Thursday, August 9, 2007

This was probably inevitable, I guess...




But it's still sad news.

Amy Winehouse has been hospitalized for "severe exhaustion" in London...and we all know what that PR euphemism means. She wasn't looking terribly well last Sunday, truth be told. She is an incredibly talented lady, and we wish her nothing but the best. I personally hope that she takes some time off, gets her curves back, slows down on the drinking and drugs, and enjoys life a little so that she can enjoy performing again. It was clear last weekend how not fun for her this all is.
I also wouldn't mind a return to the above hairstyle, but first things first.
Get well, Amy!!!

42 comments:

Ro said...

Yeah, she definitely was not looking very healthy last weekend. Someone give the poor girl a sandwich! She really has a lovely voice, but it's sad that you could hardly understand her when she was singing. At least we were lucky enough to get to see her. It doesn't sound like others will be able to for awhile....

maise said...

Blogger is driving me fucking nuts with the spacing issues! Sorry...just had to get that out there.

maise said...

I bet you all didn't know that as his day job, Gabriel works as a counselor at Promises.

Anonymous said...

Well Gabriel, I plan to be drunk as hell when we play live...

I am playing bass in Gabriel's new band.

Exhaustion, here I come!

Iris said...

Angleman make sure you drink the lite beer so you don't end up with beer gut. That would be a crying shame if you were to lose your six pack to a six pack.

Anonymous said...

I'd agree - but since I went vegan I'm immune to gainging weight.

Anonymous said...

And since I went awesome I'm immune to being un-cool.

Anonymous said...

The first time I heard "Rehab" I liked it because it was such a convincing Motown ripoff, and I love Motown stuff.

Each successive time after that, I liked it significantly less. She feels like such a retread to me (and yes, I typed that correctly, R-E-T-R-E-A-D).

The final nail was travelling two hours away to a conference with a coworker who thought he was edgy for having her in his CD collection and hearing the CD like 4 times while he talked about having lesbian fantasies of her and the chick tattooed on her arm until he found out that was her grandmother.

That pretty much killed anything that I ever felt for her.

maise said...

JR, I can fully understand why that experience was a form of aversion therapy for you.

Amy is a complete trainwreck, it's true. And although it's interesting to have little bits of controversy here and there ("one time she got drunk and punched a fan in the face"), she is apparently determined to go all the way down, and it's just sad to me becaue there's real talent going to waste.

Is it really necessary in the entertainment business to have be anorexic AND an alcoholic/drug addict? Oh wait, I guess it is. How is that even possible, I wonder? I mean, if I so much as *look* at a beer, I gain three pounds the next day. You must just have to drink to the point of vomiting every night, which takes care of your bulemia for you.

UGH.

Anonymous said...

Well, that explains your pic, Maise. You are clearly using the edge of your doggie crate to block your vision of that beer.

Ro said...

You know, I have to agree with you, JR. There's nothing about her music that's new or terribly interesting, but at the same time, I think she does have a beautiful voice that's completely going to waste. She's quickly becoming the female version of Pete Doherty, and he's just plain skeezy.

maise said...

Fortunately, Amy Winehouse has finally decided to say yes to rehab.

And if you believe UK tabloids, you can read all about her crazy bender here.

Good luck to Amy! And yeah, it was about time.

Anonymous said...

She's really got man shoulders.

Anonymous said...

Okay, just briefly scanned the tab article, and I am so totally going as Amy Winehouse for Halloween. This is going to be the best Halloween EVER!

Anonymous said...

You should mix it up and re-envision it as Amy Winehouse as Disney Princess. She drinks like a fish...

maise said...

That's actually a brilliant idea...Disney princesses reenvisioned as tabloid whores.

We could have Amy Winehouse Snow White, Lindsey Lohan Ariel, Britney Cinderella...I think you're on to something...

Anonymous said...

Don't forget my girl Whitney Houston--though she seems to be (relatively) on the up and up since ditching Bob-bay, I think you could easily get away with using her.

maise said...

Oh man, then my friend will have to take on the role of Whitney, given that his dog's middle name is "Whitney Houston," and he has "One Moment in Time" as a ring tone for his phone.

Iris said...

I think you could also cast the vicodin popping Nicole Ritchie as Sleeping Beauty. Just substitute the spindle for a heroin needle. And I'm sure the Hilton tramps could be cast as someone's evil step-sisters.

Anonymous said...

Iris, you just made my day.

Ro said...

They do kinda resemble Anastasia and Drizella.

Anonymous said...

Especially from that angle...

Ro said...

It must be the ratty hair extensions.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, that, or the "on their knees with mouths open."

Anonymous said...

Lavender -

I get recipes and such off of vegweb... but I'm not signed up as a user or anything. I own a lot of cookbooks so most of my cooking ideas comes from there. There is one I like a lot called "vegan with a vengeance" that has all these really unusual recipes in it... big fan of that one!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Angelman,
I love me a good cookbook. I'm mostly lacto-ovo, but I do appreciate how vegans seem to make things work. I'm going to purchase that one tonight. I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh, to weigh in on the Disney Princess issue: In my opinion, the fact that there are no positive female role models, or any other cartoon lead female characters in general (except for Dora)is positively sickening. Those Disney waiting-for-a-prince-to-rescue-me movies must be stricken out of history. You ladies should be ashamed of yourselves for buying into that. Especially you Maise. Ariel was stripped of her voice and encouraged to use her "looks" to catch a man. I don't care if a fag coerced you into those Halloween costumes or whatever. What looks good on him, don't look good on you. Times are a changin' girls.

Anonymous said...

lavender,

Are you serious? 'Cause if so, then...damn. I think the term "femi-nazi" applies.

-thelookingglass

Anonymous said...

Ha Ha!
Thanks for that!
That was the single most ignorant yet hilarious thing I've heard all day.
I almost lost some brain cells there. Whew!

maise said...

Well, Lavender, there is a concept called "irony."

Or pure, lighthearted absurdism.

I mean, it is Halloween we're talking about, Jesus.

Anonymous said...

Tell her, Maise.

I'm not saying that I think the Disney Princesses are the best role models--IN MY OPINION--or that there shouldn't be a balance to that, but let's be even-handed and realize that there are women who aspire to be wives and mothers, to keep their men and family happy, and little else. I have friends like that--I can't imagine it, but they exist and their point of view has a right to be represented.

That said, I agree there aren't many mainstream alternatives to that, which is probably why I was such a fan of Looney Tunes, The Muppet Show and Sesame Street as a kid. Now, a grouch in a garbage can? Maybe a little *too* much of a role model for me...a frog that runs a theatre? Whoa!...a smart ass rabbit? I'm there.

And obviously the Disney Princesses by adults as Halloween costumes was meant only as pop-culture parody, not social commentary. Obviously.

Anonymous said...

Why wasn't I made aware of this sooner?

You would think that at a site like Places Parallel, they'd want to cover exciting new emerging artists like this.

Anonymous said...

Ok - this is the reason that while LA sometimes sucks, it doesn't always suck:

Last night I saw one of the worst films ever, 1990's TROLL 2, on the big screen at the Nuart theater.

A film that is ranked #25 in imdb's WORST movies.

It played to a packed house. I mean the line stretched around the block.

The movie can be summed like THIS:

REAL FEAR!

and THIS:

AWESOME DANCE ROUTINE

Awesome.

Anonymous said...

Wow, lavender, clearly the term does apply, if you can't take life lightly every once in while. :)

Plus, I grew up with all of the Disney characters, all of the shows jr mentioned, and many, many more. I definitely don't aspire to be a housewife, because it's just not me. But, I still don't mind watching Disney cartoons. I never have and still don't delve too deep into the social standards implicated in the storylines. Why? Because it's not reality. And, I have parents who taught me that characters on a t.v. show are not real. So, why would I want a fake-ass role model? I prefer real people who have accomplished things in there life to be role models. But hey, to each his own.

-thelookingglass

Anonymous said...

How many seats in that theatre, Angelman? What do they normally show--other arthouse stuff/first run independent stuff or big titles? How many screens do they have? Was this a special event or part of a series? How did you find out about it?

I'm, uh, just...curious. I could tell you why, but I'd have to kill you, and everyone at Places Parallel would be mad at me.

(Feel free to shoot me an email with the answers since I doubt anyone else will have any interest. It'll be our little secret.)

Anonymous said...

JR -

I don't think it matters - I pretty much post off-topic at will. The theater is here:

NUART

They run off-beat and art-house stuff during the week, they do midnight movies on Friday (cult stuff - Big Lebowski, Teen Witch (a future Mrs. Angelman favorite), Evil Dead) and Rocky Horror on Sat midnight...

It's really great - they ran a Kurosawa retrospective there and I got to see Seven Samurai on the big screen. I ran a horror film review website for a few years and it was always fun to see old horror movies here...

As for the "disney/women" thing - you are both right. It is sexist and stupid. It is also, as an informed adult, fairly harmless. I get more concerned when I see my 3 year old niece in her "play kitchen" because I don't want her hard-wired to think that is something she NEEDS TO DO for a man when she gets older. But you know what? She'll figure it out when the time comes.

Anonymous said...

Look,
I never said being a housewife is un-cool. Nor is cooking, knitting, wearing makeup or any other traditional female activity.
What I do find a fault with is the stark contrast in films, clothing and toys for males and females. Did you ever stop to think that there are no strong female characters for girls to identify with in movies and TV? When there are lead female characters, they are busy finding a boy to love them. In contrast, male characters are off on a quest, to find something or someone. Look at toys marketed for males and females. Boy toys are tough and rugged, usually black. Guns or things to build with. Girls toys are usually pink and don't require much creative play. I mean, how much can you do with a barbie (which is another gripe of mine- some other time kids) or a play kitchen set. Boys clothing is often durable and has pictures of automotive things or fierce animals. Girls clothing is often white or pink- screaming don't get me dirty! When there is a logo on a shirt, it usually is something stupid like "Daddy's little girl" or some other crap. We are trying to impose strict gender roles on our children at and early age. I'm surprised at every one's attitude about this topic quite frankly.

Anonymous said...

Lavender -

I don't disagree with you. I'm just not sure what can be done.

I mean it does go both ways. Boys are all told to be tough, compete, get ahead - and some men aren't built like that so they feel like outcasts.

In the same way, girls get the dresses, tea sets, babydolls etc. To not be that is to be an outcast.

I think the answer is to try to instill in kids confidence and a sense of self so they can be whatever they are without feeling like an outcast. Gabriel will tell you I have never once given a shit what anyone thinks of me - often to my detriment - but I just don't give a fuck. I am what I am and anyone who has a problem with that can go fuck themselves.

The truth is there are not a lot of good role models for boys either. Think about it. I mean true role models. I think we find our role models - or even seek them out. I doubt your role model is Pamela Anderson, right? It is porbably someone who re-inforces your outlook/desires etc. But you probably had a tea set or some other lame-ass gender-"defining" toy... Just as I had toy trucks and guns but that wouldn't stop me from doing something "un-manly"...

We're talking thousands upon thousands of years of traditional gender roles you are in an uproar about - I don't disagree - but I think we are making progress (slowly)

Anonymous said...

Actually, lavender, I agree with everything you've stated wholeheartedly. But, I put faith in people's parenting skills. Not to mention, as Angelman said his niece will figure it out when the time comes. As with everyone, when you become older you develop a sense of self and independence. If a 7 year old girl wants to play with a barbie doll, then so be it. It's her choice. Personally, I've always hated the "girl" stuff. I'm the only girl, and I have two older brothers. So, when I was young, I was playing with G.I. Joe, marbles, and toy guns. Ever since I can remember, I've always hated barbie, dresses, and the colour pink. So, when my mom bought me clothes, she knew I wasn't going to wear anything similar to a dress or anything that had "girl" colours on it.

What freaks me out the most about what young girls wear nowadays is the provocative clothing. There are actually parents who dress their seven year old girls in small tight shirts and skin tight pants with the word "juicy" written on the butt with two cherries next to the word. Yeah, I actually saw a seven year wear that, and she was walking with her mom. Umm... to me that is just totally messed up. Who in their right mind even makes clothes like that for young girls? Bleh....

-thelookingglass

Gillian said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Gillian said...

(Deleted and reposted because I was a mong and got thelookingglass refused with Lavender. Wtf. I blame my current lack of tea, toast and sleep.)

I think part of the problem is that most parents DO inflict these gender roles on their kids, even if it's not purposeful or even done consciously. For the majority of people they're just... well, the done thing, something you don't even think about.

Like most of these odd little quirks in humanity it's an evolutionary thing; few million years ago, since it's easier for guys to put on musclemass they'd be the hunter-gatherers while women were essentially just for breeding, looking after the kids and actually preparing the food caught. At this point in time the gender roles were pretty essential, and, let's face it, logical for the time.
Of course now the element of necessity to these roles is gone, but they're still ingrained into society. Although like Angelman said, we've made progress, it's going to take an awful lot MORE before these ideals are gone, if that ever happens at all.

Also thelookingglass, augh, I couldn't agree more in regards to little girls getting tarted up. Parents need to start treating their children like CHILDREN, not goddamn fashion accessories.

Anonymous said...

We had this discussion in my sociology class once and there was a man who said he wouldn't let his son play with his sister's barbies even though he really wanted to. I was kind of disturbed that he wouldn't let his son play the way he wanted because he was afraid of what other people would think of him. This kid was only a year old and his father was already trying to get him to be more 'manly.'

Anonymous said...

Bridget,
This is a common problem. On one hand we want partners, lovers and fathers who are emotionally available, sensitive and loving. On the other hand boys are discouraged from exploring nurture-type play such as dolls. We don't rush to pick up and soothe boys when they fall and are injured. They are often told not to cry and to "toughen up".