Celebrity Baby Madness

Congratulations to Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz on having a healthy baby boy, but seriously to name him Bronx Mowgli Wentz? I hope they're planning on giving him martial arts lessons, because he's going to need them for all the kids who are going to give him grief in school.

Seriously people, why do celebrities do this? Why name your child after a borough? And since Pete Wentz is from Chicago, couldn't they have named him Lincoln or Wrigley or something else? Heck, they could have named him Barack Obama Wentz and it would have made more sense to me.

I know, I know that Posh and Becks named their oldest son Brooklyn, but at least you can shorten the name to Brook or Brooks for a nickname. What are they going to call little Bronx? Bro? And Mowgli? Isn't that the name of the kid in the Jungle Book stories?

Rudyard Kipling and Disney have a lot to answer for.

Polyamory Anyone?

I found this article in the New York Times Style section called "Hopelessly Devoted to You, You and You"kind of depressing. You can read the article here.

The article details this New York couple who practice what is called polyamory, which means they maintain multiple steady relationships. I find this amazing, since I'm having a hard time finding one person that I want to spend a lot of time with, let alone 3 or 4. I just don't see how this is doable given the nature of humans, and messy things like emotions. My favorite part of the article was where Diana Adams gets upset because her boyfriend bought his other girlfriend a better toothbrush than he did her. Seriously this is what you get upset about? According to the article both the Diana and her boyfriend Ed are bisexual. He has a boyfriend out of town, and she has two women that she sees besides him. So each are seeing three people steadily. When do they have time to see their friends? Or their family? Or work for that matter? How do they keep everyone straight? Not that I'm knocking them. If it works for them, more power to them.

Tilda Swinton, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, is very open about the fact that she has a partner that she shares a home with in Scotland, the father of her two children, but she also has a yonger lover who travels with her. Even Carla Bruni Sarkozy, before she met and fell in love with the President of France, had expressed her support for open relationships. The whole thing reminds me of this book I read as a teenager called The Harrad Experiment, which was a college where the students were encouraged to have multiple relationships. The book was written in the 1970's back in the day when Erica Jong was writing about the 'zipless f*&k' and the sexual revolution was still raging.

I confess in my misspent youth I once tried to date two guys steadily at the same time and it was a total disaster. I had read one of those dating books by Myreah Moore that said you should always have a spare around, that old 'don't put all your eggs in one basket' kind of thing. She didn't say anything about what you are supposed to do when you end up having deep feelings for both men, and how hard that is, and how even though you are dating two people, the idea of them dating anyone fills you with unspeakable rage.

I was very open with both men about the fact that I was dating them both, also that I was still going to go out on blind dates. Ah, the arrogance of the young. It was at a stage in my life when I was basically saying yes to anyone who asked me out. I finally had to make a choice. I couldn't keep on this way, so I finally sat down and decided who was better for me in the long run, who did I really consider to be my boyfriend? And I chose. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I'm just not built to have multiple relationships.

And I'm not sure in this day and age they really work all that well. But that's just me, I'm still old fashioned enough to believe in one man/one woman or one man/one man or one woman/one woman. Maybe that's why I read romances.

Crazy Celebrity Parents

I wasn't sure I had anything to write about today. I've been struggling to get back to my historical YA that I hope to have finished by the NJ Conference, so I'm outlining the next three chapters that I have to write.

But thankfully Sharon Stone is around for people like me. Recently she lost physical custody of her oldest son Roan to her ex-husband Phil Bronstein, because among many things, she wanted to have his feet Botoxed because they were smelly. Apparently teaching him good hygiene, like putting talcum powder in your shoes, if you don't wear socks or just washing them didn't occur to her.

Seriously botox for an 8 year old's feet?

I've always liked Sharon Stone. She's always had a good sense of humor about her career and her place in the industry, and she's always been impeccably well-dressed in her films. And I admired her for adopting three boys without a husband, but no I'm starting to wonder.

Who is raising these kids while she runs around the world? Phil Bronstein is at least Roan's legal father but what about the other kids. When will celebrities realize that kids are not accessories like chihuahuas?

Royalty Round-up: Dancing in the Dark

Yowza! One of the Queen's grandchildren, Zara Phillips has apparently signed up for the next edition of Strictly Come Dancing which is the UK version of Dancing with the Stars. I'm totally going to watch this on YouTube.

It's interesting that she's doing this. There were expectations that Zara would be competing in the Olympics this year in Beijing but unfortunately her mount was injured and she didn't have time to work with another horse. Her mother Princess Anne competed for Britain in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, and there was hope that Zara might actually have a good shot a medal. So I guess, since she has a little downtime, she's decided to take up ballroom dancing!

Since athletes seem to do well on this show, even in the UK, there might be a good chance (if she has rhythm) that she might win this thing, adding to the medals that she's won as an equestrienne. Still, I'm surprised that Buckingham Palace hasn't put their foot down about this.

You can read the full story in the Daily Mirror here.

There has been speculation since the show started in the States, that Sarah, Duchess of York might participate since she loves to tango. How cool would that be? Not that I need any incentive to watch this show, but I would be glued to the TV if Fergie were to compete. That would be even more fun that watching Joan Rivers on Celebrity Apprentice.

And They Are At It Again

Okay, just when I thought I had seen it all with the crazy celebrity baby names, I see this on Daytime Confidential:



"Cigars are in order for General Hospital star, Ingo Rademacher (Jax). He and his fiancé Ehiku are the proud parents of a boy. The bouncing baby boy named Peanut Kai Rademacher was born July 11 and comes in at 7 lbs, 6 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long."



Freaking Peanut? Are you kidding me? This kid is in for some serious therapy. I mean come on, I know Ingo isn't exactly an awesome name, but it sure beats Peanut. If it had been a girl, would they have named her Macademia? Ooh, or maybe Kona after the coffee.



Sigh!

Baby Names Gone Wild

Lots of celebrity babies being born lately. Last week both Nicole Kidman and Matthew McConaughey's girlfriend, Camilla Alves gave birth. Nicole Kidman had a daughter named Sunday Rose, continuing the celebrity trend of giving children strange names, apparently Sunday is the name of an Australian artist that no one has ever heard of. Sunday Rose is really pretty, and I suggest that little Sunday use her whole name, otherwise, she'll be Sunday Urban which sounds like a section of the newspaper.

While McConaughey and his girlfriend named their baby Levi, which is Hebrew for 'combined.' Levi was the name of one of the sons of Jacob. His descendants, the Levites, were the priests of Israel. Of course, they could just have named the baby after their favorite jeans. At least he didn't name the baby after a brand of beer like his brother Rooster, who named one of his kids, Miller Lyte (I'm not kidding). I'm hoping that Rooster isn't his real name, cause that would be weird. I mean why would you name one child Matthew and another after a male chicken? I suppose Rooster's kids should be happy that daddy doesn't like imported beer because otherwise they might be named Heineken, Amstel, Corona or Guinness. Seriously why not just name your child Fritos and Pringles and get it over with?

At least its better than Nic Cage who gave his son, Superman's real name Kar-El, or Jason Lee who named his child Pilot Inspektor. Now, Brad Pitt and Angelina have named their new son Knox Leon, after Fort Knox? The jello? What? Vivienne Marcheline is very pretty and feminine and very French. At least they didn't name the baby Napoleon!

Here's another source for bad baby names: http://notwithoutmyhandbag.com/babynames/

A-Rod = A-Hole

So Cynthia Rodriguez has filed for divorce from A-Rod citing his infidelities, but the tabloids are having a field day blaming Madonna for the break-up of their marriage. Umm, why is Madonna being blamed for this? The fact that A-Rod has barely seen his new baby since she was born is not Madonna's fault, it's his. Seriously he should change his name from A-Rod to A-Hole.

And they are also blaming Kabbalah as well. I may not be an expert on Kabbalah but I have a funny suspicion that infidelity is not one of the tenets. And the idea that Madonna could have brainwashed him? If she has that kind of power shouldn't the US Government be trying to harness it for use in espionage?

Seriously is anyone surprised? Wasn't he in the news awhile ago for hanging out with strippers?

The truth is that Alex Rodriguez is a young guy who has had fame and fortune at an early age, and he's let it go to his head. The huge amount of money that the Yankees are paying him has only contributed to an arrogance that has just grown over the years.

Scientology Loses Another One

This guy on the left make look familiar to you. His name is Jason Beghe and he's a working actor who has been in movies such as G.I. Jane, and several TV series. He also was a Scientologist until recently when he woke up and stopped drinking the Kool-Aid.

You can read the recent article in the Village Voice here about why he decided to leave and what he reveals about the 'religion.' My favorite part though was when he revealed that newcomers to the religion are told that they will eventually develop superpowers as they move up in the system. Wow, that certainly explains all those times that Tom Cruise was off rescuing people. What cracked me up though was not just that Jason Beghe bought into that, (he seems like a fairly intelligent guy) but that it took a car accident for him to wake up. Because apparently stuff like that is not supposed to happen to Scientologists what with their superpowers and all.

The other interesting bit is his fight to get the tapes and material from his sessions that the Church is holding on to. Apparently now that he is 'out' they treat him like he doesn't exist and they won't respond to his attempts to get this stuff from them. It makes me wonder if they use the information contained in the files to blackmail church members into staying in the church, by threatening to reveal whatever indiscretions they confess to in order to move up the heirarchy to OT levels.

Seriously after reading this article, I don't know anyone came away from it without believing that the entire church is a scam to make money off poor unsuspecting people who think they are getting help for their problems. And they consider pyschiatrists evil? It's nothing compared to the stuff that Scientologists do.

EKM

Awesome Dress Has Arrived

I love anything to do with cherries. I don't know what it is, perhaps it comes from my love of the fruit itself (hmm, rainier cherries awesome) but I've always wanted a dress with a cherry pattern. Particularly after I had my business cards done at Design-Her-Gals.com and I dressed my doppelganger in a white cherry dress.

So imagine how ecstatic I was to find on Ebay a woman who made them from scratch. And not just any cherry dress but 1950's rockabilly swing dresses, perfect for someone like me who has hips and loves vintage. I've been coveting the dresses for awhile now and I finally bit the bullet and ordered one.

Well, I just got it on Monday and it looks fab. I ended up not ordering it in white (what if someone spilled red wine on it, like me for instance!) but in black. Even though she didn't fit the dress on me, and it ended up looking amazing on me. Although it took me awhile to realize that the flaps on the front were supposed to tie up in the front (I thought for a moment it was a bib!). I need to find a petticoat so that it stands out like in the picture and then it will be perfect.

I'm planning on wearing it on Saturday when I got out with some friends to Brooklyn to see the Wingdale Community Singers play at Barbes. I plan on wearing my strappy black high-heeled ankle strap sandals (I haven't been able to find red ones that I like), my ankle bracelet and a flowered comb.

In other news, what is up with Amy Winehouse still smoking after she received the diagnosis that she has scarring on her lungs, and possibly be in the early stages of emphysema? Is she nuts? I think she's a wonderful talent, but right now I find listening to Back in Black to be painful to listen to right now, particularly 'Rehab.'

Stay cool!

EKM

Celebrity Feuds

I just read on People.com that the Real Housewives of New York mixed it up a little at the A-List awards with the Real Housewives of Orange County. Seems that the RHOC didn't like the banter that was scripted for them when they came out to announce award together with the RHNYC. The banter dealt with the differences between New York City apartments and California real estate. Bethanny Frankel (on the left) was supposed to make a joke about having a tiny apartment while Jeanna Thomasina didn't like what she had to say.

"They [The O.C. Housewives] said in our material that my apartment is a two-by-four, and it’s actually a one-by-two, and so I can take it, I don’t care,” Frankel told PEOPLE. “But they’re offended that I’m saying something about them living 65 miles from the beach. Jeana said, ‘I don’t think that’s funny.’”

From there it becomes a she said/she said. My fave Jill Zarin said that Bethanny dressed down the RHOC women, while Thomasina said that Frankel got physical. My favorite line in the article was where Bethanny remarked that she was going to get a can of hairspray and a lighter and take care of things later in the dressing room! Who go girl!

Meanwhile can someone please shut both Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards up? I'm so tired of the two of them fighting. We get it, they hate each other, the marriage was a big mistake. Get over it already. And Denise also shut up about her and Richie Sambora and Heather Locklear? Notice, Heather has never said anything negative about Denise once. She's kept her mouth shut about whatever went between her and Denise. Maybe Denise should do the same.

Thursday Real Estate Porn

After hunting for property in France, Brangelina have bought a £35 million ($70MM) chateau on the Riviera after spotting their dream home from the air, the 35-bedroom Chateau Miraval in the tiny village of Brignol.

Not far from Aix-en-Provence, property features a lake, a successful vineyard, a swimming pool, and a forest and moat, will become home to the Pitt-Jolie clan in around three months' time. Angelina is due to give birth to twins arrive on August 19, wants to give birth in France in tribute to her French grandmother and late mother who was actually French Canadian. The 1,000-acre estate and its 35 bedrooms seems perfect for their large brood of children which includes (at the moment) Maddox who is six, Zahara who is three, Pax, who they adopted last year, and 2 year old Shiloh. The chateau is located at the end of a three mile-long drive, offering loads of privacy. Their neighbors include Bono, The Edge and Johnny Depp and his partner Vanessa Paradis (can you imagine borrowing a cup of sugar from Johnny Depp? Sweet!).

Okay, what do you think the mortgage is on a place like this? Do they have a fixed rate or is flexible? Seriously how do you spend $70 MM on a home? Particularly when you already own a gorgeous house in New Orleans, and a house in Los Angeles. I know that Brad and Angie get paid a lot of money to make movies, but how do you come up with that much cash?

Are they going to continue to sell Chateau Miraval wine? Are they going to name vintages after their children? The mind boggles.

Excuse me, while I have a glass of Zahara Chardonnay 2009.