I mean, I knew she had drug problems, but damn. Whitney was only 48. And now she's dead? Michael, Amy, now Whitney, all these super talented artists. Someone better tell me Prince is okay. I just watched Madonna on the Super Bowl, so I know she's alright.
I wore Whitney's debut album out.
I heard nothing but great things about her upcoming role in Sparkle. I was excited to see Whitney make her great comeback. I was just talking about the movie to one of the producers. Salim Akil, who directed Jumping The Broom, also directed Sparkle. It's a freaking shame.
Yes, Whitney was known more for pop music, but the woman had an incredible voice. A talent like hers is rare, so rare. I do think it's a gift.
She grew up singing gospel and soul music. Whitney was influenced by her mom, singer Cissy Houston, her cousin Dionne Warwick, and her godmother Aretha Franklin.
Whitney was one of the world's best-selling music artists. She broke many records and like Michael Jackson was one of the few black artists to "cross over" in the early days of MTV.
She was also a mom, model, and actress.
One of my favorite Whitney tracks is from her second album. Produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez, it was the JAM.
As a football fan, this was a great Super Bowl, better than those boring blowout Super Bowls.
As a Giants fan, it was way too stressful. The last two minutes were unreal. It was 4:30 a.m. when the game ended so I tried to keep my yelling to a minimum. It was not easy.
I am so proud of the Giants.
They did not start the season well. Everyone thought the Packers would destroy them during the playoffs. People keep underestimating Eli despite him being named Super Bowl MVP twice.
This team has some great younger players, like Nicks, Cruz. I'm excited for the future.
Watching the game in Italian (primo down! il fumble! Mamma Mia, il sack!) was priceless.
Madonna's entrance was fantastic. That is how you do a half-time show. The next person talking smack about her age needs to STFU. She's 53 and more entertaining than "stars" half her age. I didn't see this amount of snark when men who were older than Madonna performed during half-time. That said, I'm not loving her new song. Maybe it will grow on me.
Don Cornelius started the show Soul Train in 1970. It ran for over 35 years.
This week Don committed suicide. According to news reports he was very ill and in a lot of pain. His son found the body.
As a kid I watched American Bandstand and Soul Train every Saturday morning.
I do remember seeing Elton's performance in 1975. One of my favorite songs.
Okay the shoes on the first guy dancing in the clip below, look like something Lady Gaga would wear today. Every time I hear this song I think of "Pulp Fiction."
The Commodores used to be funky back in the day. I miss this kind of music.
I might have seen this episode during the height of my "I'm going to marry Michael Jackson when I get older" mania.
Wishing everyone, peace, love, and soooooooooul this weekend. RIP DC.
Our film, Jumping The Broom, was nominated for six including, Outstanding Actor, Outstanding Actress, Outstanding Motion Picture, and Outstanding Writing For A Motion Picture.
The general membership (or as Hollywood folks would say, civilians) will vote and the winners will be announced on February 17th. These awards cover film, TV, books, and music.
The show will be broadcast live on NBC at 8:00 p.m. EST. I wonder if Angelina will be there. She's nominated for her directorial debut.
HERE is a complete list of nominees from TheHollywood Reporter.
I get it. I know that in America 2/3 of our GNP is from consumer spending. We used to be a country that made things, now we buy things.
Trust me, if I had a million dollars, I would do my part to help generate the economy. Still, something about stores opening on Thanksgiving Day seems wrong to me.
When I heard Heavy D died last week from pneumonia at 44, I couldn't believe it.
Dwight Arrington Meyers was born in Jamaica (Caribbean represent!) and raised in the NYC suburb of Mount Vernon. He was very popular in the late '80s and the '90s.
Not only was he a successful rapper, he played a big role behind the scenes as well. As President of Uptown Records he hired a young Sean "Puff" Combs as an intern and guided the early career of Mary J. Blige. He collaborated on too many hits to list. Like Janet Jackson's "Alright" and the theme song to "In Living Color." He was also an actor.
Here's one of my favorites from 1989. Man, most rap was so innocent back then. You had your fun/party rap and your more political/social conscious rap like P.E., instead of the sexist super materialistic crap that dominates hip-hop now.
This video cracks me up. Check out the high-top fade haircuts and Al B. Sure!
Last night I walked over to Palazzo Grazioli (the PM's residence in Rome) with my friend Max. Max lives in L.A. but is studying in Florence for a semester.
The energy was electric and joyous. On the news there was a clip of a choir singing "Hallelujah".
I can't believe he actually resigned. It's ironic that the financial markets were responsible for his downfall, not all his scandals, not the opposition, not his low approval ratings (below 25%), or the power struggles within his coalition.
As he left Grazioli, the crowd booed and people yelled, "Shame!"
Who knows what the post Berlusconi era will look like. He's left the country in a huge mess. I think Ari Gold from "Entourage" sums up how I felt about Silvo B. (NSFW)
Saturday night two of my favorite people in Rome, Katie Parla and Hande Leimer, hosted a wine tasting focusing on the Lazio region at the enoteca Il Bacocco in Trastevere.
The proceeds from the evening went to the food rescue charity A Chi Serve.
Saturday was a surreal day. The peaceful Occupy Rome protest turned violent once the Black Bloc showed up. The self-proclaimed anarchists have done this before. They hijack organized peaceful protests and then proceed to burn and break anything they can get their hands on.
The area around San Giovanni looks like a war zone. The cost of the damage is over 1.5 million euros. This is money that could be used for something else, especially during a budget crisis.
Despite the mayhem, there was a strong turnout.
Sommelier Hande gave a great presentation about the two wines we tasted, one white, one red. They went very well with the various cheeses and salami. Vincenzo Mancino of DOL-Di Origine Laziale donated the food. I must check out his store. I'm still thinking about the goat cheese.
We drank Marco Carpineti’s “Capolemole” Cori Bianco and L’Olivella’s “Quaranta/Sesanta” Rosso Lazio IGT.
Katie's excellent (and more detailed) post about the event is HERE. She has links to all the places that helped make Saturday a special evening. I hope Hande and Katie will organize more events like this in the future.
No, the passing of time does not make the events of that day less horrible.
I will never forget that day.
I will never forget calling my friend and finding out his twin was missing. He was about to celebrate his one year wedding anniversary. My mind blanked. I forgot Nigel worked for Cantor Fitzgerald. He was in the first tower.
HERE is an article about Nigel and other UK victims.
I was working out next to a lit manager on a treadmill at a gym in Hollywood when the towers crumbled. I burst into tears. I couldn't believe my eyes. Later, at the office we were trying to reach our relatives, friends and co-workers in NYC. Our boss told us to go home. The company was based in Brooklyn.
I took the NJ PATH train into those towers everyday for years. My dad worked in the towers years ago when they were being built.
From the roof deck of an old apartment, I could see the towers.
Then when I moved to 22nd and 2nd in the city, the towers were a compass. You could never get lost (well, outside the confusing non-grid streets of the West Village) if you could see the towers. You always knew where Downtown was.
I was born in NYC. Many of my closest friends live there. I grew up in the suburbs of New Jersey. Most of the people in my town commuted to NYC. I think about all the children whose parents never came home. Their cars sitting at the stations.
I feel like everything changed in America after the attacks. Certain political leaders lied and we ended up in a war we had no business being in. Saddam had NOTHING to do with 9/11. Was he a dictator? Did he need to go? Yes, but we should have been focusing on Afghanistan, but they don't have oil.
President Bush received a briefing in late September that said there was no connection between Saddam and the terrorists. Yet, Cheney still went on news shows saying there was.
When GWB said during his infamous press conference that either people were with us or with the terrorists, it was a sad day for American diplomacy.
After the attacks, the world was with us. There were victims from over ninety countries on that day. He went ahead and attacked Iraq despite the concerns from many of our closest allies and the UN.
When some Republican congressmen decided to change the name of French Fries in the Congressional dining hall to "Freedom Fries", I was horrified. How immature. These were grown ass men. What was happening to my country?
Also, cutting taxes to the rich while engaged in two wars was stupid. Our country will be paying for the mistakes of the early/mid 00s for decades.
Post 9/11, things in America still seem very "unsettled" to me. I hate the direction my country is going in. The disparity between wealthy and poor is the greatest in the Western world. This is not good. Our infant mortality rates are unacceptable.
I have never seen such partisan politics before. The influence of the radical fundamentalists in the Republican party freaks me out. Where are the moderates? The Republicans I grew up with were not crazy.
That there are people running for President who do not believe in the separation of church and state is a problem. If I hear any of those fools talk about 9/11, I will scream. They hate NY and say the "cultural elite" are not real Americans. Then they have to gall to use that day to wave the American flag and talk about patriotism.
Did any of them lose a friend or family member that day? How dare they talk out of both sides of their mouth. I am dreading next year's election. It's going to be ugly.
Enough of this gloom and doom. True, NYC can be big pain in the butt. It's not an easy place to live. The pace, it's expensive, the surliness of some of its residents... it's a grind sometimes.
But I love NYC, even when I don't. Always have, always will.
The opening credits to Woody Allen's MANHATTAN. Those cowards who thought their actions would destroy my city were mistaken. I'm grateful to all the heroes who tried to rescue people, help people, and comfort people that day.
Shot on Via del Corso. I'm very curious to see how the clothes in this store will differ from the clothes Stateside. The cuts will definitely have to be smaller. Baggy/loose clothes are not popular here. Even hip-hop loving teenagers don't do baggy.
The last few times I've been in the GAP (at the Grove or Century City in L.A.) were disappointing. The GAP used to be the place to get good, well made basics at decent prices. Now, it's maybe one step above Forever 21. The clothes look and feel cheap. What the heck happened? That said, GAP BODY is fantastic. They have the best cotton underwear, PJs, etc.
UPDATE: A friend just Tweeted me to say, the GAP opened on Sunday. The cuts are smaller. She bought eleven shirts. Clothes were made in Turkey and Egypt instead of Vietnam.
I saw her once at the Soho Grand in NYC. She was so petite. A big voice and talent is gone at only 27. Sad.
I was watching CNN Int'l. They interrupted the program with breaking news. I thought it was going to be more news about Norway. When they announced Amy was dead, I couldn't believe it. I read she had been struggling lately. I was hoping she would make it.
Everyday it seems there's another layer to this NEW OF THE WORLD phone hacking scandal.
Now the whistleblower, Sean Hoare, was found dead yesterday. At this point, his death is unexplained, but not suspicious. Strange timing.
The head of the Metropolitan Police just stepped down.
Meanwhile, there are rumblings about a phone hacking scandal regarding 9/11 victims in America. Murdoch's News Corp stock has hit a six month low.
It's incredible that at this late age Rupert Murdoch finds himself in this situation. What did he know? Did his son or Rebekah Brooks know about/encourage the hacking?
I have a deadline, so not sure how much I will be able to see of their testimony today in front of Parliament.
I want to know who was the reporter or reporters who hacked into Milly Dowler's phone. Why would they do such a thing? That's low, even for a tabloid.
I wish my friends in Los Angeles a lot of luck this weekend dealing with Carmageddon.
The 405 is a nightmare even during the best of circumstances. I cannot imagine what the traffic on the Westside is going to be like this weekend when parts of the 405 are shut down in order to demolish the Mulholland Bridge.
I liked the movie SPEED (aka DIE HARD on a bus) when it came out in 1994. One thing that made me laugh was all my Los Angeles friends saying there was no way anyone would be able to drive about 50 mph in L.A. traffic.
Compared to my classmates at H.B. Whitehorne Middle School and then Verona High School in Verona, NJ, I was not the biggest Springsteen fan. I don't know all the lyrics to all his songs.
I did spend many an afternoon trying to learn Clarence Clemons's tenor sax solo in this song.
Back in the day some crazy Jersey politicians wanted to make "Born To Run" the office state song. Hello, did they not listen to the lyrics?
Every time I hear this song, I get chills. It's so f-king Jersey!
Good-bye Mr. Clemons. Some of the youngins may only know you as that guy who played sax with Lady Gaga. But for us folks who grew up in Jersey in the '80s, you will always be The Big Man.
Really, how difficult is it to notice a film that was covered all over the mainstream press after its big opening weekend?
This is not about slamming SOMETHING BORROWED and I really enjoyed BRIDEMAIDS, but how can the producer of this segment ignore JTB during this segment? WTF?! I mean, is it because we didn't have any shoot out set pieces, or because it doesn't take place in the 'hood or there wasn't a black man dressed up as big, fat, sassy black woman?
Stuff like this drives me crazy. Note to CBS Early Morning Show producers, I know that make up of the cast might have thrown you for a loop, but the film is "crossing over". Even if it didn't, it's still a major studio release and should have been included.
They had so many clips/mentioned older films about weddings. You're telling me the producer never heard of THE BEST MAN, MONSOON WEDDING or Ang Lee's THE WEDDING BANQUET? Isn't that part of a research department's job?
I doubt Good Morning America would make the same mistake.
