We're not really sure why, but this gives us great satisfaction. Something about overblown, overhyped, manufactured pablum falling on its self assured face makes us smile. In fact we think the real reason Mona is smiling is she knew all along this would happen.Plus, we will never forgive Tom Hanks for ruining another great book, The Bonfire of the Vanities, still fresh in our heads, some 16 years later.
The oldest person in the world turned 128 on Wednesday. We hope we look this good at 100. Congratulations to this remarkable woman.
A company called Pimpfants has helped define the generation gap. We are getting old here at the Calabasas Chronicle as we do not understand why anyone would dress their children, let a lone a baby in shirts with the world "Pimp Squad" emblazoned across the front. But, that's just us.
We love celeb gossip as much as the next blogger, but we have to admit the latest trainwreck in Hollywood has us mesmerized and salivating for more hideous dirt. It's like the the porn he loves so well, we can't get enough even though we feel sick inside after reading. Okay, an overstatement but, Charlie Sheen is making OJ look sensitive. And now with the addition of Ritchie Sambora, we are not ashamed to admit we're hooked on this story. At least until Brad and Angelina break up and we get the real scoop.
According to the California Association of Realtors, the median price of a home in California is up 16% from last year.
-- "Statewide, the 10 cities and communities with the highest median home prices in California during March 2006 were: Laguna Beach, $1,827,000; Burlingame, $1,720,000; Beverly Hills, $1,665,000; Los Altos, $1,626,000; Manhattan Beach, $1,625,000; Newport Beach, $1,520,000; Coronado, $1,463,750; Saratoga, $1,391,000; Los Gatos, $1,300,000; Calabasas, $1,259,500."
Our lovely little Calabasas is Number 10. Maybe we should cash out and move to Bakersfield and buy a mansion.
Once again our favorite section of the Acorn, the police blotter, shines with this gem. "Thieves stole a purse, a Rolex watch, a Palm Pilot and cash from a vehicle parked on Park Capri on April 10. The loss was $5,750."
Only in Calabasas is someone stupid enough and rich enough to warrent this crime. That is why we love it here.
In our new venture we're sitting an open house in the lovely Bird Streets. We're not just saying this, but we think this is the best deal in Calabasas. Check it out on Sunday 1-5PM FREE COOKIES!!!will be served. Say you saw it on the Chronicle!
We're off to listen to and laugh with the funniest man in America! (almost)Mr. David Sedaris,, speaking tonight at UCLA. We are so lucky to life in LA! We hope his sister Amy is in the audience so we can be completely star struck!
Seems getting away with murder, sexually harassing hotel massage therapists
and just being a plain old psycho abusive, porn and drug addicted jerk, are not the only perks to being an actor. Now thespians may be exempt from the smoking ban in England and Scotland. Lovers of the stage are worried that someone such as Winston Churchill, might be portrayed as a non-smoker, when in fact, Winston liked his smokes and we hear he did okay in life. Imagine that?
If you think the Beatles were drug free, innocents from Liverpool try reading The Beatles:A Biography by Bob Spitz.Now Capitol Records, in the interest of "health" has decided to erase history by butchering, the Beatles album covers, such as the famous Abbey Road shot of the boys with a cig in Paul's hand.
Well, at least this sanitized version of the Fab Four would be allowed at the Marmalade Cafe at the Commons. We're guessing the true version would be ticketed and fined.
Not every graduate from
The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks is a vapid fame junkie like alumni Paris Hilton.Gabrielle Wilkerson not only has an old Hollywood pedigree, she has a vision.
Her grand father was the late William Wilkerson, her grandmother was the founder of Women in Film,
Gabby continues the leadership role in her family by starting the Cancer Awareness Club,after her best friends father died of cancer in 2004.
The CAC will be sponsoring a run/walk June3k Run/Walk June 10thto benefit the non profit.
We will be there! It's a great cause, and Gabby is a great kid.
We realize this is a little late, but we came across this tidbit after a 'google' search. It's classic Barry Groveman spin. City Councilman Barry Groveman said that residents overwhelmingly support the law. “I've been threatened personally, and had one very violent phone call, but where we're getting the complaints are mostly places far away from here, like Tennessee and Virginia," Groveman said. "In my informal assessment, reaction from Calabasas citizens is like 8 to 1 in favor.”
What a true American, sacrificing in the face of those stupid rednecks in Tennesseese and Virginia, home of the evil tobacco companies. We feel soooo much safer now here in Calabasas.
Any monarch that likes Corgis gets our vote! Oh right, they don't vote for Queen. Either way, we love Elizabeth II almost as much as Elizabeth I. Queen Elizabeth II turns 80 today. Wishing you many more sweet Queen!
The French government is backing down on a smoking ban and after all the problems leaders are facing with the people, it's probably a good idea to let the French their cigs.According to a Washington Post story, France sounds like the ideal smokers haven, calling smoking the "national ritual of a cigarette and a cup of coffee in a cafe. Nonsmokers are usually assigned to the worst tables in the most cramped corners of restaurants."
Too bad the Calabasas City Council didn't make a field trip to Paris.
We have to admire this woman. She has no body image problems. She's the anti-anorexic, one who is very large and thinks they are small enough to wear an ensemble that shows every curve. We applaud her and long for that sort of freedomd. (sort of, well....not really)
We can't decided which is more fun to read. The LA County Health Dept. list of restaurant closures, or .The Acorn police blotter.This month the winner is probably the restaurant health reports due to the closure of Hooters in Santa Monica. The place was closed because of "harborage of vermin and vermin infestation". This not a comment on the people who frequent the restaurant. We think Hooters really just has rats.
The city of Hollywood is having problems with a Bird Lady. Maybe the city leaders should donate to Barry Grovemans state assembly campaign. If elected, he might ban birds. Actually the amount of danger done by the pigeons is probably more serious than the so called risks associated with second hand smoke. With the avian flu on its way to California, we think the Bird Lady is more of a menace than a smoker on the streets of Calabasas.
With a $69.7 million compensation and a $98 million payout, you think theformer CEO of Exxoncould afford to get that neck lypo-sucked and those teeth straightned. We're at a loss at to what is more obscene. This man making billions of the back of every US citizen, or that bloated turkey neck.
If you grew up in Southern California, winter sports meant Mammoth Mountain. Now more than ever Mammoth is the number one ski resort in California. As most of you know it has been beset by tragedy this year, the latest being the untimely deaths of four ski patrollers. The ski patrol in Mammoth is world class and this is a way to honor them if you are so inclined.
If you purchase a lift ticket Friday in honor the men who lost their lives last week, the mountain will donate 100% without any deduction or adjustment to the families of the fallen hero's. Even if you are unable to ski the mountain on Friday, this is a great way to say thank-you to the men and women who work to make the mountain safe for all.
JFK enjoying a smoke
La Liz in her prime.
Catherine Deneuve proving smoking isn't ugly.
Freedom from tyranny, thanks FDR
Smoking causes classic rock and roll
Sir Winston doing his thing
We know Bill likes a good cigar!
George Orwell knows Big Brother
Oh Oscar, you smoker
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This is your brain on nicotine
For more famous smokers check out The Gallery of Famous Smokers.
The blog will be in hiatus for a few days as New York City beckons in all its gritty, city glory. We'll miss our beloved Los Angeles (actually we really only miss our car), but we'll be back.
McMansions, Garage Mahals and Starter Palaces. Just a few choice words for the trend of over sized houses.McMansions backlash has begun! Finally. Around the country cities are imposing more restrictions. Too bad the backlash didn't start before the monstrosities on Las Virgenes Road.
JK Rowling has a lot to say about the "thin obsession" permeating our culture. Commenting on celebrities with "overpriced handbags and rat-sized dogs" Rowling does not mince words. We agree. The world needs more Hermoines and less Paris/Jessica/Lindsey's
You know they wouldn't do this if the First "Ladies" were First "Gentlemen". Pitting women against eachother is soooo last century. Now let's talk about really important matters, like who is hotter, Angelina or Jennifer.
Well, this is one way to beat the rampant misogyny that exists in Saudi Arabia.
Hidden in the Letters pages of the Acorn, a comment by former city councilman Michael Harrison.Too bad Harrison wasn't able to lend the voice of reason to the current council. Without naming Barry Groveman as the instigator, Harrison hits the nail on the head describing the whole debacle, saying,
"when those intentions are fused with the unbridled ambition of one Calabasas politician craving all the publicity he can get in his race for higher office, the result is an overreaching ordinance."
We prefer to remember Whitney this way:
We love curmudgeons, but Harrison Ford is a grouchy old grouch!!He hates the internet because of how it affects him personally. Poor guy. Maybe he should stop making bad movies and take that dumb earring out of his ear.
Anti-smoking group gets popped for failing to identify itself on propaganda it dispensed.Every little annoyance helps. The coalition sent out 5,000 postcards that declared, “Your right to breathe smoke-free air is in jeopardy,” but failed to note on the cards who authorized and paid for the cards.
Meanwhile, we're still searching for that 'right' in our copy of the constitution.
I'm dying to sit and have a cup of coffee in this woman's trailer. Sample post:"The Christmas lights were finally taken down. Not by me nor my husband. But by a long-time friend of our family who just could not stand it anymore" How can you not love a woman like this? White Trash Mom
Whatever problems your kids give you, pale in comparison to Leanne Black from the UK. A real life Vickie Pollard,, (the thuggish teenage girl who is a charachter on the famous sketch comedy Little Britain.Black has the dubious honor of being the youngest person to get a DUI in Britain. Miss Black threw eggs at reporters, kicked furniture and yelled abuse in court. Not to be outdone, Black's mom flashed her bum and demanded photogs to "Go on then, film this."This family really needs their own reality TV Show. You know you would watch.
Being a native Angelino, I have never seen so many people in downtown on a single day. Even more incredible, they are WALKING and not driving in cars. Amazing.The protests were spurred by many things, but according to an LA Times story,two DJ's on s local Spanish Language radio station really got the ball rolling.
This is why it's hard to take Hollywood movie stars too seriously. Sure some are smart, but then you get someone like Sharon Stone. According to Ms. Stone "Young people talk to me about what to do if they're being pressed for sex? I tell them (what I believe): oral sex is a hundred times safer than vaginal or anal sex. "If you're in a situation where you cannot get out of sex, offer a blow job. I'm not embarrassed to tell them."
Now, it's not that what she's saying is inherently wrong. The problem is, why are kids asking Sharon Stone for advice? What kids? Who? Are teens running up to her begging for sexual wisdom? If true, the youth of today is really in trouble.
.Morgan Spurlock the documentary filmaker made famous by his film on the damage done to one's health by eating only McDonald's,
may have offended just about everyone in his talk to high school students in suburban Philadelphia. Lambasting special ed students, teachers and of course McDonald's, didn't seem to bother Spurlock, or the students, who gave him a standing ovation.All we know is if you watch "Super Size Me", you'll never do Mickey D's again. For that alone, the man deserve a medal.
A seventeen year old girl spent $10,000 on her prom. The Hummer is booked, the custom made $2,000 dress, $500 Gucci shoes and the many celebrity like beauty treatments the night will entail are planned."Teens think of prom as their Oscar night. They want to look and feel like celebrities," says Gina Kelly, fashion director at Seventeen magazine.
A big thank-you to Seventeen Magazine for exploiting that trend!
Calabasas artist and jewelry designer Susan Delaney, creates one of a kind beautiful pieces. Susan's mission is to "produce beautiful, versatile jewelry that will feel as comfortable to wear with jeans as with a ball gown".
Visit Susan's website, Delaney Designs to view all her custom creations.
Here is a great site for anyone considering trying crystal meth. It not only ruins your life, but makes you look really old and scary.
The Faces of Meth
