Brangelinalopulous?
Friday February 29th 2008, 9:08 pm
Filed under:
Beanstockd
It's not a family—it's a freaking dynasty. Word is that Angelina has two buns in the proverbial oven. Where will the birth will take place, though? Some say France. Others say L.A. Oh, for the dilemmas of the grotesquely wealthy, right?
If you're not keeping track, the twins will put the Brangelina Empire at six kids. That's a lot of kids, but if it turns them into totally stressed out and washed up has-beens, they can always push out a couple more and revive the Eight Is Enough concept with a reality TV show set on their palatial estate in Provence.
Now, we love Brangelina. Who doesn't love Brangelina? They are such do-gooder volunteers. How often do you meet do-gooder volunteers who look that sexy? You don't meet them very often, we can tell you, and we've been to a lot of beach clean-ups and tree plantings.
But that's a lot of kids and it is also a lot of land. So which is worse... too many children or too much consumption? Hollywood's sexiest middle-agers are sorta standing on both sides of that fence, aren't they? We sort of wish they'd rock socks less and flicks more. We just feel left out, that's all.
BradyDale
Candace Bushnell Smuts Up Primetime… Again
Friday February 29th 2008, 2:31 am
Filed under:
Beanstockd
And the Lipstick Jungle v. Cashmere Mafia battle rages on
We're not sure which is the knockoff, but we're guessing the producers of both shows have hella good lawyers. Former BFFs and co-creators of Sex & the City, Darren Star and Candace Bushnell, quite un-amicacably parted ways to produce the competing Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle, which both premiered this season.
The shows share numerous similarities: both are about New York power business women struggling to have it all, have identical looking jailbait love interests, and about 40% of both Lipstick and CashMaf take place in the backseat of a chauffeured town car, the new icon of NYC, which will go hybrid in <5 years.
Last night, compliments of another writers' strike rerun, we had the opportunity to watch Lipstick Jungle for the first time. The verdict? We'd say personal preference. Although, personally, we find the gratuitous sex in Lipstick a bit cheesy. Though we have called Cashmere Mafia emotional-porn-for-women on more than one occasion, Lipstick Jungle is kinda like sucky actual-porn-for-women (or, what The Intelligencer likes to call "an over-the-pants hand job").
At any rate, in signature style, exec producer Bushnell seems to have taken a fairly solid concept and added a generous helping of smuttiness, which ends up being kind of entertaining. But Lipstick Jungle still comes up short in the style department (Cash Maf got Patricia Field and, consequently, a dazzling excess of belted coats) ... so as of this week, we'll be sticking with our knockoff.
Kandz
Mary Kate Olsen demonstrates that an eating disorder is the only prereq
Wednesday February 27th 2008, 1:15 am
Filed under:
Beanstockd[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/NZY9fTjZoHE" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
Mary Kate Olsen is out to destroy the legacy of ANTM, proving that all it really takes to be a cover girl is the ability to flop around for a few seconds and maybe, if you're feeling sassy, touch your hair and look bemused.
In the latest issue, Olsen talks about The Row, and other topics that—much like her clothing line—are useless and inaccesible to the general public.
In this issue Nylon Magazine also sponsors a Green Gadgets contest challenging readers to design eco-friendly gadgets for a $2,500 prize. Ding! Now if only someone could design an eco-friendly cane (where is that Sir Ben Kingsley when you need him?) to hold MK upright so the photographer can actually get a decent shot of her face.
S
Are We There Yet?
Tuesday February 26th 2008, 11:15 pm
Filed under:
Greenstockd
No, US, not quite. But France is. As if you had to ask.
This time it's the realm of bikes, not cars, in which France is beating us. In an attempt to increase the city's overall pastoral image, as well as reducing traffic and pollution (cutting down on thousands of tons of carbon emissions), city officials working with the group Cyclocity set up thousands of bikes available for inexpensive rental throughout Paris. You leave a credit card or a refundable deposit, the first half-hour's free, and you can pay to use the bikes for a small period of time or pay an annual rental membership. The more you ride, the more you save. The idea's already taken off in nearby Lyon and also in Brussels, and certain forward-thinking US cities (Portland, OR, for example) have been testing the waters of this idea as well.
Biking around Paris? Sounds like something out of a delightful romantic comedy--now all we need is an engaging scavenger hunt and rose petals scattered everywhere and we'll be livin' the dream!
The 80th Academy Awards Goes Wicked Euro
Tuesday February 26th 2008, 3:27 am
Filed under:
Beanstockd
There was blood as Coen brothers film, "No Country for Old Men" tore up the Oscars. Not that you could see it since everyone's dress was black, red or excessively feathered. The fashion was generally boring, and even the standouts managed to make potato sacks look like Oscar de la Renta gowns: ie. Tilda Swinton's unforgettable velvet trash bag-- the first words of her acceptance speech were, "oohh no," translating into "I am way not dressed for this."
This year, American actors were given a run for their money. Foreigners ruled the Oscars, with the Irish Daniel Day Lewis winning Lead Actor, French actress Marion Cotillard winning Lead Actress, followed by Brit Tilda Swinton (Best Supporting Actresss) and Spaniard Javier Bardem (Best Supporting Actor).
Yes, this year's Oscars prove that not only do Europeans dress better, win our awards and make the most cornball lines sound like Shakespearean sonnets ("Thank you life! Thank you love!") , but they may also produce less carbon than Americans. Paris has a bike renting system, for a cooler and more eco-friendly way of getting around the city and keeping off the movie candy pounds. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also called for the creation of a European Union carbon bank to fight climate change and aid the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme, as well as a fund to help third world countries develop low carbon economies.
Americans could learn from our conscious neighbors across the ocean, but unfortunately no one was watching. Sunday brought the lowest Oscar ratings of the past 6 years. And half of those viewers were likely tuning in to see if Juno's 21-year-old Ellen Page would get the nod. In the words of Jon Stewart, thank god for teen pregnancy.
Greenhorne
Hollywood Gets Its Ish Together
Monday February 25th 2008, 1:30 am
Filed under:
Beanstockd
The writer's strike is a thing of the past (hope Oscar's scribes aren't as rusty as SNL's), Jon Stewart is hosting and we're as happy as a pig in shit. Let's be honest, all other awards shows are a poor man's version of the Oscars; this is where stars are made and careers are validated.
On to the Red Carpet. We can't get away from Ryan Seacrest! Where the hell is Joan Rivers? The Gold Standard is missing. And when did Kimora Lee Simmons’ face get so puffy?
We just switched over to Barbara Walters. Good lord, she’s wearing a see through shirt and Miley Cyrus' mother is literally a Stepford Wife. Ellen Page is kinda hot, but with Babs gazing creepily into her eyes, it’s really off-putting.
Let’s go to CNN. Oscar coverage! We mean…don’t they know it’s an election year?
Back to E! Gary Busey just tried to rape Laura Linney and Jennifer Garner. We just saw a Prius-Limo! Okay, enough hype. Hopefully, the self-righteousness is kept to a minimum--though we’re secretly hoping for some eco-plugs. Sit down, Mr. Begley, Jr. On with the show.
Bacon Bits
Sony BMG: Sustainably Forested…Music?
Sunday February 24th 2008, 11:44 pm
Filed under:
Greenstockd
You know how when you get a new cd and you're so excited to listen to it and you go to rip off the packaging so you can pop it in the player and then the excitement quickly gives way to frustration because the packaging is impossible to remove?? Well, your frustration may soon be a thing of the past. Sony BMG is expanding the amount of musical titles that will be packaged in Stora Enso's DBS Discbox slider case. The California-based research institute Roberts Environmental Center recently ranked Stora Enso number one at corporate sustainability reporting--this company tries to stick to a strong policy of environmental and social responsibility, focusing on issues other than mere economic profits. These revamped cases are made from renewable and recyclable paperboard, sustainably forested. The cardboard DBS case weighs less and takes up less space than a normal jewel case, and gives off only a fraction of the carbon emissions of plastic. The next order of business? Convincing BMG to let us out of the mail-order membership agreement we signed up for in 8th grade...
Music we treat like drunken hookups: embarrassing in theory, awesome in practice
Sunday February 24th 2008, 6:09 pm
Filed under:
Beanstockd[youtube]BTU4gv4uIb8[/youtube]
Everyone does it...
...at least at Beanstockd we're willing to call ourselves out. Our deepest fear may be Miley Ray Cyrus white-girl-dancing her way onto our party playlist in a very public venue, but we'd be lying if we said it didn't happen last night. You can fist pump to Lupe Fiasco, Justice, and David Guetta all you want, but sometimes even the best of us crack under the pressure of Top 40.
Here's our list of songs we listen to with booty-call remorse:
1. “Outta My Head (Ay ya ya)” - Ashlee Simpson. This song may revive Ashlee's career, unless the surrealist overload video kills it first.
[see above]
2. “Kelsey” - Metro Station. Upbeat electronica with a whiny frontman which wasn't all that embarassing until he happened to be Miley Cyrus’ brother on Disney. (check it out on our Subway Eco-store remix on the right.)
3. “See you again” - Miley Ray Cyrus. Even though she sounds like a child prostitute (we’re dreading the inevitable Hannah Montana spread in Maxim), we can’t deny the song’s catchiness. We’d probably sing along if we still had our pre-pubescent registers.
4. “Hey Baby (Jump Off)” - Bow Wow and Omarion. When it come to lyrics, we’re down with minimalism as long as it includes an Aston Martin and a digital turntable.
And if you're feeling dirty about dropping cash on the musical equivalent of a booty call, take comfort in the fact that at least your money is being used responsibly. Sony BMG (Metro Station) leads the pack with their environmental packaging initiative, replacing plastic casing with recycleable cardboard.
Perfect since you'll probably want to burn the evidence anyway.
Kandz and S
Outrageous statements
Sunday February 24th 2008, 5:31 pm
Filed under:
Beanstockd
We always doubted that Avril Lavigne could really accurately be described as punk. OK, so the girl wore a tie with her tanktop. That does not a Sid Vicious make. Still, we had to reassess her when she came out defending Britney spears in Maxim Magazine. I mean, what else could a pop star do to more effectively flip the bird to popular sentiment than stand up for Britney?
Lavigne said that a lot of Britney's missteps can be pinned on the constant hounding by paparazzi. Lavigne admits she's done some pretty stupid stuff evading those "F---ing stalkers," too.
Whoa, Avril. Now that's punk.
Speaking of speaking out of turn, General Motors' Vice-Chairman, Bob Lutz, was recently forced to defend his own use of "punk" verbiage in dismissing Global Warming as myth even as his company unveils smaller, greener, electric cars.
Global Warming is a myth? Tell it to the glaciers, Bob. With clear-headed, objective thinking like that, it's no wonder GM is losing market share to, well, everyone else.
BradyDale
Kate Moss on Yves Saint Laurent’s Manifesto
Saturday February 23rd 2008, 4:00 pm
Filed under:
Beanstockd
You’ve probably seen some of these spring YSL ads, but starting today you’ll be able to get your hands on all of them. For the second season in a row, creative director Stefano Pilati has decided to put together Manifesto—a free 24-page handout featuring print ads from the current collection. The Fall/Winter booklet featured Gisele; Kate Moss serves as the Spring/Summer muse.
The best part? (Okay, maybe not the best) They’re printed on recycled paper. You can pick up a copy today if you’re in London or Milan. New York, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong will follow over the next few days.
Bacon Bits
