George Lucas in Hollywood

Had a real "Hollywood" moment last Thursday night (June 9) when the American Film Institute honored filmmaker George Lucas with its Lifetime Achievement Award at the Kodak Theater.

Since I had been working, giving tours, that day I decided to stay late and observe the red carpet festivities. Considering George Lucas' clout and admiration within the film community, I knew it would be a star-studded affair. I wasn't disappointed.

Here's a partial list of the celebrities I saw up close on the red carpet:

William Shatner, Robert Duvall, radio host Rick Dees, Steven Spielberg's mother, composer John Williams, comedian Adam Carrolla, Richard Dreyfus, Anthony Michael Hall, MacKenzie Phillips, Steven Spielberg, Mark Hamill, Cloris Leachman, Harrison Ford and Calista Flockheart, Hugh Hefner and a huge bevy of buxom blonde babes, Warren Beatty and Annette Benning, C3PO and R2-D2, Chewbacca, and the man of the hour, Mr. George Lucas.

It was actually a lot of fun to see all those famous people together in one place. I was on the phone the whole time giving play-by-play to my sister in Denver. She was kind enough to keep a list of the celebrities I saw. Thanks, Sis!

Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera with me, but you can see photos of the red carpet arrivals on the Wire Image website.

You can enjoy the festivities yourself when USA Network airs the tribute on Monday, June 20.

Love and Marriage

Here's a fun and fascinating article from Newsweek about the history of marriage and how its purpose and relevancy have changed and declined over the centuries.

What's Love Got to Do With It? Everything. - Newsweek Society - MSNBC.com

On This Date

"....on this date (June 5) in 1981, puzzled officials at the Centers for Disease Control in Los Angeles reported that five male patients, all homosexual, had been diagnosed with a "rare kind of pneumonia" which did not seem to respond to normal treatment....these were the first recognized cases of what would become known as AIDS...."

Doctor Who?

My favorite childhood science fiction TV series is back on BBC Television.

The return of 'Doctor Who'

Still Sick

A week ago I went to the doctor to check my eye for conjunctivitis. She gave me some antibiotic drops and told me my "pink eye" would clear up by the weekend. She was right. I even called her Monday to tell her things were looking better. I may have spoken too soon.

This morning, I woke up with crusty puss around my eyes again. I had to work at it to crack them open so I could see the floor when I got out of bed. After washing the crud out of my eyes, I noticed that my left eye was all bloodshot again. Shit. And I'm out of antibiotics, too.

Also, I have a killer sore throat that's been getting worse the past three days. I was hoping that ignoring it would make it go away. That rarely works. I am so burnt. A week in Hawaii would probably make me feel better.

Cher's Final Show

I was there! My boss Philip gave me tickets to see Cher's final performance at the Hollywood Bowl last Saturday night.

Yes, she's been on this "farewell" tour for three years, but this time she means it. It was the 325th show of the tour and it was a spectacular performance: lights and video, dancers and acrobats, and of course her outrageous costumes, of which she wore about a dozen changes.

And it was a full retrospective of her career, including video footage of her and Sonny Bono singing "I Got You Babe", and highlights from Cher's solo career as a singer and actress, featuring clips of her duets with many famous celebrities (including Mr. Bowie) on her 1970's TV show, her music videos, and her film performances, including her Oscar-winning role in 'Moonstruck'.

Conjunctivitis

That's not my eye, but it could have been yesterday. I'm dealing with a mild case of Conjunctivitis, commonly known as 'pink eye'.

I woke up two days ago with a mild irritation in my left eye. I dropped in some Visine and carried on with my day, but as the hours passed the irritation and inflamation increased. The eye also started to emit a greenish, milky discharge. By Tuesday evening, the pain and tearing were so bad I couldn't bear to keep the eye open.

Wednesday morning I woke up with the eye sealed shut with crusty goop. (Delicious imagery, don't you think?!) After washing it out and putting in more drops, it felt fine. But it looked terrible, a deep crimson red.

My co-workers at UCLA insisted I seek medical attention so after suffering through my day's classes (what a professional), I went to a local eye doctor in Westwood. Dr. Braun gave me an exam and told me I had a viral infection. There's apparently been a late flu and cold season according to her, and she's seen many similar illnesses lately. She gave me some drops and sent me on my way. Since I didn't have insurance, she kindly gave me a 35% discount on the office visit, which is normally $175. (Nice work if you can get it, huh?!)

I must admit she was quite a cutey, and young for a doctor. She did give me her card and asked me to keep in touch. About the eye, of course!

Mostly Harmless

I thought CNN's review hit the mark pretty close.

Gas Prices

Did you see these about gas prices?

The New Elvis

Why, oh why, do we need yet another Elvis biopic? At least they picked a good actor to play the King, Irishman Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

As himself:



As Elvis:



Take your pick!

Gallup: 50% of Americans Now Say Bush Deliberately Misled Them on WMDs

Gallup: 50% of Americans Now Say Bush Deliberately Misled Them on WMDs

Half of all Americans, exactly 50%, now say the Bush administration deliberately misled Americans about whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

How Depressing

Apparently Texas is the happiest place on Earth after all...

The 20 Happiest Cities

A Pope's Funeral

With all the glamour and pomp & circumstance of Pope John Paul's funeral, I can't wait until Benedictus XVI dies so we can do it all again!

Stuff To Think About

Some of these have been passed around in email chains for a while, but there still worth pondering...

TWO TOUGH QUESTIONS

Question 1:

If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had 8 kids
already, three who were deaf, two who were blind, one
mentally retarded, and she had syphilis, would you
recommend that she have an abortion?

Read the next question before looking at the answer
for this one.

Question 2:

It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your
vote counts. Here are the facts about the three
leading candidates.

Candidate A -
Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with
astrologists.
He's had two Mistresses. He also chain smokes and
drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.

Candidate B -
He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon,
used opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey
every evening.

Candidate C -
He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't
smoke, drinks an occasional beer and never cheated on
his wife.

Which of these candidates would be your Choice?

Decide first, no peeking, then scroll down for the
answer.

----------------------------------------------

Candidate A: is Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Candidate B: is Winston Churchill.
Candidate C: is Adolph Hitler.


And, by the way, the answer to the abortion question:
If you said yes, you just killed Beethoven.

Pretty interesting isn't it? Makes a person think
before judging someone.

and in case you never saw this one......

Can you imagine working for a company that has a
little more than 500 employees and has the following
statistics:

* 29 have been accused of spousal abuse
* 7 have been arrested for fraud
* 19 have been accused of writing bad checks
* 117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least
2 businesses
* 3 have done time for assault
* 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
* 14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
* 8 have been arrested for shoplifting
* 21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
* 84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last
year

Can you guess which organization this is?




Give up yet?





It's the 535 members of the United States Congress.
The same group that cranks out hundreds of new laws
each year designed to keep the rest of us in line.

My Favorite Couple...

...were out on the town Sunday night for the premiere of a new Broadway play, The Pillowman.



I have no idea what the play was about, but if I could look as good as seem as happy as these two, I wouldn't really care. Mr. Bowie's looking pretty healthy for almost 60, especially after his clogged artery last year which prematurely ended his world tour.


Supermodel Iman and husband, rock star David Bowie, attend the Broadway premiere of The Pillowman, April 10, 2005. (photos Getty Images)

Saul Bellow Dead at 89

In other news today, Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning author Saul Bellow died today. I didn't even know he was still alive!

He had five wives, three sons and, at age 84, a daughter.

Guess I should read some of his books.

Peter Jennings Has Cancer

I was disturbed by the news today that my favorite TV news anchor, Peter Jennings, has been diagnosed with lung cancer. Jenning admitted on tonight's broadcast that he was a smoker until about 20 years ago and that he had a relapse during the stressful events of 9/11.

I had noticed in recent weeks that Jennings' voice had become a bit rougher than in the past. Perhaps he had a cold, I thought, or maybe his voice was deepening naturally with age. Apparently the cause of his vocal trouble was more serious than expected, and for tonight's television message he sounded downright raspy.

Although his doctor advised him not to travel for coverage of the Pope's funeral, Jennings said he will continue to anchor ABC's World News Tonight as much as possible during his treatment, which starts next week with chemotherapy. Jennings admitted that some days he may be cranky, but that other days he will be very cranky.

Peter Jennings has worked for ABC News more than 40 years. He was made anchor and senior editor of World News Tonight in 1983.

So many lovers, so little time

In case your life isn't complicated enough yet, feel free to be illuminated by the article linked below which describes the latest trend in multiple romances, "polyamory."

Telegraph | Expat | Free love is fine - but watch out for the wibbles

Who the hell has time for multiple lovers? I don't even have time for one!

Clive Owen to be the next James Bond??

God, please let it be true!!

MI6 Forums :: View topic - Clive Owen to be announced next week as James Bond #6

El Papa Esta Muerto

Yes, finally Pope John Paul II has passed away. He died earlier today and though we have all been expecting his death for weeks, if not months, it is sad to have the finality of his death.

I am neither Catholic nor a believer, but I did feel a fondness toward John Paul. He always seemed like a decent man, and although I disagreed with him on most social issues, I respected the fact that he never waivered in his convictions.


Oy vey, such problems!

He was the Pope for most of my life; the only Pope I have really ever known. And he was an international superstar due to his extensive travels and his savvy use of the modern media. No Pope has had such a high profile.


Even a Pope has to have a sense of humor.

Pope John Paul visited my hometown, Denver, Colorado, when I was a teenager and it was a huge event for everyone. Most of his activities were covered live on television -- it was a World Youth Day conference -- and I watched most of the events on TV.


Pope John Paul II forgives his would-be assassin, Mehmet Ali Acga, Dec 27, 1983.

There was something very inspiring about his presence and the devotion and affection shown to him by so many millions of people around the world. He was a greatly loved man.