Brad Pitt is doing a remake of Steve McQueen’s 1968 action classic Bullit. Brad will play the Steve McQueen role of Lt. Frank Bullit, of course. The movie is known for having one of the best car chases in movie history.

A lot of people are outraged and/or making fun of the thought of Brad Pitt stepping into Steve McQueen’s large boots.

But I don’t know, I can see it myself…..

Officials in Nepal have begun the process of looking for a replacement for Living Goddess, Sajani Shakya. Sajani had her status as a Living Goddess revoked because she left the country to help promote a British documentary about the centuries old tradition. As one of the countries top three Living Goddesses she is forbidden to leave the country.

Ishbel Whitaker, director of the film “Living Goddess” said she was shocked and saddened by this news and would make sure the girl’s education was provided for. “The rule of not being able to leave was never a rule before…. Nobody ever said the Kumari can’t travel” she said by telephone from London.

Whitaker said they filmed in Bhaktapur for a year. “We had been speaking with people we felt were authorities, and now these others are claiming they are,” she said.

The film crew consulted anthropologists, the head priests of Sajani’s temple and her parents, the director said. And she said the Nepalese Embassy helped arrange Sajani’s trip to the U.S.

The girls who serve as Living Goddesses or Kumari are chosen between the ages of 2 and 4 years. They are worshiped by both Hindus and Buddhists. The main Kumari is sequestered in a temple and is only allowed outside a few times a year for festivals. She only has select playmates. The other Kumari are allowed to live at home.

They are required to have perfect skin, hair, eyes and teeth, they shouldn’t have scars or wounds, and shouldn’t be afraid of the dark. They always wear red, pin up their hair in topknots and a “third eye” is painted on their forehead.

Devotees touch the girls’ feet with their foreheads, the highest sign of respect among Hindus in Nepal.

During religious festivals the girls are wheeled around on a chariot pulled by devotees. Living goddesses usually keep their title until their first menstruation.

The problem is that once they are no longer Kumari they generally have a hard life because folklore holds that men who marry a former Kumari die young.

I have no idea if having the title taken away from her means that Sajani will have her husband die young or not.

source

Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, Right Truth, Big Dog’s Weblog, Stuck On Stupid, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, Pursuing Holiness, Right Celebrity, third world county, Wake Up America, stikNstein… has no mercy, Pirate’s Cove, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Pundits, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, DeMediacratic Nation, 123beta, Maggie’s Notebook, On the Horizon, Webloggin, The Bullwinkle Blog, Cao’s Blog, Conservative Cat, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Planck’s Constant, High Desert Wanderer, The Yankee Sailor, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

In Touch Weekly Magazine chose Halle Berry as the world’s most fabulous 40-something celebrity. They cited their reason for choosing Halle as she has ‘evolved into this woman that feels very confident in who she is.’

Now, you tell me, do they NEED a reason? Just look at the woman! Few people would argue that she is one of the most beautiful and talented women in Hollywood.

The top 10 celebs are: 1. Halle Berry 2. Daisy Fuentes 3. Salma Hayek 4. Pamela Anderson 5. Martina MCBride 6. Maria Bello 7. Tia Carrere 8. Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon 9. Melina Kanakaredes 10. Nicole Kidman.

source

click on images to enlarge

A few Halle Berry facts:

• Name: Halle Marie Berry (named after the Halle building in her hometown)
• Born: 14 August 1968 (although some claim it was really 1966)
• Where: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
• Career: On of the rare breed who started out as a beauty contest winner (2nd Place in Miss USA contest) turned model who then successfully built an acting career.
• Awards: 1 Oscar, 1 Emmy, 1 Golden Globe

TMZ.com has the scoop on a “Sex and the City” movie that finally got the go-ahead. And thank goodness! I loved that show! I have every season on DVD, and I watch reruns whenever they’re on TV.

Here’s the scoop from TMZ.com:

Report: “Sex” Movie a Go!
TV Guide’s Michael Ausiello is reporting that the long-awaited “Sex and the City” movie is finally a go!

Speculation has been swirling for a while that the movie was hung up due to its dueling stars, but Ausiello reports that SJP, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis AND Kim Cattrall have all signed on the dotted line to do the film.

Shooting reportedly will start in September.

Thank God — no more lonely Friday nights watching season six on DVD while drinking a bottle of wine by yourself.

There’s always season five.

Sigh! I can’t wait. I wonder if Big will be in it. Then there’s Aiden - of course he married someone else besides Carrie and had a baby - and then there’s . . .

I’ve always felt that eating two or three hot dogs was rather piggish - even without the buns. However, in food-eating contests, three - ten - twenty - even fifty hot dogs WITH buns isn’t enough to win. I don’t know how they do it. This is definitely not a stop-and-smell-the-roses activity. It’s all about cramming as much food into your mouth and down your throat as fast as possible. No time to appreciate taste or worry about table manners.

Here’s the winner - Joey Chestnut - showing off his trophy:

And a food-eating competition is not a pretty sight. Just take a look at Chestnut’s opponent - previous winner, Takeru Kobayashi. And this is not even one of the more disgusting photos.

Here’s the story:

American Captures Hot-Dog-Eating Crown
Chestnut Sets World Record as He Beats Defending Champ Kobayashi
Posted: 2007-07-04 16:26:18
Filed Under: More Sports
NEW YORK (July 4) - In a gut-busting showdown that combined drama, daring and indigestion, Joey Chestnut emerged Wednesday as the world’s hot-dog-eating champion, knocking off six-time winner Takeru Kobayashi in a rousing yet repulsive triumph.
Chestnut, the great red, white and blue hope in the annual Fourth of July competition, broke his own world record by inhaling 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes - a staggering one every 10.9 seconds before a screaming crowd in Coney Island.

“If I needed to eat another one right now, I could,” the 23-year-old Californian said after receiving the mustard yellow belt emblematic of hot-dog-eating supremacy.

Kobayashi, the Japanese eating machine, recently had a wisdom tooth extracted and received chiropractic treatment due to a sore jaw. But the winner of every Nathan’s hot dog competition from 2001 to 2006 showed no ill effects as he stayed with Chestnut frank-for-frank until the very end of the 12-minute competition.

Kobayashi finished with 63 HDBs - hot dogs and buns eaten - in his best performance ever. His previous high in the annual competition was 53 1/2. The all-time record before Wednesday’s remarkable contest was Chestnut’s 59 1/2, set just last month.

The two gustatory gladiators quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the 17 competitors, processing more beef than a slaughterhouse within the first few minutes. The two had each downed 60 hot dogs with 60 seconds to go when Chestnut - the veins on his forehead extended - put away the final franks to end Kobayashi’s reign.

Hazel, I don’t know how this works, but HOW do their stomachs hold so much food? Do they throw it up after the contest ends - or can they throw up during the contest? And WHO would want to be in such a contest.

Adeline, I hate to say this, by my husband was watching this contest earlier today. It was really gross towards the end. The funniest thing to me was the announcer who really got into it. You’d have thought he was announcing a horse race. He made comments like, ‘this is the most important win in an American sport in …. ‘ I can’t remember how long he said, but I think he was indulging in just a little bit of hyperbole!

Click image to enlarge

There have been rumors for a while now that Pamela and Tommy might be reuniting. The latest is them spending her birthday together.

Pamela Anderson celebrated her 40th birthday at an exclusive hotel surrounded by family and friends. Pamela came to the party with her parents and her two sons, 10-year-old Brandon and nine-year-old Dylan.

Pamela performed as a magician’s assistant for Hans Klok in his stage show The Beauty of Magic who presented her with an autographed copy of Harry Houdini’s only book, written in 1920.

The group partied til 6 a.m. and sources say that it definitely looked like Pamela and Tommy were rekindling an old flame.

“They were definitely close to each other, cuddling and being quite affectionate. They clearly love each other and have tremendous passion for each other. In the morning Pamela retired to a bedroom filled with pink balloons and matching flowers.”

Click on images to enlarge

source

Last summer’s gladiator sandals have not been seen so much this year. There have been a couple of exceptions. Mary Kate Olsen (above) was spotted walking around in a Chanel pair recently. Carine Roitfeld, editor of Vogue Paris was seen at the Paris fashion shows wearing a pair of gladiator heels.

That is so 2006! So will the gladiator style reemerge for the summer of 2007?

Michael Jackson’s publicist has confirmed that the self-proclaimed King of Pop is looking for a summer home in Eastern Shore Maryland.

He hasn’t bought a place and is continuing to look ‘up the coast’ for vacation homes. His publicist said that Jackson has always admired the east coast. Besides, you can get more acreage on the east coast and Jackson likes his privacy.

Yes, I’m sure he DOES like his privacy …..

source

Related:
The Masked Son of Michael Jackson

Paris is taking her first steps at showing the world the new her now that she is back from her vacation in Hawaii, She has a 4th of July message for all her fans on her myspace page.

“Happy 4th of July!
Current mood: excited

Hey everyone! I’m back from my much needed vacation in Maui. It was so beautiful and relaxing. But its good to be home again. I just want to thank you all for your letters of love and support. I am doing my best to respond to each and every one with the letter I wrote–that message was for fans like you who have supported me through it all.

I wanted to let you all know that I’m going to be updating my myspace and writing in more cause I haven’t done it in awhile. The past month has inspired me to move forward with some exciting new projects, so I will keep you all posted.

Happy 4th of July everyone, and remember to be responsible and have a designated driver! Just looking out for you all. I love you and have an amazing summer!

xoxo
Paris”

Now, that’s HOT!

hat-tip: Allie is Wired and Maple Juice

Related on Paris Hilton

Mom and Dad Gore must surely be proud. . . not. It seems that 24-year old Al Gore III was stopped for going 100 mph in California - and the cops subsequently found a smorgasbord of drugs when they searched the car. No prescriptions for them either. Here’s the story:

Al Gore’s Son Arrested on Drug Charge

AP
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. (July 4) — Al Gore’s son was arrested early Wednesday on suspicion of possessing marijuana and prescription drugs after deputies pulled him over for speeding, authorities said.Al Gore III, 24, was driving a blue Toyota Prius about 100 mph on the San Diego Freeway when he was pulled over at about 2:15 a.m., Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino said.

The deputies said they smelled marijuana and searched the car, Amormino said. They found less than an ounce of marijuana along with Xanax, Valium, Vicodin and Adderall, which is used for attention deficit disorder, he said.

“He does not have a prescription for any of those drugs,” Amormino said.

Gore was being held in the men’s central jail in Santa Ana on $20,000 bail.

Kalee Kreider, a spokeswoman for his parents, did not immediately return phone messages to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The son of the former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee also was pulled over and arrested for pot possession in December 2003, in Bethesda, Md., while he was a student at Harvard University.

He completed substance abuse counseling as part of a pretrial diversion program to settle those charges.

The youngest of Al and Tipper Gore’s four children and their only son, Gore lives in Los Angeles and is an associate publisher of GOOD, a magazine about philanthropy aimed at young people.