7/23/11
AMY WINEHOUSE IS DEAD
Amy Winehouse has been found dead in her North London home, Sky News is reporting.
The Daily Miror reports that police have confirmed the passing.
The Grammy-winning singer, best known for her hit song, "Rehab," died of an apparent drug overdose. She's battled drug addiction for years, having most recently checked back into rehabilitation in May.
Earlier in the day, Tim Gatt, a Sky News producer, tweeted a statement saying that she was withdrawing from all of her upcoming performances, writing, "Amy Winehouse is withdrawing from all scheduled performances. Everyone involved wishes to do everything they can to help her return to her best and she will be given as long as it takes for this to happen."
Winehouse has had previous near-death experiences, including one her ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, described in detail back in 2009.
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SURREAL IN REALITY
THE FEET OF THOMAS JANE
7/22/11
FURNITURE FETISH
OK FURNITUREPHILES... HEADS UP~
WE ARE NOW ORGAINIZING FOR ANOTHER ONE-OF-A-KIND EXHIBITION @ ANTEBELLUM GALLERY...
HERE'S A SNEAK PEAK-
ANTEBELLUM
PRESENTS
FURNITURE FETISH
MODERN FURNITURE CAN BE BEAUTIFUL AND FUNCTIONAL.
WHY NOT HAVE DESIGNS THAT EXPLORE FUNCTION AND FETISH AS WELL?
THESE ARTISTS/DESIGNERS ARE EXPLORING THE POSSIBILITIES.
ROY KESROUANI
PHILIP PIROLO
ADAM ALLEN
JEFF KLARIN
KELLY SMITH
ERIKA WINTERS
THE ART TICKLE
DISCREET DESIGNS
REBECCA JOHNSON
TOM OF FINLAND FOUNDATION
OPENING RECEPTION- AUGUST 6TH
7PM TIL 9PM
(on exhibit thru august 27th
gallery general hours-
weds thru sat
1pm til 7pm)
ANTEBELLUM
1643 N LAS PALMAS AVE
HOLLYWOOD, CA 90028
323 856-0667
antebellum.us.ms
antebellum@earthlink.net
7/21/11
BIRTHDAY TEA PARTY
i had such a nice day-after-birthday tea party @ ANTEBELLUM today.
wonderful friends, wonderful tea @ my wonderful gallery.
i even baked my very first cake! with the help of my longtime friend- ellen glaiser-
we recreated the infamous
BROWN DERBY RESTAURANT receipt for their PINK GRAPEFRUIT CAKE.
it was supposed to be LUCILLE BALL'S favorite.
check out some pics-
photos courtesy- erica liscano- los angeles/antebellum corespondent
photos courtesy- cristiano burlacchini- hollywood/antebellum corespondent
WARD OF THE STATE HAS A SHOCKER!
oh my.....
remember the exhibit i was part of featuring model-
TONY WARD- WARD OF THE STATE.
well............... one of the artists- PAUL RUSCONI
has been arrested and charged with child molestation of his 20 month old twin daughters!!!!
Paul Rusconi was born in California. He studied at Pepperdine University, and is now a contemporary artist living and working in Los Angeles.
Born and raised in California, Los Angeles based artist Paul Rusconi investigates the portrait with his own photo-based images as well as found or sourced images from popular culture. His work is a digital screening process often combined with nail polish, oil paint, engine enamel and monochromatic photography.
Rusconi is known for his celebrity photography, like a Beverly Hills Chanel store installation he did featuring photos of Mary-Kate Olsen. He also works with mixed media like nail polish and digital screen prints. His past subjects include Tyra Banks, Karl Lagerfeld, and President Barack Obama.
Works by Rusconi are included in the collections of numerous private homes and public art institutions, including The Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, the Interface Foundation, the Castilla Foundation, Madrid and the Carnegie Art Museum.
On June 17, 2011 it came to light that Rusconi was accused of molesting children, namely his 20 month old twin daughters.
He was held overnight in jail and then released on $220,000 bail.
According to a Los Angeles Sheriff's Department spokesperson, Rusconi was arrested on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old and possession of child pornography. It is unknown what led up to his arrest.
artwork by paul rusconi
7/20/11
WENDI DENG MURDOCH
Wendi Deng Murdoch,( born December 8, 1968) is the third wife of News Corporation Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch.
Born in Jinan, Shandong and raised in Xuzhou, Jiangsu, She is the third of four children (three daughters, one son) born to engineers.
In 1987 Deng met an American businessman and his wife, Jake and Joyce Cherry, who had temporarily relocated to China to help build a refrigerator factory. Deng asked the couple for tutoring lessons in English, which Joyce eventually provided.
In 1988, she travelled to the United States to study, with the Cherrys sponsoring Deng's student visa.
Deng enrolled at California State University, Northridge, where she studied economics and was among the top 1% of students.
Deng received a Bachelor's degree in economics from California State University at Northridge and an M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management where she currently serves on the board of advisors.
After entering the United States, Deng lived with the Cherry family for a while when attending university. Mrs. Cherry suspected her husband was having an affair with Deng (30 years his junior) and demanded she leave the house. Mr. Cherry soon followed and moved in with her. The two married in 1990.
Deng and Cherry's marriage lasted 2 years and 7 months before they were legally divorced, but he would later explain they only stayed together for 4 or 5 months, after which he learned of the extramarital relationship Deng had with a David Wolf, a man closer to her age. Nonetheless, she had been able to secure a green card through being legally married to Cherry.
Upon graduation from Yale, she began searching for a job, and met Bruce Campbell via a mutual friend;
Campbell at the time oversaw finance and corporate development at the Fox TV branch in Los Angeles. He subsequently offered Deng an internship at News Corp subsidiary Star TV in Hong Kong, which developed into a full-time junior executive position. Though a junior employee, Deng took a role in working to plan Star TV's operations in Hong Kong and China, and helped to build up Chinese distribution for Star's "Channel V" music channel. Additionally, she investigated interactive TV opportunities for News Digital Systems.
In 1997, Deng met Rupert Murdoch at a company party in Hong Kong. Deng and Murdoch married in 1999, less than three weeks after his divorce from ex-wife Anna Maria Torv Murdoch Mann was finalized.
Deng has recently become a director for the holding company that licenses the MySpace brand and technology to MySpace China, Deng has led her husband's Chinese internet investments totaling between $35 million and $45m. She has led the way in forming business links with China for high-speed video and internet access. She is now chief of strategy for MySpace’s China operation.
Her public profile was raised after she leaped to the rescue of her husband and slapped the head of a man who attempted to push a plate of shaving foam into his face during a highly publicized testimony before a British parliamentary committee in connection with the News International phone hacking scandal. British media has followed this case with interest, calling Deng 'Tiger Wife', while Chinese media and netizens were also amusingly admiring her 'mighty instincts' and 'protective-budyguard act'
WIENDY & RUPERT live in Manhattan with their two daughters: Grace Helen Murdoch (born 2001) and Chloe Murdoch (born 2005).
Deng is a vegan.
it is rare for someone with such killer instincts, to be vegan, this personality trait is usually associated with carnivores.
RICK CASTRO & THE SIAMESE CAT
RICK CASTRO- BDAY- OH WOW!
although i usually don't mention it, today is my birthday~....
i have found my personal bday depressing ever since i turned 30.
now that i'm fast approaching doubling that age, (53 as of today) i see no reason to draw attention..
but i was pleasantly surprised this morning when i checked out my neighbor's @ world of wonder, (they are one block east of antebellum) WOW REPORT and saw my birthday listed along with fellow cancerian's-
simon rex
sandra oh
carlos santana
kim carnes
chris cornell, (hot !)
and
diana rigg
WOW THANKS WOWBOYS!
BTW, that is not my dog, (he belongs to louie pacheco) ....
i have two cats!
i have found my personal bday depressing ever since i turned 30.
now that i'm fast approaching doubling that age, (53 as of today) i see no reason to draw attention..
but i was pleasantly surprised this morning when i checked out my neighbor's @ world of wonder, (they are one block east of antebellum) WOW REPORT and saw my birthday listed along with fellow cancerian's-
simon rex
sandra oh
carlos santana
kim carnes
chris cornell, (hot !)
and
diana rigg
WOW THANKS WOWBOYS!
BTW, that is not my dog, (he belongs to louie pacheco) ....
i have two cats!
KINKY CAMERA CLUB IS BACK
after a brief hiatus, THE KINKY CAMERA CLUB is now back!
the KCC, (kinky camera club) is a once a month salon hosted by
RICK CASTRO. based on the camera clubs created by photog/fetish legend
IRVING KLAW of the 1950's, the KCC is a hand-ons practice/workshop for photographer of all levels to practice their skills. back in the day, photographing nudes was illegal, so mr. klaw created his outlaw camera club to accommodate his kinky budding photographers. the legendary fetish icon-
BETTIE PAGE was a regular model for mr. klaw's camera club. some of the most iconic bondage images of bettie were created in his camera clubs.
rick castro has brought the camera club into the 21st century @ his antebellum gallery, hosting his version of the camera club~
kinky with male models.
check out some pics from the last KCC on july 17th-
photos courtesy- Keith Fancher
the KINKY CAMERA CLUB meets once-a-month on a sunday @ antebellum gallery. to become a member, please contact-
rick castro
antebellum@earthlink.net
7/18/11
RUPERT MURDOCH IN FREE FALL!
Independent directors of News Corp. are beginning to discuss whether or not Rupert Murdoch can stay on as the CEO of the company he founded and has almost completely dominated, Bloomberg is reporting.
Murdoch has been at the head of News Corp and its Australian predecessors since 1952, and he and his family have maintained an iron grip on the company ever since. Yet, citing two anonymous sources, Bloomberg writes that people within the company "have begun questioning the company’s response to the crisis and whether a leadership change is need
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HERE'S A LOOK BACK @ THE BEST OF MURDOCH AND HIS ANTICS-