Entertainment

WORLD WIDE CELEB

So, did you hear? Celebrity gossip is totally out for 2009. But celebs dishing about themselves – that’s hotter than ever. We’ve selected the best star-penned blogs, from comedy to country to cranky. A whopping four of them turn out to be from “The Office.” (Maybe it’s easy to blog when your acting job involves sitting in front of a computer all day.) Of course, we can’t be absolutely certain that any of these people are really who they say they are. As with Wikipedia or online dating, take everything you read here with a web-savvy grain of salt.

PHOTOS: CELEBRITIES WHO BLOG

Ricky Gervais

* rickygervais.com/thisside

ofthetruth.php

Why we like it: The online journal from the creator of “The Office” and “Extras” is always infused with Gervais’ trademark sharp wit, even when indulging his egotistical side. Updated:

Daily to weekly

Sample: Sept. 2008

“Well I’ve got at least one answer ready for when I do ‘Inside the Actors Studio.’ What’s my favourite sound? I’ll tell you. It’s that sound your cat makes when you’ve been away in North America for three weeks and it meows for five hours (literally) when you get home, showing so much affection that it starts to get hilarious. And as it starts to lose its voice it goes through the phase of sounding like a lion cub, then quacking like a duck until eventually it rasps like a baby crow. It is the cutest f – – – ing thing in the world. It is still going now.”

Kanye West

* kanyeuniversecity.com/blog

Why we like it: The rap star updates his photo-driven blog almost daily, making it a window into whatever gadget or supermodel he’s coveting that minute. Also features an occasional industry-driven rant.

Updated: Daily to weekly

Sample: Tues., June 24, 2008

“I understand if people don’t like me because I like me or if people think tight clothes look gay or people say I run my mouth to [sic] much, but this Bonnaroo thing is the worst insult I’ve ever had in my life…this is the maddest I ever will be. I’m typing so

f—ing hard I might break my f—ing Mac book Air!!!!!!!…JUST SAY THIS OUT LOUD IN A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE, ‘KANYE DOESN’T CARE ABOUT GIVING A GOOD PERFORMANCE.’ CAN ANYONE HONESTLY SAY THAT ?????????”

Steve-O

* myspace.com/steveoarmy

Why we like it: We always wondered what the “Jackass” star was thinking while he was mutilating himself in front of a giggling group of like-minded buffoons on MTV. Turns out it hasn’t always been such a laugh riot.

Updated: Weekly to monthly

Sample: April 6, 2008

“When someone sees me staple my nuts, or any of the other more idiotic things I’ve done, I like to think that they are distracted from their own problems…Lately, however, I’ve realized that I can do better. I can do better than to consider myself a success for slowly committing suicide with drugs and alcohol while frequently getting naked, urinating everywhere, stapling my genitals, and vomiting so much that doctors gasp at the sight of my esophagus…I am not saying that I will stop hurting myself to amuse people. What I am saying, however, is what drives me to achieve sobriety is the idea of giving people a chance to look up to me for good reasons.”

John Mayer

* johnmayer.com/Blog

Why we like it: It’s fun to know that even when you’re super-famous and dating Jennifer Aniston, you still have time on your hands to write comments about many, many reader-submitted photos.

Updated: Daily to weekly

Sample: Wed., Dec. 17, 2008

“I have to say that even though I was 98 percent earnest in the call for fans to bake cakes, I’m humbled by just how sweet the pictures I’ve been seeing are…there’s something sort of moving about seeing friends and family huddled around a cake, posing together with huge smiles on. The baking might have been spurred on by my blog, but I have a feeling there is more to it than that.”

Jenna Fischer

* myspace.com/pambeesley

Why we like it: “The Office” star Fischer is Pam, her sweet receptionist character, and Pam is Fischer. We figure the funny, unassuming actress thinks so too, given the title of her myspace page.

Updated: Weekly to monthly

Sample: Oct. 17, 2008

“The cast was in the conference room doing the buffet scene for the ‘Weight Loss’ episode. Mindy [Kaling] and I were discussing our favorite recipes and the joys of cooking with a crockpot. Angela [Kinsey], who was sleep deprived and loopy, was standing nearby.”

Mindy: How often do you cook?

Jenna: Pretty much every night now.

Mindy: What’s your favorite meal?

Jenna: Probably stuffed peppers in the crockpot. I love crockpot meals.

Mindy: Yeah, I want to learn how to cook some of those.

Jenna: Oh my God, they are great! You throw a bunch of stuff in there and let it cook all day.

Brian: That’s what she said.

Mindy/Jenna: Thanks, Brian. Gross.

Mindy: Weren’t you using that delivery service for a while?

Jenna: Yeah, it was cool but I prefer cooking.

Mindy: Doesn’t that take a lot of time?

Jenna: Yeah, but it’s so satisfying. I dunno. I just like it better.

Angela: Me too!!! I LOVE butter! I put it on everything! I can’t get enough!

Mindy: What?

Angela: I love butter! Didn’t you just say you like butter?

Jenna: No, I said, ‘I like it BETTER.’

Angela: Really?

Jenna: Yeah, believe it or not, we were not having a conversation about how much butter we eat.

Case Closed.”

Taylor Swift

* myspace.com/taylorswift

Why we like it: Swift’s writing is the blog equivalent of country music: sweet, homespun, ulta-sincere and peppered with folksy self-promotion.

Updated: Weekly to monthly

Sample: Dec. 28, 2008

“It’s been an awesome Christmas break for me. We’ll start with the wisdom teeth. Mission accomplished. They’re out. That happened a few days after my birthday (‘Happy Birthday, we’re going to yank your teeth out now’) and then I was in bed for a good three days. My band came over and sat with me and we watched ‘CSI’.”

Lindsay Lohan

* myspace.com/lindsaylohan

Why we like it: She may be the world’s most famous sort-of lesbian, but at heart Lohan’s just a typical gal with a loose grasp of grammar/spelling who wants to bare her soul on myspace.

Updated: Weekly to monthly

Sample: Mon., Dec. 8, 2008

“They should just stop asking altogether, once and for all if she and i are broken up because frankly, if we ever ever did . . . i would say it before they could even think of asking. i’d say it here probably. . . i say everything here on myspace. okay. well, i hope that all the gossip magazines and sites, and lurkers read this cuz it’s not true. ahh! i love myspace because i can just write, and i love writing, and i can prove all the liars wrong . . . wow -the people that make s**t up must really feel silly, embarrassed, out of stories, scr*w*d, f – – – ed, punk’d, and so much more. because, i can use myspace and just let everyone know what’s really going on. which is so much more fun! cuz now, people can get to know the REAL me. yay!”

Diablo Cody

* myspace.com/diablocody

Why we like it: Of course the woman who coined the phrase “honest to blog” would have one. As obnoxious as she can sometimes sound, Cody’s got a serious way with words.

Updated: Weekly to monthly to every so often

Sample: Sept. 18, 2008

“I know my name is fake and that it annoys you. What, do you hate Queen Latifah and Rip Torn, too? Writers and entertainers have been using pseudonyms for years. Chances are, you’re spewing bile under an assumed screen name yourself. I’m sorry if you think I’m like some inked-up quasi-Suicide Girl derby c— from 2002, but I like my fake name. It’s engraved on an Oscar. Yours isn’t.”

Courtney Love

* myspace.com/courtneylove

Why we like it: It’s good to know that Love is still a loud, unapologetic platinum train wreck. We could do with less detailed screeds about lawsuits, though. Updated: Weekly to monthly Sample: Oct. 16, 2008 “Oh that shoot – it turned out to be one of the very best shoots of my life, possibly cos i had a great team and a great shooter and it was just cracking whoop assed great chemistry and also i wore my own clothes as in ones i made and some from my collection eg Givenchy , Rick Owens and Todd Lynn and Marc but also antique Worth, Poiret and Vionettte and even better my own clothes i MADE with my own two hands = i will never sell f —ing clothes for others, its not my job, i like my own vision of clothes and what i do with fashion is my business…

HUBBY YOUD HAVE BEEN SO PROUD! I PROMISE I PRETENDED YOU WERE THERE “

Jeff Bridges

* Jeffbridges.com

Why we like it: Bridges apparently likes to draw (above). Most of his entries are Magic Marker-y sketches rather than straight-up blog posts, which is refreshing if often confounding.

Updated: Every so often

Sample: “Here’s something you might get a kick out of. My buddy Bernie Glassman has created a blog to study koans. He uses ‘The Big Lebowski’ as source material – featuring koans by the Coens.”

Matthew McConaughey

* matthewmcconaughey.com/journal

Why we like it: Reads just like you’d think the actor would sound: a little goofy, obsessed with the outdoors and slightly incoherent (but this may be due to the actor typing in a scrawly handwriting font).

Updated: Infrequently

Sample: Mon., Sept. 1, 2008

“8 km through finish line…more mental fun and fatigue…not knowing the track, my mind thought (rather, was hoping) that each ‘turn’ was the ‘final turn,’ and that the finish line was ‘just around the corner’…of course, it was not…more mental fatigue of false anticipation…take deep breaths through the nose…and oxygenate the lower body…the air is thick…its [sic] tough to breathe as deeply as id [sic] like…my whole body feels like ‘slow bake in the oven on 180.’ “

Lily Allen

* myspace.com/lilymusic

Why we like it: Brit singer Allen’s amusingly cranky, revealing posts make you feel like you really know her, albeit perhaps a bit more than you wanted to.

Updated: Weekly to monthly

Sample: Oct. 29, 2008

“hello, i wore a loose fitting t shirt yesterday. I was very hot in London yesterday, and it’s no secret I don’t like wearing bras, besides i don’t need to, measuring in at 32A it hardly seems necessary. My boob fell out twice and people on the blogs are saying it was a publicity stunt. Can I just say, i have been keeping myself very much to myself recently, I’ve been gardening, decorating my new flat and looking after my greiving [sic] grandfather.

“If i wanted publicity, I’d be accepting invitations not to mention money for turning up to glamourous events. I’m actually trying really hard to be out of the public eye, as I’m really proud of the work I’ve put into my album and I want people to appreciate the music, yes I enjoy attention and praise, thats why i went into this job. But don’t accuse me of purposely slipping out of my clothes to get attention and press.”

Dane Cook

* http://www.danecook.com

Why we like it: One can appreciate Cook’s well-honed comic stylings without having to listen to his 5-year-old-on-sugar delivery style.

Updated: Weekly to monthly

Sample: Aug. 11, 2008

“Here are a few things that truly blow about my upcoming movie poster to promote the release of the film opening on Sept. 19th:

“Graphics: Whoever Photoshopped our poster must have done so at taser point with three minutes to fulfill their hostage takers’ deranged obligations.They should have called Donnie Hoyle and had him give a tutorial using ‘You Suck at Photoshop’ templates. This is so glossy it makes Entertainment Weekly look wooden.

“Fashion: My character is sporting a very high collar. I mean, damn, they should be snowcapped at that altitude. It’s going for the vampire lurking in the castle basement vibe. An Olympic pole-vaulter would have a tough go clearing that collar. I’m also able to turn my head comfortably 360 degrees, because I was raised in an abandoned barn by a family of owls.

Set: Pick one. This entire film takes place:

A. on Gattaca

B. at the Fortress of Solitude

C. inside a crystal wind chime.”

Mindy Kaling

* thingsiboughtthatilove.com

Why we like it: Kaling, who writes for, produces and plays resident ditz Kelly Kapoor on “The Office,” is possibly as materialistic as her on-screen counterpart, but with a wicked sense of humor. Her blog’s devoted entirely to, well . . . the URL says it all.

Updated: Weekly

Sample: Oct. 24, 2008

“J.Crew totally went off its meds this year and I f – – – ing loved it. Zebra stripes. Book prints on textiles. Embroidered critters on ties, pants, even cashmere. Polka dot satin shoes. Platinum silver down parkas. And oh, the colors! It was like Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium meets Barbados in the J.Crew idea factory, and I am so psyched on it.

“And the sales! Those famous J.Crew ‘take our merchandise for free’ sales. As I’ve said, I’m not a big fan of preppy fashion, but this year, I was 100 percent onboard. You’d see some J.Crew dress and think, ‘ho-hum, simple empire waist dress, no big deal’ and then find out it comes in, like canary yellow or fire engine red. Za-zow! And everything at J.Crew is totally affordable, returnable and ego-boosting (I wear a size 4? Hot dog!).”