Fierce on Friday!

The Kylie Show airs tomorrow night on Britain's ITV and this TV special showcases Kylie performing her previous hits, as well as music from the new album, X.

Fans will find this shot reminiscent of her Agent Provocateur ad from some years back.


Ugly Betty's hotly anticipated wedding episode looks set to be yet another hour of can-you-believe-this camp madness on network television.

The storyline featuring Wilhelmina Slater's wedding (to publisher Bradford Meade) is primed for primo ratings, and comes complete with from some serious star power.

Designer Vera Wang, hamming it up as herself, is on hand to dress Wilhelmina and her celebrity bridesmaid, one Victoria Beckham, in a scene that's bound to inspire drag queens and parodists all over the world.

Here's a delicious sampling for your viewing pleasure.



And finally, some of you might have seen this one already - Amy Winehouse was a hot mess when she performed in Munich at the EMAs last week. Her slurred speech, glazed over eyes and shakiness aside, it's a fierce performance by a woman who the critics love and the audience can't wait to see fully implode.

(Thanks to Stevie for the link).

Have a fab Friday, people.

Idol Update

You must by now have heard about the writers' strike in Hollywood that's beginning to affect/halt production on TV's best and brightest shows and series.

Labour/financial discussions aside, reality TV seems to be a 'saviour' of sorts for folks in TV Land and there's no bigger reality champ than American Idol. We are about 2 months away from yet another season of cringe-worthy auditions and competitions that will unveil the (can you believe) 7th American Idol, so all you diehard fans out there, standby.

The recent confirmation from series producer Nigel Lythgoe that the new season's auditionees will be allowed to play instruments is sure to bring on more magical reality TV moments.

Last season's competition runner-up, the beatboxing Blake Lewis is releasing his debut album "Audio Daydream" in early December. Here's the album cover.

Can we say Liberace In Space Camp? What am I missing here?

Gassy & Sassy

OK, I promise this is the last time I'll talk about jetlag. This week.

So I've been trying to eat more healthy over the past 3 months - I've included more fruit, started introducing flax seed and oats into my diet in a bigger way, and I'm also rediscovering the joys of nuts (don't laugh).

I'm also going to the gym more regularly, and I'm finding that the new healthy foods in my diet is making me less achey and tired, which is a good thing when I'm not exactly gym-tastic.

I'm so committed to this new thing that I even brought a small container of oats when I was in the US for 2 weeks, and I went to the hotel gym twice.

Since I've been back in KL (5 days in), I've found that my out-of-sync body clock is making me react in the gassiest way possible to oats and nuts. It's most unpleasant when you have to meet with friends or colleagues for extended social get-togethers. So far, I've been able to hold it together without any embarrassing expressionistic explosions.

I'm sure this too shall pass.

On possibly related developments, I've begun to feel more enthused about doing more, without feeling weighted down by holding on to something that I never had. It's a very thin line between warm feelings and hot air.

Colin Wins, Pants Down

Another picture is from Mario Testino's new photo book, Let Me In.


Sometimes all you need is a towel. Le sigh.

Bedtime Stories

For the first time on a long-haul flight, I popped 2 sleeping pills to help me sleep. And help it did - I actually missed my 2nd meal on the flight from LA to BKK, which kinda works out to be 7 hours, which is a long amount of time for me to be asleep on a plane, which on a 16-hour flight, is a very good thing.

I thought that it would be good for me to stay up as late as I could on my first night in KL, you know, to re-adjust to local timings of my usual routine. But I didn't factor in a late-night caller a-calling, which resulted in my going to bed around 5:30 in the morning. And waking up 5 hours later. And then falling asleep again at noon for another 7 hours - which meant that I was sleeping in LA time.

Thankfully, it was good, dreamless sleep. Methinks this readjustment will take a while. Is it time to get new pillows?

The Return

I guess on some levels, you can call it closure.

This return visit to the US, returning to New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles has been unexpectedly stress-free, save for the minor ego scrapes in cars, trains and restaurants.

I've been telling friends here that all 3 cities don't seem to awe me as much as they did when I first visited years ago. Sure, you can say that the intervening years of increased travel has given me a higher level of comfort with the unfamiliar.

Or the fact that the world is indeed smaller, thanks to Skype, Instant Messaging, the Blackberry, and whatever else that's just round the corner to make the distance between me and you almost negligible.

I guess I'm better able to frame new experiences in the context of the bigger journey that I'm on, this intangible collection of experiences and expressions that refine and define me.

And it was good to see Stephen after our goodbye in KL in June. I'm not sure if I'll ever truly recover from the rollercoaster ride that I would not wish on my worst enemy. Have I become stronger and better for it? Has the heartbreak been worth it? Why am I not able to cut all ties? Is this love or something more insidious disguised as a feeling that I crave and value?

I remain open to all answers that come my way. For now, all I want is to be able to sleep on this flight back to KL.

Halloween

Growing up in Singapore, Halloween was something that I learned about from watching American TV programs and movies. I never quite understood the concept of this thoroughly American ritual/tradition/institution, but it looked like a lot of fun.

Earlier this evening, I attended my first Halloween 'parade' in West Hollywood. Interesting, to say the least, 'cos Halloween in WeHo is a freak show like no other that you'll experience.

Los Angelenos - at least the ones who thronged Santa Monica Boulevard - treat Halloween like it's an early Christmas, but with costumes.

From WeHo Halloween

Me? I'm not a costume type of guy. I mean, c'mon, do I really need anything more when I already wear my heart on my sleeve? Or do you really need more honesty?

Now that would be scarier than Halloween in WeHo.