Music and movies

Travis Barker blogged late Saturday on his MySpace page about the accident last month that killed four people and seriously injured him and DJ AM. In the post, he thanks his fans for their support, pays tribute to his assistant, Chris Barker, and security guard, Charles “Che” Still, both of whom were killed in the accident, and apparently quashes rumors that he and Shanna Moakler are reuniting. He also gives a report on his progress, noting that he is now able to move his hands, and said that he’s been visited by both DJ AM (who was released from the hospital late last month) and +44/ Blink-182 bandmate Mark Hoppus, whose public silence on the crash was commented upon by fans and the media.

The post, which is accompanied by photos from the hospital, reads in full:

“Thank you.

“I want to give my deepest thanks to everyone who has helped deal with the current situation. First and foremost, Chris and Che were my friends. I would give up anything to have them here with us today, healthy and happy. To call them my employees does them such a disservice, as they were so much more than that. Chris was my best friend before anything else, and I can never put into words how much he will be missed. Che was an amazing person as well, and I was honored to have him in my life.

“I am simply amazed and will be forever grateful for all the support everyone has shown to Chris and Che’s families. It’s a testament to how many lives they touched in a positive way.

“Like the doctors said from the beginning, its been a slow recovery process. I am coming up on the 7th of my surgeries Monday. Today I finally was able to move all my fingers on my right hand. Every step seems huge at this point, and I’m doing EVERYTHING I can possibly do to get back to my kids. Yes, I did start eating meat again, but if it helps me to be home holding my little humans sooner, then it’s all worth it. The staff here are all bomb! Dr. Grossman and his staff are the best. The BOSS Barbara, and nurses Betty, Jay, Emily, Julio, Lolita, and Stephanie (with the best scrubs ever!) are all taking the best care of me.

“My good friend Armen has been kind enough to save me from the hospital food, and brings Jamba Juice, Wahoos, or whatever else I need to keep my calories and protein levels high.

“Despite any rumors you might have heard via my EX-wife Shanna Moakler, who I have not seen since the week I checked in, I’ve been treated amazingly well, both here in LA and in Georgia. The hospitals I’ve been treated at are THE BEST.

“My friends and family have been amazing. My pops has been with me ANY time I need him. My sisters, James, Skinhead Rob, Daniel, Hoover, Armen and of course Ricardo and Nicole, have all shown amazing support. JD and Mark Hoppus both took the time to come visit and offer their support as well. Estevan Oriol even came in with a calendar.

‘Saying ‘thank you’ to all these guys just wouldn’t be enough…

‘I got to see AM the other day. Seeing him after he was discharged was an inspiration. I saw just how awesome the doctors’ work here is, and got to see how well he is doing. I am so happy to see him doing well, and we are both so lucky and grateful that we are alive today.

“I’m even using some of this time to help design the summer ‘09 Famous line [i.e. Barker's clothing line, Famous Stars and Straps]. Maxx, Jose, Bill have been awesome helping to keep the machine going. These are some seriously dedicated people, and I’m lucky to call them friends.

“Now I’m just counting the days until I can leave. I can’t wait to get home to play drums with my son, and go for bike rides with my daughter. I cant wait to see the pictures from Landon’s ‘Jack and Sally Nightmare Before Christmas’ birthday party that we had for him today. I am bummed that I couldn’t be there, but thank God I’ll be around to see many, many more.

“Thank you everyone for your support!”

Barker spoke about the accident with Us Weekly magazine last week. He and AM are both expected to make full recoveries.

If you’d like more information on the memorial funds set up to benefit Chris Baker’s and Charles Still’s families, visit the Famous Stars and Straps Web site.

Misty May Has Surgery For Dance Injury

Olympic volleyball star Misty May-treanor is recovering after an ankle injury forced her to pull out of U.S TV talent show Dancing With The Stars.

The two-time Olympic gold medal winner damaged her Achilles tendon during rehearsals for the hit programme on Friday.

She was forced to cancel her run on the show, and is resting up at home after surgery on Tuesday to repair the injury.

Her spokesperson tells Usmagazine.com, “Thanks for all your concern and well wishes for Misty. I wanted to let you all know Misty had a successful surgery on her ruptured Achilles this morning. She is currently at home recovering. Her husband, Matt, is with her.”

May-Treanor appeared on crutches and with her leg in a cast at the end of the show on Monday, telling viewers: “I heard a pop. I was doing the Lindy Hop. I thought I flew out of control and hit the judges’ stairs, or it felt like I got hit in the back with a baseball bat. Then, I just couldn’t put weight on it.”

Her dance partner on the show, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, added: “This whole thing is really sad.”

Christina Aguilera is asking fans to vote in the forthcoming US presidential election.

The pop star, who recently announced her return to music, spoke at the Rock The Vote party last night (September 25).

During the Hollywood-based event, Aguilera said: “Everyone that is able to have an opinion should let it be heard and should voice it.”

Christina will be releasing a greatest hits album in November called ‘Keeps Gettin’ Better - A Decade Of Hits’ (read more details) and also launched her Inspire fragrance at the start of the month.

LONDON - With British publication in doubt for Sherry Jones’ “The Jewel of Medina,” the U.S. publisher of her controversial novel about the Prophet Muhammad has moved up the release date from Oct. 15 to Monday.

“By speeding up the publication, we wanted to reduce or eliminate the chance of violence,” Eric Kampmann, president of Beaufort Books, said Thursday, noting that three men were arrested in London last weekend for a fire-bomb attack on the offices of publisher Gibson Square.

“What had occurred in London, we didn’t want to have occur here. We wanted people to have a chance to read the book. Once they read the book, we thought the violence part of this story would disappear and people would be focusing on the story, and the book and Sherry.”

Kampmann said he knew of no threats in the United States. Jones said she was not concerned about her safety.

“I have spoken to a member of the FBI and have been assured I have not been targeted, so I will continue to go about my life as usual,” she said. “I’m excited that the book is coming out Monday because once people read it, any possible threat will be eliminated.”

After the arrests in London, plans for the British release have stalled, although Gibson Square initially said it would release the novel this month. “Jewel of Medina” is still scheduled to come out in more than a dozen countries, including Serbia, Italy and Hungary.

British police charged three men Thursday in connection with the fire-bomb attack on the London office of the book’s publisher.

Police said 40-year-old Ali Behesti, 22-year-old Abrar Mirza, and 30-year-old Abbas Taj were charged with plotting to endanger life and damage property. Beheshti was also charged with possessing a weapon “designed or adapted for the discharge of a noxious liquid or gas.”

Jones’ debut novel was supposed to be released in the United States in August, but publisher Random House Inc., changed its mind, saying in a statement that “credible and unrelated sources” had warned that the book “could incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment.” Beaufort, which took on O.J. Simpson’s once-rejected “If I Did It,” signed up the author and is releasing “Jewel of Medina” with an announced first printing of 50,000.

The novel is about Aisha, who according to tradition was nine when she became the wife of the Prophet Muhammad, and later a political and military leader in her own right. Jones has already completed a sequel about Aisha’s adult life that Beaufort plans to publish next year.

Jones so far has appearances scheduled in Spokane, Wash., where she lives, and at the Montana Festival of the Book, in Missoula. Barnes & Noble, Inc. does not plan to have Jones read at any of its stores, but will stock the novel.

“It will be shelved in our hardcover new release fiction section,” said spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating. “We’ve been in touch with the publisher who assures us that neither he nor the author feels there are any immediate safety or security concerns around this title.”

Non-smoking laws were flouted and fashion turned into a peepshow during a provocative spectacle that left the audience stunned.

Fashion designer Lucie Boshier’s show for Air New Zealand Fashion Week yesterday had models writhing on stage and provocatively touching their bodies, while others smoked cigarettes and tossed fake US$1 notes and gold-wrapped chocolate coins at the audience.

A drag queen, wearing suspenders and fishnet stockings, sat in a chair on the catwalk at the end of the show smoking and said: “Well, what the f. . . were you expecting?” before exiting the stage.

No stranger to controversy, Boshier, who is based in Auckland, has in previous years distributed leaflets questioning the direction and morals of the fashion industry.

Last year, she raised the fashion industry’s hackles with a flier showing a cartoonesque figure positioned behind a skinny, pale model bent over snorting cocaine.

While not in the main tent for the show at Shed One near the Viaduct, Boshier’s over-the-top cabaret-themed show was one of the most sought-after to attend, with a long line of disappointed fans left outside.

Underwear became outwear, with satin slip dresses lined with lace, but the majority of the collection was best suited to the boudoir, with lace corsets and suspenders, bold nouveau prints with flirty fringing, and a gigantic velvet dressing gown with lavish tassels.

Other news:

• Lady Gaga
• Switch flipped: N.C. town first to have digital-only TV
• Olympians — The Torch is Out and Nobody’s Home
• Morrissey champions The Courteeners
• Event Management Veterans Launch ‘CRUX Events, LLC’ with Four National Offices Serving Consumer & Retail Clientele

Singer Amy Winehouse was hospitalized Saturday for tests on her chest and lungs, her London spokesman confirmed to People.

The 25-year-old singer, who was hospitalized in June with a severe lung ailment, had a doctor visit her at home Thursday, People.com reports.

Then, over the weekend, “they wanted to do some tests as a precaution,” her spokesman Chris Goodman said. “Obviously she had lung and chest problems which she had treatment for not so long ago, so they’re just making sure.” She was expected to return home yesterday.

Winehouse’s father, Mitch, has previously said that the singer’s lungs are “all gunked up” from smoking.

Rapper WEBBIE has been arrested following a dangerous high-speed police chase through Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
The hip-hop star, 23, allegedly refused to stop for a routine police traffic stop on Sunday (14Sep08).
According to police reports, the star - real name Webster Gradney Jr. - ignored the police officer’s flashing lights and began driving erratically before crashing into a black 1999 Mercury Cougar.
It is not the star’s only legal issue - he is being sued by several promoters for taking money for an appearance, but failing to turn up.

Other news:

• Kiwi pop star’s sister announces engagement
• Madagascar
• The Jonas Brothers Wants Girls Aloud To Tour With Them
• Queen & Paul Rodgers, The Cosmos Rocks
• Jade Goody Won’t Tell Her Children She is Suffering From Cancer

A newly slimline Kerry Katona could face having disfigured breasts for life if she continues smoking cigarettes, according to her surgeon.

The reality TV star – who made headlines for slurring her way through an interview on This Morning – most recently went under the knife in her MTV documentary Whole Again.

Kerry decided to have surgery to reshape her entire figure with a breast reduction from a 34GG to a 34DD and a tummy tuck.

Dr Hamilton, who performed the star’s surgery, tells The Sun, “The risk of wound or healing problems with the skin or nipple is a risk for everyone.

“In smokers it can be worse because less oxygen reaches the tissue.

“I’ve never seen a nipple turn black and drop off, but it has happened. It’s a good scare tactic. I told Kerry.”

See the ups and downs of Kerry’s cleavage (so far) below…

London (ANI): American singer songwriter Anastacia has been away from the limelight for almost five years, and on returning she revealed that she has never felt happier. The Little Lady with The Big Voice had previously released new music every couple of years, but stopped from 2004 onwards. She is now back and in an exclusive interview, revealed that she is happier than ever after the break, during which she married her bodyguard of three years Wayne Newton.

“I’m sorry to all my fans who were wondering what was happening. I just wanted a little time out to enjoy married life and to reflect on life,” the Sun quoted her as saying. Asked about how it felt to be married and if she plans on having any children, Anastacia said: “Yes, there is a totally different vibe. I have wonderful security and hope we’ll grow old together. I’ll be sitting there with my crows feet and about two feet shorter. I really love being married,” she said.

NEW YORK —

Anyone can do Sarah Palin’s voice, says comedian Tina Fey, who has done a pretty good job of it herself. “Not since ‘Sling Blade’ has there been a voice that anybody can do,” Fey said. “Anybody can take a swing at this voice.”

Appearing on CBS’ “Late Show with David Letterman” scheduled to air Friday, Fey shared her formula for having spoofed the Alaska governor in recent “Saturday Night Live” sketches.

“It’s a little bit `Fargo,’ it’s a little bit Reese Witherspoon in `Election,’” said Fey, adding she also borrowed the Midwestern accent of her friend Paula’s grandma, “a sweet, sweet old lady from Joliet, Ill. She would always say, `Ohhhh, this and that and stuff like that!’”

Fey, the star of the NBC comedy “30 Rock,” was formerly a writer and cast member at “SNL,” where she has made a splash with guest appearances this fall making sport of her resemblance to the Republican vice presidential hopeful.

She explained to Letterman other ways she captures Palin’s distinctive speaking style: dropping g’s and loading sentences with r’s.”

“She’s digging those r’s,” Fey said. “I think she thinks there’s oil in those r’s - she is digging deep!”

As spoof made way for reality, Gov. Palin was scheduled to appear on “SNL” Saturday. There was no word on whether Fey would be on hand.

—

On the Net:

http://www.cbs.com

(This version CORRECTS town’s spelling to Joliet, sted Joliette. AP Video.)