Monday, June 6, 2016

Back In Time: Lindsay Lohan

Memories
Lindsay Lohan
Since it's always manic on Monday I thought I would share a Sunday fun day nostalgic blast from the past. I present to you Lindsay Lohan visiting her London home from the Disney classic film The Parent Trap.

For the uninitiated Lindsay had game playing twins Hallie Parker and Annie JamesHallie lived in Napa, CA., with her father Nick Parker (Dennis Quaid).  Annie resided with her mom Elizabeth James (the late Natasha Richardson) in London.

Yes, two adorable little Lindsay's in one crowd pleasing movie. She did what is all the rage these days and took to her Instagram and posted said  photo with the caption:

"A trip down memory lane #sundayfunday, #theparenttrapmovie Annie's house but it was number 7 in the movie."

Awwwwwwwwwwww...Happy Monday and have a Terrific Week

Lindsay on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/lindsaylohan/?hl=en

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Kesha v The Trolls

She's Got The Look!
Kesha @ The 2016 Billboard Music Awards
WTF is wrong with people anymore?! The Internet is wonderful in the fact that you can access people from all over the world and have information and entertainment at the stroke of a key. Unfortunately it also allows for trolls to be heard and makes you realize how many miserable losers exist in the world that have nothing better to do than sit around and put others down to make their pathetic existence more bearable for them. Um, news flash slamming other people publicly while you hide behind a computer keyboard does not make you superior to them it makes a worthless human being.

Apparently some coward decided that Kesha had not been through enough tough times of late and decided she needed to be called out for being an "ugly whore." Here is her awesome response and the photo she posted with it on Instagram

Magical & Imperfect
Kesha
"dear @jackknife76 , I see that you would very much like me to know that you think I'm ugly, and also a "whore". well, I understand that that is your opinion, but I disagree. I'm not perfect but I'm pretty fucking magical. and also, I am not, in fact, a whore. also bullying someone who has struggled publicly with body issues is pretty mean. thank god I'm in a place in my life where I feel empowered to address your nasty comments instead of letting them destroy me. so. on behalf of anyone anywhere who struggles with body image, STOP IT. my body is not your business. ✨in conclusion, kiss my magical imperfect ass 💋❤️✌🏼️💅"

Having had slings & arrows thrown my direction as well I admire that Kesha is still standing strong after the many challenges she has faced. Keep on doing you Ms. Thang

Kesha on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/iiswhoiis/?hl=en   

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Charlie Chaplin, Chinatown, All That Jazz...Read More!

Hey all you film buffs out there, you know who you are. Look what I have for you..read more! 


Dr. Wes D. Gehring, prolific film scholar and Distinguished Professor of Film Studies at Ball State University, has published 36 books, all of them focused on American film comedy, be it romantic comedy, screwball comedy, dark comedy, populist comedy, parody, or personality comedy. Most recently, his focus has been dark comedy, resulting in his late 2014 study,Chaplin's War Trilogy: An Evolving Lens in Three Dark Comedies, 1918-1947, now followed in 2016 with Genre-Busting Dark Comedies of the 1970s: Twelve American Films.  

Chaplin's War Trilogy, selected by the Huffington Post as one of the "Best Film Books of 2014," traces dark comedy elements throughout Chaplin's oeuvre, but with special focus on three war-related films: SHOULDER ARMS (1918), THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940), and MONSIEUR VERDOUX (1947). It was Pablo Picasso's "Guernica," through which the painter expressed his shock and outrage over what was happening in the Spanish Civil War, that inspired Gehring to examine Chaplin's work from a similar perspective. What he found was that, the master filmmaker had used dark comedy in three different ways over the years. That is, with SHOULDER ARMS, Chaplin had used it to help the US, Great Britain, and their allies win World War I; with THE GREAT DICTATOR, he used it to try and stop World War II; and with MONSIEUR VERDOUX, he used it to condemn, by implication, business interests which provoked international wars in order to profit from them. Choice (the go-to reference for library purchasing in the US) wrote that, "This tribute to Chaplin is both a brilliant analysis and a cultural history...Gehring remains supreme in film comedy scholarship."

A key theme in Chaplin's War Trilogy (one of many books Gehring has written about that director's life and career) was how contemporary audiences and critics alike were put off by THE GREAT DICTATOR and MONSIEUR VERDOUX, unable to find humor in the death and destruction of World War II, or in the charming menace of a serial killer, much less to see through the dark comedy haze into what Chaplin was actually saying. As the author points out, it was not until the 1960s, with the success of films like Stanley Kubrick's DR. STRANGELOVE, that both reviewers and filmgoers finally caught up with what Chaplin had been doing in the 1940s and rediscovered his previously under-appreciated dark comic masterpieces of that decade. Gehring also came to understand how the national tumult of the 1960s (e.g., urban riots, political assassinations, and especially the Vietnam War) led American movie directors to make dark comedy a pivotal, and often commercially successful, film genre of the 1970s. 

After lecturing on the subject of his latest Chaplin book at New York's Museum of Modern Art in 2014, Gehring decided to turn that larger insight into a new book titled Genre-Busting Dark Comedies of the 1970s, in which he would focus on twelve dark comedies released over the course of still another turbulent decade. The twelve films in question are Robert Altman's MASH (1970), Mike Nichols' CATCH 22 (1970), Arthur Penn's LITTLE BIG MAN (1970), Hal Ashby's HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971), Bob Fosse's CABARET (1972), George Roy Hill's SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE (1972), Roman Polanski's CHINATOWN (1974), Woody Allen's LOVE AND DEATH (1975), Milos Foreman's ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975), Woody Allen's ANNIE HALL (1977), Hal Ashby's BEING THERE (1979), and Bob Fosse's ALL THAT JAZZ (1979). 

Gehring opens the Epilogue for Dark Comedies of the 1970s as follows: "From the comic to the sublime, cinema has always had dark comedies. But the genre finally came into its own during the 1960s. Besides new dark comedies like Stanley Kubrick's DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (1964) and the reissuing of previously underappreciated ones like Charlie Chaplin's THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940) and MONSIEUR VERDOUX (1947) the genre was finally receiving the recognition which it deserved. Yet most of these examples smacked audiences right between the eyes with their mood, such as Chaplin's use of Hitler for humor. The full ambiguous blossoming of the genre would occur during the 1970s, fueled in part by many of the factors delineated in the prologue, including TV's gutting of old school Hollywood, a betrayed trust in feel-good Capraesque people by modern McCarthy populism, New American Cinema cannibalizing the French New Wave, and the promise of Kennedy's New Frontier quickly collapsing...into the violent discord and distrust leading to Watergate." 

Taking what he learned from the pioneering dark comedies of the 1940s and 1960s, Gehring now examines these twelve darkly comic and deeply thought-provoking films of the 1970s, a period in which American filmmakers rebelled and matured precisely in sync with members of America's Baby Boom generation, the perfect audience for some of the greatest - and darkest - comedies ever made. 

Because dark comedies were so abundant in the '70s, Gehring went out of his way to pick several films not normally thought of as being of that genre (illustrated below).

Dr. Wes D. Gehring's Chaplin's War Trilogy: An Evolving Lens in Three Dark Comedies, 1918-1947 and Genre-Busting Dark Comedies of the 1970s: Twelve American Films are both now available from McFarland & Company, Inc

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Curb Your Pup: Colton Haynes

Colton Haynes
"I'm Going To Chain You Down Puppy"
Photo: Tyler Shields
Coming out does a Colton Haynes good. It makes me want to adopt a pet, of the three legged kind.

The Arrow star and Teen Wolf alum posted some photos to Instagram of his upcoming book collaboration with one of my favorite photographers Tyler Shields. While some news sources have described them as shocking I think of them as just another day in Los Angeles. Hey, I heard a guy in the locker room at Gold's Gym Hollywood inquiring inquiring to another dude: "I'm out of town this weekend if you want to borrow my pup?" Case rested.

Haynes says of the shoot:

"Every single time we work together we push boundaries & make incredible art, Our photography book is gonna be pretty shocking to say the least..."
Colton Haynes
Masochist
Photo: Tyler Shields
Your Turn Tyler Shields

"There are few people who understand what I do as much as him, so we have quietly been shooting a book of just him for a little while now," 


While the book will mostly be of Colton solo, there may be some other guest stars they tease...need a Daddy? Sing me up!


They plan on pushing boundaries - watch out Madonna, your Sex Book has got some stiff, ahem, competition. 

Colotn's Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/coltonlhaynes/?hl=en

Tyler's Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/thetylershields/?hl=en   

"Yellow Bitches In The Driver's Seat"

We Got That Bomb Pussy
Awkwafina & Margaret Cho

Margaret Cho. Awkwafina. Green Tea.
Any Questions???


The Rapper and Comedian collaborate for a NSFW anthem Green Tea in celebration of womanhood and Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.



"I remember watching Margaret Cho with my grandmother on TV. She was my hero, not only because she was funny, but because she showed me that it's okay to be yourself, that it's okay to be a brash yellow girl, and to be a strong and brave woman. To collab with her is a dream come true, but larger than that, there has rarely been two Asian AMERICAN WOMEN being ratchet together, or just being in a music video. This song is a tongue and cheek take on traditional stereotypes, with a strong underlying message for all young women of color to embrace their quirkiness, their sexuality, their inner-child and their creativity with passion. I love Margaret, and I hope some young girl (but not too young) watches this video and it inspires them somehow. Stay angry!" -Awkwafina

"I'm so grateful to work with Awkwafina and this song and video was such fun! It was incredibly natural and easy - as if the song had been already written and we were just channeling it! Awkwafina is the future!"Margaret Cho

Awkwafina at: 
http://www.awkwafina.com/

Margaret Cho at:
http://margaretcho.com/  

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

"Riot On Sunset" With James Durbin

I Love Rock-N-Roll
James Durbin
Photo: Heidi Durbin
James Durbin is back and he's ready to? Rock, of course! What other answer were you expecting?!?!
James Durbin has announced that he will release his new album, Riot On Sunset on July 15.  Riot On Sunset is the first new music from James in over 2 years and will include his latest single, “Smackdown.” 
“Smackdown” is available for digital download through CD Baby  here: www.cdbaby.com/CD/jamesdurbin2   and iTunes here: https://itun.es/us/S_4Fbb
“Smackdown” showcases James’ signature hard rock sound in a grand way with crunching guitar riffs and a truly epic drum beat.  From the opening bass riff to the closing scream & all the debauchery in between, James Durbin is back & better than ever before. 
The video for “Smackdown” has been making a serious impact since its release in April as it was selected for Loudwire’s Battle Royale competition where it currently occupies the #2 spot on their Top 10 countdown. See here: http://loudwire.com/battle-royale-devildriver-debut-big-backwordz-video-countdown-domination/
 Watch the video for “Smackdown”: 


James is also excited to get back out on the road this summer with his new band to perform brand new material from Riot On Sunset  for the first time.  “We’ve been grinding away on this album for months now.  It’s hard to believe it’s time to release it to the world on July 15. I feel like I’ve grown a lot in the studio and as an artist. I hope all the fans will enjoy what I have to say on the album as I have truly loved co-writing & co-producing Riot On Sunset” says James.  See below for confirmed tour dates.

2016 Tour Dates:
July
18                      Portland, OR                  Dante’s
19                       Seattle, WA                   El Corazon
21                      Salt Lake City, UT          Loading Dock
23                      Denver, CO                    Global Hall
24                      Kansas City, MO            Riot Room
26                      Chicago, IL                      Shubas
27                      Pontiac, MI                    Pike Room at Crofoot
28                      Cleveland, OH               Beachland Ballroom
29                      Fort Thomas, KY           Fort Thomas
31                      Universal City, MO       The Duck Room

August

1                         Tulsa, OK                        The Vanguard
6                         San Jose, CA                   Santa Clara County Fair

More dates to be announced soon!
  
Follow James on social media here:

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Domestic Abuse

Johnny Depp & Amber Heard
The subject of Domestic Abuse has grabbed worldwide focus again in the divorce of world famous superstar Johnny Depp and his Wife Amber Heard

Johnny has been vehemently defended by friends and his former partner Vanessa Paradis with whom he has two children. Many of Depp's friends calling Heard a manipulative gold digger.

Let's put the mud slinging and the whole taking sides thing away for a moment to focus on a subject that should always be treated respectfully and with sensitivity. This commentary is not about lying whores or evil pricks. It's about being aware that this is an issue that affects 1 in 4 Women and 3 million Men

It's about those who take advantage of someone else's emotional and physical vulnerability. Again this is not about side taking, or about Depp and Heard, it is about educating. Just because someone does not abuse all of their partners, does not mean they will not abuse others.

My good friend Romi Simmons wrote this account about her Mother in the wake of all this:

"Just weighing in .... From personal experience ... Some people don't behave the same with other partners... Usually the dynamics... Brought out by each other.....My Dad beat my Mom... But he didn't beat his other wife or his GF. They never believed the stories I told them. Nor did our community.... Plus they always said women who stay with Men who abuse them Must like it... Lol... I remember that always pissed me off... That statement... We didn't like it.. We just didn't know we had a way out...."


This is something that most people do not consider when they hear that someone is being abusive to another human being that has never done the same to them. It's an important point that needs to be addressed more in the press by those who report it. The sensationalism, insensitivity and ignorance toward this has got to stop. 

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse, there is a way out. 

The National Domestic Violence Hotline1-800-799-7233