While I didn’t love it, it did give me a good chuckle, and a good dose of nostalgia. The plot isn’t all that interesting, but it picks up about seven minutes in when the music picks up. And it’s worth a gander simply for all the actors and musicians who make cameo appearances. Is that David Cross dressed as a drunken Keebler Elf?

See if you can spot Rainn Wilson, Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Will Arnett, Steve Buscemi, Stanley Tucci, Jason Schwartzman, Laura Dern, Mary Steenburgen, Amy Pohler, Kirsten Dunst, Ted Danson, Chloe Sevigny, and all the other familiar faces popping up throughout.

Disclaimer: There’s a ton of profanity throughout so opening this up at work likely isn’t the best idea!

Stevie’s voice isn’t the same as it was when she recorded the first version of this song 30 years ago, of course. In many ways, it’s better. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; I really respect her for not trying to sing it the way she did back then. She tailors all her songs to her present vocal range -which is lower, but also much more textured and rich- doesn’t try to hit notes she can’t, and sounds really soulful and smooth as a result. She also has a deeper quality to her singing, as though she now understands the lyrics she herself penned decades past. As a result, songs like Rhiannon and Landslide are revisited with a soulful knowing maturity that is as emotionally evocative as it is beautiful.

Here’s the clip of Stevie and Sheryl performing on the April 13, 2011 edition of the Oprah Winfrey show:

It’s been almost 10 years since Suri passed away after a difficult three and a half year battle with cancer, but she is still very much alive in the hearts and minds of her family, friends, and countless others who she touched in her short life.

Suri was a community leader, artist, teacher, singer and actor who enjoyed life to its fullest and valued art in its many forms. It is with her passions in mind that Suri’s loved ones have joined forces with ICRF to out together this incredible event.

Suri’s Soiree, where the impossible is possible, will feature Canadian singer and songwriter Kuba Oms, DJ NV Nazli Var, who regularly spins at Montreal hot-spot Garde Manger and Grammy award winning musical guest, COMMON, who is scheduled to perform a compilation of his most popular hits.

All of the proceeds from the event will go to ICRF, which has raised more than 33 million dollars to date for over 1800 cancer research projects.

Suri’s friends, family, ICRF and this blogger invite you to be part of a celebration of life and art on March 27th, 2010, at the Segal Center for the performing arts.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.icrfnewleadership.com

Never been a Jay Leno fan, and this whole debacle certainly hasn’t changed my mind.

Good Luck, Conan.

Palmer is 5 now, and Luca is almost 4. I’ve had Palmer since he was 3 months old. He was my first dog, and I always say he made me fall in love with the entire species. Living in Quebec, I became educated about our dire puppy mill situation after I became a dog owner myself. So when it came time to get Luca, she was from the SPCA. She was 10 months old when we found her, and it was Palmer who brought her to my attention. He sat down next to her cage and whimpered. That was it. I melted. It’s crazy that this is their first real appearance on the blog. But, in all fairness, it didn’t become a personal blog until recently. Now that it is, I figured I’d post some pictures of my little muppets.

I’m also sad for MJ’s kids today. Although I knew I wanted to post something, I had trouble picking my favorite Michael Jackson tribute last night. I listened to all my favorites while watching CNN… I’ve always loved Man in the Mirror, Black or White and Thriller, though for very different reasons.

Anyway, I decided to go with We are the world. It’s not only a beautiful song, but it stands for something, and beyond that, it reminds me of my childhood. My sister and I had it taped on VHS, and used to watch it over and over trying to figure out who all the singers were.

I think a lot of us have been reminded today just how much of an impact this guy had on us when we were kids. Here’s to MJ – Enjoy.

Today Barak Obama will be sworn in as 44th President of the United States, but to say this is just an American event would be silly.  This election has inspired hope in the hearts and minds of people across the world – not just the United States.  As a result, this inauguration watched on television by a global audience of millions, and will also be the first inauguration to be shared over the global social media network of communities (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.)

This morning, CNN is broadcasting President-elect Barack Obama becoming the next President of the United States in a joint effort with Facebook. Clicking on the CNN live application brings the user to a CNN/Facebook hybrid type page that allows you to update your own Facebook status and see status updates from your friends, while simultaneously watching the inauguration. While I could stream the inauguration on another web channel, there’s something great about being able to be watching “with” your friends, even if it’s remotely. If you’re at work today, like I am, you can schedule your lunch for 11:30am – that’s when the swearing-in ceremony takes place, followed immediately by Obama’s inauguration address.

My friend Le refers to Obama’s welcome to DC concert as “The Grammy’s,” and she’s not entirely wrong.  This is being treated like a celebrity event, complete with coverage, hoopla and sharing across media channels. Not unlike Kennedy and his Rat Pack, Obama has a whole crew of celebrity supporters (Anyone remember Brother-in-Lawford?)

I’ll leave you with a fun Obama related slip. Did anyone else see Jill Biden’s “oops” moment on Oprah?  It went something like this: “Well, Joe was given the choice between being Vice President or Secretary of State…” before she saw the looks coming from both her husband, Oprah, and the entire live audience.  It was pretty awesome.
Happy Inauguration Day!

Piven, who is probably best known as Entourage’s Ari Gold, had been playing the role of Charlie Fox in 20th Anniversary revival of the play since preview performances began October 3.

Speed the Plow was written by David Mamet, the Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and author renown for his cynical, street-smart dialogue many have come to call Mamet speak. He’s the brain behind such gems as Glengarry Glen Ross , The Verdict and Wag the Dog.

Actors drop out of projects all the time, but I had to mention this one simply so I could post Mamet’s retort:

“I talked to Jeremy on the phone, and he told me that he discovered that he had a very high level of mercury,” Mamet said. “So my understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer.”

Well done, sir. Well done.

It was a crazy ANTM final, with the crown going to the Latina spitfire Jaslene. After Renee was ousted on the first half of the show for “looking too old”, it came down to Jaslene and Russian mail order bride Natasha.
Was it fair to drag Renee all the way into the final round just to tell her- yet again- that she looks over the hill at twenty? If they had a problem with her look, they should have cut her early. After all, that’s not exactly something she can work on, like her runway walk. My ANTM crew was shocked to see her ousted, especially since she only looks old because of the 40-year-old-housewife haircut they gave her on the show.
While Natasha was sweet, I can’t imagine them hiring a cover girl model that has so much trouble with her English. Though her bubbly outlook is refreshing, there’s just something a bit off about Natasha.
So, it’s Jaslene, the Illinois native who’s “never been nowhere except the hood and around the corner” is America’s Next top Model. The story is particularly heartwarming because Jaslene tried out- and was cut- last year, before re-grouping, doing some soul searching (and therapy) and coming back to conquer the competition.