CBB was once again buzzing with commentary this week, on everything from new siblings and baby names to traveling with kids and adoption. You all had a lot to say, and we loved reading every word! Here's a look at five great comments from the past week:

Posted by Kelly on Mark Wahlberg: Son Michael is Frustrated with New Baby :

We just told my 4 year old son, that we're expecting, and he asked if we can send it back if it's a girl...boys only! The funny part is that we're hoping for a girl. I guess one of us will be very excited!

Posted by Cezzie on Sound Off! Did You Reveal Your Baby Name Before Birth? :

I don't have children but my partner and I have decided to wait until future babies are born before we decide on a name - let alone tell other people our ideas. When my mother was pregnant with my brother, she told everyone she loved the name "Jack" and that was going to be his name. Unfortunately it only took one person to wrinkle their face and shoot "Jack!?!?!?" in a horrid way to make my mum change her mind. My brother was around weeks before he had a name :-S

Click "More" for three additional comments.

Posted by amandamay on Jodie Sweetin: Never Underestimate the Power of a Crying Baby! :

I used to travel by myself with my infant son between England and Seattle once a month -- 12 hours on a plane (more if you include layovers and travel to and from airports/waiting for flights). I know how hard that is!! I still fly all the time with my son (now 6) by myself and I can honestly say it DOES get easier. Overnight flights are the way to go :-)

Posted by Megan on For Mary-Louise Parker, Adoption Was a Childhood Dream Come True :

We adopted our son from Ethiopia last year. It was most definitely an eye opening experience! Also, very easy to do for a young couple just starting out and on one salary, so it's not like only movie stars have this option! Our next child will likely be through domestic adoption given the rising wait times for international adoptions, but I feel almost guilty that we aren't going back to Ethiopia for a sibling. There was so much poverty, so many kids (and adults) in need, it was just shocking! I'm still processing it all almost a year later, I still look through our trip pictures and think "people really live like that? Our son lived like that?" It really drives home how lucky we are over here.

Posted by Cordelia's Mommy on Beware the American Girl Franchise, Jokes Greg Kinnear :

OMG is he right about American Girl! My daughter turned 5 in July. It started 2 years ago for us, with a trip to the American Girl store in Los Angeles at The Grove. Then she got one of the Bitty Baby dolls, and various outfits and things to go with it. And, we ate in the cafe, where they also have seats for your dolls.

Back in April we got Elizabeth, and last month we got her best friend Felicity. We have several of the chapter books, additional outfits, and additional accessories, and we aren't nearly done completing the collection for just those two dolls. luckily she seems to want to work on that before branching out to other historical dolls. oh, and the other thing about AG is the matching outfits for girls and their dolls. She loves that! Note for other moms: sometimes Marshall's has very pretty dresses that come with matching dresses for 18" dolls (not AG brand) and they are $12.99-16.99, much better than AG prices!

Send us your favorite comments at CBBTips@gmail.com.

Actress/Producer/Director/Humanitarian/Mom Salma Hayek has signed on for a recurring role on the Emmy winning show 30 Rock.

She'll be playing Elisa, the love interest of Alec Baldwin's character Jack Donaghy.

We bet she'll bring lots of fire to Elisa!

It'll be fun to see how she plays off Alec and the talented Tina Fey!

New episodes of 30 Rock will start rolling out on October 30th.

[Image via WENN.]

I will give you a day by day of what went on:
6/16 (Monday)- It was arrival day. When I got into the San Diego Airport, I got my bags, met the Lead America Representative, got on the bus and headed to SDSU. While on the bus I got interesting commentary from Carlos and facts about SDSU and San Diego I also met some people from my conference one of the girls became my best friend over the course of the conference. Once we got to SDSU we registered, received our best friends (Name Tag and Binder), got our room keys, set up our room, I then later met my room mate then, my friends and I ditched out on the campus tour and went to Jack-In-The-Box, then it was dinner time, we had opening ceremony at Montezuma where we met our TL's and got a better understanding of what was going to go on during the conference, and heard some lectures. After opening, we had our very first breakout room. On the way to breakout rooms in Storm, I talked to Heidi my TL and met some kids in my group and in the first breakout room, we did some get to know you games. I was the first one to know everyone's name and volunteer to help out I think that was a good first impression. After breakout we made the long hall back to the residence hall and had bed checks where I met my RA. She is pretty cool and then went to bed to get ready for the next day.

6/17 (Tuesday)- We got up, had breakfast and then had our group picture, it was hard to get everyone together considering the fact we had 300 people. After that we went back to our residence hall, Tenocha and had a mini-lecture from Jenna and that is when we first met our patient Marty Brown, and then we had a lecture from Dr. Shawn Harrity. It was ok but kind of boring. I learned some good information and got some good notes down that I can later use. Then it was lunch time and breakout rooms again all the way at Storm. I was late and people were looking all over for me. Jenna actually brought me over. We had the most interesting chat on the way over. This time we worked on Active Listening where we had to try and not say anything and just listen to a person talk it was really difficult and then we had to talk on and on and the person listening couldn't respond. We also went over random stuff like how to communicate with a patient, abbreviations doctor's use on patient charts, etc. Then we started prepping for our patient simulation. I got put in a group with Andrew, and Alissa. After, we starting preparing for our PSA. We were doing it on eating disorders. Then we had dinner, and went back to Montezuma and heard a lecture about nursing from Dr. Catherine Todero. It really made me want to consider going into nursing. She went over how to become a nurse, the difference between nurses and physicians, and many other facts. Then we had a briefing about the field trip to UCSD and what was going to go on. Bed Checks and Sleep.

6/18 (Wednesday)- We had breakfast, then had a mini-lecture about Team Building from Jenna. I got a bunch of notes on that as well. Then we went to breakout rooms at storm and did some leadership activities, and prepared more for our upcoming simulation. Then we had lunch as a group. Then headed off to the UCSD School of Medicine. When we got there we had a little orientation of how today was going to go. Apparently this was going to be like a real doctor's visit and the patient was a professional actor. The thing is we were the doctors. Right before we went in, we looked at the charts, then we introduced ourselves to the patient and then we interviewed the patient. Alissa was the head doctor. After the interview. We got feedback on how we did. Our actress was named Nova and she gave us a 9 of 10. Yay!!! After our interviews and while our group was waiting for the rest of the groups to be done, we took a group pic, made up our team name and then our team cheer. We called ourselves the GIG's from the G-Unit. Then we did the knot game and I made up the idea of doing it as a whole team and we were successful yay!!!! Then we went back to SDSU the ride home was painful I really had to use the bathroom and after bugging Heidi enough I got to go. Once we got back to SDSU we had dinner and did our PSA's I think ours rocked!!! The Bed Check and Sleep.

6/19 (Thursday)- I got up, had breakfast, then rally time. For the first time ever I beat Heidi yay!!!! In our group if you are late to rally, you have to do a crazy dance. We then had a mini-lecture from the Head TL Jenna on personal leadership and as usual I got good notes, then it was time to do our physical it was soo fun. I was paired with Joey and then Elizabeth for the girl stuff. We first watched Elizabeth do it on Heidi then we did it on our partners. After, we went to the SDSU bookstore. I got some good stuff, a swimming t-shirt, a jacket and the Game Plan movie. Then Lunch, then as a group we went to the SDSU school of nursing. While waiting to go in, Heidi did her chicken dance, hilarious, once we went in we were anticipating that we were going to do a physical but instead we ended up doing another interview with a robotic patient and a nurse behind the curtain. Kind of lame. Then we had our breakout rooms. During this breakout room we went to the fishpond, and did our core values and talked about that and then we got kicked out and we went halfway to breakout rooms but stopped at Starbucks and we talked about life, and more about decision making and values. Then Dinner, a really boring lecture about Autism at Tenocha,Tula Hall, daily debriefing, room check and sleep.

6/20 (Friday)-Today we had breakfast, and went all the way to Montezuma to hear from Mr. Salamone about Lead America and how it was started about being Extraordinary. Apparently he is Heidi's favorite speaker. Then we got into our groups and heard about what each group was going to do for the physical exam. Our group was in charge of the mental portion. So we did our physical exam on "Marty Brown" aka Carlos. He was really cranky and sarcastic for some reason but I think it was all character. Then we had lunch, and then we got together with Lauren's group and did some leadership activities, such as Culture shock and being blindfolded and having to put a object back together blindfolded. We did this in front of the library. We didn't get all the way to storm. After this we went back to Tenocha, Tula hall specifically, for some EMT instruction, we learned basic first aid, and CPR and how to take vitals. Then we hung out, had dinner and had the brain bowl, our group did well I just wish they listened to me more. The daily debriefing, bed check and sleep.

6/21 (Saturday)-All day causal clothing and fun yay!!! We got up, had breakfast, got on the bus and while we were waiting Heidi led us in a round of Buttercup Baby and then we went to the R.H. Fleet Science Center. We watched an IMax movie on the Human Body which was really cool, the sound and picture surrounded you or at least from where I was sitting I felt totally submerged in the movie. The movie was pretty much projected on the ceiling. Then we got to explore. I actually found this place kind of boring I think it was meant more for younger kids. I did find some fun in the block building contest. I made huge towers but they kept on collapsing. Then we boarded the bus again to go to Sea Port Village. It was pretty much like a place to shop. I hung out with Ally, Alyssa, Amanda, and Jackie. Too bad I kept on getting left behind in almost every store. Our group took a lot of pics, one of which we gave to Heidi and towards then end I wanted to get food, I first went to find the TL's because I was really getting fed up with getting left behind. I talked to Amber and then she went and got Heidi. I felt bad because I felt like i was bothering Heidi but thankfully she didn't have to take me far. She took me to get Pizza, waited with me and then I found my group and stayed with them. I am soo thankful to have a TL that cares. Then we boarded the bus yet again to Mission Beach. I was thinking on the way there, we are going to a beach and we aren't even allowed to go in.. lame!! But when we got there I saw an amusement park, awesome!!! So at the amusement park I went on this ride called Chaos. It went in circles and made you go upside down. I sat with this one kid from Lead America. I think Parker and Ms. Lang were next to us. When we got up I started swearing and then when I was finally getting comfortable we went back down and then I found out they stopped the ride early because all the coins fell out of Parker's pocket.. nice. Then we went up again and I was screaming Little Red Wagon, the people below probably thought I was drunk or crazy or both haha. Then I went on a Roller Coaster. It was kind of lame though. Lastly I got some ice cream and headed to rally. I was early yay. We rallied up, went to the bus area, the busses were late, I hung out then we boarded the busses one last time for the day. Then we came back, cleaned up, had dinner, went to a Mini-Lecture where we heard about different diseases that Marty Brown may have, had breakout rooms outside where we figured out the diagnosis for Marty Brown was Parkinson's and we were right. Then we did some energizers, such as Wigaloo, Heidi got us out even though our group wasn't called, and we left had bed beck and went to sleep.

7/22 (Sunday)-We got up, had breakfast with the bagpipe guys, then randomly enough I met Heidi in the stairs on my way to rally, then we went to Montezuma Hall and heard two Mini-Lectures. One from Heidi about Advanced Leadership in the Medical Field. She made a boring topic really interesting. After her lecture our whole G-Unit was going to get up and doing the G, G, G, G, G-Unit!! Then it got narrowed down to Joey and I, then I was the only one who did it. I was really embarrassed yet glad I did. Then we heard a mini-lecture from Ms. Lang about being Alumni. Then we went to breakout rooms where we prepared for our final simulation. We did our breakout rooms this time in Montezuma hall yay!!! Then lunch which in when we met the bag pipe guys for the first time. I had a crush on one. Too bad he was in college. Ally and I ate with them. After lunch We had breakout rooms yet again. This time our group went to Starbucks with the A-Team and did a personality survey, you could end up a Lion, Peacock , Koala, Owl. I was a Peacock. Then we broke into groups and did a presentation. I then asked Heidi what she thought I was and she said we will have this conversation later. Apparently she was a Peacock as well. I forgot what Carlos was. Then we all went to the fish pond, the G-Units' favorite spot and we had breakout with the A Team, Carlos' group. We did our trust walk. The G-Unit got paired with the A Team. So we were doing this with people we didn't know so it was extra hard but in the end it all worked out well. Then we went back to Montezuma to do the cow's heart dissection. It was soo much fun. We learned about the heart and then we got our groups and I was the first one to volunteer to work with the scalpel. I made the first cut. Then after the dissection, we had breakout rooms again started off in Montezuma and then we went all the way to storm and did some more final simulation prep. Then dinner which ate with the bagpipe guys outside. It was Ally and I again I left to go get Brandon a new drink because i accidentally spilled his and I came back and my keys and tray were gone, found keys no tray. Looked all over for it. Then she left and I was left with the boys, they left to throw their food away and never camp back. I was left with Carlos, we hung out then I came back in and Heidi pulled me over to talk to me about something and I told her my keys were missing, then we got into this whole big thing with the bagpipe guys. Carlos came too and helped. Then I found my keys at the hostess podium. I apologized to the bagpipe leaders and to Carlos, TL Carlos and repeatedly to Heidi. We walked down together to get our bags, and then I was about to leave and she said she wanted to talk to me. So we talked about the boys and how being with them lowers my credibility and she forbade me from sitting with them, and we talked about life and friends, and my values, and then followed on the peacock talk and she knew that was what I was and how she enjoyed watching me grow and become that. We then just talked about life. I apologized for all the times I bothered her during the conference and she said that was ok. That is why she became a TL to help us out and I save her from having to do boring stuff like lesson plans in her room. Then she told me how good it made her feel when I stood up and did the G-Unit after her lecture. Then she told me to be myself. During that talk the bagpipe leader came and did a funny daffy duck voice and Heidi said it reminded her of her dad who did those voices. Then he told us that those boys were going to get kicked out because they were on the verge of getting kicked out anyway. But he told Heidi Carlos was a good boy I wanted her to hear that so maybe I could continue sitting with him. Then Heidi and I walked back to Tenocha. I felt on top of the world after talking to her and I got ready for the dance, came down, Heidi said I looked beautiful then we had the dance. I danced my heart out with all my friends and to my favorite toons. I even slow danced with one boy and got to see the TL's movin and groovin. Then back to our rooms for room check, did some last minute studying and then off to bed.

7/23 (Monday)- Today we started off with breakfast. I sat with some people from the G-Unit. Then with the boys, then we went to breakout rooms all the way at Storm and did our final simulation. We teamed up with Sammy's group the J Kru. They were the patients first. Our group was Allison, Enyienna, and myself. We interviewed the patient and then figured out the diagnosis and told Heidi our diagnosis and our reasoning behind it. Then they evaluated us. Too bad we ended up getting the wrong diagnosis. If only I spoke up about something maybe we would have gotten it right. Then we switched roles and were the patients. I did well I had all my information memorized. The group interviewing us even got the correct diagnosis. I was really impressed. Then while we were hanging out after we were all done Sammy told us the story about the haunted storm hall then he told us we might be able to go on a ghost hunt tonight. I will tell that story later. Then we all headed out to Lunch. I walked back with Heidi and Sammy and then to lunch. When we rallied to get ready for the bus we bugged Heidi and told her Sammy was too scared but we really wanted to go on a ghost hunt and she finally said maybe. Then to the San Diego U.S. Olympic Training Center. When we got there we heard from some Olympians who will be at the Olympics this summer. Heard from the head person. Then we broke into our groups and my group got a tour of the facilities first. It was amazing. I also learned that the Olympic training center for swimming was located in Colorado. Then we went and did some shopping in the gift shop and I got two swimming t-shirts. Then we watched a movie on summer olympics and then to group activities. In our group activities we pretty much played Mafia the whole time it was a lot of fun. I got killed early in the first round and in the second round I was mafia and the last mafia to get killed. Then some pics. We got group pics in front of the flaming torch and I got one by myself and one with Heidi and then onto the bus to go to the mall. Once we got to the mall. I went straight to Starbucks, my group disappeared so I hung out by myself the whole time, kept constant radar for TL's so I wouldn't get in trouble and when I did see a TL I got with a group of Lead America kids. I also took off my name tag so I would be less noticeable. Then we rallied and headed back to SDSU. Once we got back we cleaned up, I noticed my name tag was gone but Heidi told me to go to the site office later, a day left and I still needed a new one, then we rallied and went to breakout rooms once again. I was in a bad mood on the way there. I was pissed that my friends left me at the mall. Then when we were almost at Storm Heidi came to me and asked me what was wrong. I told her I was in a bad mood and she wouldn't give up until I told her why. Then she left and I thought that was it. When we got into the building, I went to the bathroom to start crying. My friends wouldn't leave me alone. So I was outside while they went to the bathroom, and I talked with Amanda and she made me feel a lot better. Then when we got back inside the building Heidi was heading right towards us. She told Amanda to go back inside and I started heading back in the room too but she told me to stay. We talked again about a bunch of stuff from true friends, to values to my self worth and that i should never change. During that talk Jenna came to see what was up and told me the kids were voting on who was going to do the presentation tomorrow and she said I was a great public speaker I should volunteer. Then Heidi walked me back to the room and said she was going to go do something. After we talk I always feel like nothing can bring me down. So when I got back inside, I volunteered myself. We then had fun and started working on the presentation. After we went on a ghost hunt, Sammy headed it. I stayed back with Heidi, Ally, and Amanda. I stayed with Heidi because I didn't want her to leave in case this was a setup, we climbed up the stairs to the 4th floor and then we were hanging out in the lighted stairs when someone said "boo" and it was Jenna. Someone saw her hiding under the table. It was really lame. We all started cracking up. Then I walked back to Tenocha with Heidi and Jenna and we talked about a lot of random things, then when we got to the dining hall area, I played soccer, talked with the bag pipe guys and then headed back to Tenocha, went up to the site office to ask about a new name tag and explained my story on how I lost it. Then I talked to Jenna and Ms. Lang about how I lost it by following the crowd and they told me to be myself and then I told them what I talked to Heidi about. Ms. Lang told me to just be myself and I will be remembered that way. She also said "If we had an award to give to the student who took full advantage of this opportunity the most, it would be you, you asked questions no one else would ask, you pay attention at lectures, take notes, all the TL's will remember you, you are an amazing girl! You know how Mr. Salamone was talking about being EXTRAORDINARY, you have that EXTRAORDINARY." I felt soo good after hearing that, then when I was heading down the stairs, I ran into Heidi once again, then I went into the lounge to sign Heidi's gift and went up to my room for bed check.

6/24 (Tuesday) Last Day- Today was a really happy yet sad day. It started off with breakfast with the boys as usual. Then my group went to Starbucks on the way to Starbucks, I was talking to Heidi, I found out in high school she was a paddler and cheerleader. Early on she also told us she did a lot of drama and was in the madrigals. At Starbucks, I got my drink, suggested the double chocolatey chip to Heidi, she loves it, found a place by myself and started writing my Thank You Letter to Heidi. Then we went back to our rooms to hang out for a little bit before the first lecture. Right when we were rallying to head over to the lecture, we gave our gift to Heidi, a picture of us from Seaport Village. Then we headed over to the lecture about Ethics from Michael Kalichman. It was kind of interesting and I asked a lot of good questions and got the information I wanted. Then after the lecture we had briefing on tomorrow, departure day, ugh the day I was not looking forward to. Then lunch with the boys. Then our group practiced for the presentation over at Montezuma. The presentation group was Ally, Joey, and myself. We did really well. Ms. Lang, Jenna really liked it and we made Heidi proud. Then we had another lecture about diet and physical activity, it was quite interesting. The guy was.. interesting. His name was Dr. James F. Sallis. Then a short lecture and final address from Ms. Lang and we went back to our rooms. I hung out and went to dinner late and ate by myself. Went back to my room and got ready for closing. We rallied up, got some pics, then headed over to breakout rooms. None of the groups made it there. Most of us stopped near the library. During breakout rooms we did our pot of gold. It was sort of like a year book where our group members wrote about us and how we improved. Heidi gave us a note card and wrote a little bit in our pot-of-gold. Then I took some pictures for another group and time for closing. It was soo sad. We had a farewell lecture from the retired Lt. Col Philip McChesney. He is the director of operations for Lead America. His lecture was ok. I was only half paying attention. Then we did Little Red Wagon and Wigaloo for the last time. We took pictures after, I took pictures again for a different group up on stage and my group took pics up on stage, did a lot of hugs and headed back to Tenocha. I got to my room, had room check, worked on Heidi's pot-of-gold. She told me to give it to her right before I went to sleep. I wrote a nice note, finished my letter to Heidi, and then after room check. I headed to the 5th floor to give it to her. Right before the door closed behind me, I heard my name being called I ignored it. I gave Heidi the letter and said "tell me how you like it", told her I will see her tomorrow she told me maybe not because she had early duty but hopefully. I gave her what I thought was my last hug and headed back downstairs. The TL's from my floor asked me where I was and I told them Heidi told me go give something to her before I went to bed that was ok with them. Then I went to sleep.

6/25 (Wednesday) Departure Day- It was the saddest day of my life. I woke up, finished packing, went down with Amanda to say good-bye because she had an early bus and then looked for Heidi no luck. I then went for breakfast with Jackie and later found Ally. We sat with the bagpipe guys for breakfast and then after we walked we them for a little while, and took pics. Ally and I headed back to Tenocha. I hung out in her room for a little while. Went downstairs still looked for Heidi no luck. I found her roommate and she said she was still asleep. I was surprised, it was 8 a.m. I told Swid to tell Heidi I need to talk to her. I went back upstairs. Did final prep for leaving. Then I was on my way out of my room to go hang out downstairs. It was close to 8:15, I saw Heidi on our floor. I asked her "Why are you here? This is the 4th floor, I thought you were on the 5th floor?" her "oops, wrong floor, it was probably destiny for us to meet your letter was soo sweet." Me "thank you" Her "keep in touch" Me "Will I see you again?" Her "not sure, if I see you downstairs before I leave on the 9 a.m. bus" After than I went back to my room and cried soo much. I packed final stuff and headed downstairs. I saw Heidi in the stairwell and started crying more. She gave me a hug and said it was going to be ok. Then I chilled down there, headed upstairs and saw here again in the stairs and later near the elevator. Each time i said good-bye I gave her a hug and it was harder and harder, I cried more and more. Then I had to say goodbye to my friends too. Sammy helped me with my luggage. Then while getting on the bus to the airport, I heard from Carlos that Heidi was going to be in my terminal which made me feel better. She was helping with the unaccompanied minors. I said goodbye to Victoria and Michelle and I went through security and up to my terminal, Heidi wasn't there. I later found out she was in the other terminal. I hung out with Chelsea and some other Lead America people, they left to get lunch, then I also saw it was time for the 11:00 bus to come. I went downstairs, met up with my friends, hung out and then went to McDonalds for Lunch and ran into the TL's once again. I ended up sitting with Victoria and Michelle. I learned a lot of interesting things from them and heard a lot of cool stories such as Michelle is going into Physiology, and Victoria is going to Med School and the story behind Heidi and Lauren's relationship. Then they walked with me to security, and said final goodbyes. Went upstairs, hung out with friends, said goodbye, got on the plane and hung out with Chelsea on the way back. Then we got home said goodbye and that was that.

Most Wanted/Flynet

Given their rocky start in life, that 11-month-old twins Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace are poised to celebrate their first birthdays next month must feel a little like winning the Super Bowl for parents Dennis Quaid and Kimberly Buffington Quaid. So when Dennis was asked during a Wednesday appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman how he plans to mark the occasion, his answer should come as no surprise: "We're going to Disneyland!" The 54-year-old actor harbors no illusions about the twins' ability to appreciate the experience, however. 

"We're going to watch them take a nap in 'the happiest place on earth,' and we'll ride 'It's a Small World After All' fifty times, I am sure."

Along for all those rides will be the twins' big brother Jack Henry, 16, from Dennis' previous marriage to actress Meg Ryan. Jack -- having recently obtained his license -- is an "excellent driver," Dennis shared.

Dennis' new movie, The Express, is in theaters October 10th.   

Source: The Late Show with David Letterman

This needs to stop. In Body of Lies, Russell Crowe once again pulls out his oldest gimmick: The Contrarian Detail. Again and again, Crowe plays tough guys — and tries to humanize them with some too poetic, too cute detail, to ridiculous, distracting effect. His Black Bart cowboy had a taste for painting in 3:10 to Yuma (remember him sketching the sagebrush in between gunfights?). His fearless sea captain had a fine hand with the violin in Master and Commander (how’d he keep that thing in tune?). And now, like his sensitive divorced dad–tough cop in American Gangster, his absurdly evil, Rumsfeldian CIA mastermind in Body of Lies is a magnet for soccer-dad clichés, ferrying his kids back and forth to school while plotting assassinations on his cell phone.

After breaking through with coherent, focused performances in Romper Stomper, Love in Limbo, and L.A. Confidential, Crowe hit on his formula in Gladiator. “The big mistake is their monolithism,” said Crowe, badmouthing other heroes. “The approach to my character is different, more subtle … [He] has a wife and a son, vineyard and olive groves … It can’t be more different to the action heroes you’re talking about. They’re crude characters with a gun in their hands!” After romanticizing that Roman killing machine as a loving dad and husband, Crowe won an Oscar.

Since then, Crowe hasn’t just rounded out his characters, he’s slathered them with odd accents, uncharacteristic hobbies, and odd tics. He always needs more to play (and, yes, it’s fair to lay the blame on him, since he has more control than most actors in the business. As Sam Raimi once said, "The problem with working with Russell is that he always has a good idea"). Unfortunately, Crowe hasn’t made his characters more interesting by giving them surprising characteristics, he’s just made them ridiculous. (Weirdly, his best recent films have been with Ron Howard, who’s pathologically averse to complexity.) Below, a few examples:

The Rough Sailor As Soulful Violinist: In Master and Commander, his Captain Jack Aubrey is not only a fearsome sailor, he has a beautiful artistic soul. He discusses literature with his best friend (Paul Bettany) and plays violin in his spare time. “Those same callused, thickened hands then pick up this delicate, feminine instrument, the violin,” crowed Crowe. “He will play from his heart the things he can never say.”

The Evil Gunslinger As Soulful Sketch Artist: In 3:10 to Yuma, not only can bad man Ben Wade bed prostitutes and shoot the wings off a horsefly from a hundred yards, he can draw! The rough-rider artiste likes long walks and sketching the horizon, or naked female form, romantically framing one drawing on a scraggly piece of scrub brush for Christian Bale to discover.

Mean Streets Plus Kramer vs. Kramer: Since real-life hard-ass detective Ritchie Roberts apparently wasn’t interesting enough, Crowe gives him a complicated home life and a child-custody case to fight in American Gangster.

The Wall Street Asshole As Great Guy: In a way, the preposterous film A Good Year is entirely a collection of contrarian tics. We’re told that Max is a Wall Street asshole prick good-for-nothing, but everything he does proves that he’s a wonderful, tender, wounded soul who had a magical childhood. Everything is overkill; nothing makes any psychological sense.

Rumsfeld As Soccer Dad: None of Crowe’s yin-yang characters are more egregiously rounded than the insane soccer-mom Pentagon sonofabitch he plays in Body of Lies. Over and over again, Crowe is seen driving kids to school, or watching their soccer games, at the exact moments that Leonardo DiCaprio happens to call his cell phone with a new update on a high-profile Middle Eastern catastrophe. This allows Crowe to yell threats and issue life-or-death commands in a weird country-boy accent — while lovingly dropping off his daughter at school in the SUV. Isn’t that just crazy? Yeah, it is.

What’s Next? His next part isn’t just one dream role of contrarian more-is-more gimmickry. It’s two: Russell Crowe will play both Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham in his next film with the ever-indulgent Ridley Scott. Crowe’s revisionist Robin Hood sounds like it will reveal Hood as a hood and the Sheriff as a caring father and lute player.

Dear Manolo,

I’ve been invited to an outdoor wedding in upstate New York next weekend. I hate to be cold, so I’m planning on wearing a woolen skirt and heavy tights, and I need boots to go with them. The problem is I’m four months pregnant and my feet have swollen to gigantic proportions. Please help.

Bridget

Manolo says, the outdoor upstate wedding at the end of October? The Manolo sincerely hopes that there is the barn nearby to which the wedding party and guests can retreat when the frosty rain begins.

Actually, the weather is also frequently spectacular during this time of the year, with the leaves changing their colors, and the farmers harvesting their traditional crops of Indian corn and jack-o-lanterns.

Of the course, the Manolo hopes that the festivities will fully partake of the Ichabod-Crane, Sleepy-Hollow-ish spirit of bucolic fun that is available in that part of the country in October. Perhaps instead of the first dance, the bride and groom can bob for the apples.

Look here is the Jumper from Sudini, the handsome, low-heeled, moderately-priced, toe-cap tall boot available in the wide sizes for the girl with the wide feets.

Successful people go the extra mile. Plain and simple.

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Do you exceed expectations? Do you surprise people with more than they were expecting from you? Do you look for ways that you could be of more service, or for projects that you could help out on?

People notice hard workers. They notice special services and all the small touches that make dealing with you so pleasurable. And when they are talking to their friends they will mention you and recommend you because you are the one who stands out.

Do you wonder what's in it for you? Do you think it's unfair to give more when you're not being compensated for it or recognized for it? Do you have the "it's not my job" mentality?

To be successful you must change your thinking. You can only win by making extra efforts. People who go the extra mile always get payback. You will discover yourself becoming more self-confident, more self-reliant and more influential with those around you.

You will get noticed! People will see that you pay attention to detail, that you consider all the small things that really make a business successful, that you care about your image, and that you belong with all the other people who work hard to achieve. You will attract new business and new opportunities.

Listen to any success story and you will hear of someone who worked exceptionally hard to get what they wanted.

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What have you been doing for the past couple of years? The same thing? How quickly have you advanced? How quickly has time gone by? Think of what you could accomplish if you made it a habit to exceed everyone's expectations. Image what doors could be open to you if you decided to be of better service and value.

How are you willing to go the extra mile? What kind of extra service are you willing to provide in order to stand out from the rest? What areas of your life could you be giving more of your effort and time, becoming more valuable, and improving your reputation?

Be willing to treat everyone like you'd treat your dearest friend. Don't skimp on service. Don't be mediocre or run of the mill. Show people what you are capable of. Show them that you care about your image and reputation.

When it comes to success, the people who are willing to go the extra mile get there that much faster!

About the Author: Jack Canfield, America's #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com

Vanessa Paradis is ”intimidated” by the red carpet.The French singer says she and partner Johnny Depp deliberately shun the showbiz lifestyle and she feels uncomfortable when forced to attend glamorous events or socialize with other celebrities.

She admitted: “The red carpet is not something I really know how to work. It intimidates me. I feel very tiny.”

“I don’t have famous neighbors and if I did, I’d avoid them. I don’t live the jet-set.”

“I’m really lucky. I do stay in wonderful houses, hotels and that’s amazing but we’re not very sociable at all. We don’t go to parties or premieres.”

Vanessa, 35 - who has been dating the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star for 10 years - also revealed she isn’t sure she could treat another man as well as she treats Johnny.

She added to Elle magazine: “Maybe I’m a good girlfriend because I’m his girlfriend. I’m not sure I’d be a good girlfriend to anyone else.”

Vanessa and Johnny, 44, have two children. Nine-year-old Lily Rose and Jack, six.

The loser that is Christie Brinkley's ex-husband, Peter Cook, is speaking out again to the media.

This time he's denying that a judge granted a restraining order against him - filed by Brinkley to prevent him from seeing their two kids during his visitation this weekend.

Cook says, "There was no temporary restraining order issued against [me]. Ms. Brinkley sought to suspend my parenting time with our children for this weekend, and her motion was denied."

Brinkley is apparently worried that their two kids, Jack, 13, and daughter Sailor, 10, would be negatively impacted after his shiteous interview on 20/20, who will apparently book any idiot on the show now.

Cook's attorney, most likely paid with Brinkley's money, says that Cook "had no intention of exposing the children to this interview and would be happy to take them away for the weekend if that would make Ms. Brinkley more comfortable - so that's what he's doing."

But turns out Cook is just trying to make himself look good.

According to Brinkley's lawyer, "court order mandates" that Cook HAS to take the kids "away from his home, and he can't expose them to the 20/20 broadcast. Christie Brinkley’s sole concern is to protect her children."

Let's hope people stop interviewing Cook. He's got nothing of truth or importance to say it seems.

[Image via WENN.]

When it comes to raising her three children -- Oliver, 17, and twins Jax Josephand Jaid Thomas, 11 ½ months -- Garcelle Beauvais-Nilonis able to sum it all up in six simple words: "Lots of work, lots of fun." Beginning the journey of motherhood once again, Garcelle is blessed with two babies this time around, and although she has had plenty of time for the idea of twins to sink in, she admits that it is still hard to believe that there are two baby boys! "I'll look down and see them both crawling and go, 'Oh my God, I have two of them," shares Garcelle in new interview with FAMEbaby. Along with two babies to cuddle, Garcelle and her husband Michael Nilonhave realized that their twins can be double the trouble as well, forcing the couple to completely baby-proof their home. Although the task was somewhat "daunting," the actress says they have achieved their goal, as she dares anyone to "try and get a spoon out of a drawer or go to the bathroom. It's like Fort Knox."

While baby-proofing the house may have been a bit difficult, naming the babies proved to be a dream come true -- literally! Finding out that they were expecting boys, it didn't take long for Garcelle to come up with Jax, a name that she had always dreamed of calling her son, and also coincidentally a family name. "My father-in-law's name is Jack. Even before meeting my husband I always wanted to have a son named Jack, which is bizarre," Garcelle explains. Although the original plan was to name the baby Jaxson, it was decided to simply shorten it to Jax. With one baby accounted for, the second, Jaid, came down to the fact that Garcelle "just needed another J name." Despite sharing the same first initial, Garcelle reveals that when it comes to the boys' personalities, the two couldn't be more different. Calling Jax "our flirt, our dancer" and giving him the nickname "Mr. Personality," Garcelle describes him as a very easy, outgoing baby. This has allowed him to share special time with his big brother Oliver -- "Jax is a little easier and friendlier, [Oliver's] bonded a little more with him," says Garcelle. Compared to his twin, Jaid -- who also "has a great personality" -- takes a little longer to warm up, as he makes people "work for the smile. He's much more observant."

Click 'more' to read about Garcelle's thoughts on using the Ferber method, weightloss and her plans for the future!

After years of uninterrupted sleep, having two newborns in the house caused for some adjustment on the couple's part. While the two boys are thankfully sleeping through the night, the same wasn't true in the beginning. Sharing that they stuck with the Ferber method, Garcelle admits that although they had a baby nurse for the first few weeks, nighttime was definitely rough! Reluctant to get a nurse from the start as Garcelle says she "had waited so long to have a baby," after much input from friends and family, the actress felt that more hands for feedings were needed. However, once the twins were six weeks old, the couple were ready for the challenge of dealing with the night routine on their own. While both Garcelle and Michael got up, the actress admits that the majority of the time she was left with the feedings while her husband tended to the diaper surprises! "I'd have both of them up and be like 'There's a poopy diaper and there's a feeding, who do you want?' Most of the time he'd take the poopy diaper, which was great!" As Michael became more comfortable with the boys, Garcelle shares that he realized that parents should be warned that when a baby wakes up, be prepared to stay up for awhile!

"My husband said the thing no one ever told him was that it really takes 45 minutes to an hour when they wake up, because it's not just feeding them and putting them back to bed."

An older mom at 41-year-old her second time around, Garcelle shares that raising babies "in a different place in my life," has given her much more tranquility and understanding. "It's much easier to come up with the patience than before," admits Garcelle. Additionally, having children in a world where technology is always available to provide parents with the latest information takes a lot of the pressure off, while at the same time causing an overload of knowledge! "There's another side to it where there's too much information, which can freak you out as well," explains Garcelle. With the significant age gap between her children helpful for Garcelle, the same goes for Oliver when it comes to making friends! Although the teenager rarely babysits -- or according to Garcelle, does so "in the middle of text messaging" -- he has learned the benefits of having adorable babies in the house!

"When friends come over, especially girls, [Oliver will] be like, 'Come and see my brothers.'"

With two babies, a teenager, and a husband, Garcelle shares that she was in no rush to shed her pregnancy weight. Depending on the Scarsdale food delivery service as she initially had "no time to cook," the actress -- while realizing that many celebrities do -- did not hire a trainer or a chef to ease up the burden. Instead, she contributes her weightloss to a bit of luck, a lot of moderation, and trust that getting back to pre-pregnancy shape was possible.

"After having the babies, I thought they had left one in there because I was still looking pregnant. We can't pressure ourselves. You do it when you can, how you can. A lot of walking in the morning with them helped."

Continuing her attitude of fully enjoying her family, Garcelle is only "just starting to take meetings and read scripts." Shocked that people would ask how many nannies the family has, she shares that she has
"one and me and my husband." The choice to be completely hands-on and soak up the time with her babies instead of rushing back to work comes following Garcelle's choice to "be a little selfish," as she explains quite simply that she "wants to be around them." Following the idea that "by the time the right job comes along, I'm sure I'll be ready," Garcelle is focusing on her up and coming jewelry line, a fun and creative job that she can do on her own time. "The jewelry line is something I can create at home, so I'm not going completely stale creatively," shares Garcelle, who says the line -- including a special bling line -- will be "fun, but you don't have to worry about spending a lot in case [the kids] lose it."

Source: FAMEbaby