Not Gossip But I Know You Will Have An Opinion

So, yesterday we had the singer who was stabbed to death and had her body mutilated. Today's story is much more gruesome. I am not going to reprint it here, because some of you may find it too horrifying mixed in with the snark and fluff. So, you need to click here and read it on the Mirror.

Here is my question which you can answer without reading the details if you like. The gist of it is that a 17 year old British girl was allowed by her parents to move to Brazil and move in with a 20 year old Brazilian guy she had met in the UK. He killed her on Saturday and then went to a party before disposing of the body. His disposal is the horrific part, not to mention the pictures he took while doing it.

I am all for kids going out of the country on supervised visits. I think it is important and broadens an education to see how other people live. I don't think there is ever any way on this earth that I would let my 17 year old kid, male or female go live with their significant other in another country, especially someone they had only known a short time. Yes, it can happen in your own country, but at least in your own country, presumably you have some sort of assistance or your loved ones can see if something is turning into a possibly ugly situation.

Daily Mirror Blind Item

Which sleazy TV personality has a penchant for prostitutes? He gets his overworked PA to ring ahead and book his chosen girl...

What Would You Do?

Although I believe the reports are a bunch of crap, lets just assume that Balthazar Getty is coming back to Los Angeles in an attempt to save his marriage, or more likely cut his financial losses. Would you take him back? I think I asked this question previously in the Ashley and Cheryl Cole situation but that was a one night thing once or twice.

This however is completely different. This is a guy who not only flaunted his affair, but did so in public, with nudity, and even flew to Italy where his wife had fled to, and then continued the affair in that country.

To me if you are Rosetta and you take Balthazar back what you are saying is that you are willing to be completely trampled in your life, have no self esteem and that Balthazar is free to do this as often as he pleases. Because you know that if she takes him back he will know that he can literally get away with anything. He could move Sienna into the house at this point and have sex with her every night because he didn't do much less and the wife took him back.

I equate this to the Robin Wright Penn situation. Sean Penn can now do literally anything he wants and know that Robin will take him back. So, why would a guy stop?

On the other hand you have four kids, but who wants their kids confused about why dad has so many sisters who visit and why he always sleeps with them and is taking naked photos with them. Plus there would be arguments and the kids would look down on their mother.

When Balthazar apologized for his actions it seemed like he wanted to leave the door open a crack, but I don't know if it was for personal or financial reasons. So, can you imagine any circumstance under which you would take him back. Castration?

Have You Seen This?

On Friday Jerry Lewis was arrested in the Las Vegas airport for trying to carry a gun on a flight from Las Vegas to Detroit. I didn't write about it because I saw it on Saturday and figured everyone would write about it, and so it would be old news by the time Monday rolled around. But, no one has because no one cares about Jerry Lewis despite the fact that he also took a turn with Marilyn Monroe.

Anyway, I saw some UK newspapers had picked up the story as well and so decided to write something because you need to just stop and think about for a second. Jerry Lewis is 82 years old. He looks 100 and acts 125. Why does this man even need a gun? Have you watched the Jerry Lewis telethon lately? Is this a man you feel comfortable with holding a gun anywhere?

What did Jerry think he was going to need his gun for in Detroit? He wasn't going to be paid cash where he was going. I doubt sincerely there are any mafia alive from 40 years ago who are still holding a grudge and they had lots of grudges against him.

I mean gets on a plane a falls asleep. He gets off the plane, gets wheeled to his limo, falls asleep in the limo. gets to the hotel, gums some food and goes to sleep. At what point is he figuring he is going to need a gun? Does he think the waiter at the early bird special is going to charge him full price so he needs to pull a gun?

Did the maid not put a chocolate on his pillow so he is going to forcibly make her hand over more chocolate while he holds a gun to her head? Jerry's manager says the gun was a prop and wouldn't fire. So, when he starts waving it around on an airplane he can shout it's only a prop. It won't fire, and then does his crazy ass heckle.

Tom Cruise Sued By The Wrong Guy

In case you haven't heard, The NY Daily News reported today that on July 15th Peter Letterese filed a $250M suit against Tom Cruise and Scientology using the RICO statute which is what the government used to decimate the mafia.

Look, I think my opinion on Tom Cruise and Scientology is pretty clear. I think Peter's argument is unique and I think the amount of the suit would get the attention of anyone. I also think that any publicity about lawsuits, especially in the gossip section of the Daily News is a good thing. You will notice that it took more than two weeks after filing for anyone to notice though.

See, that's the problem here. Peter Letterese and the Scientologists have been battling for a long time, but the essence of their battles is about money he feels he is owed through his business dealings with the church. Plus, he generally gets his ass kicked by them because he does most of it on his own.

With a lawsuit this big, there should have been press at the courthouse when he filed it, and a news conference. You could have brought out a bunch of people who had gripes, valid or not against the church and given the news people sound bytes. He didn't though. So, in the intervening two weeks, the COS already has everything in place and the guy looks like an idiot.

So, although I am thrilled the COS is going to have to spend some dough defending against this and will face some negative publicity, in the long run it is the wrong guy and won't do any good. I think the strategy is good, but need a different person leading the point. I actually think the way to go is through the California Department Of Labor, and then file a suit after you have exhausted your remedies through them. If all the stories reported on all the forums are true, to me that is the most effective way to make a claim and also the most financially devastating in the near and long term because it would eliminate any unpaid labor in the future and thus raise the overhead of the church to astronomical levels.

Jessica, Jessica, Jessica

So, again here I am discussing Jessica Simpson. I didn't want to, but this time felt like I needed to. In an interview she gives to Elle this month Jessica was asked if she had ever been physically abused because there is a song on her new CD called Remember That which deals with abuse.

This is what Jessica had to say: "I don't want to talk about it, but I have definitely experienced abuse in a way that I would tell people to take their heart and run."

Here is the relevant portion of the song:

"It doesn't matter how he hurts you / With his hands or with his words / You don't deserve it / It ain't worth it / Take your heart and run."

Here is what ticks me off about this. First of all you should know by now that I have a zero tolerance policy when it comes towards any abuse whether physical or verbal or mental towards any person, man or woman except for Joe Francis.

When you read the quote it sounds as if Jessica sat around and opened her heart and wrote this song about her experience. Problem is that according to ASCAP at least, Jessica Simpson doesn't have a writing credit for this song which means she didn't even contribute one word or thought to it.

Then when asked about abuse she just waffles. The way she answered the question says to me it could have been a guy at Starbucks who used whole milk instead of soy. I think her answer and the way she is trying to imply that she wrote the song because she had been abused does a disservice to the millions of men and women who are abused in their relationships.

To me being evasive is the worst thing she can do here. People look to her for guidance. I know, I know, but they do. So, she could have said, "I haven't been abused in my relationships but so many people have and I hope they will listen to this song and take its message to heart and get help or just get out."

See. Simple. Kind of like her. Now, people will assume she has been physically abused when she is not actually saying she was. People will then start looking at all of her relationships and accusing those people. She needs to clarify what she was talking about or not talking about because people are going to start wondering who she is referring to and then those people are going to be under a cloud of suspicion. Publicity is one thing, this is another.

DNfromMN - Move Review - Swing Vote

SWING VOTE
Release Date: 8/1/08

The Story: In the closest election in history, Bud Johnson’s (Kevin Costner) vote didn’t count. He alone will determine the results of the election. The problem is that he barely even knows who’s running (Kelsey Grammar and Dennis Hopper).

Kevin Costner may be an ass in real life, but he’s one of those engaging movie stars that I find charming. If you can’t stand Kevin Costner, you won’t like Swing Vote. He kind of phones it in here, playing a down-on-his-luck alcoholic redneck.

Madeline Carroll (Bud’s 10 year-old daughter) is the highlight of the movie. While she’s as engaging as Abigail Breslin, she probably won’t be nominated for an Oscar®. As the parent in this father/daughter relationship, she keeps you interested and makes you want to kick Bud in the face for neglecting to take care of this really bright kid.

I’m sure the producer’s sell line for this movie was: EdTV meets Wag the Dog, down to the stars and their cameos (Mare Winningham’s short bit as Bud’s ex-wife is heartbreaking, but somehow out of step with the rest of the movie). While it’s better than EdTV, I still think that Wag the Dog is a more prescient and forward-looking film than SV.

Paula Patton plays the local reporter who breaks the story, and she does a great job with kind of a boring role. Gorgeous woman.

Probably the highlights of this film are the lengths to which the candidates go to curry Bud’s favor. There are a couple of these, but I laughed in horror, and then in general amusement at the playground commercial. Ooh, looky what we have here… it’s on YouTube.




What It’s Worth: $9.00, essentially a full price ticket. I was entertained throughout, and I think its sense of humor is enough to make people laugh from both sides of the political spectrum, as well as people who have no interest in politics at all. I’m not going to give it a ticket plus popcorn, just because it is a little fluffy despite its content.

Lainey Blind Item

You’d think they’d be liquid, you know? Flush from the funds of so many different projects, across so many different mediums, by so many different sources.

But that’s the thing with celebrities. They’re richer than we are, to be sure, but some of them really aren’t THAT rich, especially when you factor in the lifestyle. Being not that rich isn’t a problem. Being not that rich and not paying your bills is a big problem. Being not that rich, not paying your bills, but still spending your balls off is a huge problem.

So they have projects around the house. Some construction here, some wiring there, installations, renovations...it never stops. It never stops because they keep having to hire new people. Inevitably the invoice will arrive, they won’t be able to pay it, so they end up calling someone else to finish the job. They don’t pay those people either.

How f&cking ghetto, non???

Like people who keep taking out credit card after credit card? Only these assholes are wealthy! They have jobs! They earn celebrity salaries!

Which means they’re too stupid to manage their finances and too cheap to figure out their finances before satisfying their non-urgent, vanity-motivated projects at the expense, literally, of labourers and small business owners who trusted the wrong millionaires.

Slowly but surely, they’ve pretty much exhausted the entire contracting community in town, verging on blacklist, and are now several hundred thousand dollars in the hole to several companies in Hollywood. Word is they’re facing legal action, and even a lien on their property...

Probably the reason behind the new round of exploitation. They need the cash.

But do we still care?

A few years ago, before everyone and their eyebrow stylist had a reality show, it was a novel concept. Now? Now they’re totally almost irrelevant – the proof in that lies in a deal one of them tried to strike with the paps recently.

She needed cash so badly, she arranged for some “candids” in exchange for a few quid. Unfortunately her images weren’t selling and the photographers cut her off.

Shame!

Word is, even Phoebe Price out-earns her...

In this economy, how will they ever recover?