February 2007 Archives

He may be all about New York City now, but Regis Philbin is doing a little video love letter Tuesday morning to the city that gave him his break in television, Los Angeles. He'll be taking a video tour of the mini-malls and parking garages that now stand (I'd kidding here, but it could be true) where he worked as a stagehand at KCOP, a sidekick for Joey Bishop and a star in his own right on KABC. For her part, Kelly Ripa will smile and ask when the flight back to NYC takes off. "Live With Regis and Kelly" is broadcasting from the West Coast all week.

Just got a preview copy of the new book from the heiress apparent to Anna Nicole's rank among those who are famous for no particular reason. Carmen Electra has her name above the title on "How To Be Sexy," coming out in May.
Many a male reader would be inclined to flip right to the seventh chapter, "The Art of Seduction," either as an instruction to his own significant other or as a heads-up to better get it when he's being hooked and reeled in.
But I was more interested in Chapter 2, "Confidence."
Keep in mind that this is a draft of the book and subject to revision, but here's the essence of Carmen:

I mean, isn't it obvious that all Britney's trying to do is emulate the nutty antics and strikingly cleanheaded look of Sinead O'Connor? The only tragic thing here is the poptard's delusional comparison of herself to a real artist. Still, I applaud Spears for trying to copy such a distinctive and powerful musical presence, and think an album of Irish fight songs and lullabyes is just the kind of eclectic boost Brit's faltering career needs.

It's days like this when I am certain we need a separate blog category for personal train wrecks. "Extra" and TMZ.com have been taking a break today from their 24/7 Anna Nicole watch to churn out breathlessly worded announcements that Britney Spears is in rehab. No, wait, she checked in one day and checked out the next. "Extra" reported that Britney flew from NYC to Miami by private jet with her two young 'uns and then dropped off the paparazzi radar. Is that evidence of a rehab visit, or is it yet another weird happening in the Bermuda Triangle?
OK, so maybe Britney lacks the common sense to clean up her act in advance of child custody hearings (and who predicted K-Fed could be seen as the more competent parent of the two?). Maybe she thinks there's no such thing as bad publicity, even if it is a Newsweek cover on which she looks like hell in living color. But she gets a couple of points for being able to shake her unpaid entourage.

The body is barely cool to the touch but Anna Nicole Smith is perhaps the hottest category on eBay, at least in terms of the optimism of its sellers. There are at this moment nearly 3.000 Anna Nicole items for sale, all but about 50 of them posted since word of her death came out midday Thursday. The most common commodities are autographed pictures (say what you want about her apparent lack of intelligence -- the woman knew how to sign her name, over and over and over) and not-so-flattering bobbleheads.