Street Art, Attack

The TV Guide
Posted by: Trent on April 18, 2010| 2 Comments

Yesterday afternoon I made my way out to Amoeba Records here in LA to partake in the Record Store Day festivities that were going on there in order to show my support for the (sadly dying) independent record stores in the US. I picked up a few things and was very happy to see the store full of customers who were also in the market to support their fave indie record shop. After my trip to Amoeba, I made my way to the ArcLight Theater to see the Banksy film Exit Through the Gift Shop:


I got to see the trailer for this film, which is a documentary about the street art of the last decade or so, when David and I saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a couple of weeks ago and I knew I had to see it as soon as possible. I am very happy to report that I was not disappointed. I’ve been a Banksy fan for years and I was happy to see his inclusion in this film … which really revolves around Thierry Guetta who kinda tried to make a documentary about street artists and ended up becoming one himself. Shepard Fairey (the creator of the Barack Obama Hope poster) is also heavily featured in this doc and if you’re a fan, you gotta see this movie. I loved the film entirely and personally feel that street art is a valid and important new art-form … but I have mixed feelings about Guetta (who has named himself Mr. Brainwash) and his rise to “fame”. Sure Guetta has good ideas, but they are other people’s ideas. Yes, his art is made from lots of hard work but it’s the hard work of others. I do like some of his art but the fact that it’s so contrived and shoved down your throat is really off-putting. He is no Banksy, that’s for sure … but is he really relevant? That is the question. The film is insanely fascinating and it sheds light on the creation and eventual ascendancy of street art unlike anything the public has ever seen before. I’m really curious to hear what others think of this film … it’s only playing in a handful of cities right now but will open wide in a few weeks.

And then it occurs to me … that the whole film might be an elaborate Banksy prank on Hollywood. Genius.

After the movie, David and I met up with Darion and his new man Nathan and we were joined by Loy and his new man Ryan. We had a nice couples dinner at Mexico in West Hollywood, CA.

This afternoon, David and I are going to Dodger Stadium to see the LA Dodgers take on the SF Giants … the weather is gorgeous so we’re very excited. Hope all y’all are having a fab weekend!! Woot!!

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Les News, 041810

Keanu supports Sandra, 'Spider-Man's new Webb, Hilary wants 'X-Factor' job
Posted by: Trent on April 18, 2010| 3 Comments
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Hot Dude Of The Week: Josh Kloss

Weekend Hotness
Posted by: Trent on April 18, 2010| 5 Comments

It’s that special time of the week where we pause to reflect and admire the Hot Dude of the Week, y’all. Today we’ve got ourselves a fine, young chap photographed by Scott Hoover who manages to make wet and nekkid look sexy … imagine that! Say hello to Josh Kloss:


I’ve always been of the mind that people look much hotter when they are wet … which is why I think that Mr. Kloss here looks INSANELY hot all drippy wet and nekkid. I don’t know about you, but this week’s Hot Dude makes me want to find a pool party … STAT. I’m not sure if wet, nekkid dudes are your thing but I think you gotta admit that there is a certain appeal to photos like this, yes? Enjoy!!

[Photo credit: Scott Hoover; Source]

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The 2010 GLAAD Media Awards Are Handed Out In LA

West Coast, represent
Posted by: Trent on April 18, 2010| 2 Comments

Last month the 21st annual GLAAD Media Awards were handed out in a ceremony in NYC, NY and last night the second batch of awards — “recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their lives” — where handed out here in LA in a second ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel. American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert performed and artists like Wanda Sykes, Drew Barrymore won GLAAD Media Awards alongside TV shows like Glee and RuPaul’s Drag Race. Here are a few photos from the red carpet arrivals yesterday and some deets from last night’s affair:

The Fox musical comedy was among the winners at the 21st annual GLAAD Media Awards. The show’s cast and creator Ryan Murphy received the trophy for outstanding comedy series at Saturday’s glitzy ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. Murphy, in particular, praised lesbian actress Jane Lynch and gay actor Chris Colfer for their contributions. “We have a great responsibility with the show,” Murphy beamed. Murphy told the crowd that Colfer’s character, outspoken gay soprano Kurt Hummel, would have a boyfriend next season, and the pair would become prom kings. Murphy also promised the crowd that Colfer’s character “would never be the victim.” “Iron Chef” Cat Cora presented actress-director Drew Barrymore with the Vanguard Award, which honors efforts to increase visibility and understanding of the gay community. In a humorous video before accepting her trophy, Barrymore listed several of her inspirational gay colleagues, including her agent, lawyer, doctor, stylists and one of her dogs. “The thing that means the most to me about an evening like this, and why I want to fight and be outspoken about this is because there are so many people who are in desperate need of families,” Barrymore said. Constance McMillen, the lesbian Mississippi teenager who challenged her school district’s ban of same-sex prom dates, presented comedian-actress Wanda Sykes with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award, which is given by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to an openly gay member of the entertainment community for their work toward eliminating homophobia. “I’m willing to give this award to you,” Sykes teased McMillen, “but I’m not gonna do it. It means a lot to me.” Other winners included Logo’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race” for outstanding reality program and “A Single Man” for outstanding wide release film. “A Single Man” director Tom Ford wasn’t on hand to receive his trophy. His partner Richard Buckley accepted the award on Ford’s behalf because the filmmaker was stranded in London thanks to the volcanic cloud of ash. Adam Lambert, the glam-rocking “American Idol” runner-up who raised eyebrows with his racy performance at last year’s American Music Awards, capped off the ceremony hosted by transgender actress Candis Cayne and gay actor Wilson Cruz with a performance of his tunes “Music Again” and “Fever.” He ended by pleading for diversity within the gay community. The awards salute fair, accurate and inclusive representation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives in the media. Other winners — chosen from 152 nominees in 32 categories — were awarded at a March ceremony in New York, while the remainder will be presented at a San Francisco ceremony in June.

Yeah, I know the NYC ceremony last month was fab but LA always does this show better. What a fantastic turn-out for such an important awards show. After the jump, check out some of the winners on stage as they collected their GLAAD Media Awards last night … More »

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Coachella Day 2: For Your A-‘Muse’-Ment

Ojai, we have a problem
Posted by: Trent on April 18, 2010| 5 Comments

Day 2 of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is already dunzo and, from what I understand, was plagued with a fair share of technical problems that ran the gamut from causing irritating sound issues from time to time to all out dead tech ruining entire performances … and, to be honest, these sorts of things are to be expected. I haven’t heard of any major issues affecting any of the big acts … in fact, I understand big players like Faith No More, Dead Weather, MGMT and Day 2 headliners Muse were in top form. Here are some photos from the Coachella stage at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA yesterday:

Right about now, funk-soul brothers and sisters, yours truly would spend the remaining wee hours to crank out a desert dispatch all about how bewitching the Dead Weather were just before midnight … or how infectious Hot Chip got … or how impressive it was that The xx’s skeletal yet seductive sound captivated far and wide instead of getting drowned out by chatter … or why MGMT’s popularity-shunning set (which didn’t include “Kids,” much to the disappointment of thousands of fans) was still a solid one (don’t tell Desert Jeff that; he thought it was an aloof bore) … or what marvelous joy there is in dancing to something as heavy, hyper-skilled and operatically melodious as Muse. It’s been a high quality night, for sure, thanks also to rich turns from Dirty Projectors, Devo, Corinne Bailey Rae, Aterciopelados, Major Lazer, Z-Trip and more. All of which you’ll hear about by the time Sunday’s festivities get underway. But it’s been a rougher-than-expected day, littered with innumerable bad-reception runs, more than a few failed batteries, and at least one post (D-Hall on Band of Skulls) that simply went missing. With Coachella running longer and later than ever before, and with our dozen or so team members operating on less sleep than you can catch during a screening of Woodstock, we’re just too collectively spent to carry on much time. Must … have … sleep.

Jay-Z may have got the party started Friday night but I hear that Muse really brought the heat (in their own way) last night. A lot more celebs popped up in the crowd yesterday — after the jump, see which celebs were in attendance at Coachella Day 2 … More »

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Reese Witherspoon & Jim Toth Take Her Kids Shopping

Father Figure
Posted by: Trent on April 18, 2010| 8 Comments

When last we saw photos of Reese Witherspoon out in public with her new man (of 2 months) Jim Toth, the pair had popped up in Ojai, CA to celebrate her birthday last month. Up until now, we haven’t seen any photos of the couple out with her children Ava Elizabeth and/or Deacon Reese … which seemed smart, especially considering the kids have to deal with her recent break-up from ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal as well. But, it seems that Reese is finally ready for her kids to get close to Jim because while ex-hubby Ryan Phillippe was bizzy prepping for his big night hosting Saturday Night Live in NYC, NY, Reese‘s whole new family ventured out together for a shopping excursion in Brentwood, CA yesterday:


I understand Reese, her man and her kids attended Jennifer Garner‘s birthday party yesterday and then did a bit of shopping afterward to pick up some gifts for themselves, too. I have to believe that things are getting serious between Reese and Jim since she is already introducing her kids to him after only 2ish months of dating. It’s always a difficult thing figuring out when to introduce kids to a new love interest but this seems like clear proof that Reese is not flinging with Jim Toth. Now that the family is doing things together, we may see more photos of them out and about in the weeks and months to come. I hope Reese and Jim are in it for the long haul, it’d be a shame for the kids to get attached to this new dude and then have him go away.

[Photo credit: X17]

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Brad Pitt Takes A Biker Babe To The Park

Bad to the Bone
Posted by: Trent on April 18, 2010| 34 Comments

Yesterday we got to see a few photos of the elder Brangelina kids out on an ice cream date with their grandparents in Venice, Italy and today we get to check in with the baby twins we didn’t get to see yesterday. Daddy Brad Pitt took all of the youngn’s to a Venetian park this week, including the twins Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Léon, and as you can see from the following photos … little Viv was dressed as a bad ass:


Go on, Miss Vivienne. This little doll is lookin’ f-l-y in her cute little leather jacket. I’m thinkin’ that Vivienne might follow in her father’s footsteps and develop a love for motorcycles, yeah? I kinda like that Knox isn’t wearing a matching jacket … I’m not a big fan of parents dressing their twin children in the same outfits. The other kiddies were included in this visit to the park but since we saw them lookin’ cute and shizz yesterday, these pics should be all about the twins. These cheeks … OY! Don’t you just want to pinch them off their cute little faces?

[Photo credit: INFdaily]

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Ryan Phillippe Hosts ‘Saturday Night Live’

Where is the LOL?
Posted by: Trent on April 18, 2010| 19 Comments

Earlier this week we learned that Ryan Phillippe would be hosting this weekend’s ep of Saturday Night Live and last night was his big night. Considering how funny last week’s ep with Tiny Fey as host was, I had high hopes that the hilarity would carry over into this week … unfortch, that was not the case. The skits, you shouldn’t be all that surprised to learn, were not funny and only rarely did I actually laugh at a joke because it was funny (and not dumb … out of pity). There were a couple of skits that I actually enjoyed but, as usual, they weren’t perfect nor well executed. Ryan looked good, tho … at least there’s that:


I loved Kristen Wiig‘s impersonation as Björk in the first skit of the night and I loved the female weight-lifting skit (mainly because the jokes were so gross-funny that I had to groan while I was laughing … front butt, really?). The rest of the show was kinda blah … The Hip-Hop Kids skit could’ve been funnier, the Digital Skit was not funny in the least and the Weekend Update was hit or miss (the biggest Update hit was the inclusion of Father Swimcoach Scoutmaster). Meh. To be honest, I wasn’t all that disappointed because this is what I’ve come to expect from SNL. After the jump, if you’re curious, you can check out some of the skits there were featured on Ryan Phillippe‘s ep of Saturday Night Live … More »

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Betty White Does ‘The Portland Mercury’ Magazine

She is joined by the late John Ritter ... as a Centaur
Posted by: Trent on April 17, 2010| 16 Comments

Betty White, the amazing actress who is EVERYWHERE these days — from hosting Saturday Night Live to starring in a brand new TV series for TV Land — is featured on the cover of the new issue of the free weekly Oregon magazine The Portland Mercury. On the cover, Betty is bikini-clad and wielding a flaming chainsaw while she rides a Centaur that is half horse, half John Ritter … behold:


Yes, folks, this is a real magazine … and this is the real current coverphoto. I understand the magazine polled their readers what they would like to see on the cover of their mag and this is what they wanted to see. Artist Andrew Zubko really managed to cull together all of the elements that readers asked for into one SPECTACULAR magazine cover. Betty White is a beautiful woman usually but I think her beauty reaches new heights on this magazine cover … wouldn’t you agree?

[Source]

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Superhero Hype

The TV Guide
Posted by: Trent on April 17, 2010| 17 Comments

David and I were feeling pretty anti-social last night so we decided to shun all others for the quiet company of one another … once that got old after about a glass of wine and 2 re-runs of Sex and the City, we decided to try and salvage some of our Friday night by going to the movies. We decided to see Kick-Ass:


Kick-Ass was a pretty fun movie … a bit violent but it’s to be expected (what was not expected was that the bulk of the film’s violence came from 13-year-old actress Chloë Grace Moretz who plays the “real-life” superhero Hit Girl in the film). The movie envisions what it would be like if people tried to be superheros in real life and the hilarity that ensues. David and I really enjoyed the film but it is not something that you would take your kids to see. But if you’re in the market for an over-the-top and kinda violent action flick, then you should check it out. I have to say that I really hate the McLovin‘ kid (actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and he features heavily in this movie. His lispy, dickhead demeanor was really off-putting to me. He tends to play the same douche-like character in all of his films so, yeah, he was a turn-off for me … but the movie was enjoyable despite his inclusion. I was really impressed with Nicolas Cage who was both funny and believable as the superhero Big Daddy. His Adam West/Batman like quality was really fun. David and I both liked this film but, again, it’s a bit violent and silly so it may not appeal to everyone.

Today … we clean. Our place has gotten way messy so we need to do some serious cleaning today. I’m hoping to see the Banksy movie Exit Through the Gift Shop this afternoon so I’ll try to squeeze that in after I get my shizz straight here at home. Tomorrow … we’re thinkin’ about going to the LA Dodgers v. San Francisco Giants baseball game so it looks like it’ll be a pretty fun weekend around here. Happy Weekend to YOU!

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