Ditto That

Singer Beth Ditto as seen last night at the Paper Magazine Beautiful People Party at Hiro Ballroom in NYC, and the Panda from Kung Fu Panda.

So alike, and yet only one is of the giant variety.



Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Goodbye, Leslie Buck

Auschwitz and Buchenwald survivor Leslie Buck, designer of the "Anthora" coffee cup used by nearly every diner in New York City, has died at age 87 at his home on Long Island.

We are not happy.

Chuck, Taylor

No, not the sneakers, silly. Prince Chuck and Dame Elizabeth Taylor appeared at the presentation of a bust of Richard Burton at a Royal Welsh College gala evening at Buckingham Palace in London on Thursday evening. Elizabeth, 78, looked quite frail, and wept.

Here is a Chuck Taylor crossword sneaker.


Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

Goodbye, Dorothy Height

President Obama delivered a beautiful eulogy for civil rights matriarch Dorothy Height today. Dorothy passed away last week at age 98.


An excerpt from the eulogy:

"It's an unambiguous record of righteous work, worthy of remembrance, worthy of recognition. And yet, one of the ironies is, is that year after year, decade in, decade out, Dr. Height went about her work quietly, without fanfare, without self-promotion. She never cared about who got the credit. She didn't need to see her picture in the papers. She understood that the movement gathered strength from the bottom up, those unheralded men and women who don't always make it into the history books but who steadily insisted on their dignity, on their manhood and womanhood. She wasn't interested in credit. What she cared about was the cause. The cause of justice. The cause of equality. The cause of opportunity. Freedom's cause.

And that willingness to subsume herself, that humility and that grace, is why we honor Dr. Dorothy Height. As it is written in the Gospel of Matthew:

'For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.'

I don't think the author of the Gospel would mind me rephrasing: 'whoever humbles herself will be exalted.'"

Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes to Play Jack and Jackie

It was announced Wednesday that versatile Greg Kinnear and the lovely independent spirit Katie Holmes will play John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy (seen above on a 1963 trip to Dallas) in the History Channel’s 2011 eight-hour mini-series, The Kennedys. Joel Surnow, creator of 24, will produce with already controversial scripts from filmmaker Robert Greenwald, who will reportedly limn Jack as the playboy that he was.



Oh, this is going to be wonderful.


Caroline Kennedy has already said she is outraged because JFK will be portrayed as a "sex maniac." And who to play Caroline as a child?


Suri Cruise?! Oh, I hope so!

Who will play JFK's favorite mobster moll girlfriend, Judith Exner?



I vote for Monica Lewinsky! I'm smellin' Emmys!

Camilla -- Enduring Glamor

Her leg may be busted, but she's not!

As you can clearly see by this photo, HRH Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, has lost none of her luster nor sacrificed any of her abundant glamor because of her broken leg.

Cammy attended the premiere of Aida at London's Royal Opera House on Tuesday evening, but all eyes were on Cam's cast, not Aida's.

Indigo/Getty Images

Betty Deuce -- Sniffin' the Queen

Her Majesty, Betty Deuce, was sniffed by a corgi on her arrival at Welshpool train station.

The animal survived.

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Apostrophe Catastrophe

These omelettes are possessive of something, I'm not sure what. Fluffiness?

As seen at a cafe in beautiful downtown Burbank, Calif.

Which is Witch?

Ali Lohan, 16-year-old sister of Lindsay, as she and her eyebrows appeared yesterday at a milkshake shop in West Hollywood, and Wicked Witch portrayer Margaret Hamilton.

So alike, and yet only one has a good sister.

Nice Chassis

"Precious" actress Gabourey Sidibe at the Broadway opening of "Fences" last night, and a Hummer.

So alike, and yet only one has custom leather upholstery.

Betty Deuce: It's Not Easy Being Queen

If you've never run into an old queen on a train, here's what it looks like. Can't you just smell the lilacs?

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II is seen sitting in the compartment of a steam train on her way to visit North Wales.


As you can see in this photo of Betty on her arrival, she looks mighty cheery in pink!

Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Can We Baa?

HSN huckster Joan Rivers as she appeared last night at the opening of "Promises, Promises," and Shari Lewis' puppet, Lamb Chop.

So alike, and yet only one requires human assistance to move her face.

Sunshine Boys

American writer Neil Simon at last night's opening of his "Promises, Promises," and Disney insect Jiminy Cricket.

So alike, and yet only one got his start doing shtick in the Catskills.

Liza with a Zedong

Liza Minnelli at the opening of "Promises, Promises" on Sunday, and an illustration of Chairman Mao.

So alike, and yet only one is Chinese and dead.

You Rang?

Great American songwriter Burt Bacharach, 81, as he appeared at the Broadway opening of "Promises, Promises" on Sunday, and actor Ted Cassidy as Lurch in "The Addams Family."

So alike, and yet only one gave us this...

Chexy's Saturday Matinee

Dean Martin, King of Cool, who actually never drank when performing. Sinatra as the voice of God. c.1960.



"RuPaul's Drag Race" season finale is Monday night! Before there was Ru, there was Jim Bailey... as Judy Garland in a 1970s TV special.




Okay, everybody on the Love Train! Here's the line dance from "Soul Train," to the O'Jay's. 1973. And yes, that's me in the orange plaid pants.




The last role of Orson Welles... "Transformers."




More "Soul Train" you say?! Of course! Look for me in the wig at 2:28.

Food, Inc.

If you haven't yet seen "Food, Inc." by Robert Kenner, you can watch it online at PBS.org until Thursday, April 29. Click the pic to watch it there.

TCM Classic Film Fest Stars!

The stars were out at last night's TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood! Tony Curtis, 84, child star Jane Withers (one of the world's great doll collectors), also 84, and Ernest Borgnine, 93!

Happy Birthday, Joyce DeWitt

She's 61 today. Give it up for UCLA's own Joyce DeWitt.

You can purchase autographed photos from her website!

Here's a fan tribute. Now you know what I do on Sundays.

Just Walk Away, Renée

Renée Zellweger as she appeared last night at the premiere of "My Own Love Song" at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival in NYC, and an ugli fruit.

So alike, and yet only one is pretty.



Jemal Countess/Getty Images

Camilla -- Chair, Wings Back

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to get behind Camilla and push, there's your answer.

The Duchess of Cornwall was wheeled up a makeshift ramp to address a gathering at the the launch of British Food Fortnight today in London. She busted her leg while hiking in Scotland, which is how Clarence House explained it.


Part of Camilla's wing back hair also broke in the fall, which led curators at Stonehenge to recommend this shorter coif.

Stefan Wermuth/WPA Pool/Getty Images

Shore Thing

Mack Sennett Bathing Beauty Marie Prevost in Laguna Beach in 1916...


and "Jersey Shore" trashlet Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi in Miami Beach in 2010.

That's entertainment.

Getty

Kennedy Style

Caroline Kennedy, looking like an ill-fitted pilgrim at a PTA meeting, wore this dreadful ensemble to the J.Crew Teach for America Week event on Wednesday in New York City.

Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images

Happy Birthday, Chexydecimal!

Chexydecimal is two years old today! That's 2,076 posts!

Thanks to all my loyal readers, friends and supporters. You know who you are.

Love,

Chexy (and Amy)

The New One Hundred Dollar Bill

The new one hundred dollar Bill, revealed by the US Treasury today.

You can see Bill Gates* on tonight's "Idol Gives Back," where he'll be making a surprise announcement. Perhaps he's buying Africa.

*Gates has an estimated net worth of $53 billion, the second wealthiest man in the world. (First is Carlos Slim of Mexico.)

Camilla -- The Duchess Is Back!

Oh, happy day! Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, returned to public life after breaking her leg in a fall while hiking last month.

Her loveliness appeared at a reception at Clarence House today in London to thank supporters of the Ebony Horse Club, which helps disadvantaged children (who do not look like horses).


As you can see, her broken leg has had no effect on her beauty.

Leon Neal/WPA Pool/Getty Images

Happy Birthday, Betty Deuce!

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II as seen at her coronation in 1953, and below in the same getup in 2007.



Betty is 84 today.

Aki and Michi

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko were seen bowing at the Japan Prize presentation ceremony at the National Theatre of Japan in Tokyo on Wednesday.

The prize recognizes world achievements in science and technology as they advance world peace and prosperity.

Aki is the world's only Emperor and a sometime ichthyologist. The Empress is prone to lose her voice when she's upset.

Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images

Buddhas Survive Quake

Health workers spray disinfectant at a collapsed temple in Yushu, China, where soldiers rescued these giant Buddhas from a collapsed temple following the 4/14 quake.

The death toll reached 2,046 in Qinghai Province, with 193 people still missing.

And now, 15 sayings of the ancient Buddhists, not in a flip-through gallery:

There is no sweet companion like pure charity.
-Foshohingtsanking

Almsgiving, it is said, constitutes the value of riches.
-Jatakamala

Good is restraint in all things.
-Dhammapada

Unselfishness, truth, and self-control.
-Jataka

Though a man conquer a thousand thousand men in battle, a greater conqueror still is he who conquers himself.
-Udanavarga

Root out the love of self.
-Jataka

The man of honor should minister to his friends... by liberality, courtesy, benevolence, and by doing to them as he would be done by.
-Sigalovada-sutta.

Practice the art of "giving up."
-Foshohingtsanking

Speak not harshly to anybody.
-Dhammapada

May I speak kindly and softly to every one I chance to meet.
-Inscription in Temple of Nakhon Vat.

Offensive language is harsh even to the brutes.
-Suttavaddhananiti

Courtesy is the best ornament. Beauty without courtesy is like a grove without flowers.
-Buddha-charita

He knew not the art of hypocrisy.
-Jataka

As he who loves life avoids poison, so let the sage avoid sinfulness.
-Udanavarga

He sees danger in even the least of those things he should avoid.
-Tevijja-sutta.


ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images

Chexy's Sports Roundup

Members of the Essendon Bombers at a training session in Melbourne on Tuesday. This has been Chexy's Sports Roundup, Spectator Edition. Photo by Robert Prezioso/Getty Images

Happy Birthday, Hitler

Thanks to the genius of Mel Brooks, we have tap-dancing Nazis. Dick Shawn as the Fuhrer.

Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Deutschland is happy and gay!
We're marching to a faster pace,
Look out,
Here comes the master race!

No Blogging Today

Sleeping.