In these times there is a day for everything, thus I do not acknowledge them all. Yet, how could I pass up a shout out to National Pizza Day, I ask you? "Yes" I asked, are you thinking of your answer or simply ignoring me?! Moving on...
Pizza how do I love thee le me count the ways, you are my favorite food group. You and Mexican Food complete me in a way nothing else can.
Here to help us celebrate NPD is Meryl Streep, this image of her woofing down on a mighty slice made me smile, it's not your typical Meryl thing to do, ya know woofing. That's what makes it so damned amusing, and amused I am.
Well I guess that means I'm gonna have to celebrate accordingly, pizza for lunch it is!
During this downtime I've been thinking a lot about one of my favorite old Hollywood haunts Musso & Frank. I miss it, with it's great atmosphere, delicious food and amazing martini's. Thus today's Hump Day & Chill is brought to you by the martini, to be precise the Meryl Martini as concocted by one Meryl Streep during a performance of The Ladies Who Lunch in celebration of Stephen Sondheim's 90th Birthday. Honestly I do think Streep is missing a branding opportunity here, she really should explore the Meryl Martini concept, I'd bet she'd make a killing doing it. In the meantime, break out your own martini magic and Hump Day & Chill to one of these absolutely fabulous concoctions. Make mine gin straight up, two olives please. Thank You!!! Musso and Frank on the WWW: http://www.mussoandfrankgrill.com/
It's been a while since we have heard from singer/songwriter/actor Jay Jacobson. His last album "The Ride" was released in 2014. It produced an acclaimed animated video for the single "I Lived." Jay also starred in his own successful and acclaimed one man show "Mental Creatures" that he performed at The Lounge Theater in Hollywood. So where in the world has Jay been? Well you are about to find out!
MS: How's "The Ride" been since 2014? You've been pretty quiet since then.
JJ: Unfortunately, not by choice. I was nearing the end of recording my next CD, “Travelogue”, when I came down with a rare auto-immune disease. I’ve been on heavy medications, and couldn’t really function. I’m now in the process of reducing my medications, and starting to somewhat function again. The goal is to keep the disease in remission and get back to functioning normally. It’s been quite “a ride”, pun intended.
MS: Well you are back with a quite timely single "These Troubled Times" give some insight into the creation of it.
JJ: Almost all of my songs reflect what I’m experiencing as I go through my life. I can actually see my journey if I look at my CDs one by one. I came to a point, just before COVID, where I felt I needed to say something about the state of the world. I think just about everyone is scared or suffering to some degree, no matter what your political outlook. We’ve gotten so full of greed and anger, and so far from empathy and caring for one another. I felt the need to say something about it.
MS: I cried when I first heard it, while the whole song is great, these lyrics: "A nation stands in need Capitalism has turned to greed, We killed off the dream we had, And threw away the seed" really nailed it.
Hi Jay!
JJ: Thanks! The fact that you were moved is a huge compliment. I certainly hope the song inspires people to be kind, loving and generous. It seems there are definitely more of those qualities appearing, with the quarantines all over the world. I can tell you from being sick, something like that changes one’s perspective as to what’s important in life. And while there are some people who still haven’t gotten in touch with a “bigger” picture of life, it seems like a majority of the world has. This pandemic will definitely change the world and we have a chance to make it a better place. Hopefully, that is how this will play out.
MS: Any plans for a video?
JJ: I’m actually in the process of working on one now. I’m a bit slower at things than I normally am, so it will come out sometime after the song’s release.
MS: Spill the tea, what was it like singing back-up for Liza Minnelli?
JJ: First of all, it was a major thrill to sing with her. I saw her in concert several times in the 1980s and she would make the hairs on my arms stand on end. She is probably one of the greatest live performers of all time. As for working with her, she was always very nice and professional. One thing that surprised me was that she would be smoking while singing during rehearsals. It didn’t seem to affect her singing though, and in the end she delivered an amazing performance, as she always did.
MS: You did a one man musical show "Mental Creatures" that was very successful. Give some 411 on it.
JJ: “Mental Creatures” was definitely one of the highest points in my career and life. It started out as a way to combine my songs with my acting, and I started to write a show around some of my songs. At one point, I suddenly realized I had something to say, and form that point on, the show took on a life of its own. It took four years to write. It was a show about living life fully, no matter what is thrown at you. The degree we can feel happiness, pain, anger, love, and so on, is the degree to which we can be fulfilled. I played 8 characters (or nine?), with no costume changes, and only a chair on stage. I would change my voice and physicality with each character. There were three main characters: a young painter from the south with his first gallery show ever; a middle aged female window, who starts dating again for the first time in years; and an elderly man, moving into a retirement home. The show was narrated by a singer-songwriter. A huge compliment I would often get is that people expected the other characters to come out at the curtain call, forgetting that I played each character. I was shocked night after night, week after week, at the overwhelming reaction. After the show I would be told over and over by people how moved and inspired they were, and many would still be sobbing, and tried but couldn’t speak. It was a huge success, with rave reviews, and I learned a lot by doing that show. It kind of spoiled me as an actor, in that it was in something that had a lot of meaning for me, and I got to play many different characters through their breakdowns and breakthroughs. And I got to sing my songs and connect with an audience. It was magical.
"I Lived"
MS: Ever planning on resurrecting it again?
JJ: I keep getting asked that over and over, usually by people that saw it and want to see it again. I would love to do it again, so if any of your readers knows a theater looking for a one-man-show, definitely let me know! The show was taped, so I do have a record of it. I thought about putting segments on my website, but the sound and lighting aren’t particularly good. it was a filmed play after all.
MS: OK, I know you are a film lover. Which film do you wish you could have done a song for most?
JJ: A film that comes to mind immediately, is “Call Me By Your Name”. There was so much emotion at the end, a perfect set up for a great, emotional, beautiful song. And I did love what Sufjan Stevens came up with.
MS: What actress would you like to work with the most and why?
JJ: Definitely Meryl Streep. She is so present and so great at listening which is key to great acting. I think I’d learn a lot from her. Also Toni Collette, Jessica Lange or Saoirse Ronan.
MS: To be, or not to be?
JJ: That is the question. “To be” definitely! Life is filled with hardships, and “troubled times”, but there is so much beauty and love in the world too. Quality of life is determined by how we relate with what it presents us. Nothing ever stays the same and all things, good and bad, eventually pass. Life is a mixed bag, but it is definitely an adventure to be experienced.
MS: Let's do Thai Food again soon.
JJ: I’m totally down for that!!
"These Troubled Times" is out today, check it, and everything Jay at the links below -
You knew she'd be back, you just weren't quite sure what form that would take. Well that question is answered this Tuesday January 8th @ 8 pm on MTV when Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club premieres. Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale...you know the one of the Notorious LL and her rise and fall from Hollywood grace? "Yeah" no one needs a rinse and repeat on that one, and if by some stretch you happen to be uninitiated put your fingers to the keyboard and Google. Here is the official 411 on Lindsay's latest venture into the spotlight: "Lindsay Lohan is expanding her business empire with the launch of Lohan Beach House in Mykonos, Greece; she is a no-nonsense boss while managing the club and its restaurant and needs her team to come together to help bring her vision to life." I read a review yesterday that in a nutshell said the show was loopy, all over the place and basically incoherent. Since we are talking Lindsay Lohan is that a bad thing??? In my mind it isn't. "Yes" I was a Lohan fan when she was killing it as an actress and frankly I wish she had take a different path with her career and life as she knocked it out of the park on the silver screen. Remember this woman held her own playing opposite Meryl Streep in A Prairie Home Companion. But alas it was not meant to be, thus after bearing witness to her whack LiLo Dance and attempted kidnapping of refugee children that ended in the ultimate smack down on the WWW I will keep watching this derailed wreck of a train and see what track it ends up on. Mic Drop! Join Lindsay's Club at: http://www.mtv.com/shows/lindsay-lohans-beach-club
"Yes" today marks the opening of the sequel no one was asking for Mama Mia! Here We Go Again. This being stated how can you resist Cher & Meryl Streep together again? (the first time was in Silkwood circa 1983) - Now if I was a betting man I would have to say this is a casting only a studio executive with their eye on the box office could have made. I mean Cher & Meryl doing ABBA in the ultimate Mom (and Gay) friendly film?! It's a no brainer... I will be sitting this one out. I really didn't care for the first one. As Meryl explained that she took the movie mainly to embarrass her children, I say "mission accomplished." This does not mean I don't enjoy seeing the two hit the red carpet together to promote the venture as seen here at the London premiere. Hey, I may be a tough audience when it comes to the content of what actually watch, but I still love the glamour and cache these two have together. It's time for me to get the Mama Mia outta here and get on with my Friday...ciao! Mama Mia! Here We Go Again on IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6911608/
"I never really saw anything grow before. How tiny those seeds were and yet they know they were supposed to be lettuces." - Marilyn Monroe, The Misfits While Marilyn Monroe never won a Best Actress Oscar she did in my mind for The Misfits. Written by her former husband Arthur Miller and Directed by the great John Houston. Marilyn Monroe etched a portrait in my soul as Roslyn Taber. Even though she won a Golden Globe for Some Like It Hot (she was brilliant) Oscar gold always eluded her. Didn't we all fancy a dream in passing when we were young of winning one? But of course we did! Moving on as we got older and realized being an Academy Award Winning star might not necessarily be out path? With the arrival of the big event Sunday this weeks column is a tribute, trivia and salute to the dreamer in us all! Oscar Winner for Funny Girl Barbara Streisand had her dog cloned. Hey Barbara, did you not see Pet Semetary?! Kate Winslet keeps her Oscar in the bathroom I've held the Oscar that Dan Jinks won as Producer for Best Picture, American Beauty "As a little kid I lived in the projects, and you're the people I watched. You're the people wanted—made me want to be an actor. I'm so proud to be here. I'm proud to be an actor and I'm gonna keep on acting. And thank you so much" Whoopi Goldberg,Best Supporting Actress for Ghost The first Academy Awards ceremony was held in 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Meryl Streep is the most nominated in the Best Actress category for an Oscar, clocking in at 17 nominations Jack Nicholson is the most nominated actor with 12 under his belt My dream was always to win an Oscar for portraying someone truly evil
"When I was little my mother said, "I want you to be something." And I guess this represents twenty-three or twenty-four years of my work, and I've never won anything before from my peers. I'm really, really happy" Cher, Best Actress for Moonstruck
Margot Robbie
My personal pic for Best Actress this year? Margot Robbie for I, Tonya Who could ever forget Sally Field's battle cry: "I can't deny the fact that you like me. Right now, you like me!" Remember that time when 72 year old Jack Palance won his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for City Slickers and did one armed push-ups on stage? I do. Weirdest Oscar winning song? It's Hard Out There For a Pimp by 3 6 Mafia from Hustle & Flow Strange Best Supporting Actor Nominee: Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder. He's great! But think about it, not too much. And the Oscar goes to...find out this Sunday! In the meantime follow me at: https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/?hl=en https://twitter.com/MShinafelt
"Santa Bear-by, an auto space convertible too, light blue, I'll wait up for you, dear" - Santa Baby, Eartha Kitt This is my last column before Christmas, ya know Last Christmas (nudge, wink) Ho, ho, ho Santa Bear is here! Thus my minor alteration of the Holiday Classic Santa Baby originally sung by the unsinkable Eartha Kitt. So? What would you like Santa Bear to stuff your stocking with? I think I know the answer to that... Gimme, gimme, gimme an ass burger after midnight Monday was my Birthday and it was fun! I also celebrated Tuesday too, you can't keep a good Bear down! The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is back and brought the gift that keeps on giving, Erika Jayne Every moment is fleeting, every moment is incredible Rose McGowan v Meryl Streep - who would have ever thunk it?! How about those Golden Globe Nominations???
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...
Mike Clifford
Mike Clifford's video for "The Christmas Song" has gotten over 500 views. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and hit it minions at this link! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2v214rx7AE Santa Bear wishes our country's nightmare would end. He hates bad dreams... When I am down, I simply want to stick my face in some caviar Zac Efron, king of surprise mustaches Do you know the way to San Jose? I don't have to buy it, I already own it Peace on earth, goodwill towards your fellow human beings. Decency doesn't cost a thing, please give. If you have been naughty, and I know you have, get with me at: https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/?hl=en https://twitter.com/mshinafelt?lang=en
This week was the end of a special chapter in my life. Yes, minions it was the series finale of Pretty Little Liars, a show that has always been there for me when I needed top notch escapist entertainment most. With a complete dash of reality to balance it. Also this past week, June 25th 2017 marked the marriage of my awesome niece Shauna Waters to one Nick Kastner in Cabo San Lucas. Yep, this has been en eventful week, are you ready for what else I have to toss off your way? Well here it comes! Sarcasm is my brains self defense mechanism for when I'm about to be murdered I saw the Baywatch movie this week on the Sony Pictures Lot. Dumb, but fun! Follow the yellow brick road. Why not?! When sh!t turns weird The only disability in life is fear It's hard out there for a freeballer
More Like: Kale Blech! Bite Me, Trader Joe's! Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole Wake. Pray. Slay. Pretty Little Liars was on for seven glorious seasons, it's gone now. I am bummed. Can you imagine how I will feel when another of my favorites Law & Order: SVU ends, that f#cker has been on for twenty seasons & counting! Well wishes to my friend Diva Sandy Zacky who is recovering from knee surgery "Tilda Swinton is what happens when Tim Burton makes a Meryl Streep" - Faith Choyce, Comedian Happiness is following me at: https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/?hl=en https://twitter.com/MShinafelt
Photobombing Becomes Her Gina Rodriguez & Meryl Streep
Extra, Extra! Meryl Streep revealed a talent that the public at large was not aware that she had until she demonstrated it at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. As you can see by the evidence above as well as being a world class actress Meryl also is an A-1 photobombing machine! Look at Streep upstaging Jane The Virgin star Gina Rodriguez on the SAG awards red carpet. Gina is blissfully unaware that Meryl is stealing her moment, or adding to it depending on your view of things, I wonder what Gina thought when she saw the photo? Perhaps she caught Streep out of the corner of her eye and full on busted her. Even better maybe Meryl stuck around and confessed to Rodriguez and they both had a conversation and a laugh. Whatever scenario went down it is a memorable photo and shows the prankster in Streep. Only in Hollywood... Gina on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hereisgina/?hl=en Meryl on IMDB: www.imdb.com/name/nm0000658/bio
I'm Not Bad, I'm Just Photographed That Way
Michael Shinafelt
So 2017 is picking up a little steam this week, and IMHOP not in a good way. It's that time of the week again, yep, I have a weekly, for my take on everything. Here we go, here we go now, get busy! My best advice to everyone this year? Be your own fucking star!!!! Honestly I really don't care about Donald Trump's fixation on golden showers, so what? What bothers me is him being a sociopath. In case you give a crack, I got a bicycle this week, Yay me!
Bicycle, Bicycle!
There will always be overrated rim job queens My producer friend Shani Bayne accidentally included me on her production group text conversation. Girl I now know when you are sleeping and I know when you are awake. Maresa Wickham you rock! Literally. Like me! Good things happen when you smile, or you are naked Meryl Streep, Meryl Streep, Meryl Streep Quote of the Week: "I love pussy, but hate this dress" Margaret Cho commenting on Carrie Underwood's vagina dress @ The Golden Globe's on Fashion Police Fox News said Casey Anthony won Best Actor for Manchester By The Sea at The Golden Globe's. Ummmmm, it was Casey Affleck. But Casey Anthony wins best liar who was set free for killing her baby. Her and OJ Simpson have a lot they could talk about. Have you ever seen Kellyanne Conway and the Gollum in the same place? Just Saying. So long, farewell, I'm going to really miss Barack & Michelle Obama. Your legacy will never be forgotten for the correct reasons. Engage with me here or at: https://twitter.com/MShinafelt https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/
Nothing, I mean nothing will top Meryl Streep's Golden Globe speech last night. I thought about running it today since it was in a word, amazing, but of course by now everyone has posted and re-posted it so I decided to go another direction. Here without further hyperbole is my favorite Instagram post about the Golden Globes...Julia Louis-Dreyfus! Although she did not win this year for her HBO show Veep she's a winner in my book for this photo which she captioned:
"The first monster you have to scare the audience with is yourself" - Wes Craven One of my favorite filmmakers, Wes Craven has passed away. He directed Meryl Streep in her Oscar Nominated role in Music of the Heart and one of my favorite popcorn thrillers Red Eye with Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy. However he will always be known for his works of horror, most notably the high profile Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream films. I remember when both came out. Each was heralded as contributing something unique to the horror genre. Scream with it's unique blend of wit and scares revived horror movies at a time when the genre was pretty much dead. As a huge horror fan I thought I had seen it all, but nothing could have prepared me for the opening scene of Drew Barrymore being stalked and ultimately murdered. It was truly frightening on every level you could imagine, her dying merely feet away from her parents gasping for air and trying to get their attention will stay with me forever! A Nightmare on Elm Street was notorious for making people afraid to dream. It truly was the stuff sweet dreams aren't made of. R.I.P. Wes on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000127/?ref_=tt_ov_dr
The Woods Are Alive With The Sound of Music: Meryl Streep & Bill Magnussen
Meryl Streep really isn't an evil witch, she just plays one in Into The Woods. The Oscar winning screen legend played a part in landing her costar Bill Magnussen the lead role of Rapunzel's Prince in the film which opens Christmas day.
"I remember the first day coming into rehearsal," Magnussen told the New York Post, laughing. "Meryl was like, ‘Listen, I want you to know, I got you this f - - king part.'"
This is the kind of story that show biz dreams are made of. It just so happens that Meryl had seen the Broadway actor in Tony winning play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike in 2013 and then lobbied producers for him to land the part in Into the Woods. Magnussen has been in the biz for several years, Into The Woods will be his first major movie role. That's a pretty amazing Holiday gift, wonder what Bill is getting Meryl in return? Take A Walk Into The Woods at: http://movies.disney.com/into-the-woods/
Multi platinum rockers Alien Ant Farm have shared a sneak peak of one of their new songs "Let Em Know"....
About Alien Ant Farm:
Since the formation of Alien Ant Farm in 1995, the quartet has enjoyed worldwide success. Over the course of their four studio albums, cumulative sales surpass five million units a Grammy nomination and 4 top 10 singles. The band built a massive following on the road early in their career via high profile 2001 runs with Linkin Park, Papa Roach, Warped, and as the headliner on an MTV presented Fall Tour. In 2002, fame spread across the world, bringing Alien Ant Farm to the major European festivals, Australia's Big Day Out and a headline run in Japan. The following year they returned to Europe with Metallica, and to this day the band has steadily delivered audiences in territories across the globe.
From the beginning, the clever humor of vocalist Dryden Mitchell and guitarist Terry Corso has delivered visual imagery that made the band vanguards in the realm of music video. All of the singles released received heavy rotation on MTV and MTV2, with "Smooth Criminal" was voted the #2 video of 2001 on MTV's countdown. They appeared on the channel's programs Celebrity Dismissed, MTV Cribs, and hosted House of Style. Alongside the massive support from cable, Alien Ant Farm were darlings of broadcast television with multiple appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and support from Carson Daly, Extra, CNN, Access Hollywood and Mad-TV amongst many more. With all the notoriety also came a 2001 Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2001.
The early history of the band began when the name came from a daydream Terry Corso had while employed at a day job. The concept revolves around the human species being cultivated by alien intelligence, and the colony forming much like it does in a traditional children's toy. In 1999, Alien Ant Farm self-released their debut titled Greatest Hits, which went on to win Best Independent Album at the L.A. Music Awards. In 2000, they signed to DreamWorks SKG, and went on to release Anthology. The following year, a cover of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" became a massive hit overseas, rising to #1 in Australia and New Zealand, and on the U.S. Modern Rock charts. It also rose to #3 in the U.K. To set the record straight on the inspiration behind choosing this song amongst the millions of copyrights, Corso shares, "When we were a young local band in SoCal, we'd play a different cover song by a different artist every show we would do. Wild unexpected stuff and sometimes not even songs we were that into. Just whatever was going on around us on the radio or whatever fit in with our inside jokes at that minute, from Ileah to Gary Glitter to The Police, we had a lot of fun with it. One week we had been throwing the idea of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" around the jam room, I believe someone had just watched Moonwalker again. The very next sow we played, we hadn't learned the whole song yet but decided to klunk the main riff out for fun, the crowd loved it and went a little crazy. After that we learned the entire song and super charged it. The rest is pretty much history." To this day, the cover is a crowd pleaser. This past October 8th, the band was asked to appear alongside Cee Lo Green, Smokey Robinson and The Jackson Family at the Michael Jackson Forever Tribute Concert in Cardiff, Wales.
In 2003, the Alien Ant Farm entered the studio with Stone Temple Pilots' Robert and Dean DeLeo and cut Truant. Unfortunately, they ran in to unforeseen adversity with the closure of their record label, offering an insurmountable obstacle to continue building on the band's successes. Still under contract to Universal, Geffen green-lit the opportunity for Alien Ant Farm to return to the studio. In 2005, they recorded with Jim Wirt, but that album was not released as scheduled. Alien Ant Farm chose to share it with with fans via a bootlegged version, which has affectionately been re-named 3rd Draft by the public. Looking back on the adversity the band went through, alongside the massive fame Mitchell reflects, "This Alien Ant Farm 'Wave' is a bigger, longer wave than I could have hoped for. All these years later, we are still intact. From friends to foes to friends again, this band is something special, and nothing short of tight and explosive."
The next year in 2006 Up In The Attic was issued, and for the next several years the members went their separate ways reconvening in 2009 for performances in Kansas City, the Sonisphere Festival in Knebworth, UK and at the WARPED Tour in memory of Michael Jackson. They were back, and come 2010 began to rebuild a legacy that grows with each passing month. The band staged a very successful tour over the Summer and Fall, where they road tested new material in front of the live audience. In the New Year, they'll release the new recordings. Mitchell shares, "The First batch of these new songs are pretty to the point and pissed. Angry, but not negative. That is possible in this non tangible, musical and lyrical world. Unfortunately not possible in the real world, and that's why I love music. I can get this all out without hurting anyone."
Come 2013 Alien Ant Farm will return, and the path for the future will unfold one day at a time. The band is hard at work on their new record "Always And Forever" (AAF) which will be release in the summer of 2013, guitarist Corso shares, "We are pretty excited for the year to come. We just came off of a three-month tour in the U.S. that made us realize that with the original line-up back together, we have fire and hunger again. With a fresh new collection, we hope to get our core fans excited, as well as turn some brand new listeners on to the ALIEN ANT FARM sound and show the world we have a lot more to offer than the average rock band.” Having the original members back in the line-up will give the fans what they have been waiting for." In summation, bassist Zamora offers, "Although we spent a couple of years apart and wrote our last record with only three original members, there is no denying the chemistry of the original four piece. The band, the show, and the songs are just better with all of the original members doing what they were born to do, being Alien Ant Farm." Drummer Cosgrove echoes, "It's good to have the original core back together." With strong repertoire, great attitudes, and a fan base that has been there every step of the way, the future is lining up nicely for Alien Ant Farm.
Go Meryl Streep and have an "Alien Ant Farm" in Africa - Ei ei oooooooooooo:
