It's Bald Bieber Time...

Yes, I know, there is something very wrong with how that sounds!

It seems the Bieber-meister (or is that monster?) has a new film out. In order to promote this exceptional foray onto the silver screen he has been doing the rounds of some of the best shows in town, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Saturday Night Live, and most recently Jimmy Kimmel Live. I like Jimmy Kimmel, he is a funny guy. He is also responsible for this really funny skit with Matt Damon taking the piss out of himself as Jason Bourne. It ends with "who the f*&k is Jimmy Kimmel. I remember it still.

I am sure that the Bieb's latest antics are going to cause quite a lot of teenage girl angst. But, that will pass because what is about to be described only happened in skit world.

Justin Bieber shaved his head. On this front, I am with Kimmel, he looks like a teenage Lex Luther. The Bieb's seems to think he looks more aerodynamic and a lot like Michael Jordan. There is one thing you can say about Bieber; the youngster is not short on confidence!

Raden Pandji Chandra Pratomo Samiadji Massaid - R.I.P.

Adjie Massaid as he was known passed away this morning. May he rest in peace, and may those that he has left behind find some peace too.

Massaid was an actor who converted his fame into one of public service. He became a politician and was in his second term as a parliamentarian from the Partai Demokrat (Democrat Party).

He was a young man at just 43 years of age to be leaving us by way of a heart attack. Nevertheless, my condolences go out to his family, particularly his wife, Angelina Sondakh and his three children.

May his legacy be one that convinces others of the value of public service in its many forms.

Heidi: 15 Minutes of Opossum Fame...

The internet and social networking media is a powerful tool and a revealing insight into what makes us tick as human beings. Heidi the cross-eyed opossum is an excellent example of both this power and insight.

Heidi is an opossum. She is 2.5 years old. Her claim to fame is that she is cross-eyed and incredibly cute and cuddly.

She also has a Facebook page with 80,000 fans, a YouTube song, and soon a plush toy replica of herself. Heidi and her sister Naira came from a zoo in Denmark and are soon to be the resident attractions at the Leipzig zoo in Germany.

Heidi is to be the main draw in a tropical exhibit that the Leipzig zoo is opening in July. In essence, Heidi's fame is peaking way before the exhibit actually opens and people, or is that "fans", get to see her in the flesh.

So, if one can harness the power of the internet and social media for an opossum, I wonder what you could do for the promotion of an out-of-left-field political candidate, say in the 2014 Indonesian presidential election (after all, it worked for now President Obama in the US, right?)

You have to admit, she is really cute...

Miley Cyrus and the Salvia Sessions...

I have to offer my sincere thanks to Ms. Miley Cyrus for reminding me of this interesting Mexican herb with the hallucinogenic properties. I wrote a couple of blog posts on Salvia way back when. Salvia is illegal in Australia with respect to possession for the purposes of smoking it and getting stoned. Australia was one of the first, if not the first, countries to ban salvia. However, my understanding is that salvia, despite its hallucinogenic effects, is classed as a herb in the US and it is legal to possess it and presumably smoke it, if one so desires.

Now, as a role model, although I am not sure what kind of role model she is, Miley Cyrus probably does not want to be promoting smoking, particularly smoking herbs that take you to some pretty weird and way out there places. Just do a search of salvia on YouTube and see what pops up.

Nevertheless, it is important to note that she has not in fact broken any laws in the state of California where this video was allegedly shot. How the video came to light is a case of alleged theft of a friends video camera. You can watch a reasonable copy of the video here.

Interestingly, Dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, took to Twitter to profess his disappointment in his daughter's actions. He also intimated that there were some things beyond his control right now. That, Mr. Cyrus, seems to be a pretty good candidate for understatement of the month. In any event, Mr. Cyrus, your daughter is 18-years-old and is legal, and legally if she wants to smoke herbs then she can do so. Whether it is smart to be a smoker at such a young age, or any age for that matter, is an irrelevant point to whether you have, or could conceivably gain, some sort of control over Miley's actions.

Let's face it, you, Mr. Cyrus were initially in favour of a provocative photo shoot that saw an underage Miley Cyrus doing a topless shoot. Hmmm, control, yeah, right!

There is also a copy of the video here.

In the end, perhaps if it is a role model she wants to be, then maybe parents might want to start using the emerging train wreck that could become Miley Cyrus, the adult, as how not to do things. That said, perhaps the lesson is about managing fame and fortune while protecting a wholesome and commercial image.

Emma Watson Fakes -- A Harry Potter Fantasy...

I am going to write this post and put the pictures in at the end. If you are reading this, then I have decided to post it.

At the moment, the post has been written purely to preserve the links to the fake and real photos of Emma Watson.

I have said many times that I am kind of glad that I am not a celebrity. Although, even if I was and looking like I do,  I am pretty sure I would not have to worry about the sorts of things that the beautiful people do. Emma Watson made her fame and started her fortune courtesy of the Harry Potter film franchise. I, personally, think that she is going to develop into a fine young actor and have a long career in the film business, if she wants it. Yet, there is nothing like the possibility of a scandal, even a manufactured one, to dent one's career prospects.

My guess is, now that she is of age, that there will be a constant stream of "fakes" flooding the market trying to capitalise on her fame. Nothing quite like riding on the coattails of others in order to score your very own 15 minutes of fame.

Ms. Watson is currently studying at Brown University in the USA. Good Ivy League school. If I had had the money at the time, it might have been a school that I considered. Yet, when push comes to shove, I am more likely to head to a school like Columbia University. Maybe with a bit of luck, and before I get too much older, I might do some post-graduate work there in law. Perhaps, my thesis can be on fake porn and the legal consequences of it and the development of virtual porn. But, I digress, this is a post about Emma Watson and fake pictures of her breasts.

Here are the "fake" and "real" pictures for your perusal. The picture is not of a near-naked Emma Watson standing next to a spa. Some people have some real skills with Photoshop when it comes to manipulating images. I am sure that even a fake shot will be more than enough for some Harry Potter fans.

American Idol Season 8

Having lived in Indonesia for a good number of years where just about everybody thinks that they can sing , I really should not be all that surprised at some of the train wrecks that I watched on the American Idol Season 8 opener earlier tonight. I sing in the shower, but that is about the extent of my skills. In fact, my singing is so woeful that I sometimes scare myself.

Nevertheless, I have often wondered why people who so obviously cannot sing seem to think that they can. I am guessing that it is a 15 seconds of TV fame thing. That said there were a couple of people who auditioned who were pretty good, including Emily Wynne-Hughes. Then there are those that cannot sing. Then there are those who mask any deficiencies in their singing talent by auditioning in a bikini.

It makes absolutely no difference to my life who wins but there is something about the ick factor that keeps bringing the viewers back. I will be watching again tomorrow to see who I can sing better than and remembering why I would never seek my 15 seconds of fame in this way.

Last Meals

I am sitting here dining on a bowl of Frosties and skim milk. It would seem the excessive amounts of sugar in the Frosties would nullify any benefits one might derive from consuming skim milk, but that is another post for another day.

For reasons unbeknown to me, this got me thinking about last meals. Simply, if you knew you would be dead at a certain time and you only had the chance for one last meal, and that meal could be anything that your heart desired, then what would it be.

This thinking got me to doing a simple Google search and you can follow these links here, here, and here if you need some inspiration to see what some have eaten for their last meal.

Indonesian Celebrities and the Law

Celebrity is everywhere and people's fascination with celebrity is insatiable. This is a good thing for those people who make their fortunes of the misfortunes and stupidity of celebrities. Some people do not court celebrity but have to bear it as a result of their fame or infamy. In this regard Indonesia is no different from any other place on earth.

Nevertheless, it does seem that some Indonesians feel that their celebrity places them above the law or at least outside of any effect it might have on them. Whenever an Indonesian celebrity gets into trouble there is always speculation as to who they know, or more specifically what connections they have that may assist them in avoiding the rap.

This is the case in the recent Marcella Zalianty affair. Zalianty is accused of having her boyfriend, Ananda Mikola a race driver wanna be, and Moreno Soeprapto, beat up another colleague over an alleged debt. All three have been questioned and Zalianty has been detained.

The story still has a few twist and turns to go. The latest is that the victim, Agung Setyawan, was not beaten by the accused on the orders of Zalianty, but rather was beaten by his own brother. The plot thickens.

Yet, the point is no matter what the final truth may be, it seems that Indonesian celebrities have a penchant for getting into trouble or being accused of being in some trouble. And hence, the question posed, "Do celebrities think that the laws that apply to the rest of us do not apply to them because of their celebrity?"

Just wondering...