A few years ago when the first “Real Housewives” show on Bravo surfaced quicker than pictures of Anthony Wiener in his BVDs,  the locale of the show was Orange County California, which, although is a serene and aesthetically beautiful area south of Los  Angeles, it just didn’t entice me as a New Yorker to follow all of these blonde, botoxed women. Fast forward a couple of years later and New Jersey was the selected state, specifically Northern New Jersey, which is quite different culturally than South Jersey.  Having spent an enormous amount of time in Northern New Jersey and being related to housewives of that area, I was curious to see where the line between fact and a good plot line would be drawn. After the first two seasons, what I found was the equivalent of eating a box of Entenmann’s chocolate frosted donuts 10:00 at night: it tastes good abut you feel completely toxic the next day.

There seems to be a cast type of the main characters for all of these “Housewives” shows: the not-so-bright but good hearted one, the bossy one, the one your a little jealous of, the lost one, and of course, the villain. On the New Jersey saga, the one who I thought was a little bit lost was Dina Manzo because it was hard to tell what she was searching for in life and was constantly seeking peace with teas, gems, and a spiritualist who became her BFF. Dina could not take the bad energy of the villain so she left mid-season, as did the villain Danielle Staub, who is now seeking treatment in stripper rehab after a three day gyration binge at Scores… I wish I was kidding.

As I awaited the new season of “RHONJ,” I was eager to see the prior Jerseyites who are Caroline–the bossy one, Jacqueline–the one I’m a little jealous of because no matter how many degrees are on my wall, my lifestyle is nowhere near what her’s is, and Teresa–the not so bright one, as evidenced by her malapropisms, but appears to be sweet and happy no matter what the circumstances are. (more…)

Upon reading “Would Sam Kinison Have Survived in Today’s Brave New PC World?”, as a stand-up comedian myself, I felt the need to opine on what was a very insightful question. Sam Kinison was a genius for his time and theoretically still is. The Pentecostal preacher-turned-comedian took a would-be sermon and used his thunderous delivery, vendi-quadruple espresso shot-energy and viewpoint of the obvious to pontificate some of the funniest bits that the 80’s and very early 90’s had ever heard. While his peers, comprised of Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Reiser, and Rosanne Barr, were humorously talking about not pulling the tag off the mattress, catching tuna and not dolphins, and refusing to vacuum until Sears made one you could ride, Sam’s mind worked on other angles that today would have put him on a Hate List somewhere between Sarah Palin and Pat Boone. 

His great bit about world hunger, that there would be no world hunger if starving Africans “lived where the food is and not in the desert where nothing grows,” in 2010 would have been construed as anti-Muslim, since Muslims live in the desert. Sam likely would’ve been exiled like Jyllands-Posten, the Danish cartoonists. Then there’s Kinison’s rapper bit which would have no doubt caused Kayne West to tweet “Sam Kinison hates black people” and then bag out on some a previous commitment ala the Today Show. Kinison’s bit on Rock Hudson was spewed not with malice but with a mix of commentary about a screen idol keeping one of Hollywood’s biggest secrets and how heterosexual men may view a gay sexual experience. That bit today would have created blogs upon websites blaring on how Sam is a homophobe and one of the causes of bullying. 

Clearly Sam was not without his well-documented personal problems and had many demons he struggled with, but his comedy was straightforward, poignant and his subject matter was that of what many people where thinking about with their inside voice, all of which are the elements of being one of the greatest comics of your time. (more…)

A couple of weeks ago, a Facebook group called “Against Jennifer Lopez Performing in Occupied Cyprus” came to my attention.  Being a Greek-American and half Cypriot, I immediately investigated and found out that Ms. Lopez was scheduled to perform in Cyprus on July 24th, as part of the opening of the Cartos Premium Hotel and in celebration of her 41st birthday. The uproar was due to the fact that the event was not an ordinary concert at some new 5-star hotel at a Mediterranean resort, it was a hotel that is located in the town of Kyrenia, which is one of the many towns occupied unlawfully by the Turks.

Why would this be so personal? Because my Grandparents are from Kyrenia and their land was unlawfully taken away from them during the Turkish occupation of Cyprus in 1974. Even though they had to come to the United States many years prior and became American citizens (like they use to do back in the day), there is no recourse for them to claim what is rightfully theirs. In brief, the Turks invaded the northern half of Cyprus, brutalizing its citizens and evicting 180,000 Greek Cypriots from their homes as Turkish Forces settled the Turks into the properties of those displaced Greeks.

The events were a violation of the Geneva Convention and various UN resolutions. In 1983, Turkish Cypriots proclaimed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus which is recognized only by Turkey. So when I read about J. Lo’s concert it affected me as well as many others of Greek heritage. (more…)

This Memorial Day, comedian Sarah Silverman was a guest on “The View.” Sarah has quite a large following, as well as a new book she’s promoting, and after catapulting into the scene over the last few years with her television show, movies, magazine articles, and online viral successes, she’s very well liked by many television hosts. Silverman’s certainly made it, she’s a success, and good for her.  So with all that she has to be grateful for, what would possess her to put an audience filled with military personnel in for New York City’s Fleet Week on the spot?

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After a warm introduction and resounding applause, Sarah jumps on the couch in the fashion that she usually does and was asked what she thought of the military audience. She stated that however you feel politically, these people are heroes, and at that moment I’m thinking that was a nice, appropriate, and classy thing to say. Then, as quick as you can hear Tipper Gore shutting the eco-friendly door on Al’s backside, the politics came out of nowhere. The next sentence she uttered was:

“Wouldn’t this be a great opportunity to ask you guys about ‘don’t ask don’t tell’….to me, it was like a stepping stone to equal rights…now its like a silly relic.” 

Did Sarah have a moment where she thought she was headlining at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles? Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar immediately jumped in to inform her that military personnel are required to refrain from speaking publicly about political issues and therefore cannot and will not answer. And note the wild applause from the audience for Elisabeth Hasselbeck after she states: (more…)

The first time I ever heard of the name Kardashian was in June of 1994 after the famous O.J. car chase. Robert Kardashian publicly read a letter written by O.J., which sparked off the beginning of one of the biggest media circus’ in American history. Kardashian became part of the “dream team” that allowed O.J. to walk free, although in Al Capone style, eventually end up in jail for a crime completely unrelated to the murders he committed. What I distinctly remember was that Kardashian was the man seen carrying Simpson’s garment bag the day Simpson flew back from Chicago. It was speculated that the bag may have contained Simpson’s bloody clothes and/or the murder weapon; however, by the time the bag was returned to the prosecutors, mysteriously, there was nothing incriminating.

A few years ago the Kardashian name cropped up again (Robert had passed in 2003). However, this time, the spotlight was on one of his four children, Kim, an attractive, petite, Armenian looking woman, who was part of the Hilton sisters’ crowd. The next thing I know there is a show on E! about the whole clan which includes Kim, her sisters Khloe and Kourtney, her brother Robert Jr. and her half-sisters who are in their early teens, Kylie and Kendall. The parents, and I use the term loosely, are Kris Jenner, who divorced Robert Sr. in 1989, and Bruce Jenner, a gold medal Olympic winner and an integral part of American sports history. Does this sound even remotely interesting? Well, if you said “no,” you are probably in the majority. However, if you said “yes,” you are in luck because they are on their fourth show in two years. (more…)

I think that Charlie Sheen, the uber-talented actor — as he’s described by many in Hollywood — who leaped on to the scene as an money-hungry, woman carousing, cocktail drinking young lad in the movie Wall Street and then went on be one of the highest paid sitcom stars today portraying a millionaire (fast-forward to money earned), woman carousing, cocktail drinking older lad, has been given a lifetime pass of deplorable behavior that boggles my mind every time I see his updated mug shot. Being a sitcom star used to require a certain amount of decorum. Most stars tried to keep the arrests down to minimum. Can you imagine if Bill Cosby, Tony Danza, Henry Winkler or my favorite Ed O’Neill, had the kind of rap sheet that Carlos Irwin Estevez has? I guarantee that they would have never been hired.

In 2000, when Michael J. Fox was forced to depart from the sitcom “Spin City,” his replacement was Charlie Sheen. I remember thinking to myself,  Charlie Sheen in a sitcom? Since when is he even remotely funny, and wasn’t he arrested for breaking his girlfriend’s nose — not to mention a spending spree at Heidi Fleiss’ house, shooting Kelly Preston in the arm, and trips in and out of rehab for hard drugs and alcohol? (more…)

What in the world is wrong with people in the entertainment industry who come from humble beginnings, have a few years of real struggle and then with their uniqueness and by the grace of God (which you could interpret as luck), they make it big, as in rich and famous big. The chances of becoming as famous as Lindsay Lohan are 1 in 1,574,638 as tracked by E-Poll Market Research, but really, wouldn’t you rather be you?

Mr. David has been blessed beyond any struggling writer, producer, actor or stand-up comedian’s wildest dreams. His total cash receipts have still not been tallied since the funds continue to pour in from “Seinfeld,” but it’s accurate to say that with what he has earned to date, he could have paid for a lot of Nancy Pelosi’s botox.

Years after helping make television history, David jumped back into the small screen with the blessing of HBO and created “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which — in line with him marching to the beat of his own drum — is done unscripted. The show has a very solid following as it is in its seventh season, which is three television lifetimes these days. Great Larry, Mazal Tov. Isn’t America grand? Bet you would only have had the career of Heidi from the Hills if you lived in Cuba.  (more…)

I watched Whitney Houston’s interview on Oprah and I did not have to wait until it was over to feel great sadness. Whitney burst out in to the scene with her first album when she was 22 years old, with a powerful singing voice like no other — intense, energetic and the ability to hit a gamut of notes. Unlike Michael Jackson, she was not thrust on to the stage by an overbearing father or competing for the spotlight with her siblings. She was raised a Baptist and had a very deep spirituality that she always mentioned whether she was receiving a Grammy or in a magazine interview.  So how did this woman who was esthetically flawless and had it all, wind up sitting on the couch smoking marijuana laced with cocaine for days on end.

I believe it was a few reasons. Firstly, she married the wrong man, Bobby Brown, we all knew that—yes, all of us who did not know her personally knew that he was trouble. He spoke like trouble, he acted like trouble and he got in trouble. They started their marriage with him already having three kids from two different women he wasn’t married to and had been known for his outrageous behavior. She stated that she took her vows very seriously, she truly loved him and he allowed her to bring out her fun and crazy side. I do believe she took her vows very seriously and truly loved him, this woman could have had any man on the planet, but the fun and crazy side I’m a little unclear on, bringing up my second point.   (more…)