Yesterday the world lost the undisputed Queen of Disco Donna Summer when she passed away at the age of 63 of lung cancer. Today the world is still reeling from the loss. Singer Beyoncé Knowles, who I argue owes a huge debt of gratitude to Summer, has posted a touching tribute to Donna Summer on her official website. Click below to read what Bey has to say about Donna‘s tragic passing.

“DONNA SUMMER MADE MUSIC THAT MOVED ME BOTH EMOTIONALLY AND PHYSICALLY TO GET UP AND DANCE. YOU COULD ALWAYS HEAR THE DEEP PASSION IN HER VOICE. SHE WAS SO MUCH MORE THAN THE QUEEN OF DISCO SHE BECAME KNOWN FOR, SHE WAS AN HONEST AND GIFTED SINGER WITH FLAWLESS VOCAL TALENT. I’VE ALWAYS BEEN A HUGE FAN AND WAS HONORED TO SAMPLE ONE OF HER SONGS. SHE TOUCHED MANY GENERATIONS AND WILL BE SO SADLY MISSED.

MY LOVE GOES OUT TO HER FAMILY DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME.

LOVE,

B”

This is a very nice sentiment but honestly, there would be no Beyoncé without Donna Summer. In fact, dance/pop music as we know it owes much to Summer’s trailblazing career in the 70s and 80s. Donna‘s music came well before its time and we are all the better for it. Donna Summer and her talent touched so many people, it’s impossible to quantify her importance. I am happy to see that Beyoncé posted one of her now trademark letters to Donna Summer because many of us, just like Beyoncé, are huge fans of her insane talent.

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We are just 70 days away from the start of the 2012 London Olympic Games and that means that the festivities for the Summer Games are officially underway. Earlier today, the Olympic Flame was flown from Athens, Greece to England where it will begin its 70 trek to the Olympic Stadium to mark the start of the games. British athlete David Beckham was on hand to accept the Olympic Flame upon its arrival so that he could pose for some photos with the golden torch. Check it out below.

The Olympic flame has touched down on UK soil this evening ready for its 70-day journey through Britain. Arriving on board a special golden liveried British Airways flight from Athens, the Airbus plane ‘Firefly’ Flight 2012 touched down at RNAS Culdrose, Cornwall at 7.25pm. It was carried down the steps of the plane by Princess Anne, who was followed by Games chairman Seb Coe, London mayor Boris Johnson and former England captain David Beckham … The distinctive gold London 2012 torch was then lit from the lantern and was passed to Beckham. He then climbed on to a stage and used the torch to light a cauldron at the air-sea rescue base, where it will burn overnight … Lord Coe said: ‘The arrival of the Olympic Flame on home soil is a magical moment for any host country. ‘It will connect millions of people around the UK to the Games in a unique way and allows us to celebrate the best of the UK and its people.’ Mr Clegg said the Torch relay would allow Britain to showcase itself to the world. He said: ‘Today, the Olympic Flame begins its journey across the nation. Eight thousand people will pass it from hand-to-hand, a human chain that reaches the length and breadth of Britain. It will visit a thousand towns, and be seen by millions; with every step, the excitement will build. And 10 weeks from now, the world will watch as the flame arrives at the new Olympic Stadium, bringing with it the hopes of a nation. This Games is for everyone. Between now and the Opening Ceremony, we have a chance to showcase our sporting heritage, our people and our culture, the things that made us such a great choice for the 2012 Olympic Games.’

And so … the first part of the London Games is officially underway. Over the next 70 days, as the torch makes its way all around Britain, the excitement and anticipation will build leading up to the Summer Olympic Games. Invariably, I get sucked into the Olympic Games so I fully expect to be sucked in again. Even as a child, I would LOVE rooting for the US athletes competing in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The last Olympic Games made me go gaga over Michael Phelps quest for gold medals. It remains to be seen if I will be as excited this time around but this first glimpse of the Olympic Torch is starting to stir those feelings. Are you excited for this year’s Summer Games in London?

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Back in January we learned that The CW is moving forward with a prequel TV series to Sex and the City based on the Candice Bushnell novel The Carrie Diaries. In February we learned that Anna Sophia Robb was cast in the role of the teenaged Carrie Bradshaw. In March we learned that the series officially began filming production in NYC … and today, we get our FIRST LOOK at the series. The CW has released a new trailer for The Carrie Diaries that previews for us the series that is set to debut on The CW next midseason … check it out in full below.

Just as I suspected, this series already looks cute. Not only will it be fun to see Carrie Bradshaw as a teenager but it’ll be really fun to see her being a teenager in the 1980s! I mean, the jokes alone on that front will be awesome … if handled properly.

I have to say, tho, that I’m bummed that The Carrie Diaries has been scheduled as a midseason replacement series … which means we’ll have to wait that much longer to see the show. But, if you recall, a little show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a midseason replacement on The WB and look how that turned out. I like this trailer, I like Anna Sophia Robb as Carrie and I like how this series has turned out. I do not like the mental image of a hot dog being shoved thru a keyhole but … I guess you can’t love everything. What do y’all think? Does this trailer look cute or what?

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Great news for the world of literature and film today – we have learned via Deadline that Patricia Highsmith’s great novel, The Price of Salt, is being adapted into a new film, Carol, which is set to star the wonderful, Cate Blanchett and Mia Wasikowska. As you may know, the beautiful story follows two women, and their complex relationship, set in 1950s New York City. Do you think Cate and Mia were a good casting decision?

Carol won’t film until February 2013, but already I’m excited about this one. As you probably know by now, I am a huge Cate Blanchett fan, and I think this is the perfect role for her. The Price Of Salt is a heart breaking and beautiful story, and both Cate and Mia are lucky to have scored these roles, as are the producers lucky to have scored these actresses.

According to the infallible Wiki, The Price of Salt, has a latent lesbian reading. From someone who has read the book, it certainly does, and it has the making for a powerful movie with excellent acting. I can totally see Cate and Mia in this movie and in their respective roles. Cate will be brilliant as the elegant Carol. Likewise, I think Mia will really work wonders as the young and lonely, Therese Belivet.

Oooh, I am so excited about this one, I can’t even tell you. I think they have scored two of the most talented actresses working today, and they will be perfect in this movie. What do you think of the casting and the fact that the book is being adapted into a film?

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Snow White And The Huntsman opens June 1

Charlize Theron may be an evil queen, but she’d have nobody to chase in Snow White And The Huntsman without Kristen Stewart‘s Snow White. Taryn rejoins us from outside London, where she’s been conducting interviews with the entire cast, and asks Kristen what attracted her to the role. Hmmm, maybe Chris Hemsworth? (Check out Part 2 of the interview below!)

A few weeks ago we heard about Courtney Love’s transition into the world of art after she held her first exhibition in Chelsea, New York. The collection, called ‘She’s Not Even That Pretty‘ included a bunch of drawings all with the theme of a blond woman in a seemingly chaotic mess. Most people, even those without an education in art criticism, could tell that this collection was in some form an obvious self portrait session. Today, Courtney has posted onto Twitter a pic of herself and her new best friend, Gwyneth Paltrow, along with a message that suggests Gwynnie is wanting to buy one of these artworks from Court.

“God I love you.Fred is going to call you to ship it to you. Buy it? No.. I painted for you, its yours!” Courtney tweeted today to Gwyneth, along with this pic…

Now, Courtney Love and Gwyneth Paltrow are not a very likely pair, in my opinion. Gwyneth is usually the epitome of poise and alas, poor Court, well, is not quite that. But this pic seems to show the two women to be new BFFs. Courtney doesn’t look that sober in this pic either… hmm…

I went to see Courtney’s exhibition in NYC and I have to say, I actually didn’t hate it. In fact, there were one or two artworks which I quite liked, in particular the two extra large drawings which had some paint thrown in too. I wonder if Gwyneth was interested in the same ones?

I don’t think Ms Love is going to become a full time artist, and I know there were readers of this blog that didn’t like her style of art at all. But, for me anyway, I’m typically a fan of abstract and chaotic artworks and it seems Ms Paltrow is too. Now, more importantly, is this the start of a new BFF duo?

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Yesterday was still very much a quiet day for me … ever since I got home from NYC Monday night, I’ve felt pretty cruddy. My throat has been sore, I’ve been really phlegmy and totally exhausted. I haven’t had the energy to go for a run since I did my 6 miles in Central Park on Monday so I’m itching to get out there again (I didn’t even make it out to see my concert last night). I thought I’d be up for a run yesterday but I just couldn’t do it. Today’s the day, tho, I’m gonna try and run for as long as possible to keep my weekly milage up. All of this exhausted downtime has afforded me the opportunity to read, to, so I’m happy to report that I’m just over halfway thru A Clash of Kings, book 2 of George R.R. Martin‘s series A Song of Ice and Fire.

As you may know, season of of the HBO series Game of Thrones is based on A Clash of Kings so I’ve been really enjoying watching the eps and reading the book. I’ve noticed that there are quite a few differences from the book than the TV series … much more so than was different in season one. I started rewatching the eps from season two last night to help me keep the book in context — which is very helpful — but I’m really looking forward to moving on to the subsequent books and finishing them before season 3 of Game of Thrones debuts on HBO next year.

But, as much as I’ve been enjoying all the reading, I’m kinda anxious to get back to the running. If I’m going to run 2 half marathons and a full marathon later this year, I have to keep up my training. I should be breaking the 9 mile mark soon. Tonight, David and I have a double date with our friends Gray and Jeff so that will be fun. I hope all y’all are having a great Friday and will have a happy weekend ahead!

• BFF yearbook photos. [Buzzfeed]
• Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin reveals his quibbles with The Avengers. [ONTD!]
• Patrick Dempsey goes kayaking in St. Bart’s. [PopSugar]
• Deadmau5 is not a fan of Pauly D. [GossipCop]
• Would you want to take a Sprite shower? [Oh La La]
• Disneyland Tokyo will perform same-sex marriage ceremonies. [Towleroad]
• Charlize Theron didn’t have teeth until age 11. [Newser]
• The new Honda scooter looks … odd. [Heavy]
• Bono is now the richest musician in the world. [Idolator]
• Mourning Donna Summer. [arjanwrites]
• It’s so cute that Battleship is even gonna try to beat The Avengers at the box office. [Starpulse]
• Kanye West has a new Summer project. [Global Grind]
• David Beckham starts his 2012 London Olympic Games duties. [LaineyGossip]
• Tina Fey is 42, Martika is 43, George Strait is 60 and Rick Wakeman of Yes is 63 years old. Click HERE to see who else is celebrating a birthday today.

Two weeks ago we got the first pics of baby Jackson Theron, Charlize’s newly adopted son, and today we have more adorable pics of the little man as he and his mom step out in Madrid, Spain. Jackson is a bit of a jetsetter; last we saw him he was in Paris, now he is out and about in Spain. Check out how cute he is though in his lil’ traveling outfit!

As you may recall, in March we learned that Charlize was the proud new mom of a son after she announced to the world that she adopted a baby named Jackson. She still hasn’t released much information about the little boy, his age or where he is from, but Charlize is starting to show off her newly expanded family to the world. First we saw lil’ Jackson in Paris and now in Spain, as he traverses around Europe with his momma.

Jackson is one serious cutie. That yellow jumpsuit is adorable, and he looks so comfortable and happy in his mom’s arms. Charlize must be crazy busy at the moment, juggling all the promotional touring she is doing for Snow White And The Huntman and a new baby. She was just in London for the world premiere of the new movie, and now she is moving her way across Europe. She seems to be handling it like a pro though and baby Jackson is going along everywhere with her. Good for her – I’m so happy for Charlize and her new found motherhood. She just looks so happy and content with Jackson in her arms and it really suits her.

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Yesterday we saw Channing Tatum and his Magic Mike compatriots on the cover of this week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine. Today we get to see Channing all by his lonesome on the cover of the new issue of Out magazine. See, Channing knows which side of his bread gets buttered. Sure, there are lots of ladies out there who are dying to see him in his new male stripper movie but there are also a lot of gay men itchin’ to see the skin flick as well. Hell, Channing even tells Out that naked Joe Manganiello is so hot that even straight dudes are gonna wanna see his movie so … yeah, courtin’ dudes is brilliant. Click below to see some photos from Channing‘s Out cover feature and read some interesting quotes from his interview.

A random (but not really) sampling of jotted quotes from a day with Channing Tatum:

“The Goonies is one of those rare ’80s movies that still works — everything holds up.”

“Tampa is a really strange place.”

“With Joe Manganiello naked in a movie, I think even straight guys are going to be, ‘Shit, I need to see that. That man is a specimen.’”

“Elton John had his hand up my ass the other night.” To which the obvious response is, “Really? How did that feel?” “Like any other hand up my ass, but more knightly,” Tatum replies. “I can check that box now. It falls under the umbrella of doing sexual shit with Elton John in public. I’m sure I’m not the first.”

Er, yeah … Channing‘s Out interview can be read in full HERE but really, is there any need? With the choice nuggets published above and the purdy, purdy pictures … I think I’ve read all I need to read. As I mentioned before, Channing Tatum is very smart to court the gay market in the promotion of his new film. I give the guy props for just going balls out and marketing his movie to everyone who might be in the least bit interested in watching hot men strip on camera. I mean, it’s the American way! Equality opportunity objectification of men is a right that we should all enjoy. Can I get an amen?

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