LC and Whitney are at the gym, and LC is not punching very hard. "Come on, LC, imagine the pads are Jason's face!" yells the trainer, in my dream. LC tells Whitney about Steph and Doug going out. The trainer, whose opinion nobody asked, thinks that Steph should have asked permission first. Can someone please start a facebook group and call it "People who think Steph should have asked LC's permission before going out with Doug"?
Steph and LC meet up at Fashion School. Painful looks are exchanged. LC brings up the date with Doug. Steph says Doug used her to get back at LC. Steph then says she's going to Doug's party. "You deleted him from your phone but you're going to his party?" LC asks, incredulous. "No, no, this was like weeks ago before I was even friends with him," Steph says. LC and I both go, "huh?" Steph made about as much sense as Sarah Palin in that Katie Couric interview.
Heidi's sister Holly flies in their mother as a birthday surprise for Heidi. Heidi probably would have preferred a pair of Jimmy Choos. Heidi's mom says she was disappointed she had to find out from Holly that Spencer had moved back in. An awkward confrontation takes place in front of Spencer.
Steph and Doug meet for a drink. Steph worries that Brody will be mean to her at Doug's party. Doug thinks Steph worries too much. It's then implied that they are going to Doug's to watch a DVD. Oh my!
Over at Peoples Revolution, LC and Whitney pose by a rack of clothes. LC tells Whitney about Steph's strange denial of Doug. LC says Whitney should come to Doug's BBQ so she can meet Doug. "You'll hate him!" she says, giggling.
Cut to an establishing shot of Doug's Hollywood Hills home, obscured by three black SUVs. Brody teases Doug for being shady. Doug says Steph is the one coming on to him with text messages like: "come over late tonight and watch a movie." Doug says he hopes Brody won't make Steph cry, but Brody won't make any promises.
Spencer and Heidi's mom go to lunch. Heidi's mom says she thinks Spencer is pressuring Heidi into cohabitating. "I think you're very controlling and manipulative," Heidi's mom says, and then adds, "condescending, rude and hostile." If she would have thrown in "physically repulsive, intellectually retarded, and you smell", it would have been a true shout-out to Cher in Witches of Eastwick. Go Heidi's Mom!
We're at Doug's BBQ and I wonder if this is really a new party or just scenes from all the other BBQs spliced together. There's the usual gratuitous shot of Audrina's breast implants. Doug dives in, splashing LC and Whitney. Brody confronts Steph. Steph denies trying to date Doug. Whitney tells LC it's inappropriate for Brody to yell at Steph. LC thinks she might walk home to get away from the overwhelming awkwardness, however I'm sure she didn't bring her hiking boots.
Heidi and her mom go to lunch. I'm finding Heidi's platinum blond hair blinding in this episode. I put on sunglasses during her scenes. Heidi's mom shares how hurt she was and says she thinks Spencer is trying to break up the family, and then she cries. Heidi's mom sniffles, "Maybe I'm being too controlling. I just want you to be happy." Heidi looks confused, probably because she wouldn't know happy if it came up and bit her on the ass at Area.
Back at Doug's BBQ, Brody uses the word "shady" to describe Steph for the twentieth time. Steph sits in a room that appears to be a Doug Shrine, where she can overhear the conversation outside as Doug says he wasn't trying to date her and that he felt sorry for her because she was like "a lost puppy." LC thinks Doug is over-apologizing if he really did nothing wrong. Doug calls LC an ex-fling, and she gets up and leaves in a huff.
Steph cries to LC. Steph says she can't hang out with the group anymore because Brody is all mean to her. Steph lies to LC again about not being into Doug, and I'm wondering if she is channeling Jon Lovitz's chronic liar character. LC stalks off, leaving Steph in tears. Drama!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Recapping The Hills - Don't Act Innocent
Friday, September 26, 2008
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Monday, September 22, 2008
Recapping The Hills - Lo and Audrina: New BFFs
This week's episode begins with Audrina actually in the front house, helping LC pack for a trip to Italy. She and Lo say they will be bonding in LC's abscence. Wow, I guess that make-up conversation between LC and Audrina where nothing much was said but there were a lot of blank looks and running mascara really did change things!
Steph comes over to see Audrina and says that Doug has asked her on a date. Audrina advises Steph to ask LC's permission before going on the date, but Steph retorts, "Um, how would she find out? (blank stare). Audrina pauses with a blank stare and says "I don't know." Hello, people, everything you do is recorded for this major hit television show - Lauren could quite possibly find out!
Meanwhile at Bolthouse, Heidi tells her only friend Kimberley that she's going to bring Spencer to their X Games party where she will be pretending to work. "Like, we can stay in when we're old," Heidi says.
Lo and Audrina have lunch at Fred Segal. I have a quick fantasy about the ivy on the wall swallowing them up. After the big decision of what club to go to that evening is made (Goa wins), Audrina tells Lo about Steph and Doug. "Why would you want sloppy seconds?" Audrina says, in an unusually catty moment. Apparently, Lo is already having an influence on her.
As usual, since LA seems to only have 3 clubs, Heidi and Spencer show up at Goa where Lo and Audrina are hanging out. Audrina tells Heidi about Doug and Steph. Heidi is all outraged and says she would never do that to her friend and that there are a hundred million guys in this city. That's true, Heidi, so go find a decent one! Lo tries to bury her scowl in her appletini during this exchange, but it remains quite visible.
Steph talks about her dilemma with Spencer who gleefully tells her that LC will freak out and cut her off. At the X Games party, Audrina and Justin Bobby hang with Spencer and Heidi. Spencer tries to make conversation by stating that "The Dark Knight" should have been called "The Joker." Wait, aren't they looking for a replacement for Roger Ebert? Alert the media. Audrina wants to talk about Steph and Doug again because she can only fit one thing in her brain per episode. Audrina suggests she and Heidi should do lunch and continue reconciling. Who is being more duplicitous: (a) Steph, (b) Audrina, (c) Both - they're just using LC to be on TV.
Doug and Steph go to dinner. Doug says he didn't tell Brody they were going out, and Steph says she didn't tell LC because LC is in Italy and she wouldn't know what to do if someone answered the phone and said "Pronto." Because there are only 5 restaurants in LA, Brody's mom happens to be at this very same restaurant - uh oh, busted! I guess it's true that LA can be a small town. I mean, I have seen Ron Jeremy out at clubs twice.
At Epic, Audrina has coffee with Chiara and talks about bonding with Lo. She then tells Chiara about Doug and Steph. Who's left for Audrina to tell? Perez Hilton? "It's just crazy that all this is happening while Lauren is gone," Audrina says. Either that, or it's in the script.
LC returns to find Audrina in the front house again. LC has coordinated blue wayfarers to match her tank top. LC does her best not to react to the news of Audrina hanging out with Heidi. Audrina tells LC about Doug and Steph. A cock crows. LC looks dismayed.
LC and Brody go to dinner. Brody reports that Doug claimed to be out at a business dinner on the night he took Steph out, and that he found out the truth from his mom. Brody gloats about being right about Steph being nefarious, grinding salt in LC's wound before saying "I just don't want to see you get hurt." Brody calls Steph "shady", recalling the time LC yelled at her ex-friend Jen Bunny for kissing LC's then-boyfriend Brody, "You did something shady." OK, I'm embarassed I just made that connection.
Meanwhile, in other Hills news, TMZ informed us that the newest additions to Wolfgang Puck's gallery of star photos (all taken by "warts and all" photographer Martin Scholler) at his restaurant CUT were none other than Heidi and Spencer. So one wall has Jack Nicholson and George Clooney and another wall has these two? I guess you'll know when you haven't been given a good table.
Nelly's Late, Late Show
Last Monday, I caught Nelly's show at the House of Blues. I'm sorta old, so I wasn't sure I could do a late concert on a Monday, but because I represent the STL, I had to be there. As I was out of Pimp Juice, I had to fuel up on Red Bull. The ticket said the show would start at 11pm, but I knew midnight was more likely. I showed up around 11:45pm to find the place only about half full. Gradually, it filled up and people began to get restless. Nelly and the St. Lunatics finally took the stage around 12:30 AM. Damn, Nelly! You made us wait 4 years for this new album and you're still making us wait!
They woke us right up with a quick rendition of "Party People". Nelly was looking super-fit and hot, wearing jeans, two tank tops, sideways baseball cap and shades. He delivered a fast-paced set, clocking in at nearly 2 hours, and giving the crowd just about every track from his new album Brass Knuckles and most of his old hits. A lot of the hits were delivered in abbreviated style, almost medleys, but with extra energy to make up for less length.
Besides the ubiquitous Lunatics, Nelly brought a few guests. He sang "Who Fucks Wit Me" with Avery Storm, as he does on the album. Avery has a soulful voice and seems pretty fly for a white guy. At one point, a seemingly drunk or high dude in the crowd behind me kept dancing like a maniac and bumping into me. I was annoyed but dismissed it as typical House of Blues behavior. Then I was suprised to see this same hyperactive guy up on stage with the band. Nelly introduced him as Keak da Sneak, one of his rapping idols from the Bay Area. He also let all the Lunatics take turns in the spotlight, especially Murphy Lee who reprised his "Shake Your Tailfeather" hit and spoke about his new album coming soon. Nelly also introduced City Spud. Remember when Nelly used to always wear a bandaid on his face? That was a shout to City Spud who was in jail at the time. When he got released, Nelly retired the bandaid.
Nelly reminded us at least 20 times that Brass Knuckles would be in the store the next day and was so named because it was going to hit us hard. Judging by the songs he played, I'd say the album delivers. I particularly liked "Lie" which he said was about how once in a great while it's the lady's fault when a relationship goes sour. I think "Party People" (featuring Fergie) is a great jam. Then there's the anthemic "Self Esteem" (featuring Chuck D) which gives a positive message but comes off like an imitation of Nas' "I Can." The guest star lineup for the album is impressive: Ciara, Usher, Snoop Dogg, TI, LL Cool J, Ashanti. The song "La" (featuring Snoop), a tribute to all things LA, got much love from the LA crowd.
I've seen Nelly twice before. First was at the outdoor amphiteather in Irvine as part of a rap fest, then headlining at the Gibson Amphiteater when "Sweat / Suit" was released, and this was the first time in an intimate venue. It was definitely the most fun show of the three, probably because it was small, but also because Nelly seems more comfortable in the spotlight and his routines with the Lunatics were really tight.
Nelly saved two big hits for the encore: "Hot in Herre" and "Dilemma". My only disappointment with the show was that he never took his tank top off. Well, he took the top layer off, but kept the white wife beater on, teasing us and disobeying "Hot in Herre"'s oft-repeated command: "It's getting hot in herre, so take off all your clothes." Oh well, I forgive him.
Read my hip hop guide to St. Louis
Here's some pics courtesy of my new iphone...
Nelly, don't go into the light!
Nelly and St. Lunatics imitate NKOTB
Nelly and Keak da Sneak
Nelly and City Spud
Nelly and Ali (of St. Lunatics)
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Motley Crue Return to Home, Sweet Home
Another year, another new name for the lower circle of Glen Hell formerly known as the Glen Helen Pavilion and Hyundai Pavilion. It's now called San Manuel Amphitheater. It's still really far away, dusty, and generally unpleasant. I only go there when I'm shaking so bad that I need to mainline some metal. Yes, this is where I've seen umpteen Ozzfests and where I saw KISS.
And last night, I saw Cruefest. Well, I didn't really see the fest. My BF and I had a busy day and a lack of interest in the other 4 bands (apologies to Traptd, Sixx AM, Papa Roach, and Buckcherry), so we showed up just in time for Motley Crue. I learned a big advantage of being late - no more parking attendants. We drove right into the VIP parking area with no charge! Upon reaching security, I was told I could not bring in my Google-branded picnic blanket. I stashed it in a bush but it was gone when we left - oh well, I have plenty of swag.
We navigated through the sweaty, drunken hordes to get a couple beers and find a spot on the lawn. Immediately, we could understand the security guard's concern over the blanket - they can be used to start fires - and there were a couple bonfires raging on the lawn.
The Motley boys came on around 9:30pm and were full of piss and vinegar (and possible other substances). The lights were dazzling and the videos were cool, although being on the lawn I would have enjoyed more video of the band and less produced video. The stage backdrop - large letters resembling the Hollywood sign but spelling out Los Angeles - was cool and earned applause from the Inland Empire fans. They kicked off the show appropriately with "Kickstart My Heart" and kept the crowd jumping with "Wild Side."
From the new album Saints of Los Angeles, they played the title track (and were joined onstage by members of the other Cruefest bands) and "Motherfucker of the Year." I'd say the title track is worth a download - good hook. The band rounded out their set with more hits including "Girls, Girls, Girls", "Shout at the Devil", and "Looks that Kill." Tommy Lee had an entertaining interlude with the titty cam, although he didn't find too many willing participants in the crowd. Vince was in good voice, and the band performed with energy. Even decrepit Mick Mars seemed to be enjoying himself. They closed the show with "Dr. Feelgood" which is still the one that makes us feel all right. We walked back to the car during the encore - "Home Sweet Home" - so I can't say if the brandishing of cigarette lighters for this power ballad may have contributed to more lawn bonfires.
I recommend Cruefest for those who still love 80s glam rock. The boys deliver a sexy, swaggering, screeching good time.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Okay, So International Ghost Hunters Sucks a Little Less This Season
Andy Andrews is really ramping up his bid to be like Grant from the original Ghost Hunters. I like Andy though because I like his protestant go-get-em work ethic and his willingness to pronounce every word so clearly and loudly. However, I do appreciate the many comments from my commentary last season. And I agree, Andy and Robbbbb are still no Jay and Grant. What is it about Jay and Grant? They’re like Siegfried and Roy or somethin. I do appreciate that Jesus is not a main character so far this season, I really do. And I’m cool with Jesus. It's just that I want the adults to hunt ghosts by their own wits is all. Another thing I appreciate: the swapping of Shannon for Dustin. Our couch theory is that Donna threw her weight around behind the scenes to get that taken care of. Dustin’s hat wearing techniques…work…my last….nerve. It’s too much. It’s just too much. Um...is that his pinup shot posted here? But overall, I like his staunch unwillingness to descend into hysteria. Speaking of which, I don’t trust anything that comes out of that Irishman’s camera.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Stan Lee visits Google
Last Wednesday, Stan Lee spoke at Google Santa Monica!
It was a thrill to meet this American icon, and he was a great speaker. I'm on the Authors @ Google team, which brings in writers to speak to Googlers. Google buys books for the attendees and puts videos of the talks up on YouTube. A colleague from our headquarters in Mountain View met Stan at a convention and invited him to speak. Stan graciously agreed, provided he could come to Santa Monica since he lives nearby. And so we quickly prepared for our biggest local authors event to date!
I was impressed by how friendly and accessible Stan was, posing for pictures with Googlers (including one in a Spiderman costume) and signing autographs. I was also wowed by his energy and passion for new creative pursuits, given than he's 85 years old. He continues to create characters and develop projects through his new company, POW! Entertainment. Stan presented his new book Election Daze, a collection of wacky captions he wrote for political photos. We had about 75 people locally attend the talk and many more from 10 offices who viewed the talk via videoconference. Stan put up a photo of Obama and allowed Googlers to come up with captions. The winner took home a signed Election Daze publisher proof.
Stan took many questions from the crowd. When asked his favorite movie cameo, he said it was in Iron Man, when he had fun with his resemblance to Hugh Hefner (and got to work with some lovely blonds). He said he had been pleasantly surprised with the success of Iron Man and also approved of the latest Incredible Hulk movie and the Spiderman films. He said he hoped Fantastic Four would get on track in the next movie. He took several digs at rival DC Comics, while admitting if pressed to name a non-Marvel comic character that he liked, he would go with DC's Lobo, which he said was unusually original for them. Stan told us he was a big fan of Google and that he couldn't live without it. 
Stan wanted to do a public signing, and since we can't let the masses into our office, I coordinated with the Santa Monica Public Library next door to hold the signing there. While waiting for that event to get started, we got the chance to pose for photos with Stan. My teammate Susanna told Stan, "You're being very gracious and accommodating." He replied, "I tend to be." He was affable and self-effacing. I saw Hancock the night before this event, and it occurred to me that movie probably couldn't have been made without Stan Lee, who first introduced human failings and crises into the superhero psyche.
I recommend Election Daze if you need a laugh in this tiresome election year, and I am grateful to Stan for visiting Google! Check YouTube for a video of the talk - coming soon.
