Stars over the moon about Obama's speech

Stars over the moon about Obama's speech

DENVER - First word on Barack Obama's historic nomination acceptance speech from a bevy of celebrities in attendance was decidedly partisan: "It was excellent," Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie said. "It was amazing." "Incredible," said Jessica Alba simply, before joining Fergie, Rosario Dawson, Wilmer Valderrama and Kerry Washington at a private exit from Invesco Field. Alba was at the speech with husband Cash Warren.

Other celebrities in attendance included George Lucas with girlfriend Mellody Hardon and his daughter, Forest Whitaker with wife Keisha and Star Jones, and Daniel Dae Kim of "Lost," who posed for pictures with the Hawaii delegation.

Next for Obama and his celebrity backers?

"What I hope happens is the country doesn't forget the jubilation and excitement that's been generated here," Kim said. "And I hope it turns into something that changes the world."

will.i.am performed his speech-song "Yes We Can" with John Legend during the run-up to Obama's speech. Susan Sarandon and Anne Hathaway sang along in the stands as Sheryl Crow performed "Change is Gonna Come," and crooner Michael McDonald prompted many a flag wave with his rendition of "America the Beautiful."

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Oprah Winfrey left Denver with the candidate she wanted, but reportedly without her eyelashes.

The talk-show host said she was moved to tears by Obama's speech. And those must've been some serious tears.

"I cried my eyelashes off," she said in the bowels of Invesco Field, moments after Obama accepted the nomination for president before an estimated 84,000 people.

"I think it's the most powerful thing I have ever experienced," she added, calling Obama's words "transcendent." On the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a Dream Speech," Winfrey compared Obama's words to those of the civil-rights leader, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

"He's not an African-American candidate," she said. "He's a candidate for Americans."

Winfrey threw her support behind Obama early — even before the Democratic primaries got under way last year. She's stayed active since, hosting rallies and fundraisers that even Obama has acknowledged have given him a boost.

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Before singing the national anthem to a slowly filling stadium, Jennifer Hudson appeared lost in thought, wearing a casual gray dress and listening to iPod earphones as her handlers asked for directions to the podium. While waiting, she typed on a Sidekick.

"Fired up!" said an excited Spike Lee on the field. "Bigger than the Super Bowl!"

The only major party planned for Thursday night was an elite event sponsored by Vanity Fair and Google.

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Among the celebrities spotted in and around the convention on Wednesday was Steven Spielberg, who directed a short film on veterans that shown at the convention. Jennifer Lopez spoke at a reception honoring children's rights activist Marian Wright Edelman. Ben Affleck read excerpts from a Howard Zinn book and made an appearance at the city's food bank for America's Second Harvest.

Affleck was joined by his wife, Jennifer Garner, at the book reading at the Starz Green Room across the street from the Pepsi Center. Also participating: Dawson, Washington, Taye Diggs, Hill Harper and Josh Brolin.

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Also on Wednesday:

• The Black Eyed Peas performed a concert at the Fillmore Auditorium for the Creative Coalition. Fergie praised Hillary Rodham Clinton's Tuesday-night speech, saying Clinton "really spoke to me as a woman. And I think she spoke to a lot of people in that way."

• Politicians including former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner attended a ONE Campaign party featuring a Kanye West performance. Also in attendance: Whitaker, Kal Penn, Jamie Foxx and director Davis Guggenheim.

• Muhammad Ali sat in the convention audience.

• Fran Drescher, Ashley Judd and Joy Bryant joined Lopez at the reception honoring Edelman.

• Hathaway and others gathered at a morning reception honoring Annette Bening for her work narrating the documentary "14 Women," about women in the U.S. Senate.

• Big Boi of Outkast was at the airport on his way out of town after hosting a Radio One show where he interviewed John Legend, among others.

Musings of What Was Formerly Labor Day

By Bobby

Random thoughts:

Labor Day was removed from the holiday calendar after 2004, when it was moved to November. The Ferko lawsuit forced the Southern 500 in the Florence suburb of Darlington to be moved to Forth Worth, Texas. That's why Palmetto State residents do not observe such a "day" because of the court's decision to force NASCAR to kill the Grand Slam by moving the Florentine major to Fort Worth, Texas. (The other three majors are the Daytona 500, Aaron's 499, and Coca-Cola 600; from 1985 until 1997, a $1 million bonus was awarded for a Small Slam; eight drivers -- B. Allison, D. Earnhardt Sr, D. Pearson, D. Waltrip, J. Gordon, EW Baker Jr, R. Petty, JK Johnson -- won all four majors.)

Phil Hill, the first Formula One champion of the States, died this week. The 81-year old Californian was America's first F1 world champion, yet on his coronation, did not race his home grand prix to coronate his championship, as Scuderia Ferrari did not participate at Watkins Glen because of Von Trips' death. He won three each of les 24 Heures du Mans (with just two drivers, and without l'Arche and La Floranidére) and the 12 Hours of Sebring, and twice each at Monza (twice, both times on the 10k track) and Spa (the full 8.76 mile track when it was city streets, not the present permanent Spa). Godspeed, Phil.

Adoro Te Devote 's "Liturgy on Broadway" column was perfect considering what too many Emergent churches have been performing. In one church in Anderson (165 miles from home through 26, 385, and 85), they opened a church service with Beyoncé Knowles as church music. Similar things also take place at Granger Community in Indiana, where the Gospel is not even taught while entertainment fills that "church". I wonder what she can say.

A college friend who blogs on Blogspot just posted tragic news with one of her friends. She linked to her childhood friend's Blogspot where word came that Elliana, her friend's daughter, died Thursday after 27 days of fighting after having Trisomy 13.

There is something about standing on the playing of "Also Sprach Zarusthra". When I was in college, we stood as the home team came on the field to that music. When I graduated from college the orchestra played it for us. My former voice teacher said on her master's degree graduation that she was scared of that song. She had to learn to love it. A popular "professional wrestler" from Minnesota used it as entrance music. For me, it always means excitement. But to too many where I live, that song is prohibited because of what they call "enemy music". Of course, they're pro-country and rock and cannot tolerate those who sing sacred arias.

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NOTE: EW Baker Jr -- Buddy Baker's legal name is Elzie Wylie Baker, Jr. Designation used to prevent confusion with father Buck (Elzie Wylie Sr). JK Johnson -- Jimmie Johnson's middle name is Kenneth. The use of his middle initial prevents confusion with Robert Glen Johnson, Jr, known as "Junior". Also prevents confusion in the NASCAR archives with other drivers surnamed Johnson whose first initial is J.

Revisiting the Quiz Show Scandal

By Mitchell

Yes, it's been a little quiet here this month. Kristen is in the process of getting settled after moving, Steve has been busy at work, Drew has something going but it's not done yet, and we've been busy with other projects. It's been up to Bobby to carry the workload, which he has done admirably. Hopefully, things will pick up a bit after Labor Day.

Having said that, has anyone seen last month's article in the The New Yorker by Charles Van Doren? The former television sensation has finally broken his nearly half-century silence to discuss his role in the infamous quiz show scandals of the late 50s.

Most people familiar with Van Doren today probably get the bulk of their information either from the excellent PBS documentary of the mid 90s, or from Robert Redford's very good movie Quiz Show, which starred Ralph Fiennes as Van Doren and John Tuturro as the tortured Herb Stempel, whose rigged "defeat" on the game show Twenty One would eventually lead to the unravelling of the scandal. And while both the documentary and the movie are very good at whetting one's appetite for more information, anyone truly interested in the time would be doing themselves a disservice were they to accept these versions - particuarly the Redford movie - as definitive renditions of the truth.

I have to admit that I've always admired Charles Van Doren. I know that sounds odd, to say that one admires a man who was an admitted cheat and fraud who - at least for a time - benefitted greatly from that deception. And one could also argue that the era of the quiz show scandals introduced a cynicism into popular culture that has only grown in the decades since.

But it should be pointed out that celebrity has always been based on deception, and that Van Doren was neither the first nor the last to be publicly exposed as being not quite what everyone thought him to be. And while the modern celebrity often uses his misdeed to rejuvinate his career - think Jimmy Swaggert's embarrassingly tearful television, or Hugh Grant's charmingly roguish fess-up on the Jay Leno show - there was something different about Van Doren, particularly in his reaction to the scandal.

Van Doren had gained greatly from his TV triumph, and not only in terms of money. Van Doren won well over $100,000 from his stint on Twenty-One, appeared on the cover of Time, and joined NBC's Today show. With his obvious intelligence, his boyish good looks, and his engaging personality (not to mention his distinguised background - teacher at Columbia, son of the poet Mark Van Doren, and nephew of the historian Carl Van Doren), he was the perfect made-for-TV star. The world was, indeed, his oyster.

Consequently, Van Doren's fall from grace, culminating in his appearance before a U.S. House committee investigating the scandals, was equally spectacular. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, lost his position at Columbia and his job at NBC, lost his good name and the affection of the public. But what made Van Doren unique was his acceptance of his fall. Unlike today's celebrities, he did not attempt to cash-in on his infamy. There were no tearful appeals for forgiveness, no accusations of persecution, no attempt to portray himself as an innocent victim taken advantage of by others. He didn't write a tell-all book trying to explain it away, he didn't go on talk shows to rehabilitate his image. Van Doren simply accepted his exile as being appropriate punishment for his deception, and disappeared from view. He became an editor at Encyclopaedia Brittanica, wrote several scholarly books (including some under his own name), and continued teaching, which he does even to this day. And until last month, he never spoke publicly about what had happened.

Van Doren on Twenty-One

In his New Yorker article, Van Doren for the first time gives his side of the story, as well as recounting various attempts to lure him back into the public eye. While he clearly shows how the staff of Twenty-One manipulated the results of the show, he does not attempt to avoid blame for his own role in the scandal. Perhaps most remarkably, he candidly discusses his struggle with the seductive nature of fame and fortune. In particular, he relates how Julian Krainin, writer and co-producer of the PBS documentary on the scandal, had approached him in 1990 and dangled before him the idea that Van Doren should host a series on PBS about the great philosophers. It was a seductive idea, he readily admits, in part because it was a program he would easily have been able to handle.

She offered similar advice when Van Doren was approached for a much more lucrative deal by Krainin, who was now working with Robert Redford on the movie that would become Quiz Show. The deal this time: $100,000 in return for a statement by Van Doren attesting to the movie's “guarantee of its truthfulness." It was a very tempting offer; as Van Doren pointed out to his wife, the movie would be made with or without his cooperation, so why not profit off of it? Her response: “Please don’t be a fool.” Ultimately, Van Doren turned down both offers, but the article provides a stark and honest self-assessment by Van Doren of his own vulnerabilities, and an acknowledgement that had he taken his wife's advice in the first place, his role in the scandal never would have happened.

Van Doren also provides some very interesting insights into his relationship with his father Mark. I always thought that Paul Scofield's portrayal of the elder Van Doren in Quiz Show was one of the movie's highlights: thoughtful, human and humane, very touching. As is often the case, the real Mark Van Doren was even more impressive. Father and son never overtly discussed the scandal (unlike the portrayal in the movie), but in his son's telling, there is no question that Mark knows his son well enough to know exactly what happened. Van Doren's depiction of his relationship with his father is a moving one.

We all knew that Quiz Show had inaccuracies, like most movies that purport to tell a true story. Jeff Hart, an editor at National Review and friend of the Van Doren family, wrote a scathing review regarding the fabrications in the father-son relationship, among other things. And then there's the gross overstatement of the role Dick Goodwin played, virtually ignoring the pioneering work done by the Manhattan D.A.'s office. Nonetheless, Quiz Show excels on its own merits as a fine period piece, a movie that gives insight into a remarkable period in our cultural history; perhaps we were more naïve than we are now, perhaps less, but we were certainly different.

It is, however, in Van Doren's own story that we finally get his own account of what actually happened. That's not to say that his story should be taken at face value any more than that of anyone else, but the self-facing, unsparing way in which he presents his own faults and weaknesses, does lend an air of authenticity.

In the end, Charles Van Doren's role in the quiz show scandals was not a noble one, but he has never tried to present it otherwise - and there is something quite noble about that.

Jane Seymour part of sweet formula in 'Dear Prudence'

Jane Seymour part of sweet formula in 'Dear Prudence'

Dear Prudence" may combine more proven TV elements than any movie in recent memory: a warm, beautiful workaholic who needs to pause long enough to find romance, the tough rural cop who turns out be a sensitive romantic, the amateur sleuths who turn out to have incredible investigative instincts and the phony cad who's trying to wreck an entire town to feed his own greed.

It also has Jane Seymour and Jamey Sheridan, who are both, as usual, pure pleasure to watch.

All this doesn't add up to a great movie, alas. But it's as comfortable as a late-summer cocktail on the patio, and because a Hallmark movie is as reliable as a Hallmark greeting card, we know that in the end, everyone will get what he or she deserves.

Prudence McCoy (Seymour) hosts a smart and chic helpful-hints TV show. She's a Martha Stewart character who's also a nice person off-camera. She has a tip for how to improve everything in life, from indisposed Labrador retrievers to bad coffee. She also has a loyal, incredibly ingenious young assistant in Nigel Forsythe III (Ryan Cartwright).

Her caring boss, however, sees a problem: Obsessive and overworked Pru needs a vacation. Actually, Pru needs a life, but one step at a time.

So he sends her to a luxury resort in Wyoming, where, being warm and fuzzy, she immediately befriends an American Indian woman whose son is found mysteriously dead a day or so later. The police say it was suicide. The mother isn't buying.

So Pru, since she has some time on her hands, sets out to discover the truth. She rings up Nigel, he flies out, and suddenly they turn into the greatest detective team since Indiana Jones and Short Round.

Eddie Duncan (Sheridan) is the good-hearted local detective who at first is skeptical of this New Yorker who wears the wrong shoes on a long woodland trek to the place where the young man plunged - or was tossed - off a cliff.

Soon, however, Duncan is inviting Pru for a drink at a local lounge, where she learns he also plays jazz piano. Any viewers who can't connect the dots from here should lose their license to watch any future Hallmark movies.

Along the way, Pru also discovers some secrets about her mother, whom she regrets she did not know better, and young Nigel runs into a young woman who, well, let's say he's now got his own dots to connect.

"Dear Prudence" doesn't seem to have any connection to the Beatles song beyond borrowing its title, by the way. But if this flick does well, and there's every reason to think it should, the Prudence character could return for future Hallmark mystery movies.

With a void in endearing female sleuths almost since Angela Lansbury hung up her powers of induction, it would be a shame if she didn't.

Kardashian Family Pizza Night

Kardashian Family Pizza Night

They had a blast at the big Disney Premiere of "The Cheetah Girls One World" at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles last night (August 12). And afterwards Kim Kardashian and her family headed out for dinner.

The paparazzi were in full force as the Kardashians/Jenners arrived at Mozza Premiere Pizza looking a bit hungry and having a marvelous time.

Before going inside, Khloe Kardashian and Bruce Jenner snuggled up together to pose for the paparazzi, looking like an adorable father and (step) daughter.

Meanwhile, Kim didn't waste any time heading for the restaurant's front door. It looks like all of that red carpet hoopla gives a girl quite an appetite! Then again, with how good she looked in her bathing suit last week in Cabo San Lucas, she doesn't have anything to worry about.

Enjoy the pictures of Kim Kardashian and family out to eat at Mozza Premiere Pizza last night (August 12).

Kim Kardashian and Family Check Out Cheetah Girls

Kim Kardashian and Family Check Out Cheetah Girls
It was a big night for the Disney hit show Cheetah Girls as the El Capitan Theatre hosted the premiere of "The Cheetah Girls One World." And Kim Kardashian and the fam all showed up to support Adrienne Bailon.

The Kardashian crew in attendance included, Kim, Khloe, Robert, and Kourtney as well as mother Kris Jenner and sisters Kylie and Kendall Jenner.

And the "Disaster Movie" hottie was all about looking hot for the roving paparazzi, sporting a sexy black bow-strapped dress with matching shoes and a flirty half-pulled-back hairdo.

Meanwhile sisters Khloe and Kourtney sported a wispy leaf-printed summer dress and a cute and colorful yellow frock, respectively.

Enjoy the pictures of Kim Kardashian, her family, Adrienne Bailon and Cheryl Burke at the LA premiere of "The Cheetah Girls One World" (August 12).

Naomi Campbell: Chillin’ in Ibiza

Naomi Campbell: Chillin’ in Ibiza

It's one of the hottest spots for celebrities to escape their hectic lives and yesterday (August 11) Naomi Campbell was spotted enjoying the Spanish island of Ibiza.

The beautiful supermodel and her family have been vacationing in the Spanish Mediterranean Islands this week, living in the lap of luxury. Miss Campbell, along with boyfriend Marcus Elias and friends were spotted piling into a dingy boat getting ready to hit the high seas.

Once in the boat, they headed off to a much larger yacht that was anchored offshore for some fun in the sun and swimming to pass the time.

And Naomi looked summertime sexy in a white bikini underneath a holly white cover-up dress with superstar shades and sandals.

Enjoy the pictures of Naomi Campbell out boating with her beau (August 11).

Audrina Patridge: Summer Sexy

Audrina Patridge: Summer Sexy

Never one to be cooped up indoors, Audrina Patridge was spotted out and about in Hollywood yesterday enjoying the beautiful weather.

The "Hills" hottie looked summertime sexy in a blue-washed sundress with brown leather strappy heeled sandals, matching handbag, and a pair of aviator sunglasses.

Miss Patridge recently told press that she's a lot more assertive than she appears on her hit MTV reality show. "I don't feel like they show me on The Hills sticking up for myself. They edit that out. In real life, though, I'm bubbly and fun and talkative, and when you see me on the show I'm always sitting there and sad. But I'm fine with it because it's not my show."

As for her "Into the Blue 2" gig, Audrina says it's a welcome departure from "The Hills." "It's so different from a reality show because I have lines to memorize. The Hills definitely helped just in terms of being in front of the cameras and being used to crews watching me. It made it a lot more comfortable on a film set."

Enjoy the pictures of Audrina Patridge out in Hollywood on Monday (August 11).

Taylor Momsen’s a Brooklyn Babe

Taylor Momsen’s a Brooklyn Babe

She may be young (16 years old as of last month), but Taylor Momsen knows how to get the boys' attention. And yesterday she was looking hot on the Brooklyn set of Gossip Girl.

The Jenny Humphrey actress had it going on with a plaid schoolgirl outfit as she filmed scenes with Penn Badgley, stopping to pose for the paparazzi at one point.

Afterwards, Miss Momsen spent some time with her mother Collette, stopping into a nearby deli to pick up some Goldfish cracker snacks to munch on as they strolled down the street.

Sporting a blue tank top along with some flair-legged jeans and white sunglasses, Taylor, again, gave the shutterbugs a few smiles before heading on her way.

Enjoy the pictures of Taylor Momsen and Penn Badgley working on "Gossip Girl", along with shots of Taylor out in Brooklyn with her gal pal (August 11).

Memorial held for Bernie Mac

Memorial held for Bernie Mac

Thousands of mourners bid farewell to comedian Bernie Mac at his funeral in Chicago.Samuel L Jackson was among the celebrities who attended the service at the House of Hope Church on the city's South Side where Mac grew up.

Mac died on August 9, aged 50, due to complications from pneumonia. He had been at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital since the middle of July.

Mayor Richard Daley recalled that the star was in his office recently, asking how he could help fight violent crime in the city.

"He wanted to help get children away from a life of crime and violence," Mayor Daley said during the service. "That's why he's the king of comedy. He never lost his soul in Chicago."

The service included the reading of condolence letters from children, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and from Mac's beloved White Sox baseball team.

Comedian Chris Rock and Ocean's 11 co-star Don Cheadle were also in attendance.

Feminising the Church

By Bobby

A Nashville-area pastor had noticed his congregation was full of women and lacked men. He asked where the men had gone, and had written a reference to how a service started at his church, and it confirmed what I have said for a long time about men not being there.

He noted as the lights dim, the pop-rock music begins as to start "worship". He looks and finds mostly women who lift their hands while singing these mostly secular songs that are popular. It could look like a popular women's conference. Alas, the writer noted, this is not a woman and this was not at the conference. This was a pastor of one of the popular "Emergent" models but he noted too many churches lack participation and leadership from men.

The man behind the ChurchforMen.com Web site blamed it on church music, with that being called "today's music" or "cool, relevant" having made God into a "lover". In churches of this type, today's Christ is labeled as sensitive, caring, full of beauty, and the "worship music" has " the same breathless feel and romantic lyrics as top-40 love songs. Instead of following God, it is now having to have a "personal relationship". Such songs were criticsed by former Nixon assistant Charles Colson as one lacking theological content unlike the sacred hymns in classical music we enjoy, and the questionable material could be sung at a nightclub(1). (One such Emergent church in Los Angeles meets at a nightclub.)

I've seen this at church, and a rock-solid sacred anthem that may have been sung by a Walter Cuttino, Marc Rattray, Kerri Roberts(2), or Cynthia Hanna that has been considered a "masculine anthem" by the author has been tossed in favour of modern choruses laden with lyrics similar to love songs such as "You are beautiful, my sweet, sweet song" and "You're altogether lovely"(3). We don't think of God as a strong, solid man who can defeat Satan. The author than noted how can a man sing lyrics such as those consciously?

Even the hymnals are changing. One major denomination has clearly feminised their upcoming hymnal by having such "modern worship" tunes, which are sung to rock bands, to replace the great sacred song that usually require an organ. They boast it is "cool," "relevant," and "modern," but what does it say when they are clearly lacking the doctrine, theology, and even the rock-solid themes of the great hyms and sacred song of the past? No wonder many churches would rather sing the latest rock song off the radio than to sing from Elijah (Mendelsson), The Creation (Haydn), or any sacred song sung from centuries ago, including the great hymns.(4)

(1) Charles Colson, "Musical Mush: Are We Impairing Our Capacity to Think," BreakPoint, February 6, 2006. The transcript is available here.

(2) http://robertsinzambia.blogspot.com

(3) The former song is "You Are So Good To Me," Don Chaffer, Ben Pasley, and Robin Pasley/Copyright Blue Renissance Music / Hey Ruth Music / ASCAP (administered by Warner Music Group) Squint Songs. The latter is "Here I Am to Worship," Tim Hughes. Copyright EMI.

(4) I have sung "O Rest in the Lord" from Mendelssohn's Elijah at a recital, and am working on "If With All Your Hearts" from the same work. I attended a concert in June where my voice teacher sang the soprano solos in Haydn's The Creation. The two of us have been involved in numerous productions of Händel's Messiah.

Duffy: 'Lydon was rotten'

Duffy: 'Lydon was rotten'

Welsh soul star Duffy has branded punk rocker John Lydon "horrible" after he attacked her at this year's Mojo Awards.Duffy was collecting a gong for Song of the Year at the London event in June when the Sex Pistols frontman - also known as Johnny Rotten - pinned her against a wall.

She recalls, "He'd been heckling me when I went to pick up an award, shouting 'Duffo', 'Up the Duffy', things like that - nice!

"When I picked up the award, I had to walk past him so I went to say 'Hi' and suddenly he had me pinned against the wall. I just went white and had to get away.

"I just had to leave the building through the back door, it was horrible. I went home with a heavy heart and an award."

But the singer admits she has forgiven Lydon for his behaviour.

She adds, "I'm not a person to hold a grudge. The only reason you become strong is because of the things you experience in life."

Aldridge hits back at affair reports

Aldridge hits back at affair reports

Student Casey Aldrige insists reports he cheated on teen actress Jamie Lynn Spears while she was pregnant with the pair's child are bogus.The teen couple welcomed baby Maddie into the world in June - and are now planning to wed, according to reports.

But their relationship was rocked this week by tabloid claims made by Aldridge's ex Kelli Dawson.

She tells the current issue of In Touch magazine that she enjoyed a long-term affair with the 19-year-old hunk - while his girlfriend, Spears, was six months pregnant with his first child.

But Aldridge has denied the allegations, accusing his 28-year-old ex of fabricating the story to make money.

Hollywood Hotties Check Out Piaget Party

Hollywood Hotties Check Out Piaget Party

The New York City shutterbugs were all over at the Loft and Garden at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan last night. And with good reason- stars like Leighton Meester, Mena Suvari, Emmy Rossum, Liv Tyler, and Maggie Gyllenhaal were all there as well!

And it was all in the name of fashion as Piaget hosted the Limelight Paris-New York collection shindig, unveiling new looks and partying all night.

Mena Suvari looked to be having a marvelous time schmoozing with guests, sporting a violet with black accents halter-style dress with black peep toe heels, while Liv Tyler took in the festivities in an Asian-style floral patterned minidress with black strappy heels.

Never one to disappoint, Maggie Gyllenhaal kept things simple-yet-sexy in a sleeveless black knee-length dress, and Emmy Rossum cutened up the night with a strapless mocha mini with matching shoes.

Enjoy the pictures from the Limelight Paris-New York Collection night (August 7).

Halle Berry Glams Up Black Film Festival

Halle Berry Glams Up Black Film Festival

One look at Halle Berry and you'd never guess she has a newborn at home. The iconic actress was looking fine at the 12th Annual Black Film Festival last night.

Making a grand entrance at the Opening Night Gala of the 12th Annual Black Film Festival at the WGA Theatre in Beverly Hills, California, Berry was turning heads in a black halter-style knee-length dress with matching heels.

The Oscar winner schmoozed on the red carpet a bit before heading inside to introduce a special screening of the classic film "Carmen Jones."

Jeff Friday, the founder and CEO of Film Life, Inc. and the ABFF announced, "The theme of this year's festival is Exploring Black Romance and Sexuality in American Cinema, so we thought it would be interesting to take a look back and examine the first film in contemporary cinema to showcase a modern-day love story featuring a sexy African-American duo."

Enjoy the pictures of Halle Berry at the 12th Annual Black Film Festival (August 7).

Bollywood’s bathroom beauties

Bollywood’s bathroom beauties

In a country not blessed with the most breath-taking personal space for masses, ultra-glam bathroom sequences seem to have become a fetish for filmmakers. Cite it as an excuse to showcase a heroine’s sensuality to the fullest or the start of a romantic angle; we have had several steamy bathroom scenes getting past the censor board. Fropki.com lists down the best ones in recent memory

Katrina Kaif

Talking about recent memory, listed among the sexiest women in globe, Katrina Kaif has one aesthetic bathroom shot to her credit. The film that won her the title of an ‘actress’, Namastey London saw the peach-complexioned lass glowing in a bath robe. Straight out of a shower, the actress not just sizzled in her skimpy avatar but also with that unperturbed charm when like a true Punjab da puttar, Akki shut the door for her, preventing a public glance.

One of the boldest actresses we know, Kareena Kapoor has rarely shied away from sensational cinema. And even though Tashan may have seen the skimpiest of her in a bikini, it was Fidaa and Yaadein that got her getting into towels for the camera.

If the first one made for a lavish love making scene with an equally hot Fardeen Khan in a bath tub surrounded by lit candles, Yaadein revoked the ‘young girl’ in each woman.

After all, isn’t dancing around in towels and dreaming about prince charming an integral part of growing up?

Not too many A-grade films boast of opening scenes that show the lead heroine strutting her stuff around in a bath robe.

But impossible becomes inevitable when the name’s Priyanka Chopra.

Slender and sultry, Piggy Chops became the talk of the town after her opening bathroom sequence in Mujhse Shaadi Karoge. Not just Sallu and Akki, but the entire nation went singing ‘MSK...’ after watching Priyanka’s innocently playful yet inviting act.

If the topic is sensuality and showers, can our sex diva Mallika be left behind.

Though the actress hasn’t recently given us a dose of her best acts when it comes to shower sequences, her act in Murder is one we will never forget.

Seducing us with her sleek rejection even as Ashmit approaches her, Mallika’s act was still enticing for its sex quotient

The most elegant of Yash Raj heroines, one would seldom expect Rani Mukherjee to shed layers for a bathroom shot.

But with the production house’s popularity going down the drain, a desperate effect to cash in on some meat saw Rani doing the unthinkable in Laaga Chunari Mein Daag. Unlike most such sequences that thrive on romance and seduction, this one was an out and out frustration cleansing session.

With her bold transformation belted out in the song, what better way to express it than some sharp edge visuals and a hot and spirited Rani doing a fiery fusion dance in towel costumes.

This Just In

Classic Steve

“National Night Out" Events Creating Fear, Isolation in Many Neighborhoods, Study Shows

BETHESDA, MD — “National Night Out,” a grassroots movement created 30 years ago to foster a spirit of community and good will, and to give citizens a chance to meet and get to know their neighbors, may actually be having the opposite effect, according to a recent study.

(Left) "Are they gone yet?" Bob Windmere peers cautiously out his window, wondering if his "neighbors" have ceased invading his personal space through their National Night Out "festivities," which in reality are more like torture sessions.

“What’s happening is full of irony,” says Dr. Suzanne Loudwright, of the National Center for Community Research. “People actually hate these gatherings so much that many of them turn out their lights and pretend they aren’t home rather than attend them. We hear stories of entire families, sitting in the dark, frightened, almost cowering, peering out of their windows, and waiting for it all to be over so they can get back to their normal lives.”

As one man in a northwestern Washington D.C. suburb describes it, there’s a lot to be afraid of out there.

“It can be scary,” says Bob Windmere, who lives in a typical middle-class neighborhood with neatly-manicured lawns and large shade trees . “You get the Night Out flyer inviting you to a potluck dinner fixed by who knows who, consisting of casseroles made of who knows what. You have to try some if you’re brave enough to go out there, and it scares me to death of what kind of intestinal attack I might have later.

“Then you get stuck talking to people you don’t know and probably don’t even like, about subjects that are meaningless. It feels like your head could explode at any minute. But you feel the pressure to get out there. Haven't these people ever heard of 'personal space'? It’s easier to just hide in your house until it’s all over. Last year my wife and I went to the local Starbucks and sat drinking coffee for three hours until we knew it was safe to go home. Only problem was, it wasn’t decaf, and it kept us awake half the night. Thank God this happens only once a year.”

The Left's Idea of Labour

By Bobby

The warning Wal-Mart Stores Inc offered about an Obama victory combined with a Democratic government monopoly is serious enough to warrant explanation of what might happen in your neighbourhood, especially in a smaller town, as which there are many in any state in the union.

It is shortly after Inauguration Day, and Pelosi imposes a ban on opposition speech, something that is quickly adopted by Reid. In essence, if you are members of the opposition, the right to speak your displeasure, propose alternative legislation, or even discuss the issues is banned. The Fairness Doctrine is passed that kills many radio stations, turning many of the popular news/talk stations into gangster rap stations or other “popular” music formats featuring talentless “singers” whose lack of talent and inability to use anything but explicit language and danceable beats, as federal authorities' spying on radio station makes formerly popular programmes such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Michael Reagan banned under new federal regulations demanding “fairness”. Meanwhile, outrageous liberal propaganda is mandated such as radio and television programming requires stations to air government propaganda to push for same-sex “marriage”, the virtues of a windfall profits tax, the repeal of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, and the virtues of state-run medical systems.

Another rule imposed by Congress is similar to the Brady Rule (see here for details) where legislators are not permitted to blog or appear on any sites but those approved by leadership. This prevents legislators from appearing on any blog, news program, or any media site unless it is approved by the Speaker or Majority Leader (depending on the branch of which the legislator is a member), and brings down legislators who blog on sites such as Townhall, or appearing on any news program.

As a result of such rules, the outcry towards a labor reform bill that sneaked into Congress by the ensuing media blackout is absent, and a labor reform package that outlaws Right to Work States, mandates forced unionism, legalising the closed shop , repealing Beck Rights (which prohibit a worker's union dues from going into non-collective bargaining issues, such as campaigning for same-sex “marriage” or political campaigning for pro-labour candidates), legalising the card check (a union is authorised for a company by majority of workers signing a card, and not a vote by secret ballot) and prohibiting businesses from hiring replacement workers during a labor stoppage is passed easily by the liberals in Congress without debate under congressional rules on bills fast-tracked by Pelosi and Reid, and promptly signed by the President.

That situation in the above paragraph is what concerns Wal-Mart and other major non-union firms, most notably FedEx, have a serious concern.

In a small neighborhood, about 100 miles from a medium size or large city, there is only one grocery store in the city, and the nearest grocery store is in that city. The new laws passed by the liberal leaders results in the food workers' union imposing a card check that passes. Weeks later, the new union attempts to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement that includes closing stores on Eid, Ramadan (sunrise to sunset only), and Césár Chávez' Birthday, but does not include Christmas, Easter, or Independence Day, and imposes a much higher pay scale than other grocers 100 miles away. The grocer balks on the absurd schedule proposed by the union, and the union decides to strike against the grocer. Union policies prohibit any employee from breaking the strike under penalty of losing their job, and with new federal laws imposed to prohibit the grocer from hiring replacement workers, the grocer is forced to close while the strike takes place. Angry neighbors have to drive 100 miles to the grocery store in the large city in their 2-seat microcars that cannot carry a family grocery shopping list, while others are stranded because of government-mandated electric cars that run out of power midway through the drive. Public transportation is not available to the grocer in the other city because the transportation union decides to sympathise with the food workers' union, and imposes policies to prohibit the city from offering the alternative in the large city. A week later, a rainstorm comes on the day most families are grocery shopping, and a Big One on a country road leads to a severe crash that injure drivers of the microcars involved as they were in a procession to the nearest grocery store that is open because of the local grocer's closure caused by the strike. The injured drivers are not even treated at the hospital because government-run healthcare prohibits checkups for crashes and instead pays for the doctors to kill the victims instead of having them treated.

The overall cost of the strike is expensive fuel bills because families have to drive 200 miles – 2 ½ hours each way with new speed limits designed to save the earth – and use two-thirds of the gas tank in their microcars to do the grocery shopping, spending considerably more to shop for food, meat, eggs, bread, vegetables, and other necessities of life because of the strike.

Meanwhile, the complaints are silenced because of federal media policies that prohibit the neighbour from calling the local radio station and discussing the issue. Instead, the station keeps playing government-mandated “music” from gangster rap types, and the media policy prohibits the newspaper from discussing the issue. The labor strife between the union and grocer continues and the union tells other supermarkets not to come to the city under their threats.

The overall result is the entire city is wiped out because of the inability to do anything while the unions' strongarm policy has prohibited anything from happening.

This is the type of dangerous activity that could happen with liberals imposing their strong arm law of the land. Wal-Mart's warning about an Obama presidency was intended to show what could happen under such leadership with the heavy labour-infested policies, and what I have written would be an example of what such leadership would do to a neighborhood.

R.I.P.

By Mitchell

A couple of passings that we should note today. I wish I had my usual time to devote to them, but I would be remiss in not saying something.

First, Solzhenitsyn. I don't know if young people can truly appreciate the impact he made. For that matter, I don't know that people of the time really understood it. When I was in high school Solzhenitsyn was a fashionable read, and I don't mean that critically. It was that he was seen in the same light as Tolkien, or Bradbury, or the other writers who captured the imaginations of young minds looking for something of substance. In lieu of any attempt on my part to add to the significance of the man's greatness (for who am I to try and instruct others in Solzhenitsyn? I hardly think people will wake up tomorrow wondering what Hadley thought of it all) I'd refer you to Jay Nordlinger's reminiscences of Solzhenitsyn, followed by a link to "the speech," entitled “A World Split Apart,” that summarized for so many the meaning of the struggle between good and evil, and why the fight against Communism was - and is - worth fighting. And he said it at a time when so many in this country lacked the courage to do so.

Some lives are lived greater than others, but that doesn't necessarily mean that other lives lack the impact. Skip Caray, of the famed Caray announcing family (son of Harry and father of Chip), and known to so many around the country from the days of the Braves on TBS, died today as well. Skip Caray had a warm and friendly presence, as if he and his listeners were sharing the Braves together. In his mind, the Braves weren't "his" team, they were "ours" - yours and his both. After Chip left the Cubs and came to the Braves, it was a pleasure listening to father and son sharing the love of baseball that fathers and sons are supposed to share. In retrospect, you have to recall the last Braves game last year, the last game to be broadcast on TBS before the new contract that replaced Braves games with a generic "Game of the Week." You could hear in Skip's voice how hard it was to understand why this was happening - weren't we all happy with the way things were? We've had a good thing going all these years, why stop now?

He was right, of course. Braves games had become a way of life for so many around the country: Braves fans who had moved way, but also baseball fans who didn't have a team of their own to root for. These were the fans who adopted the Braves, long before they became a powerhouse, and they adopted everything about them, including Skip Caray and the rest of the announcing crew (Pete Van Wieren and Don Sutton, among others). Like the greatest of the announcers, Skip Caray wasn't out to distract the fans from the game, and by not doing so he became an integral part of the game. He was smart, funny, smooth - and he will be missed.