Set Your Clocks And Calendars

I'm not an early riser, but thankfully millions of Americans who live on the East Coast of the United States are. Hopefully some of them watch the Today show and also love uploading videos to YouTube. That way, the rest of the country can sleep in, but can later tune in, to what promises to be about the best five minutes of television in the whole damn history of the world.

Paula Abdul is going to perform live on the Today Show on Friday April 25th. I want to emphasize that she will be performing live, with no backing track, AND will have to be awakened by about 4am to start slathering on all that makeup she is going to need to wear for an early morning appearance.

This is like the perfect storm of television appearances. The only thing that would be better is if she tied one on the night before and just got absolutely hammered. I don't know who suggested this idea to Paula, but I will be happy to buy them dinner. I also don't know which of Paula's people thought this would be a great idea. Did they watch that pre-recorded SuperBowl video with the million takes to get it right? This is live. Live I tell you and in the early morning hours. Singing live and early mornings are not a combination that Paula Abdul should ever embrace. But, she has, and to whoever made it possible, I say Thank You.

The Results Are In - Nicole Richie Wins

So how did the Jennifer Lopez baby pictures do? Depends on who you ask. As you will recall, People normally sells 1.4M issues of their magazine each week. The Christina Aguilera issue sold 1.3M copies while the Nicole Richie issue sold 1.8M copies. According to AMI, which is a company that owns many tabloids says the issue sold 3M copies, but actual supermarket data which is similar to soundscan, says the issue only sold about 2M copies. Lets split the difference and say it was 2.5M copies. At $4 per copy, an extra million copies sold would equal an extra $4M to People. They paid $6M for the photos and so lost $2M as well as more of whatever self respect they had left. Now, the talk is that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's new baby photos are going to sell for $10M.

I don't have a problem with Brad and Angie getting the money. The main reason is instead of trying to profit from having a baby as most stars are now, they will probably donate every penny to charity. I can't imagine any magazine selling enough copies to make a profit on the issue, but at least they can say they were helping it go to a good cause. Much better than giving it to Marc and Jennifer so they can buy more $50,000 furnishings for their nursery.

Oh, to give you an example of what was considered outrageous back in the day, Barry Levine who works for the Enquirer paid $100,000 to Lisa Marie Presley back in 1989 for photos of her baby. At the time it was the most ever paid for baby photos.

Why Go To A Restauarnt?

Lindsay Lohan went with friends to Nobu Tuesday night. Before going in she smoked a cigarette. She went in and sat down. She ordered some water. She got up and went outside and smoked a cigarette. She came back in, started text messaging and ordered one roll. She then went outside and smoked a cigarette and kept text messaging. She came back in and had one bite of food while she kept texting. Went back outside for a cigarette. No texting. Went back in, and paid only for what she ordered, (way to save that money) and left with her friends in tow. Total time at restaurant was about 45 minutes.

Hell of a dinner companion isn't she?

"Clubbing Is Not My Scene"

Who the f**k talks like that? Apparently Zac Efron does. He was quoted in an interview as saying, "I don't find myself drawn to that scene. I think acting is a tradition that far predates celebrity and, today, the two are just meshing. It's not even that I've made a conscious decision not to party. I don't think clubbing is a choice you make. You can have fun with friends without being part of that scene."

I think clubbing is a choice you make. You either say I am going clubbing or I am staying home. That is a choice. Does he think that some magic club Gods come down and choose who is going to go clubbing and who isn't, and that it is predestined or something.

I think the fact that he is 20 and not able to get drunk off his ass publicly without pissing off Disney is what is keeping him out of clubs. When his ass turns legal in August, I know he will start showing up drunk at clubs and being just as obnoxious as everyone else. Right now he is just doing things and people in the privacy of his own home.

I would have respected him much more if he had just said, "I can't go to clubs. I'm not legal." But to come across as this aloof guy with some kind of zen like attitude about clubs and the whole process of clubbing and the historical age of acting just sounds like someone who has spent too much time doing shrooms and big ass bongs and thinking he is better than the rest of us.

When he was asked about Vanessa Hudgens he said, "I don't want to be another 20-year-old actor talking about my relationship. I want to keep that private - sorry. All I can say is that Vanessa's a great girl. And I'd hate to say more about it because by the time this interview comes out, it may or may or may not be relevant."

So, Vanessa is a great girl. So is my cousin and the 80 year old woman I call mom. Not a lot of emotion in his answer, and the reason it may or not may be relevant is because Zac boy doesn't want to be caught in some type of lie down the road that he would have to explain. I wish he would have gone into greater detail about that "appendix" operation. Funny how those kinds of things happen just sitting at home doing nothing but being with friends and quietly discussing the greats who have played Richard III.

You Would Think Someone Would Notice A Suicide Or Two During Testing

I know this is a gossip blog, but it is also my blog, and so I can do pretty much whatever the hell I want. I had just finished the story about the NY subway worker who has a rags to riches screenwriting story and you can read about that here.

After reading that story I had a smile on my face, and was genuinely happy for the guy, and then another story caught my eye. Apparently the FDA is investigating the drug Singulair which is made by Merck to treat "stuffy noses, sneezing, and other allergy symptoms as well as asthma."

Why is the FDA investigating? Well it seems when you have a stuff nose and take Singulair, one of the side effects is that you get suicidal thoughts. WTF? Look I get allergies sometimes, but I would much rather just be f**king miserable for a few weeks, rather than take some pill which will only work for a few hours on the allergy, but might leave me dead before it wears off.

How did someone not discover this before the drug was approved? Did they test the drug in a mental hospital and so no one noticed if the suicide rate went up while it was being tested? Someone must have noticed somewhere. After the drug hit the markets, and after Merck became aware they were probably going to get their asses sued on a fairly regular basis, they added this list of side effects to the label: risk of tremors, depression, anxiousness and suicidal behavior.

I can hear the television commercial now. A really kind female voice is talking in the background while a couple are enjoying a hike through the forest. "Although side effects are rare, they may include rashes, red skin, tremors, depression, anxiousness, or a desire to kill yourself. Notify your doctor if any of these occur. Of course should you kill yourself before you can get an appointment with your doctor, then at least you won't be suffering from allergies."

The FDA is also reviewing Accolate and Zyflo, but has not determined if they make you want to kill yourself or not. I thought the idea was that they were supposed to do all this reviewing and testing BEFORE people started taking it.

DNfromMN - Movie Review - Flawless

FLAWLESS

Release Date 3/28/08

The Story: 1960s London, Demi Moore (Laura) is the only female executive at the London Diamond exchange, who continues to be passed over for promotions. Michael Caine (Mr. Hobbs) is the night janitor on the verge of retirement. Both are looking for a little financial security, and decide to rob the vault of just enough to keep them both comfortable for life, but not enough to be noticed missing. But things don’t go according to plan.

So this is almost the exact same plot as that Katie Holmes/Diane Keaton/Queen Latifah movie “Mad Money” that came out in January. So having seen both, it’s hard for me to not compare the two. Mad Money is something that entertained me for 90 minutes, and then I was able to forget it. Flawless stuck with me through to this morning at least. And part of me wants to see it again to see if I can catch the things they hinted at me missing.Demi Moore is good as usual. There won’t be any awards for her performance; despite some age make-up in the bookend segments as she tells her story to a modern young woman writing a story on women leaders in the 1950s. The only gripe I had is that her character is described as an American woman who went to Oxford, and she slips in and out of a mild British accent.

Michael Caine is still a charmer. And I can’t imagine Mr. Hobbs being played by anyone else. He’s prickly and quick and really a winner. As smart as he is, you wonder why he’s stayed being the janitor for 15 years.Unlike “21” which had no tension, Flawless keeps you engaged with the characters and you feel apprehension when they’re almost caught in setting up their plan or when plans are forced to change.

Not to say Flawless is flawless. There are lots of events that occur that are pure luck, and kind of plot holes. I was able to get over them, some people won’t.

What it’s Worth: $9.00 easy. In my opinion, it’s enjoyable and it’s worth spending a full price ticket on. It’s not exactly a popcorn movie, so it doesn’t get the extra money. Nor would I say it’s a “must see”, just one that if you’re planning on hitting a flick this weekend, this one would be worth your hard earned cash.

When Did He Find Time To Work?

The NY Post is reporting that former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer didn't just hang out with the brunette Ashley Dupre. Turns out Spitzer liked another escort agency just as much if not more. Yesterday, authorities in New York arrested Kristin Davis (I know. That would be really cool, but not her) who is a New York madam who ran a string of about 100 women, but personally took care of Spitzer. I wonder if she charged him or if he just made sure they never got busted. Kind of unusual for the madam to do the deed like that.

The madam used to work at a hedge fun, but instead started working as a madam and claimed she made $2M last year pimping out the ladies. No word on whether there were any man whores. She has allegedly been servicing Spitzer since 2003 or 2004, and has a black book containing 10,000 names. At $1,000 an hour for her hookers, those 10,000 people probably are people we know. Even prior to her arrest, Kristin has been trying to get a book or film deal. She also says that she is very willing to name names, which is why she may have had some advance warning before the cops came knocking. She was probably about an hour away from destroying everything and disappearing. She had already moved much of her money, and made arrangements to get the hell out of town which is why bail was set at $2M. That is a higher bail amount than many cases involving death, armed robbery, rape, sexual assault and child molestation.

Daily Mirror Blind Item

Which famous playboy is in a fair bit of trouble after sleeping with a married woman? The scorned husband is now threatening to beat - and permanently maim - the lover.