Radiohead’s “The King of Limbs” is available now!

Like all good Radiohead fanatics, Christine and I downloaded the band’s latest release “The King of Limbs” when it became available as a digital download back on February 19th. But for those of you who decided to hold out for a hard copy, well, the wait is finally over!

That’s right, amigos, as the super cool Radiohead.com flyer above reads: “The King of Limbs” is available now on CD at “all good record stores”. And though it’s a bit more mellow than the band’s last release, “Limbs” totally grows on you over time, and has at least three songs that are soon-to-be Radiohead classics. So, get thee to a “good record store” already!

And in the meantime, please enjoy this video for the song “Lotus Flower”. This is one of my favorite new songs on the album and though the video is very stripped-down and totally minimalistic, if you dig Thom Yorke doing a crazy, skinny-man dance for almost five minutes, you’ll love it!

Elizabeth Taylor by Richard Avedon

My brother, the photographer, has always told me that the late, great Richard Avedon was a much more diverse photographer than he was given credit for. See, like most people, I always thought of Avedon as a sort of predecessor to Annie Leibovitz, someone who took really famous pictures of really famous people. Well, I was wrong. Kind of.

It’s true, Avedon’s body of work was much more diverse than I’d expected. But, it’s also true that he shot some pretty iconic celebrity portraits in his day. Take, for instance, these two gorgeous shots he took of the late Elizabeth Taylor.

From what I gather online, the pic with Avedon’s red editing marks on it is from 1958 and the very dramatic, feathered headdress portrait is from 1964.

My apologies for geeking out over Miss Taylor again, but, I had never seen either of these pics until today, and, they kinda knocked my socks off. So, here’s hoping you guys feel the same way…

Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)

I know there’s already tons of coverage out there today about the legendary life and loves of Dame Elizabeth Taylor, so, I’ll try and keep it brief and post some of my favorite pics of Taylor over the years instead.

I didn’t love all of her movies — I mean, seriously, have you ever tried sitting through “Cleopatra”? And don’t even get me started on “Giant” — but she is one of the rare stars who could make even a bad movie totally watchable. And when Taylor had great material to work with, man alive, she set that screen on fire!

“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, “Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, “Suddenly Last Summer”, “A Place in the Sun”, “National Velvet”, hell, she made awesome movies in just above every era she lived. And though Taylor stands right up there with the acting great, I have always been a bigger fan of the balls-out way she lived her life rather than her filmic output.

Taylor was famous for most of her life and though that might make some people weird or camera shy, she was anything but. Taylor was funny, candid, and shockingly foul-mouthed…in a word, she was a first class dame. And I ain’t talking about the royal kind.

In my mind, Taylor was a broad in the best sense of the word. She could eat and drink and brawl with the best of them and for that, I salute her.

Hollywood is a freaky place and it changes most people for the worst, but, Taylor always kept it real and remained true to who she was — a totally-hilarious, brassy, old broad — till the very end. So, rock on, Miss Taylor, your humor, humanitarianism and total zest for life will be greatly missed…

Production begins on “The Hobbit”

I know it seemed like this day would never come, but, I’m very pleased to announce that after years of delays and behind-the-scenes drama, production on Peter Jackson’s two-part “Lord of the Rings” prequel, “The Hobbit”, finally began today at Jackson’s Stone Street Studios in Wellington, New Zealand. Hooray!

Even more awesome than this news are the super cool on-set pics Jackson posted on his Facebook page today. Whoo-hoo! Don’t you just wanna live in that sweet little hobbit house? And could that gorgeous, sun-dappled Shire look any more lush and inviting? Wow…

I know they just started shooting, but, I’m ready to throw on my hobbit cape and get in line for tickets, like, today. Bring it on, Mr. Jackson!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day from Timbuk2!

Plopped my corned beef in the crock pot (un-preheated, of course, so as not to repeat last year’s debacle!) cranked up my new St. Patrick’s Day playlist on the iPod and then found this rocking little clip from Timbuk2 in my inbox.

For those unfamiliar with them, Tumbuk2 started selling kick-ass, handcrafted bicycle messenger bags in the bay area in 1989 and since then have expanded their line to include backpacks, duffle bags, wallets, and even luggage. In fact, I use one their laptop bags as a diaper bag and it’s way roomier and easier to clean than most real diaper bags.

Simply put, Timbuk2 rocks. I mean, hell how can you not love a company that would send out a hilariously-festive St. Paddy’s Day video like this and offer a one-day 15% discount to boot? So cool! Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!

Save our libraries, vote “Yes on Measure L” today!!

Oh, man, you don’t even wanna know how bummed Christine and I are that we can’t vote “Yes on Measure L” today. But, because we live in Burbank, which is its own city, we cannot. But what we can do is urge anyone of voting age in Los Angeles to get out there today and save our libraries!

Even before Christine starting working at The Library Store, we used the hell out of the libraries in Los Angeles and beyond, and now that Greta is here, well, forget about it. Books and libraries are a huge part of our lives and let me tell ya, the libraries in Los Angeles are in serious trouble.

Shortened hours, brutal staff and budget cuts and a philistine mayor and city hall who care more about pricey, unproven after-school gang prevention programs than they do about libraries have driven the already beleaguered LAPL system even further into the ground.

Well, guess what else keeps kids off the streets and out of gangs, Mayor Villaraigosa? You got it, libraries! Los Angeles ranks last in per capita spending on library materials in the eight largest U.S. library systems…LAST! We are a major metropolitan city, amigos, that is just plain shameful.

Great cities deserve great libraries, they are the cornerstone of learning and a real beacon of light in our community, especially in these troubled times, so, please, please vote “Yes on L” today.

To read more about the awesomeness that is Measure L, please click here.

VanityFair.com ♥’s our protest pic!

I don’t know what I was more excited about a couple weeks back, the fact that the Motion Picture and Television Fund has reversed it’s decision to close their beleaguered hospital and retirement home in Woodland Hills, or the fact that VanityFair.com used my picture (from a 2009 protest rally we attended there, shown below) for their story about it.

Just kidding. I mean, sure, it was kinda cool to be asked by the editors of VanityFair.com to use my pic, but, come on, that doesn’t even compare to the real good news story of the week!

That’s right, amigos, after an epic, two-year battle by the teamsters, every major union in Hollywood, and most importantly, people like Nancy Biederman and her rocking “Saving the lives of our own” campaign, the MPTF finally came to their senses and found a way to save the home and do the right thing. Yee-haw!

And though I’m sure some changes lie ahead for the home and its occupants, the good news is that the facility will remain open to the very-deserving elderly members of the entertainment community for years to come.

I was out there recently for an appointment and let me tell ya, that campus is plush, yo. Really a gorgeous place to grow old. So, here’s hoping the facility stays solvent till I need it too!

To read the full VanityFair.com article on the subject, click here.