The 25 Random Things Phenom: PR Edition

This "25 Random Things" thing is taking over Facebook - everyone is doing it and I do not mind. It's really fascinating to read what people say about themselves - I have some very insightful, awesome friends. When I wrote mine, I just put down the first 25 interesting things that popped into my little pea brain, and I mentioned a couple of random things I did for my PR job in San Francisco..including but not limited to: dressing up like a Rock Lobster and taking swag bags into radio stations to promote the B-52s at a World Wildlife Fund benefit, and going to Gordon Getty's mansion overlooking the GG Bridge to set up a Forbes photo shoot for the richest people issue..as I was waiting around I browsed his art collection and saw the paintings signed by Monet, Matisse, etc. Pretty sweet. It got me thinking about some of the other totally random and strange things I've done in my PR career, so here they are:

1. As the publicist for Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus for SF, San Jose and Oakland, I literally stuffed 6 clowns in full costume in my VW Golf and took them to radio stations for on-air interviews. They were hungry afterwards to I took them to McDonald's before dropping them off at the train where they lived in tiny little box cars.

2. I picked up star clown Bello early in the morning at the Oakland arena where his $200,000 RV was parked - he and his family drove everywhere in the RV while the rest of the circus took the train. His hair barely fit in my Golf, but I got him to his TV morning news appearance.

3. At a fabulous investor's dinner at the winery Gavin Newsom co-owned in Napa (before he was the Mayor of SF), I sat next to him for a few minutes before the investors arrived and cracked a couple of jokes that made him laugh - he's a really cool guy. Right before everyone got there he turned to me and said "I don't want to do this.." and then turned on the old Gavin charm. His wife at the time - Kimberly Guilfoyle was there and told me I looked "lovely." She was sweet, and really pretty but wore way too much make up and acted more like Gavin's campaign manager than his wife. Now she's a Fox news correspondent.

4. While taking a TV crew around the San Francisco Zoo to tape a segment on the new lemur exhibit, I saw Steve Irwin who happened to be there taping another segment. RIP, Steve Irwin.

5. We handled the opening of Ian Schrager's gorgeous Hotel Clift in SF and when I met Ian, he totally checked me out. Elizabeth Hurley, Kyle MacLachlan and Danny Glover were there too.

6. I drove around McEvoy olive oil ranch with a magazine photographer in her Miata convertible placing bottles of oil in the olive trees so she could get a good shot. I was sooo hungover that day, but managed to pull through.

7. As publicist for Disney on Ice shows in the Bay Area, I put together some cool community events. I brought some Disney Princesses to a homeless shelter and we had a tea party with cake and story time. I took photos of the kids with Cinderella and Snow White with a Polaroid camera which they absolutely loved. Another reason its sad they stopped making the Polaroid camera.

8. I organized a trip for the California School of the Blind to come to the San Jose arena and meet some of the Disney on Ice characters who were soft, so they could touch them and get pushed around on the ice in chairs by the ice skaters.

9. We handled PR for the Sybase Open tennis tournament so I got to meet Andre Agassi and brought Michael Chang to a TV station to do a Public Service Announcement. He was very nice.

10. At the World Wildlife Fund event, Lauren Hutton was the co-chair - I met her and she was gorgeous. And the B-52s rocked it. The guys from "Who's Line Is It Anyway" performed too and they were hilarious.

11. We worked on a UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Research benefit at the Fairmont with a concert by Natalie Cole and Michael Crawford that raised $5.9 million dollars. The guest list included people who founded huge companies like Gap, Levi's and Williams Sonoma.

12. I worked on the Celebrity Pool Toss at the Phoenix Hotel - a live auction where celebs getting tossed into the pool was the prize. The CEO of Charles Schwab's wife paid $100k to watch her hubby get tossed in the pool. This was 1999 and the .com days were in full swing - it was a crazy time there.

13. I met Craig - who started Craigslist - at a restaurant opening in SF. He was short, tubby and hit on my friend Linda.

14. 3 co-workers and I were on a TV segment for "Evening Magazine" modeling clothes from a local boutique and showing them "How to Throw A Perfect Pool Party" at one of the condo properties we handled.

15. We handled PR for the Russian River Blues Festival but I didn't have to do much other than attend, so Jeff and I were floating in inner-tubes on the river while Etta James performed "At Last" and some blues songs. It was when she was still quite large and she came out on a little motorized vehicle..her voice was amazing.

16. I met Grace Slick at an art gallery opening for her exhibit "The Art of Grace Slick" where she had painted amazing portraits of Jerry Garcia, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and others. She was a friend of my boss and really cool.

17. I spent an entire weekend in the mall for a Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game Tournament, we handled PR for all the tournaments around the world for Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, Magic and Harry Potter trading cards. Nerd alert!

18. We did PR for the Four Seasons San Francisco and Sports Club LA so I got to work out there sometimes which was awesome. There was an event in the Penthouse of the Four Seasons where every room had been decorated by a different well-known interior designer. There were lots of rich people enjoying fancy decor, hors d'oeuvres, champagne and a string quartet. Classy.

19. I brought clowns and Disney Princesses to hospitals to read to sick kids and it was always amazing to see how much it brightened their day.

20. I helped organize and did PR for the Big Bam! Breast Cancer Awareness events at the W hotel SF and wound up meeting people from Om Records and a DJ who was just starting out named..KASKADE. Meeting them led to me start VimLab where I became my own boss and made my focus throwing amazing parties, publicizing events and meeting all sorts of random and fabulous people.

21. Went to the International Contemporary Furniture Fair with Charlie Lazor to promote FlatPak house - we built a 480/sf Pocket FlatPak in the convention center where we spent 4 days, telling attendees all about FlatPak. Crazy week in NYC where we all stayed at the amazing Hotel Gansvoort and had the time. The Pocket FP now lives in the Walker Scultpure Garden in Minneapolis.

22. While making press calls to promote a show with El Debarge, I got a call from Star Tribune gossip columnist CJ who proceeded to sing 5 minutes of El to me over the phone as a greeting.

23. We created a line of "belinda jensen is not a celebrity" shirts and then I got a client on the morning TV show "Belle" hosts. Whoops-a-daisy.

24. I put on a Celebrity Pool Toss at the Calhoun Beach Club where we tossed MN celebs Sven Sundgaard, Ryan Hoag, Tiffany Ogle, Jason DeRusha and Colleen Kruse - all of them were great sports to raise money for a good cause.

25. I set up an AP photo shoot and interview for client Aaron Colton, the #1 Stunt Riding Champion in the U.S. and the Youngest Professional Streetbike Freestyle Stunter in the World. Watching him do his crazy stunts live in a church parking lot in Shakopee was quite impressive, he's a talented little guy.

Girl Crush: Lenka

Another sassy songbird from down 'unda, Lenka looks like Kate Beckinsdale, talks like Nicole Kidman and writes catchy pop hooks that get stuck in your head like nobody's business. I had the pleasure of watching Lenka perform live at the Varsity Theater last night and she put on quite a show. I knew I liked her music because I bought her self titled debut album on iTunes a few months ago, and her songs have been all over the fall TV season from 90210 to Ugly Betty to Grey's Anatomy. In fact, the producers of Grey's seem to think she created the soundtrack to their show, which kind of taints her music for me - its hard not to hear Meredith's dramatic and annoying "wisdom voice overs" or picture her and Christina lamely "dancing it out" when I hear a couple of Lenka's tracks.

But, Lenka's amazing performance got me past feeling like I was working at Seattle Grace. Its not often that I go to a concert and truly love every song, but at this show I did. Jeff also really loved her songs but might have been too busy drooling, this girl is seriously the hotness. This is her debut album so she really only has about 12 songs, but they are all melodic, catchy and fun. She did a cover of "Gravity Rides Everything" by Modest Mouse that was moody and gorgeous - one of my favorite songs of the night.

I also loved the whimsical visuals and stage design - all turquoise and orange, with white owls, and birds everywhere. Jeff mentioned the show was kind of like being in a Jennifer Davis painting and I couldn't agree more. Even Lenka's outfit matched the set and she said in her cute lil' Aussie accent "I left all my dresses at the hotel on our last stop so luckily I went to Urban Outfitters to find a new outfit.." I loved the design so much I even bought a t-shirt, something I hardly ever do at a show. Here are a few photos from the night.

Stand out tracks from her debut album "Lenka" include: "Live Like You're Dying," "Skipalong," "Don't Let Me Fall," "Anything I'm Not" and "We Will Not Grow Old." The songs you've probably heard on TV are "The Show," and "Trouble Is A Friend." Just download the whole album - it's only $7.99 and worth every penny. The single "Gravity Rides Everything" is also available as a single on iTunes.

Lenka's Bio: There once was a little girl. She was born in the bush. Her parents called her Lenka. Her first friends were trees. Her father played the trumpet, she sang with him when she was 6. She grew up a bit. They moved to the big city (Sydney). She went to school. She danced a bit. She acted a bit. She went to art college. She started to sing a bit more… She joined a band called Decoder Ring. They created an album called Somersault, which was the soundtrack to a feature film called Somersault. It won lots of awards. She got called things like an “ethereal songstress” a “pocket rocket” and “breathy, strangely haunting.” (Rolling Stone ’04) She flew on a plane and landed in Los Angeles. She hid away in studios and emerged with new songs. One of her songs “Follow” provided the soundtrack to Courtney Cox masturbating in Dirt. She found this nice. She wants to do more – song writing, singing, performing, collaborating. Making people feel some pleasure…

Onion Headlines That Made Me Chuckle:

1. Home Gym Member Loses Only Member

2. Dennis Quaid Not Up For Any Oscars

3. Asian Teen Has Sweaty Middle-Aged Man Fetish

For more Onion comedy click here.

Today in..Things I Won't Be Caught Dead In Even If They Are Warm:

The Snuggie. Even if it is getting a warm embrace from pop culture.

Culture Club: Spring Awakening

Just got tickets to see Spring Awakening tomorrow night and am pretty excited about it. Its been a while since I've seen a big Broadway musical and this one is supposed to be the bomb.com. Stay tuned for the review.

An Open Letter to Friendster:

Dear Friendster,
Please stop emailing me updates about what's new with your outdated and irrelevant website. I haven't gone to your site in so long that I don't know my username or password, so I really don't care what you've done to improve things over there. Tina Fey was one of my friends on your site when I first joined 5 years ago and she was the one who filled me in on MySpace. Now that everyone I know (except Jeff who refuses to join) is on Facebook, even MySpace is outdated and irrelevant, unless you are a DJ, in a band, Jeremy Jackson or Tila Tequila. I'm sure it sucks to start the whole social networking thing and then have everyone ditch you for a better designed site, but that's just kind of the way it goes sometimes. Sorry, Friendster - but I'm going to have to officialy de-friend you.

Cheers,
The V-List

Only These Asshats..

Could find so many must-haves at the 99 cents store. Perhaps they are preparing props and costumes for her next video? Keeping my fingers crossed. Guys, if you are planning to make another awesome Heidi ManHands beach video in Mexico, please make sure it is not in mid-February when I am there watching the whales go by, because I don't want to get too close to that flesh colored beard. It's creepy.

Or maybe they are trying to be "ironic" by shopping at the 99 cents store in the current economic times and really trying to give the paparazzi a story that will sell. Pretty crafty, asshats.

Hallelujah, You Can Finally Buy This Song.

Leonard Cohen wrote it, Jeff Buckley tried to sing it (badly in my opinion) but Rufus Wainwright has mastered the song "Hallelujah," and it finally became available for sale on iTunes today. So download it! Rufus's version was featured on the Shrek soundtrack in 2001 and I immediately became obsessed. I made my little sister burn me a copy and "Hallelujah" is still one of my favorite songs today. I've seen Rufus Wainwright perform live several times in San Francisco (at The Fillmore they introduced him by saying "He Puts The A in Gay, Rufus Wainwright!"), Minneapolis and the Hollywood Bowl. He is one of our generation's greatest singer/songwriters and has a tremendous stage presence. He connects with the audience in such a powerful way that it feels like he's your BFF up on stage..cracking jokes, screwing up a song and starting over or giving you chills with his incredible talent.

I am kind of related to Rufus and have met him a few times. My fabulous aunt who's a writer in NYC and owns an incredible villa in Tuscany that she sent us off to for an amazing Italian honeymoon - had my cousin with Rufus's grandfather, Loudon Wainwright who was her partner for many years. So my cousin who is about 12 years younger than Rufus, is his aunt. It's a crazy family tree - hard to keep up with. We had a little family reunion at the Hollywood Bowl about a year and a half ago when Rufus performed his Judy Garland Carnegie Hall show there, and then got to go to the after-party at Carrie Fisher/Princess Leia's house up in the canyon, which was gorgeous, and sprinkled with random celebs. The best part of the night was seeing Jake Gyllenhall and Reese Witherspoon up close and personal - and Jake trying to schooch behind me and almost falling down. I restrained myself and didn't say anything (I just wanted to give him a quick "I wish I knew how to quit you,") but it was cool to see them together. US Weekly still hadn't even figured out what was going on, but it was obvious to everyone at the party and they didn't care who knew it. I also met Jake's dad who was very nice. Later, we were chatting with Rufus (who talked with a ciggy in his mouth the whole time) and my aunt when this flamboyant guy came up and whisked Rufus away to a much more important conversation. My aunt turned to me and said, "Well you don't mess with David Geffen." No, I guess you don't.

Butt Out, Kim.

Kimmy K, its really sweet that you and your ginormous ass are coming to JSimp's rescue and saying she looked hot while performing at a chili cook-off in that horrendous cameltoe-mom-jeans-with-2 belts-to-cover up-a-gut+Lane Bryant-tank ensemble, but I doubt she wants the only girl in Hollywood with a booty to rival JLo's butting in. She's got Asslee for that.

Kaskade - "The Grand" Mix Album Coming Soon.

Kaskade's new mix album, "The Grand" is due out on Ultra Records March 24, 2009 - right in time for Winter Music Conference where he'll perform at Nikki Beach, BED and the Ultra Music Festival. He'll also be at SXSW in Austin March 19 & 20. Wish I could see him at both..sorry Texas, South Beach wins.

Everybody Just Chill.

First, with esteemed actor/gubenator of Caliiiifoohrnia, Arnie S in his best role ever as "Mr. Freeze" in Batman & Robin - he's full of horrible puns in this clip and I cannot get enough:



Then, put away your Jack Johnson snoozefest CD and check out my Classic Chill Out Albums to start your journey on an electronic music evolution. Sip a cocktail, put your feet up and relax. Who knows, you might even like it:

1. Weekend Players - Pursuit of Happiness

2. Portishead - Dummy

3. Air - Moon Safari

4. Everything But the Girl - Walking Wounded

5. Blue Six - Beautiful Tomorrow

6. Zero 7 - Simple Things

7. Late Night Alumni - Empty Streets

8. Samantha James - Rise

9. Kaskade - It's You, It's Me

10. Mark Farina - Mushroom Jazz, Volumes 1-6

11. Lamb - Lamb

12. Royksopp - Melody A.M.

13. Frou Frou - Details

14. Lali Puna - Faking the Books

15. Soulstice - Illusion

16. Thievery Corporation - The Mirror Conspiracy

17. Morcheeba - Big Calm

18. William Orbit - Hello Waveforms

19. Telepopmusik - Genetic World

20. Mono - Formica Blues (you have to find in stores but they did the "Life in Mono" theme song for Great Expectations starring Gwynnie P and its an amazing album.)

Pork Down All The Mc Wraps You Want..

But realize you will never, ever look like Heidi Klum. She is the hotness. Mickey D's, the notness.

Haggard on Oprah

Evangelist Ted Haggard is going on the Oprah Winfrey Show this afternoon with his wife to discuss the gay sex scandal that took him down. I'm not a huge fan of Oprah but am interested to see this interview. I remember during the scene in "Jesus Camp" (watch it if you haven't already, amazing film) where Haggard points to the camera and says "I'm watching you.." I turned to Jeff and said "That guy is SO gay." 3 weeks later, the gay sex/meth scandal broke. Guess my gaydar is on point after living in San Francisco for 7 years. If only he could admit it to himself, and stop being a hypocrite.

Girl Crush: Rachel McAdams

She's a talented actress who always chooses interesting roles, totally gorg and (reportedly) dating hot d-bag Josh Lucas.

Madge Is Looking Fierce For Louis V.

I love Madonna. Always have, always will. Jeff and I saw her perform at Coachella in 2006 when Kaskade opened for her in the dance tent. She sang 6 songs from "Confessions on a Dance Floor," which is one of my all time favorite albums and the best for working out. The energy in that dance tent was so intense it still gives me chills just thinking about it, and when I saw her perform it was obvious why she's the most famous pop star in the world. Now if she could only figure out that Michigan/British accent situation...Oi! She looks amazing in this ad campaign though - you really can't go wrong with Marc Jacobs. Cheerio, Madge. Cheerio.

Pizza Pizza

Winter in Minnesota can make you dream up some creative ways to add a few pounds - the extra blubber is necessary for survival. We have red wine & lasagna/game nights, sparkling wine/crab leg nights and my personal favorite, The Pizza Bake-Off. This is the 3rd time we've participated in the bake-off and we've now perfected our BBQ Chicken Pizza made with Famous Dave's Rich & Sassy sauce. Everyone usually gets too drunk and pizza comatose to vote or really declare a winner. But, the small group of pizza makers we got together with Saturday night all made some incredible pies, from goat cheese & arugula to pineapple & bacon to buffalo mozzarella, tomato, proscuitto and beyond. All delish. ELove's stroke of genius - adding molasses to his Lombardi's style tomato sauce on a salami pizza that added a little sweetness and spice that I've never tasted before - was my favorite, but everyone was a winner in my book.

Californiaaaaaaaaaa

I love living in Minneapolis for many reasons:

1. We have a ridiculous number of hilarious friends who I would miss way too much if I ever moved away. They keep us busy with an action packed social life that was severely lacking in SF because people there are strange and our friends and family here are one of the main reasons we moved to MN.

2. Owning an amazing loft for a pretty reasonable price.

3. The fact that I am able to run my own company and people actually show up for my events and seem to like them.

4. Lots of culture - live music, DJs, theater, etc.

5. The general quality of life - boating on Minnetonka in the summer, biking around the lakes in the spring, hiking through the fall foliage, etc..

But, it is friggin' freezing right now (7 degrees) so I've decided to escape to my homeland..The OC next week to visit my family and SoCal friends. I tried to hold out til we go to Mexico but don't think I can. Must. Escape. Cold.

I'll Adopt You Georgie.

George Clooney is putting himself up for adoption. I figure, we are starting a family soon anyway, so why not add Georgie to the mix? He'll make a great big brother with all his whoopie cushions and practical jokes, and we can live at his house on Lake Como - my favorite place ever. Sign me up.

The Beast.

I wasn't too excited about A&E's new show, "The Beast" starring Patrick Swayze..until I learned that his protegee will be played by one Travis Fimmel, a hot piece of arse from down 'unda.

Of course I have a random story about Travis. So, I graduated from college in 2000 and Jeff took me to Europe as a (very generous) graduation present. We went hang gliding in Switzerland, took in the romantic sights of Paris and stopped off for a spot of tea in jolly old London. It was there on a random Tuesday night that we wandered into an empty bar and sat ourselves outside for a few pints on a warm summer night. The waiter/bartender who came out to take our order was seriously one of the most gorgeous guys either of us had ever seen. He had a cute Aussie accent and Jeff - who can literally talk to anyone for hours - had gone to Melbourne just a few months before, so we started talking and he wound up sitting outside with us for at least 2 hours drinking beer and talking about life. He also gave a beer to the homeless man in the alley. Such a sweetie!! After learning his name was Travis and that he had the most amazing aquamarine eyes I'd ever seen, he invited us to a club down the street and said to just go there and tell the bouncer we were with Travis. He was going to close up the bar and meet us there. Of course we went and the bouncer said, "You're with Travis? Where is he?" We said he would be there soon but the bouncer wouldn't let us in so we went somewhere else and sadly never saw Travis again.

Until..about 2 years later, I was reading US Weekly and saw a short article on this hot new Calvin Klein model who had walked into an LA modeling agency straight from Australia, with $100 in his pocket and no shoes on his feet. Obviously they signed him on the spot. Who wouldn't? I did some research and put it together that our hot bartender in London was the same Travis Fimmel..and he had already been a model but got sick of it and wanted to do a "normal job" - thus his pouring us pints in London. I saw him on billboards everywhere for CK undie ads, and then as "Tarzan" on the dubba dubba WB.

Another random coinkidink is that my friend Mike lives in LA and one of his friends knows Travis, so I had Mike relay the story about London and apparently he remembered us and wants to have dinner in LA next time we are in town. Um, twist my arm. In the meantime, I'll be checking him out on "The Beast" on Thursdays at 10/9 central on A&E and I suggest you do the same.

Damn, I Thought I Had Long Legs.

But apparently they're no match for Svetlana Pankratova.

Cleanse Shmenze

Everyone from US Weekly to the NY Times has been talking about cleanses and detoxing lately, but nobody seems to agree on whether or not they work. The medical community has been saying cleansing can be harmful, and if you do it all the time, it probably is. A couple of years ago, I tried the Master Cleanse where you only drink water with lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper for 14 days. I lasted a whopping 2.5 days. It was too hard with my busy social calendar to set aside 2 weeks of not eating or drinking anything but a not-very-tasty lemonade. But I did feel good and it was easier to go without food than I thought it would be. I don't really see how giving your body a little break for a couple of days at a time can be a bad thing. I have some friends who do the Master Cleanse at least once a year for 14 days and normally lose a lot of weight, so who knows. There's no magical bus to skinnytown, just good old diet and exercise - and speaking of, I'm off to the gym.

Bradstreet Craftshouse Now Open at Graves 601

I just learned from Tom Horgen's Nighlife Notes that a new small plates/cocktail lounge called Bradstreet Craftshouse opened this week in the old Infinity Lounge at Graves 601. VimLab brought Kaskade, Roomsa and Afro-Mystik to spin in the intimate Infinity Lounge in 2004, so I'm eager to check it out, and plan to soon. Apparently they'll have fabulous cocktails, because Ben Graves has partnered with Alchemy Consulting, a New York cocktail duo made up of Jason Cott and Toby Maloney (the latter is often mentioned among the best bartenders in the country). While the lounge calls itself high-end, the prices aren't outrageous. Most drinks and small plates are under $10. (Open 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tue.-Sat., 601 1st Av. N., Mpls. 612-677-1100. graves601hotel)

R these 2 fur realz??

No.

Date Night: Rinata & Revolutionary Road

Last Sunday, Jeff and I had a nice little date night with dinner at new Italian eatery Rinata on Hennepin, in the space that used to be Giorgio's. Its a cozy spot for a chilly night and we shared a fantastic bottle of Sonoma Pinot Noir and a delicious, garlicy caeser salad. For entrees, I tried their signature dish - Risotto with Wild Boar & Parmesan that was quite flavorful, and Jeff had the Ravioli with mushrooms, tomato and goat cheese which wasn't quite as exciting. We had some home made Pistachio gelato for dessert and really amazing Italian coffee. Chef/Co-Owner Jonathan Hunt has an impressive track record with Italian cuisine in Minneapolis after working as chef at Pane Vino Dolce and opening his other successful restaurant - al Vento.

With our bellies full we headed over to the Lagoon Theater to catch Kate and Leo's reunion in the movie, "Revolutionary Road." Their acting was sublime and I loved the story but can see how it could be depressing if you happen to feel trapped in the suburbs with marriage, kids and unfulfilled dreams.

Today in..Things I Am Excited About

1. Finding this creepy smiling cow photo.

2. Getting my new pair of Mui Mui nerd alerts last night so I can finally see signs while driving at night..I was not safe on the roads for the past week. Jeff says I look like a hot New Yorker in them.. hoping he means more Tina Fey, less Woody Allen.

3. Chillin' with my betches tonight at a loft one floor directly below me - our building = "The Dorms." And trying to hit 2 Birthday Parties later tonight, not sure if that will happen.

4. US Pond Hockey Championships this weekend on Lake Nokomis. Its supposed to be chilly so we'll bundle up and check it out tomorrow afternoon, but spend most of our time in the warming tent drinking beer with friends.

5. Our 3rd Pizza Bake Off tomorrow night - the host is kicking it up a notch Emeril style to make the oven super hot and there will be many competitors which means lots of pizza, and wine. Bam!

6. Los Cabos in less than a month. Can't wait to be on a beach, drinking margs, eating tacos and watching whales swim by.

7. WMC in South Beach in 2 months. Pool Parties + VIP of Kaskade + Amazing Music + Beach All Day/Party All Night = The Time.

Kaskade - 4 AM Live In Studio

Kaskade & Deadmau5 - Move For Me Video

Open Your Eyes.

I hate this squinty eyed betch. Not even sure why - I just do. This Golden Globes dress was heinous - when she was up on stage I thought it was Sharon Stone. And her new movie "New In Town" about moving to New Ulm, MN - that from the trailer looks like it includes every stereotype people have about the midwest - just looks lame and overdone. Even her taste in boyfriends/husbys ie. Jack White, Kenny Cheseney is horrible. What was Clooney thinking?

Hula Hoops Are Turning Japanese, I Really Think So.

I took this video of amazing performance artist/hula hoop extraordinaire Jessica Bessette (who I've hired for many events) at our VimLab show with Kaskade @ Epic last July when he was on tour for "Strobelite Seduction." He came in early so we could take him boating on Minnetonka, which he loved..but that's another story.

So I was hanging with Kaskade in SoCal a few weeks ago, and he mentioned that he had just been on tour in Japan, where some girls came up to him and said (maybe in Japanese cuz he is fluent in that language) that they wanted to hoop on stage. Apparently they'd seen the You Tube video I posted of Jessica and started their own Kaskade Hula Hooping group. They get together weekly at a park in Tokyo to hoop to his tunes. Many of them even bought the same 21-color LED hoop Jessica has. I told Jess about this and she said they mentioned her on this Japanese blog and I noticed they are featuring Kaskade's tracks on www.Hooping.org.

Learning all of this makes me happy. I love how international the dance community is, and that we are connected to hundreds of thousands of people around the world from Australia to Asia to Africa, by our love of Kaskade's music. And amazing hula hoopers.

Foodie News: Tim McKee Taking Over Cue @ The Guthrie

According to the Star Tribune, "Big changes are on the horizon for the Guthrie Theater's dining venues. The theater's current food-and-drink operator, Bon Appetit, is bowing out and is being replaced by Culinaire, a Dallas-based food service and restaurant operator. Culinaire has recruited Tim McKee, chef/co-owner of La Belle Vie, Solera and Barrio in Minneapolis and Smalley's Caribbean Barbeque and Pirate Bar in Stillwater, to add the theater's glamorous ground-floor restaurant, currently known as Cue, to his stable." Read the entire article here. I love Cue - especially sitting out on the patio in the summer - and all of McKee's restaurants, so this is very welcome news. If you haven't tried Barrio yet, go there. The Latin street food is cheap and delish and the margaritas are amazing.

Late Night Happy Hour @ The View

Last night after a workout/swim/steam/hot tub at Calhoun Beach Club, I met my favorite entitled blonde for a late night snack and a few glasses of Argentinian Malbec - (my favorite new discovery.) The bill was ridiculously cheap - in part because my friend was managing - and due to the amazing late night happy hour they offer. $3.50 burgers, chicken sandwiches, pizzas, edamame, wings, glasses of vino, beer, cocktails, etc. Check it out from 3-6 pm or 10 pm - 1 am.

Can't Stop Listening To..

Love Letter To Japan by The Bird and The Bee



Sometimes Always by The Jesus and Mary Chain

Underlying Feeling (Adam K & Soha club mix) by Syliva Tosun

Bumblef*ck, MN: Hopkins Edition

It's been quite a productive morning here on The V-List. I decided to get my arse out of bed early to drive El Jefe to work in lovely Eden Praire so I could have my car and run some errands. First stop was Southdale to have a Mac nerd (Not All Hero's Wear Capes) tell me where to insert Ram on my iBook - I ordered some online and had no idea where to put it. Nerdboy couldn't do it for me since I got it somewhere else, but assisted me in putting it in myself. I'm so tech-savvy. It was 9 am and most of the stores weren't open but there were several teams of women power walking the mall in Juicy Couture Velour. Ew, I vow never to do that..seriously, I'd rather freeze and walk outside than walk around a mall. Its weird. And was probably invented at Southdale since it was the first mall in America.

Then it was on to the leather store in St. Louis Park to get the amazing knee high, flat black leather boots I got in Florence polished. I've been wearing them since fall of 2005 and they are finally in fashion this year.

I got the snow washed off of Rosario and thought I'd also get her oil changed since I got her brand new in July and have not taken her in for a tune up yet. The not-so-smart Jiffy Lube guy at Uptown told me they were out of the filters for VWs and directed me to Hopkins - somewhere I normally would not find myself. I blasted Lady Gaga and took a little journey down Excelsior Blvd, finally found it and then had this conversation with the even more not-so-smart Jiffy Lube guy.

Me: Hi, I'd like to get an oil change
NotSoSmart: Well there is a 45 minute wait right now.
Me: Okay, well is there a coffee shop around here or anything?
NotSoSmart: I have no idea, I'm from Coon Rapids.
Me: Alright, I'll come back.

So I drove around for 2 minutes and stumbled upon "Downtown" Hopkins which was only about 3 blocks away and found one random cafe with WiFi. So I drove back, dropped Rosario off and walked myself to the cafe. Shouldn't NotSoSmart maybe get a lay of the land and have some idea whether there is a coffee shop in the vicinity? WTF?

I asked them to call me when the oil change was done and they just let me know that since Rosario is so brand spanking new (2008), they don't have the proper tools to handle her and can't do an oil change. Thanks Jiffy Lube, for wasting at least 2 hours of my day and introducing me to the wonderful wasteland that is Downtown Hopkins.

When Did Kelly Clarkson Become a Chola?

And on iTunes did they really have to write it as "My Life Would S**k Without You"??? That uc is scandalous.

Best Video Ever.

The Landlord from Will Ferrell

Starring Jeremy Piven's niece, Pearl. Still one of the funniest online videos ever made.

I heart Demetri.

Comedy Central Debuts "Important Things With Demetri Martin" on 2/11 from Demetri Martin

Demetri Martin is getting his own sketch show on Comedy Central, (produced by Jon Stewart) called "Important Things with Demetri Martin," premiering on February 11, 2009 at 10:30 pm. This makes me happy.

Brad Pitt - Up Close & Personal

There aren't a ton of feature articles written about ol' BP, so I found this one interesting..maybe because I recently saw "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and thought it was the best acting Brad has ever done. You can read the entire W article here instead of wasting 2 trees by purchasing a hard copy.

Prettymuch On Point.

Our Indian Friends Know What Is Up.

Just Go There: Prague

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A younger friend of mine is heading off on her first European adventure in a few months and she'll be spending her birthday in Prague - an incredible city I was lucky enough to spend a week in last summer with some good friends who used to live there. Check out photos here.

My first European experience was with my friend Hope when we were 18. A hot foreign exchange student named Phillipe from Belgium had hung with us in The OC for a bit, so we headed off to see his country and stay with his gracious family, who took us to eat chocolates on the canals of Bruges and drink raspberry beer on the plaza in Brussels. Then we were off to the land of windmills and tulips - biking through Amsterdam, Rotterdam and sweet little Dutch villages to a pancake house in the middle of the forest. Our final stop was Paris, where two local monsieurs who could only communicate with us via Michael Jackson songs, were hitting on us near the Eiffel Tower. Tragically, we were less than a mile away from the horrific car crash that took Princess Diana's life that very night. We heard the sirens but had no idea she had died until the next day when we were on a train and saw a British woman reading a newspaper.

My mission for that first European adventure was to find little storybook towns like the ones Walt Disney had drawn in all the fairy tales I read and watched growing up, and got to experience in person on the rides at Disneyland. I know its lame but I am still more than slightly obsessed with finding those picturesque little story book towns whenever I go to Europe, and when I got to Prague, I found what I'd been looking for. Complete with the castle on the hill where Cinderella could have arrived in her pumpkin stagecoach, Prague is literally one of the most beautiful cities ever created. A few of my favorite things to do in Prague:

1. Grab a Pilsner Urquel and sit on the gorgeous main plaza - fun little creatures come out of the clock tower every hour, just like on A Small World at D-Land.

2. Walk around and enjoy the amazing architecture, I've never seen anything like it.

3. Head up to any of the parks above the city - they all have beer gardens where you can sit and drink a pint or grab one to go. Why can't we do this in America??

4. Visit Hapu cocktail lounge for the best ice cream based alcoholic concoctions and strawberry daquaris ever.

5. Check out the Communism-era TV Tower complete with an art installation that includes a lot of black babies crawling on it. You can elevator to the bar/restaurant at the top to get a great view of the entire city.

6. Take a boat tour on the river - great way to see the city and learn some history. They also give you beer and ice cream for the ride. For it!

7. Walk across the Charles Bridge to find a random dixieland band (pictured above) and take in the incredible views all around - must be done in the day and at night.

8. Visit the castle and cathedral - a bit of a hike, but well worth it. I was in awe the entire time. On the way back down you can stop for a glass of vino and overlook the rooftops and the entire city.

9. Drink a few cocktails at FX Lounge - bohemian bar, lounge, art gallery & cafe. Jeff had been there 15 years ago so I had to check it out - it did not disappoint.

10. Day trip to Karlovy Vary (pictured above) - a pristine spa town about 3 hours west of Prague. You can soak in the healing waters, get a massage or just explore this magical little town of winding streets and houses that look like they're made of gingerbread in a Russian fairy tale.

It's Cookie Time, Bitches.

Feeling rexy?? Need to fatten up with some Tagalong/Thin Mint/Samoa goodness? I've got a 6-year-old friend/cookie hook up who just happens to be a Girl Scout and I'm about to place an order...

President Obama

Just typing the words President Obama makes me giddy with excitement. It's a historic day for this great country of ours. After 8 years of lies, deceit, divisive politics, fear mongering, stupidity and pure evil from the minds of Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld and George Bush we finally have a President who makes me proud to be an American. Thank you, President Obama.

Mid-Century/Mid-Level

We recently acquired a very well restored Florence Knoll couch that's more than 50 years old, for the 2nd level of our loft. I'm quite excited because its our first piece of mid-century modern furniture and I plan to collect more. I really didn't know much about modern furniture until Charlie Lazor hired me as his publicist in 2005 to help promote his ingenious FlatPak house. I quickly learned all about modern design, and was lucky to receive hefty discount on Blu Dot furniture which Charlie co-founded, and has furnished most of our loft. Now I can't imagine living any other way.

The giant fan is an air circulator, probably from the same year as the couch, and it works wonders for the loft - bringing hot air from the 3rd level down to the 1st where we spend most of our time. It was too big to fit in the baby bug with the roof up, so Jeff had to drive it home last week with the roof down in -10 degrees which must have been a sight to behold.

Kristen Wiig is one funny bitch.

Saturday's episode of SNL was one of the funniest I've seen in a while. This "Gilly" sketch cracked my shit up - Kristen Wiig is the best thing about the show and she will do anything for comedy, no matter how bad she looks. Loves it!

US Pond Hockey Championships - January 23-25, 2009 on Lake Nokomis

The US Pond Hockey Championship is coming up next weekend on Lake Nokomis. My friends who own Haberman & Associates organize this event, and its always the time. Head down there to check out hot hockey players out on the ice all day (or as long as you can stand the cold) and then check them out some more over beers in the warming tent.

The Pond Hockey documentary (trailer above) is a fun little movie featuring several guys Jeff grew up with - and follows two teams who played in the US Pond Hockey Championship two years ago. We saw it recently in a theater with about 300 screaming, hormonal 15-year-old girls who play hockey. But I still enjoyed it...mainly due to the plethora of - you guessed it - hot hockey players.

Notes From El Jefe

Guess its time for a new pair of nerds.

It's A Small World After All.

The things you learn from the NY Observer. This story is crazy - and according to City Pages, largely inaccurate. Rex Sorgatz clears things up here.

I met Rex in Minneapolis a few years ago and we wound up partnering on the T-Shirt series the article mentions: his "A Prairie Ho Companion" and "S'uptown" shirts and the "belinda jensen is not a celebrity," "spooning alone," and "chomsky's dope" tees powered by VimLab. We sold them on his site - MNSpeak and in boutiques around Minneapolis. When all the Garrison Keilor hoopla was going on, "The Daily Show" called and asked him to be a guest - but he would only agree if Garrison would go on as well. Fat chance. Anyhoo, Rex is a really cool guy and I had no idea he had become such a huge part of the blogging literati of NYC over the last couple of years. He hosted a party in the Rockstar Suite of Chambers Hotel last summer when he was home for a visit and I found myself mingling with all sorts of Minneapolis hipsters, club owners and writers.

But my favorite Rex story is that Jeff and I were at a party on the patio of his Pillsbury mansion condo one warm night in July of 2005, and a guy came up and asked me "Have you ever thrown a really great party?" I was fairly buzzed and found it amazing he had asked me that particular question since throwing parties is what I do for a living - and told him so. We chatted for a while and learned he was an actor in town to play the lead in a production of "Entertaining Mr. Sloane" at The Jungle Theater, which we went to see - it was fantastic. In the Playbill I learned his name was Justin Kirk, he had been nominated for an Emmy for his work in "Angels in America" and was starting out on a little Showtime program called "Weeds." Now he cracks me up as El Andy, aka Andy Botwin on "Weeds" - one of my favorite shows and recent addictions. Small world.

Sake It To Me:

With my newfound love of warm Sake, I'm excited to try new restaurant moto-i on Lyndale in Minneapolis.

What is moto-i?
moto-i is the first sake brewery restaurant outside of Japan. Located in Uptown, Minneapolis, moto-i is a full service restaurant with liquor, beer, wine and, of course, sake! moto-i makes draft sake or namazake. Nama is unpasteurized, and needs plenty of care as it can never get warm.

Our menu is reminiscent of an Izakaya, a Japanese Pub. With small plates as well as noodles and rice dishes, we incorporate many Asian ethnicities and keep the focus on street food of the best Asian Hawkers

I'm thinking it will do for Japanese street food what Barrio did for Latin street food in Minneapolis - and that's a very good thing.

Girl Crush: Padma Lakshmi

1. Drop dead gorgeous
2. Hosts a show where she eats yummy food for a living
3. Totally unfair

Kaskade - Behind The Scenes

Kaskade/Late Night Alumni vocalist Becky Jean Williams has a new album coming out soon - I can't stop listening to her track "Underlying Feeling" - check it out on her MySpace.

Today in...Finally Some Live Shows I Want To See:

Two electronic shows I'm excited about are coming to the Fineline in March - Tricky & Lady Gaga, kind of incredible since most artists don't want to come to MN in the winter. That's why I don't do any shows with out-of-town DJs during the freezing months.

Saturday, March 14 - Trip-hop icon Tricky - check out the City Pages write up here. And a video of Tricky's "Hell Is Around The Corner," sampling "Glory Box," - one of my favorite Portishead tracks here.

Monday, March 23 - Lady Gaga who shot into the spotlight with her #1 dance/pop hit "Just Dance." Its annoying to me that she and Rihanna make "dance hits" - basically just catchy dance/house tracks that in my opinion don't even compare to Kaskade's chart topping,, beautiful songs (that he writes and produces,) but the record label calls it Pop instead of Dance or House and people eat it up and make it #1 on the Pop chart. Many people think dance/house artists and DJs just make "techno" because they are too dumb to realize the difference. Example: I had a mellow Kaskade song as my ring tone a couple of years ago and an idiotic Minnesotan told me "Your phone sounds like a rave!!"

But, I will go see this show because apparently Lady Gaga puts on an amazing "performance art" stage show. Everyone's favorite Dirrrrty girl with the unfortunate looking child, Xtina A, has been accused of stealing her look which she denies of course but the similarities are pretty strange if you look at Lady Gaga - who's been performing in the underground electronica scene on the lower east side of Manhattan for years - and Xtina's style in the last year or so.

I will be buying tix at the venue and refuse to give those bloodsucking motherf*ckers at Ticketmaster one more dollar..they are the worst music related company ever, besides Clear Channel.