day 67

inauguration shenanigans 

while the focus this week has been on our newly sworn in presidente, word of various celebrity craziness in and around the festivities is starting to trickle out.  first up is none other than repeat diva mariah carey.  the songstress formerly know for her high pitched notes (now known more for her club beats) was apparently so dissatisfied in her treatment at the affair, that she bailed out of the ceremony altogether.  now, you ask, what could have been so bad that mariah stormed off? her seat.  mariah was disappointed with the fact that she had to sit with the "commonfolk" (aka her celebrity peers, like jon bon jovi, mary j blige, alicia keys, and bruce springsteen); she wanted to sit with the obamas themselves.  now, the "front row" seats are almost exclusively for family and government officials, past and future.  where carey got the idea she was a relative of the obamas or a member of barack's cabinet is beyond me.  before mimi left dc, however, she did get a chance to sing "hero" at the neighborhood inaugural ball, an event created by obama to make all neighborhoods across the country aware, at the same time, of what was going on in washington the day of the inauguration through a variety of web-based components.  carey wasn't the only star disappointed in her role at the inauguration.  fellow diva sean "diddy" combs is said to have been frustrated with his seating arrangement as well, in addition to not being asked to perform and his "second fiddle" role to more prominent jay-z (diddy even had to sit next to mr beyonce during the ceremony - how tragic!).  where do these people get off thinking it's their day?? diddy's people did refute the claims, saying the inauguration was "one of the greatest moments of his life." okay...

twilight lands another name

in addition to dakota fanning (and possibly vanessa hudgens, though reports are now claiming that the character she auditioned for won't even be making an appearance in new moon), america ferrera is said to be joining the cast of the vampire/werewolf mega franchise.  while the first move featured a virtually unknown cast of actors only known for their former, small supporting roles, the sequel is shaping up to be a big name blockbuster.  the ugly betty actress, and reported avid fan of the series, has reportedly auditioned for the role of leah clearwater, the only known female werewolf in the stephanie meyer-created quileute tribe.  there's no official word on this casting decision, but if it's true, word is sure to break soon - why would they want to keep such a "name" a secret? while the film series really doesn't need any more publicity, adding actors and actresses with names is sure to draw more attention to the franchise and more fans to the box office, which means even more money for the films.  

paula abdul, responsible for all music videos

or, so, she would like us to believe.  the lakers girl-turned pop star-turned american idol judge has been quoted as saying that her videos, like "opposites attract," are the "almanac" for for current stars like beyonce and rihanna, and the videos they've created. now, i don't know about you, but i don't really recall beyonce and rihanna dancing and singing with an animated character...and, if paula is referencing the rap-singing duet, i don't think she invented that, either. had paula called attention to the "straight up" video, then, maybe, i could see where she's coming from.  that video is much more, stylistically speaking, like the videos of today.  sometimes we just have to excuse miss abdul's comments (to be real, we have to do this most of the time)...but this one struck me as quite the quote.  to say that abdul's videos have stood the test of time is a bit extreme, even for abdul to say herself.