February 9, 2012 at 9:58 pm by phockaday@sfgate.com (Peter Hockaday)
The ring, the limo, the flowers … the pizza? Pizza Hut is offering all the above in its Valentine’s Day proposal package.
It may seem like a gag promotion, but the pizza chain is serious. Only 10 couples will be lucky enough to pay $10,010 (plus tax, sorry California) for a package that includes a red ruby ring, limo service, flowers, a video and photos, and a fireworks show. And, of course, a Pizza Hut dinner box, hence the extra $10 on the price.
Pizza Hut reps told Huffington Post that 800 people have already signed up. Really. So ladies, if you’re fearing a scoreboard proposal this Valentine’s Day, things could get even cheesier.
Do you have Valentine’s Day proposal horror stories? If your partner proposed with pizza, what would you do?
February 9, 2012 at 5:19 pm by phockaday@sfgate.com (Peter Hockaday)
Oh, the hu-Muppet-y!
For only the third time since 1946, producers of the Academy Awards have decided to nix the in-show performances of the Best Original Song nominees. Deadline Hollywood says it’s to make the broadcast shorter. But the timing is terrible: The Academy essentially nixed the Muppets, as the excellent song “Man or Muppet” was one of only two nominated this year. The other was Sergio Mendes’ “Real in Rio” from the animated “Rio.”
The move has sparked humans with Twitter accounts to come to the rescue of their fuzzy friends. Sparked by “The Muppets” star Jason Segel and director pal Judd Apatow, fans have been tweeting @TheAcademy, imploring a change of heart. More than 9,000 people have signed Perez Hilton’s online petition.
“Man or Muppet” was penned by Flight of the Conchords rocker Bret McKenzie. He’s also disappointed in the Oscars snub, but in more of a deadpan-New-Zealand-comedian kind of way, saying “It’s a shame,” and, “maybe I’ll bring a Muppet with me, just in case. I’ll put a Muppet in my pocket and I’ll do it from my seat.”
According to Deadline, there might be some leeway in the decision, and we may all be pawns in the producers’ game of determing what’s most important. What do you think? Are you happy the songs are gone or do you want to see your Muppets? In the comments, please state whether you are man, woman, or Muppet.
February 9, 2012 at 4:35 pm by phockaday@sfgate.com (Peter Hockaday)
The bizarre tale of a man who climbed a tower in Los Angeles as he shed his clothes got even more bizarre Thursday, as the Los Angeles Times reported he was convinced by burgers to end the incident.
According to the Times:
At one point, police sources said, he asked for hamburgers from McDonald’s. Officials complied, and he agreed to come down after eating his meal.
A naked man who climbed to the top of a communications tower in downtown Los Angeles and sat there for several hours has been taken into custody.
The man climbed down a ladder to a platform about midway down the tower at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday where he was met by police officers. He was then slowly lowered to the ground by a makeshift pulley system as he sat in a basket.
Officer Karen Rayner says the man parked his car behind the police department’s personnel building on East Temple Street shortly before 4 p.m. She says he began climbing the 220-foot tower and shedding clothes as he ascended.
The man could be heard yelling, but it was unintelligible.
It’s not known why he climbed the tower.
Photo of the man on the tower comes courtesy of the Associated Press.
February 2, 2012 at 10:34 pm by phockaday@sfgate.com (Peter Hockaday)
Michelle Obama and Ellen DeGeneres (AP)
It’s been a big week in Ellen’s world. First came Kristen Bell and her crazy sloth-love, now this.
Recently, DeGeneres was hired as a new spokesperson for JC Penney. She worked there as a teen and said “I’m excited to tell everybody about this partnership.” But not everybody was excited: Today, one organization called for the department store to fire DeGeneres and get off the “pro-gay bandwagon.” The organization One Million Moms said in a statement: “Degeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store. The majority of JC Penney shoppers will be offended and choose to no longer shop there.”
DeGeneres’ supporters swiftly responded. GLAAD’s online petition had more than 20,000 signatures as of this evening, and there was no reversal from JC Penney. Nor is that likely. When the move was first announced, new JC Penney CEO Ron Johnson (a former Apple exec) said “I think Ellen is someone we all trust. She’s loveable, likeable, honest and funny, but at her soul, we trust her.”
And despite that incident, DeGeneres managed to engage in a fierce push-up battle with the first lady on national television. Michelle Obama has been making the rounds to promote her “Let’s Move!” campaign. And after getting Jay Leno to eat some veggies, Obama got DeGeneres to move even more than normal:
February 2, 2012 at 8:06 pm by phockaday@sfgate.com (Peter Hockaday)
Warning: The following video might contain hockey-like content. For that reason, Budweiser will be showing its heartstring-tugging “Flash Fans” ad on Super Bowl Sunday in Canada only.
But that’s too bad, because this is the only good “flash mob” ad ever made. If you’ve ever played rec sports, can you imagine if a massive crowd and announcers showed up? Yikes.
January 31, 2012 at 12:46 am by phockaday@sfgate.com (Peter Hockaday)
The Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin has already gained a reputation for being a big dunker in his young career, but he topped himself Monday night with a far-out jam over the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kendrick Perkins. See the dunk that sent the announcers and Twitter into a frenzy:
The dunk came only one night after LeBron James had an alley-oop that was an early favorite for Dunk of the Year. But even King James had to cede the floor to Griffin, tweeting “@blakegriffin just dunked on Kendrick Perkins so hard!! Wow!! I guess I’m #2 now”
January 26, 2012 at 7:27 pm by phockaday@sfgate.com (Peter Hockaday)
Bueller? Bueller? The web is abuzz that Ferris himself may return during the Super Bowl, or maybe even to theaters, after a cryptic video was posted on YouTube today.
The video shows Matthew Broderick throwing open some curtains and asking, “How can I handle work on a day like today?” The very Bueller “Oh Yeah” song by Yello plays as the date of the Super Bowl is flashed. Is the tease for a big-budget ad or maybe even a much-belated sequel? The former is more likely than the latter, but we’ll just have to see. A note posted with the video says, “We hate to be such a tease, but on a day like today, we just have to. Stick it out until the Super Bowl, or take a ‘day off’ on Monday and catch the big reveal.”
January 26, 2012 at 5:40 pm by phockaday@sfgate.com (Peter Hockaday)
Paula Deen isn’t letting Type 2 diabetes keep her down.
Splash has posted a video of the celebrity chef, who has come under fire for promoting a diabetes drug and hiding her disease, enjoying a cheeseburger and fries during her annual Paula Deen Party at Sea cruise. TMZ also has a photo if you want to see the massacre up close.