Thursday, May 27, 2004

Style Stuff :

Liz Phair went major bling, as she wore Erica Courtney to the “Raising Helen” premiere May 26, for which she wrote the title song.

Necklaces:
Platinum Fat Ball & Bezel 22” chain
Platinum 5pt. Fat Diamond Bezel 10.5” Chain with South Sea Pearl Cross Charm
Platinum 5pt. Fat Diamond Bezel 7.5” Chain


Bracelets:
Platinum 5pt. Fat Diamond Bezel 7.5” Chain
Platinum Charm Bracelet
Platinum South Sea Pearl & Chalcedony Wrap Bracelet

Ring:
Platinum Pearl Ball & Chain Ring

Earrings:
White Gold and Diamond Coat Hanger Earrings on Large White Gold and Diamond Huggies

Phair looked especially gorgeous in a chiffon black-and-white dress, the ideal colors of the season.

LeAnn Rimes is also a fan of Erica Courtney jewelry, choosing it to wear on the red carpet and during her performance at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Red Carpet: 12.48ct Morganite Teardrop and Platinum Earrings on Platinum and Diamond Cross Leverback. Performance: “Dreamy“ Pink Tourmaline and Platinum Earrings on Skinny Platinum Diamond Huggies


Former “Bachelor” winner Estella Gardinier wore Nicole Miller to the 39th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas last night. She chose a soft pink strapless gown with ribbon detail. Keith Burns of the country band Trick Pony escorted her down the red carpet.

Emily Procter of CBS' CSI: Miami, presented an award at last night's 31st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in a dress by Monique Lhuillier, wearing a brown chiffon v-neck dress with rusching at the waist and a sexy handkerchief hem.

Reba McEntire wore Sue Wong’s Ashley green silk and organza gown to host the Academy of Country Music Awards.

Stephanie Niznik of WB’s “Everwood” wore a Nicole Miller dress for the Los Angeles premiere of “Raising Helen.” She chose a flirtatious pale blue silk georgette empire waist dress from the Spring 2004 collection.

Arielle Kebbel stepped out on the red carpet at last night's premiere of USA's The Last Ride in a top by Shalini. Kebbel, who currently stars in Soul Plane and can be seen next in Uma Thurman and John Travolta's Be Cool, showed off her summer tan in a turquoise off-the-shoulder "Riviera" blouse with a lavender and white petit fleur print. Arielle paired the top with her own jeans.

Actress KaDee Strickland wore Pagliei Collection’s Electra long, triple strand pearl earring in gold to a May 25, 2004 Hollywood movie premiere.

Actress Lauren C. Mayhew, of the upcoming movie Heart of Summer, wears Bella Dahl’s stretch slub denim 5-pocket cut off mini skirt to the Music Video Production Awards.

Wyle: Bookman: Noah Wyle has signed on to play the title role in Turner Network Television (TNT)'s dramatic action-adventure original film THE LIBRARIAN, it was announced today by Michael Wright, senior vice president of original programming for TNT. Dean Devlin (Independence Day, The Patriot) serves as executive producer of THE LIBRARIAN under his Electric Entertainment banner. The teleplay is by David Titcher (Around the World in 80 Days) who also serves as co-producer. Marc Roskin and Kearie Peak (both executives at Electric Entertainment) have co-producing duties on the film, as well. THE LIBRARIAN is set to premiere on TNT in fourth quarter 2004.

Wiseguys: We LOVE our Sirus Satellite radio – and once you have it, you never want to listen to regular radio again!

Actor Vincent Pastore (Sopranos' Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero) hosts a Live, Weekly Show produced by Steven Van Zandt's Renegade Productions, "The Wiseguy Show," a three-hour celebration of life, the arts, and meatballs hosted by Vincent Pastore, airs live every Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. (ET) on SIRIUS Satellite Radio channel 147. Pastore, a veteran actor best known for his role as Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on the HBO series The Sopranos, hosts the program with his crew Vinny Vella, Joe Rigano, John "Cha-Cha" Ciarcia, Steve Schirripa, and announcer "Brooklyn" Joe Causi.


Pastore interviews prominent guests in entertainment, sports, and politics and have chatted with actors Sylvester Stallone, Ed Burns, Eric Stolz, Tim Daly, Jerry Orbach, Joe Piscopo and Esai Morales; musician Gary "U.S." Bonds; Sopranos cast members Michael Imperioli, Maureen Van Zandt and Tony Sirico; and many others.


Pastore and his crew also offer their unique takes on current events, film, romance, and more, peppered with music from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Dion, and Doo-Wop.


In addition to his work on The Sopranos, Vincent Pastore has appeared
in a number of blockbuster movies including Carlito's Way, Basketball
Diaries, Gotti, Mickey Blue Eyes, Hurricane, Serving Sara and Witness to the Mob. He also was featured this spring in a muti-episode stint of ABC's The Practice.


Musician, actor and SIRIUS creative consultant Steven Van Zandt serves
As Executive Producer of The Wiseguy Show. Van Zandt is one of the
Original cast members of The Sopranos as well as a founding member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. The Wiseguy Show is the first program created for SIRIUS by Van Zandt's Renegade Productions.

Summertime Sharks: Discovery Channel’s SHARK WEEK 2004 features seven premiere programs that spotlight the diversity of sharks, big and small. The kick-off show will feature an intense encounter with sharks -- a veteran underwater photographer became separated from her diving colleagues and found herself completely surrounded by sharks -- with her own video camera capturing the
harrowing ordeal. Later in the week, a light-hearted episode of the
popular Discovery series "Monster House" will feature a complete home
transformation -- with a wild shark theme.

And shark experts Nigel Marven and Mike deGruy are both on hand in
Several SHARK WEEK programs to offer their unique perspective and knowledge of various types of shark.

Last year, more than 22 million people tuned in to SHARK WEEK.

Golden Trailer’s Best: Here’s a missing winner – just happens to be the big one!

Best of Show: The Stepford Wives
Editor: Adam Agard
Creative Director: Peter Frankfurt
Submitted by Imaginary Forces for Paramount Pictures






Baby Love:
Kid's Juke Box contains 12 personalized children's CDs. Each CD includes six to nine songs mentioning the child's name 40 times and can be created in less than two minutes. The songs increase name recognition, speech patterns and self esteem in either English or Spanish, through the use of the upbeat music. The music is also educational and includes fun songs about learning your ABC, counting, and playing outside. Each song captures the child's attention and imagination. Every song has been sung individually for each of the 2500+ names, with personalized spelling. Kids Juke Box currently offers 98% of names today even the most unusual ones. Unlike other companies, every name is sung in the song, not spliced, into the music. CDs' include MY Very Own Music, Custom4kids, Kool Songs Happy Birthday, Santa and Me, In, For the Love of Animals, and Awesome Kid Music. Kids' Story Book: Make Your Child the Star of the Story
The most personalized product in the world, the interactive CD Kids' Story Book can be created in under a minute and offers a story that is read to the child for which parents have selected: The child's first, middle and last name, nickname, age, gender, ethnicity, hair and eye color are all included in the story.

The introduction contains a personalized message from Mom or Dad e.g.: "To Jimmie Smith with all my love from Mommy!" Children can relate to the character that looks like them. They will hear their name in the story and see their name, correctly spelled, on the screen. Kids can also click on objects and make them talk. There are 18-20 scenes per story. Teachers can print out a story and use it for an entire class. Children learn while having fun and seeing themselves as the hero of the story. Each story enhances reading skills at the child's own pace. Animation and interactive characters make reading a game and lots of fun. The Maze Game allows the child to complete the maze and then positively reinforces his or her success by announcing, "Susie, you're a winner!"


BeansTalk Notes:

Mad About MadonnaVH1 Video channel has been playing nothing except Madonna videos and interviews 24/7. This leads to the inevitable questions of the similarity in the attempts to shock (all that grabbing and thrusting gets tiresome viewed back to back) and her dancing style (nearly identical moves in “Beautiful Stranger” and “American Pie”). Also, why has the gap between her teeth widened. Michele Yoder, colleague of BeansTalk’s Jim Province, gave rave reviews to the pop goddess’ Staples Center show, while the L.A. Times Robert Hilburn found Mrs. Ritchie’s show pretentious and insincere. Still, if you want to hear the oldies and watch the dancing (and admit it, you do), you might want to check out her show (even though we hear face value tix are $175 each! But then, maybe she needs the money.)

Still SlayingIt’s a little surprising that despite the fact that “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” ended last season, its fan magazine is going strong. You’ll find it on the stands next to the “Angel” publication.


We Hope He's WrongDaniel Radcliffe, “Harry Potter” star, predicts Harry will die at the end of the 7th book, indicating a hint in the fourth book that ties Harry irretrievably to enemy Voldemort. Meanwhile, Emma Watson hopes Hermoine ends up doing something she loves, but Rupert Grint has a glint in his eye that Ron Weasley will turn evil.


As talented as she is, this seems like a stretch: Actress Gwyneth Paltrow will produce and star in a feature film about German screen siren Marlene Dietrich, Hollywood trade paper Daily Variety reported in its Thursday edition


Still want to try that Lo-Carb diet? By JILL BARTON, Associated Press Writer

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A businessman has sued the promoters of the Atkins Diet, saying the low-carb, high-fat meal plan clogged his arteries and nearly killed him.
Jody Gorran, 53, said Thursday that he was seduced "with a bacon-wrapped cheeseburger" to blindly follow the Atkins Diet, which also made his cholesterol soar to a risky level.

The lawsuit, filed with the aid of the Washington-based advocacy group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, seeks less than $15,000. The suit also names the estate of the diet's late creator, Dr. Robert Atkins.
Atkins Nutritionals said it stands by the science that has "repeatedly reaffirmed the safety and health benefits of the Atkins Nutritional Approach." The company also questioned the motivation of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which promotes a vegan diet banning meat, fish, dairy and egg products.

The Atkins Diet advocates meat, eggs and cheese, frowns on bread, rice and fruit, and allows up to two-thirds of calories from fat, more than double the usual recommendation.

Gorran said he started the diet in 2001 because his weight had risen from 140 to 148 pounds. In two months, he said, his cholesterol rose from a normal 146 to an unhealthy 230, and by October 2003, he needed angioplasty to clear his arteries.

"I came very close to dying, and this is from a diet I thought was marvelous," said Gorran.

Atkins medical director, Dr. Stuart Trager, said the cholesterol increase claimed by Gorran is "dramatically greater than what we have seen" in scientific studies. He said a recent Duke University study showed only minor cholesterol increases, in some cases up to 10 percent.

Robert Atkins argued that carbohydrates generate too much insulin, which makes people hungrier and encourages them to put on fat. His books, including the best-selling "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution," have sold 15 million copies and attracted millions of followers.

The same advocacy group involved in the suit filed Wednesday released details of Atkins' autopsy report in February, 10 months after he died after slipping on an icy sidewalk. The report showed Atkins, 72, had a history of heart trouble, including congestive heart failure and high blood pressure — details that stoked debate over the diet.

Wouldn’t you hate to be on a flight with them??: NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two preachers grounded a flight leaving Buffalo, New York, after they frightened passengers by declaring the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were a good reason to pray, officials said on Thursday.

One preacher told fellow passengers as the Continental Airlines plane taxied down the runway, "Your last breath on earth is the first one in heaven as long as you are born again and have Jesus in your heart," according to FBI (news - web sites) spokesman Paul Moskal.

Passengers on the Wednesday flight to Newark, New Jersey told a flight attendant, who alerted the plane's captain, officials said. The captain turned the plane around.

"They were sincere in their beliefs and were not malicious," Moskal said by telephone from Buffalo. "In the context of 9/11 it may not have been the best way to promote their religion."

The two Pentecostal ministers, Canadian nationals Yohan Heenatigala and Komal Singh, were questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and later released and put on another flight, the spokesman said. They were traveling to attend a convention in Baltimore, Maryland.



"Little Red Riding Hood", "Voyage to Neptune?" " MY Pet Dinosaur", "Voyage to the Neptune", My First day of School, and "Bedtime is Fun!"