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Julianne Moore: I'm Watching

2012-02-04T01:05:14Z

Oscar-nominated actor Julianne Moore, participated in Women Are Watching's special membership and media event, yesterday in New York. She agreed to share her thoughts about what's at stake in 2012.

In the fall of 2000, I remember speaking with Glamour, about how I wouldn't even consider voting for a candidate who didn't support reproductive rights -- including a woman's right to choose.

It's hard to believe that in 2012 birth control is being threatened, and that there are candidates who think the U.S. Supreme Court victory from 1965, giving married couples the right to use birth control, should be overturned.

And there are some candidates supporting "personhood" policies that could make birth control illegal for all women.

We all know that birth control is essential to women's health. And access to affordable birth control is essential to keeping women healthy.

Let me tell you the story of Courtney E., from Chicago, Ill.

Diagnosed at the age of 17, Courtney suffers from endometriosis -- a health disorder that can cause damage to a woman's reproductive organs. During her college years and in graduate school, she relied on Planned Parenthood to provide her with the low-cost birth control needed to control the damage. Without Planned Parenthood, she wouldn't have been able to afford the medications that kept her healthy enough to become the mother she is today.

There are many other women out there like Courtney -- women who need access to affordable birth control.

So when politicians talk about eliminating Title X, the nation's family planning program, they are talking about taking away affordable birth control from than five million women and men in this country.

And when they say they want to repeal the Affordable Care Act -- they are talking about taking away one of the most significant advances for women's health in a generation -- birth control without co-pays.

So, this year, in this election, I am committing to watching even more vigilantly. And making sure my friends, family, everyone understands what's at stake. I truly can't imagine a more important election for us to make our voices heard. I hope you'll join me.

For more from Julianne Moore make sure to follow her on twitter @_Juliannemoore.

Christina Hendricks Told Her Parents To 'Just Get A Divorce'

2012-02-04T00:40:30Z

In the March issue of Cosmopolitan UK, Christina Hendricks opens up about her parents' split. She told the magazine that their divorce -- which happened just after she graduated from high school -- "didn't affect" her.

"They hadn't been getting along for some time," she said. "I was like, 'Just get a divorce. Save yourselves.'"

Hendricks, who married "(500) Days of Summer" actor Geoffrey Arend in October 2009, tells the magazine that her parents' divorce may have changed the way she views marriage.

"I believe very much in marriage and in working hard for it," she told the magazine. "My husband's parents are still together and I really like that. But I wouldn't have wanted my parents to stay together if they weren't happy."

Hendricks and Arend were introduced by Hendricks' "Mad Men" co-star, Vincent Kartheiser, in 2007. The actress, who has three film projects in the works this year, told People magazine in September 2011 that she and Arend aren't planning to have kids just yet.

Kim Kardashian's Divorce: Coming To A TV Near You?

2012-02-04T00:25:15Z

It's no surprise that Kim Kardashian's divorce may soon be coming to a TV near you.

Hollywood Life reported Friday that, should Kardashian's divorce from Kris Humphries land in court, the proceedings could be televised because California has an "open policy" on popular cases.

If Kardashian wished to keep the proceedings private, she could either reach a financial settlement with Humphries outside of court or accept his request for an annulment. Doing the latter would likely lead to unwanted exposure, celebrity divorce lawyer Raoul Felder told the Huffington Post in November 2011.

"An annulment is based on fraud... it requires corroboration, witnesses to back it up," Felder said. "The average person with a 60-day marriage would be talking with their lawyer about an annulment. But there is a lot of exposure involved in it and I just don't think they want that. I think in this case it would hurt them; it's easier to get divorced."

Kardashian filed to divorce Humphries just 72 days after their August nuptials. Despite reports that Humphries planned to sign the divorce docs, he instead filed for an annulment on the basis of fraud.

Under California law, Humphries would need to prove "deception regarding a significant matter that led to the marriage or the partnership and continued until the breakup" in order for his annulment request to be fulfilled.

Hollywood Life suggests that Humphries' team may be planning to use footage from "Kourtney & Kim Take New York" as evidence of fraud, which they believe was "developed with the theme of divorce, without without Kris being made aware of it," a source told the website.

Indeed, Kardashian's discontent with her marriage played out all season on the show. In the Jan. 29 season finale, she tearfully breaks down about her ill-fated relationship after refusing to allow Humphries to move his things to her Los Angeles home.

Could the televised proceedings be anything like SNL's viral sketch, "Kim's Fairytale Divorce"? We sure hope so.

WATCH:

Pandora Boxx: Fag? Homo? Queer? Yes, I Am!

2012-02-03T23:27:00Z

Fag. Homo. Queer. These were the words I grew almost accustomed to hearing as I walked the halls of my school. I hated those words. The truth is that I really didn't even understand what they meant. To me they just became bad words, words I never wanted to hear, and things I never wanted to be. Why did they call me those things? Why did I have to suffer through that relentless taunting? I remember getting tunnel vision as I walked those halls, trying to blur everything around me like a Van Gogh painting: if I just focused on where I was going, then maybe they would leave me alone, for once. It never happened. Without fail, someone would make some asinine comment about the way I walked or talked or looked.

Who the hell are these so-called normal people? It's really ridiculous when you think about it. There is no such thing as normal. Normal people to one person are complete oddities to someone else. But for some reason, human beings have this subconscious fear of what they don't know, don't understand, or deep down are themselves. So we make fun. We verbally jab at people to make ourselves feel better. What other reason would kids have for tormenting other kids for being gay? I hated every time I was picked on, but in hindsight, it made me who I am today. It gave me a thicker skin. It still hurts when someone says something today, and if anyone tells you it doesn't, that person is a complete liar. Nevertheless, now I feel I'm able to cope with it better.

From my earliest memory, I knew I was different from most. I just didn't know what it was that made me different. My mother used to say that aliens had brought me to Earth to test her. If those aliens were cross-dressers with a passion for pop divas, she might be right. I wasn't the easiest child. Yes, even then, I was ready to have my diva status. I was also painfully shy. So my mother spoke for me, a lot. Even to this day, I catch her doing it. She thought she was protecting me, but she was really covering me with a security blanket and then throwing me to the wolves. I was totally ill-prepared for the type of mental abuse I would receive on a daily basis. It is abuse. Mental abuse can be just as damaging as physical abuse, just without the visible scars. All the taunts and jeers just told me that I wasn't good enough, that I wasn't worthy, that I was nobody. I got it from school, and then I would return home, where my father would either ignore me or scream at me because I hadn't put the cap on the milk jug or some other miniscule thing.

I had friends, I had my mother, and I had my sister (when she was younger, at least; popular teenage girls and older gay brothers do not always mix well), but still there were so many times I felt utterly alone. Invisible. I just wanted someone to notice me or care about me. I just wanted validation. Validation, I've learned, is what most people want. We want someone to validate us. We seek it all the time, through our relationships, our jobs, our children. We just want someone to say that we are important and we are valued. We just want simple validation. I wanted it so bad at one point in my life that I tried to take my own life to get it. It was the ultimate cry for help. I needed someone so desperately to love me and make me feel whole. The reality of it was that there were already so many people around me who did, but I couldn't see it through my pain. I couldn't see the love around me because I had no love in my heart for myself. I believed I was this horrible person because everyone had made fun of me. I let them take control of my life even when they weren't in it any longer. I was so damaged that I couldn't see that all I really needed was myself. I needed the love from myself.

Fag. Homo. Queer. To that I say, "Yes I am!" I am all those things that they said I was. I am effeminate. I do like other men. I do walk with a swish. I am proud to be a gay man. I am proud to be who I am, and who I always was deep inside the shell of that scared little boy. I wear those names as badges of honor now. I know that those were the words spoken by ignorant children who were raised by ignorant parents. I know that ignorance is the major downfall of the human race. Maya Angelou says, "When you know better, you do better." I know better, and I am doing better. It is through sharing our life experiences that we all begin to realize that we are not so different from each other. We all just want to be loved.

Jersey Shore's Vinny Gets Religious?

2012-02-03T23:15:57Z

Vinny Guadagnino made his return to MTV's "Jersey Shore" on the Jan. 26 episode, and he couldn't wait to show his fellow cast members his new tattoo. Inked across the star's chest in scripted, black letters were the words "Let Go Let God."

CLICK FOR PHOTO

Entertainment blog "Wet Paint" reports that Guadagnino received the tattoo some time last year but that he said he was not allowed to talk about it until Season 5.

On a Hollywood TV clip, Guadagnino even refuses to answer a question about whether or not the tattoo hurt.

Wet Paint points out that the saying has roots in the Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous 12-step program, where the second and third steps both touch on the meaning of the phrase, according to 12step.com.

According to the website:

The real power in the "let go" set up is abandoning this phony idea that we control or are responsible for the world beyond our own small interactions. Trusting God, or our higher power, to handle all the extraneous junk allows us to focus on what we need to focus on - improving our own lives and working the steps.

However, the phrase also has spiritual and practical meaning.

In a lecture, the International Pathwork Foundation, a non-profit organization, explains the phrase by emphasizing that people should let go of "fears, distrust, misconception, and suspicion."

To "let God" from the center of your being, from your heart, from your innermost self where God speaks if you wish to listen -- that is truly the ultimate aim. Before this highest, most blissful and secure state can exist, obstacles and dualistic confusions must always be removed.

So is Guadagnino trying to get in touch with his spiritual side? Is he going through the 12 Step program? Or does the phrase have a different meaning when emblazoned across one's chest?

Either way, the "Jersey Shore" cast member isn't the only reality star who's expressing interest in faith.

Kim Kardashian recently attended a church service in California and tweeted she was interested in starting a Bible study group with her friends, the Christian Post reports.

And "Teen Mom 2" star Leah Messer fired back at critics, who called her out for cheating on her now ex-husband Corey Simms, by tweeting with the hashtag "#GodsMyJUDGE," according to Babble.

Shortly after suffering a miscarriage, Messer also Tweeted how proud she was of her twins, with the message: "I literally have THE BEST two little girls in the whole world! God couldn't have gave me anymore of a blessing!!"

Guy Fieri Grills Healthy Super Bowl Wings For 'The Talk' Ladies

2012-02-03T23:15:27Z

You may think you'd have to go to a diner, drive-in or dive to get delicious chicken wings for the Super Bowl, but Friday on "The Talk" (weekdays on CBS) Guy Fieri showed Julie Chen and Aisha Tyler how to grill healthy and flavorful wings at home. Although Fieri isn't known for healthy cooking, the segment was for the "Redo U" series "The Talk" has been running to help people make small changes to improve their lives.

So rather than battering and frying the wings, Fieri showed the ladies how to create a brine using water, Canola oil, honey and a multitude of seasonings. He had them drop everything into a zip-lock bag and shake it up. He then shared a grilling tip, marking the wings on the grill, then moving them to indirect heat so the fat wouldn't drip into the flames and cause the chicken to burn.

Fieri also suggested creating different sauces to cater to various heat preferences. They ranged from a sweeter rub to sprinkle on the wings while they were still on the grill to a fiery sauce made with sriracha, soy sauce and garlic chili sambal that nearly made Julie Chen sneeze. Fieri even shared his signature sauce, which he uses at his restaurant, Tex Wasabi. Without giving away the recipe, he simply said, "We use jalapenos, garlic, hot sauce and butter."

TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.

'Dora the Explorer' Gets New Voice

2012-02-03T23:00:18Z

'Dora the Explorer' is a super cool exploradora and she's got a new actress behind her adventurous voice.

Perry Garfinkel: Puck Goes Back to His (Ginger) Roots

2012-02-03T22:15:53Z

Before he rocked western culinary civilization with Spago in 1982, Wolfgang Puck had worked in his native Vienna and Paris. He went to the U.S. in 1973 and landed in Indianapolis, Indiana, not exactly a gourmand's Mecca -- in fact, it's heartland Midwest meat-and-potato country.

When he moved to Los Angeles in 1975 to take over the kitchen at a French restaurant named Ma Maison, giving French traditional a modern California spin, it did not take long for Hollywood's elite to give the bistro a lot of buzz. Then, in '82, he opened Spago in BevHills, now synonymous with California cuisine. But it wasn't until 1983, with Chinois on Main, in Santa Monica, that he delved into Asian cuisine, pioneering what became the "fusion" food phenomenon.

The rest is modern day culinary history. Today, a plethora of ventures falls under the Puck corporate umbrella: restaurants, a catering business and bistro franchises, plus books, TV shows and even a line of cookware. In all, industry experts estimate that his epicurean empire brings in about $350 million in annual revenue.

With his most recent openings this past fall behind him -- Wolfgang Puck at the Hotel Bel-Air in Beverly Hills, his 20th fine dining restaurant, and CUT at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore, the third in his steakhouse chain, the Austrian sat still, if only briefly, last month with me in the al fresco section of his flagship Spago to access which way the east-west winds are blowing at Puck Inc.

What was your introduction to the East's style of cooking?

Interestingly, I only remember a few cheap Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants in Paris. But in L.A. in the late '70s, on my Sundays off I used to go down to the tiny Asian section and sample foods from Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Thai Town and Koreatown. I loved tasting what to me were new spices and trying to figure out their methods of cooking.

When I opened Spago, I put tuna sashimi on the menu. In '82 you never saw that in restaurants serving American or European food. Or course I had to make it reflect both East and West. So instead of just soy sauce I made a little salad: tuna with avocado, Maui onions, and a sprinkle of caviar on top. My vinaigrette was soy sauce, lime juice, olive oil and little chili flakes. That was my very first foray into combining Asian, Californian and French.

Spago was so successful when it opened. Why did you depart from that formula and open Chinois on Main, which some say was the first American fusion of Eastern and Western cuisine?

First of all, I don't buy into all these something-slash-Asian phrases -- Pan Asian, Cal Asian, Pan Pacific. As soon as it's named, it becomes a "trend" that everyone can jump on and imitate, rather than innovate. It's not as simple as adding ginger and soy sauce -- and voila, Asian fusion.

We opened the second Spago in Tokyo and the more I went there, the more I became influenced by the simplicity of the East. When a restaurant space became open in Santa Monica, the lucrative thing would have been to open another Spago, but I always followed my palate, not my pocketbook. Though chinois actually comes from the French adjective for Chinese, I did not intent this to be a Chinese restaurant in the same way most people thought then -- spring rolls, chow mien, spare ribs, shrimp with lobster sauce.

People didn't understand it at first -- they called it French Chinese. Of course I got negative responses from traditional American Chinese restaurant owners -- "How dare you cook Chinese food -- you're not even Chinese." But I believe authenticity is about evolution, not repeating your grandmother's recipe. Cooking is like painting or writing a song. Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors -- it's how you combine them that sets you apart.

You were among the chefs who helped popularize the phenomenon we now call "celebrity chef," along with all the cooking and reality chef TV shows that have followed. Do you regret being at the forefront of that?

The title of celebrity chef is sort of bogus. Do we have celebrity shoemakers, celebrity butchers? The good news about showcasing chefs and the TV shows is they've attracted a lot more smart kids to the profession than 30 years ago. On the down side, though, these young chefs all say they want their own restaurant and their own TV show. Very few say "I want to have the best restaurant in town." Yet all this exposure has made people think and talk more about food. That makes diners more sophisticated, more discerning, which in turn challenges chefs to stay on top of their game.

Some would say it's counter-intuitive to open an upscale steak joint in Singapore, where almost 50 percent of the population is Buddhist and Taoist, vegetarians by religious decree. What were you thinking?

It's a myth that generally Asians are more vegetarians. The Japanese are the kings of red meat, but it's expensive. The Chinese and Vietnamese love their pork. Many Indians, especially the Muslims, can't live without their lamb. But, for example, the Chinese can't get good steak so they fry it in cornstarch to make it more tender. But once they discover the taste of great beef, they're sold.

Another important difference: our steaks are cooked over charcoal and wood. A broiler doesn't do anything to enhance the taste. Quite the contrary.

The other hurdle is a matter of education; the Chinese are just learning the art of fine European dining traditions. They like all the food at once in the center of the table, so they can pick from plates with their chopsticks. I've watched when we'd send out the first course, a salad, and they'd ask the waiter, "This is it? Where's the rest?"

What has been the biggest obstacle for you to overcome personally on the road to success?

My shyness, without a doubt. Maybe it was because my mother was shy. I know when my father would yell criticism at me from the sidelines of the soccer field I wanted to just disappear. In my old school pictures I'm never looking into the camera. Even when I was 27 I was the shyest guy. The first cable TV cooking show I was on -- I still couldn't look into the camera.

I rarely went into the dining room to say hello to guests. I would go see only people I knew. Unfortunately, those people happened to be famous, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Wilder, Orson Well, and Gene Kelly, my tennis partner. So I got the reputation for being snobby; people would write letters: "Oh, he goes over to Arnold and Orson, but I'm not important enough?"

Here I was in the hospitality business and people perceived me as being inhospitable. I got the message fast. Now I make it a point every night to go to every table and greet them. People love it. I think it's not so much about meeting the "celebrity chef" as it is about making a personal connection between what's on their plate and a real live human being who was responsible for it. And, by the way, it breeds loyalty. Wouldn't it be great if airline pilots came around and greeted every passenger? I bet it would result in more frequent fliers.

What can we look for next coming out from under your chef's hat?

I am definitely moving more toward simplicity. When I was 27 if I didn't put 15 things in one dish I wasn't happy. It had to be as many as possible and I was so proud of myself. Now I am the opposite. I put in a couple of four things and let the flavors and textures be the stars. Today I'm more into gastronomy, which is literally the art and appreciation of preparing and eating good food. It's as much for the eyes as for the mouth.

That's why I have been drawn back to the Japanese style. So we're completely redoing the Spago menu and its dÃ©cor this winter, with much more Japanese influence. They are the purest, most aesthetic and most spiritual about their food and the presentation. They'll place an edible flower just so perfectly off center on the plate. They start with the best produce they can find. This is just like my philosophy, which I always put this way: "We buy the best ingredients and then we try not to f--- them up."

Perry Garfinkel, who writes frequently about Asia, is the author of "Buddha or Bust" (http://www.perrygarfinkel.com).

Kate Middleton Visits Recovering Drug Addicts At Charity Visit

2012-02-03T21:59:17Z

Kate Middleton is using her time alone while Prince William is away to dig into her charity work.

The Duchess of Cambridge visited Action on Addiction in Wiltshire to meet with recovering addicts, the Mirror reported. It's one of the charities she chose to champion this year.

The treatment center does research, prevention, treatment, education and support to help free people of addiction.

The Guardian reported that Jacquie Johnston-Lynch, head of the organization said she's grateful for the recognition:

"We're excited that a member of the royal family has put their name to a charity dealing with addiction, which often come bottom of the heap. She intends to be a hands-on patron and we are really grateful."

Kate is using the time to get to know the staff and find out more about what the organization does.

When the Duchess of Cambridge chose her charities to support this year, she did her own research, according to People.

Besides Action on Addiction, Kate chose to support a children's hospice, an art therapy center, a portrait gallery and the Cub Scouts.

St James Palace said that Kate choose charities that reflect her "personal interests in the arts, the promotion of outdoor activity, and supporting people who are in need of all ages, especially young children," the Associated Press reported.

It's been noted that Kate's dedication to charity and her choices mirror those of Princess Diana, Prince William's mother. Diana supported organizations that helped AIDS patients and removed land mines from conflict zones, according to the AP.

Kim Addresses Dating Rumors

2012-02-03T21:30:59Z

We all know Kim Kardashian has a habit of dating professional athletes, but that doesn't mean she's looking to date just any guy with a jersey and a multimillion dollar contract.

Rumors that the reality TV queen has been secretly dating New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, began popping up online this morning.

The rumors seem to originate from a website called starberryicecream.com that alleges the two started seeing each other when Kim began filming the first season of her show "Kourtney & Kim Take New York," in 2010. According to the site's source, now that Kim is back on the market she's gone back to dating Sanchez.

Kim indirectly denied the rumors when she wrote on Twitter:

dating rumors are always fun when u don't even know the people your supposedly linked to! Who makes this stuff up!
â Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) February 3, 2012

Since she split with New Jersey Nets foward Kris Humphries at the end of October, Kim has also been linked to ultra-Christian football player Tim Tebow. Various reports claim the 31-year-old has a "huge crush" on the quarterback for the Denver Broncos and has been making advances, trying to make him her new man.

The reports are totally unsubstantiated, but even John Legend got in on the decidedly fun rumor, warning Tebow not to fall victim to Kim's wiles. On ESPN's "First Take" Legend performed a Tebow-inspired version of his 2004 tune "Ordinary People," now renamed "Extra-Ordinary Tebow." In the song, Legend sings, "Deny Kim K advances, and TV ballroom dances. Though it's not a fantasy, because you all do is win."

Check out Kim's romantic history and all of her exes:

Does 'Grey's' Want Heigl Back?

2012-02-03T21:20:59Z

The Feb. 2 installment of "Grey's Anatomy" -- the "If/Then" alternate reality episode -- welcomed back a few familiar faces and dearly departed friends, but it also gave the giant middle finger to a few others.

In an episode where anything was possible (Meredith wearing pink! Addison pregnant!), the only thing scoffed at more than George O'Malley (a.k.a. "007" license to kill) was "crazy" Izzie, their old pal who lost her job for sleeping with a patient and stealing a heart for him. Sound familiar?

When I visited the "Grey's Anatomy" set recently while they filmed their upcoming "Private Practice" crossover, Ellen Pompeo was very frank about who, if anyone, she'd welcome back to the show with open arms. And even with Katherine Heigl's constant media pleas lately to return to the show, her name never came up.

If you could have any one character back on the show, alive or dead, who would you like to return?
"Well, I have to say, I do love Kate Burton. She's a tremendous actress, and any minute I get to work with her is fun. I love having Kate. I was so sad when our relationship on the show ended -- when she died and I couldn't have her anymore -- because I thought that was such an interesting dynamic, and it's so fun to play. So I was glad to have a second crack at that."

Yes, it could be that Pompeo name-dropped the one woman who did come back for that very special episode -- Kate Burton as Meredith's mom Ellis Grey -- because it was fresh on her brain. Or it could be that the cast of "Grey's" is sending Heigl a message: You had your chance. Thanks, but no thanks.

What do you think: Should they let Heigl return to wrap up Izzie's story once and for all?

'Dirty Jobs' Star Mike Rowe's New Acting Gig

2012-02-03T20:52:37Z

One of the co-stars from the Oscar-nominated film "The Descendants" and a tough guy from Discovery's "Deadliest Catch" will show up on "Last Man Standing" this season to play members of Mike Baxter's (Tim Allen) extended family.

Vanessa Becknell: Why You Should Be Watching Top Chef

2012-02-03T20:51:57Z

If you haven't had a chance to check out Top Chef this season, you seriously need to. Not because of the cheftestants' popularity -- to be honest, the personalities we're seeing this go around in Austin, while pleasant for the most part, are lacking any real flair. There are no Hungs or Carlas or Fabios to root for (and thankfully no real Marcels to hate either) so, minus a few pointless forays into girly cattiness, it's been a fairly drama-free season.

What makes this show's ninth season the best one I've ever seen has nothing to do with who's competing and everything to do with the clever use of recent guest stars Charlize Theron and Paul Reubens (in character as Pee Wee Herman). Am I seriously hinging "The Best Season Ever" on only two episodes? Yeah, I am -- why? Because they were THAT fucking good.

Crazy-good actress Theron appeared a couple weeks ago to plug her latest film Snow White and the Huntsman. In the spirit of Theron's role as the Evil Queen, the cheftestant's were given the challenge of using their imagination to come up with a meal fit for her character -- and the results were incredible. I don't think I've ever seen chefs on Top Chef come up with such cool dishes -- so while I may knock them for not being dramatic enough, damn these bitches can cook!

Possibly the chillest girl on the show, Grayson Schmitz, delivered an amazing meal with black chicken done up to look like it was slaughtered directly on the plate -- the egg yolk baby and clawed chicken foot were beautifully frightening finishing touches and an awesome surprise coming from a girl who's walked the line of playing it safe.

As much as I can't stand Chris Jones (his hair just bothers me -- it's like the exact same haircut that all the budding metalheads would sport in high school because they wanted long hair but their parents wouldn't let them, and when he puts it up in a scrunchie I want to punch him in his face) his Poisoned Apple dessert was utter insanity.

But it was frontrunner Paul Qui, who's consistently taken risks and delivered exceptional food, who took the grand prize home with this incredible delivery of foie gras with bacon, pumpernickel, pickled cherries, and beets. While I hated his use of foie gras (it's SO cruel and disgustingl if you don't know how foie gras is made, watch this, then never eat it again), I thought his presentation was like nothing I'd ever seen come out of this show before. The win was his the second he put that down in front of the judges.

After the Theron episode, I thought there was nothing that could top it -- then Top Chef totally threw me for a loop when they had one of my heroes, Paul Reubens, appear this week in character as Pee Wee Herman.

Seeing as Top Chef is in Texas this season, it's only right they'd do something Alamo-related -- and how can anyone think of the Alamo (at least anyone born after 1975) without thinking of Reuben's iconic character travelling there in Pee Wee's Big Adventure in search of his beloved bicycle?

So there he is -- riding into the kitchen and straight into my heart -- to take part in the most exciting and fun elimination Top Chef has ever offered. After having each of the chef's make him pancakes for the Quickfire (and telling every one of them they had made the best pancakes he'd ever tasted) Padma and Pee Wee tell the chefs they're going on a Big Adventure of their very own. Back at their house Pee Wee's left them each a brand new red bicycle which they'll need to trek across town. After a stop at the farmer's market, each chef has to find a different restaurant which will let them prepare their meal, and then they have to get the food to Pee Wee and the other judges waiting back at the Alamo.

Watching these guys scramble to find ingredients and a place that would let them use their kitchen was so much fun -- Ed even had to make breakfast for one of the guests at the Bed & Breakfast he'd chosen to cook in -- and in the end they all made some really great food given the challenges they overcame in the limited time they had.

I heard that when this episode was shot a lot of fans showed up at the Alamo to see Reubens -- and every one of them left with nothing but glowing things to say about the star -- he was gracious, funny, kind, and stayed there for hours signing every single autograph and shaking every person's hand. I've always felt that's how stars are supposed to act, and it's why I adore Reubens so much -- he doesn't nearly get the accolades he should, and if you're not watching this season or at the very least trying to find reruns of these two episodes, Top Chef: Texas isn't getting the attention it deserves either.

Happy Birthday Elmo!

2012-02-03T20:41:25Z

Every child's favorite neighborhood red, furry monster is turning three! Again! That's right, it's la-la-la-la ... Elmo's birthday.

He first hit the small screen as Elmo in 1985 -- although he'd been known by the name Baby Monster for over a decade before. Besides his most steady gig on "Sesame Street," Elmo has also been a guest on a number of talk shows including "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," "Martha Stewart Living," "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" and "The View." As for start power, over the years, Elmo has performed alongside everyone from The Goo Goo Dolls to Katy Perry and India Arie.

In honor of another fantastic Elmo-filled year, here are 7 of of his best "Sesame Street" appearances. Let us know which are your favorites in the comments!

Madonna Sued By 'Girls Gone Wild' Founder

2012-02-03T20:40:39Z

Joe Francis -- the mastermind behind "Girls Gone Wild" -- is sending Madonna a cease and desist letter, threatening that he'll take legal action if she sings the song from her new album -- titled "Girls Gone Wild" -- at the Super Bowl.