Late-breaking news for tonight’s TV
Cynthia McMullen
June 09, 2008 8:29 PM
A Glen Allen nurse, Crystal Holbrook-Gazoni, reports that two area physicians—Dr. Paulo Gazoni and Dr. Alvaro Zeballos of Bon Secours Hospitals in Glen Allen—will be on TLC’s “Jon & Kate Plus 8” from 9 to 10 tonight.
“They assisted in the episode “HAIR RAISING EXPERIENCE,“ wrote Holbrook-Gazoni. “Jon gets a hair transplant.“
I haven’t seen the show—but any guy who fathers sextuplets AND twins probably deserves a hair transplant. Give it a look-see! One assumes there will also be repeats.
For more info, visit http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/jon-and-kate/jon-and-kate.html.
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Elliott Yamin – big in Japan!
Melissa Ruggieri
June 05, 2008 4:07 PM
We haven’t checked in with Elliott Yamin in awhile, so figured it was time for an update.
Put this one in the Who Knew? category – his debut record has sold more than 50,000 copies in Japan in the less than two weeks it’s been available. Even cooler is that “Wait for You” is the number one single in the country – over Madonna and Usher.
Elliott also plans to release the album in Taiwan and China.
Most of his time lately has been spent holed up in the studio, where he is working on his next record (sorry, no definite release date yet).
And this weekend, Elliott will be in San Francisco to honor four winners of the “Inspired by Diabetes Creative Expression Competition” (http://www.inspiredbydiabetes.com), which encourages people with diabetes to express their feelings about the disease through written and visual expressions.
Elliott is the spokesperson for the competition, and this weekend’s award ceremony is part of the American Diabetes Association’s 68th Annual Scientific Sessions on June 8 and 9 in San Francisco.
Bug off!
Cynthia McMullen
June 03, 2008 10:05 PM
I have tried chocolate-covered ants, mostly because you can’t tell what you’re eating other than that there’s a slight, slight crunch. And, I believe, because somebody dared me.
But these giant water bug-eating, caterpillar-crunching, slug-swallowing dishes are just not for me, Ms. Squeamish of 2008. Still, kudos to Richmond on making Time magazine for the bug chefs featured recently at the first Broad Appetit food festival.
Check out your June 9 copy of Time or visit online: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1810336,00.html
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< Mmmmm.
Choco-cricket-licious!
And credit Kathy Emerson of Quirk Gallery on Broad Street, who first brought the bug chefs to the 17th Street Farmers Market—and then thought they should come back for more.
Kathy’s a big fan of the bug guys, but now that I think of it ... I never saw her dipping into the cricket orzo.
Hmm. Next time these dudes with the creepy-crawly recipes bug out to Richmond, let’s make sure the sponsors put their money where their mouths are. Ack! Ptoeey! Arrrrggggh.
Speaking of “SATC” . . .
Cynthia McMullen
June 03, 2008 8:55 PM
I’ve always liked Sarah Jessica Parker, but I’m sensing some spoilage. To wit, from wire reports:
“Sex and the City” star Sarah Jessica Parker is not happy with design house Nina Ricci. The fashionista says she was led to believe that the silver dress she wore for the movie’s premiere in New York had never before been donned in public—but it had. Socialite Lauren David Santo Domingo wore the gown to a ball on May 5.
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< Sarah Jessica Parker
“What they did was so short-sighted,“ Parker told the New York Times. “It’s just unethical and disappointing that they would allow the dress to be worn again.“
There’s a couple of things going on here. First, I’d just like to say I love this gown. And SJP is absolutely right that the designer should have given her a heads up if the dress had been worn before. If someone at Nina Ricci—including the dress’ designer, Olivier Theyskens—really did lead her to believe otherwise, then that was unethical, especially given the high-wattage event to which SJP was planning to wear it.
Lauren David Santo Domingo (and Olivier Theyskens) >>>
But “disappointing that they would allow the dress to be worn again”? Not so much. It’s a sad day when stars can’t deal with the fact that clothing is made to be worn more than once. And let’s face it, SJP borrowed the dress. It would’ve been much easier to understand her dismay if she’d paid good money for it.
So designers are making couture that can’t be borrowed more than once? Sure, they’re getting exposure and excellent publicity (assuming people like the dress), but if it works once ... why not twice (as long as they let the borrower know)?
It’s all too rich for my blood. Of course, it could be SJP is afraid she’ll show up in the pages of In Touch magazine, a cutout of her New York premiere appearance juxtaposed with Santo Domingo’s in the “Who wore it better?“ feature. Not that that would be tragic—SJP is likely to trump LDSD (interesting initials!) on general principle.
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< Lindsay Lohan
But wait! THERE’S MORE! According to the L.A. Times, Lindsay Lohan wore the dress to a Harper’s Bazaar fashion shoot, as well. The horror. The horror!
So as never to offend a celeb again, perhaps Nina Ricci should auction the dress and give the money to—oh, I don’t know—children who can’t remember when their last meal was.
“Sex” for women
Melissa Ruggieri
June 02, 2008 12:36 AM
While out at dinner in Short Pump Saturday night, my husband and I noticed an excessive number of women in their 30s and 40s clustered over drinks, having dinner or laughing in that conspiratorial tone that only women understand.
“What, is half of Richmond out for bachelorette parties tonight?” he asked.
Au contraire, my dear.
I explained that these gaggles of high-spirited ladies were likely heading over to the Short Pump movie theater to catch “Sex and the City.”
I’m pretty sure I was right, since Sunday afternoon, any woman within a 50-mile radius who was interested in the movie and hadn’t yet seen it descended on the Regal Short Pump in a massive throng.
Not only did the ticket line stretch down to where McAllister’s used to be (ah, McAllister’s, how I miss you so), but inside, the Fandango line twisted into an impatient anthill of people. Of course, it didn’t help that one of the two machines wasn’t working. Good timing.
After 20 minutes in line, a helpful ticket-buyer already at the machine informed everyone that not only was the 3:05 p.m. showing of “Sex” sold out, but also the 3:30. Allrighty. There was an hour of my Sunday I wasn’t expecting to kill at Barnes & Noble.
Since I’m incredibly picky about where I sit in the theater (my friends might call it obsessive and annoying – but who’s listening to them?), I returned for the 4:15 showing at 3:45 to embark on my quest for the perfect seats.
The theater – the big one that holds 449 (or something like that) – was three-fourths full. THIRTY MINUTES BEFORE THE MOVIE STARTED!
Yep, this was Chick-flick-apalooza. With about 20 guys sharing the room.
And good for us.
All week, my husband teased me every time a commercial for “Sex” came on TV.
“Are you excited? Can’t you just wait? It’s gonna be AWESOME!” he’d exclaim in his most mocking tone.
This, from a guy who spends much of his TV time watching repeats of “Match Game” and who you know stood in line for an hour the weekend the last “Star Wars” movie opened.
So yeah, you know what? In its own way, for what it is, the “Sex and the City” movie is kinda awesome. And $55.7 million kinda awesome, too.
But the “for what it is” part is the most important.
If you didn’t invest five years of your life living vicariously through Carrie’s struggles with quitting smoking or agonizing over Aidan or that somewhat annoying dance with Mr. Big (whom, I’d like to point out, I never, ever liked. And why not? For exactly the behavior exhibited in the movie)…you aren’t going to get this movie.
If you didn’t spend five years relating to caustic Miranda’s struggle to retain her independence while making way too many compromises for nice guy Steve (but hey, Brooklyn isn’t so bad) or hoping that a Pollyanna such as Charlotte would get that fairy tale life that she so desperately craved or even being amused at Samantha’s bed-hopping and utter lack of selflessness (except when it concerned her friends)…you aren’t going to get this movie.
No, it’s not as strong as it could have been, and at almost two and a half hours, a few scenes could have been shaved to tighten things up – starting with the free ad for Fashion Week.
Then again, I’m the kind of girl who watched “Sex and the City” every week on HBO and never once thought, “Wow, I wish I could afford that [dress, pair of shoes, handbag, hat].”
The apartments and the bar tabs? Yes. The clothes? Not so much.
I’m pretty much a jeans and sneakers chick – just looking at those Manolo Blahniks made my ankles whisper “THANK YOU FOR NEVER WEARING HEELS” – and personally, I find most of Carrie’s outfits hideous and ridiculous.
So all of that stuff is lost on me.
I’m a “Sex” fan not because of what we’re shown on the outside, but what Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte represent. They appear shallow, but, whether it’s a testament to the writers or the actresses, they’re incredibly relatable. Their friendship truly knows no bounds – not even a midnight subway ride to the bowels of downtown New York is a deterrent for a friend in need.
There’s a definite pensiveness that colors the middle chunk of the “Sex” movie, and that’s when you really see what these girls are made of and how well they’re made for each other.
I think a lot of men who have seen the movie and dismissed it with the criticism that nothing really happens aren’t wrong, necessarily. Nothing much does happen. At least nothing concrete. But, as I explained to one of my male friends with the above opinion, women don’t always need an outline and a thesis. Sometimes, women just want to feel.
So let us be, guys.
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BE a skull!!
Cynthia McMullen
May 30, 2008 6:31 PM
Got a black T-shirt? Got a white T? Better yet, have both?
Then hustle on down to Belle Isle this Sunday morning at 9 a.m. Richmond’s own Noah Scalin, winner of the 
Webbys People’s Voice Award for best personal Web site, is putting together a human skull. (See http://www.skulladay.com. Today’s entry? Skull pie. Yum.)
Noah says the design—which should look skull-like from the footbridge—will probably take one to two hours to arrange. After that, he says, everybody is welcome to stick around for a picnic lunch—so feel free to bring food, drinks, blankets or lawn chairs.
If you don’t know how to get to Belle Isle, call up http://tinyurl.com/5cvrhc. Park and follow the footbridge across to the island
Hey, folks, just do it. You’ll still have time to get to church. And you just might be making Skull-A-Day history.
“Lost”: Can’t find my way home
Melissa Ruggieri
May 30, 2008 1:49 AM
First came “The Bagel.” Then, “The Challah.”
These code names given by the “Lost” producers to the super-secret pivotal scenes in the season finales have so far been nothing more than goofy red herrings, having absolutely nothing to do with the action.
Who would have ever thought that this year’s nutty code, “The Frozen Donkey Wheel,” would turn out to mean …A FROZEN DONKEY WHEEL! One that makes the island disappear! And banishes Ben so he can return to L.A. to torment Jack!
We know that Ben time travels after spinning the wheel, because in “The Shape of Things to Come,” he wakes up in the desert wearing that snow jacket, and nursing a wound on his arm.
But the fate/relocation of the island is just one of a bajillion more questions the brilliantly stuffed season finale of “Lost” raised last night.
However, let’s stop our complaining about how the show never finishes story lines (yes, I, too, am waiting to see how –or if ever—Desmond’s long-ago vision of Claire getting into a helicopter with Aaron will be explained) and relish the information we DID receive. By “Lost” standards, it was a pretty juicy meal compared to those skittles they usually toss us – but, naturally, even the answers provoked more questions.
To ponder for eight agonizing months:
—We now know the inhabitant of the coffin is John Locke/Jeremy Bentham. I will not pretend to be smart enough to have realized at the first mention of Bentham that the real Bentham was a 19th century British philosopher… and a successor to the real…John Locke.
Thank you, obsessive-message-board-posters-whom-I-would-never-mock-because-you’re-incredibly-entertaining (http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=mb&cat=33026) for pointing that out.
But who re-named Locke and submitted his obituary to the newspaper? And didn’t Sayid’s explanation to Hurley about Locke/Bentham’s death – “they said it was suicide” – seem a bit suspicious, like maybe Ben’s new killer-for-hire had something to do with this “suicide”? And why this hatred toward Locke? In last season’s finale, Kate snarled at Jack that the deceased “was neither friend nor family.” You would think that she would have considered Locke a friend…until we see what happens next season for her to feel otherwise, I guess.
—So Ben was capable of moving the island – or at least making it disappear in an awesome CGI moment of the ocean swallowing it like a Tic-Tac. And Christian Shepherd appeared to tell Michael the island was finally ready to let him die (the dude has made numerous suicide attempts, yet he doesn’t have a second to ponder his fate when he finally bites it – somehow, that seems unfair).
But where are Daniel Faraday and the others who were on the raft headed for the freighter? And what happens to Shirtless Sawyer, Juliet, Locke and his new flock once the island is sucked into what is likely some kind of time/space continuum?
And IS Jin dead? I’m still taking the optimistic route on that one, partially because Sun’s heartbreaking reaction to the freighter explosion unnerved me so much, I had to go back and watch it three more times, and also because of her flash-forward hatred of Jack, whom she blames as the second person (along with her father) responsible for Jin’s death.
My guess is that Jin dove off the freighter immediately before it exploded and survived the blast, but something happens between the Oceanic 6’s arrival on the island of Sumba and their return home that leads to Jin’s death. And somehow Jack is responsible. Or something like that.
—The Penny/Desmond reunion. OK, come on. Even for a show rooted in suspension of disbelief, that Penny’s boat just happened to stumble upon the Oceanic 7 was ludicrous (yeah, I know, she has a “tracking station.” Whatever). But, since her reunion with Desmond was the only shred of happy news in two hours of plane crashes, freighter explosions, deaths, leaping Sawyers, morose Juliets and creepy Claire dreams, here’s a photo to keep the romantics placated.
But also, have we seen the last of Penny and Desmond, or will they try to find the other castaways, despite Jack’s instructions to the contrary?
—Speaking of Kate’s creepy Clarie dream… Some of the techno-geeks (love you guys!) already decoded the disturbing backward audio from Kate’s phone call (what is this, the “White Album”?).
Hear it here (and check out some cool hi-res screencaps):
http://losteastereggs.blogspot.com/
Or I’ll save you the effort: “The island needs you. You have to go back before it’s too late,“ is what understandably spooks Kate.
And why does Kate tell Aaron, “I’m sorry”? Does she already know that they have to return to the island – and presumably Aaron also falls under Ben’s mandate that EVERYONE, even the coffin-bound Locke, must return or else the island won’t allow them back?
It’s a good thing we have eight months to obsess over all of this. So while you’re thinking about it, theorize on these topics, too.
—What did Sawyer whisper to Kate – which was obviously the directive that we saw her carry out in “Something Nice Back Home” (my vote for the season’s best episode, excluding the finale), which set Jack into a booze-fueled tirade?
—Who is following Hurley – and possibly the other returnees? Is Widmore at work?
—What is Sun’s ulterior motive in cozying up to Widmore?
—And, um, has anyone seen Vincent the dog lately?
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Counting down to “Lost”…and the void of summer TV
Melissa Ruggieri
May 29, 2008 12:07 AM
The season finale is still almost a day away and I’m already in “Lost” withdrawal.
Actually, it’s not so much “Lost” withdrawal as TV-in-general withdrawal.
“Desperate Housewives” is done for the season and when it returns, I’m apparently going to be stuck watching Eva Longoria’s deliciously selfish Gaby morph from the woman who parked her convertible in a handicap spot to the woman who looks like a shorter, darker-haired version of Lynette – with equally evil children.
“Ugly Betty” packed up last week (anyone else think Betty didn’t choose Rome with Gio or Tuscon with Henry and just got on a plane for some solo time?), as did “Grey’s Anatomy,” a show I’ve never watched for more than three minutes. I’m sorry, all I see when I look at McDreamy is a guy who looks like Sean Penn’s younger brother – and that’s just McIcky.
Yeah, I was one of those people who stumbled while slipping back into my TV viewing routine once we returned to our regularly scheduled programs post-strike.
But after a couple of weeks, I fell in love with “30 Rock” again (more Dean Winters, please, especially if his dopey Dennis Duffy will spout Howard Stern shout-outs!); “Samantha Who” became my favorite new sitcom that didn’t get canceled (first place goes to the coulda-been-brilliant “Back to You” and the silver medal to the sweet, yet perceptive, “Aliens in America” ); and “Lost” sucked me back in with some stellar flash-forwards (Jin – dead or alive? Discuss).
I know that no matter how “Lost” ends tonight, my immediate sadness will be as much for whatever tragedy inevitably befalls our castaways – because really, does anything good ever happen to these people? – as it will the reality of three months with nothing worth watching except re-runs of “Frasier” at midnight on Lifetime.
Oh, Denis Leary, please “Rescue Me.” I know, I know. Springtime for Tommy Gavin.
Anyway, if you’re having a “Lost” craving right this second, check out this 90-second sneak from tonight’s two-hour finale (ABC will re-air the May 15 episode at 8 p.m. – with some additional footage from the Oceanic 6’s press conference – with the finale starting at 9 p.m.)
http://blog.zap2it.com/lost/2008/05/lost-now-you-se.html
That Locke…he sure knows not only how to irritate Jack, but also that Future Bad Beard Jack will dissolve into a tormented mess because he left the island. Look, the guy is going to move an island (supposedly) – is intuiting Jack’s future such a shock?
Coldplay is my new musical love…
Melissa Ruggieri
May 28, 2008 1:25 AM
at least tonight, as I’m working on my column for Friday’s Weekend section about songs I won’t mind hearing all summer.
The title track of the band’s “Viva La Vida” album is absolutely stunning. It’s technically the second single (the interesting “Violet Hill” got the special Web site download and video treatment, so apparently the band wanted it to be the first taste fans had of the new album), but “Viva” is easily Coldplay’s most ambitious song, filled with lush strings and sweeping piano and keyboads. And yes, it does sound a bit like the next chapter of U2.
The band’s MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/coldplay) is streaming some of the new tracks from the album—which arrives June 17—but “Viva” isn’t on there right now. You can check out the 30-second snippet on iTunes or hear the whole thing here: http://www.last.fm/music/Coldplay/_/Viva+La+Vida.
Betcha you’ll soon be back at iTunes to purchase the entire song.
Happy Memorial Day, ya bums!
Cynthia McMullen
May 26, 2008 12:51 PM
Yeah, I’m working. My brother Matt just called from northeastern Ohio to let me know the whole family’s up there today (except me, obviously). Then he proceeded to list, in excruciating detail, everything on the cookout menu. My sister-in-law Karla outdid herself, he said.
Sounds like it. And here I sit, at nearly 2 p.m., nursing a Coke from the machine and doing research for my next story.
It could be worse, I guess. I could be outside picnicking and a thunderstorm could come up. Or I could be outside taking a walk and step on a red-ant hill. Here’s hoping it’s warm and breezy and ant-free wherever you’re 
celebrating today.
I caught “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” Saturday night. Too much fighting for my taste—on the other hand, as I told my friends in our movie post-mortem, at least they were mostly interesting fights. The scenery couldn’t have been more gorgeous, so we stayed for credits to see where it was filmed ... the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia and New Zealand, if I remember correctly. So who knows where specific scenes were shot? (Well, I guess the people who live there know!) But still, there were some breathtaking views. Narnia should look so good!
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< Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian) and Anna Popplewell (Susan) at the world premiere of the film in New York.
We also visited Cielito Lindo on Forest Hill Avenue—hadn’t been there in a while, but the vegetarian (spinach and mushroom) quesadilla was as excellent as ever.
Which reminds me ... I really need to go out and forage for some lunch. BTW, If you haven’t seen “Narnia,“ 
there’s still time. It raked in $56.6 million its first weekend, so it’ll be around for a bit (even if that was less than the $65.6 million the first “Narnia” made its debut weekend in 2005).
The most profitable “Indy” movie ever? >>>
“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”—no surprise—took in an estimated $101 million at the box office this weekend (and “Narnia,“ another $23 million). Personal reviews I’ve heard are mixed—but c’mon, ya gotta see Indy, right? Even if the lovely Harrison Ford is, finally, starting to show his age?
P.S. One good thing about working on a holiday—all downtown Richmond employees will appreciate this—NO METER PEOPLE!!! We are free to come and go as we like without worrying about receiving one of those $20 parking tickets that so effectively keep more visitors from venturing out of the ‘burbs.
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