Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Lindsay Lohan

Admit it, at some point you thought she was hot.

Lindsay Dee Lohan (born July 2, 1986) is an American actress and pop music singer. Lohan started in show business as a child fashion model for magazine ads and television commercials. At age ten, she began her acting career in a soap opera; at eleven, she made her motion picture debut by playing both twins in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap. Lohan's breakout role as a leading actress came six years later with 2004's Mean Girls, which shone the media spotlight on her professional and personal lives—including her nightlife and her parents' marital and legal struggles.

As an adult, Lohan began to take on more varied roles and projects, including Robert Altman's final film, A Prairie Home Companion. While filming Herbie: Fully Loaded in 2004, Lohan launched her career in music, recording and releasing her first studio album, Speak; her second album, A Little More Personal (Raw), was released in 2005.

Lohan was given the lead in two films, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (her first feature that was not a remake) and Paramount's Mean Girls, both released in 2004. Drama Queen was a moderate success at the box office, grossing about US$30 million, but was a failure with critics. "Though still a promising star," Robert K. Elder wrote, "Lohan will have to do a little penance before she's forgiven for Confessions." That "penance" came with Mean Girls, her first PG-13 (and first non-Disney) film; her breakout lead performance pushed the critical and commercial hit to grosses of over US$86 million domestically and US$128 million worldwide, "cementing her status as the new teen movie queen," wrote Brandon Gray. "Lohan dazzles us once more," said Steve Rhodes. "The smartly written script is a perfect match for her intelligent brand of comedy."

Mean Girls was scripted by Tina Fey and featured several alumni of Saturday Night Live; Lohan was asked to host the show three times, in 2004, 2005, and 2006.

Lohan returned to Disney for Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), the fifth film in the long-dormant Herbie series. Her rising popularity allowed her to choose from a wider variety of projects and, at age 19, Lohan felt Herbie would help her make the transition into more grown-up roles. "In most of my other films, I was in high school," she said. "Here, [my character is] just out of college. It's nice to be able to do something that I think will be acceptable to the fan base I've accumulated from my Disney movies, but subconsciously they'll see me getting older and maturing."Fully Loaded did well at the box office, earning more in international release than in the United States.

Her next film in wide release, Just My Luck, opened in May 2006 to poor reviews and earned only $33 million worldwide. The following month, A Prairie Home Companion—an ensemble film directed by Robert Altman—fared better, debuting at #7 in limited release and ending its run with nearly $US20 million in domestic box-office receipts. "Lohan rises to the occasion," wrote Peter Travers, "delivering a rock-the-house version of 'Frankie and Johnny'." Lohan completed filming the independent Emilio Estevez film, Bobby, opposite Elijah Wood, in December 2005; the film débuted at the Venice Film Festival on September 5, 2006, and was released in theaters on November 23, 2006. Chapter 27 with Jared Leto began filming in New York on January 9, 2006, and had wrapped by March.

One new project was announced in April 2006; Lohan will play in Georgia Rule opposite Felicity Huffman and Jane Fonda (filming began in June) and Lohan began filming I Know Who Killed Me in late 2006, in which she, as told to David Letterman, will play a stripper and that it's a "really dark, scary film."

Hoping to become a "triple threat" (actor/model/singer) like her idol, Ann-Margret, Lohan began by showcasing her singing talents through her films. For the Freaky Friday soundtrack, she sang the closing theme, "Ultimate"; she also recorded four songs for the Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen soundtrack.

Producer Emilio Estefan, Jr. signed Lohan to a five-album production deal in 2002. "The minute I heard her sing, I knew she was gifted," he said, "and [she] has an incredible ability to connect with her audience. I am very excited to be working with her." Lohan—who said she was "extremely excited"—added, "I am surrounded by a group of very talented people." Two years later, Lohan signed a recording contract with Casablanca Records, headed by "diva-maker" Tommy Mottola. Her debut album, Speak, was released in December 2004, and peaked at number four on the Billboard 200. By early 2005, it was certified Platinum. Though primarily a pop-rock album, Speak was introduced with the single "Rumors", described by Rolling Stone as "a bass-heavy, angry club anthem". Its sexually suggestive video reached number one on MTV's TRL and was nominated for Best Pop Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards . "Rumors" eventually earned a Gold certification in America."[W]ith just two hit films under her belt", wrote Stephen Thomas Erlewine of All Music Guide, "Lohan decided it was time to turn [herself] into a multimedia, cross-platform star ... and so Speak was recorded quickly and rushed into the stores". He called her music "a blend of old-fashioned, Britney-styled dance-pop and the anthemic, arena rock sound pioneered by fellow tween stars Hilary Duff and Ashlee Simpson. [However,] Lohan stands apart from the pack with her party-ready attitude and her husky voice".

In December 2005, her second album, A Little More Personal (Raw), debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200 chart, but fell under the top 100 within six weeks. Reviews were unfavorable; critics wondered why an album in which Lohan poured out her heart came across instead as a "slick pop production." Slant magazine called it "contrived ... for all the so-called weighty subject matter, there's not much meat on these bones." Still, A Little More Personal (Raw) was certified Gold on January 18, 2006. The music video for the album's first single, "Confessions of a Broken Heart (Daughter to Father)"—directed by Lohan and featuring the acting debut of her sister, Ali—was a dramatization of the pain Lohan says her family has suffered at the hands of her father. She said "It's kind of offensive" but "I hope he sees the positive side of the video rather than the negative."

Universal Music Group moved Lohan from Casablanca to Motown Records in February 2006. In March, she told OK! magazine that she was writing lyrics for her third album, which she called "different [from] the first two". The November 2006 edition of In Style reported a Christmas 2006 release, but it was pushed back.

In a May 2007 interview in Nylon Lohan stated that she plans to record her third studio album in August 2007, saying "I want to do a tour like Madonna. [...] I want to do what Britney was doing. I want to work with Pharell, Timbaland, and Justin Timberlake.".


Is all this info on her career necessary?? Do you really care what shes done??

TomC

Tavares Solid, Sox Split First Two In Series With Yankees

(Three Run Shot In The First!)
(Celebration!)
(Lowell Tees Off In The Fourth)
(Lugo Scores In The Seventh)
(ARod is a DoucheBag, Tries To Take Out Pedroia. . .)


The Red Sox rebound from a lackluster effort in the first game in the series and, backed by a good start from Julian Tavarez and some powerful shots, take game two of the series at Yankee Stadium 7-3 on Tuesday Night. Tavarez, who gave up only 2 ER in 5 2/3 innings kept the Yankees at bay (and won on his thirty fourth birthday) while HR's by Manny Ramirez in the first, and Mike Lowell in the 4th sealed the deal for the Sox. David Ortiz did his part as well, going 3-4 with an RBI.

As usual, the Yankees Douchebag third baseman, Alex Rodriguez, had to make himself part of the story. ARod ("slappy") came barreling into Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia in the eighth inning, breaking up a double play.

Pedroia, however, didn't necessarily think it was a clean take-out.

"He went in late and kind of threw an elbow," said Pedroia. "A little cheap, but no big deal."

Next time, Pedroia said he would be better prepared for A-Rod.

"I remember it. I play second base," Pedroia said. "I have to turn two against the Yankees 19 times a year. I know now that he when he's coming in, my arm slot gets dropped to the floor. That's it. No big deal."

GO SOX!

TomC

Gran Habano Corojo #5 Churchill

7" X 48, Corojo

Appearance: This was a cool looking cigar. Long and lean, firm and evenly packed the cigar hides its humble origins quite well. Blanketed in a beautiful auburn brown wrapper, this cigar clearly looks high class.

Prelight: Clip was easy, and revealed another free and easy draw. The prelight draw had some tangy tobacco and leather notes, and a bit of spice.

Burn/Draw: This was one surprisingly well constructed cigar. The burn was relatively straight and did not need touched up. The draw was free and easy and produced a bevy of bright white, but fragrant smoke. The ash was firm, and white, and held for an inch and a half. Overall, like I said, hallmarks of a well constructed cigars.

Flavors: This is a very nice, consistent cigar. While it is not a knock you on your ass, amazing, very complex smoke, it really does not need to be. It does a couple of things, and does them quite well. There were notes of tanginess, like tobacco or leather. Some spice cropped up later, and the mouth feel was full and rich and creamy. This is a medium strength/fullish bodied cigar. I really enjoyed the simple flavors of this cigar, and it really is a value at the price readily found for a box. I can definitely suggest this cigar as an everyday smoke. It really surpassed my meager expectations, much to my delight.

TomC