Huzzah!
Don’t you love it how when you’re having an awful day because you’re fairly certain your health insurance provider is trying to kill you dead, but then you meet Aasif Mandvi in the health and beauty aisle of your local Whole Foods and suddenly your day is better? Don’t you love when that happens? Oh, that’s never happened to you? Well it happened to me! Today! Huzzah!
I’ve seen my fair share of celebrities. I’ve been living in LA for ten years, after all. When I spot a celeb, I generally make note of it, text a couple girlfriends — “Guess who I just saw!?” — and move on. I rarely get excited enough about seeing a particular celebrity that it warrants interrupting them as they attempt to go about their business, buying Tom’s of Maine toothpaste at Whole Foods. It just seems obnoxious. The only other time I’ve stopped a celeb and asked for a photo is when I saw Tyson Beckford at a pool party a few years ago. I approached him for a photo simply because he and I were the only two black people at the party, and so I figured he owed me. You know — to give back to the community n shit.
Anyway, I practically ran into him, pointed at him and said “you!” Then, I mumbled something about loving his work and something about being a blogger (who isn’t these days, MIRITE?), but managed to get it together enough to introduce myself and tell him to check out angryblacklady.com if he was ever so inclined. Then I asked some dude who was buying some sort of whatever if he would mind taking a picture for me. After the dude took the photo, Aasif was nice enough to stick around to make sure the photo was decent. Then I shook his hand and we parted ways. It was all I could do to not have a total fangirl attack right there next to the organic sunglasses.
And that, citizens, is the story of How Aasif Mandvi Made Angry Black Lady’s Day. Huzzah!
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
Deep Space Naan | ||||
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The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
Team Mohammed vs. Team Jesus – Religious Conflict | ||||
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Huzzah!
Did I say that already?
Whatever.
Huzzah!
UPDATE: I forgot how great Aasif’s first appearance was (H/T Xantar and Bubblegum Tate):
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
Forced Perspective | ||||
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[FYWP. What’s the deal with your weird video spacing? Why does WordPress hate America? -ABL]
[cross-posted here at Angry Black Lady Chronicles]
West of the Cascades
Soo … totally … awesome! Seeing a day made like that makes my day, and there weren’t even other people in the Tom’s toothpaste aisle when I went to Whole Foods tonight, much less a celebrity (maybe I’ll run into Gus Van Sant at Whole Foods sometime — we don’t have that many celebrities in Portland).
MikeJ
I hope he gets on a decent show some day.
Xantar
So jealous! Aasif’s debut on The Daily Show is still one of the all time satire classics of the modern age.
MikeJ
@West of the Cascades: You have the Sleater-Kinneys.
Linnaeus
“Organic sunglasses”. That’s funny.
Jenny
Meh,
it’s not like meeting a superstar like Tunch.
Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther
Said this at your place, will say it here too: I am now, officially, no longer your White friend on Team Benetton – I am your Green With Jealousy Friend.
But, you know, in an entirely cool and unweird way.
Bubblegum Tate
@Xantar:
Absolutely. It’s still one of my all-time favorite TDS segments — just perfect front to back. That dude is seriously hilarious. And more recently, I love him for his jab at teabaggers: “If they won’t take the time to distinguish between ordinary Muslims and terrorists, then I’m not going to take the time to distinguish between ordinary white people and racists.”
jharp
Cool story.
I once ran into Reggie Jackson on the fishing pier in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida.
Sometime in the late 70’s.
Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther
@MikeJ: Srsly?
Sigh.
Some people.
When ABL posted a speech by my 6th grade kid, it took 5 comments before the snark.
Mention someone famous, and it takes 2. TWO.
Angry Black Lady
@Xantar: oh, i forgot about that one! i’m going to hunt for it.
asiangrrlMN
Girl, you look too good to be running to the store at night. And, I’m with ee. I would have been dropping fuck-bombs all over the place and squealing like a fangirl (plus, I would have been wearing sweats, and my girls would have been covered), so good thing you were representing Team Bennetton tonight. Except, now that I know Aasif is reading your blog, I demand a pay raise because I have to be 30% funnier.
ETA: And, as I’ve said elsewhere, I would not kick him out of bed for eating rice and curry (I’m Asian. I can say that).
Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther
@Bubblegum Tate: He never, ever fails to make me laugh, but I was also genuinely moved by the comments he made surrounding the whole “Draw Mohammad Day” fuckery.
As we approach Rep. Pete King’s hearings into “radical Islam,” I kind of want to send the good Congressman every inch of video tape that Mandvi has ever produced on TDS.
emdee
My mom once shared an elevator with George Blanda.
drkrick
Glad to hear he was cool about it, love his work. This one is still my favorite:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-august-9-2006/forced-perspective
EDIT: This is the one several people mentioned upthread.
MattR
@Xantar: Some linky goodness for you.
@asiangrrlMN:
I used the white version of that (ie. for eating crackers) at the Super Bowl yesterday, though I can’t remember who I was talking about – there were quite a few candidates over the course of the game.
The Dangerman
Start checking his tweets; if you see “You won’t believe it; I ran into Angry Black Lady today. Heart flutters!” now THAT would be an ending.
General Stuck
My only close encounter with a celeb was getting drunk with Marlon Brando in a shithole saloon in western Montana called Rose’s Cantina. Crazy fucker knocked over a table and spilt all our pitchers of beer. There was plenty more where that came from though.
freelancer
He was awesome in The Siege (first thing I saw him in).
Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther
@asiangrrlMN: Wait. She pays you?
ABL, I’d like a word when you have a chance. It appears my check has been delayed.
Little Boots
thread. see, this is what I’m talking about. you juicers Do Not Sleep. Ever.
TaMara (BHF)
Okay, I’m a totally straight gal, but that is some impressive cleavage you’re sporting there (and I know cleavage, sporting some impressive ones of my own). No wonder he stuck around to make sure the photo came out right. He knows a beautiful woman when he sees one. And you look positively stunning in the photo.
Mark S.
@General Stuck:
Shit, Brando? I bet that was a crazy night. That would be like hanging out at a bar and all the sudden Charlie Sheen and his briefcase walk in.
MikeJ
@Little Boots: It’s not even 9:30. Why would we sleep?
Soon the Aussies will be here.
TaMara (BHF)
@The Dangerman: Win.
Little Boots
@MikeJ:
Aussies? damn, we Wisconsinites will stay up for that.
Jenny
off topic.
Olbermann returning to tee vee (Al Gore’s Current TV).
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/olbermann-said-to-be-going-to-current-tv/
it only took a couple of weeks to get a new show.
Suck It Up!
Lucky Girl!!
I once saw Shawn Wayans in Whole Foods. I didn’t say anything. No one did. I once saw Tootie in the subway and she turned around real quick as if I was about to get all groupie-ish on her. I’m not the type – unless its Oprah.
Angry Black Lady
@Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther: (she’s an intern. sssssh!)
kdaug
Tom’s of Maine toothpaste?
Oh. My. God. Squeee!
I love his toothpaste! I have all the original packing!
Gozer
I once saw Laurence Fishburne at Whole Foods in New Orleans when I was visiting my folks a few years back.
That was pretty cool.
Angry Black Lady
@TaMara (BHF): it’s the one benefit my tumor has bestowed upon me. :D
asiangrrlMN
@TaMara (BHF): I know, right? I’m trying not to ogle because she’s my overlady and all.
@Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther: Um, that was, um, a metaphor, for, um…look, BONO!
@MattR: Cameron Diaz? (I hope not. I would be kinda disappointed in you).
MikeJ
Someday I’ll run into ABL in the grocery and I’ll squeee and say something inappropriate and get slapped for it. But it would be worth it.
Little Boots
@Angry Black Lady:
tumor?
asiangrrlMN
@Gozer: Now I would have gone ape-shit if I spotty Larry F.
@Angry Black Lady: Seriously? They weren’t so comely before? And, intern? Oh, hell, no. I remember talk about the mad monies. I’m all about the Benjamins, bay-bee.
@MikeJ: Don’t forget to get a picture if you do!
Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther
@asiangrrlMN: Ha – Awesome rejoinder!
And may I just say, oh wait, look – Alan Rickman!
Little Boots
Can I selfishly ask for more posts from Angry Black Lady? And again, tumor?
Gozer
@asiangrrlMN: Yeah, it was my first celebrity sighting. He was very low key and just kind of popped in to get some lunch and went on his merry way.
Also cool that no one tried to mob him.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
ABL:
Did you run home to change outfits, or do you always look like that at the grocery store?
Wowzah, kid!
Mark S.
A couple hours ago
ETA: @Little Boots at 37.
asiangrrlMN
@Little Boots: Check out her earlier post from today. She talks more about her tumor in her head. And, check out her site Angry Black Lady Chronicles. There’s tons more of her. Emily and I guest-blog from time to time.
@Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther: Seriously. I would lose. my. shit. if I ever met Alan Rickman. It would not be pretty.
Little Boots
goddam, abl, goddam. can we help?
asiangrrlMN
@Gozer: You know, I would probably be chilled if I spotted him. In general, I don’t get crazed about things like that. But, again, Alan Rickman? All bets are off.
@Arclite: Daniel Dae Kim AND Naveen Andrews? Oh, man….I am completely jealous.
Ms.B
Beats all encounters that ever happened to me, ABL (whose posts I pretty much adore here)–Arthur Murray’s knees once, as he stood over me on the sand, David Hasselhoff sunning himself nearby during his heyday, Adam Sandler adjusting his beach towel and waving, and James Taylor, who gave me that look when I was so much younger than I am now (so very much younger) as I was coming out of a john in a hotel by the beach and, well, we talked. He was way more handsome in person than in not-person and down-to-earth nice. That’s always a relief in encounters–that nice thang. And you scored that.
Arclite
Heh, I saw Daniel Day Kim (from Lost and Hawaii 5-0) at the Punahou fair on Saturday. I’ve seen most of the Lost cast at one time or another. I have seen Jorge Garcia at Whole Foods out here a few times, and even shook Naveen Andrew’s hand and chatted a minute with him once. Super nice guy, if a bit foppish.
I tend not to bother celebs when I see them. They probably want time to themselves, I figure.
BTW, you two look like a total couple in that picture.
MattR
@asiangrrlMN: I wouldn’t count Cameron Diaz among the attractive women splashed across the TV set yesterday, I think exclusively in the commercials. She was definitely not who I was referring to. But at the same time, I would not throw her out of bed for eating crackers.
I can’t think of any good celebrity sightings, but I was getting good gossip (EDIT: yesterday) about Christina Aguilera from someone who is a friend of a friend of her ex-husband. Let’s just say that no one was surprised by how she looked.
PS. You need to spend time now working on some witty but not creepy comment that you can memorize just in case you ever run into Alan Rickman.
eastriver
Two words: Nice. Rack.
Of organic sunglasses. Duh!
Bnut
I shook the hand of the only living Medal of Honor winner from the current wars. I’ve had a beer with the most decorated living US soldier.
My father actually had the opportunity to buy Sean Connery a drink at a bar in England.
Current Song:
311
Down
asiangrrlMN
@MattR: OK. Fair enough about Cameron Diaz.
And, “Oh my god I want to have your babies!” doesn’t cut it?
MattR
@asiangrrlMN:
I am not going to say “no” outright but rather ask what reaction you are aiming for.
Now that I think about it, I think the most time I spent with a celebrity was the 20 minutes I shared a couch with former NYC Mayor Ed Koch. Of course he was taking a nap at the time and was not aware of my existence.
asiangrrlMN
@MattR: What you said about Mayor Koch sounds kinda kinky!
With Alan: I would never say that. If anything, I probably would be frozen to the floor and unable to approach him. In the real life, I am a shy and delicate flower. Shut up. I am. Wanker.
ETA: And, it’s not like I’m meet him in the frozen tundras of Minnesota. Sigh.
OK. I have been up since 4:30 a.m. I need to crash. Night all.
ETA II: Leave me suggestions as to what I can say to Alan. I’ll check back tomorrow.
Comrade Luke
@MattR:
What do you mean “how she looked”? You mean kinda trashy?
Ms.B
@Arclite:
Hey,
I like that about Hawaii. We’re all just hanging together, respecting each other’s space.
Kristine
@asiangrrlMN:
I made this link for you.
I don’t get all jump up and downy. I’d probably do my usual back-into-a-corner-and-stare. Then he’d think I was a weirdo and slowly edge away.
suzanne
ABL, that is so damn rad.
My most recent celebrity encounter was a couple of years ago on Christmas Eve in a Toys ‘R Us. I was with my mom, doing some last-minute shopping, when she told me to turn around. So I did, and there was Ice-T. And Coco. Damn, her tits are HUGE. I am not small, but hers put mine to shame. Like, I don’t know how she stands upright.
I was really proud of my mom for recognizing Ice-T, though. Not bad for an almost-sixty-year-old lady.
Angry Black Lady
@Little Boots: Can you arrange an encounter with Wyatt Cenac? ::swoon::
Ecks
I’m so bad at recognizing people I could have run into a gauntlet of stars in my life and not recognized a one of them.
The only one that I actually KNOW I came across was Bruce McCulloch of Kids in the Hall fame (the Canadians in here are all impressed and nobody else has a clue, right). And I know that because one of the guys I was walking with put on a huge forced smile and held out his hand and said “BRUCE!” and then repeated it two or three more times until we dragged him away feeling embarrassed.
Oh, and I guess I also randomly came across them when they were filming one of the crane shots (over and over) in this sketch. That was hard to miss, even for me.
Angry Black Lady
@Arclite: Oh man, I want to lick Daniel Dae Kim.
Angry Black Lady
@eastriver: ha! http://tiny.cc/heyo
Mister Papercut
Aasif Mandvi? Your theories are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
Angry Black Lady
@Little Boots: There is plenty of my crazy at ABLC! I have a pituitary adenoma. It’s benign but a pain in the aasif. It also makes my body think its pregnant when my hormones get out of whack, so my body acts like I’m in the first trimester of pregnancy — hence the balloon boobz and the mood swings and whatnot.
Good times!
Yutsano
@Bnut: My only real celebrity encounter was Ben Stein almost ran over me while he was bicycling in Santa Monica. Idiot turned to say something to his wife and wasn’t paying attention. I got out of his way and moved on. Other than that I’m pretty much bone-dry there.
burnspbesq
Close encounters of the celebrity kind:
About 20 years ago, I went to see Richard Thompson at a club in Hollywood. By sheer happenstance, I ended up standing next to Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos. One time when Richard did something especially ridiculous, we made eye contact, and both just shook our heads and smiled, as if to say “what did he just do?”
Ecks
@Angry Black Lady: You now have me envisioning vapid women at Hollywood parties saying things like:
“Omigod did you see her, like, boobs. Those are NOT real.”
“Not even hon, she’s like famous for going to Dr. Suk.”
“The pituitary adenoma doc?”
“Like, omigod yaaa! You can tell because they’re, like, big and all, but don’t look like silicone ones.”
“Oh. my. gaaaaaad.”
Jennyjinx
I have nothing funny or witty to say so I’m going with: I’m jealous. He’s my fav TDS correspondent. Congrats!
My daughter’s cousins are Steve Harvey and Macy Gray. Sadly, I’ve never met either of them and she’s only met Steve. Still, I’m counting it among my own celebrity encounters (which is pretty much zero).
burnspbesq
I know it’s inappropriate to make fun of any aspect of anyone’s death, but it’s reaaaaaaaaly hard not to say something snarky about karma after reading this:
http://www.smh.com.au/world/bird-kills-man-at-cockfight-20110208-1akx3.html
Yutsano
@burnspbesq: I don’t see any real reason to hold back. I’m just wondering what happened to the poor chicken.
Bnut
@Yutsano: I have hugged my father. He is a good man. Better than fawning over some random celeb who lives near me (I live in Park Slope, Brooklyn, plenty of them here). I’d rather kiss my dog than Maggie Gylenhall who I see constantly.
Current song:
Wish You Were Here
Incubus
theturtlemoves
Celebrity encounters – pizza delivery edition: Only encounter I had I didn’t realize I had until after I had it. Delivered a pizza to the Indigo Girls while in college. I knew they were in town and after delivering a veggie pizza to a woman with short dark hair, I walked out to my car and thought, “she was very nice and that was a huge tip for a small pizza…oh, crap.” Asked a co-worker who’d gone to the concert what clothes the two were wearing and confirmed my suspicion. The tip came out of a giant biker wallet on a chain. This was not a woman bothered by stereotypes…
Yutsano
@Bnut: The point is taken and accepted. As ABL’s encounter shows, at the end of the day, celebrities are just people too.
Martin
@burnspbesq: Surely you’ve run into more around here. I run into Kobe Bryant almost once a month.
My grandmother has the best celeb sighting (I recount the story as it was told to me many times). During WWII she enlisted as a nurse and was sent down to Florida for training and all that. As a lieutenant she went into the O-club for some event and among the officers there was another lieutenant – Clark Gable. My grandmother, being one of the few women in the club and about 23 at the time (and quite pretty), was asked to dance by Mr Gable who was about 40 at the time (Clark’s wife had passed away almost a year before), and they did so, and had some drinks, and danced some more. We asked quite regularly how that evening ended, to persistent silence (my grandmother was never one to not properly end a story, so this was highly irregular). Someone took a photo of the two of them together, which is stuffed in an album.
Ms.B
@Martin:
Well, this is rather thread winning.
Angry Black Lady
@Ecks: Friends who haven’t seen me in a while ask me if I bought myself a couple presents. :)
freelancer
@Bnut:
Instinct Blues
Clockwork Buddha
@burnspbesq:
I suspect fowl play.
Bnut
Also, my friend Pat(RIP) was a cousin to Reba McEntire. He used to tell me how awesome (/snark) family reunions were when she decided to show up. I rode a plane when I was 12, and the only people on it were my family (4) and Buck Showalter,then manager of the Yankees. We ignored him, even though we had 3rd and 4th gen Yankees fans on board. As we deplaned he said “Go Yankees” to me bc I was of the age when a cap was seldom not on my head. People are people, nice and shitty alike.
Current song:
Instinct Blues
The White Stripes
h/t freelancer
Angry Black Lady
@theturtlemoves: That’s awesome. I love the Indigo Girls.
Angry Black Lady
@Yutsano: True. He was just a regular guy shopping for some elitist toothpaste. ;)
Bnut
@Angry Black Lady: Nah, if he was a real elitist he’d be at a Co-Op.
@Martin: That’s a great story.
Current song:
Mississippi Queen
Mountain
Angry Black Lady
@Martin: That is super cool.
freelancer
@Angry Black Lady:
At least it wasn’t toothpaste made out of cow waste byproducts.
curious
you two look like you’ve known each other for years. glad you got such a great picture.
Yutsano
@Bnut: They do toothpaste at co-ops? I may have to start doing some more research around here.
Martin
@Ms.B: That’s not even my coolest story. I’ve got several ‘small world’ winners.
When I was around 11 or so, my grandmother (same one) went on a trip to Peru. Now, you have to understand this woman. Having retired as a officer, she could fly standby on any military flight for free. So, being poor as shit and with 5 kids, she’d haul them out to the local military airport during summer, and they’d wait standby until an interesting flight came up with 6 seats on it (my grandfather was institutionalized with PTSD most of his life). They’d never know if they were going to Africa or Greenland, so they’d have an assortment of clothes, and they’d load up on this transport with parachutes and the whole deal and that’s how they went on vacation. She doesn’t travel like you and me. She travels like that man vs wild guy.
So, she goes to Peru for 2 weeks. She brings nothing but her large shoulder purse, containing a few odds and ends and a single change of clothes. Each evening she washes what she’s wearing and swaps it with what’s in her purse. I remember the trip fondly because she bought me a blowgun which they wouldn’t allow through customs – so for the last 30 years I’m pissed off I didn’t get to be the 5th grader with a blowgun. Anyhow, during the trip she meets this woman from Chicago, about her age and they travel together for the next two weeks and after the trip they write to each other now and then, but other than that they never see each other.
Fast forward 30 years and my dad, now living in Oregon, starts dating this woman and during dinner one evening they’re chatting and the topic of travel comes up (my dad loves to travel as well) and they’re talking about places they’d like to go some day. So he pulls out this photo album and it’s pictures of his mom’s trip to Peru and as they’re flipping through, the woman stops and says ‘Hey! That’s my mom!’. Turns out her mom was that woman from Chicago that she toured around Peru with. We heard all about this woman and the things they did, and how the woman had a son and a daughter and all that, but never any names or details. 3 decades and countless moves later, the kids unknowingly are dating.
Yutsano
@Martin: Dude. That’s like As Time Goes By territory right there.
Cain
Well hey, I think I’d scream like a little girl if I met any of you at a Whole Foods. :-) I’d lose my shit if I met Tunch. hah.
I haven’t really met any celebrities. My dad met Mohammed Ali and sat with his manager. I met a bollywood actor Aamir Khan one time.
Other than that, meh. I rather not meet these people. Although if I could meet anybody I’d love to meet someone like Bishop Tutu. Hell any old guy who went through WW2 would be interesting.
cain
Yutsano
@Cain:
My grandfather enlisted in WWII even though he lied about having polio as a baby. He survived the Battle of the Bulge but still won’t talk about that today. He’s 90 and still sharp as a whip.
Short Bus Bully
ABL, you. look. hawt.
It’s one thing to be a celeb and have emo fan boyz following you around, it’s another to ask to take pics with teh hawtness. I’m pretty sure you made his day too. Good on ya.
MattR
@Martin: Both those stories are crazy. About all I can offer is an interesting triangle of marriages. My cousin Bob Jones is married to Jane Doe. Bob’s sister Brenda is married to Steve Smith. Steve Smith’s sister Sally is married to Jane’s brother John.
Martin
Oh joy. More barf. I love having kids.
Bnut
@Yutsano: My grandfather was a former Republican mayor of Wichita. Friend of ole Ronny. I can’t imagine the kinds of arguments we would get into if he were alive. But he was a Quaker, and a medic in Italy during WW2. I remember the first Gulf War as a child, seeing CNN, running into the kitchen and screaming “We won the war!” I also remember this man looking me in the eye and saying “Son, no one wins war.”
Current song:
the Four Tops
Aint no Woman Like the One I Got
Yutsano
@Martin: You and suzanne can commiserate over wine and crumpets one of these evenings. Having said that, puking kids is no fun. There’s only so much 7-up you can get them to choke down.
Ms.B
@Martin:
Is this a good thing?
freelancer
@Ms.B:
The kids are alright.
Bnut
@Ms.B: Are you north or South of the Mason-Dixon?
Current song:
Cry To Me
Solomon Burke
Yutsano
@Bnut: Each of us, all, are complicated and messy human beings. We deal with the contradictions in ourselves and if we’re lucky make enough peace with them to get at least a semblance of true happiness. After that, we go forward. Time really doesn’t give us an option there.
cmorenc
I had two beers with the late Slim Pickens in a bar in Wyoming many years ago. He was one of those lucky actors who can be brilliant and attractive simply playing his own natural self, and yet be a good fit for a large number of different movies. He was the same person sitting next to me chatting me up for an hour and a half as he was in every movie role you ever saw him in. Wonderful!
Ms.B
@Bnut:
I’m so south that I’m in an “exotic land.” But am from way north of it.
freelancer
@Yutsano:
It’s All Right – Sam Cooke
Martin
Oh, I’ve got more. Here’s how at age 28 I learned I had a cousin:
So, my aunt comes out for a visit, rents a house and a few days into her visit she calls and asks that I come over that evening. I have no idea why I’m going over on short notice, and upon arriving with my wife am introduced to this very lovely black woman about my age (keep in mind that I’m white like sour cream) and I’m told that she’s my cousin, that my aunt gave up for adoption the year I was born and the two had been looking for each other for a few years and just got lined up. Now, it was only the year before that I learned that my great-aunt’s daughter that was always around at family gatherings was actually my grandmother’s (yeah, same grandmother) daughter from a first marriage (annulled) and was really my aunt (whole other story), so I’ve been working double-time to mentally reorganize the family tree when this new bombshell is dropped on me. Anyway, we had a very nice evening getting to know my new 28 year old cousin.
The next day we’re recounting the evening to a friend of ours and we mention my new cousin’s first name and some of the things she did growing up, and our friend says ‘Um, her last name isn’t yyy, is it?’ Sure enough, he went to high school with her, knew her very well (a fuckton better than I knew her, to be sure), they have all these inside jokes and stuff, and me, the blood relative, who grew up 3,000 miles away has no clue what’s going on and is still marveling at having a half-black cousin, totally not having seen that one coming.
AM
My favorite OZ dentist!
Martin
@Ms.B: It’s a weird thing. I gave up trying to sort out what’s good and bad after the aunt and cousin were dropped on me. I’m happy to just keep up now.
fuckwit
Angry Black Lady doesn’t look very angry. She looks positively thrilled, in fact. Also, looks like she’s got a rockin bod, too.
bk
I once had lunch with Olivia Newton-John and she was breastfeeding her baby.
Oh, and btw, ABL, you are smoking hot.
Barb (formerly Gex)
So you know things are taking a bad turn when both of your therapists tell you that you should get an attorney to protect you during your parents’ divorce. And you are 40 years old.
Martin
@Barb (formerly Gex): Oh, yeah, that’s a bad turn. I had a student in a spot like that. Caught between two parents on the brink of divorce that used the kid like a pawn.
I’d take the advise, BTW. I’ve recently witnessed two bad divorces and just how far outside of the relationship the wreckage can spread.
Angry Black Lady
@Bnut: GREAT song.
Mark S.
I’m surprised conservatives aren’t screaming a bit about this:
I kind of doubt the Swiss would actually arrest him, and I’m a little surprised The Decider is too chickenshit to see if they would. But if I were Rumsfeld, Yoo, Bybee, or any other of those dipshits I would not make any European vacation plans.
Barb (formerly Gex)
@Martin: One of the things they did was 16 years ago they transferred some property to me to protect it from bankruptcy and I naively and stupidly did what they asked. Then when they had me sign them back over, my mom didn’t turn in the paperwork for one of the properties. So I probably could escape any consequences for the first transaction if all the properties had been returned. But thanks to my mom, this is going to be a surprise to my dad, and definitely is going to get pretty messy and serious quick.
Yes, apparently they don’t give a fuck what they might put me through, so long as they get the money and things that they love so much.
Mark S.
@Barb (formerly Gex):
Um, are your parents going to really want to try to explain that little transaction to a judge? I would think it would be in their interests to keep their mouths shut about that.
M.T. Head
Nice breastesses!
Barb (formerly Gex)
@Mark S.: My dad is crazy enough that he might. Especially after he finds out my mom deceived him about this for 16 years. More to the point, I can’t trust them to look out for me, obviously.
Arclite
@Angry Black Lady:
Eww, that image is seared in my brain. I think I’m scarred for life…
=P
Arclite
@Ms.B:
The weather is the main draw, but also the laid back attitudes and aloha spirit. Of all the celebs I have seen, I have never seen one get mobbed. So, while the compactness, population density, and popularity probably make it one of the best places for common folk to bump into celebs, the fact they get bothered less keeps them coming back.
Jebediah
@Ecks:
Well, I’m not from Canadia, but meeting any of KITH would make me pretty happy.
Whatever happened to the little red-haired girl who knew all those facts?
aimai
All joking and breasts aside, ABL, if one can say that, you are simply looking stunning in that picture. Vibrant, glowing with life. He should have been proud to have been photographed with you.
aimai
BD of MN
Kevin McHale goes to the same church as my parents. He’s pretty easy to spot…
Egypt Steve
Man, my mom took that exact same photo with Gregory Peck once. Had exactly the same grin. Guys like that, they got it made!
Dad hates that picture.
Benjamin Cisco
I’ve got two met-a-celeb stories, decades apart…
__
I once appeared on the Mike Douglas show (yeah, yeah, I know, I know, half the room just went “Who?”). I’ve wondered over the years if there is a tape of that somewhere.
__
During my college years, an on-campus concert was almost canceled at the last minute because the headliner (and only performer) came down with the flu. Her replacement? Roger Troutman and Zapp. I got to spend a half hour with him afterwards; great guy and very gracious about offering advice about the music industry.
__
Current Song:
Phil Upchurch – Midnight Blue
Josh James
He’s on Facebook, btw, and would probably friend you if you added him … used to run into him in the downtown theatre scene a lot in the early 90s, he has a one man show about being a waiter in an Indian restaurant that was pretty funny.
Oh and ABL, you are pretty dang hot, btw. Totally.
Thoughtful Black Co-Citizen
Um. I suspect you improved Mr. Mandvi’s day as well. Just sayin’.
And this photo has also reminded me that there are places in these here United States where my fellow Americans are not freezing their asses to little tiny pieces. To hell with you all.
Waldo
My mom banged a friend one of Peter Frampton’s roadies. Well that’s who he claimed he was, anyway. Then he refused to pay. But hey, at least she has a story she can tell her grandkids.
dan
That’s what you wear to go to Whole Foods? What else were you shopping for?
bob h
Angry Black Lady is a dish.
cleek
i met Billy Joel in front of an Egyptian temple in the Metropolitan Museum of Art one morning in ’87. he was walking with a bodyguard and pushing a baby stroller. i didn’t have a pen to get an autograph but he complimented my hat. saw Tom Brokaw (outside 30 Rock) and Richard Marx (in a record store) that same day.
master c
ca-ute he is! (you too)
Thoughtful Black Co-Citizen
I must also note that you are now the only Balloon Juicer I could pick out of a line up. Or at least I would be able to pick you out of a line up if my facial recognition systems weren’t scrambled.
Carnacki
I once met the Iron Sheik shortly after his run as a WWF world champion and tag team champion.
abscam
@Kristine: How do I get drool out of my keyboard? Alan Rickman, rrrrowwwwrrr!
Violet
You make such a cute couple!
mr. whipple
@bob h:
Indeedy.
jayjaybear
Every time someone mentions Tom of Maine, my brain scrambles it and wonders why Tom of Finland is making toothpaste now…and what the packaging is like!
Exurban Mom
@Mark S.: Bush is claiming his cancellation is due to security fears. So funny, because I saw today that former President Clinton was in Switzerland, YESTERDAY, giving a talk. If it’s safe enough for Clinton, it’s safe enough for you, Georgie boy.
Legalize
Dude, ABL is a fox.
Kristine
@abscam: It is a nice photo, isn’t it?
@ABL? You have a lovely smile. So not ABL–how did you wind up with that moniker?
Glad you got to squee and have fun.
Kristine
@jayjaybear: You mean I’m not the only one who does that??? I think “Squeeze the tube,” and then I smile to myself and get the hell out of the toothpaste aisle.
Bulworth
ABL, you look mighty awesome. Don’t know who the famous dude is.
EIGRP
When I was in Beijing, Vince Vaughn was at one of the knock-off megamarts. He let us take a picture with him although he didn’t appear to happy about it.
Eric
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
I went to Iceland for Airwaves back in 2007 and bumped into Jason Jones of the Daily Show.
Btw, Angry Black Lady should change her name to Hot Black Lady because she’s a babe.
numbskull
@kdaug: They’re deodorant is great, too. It’s based on the same idea that Brits used in developing IPA: Add hops, stop bacterial growth.
matoko_chan
<3 Mandvi.
i liek how he was experiencing the ambience of your spectacular decolletage while never directly looking at it.
matoko_chan
why am i moderated? is decolletage a bad word naow?
AliceBlue
You’re quite a looker, ABL!
When I lived in New York City in the ’70s, I saw Gilda Radner in a SoHo bookstore. Tom Waits lived around the corner from me and I used to see him on the subway and in the grocery store all the time.
I’m distantly related to Heather Locklear but I don’t look anything like her.
TOP123
@Ms.B: My favourite beach-based celebrity sighting: about ten years ago, Salman Rushdie walking with a friend, in (X).
david mizner
I thought all bloggers were ugly.
asiangrrlMN
@Kristine: I love that pic of Alan. I love the story, too, in the blog. I actually probably would just stare. If I got up the nerve to talk to him, I’d say something either frighteningly stupid like I wrote above or something positively banal like, “Mr. Rickman, I am one of your biggest fans,” blah blah blah.
@Barb (formerly Gex): Shit. Just, shit. Do it. You need someone to look out for you.
@Angry Black Lady: Ah! So the bewbies are new and improved, thanks to Tumor Willis.
kc
Asif Mandvi looks like he’s having as much fun as you are, ABL. ;
JR
Great photo, and good to see that Mr. Mandvi has , like me, joined the Fedora Wearers of America Club. We’re a select bunch, but we’re responsible for 86% of America’s stylin’ hats.
Prometheus Shrugged
Tom’s of Maine aisle or not, I would feel better about the happy encounter with Mandvi if it wasn’t in Whole Paycheck. The founder and CEO John Mackey is a climate change denialist and is one of these Obama-the-soshulist jerks. It’s amazing that most people who shop there (in my area, anyway) would be appalled to be giving this guy their money if they knew his politics.
Quaker in a Basement
He made your day?
No, baby. In that dress, you made his! Or mine anyway. Wuf!
pickledjazz
Hey ABL you are darn cute!I always pictured a different face which matched the name. Go ‘head with your bad self.!! More posts needed from you please.
LanceThruster
So very cool. Thanks for sharing it. You both are on the path to greatness and I’m cheering you on all the way.
Phoebe
I love the lisp of that man. Congratulations.
Soul On Ice
I love what he did to Robson’s gums
metalgirl
My brush with fame was by sneaking into the Governors Ball after the Academy Awards in 1995. My (now deceased) husband’s step-father was Irven Spence (one of the original animators for Hanna Barbara & a member of the Motion Picture Academy) and it was our turn (between my husband and his siblings) to get the tickets IF Spence won the lottery to get tickets to the ceremony that year. We won, we went, and my youngest son was 5 months old and nursing (so I was well endowed like ABL!). Before the ceremony (we went early to soak it all in), Oprah asked me where I got my champagne! We saw many other celebs in the lobby & bathrooms. After the ceremony, we went up on the stage to just see what it was like. A crowd of people were going through a side door and my spouse was an ACTOR & shameless, and pulled us through before the door closed. We unknowingly sneaked into the Governor’s Ball! Once we realized where we were, we found a pay phone to call the MIL (babysitting the nursing 5 month old) to tell her that we would be delayed. We made a list of the celebs we were literally shoulder-to-shoulder with (it was just that crowded) — 65 of them! I agreed that we would never have a date that good EVER again.