Fondly remembering...

One of Michael Jackson's earlier works and an all-time favourite

R.I.P Jade Goody

Photo by Chris Joseph / Landmark / JPI

Another week has gone by, and now another week to get through. Yes, everyone is still talking about the economic downturn alongside the sudden turn-of-luck (perhaps?) between Manchester United and Liverpool, sudden passing of Natasha Richardson and the not-so-sudden passing of Jade Goody. Who would've thought she'd be mentioned in the same breath as Prez Obama, Meredith Kercher and Steven Gerrard, let alone be described as "a kind of Princess Di from the wrong side of tracks"! Shocking isn't it?

I mean what was she famous for in the first place? Sure I'd heard of her way back when I was still slogging my way through bar school but even then she was relegated to the tabloids and weekly gossip magazines. And just when I thought I'd hear the last of her, out came the whole hoo-ha on Celebrity Big Brother for her racist remarks towards her then housemate and fellow E-list celebrity Shilpa Shetty. And when all that passed by, her celebrity radar hit the jackpot upon discovering that she was battling cervical cancer, and that the cancer had spread, thus paving the way for the never-ending coverage of her day-to-day life as the cancer spreads and her death imminent.

So again I ask what is the legacy of Jade Goody's life, battle with cancer and sad passing (no, I am not that cold-hearted) on popular culture?

"Perhaps this is because Jade Goody filled the role of reality TV star to the extreme: she was "famous for nothing," she once said, a woman who went from obscurity to a national sensation due to the public's desire to create heroines and villains out of their neighbors, their peers, people who look and act quite like they do. Her short life was defined by public opinion; she was loved, then fiercely hated, and then pitied, but all of these things came through a lens, a distanced view; she was simply another character for the public to follow, and she knew and seemingly accepted this, giving her blessing to the tabloids to follow her until the very end. As Jeffries notes, "Like a working-class Princess Diana, Goody became the object of strangers' intense feelings, and she became a sacrifice, a woman whose suffering and death made it possible for people to ritually cry for someone they scarcely knew."

Goody hoped that her public struggle would raise awareness about cervical cancer and inspire young women to be more proactive about their health. But Goody's legacy may be her ability to use the reality tv/tabloid media to her advantage, even in dark times: for example, she recently held an elaborate wedding to her prisoner boyfriend, Jack Tweed, in order to sell the media rights and leave her sons with a substantial amount of money, knowing she'd be leaving them soon. Jade Goody was able to make a living out of living; as long as there was a camera present, and a photographer ready to chase her every move, she was able to capture the minds of millions, for better or worse. She forced the public, however unwittingly, to discuss racism, the challenges of cancer, and ultimately, the boundaries of fame."

Do you agree?

p/s: That comparison between Jade and Princess Di was observed by Stephen Fry, who knew!

Take that b***ch!

Unbreakable?

What's the Oscars without a dash of wannabe celebs pushing their way into these post-Oscar parties just to get their five minutes of fame? And who better to lead that pack than my favourite celeb aka Posh looking disgustingly thin and channeling Morticia Addams at the same time.

On a serious note, how much thinner is this useless woman aiming to reach?? Her arms alone look like they could break IF someone came up to shake her hands. How does Becks even manage not to break any of her bones when they're in bed?

Smile

Can I help it if I'm such a fan??
Look at that smile..

Picture Perfect

Look at how Shiloh has grown! I just can't get enough of that blonde bob of hair, round cheeks, luscious lips, leggings and trendy sneakers (can't imagine Suri Cruise looking this adorable and hip at the same time) - you're definitely gonna be a heartbreaker one day....

Karma

AS the saying goes "what goes around, comes around". So with news of O.J Simpson being sentenced to 15 years in prison for a botched hold-up in Las Vegas a year ago, it got me thinking whether this is payback for his past..

Posh Bunny

Breaking news folks!

Posh..exercising (GASP!!)...daily four-mile runs (SHOCK!!)...eating more (DOUBLE SHOCK!?!)

And even more horrific, she's giving up shopping!! *Sudden silence*

Just when you (and I) thought there's nothing this useless person wouldn't do or say to stay in the spotlight. This is just too good to be true *hahahahahahhaha*

For more

Here we go again

Oh boy, this must be my lucky day...

She hasn't exactly been flying under the radar - God forbid that she'd ever do that! - it just so happens that her recent activities have been somewhat tolerable (yes, even the baggy jeans and sandals/slippers stint a couple of months back) ... shocking isn't it?? Until this.

As is her style, Posh has never been one to slack in the one arena where she actually shows any kind of talent: fashion. With her supposed good friend making headlines lately with her rolled-up baggy jeans and ever-shortened haircut, one would think Posh has lost her touch to "shock". That would almost be akin to Paris Hilton deciding to pursue a degree in Yale/Harvard/Oxford University!

Of course the critics didn't deride her for her efforts. She played the game well. Stick to something safe (although the black dress looks eerily similar to Roland Mouret's infamous Moon dress) . Well done...
..but as for Posh...what is up with the two shades of tan?? And the scary looking skeletal neck and lack of flesh thereof? Yes, we all know how you only feast on sushi and the like just so you can compete with the rest of the other shallow, self-centred celebrities...but heck, even JLo looks healthier, not to mention miles better and more au naturale (yes there was makeup involved but Posh looks so forced in contrast to JLo) than you ever will be!

Showdown

Call me insane but I may be the only one who is not buying into the "Heath Ledger was brilliant as the Joker" hype. There's no denying his portrayal of the iconic Joker was by far creepy, visceral and convincing (sorry Jack Nicholson but your Joker was leaning more towards cheekiness) upstaged everyone including our hero, Batman. But for his death, would everyone be showering him with compliments had he still been alive? And all this talk of a post-humous Oscar...what a load of phish-phosh I say.

Having said all that, The Dark Knight was miles better than the mind-boggling Hancock, though slightly convulated that at times I felt Christopher Nolan (the director) was suffocating us the viewers with the various subplots (hence the two and a half hours duration). And, and..who would've thought Christian Bale would become the best unlikely superhero of this decade..can't wait for his portrayal as the infamous John Connor (Terminator 4)!

Beauty and the beast

I'm glad this whole Christie Brinkley divorce trial is done and dusted. Any more revelations about her former husband's infidelities and whatever dirt she has dug up on the poor b**tard would've dragged this trial on for much longer than it should be. I can understand the hurt and betrayal Ms Brinkley must have felt, and by resorting to an open (and publicised) trial, to which she could possibly have been channelling the now infamous Ivana Trump mantra "Don't get mad, get everything", this was her way of achieving justice for all that had happened to her and her family. But why expose all the dirty laundry when she probably knew, via her now-more richer lawyers, she'd win anyway?

She got full custody of her two kids. As well as 18 properties of hers in the Hamptons. Her former husband is now walking with a huge scarlet letter stamped forever on his forehead, serving as a reminder to all the ladies out there about his extracurricular activities *wink* *wink* Revenge may be sweet but she's just as foolish as he is (or was). Case in point? When a shrink declared in court that both their parents are egotistical morons. That, to me, was probably the highlight of this whole shenanigan!

And to think Paul McCartney-Heather Mills was the epitome of disastrous/bitter divorce cases..this definitely wins hands down.

Green..with envy

How does this woman do it?

Wasn't it like two weeks ago that she was showing her newborn son..and even then she looked like she'd already lost all, if not most of her pregnancy "fat"! Even Salma, Halle, J-Lo and Christina are still sporting their post-pregnancy curves. Some people are just darned lucky..

As if we didn't know...

Another worst kept secret? This is what I call PR working at its best.

On a more shallow note, notice how yummy Angie's boobs have become...

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Celebrities...when they dress up, it'll either end up wowing us or giving us a bad case of gastritis, which I feel is a shame seeing how much money was spent (or not) on making them look fabulous. Here are some examples of the good, the bad and the downright ugly..

Christina looking all grown up

Looking good Ellen..

Gorgeous dress...shame about the gloves tho'

Words cannot describe this 'mess'..

..or this..oh Anna, we had such high hopes for you..

Parade of the circus freaks?

Aside from my slight obsession with a has-been singer turned self-appointed fashionista, I'm trying to understand the media's fascination with the Olsen girls. Yes, they're twins who grew from cute little babies to hardcore fashionistas, young (they're probably the only twins in the world to have a countdown-til-they're-18 clock), talented and mega, mega rich (it must be nice to not worry about the future and beyond) but do we really care if MK went through a dressing-up-like-a-bag-lady phase or Ashley is the prettier one when we should be more concerned about the effects of oil price increase or the attacks in the Gaza?

Loving the clutch bag on MK...note to Ashley, those sunglasses have got to go.

Image by SIPA

Too much of a good thing?

If there was ever a more over-exposed celebrity, Eva Longoria fits the bill - perfectly. Don't get me wrong, I think she's a delight as Gabriella in Desperate Housewives, but how much more do we need to know about her married life..or even why she bought baby clothing whilst in the UK..or the number of outfit changes she'd made during that trip? I suppose, so long as Desperate Housewives is still showing on telly, she might as well *cough cough* cash in on the fame card while it's H-O-T!

Another one bites the dust

Heath Ledger : 1979 - 2008

What is it about celebrities and their fondness for drugs, booze, sex and all things taboo? Are they so bored with their day jobs (cos mine doesn't pay me million-dollar paychecks as opposed to, oh say, Reese Witherspoon just to play a character over a two-month period!?!), or depressed/mentally unstable that resorting to drugs would somehow help them overcome their boredom/depression?

This morning's shocking news about Heath Ledger's death was - simply shocking. As with the late River Phoenix, I didn't expect Heath Ledger to go down the way he did. Yes, he seemed like a 'bad boy' - so much so like his character Patrick Verona in my all-time favourite Heath Ledger flick 10 Things I Hate About You - but when he hooked up with Michelle Williams (and later had a daughter) and received an Oscar nomination for that you-know-what movie, all thoughts of him being a 'bad boy' disappeared. I guess that's the advantage of being an actor - you can still 'act' in real life.

The next few days will be filled with all sorts of reports, anaylses, thoughts about the incident. Suicide..drug overdose..depression..you name it. And while all this is going on, the world will temporarily forget about the far more deserving hundreds of innocent losses in Kenya, the Gaza Strip, Iraq ...

What was she thinking?? (part 5)

Dear Kate Moss,

Your sense of style is constantly admired. Others have followed in your footstep, most notably one Sienna Miller, yet none have come close to dethroning you. You can wear those hideous high-waisted wide jeans yet make it look cool. Or even an apron and make it look oh-so-funky. In everyone's eyes, you can do no wrong. But even high-powered celebrities like you can have the rare, if not occasional off-days. Case in point, this questionable outfit...which, much to my surprise, is by Chanel (perhaps Lagerfeld was having an off-day too when he came up with this..) But then if you're Kate Moss, you're likely to be excused and forgiven, and eventually everyone will forget that one of the world's famous models had an off-day. Oh, to be rich, famous and not have a care in the world...*SIGH*

Yours sincerely, Mizz Kitty

Say what?

People always secretly hate the rich and beautiful.

Long Nguyen, the editor of Flaunt magazine, which recently ran a pictorial spread of Carla Bruni, President Nicolas Sarkozy's girlfriend

Don't think this applies to me *hehehe*

Whatever whatever

Perhaps it's the joy of being a first-time mom..y'know that feeling where you can't help but gush about your child from the moment s/he attempts their first few steps down to getting their first real haircut. However this must be my first time, or perhaps my ignorance has gotten the better out of me, that I have heard a mother describing her 2-year-old child as being "a very strong woman".

How exactly is a 2-year-old "strong"? In what sense? Her srength? Or her voice especially when she cries or throws a tantrum? And "a woman"? Geez Louise, she's only 2!! This kid hasn't even hit puberty yet.

So incase you haven't sussed out the subject of my mockery, the above picture says it all..

Don't get me wrong, the kid is adorable (the recent allegations of her being akin to Rosemary's baby were, I must admit, hurtful) BUT do we really need to know everything about her????

And another thing too, aren't there two other kids in this family?