Friday, June 30, 2006

Weekend update...

Cindy: I've got the flat to myself this weekend because Sharon's off to Belgium for the Kula Cafe (sp?) festival.

Vanessa: She's taking the laptop with her, leaving me net-less for the weekend... still, it's her laptop.

Cindy: Getting extra money thanks to working an extra hour each morning.

Vanessa: Working an extra hour each morning.

Cindy: Only a few more days and this damn WC is overoverOVEROVER!!!! And with Tim "I make Dakota Fanning look butch" Henman out of Wimbledon already no fucking Henmania this year.

Vanessa: Still more footy to go. And Big Brother. (Bianca and her cleavage are cancelled out by her being a fan of both of 'em and not of Lost.)

Cindy: Erica Campbell, for sending me a little note of thanks for the email I sent her. With the word "Hug" involved. What a nice image to go out on. :)

Cindy Crawford removes her mole!... Oh wait.

Cindy Crawford's moles are famous the world over, but now, the supermodel has got three of them removed because she is concerned about skin cancer.
Crawford, who is a spokeswoman for skin cancer awareness, has had three others removed - two on her back and one on her stomach.
The model said that though the famous mole on her face was still intact, other on her back and stomach had been removed as smaller skin blemishes are the most at risk from cancer.
"The mole on my face isn't the type that's dangerous, but I have others and I get checked every year. The three I had removed looked like a collection of almost flat, tiny spots,"
The Sun quoted her, as saying. (ANI)


So we can safely say she won't wind up looking like Brigitte Bardot. Or, apparently, acting like her. And yes, that's a good thing.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

No Jessica, no Erica, no thanks.

I was really looking forward to the video for "A Public Affair" until it turned out to be Alba-deficient. And I was rooting for Erica Campbell to get honoured by Playboy twice; not interested in Louise Glover. At all.

Not important, true, but neither are a bunch of men running around a field kicking a ball.

Monday, June 26, 2006

The Cindy Spot presents Five reasons why you have to hand it to Aaron Spelling.

Top of the Pops ending was hardly unexpected, but hearing about the passing of Aaron Spelling was a real shock. Okay, he was no one's idea of a high-class producer (like voodoojoe, I always liked Stephen J. Cannell better - although probably unlike the Cuthbert fan I also had fond feelings for Glen Larson before he became too crap even for me); true, if his feelings in The Glass Teat are any indication, Harlan Ellison won't exactly be mourning; and yes, I admit I wasn't keen on most of his signature shows - even as a boy I could tell The Love Boat, Dynasty and Charlie's Angels weren't much good, although admittedly I was at the age before boys (well, the ones who aren't gay, that is) realise how much girls have to offer ;) . Nonetheless, The Cindy Spot presents five reasons why you have to hand it to Aaron Spelling:

1. Durability. When you're producing successful TV shows in the 1960s (The Mod Squad) and you're still producing them in the 21st century (7th Heaven), you have to be doing something right. Sheldon Leonard (The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Spy) and Norman Felton (Dr. Kildare, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) couldn't keep up the pace, even though their shows were more acclaimed, but Spelling just kept going and going.
2. Knowing that time changes. Spelling always knew what people wanted through the ages, and it says a lot that a guy well in his dotage could do so well on a TV landscape featuring Fox and the WB, Summerland and the new version of Burke's Law notwithstanding.
3. Aspirations. Everyone mentions Starsky & Hutch and Beverly Hills 90210, but few ever mention And The Band Played On and Spelling Entertainment co-producing Twin Peaks.
4. Patience. Not many of us would give Shannen Doherty another chance.
5. Services to mankind. Peggy Lipton, Melinda Clarke, Jaclyn Smith, Alyssa Milano, Jessica Biel, Keri Russell, Rose McGowan, Julie McCullough, Holly Marie Combs, Jennie Garth, Jamie Luner, Heather Locklear...

All of which atones for his also reviving Joan Collins' career.

The Cindy Spot presents: Better luck next time.

There were supposed to be uploaded pictures of her, her, her, her and especially her here, but one wouldn't be uploaded, one was impossible to find in a SFW mode, and the other three ended up as red Xs in squares. So it's back to the ol' links....

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Give me strength.

Vile rightwing harpy Ann Coulter is currently over here promoting her latest book. You'd think there wouldn't be room for two such staggering cuntheads to be parading their views in the same country. You would be wrong. Following the report on a woman sentenced to prison for knowingly spreading HIV, Hannah Pool strikes again...

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

"...and in my opinion, it's about f***ing time!"

Today marks the end of an era; or more appropriately, a dose of euthanasia.
The BBC finally put Top of the Pops out of our misery after 42 increasingly irrelevant years and makeovers that ultimately saw it on Sundays at 7pm. After the weekly chart rundown on Radio 1. And on minority channel BBC2. (In its heyday it was on Thursdays on the flagship BBC1 channel and served as an overture to the weekend.)
It can't have come as a surprise to anyone, really. The moment MTV arrived the writing was just about on the wall - less and less point as the years went by. (This is also why attempts to launch the show in America never worked.) Goodbye, and really good riddance.

Monday, June 19, 2006

Apparently fifty million Frenchmen can be wrong.

Having had the US one, the UK one and the Australian one, we now have a look at how French FHM readers voted. Someone must have put something in the water there, because... well, see for yourself. As ever, ones I approve of in italics.

1. Adriana Karembeu. Model, and apparently wife of a footballer. Hm.
2. Naomi Watts. She's nice, but not that nice.
3. Tara Reid. You will hear the phrase "Is this a joke?" mentioned a lot here. This, with all due respect to KMB, is the first instance.
4. AngelifuckoffFUCKOFFFUCKOFF!!!!!
5. Alyssa Milano. Depending on how far M6 is along (the French channel that shows Charmed), she may not be this high next year.
6. Ségoléne Royal. French politician, tipped as the next President of the Republic and a cross, as such, between Hillary Clinton and Carol Vorderman. Having Googled her, she's certainly no Ann Widdecombe, but nonetheless we are very definitely in "Is this a joke?" territory methinks. Frankly, she's no Benazir Bhutto.
7. Poppy Montgomery. Star of FBI, Portes disparus - or as we know it, Without A Trace.
8. Loana. Model/TV presenter.
9. Laure Manaudou. Athlete swimming her way up.
10. Jessica Simpson. Last year she was at 100.
11. Carmen Electra. Last year she was... right here.
12. Brooke Burke. All because of Burger King, Rock Star:INXS and marrying that fellow who used to be Matt on Baywatch.
13. Cameron Diaz. Will she ever be off this thing?
14. Cecile de France. Cute French actress who hopefully will get another chance in the English-speaking world after Around the World in 80 Days. (I said it last year, but it still applies.)
15. Penelope Cruz. Soon to be teaming up with Salma Hayek. Yum.
16. Nathalie Marquay. Another TV presentrice. Nice.
17. Kate Beckinsale. I hope KS doesn't mind, since Rachel isn't here.
18. Virginie Elfra. Beautiful TV person.
19. Charlize Theron. That Dior commercial where she takes off all her clothes can't have hurt. 20. Ingrid Chauvin. French thespian.
21. Yasmine. Adult performer, apparently. FHM cover subject, definitely.
22. Marie Drucker. France 3 newsperson. They have some sexy anchors in France.
23. Sonia Rolland. Miss France contestant/TV presenter. (I said that last year, I admit.)
24. Maud. And then there's... a graduate of Star Academy.
25. Bérénice Bejo. Actress.
26. Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson. Be off, and take your lady lumps with you.
27. Eve Angeli. Singer.
28. Jennifer Garner. Still hanging in there, rightly.
29. Elsa Pataky. Spanish actress due to be in the next Asterix film. As is, less appealingly... to be continued.
30. Jessica Alba. 30? 30? Is this a joke?
31. Tera Patrick. Porn continues to go all mainstream on us.
32. Maria Sharapova. The hair... the legs... the buns...
33. Dita Von Teese. But what's wrong with Heather Sweet (her real name)?
34. Jennifer Lopez. Oh no, not Dallas. Please.
35. Elisha Cuthbert. Imagine how higher she'd be if she was still a regular on 24.
36. Anggun. Singer.
37. Pink. No.
38. Evangeline Lilly. I don't know... I think I like Yunjin Kim more.
39. Uma Thurman. Sorry I didn't see The Producers. I think.
40. Claire Keim. Tress of the ac variety.
41. Elizabeth Hurley. Replaced on the second series of Project Catwalk by Kelly Fucking Osbourne.
42. Emma Daumas. The French Avril Lavigne and another Star Academy graduate.
43. Famke Janssen. Lovely, but done no favours at the MTV Movie Awards; not only was her bit painfully unfunny, but she had to stand next to Rebecca Romijn. Then again...
44. Victoria Silvstedt. See #4.
45. Kate Bosworth. I'd rather have Erica Durance's Lois Lane than hers, cheers.
46. Natalie Portman. No comment.
47. Laetitia Casta. Always worth it.
48. Anna Mouglalis. Huge-eyed model.
49. Eva Mendes. She's nice, but she's not Cindy.
50. Nicole Scherzinger. I do, in fact, think about her (BEEP). Often.
51. Shakira. Those hips do not lie.
52. Milla Jovovich. Is this a joke?
53. Clémence Castel. Host of the French Fear Factor.
54. Mélissa Theuriau. TF1 newscaster, whose topless pics and general lookerness explain the links.
55. Anne-Sophie Lapix. French TV presenters, eh?
56. Eva Longoria. Is there any country that's immune to Desperate Housewives?
57. Vanessa Hessler. Model.
58. Diane Kruger. Is this a joke?
59. Cecile de Menibus. TV presenter with a hilarious last name. Again, what I wrote last year.

60. Alice Taglioni. Strong-looking comedienne.
61. Gisele Bundchen. Go away. AND she's in the next Asterix film it looks like.
62. Nadiya. R&B singer.
63. Kelly Carlson. Is this a joke?
64. Clara Morgane. See Tera Patrick.
65. Marion Cotillard. Actress.
66. Sophie Marceau. Welcome back.
67. Frédérique Bal. Actress... looks like a younger, hotter Lisa Kudrow.
68. Alexandra Rosenfeld. Miss France 2006.
69. Teri Hatcher. See Eva Longoria.
70. Mariah Carey. Below her sexual inferior? As #50 would put it, "Ha! Ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha-HA!"
71. Gwen Stefani. And may stay down here, what with the kid and all.
72. Elodie Gossuin. TV person, apparently hosting the French The Swan.
73. Sharon Stone. Is this a joke?
74. Pamela Anderson. Like her recent sitcom, down the chart.
75. Halle Berry. Does she deserve to be this low?
76. Heidi Klum. Seal? Ah well.
77. Eva Green. Not entirely sure, myself.
78. Jenifer. Reality pop singer.
79. Naomi Campbell. Hmph.
80. Barbara Cabrita. Actress.
81. Rebecca Romijn. Why is she below Halle and Famke?
82. Lindsay Lohan. Ummmm... okay.
83. Kate Moss. Is this a joke?
84. Paris Hilton. She was #1 last year. Ouchie.
85. Scarlett Johansson. The good news is, she’s higher than last year.
86. Christine Carnaud. Quite dishy sports presenter.
87. Salma Hayek. Why is she so low?
88. Beyonce Knowles. Blame The Pink Panther for her drop.
89. Mélanie Thierry. Kate Moss-lookalike actress.
90. Caterina Murino. Sultry-looking actress.
91. Monica Bellucci. Okay, this HAS to be a joke.
92. Mélanie Doutey. Very attractive thespian.
93. Lorie. The French Britney (or a French Britney), only sans a Federline.
94. Keira Knightley. A vast difference from her UK placing.
95. Rosario Dawson. Tasty.
96. Cindy. Not Crawford, alas. A contestant from Nouvelle Star (the French version of Pop Idol).
97. Ariane Brodier. TV personality. Grew a last name, dropped 77 places.
98. Laetitia Millot. Actress. The lesser of two Laetitias on this thing.
99. Kirsten Dunst. Bet she vanishes after the Marie Antoinette movie...
100. Mélissa Mars. Singer.

If nothing else, at least Christina Aguileraisacunt, Kylie Minogue, Nicole Richie and Catherine Zeta-Jones aren't on it. But then neither are Audrey Tautou and Christina Milian...

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Summertime and the blogging is hard...


Cindy: Jessica Simpson, for bravely letting herself appear with the two Evas (Longoria and Mendes), Carmen Electra and Jessica Alba in her newest music video and ensuring she'll only be the fourth hottest one there (fifth hottest one if you're a Carmen fan, is that all right Jen?).

Vanessa: The Oscar promo for The Incredibles, which I found yesterday in Muswell Hill's Cancer Research shop - not normally a Vanessa, but qualifies for having less music on it than the regular release.

Cindy: Still, it was there for a good cause. And moving on to unconditional Cindys,
E! burning Jordan in her "bid" to conquer America. Now how about a lesbian makeout session with Debbie Matenopoulos and Kristin Veitch after they've strangled Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana DePandi, people?

Vanessa: Arguing with gits on The Superficial forums. Jen told me she never goes on the boards; I should have asked her about it long ago; consider this retroactive advice-taking.

Cindy: Seeing the trailer for
Stormbreaker before Poseidon. Looks like the movie Agent Cody Banks wanted to be but didn't quite pull off.

Vanessa: Seeing Poseidon. And not only because of Stacy Ferguson.

Cindy: Deciding to post one of my "writing staff" every week, starting with Patricia Araujo (that's her at the top of the page, winning Miss Transex International last year in one of the more work-safe pictures of her). Wish I could go to Italy and meet her...

Friday, June 16, 2006

SAOR US/UKTV Update 1

A while ago I blogged about the new US shows and wondered on the chances of them coming here (not all of them, but a lot of them). The deals are being done...

Hidden Palms: This was the first UK acquisition announced, surprisingly. Even more surprisingly, Kevin Williamson's return is heading to Sky One instead of the more appropriate (well, I thought so) Five - Murdoch's child hasn't shown anything of this kind since Beverly Hills 90210. But anything's better than Hex. They've also bought something called Lovespring International from Lifetime.

3 LBS:
Potentially ruffling the feathers of the "Stop wasting our licence fee on imports" mob, the BBC has bought this midseason drama (which presumably will be relegated to the Medium slot, i.e. late on Tuesday nights). They've also gotten the US/Canadian show Falcon Beach (on ABC Family over there), which I assume will be part of CBBC a la Even Stevens... the days of 6pm on BBC2 are long gone.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: It has indeed been bought by Channel 4. Not for E4, or More4 (or as Richard Schiff put it, "Mofo"), but for the main 4. They've also taken The Class (like I said, shows with Brits in main roles almost always get UK homes, plus this is from Friends co-creator David Crane), the fifth (!) international remake of Betty La Fea, Betty the Ugly (hoping for another Ally McBeal/sex and the city-type success? Let's hope that
this isn't a foretaste), and Brothers & Sisters (with so many ties to previous C4 shows - the aforementioned Ally McBeal, Six Feet Under, thirtysomething, even Alias - this was a no-brainer); Kidnapped (another show with a UK cast member, also the case with 3 LBS.) is also on the way for them.

Shark: "James Woods as a lawyer in a show whose pilot is directed by Spike Lee. This'll definitely come to Britain, but how long'll it last?" Don't know about the latter, but I was right - on Five (shared with UKTV who have cable rights).

Smith and The Nine are also being debated over by Five and ITV, and Vanished is also being battled over... but what I really know is, what about Heroes?

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Should've known...

Bianca's a no-go area now.

Oh sure, we could still go for a drink after work, but after hearing her say the words "my" and "boyfriend"...

Typical. :( Understandable, but typical.

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Friday, June 09, 2006

Football and r'n'b all day long. My own personal hell on Earth.



Which is another way of saying it's that time of week again.

Cindy: Well, it's Friday in June and it hasn't been raining. I guess that'll do.

Vanessa: The World Cup. Has there ever been anything else with such appropriate initials?

Cindy: By this afternoon I should know where Bianca and I'll be going, and when.

Vanessa: Sharon suggested we go to a party at her gym. Not only do me and gyms not mix, but I don't even know where Bianca lives... and this isn't about what Sharon wants me to do, but about what I want to do.

Cindy: Hommi at work lent me a ripped DVD set of season two of Lost, which'll come in handy if the Sky digibox takes a vacation during an episode (like it did last Tuesday dammit!).

Vanessa: Still not sure about watching it... I can convince myself it's a more advanced version of people overseas recording stuff for others before the show turns up there, but anyway.

Cindy: The Pussycat Dolls' "Buttons." The video and the song. Snoop Dogg's rat face cannot wipe out Nicole's solo strut.

Vanessa: Sharon's money problems. I cannot hear her complaining about them or being on the phone with someone attempting to straighten them out without thinking that in some way this is all my fault. Even though it mostly isn't.

Cindy: A widescreen TV with Sky installed at work...

Vanessa: ...just so they can watch the WC. And music channels, but I'm sure the WC has to do with it.

Cindy: Four-minute trailer for Heroes ("That was attempt number 6"). If this gets bought by Channel 4 and consigned to Sunday afternoons, I will claim some lives. Especially if it does indeed prove to be more like Unbreakable than Mutant X, as the trailer suggests.

Vanessa: James Blunt pulling Petra Nemcova. Let me say that again - James Blunt. Pulling Petra Nemcova. How the fuck did this happen? And why?

Thank goodness for the MTV Movie Awards tomorrow (8pm MTV, repeated 10pm, Sunday morning 10am, Sunday night 11pm...), but in the meantime can I draw your attention to a couple of completely gratuitous pictures of Nicole at the top? I can? Oh good.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Vanessa: Ann.

The difference between her and similar pundits on newsgroups or on talkboards like this one is that they don't get paid for it. Thankfully.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

This is the story of two ladies, Bianca and Anezza.

Now Bianca is the receptionist here at DMWorks and Anezza works with one of the managers. Victor likes both Bianca and Anezza and is considering asking one or the other out for a post-work drink one Friday, but out of the two he's hotter for Anezza, who as he's mentioned earlier looks a little like Michelle Branch and has a terrific body. But Anezza is 19 and Victor is 36, which throws a little spanner in the works as far as Victor is concerned. Bianca does not look like Michelle Branch but she won't shatter any glass either, and also has a nice shape, plus she seems to be in her early-mid 20s, which is a help. Both also have the plus of being very nice people, but Victor is nervous about chatting women up since he hasn't been tempted to approach anyone at work since Karen two or three years ago. Victor finally asked Bianca yesterday, and she said yes. But he still wants to try it with Anezza after a month or two so as to create a decent gap, as well as hoping it'll go fine with Bianca when it happens either this Friday or next. Confused? You won't be after this episode of - Hope....

Sunday, June 04, 2006

I was feeling so happy till Sharon came home...

Cindy:
Vanessa: My not being Matt Hughes, Ultimate Fighting Champion and the man above there backstage in Vegas with Cindy. (The first picture vanished, which is why I uploaded it again.)

Cindy: X-Men: The Last Stand. Not as good as the first two, but not down there with Daredevil or Blade Trinity either.

Vanessa: Rent. £200 per two weeks from now until out of here.

Cindy: Still leaves £175 over, and when I finally finish off paying off what I owe the lenders at work...
Vanessa: Losing two-and-a-half days' wages on account of being ill.

Cindy: Over The Hedge. A vast improvement on Madagascar, and proof that something with Avril Lavigne can in fact be fun.

Vanessa: Sharon, for thwarting my attempt to watch The O.C. by coming back. And for being a bit irritating with her slight nagging.

Cindy: The MTV Movie Awards. Cheers to Jessica, if not Wedding Crashers. And since I want to end this on a positive note...

Friday, June 02, 2006

Billie, we hardly knew ye.

So. The end of Charmed, as watched early in the morning thanks to my bed habits and the sister. And what a curate's egg "Forever Charmed" was.
The current season was treated from the very beginning as the last one, and that was both good (an opportunity to give the show a proper ending instead of going the way of most show before Rob Petrie and Dr. Richard Kimble came along and introduced the concept of a real final episode) and bad (a few too many comments about the last eight years, dying over and over and so on)... but Brad Kern and James Conway had a chance to send it out in a blaze of glory, to have a truly satisfying closure to the exploits of Piper, Paige and Phoebe. They didn't exactly blow it, but it didn't live up to what came before either.
Like the Buffy the Vampire Slayer finale, this might have been better as a two-hour episode - lots of time jumping to cover with Piper trying to fix things so it turns out fine for everyone (except Christy and the Triad, that is), and so many ends to tie off... as well as nobody pointing out how Patty looks older now than when the series started in spite of her being, well, dead when the series started. Hard also not to think that a bit more examination of her reaction to the news that her firstborn is deceased might have been welcome (not that I wanted Shannen Doherty to come back, mind).
It also unintentionally demonstrated how little Billie brought to the table; every time the focus returned to Billie projecting herself back to before the Ultimate Battle and trying to break through to Christy, I just wanted them to get back to Piper and Leo. (And it paid for it when Christy was finally vanquished - not much emotional pull over Billie having to kill her own sister. Perhaps if Billie had been introduced a season or two earlier and we could have gotten to know her better without so much rush - or if Kaley Cuoco and Marnette Patterson were better actresses* - it might have been a different story. Although credit to the writers for having Christy be so far manipulated by the villains that she was irredeemable.)
And yet, putting most of the onus on Piper fit (not only, as Patty told her, did she often keep Prue and Phoebe from killing each other but Holly Marie Combs was after all the fulcrum of the show, the only one to have been in every episode and the original pilot, and the most sympathetic of the trio). And yes, the final montage was pretty satisfying... no Darryl, but I can understand that in the end (he did, after all, want to have no more to do with the whole thing). I wouldn't have wanted them to have the least happy ending imaginable, and it did turn out to be one of the show's better episodes.
One of my rules of thumb for a show is if I find myself going online while watching it, it doesn't work for me - I've been doing that with The O.C. and Desperate Housewives of late, just as I did for Sliders. But I never do it for The Simpsons, I never did it for Buffy the Vampire Slayer - and though it still could have been better, "Forever Charmed" and Charmed in general passed the PC Test. Thanks for the past eight years, people; and live happily ever after behind that door.

And yes, you were right all along - Rose McGowan is hotter than Holly. ;)

*Still better than Drew Fuller, though.