| Taye Diggs: My mom always knew I’d end up with a white girl Posted: 05 Oct 2011 09:43 AM PDT 
I've made the mistake before of assuming that Taye Diggs is a good guy with a stable relationship. He and Idina Menzel have been together for more than a decade, and they have a 2-year-old son, Walker Nathaniel. It's also widely rumored (meaning the rumors appear on the many of the urban blogs) that Taye gets some strange on the side. There was also a blind item this week on CDAN that many people think is about Taye and Idina - it's about a B-list celebrity dude cheating on his wife with a production assistant. Blind items aren't facts, though. I don't know what to think about him - I want to believe he's a nice guy who loves his family. But maybe that's just the image he wants to project. Speaking of, Taye gave an interview to Sway's Sirius radio show yesterday, and Taye discussed lots of personal stuff: Taye Diggs always knew Idina Menzel was The One — but he wasn’t always so sure the Broadway star’s family felt the same way about him. “When she took me home, her dad came out and I was like, ‘OK, well take off that hood then and let’s see,” Diggs recently joked on Sway’s SiriusXM radio show. “No, I’m just kidding! I said, ‘You’re tough with the fiery cross in your yard!’” All kidding aside, Diggs, 40, said he was “really lucky” to be accepted by his in-laws. “I don’t know what they felt on the inside, but I was very fortunate,” he explained. “They’re very loving and accepting. They’re great grandparents. I can’t lie, I had no issues there.” Diggs’ family was equally accepting of Menzel, 40. “My mother said, ‘I told you!’” the Private Practice star laughed. “She always thought — I hate this, but I’m being honest — she said, ‘I always knew you were gonna marry a white girl!’ I hated her when I was young for saying that, but eventually, for whatever reason, that’s what happened. She loves my wife.” Though the Chocolate Me author admits he and Menzel are often criticized for their interracial romance, it hasn’t affected their feelings for one another. “I get it, but that’s not my trip,” Diggs said. “I’m living my life and I found a woman who I love.” Married since January 2003, Diggs and Menzel are parents to son Walker Nathaniel, 2.
[From Us Weekly] Somewhere along the line, I think the majority of people stopped caring about interracial relationships. When was the last time there was a major story about a hate crime or some kind of controversy surrounding an interracial relationship? I think most people look at Idina Menzel and just think, "Damn. Lucky bitch." Maybe that envy translates into something bad, but… I don't know, maybe I just don't focus on it. I'm glad that Taye's family was so accepting on Idina, and Idina's family was so accepting of Taye. 
Photos courtesy of WENN & Fame.
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| Ok Magazine again claims Jennifer Aniston is pregnant Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:35 AM PDT 
With that title I don’t mean to say that Jennifer Aniston is pregnant again, but that OK! is calling her pregnant again when that might not be the case. Their last “Jennifer Aniston is pregnant” cover, or at least the last one that we bothered to talk about, was in March of this year. At that time I did a composite of OK! Magazine covers declaring Aniston pregnant, and there were three others that I could find from 2010 and 2009. It’s been a whole six months since we ran that story, so I may as well include those older covers here again. They range in veracity from deliberately misleading to entirely made up, and include keywords like “exclusive,” “confirmed” and “revealed.” At least in this case they’re admitting pretty much on the cover (above) that the story is based on photo assumptions. They could be right too, as a lot of you have been wondering the same thing. I doubt it, though. Here’s more.
Living in NYC with Justin Theroux, Jennifer Aniston can't stop smiling – and seems to be showing a bump As fall begins chilling the New York City air, freshly minted Manhattanite Jennifer Aniston has swapped her tank tops for jackets, scarves and peacoats as she walks hand in hand — while smiling ear to ear — with beau Justin Theroux along the winding streets of their West Village neighborhood. But outerwear can't cover up an obvious change in her svelte physique — a curvier, more buxom shape — and the suggestion of a bulge around the belly. And so tongues are wagging: Is Jen pregnant at 42? "She hasn't announced it, but all of her friends seem to think it's finally happened," an insider tells OK!. "Whenever anyone hints around the question, Jen gets really giggly and shy. It certainly has all of her friends buzzing, and Jen seems to be loving it!" If Jen is with child, it wouldn't be surprising. As one close pal notes, she and Justin share a desire to start a family "immediately." "Jen would be an adoring mother," her best friend, Kristen Hahn (a bridesmaid at Jen's wedding to Brad Pitt) tells OK!. "She would have boundaries, but the adoration would be big, big, big." And solid, unpretentious Justin seems like excellent daddy material. "He's a really good guy," the friend says. "He makes Jen really happy and brings out the best in her. Justin's down to earth and doesn't handle fake people or situations. And he isn't put off by Jen's fame. He loves her and everything about her, and that includes that his life is now public." Also public are the couple's displays of affection — unusual for Jen. She was never the clingy, hand-holding type, but with Justin she's as demonstrative and dreamy-eyed as a sophomore dating the star quarterback. "She's glowing; every time you ask how she's doing, she gets a schoolgirl smile and laughs," another good friend tells OK!. "She hasn't been this happy in a long, long time. You can really see what a difference Justin has made in her.
Aniston moved to New York, she’s in a new relationship, and she’s eating out a lot. Her routine is probably different, and maybe she doesn’t have time to work out like she used to. She looks fabulous as always, but she may have gained a little weight that we can barely notice, it happens. Those comments from Aniston’s BFF Kristen Hahn about what a great mother she would be came out over a week ago, and I’m pretty sure she was asked that question directly. It’s not like Hahn is the source for this article or anything. That said, I would love to see Aniston have a baby. I know it sounds cheesy, but she seems solid in her relationship and I think she would make a good mom. She’s always said she wants kids too, so I would bet she’s happily trying. Plus it was like a month ago that US ran their “Jennifer Aniston: Baby Countdown” cover story. That sounded to me like it was from her publicist. This story, not so much. And here are some of the older OK covers calling Aniston pregnant. March 21, 2011 “A Baby On My Own”
 July 5, 2010: "Yes! I am Having a Baby"
 April 19, 2010 "Confirmed: Finally, a Baby for Jen!"
 October 5, 2009 “Exclusive: Pregnant at 40!"
 9/26/11. Not looking pregnant at all.
 9/28/11. Totally normal stomach. She needs a bra though.
 
9/30/11. Covered up a little, but still not looking pregnant to me.
 Photo credit: Diane Cohen/Fame Pictures and Pacific Coast News  |
| Kristen Stewart is “selfish” & she calls Sparkles “my boyfriend” finally Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:30 AM PDT 
Finally! We've got some excerpts from Kristen Stewart's cover profile in the November issue of GQ UK, which we previously previewed here. The Twihards are really excited about this one because A) Kristen is showing some skin and looking "girlish" and vampy and B) Because she calls Robert Pattinson her BOYFRIEND. That's right! Little Miss Lip-Bite, the girl who caused a major kafuffle over at Vogue by shutting down Anna Wintour's request to talk about Sparkles in exchange for a cover, says the words "my boyfriend" in reference to Sparkles in this interview. Praise Jesus. In one of the most revealing interviews she's ever given, Kristen Stewart calls Rob her English boyfriend! Plus, she talks about having babies and getting married! For nearly three years, we've watched Kristen Stewart's every move, using it as evidence she's actually dating her Twilight co-star, Robert Pattinson. Now, in the British GQ, the 21-year-old actress accidentally slipped on the one secret she held near and dear: her relationship with the English actor. While discussing her time in the UK, Kristen said she was excited to see more of the country because "my boyfriend is English." However, when the interviewer pushed her to elaborate, she got frustrated. "I never would have said that if I knew you were going to be interviewing me," she said. "Yeah, I know it is. So much of my life is so easily Googled. I mean, it's like, 'C'mon guys. It's so obvious." She added, "But this subject, I don't think you realize what a big deal it is for people. Well, it is a big deal. And right now, even me talking about it like this is a big deal. They would be, 'Oh. My. God.' There would also still be a 50/50 split. Some people would still be, 'See, told you they're not together.'" Kristen went on to explain her rationale behind trying to keep her relationship with Rob private. "I don't worry about it at all," she admitted. "It's just one of those things. I'm selfish. I'm like, 'That's mine!' And I like to keep whatever is mine remaining that way. It's a funny little game to play and it's a slippery slope. I always say to myself I'm never going to give anything away because there's never any point or benefit for me." She continued, "I guarantee whenever I get married or have a baby, everyone is going to want to know my kid's name and I'm not going to say it for ages. That's just the way I want to do it. It'll come out but it won't have come from me. They're going to be really p***ed off that I won't say it and I'm going to say, 'No!' I also have that desire to blurt stuff out, but I've learned I can't do that. Now when you realize the whole world is listening. That's why perhaps I look so uncomfortable in interviews at times. I mean, we've talked about hiding things and I've had to get much more adept at that, sadly. But I'm glad I'm not one of those actresses who is just so ready to open up for everyone."
[From Hollywood Life] First of all, I totally understand the whole, selfish, "That's MINE" thing. I feel that with Michael Fassbender. That ginger bitch is MINE, and it upsets me when other people claim him as their own. Second of all, "I never would have said that if I knew you were going to be interviewing me" - she says DURING AN INTERVIEW. Oh, Kristen. Update: It seems like Kristen said the “boyfriend” comment separately from the interview - but at the magazine’s photo shoot. So… I still think she probably doesn’t mind that it’s out there. Thirdly - that whole part about not revealing the baby's name… I understand what she's trying to say, and I find her whole rationale very Gwyneth Paltrow-esque. Goop and Chris Martin put so much effort into not being seen together, just as Kristen will put so much effort into being "different" and "private". It's not that Kristen (or Gwyneth, for that matter) doesn't care what we think or knows we'll never be able to understand her. It's that she cares what we think and she’s sensitive about it. 
Photos courtesy of Norman Jean Roy/GQ UK.
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| Ewan McGregor & Eva Green are perfectly hot at the ‘Perfect Sense’ premiere Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:01 AM PDT 
I was drawn in to these UK premiere photos just because I love both Eva Green and Ewan McGregor. I don't expect you to enjoy these photos as much as I do, but for the love of God, please comment on this post if you'd like me to write more about Eva and Ewan and less about the Kardashians. Eva and Ewan are just so beautiful to me - Eva, much like Helena Bonham Carter, hides her classic beauty behind profoundly odd styles and makeup choices. Ewan is just pretty, traditionally handsome, with some edge. And they're made a movie together called Perfect Sense. It's a love story. They make love on film, together. And weird stuff happens, because it's a love story mixed with sci-fi. The basic plot is: "A chef and a scientist fall in love as an epidemic begins to rob people of their sensory perceptions." Ewan is the chef, Eva is the scientist. Here's the trailer: Eva's voiceover is meh - it still would have been haunting and erotic without the voiceover. All I really need to see is Eva and Ewan kissing, and his hand grazing her boob. And is it just me, or does this film look kind of interesting? Like… I'm not sure about the story, but Eva and Ewan look deliciously overwrought here, and I'll probably watch it just to see them act opposite each other. So… the premiere photos. Eva always wears these kinds of dresses, and her makeup is always overdone, so my only complaint is about the shoes. They suck, and it looks like she's about to lose her balance. Ewan just looks gorgeous, though. Sigh… aren't they better than Kardashians? 
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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| Did Ashton Kutcher cheat on Demi for “tough love” for her substance abuse? Posted: 05 Oct 2011 07:59 AM PDT 
The ongoing Ashton Kutcher-Demi Moore debacle takes the covers of this week's Star Magazine and Us Weekly. Us Weekly's story is basically just a rehash of Star's cover story last week, plus some of the newer details that The Daily Mail had a few days ago re: the hot tub and "Where's the vodka at?" Still, it's nice that Us Weekly got some independent confirmations of what went down: 
How did Ashton Kutcher ring in his sixth wedding anniversary with Demi Moore on Sept. 24? With a raucous, Demi-free party at the San Diego Hard Rock Hotel — which, a source tells the new Us Weekly, culminated in a sexual encounter in a hot tub with local blonde Sara Leal (pictured here) and her pal in his $2,500-a-night hotel suite. (Moore, 48, was elsewhere in the U.S. promoting her directorial work for the Lifetime short film project 5.) Prior to that early morning hot tub session, Kutcher began his night drinking vodka tonics and prowling for women with pals Danny and Chris Masterson at Fluxx nightclub — where the pickings weren’t to his liking. “He said none of the girls were ‘hot-tub worthy,’” a Fluxx onlooker tells the new issue. But Kutcher liked what he saw when he met party girl Leal and her friend past 4 a.m. in his 1,200-square-foot suite back at the Hard Rock. “Ashton told them he was separated from Demi,” one source says. After some “hard-core” flirting, the Two and a Half Men star was “totally into it,” another source says. “Within five minutes, they were all naked in the hot tub, making out!” Reps for both Kutcher and Leal didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment. Moore, meanwhile, is “struggling. She’s been alone a lot lately,” another pal says. For more on Kutcher’s wild night, whether he’s really strayed before, why Moore still may not be ready to let go and the scoop on Leal — pick up the new Us Weekly, on stands Friday.
[From Us Weekly] Meanwhile, Star Magazine's cover story is all about "the photos that ended their marriage" - apparently, in the midst of all of this hot tub action, photos were taken and Star Mag "got" their hands on the photos. "Got" meaning "paid a great deal of money for". Hollywood Life has details: It's no wonder the Two and a Half Men star Ashton Kutcher has kept unusually quiet amidst allegations that he cheated on his wife Demi Moore on the eve of the sixth wedding anniversary – Star magazine has obtained damning new photos of Sara Leal, Ashton and several other girls from his alleged sex-filled night at his Hard Rock Hotel penthouse suite. Will this end Ashton and Demi's marriage for good? "All of the girls were throwing themselves at him," a source says. "But Sara's a hot girl and I'm sure he noticed." Sara was reportedly very upset when she couldn't reach Ashton after their one-night stand. After all, Ashton kept saying he and Demi were "separated." "Sara really liked Ashton," the source tells Star. "He didn't seem like someone who would just sleep with her and walk away. Ashton was telling people that he was separated from Demi, so she didn't ever believe that it was just going to be a one-night stand. That's when she realized that Ashton had used her, and she got very, very angry." Angry is right. Sara has ponied up with high-powered attorney Keith Davidson and she's looking for upwards of $250K to tell her story. Ashton reportedly brought more than a dozen girls back to his hotel suite at 3am following a night out at San Diego's Fluxx nightclub. Although Ashton claimed none of the girls were hot tub worthy … Ashton reportedly had a change of heart when he saw Sara. Ashton's bodyguard stood watch guarding the door claims Star and also made sure Sara didn't have her phone with her. Just hours after Sara claims to have had sex with Ashton, she reportedly sent a text that read: "I [bleeped] Ashton Kutcher Friday night, lol."
[From Hollywood Life] This Sarah chick seems like a real gem, right? And since I know some of you will yell at me for saying harsh things about Sarah, let me just say: I think it's established that Ashton Kutcher is a massive douche. He's a womanizing prick, an arrogant p.o.s., and he deserves all of the hate coming his way. But let's not pretend that Sarah Leal is just some discarded victim of mean ol' Ashton. She's a hooker who's looking to get paid, paid by Ashton and paid by the tabloids. She sold the photos to Star, and she sold them this "pity poor me" interview too. A few more things - one, the British tabloids are talking about Demi's weight loss. Everybody's noticed it before - she's looking really skinny, like she's lost about 20 pounds really suddenly. Life & Style's odd report goes along with this, saying that Ashton's cheating isn't the issue with Demi's weight - sources ("sources" named Ashton Kutcher) claim that Demi has "fallen back into some dangerous habits": A family friend exclusively tells the new issue of Life & Style—on newsstands now—that their relationship had fallen apart weeks before Ashton's reported cheating incident—and Ashton has moved out. The reason? According to the friend, Demi has fallen back into dangerous habits and while Ashton has been urging her to get help, he made the decision to move out in early September. "Demi had been sober for a long time — decades — but recently it's gotten bad," the insider reveals to Life & Style. "Ashton loves her, but he can't stick around and watch her do this to herself." While a rep for the star denies the report, the insider tells Life & Style that Demi's family has united behind Ashton's tough-love approach and wants her to get help. "Her daughters, Scout, Rumer and Tallulah, and her ex-husband Bruce Willis want her to be healthy," says the family friend. "The whole family is taking a stand to help Demi." Ashton's reported affair with 23-year-old Sara Leal has certainly made matters worse between the couple but the friend insists Ashton loves his wife. "He may have fooled around with this girl, but his wife is his priority," the family friend tells Life & Style. "Ashton's trying to deal with Demi's problems." Demi battled substance abuse in the early '80s and briefly spent time in rehab while shooting St. Elmo's Fire.
[From Life & Style] WTF? Do you think that means alcohol abuse or drug use or both? I've always attributed Demi's glazed look to all of her surgical and Botox interventions, but now that I'm thinking about it… sure, she could have some substance abuse issues. It wouldn't surprise me at all. And it would make a certain amount of sense re: “why hasn’t Demi just dumped him already?” That being said, I doubt that Ashton is all "this is tough love, that's why I'm boning these young chicks." Idiot. 
Photos courtesy of Fame and WENN.
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| Johnny Depp apologizes for his rape comments: “It was a poor choice of words” Posted: 05 Oct 2011 07:41 AM PDT 
Yesterday, the story of the day was Johnny Depp's November Vanity Fair cover profile, specifically some really odd and disgusting comments he made about his fame. Apparently, when Depp was describing the process of being photographed for a magazine photo shoot (like he was with Terry Richardson for Vanity Fair), Depp said: "Well, you just feel like you're being raped somehow. Raped … It feels like a kind of weird — just weird, man… whenever you have a photo shoot or something like that, it's like — you just feel dumb. It's just so stupid." Photo shoots = RAPE. So, the fallout was considerable. Depp has always enjoyed a peculiar status in Hollywood - no matter how offbeat or out-right awful his choices are, his fan base is still considerable and unyielding. But the rape comments went too far, and people were pissed off. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) issued a statement about Depp (much like they did with Kristen Stewart's comments last year): “While photos may feel at times intrusive, being photographed in no way compares to rape — a violent crime which affects another American every two minutes," the organization's spokesperson Katherine Hull told FOX411's Pop Tarts column on Tuesday. “RAINN welcomes the opportunity to speak with Mr. Depp and educate him about the real life experiences faced by survivors every day, and ways that he can work with RAINN to help.”
[Via Fox News] So, in an unusual move for Depp, he came out immediately and apologized: "I am truly sorry for offending anyone in any way. I never meant to. It was a poor choice of words on my part in an effort to explain a feeling. I understand there is no comparison and I am very regretful. In an effort to correct my lack of judgment, please accept my heartfelt apology." It's like he cut-and-pasted Kristen Stewart's apology! No, I accept Johnny's apology, just as I accepted K-Stew's. I think they both made the same hyperbolic mistake ("Reading this blog post is like being sodomized at gunpoint!") and both were guilty of doing the same "woe is me, I'm so famous and my biggest problem is that people want to take my photo" pity party. The spokesperson for RAINN accepted Depp’s apology too: “We hope to work with him to provide hope to victims of rape and make sure they get the help they deserve.” Considering Johnny was also bragging about all of the "stupid money" he's making now, it would also be nice if he made a contribution to some rape treatment center or victims' advocacy group. 
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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| Courtney Love: “If Kurt Cobain came back right now, I’d have to kill him” Posted: 05 Oct 2011 07:33 AM PDT 
In the new issue of Vanity Fair (the one with "rape victim" Johnny Depp on the cover), Courtney Love sits down for another exhaustive tell-all interview. To give C-Love credit, she's a great interview, and she works hard to give good quotes. Now, Courtney gives these great interviews to everyone. She doesn't play games like most celebrities, like, "I'll only give my exclusive to Vanity Fair or Vogue." Just a few months ago, Courtney gave a massive, exhaustive, hilarious and frightening interview to The Fix - which I read almost all of, so pardon me if I don't think VF managed to get some elusive C-Love quotes. Anyway, here's what VF has released thus far: "Mad? Ya think?! If he came back right now I'd have to kill him, for what he did to us. I'd f–king kill him. I'd f–k him, and then I'd kill him," 47-year-old Courtney Love shouted at Vanity Fair contributing editor Nancy Jo Sales, asked if she was angry with her husband, Kurt Cobain, for killing himself. "He tried to kill himself three times!" And then there were the drugs. "He OD'd at least five times. I was the f–king E.M.S. I was always sticking pins in his balls. I carried around Narcan!"—a drug used to jolt OD-ing heroin users back to life. At the singer's rented West Village town house, Love shows Sales a book from her estranged daughter Frances Bean's "hope chest." "This is her diary," Love explains. "I just want you to look at this one page," which contains a list titled, "Things That Make Me Smile." Love, distraught, asks Sales, "Why am I not on it? Why doesn't she put 'watching old movies with my mom'?" Frances Bean emancipated herself from her mother two years ago, a decision that is clearly still bewildering and hurtful to Love. "All I can feel is how much I love her," Love tells Sales. "I'd give anything to hear the sound of her heels walking down the hall past my bedroom." The relationship between Love and her daughter has been rough from the start, as Frances was placed in protective custody when she was born. "There were no drugs in my urine, no drugs in her urine when she was born," Love says. She laments a number of her parenting failures, such as Frances's inability to read until she was seven: "It was my fault! I never read to her! … Why didn't I ever take her to a Broadway show? She f–king loved those Broadway musicals!" There were times when, Love says, her daughter was teased by other children; "They called her 'crack baby.'" Love also says Frances's disappointments in show business came early, not just when she didn't get the part of Sandy in a theater-camp production of Grease, but when agents and producers Love had contacted wanted Frances to do only racy roles. "That's not who she is. It freaked her out. She wanted a Zoey 101 [the canceled Nickelodeon tween show] or something." Frances's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said in an e-mail to Vanity Fair that "the statements about [Frances's] schooling are inaccurate…. The statements about her career desires, theater camp, show business, Nickelodeon, and the scripts are not accurate." The "hope chest" sits in Love's room, among stacks of papers related to "the fraud," a matter that consumes her attention whenever she isn't talking about her daughter. Love contacted Sales after reading her January Vanity Fair story on the actor Randy Quaid and his wife, Evi, who allege that they have been defrauded and targeted for murder. "They make me look sane," says Love. She hoped Sales might help her figure out what had become of her lost Nirvana money (more than $250 million, she claims). "What's heartbreaking to me," says Jonathan Daniel, Love's music manager, who grows impatient at any mention of "the fraud," "is that she's very capable of earning seven figures easy without any help from Nirvana right now, but it's hard for her to work or for others to want to work with her when she's so consumed with fraud." Love's home, Sales discovers, is command central for research on "the fraud." Miscellaneous assistants make copies and send faxes related to "the fraud." According to Love, the money problems existed even when Kurt Cobain was alive. "We could never find our money!" she says. "We had $135,000 in our bank account. They said that if he would go do Lollapalooza he would make $11 million… Do you think Kurt would have killed himself if he had known he had $54 million?" That figure is based on research done by Love's Twitter Army, her online fans and believers who are determined to get to the bottom of "the fraud." "They won't be happy till I'm dead!" exclaims Love, of no one in particular.
[From Vanity Fair] So… is it sad? I think VF is trying to evoke sympathy over the pathetic state of Courtney Love and her damaged mind and body, a mind consumed by imagined conspiracies, a body hurt by addictions and surgeries and abuse. But I don't feel sad. Mostly because Courtney is a survivor, in the best and worst ways. And she's too crazy to die, you know? Some people can live on crazy for years, decades even. The Frances Bean thing is always interesting, because whenever Courtney starts ranting about her daughter, you start to realize just why Frances got the hell out of there. Hopefully, the Bean ends up being a lot healthier than the sum of her parts (her parents). 
Photos courtesy of VF and WENN.
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| ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ author Maurice Sendak: “I hate Gwyneth Paltrow” Posted: 05 Oct 2011 07:29 AM PDT 
The author of Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak, is 86 years old. He lives with his dog in Connecticut and is admittedly lonely after his partner of 50 years, psychoanalyst Eugene Glynn, died in May 2007. Sendak has a new children’s book out called Bumble-Ardy, about a pig who throws a wild ninth birthday party for himself. Like Sendak’s earlier works, it has dark moments and some parents could consider it too scary for a children’s book. To promote the book he’s done an unintentionally hilarious interview with UK paper The Guardian. He basically bitches about everything, and he admits he’s an old sourpuss. It’s fun to read, although I did end up wanting to give him a hug that he’d probably yell at me for. Here’s a small sample, and there’s much more at the source that’s well worth reading.
At 83, Sendak is still enraged by almost everything that crosses his landscape. In the first 10 minutes of our meeting, he gets through: Ebooks: “I hate them. It’s like making believe there’s another kind of sex. There isn’t another kind of sex. There isn’t another kind of book! A book is a book is a book.” New York: “You get pushed and harassed and people grope you. It’s too tumultuous, it’s too crazy!” The American right: “These Republican schnooks would be comical if they weren’t not funny.” Rupert Murdoch: “His name should be what everything is called now.” But he publishes you! “Yes! Harpers. He owns Harpers and I guess the rest of the world, too. He represents how bad things have become. But I don’t know a better house. They’re all in trouble. They’re all terrible.” Sendak shakes his head beneath the low-beamed ceiling, in this room full of art and old rugs. “I can’t believe I’ve turned into a typical old man. I can’t believe it.” He smiles and his face transforms. “I was young just minutes ago…” “I’m totally crazy, I know that. I don’t say that to be a smartass, but I know that that’s the very essence of what makes my work good. And I know my work is good. Not everybody likes it, that’s fine. I don’t do it for everybody. Or anybody. I do it because I can’t not do it.” You can’t be that crazy, I say: you managed to stay in one relationship for half a century. “Yes! And he was – well. He was a man who loved music and reading. He never smoked and he died of lung cancer, utterly ridiculous. I had that friendship for a long, long time….” Of Salman Rushdie, who once gave him a terrible review in the New York Times, he says: “That flaccid f*ckhead. He was detestable. I called up the Ayatollah, nobody knows that.” Roald Dahl: “The cruelty in his books is off-putting. Scary guy. I know he’s very popular but what’s nice about this guy? He’s dead, that’s what’s nice about him.” Stephen King: “Bullshit.” Gwyneth Paltrow: “I can’t stand her.” He looks fleetingly sheepish. “Look, life is pretty dreadful most of the time. Even in the country that’s so pretty with the flowers and leaves and sunshine. And I was abandoned when he died! I’m alone. I feel like an old bubba. And I’m not kind all of the time, I’m not nice all the time.” Sendak is in search of what he calls a “yummy death”. William Blake set the standard, jumping up from his death bed at the last minute to start singing. “A happy death,” says Sendak. “It can be done.” He lifts his eyebrows to two peaks. “If you’re William Blake and totally crazy.”
[From The Guardian] I actually wish they’d either probed more to get explanations from Sendak as to why he hates various things, or printed more of the interview. He probably doesn’t need any justification for disliking things and people, he just does and some of it may stem from the fact that he’s alone now. I hope when I get old(er) that I’m able to bitch and moan with the best of them, but still see the good side of life. To me there is a real joy in bitching about things, though. Maybe that’s the takeaway from this interview. The dude loves to complain. Just like Goop. 
Photo credit: WENN.com  |
| Idris Elba, biscuit-tingler: “I love beautiful skin… I’m tactile, very tactile” Posted: 05 Oct 2011 07:22 AM PDT 
I have stories piling up and I know you really, really want to hear about Ashton Kutcher's wandering dong (yeah right), but don't you really feel like having a little Idris Elba break? Idris covers the new issue of Essence Magazine. You know why? Because the man is FINE. Oh, can I just mention something that made my panties explode? Idris worked with Michael Fassbender over the summer on Ridley Scott's Prometheus. Meaning that IDRIS and FASSBENDER will be on screen together, in the absolutely best, sexiest, biscuit-tingling version of "Ebony and Ivory" out there. Yay! Anyway, here are some highlights from Idris's cover profile: Idris on what he finds sexy: “Skin, I love beautiful skin. I’m tactile, very tactile. A woman who has really nice, looked-after skin is such a turn-on for me. It’s always sexy.” On his daughter, Isan: “My daughter’s with me now for three weeks and I love it; I absolutely love it,” Elba tells the magazine. “I don’t know how I’d manage to be on seven flights a month and still get her to school.” Isan, born in 2002, is Elba’s daughter with ex-wife Dormowa Sherma. Both parents live in Atlanta, so Elba splits his time between that city and his native Britain. On his ex-wife: “I’m grateful to my ex-wife, [Isan's] mother, and I’m grateful I get to live my dream. At the same time, I miss things, which I regret,” he adds. On being a sexy black man: "In general the word ’sexy’ isn’t applied to Black men. That word has been thrown at me a few times so I have to say I own it. If it gives me and other Black men another definition, then great. I can live with that."
[From People and Global Grind] Idris also recently discussed the constant rumors that he might take over for Daniel Craig in the James Bond franchise. Previously, in 2009, Idris said that it wouldn't happen but if he was asked, he would definitely consider it and probably take it. In a new interview, Idris was asked about 007 again, and he said: “It’s a very old rumor. My dad and I were talking about this the other day. I would do it, but I don’t want to be called the first Black James Bond. Do you understand what I’m saying? Sean Connery wasn’t the Scottish James Bond and Daniel Craig wasn’t the blue-eyed James Bond. So if I played him, I don’t want to be called the Black James Bond." He's right. And I still want him to be James Bond. And Michael Fassbender can be the Bond villain. And I can be the Bond Girl, Mocha Vagina, who seduces both Bond and the villain in the name of Queen and country. Please? Oh, and Idris is the new "face" of SmartWater. YES. 
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| Adele cancels her American tour because of ongoing throat crisis Posted: 05 Oct 2011 06:53 AM PDT 
You know I love Adele, but did you know that I've been worried about my girl for months now? Adele's tour schedule has been all over the place, and she keeps canceling shows month after month because of seemingly unending vocal and throat problems. Adele just cancelled the rest of her 10-city US tour yesterday because of new issues. Adele took to her blog with an exhaustive open letter to her fans to explain what's gone wrong: Guys, im heartbroken and worried to tell you that yet again im experiencing problems with my voice. its ridiculous i know! i cant believe it myself. i follow all the advice im given and stick to regimes, rules and practices to the best of my ability but it seems to simply not be enough. i want you to know the full story about my voice troubles so bare with me in this long blog. i first started having trouble with my voice back in january, it was weakened by a bout of flu from december and never got its complete strength back before i started my UK and European promotional tour, so it just got weaker and weaker until it eventually "broke" as i say. i didnt realise at the time, cause id never had anything wrong with my voice, ever. but id also never sung as much as i was at the time it went. i was diagnosed with laryngitis and ordered to rest intensely for 10 days, and i recovered and went on to do a show in london and a month long promo tour in the U.S and also the brit awards without any hiccups. the whole time i stuck to a strict regime of numerous diets, steaming, vocal rest and vocal warm ups. which is very necessary but insanely grim. After a bit of time off I embarked on my european and UK tours at the end of march and finished at the end of april and everything seemed fine. in may i went on tour in the U.S, i was in minneapolis which was about half way through the tour. i made a skype call in the morning on the day of the show and during it my voice suddenly switched off like a light! it was literally as if someone pulled a curtain over my throat. i knew something was wrong and panicked but convinced myself id be fine. i got to soundcheck and knew immediately i couldnt perform and with doctors advice cancelled the show. i was mortified and distraught but stubbornly insisted we go to denver for the following day, i did the show even though in the back of mind i knew it wasnt the right thing to do. and during it i felt, what i can only describe as something ripping in my throat. but adrenalin kicked in and i was too embarrassed to not finish the show. I was sent to LA to rest and get another opinion. this time i was diagnosed with a hemorrhage. which is like a black eye on the vocal chord, it was incredibly tender and dangerous if i was to continue to sing through it. i was ordered to rest, so i flew home and did for a month. then slowly i started fulfilling my commitments. i did a show in london at the itunes festival and then went on to complete the first leg of the rescheduled US shows and perform at the VMAS which were all a blinding success. however when i got home and prepared to start my UK tour in september i developed a respiratory and chest infection which had nothing to do with any of my voice problems from before but still forced me to cancel 6 shows and a performance at the mercury awards. i was stuffed full of antibiotics, had some time to rest and in the end managed to do 9 shows of the 15. After them and once back home my voice yet again went. mid conversation and it just switched off! i have a hemorrhage again and it is paramount that i rest and therefore wont be able to come and do these already rescheduled U.S shows which are due to start this friday in atlantic city. the fact is i have never been able to fully recover from any of the problems that ive had and then continue to rest even once im recovered, because of my touring commitments. ive been offered the chance to not tour at all to save anything like this from happening again, but i simply hate letting you down. although now im having to let you down once again through no fault of my own really. if i continue to pick up everything before i have properly conquered these problems and nipped them in the bud. i will be totally and utterly f–ked. singing is literally my life, its my hobbie, my love, my freedom and now my job. I have absolutely no choice but to recuperate properly and fully, or i risk damaging my voice forever. i have great confidence in believing you know how much this upsets me, how seriously i take it and how truly devastated and annoyed i am by this. wanting to do something so bad and not being able to is the most frustrating thing as im sure you know! my voice is weak and i need to build it back up. I'm gonna be starting up vocal rehab as soon as, and start building my over all stamina in my voice, body and mind. i will be back and im gonna smash the ball out the park once im touring again. i apologise from the bottom of my heart, sincerely i do. i know its not only disappointing because of the show, but its plane tickets, hotel bookings, birthdays, anniversaries and time wasted. but please have faith in me that this is the only thing i can do to make sure i can always sing and always make music for you to the best of my ability. truly yours and yours only forever, adele xx
[From Adele's Blog] I do feel really bad for her, and I think her throat/vocal issues are genuine. As in, I don't think she's blowing off appearances and tour dates just so she can go shopping and gossip with girlfriends. I think she's genuinely unwell, and if her throat was up to it, she would be fulfilling her obligations. That being said, she needed to stop this whole catastrophe months ago, when it seemed like she was in health crisis after health crisis - as an Adele super-fan, I think I can speak for most of us when I say this: I'm thinking about my long-term Adele fix, and I want her to have a voice to record more and more albums, and the touring stuff is just gravy. Yes, it's great to have a pop artist who ACTUALLY SINGS and who depends on her voice night after night. Now just cancel everything, refund the tickets, take six months off, rest, and record a new album. You want the video again, right? 
Photos courtesy of WENN and Fame.
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