Last but not Least

Being the last day in June, today will be the last birthday I acknowledge. Well, not the last birthday but the last of my promise to deliver one for every day in June. Anyway, Happy Birthday Fantasia Barrino, this year's American Idol winner. Fantasia (who apparently has dropped her last name a la Cher and Madonna) turns 20 today. What I'm assuming is a great birthday present for her, her newly released single has hit #1 on the charts!

Goodbye Todd!

On Last Comic Standing, I was so glad to see Todd Glass go. He has annoyed me from the beginning. I'm not so sure that Tammy's set was any funnier but at least she isn't as annoying a person. Ant was pretty funny on the tour bus - not funny ha ha but funny in that he killed the competition. He was totally right in not trying his stupid stand-up act with those people and pretending to actually give a tour. Plus, he told his celebrity home lies with such conviction! Now the next person I want to go is Jay London.

That'll Be The Day

Here it is, the second last day in June, and I searched far and wide for a birthday to honor. Good thing the month ends tomorrow because this is getting to be harder and harder as the month goes on. Finally, I chose to wish a Happy Birthday to Gary Busey, who turns 60 today. A wacky guy but proficient actor.

Ti-Faux

Yay! My parents just got a Ti-Faux, aka the DVR from Adelphia. I am way too excited about it, especially since I won't be living here in about a month and should probably contain my joy. They even chose to install it in the family room instead of their bedroom, which both benefits me yet also surprises me greatly. I have already programmed our first "season pass" for Last Comic Standing. Hopefully I won't become too addicted in one month and will be able to subscribe (cheaply) in my new home in Syracuse!

Jason's Birthday

Okay, so Jason is only the character he plays, but today is the birthday of Steve Burton, who plays Jason (Quartermaine) Morgan on General Hospital. A definite cutie, Steve grew up in Cleveland. Yay! Although he ultimately graduated from Beverly Hills High School, if you remember my June 8 post re: Kelli Williams' birthday.

Spider-Man

My birthday has come and gone now but we still have a few more days of June so I might as well end the month with the birthday listings. So, Happy Birthday Tobey Maguire! Tobey's movie, Spider-Man 2, opens on Wednesday and I'm sure it will do phenomenally. It's gotten some very good reviews.

My Big Day!

Happy Birthday to ME! Today is finally my birthday after a month of build up. Yay! Here are some of the famous people I proudly share a birthday with: New York Yankee Derek Jeter, the hilarious Sean Hayes, newly engaged soap opera star Rebecca Budig, and newly retired football star and soon-to-be CBS Sports broadcaster Shannon Sharpe.

Celebrity Poker Showdown

Another enjoyable episode last night, but I found it a little disappointing that they showed us who won early in the episode during the commercial for next week's show. Since next week is the championship game, we already knew Rosario Dawson, Dule Hill, Michael Ian Black and Lauren Graham were going to be playing. However, in the commercial, we clearly saw Maura Tierney playing too - thus spoiling the outcome of last night's show.

Oh, in related news, I think I now officially have a crush on James Blake. What a cutie!

Gotta Have Faith

Today is George Michael's birthday! George was apparently named Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou way back on June 25, 1963, on the day of his birth. Here is his official Web site, which features lots of exclusives.

Hello to the Newest Cavalier!

Assuming no trade is made, I want to welcome the newest Cleveland Cavalier - Luke Jackson. According to this article from the Indianapolis Star, Cleveland is keeping him despite the Pacers really wanting him. He's kinda cute. Hope you like Cleveland.

Another ER Birthday

You might remember earlier this month when we were a little overrun by ER cast member birthdays (some former cast members, too...). Well, we have yet another today: Sherry Stringfield turns 37. That's pretty cool that her birthday is two days before mine. I have a natural affinity to other people named 'Sherry' anyway - regardless of how they spell it - and now our birthdays are close too. Kismet.

Idol Wannabe on Soap

In the breaking news department, One Life to Live has cast Matthew Metzger, from the top 32 of American Idol, in the role of Duke Buchanan. How exciting for him. And he's a local guy so that is extra cool. Of course, I think he looks a lot like Jason Guy, who was on Big Brother a couple of years ago, so I hope that doesn't distract me once he joins the show.

Birthday Girls

Today, Selma Blair turns 32. I have never really liked her all that much, but she is just 3 days older than me, so hey. Plus, she is from Detroit and could very well have gone to high school with someone I know (or knew in college). She is also a newlywed, having recently married Ahmet Zappa.

A really amazing woman who was born today (although she is now deceased) is Wilma Rudolph. She was an Olympian and this tells her really inspiring story.

Last Call

Only a year younger than me, today is Carson Daly's 31st birthday. If I'm awake at 1:30 am and I want to watch something mindless, his talk show is a good choice.

Shocking Celebrity Gossip

I think it probably comes as no surprise to anyone who has seen pictures of her lately, but Mary-Kate Olsen has apparently gone into a rehab clinic to treat aneroxia. There were some pictures of her at the premiere of her movie, New York Minute, that were seriously scary. I'm just glad she stopped denying it.

Book Club Cookbook

I came across this cookbook at the library today. It offers recipe choices that match the books you might read at your book club. It's a cute idea, although our current selection, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers, is not included. A few of our previous choices are listed, however.

Garage Sale Wrap-Up

Just wanted to let you guys know that our garage sale ended and I would call it a success. Sure, we have a fair share of items left over but we did manage to sell ALL of our big ticket items. We hadn't sold the organ when the sale ended, but someone called and bought it today, so my parents are just thrilled.

Making comparisons to our garage sale from last August, it was weird how different the clientele was. I mean, last year we sold a lot of books and a lot of glasses and dishware. This year, we sold almost NO books and very little glasses and dishware. There really seems to be no rhyme or reason to it all. Another thing that didn't sell too well was Christmas items, even though a few garage sale "experts" claimed that Christmas decorations were a good bet.

Anyway, we here are glad it's over. Now we just have to donate most of it.

Birthday Licks

Today, Juliette Lewis, an Oscar-nominated actress and lead singer of The Licks, turns 31. This is a pretty thorough Web site from some fans of hers. I've always kind of liked her, except for the Scientology thing.

In weird birthday news, today is also the birthday of Family Ties parents Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter (Birney). Both were born the exact same day in the exact same year. Kinda weird. Family Ties was a big June birthday show actually, because Michael J. Fox was born in this month, too, and part-time castmembers Tracy Pollan, Courteney Cox and Scott Valentine were also born in June.

Weekend Birthdays

Straight Up! On Saturday, the best female American Idol judge, Paula Abdul, turned 42 years old. And, on Sunday, Nicole Kidman, who is currently starring in The Stepford Wives , turned 37.

In the 'only days older than Cheri' department, actresses Robin Tunney and Poppy Montgomery (from Without a Trace) celebrated their 32nd birthdays on Saturday, while one of my favorite former Survivor contestants and NYPD police officer, Ken Stafford, turned 32 on Sunday.

Day Two Garage Sale Report

Well, another day of our garage sale has passed with only one more day to go. Today was nowhere near as busy as yesterday and moneywise, we did approximately one-third as much. But, overall, it wasn't bad. We heard of another garage sale that had TWO customers today. We did much better than that. Notoriously, Fridays are less successful garage sale days - at least around here. Many people skip Fridays altogether, although it seems a little silly to me if you have your garage all set up and ready to go to skip a day. Strangely, although it was slow, the day seemed to go a lot faster. No real funny stories, either, except two young teenage boys (well, they were at least 16 since they were driving) bought our ugly chair/couch combo. They just live down the street and were going to walk them down the street, which would have been a funny sight. My father offered to give them a ride in his borrowed-from-work truck so they lucked out.

You Say It's Your Birthday...

It's Paul McCartney's birthday, too. Don't think I need to say anything about that talented man. He's 62 today. My favorite Beatles song is easily "Yesterday." What's yours?

Day One Garage Sale Report

My family started a garage sale today. It's been a lot of preparation work, which kind of sucks because really, who knows how much to charge for crap you no longer want? For an indecisive person, this is quite the chore. But the worst part is sitting there watching strangers sort through that junk determining whether 25 cents is too much to spend for something you once spent 25 bucks on. My favorite customers (using that term loosely) are the ones who slow down and gawk as they drive by the house but then before turning into the driveway, they seemingly suddenly change their mind and speed away right quick. Makes me wonder what the heck they saw in that glimpse to make them want to get the hell away as fast as possible. My mother's theory is they see our old Spanish-style couch and chair, circa 1970, which features a lovely yellow and red paisley-like upholstery. Lovely. Regardless, I'd say we had a pretty successful first day. It didn't seem extremely busy but it was pretty steady and we sold some big-ticket items. The weather was good, for the most part. It downpoured for about 3 minutes where we scrambled to protect some items (like the electric organ) but then the sun came out and proceeded to burn the hell out of me for the second half of the day. Yes, as someone who typically avoids long periods of exposure to the sun, I forgot to put on sunscreen and will probably be beet red tomorrow. I can already feel a little sting on my neck and upper legs. Well, I guess it saves me the trouble of having to put on self-tanner.

One thing that is not selling at all, despite assurances that such things are in high demand from garage sale afficianados my mother knows, is Christmas decorations. We go a little overboard at Christmastime and my mom decided to downsize a bit so we have quite a bit for sale. Well, this brought out the best comment of the day. One elderly couple browsed through our items and the wife remarked that we must be moving and that was why we had so many items for sale. Her husband joked that obviously we were moving to a place without Christmas since we were selling our decorations. Cute. Funny. And, perhaps you had to be there.

Venus, the Tennis Goddess

Today is Venus Williams' birthday. She is my favorite Williams sister, for reasons unbeknownst to me. If you check out this Web site, you will see that although she is ranked higher than her sister in singles, she is actually seeded lower than Serena at Wimbledon. Interesting. Something about Serena being the defending champion...

American Idol Birthdays

Today, Diana DeGarmo, the American Idol runner-up this year, turns 17. Interestingly enough, Fantasia's birthday is in June, also.

Beastie Boys

Did anyone catch the Beastie Boys performance on Letterman? It was very cool. They started off outside and walked down the sidewalks as the camera rolled in front of them and then worked their way down the street, through a side door and into the studio finally, where they emerged onstage. It was pretty cool. (Maybe they walked down from the MTV Studios because the Web site says they were on MTV at 11:30 also.) Plus, I liked their song, too, and I haven't really liked any rap song since... well, maybe since "Sabotage." It did seem like the guys were a little out of breath after all that walking, though, but I guess that is to be expected. I mean, they are in their 30s right?

Happy Birthday Melissa!

Today is my sister-in-law's birthday! I hope she has a good day and hope all her birthday wishes come true, even if she is not happy with the number of years old she is today!

Tennis Ace

Happy Birthday to Steffi Graf, or is it now Stefanie, as her Web site says? I mean, I'm sure it was always Stefanie but she went by Steffi before. Anyway, she is a tennis player extraordinaire and wife to still-playing Andre Agassi. Whatever happened to the two of them playing mixed doubles, anyway? I know last year she was pregnant and couldn't do it but maybe she is doing it this year? I admit I haven't watched any tennis yet this year. Wimbledon is just about to start up, though. Yay!

Busy Busy

Just wanted to apologize in advance because this is a BUSY week for me, so I probably won't be online much. I try to make time when I can, though, so no fretting. And I'll definitely continue to at least post birthdays.

I am SO stupid.

I had plans to attend my college reunion tonight. Only thing, my college reunion is next weekend. Somewhere in the onslaught of brochures, pamphlets and notcards they have sent me in the last six months, I got the notion (incorrect notion, I might add) that the reunion was this weekend. So, it's been written down on my calendar for months - for the wrong weekend. So tonight I head out there and am totally stumped as to why there are only about 8 cars in the entire campus parking lot. Duh. At least it was only a matter of driving to the other side of town and not flying in from somewhere else in the country. (Never mind that I had to borrow a car since mine is currently out of commission.) And it wasn't really a wasted trip because I did have to head out to that area to buy a gift for a party tomorrow, but still... I am SO stupid. I am an idiot.

Weekend Birthdays

So I skipped a day. Sue me. Even Entertainment Tonight gives the weekend birthdays in one episode. So, on Saturday, let's stop and say Happy Birthday to George Bush. Not the current President. His father. The one who is responsible for creating the current President. The one who got "choked up" at President Reagan's funeral service (which I actually think is kind of nice). Anyway, this George Bush turns 80 on Saturday.

On Sunday, one of the most talked about birthdays in Hollywood occurs. That of the Olsen Twins! Yes, folks, Mary-Kate and Ashley turn 18 finally. Their Web site seems a non-stop ad for all things Olsen Twins. Great.

Other People Have Crushes

I've clued you all into a few of my celebrity crushes, so for today's birthday, I thought I'd clue you all into a friend's crush... Happy Birthday Joshua Jackson!

Lawyers Have Birthdays Too

In honor of ten years since the O.J. Simpson fiasco, I thought it would be good to call out someone associated with that mess. So, Happy Birthday F. Lee Bailey! The famed attorney turns 71 today. One of Bailey's early famous cases was, of course, the Dr. Sam Sheppard trial, which was fictionalized into "The Fugitive." Where the Sheppard murder took place is probably not even 5 miles away from where I live and grew up, so it's always kind of interested me. The 50th anniversary of that spectacle is coming up in a few weeks, too. That link provides an excellent overview of the Sam & Marilyn Sheppard story.

Sexiest Man Alive

The current 'Sexiest Man Alive' is celebrating a birthday today. Happy Birthday JOHNNY DEPP! Johnny is by far one of my favorite actors. Coincidentally or not, Johnny also starred in one of my favorite movies of all-time: Edward Scissorhands.

In other birthday news, ER alum Gloria Reuben also celebrates a birthday today. She turns 40. I just thought I'd mention her since two other ER castmembers have had birthdays in the five days or so. Back in the day, George Clooney, Anthony Edwards, Eriq La Salle and the crew must have gone broke buying presents for all their co-workers at the same time. Of course, I know what it's like to have a summer birthday and most likely their birthdays got ignored completely since they took place during the off-season.

The Amazing Race 5

I've been keeping an eye out for the cast list announcement for the new season of The Amazing Race and today it was posted! The Amazing Race is definitely one of my favorite shows, reality or not, because there's none of that voting out drama. Quite simply, whoever is last to arrive is eliminated for that week. Along the way you get beautiful scenic views, interpersonal drama, and exciting stunts.

Looking at this cast, it's hard to make any predictions. A lot of people know Alison from last year's Big Brother. Besides the fact that she was annoying, it doesn't really seem fair that she should get to be on two money-making reality shows when you know there are thousands of people out there who applied and would have had just as good a story. The team of Charla/Mirna looks interesting because Charla has some dwarfism. I've seen her on the commercials and surely, she will be inspiring to watch. Beyond that, there are pretty twins, a father and daughter, a 50+ dating couple, a 40+ married couple with kids, a set of brothers, two best friends and a bunch of dating couples.

The show doesn't start until July 6, so mark your calendars!

Reality Show Premieres

I really enjoyed Last Comic Standing last summer, even though the result was less then spectacular, with Dat Phan winning. It's kind of like John Stevens winning American Idol - a nice guy and an okay performer, but definitely not the most talented person out there. But, the show was still entertaining along the way. There's nothing like seeing insecure comedians living together, competing in challenges they could care less about and hoping to win in the end. The first two episodes (airing tonight and tomorrow) are along the lines of the first episodes of American Idol, with lots of auditions. Bad comedy isn't nearly as entertaining as bad singing, though.

The second new show debuting tonight is Blow Out on Bravo. It tells the story of a stylist opening a new salon in Beverly Hills. Basically, it's The Restaurant for salons and it's even by the same people. I've always been fascinated by the way salons operate so I'm definitely going to tune in tonight to see how it goes.

Television Birthdays

Today is a popular birthday for people who have been on television. Julianna Margolies from ER fame turns 38. David Sutcliffe, who played Rory's father on Gilmore Girls and recently starred in the sitcom I'm With Her, turns 35. Kelli Williams, who spent years on The Practice and will be on this fall's Medical Investigation, turns 34. What's interesting, if you follow that link and read her mini biography... she was discovered after she played Juliet in her high school production of Romeo & Juliet. Playing Romeo was one of my favorites, Steve Burton! And, finally, Mark Feuerstein from Good Morning Miami, turns 33.

Someone who hasn't been on television but who is still celebrating a birthday today is my friend Melanie's father, Gary. Happy Birthday to you!

Big Sale

Bath and Body Works has started their big semi-annual sale, which has meant big savings for me in the past. I haven't had a chance to go check out what they have this year yet but I definitely will!

Did you hear?

Jennifer Lopez has married for a third time. Like this is news to anyone, but, still, I am quite fascinated by it all. First of all, clearly Marc Anthony has carried some sort of torch for her all these years, after they originally dated in 1999. How does he explain this to his kids when they are grown? "Well, I only was with Mommy because I couldn't have J.Lo. But then she was suddenly available so I left Mommy in the dust to get back to my true love." But, the other thing that I find fascinating is that Jennifer seems to be able to have longer relationships when she just dates someone. I mean, her first marriage lasted like a year and the second lasted about ten months. Yet, she was with Puff Daddy for like 2 years or so and nearly that long with Ben Affleck as well, I think. Obviously, that marriage certificate that she wants so badly is the downfall to the relationships! It makes you think that the entire time she was with P. Diddy and Ben she kept pressuring them to get married, too. Ben succumbed enough to buy the ring and plan it, but was smart enough to pull out at the last minute. P. Diddy just went and pulled out a gun in front of her to scare her away. Hee hee. Anyway, here are some pictures of the big event. Just click on the photo and a window will pop up with 21 photos. Thanks to Gossiplist for the link.

Musical Birthday

There are some famous musicians born today! Prince, Dave Navarro, Dean Martin and Tom Jones all celebrate birthdays today. Well, Dean Martin is deceased, but you know what I mean. I guess if you want your child to have some musical talent, you should try to have them born on June 7th.

Soap Box

I'm a big ABC soap opera fan and I will, from time to time, want to comment on my shows. Since I'm barely keeping tabs on what's going on with All My Children and seem to be fast-forwarding through more of One Life to Live than I am actually watching, this rant will be all about General Hospital.

One: Ric and Alexis? Brilliant pairing. I love these two actors together. Their bantering, their teasing, their competitiveness - hysterical. The only problem I have with this is where is it going? Ric is clearly working Alexis as part of his vendetta against Sonny, like he wants to get close to baby Kristina so he can rub it in Sonny's face that he has some control over Sonny's daughter? Whatever it is, I just don't see it lasting long. If Elizabeth couldn't be manipulated by Ric and saw his true nature, how are we supposed to believe that Alexis won't? Alexis has many issues but naivete is not one of them. I just don't buy it. I'd like to have someone be able to help Ric get past that vendetta and maybe it could be Alexis, but I'm not convinced that's where the writers are headed. Alexis has had her own share of family vendettas to deal with so she has experience to help Ric get past his if they wanted to go there. Regardless, I'm going to continue tuning in to that storyline.

Two: Mary, Emily, Nikolas, "Connor," whatever... Who cares? (Although I do love the way Alcazar keeps giving "Connor" lame missions that will either get him killed or get him to find the truth about who he is.) My real question with this storyline is why the heck does Lucky not have a woman? Okay, so I readily admit I have a bit of a crush on Greg Vaughan so I'm biased, but once you get past his unfortunate name and the creepy tattoo that covers half his back, can't anyone see how CUTE he is? That Summer thing last year was a joke and he gets one kiss with Emily before she runs for the hills? I just don't get it.

Three: Courtney and Jax. Another cute couple and a couple I actually was rooting for from the time the two of them had scenes together when Courtney first hit town. But why rush it with this stupid bet? We all know Jax is going to win. But I'm sure he'll donate the money anyway. Why couldn't they just work together, slowly get to know each other and eventually fall in love? I still am annoyed about how we got no buildup to the Courtney and Jason romance. Speaking of the two of them, however, I have the perfect way to get these two back together, if anyone is listening. It involves a car accident, a blow to the head and Jason waking up as his old self again, with no recollection of Sonny or the mob or the code or any of that crap that led Courtney to leave him in the first place. How cute would that be?

Sunday Night Television Viewing

There actually are a few things on television tonight, depending on what one might like. The Tony Awards are on CBS, for fans of Broadway and fans of Hugh Jackman, who is hosting. I love a good awards show so I might tune in for some of it.

For sports fans, there is Game 1 of the NBA Finals: Detroit Pistons vs. Los Angeles Lakers. Normally, I love basketball but I just haven't been able to get into the playoffs this year. I pick the Lakers in six games.

There is also The Sopranos season finale, which is a show I know a lot of people watch. (Not me, though.) Oh, and today's birthday comes courtesy of The Sopranos, too. Happy Birthday Max Casella! Some people may remember Max as Doogie Howser's best friend, Vinnie, but Max is now on The Sopranos. And he turns 37 today.

Fans of history and war might enjoy Tom Brokaw's look at the sixtieth anniversary of D-Day on a special Dateline NBC.

What I will probably be watching, however, is Love Rules, the new original ABC Family movie. Since I love romantic comedies, I like to catch all of their new movies, even though some (This Time Around, See Jane Date) are better than others (Celeste in the City, Beautiful Girl).

Smarty Jones Dumbfounded

I find these big horseraces like the Belmont Stakes pretty exciting, especially when there is someone to root for like Smarty Jones, who was trying for the Triple Crown. It was a really good race and Birdstone deserved to win. What was sort of sad to me, though, was everyone from the winning team, including the jockey, the trainer, and especially the owner apologizing, like this article shows, for having their horse win and denying everyone the opportunity of seeing a Triple Crown winner. They have nothing to apologize for!

Funky Bunch

Happy Birthday Marky Mark Wahlberg! Who knew he had an official Web site? I guess, really, who doesn't have a Web site these days? But, anyway, I don't see any mention of Mark's singing career on his Web site - not even in the biography section. But there are quite a few pictures of him without his shirt in the photography section. Not complaining, but it does remind me of something that the two of us have in common that no one knows about me... Anyway, Happy 33rd, Mark.

The Apprentice on DVD

Surprisingly soon (August 24th), the first season of The Apprentice is coming to DVD. One of the cool extra features in the packaging is a voice chip of Donald Trump saying "You're Fired" when you open the lid. Cool, like I said, but probably not enough to make me buy it.

Noah Wyle

Happy 33rd Birthday Noah Wyle! Sorry I haven't watched ER regularly in years but I'm sure I'd still like you on it.

Celebrity Poker Showdown (Spoiler Alert)

Television has been kind of lame the last couple of weeks with the end of the regular season but this gem is one enjoyable thing to watch. And tonight's episode was great! Dule Hill was seriously probably the luckiest player ever but I'm glad he won. He's so cute and I won't be disappointed to see him play again. Next week, the previews say one person is eliminated on the very first hand. I wonder who it is. I kind of hope it's Norm MacDonald because I find his drollness pretty irritating. Plus, I know he's a big gambler and I could believe he goes all in right off the bat.

Birthday 360

Today, I wish a Happy Birthday to one of my secret crushes: Anderson Cooper. I find him so cute, clever and amusing, whether he is gay or not. Hope you had a good day. I very well might be working at CNN with you next year if things go as planned after I get my Masters Degree so perhaps I will meet you and we can make each other laugh then.

Immunized

I have to get an MMR vaccine today as I prepare for graduate school. Oww! Since I don't have any doctor's records of getting these shots as a child (which I did get), I have to get them again. One today and one in about a month. I'm not worried about the actual shot (shots don't bother me) but I am a little worried about possible side effects. Just a little. I'm more worried about not being able to start school on time if I'm not immunized, though. I hope they don't check into it too closely.

Today's B-Day

Happy Birthday Wayne Brady! I hope you enjoy your 32nd birthday. I'm sorry your talk show was cancelled. It certainly wasn't the worst talk show on the air, but, then again, I wouldn't say it was the best either. At least you won some Emmy awards during your run. Have a good birthday, Wayne.

June Birthdays

Now that we are in June, we are in my birthday month. Yay! Since I've always had a bit of an affinity to other people who have June birthdays, I thought a good way to celebrate my birthday month would be to wish someone else a happy birthday each day. Since I don't really know many regular people born this month, I'm basically going to be calling out celebrities. And I'll probably try to find celebrities who are close to my own age. So, today, June 1st, I say Happy Birthday Alanis Morissette! Alanis actually starts the U.S. portion of her summer tour here in Cleveland this summer so that's cool! Not that I'll be in town to go, though.