Keep Me Entertained!

Sunday’s episode started off with the women’s team, Team ASAP, down in the dumps after losing yet again to the men aka Team Backbone. The ladies were so distraught that they couldn’t even bring themselves to partake of the bubbly and fresh fruit spread that the men were enjoying.

The celebrations doesn’t last long as the Don doles out the next challenge: develop a commercial to promote a state of the art video phone by ACN. The men are entertaining as always. When being briefed by Sr. ACN execs, Jose, with a straight face mind you, asks them if they see using their videophone to connect with aliens. Say what? Leave that kind of talk to Gary, my man. I thought you stopped hitting the ‘roids, or is that just a by product of your extensive use?

Speaking of Gary, there weren’t as many nuggets (no pun intended) this episode, but what we did get was awesome. During the commercial shoot Ivanka stops by to visit the men. Upon seeing Gary in a bathrobe, she’s worried about frontal nudity from Gary. Never one to disappoint, Gary accidentally let’s “Big Wednesday” out for its commercial debut during one of the takes. Mission accomplished. By the way “Big Wednesday” is Gary’s fiancee’s nickname for his “apparatus”. Hmmm…maybe Rebecca Black should get a rewrite to her “Friday” song and call it “Big Wednesday”.

Of course no Celebrity Apprentice episode is complete without the requisite Buseyism: “What you see is what you get, but there’s lots of surprises in what you get when you take me.” So true, Gary, so true.

Lastly though, the genius of Lil’ Jon shines through in this episode. My hats off to this man as he knows how to sell! Not only does he take risks and shake things up, he was able to let his display his business savvy. He had the entire ACN crowd eating out of his hand when he described his commercial with one magic word: viral. That one word was able to make a very risque concept relevant and palatable to the conservative ACN audience, and thereby secure a win for Team Backbone. Sheer brilliance!

Lil’ Jon, I tip my pimp cup and salute you!

It is a sad day in Hollywood. We’ve lost a film legend, active philanthropist and all round classy woman. Can any actress compare to Elizabeth Taylor? Not a chance. She was amazing in one of my faves, Cleopatra and completely sublime in A Place in the Sun. Words can’t describe how entranced I was watching her on screen. She had tremendous stage presence and a magnetism that no one can even come close to matching.

Her death is a reminder of how wonderful the golden age of Hollywood is. Her performance, along with those of her peers, is the standard to which current performances are judged and to which many actors aspire to. Thank goodness for Turner Classic Movies and Netflix. Think I’m going to put Giant, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Cleopatra in my instant queue.

Time Magazine has a nice retrospective which I’m going to head over and read.

Rest in peace, Elizabeth, rest in peace.

Image courtesy of Richard Avedon

Before the torpedo of truth was even a kernal of an idea in Charlie Sheen’s brain, Gary Busey had the corner on the deep thought market.

He’s one of the reasons why I’ve been drawn back into the train wreck of a show better known as Celebrity Apprentice.

This whole episode was chock full of Buseyisms that I’m sure the Don was congratulating himself on casting him for this season.

And without further adieu, here were some of the highlights:

1) “I’m at risk every time I wake up.”
Gary’s response when Trump reminds him that being team captain means he’s at risk.

2) “Lil’ Jon turned out to be an antagonist in my heart, to me. I don’t know what it was but it’s his issue, not mine.” 
Gary describing the friction between him and Lil’ Jon

3) “I think they should be used to look at to be usable.”
Gary’s response when John Rich asks him the purpose of purchasing a walkie talkie set.

4) “A mistake is a gift.”

5) “Everyone on the team is a color in the rainbow.”

5) “Living Under Correct Knowledge Yearly”
Gary defining the word “lucky” to Ivanka

6) “Facing Real Exciting Energy Developing Out of Miracles”
Gary’s definition of “freedom”

7) “Together Everyone Achieves More”
Gary’s definition of “team”

8) “It’s like having the best ingredients in the world to make the best cake you can make. It’s gonna come out tomorrow, it’s gonna be warm and fluffy. You put a drop, put a scoop of chocolate or vanilla ice cream in the cake, it’ll melt and oooh ya ya yai, it will be just fun to EAT! And we’re gonna go camping tomorrow and you’re gonna wish you were there if you’re not.” 
Gary’s describing how the project presentation will go the next day

Gary definitely is a character and I’m sure that the women *SPOILER ALERT* are baffled at how they could have lost the challenge to him. Note to self - never mess with the Pepperoni Prophet.

(Source: shttp)

How awesome do these Philips Fidelio SoundSphere speakers look? And look Ma, no wires!!! The speakers support wi-fi, Airplay and the dock is set to showcase your lovely iPhone or iPod. Interested? This set-up costs a cool €800 or roughly $1,100.

Image courtesy of AP

In a recent interview, Jon Bon Jovi claims that years from now people will look back at the struggling music industry and have only one scapegoat: Steve Jobs. The well coiffed rocker states: “Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business.”

He laments that gone are the days where one can immerse themselves in discovering a new album while thumbing through racks upon racks in a store. Also gone is the excitement of spending one’s hard earned allowance to buy said record, taking it home and spending the day next to the turntable listening to it. He also puts a lil’ disclaimer saying, “I hate to sound like an old man now, but I am.”

Really?! You got that right Jon, you are old. Last time I checked the compact disc came first in the whole digital revolution, not iTunes. Then the next digital format, mp3, came along quickly followed by file sharing sites in which the masses didn’t have to pay for their music. That was the beginning of the end.

Besides technology, if you want someone to blame try the music industry. Instead of trying to reinvent, record labels recoiled in fear and began slapping fines on file sharing sites and participants. (Which btw, on principal I see why they did that, but the labels still jerk over the artists when it comes to giving them their fair share of the revenue.) Instead of spewing out senseless, talentless drivel, how about record labels nuture and grow real music talent? That would be a novel concept. “Mainstream radio” is a joke. On top of that, music is so fractured and splintered that longevity as a mega superstar artist that the music industry relied so heavily upon will disappear.

iTunes and Apple, in general, isn’t the killer of anything. They successfully take an existing concept or paradigm, reinvent it, and make it accessible to the main stream. Sure they take a hefty amount off the top of each sale in iTunes. But shouldn’t the labels also then try to diversify their distribution model? Better yet, get rid of the middle man. Let the artists rule and distribute music themselves!

Times are a changin’ Bon Jovi, and that’s ok. You can still have your LP and your mp3 too.

(Source: theregister.co.uk)

This is a sad day in entertainment. As a native Angeleno, I used to always visit Grauman’s growing up. I’d pay homage to The Duke, Marilyn, Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, etc. Actors whose films enthralled me. Films that were part of the golden era of entertainment. The cement in front of the theater is hallowed ground and yesterday that all went to hell with the inclusion of Kobe. I didn’t realize that Grauman’s could be bought; that the cement is available to the highest bidder. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Laker fan and Kobe is a great basketball player, but he doesn’t belong in front of Grauman’s.

This theater is like mecca to me. Aspiring performing artists and admirers come here to touch greatness like Jack Benny, Clint Eastwood & Meryl Streep. People who have entertained (and continue to entertain) the masses via movies. Sure you can make a case that Kobe is an entertainer, but first and foremost he’s an athlete.  Sure he starred in a short film “Black Mamba”, along side Bruce Willis, Danny Trejo and directed by Robert Rodriguez. But c’mon get real. The artists that grace the cement before him have made an impact to the advancement of the moving picture. They’ve moved us with their gut wrenching, thought provoking performances or made an indelible mark in movie history.

Sure you can say that as of late some of the additions in the 2000’s were bought or were part of a big publicity campaign. You’re probably right. I don’t agree with some of them, but again, in some way shape or form those people contributed something to the movie industry. It just sucks that somehow Kobe is being shoe horned as a film entertainer when clearly he is not. But I guess at the end of the day when Nike shills over the benjamins, Grauman listens.

Maybe Jack Nicholson and Spike Lee should be immortalized in some way in the NBA Hall of Fame. It would only be fair - well not really. And btw, I know that Grauman’s mom has her hand/footprints in front of the theater as well and that she wasn’t part of the movie biz.

Photograph by: AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS
Credit: AFP

Get ready to go into Mary Hart induced seizures with the latest video from Kayne (and one of my favorite songs right now). He ain’t kidding rapping about all of the lights. This video is chock full of them, mainly of the flashing kind and yes they are extra bright, baby.

They are so overwhelming that even Kayne has to protect his eyes with sunglasses barely looking into the camera. And why is Kid Kudi facing the wrong way? Obviously absent is Fergie, even her part of the song was cut. Wondered what happened there.

If your eyes aren’t bleeding (or your head hurting) by the end of the video, you’ll see the credits run, listing other vocal contributors including John Legend, Charlie Williams, Alicia Keys, La Roux & The Dream. Who knew? That’s quite a roster!

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day Jimmy Kimmel created a beautiful mashup between Peanuts and Jersey Shore. Love it!