How can a commercial make me so sad?

Maybe it's the fact that I want a dog so badly.
Maybe it's the soothing sound of David Duchovny's voice.
Who knows. But every time this Pedigree ad comes on, I have to fight tears.
I would totally adopt Echo. Wouldn't you?

p.s.-In happier news, tonight is the LAST TIME Dubya gets to address the State of our Union. Gas prices spiraling out of control. Economy on the brink of recession. Should be a good one.
p.p.s- Don't worry- Kevin's on SAG awards duty.
Mickey Rooney,
L

And You Thought Hannah Montana was a Hot Ticket

Ladies and germs- the zeitgeist of Joe Iconis has reached a fever pitch. After selling out a four-show run, he had to add a midnight show on Sat, to meet fan demand. Like he is Miley Cyrus.It appears there are two Joes. First, there is the Joe Iconis with whom I share the more-than-occasional drink. The Joe Iconis who loves my parents' dog.The Joe Iconis who communicates almost exclusively via text message. Our friend Joe. And then there is JOE ICONIS-winner of awards, singer of songs, pied-piper of musical theatre- leading a band of teenage white girls 'round the interwebs. I mean, we have always loved Joe. Now we have to share him. With five sold out shows worth of people. It's fantastic! I mean, the breadth of his wikipedia article alone is rather impressive. But then you add in the reviews. And the Youtube videos. And the girl who almost pushed me down the stairs of the theatre last night screaming "I WAS IN LINE TO SEE JOE BEFORE YOU!!!" It's crazy like a fox. I said to Kevin that I think we are fast becoming"The Liv Tyler to his Christina Applegate's ex-husband". It's not that we haven't seen this coming since, oh 1989. Maybe it's because I was out of town for years, who knows. It's just that last night, it was right in front of me. And it's a delight.

Better Get to Birthdayin'!

As I've done for the past two years, I want to take a brief pause on January 19th to salute the birthday of America's greatest musical treasure, Dolly Rebecca Parton. She's 62 years old today, and she's soon to be back on top of the pop culture universe in a big way- February sees the release of her new album, Backwoods Barbie (though I'm sure everyone is already familiar with the brilliant single "Better Get to Livin'" and the ensuing music video, which is one of Dolly's best ever). Later on this year, she's taking the stage version of 9 to 5, for which she's written a new songs, to the Ahmanson Theatre in LA (Note to Leah: When this happens, I'll be sleeping on your couch), before bringing said show to New York next spring.

So 2008 is going to be very Partoncentric. And I couldn't be happier. I already have my seats to see The Lady at her March 7th Radio City show, and I'm fully counting the seconds til then.

In honor of this earthly goddess, and in celebration of how America seems to be remembering just how indispensable an icon she is, please enjoy the below YouTubes. This is a small collection of some of my favorite Dolly duets. Note how she makes artists look more relevant and attractive just by being near them.









Yours in Parton,
KEVIN xoxo

Hostess with the Mostest.

Last night McGrath and I trekked to the Upper East Side to have ladies night at Che' Hansson. Let me tell you, it was a classy affair. If I have people over to my apartment, it almost always ends in dialing for dinner. Not at Marissa's. There was homemade hummus. There was homemade sauce. I mean, observe the presentation. Note the perfectly placed basil leaf atop the ricotta:Now that's just plain classy. And now I will follow this lovely evening of wine and gossip by accompanying Kevin & company to see a movie about a girl with a man-eating vagina. (No really, it was at Sundance.) It's a strange life I lead.

The Billy Bush Awards.

Man was that awful.
Well...let me clarify. I feel that the WGA is fully justified in asking to be compensated when people view and buy their work. So cancelling the globes had to be I guess.
But for the love of god, did we have to watch Billy Bush?
Was NO ONE ELSE available from the entire NBC news roster? Why the hell should we care what Tiki Barber & company have to say about anything?
(For the record, I am no fan of Nancy O'Dell either, since she is pretty much singularly responsible for Wendy Pepper making it to Olympus Fashion Week..but I digress...)
It was just so...joyless.
In an attempt to remind us what award season is truly all about I offer you the following:
Here is this blog's '07 Globes Fashion Review. Joan Rivers has nothing on Kevin.
and here is Nikki Blonsky finding out she was nominated. [it's long. Skip to 4:19 and be rewarded.]

Here's hoping for an Oscar ceremony?
-L

"What do they got? A lot of crap!"

In 1989 I fell in love. (with a movie) I saw the Little Mermaid four times in the theatre. I watched it on vhs until the tape literally died. I sang "Part of Your World" so often I'm sure my parents wanted to invest in ear plugs. No one was happier than I when Disney announced it was mounting a Broadway production- and no one more disappointed in the giant pile of crap that is currently playing at The Lunt- Fontanne Theatre. It was so bad it was comical. Kevin and I were openly laughing through the majority of the show. I didn't have the proper words to explain it. The lucite set, the horrible dancing, the fact that they moved on HEELYS - I didn't have the words- but one man does. Now that it has opened PLEASE see what Ben Brantley has to say because his prose is genius. "But Leigh- I don't read theatre reviews" Oh contrare. Just look at what he said about the set:
"a distracting set (by George Tsypin) awash in pastels gone sour and unidentifiable giant tchotchkes that suggest a Luau Lounge whipped up by an acid-head heiress in the 1960s. The whole enterprise is soaked in that sparkly garishness that only a very young child — or possibly a tackiness-worshiping drag queen — might find pretty."
C'mon, read it!

Random Thoughts: 1/9/07

Hiya Kids.
Sorry I've been absent from the blogosphere as of late; I was busying ringing in the 2008 in the district. It was a lovely time filled with friends, pocket-door dance parties, arthritis inducing Nintendo battles, and me spending a lot of quality time at the Dupont Manor.
1. Regardless of your views on who won the New Hampshire and Iowa primaries, more people turned out to vote in them than in the last 3 election cycles. Good News.
2. Have you seen the preview for that Jessica Alba movie The Eye ? Aside from looking heinous, it's totally a rip-off of what I'm sure is the far superior Blink featuring a blind Madeline Stowe receiving an eye transplant. Does anyone else remember that movie?
3. Coke Zero was named one of the "Hottest Products of 2007" I couldn't agree more. I loves me some coke zero. I understand some of you don't get it- in the words of the Gayrab " I want my diet soda to taste metallic, that's how i know it's diet!" but I still think there is one Coke product the world could do without.
4. This season of Project Runway truly had not captured my affection as much as its predecessors- until last week. Hershey's Challenge? Excellent! I'd like to say, for the record, I think Jillian was robbed. EDIBLE CORSET made of Twizzlers people! hello!:

Alright, that's enough. I have to take advil before my novocaine wears off. A word of advice from your friend Leigh: Floss your teeth like 20 times a day. OR ELSE.

IOWA HEARTS HUCKBEES...

....so start getting scared.



by guest blogger Popzilla

Well the Iowa Caucus was last night, and forecasts for November are already being made. Sure, it's months away, and this caucus is about as telling as winning an award from the Hollywood Foreign press, but some things are certainly becoming clear.
Oprah is truly the kingpin we have all known her to be. She has already ruined the beef industry, a non-fiction writer's career, and Broadway, so why not Hillary Clinton's campaign? Check! But what Oprah needs to realize is that if Obama gets the nomination (shudder!), she is going to have to face a competitor who has never been beaten. I am referring, of course, to none other than Chuck Norris.
The kick-fighting, action jean wearing former "Texas Ranger" has been hard campaigning for Republican candidate Mike Huckabee. And no one has ever seen Chuck Norris lose. He was seen last night during Huckabee's speech (after a nine-point victory over Mitt Romney) with his wife Gina ( a dead ringer for Candice Cayne, btw) and it looks like Chuck is in it to win it.
Now in a perfect world, he would reek havok on the Obama campaign, kicking Oprah and Barack down (and Jay Leno while he's at it, please?), jeopardizing Huckabee's own campaign, whilst Hillary ascends to her rightful place in the White House.
But kick-fighting or not, I think we need to all start being very scared of Mike Huckabee. Not just because of his Republican politics (hating gays, liking bibles, being obese at least once). Here's why:

- He started his career as a Southern Baptist minister.....he believes in creationism....and Biblical inerrancy. In other words, he's ready to inherit the wind. In the classroom. Hide your children.

- In 1992, he wanted to put a quarantine on AIDS patients, adding, "homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk."

- When he was governor of Arkansas, he pardoned a convicted rapist who later raped and murdered another woman. Seriously!

- He is a bass player in the political band, Capitol Offense. And as we all know, chicks dig bass players.

Scared enough yet? This man could be president. Or Vice President under Mitt Romney, who ain't much better.
Time to take back the country kids.
Or threaten to move to Canada, again.

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES