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!