The Whitney Houston Tragedy: Once Again, Isn’t it Time to Replace “Sex, Drugs and Rock n’ Roll” with “Health, Wealth, and Rock n’ Roll”?

Posted on February 14, 2012 by eco_admin

"Now I know I have a heart, because it's breaking." - Tinman, The Wizard of Oz

 

It’s hard not to look at this early 80′s picture of Whitney Houston and not feel a part of your heart break.   Here she is at the top of her game, looking like some super-human angel, ready to sing another platinum hit.   And, when she first came into music prominence,  all I could do was wonder at her amazing voice and her musical pedigree.  I mean, who by now doesn’t know that her mother is Cissy Houston, cousin is Dionne Warwick, and god-mother is the god-mother of soul herself, Aretha Franklin?


So when it all began to unravel, when the publicists couldn’t gloss over the unreliable behavior, slurred words, and disheveled appearance, when she would go give those truly mis-guided interviews, I kept thinking to myself  ”No, this can’t be true.”   And more to the point: Why? Why are you doing this Whitney? Why don’t you make more great albums?  Why don’t you keep working at your acting and make a pretty good movie every now and then (I liked “Waiting to Exhale”– Well, I liked Angela Bassett and Loretta Devine in it)  But truly: Why are  you throwing this all away?


I never got the marriage to Bobby Brown.  I mean, she was super A++ Level Uber Celebrity and he was Bobby Brown:  a partying, wild singer and the combination of the two of them was a Molotov Cocktail.  And it was also so part of the A- Level Celebrity Eco-Chain of Dating (http://ecochainofdating.com/blog) -- a marriage and combination of personalities that rarely works.


So now,  Chaka Khan and  Celine Dion are coming forward in interviews saying what everyone pretty much knows but no one will say:  As I wrote in my August, 29, 2011 post entitled “The  Amy Winehouse Tragedy”,  the rock theme of Sex,  Drugs and Rock n’ Roll (or R n’ B) has created a hard-partying lifestyle that has pushed many musicians into an early death, as if those magic words– and being extremely wealthy and famous– would prevent physical deterioration or death because you’re famous, rich and millions of people love you (and your music).


Sadly,  it’s 2012 and we just lost Whitney Houston at age 48.   And it was 2011 and we lost Amy Winehouse– at age 27.  When will it end?  Isn’t it time we embraced another slogan, a different way of portraying the music industry, and an entire campaign to reverse an imagine of  the music industry  that isn’t so  . . . deadly?


Again–Health, Wealth and Rock n’ Roll, anyone? Is anyone in the Music Industry listening?

1 Comment

Melissa McCarthy- Melissa McCarthy Creates an Iconic Character and Receives an Academy Award Nomination!

Posted on February 14, 2012 by eco_admin

 

There’s a lot to like in this Academy Award Season and I haven’t even seen very much.  I really enjoyed Brad Pitt’s performance in “MoneyBall.”   I also thought that Jonah Hill was terrific in “MoneyBall (I guess this should show you that I really haven’t seen much this year). But  I think that the performance the blew me away this year, the performance I can’t get out of my head, is Melissa McCarthy’s performance in “Bridesmaids’.


It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago Melissa was playing Sookie St. James in “Gilmore Girls”.  I mean, I loved “Gilmore Girls”  and I thought that she played a great character, Lorilei’s gifted chef friend.  But that’s the issue– she always played the friend or supporting role.  And even though she again played a friend– or cousin– in “Bridesmaids” she completely blew it out water, and forever changed the meaning of  female friend, cousin,  or our ideas of how a real woman could be portrayed in a highly successful main-stream feature.    But truthfully, the reason I can’t get Melissa’s performance out of my head is that  I can’t remember laughing as much as I did in any movie in a long, long time.


Obviously, Melissa has  won many, many new fans because– in addition to the Academy Award nomination and the BAFTA nomination– she won the 2011  Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Acress in a Comedy Series.   So I’m going to guess that she’s come a long way from the big Irish-Catholic family that she was raised in on a farm in Joliet, Illinois and The Groundlings improvisational and sketch comedy troupe where she met her husband.


In any event, go see “Bridemaids” and get ready for the funniest plane flight in cinematic history in a scene with actor Ben Falcone.  And when I say funny,  I mean gasping for air funny.  Really.


Congratulations, Melissa.  I for one will be cheering for you on Oscar Night.

 


Leave a comment

Heidi Klum and Seal: AUF WIEDERSEHEN!!

Posted on January 24, 2012 by eco_admin

 

 

So I haven”t posted for a few weeks because I have been attempting to get my novel “THE ECO-CHAIN OF DATING: LIFE IN LA” (you can read an excerpt at http://ecochainofdating.com/) ready.  As you may remember, the purpose of this blog is to support the book, which I’ve been working on for an eternity and should be publishing sometime in . . . September, 2012.   But the Heidi Klum and Seal news was JUST TOO MUCH TOO IGNORE.  So even though I promised myself, NO MORE BLOGGING UNTIL YOUR NOVEL IS DONE . . well, here I am.

 

Frankly, it seems like we’ve been inundated with Heidi Klum/Seal news for a thousand years.  I mean, aren’t they always either: (1) Renewing their Vows or: (2) Having another kid?   So I was surprised to learn that they haven’t even been married for seven(7) years (married on May 10, 2005).

 

Now in her 20th year of modeling,  Heidi was raised in a town outside of Cologne, Germany and began her modeling career after beating 25,000 other contestants in a national modeling contest called “Model 92.”  She appeared on the covers of Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire, and became Incredibly Popular after appearing on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and as a  Victoria’s Secret “Angel.” She then used modeling as a spring-board for her entertainment career, appearing in such  TV shows “Spin City”, “Sex and the City”, and “Just Shoot Me” and films which include “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Perfect Stranger.”  Like Tyra Banks, I think she’s one of the few models who  have successfully gone from being in exclusively front of the camera to being on many sides of it in a very successful reality show.

 

Pretty much everyone who watches reality television knows that since 2004, Heidi has been the host, producer and pretty much–star (Tim Gunn does do a pretty good job of stealing the spotlight) of “Project Runway”  and is familiar with her trademark  comment of “Auf Wiedersehen!” (a formal “good-bye” in German) as yet another poor humiliated contestant on “Project Runway” gets booted.   She always looks fabulous, even if she’s pregnant with child (which appears to have happen often). And that’s where Seal comes in.

 

Heidi began a relationship with Seal in 2004 when she was pregnant with her first daughter.  And you know, if you check my Eco-Chain of Dating (http://ecochainofdating.com) , an A-Level Model Superstar marrying an  A-Level Singer isn’t always the easiest marriage.  But after Heidi married Seal in 2005, they had a son (in September of 2005), another son (in November of 2006) and a daughter (in October of  2009).   Since their marriage in 2005, they have  renewed their vows each year on their anniversary in front of  family and friends.  So maybe this explains why I always think that they are either (1) Renewing their Vows or (2) Having another kid.

 

On Jan.22, 2012, they announced that they are separating.  And this kinda makes me sad, because it makes me sad when people with kids– especially four  kids under the age of 10– decide to call it a day.   Maybe the problem is that once the cameras stop rolling (or clicking) and your not having a big party to renew your vows or making a gallant appearance at some awards show, it’s just you, your spouse and the kids– and  anyone who has ever had a child knows that it’s not that fabulous.  It’s work, laundry, meals, schedules and endless little problems– and not a great deal of fun, especially if you’re making a run at being a stable parent.

 

So Heidi and Seal, I hope you work it out.  Maybe think about trying “date night” once a week  (without the kids) and attempt to capture some of that magic?   Because we now have an opportunity to look at the adult children of  high profile and highly public celebrity divorce, and it doesn’t look like life has been too easy for them.   It you don’t believe me, next time you’re in LA, grab a coffee with Carrie Fisher or Chaz Bono or Cameron Douglas and ask them how life is working out for them.  I’m sure it will be very illuminating for you.  And I know that you’ll learn a great deal.

 


 

 

2 Comments

Magic Johnson– We Love You (And Please Buy The Dodgers with Mark Cuban)

Posted on December 10, 2011 by eco_admin

 

 

 

I’m a typical  LA Sports Fan: I don’t ever follow a sport unless an LA team is in the playoffs.   And to be honest, I don’t even know that they’re in the playoffs until I see everyone driving around with their team flag– usually the Laker flag– attached to their SUV’s antenna.  But just saying the name “Magic Johnson” makes me happy. So when the LA Times and the the New York Times reported that Magic was part of a group that wanted to buy our beloved Dodgers, I was happy, because this McCourt Drama (snore . and WHEN will these people and their Uber-boring divorce GO AWAY)  has almost ruined our Dodger Baseball.    Yes, I had previously hoped (and posted on August 11, 2011) that Mark Cuban– who has shown such a passion for LA and done such a great job with the Dallas Mavericks - would buy the Dodgers.  But now I have a different dream: I want Magic AND Mark Cuban to buy the Dodgers.

 

If there was ever a love affair that that existed between a city and an individual, it’s the love affair that exists between Los Angeles and Magic Johnson. For those of you who don’t know (and frankly, I can’t even believe that I wrote that last sentence) Magic is one of the 50 Greatest Players in the National Basketball Association History and rated the greatest NBA point guard of all time by ESPN.  But for me, he is Citizen #1, our UBER UBER LA Celeb Royalty (http://ecochainofdating.com) and pretty much LA’s Prince of the City.  After winning championships in high school and college,  he played for our LA Lakers where he won three NBA MVP Awards, had nine NBA Finals appearances and played in twelve All-Star games.  He and the 80′s Lakers made  Basketball– especially “Lakers Basketball” — a fun, hip, highly profitable sport with their creation of “Showtime.”   In addition, Magic is the NBA’s all-time leader in assists per game and was a member of the “Dream Team”, the U.S. basketball team that won the Olympic gold medal in 1992.  And then contracted HIV.


I don’t think there’s a LA citizen or basketball fan alive in the early-90′s who doesn’t remember where they were when they heard “the news” about Magic on November 7, 1991.  But– champion that he is–  Magic has used his celebrity to publicize the fight against AIDS and served as a United Nations Messenger of Peace.   He is also a businessman, motivational speaker, NBA commentator and minority owner of the Lakers. So he knows about making sports profitable and fun, as he sold his shares in the Lakers in 2010 for almost 2.5 times what he paid for them.  So now he needs to bring his “Magic”  (cough, cough) to the Dodgers.

 

 


Mark Cuban, I beg of you: Partner with Magic and  Buy the Dodgers. You’ve done such a great job with the Dallas Mavericks.  And you seem to have a fascination with all things LA (the entertainment industry). I think you’d have some fun with our beloved Dodgers and YOU AND MAGIC could turn them into an LA Team again. And then they’d win A WORLD SERIES (again).



So Magic–  do the right thing:  Let Mark Cuban be part of the group that wants to buy the Dodgers. We’re counting on Both of you. PLEASE, Buy Our Beloved Boys in Blue.  And while you’re at it, maybe you could spend a  little more and get Mike Scioscia to manage his old team? If you do this, you”ll instantly both be our new A+ Civilian Royalty, (http://ecochainofdating.com), Our Kings of LA.  But please, don’t let Mrs. Cuban or Mrs. Johnson (the Beautiful “Cookie’) get their hands on them: Frankly,   I just can’t go through THIS again.

 

Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Chelsea Clinton: Now that Chelsea Clinton has Chosen to Become a Network Television Reporter, Do the Gloves Finally Get to Come Off?

Posted on November 15, 2011 by eco_admin

 

For anyone who was alive during the Clinton Presidency (1992-2000), the news that Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton  and former President Bill Clinton, has joined NBC as a network television reporter for NBC’s “Making A Difference”  series, is very surprising.  After what seems like a lifetime of Hillary Rodham Clinton addressing the press and asking them to “limit coverage” of  daughter Chelsea as a child in the White House (1992- age 12) (with most media outlets agreeing that she should be off-limits (age 13)) and — again–with Hillary Rodham Clinton writing a letter in her syndicated column asking that Chelsea “be left alone” when Chelsea entered Stanford as age 17 (1997), I must say that I’m truly confused.


What Are We Expected to Do Now that Chelsea is Has Chosen to Be on TV as a Network News Reporter?  I mean, do the gloves finally get to come off?  Are we free to  judge her like any other cable or network television reporter?      Or– like another president’s daughter who recently decided to run for Senate and then– just as quickly– decided against it, do we nod our head,  and decline to pass judgement because– after all– she’s a president’s and secretary of state’s daughter?  Like the other children of our celebrity and civilian Amercan Royalty, do we expect them to receive the tremendous benefits of their parent’s success without any expectation that they will deserve ( or achieve) what they’re given– even if they choose be on ratings-driven commercial television?


Let me be frank — with all of the bizarre hair extensions and wigs that I see in the current crop of network news anchors– men and women– I’m usually too distracted by the  female reporter’s  biker chick-I-just rolled-out-of-bed- hair style to hear much of what has been reported.   I mean really, are the female reporters  on FX  auditioning for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders?  When did 4 inches of cleavage become part of  their professional style ?   What about CNN?  When did those reporters decide that a coat of dark green spray tan and some fake black horn-rimmed  glasses make them look more “professional” ?


Chelsea, if you’re reading this, you should look at my “Eco-Chain of Dating“ http://ecochainofdating.com and think about whether you really want to do this.  After a lifetime of having Mom-Hillary attempt to protect you from the true nastiness of the American public,  do you really want to be judged like all other women in “entertainment” (and unfortunately, network and cable news has truly become entertainment)?  Do you want a million —  your  nose is too big, you should lose 15 pounds, your lips could be fuller– type comments?      Because– as you know– you are the daugher of uber American Royalty and you could have a perfectly great and meaningful life without ever exposing yourself to the mess that is known as  ”network news.”  And if you think you do, you might want to look at  the before and after pictures of Kate Bosworth, Angelina Jolie, and Jennifer Aniston (try google images)  to see how much “work” (plastic surgery and dieting) goes into consistently looking “good”  in the media.


So Chelsea, think about it– it’s not to late to change your mind.  But, if you still think you want to do it, the next time you come to LA,  go to lunch  with that other daughter of American Royalty who decided to become a network reporter:  Her name is Maria Schriver.   I think she might have a great deal  to tell you about working the news and being the news.  And she has really great hair and some really really big deal friends (not that you don’t). So I’m going to bet that you’ll have a great time with her.    And I know she’ll have plenty to tell you.


 

Tagged | 10 Comments

The Kim Kardashian “Divorce” from Co-Star Kris Humphries After the 72 Day “Marriage”, Produced by Ryan Seacreast and Momager Chris Jenner

Posted on November 2, 2011 by eco_admin

In My October 26, 2011 post, I wrote:

 

“Here’s a recent picture of Kim Kardashian and her co-star Kris Humphries– Frankly, he’s got a deer in the head-lights look . . .   I mean, really, you have to wonder how many more photos there will be of these two together.  Because I’m sure that showing up for this picture is one of his last contractual duties and soon “the “Marriage” cough, cough– will be annulled” for some dufus reason like “He couldn’t stand the pressure of reality TV. I wonder how many days it takes to drop this ridiculous charade of a marriage.”

 

Well, we have our answer:  5 days.  The marriage itself lasted 72 days.

 

I don’t know, but doesn’t this whole charade remind you of when you were a kid and played “dress-up”  and pretended to get married  with some lace on your head? Because the only thing real about this  loosely-scripted reality TV “Wedding” was the money that Momager Chris Jenner, Producer Ryan Seacreast, and Reality Personality and Businesswomen Kim Kardashain made from it and the publicity that Vera Wang got for the dress.

 

Years from now, you have think that cultural historians will mark the Reality-Soap Opera “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” as a watershed moment —  like the moment that we all realized that  we’re all so addicted to television that we’ll watch anything, even a charade “Kardashian Wedding,”  created by a family that has made a business out of exploiting the lives of their adult and under-age children.

 

How Sad.

 


 


 

Tagged | 7 Comments

Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries: Now that your “Wedding Special” has Aired, Is it Time to Plan the Ryan Seacrest Produced “Divorce Special” ?

Posted on October 26, 2011 by eco_admin

If  she ever needs to make an emergency water-landing, at least she’ll be able to float.

 

Let’s be honest– this picture  of Kim Kardashian (above) makes her look like a porn star.  Now I remember– Isn’t that’s how she started her “career”?  By now,  as the Kim Kardashian/Kris Humphries “Wedding Special”  (produced by Ryan Seacrest)  has aired,  it should be time for the Kardashians to be plotting out the 2012 Season.  So I wonder if  Ryan will get on board for a very special Kim Kardashian/Kris Humphries “Divorce Special?”  That could be fun, right?   I mean, given that Kim has milked the Ryan Seacrest produced “wedding” for $17,900.000 what other emotion- drenched event can she– and Momager Kris Jenner– cash in on?


 

Yes, Kim and Kris have been “married” a whole 8 weeks.  Let’s face it, by now, the wedding is old news, the dress is old news, and using 18 month -old Mason as the comic-relief moment is  . . . Does Mason  have an agent yet?  Because the word on the street is the Kim’s co-star husband– now that the wedding is over and he has served his purpose– was dropped by Kim’s WME agent.  Like I said in my post on August 23, 2011, I certainly hope that Mr. Kim Kardashian Kris Humphries shared in Kim’s cash grab.

 

But what I am thinking about?? Kim and Momager Kris are savvy businesswomen.  OF COURSE  they made KRIS SIGN A PRE-NUP and of course– he was cut out of the  big cash grab.   And Needless to say, the “rumors” (planted by Momager Kris Jenner and producer Ryan Seacrest) or out there– (1)That Kim and Kris are NOT GETTING ALONG AND ARE NEVER  TOGETHER (of course not– he’s played his part– “the groom”– in “THE WEDDING SPECIAL” and now they’re  on to other roles); (2) She’s living alone in NYC (of course– she needed to fulfill her contractual roles in “Khole and Kourtney take New York” and he wasn’t hired to be in “the cast” of that show) and; (3)  Kris is out partying without his wedding ring (of course– the ring is a prop and  he was the “groom”  in a  loosely scripted  reality TV special).

Here’s a recent picture of Kim Kardashian and her co-star Kris Humphries– Frankly, he’s got a deer in the head-lights look . . .   I mean, really, you have to wonder how many more photos there will be of these two together.  Because I’m sure that showing up for this picture is one of his last contractual duties and soon “the “Wedding“–  cough, cough– will be annulled” for some dufus reason like “He couldn’t stand the pressure of reality TV.”  I wonder how many days it takes to drop this ridiculous charade of a marriage.

Can’t wait to See.

Tagged | 9 Comments

The Remake of Charlie’s Angels is CANCELLED- Really.

Posted on October 17, 2011 by eco_admin

bsp;

 

Back on September 22, 2011, I wrote that I couldn’t believe that ABC was putting Charlie’s  Angels back on the air and that I REALLY Couldn’t Believe that they were doing  it with the ever SO STALE “These Aren”t Your Mothers Angels”  theme.


I mean, isn’t that a pitch that was stale 10 years ago?  Why don’t they just say “Don’t Go There” or “It’s Charlie’s Angels .  .Outside the Box” or something else EQUALLY SO TIRED?


Given the huge hit of “Mad Men” and the almost unquenchable thirst for “period” drama, don’t you think it would have been so REFRESHING to have re-done the original “Charlie’s Angel’s”  as OUR MOTHER’S ANGEL’S with the 20/20 hindsight that we now have about the enormous social break-throughs that women were experiencing in the 70′s?  Can you imagine how interesting it would have been to see a story line where the girls want to have a voting stake in Charlie’s agency, but Charlie won’t let them because he feels that women don’t have “the head for making decisions”?


Instead, we got this:


 

It was cancelled after 4 Episodes.


So now, Minka Kelly (middle photo) can go back to playing “Gaby” on the mostly pretty good “Parenthood” or Lila Garrity on the phenomenal “Friday Night Lights”    - and MINKA, as I told you in my heavily commented post of August 31, 2011– NO MORE DEREK JETER types for boyfriends — you need to stay away for the A+ LA Celeb/Athlete Royalty types and concentrate on the Civilian Royalty (Please consult my   http://ecochainofdating.com and MEMORIZE MY August 18, 2011 POST on Salma Hayek)– I’m not kidding.


Rachael Taylor  (photo on left), you can go back to playing “Dr. Lucy Fields” on “Grey’s Anatomy”–  and no more wack-job boyfriends.   And Annie Illonzeh (photo on right), I look forward to seeing you doing some amazing work everywhere and especially on “General Hospital” –because you know how I love actors who work in the soaps.

And Ladies for your next project, may I suggest that you don’t pick a remake of something that wasn’t so good the first time around?  For instance if another remake of something, like a  Not Your Mother’s “BJ and the Bear” should come your way, I’d definitely pass.

1 Comment

Lea Michele- Don’t Compare Lea Michele to Sarah Hyland- Compare Lea Michele to Barbra Streisand

Posted on October 12, 2011 by eco_admin

I know that the press — well Sarah Hyland– has gone out of  her way to make a comparision between herself and Lea Michele. Let’s be honest– Is there any comparison to be made between Sarah and Lea Michele?  I don’t think so.  At this point,  Sarah Hyland is a young actress who got lucky and landed in a hit show– “Modern Family.”   That and 15 years . . well who knows?  But there is a comparison that should be made with Lea Michele:  That comparison is with Barbra Streisand.

As Lea is only 26, the only way I can compare her to Barbra is to talk about Barbra’s life to age 26 (1968) .  Born in Brooklyn, New York City, Barbra became a nightclub singer while in her teens.  At age 19,  she appeared at “The Tonight Show” and on other television shows. At age 20, Barbra first appeared on Broadway, in a small role (“I Can Get It for You Wholesale”) for which she was nominated for a Tony.  At age 22 (1964), Streisand returned to Broadway in “Funny Girl” as the lead for which she was nominated for a Tony.  In 1963, Barbra won a Grammy for Album of the Year and Best Female Vocal Performance of the Year, which she went also in 1964 and 1965.  Between 1965-1967,  she appeared  in her first four television specials.  At age 24, she appeared on the cover of Time Magazine.

 

Born in the Bronx, New York City, Lea made her Broadway debut at age 9. Between ages 12-20, she continued to appear on Broadway in 3 additional shows.  At age 20, Lea was nominated for her first Drama Desk Award for the musical “Spring Awakening”.   In 2009 , at age 23, she got the lead in “Glee” for which Lea has been nominated for an Emmy, 2 Golden Globes, and a Screen Actor’s Guild Award.  In 2011, she was nominated for two Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Performance by a Duo for “Don’t Stop Believin.”


 

So Lea, you are totally on your way to being A+ LA Royalty.  So don’t waste your time worrying about actresses who snipe at you in an attempt to bask in your glow.  Because if you look at my  Eco-Chain of Dating, (http://ecochainofdating.com) you’re most likely going to have a big future like that person we know as Barbra, the person whom you remind me off and the ultimate A+ Royalty.  So be careful who you date, don’t have an early silly marriage, and don’t listen to all of those who are jealous.  Maybe you can have Ryan Murphy write a part in “Glee” for Ms. Streisand, so you can have tea with with her, chat, and maybe sing for her?  Because, I’m pretty sure that you would have a memorable time.  And I’m sure that she’d have plenty to tell you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

14 Comments

Steve Jobs at Heaven’s Gate

Posted on October 11, 2011 by eco_admin

steve-jobs-ipad-st-peter-gates-heaven.jpg

“The Book of Life” by Barry Blitt, New Yorker Cover, October 17, 2011

 

It’s hard to find humor in the face of the sadness regarding the tragedy of Steve Jobs.  That’s why I think that the cover of the October 17, 2011,  New Yorker Cover by Barry Blitt– entitled “The Book of Life”–  is pure genius.

 

Tagged | 14 Comments