Lightning Strikes Martha Stewart

Not only is she a self proclaimed domestic goddess, but now she's a triple time lightning strike survivor. She really can do it all!

Martha Stewart, 67, claims to have been electrocuted three times recently, during electrical storms, while being inside and completing (of course) some domestic chores. It's like reading that Martha Stewart was killed when 10 carpet rolls fell on her while she was undertaking a summer project in the Hamptons. If she's going to be killed, it will be while being Martha Stewart to the nth degree.

Now Martha claims that she was doing the dishes and got struck in the stomach. And then was struck two more times while being on the phone and holding a metal rod. Now, I've heard of lightning striking twice, but three times?!?!

If you've seen The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, then you may recall the man who was struck by lightning seven times. Perhaps Martha is on this path. But for now, here's some videos of lightning, striking!

*Okay, so this is not exactly new news. And there has already been an article written on this at the vine (click here to read it). However, I felt I needed to write about it with a bigger Lynchian emphasis.

If you're a David Lynch fan, then you will understand how fitting it is that he has directed the new Moby music video "A Shot in the Back of the Head". From reading the title of the song, it is clear that a magical collaborative dream team effort has occurred. There's Lynch, with his fascination with the head and it being smashed, kicked, shot, cutting its ears off, etc. and then there's Moby, specifically with this disjointed, dark tune. And put together in this clip, is just a visual feast for the (dark) eyes and a treat for all of the Lynch fans out there.

Even if you're not a fan of David Lynch's movies (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive and TV show Twin Peaks) you will be able to realise that watching this clip is a similar experience to watching Lynch's work. His dream like images are felt on a different level here. In "Shot in the Back of the Head" it feels like you are watching a labyrinthine disjointed tale of love, loss and murder, all through the shots of a dark, messed up set of animated shots and distorted images.

I could go on for hours about everything Lynch, but for now, here is the Moby clip again for your enjoyment!

Barrymore shines in Grey Gardens

Movie adaptations are always tricky. Whether you're adapting from a book, poem, song, short story, or remaking a classic film, there lies certain problems within the undertaking that can cause irreparable damage within the final product. Over six months ago, when I heard about the HBO remake/adaptation film of one of my favourite films of all time, I got skittish. But now after a sneak peak, I can rest assured that this could be one of the TV events of the year.

In 1975, the Maysles Brothers (Albert and David, of previous Rolling Stones-fan dying at concert documentary-Gimme Shelter fame) released a groundbreaking, fly on the wall style documentary (also known as Cinéma vérité for all you cinephiles and cinephile wannabes out there!)

The doco was about the pairing of an eccentric mother and daughter, living in an old, dilapidated mansion called Grey Gardens. But the pull was that this mother and daughter pairing were the great Aunt and cousin of former First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (or the original Jackie O!) These former women of high class New York society had been living in squalor. And when press caught wind of it, a flurrying sensation was caused and Jackie herself came to help clean up the mess. A few years later, the Maysles came to film them, still living in their festering squalor with roughly 20 feral random cats wondering the premises, just "doing what they do". And henceforth the film Grey Gardens was born.

These two ladies were the original crazy old cat ladies you always heard about. And just to add to Little Edie's (the daughter) eccentricities, she donned a head scarf at all times to hide her hair that had previously fallen out, thus creating the unforgettable image of Little Edie (seen to the left) and the one of the woman that lies behind Grey Gardens.

But enough about the old, and in with the new. Some time ago, I heard that a film version was being made of Grey Gardens. Already a successful Tony award winning musical had been made. However this film is not an adaptation of the musical, it's a movie of the whole story of the Beales, spanning 40 years.

The first thing that I noticed was the casting choices. The brilliant Jessica Lange was to play Big Edie, which seemed like a very apt choice, as Lange is simple put, amazing. But then I read that Drew Barrymore had been cast as the one-of-a-kind Little Edie. This seemed like a risky choice for both the studio and Barrymore to make. Well, luckily, I have to say that my faith has been restored. If you check out the following clips you will see Barrymore as you've never seen her before. Over a years worth of vocal training, and much preparation has lead to what shall hopefully be a masterful performance. To judge for yourself, take a sneak peak at the trailer embedded below.

As a fan of the original cult doco, all I can say is that I'm relieved and beyond excited to see this hopefully magnificent adaptation of a truly unique and amazing story.

Originally slated for a theatrical release, HBO will be premiering Grey Gardens this Sunday night in the US. Who knows when we'll get it. I pray as soon as humanly possible, but with the past track records of getting anything decent on our screens, this could prove a more difficult task.

Fit for an iQueen

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama recently landed in London for the G20 summits. And while in town, the Obama's had a little meeting with Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Phillip. But what present would be given? Of late, the Obama's have been giving some interesting, if not unusual presents, most noticeably a collection of 25 American Classic Films to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. So, what were we expecting from the hip, cool and trendy, Blackberry obsessed US Prez?

When I heard that young Lizzy received an iPod from the Obama's as her official present, I couldn't help but wonder, what was on it? And then what would she likely to add, presuming her was as uber cool as Obama.

Naturally, little jokes such as Dancing Queen, and Queen's Greatest Hits come to mind, but According to the Associated Press, the iPod had a collection of popular Broadway musicals hits from such shows as "Funny Girl", "Dreamgirls", "Rent", "My Fair Lady" and "The King and I" among many others.

As when Brown received his collection of American classic films, I wondered, if I was Obama, what would I put on the iPod for the Queen. Perhaps I'd thrown in some Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, classics in my book, maybe some Greenday, and some local chaps called The Beatles, and some of their contemporaries. As I pop forth this question to myself, I pop it forward to you: If you could put anything on the Queen's iPod, what would you choose?

Animal Sex Interests Rossellini

Some people like to knit or yarn. Others take up gardening. Well, it seems veteran actress Isabella Rossellini (daughter of Hollywood legends - actress Ingrid Bergman and director Roberto Rossellini) is interested in the mating rituals of animals. And why not, I say. The fascination of reproduction is one not to be shy of, and yet everywhere I turn on the internet this past day, all I read it "Rossellini fascinated by animal fornication" as if it were a shameful thing. Naturally, intrigue got the better of me and within minutes I was reading about Rossellini's new pet project.

"Green Porno" is a set of documentary shorts based on the coital habits of different animals. And these series of shorts sees, Rossellini, not shy of her own famous sexuality (see Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her if you don't know what I'm talking about) diverting off to another set of species. Rossellini says "I'm not interested in people sex, just animal sex! More scandalous!”

Her shorts feature an array of "interesting" animals such as insects and sea creatures. I, personally, would have been more fascinated by the larger animals mating rituals (like the elephants, lions, etc, but I guess you can see that on any David Attenborough special) Rossellini most importantly notes about her little creatures that "they can do it everywhere. They can reproduce sexually, like us, but they can also do it asexually. They're so freaky, I love them! It''s fascinating," she added.

Let's bring it on, Isabella. Bring it on!

Top 10 Recut Movie Trailers

Counting backwards, here are some of the best re-imagined, recut movie trailers. It seems to successfully make a recut trailer, you need to switch the original genre to its polar opposite (children to horror, romance to thriller, etc...) Key elements that will be very noticable shall be: music, voice over, and the text appearing between shots. So let's get started:

10) Mary Poppins



9) My Girl



8) You've Got Mail



7) Sleepless in Seattle



6) Mrs Doubtfire



5) Dumb and Dumber



4) When Harry Met Sally



3) Toy Story/Requiem for a Dream



2) Top Gun



1) The Shining

Miley Cyrus' So Called Life

There is a time in an artists life when they will release a retrospective piece that speaks over their (hopefully) interesting career. Sometimes we find artists who are not exactly worthy of releasing retrospective pieces, doing just this same thing. Artists will oftne release a greatest hits compilation album after decades of studio albums, or a countless array of hits. Then there are the artists who compile a "greatest hits" collection, after only releasing a couple of albums. This leaves me wondering how easy is it to be considered worthy of a career retrospective. And I'm talking the Aaron Carter, Keith Urban, Hilary Duff Collections here.

The same can be said with celebrity autobiographies. More often than not, a celebrity, whether it be an actor, musician, sportsperson, or whoever, will generally produce a work of non fiction/autobiography at the end of either their career, or during a retirement, or a quiet time in their professional life; a reflection period. However, much like pre-emptive greatest hit compilations, we see sometimes see the pre-emptive autobiography.

Miley Cyrus, the teenage bucktoothed sensation is my Exhibit A. An example of a career that has only begun within the last few years. Not even last decade. Despite this lack of experience in the industry, little Smiley Miley has come up with "her story". It's sad when you know that there is an audience for this hogwahed filled piece of mediocrity.

Miley, also know to millions of 'tweens' as Hannah Montana is a bit of the media mogul. Despite only JUST turning 17, little Miley (daughter of 80s country Achy Breaky Heart one hit wonder Billy Ray Cyrus) has already starred in a television program, released CD's, her own clothing line, and now the autobiography, ironically titled "Miles To Go" (Ironic for me, as I feel that's where I stand with her synergising ways...It's only just begun!?!?!) I can only assume that the perfume and energy drinks products are just around the corner.

It is important to note that Miley is not the first young celebrity to pen her story. Back in the day, Drew Barrymore wrote "Little Girl Lost", an autobiography in 1991 about her turbulent childhood and drug addictions at age 14. Now we take in hand that Drew had been through quite a journey in this short space of time. In comparion, Miley suffered some "serious" bullying, and had a "serious" two year relationship that is worthy of a marriage comparison to Jonas Brother Nick Jonas (Another Disney tween sensation.)

Recently I saw a clip of Miley on The View, a popular US daytime television talk show. When asked out what she would like to say to the girls who bullied her in high school, she replied, "Hahaha!" And not only that, but she also said that the popular girls who bullied her were always the ones being cast in lead roles in school productions and she was not, but now she has a show and they don’t. Now, to me, this seems suggests less of a rags to riches story, and more of a revenge driven reality.

Apparent the Disney company payed Cyrus a 7 figure sum to write the autobiography and there is already talks of a movie based on the book. Is this going to be a similar situation to Patty Duke starring in the Patty Duke story? Or the Joan Rivers/Melissa Rivers story, starring Joan and Melissa Rivers? Miley Cyrus stars as Miley Cyrus in the Miley Cyrus story.

Give me a break!