Top Moments From the Howard Stern 60th Birthday Bash

Jimmy Kimmel hosted the Howard Stern Birthday Bash live from the Hammerstein Ballroom in honor of Stern's 60th Birthday, with Howard and Robin Quivers up on stage to broadcast live. It is one of the only places you would find members of the Wack Pack in the same building with the likes of Barbara Walters and Robert Downey Jr. 

The star of the show was possibly Tan Mom who became the talk of it all after a messy interview, threatening to kick some hecklers ass. Joan Rivers later quipped that Tan Mom's kid "is the only kid that wishes her mom was Casey Anthony." We didn't hear much from Tan Mom after her interview, so it's entirely possible she either fell over the balcony or melted underneath one of the spotlights. Tan Mom was later escorted out by police.

Louis CK created a hilarious fake story of a time when Howard saved his life in the 1970s, and then "came on my face." He also went after Chris Christie who was at the event. Former enemy-turned-friend Rosie O'Donnell showed up and sang to him to poke fun at their former feud. David Letterman made a rare public appearance and Howard interviewed him on stage, further helping to make it a memorable show. 

Adam Levine had a top notch performance of Prince's "Purple Rain", surprising many by playing an awesome guitar solo. The Beach Boys sent in a video of them performing a version of "California Girls" with edited custom lyrics, such as, "we wish we all could be just like Howard Stern." Sarah Silverman performed with Natalie Maines, giving shout-outs to all the members of the Howard Stern Show with the most creative song of the night. Dave Grohl also played a surprise acoustic performance of "Everlong" that has me wanting to hear the 8th Foo Fighters album ASAP. 

 Jewel, who famously went on his show and performed a song Howard wrote in 6th Grade called "Silver Nickels & Golden Dimes", performed the song again and of course did a beautiful job with great acoustic guitar and soaring vocals. Paul McCartney sent a video singing a version of "Happy Birthday Mr. President" to him. Ellen DeGeneres, Jerry Seinfeld and George Clooney also sent in videos. Kathie Lee Gifford was the big surprise considering how much Howard has made fun of her and her husband with her sarcastic video, toasting him by calling him a "motherfucker".

It was a fantastic show and you should catch the replay this Monday if you missed it! Listen to Jewel perform "Silver Nickels & Golden Dimes" below:

Ozzy Osbourne & the 2014 Grammy Awards

Ozzy Osbourne came out with his fellow Black Sabbath members to introduce the Ringo Starr performance. He flubbed his lines while reading the teleprompter, causing Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi to laugh. Afterwards while talking to reporters Ozzy had the best response, "I completely fucked it up." And we love you no matter what Ozzy!

Some other highlights included Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr performing Paul's new song "Queenie Eye" together. Half of The Beatles is still better than no Beatles. It featured a memorable moment with Yoko Ono & Sean Lennon dancing around to it. Sean, by the way, looked eerily like his dad John Lennon, circa 1969 and the Abbey Road era. The performance came ahead of CBS' 50th Anniversary Celebration (February 9th, 2014) of the Beatles' first performance in America. It happened back on February 9th, 1964 on the Ed Sullivan Show, which was watched by over 73 Million people and kicked off Beatlemania and the "British Invasion".

Macklemore performed an emotional and powerful "Same Love" with Mary Lambert and Madonna. Queen Latifah walked out and married 33 diverse couples. Gay, lesbian, straight, interracial, etc. It made for quite the memorable and moving moment that will stand the test of time. Normally a mass marriage gathering would be creepy and cult-ish, but in the context was a nice touch.

The biggest stars of the night were possibly the hats. It seemed half of the people were wearing some type of hat. Pharrell's Indiana Jones style hat may have stolen the show. It's better than the star of the show being a foam finger though, that's for sure. Daft Punk of course took it a step further from hats with their helmets, decked out in enough white plastic to make the Storm Troopers from Star Wars jealous. 

Diagon Alley Nearing Completion at Universal Studios Florida

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley, which has been in the works since The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade first opened at Islands of Adventure in 2010, is taking shape quickly ahead of its opening this Summer 2014 at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando.

Guests who have park-to-park admission will be able to take the Hogwarts Express between the two parks. The Hogwarts Express has windows that are made of screens, so instead of seeing some Orlando roads as you take the train between parks, you will see the English countryside as well as magical creatures from Harry Potter. Everyone's dream to take a ride to Hogwarts can finally come true. 

The London waterfront is what you'll see first, which hides the new section of the park like in the films. You'll see Leicester Square, the Knight Bus, and Grimmauld Place before entering Diagon Alley through The Leaky Cauldron, which will be massive in size. New shops besides The Leaky Cauldron that are featured will be places like Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, a larger Ollivanders Wand Shop, Madame Malkins Robes, Magical Menagerie, and Quality Quidditch Supplies to name a few. Knockturn Alley will also be included, for all muggles to get their fix of the dark arts. 

The star attraction will be Gringotts Bank, which houses the new ride "Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts". Likely a roller coaster with brand new technology, its unknown exactly how the ride works, only that it will be like the escape seen in the Deathly Hallows. A fire breathing dragon will be perched on top of Gringotts, and will actually breathe fire. 

JK Rowling has been involved in the process, and helped introduce brand new shops and characters that weren't featured in the books or films. Take a look at a teaser video of the expansion:

Justin Bieber Gets A DUI; World Celebrates

Following in the footsteps of Lindsay Lohan, Justin Bieber was arrested for a DUI after drag racing in Miami Beach, Florida. He had alcohol, weed, and prescription drugs in his system. The feeling I got upon hearing this news was akin to when I heard that Osama Bin Laden had been caught and Kim Jong-Il died. Hopefully the judge makes him go to jail until he completes puberty in about 5 years. #DeportBieber has been trending on Twitter, as well as #FreeJustinBieber. The #FreeJustinBieber is mainly: 1. Teen/tween girls. or 2. People wondering why its trending, therefore causing it to do so more. #DeportBieber is winning. Please deport him to North Korea if possible.

Take a look at the mugshot, where he seems all happy:

Bieber would make a great prison bitch, as evidenced by the look on his face while being faced with the judge, no longer so happy:

In an update, surveillance video of the police chasing his drag racing car has been released. He's not very good at it. 

Richard Sherman Turns Into Booker T

It was like something out of an old WCW or WWF/WWE Monday Night Raw. Richard Sherman had just broken up a pass to seal the NFC Championship for the Seattle Seahawks. He starts talking smack to Michael Crabtree of the 49ers, as the two presumably don't like each other much. Erin Andrews goes over for a post-game interview and Sherman morphs into former pro wrestler Booker T, as Andrews looks like she just stumbled into the middle of Compton circa 1992 while Sherman angrily rips Crabtree.

  

It will go down as one of the most memorable post-game interviews ever. It's also safe to say not many neutral fans may be cheering for the Seahawks to beat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII from Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. Sherman was just caught up in the heat of the moment though in the few minutes after his clash with Crabtree. Anyone else would have been just as fired up with their adrenaline still pumping.

The Broncos beat the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship. Patriots coach Bill Belichick called Wes Welker's block on Aqib Talib "one of the worst plays I've seen" and "deliberate". Maybe so, but the hit looked technically legal by NFL rule though, it happened while the ball was in play right nearby, not after it was already gone. By the way, it was also deliberate to spy on opponents to gain an advantage in the Super Bowl. Funny that the Patriots haven't won a Super Bowl since getting caught with Spygate, basically becoming the 1990s Buffalo Bills since then.

Sandra Bullock Drops the Best F-Bomb

Sandra Bullock picked up an award for "Best Actress in an Action Movie" for Gravity at the Critics Choice awards. In true humorous Bullock fashion she first thanked Jackie Chan, Sylvester Stallone, & Jean Claude Van Damme for "teaching her everything she knows" as an action star.

Then all of a sudden someone must have hit a button to trigger the loudspeaker when "Choice Movie Awards" came booming out leading Sandra to proclaim "What the fuck" to a rounding ovation. The censors on The CW caught it, unlike on NBC. Her co-star from The Heat, Melissa McCarthy, obviously enjoyed it. Various times she made funny references to why it was considered an Action Film. Awards shows always find loopholes to get films into different categories, as with the Golden Globes and some of their questionable choices for in the Comedy category. Gravity has some action scenes, but overall it is more of a drama/thriller.

She also thanked George Clooney for "floating away and not coming back." Watch the fantastic speech below.

    

The Annual Golden Globes Censor Fail

There were about four reasons to watch the Golden Globes this year.

1. Tine Fey & Amy Poehler, who are guaranteed to bring out some laughs.

2. To see if anyone would curse and/or have a drunken speech that sends the censors into a panic.

3. To get a speech that is actually interesting to listen to, from Sandra Bullock and/or Tom Hanks, two people who know how to deliver a top notch speech with humor and humility without being dramatic.

4. U2.

Well, 20 minutes into the show and Jacqueline Bisset said "Shit" and NBC botched the censorship and only got the words leading up to "Shit". I thankfully flipped back just in time! And she definitely seemed drunk as well, which is what sets the Golden Globes apart...alcohol on the tables. It is no doubt boring sitting there for hours (as most awards shows are), so it seems someone curses and rambles every year after knocking back copious amounts of wine/champagne.

Poehler and Fey were great of course, playing off each other perfectly, featuring a nice bit with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and an electronic cigarette. Poehler also jokingly made out with Bono after winning Best Supporting Actress in a TV comedy. Sandra Bullock & Tom Hanks presented an award together, and hopefully one or both will win later in the show to show everyone how a speech is done.

U2 Bringing New Song "Invisible" To The Super Bowl?

U2 are finally gearing up to release their first new album since 2009's No Line On The Horizon in 2014.

They gave us a tease with the Golden Globe nominated song "Ordinary Love" from the film "Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom". Their next single, called "Invisible", is possibly going to be released in a 30 or 60 second commercial during the Super Bowl on February 2nd as reported on atU2. One can assume the full song/music video will be uploaded to YouTube/U2.com and released to iTunes/Amazon MP3 shortly after. The new track will be supporting the (RED) campaign to fight AIDS, so there isn't any official word yet if this song is part of the new album. However, in an LA Times article where the track "Invisible" was played by Bono for them, it stated the song is from the new album. So its possible the track is both promoting the (RED) charity and the lead single.

I faintly heard part of the song, as someone on a beach managed to hear the song being played (loudly) and recorded a bit of it with a cell phone. You can't make out much thankfully, since I'd rather just hear it during the Super Bowl, but you can tell the song is going for the sweeping epic vibe. Think of it as in a category with "Where The Streets Have No Name" or "Beautiful Day".

The band (Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen Jr) also appeared at and performed for Sean Penn's 3rd Annual HELP HAITI HOME fundraiser, performing "Hallelujah", "I Will Follow", "Desire" & "Vertigo". It was only their second performance for a crowd since the end of the U2360 Tour in Summer 2011.

Sandra Bullock Cleans Up

Award Show season has arrived. Usually that tends to elicit a yawn and a big "who gives a rats ass?" from most people. And usually they can be a big fat bore fest.

However, Sandra Bullock is back on the scene this year, and nobody knows how to give an interesting speech or interview quite like she does. At the People's Choice Awards, she took home prizes for "Favorite Actress", "Favorite Comedic Actress" and "Favorite Dramatic Actress". It's safe to say we know who America's favorite actress is. And sure enough her speech was funny, humble, and authentic. 

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are also back to host the 71st Golden Globes this year, adding a level of fun to the awards show that is sure to bring out some laughs much like it did last year. Even if you just keep it on in the background, be sure to perk your heads up whenever they come on screen. 

2022 FIFA Fall/Winter World Cup?

FIFA exec Jerome Valcke has announced that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar won't be held during the Summer because of the extreme heat in Qatar...moving it to begin in either November, December, or January. However, FIFA VP Jim Boyce then said they haven't decided on a date yet. So we have two contradicting statements coming from people representing FIFA...which isn't really a surprise. I believe Valcke, and FIFA is just trying to save face in order to try and stop there being an uproar about the time of the 2022 World Cup ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

This is causing quite the controversy as it would interrupt the club calendar of the various football/soccer leagues in different parts of the world, the biggest being Europe. It would also fall during the NFL playoff chase, offering up yet another dilemma, especially for FOX Sports, who have the TV Broadcast rights. Though I guess it could be a good distraction for fans of teams who are eliminated from NFL Playoff Contention.

They wouldn't be able to have the event in February 2022, because then it would clash with the Winter Olympics. All these years after choosing Qatar, FIFA is just now realizing it is way too hot there to have it in the Summer? I guess the dollar signs in their eyes while they were taking bribes from Qatar & Russia (2018 host) were confusing them.

2014 Anniversaries

2014 is here...and with it will bring a whole slew of new things celebrating an anniversary, some of which may shock you since you remember them happening like it was yesterday.

It's been a decade since Usher hit us with his song "Yeah!" featuring Lil' Jon in 2004. Also known as the song that even people who hate dancing couldn't help but want to dance to, regardless of what they say. That song is now 10 years old. It's also been 10 years since U2's "Vertigo" helped launch the iPod into even more households. Tina Fey also brought us 'Mean Girls' 10 years ago, going on to be quoted by pretty much everyone to this day. It all seems like it was just yesterday. 

Happy 20th, Lion King!

And believe it or not, Disney's 1994 smash hit "The Lion King" will turn 20 this year. Two full decades of Hakuna Matata. As if "Jurassic Park" turning 20 last year wasn't enough to make you feel a bit old for remembering when they were in theaters for the first time...and then when they came out on VHS finally. 1994 also saw Friends premiere on TV. 

As we gear up for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, we must remember its been 20 years since the United States hosted the record breaking 1994 World Cup, and 15 years since hosting & winning the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. Both events helped make Soccer a much bigger sport in America now than it was in the previous few decades. 

The Simpsons will become 25 years old, and the series shows no signs of slowing down. I would be shocked if they didn't have a 30th Season at least.

It will also be the 50th Anniversary of when The Beatles first landed in America at JFK Airport in February 1964, performing to an estimated 34 percent of the US population on The Ed Sullivan Show. It launched a wave of Beatlemania that is still going on now, as they have continued to sell albums in the millions from their breakup in 1970 through to today.

The Beatles, February 1964