Lindsay Lohan is 26 years old. That’s not very old to be be a joke. It’s not very old to be a train wreck. Not very old to be charged with 2 DUIs, misdemeaner cocaine use, theft, parole violation, third degree assault, reckless driving and providing false information to a police officer. Not very old to plead no contest to theft and parole violation. And it’s not very old to be an alumni of the Betty Ford Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center.
She is the poster child for troubled and drug addicted movie stars. She comes by it honestly. Her mother is an alcoholic. Her father an alcoholic and cocaine addict. When Lindsay was 3 she was a fashion model. When she was 10 she was a soap opera actress. When she was 11 she was a movie star. She has been a cash cow for her family since she was very little. That can be confusing for a child. Childhood is when you are supposed to be discovering who you are. It’s a time to feel safe and taken care of, a time to discover what you like and how you feel and what you think about the world. It’s not a time to be worrying where your next job is coming from and how much money are you making and is it enough? When Lindsay was 3 her parents separated, and they would reunite and separate several more times before they would divorce. Her father is a wall street trader who has been convicted of criminal contempt of court and sentenced to 3 years in prison. He has also been convicted of DUI and domestic violence.
Her mother produced a reality show called Living Lohan in 2008 which she starred in with her 15 year old daughter, Ali. She brought a camera crew from Entertainment Tonight along when she visited Lindsay in rehab, much to Lindsay’s chagrin. A child needs to feel valued by her parents for herself. When a child is valued for her fame, she can be forgiven for wondering if she would be valued if she weren’t famous. And thinking that the answer would be no.
I know. Lindsay is an adult. When you’re an adult, you’re supposed to take responsibility for your life no matter how dysfunctional your family is. The truth is, that’s hard to do when you live in a goldfish bowl. It’s hard to unlearn behaviors you’ve been surrounded with since you were a child. The best thing I could wish for Lindsay is that the media leave her the hell alone. I know. It’s not going to happen. But wouldn’t it be nice if they would temper their snarky coverage of her with a little compassion? Guess it doesn’t sell many papers.
Okay, so last week I talked about The Walking Dead and all its glory, but now I must give mention to my true TV guilty pleasure and that is the uncompromising Shonda Rhimes’ tv creation, Scandal.
The show is celebrating its 1 year anniversary today, April 5, 2013 and has attracted quite a bit of a cult-like following.
Why are so many flocking to this show?
Well, one big reason revolves around a small, little word:
Olitz
And if you’re a fan of this show, then you already know what that means, but let me digress for a bit and give you a bit of a backdrop on this crazy mayhem of a TV show.
Scandal is featured in Washington, DC where politics leads itself to some simple, complicated, and veering all the way to the absolutely bizarre and insane happenings of a scandal.
People who wake up one day and find themselves in a mess they could never venture out of without a media catastrophe occurring to completely ruin their elitist careers.
This is where Olivia Pope, played by the illustrious Kerry Washington, and her team of Pope & Associates (Gladiators in Suits) come in to ‘fix’ the situation and manage a crisis that has gone unhinged. Most weeks we get to view a scandal that Olivia Pope and her team rescues with leaving the clientele as unscathed as possible (sometimes, not always) that often include some twisty turns to keep you guessing until the end.
Yet, the bigger storyline that has everyone on pins and needles is the story that revolves around Olitz. Yes, Olitz. You see, Olivia Pope once was a White House Communications Director before forming her crisis management team. A position that had her working very closely with the current President Fitzgerald Grant(Tony Goldwyn). A man who captured her heart while helping his campaign and run for presidency.
As you may have already guessed, the two developed a striking tortured love saga that becomes quite the messy triangle due to the fact that the President is of course married to Mellie (Bellamy Young) with children. Granted his marriage is more of a business, political arrangement with no love lost between the two, and Mellie will stop at nothing to remain in political power and that includes tolerating an illicit affair of her husband with a woman she hates.
And as Ewww as the affair sounds when written, it is this relationship between Olivia and Fitz that has everyone tuning in wondering what will happen next with those two and the crazy world they both have to manage with no consolation. From the first episode that we meet Olitz, the two characters express a chemistry (HOT!) that is rarely captured on a television show and people are mesmerized by it. It also helps that creator and writer of the show, Shonda Rhimes, delivers these awesome roller coaster rides as we go through scandals that pepper not only Olivia Pope and her team, but just the worlds of all those involved with Olivia and the President.
This show is not for everyone. You really have to take a bit of your own personal morality out of the picture when watching this because no character is purely black or white. They all have various shades of grey that they must accept which makes this show fascinating as there is no real Good Guy. Just a bunch of people trying to do a little bit of good, if it allows, to save the day.
This show has it all and with a strong cast like Jeff Perry who plays Cyrus, (the President’s right-hand man), Joshua Malina as David Rosen, (the US attorney always losing out to Olivia Pope), and the remaining team of Pope & Associates that really help to bring home a deliciously scandalous viewing pleasure.
One of the most well-known movie critics of all time has lost his battle with cancer today, April, 4, 2013 at the age of 70.
Two days ago, Tuesday, April 2, 2013 Roger Ebert reported that he was “taking a leave of presence” in order to undergo radiation treatments for cancer that was discovered due to a hip fracture.
Roger Ebert, born June 18, 1942, had suffered a long hard battle with thyroid and salivary gland cancer. He was first diagnosed in 2002 with papillary thyroid cancer and then later in 2003 for cancer in his salivary glands where he underwent several surgeries that were deemed successful at the time. Unfortunately, several years later in 2006, he had surgery to remove part of his jaw bone in order to remove more cancerous tissue found.
Since 2006, Roger Ebert has underwent several medical complications and future surgeries that slowed his progress, but never deterred him from continuing his work as a movie critic and reviewer.
Roger Ebert was well known for his Siskel and Ebert tv shows and his movie critiques featured in Chicago Sun-Times, and he was also the first film critic to receive a Pulitzer Prize and be awarded a Hollywood Walk of Fame star.
I grew up watching the Siskel and Ebert shows and his passion and love for a great movie will certainly be missed.
R.I.P. Roger Ebert (June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013)
Branden Lee is a blogger, screenwriter, producer, and actor, currently residing in Boston, MA. Follow Branden on Twitter @Brandeness and check out Branden’s blog .
Retired actress is claiming the spottings of a disheveled crazy looking Amanda Bynes, that’s been spotten around NYC aren’t really her.
DListed reports Amanda tweeted “I have the blondest hair ever!” since the alleged doppelganger has red hair
Because of Amanda’s constant erratic tweets and strange behavior, many assume that’s she’s spiraling out of control.
Claiming she has someone out there pretending to be her could be true, since celebrities do have impersonators all the time, but it also could be another sign of her acting deranged.
Hopefully the identity thief is apprehended or Amanda Bynes starts getting the help she needs.
Branden Lee is a blogger, screenwriter, producer, and actor, currently residing in Boston, MA. Follow Branden on Twitter @Brandeness and check out Branden’s blog .
Some of the best shows are currently being distributed online. Many up and coming screenwriters, producers, directors, actors, etc… are getting their work out there by creating and starring in webseries. As a TV junkie, and screenwriter/producer/actor myself, I’m always looking for something new to watch, and discovering other talented artists out there. Webseries give these filmmakers the freedom to distribute their content for all to u see. Using sites such as Kickstarter, and other fundraising venues, budget raising is becoming so much easier and more accessible. There are tons of talented people out there, whose work has yet to be discovered by the mainstream. Webseries give these may talented artists the chance to be discovered and entertain the masses.
Here are just of few of my favorite webseries that are definitely worth watching.
1. The Most Popular Girls in School
The Most Popular Girls in School is my favorite webseries discovery. The show revolves around the rivalry of the cheer quad and the Van Buren sisters, with many other hilarious characters in between, fighting to be the most popular in Overland Park, Kansas. The series is outrageously funny, superficial, campy, ridiculous, and I would probably watch every single episode every single day if I had the time. The Most Popular Girls in School began airing in 2012, and gained much of it’s popularity through the extremely quotable gifs made of the characters on Tumblr. The series is told using Barbies instead of real people, which makes it even better. Personally, I love everything that uses Barbies. The Most Popular Girls in School began airing episodes for it’s second season last month, but all episodes are available on the show’s YouTube account.
2. The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl
The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl revolves around J, who’s an awkward black girl. The show follows J and her life struggles, including a job she hates and her hilariously annoying coworkers who she can’t stand. J must also deal with her dating life, and lack their of, and delves into her first experience of interracial dating. Awkward Black Girl is wildly hilarious and extremely relatable. Even if you’re not awkward, black, or a girl, it’s impossible to not laugh out loud to this program. It’s extremely entertaining. All episodes are available on YouTube.
3. Hunting Season
Hunting Season is the Logo Channel’s first official commissioned webseries. Hunting Season revolves around Alex, an aspring writer in NYC. The show follows Alex and his three best friends, and their trials and tribulations of being sexual young gay men in today’s day and age in New York City. It’s basically Sex and the City, but with young gay guys. Hunting Season may not seem that original in concept, but it’s a fantastic show. Dealing with so many issues gay men face in today’s dating world from online dating, clubbing, hookups, open relationships, etc… Hunting Season is definitely worth watching. All episodes are available for watching on the show’s website or the Logo website.
4. The Outs
The Outs also follows a group of young gay men, and a girl, and the ins and outs of their lives in NYC. Well more specifically Brooklyn. The Outs has proved to be extremely popular because of it’s more slow paced and realistic view of being young and gay, and having troubles dealing with breakups and moving on. Where many gay shows are complained about by depending on nudity and sex to get viewers, The Outs has proved that there’s more to gay storytelling than sex. The series does have it, but it’s not gratuitous or for shock value. The Outs is available for viewing on their website.
5. Where The Bears Are
Where The Bears Are also revolves around a group of gay men, but instead of being young, conventionally attractive, or in shape, this show focuses on the older, huskier, men in the gay community known as “bears”. Where The Bears Are revolves around 3 friends, who discover a dead body in their bathroom after a party at their place. The entire first season revolves around trying to solve the mystery of who murdered the man and their tub, but also delves into the characters personal lives. So if watching young in shape gays’ dating struggles doesn’t appeal to you, perhaps watching older chubbier gay men’s dating struggles will interest you. Plus it’s a murder mystery! Where The Bears Are is available for viewing on their website.
With most network shows ending their seasons before summer, now is the perfect time to discover plenty of other programs to add to your TV catalog to enjoy! Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
Branden Lee is a blogger, screenwriter, producer, and actor, currently residing in Boston, MA. Follow Branden on Twitter @Brandeness and check out Branden’s blog .
Game of Thrones, HBO’s hit epic fantasy magical medieval series, returned to TV for it’s 3rd season premiere on Sunday March 31. For those of you unfamiliar, Game of Thrones is based on the book series A Song of Fire & Ice by American author George R. R. Martin. Game of Thrones has something for everyone’s taste. Including romance, royalty, war, mystery, murder, zombies, and much much more.
The series focuses on the mythical land of Westeros and it’s several kingdoms, each with a prominent family with a stake and desire to claim the iron throne. Game of Thrones has tons of characters, so it would be impossible to not have a favorite, well multiple favorites. My top 3 favorite characters are…
1. Cersei Lannister (played by Lena Headey)
Ever since the first episode of Game of Thrones I knew Cersei would be my favorite. She’s the queen of the entire kingdom, and very deceptive and cunning. I can’t resist and evil queen. Cersei’s had an incestuous relationship with her twin brother Jaime, which resulted in her 3 children, unbeknownst to her (now deceased) husband King Robert Baratheon. Cersei also carries on an incestuous relationship with her younger cousin Lancel, whenever Jaime is away at battle. Her type is clearly men she’s related to. Cersei conspired with Lancel to slowly poison her husband King Robert, ultimately resulting in his death. Cersei’s eldest child, her teenage son Joffrey, is now the king. Cersei does love all of her children very much, though she’s lost control of Joffrey, who’s clearly a vindictive cowardly sociopath.
What I love most about Cersei, besides being an evil queen, is that she embodies power along with remarkable beauty. The position of queen may not yield as much power as the king, but Cersei always outwits, outlasts, and outplays her opponents. Cersei has her faults, such as being an overbearing mother, practicing incest, and secretly plotting to dispose of everyone new who enters her life. But Cersei’s a fantastic character, and my favorite in the entire Game of Thrones universe. Cersei’s gorgeous, evil, and the queen! Everything I love.
2. Melisandre (played by Carice van Houten)
Melisandre didn’t mak her Game of Thrones debute until season 2, but was an instant favorite of mine. Melisandre is the mistress of Stannis Baratheon, brother to the deceased King Robert, who is on a mission to reclaim the throne. Stannis hates that Joffrey, who’s not really his brother’s son and therefore not the rightful heir, is now the king. Stannis wants to reclaim the throne for the Baratheons. Melisandre is a red priestess with magical powers which allows her to be immune to poison, see the future in flames, and birth out shadow assassin creatures, which resemble Venom from the third Spider Man movie. One of these shadow creatures was used to murder Stannis’ own brother Renly, who also wanted to reclaim the throne in the Baratheon name, but since Stannis is the older brother he believed he should be king instead of Renly. Resulting in Renly’s demise. The desire for power in Game of Thrones leads families to turn on each other. Wives will murder their own husbands. Brothers will murder each other. No one is off limits when it comes to ruling over Westeros.
What I love about Melisandre is that every single person in Stannis’ life despises her and has warned him against her. Melisandre has used her seductive powers to have control over him, and even convert Stannis and his followers to her religion. I love a woman that can control a man. Also Melisandre’s a homewrecker, and I love mistresses. Stannis is very much a married man, who was known for his extremely moral behavior, until Melisandre came along. Melisandre also possesses magical powers. She can see the future, she burns people alive, and Melisdandre births shadow assassins from her vagina! She’s a seductive homewrecking sorceress, and that’s why I’m rooting for her.
3. Margaery Tyrell (played by Natalie Dormer)
Margaery also made her debut on Game of Thrones in season 2. Margaery started out as the wife of Renly Baratheon. Renly needed Margaery’s family’s money and army resources to help him stake his claim to the throne. Renly was carrying on a gay relationship with Magaery’s brother Loras, which she was very much aware of. Margaery didn’t care if she was going to be married to a gay man who was having sex with her brother, as long as she was to be queen. After Renly’s untimely death, Margaery needed a new plan to become queen. Now her family has aligned with the Lannisters, and Margaery’s engaged to Cersei Lannister’s son, King Joffrey. Margaery is definitely becoming a power player in season 3, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for her and her impending wedding to King Joffrey. I also am looking forward to the arrival of Margaery’s grandmother, Olenna Redwyne (played by Dame Diana Rigg) who I know will also quickly become one of my favorites.
Game of Thrones airs Sunday nights at 9pm on HBO. If you haven’t watched the first 2 seasons, hurry and catch up! The current season is surely going to be the best yet.
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past year, you’ve most likely heard of The Walking Dead, AMC’s zombie drama success, but the question is….
Have you been watching it??
Last night was Season’s 3 Season Finale and as usual after an hour of watching a Walking Dead episode, I am emotionally spent.
The Walking Dead is about, yes it’s true, zombies.
However, it’s a lot more than that. It really digs deep into the complex social, emotional, and physical relationships that develop once a sort of apocalypse world occurs. I had no interest in watching this show when it first began for the simple fact that it’s about Walkers (another name for zombies) and I just didn’t see the appeal. Yet, someone insisted I watch the show, so I gave the Pilot episode a chance and boy, did it deliver. One episode and I was hooked for life.
The actors on the show are top-notch and they make it easy to get caught up in this zombie flesh-eating world. Andrew Lincoln leads the cast as Rick while he successfully, and sometimes not, leads his group through survival in the new world. Unfortunately, not all of them have/will survive.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the show is that nothing and no one (including their life) is guaranteed. I have shed quite a few tears over the loss of some of my beloved characters, so please brace yourself for that.
The show also does an excellent job of addressing the ever-changing morality issue. In this new world, it’s either kill or be killed because either you kill or you die, or worse, you die and you kill.
So, how far will they go to survive? The show does a beautiful job of exploring this question and more.
We see people like Rick, our fearless leader, go through the emotional and mental struggles of remaining sane in a most illogical world and his fight to keep abreast in order to lead his new family to some sort of normalcy.
We also see that human conflict continues to exist as Rick’s group goes up against The Governor (our little anti-hero who took too many dips into the crazy pool) and his lovely people at Woodbury.
And no zombie show would be complete without some kick-ass mesmerizing Walker battle encounters with Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) leading the fray.
So, if you are one of the few who is still trying to decide if you should follow the masses and get caught up in this zombie-apocalypse creation, then the good news is that Season 4 doesn’t begin until October.
That gives you plenty of time to give this show a try and see what you’ve been missing!
I Am Not A Human Being II (IANAHB2) is the tenth album from the rapper Lil Wayne and was released this past Tuesday, March 26th, 2013. Thankfully through the wonders of iTunes I got myself a copy and have run through every track on there, which is a first for me regarding any Lil Wayne album.
A little background information first, I am not a big fan of Lil Wayne or any Young Money rapper, or even am I a big fan of any rap music in general. I do admit to having rap on my Ipod and it is enjoyable to listen to while driving at night, so I decided to give this album a try.
IANAHB 2 seems to be lost between Weezy’s past albums and what you’d find off his mixtapes. Throughout the album you find songs that seem to be experimental and stray from what you’re use to from Lil Wayne (“Hello” in particular is nothing what I would have expected), leftovers from previous albums (A remade “Hot Revolver” is on here), but also the same in your face, drug crazed, gangster loving Lil Wayne the world has gotten from his previous albums. The most memorable song on here is probably the most pleasant surprise (God Bless America) as it holds a lot deeper of a meaning I’ve ever heard come from Lil Wayne before.
Overall this isn’t Lil Wayne in his finest form, which is something you can expect from an album that doesn’t have the word “Carter” in it. While the songs seem to be off from what we’re use to from Lil Wayne along with some of his older songs recycled into here, it’s still something you’ll want to at least give it a listen to. As for me, I’ll be adding more rap music on my iTunes library and patiently waiting for “Tha Carter V”.
Dionne Warwick, the singer and actress who was a regular at the top of the Billboard chart for four decades, owes more than $10 million in back taxes and has only $10 left at the end of each month after paying expenses, according to a petition filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey last week.
The 72-year-old five-time Grammy Award winner, who lives in a 3,200-square-foot home in South Orange and won awards for songs like “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “That’s What Friends are For” and “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” pays $5,000 a month for housekeeping.
The East Orange native also pays $4,000 for a personal assistant and another $11,940 in other monthly expenses, the bankruptcy petition stated.
Warwick, who filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy Thursday, has $25,500 in assets and $10.7 million in liabilities, according to the court papers.
Among the valuables listed in her bankruptcy petition: Two fur coats and two sets of diamonds earrings that have a combined value of $13,000; gowns and everyday clothing worth $5,000; and artwork and paintings worth $5,000.
Warwick owes nine years of back taxes, totaling $7 million, to the federal government and $3 million to the state of California, according to the bankruptcy petition.
Kordell Stewart, former quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers, has filed for divorce from his wife, Porsha Stewart, who is a cast member of Real Housewives of Atlanta. The couple only started appearing on the reality show this season, which is still airing.
Viewers of The Real Housewives of Atlanta have seen Porsha, who is the granddaughter of civil rights activist Hosea Williams, live in practical total submission of her husband. Porsha’s storylines on the show have revolved around her and Kordell’s infertility issues, Porsha wanting to have a career conflicting with her husband wanting her to be a stay at home housewife, and Porsha’s constant need for her husband approval on all of her decisions. Porsha and Kordell’s marriage has been scrutinized from the beginning of their relationship.
Straight From The A details the many gay rumors that have plagued Kordell since he was in the NFL. Many speculate that Porsha was simply his beard to help end the gay speculation.
DListed reports Kordell filed the divorce papers on Friday March 22. The couple was married in May 2011 and share no children. No pre-nup was made, but Kordell allegedly doesn’t want to pay Porsha any spousal support. Since the couple have only been married for less than 2 years, it’s unlikely Porsha will get much if any spousal support/alimony.
Media Takeoutspeculates the couple is divorcing because Kordell no longer wanted to be a part of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, and told his wife she couldn’t appear on the show next season. Porsha reportedly refused her husband’s request and began contract negotiations for next season, leading her husband to divorce her.
Wet Paint profiles all of the many Real Housewives cast members from the series’ several cities whose marriages have crumbled since appearing on the reality show.
Porsha and Kordell join current and former Real Housewives divorcees such as Ed & Lisa Wu Hartwell and DeShawn and Eric Snow from The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Jeana & Matt Keough, Tamra & Simon Barney, Vicki & Donn Gunvalson, and Lynn & Frank Curtin from The Real Housewives of Orange County. Mary & Rich Amons, Stacie Scott & Jason Turner, and Michaele & Tareq Salahi, from The Real Housewives of D.C.. Camille & Kelsey Grammer and Adrienne Maloof & Paul Nassif from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Finally from The Real Housewives of New York Countess LuAnn & Alexandre de Lesseps.
So many Real Housewives divorces, and surely only many more to come. Is the TV show to blame, or would these couples never have divorced had they not chosen to appear on TV? It’s impossible to tell. Most marriages end in divorce anyway, but most people don’t appear on television.
Reality TV can’t be blamed entirely for causing a couple to fall out of love and choose to divorce. Problems must have existed, like they do in all relationships, before any of these married people chose to live their lives under the microscope of television, and have their daily lives scrutinized by the public.
Whether it was control issues, money problems, infidelity, all the above, or something else entirely, divorce happens. It’s inevitable for most relationships. But if you do have a secret you don’t want exposed, appearing on reality TV probably isn’t the best option for you personally or relationship wise.
Kizomba music was born in Angola (in Luanda) in early 80s following the influences of traditional semba with kilapanda and merengue. On this basis, Kizomba music emerged as a more modern music genre with a sensual touch mixed with African rhythm. Unlike Semba, Kizomba music is characterised by a slower and usually very romantic rhythm. Given that Angola is a former Portuguese colony, Portuguese is the principal language spoken in Angola and thus, also most Kizomba songs are sung in Portuguese. However, Kizomba songs at the very beginning were sung in Kimbundu and in other National languages of Angola.
The dance style Kizomba was connected two the music style in 1981, through “Bibi king of the pace” percussionist of the SOS Band, a group that joining other styles such as merengue and Angolan rhythms to others styles developed by other contemporary groups, developing a sound more attractive and danceable that began circulating in the Angolan “Kizombadas” (party’s). One member of this group was Eduardo Paim that after the dissolution of SOS, moved to Portugal leading with him the pace Kizomba, which began garnering fans in Lusitanian lands but mistakenly confused with a variant of Zouk. Source: Wikipedia
OK, NOW DANCE.
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