Yesterday we got to see a few photos from the joint birthday party that Britney Spears hosted for her sons Sean Preston and Jayden James … but those pics were taken from some distance away. Here are a few new pictures from yesterday’s birthday party … Grandmama Lynne Spears was spending as much time as possible lurvin’ up on her newborn grandyoung’n Maddie Briann:

Oh yes, you can still see that Maddie Briann looks very much like her papa Casey Aldridge (who I believe was not in attendance at yesterday’s Spears family birthday party). It’s still pretty insane to think that Jamie Lynn Spears is this baby’s mother but … well, we’ve been over all of that before. It really looks like everyone had a great time at the party yesterday … the Spears family seems happy and unified at long last. Now that we have a release date for Britney’s new album, we can look to the future and move forward. I’m amazed at all the struggle that this family has been thru over the past few years and yet … they keep on, keepin’ on. I just hope that they are finally able to move forward as happily and as healthily as possible. I also hope this is the end of all the baby-makin’ but … well … I guess we’ll take things as they come. It’s been a long year for the Spears family … hopefully the best is yet to come.

[Photo credit: X17]

Dannii Minogue was on hand in the UK this weekend host (and possibly accept an award on behalf of her TV series X-Factor) the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards UK … naturally, the folks at Nickelodeon took the opportunity to dump gallons of slime on the lovely Ms. Minogue:

Dannii was coated in the gunk as she hosted the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards UK today at London’s Excel centre. In her purple and silver frock and designer heels Kylie’s little sister looked every inch the glamorous pop star when she arrived at the event. But onstage her composure was shattered when a pool of green sludge rained down on her. The 36-year-old screamed and raised her clenched fists in horror, before setting her jaw in a clenched scowl. Ironically when Dannii had earlier told reporters that she hoped to see fellow X Factor judge Simon Cowell get gunged. “I’d slime Simon of course,” she said. “But could he handle it? Or would we finally see Mr Nasty lose his cool on TV? We’ll have to wait and see.” The X Factor is up for a gong at the awards, which will be screened air on September 20. It faces Doctor Who, Britain’s Got Talent and Harry Hill’s TV Burp for Favourite Winner prize.

Now, y’all know that Dannii is my girl so I had to take the opportunity to spread the word about her slimy weekend ;) This country is seriously devoid of Minogueness so there is no chance that I’ll be able to watch Dannii’s hosting performance when the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards airs in the UK later on this month … I guess I’ll have to make do with these amazingly fun pics ;)

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

Welp, it’s official … Prince Wills has decided that he wants a full-time military career and will be continuing his training to become a pilot with the Royal Air Force. Something tells me this decision is less about all that search and rescue stuff he’s gonna be responsible for and more about the cool uniform that he’s gonna get to wear:

Prince William has opted for a full-time military career and is to train to become a pilot in the Royal Air Force’s search and rescue teams, his office announced Monday. “The time I spent with the RAF earlier this year made me realize how much I love flying,” William, 26, said in a statement. “Joining Search and Rescue is a perfect opportunity for me to serve in the Forces operationally, while contributing to a vital part of the country’s Emergency Services.” His training is 18 months long, starting in January 2009 and concluding by summer 2010 when he will embark on a tour of duty typically lasting up to three years. William also expressed a desire to “build on the experience and training I have received” and see action in the armed forces – something his brother Prince Harry, who turned 24 Sept. 15, was able to experience in Afghanistan. The announcement is a departure from what was thought to be the likely plans for the prince. It was believed that he would leave the military at the end of this year and spend more time on royal duties and charitable work … A palace source added, “The prince himself feels that part of the preparation for his future role is to experience something fulltime in an area in which he has gained expertise. This still fits broadly within that.” There will also likely be heightened speculation about whether or not this means he will delay getting married to Kate Middleton, his girlfriend of six years. The couple has recently enjoyed a vacation together in the Caribbean. “We don’t comment on personal relationships,” a spokesman said.

I understand that Prince Charles is said to be “delighted” at this news … Kate Middleton, I’m sure, is less than delighted. I suppose it’s entirely possible that Wills and Kate may still marry — in fact, I see no reason why they can’t get married while he’s serving active duty — but I think it’s asking an awful lot for her to wait while he takes off to do the military thing. Well, I guess it’s not unreasonable for her to wait … I’m not sure one can do much better than waiting for a Prince. **And for the record, I’m not implying that Kate, as a woman, may upset because she’s dying to get married … I’m only saying that she might not be too happy about the man she loves being in the military right now** I, for one, am not all that surprised that Wills has made this decision. After all, his little (hotter) brother has been showing him up on the military front and he prolly feels he needs to get more experience under his belt before he becomes ruler of Great Britain … that, and I think he likes the uniform. I don’t blame him, I like the uni on him too. So … do we think this is a good decision for the young Prince?

[Source]

I stumbled upon a new photo of Sex and the City’s Chris Noth (who played Mr. Big) making a grand arrival in Hawaii this weekend with his son Orion Christopher (born this past January) strapped to his frontside and I was immediately reminded of that Sex and the City episode (To Market, To Market) where Carrie Bradshaw ran into her ex-boyfriend Aiden Shaw (played by John Corbett) and his new baby boy strapped to his frontside:

LOL! They both make a really cute picture of fatherhood, yes? And seriously, little Orion may be stuck with a name he will prolly grow up hating (trust me) but the kid is super adorable :) These pics are just too cute to not post.

[Photo credit: Splash News]

Yesterday was a pretty chill day … well, fairly chill for as hot and humid as it was. David and I made our way to the Whitney Museum for the last day of their Polaroids: Mapplethorpe exhibit:

Because I’ve been in a very Polaroid way lately, I wanted to see this exhibit to see if I could glean any inspiration from Mapplethorpe’s photos. Of course, my focus isn’t quite as risque as his focus was but I did get a great feel for framing. It was deffo worth the trip, we had fun. On our way home we took a detour thru Central Park … it was a nice afternoon.

The rest of the day was very quiet. Because the weather was very humid and stifling we decided to stay in for the rest of the day. I was able to finally finish Book 4 of the Twilight series Breaking Dawn. Be warned, I will be talking about plot developments and major storyline details below so you might want to skip this post if you’ve yet to read the book:

Okay … let me preface by saying that generally I liked the book overall and generally I enjoyed the book series as well. Breaking Dawn, tho, felt really wrong for huge portions of the book. I really hated the beginning. It didn’t read like the other books, it took such a different turn that I was really put off from the very start. The careful way that the author tried to talk about the vampire sex (without getting graphic so as not to offend young readers, well, their parents actually) was just … dumb. I will admit that reading it felt like a fumbling teenager trying to figure sex out for the first time … if this was the author’s intent, then well done. Reading it tho felt … fumbly, dumb. The portion of the book told from Jacob’s point of view was outright stupid. I’m sorry Twilighters, don’t hate me please, but the Jacob POV was so out of place … it felt forced and really, really disjointed. The rambling titles of the his chapters (meant to further convey it was his voice) just killed me … sooo dumb. An entire book from Jacob’s point of view would work better, I think … sticking portions from his POV in this book felt wrong. It pains me to say this because I am totally on Team Jacob. I must admit, I was rooting for him to win in the end … but, alas, I should’ve known that Bella could only end up with her tortured Edward.

Now for the good part … once the Jacob portion was finished, the book felt right again. The author got back on track and the rest of the book fit in with the series. I loved the ending — it felt very X-Men to me. I wasn’t too happy that there are other vampire/human hybrids out there (I kinda wanted Nessie to be unique) but their existence served a key plot purpose. In the end, I really wanted the warring to happen. I was hoping the Cullens would unseat the Volturi as the major vampire power base in the world but … no, it didn’t work out that way. I did appreciate that there was a Happily Ever After type ending … I was satisfied.

So … overall, I did like the books. They were entertaining, they told a great story and I’m glad I read them. Breaking Dawn, even tho I felt it had its problems, was a good way to end the saga. I will read the Midnight Dawn chapters that are out there … but later.

Tonight, wee, David and I are seeing Equus starring Daniel Radcliffe … I’ll have a full report tomorrow.

• Burn After Reading was the #1 movie at the box office this weekend.
• Mario Lopez vows to keep his shirt on from now on … I predict his popularity will plummet.
• Mark Ronson and Daisy Lowe are dunzo.
• Matthew McConaughey loses his temper on an overeager photog.
• Despite retirement, The Police still have a couple things up their sleeves.
• Paul McCartney says that John Lennon never loved him loved him.
• Shocker! Nirvana’s former manager reveals that Courtney Love marked the end of the band.
• Cristiano Ronaldo gets a new pair of shoes … well, shoe.
• Yikes!
• Channing Tatum’s future bride hits the beach.
• Look at that girl with the Daisy Dukes on.
• Matt Damon and Wyclef Jean to the rescue.
• Dakota Fanning’s controversial new movie is headed for movie theaters.
• Oliver Stone and Tommy Lee Jones are 62 years old today. Click HERE to see who else is celebrating a birthday today.
• Luke Russert follows in his father’s footsteps.
• Daniel Dae Kim pleads no contest to DUI charges.
• Shia LaBeouf has more hand surgeries in his future.

Jennifer Lopez, who made the rounds in NYC all last week for Fashion Week (and blew off celebrity guest judging duties for the Project Runway Season 5 Finale Fashion Show) managed to fly out to Malibu, CA to compete in the Nautica Malibu Triathlon yesterday before flying back to NYC later in the day Sunday for her husband’s birthday party. Here are pics of J. Lo and her zombie hubby Marc Anthony late Sunday night making their way to his surprise 40th birthday party at the Bowery Hotel:

Hours after completing her first-ever triathlon (she finished in 2 hours, 23 minutes), Jennifer Lopez got glam again. She flew to New York City with husband Marc Anthony to celebrate his 40th birthday at the Bowery Hotel. Party guests included Dita Von Teese and Kimora Lee Simmons. Anthony turns the big 4-0 on Tuesday. Lopez – who turned 39 in July — was all smiles, donning a white, empire-waist Marchesa gown on her way into the celebration. (By the time she left, she had changed into a taupe, silk frock.) Of course, Lopez had another reason to celebrate Sunday: She helped raise $127,000 for the Children’s Hospital of L.A. (Overall, the race earned $950,000 for charity.) “I feel really great and so glad I finished and that I made it out of the water but more amazing than that, I feel really great that we raised $127,000 for the Children’s Hospital [of Los Angeles] and hopefully it’ll go to good use,” Lopez told the crowd after finishing. Throughout the race, Anthony stood at the sidelines cheering on his wife. Lopez even stopped to kiss him between the biking and running portions of the race.

Wait, what? Why? It makes no sense that Marc’s party would be on the opposite side of the country on the very same day of J. Lo’s triathlon. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to either move the party date OR move the party location to SoCal? I mean … right? She did manage to fly from NY to LA … compete in a triathlon … then fly back from LA to NY all in one weekend. Maybe that was part of the race? Whatevs, I guess that’s love, y’all. Who am I to judge, I’m flying off to Iceland for my boyfriend’s birthday so … c’est la vie!

[Photo credit: INFdaily; Source]