RIP LeRoi

I've been a pretty big slacker lately with the celebrity obits on this site, but when it came to the passing of Dave Matthews Band saxophonist LeRoi Moore, I just had to write something. As many of my friends know, I'm an unabashed DMB fan — the owner of several bootlegs, t-shirts, and the occasional poster. Their music has pretty much served as a soundtrack for my life since high school, and while there are many who deride the band (a.k.a. most of my friends), I still am fiercely loyal. Tonight (or rather, last night) I went to my twentieth concert, and I'm not gonna lie — I was actually not looking forward to it. I thought the concert was supposed to be on Wednesday; so when my friend called and said "You still on for tonight?" I had to suddenly rearrange all my plans and writing schedule in order to trek down to the Staples Center in downtown. Point is, I wasn't in a concert mindset. But boy am I glad that I went.

The Olympic Games may be in full swing these days, but they're not the only place to find intense sparring, emotional intrigue, and slack-jawed googly eyes. No, for all those fine elements (particularly the latter), we have The Hills, which made its triumphant, if arbitrary return for Season Four last night on MTV. I say arbitrary because I'm still wondering why the second half of season three was actually still considered season three when in fact the break between both halves of that season was longer than the break between seasons three and four. Oh well, it's all semantics anyway, and given that the show already has a dubious enough timeline as it is, we really shouldn't be at all surprised by MTV's bizarre choices in the labeling department.

But look at me. I'm already babbling about something insignificant when in fact there is plenty more to discuss. The new season has yielded two new characters: Heidi's younger sister Holly and Lauren's new boy DOUG (pronounced like "UGH"). Both new faces have yet to do anything particularly regrettable — besides the unfortunate decision to make breakfast at the crack of 11:45 AM in the Speidi household — however, I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of petty drama from them soon enough.

For now though, we'll just have to rely on our old mainstays to create all the tension in the show. I'm talking, of course, about Audrina and Lo, who took some major steps forward in their quest to take major steps back in their friendship. The two girls are like oil and water — or rather, bronzer and some OTHER bronzer — and it's becoming more and more obvious that they can never be friends. How am I so sure? Well, for starters, there was Audrina who said, "WE'LL NEVER BE FRIENDS." Yeah, not quite the mending Oprah moment Lauren would want. I'm getting way ahead of myself though. Let's start this recap from the top...

With today being the seven year anniversary of me moving to Los Angeles, I decided to browse nostalgically through my old iPhoto library, and much to my surprise, I came across a series of photos that I never published back at TVgasm. If memory serves me correctly, I refrained from posting the pics because I had been put on the VIP list for some party (that's how I roll), and then when I arrived, the organizers forced me to pay a $20 cover to get in. It was kind of bullshit, and I really don't know why I didn't turn around and leave right that moment. Nevertheless, my petty revenge was to not post anything about the event and deprive the organizers of valuable publicity (I think they were hawking some calendar), but as a result, a minor trove of D-list celeb pics fell by the wayside. Until now.

After the jump, the long lost photos as well as two bonus pics from the Playboy Mansion (I told you. That's how I roll, yo)...

This past weekend, I made my MTV debut on the launch special for the upcoming season of The Hills. It was a momentous talking head occasion — my finest contribution to The Hills canon since I coined the term "Speidi" back last year.

But I won't tease you any longer. To see my first illustrious MTV appearance, follow the jump...

It's Sunday night, which means after an interminable two day wait, CBS has blessed us with another episode of Big Brother. There wasn't anything particularly stunning about this latest installment, but it was fun and funny all the same — culminating in two laugh-out-loud segments focusing on first April's "pet" poodle Polly and then on Ollie's strange phobia of birds. The latter scene provided us with another golden nugget from Michelle, who noted that Ollie would have been screwed in the age of "dinosaahhs" as a pterodactyl would have most certainly swooped down and ate him. You know what else would have been terrifying? THE DINOSAURS.

Nevertheless, this first episode of Renny's reign featured all too little frantic screaming from her. In fact, the best we got was some strange wheezing, but I don't feel comfortable really making fun of that as it came in response to her seeing pictures of her deceased parents. Even Keesha kept her shrieking to a minimum, eschewing her weekly meltdown in favor of quiet googly eyes towards Memphis. Speaking of whom, Memphis has quietly positioned himself perfectly with all alliances in the house. Everyone seems to like him, but make no mistake about it: he's still on everyone's radar, especially after he won that car (whose prices seems to escalate every week) back on week one. If April goes this week, look for the target to go back on him (assuming it doesn't land on Renny and Keesha). Also, note the way Michelle has so quickly and deftly distanced herself from Jerry, Ollie, and April. Wasn't it just a week ago that they were all buddy-buddy? She may be crazy/Portuguese (much in the same way that Renny is a Babe/Mom), but she seems to know what she's doing.

Anyway, onto the photocap...

Time to blatantly shill: as I mentioned earlier this month, MTV interviewed me for their upcoming launch special for The Hills: Season 4. That program, titled Drama in The Hills: US Weekly Presents the Top 10 Most Memorable Moments Ever, will be premiering Saturday afternoon at 1 PM EST. I'm sure I will only be featured for a grand total of 6.2 seconds (if at all), but hey, something's better than nothing.

To complement the special, I was going to post my own choices for the top ten moments of Hills history, but alas, time is fleeting, and I must be off for morning activities and obligations. Perhaps later today...

Back in May, I posted about my semi-awkward encounter with Lenny Kravitz in Prague, and I'm happy to report that the commercial around which the whole debacle centered has finally made it to air. Above, check out the new spot for Kohl's, and know that in one of those windows behind Lenny's head, my mom and I are standing there wondering what in the hell is goin' on with all these crazy people in the square (we couldn't see Lenny from our viewpoint). Oh if only the Museum of Decorative Arts had received a close-up — we coulda been stars!

Recently, my friend IndianJones and I dropped by local watering hole Cabo Cantina for a few beers and encountered that most glorious of Los Angeles events: the child star sighting! I quickly whipped out my camera and very subtly snapped a few shots. Only one turned out well though.

So who was the mystery man? Answer after the jump...

Because Mad Men is such a wonderful, all-encompassing experience, I'm never one to pass up an article about any of its cast members, even if one of those cast members plays a loathsome snake in the Sterling Cooper agency. And so it is on that note that I bring you this Associated Press interview with Elisabeth Moss and Vincent Kartheiser, who play Peggy Olson and Pete Campbell on the acclaimed AMC drama. Turns out Peggs and Pete (or rather, the actors playing them) knew each other in real life, but alas, life does not follow art and no secret babies emerged from the original Moss-Kartheiser union.

To read more about these two, click here.

Between CBS.com's slow posting schedule and my random trip to Vegas, I've been a bit behind with the Big Brother photocaps. That's not to say I'm any less entertained with the show. In fact, Big Brother 10 has been on an absolute tear the past few weeks. It's astounding how good this season has been. I'm almost sad that anyone has to even leave the house as the current configuration of characters has led to nothing but outrageous outbursts and nonsensical screaming, usually thanks to some dumb comment that's been misinterpreted ten times over.

Take, for example, the big blowout between Keesha, Libra, April, and Michelle. It all stemmed from a joke that Libra made at a "feast" that the house guests had won. Whether you love Libra or hate her, you can't deny that her joke was nothing more than just that — a joke. However, Michelle interpreted it as an attack on April and Keesha and perhaps the entire country. One thing led to another, and suddenly the lovey-dovey Feast of Dreams turned into an all out cat fight amongst the women. (Incidentally, the CBS show only showed a small portion of the silliness that transpired that night — which included, but was not limited to Michelle throwing pillows around the house and yelling at the top of her lungs.) It's honestly a shame that Libra or Keesha have to leave this week because I fear these brawls will never be the same.

Meanwhile, the ladies weren't the only ones making fools of themselves. Jerry ascended to the ranks of Sanctimonious Fool (an honor which seems to fall on at least one cast member every season). The old coot continued to go on and on about Dan hiding behind his cross, going so far as to call him "Judas" on multiple occasions. I don't think you need me to articulate why this logic is so flawed, but I will anyway. Jerry seems to have forgotten how on week one of the competition, he blatantly broke his word to Brian — so much so that he had to remove all his military garb when doing so. How was this different from Dan's actions. Jerry also noted how Dan vowed to give up his religion before betraying Jessie, but as far as I can tell, that deal was off the instance Jessie tried to get Dan nominated when Keisha was HOH. The point of this is that Jerry needs to shut his mouth (except for when he yells strange things like "BEEP BEEP!" "Hooonnnk!" or "SCREW YOU, PEOPLE!")

Anyway, onto last night's photocap...

Apologies for the lack of posts for the past day and a half. As you can see from this picture, I enjoyed a brief jaunt to Vegas. I should have new Big Brother photocaps up soon, not to mention a few pics from Sin City. Thank you for your patience...

When it comes to celebrity gossip, other blogs specialize in Brangelina or Nicole Kidman or Tom Cruise. Me? I specialize in former stars of Picket Fences. Or at least, that's the trend I'm hoping to start. That's right, over this past weekend, my friends and I came smack-dab, face-to-face with none other than Costas Mandylor, former cast member of the beloved '90s drama, Picket Fences. Normally, such a B-List sighting would barely get a mention, but in this case, there was a bit of hubbub around the actor, thanks to my friend Meeshie, who coincidentally happens to be Costas Mandylor's biggest. fan. ever. Well, actually she's only his #2 biggest fan ever (the #1 spot is reserved for Meeshie's mom).

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to find myself a primo spot in Julie Chen's live audience for Big Brother. It was an experience that was both massively entertaining and wildly surreal. As soon as it was over, I wanted to go back, but I soon learned that contrary to what the show's staff says and encourages, repeat visits are a no-no with the ticketing company. Well, I wasn't about to let some arbitrary, bureaucratic decision by a third party hinder my Big Brother experience. That's right, my friends and I headed straight back to the CBS Radford studio lot and plopped ourselves back in the BB audience. It wasn't easy though, and the chain of events that led to our seating verged on saga status. But we made it, and we were lucky enough to see one of the most amazingly idiotic exit interviews ever.

The full story — including Jessie's Early Show interview, the story behind that "whoop" during Libra's vote, and how I won a free t-shirt — after the jump...

So we meet again, Chenbot.

Once again, I was able to get into the Big Brother live audience tonight, and what a fantastic night to go. It was great. I came even closer to meeting the Chenbot, but alas it wasn't meant to be. On the upside, I won a free t-shirt. Bet you're really intrigued now!

Like last time, I'm too tired to write up the story tonight. Look for it sometime later today...

For all of you who haven't heard, Julie Chen has been popping up on The Late Late Show every Wednesday to chat with Craig Ferguson and the Big Brother house guests. The first week this happened, it was actually fairly hilarious, but that's because Craig Ferguson was pretty much screwing with house guests the entire time. In the ensuing weeks, he's softened up, and as a result, the segment has suffered for it — just not quite as funny. However, the interaction can still be entertaining, and on last night's episode, we learned three very important things. First, Julie Chen does a mean air-snap. Second, Libra just turned twenty-nine yesterday, despite her official CBS bio indicating that she was thirty-one at the beginning of the game (a medical miracle!!). And third, the majority of the house guests believe the earthquake last week was actually fake — an elaborate hoax made by CBS. Only Michelle, Jessie, Memphis, and Dan think there was actually a seismic event. Hey, I never said they were the smartest group of people, but they sure are entertaining.