A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via hello!magazine via afp)

In: Sir Bob Geldoff. Geldoff, a noble with a keen sense of noblesse oblige took home a "Man of Peace" Award at, ironically, the all-but-peacefully named Julius Ceasar Hall. According to Hello!Magazine:

"Sir Bob Geldof's showed his more stylish side when he picked up a humanitarian award in Rome this week. The Irish star, who is famous for his casual presentation, was looking unusually dapper in a tailored pinstripe suit with buttoned-down collar when he appeared in the Italian capital.

"The former rock star, who was being honoured with the prestigious Man of Peace award at the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, found himself in some esteemed company, as former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was there to present him with the trophy.

"... 'Africa must be allowed to trade itself out of poverty,' he said. 'The EU must break the deadlock and as of today it has failed to do so. We live in a broken world which has never been healthier or wealthier, but some 500 kilometres south of here they die of want.'"



(image via twitch.net)

Out: Joaquin Phoenix. Was channeling Johnny Cash too much for Joaquin Phoenix's fragile vessel? It was hard enough, to be frank, for Johnny Cash to be Johnny Cash, much less some actor, no matter how talented he may be. First, Joaquin was feeling frogs in his hair. Now, according to Jeanette Walls:

"The moody actor, who plays Johnny Cash in the hit biopic, hinted to reporters that acting is so consuming he�s considering quitting.

�'Getting into a character is very difficult for me because I step away from everything that makes me comfortable,' Phoenix told the London Mirror. 'I show up with nothing in a strange hotel room in a strange city. I don�t know anybody. . . . I�d like a relationship � I�ve grown very tired of acting, the whole process, having to walk away from my life.'"



(image via smh.com.au)

In: Madonna. (Yeah, as a matter of fact: It is a slow day) We prefer the older, slightly less preachy incarnation, however, according to Reuters:

"As Madonna's 'Hung Up' jumps seven places to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, the pop icon matches Elvis Presley's tally for top-10 hits -- 36, the most for any artist in the rock era.

"Madonna racked up that tally in about 21 and a half years, starting with 'Borderline.' Presley scored his 36 top 10 hits in 16 and a half years, from 1956 with "Heartbreak Hotel" until 1972 with 'Burning Love.'

"'Hung Up' is Madonna's highest-charting single in almost five years, since 'Don't Tell Me' reached No. 4 in February 2001. It is her first top 10 hit since her James Bond theme song 'Die Another Day' hit No. 8 in 2002."



(image via zug.com)

Out: Mel C. What's a washed up former Spice Girl to do? Mel C, or, as she was known to hordes of pre-pubescents in the late 90s (Averted Gaze), "Sporty Spice," recently self-financed the massive flop "Beautiful Intentions," and -- to make matters worse -- tore a ligament in her knee in a televised Judo match against Miss world (!).

Covered head-to-toe in loserdust, according to the 3AM Girls, shmaltzy Canadian crooner Bryan Adams says, unsportsmanlike, that the topheavy Pam Anderson is a better singer than Mel C:

"IS Bryan Adams trying to tell Mel C something? When the Canadian rocker did a new version of their duet, When You're Gone, he chose Pamela Anderson as Mel's replacement because - wait for it - she CAN'T sing.

"Bryan, 46, told Virgin Radio's Ben Jones: 'For my new anthology album I wanted to replace the song I did with Mel C as it wasn't a hit in America. So I asked Pamela if she could sing and she said no, and I said, 'Perfect!'
"'We recorded it in LA a couple of months ago. After a few glasses of champagne she was away.'"

The shmaltzy single here.