Democratic National Convention

The Convention rocked this past week. Oprah made a discreet appearance in a sky box at the stadium in Denver last night to see him accept the Democratic nomination. Earlier in the week at the Pepsi Center, Hillary and Bill gave great speeches after Michelle Obama kicked off the week before a surprising appearance and speech by Teddy Kennedy. For those of you that missed Clinton's speech, you can watch it below. It was the best of her career. Rock it out, Hills.

Pocket Full Of Kryptonite

So what's the deal with Tom Cruise always putting his hand in his pocket when the press is around? We're thinking maybe it's a secret signal to the Xenu followers or a love message to his boyfriend. Whatever it is, Suri is pissed. Seriously. Look at that kid. Like many Scientard kids (think Leah Remini's appearance on Rachael Ray) she's still on the bottle filled with barley water at like 3 years old. We're no experts, but that is definitely too old for a kid to be on the bottle. That's probably why she's so angry. She's wants her freakin' bah-bah. Last night TomKat attended a Broadway show and deflected attention away from fellow Scientard, Will Smith, after Page Six ran an oh-not-so-blind item about him -'WHICH hunk in a summer movie is a violent, closeted homosexual? The heartthrob snuck into his ex's apartment a few months ago and raped him so violently, the ex ended up in the hospital - and the actor paid him $500,000 to keep his mouth shut.' Six Degrees of Separation is one of our favorite movies, but we always thought it was strange that Smith refused to kiss his male co-star in the film. Imagine if Heath Ledger or Jake Gyllenhal said, "Okay, I'll portray a gay guy but I won't kiss another man." Hello! It's a movie. Do your job. Anyway, it's pretty obvious that Will's wife, Jada, plays for the other team and they have a Travolta/Preston marriage, but getting violent is totally scary. As are the Scientards, but you already know all about that. There was a police report filed but after receiving $500,000 cash the report was conveniently misplaced and he didn't press charges. But seriously, what is up with Tom Cruise and the hand in the pocket?

Gayelles Rejoice

Congratulations and best wishes to Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi on their marriage yesterday in Malibu. After Ellen's infamous relationship with Anne Heche who tried out the lesbian lifestyle for a bit and then turned batshit crazy, we're so happy that Ellen found an amazing partner in de Rossi. Kudos to Portia for her outstanding roles on Ally McBeal, Arrested Development, and Nip/Tuck. She totally rocks. Ironically, crazy Anne Heche also appeared on Nip/Tuck back when Christian and Sean were still in Miami, but we digress. Hopefully the quote from today's New York Times about how being gay and single is like the new smoking will not cast a shadow on the happy newlyweds. Mazel tov.

Leavin' Never To Come Back Again

Our loyal reader Melissa in Camden mentioned to us that she would like more celebrity snark and less music videos, so we apologize for posting Leavin' by Jesse McCartney here. But we'll make a deal with you...for every one radio song that gets stuck in our head during the daily commute, we'll write two snarky posts. Speaking of, holy Lohan as of late.

Two Greats Gone Too Soon

The shock of Bernie Mac's death yesterday morning at the early age of 50 was followed with the sudden death of Isaac Hayes this morning at the age of 65. Both men will star in the film, Soul Men, to be released in November of this year. Bernie Mac began his career as a comedian and went on to win several Emmys for The Bernie Mac Show based on his true life experience of raising his drug-addicted sister's three children. Mac appeared in several films including the Ocean's Eleven films for which he appeared on Oprah and discussed his inflammatory lung disease which had been in remission since 2005. The actor was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago last week with pneumonia and was expected to make a full recovery. Bernie Mac is survived by his wife of 31 years, Rhonda, and their daughter and granddaughter.

Isaac Hayes was found on the floor next to his treadmill in a basement room in his Memphis home by family members. A soul singer and songwriter, Hayes won an Oscar in 1972 for best original song for the film Shaft. Hayes also won several Grammy awards before filing for bankruptcy in 1976 when his record company took a financial hit. He attracted a new audience in the 1990's as Chef on the long-running show South Park. Somewhere in there, Hayes got himself mixed up with the Scientards. Two years ago Hayes suffered a stroke which caused him to leave South Park, although the "Church" of Scientology released a statement insinuating that he quit because of an episode that exposed the scariness of the cult. Chief-Scientards Tom Cruise and John Travolta starred in the Emmy-nominated episode called Trapped In The Closet. Cruise made such a stink about the episode that Sumner Redstone fired him from Paramount. Similar to Crazy Tom Cruise, Isaac Hayes was abandoned by his father as a child and his flamboyance had rumors swirling that he played for the other team. Tom has been married three times, Isaac has been married four times. In the past year, two opponents of Scientology have mysteriously died alone in their homes, so we won't be surprised if it turns out Hayes was no longer willing to pay 10% of his income to the church and they helped him along to his death. Hayes just finished playing himself in the film, Soul Men, which stars Jackson, Mac, Sean Hayes and Jennifer Coolidge. Isaac Hayes is survived by 12 children. Rest In Peace.

The Barack Obama Roll

Now that Senator Obama is on a week-long vacation with his family, the YouTube generation has stepped in to fill the void of press coverage. The original video has so much traffic at the same time that it was pausing and reloading so we downloaded/uploaded it here for a smooth ride. Enjoy. Oh, and big thanks to Baron de Bubba for keeping us all in the loop with his informative posts. Rock it out, kid.

Enquiring Minds Want To Know

John Edwards has finally admitted to having an affair with Reille Hunter beginning in 2006. He blamed it on the inflation of his ego surrounding his run for President. Apparently he felt he could do no wrong. During this same time Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, was diagnosed with an incurable cancer that she discovered while on the campaign trail with her husband. The Edwards family was on Oprah back in the day and we genuinely believed that John Edwards was a stand-up guy. Ummmmm, no. The good ol' Enquirer reporters got on the case after a woman on Edwards' staff came down with a good ol' pregnancy and now the rest is history. Edwards was visiting the mistress and her baby in a hotel when he was confronted by an Enquirer reporter at 3 in the morning. Edwards ran into a restroom in the basement of the hotel and refused to come out. Did we mention it was 3 in the morning? In addition to the $100 plus grand she received to film videos of Edwards on his press tours, the woman has been receiving up to $15,000 per month to keep the affair quiet. Edwards went on Dateline and said that the baby is not his and that he would do a paternity test if the baby mama agreed and you guessed it....baby mama does not want a paternity test. Oh, and he was not aware that she was receiving money. Of course.

The Fancy Dance Olympics

While the Olympics are displayed on all NBC's networks, the fashion and choreography extravaganza of the opening ceremony will only truly feel at home on Bravo, snuggled right in between "My Life on the D-List" and "Flipping Out."

But seriously: while this fabulous spectacle doesn't strike fear into the hearts of capitalists everywhere on quite the same level as endless columns of uniformed, disciplined, cold-blooded Soviets marching to the rhythm set by tanks and missile launchers, we should all take heed. While the commentator might suggest that the horde of dancers holding up a stage for one performer is a statement on the relation of the individual and the masses, the meta-"statement" of all the performances by the Chinese government is: "we have a ton of money and even more people, and we can do whatever we want with all of it. "

We just hope that if China does take over the world, the music they impose on us has some balls, like that which accompanied the mind-boggling, rockettes-on-steroids, pulsating-human-squares number, as opposed to the sing-songy crap which accompanied the finale and many of the other absurdly extravagant displays of economic clout and readily-available cheap labor.

Those Baby Buyers Are Bananas

This summer has been a disappointment thus far in celebrity news so many thanks to People and Hello for giving us something to talk about. We are very happy for The Royal Family and their new twins, Knox and Vivienne. But for the love of God, 14 million frickin' dollars?! It's a good thing the economy isn't in the shitter or this type of greed might seem excessive. Poor little Shiloh only raked in $4 mil for her photos. At least Shiloh made it onto the cover, unlike those other kids that no one seems to care about anymore. Sadly for them, Maddox, Pax and Zahara just moved one step closer to becoming "the adopted ones." Sort of like Connor and Isabella Cruise. Who? Exactly.

Six Degrees Of Spencer Pratt

The culmination of a creatively bankrupt TV genre, The Hills, has endorsed the culmination and/or the impotent death spasms of a morally and intellectually bankrupt political movement, McCain for President. Without opening the Pandora's Box of political discussion over cocktails: it should come as no surprise that two guys who made a career of leeching off their mates and acting self-righteous on camera would feel drawn to each other.

The true meaning of this story remains open to interpretation. Spencer's announcement that he will be working with McCain's daughter to visit Iraq could be a subtle announcement that the reality TV community, like the military, will check its fantastic power in service of the civilian-elected government. The other, and more likely case, is that Spencer expressed his hope to see Heidi as McCain's running mate in order to set the stage for an upcoming season of The Capitol Hills. Prepare yourself for a domestically-focused Vice Presidency, as Spencer will throw a hissy-fit every time Heidi tries to schedule a diplomatic mission. The craziest part of this travesty: the studio planned this years in advance. After McCain dies of a heart attack brought on by the emotional stress of constant exposure to exaggerated, dour, reality TV facial expressions, Spencer will help Heidi select a new VP in a reality show a la Joe and Slade in the abominable "Date my Ex-Heidi and Spencer Edition." When asked for comment, Heidi simply said, "I love Jesus." Seriously. We could not make this stuff up.

Diary Of A Douchebag

Holy shitski, the divorce trial of Christie Brinkley and douchebag husband, Peter Cook, started last week. Fantastic!!! Among the things that Cook was forced to admit in open court was that he paid his mistress, Diana Bianchi, above photo, over $300,000 to keep quiet about the affair. If you're new to the drama, check out the background here. It has been exactly 2 years since Brinkley filed for divorce from Captain Douchebag. Among other things he confessed on the stand, he masturbated in front of his webcam on a swingers' site and sent threatening emails to Bianchi to make sure she didn't spill the beans. It was Bianchi's stepfather, (a police officer in the Hamptons) that told Christie of the affair. Certainly Peter Cook never imagined his last name would prove to be his destiny.

The Kids From The Block

We wonder what The Kids on the Block are trying to resurrect with their new music video. Whatever it is, they missed the appropriate window for "sexiness." First, they were a bunch of mildly homo-erotic kids clearly too young to be sex icons. Now, they look like a bunch of creepy older men hanging out with younger women and singing songs that recapture their idyllic homo-erotic youth.

As the female perspective on this subject (Princess Nobody) we declare Baron Bubba to be wildly off. But what would you expect from a straight 20-something male? Regardless, we kind of dig the video for "Summertime" and it reminds us of our freshman year roommate, Liz Liddell, and her love for the New Kids. Yes, Liz was from Boston.

Recycling Music....Al Gore Would Be Proud

So Kid Rock released a "new" music video. While it lacks the musical energy or inspiration to excite the purists among us, the singer(?)-songwriter(?) must have targeted the niche of people who like a little scandal with their rubber-stamp-bubble-gum-pop......

OK...let's grant him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he included words, music, and background vocals from "Sweet Home Alabama" as an homage- not as a desperate attempt to provide some soul to a song as devoid of life as the corporate boardroom in which it was probably written. (We would question the wisdom of paying homage to a song whose lyrics contain thinly-veiled old-school states-rights, segregationist lyrics, but that involves a variety of different debates for a different day; We are not in the business of analyzing Lynyrd Skynyrd songs.)

Even still: Didn't anybody on the song assembly line notice the striking resemblence of the piano part to "Werewolves of London?" Didn't Vanilla Ice get torn apart for doing the same thing? Maybe we should stop villifying Robert van Winkle and give him the respect he deserves: as a groundbreaker who cleared the way for talentless hacks who want to substitute public persona and cheap imitation for creativity and originality.

A Warm Welcome For Baron de Bubba

We would like to assure you that any funkiness you notice on our blog in the near future is not accidental. Baron de Bubba has arrived in town, with a mission to lay the funky grooves down. Word to ya mutha. Okay, that last part was added by Princess Nobody (our editor), but we presume that you already knew that.

George Carlin

The quintessential New Yorker, George Carlin, passed away on Sunday at the age of 71. Always one to tell it like he saw it, Carlin made judicial history in the 1970's after he was arrested for the above act. A NYC radio station later aired the Seven Dirty Words You Can't Say on Television and the Supreme Court of the United States set the standards for decency on the airwaves based on a complaint from an outraged listener. The seven words we'd use to describe George Carlin are: hilarious, brilliant, kind, moral, aware, influential and unforgettable. Rest in peace, Mr. Carlin.

Not Bad For A Nazi

Forgive us, loyal readers, we have been on the Cape and in vacation mode as of late, so the big news has fallen by the wayside. Jamie Lynn Spears gave birth to a baby girl, Maddie, in Louisiana on Thursday. Best wishes to the now 17-year-old. If her daughter is half as sweet as our Royal Puppy, Maddie, then the world is a much better place. We imagine Jamie Lynn's daughter will not incessantly lick everything in sight as our little princess does (top photo) and if she does, then we blame inbreeding. That was a joke, but not really. Auntie Brit Brit was present for Maddie's arrival after the court allowed her father to put her Studio City, CA house on the market. The listing price is $10 plus million. Oh, and that photo of Brit is from when she was spending time on Mel Gibson's island. What a lovely neighbor he is to reach out to our troubled young gal. Mazel Tov, Jamie Lynn.

When I Ruled The World

How much cold could a coldplay play, if a coldplay could play cold?

Music In The Morning

Happy heat wave. We love this song, "I'm Yours," by Jason Mraz. Enjoy.

My Morals Got Me On My Knees

Duffy is our new favorite Brit. Think Winehouse sans the wine.

After All, Tomorrow Is Another Day

For the first time ever, Bob Dylan has publicly endorsed a politician. Dylan told The Times of London, "Well, you know right now America is in a state of upheaval. Poverty is demoralizing. You can't expect people to have the virtue of purity when they are poor. But we've got this guy out there now who is redefining the nature of politics from the ground up — Barack Obama. He's redefining what a politician is, so we'll have to see how things play out. Am I hopeful? Yes, I'm hopeful that things might change. Some things are going to have to." Following the interview, Dylan shook hands with the reporter and as he walked out, turned and said, "You should always take the best from the past, leave the worst back there and go forward into the future."