Michael Jackson is back in the U.S. and settling in Las Vegas as we write this. Apparently, a veil-clad Jacko spent Saturday en route to Vegas from Dublin, arriving at McCarran Airport's private executive hangar at 10:30pm that evening.
He's not just visiting either. Reportedly, he's planning Vegas as his big comeback and is working on a deal to do a live show on the Strip in 2007. Gaming dealman Jack Wishna confirmed MJ's return to the States and said, "We are working on several projects." MJ's currently camped out in a new Spanish-style home on the city's west side.
Michael and his brood were last living in a castle in County Cork, Ireland, (with freak-dance star Michael Flatley) after leaving Bahrain last year. If you don't have private jet access like Jacko, reaching the UK/Ireland area from Vegas in a bit of affordable style is not as hard as it used to be: MAXjet launched its Vegas-to-London Stansted service just last month.
The best part of traveling outside the United States--besides the convenience stores and record shops--is the celebrity endorsement spotting. Stars, and big ones at that, shill a lot of coffee and jewelry and whatnot around the world. They make good money this way, doing stuff they'd never do in America because it's cheesy. The minute you step out of the States, especially when it's to Europe and Asia, you're bound to notice the commercials and magazine ads. Proactiv commercials are an exception--you can catch those right at home.
Of course, this is the YouTube age, and no one ever expected these activities to be truly top secret. You simply cannot get away from the above commercial in Austria. It's George Clooney pimping for Nespresso, a coffee company and espresso machine maker affiliated with Nestle. Nespresso has stores all over Austria, and beyond in Europe, where it's easy to get laughed at as a foreigner ordering your coffee the wrong way.
Hollywood skeletal queen and former Jack Nicholson muse, Lara Flynn Boyle, apparently hopped on a flight to San Antonio last weekend and got married to businessman Donald Ray Thomas (we know, who?!?).
The pair didn't bother with the Italian villa or the celeb-laden post-parties, and opted instead for a $36 marriage license and small ceremony (sans rings - gasp!) in Thomas' local backyard.
Jeez. How unexciting. They could have at least headed to the nearby Hyatt Hill Country Resort and done it up Texas-style. A romantic gondola ride along San Antonio's famous Riverwalk would have been nice, too.
If you read yesterday's guide to ice skating in New York, you noticed a note at the end about Miss USA. It turns out that she WILL be holding onto her title, so long as she enters rehab and steps carefully from here on out And that's the truth, because it came straight from the Donald's mouth. He'd never miss an opportunity for a press conference.
So Tara Conner and her boobs will continue to live in Trump Place on the Upper West Side, perhaps with a 24-hour chaperone now. But how will she cap off her workdays now that she can't be seen in the clubs? We have a few recommendations.
She could head for dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park, where a "water sommelier" helps diners pair bottled H2O with their meals. At least it sort of recalls the wino experience. She could go to Dylan's Candy Bar for hot chocolate and root beer-flavored gummy candy, or seek out an oxygen bar. And if all else fails, she can nurse her phantom hangovers with a gooey breakfast from Kitchenette--a bit of a hike from her Trump digs (at least first thing in the morning), but worth it. Good luck, Tara!
Sometimes when we go on vacation, we do dumb romantically-inclined things. Come on, admit it, so do you. Of course it was never going to last with Pierre that summer as an exchange student in France, but did that stop you? Nah.
All we can say is thank god we've never been to St. Tropez. Pam Anderson apparently has admitted she would have married anybody this summer in St. Tropez, because she was having such a great vacation.
As you may recall, Pam "tied the knot" with Kid Rock on a yacht, though it wasn't a legally binding ceremony (that came later). If we were to get married there and had the cash, we'd probably do it on land at the Hotel Byblos. It's just as romantic, and wouldn't make any of our friends seasick. If you're seriously interested in getting hitched for real out there, remember you have to have a civil ceremony at the mayor's office to make it legal.
Britney Spears took a break from partying with Paris Hilton, to head out on a date with South African-born producer Jonathan "JR" Rotem this week.
The two apparently hit up the movies in LA (and saw "The Holiday") and then went for lunch at The 3rd Stop, where they most likely downed beer and wings, as this "casual pub" offers an "oversized bar menu" with mac 'n' cheese and burgers - just up Brit's alley.
The unfortunate part? Brit was all over her new man at lunch, where she "sat on Rotem's lap and the duo kissed and cuddled at a corner table." It takes a lot to make us lose our appetite for mac 'n' cheese, but picturing that just about did the trick.
What's "broke" to Tori Spelling is probably not "broke" to the rest of us, but Tori is probably terrified of slumming it now that it looks like her mother doesn't want to share any of Aaron's leftovers. To ward against impending hardship, pregnant Donna Martin is kicking off an estate sale today at her "dazzling Valley home," while hubby Dean McDermott (who must have thought he was marrying into millions) will likely be off drinking away his sorrow at an area bar.
The sale starts today and will continue tomorrow and on Monday. According to Tori, via People, items up for grabs will include furniture, Beverly Hills 90210 memorabilia, signed scripts, antique chintzware and used clothing. You can preview some items here, and well as get more information on how to join the wait at Tori's abode here. The piece above is our favorite.
We're not having such good luck with websites today. Right as we were going to post, the links above blew out, assumably due to bandwith overages. Keep trying them, or see Dlisted for a copy of the event listing.
There's no need for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes to snap up plane tickets from the Maldives back to the U.S. just yet. Apparently the two purchased a $4.75 million manse in Sussex, England.
The new pad's got six bedrooms, an indoor swimming pool, an underground garage, a sports pavilion, a game room and a greenhouse. Oh--and it's just down the block from the the Church Of Scientology's newly opened UK headquarters in East Grinstead, England.
Add that to their houses in Beverly Hills and Telluride, and we guess they'll be jetting all over the place to stay spiritual. Gross.
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by sedona
Hollywood skeletal queen and former Jack Nicholson muse, Lara Flynn Boyle, apparently hopped on a flight to San Antonio last weekend and got married to businessman Donald Ray Thomas (we know, who?!?). 
