yeah, but no, but yeah...

I think I'm gonna have to get the debut CD from 20 year old white-girl Brit rapper Lasy Sovereign called Public Warning.

According to this week's Rolling Stone, the little lady busts rhymes like...
Just check how my glow differs
I'm dropping lyrics like a ho droppin' knickers

Shut up! Don't give me evils!

are you the key master?

I was never all that good at D&D, which is really hard to believe because my geek-factor is usually set to 11.

Just ask Jon from Spuratic Affirmations who was always the Dungeon Master.

Man, I wish I had this book when I was a just a wee little elf.

off the hizzle for rizzle...

Who knew Macy*s was the place to go for the latest in gangsta fashion? Note the call to action to Let it play out like a modern gangsta would.

Word to your mother.

a little obsessed, but...

Not to go on and on about Idelwild, but I finally saw it last night and it's just amazing.

Sure it's a little uneven story-wise, but I am such a sucker for pop/rock movies and this is the best showcase musical since Purple Rain hands down.

Driving inspiration (whether it knows it or not) from everything from Bollywood to Cab Calloway to Electric Dreams to Under the Cherry Moon, Idelwild is consistantly entertaining and inventive nevertheless.

It exists in a cultural bubble driven by fantasy, not historical accuracy, which many critics are attacking. But weren't most musicals made in 30s and 40s completely blind to the cultural and political reality of their own times? Idelwild paints an African-American Southern experience beyond racial bariers, and has a hell of a time doing so.

like, the best book ever...

Cue the movie trailer guy voice...

Someone's taken their love of Sudoku to far.

of brontosaurus and pluto...

I few years ago I was in the thick of Dinotopian hell when I had just gotten used to caving into calling Brontosaurus (my all time favorite dinosaur) by it's "proper name" Apatosaurus.

Now comes the news from scientists that Pluto ain't a planet no more.

I've always felt a little bad for Pluto. First of all, we never really knew that much about it in the first place. Every model of the solar system I ever turned in had Pluto made out of blue play-doh, and I'm pretty sure I would have still gotten away with any color I wanted.

And poor Interplanet Janet. Who will tell her that Pluto, little Pluto, is no longer the farthest planet from the Sun? Who's gonna tell these kids that their science projects are wrong and they just flunked the 3rd grade?

dog days of summer...

In the Hamptons again this weekend and Genki sends his regards...

it only makes me laugh...

"Let's strive for mediocrity" - Oingo Boingo, Insanity

I don't know why I went to Only a Lad last night at the NYC Fringe Fest. This musical-drama set in the 80s and featuring the music of Oingo Boingo definitely had appeal. I'd take Oingo Boingo over Abba and Elvis any day of the week, but it turns out this one was probably more unbearable than Mamma Mia and possibly more annoying than that Beach Boys musical that closed three days after opening.

Let's just say this one ain't making it to Broadway anytime soon.

Although Wild Sex in the Working Class and Little GIrls performed as showtunes was a guilty pleasure come to life, songs like Private Life and We Close Our Eyes really shouldn't be turned into Rent-like power ballads. That's just a whole new level of retro-suck that I can't deal with.

on second thought, you can't be my wingmanever

Let me say a few words about Tom Cruise and Paramount's VERY sane decision not to renew the Wagner/Cruise deal.

Tom Cruise had a very simple job to do:

Promote Mission Impossible 3 (and before that War of the Worlds for the studio and NOT ACT CRAZY.

So what does Tom do?

He jumps on Oprah's couch, chastises Brooke Shields, defends Lord Xenu, impregnates Katie with L. Ron's frozen sperm, discounts Matt Lauer's knowledge of pharmacological drugs, and commits to not just one, but two commentary tracks for the abysmal War of the Worlds on DVD.

Sounds like a crazy train approaching the station to me.

All I know, is if I acted like an ass, brought my personal life to my job everyday, and actually had the nerve to inflict my personal beliefs on others, I'd be fired, beat-up, and possibly blacklisted from Hollywood.

And I'm not even on the D-List.

hey yeah!

The much anticipated new Outkast CD (the soundtrack to Idlewild) is good stuff.

Click the rooster on the right to download a track I dig called Call the Law.

tears for heirs...

I, like, cry, when I listen to it, it's so good.
- Paris Hilton on her new CD Paris

Personally, I'm gonna cry if they delay tomorrow's release of the new Outkast CD, but I could be convinced into crying over Paris' debut.

karaoke madness - no msg

Highlights from Rachel's Karaoke blast last night.

nice beaver!thanks, I just had it stuffed.

It being Rachel's birthday today I thought I would post the actual BEAVER SHOT of her sister that she mentioned on her blog the other day.





Out of pure fear of her sister, here are some other famous beaver shots for you...

that's entertainment...

Snakes on a Plane is the reason movies are made.

I haven't been more excited about a movie since Velvet Goldmine.

What you need to do is hold on to your butts and pick up your mother fucking tickets now.

Oh, and feel free to DOWNLOAD the official song of SOAP, Snakes on a Plane (Bring It) by Cobra Starship.

By the way, all airline safety cards will now be rewritten to include this likely scenario from the film...

need a good night's breast?

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

bring it!

Yeah, bitch.

Mousecast

An infestation of city mice attack Rachel and Todd this week on BEWARE OF THE BABYLON


play it here NOW

Also find out...

• What do Nuns, Klansmen, and Ancient Rabbis have in common?

• What's not to love about the afterlife?

• What does Todd like about Rachel?

• How should you break up with someone in public?

As always, this, and EVERY, BEWARE OF THE BABYLON podcast can be automatically downloaded to your computer and transferred to your iPod through iTunes.

from luxury to heartache...

Guns that cross the street
You never know
who you might meet
Whos in disguise

back to school supply time...

And wouldnt you know it, they were out of scented markers!

where the buffalo roam...

Okay, so not everything about the 80s sucked.

Grant Lee Phillips' incredible new cover album nineteeneightees is one of my favorite albums this year. Within 24 hours of hearing it I had already booked tickets for tonight's Knitting Factory show here in New York.

Here's an exclusive clip I filmed of Grant Lee singing New Order's Age of Consent.

If you watch closely enough, you can see Craig's head get in the way a few times (or maybe it's someone who looks like him)...



If you haven't yet, be sure to get the CD or buy now on ITunes

hope floats...

Alissa sent me this awesome photo today that she took on her recent trip to Colorado.

It reminds me of the Motel sign I used to pass each day when I worked at Disney World that read

GOD LOVES YOU
HEATED POOL

bogus...

It seems everywhere you go lately there's a retro celebration of the 80s, from record stores to radio stations to television specials to annoying 20 year olds that were born in 1984.

But the 80s kind of sucked.

All the good music and bands came out of the post-punk/new wave late 70s and baby boomers waxed poetic about their glory days at Woodstock as Generation X inherited their mess.

Other reasons the 80s sucked:

• Wang Chung
• Reagan
• Thatcher
• Those Short Circuit movies
• Feathered Hair
• AIDS
• Patrick Nagel
• Crack
• High School

doppelgangers galore...

Craig and Disney Channel's Derek from Life with Derek
And of course, the recently reissued CD Haley's Juke Box

• LIVE BLOGGING ALERT FROM CELEBRITY FIT CLUB 4 •

Public persona/stomach stapler Carnie Wilson just said "I hate working out. It's a fucking pain in the ass."

My advise? Hold on for one more day.

Also, who the hell is Bone Crusher?

i don't like it...

Our pals Al and Shino are making the move to Big Britain soon and last night at dinner Shino asked me what I want.

I kind of want this plush talking doll of Lou and Andy from Little Britain, but I kind of don't.

By the way, for those of you who don't know what Little Britain is, you're, like, SO American.

This dude knows the show too well...

time + tragedy = comedy...

First of all, I can't believe this got a Wikipedia listing .

Second of all, this still makes me laugh...

Never too soon...

Oliver Stone's surprisingly straightforward World Trade Center is thankfully tactfull.

Despite a fairly deceiving title and all eyes on this first "official" theatrical 9/11 New York City reenactment, this is a film really about two men. Two out of only twenty that made it out of the rubble of the Twin Towers.

By using this particular true story, Stone paints a picture of the positive from that day. How we rose above as New Yorkers and came together to support each other both physically and emotionally.

He has directed this story with a theme that nobody around that day will forget - the total chaos and mixed messages from the authorities, media, and sometimes even our own eyes. The first twenty minutes of the film are chilling. A dead on portrait of how one routine morning in New York became an infinite memory.

With the exception of my hang-up on some minor inaccuracies with the New York settings and the fact that Nicholas Cage will always remind me of Unpainted Huffhines, I highly recommend the film.

spirit in the sky...

My folks sent a care package to their friend's daughter, an Air Force Captain currently assigned (for the second time) in Afganistan. Included was their photo with family dog Spike.

This is her in her A-10 over Afganistan with her new good luck photo.

tops and bottoms...

I find this "anniversary gift" selection from the Red Envelope website a little silly.

I guess the husband gets the key half and the wife gets the key-hole.

Straight people are so weird.

The Do the Right Thingcast

On the hottest day of the summer,
You can do somethin'
You can do nothin'
Or you can Do the Right Thingcast!


FIght the powers that be and learn...

• What's more offensive than Mel Gibson after a night on the town?

• What happened to Rachel's other half - literally?

• Was the hand-picked Monkey Tea all just a lie?

• Why are the Jews so damn cool - literally?

• Why are the Virgin security guards so concerned about patrons reading magazines?


As always, this, and EVERY, BEWARE OF THE BABYLON podcast can be automatically downloaded to your computer and transferred to your iPod through iTunes.

you are getting sleepy...

I don't own a car.

I don't own a house.

But as of Friday, I own the most awesome sleep comfort money can buy.

Tempur-Pedic matress, baby!

I'm gonna be Mr. Sandman's bitch and experience the Delta sleep stage like a mo-fo!

At least that's what Kevin from Sleepys promised me. Sort of.

note: hand model used. not actually Todd's nails.