Amy Winehouse has canceled her tour and any remaining promotional engagements for the rest of the year as reported by the Sun.

This should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed Amy’s career lately. Since the incarceration of her husband Blake Fielder-Civil for GBH, the diminutive soul singer has been a complete wreck. In her words:

“I can’t give it my all onstage without my Blake. I’m so sorry but I don’t want to do the shows half-heartedly; I love singing. My husband is everything to me and without him it’s just not the same.”

Amy’s management issued the following statements on her tour cancellation:

“Amy Winehouse has canceled all remaining live and promotional appearances for the remainder of the year on the instruction of her doctor. The rigours involved in touring and the intense emotional strain that Amy has been under in recent weeks have taken their toll. In the interests of her health and well-being, Amy has been ordered to take complete rest and deal with her health issues. Refunds for the remaining dates will be issued from the point of purchase.”

Amy’s fans are sure to be disappointed, but they should be thankful that they are not paying good money to watch her fall apart on stage. There are other unsubstantiated rumors the “Rehab” songstress may actually,finally, go to rehab.

Let’s hope that one’s true.

In the last couple of days we’ve had three relatively famous people die, two apparently for no known medical reason and one from a gunshot wound, which may or may not have been the result of a crime.

Call me a skeptic, or a pessimist or even a hateful misanthrope, but why do they bother lying to us (us being the public) when they know eventually we will find out the truth? Delusional.

But wait, there’s more…

I’m almost ashamed to say that the last music video I watched was Brit’s Gimme More, and that was for research for this site.  But even I know that it takes a while to film a video, at least a couple of days.  Lots of things involved, from hair and makeup to setting up shots to lighting and sound.  But Brit, bless her little cotton-pickin’ heart, is going to attempt to shoot her video in two hours.  That’s right:

Usmagazine.com has learned that production on the video for her single “Piece of Me” is scheduled to begin Tuesday at 8 a.m. at Social Hollywood. A source tells Us that the video will be directed by Wayne Isham, who helmed the video for the 2002 Brit hit, “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman.”

The source says that in the video, Brit and her dancers enter a club in matching wigs and trench coats in order to sneak Spears in. Once in the club and without her disguise, the pop star is followed by the paparazzi regardless.

A set source tells Us that since Spears, 25, has a scheduled visit with sons Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, on Tuesday, she will only be available to film for two hours, between noon and 2 p.m. During that time she will shoot scenes where she dances on a bar and runs down a staircase. There will be 15 extras, as well as a body double for Brit.

Dances on a bar?  Runs down a staircase?  Sounds thrilling.

Okay, here’s my question.  I understand that she has scheduled visitation time, and it’s great that she’s honoring those visits.  But couldn’t they have picked a different time, a different day, to shoot this thing?  I know that directors have schedules and crews have schedules, but Brit is supposed to be the star of the thing, couldn’t they have worked around her schedule a bit more?  Of course, the shoot does start at 8AM, not noon, so Brit could get up early and go…oh wait, I forgot who I was talking about.  Never mind.

Let’s think about this, though…with Britney out of the picture (figuratively and literally) for most of the shoot, this could turn out to be the best video she’s made in years.  Brit’s body double will undoubtedly see more screen time than Brit will, and that could turn out to be a good thing.  But maybe Brit will decide that she can leave the boys in the car with the court-appointed monitor and finish her shots.

So can you make a video without the star?  Is Brit ‘there’, even when she’s there?  Is she even attempting to put forth any effort to promote this album?

A possible solution could be that the film crew just follows her around for a few nights like the paps do, and I’m sure they’d get all the footage they need.

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.  Emeril Lagasse, the vocal host of Food Network’s popular show Emeril Live, is not going to be bamming out any more new episodes of his popular show:

Emeril Lagasse is out at the Food Network. Contract negotiations between Emeril and parent corporation Scripps have broken down. Lagasse is leaving the Food Network as a result and the last day of production for Emeril Live will be on December 11.

Reruns of both Emeril Live will continue to appear on the channel and Lagasse will “continue to be a part of the Food Network family”, according to Carrie Welch of the Food Network. Lagasse’s defection follows Mario Batali’s exit back in September.

However, his other show on the network, Essence of Emeril, will continue to go on as planned:

There were inaccuracies in the post about Emeril Lagasse in today’s Fish Bowl blog. Emeril is not leaving the network, Essence of Emeril will continue production and we will pursue specials and other opportunities in the future.

Well, Mario Batali is gone, and now Emeril.  While I never really enjoyed Batali’s shows, I will admit that Emeril Live had a bit of a strange draw for me.  I watched it occasionally, and even picked up a tip or two.

It does seem to be a bit odd, however, that Food Network has been letting go some of its biggest stars.  My question is this…what are they going to put on in place of this show?  More Rachael Ray?  God forbid they should give Paula Deen more airtime.  I could go the rest of my life without hearing her screechy voice and I’d die a happy woman.  Are shows like those seriously what people want to see?  Do people really take their cooking tips from Rachael and Paula?  Gah, no wonder you can’t get a decent meal any more.

Now, if they ever let Alton Brown go, I’m going to burn a brined turkey in protest.  Eventually.  You can’t dry out one of those things!  Or, maybe I’ll just eat the turkey and burn the carcass.  It can’t be any worse than watching a Paula Deen show.

Globe-trotting Angelina Jolie has gone to the corners of the world to highlight the plight of people in impoverished areas.  Just recently her travels took her to Western Sudan, just a stone’s throw away from her adopted daughter Zahara’s homeland of Ethiopia…and her natural mother.

What’s that, you say?  You thought little Zahara was an AIDS orphan, who’s mother died of the disease?  Well, think again, because her mother is alive in Ethiopia, and she is a bit puzzled as to why the world was told that she was dead:

The Mail on Sunday has discovered that not only is Zahara’s mother, Mentewab Dawit Lebiso, alive and well, but that the man who arranged Zahara’s adoption has been waging a campaign of threats and intimidation against her family.

When rumours surfaced last week in America that all was not as it appeared with the paperwork, the American headquarters of the international adoption agency Wide Horizons For Children initially insisted that Zahara’s mother was dead. And yet in Ethiopia, the man who brought Zahara to the agency knows Mentewab is alive and has been attempting to shut her up.

To make a long story short, Zahara was the product of an attack and rape in 2004, while her birth mother Mentewab was living at her grandmother’s house.  Her family disowned her when her pregnancy became obvious, and after the baby was born Mentewab and her mother lived with her uncle in a small, three-room hut with mud floors.  Times were tough as the young mother struggled to work while her mother looked after the baby.

Finally, things came to a head when the uncle asked them to move out.  Faced with a financial crisis and no food to feed her crying baby, in desperation and fear the young mother ran away and left the baby behind.  The grandmother had no money and helplessly watched as the baby got thinner and thinner.  Finally, after she became convinced the baby was near death’s door, she took her to the Kebele (the local council), told them her daughter had ran away, and asked them to please take the baby before she died.  She had to bring three witnesses to prove that the mother did in fact run away, and they all signed papers stating so.

A local man, Girma Degu, whom the grandmother had already been introduced to, agreed to take the baby to an orphanage.  He also agreed to bring her back for a visit, to send photos of her progress, and to introduce the grandmother to the family who would adopt the baby.  He followed through on none of these promises, and later when he told the grandmother that the baby had been adopted he warned her not to say anything to the journalists who would be coming around, other than to lie and say Zahara was not her granddaughter.

But wait, there’s more…

You’d think that Lindsay would be grabbing her little sister Ali and running away from Dina as fast as she possibly can.  But in little sis Ali, we see that Dina has learned from her mistakes…the mistake being not turning her daughters into sex symbols at an early, early age, as opposed to just an early age.  You want to get those old men drooling over your daughters as soon as possible.

So here is Lindsay, age 13:

And here is Ali, at almost 14:

I’m just sayin’.  It kind of writes itself, doesn’t it?  I simply post the pictures.

Call this the latest casualty in the Nick Bollea/Hogan or whatever you call him, sad tale. Word on the street is Hulk Hogan’s wife Linda has filed for divorce from her husband of 24 years. While it’s too early to know the “exact” reasons for the break-up, suffice it to say, there’s been some strain on the relationship for some time. Mostly recently caused by their 17-year old son’s severe car accident in August.

Nick was allegedly street-racing after he’d been drinking with his friend John Graziano, a marine who’d recently returned from Iraq, when he totaled his car on a busy Florida street. Nick’s friend John remains in a vegetative state at a V.A. hospital in Tampa. He is NOT expected to recover. More on the story here.

Matters were probably not helped much when recent video of mom Linda, along with daughter Brooke, emerged with the two women not only street-racing, but with Linda also extolling the virtues of street-racing. You can see the video here.

The classiest part of this whole story is the Hulk (real name Terry Bollea) didn’t even know his wife had filed. He had to find out from a St.Petersberg reporter about the filing:

According to the St. Petersburg Times, a Times reporter reportedly broke the news to Hogan on Friday night.

He thanked the reporter for the “great information” then called back five minutes later to say, “I’m kind of shocked. You caught me off-guard. My wife has been in California for about three weeks. … Holy smokes. Wow, you just knocked the bottom out of me. … I just pulled over to the side of the road for five minutes to find out what was going on here.”

Now that is what I like to call communication breakdown. Can you imagine finding out your spouse is leaving you via a reporter? Sweet Mother of Mercy, can’t a guy get a heads-up? I never liked Linda, she was always a big-mouthed broad with more make-up than smarts. Also a little short on class.

Now their daughter Brooke, she’s the exact opposite. The epitome of natural grace and unsullied beauty.

Sorry for the bitterness, it’s just that I have this thing about famous people treating marriage like some kind of disposable item. What about “for better or worse, in sickness and in health, through thick and thin,” so on and so forth?

Britney Spears has more respect for her Venti Mocha Frappe with extra whipped cream (seriously, she LOVES those), than these people do the sanctity of love and marriage.

Ruining America they are!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, a favorite holiday of mine, we are going to take a little break from bashing the endlessly entertaining world of celebs and do something different.

My good friend, fellow Blogcritics Network writer, and former podcast mate, Josh Hathaway had a great idea. Josh is a music editor at BC Magazine, as well as, the publisher of “Confessions of A Fanboy,” wherein he boldly pontificates about music, life and the intersection of the two. He’s also a fabulous guy and anyone who appreciates music AND good writing should make him a regular stop.

After months of planning to do some kind of cross-site feature, we finally decided to actually do something. With the timing being right, we decided to write about what we are thankful for. Since that list could be infinitely long, we decided to narrow it down to what MUSIC we are thankful for. These aren’t necessarily our “favorite” songs, but simply a small sample in the cache of nostalgic musical moments that make up who we are.

Here’s Josh’s list, including his thoughts behind his choices:
But wait, there’s more…

Absolutely.  We can totally believe Pete, because he’s such a paragon of virtue and wholesome living.  He always tells the truth and is a completely trustworthy individual:

However many and varied her demons, it emerged last night that Winehouse, 24, has at least one invaluable ally in her battle against substance abuse: Pete Doherty, a man who has been there and back again, several times.

Doherty, 28, said he and Winehouse were helping each other fight drugs.

He also said that she has been clean since her husband Blake Fielder-Civil, 25, was arrested and remanded in custody on charges of GBH and perverting the course of justice.

Doherty said: “I speak to Amy almost every day. She just wants her man back for Christmas. They are desperately in love.

“One good thing is that Blake has got clean since he has been in prison. It’s been quite an awakening. Amy stopped doing everything since he went in. She realises how much they have to lose. They are going to lose each other if it carries on. Love, music and melody is the way forward.”

How touching.  I can practically see the rainbows and lollipops dancing around his head as he says that.  Oh, and then a little dancing leprechaun comes out and hands out cereal.

Here we see clean and sober Amy at her sell-out concert at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.  I’m sure that’s just a zit in her nose.  Darn things always pop up at the most inopportune times!

Days after being arrested in a Dublin airport for being too drunk in public to know how to act in public, Jonathan Rhys Meyers was spotted on the street, another drink in hand:

After being arrested Sunday for public drunkenness at Ireland’s Dublin Airport, August Rush actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers was photographed drinking from a can of what appears to Strongbow cider on the streets of London on Tuesday.

Strongbow Cider, for those of you who don’t know (and that would be me) is an alcoholic beverage that is approximately 5.3% alcohol by volume, which is about the strength of a regular beer.

According to the Sun, he had just heard that his mother had died:

Geraldine Meyers, 50, passed away after a sudden illness in the Mercy Hospital in Cork at 7am.

Jonathan, 30, was spotted walking the streets of London with the extra-strength cider.

The thing that makes this sad is that thirty-year-old Jonathan has already spent two stints in rehab, and swore that he’d never take a drink again:

A notorious partier, he’s recently sworn off alcohol. “I didn’t drink until I was 25, and I never drank every day, but when I did, it was bad. It would be a couple of days that just wouldn’t work out for me, waking up with a hangover. Drink doesn’t fit into the groove of where my life is going.”

Rhys Meyers, now 30, has been in rehab twice.

“I want to do really good things with my life,” he says. “And drinking is not synonymous with that. The [Richard] Burton days, the [Peter] O’Toole days, they are gone.”

And, in another interview, he says that he doesn’t want to fritter away his career on drink:

You live in LA now. What’s your life like there?
I’m quite insular when I’m working. I live very healthily – I have done for a while now. My big thing is going to the gym. It’s very LA. And I don’t drink alcohol any more, under any circumstances. [This interview was conducted before Jonathan was arrested this week for public drunkenness and breach of the peace in Dublin.]

Why did you stop?
I got bored. It’s not a way to live. I stopped. I wanted different things.

Such as?
Better work. My health. If you go out and party six nights a week in your twenties, you think you’re invincible. Then you find at 35 you’re not getting good roles any more because you’re a fat ugly f***, because you’ve been out hitting the booze for years, doing drugs and screwing different girls. Growing up in Ireland, I saw many a handsome young man walk into the bar with great dreams. Then I saw the same man sitting there 15 years later, still nursing the pint.

Don’t you miss drinking?
Sometimes it would be nice to go out and go on a bender but no, not really. I don’t like hangovers. It’s just not my deal any more.

Staying sober is a very difficult thing to do, as anyone who struggles with any sort of addiction can attest. It isn’t a day-to-day decision, it is a minute-to-minute decision, sometimes even a second-to-second decision. You can’t let your guard down even for a second or you’re back at square one again. It’s at times like this, when bad things happen, that you really have to be on your guard against any sort of temptation. Falling off the wagon was bad enough, but to add the news of his mother’s death when he was already at a low point probably just compounded the bad situation.

Perhaps Jonathan has learned that, when it comes to things like this, you can never say “never”. “I’ll never drink again,” is a pretty heady statement to make, and one that is basically guaranteed to set you up for failure. Something like, “I’ll do the best I can with what I’ve learned to make good decisions and to stay away from situations that might tempt me to drink,” is longer, but possibly more accurate.

In any case, I hope he realizes that he can’t continue like this and gets the appropriate help.  The first step is admitting you have a problem.