HOLLYWOOD—It has been really hot out, with temperatures reaching excruciating new highs in parts of California and Nevada. Here are a few tips for staying cool in the heat, always take your water with you, try freezing it the night before; it will stay cooler longer. A spritz of aloe, by Vaseline Spray & Go Aloe Fresh Moisturizer is rejuvenating and keeping the lips moist is Supergoop! SPF 30+ Mintfusion Lip Balms repairs dryness and freshens breath.
Summer’s hot color, is definitely, Orange. Netflix has renewed the female-centered prison drama, ” Orange is the New Black.” While, the episodes aren’t even available until July 11, Netflix decided to make the announcement in advance, unlike cable and network TV that would never do something like that. The series is based on the 2010 memoir by Brooklynite Piper Kerman, who went to jail for money laundering and drug trafficking-10 years after she committed the crime. It stars Taylor Schilling as Piper (with a different last name) and Jason Biggs as her boyfriend. Netflix plays by different rules.
The color orange is being worn by former NFL star Aaron Hernandez who is behind bars-as investigators probe the disgraced player’s role in a 2012 double homicide. Hernandez allegedly “orchestrated the execution” of Odin Lloyd on June 17 for speaking with the grid star’s enemies at a Boston club. He texted two out-of-state pals and told them to come to Massachusetts, prosecutors said, and then the trio picked up Lloyd and took him to an industrial lot near Hernandez’s home. Lloyd was shot five times, according to authorities. Despite a photo of Hernandez flashing what seems to be a gang sign from his high school days surfacing last week, the former NFL Patriots claims he’s never been involved in gang activity. Besides a “blood” tattoo on his hand, investigators are still searching for “telltale gang signs” on his body in the form of tattoos. Tom Brady who was recently spotted leaving a restaurant with wife Giselle, did not answer questions about former player Hernandez.
In the hot seat is Jennifer Lopez who sang “Happy Birthday” toTurkmenistan’s president, who has been criticized for his alleged oppressive rule. According to the star’s publicist, had she known there were human rights issues in the country she would not have performed at the show. J-Lo took to the stage in the former Soviet bloc nation, at an event hosted by a Chinese corporation. According to a Lopez representative, it was not a political event. Interestingly enough, the country’s leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who has come under fire from human rights organizations, did attend. The request came by the China National Petroleum Corporation, and she graciously obliged, the statement said. The fee for the event was not disclosed.
She is on the list of celebrities to face scrutiny for performing in countries for leaders facing claims of human rights violations. Back in 2011, Oscar-winner actress Hilary Swank attended a birthday party for Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who had been accused of torture and killings. Nelly Furtado, 50 Cent, Beyonce, Mariah Carey and Usher were paid to perform at parties linked to the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. They later announced plans to donate their performance fees to charity and said they had not been aware the leader was connected to terrorism. Let’s see if J-Lo will do the same.
Rose’s Scoop: “Amy Winehouse: A Family Portrait,” an exhibition about the life of Amy Winehouse has opened in London, featuring clothes, records and dozens of photographs belonging to the star. It will run until September at the Jewish Museum in Camden Town, less than a mile away from where she died at the age of 27. The exhibition was put together with the help of her brother Alex with many of the captions written by Alex.
By Rose Quintiliano