How Was Your Weekend? A Bar Full Of Aussies, Noa Tishby, And Australian Idol Fashion Tips

It has been awhile since I wrote about my friend Australian friend Mel. Mel is a co-founder of one of the finest Australian rock bands in history known as punisherz. OK, well finest might be an exaggeration, but for a musical group that doesn't actually know how to play the instruments they were using, they were amazing. Mel was also one of the first handful of people to ever read the site, and for some reason she kept reading it. I can only imagine she had a lot of time on her hands.

Well. Every January, Mel calls me up and begins the process of breaking down my will power in an attempt to get me to attend Coachella in April. No matter how much I may love music, spending 3 days in the blistering heat is not something a 400 pound guy gets motivated to do very easily. So, for four months I get an intense barrage of phone calls, e-mails, and updates about which bands are going to be there in an attempt to get me to take the trek out into the middle of the California desert with a bunch of Aussies.

This year was no different except that now, along with my other friend Jade (and punisherz member), they own a record label. No, none of their bands are going to be at Coachella, but their band Red Riders is touring the country with some other Aussie bands as they all make their way to SXSW in Austin. Their first stop was here in Los Angeles over the weekend.
Actual conversation with Mel.

Mel- I want you to come see Red Riders play this weekend.
Enty - Sure. What night are they playing?
Mel - Well, it isn't actually at night. It's during the day on Sunday.
Enty - Mel. You know I don't leave the comforting darkness of the basement on the weekends.
Mel - Come on. It is an Aussie BBQ, so there will be free food.
Enty - Tempting, but no.
Mel - I will buy you booze.
Enty - (wavering) But it's the daytime.
Mel - James [Mathison] will be there.
Enty - If I want to see James I can just watch YouTube of him on Australian Idol.
Mel - Andrew G will be there.
Enty - Same thing. As much as I love Andrew and his world class fashion taste when it comes to ski apparel and his stories about the oddest way humans have ever contracted scabies, it is still the afternoon.
Mel - Noa [Tishby] will be there.
Enty - What time does it start?

Yes. What can I say? I'm a sucker for all things Noa. It was nice how Mel played that card last. She could have played it first but then she would have been deprived of the fun of hearing how my voice changed when I heard Noa was going to be there.

So, yesterday I set my alarm for 2pm and actually ventured outside in the afternoon on a weekend for the first time in a long time. The showcase of Australian bands was over at The Echo, which funny enough is in Echo Park. I know. That worked out well for all involved didn't it?

The afternoon did not start out promising. The BBQ was not done BBQing when I arrived and the first act was a woman who is the mother of some guy in the Australian band Bridezilla. Think Jewel with depressing lyrics singing very poorly at a funeral and you will get an idea of the 20 minutes of pain everyone endured.

The problem was that because of her horrible singing, the entire bar was packed with people who thought this would be the perfect time to get a drink or six and so it took me a moment to realize that Noa and Andrew G had walked over to me to say hi.
When I first started posting photos of Noa, I don't think many of you had any idea who she was, but now that she is on Big Love, and is one of the Executive Producers of In Treatment, that has changed a lot. She hasn't though. She is still the same kind, gracious person who is willing to buy me drinks and talk to you all night long and never makes you feel like an idiot when you realize she is way more intelligent than you will ever hope to be. The fact that she is amazingly beautiful is just kind of a bonus.

Yes, I know. It seems like I'm sucking up, but hey, she does buy me drinks. Do you know how expensive that is? Yes, she married Andrew instead of me, and sure there has been some awkwardness. Actually none. Seriously. Look at me and look at him. The guy works out, and has a job and doesn't live with his parents. Oh, and he has hair. The fact that she chose Andrew to marry instead of me, is well, just shows you how smart she is.

Oh, and speaking of smart. Australian beer companies have finally figured out how to get rid of their bad beer. Yesterday the bar had a special on this Australian beer that is made in Sydney, but which none of the several hundred Australians in attendance had ever heard. Apparently it is Aussie beer but only fit to be sold in the US. Nice.
The band Red Riders was great, and I posted a video of one of their songs at the bottom of the post. If you are going to SXSW, you need to check them out. Seriously. I wouldn't waste your time. They will also be playing some shows in New York in the next few weeks. After their set, the rest of the afternoon kind of blurred into this kind of beer/hamburger/hot dog/Ryan Seacrest impressions haze with Andrew waxing poetic about the pros and cons of various attire to be worn on the ski slopes and one of his best scabies stories yet which involved a bachelorette party, the bride to be and a male stripper. The one thing missing from the day was James. Apparently he decided that after a 15 hour flight from Australia he wasn't up for making it out to see the band. Well, on the phone he let me know which hotel he was staying at, so I made sure he got 3am, 4am and 430am wake up calls this morning. I don't know if the 20 hang up calls I got between 5-6 this morning were him, but I'm guessing they might. I was just trying to make sure he got his day off to an early start.

I know that everytime I post a Nick Lachey or Jessica Simpson story, there are people who read this blog and go running off to post it on their respective forums and blogs. Although I like to make fun of Pimpa Joe, I do try and stay neutral when it comes to who I support more. It is obvious that I do lean more Team Nick because of some sources I have. Well, what Pimpa Joe is doing in the UK for next week's dueling CD releases between the pair is really nasty and something which typifies Pimpa Joe. You can read the whole article if you have the time. However, the relevant portion states: “The fabulous Jessica Simpson NICKs the spotlight on 29th January...”

First of all, using the word fabulous in that sentence is just way overblown, but then to take a dig at Nick just because his CD sales are so much higher and she cannot sell a CD to make Pimpa Joe a buck because everyone knows the divorce was her/Pimpa's fault. With John Mayer and Jessica Simpson in Miami this week look for some kind of publicity stunt. If Pimpa can take his eyes off the bikinis at the beach, he will no doubt come up with something to make his daughter look even more terrible and John Mayer even more reluctant to admit he is dating Jessica.

Last year, Mel and I just missed each other at Coachella. It could of course have something to do with the fact that we did not know each other then, but that is beside the point. The Coachella lineup was released yesterday and Rage Against the Machine reuniting is the big deal. Of course, for me, Friday night will be the big deal because Bjork will be the headliner. Maybe this year I will have better luck getting The Smiths to reunite. I do not see the punisherz on the list of acts, but there is still time for them to be added.

This is going to be shorter than normal because it is going to be a busy day. However, no matter how busy I am, there is always time for Four For Friday. Yes, that tradition that spans the ages all the way back to about what? Friday after Thanksgiving, something like that. Anyway, look for it at the lunch hour Pacific Time as usual.

One thing I do not normally do is link to photos that are NSFW. Not to say that I do not look at them, but I think we all know where to find them if we want to look so it is not something I need to do. With that being said, I just had to link to this photo of Ashlee Simpson's nipple slip. As much as it looks like her friend is the one who made it all happen, that is for another time, another story, or perhaps a blind item. The reason I am linking is simply to ask the following question. Has Papa Joe looked at the pic, and if so how many times?

Has anyone ever seen a picture of David Letterman taken by the pap? I have never seen one until now which is why I just had to link to this recent one with his son. He does look a little pissed or a little hungover or both. I will always take Dave over Jay. It will be really interesting to see what Conan vs. Dave is like next year though.

Aaaaah, the wonderful time right after the holidays when all the love, romance and affection is thrown out the window for breakup after breakup after breakup. First we had Cameron and Justin, then today we had Marilyn Manson and Dita von Teese split. They had seven years together, but once they got married, it took less than a year to say bye bye. Now comes news that Billy Crudup who left his about to give birth girlfriend for Claire Danes has now given Claire the boot because she decided to utter the word marriage. Hmmmm. Dita wants to be married, Marilyn does not. Claire wants to be married and Billy does not. OK, so the way I have this figured out is that Billy and Marilyn need to move into together. Billy will probably not even notice that Marilyn is a guy. That leaves Claire and Dita. See, this is reality television in the making. The only thing that could make it better is the mystery couple. Who would the mystery couple be? Well I do not think it is accidental that Justin broke up with Cameron right after she confessed to a crush on Pamela Anderson. And at least until the next party or beach vacation, Pam is single. Therefore we throw them into the mix. Pam would do it for sure. The only hit movies Cameron is in lately are those involving animated characters so she might decide to give it a shot.

On a happier note, Chris Kattan got engaged over the weekend. (yes, to a woman. What is wrong with you people?) Of course they are not going to get married until 2008 and her name is Sunshine. But, I know it is going to last. Plus he has some new movies coming out so publicity is always good. In other engagement and wedding news that no one really cares about, Lisa Ling got engaged to a doctor, and Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Espositio got married. So, Bradley was good in Wedding Crashers and I do care that Jennifer Esposito got married. Cross Jennifer off, but put Kate back on.

Now for the really important part of this morning's post. I FINALLY got some photos of the punisherz NYE gig in Australia. I have heard rumors that this is the beginning of the farewell tour for the group so do catch them before they are no more or at least all living in LA with another name. By the way, the guy in this group is the host of Australian Idol. In the photo on the right he seems to be channeling a little Freddie Mercury. I am just glad he is not channeling Ryan Seacrest. There is no way Seacrest could ever have that much fun. EVER.

There is just not much going on today so forgive me if it does not give you enough of a gossip fix. Later today will be the Four For Friday moved to Thursday. The reason for that is I have another item tomorrow which is in the vein of L which seemed more appropriate before the long holiday weekend.

I talk about punisherz quite often and it is simply because I think they are incredible. (also they love this blog which helps) They have come up with a style that is really unique. It is 3 women and one guy (who is the Ryan Seacrest for Australian Idol) who formed a band although none can play an instrument. Through word of mouth and self-promotion that would make Angelina Jolie proud they have manged to achieve a great deal of fame in Australia. On New Years Eve they will be the band playing as the clock strikes midnight at one of the largest music festivals in Australia.




Reading between the lines in this article, it appears that guys no longer have sex with Jessica Simpson in person. Instead, they have phone sex. What I would be wondering if I was the guy on the other end is whether Papa Joe was listening in and then critiquing afterwards.

So, if you have an imagination then the News of the World is prepared to pay you $15,000 for your story. It is a plus if your imagination can come up with a story that says you are the love child of Mel Gibson. I know this story is a few days old, but the money part is new. I think we should all call this paper and say we are the love child of so and so. I am not a fan of Mel Gibson, but I think the mom just told the daughter the story because either she did not know who the father was or was ashamed. Let's look at a pic of Mel, his "love child" (why do they call it a love child anyway? Seems like it would be a lust child or one night stand child.) and Mel's grandchild.





Posh Spice says she cut off her hair so she could have better sex with her husband. I think it either fell out from all the changes, because she is a fembot, or because she really is an alien and not just portraying one in a Tom Cruise movie.



Hilary Duff thinks Nicole Richie is a "skank." Be nice everyone, it is the holidays.

When an actress says "you'll be seeing a lot more of me" it really does have different connotations than it used to. I would hope that Reese Witherspoon does not mean she is going to go the upskirt route.





I think I really need to worry about my taste in movies because I actually liked most of the worst Christmas movies ever. I will admit to liking the worst of the bunch because I always loved Phil Hartman. Bad Santa is on the list? That is just not right. I don't think these people actually saw the movies. Bad Santa just screams Christmas miracle along with warm and fuzzy. (Plus Lauren would kick my ass if I ever said anything bad about it) Also, what is Christmas without Christmas Vacation or Home Alone? What is not to like about those movies? In fact, here is a website totally devoted to Christmas Vacation. I am glad to see the list makers at least refrained from adding The Ref which is in my top 3 or 4 Christmas films.

I have always admired Richard Branson and think the way he conducts his business and his life are incredible. So what on earth is he doing inviting Paris Hilton to his secret New Years Eve party in Sydney? There are so many things wrong with this. First that Paris Hilton would be invited across the world to sing is unsettling. Second, that this Richard Branson party is secret, yet everyone knows about it means it is not really a secret. Maybe he is inviting her to contrast his company Virgin with someone who is not. (although she does think sex is sacred) The only good thing is that Paris will be out of the country for the New Year. (Are you going to go Mel? Please tell me the punisherz are opening for Silverchair and not Paris)

Gay marriage is really going to have a tough time gaining a foothold if Elton John makes it a habit to attend said gay weddings dressed as Captain Hook and Courtney Love as the Queen of Hearts. I want details of what happened at the pantomime themed reception. The picture to the left is one groom dressed as Aladdin and the other as Prince Charming. There must have been a mix-up with costumes because Sir Elton's boyfriend also came dressed as Prince Charming.

Miss USA gets to stay which I personally think is the right move. I think the Donald just wanted to stretch this out to try and get some publicity for the pageant which does not really make the splash it used to. What bothers me is that every article yesterday and for the preceding few days all said she was going to be forced out, and kept talking about Miss USA being dumped because she allegedly is out of control, abusing cocaine, regularly hooks up with Miss Teen USA (btw, next week someone will say there is a sex tape of the two together), sneaks men into her apartment, blah blah blah. You know what? Tara Conner is a name you will remember just like Vanessa Williams. Quick, name any other Miss America or Miss USA winners. Tough isn't it? First Project Runway, now, the world baby. I don't think she planned this of course. But, she has a much better chance of making it in the entertainment business now than she did before. In addition, she will not be forced to attend chili cook-offs for the rest of her life to remind herself of past glory. Instead she can go on Howard Stern or make cameos in Brett Ratner movies. Seriously. Vanessa Williams did ok for herself and I think Tara will also. Happy Birthday Tara!!!

Things on my mind -and then if you read it all I will give you some updates on people and some hints as well as a new shorter blind item --

So there has been a great deal of commenting about the blind items. Here are some clarifications and explanations and whatever other words you want to use.

First, you need to remember they are blind items. They are blind items for a reason. Take yesterday’s blind item for example. There is nothing holding me back from revealing RR and BB’s names except for the fact I do not want to see BB hurt anymore than she was. As far as I know about ten people know the whole story and that is the way it is going to stay. RR is an ass and I do not care if he gets hurt, but if I give out his name, then BB gets hurt because people will put two and two together. Many of the blind items would also hurt one side or the other and I am just not going to do that.

Another example would be the kindness from last week. The person in question did not want any publicity. I did ask her if it would be alright if I mentioned it and she agreed as long as she got to read it first. I let her and she made a change or two and let me post it. As far as the jackass item of last week, my friend did not want to be revealed and I agreed. I do not hurt my friends.

I am not blogging to make anyone’s life miserable. I am blogging because I wanted to try it and felt I had some things I wanted to share. I have no other motive for my blog. I do not run ads and think I am about the only one who does not. I am not trying to get a movie deal or book deal or any other deal. I am not here to make anyone miserable or to expose their flaws and misdeeds to the world except in a way that allows people to gain a new perspective on Hollywood and what I deal with on a daily basis. The blog does take a great deal of time and is definitely making my workdays longer. Because of that, I try and just post twice daily at about 930am PST and noon PST. If I see something cool like the video from yesterday then I will post it because I want to share it not because I want to increase traffic to the site.

I do not really change dates or places at all in the blind items with the exception of the MV story. If I use the term a couple or several then I mean couple or several in the same way that anyone else would use that term. Unless someone shares a story with me, none of the events in the blog happened more than about ten years ago and in that case I would say about ten years. I am very careful about the words I use which is one of the reasons the blind items take so much time. Look at the Vixen blind item. I said as far as I know she is not married. I know she was not married at the time the events happened. After the events happened I do not usually keep up with that person’s life. I do not go to IMDB to check on every detail post event. It turns out Vixen has married but I only know this because I went and checked.

I increased the font size on the blog and might increase it just a touch more, but then the letters become distorted. If you click the workfriendly button then the entire blog transforms into something similar to a word document. It not only makes it look like you are working, but also will ease the strain on your eyes.

Some updates and hints -

"Meth" is doing great. She was the one who told me about the dentist. She is happy because her ex and the 20 year old broke up. Meth is actually in pre-production on aa film and it is her biggest part in years.

The client who did the cop a "favor" is still strung out on crack but has managed to avoid being busted. She has a new bf who knows nothing about the crack. He however is really rich and middle aged and cannot believe his luck that a "famous hottie" (her words not mine) is attracted to him.

The first kindness item in which the actress crossed the highway to help the woman with the baby–The actress in question called me after reading it and said she did it more out of anger that other people were not helping than anything else. She just could not believe people could just not do anything. She also said that the stares she gave people as she crossed the highway was the reason people finally started to help and not because she was attractive. She does not consider herself "anything special."

The first Jackass has a new album coming out. He will also be on tour in Europe throughout the spring. Enjoy.

The punisherz are still incredible and just wrote a new song. They want to tour Japan in the New Year.

A&P the adopting for the sake of adopting couple are still not really working. For those who do not think you cannot be blackballed in Hollywood think again.

The gay B lister who came into my office after the NPH situation did decide to accept the movie role. It is a monster role which will make him a star. He said it was ok to tell everyone he took the part. He just wants to leave the role a mystery "for now."

The guy who made the 15 year old pregnant. I really have no news of the girl. As far as the guy goes, he does not work much. The last thing I would hope for is that he become popular again.

The pap who was watching the house is STILL watching. As far as I know he has been there for over a month. He is waiting for one picture which will be worth about two years of taking regular pictures.

I will go over the rest later this week, including the smaller blind items.


Here is a new blind item for you -

This B list movie star (in Academy Award nominated movies) claims he is a US citizen. In actuality he is an illegal immigrant who is deathly afraid of being pulled over while driving. He also has angered producers because he cannot leave the country to promote the movies he is in. If he leaves the country he will not be allowed back in. His excuse is that he is afraid to fly. He loves acting but at the same time wants to quit because he is afraid that with attention comes the chance someone will reveal his true situation. Because he entered the country illegally he cannot just marry someone for a green card and so he waits every day for the knock at the door.

Lots to talk about later today but I would be remiss if I did not mention this blog and this person..

http://melsmorning.blogspot.com/

Besides being absolutely gorgeous, she has a wicked sense of humor, parties all over the globe and everyone needs to check out the punisherz..

Talk to you later when we hear about celebrity adoptions gone bad (REALLY, REALLY bad) but I am off to court right now..