The standard warning for those of you who've never seen one of these before: If you would like to see some of the latest entertainment news, celebrity gossip and odd crap making the rounds, keep reading. However, if you are easily offended by half-nude men & women or other such things, you might want to stop right now.
You've been warned.
["NERDS!!!!!!"]
Over at The Onion's AV Club, they have tried to rank the nerdiest obsessions of geeks in geekdom with "20 pop-cultural obsessions even geekier than Monty Python." I would argue that World of Warcraft players (with some literally living every moment for that bloody game) & "Furries" (people who dress up like Tigger or Pooh, and sometimes have sex in costume) should be higher on the list. You can see the entire list of 20 by clicking on the link, but here are the Top 10......
- Magic: The Gathering
Pretty much any collectible card game could go on this list—the entire CCG industry rests on the assumption that players will become obsessively nerdy over certain games, and pour an endless stream of money into the quest to be the best.
- Media-specific role-playing
Some people just can't let go of their favorite fictional world, even once the authors and creators have; others want to experience what it's like to be cool, like their chosen characters, instead of dorky, like the people who want to role-play them.
- Joss Whedon
Map out one with traditional geeky obsessions (vampires, spaceships, superheroes) in one portion, a desire to see strong female characters in a second portion, and a gift for wittily unforced and infinitely quotable dialogue in the third portion, and you'll find Joss Whedon's work in the overlap.
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show
A rite of passage for every high-school theater geek, Rocky Horror is designed to be off-putting to outsiders.....Of course, the whole point of Rocky Horror is that you should never be ashamed to be different, so it isn't surprising that its subculture embraces that ideal.
- Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica capitalized on Star Wars mania in 1978 as a film and a quickly cancelled TV series. A sequel series, Galactica 1980, was also quickly dropped, but a cult of followers still formed. Twenty-five years later, the SCI FI Channel debuted a re-imagined version, which quickly spawned a new generation of BSG nerds.
- Wikipedia
We could have filled this entire inventory out just by going down the list of interests, habits, and abilities "Weird Al" Yankovic credits himself with in his hit song "White & Nerdy." But his proclamation "I edit Wikipedia!" seems particularly apt, given the amount of tinkery focus and emotional energy people put into it.
- Michael Jackson
There's plenty of Jacko fanfic and poetry to be found on the web, but the fact that his supporters follow his every move and still show up to support him at his court appearances probably means more than all of that.
- Fantasy sports leagues
That scene in Knocked Up says it all: A woman who suspects her husband of infidelity instead finds him shacked up with a bunch of pot-bellied dudes in jerseys and caps, deep into a mock draft. In the moment, she's so horrified by what she's witnessing that she thinks it's worse than him cheating on her.
- Renaissance faires
"Huzzah! A shilling for the king! Enjoy thy mead, kind sirrah." No, dude, it's not a shilling, it's $8. And it's not mead, it's Bud Light in a plastic cup with a picture of a unicorn on it.
- Star Trek
It's the elephant in the nerdy-obsessions room, and in the Venn diagram of nerd-dom, it may be the meeting point for everything else on this list, with good reason
[The 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition]
What does supermodels frolicking on beaches around the world have to do with sports? Not a Goddamn thing, but that hasn't stopped Sports Illustrated from doing it for the past 44 years. Over that time, the likes of Cheryl Tiegs, Christie Brinkley, Paulina Porizkova, Elle Macpherson, Rachel Hunter, Valeria Mazza, Heidi Klum, Cindy Crawford, Stephanie Seymour, Angie Everhart, Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks have appeared in various editions. The theme for the 2008 edition is "barely bikinis." You can see all of the models, athletes, actors and NFL Cheerleaders, as well as interviews & videos at the SI.com Swimsuit site.
I've been really jealous of Al Rodgers' slideshows, and thought I would do one (albeit for less noble reasons). So here's some of the images from this year's Swimsuit Edition.....
[It's Ronald McDonald's Fault.....]
Starbucks and all that addictive caffeine, dairy & sugar had already been blamed, now it's meat's turn. Yesterday, never missing a chance to insert itself into a story, PETA sent an open letter to Britney Spears parents, telling them in order "to help her get her emotional and physical health back to a place where it won’t be daily fodder for Perez and The Superficial", they should put Britney on a vegan diet.
"In addition, the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the U.K. studied the relationship between mental disorders and the consumption of meat, dairy, and other animal products and concluded that "a higher national dietary intake of... dairy products predicted a worse two-year outcome of schizophrenia." They also concluded that a higher consumption of meat was linked to a worsening of schizophrenia, while consumption of beans—a vegetarian protein source—was linked to improvements. In addition, the Mental Health Sanctuary in Washington advises people with bipolar disorder to avoid dairy products."
I would love to see the study that linked schizophrenia to meat & dairy consumption. (I'm guessing PETA is sighting studies on the effects of Toxoplasmosis, but that comes from eating infected meat & whether there are behavioral effects in humans is still debated)
In Britney-land, her lawyers still want off of her case, sighting an inability to comunicate, but things seem to be better. She's out shopping with her Mom. And Ms. (or Mrs.?) Spears is busy teaching small children to dance.
Britney Spears taught dance to children not much older than her own boys on Monday at Millennium Dance Complex in North Hollywood.
The pop star — who skipped the Grammys — kicked off the class by introducing herself to each five year old and shaking their hand, a source said. "She comes in, she winds them up, and then tells them, ‘I guess I have to introduce myself to you guys!’" said Robert Baker, Millennium co-owner.
Britney looked happy and upbeat, he said. Madonna’s "Material Girl" and "True Blue" were part of her play list. Britney led the class in "her favorite brown cowboy boots, fishnet stockings, a red short skirt, and a bluish greenish top that hangs down past her skirt."
TMZ details the crazy paparazzi caravan that follows her everywhere she goes. It's ten vehicles, in L.A. traffic. And if that wasn't enough, it's gotten to the point that rival photo agencies are hiring gang members to get "shots", according to the NY Daily News.
The legion of lensmen has been infiltrated by L.A. gang members — Crips and Bloods, according to some photo-agency heads. They claim rival agencies are arming the thugs with cameras and sending them out to do battle with the dozens of paps who rubberneck around Hollywood's favorite train wreck. Veteran snapper Nick Stern, who quit the Splash agency this month, said: "I've heard stories of fights, of car tires being slashed, cars being blocked in."
[Movie & Television News]
Writers Strike Is Over:
On Tuesday in Beverly Hills and New York, 92.5% of WGA members approved the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement, with 3,492 saying yea and 283 voting against pulling the plug on the writers strike. According to estimates, all of this may have cost $2 billion to L.A.'s economy.
After announcing the vote tally, Verrone said WGA members were free to go back to work "immediately," and he noted that writers for the Feb. 24 Oscar ceremony were believed to be doing just that on Tuesday night. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences prexy Sid Ganis and Oscarcast exec producer Gil Cates will hold a news conference Thursday morning to discuss their plans for the show now that the cloud of picket lines and stars staying home has lifted.
About a 100 writers had their contracts force majeured", and face uncertain futures. The new concern for a work stoppage moves to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG, whose contract expires June 30th) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), who still have to negotiate an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
Some high profile actors took out ads in the trades urging SAG to begin negotiations.
Four of Hollywood's most influential thesps -- George Clooney, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep -- are pressuring the Screen Actors Guild to launch its contract talks as soon as possible to avert a strike.
In an ad placed today in Daily Variety, the quartet asked SAG leaders to commit to negotiating a deal quickly. The move comes amid uncertainty created by SAG's strong support for the WGA during its just-concluded 100-day strike, leading studios to place feature development on hold until SAG signs a deal.
Within SAG, there is an argument about "qualified voting."
One of the first problems they'll face is whether SAG should institute a "qualified voting" earnings threshold requirement. (Ever since the extras union merged with SAG to strengthen the guild, only a third of SAG's 120,000 members earn more than $1,000 as SAG actors. But now the elite working actors want to take away the right of all SAG members to vote on the guild's major contracts. The WGA went through something similar years ago.) A two-week-old petition has circulated among SAG's working TV and film actors. Rosenberg and Allen will be meeting next week with reps from the petition group.
So when will everyone's favorite shows return? Go to this link at the NY Times & find out.
Other stories making the rounds.....
Movie Trailers:
You can see other recently released trailers by clicking on the links below.....
[Gratuitous Links & Pics]
Other News & Clips
[50th Annual Grammy Awards Mega Picture Post]
[Amy Winehouse pwns the Grammys.....]
[.....And Is Then Criticized By Natalie Cole]
[Twins For Mrs. Brad Pitt?]
[Paris Hilton's little brother gets busted for DUI & has trouble making bail]
[Michelle's Final Goodbye]
[Paris Hilton Abandons A Pootie]
[Aretha Upset Tina Turner Was Called "The Queen" At The Grammys]
[John Ritter Death Lawsuit Will Go To Trial]
[Max Bratman’s First ‘People’ Cover]
[Spielberg Withdraws From Role In The Beijing Olympics Over Darfur]
[Gary Coleman's Secret Wedding!]
[Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin considering Brooklyn adoption]
[Emma Watson Has A Boyfriend Who Really Really Likes Heroin]
[Heather Is Out For Blood (And Lots And Lots Of Money)]
[Queen's Brian May Didn't Know Freddie Mercury Was Gay]
[Bobby Brown Likes To Piss On People]
[Kanye West Pays Tribute to Late Mom at Grammys]
[Michael Jackson's New Song Is Old]
[New Mariah! It Kinda Sucks!!!]
[I Want My Kids Teased and Bullied!]
['How to Pick Up Chicks' By Jack Nicholoson]
[Katherine Heigl’s New Short Blonde Bob]
[Fantasia Barrino Goes For A Punk/Pepe Le Pew Look]
[The Barkers Break Up... Again]
[Charlie Sheen & Denise Richards Fighting Over The Kids & Reality Shows]
[Heidi Montag: "I Cried Myself to Sleep" When My Video Came Out]
[Roy Scheider Dies At 75]
[Lenny Kravitz Hospitalized]
[Pat O'Brien Goes Back To Rehab]
The Guys
[Hayden Christensen @ ‘Jumper’ Premiere]
[Ryan Phillippe is Shirtless]
[Actor Victor Webster]
[Carter Oosterhouse of TLC’s Trading Spaces]
[Model Rusty Joiner]
[Kanye]
The Ladies
[Scarlett Johansson & Natalie Portman in W Magazine]
[Selita Ebanks And Izabel Goulart And Karolina Kurkova, Oh My!]
[Hot Japanese AV Model Nozomi Sasaki]
[The Hotness Of Miranda Kerr]
[Joss Stone Is Cute]
[Dita Von Teese Stripping]
[Louise Porter In Zoo Magazine]
[Alessandra Ambrosio Picture Moment]
[Eve Wyrwal In Various States Of Undress]
[We All Benefit From Fergie’s Short Skirt]
[Nicole Kidman In Harper's Bazaar]
[Dump Your Girlfriend Or Boyfriend for Megan]
[Poolside With Natasha Yi]