B-Side Blog

COMMENT OF THE WEEK: 4/4/11 – 4/10/11

In an effort to promote further activity on the site and community building and all that fun stuff, Iâ€™ve decided to introduce a Comment of the Week feature that will highlight some of the best and funniest contributions by you, my dear readers. Whoever is selected will have his or her quote featured on the sidebar for a whole week (oooooh!!) and will thus be able to use those bragging rights in whatever manner seems appropriate.

I must say that there were some funny comments this week, partially thanks to some leftovers from last week’s Ina Garten flame war. But whose commentary reigned supreme? Why, it’s this one:

“Damn. Why is a dick in a mouth an insult? It’s a positive thing for most people. Just sayin.” — Dainsey on Make-A-Wish Kid Rejects Ina Garten, Is Awful

Runners up after the jump…

Continue reading “COMMENT OF THE WEEK: 4/4/11 – 4/10/11”

Inside The First Ever ‘Reality Rocks Expo’ in Los Angeles

Exciting news for reality TV fans. This past weekend, Los Angeles played host to the first ever Reality Rocks Expo, an event that brought reality stars, reality fans, and reality producers together for one big reality bonanza of epic proportions. The convention took place on Saturday and Sunday, and while I didn’t get a chance to make it over on the first day (when apparently all the “big” stars were present), I did meander down to the Los Angeles Convention Center on Sunday to check out the scene.

Pics from the expo after the jump. Continue reading “Inside The First Ever ‘Reality Rocks Expo’ in Los Angeles”

THE QUAFF: Roasted Red Pepper Juleps

How dreadful that it’s been practically three weeks since I last updated anything in The Quaff category. Well, I’ve been behind on all my posting in general, but I’m determined to catch up, beginning with a new addition to this category. I’m happy to report I have a fun item that I whipped up with my friends Sly and Aletheia, who were both present at the very first “Fresh Cocktail Hour” two years ago, which centered on homemade Bloody Marys. Since then, anytime my friends and I convene to crank out some libations from scratch, we call it “Fresh Cocktail Hour,” and so as you can imagine, having the original F.C.H. trio back in action was quite the momentous occasion (Aletheia unfortunately lives in another city).

Anyway, in an effort to out-do ourselves once again, we turned again towards my favorite cocktail book, Organic, Shaken, and Stirred (which about six of my friends have now purchased — you’re welcome, Paul Abercrombie). We wanted a cocktail that seemed new and different, and so we decided on the Roasted Red Pepper Julep. Our journey after the jump… Continue reading “THE QUAFF: Roasted Red Pepper Juleps”

REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NYC PHOTOCAP: No Bethenny? No Problem! New York Ladies Return Just As Great

When Bethenny Frankel left The Real Housewives of New York City, it was certainly a loss to the show, but people acted like it could never recover. Well, they’re wrong. The season premiere of RHONYC proved that everything is just fine. We still have the crazy, we still have the drama, and quite frankly, after sitting through Miami and what has proven to be a rather dull season of Orange County, I could not be happier to have the varsity gals of NYC back on TV. Continue reading “REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NYC PHOTOCAP: No Bethenny? No Problem! New York Ladies Return Just As Great”

Inside the Painted Nail Spring Launch Party

A few nights ago, my friend Katie had a party to celebrate the launch of her new Painted Nail products, and so my crew (IndianJones and Phamtastic) and I all trekked on over to see what the hullaballoo was about. Here’s the thing: when Katie throws a party, you go. Last time I dropped by one of her events, I got a picture with Maria Conchita Alonso. ‘Nuff said.

Anyway, for those of you who aren’t familiar, Katie runs a much-lauded nail salon here in Los Angeles, and soon it shall be featured prominently on the TV Guide reality show The Nail Files, starring Katie and her boyfriend Walter. I’m happy to report the cameras were rolling at the party, which means my burgeoning side career of appearing briefly in the background of reality shows continues to thrive. (Stay tuned to Bravo for more on that front)

After the jump, a few random pics from the event… Continue reading “Inside the Painted Nail Spring Launch Party”

QUICK HIT: Tom Brady and Gisele BÃ¼ndchen Are Building A Massive Mansion

Tom and Gisele are building a new house, and it is huge. Perhaps too huge? That’s okay though. The QB deserves some luxurious indulgences after having suffered two enormous chokes at the hands of New York teams. And while he’ll never be as great as he once was, at least Tom has this sweet pad to go home to (once it’s completed). I’m sure it even comes with a quiet, dark room in which Tom can reflect on the many ways he’s disappointed superfans like IndianJones over the years.

To check out more pics of the palatial Los Angeles estate under construction, follow the link below.

Socialite Life: Holy Monstrosity Gisele & Tom!

Housewife Hoedown, Episode 15: The Miami Reunion

Video streaming by Ustream

In case you missed it, we just wrapped another episode of Housewife Hoedown. Ronnie from TVgasm joined me again as we discussed last night’s out of control Miami reunion. I also shared stories about meeting Lisa VanderPump and Taylor Armstrong, and we touched on The Real Housewives of Orange County briefly.

Check it out, and be sure to tune in next Wednesday at 12:30 PM (PST) to watch it live!

REAL HOUSEWIVES OF MIAMI PHOTOCAP: Â¡Reunion Caliente! (as told by inanimate objects)

We’ve seen a lot of trainwrecks on Bravo. Heck, the network was built on trainwrecks. But pretty much nothing comes close to the mess that was last night’s Real Housewives of Miami live reunion show. First off: some minor bitching. Bravo decided to couch the reunion into a Watch What Happens episode, and for those of us who don’t DVR that show, we got majorly screwed when no reunion show recorded. Luckily, I managed to catch a later airing of the reunion, but if I had to nominate JACKHOLE of the week, it would be Bravo for being sneaky in trying to snag viewers into their WWH web.

Lingering resentment aside, the reunion was a total mess. In some ways I loved it. But in most ways, I found myself just shaking my head. Host Andy Cohen looked overwhelmed, often staring at the women with a look of total befuddlement… much as the rest of America most certainly was. It was kind of hilarious.

Continue reading “REAL HOUSEWIVES OF MIAMI PHOTOCAP: Â¡Reunion Caliente! (as told by inanimate objects)”

ADVENTURES IN DOMESTICITY: Mint Fudge Ice Cream Edition

I’ve been on a small ice cream kick lately ever since I procured David Lebovitz’s food bible, The Perfect Scoop. Actually, it had been more of a chocolate sorbet kick, but last week I decided to elevate my game with an attempt at mint ice cream. It’s difficult for me to have ice cream without the presence of chocolate though; so I turned the volume up — as Ina would say — and also stirred in some homemade chocolate fudge ripple.

The results after the jump… Continue reading “ADVENTURES IN DOMESTICITY: Mint Fudge Ice Cream Edition”

REAL HOUSEWIVES OF MIAMI PHOTOCAP: The Drama Finally Arrives Just As The Season Ends

Because of some non-blog related work I was dealing with last week, I fell behind with all my photocaps, and while some I just won’t get around to, I wanted to send off The Real Housewives of Miami properly. After all, who knows if we’ll see them again? The season was universally panned, and while the reunion airs tonight, I don’t have high hopes for it. For the first time ever, the entire shebang will be live, which means that we’ll probably get stuck with a lot of awkward pauses and fewer sparks than we’d actually like. The benefit of having Andy Cohen tape this stuff ahead of time is that the group can sit on those big couches for hours on end, allowing the producers to cull enough pointed material to ideally make a decent reunion. I’m not sure Andy will be able to wring the same drama out of these ladies that he might have been able to over the course of a long afternoon.

In fact, that Bravo isn’t investing a full day’s worth of taping (and consequent editing) suggests that maybe the network simply doesn’t have faith in this show. Maybe they just want to get this reunion over with and move on. The sad part is that while Miami has been more or less a dud, it finally upped its game in its last episode. Larsa Pippen blossomed into the Ã¼ber-bitch we always knew she could be, and for the first time all season, I was fired up. If only Bravo had started with this episode…

Continue reading “REAL HOUSEWIVES OF MIAMI PHOTOCAP: The Drama Finally Arrives Just As The Season Ends”