Anthony Bourdain creates animated web series

by Katie Hammel on

I’m a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain and I love No Reservations. A show that combines travel to places both exotic and familiar, pure rockstar gluttony and classic Bourdain snark – how could it go wrong? So when I heard that Bourdain was creating an animated web series for the Travel Channel (relax, it will NOT be taking the place of No Reservations) I figured it couldn’t be anything less than awesome.

Based on the sneak peak, the show looks like its going to have plenty of Bourdain’s signature sense of humor. In the first episode, “Robo Chef,” Bourdain laments how much effort it takes to create the perfect celebrity chef – all that work and then they go off and get their own talk show! – so he decides to make one himself. But when he accidentally puts in Rachel Ray’s brain instead of Alton Brown’s, things go awry.

According to Bourdain himself, future episodes won’t be all about his issues with Food Network chefs. They’re designed to be alternative versions of No Reservations – “representing things we never could have done on the actual show – or representing the way things should have gone on the show – or animated acknowledgments of what already went terribly wrong on the show.”

One of the six webisodes will be posted on the Travel Channel website each month. The first will debut November 2nd.

Party with Hef at the Playboy Mansion for Halloween

by Katie Hammel on

If haunted houses, ghost hunts, cemetery tours, zombie pub crawls and other usual Halloween attractions just aren’t sexy enough to make your holiday complete, if you want more girls and less gore, and if you’ve got $1000 to drop, make plans now to attend the Kandy Halloween Party at the Playboy Mansion.

I was always under the impression that you had to be an invited guest (or a lowly “Tunnel of Love” ride attendant as my husband was for the party in 1999) to attend. That’s not the case. A $1000 ticket and a costume (which is mandatory) will get you access to “1,000 of the sexiest girls in the world”, plus Hef and some Bunny-loving celebrities.

The party will be held on October 24th and tickets cost $1000-$2000 per person, unless you want to roll in some serious style. Then you’ll need to shell out about $10,000 for a table or cabana, table service, Crystal, seating for 8-10 people, and a Kabana girl to attend to your every need.

I wonder if November’s cover girl, Marge Simpson, will be there.

[via Jaunted]

Randy Quaid (allegedly) stiffs hotel for $10K

by Tom Johansmeyer on
Actor Randy Quaid and his wife, former model Evi, got out of jail Thursday night. They landed in the Texas pokey because of a $10,000 hotel bill they didn’t pay in California. Each is out on $20,000 bail. They were arrested in Marfa, 160 miles southeast of El Paso.

Authorities in Santa Barbara, California issued a felony warrant – burglary, defrauding an innkeeper and conspiracy – for the Quaids. The couple disputed a charge of more than at a local hotel, prompting the hotel, San Ysidro Ranch to file a complaint. The police, hotel and Quaid family aren’t talking, according to a USA Today report.

New Zealander auctions off Paris Hilton’s boarding pass

by Katie Hammel on

A man flying from New Zealand to Fiji on August 12th found a little surprise at his business class seat. Slipped between the pages of his in-flight magazine was the boarding pass of celebutant Paris Hilton, who had traveled to Fiji a few days prior.

Rather than toss the pass, the man decided to put it up for sale on a New Zealand auction site. Despite his claim that is “certainly has no other value” aside from being an unusual bit of memorabilia, as it “doesn’t smell of her perfume, have anything to do with panties”, the bids started rolling in. The price increased, and the man decided to donate the proceeds of the sale to a local charity.

The auction closed Monday at NZ$710 (US$485). So how would Paris feel if she knew her boarding pass was being auctioned off? Well, she did know – she posted a link on twitter, calling the story “random”.

[via Jaunted]

Tour Michael Jackson’s hometown

by Katie Hammel on

The Michael Jackson madness continues!

When the announcement of Michael Jackson’s death circulated around the globe in late June, news outlets went crazy. We watched day after day of non-stop Michael mourning on TV. CNN talked about his kids, his declining health, and the rumored cause of death. E! reminisced about the scandals that plagued him, and his decidedly eccentric behavior (baby-dangling, anyone?). VH1 and MTV paid homage to his musical contributions. And I wouldn’t have been surprised if the Food Network had profiled his favorite meals. People Magazine and Us Weekly ran multi-page spreads in every issue for weeks. Even the funeral was televised so that we could watch as the former “King of Pop” took the stage one last time in a rumored $25,000 gold-plated casket (and am I the only one who thought that thing looked like a chafing dish?).

And just when I thought the never-ending frenzy of Michael Jackson mania was winding down, I learned that a company is now offering bus tours of Jackson’s hometown of Gary, Indiana.

For just $55, you can visit such historic sites as Jackson’s childhood home at 2300 Jackson Street, the junior high school he attended and the venue where the Jackson 5 first performed. According to the tour website, the “King of Pop” tours are narrated by Gary residents who knew the Jacksons themselves or their friends and classmates.They also promise never-before-heard stories about Michael and the family.

The first tour will launch Saturday, July 25th at noon. Tours depart from the south side of Chicago and last about 4 hours.