September 3rd, 2008

What began as a circulating Internet rumor has become a full-blown media circus in the announcement of Vice Presidential hopeful Sarah Palin’s daughter’s pregnancy. The issue of Bristol Palin’s teen pregnancy—she is 17—is the hot topic, overshadowing the coverage of the RNC in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Teen pregnancy issues aside, Sarah Palin outshines her running-mate John McCain in media coverage and is featured on the cover of four gossip-oriented weeklies including the National Enquirer, OK!, US Weekly, and People.

Never before has there been such an emphasis on the American political stars in entertainment news and gossip. Not to be outdone by the Republicans in the gossip-arena, first lady in waiting Michelle Obama has been a cover girl too.

Which begs the question: when did politics get so entertaining?

Brooklyn hipsters TV On The Radio have a new album coming out this month, and a dance hit to go along with it.

 “Dear Science,” the album, comes out on Sept. 23 in North America.  The first single, “Golden Age,” is available on iTunes and amazon.com for download now.

The single sounds like the best the 80s had to offer; the lead vocals of Tunde Adebimpe are the results of cross-pollinating Prince and David Bowie.  Have TV On The Radio been listening to too much Beck?  Well, yeah, but who hasn’t?  And just because they have doesn’t mean that the familiar falsetto vocals, hip-hop drum beats, and claustrophobic synths we’ve come to expect from the quintet is gone.  Quite the contrary; they do it even BETTER than Beck.

Advance reviews of “Dear Science” are already calling it a masterpiece, eclipsing even their last effort “Return To Cookie Mountain.”  Rolling Stone calls it “excellent” and a “beautiful art-rock symphony.”  Wireless Bollinger calls it “breathtaking” and “the band’s most immediate and arresting venture.”

Their 2006 album “Return To Cookie Mountain” was a critical favorite, landing in many critics’ top ten albums of the year.  Expect the same for this one…

Despite the disappointing news that golf-god Tiger Woods would be sidelined for the remainder of the 2008 season, Tiger has something arguably more exciting to focus on he and his Swedish model wife Elin are expecting cub number two.

Via his website, Tiger announced “Sam is going to be a big sister.” Elin has no specific due-date but a late winter birth is expected. The sex of the child is unknown.

While the super-athlete recovers from a knee injury he is working on his business portfolio including his Dubai golf course, Al Ruwaya, and spending time with Elin watching his one-year-old grow.

Sam, the couple’s first daughter was born just one day after the 2007 U.S. Open.

Congratulations to the Woods family!

On AMC’s critically acclaimed drama, Mad Men, Jon Hamm as adman Don Draper exudes 60s style, wearing suits and fedoras, puffing away on cigarettes and sipping martinis.

But in real life, the Emmy nominee for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series tells People magazine he’s a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy and that he quit smoking when he was 24.

“It’s glamorous on film, but it’s not glamorous waking up and smelling like an ashtray,” he told People.  (The actors smoke herbal cigarettes on the show.)

Despite his leading man good looks and the Golden Globe he won earlier this year, Mad Men is Hamm’s first major role. The 37-year-old St. Louis-bred actor first became interested in acting when he played Winnie the Pooh in first grade, according to Internet Movie Database.

While studying acting at the University of Missouri, he worked as a day care teacher during college, but before coming to Hollywood he was a high school teacher.

Since then he’s had roles in We Were Soldiers, The Division, What About Brian and The Unit. Next up, he will be in The Boy in the Box with Josh Lucas and The Day the Earth Stood Still with Keanu Reeves later this year.

When Hamm’s not acting, he lives in Los Angeles with his long-time partner, actress Jessica Westfeldt. Unlike philandering Don Draper, Hamm is fully committed to Westfeldt.

“I’ve been with the same girl for 10 years,” he told People. “We’re incredibly happy. We have a great life together, a beautiful dog, a house. I’m a very lucky guy.”