American Idol. The Super Bowl in Tampa. The Grammys. A trip to Hollywood (more on that later). Bruce, Britney, Billy, Elton. Fame, fortune, glory, the new burrito joint around the corner. 2009 just tipped off, and there’s already a ton of to-do crap on our calendars. That’s right: our. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: We’re in this mess together. And if we’re not, don’t tell me, ’cause I can’t handle the rejection.
We have no other option but to face this onslaught of fluff journalism head on, chin up and relatively sober. So let’s kick things off with a playlist to get us fiery and focused. These are the songs that never fail to jazz us, spazz us.
Here’s the upcoming Tampa Bay concert schedule. Things are filling up rather nicely. Can’t wait for that James Hunter-Ryan Shaw show. (Shaw comes back with Bonnie Raitt in March, too.)
Jan. 29 is absolutely stuffed, but I’m aiming for the John Legend show, where I’m anticipating a slew of special guests. There’s also buzz that Springsteen’s press conference for the Super Bowl could be that same night. Maybe that means the Boss might pull a Prince, who declined to answer questions during his Super Bowl press conference and instead played a short set for the media. One can dream…
If anything on here looks particularly good or totally crappy, feel free to sound off.
Remember how the other day I was whining about how we could use more places that serve excellent cheese plates? Or even really fabu cheese shops? In San Francisco, Janet Fletcher writes a whole %#$$* cheese column for the SF Chronicle. Here’s highlights from her year in review:
Brunet, from Northern Italy’s Piedmont region, is a young, silky goat’s milk cheese from the same creamery that makes the better known La Tur. Created in the style of Robiola, the half-pound Brunet has mushroom and creme fraiche aromas and the spreadable texture of soft whipped butter.
A ripe Langres would be a fitting choice for a New Year’s gathering.
Well, 2008 happened. And we can think of no more appropriate Viking funeral for the year that brought us round-the-clock coverage of Joe the Plumber, Joe the Biden and Joe the Jonas than Kathy Griffin slamming a heckler with live, on-air, NSFW crackback during CNN’s New Year’s Eve countdown. And to think, up until that point, we had been so transfixed by Kath ‘n’ Andy Cooper’s perfectly seamless and not-at-all-awkward chemistry!
We at The Juice* would be remiss if we didn’t tell you how Tampa’s own starlet Brittany Snow spent New Year’s Eve. She was in Orlando, schmoozing it up with anthropomorphic rodent Mickey Mouse:
But she was hardly the only celebrity to spend New Year’s Eve in the clutches of a fuzzy plush mascot. Here are Paris and Nicky Hilton getting some love from some sort of bearded mountain ape during "The Bongo Virus," an online New Year’s Eve party in Sydney, Australia:
And here is a shot of star Michigan State running back Javon Ringer professing his undying love for musclebound gladiators during Thursday’s Capital One Bowl in Orlando.
It is perhaps inflammatory to suggest Tom Cruise has adopted the same roadmap to world domination once used by Adolf Hitler. But when the man allegedly steals a copy of Hitler’s globe, well, all bets are off. Art collector Robert Pritikin tells the New York Post that a globe featured in Valkyrie looks strikingly similar to Hitler’s globe, which Pritikin bought for $100,000 and had copyrighted in order to prevent it from being used by neo-Nazi propagandists. Pritikin — who, in an aside that we think the Post may have simply made up, is the writer of the “Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco treat” ad jingle — says he’s looking into whether Cruise and his studio, United Artists, appropriated the globe’s likeness without permission.
It was a magical New Year’s Eve in Louisiana as Bryan Spears — big brother to Britney Spears — got married to Graciella Sanchez, the longtime manager of lil’ sis Jamie Lynn. The entire Spears clan was in attendance, but otherwise the ceremony was “very small and intimate,” a source told People. Bryan, 31, and Graciella, 36, haven’t been dating long, but have known each other for quite some time. The happy couple is registered at Bass Pro Shops, Mrs. Winner’s Chicken and Biscuits, and that kiosk in the mall where you can put a picture on a Frisbee. (Just kidding!
UPDATE: The Associated Press is moving more details related to Jett Travolta’s death. Here’s the latest from the AP:
John Travolta’s teenage son, Jett, died in the Bahamas after falling ill and hitting his head at his family’s vacation home, police said Friday. A house caretaker found Jett, 16, unconscious in a bathroom late Friday morning. He was taken by ambulance to a Freeport hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to a statement from chief police superintendent Basil Rahming.
The teenager had last been seen going into the bathroom on Thursday and had a history of seizures, according to the statement.
On Friday night, I’ll be cheering on the mighty 11th-ranked Syracuse Orange hoops team (and my alma mater) against the University of South Florida Bulls. Big East basketball, baby, nothing better. That’s right. Don’t give me any of your ACC crap, either.
Anyway, the game is at the Sun Dome in Tampa — and on ESPN, so you can watch me streak the court during the second half. I’d love some guidance regarding pregame watering holes near the USF campus. What are the best bars over there? The college-ier, the better. ‘Cause lord knows the coeds love me.