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With 59 hot dogs plus 5 more in an overtime “Eat Off” showdown against Japan’s once dominant Takeru Kobayshi, America’s Joey Chestnut celebrated the 4th of July by retaining the Mustard Belt as America’s top hot dog eater in Nathan’s annual Hot Dog Eating Contest 2008.

After coming in second for the second year in a row and rumors about a pending retirement swirling, Kobayashi said through his interpreter that “Of course” he would be back next year.

64 hot dogs later, Joey Chestnut remains the world’s top hot dog eater after 10 minutes plus overtime of flurried hot dog eating madness.

Keeping with the night’s commercial theme, music superstar and hottest woman on the planet Carrie Underwood has also been keeping busy with commercials as of late for both Nintendo and Vitamin Water.

While the Nintendo DS commercial is one of the more random and kind of pointless things I’ve ever seen (though I’m not complaining) because Carrie is pretty much just there to smile, giggle, and say “cuuute,” in a series of commercials that also stars Ugly Betty’s America Ferrera, it’s a tribute to how mainstream the once-country superstar has become.

Carrie, whose Carnival Ride tour continues through this fall (which I will be seeing again in San Diego, just to switch up locations), is the poster girl for any award show, even outside of country music, and I’m led to believe that in terms of overall success, she has surpassed Kelly Clarkson in prestige at this point. Likely not album sales, considering Carrie has only had two CDs to Kelly’s three, but Underwood has tabloid relevance, musical success legitimacy, and of course, the most beautiful face on the planet.



In a commercial that finally points out that Carrie is one of the more attractive girls this side of the Mississippi (it doesn’t matter what side of the Mississippi you’re on, it’s just a fact), Vitamin Water pokes fun at the star’s desirability when they say that makeshift horse whisperer Carrie makes guys want to become horses.

 

True. Story.

In what is one of my favorite television commercials of the moment, The Hills’ Lauren Conrad and Brody Jenner sit down for a very Hills-y outdoor meal in a commercial for LG’s mirroriffic Shine phone. The commercials pays tribute to Laguna Beach by referring to Lauren as “LC,” as Lauren scolds the extended Kardashian family member for checking out some girls that are no where near as hot as the Laguna Beach native.

For me, I see this commercial on VH1 and it feels like a perfect fit… if it’s on the right channel. However, outside of the MTV/VH1/E! generation, do people know who Lauren Conrad and Brody Jenner are? Does anyone know that Lauren works in the fashion industry and that socialite Brody Jenner and our beloved Laguna alumna have history that makes this commercial relevant?

I was shocked to see this commercial initially because I wondered if LC and Brody were mainstream enough for something like this, but the tween/teen/twenties millenials have clearly made The Hills stars big enough that someone thought it was a brilliant idea to put these two good looking stars on TV together.

While about 95% of the country won’t get it, the people who need to get it, who will care about this phone, will get it.

I give up. Living Lohan is officially an awful show.


Image details: WE TV Hosts Panel Discussion And Screening Of "High School Confidential" served by picapp.com

While it took others just an episode or two to realize how horrible this show really is, I tried to give it a chance and I now want all those 30 minute bursts of life back. In tonight’s show, which could very well by my last viewing of this god awful program, Ali Lohan singlehandedly created some of the most unbearable, spoiled television moments in the history of reality TV after the family moved to Las Vegas so that she could start recording her album.

Not only was Ali’s self-deprecating, compliment fishing attitude painful to listen to as she repeatedly wasted everyone’s time in the studio saying “that was so bad” over and over, she showed a spoiled attitude that is helping no one go to “Team Ali” when watching this show. If you haven’t been watching, which chances are you haven’t, Ali Lohan somehow landed a recording deal with the show’s executive producers, the Maloofs, to record a full length pop album.

After a smattering of track choosing footage, along with some smidgens of Ali’s subpar singing that makes Making the Band appear Emmy worthy, the family picked up and moved to Vegas so that Ali could achieve her dream of being a pop star.

Now, let’s get past the fact that Ali is really not a good singer. She’s not a bad singer, but compared to any of the girls on Making the Band, she’s pretty much Miley Cyrus in terms of vocal ability, without the Disney-approved personality. While there’s no doubt that Ali has her sights set on Miley “The World’s Biggest Celebrity” Cyrus’ crown, the problem is that this show is doing absolutely nothing to help Ali get anywhere near the fanbase that Miss Montana enjoys.

The problem here is that Ali Lohan is finally learning what it means to work. For those of us who worked in restaurants at 13-14 years of age, Ali is living in the penthouse suite at the Maloof-owned Palms Casino in Las Vegas, singing all day. Instead of being grateful to her mother who undoubtedly set all this up for her with the help of E! powers that be and the Maloof family, Ali complained about not being able to go out with her brother and mother because she was “in the studio” all day.

I understand that the girl was exhausted, but she needs to realize that the only reason her brother, who is missing his soccer season, and mother are there in the first place is for her. They’re the ones making the sacrifice, not her. She’s getting to do what girls her age can only dream of doing instead of working minimum wage jobs like the rest of us did at this age.

So yes, Ali put down the track. Next week, Kendra from Girls Next Door will be stopping by, but I don’t know if I will be. Living Lohan could very well be one of the five worst shows of regular cable television (not including public access). 

In just about one week, long after Jay-Z and Nas have “squashed their beef,” we’re seeing a couple new battles being played out over the airwaves and Internetz.

In one battle, we’re seeing one of hip-hop’s OGs, Ice-T, telling party rapper Soulja Boy to “Eat a Dick” because he believes that the Superman-ing rapper has singlehandedly killed hip-hop, which caused Soulja Boy to disrespect Ice-T via YouTube in pretty shocking fashion.

The two rappers have about thirty years of age and experience separating one another and are coming from different perspectives, but it’s nevertheless shocking to see one of hip-hop’s youngest “stars” (can we call him that?) insulting one of the pioneers of the genre that made him who he is, along with one of the anthems (”F*ck the Police”) that was one of the raw forms of gangsta rap that controversially put the genre on the map. 

However, Ice-T saying that Soulja Boy singlehandedly killed hip-hop is a little extreme, though I’d agree that the dancing rapper helped its rapid decline. I’d argue that hip-hop has been enduring a long and winding downward spiral through its mainstream evolution and melding with other genres.

Sure, there are still great artists out there, but just like when basketball had Isiah Thomas, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, and others, there was a bit of a lull before the league established its new stars. With MCs like Nas and Jay-Z becoming more known for their previous contributions to hip-hop rather than their more recent (unless the rumored “Kings of Hip Hop” album comes out), like Lil Wayne, who continues to evolve as an artist, it feels like the genre is waiting for its next group of “stars” to break out.

Is that star Soulja Boy? After this, probably not.

While Soulja Boy would be someone that you’d never want to get in an insult fight with, simply because some of his jokes/jabs are so ridiculous that they’re pretty funny, it’s a brave thing for him to insult one of hip-hop’s best known names. Part of hip-hop is clearly about assuming an identity, acting hard and overconfident, but there’s also a lot about the genre that is about paying tribute to the past - through sampling, appropriation of different hooks, and memorable guest spots. With his attack on Ice-T, Soulja Boy disrespects “the game” in a way that few dare to if they’re not desperate. With his success, it seemed a little much for him to do something like this.

Then, on the flipside, Shaquille O’Neal (remember him? Plays for the Phoenix Suns? There ya go) went back to his Shaq Diesel identity by insulting Kobe Bryant via a freestyle rap in a club. While Shaq says it was all in fun, it will be interesting to see if Kobe takes the high road because we all know that none of us want to see him rap.

On this one, I believe that Shaq is telling the truth that he was just messing around and meant nothing malicious by his comments about Kobe.

Yes, I’m sure that it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows between the two former teammates, but Shaq was on stage, struggling a bit through a freestyle, and he had to hold his own by finding a topic that he could create some easy and silly rhymes with to please the crowd.



Since he’s a basketball players and the NBA finals just happened, Kobe was an easy target. While I could see Kobe making a well-crafted statement through a publicist, I have a feeling that Kobe won’t be making YouTube videos or cussing Shaq out like his wife did to USC alum Laura Lane.

One week. Two feuds. One with the intention of causing harm, the other a result of some peer pressure circumstances, but both are buzzworthy for what they are in the space where both battles operate.

Tonight’s episode of Living Lohan focused on Ali and Cody getting brother Michael Lohan and his girlfriend Nina back together, along with the struggles that “Nana” Lohan, Ali’s grandmother, has been having since her husband of fifty years passed away. 

While it was nice to see Michael Lohan continue to have a presence on the show because he provides a lot of positive 
energy to the family, the family struggled to figure out why Nana didn’t want to come to Las Vegas to watch Ali record her album.

After running through excuse after excuse, Nana finally revealed that her apprehension towards traveling with the Lohan clan came down to a lack of motivation that has stayed with her since the passing of her husband. While persistent, mother Dina Lohan wisely backed off and it looks like the Lohans will be heading off to Vegas next week, sans Grandma.

Clearly, there are a lot of haters who are not such big fans of Living Lohan, especially when compared to shows like The Hills or Keeping Up with the Kardashians. And tonight, while I’m not crazy about the show myself, I took issue with something that I finally noticed about the show.

Much like The Kardashians promote DASH and SMOOCH on the reality show about their family, Living Lohan helps promote Ali’s album, which is fine. Just like on The Hills, the show seems to have some kind of deal going with The Dolce Group, because the girls always go to restaurants and places owned by the company (Ketchup, Les Deux, etc.).

However, I finally noticed today that the Maloof brothers, of Sacramento Kings ownership fame, are the executive producers for the Lohan reality show. And not coincidentally, Ali Lohan is recording her album on the Maloof record label and looks like she’ll be staying at the Palms Hotel Resort and Casino in Las Vegas while recording, also owned by the Maloofs. So not only is there a deal in place professionally, but the Maloofs are in charge of the overall show as well.

Sneaky, but brilliant.

As the season progresses, unless there is some more separation between the Maloofs and Lohans, who are going to be tied together in one way or another due to Ali’s career, some moments on the show might feel like even greater product placement moments than what we see on The Hills everytime a new restaurant shows up. Not only can the Maloofs tell the story they want to tell through the less compelling cast of this reality show, but they can likely promote any of their ventures because of them holding all the power on the program.

Will Living Lohan just become one big commercial? Now that we’ve lost Michael Lohan for an episode at least and don’t have Nana in Vegas next week, I have a feeling we’re in for product placement galore, much to the enjoyment of the Maloofs.

Well, it had to start sometime, the dances we’ll remember for the rest of the season began in Week 2 of So You Think You Can Dance in Hollywood during Top 18 week. It was a week of big hits and equally big misses, with leading couples Kherington and Twitch pulling off a beautiful Viennese Waltz and Chelsie Hightower and Mark dazzling the audience with some breathtaking footwork in their Argentine Tango.

Katee and Joshua continued to impress with a Broadway routine that knocked the judges off their feet, but it was Twitchington and the fancy feet of Chelsie H. that stole the show tonight. These were two routines that people will remember well beyond this season, like Lacey and Kameron’s contemporary routine, Lauren and Pasha’s hip-hop routine, and Sabra and Dominic’s hip-hop routine from last season.



Kherington and Twitch proved that they could be the couple to beat at this point in the competition with a dramatic Viennese Waltz that rivaled Mia Michaels’ contemporary routine for Chelsie H. and Mark last week in terms of pure emotion. The Viennese Waltz has been done very differently in the past, memorably through Lacey and Danny last season, and while the dance might not have been as clean and polished, the performance by Twitchington was so dramatic and graceful that this made for one of my favorite performances in two seasons of religiously watching the show.

While Twitch is inevitably going to be seen as a favorite throughout the season, Kherington, through talent and association, stands a good chance at going extremely far in the competition. She’s got that Neutrogena Girl appeal, perfect lines, and just enough personality to shine during the clips. I think Kherington could be a real dark horse this season, especially after she’s out from Twitch’s shadow once partners get switched later in the competition.

Impressive again this week was the duo of Mark and Chelsie H., who again, I will admit is my favorite contestant this season. Though Chelsie is a traditional Tango dancer, the Argentinian Tango was right up her alley this week, and less so for her partner Mark. However, Mark did not allow himself to get upstaged by Chelsie, despite everything that said he should have been.

Chelsie’s spotless footwork was matched step by step with strong partnering from Mark as the two pulled off one of the cleanest routines in recent memory during a very exciting, gimmick-free, Argentinian Tango that showed that a good routine does not have to be all about having a few big tricks.

While the moves are great, it’s really the chemistry between the dancers for the top couples that is adding that extra spark to separate them from the masses, even in a “big brother/little sister” relationship like Chelsie and Mark, the two are electric on the dance floor.



While these two couples, along with another strong performance from couple Katee and Joseph, put everyone on notice this week, there were a lot of disappointments as well. Chelsea and Thayne’s Jazz performance was one of the worst that I’ve ever seen on the program. And while entertaining, Susie and Marquis’ Salsa was disappointing simply because Susie didn’t really step up in her style of dance, though she was insulted and offended when choreographer Alex da Silva called her a “street dancer” and not a “real Salsa dancer.”

Personally, I wasn’t as blown away by Katee and Joshua, but I think that I was distracted by a strong dislike for the music that was chosen for them. It was another “ok” week for one of my early favorites, Courtney Galiano and partner Gev and it likely won’t be long until Courtney sees what will feel like a premature exit. I was also disappointed in Will and Jessica, who I feel like stand a chance at being one of the top couples, but didn’t seem to pull it off with this week’s hip-hop routine.

Jessica, like Jessi Peralta from last season, is easily one of the most attractive contestants in the competition, while Will is one of the most diverse talents this season. However, the two need to put their talents together at the same time to really wow an audience to catapult them to the upper tier of couples.

After two weeks, here’s a very early guess at four couples that I think are locks to stay together (neither competitor being eliminated) through the entire first rotation.

- Kherington and Twitch

- Jessica and Will

Despite The Hollywood Reporter reporting that the show’s creators could be eyeing a spinoff starring Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen) to go along with the Gossip Girl series of books, the show’s producers recently told E! News that they were not pursuing a spinoff.

News or non-news of the Gossip Girl spinoff comes just about a week after Rachel Bilson, or The OC’s Summer Roberts, told AOL Movies that there was no movie version of The OC to come, despite longstanding rumors about the show that was Gossip Girl before there was Gossip Girl.

So yes, I do believe that Jenny Humphrey is an interesting enough character on TV, apart from the books, to carry an entertaining TV series. However, despite the fact that the show might be good, the reality is the Gossip Girl is pulling about 2.6 million viewers per week, hardly stellar numbers.

And while people can say that ratings don’t matter, I have a hard time picturing a show, even one with as much buzz as GG, give birth to a spinoff that will have an even younger target audience and lose a good deal of the on-screen sexcapades that make Gossip work. 

Let’s look at another show, Private Practice, that averaged 10.8 million viewers per episode, a respectable number. Practice famously came from Grey’s Anatomy, a show that averages anywhere from 16 million to 20 million viewers per episode. So let’s be really generous say that Private Practice gets 70% of the Grey’s audience week to week.

Take that percentage over to Gossip Girl, and you’ve got an audience of about 1.5 million OMFG viewers per week. And yes, while Gossip continues to dominate on iTunes and a good episode probably garners more buzz that a big episode of The Hills, could anyone justify a 1.5 million viewer show on broadcast television, despite all the good buzz? Why not just put professional wrestling on the air and automatically double your ratings?

While I’d love to see a show starring Taylor Momsen, Gossip Girl is still only getting started, though it feels like it’s been talked about forever, and creating a spinoff would not only be premature, but it would cut the life of the parent show short by taking out one of the show’s most compelling characters.

Dan and Serena all day? Gossip Girl would be donezo.