Josh & Josh are Rich and Famous

Vanity Fair Does Emoticons; Plus, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Beth Hart, and What We're Reading Now

I love Vanity Fair. I devour it every month when it arrives in the mail.

The February cover features Shia LeBeouf and Harrison Ford, promoting their summer flick Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, from director Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.

(No better time than the present to start promoting summer blockbusters, hmmm? This is also the second Vanity Fair cover in less than a year for Shia LeBeouf, who is set to rack up back-to-back summer hits after last year's enormously successful Transformers.)

One thing that caught my eye about the article, however (besides the hot shot of Cate Blanchett in costume for the film), was Vanity Fair's decision to use -- gasp! -- an emoticon in the Indiana Jones story.

Emoticons seem somewhat innocuous, but their adoption into the popular lexicon has been hotly debated everywhere from the New York Times to various style and usage guides, weighing in on the appropriateness and the hows and whens of using the little smiley faces and their variations.

VF jumped on the emoticon bandwagon, for what I believe to be the first time ever, with this passage:

"What Lucas says--and he won't say more--seems to support earlier Internet speculation that the scenes filmed in New Mexico may be set at Area 51 . . . No one outside of the filmmakers will know for sure until May 22, but it would be pretty cool if it turns out that Emperor Palpatine had dropped a crystal skull on Earth. Or maybe one was left behind by the skinny dudes from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Or maybe it's, like, E.T.'s cell phone. :)"

--Vanity Fair, February 2008, p. 169

I think it's kind of fun, but I'm guessing there will be some folks who're pissed and think this is the beginning of the end.

Emoticons: Love 'em, hate 'em, or live with 'em? Do tell.

Music: Now Listening

Embattled singer Amy Winehouse and her hot mess of a life are currently on display everywhere from the gossip blogs to the covers of British tabs (in which she's shown allegedly smoking crack on surveillance video). Her record label, perhaps noting that Amy may not be able to get back into the studio soon, recently released Back to Black: The B-Sides, an accompaniment to last year's multi-Grammy-nominated Back to Black. Since our discovery of B-Sides, the track "To Know Him Is To Love Him" has been playing nonstop on our iTunes. Check it out.

Another singer from the United Kingdom has recently quietly made her way to the music forefront, and she's garnering comparisons to Amy Winehouse (among others), minus the drama. Adele and her song "Hometown Glory" are racking up hits on YouTube, and a record deal is sure to be announced soon. Josh and I will be hitting download when her album finally drops. Check out "Hometown Glory" below.

For some reason this week Beth Hart's "L.A. Song" bit us in the ass and we had to listen to it multiple times. The live version (as seen below) is now available for download on iTunes, too, and rest assured we've been rocking that one as well. The song is a few years old, but somehow we think it's ready for a little revisiting. (Note if you're at work: Brief explicit language in the middle of the song.)

Now Reading

Josh H. is reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

Josh K. is reading The Terror by Dan Simmons.

Newly On Our Bookshelves

Dog Years by Mark Doty and The Known World by Edward P. Jones.

Josh & Josh (and Brooke!) Weekend: Juno, West Village, Fifth Avenue; Jack Mackenroth, Ingrid Michaelson, and The Joys of Milk

Last week Josh K.’s first-and-only girlfriend, Brooke, flew to New York from Minneapolis for a whirlwind four-day visit.

On Thursday night the three of us had dinner in Hell’s Kitchen and then took a night tour of Times Square. On Friday Brooke went on a shopping extravaganza while the Joshes worked. That night we met up in Union Square for dinner at Coffee Shop (yum!) before walking to Viniero’s in the East Village for inappropriately good dessert and warm liquor-infused winter drink concoctions. Afterward we went to the theater in Union Square to catch one of the sold-out showings of Juno.

Juno is the story of a high schooler (the brilliant Ellen Page) who gets pregnant by her best friend (Michael Cera, Superbad) and plans to give her baby to a yuppy suburban couple (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman), and is what Josh and I call an instant classic. It’s funny, quirky, and moving in a subtle way. Ellen Page’s performance is a can’t-miss event. Get thee to a theater this weekend to check it out.

On Saturday we headed down to the West Village for brunch on Bleecker Street and, by popular demand, did the obligatory pilgrimage to 66 Perry Street, Carrie Bradshaw’s stoop. We did a little shopping and gobbled the required Magnolia cupcake in the oft celebrity-laden park across from the dessert hotspot.

Later that night we went to see the new Broadway play August: Osage County. The show, set in one big, elaborate house set, follows the twists and turns of a very dysfunctional family (don’t they all?), and delivers quite a few surprises and great performances, especially in the second and third acts, one of which involves a dinner scene that outdoes anything you’ve seen on Springer (with words flying like daggers instead of the chicken wings and potatoes that usually soar through the air on Springer).

The New York Times called the play "flat-out, no asterisks and without qualifications, the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years."

Most people who visit New York want a good celebrity sighting, and that night we had three. First, while in line for the show, CSI’s Marg Helgenberger (Catherine Willows) stood in front of us and chatted with us. She looked great and was very low-key. Second, Jeff Perry, who plays Meredith’s dad, Thatcher Grey, on Grey’s Anatomy, was in the cast of August: Osage County (and was very good). Then, when the show let out, we were right next door to Cyrano de Bergerac, where Jennifer Garner was standing a few feet away from us signing Playbills and looking as dimply and fresh-faced as ever.

On Sunday we had brunch in Hell’s Kitchen and then braved the massive crowds on Fifth Avenue and did Bergdorf Goodman, Bendel’s, and the Rockefeller Christmas display, before settling in across the street at Dean & Deluca (right next to The Today Show) for hot chocolate and more dessert (because you can never have too much dessert, right?).

Josh and I love playing tour guide. After being here for a couple years it really is fun to see New York through the eyes of somebody who is newly in love with this city.

While at a birthday party in Hell’s Kitchen, at Xth Avenue Lounge, Josh and I spotted season four Project Runway contestant Jack Mackenroth. Apparently you can’t throw a stone in this city these days without hitting a PR contestant.

Also, Project Runway spoiler (close your eyes, close your eyes!): Jack leaves the show in tonight’s PR episode. See the dramatic health story unfold tonight on Bravo.

Last night I saw the Off-Broadway show Things We Want at the Acorn Theater. A friend recommended it, and I saw a good(ish) review in New York, so I bought tickets. Directed by Ethan Hawke (I should have known at that point), the play follows three brothers with a sad past trying to get through life in New York, and features a mysterious and troubled girl who lives in their building who changes the course of their lives.

Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine, L.I.E.) was pretty good, as was Josh Hamilton (Alive, Broken English), but the show made the mistake countless plays make: They think that lots of scenes with people getting really loud and angry makes for good theater. When they’re well crafted and deftly handled (see: August: Osage County) it can be fodder for good theatrical times, but when it’s just yelling for yelling’s sake it’s a disappointment.

I’m not upset I saw it, but I would say that Things We Want is something that, in the end, we don’t really want that much.

Something we do want, though, is Ingrid Michaelson and her fantastic album "Boys and Girls." A J&J reader tipped us off that we should give Ingrid a listen, and once we did we picked up the album and haven’t stopped listening to her since. Her music has been featured on Grey’s Anatomy, and I’d say the girl is on her way up. Also check out her songs "Overboard," "Breakable," and "Die Alone."

Below is a performance of her song “The Way I Am.”

P.S. Is anyone else loving the hilarious user comments on Amazon.com’s listing for milk? Priceless. (Thanks Eric!)

Thanksgiving Travel Adventures, Plus Project Runway (SJP and Tiki!), When Gossip Got Good, and Loving Alicia & Amy

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving I boarded a flight from New York to Minneapolis. Most of the flight was pretty normal—safety demonstrations, cheeseburgers served, paging through paperbacks—but a little incident near the end of my flight made this particular homebound flight memorable.

A half an hour before landing I headed to the back of the plane to use the bathroom. I was the only person in line, but both restrooms were occupied. I stood and blocked the end of the aisle New York-style so that nobody would cut the bathroom line—this city does kind of rub off on you—and waited for a restroom to open up.

While I waited a guy got out of his seat and started booking it to the back of the plane and then pushed past me. I started thinking, “Um, okay . . . What’s the deal?” He looked at me and then the bathrooms and then moved further back in the plane to the flight attendant area.

One of the flight attendants was putting things away in the back. This guy was now standing fully in the flight attendant area and, oddly, wasn’t saying anything. He was just kind of staring. It may sound strange, but the whole thing started to feel a little awkward. Then it got kind of creepy. This bald guy just booked it to the back of the plane, pushed past me, and was looking all hostile in the flight attendant area. I would be lying if I said that scenes from United 93 didn’t start running through my head. Sad—maybe even paranoid—but true.

The flight attendant seemed to be waiting for him to say something, but as he kept standing there and not saying anything she finally said, “Can I help you, sir?” He said something I couldn’t quite hear, and just then a bathroom opened up. I went in and used it, and when I got back out I didn’t see the guy anywhere. I tried to shrug it all off and sat down again.

Just after touchdown our pilot addressed the passengers on the PA system.

“Ladies and gentlemen, after we pull into the gate we’re going to ask that everybody please stay in their seats. We have a situation to address on the plane, and once that is cleared you are free to move about the cabin.”

“Did somebody have a heart attack?” the woman behind me asked. People started looking around a little bit, looking for the intrigue.

As soon as the door popped open at the gate four police officers rushed down the aisles and to the back of the plane.

Nobody moved. It was silent.

New Yorkers are a squirrely bunch when they travel: As soon as the wheels hit the ground everybody is on their cell phone and they start scavenging their stuff and then rush the aisles, pushing ahead of others who haven’t gotten their stuff fast enough to get off the plane first.

This time? Complete silence. Everybody stayed in their seats. Even the cranky toddler a few rows back piped down. Heads followed the police officers making their way to the back of the plane.

Moments later the man I had seen at the back of the plane was in handcuffs and ushered off the plane, the police carrying his baggage behind him.

There was a pregnant pause after he got off the plane. Then, all at once, everybody was on their feet per usual, cell phones glued to their ears.

“Dude, some, like, bald Middle Eastern guy just got arrested on my plane,” the fratty guy sitting across the aisle said into his iPhone. “So weird. I wonder what he did.”

I looked back where I had been standing at the back of the plane. A million things crossed my mind.

But all there was to do at that point was gather my things and get off the plane.

On the way home I didn’t have any unusual incidents. I did, however, end up with a nasty delay. My flight was supposed to take off at 4:45 p.m., but by the time I got to the gate the flight was delayed to 6:30.

Then it changed to 7:30.

Then 8:00.

Then they stopped updating the delay altogether.

I finished a novel. I ate dinner at a greasy airport restaurant. I read two celeb gossip magazines.

Finally, four hours after my scheduled flight time, my plane took off.

The reason for the delay? Light rain in New York. (It was 50 degrees out.)

Isn’t holiday travel super fun?

Is it just us or is season four of Project Runway on its way to being the best ever? Last week Sarah Jessica Parker stepped in with a challenge to create a design for her Steve & Barry Bitten clothing line and had our respect with her fashion smartz and general comportment.

Then this week Tiki Barber, former football hottie and now  Today Show correspondent, hosted a contest which required the contestants to do something they haven’t had to do before on PR: men’s wear. The tension and terror was palpable. In the end only a few rose to the challenge. Love it. (The prodigious display of hot man flesh in the form of the male models didn't hurt, either.)

This is good reality television, people. Bravo knows how it’s done. Anybody else totally loving this season?



Oh Gossip Girl. You started out flaky but fun, a guilty pleasure that nobody wanted to admit to watching, but everybody seemed to know about. (Every Thursday morning my office is abuzz with the latest goings-on with our famous Upper East Siders. Sad, but true.)

At first you were a most-predictable mild upgrade on The O.C. But then last night, with your Thanksgiving episode, you had to go and actually make your show kinda good. You really pulled it together, CW. What’s happening to this world?

So, okay: We’re tuning in. We’ll admit it. But we still feel pretty guilty about it. You’re like having some chocolate and then a big bowl of pasta for dessert. With lots of red sauce.

Can you keep it up, GG? Time will tell. XOXO.

Josh and I are hooked on Alicia Keys’ superb new album “As I Am,” which continues to dominate the charts. “No One” and “Superwoman” are burning up our iPods.

Amy Winehouse made a splashy debut in America this year with her album “Back to Black.” But even better than that critically acclaimed album is her album “Frank,” which was formerly only available in the UK and was just recently made available in America. “Frank” has more of a jazz vibe instead of the “Back to Black” Motown feel, and tracks like “F*** Me Pumps” and “You Sent Me Flying” and “Amy Amy Amy” are not to be missed. She may be a hot mess, showing up bloody in middle-of-the-night paparazzi shots, her husband may be in jail, and she may be canceling shows and slurring her words when she does show up, but at least we have Amy’s “Frank,” which is near perfection.

Also:

* Best parody of The Hills ever. Brilliant!

* Julia Roberts gets out her mama bear claws and tells a paparazzo how it is. I'd be afraid, too. Don't mess with Miss Julia. Big mistake, huge!

Josh & Josh Talk Broadway's Young Frankenstein, New Albums from Celine Dion and Seal, Burgeoning Talent Esmee Denters, and Timbaland's "Apologize"

A few years ago Mel Brooks swept the Tony Awards with his smash musical comedy The Producers. Last week his new musical, Young Frankenstein, based on his 1970s film, opened on Broadway. On the last night of previews before opening night Josh and I saw the show with our friend Kirsten. We think it's safe to say that Mel Brooks has another hit on his hands.

(Random aside: We sat three rows ahead of Full House alums John Stamos and Bob Saget. John looked great--that full head of hair, that skin, those cheekbones! While John is now doing his thing on ER--is that show seriously still on?--Bob is in town starring in Broadway's Drowsy Chaperone.)

Young Frankenstein follows the story of the famed Dr. Frankenstein's grandson who is trying to live down his family's infamous reputation and earn respect as a scientist in his own right. All bets are off, however, when his grandfather dies and leaves him the family's Transylvanian castle and the young doctor goes to inspect his new property, meeting a few very interesting characters along the way.

Featuring Roger Bart as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, Megan Mullally as Dr. Frankenstein's hands-off fiancee, Elizabeth, the hilarious Andrea Martin as Frau Blucher, and Sutton Foster as the sultry, yodeling lab assistant Inga, the musical shows off a talented and respected cast, quite a few of whom have Tony trophies of their own on mantles at home.

Highlights include Megan Mullally as she sings about mammary glands in her first big number and about very, very deep love (cough, cough) in her final showstopper. The woman has incredible pipes. We definitely want to see more of her on the Broadway boards.

The $14 million show made use of every single penny and delivers a huge, over-the-top, splashy show that will dazzle even the most grizzled theatergoer. (Even critics who haven't been totally thrilled with the show have still complimented the production on its razzle dazzle, talent, and entertainment value.)

And, the big bonus: Yes, there's a strike on Broadway right now, but Young Frankenstein is one of the rare shows still open. They're selling out every single show. Young Frankenstein also has a lottery, so if you're willing to take a chance, get in line early for the chance at great $25 seats.

Special thanks to our friend Josh S., one of the lovely and talented Manchattan guys, for arranging the press tickets for us.

Last week Josh and I got our hands on a pre-release copy of Celine Dion's new album Taking Chances , due out in stores Tuesday. We've always admired Celine for her amazing voice, along with the fact that she's the best-selling solo female artist in history, and we were happy to see her put away some of the cheese and schlock on her latest album. She joined up with some amazing producers and writers, including Linda Perry, Ne-Yo, and some of Rihanna's people, and the chances Celine took on this disc work pretty well. Confirmed fans will be thrilled; new fans may be drawn in. Check out: "Taking Chances," and "Alone." For a new Celine sound try "Can't Fight This Feeling."

We also got our hands on Seal's new album, "System." The highlights here are his single, "Amazing," and "Wedding Day," on which he duets with his supermodel wife, Heidi Klum, who can carry a tune.

When we saw singer Esmee Denters on Oprah recently we fell a little bit in love. Esmee, a Dutch teenager, was discovered by Justin Timberlake after hearing her sing covers on YouTube. It's been nothing but up, up, up for Esmee ever since, whose new album is set to drop soon.

Check out Esmee below. The video is grainy and recorded in her bedroom, but the voice is all you need to pay attention to. Girl can sing.

Want more? Check out Esmee's cover of Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" and Alicia Keys's "No One."

Another song we're loving right now is "Apologize" by Timbaland (feat. OneRepublic). It's also a pretty great video (with the exception of the Paula Abdul-looking girl). And, no, we're not loving it because of our recent break-ups; we're lovin' it because it's good and it refused to dislodge itself from our brains even after repeated listens.

Josh & Josh Talk Lions for Lambs, The Best of Primetime TV, Off-Broadway's Die Mommie Die!, New Music, and What We're Reading Now

A couple weeks ago Josh and I saw a screening of Robert Redford's Lions for Lambs. (One of the lovely Manchattan boys set us up with tickets.) We went mostly because we wanted to see Meryl Streep do her thing, which indeed ended up being the one true reason to see the film. The movie is another in a string of somewhat preachy, cloying war movies (see Rendition, Redacted, The Kingdom, et al), and indeed yet another co-starring the venerable Ms. Streep (who played a government torture supporter in Rendition, the latest war film box office stinker).

In Lions, however, we get to see Streep pull out quite a few stops as journalist Janine Roth, a veteran newswoman interviewing a conservative senator, Jasper Irving (Tom Cruise--ugh), about a "new plan" to "win the war" in Afghanistan. Watching the cat-and-mouse interview between the two is a treat, and Streep's precision timing is sharp as ever. Later, after the interview, she has an even more riveting scene as she decides what to do with the information she's been given during her tense talk with Senator Irving.

Things get a little muddled when more stories are mixed in, including Robert Redford as a professor lecturing a college student during office hours on why it's important to "get involved," and another following two soldiers fighting a losing battle in Afghanistan. And--surprise, surprise--all the stories later tie together.

The Bottom Line Lions for Lambs (opening this Friday) is okay--preachy, but interesting enough to get you through--but Meryl Streep certainly makes it worth seeing, even if you do wait to see it on DVD.

The Television Roundup

Heroes | What's with the sophomore slump, NBC? This show showed so much promise when it debuted last season, but now things are getting scattered, slow, and uninteresting. I flipped through a magazine during the last episode, whereas I used to watch with rapt attention. Maybe we should stop with 800 story lines, characters we don't care about, and principals we don't see often enough? If not careful, we could have another Lost on our hands. The show's creator, Tim Kring, swears that things get better during episodes seven through eleven, and we pray he's right. It's gonna require a few heroic moves to save our Heroes.

Grey's Anatomy | YAY! Our baby is off life support! The last two episodes of season four have brought the show back from the dead. After the debacles otherwise known as the deer in the parking lot and Lexie Grey, the addition of the brilliantly bitchy and bitchily brilliant Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith) to the cast has added true hope to the menu at Seattle Grace. Also, the last few minutes of this week's episode, with George and Izzy in bed ("Izzy, did you shave just one leg?") made us simultaneously laugh and also care about the George-Izzy romance for the first time, rekindling our romance with the entire show.

Ugly Betty | The season two premiere had us at hello. The following episodes have been just fine, with a few great moments. We love the new romance between Mark and Cliff and we're looking forward to Posh's guest appearance on next week's episode. The over-the-top camp show still has enough laughs and  heart to keep us tuning in and loving (almost) every minute.

DVD Talk

ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway | If you bear any love in your heart for Broadway or musical theater, it's time to snatch up this fantastic new documentary. ShowBusiness follows the 2003-2004 Broadway season when Wicked, Taboo, Caroline, Or Change, and Avenue Q first opened. The cameras go behind the scenes and into rehearsal rooms, recording studios, critics' dinners (and private conversations featuring hilariously wrong prognostications), and business meetings, as the season that brings two major hits, and two soon-to-be-canceled critical darlings, to the Broadway boards. Featuring Kristen Chenowith, Tony Kushner, Idina Menzel, Tonya Pinkins, John Tartaglia, and many more, this is a theater lover's must-see, must-own.

Project Runway: Season Three | The best thing about the Project Runway DVDs is that all of the season's episodes are extended with scenes (i.e. tantrums and bitchery) that never aired on television. It's also the best way to get ready for the debut of season four on November 14th. Josh and I huddled up watching back-to-back episodes (love you, Laura!) and triple-checked our season pass sign-up for the next edition. Either you're in or you're out, and this one is definitely in.

Broadway, Baby!

A couple weeks ago, as part of Josh K's birthday week, we saw Charles Busch's Die Mommie Die, now playing Off-Broadway at the New World Stages. The show is garnering great reviews (Ben Brantley from The New York Times basically wrote the show a love letter) and it's easy to see why. After seeing the movie a few years ago, Josh and I fell in love with the high-camp comedy thriller, written by and starring Charles Busch. (Sexy Emmy-nominated actor Van Hansis, who plays gay teen Luke Snyder on As The World Turns, co-stars as Charles Busch's sexually confused son. He's great eye candy between and during the jokes.) Check it out before the curtain goes down in February.

On The iPod

A confession: We were never really that into The Beatles. We respect them, we get the love and craziness, but the music just wasn't necessarily for us. This week, however, we started listening to the Across The Universe soundtrack and found ourselves enjoying some of the new takes on Beatles classics, including Jim Sturgess's "All My Loving" and "Across the Universe." (On a related Beatles cover note, we also love the Fiona Apple and Rufus Wainwright renditions of "Across the Universe" and Sarah McLachlan's "Black Bird," also available on iTunes.)

In other soundtrack news, not only did Josh and I see Lars and the Real Girl and thoroughly enjoy it, but we also enjoyed the music by David Torn. It's mostly instrumental, but it's fresh, quirky, and upbeat. Check out tracks "Bowling With Margo," "End Credit Suite" and "Lars and Margo" to see what we mean. It was definitely worth the download.

And lastly, our most reticent admission of all: We've been listening to Britney's new album, and we kind of love it. (It pained us a little bit to write that.) Perhaps we should be lauding Brit's producers since they're the ones who put together the songs while Brit showed up between blackouts (pun intended) to moan and mumble over the great beats and hooks the producers and writers cooked up. Besides the naughty fun of "Gimme More" (and the giggles inspired by remembering the VMA performance), the songs "Piece of Me" and "Radar" have turned into favorites. It's sad to say that the girl has done her best work (and we use "work" lightly) when her life is at it's "hot mess" heights.

J&J Books

Josh K. just finished Headlong by Michael Frayn.

Josh H. just finished I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb.

Josh K. is now reading The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman.

Josh H. is now reading The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory.

Wondering where the Joshes have been lately? The answer: Busy, busy, busy. Lots of changes, lots of stuff happening. We're doing well, though, and we promise to be good little bloggers and post more regularly again. More details on us soon.

A New Anthem: Dame Shirley Bassey's Remake of "This Is My Life"

I can't get enough. A big fat Thank You to my man for introducing the song to me this weekend and for playing it at full volume, Shirley's powerful voice filling the car, while I attempted to sing along. Them's big shoes to fill.

Faggy? Sure. But just try to not do the same. I dare you.

This is MYYYYYYYY LIIIIIIIIFE!

Buy it, and the rest of her new album of remixes and remakes (which are fantastic), by clicking here:

//Josh K.

Josh Talk: What's Good About Betty, Bad About Grey's, Beloved About Chris Garneau, and What J&J Are Up To Now

Tonight Josh K. and I gathered at his apartment for back-to-back Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy episodes. Curled up with a pack of Oreos, popping them in our mouths as we watched, we were pleased again with another good Ugly Betty episode. Last week, the season premiere, was better (very funny, perfectly paced), but this episode was certainly good. The show knows just how to play its over-the-top comedy, with enough camp and heart to make it credible and beloved at the same time.

One show that's just plain old playing over the top, however, is Grey's Anatomy. They're taking themselves far too seriously over there at Seattle Grace right now, and after the shiteous season premiere last week (really, saving a cheap animatronic deer in a pickup in the parking lot, Izzy? seriously?), this week we picked up with more vomitous Izzy-George love crap and, of course, "shocking" medical drama that "just happens" to compliment the main characters' story lines.

Josh and I were head over heels with Grey's during its brilliant first season, and were still enamored during most of the second season. But then third season? When Izzy turned into a whiny bitch who delivered four-minute soliloquies on the meaning of life? And that three-episode ferry disaster? Don't even get us started.

That said, Josh and I are pleased to bestow the coveted New Television Season Character That Most Needs To Die A Quick Death and Never Return Award to . . .

Lexie Grey, the extraordinarily obnoxious long-forgotten half-sister of Dr. Meredith Grey, in a role that needs to go away stat. Take cues from the precocious little sister on Growing Pains that magically disappeared one season, or Celia's oldest daughter on Weeds who was in two episodes and was never heard from again. Lexie Grey needs to be just, oh, gone. Now. Next episode.

What keeps us tuning in for now? Why are we going to give the show another two or three chances this season? It's because we can't stop loving Dr. Christina Yang (the amazing and ever-talented Sandra Oh) and Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson). Hopefully they can get us through the drought.

Chris Garneau performing at Joe's Pub in NYC on September 28, 2007

Meanwhile, did you hear Chris Garneau's song on Grey's Anatomy tonight? During the scene in which George talks to Mrs. Burke about the joys and travails of marriage, Chris's song "Castle Time" is playing in the background. Love it!

On Friday night Josh and I went to see Chris perform live at Joe's Pub. The show was fantastic.

Chris was joined by a cellist and a percussionist and the added instrumentation to the songs from his first album added a new degree of richness and fullness to the material, which was already quite good. The audience was eating out of his hand the whole night.

He also played songs from his forthcoming album, due out in early 2008. Unfortunately he didn't play "We Don't Try," one of our favorite songs of his, but the show was so good that we forgave him quickly.

Afterward we said said a quick hello to Chris backstage at Joe's and introduced him to Dylan and our friend Louis. We're definitely looking forward to attending another CG show soon.

On Saturday Josh and I made our way to our old neighborhood on the Upper East Side and had dinner at our former regular brunch haunt, First Wok, on East 88th Street and Third Avenue. (It was practically directly downstairs from our first apartment, so in this case it really was all about location, location, location.)

Afterward we browsed our old Barnes & Noble before heading over to the Met to sit on the stairs and people watch. (Isn't it sad that now all I can see is Serena and Blair sitting at the top of those stairs on Gossip Girl? Lord save us.) Later we sprawled out on the lawn south of the sailboat pond in Central Park and saw designer extraordinaire Jonathan Adler walk by on our lazy afternoon.

On Sunday night we huddled up with the French film Avenue Montaigne, newly out on DVD, which ended up being the perfect light touch before the start of a new week. We went out for a late dinner afterward at our regular haunt in Hell's Kitchen, sitting and talking streetside long after our plates were cleared.

This weekend Josh K.'s boyfriend is whisking him away for a surprise weekend trip while I stay closer to home, preparing to move into a new apartment in Hell's Kitchen ten days from now. More on that next week.

Josh and Josh Talk Bourne Ultimatum, Cher in Moonstruck, Small Town Gay Bar, Billie Holiday Remixed, and Plain White T's "Hey There Delilah"

This weekend Josh, Dylan and I saw The Bourne Ultimatum with a sold out crowd. (We tried to see it the day before but every showing until almost midnight was sold out.) 

In the third film of the series Jason Bourne's memory is returning and he's going back to the people who started it all to feed them a slice of accountability pie. The anti-James Bond, Matt Damon rocks out as the endlessly crafty Bourne. The always excellent Joan Allen, as Pamela Landy, brings all of her lioness fierceness as an adversary who may prove to be a Bourne ally. With more than 30,000 fast cuts, the movie is a visual feast with smarts and a few well-timed laughs that make the film a popcorn movie must-see.

This weekend Josh and I also saw Sundance-favorite documentary Small Town Gay Bar (out today on DVD) from first-time director Malcolm Ingram and executive producer Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma).

Small Town Gay Bar is beautifully shot (we'd love a coffee table book of stills from the movie) and a moving exploration of the importance of gay bars to gay and lesbian communities in small town America. Growing up in gay-friendly Minneapolis and now living in New York City, the film was a welcome reminder for us of the resilient LGBT people living their lives across America, making a place for themselves in sometimes unwelcoming and conservative towns.

Well done and populated with interesting interviews (including drag queen Alicia Stone, whom we'd watch a whole film about, as well as famed gay hater Fred Phelps), it's a film worth popping into your Netflix queue. Don't miss the special features interview with gay-friendly Kevin Smith, which had us laughing out loud.

Yesterday Josh and I saw the film Moonstruck for the first time. Today we're both wondering how we went so long without seeing it.

The twenty-year-old film follows the travails of Loretta Castorini (Cher), who gets engaged to Jonny, whom she doesn't love, and then falls in love with his one-handed baker brother, Ronny, who happens to have a penchant for opera.

The film is worth watching for Cher's delicious comedic performance alone, playing the thirty-something Italian Brooklynite with gusto. (That must be why she won and Oscar for the role.) Olympia Dukakis, who won an Oscar as Loretta's mother, Rose, is the cherry on top.

Some of our favorite lines:

Rose: Do you love him, Loretta?
Loretta: No.
Rose: Good. When you love them they drive you crazy because they know they can.

* * * * *

Rose: My mother has a saying. Do you want to hear it?
Perry: Sure.
Rose: Don't shit where you eat.

* * * * *

Loretta: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been two months since my last confession.
Priest: What sins have you to confess?
Loretta: Twice I took the name of the Lord in vain, once I slept with the brother of my fiancee, and once I bounced a check at the liquor store, but that was really an accident.

* * * * *

And, of course, the all-time favorite:

Ronny Cammareri: I love you.
Loretta Castorini: [slaps him, then a second time] Snap out of it!

Josh and I are fans of the classic ladies of jazz, so it's no surprise that we dig the new CD "Billy Holiday Remixed & Reimagined". Some of the biggest in-demand remixers and producers of today, including Nicodemus, DJ Logic, and Jazzy Nice, combined master-tape Holiday performances with modern beats and ended up with a spot of magic. You can easily imagine these songs playing at a gallery opening, a funky cocktail bar, or while you're making dinner.

The Plain White T's song "Hey There Delilah" has been on iTunes' list of Top Ten Downloads for weeks, including a lengthy stint at #1. Check it out.

Josh and Josh Talk Jay Brannan (Plus Broadway Buzz: Fantasia in The Color Purple, Megan Mullally in Young Frankenstein, and In The Heights News)

On Wednesday night Josh, Dylan and I headed downtown to see actor, singer and songwriter Jay Brannan perform at Joe's Pub.

Before the show we spotted Jay in the crowd saying hello to friends. Josh, Dylan and I also spotted Shortbus stars PJ DeBoy and Paul Dawson in the audience and stopped by to say hello.

During the sold-out ninety-minute performance we sat at a table with a prime view of Jay—front row, just to the right of the stage—and promptly lamented not bringing a camera. We ate dinner while Jay played an entertaining and sometimes poignant show.

Jay's between-song banter was playful and self-depricating. He told stories about his recent performance in Israel and told us about a boy he just went on a date with who never called back. He also confessed that many of his song's lyrics are written directly from his life, which got a chorus of "awww" responses from the audience.

The crowd applauded as Jay began playing the first bars of "Soda Shop," his hit from the Shortbus soundtrack. He also played songs from this recent iTunes release "Unmastered," including "Body's A Temple" and "Half-Boyfriend," which Jay tried to play as the last song of the night. After leaving the stage, however, the audience's applause lasted so long that Jay came on and, by audience request, played "Housewife."

The funniest moment of the night came when Jay, declining to play "Happy Birthday" for two audience members, instead played a raucous cover of N.W.A.'s curse-laden controversial 1988 hip-hop hit "Straight Outta Compton," featuring a special rap interlude borrowed from a 1990s TLC hit, to wish them happy birthday. Priceless.

Below check out our Josh & Josh virtual Jay Brannan concert. To check Jay out in person visit his website for August performance dates in Philadelphia and New York City.

Body's A Temple

Straight Outta Compton

Housewife

Broadway Buzz

* American Idol champ Fantasia Barrino has signed on to continue playing the lead role of Celie in The Color Purple through January 6, 2008. Produced by Oprah and the Weinstein brothers, among others, the show is a can't miss with Fantasia in the title role. (Read the J&J review of The Color Purple)

* Wondering what Megan Mullally has been doing since Will & Grace wrapped? After briefly hosting a daytime talk show last year, the former Karen Walker is set to hit Broadway this fall in Mel Brooks's new musical Young Frankenstein, based on the 1974 movie, opening in previews at the Hilton Theater on October 11, 2007 (which also happens to be National Coming Out Day). Featuring Tony Award winners Sutton Foster, Roger Bart, Shuler Hensley, and Andrea Martin (remember her as Hedwig's agent in John Cameron Mitchell's pre-Shortbus film Hedwig and the Angry Inch and as the outspoken aunt with the special lump in her neck in My Big Fat Greek Wedding?), the show sounds like it's worth checking out.

* Off-Broadway hit In the Heights closes this weekend after more than 200 performances. Why? It's preparing to move to Broadway for the 2007-2008 season, reports Heights co-producer Kevin Collum (Avenue Q). Josh and I definitely plan to see the show again when it hits Broadway next season. (Read our interview with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Height's star and creator.)

Josh and Josh Talk Hairspray, Anderson Cooper's Dispatches From The Edge, and Jay Brannan's Unmastered

John Travolta (Edna Turnblad) and Nikki Blonsky (Tracy Turnblad) in Hairspray.

Last week Josh and I went to a preview screening of Hairspray, the film version of the Broadway musical based on John Waters's classic film. (Not many movies have a genesis like that, right? Divine to Harvey Fierstein to John Travolta in a fat suit in a big summer movie? But I digress.)

The film mostly follows the Broadway plot: we follow a chubby-yet-spunky teenage girl in 1960s Baltimore who wants to dance on an unsegregated TV show. (The movie takes a few liberties with the Broadway plot, including a major change to the Broadway ending; I won't spoil it here, but perhaps after the movie debuts we'll revisit the plot changes.)

Nikki Blonsky, plucked from obscurity to play Tracy Turnblad, the film's hero, does her job well. She maneuvers the opening number smoothly, which takes some adjusting to for those who have seen the Broadway production. Tracy's mother, Edna, played by John Travola, is more of a stumbling block. Travolta takes on a faux-Baltimore accent that comes and goes and is never convincing. Travolta wears his fat suit but forgets to bring the sass and strength that made other Edna Turnblads so much fun in the original film and on stage.

There are plenty of stars in this Hairspray. James Marsden, perhaps best known for his role as Cyclops in the X-Men films, plays Corny Collins, the host of the TV show Tracy longs to infiltrate. James dances, sings, and shows his pearly whites with abandon and is one of the surprise treats of the movie. Michelle Pfeiffer plays a racist diva, but we're reminded that, as we learned in Grease 2, the poor thing can't sing. (Also, we hereby vote "Miss Baltimore Crabs" the song most in need of cutting from the Hairspray oeuvre, but maybe that's just us.)

Amanda Bynes is fun, if a bit underused, as Tracy's best friend, Penny. Christopher Walken plays Tracy's father, and hams it up in his big romantic number with Travolta ("You're Timeless To Me") in full blubber suit regalia. Queen Latifa is again a dependable movie musical star (with her post-Chicago breast reduction on display here) as Motormouth Maybelle, turning in a wholly respectable performance.

Allison Janney has what amounts to a cameo role as Amanda Bynes's ultra-conservative mom, Mrs. Pingleton. She gets the biggest laugh of the movie, though, when she grounds her daughter for unladylike behavior and splashes holy water at her daughter saying, "Devil child, devil child!" It's the kind of comedic turn we haven't seen her do since the cult classic Drop Dead Gorgeous.

The bottom line is that Hairspray, despite a few foibles, is a lot of fun. It's got great energy, and the music and choreography are in great form here.

Last week, while on a brief vacation to visit my family in Minneapolis, I read Anderson Cooper's book Dispatches From The Edge. I had first read an excerpt of the book in Vanity Fair more than a year ago when Anderson did double duty as cover boy.

After reading the Vanity Fair excerpt I thought the book would explore more of Anderson's personal life, but instead it focuses much more on his years covering wars in Iraq and Bosnia, the tsunami in Sri Lanka, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and civil war and starvation in Niger and greater Africa.

Anderson's past is woven throughout the book in a flashback format that works fairly well. Amidst the stories from his travels and reporting we hear about Anderson's privileged upbringing in New York City as a descendant of the Vanderbilt family, about his father's death at an early age, his brother's suicide, and his early years as a reporter gunning to go wherever the story is, danger be damned.

Anderson's background as a TV reporter works well here as his story unfolds in easy to digest segments, as if they were a part of one of his television shows. (Anderson is also a regular contributor to Details, and his prose style is much the same here: emotive and direct.) Though the language can at times be a little over the top, as is frequent with television reporters, it's easy to move beyond that and invest in the story.

It would have been easy to make this a dry, boring read, but the book turns out to be a page-turner, informative yet interesting. Another great boon is getting to hear honest opinions from Anderson on the stories he's covering, telling us what he's thinking while he's reporting from around the globe. (He has no kind words, for example, for some members of Congress and for the president during Hurricane Katrina.)

Notably absent here, of course, is any mention of romantic interests or intrigues. It's widely speculated that Anderson is gay and unwilling or uninterested in coming out. However, gay or not, Anderson seems to show us a reporter's life thrust forward from grief: after his father's early death and brother's suicide, Anderson is something of a workaholic who feels he has nothing to lose when signing up for dangerous assignments. It would have been interesting to hear about how Anderson's life as a globe-trotting reporter has affected his romantic relationships, assuming that he has had them, but it seems we'll have to wait for another book for that.

In the meantime, Anderson has written a book worth picking up, providing perspective on his reports from abroad and even a bit on himself.

Josh and I have been Jay Brannan fans since we saw the movie Shortbus (and met a few of its stars) and fell for the film's song "Soda Shop", performed by Jay. (The video of Jay singing the song has since been seen more than a million times on YouTube.)

Now Jay has released an L.P. on iTunes called "Unmastered" and two of its tracks ("Half-Boyfriend" and "Body's a Temple") have been burning it up on my iPod for the last couple weeks.

Below check out Jay performing "Half-Boyfriend." (The song starts two minutes in.)

If you need a little more Jay Brannan, check out the video for "Body's A Temple."