| Lo Fun Fact #1 |
| "Lolita Files" is my real name. It is not a pen name, as incredible as that may seem. There are plenty of Files family members and people who have known me for years capable of validating this. As for the "Lolita" part, my mother named me after the movie based on Nabokov's book, although she saw or read neither. For as long as she lived, she had no idea there was anything sexual or seedy about being called "Lolita". |
| Lo Fun Fact #2 |
| I love fried chicken and fabulous shoes (although obviously I can't eat fried chicken nearly as much as I'd like). If you ever want to get on my good side, send Popeye's or Church's (that's right, I said Church's) and a pair of
Christian Louboutins. |
| Lo Fun Fact #3 |
| Never show up unannounced or without a Pepsi. Better yet, how about not showing up at all? |
| Lo Fun Fact #4 |
| I hate the telephone. Don't get mad if I don't call you or take a long time to return your calls. I don't call anyone. Don't call me asking why I don't call. Just don't call, okay? (Exception: I will happily take all calls related to business or to share fun/exciting/major news. I'm just not one for jawing on the phone just to be jawing.) |
| Lo Fun Fact #5 |
| I love the internet!!! I love communicating through the internet!!! You can e-mail me and odds are I'll e-mail you right back (if I'm not in the middle of a major project). Makes up for my hangup about the phone, doesn't it? See, I'm not so bad after all!!! |
| Lo Fun Fact #6 |
| I can't stand IMing. Please don't IM me. I'm always on my laptop and connected to the internet as I work and when IM's pop into my screen out of nowhere, they break my concentration and often startle the sh*t out of me in the process. So don't do it. You will get the cold shoulder. I don't like giving people the cold shoulder, so please don't put me in that position. |
| Lo Fun Fact #7 |
I have four five six wonderful, slap-happy dogs and a cat, all of whom I love to pieces. I had a bird (a Roller pigeon that I rescued in LA on New Year's Day in 2004) named B-Bird (what? that's a good name!) who passed away in February 2009, which broke my widdle heart in half. He loved me so, as I did him. If you meet me and ask me about my dogs and cat, we'll be instant friends, and if you ask about B-Bird, I'll probably hug you (unless you smell...wash first). If you meet me and ask me why the f*ck I have four five six dogs and a cat, see the above fun fact for how I will respond. |
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| Praise For The Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame. Marketing Campaign |
| Tuesday, January 31, 2006 |
The blogosphere is starting to buzz about what the brilliant minds at Team Amistad are doing to cross-promote my wonderful new novel, Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame.,
(...hey, I can call my own work 'wonderful' if I want to...people toot their own horns all the time).
Check out what The Crime Sistahs had to say about us:I love to see publishers coming up with new and innovative ways to to promote books. Case in point, Harper Collins/Amistad's promotion of Lolita's Files new book, Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame., which I've already added to my mountain high and growing TBR pile. Not only has Amistad created a trailer for the book, but according to Black Voices.com, a promotional soundtrack featuring debut recording artist Silena Murrell, who will even be appearing at some booksigning with Ms. Files.
Personally, I think all books should come with soundtracks. Not only is it a great way to promote new books but think of all the new musical talent it could bring to the limelight. Plus, doing joint signings with recording artists, who could perform a song or two, could add interest to boring booksignings and readings and draw foot traffic. I think it's a win win situation all around. How cool is THAT?!!
We love it when we're trendsetters. And that's not the royal 'we' I'm using, either. It's The Big We: me, Team Amistad (Gilda, Jen, Rockelle, Dawn, and Yona), Silena Murrell, Al "Butter" McLean, Mel Jackson, Shaun Robinson, and writers like Eric Jerome Dickey and Victoria Christopher Murray, among others. A lot of clever and talented minds have come together to pitch in on this, and even more have been showing us tremendous love, especially you, my readers and friends---people like Big Baller Bill "Willie D." Hobi, Ettevy, Lance, Cort, and my new friend and fellow Libran, Diedre Ware, Lo Zone readers like CandaceK, J., LBoogie, and Anonymous (who knew Anonymous was such a popular name?)---all of whom have been doing outstanding things to help spread the word, one drumbeat at a time, and entertainment journalists like the awesome Karu F. Daniels.
Aw hell, let's just all get in a big ol' circle, hug, and sing Kumbaya. So much love, so much love. Whodathunk a twisted, murderous, fun-filled book could teach the world to sing...in perfect harmony? *Sigh* Makes you want to crack open a Coke Pepsi, don't it?
The Crime Sistahs: Books & Music |
posted by Lo @ 4:25 PM   |
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| Our Light (Skin) At The End Of The Tunnel |
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A little while ago on this morning's airing of The Today Show, the conflictingly bubbly-yet-take-me-serious presence that is Katie Couric interviewed Best Actor nominee Terrence Howard. The exchange went a lil' something like this: Katie: You play someone who's not a particularly appealing character in Hustle & Flow...a pimp...

Terrence: Yes...
Katie: ...you're the only person of color nominated in the...acting nominees, and last year five of the twenty acting nominees were African-American or people of color...so, do you have any reaction to that? Are you surprised?
Terrence: ...I feel like right now I have the opportunity to represent the entire black race right now, the black artistic community, and, that's just how it is, you know...we do the best we can...and just being a part of it, being their figurehead right now, and know (sic) the responsibility is there...and to have that whole galvanized support of that community behind me now...I think it...it increases my chances. So there you have it, people. The black community might have lost one iconic lightskinned figurehead today (an immensely important and great lady for our times), but another lightskinned force has simultaneously risen from the ashes.
Give it up for Big T.!!! Holdin' it down for the brown in Hollywood!!
(Alright Lance and all the brothers tired of the 'lightskinned brothers are so sexy' parade...you can release the Kraken of counter-commentary I know I'm going to get. Mel, if you're reading this, I'm routing them to you. I'm not equipped to speak on it. Besides, I'm an equal opportunity 'that's a fine mofo' kind of girl.)
Previously: The Lo Zone: It's Apparently Quite Good Out Here For A Pimp
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| Just In Case You Forgot Why It's Called 'Going Postal' |
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posted by Lo @ 12:09 PM   |
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| R.I.P. Coretta Scott King |
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All the people who were a part of The Great Movement that was the backdrop of my childhood (and played a major role in shaping who I am) are slipping away. Another tile falls from the mosaic of my life.
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posted by Lo @ 9:52 AM   |
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| A Million Little Spewed Chunks |
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I was going to post about the story Page Six has today regarding a Moscow-based newspaper that claims it discovered James Frey's lying-liarliness first...
 ...until I got to this part of the article: The eXile - which longtime PAGE SIX readers will recall was behind a putrid prank that involved hitting New York Times Moscow bureau chief Michael Wines in the face with a pie filled with horse sperm [...]
I immediately hit the eject button once I read that line. Ick. You're going to have to find out the rest of the info on your own. Here's the link:
Ugh. I still can't get that image out of my head.
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posted by Lo @ 9:47 AM   |
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| The "I Can Lie Just Like James Frey" Contest: Winner #2 |
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Yet another clever Lo Zone reader, J., wins cd number two in the Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame. soundtrack giveaway. J. tells the fabulastically-fun story of her (fictitious, we hope) undercover life of cat burglary that's necessary to satisfy a yen for high-end, museum quality furnishings and accoutrement. (Translation: J.'s a klepto baller.) Check it out:"A million little pieces" was the phrase that crossed my mind as I watched the vase (early Ming, blue and white dragon motif, would've looked spectacular in my living room) slipped through my gloved fingers and twirled delicately towards the floor. It seemed to take an hour for the vase to complete its suicidal gymnastic routine, time enough for me to think of all the times this hadn't happened and how each time had led me one step closer to the nirvana of home decor. A small Picasso above the fireplace. A tiny Keith Haring in the guest bathroom. Archaeological treasures graced the mantle and various shelves. "Oh, it's a gift shop replica," I would always tell people. But now the truth was that I had smashed a real Ming vase (oh, how cliche!) during a break-in and I could already hear footsteps crashing down the hall towards me to the wail of museum alarms. Ripping myself from bereavement (oh, that color! and with my sofa!) I leapt up and grabbed the rope that came through the air vent. Gucci glove over Gucci glove, I was home free into the vent - until I was grabbed by the Mahnolos and hauled off to jail. And this is why I write to you, Lolita, to try and win the CD. Life in jail is bleak! If I win, please have Mel Jackson kiss it for me. He is one super-hot man. Congratulations, J.!! Expect that signed (and kissed) cd to be on its way. 'Cause nothing says "free soundtrack" like a broken Ming vase. And a Blahnik-wearing cat burglar.
 Fly thievery. Right here at the Lo Zone.
Previously: The Lo Zone: The "I Can Lie Just Like James Frey" Contest: Winner #1 Previously: The Lo Zone: Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame.: The Soundtrack, Part 2 Previously: The Lo Zone: Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame.: The Soundtrack Amazon.com: Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame. |
posted by Lo @ 9:05 AM   |
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| The "I Can Lie Just Like James Frey" Contest: Winner #1 |
| Monday, January 30, 2006 |
Well, you guys have been responding with great flair to our lie-a-licious contest. It's going to be so much fun to give these soundtracks away. The stories you guys are sending in are fantastic, real side-splitters. I'm going to post the first winner today (because today is going to be a short one for me...this is my last post of the day). I'll do more tomorrow and the rest of the week as more winning tall tales come in. Some of these are so great, who knows? I may even up the ante on the amount of Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame. soundtracks I give away. You people are a riot. This stuff is hellagood.
Just remember to adhere to the rules:The most moving, funny, or powerful personal experiences (outrageously fictitious), no more than 200 words (I may be a little flexible on that, but definitely no more than 350), e-mailed to me at thelozone@lolitafiles.com (NOT in the "comments" section on this blog) will receive an autographed copy of the soundtrack signed by both me and the yumtastic actor, Mel Jackson. And now...*drumroll*...the first winning entry in our "I Can Lie Just Like James Frey" contest goes to Lo Zone reader CandaceK. Remember, this is a personal experience that reads like outrageous fact, but is really pulled-outta-one's-ass straight-up fiction. Her winning tale is called "Worst Case Scenario":…And the microphone came down in front of the camera while our President attempted a somber, yet uplifting live speech. And he said “Do you have your helmets?” And later he said “You’re trying to horde!!!”
Oh wait. This is supposed to be fictitious. Ahem.
I decided to try yoga for the first time to change up my routine and get a jumpstart on shedding the umpteen pounds I had packed on after too many M&M cookies and countless cups of eggnog. I wasn’t looking for the local health club variety. No, I wanted the real deal, the get-your-Buddah-in-gear sort. After being referred by a friend, I found the perfect class. I walked into the large, nondescript building and it exuded an overwhelming, yet somehow fascinating, blend of incense and booty sweat.
There were about twenty students in all, and I followed the assumed veterans into a large studio that strangely resembled what I imagined a champagne room to look like. I took my place in the back and stretched out my mat.
Much to my surprise (and, to be honest, chagrin), the yogi came in doing back handsprings while wearing a silver stripper bikini with Lucite heels and offensive coral lipstick. While I was expecting a taut, slender instructor, the woman had booty for days and implants so big that Pamela Anderson would blush.
“C’mon, you bitchazzzz! Let’s get those fat asses in shape!” she yelled as I tried to quietly slip out before she noticed me.
“You too, lard ass!”
I looked around before painfully realizing she was speaking to me.
“Ummm, I think I have the wrong class.”
“This is yoga for strippers, bitch! This ain’t preschool!” she yelled as she did a split-slash-downward-facing-dog as a Bengali translation of “Tipsy” by T.I. began blaring over the speakers.
Remind me to kill my friend and never to puke in her car again. Especially after drinking eggnog. Congratulations, CandaceK, for that stanktastic tale!! Your signed copy of the Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame. soundtrack is on the way!!!
Keep lying, y'all. More winners tomorrow!!
Previously: The Lo Zone: Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame.: The Soundtrack, Part 2 Previously: The Lo Zone: Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame.: The Soundtrack Amazon.com: Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame. |
posted by Lo @ 12:25 PM   |
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| The Brokeback Effect, Part Ickityboo: One Back Breaks While Another Refuses |
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This should come as a surprise to no one (except those last stubborn heteros who refuse to get out of the way of The Gay Train that's about to squish them into a greasy spot).
Per Variety.com: The Directors Guild of America has given its top feature film award to Ang Lee for Focus Features' "Brokeback Mountain."
Lee won over George Clooney for Warner Independent's "Good Night, and Good Luck," Paul Haggis for Lionsgate's "Crash," Bennett Miller for United Artists/Sony Classics' "Capote" and Steven Spielberg for Universal's "Munich." It would have been nice to see Clooney win.
He's such a lovable hunk of fun, smarts, and talent, and Good Night, And Good Luck was a really, really good movie. But in The Year of The Gay, it just wasn't to be. George should have gone pseudo-Gay for a spell, just until the award season passed. He would have stood a better chance, although it's hard to beat dusty cowboys banging on the big screen. This year, anyway. A year earlier, Brokeback would have been an also-ran at the GayVN. Too edgy for soft porn; not nearly gonzo enough to be the real deal. But timing is everything. Last year's almost-porn is this year's epic love story. Proving that if you're willing to bide your time, you can have it all, including perhaps an Oscar.
Congratulations, Ang, for making cowboy love The New Black.
But in astonishing news, Brokeback didn't take the SAG Awards.
Per Variety.com:SAG voters put the brakes on the "Brokeback Mountain" awards express Sunday, snubbing the cowboy romance at the 12th Annual SAG Awards and opting instead for an eclectic mix for its five feature trophies.
The cast of Lionsgate's "Crash""Crash" won the ensemble trophy for their portrayal of racial tension in Los Angeles while Philip Seymour HoffmanPhilip Seymour Hoffman took the lead actor award for Sony Classics' "Capote" as novelist Truman Capote. And Reese WitherspoonReese Witherspoon won the lead actress trophy for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Fox's "Walk the Line."
The SAG shutout for "Brokeback" came a night after the Focus Features release had seemingly cemented its status as awards season front-runner thanks to a DGADGA Award for director Ang LeeAng Lee. "Brokeback" had also won the Producers Guild Award and four Golden Globes -- though none for its actors -- in the past two weeks. Don't let all the anti-cowboy love fool you. The Gays don't take things lying down. Hmmm. Actually, they do, but still, don't think this is over. The Gays WILL win.
Hurry up, folks. There's still time for you to turn Gay. You don't want to be left out of all the fun now, do you? I'm tragically hetero and that's all I've ever been, but this might come down to a self-preservation thing and I'll be forced to make the switch along with you. The girl would have to look like a guy, though. And have a penis. And some balls. Aw, the hell with it, the girl would have to be a guy. I can't front. My body is a boys-only playground.
Oh well. What's a girl to do.
Is your back broke yet?
Variety.com: Award Central 2006 - DGA fetes Lee for 'Brokeback' SAG crashes cowboys' party Previously: The Lo Zone: The Brokeback Effect, Ad Absurdum: Let's All Just Turn Gay And Be Done With It. Previously: The Lo Zone: My Technicolor Theory, Confirmed At Last |
posted by Lo @ 9:28 AM   |
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| Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame.: The Soundtrack, Part 2 |
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They're here!!! They're here!!! The Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame. soundtracks are here!!!
Ain't they purty?!! This is the front:
[click image to enlarge] And this is the back:
[click image to enlarge] It's the perfect accompaniment to my oh-so-entertaining novel...
The soundtrack---produced by the PHENOMENAL Al "Butter" McLean of Cedar Park Entertainment---has pop, R&B, and hip-hop (including, of course, the Scott Storch-produced killer lead single, I Like My Man Hard, by the spectacular Silena Murrell)...
...plus two audio excerpts from the book, read by the delicious, deeply-reflective, super-saavy, multi-talented actor/writer/producer, a man I'm proud to call my very good friend...Mel Jackson.
So we've gotta celebrate this, people. I want you guys to share in the magic that is this wonderful, wonderful piece of cross-marketing goodness. To that end, I'll be giving away twenty soundtracks on this blog over the next two weeks, but I plan to do it in the form of contests of sorts. Whatever strikes my fairly-retarded fancy. I'll try to make it fun and (sorta) simple for you to win. Something to get the camaraderie going up in this spot and coax the readers who hang out anonymously in the background to step forth to be momentarily seen and/or heard.
Okay, here's our first contest. I think it'll be quite a hoot. It's called:
"I Can Lie Just Like James Frey"
Here are the rules: The most moving, funny, or powerful personal experiences (outrageously fictitious, of course), no more than 200 words, e-mailed to me at thelozone@lolitafiles.com (NOT in the "comments" section on this blog) will receive an autographed copy of the soundtrack (signed by both me and Mel Jackson). I'll be giving away five cds this go 'round (then I'll do a different, goofier contest), so step forward people. Oh, and I'll do a post of those five winning fictitious personal experiences on this blog. So don't be shy. What's there to be timid about? It's not like it'll be the truth.
C'mon, flex the liar in you!! The world is full of fabulists, why shouldn't you get in on the fun? Who knows, maybe some literary agent or publishing exec is out there in cyberspace anonymously reading my blog, just like you (trust me, they are). He or she might notice your sensational little fairy tale and suddenly see dollar signs. Next thing you know, you've got a book deal and your own media-storm of attention. You too can be the next James Frey!!!
Hey, don't knock it...that bastard's RICH.
Cedar Park Entertainment MySpace.com: Silena Murrell MySpace.com: Scott Storch Previously: The Lo Zone: Meet Silena Murrell. |
posted by Lo @ 5:34 PM   |
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| Toshi's Fifteen Minutes |
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Let's face it: everybody wants to be famous. That includes my Akita, Toshi, who, in a desperate attempt to make it on the blog today, began to do a stupid pet trick, but got lazy and settled for this:
It's Friday and I'm feeling generous. I'll let her have her few moments of fame.
Speaking of fame, have you bought my new book yet?
Well? What are you waiting for? Go get it!! (Or click the above link and order it while you're sitting at the computer.)
Oh yeah, did you know that every time you buy a copy of Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame., an angel gets its wings? Okay, maybe that doesn't happen, but who can prove it? I do know this much: every time you buy my book, I get that much closer to a new pair of Blahniks.
Buy a book. Shoe an author. Hey, at least I'm being honest, unlike some people...

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posted by Lo @ 1:52 PM   |
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| Take Me To Your Leader. |
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And here she is.
 So this is what it'll be like when black people rule the world. I've never seen such scared white folks in my life.
Oprah.com |
posted by Lo @ 9:22 AM   |
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| You're Invited... |
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...to the baddest, coldest, fiercest union of two kickass souls the superhero universe has ever seen.
[click image to enlarge, then click again to make even bigger] The invitations were distributed yesterday at a big to-do Marvel Comics made about the impending affair.
Per Newsarama.com:Marvel Comics just concluded a press conference to promote the upcoming wedding of the Black Pather and Storm. Participants in the conference included writers Reginald Hudlin and Eric Jerome Dickey, along with the usual Marvel staffers.
And as the accompanying “invitation” details, the build-up to the Wedding will start in March’s Black Panther #14 by Hudlin and artist Scot Eaton, and the February-debuting Storm six-issue limited series by Dickey and David Yardin.
Also part of the mix is the May Marvel Milestones: Black Panther and Storm collecting Marvel Team-Up #100 and 2000’s Black Panther Vol. 2 #26, and a June Uncanny X-Men Annual #1 by Chris Claremont, billed as an “All-new wedding tie-in focusing on Storm’s past”.
The event then cumulates in July’s Black Panther #18, “The Wedding”. This is the coolest part of the invitation:Standing up for the groom will be Reginald Hudlin & Scott Eaton
 Giving away the bride will be Eric Jerome Dickey & David Yardin I'm so excited!!! I'm am soooo going!!! Umma get me some new shoes (we love new shoes!!!), and some African garb, maybe in a nice camel color so I don't upstage the bride, and a big ol' Erykah Badu headwrap, and a, and a, and a...huh? What? You mean I can't actually GO to the wedding? Oh. It's happening in the comic book? Oh. Well, can I still get the new shoes?
This is so awesome. Eric and Reggie, both huge fans of comics, are making history.
Go 'head, brothermen!! Do the damn thang!!
(...slipping off to get some new shoes...)
Newsarama: Black Panther/Storm Wedding Press Conference COMICON.com PULSE: Black Panther/Storm Wedding Conference Eric Jerome Dickey.com Hudlin Entertainment.com Previously: The Lo Zone: When Nerdy Girls Attack |
posted by Lo @ 9:05 AM   |
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| All Hail The Jamie & David Show!!! |
| Thursday, January 26, 2006 |
I've been trying to post this all day, but I kept being distracted by business that demanded my immediate attention. But this day (or tomorrow) will not pass without me giving major props to the most excellent Jamie Foxx NBC special, Unpredictable, that aired last night.
What made this show even more exciting was that it was written and co-produced by The People's Playwright, author extraordinaire, Hollywood's newest kickass film director, the tall, handsome and choclotastic (all respect due his gorgeous and talented wife, Lyn), super-smooth...
The sexy, Oscar-nabbing, Billboard chart-topping Jamie Foxx (whose cd, Unpredictable, as of today, has once again unseated Mary J. Blige's The Breakthrough and returned to the top position) and NAACP Image Award-winning David E. Talbert together? How totally cool was that!!!
A stellar array of celebrated musicians came through to perform in duets, alone, and in collaborative performances, including Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder, Angie Stone, Common, Snoop, and Game.
Interwoven between these fabulous performances were touching, bittersweet, and seriocomic theater-style skits depicting a young Jamie and his grandmother as she chastised and encouraged him through the life lessons that would ultimately lead him to his success today. Quite an impressive production. In the words of my favorite song from Jamie's Unpredictable cd, it was a one-night Extravaganza.
The special will air again tomorrow night at 8pm EST/7pm CST (8pm Pacific). Be sure to watch it, or set your TiVos if you plan on being out. Heck, set your TiVos anyway. This show is so swole, it pops at the seams. You'll want to watch it again and again.
To my dear friend David...
...Well done!!! Hollywood better brace itself for the likes of you!!!
NBC.com: Unpredictable David E. Talbert.com |
posted by Lo @ 8:04 PM   |
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| The Frying Of James Frey: Making Up For Lost Time |
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Today's Publishers Lunch reports the following, which was in the Seattle Times (emphasis in bold is mine):[...] two Seattle residents filed suit in federal court against Frey and Random House, charging "breach of contract, unjust enrichment, negligent misrepresentation, intentional misrepresentation and violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act," according to the Seattle Times. The plaintiffs, whose main request is to be compensated for the "lost time" in reading the book, are seeking class action for the suit. The newspapers says the suit is "apparently the third of its kind to be filed across the nation, seeks class-action status against Frey and the publisher." Hot-ta-mighty-no!!! This is about to get real, real, real REAL.
Suing for LOST TIME? Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit. If they win, I'm taking me some folks to court. Do you know all the lost time I've racked up over the years? At the very least, I should be compensated for some of the BS relationships that wasted chunks of months (and sometimes, years) at a time.
The irony is, once all this is over, James Frey might actually have the makings of a really good memoir.
Too bad nobody will ever get to see it.
Seattle Times: Seattle suit filed for "lost time" over controversial best-seller |
posted by Lo @ 12:33 PM   |
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| A Million Little What-The-Fucks |
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Yaaaaaay. This means I get to make at least five or six more "A Million Little (Something)" jokes.
Okay, here goes one:
That clicking sound you hear? A million little TiVos being set to record this show when it comes on this afternoon. (For those who don't get to see it early in the day.) I can't wait.
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posted by Lo @ 11:50 AM   |
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| Goofiest. President. EVER. |
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He just interrupted my regularly scheduled programming to do what was being deemed a very serious and somber press conference dealing with what to do about Hamas. Ten seconds into his very grave speech, right after he uttered the words, "We live in momentous times," this shit happens:
He tried to ignore it for a good five seconds, but it was SWINGING IN HIS FACE, blocking the camera. You gotta give it to him. He did try to act like it wasn't even happening. Finally, he had to acknowledge it, as ALL OF AMERICA saw it SWINGING IN HIS FACE.
Turns out it was a piece of faulty equipment that chose the most opportune moment possible to break on our illustrious leader. Hilarity ensues. Turns out that faulty equipment was also blocking the only camera facing the Prez, so the next five minutes of the press conference were spent like this:
Sorta took all the thunder out of his "serious" speech.
Let's face it, people. Our country's being run by the Keystone Cops.
 Remind me again who voted him in? (Hey y'all, if I'm missing tomorrow after making this quip, send help. Call Kanye. Tell him to say something about it on tv and on a record. Have a rally. Send fried chicken. Don't y'all leave me hanging in the wind and let me go out like Tookie.)
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posted by Lo @ 10:34 AM   |
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| (Sea) Monkey See, (Sea) Monkey Do |
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Gallery of the Absurd brings up a very interesting point in its comparison of the ever-so-popular pet-that-always-failed-to- live-up-to-expectations of the Seventies: Sea-Monkeys...
[click image to enlarge]
...and the celebrities that populate the tabloids.
Per Gallery:Both Sea-Monkeys and tabloid regulars are promoted as entertaining and attention-loving creatures who live in a world of make-believe. Celebrity stylists, makeup artists, image consultants and agents all work together to transform a marginally talented person into a super-hyped entity that seems to transcend normal human existence...just as Harold von Braunhut, creator of "Sea-Monkeys" was able to transform brine shrimp into the illusion of playful and friendly aquatic simians who wore crowns and lived in castles. Gallery of the Absurd then delivers a celebrity-based rendering of the Sea-Monkey ad. When you click the picture to enlarge it, pay close attention to what's going on in the fishbowl. Heck, pay close attention to everything, including the text. There's all kinds of good stuff going on in there.
[click image to enlarge] So clever. So true. (And that bag of Cheetos the baby's holding in the Celeb-Monkey pic? Priceless!!!)
Gallery of the Absurd: Celebrities are Just Like Sea-Monkeys |
posted by Lo @ 10:27 AM   |
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| Wicked Good. |
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Saw Jada and her band Wicked Wisdom make their television debut on Letterman last night.
 My gawd. They rocked THE HELL out of the Ed Sullivan Theater!!!
 They were bonafide, headbanging, hard-driving musicians, and Jada sang her ass off.
 All I could do was sit there and stare at the tv screen in wonder.
Big Ups to them for doing the damn thing and to Jada for refusing to let herself be put in a box. A lot of people were skeptical about the rock thing (I was one of them). Shame on me. The Letterman performance was bananas. I went online and ordered the cd as soon as they played their final note.
Give it up, people. A kick-ass rock band is born. Wicked Wisdom Wicked Wisdom: The CD
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posted by Lo @ 9:38 AM   |
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| My Guess Is, At This Point... |
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...he's totally unreachable. Way off the Richter of anything remotely close to sane. So let's have a moment of silence remembering him the way he used to be:
 It was nice knowing you, Brown Michael.
The creature that stole your body...
 ...ran your shit into the ground. ABC News: Michael Jackson Spotted in Robe and Veil |
posted by Lo @ 9:05 AM   |
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| The Greatest What-The-Fuck Of All: My Balls Are More Galactic Than The Galactic Balls Of Black Jesus |
| Wednesday, January 25, 2006 |
The Great and Wonderful Karu F. Daniels has just ensured my eternal servitude. Not only did I get that really great headlining feature on AOL Black Voices this week, they've taken it up another notch and put me on the front page of AOL Black Voices as the lead flash photo story for the Entertainment section. Here's the screenshot (notice I circled the Kanye West Poses as Jesus in red):
[click image to enlarge] How hot is that? That cat was Jesus this week, yet I got the front page (he's probably like, "yeah, bitch, but did you get the cover of Rolling Stone?")
To which I'd say..."Gimme time, gimme time." Or, as my editor, Jennifer Pooley, told me:
Obviously you better go find some water to walk on.
I'm still trying to perfect that trick. In the meantime, umma go find some pants to fit these big balls o'mine. I would wear a skirt, but it's been windy here of late. All it'd take is one quick breeze. Once L.A. got a glimpse of my uber-nuts, it just might shut down the whole damn city.
AOL Black Voices AOL News: Kanye West Poses as Jesus for Rolling Stone Previously: The Lo Zone: Kanye West Has Galactic Balls Previously: AOL Black Voices: BV Entertainment Newswire Jan 23: Lolita Files, Juelz Santana, Lou Gossett, Jr., Barbara Britton Previously: The Lo Zone: Karu F. Daniels Rocks!!! |
posted by Lo @ 3:18 PM   |
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| To Live And (Almost) Die In L.A., Part 3...A Possible Explanation |
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Did he and Halle split? (Not that they ever acknowledged they were together.) Is this old news and I'm just now catching on? I'd heard various reports of on-off-on regarding them, but I could have sworn they were still dating.
Per Page Six, I guess not:HALLE Berry is hot to trot for studly Versace model Gabriel Aubry. Our spywitness spotted Berry, 39, all over the 30-year-old male mannequin at a cast dinner for the movie "Perfect Strangers" hosted by Bruce Willis at the Soho Grand. We're told the enthusiastic Oscar winner and Aubry smooched and touched each other during the entire meal. After their lip-smacking supper, the lovebirds slipped upstairs to Berry's suite, presumably for dessert. I wonder if women have started to step to Ealy now that he's Berry-free. Perhaps that explains what happened to The Notorious P.R.I.
Maybe everybody's favorite shot-up Prius was being driven by some Hollywood skrat (skank+rat) trying to kick some stank Mike's way, when suddenly Storm jumped out of the bushes and commenced to spraying.
Just because Storm Halle's not with him anymore doesn't mean she set him free. I mean, seriously...is any man ever truly free from Halle Storm?
New York Post: Page Six: Berry Hot Dude Previously: The Lo Zone: To Live And (Almost) Die In L.A., Part 2 Previously: The Lo Zone: To Live And (Almost) Die In L.A. |
posted by Lo @ 10:19 AM   |
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| Chris Penn Dead? WTF????????????? |
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This one truly caught me offguard, not that anyone ever really expects death, at least, not when everything seems to be fine. Chris Penn, brother of actor Sean Penn, has long been a favorite of mine, well-suited for his many memorable roles as edgy, forked-tongued tough guys---the kind that would be your ride-or-die dawg---in such excellent films as At Close Range, True Romance, and Reservoir Dogs. He was a damn talented actor.
Per Reuters.com:[...] Penn...was found dead on Tuesday at an apartment near the Pacific Ocean in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Monica, police sources said.
No cause of death was immediately determined but there was no signs of foul play, the sources added. Funny how when someone like him dies, an actor you only know from roles he's played that garnered your respect, it catches you unaware. I never met the man, but it's as though, somehow, a bit of the mosaic of what makes up my life just fell away. It all falls away sooner or later, I guess. One tile at a time.
R.I.P., Chris.
Reuters.com: Actor Chris Penn dead, no sign of foul play-police |
posted by Lo @ 9:05 AM   |
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| The What-The-Fuckmania Continues - Breaking: Disney And Pixar Go From Regretful One Night Stand To Full-On Banging For Keeps |
| Tuesday, January 24, 2006 |
What do you get when you cross Mickey and Nemo?
I don't know, but whatever it is, the wicked-cool genius that is Steve Jobs is laughing his ass off for having convinced them they could bang in the first place. And he got paid major loot for it.
Per Variety.com (all emphasis in the following is mine):Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios Tuesday unveiled a hotly anticipated merger that marks the end of Pixar's status as possibly the most successful independent film company ever, and promises a renaissance at Disney's animation division.
Disney will acquire Pixar in an all-stock transaction worth about $7.4 billion expected to be completed by this summer.
Terms call for 2.3 Disney shares to be issued for each outstanding share of Pixar.
As most deals do, it's likely to bring a degree of culture clash and a number of layoffs -- particularly in Disney's animation division.
[...]
Pixar chairman Steve Jobs will join Disney's board as a non-independent director. He owns 50.6% of Pixar and thus will become one of Disney's largest shareholders. $7.4 billion. One of Disney's largest shareholders. See, this is why I love Steve Jobs.
Not only is he as smart as all get-out and Silicon Valley-cute---(you know that's a different kind of cute than regular cute...you make allowances and such because the guy usually comes with ten figures)---he's one of the shrewdest businessmen around. Expect the Mickey Nano to hit malls and Magic Kingdoms the world over in the next month or so.
And then, the most exciting of all...

The Mickey Mac!!!
(Yeah, I know it's a Pixar merger and Apple's not involved, but come on. Do you REALLY think Steve Jobs would be connected to Disney and not use the relationship to Apple-ize it from top to bottom? Please.)
Variety.com - Disney confirms Pixar acquisition |
posted by Lo @ 6:48 PM   |
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| The Magical Mystery Tour: Inside The Head Of A Delusional Man (Part 1) |
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Check this out, people. (Ladies, you in particular need to pay attention.)
See this? You see it? This is the face of a man who thinks he's about to get PAID. Well, more paid, for as we already know, he's been getting paid like a mug, even as he secretly siphons off cash from assorted ATMs in the Greater Los Angeles area on a regular basis...
...thus ensuring his backup stash of liquid funds is set when the day arrives that his luck runs out. And it will run out. All stupid women eventually come to their senses, although they might be a little lot lighter in the purse and strapped with a some babies for their troubles. (No offense to stupid women. We've all been a little loopy for love at some point or another. What separates us is how long our loopiness lasts. Check yourselves. If this sounds like your man, gitdafugout..NOW.)
Back to this fool. The top picture is a screenshot of him in the studio, playing for you what he believes is a bonafide hit, his first single, PopoZao, from his imminently-shitastic cd "whateverdafuck," (seriously, do you really care what it's called?), coming to you much sooner than the law should allow. (Speaking of which, how come shit doesn't have a speed limit? It should only be able to travel at a certain pace to allow folks a chance to get out of the way.)
Anyway, check out Kevs digging on his own (he believes) Billboard chart-topping brilliance. This is incredible, and I mean that in the most literal sense of the word. You've got to see it to believe it.
Enjoy!!! Don't laugh so hard that you spit up on your screen.
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posted by Lo @ 4:23 PM   |
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| (File Under, "Holy What-The-Fuck!!!") - Breaking: UPN And The WB Merge |
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I was busy working on two other posts when this shock of a shocker came in via e-mail alert from Variety.com. It's taken me a little while (just over an hour) to post it because I wanted to have a little fun with Photoshop first.
Per the article:CBS Corp., Warner Bros. Entertainment and Tribune Co. announced Tuesday they're shutting down both the struggling WB and UPN and merging the two into a new entity called The CW.
Move will unite shows such as "Everybody Hates Chris," "Gilmore Girls," and "Veronica Mars" on one network, distributed by CBS and Tribune-owned stations.
The new fifth network, a 50-50 joint venture between CBS and Time WarnerTime Warner, will be distributed on CBS and Tribune-owned stations, reaching 95% of the country. I wonder what The CW stands for? I'm betting it's Coloreds (&) Whites. The Coloreds (&) Whites Television Network. Aw, c'mon, don't act like I'm the only one who believes knows UPN was suffering from a serious case of hyperpigmentation.
(Just in case you want some clarity on the definition of hyperpigmentation, the Dermatologic Disease Database defines it as "a [...] usually harmless condition in which patches of skin become darker in color than the normal surrounding skin." In this case, I would say that UPN would be the dark patches, and ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and The WB were the "normal" surrounding skin.)
It should be a decent match. Both netlets have choice demographics. The WB has the much-coveted youth market down pat, and UPN has the ever-so-popular "Black people...they're just like us!" thing going on. I wonder if they'll cross-pollinate some of the shows or do mirror versions of them to provide balance. I can't wait to see The CW's version of Eve...
 which I imagine will be called Dawn (get it?).
Or their version of The WB's Smallville...
 ... Hunglikeahorseland. Or what I'm sure is destined to become a cross-pollinated runaway hit: Everybody Hates Reba(Who the hell was watching Reba anyway? How is that show still on the air? It doesn't even match The WB's demographic.) Let the fun-with-young-and-urban-demographics begin!!! Variety.com - WB, UPN merge |
posted by Lo @ 2:53 PM   |
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| To Live And (Almost) Die In L.A., Part 2 |
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[click image to enlarge]
Kudos to Lo Zone reader J., who offered up a banging explanation of what happened to the shot-up Prius I spotted last Friday so unassumingly parked on Ventura Boulevard in Encino.
Herewith, J.'s most excellent analysis: Some asshole guy in an asshole job (investment banker, advertising exec... whatever) falls in love with a hippie barista named Lila at the Starbucks he goes to every morning. She moves in, they're in love, he buys vegan pseudoburgers and takes yoga and buys a Prius. She sleeps with the cashier at Barnes and Noble. In a fit of anti-environmentalist (and anti-Lila) rage, he parks the car in front of the store and shoots it full of holes, then goes to purchase the vehicle with the worst gas mileage he can find so he can finally go back to McDonalds. Bravura, J.!!! This was great. It had all the requisite Hollywood elements (opposites attracting, love, the instant relationship, betrayal, and revenge). We salute you for being bold enough to step out of the shadows and help us understand the madness that is human interaction in L.A. This is why people are so isolated here. Mingling can be scary. If a Prius driver can't escape the wrath, what makes you think that you will?
[click image to enlarge] Sooner or later, all roads in L.A. lead to a shot-up car. But if you're gonna rock holes, just make sure you're pretty with it.
(If anyone else wants to offer a clever spin on the "Who Shot Ya" mystery that is our hole-riddled Encino Prius---let's dub him The Notorious P.R.I.---feel free to chime in.)
Previously: The Lo Zone: To Live And (Almost) Die In L.A. |
posted by Lo @ 9:28 AM   |
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| My Book, My Book, My Book Is On The Shelf!!! |
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posted by Lo @ 9:05 AM   |
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| Karu F. Daniels ROCKS!!! |
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...and I plan to name ALL my babies after him. Karu the First, Karu the Second, Karu the Third. Umma stay knocked up just so folks will always be calling his name.
Why all the Karu love? Because he HOOKED A SISTAH UP!!! He's supercool peeps anyway, just a great guy all around and an excellent entertainment journalist, well-known for the many years The Ru Report appeared in the EUR and on the EUR's website. Now he's doing big things over at AOL and their Black Voices division, and is always up on the most current haps in the entertainment world.
And today he featured yours truly---(*bowing*)---and all the good stuff we've got going with my new book, Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame....
...in the BV Entertainment Newswire, and he gave me prime real estate to boot!! Top billing!!
Here's a partial screen shot of the wonderful madness:
[click to enlarge] And you can read the whole thing right here:
We's feeling mighty happy right now. We's doing the Snoopy dance.
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posted by Lo @ 4:27 PM   |
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| To Live And (Almost) Die In L.A. |
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In a classic case of "what the fuck happened here?" that should no longer surprise me (but still somehow does), I saw the following as I sat at a traffic light on Ventura Boulevard in Encino this past Friday afternoon.
[click image to enlarge] Just in case you still don't get the gist of this, here's another half-shot of the car:
[click image to enlarge] Yup, folks...them there's bulletholes. Seven, to be exact. We happened to have a camera in the car and commenced to snapping before the light changed and I had to pull off. Still, being the writer that I am---a fiction writer---ever since I drove away, I found myself pondering the possibilities of what must have happened.
Scenarios I've come up with so far:1. A slaphappy environmentalist is driving on the 405 in his cute little Prius on his way to a Greenpeace meeting. He cuts off a rapper in a gas-guzzling H2. Said rapper is exhausted (and blazed) after an all-nighter in the studio and has no time for such fuckery. Chaos and bulletholes ensue...
2. A slaphappy PETA member is driving on the 134 in her cute little Prius on her way to work at NBC and cuts off a big-shot film director in a gas-guzzling Aston Martin. The director's date is wearing a mink. The slaphappy PETA member gives both the finger. The director's just been pulled off his current film for going way overbudget and has no time for such bird-flipping fuckery. Chaos and bulletholes ensue...
3. A grim-faced-but-environmentally-conscious Crip passes an equally grim-faced-but-environment- loving Blood on the 101. Both are in Priuses of the same color and, for a fleeting moment, realize they share a common bond. The bangers smile and nod at each other, then suddenly remember their respective roles, frown, and pull out matching weaponry. Chaos, bulletholes, and identical shot-up Priuses ensue...
4. An elderly woman is inside the bank where the car is parked and has no idea the cute little Prius her sitcom-starring son gave her has been randomly shot up by bored, rowdy rich kids during the ten minutes that have lapsed since she's been inside. Chaos and coronaries ensue...
5. The world's most aggressive team of repo men attempt to recover the car from the sitcom-starring son after his show is abruptly cancelled. Chaos and lies to his elderly mother about his new job (moonlighting in soft porn) ensue...
6. The car, purchased at a police auction, is spotted by its former owner (an egomaniacal studio exec arrested for soliciting sex from minors on the internet) moments after he's just been released from jail. Chaos and recidivism ensue... Help me out here, people. I could do this all day.
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posted by Lo @ 10:26 AM   |
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| Emily Runs Out Of Reasons |
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ABC has snatched what was supposed to be Heather Graham's high-hoped catapult into Sarah Jessica Parkerville clean off the airwaves after just one episode. Because shit is shit, and shit stinks like a mofo, and the execs at the Home of the Housewives hoped to disinfect the place before you could notice the stench.
Per TMZ.com :ABC committed to the big promotional campaign before even seeing a script for the show, said ABC entertainment president Stephen McPherson on Saturday. The series turned out to be a dog creatively, he indicated.
"Once we saw it was not launching, we felt like unfortunately it was not going to get better and we had to make a change," McPherson said. It's okay, Heather. At least you still have your film career. And considering the way you really threw yourself into your role in the skintastic thriller/bump-uglyfest Killing Me Softly...
...there's definitely a place for you in the wild world of porn.
TMZ.com: News - ABC Defends Cancellation of 'Emily's' Emily's Reasons Why Not |
posted by Lo @ 10:08 AM   |
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| No More West Wing |
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Just when it had started to get really good again, The West Wing has decided to fly off to that big ol' hangar in the sky. Forever.
According to AccessHollywood.com:The multi-Emmy award winning political drama will air for the last time on Sunday, May 14 in a special two-hour broadcast.
An hour-long retrospective will be followed by a special series finale, accordiong to Kevin Reilly, NBC Entertainment President.
"We are proud to have had the opportunity to bring television viewers one of the most acclaimed series in television history," Reilly said in a statement. "From the venerable, moving performances by the first-rate cast to the sterling creative team behind the camera, this series has left an indelible imprint on the landscape of television drama." I guess, like they say, all good things must come to an end. I could think of some shows other than The West Wing that could take a similar hint, but of course, those are the ones that linger forever, like indestructible cockroaches on the television landscape.
Oh well.
AccessHollywood.com - Breaking News - 'West Wing' Calls It Quits |
posted by Lo @ 9:49 AM   |
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| Best. Sunday. Night. Ever. |
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(Okay, it may not be the best EVER, but it was the best Sunday night so far this year.)
So I'm at the Laugh Factory on Sunset in Hollywood last night for Chocolate Sundaes, the "urban" comedy night hosted by comedian Chris Spencer.
Chocolate Sundaes is always fun and you're guaranteed to get your laugh on and see a fair share of surprise celebrities gracing the audience. I don't go nearly as often as I'd like, but I was there with my friend Cortney Gee, who is a comedian and was one of the acts scheduled to perform.
As soon as Cortney finished his set, Chris and his partner Pookie returned to the stage and began casually talking to the audience, as they usually do. Then Pookie suddenly announced a surprise: Dave Chappelle was about to take the stage. We (the audience) went straight bonkers. Seconds later, there he was, Mr. "I'm Rich, Bitch!" himself...
...on stage, smoking cigarettes and ripping funny after funny as we sat there simultaneously mesmerized and busting up in hysterics. (All I can say is "Yogi Coudoux."
That was the running theme of his entire hilarious act). Chappelle was up there for a good long time, giving us more laughs than we could have hoped for...
...in addition to getting quite frank about what ran him off Comedy Central. (Not the rumored Dark Crusaders, he clarified. "They weren't dark at all," he said. "In fact, they were quite light. It was white people.")
Afterwards, my comedian friend Cortney took a picture with the very likable Mr. Chappelle.
It was a real dream of an evening. First Kobe scores 81 points...
...and then Dave Chappelle takes the stage?
It doesn't get any more magical than that.
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posted by Lo @ 9:05 AM   |
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| Buy This Book, Or She'll Beat A Bitch's Ass!!! |
| Friday, January 20, 2006 |
If you thought the Star Jones Reynolds book tour was something, wait until this madness blows into your town.
[click image to enlarge] Yup. Kimora Lee Simmons is coming your way in March, peddling her own special brand of wonderfulness, direct from her to you.
I have to admit, I do love her Baby Phat clothing line and have purchased a fair share of it. The woman does know fabulousness, if nothing else.
But she's got a reputation for being very brassy and ballsy. Hey, you don't get to be who she is by being a wimp. She knows what she wants and she demands it. If that doesn't work, she just walks up and takes it.
Think I'm lying? Read this lovely little blast from last year's past, an article in Vanity Fair called The Phat Life to see just how fabulously in-your-face Mrs. Lee Simmons can be. Enjoy.
Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!
Amazon.com: Fabulosity |
posted by Lo @ 10:27 AM   |
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| Shining Star |
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ConcreteLoop.com had this amazing picture of Star Jones.
I gotta give the girl her props. She looks simply lovely in this pic. If this is what love'll do to you, maybe I need to look into all the hoopla.
ConcreteLoop.com |
posted by Lo @ 9:41 AM   |
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| Now I Ain't Sayin' You A Gold Digger... |
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...but ladies, just in case you're interested in jumping class, away from all the broke mofos who keep sticking you with everything but what it is you really need, here's a lil' something you might wanna check out.
Just for shits and giggles, here's a screenshot from the website describing the criteria for participating and meeting rich men. (Broke mofos, you can also meet rich women through this site):
[click image to enlarge] So have at it, ladies. Dive into MillionaireMatch.com and find the man of your monetary dreams. Just know going in that, no matter how idyllic things may seem, everything comes at a price. Don't let the pictures on the website deceive you. All of them show women being laced by men, holding hands walking on the beach, being swept away in wedding gowns on cruise ships, or chilling, like this lady here...
...as her rich man plays golf.
That may all be true, but keep in mind the very rich are often the freakiest, kinkiest, how'd-you-come-up-with-that-shit people of all. They can have practically anything (and more than likely they have), so it often takes a lot to excite them. Your new rich man will probably be used to getting whatever he wants, so he might not take too well to you resisting and/or challenging his requests. Like his need to see you suck a squirrel's nuts (and I don't mean the ones they store for winter) in order for him to get turned on. But hey, if that's cool with you, bring on the squirrels!!!
Your man will be happy, the squirrels might be a bit baffled but curiously willing, and you'll get to shop 'til you drop!!! You'll be in the finest of clothes, the fanciest of cars, and the poshest of penthouses. You'll vacation in St. Barts (or wherever the very rich go), and winter in Aspen. Your friends may not understand why you bug out a little every time you see a squirrel, but then, your friends are probably women just like you who married rich too, so they've probably got their own quirks.
Like getting the shakes every time they see a burro.
MillionaireMatch.com |
posted by Lo @ 9:05 AM   |
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| Note To Self: No F*cking In Front Of The Dogs |
| Thursday, January 19, 2006 |
Besides possibly guaranteeing myself a gang-banging of the most unwelcome kind, here's yet another reason for me not to get raw and rowdy with a guy in front of my furry crew. CNN.com reports on a pet parrot in the UK who busted up an obviously already-shaky relationship with his snitchy chatter.
The bird, whose name is Ziggy, obviously couldn't keep what he'd seen and heard to himself:
The African grey parrot kept squawking "I love you, Gary" as his owner, Chris Taylor, sat with girlfriend Suzy Collins on the sofa of their shared flat in Leeds, northern England.
But when Taylor saw Collins's embarrassed reaction, he realized she had been having an affair -- meeting her lover in the flat whilst Ziggy looked on, the UK's Press Association reported.
Ziggy even mimicked Collins's voice each time she answered her telephone, calling out "Hiya Gary," according to newspaper reports.
Call-center worker Collins, 25, admitted the four-month affair with a colleague called Gary to her boyfriend and left the flat she had shared with Taylor, 30, for a year.
Taylor said he had also been forced to part with Ziggy after the bird continued to call out Gary's name and refused to stop squawking the phrases in his ex-girlfriend's voice, media reports said.
"I wasn't sorry to see the back of Suzy after what she did, but it really broke my heart to let Ziggy go," he said.
"I love him to bits and I really miss having him around, but it was torture hearing him repeat that name over and over again. Hmmm...I also have a bird. A very sweet, fanatically loyal white-and-grey dove (or pigeon, whodafuck knows what it is) that I rescued two years ago. His name is B-Bird (I'm so friggin' clever...and yes, y'all, it's Wild Kingdom up in this piece.)
B-Bird is pretty cool and quite smart, although he can get a little noisy at times. Not that often. Only when I get phone calls or if there's bad singing on tv. He apparently, however, loves Cyndi Lauper, because she was just on The View singing her beautiful classic hit, Time After Time...
...and he was positively enthralled, bobbing his head in silence to the beat. Seriously. He does that.
B-Bird's cage is very near my bed. Fortunately, he can't talk, so he can't tell anyone what he sees (or doesn't see) going on in my bedroom.
But if he ever thought about it, I'd politely remind him of the name of my last book...
 And that, I believe, would be the end of that.
CNN.com: Mouthy parrot 'reveals sex secret' |
posted by Lo @ 2:17 PM   |
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| Why Actors Need "People" |
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Check out Ted McGinley, guest-hosting with Kelly on Live with Regis & Kelly this morning.
He obviously has no "people." No publicist, no style coach, no advisors on how to present himself in the best possible light. It's bad enough that he's wearing white after Labor Day, as Kelly pointed out the moment they sat down behind the desk. (See? I'm learning, Victoria!!!) That was just the beginning. Once they transitioned to the high chairs, Ted sat like this for most of the show.
Body language, anybody?
I don't take nuts with my morning tea.
Live with Regis & Kelly |
posted by Lo @ 1:19 PM   |
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| Omar In Essence: The Backlash |
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Responses have been raining down on me left and right regarding yesterday's post about Omar Tyree's piece (heh-heh, his 'piece', heh-heh) in the February issue of Essence magazine.
[click image to enlarge] Lots of comments from the general public as well as fellow literati, some quite amusing and nearly all on point in their own special way. I've decided to post a bit at a time. All material is anonymously-referenced, out of respect to the readers of my blog who vent to me under the assurance of privacy (unless they request that I announce who they are).
One author said the following:Oh-My-I'm-Tired AKA Omar Tyree sounds (and is) very self-centered and pompous, like he who holds the dick/paycheck should automatically get pussy. Making the paper does not entitle a man to pussy, not unless he's out at www.craigslist.com picking up whores under the erotic section at $250 a pop. I hate one-sided articles. IMHO, maybe the woman he's married to needs put on her shoes and shuffle out of the kitchen long enough to speak up. Speak up, Mrs. I'm-Tired (unless she's Celie and is afraid Mista's gonna pop her if she gets outta hand). Speak now or forever...have to live with this bullshit. Pull up a barstool and tell the world (well, the part of the world who might be interested in your I'm-Tired crew) how maybe the fucking ain't all that, how he's weak with tongue, foreplay ain't happening, how he wants to enter you dry and the ride is done before any dampness occurs, how his ass is (speculation on my part) is always in the basement on the sofa jacking off to Tyra Banks, how you're dealing with all them rug rats.
Oh I'm Tired.
He makes men sound like we're (all) insensitive sexaholics. Being famous does not make your woman/wife/lover become your indentured servant. Hey, how about trying this to turn your woman on, to put her in the mood: RESPECT. Being married, committed, and monogamous does not make you a good man or a good woman. Saying you're tortured, that sort of voids all the other trying-to-sound-sensitive bullshit in that article. Essence should be shot by tree activists for letting that crap get inked on precious paper. I would say the next time Oh-I'm-Tired speaks, scribble his narcissistic ramblings on two-ply, but I'd hate for any of us (including Mrs. I'm-Tired) to end up catching IBS. Ba-dum-bum...chee!!
And that concludes my "A Lot Of People Think Omar Needs To Shut The Fuck Up And Go Sit Down Somewhere" segment for today.
More to follow as I suffocate under a barrage of responses from equally-repulsed readers of yesterday's Omar post.
Your words, people. I'm just the messenger.
Previously: The Lo Zone: Omar Tyree Presents...How To Guarantee Yourself A Divorce (Without Having To Ask For It) |
posted by Lo @ 12:58 PM   |
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| Dancing With The D-List (On Ice) |
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Yet another one of those Something-with-the-Somethings shows that gives D-listers another shot at the limelight debuted last night. This time it was stars on ice, Skating with Celebrities, to be exact. The show was in the plum time slot following American Idol, so it should have done halfway decently. Or not.
[click image to enlarge] It was actually kinda alright. Todd Bridges impressed the heck out of me, dancing with his partner to Will Smith's song Wild Wild West.
 Todd had pretty good form. And "rhythm," as one of the (white) judges pointed out.
Todd responded with Gary Coleman's trademark flabbergasted ghetto-black-boy-in-a-lily-white-world response, the infamous, "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout...?" A tiny piece of something deep inside of me that gave half a shit hoped this was not a harbinger of how he would be for the duration of his time on the show. If so, I'm seriously rooting for Todd to fall and bust his ass next week and get booted off, because, as much as I liked his performance last night, it would kill me to hear him utter that nonsense every week.
Jillian Barberie and her partner did an excellent job, coming out on top of all the other pairs with the best score of the night. It was good to see Jillian moving gracefully across the ice instead of pop-locking to Snoop and Fiddy, as she is so wont to do first thing in the morning.
My favorite dance pair, however, was Nancy Kerrigan and the guy from Full House, Dave Coulier.
They totally rocked, dancing and skating to the Blues Brothers' cover of Soul Man. Coulier apparently has experience playing ice hockey and it showed. They were fun and fantastic, and should have scored higher than Jillian and her partner, but didn't. There's always next week, when the show moves to Mondays, its regularly scheduled night. It's a pretty sure bet that Jillian will, at some point, be overtaken with the irresistible urge to pop-lock in the middle of a routine (she can't help herself)...
...which will momentarily screw her and her partner and make for uproarious television. Until she breaks into her wigger version of Candy Shop, at which point millions of residual Idol viewers who followed the show to its new night will immediately defect for the nearest CSI: Anything, even if it means they're an hour too early.
Fox Broadcasting Company: Skating with Celebrities |
posted by Lo @ 10:16 AM   |
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| How Is It Possible That Paula Deen Is Still Alive? |
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Let me make one thing perfectly clear: I love myself some Paula Deen.
I'm talking, love her like she's family. I know women like her. I'm related to women like her. Deep down, I am a woman like her. I'm a product of people from the Deep South (the Mississippi Delta). I spent every summer vacation of my youth visiting the heart and the heat of the Delta. I also lived in Montgomery, Alabama for five years during the time I worked as a corporate manager for KinderCare, and spent an enormous amount of time in Atlanta and Birmingham as well.
Paula's show, Paula's Home Cooking...
...is my favorite on the Food Network (and I love the Food Network, so that's saying a lot). Sometimes I leave it on all day, watching show after show or just letting it run in the background. I am an avid cook and appreciator of food, and, to me, watching people cook on tv is one of the most sinfully sensuous things in the world, more provocative than the most gonzo of porn (...not that I know anything about gonzo porn).
Which is why I'm worried about my Paula. I'm so afraid she's gonna just fall the fuck out one day, right there on tv, in the middle of gobbling a spoonful of butter pie, gulping a swallow of butter milkshake, or biting into a butter casserole. For those of you who don't know or watch Paula, she loves butter.
Butter, to Paula Deen, is second only to God and her boys.
Yesterday I watched her put a stick of butter in a pot of corn chowder (she has an endless supply of these creamy yellow sticks of death...expect to see her use at least three or four per thirty-minute episode). Once the chowder was done, she ladled some into a bowl, then cut two hunks from another stick of butter and put those ON TOP of the single serving of chowder. Then she plunged her spoon into that stroketastic bowl of buttery goodness and sampled herself a bite, rolling her eyes back in that way she does when she tastes something that (you and) she knows is simply scrumpdilly-deadlyishus. How is it that she has not suffered total cholesterol lock-up right before our eyes? How is the blood managing to chug through her veins? The passages must surely be pin-thin, so clogged they have to be with pure butterfat solids. A red blood cell doesn't stand a chance.
By all scientific and physiological measures, Paula should have keeled over from congestive heart failure at least two-three years ago. Yet there she is in her kitchen every afternoon at 4pm, armed to the teeth with sticks of butter, and I'm always right in front of the tv, her faithful little student/idolater, eager to see what she's going to suggest I shove a stick of butter into next. Yet something else perplexes me. When I make Paula's recipes, I get bigger. Miraculously, however, over the course of the three years-plus that Paula's been on the air, I've actually watched her get smaller, going from this...
...to this.
Huh? Where'd those chins go? Oh, I know. They went to my thighs.
Which makes me wonder about Paula and all those magical wands of decadent yellow goodness. Is the Stickabutter Plan the new South Beach Diet? Should I be dropping one into my morning smoothie? Will a few sticks a day keep the strokes away? There's no limit to Paula's uses for them. Considering the fact that she's still practically a newlywed, I can only imagine what she does with a stick of butter in the bedroom.
And if you watch Paula's show, you know that's not a far-fetched idea. I think that might actually be a stick of butter she's shoving in her husband's mouth in the picture above.
Food Network: Paula's Home Cooking The Lady & Sons |
posted by Lo @ 9:49 AM   |
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| Meet Cortney Gee. |
| Wednesday, January 18, 2006 |
...aka the Suge Knight of Sidesplitting Humor. Not that he's out there shooting other comedians and hanging them off of balconies and what not.
(Hey, real Suge, if by some freaky fluke you're reading this, them's just jokes!! I mean...
...I know you've never shot, maimed, or threatened another soul in your life. People underestimate how kind you are. You really oughta get a better PR person. Um, hey, has your name ever been submitted for the Nobel? That might be a good move towards image change. You should get your peeps to look into it. But I digress...)
Back to Cortney Gee. The Cocksman of Comedy. The Lord of the Laugh. The Pimp of Punchlines.
A man so cool, so funny, so smart, so big and scary in appearance when you first meet him, you might make a small squish of doodie in your seat before quickly realizing he's really a sweet gentle Ben---if he likes you. Cortney's so awesome, I made him a character in one of my books. He's Sleazy, the guy who basically saves the day all around, in my fifth novel, Tastes Like Chicken. Sleazy isn't just based on Cortney, he IS Cortney. Sleazy is actually my nickname for the real Cort. But it's 'Sleazy' in a good way, not some smarmy, ass-chasing, up-to-his-eyeballs in chicks coming through his crib kind of way. No sir. This is the kind of Sleazy you want as your friend, and he's damn funny, to boot.
You've seen him all over the place, in comedy clubs from L.A. to New York and all spots in between. He appeared on HBO's Def Comedy Jam, has made many, many appearances on BET's Comic View, and has shared the stage with some of the hottest acts in comedy today, including Steve Harvey, Mark Curry, DL Hughley, Chris Rock and Jamie Foxx. Right now, he's Cleveland's reigning King of Comedy (hey, if you're in Cleveland to begin with, lord knows you need to find a reason to laugh about it). Check him out if you get a chance. If you're stuck in Cleveland. Or catch him on TV. And you can always peep his website.
He's majorly good peeps, one of my favorites. He's the big brother I already had, a wonderful friend, and he comes in real handy for scaring the shit outta guys you want to bacdafucoff (unless it's him you're trying to get off your back, in which case, you're probably fucked...in more ways than one).
Get to know him for yourself. Girls, approach with caution. Cortney and Jamie both graduated from the Celebrity School of Crissy-Popping and Panty-Snatching (okay, so maybe it's more like Hpnotiq-opening, but the panty-snatching part is still there). The only reason I've escaped all these years is because he considers me cute but deceptively-and-dangerously cerebral, which essentially renders me unfuckable. No matter what, you'll have fun with Cort. The ladies love him...
(No, that is not a photoshopped picture. Janice Dickinson was actually trying to grab his johnson.)
And he's a real man's man, so he's always cool with the fellas.
Check him out. Besides, it'll do you some good. Everybody needs a little a buncha some Sleazy in their lives.
Cortney Gee: Taste the Sleaze.
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posted by Lo @ 3:16 PM   |
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| Omar Tyree Presents...How To Guarantee Yourself A Divorce (Without Having To Ask For It) |
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I don't know if you've seen this article in the February issue of Essence magazine---the one with Lauryn Hill on the cover. If you haven't, I've provided it below. It is one of the most explosive, oh-you-wanna-start-some-shit-dontcha pieces I've read in a very long time.
It's written by NAACP Image Award winning/bestselling author Omar Tyree, who's not exactly known for being either shy or conservative. Omar is a firebrand, a self-proclaimed cultural griot who relishes contention and is quick to speak his mind and tell you the way he thinks things should be.
I know Omar, so this isn't a personal dig at him, and I've never met his wife. For all I know, she could have cheered him on as he wrote this article (although I find that incredibly hard to believe, as she appears to be the intended target). This post is more about me wondering how I would respond if my man wrote an article about not exactly having his exceptionally intense male needs met, and then said article appeared in the most widely read magazine among African-American women. (I'm assuming Essence is tops in that category, but don't quote me. It could be O Magazine or something else for all I know. Any way you slice it, a helluva lotta people read Essence. Period.)
Here's just a hint of what Omar said (words in bold are my emphasis):Active men have always had extra mojo in their tanks, more than the average woman could keep up with. We are the barely-ever-sleeping, early-rising overachievers who have been spoiled by our own history of success, and, quite honestly, we love being rewarded for it. Now I understand that we can't always have what we want when we want it, but a hardworking man expects to receive as much as he gives. [...] So the question becomes, if his wife has run out of her initial fire, how willing is that man to live without it? After a while, if that one woman continues to keep her man malnourished, it is incredibly hard for him to say no to the hundreds of other women who are more than ready to feed him what he needs. I don't know about y'all, but if my man wrote something like this in a major magazine, all his shit---books, clothes, computers, jewelry, coats, shoes, music, manuscripts, pictures, pomade, doo-rags---would be on fire in the driveway when he returned, and I'm not a violent, knee-jerk kinda girl. Notice I didn't say "when he came home," because he wouldn't have a home anymore. Not with me. There'd be a gilded greasy spot in the driveway (melted jewelry, pomade, and all) marking where he made his last stand.
I'm just saying.
I'm all for servicing and being serviced and not taking each other's sexual needs for granted, even if there seems to be a marked disparity in the intensity of our drives, but I wouldn't want to be put on blast about it, nor would I publicly call my man out. Unless I was throwing down a gimme-more-dick-or-else gauntlet for real. You can't take this kind of stuff back. This is both a threat and an invitation. (To the wife and the groupies, respectively.)
Anyway, here's the article. You be the judge. Click the image once to enlarge it, then once it opens on another page, click it one more time to enlarge it again so that it will be large enough to read.
[click image to enlarge] Happy reading. Keep in mind this is the kind of stuff that makes you slap your man for no reason. Just for what he might be thinking. Your man may be nothing like Omar. In fact, I'd be willing to bet Omar would tell you himself there's not another man as alpha as he is walking the earth.
And in the words of Martha Stewart, that's a good thing.
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posted by Lo @ 9:05 AM   |
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| Drug-Smokin' Just To Get By, Stack Ya Crack 'Til It Gets Sky High (Kids, Sing!! Kids, Sing!!) |
| Tuesday, January 17, 2006 |
Looks like all that crack-attacking might have finally cracked the foundation of one of the greatest loves of all. (Y'all like how I did that with the 'crack' metaphor?)
Lloyd Grove details the possible crackup (I slay myself!!!) in his Lowdown column:A Lowdown spy reports that the 36-year-old Brown - who shares a 12-year-old daughter with the 42-year-old R&B superstar - has been telling friends and acquaintances they're splitsville.
The weekend before last, during a visit to the Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Conn., Brown was spotted chatting up pretty women backstage while the all-girl group SWV (which stands for Sisters With Voices) performed along with male groups Guy and Blackstreet.
"While flirting with a bunch of women, they asked, 'What's up with your wife?' Bobby said, 'We ain't together no more. We're getting a divorce,'" says the spy. Black love ain't easy, but ain't it beautiful?
Sing along with me everybody (to the tune of Kanye's We Don't Care...)
"We wasn't 'sposed to make it past fourteen years, joke's on you, we're still right here..."
(Oh wait, they're splitting. Shit. I got caught up in the song. Oh, screw it!!! Keep singing...)
"We don't care what people say!!!"
New York Daily News: Lloyd Grove's Lowdown: Whitney & Bobby may have made a split decision |
posted by Lo @ 12:25 PM   |
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| Attack Of The Fallen Green-Eyed Boobs |
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What the hell happened here? Doesn't Drew have a stylist? If so and this was the recommendation for what to wear when presenting at the Golden Globes, Drew should be somewhere right now still kicking that stylist's ass.
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posted by Lo @ 10:08 AM   |
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| Happy Day-After-MLK Day: Vincent Gallo Wants No Niglets (But Jew Babies Are Definitely Welcome!!!) |
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Kooky/creepy director Vincent Gallo (famous for getting a real blow job onscreen from actress Chloë Sevigny in his film, The Brown Bunny) is selling his spunk online for a million smackers, but he's particular about who he's letting have it. He posted the specifics on his official merchandise website.
Per today's Page Six in the New York Post, Gallo sets the rules thus so: "Mr. Gallo maintains the right to refuse sale of his sperm to those of extremely dark complexions," Gallo writes. "Though a fan of Franco Harris, Derek Jeter, Lenny Kravitz and Lena Horne, Mr. Gallo does not want to be part of that type of integration."
His site posting continues, "Under the laws of the Jewish faith, a Jewish mother would qualify a baby to be deemed a member of the Jewish religion. This would be added incentive for Mr. Gallo to sell his sperm to a Jew mother, his reasoning being with the slim chance that his child moved into the profession of motion picture acting or became a musical performer, this connection to the Jewish faith would guarantee his offspring a better chance at good reviews and maybe even a prize at the Sundance Film Festival or an Oscar." So all you black, mulatto, quadroon, and octoroon ladies can spend your cheese elsewhere. There'll be no Gallo squizzurts for our kind. Because you can't improve upon perfection. After all, look at what his impeccable white genes have done for him already.
 We wouldn't wanna mess with Mother Nature's lovely handiwork. New York Post: Page Six: Gallo Site Slurs Blacks, Jews |
posted by Lo @ 9:48 AM   |
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| The Brokeback Effect, Ad Absurdum: Let's All Just Turn Gay And Be Done With It. |
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It's pretty much widely believed throughout Hollywood that the Golden Globes are a very strong measure of how things might go at the Oscars. And if last night's tally for Brokeback Mountain (Best Screenplay, Best Original Song, Best Director, Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best make-up-whatever-you-want and insert here) is any indication...
...well, you'd better start studying your color chart now, because this is just the beginning. After the SAG, WGA, DGA, whatever else comes between now and the Oscars, and Oscars sweep, expect to see immediate global change. Everyone will be sporting western-wear. Kids will be toting Brokeback lunchboxes and drifting off to sleep at night on Brokeback sheets. McDonald's will have a Brokeback Breakfast...
and Burger King, not to be outdone, will offer a Brokeback & Broiled Burger Combo.
 Ringtones will be screeching "I wish I knew how to quit you!!!", and Apple will woo us with a Brokeback Nano.
And not long after you've begun eating your Brokeback breakfasts and burgers as you listen to your Brokeback Nano, you'll soon find yourself face down on your Brokeback sheets, taking it up the rear, wondering how, when, and why you didn't heed all those warnings. I'm telling you people, it's gonna happen fast, so pay attention and make a choice:
Either go Gay now or go Gay later.
It's up to you us (I'm a hapless hetero, too). We either hop on this train or go the way of the dinosaur. If we don't act right, we'll end up missing out on the coolest people, the hottest parties, fabulous clothes (and shoes!!!), the most exquisite decorators, the tastiest food---the best of EVERYTHING. It will be so dull and grey in Heteroville. We'll only have potatoes and gruel, burlap sheets, horrifically feng-shui'd living spaces, and all our tv shows will suck (because Gays create most of the really good programming).
So hurry and make up your minds about what you're going to do.
 It's a Gay World, baby. You're just taking up space. The 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards Previously: The Lo Zone: The Brokeback Effect, Part Gabillion Previously: The Lo Zone: My Technicolor Theory, Confirmed At Last |
posted by Lo @ 9:05 AM   |
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| Black People And The White Folks Who Love Us, Part 5 |
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Bill Maher
He's smart, he's funny, he's not afraid to tell it like it t-i-is, and he loves giving us brownies the high hard one!!!
Give it up for Bill Maher, who's been a favorite of mine for a very long time, ever since Politically Incorrect first debuted on Comedy Central.
He can crack a Bush funny and please a sistah at the same time, which is no small feat (either of them, considering one might get you investigated by the CIA and failure to do the other might get your johnson bitten off). Bill insists it's not just a color thing, though:“People say I’m into black women,” says Maher. “Robert De Niro is into black women. I’m just into women who are real, and they happen to be black.” You tell 'em, Bill!!! Keeping speaking truth to power and the black girls will keep on being here for you.
Of course, Karrine's got him now, and she seems to have tamed the man who, for the longest, loudly proclaimed he wasn't for settling down.
Way to go, girl!!! Show 'em how it's done. Because nothing says "power couple"...
...like a spot-on, funny, ain't-scared-to-say-shit kinda man paired with an in-your-face woman who's not afraid to spill her guts and take on the world.
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posted by Lo @ 1:41 PM   |
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| Black People And The White Folks Who Love Us, Part 3 |
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Bubba.
 The ultimate WMILF (white man I'd like to...aw hell, you know what I mean). He's got an appreciation for the culture like no one else.
Plus anybody who'd set his offices on 125th Street in the heart of Harlem and eat lunch at Sylvia's everyday (pre-bypass surgery)...
...is officially black, as far as I'm concerned.
I got mad love for Bubba Clinton. Always have, always will.
(Of course, I'll deny that WMILF thing once his wife...
...becomes president, and she WILL become president, make no mistake about that. Last thing I want is to be investigated by the CIA for joking...okay, half-joking...about wanting a quick hayroll with The First Husband.)
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posted by Lo @ 10:17 AM   |
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| This Show Has 'Lost' Its Rabbit Ass Mind, Part Two. |
| Friday, January 13, 2006 |
I was too busy yesterday (and too caught up in the fucksterics of the Oprah's-still-on-board phase of Freygate) to comment on Wednesday night's flagrantly-retarded episode of Lost.
It's a good thing I was too busy...
...because there are no words for shit like this. A smoke monster? At this point, we (the audience) can pretty much rest assured that we're just yarnballs and the writers are not cats, they're saber-toothed tigers, swatting mauling us bloody for their own amusement.
They've messed with my head so much, I'm open to them introducing anything into the story at this point.
Even The Great Gazoo.
ABC.com: Lost |
posted by Lo @ 12:25 PM   |
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| The Matrix, Part IV: Enter The Tranny |
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In the biggest what-the-fuck so far this year (Freygate doesn't count...it's more of a oh-no-he-di'int), Larry Wachowski, one half of the super-geeky brother duo that brought you the Matrix trilogy, has apparently flipped his wig and consigned his man-parts, and is in the process of going straight tranny on your ass.
Per the eye-popalicious story in Rolling Stone.com, it all began when Larry encountered a dominatrix when he wandered into a bondage club in West Hollywood one evening (that'll do it every time):One of the people Wachowski met that night was among L.A.'s highest-profile dominatrixes, a tall, imposing blonde with a traffic-stopping figure who used the nom de kink Ilsa Strix. Inflicting extreme pain seemed to be Strix's specialty: "My greatest accomplishment in some ways," she once said, "[was] putting 333 needles into a single penis." Strix cracked a bullwhip on her slaves like no other. She ran the Dungeon with her handsome and strapping partner Buck Angel, a partial female-to-male transsexual known today in the porn world as "The Dude With a Pussy."
In the weeks following their first encounter, Larry Wachowski returned to the Dungeon to see Mistress Strix. Boundaries fell swiftly, stunning the Los Angeles bondage community, which prides itself on the fact that mistresses keep their submissives at arm's length. The relationship between Larry and Ilsa, both in their thirties, would eventually destroy two marriages and possibly alter the creative course of one of the most influential movie trilogies of the past quarter-century, co-created with his brother, Andy: the original Matrix, released in 1999, and its two inferior sequels, which both hit theaters, six months apart, in 2003. Once hailed as the kings of geek-chic Hollywood, the Wachowski brothers disappeared from the scene, becoming virtual recluses. Both turned down interview requests for this story. Your eyes will be hanging out of their sockets by the time you finish the article. It confirms, once and for all, that Hollywood is a hellhole-shitpit of ruination for anyone who allows him/her/itself to indulge in it long enough. This town is the real Matrix and we've all got plugs jammed into the backs of our heads. Sadly, though, we don't have a Neo...
...and if there was ever a place that needed a Neo, it's this rotgutted abyss.
Rolling Stone.com: The Mystery of Larry Wachowski |
posted by Lo @ 9:48 AM   |
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| ...When Justin Engaged Cameron (Again) |
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It must really be love, because these two just might be getting hitched...at least, that's what E!whore Ted Casablanca says. Of course, this rumor seems to resurface every forty-five days or so.
Per wildman Ted:[...] it happened seconds after the goofy yet hot duo returned from their holiday ski trip in Telluride, Colorado. Maybe the snow got to them? I dunno. What I can tell you is that this was hardly the stuff of Katie Holmes' visions. See, Cam is not into all that "take me to Paris and fill me with diamonds" brouhaha.
"Justin didn't get down on his knee," 'splains my extreme insider. "They were just talking about it and were kind of like, Yep, let's do it. He didn't give her a ring, and she's still not wearing one. But she is squealing, like, all the time." Celebrities and love. They go together like angels and burnt wings.
E! Online: Ted Casablanca's The Awful Truth Previously: The Lo Zone: Flames in Heaven |
posted by Lo @ 9:27 AM   |
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| Just What I Need: More Crap For My Video iPod. |
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posted by Lo @ 9:05 AM   |
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| The Greatest Story Ever Told. |
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Alright, the greatest story released this week. This month. This quarter. Possibly even this year.
MAYBE EVEN OF ALL TIME.
(I'm nothing if not hopeful...and slightly-deranged.)
Amazon.com: Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame. |
posted by Lo @ 10:56 AM   |
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| The Brokeback Effect, Part Gabillion |
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Scoot over, heteros. You're in the way. Make room for more stuff for the Gays.
Per TMZ.com:Sony Music has teamed with the founder of a gay cable network to form a record label geared toward developing gay, lesbian and transgender recording artists.
The label, dubbed Music With a Twist, plans to employ talent scouts nationwide to find emerging artists who have generated a buzz in the gay community and have the potential for mass appeal.
[...]
"It's a home that says to artists, 'We not only are OK with who you are, but we embrace that as part of your identity,"' said Matt Farber, president of Wilderness Media & Entertainment and founder of Logo, the MTV Networks channel targeting gay audiences. So fuck off, hets. (Hey, that includes me!!!) Our services may no longer be needed. We're getting in the way of the Technicolor train, and make no mistake...it's headed this way. At breakneck speed.
 Get your Gay on, baby!!!
TMZ.com: News - Sony Music Launches Gay Friendly Record Label Previously: The Lo Zone: It's A Brokeback World, You're Just Living In It. Previously: The Lo Zone: My Technicolor Theory, Confirmed At Last |
posted by Lo @ 9:49 AM   |
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| Oprah 'Holds On' To Frey's Million Pieces; Blames Fuck-Up On The Publishers. |
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Authors everywhere did the Snoopy Dance as the retardedly-remote hope of being picked for the book club continues to live on.
A few of The Great O's words when she called in to Larry King Live last night towards the end of the show, where the guest was James Frey, author of the recently much-maligned A Million Little Pieces:"We rely on the publishers to define the category that a book falls in and also the authenticity of the work..."
"I feel about A Million Little Pieces that although some of the facts have been questioned---and people have a right to question because we live in a country that lets you do that---that the underlying message of redemption in James Frey's, uh, memoir still resonates with me and I know that it resonates with millions of other people who have read this book, and who will continue to read this book..."
"To all those people out there who have received hope from reading this book, keep 'holding on,' because the essence of that, I don't doubt."
"What does this mean for the larger publishing world...in this memoir category?"
"To me it seems to be much ado about nothing...the majority of the story is inside the clinic."
"I certainly do recommend it for all...of the people out there..." So there you have it, people. Oprah hath spoken.
Don't throw rocks at James, throw them at his publisher, which should have vetted the damn thing better in order to distinguish fact from fiction. Oprah still loves the book, and she still loves James, who, along with his mother (who joined him on the show), seemed to drop major loads in their undies as they listened with relief to Ms. Winfrey saying she still supported the book and believed in him. Larry asked James if he wanted to say something to Oprah while she was still on the phone.
Duh. Of course he did:"I admire you tremendously and, um, thank you very much for your, for your support and, uh, you know it's, I'm still incredibly honored to be associated with you and I will for the rest of my life." Wonder what it felt like to thank someone while sitting on a squishy mountain your own panic-born doodie. Maybe that'll be the subject of James' next book:
A Million Little Shit Stains.
CNN.com: Larry King Live Previously: The Lo Zone: The James Freying of America Previously: The Lo Zone: A Million Little Refunds Previously: The Lo Zone: A Million Little Dashed Hopes |
posted by Lo @ 9:05 AM   |
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| A Million Little Refunds |
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Publishers Lunch reports the following:Consumers posting on Oprah Winfrey's Book Club message board indicate that Random House is providing refunds to buyers of A MILLION LITTLE PIECES who call their customer service line to complain in the wake of the unanswered charges made by The Smoking Gun earlier this week. One correspondent posts: "Tell them you wanted fact not fiction.... They are very nice and will tell you how to return the book for a full refund..." This does not bode well at all. We can only hope against hope that Oprah will not shut out living authors from her book club as a result of this. Not that you can blame her if she does. If that happens, James Frey will become a literary pariah of galactic proportion. If I see him on the street, he's definitely getting some rocks thrown at his head. I'm sure other authors and would-be writers will join me in my rock-lobbing efforts. It's not that Oprah would actually choose our books for her club...it's just the remote chance that she might. It's the lottery, the shot in a kajillion. Still, a shot is a shot, and when you take away hope (especially from writers who eat rice cakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner), rocks are definitely in order.
My daddy used to say, "One monkey don't stop no show." My daddy was right about a lot of things, but I'm not so sure about this one.
This monkey might just burn the whole theater down.
Get your rocks ready, writers.
Previously: The Lo Zone: A Million Little Dashed Hopes |
posted by Lo @ 1:30 PM   |
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| Naomi Campbell, Budding Mortician |
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 Supermodel/assistant-coldcocking Naomi Campbell apparently can't stand to see a bad makeup job, even if it's on the dead.
Per Page Six:The supermodel's adopted "mother," Mary Blackwell, wife of Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, passed away last year and "the funeral home had done this makeup for her, it was awful," Campbell said. "I wiped it off her, redid everything, fixed her hair. I've never spent so much time with a body before," she told the London Observer. "It was a big learning experience because it made me not afraid of death anymore." No comment about whether the dead were afraid of her.
New York Post: Page Six: Naomi's Lesson |
posted by Lo @ 11:32 AM   |
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| Crack Lady, You Gon' Hurt Your Back, Smokin' All That Crack Like That... |
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The National Enquirer says Whitney's rolling full steam ahead towards Cracktonia, as evidenced by this picture of her (snapped at 4am in the mawnin') in a wig and a fur coat and pajamas with an armload of candy bars. Because nothing says crack comedown like a hot ass mink and a batch of Snickers.
Per BostonHerald.com, which quotes the Enquirer article:The supermarket tab says Whitney’s voice is shot from years of cocaine abuse and she and her hubby, Roxbury homey Bobby Brown, are running out of money. The newspaper claims Houston, who underwent rehab at least twice since confessing on TV three years ago she had used cocaine, pills and booze, has blown through her fortune buying drugs and supporting a posse of hangers-on. And because she cannot record, no new cash is coming in. But there is a bright light in this dire affair: things with Bobby are going quite well![...] sources close to Brown say the ex-New Edition crooner is up to date on child support payments to his ex-galpal and Stoughton resident Kim Ward, who has two of Bobby’s kids. Brown even made a whopping payment to the kids’ college funds last fall, ending years of delinquency.
“He’s all paid up,” said our spy. “But [Whitney] doesn’t look good."
Brown’s Bravo reality series “Being Bobby Brown” has been renewed for another season. So interesting how Bobby has emerged as the stable, family-focused breadwinner.
Bobby Brown, family man. Whitney Houston, crackhead. The role reversal is almost complete. Next thing you know, Bobby's gonna be cutting gospel albums with Cissy and Whitney's gonna be crashing Porsches into street signs.
In a fur coat and a wig, natch. As she swigs from a bottle, sucks on a pipe, and chomps on a Snickers while croaking "I'm Every Woman."
National Enquirer: Whitney Tragedy BostonHerald.com - More Inside Track: Mag: Whitney back on drugs, looks terrible |
posted by Lo @ 9:52 AM   |
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| Color Me Vomiting |
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Star Jones has a blog.
The catch? No comments allowed. It didn't start out that way, but things changed...rather quickly.
Per blogger Just Jared, Ms. Jones' blog was troubled from giddyup:Bloggers (specifically LiveJournal community OhNoTheyDidn't in "The Post," which has since been deleted) take notice of Star Jones' blog and post literally hundreds of comments and pictures. Star Jones (or her blog minions) takes immediate action, deleting 'hateration'-filled comments and banning users... So she did what any diva would do...made it a one-way conversation. She writes, you suck it up. Wonder if that's how things work at Casa de Reynolds.
Just Jared: Star Jones Blog Shine: The Official Blog |
posted by Lo @ 9:38 AM   |
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| Go Sex.Lies., It's Your Birthday!!! Go Murder.Fame., It's Your Birthday!!! Go!!! Go!!! Go...!!! |
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Party wit' me, y'all. Go to the bookstore. Pick up a copy. Then buy it. Or order it online. Get some for your friends and family. Spread the word. Let's party like it's January 10, 2006!!! And let's keep partying till the books are gone and they have to print some more. Then let's party and do it all over again!!!!
Amazon.com: Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame. |
posted by Lo @ 9:05 AM   |
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| I Do Shit Rocks!!!! |
| Monday, January 09, 2006 |
The reviews for my new book Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame. are starting to come in, and I've decided that when they do, I'm going to share them with you on my blog.
Just the good ones, mind you.
What, you thought I was going to put the iffy/bad ones up? You'll have to search for those on your own. Hopefully there won't be any, but, in the words of Erykah Badu, "...keep in mind that I'm an artist, and I'm sensitive about my shit." The good stuff is all you'll be seeing from me. I mean, seriously, do you really think I'll be doing posts entitled "I Shit Shit"?
This review is from Armchair Interviews, a site on the web for mainstream book reviews. I'll let you read it for yourself below, but I can't help showing you my favorite part in advance.
Armchair Interview says:This story is so sharp that it should cut itself to shreds. If this is the benchmark of Lolita Files' work, then we'll be keenly looking out for more books by this author. Delightfully wicked. Nice, huh? They like me!!! They really like me!!!
Here's the whole review, from start to finish:Sex. Lies. Murder. Fame. by Lolita Files Amistad/HarperCollins
Reviewed Richard Wilkie
I'd never before read a Lolita Files' book, and was unsure what to expect. By the title I expected a dreary story about the sexual reawakening of an unimaginative married woman, whose sister is sleeping with her husband, in a town where an old friend arrives who likes to video tape frank interviews.... This story is far from that.
The novel's narrative style is attention grabbing, and the story itself has a modern "feel" to it. Three lead characters run through most of the story and all jockey for lead position at some point in this comedy of flaws, rather than errors.
It is centered on the New York publishing world, and because it manages to paint such an unflattering picture of the profession, it's amazing the story got published at all. It probably because it is funny, and delightfully cynical.
If you like modern black humor, then this book is for you. Let's just say that the title of the book is fairly accurate.
Beryl Unger is a narcoleptic who also has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and just happens to be an editor to a major publishing house. Gradually over the span of the story, you grow in sympathy towards this abrasive powerhouse, as she's her own victim.
Another character is Sharlyn Tate, a major star in the publishing world and author of many books, several of which were best sellers. Trouble is, she's bored. Her billionaire husband is never home, and she's got writer's block. Whether she realizes it or not, and despite her awareness of the seedier side of life, she's just waiting to be taken advantage of.
Enter Pennbrook A. Hamilton, Penn to the world now. A genius with a 210 IQ, but a humility rating of zero. This superficially perfect specimen of a man is the puppet-master of the story, whose calculating logic and ambition is the meat of the book.
Armchair Interviews says: This story is so sharp that it should cut itself to shreds. If this is the benchmark of Lolita Files' work, then we'll be keenly looking out for more books by this author. Delightfully wicked. Armchair Interviews: Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame. Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame. Previously: The Lo Zone: You Shit Rocks |
posted by Lo @ 3:03 PM   |
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| On Second Thought... |
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Perhaps JD didn't exactly have to pull a magic trick to get Ms. Jackson.
Her blue book value's not exactly the same anymore.

Sandwiches:

Good for Nicole.

Thanks to Jihad for giving me the heads (thighs and ass) up on this. Big love, bruh. Check out Jihad's new book, Baby Girl. He really knows how to bring it when it comes to a powerful and edgy tale.
(Somewhere in or around Atlanta, Nick Chiles is groaning over the plug I just gave you. Even if he doesn't read this blog or know it exists, he can probably sense it. There's room for everybody. The books aren't the problem. Viva la variety. This is indicative of a greater issue, and it has to do with corporations and the bottom line. There should never be all of any one thing, especially when it comes to what's being reflected as representative of a culture, but try telling that to the major chains and the publishing world, even though there are those who are willing to fight the good fight in support of variety---Team Amistad, yay!! Still, we don't have to in-fight as a result. Once upon a time, I recall the Tonis and Alices spurning Terry. Everything old is new again. ...getting off my soapbox now...)
Previously: The Lo Zone: Everyone's An Author, Part Jillion |
posted by Lo @ 2:28 PM   |
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| Everyone's An Author, Part Jillion |
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Per today's Page Six:HIP-hop impresario Jermaine Dupri is shopping a book proposal to publishers this week. The Grammy-nominated producer and rapper's memoir - tentatively titled "Young, Rich and Dangerous" - will dish on working with everyone from Mariah Carey and Usher to Bow Wow and kiddie rap duo Kriss Kross. Look for Dupri's story to also dwell on his relationship with longtime girlfriend Janet Jackson. I expect the most explosive part of the book will be the cricketine Dupri's detailed reveal of the David Copperfield-esque magic trick he pulled to get Janet in the first place.
 New York Post: Page Six |
posted by Lo @ 2:04 PM   |
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| The Mouse, The Mouse...er...The House, The House, The House Is On Fiyah...!!! |
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Burn, mickeyfickey, burn!!!
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posted by Lo @ 12:45 PM   |
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| Star Groans |
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I was going to do my own personal rant about the nonsense that is this runaway train currently on tour and determined to help you---YES, YOU!!!---become a better, much thinner, holier, happier, gaydar-ignoring loving person and get a husband that looks like this...
...but I'm feeling a bit sluggish after what was a pretty busy weekend, so I decided to let yesterday's gossip section in the New York Daily News do it for me. An excerpt herewith:We all have much to learn from Star, obviously, so now we bring you nuggets of wisdom from her book:
"Unless you are in serious denial, no one's going to be as honest with yourself as you ... I want you to get into the habit of assessing yourself truthfully."
You first, Star.
"I'm a firm believer in bigger is better for many things."
That we know already.
"Check your breath - either by having a very good friend smell when you exhale, or blow into a paper bag and smell what comes out."
Stop talking now, Star!
"Thou Shall Not Pay Retail."
Or, in your case, at all.
"I was lucky - I've never been taught anything but 'You're fabulous and can achieve anything you want.'"
Your luck, our loss.
"Look - when I did a summation on myself, I clearly saw some of my faults. I'm bossy, I'm extremely controlling. I find it easier to do things myself rather than share in the doing."
Girl, don't stop there!
"Al was watching a ballgame in the living room, but all of a sudden, there he was in my room. And he started massaging my feet while Fifi and the girls braided my hair."
Oh, yuck.
"We went out dirty dancing - we call it slow dragging - four nights in a row."
Star, why did you have to tell us that?
"We learned to make love without having sexual intercourse. It would hold us for awhile."
Again, Star ... we're begging you, please.
I mean, Al is a beautiful man. He's got the legs of a stallion.
We're outta here! Don't think I won't revisit this, though, once I get my energy up. I've been staying out of the Star Jones Reynolds debate for the most part until now, pretty much high-fiving her for taking the weight loss steps. But it's pissing me off that she didn't just write a book sharing the details of her life. That was risky enough in an age where people love skewering celebrities (I do it too, but only when warranted). Noooooooo. She had to take it a step past too far, offering advice to me---AND YOU---about how to live and how to get a man like the one she got. She was always the one advising guests on The View to not air their personal relationships because it opened them up to attack, yet that's all she's done ever since she met this guy. Everything about this stinks to high heaven. I can already see that the...
...I'm tired y'all. Just thinking about this woman has tapped the last little reserves of my already-depleted energy. More later. She's on a 30-city tour. I'm sure there'll be plenty more to talk about.
New York Daily News - Daily Dish & Gossip - Book shares her big secrets |
posted by Lo @ 12:25 PM   |
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| ...And I'll Take One of Those, Too. |
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This is old news at this point, but I just felt like putting their pictures up because I think it's so cool.
 He's a bit younger. About 13 years or so (younger, that is).
 You go, 'Nessa. Show 'em how it's done, girl. It's so totally time the tables on this age thing were turned. After all, it's just a number.  You got that, Went?
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posted by Lo @ 10:57 AM   |
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| I'll Take Ten Of Those, Thank You Very Much. |
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Macworld Expo is this week in San Francisco, and everyone (okay, just techies) are all abuzz about what the genius who is Steve Jobs is going to unveil.
It's shrouded in mystery, but the speculation is out-of-control. After all, this is the man who gave us powerbooks and a dozen different versions of the iPod (regular, mini, shuffle, nano, video, et al), and we bought every single one of 'em.
So who knows what he's got up his sleeve now? There's even a website called MacRumors.com that's dedicated to what might come next.
Per BusinessWeek Online:If there isn't a persistent rumor about a certain kind of Apple product before Macworld, it's probably not worth building. On my last night in Vegas I searched the Net's archives for old rumors aligned with previous Next Big Things introduced by Intel, Microsoft (MSFT), or anyone else. An Apple Web portal circa 1998? I couldn't find even a wish for one. An Apple tablet computer beyond its doomed Newton? Rumors persisted for years until the Treo's microkeyboard made stylus-tapping unnecessary.
Most telling was the arc of iPhone rumors. They flamed hotter each month -- until the first iTunes phone was upstaged at its own launch party by a sexier iPod. Mac rumorists seem to have realized they didn't want a better iTunes phone -- they just didn't want one at all. Four months later, this year's pre-Macworld rumor roundup at MacRumors.com doesn't even mention phones. I heard they were unveiling iBoyfriends. If so, I'm guessing the Beta version will probably drop the boyfriend part completely, having found it not very efficient in general, and it will be narrowed down to a more practical, specific product---the iPenis. Maybe they could even have this face put on it:
In which case, sign me up for one some. To give as gifts, natch.
What? What use would I have for an iPenis with dude's face stamped on it? As if.
BusinessWeek Online: Facts from the Apple Rumor Mill Macworld Conference & Expo |
posted by Lo @ 10:06 AM   |
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| In Case Any Of You Care... |
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Pop/rock/whateverthefuck singer Pink got married this weekend.
Per E! Online News: The pop-punk princess took the marital plunge Saturday, swapping vows with her fiancé, the motocross-racing, Surreal Life-starring Carey Hart, at a seaside, sunset ceremony in Costa Rica. Freaks of a feather, yada, yada, yada.
E! Online News - Nice Day for a Pink Wedding |
posted by Lo @ 9:53 AM   |
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| Apocalypse (Almost) Now |
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posted by Lo @ 9:27 AM   |
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| Must Love Books. |
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posted by Lo @ 1:33 PM   |
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| Must Love Dogs. |
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 Four. I got 'em. They ain't goin' nowhere. They're very well-behaved.
Are you?
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posted by Lo @ 12:25 PM   |
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| Get Your DVDs Offa Me, You Damn Dirty, Uh, Civil Rights Leader!!! |
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They go together like rice and... Oh. They don't go together? Are you SURE? Because the good folks at Wal-Mart seemed to think they did. Until people started getting up in arms about this very, er, interesting pairing.
Per AOL News:Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is shutting down the system that creates movie recommendations on its shopping Web site after it linked a "Planet of the Apes" DVD to films about famous black Americans, including Martin Luther King Jr.
Wal-Mart said Thursday it had removed what it called the "offensive combinations" from a walmart.com page advertising a boxed DVD set, "Planet of the Apes: The Complete TV Series."
Under a "similar items" section, the DVD set's page linked shoppers to four films about the lives of King, actress Dorothy Dandridge, boxer Jack Johnson and singer Tina Turner. Wal-Mart later altered the page to link with television show DVDs. I don't know why Wal-Mart was trying to be all slick about it. It's a new year. Just be honest about how you feel, don't try to hide now that you've been outed. In honor of MLK's birthday, just tell the truth. Say what we know you're already thinking:
Black people are monkeys. Futuristic monkeys who will one day rule the earth. AOL News: Wal-Mart Halts Movie Tips on Web After Racial Flap |
posted by Lo @ 12:12 PM   |
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| Pat Robertson Is Off The Holy Heezy |
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What's with this guy? Between him threatening towns with God's wrath and calling for the assassination of foreign heads of state, he should have been slipped into the cute white coat that ties in the back a long time ago.
Now he's attacking poor Ariel Sharon, Israel's prime minister who, just two days ago, suffered a massive stroke. Psycho-Pat claims this was divine intervention because Sharon had no business "dividing God's land."
Per AOL News:"God considers this land to be his," Robertson said on his TV program "The 700 Club." "You read the Bible and he says 'This is my land,' and for any prime minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says, 'No, this is mine."'
[...]
In discussing what he said was God's insistence that Israel not be divided, Robertson also referred to the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who had sought to achieve peace by giving land to the Palestinians. "It was a terrible thing that happened, but nevertheless he was dead," he said. Damn. Religious crackpots do more disservice to God's word than anybody. Whatever happened to The Christian Way and WWJD and judge not and the milk of human kindness and all that? Everybody's noticing what a loon this man is.
From the same article:People For the American Way Foundation, which monitors "The 700 Club," criticized Robertson's remarks, calling them "an implicit reference to recent steps the prime minister has taken to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process."
"Once again, Pat Robertson leaves us speechless with his insensitivity and arrogance," the group's president, Ralph G. Neas, said in a statement. These are strange times, to be sure. Who's to say which of the calamities of life are God's will? There are many, many things going on down here that must surely displease Him. But to have someone sitting on television speaking on God's ABSOLUTE behalf is pretty darn scary. And crazy.
Pat, your white jacket is waiting. And when they slide you into it, remember...it was probably God's will.
AOL News: Robertson Attacks Stricken Sharon MSNBC.com: Televangelist warns of evolution doomsday USATODAY.com: Pat Robertson calls for assassination of Hugo Chavez New York Times.com: Sharon in Critical Condition After Suffering 'Extensive' Stroke |
posted by Lo @ 9:47 AM   |
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| No "Unnnhh!!!!!" No "Na-Na-Na-Na!!!!" |
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What a disappointment. I was all geared up to see Master P in his tight shiny spandex pants and spit-shined spats doing the Cha Cha on
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