "my better half, my better ho" and then got all creepy about the delightful experience of kissing his sister.
To see it on YouTube, click here. It turns really bizarre after the 7-minute mark.
* Brazil's Statue of Christ Redeemer
* Peru's Machu Picchu
* Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid
* The Great Wall of China
* Jordan's Petra
* The Colosseum in Rome
* India's Taj Mahal
Losers? The Acropolis in Athens, Greece; the Statues of Easter Island, Chile; Cambodia's Angkor; Turkey's Hagia Sophia; and Russia's Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral; and our own Statue of Liberty.
The wonders were presented during a star-studded event with Oscar-winner Hilary Swank, Indian actress Bipasha Basu, Jennifer Lopez, Jose Carreras and super-amazing actor Ben Kingsley.
-- Thankfully, the broadcast rights went to NBC and not MTV. Anybody remember Live 8? All I recall about that event was straining to hear the music in the background while the cameras focused on yammering VJs.
-- When Carson Daly asked Dave Matthews to talk about his environmentally friendly tour bus, I didn't get to hear the answer because two people at my house simultaneously said something along the lines of, "We're doing our part to help the environment by no longer dumping our excrement on people."
-- I thought it was really nice that Madonna asked all of the kids from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to sing "Hey You" with her.
-- I'm a fan of Kanye West -- or as Sting introduced him, "Can-Yay West" -- but it's time for him and every other rapper to give up hip-hop's biggest crutch: "Throw your hands in the air, and wave 'em like you just don't care."
-- I'm not sure who that was singing Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" as NBC's broadcast ended, but I really liked his impersonation of Adam Sandler's singing style.
Not that you'd want to stay inside on a day that it's not raining, but just in case you are into Live Earth, turn off the TV and log on.
I started about an hour ago trying to catch live footage on Sundance Channel and Bravo, but there are too many damn commercials and PSAs. I finally broke down and went to MSN, where you can click on any city and check out the live, uninterrupted feeds.
Corinne Bailey Rae just played in London, and John Legend joined her for a rendition of "Mercy Mercy Me."
Next time they have one of these things, they ought to air it all-day, live, with no commercials, on network television. That's commitment to a cause.
I've read that Teri Hatcher has experience on the stage with the Cabaret national tour and Nicollette Sheridan pitched in on boyfriend Michael Bolton's latest release. But the voice talents of Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross and Eva Longoria? Who knows?
But even if they can't carry a tune in a bucket, I'll watch just for the experience, especially if they can throw in some old-school references to the musical greats of the 40s. Then again, they are probably more Avenue Q than My Fair Lady...
It's rumored that creator Matt Groening would consider it a major coup to get the Material Girl on a future episode.
The show holds the Guinness World Record for most celebrities featured in an animation series with appearances by the likes of Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Albert Brooks, Kelsey Grammer, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Lenny Kravitz and Jon Lovitz.
This poor, poor woman: You drop your cell phone in a toilet. You get a new number. Then you start getting calls and text messages between 2 and 4 a.m. For Paris Hilton.
But Shira Barlow says it's OK -- more funny than irritating -- and she's not changing her number: "It was really out of convenience. I didn’t want to switch again."
Plus, you never know whose discarded number you'll get next time.
"Obviously, if I wanted a deep and meaningful relationship then I wouldn't want to be going out with somebody who is only with me because I'm an actor, but if you don't a relationship like that then it's fine."
However, Daniel is adamant he wouldn't stay with a girl who called him Harry during sex.
He said: "People do call me Harry. I once had a friend call me it by accident. If there's another person in the room called Harry and somebody shouts their name I do respond slightly, which is embarrassing.
But no one has ever said it in the throws of passion. That would be the end of that session. Go now!"
I bought my wife two tickets to tonight's 311 show as an anniversary gift, and now she's feeling too sick to go. I paid $80 for the pair, but I'll take $50 for them. They're in Section 203, Row LL, Seats 9 and 10. That's under the roof, so the rain won't be an issue. If you're interested, call me at 214-370-5709 or 469-348-8637.
I keep hearing respectedvoices screaming, "St. Vincent! St. Vincent!" So, I'm thinking I might go and see St. Vincent (a.k.a. Annie Clark, left) when she hits the Hailey's stage in Denton tonight with opening act Scout Niblett. You'll be there, too, right?
In other news, Stereogum did a Q&A with influential music producer Steve Albini. An interesting excerpt:
ARE THERE UPCOMING BANDS CARRYING "THE TORCH OF ROCK AND ROLL"?
"Dude, I hear them all the time. Just did a record for a band from Denton, Texas called Record Hop, and they were terrific."
Check out Record Hop so you'll be ready when they start it up again.
If you're interested in rekindling your childhood fantasies of befriending a butt-kicking, candy-eating monster of a man named Sloth while hunting for hidden treasure, head to Frisco Square on Friday night. Goonies is showing for free at 9 p.m.
Nelly Furtado is engaged to her sound engineer boyfriend, Demacio "Demo" Castellon, People reports. Castellon worked on Nelly's 2006 album Loose. Timbaland, a close friend of the couple said "yes" when asked about the engagement.
An employee here has an iPhone. He let me play with it. It was pretty cool even on the EDGE network. I have to have one now. Did anyone notice Apple's stock rose $5.58 today plus 35 cents in after-hours trading?
If you had less than three weeks, you won the pool asking how long it would take Tiger Woods to put a golf club in the hands of his new daughter, Sam Alexis, the Los Angeles Times reported. "She couldn't quite hold it, but it was there," he said.
Tiger is back on the PGA Tour this week and hosting an event for the first time, the AT&T National near D.C.
Soooo ... did you check out the Daniel Folmer profile in today's paper? Good. Now it's time to let you have an unreleased track from the Denton singer (left). In his e-mail providing the link to the song, Folmer wrote a little bit about the material he's gathered for his next album:
"Thematically, it is very similar to my previous work and deals with many of the same issues -- codependency, abandonment, spite, or just plain amorousness. It is different from Gloria in the sense that the songs are not all about girl/boy relationships. One song is about Ben E. Keith, one song is about my circle of friends leaving town forever, many of the songs deal with more personal issues or interpersonal relationships."
Download "We Were Cowboys" here and find out which category it fits into. Getting the track will take a couple of steps, but it's worth the trouble. And check out Folmer with the Naptime Shake, RTB2 and possibly a surprise special guest, tonight at Double Wide. See you there.
Or, if you're avoiding me (understandable), you could try one of the following shows:
Former Backstreet Boy, Kevin Richardson, (you remember-- the mysterious, piano-playing one) and wife Kristin welcomed their new son Mason into the world on Tuesday, July 3. A healthy baby at 8 lbs. and 2 ounces, Richardson says he's a "new man" on his Myspace blog.
Aaaw, how cute. It seems like just yesterday I was going to their concert back in '98 when they were all, like, sixteen...
The Astounding Wolf-Man No. 2: The first issue of Robert Kirkman's new series was given away on Free Comic Book Day. He hopes you'll come back for more with cash in hand.
The Irredeemable Ant-Man No. 10: Marvel recently announced that this series will end with the 12th issue. When I asked Kirkman how he found out, he said he has "a special red cancellation phone."
Who Wants To Be a Superhero?: Remember Stan Lee's Sci-Fi Channel reality show, in which the prize was being featured in a Lee-penned comic book? Here it is.
Faker No. 1 (of 6): This new series presents a cautionary tale for all you hard-partying college kids out there.
New Avengers/Transformers No. 1 (of 4): If Captain America died earlier this year, and Optimus Prime died way back in 1986's animated Transformers movie, how exciting can this book be?
Variety reports that Sex and the City is making the jump from defunct HBO series to the big screen. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon are all set to reprise their roles. A few years back, Cattrall was said to be holding up the movie by demanding more cash. Filming is expected to start this fall.
In my daily dose of celebrity Web sites, I stumbled across a story about Heather Locklear and Jack Wagner, who apparently have been public with their relationship for a couple months. Awww.. Peter and Amanda together again.
Saw Live Free or Die Hard yesterday. And while I liked it for what it was -- an escape from reality -- I can't help but think I've seen it before. That's because I have, I guess. It was called Die Hard.
No, it's not the exact same movie. But, it's the same formula. A formula perfected by the original, and yet to be topped.
More importantly, Die Hard has something Live Free or Die Hard doesn't. It was devoid of WTF moments. The original was plausible. Improbable, perhaps. But, everything in it "could" have happened.
What made the original great was the premise that John McClane is just a regular guy not a super hero. I don't know how many times I sat there yesterday shaking my head in disbelief as Mr. McClane dodged death -- each time in a fashion more outlandish than before. Too many for my taste. (I watch Die Hard to see John McClane, not Jack Bauer.)
Needless to say, I didn't go back to the theater and watch it again today. Why would I, you ask?
I don't know. But, I did just that when the original came out.
Al Gore's son, Al Gore III, was arrested early this morning. He was pulled over for speeding in his Toyota Prius (at least it wasn't a gaz-guzzler) on the San Diego Freeway, and deputies found marijuana and the prescription drugs Xanax, Valium, Vicodin and Adderall in his car.
Way to make daddy proud ... and just three days before the Live Earth concerts.
I went to see Transformers this week. The graphics are awesome. So much action in this movie. If you're a fan of action, you have to see it. Oh, and it's funny also. And not Fantastic Four funny.
Think nothing local-music-y is going on because of July Fourth? You're wrong. The lovely and talented Carmen Rodgers (above) will perform a special Independence Day set at Brooklyn Jazz Cafe. Think neo-soul with a touch of sexy. She good. She real good.
And you might want to start studying up on Denton folk singer Daniel Folmer (left) to get ready for his show tomorrow night at Double Wide. I'll have a profile of Folmer in Quick's local music section tomorrow, in which he talks about his favorite childhood music, his new album Gloria and other tasty tidbits.
Go ahead and check out a song from Gloria below, and check back here tomorrow for a link to the article and an unreleased download from his next album. I do it because I love you.
The mighty Takeru Kobayashi has fallen. Joey Chestnut gobbled down 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes in the annual contest at Nathan's in Coney Island today. Kobayashi only got 63 down. The big slacker.
In honor of America's Independence Day, here's a quiz to see if you are a good American. Yes, I took it. Let's just say I'm grateful that my family immigrated over here without me and I really should pay closer attention in history class.
We'll get to see the sorta-reunited Smashing Pumpkins, says Billboard. Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin and whoever's on bass and keys will perform at Nokia Theatre in Grand Prairie on Nov. 3.
AP points us toward some good news for old-school soul fans. The brilliant, reclusive and bizarre Sly Stone has finally given an interview (a great story in Vanity Fair) and has new music he actually plans to share with us.
And he can at least acknowledge he's a little weird:
“I do regular things a lot. But it’s probably more of a Sly Stone life. It’s probably ... it’s probably not very normal.”
Here’s what’s going down on our nation's birthday….
TONIGHT
Model/actress Devon Aoki at Ghostbar, hosted by haute Dallas club-owners Matthew Giese, Sam Sameni and Wade Randolph Hampton — who actually isn’t a club owner, but he is director of marketing for Ghostbar. So that’s close enough. Bash runs 10 to 2.
R&B singer Carl Thomasperforms at Carson’s Live. DJ M Knight and Steve Nice are on the decks. 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. $15 presale here.
DJ Chamo and the crew spin Latin pop, electro and punchis-punchis (Mexican slang for techno/house) at Shade.
TOMORROW
Steve Aoki (Devon’s bro — it’s a family affair) at Ghostbar. Free for everyone!
The store will be near Harpo Studios, where she beams instructions to her followers, near downtown Chicago. This probably isn't surprising though. What IS shocking is that she DIDN'T have one before.
What, no Oprah compound? No Oprah museum?
According to the Associated Press, fans can buy a The Oprah Winfrey Show coffee mug for $10 and a beach tote with "O" logo trim for $26, among other items.
And if only we were quicker, we could've pounced on the empty can of gourmet dog food taken from Paris Hilton's trash can and offered on eBay. It ended up going for $305.
You can still get one of her blonde extensions, however.
I'll be the first to admit I'm not much of a Danica Patrick fan, but she is colorful. Have to give her that. In a recent SpeedFreaks interview (where you can hear personalities such as Crash Gladys and Lugg Nuttz, by the way), Patrick talked about getting around the super-fast Texas Motor Speedway.
"It's a tough track. It takes -- I don't know what you call it, ovaries or balls or whatever."
... and you've already Googled yourself, your significant other, and your high school crush, look your birthday up on Wikipedia and see what celebrities share your birthday. I was born on the same day as Mark Teixeira. Too bad I love the Mariners.
And leave your bathrobes on before heading to the T-Mobile store tomorrow morning. T-Mobile will give away a free T-Mobile HotSpot @Home phone and service to the first 100 people who show up outside their Lincoln Park store at 7700 W. Northwest Highway.
According to the press release, T-Mobile wants people to show up in their bathrobes to depict how you don't have to leave home to make unlimited calls. Get more information at the Web site.
I saw Momlive for the first time early Saturday night during an art opening at And/Or Gallery (Video above ... thanks, YouTube person). Some movie director ought to snatch these guys up to do a score. They compose and build on their material the same way Thomas Newman (Six Feet Under, American Beauty) does, evoking modern human quirks and fears without the luxury of lyrics. Their surprisingly upbeat three-song electro-acoustic set had me wanting more. Too bad I couldn't follow them to Denton, where they played a full set at the Art is a Real Threat festival.
Our loverly intern hipped you to the Fair to Midland show at House of Blues (Scroll down, lazybutt). Don't know quite what to think about this group yet, but I'm definitely interested. And obviously behind the curve, since the band recently made an impressive chart debut with its new album. No. 2 on Heatseekers, I believe.
What else do we have for this evenin'? Well, local songstress Becky Middleton has a nice little pickin'-and-singin' session going on over at Opening Bell.
And if you're in Denton, go to Hailey's and watch Eat Avery's Bones open for touring bands the Death Set, Abe Vigoda and John Thill.
It's national hot dog month and we Americans love us some weiners. On Independence Day alone, patriots coast-to-coast will scarf down 150 million hot dogs and during "hot dog season" (Memorial Day to Labor Day), that number grows to 7 billion dogs.
My favorite place to eat them is with a cold beer at the Ballpark in Arlington. But since there's not a game every time I get a hankering for one, I love Wild About Harry's at 3113 Knox St. in Uptown. Best menu bet: the great Southwest fire dog. It's a spicy Polish sausage topped with mustard, relish, fresh tomato, sport pepper, pickle, celery salt and cayenne pepper. To cool off after, a cup of their homemade frozen custard for dessert. Mmm.
It's Monday... We all kind of hate it. SO, go down to House of Blues tonight at around 7 p.m. and go check out the bands 69 Eyes, Wednesday 13, The Night Kills, and FAIR TO MIDLAND. Fair To Midland has been talked about in Quick and are rising stars on their way to greatness. If you'd like to hear what they sound like before you go tonight, I have their new CD in my car OR you can check out their myspace. They have a unique, addicting sound and Darroh Sudderth's vocals are basically amazing.
Tix are $20-21, all ages. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8.
Saw Nick Cannon spin at Ghostbar on Saturday. Surprisingly, he was a very enthusiastic DJ. He kept yelling with the songs and talking about how hot all the ladies in the house were. (I was thinking: “You cheated on Christina Milian, you player!”)
The question is: Was he a good DJ? I’m settling on “eh” for the following reasons:
--He played a medley of Pour Some Sugar on Me, Jessie’s Girl, and Sweet Child O’ Mine, also known as the most played-out songs in clubland.
--He played a mash-up of J.Lo’s “Get Right” and Amerie’s “One Thing,” and a bunch of other songs from two or three years ago.
--He waited until 1 a.m. to play Tupac and Biggie. (Just a personal preference; I like it earlier.)
Actors who DJ is a pretty big trend right now — Lindsay Lohan has been a DJ lotsa times — but I don’t know if any of them are actually good. Which actors would you love to see step into the DJ booth? I’m going to go out on a limb and say Elijah Wood. I heard he has a pretty stocked iPod. Or maybe Jamie Foxx too.
We're all Simpsons all the time today. Lesley Tellez and Hunter Hauk watched the transformation of the 7-Eleven at Northwest Highway and Hillcrest into a Kwik-E-Mart in the wee hours of the morning Sunday. It's all part of a promotion for The Simpsons Movie, opening July 27.
Isaiah Washington is upset about his firing from Grey's Anatomy, and he's not being quiet about it.
He told Newsweek magazine that “someone heard the booming voice of a black man and got really scared and that was the beginning of the end for me.”
He tried to make amends by expressing remorse and volunteering to enter a counseling program to understand how the confrontation got out of hand, he said.
“My mistake was believing that I would get the support from my network and all of my cast mates across the board. My mistake was believing I could correct a wrong with honesty and sincerity."
With Independence Day right around the corner, check out Dallas Booms tonight at Fair Park. The festival starts at 4 p.m., and fireworks are set to start at about 9:15. The event includes free admission to museums, rock and symphonic concerts, and concession stands. For further details and a big list of other Fourth of July events around Dallas-Fort Worth, click here.
The 7-Eleven at Northwest Highway and Hillcrest is officially now a Kwik-E-Mart.
The transformation happened last night, in the wee morning hours, part of a promotion to generate buzz for the Simpsons Movie. This is the only Kwik-E-Mart in Texas, so get your pink frosted donuts (the kind that Homer loves) now. They’ve also got Buzz Cola and Krusty O’s in limited supply. And lots of witty, Simpsons-oriented signage.
Look for complete coverage of the change – which will stay up through July — in tomorrow’s Quick.
We were there until about 3 a.m. last night. Many donuts were consumed.
Comments (1)
I keep hearing 
Soooo ... did you check out the 
And you might want to start studying up on Denton folk singer 
