B-Side Blog Goes to 'The Soup,' Enjoyable Experiences Follow

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Last Thursday, I had a whirlwind day. First I had the pleasure of attending the penultimate Big Brother episode of the season, then I got to meet Julie Chen, and then I hopped into my car and drove from the Big Brother house directly to the E! Studios to catch a taping of The Soup. Needless to say, it was a long but fulfilling afternoon, and I can think of no better way to end a hectic Thursday than by settling into Joel McHale’s audience and spending an hour or so laughing at pop culture.
My experience after the jump…

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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Celine Dion But Were Too Afraid To Ask

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WELL BONJOUR.

My publicist friend recently gave me a heads up on something, and never wanting to deprive my readers (or her clients) of an ample opportunity, I’m here to report that Céline Marie Claudette Dion — wife of René Angélil and mother of René-Charles Dion Angélil — will be the focus of an in depth special by French-language channel TV5MONDE. That’s right: lucky viewers will get nearly an hour of personal insights from our favorite self-flagellating singer, and even better, it will all be in French! (Or so I imagine.)
Here’s the official description:
“Denise Bombardier, who accompanied the singer on her ‘Taking Chances World Tour,’” performs the 52 minute interview, in which Celine Dion looks back at the highlights of her 20-year career and discusses her family life and future projects, among other topics.”
So gather ’round the TV, warm up a plate of poutine, and prepare to be dazzled by the greatest singer in the world!
The fun begins on Sunday, September 14th at 7pm ET.

Taking on iTunes Genius

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Yesterday, Apple released iTunes 8, which features a nifty new feature called “Genius.” By using fancy algorithms and special analytical tools (ie. MAGIC), Genius builds a playlist based on your listening habits, other people’s listening habits, and various other variables which are probably too complex for me to comprehend. It’s the same concept as last.fm and Pandora (apparently — I’ve never used either).
Always eager to embrace new technology, I decided to give Genius a test run with a variety of songs, ranging from Top 40 hits to cheesy ’80s ballads. The results after the jump…

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Vintage Car Spurs Gawking, Banter

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This afternoon, I celebrated Los Angeles’s 227th birthday by engaging in one of the city’s unofficial traditions: car washing. Of course, I didn’t do it myself — I’m far too lazy/delicate for such an endeavor. Instead I brought my fair Toyota Camry to my usual spot on Spaulding and Melrose where nothing but a team of hardworking guys scrub the cars down by hand. No machines, no whirling rag-things, no robots. Just good old fashioned elbow grease. Because of this 100% hand-washed policy, this particular car wash attracts a high caliber of vehicles, which surely my Camry belongs to. I’m talking about Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, and various other brands that are just a tad out of my price range. Today, however, a striking, electric-blue Lincoln Zephyr pulled up, and it was so eye-catching, I just had to take a picture.
Prior to doing so, however, I talked to the owner of the car, who told me all about his experiences as a car collector / enthusiast / restorer. It was pretty interesting, but the amount of upkeep in dealing with those vintage automobiles sounded entirely too overwhelming to me. I have a hard enough time keeping my Camry clean, let alone some whale from the ’40s. Nevertheless, the guy said his Zephyr was one of only forty-one in the entire world. I don’t remember what year the model was, but it was a surefire stunner — and this is coming from me, a guy who really doesn’t give two cow plops about cars. After the jump, one more pic of the car’s front grill, which the owner encouraged me to see. It was quite spectacular. I only wish I had taken more pics of the entire car. Oh well. I’m sure there’s a gallery somewhere online.

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THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Los Angeles Turns 227 Today!

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Happy Birthday, Los Angeles! According to LAist, this fine city reached the ripe old age of 227 today, which means that for the next year, we’ll be allowed to make as many Jackée, Lester, Pearl, Brenda, and “Oooooh Mary” puns as we want (assuming they pertain to Los Angeles). What glorious potential!

ADVENTURES IN DOMESTICITY: Artichoke & Chicken Edition

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This past weekend, I stayed in on Saturday night, and in an effort to add a dash of excitement into the evening, I cooked up a nicer meal than usual. On the menu: chicken piccata with a steamed artichoke on the side. I was also going to whip up some chocolate tartlets for dessert, but I forgot to buy whole milk; so that addition had to be tabled. Anyway, culled from various recipes on the Food Network website, the meal was an unmitigated success. And of course, I took photos — although, my camerawork was spotty, and I managed to miss many vital steps along the way. Oh well.

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Adios, HAIR.

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In honor of the season finale of Shear Genius tonight, and in honor of my coif getting entirely too difficult to maintain, I’ve decided to do something drastic today. I’m cutting my hair off! This shall come as a pleasant surprise to my friends and family (particularly IndianJones and my friend Andrea who were always very vocal about the bird’s nest on my head). Of course, I can’t just get my hair chopped off without a little documentation. So please enjoy my journey from long-haired bum to dapper, short-cropped gent. To quote Kitty Sanchez: “Take a good look because it’s the LAST time you’ll see these!”

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LIVE FLIGHT BLOG: Seriously, This Is Live

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I’ve done a lot of flight blogs — or flogs — in my time, but never in all my time have I been able to actually LIVE blog my flights. Granted, I call it liveblogging as I’m typing what I observe as it happens, but the truth is that I don’t usually publish my flogs until several hours after I’ve touched down. Not this time, my friends. American Airlines just introduced in-flight Wi-Fi five days ago on selected routes, and yours truly has the luxury of flying one of those special planes. Thanks to GoGo, I’m able to stay connected to the internet for the duration of my flight for a flat fee of $13. It’s a bit steep, I suppose, but the ability to be on email THE WHOLE WAY more than makes up for the slight pecuniary injustice. And yes, I’m on a transcontinental flight — so spread over five hours (ish) of travel time, it’s a pretty good deal. I’m not sure I could say the same for the New York to Miami route, but then again, it all depends on how desperately anyone wants to check their email.
Nevertheless, let’s start this flog already!

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Honk If You Love Leafy Greens!

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In honor of last night’s Project Runway, which introduced America to the sassy yet demanding ways of drag queen Hedda Lettuce, I’ve decided to post this similarly bizarre ode to leafy greens: a license plate that says “I &hearts CHARD.” Now, I’m sure we all love Swiss chard as much as the next person, but going so far as to immortalize your adoration in license plate form truly represents a passion above and beyond what the casual kale or escarole enthusiast would be able to muster. I’ve truthfully never encountered someone with such a rabid obsession with chard, but hey, I’m not going to turn my nose up at it — even though it is bat-sh*t crazy. Everyone’s allowed to embrace the leafy green of their choice. In fact, I’d like to see more license plates boasting unfettered love for salad ingredients, if only to see how “dandelion greens” condenses down to an appropriate, DMV-approved length.

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