24's Marisol Nichols Expecting A Baby Girl!

Actress Marisol Nichols and her husband, director Taron Lexton, are going to have a baby girl!

I once worked with Taron on a shoot, he's one of the most pleasant directors I've ever worked with. Congrats to both of them!

Check out this nice photo and article about Marisol's baby shower on people.com: Marisol's baby shower.

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Jason Lee is a dad again

Actor Jason Lee and model Ceren Alkac just announced the arrival of their daughter, born August 10th. The happy couple announced the event but not the little girl's name.

Jason gained the reputation for extreme child naming when, in 2003, he named his son after the opening track of the "Granddaddy" album "The Sophtware Slump". The boy is called Pilot Inspektor. Let's just hope the little girl gets a more conventional name.


Related articles:
- My Name Is Earl's Jason Lee Welcomes a Girl
- Jason Lee's Name Is Dad Again


A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Tom Cruise In Tropic Thunder- In Theaters Now!

Tom Cruise makes a cameo in the new Ben Stiller comedy Tropic Thunder, in theaters now.

Tom plays this funny over-the-top movie executive, and his performance is blowing away the critics and fans alike. Tom is all made up to the point where you may not even recognize him. I've only heard great things about his performance in the media.

John Stewart said about Tom Cruise (while interviewing Ben Stiller last night on The Daily Show) that:"I feel like converting to Scientology, that's how good he is in this movie!!"

The movie also stars Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, and Nick Nolte.

Click here to see the Tropic Thunder trailer.

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

A Farewell to Isaac Hayes

Music legend and long time Scientologist, Isaac Hayes, departed his body on Sunday. As well as being a great artist, Isaac was a guy who cared about others and worked hard to help his fellow man.

As Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard said: "A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists." Isaac was an artist who not only dreamed great dreams of a better world but he also took action to make his dreams into reality.

He was the international spokesman for the World Literacy Crusade, in which he encouraged people to work and/or stay in school, and the Shepherd Foundation, a Harlem-based non-profit organization that researches alternative treatments for degenerative diseases.

Isaac devoted much of his time to charitable causes through the Isaac Hayes Foundation, which he founded in May of 1999. The Isaac Hayes Foundation (IHF) partners with other nonprofit organizations to support global causes and serve the needs of the community. It has created programs such as his Literacy Links 2000 and an 8,000 sq. ft. education center in Ghana.

He was a supporter of and donor to the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, which was formed in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

In order to help as many people as possible in all parts of the world, he made the eBook of the "Way To Happiness" available for free (A Gift From Isaac Hayes).

Isaac led an amazing life. Not only was he the first African American composer to win an Oscar for Best Musical Score but he was also a King of the Ada coastal district of Ghana in western Africa. You can read more about his amazing life in the biographies listed below:

• Isaac Hayes - Official Biography


• Isaac Hayes - History Makers Biography

So I say goodbye to Isaac. I thank him for all he did to make this a better world and I wish him well and good luck in his future existence.

Singer Tricia Kelly Wins Big On Don't Forget The Lyrics!

Singer and actress Tricia Kelly appeared on Fox's hit TV show Don't Forget The Lyrics, hosted by Wayne Brady, and she won big time!

The show is based on how well you know lyrics to songs and not on singing ability. Though, Tricia is the best singer I've ever seen on the show (she rocks!!). And she was good enough in the lyrics department to take home a VERY nice chunk of change!

Tricia is a professional singer and actress and recently appeared in the hit live musical Beehive, which was nominated for an Ovation Award.

She has also opened for KC & The Sunshine Band, performed with Bill Medly of The Righteous Brothers, sang the National Anthem for the Boston Celtics, and is about to embark on her second tour performing for the troops in Iraq.

Tricia is currently starring in the musical Great Expectations, now playing in Los Angeles.

For more info on Tricia Kelly check out her websites:http://www.triciakelly.com/ or www.myspace.com/triciakellyla

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Struck, The Film: lastest achievements

Struck, The Film team, just had some awesome achievements:

I just got an update mail from them:

• Struck won Best Comedy Short at Breckenridge Festival of Film in Colorado in June and just won Best Short at the Long Island Film Festival. It now has a total of 5 wins and has been selected to a total of 26 film festivals.

• From the 15 festivals Struck has screened at so far the team has been contacted by some 10 other festivals inviting them to participate.  They are continuing to travel to as many of the festivals as we can, meeting and networking with other filmmakers and industry professionals.

• In August, Struck is screening at LA Shorts Fest, Palm Springs International, and California Next Gen (Sacramento). As well, it will be screened on opening night at the Rhode Island International Film Festival which is usually the best screening time.  

• Three of those festivals, LA Shorts, Rhode Island and Palm Springs, are Academy Qualifying, meaning if Struck wins at those festivals it is taken under consideration for an Oscar nomination! 

• The feature length script for Struck has been completed and is in its final wrap-up stages to create a final draft. Yippee!

I had the incredible luck of catching this film during the ten days it was available at YouTube to be seen and voted complete, during Cannes Short Films Festival in late May this year.  I saw it over twenty times!  It only lasts nine minutes but they are the best crafted nine minutes I've seen in many many many years.  

The highly emotional performances (Bodhi Elfman's was by far my favorite), the aesthetics that the film's young director Taron Lexton keeps pampering us with, the magical script...  all these elements combined make a true jewel, a recipe for success, a piece of unbelievable quality of communication....  

In case you missed it, you can still see a trailer (yes, even a nine minutes short film has its own trailer) at Struck's website.  There you can also get more information (as the all-star cast of the film) and updates.

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Chick Corea Back On Tour With Return To Forever!

Legendary musician, and Scientologist Chick Corea has reformed the band he founded in 1972, Return To Forever, and is back on the road with them after more than 25 years. Return To Forever are credited by many as being the first Jazz Fusion band, and for starting the whole genre! Fusion, as it's also called is a combo of jazz and rock, usually played by VERY skilled musicians. Every member of RTF absolutely shreds!

Along with Chick Corea, the RTF lineup includes music legends Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola and Lenny White. If you are a jazz fusion fan, then you know darn well that this lineup is a gift from heaven man! Not to be missed! They just finished touring Europe and are now back touring in the U.S..

For lots more info go to: http://www.return2forever.com/index.cfm

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

I saw Michelle Stafford

I saw Michelle Stafford in a local store! I think she looks better in real life than in any photo I've ever seen of her, but I've included a photo anyway just to make the men out there jealous :)

She came so close to winning that third Emmy. But not to worry, an actress as talented as she is will win it.

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Edgar Winter On Tour With Ringo Starr!

Scientologist Edgar Winter returns to Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band for the All-Starr Band's 10th tour!

Edgar Winter had such classic rock hits as "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride", that still play on classic rock radio stations all the time.

Edgar seems to always be touring. One of the last times I saw him was at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas playing with David Lee Roth.

This year's All-Starr Band also includes Colin Hay (from Men At Work), and one of my all-time favorites Billy Squier. They will be playing LA's Greek Theater on August 2nd. It's a really fun show. I've seen Ringo's All-Starr Band play before when an acquaintance of mine, Timothy B. Schmidt from the Eagles was playing bass with them. They do all the Beatles hits that Ringo sang on plus the hits of the other band members. It's definitely a night of hits!

Ringo has always been my favorite Beatle, probably because of his good sense of humor. He's also the one that inspired me to start playing drums.

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Interview With Actress Cassandra Hepburn!

The lovely and talented actress and Scientologist Cassandra Hepburn has a new movie coming out, Quentin Tarantino's "Hell Ride".


Cassandra is one of the most dedicated and hard working actresses I know. (She's pretty darn cute too!)


Click the link below to see a new interview with Cassandra where she talks about her new movie, her life, and career:http://cinemawithoutborders.com/news/127/ARTICLE/1611/2008-06-17.html

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

More Great Impressions

Jim Meskimen supplies the voices for another satiric look by JibJab at our nation and its campaigning leaders. Click the link and have a good laugh:


Time for Some Campaignin'


A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Anne Archer In New TV Series!

Legendary actress and Scientologist Anne Archer, who has starred in such hit movies as Fatal Attraction and Patriot Games is now in a new TV series called Privileged.

Below is from her website http://www.annearcher.com/ :

"Anne will be co-starring in the new CW series PRIVILEGED, set to air Tuesdays at 9pm. The series centers on a Yale-educated woman who is hired to be the live-in tutor/life coach to two rich 16 year-old twin girls in Palm Beach. Anne plays their grandmother, Laurel Limoges, a wealthy widow who is raising them after their parents were killed in a plane crash."

I was once in an acting class with Anne, she's a pretty cool and down-to-earth chick! Be sure to check out her new show!

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Beck releases new album!

Beck just released a new album called Modern Guilt. What I've heard of it has a 60's psychedelic type vibe crossed with more modern sounds.

If it's an album by Beck it's pretty certain to be innovative, cool, and unique compared to most other music out there. It's in stores now. Go ahead and check it out!

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Ethan Suplee And Jason Lee On Celebrity Family Feud- For Charity!

Scientologists Ethan Suplee and Jason Lee from the hit TV show My Name is Earl recently appeared on Celebrity Family Feud, playing for charity. It was pretty funny, the whole My Name Is Earl team played the game while in their My Name is Earl characters!




A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Evan Wecksell - Takes His Hilarious Comedy To TV And Radio!

Comedian/actor/singer/songwriter and Scientologist Evan Wecksell is one of the funniest new comedians I've seen in a long time. He is often compared to comedic superstars Adam Sandler and Stephen Lynch.

Evan’s act, a blend of comedy and music, celebrates dysfunctional relationships, endorses unorthodox career paths and makes fun of bad music.

When I saw him perform live he really cracked me up! He's one of those guys that just has that natural comedic edge. He's got these hilarious, clever songs he wrote with names like "I Wanna Be Black" and "Attack Of The Cougar" (The sexy older woman kind). Some of his stuff is kind of "dirty", but really funny.

Evan has appeared on VH1, E!, TV Guide Network, Fox Reality, Sirius Satellite Radio and more. As well as touring colleges and comedy clubs all around the country.

Here is a link to an American Idol spoof Evan stars in on the TV Guide Network. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xADzPQhYnw

Below is a quote from Evan about how Scientology has helped him in life:

"Scientology has made me cause over life. And I have also learned not to pay attention to any self-invalidation. That is not really me so why honor it." Evan Wecksell

To find out more about Evan, hear song clips, get tour dates, etc. check out his awesome website:

http://www.evanwecksell.com/

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Blog Template

One of the new contributing authors has suggested changing the blog template to something more "colorful". The one I was using "Rounders" was a bit dark and subdued. So here is another, slightly brighter one called "Rounders 2". Tell me what you think.

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

My first post here: who the hell am I

Hi everyone! I am Milla. I am a 20-year Scientologist and among a lot of other stuff, I’m a blogger. My main blog is called Clear Santo Domingo! and I’m very proud to say it’s the oldest and the biggest Scientology blog in Spanish, my very romantic –I’m sure you’ll agree– mother tongue.

I’ve been very honored by Grahame's invitation to contribute on this wonderful blog, about such a key activity as the arts are. I suspect Grahame did that because I was overwhelming him with my high-frequency emails with news about Tom Cruise for him to post here, but I am not quite sure why yet.

I like to consider myself a professional fan of Tom Cruise, a professional fan of David Pomeranz and –above all– a professional fan of Grahame, my all-time favorite Scientologist blogger.

I will not be posting about Grahame here, though... not yet at least. I think some time will go by before bloggers are considered “real” Celebrities... However, be prepared for a huge bias on my posts in favor of those other two great artists I mentioned above and also be ready to meet some “exotic” celebs of other languages and professions.

See you again soon!


A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Tom Cruise is still #1

According to Esquire Magazine, Tom Cruise is the most bankable star in Hollywood and another Scientologist (John Travolta) is eleventh.

Tom needs to stay on his toes though, his close friend Will Smith is catching him up. With 28 movies under his belt, Tom scored 27 points on the Esquire "Box Office Power" system, while Will scored 24 on only 15 movies.

Read the article here: Who's the most bankable star in Hollywood


A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Michelle Stafford - Another Emmy???

Tonight is the night! Michelle Stafford has been nominated seven times for Emmy Awards and has won twice. That is an amazing achievement. So the burning question is ... will she win again, tonight at the Daytime Emmy Awards?

Tune in tonight at 8pm on ABC and find out.

Best of luck Michelle!

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

J Lo and Family

I've seen a lot of discussion on whether JLo is or is not a Scientologist. I don't know whether she has studied any Dianetics or Scientology but I know one thing. She's sure a beautiful mom with two pretty incredible little babies!
A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard