STANDING ONLINE AT SPRINKLES

Grammy Thoughts

I promised you some thoughts about the Grammy winners and here they are: not bad. As I said before, the Grammys aren't a very big deal to me. As long as they're not awarding lip synchers (Ashlee Simpson was nowhere to be found), pawning off 15-year vets as the Best New Artist (at least John Legend had never released a solo album before, so he seems qualified) or giving too many awards to dinosaur rockers past their prime, I'm okay with whoever the American recording industry chooses to honor.

It seems like Mariah Carey and Kanye West got their fair share of awards, especially given the hype going in. U2 winning five Grammys on the night seemed very 1988, but then U2 isn't most rock bands. In my humble opinion, they are the greatest rock and roll band of all time, creating music every bit as timeless as the best songs from The Beatles (who were around as a band 1/3 as long) or the Rolling Stones (who aren't as innovative and haven't had a platinum selling new album in 12 years).

The performances, as is a recent Grammy tradition, paired acts from radically different genres or eras in rock and pop to mixed results. Madonna showed she is still an entertainer non pareil in her opening number with The Gorillaz (and De La Soul), and Paul McCartney managed to steal the spotlight from both Linkin Park and Jay-Z. One of the most talked about numbers from the show was the tribute to Sly Stone, featuring none other than Stone himself, who graced the stage in a silver mohawk and matching jacket, played and mumbled through half of his classic, "Thank You For Lettin Me Be Mice Elf", then mysteriously waved and left the stage--walking right past security and into the parking lot, presumably on the way back to the self-imposed exile he's been in for most of the last 33 years. The moral of the story kids, is don't do drugs. Seriously.

But that's already way more ink than they Grammys deserve, so I'm gonna move on now. If you're more of a fan than I am, feel free to write in with your thoughts.

An "Only in LA" Moment Brought to You by Sprinkle Cupcakes

So me and my g.f. are standing in line in Beverly Hills to buy these supposedly wicked awesome cupcakes from this place called Sprinkles. Maybe you've heard of it? Apparently half of L.A. has because there we were at 4:00 in the afternoon standing in line with about thirty other people--TO BUY F@&!'IN CUPCAKES!! Already the sinful boutique dessert choice of the stars, I guess Oprah mentioned the shop this week on her telecast, and since Oprah is our Lord and Saviour who doth command us to do her Holy Bidding, here was everyone now chatting amiably in line while they tried to figure out if they wanted a red velvet cupcake, more maybe a more traditional chocolate.

And how are these cupcakes? Were they worth a 20-minute drive and a 20-minute wait? Well...probably not, but they are pretty damn good. Just goes to show you however, that in L.A., with it's reputation for perfect bodies and crowded gyms, if you really want to attract a crowd, slather a rich, sugary frosting over a red velvet cupcake and they will come from miles away. Remember, Los Angeles has the highest number of donut shops per capita in the United States.

Coming soon...the Olympics are here--yawn! And some more random thoughts...peace.