Christina Aguilera... and friend

This cracks me up... how did Alfred Hitchcock

sneak into this picture with Christina Aguilera?

And now, for extra fun, who out there knows

what I'm talking about?

Billy Mays joins the list of deceased celebrities

This has been quite a month in celebrity news. Five well-known celebrities have died in June, four of them in the last six days. Many other entertainment industry folks have also passed away, but these five fall into the household name category.

David Carradine - June 3, 2009
Ed McMahon - June 23, 2009
Farrah Fawcett - June 25, 2009
Michael Jackson - June 25, 2009
Billy Mays - June 28, 2009

You may wonder why I include Billy Mays in this group. After all, he was a pitchman, not an entertainer. I beg to differ. My son and I got quite a kick out of watching Mr. Mays effervesce over everything from Orange Glo, to Oxi Clean, to Mighty Mendit. He made infomercials an event. He was also the co-host a new series on the Discovery Channel called Pitchmen. For fun, check out this Hulu clip of Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. It's about eight minutes long, but make sure to watch to the end when Billy takes on the Sham Wow. Funny stuff.

Billy Mays was found unconscious in his Florida home by his wife this morning. He was pronounced dead at 7:45 AM. That's all we know. The family asks that the public respect their privacy. It's a simple request and one that I hope is honored.

Being the pop culture person that I am, I've got a lot of thoughts on Farrah, Michael, and the way we as a nation treat celebrities. For now, though, I'm staying mostly mum. I'm one who likes to know, and share, the facts. I'll give my opinions, too. But for now, I think I'll keep quiet.

Sure They're Cute... But 14 MILLION?

You knew it would happen. From the minute the world went on Brangelina baby watch, there were three big questions:

• When will they be born?
  
• What will their names be?
  
• How much will the first pictures go for?

And here are the answers:

• July 12, 2008
  
• Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline
  
• 14 Million Dollars

Now, these are adorable kids, but come on... 14 million? For the record, I don't fault Brad and Angie for setting up the shoot. These aren't stupid people. They know the press will hound them for pics. By orchestrating exactly when and where these photos were taken ensures a level of safety not only for the twins, but the whole family. And when you consider that all the money from the photos goes to charity, I'd say they handled things pretty well.

Here's what floors me about this situation: People Magazine (in a joint deal with British tabloid Hello!) know that by having the exclusive to this lovely family portrait they will profit well over the 14 million they spent. What does this say about the public at large? Are we so celebrity obsessed that we must know every little thing about not only their lives, but the lives of their offspring? The silliest thing about this is that those kids will be popping up in magazines for years whether they want to or not. Eventually, everyone will know what they look like, and for a lot less than 14 million!

Since I don't want to take any money out of the pockets of the swift business minds that inked the Knox/Viv photo op, I'm not running a picture of the twins. Instead, visit People Magazine's website to see the cover. They really are cute kids.... check out the one in the bottom left. He (or she) looks like the happiest baby in America. I wish the entire photogenic family of eight many blessings and years of joy.