Sunday, February 13, 2011

Gwyneth Paltrow And Cee Lo Rock Grammys After Bad Teddy Pendergrass Tribute

Actress and (now) singer Gwyneth Paltrow and Cee Lo just rocked The Grammys with a soulful, spiritual duet, and just on the heels of a epically awful tribute to the late Teddy Pendergrass by Lady Antebellum.

Whatever The Grammys producers were thinking, Twitter's complaining about the result.

jbphebus Jason
by 6sixnine9
teddy pendergrass will have his revenge on lady antebellum
8 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

FuquaManuel FuquaManuel
by JulianaPache
Whoever thought "Lady Antebellum" was a good band name clearly did not form their band with the intention of having black fans. #CivilWar
13 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply


And there were other tweets even worse than that one!

Look, there's no question that Lady Antebellum is an excellent country rock band. But asking them to do the tribute for Teddy Pendergrass was a mistake.

The massively soulful voice of the legendary Pendergrass wasn't even partially evident in a segment that Lady Antebellum sang as if they were eager to get through it to sing their own music.

If there's justice in the World, Lady Antebellum should either ask for a do-over, or just apologize.

Meanwhile, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cee Lo burned down the house.

Thank you, Gwyneth and Cee Lo for saving us.

Lady Gaga Egg Wows Grammys 2011



The moment everyone was waiting for came and left, and it's still talked about online. Lady Gaga, never one for boring entrances at big events, didn't disappoint at the 53rd Grammy Awards, the Lady Gaga Egg wowed's Grammys 2011. And even the Grammy producers are asking you to rate the event, which you can do with a click here.

As for the Lady Gaga Egg (in this Plixi.com photo by Billboard), she was said to be "incubating" in it before the show, according to her creative director, Lori Ann Gibson, as told to Ryan Seacrest. She was not to be "born" until this evening and the Grammys, in this "womb" designed by the London fashion designed Hussein Chalayan.

Who?

Hussein Chalayan is an internationally celebrated fashion designer who, until tonight, was known more to those who paid constant attention to the fashio scene. Not anymore. The Hussein Chalayan is swamped, and website Designboom.com, which includes more information about the designer, has crashed as of this writing, all thanks to Lady Gaga.

Wow.

The 53rd Annual Grammys continue now, with a duet featuring Justin Bieber and Usher.

Grammys After Party Action At The Alta Club

The Alta Club at 1714 North McCadden Place in Hollywood, CA., is the place for the Grammy Party & CD Release Party for Doug Christie's daughter Chani Christie's new CD Lyrics & Lipstick, which comes out on Valentine's Day. The red carpet starts at 7 PM PST, Confirmed celebrities include: Doug Christie, Chani Christie, & Jackie Christie (Hosts). Also attending are Raven Symone, Madison Leslie, James Pitt, Maegan Stewart, Taya Rayden, Ice Marrow Jr, Harvey Walden, Taylor Parks, Paige Hurd, Austin Anderson, Mikey Reid, Kofi Siriboe, Kwame Boatend, and Alexis Swanstrom. For more information, call (323) 871-2401.


Valentine's Day 2011 In Oakland - Keep Your Money In Oakland

Ok, for all practical purposes, Valentine's Day 2011 is here, (or if you did it on Saturday, gone) even though it's really on Monday. And while I am in suburban Atlanta doing what I'm supposed to do at this stage of life - keeping my Mom company (she's in good health, thanks for asking) I have a life in Oakland, too. For all of my complaints about Oakland, it's a wonderful, beautiful city, that too often takes itself for granted.

So, on Valentine's Day 2011, I ask you to please keep your money in Oakland.  Don't go over to San Francisco, as I often do, or jet off to LA or New York or Chicago or Atlanta.  And it's nothing against SF or LA or New York or Chicago or Atlanta; I go because I know a lot of people there and Mom's here in the ATL.  But the more time you spend in Oakland, the more you realize it's a massively cool place to be.

I got a message from beautiful, dear friend, that she was going to try Miss Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant at 3345 Grand Avenue for the first time, and due in no small way to my video to get the word out about it. This one:



I highly recommend Miss Saigon for Valentine's Day 2011, or any year for that matter.

But maybe pho's not your thing and you want a really nice Valentine's Day experience?

In Oakland, no problem.

Go over to the Lake Chalet at 1520 Lakeside Drive, where you can sit at any one of a number of tables with a great view of the Lake. Here' a video from Lake Chalet's opening day in September of 2009, in case you have no idea what it looks like:



Or...

If you're desire is for a great steak dinner with your sweetie, go to Flora.  It's on the corner of Telegraph and 18th Street in Downtown Oakland across from The Fox Theater, and the Art Deco style is just the right backdrop if you want to make an impression, or just have a good time.

I also have to plug Luka's on Broadway and Grand.  It's for more than just dancing, drinking, and  romancing - the food's really improved.  I recently ordered a steak at Luka's and was out-of-this World surprised.  Since then, I've went back more just to eat.  If Flora's too crowded, go over to Luka's.

If you live in the Oakland Hills, and don't want to drive a long way, go to Crogan's on Mountain Blvd.  That place, for me, goes all the way back to Skyline High School days, but today the food is consistently good and inexpensive.

And if your bent is for something really different, go to Enssaro Ethiopian Restauant at 366 Grand Avenue. It's rare - actually, this is the first time - I recommend a place I've not yet tried - and that's only because of my addiction to steaks - but word of mouth about Enssaro is just insane. The place is getting rave reviews.

And back on steak, The Alley at 3325 Grand Avenue, has a great 20 ounce one that's off the menu.  It's just that Rod Dibble plays the piano on Saturday's so you'll miss him today or Monday.   I love to give Rod support, so make sure you have dinner there when he's playing.

Ok.  Enough from me.  Happy Valentine's Day, Oakland!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Yesha Callahan Was Rep. Chris Lee's Craigslist Valentines Date - Almost

Since the blog Gawker revealed that GOP Representative Chris Lee sent a racy photo of his shirtless self to a woman on Craigslist, thus providing the catalyst for his resignation from Congress, many have wondered who the female was.

On Thursday, we learned her identity.

Her name is Yesha Callahan, a 34-year-old single mother who works for the University of Maryland. For a set of reasons that seem to boil down to just plain boredom, Callahan put out the now-infamous Craigslist post that she was looking for someone who didn't look like a "toad."

What's great is that the fact Lee's white and Callahan's black has gone without conversation, and just may provide evidence that seems to fly in the face of the findings of a U.C. Berkeley study on online dating and race, to be released within weeks.

The study says that "In online dating, blacks more open to romancing whites than vice versa." And the lead author, UC Berkeley psychologist Gerald Mendelsohn, said "Whites more than blacks, women more than men and old more than young participants stated a preference for a partner of the same race." And from his preliminary findings, it's an 80 percent chance that would be the case.

Professor Mendelsohn (who give a nutty reason to back his study's conclusions that blacks are more likely to go after whites online, saying that blacks want to be a part of the "dominant racial group") didn't talk to the Republican Congressman Lee.

It was Lee who went after Callahan via her Craiglist post, which explained that she was an African American woman (and "black / Irish"), so her being black was an attraction for the GOP Conservative white male.

Take that Professor Mendelsohn!

What's so great about this otherwise rather sad story of the rapid downfall of a young Congressman is that it not only defies how some view American society, but fits my observations about how we've changed: a lot of Americans just don't care about race and those that do are more often than not treated as if they're cavepeople - which they are.

Now that we've got the race issue out of the way, - sort of, because it's still worthy of lengthy conversation, we can get back to the issue of Callahan and Lee.

Since Callahan "came out," she's been the focus of more than a little nasty commentary. Over at Gawker, commenters were obsessed with her 34 years of age (and all because she told Gawker she could pass for 24) as if that's a sure ticket to a death sentence. (34 is not "middle-aged and you should read Yesha's great blog post on this issue.)

Meanwhile, the 46-year-old Lee, who stepped down faster than it took LeBron James to announce he was going to The Miami Heat, went into hiding, but his wife is talking.

Michele Lee, 44, (a real looker, which makes you wonder what's going on between them) said they would try and work things out by taking a trip to the Florida Keys. The DailyMail UK reports that she's crushed and his father's "enraged" at the situation and the photo.

(Wait. What's his father got to do with it? Is Dad really just angry that his white congressman son used a popular website to arrange a hook-up with a black woman, and has to talk? Geez."Enraged?" Give me a break!)

The real problem is Chris Lee doesn't seem to have enjoyed his life. Otherwise, he'd not have resigned so quickly. But he did.

Lee was looking for a way out of his current existence, subconciously created an escape hatch, and jumped through it.

Now, he's almost a free man. And the rest is based on to what degree Chris Lee loves and wants to be exclusively with his wife.

Stay tuned.

And keep Dad out of it.

SF News: TransBay Terminal Demolition and Construction Update

As explained in this space before, the new San Francisco Transbay Terminal is under construction. Here's a recap of what happened, followed by a look forward:

Weekend Work (2/5/11 – 2/6/11): This weekend, underground utility work will continue on Howard Street at the intersection of Howard Street and Beale Street on Saturday and Sunday between the hours of 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM.

Demolition activities will take place at the West Terminal building. The Crusher/Conveyors operation at the Center Terminal lot this weekend will be in use between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM on Saturday.

Weekday Work: Weekday work will take place between Monday, February 7, 2011 and Friday, February 11, 2011. All contractors will work between the hours of 7:00 AM and 9:00 PM. Demolition activity to demolish the East Terminal building basement slab will continue into mid-February.

Demolition activity will continue through February at both the Center Terminal building and West Terminal building.

Demolition activity will take place at the old concrete traffic island on First Street between Mission and Howard Streets.

Underground utilities work will continue and include:

And here's what to expect this Valentine's Day weekend:

Underground utility work will continue on Howard Street between Main and Beale Streets (in front of the Temporary Terminal) between the hours of 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday.

Underground Utility work will continue along Minna Street between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM Saturday, February 12, 2011.

Demolition work will continue on Saturday, February 12, 2011 between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM, at the West Terminal Building. The Crusher/Conveyors will be in operation at the Center Terminal.


And the Transbay Terminal people say "If you have any urgent questions regarding site - specific demolition or construction activities, please call our construction activity number: (415) 409-TJPA (8572)."

Oakland Kona Club Ejects Patron For Negative Twitter Tweets

Talk about the bad business practices of sensitive bar workers, and the Kona Club comes to mind. This only because of the Club's unbelievable-but-true act of asking Aimee J to leave simply because she made a Twitter Tweet against them.

What good asking Aimee to leave the Kona Club - formerly the legendary King's X Bar on 4401 Piedmont Ave, between Pleasant Valley Ave and Ramona Ave (and not far from where my grandfather rests at Chapel Of The Chimes) - was going to do, I have no idea.

 It certainly did a lot of bad, including a bunch of tweets that can be seen on Twitter if one does an "Oakland" search today, and this blog post.

 Aimee took to Yelp to complain about the action:

Against my promises i would NEVER return to this place, I did, because friends were there and I am not to proud to bend to the will of my friends. And SHOCKINGLY i had just as horrible time as ever. I actually had this conversation- I CANNOT BELIEVE IT. them: "Are you the Aimee who has been tweeting against us?" (which i have- ONCE- after I was treated badly there the last time.) me : "Yes" them: "You are not welcome here anymore."
Instead of trying to make things right, they kicked me out again, because all this place is comprised of sad employees living off of low salaries and power trips.
I feel sorry for them mostly. I mean, I've already moved on in my life, but that is where they will be, serving their sad drinks, being jerks: FOREVER.
Pathetic really.
And regarding Aimee's first encounter with the Kona Club, she was asked to leave because she had too much to drink and reported what happened on Yelp on September 18th:



I have never been so humiliated in my life as I was last night, because of this place. I wish i could give this review ZERO stars. HORRIBLE staff.

We arrived about 10:50, the night was young and full of promise. However, when I walked into the bar I made the mistake of having my arm around my boyfriend's shoulders. This apparently made the female bartender there entirely positive that I was actually leaning on him for support, and was too drunk to drink any more. I had, in fact, had a couple of drinks already, couple that with it being Friday and a long day in the office, yeah I probably looked tired, I was! But cut off before the bartender even talked to me? It was funny (frustrating) though because it was that catch-22 situation- the more you argue you aren't drunk the drunker you sound right? LOL. So we just left and had a fabulous night elsewhere therefore ultimately it wasn't a big deal, but I think the principle of it is what bothers me now. I've never been "cut off" from a bar in my life!!! I mean, truth be told, the female bartender was a bit homely and well, plus-sized, my speculation is that she really enjoyed having the power over another woman?

I've been here before and have never been impressed by the service or the bar, and i certainly will not ever return. This is a mediocre bar, with expensive mediocre drinks, sub-par staff and INCREDIBLY cheesy decor. If you're near it yeah i guess stop by as you're waiting to go somewhere else, don't EVER make this place your main event though, unless you're aiming for humiliation. I dunno, may be you're into that kind of thing. haha.


Ok. The Kona Club was both wrong and right: wrong for ejecting Aimee for a critical bar review, but right for cutting her off from having more cocktails during her first visit in 2010. The Kona Club may have saved Aimee from a DUI or at least made her think that stopping drinking was a good idea. The Kona Club should be applauded for that. What the bartender should have done is nicely said "hon, you need a lot of water before your next round. OK?" That would have added sugar to the salt.

But kicking Aimee out later, this year and for negative Twitter tweets, wasn't cool. That's where the Kona Club needs to find Aimee on Twitter @inaimless and apologize to her.

As for Aimee, I recommend visiting The Alley at 3325 Grand Avenue in Oakland. The patrons are helpful. The bartenders, Jennifer and Jackie (who's also the owner) are my long-time friends, and are great. Plus, you can sing your ass off with Rod Dibble at the piano, which is a great diversion from drinking more than you should!


Brandon McDonald, Detroit Lions CB, On Fat Women And Buffets

Perhaps thinking expressed in Twitter Tweets like the one Detroit Lions Cornerback Brandon McDonald sent out today will help curb obesity:




Mane I'm hungrier than 39 fat bishes at a all u can eat buffet....
44 minutes ago via TweetCaster Favorite Retweet Reply


Now, let's think about that for a moment.

First, apparently, Brandon McDonald associates "all you can eat" buffets with getting fat. Second, he thinks of women when he thinks of "all you can eat" buffets, and getting fat. Third, he thinks not of one of them, or 10, or 20, or 40, but of 39 "fat women." (I dare not even use that other term).

Just for research, Googling "All You Can Eat" buffet comes up with a Wikipedia listing that reads, in part:




Another form, known as the all-you-can-eat buffet, is more free-form: customers pay a fixed fee and can then help themselves to as much food as they wish to eat in a single meal. This form is found often in restaurants, especially in hotels.


So, Brandon McDonald, Detroit Lions Cornerback and food expert, probably should have mentioned hotels in his Twitter Tweet about fat women and all-you-can-eat buffets.

As one who enjoys all-you-can-eat buffets, and occasionally with women, including my Mom when we visit Vegas, I must explain I have yet to see what he's tweeting about on Twitter. I think he gave both all-you-can-eat buffets and overweight women a really bad rap.

As they say on ESPN's NFL Prime Time, C'MOM, Man!

And now all of this buffet talk's making me hungry!