Yet Another Star Sighting of the Day

Sinbad
Okay, I don't know what's going on, but this town is crawling with celebrities today. Lou and I spotted the tall comedian talking outside of the Pins (or is it Pinz?) in Studio City as we drove back from lunch.

There's a lot of filming on Ventura Blvd today too... Twain's and the vet clinic down the street have Star Waggons and crew hanging around since this morning.

Star(bucks) Sighting of the Day

Janel Moloney
There's something about my buddy Lou - whenever we are out together we see a celebrity. He spotted the "West Wing" actress grunged down with her adorable Benji-like puppy as we walked out of Starbucks in Studio City.

Thirsty Work!

Since I am a huge fan of WWII, propaganda posters, Photoshop, and beer, I thought this was the perfect thing for Friday.

[part of the Propaganda Photoshop Contest on Worth 1000.com]

Star Sighting of the Day

Scott Caan
I saw the short little hunk as I grabbed lunch at Fatburger in Sherman Oaks. He was across the street for a while at Casa de Cadillac looking at new rides and then he (gasp!) jaywalked with two of his buddies to get a Fatburger for himself.

I was playing it cool, but another customer couldn't stop staring.

Mildly Amused?

I guess the Campbell Kids rep is the son of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow man. Hey, what a great title for a horror movie...

*booming ominous voice* Beware of the Son of Stay Puft! followed by Return of Stay Puft and The Bride of Stay Puft! *end booming ominous voice*

And, no, we don't want to go so far as to say you'll be really amazed... we can only commit to mildly.

[AdClassix.com]

Wednesday's This & That

So yes, I'm alive. I made it through the twisty-turny drive (where I got sick) and the snowboarding run (that took me hours to go down because I kept falling). But it was fun and the conditions were great. I'm just thinking that maybe next time I'll take a lesson. Yesterday I was just sleeping it off.

What is there to look at today on the net? Well, there's a righteous lightsaber duel between two geeks. The first 30 seconds are full of graphics promoting their unknown production companies... but it does make you realize how much bandwidth there is in the world that people are just effing with.

I saw this on the news yesterday...the newscaster couldn't contain her laughter as she told the story about the Husband on Strike. Especially when she concluded that the wife's response was "He'll live."

There are some people who should just not procreate...because they create dumb kids like this. I love how he has his water wings on.

And, yes, I'm excited that Kingdom Hearts 2 is out, but I'm not going to freak out like this kid.

Snow-bound on Monday

I'll be taking Monday off to go snowboarding.

See you Tuesday (unless I'm in the Emergency Room!).

Love, Sweepea

200th Post! and KH2 Party

Yay! This is the Lounge's 200th post! And to celebrate, I went to a Launch Party last night. Well, that's not exactly true. It wasn't to celebrate the Lounge's 200th post...it was to celebrate the launch of Kingdom Hearts 2 - a Disney/Final Fantasy PS2 game. This is the sequel to Kingdom Hearts - my favorite video game.

One of my dreams came true last night as we had to walk down a red carpet to get in to the party. There were gaming magazines and press there, so they snapped some pictures, probably thinking I was someone more important than I really am. I notice when you raise your nose up a little and walk like you mean business, people actually think you are a celebrity in this town. So I just let them.

The party had an open bar so of course I took advantage with some vodka tonics. In the crowd I spotted a lot of Disney pop stars, like Hayden Pantierre and Jesse McCartney. Also there was Haley Joel Osment (who plays the lead role in the game) and David Gallagher (who plays a villain). But I got most excited about talking to Bill Farmer, the voice of my absolute favorite Disney character, Goofy. People said John DiMaggio (voice of Bender on Futurama) was there, too, but I didn't see him.

I also got to play some of the game: the Steamboat Willie section, some of the Lion King part, and the most fun - fighting alongside Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Carribbean.

The only dissapointing part of the night were the gift bags that surprisingly did not contain the game itself. Instead there was a gaming mag and a digital clock that wouldn't stop beeping.

But I'm still excited...this game is gonna be so awesome. The U.S. release is very soon - the date keeps changing, but last I heard it was in mid-April.

"V" for "Va Va Voom"

Apparently in the new movie V for Vendetta the one called "V" has a jones for Julie London (our former "Va Va Voom" Star of the Day):

...once V gets Evey in his underground lair, bursting with old paintings and a jukebox that plays Julie London singing ''Cry Me a River,'' you realize you're on far more familiar turf than you thought.

I hope this reflects the classy style of our dear favorite crooner...although I doubt it.

Must-See Movie: Sorry, Wrong Number

Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
(The picture to the left doubles as a wallpaper for you, thanks to TCM! Formatted at 1024 x 768)

I got in to the mood to watch only film noir movies for a couple months, and besides Sunset Boulevard, I bought this flick on DVD. I was not dissapointed, primarily because of Barabara Stanwyck's performance. Stanwyck plays Leona Stevenson, a sick woman who is trapped in bed by her illness. While her husband (played by Burt Lancaster) is out, she is alone in a huge house. She overhears a phone conversation of two men planning a murder that night, and she does all she can to prevent it, although she is stuck in bed alone.

Burt Lancaster's performance is riveting, and not just because he looks fantastically handsome in 1948. It's hard to tell what his role is in the drama, or what his motives are.

Stanwyck has been called "The Best Actress Who Never Won an Oscar," and this movie is a true testament to that. (Stanwyck was nominated as Best Actress for this movie, but was passed over for Jane Wyman.) There is some doubt raised of how sick her character is: is it real illness or just psychosomatic? And Stanwyck's portrayal of Leona demonstrates the many ways that a person can be trapped.

Star Sighting of the Day

Chris Noth (I think)

Lou and I were walking for a Starbucks run when we spotted some guy who looked exactly like Mr. Big (from Sex & the City) sitting in a parked car and talking on a cell phone. Now, in this town, if it looks like a star, it usually is - so I'm saying it's him.

Anyway, it reminds me that I, too, have a Mr. Big in my life: someone that you are still drawn to no matter what relationship you're in. Now, if I could just master Carrie's wardrobe, I'd be happy.

Wednesday's This & That

It's the Famous Relation Edition!

Apparently the apple does fall far from the tree...what's with the Kotter 'do on the junior Sean Flynn? He looks nothing like his hottie relations Luke Flynn or Errol Flynn or the other Sean Flynn. And is it just the way the article was written or does he sound like a complete maroon?

On the other hand, Louis Prima Jr. (son of Louis Prima, natch) seems to be following well in his daddy's footsteps. (Or, as is said in Young Frankenstein...voot-shtaps! voot-shtaps!)

Boo hoo... Chad McQueen (son of Steve McQueen, of course) says his days of car racing are over. I guess he has a good excuse, though... he nearly got killed at his last race.

Steve McQueen Has Stolen My Heart...again

With the movie "Inside Man" coming to theaters and "Heist" coming to TV, MTV.com decided to look at the top bank heist movies... and of course our "Va Va Voom" Star of the Day Steve McQueen made the list.

6. The Getaway (1972)
Movies don't get more testosteroney (our word) than this heist/chase flick, adapted from a Jim Thompson novel by Walter Hill, directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Steve McQueen and Ben Johnson (we feel like a little girl just typing those names). In the movie, Carol McCoy (Ali MacGraw) makes a deal under the sheets with a Texas politico to get her robber hubby Doc (McQueen) paroled from prison, in exchange for a cut of their next heist. Double crosses abound, and a torrent of bullets, car chases and blood follows (this is a Steve McQueen film, after all). Plus: Sally Struthers gets a smack!

*wolf whistling* Alright, that's it. I'm renting it this week.

Weekend Re-cap

Here's a recap of my busy Birthday weekend:

Friday I took off the day to go to Disneyland. My sister and I arrived at around 11 AM to some overcast skies. Just as we entered the park, it started to rain. Thankfully I had a hat on, but I had failed to bring a jacket - just a sweatshirt. By the time we made it to New Orleans Square to get on The Haunted Mansion, I was soaked from head to toe. But the rain didn't let up. In fact, it was pouring pretty much the rest of the day. I had to eat lunch standing up in the rain and my sammich got all wet. And between the two parks, we only went on 5 rides, which is pretty pathetic for the admission price paid.

But hell, at least I wasn't at work. I guess this is not a fun day for the Disneyland staff (excuse me, Cast Members) either.

Saturday Gina called me up and we went to 3rd Street Promenade to spend some much hard-earned cashola. Stupid me - I bought shorts and tanks even though it's still California freezing here. Maybe I was dreaming of sunnier skies. Down 3rd Street they had some Adidas promotional thing where there was a line of women doing yoga in plastic boxes to promote Stella McCartney. Weird.

That night Dyno and I went to dinner at Flemings in El Smellgundo with friends (our first double-date) and we got hammered over delicious steaks and martinis. Then Dyno took us to this crazy dive bar in Hermosa Beach where everyone had handle-bar mustaches and little to no teeth. The drunkest guy in the bar kept calling me Sandra Bullock and got so close to me that I could count how many drinks he had had based on his breath. We sang karaoke (badly) until about 2 PM ("I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor was my pick) and then took a cab home.

Sunday I woke up with a horrible horrible hangover but I had to face the fam' in Ventura County for my last birthday party at 11:30 AM. Dyno gave me Chaser pills but even that didn't help. (Maybe I should have taken cocaine drops...) At any rate, we drove to Simi Valley where we met up with my family at a smaller version of a Chuck E. Cheese called Big Z's. I discovered that a "family fun center" with loud, bell-ringing games and running, screaming kids is not a good place to recover from a hangover. But I got enough tickets to get a cheapy plastic toy. Exhausted at the end of a long day - and a long weekend - Dyno drove me home where I passed out watching TV.

Instantaneous Cure!

Wow...for just 15 cents you could get a drop of cocaine to cure that toothache.

...Or headache, foot ache, back ache, embarassing moment, work presentation, in-laws in town, kids screaming, lost your job, boyfriend or girlfriend or husband or wife annoying you, don't want to do laundry, don't want to clean your house, don't want to feel your mouth...

[Live Journal/Vintage Ads]

Thursday's This & That

Gimme a moment to collect my thoughts... it was a late night last night celebrating my birthday.

Not only have I been having more and more dreams of becoming famous (walking down the red carpet, having people shout out my name), but there's been this real desire to be a real pinup girl like one of these fine ladies. I guess having people celebrate a whole day just for you can make you go a little crazy. Gotta keep my feet on the ground and my head out of the clouds - as my father would say.

France - again - is singing the praises of Jerry Lewis. I'm a big fan of the whole Martin & Lewis era, but c'mon...

Did you know you can peel a potato all in one piece? [Finder's props to The Sneeze]

Tomorrow I'm taking the day off from the Lounge to go to one of my favorite places in the world - Disneyland. I haven't been there in over a year and I'm gonna tear the place up!

Hey, Big Spender!

Well, that's me! What classic Pin-up girl are you?
[brought to you by Quizilla]

Happy Birthday to Me!

*dunna nunnah nunnah* Today is my birthday! *dunna nunnah nunnah*
(As you can imagine I won't be doing much today except singing to myself.)

Tuesday's This & That

I discovered a great way to get rid of tailgaters. This morning I was driving to work and someone was following me so close that I could make out the color of his eyes. He was driving a brand spankin' new BMW, nicely washed and sparkling clean. So I turned on my windshield wiper fluid and spritzed him. He backed off immediately. It was like the oil spray from The Great Race. (Ooh, I feel another Must-Rent Movie coming on...)

I hope that no relationship of mine ever gets to this point. And make this Reason #45 why I don't want kids.

Make sure to check out SorryIGotDrunk. There's a new Booze Quest up.

Well, tomorrow's my birthday and I guess I should be nostalgic. But in reality I'm really happy and excited to be turning asudda-sudd years old. It's gonna be one wild week, I'll tell ya that.

Must-See Movie: Singin' in the Rain

Singin' in the Rain (1952)
My favorite musical of all time, this classic starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor is a great rainy-day movie.

My "Art of Film" class in college had us watch this movie, mostly because the film has some real references to film history. The setting of the musical is Hollywood in 1927-28, when the movie industry was caught up in the transition from silents to talkies. Many silent film stars lost their worth when they could no longer pantomime, and this movie plays upon that era. Also notable in film history is the fact that Nacio Herb Brown's songs from past MGM movies are brought together in to a sort of package musical movie. The movie was built around the list of Brown's songs.

My favorite scene is "Make 'Em Laugh" which has Donald O'Connor doing his famous wall walk-up-flip and other crazy dancing antics that always make me laugh out loud. Debbie Reynolds is also cute as a button when Gene Kelly jumps into her moving Model T to escape crazed fans, and she acts as if he's nobody special.

The film's major plot line is that Debbie Reynold's character, Kathy, must dub over the former silent screen star Lina Lamont because Lamont's voice is like nails on a chalkboard. Ironically, in some of these songs Debbie Reynolds is actually dubbed by another woman, Betty Noyes. Truly an example of life imitating art.

Trivia and historical references aside, the supporting cast is phenomenal, the dancing sequences are outstanding, the songs are timeless, and the entire movie is a great example of the fabulousness of the golden age of Hollywood.

Gone to Pot

I wonder if this designer knows that there are more colors in the world than diarrhea and puke? Well, at least the colors are appropriate inspiration for the room.

[Courtesy of Omodern]

The Flavor Touch

Sorry for the lack of posts. I was out yesterday sick and today I'm just draggin'. But I found this old ad and it reminded me of a conversation I had with Gina last week. I was telling her that I can eat two hot dogs in one sitting, and I should probably find a man who eats more than I do so I don't look like a complete cow. My boss walks by just as I'm finishing this thought with "I need to find a two hot dog man." He walked away rather quickly, before I had time to explain myself.

Now I don't know what the eff is on this dog (bacon and sauerkraut?), but if anyone can eat two of them, I'll be impressed.

[Courtesy of Plan 59]

Wednesday's This & That

Award for the Most Morbid Drive Ever: I followed a Coroner's van the whole way home last night, hoping that he wouldn't make a quick stop. I imagined the rear doors flying open and some bloody body landing on my windshield. *shudder*

I went to the Verizon store last night to exchange my phone, which has been fritzing out lately. The guy at the counter was sniffling and coughing terribly and finally I asked him, "Are you sick?" And he went on to list all his symptoms and then proceeded to tell me that he didn't know what he was but he felt awful. Meanwhile he's touching my phone, coughing, touching my phone, sneezing, etc. So finally I said, "Maybe you should go home." ...and stop spreading your germs on my phone, I silently added. He agreed he should but they're short-handed.

Finally I was out of there and I went home and washed my hands and face trying to get rid of his cooties. But now it's the morning and I'm all sniffly and sneezy. Stupid Verizon guy. I feel like going back to the store and sneezing in his face.

Bee Tee Dub: The Bachelor in Paris picked the good girl last week and they're not even together anymore. Ah...Love can be so fleeting sometimes. At least when it's on national television. But then again, was anyone surprised?

This Room Brought to You By the Number 2

It's not very often that you find a jumpsuit that matches your sofa and curtains. Or any kind of jumpsuit you'd wear out in public. CAUTION: Do not stare directly into the couch. It could burn out your retinas.

[Courtesy of Omodern.com]

She May Look Clean - But...

Not only does she look clean, she looks like my sophomore algebra teacher, Sister Mary Sofina. Sorry, but couldn't they have found a hotter chick to play the "good time girl"? Because I think the only reason why those men have stopped to stare at her is because her head is so gargantuan.

And another thing. If you want to send a positive message, maybe you shouldn't make "SPREAD SYPHILIS and GONORRHEA" in bold letters.

[Courtesy of Live Journal/Vintage Ads]

Cocktail Recipe Du Jour

Malibu Sunrise
This is simple enough, but really dee-lish for the weekend.

In your tin pour:
1 oz Malibu Rum
3 oz Orange Juice

Shake and strain into highball glass over ice. Add some Grenadine and watch the sunrise reveal. Mmmm....

Cheers!

Dumpster Drama: Act XI

Time for another Dumpster Drama:
With all the rain happening in SoCal ("all the rain" being a day and a half of it) it's been particularly cold and dreary in the early mornings.

This morning at about 4:30 AM I was awaken by the sounds of light tinkling, like little bells. I sat up and let the fog in my head clear, when I realized that it was bottles clinking.

I got up and looked out the window to see a hooded figure peering in to the dumpster searching for bottles and cans. As the hooded figure turned to put the found items into a bag, I saw that it was an older woman. She worked steadily in the cold and rain, searching for more bottles and cans, putting them in her bag, going back in to the dumpster for more.

I settled back in to my bed and had trouble going back to sleep. I thought how often I complained about my life. Sometimes I wish I lived in a bigger apartment, had nicer clothes, or had more money. But seeing that woman huddled over the dumpster in the rain at 4 AM, I had to thank God that I was lucky enough that morning to have a warm bed to curl up in.

And...Curtain.

Thursday's This & That

So I'm back from taking an excruciatingly long class for work. Not like I'm even interested in what they were talking about, but when the boss says to go - well, you go.

I went to Hollywood Park Casino last Friday night with Dyno and won $400 playing Texas Hold 'Em. I was at a table with a bunch of cigar-smokin', whiskey-drinkin', trash talkin' old guys. One guy was so big he needed two chairs, and he had a huge silver belt buckle with BRITZ engraved on it. He told me he's part of the Mothers and Fathers Italian Association in New York, which - when you look at it as an acronym - made me very nervous to bet against him. I also had a French guy sit next to me who actually used the sentence "Do you come here often?" - I almost spit my drink out onto his face.

Question: Should I feel guilty that I won a hand against a guy in a wheelchair? Because I don't. Look, I had four of a kind, and that doesn't come around very often.

Since this week is almost over, I can't predict what I'm gonna be able to throw together, but I know I'll have a new Booze Quest for my friends at SorryIGotDrunk.

Til then...Cheers!