It’s summer y’all, that means crazy summer songs, long warm nights and LOTS and LOTS of drinkin’! Well, at least that’s what summer means to me and my peeps!

So, our 3rd annual summer song hit list compiled by D-Bomb herself is set. Lonely Island featuring T-Pain starts us off (NSFW, many F-Bombs ahead), with Jamie Foxx’s “Blame It” and rounding out with Ludacris’ “One More Drink.” Notice a theme here? Just add alcohol for instant fun, but remember drink responsibly - and check it, before you wreck it! Especially you celeb-types!

Happy Unofficial Start To Summer!

British Actress Lucy Gordon, was found hanged in her Paris apartment in what police feel was an apparent suicide.

Lucy had a small role in Spider Man Three as well as a few other films (see below). An autopsy will be performed which perhaps may shed some light on this unfortunate and sad event.

Gordon would have turned 29 tomorrow, and only heaven knows what reason this young gal would have to take her young life.

E! Online reports:

Lucy Gordon, a rising British actress whose biggest claim to fame was a minor role in Spider-Man 3, was found dead of an apparent suicide in her Paris apartment Wednesday—two days before her 29th birthday.

Per French police, Gordon hanged herself while her boyfriend was sleeping. No word what may have motivated her to take her own life. An autopsy was pending.

Born in Oxford, Gordon worked as a model before making her feature film debut in 2001’s Perfume.

Aside from her role as a reporter in the Spidey sequel, credits included John Cusack’s romantic vehicle Serendipity, The Four Feathers opposite the late Heath Ledger and the John Krasinski-directed Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, which debuted in January at the Sundance Film Festival.

Before her death, she had completed Serge Gainsbourg’sA Heroic Life, a biopic on the late French entertainer, in which she played the role of British thespian Jane Birkin.

Perhaps in time this mystery will be unraveled. We send Lucy’s family and friends our sincerest condolences.

The more I read about Kate Gosselin, the more perfectly she fits the shifting paradigm of “American Mom.”

Kate’s domineering control over her husband and her children are a symptom of how we as a society are adopting new gender roles. Gone are the days when women stayed home to raise the children, tend to the wash and play dutiful wife to their bread-winning husband. Now, not only do women “want it all” but they want it on their terms, and as they dictate.

While certainly many see Kate as a raging bitch with perpetual PMS, others see her as their champion, a heroine of new the feminist movement. Not only does she keep her brood in line, but she can reduce her husband to the most molecular level of diminished manhood with a simple withering glance, and a sharp tongue.

You have to hand it to Kate, she used her womb to create an empire of sorts, albeit in the obscure recesses of Pennsylvania, but it’s an empire nonetheless. Kate’s sort of like the Angelina Jolie of suburban moms. Both women are polarizing figures and celebrity sensations, just on more scaled down (in every way) version.

Kate’s making a reported $75,000 an episode on her TLC show, and revered by women across the country managing to somehow become a multimedia mogul, complete with best-selling books. And of course there’s all those tabloid cover stories which are sure to sell out as the consumptive masses gobble up every last detail of her less-than-ordinary greatness.

While Us Magazine paints her as a monster, People Magazine (always one-upping those Us folks) provides her a safe haven to retort to her detractors.

Kate admits she’s often been an easy target for those who want to make her out to seem like a monster. “In the first two and a half years that we were doing the show (Jon & Kate Plus Eight), I felt very ugly towards fans,” she says. “The gawking, that sort of response creeped me out. I was not willing or ready to accept what you get back when you put your life out there…..”

A Breaking Point

Though the Gosselins have gotten used to interest in their lives, the scrutiny of Jon and Kate has become increasingly intense since reports of the couple’s alleged infidelities hit the newsstands. It’s tough to escape when the job that keeps their family afloat is also keeping them in the tabloid glare – and even the tough-minded mama has her breaking point.

“It’s so scary,” she says of the lengths to which some go to cover her family. “It’s like one of those movies where you have to change your identity and go underground. I’ve been saying, ‘Let’s find a country where our show doesn’t air, and let’s just go there until this all dies.’ I have to laugh about this, or else I’ll cry. It’s a matter of, when will they stop?”

No matter what might be said about her, Kate says if anyone really wants to see her bare her fangs, they only have to go after her kids. “I don’t want them dragged into this. It kills me,” she says. “I’m far from perfect, but I’ve started to prioritize what is important, what has to change, what I can live with, and what I have to live with. My children are important. My attitude is important. My marriage is important, and though I don’t know where that’s going right now, I know I can definitely choose my attitude. And I know that I will never give up, I will not stop, I will not fail my kids. Everything else I can’t control, I’m just going to have to learn to live with it.”

Beyond the obvious, “Kate’s a bitch” response, which I feel intrinsically she is, Kate in many ways is like a lot of moms out there: fed up, overwhelmed and unwilling to put up with it. Many of us, myself included, work jobs and try and support our families as best we can, only to come home to crabby, hungry kids, messy houses and too much workload. But unlike most of us, Kate has an ARMY of people helping her and loads of money to help offset the stress over making ends meet. While Kate has many fans and supporters, there are also plenty of women who manage to do all Kate does WITHOUT berating our spouses, firing 40 staffers sent by the state to help or lashing out at anyone or everyone without the slightest provocation.

Season 5 of “Jon and Kate Plus Eight” premiers Monday, and there is no doubt that with all this drama, some of which spawned by Kate and Jon themselves, their show will win big ratings. But at what cost to their family, children and marriage?

As a society we need to encourage balance and moderation in our lives, and all Jon and Kate Plus Eight offers is extremes on each end of the spectrum. Surely Kate isn’t ALWAYS a bitch, anymore than any other woman. So how about we see that side Kate. Unless of course, it doesn’t exist.

Oh, how I wish I was kidding.

Someone has just announced a new fabulous shampoo. *snicker*
Blago Shampoo.

No it is not some Italian designer shampoo with fruit extracts and spring water from the alps. Blago shampoo was named after former Governor Rod Blagojevich. I know I always say this…but again…you can’t make this shit up!

I guess Rod’s legendary hair, has prompted someone to cash in on it.
Creator Dennis Fath said he has had a real spike in sales since CNN reported about it. I think the orders stem more from people wanting a collectors item, rather than actually using it. But hey, what do I know. Maybe the helmet head look is in.

Daily News Report’s on Rod’s indictment this past April:

Blagojevich, 52, is accused of lying to the feds and using his gubernatorial powers to pressure a congressman to funnel money to his campaign. He’s also charged with attempting to extort a children’s hospital, a race track executive and a highway contractor.

The indictment also states Blagojevich discussed trying to trade the seat for an appointment to Obama’s cabinet or a highly paid position at a private foundation. Blagojevich also allegedly attempted to get campaign money from potential appointees.

In addition to Blagojevich, the indictment lists Blagojevich’s brother, Robert, 53; two former top Blagojevich aides, and two businessmen as co-defendants.

CBC5.com report:

It sounds like something out of “The Onion,” but it’s real. Next time you run out of Pert Plus or Garnier Fructus, how about trying Blago Shampoo?

After all, it’s Bleep’n Golden. It says so on the bottle.

The Web site for Blago Volumizing Shampoo and Conditioner says the products “have been carefully formulated with special ingredients that actually make the hair feel fuller and thicker, or ‘really big!’”

The shampoo is fortified with panthenol, keratin and silk proteins to “protect and strengthen the hair while adding body and natural luster.” The product is also enriched with vitamin E, and contains extracts of green tea, rosemary, comfrey and orchid for their anti-oxidant and stimulating properties, according to the Web site for the product.

There is also a conditioner that goes with the shampoo, reports CBS station WBBM-TV in Chicago.

“These products are blended into a beautiful golden hue,” the Web site says. “THEY ARE TRULY ‘BLEEP’N GOLDEN.’”

Creator Dennis Fath of Elk Grove Village-based Delta Laboratories Inc. said he thought up the product after waking up in the woke up in the middle of the night.

He remembered Blagojevich’s “Late Show” appearance where he asked Blagojevich, “Do you use shampoo and conditioner?” and a skit on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” that similarly poked fun at Blagojevich’s sculpted hair.

“I literally woke up in the middle of the night with an idea,” Fath said.

Currently, the products are only available online, but that may change, Fath said.

“We are in the process of trying to contact retailers to see if we can generate some interest there,” Fath said. “It’s a little bit of a hard product to market because there’s so much humor in the label that people are asking, ‘Is it a legitimate product?’”

But Fath said the product has generated interest both from people who want to buy the products as a joke and others who actually want a shampoo to add more volume to their hair.

Blago Volumizing Shampoo and Conditioner have been on the market since May 1, and have received a spike in orders this week after a “before and after” segment with the shampoo on CNN, Fath said.

There have been 150 to 200 orders since the CNN report, he said.

Well before he was arrested on corruption charges last December, Blagojevich was known for his thick head of perfectly-sculpted hair. A psychologist even told the Chicago Sun-Times in December 2008 that Blagojevich’s hair might be a sign of narcissistic personality disorder.

Back in October 2007, Blagojevich appeared live on the CBS 2 Morning News with Roseanne Tellez, the late Randy Salerno, and comedian Jeff Garlin, for a special show about the Division champion Cubs. Garlin was teasing Blagojevich about his hair even back then.

“Governor, do you wake up in the morning and go, ‘Look at my hair! Just look at it!’?” Garlin asked.

“Yeah, and then I comb it,” Blagojevich replied.

“Bleep’n Golden” refers to Blagojevich’s alleged description of the open U.S. Senate seat that President Barack Obama had vacated when, according to prosecutors, the deposed governor was trying to sell the seat. But Blagojevich did not say “bleep’n.” That was a censored quote from U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.

This whole things reminds me of Bill Beer and Chia Pets (”Ch-ch-ch-chia!”) from back in the 70’s. Even the black and gold bottle of Blago Shampoo has that retro look. Who would have thought back in 1975 that Gary Daul, the inventor of  the Pet Rock, would end up being a millionaire. So who knows where this can go. Can you glue some googly eyes to the bottle?

Although I honestly don’t think Dennis Flan will become a millionaire from selling  Blago shampoo, AND conditioner, even though it’s Bleepin’ Golden, he will undoubtedly have his 15 minutes of fame and maybe then some.

If you are a fan of Google (which I certainly am) then you probably use the search engine every day. One of the neat features is Google’s seasonal search screens which reflect holiday themes incorporating their rainbow logo.

Well Google had a novel idea and invited kids to submit their own doodles with the winner having their art displayed for a day. That day is today and the winner, 6th grader Christin Engelberth of San Antonio, TX submitted a great doodle, aptly titled “A New Beginning” featuring what can only be described as a colorful mini version of the Garden of Eden. From the story:

[Christin] titled her doodle “A New Beginning” to express her wish that “out of the current crisis, discoveries will be found to help the Earth prosper once more.”

Great message, pretty awesome drawing I must admit, and the runner’s up (who each received a laptop) had amazing doodles as well. To check them out, proceed to the jump:

But wait, there’s more…

We just watched the American Idol Season Finale and by now everyone knows sweet little Kris Allen won Season 8, beating the infinitely more talented Adam Lambert, once again proving that AI is a friggin’ popularity contest, not a talent contest.

While Kris is plenty talented, cute and likable, he’s not even in the same universe as good a singer as Adam Lambert, but sadly, because Adam is gay and not afraid to show it, I think in the end it hurt him, as much as Carrie Prejean’s ignorant comments at the Miss USA pageant hurt her.

Just like in politics, Americans refuse to let the pendulum swing too far one way or the other, so while on one spectrum Prejean must suffer the wrath of her ignorance, Adam Lambert is forced to suffer the wrath of America’s ignorance.

The silver lining to all of this is of course, Adam will still have a tremendous career and might even be better off not having that notoriously fickle “Idol Winner” reputation dogging him. I give both he and Kris credit for handling the results with total class and I wish them both well.

America, gay people contribute to every facet of society in ways that are incalculable and enrich our lives immensely, they aren’t going away and marginalizing an entire group of people based on archaic and backwards perceptions is about as pathetic as it gets. They’re here, they’re queer, they can sing better, get used to it.

Janice Dickinson was a very pretty supermodel back in the day. In fact, she claims that she was the FIRST supermodel in the world (stand in line, many others have claimed the same.) And while this may (or not) be true, one thing is: Dickinson has chosen to NOT age gracefully and has turned her face into a botoxed, face-lifted morph-a-thon of a mess.

Dickinson has had tummy tucks, numerous face lifts and breast implants. Coupled with her not-so-fabulous reputation of trash talking and wacky, drunken behavior over the years, the former beauty is not so super any more. And that’s putting it mildly.

We got a little help from Wiki on Ms Dickinson’s background:

Janice has been married and divorced three times and her past lovers include BOTH male and female suitors. Warren Beatty, Sylvester Stallone, Jack Nicholson, Laim Neeson, Mick Jagger, Dolph Lundgren,Grace Jones, Kelly LeBrock, and Bruce Willis. And in an interview on the Howard Stern Show (hate the man) in 2007, Dickinson bragged to have had sex with over 1,000 men.

Yikes! I am amazed that she can still find people who are still willing to sleep with her after that statement. Woah! Better double up guys and gals! *wink

Dickinson, ever the media-monster, was recently caught by the paps exiting Nobu Restaurant the other night. And man, what an exit it was!

Janice, who is known for speaking her mind, was slurring her words and was seen swatting at paps with her shawl, swearing at everyone in sight and hiking up her dress. How lovely!

Dickinson was escorted by a mystery man, who looked like he was going to actually let her drive. But thankfully he manned up and got in the driver’s seat. I also think part of the blame was the valet driver of Nobu Restaurant for willingly handing over the keys to Janice without so much as batting an eyelash. Janice was obviously three sheets to the wind and never should have climbed into that driver’s seat to begin with. I think these places have an obligation to keep drunk people off the road and should be held responsible. Famous or not. I am not against anyone having a little fun, but have the sense to call a cab people, or hand the keys over to someone else. 

Perhaps it was the paps telling Janice not to drive drunk, that prompted mystery dude to finally step in and take over the wheel.
Whew! Score one for the paps, it’s nice to see they are good for something.

As her car pulled away and Janice yelled out of the window:

“I’m totally fucked up!” 

Wow, thanks Ms. Obvious for that update!

Janice’s ex modeling career, has turned towards participating in the oh so popular, not so realistic, reality show phenomenon.  She has been in a few movies and has a few best seller books under her belt, but I guess she can’t stay away from these reality shows and making an ass out of herself for all to see.

On MTV’s Surreal Life, she was seen writhing against Jose Canseco and Bronson Pinchot, in which she was rejected by the BOTH of them. 

Oh Janice…. Rejected by Brosnon Pnchot? Bronson who played Balki Bartokomous? And you showed your face after that? Oh how the mighty have fallen.

As Balki used to say on Perfect Strangers, “Don’t be ridiculous”.

Back in 2007, TV Guide voted Janice one of the top 50 dumbest celebs, due to her Twelve Days of Christmas promo *cringe* for her show. Watch with caution!

Janice also stars in the “Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency” show, on the Oxygen women’s network. She supposedly has another season around the corner according to the Oxygen website, where Janice also has a blog (the blog is terribly outdated, kind of like Janice).

Oxygen says the new season’s slogan is “this time it will be her rules, and at her house”. But on the website message board, people are asking if there are any new episodes coming in 2009 and one person said she was glad she was off the air. So I have no idea what is going on.

Her latest reality project fiasco, will be as part of the cast of NBC’s new reality show, “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!”. Not quite sure why Janice is not in the group shot of the cast on NBC’S website. Maybe she was nursing a hangover that day.

This is yet ANOTHER celebrity reality show, which was filmed in the Costa Rican jungle. I am sure the 4-star hotel was probably VERY close by, ‘cuz you know, it’s SO real. Janice previously participated in the UK version of this show, which was filmed in Australia, back in 2007.

Perhaps Janice agreed to do this show, because her latest Orbit Gum commercial, wasn’t enough dough for her. The Orbit logo, in case you aren’t familiar with it, says, “Dirty Mouth? Clean It Up!” Ironically, Orbit gum had no luck in cleaning up Janice’s trash mouth. Quite the opposite.

NBC plans to air the show June 1st and Janice will be joining a bevy of other has-beens/never-weres: bible thumper Stephen Baldwin (ick), newlyweds Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt (puke), Lou Diamond Phillips (where the hell has he been?), former pro basketball player John Salley (who?) former pro-wrestler and model Torrie Wilson (meow I already see a cat fight on the horizon? NATCH) and Sanjaya Malakar. You know Sanjaya, right? The kid with all that hair from American Idol, who couldn’t sing a lick to save his life? Yup that Sanjaya.

The one good thing about this show?  I heard the money will be going to charity, other than that…sorry can’t find any other redeeming qualities, or why I would tune in.

I am sure Janice will not disappoint her audience and will be back to her usual loud mouth and drunken antics, if she can find any booze in the jungle.  She is supposedly ready to pounce on “The Hills” star Spencer Pratt. That might be worth seeing, but only if she claws his eyes out.

Janice was quoted as saying:

“She feels like a cat — and the ball of yarn is Pratt.”

Careful now cougar, Pratt is a newlywed, I don’t think Heidi will go for any “jungle fever” between you and Pratt, neither will Pratt for that matter.

Ex-Illinois Governor Blagojevich was supposed to be on this show too, but since the show was to filmed in Costa Rica, he was considered a flight risk due to him being arrested and accused for a butt load of crimes. Thankfully the judge denied Blagojevich’s request to be on the show.

Not sure, but I think people would have become mighty steamed to seeing Blagojevich on a reality show and having NBC pay him the $320,000.00 that they were willing to fork over. Gives a new meaning to dumb asses and proof people will do anything for a damn buck. 

Oh! So getting back to Nobu restuarant,

In a drunken stupor, Janice asks one of the paps if he goes to church, and told one pap: “I love you guys” and told another “fuck you”.
And for some odd reason, Janice said to the paps:

“Miss America is an asshole…… did you say she sucked Donald Trump’s *bleep*?” 

She then proceeded to hike her dress up while attempting to strike some sexy poses. She gets an F for FAIL.

Apparently, Janice has done this before. In the picture below, you see her coming out of a restaurant in the UK where she walks out, and then bingo! She hiked up her dress to show off her panties and scrawny legs.  I guess she thinks everyone is interested in what she has under her dress…hmmm I might be in serious trouble with my granny panties.

Hey Janice! Put that thing away woman! Nobody wants to see it and besides, we don’t know where it’s been. Yeesh !

So is Janice trying to make “dress hiking” her signature thing? How long until the tabloids start saying,”Oh so and so pulled a Dickinson the other night”? You heard it hear first!

Of course knowing Janice, she would probably love that.  But don’t believe us, you can watch the videos for yourself….
TMZ caught the whole thing on video and it’s quite a show, if you like train wrecks (and we do!) There is also another version posted on YouTube from Hollywoood TV.

A little more about Miz Mess, because we know you are gluttons for punishment.

Janice has a few best seller books under her belt. First one was entitled,No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the Word’s First Supermodel and the follow-up book in 2004 titled, Everything About Me Is Fake and I’m Perfect.
Well, at least half of that title is right.  

And her most recent book was cheerfully title, Check Please! Dating Mating and Extricating, based on the 1,000+ lovers, she easily could have ended that with “Fornicating,” ah semantics.

Janice, who refers to herself as the “The Big Dog” in her latest novel, discusses the men of her life and gives “special rules” in order to date according to their own limits and desires.

WTF? She has limits? Call me crazy, but I don’t think a women who has been married and divorced three times and claims to have slept with over 1,000 men, should be advising anyone on dating. Either that, or it should be only one page long. 

The title should read something like, “Dating Tips By Janice Dickinson. Page One…See a guy, have a few drinks, screw him and move on to the next. The End.”

Now in Janice’s defense, I do have a TEENY TINY soft spot for her because of her dysfunctional upbringing. She had to deal with an abusive, violent father and a mother who was addicted to drugs. 
So perhaps her wacky behavior and her I don’t give a shit attitude helps her cope with her sad past. But one must be careful with this devil-may-care attitude. As the years start ticking by, it will only look sadder and sadder on her.

People who once were in the limelight, and who are caught on film boozing it up in public, and starring in reality shows with B-Listers, can be headed for an even longer downward spiral.
Especially if the phone stops ringing and you are stuck with having to take a commercial hawking the protective layers and wings of Kotex.

 
So Janice, if your reading this…

Sorry, your just not all that any more,  and that’s ok dear.
Stop being a a total train wreck all the time.  Saucy is good,  but gross is a different story. People are laughing AT you, not WITH you.

Go get some serious help woman. And I don’t mean starring on Celebrity Rehab either. Don’t you dare call her Pinsky! You have two kids to take care of, who need the RIGHT support and they want to see their mother live a nice long life. 
So clean it up! Will yah?

If not for you, then do it for your kids Nathan and Janice.

WTF? Who is this guy and what is his problem? Two words: Bitch Slap.

Man dumps his wife of five years for a home-wrecking slut, then proceeds to throw ex-wife under the bus repeatedly, whores his six kids for tabloids and then has the nerve to walk around like some kind of pompous ass because he throws a bone to some charities, never mind the fact that his carbon footprint would make Sasquatch jealous, with all his jetsetting and mansion living. Maybe some shiz-for-brains fall for his phoneybaloney “humanitarian” schtick, but consider me underwhelmed.

Blech, I’ll take Hugh Jackman and Tom Hanks anyday over this fake ass bitch.

There are only a handful of celebrities who annoy me enough to make me fantasize about punching them violently in the face. Spencer Pratt’s one of them, Donald Trump’s another, but John Mayer, well I don’t want to punch him in the face so much as knee him as hard as possible in the groin, destroying any chance he might have of reproducing anything that contains his DNA.

Now hear me out before you write me off for being a borderline maniac. I have good reason for my ire, and it can be summed up with this little gem from Us Magazine:

“I love how some dudes hate me for dating their fantasy girl, as if they were going to if I hadn’t,” the singer posted on Twitter Tuesday.

Mayer has romanced Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Simpson and Cameron Diaz, among other Hollywood babes.

Mayer goes on to explain the difference between “douches,” “famewhores” and “showbiz types.”

“‘Showbiz types’ are people who grew up talking to themselves alone in a room for hours until they found some sort of outlet,” Mayer posted on Twitter.

“Once they found that outlet, everything fell into place, except for the fact that they still never worked out why they still talk so much,” continued Mayer, who has so much to say, he once held a press conference with paparazzi after splitting from Aniston.

“So you see, though filled with deep emotional voids that can never be filled, Showbiz Types are an important part of our Nation’s tapestry,” continues Mayer.

Guess what Mayer considers himself.

“I’m a Showbiz Type. (cue penny whistle and marching drums) But I am not a douche!!” Mayer added.

Au contraire, mon frère, people think you are a douche John, for the sole reason that you felt it necessary to even share the above witicisms with the world. The non-showbiz types, as you call them, don’t care about who you’ve dated, because they live in the real world, where real women, with real personalities, real lives and dare I say, real boobs, live. And despite what you think, nailing c-list chubbies like Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Love Hewitt does not make you some kind of renaissance man, but rather a dude with low-self esteem. And when you finally did date high-end chicks like Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz, you clearly didn’t have what it takes to keep them interested, and therefore you are making up for what you so clearly lack, by bragging about it.

You sir, Mr. Mayer, suffer from what we in the real-world call a blistering case of fucktarditis, which is a symptom of too much money and fame, and not enough talent. So, instead of worrying about what you THINK is the reason dudes (and chicks) see you as a raging d-bag, you should be worrying about how you will make ends meet once you’ve worn out your welcome and your 15-minutes are up.

Or to put it another way, since you fancy yourself as some kind of gifted musician, ask yourself what would Mick Jagger do? The answer is, nail the hotties and keep his mouth shut. You should try doing to same, though you will never be a Mick Jagger and I apologize to Mick for the comparison.

Frannnkkiiieeeeee!

Frances Albert Sinatra, aka Old Blue Eyes and the Chairman Of The Board will finally have his story told. Frank’s story will soon be hitting the silver screen thanks to Martini Scorsese.

Director Scorsese, Universal Pictures and Mandalay Films have acquired Frank’s life and music rights and are excited for the chance to tell Frank’s story. No release date as of yet,  but it is safe to say that Sinatra fans must be beside themselves with joy and chomping at the bit. And you can count me in as one of the ”chompers”!

I simply can not mention Frank without mentioning my dad. Frank Sinatra and my dad always went hand and hand in our household when I was growing up. Frank’s music was constantly played in our home and played loudly, so hopefully our neighbors were Frank fans too. Of course when I was young, I didn’t appreciate his music. I was too busy listening to Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, but many years later, ironically, Frank’s crooning fills the rooms of my own home as well, and I am now a huge fan.

My father is quite the Sinatra collector as well. He has all of Frank’s records, assorted pictures plastered here and there around the house and he never missed one of Frank ’s birthday, religiously sending him a card every year. My father, like so many, was deeply saddened when Frank passed away.

I was lucky enough to acquire an autographed picture of daughter Nancy “These Boots Are Made For walking” Sinatra, and she kindly wrote a personalized birthday greeting to my dad and sent it back in time for his 80th birthday. That was incredibly sweet of her. Thanks again Nancy! Needless to say, my dad was thrilled.

There is one sad regret however, even though my Dad was fortunate to see Frank perform live, he never got to shake Frank’s hand.  (I still kick myself for not going to Frank’s concerts, but it was very uncool to go anywhere with your parents back then.)

It was our entire family’s wish for our father to meet Frank, but sadly, it just never materialized. Sinatra had a full life to say the least, living to the ripe age of 82, and just last week was anniversary of his passing on May 14th. Not surprising, like many from his era, Frank was a big smoker and drinker and I think it surprised everyone that he lived as long as he did. Especially when you consider the man was not a big fan of sleeping and relied heavily on his power naps. The lyrics from the song that he made famous, “New York, New York”, where he sings “I want to wake up in a city, that doesn’t sleep“, couldn’t have been more true for Frank. 

Frank heroically survived his Rat Pack Days, which was historically full of much mayhem and merriment — lots of women, gambling and booze. I have seen some of the original Rat Pack clips, and I don’t think there was anyone who had as much fun as Frank, Sammy Davis, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop (the non-partier) and Peter Lawford. Sadly, along with Frank the entire Rat Pack is gone.

But even though Frank is not with us anymore, his music will always lives on and this up coming movie will be the first on my “must see” list. This movie has been a long time coming, and the rights and the permission to do it, were acquired with great difficulty. I often wondered why there hadn’t been a film telling Frank’s story so far, but I would imagine it may be due to the fact that it took co-producer Cathy Schulman two years to fight for the rights. I am glad the Sinatra family held on to the rights of Frank’s music so ruthlessly. Let us not forget when the Beatles song “Revolution” was used for a Nike ad, I thought…oh hell no!

There are times when exploiting nostalgia is just wrong.

Let’s just hope Frank’s music doesn’t pop up on too many TV commercials in the near future?  Of course unless they are done tastefully and classy, if that’s even possible. For instance, I wouldn’t want to see a TV commercial and hear “Strangers in the Night” playing , while people are pictured going through the late night drive-thru at Taco Bell.  I think I would just cry.

So back to the movie rights….

But wait, there’s more…