On this week’s Project Runway, straight off the bat the contestants are taken on a field trip with Tim Gunn. En Route, we learn about the extent of Blayne’s tanning withdrawal, which appears to be getting quite serious. He confesses to Tim that he needs to tan every other day to feel his best. His eyes scan the scenery outside frantically and I truly believe that if he’d seen a tanning salon, he would’ve jumped out of the window. Addicts are like that, you know. For his safety, I think he needs to hit a nice Orbit bed.

The crew arrives at their destination, The Armory Track and Field Center. There they see a dude inline skating around the track. They pretend to be excited but most of them just look bewildered, like, who the hell is this guy and why are we outdoors of all places? The dude turns out to be Apolo Ohno, hottie Olympian, 5-time medalist (2 of them gold) and the only Olympic athlete I have ever so much as had a twinge of a crush on. (I usually like pale, sickly dudes that draw or write, play guitar or have drug problems.) Apolo is there to be the guest judge for the week and to tell them their about the challenge. They are to design an Opening Ceremony Look for the Olympic Summer Games, following in the footsteps of great designers such as Armani and Ralph Lauren. Thankfully, they only have to design for the women.

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Well, there’s a nice little group of non-blockbusters this week. What a relief! Although in my mind there’s really not much competition,Pineapple Express is brilliant, go now. Try not too get too baked to forget where the theater is. Or if you’re feeling more like a bit of Tarantino you’ve hot Hell Ride with half the cast of Kill Bill plus Vinnie Jones. Oh yeah! Looking for “cultured” comedy, try Bottle Shock. You can never go wrong with Alan Rickman having to deal with a bunch of Americans. Want something sexy, sleek, and will hopefully get you some at the end of the night? Try Elegy…makes for good “conversation.” Or if you like the sweet and cheesy go for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.

Here is this weeks movie releases with times, cast and crew info, reviews, and trailers. Enjoy!

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This place has it all. Booze, great music, and AMAZING sales on nice sunglasses. You’ve seen these glasses on almost every celeb including Uma Thurman, Kate Moss, Robert Downey Jr. and more. Every Thursday night in August from 7:30-10pm, the Sunset Plaza Oliver Peoples Boutique will be hosting Summer Sessions; where sight and sound unite. All shades (and specs) from the Oliver Peoples, Mosley Tribes, and Paul Smith Spectacles Collection will be on sale for under $120!! This year they are selling some really amazing styles and at that price who could resist picking up a new pair for the second half of Summer?

Complimentary Peroni Beer and Sonoma - Cutrer Wines will be served and a fantastic line up of DJs, including
KCRWs Raul Campos and DJ Drez, DJ Harvey, and Allen Voskanian, will be spinning throughout each night.

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Now I know The Olympics start tomorrow and most of you won’t be able to tear yourself away from the television long enough to see what great shows are coming to Los Angeles. Fear not! See a show tonight and get your 2008 olympic experience off on the right foot. If you don’t, Michael Phelps won’t dominate the swimming events and it will be all YOUR fault!

• Dr. Dog | 7:00PM at Ameoba Music in Hollywood - Map | All Ages | FREE
• The Airborne Toxic Event, Morning Benders, Radars to the Sky | 8:00PM at El Rey Theatre - Map | All Ages | Tickets $17 Buy Now
• The Faint, Jaguar Love, Shy Child | 8:00PM at The Music Box @ The Fonda - Map | All Ages | Tickets $23 Buy Now
• Monte Negro, Astra Heights, The May Fire | 8:00PM at Knitting Factory - Map | All Ages | Tickets $12 Buy Now
• The Rolling Blackouts, Lieutenants, Craft Club, Apple War | 9:00PM at Silverlake Lounge - map | 21+ | Tickets $8 Buy Now

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August is finally here which means the baseball playoff race is heating up, football is on its way back and, most importantly, the new TV season is almost here.

That doesn’t mean, however, that we’ve escaped the hell onscreen that is the endless reality programming and reruns of the summer. We must soldier on for a few more work weeks until all our favorite shows come back in September to make the drudgery more bearable.

But don’t despair, below are enough good shows for tonight to get you through at least this evening.

Reality Rundown

• Ace of Cakes returns to the Food Network with it season premiere tonight at 10:00. The fifth season kicks off with the bakery producing a theme cake for the premiere of “Kung Fu Panda”. No word on whether Jack Black ate the entire thing by himself.

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• Julian Marley | Thursday, August 7, 2008 | 8 p.m. | $12.50 | The Malibu Inn - Map | Watch Julian Marley (son of Bob) showcase his album “A Time and Place.” The album features production by Julian and brothers Ziggy and Rohan play percussion on the album’s opening track, “Where She Lay” and Bunny Wailer contributes percussion to “Father’s Place.”

• La Perla Sale | Thursday, August 7 through Friday, August 8, 2008 | 10 a.m. | Luscious La Perla - Map | Mark your calendar for this, girls. Luscious La Perla in Beverly Hills is hosting a 2 day summer sale on lingerie, swimwear and ready to wear at 75 percent off.

• The Magical Rainbow Pony Show | Thursday, August 7 through Saturday, August 9, 2008 | 8 p.m. | Free | L’KEG Gallery - Map | A magical group art show featuring paintings, video, and installation work. Collaborations between LA and Bay Area artists including Nancy Chan, Walt Gorecki,Chihiro Higaki, Mike Poll, Allison Smith, Paul Solis and Jasper Wong

Photo by Manish Bansal

The Subways, "All or Nothing"

Comprised of Billy Lunn (guitar, vocals), Charlotte Cooper (bass, vocals), Josh Morgan (drums), The Subways have released their sophomore album, “All or Nothing.”  This album is a follow up to the quietly successful, “Young for Eternity.” Their sound has been labeled as indie-garage-post-punk-revival and while their genre may be a mouthful, this band simply rocks.  Originating from the little island that could: England, The Subways have managed to also bring their multi-layered music to US audiences for the past few years.  Having played with Oasis, Foo Fighters and at Lollapalooza, The Subways have earned their stripes and a definite fan base.  Those who haven’t had the chance to hear The Subways, their new CD is an awesome introduction.

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OK ladies…time to take this walk with pride!

The Chemical Brothers are giving their fans, filmmakers, and artists, a chance to participate in their new music video “Midnight Madness” via Google Earth. Fans, artists, filmmakers, and anyone else who wants to participate are being asked to create a 2-20 second video using the “Midnight Madness” theme. The video can be a picture, a movie, a conceptual piece, anything that you can film and send in within the time limit that has to do with “celebrating the insanity that goes on at the stroke of midnight… [and] the odd things that people get up to at the midnight hour.”

Selections of their favorite work will be featured in a new concept video to demonstrate the Brotherhood aspect of their new album. The completed video is scheduled to be completed and posted on September 1st and the due date for your video is August 25th, although they are recommending that you get it in as soon as possible.

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Mmm, coffee. Can’t function in normal society without it. Steaming hot and aromatic, it’s all good. Does your morning fix last throughout the afternoon? Do you long for the day that your upper of choice becomes intravenous (still talking coffee, here)?

In other words: do you wish you knew how to to quit it?

Starbucks wishes you wouldn’t, so much in fact that they’re offering a sweet nationwide deal for you java-jonesers. Having priced their almost-$4.00 grande iced beverages for a measly $2.00 every day after 2:00 pm means that you can start putting funds towards the more important things - like food, gas, and rent. Or more coffee. All you need is a same-day receipt verifying your morning purchase.

How thoughtful is that?

Story via CNN.com | AP Photo by miss karen

R.I.P. B.Y.O.P.

Sad news folks: Nashville’s Be Your Own Pet have announced that they have decided to go their separate ways. For those of you who had the privilege to catch the band live, you can understand why it is a true loss. Very few bands could match the four-pieces live intensity on stage. Led by their just-drinking-age lead singer Jemina Pearl, the band would blaze through a 30-minute set full of punk tinged indie-rock that always left you wanting more. While no definitive reason has been listed for their break up, the band released the following announcement on their MySpace:

“To all our fans, we are sad to bring you the news that our upcoming shows in the UK are going to be our last as a band. We thank you for all your love and support these past few years. It’s been a blast, but the time has come for the tour of us to go our separate ways.”

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The long-awaited album by thenewno2 was just released, and it was well worth the wait. The album is extremely diverse, yet it all gels to make one incredibly strong album. With Dhani Harrison on lead guitar and vocals and Oli Hecks on drums, as well as appearances by Nick Fyffe, Josh Lopez, Paul Hicks, Marc Mann, and Tom Hammond, the musicianship is fantastic. There is so much to take in that the first few listens are almost overwhelming. Each song has so many layers of sound and meaning that it can sustain repeated listening without getting boring.

So Vain - This song has a really interesting, ambient kind of groove to it that had me hooked from the first moment. The beginning guitar sounds seem to be reminiscent of the song ‘Lord Lord’ from thenewno2’s Promotional EP 001, but then it soon becomes something totally different. It has a vibe-y atmospheric sound that is developing into a signature sound of thenewno2, and at the same time it is rocking and almost psychedelic in places. The electronic sounds in the background play off the lyrics in a cool way. The music seems to almost illustrate what the lyrics are saying. The song draws the listener into the tone of the album, and into another world for the next 50 minutes.

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