I haven’t watched any of the Donald Trump Apprentice shows since the second season. However, the new one hooked me. Why? The mix of celebrities they have. I can’t imagine most of them in the same room. Plus, many of these contestants are actually still relevant as celebrities.

Adam Carolla is the main reason I decided to give the first episode a chance. And I’m glad I did. He is one funny cat.

Hilarious. Apparently I can’t embed it here. Here’s the link instead.

http://vevo.ly/xGj8HJ

My favorite fashion designer does it again. He puts on one hell of a show. I hadn’t see this until today, but it’s an innovative show. Not to mention men could actually wear these clothes. It’s his Fall/Winter 2012. I also included his Spring/Summer preview. Hopefully he’ll load that runway video after fashion week.

How disappointing. When Minaj hit the red carpet, I thought for sure she was doing a little red riding hood theme. But it was religious? Apparently these performers who try to make religious or political statements haven’t caught on yet. We don’t care what you think. You have zero influence on our belief system. It’s not like I see a performance from Nicki Minaj or Lady GaGa, then sit back stroking my chin and say; AH HA. Exactly right! No, I don’t think twice about the philosophy of someone who lives so far above the fray of real society and problems it’s faux reality.

This means that not only is your attempt at a statement performance ineffective, it’s tired. Next time, Bring the wolf Red Riding Hood.

Yes, London Fashion week has started, and so far, the news coming out of it that’s thrilled me the most? Hats are back in a big way. Some designers are saying the accessory is more fashionable now than ever before.

They speculate that part of the reason hats have made a big comeback, is that buying a hat to add style is less expensive than buying a whole suit, or whole new outfit. So it’s somewhat economic. I love a stylish hat, so I’m happy with this trend.

Turns out that quite a few people are on MY page when it comes to the female figure. Debenhams commissioned a poll on the best beach body of all time. And contrary to where American culture has gone,  it wasn’t a skinny waif who topped the list. At 37-23-36 it’s Marilyn Monroe who wins 50 years after her death. Also in the top ten were was, Kim Kardashian, and Christina Hendricks.

I agree. I’m not a fan the androgynous female figure. Super skinny, narrow hips, and no breasts. Don’t get me wrong, I admire anyone, including women, who dedicate themselves to sculpting their physique, but it’s not my taste.

Congratulations to the female figure. You won. Maybe American fashion will catch on.

And my most missed band. The Sundays. An English alternative rock band with a stunning lead vocalist in Harriet Wheeler. Stunning as in her voice, but also in appearance. They released three albums in the 1990s.

Harriet Wheeler and co-founder and guitar player of The Sundays David Gavurin married in 1995. They built a recording studio in their home and recorded their third and unfortunately final album Static and Silence in 1997. They’ve disappeared from the music scene.

Over the years, I’ve continued to search and listen to any gossip about the band reforming, or at least the release of something new. No one has heard a peep. This is the band I mourn the most.

Albums:

Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic- 1990

Blind- 1992

Static and Silence- 1997

Place; Tierra Coffee Roasters. Time; This Friday, February 17th at 7:30pm. Me, my wife, and a couple of our friends are going to see one of my co-hosts on MANville (Kevin Marshall) do stand up. I’m very much looking forward to it. However, I thought it was going to be cancelled. Albany NY is starting to enforce some nonsensical “cabaret law” whereas bars must pay the city what really amounts to extortion money if they’d like to hold any event that uses a microphone.

Well, at least that’s what the police were saying to bar owners as they walked into four bars over the weekend. Elda’s on Lark had to cancel their comedy night indefinitely because they didn’t apply for a “zoning variance.” Luckily a new version of the law has been proposed knocking the fees from a maximum of $900 to $500. Smaller non-alcoholic venues could pay as little as $50.

That’s better, but let’s face it, it’s still a city trying to raise money from small businesses in a down economy. This hasn’t been an issue for as far back as I can remember. I used to play in bands at some of these venues, and the city never said boo. The enforcement of this law has caught bar owners by surprise. Elda Abate (Elda’s on Lark‘s owner) told All Over Albany that she’s been holding these events for 12 years and had no idea she was in violation. In fact, based on how the law is written, even prior to the revision, the law shouldn’t have effected any spoken word, whether amplified or not. The NYC law is very similar and is specific to establishments that allow dancing. But apparently, the police didn’t know that. Why understand the law you’re enforcing?

Anyway, It’s ON! Kevin Marshall Friday night February 17th 7:30pm at Tierra Coffee 1038 Madison ave. Albany NY

I’ve had this domain since 2005. And before that, it was my gaming name. The Caffeinated Buddha moniker is mine. In the past when googled, only I would show in the results. So now, there is another. Someone who has either stolen, or years later thought of this moniker and gone about calling it her own. I’m sorry to say that you are too late, and to pretend you came up with the name is foolish, and a lie.

There is ONE Caffeinated Buddha. And you Miss… are not it.

Whitney Houston has died. This sparks another sequel of pointing fingers, the need to blame someone, and the eventual demonizing of someone close to her that people will hold more responsible for her death than the rest. I’m waiting for the day when we, the public, accept the tragic, drug related death of a celebrity, and just move on.

The drug related deaths in the “celebrity’ world has been running rampant since the late 1800′s. Virtually uncountable. Check this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_drug-related_deaths#top . It’s a truly stunning account of these types of deaths. And every death of this sort serves as an awareness doesn’t it? No, it doesn’t. Nothing changes. Human beings are clearly, by nature, somewhat self-destructive.

We’re aware of what certain types of behavior lead to. No one puts their hand over their mouth and exclaims their surprise at the fact that drugs strike down abusers. We know this. Whitney knew this. Elvis Presley knew this. Michael Jackson knew this. So before we shake our finger at someone in Whitney Houston’s camp, perhaps we should, for once, accept that this is what she chose for herself. We’ve all had a loved one act in ways detrimental to themselves. We’ve all tried to help them. And we’ve all given up. Because we’ve realized that you can’t help a person who has chosen to live as they live regardless of the pain it causes others or themselves.

People, whether celebrity or not, will continue to die in drug related ways. The data is there. This is no experiment. It’s a clear choice, with an acceptance of risk. There is no villain here, and there is no “reason”. As tragic and sad as it is… it just is.