Blais of Glory

July 30, 2008

Heads up for two hours of fun tonight on Bravo. You have a brand new "Project Runway" at 9 EST followed by a superspecial episode of "Shear Genius" at 10 EST with the long-awaited "Charlie's Angels" challenge! And don't forget that we're live on Bravotv.com right after Runway answering your questions on "Watch What Happens" - tonight with the eliminated designer and our guest judge (and a superfunnylady) Sandra Bernhard.

Hey guess who stopped by my dorm room the other day - "Top Chef Chicago" finalist Richard Blais!

CAB REPORT: I hope I never know the origin of cab 1K32's distinctive smell. (Fare $12/tip 2)

Jo and Slade

July 28, 2008

I got a lot of emails over the weekend about my (kind of insane?) video blog with the only Bachelor that matters to me, Andy Baldwin. (watch it on the previous blog entry)... I am smitten with Andy B.

Tonight is a new episode of "Date My Ex", and to celebrate, I spent a little time with Jo and Slade and probed Slade about his sexuality...

Andy on Andy

July 25, 2008

What's the protocol for when "The Bachelor" Andy Baldwin shows up at your office in full whites? When it happened to me the other day, I spent some quality time going deep with the Navy Doctor, and then did what any self respecting TV exec would do.. called in Anthony and shot a video blog!

A Lot To Say

July 25, 2008

Hope you enjoyed last night's Runway and super-emotional "Shear Genius". Our post show, which you can check out HERE, was on fire last night.

The very adorable Wesley confirmed on our show that indeed there were weak beginnings of a Showmance - that have since bloomed into a full throttle romance - between he and Daniel! I am rooting for those two talented guys! They are totally into each other.. He spoke more about it on the show and I won't ruin it for you here.

Wesley and Christian made a great duo. They were quite shocked upon meeting each other to realize that they were wearing identical lime green patent leather shoes. I mean IDENTICAL. What are the chances??

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Runway Day

July 23, 2008

Tonight is a brand new episode of "Runway" followed by a surprisingly emotional "Shear Genius". I know it will be a big-ass conundrum for some of you about whether to watch "Shear" or my live Runway post-show at Bravotv.com, where tonight the eliminated designer and Christian Siriano will be taking your questions. What to watch -- Sophie's Choice.

(BTW I just booked a great surprise caller for tonight's show!)

Last night I went to the Lincoln Center Festival's celebration of Beckett starring two of the best actors - and hotties - around, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes.

Neeson got unbelievable reviews in Saturday's Times for his breathtaking performance in "Eh Joe" and it is not hard to see why. The play is 1/2 hour of a camera trained on Neeson's beautiful face, which is projected on a scrim (he sits on the left of the stage) as he listens to a voice in his head. 30 minutes goes by in what seems like five and it is amazing what one person can do with his eyes and face.

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Happy Monday

July 21, 2008

Tonight's premiere of Date My Ex is our gift to you in the form of a mid-summer guilty pleasure. Jo and Slade have been generating buzz since Season 1 of The Real Housewives of Orange County and this new dating format should hit the spot for anybody who missed them, or anybody who loves frothy good fun. And there are a lot of hotties with washboards in every episode.

Reading the The New York Times' non-review review of the show made me realize that Date My Ex is the Mamma Mia of Bravo -- half the people are going to hate it and half will love it. It's just good fun, people!

It was sweltering in NYC this weekend so the Hamptons were a welcome respite. On Friday I happened upon several Real Housewives of NYC eating at Pierre's in Bridgehampton, with cameras capturing everything for your consumption soon. Later that night I went deep with my friend's kids, who played me the Naked Brothers Band CD over and over and over. Here's what I love: the Naked Brothers Band. Is that wrong? They are great!

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Viewer Mail

July 18, 2008

After such a dramatic week of programming on Bravo, I'm afraid today's edition of viewer mail just might be a touch bo-ring.

Have a good weekend anyway!

Good Day!

July 18, 2008

It is an exciting day here at The Bravo; we're celebrating 11 Emmy Nominations including Outstanding Reality Competition Series nods for "Top Chef" and "Project Runway", plus an Outstanding Reality Program nomination for "My Life on the D List". Kathy's "Straight to Hell" was nominated for Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Special, which is a big-ass deal!!! Congrats to the Magical Elves and their teams at Runway and Chef who also received cinematography and editing nods.

I hope y'all enjoyed last night's premiere of "Project Runway"! We had a great time on the live after show with Austin Scarlett and eliminated designer Jerry Tam. Nina was our surprise caller, we played a rousing game of "would you rather", and there was even something for the American Express Cardmembers who happen to be foot or shoe fetishists. Watch the show HERE.

People are still emailing me about Tuesday night's episode of "Flipping Out". I spoke with Jeff yesterday and asked him how Jenni was doing this week. He said she's on vacation but that he didn't pay her for the week. ("Why would I pay her to take a week off?") I don't know if he was kidding. He loves her a lot, that I can tell you for certain. Maybe the two of them should just give it a go. And let us shoot it... (kidding).

Yesterday at lunch, I ran into an old colleague who is a media bigwig. She said, "Oh, are you friends with xxxmediaperson??"

I responded that I actually cannot stand xxxmediaperson.

She responded with some very horrible health-related news about xxxmediaperson, which made me feel like a total shit for volunteering that I cannot stand the person. I kind of felt set up, but on the flip side - why do I feel compelled to constantly state my case?

This reminds me of something that happened a few months ago. I was waiting for a flight at LAX and got an email from a good friend who's dog had been sick for a long while. The email said that the dog would be put to sleep soon and asked if I wanted to come visit the dog that weekend and say my goodbyes. I was not close to the dog, and felt compelled to stake my position ASAP. "No," I wrote. "I do not want to come say goodbye to xxxpooch".

When I landed in NYC there was an email informing me that the beloved pooch had passed away.

Again, why the hell did I feel it absolutely necessary to go on the record ASAP with my nasty-assed feelings about the now-dead pooch?

I suck.

CAB REPORT: This morning's cab ride was as I like it: uneventful and fast. It was almost like darling Singh Dalip was reading my mind! How did he know, as I sat pounding out this blog on my blackberry that I preferred to go up Eighth Avenue? The fare was $10.10 and I gave him $12. He said "Have a nice day." Oh, Singh.

Runway and Ronnie

July 16, 2008

It is a happy Wednesday! Tonight at 9 EST (new time) its the premiere of Season 5 of "Project Runway". The paint is barely dry here, people. We started shooting this season in early June!

After the Sew, American Express cardmembers can log onto Bravotv.com to join myself, the eliminated designer, and Austin Scarlett as we take your questions about the show live on "Watch What Happens"!

In preparation for tonight's show, and to give you a hint of what to expect, we taped a special episode featuring "Make Me A Supermodel" hottie Ronnie Kroell with a surprise call from his pal Ben! Check it out:

A Perfect Tuesday

July 15, 2008

Tonight's "Flipping Out" features the resolution of Jeff's nannycam disaster and the results are not pretty. Anyone who has every wondered whether the show is real should watch tonight. It is real.

The Hamptons last weekend was a sunny, humidity-less fantasy and the waves were massive (on account of Bertha). Saturday night was a benefit for CRIA that is usually at Sunset Beach and the best one of the summer. This year it was at the home (in the lawn) of photographer Stephen Klein in Bridgehampton. It was an amazing spot.

The bash was sponsored by Calvin Klein and Donna Karan so the Hamptons fashion set was out in full force. Rachel Zoe was there and we bonded over how great her new Bravo show is. (It starts in August.) A lot of people were reporting "Real Housewives of NYC" sightings all over the Hamptons, which was amusing. Padma was there looking fierce. Here's who's fun at a party: Padma.

There was a long lap pool in one corner of the party, in what was the middle of a huge field next to a vineyard. At the end of the pool was a massive screen playing surfing videos. I tried to take a picture on my blackberry to give you and idea of how cool it looked and I am afraid it doesn't translate:

In other news:

** So John McCain doesn't believe that gay people should be allowed to adopt kids, huh? Oh, hey, you know what? I don't believe: that crazy old people should be President. Cool!

** I watched Sunday's premiere of "Big Brother 10" on DVR last night. Here are the jobs that the houseguests have: cell phone sales, Hooters waitress, pharmaceutical sales, bartender, and more. How do they afford gas? Seriously. I am IN. I watched "Big Brother After Dark" til 1:15 last night. What a waste of time.

CAB REPORT: Things were bad between Khaliq and I from the moment I stepped into the MIDDLE OF THE STREET to get inside 1M67. Seems Khaliq prefers stopping traffic in order to pick up his passengers. I got in and, amid a cacophony of horns, wouldn't tell him where I was going until he told me why he wouldn't pull over like a normal human. He didn't care to share his motivation with me. It was no shock to me that the resulting ride was 25 minutes of treachery. We fought about whether to take 6th or 8th, he blocked the box twice, he got in a fight with a pedestrian, he got in a fight with a cabdriver, and he was just altogether very FEISTY.

What more can I say about Khaliq? Our chemistry was Diane and Sam without the undertone of love and lust. Khaliq and I ain't ever hooking up, that is for sure.

I spent a big chunk of time on the phone with Bravo programming exec Shari Levine, and when I looked up as we were blocking the box on 50th and 7th, the fare was $19.40!!! I had to restrain myself. Was I at JFK airport, or 30 Rock? I almost went to 'that place' of accusing Khaliq of jacking his meter, which is a very bad place to go, but I simply lamented to him that I could not believe the fare.

And then something sweet happened. My monster became a human, he agreed with me and felt bad for me. Jo (Khaliq) and Slade (Me) came together and fell in love. I told him I had to go and I gave him $22 (the fare by this time was $19.70) and he handed me back the $2.

"I cannot take this," he said.

"No, Khaliq, take it," I said. I knew this would be the last time I would ever see Khaliq. I miss him.

Runway Premiere Week

July 14, 2008

It is Runway premiere week and we couldn't be more excited. Today Bravo is releasing gobs of info about the Season 5 designers, challenges, and sponsors. We want this season to be the biggest and best ever.
There have been a lot of online conspiracy theories over the last few weeks regarding why we've waited so long to spill the beans about the designer’s identities, etc. Here's the reason we waited until today: we just wrapped shooting season 5 on Saturday (two days ago) and we wanted no info released until the last auf wiedersehen til the finale.

Imagine if you saw promos on Bravo showing a guy with asymmetrical hair smack talking about how he was going to win the show, then you ran into him at Mood last Thursday, and then knew yourself that he made it til close to the end. And then you told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on. (I used to love that commercial why doesn't someone remake it??) Anyway, we don't love that scenario so we very deliberately steered away from how we've done things in year's past to protect the designers' identities, and protect the production.

The cat is all out of the bag today, and we are releasing more about Season 5 than in any season past. We have awesome guest judges including LL Cool J, Diane von Furstenberg, Rachel Zoe, Apolo Ohno, Brooke Shields, Sandra Bernhard, RuPaul, and a huge movie star in episode 2. We have challenges that encompass old classics to stuff you've been begging for over the last four go arounds. We have drama. We have great clothes. We have tears. We have amazing characters (for your first peek at the designers on-air, tune into "Flipping Out" tuesday night).

There was a lot of begging for info over the past few weeks; hopefully you WANT to hear all we're releasing. If you want to wait until Wednesday nights to find out challenges, try not to read much online before the show airs because we threw out some spoilers today.

It all starts Wednesday at a new time - 9 EST. I'll be hosting a live "Watch What Happens" right after the show (10 EST) at Bravotv.com featuring a live interview with the eliminated designer - with your questions - plus another Runway special guest (this week it is Austin Scarlett with the eliminated designer). The show is available only to American Express cardholders, so if you're not carrying one, sign up before Wednesday...

Hope you had a great weekend!

Thursday is For Whores

July 10, 2008

It is a BEAUTIFUL day in New York City!

And it is a beautiful and hilarious episode of Kathy Griffin tonight. We really should be promoting it as "A Very Special Bear Episode" as Team Kathy goes deep into the 'bear' community! We've gotten a lot of enthusiastic emails from bears over the years celebrating Tom Colicchio as an unofficial Bear Mascot, but if you've ever wanted to know more about da bears, tonight is your night! As I watched this episode a while back it made me realize why I love Kathy's show; it is 100% original. You don't see a lot of other shows doing what Kathy does.

Last night was a party at Tenjune to celebrate the launch of "Date My Ex". Jo and Slade were there along with scores of hot hetero singles, all drinking Jo-tinis. (I don't know if the drinks were called Jo-tinis, I think I made that up.)

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Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls

July 09, 2008

I am curious what the fallout is from Jeff Lewis' spying on his employees with his nannycam. What did ya think of THAT?

I am still jetlagged to hell and keep having to duck out of dinners at 10pm to get my ass to bed, which is both lame and kind of great. I ventured to the Seaport area on Monday night and had sushi right by the Brooklyn Bridge with an amazing view of one of the New York City Waterfalls, installation by Olafur Eliasson.

Who woulda thunk a Waterfall sprouting up from nothing in the middle of a river off of NYC? What will Olafur Eliasson think of NEXT?? It's up until October 13, by the way.

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Carpal Tunnel And Jet Lag

July 08, 2008

I have both. My hand is throbbing this morning. I think I am going to start using an electric typewriter. And I think I am going to have to stop over-sharing. I am literally putting MYSELF to sleep.

Tonight on Bravo there's a new episode of "Flipping Out" in which Jeff's nannycam lays the groundwork for some unexpected, big drama to come. I guess the lesson is to be careful when installing a nannycam because the results won't always lead to great things.

Speaking of nannycams, Christie Brinkley reported yesterday on the stand that her masturbating-lovin' soon-to-be ex husband was not only fond of online porn, but of his webcam, too. Did SHE install a nannycam on her ex, or did she have a timer on him or how exactly does she know how much time he was spending online fiddling with his bits?

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Back To Business

July 08, 2008

How to recover after ten days in the South of France? Slowly, I guess. It was a lot of indulgence, rest, and of course this...

Even the beautiful swizzle sticks of St. Tropez work it on the beach...

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Mean Viewer Mail

July 01, 2008

I am heading to the South of France for the three Rs: rest, relaxation, and Rose.

Here's some viewer mail to pass some time.....